#although part of this is that sonic can go in the background for homework and i wish to be looking at the screen for severance

[interpolationz]

everyday i wake up and go, wow i really want to watch severance, and then i watch five hours of sonic gameplay on youtube instead

[ellaenchanting]

Hypnovember Day 29: Doctor

*deep sigh*

10th doctor/Simm!Master

No, I will not apologize. :P Some background music if you like.

The message had said very little. "Meet me on Alphacentari XI on Nov 29 2019 at 1pm GST, timeline 6." 

Well, of course timeline 6, the Doctor thought to himself. He wasn't about to find a timeline portal and potentially even regenerate himself as a shrimp based on one cryptic message. 

A honing address followed.

There were only a few beings who knew to be that specific- and less who The Doctor was on entirely good terms with.

He waited a few days until Donna was off the ship visiting family. Then he decided to follow up on the message. Something about it felt very familiar. He decided to proceed with caution. 

When The Doctor got to the address (a house, it turned out), there was a small box with a large red button on it in a basket outside the door. 

Even stranger- a note that said "Pick Me Up and Bring Me Inside".

Stranger still- the note was in Gallifreyan.

To the Doctor's knowledge, there was only one being alive who could write that note. And technically, he wasn't supposed to be alive anymore (although, to be fair, the Doctor was hardly surprised about that part at this point).

The Doctor looked at the box. He smelled it. He scanned it with his Sonic screwdriver. ("Remote control to neural dampener-advanced" it read. Curious.)

This was clearly a trap.

Fortunately, the Doctor was brilliant at traps. He picked up the button-on-a-box and walked inside the room.

As predicted, the Master was standing there. He had the same body as when the Doctor had last seen him, only this time he was wearing a electric collar around his neck. Neural dampener, the Doctor thought. Curious. It appeared to be inactive.

"Master!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Why did you call me here?"

"Look at me" the Master replied, a hard-to-read expression on his face.

The Doctor looked at him. No obvious injuries. Some tachyon particles but that was to be expected. Suit early 21st century Earth- stylish. What was he supposed to...?

The Master sighed. "NO, Doctor. LOOK at me." He tilted his head to the side as if exposing it.

What was his plan? This felt like a trap, but he had given the Doctor some leverage with the dampener. He obviously wanted him to trust him. And- sharing your mind with another Timelord was certainly an act of trust and intimacy. The Doctor hadn't experienced that since....

Well, it had been a long time.

The Doctor quickly shut some doors in his own mind to hide potentially damaging information. Then, he placed two of his fingers on the Master's temple and closed his eyes. The Master closed his eyes as well.

The doors in the Master's mind all appeared to be open. The Doctor quickly scanned for malicious intent but-

Oh.

Oh my.

So that's why.

The Doctor had to admit, it had been far too long. And he had missed this as well.

He sent a mental affirmation.

Then he stepped back, keeping the psychic link intact.

"Master," he resumed. "Why have you called me here? What kind of evil scheme could you be plotting?" He hoped that wasn't too over the top. It felt appropriately Doctor-y. 

The Master smiled one of his wicked conniving (and devastatingly sexy the Doctor thought) smiles. "Ah.  my dear Doctor!” he exclaimed. "How good it is to see you again! And how kind of you to fall into my little trap!" He quickly sent some reassurance over the link.

“Your...trap? asked the Doctor, defiantly. “Shall I refresh you on how many millennia it has been since you’ve successfully trapped me?” 

The Master smirked and advanced toward him. “Oh? Then I guess I shouldn’t tell you about Rose then? How long has it been since you’ve checked in on her?”

The Master had done his homework. No surprise there either, the anorak. He must be aware that Rose was currently trapped in an alternate dimension. 

 The Doctor walked forward to meet the Master, his tone becoming angrier. “What have you done with Rose?” 

The Master sent him a quick burst of glee in response to this menace. With his actual voice, the Master replied nonchalantly. “Nothing Doctor.” His smile widened. “Well...nothing yet. “

The Doctor grabbed him by his lapels. He spoke in his most dangerous tone. “Now you listen to me and listen well, Master. If you harm a hair on Rose’s head, you will understand why beings across the galaxy tremble when they hear my name. Now TELL me WHERE! SHE! IS!” 

