#Educational games for field trips

[justsaying4041]

5 Games that can be played on the way to a field trip

Field trips are an exciting break from routine, but the journey to the destination can sometimes feel long. To keep students engaged, enthusiastic, and entertained on the way, incorporating games into the trip is a fantastic strategy. Here are five games that can be played during the journey, ensuring that every moment—whether on a bus, van, or train—is part of the fun. 1. I Spy A timeless…

[realcube]

oh and similarly, pro hero!tenya iida is THE dilf

the hot single dad you see at kids' baseball game and ballet recitals, always cheering and clapping the loudest. sporting cargo shorts, running shoes, and polo shirt that accentuates his buff arms.. who is also a bit too overly competitive/involved in a children's activity: consantly berating the referee for their lack of attentiveness to clear foul-play, or debating with the dance contest judges about inaccurate scores. but it's okay because he's cute hence he is allowed to #pretty privilege

i just know he is raising the most well-behaved kids too. when one of them accidentally bumps into to because they were goofing off in the supermarket, he'll stand over them and demand they say sorry. which they timidly do, and it was uncomfortable to be in that position, but it's worth it for the apologetic smile tenya flashes you, before ushering his kid away.

and pls don't get me started on an au where you are his kids' elementary school teacher. he firmly believes educating is one of the most important, diginified and unappreciated careers there is, so he was already buying gifts for the staff throughout his kids' pre-school. however, after the first parent-teacher meeting and he sees you're their new teacher, the gifts that were previous things like candles and mugs, quickly turn into designer perfumes and luxury chocolate. (none of the chocolate ever sees the inside of your mouth though bc ppl steal it in the staff room 😔). and the gifts become far more frequent too: he used to only buy them at christmas, but you receive presents from the iida kids on new years, teachers' day, easter, your birthday, valentines in addition to chistmas.

you better believe he is signing up to be an assistant for all the extra-curriculars too. under the guise of wanting to contribute to the school, but really because he wants to spend time with you. need a parent-helper for a class field trip? iida volunteers expeditiously. looking for donations for the bake sale? iida brings in six trays of home-made cupcakes (and one for you too). struggling to direct the school play on your own? iida comes in and runs that stage like it's the goddamn military. pro-heroing essentially becomes a side hustle, while he's your full-time assistant. (and he's definitely parent council president too. and if the school doesn't have a parent council, he'll create one.)

[rafescvntyclubgf]

College Baseball JJ - Headcanons

+18 Minor DNI

⭐ republished ⭐

+18

♡ who you met in the library after he was forced to go to study table. A week of shameless flirting later, he had you backed up against the bookshelf, fingers tangled in your hair as you exchanged your first kiss.

♡ who snuck you onto the baseball field after dark on your first date. The two of you, hid out in the dugout, talking and getting to know each other until the sky lightened.

♡ who waited two more days until the 12th to ask you to be his girlfriend because 12 is his lucky number, and he didn’t want to fuck this up.

♡ who was forced to stop smoking during the season; stealing shotgun kisses off your lips instead because “those don’t count, princess.”

♡ who didn’t think you could get more beautiful until he saw you in a jersey and jean shorts, watching him from the stands.

♡ whose walkout song is “Do You Believe In A Thing Called Love” because it was the karaoke song you chose for him on your first date at your dingy college dive bar.

♡ who’s fully aware that you drool over his ass in baseball pants, snickering to himself as you squeeze, slap, and pinch his butt every time you walk by.

♡ whose pregame ritual consists of the two of you driving around, listening to music, JJ’s ultimate distraction in the best possible way.

♡ who knew you were annoyed when a few other girls wore a jersey with his number even though it meant nothing. JJ, gifted you his Kildare Jersey instead with his last name on the back.

♡ who can always count on you to make a cute sign and cheer for him.

♡ who still goes surfing when he can. Making it a point to teach you, the two of you taking trips down to the OBX to get away and surf together.

♡ who doesn’t care that you don’t sit next to the other girlfriends; happier that you’re right against the fence.

♡ whose post-workout and post-game showers include you.

♡ who craves close, submissive sex after a loss and rough, dominant sex after a win. Sometimes, the two of you don’t even make it out of the parking lot without him taking you in the backseat of his Bronco, flipping his hat backward before attacking your lips.

♡ who calls you right after every away game, rambling excitedly or bitching profusely.

♡ who loves taking you to MLB games, dimples popping in his cheeks as he smiles, seeing you enjoying yourself as well. How could you not? Three hours together, nothing to do but sit back, drink a few beers, and eat some snacks. His arm’s wrapped lazily around your shoulder, whispering sweet nothings in your ear.

♡ who’ll randomly send you a new song on a long bus ride because it made him think of you.

♡ whose been razzed a few times for getting a little too distracted when you show up to the field.

♡ who races to his phone post-game when he’s out of town because he loves when you send him nudes. You didn’t know he loved them so much until you didn’t send them. JJ texted you instantly, asking where the hell they were:

JJ: titties immediately

JJ: A few extra to make up for my hurt feelings

JJ: And one in my home jersey. No panties or bra

JJ: On my bed. Mirror shot so I can see that ass

Me: Anything else Jayj lmao

JJ: woah seriously?

JJ: Show me how wet you are.

Me: You’re such a slut Maybank

JJ: for you

Me: I love you

JJ: Love you more

♡ who teases you for wearing his baseball sweatshirts and sweatpants more than him. JJ, usually tossing it back in the closet after you’re done with it, getting a few more wears out of it until your perfume wears off.

♡ whose tan is even deeper than before; his blonde locks brightened from the sun and the slightest farmer’s tan. JJ usually practices without his shirt, just a pair of baseball pants and a hat.

♡ who’s obsessed with his post-game massage from you, which almost always turn into sex.

♡ who pitched the benefits of strip studying and its positive effects on education. Which is coincidentally his favorite studying tactic. Admittedly, he wouldn’t have made it through the school year without you. And he lets you know that often.

♡ who brings you to every baseball party, the two of you, usually found at the beer pong table. He swears up and down you’re his lucky charm. And, you make a hell of a team, usually celebrating a hot streak of back-to-back wins with sloppy bathroom sex.

♡ who made sure you were center-field on Family Day because he finally had someone to give roses to.

♡ who almost creamed his pants when he saw your barely there panties with an embroidered #12.

♡ who’ll call you from his hotel room if he’s on the road for phone sex or just to fall asleep because he doesn’t like being without you.

♡ who plans on proposing to you one day in that same dugout when the time is right.

[sdv-confessions]

Sending an ask with regards to the anon that said Sam/ Penny didn't make sense to them.

Not a shipper myself but I do know one of the main reasons is opposites attract but another, and a personally, more compelling reasons is that on the surface they seem like opposites but their more alike than they appear. And oh boy am I gonna go off about them.

Again not a shipper but I do like it when fics and general creatives explore how Sam, despite not initially appearing as such, is burdened with the responsibility of growing up a bit too fast because of the absence of a parent. Obviously this is about Kent and how he never really raised Vincent and even when he was there, he wasn't fully there or Vincent was too young to remember. Not Kent's fault obviously but it still left a noticeable absence in a male guiding figure that Vincent needed after being comfortable with one. And Sam, initially would try and prop his dad up, making him out to be a good father who was serving the country. He's out there kicking Gotoro butt. But as the years passed by of Kent not coming home, gradually Sam became more responsible for Vincent in the prior role. He probably taught him how to ride a bike, or tie his shoelaces and other activities and skills traditionally taught by a father.

Fics tend to explore this more reserved side of Sam that a general chunk of the fandom isn't aware of. Cause the cutscene that presents this more complex side of Sam is one of the only truly missable cutscenes of the entire game (the year 1 beach scene with the perfect circumstances). So general concensus is that Sam is an aloof skateboarder who kinda takes his job seriously and has his head in the clouds dreaming of becoming a popular musician. That's what's presented with most cutscenes and dialogue of Sam.

Penny, however, contrasts this image completely with honestly more grounded cutscenes. You can tell she's a hopeful person trying to make the best of the hand she's been dealt. And everybody knows she was forced to be the adult when Pam spiraled into alcoholism and negligence. And Penny herself admits she does the cooking, she does the cleaning. She takes care of the family by herself. And she's been doing this, presumably, since she was a child.

Penny's circumstances and character (doting and anxious but hopeful) make her maturity levels leagues above Sam's. But that's an assumption based on Sam being the loopy golden retriever stereotype (but he is a good boy, one of the best). And when you base their relationship purely on that, it is opposites attract.

But then that would be focusing on the surface and to get to the true meat and potatoes of the ship, you gotta dig deeper.

With Sam, once you include both the fact he was Vincent’s important male figure/ role model AND the fact that he's a silly goofy guy as previously mentioned, the ship gets so much more interesting. You also have to include the fact that Penny isn't all doom and gloom. She knows how to have fun and can be relaxed. Examples of this would be the picnic, the recipe testing and especially her 10 Heart event cause that shows she can be a bit adventurous.

And they both share a similarity in how they utilise their passions and hobbies as an escape from their circumstances. Penny primarily reads for the sake of escapism. Sam plays the guitar and writes his own lyrics, most likely to express his frustrations (I admit this is a bit of a stretch. I'm spitballing here). And both have an oddly nurturing nature to them. When married Sam is a children's edutainment performer, a job he's extremely proud of, therefore showing he has said caring nature and love for children. Penny is the town's sole educator for Jas and Vincent and has admitted their resources are limited with regards to educating the two. And yet she takes them out for educational field trips, that are most likely unnecessary but she's aware that even if they are, they're fulfilling experiences for the children. They both have a passion for caring for children, going the extra mile for them (I especially commend Sam, as I do have experience with being a musical children's edutainment performer and to genuinely go through with it takes serious mental fortutude unironically).

In most SamPenny content and to my understanding, the ship thrives in how they contrast yet compliment each other well. Sam can relate to Penny's struggle of being forced to grow up too fast, having to fill in for somebody who should be but isn't there (I still love Kent, this is more for Penny's dad and Pam specifically). And in some depictions, he comforts her on it. And in Canon, he would do exactly this as seen with Year 1 Beach Scene (that beach scene is the glue for this entire argument). And Penny could educate on new topics as Sam is a curious person in general.

And another opposites attract element that I really like about them that I rarely see being explored is how their weather dialogue reflects this so well. When it rains, Penny's dialogue is gloomy and distant. She doesn't like the rain, seeing it as unpleasant and an environmental reminder of her home life and how washed out and depressing it is. Meanwhile, directly opposite her trailer, Sam is happy as can be because he gets to play his guitar as loud as he wants. A genuinely optimistic view of the weather. A good contrast with Penny's more depressive perspective. And this does apply vice versa.

To me, their relationship can be summarised as this: Sam is the sliver of sunshine on a cloudy day and Penny is gentle breeze to cool one on a blistering summer day. Penny acts as the unexpected calm to Sam's chaotic storm whilst Sam shows Penny the beauty and positivity in even the most seemingly negative of scenarios. When there's excess of one, the other balances it out. They comfort each other in their pain, they lift each other up when down. They can choose to indulge the other's interest for the sake of feeling fulfilled by their partner's apparent excitement when discussing their passion etc.

