#i must be like 20+ hrs in at this point

[elibean]

Everyone got to the depths pretty fast but i nyoomed for the main quests and only just now got to it bc the goron quest forces you to go down there ahaha

[lu-is-not-ok]

Sonya themed ask jumpscare

Of his design, there are a few things to note. First is how he wears a strap full of bullets on his leg [though he hasnt yet been seen with a gun to my knowledge, its in his bag maybe?] but bullets in The City are notoriously expensive, and while Hermann did mention how he 'burned all that cash' I must wonder why he wanted them in the first place is he already carries a perfectly suitable weapon.

Smaller details that stuck out to me are the eye like pattern on his goggles, and his hair. Namely the lite specs of blue in it and how it was described as 'hyaline' - a word both relating to a form of cartilage and a way to describe something with a glassy appearance.

Onto his role in the story going forward: I believe that cantos 1-3 all set up the three major forces we shall be dealing with for the remainder of the story. N corp with canto 1, Demians group in canto 3 and the Yurodiviye in canto 2. Now at first it was unclear how exactly the YRDY would be able to have as much influence as the other two, but TKT sorted it all out. While Hermann represents the power held from corporations and Demian the power gained from the outskirts/stars/things that aren't fully understood, Sonia then stands as the representative for the power of people - namely in terms of tenacity and shear staying power.

He very clearly has connections to both Hermann and Demian, through both the chat at the end of canto 2 and the fact he's got the mark. This puts him in the position that oddly enough many though Asaeh was in before his icon was fixed, as one wearing multiple hats for his own gain. He does not hide his cause.

He actuallt reminds me a lot of Ayin. However this is already quite long and my brain is currently a plate of scrambled eggs so I shan't elaborate further. Plus I am not sure if what I've got is actual analysis or my desperate want to talk about Ayin again.

Only tangentially related but the author of C&P has also written a book called 'White Nights'. Neato.

That's all for now, we got like 2 hrs til we hopefully get a teaser and I'm bring so normal about it. I swear.

Ok let me go through this one paragraph at a time because Sonya is one of those characters that makes me go a little insane as well. Read more because. Yeah.

Point 1 - The Bullet Strap

The design detail of the bullets strap on his leg is intriguing and one I didn't notice initially. I went through to look through Canto 2 CGs of Rodya's flashbacks and all the Yurodiviye related character sprites in the recent Intervallo to check if this is something that's a part of the standard Yurodivy uniform and what I've found is... interesting.

For Canto 2 Yurodiviye, the only one whose legs we see clearly is flashback Rodya, and she doesn't seem to have that same strap as Sonya.

However, for TKT, something interesting happens. All of the Yurodiviye in District 20, including the Detective captain of their group, wear straps on the same leg as Sonya... except instead of bullets, the straps have a bag attached.

That difference in uniform between Rodya and this branch of the Yurodiviye is notable because of how differently they see Sonya. Rodya sees Sonya as someone with big ideals but not enough initiative to actually see them through, meanwhile the District 20 Yurodiviye look up to him so much as to call him a Saint, a term which we recently learned can refer to the most high-ranking members of the Dieci, the association that deals with knowledge (thank you Dieci Meursault uptie story). This difference in opinion would explain why these Yurodiviye are more invested in mimicking Sonya's uniform more closely, whereas Rodya's seemed more distinct and thus more distant.

Of course, the difference between the straps holding bags for the Yurodiviye while it holds bullets for Sonya is not lost on me. As you mentioned, bullets are expensive, which means it makes sense for the District 20 Yurodiviye to not be able to afford them and thus resort to using the strap to hold something else to have it still serve a similar function. Though it does bring up the question you posited: how was Sonya able to afford his own bullets?

It's important to note we don't ever get to see whether or not Sonya had the bullet strap before Rodya left the Yurodiviye. The only CGs we get to see his legs in are ones where his current self invades the flashback Rodya is having. If he got that after she left, it's possible his cooperation with N Corp granted him enough support to get the ammunition. Note that if Hermann is to be believed that Sonya would burn any and all cash he was granted, it's not impossible for N Corp to just give him bullets out right instead.

On a more symbolic side of analyzing his design, the bullet strap is a subtle way to show Sonya's own turn towards more direct action after Rodya left, while also emphasizing how he goes about that more direct action.

Just like a gun firing its bullets, Sonya's "direct" action is him telling people around him to do the deeds for him. Whether it's through inspiration like the District 20 Yurodiviye, or whether it's through networking and sending his people out to take money from the rich like we see in Canto 2. He's not the bullet actually breaking through a wall, he's merely the finger pulling the trigger. He aims and gives command to fire, but that's where his involvement ends.

Point 2 - The Goggles and Hair

This is something I touched upon in another post I made about Sonya, so I'm gonna be brief. Sonya's visual design with regards to his eyes, hair, and accessories, has a dual purpose.

For one, it implies that Sonya is albinistic. The color of his eyes, the lack of pigment of his hair to the point it's described as glass-like, and the inclusion of eye protection and gloves (accessories that is lacking in other Yurodiviye) points towards that idea.

This directly correlates with his own tendency to try and avoid the spotlight and redirect it to others whenever possible, see my point earlier about how his direct action involves sending other people out to do his bidding + his actions before and during the game in Canto 2 are all in favor of pulling attention away from him, such as deflecting Aida's comments about him by calling her the protagonist of life, or constantly asking Rodya questions to put the spotlight on her.

For two, it makes his design a direct opposite to Rodya's, matching with their opposite tendencies with regards to being put in the spotlight. Rodya's design is notably plain for what you'd consider a Slavic woman, with wheat brown-blonde hair and blue eyes, whereas Sonya's is extremely distinct with his purple eyes and hyaline hair.

And yet, like I mentioned earlier, Sonya is the one that wants eyes off of him, while Rodya is constantly trying to be the center of attention whenever possible. They're major foils to one another down to their visual designs.

Point 3 - Sonya and Yurodiviye's spot in the story

Ever since the first batch of Cantos, Sonya struck me as a sort of double agent between the New League and Demian's Blue Man Group. We know that he clearly has connections with both, but the fact that the color his name is put on in the dialogue box is purple, the mix of red (associated with the New League) and blue (associated with the Blue Man Group), only further adds to that idea.

Plus, I feel like his attitude towards Mirror Worlds and their usage should also be pointed out. Whereas Demian directly states he wants the Mirror Worlds to be left alone, comparing their exploitation to that of stealing chips from a bag, Hermann is on the other spectrum of that through wanting the desctruction of all Mirror Worlds.

Sonya is somewhere in between, clearly wanting to make use of them to bring about what he sees as his ideal world, but not wanting to touch them beyond that.

I think the above fact combined with how he acts in the Canto 2 post credit scene is leading to the possibility of Sonya outright betraying Hermann and the New League, which would make sense with how his side is meant to represent the common people. Project Moon ain't subtle about their critique of capitalism, so it only makes sense for Sonya to eventually turn on the representation of the power the Wings hold.

Which, speaking of that, I want to note how Hermann manipulated people to her side through exploiting Mirror Worlds. Yes, her main goal is to destroy all of them, but she's willing to twist the truth when trying to get other people to her side. With her and the New League representing the power of the corporations, those empty promises and white lies feel especially fitting. That sort of "Well if you join us we will keep This One Specific World You Want alive just for you" and "Well since we're already destroying them wouldn't you like to destroy this specific part of each of them with us" shit she's been pulling.

Point 4 - WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHITE NIGHTS IS ALSO A DOSTOYEVSKY REFERENCE-

Ok. No. Anon, you can't drop a bombshell on me like that. WhiteNight is one of, if not the most important Abnormality to Lobcorp and thus Project Moon lore. It's one of the Carmen abnos. It's the final Abno boss alongside Apocalypse Bird. It's symbolically tied to the White Nights and Dark Days event through its name, one of the most important events in the fucking series.

And. Here's the thing Anon. If that's true, then that means Dostoyevsky's works being consistently important to PM lore is no longer just a coincidence, it's a pattern.

You see, there's another important Crime and Punishment reference in this series outside of Rodya's existence, it being the other abno tied to WhiteNight.

One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds.

You see, this abnormality's name? It's a reference to a fucking quote from Crime and Punishment, and a pretty notable one in that!

Now, mind you, the exact wording in the version of the quote is a bit different, likely due to differences in translation, but it's pretty fucking close don't you think?

One Crime, One Sin. Thousands of Good Deeds, Hundreds of Good Deeds.

Add to that the fact that One Sin is always the first abno you get in every LobCorp playthrough AND acts as an instant alternate way to defeat WhiteNight, and the fact that these two are both named after Dostoyevsky references should start raising some eyebrows.

With all of that pointed out, I'd like to adress the potential importance of both Sonya and Rodya in the wider plot of Limbus Company, based on the fact that Dostoyevsky references have been highly important to the lore from the very fucking start.

Let's start with Sonya. He and the Yurodiviye are in a bit of a unique spot compared to all the other factions Limbus Company is contending with. While sure, both the New League and Blue Man Group have a leader who is directly tied to one single sinner (Hermann tied to Gregor, Demian tied to Sinclair), we see that it's not an exclusive connection.

We know from Canto 5 that Rim, someone from the League of Nine, is definitely a part of the Blue Man Group, and the New League has not only two former members of the League of Nine (and is named to be a replacement for that group), but also Jia Huan of Hong Lu's family fame is there too for some fucking reason.

Sonya and Yurodiviye are thus far the only faction that is only connected to one single Sinner - Rodya, and thus only connected to a single source - the works of Dostoyevsky. The fact that Sonya is all but stated to be the connection between the two other groups and the effect he's had on the City thus far only add to his future importance. I don't think I need to go on about that for much longer.

That only leaves Rodya's importance undiscussed. Thus far she's the only Sinner to have recieved a "second Canto" in the form of TKT heavily focusing on continuing her character arc, but that doesn't really say much. For all we know we could see something similar be done to both Gregor and Sinclair at some point in the future. No, there's something a bit more subtle potentially going on with Rodya.

However, to explain this, I need to go on a tangent.

Let's put this out here: The Little Prince is the single most important book with regards to Limbus Company's running themes and motifs.

The "Seeing with the eye vs Seeing with the heart" motif is the single most long-running and important theme throughout the work. Demian directly says the fucking quote at the end of Canto 3 and consistently references the Little Prince whenever he appears. Blue Man Group is set up to be the ones who see with the heart, while the New League and N Corp as a whole are set up to be the ones who see with the eyes. Eyes and Hearts keep coming up in random places all over Limbus. The fucking name of the game and company itself, Limbus, can refer to two different parts of the body - corneal limbus, a part of the eye, and limbus of fossa ovalis, a part of the heart.