The Master shivered. His mouth mouth gasped open and he looked briefly like he was going to lean over and kiss The Doctor.  But- no, not yet. He took a breath to collect himself and stepped back for a moment. Then he continued. “She’s on earth- at a location and time of my choosing. And she will be fine, Doctor-  as long as you do what I say.”

The Doctor glowered. “What do you want, Master?” He spat out the name contemptuously.

The Master was practically vibrating with excitement. “What I want, dear Doctor, is to do some research. See, recently I learned of a Sontarian scheme to use this” he held up a ray-gun like object “to control me. The schemers seemed unusually confident that they could use this Mind Manipulator to ensorcell me, They said they had found a way to make it work on Time Lords. So naturally” he pointed the gun at the Doctor “I want to test and see if that is true.”

This was a patently ridiculous lie- there was no way a Mind Manipulator would work on any being stronger-willed than a human. Even some humans could probably resist it. But still...

“And if I refuse?” asked the Doctor.

The Master cocked his head to the side. “Oh Doctor. There’s no option for refusal. Either you let me test it willingly OR I kill your Rose-bud and test it on you unwillingly. Your compliance would be appreciated but it certainly is not required. Besides,” he moved forward again. “Don’t you want to see if you can resist? What a brave, ongoing storm of a Timelord you are?”

Mmmm this old game. The Doctor loved this game. Of course he knew that he could resist the machine but- that didn’t mean he had to. He quickly separated his internal self into two- a part for the scene and a part observing. 

‘Fine,” he said. “Test it on me. Do your worst. I think we both know what the end result will be.” (In that instant, the Doctor and the Master mentally exchanged some very dirty mental images. The Doctor wasn’t even sure a humanoid body could do that. )

“Very well, DOCTOR” The Master snarled. He turned the machine on and directed it at the Doctor. It made a soft buzzing noise.It also had soft, circular lights kind of like a spiral. 

As expected, the Doctor felt a light tug on his thoughts. He could have dismissed it in an instant  but- that’s not why they were here. He concentrated on the sensation, trying to visualize the machine’s effects working deeper and deeper into his brain, tugging more and more. He could feel the Master deep inside as well, also pulling. He let himself lean into that sensation. 

“Yes Doctor,” laughed the Master maniacally. ”It’s not so easy to resist the Mind Manipulator, is it Doctor? I can already tell how much more difficult it is for you to try. Soon you’ll exhaust yourself and be completely under my power” He sent another wave of his influence into the part of the Doctor’s mind that was roleplaying, encouraging any succumbing sensations he found there.

The Doctor gritted his teeth. “No, I’ll never let you win!” He played a  strange mental balancing act where he both fought and gave into the Master’s power. It had been some time and he was surprised he was still so adept at this.  It was thrilling. He hadn’t found anyone who could actually control him in reality, but it was exciting to experience  those feelings even like this. It reminded him a lot of how he and Koschei used to play when they were in school.

The Master sent Doctor images of what he looked like as he was struggling, letting him feast on his own seeming helplessness. 

It worked. The Doctor delighted to find that he was succumbing more and more. He could also feel the Master pushing further into his head, relishing his own feelings of dominance and power. It was intoxicating to feel both powerless and powerful, entirely in control and taken over at the same time. He projected his growing feelings of weakness back to the Master.

Another push followed. “Oh Doctor! You must be so tired- every part of you aching to give in. Let me help you. Say ‘You are my Master, and I must obey you’ Say it and succumb!”

The Doctor whipped his head left and right, as if struggling to try and resist the beam. The heady push of the Master’s influence thrust further into his mind. He felt like he was being taken. Yes. “You are..” he felt his mouth begin. Then he rallied. “No! No you can’t control me!”

The Master widened his eyes with a hypnotic glare. The Doctor could feel him push even more. “I AM your Master and you will obey me!” 

Oh, the Doctor loved this part. “No!” he cried desperately. “No you can’t make me!” He looked down, trembling. 

“You’re so weak now Doctor. Listen again.” He grabbed the Doctor by his head, forcing him to look deep into his eyes. “I AM YOUR MASTER AND YOU WILL OBEY ME. I AM YOUR MASTER AND YOU..”