In conclusion to this silly little rant for a ship that isn't even in my top 20 Stardew ships, nevermind otp: he was a skater boy, she was a scholarly girl, could I make it more obvious?

.

[horse-dylan]

Facts about B.C Spree Killer Kam Mcleod

This one was an absolute pain in the ass to write as Kam's parents have been far more tight lipped about Kam in comparison to Bryer's dad. But here we go, i'll try my best. Some of this information is from Bryer's dad, or it is second hand from a mutual who has better understandings and connections than I and was kind enough to share information with me, you know who you are :D.

Kam actually had a girlfriend before he and Bryer left for their final road trip. For how long I'm not sure (but am infinitely curious). From here on out i'll call her redacted despite her name being published by some media.

He had an older sister who I will also not name for her sake.

From my understanding Redacted had wanted to go with Kam and Bryer but Kam had left without her. After which Kam shot her a text saying "Seriously sorry, but I'm not coming back.

Allegedly Kam did not want people to know him and redacted were dating (interesting lol.), his friends allegedly stated that redacted was hard to get along with.

Allegedly Redacted lied to the police, I think about whether or not she was supposed to go with Kam ( she was.)

Allegedly Redacted was stalking Kam's property after he died, and his sister told her to stop. redacted then told Kam's sister to kill herself like her brother.

Kam was either going to the local community college for welding or to work on the oil fields (from my understanding.)

Kam did not want to follow in his father's footsteps career wise, it is interesting to me that this was noted in the documents that were made public, it indicates noteworthy strife and conflict that the Mcleod's felt like mentioning in police interviews.

Kam loved league of legends (the murders are far less shocking now lol.)

Before the shootings, Kam's family had a lot of deaths in it, the most recent one; his grandmother, taking place mere months before the killing spree.

Kam had his PAL (gun license in Canada, and not surprising, his family is made up of hunters.) which is how both boys got their guns in the first place.

Kam started his high school at ADSS originally before going to an alternative education school before he graduated, for what reason I am not sure.

Kam had chickens.

His online handles include angelofdeath812, and shadow812

It appears he got to go to Thailand in 2015.

Kam totaled his Toyota 4x4 truck on April 14th, 2018 when he was stunt driving with Bryer and a friend that will remain unnamed. He only had the truck he was driving during the killings for a few months and allegedly was an inheritance.

According to Bryer's dad he had to be rescued with the Jaws of Life and airlifted to the hospital. He supposedly sustained head injuries due to this event.

Kam's friend Branden Mchale (public information by the CBC) described Kam as a really funny guy and a total gaming nerd.

His grandfather was Metis.

I believe Kam's great or great great grandmother was involved in a double suicide or murder suicide.

I'm not sure to what extent, but I know Kam watched anime.

To date, I have not been able to find any clip or videos of Kam talking so there's currently no way to publically to know what his voice sounded like (and I am forever curious).

If anyone procures any more info, or anyone who knew Kam or has info and doesn't want to post it themselves out of fear of drawing the townspeople's ire, feel free to DM me with receipts or pics and i'd be happy to post it. If I missed any info let me know.

[twistedblunderhand]

How often do the characters leave NRC?

Ik the game is focused on the school, but I feel like at least some of them would have a life outside of school

HEARTSLABYUL

Duce- it was mentioned he left to the beach to let things out before, so obviously he leaves the campus sometimes. Since he’s trying to be an honor student I can’t imagine he’d go out too much for fun, but he will to clear his head or with his friends

Ace- he’d get way to pent up if he was in the school all the time. He definitely goes out occasionally and invites the first years

Cater- All. The. Time. Both as a way to distract himself and also to keep up with the outside world.

Trey- occasionally, but mainly to get ingredients or things to decorate for unbirthday parties. And once a month he gets bulk dental supplies

Riddle- other than mandatory vaccinations, probably not. Especially early game. As he grows he might go out with Trey and Cater from time to time. But never on his own

SAVANACLAW

Jack- he leaves now and then, but not too often. During the winters he goes home for some weekends to spend time with his family and snowboard at his favorite places

Ruggie- iirc it’s mentioned he has multiple jobs. If he leaves more often than not it’s to work or find work. That and to go to a local donut shop

Leona-he can canonically drive, and also is 20. He’s not spending all his time at NRC. He’s got friends outside he meets with once or twice a week and drives Ruggie to his jobs if he can’t get the twst version of an Uber

OCTAVINELLE

Jade- he’s apart of the mountain appreciation club, so he probably goes hiking at least three times a week. He might go into a nearby town if Azul asks him to, but I can’t imagine he leaves too often

Floyd- probably joins Jade on some of his hikes and also goes into town when Azul asks. He also travels to the beach/ocean whenever he’s feeling homesick

Azul- he rarely leaves school, and if he does it’s to check up on business opportunities

SCARABIA

kalim- all the time. He takes people out, he explores the areas close by, he single handedly pays the bills for the local party barn with all of the supplies he gets. Out of anyone in the music club I think he tries to get a bunch of gigs for them, but he rarely follows through

Jamil- usually if he’s out it’s to drag kalim back to school. He’s just too busy that he doesn’t really have time for himself, especially early game. Eventually I like to think he gets out of working for kalim, and so he has a lot more time on his hands he’s not used to having. Then, he’d probably go out sometimes to go to coffee shops alone and finds a dance studio where he can destress

POMEFIORE

Epel- under Vil’s eye, probably not. Might be forced to go to ulta once or twice or on little “field trips” to learn. Mainly performances and shows

Rook- probably leaves to hunt once in a while or to go to performances or follow a target.

Vil- as mentioned before, he takes Epel on little trips to educate him, but also to study/learn from other performances himself. Also, if he has a roll obviously he’ll go to do that too

IGNIHYDE

Ortho- usually follows his brother so doesn’t stray far from campus

Idia- dude he doesn’t leave his room. No way he leaves campus on his own free will

DIASOMNIA

Silver- I don’t think he’d stray too too far from malleus so I don’t see him leaving campus much

Sebek- I feel like he wouldn’t leave campus too much to stay near Malleus or Lilia

Lilia- he goes out every week at least once. He has friends outside of school and loves to learn about the area/culture outside and near school

Malleus- mainly stays on campus because of his social awkwardness/anxiety. If he finds there’s an abandoned place outside of school he’ll probably venture there once in a while

STAFF

Just as a general thing, they all probably go out and meet up and talk about life once every two months

Crowley- asshole gets out every night instead of working. He skips work and will be out during his office hours. Like he should have a life outside of work, but he doesn’t do shit at his job

Crewel- he volunteers at the dog shelter and doesn’t live on campus.

Trein- he has a three kids, so yeah. After school he leaves to go home and probably has family dinners every Friday night at local restaurants

Sam- for sure. He has lots of clients outside of the school store and needs to get his stock from somewhere, but also he has tons of friends and doesn’t live at the school

[saltsicklover]

Title: Not a Cyclone, But a Monsoon

Part 1 of 2 - Completed

Find Part 2 HERE and my Master List HERE

A request based off of THIS prompt, from the lovely @inkandarsenic

Romantic Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Fem!Reader Past Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Fem!Reader

Platonic Pairing: Beau "Cyclone" Simpson x Fem!Reader

A few uses of Y/N

Word Count: This part: 6k+ Total Fic:20k+

Rating: R

Warnings: Talks of death, minor character deaths, labor, loss of a child in utero, abandonment, drinking, talks of God and destiny, swearing, general military talk and lingo, descriptions of food and eating, coughing fits, talks of violence, actual violence, blood, vomit and throwing up, mention of near death experiences. ANGST

---

I DO NOT CONSENT FOR MY WORK TO BE REPOSTED OR TRANSLATED

Miramar, California. TOP GUN. Six years before the organization of the Dagger Squad.

The Officers Club, better known as The Flight Line Bar sits on post in Miramar, frequented by the big brass and educators at Top Gun. The whole place glows with amber light from the buzzing light fixtures that hang from the rafters, dusty and hot to the touch. This half of base, on the far side of the air field has yet to be updated, evident by the chips in the glasses and the inconsistent flickering of the halogen bulbs. The wallpaper is peeling; discolored around the old neon signs that have slowly begun to fizzle out. If it were any brighter inside those four walls, one might be able to see the discoloration of well walked floors and one too many spilt beers.

Two loan pool tables sit in the center of the bar, their felt faded from use and tearing, flanked by a couple of dart boards, their cork crumbling from age. The patrons look about the same, old and wrinkled with age, lines worn into their faces that read closer to distinguished than wary. That's what the military does to a person, wears itself straight into the skin and makes a home there, the ghosts of lost wingman and battle buddies still looming in the whites of their eyes. Too many memories are stuck in the deep folds of their uniforms, worn in around the elbows and shoulders, the creases worn from friction- salute after salute.

It's really a hard to believe that people still frequent The Flight Line Bar. After all, there are so many better places for the students of Top Gun to meander into, just off post where they don't have to risk rubbing shoulders with their instructors- or heaven forbid, hit on their guest lecturers.

After all, It's all fun and games, flirty touches and smooth words until you're slapped with a SHARP report.

The students always figure out the good places to drink after class, shortly after their arrival after one too many moments spent inside the crumbling bar. The drinks are good in taste, better in price, but not worth it at the risk of saying just the wrong thing to just the wrong person.

The new recruits arrival happens like clockwork, and it's a ritual the newly minted Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson loves to witness. He has been watching the little ordeal for the last four years, with each new Top Gun class, even choosing to mark the date on his calendar after having almost missed an incoming class last year.

The new Top Gun recruits wander into The Flight Line Bar in gaggles. Most still clad in their uniforms if they had been lucky enough to get issued a drinking order. The wide eyed aviators would file up to the bar, uneasy looks on their faces as they took in the ranks drinking around them. If the Flight Line Bar was a small pond, the Top Gun inductees are guppies surrounded by some very big fish. One year, a young aviator even tripped over the base commander's seat and was met with a glare that even Cyclone would have been nervous to stand on the receiving end of.

The recruits each drink a beer, the brave ones chancing a second, before they're heading for the door. Cyclone loves to see the discomfort that would roll off of them the moment they crossed the threshold back into the parking lot. Some would even shiver, which always seems to pull a hearty laugh out of the Admiral.

This year, however, Cyclone is met with a very different scene before him when he himself broke the threshold of the Flight Line Bar. Having been stuck in a meeting with Admiral Kazansky, Cyclone ends up arriving later than the usual crowd of recruits. So, when he finally wanders in, he is met with the fleeting glances of some top brass, but no new eyes. He can't fight the way he almost deflates; after the shit day he managed to barely claw his way through, the one thing he was looking forward to were the wide eyes of the newest, freshest meat that Top Gun managed to recruit.

As if today of all days wasn't hard enough to begin with.

Instead, it looks like a regular Friday night, which wouldn't do the leg work needed to actually flip his day around for the better. But he's already there, the drinks are cheap, and he really, really needs a drink. So, he orders with a silent wave of his hand, the borderline elderly man behind the bar meeting the wave with a nod of his head. Cyclone plops down unceremoniously onto one of the rickety barstools. It almost sways under his weight, however it does creak weakly as he settles. His temple meets his knuckles as he lets out a deep sigh as the beer being set down in front of him. Cyclone can only manage a nod to the bartender before lifting the glass to his lips.

