Before starting your day, remember "WIMOWP": Would it make Oscar Wilde proud?

School AU???

I’m fully determined to get Leonardo’s Vampire Academy card.  I got Arthur’s and I don’t want him

And so me and @blackjacks-babybbc my bestie tbh start talking about them in like sorta a boarding school.  School AUs are my all time favorite, so get ready for some bullshit

Starting off, Arthur, Theo, and Leonardo are the fuck bois of the school.  Plain and simple.

Mozart, Sebas, and Comte are a lil more classy, aka just because it breaths doesn’t mean they wanna fuck it

Isaac and Vinc are precious beans.  They’re the guys you have a crush on bc they’re too damn cute and something about them not being fully masculine makes you drawn to them

Dazai is always getting into trouble.  He’s a smart kid but simply doesn’t want to be there

Napoleon and Jean are all about sports

Will hates every class but English/literature, occasionally he enjoys history he’s not sure if he hates gym or math more

Leonardo, Comte, and Isaac are in the top of the class, but yet you never see Leonardo in class??

Leonardo and Isaac do so much extra research on their own time they ended up correcting the teacher occasionally, some of the other students hate them bc of that.

Vinc is always doodling in his notebook and has passing grades, nothing spectacular, but if you’re ever looking for him look in the art room, he’s trying to get better with the pottery wheel

Arthur showing up to class??? Unheard of. But you always see him doing school work or reading a book.  Pretty sure he just lives in the library and not in a dorm.

Mozart is like a goddamn prodigy with music.  He much rather practice than hang out with anyone, but Arthur makes him come to parties.

Sebas and Jean are pretty well rounded with their grades A’s and B’s.

If I had to say who I think would be about parties/drinking/drugs I’d say Arthur, Theo, Dazai, Leonardo.  

Comte, Napoleon, and Will would go to parties, and somehow Mozart gets pulled along, and he’s like “fine, but I’m going to complain the whole time”

Now for juicy bits

Comte and Leonardo have a thing for each other but keep it under the radar, not wanting the other guys to know

Leonardo will pull Comte under a staircase and start making out with him between classes.  Leonardo is needier than Comte and can’t always wait until later in the day at the dorms to be with him.

Leonardo also has a thing for Theo, but assuming Theo is straight he doesn’t do anything about it until they start drinking at a party.

Turns out Theo and Arthur fool around a lot.  Going to each other’s rooms occasionally.

Imagine Theo dropping by Arthurs room, kissing him as soon as he’s in his room and Arthurs like “I really have to finish this essay, its due tomorrow.” but Theo’s not leaving.  He says he can wait til he’s finished, but that doesn’t happen.  Arthur would go back to writing and next thing he knows Theo’s giving him a blowjob and he can’t concentrate.

Napoleon will flirt with anyone, but he normally doesn’t realize he’s flirting, he just . . . does it.  One of the guys will be like “Napoleon, I’m not gay, but you need to stop” and he’s like oops.

Arthur’s flirts get sexual fast.  Him and Theo aren’t exclusive unlike Comte and Leonardo so the both of them end up being with girls too

Threesome

Mozart doesn’t want to be touched let alone be in any sort of relationship, same goes with Isaac

Napoleon is too much of a flirt to make a commitment at the moment, but also doesn’t want flings

Vinc isn’t even thinking about relationships, but quite a few girls have a crush on him, he’s a little oblivious about it though.

Will is open for a relationship.  He rather have something long term rather than having flings, so he’s currently up for grabs.

 Comte going to a party with them and ends up drinking and smoking to show that he isn’t some stuck up rich kid that most think he is.  Leonardo would pull him to the side and be like “Hey, wtf are you doing?”  Comte is like “It’s fine, don’t worry” meanwhile Leonardo is like “One of us has to be responsible” and we all know it’s not gonna be Leonardo.  Could totally see the two of them just getting totally wasted.

Imagine Will convincing Vinc to come to one of the parties, meanwhile Theo could never get him to come so he’s like wtf.

Girls would be all over Vinc tbh.  Arthur might get a little jealous. 

Vinc doesn't kiss and tell tho, so for all they know he's never been with a girl, but we'll leave that to your imagination.

NOW. THERE THREE EXCHANGE STUDENTS. THAT ARE ALSO FUCKBOIS. But they are the bad boy type

And what girl doesn't swoon over an accent.

Yes they all have accents but that's not the point

Vlad with his Romanian accent?? Ugh amazing.

The current Fuck Boi Trio doesn't like the new Bad Boi Trio

Faust would end up being in the top of the class as well, him and Isaac get along

Charles is also a woman charmer like Arthur.

Imagine Arthur wanting to get down a dirty, but Theo is off with some girl or whatever, and so he goes looking for Charles.  He’s barely spoken to him, so he doesn’t even know if he’s into guys.  But he soon finds out that Charles is one hell of a sub.

Vlad is also a rich kid like Comte. But he's the bad boy type, not the teachers pet type

Vlad gets a little too close to Comte and Leonardo doesn't like it.

Comte and Leonardo are in a relationship, so it's not like Comte is gonna do something with Vlad, but Leonardo is possessive.