Why is all of this important? Because two of the Sinners explicitly have their symbols be a Heart and an Eye respectively, that being Rodya and Hong Lu. Add to that the fact that, similarly to Rodya and Sonya, Rodya and Hong Lu are essentially foils of each other with regards to how they view the world , and the fact that they're assigned the numbers 6 and 9, which in numerology are associated with yin and yang, which we know PM loves making references to spirituality and religion, and all of this is just a big ol nothing Game Theory that I'm just spitting here.

The rundown is this: Rodya and Hong Lu are both associated with symbols that are seemingly tied to key motifs and themes of Limbus Company and PM games as a whole. Rodya's focus through TKT and her connection to the one faction that isn't tied to any other Sinner makes her stand out. PM seems to fucking love making Dostoyevsky extremely important for some fucking reason.

All of this to say I would not be surprised if Rodya turned out to be one of the most important Sinners out of the cast.

...This post was supposed to be about Sonya. Whoops.

[kiefbowl]

hi! do you have any advice for negotiating a higher salary? i think the job i was hired to do a few months ago deserves a better pay but idk how to go about asking for it

This is so spooky I was literally thinking about making a post about asking for more money this morning. you must have been listening to my thoughts lol

Yeah, I have some advice, but keep in mind that different companies and industries might have little quirks I'm not aware of, take these points as very broad advice you might want to adapt for your own personal situation:

If you company does any kind of raise schedule (as an example: every year on your anniversary you are entitled to a 1-3% raise based on performance) - if you're about 8-12 weeks until that time, try to hold out until after you get that raise. I only suggest this because almost all companies will tell you the raise you negotiated takes over as your new raise schedule, so this is really just to get more money in the long run. The 8-12 weeks benchmark is just a suggestion to try to keep your request to negotiate and your scheduled raise in different financial quarters, which might help.

Have a clear goal of what you're asking for. Clear doesn't mean "super specific" but it can. At minimum, have the number you're going to be asking for. What's probably better though is to have the number you're going to be asking for if nothing else changes, and what more you'd be willing to do for even more money than that.

Only answer questions that are asked, only provide information as needed. You can start the conversation by saying "I'm coming to you requesting a raise" and let them respond to that. You can say things like "My duties have expanded including xyz" and you can say things like "I think my skillset is valuable" and "I think I provide x value to the company because of y reasons," but don't just launch into a spiel about what you think you deserve without seeing how they react first.

Talk in numbers. Just get straight to the point when they ask how much. Have a number for the amount per year if salary/amount per hour if hourly, plus convert that number into the percentage raise it would be. Asking for 20% more is a big ask, you know what I'm saying? Even if it's fair on the market for you industry, if they're paying that low from the market it means it's built into their business plan and you might want to consider a different company. and if they set a precedent with giving you 20%, they don't have much to stand on when you go tell all your buddies and they start asking for 20%. And if that's the situation at your company, at that point, you might wanna consider just unionizing instead lol.

It's good to consider the other guy on the other side of the table when you're negotiating. People give you things you want if you're considerate of the things they want. Some things to keep in mind that might be on your boss's plate: annual budgets, quarterly budgets, hiring quotas, hiring freezes, established pay structures decided by powers that be way above them that they have no control over, the fact that they will have to take your request to their boss and/or HR to get approval...like speak intelligently to these concerns as best you can. And be in a quid pro quo mindset. The argument is either "I already do this incredibly valuable thing you don't want to lose so give me more money or I will stop doing this by going elsewhere" or "I will do even more incredible value you don't want to lose if you give me more money, or I will do nothing by going elsewhere." Focus on what do they get and what do they lose if you don't get what you want. Except in professional parlance :)

Have confidence that you have every right to just ask. You are not some shit covered indentured peasant speaking to your god appointed king. You are a human person who is allowed to have adult conversations with other adults. If you can keep that confidence of "I'm just an adult having a normal conversation" it'll keep you on track and not get swayed into whatever tangets your boss my hem and haw on. Short, sweet, and to the point as best as possible.

Your boss is probably not fantastic at negotiating because almost no one is. So don't even sweat it. Ambush them a little, be polite, lay it on the table, then ask them what's next. If they seem to be hesitant, weird, put off...you could read malicious evil intent into it, but they're probably just woefully under-prepared and might flail a bit as some distraction. Just be like "Well, we can table this and I'll follow up with you on Friday" if it really seems like they can't get nail down an answer, or if you know they have to talk to their higher up anyway.

You might just get it. It might be the easiest thing you've ever done. I've countered and gotten exactly what I've wanting in 0.005 seconds flat. That's always a bit bittersweet because you just know you could have asked for more lol. Your boss might already have numbers at the ready for when people ask for raises, they just need people to ask. If you're company is doing well and pulling in good revenue, you will probably have a very easy conversation. So go get 'em.

Most importantly, show them your switchblade have fun and just be yourself!!!

[ma-lark-ey]

Lark Liveblogs Literature: THE SUNSHINE COURT BABYYYYY LETS GO JEAN

to begin: THE COVER???

The fucking NARCISSUS/DAFFODIL. Stop stop stop. Nora stop. She said it wouldn’t be a sun but I WASNT READY.

RESILIENCE. FIRST BLOOM AT THE END OF WINTER. NEW BEGINNINGS AND REBIRTH.

warning in advance for how many reaction images will be in this post. Miss Nora Sakavic has a way of making me unable to verbalise how devistated I am so I turn to goofy photos.

Also, just so we’re all on the same page:

it’s 1:20 AM. My roommate IS asleep. I am fighting the demons (downloading this book) but i am winning (it is queued on my kindle)

ITS DOWNLOADED LETS GO

Okay so context is that my Kindle is at 10%

I tried to go to bed and read this in the morning but I am

SO NOW I HAVE FRANTICALLY FOUGHT A WAR (figured out how to get this book) AND I AM READY FOR BATTLE (to cry over Jean)

ONE, TWO, THREE, LETS GO BITCH!!

Also my kindle cord is too small for me to properly lay in bed so im literally about to lay on my stomach kicking my feet like a middle schooler WISH. ME. LUCK.

CHAPTER ONE:

oh we’re jumping right in okay. god. hi baby :((

OH. I am just adding onto my #1 Riko hater agenda right now.

“The golden rule— not where the public can see” DIE. LITERALLY DIE TETSUJI

“The lack of broken fingers this time” THIS TIME??? JEAN. JEAN.

im so.

RENEE!!!

“and he had wasted them texting Renee a heads-up.” Nora please we’re only four pages in bro

Renee i love you im marrying you please give me a kiss. Mwah Mwah Mwah. She said “Bitch. Lay back down.”

currently also reading a batshit raven!neil fic and just. on the ground. about all of this.

stop the way I literally went “who the fuck is Nathaniel” Im too transgender for this.

Me, seeing the Abby content we need in this world:

Jean dont call that hellscape home bbg

Renee beating self worth into this man. ily

“Jean couldnt remember the last time he was allowed to wear color” LITERALLY KILL ME

Nora I need you to be less good at describing pain please and thanks

NOT THE BITING

DADMACK DADMACK DADMACK DADMACK!!

he fr be moving this man like a doll. love you wymack

tied him up with racquet laces I. h. lays on floor softly crying.

NOT THE DADDY ISSUES

Jean fr out here plotting 50 ways to kill his brother. he fr though Neil was the problem. no girl Neil just has no tact and autism rizz. Kevins the fucking snitch

no one:

Jean @ the Moriyamas;

“that man is years overdue for a head-on high-speed collision” YOU TELL EM DADMACK

CHAPTER TWO:

Jean please just sleep like a normal human man. God.

Even Jean be out here like “Kevins a little Chihuahua ass drama queen. Bitchboy. Wet cat man.”

Kevin: look, bro, if the 5’3 twink with enough daddy issues to make riko blush and chugs ‘fuck around and find out’ juice for breakfast can escape the moriyamas and not die, so can you.

Testuji. Testuji when I catch you. Tetsuji

Jean what the fuck makes you think anyone but Andrew Minyard will ever tell Neil what to do. Girl.

“If I am not a Raven, who am I?” A MOTHERCUCKING TROJAN BABYYYY

“I have to go to my next class.” I forgot they were in college deadass. Neil is straight up my age im gonna throw up.

Okay. It is. *checks time* 3 AM. I cannot keep my eyes open, which means i must put Jean away for sleep.

ITS IS NOON THE FOLLOWING DAY. I HAVE SLEPT. I HAVE TAKEN MY MEDICATIONS. TIME TO HYPERFOCUS BABY.

KINDLE SAYS WE HAVE 8 hrs 27 mins LEFT IN THIS BOOK. IM SAYING GOODBYE TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY. I’LL SEE Y’ALL AT DINNEE TIME. ITS JEAN TIME.

Hiiiiiii Thea….

“Good morning, Paris.” Now, the average man will see this as a reference to his frenchness. but real ones know Paris is prince of Troy, the man who married Helen of Troy & started the Trojan war.

do y’all think Jean has a french accent wait wait wait. obviously itd be very slight at this point but is it there. necessary question.

Assessing Thea like a fucking state exam right now. Neil could not have cared less about your ass I am gaining so much information

Hate of my life Riko moriyama.

CHAPTER THREE:

JEREMY FUCKING KNOW HI BAYYYBY

the way I literally got up and had to pace and stim for a moment even though I fully expected this. autism. my roommate is concerned. not really. she’s used to this she watched me read TKM and dramatically reenact the Ichirou Car Talk.

wow??? AFTG team actually seems happy and well-adjusted and friendly with each other??

Random Note: I’m currently watching Blue Exorcist & one of the main characters is a girl name Moriyama and I’m literally just sitting here like “This girl is way to nice and innocent to have that name.” Because she literally is the nicest girl to ever exist. Why is she cursed with the same name as my mortal enemy (Testuji)

“Tonight’s experiment was the icing on the cake, an invaluable experience no matter how it ended.” Jeremy, my love.

He has empathy… Never before seen footage. Y’all get the cameras!!

He’s so shaken about Jean,,, holding you so gently Jeremy. Here as a guy who knows nothing at all about Jeremy since I’m. so new here. but god.

Jeremy: are you sure a Raven can abide by Troja—

Kevin: Bro Jean is so pathetic he’s a bottom fr. He never disobeys an order

Jeremy: I. Okay you didnt have to say it like that, bro.

I will literally never stop respecting the Trojans strat in the final they really said. “If these fucks can win the championships with nine players, surely we can.” and then willingly got their asses handed to them.

“Xavier stumbled when he got the next serve off, and the Fox guarding him gamely hauled him back upright before running for the ball. It was a simple gesture, but it endeared Jeremy to them” I dont remember if this bit was described in tkm so i’m going to guess that’s Nicky or Matt. Aaron would fucking never.