The Master repeated this over and over again. The Doctor felt himself starting to break (while simultaneously feeling the Master’s glee and arousal at the sight). He tried not to move his mouth but it was useless. “No! No!  No! You.....ahhh!...You....Yu...YOU ARE MY MASTER AND I WILL OBEY YOU!” 

The Master laughed triumphantly. “AGAIN! I AM YOUR MASTER AND YOU WILL OBEY ME!”

The Doctor had broken, there was no resistance left. “YOU ARE MY MASTER AND I WILL OBEY YOU!” The Master sent him a wave of praise and a picture of how utterly debauched he looked. Fuck, he hadn’t even noticed his mouth was hanging open like that. 

“Again!” said the Master, lording it over him.

“You are my Master and I will obey you.” The Doctor bowed his head, humbled. 

“EXCELLENT, Doctor” said the Master. “Now KNEEL!”

The Doctor felt himself kneel. Knowing the Master’s preferences, he put his hands behind his back. He looked up again.

The Master walked around and inspected him, one hand brushing through his hair. The Doctor leaned into that hand. It felt really good to be touched in this way. 

“Now Doctor,” the Master monologued, “I haven’t really gotten to play with this body yet. It seems to have some...interesting possibilities. Tell me about it.”

The Doctor nodded obediently. “This body is very orally fixated.This body is more ticklish than previous regenerations. This body responds well to pain.”

The Master quirked his eyebrow, both bodily and with a teasing feeling in the Doctor’s own mind.

“Oh? Well then- Doctor,” he started. “Let’s see what this body can do.” He pulled out his laser screwdriver.

The Doctor felt his hearts leap in anticipation. 

It was good to have the Master back. 

(Thanks to @jukeboxemcsa, @brainbound , @undersleeper , @wellgnawed​, @pirate-king-of-trance​,  @daja-the-hypnokitten and others for the Dr Who trivia help!)

Tagging @hypno-sandwich and @zanydanger as Whovians. And apologies to the Whovians I missed! 

[chefkonstantine]

What Is The Best Franchise To Buy

https://dor.wa.gov/

Business owner Franchise 500 list rank: 170 Initial financial investment: $8,639 to $296,598 Preliminary franchise cost: $3,500 New units in 2016: -1 systems (-0.1 percent) Chester’s has among the largest varieties for initial investment– you will require to invest anywhere between $8,000 to nearly $300,000. However, depending upon your existing possessions and strategies for the fried-chicken franchise, there’s a possibility you might start a new location for less than 5 figures, which makes it worth examining.

With any sort of organisation investment, the idea of “finest” is individual. Finding a good franchise should be based upon a number of aspects such as individual interests, household responsibilities, just how much needs to be invested, location, and so on that just you can really answer. However, that doesn’t indicate that you shouldn’t do your homework and completely veterinarian the franchises you are considering.

Best Franchise To Buy Under 50k

Let’s examine what you must try to find in each location to discover the very best franchise for you. Our franchise experts utilized the above requirements and have recognized 10 of the top franchises to think about purchasing or opening in 2020. Russo’s New york city Pizzeria ClaimTek Systems Hard Bean Coffee Tutor Physician American Organisation Systems Midas Healthier 4U Vending Sonic Drive-In Mayweather Boxing + Fitness Accessible House Healthcare The above franchises were picked based upon their positioning with the five pillars: 1) start-up expenses and charges, 2) size and growth, 3) brand strength, 4) support, and 5) monetary strength and stability.

an investor who wants to make money …

Russo’s has outranked PMQs chain shop average for pizza chains, leading to some of the greatest averages in the franchise market and an ideal option for an inexpensive pizza franchise. ClaimTek is the most trusted Medical/Dental Billing service opportunity in the market. Health care services is virtually recession-proof and the # 1 sector for growth according to the U.S.

Best Gym Franchise

They have actually constructed over 100 individually owned and run coffee stores throughout America over the previous twenty years. Tutor Doctor is a leader in supplying individually additional education to students & grownups through offering at home tutoring to families. Join the fastest-growing home-based tutoring franchise worldwide. American Company Systems is the fastest way to begin your own service in medical billing and they’re the only business with Live Training, Lifetime Assistance, and a 100% Money-Back Guarantee.