The question of why he still drinks here, in this lousy bar, floats through his head for a moment, but he doesn't put fourth the energy to grant himself with an answer. Maybe it's the cheap beer and half price shots. Or, maybe the fact that he doesn't have to fight off the happy hour drinkers or the five o'clock somewhere partiers that seem to be carried in with the wind. Again, he doesn't entertain the question long enough to form an answer.

Cyclone doesn't even have to glance around the bar to know the crowd this Friday night hosts. Top brass, tired officers, and disgruntled wives, each drinking their own bad days away.

The glass feels about a hundred pounds and it meets the bar top with a loud thunk, the amber liquid sloshing around inside. A bit of foam sneaks over the rim, running down the crack in the glass. Cyclone scratches at it with this thumbnail, wondering how the hell the bar is still getting away with using nearly broken glassware. The thought doesn't last long, not many seem to this evening, and he is bringing the impossibly heavy glass back to his mouth for another sip.

As he tips it back a little further this time, the sulking woman a few seats down catches his attention. If this were a normal Friday night, Cyclone might make bets with himself on just why a woman might be crying, in this bar, all alone. He might puzzle that she is a soon to be ex-wife, her spouse making the choice to cheat on deployment. Maybe she is a daughter, or a sister, or a cousin, her base escort hiding in some other corner of the bar, or of the base. But tonight is not a normal Friday night, regardless of the absence of the new incoming class or not.

The Admiral can't help but watch her lazily out of the corner of his eye. She brings a shitty bar serviette up to wipe at her cheeks, sniffling as the paper touches her skin. Cyclone should feel guilty about how much the sight comforts him. At least, he thinks, someone else seems to be having just as bad of a day as he is.

Then, she catches him staring, his beer lost in the space between his lips and the counter. His fingers are sticky against the chilled glass as he holds it there, still watching her. Cyclone doesn't look away, no point in it now. Then, she breaks the disillusioned bubble forming between them with a sniffle and a hiccup.

It's not a pretty sound, but then again, the sight of the woman in front of him isn't exactly pretty either. After all, it's hard to be pretty when snot is rubbed up over the tip of her nose, catching the light as she sniffles again. Her hair is akin to a nest, like her fingers have been making their way through it over and over again until it is more mess than style.

"I'm sorry, Admiral, Sir," Her voice is straining from holding back tears. There is snot dripping from her nose again, and she wipes it with another flimsy napkin. A half effort is made to sweep back the hair in her face, her well kept fingernails catching in newly formed knots as she pushes it back. The woman doesn't break eye contact with him, even as the sight of him begins to swim through her newly forming tears.

"Hey, kid, it's okay, don't worry about it," His eyes meet the fluttering neon sign behind her, not wanting to lock eyes with her again. It lights her in a halo of sickly blue and Cyclone can see the fizziness of her hair in it's light- it's a half distraction from the way she is still looking at him with those tears in her eyes. He can't stand it when women cry, not after watching his wife, June, sob through her entire pregnancy. It's really the way their eyes glaze over- that helpless look where he can just tell they are fighting with everything they are worth, deep down knowing that it might not be enough. Though, it warms his chest a bit to call her "kid", like he has always been meant to use the term.

The Admiral's brown eyes go misty, locking onto the chipped portion of his glass as the memory of his wife, six months pregnant, stuck in a hospital bed as hot tears carved their way down her face invades Cyclone's memory like a plague. He will never forget the crimson staining her cheeks from the exertion as she fought. And fought. And fought. The way her skin was more chapped than smooth from the constant flow of tears- the way the light would catch the shininess of her skin from the petroleum jelly that he lovingly spread over her weeping skin.

She didn't make it home.

Neither did their baby boy.

And now, as this woman sits a couple stools down, crying in a way that's anything other than gentle, corralling her sobs into the fence of her chest; her face that same color he used to be so used to seeing, that same damn sheen to her skin and Beau feels sick. His eyes snap down to her hands and he watches as her fingers push through the soggy material of the napkin, a sight that makes him grimace a bit. Gross is not the word to use to describe a crying woman, that is fact he has to remind himself of, but the way her fingertips slipped right through that soggy excuse of a napkin is damn close. Cyclone schools his mouth into a tight line, knowing that anything he might say could make both of their day's spiral downwards even faster.

"Admiral," Cyclone wills himself to look her in the face, but his pupils dance around, not locking in on one spot too long. The frizz of her hair, then over the puffy skin under her eyes, then back up to the buzzing neon just over the top of her head. Anything to keep from looking into the woman's eyes. He manages a nod in her direction, rewarded with a hiccup from behind her glass.

A couple more used napkins are tossed up onto the bar, adding them to her steadily growing pile. Her beer is cold, and she can feel it travel all the way down, chilling her burning insides with each swallow. Cyclone takes a drink of his too, waiting for her to continue her thought. He closes his eyes as he tips back the glass, the image of the crying woman in front of him replaced with one of June, and he's not really sure which is worse.

Thunk goes the glass again.

"Can I ask a favor?" Her tone is so sweet, yet so, so sad. He thinks of June, then he nods, his body doing the motion for the sake of his heart, even though his brain is screaming at him. He was taught a long time ago that there are people who don't just ask for favors, specifically strange women in bars, new recruits, and the big brass. But, the woman looks about the age his son should have been now and his chest constricts with the realization that he could have been sitting here drinking with him if things had turned out different.

"How can I help you, kid?" The glass is hitting the bar top just a little bit too hard again, the splinter in the glass growing a millimeter. It's quickly covered by the large pad of Cyclone's thumb.

"I- well, I'm supposed to be here celebrating my Mother's leg-legacy," Another sob-full hiccup breaks up her sentence. Cyclone waits patiently for her to finish. She wipes at the tip of her nose with the back of her hand.

"And, she really liked to shoot whiskey," The explanation is coming out too wet and not at all concise, but Beau is nodding along anyway. The woman is rubbing at her eyes again, this time with her fingertips. She carefully runs her nail along the underside of her waterline, trying to catch the new tears before they streak down her cheeks with the rest of them. It doesn't really work, or even if it does, Cyclone can't tell. New tears fill up the spaces the freshly wiped away ones once occupied.

Despite the unclear delivery, Cyclone gets the message. Ordering two double shots of Tennessee whiskey, his wife's favorite, Cyclone offers his best sympathetic smile to his new drinking companion. Then, as the whiskey is being poured and he is shuffling over to the bar stool next to hers. That one creaks and sways too, but he tries not to pay it too much mind.

"What's your name, kid?" There's that warmth again, breaking through the tightening feeling in his chest.

"Lieutenant Y/N "Monsoon" Mitchell," Monsoon raises her shot glass to Cyclone, offering him a nod. It's such an informal introduction but both are thankful for the lack of salute, the lack of military theatrics, tradition, that they are usually stuck to upholding. After all, what is tradition except peer pressure ringing through from years past.

Cyclone knows her, well, her name, this recruit- on paper at least. Suddenly he feels a bit worse for feeling less alone when he spotted her crying.

"Beau "Cyclone" Simpson," He raises his own glass, moving to tap them together. It's a risky move with the state of the glasses, each sporting chips in their rims and hairline fractures down their side. They share sullen, makeshift smiles, neither putting any sort of heart behind the expression. It's a knowing sort of thing, the look they share, one that says I won't say anything if you won't.

"To my Mama, Lieutenant Maria Davis, the best damn medic the USS Vinson ever saw," Monsoon's toast is simple, but she means every single word. Beau's mouth turns up at the corners, nodding to her in acknowledgment of a good job.

"And too my wife, June, and our baby boy, god rest their souls."

The bottoms of the glasses hit the table before the rim makes contact with their lips. The alcohol goes down with a burn, but it's a welcomed sensation. Anything feels better than swallowing grief and there's too much in the air right now. Cyclone chases the shot with a gulp of his beer. Monsoon doesn't. She rests the cool glass against her warm cheek, squeezing her eyes shut. It's a refreshing feeling, almost like she is being rinsed from the inside out.

The alcohol settles deep within them. She is buzzing, he is a bit queasy. Neither need to say a thing about it. It kind of feels like church- like a well spoken sermon where one sits in the pew the furthest from the crowed, tucked away in the back, poking holes in each lesson the preacher delivers. After all, it's not really God's plan, is it? More dumb luck than divine circumstance. Yet, they are both still there, sitting on stool that could give out at any moment as the lights above them buzz and the world feels a little smaller.

"I was watching the class today. You're a damn good pilot, Monsoon," Beau speaks after a few beats of silence, not quite sure what to say. Go with the truth, right? It would be rude to move back to his original seat, especially after the woman next to him just got control of her tears, so small talk is the next best option. She cracks her eyes open, trying to read the expression that follows the compliment. It looks genuine, if not a little proud, so she nods.

And then the world is a bit smaller, still.

"Thank you, Admiral, sir," She sets the glass down, gentler than he has done the whole night, "That means a lot, coming from such a talented pilot as yourself, sir."

And then Cyclone is chuckling, his chest vibrating. That feeling being the closest thing to godly he has felt in a long time, but it's more Zeus, more Jupitar, than it could have ever been God. Monsoon's words are so genuine and it catches him off guard. Most people who say something like that are trying to kiss his ass so hard that there they all but wear marks on the backside of his trousers.

"Are you getting excited to graduate? The ceremony is next week, right?" He asks, bringing his eyes back to the neon behind her. The light above them flickers, neither one acknowledging it. There is a sort of kinship between the way their souls feel and the state of the bar, where living feels like the flickering of a light, tonight.

"Sir?" The question comes with a tilt of her head, her fingers wrapping loosely around her beer. He watches the condensation drip down the glass, the water disappearing behind her fingertips.

"To graduate," he explains like it's the clearest thing, "To finish Top Gun,"

"Oh!" Monsoon almost chuckles, but her soul is too heavy. She settles on a small smile, as kind as she can manage.

"I don't graduate for another six weeks. Today just wrapped my seventh week here, but halfway done does feel good," He can tell she is holding something back with the way her eyes are pinched at the corners, the smiles on her lips straining a bit under her words. Monsoon looks like she almost doesn't believe the words that are leaving her own mouth, but when Cyclone catches her eyes again he can see that look again, I won't say anything if you won't.

"Oh," Beau's hand comes up to scratch the back of his neck, all of a sudden feeling like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "In that case, you are one of the best pilots I've ever seen,"

The words fall from his tongue like they are the simplest thing in the world. His eyebrows are still raised as he downs the rest of his beer. He contemplates Monsoon's career in his head, attempting to think back to files he knows are sitting on his desk, but the alcohol swirls the statistics together in his brain.

"Thank you, sir,"

"Is your father planning on coming to your graduation?" The question is so simple, the next plausible question after toasting to her Mother's life. Monsoon bristles at the question, her expression becoming impossibly more tight, pinched.

