#(psst that's my top team for a stupid reason)

[spacetimewraithwrites-archive]

Find the Word Tag Game

(Triple Feature)

(tw: violence, blood, kissing)

tagged by: @sleepyowlwrites & @druidx!! my words: crush, crack, cream, crest, caveat, collaborate (fairly sure I haven’t done those yet though they’re a month old?), same, save, sale, sake, serious, scarce, rum, wraith, wild, rule, my tagging: @drippingmoon, @drabbleitout, @ashen-crest, @zmwrites, @sleepyowlwrites, @muddshadow, @talesfromaurea, anyone who wants to, and the entire Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball team. your words: easy, early, enter, exit, effort, empty

crush (Eternal)—

His lungs filled with dust, exacerbating his lowered oxygen intake and the speed at which he could run. A cloud of debris mushroomed out from the crumbling walls of the base, and Warren realized almost too late that they were not going to get far enough away in time.

Thrive tackled him to the ground and covered him as the shockwave passed through. Several explosions went off behind them, and dust and fire filled the air in acrid, burnt volumes. Rubble showered them, and Thrive raised another shield, deflecting boulders of stone and metal that would have otherwise crushed them to death.

Warren didn't move a muscle, staring up into the sky past Thrive’s shoulder as his head spun. He watched the debris raining from above, the smoke from the explosions curling into the thickening clouds. He struggled for breath, and Thrive's body tensed around him.

crack (Rebirth)—

Hyret suddenly seemed preoccupied with something else—the panel over the guard's shoulder. "Why is the room set for detachment? I have not ordered—"

The guard on the right punched the next guard in the head so hard with a sledgehammer fist they instantly went down, falling clumsily into the guard on the far left, who staggered back in surprise. Hyret reached for the rogue, who grabbed his hand and twisted tight, earning a window-rattling cry.

The rogue battered Hyret over and over, knocking him across the room, then turned to deal powerful blows to the remaining conscious guard. Bones cracked under his thick knuckles, blood splattering the walls and the shiny tunic he wore. Before the guard could retaliate, a meaty hand clamped onto his throat and the rogue grabbed the gun, shooting the downed guard in the temple and swinging the barrel up to line up with Hyret's head.

crest (Meridian)—

As he moved closer he started to make out Thoeala's giggly responses that crested with each wave threatening to uproot her.

"Mind the foam," Thrive said quickly in his native tongue, grabbing Thoeala under the arms and swinging her around to his other side. "That is not something you want in your eyes."

"Father!" Thoeala squealed. "I am not going to get it in my eyes!"

He let her go and threw himself dramatically backward into another wave, all but sending Thoeala rolling with laughter. She parted the water for him with a flourish of her hands, letting him get back to his feet before releasing.

caveat (Rebirth)—

"Why are we being asked to use a different port?"

Arossa paused. "It would be best to explain face-to-face."

After a while, Warren stood in the airlock, plugging the tubes from his breather into his suit as Thrive walked in behind him.

"Just like old times, huh?"

Thrive nodded, squaring his shoulders in preparation for ———. "Though I can't help but feel that this visit is a caveat against something more dire."

collaborate cooperate (Aurora)—

Warren grimaced and turned his face away, only to have it turned back by a hooked finger under his chin.

"That being said," Thrive murmured. "I'm not going to shy away from doing everything in my power to keep you with me."

A light shiver ran down Warren's spine but he ignored that, too.

"I will fight anything and everything to be with you," Thrive continued, and the subtle glint in his eye revealed that he caught the shiver, but he didn't veer off-topic. "Even if I need to fight myself. If you need me to fully cooperate with the Consortium, I'll fight my entire way of thinking to do it. I can't give up who I am for anyone, let alone you—and I don't think you'd want me to—but I can learn to gracefully back down if you no longer feel secure with what I'm doing."

same (Meridian)—

A warning alarm went off, bathing the rec room in red lights. Warren lifted his head off the table and looked around. "What the fuck's that about?"

"We have a problem," Zac said via the ship's comm system. "We're being rammed by something—crap, brace!"

Warren and Scot looked out the window at the same time and leaped backward, causing their chairs to clatter to the floor as a thick, gray fog torpedoed into the ship.

"Oh, god," Warren yelled, being displaced of his balance and tumbling to the floor on impact. "Oh, this is my fault!"

"Perhaps now isn't quite the time for self-loathing," Scot said, hurrying out the door after helping Warren to his feet.

save (Rebirth)—

"What's the story there? How'd you end up with him?"

"Long story cut very short, he was an experimental prototype that saved my life when I got in a bad situation." Guetry tipped the neck of the bottle toward Warren. "He's gotten his proper patches and updates though, and he's been fixed, so you won't be seeing a bunch of tiny little rabid AIs running around the ship anytime soon."

Warren tilted his head. "So you owe Scotty your life."

Guetry's eyes gained a somewhat distant quality as he jumped headfirst into a traumatic memory. "Yeah, basically." He took a more meager sip of what Warren realized was a pungent form of venevan gu'l. "You might think it's kinda weird to put so much trust in an artificial intelligence."

"Man...my partner's an alien. Do I seem like I'm in any position to judge where someone puts their trust?"

Guetry snorted. "You think trusting an alien is the same thing as trusting an AI? I forget that you're not from around here."

"Well that's fucking rude."

sale buy (Meridian)—

Warren's grip on the smoothie bottle tightened. "...Angelina."

She looked at him, and Thrive cast his eyes to the table.

"...I made a decision that caused this." Warren swallowed, willing the tears to stay down. "My options were to let Thrive be physically and psychologically tormented for a lot longer, possibly the rest of his life, and buy more time...or to free him and release the things that did everything, that...the things that..." He inhaled. "I released them."

Angelina's face didn't change. She observed Warren's features, nodding her acknowledgement of his statement, and took pensive bites of her sandwich. She thought in silence, mulling over the information, and ran a hand through her grayed hair.

"Well, I understand why you made that decision," she said at length, her voice steady. "I'm not sure I can forgive it."

Though wholly expected, that was a major blow to Warren, who looked away from her and the table to keep himself from reacting immediately.

sake (Aurora)—

With a sputter of black fluid all over the carpet, Warren came back to abrupt consciousness. He heard someone yelp on the other side of the room.

"Water!" Guetry demanded of someone, hurrying to his side. "Hey, Cougar, head in the game, yeah?"

Nodding, Warren took labored breaths, screwing his eyes shut as he was dragged across Guetry's lap.

Gouna kneeled beside him, taking a warm compress to his forehead, which helped stave off the frigid shivers he didn't even notice had been wracking him. Gouna then peeled his eyes open with his fingers and shined a light into each one.

"Fuck's sake," Guetry muttered shakily, a trembling hand at the side of Warren's face. "Don't do that to me again. I don't wanna have take you to court for emotional damages, okay? 'Cause my lawyers are shit but they're really tenacious."

serious (Eternal)—

"This isn't like when it was you and me and Sussa all cozied up on the L2, Thrive, this is serious shit. This is serious. There's no way I can sit back while you go all the way over to Andromeda and risk your ass, it's just not happening!"

"Please, Warren."

That gave him pause. Warren realized the expression on Thrive's face was no longer that of irritation, but frustration and pleading. He needed him to stay, but Warren needed to go. He took a deep breath.

"Fine," he said. "Fine. I'll stay. But if something happens to you, so fucking help me, Thrive, I'll..."

Thrive's brow pinched in question.

Warren shook his head tightly, eyes welling with frustration of his own. "You don't want me to finish the thought."

scarce rare (Meridian)—

"Would you really have left me?"

Warren fell silent, searching Thrive's eyes. They shone eerie green in the dark, and Warren felt a chill pass over his skin. "Would our bond have even allowed it?"

"No. Oras'at is permanent, which is why it was rare. If you left me, if you divorced me, we still would've been connected."

"Then it's a good thing we're addicted to one another." Warren found he couldn't pry his gaze away from Thrive's. "I like to think I'd leave if you pushed me enough, but...god, you're intoxicating. There's no way it would've worked. Not for long enough."

Thrive regarded him during a pause. "I'm sorry. You should be able to leave if you need to." He lifted his eyebrows, a flash of greed and dominance in his eyes shooting a spike of lust into Warren point-blank. "...Not that I would let you."

Warren pushed forward to claim his lips, and though the usual deep dive between their psyches was missing, it still quelled him, tamped out his anxiety and sated him, snatched his breath from his lungs.

rum(bling) (Eternal)—

A darker void opened in place of its mouth, opening wide, unhinging its jaw to speak. It hummed a monotonous chord, rumbling the atmosphere, vibrating pebbles.

...Familiar.

Warren tried to force himself to wake up, or to close his eyes, but he couldn't. This was real. Not a dream. He could feel the dirt beneath his hands though he couldn't move them, felt things crawling around his fingertips, he felt his pulse pounding wildly under his skin though he couldn't hear it.

You have...so many wounds. I have been inside every one of them.

Warren turned his head away, sweating beneath the increasing downpour from the rain, but the Emmuli sat there as well. In both places at once. Unmoving.

We will find more. We will make more.

wraith ghost (Eternal)—

The scene was peaceful, but it was rife with the stench of suffering and death, ghosts of the terror born there. To think that life was once abundant and flourishing in that very spot, to think that everything was snuffed in two hours, erased like a pencil mark on a timeline…

"I...don't know what I expected," Warren said.

Thrive was tense. His body language since landing had raised into high flight mode, but he persisted. He walked through the ruins, dirt and leaves and whatever else crunching beneath his feet. He seemed afraid to touch anything, like he didn't want to confirm that he was actually there, or like he wanted to preserve a planet-sized crime scene.

wild (Aurora)—

Warren whipped around to stare through the viewscreen as an enormous ball of black smoke swept through the fleet, swallowing a lenayan battlecruiser whole and leaving no trace. His heart sank, eyes wide, sweat forming on his forehead as he felt his blood pressure start to collapse.

Guetry threw a wild look at Osillo, who watched the battlecruiser disappear, completely frozen in place. The horror dropping their face, their guard instantly down, their sniper rifle lowered as they stared at the void where their people had once been.

Warren pivoted, strangled, as a spear exploded through Osillo's chest from behind. "No!"

rule (Meridian)—

Thrive angled his face to the false window, and the crackling fire acted as a background track to their collective silence. The longer it went on, though, the deeper his frown, until he raised his eyes to one of the corners of the ceiling. "How did it come to this?"

"It could get better…"

"It won't." Thrive gazed into the fire, now, boring through the flickering flames with distance and vacancy. He tapped a finger against his glass, the crease in his brow growing deeper. "It will continue like this, and they will rule from their thrones, and where will I be? Right here. Where I have always been, forgotten by oblivion. Sucking up the embers time leaves behind. Self-soothing my own disgust toward the fact that my purpose has become a mockery in the eyes of those who will cease decaying before I ever witness the final star of the universe draw its last breath. I am no king, I am no god. I am a plaything, a gilded trinket, a trussed bauble. The Consortium kneels before me and tightens my shackles behind me, and marches me ahead of spectators crying out to see their beloved reigning savior. In my youth I swore my soul to an oath of which two whole galaxies have taken every advantage, and expecting me to accept my fate is nothing short of a violation of righteousness."

Warren's jaw ached with the strength in which he'd been clenching his teeth together. "Then do something about it."

my (Rebirth)—

"Why hasn't he gone to Gouna with this information?"

"He says it can't be helped. He claims that it's because he's been human for so long, but I'm not sure I believe that. It doesn't make sense."

Warren looked at him. "What do you believe?"

"I don't know." Corin's eyes narrowed. "He let it slip that it began around the time ———, so if I had to make an educated guess based on things I'd discussed with Gouna and simplify it for my troglodyte brain, I'd say he overloaded and never gave himself time to fully heal. His stress is probably not helping."

Warren rubbed the back of his neck. "We need to get him to take a break."

"You should take one of the shuttles and kidnap him."

"Only if you promise to give a eulogy at my funeral afterward."

"I think I'm busy that day."

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

FP//The Midnight Club (part 4)

hey! thats right, after the long awaited return, its back!!! and because i feel so terrible about leaving it for so long, the rest of the series is written too (and edited!!!), it just needs posting. anyway, i hope you like it!! and i hope it was worth the wait. seriously, thank you for being so patient, i love you all. (part 3)

In movies, Saturday detention always looks fun. Sneaking around, pouring your heart out to people you see everyday but know next to nothing about and making new life long friends. In reality, its spent doing a whole load of nothing.

You rest your chin in your hand and stare at the blank board ahead. You were the second one here, after Penelope Blossom and as soon as you walked through the door she sent you a disapproving look.