As a Midas franchisee, you can experience the advantages of signing up with among the most acknowledged names in the automotive market. Their worldwide brand awareness provides you and your business an one-upmanship. Much Healthier 4U Vending is the premier shipment system for healthier consuming choices for people on the go.

Best Small Business Franchises To Start

Sign Up With the Tipping Point of the Selling Industry! The World Leader In Healthy Vending! For over 60 years, SONIC has actually helped entrepreneurs become meaningful members of their community by realizing their complete capacity as part of one of the most renowned QSR brands not just in the fast food market however in the country.

Accessible House Health Care has actually established a tested service design that will help you benefit from one of the fastest growing markets while making the ideal home care services offered to your next-door neighbors. So perhaps the concern isn’t “What’s the finest franchise to buy?” Perhaps the question actually is “What’s the very best franchise to purchase for me?” How do you identify which of the thousands of franchises readily available is the finest franchise for you? It’s a process, which procedure involves evaluating your personal circumstance against particular facets of franchising.

Best Franchises To Buy

The FDD, which all franchises are needed to give to a prospective franchisee no less than two weeks prior to any agreements are signed, covers various facets of the franchise operation from costs to obligations and more. Items 5 through 7, specifically, cover the initial investment and ongoing expenses of a franchise.

an investor who wants to make money …

How Franchising Fitness without a Fitness Background is Succeeding

Fit Body Boot Camp has a formula for success that works.

No fitness experience is needed with this franchise opportunity. When you were young and inexperienced, these three words were the only thing you looked for in a help-wanted ad. After all, if there’s one thing you had when looking for your first job, it was inexperience.

But now that you’ve got a few years and a couple jobs under your belt, you may consider opportunities that don’t require experience to be beneath you. You went to school and have paid your dues in marketing or accounting or another industry, and those dues will pave the way to your next gig, right?

Maybe not. Because if you’re interested in owning your own business, one franchise opportunity that requires no experience will give you the experience of a lifetime. What is it? Fit Body Boot Camp (FBBC), the fastest-growing boot camp franchise in the world.

Read more

The Best Gym Franchise Opportunity 2020

And keep in mind, not all franchise businesses make a profit immediately. You might need to count on savings or your current task to cover expenses up until your franchise starts to turn a profit. Remember: Bigger isn’t always much better – Fit Body Boot Camp. Just because the franchise has a great deal of places does not indicate it’s going to be popular where you are.

How To Start A Swimming Fitness Program

Franchise Opportunities …

Is the location you reside in is prepared to support the franchise you have an interest in? The very best franchise for you is going to be one that you not just have an interest in, but has demand where you live too. It’s not going to do you any good to open a cleansing franchise where the market is genuinely in need of an auto service center.

Franchisors are also high-level research study sources. They invest resources into understanding which territories can support their brand names. If a franchisor is entertaining queries for new franchisees in your location, it’s an excellent indication that its information is showing a positive match. Does the franchise know who they are? Not every chance is going to be McDonald’s or Dunkin Donuts.

Fit Body Boot Camp Franchises In Nj 2019

Brand Konsultants offers best franchise …

” Part of the advantage of purchasing a franchise is the brand equity that has already been developed, the research on who the core possibility is, and the branding from leading to bottom that every brand-new company needs.” Beyond researching the brand name and marketing aspect of a franchise via secondhand info, you can discover more about how solid a franchise is by speaking to current (and sometimes former) franchisees of a brand.

Fit Body Boot Camp is a good franchise to buy 2020. Call Fit Body Boot Camp to identify a place for you to launch your own weight loss club.

You’re going to need to put in the work to be effective, however part of the draw of being a franchisee is that there is an entity there to assist direct you. Within Product 11 of the FDD, there is an introduction of the support a franchise offers to its franchisees, consisting of comprehensive training.

What Are The Best Franchise Opportunities

Likewise, in addition to finding out about the franchise brand name’s strength as noted above, it’s smart to use the list of franchisees in the Displays area to talk with people who are already living the life you desire to live as the franchisee of a specific brand name. While they might not inform you whatever, doing your due diligence by speaking with present franchisees will provide a much better idea of what to anticipate from the franchisor.