"He's uhm," The foam in the bottom of Monsoon's glass is the most interesting thing in the room. Tears are flooding her eyes again, and she's turning back to the shitty bar napkins in the even shittier dispenser. Cyclone knows his question hit a nerve based on how she is frantically pulling napkin after napkin out of the dispenser; and the Admiral's guilt swims to the surface. He is sure that the horizon of it can be seen in his iris's, if Monsoon were to look past the evident sadness that has made a home there. He's pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket, blue in color and perfectly folded. He offers it to her and it's taken with a slightly shaky hand.

"M.I.A. or AWOL?" Cyclone asks. There's a bit of humor to his question that neither of them comment on.

"He went AWOL when I was seven," She doesn't take her eyes off the popping foam in the bottom of her glass, "Then I suppose he went M.I.A. three years later, when he stopped sending birthday cards,"

Cyclone hates the way her shrugs are all noncommittal and vaguely unbothered. He would have killed for a chance to raise his child, hell, he would move the Earth if that meant he even had a chance to do something. The fact that a man would walk out on his family, on his own child, it makes him sick. There is still something else Monsoon isn't saying; the way she chuckles is almost wax poetic with the way she rolls her eyes. Cyclone raises an eyebrow at her as he gestures to the bartended for two more on tap.

"I was in Admiral Kazansky's office today," She chuckles again, eyes glassy and unfocused. Cyclone slides the new beer over to her. He brings his up to his lips as she breathes deeply, trying to order the words together in her head, words she can't believe she is about to say out loud.

"There's a fucking picture of my father on his desk," Then she is downing the beer in quick, deep gulps. It's half gone before she sets it back down. Cyclone's brain is working on overdrive, swerving the hazy clouds of intoxication, searching for the mental picture of the Admiral's desk. Monsoon is chuckling in quiet disbelief, picturing the damn photo on his desk, her father and the Admiral shaking hands during their time at Top Gun. It makes her sick, really, but she doesn't need to say it based on the way her face feels, all contorted and ugly.

"I didn't even want to be a fucking pilot," Cyclone doesn't know if she is speaking to him anymore, or if the words are meant for her half empty glass. Hell, the way she speaks them they could be meant for the universe, for Khaos, for the air itself. There's a chip on that glass too, in the smooth side if of it, where it tapers down. He watches as Monsoon rubs her fingertip over it again and again and again.

"What did you want to do?" The question is leaving Cyclone's lips before he can stop it, common sense kicking in too slow. He is kicking himself.

Then, her thumb is stopping.

"I wanted to be a RIO," The glass is lifted to her lips again, her eyes rolling at the mere thought, "I wanted to fly with my Dad,"

The laughter that leave Monsoon's lips is dry as autumn air. Her lips crack too, under the stretch of her half hearted smile- one that holds no joy, it's all lukewarm and apathetic. He watches the skin of her lips crack and separate- it looks painful, and Cyclone has to fight not to grimace at the sight. Blood slowly begins to leak through the new flesh wound, bright red as it crests over the fullness of her bottom lip. He remembers watching the same thing happen to Maverick in the back of a helicopter as the wind whipped around them. But then, Maverick wore a truly joyous smile, one that rounded out his cheeks with a rosy hue that went deeper than the wind burn.

Then it hits Cyclone like a ton of bricks- like pulling 6 G's in a fucking barrel roll. Mitchell. This girl in front of him, this broken, fatherless girl is Pete Michell's kid. As if Cyclone needed another reason to hate the reckless man.

Beau wants to punch Pete Michell so hard that the only thing the man can make out in his field of vision is stars. Either the ones in the sky as he is planted with his back in the dirt, or the ones that would no doubt sparkle behind his eyelids. He wants to watch as the other man bleeds from the nose, the lip, the inside of his mouth. Cyclone can almost see the way the blood would pool in the spaces between Maverick's too white teeth, turning them a sickly vermilion. He would take a little too much pride watching the blood drip out of the corner of Pete's mouth, or down the crest of his chin.

Hell, Pete Michell, bloody, is a justified sight in Cyclone's book.

But that wouldn't help her right now. So Cyclone takes a breath, calming the flames of anger, of Hades that often lick at his legs, at his hands, whenever he so much as thinks about Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.

He's a bastard, that much is for sure. And it doesn't seem that Monsoon needs reminding of that fact.

"Well, kid," Beau is hunting, hurting for the right words, "If it's not wrong of me to say- your talents would have been wasted as a fucking RIO, especially for that son of a bitch," That gets Monsoon chuckling. She wants to ask if her grandmother was really that bad, but she doesn't make the joke. Though the laugh sounds a bit strangled as it untangles from the dense pain in her chest, Cyclone is happy to hear it. Something small swells in his heart at the sound.

Somewhere, deep in the cavernous spaces of his soul, a broken part of him feels like a father for the first time in years, even if it isn't exactly proper and the woman in front of him isn't his kid. Cyclone feels like a father, not even in a pseudo sense of the word, but truly like a father, and the feeling warms him from the inside out. It overtakes his whole body, leaving him almost buzzing.

Now it's his turn to chuckle. It's sour with pain and longing, but it's still there. Like joy is trying to crawl it's way out, lukewarm and dripping wet.

"Well, Admiral, sir," Monsoon's voice is a little lighter now, sweeter maybe. Cyclone is watching as she's pulling her coat over her shoulders, "Thank you for the favor, and the drink,"

She's nodding her head in the direction of the half full glass still dripping with condensation.

"Thank you for remembering them with me, too," They share a knowing smile, it's a little broken but it is still warm. Again, it's one of those I won't say anything if you won't looks shared between the pair. They lock eyes one last time before Monsoon is turning on her heel, ready to head right out of the front door.

For just a second Cyclone wonders if Monsoon will shudder with relief in the same way the new Top Gun recruits usually do, or if something as simple as that will effect such a skilled pilot. He wonders if anyone will be there for her on graduation day, or if she will be stuck alone in the seas of families and friends- just like he was all those years ago.

I won't say anything if you won't. Yeah, that's not a chance he's willing to take.

"Wait," Cyclone calls after Monsoon, his voice a little too loud and not at all hesitant enough. Monsoon chances a look back, confusion written into the furrow of her brows. He becons he back with a wave of his hand. Cyclone pulls a business card from his front pocket. "I am going TDY, but I should be back for your graduation," The words don't make sense to Monsoon, and neither does the card that he's presenting her between his two fingers. She is cocking her head to the side again, eyebrows furrowed. Cyclone tries to not notice how much she looks like her father.

He notices anyway.

"Email me, remind me of the date, and I'll be there," He is presenting her the card again with a shake of his wrist. Then, she reaches out, grabbing it with nervous fingers.

"Oh, uh-" There are new tears forming in Monsoon's eyes at the words, the card now swimming in her vision. "Thank you, sir,"

"Oh, better yet," Cyclone plucks the card from her fingertips, a move that may have been considered crass but Monsoon can't help but find a little bit funny. Cyclone quickly scribbles down a phone number in messy loops of blue ink, the numbers taking up a little too much room on the back side of the card. Then, he blows on it carefully to make sure the ink won't smudge before handing the card back out to her in the same manner as before.

"Text me the reminder, so it doesn't get lost in my email," Cyclone's smile is so kind and there is a ribbon of hope, a glimmer, really, shinning through the lightest parts of his irises. Monsoon can barely hold back her tears at the sight, and so the card becomes the most interesting thing in the room, held between her shaking fingertips. "You deserve to have a parent there, kid,"

Those are the last words they share that night. They don't need to say anything else. After all, how do you explain the want to stand in as a lost family member? Beau would never admit just how much he's dying for a kid to support, to cheer on and celebrate. Monsoon knows the feeling too, the want to be a daughter who isn't seen as an inconvenience, a burden.

The next time they see each other, Cyclone is sitting in the front row at her Top Gun graduation, a small bouquet of calla lilies on his lap. There is a proud smile on his face and the moment Monsoon sees it there are tears in her eyes. She wonders if this is the feeling she had been missing out on, a father's pride, his love. She tries not to dwell on it, even as walks across that stage.

When the pair meet in the crowd, Cyclone doesn't hesitate to pull her into a hug, one that may not have been professional or regulated, but he feels a weight come off her shoulders the moment he pulls her in. He feels a little more whole too. The hug is short, quick, really, but there are tears in both of their eyes when they pull back.

Cyclone has so much pride for her, and God, Monsoon can feel it. From the way he beams at her to the way he shoves a camera into the hands of his battle buddy, tucking her under his arm. Both clad in dress uniform, posing for the camera as she holds the flowers against her chest to try and quell the beating of her heart. They both sport tears in their eyes, cheeks round and plump red as they smile too wide.

That photo makes onto his desk a week later, displayed in a beautiful mahogany frame.

USS Stennis. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Four Years before the organization of the Dagger Squad.

The first time Monsoon calls him Pops, it's an accident. She got shipped out to an aircraft carrier somewhere in the Pacific. The tour is lonely. She doesn't know the team, the group who have been stationed there for the last six months, and they weren't overly keen on the 'new girl'. Monsoon made it through three months before she started to feel like a part of the team. It's a conscious choice, really, to keep working at fitting in. But in the end that team, those people, they aren't her family and they aren't going to remember her after she ships back stateside.

Emails to and from Cyclone kept her going, as he reassured her that life on the carrier isn't easy on anyone. He urges her to try and make better friends with those who hold a more permanent position on the vessel, so she does her best to take the newbies under her wing. If she wasn't welcomed, that was out of her control, but she can sure as hell make sure that the newbies are.

The plan starts off a little rough, the new sailors unsure of the overly friendly Lieutenant amongst the standoffish seasoned crew of the vessel. But days turn to weeks, trust is earned and the long days and nights onboard get easier to swallow.

Then, Cyclone gets shipped out to the carrier for a briefing. He can't help the rumble of excitement that tracks through him. He might get to see Monsoon, his kid, and he's going to do everything in his power to track her down on board. 

There is too much joy on his features as he touches down on the carrier. Too much joy for the briefing he is getting ushered into. It drags on longer than necessary as they hash and rehash out plans for missions. He knows he should care, he really does, but it's not like people's lives are on the line this mission. It's all practice runs and jet maintenance, and how could anyone expect him to focus when his kid is on the same vessel and he is just fucking sitting there. Cyclone barely sits still, knowing the clock is ticking down on his time aboard and if this meeting goes on any longer than planned he is going to miss his chance to see Monsoon.

Around suppertime, Monsoon is heading to the canteen, desperate for some sort of nourishment. It has been a long day, trial after trial, and thankfully for her, she's fairing better than some of her other wingmen. At least she hasn't puked over the side of the carrier since her first week aboard.

She guides one of the newer pilots, Story, down the stairs from the flight deck, her stomach rumbling as they go. The new Lieutenant on board hot on her heels as they make their way down the stairs.

"I know, Story, but you're going to get through this," Monsoon's voice is low as they wind their way through the tight hallways of the lower decks. "You're a good pilot, there is nothing you can't do. So what if you need a little more practice. That's why we're out here, right?"

The younger man hums in agreement, disappointment scribbled all over his face. They are both coated in sweat, Monsoon's hair sticking to her sweat soaked skin. She craves a shower almost as much as she craves food. Her body is weighed down with flight fatigue as she drags her feet.

