#computer science lab on sunday

[mildew-dread-mold]

SHITS DUE

[universeofmuses]

//forgot to post the next chapter last night. Here you go :)

A/N: I do not own the characters, concepts, and so on, this is my first try so please play nice kids. Enjoy.

Sunday was a pretty uneventful day as the four teens were physically dragging trough the day because of the lack of sleep, trying to study for the quiz that their teacher was preparing for them. Even Dr. O was having a hard time concentrating on writing the quiz as his attention was very clearly divided between his work, his dream, and the clear fatigue that has been with him since he heard 'the voice' and began working on the main computer in his basement/command center.

As the day wore on it became clear to Dr. O that there was no disturbance in the morphing grid nor anywhere else, so with the information that was generated from the computer he let out a sigh of relief and chalked up the dream and unshakeable feeling like a large battle was coming to just working too hard at school and being a ranger teammate/mentor to his students. Having felt at ease Dr. O finished up on the quiz he was going to give to his class tomorrow and decided to go to bed early, meanwhile his four ranger teammates where busy cramming worried about the impending quiz thanks to Kira's playful mood with Dr. O as she helped him out the previous day.

(Monday Morning, Reefside High)

As the students of Reefside high where in class chatting away unknowingly that their teacher was about to surprise them with a quiz, while the four rangers furiously flipped through pages of their science book for the quiz,

"Ok everyone lets take our seats, we're going to start out this week with a pop quiz." Dr. O announced as the whole class let out an anxious groan,

"So lets clear off the desks and get started." Dr. O commanded,

As the students complied Dr. O started to hand out the quizzes, Conner was clearly struggling to get through the quiz but Ethan, Trent, and Kira were getting though a little bit better than Conner was. Ten minuets later Dr. O called for the quiz, as he picked up the last stack of quizzes he began his lecture.

"Ok, who can tell me when the Triassic period started?"

The rest of the class went routinely enough until the bell rang signaling the end of class,

"Ok class that enough for today but don't forget to read chapter 9 and answer the questions on page 91 for next class." Dr. O said as the students gathered up their things to leave. The rest of the day went pretty uneventful until after school,

"Dr. Oliver, I need to have a word with you." Said principal Randall,

"Uh, sure what on your mind principal Randall?" came Dr. O's replied as he stopped gathering up his things to call it a day.

"I've heard that you have quite the collection of artifacts, could I see them?" Randall asked with a hopeful tone to her voice,

"Um, I don't know-"Dr. O started,

"Please Dr. Oliver, I would love to know what you have hidden away in your private collection." She said,

"Well, ok you can follow me to my house." Dr. O finally said giving in to his boss' request,

"Great I cant wait" she said with a mischievous grin on her face as they walked out of the room and turned the corner, at the moment they turned the corner the woman from the gym had turned the opposite corner looking very nervous about meeting Dr. Oliver. When she reached the science lab and tried to turn the handle, she couldn't because it was locked, she then look around though the window in the door and noticed that it was empty meaning that she had just missed him.

"Damm it, looks like I just missed him I'll have to try his house." She said out loud.

(Dr. Oliver's residence, outskirts of Reefside)

"And this piece I found on my doctoral internship with Anton Mercer." Dr. O said as he held up a little rock with a tiny fossilized fish in it,

"What's in here?" Randall asked as she lifted the lid of a miniature Ark of the Convent to reveal the thought lost Dragon Power Coin,

"Don't lift it." Dr. O said as he slammed the lid back down on the box,

"Whoa, what did I do?" she asked backing away with her hands up,

"Nothing it's just some of these artifacts are sensitive to the air." Dr. O said as a cover as to why he had freaked out when Randall opened the box that contained his old power coin.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know." Randall apologized,

"Its ok, you couldn't have known." He said, when all of a sudden he noticed a Tyrano-drone lurking outside though the window,

"Oh my god" Dr. O said as he tried to sound surprised,

"What? What's wrong?" she asked as she noticed the worried expression on Dr. O's face,

"Its those things that have been attacking the city." Dr. O explained,

"We got to get away." Randall said worried,

"Yeah I'll hold them off while you get to safety." He said as his strength returned,

"Are you going to be ok?" she asked,

"Yeah when I was younger I use to compete in marshal arts competitions all the time, it's like riding a bike." He said,

"Even so, you're not a young teenager anymore." Randall said, he then looked at her with a look of anger and thought,

"Why is my age such a big deal to everyone, I mean I'm not that old."

"Now go." He said as he ran out the door to take out the Tyrano-drones in his front yard, but there was a lot more there then he had though. He thought about morphing but decided he couldn't risk Randall finding out about his 'extracurricular activities' so he had no choice but fight them with out his powers. For every one drone he took town two more would take its place, it was becoming too much for him as the large group was beginning to surround him. Then he saw something that reassured him that it was not as bad as it looked, a white and black streak ran through the drones and cased sparks to fly as it ran by them, when the streak was no longer visible the white dino-thunder ranger was visible kneeling down with the phased Tyrano-drones behind him as the drones slowly fell down around Dr. O,

"Wow, that was amazing thank you helping me White Ranger." Dr. O said as he quickly approached the ranger to make sure he wouldn't spill the beans on their secret,

"What are you talking about-" Trent asked,

"Principal Randall was here when they attacked and I don't know if she is still here." Dr. O explained in a hushed volume so only Trent could hear,

"What are you talking about, no one is here besides you, me, and the scraps of the drones." Trent responded,

"Oh, then she must have gotten to safety then." Dr. O said,

"POWER DOWN!" Trent called out to demorph just as a pink Pontiac Firebird drove up and the one person that Dr. Oliver never expected to see got out of the car.

(Conner's car)

Conner sat in his car on his way home from a long day at school, but he couldn't shake the image of Kira laying lifeless in a dark room with a blue tube in front of her. It was a feeling of helplessness, like something big was about to go down and there was nothing that anyone could do to stop it; like the events in his dream was inevitable. When he got home he got out of his car and went inside and went straight for his room to continue his line of thought until, he stepped on a small bag of half eaten cheetos. As he sat down at his desk with his backpack and got out his math book to start on his homework when he looked up and saw a picture of him and the others on the team, he himself was behind Kira hugging her waist as they both smiled with a warm glow. At that he felt something inside of him grow,

"I have to make sure that dream never comes to pass, I need to fight harder to make sure that no one on this team get hurt; even if it means that I have to make the ultimate sacrifice." Conner said sounding like a true blue red ranger, but deep down inside he had to admit to himself that he was crazy for Kira.

(Kira's room)

Kira was working to keep her concentration on her book report for her English class, when she suddenly stopped and threw her pencil down on the paper and leaned back in her chair to try and clear her head. The dream she had about Conner dieing at the hands of some freaky monkey was too much for her to bear, she was going crazy trying to figure out what her dream meant but then she had an idea of who to ask,

"Hey mom, I'm going to Hayley's for a while" Kira called out to her mother,

"Ok honey just be back in time for dinner, its taco night." Mrs. Ford replied,

Kira needed to talk to someone knowledgeable to get their take on her dream, and make sure she wasn't losing it.

(Mysterious Island Lair)

Elsa returned to the lab on the hidden fortress through an invisa-portal with a rather triumphant grin on her face,

"What are you so happy about?" asked Zeltrax with a clearly jealous tone in his voice,

"Well I so happy because I got the power source that we need for the plan." Elsa replied very smugly as she held up the Dragon Power Coin!

"Elsa, good work recovering the power source needed to power the weapon of the rangers final destruction." Mesogog hissed in approval,

"Thank you my lord, just allow me to make the following changes to the machine to allow it to draw power from the power coin." Elsa replied,

"How long do you need Elsa?" Mesogog asked,

"It should be ready by this time tomorrow." Elsa replied with a look of fear that her answer would set off her master,

"Please proceed, Elsa and alert me when you are done. Oh and Zeltrax help Elsa with anything she may need." Mesogog commanded as his henchmen scurried of to their respective tasks.

(Outside Dr. O's house)

"Hey Tommy, I guess you just cant leave this behind huh?" asked the woman,

"Dr. O, you ok? Who is she?" asked Trent trying to snap his mentor out of his haze,

"Yeah . . . I guess I cant. Trent this is Kimberly Hart the first Pink Ranger and my First Love." Dr. O replied as he fainted.

[cottagehowell]

Hello it’s SRS once again!! Hope you’re having a beautiful week :)

These dances sound AMAZING and I love that you incorporate classic rock into the routines and that it strikes such a chord with students! You know for sure 10 years down the line one of these kids will hear come together or something and inadvertently launch into an entire choreographed routine, much to the confusion of everyone around them lol. Have you danced/taught dance for a long time or is it a newer role for you?

OK good to know about the albums!! I am growing increasingly intrigued by the monkees based on your wild & crazy tales and would LOVE some recs!! What songs/albums/etc. would you recommend to get started?

Also yes please tell me about the Mike nesmith imprinting!! I see his name everywhere & am curious to understand the full psychological reasons why you have grafted on to him like a chick to a mother hen

Congratulations on officially having finished your finals!! I hope they went swimmingly :) do you have any plans you’re looking forward to for winter break (if you have a winter break)?

Also you’re a CS major? So brave I truly could never. I barely know how to use a computer let alone make it do NEW things… crazy & wildly impressive. What draws you to computer science?

I study environmental biology! Very fun huge fan but yes the amount of extra labs etc. is crazy. I will actually need to learn R or something next semester for a biostats class but that’s a problem for later… I literally tried to download R on my computer this summer but got stuck on that for an hour and gave up 😭

Have a WONDERFUL time relaxing from the stress of finals!! Hope you get up to something fun this week <3

Omg so sorry for going mia for a week….. now that the semester’s over my sense of time has gone out the window 💀

Your finals were this week, right? I hope they went well!! Sending you all the good vibes 🩵🩵🩵 Do you have any fun plans for your break?

I started dance when I was 2 (lol) and started teaching when I was 17!! So I’ve been teaching for a little while but not like forever lol

I think their first album is a good place to start!! It has more of a pop vibe but has some really catchy songs and sometimes gets a little psychedelic. Last Train to Clarksville was the big hit from that album. I’d also recommend listening to the soundtrack from their movie Head, the music is really really good. You probably already know I’m a Believer and Daydream Believer, so beyond that I’d recommend For Pete’s Sake, Early Morning Blues and Greens, Randy Scouse Git, Listen to the Band, Pleasant Valley Sunday, Goin’ Down, Words, Auntie’s Municipal Court, and Magnolia Simms. The four of them have such different musical influences, so I tried to get a little bit of everything here!

In all honesty, it’s mostly just that Mike is hot. (I think he’s at his hottest mid 70s through mid 80s, but he’s still really cute in the first season of the show as well. Plus in the pilot he looks so young!! Baby.) But he was also really talented and influential even though he never gets credit for it bc of the stigma against the monkees. He was a pioneer of country rock as a genre! He was a major player in the development of music video as we know it today! He created the direct predecessor of MTV and won the first Grammy for music video! He got into VR in the 90s! His mom invented Liquid Paper! The man is fantastic for trivia. On the show, he’s kind of the leader of the group, so I think that also contributes to the cult of personality. When you get into analyzing his gender and sexuality, it gets really interesting really fast. Also he’s an only child raised by a single mom, so he’s kinda sensitive in a way that resonates with me bc I’m an only child too :) But it’s very important to note that he was a complete asshole while the monkees were a thing and also he was a total dick to his first wife (Phyllis deserves so much better, she’s such a queen). So we stay #mikecritical while still thirsting over him. Oh and also his solo work is really wonderful if you’re into country :)))

Glad to be done with finals, yes! I got a 98 on my database exam, which pushed me up to an A from an A- :) I had a project that I finally turned in this past Sunday, so finals week dragged on a little longer than I would’ve liked, but I’m done now!! In January I’m gonna be spending a couple days at a friend’s house, and I haven’t seen her in several years, so I’m super excited :))) also I’m looking at taking a tap dance workshop later this month which will be lots of fun!

What’s really interesting to me about CS is the logical thinking & math aspect, like I enjoy being able to turn my people brain off and just think like the machine. It’s like a logic puzzle which is fun for me :) Plus the sense of accomplishment for having made something! Usually “making” something refers to more creative areas, so CS is kind of unique in that way. And then when your code works there’s that moment of “look!! I made it do the thing!!!”

Omg tell me more about environmental bio!! How did you become interested in it? It’s so cool when people are into more specialized areas of science bc there’s like a whole new world to hear about!! And best of luck with R 🫡 I’ve never had to use a functional language so you’ll have to let me know what it’s like!

I can’t believe Christmas is so close!! It really snuck up on me!! Do you have any traditions/events you’re looking forward to? Staying in bed half the day post-finals?? (That’s what I’ve been doing 🙃) Any hobbies you’re excited to have time for over break?

Much love, talk to you soon!! 🩷🩷🩷

[nbmsports]

Nelly Cheboi, who creates computer labs for Kenyan schoolchildren, is CNN's Hero of the Year

CNN  —  Nelly Cheboi, who in 2019 quit a lucrative software engineering job in Chicago to create computer labs for Kenyan schoolchildren, is the 2022 CNN Hero of the Year. Online voters selected her from among this year’s Top 10 CNN Heroes. Cheboi’s nonprofit, TechLit Africa, has provided thousands of students across rural Kenya with access to donated, upcycled computers — and the chance at a brighter future. Cheboi accepted the award with her mother, who she said “worked really hard to educate us.” At the beginning of her acceptance speech, Cheboi and her mother sang a song onstage that she explained had a special meaning when she was growing up. As CNN Hero of the Year, Cheboi will receive $100,000 to expand her work. She and the other top 10 CNN Heroes honored at Sunday’s gala all receive a $10,000 cash award and, for the first time, additional grants, organizational training and support from The Elevate Prize Foundation through a new collaboration with CNN Heroes. Nelly will also be named an Elevate Prize winner, which comes with a $300,000 grant and additional support worth $200,000 for her nonprofit. Cheboi grew up in poverty in Mogotio, a rural township in Kenya. “I know the pain of poverty,” said Cheboi, 29. “I never forgot what it was like with my stomach churning because of hunger at night.” A hard-working student, Cheboi received a full scholarship to Augustana College in Illinois in 2012. She began her studies there with almost no experience with computers, handwriting papers and struggling to transcribe them onto a laptop. Everything changed in her junior year, though, when Cheboi took a programming course required for her mathematics major. “When I discovered computer science, I just fell in love with it. I knew that this is something that I wanted to do as my career, and also bring it to my community,” she told CNN. Many basic computer skills were still a steep learning curve, however. Cheboi remembers having to practice touch-typing for six months before she could pass a coding interview. Touch-typing is a skill that is now a core part of the TechLit curriculum. “I feel so accomplished seeing kids that are 7 years old touch-typing, knowing that I just learned how to touch-type less than five years ago,” she said. Once she had begun working in the software industry, Cheboi soon realized the extent of which computers were being thrown away as companies upgraded their technology infrastructure. “We have kids here (in Kenya) — myself included, back in the day — who don’t even know what a computer is,” she said. So, in 2018, she began transporting donated computers back to Kenya — in her personal luggage, handling customs fees and taxes herself. “At one point, I was bringing 44 computers, and I paid more for the luggage than I did for the air ticket,” she said. A year later, she co-founded TechLit Africa with a fellow software engineer after both quit their jobs. The nonprofit accepts computer donations from companies, universities and individuals. The hardware is wiped and refurbished before it’s shipped to Kenya. There, it’s distributed to partner schools in rural communities, where students ages 4 to 12 receive daily classes and frequent opportunities to learn from professionals, gaining skills that will help improve their education and better prepare them for future jobs. “We have people who own a specific skill coming in and are just inspiring the kids (with) music production, video production, coding, personal branding,” Cheboi said. “They can go from doing a remote class with NASA on education to music production.” The organization currently serves 10 schools; within the next year, Cheboi hopes to be partnered with 100 more. “My hope is that when the first TechLit kids graduate high school, they’re able to get a job online because they will know how to code, they will know how to do graphic design, they will know how to do marketing,” Cheboi said. “The world is your oyster when you are educated. By bringing the resources, by bringing these skills, we are opening up the world to them.” Read the full article

[ahecworld]

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[aihsw]

BSc MLT Colleges in Bangalore

AIHS BSc MLT Colleges in Bangalore

The AIHS bsc mlt colleges in bangalore is a very popular institute that offers good and excellent education to the students. It has the latest and advanced infrastructure that helps them to perform better and efficiently. They also offer many courses such as computer science, electronics, business, and management. Moreover, the AIHS bsc mlt is a very competitive institute as it possesses many tie-ups with many other institutions. These tie-ups help them to get jobs for their students in a very short time.

