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borderlandtale · 1 year ago

Text

Chapter 1 start

(static sounds)

Log no.1

Titled

New start to an old game

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(more static noises) Access granted

Chapter 1 renewal of time, the game shall be gone a new universe shall happen. Start log At the start it was all genocide killed repeatedly and repeatedly around the 100th reset I got my memories back it took a while but after confirming it was real I couldnt bring myself to be happy. I did remember 1 time before all of this began where the human or that thing, brought us all to the surface and we did enjoy a momentary of peace for 2 years trying to flirt with me and us having really good memories. Until….. The human reset, I can’t remember did ‘it’ and I do a promise my head hurts just from thinking about it, I’m tired this is the 200th time I saw pappyrus get killed I don't think I can hold it in anymore wanting to kill him on the spot but something just something was holding me back from it, I just wish we could go back to that time where we were all happy, I don't even want to live on the surface anymore, just a timeline where the real frisk and not that human figure of darkness is in control where we all can just live together in peace, but who am I to say it's already the end of this future I can’t see what else or whoever can save us from this misery. All I know is that I can make these logs and they won't disappear.

3000th reset

Start log

Looks like that thing is starting to get bored. It started to get us to 1 hp before killing us ironically my hp.

?th reset

Judgement hall

Sans facing off the human

“Look kid I’m tired you can have this one”

The black shaped human slashes sans Looks like I’m going to grillby again, as he walks past that thing before he fades to dust he hears “Stop it,no no not again, I’m too late again, at least this is the closest I’ve gotten next reset it will happen”

?th reset

Judgement hall

The human takes a step and sans initiates the battle

“Hey kid its a beautiful day outside birds are singing flowers are blooming.”

Crash “Finally got the coordinates right” a person wearing a torn cape from head to toe armed with a rifle is seen in the middle of a destroyed wall of the judgement hall. Sans thinking its a illusion continues “on days like these kids like you” The caped man gets into the way of both of them “Stop, this meaningless genocide”

Sans now knowing that it is real freezes “Timeline anomaly or what is this interference” he thinks to himself. The human tries to hit the other person but he dodges it. “Sans I’ll explain to you everything later, just help me capture the kid.” Sans freezes and finds the whole thing dodgy. “1000 ketchup bottles as payment also.” Sans has considers about it. “If you want it to be back to normal where you don't have to keep on hiding your emotions, help me please.” Sans left eye socket turns blue unleashing a gaster blaster “deal” in cold hard words, the man pulls out his gun “Thank god” A battle enrages with blasters bones bullets and slashes. Once the human was at 1 hp. “Do Your longest attack gimme some time all I need is 1 minute.” Sans who still had energy “alright …..” “call me hunter the mysterioushunter” As he pulls out and interface, sans stalls the human for 30 seconds before he feels tired,gaster appeared, “it seems this timeline has begin to distort let me assist you old friend” Sans and gaster tag teamed and stalled for another 30 seconds. “Hey hunter a minute has passed now.” Sans shouted

“Now” he said as black strings appeared from nowhere restraining the human in mid air goop seeping from them.

Sans heaved a sigh of relief, “now what are you going to do hunter” as gaster was seen fading, “it seems my time has come materialsiing took most of my will power and now my soul shall be turned to dust now” sans felt a hint of sadness in him. “nah you’ll be fine,” suddenly gaster stopped fading and was reverted to his original form. “How this can’t be possible ever since that experiment.”

“And who do you think led you here Mr W.D gaster.” hunter said “Ahh I see now you must be one of those people the one who calls themselves the player, I have seen many of you, even some making me into different variants of myself, so I must be changing into a variant now.” sans confused wanted to speak before the person bowed 90 degrees angle and said “sorry for what I have done”

Sans realising what he has done feels anger “You think a sorry can make me relieved of the ? resets that have passed seeing my own brother die so many times.”

“I’m not the one who did those but I’m sorry for letting those happen.” He begin to explain what has happened, he was the first one in this timeline to do the true pacifist ending and with him satisfied of the run and quitting the entire game not letting anything happen anymore not any resets nor genocide, he felt satisfied with the ending he gave but his sister found the game and …. ? genocide runs has happened. “Well to be exact 200 genocides before the whole game corrupted, well me being here is kind of an anomaly and more exactly it should have crashed by now but to be exact I kind of couldnt let this happen to I jumped into the game trying to stop this as I knew my sister programmed it so it would be neverending.”

Sans calms down and begins to speak“So what now even if you do a true ending it will turn up to be the human killing everyone else” sans said as he has a feeling that the human was beyond saving due to the ? time they killed everyone in the underground. “Well I mean I came here to solve things and I know of a plan” as he reloaded his rifle with a white bullet shooting the human. The hatred had dissolved from the human body even the pool of hatred underneath, only leaving frisk tied up. After removing the strings, Frisk wakes up and begins a battle with Sans to only act and flirt a lot of time instead of breaking down in tears. “Wow calm down kiddo” petting frisk. Just like the old times, sans thought tears started streaming down. “Am I snooping into anything or can we continue?” Hunter said. Frisk hiss like a cat “Yeah alright so what now.” Sans said. “I need flowey first.” gaster flicked his finger and flowey tped in. Flowey seeing sans frisk and gaster. “What's happening, smiley trashbag, why aren't you dead. AND WHY IS FRISK FLIRTING WITH YOU INSTEAD OF KILLING YOU, WHY AM I NOT DEAD YET.” “Yeah yeah calm down, I’m not sure what's happening also I’m just glad we got this moment of peace” sans said

“Now lets see” hunter uses an interface to and typing in 2 pieces of code making a body for chara and asriel appear out of nowhere.

“Now this is certainly interesting.” Gaster said

Hunter picks up flowey. “WHat are you doing black cape brat” “Nothing much” as he begins to giggle, flowey begins to protest but hunter just ripped the soul from the flower and inserted his soul into his body. Sans and frisk giggles looking at flowey protesting, sending threats in his goat form while gaster is intrigued by the soul transfer. “Now for chara, sans don't be mad at me alright.” as he takes frisk soul, ACT and uses search. Prodding into frisk's soul was chara spirit sleeping, ACT take. As he split chara sleeping spirit and transferred chara to the body. “Few done gimme a few minutes this. Takes. A lot. Of . my. Suppressed Power in one full breath. Gaster I’ll explain it to you later” and he faints. Chara wakes up, asriel your being too loud again. “Chara is that you.’ “off course its me you dummy…… HOW AM I ALIVE WHAT HAPPENED I THOUGHT I SHOULD’VE DIED LONG AGO AND ENDED UP POSESSING FRISK SPIRIT BEFORE I GOT KNOCKED OUT BY SOME OTHER ENTITY AFTER THE ? GENOCIDE oehfojbegwjgbqujebgjwbegkjbwi.” chara broke down due to confusion and the amount of information that was going into her brain. Asriel hugs chara, “I’m just glad I can talk to you again partner”

After a long moment of clearing up stuff going back and forth trying to clear centuries worth of information.

What now chara says, “frisk is still pretending to be a mute and that person is still asleep.”

“Its not like I had a choice the game prevented me from saying anything.” frisk protested in text box.

“Then why are you speaking in text box huh?Say why don’t you just open your mouth and speak for once, can't you scaredy cat.”

“Wow, calm down.” sans intervend Suddenly a cute shy little voice “sans” came out of frisk voice.

SIlence.

Then everyone except gaster and chara went sicko mode.

“I’m awake what’s, happening.” Hunter wakes up from the noise thinking it was an enemy attack.

“Nothing so what now hunter, you got me gaster frisk chara and asriel here.’

“First things first, since I’ve intervened in this genocide ending, it kinda is warping into an au and based on what is going to happen later, well I’m not sure, but than again…….” This went on for about 30 minutes or so. “Alright so first thing is to fix a mess I have made coming into this universe, no dimension and second of all does any of you know how to babysit a child?.’

“Pappy can do that he babysits frisk before.” sans giggles remembering that time. “Well then lemme give you another long explanation about how I came here.” As hunter explains it was around the 100th genocide before he found out that his sister was trying to attempt the most genocide record usuing a ai, he managed to stop it during the 200th but the game collapsed and I knew that that wasnt the end, for the game was still going on and I couldnt access it no matter what. So I resorted to breaking a 4th dimension wall, getting into this dimension and gaining access to this Universe, becoming your creator, although when I broke the 4th wall I kind of created a whole new character doorkeeper!frisk, she is currently sleeping and i”ve overstayed my time here, It won't be long till someone finds it odd I’ve been gone for this long so basically could you take care of doorkeeper!frisk? She's still a child and I dont think she wants to be seperated from me for this long and I don't want anything to happen to her

“I mean you still have to give us some explaination.” Sans sternly said, “but I agree”

Frisk agreed with Chara and Asriel.

“Your soul trait is interesting. May I know what it is before we get transported.” Gaster says. “Sighs I might as well introduce myself, the names mysterioushunter soul trait imagination I come from a different dimension,” and than speaking to gaster about all the stuff he wants to know about this soul trait.

After clearing things up, “anyways after I press reset and not frisk, frisk will still have the reset button for safety purposes and everyone of you will have a bit of the imagination soul trait. “Again sorry for my sister causing this whole thing. I needa take a break. I'll see you later. Also as my final warning please train there are threats out there that can access this universe and are far stronger than you.”

Hunter presses the reset button a great white light engulfed the universe, resetting everything and altering the location of the universe except for chara, asriel sans, frisk and gaster which kept their memories.

End of log

Save file….. Saved

Back at the AU, sans woke up to see his home, on the surface, from the first reset. He couldn't believe his eyes and remembered frisk should be here in his home for a sleepover, sans opened the door to frisk room to see frisk sound asleep, he went and wake up frisk only to be surprised by a smooch on his skull, sans surprised by this blushed a blue, frisk just snickers at sans reaction, “So what do we have here 2 love birds?” Gaster leans by the open door, frisk barks at gaster, “hey gaster so what's the plan now, I don't see the one we are supposed to protect right now all I can see is this timeline/save point is the one after we got to the surface.” “well I mean we should go contact chara and asriel before we do anything right, if gaster is here that means the save file got altered in a way.” Frisk said “Alright lemme go get the 2.” Sans uses a shortcut, Toriel's home, “Hey tori I wanna borrow chara and asriel…..” A crash sound could be heard, glass spills onto the floor, “Sans for the final time,” fireballs were casted “COULD YOU USE THE DOOR INSTEAD OF BARGING INTO MY HOUSE.”Toriel said “Sorry, my bad” “and yes you can but make sure they are back before dinner. “Don’t worry mam I’ll bring them back before night frisk wanted to see them” “ Oh sans make sure to say hi to frisk for me.” “ I’ll do it as sans went to the upper floor, took the 2 kids and shortcutted them to his house. “Okay let's start, what anomalies are there and what changes had happened to this timeline before papy gets back, also frisk, toriel said hi.”

From what the whole group knew, the timeline was altered to where the incident didn't happen, Frisk shattered the barrier with the help of the 6 other souls causing chara and asriel souls to come back, in the time space disruption. “So that's all we can’t find and have no leads to this doorkeeper!Frisk person.”

“Well sans I’ve checked with chara and we both have a new button on the screen.” frisk said

“Hmm, quite intriguing a new button. Does it do anything special by any chance?” gaster said

“Well its just a button called imagination not sure what is does tho.” chara uninterestedly replied.

“Can we go home now? I wanna explore the new toys that the surface made, chara agrees too right?” Asriel complained. Chara just grunts

Sans looking at the time, “Alright both of you it time to go to bed, your uncle ‘snickers’ is going to bring you home.”

“Shut it bonehead.” Chara snapped at him.

“Alright.” grabbing the 2 by their shirts and shortcutting them to their bed room and back. “Can’t wait for what papyrus is going to make.” frisk says.

“Alright I’m going back to my research lab, tell me if anything happens”

“Don’t, cause another accident old friend.” saying it in a friendly warning tone.

“Alright, I don't want you worrying I won't do anything big as the famed last one.” gaster shortcuts to his lab.

Just a few minutes later papyrus comes back in his car full of groceries.

During dinner Papyrus serves them his spaghetti with a twist of hot sauce in it.

Sans and frisk digs in, while papyrus just looks at his spaghetti.

“Whats the matter bro you always try out your spaghetti.” Sans “No brother it's just that I feel like I’m off today, when I was shopping I got this horrible feeling that I got sliced many times, I even was struggling to drive the car or make spaghetti, I feel horrible, let me go rest for today. Sorry if I worried you” Papyrus went upstairs to his bed. “Sans I’m so” frisk tried to apologise but got interevend “Its not your fault Frisk I just need….. Nevermind” as he continued to munch down on his spaghetti.

Both of them did the whole house was silent, for a few hours, Sans didn't crack a joke, Frisk just stayed quiet.

Sans, who usually goes to grilbbies at this time, went to bed early for once, as he was about to go to sleep Frisk knocked on the door “What’s up kiddo.” As he saw a trembling Frisk on the verge of crying,

“Alright, we can sleep together, just like old times.”

Frisk quietly pulled her mattress and slept beside the Sans bed. “Whew what a rough day today was better do a log file on this .” sans thought as he was reminded of today's events

He went to sleep with a heavy snore

Sans was in a deep sleep till he got rudely awoken by Frisk shaking him, “Wow kid I’m awake what do you want me to…” He saw the scenery that wasn't his bedroom but a white sky, He looked to frisk who was confused. “Looks like it’s Hunter who sent us here huh, Kid I wonder if the Doorkeeper!Frisk(Dk!frisk) or whoever was the person we were supposed to babysit. Frisk nodded while staring at the white sky and the surroundings which were white also. They felt a sudden shortcut and they were shortcutted to a house with a green grassy terrain surrounding it. “Heya its me Guardian of Doorkeeper!frisk, Imagination!ss!Chara(IMA!chara).” Sans pulls out a gaster blaster and held it at point preparing just in case the chara did something weird, IMA!Chara , “Hey that’s not a nice way to say hi to a friend,” and then proceeds to summon a knife in her hand, 2 Big dreemurr blasters behind her charged. “Now tell me intruders who are you if not you'll face the wrath of my might” she said loudly

“Hunter didn't tell us about who was the guardian of Dk!Frisk tho” Frisk said

“Didn't have enough energy,” Hunter was lying down in the middle of the fight panting for breath, “Also mb I forgot alr IMA!Chara.” “Bruuhh why do you always forget about me please I help you solve your troubles 200 times and you forget LIKE SERIOUSLY.” “Hey I created you so SHUT YO MOUTH *redacted” Bickering continued till Hunter placed galaxy chocolate in IMA!chara mouth. She tried to protest but continued eating it sulking in a corner. While Sans and Frisk were staring at the conversation like they were the wind ignored every time they tried to budge in. They saw a sign saying drinks and popcorn in case we are bickering, decided to get popcorn drinks from the fridge outside of the house sat back and watched the drama. “Sorry you had to see this also its my bad that I forgot to tell you other stuff”

“Well I dont say why you forgot that Chara over there but where’s Dk!Frisk” frisk asked

“Well she should be sleeping in the house and maybe she is sleeping rn she still is growing and kind of is still a child” “Yeah she is sleeping I had to give her 2 bottles of cola to pacify her before she could sleep tho” “So is everything alright between you guys.” Sans asked

“Yeah everythings alright we just bicker for a while before we make up easily sometimes.” hunter said

“Yeah yeah anyways lemme reintroduced myself.” “The names Imagination!SS!chara or you could call me IMA!chara I babysit Dk!frisk and I’m her guardian so I expect your the new caretakers here.” Bowing down before looking at the two, adn getting to know them so on and so forth sans started explaining the whole job situation. After explaining, Hunter showed a contract and asked both of them to sign the thing, “also 1 more thing Dk!Frisk usually has an addiction of going to random AUs through her door. Its kind of my fault and I'm not a fan of fixing my troubles" “Wait I thought she couldn’t control her powers so where is she going to end up.

“Well usually we would kind of control the destination for it to be a pacifist or non killing timeline, but she like dangers and NO matter how many time she would still hope for the genocide timelines.” “So is there a Chara in her like me?” frisk asked “Nope, she doesn't have any when I created her"

Frisk sighed a relief and they both decided to move on asking more questions till sans saw Dk!frisk moving slowly towards the door. “Hey Kiddo I wanna ask something” as he took frisk by the hand and chased towards her While Dk!frisk started to run towards the door, Hunter and IMA!Chara started going on about the next question debating whether this topic should be discussed. “Kiddo I’m not going to harm you.” Sans shouted, snapping both of them out of their conversation, seeing Dk!Frisk running towards the door, they tried to stop but it was too late, DK!Frisk, sans, Frisk was already through the door.

“Uh oh this can’t be good”

“your right on that, they just went through the door what could be the worst the odds of going into a genocide timeline is low…………… , THEY WENT THROUGH AND TODAY HAS A HIGH CHANCE OF IT BEING A GENOCIDE TIMELINE NOT AnY TIMELINE AN AU TIMELINE OH *BEEP.” taking IMA!chara by the sides and shaking her “While lets hope that we are able to track the coordinates and hope they are alive.” she teied to be positive “WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE ALIVE IF NOT I MIGHT BE STUCK AND OTHER STUFF WILL HAPPEN.” “OH yeah I forgot about it sorry hunter.” “NOW NOT THE TIME TO BE SORRY GET TO THE COMPUTER I’LL WARP JUMP TO AS MANY GENOCIDE TIMELINES TO CHECK IF THEY ARE THERE, HOPE ITS NOT A SPECIAL ONE IF NOT WE ARE DEAD.” They both rushed to track down the trio who went through the door at the sametime.

Chapter 1 end

Do you wish to proceed with the next chapter?

Or would you like to see the current locations used in chapter 1

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Access granted

Current Locations

The anti-void

The borderland (where DK!frisk and IMA!chara is residing)

Undertale?

Inputting question

Question received

Access granted

The borderlands a place made after an accident. A questionable owner is overseeing this place Giving birth to many questionable things, facilites a house a forward operating base, a shed housing the *REDACTED and most of all a door. Yes a door,

A viewer clicks on the door image

Would you like to know more about the door?

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Y/N

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Accessing data bank

Main information

The door, a weapon of DK!frisk who is currently young, the door is an interdimensional rift which has transformed into a door, its main form resides at the border and is unable to locate by many individuals unless a powerful or unique individual or someone who has gotten permission from the 3 individuals, DK!frisk, IMA!chara and MysteriousHunter to access this realm.

Origins

Not much is needed to know about how it came about Hunter did an oopsies while fighting a interdimensional hopping hostile creature at the border of Undertale, cutting the dimension with a blade causing a rift to form, Hunter realising his mistake did not report it to the authorities who oversees the dimension as there were non and successfully managed to withhold its powers to cause immense destruction to the dimension by creating a vessel who is DK!frisk.

End of chapter 1

#undertale au #my own creation #bordertale

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ffamranxii · 3 years ago

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Sailor Stars thoughts:

1. The anime does its absolute best to make the Starlights unlikable. Taiki is a fucking asshole (he won’t even give a dying girl, who he explicitly was taken to visit, an autograph, and tells a bunch of children that their grandfather’s theory about souls becoming stars is dead wrong), Seiya is a Nice Guy who hits on Usagi constantly despite being told multiple times she has a boyfriend, and Yaten is a mildly sarcastic cardboard cutout. I know the manga doesn’t expand on them much but the anime is supposed to help make these people real. Counterexample is Chibi-Chibi, who hardly speaks in the manga and relies on her cuteness alone to be likable. They gave her a very cute voice because it was literally all they had to work with, given how often Chibi-Chibi actually appears

2. The dub cast for the Starlights is frankly awful. As civilians, Taiki alternates between a woman trying too hard to make her voice deep and having a bad cold, Seiya sounds like a prepubescent boy, and Yaten sounds like a woman (which they’re not, as civilians); as Starlights their voices are VERY high pitched, especially Yaten’s. Their sub voices just sound like woman talking a bit deeply and then normal women.

3. Why the FUCK did Toei think literally changing sex was less controversial than crossdressing? The Starlights are women and have always been women. Plus, them being male civilians in the anime creates a paradox, because if they’re men with sailor crystals who can become senshi, why can’t Mamoru - who is confirmed multiple times throughout the series as carrying the earth’s star seed and thus being Sailor Earth - do the same? Naoko said Mamoru can’t be a sailor senshi because he’s a man, but the Starlights don’t abide by this rule, they change their fucking biological sex

4. Why is absolutely no one concerned that Chibi-Chibi, a THREE YEAR OLD, just goes off on her own and has her own little adventures? She wanders into some strange old man’s house and they’re all “oh that’s just Chibi-Chibi,” and no one is worried that a literal stranger invites a three year old into his house where he gives her toys and candy? The 90s were WILD, man

5. Why does Chibi-Chibi, again who is THREE YEARS OLD, have a thigh gap?

6. This one’s on Naoko because it’s like this in the manga, but the anime is supposed to expand on the universe so I blame them too: Why does literally nobody question Chibi-Chibi’s motives? Some strange pink haired child who fucking falls out of the sky one day up and brainwashes Usagi’s mom into thinking she’s her second daughter, and nobody bats an eye at this? That’s sus as fuck and literally the only question anyone has is “is she your kid or Chibiusa’s?” She doesn’t even have a NAME, “chibi” is just a random word she says!

7. I am DIGGING the mobster feel of the Animamates’ civilian forms. Especially Iron Mouse and Tin Nyanko, who clearly launder money through a shady car dealership.

8. The Starlights’ only redeeming qualities are their snazzy entrance music and Seiya’s red suit

9. Why is Aluminum Siren the only Animamate who understands that a senshi has a pure star seeds? Like, y’all killed the senshi of your home planets to take their star seeds so YOU could be senshi (which is presumably why Galaxia wants more seeds, to make more Animamates with them), shouldn’t you know that?

10. Aluminum Siren/Lead Crow are trying their damn hardest to give Harumichi a run for their money in the quest to become the Best Space Lesbians.

11. So the Moon Kingdom fosters loyalty through child soldiers. I’m assuming Queen Serenity has her own senshi in the form of our senshi’s mothers, etc. (Which begs the question of if the Asteroid Senshi are supposed to be the future kids of our senshi or if they too are child soldiers from the asteroids they’re named after.) Kinmoku seems to foster loyalty by having the Kakyuu’s senshi fall in unrequited love with her. (In the manga it’s stated Kakyuu has a husband who died when their planet was destroyed.) I mean, whatever works, right?

12. I LOVE Tin Nyanko’s dub voice. She’s only around Usagi’s age and she sounds it

13. The dub actress for Lead Crow seems like she’s half assing it. Her voice doesn’t raise properly when she yells, she never sounds really angry, and it’s just so odd. I find a lot of dub voices do this, while the original Japanese VAs will scream their lungs out into the mic

14. On the reverse, Galaxia’s voice actress is a badass. She’s supposed to have a deep menacing voice but I like the one they gave her in the dub. She’s quiet, and sounds almost kind, and that’s a fucking TERRIFYING sort of villain we don’t see a lot of. Even when she’s pissed she doesn’t raise her voice.

15. Why are Lead Crow and Tim Nyanko the same height? Lead Crow is like 5’10 and Tin Nyanko is 4’11 like Sailor Moon

16. As an aside, Tin Nyanko and Lead Crow don’t like each other, which reminds me of the cats vs crows trash can showdown in Haikyuu lol

17. Haruka’s hate boner for Seiya gives me life

18. FINALLY someone calls the Starlights out on being assholes but it’s only after Makoto sees them harassing a THREE YEAR OLD (Chibi-Chibi). Literally everyone BUT Usagi thinks they’re assholes. “They sing such beautiful songs!” Bro. You can sing pretty and still be a fucking dick.

19. Lead Crow goes after Sailor Moon only after reading Siren’s notebook. Ditzy SIREN is the smartest Animamate, lord help them

20. Kakyuu’s dub voice is SO GOOD. She’s my favorite minor character, I’m still bitter they didn’t show Sailor Kakyuu

21. Seiya’s crush on Usagi was so awkwardly shoehorned in. I hate it. Jesus fucking Christ Usagi is sobbing in the goddamn rain about how much she misses Mamoru and Seiya is STILL coming onto her.

22. It is literally so fucking funny to me that Mamoru spends all of Stars fucking dead. He’s just a perpetual damsel in distress.

23. Rei literally lectures Usagi about leading Seiya on and how “you need to do the right thing and tell him you already have someone,” AS IF USAGI HASN’T BEEN DOING THAT AT EVERY AVAILABLE OPPORTUNITY. THE FIRST TIME THEY MET SHE SAID SHE HAD A BOYFRIEND, SHE’S TOLD SEIYA OVER AND OVER THAT SHE ISN’T INTERESTED IN HIM, THAT SHE’S GOT A BOYFRIEND, THAT SHE LOVES HER BOYFRIEND. The fucking MISOGYNY here, like it’s Usagi leading Seiya on instead of Seiya being a fucking Nice Guy who can’t take no for a goddamn answer. Shut the fuck up, Rei.

24. Pretty sure under Kakyuu’s headdress is a pair of odango

25. The fact that Iron Mouse and Aluminum Siren both die when their bracelets are removed yet Tin Nyanko doesn’t implies that Tin Nyanko was the original Sailor Mau. Mouse and Siren dying implies that forcing senshi powers on a civilian is dangerous and that Galaxia’s bracelets are the only thing keeping them alive (albeit brainwashed). Yet Tin Nyanko seems to revert to “good” when one of her bracelets is destroyed. Galaxia has to intervene and kill her personally. Tin Nyanko may have offered her senshi powers to spare Mau (this applies only in the anime; in the manga she’s explicitly said to have killed Sailor Mau)

26. Oooh Galaxia’s angry voice is so commanding and sexy

27. Don’t gimme that “we love Usagi but we love you Starlights just as much.” No you fucking don’t. The whole death scene in the anime is just so... ugh. Bad.

28. The Outers fighting Galaxia is hilarious. They’re supposed to be stronger than the Inners yet Galaxia never even has to get out of her chair to kick their asses. The writers were trying real hard to make us fear the worst and back the senshi into a corner but literally they’ve made this an impossible battle to win that only becomes winnable due to plot armor.

29. Rewatching Stars and classic after Eternal and Crystal makes me miss the battle damage the fuku took. The new series always has them looking pristine, but in classic they actually get roughed up and battle scarred. It makes it more real.

30. Aww how come Uranus and Neptune got to keep their names when they joined Galaxia? I wanna know what whack ass Animamate name they would’ve gotten. (Also Galaxia literally just sent them out like Pokémon, wtf)

31. I feel like Saturn dying shouldn’t be possible since she’s literally a senshi of death but... whatever, go off I guess.