You and Penelope get on almost as well as you and Alice. She’s an annoying teachers pet that likes to write you up when she catches you and FP so much as holding hands.

The seat you chose when you got hear was a good one, near the back and away from Penelope. But then the rest of the your classmates turned up and suddenly you found yourself sat between FP and Alice, both of which were trying to kill each other with just looks. 

“Leave me alone FP.” You whisper. It’s the third time he’s tried to talk to you since he got here, and every time you’ve told him to go away. It seems finally he gets the hint and huffs loudly before leaning back in his chair.

You glance behind you to see Alice already looking at you and you send her a small, unsure smile. She just scoffs and looks down at her gloved hands, leaving you to stare at the top of her head.

“Welcome...to Saturday Detention.” Principal Featherhead’s loud but tired voice draws your attention the front of the class again and you force yourself to try and listen to whatever’s he’s droning on about, but in the 2 seconds its taken for him to let out a breath, you’ve tuned out.

It’s weird when the closest thing you have to a friend is Alice Smith. The rest are just acquaintances...and FP, who right now could be dead for all you care. You’re still not over last night. 

There’s clearly something going on between him and Alice, the more you think of it, the more it makes sense. And you’ve thought about it a lot, all of last night in fact. 

Your boyfriend knocked up Alice Smith...and then you. It makes you wonder if anybody else is expecting, you could make a little football team at this rate. 

It’s bad enough having Saturday detention, but it’s even worse that he’s here, especially when you’re running on less than an hours sleep. 

It’s just one Saturday. Eight hours, seven people with nothing in common.

Well, almost nothing.

The bad girl

“Alice Smith?”

The rebelling Catholic

“Hermione Gomez?”

The teachers pet

“Penelope Blossom?”

The artist athlete

“Fred Andrews?”

The political animal

“Sierra Samuels?”

The good girl

“Y/n Y/ln?”

And the ladies man

“Forsythe Pendleton Jones, Jr?”

You piece together the reasons everyone’s here. Alice and Penelope are here for fighting, something Alice told you about in detail last night, despite you wanting to sit in silence and watch Winona and Johnny fall in love. But you will admit...she did deserve it. 

Sierra and Hermione are probably here because they were in the bathroom just before you left, so they got caught in a wrong place, one time thing like you. The friend that you’re covering for isn’t even here, instead she’s probably in bed, or at Pop’s while you’re sat here taking the fall for her. 

Fred and FP were caught streaking, which was funny at the time. Seeing FP and Fred run down the corridor with no clothes on was a sight, made even funnier by Principal Featherstone catching them. But now you just want to slap the smirk that seems to permanently reside on FP’s face off. You have never hoped he has a hangover more.

“While you’re here today you will not talk.” Featherhead starts while making his way around the desks, handing out paper as he goes and you have to hold in a sigh. “You will not play” He says and snatches Fred’s drumsticks away, making the boy huff quietly and sit up straighter. “You will not move. I don’t even want you to breathe.”

“Charming.” Alice mutters and you stifle a laugh. Sierra clears her throat and everyone looks at her.

“Yes?”

“What if we have to pee?” She asks.

“You hold it, Miss Samuels. And at the end of the day, you will deliver a 1000-word essay as to why you’re here today.” He replies and you all let out a collective groan. “I will be right down the hall, in my office, all day long...cause I have nothing better to do.”

The clock reads 11am, meaning you’ve only been here for two hours and they’ve been the longest two hours of your life. Staring at the blank sheet of paper in front of you for so long has made your vision go weird so you  focus on the clock instead. You know why you’re here, ‘caught smoking’ is what you’ll have to write, despite the fact you were just holding it. But how are you supposed to stretch that into 1000 words?

A scratching behind you distracts you from your thoughts making you look behind you. Alice sits on the windowsill with a knife in her hand as she scratches against the wood.

“Dude, can you not?” Fred asks annoyed and she stops abruptly.

“Dude? Can you bite me?” She retorts. Fred rolls his eyes before turning back around.

“Oh, my God. Shh.” Penelope says loudly and now its your turn to roll your eyes.

“Psst. Sierra.” A different voice is a welcome distraction for all of you and everyone looks at the door, hoping and praying that its something exciting.

Tom Keller peeks his head round the door, a smile growing on his face when he spots Sierra and she quickly stands up, making her way towards him.

“Sit down. We’ll get in trouble.” Penelope scolds but Sierra ignores her.

“Tommy.” She smiles and the two of them kiss. Your eyes widen at the sight and you hear a few muffled gasps from the other students.

“Brought you some sustenance.” He says and waves a paper bag at her. She smiles again and grabs the bag from him, holding it close to her chest.

“Thank you.”

“I love you. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Okay.” She nods and kisses him again before he leaves as quickly as he came.

“Sierra?” Fred is the first to break the stunned silence. “You and Tom Keller?” She nods and he lets out a short laugh. “Guys we’ve been going to the same school since kindergarten. How do we not know anything about each other?”

“We’re not friends. Cliques don’t cross pollinate.” Penelope replies. “Haven’t you seen Heathers?”

“Well, we’ve got six or more hours to kill, and no one to impress. How about a round of Secrets and Sins?” Sierra says, a small twinkle in her eyes as she looks at each you.

You gulp and share a look with the rest of the group, yours and Alice’s lingering for a little longer than the rest.

Sierra is the first to sit down, an excited smile on her face as she watches the rest of you reluctantly sit. Fred’s next, and then Hermione who sits beside him. Penelope sits on the other side of Sierra, FP sits next to Fred and you sit beside him, making sure to put a good amount of distance in between you. Alice is the last to sit, doing it as dramatically as she can and earning an eye roll from Sierra and FP.

“I’ll start!” Sierra says. “Tommy and I have been secretly dating for a few months now.” She admits.  

“Why secretly?” Hermione asks.

“Our parents don’t want their children dating someone so...different. To use their euphemism of choice.” She replies, the previous happy smile is long gone. It’s replaced by sadness and she looks at the old, faded carpet, trying hard not to think too much of it. 

“My mom’s all up in my relationships, too.” Hermione adds. “You know Hiram Lodge?”

“Uh, yes.” Fred replies and a few of you giggle at his response. “Dude is ripped.”

“And a petty criminal.” Penelope mutters.

“He’s a self starter who provides for his family.” She defends. “But to my mom, he’s a scrub. ‘Thats the way to to the American Dream, mija.’ But what dream? She cleans hotel rooms in that stupid Five Seasons, 16 hours a day. Hiram’s got the right idea. Get out of Riverdale. No matter what you have to do.”

“Yeah.” Fred starts. “Except...Riverdale’s not the problem. Me? I wanna stay here my whole life.” He says making Sierra laugh and you shake your head. You can’t think of anything worse. 

Although now, you just might be stuck here. You’re destined to live in a crappy trailer, barely keeping it together and watching your friends move on with their lives. Oh god, the thought alone makes you want to cry and throw up all at the same time and you let out a shaky breath. Your hand automatically moves to your stomach as you try to slow your breathing. 

“Are you okay?” Fred asks and you force yourself to look at him, faking a smile and quickly dropping your hand to your thigh.

“Yeah, I’m good.” You nod. FP moves to hold your hand but you quickly pull it away, sending him a scowl and he quickly retracts his hand back. Fred notices of course, but decides to stay out of it, instead looking at the old carpet. Alice rolls her eyes at the two of you and looks straight at Fred. 

“Is that how longs its gonna take you to decide between music or baseball?” She asks and Fred flips her off.

“Our minor league is solid. And we’re close enough to the city to play music gigs. This towns got it all. Could even see myself running for mayor one day.” He says, and he’s the only person in this room that you believe could actually do that.

Fred Andrews is something different. He’s friendly to everyone, no matter where they come from or what they are. He’s somebody you wish you could be more like, and you can see him changing the world someday.

“Ugh. Nightmare job.” Sierra huffs. “Why not shoot for something bigger? You can do all those things in a real metropolis.”

“Yeah. Except look after my dad. He’s sick. Real sick. And he took care of me my whole life, so, now it’s my turn.” He replies, his expression saddening and a frown appears on your own face. Tears well behind your eyes and one rolls down your cheek. It lands on your hand and your curse your hormones for making you cry.

FP reaches out again but you just shuffle further away from him, wiping your tears as you go and he lets out an annoyed sigh.

Hermione places a comforting hand on Fred’s knee and he looks at it for a few seconds, seemingly getting lost in his thoughts for a while before quickly changing the subject.

“Alice, you’re up. What’s your deepest, darkest secret?”

The tension in the room shifts. Penelope, Sierra and Hermione share a look and you watch as FP and Alice glance at each other.  

“Um...”

“Lets skip her.” You interrupt and she sends you a glare.

“I don’t need your pity Y/n.”

“Alice just tell them about the time you lit a dumpster on fire on the southside” FP says bored.

“Wait, that was you?” You ask, earning a few confused looks from the rest of the group. You remember that fire, it caused quite the rage on the Southside because the serpents thought it was a rival gang seeing as though it was right outside of the Wyrm. “...FP told me.” You add quietly.

“Why don’t you tell them that you actually live in Sunnyside Trailer Park?” She replies and for a second you freeze, thinking she’s talking about you.

“I thought you lived on Elm Street.” Penelope says shocked and you realize she was actually talking to FP.

“Yeah, of course. Because it’s what Forsythe wants you to believe. You parade around the school in your varsity jacket like a Northsider. You even got yourself a northside girlfriend to help you fit in.” She says and looks at you. “But don’t kid yourself. You’ll never escape the Southside. You’re gonna end up just like your dad.”

“Alice.” You warn. He may have pissed you off, gotten you and some other girl pregnant, but he is not his father. He never will be and you feel yourself jumping to his defense quicker than you probably would have liked.

“Downing six-packs in your double-wide.” She continues, staring straight at him.

“Maybe, but I’m not gonna hit my kid. Not like my old man hits me.” He replies and looks at you, his eyes glancing at your stomach for a split second before looking back at her. The group goes silent, no one daring to look at each other and even you avoid eye contact with him.

“Oh really? Which one?” She laughs and you quickly look up. Everyone looks up surprised, but before they can question anything Alice storms out, slamming the door behind her.

Its quiet for a few minutes, before FP takes a deep breath and continues his story.

“I told him I didn’t wanna join his gang. That I wanted to be the first Jones to go to college. He didn’t like that.” He holds up his broken wrist. He hates the way they’re looking at him, like he’s broken, like he’s a victim. But he feels better when he feels your hand resting on top of his. “I guess he sort of got what he wanted. It looks like I won’t be going anyway.” He whispers the last part, turning his hand over and holding yours as best as he can.

“Okay. I guess I’m next.” Penelope interrupts the moment you’re having but you don’t let go. Instead you shuffle closer to him, you’re still pissed, beyond pissed even, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve a hug. “Fair is fair. The Blossoms. They’re...terrible people.”

“But, Penelope, you’re a Blossom.” Hermione replies confused.

“No, I’m not. Not really. I grew up at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy orphanage.”

“Oh, my God, Penelope. That place has like, violated every humanitarian code.” Sierra says.

“When I was eight, the Blossom’s came and asked to see all the red-headed children. The next thing I knew, I was leaving with them. I was so excited. I very quickly realized this was not an altruistic adoption. I was being groomed. To first be Clifford’s sister. Then, eventually, his life companion. Every second away from that house, even today, is a relief.”

“Why are you still living there?” You ask, genuinely curious as to why she would stay there.

“They’re my family.” She replies.

“That’s not family. It’s basically incest. It’s disgusting.” Hermione adds.

“At least I’m not cleaning other people’s toilets like your mom.” Penelope argues and Hermione stares at her annoyed, trying to think of an insult.

“Well, at least she has class. She’s not stealing child brides out of orphanages.” She spits and Penelope gasps.

The two of them start fighting and you hear Fred and Sierra complain before moving to separate them. FP stands and helps you up, quickly moving you out of the way and you end up backing into something much worse that an accidental punch. 

“Congratulations. You all just upped your sentence from Saturday detention...to four.”

[lilmissbeanie]

Navigation Haikyuu Masterlist

Kotaro Bokuto x F!Reader.  Fluffy Word Count ~ 1.6k Happy birthday to @wing-dingding​ have a great day girl! The chorus of cackles and laughs echoed down Fukurodani hallways as Bokuto, and Y/n ran away from Akaashi.   

The chorus of cackles and laughs echoed down Fukurodani hallways as Bokuto, and Y/n ran away from Akaashi.

Another prank successfully completed.  