Courses offered by AIHS

The Acharya Institute of Health Sciences (AIHS) is a private college in Bangalore. It provides a variety of courses. A few of them are Medical Lab Technology, Nursing and Physiotherapy. This is one of the top BSc MLT courses in Bangalore.

The Acharya institute is recognized by INC and Indian Nursing Council. AIHS provides value-based education and training to its students. Moreover, it has a placement cell that is dedicated to finding employment opportunities for the students.

AIHS offers an undergraduate program in Medical Lab Technology. Students are trained in the fundamentals of medical laboratory technology, diagnostics, treatment and prevention. As a result, these graduates find numerous job opportunities at hospitals, laboratories and diagnostic centres.

During the course, students are provided assistance from experienced faculty members who have knowledge in clinical and theoretical aspects of laboratory technology. In addition, the college provides supervised clinical experience in well-equipped hospitals.

The school has a library that is categorized into traditional and digital libraries. Moreover, the faculty members possess excellent teaching skills.

Besides, the institution also has a placement cell that works on a close basis with the various hospitals and organizations. Additionally, the institute maintains a near 100% placement record.

Fees for AIHS Diploma Certificate

The fees incurred to obtain a diploma at the Acharya Institute of Health Sciences are no small feat. For one, they provide an equitable refund scheme for international students. Also, if you are lucky, you can actually attend classes held at the institution's swanky new campus in Sydney. It should also come as no surprise that the institution has a hefty roster of eminently suited faculty. In fact, you could be forgiven for reserving a seat on the faculty of choice for yourself. Aside from academics, the organization offers a slew of extra-curricular activities that straddle the line between a sports program and a social enterprise. This, in combination with the aforementioned perks, makes AIH the best possible school to attend. Fortunately, if you are not a native of the southern hemisphere, you can enrol online. Alternatively, you could pop by on a Sunday or drop by on the weekends.

Recruiters and tie-ups of AIHS

One of the perks of studying at a reputable institute such as the Acharya Institute of Health Sciences is the opportunity to network with some of the nation's best and brightest in the field of health and wellness. The institute boasts of a formidable placement cell. It identifies the most promising candidates and offers them a healthy selection of academies, hospitals and clinics.

The institute does not only teach its students in the classroom, it also hosts several campus based and off-campus events and activities. These include a number of competitions, seminars and workshops. A plethora of sports and recreation clubs is also available to students of all ages. There are numerous health and fitness related social clubs to choose from, including the renowned Aesthetic Health and Wellness club. Students have access to many perks and benefits such as free transportation, library services, computer facilities and other amenities. This makes it a must visit for both undergraduate and postgraduate students of all ages.

The college is a hub of learning, and there is little time to be wasted. Although the campus is small, it has the requisite facilities to ensure that students and staff members are able to focus on their respective fields of study. The institute is affiliated with a number of reputable medical institutions and clinics, such as Abhaya Hospital, Nightinga Hospital, and People Tree Hospital.

[slurrmp]

                        No. 1 A LITTLE OUT OF THE ORDINARY

Adverse Effects | Unconventional Restraints | "This wasn't supposed to happen"

a/n: this whumptober we may see no doctor who prompts AT ALL. what an absolute shocker. but tfp hit me smack in the face again for some reason and now it’s all that i can think about. i haven’t written anything trasnformers-y in almost a decade so bare with me x

ₓ ˚ .   ୭   ˚ ○ ◦ ˚    ―      ㅤEllie could hardly concentrate, not with the number of things that were running through her head. This entire last month wasn’t even supposed to happen. Ellie knew that there HAD to be something else out there in the universe, humans couldn’t be the only species in the galaxy. It was just too lonely. But her father had always told her that she should be careful with what she wished for. Because now - here she was stuck on board an alien spaceship, reading through an alien database (that she could somehow read), in the lab with an alien being. She was just a baker for crying out loud, she cooked for a living, not whatever the hell THIS was. 

Starscream had wanted her to read through this Decepticon database for any information about something called the Allspark and whether or not it had ever been mixed with a substance called Dark Energon. And if so, what other adverse effects could be caused by being exposed to it other than the sudden ability to hear one another’s thoughts. It felt almost ... too science fiction for Ellie to even comprehend, too much like a movie. This wasn’t exactly what she wanted to be doing at six am on a Sunday.

The Australian had been stuck on the same paragraph for about five minutes now, the excessive thoughts racing through the Seeker’s head was starting to give her a headache.

“Can you stop thinking so loud.” Her irritated voice snapped out, body turned around to glare up at him. Red optics turned down to give his own glare back. Taloned fingers twitched at the interruption, curling against the keyboard which sat in front of the Seeker.

“I would,” his deep baritone voice rumbled around her, causing the brunette to swallow. “If I didn’t have to compete with your own.”

Blue eyes narrowed as her head tiled backward even more to keep her gaze locked onto his. “Look if I don’t get home soon, my dad is going to absolutely crack the shits.” The Australian slang almost caught Starscream off guard, but within the week of having a human inside his own processor, he had gotten used to it. “He will send the navy after me, which to be honest -”

“I want you out of my head first.” The Seeker cut her off. The two of them were silent as they continue their staring contest. Miko had pretty much called them an old married couple after the first two weeks (Miko perhaps was the only other person that knew of their predicament, which was another story in itself). She had enough problems going on as it was, without the added weirdness of being attached to an alien robot in more than one way. Their situation, was one that not a lot of people had experienced before, which was pretty evident when Ellie couldn’t find ANYTHING within the database. Starscream was the first to look away with an irritated grunt leaving his vents, with his wings dropping ever so slightly and Ellie couldn’t help the satisfied smirk that crossed her lips as she turned back to her own computer.

It was an incident at an Energon mine that had changed Starscream’s entire existence in a matter of a few hours. The mine was pretty much within city limits, the Vehicons had been warned to be extra cautious as to not alert any of the humans that may have resided in the area. If humans spotted them, that meant that the Autobots would quickly learn of their location as well.

And of course, Ellie just happened to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Her mother, Patty, born in Australia, was a florist. Her simple love for flowers was an easy thing to transfer across the world. Her father, Bernie, born in America, was an NCIS agent, previously a marine in the Navy. They had moved around the world quite a few times, however, Jasper, Nevada seemed to be the end of the line for them. At least for a year or two. Patty’s florist shop was on the outside of town, close enough to walk home, but just far enough away from the center. Ellie really couldn’t remember what happened within the half an hour from stumbling across the mine and tripping on a loose piece of gravel, causing her to fall down the slightly sharp incline. All she remembers is that the pain of rolling over dirt and gravel and sand, was awful and that her body came to a sudden stop, when her head smacked against something hard, causing her to lose consciousness straight away.

For Starscream, he hadn’t noticed the small human until it was too late. The bright burst of lilac coloured light had enveloped him. How the brunette hadn’t noticed the massive Decepticon (and the vehicons) at the bottom of the hill was beyond either of them, they just knew that Starscream had been closest to the blast (and where Ellie had come to a stop). He fell unconscious, his body just barely missing Ellie’s as it slammed into the ground. He woke up a couple of stellar cycles later on Knockout’s medical slab back on the Nemesis.

Neither doctor nor seeker could explain what happened, just that now, Starscream seemed to be giving off slightly dark energon readings.

Ellie had woken up with a nasty headache, a cut to her forehead, a couple of bruised ribs and surrounded by three gigantic robots. Along with the three robots were two humans, who barely looked old enough to drive. The robots were brightly coloured and trying to speak to her, it was like they were talking in a different language. Her face must of been too expressive, because the red and white robot had been knelt down beside her, pulling out a device and waving it over her. It ... he(?) must be a medic, if its design was anything to go by. The two ... kids had made their way over to her, introducing themselves as Jack and Miko, and then the robots (Optimus Prime, Ratchet and Bulkhead). They explained what happened, why they were there (Miko had snuck off again, apparently and Jack had rushed after her, while the robots had gotten a reading of dark energon). They had convinced Ellie to let them take her back to their base, so that Ratchet could double check his findings and that she could be looked after by a human nurse. Being taken to a private room, after Ratchet had once again made certain that there was no dark energon in her, the nurse did more human related tests. She had been cleared and had been allowed to go home, on the condition that she didn’t tell a soul of what happened and what she had learned. It wasn’t until a week later that she began to hear voices. Well, more like one voice in particular...

“Elenore.” Her name was growled out, breaking her from the depths of her own mind, which Starscream had to relive with her. They were working on that. “Need I remind you that the quicker you read, the faster I can take you home.” A deep blush crosses her cheeks, before nodding her head, turning back around to face her laptop. It was only after another fifteen minutes of slightly uncomfortable silence, that the doors to Starscream’s lab flew open (causing Ellie to jump) and his name to be grounded out by a voice that sent a shiver down her spine.

Megatron didn’t know she was there, nor did he know that she even existed and if Starscream had his way, Megatron would never come to know of Elenore.

It had been a miracle that Starscream had managed to keep her a secret at all, especially with Soundwave hanging around every corner. Talons immediately wrapped around her smaller frame, shoving her and her laptop behind his slim frame. “Lord Megatron.” Their conversation was lost on Ellie then, she might have been able to pick up a few things when names were dropped, but comprehending spoken words and reading a language were two completely different things. Ellie clutched onto her laptop tightly, making sure she didn’t drop it and let her free hand curl around one of Starscream’s digits.

Fingers tightened ever so slightly around her and she felt her feet moving away from the ground beneath her, back being pressed against even more against the palm of the seeker’s hand. They were moving, making sure that when Megatron came to stand besides his second in command, Ellie was out of view still. This would be the only time that she ever enjoy being manhandled by a giant alien robot. If it kept her out of the eye sight of one tyrant lord, then Starscream could shove her in a box for all she cared.

How Elenore White ends up in situations like these, are beyond her.

[thephdpensieve]

the grad student life 

- romanticizing the ordinary

The love for knowledge, living to learn, discover and invent

dozens of scientific articles stacked on your desk

learning how to communicate your research

incorporating your personal style into every presentation or talk

upbeat music through your headphones while coding or writing , to drown the outside world

a keen eye for spotting information from a maze of texts

knowing instinctively the BS in articles or presentations

frantically scribbling new research ideas before you forget them

working even on Sundays

recognizing science (or anything academic) in songs and movie scenes

the familiar sound of keys tapping in the lab

a scattering of notebooks and scientific articles across your desk

spending hours in LaTeX, editing each line in your thesis

doodling whenever there’s pen and paper in front of you

to-do lists pinned everywhere: your notebooks, laptop screens, desks

a fascination with people and how they perceive the world around them

the urge to be eternally productive

the glow of your computer screen, centering your focus

a pack of your favorite highlighters tucked into your bag

never being reluctant to ask questions - the most weird ones

always being open to people’s opinions

the self-awareness of our own scientific bias

the constant battle to unlearn and the dazzling moments of epiphany

finding inspiration in every aspect of the world around you

[empressofdiamonds]

How do you manage your time? How do you organize your days, weeks, goals...?

Very long post... Click under there at your own risk.

School:

I spread my exam study at least two weeks before my exam. First week is dedicated to the harder material. Second week is reinforcing my memory, redoing excercises, past exams, etc. All the material the teacher gives is very likely relevant.

I generally study a bit in the morning, in between classes, and after my dinner. I try to have a ratio of 60% study time and 40% enterainement time.

I block out my dinner time everyday. Relax time in the middle of my school day is highly important, and I need to eat well.

Since my diploma is heavily lab-related, I go to labs as much as I can cram in. The more I lab pratice the better my scores are. Simple. So if I want high notes, I pratice more.

When I used to do my diploma in mathematics and computer science, I crammed as much excercises as possible. Again, with sciences that are math based it is important to pratice in order to understand. It's sorta silly to expect perfection after just doing 5 excercises. It HAS to become your second nature.

I NEVER sacrifice my sleep in favor of school. It is critically important.

Homecare:

I wash my bedsheets every Saturday, I wash my laundry every Saturday. No exceptions. I try to start the work early in the morning, undoing my bed when I wakeup, so it is done by mid-afternoon.

Every Saturday I do a light tidying up as well, while my laundry is being washed. Dusting off with a slightly wet rag, vacuuming, sometimes a bit of mopping. If yout ake consistent care of things, they become quite easier to clean up. There's a reason why hotel maids come to clean everyday, both for your satisfaction, and for easier work when you check out.

During the week I do consistent tidying up. Throwing away obvious trash, loading up my laundry basket, I redo my bed everyday, etc. Takes only a few minutes out of your day and has a huge impact.

Creative work:

I try to do a little everyday, collecting ideas, putting the simplest ones into action right away.

I do Art Sundays, putting on some music, starting to write, paint, color, read, etc. No limits. For you, you can fix a day of the week dedicated to your favorite hobbies. Life's not only work work work work. It is also fun.

Again, being consistent about it is easier than doing a LOT at once. I won't do a huge 15 hour project a monday evening and rather reserve it for my Art Sunday, but I will do right away a sketch idea or post idea. 've personally never really liked just letting things lingering in the mind, without output whatsoever. They clutter the mind.

Work:

Since I'm a part-time student, I never get over 25-30 hours a week. I do not recommend working more than 20 hours a week if you're a full-time student. There are studies that show there's a decrease in grades the more the student works. If you can't subsist on 20 hours a week, seek for higher pay jobs first before accepting more hours.

I've never ever given my employer my class schedule. It is NOT a good idea, since the employer can guilt-trip you into working more hours. "Hey I saw you don't have class monday from 8 to 12 can you come work please, I'm so stuck here!" is pretty hard to resist.

Have extremely solid boundaries between work, school and personal life. Refuse any hours that are excessive or heavy. I refuse to work week evenings, I refuse to work more than 25-30 hours a week, I refuse to work more than 8 hours a day for my two jobs combined. If the employers have difficulty, not my fault. I give them hours of availability, they give me work based on that and end of story.

Equally, I refuse to clock in much earlier, or to clock out way later than planned. I do as much as possible, wrap it up when it is time to close. Not being able to do all the work is management fault for over-estimating the amount of work to be done, and not my fault.

Some employers hope that by overloading you with work, you'll stress up enough to do 2 people's work by yourself. Not worth the stress. Learn to refuse. Been there done that. My personal time is valuable.

I prioritize the most paying work. I routinely refuse hours at my less paying work if I'm busy. Money wins over loyalty.

I do a few hours of freelance work on the side, when I feel my schedule is freer. Freelance work can be time consumpting so it is important to schedule more than necessary so you don't miss deadlines.

Goal-making:

I've never been much into doing radical lifestyle changes. I've had more success adapting myself as I go: if I find something unsatisfactory in my life, I go work at it right away without wasting time on hesitation. I can almost always go back to how I was, and hesitating badly served me.