” Opening a franchise is generally a dedication of ten years or more, so take a look at the franchisor’s history and note the length of time the franchise has stayed in business, how well the franchise system has fared through financial modifications and how well its service model changes to fulfill the requirements of a developing customer dynamic,” says Joe Schumacher, CEO of Goddard Systems, Inc.

Fit Body Boot Camp Business Available For Sale

For circumstances, it’s a warning if a franchisor is excessively aggressive about discounting initial costs and/or royalties (beyond the common discount rates for military veterans or those in certain markets preferable to the franchisor for expansion). Although it would be a favorable to you initially, franchising is an organisation system that requires a specific level of monetary capital as fuel.

If the franchise isn’t getting adequate money in royalties, it runs the risk of not having the ability to properly stay up to date with sustaining the franchise through the years.

syndicated from What Is The Best Franchise To Buy

Syndicated From What Is The Best Franchise To Buy

[intphys]

What Is The Best Franchise To Buy

https://dor.wa.gov/

Business owner Franchise 500 list rank: 170 Initial financial investment: $8,639 to $296,598 Preliminary franchise cost: $3,500 New units in 2016: -1 systems (-0.1 percent) Chester’s has among the largest varieties for initial investment– you will require to invest anywhere between $8,000 to nearly $300,000. However, depending upon your existing possessions and strategies for the fried-chicken franchise, there’s a possibility you might start a new location for less than 5 figures, which makes it worth examining.

With any sort of organisation investment, the idea of “finest” is individual. Finding a good franchise should be based upon a number of aspects such as individual interests, household responsibilities, just how much needs to be invested, location, and so on that just you can really answer. However, that doesn’t indicate that you shouldn’t do your homework and completely veterinarian the franchises you are considering.

Best Franchise To Buy Under 50k

Let’s examine what you must try to find in each location to discover the very best franchise for you. Our franchise experts utilized the above requirements and have recognized 10 of the top franchises to think about purchasing or opening in 2020. Russo’s New york city Pizzeria ClaimTek Systems Hard Bean Coffee Tutor Physician American Organisation Systems Midas Healthier 4U Vending Sonic Drive-In Mayweather Boxing + Fitness Accessible House Healthcare The above franchises were picked based upon their positioning with the five pillars: 1) start-up expenses and charges, 2) size and growth, 3) brand strength, 4) support, and 5) monetary strength and stability.

an investor who wants to make money …

Russo’s has outranked PMQs chain shop average for pizza chains, leading to some of the greatest averages in the franchise market and an ideal option for an inexpensive pizza franchise. ClaimTek is the most trusted Medical/Dental Billing service opportunity in the market. Health care services is virtually recession-proof and the # 1 sector for growth according to the U.S.

Best Gym Franchise

They have actually constructed over 100 individually owned and run coffee stores throughout America over the previous twenty years. Tutor Doctor is a leader in supplying individually additional education to students & grownups through offering at home tutoring to families. Join the fastest-growing home-based tutoring franchise worldwide. American Company Systems is the fastest way to begin your own service in medical billing and they’re the only business with Live Training, Lifetime Assistance, and a 100% Money-Back Guarantee.

As a Midas franchisee, you can experience the advantages of signing up with among the most acknowledged names in the automotive market. Their worldwide brand awareness provides you and your business an one-upmanship. Much Healthier 4U Vending is the premier shipment system for healthier consuming choices for people on the go.

Best Small Business Franchises To Start

Sign Up With the Tipping Point of the Selling Industry! The World Leader In Healthy Vending! For over 60 years, SONIC has actually helped entrepreneurs become meaningful members of their community by realizing their complete capacity as part of one of the most renowned QSR brands not just in the fast food market however in the country.

Accessible House Health Care has actually established a tested service design that will help you benefit from one of the fastest growing markets while making the ideal home care services offered to your next-door neighbors. So perhaps the concern isn’t “What’s the finest franchise to buy?” Perhaps the question actually is “What’s the very best franchise to purchase for me?” How do you identify which of the thousands of franchises readily available is the finest franchise for you? It’s a process, which procedure involves evaluating your personal circumstance against particular facets of franchising.

Best Franchises To Buy

The FDD, which all franchises are needed to give to a prospective franchisee no less than two weeks prior to any agreements are signed, covers various facets of the franchise operation from costs to obligations and more. Items 5 through 7, specifically, cover the initial investment and ongoing expenses of a franchise.

an investor who wants to make money …

How Franchising Fitness without a Fitness Background is Succeeding

Fit Body Boot Camp has a formula for success that works.