The air horn echoed through the building once again as Akaashi and Komi yelled after them. Akaashi hated the mischievous best friends together; this always happens, the other day, they came over to hang out with him at his house and set his alarm clock in his room, and it went off at four thirty-six in the morning. His toothpaste had Orajel put in making his entire mouth go numb for hours. They were all harmless pranks, week in week out continuously finding new ones, how they had not run out of ideas yet was a mystery to everyone. The pranks they pulled on each other were just as ridiculous, just last week Y/n had superglued Bokuto's locker shut, and he had switched her locker with his volleyball one.   

They had been best friends forever, their mums were best friends, and these two had been together since they were in nappies all the way to high school, they never left one another's side. "BOKUTO! L/N!" The voice rang through the building, instantly the pair tensed up, turning around to spot the coach.  

"Oh, hey, Coach!" Bokuto said, pretending that nothing was happening. The pair stood with their hands linked behind their backs rocking back and forth on the balls of their feet, making you think that these two weren't in their third year of high school or either was the respected captain or the manager of the volleyball team.   

"You need to stop with the pranks!" The pair bit back a grin crossing their fingers before nodding. Coach knew though he damn well knew that nothing was going to change, they had been like that since their first year, no matter how many times they get told off or in trouble they will never stop, and he wouldn’t be kicking either from the team seeing as Y/n helped stop the emo modes and she was very good at her job as manager.   

Y/n batted the finger poking shoulder away, as she rolled over pulling her duvet closer, "psst!" Her eyes squeezing tighter, swearing this was all in her dream, “Y/n, wake up” she felt her shoulder being shocked, groaning rubbing her eyes as they opened to be met by a pair of golden ones she knew all too well.   

"Kou?!" She groaned sitting up, she grabbed her phone, seeing it was three AM on this autumn's Saturday morning.   

"Come on! Maccies run!" He cheered quietly, his hand wrapping around her wrist tugging her gently out of the bed. This wasn't the first time he had snuck into her room at some ungodly hour. She left her window ajar for this reason. Her own eyes lit up at the word food, suddenly very awake, allowing him to tug her out of bed, her feet met her soft fluffy rug "let me put some clothes on." Tugging at her short tweedy pie baby pink cotton pyjama trousers and bralette, feeling slightly self-conscious in front of him.  

"No need, here." He said, slyly playing off how hot she looked in her pyjamas as grabbed one of his many hoodies she had stolen from him from her desk chair. "We're only getting drive-through."   

The pair snuck down the stairs as Y/n grabbed her keys and wallet from by the front door and they jumped into Bokuto's car and headed for the nearest Maccies drive thru. They pair just laughing at stupid jokes, singing along to the radio and generally just enjoying one another's company.  Finally arriving the pair order their food before driving to their favourite place on top of a hill where they sit looking over their town lit up with t. Taking a seat on the bonnet of the car, they munched down their food. Bokuto was always impressed by the way she demolished twenty chicken nuggets and a double cheeseburger with a large chocolate milkshake.    

The pair sat there watching the stars and enjoying the view, Y/n leaned against Bokuto's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "I love when we do stuff like this Kou."  

"Me too lil bird, me too." Both praying that neither of them could feel the way goosebumps erupted over their skin as they touched or the way their heart raced.  

They sat in silence, just enjoying being in each other's presence, but Y/n knew there was something on Bokuto’s mind by the way his eyebrows and he kept fidgeting in place as they watched the sky turn from dark to light, the rosy golden colours painted the skyline.   

“You okay Kou?” She questioned gently, making the boy jump, he blinked a couple of times bringing himself out of his thoughts and turned to face her, a small smile spread over his lips. “I was just thinking.” 

“Don’t push yourself too hard, you'll hurt yourself.” The h/c girl teased him. Causing the boy to chuckle slightly, shaking his head and nudging her with his shoulder gently. “Just wondering whether I should tell the girl I like how I feel or not.”   

Y/n felt her heart tighten, he liked someone. “Of course, you should! Why wouldn't you.” She tried her best to sound enthusiastic and happy for him.   

Y/n watched as he shrugged, before replying, “Well I don’t want it to ruin our friendship if she doesn’t feel the same way, she is too much of a good friend.”  

Y/n racked her brain trying to work out who it could be, other than her, it could be the other two managers of the volleyball club. “Anyone would be lucky to be with you Kou, you should tell them.”   

“If we get to nationals then I’ll tell them.” He nodded to himself with a smile, finally deciding. “So next week.” The girl next to him smirked. His smile dropped realising it would be next week, that was barely enough time to work out what he was going to say. He was going to need Akaashi’s help.   

"Kou, whatever happens, I will always be here for you. Birds of a feather flock together as the saying goes and my oath to you is that I will always be by your side no matter what. Okay?" 

"Okay" He smiled, resting his head on hers, "Same goes to you, you will always have a home with me."  

The week flew by quickly, the inter high tournament arrived in a blur, Akaashi helped Bokuto plan out how he was going to tell and even roped the rest of the team and the other managers in. The day of the final rolled around, warmups ended, and the two girls walked away, leaving the h/c confused, “where are you going, isn't it Yuki’s day on the bench?” The two smiled and shook their heads at her.   

“Yea but you are Bokuto's best friend, he’s going to need you here and it’s the last time he is going to play in the high school inter high.” They smiled at the girl before leaving the court and heading up to the stands to watch the match from the stands.   

It was a good match, Bokuto emo mode only happened once during the second set and it didn’t take him long to snap out of it, Y/n eyes were trained on her best friend, fuck, he looked hot in his in his volleyball short and those knee pads, Y/n was having to remind herself not to drool at the sight. Of course, Fukurodani won and they would be moving on to nationals. The stands filled with the cheers from their schoolmates. Y/n jumped up from the bench running over to the team, “Kou!” She called out to him. He turns in Y/n direction, his golden orbs filled with excitement as he opens his arms in time to catch her jumping into them, Y/n wrapping around her his broad muscular shoulders, not caring that he was all sweaty from the match and her legs around his waist. Bokuto’s arms weaved around her waist as Bokuto his face buried into her neck inhaling her sweet floral scent as he spun them around, her happy infection giggles floated his ears making him grin.   

“Y/n?” He questioned, slowly coming to a stop, he kept his arms securely around her waist not allowing her to touch solid ground not until he had told her, he needed her full attention he needed her to hear this. Tilting her head to the side she watched those golden orbs flicker with hesitation and confidence in them as well. Y/n own gaze held a questioning look as she watched him fight the inner turmoil inside of him, her arms now loosely draped over his shoulders, golden orbs fluttering shut inhaling deeply through his nose. His eyes flickered open meeting hers once again, holding a serious look. “I love you, like I’m in love with you.”  

Her eyes widened, as the words filled her eyes, slowly realised what he had said, “For real?” Worry filled his face as he slowly dubiously nodded his head, yes. A shy smile spread over lips as her eyes lit up, cupping his cheeks, Y/n leaned down gently placing her lips against his, enjoying the nervous and timid yet so pure and loving first kiss they shared, before pulling away, “I’m in love with you too.” looking him dead in the eyes, love and adoration swirled in her e/c orbs.  

“Finally!” Komi cheers filled the air, shocking the pair as they turned to the sound of his voice realising everyone was watching them, forgetting they were still standing in the middle of the court. Y/n face was buried in Bokuto's neck within seconds trying to conceal the blush that erupted over her face, while Bokuto stood there proudly with his girl in his arms. Akaashi gave him a rare smile and thumbs up, he had got the girl he always wanted.

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[lynneshobbydomain]

Dungeon Chaos (KomaHinaNamami Week Day 4)

Prompt: Dungeons and Dragons

Rating: T

Summary: Chiaki’s never played a tabletop roleplaying game before, so being invited to one is both exciting and nerve wracking. At least she knows most of the people there.

“Hey, Onee-chan!” Kokichi landed hard against her desk, and Chiaki barely moved out of the way, her finger dancing across the console. “You play a lot of video games, right?”

“Yes,” Chiaki answered without bothering to look up. She was trying to defeat this boss, and she had it up to the hardest mode that she could play. She also decided to challenge herself and kept her character under level just for the extra amount of satisfaction. She knew that she was reckless, she usually didn’t try to play like that. She liked completing games, a hundred and ten percent of the way, but today was frustrating, and she wanted to have a struggle. It was better than starting a fight with Nagito or Hajime over something stupid. 

“Would you say you’re good at roleplaying games?” 

Chiaki paused the game after hearing that. “Is it the same as dating sims? I’m not very good with personal connections. I never know how to respond to people or how to react to them. The situation always calls for something, and if the wrong choice is made, it lowers the friendship and romance meter. I usually end up getting the no “choice” path because of it. Or the normal route, I suppose.” She looked up at Kokichi, who was comfortably swinging his legs back and forth, leaning into her personal bubble. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, what if I told you you could do all of that in real life, and you’ll know instantly what the wrong choice is?” Kokichi grinned. “Shirogane-chan from my class is hosting a DnD group. Saihara-chan and I joined, and I already asked Fujisaki-chan and Naegi-chan. Shirogane-chan told me that she was looking for more members, and our class isn’t playing.”

“Hmm.” Chiaki pressed a finger to her chin in thought. Nagito and Hajime were out getting food for her since she had been so caught up with her game. It wouldn’t surprise her if they went on a mini-date to eat a bit of lunch before bringing her back something to eat. Either that or Nagito’s luck struck, and they were trying to get out of whatever situation that wound up being. She hoped it was just a stuck vending machine. She didn’t want to go maxim capacity and have it be that a school building fell on top of them. 

Chiaki was hanging out with Nagito too much if that was the first conclusion she came to. “I’ll have to ask and see if they’d want to. Hajime might since he likes playing video games with me. Nagito...he might feel like he’d just bring bad luck and disaster onto the game if he played.”

“Wouldn’t that make it more fascinating, though?!” Kokichi asked, leaning in with sparkling eyes. Chiaki was amused that he acted like her on occasion when she got excited. The common joke around the class was that Chiaki was somehow related to Kokichi, even though they could prove they weren’t. “I want to see Komaeda-chan’s luck in action! I’m always not around when something big happens.” He pouted slightly. “Maybe that’s his luck affecting me too?”

If so, it was strangely good luck. Chiaki shrugged, “When is the game supposed to start?”

“Hm? I was just supposed to get yes or no answers. I have your cell number, so I’ll tell you the deets when I get them from Shirogane-chan.” Kokichi grinned. “Oh, that reminds me. Any preference for a story?”

“You can choose your story?” Chiaki blinked. “Like backstory or…”

“Campaign story. Setting. You know. The background that we’re going to be tossing our characters in. I told her that I wanted to do Dragon Heist because you know. I’m a thief by trade.”

“You’re playing the rouge character than when a background of being a criminal.” Chiaki mused thoughtfully. “I don’t know. I’m not necessarily picky. So long as everyone has fun, I think that’s all that matters.”

“Ugh, well better than Yamada-chan. He told us that he wanted to do The Tomb of Annihilation. Since we have so many beginner players, Shirogane-chan’s not sure if that’s a good way to start.” Kokichi said as he glanced at his nails. “Well, whatever. If you run into your dream team, ask them for their opinion, too, okay? Better not forget Onee-chan. I’ll cry!”

“I understand.” Chiaki watched Kokichi leave. She hummed thoughtfully before going back to her game, losing herself until Nagito and Hajime came back with food.

Vending machine once more decided to get stuck again.

Better than a whole roof falling down, that’s for sure.

X

The conversation about the DnD disappeared from Chiaki’s mind. She was setting up for her weekend stream event when she heard her phone ding from across the room. Ignoring it, she went about getting her console hooked up to the right appliances when she heard a soft knock on the door. “Kokichi said something about a DnD group that’s happening tonight. He’s asking if you forgot to tell us?”

“A what now?” Nagito spoke up, and now Chiaki had to look. Hajime was standing at the door of her office, holding her phone casually in his hand. Nagito was peering over Hajime’s shoulder, clearly reading the text. “Huh. Ouma-kun has a strange way of wording things.”

“Like you don’t use emojis when you talk.”

“Not to that degree. I like to use numbers more.” 

“DnD…” Chiaki trailed off before the lightbulb hit. Guilt flooded, and she looked at her game dejectedly. She was so eager to play the new game that came out too, but..she was curious about the roleplaying setup. She also never played a game with different people in a setting before. “Kokichi asked me if I wanted to come and play it, and I promised him I’d tell you guys. I’m sorry. It slipped my mind.”

“Do you still want to do it?” Hajime asked, his thumb hovering over the phone screen. “I can tell him we’re on our way, we just need the address.”

“This could be so exciting! What kind of hope do you guys think will spring from playing a roleplaying game? I wonder if all our talents are going to shine through. Oh, but that might mean my bad luck may hit unexpectedly. Maybe I should sit this one out.”

