#so i can't really focus or retain any information

[bunn-iiii]

"Why have I been so exhausted and overwhelmed by everything recently???" boy you are fighting off multiple infections and literally the fatigue, pain, and brain difficulty working disorder

[bimbo-baggins17]

Teacher!Anakin calling us to his office cause we've made some stupid mistakes (we have weird relationship with him - like, there's some tension each side can't ignore) and he bends us over the desk and commands us to read the entire essay we've made, smacking our ass at each read mistake..

- innocent as always, 🐇

I love you bunny <3 as always, I hope you enjoy. I finished this at like 2am so I apologize if it’s bad, also I’m not going in order of how you sent them 😅

☆…━━━━━·:*☆…━━━━━·:*☆…━━━━━·:*☆

“Come in!” Anakin’s voice rings out from the other side of the door once you’ve knocked.

You open the door, slowly stepping in, “You wanted to see me, sir?”

He smiles at you, looking up from the stack of papers he was grading, “Ah, yes I did. Take a seat.” He says, gesturing to one of the open chairs in front of his desk.

Nodding, you take a seat as instructed. You were alone in his office and he’s both exciting and unnerving. Perhaps you assumed too much though of the looks he gives you in class, or the way he seems to linger longer near your seat when he teaches.

He looks at you for a moment, fingers laced together on his desk in front of him. “You know why I wanted to see you?”

You shake your head.

Quietly he digs through a stack of papers on his desk before pulling out the desired one. He sighs as he keeps his eyes on it. “This.” He states. It’s the essay you turned in earlier in the day. He passes it over to you, a big red ‘F’ in the margin at the top. Your face drops immediately.

“Oh.” You say quietly. You’re disappointed to say the least, having stayed up the night prior to put your finishing touches on it.

He nods his head and gets up from his chair, walking to the front of his desk and leaning on it directly in front of you. “That was not your best work.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I really don’t know what happened.”

He shakes his head, waving a hand at your apology before crossing his arms across his chest. “Don’t worry about it. That’s what I’m here for right? To help?”

You nod your head slowly, “Yeah..”

“Do you know what you did wrong though?”

You look down at the essay, looking for anything he could have marked to indicate why he failed you. Finding nothing, you look up at him, “No, I don’t I’m sorry.”

He nods once. “It’s fine. How about I offer some guidance?”

“Please? I’d appreciate that.”

He grins, “Perfect. We’re going to run through this and I’ll show you everything you did wrong.” He says. “I want you to stand up for me, come around my desk and act like you’re presenting it to the class.” Anakin instructs.

Your eyebrows draw together but you nod and oblige his request. Adjusting your skirt as you step around to his side of the desk. He keeps his eyes on you the whole time. “Go on.”

You take a breath before starting to read off your essay.

Slowly he makes his way back around his desk once more, coming to stand behind you. It catches you off guard and you tense up when you feel him run a hand down your back.

“I..uh..sir?”

He shakes his head, “You’re fine. Don’t focus on me.”

You try your best as you back to reading off your typed words. But then his hand pushes you, coaxing you into bending over his desk. You suck in a breath. “What’re you doing?”

Causally he responds, “It’s easier to retain information whenever there’s other stimulation.” The jangle of his belt can be heard. Instantly you’re wet. “Now keep going.”

You obey his instructions, letting out a shaky exhale as you feel him flip your skirt up, one hand moving your panties to the side. He runs his shaft through your already soaked folds to lube himself up. Your voice comes out shaky as you keep trying to focus on reading your essay out loud.

His fat mushroom tip prods at your entrance, earning a breathy whine from you. He grits his teeth to hold back any noise. “Keep reading. I didn’t tell you to stop.” Slowly he eases his cock into your tight cunt, savoring the way your gummy walls envelope him.

You continue to read off as best as you can given the predicament you find yourself in as he fucks into your tight pussy. “And-and what we can take from this-“ Your words are interrupted by a swat to your right ass cheek.

“Grammatically incorrect. Continue.” He corrects you.

Reading off more, each incorrect phrasing or wording is met with a harsh slap to your ass while he continues to split you open from behind on his desk.

Reaching the end of your essay, he feels himself about to cum. Quickly he pulls out, pumping his shaft a few times before he’s painting your back with his hot, sticky load. Ever the gentleman still, he uses some tissues to clean it off before he’s moving your panties to cover yourself again, flipping your skirt back down.

Disappointedly, you didn’t get to finish. “Rewrite that for half credit and I’ll let you cum on my fingers during my next office hours.”

You nod your head, straightening back up off his desk, legs shaky. Your paper wrinkled from how tightly you held onto it. “I..uh yes sir..thank you..”

“Anything for my favorite student.”

[magicalrocketships]

☔

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Oh, I'm sure I've talked about this before but L U C K I L Y I retain zero information, particularly when I'm tired, so this means I get to explain it again.

SO, the plot which I won't ever write because it gets pretty dark and it also requires me to make up an injury (I got the idea from the first series of Chicago Fire, where the dude whose name I've forgotten (no, really, I retain no information anymore) has a life-changing made-up ?neck? injury where he requires surgery and it will take one year+ to recover from the surgery so he self-medicates and then it's miraculously fixed by a dazzling new surgery in one episode after making it an entire plot for an entire season):

Canon divergence somewhere along the way, maybe the pandemic doesn't happen, maybe he never really got as publicly involved in streaming, whatever, but what's key is that Max doesn't have anything really going on outside of racing and it's this year

So Daniel's left RB/Mcl, and Max is focused focused focused on racing and maybe he gets his first world championship a year earlier but whatever happens, he doesn't build that strong sense of home outside of racing (no cats, no partner, no online streaming, just what's becoming an unhealthy focus on racing and winning at all costs)

Then there's an accident. It happens off-track, so it's not a racing incident, and it's not Max's fault. His car gets hit. And Max is injured. He breaks something in his neck (I am assured this injury does not exist in the manner employed by Chicago Fire. For the purpose of this imaginary not-to-be-written fic, it 100% exists).