The halls of the ship begin to smell more and more like hot biscuits and butter the closer they get to the mess hall. Their stomach's rumble in unison at the smell wafting down the hallway. Monsoon is rounding the corner with her front turned towards Story, not bothering a glance in the direction her feet are heading. A second later, her back meets a hard body, a grunt coming out of her mouth at the impact.

Story goes white at the sight of his new friend running straight into an Admiral. Monsoon doesn't like the look on his face, he looks like he's just seen a ghost, or maybe prophesied a murder. So she turns around slowly, so, so slowly. Her eyes are scrunched as she turns. There is already an apology on her lips as Monsoon peeks to see just exactly who she just ran into.

Eyes go wide, and smiles break out over their faces.

The need for food, a hot shower, and sleep dissipate from her body as she looks up at the man in front of her, joy overtaking.

"Pops!" The name comes out a little too quick, catching them both of guard. Monsoon's cheeks flush dark with embarrassment, realizing what she just said and who she just said it to. Without warning, Cyclone is pulling Monsoon into his chest, wrapping her into a warm, tight hug, just the kind of hug a Dad would give.

"Hey Kiddo,"

TAG LIST

@its-the-pilot

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[authoralexharvey]

Or, A Sharper, More Lasting Call for Betas

Do you like dark academia? How about fantasy? How about stories set on a magic college campus? How about tragic tales? Monsters? Mind-melding drugs?

All of this and more is found within my debut novel, which is currently in need of beta readers!

After their girlfriend’s best friend is wounded in a monster attack, Simone Allard stumbles across a plot much deeper than they anticipated. As they work to find a cure to their own forming illness and find out the truth, one question remains: how was Nadia involved in this? Nadia DuPont doesn’t know how much time she has or even what is ailing her, but it all gets more complex after meeting Simone on a field trip. As they both work to find a cure to her ailment, all Nadia is certain of is she's on the path to ruin.

Basics

Dual-POV third person present tense

Roughly 70,000 words, ~350 pages

For fans of Ninth House, A Deadly Education, and Strixhaven

Content warnings include: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Sexual content (including mild kink), Suicidal ideation, and Terminal illness

Representation includes: nonbinary main character, black main character, main characters of color, gay main character, sapphic main character, mentions of polyamory, a main character with chronic illness/terminal illness, neurodivergent main character, side characters of color, plus-sized main character, disabled side character, queernormative society

Searching for feedback on... anything, really, but especially on characterization, cohesion of the timeline, and worldbuilding. But again, anything (save line edits, that'll come next) is fair game.

Betas will be accepted and messaged by February 1st

Hard beta deadline of April 1st, so there's a 2 month reading period.

Beta reading will be conducted via Google Docs, so a valid Google account is required.

Links

Beta sign up form

Add ASMLP on Goodreads!

ASMLP Tag List (Ask to be added!): @magic-is-something-we-create, @wildswrites, @chishiio, @broodparasitism, @writeblrsupport, @original-writing, @artcoffeecats, @comicgoblinart, @asterhaze, @linaket, @arigalefantasynovels, @ryns-ramblings, @stesierra

[gamebunny-advance]

Misc. Pikmin 4 Character Trivia

(Updated 08/14/24)

Recent updates: Changed wording of some entries for clarity.

---------

Ever wanted all the Pikmin 4 character trivia in one place? Well, here you go. If I missed anything, feel free to let me know and I'll update this post.

Note: I'm not covering the Hocotatians & Koppaites because the former are major characters with a lot about them already written, and the only interesting trivia (IMO) about the latter is already "common knowledge."

This also isn't a document of *every* line of dialogue that a castaway can say. This is just stuff that I thought was interesting and/or info that you can't get from just reading their ID or talking to them once. Some castaways don't have any entries because they're either not that interesting or don't actually talk about themselves much.

Rescue Officers

Collin

Has a wireless transceiver that has been passed down to him by his grandfather. He refuses to replace it and instead just fixes it whenever it breaks.

His hobby is tinkering with machines.

He's worked several odd jobs in the past to help pay for his education. These jobs include collecting space trash, ship construction, and cleaning the "outer walls of the colony". He considers his work as the comms operator to be significantly more difficult than any of his past jobs.

This has caused him to be multi-talented, but it also causes others to take advantage of him.

Despite this, he apparently isn't one for "physical labor."

Collin considers PNF-404 to be tiny, though this may be in reference to the universe, in which all planets could be considered "tiny."

Shepherd considers him young, but in reference to who/what is unknown.

Only in the comics, Oatchi seems to dislike Collin.

Shepherd

She has the highest certificate ranking in the Rescue Corps, and a special certification in Rescue Pup training. This is something very few officers have.

She spends all of her breaks at a dog run near the Rescue corps HQ.

Apparently, she spends much of their budget on dog food.

She met Dingo before she was captain when they were both training. This may mean that she's known him the longest of the other members. Most others are implied to have met her/been recruited by her when she was already captain.

She exceeds Dingo in martial arts and cross-country.

She doesn't seem aware of Dingo's crush on her.

She seems to experience some form of imposter syndrome during the main campaign but overcomes it near the end of the game.

Her family has lived with dogs since at least the first Captain's generation. Additionally, their family is implied to be immigrants from a different planet. Their original planet is unknown, but is highly implied to be Earth/PNF-404.

Her family's motto is, "There's no better judge of character than a dog."

By her own admission, the only creatures she can "handle" are dogs. Whether this also excludes other domesticated creatures is currently unknown.

Russ

His family runs a megacorporation on Giya, and as a result is incredibly wealthy. They're so wealthy that they can regularly afford golden pikpik carrots and just casually blend them into juice for a snack.

Said family is also very large and extravagant and seems to always invite the other rescue officers to their many parties, much to the latter's chagrin.

His mother is notorious in the Rescue Corps for "being quite the character."

He claims to have only joined the Rescue Corps out of curiosity.

While he lords his intellect above most others, he still recognizes Yonny as a genius in the medical field.

He wears a lab coat under his spacesuit. His mother gifted him 64 of them to bring on their current trip.

The Emergency Kit was the first item he prototyped after joining the Rescue Corps.

He is a fan of the reporter Muggs.

His natural hair color may be green, as this is the color of his eyebrows.

He's apparently prone to "interesting" injuries, likely due to failed inventions.

Dingo

Decided to become a rescue officer after being saved in the mountains by Shepherd's father, the previous Rescue Corps captain.

He dislikes dogs due to being traumatized by one during the same rescue, as he believed the rescue pup was trying to attack him.

He appears to fear Russ's mother.

He apparently believes that any drink (and possibly food, given his theft of Bernard's pizza) sitting out belongs to him.

Acknowledges that Collin is probably their most important team member, but he still takes advantage of his kindness from time to time.

He tends to refer to most of the officers by their title/job rather than name. (Comms guy for Collin, Science guy for Russ, the captain, etc.) Except Yonny which he shortens to "Yon."

He's childhood friends with Yonny.

Yonny

He's an avid reader, but prefers paper books to digital ones. He has boxes of them shipped to HQ regularly and they would have taken up 27 shelves on the ship if he were allowed to bring just the ones he wanted.

Has experimented on at least Shepherd and Dingo without their full consent. The former by not being transparent about what was in a vitamin supplement he gave her, and the latter by abusing his tendency to drink anything that's just sitting out. He has attempted to experiment on Collin, but it is unknown if he succeeded in doing so.

He's technically also experimented on Oatchi without consent as he tested the leafling cure on him without alerting anyone beforehand.

Apparently bursts into maniacal laughter when working in the lab by himself. The other officers just ignore it.

He's childhood friends with Dingo.

Bernard

He is very picky about food, to the point that their food storage has a special section just for him. It consists of expensive, specialized foods.

Like Collin, he has worked several different jobs over his career (including the president of a space-flight company). In the Japanese script, this is *apparently reflected in him having a combination of different dialects.

Also, like Collin, he considers his job as an officer to be significantly more difficult than his other jobs. However, he also considers it the most rewarding.

He invented an all-in-one meal drink that put a boxed lunch company out of business, solely because he finds digging through lunch boxes to be a pain.

Shepherd recruited him after he was able to deliver some packages for her faster than the post office would.

He has a history with a castaway named Santi whom he considered himself to be a part of a "dynamic duo" with. They were born about the same time, went to school and college together, and at some point became the latter's flight instructor. Bernard thinks of Santi fondly, but the feeling is not mutual.

He once piloted a 20,000 hour (just over two years) flight.

*(source)

Civilian Castaways + Their Planets

Research Task Force

Twyla and Komo are close friends due to their mutual introversion. They consider each other "irreplaceable".

Komo considers Chet easy to talk to.

Twyla considers the concept of plate tectonics to be unheard of on her home planet. This may imply that Conohan doesn't have any natural mountains, volcanoes, trenches, earthquakes, etc.

Sammy's home planet of Ocobo was not always ravaged by perpetual storms. But once they started, the entire planet flooded and their planet's engineers developed artificial islands for the people to live on.

Sy is the youngest member of the Research Task Force.

Osa is Kit's senior.

Chet has considered asking Ren to try cooking the creatures of the planet, but ultimately decides against it.

TV Crew

Wolfgang and Muggs get engaged at the end of the game. If you talk to Muggs before rescuing Wolfgang, she will drop hints about already having some romantic interest in him.

Muggs is possibly one of only other people that can understand what Oatchi's thinking if her comments from Oatchi are to be believed.

Vonda claims that Wolfgang is apparently a good singer. Comparatively, she struggles to say nice things about Olimar's humming.

Frisé wrote a song called, "Song of Love." This is likely a reference to "Ai no Uta" a song used in the promotion of Pikmin (2001). The title directly translates to "Song of Love." However, the lyrics of the two songs seem completely different.

Satella Travel Employees + Guests

Molly appears to have a crush on Russ. She finds his intellect attractive and wants to wear his glasses.

Molly might also be of a higher intellect given that she once made and launched an unmanned rocket in a single night by herself (even if it exploded).

The name of the travel agency that Chewy and Santi work for, the Satella Travel Agency, is a reference to the Nintendo Satellaview.

Sheeba apparently resembles Chewy's boss.

Santi learned his piloting skills from Bernard.

He also seems to have a similar "accent" to Bernard, but it only comes out when speaking about the latter.

Santi appears to be fond of Chewy and is considering becoming a permanent employee for her sake. Whether these feelings are romantic in nature is unclear.

Planetary Science Club

Despite being the Planetary Science Club's adviser, Mika actually teaches ethics and knows very little about any kind of planetary science.

Sheeba appears fearful of Oatchi.

Sheeba wants to become a teacher when she grows up.

The Planetary Science Club students went on the planetary tour on a free raffle, but Mika had to pay out of pocket.

Kaia gave Mika a nickname: Meeki. Mika likes it, but Sheeba thinks it's unprofessional.

Keesh is apparently stronger than Sheeba, Kaia, and Mika combined.

Others

All of Beaux's roles in movies/shows are references to other Nintendo games and IPs. Specifically the first 3 Pikmin games where he plays the Olimar expy, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario, Kirby, and Link.

In a similar vein, his twin brother Alpin's company is called "e-Leader" as a reference to Nintendo's "e-Reader" accessory.

Alpin inherited the company from their father and works so Beaux can pursue his dreams of being an actor.