Nah because like. Yes this proved to the Trojans how resilient the Foxes were, but it was also a message to the audience, yk? Like we know the Foxes were getting shit for their quick rise to the top after they pulled their shit together, but I personally think that the Trojans did this both for their improvement & for Foxes’ publicity. This game proved to the public at large how devastatingly *good* the Foxes were, because of their small size. The second best team in the league crumbled playing the same conditions the Foxes did *every game* and got to championships with. They proved that Foxes were, in fact, a D1 team who earned their keep.

oh hes got daddy’s money. Well. not. officially. yo what I mean.

“it was always best to have a paper trail” Neil Josten would have an anuerysm hearing those words.

Bye Jeremy I’m. Love you so much. Why do you feel like a sixty year old man in your early twenties.

“between seven and twelve students.” yikes.

“unfamiliar and accented voice.” I WAS RIGHT I FUCKING CALLED IY HES GOT AN ACCENT BABY FUCK YEAH

“you ever feel like— like you’re making a choice you cant come back from? But even knowing everything could go completely sideways, you’d make that choice every time?” okay so coming out allegories i could make aside, Jeremy is so… where to start with him. He reminds me of Percy Jackson. Endlessly loyal and selfless to the point its a bit stupid but endearingly stupid.

CHAPTER FOUR:

Okay so we’re alresdy hateflirting. noted.

Its also extremely sunny today in Podunk Hicksville where I live so it feels very On Brand.

“Jean had seen that smile in a half-dozen broadcast… He could picture it too easily, and he dug his fingernails into his own face in vicious warning.” Awww you think you can best the gay worms in your brain. goodluck with that Johnny.

“isn’t that reason enough to keep living? To rediscover simple delight one moment at a time,” keeping this quote for eternity

“enough sunlight to chase away Evermore’s shadows. They are willing to take a chance on you. Aren’t you?”

Kevin Day autistic king. taking this hesdcannon to my grave .

“the conspiracy theorists were working overtime” no girl they just aint stupid.

THEY DESTROYED HIS POSTCARDS…

CHAPTER FIVE:

I want to start keeping record of all the times Jean is like “[name] wasn’t decent enough to [thing]” because its SO funny. We LOVE a petty king.

also keeping track of all the insults he throws at Neil.

Neil likes to think he’s SUUUUCH a loner boy no friends angsty “dont speak to me” resting bitch face ass motherfucker. In reality he is a jack russell terrier — ceritifed jack russell owner who’s dog thinks hes soooo big and bad but said dog literally cries when you dont let him in the bed or say hi to people on the street

Jean is SOOOOOO dramatic 😭😭

Jean: Why would you let Kevin do this.

Neil: let him?? He did that on his own.

Jean: you’re proud of him for being a problem, arent you?

Neil: oh you fucking know I am, bitchass

“but other than his outstanding murder charge there was nothing interesting about that Fox.” i’d consider that very interesting information, Jean. Youre just deranged

“with milk, juice, and vodka dominating one shelf” that’s Aaron, Nicky, Andrew/Kevin in order. Im correct.

“There was an entire drawer dedicated to cheese.” Yeah that sounds like Nicky.

“Half the drawer was full of mini candy bars. Jean threw them all into the trash” bro Andrew is going to kill you in cold blood and not even Neil can save you.

Jean is SO dramatic. Give him Kevin’s crown.

Jean @ Neil during the final: ARE YOU WITHOUT INTELLIGENCE????? ARE YOU STUPID??? DO YOU WANT TO DIE??

Seeing the media coverage of the championship is the food I needed thank you Nora for this. I am eating it up. om nom nom

The sportscasters referring to athletes with their first name is batshit. What. why. huh. Absolutely not.

CHAPTER SIX:

Renee protecting Jean from discovering Riko’s death through media & not through them…

Everytime boys start fistfighting in this series I hear Roxanne from Megamind. “Ladies, ladies, you’re BOTH pretty.”

a) Jeans reaction to finding out was exaclty what I expected

b) I’m FASCINATED to know who called campus security. Jeremy?? Renee?? Someone in Fox tower???

Neil was gentle with someone other than Andrew? I didnt know he knew how to do that…

NEIL. NEIL JOSTEN. YEAH BABY

HES ROOMING WITH CAT AND LAILA??? YES YEA YES YESY

the Jean-Renee dynamic is so fucking important to me. MLM/WLW solidarity. theyre besties.

THEYRE SO IMPORTANT TO ME BRO.

Literally snuggling Jeremy

Oh he’s got Fox potential. Hiiii Jeremy. Give me the traumadump bbg

THEY/THEM??? DO MY EYES DECEIVE ME OR IS THIS AN HONEST TO GOD THEY/THEM PLAYER OH ILL CRY. ILL CRU RIGHT NOW

CHAPTER SEVEN:

Oh Jean. you’re about to have such a gay awakening babe i can feel it in my bones.

A FUCKING YOYO??? I LOVE HIM

“A mite bit hecked up” PLEEEASE JUST SAY FUCK /ref

OH HE WAS IN LOVE WITH KEVIN. INTERESTING INTERESTING INTERESTING.

autism coded lookingg motherfucker (stares at Jean.)

The chaos of Cat and Laila’s house is so fucking cute. Its about to be two lesbians and their distrustful pitbull rescue in this bitch and im ready for it.

CHAPTER EIGHT:

watching normal people discover the cult that is Evermore. Finally someone having a normal response to that madness. What the FUCK.

wait theres actually a cardboard dog i thought it was fanon joke.

oh my god there is actually a fucking cardboard dog. i.

jeans brain just got actually shattered by this living room. he cannot comprehend this.

Cat & Jeremy, realizing the cult rumors are real: I THOUGHT YOU WERE KIDDING! I thought it was joke! I even wrote it down in my diary! “Kevin made a very funny joke today!” I laughed at it later that night!

Okay, last night; I went to bed at 2:30 AM 45% through (college my beloathed). we’re back in business.

Jeremy is so disturbed all of the time. goofy ass.

“Loving something is not enough,”

“When was the last time you enjoyed playing?”

“ Irrelevant.”

Whats his shirt look like Jeremy. Jeremy whats the shirt look like. Jeremy. Whats the shirt look like.

Okay so I’ve reached my image limit for this post and I dont have fun reaction images on my laptop. so now I will post this & reblog with the rest of this book.

[cupcraft]

This is more a vent post but to complain about my boss more if yall are curious about my PhD situation and why it blows

1. I am attending a week long 6 hr a day virtual conference (live sessions but online bc we can't afford to send me overseas to it) and BOSS was like you must attend every session no excuses wirh full report on it. And so I said since its 6 hrs a day all wee can I work remotely to focus on the conference and she seemed irritated (so basically to work in the lab while also focusing on the conference of course impossible!)

2. We had a long lab meeting today and my boss was so annoyed with me (after yelling at me and the meeting being an hour 20 mins so far) that she said and I quote "Let's skip talking about X data because if I have to hear about X I am literally going to kill myself. I will jump out that window and die *points to the window of the room* *giggles*". And look if my friend said this I'd laugh but this is my boss therefore I find this inappropriate and makes me scared to talk about X 😁

[lalalian]

basic potions | aethergarde academy dr program

date: july 31, 2024

assignment type: reading + kahoot quiz

Potions! Very important to have, if you're fucked up in battle, a healing potion would be reealllyy useful, don't you think?

Today, we'll just be going over the basic five potions most adventurers would have on hand at some point.

Do note that these are the most popular and common recipes. There are different recipes for the same objective, so some people like to use other recipes instead.

The higher your rank is, the less likely you'll feel the side effects of common potions. An S-ranked rider wouldn't feel the side effects of any of these potions after awakening, before awakening, you would... but only a little, like a 1/10.

cleric's brew

Literally just a healing potion, but like only for physical injuries. Cleric's brew is the weakest variant of physical healing potions. The strongest brew of this is called 'clerica', since you are like... an S-tier rider... you will be taking clerica onto missions far more than cleric's brew. Surprise surprise, the potion is red (the liquid is clear). It tastes like watermelon jolly ranchers (Is this really unrealistic? yes. but I don't really wanna drink a shitty tasting potion when blood is leaking from every orifice on my body).

side effects: n/a, though stronger brews with this recipe do make the drinker feel drunk

serving size: this recipe makes two servings of cleric's brew, 50 ml per serving, can take 10 servings in a day

how to make cleric's brew:

ingredients:

-3 stalks of wrymroot

-3 crushed maldine seeds

-4 table spoons of hippocampus liver oil

-100 ml of mana infused drinking water (infusing more mana increases the strength of this potion, a C rank rider would be able to make clerica)

procedure:

boil 100 ml of mana infused water in a heat insulating pot, like a classic cauldron

put the 3 maldine seeds and the liver oil into a separate bowl; mix it until the mixture turns red

pour the mixture into the pot and mix until fully combined

put the stalks of wyrmroot into the pot; push the stalks down into the liquid, but don't stir it to prevent the stalks from breaking

place a lid over the pot and let the mixture boil for 1 hr

after an hour, take the pot out of the heat and strain it; make sure no solid ingredients are in the liquid when you pour it into flasks

you're done!

nausine

Did I name a potion for nausea after a nausea medication here? Yes. Did I spell it differently in hopes that people wouldn't know that it is in fact the name of a nausea medication? Perhaps. But here we are... Yeah so I didn't know what to name this so... I mean like nausine fits right? Uh anyways, this potion is murky green and smells like goat shit. It tastes bitter but with a tinge of mint. Nausine is especially used for motion sickness.

side effects: drowsiness

lasts for 1 hour

serving size: this recipe makes three servings of nausine, 30 ml per serving, can only take 6 servings in a day, must space out intake of each serving by an hour

how to make nausine:

ingredients:

-40 ml of ram bile

-20 ml of purified drinking water

-1 cockatrice yolk

-5 yilandrea buds

-3 handfuls of bay leaves

-1 reed of brambleweed

procedure:

boil the ram bile for half an hour; make sure the room is well ventilated + make sure you wear protective clothing such as gloves and goggles

make sure that the bile doesn't contain anymore solid ingredients, including bone and other entities. if the bile you acquired is from a high quality retailer, you can probably skip this step.

set aside the bile, and pour the cockatrice yolk, yilandrea buds, bay leaves, and brambleweed into a motar and crush the ingredients until a paste is formed

put the paste into a pot with the drinking water and stir; boil the mixture for around 15 minutes, place a lid on the pot and leave it for 10 minutes

pour the substance into the bile and stir slowly over heat; keep the mixture over heat for an hour

move the potion into three different flasks, and you're done!

mulkings draught

Often referred to as a 'mulking', mulkings draught strengthens a person's ability to resist mind magic. Of course, this kind of brew isn't foolproof, but it's good enough against low level creatures that utilize mind magic. This potion was named after Tirin Mulkings, who made this recipe. Luckily, this one doesn't taste like straight up ass, instead, it tastes similar to greek yogurt. It smells slightly milky, and the potion is a very light blue, at first glance it appears white.

side effects: slight nausea

lasts for 1 hour

serving size: this recipe makes two servings of mulkings draught, 20 ml per serving, can take 7 servings in a day

how to make mulkings draught:

ingredients:

-30 ml of griffin milk

-a handful of blue caligrass

-4 tablespoons of mollusk eggs

-2 tablespoons of white peas

procedure:

boil the griffin's milk until the liquid releases steam, but not until it bubbles erratically; remember to continually stir the liquid

add the caligrass, mollusk eggs, and white peas

mush the ingredients until the liquid starts to bubble more erratically, then take the mixture off the heat

pour the mixture into a mortar, grind the ingredients carefully to avoid splashing the substance on yourself

once everything's mushed together, transfer the mixture into a clay pot and apply heat to the substance

mix it with a pestle for around 5~ minutes, then take it off the heat and pour the liquid into two flasks

all done!

hastency serum

Hastency serum makes the drinker's movements faster. If you drink two servings of this potion, it'll also increase your precision. Archers use this potion so often that it got the nickname 'archer's brew'. Hastency tastes similar to scotch and feels as if it burns the throat as it's consumed. The clear orange-yellow liquid is stored in a vial. It smells similar to rusty metal.

side effects: ache in knees, fingers, and elbows after effect fades away

lasts for 30 minutes

serving size: this recipe makes 4 servings of hastency serum, 10 ml per serving, can take 5 servings in a day

how to make hastency serum:

ingredients:

-3 oscaaret talons

-1 sailfish dorsal fish

-2 basset griffin claws

-2 owl eyes (any breed works)

-5 grams of molten rock

-a handful of fleetfoot hare hair (lmao)

-40 ml of wyvern spit

procedure:

make sure the wyvern spit doesn't have any large foreign objects in it

boil the spit overnight in a clay pot, make sure a lid is placed on the pot

before the spit is ready, grind the dorsal fin until it's breaks apart into chunky bits

in the morning, make sure the spit is really runny. If the spit is thicker than before, let it cool for a day and boil the spit again. If the spit is runny, place the talons, claws, dorsal fin, hair, and rocks into the pot

stir for 15 minutes slowly, then let it boil for 10 minutes

as the mixture boils, take the owl eyes and cut them over a small bowl; pour the liquid from the eyes into the pot and stir it until the liquid turns orange

once it turns orange stir it for another ~3 minutes and let it cool overnight

strain the potion, make sure no hair is present in the strained liquid

transfer it into 4 vials, and you're done!

ardor serum

Often simply called 'ardor', this potion helps replenishes a person's energy. Similar to hastency serum, this potion is stored in a vial. While it's useful, it's not the healthiest potion for the body. Taking too many in a short span of time can result in permanent mind fog, constant need to move (lots of fidgeting), fatigue, and insomnia. The liquid is chartreuse and murky. It smells like smoky dog sweat, and it tastes like candles and stale corn chips.

side effects: n/a

lasts for 30 minutes

serving size: this recipe makes 4 servings of ardor serum, 10 ml per serving, can take 2 servings in a week

how to make ardor serum:

ingredients:

-4 powdered pangolin scales

-4 teaspoons of taperoak sap

-3 highland wynmergier feathers

-5 sprouting sylican seeds

-1 handful of sickleweeds

-40 ml of sundew

procedure:

mix the sap into the sundew, do not place it over fire yet. Leave this mixture by a window that faces the sun the most for day

the next day, start boiling the mixture. Place the powdered scales into the pot and stir it until the powder's been well combined with the dew

place the seeds upright at the bottom of the pot; leave the pot on low heat for 6 hours

if the sprouts have turned white, cut up the sickleweeds and put them in the pot. Make sure you push them down to the bottom where the seeds are, but make sure they're not resting above the sprout.

burn the feathers over the liquid, then place the remnants into the pot. Don't stir, put a lid over the mixture and leave it overnight. The pot should still be over low heat

in the morning, stir everything together and strain it, make sure all large objects have been removed from the liquid

transfer the strained mixture into four vials, and you're done!

homework

this quiz is open note!

this one might be a little hard, so don't worry if you don't do too hot!

link to the quiz

next week, I'm thinking of talking about basic etiquette (should be pretty easy). After two more assignments, (not including this one) the first unit will be over! After each unit, there will be a 1 week break from assignments.

[whumpster-fire]

25 Exciting Phrases to Spice Up Your Next Business e-Mail

1: "Dear Motherfucker,"

2: "To whom it may concern, as well as the entire company directory who I am cc'ing because none of you care about my time so I don't care about yours,"

3: If you'd like to know why I am sending this e-mail, please consider reading it for fucking once."

4: "If I do not see conclusive evidence of your head being out of your ass in the next 3-5 business days, I will remove it from your shoulders."

5: "Please attach a current headshot and resume: the latter so I can laugh at your alleged qualifications, the former so I can print it out and put it on a dartboard as advised by HR's Anger Management Seminar"

6: "Due to the considerable destructive forces at my command,"

7: "Cc'ing The Pope on this one to keep him in the loop since the magnitude of this clusterfuck is nothing short of Biblical,"

8: "This is the fourth e-mail I have sent asking you to do your goddamn job. The fifth will be attached to a brick hurled through your office window. You do not want to know what the sixth will be, so get your shit together ASAP please."

9: "Please keep in mind that refraining from inappropriate use of the Reply All button is the only thing separating us from descending into complete Lord Of the Flies anarchy."

10: "All, please review the selection of Dilbert cartoons attached below and reflect on how they might be relevant to the current situation and your role in it."

11: "The Carpool Committee has unanimously voted to play exclusively Alvin And the Chipmunks songs in any vehicle you are a passenger in for a month the next time you schedule a mandatory meeting before 8 AM."

12: "The potted Ficus tree by the 4th Floor break room will be taking the lead on this project from this point on since it is more qualified than any of you."

13: "I didn't think I needed to inform everyone that 'accidentally' stapling your balls to get out of Company Spirit Meetings early is against company policy. However,"

14: "Due to recent events, any personal office supplies brought from home, e.g. paperweights, must now be checked with a Geiger counter."

15: "Please be advised that if you reply with a question that indicates you have not read and understood the list of action items below in its entirety, I will kick you in the teeth so hard you will chew with your appendix in the future."

16: "We regret to announce that Sean is now an outlaw and no longer protected by our Workplace Violence Policy. This decision was not made lightly, but the current situation re: the break room microwaves has forced our hand. Cc'ing Sean to keep him in the loop."

17: "Please keep in mind that you are neither the most profitable nor the most important of our clients, and your disproportionate share of billable hours is due primarily to your whininess, entitled attitude, and inability to give a straight answer."

18: "If you feel the need to contact me outside my scheduled hours, please write your issue on a piece of letter sized paper, then roll it up, seal it inside a glass bottle, and cast it into the ocean. This will get a faster response than emailing, calling, or texting me at 1 in the fucking morning."

19: "Team, As a result of employees being bombarded with hundreds of e-mails after inadvertently hitting reply all, we are now instituting the following change to our e-mail communication policy: to help prevent duplicate corrections, when admonishing a coworker who you feel has used Reply All inappropriately, please make sure to use Reply All as well so the other recipients can see that the responsible party has already been notified of their mistake."

20: "Cc'ing you on every e-mail about this issue due to your record of not giving a shit about a problem unless your time is being wasted."

21: "Please do not disturb the protective circle of salt around the 2nd fridge from the left in the break room, and do not under any circumstances open it without appropriate PPE and an escort from an old priest and a young priest."

22: "After consulting with Legal and HR, we have determined that the ficus tree by the 4th floor break room dispersing pollen into the office environment does not constitute a violation of our sexual harassment policy. Also, please be advised that the ficus tree is female and is not the source of your pollen allergies. No disciplinary action will be taken against it. However, your repeated complaints targeted at the ficus tree based on its status as a plant may constitute a hostile work environment. Please meet with HR ASAP to discuss this further."

23: "Team, Placing an 'Elf On the Shelf' in any location on company premises or within your home office where it may be able to see, overhear, or access proprietary information will result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. Company proprietary data may not be divulged to any unauthorized third parties, and that includes Santa Claus."

24: "Cc'ing Santa Claus to keep him in the loop on this one."

25: "Sincerely, The Only Guy Who Does His Goddamn Job Around Here."

[mermaidsirennikita]

Have ypu read HR where the heroine is as thristy as the hero? I love the hero being so down for the heroine but there is something so good about a heroine being all "look at that beautiful mouth, those long legs and very stromg arms" he looks so hot trying to to take my virtue away from me kind of thing

Yes, definitely!

In A Rogue's Rules for Seduction by Eva Leigh (which is a second chance romance--he left her at the altar) the heroine is, however reluctantly because she wants to stay mad at him, obsessed with the hero's bigness, his thighs. At one point he's in a toga for this little skit they're doing and she's basically a trembling mess. It's great.

When a Girl Loves an Earl by Elisa Braden has a heroine who's obsessed with the big, strong, silent Scottish hero (though, because he's kind of been trained to disguise his accent, she doesn't know that he's Scottish until they're literally on the way to get married lol). He's very resistant at first for Reasons, but she makes her obsession and lust super known.

The Temptation of a Highlander by Elisa Braden also has this, another big Scottish heroine. But this one is arguably funnier because she's always accidentally saying double entendres to him, IN FRONT OF EVERYONE, because she's just too horny and it keeps slipping out. Like "haha you're such a big man, you could probably break me in half" and everyone at the dinner table is like O_O.

Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley has a lower class heroine who sees the upper class (stern lawyer, much older than her) hero and becomes besotted with his sternness and coolness, and basically claws her way into becoming his kids' governess. She's SOOOO into him. And fortunately, he, very guiltily, is soooo into her. The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie is also really good on this level, Beth writes in journal about how into Ian she is lol.

Olivia and The Masked Duke by Grace Callaway has a very young heroine who sees the hero *doing things* to another woman and decides she must have him. He's her father's friend and is like "noooo" (yeeeees). This is a lot of Grace Callaway books--I would also recommend Glory and The Master of Shadows on this level.

My Dirty Duke by Joanna Shupe also has this, but the age gap is much bigger (for Olivia it's like... she's 18-20 and he's 32; this this book she's 20 and he's like 43 lmao). He's her dad's bestie and is all "no nope not happening" but she PERSISTS.

The Hunter by Monica McCarty has this; the hero is sent in to basically extricate the heroine (who is disguised as a nun) from a spy mission, and she becomes determined to have him. The Arrow has this even moreso; the hero is the heroine's ward after he rescued her from an attack that left her orphaned when she was 15ish. Years later, he returns when she's around 20 (he's 30ish) and tries desperately to resist her while she pursues him.

I think The Raven Prince (widowed heroine, she's his employee, she gets aggressively angry when he visits a brothel and begins to disguise herself as one of the sex workers in order to get into bed with him) and The Leopard Prince (she's an heiress, he's her steward, they begin an illicit affair) by Elizabeth Hoyt will give you these vibes.