Letting unsatisfactory things go wild in your life will bring your down, wether you're fine with it or not.

Hesitation is often a godawful waste of time.

The biggest realization I've had when it comes to goalmaking is that you DO NOT want it to be temporary. You want the new change to be in your life forever.

You don't count the days.

You don't think to coming to the "before". The "before" is over, there's Now, and Future only. Before is DEAD.

Past failures don't define who you are.

When I want to start a new habit, activity, I incoporate it into my life, and my identity. I'm not "picking up books sometimes", I'm an good reader. I'm not "barely starting to workout", I workout and I'm a fit person. Assuming I'm That Person helps me interorize the change is there for good. I'm not the Before Person, that Peson is DEAD. I'm the Now Person.

Continuing on previous point, I believe that one should work on their goals at least a bit every day, every single day. Compounding. It can be as little as 5 minutes, it can be as much as hours and hours. You want to reinforce that habit and that identity. Let's say you start a habit of working out, you assume the identity of being a fit person, then you go at the gym. You just go at the gym every day, cuz you're a Fit Person. On days you're resting, you go anyways just to do stretches and some light walking, no hard work. The more you go the more you reinforce the habit the more you embody the Fit Person identity.

I try to hype myself up in a positive way, rather than berating myself in a negative way. Positive reinforcement works wonders on us, we're animals too!

If I fuck up my habit routine, I tell myself it is fine and that I can do better next time. I don't have "one shot", I pardon myself and get back right away.

[kozumekenza]

right here :: two

:: suna rintarou x f!reader :: playlist :: masterlist ::

:: taglist: open :: wc: 1.9k ::

Suna Rintarou: your oldest childhood friend, your longest (unrequited) love, your college roommate. Suna’s scandalous reputation is getting worse, and you vow to find another love interest before you get entangled in his sinful ways. The only problem? Suna’s always been right here.

tw: alcohol, marijuana, profanity, mentions of sex

author’s note: hey kenma

In the early hours of Sunday morning, you are woken up by shouting and crashing. You squeeze your eyes shut at the noise. It must be what you and Kaiya refer to as “witching hour”: when Suna kicks the girl he slept with the night before out in the morning. It often results in a one-sided yelling match and the living room in disarray. You’ve learned not to keep anything valuable in throwing range after your framed photos came crashing down and your expensive PC was almost ruined.

The door slams, and you breathe out a sigh of relief. When witching hour does not end with a slamming door, it normally ends with another round of angry morning sex or an “SOS” text from Suna. You aren’t sure which is worse; listening to the girl’s moans or having to pretend to be the betrayed girlfriend when Suna can’t get his one-night stands to leave. You should heed Kaiya’s advice and just tell him no, but you’re in far too deep.

Maybe now, after you have officially declared yourself done with Suna Rintarou, you will be able to say no.

---

“You’re hot as fuck.”

You glance up at messy black hair and cat-like eyes before recognition sets in. “And you’re sleeping with my best friend.” This must be Kuroo, Kaiya’s latest boy-toy. She’s shown you pictures and told you all about him, but you haven’t met him in person. Until now, apparently.

“Who?”

You roll your eyes and close the textbook you were reading. “Kaiya.”

“Oh,” Kuroo chuckles, “She’s hot as fuck.”

You see Kaiya approaching behind Kuroo and begin to pack up your things as she presses a sloppy kiss to his lips. “I have not had enough caffeine for this.”

Kaiya pulls away long enough to mumble a “see you later, y/n” while you grab your backpack and walk out of the library. Mondays are always the worst with back-to-back classes and labs. You turn the corner to head to the campus coffee shop when you run into a hard chest. Hands grab your shoulders to steady you, and an apology starts slipping from your lips as you look up at whoever you bumped into.

You register the bleached hair and dark roots first, then the guy’s soft-spoken voice when he apologizes.

“It’s alright, it’s my fault. Sorry for bumping into you.” You turn away, but he stops you with a hand on the wrist.

“Um, actually, were you heading to the coffee shop? I think I recognize you from my next lecture, and I’d like to buy you a coffee as an apology for running into you.”

You’re taken aback by his kindness, and now that you’ve taken a closer look at him, you’re pretty sure you recognize him as Kozume Kenma, a computer science major who sits in front of you in statistics. “Kozume, right? You’re in my stats class.”

He nods, “Kenma’s fine. Did you wanna go get coffee before class?”

You smile and follow him, giving him your order before finding a table near the window. You still have about half an hour before class, plenty of time to sit and get to know Kenma better. Kaiya would be proud; Kenma could be the key to getting over Suna for good.

Kenma returns with the drinks before taking the seat across from you. You talk about your majors and agree to work on the upcoming stats project together. You’re getting ready to leave when a girl you don’t recognize comes up to you.

“Y/n, right?” Her voice is hesitant and she’s wringing her hands.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to apologize, I’m not sure if you already know, I had no idea and if I did, I would never have done it- “

“What happened?” She’s tearing up now, and you have no clue what she’s talking about.

“I-I slept with your boyfriend, I’m so, so sorry, he didn’t tell me he had a girlfriend.” You see Kenma’s eyebrows raise at your confused expression, but the girl’s next words put everything into place. “Suna, he never told me, and I’m so sorry if this is how you’re finding out, but he’s not a good guy, y/n. I’m not the first girl and I doubt I’ll be the last.”

You put on a face of distress and allow tears to well up in the corners of your eyes. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll talk to him.” You place a hand on your chest in agony as she pats your shoulder gently before walking away. Fucking Suna, feeding this girl lies to protect himself. You massage your temples after she leaves the shop, all of your fake tears gone. Kenma’s watching you carefully, obviously confused at what just transpired. You shoulder your backpack and stand up, “You ready to go?”

He nods, “What just happened?”

Sighing, you prepare your story. “You know Suna Rintarou?” Kenma nods. “He’s my best friend and my roommate, and whenever he has a girl that won’t leave him alone, he always tells them that I’m his girlfriend.”

Kenma’s subtle look of disgust resembles Kaiya’s when you first told her. “No offence or anything, but that’s super shitty.”

You look away and sigh. “I know.”

The two of you continue your walk to your stats lecture until you feel an arm snake around your shoulders. You don’t have to turn to know that it’s Suna; you recognize the weight of his arm, the spicy sweet scent of his cologne, the feeling of his breath on your neck.

“Hey, angel. Who’s this?”

Kenma obviously didn’t notice and is taken by surprise, jumping slightly when he turns. You gesture to Kenma and turn your head to address Suna. “This is Kenma from my stats class.” Your eyes narrow when you spot the smell of marijuana on Suna’s breath and a few more hickeys on his neck that he didn’t have this morning. “Aren’t you supposed to be in modern art?”

He shrugs, a playful grin on his face. “Maybe, maybe not.”

When you reach the lecture hall, Suna’s arm drops from your shoulders, and he presses a kiss to your cheek. “See you later, angel. I’m making dinner tonight, your favorite, so don’t be late!”

You collapse into a chair next to Kenma, groaning as he pats your back. “Are you okay?”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

---

After stats, you head to the quad with Kenma to meet with Kaiya before you head home for the day. On the way there, you explain your background with Suna and your current frustrations. Kenma listens intently, offering advice when needed. When you spot Kaiya and wave goodbye to him, you’re feeling infinitely better.

“So, are you planning to elaborate on Saturday night’s text?”

You toss your backpack onto the ground and slump on the bench as Kaiya passes you an iced coffee. You sip slowly, getting your thoughts in order before you rant to her. “Well, he lectured me after I went to that party alone Friday night- “

“A truly dumb idea.”

You roll your eyes at her interruption before continuing.

“-And everything was fine, until he left again Saturday night. As usual, he called me at eleven to tell me how much he loves me and all that shit, then brought home another girl.”

“Oh Suna, predictable as always.” She nudges you gently. “So, you’re done? For good this time?”

You sigh, “I’m going to try. I can’t do it anymore. It hurts too much.”

She pulls you into a hug. “I know, y/n. This’ll be good for you, I promise.” Kaiya pulls away, her smile promising vengeance. “Kenma, huh? I saw you two together today. He’s Kuroo’s best friend, you know. He’s quiet at first, but Kuroo’s told me all about him. He’d be a good replacement for Suna.”

You frown at her. “I don’t want to replace Suna, and I don’t want to use Kenma.”

“Whatever,” she shrugs, “he’s hot as fuck, and according to Kuroo, quite the ladies’ man.”

You let her tell you all about Kenma until Kuroo comes out of class to walk her home. Apparently, Kenma frequents the same parties that Suna does, and is known to partake in similar activities. He’s lesser known than Suna on campus, because of his quiet exterior, but he always comes out of his shell at parties. Kaiya shows you a video of him pouring vodka down a girl’s throat at a party last week, and if it weren’t for the same grown-out bleached hair, you wouldn’t believe it was him. He’s hot, has a good personality, and has treated you well so far. There’s a party tonight (on a fucking Monday) that Kenma and Kuroo will be at, and you wave goodbye to Kaiya with a plan to meet her and the boys there tonight.

---

Suna’s in the kitchen when you arrive at the apartment, cooking as promised. Dinner is a silent affair; you’re preoccupied with homework and the party tonight, and Suna’s swiping on Tinder.

You get ready for the party and head for the door, only to be stopped by Suna.

“Where are you going all dressed up on a Monday, angel?”

You shake his arm off and busy yourself with slipping into your shoes. “Out with Kaiya.”

His displeasure is obvious. “Really? Every time you go out with her you end up calling me to pick you up because she ditches you.”

Rolling your eyes, you open the front door. “Don’t worry, I won’t bother you tonight.”

“That’s not what I meant, angel, I- “

You slam the door behind you without another look back.

---

Kaiya is nowhere to be found when you arrive, which you expected. You set off on your own, determined to at least get drunk enough to forget about the disappointment on Suna’s face when you left. Your phone keeps buzzing; you know he’s trying to text and call you to apologize and figure out what’s wrong, but you shut it off completely.

Three drinks in, there’s still no sign of Kaiya. You spot Kenma lighting a blunt on the back porch and join him instead.

“Hey.” You slide the glass door open as he looks over at you.

“Hey, I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”

“Kaiya invited me, although I have no idea where she is.” You shrug and take the offered blunt, breathing in deep.

“Really? She’s with Kuroo tonight. Something about date night. I was kicked out of the apartment.”

You raise your eyebrows and scoff. You love Kaiya, but at times like these it feels like you aren’t really friends. “Interesting.”

When the blunt is nearly gone and you both feel the effects of your high, Kenma leans in close.

“You know, I’m really glad that the girl was wrong earlier. It’d be a shame if you were dating Suna.”

You giggle at his words, your eyes locked on his. “And why’s that?”

“Because you’re my type.” Kenma takes the last hit off the blunt; you watch as his eyes narrow and become clouded over with lust as he leans in ever so closer. “And I really want to fuck you tonight.”

He presses his lips to yours; you’re caught by surprise and your lips open, giving him the perfect opportunity to blow the smoke into your mouth and down your throat.

Your mind goes gloriously blank at the action, caught between I can’t believe he just did that and that was the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced. You let yourself drown in the feeling of his lips on yours, of his hands on your body, all thoughts of Suna gone from the haziness of your mind.

taglist: @halcyondaisy​ @sunasexual​ @lilith412426​ @daphnxy​ @call-me-lulu​ @qualitygiantshoepsychic​ @kenmaslov3r​ @goob-4546​ @fatal-impact​ @kageyamakock​ 

[renjunfromthestars]

more than

Pairing: Mark + reader, Bestfriend! Mark, Childhood friend!Mark

Genre: Fluff, angst, honestly a little bit of crack LOL

Song recs: Best friend + Untitled + Waiting Room (Rex Orange County), Sofia (Clario)

Warnings: Mild swearing and mentions of alcohol

Word Count: 7.0k (my longest fic yet, wow!)

Summary: You’ve known Mark for all your life, and it only takes one drunken night (plus a little intervention with Haehcan) to think that you wouldn’t mind getting to know him a little better...

Notes: The fact that I actually had the patience to sit down and to write something above 3k words,,,,absolutely astounding, amazing, unique, never been seen before…. Mark is a little awk and always works so hard (poor bby), so imagining him as a super stressed pre-med major and oblivious best friend absolutely wrecks me thank you goodbye

----

When you first meet Mark, you’re eight years old, and it’s at church. He’s dressed in his Sunday best: a light blue button up, khakis, and shiny dress shoes. He looks stiff as your mother introduces you two, with his shirt buttoned all the way to the collar.

It’s not that you dislike him, but you think he might dislike you, with the way he avoids eye contact, eyes tracing the floor, your shoes—anywhere but your face.

You see panic flash through his eyes when his mom gently pushes him towards you, telling him to take you inside and reserve a spot in the pews while she catches up with your mom. 

He shuffles awkwardly, and wordlessly, you follow him into the building.

The pews are almost empty, with the bulk of them being filled in the front by the old people that usually have nothing better to do on their Sunday mornings. Although your local church is on the smaller side, it feels unusually large with rows of empty pews, almost eerie. You shudder at shadows the walls make with the stained glass, and hurry to your usual spot towards the middle.

If Mark notices your apprehension, he doesn’t say anything. He’s oblivious, actually, not noticing your absence until he’s almost at the end of the rows. When you see him stop and search for you frantically, you stifle a laugh. 

He eventually finds you, and after shuffling awkwardly between the pews, makes his way to you. 

“This is kinda far, isn’t it?” he murmurs.

“Huh?”

“I mean,” he stammers. “I usually sit closer to the front. ”

You peer at him from the side. “You actually want to pay attention?”

He scratches the back of his head. “Well yeah, isn’t that the point?”

“I guess,” you say, looking at the ceiling. With the sprawling arches and patterns, the designs are pretty, you think. 

“You should at least try, it’s kinda interesting,” when you turn your head to look at him he turns away. “Only if you want to, of course.” he adds, fidgeting with his hands.

When you tell him that maybe you will, you see him crack a small smile.

It becomes a routine, almost every Sunday, with you and Mark sitting next to each other.  Whether it’s closer to the front or the back, it’s a whole debate. You usually give in, because when you walk in, Mark is already waiting for you in the front. 

….

“Do you still go to Church?”

You’re laying on a green bean bag in Mark’s dorm room, procrastinating on the midterm paper you were supposed to get started on, well, a week ago. 

You think for a second, hand raised to rub your chin, just to tease him. “What’s church?”

“C'mon dude, are you serious?”

“Barely,” you say, standing up to move to sit on his bed. “You should really get a new bean bag, it’s kinda deflated.”

Mark ignoring you, reaches over from his desk to fluff up the bean bag. “It’s because you sit on it so much.” 

“Are you calling me fat?” and before he can defend himself you finally answer him, “I stopped going in like, middle school. It would be hard even if I wanted to, to find a whole new congregation, and I’m just busy. Also, it’s so boring, I could cry.”

Mark perks up. “Not if you go with me.”

You groan dramatically, and Mark chuckles. 

“Good to know that you haven’t changed since you were eight.”

It’s just your view on church, that hasn’t changed since you were eight. First thing things first, you were 19 now, going on twenty. You’re in University now, your second year. It’s been a blur assignments, partying, coffee and term papers- you don’t have time to think about anything else right now. Except maybe actually starting your paper but-

Mark interrupts you midthought, breaking the silence. “Are you still with that guy?”

“Huh? Who? Yuta?”

“Yeah,” Mark responds sheepishly, avoiding eye contact.

You roll your eyes. “No, we haven’t been together for a while. It wasn’t that important so I forgot to tell you.”