Alpin knows Fawks well enough to know exactly how he likes his coffee. (1 cup of coffee with 2 spoonfuls of milk, and 3 sugarcubes.)

From Kayz we learn a little about the different biomes on the other planets: Siguray has a scorching desert, Flukuey has steep, rocky mountains, and Ooji has a lush jungle.

Patch admits that he sees a "darkness" in Olimar's eyes, which implies that this is not the captain's first life-or-death experience.

Patch is implied to have been or was inspired by a pundit to pursue his current lifestyle.

Bernise will actually change her fortune for you every in-game day.

Dalmo has been interested in creatures since childhood.

His hometown also has a waterfront, confirming that Sozor has at least one significant body of water.

While Dalmo never ascribes malice to any of the creatures, he appears somewhat cynical about society, calling adults the only beings capable of intentional deceit and acknowledging that being popular means not having to work as hard to get to the top.

Shnauz's home planet of Siguray apparently has iridescent, water-dwelling newts.

Jin has studied traditional sports, combat sports, martial arts, and the art of battle.

One of Corgwin's first builds was a dog-house.

Speculative material below the cut.

Planet Generalizations

Some castaways from certain planets seem to have similar personalities/traits. Given that it's stated that things like the Koppaites' general inability to plan/being picky eaters is inherent to their race, it's possible that these generalizations apply to the rest of the races as well. I have not included planets with only one castaway. These are detailed below.

Sozor (Dalmo, Grace, Horatio): Have anti-social personalities. Dalmo prefers creatures to people and has a cynical streak when talking about society. Grace seems disinterested in society as a whole and has basically removed herself from it by becoming a drifter. Horatio, while attempting to be friendly with the player, is ultimately inept at social interactions which is noted by Chewy.

Flukuey (Jin, Molly, Dash, Patch): Are prone and/or attracted to high-risk work/situations. Jin is an explorer, Molly is a streamer of limited success, Dash is a spelunker from a well off-family, and Patch is unemployed but purposefully puts himself in dangerous situations for the thrill.

Ooji (Francois, Kingsly): Love flowers/plant life. Francois studies plant-life, and Kingsly is a florist. Given that Ooji is also known for its lush jungles, a knowledge and/or appreciation for plant life may be essential to living on the planet.

Koodgio (Lapi, Boris): Artistic types. Lapi is a painter and Boris is an author.

Siguray (Shnauz, Kit, Osa): Place a lot of value on material items. Shnauz appraises treasure, Kit is interested in minerals, and Osa is interested in archeology.

Ohri (Yonny, Dingo): Their kind is especially "tough" due to living in the mountains. This is said on the Pikmin Garden website and is reflected in how Dingo is a ranger and is able to complete most dandori challenges single-handedly, and Yonny who was active during the night time, the most dangerous time of the day, before he was rescued.

Nijo (Bernard, Santi): It's common for their people to change jobs frequently while they look for their "soul work/job." This is said on the Pikmin Garden website and is reflected in how both Bernard and Santi have claimed to have worked several different jobs during their lives. It seems that both have also found their "soul work" with the Rescue Corps and Satella Travel respectively.

Castaways where it's difficult to determine if their similar traits would be found in their race due to other factors:

Ogura (Sy, Pitunia): Both are interested in studying the onion and their environmental factors surrounding it, but both are also a part of the Research Task Force, a group made of individuals that are interested in studying the planet in general, so it's hard to say if this would be something inherent to all Ogurains, or if they just happen to have a mutual interest in this area of study.

Enohee (Ren, Frise, Muggs, Wolfgang): 3 of the 4 are a part of the same crew so would have common interests by default. Arguably all 4 are interested in entertainment as Ren, the only castaway from this planet that isn't a part of the TV crew, was on a cooking show, so TV might be a very important industry to Enohee.

Neechki (Kaia, Sheeba, Keesh, Mika, Chewy): 4 of the 5 are in the same club and would have similar interests by default (and even then, Mika is not interested in planetary science), and Chewy has little in common with the rest of them.

Planets where I couldn't identify a common thread:

Enohay (Puddle, Vonda, Bernise): I would have said creative/artistic fields due to Puddle being a stylist and Vonda being a singer, but I don't think a fortune-teller really falls under that.

Conohan (Twyla, Chowder, Alpin, Fawks, Beaux): 3 of the 5 are business owners/business savy, 4 of the 5 have a same-sex partner/friend that they're associated with, and 2 are siblings. But I couldn't find a singular trait which all 5 had. In a sense, I suppose this would imply that Conohan is a very diverse planet.

Giya (Shepherd, Collin, Russ): Another diverse group whose only commanality is that they're in the Rescue Corp. However, given the stark difference between Collin's and Russ's financial situations, this may imply that Giya has significant class inequality.

[juniper-simblr]

The Bleakfort Community School

The Bleakfort Community School, a charming, compact building nestled near the heart of the town, serves as both the elementary and high school. Its modest size reflects the small, close-knit nature of the community, where children of all ages learn and grow together under the guidance of dedicated educators.

The school building houses a handful of cozy, well-equipped classrooms. The elementary students occupy the brightly decorated rooms on the second floor, filled with colorful posters, educational games, and shelves of books.

Downstairs, the high school students attend classes in slightly more structured settings, with science lab equipment and subject-specific resources.

Here's the staff at the community school:

Science teacher/High school teacher: Prim Mills is the dedicated and inspiring science teacher for the older students. Her passion for science is infectious, and she often conducts exciting experiments and field trips that bring the subject to life.

Elementary school teacher: Laura Wilson is the nurturing and enthusiastic elementary school teacher. Her classroom is a lively and engaging environment where young students are encouraged to explore and learn through play and interactive lessons.

Teacher's Aide: Vivian Mills assists in the elementary classrooms, providing invaluable support to both the students and Laura. Her cheerful and energetic presence helps create a positive and productive learning environment.

[loveatfirstsim]

15+ mods for adding realism to your gameplay

i wanted to group mods that i use together for different kinds of gameplay, along with some brief explanations so i can come back later to reference if i ever needed to.

please remember that these are just my own preferences for mods. i will update this post as mods are added to my game.

explanations under the cut <3

the mods

🤍 basemental drugs (21+) by basemental 🤍 child birth mod by pandasama 🤍 education overhaul by a.deep.indigo 🤍 home regions by kuttoe 🤍 language barriers by frankk 🤍 pets everywhere by kuttoe 🤍 relationship & pregnancy overhaul by lumpinou 🤍 simnation travel by a.deep.indigo 🤍 simzlink by lot 51 🤍 wicked whims (18+) by turbodriver 🤍 all mods by simrealist

mod explanations

🤍 basemental drugs: add a partying element to your gameplay with this mod. you can assign dealers to sell you a variety of flavors of drugs, but don't get caught by the police! i'm pretty sure this mod comes with some aspirations and the 'adhd' trait.

🤍 child birth mod: i've only used this once so far, so i can't speak on it much. but the delivery is more like real life instead of a baby popping into existence. you have options for surgery machine, natural birth, c-section, and also at-home births in a pool! there's a new ultrasound feature added, too!

🤍 education overhaul: education career, preschool, new education enrollment options, boarding school, new projects and assignments, study different subjects, detention, field trips, snow days, new school hours, i'm just listing some of the main points of the mod. haha.

🤍 home regions: this mod keeps sims in their native region. this means that if you live in willow creek, you won't be getting any vampires coming to your home or neighborhood.

🤍 language barriers: every world is assigned a language that is natively spoken. most worlds use simlish, but there are other languages spoken that your sim can learn through simlingo or by having someone who speaks the language teach your sim. this mod is incredibly customizable, so be sure to read the instructions carefully!

🤍 pets everywhere: this brings stray animals, dog walkers, and more to every region/world and not just exclusively to brindleton bay.

🤍 relationship & pregnancy overhaul: simply put, it's an overhaul for relationships and pregnancy, lol. it adds menstrual cycles and more that i cannot put into words at this very moment.

🤍 simnation travel: this mod requires you to have a license, subway pass, bicycle, passport, etc. in order to travel to other regions. there's a whole application process for a passport and going to the dmv.

🤍 simzlink: this brings an internet service provider and a new career. you can sign up for an internet subscription and install a router and whatnot. it's also compatible with snbank by simrealist (linked before the cut!), so you'll actually get charged for basic or premium internet every "month". like real life, only the internet never goes out. lol. this mod goes more in-depth on their website. it's very thorough!

🤍 wicked whims: the nsfw version of wonderful whims. there are archetypes, attractiveness, and impressions that adds more depth to relationships. there's also a menstrual cycle in this mod (like rpo), but it can be turned off.

🤍 all mods by simrealist: it's literally in their name to make things more real! there's snbank and addons (financial center, bills), real estate, private practice, mortem, organic, and home and land co. just check out their site for the info on these because they're too good!

[domainedewinter]

First kiss, first...

Summary: When Aemond comes home late and tries to avoid the presence of Aegon and his friends during yet another party, he finds himself playing a game that will take him further than he could have imagined.

Warnings: TYPICAL TARGARYEN INCEST, profanity, innuendo, he/him pronouns, fingering, oral m receiving, SoftDom!Aegon, MxM, begging, nsfw.

Rating: 18+, MDNI

English is not my first language.

The evening was in full swing at the Targaryen family home; Otto, Viserys and Alicent had gone on a business trip for the weekend, Helaena had also left to spend a few days with her cousins ​​and Aegon had taken advantage of this free time to invite friends to do what he did best ; drink, laugh, dance and have fun.

It was already well into the night when the front door closed in an unsuccessful attempt at discretion. Lying next to a huge sofa, on a soft, thick rug, Aegon tilted his head back to see his little brother trying to slip away upstairs so as not to be seen.

“Aemond, brother! Come here!”

It made him freeze but obey and join them. He had grown from a child to adolescence and it was safe to say that puberty had worked miracles with Aemond. He was tall, finely muscled and his facial features now reflect those of a dangerous man but no longer those of a child.

However, he came calmly and leaned against the door frame, looking over the few people who were passing a cigarette, which he suspected was something completely different given the smell, were drinking alcohol, all lying down or sitting down to chat.

“You’re not going to go and hide upstairs! It’s not polite, come say good morning.”

“The day isn’t even up yet.” Aemond replied, frowning a little, as if he wanted to show his displeasure.

“Don’t play with words, come here and say hello.” Aegon held out his hand towards him and it was a sighing and grunting Aemond who accepted anyway and took his brother's hand, being pulled to the ground. A nod was all Aemond was willing to offer to the people at his house, most of whom he only knew by name.

“Have a drink, it will do you good.”

Without flinching, Aemond took a glass and tasted the strong but sweet liquid, trying to settle in without looking uncomfortable, which evenings like this made him do.

“We were starting a little game, join us, you’re still all alone up there, come out of your cave, little brother.”

Aegon's friends laughed but Aemond didn't give up and nodded. “Whatever my big brother wants.” He added in a mocking tone which amused the guests just as much, drawing a proud smile on Aegon’s face.

They spent part of the night playing, drinking a little more and when the more tendentious questions came, Aemond became less talkative, which one of their friends, a Stark, noticed immediately. Holding out an empty beer bottle that served as a talking totem or something, he smiled.