“No!” Chiaki and Hajime said together at the same time, startling Nagito into silence. “You’re coming too,” Chiaki replied firmly. “I want to see you play a game with us. You’re always on the sidelines. That can’t be fun.” 

“I don’t mind watching, it’s exciting to see you two go at it.” Nagito grinned.

“Phrasing,” Hajime grumbled as he decided for them and typed out a response. “We should get going now if we want to make the next train and get to where they’re at.”

“They’re not playing at the dorms?” Chiaki questioned.

“Yamada-kun hangs out a comic book store not too far from here. They host the games, so we get the tablespace, and we can be as loud as we need to be within reason,” Hajime explained as he tossed Chiaki’s phone back. Kokichi had typed up the address, and it was clear to see that it was indeed a comic book store. “Let’s go.”

X

Chiaki didn’t typically go into comic bookstores. Still, she had to admit that the atmosphere reminded her of a lot of video game stores. The store was small and cozy with blue and red walls. Their shelves dedicated to different publishers that were all categorized by the title name. There were single-issue comic books as well as graphic mangas that were proudly displayed. The novelty statues that were in some of the display cases showed off some of the more famous superheroes and supervillains. Chiaki could see that there were some video game statues in there as well. They continued to walk until they reached the back of the store where a table was set up, and she saw that everyone was already there and waiting for them. On the table next to them was a tray full of snacks, pizzas, as well as sodas and cups. 

“Onee-chan!” Kokichi didn’t waste time running over to her and body-slamming her into a hug. “I thought you ditched me! You promised that you’d talk to your boytoys about whether or not you’d be coming! I didn’t think I was so easily forgettable!” Tears slipped down his cheek.

“Ah, uh...Ouma-kun I don’t think Nanami-san would forget about you that easily. Hinata-kun just said that she forgot.” Saihara tried to dissuade Kokichi from any more tears. Chiaki was impressed by how fast Kokichi could wipe away the evidence that he had been crying so quickly. 

“Nishishi! Don’t worry, beloved! I was just playing. Come on, sit, sit.”

Everyone was already there too. Chiaki didn’t recognize most of them. Makoto, she knew mostly from running into the halls. The girl that sat at the end of the table was wearing a dramatic looking dress with long silver hair that was braided and had a flower crown. Pointed ears were poking from the strands, and decorated with an ornate silver covering. “So before we begin playing, how many of us already have character sheets made?”

“Me!” Kokichi quickly pulled his out of a thick book and slammed it down on the table, shaking it dramatically. “Behold! Your Phantom Thief as arrived along with-” he grabbed Shuichi’s hand and held it up high “-your beloved Paladin!”

“Oh, awesome! What species are you two doing?” The girl asked, clasping her hands together. 

“Halfling and human.” 

“Oh. I see. How plain.” The girl ignored Kokichi’s indigent screech. “I’m going to assume you got yours done too, Yamada-kun?”

“Of course, I did. I sat down for hours trying to come up with a backstory that will mesh well with any campaign we all agree on. I have decided upon the paladin as well! My chosen warrior will be fighting alongside the Goddess of Sune as well. I may be adding in a bit of bard into the mix later down the road. Do you need my copy of my backstory, Shirogane-san?”

“If you have it,” Tsumugi said. Chiaki watched as they exchanged it across the table. It was starting to feel overwhelming. How was she supposed to keep track of what’s what?

“Psst, Onee-chan.” Kokichi caught her attention and gave her a grin. “Don’t worry about it. Yamada-chan likes to show off that he’s a veteran to this. You and the dream team aren’t the only ones that are new or don’t have a character sheet.”

Chiaki felt a little calmer with the assurance. Makoto spoke up, looking confused. “So how are we even supposed to do this? I tried to do it myself, but my sister laughed at me over the phone and hung up.”

“It’s okay Naegi-kun, I was lost too,” Chihiro replied quietly as they carefully smoothed down their skirt.

“How about all of us pair up with the newbies and help them design their characters and then we can talk about the campaign? Session zero is usually nothing but set up anyway and making sure the rules are understood. If we get a bit of gameplay going, all the better.” Tsumugi said, just as Kokichi immediately bounded over and sat down in between Chiaki and Hajime.

“Okay! I’ll take the dream-team and Onee-chan! Someone else can help the two helpless nerds over there.” Kokichi said as Shuichi reached over and handed Kokichi his handbook. He dragged the three over to a separate table.

“Do you guys have a dice set?” At the shake of their head, Kokcihi turned his head over his shoulder. “Oi! Beloved! Toss me the catapult!”

“The what?”

Shuichi ignored Tsumugi’s surprise as he picked up a dice bag that looked like it was made of leather and rounded into a ball. He tossed it over the table, making Kokichi catch it with both hands. Without another word, he dramatically overturned his bag. The dice spilled out, hitting the table and rolling everywhere on the floor’s surface. 

It took a little bit to help clean it up, but the minute they were able to do that, Kokichi finally sat them down and spoke. “So. What do you guys think you represent?”

Represent? Chiaki frowned deeply as she looked over to see that both Hajime and Nagito were thinking about it as well, taking Kokichi’s words into consideration. “Hope,” Nagito spoke up, and Chiaki sighed. “Luck and hope.”

“Uh...hard work, I suppose? Talent?” Hajime tried.

“Hm...something that has to do with fun, I think,” Chiaki said quietly, pulling her hoodie over her head as she tried to block out some of the noise and light. She hadn’t realized that the group behind her was going to get so loud.

Hajime subtly made her move so that she was sitting in between him and Nagito. Kokichi didn’t bat an eye or ask questions. “Okay, so halfling for Komaeda-chan, a fighter for Hinata-kun, and…” he paused humming to himself before nodding. “I think Onee-chan will make for a good bard.”

“Should I go for a healing class?” Nagito questioned. “Considering that everyone else is fighter types. I recall that Chiaki would have to take the role less played with during her MMORPGs, and Clerics are usually the ones used for that, aren’t they?”

“You sure that you want to stay behind and just cast healing spells?” Kokichi questioned, “It’s fun if you’re up ahead in the battle.”

Chiaki was about to open her mouth to offer, but Nagito was faster than she was. “I don’t want my luck to ruin your guys game. It’s better if my character is a bystander to let all of you shine. I don’t mind.”

“So a halfling cleric. I’ll make this easy for you and say that you should go with Life Domain. Mostly because of your luck, hope, and morales.” Kokichi said. “We’ll roll dice for stats and everything in a bit. How about you Hinata-chan? I said the fighter, but...you want someone to be hardworking, right? Human’s pretty typical, but...I mean, we already have a human paladin. It wouldn’t take us long to weave your backstory with Saihara-chan’s. You two could know each other in-game. It’ll make for roleplaying easier. Because in addition to knowing him, you’ll know me because I cause a lot of trouble around the town.”

“Probably enough that a cleric would also know you?”

“Heard of me sure, unless you’re gonna be friends with the paladin. Oh, if you two follow the same God, that’ll give you something to talk about too.” Kokichi snapped his fingers.

Chiaki hummed thoughtfully as she listened to the conversation, her mind whirling as she thought about what she wanted to be. She peered over Hajime’s shoulder as he flipped through the book, angling it so that she could see. “Are there any uncommon monsters?” Chiaki questioned.

“What do you mean?” Kokichi asked.

“I mean,” Chiaki pulled on her hoodie. “Someone that’ll take a look and think that he’s dangerous, but in the end, he’s actually a good person?”

Neither Hajime nor Nagito could miss what reference she was making out of that. 

“...Tiefling or Dragonborn usually,” Kokichi said slowly, picking his words carefully. “Teiflings are what you want to go with if you’re trying to scare people. Half-orcs or orcs are common ones too, but Teiflings are considered to be people from hell. They’re not exactly looked at well I think it’s a flip of a coin what town would prefer what monster though over the others. Dragons are terrifying in their own right.”

“Why not go with Tiefling?” Chiaki offered, looking up at Hajime. “You’ll get the hardship of trying to win everyone’s favor, and you can work hard at show-casing that appearances shouldn’t be judged on.”

“...Alright.” 

“What about you, Chiaki? You agreed to be a bard, but...are you sure that’s an idea?” Nagito questioned.

“Bards usually are the ones that have the most, though they’re usually played more sexually,” Kokichi said bluntly. “Since Onee-chan likes to have fun, it’ll be interesting for like...a bard to actually be just that. A playful character that doesn’t take anything seriously.”

“Hmmm...I’m a pretty serious person by nature…” Chiaki said slowly, “so playing something that’s a little bit out of my comfort zone will be hard. It should be fun. But what species would be best for me to go with if I’m only trying to do that?”

“Why not a gnome? A gnome bard.” Kokichi offered. 

Nagito suddenly burst into laughter, causing all three of them to look at him. He held his hands up, giggling and trying to control himself. “Sorry, sorry. I just had this thought that...Hajime’s Tiefling will be with the two shortest people in the game.”

“Oh yeah, you’re right! Nishishi! That’ll be hysterical if you three decide to get together in the game!” Kokichi laughed. “Okay, okay. Let’s roll the dice and see what you guys get for stats and equipment.”

X

“I still can’t believe that your luck can affect a fucking roleplaying game,” Hajime stated as they left the store in good nature. They managed to get their characters set up, with Nagito being stupidly powerful for being the first level due to his high rolls and his luck. The campaign they decided to choose was the Tyranny of Dragons. Since no one was a Dragonborn or could speak in dragons, it nearly caused a Total Party Kill within the first mission. It was only thanks to Kokichi’s quick thinking and Hifumi’s foresight for things that could go bad and turned the tide.

“It wasn’t just Nagito’s luck, though,” Chiaki helpfully pointed out as Nagito laughed easily at the accusation. “Did you see how bad Naegi-kun was rolling?”

Nagito was rolling pitiful numbers. It got to the point that most of the table thought Tsumugi was trying to prolong his suffering by fudging her rolls from behind the screen to help them out a bit. Makoto’s dexterity was decent, but the number of times he tripped and caused a problem was...alarming. It didn’t help either that Kokichi thought Chihiro and Makoto were the best people to mess with. He slipped a few things into Makoto’s equipment bag that raised eyebrows and questions when targetted. 

“I have to admit it was riveting that we were facing the Champion head-on!” Nagito held his hands up excitedly. “Did you see how Hajime rolled so high to get so many critical hits? We thought he accidentally picked out Ouma-kun’s trick dice!”

“God, that was embarrassing.” Hajime groaned. “But the champion was annoying. I’m glad I fucked him up when I had a chance. Tsumugi plays a decent villain character. I don’t think I’ve wanted to strangle anyone as much as I do those cultists.”

“It’s terrible that they’re controlling the dragons somehow with the mask, but I’m eager to see what else happens.” Chiaki agreed, “I didn’t fall asleep once, and it was hard!”

Hajime and Nagito both wrapped their arms around her, Hajime going for the waist while Nagito settled for the shoulders. “I’m glad you had fun, Chiaki,” Hajime said softly. “I was worried that it might’ve been overwhelming.”

“At first it was, there were a lot of things to take in, and I wasn’t used to the area. However, as I got used to it, my stats increased, and I was better able to focus. It helped that both of you were on either side of me the entire time and that Ouma-kun was distracting. Poor Saihara-kun, though...he had to bail Ouma-kun out of doing some peculiar things.”

“Yeah...pickpocketing the mayor might’ve not been the best idea in the world.” Hajime agreed.

“I’m not so certain.” Nagito injected. “I still think that Ouma-kun and myself have a good hunch that the mayor isn’t who he says he is. I think that our group is still being used, but I’m not sure how.”

“We’ll just have to rely on our gut instinct for now,” Chiaki leaned into their hold. “My mind is going a thousand miles an hour. I’m starting to get sleepy trying to keep up.”

“Do you want me to give you a piggyback ride, Chiaki? At least to the station?” Hajime asked, already getting ready to get on his knees.

“Yea...I think that might be best.” Chiaki was getting tired, and it was hard to stand. Hajime bent down, and Chiaki allowed herself to fold forward around him. He hooked his arms under her legs as she tiredly clung to his shoulders. 

“Hahaha, I’m a little worn out myself; that was a lot of information to be given all at once.” Nagito rubbed the back of his neck. “So should we plan to tell Ouma-kun that we’ll come next week?”

“Hmm...go for it.” Hajime nodded. “I’ll remind Chiaki when she wakes up.”

“Not...sleep….” Chiaki closed her eyes before she could complete the sentence. She was looking forward to next week too. 