I’d like to imagine Leonardo would pull Comte into a janitors closet because he’s just way too horny in the moment and he’s very needy.  Normally Comte would tell him that they should just go back to the dorms, but Leonardo got him too much into the mood to do that, so to the janitors closet it is.  Keep in mind no one knows they’re together.  And after a few minutes the door opens and its Arthur and Theo who were also about to use the closet and Theo goes “Looks like it’s already occupied”  Comte would end up throwing something at them and shutting the door.  He’d be really flustered after that

Faust and Leonardo would slightly get along. They'd be the two to get into a heated debate in class.

Charles would get connected to Will pretty quickly.

Charles skips class by going to the auditorium and hiding out in the balcony, and Will ends up being there too.

Jean is pretty popular we’ll say.  Not sure what sport he’d exactly be playing, but he’s a star player.  Soccer/football maybe???

Him and Napoleon would be center forwards.

Lowkey could see Napoleon as the goalie too.  HATE being goalie.  I’m mainly left defense 

They are like jocks . . . but not the asshole jock.

Jeans grades are kinda good enough to stay on the team I feel.  Maybe trying to get a scholarship via sport

Turns out Vinc has a girlfriend that no one knew of.  Theo didn’t even know.  They found out at a party when they kissed and Dazai went “HOLD UP”

Speaking of Dazai

He’s almost never in class, and his grades show it.  But you always find him in an odd spot reading some classics.  He got really into the British Romantics at one point, then moved to American literature.

You can almost always find Will, Dazai, and Arthur in the library.

Arthur will make a comment about a book to Dazai and Will overhears and jumps in, going against Arthur’s comment.  The three of them hella analyze books wither its for a project or not.  They end up getting into an argument with Dazai in the middle doing commentary like “oo, he’s got a point” “Ha!  He’s got you there”.  Depending on the book they are able to actually quote it without reading it

The library isn’t a quite place when the three of them are in there

 Will and Charles end up in the balcony a lot together and Will is normally up there reading, which got Charles into reading more because he would ask Will what he was reading, and what it was about and sometimes Will would answer and sometimes he would say “Why don’t you read it to find out?” and so he did.

What does Vlad do around the school?  No one really knows.  He ends up pissing a lot of people off, and has nearly gotten into a fight or two with Leonardo until Comte got in the middle.

In my high school we had a debate team, but they had to get rid of it due to one REALLY heated debate, which was about wither or not cereal is a soup.  I’d like to think of the writing trio arguing about it.  Arthur says its soup, Will says it isn’t, Dazai is like “look, I eat my cereal dry but i know what you mean”.  Then the entire school is talking about it.

Team soup: Arthur, Theo, Dazai, Napoleon

Team not soup: Will, Mozart, Comte, Sebas, Isaac

Team I know what you’re getting at but doesn’t think it’s soup: Vinc, Charles, Vlad, Jean

Team I don’t care: Leonardo, Faust

Masterlist

Bookstore AU (2k)

Taking requests from this list-- ask away!

This one was fun to write but is strictly fluff, so I hope you like it!

Camp Counselor AU

Bookstore AU 

It’s already noon.

           You glance down at your watch again, just to make sure you read it right. Yep. Noon.

           You shake your head and continue restocking the shelves. The shipment today wasn’t exactly what you thought it would be—classics, mostly, and some obscure book someone put a in a large order for. It was most likely for a high school class or fancy book club.

           You don’t really care. It’s already noon and Shawn has yet to come in.

           It’s not that it’s a big deal or anything. He doesn’t come in every day, and sometimes he’s late. He did tell you, though, that he would be by today. He has some project to complete for work, he said, and you told him you would save that spot for him in the corner, the table bathed in sunlight and surrounded by the hanging plants your mother takes care of. You pitifully look at the handmade sign you posted on the tabletop: RESERVED. “I’ll be here, like,latest 10:00,” he had said, flashing you that impossibly white smile.

           God you’re so pathetic.

           You abandon the cart you had been retrieving books from and briskly walk to the café. The sign is staring at you, telling you exactly what you didn’t want to happen from this little friendship with Shawn. He got what he wanted and probably won’t come by again.

           It’s already noon. Of course, he’s not coming in today.

           You crumple up the sign and dejectedly return to your work. Your mother has been stuck in the back office all day dealing with a new author signing next month, so you’re working the front of the store alone. It’s quite empty on weekday mornings, so you try to keep yourself occupied by humming along to the top 100 pop hits playing through the old, tinny speakers in the ceiling.

           There’s the familiar ding of the door opening. You call out “welcome” and don’t bother turning away from straightening out the spines of the children’s books. Those kids tear through this space like elephants in a china shop.

           The clearing of a throat. “Well, it looks like we both failed on our promises for today.”

           You almost jump out of your skin. “Holy sh*t,” you gasp, putting your palm to your chest to slow the pounding of your heart. “You scared me.”

           “I can tell,” Shawn laughs. “Sorry.”

           Judging by that certain tilt of his smile you can tell he isn’t all that sorry. Amusement plays out on his features handsomely: his eyebrows have slightly risen; his smile is wider than normal and there’s a twinkle in his eyes hinting that he’s having a great time. He must be on his way to the gym judging by the running shorts, tank top and tennis shoes. Shawn usually is running from meeting to meeting when he stops by, always dressed in that hipster chic way that your generation tends to admire. Rounded glasses, pressed white shirts, pastel pants and some type of cardigan or overcoat to pull it all together. But today he must be getting a break from the duties his family business puts on him and is getting away for a bit.

           “You’re late,” you tease, all the anger from earlier melting away the moment your eyes met his.