Max is told he can't race, maybe forever, but likely for at least a year post surgery

(and at this point I'm just going to c&p from the chat fic doc I saved months and months ago, and it's going under a cut with a content warning here for suicidal thoughts, some mention of disordered eating and childhood abuse, look after yourself, pals)

surviving to drive: the max verstappen recovery story (~3k)

Anyway max realises that he has exactly one (1) thing in his life, racing, and it's just come crashing down and he's v emotionally unhealthy as we know and has nothing else going on so when he loses racing he believes there is literally no other reason to keep going plus he's in hospital

anyway daniel ignores all of max's emotionally unhealthy bans on hospital visitors and sneaks in to see him and he's like... "something is very wrong here"

he leaves and max thinks he's chased him away but then daniel comes back later that day and he's like, "you don't have to have the surgery in this hospital, you can have it done in any of these places *presents a list* so pick a place and we'll go there instead"

so yeah they just go somewhere else and daniel rents them a house and just hangs out with a secretly suicidal max who sees precisely no reason to wake up every morning if he's not racing

and daniel has precisely zero idea that max is still here/alive/whatever just because daniel is there every night and every morning and max doesn't want daniel to have to see him like that

ANYWAY max is very clearly not in a good place and his dad sends him messages telling him how he can improve his recovery and get better faster

it becomes more difficult for max to hide the fact that he's alive mostly by virtue of not being dead right now

and he's had the surgery or whatever and he's looking at a 12 month recovery so he's definitely out for the whole of the next season so daniel's like, "It doesn't matter how long recovery takes, take your time" which of course he has precisely zero idea of how to deal with since he's been racing so long and has nothing else in his life

Something happens idk he breaks a glass and Daniel finds him with cut hands and a piece of glass idk and Daniel's like, "a new crisis! I can help with that! this is clearly not something that max has been dealing with daily for weeks now, it's a new thing!"

so he's like, IT'S THERAPY TIME BABY, no more clutching a handful of broken glass and bleeding everywhere, superdaniel is here to help

yada yada finds max a therapist and max HATES IT, HAAAAATES IT, he's uncomfortable and the therapist makes him feel worse and he still wants to like... not be here if he can't race today, he can't wait a whole year

and daniel asks him how it's going and Max lies because why wouldn't he and he's been doing miserable things his entire life that he didn't want to do so what's another thing on top of everything else

meanwhile Daniel's like... hmmmm this is scary Max looks worse

and he sits in on a therapy session and half way through he's like, "nope, we're ending this, sorry, bye, you can have the money for the whole hour but we're never speaking to you again"

points out to Max that that therapist was awful and why didn't Max just tell him how awful it was and how it made him feel

Max, who's never had a choice over anything in his entire life: "..."

anyway he gets max to try another couple of therapists and in the end there's one who is NOT monstrously awful and does not make Max feel like he wants to scratch his own skin off

so Max gets THERAPY and it becomes clear that max's childhood was weaponised beyond belief and he doesn't even know what foods he likes and doesn't like

because he never got a choice and he was always on some kind of food plan that his dad could withhold or not according to how max was doing in every other area of his life

well of course, he gets a whole year of therapy and it turns out his dad was an abusive asshole and he is BLOCKED from Max's phone

and Max has to do things like "make sure his life has more than just racing in it"

so he reads a book

the first one he's ever read

he tries food and tries to figure out if he likes it or if it's just a source of energy he has to eat anyway

he gets a PLANT

it DIES

anyway whatever he gets therapy and he lives in a house with daniel and is allowed to feel some things because he never really felt anything before

and daniel goes off and does some promo stuff idk and films some shit from the house and max is maybe in the background or something and no one's heard from him in ages and in fandom it's all like MAX IS IN DANIEL'S HOUSE etc

and the drive to survive people get in touch and are like, can we interview you for the series even if you're not on the grid, do some stuff about your recovery etc etc

and max is like... i guess

he's not, like, actively suicidal any more because his life has actual pillars of stuff that isn't just racing

his life isn't just like dependent on one jenga tower of racing with the pieces falling down

like, he can't wait to get back to racing but he's like, six months in to therapy or whatever and he's been living with daniel and it's... nice to just... watch movies with him and eat stuff and play computer games (daniel banned racing games so max has had to... compromise)

and maybe there are some... warm feelings

some best friend shit when he's never had real time for a best friend

some "i could probably spend more time with daniel in a forever kind of a way and not get tired of it" you know

BUT ALSO, daniel blowing up his life for max, he saw max in that hospital room and didn't once question what it would mean to him to step back and just... fuck shit up so that max would be okay

anyway drive to survive team show up and they do a bit of interviewing and it is VERY CLEAR that this isn't a natural fit for an episode because Max has, for once, got some shit to say

so they come back with an idea for a spin off documentary that's just Max and this injury and getting back to driving

because Daniel has kind of been fielding red bull this whole time, saying "he's not racing this year, leave him alone, give him some space", and he's got to go out and talk to them or do some promo stuff with them, whatever, he's going away

Max says the timing is good because he can do the main body of the interviewing about what's come before etc, then Daniel can come back and do his bits

and then the docu team are like, "where do you think you'd be right now if you hadn't crashed" and Max looks at the camera and says, "dead, I think" and the team know they're on to a winner because Max has realised that actually, driving like you don't care if you're alive if you don't win isn't actually okay

anyway Max does the documentary interviews and Daniel comes back and Max tells him he can talk about whatever he wants, it's fine but when the team ask him about helping Max when he realised he wasn't coping, Daniel won't give any details and says it's Max's story to tell and he just wanted to make sure his best friend was okay

not realising that he looks very much in love during this idk

ANYWAY SOME TIME PASSES and they do a bit more documentary stuff and Max is preparing to race again and Daniel is doing some stuff with red bull and he flies out somewhere to do an interview and photoshoot for some magazine or other.

The first clips from the documentary are released and they're on youtube and clipped up for instagram and Max posts them but the first picture is just like, 'this contains discussion of suicidal thoughts' etc

Daniel is preparing for this photoshoot and interview

anyway the first clip is about Max in hospital and they go straight in for the kill, Max saying, "I didn't want to live if I couldn't race.

"I didn't want to see anyone, I didn't want to speak to anyone, I shouted at the nurses, I just wanted to get somewhere so I could figure out how not to wake up again. And then Daniel walked in.

"He didn't know how bad it was, he didn't know anything specific, but he knew something was wrong and he got me out of there and he brought me here and got my surgery moved. And he didn't know he saved my life that day. He won't know until he sees this. But he saved my life that day."

END OF CLIP ONE, start of clip two

"You were suicidal," the interviewer says

"Yes," Max says. "The only thing that stopped me was that I didn't want Daniel to find me. He'd moved me to a different hospital and he'd rented this place for us so it was close to the doctors, and every day I woke up and he never knew that he kept me alive just by being here."

"But he found out in the end."

"Not how bad it was. Just that it was bad. And he got me help. And when that help didn't work, he got me more help. He's the best friend I've ever had, and I still haven't been able to tell him how bad it got."

end of clip two, start of clip three

except this clip is DANIEL

"I snuck in to see him in hospital. he wasn't doing great. He was kind of lost, and I didn't really know what I could do, but, like, I figured he needed some space so I got him some. Different hospital, different views, nothing to remind him about racing."

"But he was struggling?"