You can tell he's surprised about how unusually calm you are for talking about your first serious breakup, but he doesn’t say anything, instead just scratching the back of his head awkwardly in typical Mark fashion. “He was an asshole anyway,” Mark murmurs.

“What did you say?” you ask, acting shocked. “Mark Lee? Talking shit?”

Mark, embarrassed, refuses to repeat it. 

“I’m just saying, he wasn’t the right person for you.” he protests.

“As opposed to who? God himself?”

“I can think of a few,” he sighs, but you aren’t paying attention, instead laughing your ass off on his bed.

“You’re insufferable,” he says, standing up to open the door. “C’mon let’s go, I’m hungry. I know you’re not starting that paper anytime soon.”

…

It’s a routine, seeing Mark on Monday afternoons for lunch. Not Friday, because you were busy getting wasted, and consequently not Saturday, because you were too hungover. Not Sunday, because Mark had church, and you, well, were busy praying to God that you would be able to finish all the work you’d neglected over the weekend as a result. 

“I still don’t understand why you choose the worst day of the week for this,”  you say over your Kale caesar salad, pushing the leaves around aggressively. The University had a lot of healthy options, which you were grateful for. Grateful for you were not, were for the student loans you had to pay off every month, the exorbitant amount you partially owed to all the local and expensive organic produce the meal plan featured for the sake of being sustainable and health conscious.You could really give a rat’s ass about whether your salad was organic or not; if your weekends said anything about you, no amount of kale could help you (or your liver).

“It wasn’t really up to me,” Mark points out. “Maybe if you weren’t too busy being-”

“Ta ta ta,” you tsk, waving a finger around. “I, unlike you, actually have a social life.”

Mark frowns. “I have a social life.” 

Mark definitely had a social life. He was popular, even. As popular as you can be, being a preoccupied Pre-med with perfect grades. Mark is likeable. It’s not like he doesn’t have the opportunity to go on weekends if wanted to, he just chooses not to, deciding to slave away at biological functions, orbitals, and lab results instead. Even now, as he takes his glasses off to clean them, you notice the imprint they leave on his face from how long they’ve been sitting on his face, and doesn’t take you long to find the dark circles that grace the skin under his eyes: he’s exhausted.

You frown too. “You should really get out more Mark. You seem stressed.”

Mark gives you a small smile after putting his glasses back on, and then resumes typing on his laptop. “I don’t know how going out would make me less stressed,” he says, distracted. “I would only be more stressed, knowing the work I have to do.”

“Yeah, but you're pretty organized.” You point your fork at him accusingly, kale falling to the side. “Don’t you usually finish things early too?”

“Yeah, I do.” he admits,  and before you can press onwards you’re interrupted by a girl you recognize to be his lab partner.

Goggles in hand, you can see the marks they leave around her eye area, but she’s somehow still annoyingly beautiful, with her glossy straight hair and long eyelashes, but that’s not why you dislike her. She might be the most stuck up girl you’ve ever met. 

“Did you do the calculations yet?” she says, turning to Mark. ignoring you. It’s only when you cough in your seat that she turns to you. “And hello, (y/n).” An afterthought.

“Hello Yebin,” You give her a wry smile. “How's the lab?”

“The usual.” she glances at Mark, who seems to be doing some finishing touches on said calculations. “How’s Chem 2?”

Boy, does she really grind your gears. 

“It was fine, I actually placed out because I took it in high school.” Not to mention, it was a class for freshmen, and you were in fact, now a sophomore. 

Before she can say anything back, Mark claps his hands in celebration. “Done! Sorry it took me so long, I just had to double check some things.”

“It’s no problem,” and with the way her voice drips with a sickly sweetness, you want to gag. It’s so painfully obvious. “Are you still down for tomorrow?”

Poor Mark, always oblivious, stops typing on his laptop and looks up in confusion.  “Huh?”

You silently laugh at the expression Yebin makes when she realizes Mark has no idea what she’s talking about. “For our study session? The MCAT is just months away.”she reminds him.

Mark remembers. “Oh yeah, about that, I was thinking we could also invite-”

“Great!” she chirps, “See you tomorrow!” and with a flash of her white lab coat, she's gone. 

Mark scratches the back of his head. “I guess she had somewhere to be.”

You roll your eyes for what it seems like the 100th time this week, anymore and they might be permanently stuck to the back of your head. “She definitely likes you.”

“Who? Yebin? No way.” 

“Yes, Yebin, and yes way.” You fling a walnut from your salad over to his side, and he cringes.

“What is your problem?” he grumbles, and resumes typing on his laptop.

You drop the subject, because you know any talk on girls is completely lost on him. As you set aside your salad, you peer over at Mark, palm supporting your face. He’s focused, eyebrows slightly furrowed, with his lips mouthing over silently whatever science journal he was reading on his computer screen.

Mark has always been good looking, you think. You don’t know why you’ve never really noticed it before. His nose bridge gently slopes over his face, and his jawline is sharp, having lost his baby cheeks years ago. He works out often too, although he barely talks about it (maybe out of fear you’d tease him for being a gym bro). And with the way he’s so adorably awkward,  It’s no surprise really, that every girl friend that you’ve met of his seems to be completely smitten. 

Shaking your head, you snap out of it. It’s dangerous to think of Mark that way, you think. You’ve known him too long.

“My problem? I think you’re the one with the problem here. I’m surprised your hair isn't completely gray by now.”

Mark ignores you, probably mad at the fact you tried to start world food war three with him with a walnut.

“Hey.” you flick at his forehead to get his attention, and he flinches. 

“There’s a party this weekend at Johnny’s fraternity, you should come.” Johnny, being both your long time mutual friend (who’s demeanor is way too nice to fit the stereotypical frat boy image, really) who has since stopped asking Mark out of respect for his “med school grind”. 

“I’m already planning on it,” he responds, and you’re surprised. 

“Since when do you actually accept party invitations?”

“Since yesterday, because I’m tired of Haechan bothering me about it.”

You silently cheer, of course, you expect nothing else from Haechan.

…

“I never knew it was so hard to get booze.”

“It’s not hard if you’re 21.”

Scoffing, you turn your head to face the boy across from you. As if he can feel the burn of your gaze on his forehead, Haechan stops typing on his Macbook and lifts his eyes to meet yours. 

“No shit Sherlock, but last time I checked, we both weren’t 21.”

The sun had set a half an hour ago, and despite having spent the whole afternoon together, you and Haechan have had yet to come up with a way to secure the drinks you promised your friends for tonight’s pregame. With both of you being certified schemers representing your respective friends, you guess it wasn’t that big of surprise that the responsibility was left on both your shoulders. It beat scavenging alone, and spending time with Haechan wasn’t so bad either, when you two weren’t trying to kill each other. 

It was already late, and Haechan had deemed Ubering to the nearest packer store that sold Soju (the sweet sweet liquid of choice) was too much work. You on the other hand, had dismissed that option for a completely different reason. The issue in question was the flimsy, borderline pathetic excuse for a fake ID Haechan planned to use at the packer store. 

“Hey it works!” he protested. “You just act like you’re already legal and they don’t even card you. Easy.”

You roll your eyes as Haechan theatrically reenacts his last trip to the packer store.

“I asked him how he was doing, and he told me school sucks. I say to him, ‘Tell me about it,  thank god this is my last year!” and as if to emphasize his next point, he flicks his wrist in the air, ID snuggled between his index and middle finger. “And I was on my way. No issue at all.”

“That’s because he didn’t even see your fake I.D stupid. He would’ve called you out on your bullshit in an instant.”

Out of all the different options available, you could not fathom why he chose his fake ID to show that from all the places in this world, he was from freaking Hong Kong. There were fifty states to choose from, other English speaking countries, and he chose to pose as an  international student on a student visa. He could most definitely look the part, but after looking at the ID he proudly slaps on the common room lounge desk, you deadpan. The yellowish tint to the card was way too suspicious to be taken seriously.

“I wish we could just ask Mark,” you sigh, and Haechan looks at you like you’re stupid.

“He’s 20, ya dimwit.”

“I know, that’s why I said I wish. You have serious hearing problems.”

Haechan stops typing on his laptop to shoot you an especially heated glare, and you’re reminded again why he’s #2 on your fight list, right above Yebin. First place was taken by the girl you almost actually fought at that one University party a town over, wherever she is you hope she’s having a terrible day.

“If it were not for the rules of this land, you’d be dead right now Haechan.” 

Haechan places his head in his palms, and flutters his eyelashes disgustingly. 

“But you love me.”

“Yes, as much as Mark loves social events. Speaking of Mark, how on earth did you get him to leave his cave?”

“It didn’t take much,” and before you can call him out for lying, he shushes you.

“Okay, maybe a few days of nonstop begging.” Haechan says as his eyes dart across the laptop screen. You raise your eyebrow. “And I might have threatened to release pictures from the photoshoot his mom made him take when he was younger.”

“I expected nothing less from your evil, evil, mind.”

He scoffs. “Hardly. Just resourceful.”

Resourceful he is, because Haechan is the one who ends up finding a plug for the alcohol that night. 

…

A can of four loko, a bottle of soju, and a few shots later, you should be hammered, wasted even. But after 14 months, 2 weeks, and 5 days into college, your tolerance is pretty high, so you’re really just plain drunk. Even so, you’re a little messy (no surprise). You’re not in a state to be trusted with any errands, so you don’t understand why Haechan asks you to pick up Mark along the way to Johnny’s fraternity. 

“Why do I have to do it?” you whine, putting your hand over your forehead, and Haechan only laughs at your dramatic display of despair. 

“Because Johnny messaged me that Mark isn’t there, and there’s no way in hell I’m letting him flake on me this time. ”

You point a finger at him, and he stifles a snort when you’re off by a couple inches. “Letting him flake on me, me, me as in you! It’s not my problem.”

But there’s no use in arguing with Haechan, and you know it. That’s why you find yourself stomping your way up the second floor of Mark’s dormitory like you’re in elementary school again, having just been scolded by your mom and being forced back into your room.

You knock at his door impatiently, and it feels like forever until you hear some shuffling, and see the door knob twist open. To be honest, it’s probably just a few seconds, but time is different when you’re intoxicated.

Before you even see him, it smells faintly of  shampoo and detergent, so you’re not surprised when he opens the door and you see his hair is still half wet from the shower. He’s definitely party ready, and when you mean party ready, he’s wearing the same loose black tee and grey joggers he wears to sleep. His socks don’t match and you try not to laugh, because it would be a bad look for you, to show up intoxicated, and apparently crazy. 

“Oh (y/n), what are you doing here? Oh shit is today Friday? I totally forgot, Haechan is going to kill me-'' He looks at you and then pauses, scrunching up his nose. “Have you been drinking?”

“No.” you say sarcastically, but it definitely falls short of Mark because he looks at you like he does not believe you. Good, because he shouldn’t.

He sighs, and ushers you in his room. It’s dark, with the only light emitting from the little steel lamp on his desk, which is covered with his notes, pencils, a textbook, and some highlighters. When you finally make your way to his bed (with difficulty) he sighs again, and you silently scold yourself for having that mini drinking contest with Haechan. If you thought you could handle your alcohol well, Haechan was an absolute monster. 

You nearly screech when Mark flashes a mini flashlight in your face, and he tells you to calm down before someone thinks he’s committing murder. He holds your face still with his index finger resting on your cheek and his thumb lifting your chin. You try your best not to squint when he tells you to, instead focusing on his face. He’s so close, you can feel his warm breath on your face. If you weren’t already so flushed from drinking, you suspect you’d look beet red now. 

“Well, your pupils still dilate normally, so I don’t think you have alcohol poisoning-”

The world is moving a little, so you plop backwards on his bed— albeit a little harder than expected because he rushes over to you and looks concerned. 

“-but I don’t think that’s the problem here.” he finishes. 

Your eyes are closed, mainly because his bed is really comfy. “I’m here to pick you up.” and as if to emphasize your point, you wildly start pointing in all directions, hoping it would land on him. 

You open your eyes when you feel him grab your finger and turn it thirty degrees to the left, just  stopping at his chest. Your sense of direction must be really bad, because it turns out you were pointing at nothing. 

“I don’t think we’re going anywhere for awhile”

“Noooooo” you wail, and Mark lets go of your hand to sit back down on his desk, and unsurprisingly, begins reading his textbook again. How he is able to focus with you in the background, you don’t know, but it must have taken years of practice.

At this point, you decide to take matters into your own hands. You shove yourself off the bed and grab his arms from behind him. His roller chair scoots a few inches before he stops it.

“You’re not exactly making great case for yourself here”

“Stop making excuses!” 

You aim straight towards the armpits, and you’re confused at the lack of reaction, so you reach over to squeeze his knee. Almost immediately, he crumples over, almost falling off the chair. 

“Can you-” he says mid laugh, “please” he gasps, “Stop that!”

You respond by attacking his other knee, and it’s over. He falls off his chair and you go down with him. The difference is that he recovers quickly, and starts tickling you back in revenge. 

You’re sensitive, so it feels like you’re dying. You try to use his arm as leverage to push yourself up, but next thing you know he’s toppeling over you. You close your eyes and wait for your head to kiss the cold hard floor but it never comes, because Mark's hand cradles your head, breaking the fall.

When you open your eyes, he’s closer than ever before, noses touching. Lips a mere centimetres away and in a weird embrace, you resist the urge to close the distance. 

Mark has always been good looking, especially now, so close to you. You don’t know why you’ve never noticed it before.

When he pulls away he’s flustered, and for the first time, so are you. 

It’s an awkward silence, with you still on the floor as he stands up, rubbing the dusk from his knees. He scratches the back of his head and offers you a hand 

“Let’s head out,” he says.

“Yeah, let’s.” you echo. 

…

Although Haechan berates you for being more than a little late to the party, he’s overjoyed that you somehow managed to show up with Mark. Not that he didn’t have faith in you anyways, he tells you. It’s just that Mark is married to his Biology textbook, and she runs a tight ship. By the time you reached the frat with Mark, you’ve sobered up enough to enjoy yourself normally, 

It’s when you wake up in the morning, that you’re not okay. It’s not okay, because you dreamt of Mark, and that’s weird, because you and Mark were just friends, right? And you always will be. 

It’s not a big deal because friends dream of friends. Dreams are a product of your own desires environment, you tell yourself, it’s perfectly normal because you spend so much time with him.

What is not normal, is when you see Mark the following Monday, and are worried about it. You’re nervous the whole time, and it gets worse when you slide the little watermelon filled tupperware container across the table in apology for last Friday. He likes his watermelon cut up into little cubes, you remembered (why do you remember?), and you avoid his eyes, pushing a stray piece of hair behind your face. 

Mark, oblivious as usual, doesn’t really notice anything until 10 minutes in, as if your lack of rambling surprises him. Munching on the cubes, he asks if you’re okay.

“Yeah, I am.”

No you are not. You are utterly fucked. 

…

“But you need to promise me you won’t judge or make fun of me for it”

“Just say it already, Jesus.”

“It’s just so embarrassing.”

“Oh my god, are you in love with me?”

“No!” 

When placing your hands in your face, Haechan grants mercy on you, patting you on the back instead of teasing you further.

“I don’t know what else could be so important that you need to talk to me in person. Unless…. it’s about Mark?”

His hands stop soothingly rubbing your back and instead starts slapping it, waiting for you to laugh along with him. When he doesn’t get a response he gasps. Turning his head sideways to face you, he pries your fingers apart.

“No fucking way.”

“Right?” you moan.

“I was just joking, but I can’t say I didn’t expect it.”

You remove your hands from your face and look at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Like, you’ve known each other forever. You spend a lot of time together too. Someone was bound to catch feelings eventually.”

You don’t respond, instead choosing to sulk.