           “I know, I’m sorry. I got caught up at home—my mom was pestering about everything this morning. I guess I messed up the payroll for someone?” He shakes his head in annoyance. “I don’t know. But I’m here now so… do I get my table back? Or have I permanently fallen from your good graces?”  

           Part of you wants to hold out on him for making you worry, but instead you purse your lips together to keep from smiling and grab his forearm, leading him to the table you referenced earlier. He sits, takes out his work from the briefcase he carried in and starts to get everything organized. You say something like “enjoy” or whatever and start to leave.

           “Y/N,” he prompts. You stop and turn back around.

           “Hmm?”

           “Would you wanna join me?”

            Your stomach twists with nervousness and you start to pick at the dead skin beside your thumbnail, as if the little cut there has suddenly become all you can be interested in. “I have some stuff to do. My mom is trying to organize this author signing…” you trail off.

           Shawn’s mischievousness from earlier seems to just melt from his expression in front of your eyes. “Yeah, gotcha. I understand.” He picks up that enthusiasm he briefly lost and opens up his laptop. “Thanks again for your help yesterday, with Daniel’s book and everything. I don’t know why my parents wouldn’t take the deal themselves but—”

           “No problem,” you interrupt. “See ya.”

           You turn on your heel and escape into the back room, cursing yourself each step of the way. What is wrong with you? For some reason you feel like you betrayed your parents by helping out what is technically their main competition. Bookworms, Shawn’s family’s store, is a chain that has their headquarters in your hometown. Comparatively, your parents’ store opened as a passion project of your grandmother’s after her husband passed away and, on a good day, you see around ten customers from open to close. Only around half of them will purchase something, and the other half will leave with only a wave and a promise to come back again soon.

           No wonder Shawn is Bookworms’ head salesman. He’s just so charming. He talked you into entering a contract with his friend from high school, buying up a couple shipments of his new novel and putting it on your shelves for a limited time. According to Shawn, his parents refused to enter into any contracts with friends due to any complications that may arise, so he offered it to you, claiming to want to help smaller businesses. But his direct competitor? You feel your eyebrows knit together in confusion. It just doesn’t make sense. Your mother thought the whole thing sounded fishy, a bit too good to be true, and you are starting to believe her.

           But he’s just so convincing. And handsome. God is he handsome.

           Throughout the rest of the stores’ hours, you peek around the corner and check on him. He has been helping himself to the complimentary lemon water that you make every morning, and you realize that he drank almost the whole pitcher. Damn. An empty pitcher means that, somehow, it needs to be refilled. And with your mother preoccupied, you understand that it must be you to do it.

           You approach him with a soft, close-lipped smile and intend to just get in there, grab the pitcher, fill it up in the back and return it, no words exchanged.

           Of course, that isn’t what happened.

           “What would you say to someone who just cancelled a lucrative deal on you?” Shawn asks you as soon as you start to walk away with the pitcher. “I mean, he’s a nice enough guy, but he ditched us right before signing the contract.”

           You shrug. “I’m not really sure.” You take a few steps away from him, trying to signal an end to the conversation.

           “It’s a tough situation, you know. I want to keep everything civil with him in case he thinks about us for the next book, but chances are he’ll just sign again with the seller he already signed with.” He takes his bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger, staring at his computer screen. “What do you guys do when something like this happens?”

           You want to say that nothing like that has ever happened to your tiny store because no one ever signs exclusive deals with you. But instead, to save him some embarrassment, you tell him that “we usually just say good luck and send them on their way.”

           “Really?”

           “Yeah.”

           You wonder if he can smell the bullshit from the distance you’re keeping from him.

           You should’ve walked away in the pause he instills between you, but you can tell he wants to say something else. He’s still looking at the screen of his laptop, but you can see the gears in his head moving.

           “Would you wanna go to dinner tonight?”

           Your mouth goes dry. You’re floundering, feeling like you’re about to drop the pitcher when you, in an effort to get this terrible nervous feeling to go away, say “we’ll go after closing.”

***

           Your mother left about twenty minutes ago, shooting you a look saying be careful before she walked out the door. You had already swept everything there was to be swept, cleaned off every table, put each book in its place, and you have absolutely no excuse but to close the store and get to dinner. Shawn has been waiting patiently, never once getting up from his seat at the table you saved for him, only occasionally smiling at you when you glanced over.

           You collapse into the chair opposite his. “Where’re we going?”

           “I was thinking maybe The Pearl? My friend owns it and I feel like maybe we’ll get the star treatment,” he says, a little emphasis on the ‘star’.

           “Seems like you’ve got a lot of friends in high places.”

           He blushes. “Nah, just have been lucky.”

           You wonder if that’s code for ‘I went to a private school with a bunch of people with a lot of money.’

           The two of you lock up and chat as you drive downtown. Shawn’s life becomes increasingly more interesting the more he talks—his little sister has been interning at Penguin publishing with their head editor; his parents are divorced but still get along swimmingly, running the store together and continuing to keep the family close-knit. The business was started by his grandmother, much like yours was, and he has a knack for singing and playing the guitar. You say you would love to hear him sing, but he brushes you off with “maybe someday.”

           You arrive at the restaurant and conversation flows even better, now having topics to branch upon like “wow that guy over there is so drunk” or “these booths are so comfy.” Shawn is an excellent listener. He leans in close to hear you talk in a way that encourages you to speak quieter, as if you two are the only ones in the entire place. Somewhere in between the appetizer and the entrée, you find your hand covered by his.

