Removing Distractions

He wants to laugh at the irony, he really does, as he lets Potter brand his arm and override the dark mark with a new one.

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(hey i managed to finish this just in time for valentine!) i’ve been listening to some harry/draco audiofics and was inspired to paint a little something as thanks to the hp fandom, since i can’t actually write and all. Thank you guys for your work!

May I remind you that in book 6 Arthur Weasley’s canonical reaction to Harry telling him he followed Draco into Knockturn Alley is to literally smile in amusement and exasperation. Followed by him asking Harry if there was a reason that he followed Draco, or if he did it just because. Like. Oh. There he goes again obsessing over Malfoy. And he’s not asking all this bc he thinks something might be up. He doesn’t take Harry’s suspicions seriously at all. He’s us ya’ll. He been knew.

WOULD LICK HER BACK UNTIL MY TONGUE DISINTEGRATES

I wanna be that CEO that pays their employees 70K a year like that white guy I be seeing all over the Internet. I can’t remember his name.

I’m not gonna be like Jeff Bezos but I do wanna be a multimillionaire 😂😂😂

Following modern med student Abby, here’s modern streamer Ellie from hold on tight, you’re too slow by beatwice :)) this fic will always live rent free in my head

I LOVE Excel! I took an Excel class during University and I’ve never stopped using or learning about it since. During my summer internship, I would literally use Excel functions and macros for hours every single day. Even if you don’t want to be an Excel fanatic, learning a few basic functions will make your life easier (and even impress a few managers along the way!).

I’ve outlined below some of the most useful Excel functions to learn. Some of these functions are very basic but can make a huge difference. These functions save time, automate procedures, and make your life easier! And if you need some help on how to learn them, I’ve listed some helpful resources to get you started. With all of us social distancing at home, now is as good of a time as any to add a skill to your resume. 

Excel Functions to Know:

SUM: returns sum of cells selected

SUMPRODUCT: multiplies ranges or arrays together and returns the sum of product

IF: return one value for a TRUE result and another for a FALSE result

SUMIF: returns the sum of cells if the cell meets a single condition

AVERAGEIF: computes the average of the numbers in a range that meets a certain criteria

VLOOKUP: lookup and retrieve data from a specific column in a table can be exact or approximate match

LEFT: returns a given number of characters from the left side of text string

RIGHT: returns a given number of characters from the right side of text string

CONCATENATE: joins the text of cells together and returns the joined text in one cell

LENGTH: returns the given number of characters in a text

Resources:

Excel Jet: Very useful as a type of Excel dictionary to look up syntax and specific formulas you don’t know

Excel Easy: almost like on online textbook for Excel (great resource for those who have no knowledge of Excel at all!)

Udemy: paid excel course with lots of videos, assignments, and downloadable resources

Coursera: self-paced learning option, quizzes and assignments, and a course certificate

Excel Youtube Course by Technology for Teachers and Students

Prologue to my Excel series

I’ll also be posting Excel tips, tricks, function explanations, and some basic Excel tutorials so if you’d like to see more appear on your dash in the future, follow my blog and look for my Excel series.

I SAW THIS ON TIK TOK AND I HAD TO SHARE

A wee thing from the Drarry Hanahaki thing I am working on! I’m not sure if I’ll ever end up posting it fully but I thought it was pretty cool!

General tw for hanahaki-related shenanigans, throwing up and coughing.

He breathes and it feels like drowning, in an ocean of leaves instead of water. He swallows and it feels like dying, a thousand lacerations made from a thousand thorns, the taste of petals bitter and cloying against his tongue. He used to hate the taste of blood but now he thinks he would prefer it. Anything over the scent of perfume, sweet and dry and overpowering, chalky against his tongue.

His ribs ache with the force of his hacking. The petals that fall from his mouth are different now, stained pink and damp, overflowing from his outstretched hands where he tried to catch them all. They spill down onto the floor like water and Draco tries to suppress another shiver as it claws from underneath his chest.

When the shaking stops Draco remains hunched over, each beat of his heart a throbbing reminder of the fire in his veins. When he manages to uncurl his body from the floor another wave of pain hits him and he has to clench his teeth to prevent a moan from slipping out. His mouth tastes like blood and flowers, life and death mixed together and he supresses a laugh at the thought.

Since quarantine is super boring here's a list of books recommendations (kinda long):

Feel free to add recommendations too!!!

Red Queen:

"Red Queen” is a young adult fantasy novel by Victoria Aveyard which follows how seventeen-year-old Mare Barrow's discovery that she, a peasant-born Red, has the special powers of the elite ruling Silvers and changes the course of her country's future" lots of politics, a lot of strong female characters. One of my fav books in the entire world and my entire personality is based on Mare Barrow. Also the love interest in the story is hot af. This series inspired like 90% of my writing.

Graceling:

"Graceling is the story of Katsa, a young warrior and her journey to self discovery. Throughout the Seven Kingdoms some people are born with what is known as a Grace. Those who are Graced are exceptionally skilled but each unique and specialized; some can swim like a fish while others can run faster than anyone else." This book is probably the most clever book I've ever read. It's got a good representation of abusive parents/caregivers, a blind poc love interest. The main character is the baddest b*tch in the universe and I will let her step on my face.