“You know I’m right. You just don’t want to admit it because you’re the loser in this situation.”

Right he is, because you’ve been avoiding Mark for the past few weeks like the plague. You’ve told him that you’ve been busy with your final term paper (you’re not, you’re an engineering major why would you have one?), and although he was a little confused, he was probably also a little thankful because the MCAT was only a month away. 

As you tell him about your plight, Haechan listens thoughtfully, “mhming” and “ahh-ing” at all the right places.

“I don’t see how ignoring him helps you at all. I would say to just talk to him about it, but it’s Mark, he probably hasn’t thought about you that way at all.”

“Thanks,” you grumble. “So I’m basically one of the boys.”

“No really, mans might as well be the anemone from Nemo, I’ve never seen him interested in anyone.” Haechan sighs. “This is a tough one.”

“I’m sure I’ll think of something, but I might have to get creative.”

“I’d like to see you try Hyuck.”

…

It’s 9pm Sunday night, and there’s a knock on your door. It’s strange you think, because it’s a Sunday, and it’s a little late to be doing anything.

When you open the door, there he is, Mark Lee in all his 5’9’ glory, with a little bag in hand, in it your favorite milk tea. 

“It’s Sunday.” you say, intelligently. 

Mark just chuckles. “Yes it is, and your point?”

You step aside so he can walk in, and you’re embarrassed at your current state. For once, you’ve finished your assignments early, so you’ve spent the past four hours in your pajamas watching K-dramas and snacking on honey chips. You must look like a bum.

Mark on the other hand, always looks good, even in some old dress slacks, and an old t-shirt with some holes in it. He smells faintly of antiseptic, so he must have just come from a volunteering shift at the hospital. 

“It’s nice of you to drop by,” you poke the straw into the bubble tea. “And thank you for the bubble tea.”

“You’ve been busy recently so I figured you’d need it for the caffeine content, but it’s not like you sleep anyway.” he jokes. “How’s the term paper going?”

“The term paper? Oh right, the term paper. It’s alright,” you lie. “Just a couple of pages left. Beats having to take the MCAT though.”

Mark looks tired, with his hair slightly overgrown and his dark circles hallower than usual. You feel bad—he has a habit of overworking himself; you’re usually there to check on him but lately you haven’t, and he’s kind and thoughtfull enough to bring you something because he thinks you’re stressed.

“Yeah tell me about it,” Mark takes a seat next to you on your bed, head hitting the wall with a soft thump. “It’s going to be all over next week though, I can’t wait. I’ve missed you though.”

Busy silently cursing at yourself for the way your heart flutters at his admission, you forget to respond. Mark frowns, places his hand on your thigh in an attempt to soothe you, and it has the opposite effect—you think you might go into cardiac arrest. 

“Is something wrong?”

“N-no.” you stammer. “Just stressed. ”

Mark makes things worse by leaning in closer, gently placing the back of his hand on your forehead. “You’re kinda hot.”

“I am?”

“Yeah, like I think you may be running a fever.”

He hops off the bed, and rummages around in his little black bag, and pulls out a thermometer. He places a little sleeve on the end, and motions for you to open your mouth. When it beeps, he takes it out of your mouth and looks at the result.

“Your temperature is fine, but you should rest. I’ll see you soon okay?” He pats your head. “Take it easy, I know you’ll do great.”

…

You might not have a term paper, but what you do have is a physics final. 

The desk area is littered with eraser dust, crumpled paper, and half filled styrofoam cups of coffee that have since gotten stale. You swear to god that Physics was a subject meant to torture, not enrich the lives of college students. At this rate, you were seriously debating dropping out to become a stripper. 

Haechan, not sensing your dismay, disrupts your plans to drop out by telling you something that puts a damper on the rest of your day, as if Physics wasn’t doing that already.

“Have you noticed that Mark’s been hanging out a lot with that one girl lately? What’s her name? So-bin, Yee-ben, Ben 10, ”

“Yebin,” you snap. “And don’t ever disrespect Ben 10 like that again. ”

Haechan lifts his hands up, “ I agree she’s a total bitch, but man is she hot.”

“Aren’t you supposed to make me feel better, not worse?” 

Haechan’s face softens and for once in his life, looks a little sorry. “All I’m saying is if you don’t do something soon, someone might do it for you. I overheard her saying something about her and Mark going to spring fling together.”

He’s not wrong, but Mark, at Spring fling? At a Darty? Willingly? His idea of a good time was studying.

“You’re kidding,” you scoff.  “As if he’d be caught dead at something like that.”

“I don’t know (y/n). He doesn’t really have much else to do now that the MCAT is over.”

Right, the MCAT. He took it last week. You mentally slap yourself for not asking how it went. 

“Speak of the devil.” Haechan says quietly, motioning behind you.

There she is through the glass, Yebin, pulling a seat next to Mark, not before sneaking up behind him and planting a fat kiss right on his cheek.

…

Maybe if this were a movie, you’d cry all weekend and he’d make it up to you; But this is real life, so you secretly cry for a week and sulk for the rest of the month, blaming your puffy eyes on seasonal allergies (In real life, Mark can’t make it up to you because he did nothing wrong. He’s also not even aware that you like him, but that’s besides the point).

Despite Haechan’s attempt to convince you that it could’ve been just a friendly kiss, a greeting kiss, a whatever kiss, you insist that you’re done with your little crush, that it had shriveled up and died. Although not so convinced, Haechan drops the subject all together and instead resorts to comforting you in his own way, which mainly just consists of making fun of you about other things.

Mark is a touchy subject, and you’re still avoiding him. Why? You don’t really know. You know it’s not fair to Mark, who is probably very hurt and confused at your lack of communication. Nonetheless, he doesn’t question it, and is so infuriatingly mature with his emotions that you suspect that he even respects it, because he stops texting you after a while. 

You feel bad about stonewalling him, leaving him in the dark, but really, what would you say to him? 

“Sorry-I-haven’t-been-talking-to-you-it’s-just-that-I’m-in-love-with-you-and-I’m-butthurt-that-you-have-a-girlfriend-of-course-it’s-not-really-your-fault-but-”

You shudder at the thought, because it’s just plain embarrassing. 

But really, you’re not the best at expressing your emotions—you’ve never been. Frankly, you’re tired of expressing your emotions because it never got you anywhere. Not with your mom, not with your dad, and definitely not with Yuta, who you dated for a year and half a year just to dump you like you were nothing. 

It’s not worth it, to put your emotions on the line for anyone, not anymore. You locked your heart away a long time ago, and you were a fool to let it come out last time, and you like to think you learn from your mistakes.

At least, that’s what you think, until you return home one Sunday night from the library and see a little cup of your favorite milk tea at the door, with a straw neatly balanced on the top. 

…

When spring fling rolls around, you still haven’t spoken to Mark, and if your friends catch on, they don't mention it. They know by now that you prefer to deal with things alone, to digest them for what they are and then promptly moving on—you know, like processing a death. 

It doesn’t really matter, you think. You and Mark have always been friends, and will always be friends. Nothing more, nothing less. And when you get over yourself, things will be fine. 

But really, how can it be fine when your whole world stops every time Mark looks at you?

You try not to dwell on it, even now weeks later. You’re busy getting ready to go out, blotting your lipstick on some tissue paper in your friend Yuna’s bathroom. 

“(y/n), you look amazing.”

When you turn to look at yourself in the mirror she’s right; The mascara you put on your lashes really brings out the color of your eyes, and your skin (thanks to Yuna’s highlighter compact) is literally glowing. You feel really pretty.

You turn to smile at her. “Thanks to you.” you tell her, and she gets bashful, pushing you out of the seat and ushering you out the door. You make it down stairs no problem, but she calls you as soon as you walk out the door.

“Yes, I have blotting papers with me, and no, I am not dating Haechan I’ve told you thousands of times-”

“What about me?” 

You turn around to find Haechan leaning against the dormitory wall, already waiting. 

Embarrassed, you tell her you need to go and hang up the phone. 

“How long have you been standing here? Hopefully not too long.” You apologize, but he assures you it’s all right.  

“Are you sure your friends are fine with you leaving them early to go with me?”

“Yes Haechan, they’re just happy that I have someone to go with.” you sigh. “Almost too happy.” 

He laughs, after looking at you, he pauses. “You look nice.”

“You do too, Hyuck.”

If you didn’t know any better, you would say he seems embarrassed at your compliment. 

When you walk into the venue, you’re not surprised at how spacious it is. You’re used to your school going all out, from the kale salads and now, spring fling. They might as well call it spring semi-formal, because everyone is dressed their best. 

You see Johnny at the end of the punch table, and he waves, motioning for you two to join him. 

“And my favorite couple,” he greets you two, and you almost smack him upside down the head. 

“Relax, I’m just kidding.” and he leans in for a hug. “How are you (y/n), I haven’t seen you in a second.” 

“I’m good, just been super busy. You were so right, Professor Kim has been really keeping me on my toes in Physics 430,” you laugh. “Every time I walk into the classroom I can feel my life flash through my very eyes.”

He laughs, and you all laugh with him. Johnny tends to have that kind of effect on people.

“How’s Mark?” he asks, and you cringe. “It’s been a while.”

You laugh nervously  “ I haven’t seen him in a while either.”

“Oh really. Don’t you see each other every week?”

“Well we used to,” you panic. “Just not anymore because, you know, I-”

“Because you’ve been so busy,” Haechan finishes.

Johnny gives you two a strange look but continues talking anyway.

“Well that’s life. Poor boy’s been studying for the MCAT like his rent is due tomorrow.”

“More like everyday.” Haechan snickers. 

Johnny doesn’t hesitate to flame Haechan for his insolence, and begins teasing him for almost failing Calc II (Calc II was kind of hard you admit but that is an admission that will die with you), meanwhile, you’re whisked away by Yuna and her entourage. You glance at Johnny and Haechan, who bid you farewell with a nod of their heads.

It’s fun, you’re having a great time dancing, and eating mini hot dogs on a toothpick (you guess your university had to cut corners somewhere). When Roxanne plays, you and Yuna go wild, nearly knocking over a waiter over with a silver tray. You have so much fun, that you forget that Mark Lee exists until you make eye contact across the floor. 

It's no surprise that he’s with Yebin, who looks annoyingly prettier than usual, with her makeup all done and satin dress. She’s pulling him in the opposite direction, but Mark seems to pay no mind, instead staying in place, looking at you. A moment passes, and you see him excusing himself. When he begins to head your direction. You panic. 

Before you can even react, you feel an arm wrap around your waist, pulling you close. When you finally turn to see who it is, you’re nose to nose with none other than Haechan.

“What are you doing?” 

“Just go along with it,” Haechan whispers through his teeth. Your hands are pressed against his chest, and he grabs one of your arms, placing it around his neck.

“Go along with what? Have you lost your mind-” 

Before you can finish your sentence, his lips press against yours and your mind goes blank. He tastes like peppermint and aftershave, with his lips soft in the center and just a little chapped around the edges.  

When you two finally part, Mark is nowhere to be found, and you don’t know how to feel. 

“Haechan I-” you stammer. “I need to go.” 

You hurry off, and he doesn’t follow you. 

…

When you’re outside, it’s  cold; the air is brisk and definitely doesn’t help steady your breathing, it only makes it harder. It’s a lot to process, Mark, Yebin, Haechan. It’s a lot, and you feel like you’re in emotional overdrive, with all the feelings you’ve been trying to keep in for the past few months coming back to bite you.

You sit down at the edge of the fountain outside the venue, and you nearly get soaked. It misses you by mere inches, with the ceramic fish looking at you almost mockingly. You don’t care, with all the thoughts running through your head right now, you think you might go insane. 

You don’t know how long you’ve been sitting there at the fountain when you feel something wrap around you, warm like it was just taken out of the dryer. It smells familiar, like cologne and faintly of antiseptic—it smells like Mark.

You don’t look at him when he sits down next to you, legs open, hands crossed. And he doesn’t look at you. It’s radio silent.

“So you and Haechan, huh.”

“So you and Yebin.” you echo. 

Mark looks at you for the first time, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Oh that.” He shuffles awkwardly. “I don’t really like her like that.”

Your head raises in surprise, and you face each other for the first time in months.

“I thought you guys had a thing.”

Mark scratches the back of his head. “Well we do, but it’s just in her head” he says, and you can’t help but laugh. “She came onto me last week, so I finally set things straight.” Noticing your reaction, he just shakes his head. 

 “I don’t think it worked though,” he adds.

“I would think, you’ve always been too nice for your own good.” 

“I just didn’t want to hurt her feelings, you know?” he murmurs. “I feel terrible.”

“You’re not a terrible person just because you don’t like someone back.”

“Maybe not, but I believe not wanting you and Haechan to be together does.”

It takes a moment for his words to register within you, and even after you process them, you’re not sure what to say.

“We don’t like each other like that.” you interrupt him.

Mark looks visibly confused. “Then you and Haechan aren’t??” his voice falters.

“No more than you and Yebin. I promise you it’s not what it seems like.” you tell him and it finally clicks. You’d have to thank the idiot later. Right after you slap him.

Mark doesn’t question it, not even when you start crying. You don’t question it either, unsure of why you’re crying. 

“You’re so stupid,” you sniffle. “I’ve liked you for so fucking long.” 

Mark pulls out his pocket square to gently wipe the tears from your face, and places his hand on top of yours. 

“You’re ridiculous, you know that? You could have just said something.” his says softly

“I didn’t want to ruin anything. We’ve always just been friends.”

“I think we’ve always been just more than that.” he says, leaning in, hands cup your face gently. 

 “Just took some of us a little longer to realize.”

....

“That was very nice of you,” Johnny says. 

“Yeah. Very nice.” Haechan echos. 

“How long has it been, that you’ve liked her for? Three years?”

“Two going on three.” 

Johnny lets out a low whistle, and looks down at the younger boy worriedly. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

Haechan glances at you and Mark through the glass, outside the venue. With Mark whispering in your ear and you laughing, you seem so happy; happier than you’ve ever been with him.

“Yeah, I am. More than okay.”

[designmorphine]

@negarkalantar, Associate Professor at California College of Arts, will be delivering a lecture on the intersection of architecture, science, and engineering at the Computational Design: NEXT 9.0 conference. - Join now, link in bio or: https://parametric-architecture.com/computational-design-next-9-0/ - Event details: Date: May 7-8, 2021 (Saturday & Sunday) Time: 12:30 - 20:30 UTC Where: ZOOM Online - She is the co-director of the Digital Craft Lab at the California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco, as well as the co-founder of the transLAB, where she bridges current advances in additive manufacturing technology with large-scale structures. Additionally, she has received several awards, including the Dornfeld Manufacturing Vision Award 2018, a National Science Foundation grant, an Autodesk Technology Center Grant, and an X-Grant from the Texas A&M President’s Excellence Fund for developing sustainable materials for 3-D printed buildings. . . . . . . @cdnext @parametric.architecture @designmorphine @ekimroyrp @pa.next @hamithz @thepaacademy #arch #construction #3dmodeling #sidefx #structure #furniture #3dmodeling #artist #parametric #parametricdesign #parametricarchitecture #computationaldesign #computational #computation #grasshopper3d #rhino3d #rhinoceros3d #generativedesign #sketchup #design #art #architecture #generativeart #superarchitects #next_top_architects #architecture_hunter #architecturestudent #3dmodel #archviz #cdnext (at 𝓣𝓱𝒆 𝓤𝒏𝒊𝓿𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆) https://www.instagram.com/p/CcceQKXuGkN/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[sapphirecrook]

The Manifestation of Monty

((Really should've just called it the Caldwellverse or something. Oh well.))