[luisaaronopez]

Aki is facing two people at once. Rudy is loading his gun and Mary has her magical pencil ready. Aki hesitated. "Psst, sis!" Mai whispered. "What?" Aki said looking down at Mai. "I'm making a formula that will heal me in no time. I wanna continue to help you sis. Upside is that I don't need to stand up while doing this." Mai said happily. "What's the downside?" Aki asked. "It'll take me a while to make it. Like 4 to 8 minutes." Mai said in a regretful tone. "48 MINUTES!?" Aki shouts. "Not 48 minutes Aki. I said 4 'to' 8 minutes." Mai corrected her sister. "Ah ok, but sometimes you need to say things properly or else other people might mishear you." Aki mumbled. "Excuse me for talking fast in the middle of a tag team battle." Mai said impatiently. "Whatever! As long as you're clear of what you said." Aki said as she summons her gauntlets. "Aki baby! You should dance with me sometime. I can teach you some of my baddest moves. Yee-yah!!" Rudy shouts with his teeth shining. "Can you teach me!?" Mary said while raising her hand. "Of course kitty cat! Ya'll are invited to a party I'm having once I go home." Rudy said to Mary. "Am I included?" Mai asked. "MAI! Don't encourage the enemy!" Aki yells at Mai. "Aki, since when did you ever go to anyone's party?" Mai asked her sister. Aki was gonna say something, but she shouts "Why are we talking about this? We're here to FIGHT!" Aki charges at Rudy. He shoots from his laser gun. Luckily Aki dodged that and she swung her fist at Rudy. He quickly dodged it but Aki accidentally punches Mary. As Mary falls to the ground, her beret falls off. Aki and Mai are shocked of what they're seeing. Mary has cat ears. She looked at Aki and Mai with a sad expression. "Dang it. I knew this would happen." Mary said shamefully. "Damn, now I have my reasons calling you 'kitty cat.'" Rudy said gleefully. "Hey shut up! Would you like it if I call you 'deformed monkey' because you look like one?" Aki insults Rudy. Mai notices something else. "Is that a tail?" Mary quickly hides it. "'Is that a tail?' everyone says. In a world of mythical creatures, people think cat people are freaks." Mary said in a depressed tone. "We never said you were a freak Mary. We're just surprised that you are a cat person. It's nice to finally meet a member of the cat people." Mai said with joy. Aki then shouts "CONTINUE THE FIGHT!!" Mai stays quiet, and continues creating her formula. Aki then continues to punch Rudy, but as usual he kept dodging her attacks. "Face it Aki baby, our date is gonna happen eventually. I wonder where we should go for our dinner?" Rudy said as he's dodging Aki's punches while thinking. "I'll eat something later, you'll eat something never!" Aki teases Rudy. "That explains why you're so top-heavy." Rudy said. Mai's eyes grow wide and shouts "Big mistake Rudy." Rudy looks at Mai and asks "Why?" Aki grabs Rudy, pins him roughly on the ground and yells at him. "LISTEN UP YOU DEFORMED MONKEY! I WILL NOT GO OUT WITH YOU! AND WHEN I SAY 'NO' THAT MEANS NO!!! SCREW YOUR STUPID BET! I'M IN THIS TOURNAMENT BECAUSE I HAVE PRIORITIES UNLIKE YOU WHO ONLY IS IN IT FOR YOUR 'BABES'! WELL GUESS WHAT! I'M READY TO GIVE YOU A BLOODY MOUTH LIKE I PROMISED!" The look on Rudy's face changed from a cocky smile to a terrified frown. Mai is terrified too. Mai quickly ate her healing formula. Mai's ankle no longer is sprained, so she had the courage to stand up and stop Aki from killing Rudy. "STOP!" Mai shouts. Aki and Rudy both look at Mai. "Aki, do you think mom and dad will be proud of you if you killed someone? Do you?" Mai asked. Aki looks at Rudy, then she looks at her fist. Her gaunlets were made of iron and had spikes on top. Aki knew that one punch from her gaunlets could've easily killed Rudy, infront of a live audience. Aki made her gauntlets disappear and decides to fight with her fists wearing regular gloves. Mai smiled as it seems Aki came to her senses. "Wow Aki baby, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Rudy said in relief. "Don't push it..." Aki whispered to Rudy while glaring at him. "Mary, wanna continue our fight?" Mai asked Mary. Mary is still sad about revealing her cat ears and tail. Mai went over to Mary to comfort her. "It's okay Mary. I don't find you a freak at all. I have an alien for a friend, so having a cat person as a friend is great too!" Mai said cheerfully. "You mean....you don't mind?" Mary said while wiping a tear off her eye. "Don't worry Mary. Just stick with us and we'll respect you." Mai said to Mary while hugging her. Mary hugged back. But Mai and Mary both felt something zap them. They both collapsed. "Oops.." Rudy whispered. "Your gun has some kick to it." Aki said in amazement. "Yee-yah! This bad boy is loaded!" Rudy shouts with joy. "Give me that!" Aki shouts as she snatches Rudy's gun. Aki slams it to the ground and it breaks. "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Rudy shouts meladramatically on his knees. Rudy is so broken over his gun that he dosen't notice Aki sneaking up behind him. She just punched him across the face and he collapsed too. Luckily without the gauntlets. The crowd cheered. "The winners are Aki and Mai!" The announcer shouts. "Yaaay..." Mai said weakly while still on the ground. Aki walked to Mai and hugged her. "Oh sis, what's going on with me?" Aki askef tearfully. Mai began to cry too. "Who cares? I'm just so happy that you resisted!" Rudy walked up to both sisters and said to them in a serious tone "Hey Aki ba.... no, just Aki. I just wanna say sorry for what I did....and uh... you're right." "About what?" Mai asked. "About forcing you into dating with me. I can't force you to like me if you don't, and if you don't like me I understand. Is it alright if we can be friends?" Rudy said with a normal smile. Aki looks at him and says "Rudy...if you let me have my personal space, I'll accept being your friend and we're staying JUST friends alright?" Aki then smiles at Rudy, who smiles at her back. Mai smiles and hugs Aki again. Mary cries tears of joy. "So beautiful!" She said with a smile. And so the four head to the Healing Room after an awkward battle. Who knows what the next battle will be like after this.

[plumeriafairy14]

Psst, what about a first Valentine’s Day Klance prompt? They both want to wow the other’s socks off

OHHHHH THIS IS A GOOD PROMPT. LET’S SEE WHAT I CAN WHIP UP. @winter-and-little-brunettes

Keith watched the drooping cake that he asked Hunk to bake while he rested his chin on his palm. He glared at the melting icing and the running gooey letter that spelled out ‘Happy valentines, Lance!’. There were two plates of Hunk’s famous Frowloin steak with a side of mashed Balemran potatoes and drizzled with Hifreinlin sauce, that had already turned cold. 

The strings of firefly lights that Coran and Shiro hung on the walls framed the beautiful poster that Allura helped him make. Keith’s penmanship was next to shit so he was grateful that Allura lent her to scrawl ‘I love you�� on the banner with her swirling handwriting. The songs on the strategically hidden speakers were romantic songs from earth that Pidge managed to download despite being light years away from their home planet. 

All of this was for Lance. 

This was Keith and Lance first valentines day together as a couple (or as they guessed since Pidge’s earth calendar said that it was the 14th of February back on earth right now). The two of the had agreed to make it a competition to try and outshine each other but Keith, being deliberately shit at being romantic, cheated by asking help from the rest of the team. They all helped make this fancy dinner happen and Keith was grateful but there was only one problem;

Lance was late and this evening was probably going to end up in either a fight or a cold shoulder. 

Keith sighed impatiently after another varga fully passed; this was going no where. Is it even possible for Lance to ditch him on their first valentines date when they lived in the same castle ship? 

“Goddammit.” Keith muttered. Anger bubbled inside Keith as he stood up and grabbed the slim remote to pause the song that was playing. He dragged himself to the light switch before he swiped his finger against the pad to turn on the lights. “Fuck you, Lance.” 

He stared at the dinner set up in the room and he couldn’t help but think that it’s all pathetic now. Maybe Lance isn’t serious about him? Maybe he thought this stupid as well? Whatever Lance’s reason may be, Keith was seriously hurt and heartbroken. 

This was his first valentines being with someone and it all fell into a sad shit hole. 

“Keith?” The door slid open and Shiro’s head popped in from the other side. “Is everything okay?”

“We heard the music stop.” Pidge’s tuft of brown hair popped in. The rest of the team followed until the doorway was too crowded that they just decided to walk in.

“What do you think?” Keith muttered, refusing to make eye contact so that they wouldn’t notice the angry tears that filmed his eyes. He turned his back on them and started putting away the untouched plates of food.

“Hey, that’s a waste.” Hunk frowned sadly. “It was hard to get the steak right.”

“Well, who should you blame that on?!” Keith suddenly snapped when he whirled around to face his group. When he realized what he did, he muttered a quiet apology and continued putting away the table. His mind was buzzing with so many assumptions but they all led to the conclusion that Lance might not like him as much as he thought the other did or that Lance was actually a shitty boyfriend.

Maybe it was best if they just didn’t continue their relationship. 

“Keith,” Shiro began but Keith cut him off immediately in a calm voice that shook on the edges. 

“Just leave me alone. I got this.” 

Keith didn’t even turn around to watch his teammates go but then they all heard hurried footsteps that rang from the corridor outside.

“Excuse me! Coming through! Outta my way, I’m late–!”

Lance burst in from behind the team. His hair was disheveled and he was breathless and sweaty but there was a thin cut on his cheek that looked fresh but was sloppily dabbed with anticeptic and patched up with a thin gauze band aid. 

Keith narrowed his eyes at Lance; was this guy training so hard that he forgot? “Look who decided to show up?” His voice dripped with dry sarcasm.

Lance’s eyes fell sadly with guilt. “Keith, I’m sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Keith turned his back again while he started to gather the cutlery made from Altean silver. “I’m used to being ditched.”

“Keith–”

“Shut up, Lance, I’m tired!” Keith yelled. The whole room grew heavy and there was a thick silence that fell on everyone. It was a good thing that Coran knew that they should give them some privacy to sort this out. 

“Everyone, why don’t we… er…” His mustache frizzed at the stress of the situation. “…watch a documentary of how frowloin cattle are raised and farmed? I have a tape that I made myself!” 

Wherein Hunk would usually groan in protest, this time, he agreed; “Sounds great!” 

There were collection nods of agreements and the team quickly walked out and the door slid close. 

Keith could feel Lance’s eyes on his back but he still ignored and focused on his task. Maybe if he pretended that Lance didn’t exist, the other would feel awkward and leave but the opposite happened. 

“Plaxum owed me a favor from last time and I ordered a custom order Spectrus conch knife last week from her.” Lance suddenly said and Keith’s shaky hands paused from what they were doing. Lance continued; “She contacted me this morning to tell me that the blade was ready just in time but the mermaids don’t have the technology to ship it where we are so I had to fly to their planet with Blue to pick it up but another monster landed in there and we had to fight it back. We managed to kill it but I got caught in the booby trap explosion and hit a wall.” he sighed. “Wasted three vargas passed out.”

Keith quickly whirled around with eyes wide with shock. “You what?”

“It was a good thing that there weren’t any Galra battleships patrolling the quadrant I passed through or I won’t get back til tomorr—” air rushed out from Lance when Keith suddenly dashed forward and threw his arms around him in a tight embrace.

“I’m sorry.” Came Keith’s trembling whisper. “I’m sorry I assumed too quickly; I didn’t even consider to think that something happened to you.” 

“I should be the one apologizing.” Lance sighed but returned the embrace tenderly. He buries his nose on top of Keith’s head and nuzzled the soft cap of his mullet. “I’m sorry.”

“No, no! I should be the one sorry!” Keith stubbornly shook his head after he pulled back. “You should have been more careful!”

“Heh, look who’s talking.” 

“Lance…” 

“I know, I know…” Lance sighed. “But as a paladin, I have a duty to put others first before myself.” Lance took out a sheathed blade that was tucked behind the waistband of his jeans. The scabbard was beautifully crafted and studded with polished black pears and gradient scales. The handle of the knife was curved to mimic the shape of a seahorse. 

“And as your boyfriend, I have a duty to put your happiness before mine.” Lance carefully placed the blade in Keith’s hand and slowly closed his fingers over it. “Happy valentines day, baby.” 

“You…idiot.” Tears filled Keith’s eyes but he was to stubborn to let them fall. He pulled out the weapon halfway and his heart melted when he glimpsed the rainbow blade and the way it shimmered under the light of the room. 

“You wouldn’t shut up about rainbow blades so I got you one.” Lance shrugged with a bashful smile. 

Keith pushed the blade back in and threw his arms around Lance once again. He pulled the other close and leaned in, their breaths mingling between them. “Your safety is more important than dinner and a blade.” he leaned in and press a soft kiss on Lance’s face wound. 