Lord of Temptation by Lorraine Heath has a heroine who initially is resistant to the rakish piratical hero, but quickly succumbs despite being kinda uptight, because he DOES IT for her. They start an affair even though she's on the brink of getting engaged to another man; she's super obsessed with him and he slips into her room a lot.

I gotta say, my current reread (re-listen?) to Between the Devil and Desire by Lorraine Heath.... really has this, lol. Like, Jack and Olivia are very enemies to lovers, but beneath that she is EXTREMELY physically attracted to him from the jump, even though she super doesn't want to be and is UPSET about it. Like, she's just watching him, thinking about what he looks like in the bath, lingering over his body, getting drunk and asking him to kiss her. She had a very withholding marriage before, and he really awakens her just by existing lol.

Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks is charmingly this. The hero and heroine have an arranged marriage, but she's deaf and nobody realizes this so they think she's "daft". The hero doesn't want to sleep with someone who doesn't have the capacity to consent (give him a medal I guess?) so he's like "nah she and I are sleeping in separate bedchambers, I am not touching her even though she's so pretty" and she's so insistent on this NOT being the case that she like forcibly drags her trunks into his room and he finds her sleeping in his bed, waiting for him lmao. It gets much worse for him when he finds her bathing in the river and she realizes he's into it.

Obviously, Sierra Simone's Ivy Leavold trilogy of novellas is super erotic, and Ivy Leavold really wants to get with her employer from jump lol.

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe. Nellie and Lockwood are enemies at first, but they're also equally physically obsessed with each other, lol.

[alradeck]

Whole comic so far found here: https://caelumsky.thecomicseries.com/

So I'm going to start assembling a Caelum Sky Narrated Series on my youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiSg4laObGuDFeg3orfKvVw This is something I've wanted to do for a while, and folks seem to like them, so it's time to heap more onto the plate, haha. THIS POSITION IS PAID: I'm a firm believer in paying folks for their time. Also bearing in mind this is entirely funded on my own, so be reasonable. Please include your rates/hr in your email to Juncagen@gmail.com! You don't have to be a professional voice actor to apply! But a clear, clean voice recording (ie, decent mic, no dogs barking in the background/ noisy AC) is essential!  Must be able to record/ send files  (through audacity, what have you)   Voice lines are recorded a chapter at a time.  If you've voice acted in the past, be sure to include that on the email! CHARACTER NOTES- When you're trying out for these characters, please use the lines provided. This helps me gauge people 1:1 VOICES NEEDED: Neri - Main Character - Demon/ dinosaur - Female - Early 20's Neri is optimistic, and often sassy. Bright, energetic at times, worn down and cynical at others. Smartass preferred. Can be higher or lower, would prefer ability to growl the dinosaur lines with the same tone as the human lines a little more as inflection. More Sultry than Perky. Less Catty, none ditzy, but plenty vibrant. Sample line: " Ah, wow, cool, I'm just here minding my business, but thanks for stabbing me again" - Raziel- Main Character - Angel/ Exorcist - Male - Mid to Late 20's Raziel is tired. Worn down, unhappy, not droopy-esque though. To the point. Frustrated. Lower-ish voice, but young enough there's still a hint of energy to it. Can be lighthearted, often not. Not gruff, but not emotionally embellished in tone.  Embodies the person who's leaving work in an hour but got a task that'll take 4 hours past that. That's Raziel. 500% done with the world also works. Sample Line: "Listen, it's been a long day, I've got a busy day tomorrow of answering stupid questions, so if we could just... move on?" - Cempe - Major character- Demon/ Big Worm - Female, mid 30's. Cempe enjoys chaos, and mostly enjoys screwing around with other people. Enthusiastic. Sick of everyone's shit upon meeting. Ready to tease the big details in front of you only to pretend she's never offered them. Energetic, almost comically diabolical. Playing the game where only she holds the cards. Looking for someone to be able to growl the words a bit when in big wiggily form. Big "wine mom' energy. Sultry as heck. Sample Line: "Oh i'm so sorry! You can't just waltz in here and expect answers! That's paid for in blood." - Priest (His name is Dave) - Minorish Character - Human/ Exorcist/ Priest - Male - 60's Fatherly, a bit older. More optimistic at times, but tasked with trying to keep charge of chaos. Lighthearted at points, helpful but cautious. Is used to cleaning up messes and making sense of bad decisions. Tired. But less tired than Raziel. Sample Line: "I keep telling you, we can't keep saving every sad-eyed animal we come across. And no pet demons!" - Katherine - Minor Character - Human - Mom -Female - late 30's Weathered. Sassy. Deeper smoker's esque voice (no comical smoking voices) Level-headed, apprehensive. Has had a rough life, but exists in calm currently (somewhat) Distrustful. Hard to convince. Sample Line: "If you can just ask doggy to not, uh, rip open any more walls, I'm sure it'll work out okay" - Amber - Minor/Majorish character - Human - Female - 4 and 8 years old. I can't rightfully expect someone to be able to replicate a literal child. I'm also not gonna dabble with doing hyper baby-ish voices. Looking for a lighter voice, quiet, happy. Optimistic, Bright. Impervious to seeing the bad side of things. Excited to have a giant dinosaur as a friend. Sample Line:  "That's just fine! If you stay here at the house, then we'll never have to deal with the other monsters!"

[chirpsythismorning]

So crazy there is more than meets the eye with those 3. At first I was thinking: Of course Will is sitting away from the happy couple after his own feeling were used to fix them. Wonderful. Now I think Will must have chose to sit away from them to avoid further heartache and prepare himself for being back in Hawkins. In those 2 days, even if we didn't see it there is no way both of them didn't offer to swap seats or tell him to sit with them at some point to be more comfortable you know?

They were so unhinged for that 2 days later epilogue! Though, I definitely understand why they did it.

In fact, that time jump is probably one of the strongest arguments pointing to milkvan bones in s5.

Because if Mike's monologue was truly as satisfying as so many hardcore fans insist it was, then why didn't we get the aftermath of said satisfying monologue? Why didn't we get El opening her eyes, finally being able to look back at Mike meaningfully after this highly anticipated moment, kissing or even just embracing. And THEN fade to black and do the time jump?

(If you want to see this exact scene, but romantic, check out Stiles saving Lydia from 5x16 of Teen Wolf... Literally the exact same scene, but with a genuine romantic lens... After watching that, you'll realize how truly unromantic Mike's monologue was).

Giving us the aftermath of Mike's love confession would have nicely closed off the conflict related to him not being able to say it to El, going on 2 seasons now? But instead they're going to leave it ambiguous, and stretch it one more season?

Yeah... okay.

Though we know, because Will asks Mike, has she talked to you at all, that the answer is... not much. ?

And so I think you're right. I think in major part, Will made that choice to sit in front of them after the monologue, because from his POV, everything that happened at Surfer Boy was strictly romantic. It was Mike professing his love (at first sight) to El.

Him being able to face away from them, in turn attempting to stay out of their way and try to keep everything that just happened from completely destroying him (i feel like my life started that day we found you in the woods), by literally facing the opposite direction... As well as looking forwards, preparing for what is just ahead of them. It's tragic but it's also very typical Will Byers behavior.

Something that really makes me uncomfortable about the time jump, is the fucking painting.

The aftermath of the monologue, in regards to how El was behaving towards Mike, clearly contradicted what Will said to Mike about the painting El commissioned (obviously). So maybe Mike just felt sort of confused on the way back to Hawkins, which is why he likely didn't address the painting? Despite it sitting there right in front of them (with Will facing away, allowing him to not feel stressed about addressing it at least?).

And then of course there's El's POV to consider during that 20 hr ride. Honestly I think she was preoccupied with Max mostly, but also, she's not stupid.

We know she knows about the painting. We know she's been around for conversations where the people talking didn't know she was hearing what was outright being said, ie. the fight at rink o mania where Will mentioned Mike never calling AND Dustin mentioning how Mike is always whining about the Byers' line being busy AND El hearing Will say Mike's the heart during the monologue...

So, whose to say she didn't see the painting sitting in the back seat.? Could that have been the point where it sort've clicked for her? I mean, even though we didn't see her see it, or any of them agknowledge the painting during the epilogue for that matter, it would be as easy as a less than measly 10 second flashback to allude to it. I don't think that's what it would look like, but all i'm saying, it wouldn't take a lot to give that impression.

It would make sense for her to just keep quiet because she's also got a lot on her mind. She's probably feeling guilty for her own reasons with everything that went down.

I think in regards to Will she's probably preparing herself for a follow-up conversation about what just went down. Because I don't think she would bring it up to Mike first when it comes to the painting... If she saw the painting and it clicked, it would have to be Will that she brought it up to, I feel like?

I could be wrong, but even though El isn't well versed in social etiquette, I just can't see her directly mentioning the painting being from Will to Mike and not her, without at least talking about it with Will first, just like he did with her at Rink O Mania.

Will waited until the very last second, THEN he told Mike the truth, when there was literally no other option.

That's the only way I could see her doing the same in Will's case... Until there is no other option... In that case, it could be Mike confronting her about it and about how he doesn't understand why what he said didn't work if she felt all those things... I could see that being a scenario where she'd be like, talk to will. But still, I think even if that happened, she still would've talked to Will at least vaguely before that point.

Although I am looking forward to it, it's going to be sort of scary seeing El and Mike predictably falling apart early s5, and Will perhaps panicking and distancing himself even more bc he thinks he might have something to do with their problems and miscommunication in the first place ie the painting.

Now, when it comes to whether or not El or Mike offered for Will to join them in the backseat, I'm going to hope they did offer, at least once, preferably numerous times, but each time Will refused.

Otherwise I have to consider the possibility Mike didn't offer bc he was scared it would make his feelings obvious and he's already nervous El is catching on to him... Which Idk that feels odd and OOC?

I could however consider the possibility of El being annoyed/frustrated with both of them and just letting them wallow in their self pity on their own. Mike offering. Will refusing. El just rolling her eyes like, these fucking morons.

Also another reason I think Mike might have made the move to gravitate more towards Will near the end of the season was because they're now back in Hawkins and we know Hawkins isn't the same without Will. It could have been entirely subconscious on Mike's part, making his behavior in s5, of him transitioning back to his very observant self in relation to Will, a lot smoother.

But still, I fully expect Will to scram whenever either of them are in his sights, specifically near each other. Like I could totally see him being like Sorry! I'll leave you guys to it! Or even just silently making it obvious that's what he's doing.

And Mike being confused bc of Will and also confused bc of El.

The miscommunication is going to be miscommunicationing. I simply cannot wait!!