“How many people have you fucked?”

Uncomfortable, Aemond shifted a little where he was sitting, straightening up. And it didn't take much for the young Stark to understand.

“Damn, no one? Okay, so let me change my question. How many have you kissed?”

But the uneasiness did not dissipate in the features of the youngest Targaryen and Aegon made an outraged face.

"What? No, no, no, not under my watch!” He leaned back on the sofa and stretched his legs, looking at Aemond. “You’ve never kissed anyone? Baby bro, you make me look like a completely incompetent brother in your education.”

A mocking, somewhat forced laugh passed Aemond's thin lips. “You are in no way responsible for my education, lighten your conscience.”

“Bullshit. This field is mine and I am shocked to learn of such a lack of knowledge and practice on your part, dearest brother. We’ll fix this.”

This time he didn't give him time to respond to his outstretched hand and grabbed him by the wrist, forcing him quickly to come close to him. Aemond fell on all fours in front of his brother who smiled with an air that was as amused as it was benevolent for once.

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing, anyone can attest to that.”

Aemond could only briefly look at those around him, a redheaded girl nodding with a small encouraging smile. Defeated and a little foggy from the alcohol, he let himself be guided by Aegon who made him come astride his lap, one of his hands going up to his cheek, which he caressed before his thumb came to touch his soft and untouched lips.

“Let me teach you something.”

He came to meet him, pulling Aemond against him and their lips touched. The sensation was strange at first, Aemond's heart having accelerated considerably to the point where he was certain he could discern its outlines. Several times, Aegon's lips placed a kiss before he tried to pull his head back but the elder's hand had slipped to the back of his neck and prevented him from doing so. “No, no, that’s not a real kiss. Let me in, let me make your mouth my new favorite place.”

Red rose to Aemond's cheeks, burning him pleasantly, something he never thought possible and if at first he didn't dare open his mouth, his brother's teasing and wet tongue got the better of his resistance, parting his lips to give him what he wanted. So the kiss took on a whole new dimension; Aegon's tongue caressed his, knowing exactly what he was doing while taking care of his lips which he sucked gently in spurts before once again busying himself with devouring him with passion.

Aemond relaxed and learned how to respond to the kiss, first by imitating his elder and then, when he had a little more confidence in himself and having identified what he wanted and could do, he began to kiss him back, biting perhaps a little harder on Aegon's lips which he wanted to see swollen and red by his care.

When the kiss ended, his breath was short, his eyes bright with desire and his own lips swollen with pleasure and shiny.

Aegon's hand caressed his cheek, putting his thumb in his mouth before giving a small smile, kissing his lips so gently, almost coyly.

"Did you like it?" He asked, whispering against his brother’s lips, resting his forehead against Aemond's.

But the younger did not need to respond as a significantly hard bump hit Aegon's stomach and he laughed softly against his brother's lips.

“Oh, I think you really liked it.”

Tangling his fingers in his brother's long silver hair, Aegon pulled him back to him, smiling against his ear. “Now that I have started your education, maybe I should continue it, hmm? What do you think, baby brother?” He asked, illustrating his words with a movement of his pelvis, discreetly rubbing against Aemond's manhood from which a growl resonated.

“I was stupid to believe that you would learn on your own, after all, it's a role that I have neglected far too often but, don't worry, I will teach you everything your body needs to know."

[theresattrpgforthat]

(Preferably fantasy) games with a school setting, and a focus on non-fatal violence and mystery solving?

THEME: Magic School Mysteries

Hello friend, so I have a bit of a wide spectrum of options for you today, some of which are more focused on magic, some more focused on mystery, and some more focused on violence. I hope you find something that hits what you're looking for!

Lofi Bards to Study and Relax To, by Ross Eaglesham.

You and your friends are students at a magical high-school, college or university and exams are coming up! Go on magical adventures, reveal ancient secrets and forge deep bonds with your friends - just make sure you don’t miss class!

To help you on your journey, you’re equipped with one of your most prized possessions - the Notestrider. When a reel of magical tape is placed in this small, arcane box, it plays a recording of whatever is stored on the tape; usually through a strange pair of mechanical earmuffs. You and your tight-knit group of friends all put together a mixtape of your favourite songs for studying - 'lofi bards to study and relax to' - and the relaxing beats and chilled out vibes might just be enough to see you through the crazy world of arcane education.

With many secrets to uncover while you’re at a magical institution, Lofi Bards to Study and Relax To looks to have quite a significant capacity to really sink you into the skin of your character. Music can be very good at helping you tune into your emotions and put you in a specific state of mind, and since the Notestrider is meant to help your characters prepare and focus for all of the struggles ahead, you’ll be using that music to put yourself into the shoes of your character.

This is another game that doesn’t seem to prioritize violence at all, but it can make whatever mysteries you decide to unravel incredibly personal. There's also an expansion that includes Artifacts and character options for you if you want access to a broader span of game elements. If you want to really emphasize the student experience in a slightly more magical setting, I’d definitely recommend this game.

The Osterman Academy of Magical Arts, by Wheels Within Wheels Publishing. @ostermad-blog

Welcome to the Osterman Academy of Magical Arts, the premier school for spell craft. Our faculty are leaders in their fields, our staff unparalleled, and our students extraordinary.

All OAMA students are required to reside on campus for the duration of their studies, but the wide variety of campus events ensure that students always have many ways to spend their time, including student-run clubs, a bustling student center, athletic meets, and trips to nearby urban centers.

OAMA also boasts two unique educational opportunities: the class trip and individual projects. Every year, students in each class go to a special destination for a more hands-on educational experience. Furthermore, at the end of each year, all students pursue an individual project tailored to their specific interests and supervised by one of our esteemed faculty. 

The Osterman Academy of Magical Arts has a sliding scale to determine how popular magic is, and how entrenched it is in the world around you. It comes with a grand total of 66 backgrounds to choose from or roll randomly for, including Clown-gician (you thought this was clown school) and Fun Guy (secret colony of fungi masquerading as the life of the party in human form). You’ll also choose your character’s class schedule, create friendships with other characters, and take exams to determine how well they did in their courses.

There isn’t much that allows you to do violence, but if you want to solve mysteries in this game, I think the various character strengths and school classes present in this game give you a really diverse set of approaches to finding answers and solving problems.

Mystic Punks, by mysticpunks.

Students have gone missing at Star Valley High School and no one seems to care. You determine that their disappearances are the result of an otherworldly invasion.

As a teenage misfit, you’ve only ever used your mystic powers to perform dark rituals, but now those powers are the only thing that can save your classmates and stop a supernatural legion from consuming you and your school.

Based on the solo RPG Mystic Punks: The Collected Edition, Mystic Punks Tabletop RPG invites you and your friends to delve deeper into occult mysteries and explore beyond Star Valley High School. 

With supernatural threats abounding and dark threats surrounding you and your peers, Mystic Punks probably has a big chance to bring violence and conflict to the fore. The original game appears to be devoted to a solo roleplaying experience, but the Quickstart appears to allow for group gaming as well. I can’t guarantee that the violence is non-fatal however; this game is sold as a horror experience, so the threat of death probably looms over all of your characters.

Student Protectors of Malaysia, by Aaron Lim / @ehronlime

You are a 17-year-old secondary school student with extraordinary powers. You’ve connected with friends in your school who have similar powers and have been working together to protect your town from supernatural threats. It’s been hard juggling your commitment to use your powers for good with your responsibilities to your families and your studies, but it’s been rewarding.

Now, you’re almost done with school and you really should be focusing on your preparation for the SPM exams, but threat has surfaced that could mean disaster for the entire town if you do not act quickly. Your final year awaits…

Student Protectors of Malaysia probably best fits all of the criteria that we’re looking for here. There are three phases to the game: Student, Protector and Marking. In your Student phase, you’re using your abilities to investigate mysteries in order to figure out what exactly the threat is, and to prepare for whatever your big action scene is going to be. In the Protector phase, you’ll be targeting the threat, whether that be a roaming monster, a rogue magic user, or a more mundane (but powerful) threat. You’ll have to do this while balancing schoolwork, family obligations, and just daily teenage life. Finally, the Marking Phase reflects downtime, assessing how smoothly you solved the problem and how your adventure affected your journey towards personal goals.

The system for this game is influenced by Powered by the Apocalypse, with moves written out for specific situations, like Take Decisive Action, or Recall information. You’ll roll 2d6 and add modifiers up to a maximum of +3. There’s also bits and pieces from Forged in the Dark, most prominently in the Downtime phase and the Stress that your characters accrue through adventures and relieve through hobbies. The game definitely skews more towards secret superheroes than it does towards a magic school, but you could restrict the electives available to your students to make their powers seem more magical and otherworldly than technical or genetic.

The “Gardening” Club, by Wizard of Ox.

Welcome to our very legitimate high school club where we don’t actually do a lot of gardening! We are open to everyone: cheerleaders, talking vegetables and even people who actually garden. We only have one rule: keep our true agenda a secret. Grab a nice cup of herbal tea, water the cacti and search for clues. We must get to the root of things!

You are a group of high school students who, despite being different from each other, have an interest in common: solving mysteries. Since a detective club would be too on the nose, you made a “gardening” club as a front. Each one of you has different abilities you can use to get to the root of things, as well as codenames that give special powers. Can you work together and find out what is going on?

I’m very intrigued by this game. It feels like it would be very easy to modify to fit a setting of your choice. The instruction sheet is only 5 pages, and all of the character concepts are charmingly plant-themed (with a little bit of magic on the side)! The group will set out on missions to discover clues, hoping to piece together the answers to a larger mystery. You will collaboratively fill out a Deduction Tree to figure out how all of the clues connect. If you like collaborative mystery solving this is absolutely the game for you!

Games I've Recommended in the Past

Breakfast Cult, by Weird Age Games.

My Magic School Post

[leohtttbriar]

the snow-melted and it's sunny and it's spring and that makes me feel some type of way so here's a kiradax springtime fic featuring the fascinations of a nature-walk and jadzia dax as a sort of ms. frizzle:

On a bright day like this, Kira was happy to be handing out juice boxes.

Sure, she would’ve preferred to have been part of Keiko’s field-trip party, with the older students on a rock-climbing mission to observe cliff-side fungus. But Keiko had been a little too bright-faced and excited as she tucked her climbing shoes into her backpack and gathered all the older kids together for a lesson in knot-tying and rappelling, and, almost immediately, Miles had begged Kira to swap chaperone positions so he could trail after his wife pretending to be worried about the cliffs on which she was leading an educational expedition but really interested in just documenting ‘the moment,’ as he called it.

“When Molly starts to be embarrassed of us,” he said, turning on his camera and smirking as Keiko demonstrated a very long finger-hold on a nearby boulder, the strained muscles in her forearms and shoulders not even appearing to shake. “I want evidence that we’re actually cool.”

“Well, one of you is,” said Kira. “You mostly play games with Julian in your free-time.”

Miles shot her a dirty look but then Keiko was calling her group to start on the hike and he was scampering after her.

So Kira was left with the younger kids on a much less dangerous nature walk that didn’t involve rock-climbing. But she was happy about it. The day was bright, crisp air with warm sun, and she didn’t have to do much more than make sure the little ones stayed on the path and hand out juice boxes. And, really, they were all too mesmerized by Jadzia to misbehave or wonder off.