"Yeah," Daniel says. "He struggled. It was hard to see him when he couldn't race. He's my best friend. It was hard when he wasn't doing so well. But he's doing great now."

smile smile etc Daniel being happy

then a final max clip i think

"Do I still have that drive to win? God, yes. I'm going to win. That hasn't changed. I just want to live as well. I want to wake up tomorrow, and the next day, and the one after that, and win."

then a final slide with the documentary logo on and some suicide prevention helplines, idk

ANYWAY imagine Daniel, if you will, at a photography studio about to have pictures taken, crying his eyes out in the toilets because he's just found out Max wanted to die

so Daniel, who is always very professional, entirely bails on both the photo shoot and the interview so he can go home because he needs to see max

and Max lent him his plane because that's a normal thing excessively rich world champions have so it's not a fucking nightmare getting back from... wherever the interview is, somewhere not that far away in europe

and Daniel chooses to respond to Max's documentary clips on instagram

[ASIDE, my beloved friend as I was telling her this over Telegram, in response to that above: WHY????

Me: because this is MY 4am hurt comfort fic baby]

so anyway he makes a text post that just says Max is the bravest and best person he knows, he's fought so hard to be here, and that there hasn't been a day in Daniel's whole entire life that would have been better if Max wasn't here on this planet, and he's so glad he stayed

and then another one which is like, if anyone else feels like they don't want to go on, please stay, people love you, here's some helpline numbers etc

and Max just replies to him with a blue heart

important to understand that this is my four am comfort fic so it is ENTIRELY appropriate that Daniel walks through the door and both hugs him and starts to cry

and Max hugs him back but does not cry because Max has broken through a lot of shit in therapy but he is not a crier

but he IS accidentally in love with Daniel

and Max makes some Choices in his life, as Daniel does, but this choice involves touching Daniel's cheek and glancing at his mouth and then up at Daniel and Daniel kind of nodding and then there is a KISS

which is badly timed really considering that today has been very emotional and Daniel is still crying and has been travelling etc and they've never actually addressed any of this

so Daniel needs a moment and he goes into the bathroom to stare manfully into the mirror and wash his hands and face and when he comes out Max doesn't let him say anything, just launches into a multi point in-person powerpoint about how they should be together

[my friend: maxplaining his way into a relationshippp]

which Daniel, it turns out, entirely agrees with, but he's really kind of emotionally burnt out right now and would really just like a hug and a sit down, so he tells Max yes, of course, but could they just talk about it later and hug right now

How good is Max at listening to instuctions to stop talking?

not marvellous it turns out but daniel kind of likes it when max gets enthusiastic about stuff

even if the stuff in this case is a multipoint argument in favour of them being quite gay together

OH OH OH now we skip forward a bit

to when Max is racing again

first or second race out there for red bull

and daniel is kind of tied to red bull again

anyway Max WINS

hurray etc he's a conquering hero with a recovered broken neck

so once he's out of the car idk he's done the bit with the team and he spies daniel and goes over to hug him, which the cameras in general love, and then he goes off to do some kind of next step celebratory thing, cool-down room, whatever

only partway there he's like... um

has a feeling, one or two, you know the kind of thing

max hasn't historically been very good at feelings

or healthy choices

but anyway, he decides to act on this one, which is to go back to where Daniel is, and kiss him

which is as much of a surprise to daniel as it is to the whole of the media who are still around to film him

and then Max just turns back around and heads for the podium, so there's a very nice accidental shot of Daniel, afterwards, just smiling and ducking his head and touching his thumb to his lip

which turns into a very popular gif

for reasons

Anyway!! there is a LOT of discussion about Max losing his edge now his focus is not only racing

the documentary talks a lot about Max's childhood abuse and limited food intake etc etc but doesn't mention his dad by name

Daniel races again somehow but probably not in the fic

daniel ends up losing some bet or other and has to do a computer game live stream from his living room of some cosy game idk and the whole thing is interupted by max just living his life in the background

max getting up and sleepily saying morning, max going for a run and kissing him hello, max going in and out of the sim, idk, the two of them making weird noises at each other because they still do that

OH I forgot they buy a house together like immediately after getting together

somewhere green again and it's in both their names because they've lived together for a year already and whatever

and still don't tell anyone they're together even though red bull has them residing at the same address

and ZERO people realise until after the kiss on screen

and obviously the docu clips suggest they've been staying together

and Max gets to say to Christian that they literally own a house together when he expresses some degree of surprise at kissing in public

not their fault no one noticed

Forgot to say that max and Daniel get filmed driving about and max stalls his car and doesn’t know if he likes olives and maybe they forget they’re being filmed

And also that when the documentary finally airs all its eps Netflix on Twitter are like “lol bet you can’t figure out which bits we filmed after they got together and which were before because we certainly can’t, lol”

And Daniel’s in the comments, like “do I get a prize if I get it right”

He gets 9/10 clips right but no one but max knows

Anyway when they buy their house max has zero shits to give about the decor so daniel just gets a decorator in and the only thing max wants is a fancy catio for when they’re not there and his new cats want to go outside

Daniel arranges this because he’s a sucker for max.

anyway that's general plot of surviving to drive: the max verstappen recovery story, the end.

[comicaurora]

Question, from one aspiring writer to another: how do you manage to maintain the drive to keep writing and how do you not lose interest in what you've created before it's done? Asking because I need advice.

Tricky question. I don't think it has a single answer.

For me personally, there are a few things that buoy up my enthusiasm:

Rabbit Holes - random deep-dives into topics I find incredibly interesting. Because I have so many outlets for my rants about highly specific cool things, I don't need to stifle any random hyperfixations because almost all of them can be turned into scripts or worldbuilding concepts. If I feel the enthusiasm strike, I chase it down as far as I can and take as many notes as possible along the way. However, these things work like lightning strikes and I can't just get randomly super interested in any one thing. Almost all of my longform videos start out as these.

Comedic Reframing - the bread and butter of the channel and the lifehack that let my poor brain actually focus on extremely long and boring books through college. It's easier for me to retain information and enthusiasm if I can find humor in what I'm dealing with on a smaller scale. When working on illustrating videos, for instance, the way I avoid burning out on individual frames is by making sure they have witty dialogue or fun character moments, because I genuinely enjoy drawing those a lot more than just "character moves into position" or "scene change" shots. Same goes for the comic - the more dynamic or interesting the pose, the more interesting the panel is to draw and the easier it is for me to stay jazzed.

Audience Feedback - I feel like this part is simultaneously understated and overstated in different ways. Creating art solely for the accolades it might garner is seen as generally both gauche and inefficient - it'll turn into an existentially draining losing battle like all pursuit of fame for fame's sake does - but any writer or artist will tell you that people losing their minds over their art is the number one way to guarantee they want to make more art. When drawing the comic, even when I'm lower energy, I'll often think to myself "oh man, they're gonna be yelling about this panel" and that'll help give me a boost. Early on in the comic I read through the discord discussions almost every day, but now I'm mostly sustained just from people yelling in my askbox.