32. So.... Uranus and Neptune joining Galaxia to try and take her star seed is a cool idea that absolutely did not happen in the manga, and needed more than half an episode of development. Would’ve been a cool plot if it wasn’t so rushed.

33. So much of this season was rushed so they could tie the series up at a beat 200 episodes. If they really didn’t want to go over 200, they should’ve cut the Nehelennia arc (which isn’t in the manga anyway) and and focused on developing the Animamates, this sweet Harumichi betrayal plot, and explaining Chibi-Chibi??? Her existence makes no sense without Sailor Cosmos, and they just... didn’t include her??? Wtf

#sailor moon #ffamran watches anime

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dizzydancingdreamer · 4 years ago

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My Just Dance Playlist and who I would battle against / team up with in order to remain the champ

Hey lovelies so I— like usual— am procrastinating so I have decided— at the behest of literally no one— to extensively go through my workout Just Dance Playlist and explain in depth who I would 1 v 1 against, why I would pick them, and why I would— most likely— win.

PSA: This will be very biased and will literally be me bragging about how I would win at Just Dance every time with very little factual proof (because, really, how am I getting this proof?) and then literally me being self absorbed for the entirety of this essay length post— a girl’s gotta’ self care you know?

This is also lowkey practice for a fic I’ll be putting out at the start of Dinner at Dizzy’s so stay tuned it’ll be a fun one

Sorry in advance for the 2.4k essay of me being self obsessed

Also the links are just vids of the choreo in case you’re invested

Into The Unknown | Idina Menzel

This is a warm up song— like if I don’t do this one to stretch I’ll literally die— but definitely Wanda because we’re both soft (don’t fight me on this— I just know she’s a soft girl and would LOVE Just Dance). I don’t think I would aim to win on this one— I like her too much and, again, this is a warm up. She would definitely sing along with me too. If Sam was in a good mood he would also join in on this one— he has two nephews and is fun as fuck so I do not doubt he knows all the words and would be all in. Honestly this song is a warm up so anyone could join and I wouldn’t aim to win— unless it was Tony— because the man’s ego is perhaps the only one bigger than mine— or Steve— because I don’t know why I just think it would be cute to watch the man fumble because he 100% can’t dance beyond the slow dances.

Let It Go | Idina Menzel

Okay so another warm up (yes, I need two warm ups) so again the same principles apply. Again Wanda would be all over this one and I would go as far as to say Pietro— fuck off he is an Avenger and in my head he’s still very much alive— would join in too because he’s like a puppy. I would make Bucky do it too— cue the pout because he would try to say no and nope, no sir, you’re playing— because, uh hello, super soldier dancing to Disney songs. I think I would pull Nat in too because she needs a little push and once she’s in she’d be fully in— and, duh, I want a sexy woman assassin to dance with me.

Bad Romance | Lady Gaga

This isn’t my favorite song but— lucky for me— it’s a group song with three dancers so it won’t make me look bad right away. I would pull my sexy girl gang and get Nat and Wanda in on the action. I feel like Nat would be in the front— because, again, hello sexy— and not to mention that I feel like her skills would make her able to easily adapt to the moves— and then Wanda and I would just be chilling in the back, giggling and being cute. This is Nat’s moment— can you tell I only get competitive against the men? Fuck trying to beat Nat, I’m using this time to absorb the sexiness— I will be needing it for later on in this playlist.

Hot N Cold | Katy Perry

OKAY THIS IS ARGUABLY MY FAVOURITE SONG ON MY PLAYLIST! This is 100% my best song. Like “perfects” across the board every single time. I have it memorized and if this song ever comes on in public I’ll be fucked because I’ll have to dance to it and look dumb. Anyway— given that this is my best song— Sam. I can afford to throw him in here because— despite the fact that I know this man has literally all the moves— I have this song ingrained in the essence of my soul. It would probably be a semi-close race but I have the added bonus of knowing the tricks of the choreography. He may be skilled but I am obsessive and have poured hours into this song. I would probably laugh when he loses because of the adrenaline (again, it was close, my heart would be pounding). This is dirty and strategic but this is about me winning and nothing else. Better luck next time babes— rematch anytime.

Girlfriend | Avril Lavigne

MY THIRD FAVOURITE SONG— JUST LIKE BEFORE THIS IS IN MY SOUL! I have actually spent a lot of time thinking about this. I could use this song to knock out a more skilled dancer— Tony, Sam (again), Pietro (you know I’m right)— but I have made the executive decision to pull Steve in on this one. Clearly it has nothing to do with skillful planning on this one— I would 110% win this game— but rather it has everything to do with the fact that I want to look this man in the eye and mouth “Hell yeah, I'm the motherfucking princess” and watch him get flustered and maybe tell me not to swear. Clint would laugh and that’s more than enough motivation for me. I also want to giggle and stare at the super soldier the entire time because I can hit the moves with my eyes closed and he would be flicking his eyes between the screen and me wondering how on EARTH I got so good at this. SO CUTE!

California Gurls | Katy Perry

THIS IS THE ONE THAT IS TIED WITH HOT N’ COLD FOR FIRST! I’m good good at this one. I grew up on Snoop Dogg and I fully believe that is why I am so good at this song. Anyway Pietro— without a doubt in my mind Pietro would kill this song (or in the very least try to kill it) and I’m not worried about losing because of the sheer amount of gameplay I have on this song alone. He would have the most fun with me and it would be the literal time of my life. Like I might actually lose this one just to see him get all happy and puppy-like about winning— LOL just kidding no I wouldn’t, sorry peanut better luck next time. You killed the hip wiggles though!

Forget You | CeeLo Green

Okay this one might not make any sense but Bucky. This is a hard-ish song but I think some of the moves really scream like old-timey and I think— if he could get rid of his pride for five seconds and let some of the fun-loving, silly Bucky out— that he would really enjoy this song. It’s fast paced but repetitive, the lyrics are fun, and I would be laughing enough for the both of us that he wouldn’t think about how dumb he looks because I’d be looking doubley stupid. Don’t let that fool you— I am a whiz at this song too. There’s a lot of jumping and spinning and jump spinning that entice that perfectionist side of me in a way that has driven me to perfect this song. This isn’t a heavily strategic move— it doesn’t need to be, he, again, hasn’t danced in years— but it is fun while allowing me to still win. NEXT!

Waterloo | ABBA

Okay two teams here, this is where it gets fun. This could go in a lot of directions. If Tony isn’t there then I would pull Nat— the gameplay is easy and she would pick it up within seconds. I would then pair up Steve and Thor because they’re both huge and clunky and would spend the entire time bumping into each other. Dirty but I’m doing it without regret. NOW— If Tony was there then we’re teaming up. I don’t trust him to not be on a team with me because he’s too competitive. I won’t risk it, not today, not ever— we’re eternal dance partners because I refuse to be bested by a man. Even a sexy, silver fox millionaire. The other team would be Sam and Bucky. They would fight the entire time. I can hear it now— “That was the wrong move, dumbass.” “You stepped on my foot, asshole.” — it’s a virtually flawless game plan. There’s a 1% chance they would team up to win against me but even then Bucky hasn’t danced since the 30’s. Foolproof.

Just Dance | Lady Gaga

I am AWFUL at this one but luckily it’s a group dance again. If I had to choose any song to take a break for— because I’ve literally just whooped Avenger butt at this point and deserve five minutes to sit down— it would be this one. This is 100% a strategic move. Love you miss Gaga but the choreography is WACK and I will not be losing. Anyway I will be nominating Tony, Pietro, and Sam— a dance battle of epic proportions and I honestly cannot tell you who I think would win. I can, however, speculate. Sam right off the bat would be a hard player to beat. I said it before and I will reiterate now— Sam Wilson has all the moves. But, that being said, Tony would not want to lose. Like at all. So I am pushed to believe that this fight would be a tough battle. Pietro I don’t think would try too hard to win but, then again, I just pitted him against Tony and, well, we all know how that goes. He has an ego too so honestly it could go in any direction. Pietro might be soft with me but against Sam and Tony— this fight might get dirty. Camera’s out people!

Gimme! Gimme! | ABBA

Thor. Like— there’s just no other person that I want to disco with. None. I want the blonde god up there next to me or nobody. Well, besides Steve because LOL yeah he’s not winning that sorry pumpkin we’ve already covered that. Thor I could simultaneously beat and laugh my ass off with. It’s a lot of tricky moves— ABBA didn’t come to play— and way too much variety for him to be able to catch on right away but he would also not care about looking like an idiot and might end up just picking me up and spinning me around because why not right? I would win and be happy.

Starships | Nicki Minaj

This is pure strategy— Tony. This is the only one I could beat him at because of the sheer amount of moves and plot twists in the choreography. There’s a lot of jumping, spinning, kicking movements and if you haven’t had two months to memorize it then you’ll be fucked. Even then it’s a long shot because— AGAIN THE EGO DRIVES THIS MAN TO HEIGHTS I HAVE YET TO SEE ANYWHERE ELSE— but it’s my best bet. If I could blindside him enough with the hip wiggling then it would be a sure win but he might see through the strategy. He’s smart— too smart. I would fight dirty— I don’t lose. Now, if Tony— again— was not present then I would pull my baby Wanda for this one because she would have so much fun and it would be 1000% worth it. Literally my ray of sunshine— let’s do fun girl things like dance to Nikci like the entire team isn’t watching. Clint and Sam would be singing along— that’s canon. Nat would be filming and cheering. The super soldiers, iron boy (assuming he’s sitting this one out), the fast one, and the gods would be slack jawed. It doesn’t get better

Maneater | Nelly Furtado

I can’t even explain how long I’ve had the plan for this one. Too long. Remember the sexiness I was talking about? Yeah— here’s where I’m gonna’ need it. This is ALSO one of my favourite songs on this playlist because of how sexy I feel dancing to it. The moves are *chefs kiss* so fucking amazing I could cry. I feel like a maneater when I dance to this and that is a blessed feeling. Anyway— I will be pulling two people for this song and those people are Clint and Nat. I think Clint— contrary to popular belief— is secure enough to have fun dancing to this and, also, not to mention the most important part— whoever wins gets to take me on a date. The big guns. Literally it’s a foolproof plan. First, I can’t lose because this choreography is hard as fuck for beginners and I have been practicing and perfecting it for months. Second, the fight between Nat and Clint would be so fucking entertaining. They’re skilled, agile, sleek assassins who would literally dance to Nelly Furado like their lives depended on it. I think what’s even funnier is that Nat is for sure the better dancer but I just know Clint is a) only a fraction less better than her and b) would be trying SO HARD to win. Like I wouldn’t put it past him to not play dirty. I am cute, after all. His 6’3” ass would be sweating trying to get my 5’2” ass on that date.

Good Feeling | Flo Rida

Clint, baby, knowing full well you could have possibly just lost the last round to Nat, I will give you one more chance— mainly because this whole song is a vibe and the choreography is so much fun and there’s a handful of moves that I both want to do in sync with you but also want to laugh watching as you flounder them. Clearly as a stealthy archer assassin I am testing my luck with this one but he just doesn’t know the in depth ins and outs of this choreo. He doesn’t know about the like seventeen hundred bridges that this song has and the robot moves in the middle. So I’ll wrack up those extra points where needed. Honestly if you only click one link make it this one— I can’t describe how fun this would be with him. Competitive but fun. I have faith in myself that I would come out on top. He’s agile but I’d risk it all for the title of champion. Still, he would fight hard— that’s why I love him though.

How Far I’ll Go | Auli’i Cravalho

This is my cool down song but there’s someone here who has managed to hide his way into not playing and that is unacceptable— Loki, babe, you’re doing my relaxing song with me because the gods only know how much you need a break. I’ll look dumb because— believe it or not— the slow song trips me up the most. But it’s fun and it’s the reason I don’t have a heart attack when my chubby ass is done all the fast songs— so it’s necessary. It’s also slow enough that he won’t look dumb and thus won’t literally kill me because he won’t be embarassed. I would willingly lose to Loki because I don’t want to lose my life. It isn’t a loss— it’s survival. That and I think he’d smile if he got a good score and that alone is worth losing to this one (1) man. I also want to add that I think Clint would secretly love this one because you can’t tell me that a man with an aim as good as him doesn’t meditate. He does and he would perhaps beat Loki at this one. Rest in peace to the love of my life when the trickster god literally tears his head from his body but sometimes you’ve got to take the L baby.

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always5hineee · 4 years ago

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Before It Rings- Chapter 15: Soup Kitchen

Chapter warnings: Mild language

Word count: 1264

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Everyone began to wake up before the morning light grazed the horizon. If he had to guess, Taeyong would say it was around 6:30 or 7 in the morning, judging by the coolness of the air and the still nature of the world around them. He had tried his best not to wake anyone as he maneuvered over sleeping bags, headed towards the van. Sliding the door open, he noticed that Haechan was still inside, lying curled up on one of the middle rows. He was happy that the boy was getting some rest at least.

Finding some miscellaneous items he could use for breakfast, he tried to start the fire on his own, but the clicking began to wake the others. Surprisingly, before long, Haechan was the only one still asleep, off in his remote dreamscape in the vehicle. WinWin took the opportunity to go to the car as well, but for what, Taeyong didn't really know. Jaehyun assisted him in getting the fire going as the sun just barely peaked, giving everything a blue glow.

The boys began sitting up and stretching, backs still not used to sleeping on solid ground. Yuta looked around for a moment, clearly trying to get eyes on Haechan. Thankfully, it only took him a few moments to stumble over- he must have been woken up by whatever WinWin had been doing in the car. He was rubbing his eyes of sleep, exhausted, but still made the effort to greet everyone.

"What woke you?" Yuta asked, worried as he sat down beside him.

"Huh?" Haechan asked with a yawn, not comprehending the interrogative at first. "Oh, WinWin was grabbing food." Taeyong tilted his head slightly.

"We're about to eat." Jaehyun grumbled. "Can't he hold on just a second?" He shrugged.

"I wasn't gonna stop him. He seemed pretty set on it."

"Well, someone go tell him that real breakfast is ready, if he still has room for it." Taeyong muttered, a little annoyed. Mark offered to do so, but Jungwoo wouldn't let him go without crutches. He was very worried about Mark's fragility. Finally, Doyoung got up without a word to go let him know. No one argued, so they all went back to their early morning banter- that is, until Doyoung returned alone.

"I uh... I don't want to interrupt."

"Interrupt?" Taeyong asked incredulously. "Interrupt what?" He was starting to get rather fed up with everyone's antics, so he rose himself to go deal with the situation. Worried about what he was planning on doing, Taeil followed, ready to be his impulse control. When they arrived at the van, though, the sight was far from anything they had expected.

WinWin was sitting, like any normal person would, in one of the van's seats. Littered around him, though, were empty cans, bags, wrappers- any sort of packaging for any type of food imaginable, he was eating it. Things that needed to be cooked, things meant to be combined with other ingredients- if he had found a package of salt he probably would have eaten that.

"WinWin, what are you doing?" He asked, taken aback by the scene. He didn't quite know what to think of it. The boy's head shot up as he laughed sheepishly.

"What, can't a dude be hungry?" Taeil glanced over their leader's shoulder, murmuring,

"Yeah, but... This is more food than any one person could eat."

"Big stomach?"

"Apparently..." Head jerking again, WinWin looked out the window towards the fire.

"Did you guys make breakfast? Sweet!"

"Wait, I-" before Taeyong could stop him, he launched himself out of the car and towards the group. As he approached, though, they looked more confused than happy to see him again. When he had left the circle, it had been dark, but now... he was basically in the daylight.

"WinWin, are you running a fever?" Jaehyun asked, brows tilting in concern. "Do you feel hot at all?"

"Hot? No, not really. Why?"

"You just look a bit... flushed." WinWin brushed it off.

"Whatever. Can we eat?" Jungwoo couldn't stand the thought of eating now. Looking at WinWin, hist stomach dropped, leaving no room for breakfast. WinWin wasn't flushed, it was just difficult to tell in the ethereal, misty morning light. His skin wasn't the red of blood... it was a magenta, soon to be purple.

His entire body was slowly turning into a sickeningly familiar flesh tone. Jungwoo didn't even know how to explain it. Zombies were created by bites, and in those scenarios, the flesh rotted from the bite outwards. This fade? There was no explanation for it, no reason to believe it was even possible, and yet it was also unmistakable.

No, there was an explanation. He just didn't want to admit it. In fact, there was only one explanation. His serum had done this. Somehow, when that substance made contact with his skin and sank into the surface, it began corrupting him. Jungwoo should have seen this coming, should have stopped him. It had worked, and that joy was like nothing he had felt since this entire disaster began, but... Was it even worth it for this? WinWin's senses seemed to be intact, aside from his rabid hunger. Was it that he was suppressing the urge to eat other humans without knowing it? Was he a human brain trapped inside what was going to become a zombie body? Did he even know what was going on?

Coughing, Jungwoo tried to catch the boy's attention as he rose from his panic. Glancing over, he managed to signal that they should break off for a minute. Turning to Taeyong, he gave a passing nod and an amendment to his previous request.

"Hold on, gimme a second." Standing to go a few feet away with Jungwoo so as to be out of earshot of the other members, Jungwoo looked at him closely. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't.

"I..." What to say. What do you say when you've permanently fucked up your friend's body? Unless... was there a way to fix it? He could try at least- there had to be something, there had to be-

"I already know, if that's what you're worried about." WinWin said calmly. This sent Jungwoo spiraling off his whole original plan of action. "I thought I'd be able to deal with it, just live like normal. I don't really want to kill anyone, so that's a plus." Shaking his head, he put a hand to his stomach, continuing on. "I'm just so hungry now, though. I know that it's nearly there. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep acting like a human." Tears sprang to Jungwoo's eyes as he realized how quickly WinWin had come to accept what was going to happen.

"No! You can't say that, we haven't exhausted any options! We can run tests, I can find inverses of the chemicals we used, I-"

"But there's no time." He said, eyes fading in and out of focus as he tried to see Jungwoo's face for a human being's rather than something he didn't want to think about. "I'm not asking you to kill me or anything... God knows I'm not strong enough for that. I need to leave, though, before you all get hurt."

"Please..." Jungwoo said, trying not to seem weak but feeling like death. "Please don't." Sighing, WinWin just walked back past the group and towards one of the few tents. Jungwoo sighed with relief as he saw this. He just needed WinWin to stay long enough to find a cure.

Go to Chapter 16

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snkpolls · 6 years ago

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SnK Chapter 112 Results

The chapter poll closed with 1706 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

RATE THE CHAPTER 1,664 Responses

No doubt about it, chapter 112 was lit. 77.1% of the fandom gave this chapter a top rating making it the third most popular chapter since we started the poll.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH

After more than 5 years reading these series I'm not sure if I can get any more broken than this, but Isayama-sensei surely will find a new way

Probably one of the most start to finish exciting and fascinating chapters we've had in a long time.

I have nothing but praise for this chapter and the discussion it has generated. Both Eren & Levi's parts were equally emotionally compelling. All in all I feel like crying in a corner now until the day comes with Mikasa smiles again and Levi stops suffering.

At this point, Eren is the greatest character in AoT, one of the greatest protagonists ever, Attack on Titan is one of the greatest manga ever and Hajime Isayama is one of the greatest mangaka ever.

Best chapter since 100 for sure. The EMA talk was delivered in the best and least expected way possible, and Eren absolutely killed it this chapter.

Can a manga chapter kill a person?

I've enjoyed lots of recent chapters, but this is the first one in a good while that I've loved all-out. Gimme dat good juice Isayama!

Eren whyyyyyy

I normally would have spent my time stressing out about Falco, but my god what a phenomenal chapter.

This manga is the only toxic relationship i want in my life.

WHAT WAS THIS CHAPTER’S MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? 1,669 Responses

Eren’s relentless roast session takes first with 28.3% of the vote. Armin punching Eren was second with 16.6% and EMA in the chapter vs. EMA on the cover was third with 14.6%.

Me crying this all through

The Titans falling from the sky

Zeke warming up then running away

My heart was absolutely broken for Mikasa. I want to pull her out of the manga, wrap her up in a blanket, dote on her and tell her everything's going to be okay. Eren, damnit, tell her you're sorry and that you love her!

I'm glad Nicolo admitted his guilt and wanted to atone/redeem himself

Let's hope Falco won't become the sink titan for now.

ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW DID THIS CHAPTER MAKE YOU FEEL? 1,653 Responses

A third of all respondents feel dead inside, while ¼ are still fully in denial and think everything will be fine. Either way, our psyches need some TLC. This question was brought to you by Betterhelp.org. #notsponsored.

Everything hurts and I'm dying.

HELP ME

I loved it but Im suffering af

it was absolutely depressing

this killed me inside

I want to die now

It hurts

Took my mental stability away😂👌💯

See y’all in therapy.

DO YOU BELIEVE ONYANKOPON IS INNOCENT? 1,660 Responses

When it comes to Onyankopon’s intentions, it seems we’re still as lost as ever. Over 4 out of 10 respondents don’t have clue where his loyalties lie. Nearly 3 out of 10 respondents think he’s trustworthy, while almost exactly the same amount of people think he’s full of crap. Also, there weren’t any write-ins about Onyankopon, but with everything else going in this chapter, we’re not entirely surprised.

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE EMA TALK? 1,649 Responses

Nearly 50% of you are not pleased with how the EMA talk turned out, while a little over 30% actually enjoyed recent developments. 15% of people now realize why we didn’t include “EMA talk” as an option for the “things you’re looking forward to in the next chapter” question (it was because we forgot, but I guess it worked out fine?)

3 words: God damnit Eren!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I loved it but it was awful, in a good way

Eren is obviously lying about hating them but until we know why all I feel is pain. Mikasa and Armin didn't deserve this.

Everything fell apart in the worst way possible

I don't buy Eren's words here, but I'm so satisfied at seeing Armin punching him in the face

I felt personally attacked, gutted, and murdered by Eren but I liked it

I was absolutely torn to pieces by it. Seeing the bond that they had/have grow and change, to seeing them go their separate ways is hard to watch, especially with the dreams we've seen them share and work to accomplish.

Eren has bad table manners

DO YOU THINK EREN IS CORRECT ABOUT ARMIN BEING MANIPULATED BY BERTHOLDT? 1,664 Responses

In our chapter 110 poll, we asked about why Armin wanted to touch Annie in the crystal. At that time, 26.8% of respondents felt he was being influenced by Bert through Paths.

Now, it seems more complicated. 62.9% feel like Eren isn’t correct, but not completely wrong about Armin being manipulated by Bertholdt. 18.1% think this isn’t the case at all, and 13.3% feel that Bert is influencing Armin’s actions.

He claims Armin is being influenced by Berthold. If Armin can be influenced by one titan, what about Eren with his three titans? I'm not sure he's being controlled but he's probably heavily influenced.

There's something more that we don't know about yet since we (and characters in the manga) are constantly being surprised by his actions. Eren's not wrong, but I don't think he's right either. He's saying he's doing everything out of his free will (cause I guess he's not ignorant about possible influences of the memories he has), while Armin and Mikasa are being manipulated, but maybe he's overestimating the power of his free will and accepts ideas that are passed down to him along with memories as his own. Or maybe he's really fully aware he's also being manipulated but uses it to his advantage somehow.

Also if Eren thinks that Armin being controlled by Bertholdt is a bad thing, he’s wrong because now Armin is two best boys for the price of one.

My baby Bertholdt is relevant again and I live for it

ACKERMYSTERY REVEALED!! DO YOU THINK EREN’S GOT THE CORRECT VERSION? 1,664 Responses

Ackermystery revealed! Or is it? 62% of respondents believe we only got partially correct information from Eren. 22% are confident Isayama is wasting no panel space on false information and 10% are certain that the information is flat out wrong.

I don't think he is totally correct. Mikasa's bond and strenght isn't solely explained by her ackerman DNA, as well as Levi. He awakened his abilities way before he met Erwin. Both of them aren't slaves of his DNA and destiny.

Partially but not fully accurate. I think there's definitely truth to what he said, but either not every... Ackerman... works the same or there are different 'levels' to the bond. He also definitely might have been exaggerating to be a douchebag, because I can't imagine how he'd think Mikasa was a slave to him when she's blatantly gone against him in the past, sometimes even physically hurting him to make a point or get him to stop doing something.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF EREN’S EXPLANATION OF THE ACKERMYSTERY? 1,656 Responses

Nearly half of respondents feel that this new information adds another layer of complexity of the Ackermans’ relationships. ¼ of voters agree that it simply makes sense, while 13% are not the biggest fans of Eren’s explanation.

Eren just replied a harsh version of it (just to protect her and let Mikasa get away from him) OR he was manipulated by Zeke with this shadowy version of the truth behind the Ackerman family

I believe his explanation of things is warped; I think Eren's explanation has some truth, but his own feelings made him jump to conclusions (e.g. Mikasa's feelings are ALL based on her Ackerbond)

Eren only understands part of it. Mikasa unlocked her powers fighting the kidnappers but formed a close bond with Eren when he wrapped the scarf around her. Those are two separate moments.

He's lying, the ackermanns haven't followed the king for the entire time they have been inside the walls, he just wants Mikasa and Armin to stop blindly following and worshiping him

Let's not jump to conclusions, we don't know if Eren's lying or if he even has the correct information. Everything should be taken with a grain of salt.

I believe it's far more complex than Eren's half assed "explanation". While it is in the Ackerman genes to find someone to bond with, it's far from a master slave relationship. And Erwin and Levi are a proof of that. If the slave theory was true, Levi would inject Erwin with serum, his dna would prevent him from allowing Erwin to die, because humanity needs him. But he chose Erwin. He chose to set him free. I think Eren meant that Mikasa was a slave for her feelings towards himx otherwise Eren looks like a complete idiot.

I think that he has very basic or oversimplified facts. What he's saying makes sense, but I feel there is a lot of grey area that he's not considering. Mikasa is still her own person. Her feelings toward him are genuine. Not to mention, Levi and Kenny both awakened the powers without an ackerbond, so....

DOES EREN BELIEVE THE CRUEL WORDS HE SAID TO ARMIN AND MIKASA? 1,657 Responses

At a near even split, respondents are either certain that Eren didn’t believe the hurtful things he said to Armin and Mikasa, or they are completely unsure. Less than a quarter thinks he truly believes in what he said.

I can't shake the feeling that this isn't 100% him. The hurtful words still feel like an act to push Armin and Mikasa away from him, rather than actually aiming to hurt them

what Eren said was gasp worthy. No one would have though he actually hated Mikasa. I do think that’s how he actually feels about Mikasa, as he said everything he will do is just him.