“Aw, babe~” Lance giggled but his eyes shone from within. “But you love it, right?”

“I do but I love you more.” Keith smiled it Lance looked utterly lost and love struck by it. Lance closed his eyes when Keith swooped in again and fully claimed Lance’s lips with his. Their kiss was filled with love but most of all, relief, that Lance was alright; that they were alright. 

“I love you too.” Lance breathed through the kiss. 

Their moment was interrupted when their stomachs growled. Laughing, they grabbed their plates, sat down, and started to eat in comfortable silence. Later that evening, they raided the rooms in the castle and stole pillows and blankets to make a nest at the viewing bridge where they watched the endless sea of stars while tucked in each other’s embrace. 

[troofless]

After watching Promare i can conclude that the reason the movie is so good is because of the: 

1. soundtrack 

That's it.

The plot was definitely not that great, but acceptable for an anime movie with time constraints. I’ve seen worse shonen movie plots, and for an action-driven movie this is definitely one of the better plots. I liked how there were continuous battle scenes with little plot, just monkey brain action which were animated beautifully, but because of that the plot was definitely on the weak side. It's Trigger after all, the plot went to various places like a crackfic on a rollercoaster. But the payoff is we get to see action scenes piled on top of action scenes on top of action scenes, so it’s all good. (The budget, Trigger... are y’all ok)

Memorable scenes: 

all the music (Hiroyuki Sawano!!!!)

the music (HIROYUKI SAWANOOOO!!!!)

Lio manspreading at the start

That beautiful ice lake

The governor's whispery voice (amazing voice for a villain)

Aina being voiced by Ayaneru

Heris posing on top of the helicopter with Aina

My favourite characters would probably be like: 

Heris = Aina > Lio > Ignis

Shoutout to Galo for being the basic Trigger formula for a MC; stupid, headstrong, stubborn with a strong morality that is challenged, and is loved by everyone because of these exact dumb puppy characteristics. Wish we got to see more of the friendship between Lio and Galo develop before they have to team up to fight the big boss though... Like Galo travelling w Lio and helping to fight off the Freeze ppl or breaking people out of prisons. Then again, that’s how it always is with anime movies, rushing character development to get to the big meaty battle sakuga that everyone can easily appreciate. (It’s why TV series that follow movies exist, like LWA, psst...)

[poke-reads]

Bugless! Part 2

Alright lets do this!

*Warnings though, Guzma here is gonna go soft for a bit like crying soft. If you don’t like it that’s ok. This one is very long. That’s another warning. Nothing inappropriate*

“Be my fwem!” A small child said to a wimpod who was cornered. The wimpod looked for a way out but was soon picked up by him. “Imma call you wimpy! Lets be best fwems!” he gave him a poké bean his mom gave him. The wimpod sniffed the bean questionably and ate it. He chattered and chirped with glee! “Come on sweetie lets go home! We got to catch the ferry!” the little boy’s mom called to him and he happily ran over to her. “Look mama i got a frem! Uh, i uh mean, Friend!” the mother look down to his level and happily greeted his new pokemon. With a kiss on the forehead, the child and mom went home. That was more than 20 years ago…

Years later his mom got married again. If only it were for the better. “What is wrong with you Guzma!? Why cant you do things right?” a smacking and smashing sound could be heard. Years of abuse left him broken. He was left home alone door locked. “At least i have you Wimpy. I know im never alone when your with me. We’ll leave soon i promise.” In Guzma’s room,

“Come on buddy, ya can’t leave just yet!” Guzma whined as he tried to keep Golisopod from leaving. “We still got���um…lots of training to do yeah! But in here!” Obvious to see that his room/throne room was too small to train in. Golisopod chattered immensely while pushing the door with his strength. “*sigh* ya really wanna go, huh bud? How would ya get there? The place is on another island! And ya know, ya boi hates travel.” Guzma grumbled, he knew he would have to let Golisopod go but he just couldn’t. He didn’t want to be alone…

*While in Plum’s room*

“Aight we’re in, as long as Guzma could stop wrecking the mansion and stop being such a baby.” Plumeria spoke for her and Axel as she tended to his head injury. You were filled with many emotions: how will Guzma handle this? What will he say or do? Is he gonna punch our lights out or rampage like a Tauros? Only one way to find out. Baxter had sent you a text: Baxter Y0 we be outside! Ready to do dis?

While another text came in

Nanu Ok what did he do know and why am i involved?

You I’ll buy you lunch for a week. Delivered if this goes well.

Nanu …..deal

You all gathered at Guzma’s door. Anxiety filled your stomach but you managed to open the door.

“Guzma?” you peeked in the door, only to find a tall white haired boi laying a his bed facing the wall, holding his Golisopod close like he was a wimpod again.

“Go away…” you motioned everyone to come in. “G. Whats going on with ya? Your concerning the grunts. Is it about Golisopod?,” plumeria put her hand on his shoulder only to be shrugged off. “Who cares, whatever. Its none of ya business.”

Baxter and Axel budged in “Boss we’re worried! Yo, you’re scaring us. Man, we want you to perk up! Golisopod’s gotta do his thing ya know?”

“Yeah boss! Chin up!”

“Which one?” Guzma’s smart remark wasn’t helping. “Look guys…just buzz off.”

You shoved Nanu forward and gave him the ‘DO SOMETHING YOU OLD COP’ look. He heavily sighed and walked over.

“I heard your actions caused a minor to fall off the second floor of this hou-”

“OK NEVERMIND YOU HELPED ENOUGH. SAY GOODBYE TO LUNCH” you pushed Nanu to the side. “*sigh* I’ll handle this.”

You approached Guzma. “Guzma, your summer is going to be bugless.”

Oh no.

He got up and looked at you…wide eyed and blinked twice…Tears overflowed from his eyes.

Here it comes. With a deep breath… *long gasp*

“AAAAAHHHH! *hic* *hic* AHHHHH!” he held his Golisopod tightly and nuzzled his head into its body. If you didn’t know any better you’d say a toddler took over the team. You think you lost hearing in your right ear and turned around to see everyone covering their ears. “Smooth move kid, now what!?” Nanu had to scream to talk to you. “He had to hear it. He’s gotta let it all out!” you screamed back. You had never seen Guzma cry nor crack under stress. This was a first. You found it to be surprising…ly cute.

“IDON'TWANT'EMTOGO! *sniffle* *hic* *hic* I DONT WANNA BE ALONE-WAAAAAHHH!” your heart broke hearing that. You had completely forgotten about their DEEP connection.

Nanu was once again dragged in. “Uh, ugh ok. There there, uh yeah. It’ll be ok. You’ll see him in a few months.”

“Months!? MONTHS!!?” Smooth move Nanu.

“WAAAAAHHHHAAAHHH!” He hugged Golisopod as if he was on his death bed, he didnt wanna let go. Good thing golisopod was used to his huge strengrh.

“What now!? Do something!” plumeria told you. “Im sure he ain’t got much let in there!” you responded.

You waited another 10 minutes

“Feel better?” you put your hand on Guzma’s shoulder

He sniffled twice before responding “mm-hmm…”

No he wasn’t. He darn right Bawled his eyes out again gripping at his pokemon.

Even though male golisopods were tough, they knew emotions and TLC was a must. He chattered and clicked at Guzma. Pulling him away while attempting to wipe away his tears with one of this claws. He made a sound of concern. And lifted guzma in his arms. Guzma was taken back by this gesture. Golisopod’s pokemon senses kicked in, cradling him close while making chattering sounds of comfort. Only Guzma knew him well enough to know he meant to say ‘I’ll be back before you know it! Please don’t cry.’ Guzma tried to stop crying. He just didn’t want his bestest friend and beloved pokemon to go even for one day. You and the others saw this and Plumeria, Axel and Baxter joined in to hug. Even Axel and Baxter started to cry-wait what? Why?

“Uh, why are you two crying?” you asked.

“It hurts to see the boss in pain!” Baxter said

“Im crying cuz you ain’t crying y-yo!” Axel said while looking at you

“Wha-? Why me? What about Nanu?”

“He’s cryin’ on the inside!” Axel told you.

You looked at Nanu. He simply looked back and said, “Its true.”

Guzma managed to stop. And the ringing in your ears stopped too.

“Ya think theres a third wave coming?” Nanu asked. “Naw i think he’s good.” you replied while petting Guzma’s head.

He tried to manage his breathing. Looking down blushing in utter embarrassment and defeat. All you heard for a few minutes were sniffles and hiccups while Nanu actually had to go over and help him breathe properly by saying ‘breathe. Good, your doing great. Good boy.’ I guess Nanu was useful for something.

“….thanks for checkin’ on me…Yeah.” you and the others smiled as a sign of thanks.

“Oh, A, sorry ya got hurt and all. I heard from the other side of the door. And the both of ya’s…TELL ANYBODY ABOUT THIS AND IMMA BEAT YA DOWN SO HARD YOU’LL BE SEEING MORE THAN STARS.”

“Y-y-es sir! Glad your better!” they said spuddered.

“Now, Guzma you ready to take Golisopod to route 8?” you asked him.

He looked down then to his Golisopod. He smirked and nodded his head. “Lets go.”

The trip to Akala Island was brief. You and Guzma decided to go together. A and B stayed to guard the place, plumeria stayed to train and forget she ever saw her boss like that. Nanu just didn’t want to go. Sounded fair.

“Aight bud,” he squeezed his claw a bit. “We’ll be back in a month. A'promise!” Golisopod chattered in confirmation and walked into the area. Guzma’s eyes lit up so much when he saw Golisopod go to the EXACT spot where they first met. He teared up a bit and waved goodbye.

It was late to go back to Ula'Ula so you two stayed at the hotel on route 8. You and Guzma were sound asleep, you slept on top of his chest. He was ok with it. some chipping sounds were heard from the window. You jolted up and tried to wake him up.

“Psst. Guzma, guzma.”

“Mmmm…eeeh, what. What is it?” you groggily got up holding you so you didn’t fall off the small bed.

“Theres something at the window.”

“Its just a golisop-GOLISOPOD!?”

Golisopod was signaling you two to come outside. It seems he had something to show you two!

You both walked out of the room in the summer breeze. As he guided you both, you were surprised to see so many Wimpods and Golisopods in one place. Man if only you brought your camera. They chattered and chirped a melody so wonderful the moon shined ever so bright. Golisopod showed you guys the spot where they first met and you two were greeted by pokemon eggs and a shiny Golisopod who seemed to be his partner.

As you got closer Guzma pointed something out “look they’re hatching! We came right on time!” you were puzzled. You didn’t really know how their hatching worked. The chattering melody grew louder and more enchanting and all the eggs around you two lit up!

“Whoa…..” you were mesmerized!

Wimpods were hatching left and right. You looked up to see Guzma’s reaction and you were so glad to see him happy. He looked intrigued and in love with all the new arrivals. He scratched and played with all the wimpods running around. They even laied on his head. He honestly looked like a kid at a candy store.

“Wow this is what he would'a missed if i didnt let him go…sorry buddy for being a lousy jerk.” Golisopod playfully punched Guzma’s back. The sun started to rise and all the Wimpods either went into the sea or dug into a cave. All the Golisopod went off to the sea or to their owners. “Well looks like we gotta go bud. See ya in a month.” Guzma walked off when he felt a tug at his hoodie. “Guzma, uh i think its over. I’m no genius at this but he doesnt seem to have a reason to be here anymore.” Golisopod walked over and got the ultra ball from Guzma’s hoodie pocket. Before he went inside, He put his head of Guzma’s head as a sign of thanks and pushed the button.

“What an experience. Come on Guzma lets go back to the mansion im exhausted.”

You walked to the hotel to pack your things, Guzma was right behind you holding his ultra ball. “ yeah, lets go home, frem.” he chuckled at the stupid remark he made. He didn’t regret it though.

[embracetheapocalypsewithme]

Embracing the Apocalypse, Part 19: Donkey Heaven

Things keep getting angst-y, but I promise that there will be some light (and smut again eventually) in this. Hold on to your hats!

Summary: Negan comes to terms with what happened to Rebecca and Chris puts in an appearance. Is he there to help or to harm? Will Rebecca ever wake up?

Word Count: 2,474

Content Warnings (or selling points?): Smut, Negan, Negan being Negan, language, violence, drama, angst, and hospitals.

Part 1: The Tale of Thelma Facefuck

Part 2: What’s Up, Doc?