           The check comes and of course you offer to split it, though both of you know full well that Shawn is the only one in the financial position to cover the cost. He says thank you for offering, but then encloses his credit card in the book. Before you leave, you notice that he left a crisp $50 tip on the table.

           The night air is chilly, and you huddle closer to Shawn, your hand finding his once again. He lifts his arm so you fit perfectly underneath it. You wonder if it’s his winning personality and looks or the fact that he’s just a little off-limits, just a bit forbidden, that your heart races every time he talks to you.

           “I had fun tonight.”

           His voice interrupts your thoughts, and you realize that you are back at the store, Shawn’s car sidled up to your embarrassingly old Honda Civic, now the only vehicle in the lot. His hand finds your thigh and you smile sheepishly, hoping that he doesn’t notice the paint chipping off the side of your car or the ratty sweatshirts that have piled up in your backseat.

           “Me too,” you answer.

           “We should go out again. Saturday?”

           You’re shocked at his boldness and can really do nothing but nod. Your eyes dart between his lips and his eyes, searching for permission to do what you think you’ve always, at some level, have wanted to do.

           And when he leans in, you do too.

Did you like it? Tell me! 

Here’s my masterlist

Survey #153

“i may be easy - easy to hate, but you’re so fucking easy, easy to break.”

Do you think age matters in friendship?  Nah.  One of my closest friends is in his 30s.  Now of course I believe a parent should monitor a friendship of a minor and adult, but, I still believe friendship is certainly possible. What was the last essay/assignment you wrote about?  It was only the rough draft, but I helped Colleen with her assessment of "Female" by Keith Urban. When do you usually put your Christmas decorations up?  Usually start in early December. Are you more likely to eat when you’re bored or depressed?  When I'm bored, I'd say.  When I'm depressed, I'm more keen on sleeping.  I've gotten better about not eating when I'm bored, thankfully. Do you have a case/cover for your phone? Describe it.  No, I want one tho. Do you take good care of your skin?  I've been making a decent effort lately.  I HATE the bumps I have on my arms from dry skin, so I've been moisturizing them as well as my face. What was your dream job when you were a kid?  Paleontologist.  I would still pursue it if I wasn't turned off by a career with loads of travel, nor do I think I have the patience to obtain a PhD. Is there any music you listen to that was influenced by your parents?  Oh yeah, Mom especially.  She's all about heavy metal, especially the classics.  Dad too, but I'd say he's more hard rock. Do you use tampons or pads? Or both?  Tampons, pads gross me out afsdjafjw.  I started with them though. Is your internet wireless or do you need a cable?  Wireless. What is something you’re behind the times on?  Ummm idk. Have you ever had a severe allergic reaction?  No. What color are your glasses, if applicable?  Black. List a great $1 store find:  Idk. List a great garage sale find:  *shrugs* Who is one YouTuber you would like to meet?  m a r k Do you have your own website?  I have my own photography one. Do you like candy corn?  Omg demons stay back. Were you happy as a kid?  Yep. What is your favorite Queen song?  If your answer isn't "Bohemian Rhapsody," I don't want you in my life. Who was the last person you blocked on social media? Why?  Colleen, 'cuz I was kicking her out of my life and know that woman too well that she would try sending me a novel of hate, and I wasn't having it.  Turns out she shared our drama over Facebook afterwards to make me the bad guy, and I still have trouble believing I forgave something that petty.  She apologized for it, eh. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?  The old woman my mom had watched.  I knew enough about her to know she was a super sweet woman, so I barely held it together in there.  She died the very next morning. Could you ever be friends with the person who hurt you most in life?  Ha, no.  He doesn't deserve my friendship. You never know what you have until you’ve lost it, true or false?  Nah. What’s the craziest thing you’ve done?  I dunno, possibly something sexual. When was the last time you spoke to someone in a different language?  Back in high school when I was doing a German test over the phone. Have you ever successfully broken a bad habit? How about conquered a fear of something?  Omg, so I had this habit of when I was thinking deeply or nervous, I would pull my eyebrows out.  It got to the point it would sometimes look like I almost had none.  Super embarrassing, especially because I did this a lot in school.  As for a fear, it was never a big one, but going to see Sara broke my mild fear of flying.  I like it now. Have you ever read a whole series of books?  Yes. Are you going to walk at your graduation or just pick your diploma up?   For when I finish college, I'm probably just picking up my diploma. Have you ever tried to break a Guinness World Record?  No. Do you know how to read music?  I recall some notes. Do you own any shirts that have a year on it?  Ha ha, I got that "I was there" shirt for the Back to the Future date. Do you have any scratches on your cell phone?  No. Is your skin tone lighter or darker than your mom’s?  Lighter. Have you ever done another person’s make-up?  I gave Jason a makeover. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Honestly still hope I have that picture somewhere.  Regardless of what happened, that is damn good memory, he hated it so much. Is anyone saved in your phone under a nickname?  Sara, Ashley, Nicole, and Mom. When, where, and why did a needle last pierce your skin?  'Bout two weeks back to get my tongue pierced. Who is the youngest gay person you know?  Dunno. Have you ever watched an animal being eaten by another animal?  Yeah, our old cats with mice 'n such. Do you get along with people who are especially religious? Why/why not?  If you don't push it on me, certainly.  Respect my theism, I'll respect your whatever. Do you have any interesting pillow cases?  No. Are you more afraid of spiders or bees?  Well, there's too much variety in this question.  I'll fear a wolf spider more than a bumblebee, but a hornet more than daddy long leg. Has your best friend ever seen you naked?  No. Do you get mad when your current bf/gf talks about an ex?  Not at all. Do you know anybody who was abused?  Yes. Would you prefer a baby boy or girl?  If I was to have kids, y'know, I don't know.  Perhaps a girl, but I know boys are generally easier, and feeling the bond between a mother and her son would be amazing.  I'unno. When did you last feel like your privacy was invaded?  I'm not sure. Do your parents volunteer anywhere?  No. If you were a different religion from your current one, what would it be? Why?  Wiccan, because their beliefs (that I know of) are interesting. Have you ever had your phone taken away at school?  No. How old were you the first time you dyed your hair?  Idk.  I think first year of high school; I don't believe dyed hair was allowed in middle. Do you talk the same way you do in person as you do online?  