Whether Eren actually meant it when he said he’s alwaa hated Mikasa or he’s just trying to break the ackerbond, it’s too far, he broke her down and stomped on her repeatedly, it breaks my heart because Mikasa’s worse fear and true, she lost her last family member

Eren's words are not his own. Trust me.

I think that eren is TRYING to make his friends hate him by saying these things so when the time comes and he has to die, they won’t miss him as much. What I’m saying is, Eren is trying to be less connected to his friends so that his death won’t be too hard on them and they move on with their lives rather than having regret and mourning his death never continuing their lives the same way ever again

To be honest, I'm not all that surprised Eren would tell Mikasa what he did. While there are times that he has shown concern, friendliness, etc he's also had his moments of showing her some rather explosive anger. Whether it's real, all him or not, I don't know-nor am I concerned about it- but I do think it is something to be taken into account.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT EREN NOW? 1,653 Responses

30% of voters just want to understand what Eren is up to and are concerned about where his head is at. ¼ of voters think he is just plain full of crap, 22% find his actions unforgivable and a small 15% are ready for him to lead the country immediately.

Conflicted. Best written protag in a long, long time.

A common theme in this story is the need to do something monstrous for a perceived greater good. We don't know what Eren's goals are yet and I'm content waiting to find out before judging him.

Eren is either poorly written or his mind has been altered by Zeke somehow.

I think it’s another interesting character development for Eren. The flashbacks showed that he was starting to see his friends this way. After gaining his father’s memories, that changed everything for him.

He is still good, he hasn’t changed in terms of mindset he has become more mature and is looking at things from a different perspective. People always relied on him to make the most important descision, now he’s doing it on his own like Kaneki if u ask me. It’s like when you constantly call someone a monster, that they aren’t. they will eventually become one

I wanna kick his ass

Boy he got good roast game, bUT BOI I WOULD LIKE TO STRANGLE HIM

If he's pulling an act, then it will make me like his character even more, but if this is Eren's true self then I want him dead.

He claims he's free. What's he going to do next, run around with NO clothes on? He's already been shoeless and shirtless, he may as well cross another line!

He’s my favorite character but good lord Eren what the hell man

Still my fave. He's a bit of a dick right now but he's just so damn interesting. I NEED to know what's going on inside his head!

Eren's behaviour in this chapter is so at odds with his character portrayal in the Marley arc, that I only hope there's an explationation later that'll make it all make sense from a characterization POV

WHAT BEST DESCRIBES HOW YOU VIEW EREN’S CONTROL OF HIS ACTIONS? 1,653 Responses

40% of respondents feel that Eren is likely not fully in control of his actions and believe he is suffering a combination of control from Zeke and control from one or many of the titans in his system. 17.5% don’t want to make any assumptions just yet, and at slightly less, 17% believe that Eren is perfectly in control of himself.

Free, but heavily influenced (not controlled) by memories

A combination of all three

He might be making his own choices but that doesn't mean he's free. He's still a slave to his own ideals in the end.

Eren is definitely influenced by previous titans, but being influenced by Zeke would be bad writing.

Zeke gave him (questionably true) information, and he has lots of voices in his head but he's still in control. He's doing what he believes he needs to do to save those closest to him, even if he knows it's wrong and even if it drives them away.

Dude doesn't know what he is doing right now, Eren.exe has stopped working.

I really don't know. This feels so much different to when he was slaughtering kids in Liberio of his own volition only a year ago, and now he's setting up his contemporaries, countrymen and friends for his own ends and i can't tell if this is genuine help me

The memories are of course altering his personality and thoughts but I don't think there's any kind of direct "control" over him. He's doing what he thinks is best for Eldia.

He is certainly being influence, but still free to make his own choices

Partial will, partial influence of Attack/Founding Titan

There is something wrong with him. But it's too early to tell.

Eren and Attack titan's personalities are merged now I think. But is Eren cooperating or completely against Attack's will is a big question. I like the theory that this titan will be the main villain at the end (the series is called after his name duh)

CAN YOU CAN ACTUALLY PINPOINT THE EXACT MOMENT HER HEART BREAKS IN TWO? 1,650 Responses

RIP Mikasa’s Heart

How will Mikasa ever recover tho…

F for Mikasa’s feelings.

I'm broken like Mikasa

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN TO MIKASA NOW? 1,647 Responses

A solid ½ of respondents are confident that this was Mikasa’s calling to finally break off from Eren and have a story arc apart from him. 20% believe she will ultimately choose to go to Hizuru in the end (or do you?) and 15% feel she’s just going to be broken for the remainder of the story.

Mikasa is approaching Reiner levels of suffering... I want her to prove Eren wrong so badly, and if that means beating his ass, then so be it.

Mikasa didn't deserve this

Mikasa better move on.

Mikasa ilu bby. Your love and consideration for others has been genuine and you're doing amazing sweetie. Don't get caught up in Eren's bullshit.

AT THIS MOMENT, WHO WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO PUNCH IN THE FACE? 1,642 Responses

It was a close one but Flock edged out Eren as the characters we’d most like to punch in the face. Zeke and Isayama made a distant third and fourth. Popular write-ins were Armin (26), Gabi (35), Mikasa (10), all of them (14) and no one (11).

Myself, for always still returning to this series, despite Isayama destroying my hopes and feels time and time again.

Guys who destroyed the shit machine

All of above. No questions asked.

none of them are u crazy!?

Why isn't Gabi an option here?

I'm gonna pull a chapter 68 and punch myself in the face.

I picked Floch but I’d love to punch the shit out of Zeke and Eren as a close second and third

WHERE DO YOU THINK HISTORIA’S LOYALTIES LIE? 1,639 Responses

At over ⅓ of the votes, most feel Historia is either acting on her own, or is in cahoots with Eren and the Yeagerists. Quite a few write-ins felt her loyalty only goes as far as Eren, while another several said she’s loyal only to Ymir.

Daz the Winged Titan

Eren. But, that loyalty is wavering.

Her unborn child most likely. Everyone else has screwed her over!

Historia's loyalties lie with Paradis. She will probably side with anyone who can ensure the island's continued survival. She's clearly taking her role as the Queen seriously what with her pregnancy and all... :(

I might have an opinion on this if Historia had screentime to base said opinion on.

Ymir her secret girlfriend who cosplays as a farm boy

Even if I'm disappointed with her being pregnant because of Zeke/Eren's fault, I'm sure she'll rise again. She may have close friends in the SC, but she is loyal to Ymir. She'll live in a world where she can proudly say who she is.

WHICH OF THESE PANELS IS THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES? 1,657 Responses

With 43.8% of the responses, the random scouting legion members being turned into titans was the most horrifying, followed by Floch’s… smile. Falco’s bathtime came in last place, but do you guys realize just how big that sink is?

*screams*

Zeke screaming like the furry monkey that he is and seeing Floch being a bitch was horrible too. The only thing that matters to remember is our cinammon roll taking a bubble bath🛀💗 what a cutie pie.

Falco is going to wake up like "wtf i'm in a sink"

You'll think I'm crazy, but I absolutely LOVE this Floch-villain thing. It was like I was waiting for that "smile" to happen. Most people hate him, but he may even be a more dangerous villain in the future.

WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF LEVI’S HEADACHE? 1,647 Responses

56.4% believe Levi’s head grab has nothing to do with his Ackergenetics. Of those, 29.2% attributed it to stress and 14.8% believe it’s not a headache at all. For those who believe his Ackerbonds are a factor, 27% attribute it to his bond with Erwin, while 25% cite a connection to Eren.

After all the trouble Levi went through to defend Eren, all the dead comrades who gave up their lives to defend Eren. Now Eren is in league with the very man who killed Erwin, Connie's entire village and many more people on Paradis. That's a recipe for a head explosion, nevermind a headache!

Both stress and the Ackerman headache of himself doubting the idea of continuing to defend Eren and uphold Erwin's promise of saving humanity and killing the beast Titan but his Ackerman blood tells him otherwise

He is tired as hell, give this man a break, I don't think he formed an Ackerbond with Eren, well I hope for his sanity that he didn't...I'll pray for him.

I don’t think he’s formed an ackerbond with Eren, but he seemed to believe Erwin and Eren were humanity’s hopes so whatever that means…

Little bit of the vow to Erwin, but also has a lot to do with the stress and all the lives lost for someone that may have betrayed them.

We've never seen Levi get a headache before and if that really is a headache in the same chapter Eren mentioned them I find it kind of silly.

I'm so curious about Levi holding his head and what it could mean. I hope that he can fulfill his vow to Erwin. Also that panel of him turning back around was beautifully drawn.

DO YOU STILL BELIEVE ZEKE’S STORY OF HOW RAGAKO VILLAGE WAS TRANSFORMED INTO TITANS 1,632 Responses

57.9% think that Zeke’s still lying about, well, everything, but especially the actual mode of transmission for his spinal fluid in Ragako. A little over a third felt he was telling the truth, and the rest of the write-ins don’t trust him farther than they can throw him.

Who believes anything Zeke says now (besides Eren)?

I do, but the reason why everyone froze up wasn't because of the spinal fluid: it was the gas. If someone just ingests the spinal fluid normally, the signs aren't completely present. With the case of the wine, they didn't add any toxins to it: just Zeke's spinal fluid. What Zeke said about how someone ingesting his spinal fluid getting a coordinate on his/herself afterword to make them susceptible to Zeke's Titan transformation scream is true.

The only firm evidence we have is that Zeke's spinal fluid was involved, Everything else is supposition... damn Zekerets...

I still have my faith in the theory that he was a fake doctor, who delivered his spinal fluid in the form of medicine.

I don't trust a single word that Zeke says. I'm guessing the gas was a misdirection to throw suspicion off the wine, but it could still have been true, because no one was eaten in Ragako.

Believe' and 'Zeke' should not be in the same sentence together.

All of the Above

ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR THE TITLE OF THE BOOK ZEKE HAS READ 7 TIMES?

This is our first question with only a write-in option and it happened because we weren’t clever enough to think of any smart book titles on our own. The fandom came through with 774 people providing suggestions. Here are just a few:

"How to be a key player and still not reveal your true goals to anyone 101"

"How to convince your captors that you're innocently reading a book while you're actually plotting your escape"

"Levi will make it out of this" and other hilarious jokes you can tell yourself.

“Eren knew Reiner would save Falco” and other lies to tell yourself!”

"So you have one year left to live. One Hundred experiences you shouldn't miss out!"

8D Chess by Zeke Jaeger

A Little Brother's Love: Garnering Your Sibling's Affection with Empty Promises and Frequent Deceit

Anarchist cookbook

Fantastic Beast Abs and Where to Find Them

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Zekerets

"How To Be The World's Biggest Douche". Floch also has a copy.

How to Take Over the World While Having Fun, for Assholes

My Mom Ate My Brother's Mom!

O brother where art thou

The Adventures of Wile E. Coyote & The Roadrunner, published by ACME

The beards and the bees.

When Levi comes about, scream and shout!

Where's Waldo? with Waldo already circled on every page

No, I just hope it’s the last book he’ll ever read

DO YOU THINK LEVI IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO FULFILL HIS VOW? 1,651 Responses

The majority (41.2%) of voters think Levi will (eventually) kill Zeke, but around a third aren’t sure if he’ll be able to. 27.4% think Levi will die, possibly next chapter, before he has a chance to avenge Erwin’s death.

Levi will probably die (although I wish he wouldn't), so I hope Connie kills Zeke in his place. That's my only hope.

Levi can't die before his vow has been fulfilled, or else I will be sorely disappointed.

I think Levi will kill Zeke, therefore fulfilling his promise to Erwin, but will die in the process :(((

Levi kill Zeke already!

Zeke will have to die at some chapter, because Levi will fulfill his promise. Even if he dies in another scene, the Mike-like ambush won't happen again.

pls don't kill Levi isayama

I WANNA SEE LEVI CUT ZEKE'S BALLS OFF THAT MOTHERFUCKING MONKEY I KNEW HE SHOULDNT BE TRUSTED

WHO ARE YOU MOST ROOTING FOR? 1,651 Responses

With a new faction appearing in the last couple chapters, 50.3% of respondents are still rooting for the Survey Corps to come out on top. Next are those supporting Eren at 25.7%, followed by those rooting for no one.

if there was an option 'just Armin, Mikasa and Historia' in the 'Who are you most rooting for' question, I'd have taken it

As long as Eren doesn't hurt historia I'm still rooting for him

Please give me Reiner i want him to save the day like the true hero he is

Eren is pulling a Lelouch.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of The New Eldian Empire, and to the Republic for it stands, one Nation under Eren…

friendship ended with Eren now Reiner is my new best friend

Amazing how Eren manages to become more and more irredeemable with every passing chapter. Hopefully the warriors and Scouts team up to put down him and his maniacal brother.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER? 1,652 Responses

1039 (62.9%) Levi’s titan battle 742 (44.9%) Flashback of Eren and Zeke in Marley 717 (43.4%) Information about Historia 704 (42.6%) Yeager brothers in Shiganshina 540 (32.7%) Warrior infiltration time 513 (31.1%) Uhh... did Falco ever make it out of that bathtub

Levi’s titan battle is tops on the wish list followed by a flashback on Eren and Zeke’s time in Marley. Information about Historia is third.

Some Goddamn insight into Eren's mind. (It's been 2 years Isa COME ON)

I would literally sell my soul to the devil for an Eren POV, a flashback to his time in Marley and an explanation of what the hell he's doing and why

Eren apologizing for hurting best girl's feelings

Floch getting shot in the face.

Floch kicking ass

So wait- did they really just leave Falco alone, naked, and probably Titan juiced in the restaurant? :(

Hange taking Mikasa Historia and preferably Annie and flying off to the Bahamas for an eternal vacation away from everyone's bullshit

Levi's survival and maybe a nice cup of tea.

Armin Vs. Eren Titan Battle

WHERE IS BEST BOY REINER BRING HIM BACK

anything nice...

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 1,594 Responses

Reddit still reigns supreme with 44.3% of respondents, but Tumblr made a slight comeback up to 18% over only 11% last month. “I don’t” is third with 10.5% and 9.8% are lucky enough to discuss the series in real life.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER?

Lots of revelations, lots of suffering :(

Why Eren? Mikasa loves your stupid ass, ackerbond or not.

Friendship ended with Eren. Now Armin is my best friend.

I can't be more proud of armin he is my baby forever.

Amazing so far still hoping EM is a thing but its looking dim, Eren is now my waifu despite him being a jerk I love how much the dude doesn't give a shit.

Armin's gonna take at least a year to explain this shit storm to Annie once she wakes up

ARUMIKA/JEANKASA LIFEBOATS HAVE TONS OF ROOM! BE PREPARED TO ABANDON SHIP!

EMA was one of the main reasons why I was into this series and seeing Eren hurt MA like that makes me want to quit the series entirely.

Eren baby please get your shit together. Also fuck Zeke and Floch.

Eren becoming a villain was hinted since chapter 25 and by numerous characters (Levi, Annie, Reiner, Eren himself, Zeke - all before the timeskip). So Eren is probably being genuine, especially since the words he's saying to Mikasa and Armin are the same he said to Carla in the first chapter.

Eren did nothing wrong!

Eren hates that he has influenced Mikasa for so long. He's trying to break the Ackerbond so she can choose for herself in these trying times.

Eren is a bitch but I still love him

Armin and Mikasa did nothing wrong to deserve hear that crap of him, of all the people, the one who has 3 titans + a crazy half brother to influence him. Is Eren free? HAHAHAHA NOOOOOOOOOOOPE.

Even though I'm not the biggest fan of EMA what Eren has done is completely unacceptable, Zeke running and screaming is my mood, and please please please don't kill off Levi now Isayama or I'm gonna stab a bitch.

I'm heartbroken. I don't believe Eren hates Mikasa, and I'm sure he knows it. I won't pretend to understand his motivations at this point, I just know he's lying. The look on his face says it all. But Mikasa, my poor sweet girl. I wish she didn't have to go through all of this pain. Someone give her a hug ffs.

I found it funny when Eren was like “we’ve never fought, huh? That’s because I’d BEAT YOUR ASS!”

I love Eren but by god am I worried about the way the character is being handled. I hate the idea of him being so manipulated that he's almost a totally different person, I hate the idea of him being controlled and losing his agency... both of those just feel like cheating for a plot twist, y'know?

I love Isayama, but fuck him.

I think Isayama knocked it out of the park with the EMA scene. That shit will be remembered as the Grim Reminder 3.0 in matters of writing once this series is over.

I think this was a great chapter. What I find amazing is how quickly people stopped talking about Gabi after this chapter. While you might say that it's because she wasn't the focus, I think it's partially because of her (lack of violent) reaction to Eren. I think she clearly has more depth now and I am wondering what her role in the story will be.

I wish Jean had been at the table when Eren said that stuff to Mikasa.

I'm incredibly worried for Levi's safety, along with Mikasa's mental health and Armin's physical health. Eren's words created wounds that aren't going to heal quickly; It's going to take time. I'm beyond infuriated at Zeke, and I hope he gets what he deserves.

I’m not sure how I feel about this series anymore because this chapter. I get a almost a years worth of Gabi, Galliard, and Zeke whom I really don’t like and then when the characters I actually like reappear they become jerks, fools, or they bite the cursed dust. I know I sound so salty lol.

Floch being a douche beyond my wildest expectations, Eren's entrance, the fight, the tears, the child who had no reason to be there caught up in all of it, Zeke running away like he was some kind of Looney Toons' character. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. This was the most enjoyable chapter in a very long time.

Seeing Gabi terrified of Eren while he was talking to Mikasa and Armin was amazing, she finally realizes that this is the person that was responsible for the attack on Marley. Eren is this devil that she was told that she will need to kill, but when she is finally in a room with him she is full of fear.

Zeke, that jerk. Once I get his hands on him-

Eren... I still like him a lot, but damn, that was such an intense roast he did toward Mikasa and Armin. I think it'll lead to some interesting development for the latter, but I really wonder if Eren was really bluffing his hatred toward Mikasa and has an ulterior motive behind what he did. That'll be interesting to find out!

When Levi said a long time ago "It might rain Titans", do you think Zeke read his mind through paths and made his thoughts come true? Other than that, Eren's villainy is continuing. I'm not sure whether to cackle "Let the world burn" or cuff him around the ear for making Mikasa cry!

This chapter has DEVASTATED me. I already heard warning bells when I saw the cover with EMA being so adorable, and hated being proven right when the chapter came out. The bond between EMA was the thing I rooted for the most in this series, the purest thing in the SnK universe. Eren and Armin have both died for each other. Mikasa would have too, if she wasn't already an immortal goddess. The strength of their bond is something that has been made apparent since chapter 1. Together, they are almost unstoppable, invincible, and Isayama has taken even that away from us. Thanks, I hate it.

Every part of this chapter was brilliantly executed. Although, I am somehow always surprised at how wildly different reader interpretations end up being whenever Isayama teases us with purposeful ambiguity. This chapter was extremely polarizing, but as always, I think the answer to the truthfulness of each of Eren's claims (hating Mikasa, Ackermen being robotic slaves to their bond, being free, etc.) is somewhere in the middle.

#snk spoilers #snk 112 #snk poll #snk polls #poll results

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strawarmada · 5 years ago

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The Go-Ware Set and it's Awesomeness (A story about a chance meeting, old school sales, and buffalo sauce tofu)

It's 11:30 am on a Friday in the middle of August, 2019. There's a familiar, yet unwelcome grumbling in the center of my belly. I'm halfway through my shift at Whole Foods as a Grocery Team Member. This is about the time my hunger starts to rebel against my work ethic and makes a viable stand against my ignoring of its presence. I make my way over to the hot bar to scope out what the offerings of tofu smothered in random sauces are on the menu today. OH HOT DAMN!!! Buffalo Sauce Tofu is glowing in bright glorious orange steam filled deliciousness, beckoning me to indulge. And believe you me, I will.

This is my "real" job. I'm also the Founder of Straw Armada, a Eco-Conscious straw company that donates $.50 of every straw (or item) back to organizations that are helping to clean the oceans of plastic pollution and debris. I'm 40 and homie needs benefits!!

Working at a Whole Foods is an ideal workplace for someone who is Eco-conscious. They have a variety of options for your waste. A can for recycling, a can for compost, and a can for waste that is neither (items that unfortunately go to the dump). Every day after picking up my smothered mystery sauce tofu, I cringed as I approached the condiment station having to grab a plastic utensil. Albeit, these utensils are recycled. I will also throw them into the recyclable waste bin when I'm done. But something about contributing to the use an item that will get 15 minutes of life out of me and immediately be discarded into an existence of meaninglessness is a cause of such shame and guilt for me. As it should be.

The amount of plastic items that are used in this way in just America alone is absolutely staggering. I mean staggering!! 40 BILLION. That's the number annually in our country that gets used and a very small portion of that gets recycled.

With this fact in mind, I immediately began to search for an alternative for this online. Was there anything I could carry with me to work each day in my messenger bag? I could essentially bring some metal utensils from home with me. Then I'd have to wrap them in something so they didn't get dirty (lord knows what's lingering in the bottom of my bag). How could I bring reusable utensils with me easily and keep them clean and separate? That's when I stumbled across an ad.

It took me all of 2 seconds to be suckered in by what I saw in the photo connected to this ad.

I could see there was a set of 5 Bamboo items all neatly organized into a beige case I could roll up and snap closed. It consisted of a fork (for stabbing tofu), a spoon (for collecting tofu sauce), a knife (no explanation needed), Chopsticks (F*CKING CHOPSTICKS MAN!), a Bamboo straw and even a straw cleaner. NEED!!!

I purchased this set for what felt like a bit steep of a price ($16.99) and waited patiently for its arrival by mail. Being in the E commerce industry, I knew to expect a few weeks for delivery. In the meantime, I brought a fork wrapped in a dish rag. This was no way to live I might add. On a Monday afternoon, my shipment arrived and it was like Eco Christmas!!

I was honestly just excited to go to work the next day to unveil these puppies. There's a very evident stigma with the BYO crowd. People look at you funny. Think you're a germaphobe, or a just a wack job. I think the general public needs a severe desensitization to reusable items. Cups have made the transition nicely. It's now the time for straws and utensils to become commonplace.

With great pride and excitement, I unrolled my set for it's first official debut. It was everything I dreamed it would be. Now I completely understand if you think I'm being overly dramatic about this experience. I am. As an environmentally empathic human, these simple lifestyle hacks that help to relieve my footprint shame are difficult to quantify. These are the moments my friends.

Within minutes, and as expected, i was approached by a woman who was, almost uncomfortably, staring at my new bamboo friends with a intent to either

a) steal them, or,

b) take a bite out my lunch

Her first words were "Gimme your utensils bro!"

No seriously she said "Where can I get those?"

I told her I found them online. I mentioned how I worked there and everyday at lunch, I needed reusable utensils so I didn't need to use plastic. She went on to tell me she was interested in the movement of banning single use plastics and wasn't really sure what things she could do to help. Just to do her part. As I usually say when discussing this with people, I stated "Just don't do nothing. Change something about your life that cuts back on the footprint you leave." Of course shamelessly, I mentioned "My name is Nikko and I own an Eco-friendly straw company that donates back to ocean clean up." I recommended she go to StrawArmada.com to pick up a straw and help me to help our cause. She said "I'm Anya. It's too bad you don't offer these utensils too because I would absolutely buy them from you if I could." It was like a lightning bolt!! I had to find out where to buy these and how I could offer them on my site.

I spent that evening searching for a supplier for these items with not only a price point that would allow me to offer them reasonably priced, but also of the quality I expected from my own purchases. After some research, I had selected my supplier and worked out a fair deal and I immediately updated my site with our newest item.

MONTHLY FEATURED ECO-ITEM: The Go-Ware Set. Priced at $10.99, with Free Shipping.

E commerce is a tough business. It takes relentlessness and determination to even get people to your page, much less purchase items. I entered this business with a goal to offer affordable Eco-friendly items that reduce waste and to give a portion of those sales back to help clean the oceans of all this crap we throw away that pollutes our world and endangers our wildlife and ourselves. I owe it to our mother to be an earth child she benefits from creating, not to her detriment. I'm a visitor on her stage and I don't want to be a cancer. I want to be a help.

At approximately 9 pm the following evening, I heard that certain ding from my phone that brings me immense amounts of joy. That sound that lets me know some other kind soul has just donated $.50 more cents to my cause. As usual I checked the order to prepare it for fulfillment. And there in the customer column is the name Anya. It's a unique name and I knew it had to be the same Anya that approached me looking like she was about to steal my stuff. There was a order for 5 of these sets. 5!!!!

I always write a personal email to each and every new customer that makes a purchase from my page. I honestly appreciate every sale in a way that's hard to explain. The work and the effort I've put into this company is emotionally tangible for me and I am paid back, not with profits, but with acceptance by the online shoppers community.

I received a response within minutes of my email. It was her.

In short, the email consisted of her appreciation for the advice and passion I exuded about the topic. She said she bought a set for everyone in her family and wished me success in my venture.

I wanted to share this story because it provided me a unique sense of purpose and meaning. The individual connection with a customer that was made and hopefully the impact our introduction will carry on rippling through time. This is why I started this. To feel this way. Straw Armada is not yet profitable in economic terms. In emotional currency, I am being paid more than I deserve.

Thank you Anya.....

Nikko Raptoulis - Founder of Straw Armada

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notnaturalanahi · 7 years ago

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What Kinda Lame Name For a Demon is Dean?

Characters: 1st person Gender neutra!lReader, Demon!Dean, nameless Demon, OC’s (also unnamed). It can be a Demon!Dean x Reader if you want to.

Wc: 3167 (consider this a long drabble)

Warnings: Foul language, drinking, violence, blood, death (minor character), loose ends and loopholes, open ending.

[This is a crack fic, don’t lose sleep over it]

Summary: I decide to stop for a drink on my way home and it’s defenitely not what I expected for a wednesday night.

A/N: This piece is my entry for @evansrogerskitten Ash’s Hottest Dean Challenge my prompt is bolded in the text and there’s also a gif. I have so much writing this one. It was supposed to be a drabble of this scene that popped into my mind, but it turned out into this cracky/action thing.

Unbetad, brace yoourselves for mistakes.

Check out my Masterlist - Also you can Join my TAGlist - Or Talk to me, gimme some feedback

Whatever, love you. bye!

The weather’s chilly and drizzly tonight, from where I’m sitting at the counter I have the perfect view of the dark night and the empty street outside. Well, empty with the exception of the occasional car that rolls by with the windshield wipers mid speed or the passerby covered head to toe and carrying an umbrella or a few street dogs… Okay, maybe not that empty. Anyway, since I forgot my umbrella and only realized it after I got off work I decided to make a stop when I saw the bar down the street from my office was open. This first half of the week had been dreadful, so I deserve a drink to cut short the week.