Part 3: A Successful Job Interview Begins with a Firm Handshake and Ends with a Salty Surprise

Part 4: A Crack in Everything

Part 5: Sorting Duty Sucks

Part 6: A Faint Whiff of Bullshit in the Air

Part 7: Turn and Face the Strange

Part 8: Poor Life Choices

Part 9: In Which Negan is a Total Jerk

Part 10: No Plan

Part 11: Negan Settles Rebecca’s Hash

Part 12: I know Where That Hand Has Been, Negan

Part 13: Gimme Danger

Part 14: The Loneliest Hours of the Morning

Part 15: Well, Fuck You Too, Kitty!

Part 16: That Escalated Quickly

Part 17: Well Fuck Me Gently with a Chainsaw

Part 18: Shards of Glass

Part 19: Donkey Heaven

Part 20: Morphine Dream

Tag List Roll Call: @negans-network @lucifers-trash-stash @unicorn-blood-splatter @opheliadawnwalker3 @thedeadwalks @ali-pennell @negans-dirty-girl @dusty-cookie @grab-my-boner @miiraal @warriorqueen @sweetsweetpeach

(psst! let me know if the tags work...sometimes they decide not to)

Read on A03 here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/8807527/chapters/22280600

Part 19: Donkey Heaven

Negan sat at Rebecca’s side throughout the very long night, listening to her breathe softly and watching her face for any indication of change. Krouse poked his head in periodically to check her status, and tried to make small talk, but was staunchly ignored as N stared straight ahead at the young woman lying in front of him, his eyes never wandering.

This scenario was not new to him. He knew what it meant to sit with someone who was on the precipice of death, wondering if they would ever open their eyes again. Knowing that you may never again see the clarity and humanity in those eyes even if they did open was the most terrifying part; that, and the fact that the next time they moved it could be to take a bite out of you as one of the dead’s army. He knew all of this very well, and yet it didn’t make it any easier to bear. If anything, the repetition of these events in his life only made his heart ache more.

“Please open your eyes,” he whispered to her in a wavering voice he hadn’t heard escape his lips for many years. It was the sound of heat radiating from hot pavement in the summer at mid-day. The last time he had heard it had been under circumstances very similar to these, though not exactly the same. On that occasion he had known on some level that it was all over for the woman he sat beside in a hospital room, waiting for the end. This time, there was some hope. Rebecca wasn’t doomed. Not yet anyway.

“So. You love her,” the voice that came from behind him did not sound accusing; only matter-of-fact. 

Whirling around, and cursing himself for not noticing that someone had entered the room in the first place, Negan let out a string of swear words as he stood face to face with Chris.

“Fucking fuck! Don’t do that, man,” he cried at the sombre man standing a few feet behind him.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you. I just wanted to check on Rebecca too,” Chris’ face showed no emotion, as always, “I overhead what Krouse told you in your office and I was concerned, but I wanted to give you some time alone with her before I came.”

“She’s lucky to have someone who cares about her like you do, even if you’re a stoic fuck.”

“I’d say she’s lucky to have someone who clearly loves her the way that you do. Even if you don’t admit it.”

“Yeah. Well. Lot of good it did her,” Negan mumbled, turning over his shoulder to look at her.

“How is she?”

“We don’t know. Krouse can’t tell anything until she wakes up. If she wakes up.”

“Fuck,” the sudden anger in Chris’ voice caused Negan’s eyes to snap up to meet him.

“Yeah. Fuck in-fucking-deed,” his shoulders deflated and his eyes fell back to the unconscious woman laying before them, “I don’t even know what to do. I just feel-“

“Powerless? Enraged?”

“Guilty,” he admitted, his voice just a whisper in the darkened room.

“How do you figure you’re guilty for what happened to her?” Chris challenged.

“I had so many chances to say I was sorry, but my fucking ego got in the way. We were both being assholes, honestly, and one of us would have to break eventually and apologize, but we were both too stubborn. So we didn’t talk, and then this happened.”

“What were you fighting about?”

“It doesn’t even matter. It was stupid. So fucking stupid,” his head swayed from side to side, and his gaze dropped to the floor, “If we had been together maybe I could have stopped it, or maybe it would have been me instead. It should have been me.”

“Maybe it would have been both of you. Maybe they would have killed you both. You can’t live your life thinking about what might have been. You can only learn from it and move on, you know?” Chris placed a hand on Negan’s shoulder before letting it drop back down to his side, “When my grandmother was dying, her last few days were spent in a coma. The doctors said that even though she couldn’t communicate, she could hear us talking to her. I don’t know if that’s true, or if it’s something they say to help people cope with watching their family members die, but maybe you should talk to her. Tell her what you wanted to say, if you hadn’t been a stubborn asshole, as you put it. Maybe she’ll hear you.”

Negan lifted his eyes to Chris, feeling the salty warmth of tears bubbling behind them. Blinking them back into submission, he nodded wordlessly before taking his seat next to the bed.

“I’ll leave you alone. I’m sorry this is happening to you. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

Negan nodded, his eyes still trained on Rebecca, “I will.”

Heavy boots thudded against the floor as Chris made his way to the door, growing further and further away. As the door closed behind him with a click, all sound faded from the world until it seemed to Negan that nothing existed except him and Rebecca. The only sounds were the light breath escaping her partially opened mouth and his heart thudding in his ears as he tried to pull himself together.

“I know I fucked this up, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pressed you for information you weren’t ready to give up. I should have let you do things in your own time,” he sighed, “I just wanted to be closer to you, and it really sucked when you kept your guard up. I didn’t mean what I said. You’re a lot more than just someone to stick my dick in. I hope you know that, and that you can hear me now.”

Rebecca lay nearly motionless in the bed. For a moment, Negan thought that he may have seen her brow furrow, but decided that it was just wishful thinking. He slumped forward, placing his forehead against her chest. Warm tears began to sting his eyes, which were squeezed shut against the sudden deluge of emotions.

He hadn’t cried in years, but something about the destruction of this young woman’s potential and her hope for a better future broke through his barrier. It was as if he was back to square one; back to the hours and days following the death of his wife, as he wandered through ruined cities and towns, learning how to adapt to his new circumstances.

Over the intervening years, he had hardened himself against caring for anyone on an individual level. Sure, he could care for his group as a collective, but to care for any one person above all others was to invite heartbreak; and that he could not bear. He had to adapt in this way to keep himself sane in an increasingly insane world. It was why he had formed his harem of wives, rather than only taking one. It was one of the reasons why he had formed a team of Saviours, instead of having a singular right-hand man.

Somehow Rebecca had disarmed him with her way of walking through life with grace and optimism. He found that he did care for her very much, even if he hadn’t been consciously aware of it. This realization, coupled with the possibility of losing her, caused a sob to leave his throat as the tears held at bay by his eyelids finally flowed hot and fast, wetting the sheets covering Rebecca’s bed. Although he tried to regain his composure, it was clear that he was past the point of no return as he continued to sob on top of her.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” were the only words that he could form through his tears. His pulse thudded loudly in his ears, as his hands balled into fists.

He felt Rebecca’s body spasm without warning, her chest hitching violently against him, pushing his head up and down. Jerking his face up, tears still slowly tailing from him, his eyes widened as he saw her vibrating on top of the bed. For a moment he thought that she was having some kind of seizure, and leapt to his feet, kicking the stool over in the process. Breath held tightly in his lungs, he looked on, preparing himself for the worst.

Only, instead of finding her face contorted into a mask of pain in her final moments, her expression was one of amusement. Her green eyes were now wide open and trained on him; they sparkled with tears. Soft laughter erupted from her.

“Holy shit!” she exclaimed weakly, “You sound just like a braying donkey when you cry. It’s uncanny. I was laying there thinking, ‘Who the fuck let a donkey in here? Did I die and mistakenly get sent to donkey heaven?’ Cause I could work with that, I guess, but it’d smell pretty bad.”

“What the fuck!” he cried, “Are you actually fucking ok?”

“Yeah? I mean, my head feels like someone kicked me repeatedly with work boots on because, oh hey, they totally did! But I think my brain’s ok. I dunno. Maybe get a real doctor to see me and make sure I’m not bleeding on my insides?”

“Fuck. Yes! Sorry. I’ll be right back!” he said stumbling for the door to call in Krouse, who was taking a nap against the wall outside. The sleeping man’s eyes sprang open as she scrambled to his feet before following Negan inside the infirmary.

“Well, this is pretty good!” he said studying Rebecca, “I honestly didn’t know if you were going to wake up for a while there.”

“Yeah, I’m guessing that was the intent behind those assholes beating me until I stopped moving,” she said with a cynical edge taking over her voice before asking, “Am I going to be ok?”

“The fact that you’re conscious is a really good sign, but since we have no way to see inside of your body, really only time can tell. If you’re bleeding internally, it’ll become apparent eventually. It seems pretty clear that you’ve got at least a few broken ribs, and maybe some fractures in your face.”

“I have to say, I really don’t fucking like this ‘time will tell’ shit you’re laying on us, Doc,” Negan interjected, crossing his arms across his chest.

“I know, and I apologize. If we had better facilities, or more than a few hours of power a week, I could do more to check. But as it is, the best we can do is to wait and monitor her. Like I said though, the fact that she’s awake and talking is a really good sign,” he had moved on to checking her pupils, which appeared to be responding normally to the light he shone into them.

“Ok, fine. I get that. How long do we have to monitor her until we know?”

“It’s hard to say, but probably at least another day or two. I’d be willing to give her a thumb’s up at that point if she doesn’t seem to be deteriorating. Then she can go back to her own room and heal.”

Negan scoffed at Krouse’s words, “Like fucking hell she’s going back to her own room! Fuck that, she’s moving in with me if she makes it out of here,” he said sternly, causing Rebecca’s eyes to widen.

“Uh, wait a fucking minute. Do I not get a say about where I live now?” she asked with an annoyed expression.

“I’m going to leave you two to hash this out,” Krouse said, backing away from them slowly, “I’ll be back I a while to see you, Rebecca.”

“Thanks, doctor,” she said distractedly, her gaze still trained on Negan.

After Krouse had left the room, the pair sat in silence for a moment before Rebecca pierced the tranquility of the moment, “I did hear what you said before you started ugly crying on me.”

“Yeah?” Negan said, uncertain of how to respond.

“Yeah. Did you mean it? Or were you just caught up in the moment?” she asked, raising am inquisitive eyebrow, “Because last I checked, you wanted nothing to do with me. But here you are, blubbering into my nice, clean sheets like we’re in some shitty soap opera or something.”

Negan sighed deeply before responding, “I meant it. I don’t know if I want to mean it. I know that I tried my best to not mean it for a long time, but I do. I do care about you a lot, Rebecca.”

“So you do remember my name,” a faint smile sketched its way across Rebecca’s lips before she caught it and tried to neutralize her expression, “Well, you really hurt me. So I guess that means I care about you too. Or something like that. I think the only people who can fuck you up like you fucked me up are the people you love.”

“You really suck at this apologizing thing too, you know,” Negan said before adding, “Almost as much as I do.”

“I know,” she said, looking down at her hands for a moment before returning her eyes to his, “And I know I was acting really irrationally too. I said some shitty things to you that I didn’t mean, and I think we both really suck at this whole ‘having emotions’ business. So, you know, sorry for being terrible or whatever.”

“I’m sorry too. Can we just forget about this shit and move on now? I hate heart-to-heart conversations. They make me feel like so much less of a badass than I clearly am.”

“Uh huh. Tell that to the man tears soaked into these blankets, Mr. Badass McGruffy,” she said with a laugh before doubling over in pain, “Fucking hell, broken ribs hurt like a bitch!”

“Yeah, I’d imagine they do. Now, lie down and rest. I’m going to go get you some food from the cafeteria. Breakfast should be started by now,” he said before standing, “I’ll make sure someone’s outside of the door at all times when I’m not here.”

“Sounds like a good idea. Just promise me something, ok?” she said, reclining against the pillows.

“What’s that, Fuckface?”

“Once I’m out of the woods, can we track down the assholes that did this and fuck them up real good?”

“Darling, I can pretty well fucking guarantee that they will regret ever fucking with you once I’m done with them,” he said over his shoulder, before opening the door and walking into the hallway. Golden light painted the stark, white walls of the corridor as a new day began to break. They had work to do. But first, breakfast.

[preciousmetals0]

Senate Wise Guys Draw China Eyes

Senate Wise Guys Draw China Eyes:

The New Red Scare

Here we are…

Another Thursday, another weekly initial jobless claims report … and another stock market rally?

Some 2.4 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment claims last week. The nine-week total of continuing claims now stands at nearly 39 million.

Despite Main Street’s pain, Wall Street’s song remains the same. The new claim rate is in decline. The economy is reopening. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is on the case with his unlimited stimulus utility belt. Everything will be just fine.