“By all accounts it's a faulty boot.” The old man sits in his chair like he’s about to drop an evil monologue. From the coat to the goggles to the thick science gloves. Besides him the femme fatale to pull the trigger. The lab coat barely hides her confidence.

“And yet he’s working fine? I mean the door’s stuck, but that’s miles better than Monty himself taking damage.” Her hand slaps the big heavy door, and I’m surprised she ain’t feeling the ring in her fingers. That thing could cut a watermelon in half.

“Now, since we all know I’m the cool cat ready to bat, how about we undo the loops and let me see if this lovely tail can work its magic?”

“Is he supposed to start off this irreverent?’

The old man gives a shrug, despite him knowing the deal. “I eased up on him. It made sense. Offsets Freddy’s attitude nicely, I say.”

“Darlings, aren’t you forgetting lil ol’ me?”

The two stared at each other like I just asked for the last treat on the plate. Uncertainty and doubt ain’t the cornerstones of a healthy first meet and greet.

“I got nothing against you doing it as long as you gotta. Being the chiefs of the technology departments, I’d prefer you don’t got it out for my guts. More than you should.”

“Like I said, he’s doing fine.”

Lady D tapped her heels. It took a bit of effort, but wowwee, she dresses like she’s got a party to go to afterwards. Who wears a skirt that short to a place full of metal? Then again, technicians are more the computer type. Probably only here for show.

“Last time we almost had a major accident. In fact, we definitely did.” Her face looks away from the both of us. Unwilling to look either in the eye, and a distinct loosening of her crossed arms. Lady’s off her balance. “I’d prefer not to die this close to the end?”

“Alright, I guess we’ll just do the rest like this? If you’re that concerned, I’ll handle the questions.”

“Mind if I say it’s quite the mind trip to be sittin’ this close yet be treated so far. The least you can do is stand around the corner n’ pretend.”

“Uh, oh. Yea. The door.” Her hand paws at the lacking door. Then she looked at the guy, who gave a thumbs up. “Wow, really? He’s just fine?”

“It’s easy to be fine when you’re the shine of the sublime.”

“Fine being a relative term. Like I said, this is… really coming on strong.”

“Nothing we can do without a lot of wet work.” He knew the truth; ain’t no easy way to take down a rockin’ gator a notch. “Besides, as I keep saying, Freddy’s the face. And his manners are exquisite.”

“Okay, one last thing. I know you’re like, a hundred years old… for the love of god tell me he’s not a sexist pig.”

“Chill, lady D, I got nothing but manners and respect for the fans, the crowds, the crew and the rest.” I try to gesture with my hands and fingers, and even my feet. And of course, lower that lovely shade with a flick of my head to give her a wink.

“His language might be a bit crude, but like the others his heart’s in the right place. Moreover, he can learn in time. It’s not like they’re… static. And we’re not opening for months, he can lose the edge in conversations with the staff and board.”

“That’s my problem. The board’s not all men. If he insults one of the ladies we’re…”

“Hey hey hey, who’s going around spreading lies I ain’t got love for the guys and the gals? If I wasn’t all tied up I’d be pulling you two apart for a little time out.”

Old geezer gives the lady another big thumb’s up. Now she’s forced to concede. Just because I got a tongue big enough to eat a whole sunday doesn’t mean it’s a flag in the breeze. The lady looks at the maintenance console’s screen. Makin’ me realize I haven’t even given the room much thought.

Ain’t much to see though. The place is barren, lit like an abandoned stage and there’s just too many dang props. Nothing moving, nothing flashing, boring as a mile long stretch of concrete. Air’s so cold it’s a great place to age a few wines.

Besides that, too many tarps. Metal racks. Ugh, the place just screams a good thrashing, but I’m pretty sure that’d involve breaking my spare backs.

“He’s nominal and past the critical period. Can I let him go?”

“With that set of teeth?”

“What’s wrong with these shiny teeth and me?”

“Considering Foxy tried to bite my head off, I’d be appropriate if the alligator attempted something similar.”

“Actually I’ve significantly reduced the actuators on most decorated motors. Which includes the mouth. They can all pop bottle caps, although unlike humans their teeth should be able to resist such tricks indefinitely.”

“Mhm, just bring over a Fazzy Pop and I can show ya how a superstar does it.”

Her hands went up. Not like a cheer or encore. Nah, just the raw admission of defeat.

“Fine. Fine. Fine fine fine. I guess that puts us at the whole four.”

“Hey, uh, just kinda curious, what did happen to ol’ Showstopper? The nerd alright?”

Ain’t it quaint, having a whole history in your head you know is fake? Like learning a script, but never recalling reading it. Feels almost like a dang magic trick, and I ain’t no rabbit.

“Oh yes. We’ve had to… replace Foxy.” The old man had to deliver the bad news. By the looks of the two of them, it wasn’t something great either. “So the keytar player is now a delightful young lady called Roxanne.”

“Roxy. Roxy Wolf. There’s not a kid in the world who is going to call her by her full name.”

“Kids with manners might.”

“Either or, I want out the door.”

The mechanics popped. I jumped up and gave the two of them a few good poses. Too bad there ain’t no cameras readied, or the primo shots would’ve made a great collector’s item.

“Montgomery Gator, at your service.”

“See, even he uses his full name!”

“Caldwell, that’s cute. It was for effect, right?”

I lean in, dip the shades and give them the killer wink. No need to play favorites. Except if that favorite is the cold hard facts.

“It’s Monty for pals. And I’m sure we’re all friends here.”

“Caldwell, take him out for a spin. If he says anything not allowed by corporate sensitivity policy, fix it.”

The stage. My stage. What a beautiful place. Raising plateaus, holograms, the lights, the sounds. It ain’t ready yet, however its power is there. Size, oomf, the killer speakers. I can already hear the fans and the deafening blasts of the speakers.

“This is where it’ll all take place.”

“The first big show~”

“Unfortunately only for a select crowd of investors and media personnel.” The old man’s got gusto. I didn’t expect him to make all those stairs, and he’s still standing tall and proud. I wonder if he could lug me around without putting out that back of his.

“Hey, cool C, it ain’t about the numbers. That debut is gonna show the world I got every thing it takes to make this work. The papers are gonna drown in praise and they’ll be lining up before opening~”

“Your enthusiasm is commendable. While this puts the hard part behind us, of getting you operational… I’m still nervous. That show is pretty much the last major hurdle before we have let.”

“Mind I ask, Caldwell, what exactly is this worry?’

“Does this place look cheap? I had to push to get you on the docket. Robots were planned, but I need minor changes for… you to get here. If that show goes wrong it’ll be hell to pay.”

“Ya got Monty on your side. And ol’ Fredbear. Not to mention Chica’s magic fingers. And I’m sure that lady Roxy’s gonna throw it right out of the park.”

“That’s not all. The stage is… involved. The lightning, the holograms, the speakers. You’re not the only point of failure, Monty. At this point the band is locked in and my worry is everything else.”

While I’d normally try to perk them up, I couldn’t exactly disagree. The whole thing, in its half assembled state, looked like a dang dump. The big arms not even unwrapped, the speakers not even wired. Makes a gator appreciate all the little things it takes to put a laser light show together. Not that I couldn’t hold my own without it, but a first impression…

“This is intercom test number 5. This will play when it’s thirty, fifteen, ten, five and two minutes before showtime. Insure that all non-attraction transit locations, restaurants and assorted miscellaneous areas receive this message at the mandatory minimums according to the blueprints. Thank you, and good luck.”

“Is it me, or does that sound like an invitation?”

“Your instruments aren’t here, Monty.”

“Hey, hey. Who needs instruments when you got me, my pipes and these fingers?”

I show the guy what I can do. I hustle past the industrial equipment and heft myself on stage. Ah. Home. I can see the whole… I mean, it’s more a loose suggestion on of an audience. I can see the seats, the crowds, the lights, all in my head.

“Hello, everybodaaaay! Tonight it’s rock and roll patrol with the gator with the noise fabricator!”

The old man hustles to a prop up stool. It’s a tough crowd, a lean crowd, and a crowd seated suboptimally and without refreshments. Luckily, ain’t no Fazbear to apologise n’ interrupt. No Chica’s gut to growl, no Showstopper to spout nutri…

Oh.

“You alright, Monty? Is the stage creaking?” He screams from down below. Frick, did the glasses not hide that? Old man’s got eyes with goggles like those.

“Nah, no fuss! Just gettin’ used to… the lack of cheerin’. Anyway, ya’ll ready to hit it up? Today I got somethin’ real special for ya. A lovely solo of the organ pipes, a call from the rock dimension, the raw fury of the earth’s deepest volcanos!”

My vision gave out. I saw something. I knew it for sure. Some kind of ghostly shape between two tarped up sets of scaffolding. It looked like… the gang? Something in my head disagreed. Like it was dealing with clones and unable to piece the bits.

“Monty?”

I hadn’t even noticed I feel down. On one knee, like I was about to declare the crowd my wife. Holding my head like I took an frying pan to it.

“Some kinda system…”

“Monty, speak to me like the error logs. This is important.”

“Anomalous FRS behavior detected. Chica. Freddy. Foxy. Monty. Detected, mismatch with local positioning system. What’s all that mean, doc?”

“That your facial recognition software mistook some features here for the others.”

“No, wait. I saw myself too!”

“That’s what I mean. There’s no mirrors here, yet, and most things are covered in sawdust and regular dust.” Caldwell took a good moment thinking it over. “There’s not really a draft here. It makes sense the FRS is acting up a little. Luckily, it’s an add-on module to your eyes, so we can patch that problem if it comes up again.”

“What do you mean, again?”

“It might’ve been a one-off issue. Sometimes bits get flipped from background radiation. Just like people and their deja vu moments.”

Yea, gotcha, sure thing doc. Hey. Where is the gang, anyway?”

“Rockstar Row. It’s the most finished part besides the staging area, so they’ve been making themselves at home.” He gestured to the back of the room. “If you want, we can say hello and get you situated as well.”

“I’d love to see the rest of the gang. And this new lady Roxy~”

“I don’t know how far you’ll get with that attitude… let’s go. I’m sure it’ll be lovely to have the whole band together and discuss a few things…”

[timep3tals]

Since I’m such a slut for Iron Dad & Spidey-Son field trip fics, I decided to procrastinate my homework by creating a detailed list for clearance levels for the badges given out by SI because I’m sick of the same Alpha, Beta, etc. or just the numbers.

It’s too basic. In this household, we are Extra.

Shoutout to @riseuplikeglitterandgold​ for watching me go down a rabbit hole and not attempt to stop me whatsoever.

Please read this and use this, I spent too much time on this for it to go to waste.

Clearance Levels 

Visitor: 

Construction (1) - Not often utilized, as SI is fully completed, but when needed, will have a badge that grants them access to the construction zone only. Construction is entirely outsourced.

Tours (2) - Discarded after use; at all exits, there’s a box for discarding the badge. It is automatically deactivated once it passes through the bin, and is shredded before being recycled into new tour badges.

Educational (2.1) - One of the lowest levels of access to the building; often linked to the tour guides badge, and are unable to access any room the tour guide has not swiped into.

Science (2.2) - These tours are guided throughout the majority of the labs, often for parties interested in becoming an employee at SI. Can be more specific to a certain field, and will usually be conducted by interns-turned-tour guides as they move up through the ranks in SI.

Press (3) - Only has access to conference rooms, and are often allotted one badge per press company, which they pick up at the front desk at given times depending on the press conference schedule, as decided by the PR division.

Buyers (4) - Are considered an upper-level visitor badge, but mostly just for show to make the buyers feel important/be more likely to purchase from SI. Have relatively limited access, and are only shown products/labs that pertain to what they’re looking at purchasing.

Partners (5) - Are not very often used, as partners often meet off-site, or are communicating largely through email with either the Board of Directors, or Pepper. Have the most access out of all visitors badges, but is still usually directed by/connected to a tour guide’s badge.

Ex(s): Visitor 2.1, Visitor 5, Visitor 1

Maintenance: Access is often changed as needed. No subsections under maintenance; FRIDAY is in direct control of badges and will allocate where they are needed as work orders are processed. No attached number.

Ex(s): Maintenance

Janitor: Much the same as maintenance. There are specific crews of “spill/break/chemical teams”, but those requests are again processed by FRIDAY. No attached number, though an implied 1.

Lab Clean-Up (2) - Labs are largely kept clean and handled by scientists, but every Sunday there is a deep clean of all floors/surfaces. These janitors have higher access, as most of the janitors are kept locked out of labs for their own safety. Have to have special training.

Ex(s): Janitor, Janitor 2

Interns:

Business (1-9) - Any intern under any division in the corporate offices (financial, PR, HR, etc.) Level depends on sector/experience and where the intern is initially placed.

Lab (10-19) - Often the “janitors” of each lab throughout the week. Are allowed to work on small projects with a chosen mentor (usually Head Scientist). This is the largest, most diverse group, and their access depends on which lab they’re placed in (determined by prior experience, collegic level, etc.) Apply through Operations Management, not HR; no high school students are accepted as the work they’re surrounded by can often be dangerous. No interns are placed in High-Level Labs.

Ex(s): Intern - PR 5, Intern - Financial 8, Intern - Marketing 2, Intern - Lab 15, Intern - Lab 10

Tour Guides:

Press (1) - Technically classified under PR; is solely there to guide press to the designated location and manage traffic during conferences.

Educational (2) - Typically beginning level tour guides; still expected to know as much about the company as a tour guide for partners would.

Science (3) - Has to have intimate knowledge of the workings on each lab; usually coordinates with Head Scientists to stay updated on each lab. Often has the least amount of tours, and typically will have another job/duty elsewhere.

Business (4) - Mostly for corporation heads to come and tour the business portion of SI. Small business/first time business owners are encouraged to take these tours so they could see an example of an effective work environment/procedures.

Partnerships (5) - Has intimate knowledge of the going-abouts in all labs. They are also aware of some financial statistics in regards to new/upcoming projects, as well as ongoing projects. Out of all tour guides, these guides have the greatest access to the building. These guides also lead the buyer tours as well.

Ex(s): Guide 5, Guide 2

Financial: (1-7)

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) (7) - Head officer that has primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financial reporting. The CFO is also responsible for analysis of data, but has the option, and often will, to delegate it to others in the financial sector.

There’s probably a lot of other jobs in this, but it’s unimportant and I do not possess that sort of energy.

Ex(s): Financial 7 (only applicable to the CFO), Financial 2

Public Relations: (1-7) There’s probably a lot of jobs, but it’s unimportant and I do not possess that sort of energy. Ex: Social Media Manager, PR Specialist, Spokesperson, etc. (I’m of the opinion they created a section specifically to help handle whatever it was that Tony said this time. Official title: Owner Management. Unofficial title: Tony’s Bullshit Cover-Up Specialists.)

Ex(s): PR 4

Marketing: (1-7) There’s probably a lot of jobs, but it’s unimportant and I do not possess that sort of energy. Ex: Designers, Web Content Writer, Supply Chain Analysts, etc.

Ex(s): Marketing 5

Human Resources: (1-7) There’s probably a lot of jobs, but it’s unimportant and I do not possess that sort of energy. Ex: Compensation and benefits managers, Training and development specialists, Employment, recruitment and placement specialists, Human resources information system (HRIS) analysts, etc.

Ex(s): HR 6

Board of Directors: Despite being one of the highest positions in SI, they have extremely limited access. This clearance level is mostly restrained to the upper level offices and meeting rooms, but can have special access granted to visit labs, if absolutely necessary. No attached number.

Ex(s): Board Member

Operations Management: 

Hiring Managers (1)  - These managers directly oversee hiring of all lab personnel, including interns. 