Staring at my drink in hand I reconsider my previous plans. I made the decision as I walked into the establishment that I would only have two drinks, but now as I contemplate the last of the 2nd one I find my mouth itching for more, maybe just a 3rd or even a 4th after that one… I know I shouldn’t, I have an early morning tomorrow and I should be at home right now finishing with the retouches of my thesis. It’s been a long way but I think after the professor’s last corrections it’s gonna be perfect… so yeah, I’m going home.

A sudden chill runs down my spine, as if a cold breeze hit my skin or someone breathed right behind my back, twisting my neck I see noone. The front door remains closed, a big clock above it telling me it’s 8:45pm. Taking in my surrounding for the first time since I walked in 30 minutes ago I see the bar is almost deserted. To my left, a happy looking couple, too immersed in their own conversation, looking super cute together, sitting on the same side of the booth. To the right a drunkard nursing on his beer, eyes looking beyond anything, right into the astral plane. Also somewhere around the back is the bartender, a middle-age guy who looks like he’d rather be anywhere but here.

Sighing I look up and notice the amount of dirt in my glasses, I’ve lost count of how many times a day I had to wipe them today, I snatch a paper napkin from the metallic holder while removing them from my face and proceed to carefully rub the lenses. Once I finish I put them back on. Why can I just not wear glasses, what’s the meaning of having eyes if they’re not gonna work properly?

Ugh, the story of my life.

I shiver again and take it as a cue, in one semi-large chug I throw back the rest of my vodka, grimacing at the scolding sensation traveling down my esophagus and I know I’m gonna regret that in five minutes or less, my stomach’s not gonna let me forget about it. Immediately I fish onto my bag for my ever evanescent wallet. When I find it, I pull a big enough bill to cover for both my drinks and a very, very modest tip -sorry to the bartender but as student/trainee I don’t have much to spare-. And slide the sleeves of my jacket over my arms, followed by the strap of the crossbody bag before jumping off the barstool.

Apparently my eyes were closed or maybe I’ve fallen asleep while moving; I don’t know I’m tired, it’s been a long day, because I only notice the tall man standing right next to me when my face collides with the solid, yet tender wall of muscles that is his wide chest. I open my eyes.

“Oh shit! Sorry, I didn’t see you there. Almost like you appeared outta nowhe-” I can’t help it, I look up adjusting my glasses already fuming at the back of my head cause I will have to wipe them again and my words cut short, I swallow the rest of my apology down. At the end of broad shoulders and resting above a thick neck I find an extremely handsome face. Jawline for days, covered with sexy scruff. Plump lips -cocksure smirk- slightly crooked nose, deep, deep green/ hazel eyes that stare down at me and all of that served with a side of freckles dusted all over.

So hot, I hate him.

He just stares, smug smile and wrinkly eyes. He’s wearing more layers than a normal person needs tonight -it’s not that cold- and his hair is combed to the side.

“Leaving already?” obviously he ignores my apology.

I blink the salacious thoughts away and focus on his piercing gaze “It’s late,” I explain plain and simple.

I attempt to sidestep him but apparently somewhere in the middle our four words conversation he laid an arm on the back of my old chair, successfully trapping me between himself and the unmovable counter. I look back up and of course the mother fucker knows what he’s doing, a mischievous glimpse sparkles in his eyes.

I sigh, dramatically.

“Look I’m flattered. A tall, hot guy like you coming up to me. But hooking up is not why I’m in here tonight. So I dunno. Maybe we can exchange numbers, you know… get a raincheck. You can call me on the weekend? Tonight I have plenty to do, and unfortunately you’re not on the list.” I know he hasn’t say anything and I’m rambling a little. But certainly I don’t give a shit. Perhaps I did some time ago but at this point in my life, I don’t anymore.

He chuckles. A hand comes up and I still myself because I have no idea what’s so funny or what his intentions are. Thick and long fingers -I gulp at the sight- pass through his mane, pushing it all back and I think he looks even better that way than styled to the side.

“What?” I ask while trying to push his arm off the metallic bar at the back of the stool, realizing how solid it is, pure fucking muscle. My hand pulls at it but nothing happens.

“Dollface, I’m not here to flirt and sleep with you,” he states, “although I wouldn’t say no to you,” he adds giving me a once over and throwing a chin shrug to the mix.

When he stops talking my eyes shoot up, no longer entertained with the way my fingers look hooked around his forearm, or how the tips don’t touch each other as I wrap them around his wrist. With a coked eyebrow I demand to know what he means.

“I’m here to kill you,” he simply says, like it’s nothing.

I back away a little and snort at his joke. It’s gotta be a joke right… Who comes up to someone they don’t know at a bar and tell them they’re gonna kill them?

I let out a chuckle that I can’t hold in and he joins me. Our laughter increasing by the second and soon we engage in a full body laugh, belly shaking and I let my hand lay on his firm chest because I need to feel that firmness again. All of the sudden he stops laughing, I’m too busy to notice though, cackling away. Both my hands now on his chest, supporting my weight missing the way he leans in forcing me to bend backwards until my back hits the barstool.

My eyes flutter open and his face is right there, deadpan expression. “I’m serious,” he hisses, hot breath fanning my face.

“Okay,” I gush rolling my eyes.

His gaze drops, entrusting me to do the same and as I follow his line of sight down his chest and hairless stomach, up to the waistband of his jeans where he’s pulling the hem of his shirts up for me to see… and Oh. My. God! That belt’s kinda low around his hips and ugh they’re so narrow. Why are his hips so narrow? Is this how he wants to kill me?

Sign me up, please!

His hand let go of the fabric and it lowers down, my eyes widen because I think he’s gonna open his fly or something and flash me and I don’t know if I wanna see that … not here at least. Except what I see is the handle of a knife, a blade that seems to be made out wood or bone or something… Eesh!

“Are those teeth?” I slap myself mentally, seriously though? The guy it’s showing me his lower abdomen and a knife, of curse the knife is actually what matters! I compel myself to stop looking, because as alluring that sight may be, he just told me he was here to kill me. Closing my eyes I lift my head to I can look at him in the eyes and-

“FUCK! Your eyes are totally black. Are you aware of that?”

He only nods.

“Okay it’s that because some medical condition or some like that and I’m being a total asshole for bringing it up. I’m so sorry!”

“I’m a demon,” he says with a malicious smile.

“Whaaaaaaat? No you’re not!”

He sighs, not even trying to conceal this exasperation,and with a blink his eyes go back to the normal deep green -yeah I’m gonna go with green- and he signals to the bartender, asking for a whiskey when the server gets closer.

“Hey!” I complain and he quickly changes his order from one to two. “Thanks! If you’re gonna kill me, at least buy me a drink first… like common courtesy,” I joke.

Breathing through his nose he pulls the barstool next to the one we were standing by and sits down. He’s so tall he only needs to move his ass to the side and he’s sitting. Me on the other hand, almost need crampons to climb into that thing like the first time, but I make it just in time to see the bartender deliver our drinks and some peanuts.

“I’m assuming you know everything about me, or at least enough… I mean, you’re sure I’m the one you wanna kill?” I say.

“I’m sure,” he answers before his lips latched to the glass.

“Oh-kay…you have a name?”

“Dean.”

“Dean, Really?”

“What the hell’s wrong with my name?”

“Nothing it’s just… Kinda lame ain’t it. I was hoping for a Moloch or Aemon or I don’t know… errr Abaddon?”

He gives me a killer look. “Dean’s fine though… Yeah, or perhaps you could also go with Deacon. Deacon has more of a demonic charm I think.” Dean makes a sound, kinda like a growl or something. “Okay, okay. Dean!”

“So what’s the deal, Dean. How’s this gonna happen? You gonna get me drunk and stab me with your big bone?”

He turns to face me, smirking, lines appearing in his forehead because of his questioning eyebrows. A horse laugh escapes me when I realize what I said, but I cut myself, this is not a funny situation.

“I mean, you come in here, pretend you wanna sleep with me and at the last second you drop this bomb on me and that’s it? When you gonna do it or why?” I move my bag from the middle and start removing my jacket.

“Shut up,” he commands. Breathing deeply he combs his hair with his hand again and looks at me sternly.

“Fine,” I complay and bite my lips into my mouth and turn to hang my jacket on the back of my seat, sitting forward in silence. He has the knife, so I should do as he says I guess. Taking a peanut from the bowl I play with it, rolling it around my fingers. Pulling that little tip of and chewing it with my front teeth.

I open my mouth to say something, closing it right away because I don’t even know what to say. I take the small rimmed glass in front of me and take a big gulp almost spitting it all out instantly. “God, I hate whiskey.” After that we both remain silent for I’m not sure how long until I can’t take it anymore and I jump off the stool.

He does the same and stands right in front of me. “I’m just gonna go to the restroom,” I tell him, lifting my right hand up as promise.

“How do I know you’re not gonna run on me?”

“If I do run, would you come after me, find me?” I allow my hand to lay on his arm, enjoying the way his muscles twist under my touch.

“I will,” Dean promises, roaring near my face.

“Then it’s useless for me to run. I’m gonna pee, if I don’t come out in… let’s say 4 minutes you can come looking for me.” With a couple of soft slaps on the side of his arm I walk past him and towards the restrooms, not even looking back to see if he’s watching me because I can totally feel the way his eyes pierced a hole in the back of my head.

Once in the restroom I sigh and closed the door behind me. Apparently I’m dying tonight… That’s happening. Shit!

Bending down to take a good looks in the stalls I check all of them are empty. I don’t like going to the bathroom with people sitting right next to me where they can hear everything I do. I pick the one on the far back and do what I have to do. I can see the stains all over my glasses again but chose not to wipe them to hurry it up a little just in case. When I get out I go to wash my hands and I hear the door sing open. The bar was empty so of course I assume Dean came to check on me.

“Hey it’s been like 2 minutes, you could have a little more trust in me. I told you I wasn’t gonna run,” I joke to my killer because that’s how I am and rinse the foam of my hands. “Besides, the moment I start running I will trip over my own feet and that’d be it for me,” I add while giggling but the second I lift my gaze from the jet of water I see someone else. A man, definitely not Dean standing right behind me at the sinks.

I turn around, my eyes scan his tall form, and head to toes black attire. He blinks and his eyes match his clothes.

“Fuck!” I try to go for the door, but he’s quicker than me -of course- and steps in my way, pulling my head and throwing me back. I stagger but surprisingly I keep my feet on the ground, his large hand lands on my throat and he’s pushing me to walk back, until my back hits the wall of the first stall.

My hands grip around his forearm, but no matter how much force I apply his grip won’t loosen, he’s a lot stronger than I am -not that that’s so hard to accomplish.

“I already have a demon here to kill me,” I force myself to speak through his hold, maybe he doesn’t know about Dean.

My eyes are starting to get lazy though and the blurry spots appear in my line of vision. The bathroom door whips open, crashing against the wall and closing again due to the forced and I’m able to see Dean walking towards us.

“A demon,” I scream, although I know it’s barely a whisper and I’m not really sure Dean can hear me, but I point to the demon with my finger, so he can catch my drift.

Dean retrieves the bone knife with teeth from his jeans and launches for this other demon, who ducks in time and he toss me aside, as if I were just a piece of paper. I land with my side of a trash can, wailing in pain.

The new demon, flashes from under his sleeve a long silver pointy knife, and it makes me wonder what’s with demons and funny shaped knives. It’s that like a trend?

They both stand right in front of each other, like facing a duel or something. “All you Abaddon groupies are the same, you know that?” Dean asks rhetorically.

Wow, Abaddon does exist it’s not just mythological!

“You can’t just can’t accept that the queen is dead, can you?” Dean continuous.

Oh, and it’s she and she’s dead. I sit up because I never in my life thought I see a demon, less of all two demons ready to duel… Will they count their steps?

“Maybe we just can’t accept that a douche like you was the one who killed her,” the other demon spits with anger.

It doesn’t truly surprise to know it was Dean who killed her. He does look like the guy who’d take down a big bad legendary demon. “Ah. Yeah, that’s got to hurt, doesn’t it?”

That was too cocky, Dean should learn to be a little more humble.

The fight it’s quick, the other demon, swings to get Dean with his pointy knife but Dean is faster -ugh soooooo hot!- and blocks his move, spinning him around and jabbing his bone, teethy knife into his chest. I gasp, unintentionally when orange light shoots from the demon’s eyes and chest.

Then Dean let his body fall to the ground once he’s dead and blood start pooling around his body. I get up as fast as I can, I don’t want his blood to touch me. Dean looks at me, not even preneting he’d help me get up and nods towards me.

“I’m okay,” I raps clearing my voice. My throat feels swollen already.

He comes closer to me, his hand moving up and I freeze because he’s gonna kill me. He’s gonna do it and my last words were I’m okay, so lame. At last second his warm palm rests on my chest, fingers inspecting the bruises forming around my neck and I open my eyes.

“Let’s go somewhere you and me,” he says close to my face. I blink dumbfounded.

“What, you and me?” I swallow, the soreness of my throat still there. “Where?”

“I dunno, anywhere,” he shrugs, bending over to clean his knife of the dead demon clothes.

“You wanna kill me,” I refresh his memory in case he’s forgotten.

“I just save your life,” he defends.

“I guess you’re right, I’m still alive. But what are the chances of that becoming a thing?” I caress my own neck, whining in pain.

“Let me ask you this. If I really wanted to kill you, wouldn’t’ve done it by now?”

It’s my turn to shrug. “I guess.”

“Let’s go. You should get some ice on that neck before it gets worse,” Dean says, his hand on my lower back as he hold the bathroom door open for me and leads me towards the back door of the bar.

Everything:

@nadiandreu7, @thegreatficmaster (no Sam/Jared), @mogaruke, @samisimportant, @ria132love, @donnaintx, @feelmyroarrrr, @just-another-busy-fangirl, @love-kittykat21, @emilyymichelle, @walkingkhaleesi, @imagining-supernatural, @kdfrqqg, @charliebradbury1104, @thedevilinthedetails, @docharleythegeekqueen, @artprincessbree, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @tardis-full-of-fallen-angels, @supernatural-girl97, @sam-inaflannel, @sammys-lost-shoe, @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester, @nanie5, @roxyspearing, @emoryhemsworth, @rambling-rabbit, @akshi8278, @meganwinchester1999, @geekgirl1213, @maui137, @creepykatftw @novakfandoms, @waywardasfudge, @kickasscas67, @spnwoman, @tattooedmomster13, @yoursmilemakesmeloveyou, @asgardianvamp21, @michell868,

@possesstheheart, @thatpeachybandgirl, @read-the-reid, @supernaturalmistress @jensen-gal, @its-my-perky-nipples, @esoltis280,

Dean/Jensen:

@missmotherhen, @valerieshubin, @chennyetomlinson, @justanotherdeangirl, @jennell79, @ruprecht0420, @jalove-wecallhimdean, @evyiione, @laurafloradora, @fanfreak07, @superapplepie, @wingedcatninja, @sandlee44, @plaidstiel-wormstache, @lessons-of-red, @supernatural-fan-123, @mandilion76, @blackcherrywhiskey, @akshi8278, @papertrailsstrewnacrossthefloor, @shut-ur-face-and-get-in-the-car, @aly-winchester, @winchesterdemon67, @supernatural-strangerthings-1980

#what kinda lame name for a demon is dean?#ash's hottest dean challenge #evansrogerskitten #demon!dean x reader #crack #violence #death #blood #supernatural #supernatural fanfiction

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diyunho · 7 years ago

Text

The Joker x Reader - “Mommy” Part 3

It was a well known fact The Joker’s girlfriend left him with four young children and disappeared. It was also known that his ex stepped up and took care of them even if she didn’t have to. The King of Gotham might have lost his woman, but he never lost his Queen.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5

After 2 months

The Joker is alone in the VIP room, enjoying his solitude; he ordered everyone to clear the premises and wait outside since his business meeting ended earlier than expected. Out of the blue, the cell alerts of a new message. J slides the screen and a picture with you and Mia laughing pops up: you are both wearing matching headbands with yellow flowers, identical pearl necklaces and PJ’s made from the same fabric.

He barely smiles, when a new picture with you and now all the boys added in the frame pops up, apparently ready for bed. The Joker’s smile gets a little bit wider, then after a few seconds it disappears under the usual frown. He starts texting something back but changes his mind and erases the words, staring at the images one more time before placing the phone inside his pocket.

At the penthouse, you didn’t even wait for a reply since J never comments when you send him pics with the children; you get notifications they were seen and I guess that’s the best you’ll ever get.

“Kase honey, stop jumping on the bed, it’s time to sleep, ok?”

The four years old is still energetic so he keeps on jumping, chanting your name:

“Mo-mmy! Mo-mmy!!! Mo-mmyyy!!!”

“Kasey, be good and listen to me!” you try to make him behave while exiting his room with a clear purpose: taking Mia to her crib. The baby girl fell asleep in your arms, resting her head on your good shoulder. You are really not supposed to hold the kids or lift them up since it will take a while to completely heal from the injury you sustained, yet sometimes you can’t help it.

You carefully place her in the cradle, sneaking up into the room next door to make sure the twins are still dozing off. Thank goodness they are and you close the door to their bedroom, immediately rushing to Kase’s room when you hear the thud followed by crying.

The boy was hopping up and down when he accidentally moved too much towards the edge of the bed and landed on the floor right on his face. The carpet is soft but the impact scared him nevertheless.

“My poor little man,” you pick him up, worried he might have broken something.

Kase whimpers and hugs you, searching for comfort. You kiss the child’s head and caress his back, soothing the pain.

“Are you ok?” you wipe his tears, making him sit on the bed while you analyze him.

“Y-yes…” he stutters, sniffling.

“Then why are you crying honey?” you ask, cupping his face and the answer makes you hold in the laugh.

“Don’t know, mommy…”

“You’re silly,” you kiss his cheek, happy nothing bad happened. “You want me to read you a bedtime story?”

“U-hum, “ he nods, distracted by the offer. You get Kase under the covers and snuggle with him, reading until he falls asleep. And the busy day you had catches up with you, making you snooze in there before you have a chance to go to your own bedroom.

*************

“Y/N…Y/N, wake up!” The Joker shakes you and finally gets a reaction; he’s been calling your name and you didn’t even hear his first attempts.

“What time is it?” you turn towards him and Kase instinctively moves closer, searching for the warmth of your body.

“It’s 2 in the morning. Come on, hurry up, we have to go: it smells like gas downstairs, I think we have a gas leak!”

“Jesus!” you wake up in an instant, pulling Kase in your arms and struggling to get up; your shoulder hurts since you carried Mia around yesterday. “I’ll take him, go to the car!” he wraps his son in the blanket, not fazed by the protesting moans.

“Dadddddyyyyy,” the boy yawns, closing his eyes, upset with the ruckus.

“You’re fine, brat !” J lifts him higher in his arms and follows you. You want to get the other kids, but some of the henchmen are already helping, having them in blankets and heading towards the elevator. The gas detector is beeping in a frenzy but you were so exhausted you had no clue.

“Yuck, the smell,” you cover your nose, waiting for J to catch up with you. “Are we going to my house until this is taken care of?”

“I suppose so,” he growls and you know why: The Joker hates your house, always complains it’s too small.

Situated on the property you use as the children’s playground – 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a large living room and a spacious kitchen- the one level home is more than enough when needed. Since you live mostly at the penthouse, you never feel the need to upgrade. Usually the boys sleep in one bedroom and you sleep with Mia, this way J has his own room. If he’s not coming to stay when you take the kids there, you move Aiden and Zane to their father’s bedroom. Simple and easy.

Not for The King of Gotham though. “Simple and easy” are not his thing.

***************

“It’s cold in this stupid house!” J complains as soon as he enters the master bedroom where you gathered all the kids in the same bed, waiting for the central heating to warm up the house.

“You know I don’t have the heat on when we’re not here; it’s not safe. Be patient, it will get hot soon,” the reply attempts to explain the obvious situation.

“Gimme 2 kids, I need to warm up. I’ll take them to my bedroom!” he gestures towards the twins.

The two year olds are not excited about their dad’s strategy: they are cranky and whiney because they got woken up in the middle of the night and transported to another location. They hold on to you, burying their faces in the pillows.

“Hugging all the kids, hm?” J snarls, irritated. No other choice but to crawl in the big bed also.

You choose not to comment: how is this your fault?!

The Joker snatches Mia that is sleeping in your arms and places her on top of him, moving Kase to his left, this way he has some bodies around to warm up with.

“That’s better,” he grumbles, covering everyone with an extra blanket. Kase reaches for you, wanting to go back to the spot next to his mother but J won’t have any of it:

“Stop wiggling and sleep!”

“I want my mommy,” his son complains and The Joker gets mad:

“What am I, decoration?! She’s literally a few inches away!”

“Kase, go to sleep honey, ok?” you plead, touched by how much the children love you. “Mommy’s here.”

In about 30 minutes the house reaches a comfortable temperature and J tiptoes out of crowded bed, wanting the privacy of his own room.

You keep on tossing and turning; your shoulder aches and you’ll definitely need some pain killers if you want to be able to rest. You slowly move away from the kids, not wanting to startle them. It’s so sweet to see the four innocent souls peacefully dreaming, curled up under the cozy fleece blankets.

“J, are you still awake?” you knock at his door.

“Yes, come in,” he turns on the lamp, curious on why you’re still up. You open the door and step inside.

“My shoulder hurts and I forgot the painkillers at the penthouse. Can we send…”

“I have your med,” he shows you his coat on the chair. “Upper pocket.”

“Oh, that’s awesome!” you sigh, digging in there and retrieving the much needed remedy. ”Thank you.”

“Here,” he dismisses your gratitude, handing over the bottle of water kept on the nightstand.

You swallow 2 tablets, taking a deep breath when the sharp pain pokes at the surgery site.

“Get in,” The Joker slides on the sheets, making space for you.

You almost choke on the water and he rolls his eyes.

“Are you afraid I’m gonna take advantage of you?”

“No,” you hesitantly debate on his proposition, confused about it.

“Then get in,” he reinforces his will. “Don’t look at me like that!” J glares in your direction, not a big fan of that intrigued expression on your face.

You listen to him though and comply.

“What did the doctor say? Do you need more blood transfusions?” he starts the conversation as soon as you are next to him. You bite on your lip, nodding a no. “Well, if you do let me know, alright?”

“OK…” you agree, perfectly aware on why he’s interested: after all the blood loss you sustained with the stabbing, you needed more to replenish what was depleted. They had you hooked up to the IV ready to go, when J had a fit because the doctor didn’t notify him of the procedure. The Clown Prince of Crime was furious he wasn’t asked to donate blood: he’s a universal donor, a match for all blood types. Of course the medical team had to apologize and be thankful they weren’t killed on the spot.

They also had to listen to his rant about how generously rewarded they were for being allowed to take care of the mother of his children and how they couldn’t even keep him updated on your condition. That was the first time you heard him talk like that and it was hard to hold in the tears: it made you aware he did appreciate the sacrifices his ex-girlfriend made over the years while taking care of his babies. The Joker just never showed it; he’s not that kind of person.

Needless to say you do have his blood running through your veins now. And you could have more if necessary.

You stare at each other in silence: you have a feeling there’s a purpose to his behavior.

“Why did you remove the tattoo?” J unexpectedly blurs out.

Ahhh, there we go: that’s why you were cordially invited to stay; he wants to talk about stuff bothering him. Might as well since you want to take a few things off your chest also.

You answer with a question:

“Why would I want my ex boyfriend’s name on my skin?!”

“I worked on that tattoo for weeks! It was perfect, my best one !” J cuts you off.

It’s always about him, of course.

“We weren’t together anymore, no point in keeping it…”

“I worked on it !!!”

This is not going well.

“The lack of a tattoo doesn’t…”

“I spent weeks on that ink!” he interrupts again.

But you can’t hold in your own escalating anger:

“Why did you always bring Anya back?! Why did you tolerate her behavior?! Why did you keep on getting her pregnant?! She was horrible! And you didn’t want to have any children with me when we were together ! I would have been a great mother!!”

You lick you lips, running out of breath after the valid outburst. The Joker’s eyes have a sudden threatening sparkle, not expecting you’ll turn the tables on him.

“I don’t have to explain myself to you !” he grumbles, annoyed. “But I have to?!” you fight back, more and more upset. “Why…” and your voice breaks…”Why did you like her so much?…”

“I don’t like anybody!” he mutters through his silver teeth.

“You did like her a lot, it’s obvious…” you sadly smile. “And she neglected the kids, almost killed her own daughter… She never cared about you either…So…why did you like her so much?” you persist, unwilling to quit. At this point there’s no use: you are both fired up.

“Get out of here!” his menacing voice shrieks. “Get out before I might do something I can’t take back !” he pushes you away, struggling to contain his temper. “OUT!”

You don’t budge and J continues to violently shove you towards the end of the bed.

“Get out I said !” he pants, provoked by your rebellious behavior.

You don’t even feel the shoulder pain anymore or anything else for the matter.

“Why did you like her so much?” you repeat and he covers your mouth, rolling on top of you. The Joker realizes you’re not attempting to escape his grip; you just gaze at him without squirming.

“Get out of my sight!” J hisses, annoyed at your apathy; you’ve been in charge of his security for years, he knows you can defend yourself.

Why don’t you?

He lifts himself up a bit in order to give you one last nudge that will make you fall off the bed, when your arms tightly wrap around his neck, pulling him back on top of you.

“Why did you like her so much?” you forcefully hold him close when J wants to escape the embrace. “Why did you like her more than me?” you whisper in his ear and start crying, unable to suppress the burning question you wanted to ask for years. “I was loyal, I really loved you and never cheated,” your shaky voice makes him pay attention. “And you still broke up with me. And I didn’t object continuing to work for you when you asked. And I took care of your children when you asked,” you start sobbing and his face is buried in your neck, still mad yet listening. “You told me you trust me and that I never stopped being the Queen…Queen of what?” you lift his head up so you can look at him.“Queen of nothing?” and the tears keep on uncontrollably stream down your cheeks, your heart aching a hundred times more than the stabbing wound.

The Joker doesn’t bother to react or protest when you finally slide from under him, catching your breath while sitting at the edge of the bed. You wipe your eyes and prepare to go back to the kids just as his words barely make it out:

“You’re my children’s Queen and The Queen of this city. And…and my Queen since I can’t find a better one I can trust…”

Instead of making you happy, the sentences deepen your gloomy mood. J gets under the covers, turning his back on you, done with it all. He senses you scooting over closer to him until your steady breath lingers on his neck.

“Why are you still here?” he grouchily mutters and he feels your lips pressing on his shoulder.

“You want me to go?” you sigh. “Or…can I stay?”