Kira couldn’t exactly blame them, though. Jadzia had turned up in a shirt covered in colorful scientific illustrations of various Bajoran insects, a giant hair clip that looked like one of the stone-caterpillars that Kira used to make into a stew in her hungriest moments during the war, and a box of tiny, kid-sized binoculars which she handed to each student with all the sincerity and solemnity of a general handing out medals of honor to soldiers. She oo’d an ah’d over every little thing and all the kids were following after her like she was personally responsible for putting a flower in their path to look at.

“Oh, look at that!” gasped Jadzia, pointing up at what looked to be a normal tree limb with such drama that every single kid was gasping with her despite, Kira assumed, not knowing what it is they were gasping at. They gathered around Jadzia, following to where her finger pointed, their little mouths open in awe.

“What?” asked one of the more impatient kids. “I don’t see anything.”

“It’s an aerial succulent,” said Jadzia, bending down. “See, between the stalks, there's a film which will expand and catch on a breeze if the plant needs to move.”

“Like wings?” asked another kid, taking rigorous notes in her notebook (Kira was able to read she had just added plant flying color green pretty in uneven block letters).

“Yes! Exactly like wings!” said Jadzia, as if this comparison had just occurred to her.

“Wow.”

Jadzia had them all draw a picture of the succulent, a star shaped thing with a sparkly veil between each point, tipping this way and that on the tree branch but yet holding steady. Kira attempted a drawing herself, as Jadzia had made sure to provide her with a “field notebook” and binoculars, along with the kids. It was not a good drawing, but Kira liked it. After, they continued shuffling along the path and Kira helped a couple kids not to trip on their feet as they traversed forward, binoculars glued to their eyes.

When Keiko had suggested a field trip, Kira had not expected to be asked to help. But it seemed Sisko was of the opinion that she needed “a break,” or something like that. And so he had volunteered much of his chief staff to help out with the trip to Bajor and even extending the offer of the supervised field trip to some of the schools that would be nearby their educational expedition. As the morning progressed, Kira couldn’t help but be thankful for it. There were worse ways to spend a day. And Jadzia had been very happy when Kira had turned up, which always made Kira feel warm in more ways than one. She might've switched assignments, anyway, if Miles hadn't asked.

Eventually they ended up by a stream and Jadzia instructed everyone to be on the lookout for fossils.

“I know there are fossils,” she whispered triumphantly to Kira, once the kids were darting back and forth on the bank like the intrepid explorers they were. “I scouted the trail—this watershed area is almost nothing but limestone.”

Kira bent down to examine the earth herself, picking up an angular yet smooth-cornered rock and rolling it around in her palm.

“Limestone has more fossils in it?” she asked.

Jadzia plopped down next to her. “Yep,” she said. She reached over and gently guided Kira’s fingers to hold the rock so the angle was pointed up. Then she poured a splash of water on it, smoothed away some dirt, and pointed to an imprint in the stone. “See?” she said. “A shell.”

“Oh,” said Kira, looking closer at the strangely patterned whirl. It looked like the aerial succulent.

“Limestone is a graveyard, for organic life,” said Jadzia, halfway to soft but still cheerful. “It’s got a bit of a sacred history on Trill, but I never bought into all those sad poems. Trills only seem to know how to write sad poems”—she rolled her eyes, and Kira bit the inside of her cheek to contain her grin—“and I just don’t think fossils are things to be sad about anyway. True, this”—she indicated the rock in Kira’s hand by cupping Kira’s knuckles and pushing gently against them, causing Kira to, embarrassingly, blush—“is made of the compressed bodies of ancient marine life, but it’s not as if they’re gone. There they are.”

Kira turned her gaze away from Jadzia’s open face and back to the dirty rock in her palm. She didn’t like to think of it as a graveyard. Death was a strange, conceptual thing for Bajorans—as all things are and have been and will be all at once, so eternal ending is just one edge of infinite reality, which has many edges stretching on and on.

“It’s just evidence that they were,” she found herself saying. “But they also are. Just—are.”

Jadzia tipped her head, her eyebrows pinched together. “This might be one of those temporal perspectives I don’t get,” she said.

Kira smiled. “I mean,” she said. “In some way, this…shell?”

“Crinoid.”

“This crinoid,” said Kira, still biting back a grin. “Is swimming around now. In the sea.”

Jadzia looked at her, eyes sparkling. “Okay,” she said. “Then limestone isn’t a graveyard at all.” She picked the rock up out of Kira’s hand and placed back on the ground but replaced its weight with her own palm. “Everything just adds and adds, in every direction.”

Kira’s smile couldn’t be stopped. She curled her fingers around Jadzia’s wrist. “Yes,” she said, leaning in close, tracing the line of sun lighting up the dark hollows on Jadzia’s face and the soft hairs on her jaw.

Jadzia tilted her chin down, their noses now millimeters apart. The sound of the stream and the sound of her breath on Kira’s mouth washed over her. “Nerys—” she said, voice sweet.

Then, “Da-ax!”

They leaned away from each other quickly.

“Yeah?” called back Jadzia, wiping her twitchy hands on her shorts.

“I fell in!” said one of the kids while all the others laughed.

Kira snorted. Jadzia pressed her palm against Kira’s once more before launching to her feet.

“Duty calls,” she said, dramatically. “Remember me fondly.”

She walked off, already lecturing all the kids about the joys of an impromptu swim and the subsequent chance to dry off in the sun, and soon Kira was being bombarded by tired students in search of snacks.

She slipped the rock in her backpack, when no one was looking. An eternal touch of a swimming creature and the warmth of Jadzia's hand--everything just added on. It was a bright day.

[imraespace]

HIGIHI biting chigiri is so real honestly i would too.. and now that i think about it id probably bite rin as well bc id wanna see if hes gonna kill me or just walk away awkwardly HELP

im currently at school n my science class sucks 💔 the girl that i dont really like (she doesnt like me as well) and she hasnt said a single word to me I MEAN IT MAKES SENSE WHY but idk i feel like i should talk to her or smth bc we didnt even resolve our problems w each other but either way i dont think i can be her friend again ☹️ i also unfortunately have the last lunch so I LEGIT HAVE NO FRIENDS W ME?? EITHER I MAKE FRIENDS W THE GRADE ABOVE ME OR IM EATING ALONE

i feel like im probably gonna eat in a corner and read bluelock at this point hashtag bachira before bllk HELP 💔 im hoping i find my own isagi somewhere in this school because all my friends are weirdly across the globe like why are the best people not in my city??

anyways another random question 😈🙏 what bluelock character do you think would start selling feet pics if they got kicked out of bluelock

- 🐙

HIAJAHWIIQ HELP SAME I WOULD AS WELL

I'm stuck in school as well it's lunchtime for me tho so I'm just hanging out with my one friend rn bc I have a friend group drama that apparently IM INVOLVED? A GIRL IN THE GROUP SAID I DIDNT WAVE AT HER and now she hates me idk if we're in high school or kindergarten.. so now she gives me bad looks, she tried to take some of the friends i have but two of them told her no (heheheheh) but she stole one out of the two friends I have in this education facility and when she does she stares at me in my eyeballs😒 like I'm sorry for not waving at you? IDK.

ALSO I HATW THAT like me personally I like communication bc I don't want anyone to think bad of me so I'll get upset if I can't fix something with someone😕 (that girl I literally mentioned but she was just straight toxic and took my anti social as a bait to make fun of me so I hope she trips on a stone!)

ALSO SADLY I DONT HAVE THAT PROBLEM lunchtime is lunchtime for everyone for schools in my country so all grades are out but still I always stay by myself mostly unless someone calls me I SAY READ ALONE AND HOPE SOMEONE SEES BLLK AND BECOMES YOUR ISAGI‼️‼️ the friends I have DOESNT EVEN WATCH ANIME OR PLAY VIDEO GAMES or the ones who do DONT LIVE IN THE CARIBBEAN.

erm answer to your question is shidou! he yells straight into the womb on the field what is feet pics to him😕😕

odd thing to say but in my class ppl take off their shoes to compare toes.. WHAT

[fatherfigurefusion]

Just came up with this killer (no pun intended) idea for a Fanganronpa mastermind.

(Note: This mastermind would use he/she, as to cut down on the pronoun trouble.)

(It gets pretty lengthy, so explanation below the cut)

As many people probably know, the students in the Reserve Course of Hope's Peak Academy live forever in the shadows of the Ultimate students, stewing in resentment and jealousy towards the untouchable deities of, not just the academy, but the world at large.

It seems like the class of talentless misfits would never get a chance to even look at the subjects of their envy-tinged admiration.

That is, until one particular Ultimate student came into their class.

He greeted the Reserve Course students with a smile and a cheerful attitude, welcoming them to a bright educational journey ahead of them.

In an instant, this student already accomplished more than any other Ultimate student thus far in treating the group of average people with human decency.

As the school year went on and on, the Ultimate student kept coming to the class, and she instantly charmed the Reserve Course students with her cruel cheerful, cynical innocent (to the point that he probably don't even know what swear words mean or where babies come from), manipulative awkward, and despair-loving hopeful personality.

She helps the class with any problems they might face, without hoping for anything in return, and brightened up their day just by existing. He told lies funny stories about what he experienced in his class full of Ultimates.

The lies stories stopped being so funny, once she recalled how she would wait on her classmates hand and foot, how she would often be forgotten on school trips, how she regularly pushes herself to exhaustion, with none of her classmates caring or being grateful in the slightest, how she barely eats due to body-shaming from her class, how she would be used as bait or a test subject by particularly unscrupulous classmates, and other such mistreatments.

When asked if he was okay, the student, after bottled up his feelings for a long time, finally let the fake tears loose. Very quickly, the Reserve Course's rage and hatred towards the Ultimates multiplied tenfold.

In an instant, the student was the Reserve Course's "baby". And nobody was going to mess with the Reserve Course's "baby".

What a bunch of suckers., What a beautiful found family.

From there, the only thing on the Reserve Course's mind was

[VENGEANCE]

Breaking free from their enclosures (while rocking their little cinnamon roll to sleep and fattening them up with all the sweets they can make), the Reserve Course students decided that, they can't just physically attack the Ultimates.

Because they got caught in the act, and given a harsh reprimandment by the staff.

No, no, they had to attack the very thing that separates the two unequal halves of Hope's Peak: their talents.

And what better way to ruin that, then by ruining the gilded reputations of the Ultimates?

A little false allegations here, and a little bit of framing-up there, and the playing field was leveled quite a bit.

The class baby may or may not have slipped a couple of secrets to their family.

But one day, when the Reserve Course class went to the chemistry lab, they found the unconscious dead body of their baby, with all forged evidence pointing to one of his Ultimate classmates.

But, contrary to their baby's wishes, they did not fall to despair, but rather rage. Rage against the people who took their baby and hope away from them. Rage against the people who broke their baby, and left them to fix her up. Rage against the people who overshadowed them from day one.

And that's how the Killing Game, helmed by the Reserve Course got started.

All while their baby was still alive, all for the sake of satisfying a baseless hatred based entirely on lies.