Inspectors (2) - Inspectors handle all safety precautions/procedures in all labs in SI. Are often updating rules and regulations in order to best protect all personnel and equipment.

Lab Overseers (3) - Are who Head Scientists report to. Overseers are then to report their findings to the Head of Research and Development in a succinct manner. Are one of the last lines of defense when it comes to arising issues.

Project Managers (4) - Their job corresponds directly with the Principal Investigator and the financial & marketing division to help get finished products out into the market. Often help oversee manufacturing of said products at the different plants across the planet.

Ex(s): Operations 3, Operations 1

Research and Development:

Low-Level Labs (1-15) - Low level of risk. Most often handle coding/computer sciences/refining formulas sent down from some of the upper level labs.

Research Assistants (1-3) - Hand selected by the Principal Investigator from the top universities across the nation to help with research. Found generally at conferences hosted by SI at universities.

Graduate Student (3-5) - Single student from a graduate program, also hand selected. Typically have worked on projects in SI before.

Post-Doctoral (6-9) - Single student from a post-doctoral program. Prior SI experience is required for this position, and must present a thesis project based off outside research in order to maintain position.

Principal Investigator (10-12) - Previously Post-Doctoral, generally, but the position can be earned through impressing the Head of R&D at conferences/presenting thesis work or previous research on a specific topic.

Head Scientist (13-15) - Manager of funding for project, and overseer of the work being produced by the team. Doesn’t typically involve themselves in actual research, but is more the manager to maintain structure/order in lab and ensure work is flowing smoothly.

Ex(s): LLab 14, LLab 3

Mid-Level Labs (16-30) - Mid level risk. Performs higher risk sciences, more along the lines of a chemistry lab. Tests different types of products for higher efficiency.

Research Assistants (16-19)

Graduate Student (19-22)

Post-Doctoral (22-25)

Principal Investigator (25-38)

Head Scientist (28-30)

Ex(s): MLab 25, MLab 19

High-Level Labs (30-45) - High level of risk. Handles all new and volatile materials, and is the most involved in the newest products, etc. on the market. Requires highest grades/performances/experience/etc.

Research Assistants (30-33) 

Graduate Student (34-36) 

Post-Doctoral (37-39) 

Principal Investigator (40-42)

Head Scientist (43-45) 

Ex(s): HLab 43, HLab 30

Head of R&D: (All Access) Tony Stark. Oversees all divisions and labs. Spearheads the creation of new tech and development in the company, and is expected to continue to expand SI’s reach into new areas of science and technology.

Ex(s): You Know Who I Am

Avenger: (Residential: Semi-Access) No associated number. One of the most lucrative badges, only granted to Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Thor Odinson, and a few select others. Most have been deactivated following the events of the Civil War. Typically allowed access to all floors (though entry to labs was not granted unless necessary), the residential living spaces, and the training room.

Ex(s): Avenger, Residential: Semi-Access

Remaining Badges (All Access) - Granted only to James Rhodes and Peter Parker (Peter, although classified as Avenger, will be announced as Personal Intern, as per his request). 

Ex(s): Avenger, Residential: All Access, Personal Intern: All Access

CEO: (All Access) A lovely Miss Pepper Potts. Her job is kind of a given, I don’t think an explanation is necessary. Also I’m tired.

Ex(s): Virginia Potts

[mystical-flute]

Home is Wherever I'm With You (ch. 6)

FFN || AO3 || Ko-Fi

“Last chance to back out, bud,” Neal said, glancing over at Henry as he stood near the door of their hotel room. “You’re sure you’re okay with us moving here?”

Henry nodded, grinning. “Positive, Dad! It’ll be a new adventure, like you and Mom always talked about.”

Emma couldn’t help but grin slightly, even if there was a knot in her stomach that threatened to make her scream that they were going back to Boston and to forget this little town. It would have been an adjustment to not having Audrey and Snoopy around, but they could have made it work - right?

But Emma didn’t say anything, only giving Neal a quick peck on the lips. “Be careful, don’t rush yourself getting everything packed.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ve already emailed a few friends to help me out,” Neal said, squeezing her hand before ruffling Henry’s hair. “Good luck, listen to your mom, and don’t start complaining about your teacher before you’ve given them a chance, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I won’t,” Henry said with a roll of his eyes.

“I mean it, moving is a big deal. We don’t want to start off on the wrong foot.”

“Especially in a small town like this,” Emma grumbled, before sighing. “C’mon kid. You’re lucky the superintendent was willing to meet with us on a Sunday.”

She gave Neal another quick kiss before heading out with Henry.

The school complex seemed enormous, although Emma supposed that’s what happened in these small towns - they didn’t have to travel miles from school to school because there weren’t a ton of shops and houses in the way.

She was surprised to see a woman standing at the top step, waiting for them.

“Good morning! You must be Mrs. Cassidy,” she said with a wide smile. “And this must be Henry.”

“Ms. Jackson, right?” Emma said as Henry gave a nervous wave. “Thank you for meeting with us on a Sunday.”

“Please, call me Olivia. And it’s no trouble. It’s not often we get new students enrolled here, so this is really exciting for us!” Olivia opened the door, guiding them inside. “Come right on in and we’ll get you set up. When we’re done with Henry’s schedule and the other paperwork I’ll give you a tour.”

“Sounds great,” Emma hummed, glancing around. It seemed like any other school she’d been in. A little older, even than the Boston schools Henry and Audrey attended, but it was that same sickly-sweet charming that the rest of Storybrooke seemed to have.

Olivia’s office seemed normal though, and Emma felt herself relax slightly as she began rapidly typing on her computer.

“Alright then, Henry. I received your records a few minutes ago from Boston - ”

“That quickly?” Emma interrupted. “Sorry, I just didn’t expect them to be working on a Sunday.”

Olivia shrugged. “When something like this pops up, sometimes the system actually moves like we want it to. Anyway, his records and notes from his teachers indicate he’s a fan of art, is that right?”

Henry nodded. “It’s my favorite class. And I was in a special art camp this summer.”

“That’s wonderful, Henry! I think I have an opening in the perfect class.” A few more clicks of her keyboard, the sound of a printer, and she was sliding a schedule across the desk. “You’ll be in Miss Blanchard’s class. She does lots of art projects during her lessons to help students learn in a unique way.”

“We met her yesterday!” Henry chirped. “She seemed really nice.”

Emma couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of relief, knowing Henry would be with Mary-Margaret. “She did. She was volunteering at the hospital when we brought Audrey in.”

“Oh! Yes, that’s right, I heard about Audrey’s return. It’s a miracle, really. She’s been gone as long as I can remember…” Olivia trailed off, seemingly lost in thought, before the bright smile returned as she reached into her desk. “So here’s some information on the schools, and a map for Henry in case he needs it. You can find the pieces for the uniform pretty much anywhere, so don’t worry about that. Although, I will need his size for the sweater.”

Henry soured a little at the mention of a uniform.

“He’s a medium,” Emma said.

Olivia nodded, rising to her feet. “I’ll grab one out of storage while we’re on our tour, if you’re ready?”

“Let’s do it.”

“The main menu for lunch rotates every day, and we’re lucky to have a local farmer that donates much of the produce we use,” Olivia explained as they wandered past a display of science fair projects. “Kids are welcome to eat inside or outside, weather permitting, and we have monitors in both areas.”

“That’s cool! We weren’t allowed to eat lunch outside in Boston,” Henry explained.

Emma couldn’t help but raise a brow. “How’d you swing the farmer donating produce to the school?”

“Well, it helps that he’s married to be one of our teachers,” Olivia explained with a laugh. “Daphne teaches high school, so maybe in a few years Henry will be in her class. Or maybe Audrey. I’m going to be taking her schedule and information to the hospital later.”

“I can take it to her, if you want. Henry and I are going to the hospital later this afternoon,” Emma offered.

Olivia hummed, tapping her finger against her cheek. “Well, since you are technically listed as Audrey’s parent on her school records, that will be fine. I’ll get her schedule and information settled when we head back to the office. Do you happen to know what size she wears?”

“Sounds like a plan. And she’s a medium as well.”

“I’ll get her sweater when we grab Henry’s. Miss Blanchard’s room is - oh, it looks like she’s here. That’s strange,” Olivia frowned as they approached the open classroom door. “Mary-Margaret?”

Something thudded to the ground, and there was a startled yelp.

“Superintendent Jackson! I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you were here too.”

“I’m showing Mrs. Cassidy and her son around… what brings you here?”

“I’ve been looking for my credit card. I tore my apartment apart but it’s nowhere to be found. So I thought I would check here.”

Olivia blinked. “Oh, I see. I’ll run the security tapes and see if anything’s come up. Nothing has been turned in at the Lost and Found, but that doesn’t mean no one has it.”

“Thank you, Olivia. I appreciate it.”

Emma kept a hand on Henry’s shoulder as they lingered in the doorway. “Hi, Mary-Margaret, I don’t know if you remember - ”

Mary-Margaret smiled slightly. “You’re the family from the hospital. What brings you to the schools though?”

“You’re my new teacher,” Henry announced, glancing around the classroom. “Which one is going to be my desk?”

“I’m - sorry?” Mary-Margaret asked, stepping back as Henry pushed further into the room. “His new teacher?”

Emma sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Sorry about that. We’re uh, moving to Storybrooke. He was put in your class.”

“Oh! Well come on in then. I’ll get you caught up on what we’re learning about. Henry, this will be your desk right here,” she said, guiding Henry to a desk near the window. “I’ve been teaching them how to build birdhouses. It helps with building empathy and their math skills.”

“Combining art and math. I wish I had a teacher like you when I was growing up. Maybe I would actually like math,” Emma joked.

Mary-Margaret gave her a weak smile. “Math isn’t my favorite subject either, but just know if Henry finds he’s struggling, the high school has a great tutoring program.”

“You guys sure thought of everything,” Emma remarked.

“Well, we figured it’d be a good way for the older kids to earn a little credit, and help the younger students out. It’s also part of the after-school program.”

Emma smiled. “That all sounds great. It’s really making me feel better that Henry’s still going to get a good education, even if we’re not in Boston.”

“Storybrooke is… like a fairytale, Mrs. Cassidy. We may be small, but we prioritize education,” Olivia explained. “Shall we continue the tour?”

Why did her phrasing sound so odd to Emma? Still, she managed a smile. “Sounds good. C’mon kid.”

They saw the playground, the computer lab, and the library before Olivia led them to a small shop area. “And here we are. Two medium Storybrooke sweaters.” They were presented as if they were made of gold, which had Emma biting back a laugh as she took them. “We’ll just get Audrey’s paperwork all settled and that’ll be it. Unless you had any further questions?”

Emma wracked her brain. “No, I think that’s it. But I’ll contact you if I think of anything.”

“Fantastic,” Olivia said, returning to the office and setting up the same paperwork and schedule for Audrey. “It was very nice to meet you, Mrs. Cassidy. We’ll see you tomorrow at 8:30 sharp then, Henry?”

“Yes Miss Jackson.”

Emma guided him out of the office, hearing Olivia answer a phone call as they disappeared down the hall.

“Lacey, what’s up? Yeah I can…”

---

Madalena was going to kill Rumplestiltskin if she ever got out of here.

No. When she got out of here. Because she would get out of here, of course. She was the Dark Queen Madalena after all! She could get out of here on her own… even if she had failed so far and she had no idea exactly how long she had even been trapped in this godforsaken book.

Her Handsome Hero. What a dumb name for a book. What a ridiculous idea for a plot.

If she had to watch Gideon the Great cut a spider in half one more time, she was going to scream.

And she had screamed multiple times already.

The worst part of living in a book was there being no plot for Madalena. The author hadn’t put a Queen Madalena in it, so she was relegated to being in the back of crowd scenes, completely ignored and unable to do anything to end the sieges that plagued this village.

Not that she wanted to be a hero, of course. No, Madalena just wanted to save her own skin and had been caught in the crossfire one too many times.

“Fear not, Duchess Prudence, I, Gideon, shall slay the evil Sorceress!” the hero of the story says, dramatically flourishing his hands.

Madelena rolled her eyes and made a face. Just once, she’d like to be able to turn Gideon or one of the other townspeople into a toad, or a dog, or something. Anything to make this more bearable.

“Madalena?” a voice suddenly said from above. That wasn’t right, and suddenly everything froze. “I don’t recall you being in the story before.”

“Hello?!”

Why could she move? Who was that voice? It was new, didn’t come from any of the stale creatures around her… had someone from the real world finally picked up the book?

“Madalena, I free you from these pages.”

She didn’t have time to think before she felt herself being yanked up, landing hard on a carpeted floor.

“Oh gods, are you okay?” came the same voice, only this time, it was much closer.

Madelena felt the world tilting for a moment, before everything stilled and she lifted her head from the carpet, heaving in deep breaths and staring down at her hands. Free. She was… free? She pushed herself up into a sitting position, feeling the world tilt slightly again as she glanced around the room.

She knew this place. Rumplestiltskin’s library.

She was free.

“Erm… hello?” the voice asked again, and Madelena jumped, glancing over. “Sorry, are you okay?”

That was a loaded question. Was she okay?

“I…” her voice was raspy. “How long… was I in there?”

“I don’t know… you’re Madalena of Keburg, aren’t you?”

Her head shot over to the young woman who had spoken, eyes wide. They still spoke of her? Good. Then it must not have been all that long.

“I am. They deposed me two years ago.”

The woman’s eyes widened, and Madalena’s heart sank. “No… not two years ago. They just celebrated their Decade of Peace.”

Decade? Decade?!

“I’ve been in that book for eight years…” Madalena whispered. “Oh my gods…”

“I’m glad I got you out of there. What happened?”

Madalena rose to her feet, brushing invisible lint off her gown. “That bastard Rumplestiltskin locked me in there. All I wanted to do was learn some dark magic to take control of a kingdom, that’s not too much to ask for, right?”

“Er… I’m probably not the best person to ask about that, but you’re not the only evil queen in the realm.”

“Oh, no, please don’t call me evil, just dark,” Madalena said, raising a brow. “Who are you, anyway?”

“My name is Belle. I’m Rumplestiltskin’s housekeeper.”

“May the gods have mercy on you then,” Madalena said, rubbing her head. “Thank you for freeing me, Belle.”

“You should hurry and get out of here. Rumplestiltskin will be home any moment.”

Madalena nodded, raising her hand to disappear, before she paused. “I don’t know where to go. I can’t go back to Keburg, I can’t stay in this kingdom…”

“I think you’ll find allies here if you stay off Rumplestiltskin’s radar. He’s not exactly the most popular man here. Now hurry, go!”

“Thank you again for freeing me, Belle. I’ll make sure to leave you in peace when I come to power,” Madalena said, vanishing in a cloud of black smoke. Where she would go, she didn’t know, but if what Belle said was true, perhaps there was a chance for her to find allies.

Maybe she could take down Rumplestiltskin and take his place.

That might be nice.

She landed in the middle of the woods, on some sort of carriage path. No matter which direction she looked, she couldn’t see Rumplestiltskin’s castle. Hopefully, that meant she was far enough away. Now all she had to do was find some food or shelter. Or, find some people to give her food and shelter. She was still a queen after all… even if she had fallen.

A small village wasn’t too far from where she’d landed, and Madalena sighed, pushing herself into the nearest pub.

“The next round is on me!” a man shouted, lifting an empty stein into the air. “Grimsund shall prosper once again!”

There was a roar from the crowd, and Madalena gasped as a mug was shoved into her hand from the nearest barmaid.

“Oh, I - ”

“No need to worry, Prince James paid for this round,” she said with a grin. “He’s just come back from a giant hunt.”

A prince, huh?

Madalena could work with that.

“Thank you, then,” she said to the barmaid. “Is that him over there?”