“Suit yourself,” he reaches for the lamp and turns it off, not opposing to your left hand finding its way around his waist.

You’re almost napping when The Joker reopens the discussion:

“If by some miracle one of these days you manage to keep a man and get married, you still have to take care of the children; that’s an order !” he spits out with a hateful tone.

“ I really love your children; I couldn’t abandon them,” you cling to him more, somehow comforted when your hand is being moved from around his waist and kissed after a few seconds.

***************

The next day he avoids you.

You spend a lot of time outside on the porch, watching the kids play in the snow: even if is mid-February, there is plenty left for them to enjoy.

“Mommy… for you,” Zane gives you a snow ball, excited it made you smile. Mia is chewing one of her toys, cozy on the thick blanket she’s placed on at your feet.

“Thank you baby,” you kiss his nose, making sure to button up his jacket one more time. He likes to unbutton it; surely takes after his father, can’t keep stuff buttoned up. The thought gives you a sudden boost of positivity while watching him run back to his brothers. Aiden trips him and they both fall to the ground laughing, Kase trying to squeeze in between them because he wants to join in the fun.

“Don’t hurt yourselves !” you shout, the maternal instinct surfacing for the millionth time today and you help Mia up, the cute Princess standing without too much help; pretty soon she’ll be able to walk on her own.

You peak behind you through the huge glass windows, seeing The Joker talking to Frost. The King of Gotham is fast to throw something in the trash can, visibly irritated.

“Mommy, look !” Aiden yells, showing you the wall of snow he’s starting to build with his siblings.

“Good job honey!” you praise, waving at the boys and J steps outside, crabby disposition noticeable from a mile away. “Hey, did Frost tell you how long it will be until we can return to the penthouse?” you’re curious to find out since you hardly spoke to him since this morning.

“At least one week,” he growls, displeased at the news. “The pipes need to be replaced at the lower level. Only one duct was leaking, but they want to change all of them for safety.”

“That makes sense,” you grunt and lift Mia up, The Joker scolding:

“You’re not supposed to do that !”

“I know, I know,” you agree and he gestures for her. After finding herself in his arms, the little girl starts munching on his coat’s collar, babbling words that almost resemble “mama” and “dada”.

“Greeeat, another one to chew my ears off,” he frowns and it doesn’t go well with you.

“Why do you have to take the joy out of everything? Aren’t you happy Mia will walk and talk soon?” you sulk, not understanding why he can’t appreciate the little things.

Sarcasm follows:

“Sure, why wouldn’t I be? It’s something a kid never did before, right? Pfft,” he scoffs, ”you’re the one that got emotional when each kid learned to walk and speak; I don’t get the hype.”

“Of course you don’t,” you grumble, concluding the children must be hungry after playing for so long. “Darlings, come inside; it’s time to eat!”

************

You stop drinking your tea and elbow J, making him pay attention to the touching scene taking place at the kids’ table: the boys are eating and feeding their little sister also. Kase is actually standing, holding her hand and she nibbles on the chicken nugget offered by Aiden. As soon as Mia starts chewing, the boys eat some more too, waiting for her to finish what she has in her mouth.

Your eyes get teary; even if they did it before, you find it irresistibly adorable.

“That’s very cute,” you gulp, getting ready to help. The boys can mostly feed themselves, yet their mom’s intervention is more than welcomed.

J smirks, quietly adding more salad to his dish.

You head over to the counter, wanting to dump leftovers from your plate in the garbage can before helping the kids. The small box resting on top of the trash is discretely taking out by a curious Y/N. Is this what he threw in there earlier?!

You open it and hold your breath: it’s a gold bracelet; a simple circle beaded with a few diamonds, engraved with plain, meaningful words:

To: Mommy

From: Kase, Aiden, Zane and Mia

J hears you sniffling behind him and turns his head to see what’s going on. You hold the bracelet in the palm of your hand, speechless.

“Why is this in the garbage?!” you bite your cheek. “Help me put in on please.”

He doesn’t seem willing to fulfill your demand.

“I had no clue you dig in the trash now! Is it a part time job?” he mocks, cranky you found the customized gift he ordered eight days ago and decided to dispose of.

“Help me put it on,” you disregard his bitterness and J nags:

“It’s a gold hoop, easy to use, no clasp or nothing.”

“I want you to help me… please…”

That’s the point: you want him to do it.

“You’re annoying !” he yanks at you wrist, gliding the bracelet against the soft skin.

“Daaadddy, I’m thirsty,” Zane whines, coming over with his empty cup.

“Oh goody, someone finally needs me!” The Joker’s sassiness escalates for no reason.

***************

You creep inside his bedroom without knocking and lean your back against the closed door, waiting.

“Can I sleep here?” you utter, not looking his way.

“It’s your house, isn’t it?” the indirect invitation follows and you crawl in the bed by him, keeping a safe distance. “We can fit the twins between us; why aren’t you coming closer? Or are you scared you won’t be able to behave?”

You actually giggle, surprised you feel nervous.

“I think I’m alright, ” and you bring your body near his, cuddling like you used to years ago when you were together.

“Here’s the thing Y/N,” The Joker lifts your chin up. “If you sense any activity bellow my waist, don’t flatter yourself. It’s just a natural reaction due to the closeness. Are you…are you fucking blushing when I’m just messing with you?!” he teases and you feel your cheeks burning.

“I’m not blushing,” you whisper, embarrassed at your stupid vulnerability.

“You totally are,” J grins and you are aware it’s true. You wiggle in his arms, cautiously considering your next words. The smile perishes on his lips when you ask:

“J…Can you make love to me?”

He looks surprised and you feel awkward.

“That was dumb to say,” you patch your mistake with a fake, clumsy laugh.

“Of course I can,” The Joker’s face comes really close to yours. “The question is if I want to.”

“Well,” you gulp, ��do you want to?…”

“Maybe…” he gropes you, thinking. Or is he just pretending?

“Moommyyyyyy,” is heard from the next bedroom, Aiden starting to cry because he probably had a nightmare.

“Such a missed opportunity,” J chuckles and you get out of bed in a hurry, but he grabs your hand, squeezing it before releasing the hold: “Come back afterwards.”

***************

The children weren’t used to find their mommy sleeping in the same room with their father, but that changed two years ago. They don’t know what it means, but one thing’s for sure: they love coming in the master bedroom at the penthouse and jump on the bed, waking up both parents and horsing around all morning until The Joker hides under the pillows, displeased with the noise.

Mommy never complains though; she always shows her affection and lets them touch her growing belly, telling them their new sister is in there. So fascinating for the kids! And they are getting more and more impatient, especially the little girl: she was told she will be the big sister and it sounds like an important task.

*************

“Baby?” the three years old Mia’s squeaky voice inquires, excited and curious to see such a tiny doll in your arms.

“Yes honey, this is your sister Emma,” you smile, pecking her forehead. You are sitting on the floor with the kids around you and they are seeing their sister for the first time.

“Waahhhh, she’s so cute,” Kase caresses the small head, mesmerized.

“Can I kiss her?” Zane claps his hands, puckering his lips.

“Sure,” you agree and Aiden wants to do the same.

“Me too!” the oldest kisses her also and Mia pushes him away, pouting:

“She’s my sissy!”

“Hey, hey, no fighting! Emma is everybody’s, ok?” you try to alleviate the quarrel, amused it’s already starting. It took like…40 seconds for the rivalry to surface.

“Look daaa’yy, baby!” Mia snickers, presenting Emma to her father like some kind of treasure. He’s been sitting at his desk, watching their reactions. You smile, softly rocking the new born when it fusses from the commotion.

“I know, I made her,” he sneers, winking and the kids are completely absorbed by the new addition to the family.

“Can I hold her?” Zane extends his arms and you carefully place Emma in his grip, holding both of them so he won’t drop her.

You notice the Joker is the proud possessor of a very arrogant aura and you know why: he’s been bragging all afternoon that he makes very cute babies and no matter how the mom looks like, he compensates for the deficit. Such nonsense!

But the annoying truth is that he does make beautiful babies.

“Mommy, can I hold her too?” Aiden begs, getting you out of daze.

“Sure can,” you nod, wondering when the jealousy will actually kick in.

You are definitely prepared for the challenge: this might have been your first pregnancy, but it’s actually your fifth child. It shouldn’t be too hard since…

Once a mother always a mother.

Also read: MASTERLIST

http://diyunho.tumblr.com/post/153664676321/joker-x-reader-masterlist

#the joker x reader #the joker fanfiction #the joker imagine #the joker jared leto #the joker #jared leto #joker #joker fanfiction #joker x reader #mister j #mistah j #mr. j #puddin #dc #the suicide squad #dc comics

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arfguy · 7 years ago

Text

Edmonton Oilers - Wake Up!

As an Oilers fan, it has been really difficult to watch this team crash and burn as badly as they have. They look slow, they cannot score and their specialty teams are horrible. It is unfair to blame one person for all of the Oilers woes, so I will name three:

1. Peter Chiarelli

2. Todd Maclellan

3. Milan Lucic

It almost seems as if these three are colluding to ensure the Oilers are terrible this year. Why? Well, let me explain.

First and foremost, I was very happy that the Oilers organization got Peter Chiarelli. I thought he made some truly impressive moves to make the Boston Bruins into a championship team. I am definitely not going to slag most of the moves that Chiarelli made. No, I am not bothered one bit that he traded Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson. Despite how it may look to the hockey world in general, to this day I am very much glad this trade happened. Some could argue that Chiarelli could have fleeced the New Jersey Devils organization for more than Larsson. I am not a hockey expert, so I will not comment on it. Much of the hockey world sees Taylor Hall as a star player. I think of him as someone who is playing a very straight forward game of hockey when he should be using his speed and agility to play a smarter form of hockey. No, I do not look down on the move he made to trade Jordan Eberle for Ryan Strome in a one-for-one trade. Personally speaking, despite the goal differential between Eberle and Strome, I would rather have Strome in the line-up 10 nights out of 10. Eberle is lazy and lacks work ethics. His goals seem to be a mix of luck, a little bit of talent and mainly other players doing all the work to set him up for basically “gimme” goals. I said it before and I’ll say it again: if the Islanders make the playoffs, you can count on Jordan Eberle to disappear, because he just lacks desire. Beyond those two major moves, I think Chiarelli has made some really smart, low-key moves. I think the pick-up of Zack Kassian was pretty risky, but I have liked basically everything that Kassian brings to the line-up. My major problem with Chiarelli is the move he made to sign Milan Lucic. Not only did he sign Lucic to a $6 million per year contract, but he also decided to give him 7-year term. Not only that, but this $6 million per for the next 7 years has what looks to be no-movement clause. Why would you offer $42 million over 7 years to any player that has never hit more than 30 goals? I understand you have to overpay when you dip into free agency, but Chiarelli?!? What the fuck were you thinking? Whatever conditions exist for Lucic’s contract, you can bet that Chiarelli would have to work up a miracle to move it. There is absolutely no hope of this contract ever proving to be anything other than a horrible mistake.

Now we move on to Todd Maclellan. I honestly don’t know if Maclellan has lost it, but I swear he is blind. I hope there is something in the players contracts that says they have to play on certain lines for certain minutes, as that is the ONLY way I will accept Maclellan putting together some of the line combinations that he has. No, I have zero problems with McDavid and Draisaitl sharing the same line. No, I am not all that much bothered by Patrick Maroon being on the top line, even though I think a faster and more creative player would benefit greatly by being paired with the Oilers big duo. What I do have a problem with is Maclellan’s insistence that Milan Lucic has to play on the second line. Maclellan! For fuck’s sake...Lucic has zero chemistry with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, he cannot skate worth a shit, cannot generate scoring chances, cannot shoot, cannot stand in front of the net for deflections or chipping in rebounds, cannot pass to his wingers...just can’t do anything worth a damn. I am confident that the 3 goals that Milan Lucic has gotten were not a result of hard work, but probably a result of 66% of them going off his body and into the net. Yet, there is Maclellan...continuously putting Lucic on the second line. To my surprise, the call up of Jesse Puljujarvi has not been a disaster. The kid has looked good. He has generated scoring chances, is actually shooting rather than passing like most of the Oilers and using his body to his advantage. It seemed pretty promising that he might develop chemistry with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins if he has a few more games to get the rhythm of playing second line minutes. NOPE! Maclellan decided that, rather than dropping the slow and useless Milan Lucic off the second line, he will drop Puljujarvi to the third line. Yes, one of the few players that has some offensive up sides on this team, that is shooting and getting into scoring areas, is slotted into the third line. WTF?!?!

Third: Milan Lucic. Please, please do something. You have done absolutely nothing. You are being paid $6 million dollars a year for the next 7 years and you are doing jack shit! For fuck’s sake, DO SOMETHING!

In conclusion, I am not looking for Maclellan or Chiarelli to get fired. I am not even hoping for crazy trades to change the roster. The Edmonton Oilers have at least 60% of the personnel required to be a dangerous team. They just need to wake the fuck up!

#edmonton oilers #wtf

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moonraccoon-exe · 7 years ago

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What do you think about the 10-years-gap? I think it's more than just a plot hole. To me i could i say it's a gift. A time to heal all the wound the chocobros got from all battles before. A time for them to fully learn and understand their roles, to grow up and be ready. A time for them accept their fate, especially Noct's fate and let him go. Time to make their peace.

*cracks fingers*

First of all, I want to make it clear that I love the game as anyone here can tell.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t see its downsides or that I think it’s perfect.

I found it to be satisfying enough, but it didn’t feel complete, you understand?

There were many things that just feel missing; Ravus’ whole story is one of them. He goes from “the bastard that stole your father’s sword and is swinging it around” to “the guy that betrayed bad guys and is keeping your father’s sword in watch to give it to you when you meet.” I GET his story and I don’t think his character development is poor or wrong; it just wasn’t told the right way, or as explicitly as I’d have liked.

Needless to say, the entire second part of the game is clearly a rush. It works just FINE, it makes a good game, but it doesn’t take a genius to know we were meant to explore much more and to see much more, but they decided to just hurry the project and give the basics and main things.

I am, however, not displeased by the 10 years gap.

Only emotionally, that is, hahaha! I was VERY, very sad and disappointed when I learned it had been ten years. When I saw older Noctis I was a bit scared of how much time could have passed, and while I was expecting the worse, 10 years was just devastating.

10 years sounds like so little but it hides SO much. We literally see time and timelines by decades; we don’t refer to “1929″ and “1930″, we literally go from “the ‘10′s”, “the ‘20′s”, “the ‘30′s” and so on and on. Ten years makes a difference of that size; historical. Very literally.

So I was VERY hurt and disappointed to see it was that long, mostly because I grew ridiculously attached to Ignis, Prompto and Gladio as my companions. Noctis is the protagonist as a way for us to channel and mirror ourselves through him, so I felt like the other 3 were friends not only of his but also mine.

To know I/Noctis left them for ten entire years felt wrong. It was sad. After some more conversation with Talcott I had to pause because it was too much for me to process.

I have a very poor management of emotions. I’m rather dry and “cold” in real life and personal events don’t tend to move me much, but when I connect with a fictional story I just...I cry and feel all that I don’t in my personal life. So while in real life I haven’t seen people in as many years and some even for longer, it doesn’t harm me as much as the mere idea of the chocobros having to live without Noctis for as long, maybe because THEIR connection is like 100 bigger, stronger and more pure than any I’ve had, so it just feels wrong.

The ten year gap made me super sad and VERY upset, and I insist on disagreeing with it...but it didn’t displease me.

While I don’t accept it, that’s from the emotional side. I can also say I completely disagree with never giving Ignis his sight back. I’m in full disagreement of it...but it’s part of the story. I don’t know how to explain it; I don’t like that it happened, but I also understand and accept it.

It doesn’t anger me the “This game is bad” or “It could have been better if...”, it angers me the “Damn,that’s sad, I would change it if I could”. But that I would doesn’t mean I find it to be a wrong or bad story. It IS a story not written by me, and it’s not bad. That it displeases me in some aspects is on the subjective and emotional side, not on the objective side.

Do you understand? I’m pretty bad at explaining myself, even worse at english...

But I DO agree fully with you; while I feel it was a bit rushed, I also FULLY thank that the years went by. I would have really loved for it to be a shorter time, but only because of my feelings for the characters and my pity for them.

But battle and storywise, it was completely necessary.

Ignis is the clearest example of why.

He goes completely blind. He didn’t learn blind fighting in 5 years. He couldn’t have. The 10 years were very necessary for him; he wanted to be completely useful for the moment Noctis would return, so he started learning to battle lacking of his sight and developing the skill. And that takes TIME. So much time.

It was also needed for the other two. Maybe with less explicit impact but as much of a big one.

Gladio must have needed a lot of time to forgive himself; to cope with seeing he couldn’t save Ignis from being injured, Prompto from being kidnapped, and the final, biggest hit, to cope with knowing he let Noctis be swallowed into the Crystal when Gladio was meant to protect him from EVERYTHING, literally raised only so stuff like that wouldn’t happen, and still be helpless on it...

I imagine he must have needed time, too. To forgive himself, grow out of the anger.

Prompto, too. Needing to grow much stronger, because one thing is facing daemons, and another is to face an enemy so strong and dangerous he was literally prophesied, and Prompto only did learn to battle before Noctis’ journey. He needs time to grow physically stronger and more agile, but he also needs time to grow in the heart; to accept things as they are. Ignis and Gladio knew about the prophecy and had known Noctis’ destiny, but did Prompto? Maybe not.

Maybe he needed time to understand, to see this was meant to happen, to understand the outcome.

I agree with you; the time was necessary for them to make their peace as well. To understand this was meant to happen and they couldn’t do anything about it even if they had wished or tried. And to understand the outcome will also be bad. A man’s not prepared to let go of the things and people he loves, so to know Noctis is coming back only to sacrifice himself as soon as he does...

That takes time to accept. Mostly when you’ve seen him grow since he was a baby. Mostly when that baby held you hand, and the hand turned to that of a child, and into that of a teen, and then into a young adult’s one.

It takes time to understand and accept you have to let go of what you’ve been holding all of your life.

[Thanks, anon, I’ve got this horrible knot in my throat and these tears in my eyes. Gimme a sec, the feels...]

While I’m not fully content with the idea, that’s only on the “that’s so sad” part that frustrates me and I’d dare to say even exasperates me.

But I think, like you, that it was needed. At least in what the story was asking for.

I still, however, wish we could have seen a bit more of what happened in the ten years (besides Noctis sleeping), or to at least have explored the Dark World.

I LOVE this game to its very last bit, but I still can accept it has MAJOR flaws.

The 10 year gap is frustrating, but I don’t think it was wrong.

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severalbakuras · 7 years ago

Text

GUESS WHO JUST FINISHED VOLTRONNNN season 2.

fun fact you can talk all about spoilers now so long as they aren’t spoilers for the next season.

wait that makes them not spoilers.

ehhghgh whatever.

episode 9: ‘oh hunk!’ intro Weak Start.

lance hun you’re trying way too hard.

“am i sensing a trip back to the space mall here?” YESSS

“i’m afraid not” fuck you

yay keith and hunk hang out!

that hug with shiro awwww

oh wait so i must’ve missed something in the last episodes where allura found out keith was half galra?? like i don’t recall her being told unless everything was being cast over the comlink or something. unless she was told off-screen. maybe i just forgot lol that sounds like me.

either way aaaaaaaaa that look. aaaaa keith’s face as he gets on the spaceship. my boy ;A;

that coran and allura hug.

wow that planet looks a lot like argus. zarkon i know you’re tough but i don’t think you’ll last too long against kil’jaeden you should probably get out of his airspace before he replaces every single one of your soldiers with disguised demons and recruits haggar because by god can she do better.

i mean kj doesn’t look like much but he does tell sargeras, his master and the guy who’s wiped out literally all of the life in the universe except for azeroth, to fuck off with that weak promises bullshit and take the invasion into his own hands.

youtube

what is your story harassed birdfaced druid. you don’t seem like you’re enjoying this.

i kinda like how hunk’s talking actually. like, he’s not being Weird about keith’s galra-ness. it’s a little blunt and awkward in its own way but he’s not acting like this is some mind-changing revelation that he has to wrestle with, it’s just a thing and he’s curious about it even if it’s in a rather insensitive manner. but it hasn’t rly changed how he sees keith.

coran could sell me anything.

so quintessence can be naturally consumed by these whale things and form new planets and solar systems. does this mean perhaps haggar had a whale farm back when she started working with the stuff. does this mean she perhaps had a ‘free willy’ moment with a space whale as a rebellious teen.

don’t take that mental image from me.

i like that there’s more than one type of giant space animal in this show. more giant space monsters plz.

FUCK ME THAT THING IS COOL AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA GIANT SPACE WHALESHARK

if that’s a baby/adolescent thingie then i hope the adults have the same voice. i also hope it’s the same one and it recognizes coran’s voice on the video and that’s how they get their materials.

oh no thace D:

good job chilling him out keith.

aaa that moment when your random crack ship gets a little something, makes me wanna x3 like it’s 2006 and i’m roleplaying on neopets.

oh shit it’s a galra.

aaaaa bombs in enclosed spaces are a Bad idea don’t do that again keith!!

hunk no.

those are some good Principles you got there keith.

did they get a guest animator in to do the bacterial tentacle thing’s movements? looks very anime-esque in its fluidity.

i like that the galran person is like ‘... seriously?’ at hunk’s plan.

thace no there is nothing more suspicious than trying to evade your tail.

oh no mysterious galran :((( otoh they could’ve easily taken way more than just one bag, AND killed keith so i’d disagree with ‘just like the rest of them’. maybe next season we’ll see them again. considering how long it was in there like enough for organs to grow around it, i wonder if we’ll get a ‘oh god the galra have changed while i’ve been away’ moment like lapis had on returning to homeworld. the armor looks so different and all.

hunk you ass - but it’s kinda the same thing as before. he’s keeping it kinda light. like i don’t think lance for example would be able to pull off the same jabs without it sounding more accusatory.

episode 10: i’m nearly at the end of the second season and i’ve only just noticed that lance pulls a sorta y face in his opening intro clip.

Pidge Intensifies

damn good reflexes shiro i’m sure that loose plating on the outside won’t come into play later :)))))))) (late edit: i don’t think it did. huh. i don’t know storytelling).

zarkon this is not the time for your solo a cappella cover of gimme more.

“why have you stopped” “sir you are literally dying” -kills person- -doesn’t seem to realize that killing someone makes them stop forever and now it’s going to be an even slower process with one element missing-

zarkon you fuckwit.

ugh lance.

who is that being tortured. that’s not a typical galra voice it almost sounds human. is that pidge’s bro?? they’re not gonna yank her away from her brother when she’s this close again are they???????

OH NO I THINK IT IS

AAAAA DOES THIS TORTURER GUY HAVE A GIANT SECRET GALRA CAT THAT’S ADORABLE.

i cant decide if i like laika slav or slav slav better. must’ve been slav he was torturing.

i id with slav slav making and remaking his bed way too much only my thing is checking the time and setting my alarm and resetting my alarm and checking the back door is locked at least 5+ times haahaha. haa...

oh so they’re straight up condensing sokka’s whole character arc into lance now huh. is this the same studio as avatar/korra? i thought the art style was familiar.

oh no pidge don’t get distracted now D:

‘yupper’ aaaaaaaye

GOOD GIRL LAIKA (PLEASE DON’T END UP LIKE ANOTHER LAIKA...)

holy shit he just went all xavius on everyone.

NONONONO YOU FUCKERS BETTER NOT KILL LAIKA SLAV YOU WILL BE ON MY SHITLIST IF SHE GETS TRAPPED IN SPACE

he saved her....... interrogator of my heart........ this guy can be the Problematic one in my group of galra who should make their own club (this includes the chef dude, the mall cop and the mysterious whale galra).

haggar babe PLEASE shove him into space. do it. space is right there no one will think otherwise if you say he thought he saw the black lion and went running after it. DO IT HAGGAR.

episode 11: i just realized that allura has the same voice actress as jasper that is some fucking range ms brooks a+.

allura you’re adorable.

oh allura ;A; coran too ;A;

SHAY SHAY SHAY GIMME MY ROCK GIRL

awww shay hunk’ll come next time i promise.

THACE NO YOU IDIOT.

holy SHIT allura you lifted THAT

aww shay hugged her ♥ EAT THE STEW ALLURA

oh fuck no not that robot again

THACE NO THAT’S AN OBVIOUS TRAP

slav exists in so many quantum states i yearn for that level.

missed opportunity for the black lion to grab the yellow lion by the scruff but ok

black lion goes all sif on us with that mouth blade nice

red lion’s NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN powers activate! alternative name WHO HIT MY BOY

pidge bloodbends again. i have a concerne.

voltron just looks... so dumb...

oh damn. good try hunk but uh. ouch.

interesting that keith’s still standing behind her for the teledove scene tho. i guess he’s just kinda accepted that she’s Not Happy with him. that’s sad.

awww coran ;AAAAAAAA;

aww guys.....

“we can’t fail.” you’re gonna fail. just by saying that.

holy shit haggar!!!!!

episode 12: wow everyone’s being the comic relief today.

oh fuck keith no.

idk i’m not sure how i feel about that whole bit actually. kinda feels like they had a longer arc in mind for keith and allura but then remembered they only had one more episode after it. kinda felt smushed in.

hang in there thace. no NOT BY FALLING FOR THE SAME TRICK TWICE AAA

zarkon you dumb fuck. LISTEN TO HAGGAR.

hot damn thace and keith make a good team.

thace goes from 0-suicide bomb in like two seconds damn nevermind.

haggar why the FUCK haven’t you gone on the offensive personally before now??? that door was like paper!!!

THAAAAAACE NO

WHO HURT MY BOY MODE ACTIVATE again

this is going Too Well...

episode 13: LISTEN TO HAGGAR. YOU MORON. OH MYYY GOD.

zarkon stop killing the people who are trying to help you do the thing it makes the living people do the thing slower.

so his secret weapon is an eva?

have i mentioned that i love the explicit magi-tech in this series because i do i love it.

not an eva then. looks like a rejected final fantasy robot boss form.

TAKE UP ARMS ALLURA CRUSH HIM

OH FUCK

AAAAAAAAAAAA

haggar love yourself dump his ass soon plz. we have NOTHING explaining your devotion to him or his cause despite how often he ignores you.

ALLURA VS HAGGAR OH YES BRING IT

she has a STICK OF VENGEANCE

and keith seamlessly steps into place when shiro’s out for the count noice

aaaa i don’t want any more of the blades to die, keith needs some galra role models who aren’t dead.

AHAHAHAHA FUCK YOU ZARKON

OOOOOOH MY GOD

KINDA

DID I

CALL THAT I CAN’T

I THINK I CALLED THAT?