[trainingcenter]

7 Leading Malaysian Universities The Place You Can Examine Data Science

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Then, the Hypermarket can analyse the data to make methods on which products to inventory more, tips on how to value the merchandise, when to have sales to increase the shopper stroll in, etc. Students after SPM or O-Levelsmay go for theFoundation in Computing at Asia Pacific Universityfor 1 yr before persevering with on to the 3-yr Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with specialism in Data Analytics degree. As we said earlier, there are hundreds of thousands of potential data points, so maintaining each one conveniently tucked away in its personal little nook, and making sure data is organized in a useful way is crucial. Good group will allow you to reach the right conclusions at the finish of your work. 360digitmgcounseled us on-line & then picked us up from the airport to visit MMU so as to help us choose the best college. Data science, which is a more recent field, is closely primarily based on the usage of computer systems and technology.

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[myveryownpersonalhell]

Introvert Issues

A generic rant, nothing more.

Being a huge introvert, I appreciate quiet time. I love my current job for a few reasons:

First, I have my own office that's away from most of the other staff, and I have peace and quiet for most of the day. Occasionally, someone will pop in to quickly say hi or ask a question, but I'm fine with that.

Second, I get to set my own schedule; my boss knows that I know what I'm doing, and he's never had an issue with me getting my work done or meeting deadlines. There's no micromanaging, nagging, or 'friendly reminders'. I'm given a job, and I do it.

Third, casual dress code (nothing really to do with introversion, but throwing on a pair of jeans and a hoodie every morning saves me the time of having to decide on what to wear, and saves me the cost of buying and maintaining dress clothes). I'm not a fashion icon, and I know nothing about brand names or high-end stuff, or even fashion itself. My clothes are functional, not classy.

Fourth, my boss and almost all of my coworkers rock. We all work well together, we collaborate well, and we're all on the same page.

Of course, there's usually always one that drives you nuts.

My job involves a lot of things. Accounting, HR, safety stuff, IT stuff, website design and server maintenance, graphic design, etc. I do a wide variety of things, and I really do love it. A lot of what I do requires concentration, which is why a quiet office is beneficial to me. Of course I deal with interruptions, but they're usually minimal. Most of my coworkers take a few minutes of my time if they have a question, and the conversations are short and necessary, or there's a quick call. But, concentration is key, and so is quiet. I can't concentrate if a radio is playing, or if someone is constantly talking. Most of my coworkers understand this.

Then, there's Emily, who is a massive extrovert, and she is literally incapable of not talking or making some sort of noise. I can avoid her most of the time, but to me, she's utterly exhausting just to be around.

She'll literally walk up a flight to stairs to use the bathroom near my office just to have an excuse to talk to me. There's a bathroom about ten steps from her desk, but she'll literally walk across the office, up the stairs and down the hall just to use the upstairs bathroom and then she MUST say hi, and tell me all about her weekend or evening for 20-30 minutes.

I've told her I'm busy multiple times, and she didn't take a hint. I've ignored her, and she still keeps talking. It's at the point where, if I hear her coming, I pick up the phone and pretend I'm on a call. But, even that doesn't work, because she's incapable of existing in silence.

If she can't talk to me for whatever reason, she'll make noise somehow. If she ran up the stairs, she'll make loud panting noises to prove how exhausted she is. If she sees me on the phone she'll 'talk' to herself and make sad, disappointed noises as she walks by. And, if all else fails, she'll burst into song and start singing to herself, loudly. If she's making a coffee, she'll talk herself through every single step and comment on what the coffee pot looks like, how long it's taking, how much water she used, and so on.

My boss has given me the go-ahead to close my door and stick a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on it, but even that doesn't do it. She'll stand outside my door and talk to herself. For fifteen straight minutes.

Holy fuck. I cannot deal.

I know extroverts need to externalize, to some degree. But, this is almost pathological. She cannot exist quietly. She's incapable. She doesn't know how. She has to verbalize every single breath, thought, action and feeling.

And I don't know how to deal with it. I'm at a complete loss. I used to enjoy coming to work, and now I dread it.

[michaelbranch]

A Brief Summary of Ideas: 80/20 Triathlon

*These summaries are kept intentionally very brief, just hitting what I consider some of the important/interesting takeaways, most word-for-word or paraphrased. My goal is also to stick to ideas/principals that might guide others (or my future self) in deciding the value of a read (or re-reading). T = takeaway, Q = Question

80/20 Triathlon: Discover the Breakthrough Elite-Training Formula for Ultimate Fitness Performance – At All Levels

Author(s): Matt Fitzgerald & David Warden

Specificity: To be effective, the training you do  must be specific to the thing you’re training for.

Volume: Need to hit the sweet spot between too little and too much.

Intensity: How hard, relative to your personal limits.

Lactate threshold: exercise intensity at which lactate begins to accumulate in the blood. Highest exercise intensity that can be sustained for up to 60 minutes.

80/20 rule: Approximately 80% of training done at low intensity and the remaining 20% at moderate to high intensity.

The border between low and high is the ventilatory threshold (VT): the level of exertion at which the breathing rate spikes. Falls at or near 78% of max HR in the typical trained person.

Low intensity range bottom end around 60% of max HR.

Boundary between moderate and high intensity falls at the respiratory compensation point, roughly 93% of max HR.

Higher the intensity of exercise, the longer the nervous system takes to recover.

Heart rate has certain limitations as a measure of exercise intensity.

Overcoming barriers to 80/20 training:

Smaller low-intensity range

Lower volume

Lack of good coaching

Lack of buy-in

Ego

The natural-pace compromise

Intensity blindness

Habit inertia

Each workout has 3 basic elements.

Duration/distance

Intensity

Structure

Cycling is the most important triathlon discipline; as typically more time spent biking than swimming and running combined.

Power is the gold standard of measuring cycling output.

Best cadence is about 90 rpm.

Hour for hour running imposes more stress on the body and carries more risk of injury than swimming or cycling.

Greatest barrier to running is incorrect distribution of intensity.

Distance-based vs. time-based workouts

Distance based training fuels the fire of the moderate intensity rut.

Time-based training plans are more likely to be adhered to.

Precise 80/20 ratios can only be precisely planned for in time.

Time-based workouts ensure maximally effective intensity doses.

Strength, flexibility, and mobility are important also.

6 steps of creating your own 80/20 training plan.

Define your training cycle (Generally 12-24 weeks).

Schedule recovery weeks (reduce training hours by 30-40%).

Create a default weekly workout schedule/microcycle (in general include nearly equal numbers of workouts in each discipline, distribute based on workout format).

Plan your peak training step cycle.

Plan your first training week.

Fill in the rest of your schedule (make each week a little more challenging, except recovery weeks).

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

The right way to achieve optimal pacing entails 3 steps.

Use the training process to establish appropriate performance goals.

Draw up a pacing plan that is specific to the course and expected conditions.

Execute.

[tits4life]

time to write a proper response woosh

"uncooked bread...craving burned toast"

Excuse me who you calling uncooked- also wait is that a threat O.o

yeah. Life fucking sucks. Especially for me on that day ugh. When my days go increasingly bad I do somethings that I look forward to, to make me happy but then that thing also tipped me off and I reached my breaking point.

eh

Queen I don't think it's really healthy to sleep that much- dummy take care of your health!!

but I get that, being drained by ppl and all, hhhh..

Like I said that fic kinda thing is a trilogy so there's a third part to it too but now I don't feel very good, don't wanna write

Ee... your reactions

Like I had sent had I? Well reaffirming, Older then 15 but ok, I don't write smut mostly anyways let alone ever send anyone..

Have a nice day<3

~🍞

I like uncooked bread and no it's not a threat. Not reAlly..

Actually my day has been going good. Too good to true. when I returned home from school turn out a shopkeeper gave me extra money accidentally 😛. It was just 20 so I didn't return back ;P

Dw toast your day will start to get better too. Eat a toast everyday to keep bad things away 👍

eh?

I feel good to sleep. 13 hrs of sleep a day is a must. I recommend. and short naps on the class as well or my brain lags.

more likely i drain other people but it works the other way around too

I understand you. The sudden loss of motivation. The biggest urge hits me during chemistry class mostly because i don't listen shit, it comes like a roundhouse kick on the gut. The girl sitting next to me thinks i am having anxiety but no, I just want to talk about how good of an eye candy Goo is and my thirst for him to the point where I can't sit still but I can't talk abt him here because phones are NOT fucking allowed in the school. And then I reach home, everything is annoying and I just want to sleep.

Yes, I did get your message but to explain it in short this is what happened inside my brain

"Oh they are older than 15, I am on the line of red zone ig? should I reply? But that's their age, what if they don't want people to know? But it's sent anonymously so ig there won't be a problem? AND? it's still their personal information? BUT STILL what if they don't want people to know??? BUT-"

I thought like this for an hour before I came up with the best possible solution. ToJustNotThinkAboutItAtAll. Just with that I slept again. Sorry if you though I was rude for not replying to you. I won't guarantee that it won't happen again :D

Ik I overreacted. I did use to write smuts when I was 12 but now I see my little cousin who is 13 watching doraemon and spongebob... wildfire spread on my mind yk thinkling abt "What if they are kids and I am asking them smut? HUH?" nearly lost my shit a little

Have a nice day too toast <3

[hongkongsoftgo]

Adobe after effect cs6 kickas torrent

In the end we decided not to, since many people seem to have garbage files or data points that screw up their mean maximal power curve, and hence the model fit (why people let such things persist is another question). The good news is that WKO4 has a far nicer UI for setting FTP (sFTP), so it shouldn't take all that long to do so (and the fact that you have to do it manually should discourage people from micromanaging their sFTP, which is a bad idea).Īs an aside, one thing we debated was whether to let the program enter sFTP for you (based on the model-derived FTP, or mFTP), either by default or by active choice. Unfortunately, due to differences in the way WKO+ 3 and TrainingPeaks handled such historical metadata, it wasn't possible to seamlessly carry over over your FTP settings used to calculate TSS, and hence CTL/ATL/TSB. I've even coached older cyclists in their 60s looking to get stronger on their group rides with friends.Marcag wrote:Now if only I recalculate TSS scores :-) I've coached just about every type of athlete in the past, from young world class triathletes in their 20s, competitive cyclists in their 30s and 40s to older athletes in their 50s (like me) looking to just get back in shape. now.Īlthough I don't actively coach right now, I do give FREE advice to athletes looking to set up a training program for the first time or to seasoned athletes looking to 'break-through' to a higher level of racing/training. I've been training and coaching with Power for over 10 yrs. I also think you must become a Level 2 Coach before you're able to take the exam. To become a Power Based Coach you have to pass a pretty comprehensive exam by USA Cycling on the use of Power Meters for Cycling Coaching. I was the first USA Cycling Power Based Cycling Coach in the State of Pennsylvania. I'm a USA Cycling Level 2 Power Based Coach. It also has a user forum that will help you with any questions you have. Golden Cheetah has a nice Help menu with documentation to support all of their charts/graphs. Training Peaks will tell you that it's not well supported but that's BS. If you don't like it after using it, then erase/delete it. You want to look at HR vs Power, create a chart and you've got it.ĭon't take my word for it, check it out and download Golden Cheetah for Free. Unlike Training Peaks Software, Golden Cheetah lets you create and customize your own performance charts. The terminology might be a tad different, for example, Training Peaks Software calls your maximum sustained average power at Threshold your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) where Golden Cheetah calls it your Critical Power (CP).