Fire:

"A monstrously beautiful young girl must come to terms with her powers, powers that her father used to cause chaos and death in the kingdom. This story is set on an alternate fantasy world where people and wild animals can be born with magical powers that can enthrall normal folk into doing their bidding. Part of this magic is linked to their unearthly beauty which is used by most ordinary people to recognize, avoid and hate these monsters. Having this power not only means you have unnatural beauty and that you can enthrall others, but that you can also read their minds. Fire is a human form of one of these rare monsters and she's grown up with a cruel and infamous Father, Lord Cansrel, who used his powers to cause the downfall of the kingdom called the Dells." I ADORE this book. A lot of time when people write a character who's woc they tend to make her "strong female character" personality very basic and just "a girl who can punch" but in this novel, Fire (the main character) is so much more than that. She's an absolute sweetheart who must be protected at all costs but also a badass who overcame abuse and loss of loved ones and learnt to love herself. The main character owns my heart and all my uwu's.

Bitterblue:

"Bitterblue is a queen that must reign over a kingdom still healing from the cruelty of their previous King. Bitterblue is the daughter of a psychopathic, power-hungry and sadistic Father, King Leck of Monsea. She lives in world where people with different left and right colored eyes are Graced." Okay so this book doesn't have a lot of "action" in it. Not many fighting scenes and it's mostly about discovering secerts and sneaking around but the way the plot develops and the way everything unfolds is really brilliant and shocking. I couldn't put this book down for an entire weekend. Also Bitterblue is relatable af.

Vampire Academy:

"Vampire Academy is a series of six young adult paranormal romance novels by American author Richelle Mead. It tells the story of Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway, a seventeen/eighteen-year-old Dhampir girl, who is training to be a guardian of her Moroi best friend, Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir." I know a lot of vampire stories are very clichè but this series has a really original concept of vampires and a incredible plot. I grew up on this series (it's not a children's book tho) and it's the reason why I started reading in english.

Bloodlines (Vampire Academy's Spin-Off):

"The main character and narrator is an Alchemist, Sydney Sage. Sydney's job in the mission is to act as Jill's older sister and roommate at a private boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The job of an Alchemist is to clean up vampire actions to hide and protect the human race from the vampire race" I just started the first book and I really love it, the way the plot develops is so awesome and cool and it's impossible to put this book down. Also the main character has 0 social skills which is a big mood.

His Dark Materials:

This trilogy is about two kids (Lyra Belaqua and Will Parry) from two different universes who travel in the multiverse. This is my favourite trilogy in the entire world, the writing is brilliant and the world-building is amazing. The best trilogy ever written.

The Girl On The Train:

"Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train." I never read this book, I watched the movie and I was speechless by the end.

The next books are part of my list so I didn't read them.

Chaos Walking:

"Chaos Walking is a young adult science fiction series written by U.S.-born British novelist Patrick Ness. It's set in a dystopian world where all living creatures can hear each other's thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise. The three novels feature two adolescents, Todd Hewitt and Viola Eade, who encounter various moral issues and high stakes as the planet around them erupts into war."

The Raven Cycle:

Ok I have absolutely no clue what this series is about. The title sounds cool and I see a lot of posts about it on tumblr so I just added it to my list.

Sorcerer To The Crown:

"At his wit's end, Zacharias Wythe, Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers, ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England's magical stocks are drying up, an adventure that brings him in contact with Prunella Gentlewoman, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, and sets him on a path."

The Black Tides Of Heaven:

"The Black Tides of Heaven is a 2017 LGBT fantasy novella by Singaporean author JY Yang. The story centers around the twin children of the Protector, whose magic powers cause them to become entangled in the political machinations of their mother."

The Bluest Eye:

"Lorain, Ohio, in 1940–41, the novel tells the tragic story of Pecola Breedlove, an African American girl from an abusive home. Eleven-year-old Pecola equates beauty and social acceptance with whiteness; she therefore longs to have “the bluest eye.” Although largely ignored upon publication, The Bluest Eye is now considered an American classic and an essential account of the African American experience after the Great Depression."

For Today I Am A Boy:

A story about a chinese trans girl who tells about her childhood and about discovering her gender identity.

The Song Of Achilles

"In a world where Gods, demi-gods and people all live together, "The Song of Achilles" is the love story of Patroclus and Achilles. Both were born the sons of kings, but Patroclus' father exiles him when he is a boy after he accidentally kills a nobleman's son."

Ruby Red:

"Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust."

Dragon Sword and Wind Child:

"In the land of Toyoashihara, the forces of the God of Light and the Goddess of Darkness have waged war for generations. But for 15-year old Saya, the war is far away and unimportant--until the day she discovers she is the reincarnation of the Water Maiden and a princess of the Children of the Dark. Raised to love the Light and detest the Dark, Saya must come to terms with her heritage even as she is tumbled into the very heart of the conflict that is destroying her country. Both the army of the Light and Dark seek to claim her, for she is the only mortal who can awaken the legendary Dragon Sword, the weapon destined to end the war. Can Saya make the dreadful choice between the Light and Dark, or is she doomed like all the Water Maidens who have come before her?"