Letting The Characters Run Wild - I've mentioned this elsewhere, but one of the most fun parts of writing for me is when the characters kinda tap me on the shoulder and say "hey boss, I really wanna do this". Their character-moment is almost always spicier, more complicated and more interesting than whatever plot-serving guideline it's replacing. Making the characters act as automatons that solely move the plot forward is less interesting for me as a writer than turning them loose and seeing the havoc they cause. Before I ever put pen to paper for this story, half my fun would just be playing out extremely fraught conversations and encounters between characters - no script, no plan, just "here's the premise and GO." Lots of stories start out as daydreams, and daydreams are like the purest form of energizing creation, existing only for the joy of the creator and thus flowing almost effortlessly; I think it's important to retain the heart of that when the daydreams start being set down on paper. If it's not a little self-indulgent it's not gonna be too much fun, and sometimes all it takes is letting the characters do the wild thing with consequences you haven't fully worked out yet.

In my experience, the thing I enjoy most as a creator is solving puzzles. I have more fun writing my story when I only mostly know where it's going, and I have to work out the most interesting consequences to my characters' unexpected actions. I have more fun drawing out a joke if the punchline didn't even occur to me before I started the frame, because the idea is fresh and fun and hasn't gone stale from sitting in my head too long. And my enthusiasm for my older work is reinvigorated when I see how other people respond to it, because it lets me almost see my own work through fresh eyes, which is a rare treat for any creator.

And when I get really worn down, I treat that like a sign that something needs readjusting. I don't force it when I'm worn out or can't bear to look at my tablet - I step back, take a break, take a walk, indulge in Floor Time, watch a movie, buy a coffee, do something that isn't trying to floor the accelerator when I'm stuck in a creative snowdrift. Sometimes that means putting a project down for months. Sometimes that means realizing I wouldn't actually be able to make a project happen because it'd be draining my will to live the whole time.

I sometimes use the metaphor that a creator's mind is like a garden. Its works need to be cultivated, but sometimes they also need to be left alone, or maybe the soil needs to be actively left fallow for a while. It may look like the project isn't doing anything, when in actuality it's spreading its roots and developing a much more solid foundation where you can't see it. Maybe two concepts cross-pollinate in an unexpected way and you get a new third thing to cultivate. But the most important part of this metaphor is that the well-being of every individual thing growing in the garden is heavily dependent on the heart of the garden overall. If you aren't doing okay, your art isn't going to be okay either. If it's feeling like a fruitless and nothing is growing, you might just need rain. Or nitrogen-fixers.

[littlestsnicket]

13 Books Meme

tagged by @soymimikyu like weeks ago

1) The Last book I read: I just finished And then? And then? What else? by Daniel Handler and Poor Things by Alasdair Gray

2) A book I recommend: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

3) A book that I couldn’t put down: And then? And then? What else? I read this in like two days even though I was on vacation (the sort of vacation where I was supposed to be doing things and seeing family). Some other things I remember reading in one day/sitting: Lungbarrow (it's a Doctor Who book, it is insane), To Kill a Mockingbird, most of the R.A. Salvadore books, Poison for Breakfast

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more): So many, how am I even supposed to answer this question? I love re-reading books.

5) A book on my TBR: the rest of the Wolf Hall books, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama

6) A book I’ve put down: Whatever the book soymimikyu lent me that i did not like. i can't remember the name. It was about like... teenagers turning into zodiac creatures or something? I actually may be completely wrong about that. I literally have no idea what was happening. I don't think it was objectively badly written, but I would read a few pages and realize that I had retained literally no information. (That's a problem I have a lot watching TV (I love watching sitcoms and things that engage every last bit of my focus and things in between are a real problem for me), but I don't usually have that problem reading, so it was a bit of a weird experience.)

The Once and Future King. I think I tried to read that around the time I failed to read Dracula, so I think it's time to go back to that one soon. I did get as far as taking the copy I had as a young person home with me last time I was at my parents house.

7) A book on my wish list: I want to read the One Piece comics (the library was mad at me when I was trying to request them, and then I forgot to re-request them once I sorted that out... should really do something about that)

8) A favorite book from childhood: A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

9) A book you would give to a friend: Gideon the Ninth--I gave that to someone as a Christmas gift

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own: Do I own any poetry books?

11) A nonfiction book you own: Room to Dream (it's David Lynch's autobiography).

12) What are you currently reading: The End by Lemony Snicket (for fic purposes). Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski. The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas (I know so many people who like her books, I want to like them, but I am just... not into it. I'm close to finishing this one, but it will have taken me, like, a year to read)

13) What are you planning on reading next? next on my list is to re-read Gideon the Ninth (so I can read Harrow the Ninth). And Orientalism by Edward Said. I read one of his essays for school a long time ago, and it feels very topical now. (And Baptism of Fire.)

uh, I'm supposed to tag people now... @fangirleaconmigo @gellavonhamster @kitsnicket anyone else who is interested

[imagine-a-life-like-this]

Hey, so you can ignore this but I really need to get it out and I can't even cry cause then my mum will panic and I don't want that and you seemed like the person I'd want to have in my life to talk to

I have a final tomorrow and I am so fucking scared, I am in dentistry so the details are already hard enough cause we have to study what a dentist does and what the lab does, so like every other college it is already as difficult as it can be with too much info, but the thing is my college has the final where you have to study both semesters, so I have to cram a whole year worth of info in my brain in like 3 days and like that's doable only if I didn't have an exam just before, so basically every 3 days I have a final and it's so draining to keep doing that over over, especially since I have 9 courses this year (I don't choose my courses, everything is set by the uni), the day of the exam I either go back home and sleep and then I am so burnt out for the next day that I then put myself in a really worse position of having to study everything in 2 days instead of 3.... I already got 7 out of the way the 8th one is in 12 hours and I still have 8 chapters to finish and I am so terrified that I might fail cause I don't have time to even read this much (I don't have time to memorise or anything so I just read the chapters like it's a story and hope for the best) and I can't even cry to anyone cause my mum will just panic and my friends are either asleep or they have their own studies to do so I can't just ask them to help me rn. Idk what to do, like ik I should do as much as I can but I feel like shit cause I do this to myself at some point, like if I just studied in the 3 given days I would not have to be this stressed and scared but at the same time I am so tired and I have no energy for anything I just want to rest and do nothing and it's like a never ending cycle and I hate myself for it. I don't want to have to retake my exams during summer or repeat the year again cause I failed, I hate myself so much that it reached this point

I am so sorry that you're going through this right now, and that you're doing it alone. I wish I could do more for you, but there's only so much I can do through a screen.

I know this will seem counterproductive, but trust me. Take a break to breathe. Drink some water. You're not going to retain any information if you're stressed and panicking. So breathe. Take a few minutes to not do a single thing but breathe.

Then just do what you can. Read through as much as you can, taking breaks when necessary to breathe and drink water. And get some rest before the exam so you can properly focus during it. And then kick ass !!! You got this. You're almost done and then you can relax. Don't think about what might happen and focus only on things you can control.