If you were paying attention, however, there was a crack in Wall Street’s armor today. Stocks struggled for direction, but it wasn’t jobless claims that made investors blink … it was China.

For the second day in a row, President Donald Trump went on a scathing Twitter rant about China. He called out China’s “disinformation and propaganda” attacks on the U.S. and Europe concerning the coronavirus.

Now, we’ve seen this before from the president, but this time he took aim at Chinese President Xi Jinping: “…It all comes from the top. They could have easily stopped the plague, but they didn’t!”

The president’s bluster would’ve been easy enough for Wall Street to ignore as it has many times before. But U.S. Senate action underscored the anti-China rhetoric.

Specifically, the Senate passed a bill that could block Chinese companies from listing on American exchanges and possibly delist companies already trading there.

The bill, which still needs to pass the House and get President Trump’s signoff, would require overseas companies to follow U.S. standards for audits and other financial regulations. It would also force companies to disclose if they are government owned or controlled.

Honestly, it seems like these rules should’ve already been in place — maybe then we wouldn’t keep hearing about frauds and cooked numbers scandals.

Regardless, Wall Street is starting to worry about the rising anti-China rhetoric and how it may impact the U.S.’s tenuous phase 1 trade deal.

That is the real reason Wall Street faltered today. Not jobless claims. Not the U.S. economy. The threat to U.S.-China trade relations. It’s nice to know Wall Street has its priority straight, right? So, what can we do when the anti-China rhetoric gets rough … and the tough are looking for any and every way to keep playing the investing game? (Psst, I’m talking about you!)

Well, we look toward the companies that will have a part in rebuilding the United States back to full strength — China or no China, trade deal or bust.

Jeff Yastine has the edge here. He recently found a way to play the U.S.’s steer away from China. And in light of today’s events … you and I both know there’s more anti-China pushing to come.

That’s why Jeff is focused on Trump’s “Re-Declaration of American Independence” — his mission to bring manufacturing and growth back to American soil from overseas. He says that “investors who recognize what’s taking place stand to make a fortune in the months ahead.”

Click here to see how…

Judging from your feedback, it seems that the president isn’t alone when it comes to Chinese concerns.

So, that’s where we’re starting off with today’s Reader Feedback. Your fellow Great Stuff readers have come in from two main fronts in this battle of trading rhetoric…

China’s Changing Chances

OVERWEIGHT CHINA — I have positions PDD mid-20s, BABA 195, BIDU 198 just last week, TENCENT AT 45 … I have also taken small positions in China ETF. Valuations are about 50% cheaper. And let not forget they still have their eye on being the currency of the world. First trying to get a basket currency then go from there.

— Will H.

Where there’s a Will, there’s a … Huawei, perhaps?

Either way, I’d be watching what comes out of the Senate bill. I’d hate for you to not be … Luckin’ out.

China stocks — If the company in question can be considered connected in any way to national defense or health care, then it is probably an unsafe investment. Because the U.S. government will try to prohibit our dependence on it.

— Thomas B.

For reference, time traveling Tom over here sent this email on Tuesday. He must’ve read the future earlier this week … or the tea leaves on the wall, to mix metaphors.

You called it, Thomas. Nothing else to see here, folks. Carry on.

Something to Believe in

My largest interest lies in option trading. I believe in patterns to perform as expected to some extent. This makes Mr. Carr and Mr. Shoop some of my favorites at Banyan Hill. However the market is being run by the stupid money today. With that fact can traditional patterns be relied upon?

I realize the fed is driving much of what is happening in the market today, however you still have to have idiots buying stocks for them to go up. I want to stay away from calls and buy puts so bad and have been burnt by this in the recent past. At the beginning of this mess I made a killing.

— Lance W.

Lance, my man! Thanks for writing in again. I’m glad to hear you’re still keeping the faith with options trading. We’ll help you find a better way to get back in the fray. (And if any of you out there are looking for a strategy with an extra scoop “secret sauce” amid the volatility, listen up!)

I know it can be daunting to jump into the options market when everything in the world seems topsy-turvy, and it’s hard to figure out a direction.

Since you mentioned my home skillet biscuit, Mr. Chad Shoop, I want to point out that he’s a master of finding opportunity in any kind of market. Why? Because with his particular blend of options wizardry, he can both:

Get solid stocks at bargain-basement prices when they fall.

Or get paid to hold an option while stocks rise.

See, the right thing to do may not involve buying calls or puts … but instead selling puts. I’m going to keep this short for the moment, so if you don’t know what put-selling is, click right here!

Basically, Chad and his team use this method of “1-Minute Windfalls” as a smarter way to play an undecided market. Over the past seven years, his readers had 199 1-Minute Windfalls — and an astounding 195 were winners.

I’m going to tell you straight up that you can hardly find a better track record than this.

Click here to find out more about Chad’s 1-Minute Windfall method.

(I promise … you don’t need to be an options expert to be able to follow along with Chad’s strategy. He’s like the … the Bob Ross of options trading.)

Odds and Ends

What are the answers

— Rosa H.

To seek the Holy Grail, of course! Blue. 42. The capital of Assyria was Assur. Istanbul was Constantinople. (Why did Constantinople get the works? That’s nobody’s business but the Turks.)

Am I getting any closer?

Just yanking your chain here, Rosa. What are the questions? We want to join your quest, so write us back!

I’m cleaning out our junk drawers, weeding the bookshelves — experiencing some creative stirrings, finally! So maybe I am feeling better…

— Jennifer P.

We hear you, Jennifer! I don’t know what you’ve been growing in your bookshelves that they need weeding … but we’re glad you’re feeling better. Keep on weeding Great Stuff!

If you wrote in this week and we didn’t get to you, it may because your quarantine romps and raves took a turn for the explicit. (By the way, Gerald C., you keep living your best life over there in [redacted]. You give me hope … even if I can’t air your emails out here. Oh, and Lance W., one more thing … go easy on the cattle prod there would you, buddy? Thanks!)

If you’ve been up to no good or just feel like speaking what’s on your mind, keep writing in! We love hearing from you. GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com is where you can reach us.

That’s a wrap for today, but if you still crave more Great Stuff, check us out on social media: Facebook and Twitter.

Until next time, be Great!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Editor, Great Stuff

[goldira01]

The New Red Scare

Here we are…

Another Thursday, another weekly initial jobless claims report … and another stock market rally?

Some 2.4 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment claims last week. The nine-week total of continuing claims now stands at nearly 39 million.

Despite Main Street’s pain, Wall Street’s song remains the same. The new claim rate is in decline. The economy is reopening. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is on the case with his unlimited stimulus utility belt. Everything will be just fine.

If you were paying attention, however, there was a crack in Wall Street’s armor today. Stocks struggled for direction, but it wasn’t jobless claims that made investors blink … it was China.

For the second day in a row, President Donald Trump went on a scathing Twitter rant about China. He called out China’s “disinformation and propaganda” attacks on the U.S. and Europe concerning the coronavirus.

Now, we’ve seen this before from the president, but this time he took aim at Chinese President Xi Jinping: “…It all comes from the top. They could have easily stopped the plague, but they didn’t!”

The president’s bluster would’ve been easy enough for Wall Street to ignore as it has many times before. But U.S. Senate action underscored the anti-China rhetoric.

Specifically, the Senate passed a bill that could block Chinese companies from listing on American exchanges and possibly delist companies already trading there.

The bill, which still needs to pass the House and get President Trump’s signoff, would require overseas companies to follow U.S. standards for audits and other financial regulations. It would also force companies to disclose if they are government owned or controlled.

Honestly, it seems like these rules should’ve already been in place — maybe then we wouldn’t keep hearing about frauds and cooked numbers scandals.

Regardless, Wall Street is starting to worry about the rising anti-China rhetoric and how it may impact the U.S.’s tenuous phase 1 trade deal.

That is the real reason Wall Street faltered today. Not jobless claims. Not the U.S. economy. The threat to U.S.-China trade relations. It’s nice to know Wall Street has its priority straight, right? So, what can we do when the anti-China rhetoric gets rough … and the tough are looking for any and every way to keep playing the investing game? (Psst, I’m talking about you!)

Well, we look toward the companies that will have a part in rebuilding the United States back to full strength — China or no China, trade deal or bust.

Jeff Yastine has the edge here. He recently found a way to play the U.S.’s steer away from China. And in light of today’s events … you and I both know there’s more anti-China pushing to come.

That’s why Jeff is focused on Trump’s “Re-Declaration of American Independence” — his mission to bring manufacturing and growth back to American soil from overseas. He says that “investors who recognize what’s taking place stand to make a fortune in the months ahead.”

Click here to see how…

Judging from your feedback, it seems that the president isn’t alone when it comes to Chinese concerns.

So, that’s where we’re starting off with today’s Reader Feedback. Your fellow Great Stuff readers have come in from two main fronts in this battle of trading rhetoric…

China’s Changing Chances

OVERWEIGHT CHINA — I have positions PDD mid-20s, BABA 195, BIDU 198 just last week, TENCENT AT 45 … I have also taken small positions in China ETF. Valuations are about 50% cheaper. And let not forget they still have their eye on being the currency of the world. First trying to get a basket currency then go from there.

— Will H.

Where there’s a Will, there’s a … Huawei, perhaps?

Either way, I’d be watching what comes out of the Senate bill. I’d hate for you to not be … Luckin’ out.

China stocks — If the company in question can be considered connected in any way to national defense or health care, then it is probably an unsafe investment. Because the U.S. government will try to prohibit our dependence on it.

— Thomas B.

For reference, time traveling Tom over here sent this email on Tuesday. He must’ve read the future earlier this week … or the tea leaves on the wall, to mix metaphors.

You called it, Thomas. Nothing else to see here, folks. Carry on.

Something to Believe in

My largest interest lies in option trading. I believe in patterns to perform as expected to some extent. This makes Mr. Carr and Mr. Shoop some of my favorites at Banyan Hill. However the market is being run by the stupid money today. With that fact can traditional patterns be relied upon?

I realize the fed is driving much of what is happening in the market today, however you still have to have idiots buying stocks for them to go up. I want to stay away from calls and buy puts so bad and have been burnt by this in the recent past. At the beginning of this mess I made a killing.

— Lance W.

Lance, my man! Thanks for writing in again. I’m glad to hear you’re still keeping the faith with options trading. We’ll help you find a better way to get back in the fray. (And if any of you out there are looking for a strategy with an extra scoop “secret sauce” amid the volatility, listen up!)

I know it can be daunting to jump into the options market when everything in the world seems topsy-turvy, and it’s hard to figure out a direction.

Since you mentioned my home skillet biscuit, Mr. Chad Shoop, I want to point out that he’s a master of finding opportunity in any kind of market. Why? Because with his particular blend of options wizardry, he can both:

Get solid stocks at bargain-basement prices when they fall.

Or get paid to hold an option while stocks rise.

See, the right thing to do may not involve buying calls or puts … but instead selling puts. I’m going to keep this short for the moment, so if you don’t know what put-selling is, click right here!

Basically, Chad and his team use this method of “1-Minute Windfalls” as a smarter way to play an undecided market. Over the past seven years, his readers had 199 1-Minute Windfalls — and an astounding 195 were winners.

I’m going to tell you straight up that you can hardly find a better track record than this.

Click here to find out more about Chad’s 1-Minute Windfall method.

(I promise … you don’t need to be an options expert to be able to follow along with Chad’s strategy. He’s like the … the Bob Ross of options trading.)

Odds and Ends

What are the answers

— Rosa H.

To seek the Holy Grail, of course! Blue. 42. The capital of Assyria was Assur. Istanbul was Constantinople. (Why did Constantinople get the works? That’s nobody’s business but the Turks.)

Am I getting any closer?

Just yanking your chain here, Rosa. What are the questions? We want to join your quest, so write us back!

I’m cleaning out our junk drawers, weeding the bookshelves — experiencing some creative stirrings, finally! So maybe I am feeling better…

— Jennifer P.

We hear you, Jennifer! I don’t know what you’ve been growing in your bookshelves that they need weeding … but we’re glad you’re feeling better. Keep on weeding Great Stuff!

If you wrote in this week and we didn’t get to you, it may because your quarantine romps and raves took a turn for the explicit. (By the way, Gerald C., you keep living your best life over there in [redacted]. You give me hope … even if I can’t air your emails out here. Oh, and Lance W., one more thing … go easy on the cattle prod there would you, buddy? Thanks!)

If you’ve been up to no good or just feel like speaking what’s on your mind, keep writing in! We love hearing from you. GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com is where you can reach us.

That’s a wrap for today, but if you still crave more Great Stuff, check us out on social media: Facebook and Twitter.

Until next time, be Great!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Editor, Great Stuff