KINDA?? ??

????????????????????????

need to reread my own write-ups lol.

EITHER WAY

IT COULD’VE ACTUALLY HAPPENED MAYBE I CALLED THAT TOO

I CAN DREAM

cmon hagger you’re smarter than this you didn’t need to power her up again.

FUCK YEAH ALLURA SPIRIT BOMB THAT SHIT

honestly compared to that the voltron vs robo zarkon just looks like two plastic toys thwacking around in space. v. boring.

NEVERMIND NEVERMIND I TAKE IT BACK

is he dead i hope zarkon’s dead

oh no shiro

keith ;A;

um.

UM.

SHIRO.

SHIRO THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO Read At 12:30 6/15/17 YOUR SQUAD.

oh fuck no zarkon’s alive????? god i hope she has a good reason to keep saving his ass.

her facial expression while he was unconscious. please let that reason not be love. honey you can do better. colran for example. date him. date a man who respects you. date a man who can make you laugh.

prince lotor hmm. depending on how similar he looks to his father i bet any ships with him will be the Problematic ones. shit i do like villains tho maybe i shouldn’t judge.

i’ll probably post a retrospective/summing up of my feelings of what i’ve seen as a whole/theories for the future/ships etc tomorrow bc i left it way too late in the evening to marathon the last episodes lol.

#voltron #voltron legendary defender #sb watches voltron

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conorpmaynard · 8 years ago

Text

All Started With a Song Part 12 // Conor Maynard

Word Count- 1982

Summary- Conor sees your cover and contacts you

A/n- (feel free to change the friends name I was just too lazy to write y/f/n that may times) IT’S HERE! bet ya weren’t ready for that plot twist ;)

The night ended with all six of you heading back to the hotel. It wasn’t until about 2 am that the guys left.

“Wait!” you protested as they stood up. “We all need to switch numbers so we can have group chat after we leave!”

“Ok,” Justin laughed as he grabbed your phone.

“Gimme,” you motioned for Tyler to give you his phone.

After everyone had each other’s number, the boys left.

“Alright, I’m going to bed.” you said as you plopped onto the bed.

“Same,” Alice yawned.

“I’m gonna go call Sean,” Olivia grabbed her phone and headed to the balcony.

You three didn’t wake up until about 11 am. And none of you rushed to get ready.

“Hey, I’m gonna call Anth and see what the plan is,” you said as you walked out to the balcony, leaving the other girls to continue getting ready.

After a few rings, Anth picked up. “Hey, Y/n.”

“Hi. What’s up?” you ask, looking at the city below.

“Nothing, just chilling at home.” He sounded hesitant, but you brushed it off. It was probably nothing.

“Do you still want to go to the Santa Monica Pier?”

“Listen, Y/n…” he trailed off.

You laughed, “You can say no.”

“It’s not that…” he said and you began to worry.

“What’s wrong?”

“Y/n, Conor left.”

“What do you mean he left?” your voice cracked.

“He went back to London last night. He was really upset,” Anth was biting his slip almost to the point of drawing blood. He didn’t want either of his friends to be sad. He just wanted them both to realize that they were in love.

“About what?!?!” you yelled, tears threatening to fall. “What could he possibly be upset about?”

“He saw that you were hanging out with another guy,” Anth explained.

“Oh. My. God.” You sighed. “He’s so fucking childish! Maybe if he actually talked to me then he would know he was just a friend.”

“Y/n, just please try to fix this. You guys are perfect for each other.”

“Obviously we’re not Anth!” you began crying. “He plays me like a fucking game. He treats me like crap and then gets mad when I’m not interested anymore!”

“He likes you a lot,” Anth tried to level with you.

“He has a real shit way of showing it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” you yawned. “Sorry for flipping out on you; you didn’t deserve that.”

“It’s okay,” he chuckled. “You still want to go to Santa Monica Pier?”

“Sure,” you smiled even though he couldn’t see it. “Meet us there in an hour.”

You tried. You tired really hard. But you just couldn’t. Every time you weren’t talking, your mind would flood with him. Whether it be his smile, his hair, his voice or anything else. It was him. Always had been and always will be.

You walked down the pier trying to stay tuned in to the conversation, but you just couldn’t. You wanted to see him, feel him, and be with him. And you couldn’t. And that killed you.

You needed him.

“Y/n? You aright, love?” Alice asked, wrapping an arm around your waist.

“Yeah, just a lil homesick,” you plastered on a fake smile.

“C’mon babes,” Olivia smiled. “We’ll be home soon enough.”

So a few more hours were spent at the pier and then you four went out to lunch.

After lunch, you guys arrived at Anth’s apartment at around 2 o’clock.

“So, you girls are leaving tomorrow…” Anth said as you three entered his apartment.

“Yeah, our flights at noon.” Alice frowned.

“I don’t wanna leave,” Olivia pouted.

“Same, but I couldn’t stay here forever.” You said, sitting on the floor.

“I could, 100%. This place is like paradise,” Alice laughed.

“Have you ever considered moving to London?” Olivia asked Anth.

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “I have actually. But I’m super close with my family and I couldn’t do that to them. Tours are hard enough as it is.”

“That’s understandable,” you give him a small smile.

“So what do you ladies want to do on your last night in LA?”

“Hmmm, movie night?” Alice suggested.

“Yes! Let’s have a Harry Potter marathon!” Olivia squealed.

“Do you have the Harry Potter movies?” you asked.

Anth gasped and put a hand over his heart, “I am truly offended that you even had to ask.”

Anth put in the first of eight and you four spent the rest of the evening making jokes and reciting entire scenes.

As the fourth movie came to a close, you looked at the time.

“Bloody hell, its two in the morning!” you laughed.

“We better get back and pack,” Alice said.

“Since when are you the responsible type?” Liv giggled, earning a glare from the brunette.

“Do you guys need a ride to the airport?” Anth asked.

“Thanks, but we’d hate for you to go out of or way.” You said.

He laughed, “It’s no big deal, I promise.”

“Wanna help us pack too?” Alice said sarcastically.

“No, but I can keep you company if you like.”

“Sure!” Olivia said. “Let’s use the little time we have left to our advantage.”

“We’re not dying, Liv.” You laughed.

“Who knew packing could be so fun?” you laughed as you shoved a pair of shorts into your suitcase.

Anth had decided to show you girls his playlist; which was lit as hell. You all began singing while he watched you three back your bags.

Anth paused the music, “Its 10:30, you girls should probably be at the airport by now.”

“Just a few more things!” Olivia said, cramming a few more souvenirs into her bag.

“Here,” Alice laughed, grabbing one of the bags. “I can put it in my bag.”

“Thanks,” she sighed.

“C’mon, you’re gonna be lateeeeeeeee.” Anth whined, already halfway out the door.

The ride to the airport was also filled with many good songs. Once you got the airport, the goodbye to Anth was sadder than you expected.

“Thank you,” you cried into Anth’s shoulder. “For trying to help us.”

“Of course,” he hugged you tighter.

After you finally let go of your American friend, you three silently walked to your gate. None of you wanted to leave, but you all three wanted nothing more to be home. The flight back home was filled with sleeping. Alice and Olivia slept the entire way, except for small bathroom breaks. But you, you only slept for a little bit. After a tiny power nap, your mind was racing. You thought of all the things you could do when you got off the plane. But only one stuck out.

You had to see Conor.

“Do you guys want to go to my place, and just chill before we get back into our daily routine?” Alice asked as you three waited for your Uber.

“I’m down as long as you have wine and pizza,” Olivia smiled.

“Sure, but I have to go somewhere before that.”

“Where?”

You rolled your eyes sarcastically, “I wonder…”

“Do you want us to go with you?” Olivia gave you a heartfelt smile.

“No, this is something I need to do on my own,” you said. “But thank you.”

“Anytime,” she winked.

The Uber ride to Alice’s was normal. You girls quietly chatted until the car had arrived at her place.

“Alright, I’ll be back soon.” you said to the girls and gave the Uber address Conor’s address. The nerves started to rise in your stomach as you grew closer to the apartment. You had no idea what was to come.

You walked up the stairs to his floor and slowly walked to his door. You knocked, and stepped back, heart beating faster than usual.

The door opened and Jack Maynard stood there, a smile quickly approaching his lips.

“So you’re the girl my brother went to America for,” he chuckled, leaving against the door frame.

“Yeah, uh is he here?”

“Yep,” he said, opening the door and motioning for you to come in.

“Conor!” he shouted. “Someone’s here for you!”

You followed him into the living room where Josh was sat on the couch, controller in hand.

“Who’s this?”

“Y/n.”

“Oh. My. God. You’re her?”

“Yeah…” you said slowly, who else knows about you two?

Everyone. Literally everyone, you dumbass.

“Who could possibly be here to see me?” Conor laughed from the hallway.

You and Jack turned around, watching his expression change.

It went from comical, to confusion, to sadness but then settled on anger.

“What do you want?” he said coldly.

You were slightly taken aback, “I want to talk.”

“Why?” he crossed his arm.

“I think you know why,” you looked at him, your heart breaking into a million pieces.

“Fine,” he said and led you to the balcony.

“What do you have to say?” he scolded.

“Okay. First of all, you can lose the attitude. And second of all, I want you to explain.”

“Explain what?” he asked.

“I just want to hear your side of the story.”

“I don’t have one,” he said simply.

“So you can’t tell me why you did what you did? Why you flew all the way to bloody America for me, but then left before actually apologizing?”

“No,” he sighed. “I was just confused. I was jealous, but then I relished that I fucked up. But then I saw you with the other dude. And I just got so angry.”

“What other dude? Clayton?” you asked.

“I don’t know how he is. He was on your Instagram, and he was obviously into you. I just felt unwanted.”

“Really?!?! YOU felt unwanted? Are you fucking kidding me???” you yelled at him. “You treated me like actual shit but got pissed off when I wasn’t still hung up on you! You’re literally the epitome of a fuckboy, yet I can’t help being in love with you! You piss me off more than anything in the world yet you were the first person that I wanted to see when I landed! So don’t you dare say that you felt unwanted?”

“You gave me mixed signals! You would seem interested but when you had picture of you kissing a guy! How was I supposed to know if you were interested or not!!”

“What picture of me kissing someone?”

“The one with the balloon where you’re on his back!”

“Oh my god,” you laughed, yet you were far from showing humor. “That’s my fucking brother, which you would know if you bothered to get to know me!”

He stepped towards you, “I tried! You were the one who got short with me!” he poked you in the chest.

Jack opened the door to the balcony, “Mate, back up.”

“Stay out of this Jack!” he yelled, yet his eyes stayed looked with yours. “You said something. Say it again.” His features softened.

“Which part?” you asked.

“The part where you say you love me,” he said, turning his pointed finger into a flat palm, he wanted to feel your heartbeat.

“I am so incredibly in love with you Conor Maynard.”

“I’m in love with you too, Y/n.” he smiled. “Can I kiss you?”

You giggled, “Of course.”

After you two awkwardly went back into his flat and awkwardly said goodbye to Josh and Jack, you headed over to Alice’s.

You were all lounged around her living room, a pointless show playing in the background.

Conor was deep into an awkward fan story when there was a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it,” Olivia said.

“No! Alice should,” you smiled.

“Wow thanks.” She rolled her eyes but got up nonetheless.

Get up you mouthed at Liv who gave you a questioning look. You two and Conor followed the brunette to the door.

She opened the door and froze. Liv did the same, yet you were smiling ear to ear.

“Brandon?”

#jack maynard #Conor Maynard #conor maynard imagine #Joe Sugg #caspar lee #Oli White #josh pieters #mikey pearce #buttercream squad #buttercream #buttercream imagines #youtube #youtube imagines #imagine #imagines

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rxsie-the-demon · 3 years ago

Text

Brooklyn Baby | JJ Maybank

chapter summary: Nikki and the Pogues devise plans for revenge. However, something they’re not aware of may completely skewer these plans! JJ and Nikki bicker, while the latter works to learn as much as she can about the Cameron family.

warning: marijuana usage. i don’t think this should be triggering for anyone but nikki and topper are smoking and i go into a bit of detail (shoutout google research lmao) and also swearing

a/n: lmao i said i wasn’t gonna disappear again and i did just that. a lot of the things mentioned aren’t canon- they’re just from my imagination btw

SERIES MASTERLIST | chapter one | chapter two | chapter three | chapter four

Chapter 5: High by the Beach

John B’s POV

I kept wiping the same spot on the counter, trying to suppress my nerves. Maybe she’s just a few minutes late, I told myself. But I had to laugh. She was never late. In the six months I knew her, she was never late.

I glanced over at the drink I had set out for her. I hope it wasn’t getting warm. I needed today, just today, go to well. If everything goes according to plan, then it’ll all finally be worth it.

I heard the door of the bar swing open, and saw the lady I had been waiting for walk in. She was an intimidating woman, with deep, mahogany skin and long, curly hair. She was wearing black heels, a black women’s suit, and was clutching a suitcase. Her hands, almost always perfectly done with red nail polish, were closed tightly in a fist.

But it was her eyes that carried her power. She was the kind of woman who made you nervous when you walked into a room, who made you straighten your posture and nod your head.

Miss Agumanu is a lawyer working for a firm that’s notorious for taking criminals as clients. One of these clients is a bank that holds black money, and at 4 pm sharp for the past six months, she would walk into the bar of the hotel Sarah and I had been working at since we wound up in Nassau.

It was completely luck; she wanted to become a lawyer to get rid of criminals and ended up landing a job helping them. I had very vaguely mentioned my situation, and through lots of hints from both sides, we finally figured out that she indirectly works for the bank holding the gold- my gold- in the Bahamas.

She placed her suitcase down on the chair next to me, and I jogged over and pushed the drink towards her. She chuckled, her Jamaican accent present when she said; “Am I that predictable?”

I chuckled a little. She downed the whole thing, and I felt my heart drop. I went on to make another. “So, I’m guessing bad news?” I mumbled, not wanting to turn around.

“No, John B. Not at all, actually.”

I spun around and almost dropped the bottle of rum. “What?”

“Make the drink and I’ll explain.”

I threw the ingredients into the shaker, pulled a chilled glass out, and poured the drink. I guess she could tell I was nervous, because she laughed and told me to calm down. Once she downed her other drinks, she started.

“For some reason, I don’t know how or why, but the bank cannot hold the gold. My guess is that they don’t have enough money to ensure it because the gold is worth a lot. So, this Saturday, they’re sending it back to the Outer Banks. This has been the plan for a few months but it only got finalized today.”

“Doesn’t it seem a bit rushed? It’s only, what, Wednesday?” I narrowed my eyebrows. I trusted her, but this seemed too good to be true.

She shrugged. “I’m too tired to explain all the nitty gritty details, but the main point is that the gold is going back to your home, which means you and Sarah can go, too. The gold is most likely going to be stored in Ward Cameron’s property- maybe his yacht, or one of his other boats, or even in his house.”

“Somewhere secluded would be smarter, though, right?” I asked.

“Yes, it would be. He seems like the type of man to build a place for storage but I am also aware of the fact that he barely managed to escape murder accusations, so he’s trying not to draw any unwanted attention towards himself.” Miss Agumanu shrugged. She got up out of her seat, grabbed her suitcase, and turned to shake my hand. “It was nice meeting you, John B Routledge. I hope to see you soon, but not too soon.”

I shook her hand and smiled. I was going home.

*********************************************

I flopped down onto our bare mattress and stretched. I was exhausted, having to work for from 3 in the afternoon to 2 am with only a half hour break, but it was all worth it. Sarah, who was in our shared bathroom, came out and crawled into bed next to me and pulled the thin, faded cotton blanket over us.

The nice luxurious hotel we worked out gave us the smallest employees quarters, with only a bathroom to accompany it. No bed, nothing. After all, our employment was suspicious. But we took it. We had no other choice.

A part of me felt bad for dragging Sarah into this. After all, she’s a Kook. She wasn’t used to this type of lifestyle. I was, so it didn’t bother me. But she wasn’t.

But when she smiled at me, I knew she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. “We’re so close,” she whispered into my ear. “Just one more week.”

I turned my head to plant a kiss on her forehead. “I couldn’t have done this without you. Words really cannot express how grateful I am for you, for all of this, Sarah.”

After six months of struggling, of working countless hours in this stuck up, Kook-like resort, of sneaking food in from the kitchen to our small living quarters and almost getting fired at least 3 times each, and of countless sleepless nights spent planning, Sarah and I can finally go home.

And we can finally bring that cunt Ward Cameron down.

*********************************************

Nikki’s POV

I snatch JJ’s phone from him. “We are not getting pineapple as a topping!”

“AND WHY THE HELL NOT?!” he snapped, jumping up from his seat on the couch to try to take his phone back. “Just ‘cause you- you cultureless mainlanders can’t appreciate real flavor-”

“REAL FLAVOR? Ok-” I dodge an attempt for him to grab it. “Listen. First, I’m a New Yorker. I think I know pizza. Second! Pineapples are delicious!! When they’re 30 feet the fuck away from the top of my pizza. They don’t belong there. Sweet. Does. Not. Belong. On. Pizza.”

“You’re a rich brat, you don’t know real pizza!”

“Pizza is pizza! Being rich doesn’t have anything to do with it!”

He tries to grab it a few more times, but I spun around and ran into the kitchen, where Kie and Pope sitting on the counter next to each other and giggling.

“Yes?!” JJ and I shout at the same time.

“Nothing,” Kie laughed

“Hey, if you’re laughing about the pizza, it’s not my fault this one here lacks flavor.” I jerk my head towards him, and he groaned in annoyance.

“Gimme my phone back.” He stomped around to face me and extended is hand out. “Now?!”

I smirked. “Why, so you could order that sad excuse of a pi-?”

“HAVE YOU TRIED IT?!”

“I HAVE, AND IT IS NOT THAT GOOD.”

“GUYS!” Pope shouted. “I get it, we’re hungry, it’s noon. We’ve been working hard researching the Royal Merchant. Nikki, please give JJ his phone back.”

I pouted and handed him his phone back. He stuck his tongue out at me and I kicked his shin.

“OW! Did you guys see that?”

“Guys.” Kie warned. She pulled out her phone and sighed. “I’ll order pizza with no toppings. Sound good?”

I nodded and JJ groaned. “Sounds good to me.”

JJ mimicked me in a falsetto voice, to which I spun around and said: “Something you want to say, Maybank?”

He snorted. “Nothing, Pillow Princess.”

“Ok, you know what-”

“Guys!” Pope and Kie shouted.

“Sorry, sorry!” I raised my hands up defensively, walking over to ice box in front of the fridge and opened it.

Inside were some glass Coke and Corona bottles. I shrugged and took a Coke, then walked outside to where there was a little campfire type thing with foldable chairs and ripped up bungalows.

I sat down on one of the ripped up couches and opened my Coke. February was coming close, and it was starting to warm up again. Luckily, today was really nice; 63 degrees with barely any wind or clouds. I closed my eyes and rested my head back. Oh, how I’ve missed this weather. It’s like spring in New York.

I felt a shadow pass over me and heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. “Ahem.”

I peeped an eye open and saw JJ to my left. “Yes, Maybank?”

“You’re in my seat.”

I opened both eyes and looked around sarcastically. “I can’t see your name anywhere.”

He huffed. “I always sit there. Always.”

I took a sip of my drink. When JJ was about to add more, I held up a finger and took another sip. “Yeah, I can tell. It’s nice and comfortable.” I turned to him and smiled. “Thanks!”

JJ covered his face with his hands and exhaled loudly. That’s when I noticed one of his three silver rings, the other two being plain with no design, had a skull on it. “Ooh, that’s a nice ring.”

He removed his hands from his face and smiled sarcastically. “Thanks! Can I have my seat?”

“Oh my- if it’s such a big deal, here, O Great Prince of the Pogues!” I stood up and bowed dramatically, making sure not to spill my soda. He flopped onto the seat happily

“Could you grab me a beer, sweetheart?” He smiled.

I bent down, picked up a handful of dirt with my free hand, and cocked my arm back. “What’d you call me?”

He put his hands up defensively. “Woah, woah! I just got this shirt!”

“Oh, please. That shirt is as dull as your personality.” I dropped the dirt and shook my hand, not wanting to wipe them on my jeans.

“Oh, fuck you, Kook. Not all of us can afford Gucci or Channel-”

“Chanel,” I corrected. “It’s French.”

“Whatever!”

I huffed. Yes, JJ Maybanks is an annoying prick, but he’s friends with Kie and Pope, so I have to deal with him. “I’ll get you your beer if I can sit in the seat.”

“We could share it.” JJ made a show of scooting over a bit and pointing at the empty spot.

“You’re insufferable. Even my baby sister wouldn’t fit. What do you want me to do, sit on your lap?”

“Oh, don’t act like you wouldn’t want to.”

My face flushed red. “You-” I began, but I didn’t know what to say; it was like my brain short circuited or something. JJ saw my reaction and covered his mouth to laugh.

“Oh, you’re so easy to tease, princess.”

I flipped him off and jogged toward’s the front of the house. I threw my empty soda can in the trash, then opened the door too see Kie and Pope making out in the kitchen.

“In front of my SALAD?!” I gasped loudly, hoping to scare them. Kie off the counter and Pope turned, saw me, then felt onto the ground in a panic.

“I hate you.” Kie covered her face.

“WE WEREN’T EVEN HAVING SEX!” Pope added, getting up

I laughed and went over to the sink to wash my hands, then I grabbed two Coronas and kicked the door open to go back outside. JJ was leaning back in his seat- ew, no, THE seat- with his hands behind his neck, head rested up and eyes closed. I tried not to notice, but I had to admit, he was attractive.

He was wearing a black Metallica hoodie, jeans, and normal, black vans. A simple outfit, but it fit well on him. And the way the sun fell on his tanned skin and blond hair made him look like what I’d imagine Apollo, the Greek god, would look like.

If only he wasn’t such a stuck-up ass...

I approached JJ and lightly tapped his shin with my foot. He peeped an eye open and squinted. “Could ya move just a bit to the-”.

“No.”

“But my poor eyes!”

I took a right diagonal step forward to block the sun from JJ’s face. He opened both eyes and clapped his hands together

“Perfect!” He smiled and stretched his hand out. I raised the beer up above my head.

“Say please.” I said sweetly. He raised his eyebrows and stood up. I took a step back as he took a step forward, and he leaned in close to my face. I awkwardly lowered my arm, and gulped nervously. What the fuck was he doing? Why was he so close to me?

He smiled and took the beer from my hand. “Thank you, Princess,” he said, then he flopped back onto his seat and opened his beer.

I took a deep breath. I felt like my brain short circuited, and when I had gathered the mental strength to say something to JJ, when Kie and Pope came out. “PIZZA’S HERE!!” Kie shouted.

I turned to JJ. “Hey, you said I could sit there!”

“I said you could sit here with me.”

“You little bitch-”

****************************************************************

“Alright, let’s go over the plan in parts again.” I shuffled nervously in the seat that I was sharing with JJ. I wasn’t going to sit in it, but Kiara more or less dragged me over and said I needed to start getting along with JJ.

She did also wink at me, but I have no idea what she was trying to do there.

The sun was setting, creating a kaleidoscope of purples, pinks, oranges, and yellows, and we had decided to have s’mores.

“Alright,” Kie said from the foldable chair across from us. “Basically, all you have to do is what you’re doing right now; get close to Rafe and Topper. Kelce was never much of a threat-”

“Except when he jumped me and JJ that one time we were delivering groceries.” Pope interjected.

“You deliver groceries?” I asked.

“My dad owns a boat and gets groceries. Like stuff you can’t find on the island.” Pope clarified, leaning over to hand me a s’more. I thanked him and took a bite.

“Basically,” JJ leaned close to me. “His dad’s the plug.”

I felt my heartbeat start to pick up. Why. Was. He. So. Close. To. Me.

“NO, DO NOT-” Pope started.

“Pope, I’m not going to ask your dad for drugs. JJ, shut up. But ok, get close to Rafe and Topper. What about the other Kooks?”

“Scarlett is fine, she’s not a bad person,” Kie scratched her head. “Kelce...ok, keep tabs on him. Rafe and Topper are our main threats. Especially Rafe. I know you think he’s changed, but we can’t trust him. Getting close to him and his family is our top priority.”

“It’ll be easy for you to win Topper over, if you haven’t already,” JJ said, shrugging. “He wants to bone you.”

I made a face. “Gross.” I turned my head back to look at Kie. “But he’s right, Topper does wanna fuck me.”

“Ok, who else does that leave?” Pope asked.

“Ward Cameron.” JJ responded through a mouth-full of his s’more. “The fucking psycho himself.”

“My family and I have to get close enough to the Cameron family to gain access to the house on a regular basis.” I began.

“And be able to go in one day when Ward and Rafe aren’t there to search the office for anything incriminating.” Kiara said.

There was a silence after she said that. It’d be bad, and I mean bad, if I got caught. Ward Cameron isn’t a gangster by any means, but he’s a rich, powerful man, who covered up a murder once. Who’s to say it wouldn’t happen again?

“But I got it,” I said dismissively, “This will be a peace of cake. Topper wants to hang out tomorrow after school by the beach. I have a plan on getting his guard down.” I winked.

Pope gasped. “That wink...GIRL ARE YOU GONNA- YOU KNOW- ?!” He covered his mouth with his hands. “IN PUBLIC? DAMN.”

JJ chuckled. “Wow, didn’t know you were into that.”

I was confused for a second, before it hit me. “Get your heads out of the gutter!. First, a friend of mine likes Topper-”

“Who?” All three Pogues asked.

“It’s a secret. Second, I meant weed. I’m gonna get him high. So, JJ, do you have any weed and wraps to spare?”

JJ looked at me with utter disbelief. “You want me to give you my weed, so that you and Topper can smoke it together? Hell fucking no. It’s bad enough you’re a Kook, and now you want to give my weed to someone who literally tormented all of us?”

“NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE ABOUT POGUES AND KOOKS, JJ!” I stood up out of the seat. This whole Kook-Pogue thing wasn’t funny anymore; JJ was beginning to really piss me off.

“Listen, sweetie,” He stood up as well. “You haven’t been here long enough, but everything on this island is about Pogues and Kooks.”

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief, and from the corner of my eye I could see Kie and Pope shoot him a dirty look, but he kept going.

“Sorry if your privileged ass can’t see it-” He pointed a finger at me when he said this- “but that’s just how it is. Pogues and Kooks don’t mix. We aren’t friends. Kie and Sarah were the only exceptions.”

“This isn’t about Pogues or Kooks!” I shoved him. “This is about your friends- not mine, by the way, died. This is about the fact that I’m risking my ass for two kids that I’ve never met while you sit around here and do next to nothing.”