I'm rooting for you 💪💕

[unremarkablechap]

💊 @lil-miss-romano-romano popped a joy !

Fingers fumble through thick sheets of paper. Eyes dart across the print at a rapid pace, retaining every bit of information presented to him. At least, he would have, if he wasn't so bloody nervous. When was the last time he went on a date? Was it with Sally? Course, they never really went on any formal occasions, did they? They more caused issues for others, explored the islands, and committed a handful of felonies. Always taming her curiosities. Never touching on his. He scoffs at the expected irony.

But he really is trying to focus. Hand grabs at the mug of coffee and takes a sip. Black. The deep, earthy taste is what he loves. It's quite early in the morning. Did the woman say she was an early riser? He can't quite remember. Damn that blasted Joy; what with always ruining his short term retention. Brows furrow as he takes another sip. Eyes cast down to look at his reflection on the murky water. Oh, God. His nose... everyone always bullied him for it. Flashbacks of pointing fingers and hardy exhales of exuberated laughter. Was she going to notice it, too?

" It always seems to be when it counts the most that you really care about yourself... " Arthur murmurs. He sighs, lowering down the newspaper and looking around. Is she even going to appear on time? She doesn't seem like the type to stand up and bail. She was a proper, decent folk. Might even fit into the Parade back home, if she had the funds to handle it. Caramel gaze drifts from one end of the coffee shop to the next.

" Was I always this nervous about birds? Pru never really made me that anxious. " He recollects now. A horrible, nasty memory to have in the middle of trying to get to know another woman. Hypocritical, too. But, he couldn't help himself. The chap needed something, anything, to get the mind off of the idea of being a deep, horrendous failure of a man. Would she even fancy him at the end of everything?

[the-arson-author-gamer]

Ayo what's Arcburn?

SO ARCBURN

I guess I have never talked about it really... so here I am now!

Arcburn: The City of Sins is an original idea that I came up with after reading too many SBI Superhero AUs.

I was drawn to the ones where it is like villains vs a lone vigilante in a city with a messed up government.

So that is essentially the concept, but very original because

it's also an urban fantasy thing. Where everybody has common magic, and then a magic subset they can focus upon, this is my excuse for superpowers essentially.

nobody has the best morals. like it's an everybody sucks story but you can kind of root for this person

I also made it an foster care au because I needed an excuse for found family

The city it's focused in Arcburn is nicknamed the 'City of Sins' because like nobody has any morals here and crime is SO common.

Essentially my main character, Diana, finds a piece of incriminating evidence against the Hero Agency, which has all control over the government and their heroes. But she can't release it to the public because it's not enough information, so she starts her quest on figuring out what everything is so she can release all this to the public. All while retaining a secret identity, passing school, running away from a group of terrifying villains, and hiding her true magic subset from the Agency.

There is a brutal amount of jackal symbolism, found family, and weird jokes.

My only warning is that I will be tagging as I go, so any darker topics like rape (it never happens but it is mentioned throughout many chapters, including the first one) will be tagged along with adding warnings at the beginning of each chapter. The graphic violence tag is also there because it's a superhero fic and literally the first scene is a fight scene. There is a lot of violence.

This is one of my darker ideas, but also one of my more interesting ones I think.

Right now I only have the prologue posted, but I think by posting something, it will force me to write more than just scroll through Tumblr.

[bondsmagii]

You're always so right. I know I've said it before and I will say it again because it bears repeating.

I finished 3 books over 300 pages this week and could fully describe them each scene by scene. If you read slow or can't focus on it for that long or can't retain that much information that's okay! No one said you had to! But don't assume anyone who isn't like you is lying or "grinding to grind" through books. I love books. I love the specific kind of escapism they offer. Let me tear my way through every library in the county in peace thank you.

god I know... really all of this bullshit comes back to the fact that some people seem to be genuinely incapable of not taking other people's lives personally. and you see it in everything, but it's so especially deranged when it's about something so... inconsequential. nobody is saying that just because they can do something, everyone else has to be able to do it, and if they don't, they're defective in some way. and it's utterly deranged that some people seem to have that attitude. even now it seems ridiculous to say, and I desperately want to point to something that maybe hints I might be being overdramatic, but no! I have seen this shit! I've had people in my inbox popping off at me for the most basic shit! and I am just baffled by how some people can take the lives of complete strangers so personally. like it sincerely must be unbearable to be that way, and yeah, I get that there's probably mental health bullshit going on, but christ. call me heartless or whatever, but I just don't think there's any excuse for shitting on another person because of stuff like this. they're not doing anything wrong -- they're living their life, and it's not OK to make them feel bad or accuse them of lying when they are literally just reading a book or whatever the equivalent is.

a lot of things in life come back to "some people do things differently and it's all equally valid and possible," but a surprising amount of people are absolutely incapable of understanding this, apparently.

[mxalmighty]

vent below the cut

Before I share the ouch, some context;

I have ALWAYS doodled while working, it's part of how I focus on what's being said when someone's speaking. I can't retain information well while focusing on where I'm staring or whether I'm making weird eye contact. I also can't sit still. Doodling mindlessly is how I deal.

Drawing also soothes, of course, so it's a good way to unravel anxiety buildup during times when I can't step away or distract myself.

To be clear, I'm very open about the little coping methods I have and why I do them and how they help- and if any of this sounds familiar, then you probably won't be surprised to hear I learned these self-management skills in therapy. Years and years of therapy.

My health, both physical and mental, also makes finding work and holding said work long-term really, really challenging. I've honestly more or less given up on ever being stable and have mostly settled for just finding ways to be happy despite the struggle, y'know? So when I applied for and was accepted into a new position that I started yesterday, I decided "y'know what, this is a chance to prove myself wrong and break the trend" and until about five minutes ago, that was going great.

but holy shit does one comment ever have the power to destroy an entire person, one thoughtless joke that I'm sure was meant in good nature, harmless from their perspective, can i even be mad?

i'm not i'm just kinda uh lets go with gobsmacked

stunned? stricken? hurt.

this is someone who knows first hand my struggles with employment and mental health, who swears by being part of my support for what little that means and just

"lol good to see you're working hard" about a doodle during work hours (during a 50 minute lull and break combo in which nobody did anything productive as one person set up their late equipment)

when i tell you i want from "Look what I made :D" to feeling like someone just punched me in the chest, just, fuck man

ouchies ;-;

[masongrizchel]

ESTABLISHING A STUDY HABITS

The year was 2017.

I remember we were studying for a 'Classical Electrodynamics' exam (which I failed 3 times). This was one of the toughest courses in any physics course other than statistical mechanics.

I decided to almost isolate myself for 2 WEEKS. Deactivated social media, phones that were turned the airplane mode on. I even rented a room just for me to focus studying.