And, Golden Cheetah has just as many metrics for post ride analysis as Training Peaks Software does- maybe more. The best part is, it reads all of my files including my *.FIT Computrainer Files and my Garmin bike computer files. Having downloaded and used the latest version of Golden Cheetah, I have to say it's a damn nice software program (for Free). Andrew Coggan (like I did), Training and Racing with a Power Meter", it shows you how to read and work with all of the metrics that Training Peaks Software uses/offers.

Besides, if you bought the book by Hunter Allen and Dr. I heard of Golden Cheetah years ago but I never looked at it because Training Peaks software did the job. So, now, I've punted on Training Peaks software and I'm using the Open Source (Free) Software called Golden Cheetah. I think $179 is way too much $$ so I emailed Training Peaks and the best they could do was to offer me a 10% discount.

You have to upgrade to WKO+ 4 either as a monthly subscription or buy the software outright for $179 to read *.FIT files. Training Peaks WKO+ 3 doesn't read *.FIT files it only reads *.TXT files. I gave up on WKO+ 3 recently because my NEW ErgVideo software now saves my Computrainer training files in *.FIT format instead of *.TXT format. When I became an USA Cycling Level 2 Power Based Coach, I used WKO+ 3 from Training Peaks Software exclusively for post-ride analysis.

[chudleycanonficfest]

Day 20, Story #2 is by @floreatcastellumposts

Title: Dittany Author/Artist: FloreatCastellum Pairing: Neville/Hannah Prompt: Bravery Rating: T Trigger Warning(s) (if any): Discussion of maternal death, mentions of violence. 

Hannah's mother had been a muggleborn, and that had been her death sentence. 

Or rather, she had been a muggleborn with the audacity and bravery to be proud about it. 

Most muggleborns ended up slipping entirely into wizarding society, and as much as they might say that they would keep in touch with their roots, the magic took over. Jeans became robes, electronics didn’t work in their homes so their pop culture references grew stale, the effort involved in keeping the statute of secrecy for extended family and old friends was too exhausting to sustain, so they saw them less and less and eventually… 

This had not happened for Mum, even though the Abbotts were a very old family, well rooted in the magical community. She had agreed with Dad to live in Godric’s Hollow, because the Abbotts had lived there for many generations, but she had insisted on Hannah attending the local primary school, where she could make muggle friends. She was adamant that they make regular trips to Liverpool, to visit her side of the family, who believed that she worked in HR (which she did, but for a potion manufacturer, not for a haulage company as they believed) and that Hannah had received a scholarship to an exclusive boarding school, and that Dad owned a pub (which he did, but they neglected to mention that it was frequented by witches, wizards, goblins, the occasional hag and a half giant). And when the Stephens side of the family came to visit, they would have a flurry of activity where they would hide away anything magical-looking, and from the loft they would bring down the big television, and they would speed read some muggle newspapers so they could give their opinions on Tony Blair or Men Behaving Badly or Charles and Diana’s divorce or whatever else they thought might come up.  

That was life as Hannah knew it, and it never felt complicated or brave or shocking or daring or any of the things she later found out it was. 

She remembered certain details from the day very clearly. She’d been easing sneezewort plants out of their pots, the last repotting before winter, her fingers shaking at the long, pale roots, creating a rain of soil. The last of the cream coloured petals, curled and brown at the edges, fell onto the potting bench. There was a sudden shock of cold air, a breeze from the door opening that hit their faces and whipped through their hair.  

‘Professor Dumbledore’s here,’ said Susan with surprise, and Hannah had glanced up to see him closing the door to the humid greenhouse, his long white beard tucked into his belt, Professor Sprout hurrying over to him. 

Hannah looked back down at her plant. The roots were all tangled together. Professor Dumbledore was probably here for Harry Potter, there were all sorts of rumours flying around about secret meetings between the two of them. 

The plant needed a much bigger pot, but the roots were strong, there was no rot there. 

‘Hannah.’ 

There was no hiding the bewilderment on her face. She had never had a direct conversation with the Headmaster before, and here he was, speaking kindly, gently, softly, one hand touching her shoulder and the other, black looking, gesturing to the door. 

‘I need to-’ she started saying, as he led her out. Everyone was staring. 

‘Don’t worry, dear,’ said Professor Sprout, and her voice sounded so strange, ‘I’ll finish up here for you.’ 

Perhaps part of her had known then. She knew it was something terrible. She was too afraid to ask. No one was ever pulled out of class for a good reason. She walked up to the castle alongside him as though in a dream, her heart beating up through her throat and into her mouth.

She was not sure how it happened, but suddenly she was in the warmth of his office, staring at Professor Dumbledore’s grave face, his lips moving, without really hearing, except for that first, terrible, world destroying little phrase. 

‘I’m so very sorry to tell you that your mother has been found dead.’ 

There would be no worse event, no greater loss, no stronger pain in her entire life. 

There was still dirt under her nails and in the creases of her palms, she noticed, as she reached into the silver box of floo powder. 

It had been so long since she had seen Godric’s Hollow like this, golden and red in its autumn. Fallen leaves tumbled and floated down the river that rushed through the village, or collected in the gutters along the cobbled roads, damp and heavy. The sun stayed a little lower each day, casting long shadows across the beer garden of The Lost Owl, and the wind ruffled the sign on the door which read ‘Closed due to family bereavement.’ 

During the days, she wondered what to do with herself, stuck between boredom and terrible, overwhelming grief. When she could cry no more, she wondered if there was something wrong with her for wanting to find something interesting or fun to do, but when she tried to read, she could not focus. When she tried to listen to the radio, she would fall asleep. She could not bring herself to ask her weeping father to play cards or chess or anything with her. She thought of going back into school, but how could she see other people? Now that the world had ended? She wanted to tell people about it, wanted to say the words enough until they made sense to her, or until someone found the right words to say back that would make it OK, but she did not want to do this to her friends. 

At nights, she would cry herself to sleep, and her whispers, please come back please Mummy please come back, would grow and grow and grow into sobs, begging into her pillow as the agony of it tore at her, the desperation, the feverish thought that there had to be something, that this couldn’t be it, there had to be a way, a special way, just for them, just for her, because it was her mother and there was no way she could live without her. Mum wouldn’t leave her like this, there was no way Mum would allow it, she would go to the ends of the earth to make sure that Hannah was happy, she had always said so, she had always promised… 

But Death was something parents could not protect their children from, it seemed. The more Hannah thought on it, the more she became crushingly devastated, horrified to realise that each and every human on Earth had to endure this at some point. In different ways, at different times, with different feelings, but the mere act of bringing a child into the world was to condemn that child, one day, to the unbearable pain of loss. Every person she passed, she wondered, have you suffered as I have? Or is it yet to come for you? She wished she could spare them from it.

The aurors said she was probably targeted because she loudly and openly discussed her muggle heritage in the pub, and it must have been heard by the wrong people. That was what passed for bravery these days. 

In the church of St Jerome, the stained glass window pattered with rain, and Hannah looked up at the colours of red and yellow and green rather than looking at the coffin with the splay of lilies, and she wondered when this nightmare would end, when Mum would come back, and tell her that everything would be all right. 

***

Months passed in unbearable agony, worse than she could have imagined. But there were glimmers of light there too. 

Here, at the school she thought she would never return to, in the place that was filled with unimaginable horror and oppression, she had purpose again. More purpose, in fact, than she had ever had in her life. And with it, new friendships that ran deeper than she had ever expected. 

‘This way,’ Neville whispered, and they ran low across the lawn of the grounds. Some of the windows in the castle behind them blazed with light, so that she thought for a terrible moment that they must be visible from the Great Hall, but, of course, the windows would be black with night to anyone who looked out from them. 

It was the summer term now, but the air was still cold as they panted, as though Dementors were close, which, she reasoned, they might be. She could feel the dew of the grass, left to grow long since Hagrid had left, soaking the bottoms of her jeans, seeping through her ratty trainers. 

Following the dark shadow of Neville’s figure, she ran through the grounds until she heard the crunch of gravel underfoot, and, ahead, the slight shine of starlight reflecting off the greenhouses. 

‘They’re in greenhouse three,’ Neville muttered, and her stomach dropped. 

He did not notice, and continued to hurry along the garden path, past the raised beds for the hardier plants and herbs, and she followed, but at a walk now, dread gnawing at her. 

He stopped at the door, holding his hands up to the glass to peer in. ‘OK…’ he said, still breathless from the run. ‘OK, looks clear… Now, while I talk to the venomous tentacula, you grab a tray, and fill it with perlite and only a few handfuls of compost, it’s a mountain plant so it likes it nice and rocky.’ 

‘OK,’ she said, and though she thought she sounded normal, he turned to her. She could barely make out his expression in the darkness. 

‘Are you all right?’ 

‘I… I’m sorry, I just… I haven’t been in the greenhouses for a long time… especially not this one. I should have thought before I volunteered, I'm sorry.’ 

She felt immediately embarrassed for blurting it out, and she had no idea if Neville would even grasp what she was getting at. He had been in the class, yes, but did he even remember that day? What had been the worst day of her life had been a perfectly ordinary school day for the rest of her classmates, and so many terrible things had happened since then. 

‘I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘I can’t leave you out here.’ 

She thought he was telling her off, or saying that they had to go back, but before she had the time to feel hurt or ashamed, he was holding out his hand towards her. 

She swallowed, and then placed her trembling hand in his. She was not unaccustomed to physical touch with him, or many others. Over the past year, she had tended wounds and comforted people as they cried, she had grasped hands and arms and knees under desks to soothe people or tell them to control themselves, she had passed secret notes and morsels of food and whatever else needed smuggling, slipping it nimbly from her fingers into their palms as they passed in the corridors.  

But now his fingers pressed firm and reassuring against hers, and there was something very different about them holding hands. 

She let him lead her into the greenhouse; the humid, warm air surrounded them at once, like an odd sort of hug that sat heavy on their lungs. Tall, leafy plants towered above them, brushing the domed glass high above their heads, which magically reflected the brilliant stars above them and lit the place in glorious silver. 

Now that she was in here, she felt a little better. The dread that had stopped her ever returning here, that had caused her to drop herbology and pretend that this part of the castle no longer existed, had not come to pass. It was, after all, simply a greenhouse, and Mum could not die again. 

‘Are you all right?’ he said gently. 

‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘Thank you.’ 

He nodded, and reached for some gloves on a nearby bench. She missed his hand around hers. ‘Let’s move quickly, and get you out of here,’ he said, donning some goggles and a thick leather apron.  