No fitness experience is needed with this franchise opportunity. When you were young and inexperienced, these three words were the only thing you looked for in a help-wanted ad. After all, if there’s one thing you had when looking for your first job, it was inexperience.

But now that you’ve got a few years and a couple jobs under your belt, you may consider opportunities that don’t require experience to be beneath you. You went to school and have paid your dues in marketing or accounting or another industry, and those dues will pave the way to your next gig, right?

Maybe not. Because if you’re interested in owning your own business, one franchise opportunity that requires no experience will give you the experience of a lifetime. What is it? Fit Body Boot Camp (FBBC), the fastest-growing boot camp franchise in the world.

Read more

The Best Gym Franchise Opportunity 2020

And keep in mind, not all franchise businesses make a profit immediately. You might need to count on savings or your current task to cover expenses up until your franchise starts to turn a profit. Remember: Bigger isn’t always much better – Fit Body Boot Camp. Just because the franchise has a great deal of places does not indicate it’s going to be popular where you are.

How To Start A Swimming Fitness Program

Franchise Opportunities …

Is the location you reside in is prepared to support the franchise you have an interest in? The very best franchise for you is going to be one that you not just have an interest in, but has demand where you live too. It’s not going to do you any good to open a cleansing franchise where the market is genuinely in need of an auto service center.

Franchisors are also high-level research study sources. They invest resources into understanding which territories can support their brand names. If a franchisor is entertaining queries for new franchisees in your location, it’s an excellent indication that its information is showing a positive match. Does the franchise know who they are? Not every chance is going to be McDonald’s or Dunkin Donuts.

Fit Body Boot Camp Franchises In Nj 2019

Brand Konsultants offers best franchise …

” Part of the advantage of purchasing a franchise is the brand equity that has already been developed, the research on who the core possibility is, and the branding from leading to bottom that every brand-new company needs.” Beyond researching the brand name and marketing aspect of a franchise via secondhand info, you can discover more about how solid a franchise is by speaking to current (and sometimes former) franchisees of a brand.

Fit Body Boot Camp is a good franchise to buy 2020. Call Fit Body Boot Camp to identify a place for you to launch your own weight loss club.

You’re going to need to put in the work to be effective, however part of the draw of being a franchisee is that there is an entity there to assist direct you. Within Product 11 of the FDD, there is an introduction of the support a franchise offers to its franchisees, consisting of comprehensive training.

What Are The Best Franchise Opportunities

Likewise, in addition to finding out about the franchise brand name’s strength as noted above, it’s smart to use the list of franchisees in the Displays area to talk with people who are already living the life you desire to live as the franchisee of a specific brand name. While they might not inform you whatever, doing your due diligence by speaking with present franchisees will provide a much better idea of what to anticipate from the franchisor.

” Opening a franchise is generally a dedication of ten years or more, so take a look at the franchisor’s history and note the length of time the franchise has stayed in business, how well the franchise system has fared through financial modifications and how well its service model changes to fulfill the requirements of a developing customer dynamic,” says Joe Schumacher, CEO of Goddard Systems, Inc.

Fit Body Boot Camp Business Available For Sale

For circumstances, it’s a warning if a franchisor is excessively aggressive about discounting initial costs and/or royalties (beyond the common discount rates for military veterans or those in certain markets preferable to the franchisor for expansion). Although it would be a favorable to you initially, franchising is an organisation system that requires a specific level of monetary capital as fuel.

If the franchise isn’t getting adequate money in royalties, it runs the risk of not having the ability to properly stay up to date with sustaining the franchise through the years.

syndicated from Originally posted on What Is The Best Franchise To Buy

Syndicated From What Is The Best Franchise To Buy

[whitecatgeek]

Remember that time I started a Game Grumps/egobangiplier fanfiction and never got further than three and a half pages?

yeahmeneither

‘I’m Sonic the Motherfucking Hedgehog,  or more like, the fuckin’, fuckin’, what even is a hedgehog do we even get those in America what the fuck why isn’t it like Sonic the Armadillo those shitheads can roll into a ball and probably move really fast maybe I mean I don’t even know.’