I had this colleague (blocks away), that I knock during lunch breaks and asks how was his preparations are going. He said regularly 'I can't still understand any of it'. Then, I replied, 'Nah bro. I'll fail'. It seems that I already accepted my fate even without the results. We're not even taking the test yet.

When we took the test. I struggled a lot. I can't even remember what the hell did I placed in the answer sheet. And when the results came, me and the colleague that I mentioned placed a bet, that whoever achieves higher scores will treat the other lunch. We turned over each other's paper, and to our surprise, the scores we received are the same. And the score is '6/100', written in red ink. Another colleague overheard our scores, and we jumped to happiness when the three of us got 6/100. WE LITERALLY LAUGHED SO HARD.

Then we saw another colleague who is punching the blackboard (mildly, tho), while whispering 'what did I do wrong' multiple times. Then I asked him, 'what's wrong?'. He told us what his score was, and my initial reaction was: 'Really? You are 4/100?! I'm glad I'm not the lowest'. Note: This was kind of insensitive and do not try this especially if the person isn't close to you. When I dropped that punchline the 4 of us laughed so hard, even the one who achieved the lowest mark. Again, this was kind of insensitive and the reaction could vary from person to person.

But in reality, I am asking the same question. 'what did I do wrong?'. The three class/course failures made me realized what is wrong. I don't have an effective study habits.

These are some of the things I did:

Read more here:

Aside from this, the problem that I was able to root out is the right mindset. I kind of expected that I'll fail, and in the end I failed. When I changed this mind set of mine, the result partially changed bit by bit.

For most people, studying effectively is the difference between a pass and a good grade — between learning the material versus just memorizing it to regurgitate on a test.

Note that as you move forward to your college eras, one of the key skill that you need to develop is to make or plan a practical, yet effective study habits. This will makes learning easier. Setting schedule, practicing self-care, and accessing peer support are some of the actions you can take in order for you to reach your goals.

That's all for now.

[arvandus]

Hey arv, I don't know if you remember but I am the anon that struggled with uni for a long time but finally graduated this year. I applied for masters at the same place. We had a written exam and an interview. Both went horrible and my profs were very harsh with their criticism pf my written exam, although I do know I did not do well I don't think I deserved that treatment. They talked about how I was doing much better last year and stuff. It was a shit show but I still got accepted. Now I am very discouraged about it and thinking about not going through with it. I don't really know. Do I study hard and come back or just be done with it? I guess I'll decide by the time I need to but yeah I am sad.

Hi anon!

Uggghhh that's so difficult, I'm sorry you went through that. I never understood that sort of criticism; like, why tear someone down and make them feel bad? Constructive criticism is fine, but it sounds like they were too opinionated in their delivery.

Still, congrats on getting in! I don't know what type of program you're doing, but I'd say stick with it if you can. Getting into a grad program is so so difficult and you made the cut! Just focus on taking it one day at a time moving forward.

See if there is any sort of additional support you can get set up with; I don't know if you have any official diagnoses (e.g., ADHD), but schools will often have resources for those who struggle academically, such as note-taking, study buddies, or even just having a body double (someone who works next to you to help you stay focused). Also, connect with your peers.

You unfortunately can't do much with your professors/staff; they're going to think whatever they're going to think and we often have no control over that. Just focus on yourself and your own goals. Focus on what you need and what supports you best.

Remember - You got in. Was it by the skin of your teeth? Sure. But that doesn't mean you don't deserve to be there any less than someone else who passed with "flying colors." You've been accepted to this program because you are qualified and the staff recognize that (regardless of their harsh feedback).

P.S.: formal testing is generally not great and relies a lot on memorization; people who can memorize info easily tend to do well but that doesn't mean the information is retained long-term.

P.S.2: I BOMBED my first case study interview as part of my final exam to get my Masters. Absolutely bombed it. Far too anxiety-ridden and overwhelmed, all the info left my brain. Does that mean I didn't know the info? Nope; just got overwhelmed with anxiety and it got in my way. Program policy allowed 2 opportunities, and thankfully I passed on the second one; but I recall that feeling of failure on that first one, and it was ROUGH.

[asinglemagpie]

🐎 Giant Grass Puppy, 🦫 Wooden Lodge,🦉 Ol' Wise Birb <3

🍄 The Forest Hag's Ask Game 🍄

🐎 Giant Grass Puppy ➳ What's your favourite animal? Otters, foxes, and owls!

🦫 Wooden Lodge ➳ What would your dream home look like? I have so many clashing ideas, it's awful lol. I love farmhouse/cottagecore but I don't like the decrepit look. I enjoy modern sleek lines and minimalist style, but I can't do minimalism because it feels empty. I love things with lots of windows but I could never live in a house with them because I'd feel like anyone could come by and look in, and I like privacy. I like gardens but hate gardening. In the end it's the people that make it a home, and as long as it's not in a high rise (heights) and the walls aren't too thin (I hear enough of my neighbours as is lol) then I'm sure I'd be happy ^.^

🦉 Ol' Wise Birb ➳ What's something you have extensive knowledge on, or want to be knowledgeable on? Crikey, I don't think I really know much of anything any more. I used to be a font of "The X-Files" knowledge, I was a complete addict. Won't lie, they kind of murdered it with season 10, to the point I still haven't gathered the courage to watching season 11. I've read about it and that's enough for me lol. But yeah, I'm not sure that's all in here any more, but once it was my entire brain lmao.

Sadly unless I get hyper-focused on something I just cannot purposefully retain knowledge any more, and even then once that focus is gone that information goes into some kind of storage I cannot access until weird times.

Otherwise I'm just full of the random shit that I heard on QI once, or whatever I can Google up if someone asks about something.

Thank you for the ask, my love 💝

[aresrambles]

I just really like the idea of an amnesiac s/o who has to be reminded everyday that they're dating Shigaraki! I think Shigaraki would eventually get tired of this and try to get rid of them by just leaving them outside since they can't remember him or recent memories whenever they wake up but he just can't no matter what he tries to tell himself.

My Sweetheart

shigaraki x gender neutral reader - semi-angst idfk, amnesia, abandonment, drabble (569 words)

a/n: dude i ADORED this idea and i’m so peeved that it was sent during a total writing-block couple of weeks because i wasn’t able to do it justice at all. but thanks so much for sending it in, it’s a rly unique idea anon~ (≧◡≦)

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Shigaraki had long ago stopped searching for a hint of recognition in your eyes. Sluggishly sprawled out in his gaming chair, he ignores your quiet inquiries about who he was, and what you were doing here in this foreign place.

To tell you that you had been here for what was now approaching three years, was useless. Everyday he would guide you through the same story, show you the same pictures, explaining what had happened.

At some point in the last couple years, a mission had gone terribly wrong. Your injury had led to you now unable to form new memories and then retain them for any longer than a period of a few hours. Shigaraki thought he could do it, at first. He thought he could explain to you every single day about how deeply he cared for you, and that you were safe there.