JJ was silent. He looked away, and I could see he looked embarrassed. But I kept going.

“I get you hate people from Figure 8. I do. I’m sorry that your life is hard. But you don’t have to make me feel bad about it all the time, especially since I’ve never done anything to you.”

I expected him to snap back at me with something but there was a look in his eyes when I finished that made a part of me regret going off the way I did. He awkwardly sat back in his seat and I walked across him to sit in one of the cold, empty chairs.

I took a bite of my s’more. The silence was uncomfortable, and I was going to apologize for going off when Kie said, “I think we should head home. We have school tomorrow. Nikki, let’s go,” she shot finger guns at me.

Pope stood up and stretched. “Yeah, you’re right, we should head on home. See ya!” He started to walk towards the house, and Kie walked around the fire towards me to head to my car.

I took a couple steps before I stopped and turned around. “Isn’t he gonna go home?” I whispered to Kie. JJ was still sitting on his seat, hands stretched towards the fire. It’s not because I cared or anything, but it was weird that we were all going home and he hadn’t moved at all.

She hesitated before she answered me. “Uh, yeah, he will. His dad works late so he’s probably gonna stay here til he gets off work.”

A part of me thought she was lying, or there was more to it, but I shrugged it off, figuring that it was none of my business. “Alrighty, let’s go.” I nodded towards my car.

Kie kept turning to face JJ, who was now just sitting in his seat, facing the fire. I couldn’t see his face, but it seemed like he was sleeping or resting; his hands were in his hoodie’s pocket and he was slouching. There’s definitely something going on there.

But it’s not my business.

“Last one to the car loses!” I shouted, sprinting towards the car. I wanted to cheer Kie up, and it worked. She spun around and cried out, “NO FAIR!” Before proceeding to sprint after me. But I had won, and smacked the top of my car.

“Ok, you know what’s my fav part about this car?” I inhaled loudly, resting my hands on my knees. Kie stumbled to a stop and shook her head.

“No, what?” She put her hands on her hips and steadied her breathing.

I straightened myself up and pressed the unlock button. “The doors.” The my two car doors, which one would assume would pull out, went upwards like wings instead.

“You’re such a show off,” Kie sighed. “But you’re right, every time I sit in your car I feel like a celebrity or something.”

“Right?!” I exclaimed, beckoning her to sit in the car. We got in and buckled ourselves up. “The best part about it is that this particular Aventador is that it’s a hybrid car. Better for the environment.” I put the car in reverse and began to back out, then turned it around and drove forward to get onto the road.

“Wow.” Kie sounded impressed. “You sound like you know what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t, actually, I’m not much of a car person. But I researched this car!”

“Well, don’t tell that to JJ. Between you and me, he likes your car.”

I tried my best not to turn my head to face Kie, because I wanted to keep my eyes on the road. “Wait, actually?”

“Well, who wouldn’t like an Lamborghini? But he’ll never admit it to your face. He doesn’t want to give you the satisfaction of knowing something Kooky impressed him”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course not. Maybe I’ll be nice and offer to drive us all somewhere so he can sit in it. But he better not take any pics of the car. At least, not without me.”

Kie through her head back and laughed, and I joined her. It seemed both of our moods had improved.

*************************************

I flopped onto my bed and sighed. I had dropped Kie home, took a shower, did my skincare routine, and now I lay in bed.

One of the agreements I had with Krish and Mal was that I could decorate my room however I wished. My walls and bed set were both a light purple. My bed, dresser, and hanging mirror were black. Behind my bed, which was pressed against a wall, was a black and white sun and moon tapestry; a picture of the moon with a face on it, and two halves of the sun beside it.

TikTok lights, like, the stereotypical ones, lined up the walls near the ceilings, set to purple. And purple fairy lights were on the wall across from my bed, near my dresser. And lastly, at the farthest end of the room, was a small, purple couch.

It’s safe to say my favorite color is purple.

One of the best parts about moving to the Outer Banks was, in fact, my room. I didn’t feel comfortable in Krish and Mal’s house in New York, even though New York is my home. It didn’t feel right, it felt like I was intruding.

But here, it was a fresh start. Even if it was abrupt. A fresh start meant no more nightmares, no more panic attacks, no more -

Beep!

I turned my head quickly, and winced when I got whip lash. I was so lost in thought that the notification on my phone spooked me.

I grab my phone, still having my hand on my neck, and unlocked it to see who texted me.

“Who the hell..?” I whispered. It was an unknown number.

‘Hey’ the text said. I frowned. I saw the area code and searched it up quickly and saw it was a North Carolina area code. I didn’t open it immediately, and saw the person was still typing.

‘Come by the Chauteau tmrw before you get to school’

I narrowed my eyes again, then I put it together.

‘is this jj?’ I asked.

‘Ye’ he responded. I quickly added him to my contacts. A part of me wanted to say more to him, but I didn’t.

At least the texts sent blue, I joked to myself. I put my phone down and dimmed my lights. My phone beeped again, and I picked it up.

‘Sorry about earlier’

‘it’s alr idc’

To which he left me on read. A part of me thought the ‘I don’t care’ was a tad bit harsh. So I added. ‘i’ll see u tmrw. gn jj’

‘Goodnight’

******************************************************

“You sure you don’t want me to pick you up?” I asked Kie through Facetime as I leaned right into my mirror to applied some mascara.

“I’m good, don’t worry. I’m gonna hang out with Pope and have breakfast with him before I go to school.”

“But are you sure-”

“Girl.” Kie laughed. “I promised JJ isn’t gonna murder you or something.”

“You never know...” I said. Closing the mascara tube and readjusting my outfit. I was wearing a dark blue cardigan crop top with white and light blue squares on it, like an argyle style. Complete with high-waisted patchwork jeans and black vans.

Kie smacked her hand against her forehead. “Just get the weed and smoke with Topper. And try not to get caught, ok?”

I laughed. “I’ll try. But wait, were you the one who gave him my number?”

Kie gave me an evil little smile through the screen as she walked throughout her house. “Perhaps...Look, I know you may think otherwise, but I know JJ and he’s totally into you, he just doesn’t know it yet.”

“Um...girl? No fucking way. And I don’t want to be with someone who’s so rude to me.”

“I know, I know, which is why I’m gonna tell him to get his shit together so he has a chance.”

I scoffed. “He hates Kooks, and he reeks of bad boy energy. He’s probably going to get me arrested or something. And let’s say he does get his act together, he’s gonna have to do a lot of hard work on his end to make up for the shit he’s said to me.”

“He means well! And despite what you think, there is a sweet side to him.”

“Mhm, right. Totally.”

“Just trust me. And don’t tell me you aren’t attracted to him. I see the way you guys look at each other, it’s like you want to rip each other’s cloth-”

“ALRIGHT, alright, I’ll admit he’s attractive, but that’s it. He’s funny, can be nice, and is hot. That’s it. That’s all there is.” I rubbed my temples.

Kie scoffed. “I call it- you guys are going to keep having your little moments, but still argue a lot. Then things will happen, the two of you will be vulnerable to each other, then you’ll actually become friends and then you’ll date.”

“You read way too many fanfics.”

“I actually see the two of you long term together!”

“I- Ok, we should probably get going now. See ya!”

“Bye! Don’t forget what I said!” Kie hung up, and I chuckled a little.

I grabbed my hairbrush and combed out my straightened hair, which fell a little below my shoulders, then put the brush down. Cute outfit, straight hair with middle parting...what am I missing?

A belt. I went to my closet and pulled one out, a melt chain belt, like rings or loops, and quickly looked it around myself.

Wow, I’m hot.

I grabbed my Kanken backpack and ran down the stairs.

I headed to the kitchen, where Diya was sitting on her height chair, with apple sauce all over the tray, her face, her hands, and the floor. “Good morning, gremlin” I leaned over to kiss her forehead, and took the seat to her right. She turned to me and began giggling and babbling. I picked up the apple sauce-covered spoon and scooped the tiny bit that was in the bowl in front of her and put it near her mouth.

“Open sesame.” I said. She opened her mouth and bit the spoon. I fed her a couple more bites before she shook her head and refused to eat more.

I shrugged, taking the bowl and spoon and placing it in the sink, then grabbing a napkin and quickly wiping up the floor, being careful not to get any on my clothes.

“Oh, Nikki, you didn’t have to clean up.” Mal sighed, walking down the stairs. I stood up and turned to see her. She was in sweats and a shirt, and her hair was tied up. “I was changing because this tiny gremlin got apple sauce all over me.” Mal laughed and ruffled Diya’s hair, who seemed confused. Probably because she didn’t even realize her mom left.

“It’s alright,” I got a fresh napkin and wiped Diya’s face. “She finished her food. But I’m not cleaning the tray.” I made a face and we laughed. Diya laughed, and I leaned over to kiss her again. She squirmed and giggled.

“That’s fine. But make sure you eat something before you leave!” Mal picked Diya up and put her on her hip. Then she stopped. “Wait, why are you leaving so early?”

I blinked twice. “Uh. I need to go to something.”

Mal laughed, and Diya reached for her mom’s hair to pull it. “Like what?”

“Uh, my friend needs to be dropped off at...the other high school. Kildare County High School. It’s in The Cut, and they don’t have a car.”

Mal looked at me for a couple seconds, than rolled her eyes. “You’re an awful liar.” She proceeded to go upstairs. “Whatever you do, don’t make bad choices!”

“I won’t!” I shouted back. “Wait, where’s Krish?” I asked, pouring myself some cereal.

“He had an emergency surgery. Nothing super serious, just someone’s appendix burst or something.” Mal shouted from upstairs. “Don’t clean the tray up, I have the day off so I’m gonna catch up on some house work and go shopping with Diya. Just eat and make sure you’re at school on time. Krish packed a sandwich and some apple slices for you in the fridge if you want it!”

“Alright!” I shouted back. I grabbed the food from the fridge, an ice pack from the freezer to keep my food fresh, shoved it in my lunchbox, and finished up my cereal. I grabbed my keys, shouldered my bag, and headed to my car.

I threw my bag into the seat next to mine and buckled up, then hooked my playlist up and pulled out of my driveway.

When I arrived at the Chauteau, I saw someone sitting outside on the steps with their hands on their head. They were wearing a black hoodie, and it was pulled up over their head so I couldn’t see who it was.

As I got closer, I realized it was JJ, and he was wearing the same outfit from yesterday.

“Hey!” I called out to him. He looked up and gave me a quick nod, then beckoned me to come inside. I obliged and slipped my keys into my pocket, then jogged quickly to catch up with him.

“The weed’s in my room. Just wait on the couch and I’ll get it for you.” He mumbled as held the door open for me, then headed inside. I nodded and flopped onto the couch. JJ reappeared a couple seconds later, holding a black dispensary bag with a smily face on it and some paper wraps.

He headed to the kitchen and put them in a gallon sized Ziploc bag, then walked towards me. I noticed that, the entire time, he had his head down, and his long blond hair was parted to cover his left eye.

“Here.” He said, not meeting my eyes.

I grabbed the bag and bid him a farewell, then turned around to ask him if he wanted a ride to his high school, when I saw his swollen, bruised eye underneath the wisps of his hair.

“Wait, do you ne- Oh my God, JJ, what happened to your eye?” I walked towards him and covered my mouth. Shit, I thought. It looked pretty bad. The eyelid above his eye was swollen and beneath his eye, it was an ugly purplish blue.

“For fuck’s sake, dude,” he groaned.

“Woah, woah,” I raised my arms up in defense. “I just asked. Anyone would’ve if they saw someone with a black eye.”

He flopped onto the couch. “I’m fine. Fan-fucking-tastic.”

“Your eye is swollen.” I said firmly.

“And your eyes work.” He sassed back.

“Oh my- I have an ice pack in my car. Do you want me to grab it, or do you want to sit here and be a bitch to me?” I crossed my arms.

JJ raised his eyebrows at me. I stared back.

He sighed. “Whatever, I don’t care.” I scoffed to myself, thinking about how ungrateful he is, and ran out to my car, grabbed my lunch box, and ran back inside. I told JJ to sit down and I pulled the pack out and handed it to him.

“Just press the pack against your eye.” I told him. He gave me a look.

“This isn’t exactly like a bag. It’s a big blue block of coldness.” He put it down on the couch and flexed his hand. “And it’s really cold.”

“Well of course it’s cold, it’s an ice pack! Are there any paper towels here?”

“Under the sink, yeah.”

I walked towards the kitchen and ripped out a couple, then went back to the couch to wrap the ice pack. I held it for a couple seconds so that the napkins would start to get cold, then I turned and handed it to him.

He picked it up and brushed his hair back. I flopped down onto the couch and checked the time on my phone. I still had a good fourty minutes before school started, so I was fine.

JJ pressed the pack against his eye, then pulled it away. “I don’t feel anything.”

I took it from his hands and scooted next to him. I reached my hand out towards him and he leaned back.

“Uh, what are you doing?” His eyes were wide.

“Icing your eye for you. Because apparently this big blue block of coldness is too difficult for you to use.”

He squinted his eyes. I sighed.

“That was a joke,” I explained. Then I beckoned him closer to me. “But come on, now, I need my ice pack for lunch. So either you do it or I will!”

He mumbled something about not being a baby and scooted closer to me. I brushed some of his hair aside and he flinched. I pulled my hand back immediately.

“Shit! I’m sorry, did I touch your eye?” God, this is so awkward.

“No, no, I’m fine.” He quickly reassured, awkwardly brushing his hands with his hair. He looked down and was fidgeting with his hands.

This is so, so weird. I touched the pack against my hand, and felt for where it was the coldest. Then, I gently brushed some of JJ’s hair away from his eye and pressed the cold pack against his eye.

He pushed his hair back and scooted closer to me. “This feels good.” He whispered under his breath; I almost didn’t hear him.

I felt a hint of a smile forming. “Well, I’m glad,” I laughed. “My dad’s a doctor. He’s Chief of Surgery, I think, at the hospital on the next island over. The one here’s pretty small, but that’s one’s big. We moved here, though, because we had a house here.”

JJ nodded. “Cool. What does your mom do?”

“She’s a lawyer.”

“Wow. Ok.” He laughed. “That’s chill. My dad’s a professional alcoholic.”

“I- Oh.” I clamped my free hand over my mouth.

JJ pulled away laughing. “It’s ok. You can laugh. It’s funny.”

I shoved him lightly. “That’s not funny. Are you alright?!” He looked at me with a smile.

“You’re laughing.”

“I’m not- Oh my god, I’m laughing.”

“It’s fine, Nikki. Really.”

I rolled my eyes, but then I got serious. “But, he isn’t the one who did this to your eye, right?”

JJ looked away from me and cleared his throat. “Nah.”

I saw his hesitation, and

“Nikki, I’m chill.”

He nodded. “Much. Thanks...Kook.”

I kicked his shin. “You’re so annoying.”

“OW! That hurt.”

I grabbed the plastic bag and ran out to my car. “Bye JJ!”

“Fuck you, Kook!”

***************************************************************

The cool sand between my toes felt strange. I was always used to sand being burning hot, or at least warm, but this was a nice, cool feeling. Wintertime in the Outer Banks wasn’t freezing, which meant I could still visit the beach.

The sky had turned grey, but the sun was still shining bright between the clouded sky. The ocean, though, had taken on a very dark blue-green color.

I spun around, shoes in one hand and backpack in the other, to see Topper a couple feet behind me with something in his hand. I raised a hand above my eyes and squinted.

“Whatcha got there?” I questioned while beckoning him to follow me farther. In order for the plan to work, I needed the two of us to be alone. Which meant sitting farther away from where the people and lifeguards were.

“A surprise.” Topper winked. Whatever he had in his hand was slipped into one of his pockets. I feigned laughter and ran up ahead. There was a nice secluded area on the beach; no one was there, and better yet, it appeared there was a little place for people to hide behind big, dark rock formations on the beach.

“Hey! There’s a place for us to sit over there!” I beckoned Topper without turning around and went ahead near the little hidden area on the beach. I plopped down onto the sand and dropped my bag and shoes next to me. Topper appeared behind the rock formation a couple seconds later and threw his stuff onto the ground next to mine.

He sat down next to me- wearing khaki cargo pants and an orange polo shirt- and kicked his flip flops off.

“So,” I began, “This is nice. Right?”

Topper pulled whatever he slipped in his pocket- a small, white sea conch- and handed it to me.

“Yeah,” he smiled brightly. “This is nice.”

Oh, goodness. It’s painstakingly clear that Topper had feelings for me and I need to shut that down, fast. So I said the only thing I could think of.

“Hey, Top, did you know one of our friends has a crush on you?” As soon as the last word left my mouth, I regretted it. I can’t out Kelce, but there’s no way I can just avoid this.

Topper’s neck snapped towards me. “HUH?” His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped, and I fought back the urge to push his jaw upward to close it.

“Yep...” I turned around to grab the weed from my bag, hoping Topper would just drop it. But I knew better.

“Ok, but like who?” He asked. I paused. UM. I needed to think of something quick.

“Um, can’t say,” I shrugged, trying to play it off. I took the bag out and placed it on my lap. “I was sworn to secrecy.”

“Oh, c’mon!” He threw his arms up in the air, then crossed them and pouted. Gross.

“Yep, my lips are sealed.” I decided to just say it: “It’s also the reason I don’t do anything about your...flirtiness. Our friend likes you, and I don’t see you like that. You’re like...a brother. A good friend.” I smiled.

Topper nodded, then reached for his bag. Confused, I leaned over, then I saw him pull out a cheese wheel.

“You want some cheese?”

I slapped my hand over my face and laughed. “Do you usually care around cheese wheels?”

He shrugged. “No. I only bring them when I’m hanging out with special people. People who are like...sisters to me. Good friends.” He winked.

I chuckled. Then I pointed at the bag on my lap. “Do you wanna get high?”

Topper dropped his cheese wheel. “Is that..?”

“Yeah, it’s weed. Oh, c’mon, hot stuff, don’t tell me you haven’t smoked before.”

He shook his head. “Usually, uh, Pogues smoke weed.” The emphasis on the word Pogues ticked me off a little. But I knew Topper didn’t know any better, so I brushed it off.

I snorted. “Well, where I’m from, everyone smokes weed. I personally don’t love doing it, but it’s a good feeling. So we’re going to, too. Unless you’re not comfortable. Or allergic.”

Topper shook his head. “No, not allergic. I’ve just never done it.”

“Right, but you’ve done coke.”

“Oh, shut up.”

I pull the tiny, black bag holding the weed out of the Ziploc and open it up. Topper, who was peering over my shoulder, threw his head back dramatically at the smell of the plant.

“Oh, gross!” He gagged. I looked at him.

“Weed itself smells fine, it’s when you smoke it does it actually smell bad. Stop being so dramatic.” I brought the bag to his face. “Here, smell it!”

Topper was hesitant, but I beckoned him closer. “Trust me, your high is gonna be really bad if you’re nervous. Just try to relax.”

He sat up and took the bag from me. Topper sniffed the bag, then sniffed it again. “It smells...minty, kind of.” I pulled out the weed grinder JJ had packed for us out and took the bag back from him.

“See? Not too bad, right?”

He shrugged. I rolled my eyes and dumped the weed into the weed grinder. Topper looked over at me curiously as I ground the bud into shake (kind of a powderish leftover), then set it aside.

Next, I pulled the paper wraps out. I stuck my hand into the bag again and felt around carefully. I hoped JJ packed a- found it- blade for me to cut the wraps with.

I began to cut the wraps vertically, lengthwise, then lifted it to my tongue and licked it just a bit so that it’d stick.

“That doesn’t seem very hygenic,” Topper said through the cheese in his mouth. I turned to face him and opened my mouth, and he broke off a piece and fed it to me.

“The weed only smells bad when you smoke it,” I explained to Topper, then lifted the blunt up to show him the finished product. “Ta-da!”

Topper’s eyes went wide. “It’s so perfectly wrapped.”

“Yeah, I dabbled in origami as a child.” I fished around for the lighter, then lit the blunt and started to twirl in between my fingers to make sure the blunt burned evenly.

I put the blunt to my lips and breathed in, feeling the smoke fill up my lungs. I breathed out, took another hit, and passed it to Topper. I pulled a water bottle out and set it down next to him. “You’re gonna need this.”

Topper took the blunt and scoffed. “I’ll be fine,” he said, and proceeded to take the tiniest drag and cough his lungs out.

I took the blunt from his hand and took a drag, then handed him the water bottle. “See?” I exhaled. “Told you you’d need it.”

“Why-” he hacked, “-did I-” hack, “agree-” hack, “-to this?”

“Because of my amazing persuasion skills.” I could start to feel the high get to me; it felt like an out-of-body experience and my head started to feel light. The only downside was the god-awful smell.

I smacked my lips together. The back of my throat was really dry, but the euphoric, light-headedness I was feeling made it better. I passed the blunt back to Topper, who took a smaller drag, held it in, and exhaled. Then he took another and handed it back to me.

Topper seemed to be getting the hang of it, and pretty soon his eyes were red and he was laughing at everything.

“Can I ask you something?” I took a drag of the blunt and handed it back to Topper.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“What’s, like, Rafe’s deal? I hear all these shitty things about him and stuff and he doesn’t seem like that at all. Like, what’s this whole...drama shit with him and like Kiara’s Pogue friend group?”

Topper’s eyes were as wide as half-dollars when I finished my question. It made me glad he had exhaled the smoke, otherwise he’d have been coughing his lungs up for another couple minutes.

“Um, well-” he handed the blunt back to me. “It’s like- ok. The Pogues, Kiara’s friends, they’re Pogues, right?

“Well, yeah.”

“Yeah.”

“Ok, but like, what’s wrong with Pogues. Just because they’re poor doesn’t mean they don’t deserve our respect.”

“Well, yeah, but like...” Topper trailed off. “I forgot what I was gonna say.”

“You were talking about why you and the other Kooks hate Pogues.”

“Right! Yeah, ok, so it’s like...they just don’t care about anything? They have no regards for anything, they don’t have any morals, or ambition, or anything! And I don’t just mean JJ and Pope and them, I mean all of them.”

I held back a scream. “Have you considered their, uh, ‘lack of regard and amibition’ stems from the fact that they’re stuck in a cycle of poverty? It’s easy to lose hope in things getting better when everything around you tries to bring you down.”

Topper shrugged. “I guess you’re right. But like, our groups have just hated each other for so long. And it’s not like it’s just us who hate them, they hate us back!”

“Well, yeah! You- we- flaunt our wealth in front of them and treat them like trash. Like, ok, fine, we’re rich, but that doesn’t mean we have to rub it in their faces. And treat them like trash. And jump them. And-”

“OK! Ok, I get it. But like...I don’t know. Rafe, on the other hand...he...well, he isn’t like this anymore, but he always had to prove he was better than everyone. That he was the best at everything.”

I nodded. Topper kept going.

“Don’t tell him I told you this, but Mr. Cameron always put Rafe and Sarah up against each other, and Sarah always won. Sarah was the smarter one, the nicer one. She didn’t fuck up, and when she did she could fix her mistakes and get away with it. She could do whatever she wanted. Rafe...couldn’t. He’s the black sheep, the screw up.”

I tried my best to hide my surprised face. Rafe, the screw up? He seems like the perfect Kook, if there had to be one. “And he took this out on the Pogues?”

“Yeah. This plus the fact that he was raised a Kook and Kooks are- I mean, think they are- better than Pogues, made him really butt heads with them. Especially JJ.”

“JJ? Why JJ? If John B was the head of the Pogues wouldn’t Rafe butt heads with him?”

“You’d think so, but Rafe and JJ are both very- well, you’ve met them. Hotheaded. Opinionated.”

Emphasis on hot, I told myself.

Shut up.

I was about to ask more about Rafe’s childhood when Topper’s phone buzzed.

“Ah shit, it’s Kelce, he’s outside my house. I forgot him and I were supposed to play FIFA.” Topper began to stand up and put his cheese wheel away.

“Do you need me to drop you off?” I got up as well.

“Nah, he said he’s on his way. You want us to drop you off?”

I waved my hand dismissively. “No, it’s alright. I’ll stay here for a bit.”

Topper waved and jogged away, and i turned and face the ocean. I could see that the sun was starting to set- I guess we had been here for about an hour- and the sky was turning gold. Most of the clouds had dispersed, so the sight of the sun near the water was a pretty one.

I inhaled. The warm sunlight against my skin was peaceful, and I didn’t want to go home yet.

Home. The Outer Banks is a nice place to live, but a part of me longed for New York. I missed ditching school with my friends and driving around the city. And eating at my favorite restaurant at the food court of the Manhattan mall.

Yet, New York feels...wrong. So foreign, and far away. Too filled with painful memories. Watching my father die in front of me left a permanent scar somewhere deep inside of me.

Will I ever feel at home here? Or anywhere?

A cool ocean breeze swept over me, pulling me out of whatever trance I was in. I checked my phone, and saw that JJ had texted me to ask that I drop by the Chateau. I shuffled around for a minute, not wanting to leave yet. I picked up the shell Topper gave me and put it in my bag.

I stood up, dusted myself, and headed towards my car.

**************************************************************

“Ok, what did you learn from Topper?” Pope asked once we all settled down around the coffee table.

“A lot, but it really depends on this. I need to know what you guys know about Rafe and his childhood.”

We all turned to Kie. The dim orange-brownish lighting made my head hurt, especially since Kie’s back was to the light and her faced was covered in a shadow, but I managed to focus on her while she talked.

“Um, Rafe’s childhood...ok.” Kie pulled her hair up into a ponytail and rubbed her temples. “I know that Sarah and Rafe- Sarah especially- had a difficult relationship with their stepmom. Their mom, the first Mrs. Cameron, passed away when Sarah was two. So she didn’t really remember her mom, just bits and pieces you know?”

JJ, who was spread out on the couch across from me, nodded grimly. He ran his ringed fingers through his hair and had a sad look on his face. I squinted, but before I could process, Kie continued.

“Rose married Ward less than a year after Sarah and Rafe’s mom died, and then had Wheezie soon after-”

“Sorry, I just never understood what sort of name was Wheezie.” JJ laughed. I bit my lip to hold back my laughter. Couldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he’s actually funny.

“It could be short for Elizabeth or Louise or something.” I rebuttled. JJ raised an eyebrow.

“Elizabeth? For Wheezie?”

“It’s common for people to have unique nicknames for fancy names.”

“Sounds like a rich person thing.” JJ rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, can I have my weed back now?”

I clenched my fists. Him and I were fine this morning! Why was he being like this? I pulled the Ziploc out of my backpack and threw it at his head. He caught it with one hand and winked. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

“Don’t call me sweetheart.”

“Sorry, Pillow Princess.”