For the most part. How would you react if a doctor told you that you were infertile?  I'd be like, irrationally happy.  I don't want kids, and I have a considerably large fear of being raped and thus get pregnant, so. Do you get along with your best friend’s parents?  Her mom's a bitch, and her dad's... different. Have you ever been in a relationship where you didn’t get along with the person’s parents?  No. How many people of the opposite sex have you said ‘I love you’ to?  One, romantically. Do you put marshmallows in your hot chocolate?  No. What is the best thing you can draw?  Meerkats are like the only thing I can draw decently without a reference. What band did you see for your first concert?  Alice Cooper. Do you think people with legitimate addictions are pathetic, or do you understand them?  Oh fuck off.  I obviously can't "understand" because I've never endured one, but addictions are serious.  Addiction is not a choice, and from meeting so many druggies during my psych hospital visits as well as having a friend who got clean, it's fucking hard. Has anyone you know ever had serious surgery before?  Yeah, Mom had kidney cancer.  The tumor was bigger than the kidney itself. When was the last time you had butterflies?  When Sara was here, we had these few moments where we were just staring at each other smiling and asjdfawjij. Do you think Gatorade tastes refreshing or just gross?  I don't like it. Do you own a pet fish? What kind of fish are they?  No. Do you have a porch swing?  No. How many area codes would you recognize?  My own and childhood town's. Who has the best taste in music in your family?  Besides myself obviously, Mom. What animal did you last pet or hold?  My cat. If you were a different gender, what name would you want to have?  Maybe like.  Dakota.  Probs my favorite unisex name. If you had to have one feature on your body changed to a canine version of said feature, what would you choose?  Gimme dem teefs. What product or service do you find ridiculously overpriced?  Some fast food, QUALITY MAKEUP, gas, uhhhh. How many people, outside of your immediate family, do you know the birthdays of by heart?  Six, or seven if you count my dog.  Maybe forgetting some. Shot of whiskey, or a bottle of Smirnoff?  The latter, I love Smirnoff's. Have you ever been afraid of being underwater?  No. Would you ever scuba dive in shark infested waters if you had the chance? In a cage, sure.  Otherwise, no.  Sharks are very much villainized, but I respect their capabilities, rare as an attack is. Have you ever hit a parked car with your car?  Not yet, boy will I when I learn how to park around others lmao. What band/group have the most lyrics that represent you? Hmmm, not sure. How many times have you been on a plane?  Four times that I remember, but I was on one as a baby, too. What do you wish were different about your hair?  I wish it was eASIER TO DYE- What’s a personality type that you do not like? Overly talkative is draining for me.  I also dislike the kinds of people who aim to make every "conversation" almost exclusively about themselves/leave no room for you to really express your own thoughts.  That's not a convo. What’s a personality type that you do like? Deep thinkers.  Those open to many possibilities, even if wild.  Nature-adoring people and/or ones who feel heavily connected to the earth. Which of your friends is the least like you and in what way? Colleen.  My best friend somehow, ha ha.  She's extremely straightforward and isn't afraid to hurt feelings if she feels it's important for you to see truth, she gets shit done quick/doesn't procrastinate, she can be quite argumentative, she's completely independent, our religious and some political views are different, our music taste is totally inverted, and I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.  We're a prime example of opposites attract.  Love her to death. How about the most like you and in what way? Sara, and I could write a novel here lmao.  Separated at birth kinda shit. What’s something you do daily and is this a habit of yours? Sit on the computer, and yeeaah it's just about all I do. What was the last thing to frustrate you and is it still frustrating you now?  Hm.  Dunno.  Probably something like Roman being so intent on lying on the keyboard. What helps you fall asleep? Nothing lol. Is there any type of medicine you can’t take? For what reason?  Anti-depressants.  Learned from my current psychiatrist that taking them only amps up bipolarity symptoms if you have that as well, which I do. Do you like designer bags with the logo stamped all over them?  No. Is Russian or Native American history more interesting to you?  Native American. If you had to choose to have a different accent than the one you have now, what accent would you choose and why?  British, 'cuz it's hot. Have you ever missed a flight?  Omg yes.  O'Hare after visiting Sara was absolutely impossible.  It was so.  Busy.  That and I didn't know what I was doing through half of it. If your ex suddenly kissed you right now, what would you do?  "The" ex would lose his balls, the others I'd push back. Are you a virgin?  P sure no but my story is complicated so aojsdfaow. What is one feature that you don’t like?  I'm guessing you mean on myself personally, and that would easily be weight.  I'd be relatively fine with myself if that was where I want it to be. What’s the genre of the current song you’re listening to?  Metal ballad. What would you do if you were stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean?  I don't really know.  A part of me says I'd be so hopeless and terrified I'd drown myself.  The odds of being found are minuscule. Who is the funniest person you know?  Girt. When sitting on the floor, in what position do you normally sit?  Kinda with my legs turned to the same side. Do you like being kissed spontaneously or asked?  Spontaneously is way less awkward for me.  But only if you're pretty sure through my display of comfort that I'm fine with it. Have you ever tried to break someone up?  I thought about it out of spite.  I considered messaging her over Facebook and telling her what she was in for, and I wished her dead, and I'm not joking.  Turns out he broke up with her for the same reason as me, according to Mom being a FB stalker apparently. Are you a bad influence?  I am in some areas.  Shouldn't be even remotely lazy as me, and you shouldn't illegally download shit. Would you ever get a tattoo?  I already have five, and six is probably coming next year with holiday + birthday money. Do you get nervous before going to doctor appointments?  Not really, no.  The only thing that makes me anxious is having to get weighed lmao. Do you call anyone "baby?"  Sara, but more frequently "babygirl." What is a movie that you thought you would hate but you ended up loving?  Off the top of my head, I think A Raisin in the Sun. Do you have any close friends that were adopted?  No. What time do you usually have a shower?  Night. What do you want to do after high school? I immediately went to a community college but dropped out in like a month.  My depression was so bad and I just couldn't handle the difficulty, responsibility, and independence leap. Do you know anybody that is pregnant right now? Not off the top of my head.  My acquaintance had a baby girl less than a week ago, though.