She went to the potting tables where Professor Sprout always stood, and seized a large seedling tray. As she took handfuls of compost and perlite, she could see Neville wrestling with the venomous tentacular, saying, ‘I’ll bring you doxy granules tomorrow - I’ll move you to a sunnier spot - I already checked with Professor Sprout - come on, you knew this was part of the deal, we agreed-’

Eventually, when he had tied enough of the writhing vines together with garden twine and stroked the shoots into calmness, he gave a nod to Hannah, and started to remove his protective gear as she hurried over and they squeezed behind the plant

There, on a table surrounded by blue lanterns to make up for the blocked light caused by the tentacula, were long, deep pots, stuffed with dittany. Their slender, arching stems were clustered with pleasant green leaves, with a dusty sort of whiteness, and they were dotted with pink flowers. She had never seen the plant as it was before; she had only ever remembered the little vials of dittany kept in their first aid kit, good for scraped knees and cuts from any broken glass in the pub. Mum had always said it was good to be prepared in an emergency, it had been one of her funny little things like that, along with being a bit of a hypochondriac, and so Hannah had had a vial in the bottom of her trunk when she returned to school. That, combined with her good potions knowledge, had helped her stumble into a kind of mothering role that she found had rather suited her. 

‘I just need the flowers, the book says,’ she said, as Neville started gently pulling some up by the roots. 

‘Yes, but I think it’d be good if I can grow another set somewhere, as a back up so we don’t have to keep sneaking out here. It’s just me and Seamus in the dorm, I don’t think he’d mind if I put them in the window between Harry and Ron’s beds. Here, take these, cut the flowers where the stem splits off - yeah, there - so it’ll grow back.’ 

‘It’s really pretty,’ she said. ‘I wasn’t expecting it to be so pretty. It’s usually that the most useful plants are the ugliest.’ 

‘It is,’ said Neville absent-mindedly. ‘It’s from Crete. The healing properties were only discovered in the 17th century - people used to think it was an aphrodisiac, and it’s still used in some love potions.’ 

She looked at him, and though the light in the greenhouse was white starlight only, she could still see his cheeks burn red. 

‘It’s… it’s not, though,’ he mumbled. ‘Well… a little bit, but I… I don’t know why I said that.’

‘Because it’s interesting,’ she said quickly, as he busied himself repotting the seedlings. He nodded rapidly, and cleared his throat a little, and she cast around for something to say. ‘You… you should be careful, growing these in the dorm. If you’re caught-’

‘There’s no rule against growing plants,’ he said. ‘I’ve had plants up there loads of times. Especially my mimbulus mimbletonia, that’s had pride of place for a while.’

‘You know they don’t need an explicit rule,’ she said quietly. ‘They do what they want. If they think you’re… doing anything good, anything kind. That’s enough.’ 

He nodded, looking down at the delicate, thin roots of the dittany. There was a reason that he and Professor Sprout were growing such an innocent plant in such secrecy. ‘I know… but… it’s worth the risk.’ 

‘That’s very brave.’ 

‘Is it? Just growing a plant? Is that what passes for bravery these days?’ 

‘Yes,’ she said honestly. ‘Anything good does now. And it’s not just that.’ She paused, still cradling one of the delicate, rose pink flowers in her hand. ‘I mean… what were you thinking in muggle studies the other day? I hated seeing you screaming like that.’ 

‘Well I had to say something. It was repulsive, what she was saying about muggle children.’ 

‘No one believes her, no one really thinks-’

‘We don’t know that. Maybe some people might start believing her, because it’s easier. And anyway, it’s not just about that. Remember Umbridge?’ 

‘I try not to,’ she said dryly, and in the pale, washed out starlight she saw him grin. 

‘I know it’s stupid, but as Ginny and Luna haven’t come back, and Harry and Ron aren’t here, or Dean, or loads of other people… I’ve been-’ he sighed, as though frustrated he couldn’t find the words, ‘I’ve been trying to think about what they would do. I can’t afford to be Neville Longbottom, I’ve got to be someone braver. And Harry used to just completely go off on her, used to tell her straight in lessons that You-Know-Who was back, and, yeah, it got him more trouble than it felt like it was worth at the time, but you know what? I always found it really inspiring.’ 

‘I did too,’ she said quietly. ‘I remember thinking… well… why would he stick to a lie through all that?’ 

‘Exactly. He had principles, and if he was here he wouldn’t stand for any of that rot. There’s a lot of times over the past few months where I’ve just tried to…’ he shrugged helplessly, ‘pretend that I’m Harry. That I’m brave.’ 

‘I don’t think you’re pretending at all,’ she said. ‘You are brave. You always have been. You’re a Gryffindor, aren’t you?’ 

‘Somehow.’ 

‘No somehow about it. You’re the bravest man I know, and that includes Harry.’ 

‘How on earth does it include Harry?’ he asked, and he sounded like he was on the verge of laughter. 

‘Because he’s had to be,’ she said. ‘I’ve grown up in Godric’s Hollow, you know, I’ve seen the ruined house that he lived in. He’s had to be brave all the way from when he was a baby. But I didn’t. You didn’t. You’ve chosen to be brave, you’ve chosen to channel him. You're a pureblood, you could choose, every day, to keep your head down and get on with things, but you don't. You stand up and call her a bigoted liar in class and get tortured and you never back down. I find that more inspiring than anything.’ 

‘That’s very kind of you,’ he said quietly.  

‘And you were brave lots of times even before. Don’t you remember winning those points all the way back in first year?’ 

He beamed, and looked at her directly, for the first time since he had blurted out that dittany was an aphrodisiac. ‘You remember that?’ 

‘Of course I do. Dumbledore pointing out about standing up to your friends - he was so right, that does take a lot of bravery. I tried to do it next year, when Ernie was telling me that Harry was the heir of Slytherin. I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t as brave as you, but at least I tried, I suppose.’ 

‘I think you’re very brave too,’ he said. ‘Looking after everyone like this, handing out essence of dittany, running out here with me to get more… I’m sorry that you’ve had to come back in here. I didn’t think.’ 

‘I didn’t either,’ she said, and she started cutting more flowers. ‘I was just so focused on the idea of more, I didn’t really think about where I’d be getting it from… But, you know, I’m OK, actually. The thought of it was worse than the reality. It’s just a greenhouse.’ She looked around. The white starlight bleached the dark greenery into shades of silver, bounced off the watering cans, sparkled in the droplets of water from the sprinklers. ‘A very beautiful one.’ 

‘I like to think so,’ he said, a little hoarsely. ‘I always found this whole place beautiful, but now it… sometimes feels like only the greenhouses still are. They’re the only place I haven’t seen people being tortured.’ 

She paused. ‘I’m secretly thankful my mum isn’t alive to see this. Is that awful? I’m just glad she never had to worry about me being here. I feel bad enough for Dad.’ 

‘It’s not awful,’ said Neville. ‘I know what you mean.’ 

‘Do you?’ 

‘My parents don’t know anything about what’s going on, and for the first time in my life, I’m glad,’ he said, and for some reason his words seemed to surprise him. 

‘What do you mean?’ she asked, and without thinking she put down the little secateurs and touched his arm. He breathed deeply, not quite meeting her eyes, pressing down one of the seedlings quite firmly into the tray, before finally turning to her.

‘I live with my gran, because… my…’ He took another deep breath, and suddenly there was a clanging from outside. 

They froze, and heard a low voice swearing. 'Bloody wheelbarrow…' 

Hearts thudding, they ducked down and stayed silent, Neville silently mouthing for Hannah to get onto the large empty shelf under the potting table, where bags of compost were usually kept. He reached up, fumbling for the secateurs, and then started crawling along on his belly. 

'What are you doing?' she whispered, horrified. Alecto Carrow was opening the door to the greenhouse, still muttering and swearing about the wheelbarrow he had tripped over. 

He put a finger to his lips, and then pointed at the venomous tentacula, which had begun to writhe against the twine. The snip snip snip of the secateurs seemed unreasonably loud, but from the other side of the greenhouse Carrow did not appear to hear them, rifling noisily through the plants and shrubs, sending terracotta pots crashing to the floor. 

'Anyone in here?' he demanded. 'I saw your footprints in the gravel. Hello?' 

The vines of the tentacula waved threateningly, and Hannah watched with trembling fear as one of them reached out to Neville, still prone on the ground, and started to wrap itself around his throat. 

'Don't be cheeky,' she heard him mutter to it, and he calmly prodded it with the secateurs until it released him. 

It kept one tendril around his ankle, but Neville seemed to allow it as a compromise, and instead watched through the vines as Carrow upturned a table, still shouting and swearing. 

After several, agonisingly long minutes, Carrow came close to them. The venomous tentacula silently released Neville’s ankle, and raised it's spiked tendrils. 

'OW! Son of a bludger-' 

A long line of expletives followed, and the venomous tentacular shook noisily, whip-like noises echoing through the greenhouse as it reached after Carrow, now bolting from the room. 

'Grab the tray,' Neville told Hannah. 'He'll be heading straight to the hospital wing, we should have a clear path back. Quickly, before the tentacula gets over-excited and turns on us-' 

She did so at once and he held back the spiked vines as she squeezed past the plant, and hurried safely out of range. 

She stood there, holding her tray of little dittany plants and the heads of the flowers. She watched as Neville easily unentangled himself from the tentacula, patted it, said, 'thanks mate,' and grabbed a clear cover for the tray. He came close to her as he fitted it over the dittany, protecting them from the cold night air they would have to hurry back through.  

His face was inches from her own, and she felt her breath hitch in her throat a little as she looked up at him. There was a slight clunk as the lid of the tray found its place. For a moment, they were perfectly still, just their breathing in that humid place, and his eyes, shining light blue in the pale light, lifted from the tray of dittany to meet her own. 

'Do you really think I'm brave?' he whispered. 

She nodded, and he seemed to be steeling himself for something. Please, she thought, please make this place good for me again. Her hands gripped the edges of the tray.

Very gently, very slowly, he leaned closer over the tray. His hand moved as though to softly move her face to meet his, but he didn't need to, for she was already naturally tilting her head, and her heels were lifting a little off the ground without her bidding them to. 

Their lips met, soft like the petals of the dittany between them, sweet like the fragrance. His fingertips were trembling slightly as they caressed against her cheek, but then they calmed as the kiss deepened. 

The tray pressed into them as he tried to move closer, and it reminded them where they were. They broke apart, panting and gasping as though they had just finished the run down from the castle. 

She had never kissed anyone before. She was glad, unbelievably, overwhelmingly, joyfully glad, that her first kiss had been with Neville, in this place where the warm air was scented with damp soil and sweet flowers. 

'We… we should take these back,' he said, his voice slightly hoarse. ‘Let - let me take them.’ 

He took the tray from her, and in her happy daze she allowed it, and let him lead the way out of the greenhouse. Joy had returned to her again, beneath the fogged glass, amongst the green plants, bursting with life.