But he was wrong. His patience had now become increasingly thin and it was only a matter of time before he would leave you to your own devices. If that meant allowing you to run from him, and face the world on your own, then so be it. He was tired of playing babysitter.

“Come with me.” he suddenly one day snaps, grabbing your arm with all fingers except his pinky, and tugging you out of the property. You can’t help but wonder where he’s leading you, and instead focus on the ache on your arm. You question whether holding you this hard must be a habit of his, or perhaps you’ve angered him somehow. You walk for a while in silence, still guided by Shigaraki, until you come to reach a bus stop.

“Take this- it’s like, what, seventy thousand yen? It’ll cover food and maybe a roof for a little. I don’t fucking know, even if it doesn’t- it’s not my problem anymore.” Thrusting a couple of tattered notes in to your hands, he pulls away immediately.

And with that, he leaves you, stranded alone at the bus stop with no idea where to go. Shigaraki tells himself it’s okay. It really wasn’t his responsibility to look after a person who didn’t even remember him. It’s not like you would even realise that he left you after a bit, so why does it matter? Why is his chest burning up with guilt? In a few hours you would fall back into the same pattern and forget he even existed.

But still, there was something. Something that was screaming and begging for him to turn back and scoop you up into his arms. To shield you from the harsh reality of this shitty world and play into the fantasy, if only for a while. If only for another hundred days before he’d inevitably succumb to those same draining thoughts. Shigaraki decides that this feeling is enough, for now.

He turns back and sees you some distance away, lingering at the stop, exactly where he left you, looking cluelessly around. Almost as though you had just… forgotten how you got there in the first place.

“Hey!” Shigaraki realizes he didn’t have anything to follow up with, as you look back at him - a deer caught in the headlights.

“What’re you doing there?”

You shuffle under this strangers intense glare, taking a moment to decide whether to offer up the information or not. But something tells you that it’s okay.

“This might sound silly, but I forgot.”

[sirthisisa-wendys]

Burn Before Reading (Part 6): Takeomi Akashi x Fem!Reader

synopsis: Takeomi Akashi never wanted to attract too much attention - because it always brought some ne'er-do-well to his doorstep. But at college, he seems to have attained (and retained) the ire of the Head Bitch on Campus, i.e., you. And it’ll take a miracle for you to leave him alone.

wc: 1.1k

tw: none

previous part💋 masterlist 💋 next part

You can't focus on shit.

"So we might want to make this picture bigger because we want the product to stand out..." Dan drones on, his finger pointing at the lady holding a fake present.

Your mind barely focuses on the picture in the presentation and instead takes note of how Takeomi's writing down information. His arm flexes as he jots down notes, and it makes you feel hot in the cheeks and in between your legs.

"It'd be better to have the font center around the --"

"I think we should change the color," you interject over Takeomi, making your other groupmates glance between the two of you.

"Uh," Kita breathes. "So... we center and change the font color?"

"Probably a light yellow to attract people's eyes to it." The discomfort in the room is palpable, but Takeomi just huffs a breath and goes back to taking notes.

"What? Not going to say anything?" you ask him, raising a brow. He looks up at you with the same unamused glance from your dream. Your thighs quiver as he frowns briefly before he tucks his bottom lip in and squints at you.

"This is a group project," he begins. "You want to do the bare minimum and get a bad grade? Be my guest." You stiffen, inhaling sharply.

"I'll present it, then. I'm sure that I'd be less of an imposition that way." You gather your items and leave, rolling your eyes at the thought of even really meaning what you said. "Fuck this project," you hiss to yourself. "Fuck Takeomi."

But of course... you don't mean that either.

_____________________________________________________________

Iota kappa's doors swing wide open for Takeomi.

"I'm pleasantly surprised to see you here," Ran muses, tilting his braided head to the side. "Want anything to drink?"

Takeomi mumbles a "yeah", walking into the large house carefully.

"Beer, wine, water?"

"Do you have Heineken?"

"On tap," Ran joyfully announces, patting a white leather couch before sauntering into the kitchen. Slowly, Takeomi lowers himself onto the item and stares at the pole facing him. Ran reappears and catches his gaze, laughing.

"You like that? Izana had it installed for Kakucho's twenty-first birthday. Izana gets more use out of it than he does, though."

Takeomi chuckles nervously, wiping his palms on his jeans.

"Came to ask a few questions." Ran nods, motioning toward Takeomi's glass before sipping at his own.

"Fire away, Aniki."

"Y/n--"

"She hasn't been around here lately, Ran immediately answers.

"Oh," Takeomi murmurs, sipping at his beer. "Anything going on?"

"She's been on edge, so she just stopped hanging out with me. Even her friends are I kind of... "He pauses, thinking of the word. "Shut out."

"Any big fights or...?"

"Not anything I couldn't handle." The huff of laughter from Ran is all too telling. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I--" A loud yawn echoes from the upper floor. Ran looks up and murmurs,

"Rin's up from his nap. Hey, Rin!" The shout is answered with a loud, "huh?" Takeomi sits up a little straighter, trying not to think about the information he knows. Not yet, at least.

"We're talking about y/n; come down here!" Rindou jogs down the stairs, only in a white tee and boxer shorts.

"What about her?" Ran pats the bean bag next to him. Takeomi breaks out in a cold sweat, watching the younger Haitani plop onto the piece of furniture and sigh.

"How she's been distant, bro."

"The house has been quieter."

"Dude," Ran groans. "Stop saying that."

"You're making a big stink about a girl you don't even really like." This is news, Takeomi notes in his mind. Your boyfriend doesn't even really like you? So, does what happened between you both really matter?

"That's not fair--" Ran quips, frowning.

"Did I lie? Did I lie, though?" Rindou answers, staring at his older brother without amusement. "You're only doing this because of dad's relationship with her family. Don't lie anymore."

"Wait," Takeomi interrupts. "You're saying this is an arranged thing?"

"It's complicated," both brothers answer at the same time.

"So..." Takeomi isn't sure where to begin, so he starts where he knows the most information. "You know I came to ask about y/n." Both men nod, and Takeomi pulls out his laptop from his backpack.

"Before you ask me to ask her to leave you alone, just know I won't do it for free." Ran chuckles, leaning forward. "And if you came here to tell me about her sleeping with someone else on the trip, I already knew that, too. That's not a bargaining chip; just between you and me, though? I don't give a shit." Takeomi chokes on his beer, placing it on the table between them as he coughs harshly.

"That's not what I came for." He clicks open the information he wants to focus on, then looks back up at Ran. "I mean, you already know about the South situation, I assume."

"Yeah," Ran shrugs. "I mean, it's unethical to lie about that kind of shit, but I really don't discuss what happened with him."

"How do you feel about that, though? Truly?"

"Truly?" Rindou eyes his brother as he leans back in the bean bag. "I think it's fucked up. But..." Ran shrugs again. "I didn't have a horse in that race, so to speak. I mind my business."