Are you a pie or a pizza? BuzzFeed Quizzes

For this week, I wrote about an already familiar platform: BuzzFeed. But, since it is not possible to cover the broad universe of this platform, which ranges from the serious tone with its news and investigation section to the well-known coverage of popular culture with the latest update of the Taylor Swift and Katy Perry feud, this week we will focus on in the BuzzFeed Quizzes.

I plead guilty to have taken one of these quizzes on one occasion because I was curious to know what Disney princess I am. However, because of work and the responsibilities of taking three courses for my master´s studies, I have not taken a BuzzFeed quiz in a long time. But when I came up with this week's post and continuing with my passion for popular culture- I am a pop culture geek- I decided to dive deep in the purpose of this BuzzFeed tool and share it with you, my dear readers.

I retook the Disney Princess test. According to Buzzfeed, “I don´t give a damn what other people think” and have amazing powers. I am still waiting for ice powers to appear any day. Source: BuzzFeed.

BuzzFeed quizzes, beyond being a method to pass the time and become the standard bearer of procrastination that you do not want your boss to see you doing at work, are an interesting and important topic regarding digital tools, and for which, I was motivated to write this post. Something I learned with time and as I get older – and hopefully wiser – is that every digital platform, as crazy as may seem, has a function and importance.

First of all, let's discover more about the website that has brought us quizzes like “What % Kourtney, Kim, And Khloe Are You?” (the Kardashians really are everywhere), “Pick A Dog And We’ll Reveal Your Deepest Fear” and “Chose A Hot Guy and We’ll Reveal What % Thirsty You Are”.  68.8 percent of Buzzfeed users are women, while 31.2 percent are men, 24.9 percent are between 25 and 34 years. But, would you like to know how massive is BuzzFeed? It has 200 million unique visits per month and half of the millennials in the United States read and navigate on this website.

Millennials really love BuzzFeed! So much that it could be named “the Millennial Town on the Internet”. Millennials watch an average of 38 videos BuzzFeed videos each month. What do they like to watch? Videos from their Tasty franchise, the BuzzFeed social food network that shares useful recipes and cooking tutorials, perfect for the Millennials who are trying to survive on their own – including me.

Millennials are the core of BuzzFeed. One website where they can find news, recipes, memes, ridiculous articles and of course, quizzes where you will know if you are a pie or a pizza. Source: Nielsen.

But wait, there's more. According to Nielsen, BuzzFeed visitors average 12 page views per person during the month, half of its monthly unique visitors come from social media and spend an average of 14 minutes using the site. Let's be honest, for a generation with an attention span of eight seconds, spending 14 minutes using a website seems like a lifetime.

One extra fact: three out of every 10 BuzzFeed visitors have earned a Bachelor's degree, and 14 percent hold a Master's degree. That means that there is a high probability that you, my dear reader, have visited BuzzFeed, and why not, wanted to know if you are a Kourtney, Khloe or Kim.

Now that we know the facts about BuzzFeed, let's get down to business. Why, you may ask, as communicators, should we take into account the quizzes on this page? The answer is in a single word: information.

It's as simple as that: One might think that when you're doing a BuzzFeed quiz, you're just passing the time and satisfying the curiosity of knowing if you're going to get married tomorrow or if your soulmate is Chris Pratt. However, there are quizzes that reveal personal data. According to an article by Dan Barker about the data points that BuzzFeed collects about its users, the platform collects the information and shares it with its business partners in order to use it and target ads.