Those were the thoughts casually flowing through the brain of one Arin Hanson as he sat in class, the monotone of algebra a mere background noise as the lead of his pencil scratched furiously against squared paper. What should have been numbers was multiple, somewhat crude doodles and drawings of video game characters. A particularly sad and bewildered Tails ‘Miles’ Prower stood, arms a bit too long for his body, looking lost as Sonic flipped him the bird, and a sense of angry pride swelled in Arin’s head.

“Hahahaa!” His thoughts were broken by a pleasant, but to him incredibly disruptive, laugh coming from the back of the class.

“What the ffffFFFUCK.” He spat out involuntarily and entirely without thinking, the tip of his pencil breaking as though to echo his rage. Of course, that exclamation was supposed to be in his head, not bellowed out for his entire class to hear. Although actually quite shy, Arin was not known for his self control.

“Excuse me, Mr. Hanson?” Dread practically dripped down his neck as he heard those words from the authoritative figure that was his Maths tutor, hairs prickling up on his arms as he realised what he had just done. “Is something wrong?”

“I-... Uhhh.” He muttered, cheeks burning with embarrassment, yet still he could not stop himself from glancing around to the source of the laugh that caused his outburst. Why was he being punished when someone else was fooling around in class?

The merriment came from the lanky, long-legged boy who always sat out of reach and out of consequence, his chair tilted back as he looked at Arin, his gaze not seeming to actually reach the shorter, grumpy boy but instead always looking past him, as though something else ultimately took his interest.

Daniel Avidan, or Danny to his friends, was not your typical troublemaker. He never paid attention, never handed in homework, never really seemed to do... Anything. This infuriated Arin to no end, because despite his preference for other creative hobbies he always did his best to scrape by. Yet this other boy, this tall, big-haired, droopy-eyed, painfully charming student never seemed to have a care in the world.

“How about you think about it outside the class and let the rest of us get back to learning, Mr. Hanson?” Arin’s eyes quickly snapped back to his teacher at hearing those words, and he resisted his natural instinct to swear under his breath, or question if that was a request or a demand when he knew full well what it was.

He clumsily snatched up all of his belongings, jabbing pencils and notebooks into his backpack as he tried not to let the amused stares of his peer’s burn into the back of his head for too long, chin length strands of slightly greasy mahogany hair falling over his eyes and allowing him to hide his shame.

Just as he was about to reach the freedom of the corridor, he heard that laugh again. Girls liked that laugh; they thought it was “cute”. It made Arin freeze on the spot and his hands clenched into fists. In that moment he hated that laugh and everything that it stood for. To be fair, Arin was known for his melodramatic attitude.

He burst out of the classroom and closed the door behind him, swinging his backpack onto the floor and pressing his forehead against the wall of the hallway. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid.’ His brain repeatedly battered away at him, being this close to escaping the prison that was high school and going to college meant that he didn’t have room to make mistakes like this.

Whilst he considered himself to be a loner, Arin was actually in a very happy place. All of the awkwardness of being bullied for being “nerdy” had settled as fellow students focused on their studies and the paths that would inevitably lead to college or other roads in life, and he had amassed a small but very loyal group of friends.

He groaned quietly, smooshing his face into the wall as he imagined what said friends would say when they found out that he managed to get kicked out of his class this late into the game. In fact he didn’t really need to imagine it because he knew exactly how they would react, one young man in particular whose maniacal, “HAH HAH HAAAH!” would no doubt soon be echoing throughout the corridors.

“Uh, hey man, are you... Alright?” He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sudden question and Arin flew backwards, almost bumping into the student who approached him out of the blue. He furiously brushed and swept at his hair with his hands before actually laying eyes on the kind stranger. “You looked pretty intimate with that wall there.”

“Oh, hey, dude! I’m fine! I’m great!” Arin bellowed in response before giving a clumsy, fairly pointless thumbs up.

Before him stood someone that he did not recognise, though he appeared to be of a similar age. He was just a tad shorter than Arin though with a broader build, with jet black hair draped across his forehead. His face was handsome but understated, and he appeared to be at least part East Asian in ethnicity.

“Uhhh, do I know you?” Arin continued, staring dumbly at the shorter boy.