“CAN YO-”

“Ok, back to what I was saying.” Kie interrupted. “Yeah, so from what I gathered, Rafe never liked Rose when they was younger. I guess he thought she was trying to replace their mom? But as he got older he just didn’t care as much? Or at least that’s what Sarah thought.”

I nodded slowly. “Ok, so like, Sarah never noticed anything weird about Rafe growing up?”

“Well she always thought of him as like, problematic? Which is clear in his behavior. And dramatic, too. He always took things too far, and she never knew why. Her best guess? His issues shifted from the mom figure to the dad.”

I nodded again. “Alright, alright. That makes sense.”

“What did you learn from Topper?” Pope took his arm off from Kie’s shoulder and leaned forward. “Did something happen in Rafe’s childhood?”

“It fits with what Kie said. I think Ward neglected him in favor of Sarah. I know I’m not a doctor, but it’s kind of obvious when you think about it; he’s fueled by rage. He’s angry because he feels like he’s never enough. He goes out of his way to try to be the best, the greatest, the biggest, all to do what?”

It was silent for a second, when I saw it click in JJ’s mind. “Praise. He’s desperate for Ward’s praise and approval.”

I snapped my fingers and pointed at him. “Exactly. A neglectful yet present paternal figure that he’s desperate for the love of, and the absence of a caring maternal figure. That plus his previous drug addiction sounds like a recipe for fucking disaster.”

When those words came out of my mouth, I could see JJ’s face drop for a second time. Kie didn’t notice, and neither did Pope, and when JJ saw me staring at him, he just looked away.

Pope said, “We know Ward favored Sarah, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have her issues- uh, no offense, Kie.” Pope gave her an apologetic look and ran his fingers through her hair.

“No worries,” Kie dismissed him. “Rose was never particularly warm to her, and regardless of if you’re the favorite, being raised by someone like Ward Cameron is going to give you some sort of damage.”

“What’s Mrs. Cameron’s deal?” I asked. “Did she hate Sarah and Rafe?”

“No, not that,” Kie said. “It’s not that she hated them, she just isn’t a warm person. I guess their relationship never progressed passed ‘dad’s wife’ and ‘husband’s kids’.”

We stayed silent for a second, collecting our thoughts. Finally, Pope said, “Ok, so we know Rafe’s, uh, past-” He put past in quotation marks, “-behavior was fueled by trauma, not solely because he’s a bad person. That helps confirm what John B had told us about Ward before he died. And it’s possible Rose is abusive, or at least knows and doesn’t care.”

“You don’t think she could be a victim?” I asked, leaning forward.

Kie snorted. “Trust me, Rose Cameron could never be a victim.”

“So Rafe is trauma-filled, Ward is mentally abusive, and Rose is absent ...that’s good to know about Rafe, I guess, if we want to do some psycho-fucking with him or whatever, but how does that help us?” JJ jumped up off the couch and stretched.

I thought for a second, then a thought occurred to me. Then another, then a few more. I slapped my hand over my mouth. “Wait, fuck, holy shit. Oh my FUCKING GOD.” I also stood up from my seat.

“What is it?” Pope asked, getting up as well. JJ squinted and walked over to me.

“Ok, so, this theory is so out of pocket, I’m probably really wrong but it just came to me.”

“Just tell us.” JJ said.

Kiara got up to stand on my other side. “What are you thinking?”

“So Ward’s first wife died when Rafe and Sarah were young, and then like almost immediately after he got married to Rose and had another kid?” I asked.

“Yeah why- wait a second...” Pope said, eyebrows furred. Then, his eyes went huge, and I mean huge. “You don’t think..?”

“What?” JJ asked, then turned to me. “What is it?”

“What is Ward and Rose were having an affair and killed Rafe and Sarah’s mom?” I asked. Kiara gasped.

“Ward and Rose were both from the Cut! They could have been, like, childhood lovers, which could have explained why Ward ‘moved on so fast’.

Pope added, “And because Ward wasn’t rich before, that could explain the lack of a prenup. So when he got rich and his wife found out he had an affair...”

“He offed her before she could divorce him and take the money!” JJ finished, covering his hands with his mouth. “Ok, that is super far-fetched, BUT, considering everything that happened, I would not be surprised if this ended up being true.”

“So, what are we supposed to do? If this is true, this is a crime from years ago. How would we even be able to solve this?” Kiara rubs her temples.

“I don’t know, but it’s worth a shot, right? I can still try to sneak into Ward’s office to try and find something.” I offered.

“That was part of the original plan, but now the stakes are higher...what if you get caught?” Pope asked.

I shrugged. “I’m in too deep anyway. And this isn’t about me, it’s about Sarah and John B. They deserve justice. They don’t deserve to have died for nothing.”

Kiara smiled at me and gave me a hug. “You are awesome.” She pulled away and hugged Pope, squealing. “Finally! We can bring that fucker Ward to his knees.”

Pope kissed Kie, and right then, Mal texted me asking me to pick up some yogurt on my way home. “Ah, I should probably get going.” I said. “See you guys tomorrow?” I asked.

“Yeah!” Pope and Kie smiled. I waved, then went to grab my stuff while Kie and Pope went off to talk about something.

As I was heading for the door, I felt someone grab my arm. I spun around and looked up to see JJ glancing around nervously.

“Hey, uh, thank you.” He mumbled quietly. He cleared his throat and looked me right in the eyes to say: “Thank you.”

I didn’t know what to say. “Is this about this morning?”

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, then ran his hands through his messy, longish blond hair. He was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. “Yeah. And right now.”

We were quiet for a second. I didn’t look at his eyes; rather, I was trying to look at the floor, or something below his eye level, but I could feel him trying to look into my eyes. He kept speaking.

“We were all in a kinda shitty place before this and we had no idea how to go about any of it. So, thanks, Kook.”

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “Here you go with the Kook stuff again. You’re welcome, your Pogueness.” I bowed dramatically.

JJ scoffed. “Oh shut up! God, you’re so annoying.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I lightly kicked his shin. “See you, blond.”

“Bye, Kook.”

*************************************

me: i’m back and i won’t take a hiatus again! also me: ...

but for real, i’m out of school soon which means YAY more chapters. however, i should note that i will most likely not be following the plot of season 2 of OBX, since ik it’s releasing soon. my fic is my interpretation of what i would like season 2 to be, so it’s solely based on season 1

#jj #jj x oc #jj outer banks #jj obx #jj obx fic #Outer Banks #outer banks fanfic #outer banks fanfiction #john b #john b routledge #pope #pope heyward #kie #kiara carrera #john b x sarah #kiara x pope #jj fluff

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dentalinfotoday · 7 years ago

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March 14, 2017

Update from Dr. Buck and Lexi: Lexi and I finally arrived at the El Sombrero Ecolodge Saturday night. Around midnight, we find a 4″ tarantula joining us in our room. After a few girly screams, strategizing and throwing everything at the araña that had a chance of killing it, we finally triumphed! We didn’t realize how lucky we were until 3 minutes later when the electricity was cut off for the evening, leaving us searching for our flashlights in the pitch darkness! We’re going to a small rural schoolhouse today for the first day of the mission. We’re hoping to work very hard and help a lot of people in this impoverished area, where most people earn only $2 per day.

We’re trying to get some photos of their hotel for you. Stay tuned!!

March 15, 2017

UPDATE FROM DR. BUCK AND LEXI! On the first day of the mission, we set up in a schoolhouse in a very small town named Aguadas Nuevas that was about an hour drive from the ecolodge, mostly by unpaved roads. The dentists set up in one classroom, the doctors in the adjacent room and the pharmacy outside the school.

About half of the dental patients were children and half were adults. Decay was the major issue. Just as I saw in Honduras, even though the location is far from any town that would be large enough to be a dot on a map, the school had a freezer full of baggies with flavored sugar water in them. I tried to help some parents understand to not give sugar to children between meals, and my Spanish was poor, but good enough to communicate this.

The morning was busy, and we tried our best to encourage the younger patients to be brave by saying “muy valiente!” and “buen trabajo!” One 7-year-old boy was so afraid that he could not open his mouth, so he and his mother left and came back an hour later. He cried the whole time, even though I was very gentle (of course). He needed 5 rotten baby teeth extracted. His mother said if he doesn’t get them out his father would beat him. His 5-year-old brother came later, and he was much braver than his older brother, and I told him so: “Eres más valiente que tu hermano.”

The afternoon brought more patients, a few notable ones were a man dressed in a whole cowboy getup, boots, hat and all, and a nineteen-year-old girl who needed her two upper front teeth extracted. Toothbrushes were handed out to everyone and little stickers for the kids.

Lexi was such a great help to the whole operation, from assisting to instrument sterilization, to holding patients’ hands. I have met very few people who are so competent, have such a strong work ethic, and with such a giant heart. I asked her where she came from! Then I remembered that Carilyn Froberg was a big part of her life from the moment she was born, and it all made sense (kudos to Lexi’s wonderful parents, too!).

We all loaded into the van back to the ecolodge, not caring that there was no hot water for showering, as a cold one was what we needed after sweating all day in the heat. Maybe we’re the only Yoopers longing for snow in the middle of March!

March 18, 2017

“Chócala!” We learned a new way to say “gimme five!” during the second day of the mission, and Lexi and I had fun practicing with the adorable kids hanging out. We set up in a medical clinic with just bars on the windows (no glass), and the kids and adults hung out watching us all day. There isn’t much for entertainment around here.

As we met more people, Lexi had a good question. She asked if the people here are so poor, why do we see so many overweight people? Someone on our team explained how, just like in the US, the cheap food is the processed and unhealthy food and the healthier foods like produce and meat expensive. Working long hours and lack of education also makes exercise not a top priority for many here in Guatemala. The medical team saw many people with diabetes, and unfortunately, we were only able to give 20-30 days’ worth of medicine to each patient. We did try to educate them about sugar in their diet, but juices and simple carbs are so prevalent here, both seem to be served at every meal.

Working in the field presented many challenges, from back pain due to bending over so far since we had to use any chair available, to the wind blowing our gauze on the ground, rendering it useless, to trying to keep proper infection control procedures. Lexi was a superstar, sterilizing instruments for 3 dentists while also assisting two of them and finding time to give high fives to many of the kids. We started running low on supplies, namely gauze, patient bibs and paper towel, and anesthetic. We could make due with improvising most things, but if we ran out of anesthetic on our next day of the mission, we would not be able to help anyone else…

March 22, 2017

Sorry for the delay in getting this final update to you from when Dr. Buck and Lexi were gone last week. It’s been so busy catching up since they’ve been back! Here’s Dr. Buck’s third and final update from her trip in Guatemala: Las Gaviotas (the Seagulls)

Imagine if this was your elementary school, what would your hopes and dreams be? The third day of the mission was spent at a school in another very poor district. It rained some, so we were concerned that not many people would walk to see us, but we were steady the whole day. The dentist and physicians set up in the two school rooms, and the gynecologist set up in a barn for privacy. Las Gaviotas had a large Mayan population, who could be identified by their slightly different features from other Guatemalans. We were told that it is taboo in the Mayan culture to marry outside of their ethnicity.

There were SO many dental infections. It was especially sad to see so many children with them. Several children had a dozen teeth decayed, so we had to choose only the most urgent area to treat, trying not to imagine the inevitable future problems from all of the other broken-down teeth. We would try to educate the parents on sugar, but felt hopeless that any real change would be made.

We used old school desks as patient chairs, the kind where the top is attached to the chair, so even though I tried to have good posture, my back hurt all day long. I was forming blisters on my left hand, which thankfully did not burst. But I didn’t come on this mission to slack for one second, so I think I would be disappointed if I didn’t feel tired and sore. I want to help these people who have so little, and who have so little opportunity or hope for improvement.

As we worked, hearing the occasional turkey gobble from the home next door, we started to smell burning, just like the black snakes we light during 4th of July week. The local women were making bread in a large clay oven. They called this pan de arroz (rice bread) or quesadilla (not the Mexican kind) because it was made with rice flour and a cheese like sour cream. They shared some at the end of the day and it was fresh and warm and wonderful.

We ended the day with one of the only cleanings I did on this trip, on a man about 25 years old, who had no visible decay in his mouth and all of his teeth, which at this point I was not used to seeing. I tried to encourage him and tell him how well he takes care of his teeth. Thankfully, we didn’t run out of supplies. The town leaders thanked us at the end of the day, with genuine gratitude for helping their communities in need.

Seeing how people live in most parts of Central America makes me feel both fortunate for being American, having all the opportunities, food, entertainment and education we do, and concurrently disappointed with the general attitude that we expect things to be so perfect, so clean, new, and hungry for the next thing that might satiate our desires. Though materialism is not an American concept, it is worldwide and will be as long as humans exist. Although anyone who knows me knows I value ambition, the disparity between the “haves” and the “have-nots” seems not quite right when the “haves” have countless things they do not need while the “have-nots” are working so terribly hard just for basic human needs.

I think often of a quote I read recently, which goes something like this: “Once a person has his or her basic needs met, human development should be about being more, not having more.” The goals which we truly should be working diligently on are Love, Compassion, and Kindness. Although all humans are fallible, I am happy to be surrounded by many friends, family members and team members and patients at Northern Trails Dental Care who understand and live by those principles. Thank you to all of the amazing people who are part of my life!

The post Updates from Dr. Buck and Lexi’s trip to Guatemala with Flying Doctors of America appeared first on Northern Trails Dental Care.

from Northern Trails Dental Care https://northerntrailsdentalcare.com/blog/write-ups-from-dr-buck-and-lexis-trip-to-guatemala-with-flying-doctors-of-america/

#Dentistry #Blog

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ncmagroup · 7 years ago

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Written by Scott Tousley

If a conversation ends after “So what do you do?” … things can get awkward.At this point, we don’t know what else to say. We stink at small talk. We are shy. We are insecure. We’re introverted. Whatever the reasoning or logic, awkward conversations are, well, awkward. It’s uncomfortable for everyone.

But no one wants to feel awkward. We want to be liked. We want to be charming. We want to be charismatic. But that’s a natural instinct, rooted in our psychological desire to belong, as illustrated in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

So that brings up the question — what are the psychological habits of the most likable, charismatic, and charming people?

To uncover the trends, we dove deep into research and studies of behavioral psychology. So if you want to transform from awkward and shy, to charming everyone you meet … check out the following tips, validated by countless studies and research.

1. They have positive and negative empathy.

People who possess positive empathy don’t get jealous, they get excited. They are thrilled when:

+ Someone else decides to quit their job and travel in South America for 6 months.

+ Someone else gets their dream promotion (or hired at their dream company).

+ Someone else gets their business acquired for $100 million.

Negative empathy is the ability to comfort others when they’re down. People who possess this trait will:

– Help someone when their family member gets diagnosed with cancer.

– Support someone when they get fired from their dream company.

– Comfort someone when they break up with their significant other of six years.

Positive and negative empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and genuinely feel what they are feeling — either good or bad.

In fact, we even had a part in our brain dedicated to empathy called the Right Supramarginal Gyrus, that triggers empathetic responses:

We are physiologically and psychologically hardwired to help people (i.e. feel empathetic). The trick is feeling it for both positive and negative events.

Action Step: Take an Emotional Intelligence Quiz.

Emotional intelligence is an incredibly valuable skill, which was found to be the strongest predictor of performance. Research from TalentSmart explains emotional intelligence is responsible for 58% of success in all jobs.

In a nutshell, emotional intelligence is the ability to feel what someone else is feeling. The ability to be empathetic and put yourself in their shoes.

Test your knowledge by taking this free emotional intelligence quiz from the University of Berkeley-California.

2. They are humble.

This quote sums it up perfectly:

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.

– C.S. Lewis

People who are genuinely enjoyable to be around are humble, not arrogant. They don’t wave awards in people’s faces. They don’t name drop for the sake of sounding important. They don’t toot their own horns. They don’t have an aura of I-am-the-coolest-person-in-the-world.

Of course, it’s healthy to be confident and sustain a high self-esteem. But there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. And the difference is humility.

It separates those enjoyable to be around versus those you can’t stand:

Think of Kanye West — he’s incredibly successful, yet incredibly obnoxious. Now think of Barack Obama — he’s incredibly successful, yet incredibly humble.

Love or hate Kanye West’s music, there is no denying his supreme confidence and arrogance. Agree or disagree with Obama’s policies, there’s no denying his supreme confidence and humility.

There is a fine line … and people who are enjoyable to be around avoid egocentric, self-centered bragging.

Action Step: Observe the patterns of humble people.

One of the easiest ways to practice humility is to observe the patterns of humility of other people. Take this video of Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela meeting:

You see them smile, stare deep into each other’s eyes, touch each other on the shoulder, and nod in as if they’re bowing. They are showing respect and courtesy.

3. They are vulnerable.

Vulnerability is uncertainty. It’s putting yourself out there to risk embarrassment or judgment. That definition can become foggy, so here are a few examples:

Vulnerability is approaching a stranger in a coffee shop, asking them on a date.

Vulnerability is giving a presentation to 195 people, even when you’re scared shitless of public speaking.

Vulnerability is stating your conflicting opinion when nine out of ten people in a room all believe the same thing.

Brene Brown, a social psychologist with 10 years of experience of studying vulnerability, gave one of the most watched TED Talks of all time at over 20 million views:

Let’s be clear — being vulnerable isn’t easy. It’s one of the most emotionally challenging hurdles one can face, overcoming the fear of being judged or criticized.

Yet incredibly likable people aren’t afraid to open up. They aren’t begging for approval from others, so they have no desire to come off as a perfectionist. Furthermore, they realize that those who do appear as perfect may actually be less likable.

When someone appears perfect, we distance ourselves from them. When they appear flawed, we’re attracted to them. This psychological phenomenon is known as The Pratfall Effect:

The Pratfall Effect

By making a mistake, or admitting to a mistake, we become more likable. Studies prove people connect with those who admit their flaws, versus those who appear as perfect all the time.

By being vulnerable, we prime ourselves for failure. Through failure, we become more likable. Thus, the vulnerability has the power to trigger likability.

Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.

– Sigmund Freud

Action Step: Do a Stranger Photo Challenge.

So you’re afraid of feeling awkward or vulnerable? Try out this “failure challenge” by the CEO of SumoMe, Noah Kagan:

1. Find a complete stranger to take a picture with you. 2. Have them hold a sign for proof (see sign here). 3. Upload photo.

See more details on this page.

4. They have a sense of humor.

Watch this 30-second clip:

Now don’t you just like Old Spice a little bit more?

They’re leveraging a psychological effect called the Peripheral Route to Persuasion. Since it’s a low cognition product (i.e. I don’t think of what deodorant to buy for more than a few seconds), they’re leveraging humor as a “liking cue” to create a subconscious inkling to purchase Old Spice as a quick decision amongst competitors.

In layman’s terms, that means when I’m walking through CVS searching for the magical slimy stick of chemicals (what is deodorant made of anyway?) and see Old Spice … I can’t help but grabbing it.

Validating their logic, in a study conducted by the American Psychological Association, people who were exposed to humorous ads for low-cognition products were vastly more likely to purchase the product.

But here’s the crazy part — people HATE ads. So if ads alone can make someone smile … surely so can another human.

Think about it. When is the last time someone you just met cracked a joke and you thought, wow I hate guy/girl. Probably never.

It seems obvious, but people who are enjoyable to be around genuinely have a great sense of humor.

Action Step: Try the 5-5-5-5 email joke experiment.

Think you’re not funny? Sure you are. Schedule to send 5 emails over 5 days at 5pm, BCCing 5 different people.

1. Go to this subreddit called /r/3amjokes. It’s sorted by the best one-liner jokes of all time.

2. Pick your 5 favorite jokes.

3. Write an email with the question in the subject line and the answer in the body:

4. Schedule an email to send at 5pm, BCCing 5 different people. After downloading HubSpot Sales, just click the clock icon by the send button and choose your time:

5. Repeat this to schedule emails for 5 consecutive days at 5pm. It will take less than 5 minutes.

Because who doesn’t want to get a corny joke in their inbox at 5pm after a stressful day of work?

5. They are present.

How frequently does this happen?

Yet, I’m not one to judge. I’m guilty of this from time to time as well. However, I’ve basically ended my smartphone addiction by keeping my phone on Do Not Disturb 24/7:

When our phones vibrate, we are curious. Who texted us? So we check to find out. As a result, we’re distracted from the face-to-face-conversation. This makes it seemingly impossible to have a productive face-to-face conversation.

Similarly, it’s difficult talking to someone who is completely tuned out of a conversation. A wandering mind is far more difficult to fix than clicking a button on your phone. But just because it’s difficult, doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

I’ve had my fair share of mind-wandering problems, thinking about other things going on in my life during a conversation, but one method I’ve found to help is meditation. And I’m not the first (or last) to preach about the powers of meditation. These successful people also practice meditation:

Mark Benioff (CEO of Salesforce)

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Oprah Winfrey

Tim Ferriss (entrepreneur and author)

Martin Scorsese (film director)

Ray Dalio (hedge-fund manager)

If you’re struggling with being present during conversations, I suggest giving meditation a go.

Action Step: Practice meditation for 10 minutes a day.

Download Headspace, an iPhone and Android app that guides you through the basics of meditation, in 10 minutes per day.

I’ve tried plenty of other applications and methods, but I’ve found nothing better than Headspace to learn the basics and get started. All in just 10 minutes per day. Plus, it’s free.

6. They are genuinely interested in EVERYONE.

When you see this, how does it make you feel?

If you’re like 99% of humans, it makes you smile and say “awwwwww, GIMME THAT DOGGY!!!”

Why do dogs make us feel this way? Why are they so lovable?

Perhaps because they are genuinely excited to greet EVERYONE. They don’t pick and choose who they are excited to meet for the first time or see for the second time.

Remember how likable people are humble? Well, they’re also not pretentious.

That means they don’t hold a chip on their shoulder when dealing with someone who is “under” them. They are genuinely interested in what EVERYONE has to say. They want to hear their story.

Charisma is not so much getting people to like you as getting people to like themselves when you’re around.

– Robert Brault

Action Step: Try “The Server Test.”

Ever been to a restaurant and someone is extremely courteous to you, but is impolite to the waitress or waiter?

That’s the server test.

Next time you’re considering a new hire or business partner, take them out to lunch. Then see how they treat the server. It’s a judgment of character outside of the realm of impressing the person above them. It shows they are kind and genuine to all people, not just those who they’re trying to impress.

Hat tip to Jeff Haden for this incredible bit of advice.

7. They avoid social narcissism.

Guess what the favorite topic of conversation is a social narcissist? Themselves.

They want to talk about their stories. Their problems. Their successes. Their complaints. Their family. Their friends.

45 minutes later, it’s time to split ways and they haven’t once asked about the other person’s past, present, or future.

Instead of rambling about how amazing (or terrible) their lives are, likable people, ask questions. They dive deep into the minds of the person they’re talking to.

Not surface-level, small talk questions such as where are you from? Or what do you do? Or how about that weather today?

But they dive deep, asking open-ended questions, uncovering the emotions and motivations of people. They ask questions that will make the other person feel good — or ask themselves questions. They ask open-ended questions. They ask why. They show genuine interest.

Action Step: Ask open-ended questions.

Getting stuck in a conversation? Or it feels like a dead end? Try asking open-ended questions. As soon as you learn a little about someone, ask:

How did you do it?

Why did you do it?

What did you struggle with most?

What was the most valuable lesson you learned from that?

You’ll be surprised how far a conversation can go when the “yes/no” questions are avoided.

8. They are generous and altruistic.

According to Adam Grant, the youngest-tenured and highest-rated professor at Wharton School of Business, there are three types of people:

1. The Taker

2. The Matcher

3. The Giver

The Taker is an egoist. They tend to get more than they give. They believe the world is a competitive, dog-eat-dog world. As a result, they put their needs before everyone else. This strategy works for short-term gain … but it’s nearly impossible to sustain.

The Matcher is someone who seeks a balance between giving and taking. They seek fairness and equality. If they put too much into a relationship, without getting anything in return, they’ll eventually give up. They believe in even exchanges and trading favors.

The Giver is altruistic. It’s a rare breed of human who doesn’t look for anything in return. Whereas Takers are focused on receiving all of time and Matchers are focused on receiving at least some of the time … Givers don’t even think about it.

By giving and giving and giving … you also increase your chances of receiving value in return:

It’s incredible how far you’ll go by being generous and altruistic, putting everyone else’s needs before your own.

Hiten Shah, CEO of KissMetrics, is the epitome of a giver. He even boasts an inspiring Zig Ziglar quote on his Twitter homepage:

From the man who started two wildly incredibly successful software companies (Kissmetrics and Crazy Egg) … I’d take that advice to heart.

Action Step: Be honest with yourself …

Ask yourself the following:

When I’m helping someone, do I expect a favor in return?

If you answered yes, you may be a Taker or a Matcher. If you answered no, you may be a Giver. Honestly, consider the power of giving without expectations. You’ll be surprised how far it will take you.

9. They reciprocate praise (and take blame).

When a likable person is praised for their work, they typically have a response like this:

Thank you so much! However, I’d like to emphasize that this was a team effort. I played only one small role in hitting this goal. Jen, Sam, Mike, and Kelsey … you were all crucial to making this happen. And we wouldn’t have done it without you.

In other words, they give credit where credit is due. When they’re recognized for a success, they shift the praise toward everyone else. They give praise and empower people without expecting anything in return.

Conversely, when the shit hits the fan, they aren’t afraid to take the blame.

A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.

– John Maxwell

In fact, that’s what HubSpot Sales growth marketer, Anum Hussain, did when a $500,000 project went downhill very, very quickly.

She immediately took the blame for the mistake. As a result, everyone forgave her, which actually strengthened her relationships. This psychological effect is known as The Pratfall Effect, which we touched on earlier.

Action Step: Adopt The Pratfall Effect.

Was a project screwed up that you had a part in? Or did you directly screw it up? Follow the step-by-step process highlighted in this piece about The Pratfall Effect:

1. Admit your mistakes

2. Fix your mistakes immediately

3. Send a post-mortem analysis on what went wrong … and how to prevent it in the future

Read more about how Anum Hussain admitted the failure of a botched $500K project, which actually strengthened her relationships.

Summary: 9 Habits of Insanely Likable and Charismatic People

As a quick summary, here are the 9 habits of insanely charming and charismatic people:

1. They are empathetic

2. They are humble

3. They are vulnerable

4. They have a sense of humor

5. They are present

6. They are genuinely interested in EVERYONE

7. They avoid social narcissism

8. They are generous and altruistic

9. They reciprocate praise (and take blame)

Go to our website: www.ncmalliance.com

How to Be Charismatic: The 9 Habits of Insanely Likable People Written by Scott Tousley If a conversation ends after “So what do you do?”

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