That's right, we are taking more than an absurd quiz, we are providing personal information so that companies can show us crafted ads especially for archetypes.

And you might ask, what about their privacy policy? Apparently, in Millennial Town privacy policies benefit the site, not those who visit it, even if you do not create a BuzzFeed account to log in to the site, they start collecting information, as well as the IP address and the information that cookies and web beacons obtain regarding the browsing behavior.

BuzzFeed sees you when you are sleeping, it knows when you are awake, so be good for goodness sake. BuzzFeed would be the scariest Santa Claus, at least he doesn´t sell your information. Source: BuzzFeed.

Although it sounds unfair and frustrating, this practice is still legal. One of the criticisms that are always taken in considering the current legal regulations is that they are not updated at the same time as digital tools, leaving a space for platforms such as BuzzFeed or Facebook - remember the Cambridge Analytica controversy and Mark Zuckerberg's Senate hearing?- to take your personal information and do whatever they like with it. BuzzFeed, because of that incomprehension of the legislative groups on digital media, has caused these legal gaps that transform quizzes into the perfect tools to obtain insights about users on the network.

Who takes advantage of this legal gap and the privacy policies in favor of BuzzFeed? Brands. Through this collection of information, through a dynamic form of communication, you can know how the public is evolving, where their preferences are going, what their ideologies are, their fears, their expectations, what kind of romantic partner they want to have, where they would like to travel, what they eat, what is their favorite color and the list continues. As the specialist lawyer in digital subjects, Kerry O'Shea Gorgone, mentions:

"BuzzFeed has won the market research game: demographic information, complex psychographic data, location, and browsing history, all at its fingertips. And users are giving it up happily, just to discover if the Sorting Hat will put them into Gryffindor or Slytherin. This should affect data quality, but BuzzFeed tracks your individual answers, as well. In fact, they might gain even more insight into the deepest recesses of your mind if you take a quiz multiple times, like being privy to your burning need to be perceived as Harry Potter instead of Luna Lovegood or Arthur Weasley."

The more this situation is known, the way in which we as public interact with the content will change. I know, we all love those quizzes. I still remember when I used to take those cheesy quizzes in teen magazines during recess with my friends in high school. However, and this is part of growing up, we must be responsible, so I will we become aware of the way in which we give our information? Will we change our media consumption habits to protect our privacy? I dare to give an immediate response, based on what happened with Facebook and the answer is no. Although the situation with Cambridge Analytica caused a backlash by users, Facebook only lost 0.05% of its users in the United States and Canada. I can assure that none of my contacts left their Facebook accounts. In this case, the interaction and contact with our friends and acquaintances prevailed over the possibility that our information continued to leak. However, we will be more cautious when clicking on a news or filling out a quiz. It does not matter how much BuzzFeed plays with our nostalgia, something this page is an expert on. "BuzzFeed identified this demand for romanticizing, before, decades before most outlets and has made thousands of lists and quizzes that cater around this theme."

This is how teen magazines looked like when I was in High School. Back when Twilight was still a thing and the quiz was to know if you are ready for the vampire life. Source: Twilight Reality.

I am sure that after reading this post you will think twice about clicking on that “which classic “star wars” character are you?”

I know that it is not possible to be with the guard up all the time, thinking that the websites are going to track every step we take online to be able to create profiles and sell them to the companies. I know that we cannot constantly think that we are only a speck of information in the online universe. If we think about it, BuzzFeed would be the classic Habermasian tool where the public sphere becomes a mass exclusively focused on popular themes.  We could say that Millennial Town has its own Big Brother.

Now we see how 2018 is like “1984″. Image from: Wikipedia 

And this is how a post that began with an "innocent" quiz about Disney Princesses ended in a narrative of how quizzes are a tool to obtain information from a platform that could be the protagonist of an Orwell book. This demonstrates the complexity of the current digital platforms and the debate of what is the approach we must take in order to generate interactive content for the public and, why not, an ethical debate on whether we should create content oriented to the public or made exclusively in order that the companies obtain information.

I end this blog post with a bittersweet feeling because I have given my information to a page I used to visit to have fun. Is this going to change how I interact online? I will definitely become more aware of my “online footprint”. I am sure you have the same feeling.

Now, it's time to close the browser, turn off my computer and not visit that Millennial Town called BuzzFeed, not for a good time at least, no matter how tempting it is to know if I'm a Kourtney, Khloe or Kim. 

And you, what will you do?

Hey guys~ As usual, I am late. Wednesday was yesterday for me. This also happens to be my first T5W post of the year. :D As you all know, Top 5 Wednesday is a discussion group on Goodreads, started by Lainey and now moderated by Sam.

This week’s topic is Favourite Non-Written Novels. Basically, it means any top 5 fav manga, comics, graphic novels…etc. any others books except for the normal novel, you can list it down.

Mine will definitely be filled with manga, haha. I mostly read shoujo manga (romantic, sweet, fluffy manga that is sure to make a girl’s heart go doki doki), and yaoi manga (LGBT manga, well, yaoi specifically focused on gay love). But sometimes I do like to read action/ fantasy manga.

So, on to the list…

1. Kingyo Sou by Fujitsuka Yuki

Summary:

During springtime in their second year of high school, Asuka fell in love with Masami after seeing him play the Harmony Drums during the festival. However, Masami is deaf, and in his own soundless world, he has closed his heart. With this, their miraculous but painful love quietly begins. A pure midsummer love story that will warm your heart. Fujitsuka Yuki’s long awaited debut comic!