“Aye, that’s him, but if you think you’ve got a chance with him, you may want to temper your expectations. The rumor is he’s got a different woman in his bed every month,” she explained. “Truth is, I don’t know if he’ll ever commit to one woman, even if the king forces an arrangement.”

Ah, so it was that sort of deal, hm? Fine. Madalena could take out the competition.

“I see, thank you kindly,” she said, sipping at her beer before sauntering over to the prince and dropping into the seat across from him.

He raised a brow. “And who might you be.”

“I might be Queen Madalena of Keburg, I might be just a figment of your imagination,” she smirked.

James furrowed his brow. “Weren’t you deposed?”

“Details, details.”

James looked her up and down. “Well, what can I do for fellow royalty?”

“That’s just it. I’m not exactly royal anymore, and I just spent eight years trapped in a book thanks to the Dark One. As much as I hate to do this, I need help.”

Setting his much on the table, James leaned forward. “And what can you do for me?”

Madalena waved her hand, magic gathering in it. “What do you need?”

---

“Here you go, Emma, grilled cheese and onion rings. Hey - you alright?” Ruby asked, setting the plate down in front of her.

Emma rubbed her eyes and looked up from the newspaper in front of her. “Yeah, thanks. I’m just trying to find a place for us to live, and it’s not like there are a lot of options here.”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “You’re telling me. If there were more affordable houses here, I’d have moved out of the bed and breakfast a long time ago. That, and if Granny would ever let me meet with Victoria…”

The last part was said in a mumble, which had Emma raising a brow. “What do you mean?”

Ruby looked around, before digging through her apron and pulling out a card. “Victoria Belfrey-Polastel. She’s a realtor in town. Wanted to buy Granny’s not too long ago and make it more modern, instead of a dumpy diner and bed and breakfast. Granny hit the roof and refused to ever serve her, but she gave me a card if I ever needed it, but you and your family need it more than I do, so here. Just… don’t tell Granny I told you about her.”

Emma took the card, sliding it into her wallet. “Thanks Ruby. I owe you one.”

“So long as you don’t tell Granny, consider us even.”

And that was how Emma found herself sitting in a way too spotless, modern office that afternoon after making sure Henry didn't need anything.

Seriously, was this Victoria thinking she was selling to celebrities and the too-wealthy in New York City? What was with this place?

“Mrs. Cassidy, welcome.”

Emma briefly considered reminding the woman that her name was Emma, but decided against it. “Thank you for meeting with me. I’m sorry it’s on such short notice.”

“Oh no need to apologize for something like that! This is my job after all, and it’s not often I get a client with a family that needs to be moved. Everyone here just seems to be so settled that they never go anywhere. But what sort of house were you and your family looking for?” Victoria said, flourishing a pen and smoothing out the notepad in front of her.

Emma paused. What were they looking for in a house? They hadn’t had many options when it came to apartments, aside from the location and the spectacular front door that Emma was going to miss.

“Er… at least three bedrooms, although four would be ideal, I guess, so Neal and I can have an office,” she started, running her tongue along her teeth in an attempt to think. “Maybe a nice yard. We’re from Boston and our son has never had a yard to play in.”

Victoria was nodding, scribbling away. “I have two daughters. I get it.”

“Maybe something updated? I don’t know if we can handle moving all of our stuff and finding out the house needs new floors or a new bathroom.”

“Ah!” Victoria suddenly said, tossing the pen onto her desk and rapidly typing on her computer. “I have the perfect house for you, Mrs. Cassidy. 715 Tenth Street. Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, nicely updated and a large backyard. It’s an updated Victorian, and one of the best Storybrooke can offer. We can drive over now, if you want to see it?”

Emma nodded, her throat dry.

But Victoria was right, 715 Tenth Street was what she would call perfect for that family, and she signed on the dotted line in the spotless kitchen - her kitchen, and blinked in shock as Victoria passed her the keys.

“Welcome home, Mrs. Cassidy.”

[sixam-skies]

The Extended Not So Berry Challenge

Here is the complete list of generations for my extended version of the Not So Berry challenge. This challenge consists of the 10 generations of the Not So Berry challenge by @lilsimsie and @alwaysimming, with a few extra skill and collection goals added, followed by the 11 generations of the Road Less Travelled challenge (created by myself (originally camisimblr)​ with help from Briar, Hope, and Fiona).

Generation One: Mint You’re a mischievous scientist that really loves the colour mint. You’re career driven but still make time for silly pranks and outings with your closest friends. You love luxury and want the best for yourself and your family.

Traits: Vegetarian, Jealous, Materialistic Aspiration: Chief of Mischief Career: Scientist

Goals: - Master scientist career and complete Chief of Mischief aspiration - Master mischief and logic skills - Complete elements, crystals, and metals collections

Generation Two: Rose You had everything you desired as a child, but you were always longing for more. As an adult you have a hard time committing to relationships as you’re so focused on your career. If we had a workaholic trait in The Sims 4 you would have it. You have absolutely no maternal instincts whatsoever, but you still love your child with all your heart.

Traits: Hot Headed, Snob, Romantic Aspiration: Serial Romantic Career: Politician

Goals: - Have only one child - Master the politician career and complete Serial Romantic aspiration - Master charisma skill - Leave someone at the alter (an interaction available during a wedding) - Get married for the first time as an elder

Generation Three: Yellow Growing up you never had a close relationship with your mother and spent the majority of your time alone in your room obsessing over space. You just really love space. You’ll do whatever it takes to get to Sixam no matter the cost.

Traits: Clumsy, Ambitious, Loner Aspiration: Nerd Brain Career: Astronaut

Goals: - Master rocket science and handiness skill - Master astronaut career and complete Nerd Brain aspiration - Must build a rocket ship and visit Sixam - Enter the secret lot in Oasis Springs (requiring max handiness) - Never have any close friends or relationships other than grandparent from Generation 1 until the grandparent dies - Complete space rocks, space prints, and aliens collections

Generation Four: Grey You always felt that you were different. While the rest of your family was busy messing around in the lab, you just wanted to be outside playing basketball. You’re very good at sports and you dream of becoming a professional athlete. To make up for your non-existent relationship with your parents you want to be there for your own children as much as possible. Oh, and you love to sing.

Traits: Active, Slob, Music Lover Aspiration: Bodybuilder Career: Athlete

Goals: - Master singing, parenting, and athletic skills - Master athlete career and complete Bodybuilder aspiration - Have three failed relationships before finding spouse, marry a neat Sim - Be good friends with all of your children - Have family movie night with your spouse and children every Sunday

Generation Five: Plum You’ve always been good at anything you tried. It’s hard to choose a career, so why not try a few? You work as a doctor for much of your life, but as an adult realize that your true dream is to become a professional dancer. You quit your job and join the entertainer career. Basically: you’re an indecisive oddball.

Traits: Genius, Noncommittal, Dance Machine Aspiration: Renaissance Sim Career: Fast Food, Doctor, Entertainer

Goals: - Master dance and two other skills of your choosing, achieve at least level eight in six skills - Complete Renaissance Sim aspiration - Get divorced and then later remarried to the same Sim - Must live in at least three different worlds over the course of your life

Generation Six: Orange You’re the black sheep of your family (but with orange hair) and you were raised in a hectic household. You’ve always wanted to cause mayhem, but you’re just really bad at being evil. You enjoy breaking into your neighbors’ houses and eating their food. You really love baking and spend the majority of your spare time eating sweets.

Traits: Evil, Self-Assured, Glutton Aspiration: Public Enemy Career: Criminal

Goals: - Master baking and charisma skills - Master criminal career and complete Public Enemy aspiration - Must live in a ‘needs TLC’ apartment for entire young adult life - Have twins, but only those two children (you may cheat for this). - Insist on being evil (claim to be criminal mastermind) but nobody believes you, not even your own children

Generation Seven: Pink You grew up poor and are living paycheck to paycheck working in the business career just as your parents did. You long to write romance novels but are too afraid to quit your steady job to follow your dreams. You’re very practical and you know the chances of making it as a writer are slim, so you stay working at your nine to five. As an adult you finally decide to pursue your dreams. You’re a hopeless romantic, but your unflirty nature makes it nearly impossible to find love.

Traits: Neat, Unflirty, Creative Aspiration: Best Selling Author Career: Business

Goals: - Complete postcard collection - Master writing and wellness skills - Complete Best-Selling Author aspiration - Have a well-maintained garden - Quit day job as an adult to pursue dreams (mid-life crisis much?)

Generation Eight: Peach Your mother always taught her to follow her dreams. You’ve always wanted to be a detective. You’ve always wanted to be a comedian. Well dang it, you can do both! Detective by day, comedian by night, you can do anything you set your mind to.

Traits: Foodie, Lazy, Goofball Aspiration: Joke Star Career: Detective

Goals: - Marry a co-worker - Must play an instrument - Master gourmet cooking and comedy skills - Master detective career - Must live in a different world than the one he/she was raised

Generation Nine: Green You were caught hacking by a major tech company that then offered you a position in their firm. You know Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds? That’s you. You’re dedicated to your work, but that doesn’t stop you from going out and having a good time. You’re the kind of person that will be at a party at 3am and then at work at 6am.

Traits: Squeamish, Geek, Cheerful Aspiration: Computer Whiz Career: Tech Guru

Goals: - Master mixology, video gaming, and programming skills - Master tech guru career and complete Computer Whiz aspiration - Must accept every invitation to parties/outings with your friends - Have at least five good friends and five enemies - Complete Voidcritters collection

Generation Ten: Blue You have the perfect life. White picket fence, loving spouse, beautiful children. But why do you still want more? You have a one-time secret affair and will regret it for the rest of your life. Afterward you pour your soul into raising your children and fixing your marriage. You never admit the affair to anyone and dedicate your life to being the perfect mother.

Traits: Gloomy, Perfectionist, Family Oriented Aspiration: Super Parent Career: Critic

Goals: - Adopt at least one child - Master the photography, cooking, and parenting skills - Master critic career and complete Super Parent aspiration - Must marry high school sweetheart and stay with them until you die - Have a one-time secret affair

Generation Eleven: Platinum You grew up in the perfect home, with a perfect childhood. What more could you want? Well, there’s fame, and money, and you’ll get both if you work hard… or marry rich.

Traits: Self-Absorbed, Insider, Materialistic Aspiration: Master Actor/Actress Career:  Actor/Actress

Goals: - Become a 5-star Celebrity - Marry a celebrity (3-star or higher) - Master acting and media production skill - Have either a Pristine or Atrocious reputation - Throw 5 successful Charity Benefits or 5 successful Lampoon Parties (depending on reputation)

Generation Twelve: Lilac As the child of famous parents your entire childhood was spent in the spotlight, wishing to be anywhere else, and you couldn’t get any further from the spotlight than Selvadorada.

Traits:  Loves Outdoors, Outgoing, Good Aspiration:  Jungle Explorer Career:  Writer (Journalism)

Goals: - Marry a Selvadoradian local - Master archaeology and Selvadoradian culture skills - Collect all Ancient Omiscan Artefacts and Omiscan Treasures - Explore the temple in Selvadorada three times. - See everything Selvadorada has to offer - Befriend a skeleton

Generation Thirteen: Copper Growing up with stories from your parent of exploring Selvadorada, you make it your mission to do some exploring of your own – by solving the mysteries of StrangerVille.

Traits: Paranoid, Noncommittal, Vegetarian Aspiration:  StrangerVille Mystery Career:  Military

Goals: - Become the Hero of StrangerVille - Befriend The Mother - Master fitness and charisma skills - Be enemies with at least 3 coworkers - Live underground as a Young Adult - Never have a serious relationship

Generation Fourteen: Turquoise Growing up with a paranoid parent is no easy feat, and you crave an easier, cruisier lifestyle. Nothing could be better than spending every day on the beautiful beaches of Sulani… if you can keep them beautiful.

Traits:  Outgoing, Child of the Islands, Bro Aspiration:  Beach Life Career:  Conservationist

Goals: - Move to Sulani as a Young Adult - Master Photography skill - Throw a beach party every weekend - Marry an island local - Befriend a dolphin - Complete seashells collection

Generation Fifteen: Red You love animals far more than you love people, so much so that you’ve decided to dedicate your life to your critter friends.

Traits:  Hates Children, Loves Cats, Loner Aspiration: Friend of the Animals Career:  Vet Clinic

Goals: - Open and run a successful Vet Clinic - Master veterinarian and pet training skills - Always have at least two pets in your household - Cook your pets a weekly meal - Have only one pregnancy, leave your partner to do the parenting

Generation Sixteen: Navy What’s more enthralling than the pursuit of medicine? The pursuit of magic! You want to be the most spectacular Spellcaster to ever live and nothing will get in your way.

Traits: Self-Assured, Erratic, Ambitious Aspiration:  Spellcraft & Sorcery Career:  Painter

Goals: - Become a Spellcaster - Master painting, gardening, and herbalism skills - Mix every type of potion successfully - Learn every spell - Defeat all 3 Sages in a Duel

Generation Seventeen: Black As the child of a Sage you’re no stranger to the supernatural, but a chance encounter with a dark, dangerous stranger has you chasing your humanity.

Traits: Clumsy, Music Lover, Squeamish Aspiration:  Good Vampire Career: Musician

Goals: - Become a Vampire as a Young Adult - Master vampiric lore, pipe organ, and guitar skills - Marry a human - Become human again before starting a family - Become a Grand Master Vampire

Generation Eighteen: Baby Blue Your parent overcome the greatest of obstacles to start their family, and it’s always inspired you to raise the perfect child. But every Stay-At-Home parent needs some me-time.

Traits:  Perfectionist, Family Oriented, Creative Aspiration: Big, Happy Family Career: None

Goals: - Raise a perfect child (Max toddler skills, max child skills, complete all childhood aspirations, have all 5 positive character values) - Marry a childhood BFF or high school sweetheart - Max painting and bowling skills - Max any skill that brings a profit - Bowl a perfect game

Generation Nineteen (Option 1): Emerald (UBrite) You were the perfect child, and now you’ll be the perfect student. You’re going to excel on whichever path your academic life takes, but which path will it be?

Traits: Bookworm, Genius, Outgoing Aspiration: Academic Career: Law

Goals: - Get a full ride of scholarships - Max research & debate skill - Graduate without failing a class - Major in a Distinguished Degree - Reach the highest rank in an Organisation - Win the Debate Showdown

Generation Nineteen (Option 2): Maroon (Foxbury) You were the perfect child, and now you’ll be the perfect student. You’re going to excel on whichever path your academic life takes, but which path will it be?

Traits: Bookworm, Genius, Outgoing Aspiration: Academic Career: Engineer

Goals: - Get a full ride of scholarships - Max robotics skill - Graduate without failing a class - Major in a Distinguished Degree - Reach the highest rank in an Organisation - Build a Servo

Generation Twenty: Honey Your parents spent their lives with their noses buried in their textbooks, but you want to live with the sun on your face and your most loyal companion by your side.

Traits: Loves Dogs, Loves the Outdoors, Good Aspiration: The Curator Career:  Gardener

Goals: - Live Off The Grid as a Young Adult - Max fishing, gardening, and flower arranging skills - Take your family camping every weekend - Always have a dog in your household - Complete the Fishing and Gardening collections

Bonus Generation: Fuschia You’ve lived most of your life in the peace of the woods, but long for the hustle and bustle of city life. You’ll find your place in the big city, and someone to share the view.

Traits: Art Lover, Foodie, Romantic Aspiration: City Native Career: Social Media

Goals: - Max charisma and comedy skills - Open a gallery to feature your photos - Accept every invitation for parties and events - Complete the City Posters collection - Marry a Sim with similar traits.