"And she really doesn't interact well with the rest of us anyways," Rindou grunts. "She hates that he gives us goodnight kisses." All of these things check out, Takeomi notices. These are all things you've written down in the diary.

"So what about Sam?" Rindou stiffens and Ran eyes Takeomi carefully, knitting together his brows.

"What about her?" Ran murmurs, and Takeomi raises a brow.

"I'd think you'd have something to say about the way she drove her and Rindou apart." Ran's grip on his glass tightens, and Rindou pales.

"What?" Tread lightly, Takeomi tells himself, steeling for the onslaught of anger at the information he's about to reveal. He turns the laptop around to face the two men across from him and lets them read the information on the screen. Ran and Rindou take their time before Rindou lays back on the bean bag, looking at the ceiling. Ran stands up immediately, pulling out his phone before Takeomi stops him.

"No, no, no," Takeomi calls out. "Don't."

"That bitch convinced Sam to break up with Rindou because she didn't want to go on double dates?" Ran shouts. "I swear to God--"

"I have a plan," Takeomi interjects. "Don't worry. I've got a plan to make all of this right."

[katsukikitten]

I present to you overworked. A comfort one shot I made hella quick for @mindninjax myself and anyone else who needs some bakugou comfort today. Please enjoy and let Bakugou be here for you if no one else can. 😊

Header by me!

Your phone softly vibrates on your desk as your eyes burn from staring at a screen filled with information that is familiar, information that you should know but just cannot retain. 

Or focus. 

So your phone is a happy distraction as you reach for it, only to be slightly annoyed by to a message from your hot headed friend. 

Grumpyasshole: Oi, haven't heard from you in that stupid ass group chat all week. Dunce face and shitty hair wanna know what's pissed in your cheerios 

Tongue in your cheek you debate on replying. You had ignored a slew of messages from your friends, in the group chat and even your dms sat smiling faces trapped in their little bubbles but you had always turned your phone face down. Too caught up in stress to be able to fulfill any social quota but your friends must have been desperate to convince the token grump of the group to message you. Privately at that. 

In a matter of seconds your thumbs slide across the virtual keyboard, knowing you could be honest with Bakugou, that the Pro hero could handle any sort of emotional load with ease. 

You thought it most likely because he did not care in the first place to store the baggage, at least not anywhere for long. 

You: Just feeling really run down from work. I think I'm over my head but probably too prideful to admit. Lol. Please tell everyone I'm sorry, that I'm just busy and I'll be back on my bullshit hopefully by Friday. 

Before you can even set your phone down you see that Bakugou leaves you on read. Your snort softly as you shake your head, tossing your phone aside for work. 

"Typical." You mutter to yourself. Reaching for your iced coffee only to find it empty. You debate if you should take a trip to get more. On one hand the air, despite the rain would do you good, you're sure your deskmate would gladly take a coffee. On the other, everyone in the office would stuff your hands with bills and credit cards begging you'd bring them some of that sweet nectar back. No one would care that you wouldn't haven't a hand for your umbrella and your hair would get totally fucked. 

So you decide to suffer in silence, as you always do. 

Hours slip through your fingers before your eyes glance at the small clock on the bottom right hand side of your computer. Steadily counting the minutes in the small banner. You sigh. Bringing your head down between your arms as your fingers lightly fist your hair at your nape. You felt as if you accomplished nothing, what with how much was left. 

At least your desk was clean and your shirt was cute, a good view for a few spine numbing minutes. You think you smell caramel wafting through the air, a part of you annoyed that your desk mate would venture the rain for her normal caramel latte without offering 

This is how Bakugou finds you when he approaches your desk, a sneer settled on his handsome features. Dirt and sweat clinging to his skin and the dark fabric of his hero suit. He crosses his arms, long gone are the obnoxious grenade gauntlets as his chest puffs. 

People in the office are staring at the blonde, his jagged domino mask making his garnet eyes that much more intense. Tension rises in the air as you're so oblivious, still collecting yourself silently praying that when you look back up the clock would read closer to five. 

"Oi." His voice is a deep rumble, not belonging in the office. No it belonged in the living room of your crazy packed house to one of your many roommates. It belonged at a bar, nagging that it's time to go when you were too drunk to fend off any prying hands, pestering you about your feet as he dragged you home. This voice belonged in the kitchen fussing at Denki for the stupid memes he puts in the group chat when all of you were 'right fucking here'. 

This voice did not belong in the office and so a part of you thinks you're seriously losing your shit before you glance up at the clock. Time moved like a sloth for you since the last you looked only ten minutes had passed. Kronos laughing at your plea of having time continue to move as light speed only to seemingly stop. 

"OI! Is yer head so far up yer ass ya can't fuckin hear me now, Princess?" Wait, who was using that nickname? 

That nickname thrust upon you by that grumpy asshole roommate once he saw how "high maintenance" you were when clearly you just cared about yourself for yourself. He did it as a jest but it made your whole body heat and go rigid every damn time. 

And he took notice in it. 

Delight even. 

And took notice in the way you hadn't been putting in much effort for yourself. Not taking the time for your hair, or your skincare routine that you forced on the whole house. Everyone dewy in their own right. How you look disheveled and bewildered now as you turned to face him. 

Large eyes going doe like, mouth forming in the smallest O that had him shifting his weight from one foot to the other because of his darker, lingering thoughts. 

How would you sound when he was buried…

He cuts the thought off with a pop of his skin, pulling you to your feet from your desk. 

"What are you doing?" Your voice cracks from shock, worry and a bit of venom leaks through but you make no effort to break free. 

"Wrap this shit up. I told yer boss I need your dumb ass for something." 

"Like what? I-" Bakugou cuts you off by leaning in close, eyes dark as he presses his lips to the shell of your ear. 

"You need a fucking day off. So I told your boss to fuck off and that you're coming home with me." His tone absolute. So you save your last bit of work, clock out before Bakugou passes you your jacket. He glares into the glass of your manager's office and you notice him crumble beneath that infamous burning gaze. 

Part of you wonders what Bakugou had really said, wonders if you'd still had a job. 

The two of you stand under the awning of your office building. The rain coming down in sheets, thick enough it almost blurs the cityscape.  Bakugou sighs, tension leaving his body as he tilts his neck. It cracks from the effort. 

"So what...what are we gonna do?" 

"I'm going to take your stupid ass home. Force you to shower while I order take out, then I'm going to set your overworked ass on the couch and we are going to watch that fucking movie you never shut up about. Got it Princess?" He fixes you a glare and is extra careful to drag out your nickname ever so slightly as he leans towards you. Your faces are close together, your heart in your throat as you try to push down these stupid, fleeting feelings you've had for the hot head since the six of you moved into that almost run down house. 

But you never could shake them. 

You senses fill with spiced caramel, easing the tension of your shoulders. 

"G-got it."