I think this is probably my favourite manga of all time. It has 8 chapters with one short bonus story, split into two books.

I love Asuka and Masami’s love story, the way that Asuka is not scared off when she found out that Masami is deaf and continued to pursue him romantically, and how Masami is slowly falling in love with Asuka.

At this point, I think I’ve read this manga more than 10 times.

2. Ichihara Yukino

Summary:

Teased unmercifully for his past as an orphan and a slave, Teito has only his best friend Mikage to ease his days at the elite Barsburg Academy – and his mastery of the magical art of Zaiphon! But even that will not be enough to save him when he discovers a horrifying secret behind the ruling Empire. Trapped in an ancient battle between a wicked Death God and the Seven Ghosts and guided by three mysterious priests, Teito discovers a power that could save the world… and shed light on his own mysterious past.

This is definitely one of my favourite action/ fantasy manga. It has 100 chapters, split into 17 books. There are sweet parts that makes you go awe, sad parts that make you cry and funny parts that make you laugh so hard. There’s even epic bromance scenes (which is probably one of the main reasons why I love this manga so much). Imagine if I still collect manga novels. I would have spent roughly RM 663 for this series alone.

3. Beauty Pop by Arai Kiyoko

Summary:

Although a truly gifted hairstylist, Kiri Koshiba has no interest in using her talent to pursue fame and fortune, unlike the three popular boys in the “Scissors Project” at school. Determined to become the best makeover team in Japan, they give showy makeovers to handpicked girls. As much as Kiri tries to shy away from the Scissors Project spotlight, she finds herself responding to beauty’s call…

When I first started reading this shoujo manga, it immediately reminded me of Prince of Tennis (God! I love that manga so much), but instead of about sports, it’s about hairstyling and stuff. I didn’t know I would end up loving this manga a lot. I’ve read this manga like more than 10 times too, and my gosh, I always end up not sleeping when I started reading because I just want to get to the next chapter and the next. Haha This manga has 51 chapters + 3 bonus stories, split into 10 books.

4. Sex Pistols / Love Pistols by Kotobuki Tarako

Summary:

People are starting to act very odd around Norio. This average, normal boy is suddenly getting a lot of unwanted romantic attention and he can’t figure out why! A broken leg and a fall down the stairs into the arms of a handsome stranger set off the beginnings of an explanation, and it is one Norio never could have possibly imagined. Soon a whole new world opens up for Norio, revealing a secret society of special people evolved from animals other than monkeys. This society has a complex structure and its members are ranked by rarity and desirability, and it turns out that Norio is a particularly rare breed and his DNA is in much demand! How will he survive in this modern jungle where he’s suddenly the prey?

I first read this manga when I was 16. You see, I love fanfictions, I love SLASH PAIRING, and I absolutely love mpreg. So, I decided to look if there’s any mpreg manga, and what do you know? There is one, and it is called… SEX PISTOLS. Or Love Pistols, it depends.

At first, I was only lured by the promise of mpreg, but I didn’t expect myself to fall in love with the manga. The characters, the stories…all of them. Damn. I find myself laughing, squealing, ranting in frustration and crying while reading this. As of now, the manga has 49 chapters, split into 8 books, and is still ongoing.

5. Shinshi Doumei Cross (The Gentleman’s Alliance Cross) by Tanemura Arina

Summary:

In return for a business loan of 50 million yen, the prestigious Kamiya family gave their daughter Haine away to the Otomiya family. Haine, now an Otomiya, is appointed to the student council of the exclusive Imperial Academy, a private school for the aristocracy. Even though Haine is of proper lineage to be on the council, she finds herself struggling to find her place among the many secrets of its elite members, especially those of the president who holds her heart – Shizumasa Togu, aka “the Emperor.”

Haine has been in love with Shizumasa Togu from the day she read the picture book he wrote as a child. She enrolls the Imperial Academy to be close to him and is accepted as a member of the student council. But with that, dark secrets start to reveal themselves! Why does “The Emperor” act differently? Is Haine really in love with Shizumasa? Why did her father sell her and why doesn’t her mother write to her anymore?

I bought this manga because I love Arina’s arts, and damn, this story is so <3. Far-fetched, not realistic but still makes my shoujo heart go doki doki. Icing on top is that it has yaoi love. Maora (the person on the cover) is a guy and loves his childhood friend, also a guy. But then, I’m not sure if it could be considered gay love, because Maora ended up dressing up as a girl so that his childhood friend would accept him. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure if what Maora and Maguri have is yaoi, because I think Maora is genderfluid and dresses up as a girl most of the time.

Honorary mention:

These two manga are in my top 10 list, and also two of the classics.

1. The Prince of Tennis by Konomi Takeshi (1999). It has 379 chapters, split into 42 books. (Imagine collecting this series O.O)

2. Gokusen by Morimoto Kozueko (1999). I think this one has 50+ chapters, split into 15 books.

So, these are my favourite non-written novels. Do you love reading manga? Have you read any that I’ve mentioned? I’d love to know what your favourite non-written novels are. :)

Cheers,

Top 5 Wednesday | Favorite Non-Written Novels (14th Feb ’17) Hey guys~ As usual, I am late. Wednesday was yesterday for me. This also happens to be my first T5W post of the year.