“Oh, uh, no, I don’t think so! I’m Mark!” Mark Fischbach, as it turned out, quickly introduced himself whilst glancing around, an obvious sense of nervousness about him that wasn’t hidden by his surprisingly low voice that had an almost radio DJ quality to it. “Hey I don’t mean to bother you, but I am totally lost here, it’s my first day and I literally have no idea where I’m going.”

“Oh, bro! Yeah sure, I mean, I can probably help.” Arin involuntarily puffed his chest out, his natural desire to go into ‘show off’ mode kicking in. “Where do you need to get to? I know this whole place super well, almost like someone who comes here every day.”

“Oh, well, I’m trying to find Room 237; it’s for Chemistry with Ms Dubois..?” He sheepishly responded, searching Arin’s face for a response.

“Noooo problem!” The young man beamed, easily distracted from his previous woes. “I’ll show you how to get there, consider me your personal guide.” With that he snatched up his backpack, the dark colour of the fabric carrier decorated with little bursts of colour in the form of hand-made badges and key rings of his own artwork, along with bright candy packets littered in Japanese font sitting in the small netted pocket at the front.

He set off with long, proud strides and the meeker boy followed behind him, making sure to keep up with the slightly erratic youth that he had encountered. As they travelled across the school building, its halls ghostly quiet due to classes being in session, they made small talk.

As it turned out, Mark had just moved into the neighbourhood and was trying his best to catch up, but Arin got the impression that the other teenager was very bright and even more modest. Mark found Arin’s quirky, eager to please attitude strangely charming and enjoyed the boy’s constant outbursts of facts about the school, though sometimes he found it a little difficult to get any words of his own into the conversation.

“So, uh, like. Are you-... You know.” Arin suddenly stopped and stared at Mark, then at the floor, then back at Mark, and then pretty much everywhere he could possibly lay his eyes in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. “Nihonjin.”

“Ni-... Home gym..? Wha’?” Mark blinked, absolutely lost.

“You know, nihonjin, nippon, nihongo?” Arin muttered through his teeth, moving closer to the shorter student and now staring at him intensely with an expectant look.

“Is... Is this hazing?”

“WHAT. No. Man, you know! Japanese? Are you Japanese!?”

“Oh! .... Huh?”

“Oh my God, Arin, not every Asian person is Japanese.” The awkwardness was abruptly broken by two students appearing behind them having just walked around the corner, the taller of the two placing a hand upon Arin’s shoulder. “Are you harassing people again?”

“Barry!” Arin exclaimed and jumped back away from Mark, “I was just... No!” His bottom lip jutted out in a dramatic pout whilst his follower continued to look utterly confused. “...Wait, what are you doing out of class?”

“I had to walk this guy to the nurse’s office.” Barry responded, waving his thumb over at the grinning youth next to him.

“I got bitten by a crocodile!” Said youth exclaimed, strands of pale brown hair cascading over his eyebrows, beneath them his blue eyes were wide and bright despite the fact that one of his hands was wrapped around his knee whilst and he hopped awkwardly upon his other leg, obviously injured.

“No, you did not. Someone decided that it would be a good idea to try and play cricket whilst everyone else was running track, and the baseball he used bounced back and hit him.” Barry sighed, putting a palm upon his forehead in exasperation.

“Yeah, well, it’s not my fault that we don’t get to play real sports... Wait, why are YOU out of class?” The hobbling boy asked, his words all lifted by hints of an Australian accent.

“Oh, uhm...” Arin sighed before explaining the situation, and then it happened as expected.

“HAH HAH HAAAH!”

“Shut up Ross! It wasn’t my fault! It was that guy, that... DAN. He thinks he’s so cool just because everyone likes him and he’s so handsome and like, ‘Oh look at me, I’m Dan, I’m so cool and everyone likes me and I’m so handsome!’ Yeah well you’re a loser and you suck.”

“Oh come on, he’s not that bad.” Barry interrupted, leaning against a pillar structure in the wall of the corridor. “So what’s your story?” He nodded over at Mark who was listening patiently to the three.

“Oh, uhm, hi! I’m Mark!” He plucked up and introduced himself, and with that they all started to head towards the new student’s classroom. “So who is this.. Dan?”

“Oh he’s just a guy that Arin is obsessed with.”