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createdbyinvisibles · 5 years ago

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Naruto oc clan bio, Kikumoto clan.

This is a bio for an oc clan of mine, I thought it’d be better to start out with the clan first then the oc it was attached too, but please let me know what you think, I’d really like feedback.

Words: 7652

The Kikumoto clan was a small-sized (now formally disbanded), known for an upper-middle-class kind of nobility, that specialized in intellectual prowess and with that knowledge, they found jobs as the position known as a "book carrier."

Clan name

Kikumoto (菊本) is a surname that means chrysanthemum book; it was given to them because, since their job centred around intellectual prowess, people would make fun of them by calling them a "delicate chrysanthemum book," or Kikumoto. A name that the Kikumoto took as their surname because they felt it actually fit better than their original surname, "Itō" (伊藤)

Clan mottos

Official phrase

“Enjoy today, because tomorrow could be worse.”

Honorary phrase

“I told you so.”

Clan insignia

The clan insignia for the Kikumoto is a black chrysanthemum with four white pistils. The pistils represent the four books of knowledge, and the petals are the rest of the clan doing their best to carry those books. But with the petals loose and distant from the pistil it also symbolises the Leaf village’s interference. With such a powerful government, it leaves many to question exactly how much control the Kikumoto have over themselves in the first place.

Clan status

The Kikumoto clan is a small clan that while very cunning is also very weak, because of this, they secured jobs as book carriers which allowed them protection by the leaf village government. The reason the government protected them is also because of a secret technique created by the Kikumoto. A technique that allowed the user to store objects in their soul (such as government secrets); this technique led to the position of book carrier.

In politics, they have a very neutral viewpoint, and any opinion they do take is almost always gauged by logic and reasoning. Due to this logical and unbiased viewpoint, the clan ended up as a mediator for disputes that ranged from important missions to petty clan disputes that have no business being shared. The latter is more common.

Clan special techniques

Soul Book Transfer Jutsu

The "soul book transfer jutsu," is a secret technique that allows a user with a powerful soul, to transfer their soul into a specially made book, that then seals their soul into the book. Which in the process, creates a pocket world where the user can store whatever they want or need. However, the book will permanently become the user's soul, and if destroyed, will result in the death of the user. If the user or the book are separated, then the user becomes a mindless husk that only cares about the task of getting their book back, and will do anything to get it back.

To transfer a person's soul into a book is for life. When the person dies, the pages of the book will fall out into a pile that must be burned, as it is the person's soul. When a new host comes to transfer their soul, new pages will appear in the book.

Since the pages are a person's soul, if pages are torn, the user will experience immense pain, and if all the pages are torn out, the person will die.

The process of transferring your soul into a book is one that takes a lot of concentration, and if done with a soul too weak, could instantly kill the person. Thus only the best and strongest souls can transfer their souls; you can tell who transferred their souls by the seal marking (that is also the clan symbol) on their dominant hand. This seal marking is used to transport objects through the pocket world and also allows the user to go into the pocket world themselves. When going into the pocket world, the user's body is in a vegetable-like state, in which their body is unable to move and speak; all books share the same pocket world, and book carriers will even have conversations in the pocket world.

The job of a book carrier

The Kikumoto wished to create a service of information security, so they created the soul book transfer jutsu, along with four books each linked to the same pocket world. The books also served as a purpose in lessening the burden each person was to carry in distributing information, each book servicing a different purpose.

The first book was a thick blank, black textbook with white chrysanthemums, which focused on the pursuit of education. The carrier in question was tasked with the job of collecting information, redistributing, and translating the information into textbooks that could be used in all levels of knowledge. It was considered the second hardest job since the carrier in question had to simplify a lot of complicated information to allow everyone to understand it. It also meant having to understand darker parts of history and cover said history up, by whitewashing the material when needed. This whitewashing causes the carrier in question a great sense of guilt that they'd lug with them for the rest of their life.

The second book was a small black cheque book no bigger than a cell phone, which focused on the pursuit of economics. The carrier in question is tasked with the job of recording taxes, surpluses, balancing books, and just overall being a glorified accountant. This job was considered the 3rd hardest as it was just a tedious and draining desk job. Book carriers with this job can also propose economic ideas to the Hokage, but these are just under the table suggestions.

The third book made was a regular-sized, white hardback book with a black book spine, which focused on the pursuit of literature. The carrier in question was tasked with the job to collect and translate books written by authors around the world. When not collecting books the carrier will run the Kikumoto clan's library, a library known for an immense collection of books on practically anything one could think of. It was considered the most relaxed job a book carrier can hold since it involves working a job that allows the person to lead a fulfilling life without a lot of hardships, and be surrounded by vast knowledge at every turn. The worst the person faces at their job is a rude patron; however, while the task may be easy, behind the scenes is a different story.

Because of an excellent fulfilling job, it leads the book carrier to become the emotional anchor for the other three, soaking in everyone else's negative worries like a sponge. A job that the book carrier feels is the right thing to do since the book carrier themself have nothing to complain about in comparison to the others.

The fourth book was a thin but sizable white sketchbook with little black chrysanthemums decorating the cover, this book was focused on the pursuit of politics. The carrier in question was tasked with the job of storing secrets of the village, from jutsus to any piece of information the Leaf deemed problematic. The book carrier is of course sworn to secrecy; other than storing information to be kept confidential, depending on the Hokage the book carrier could also become an advisor for their wisdom was vast.

However, this depends on the Hokage for some Hokage treat the position as nothing more than a glorified bookcase or potential problem. Due to this job oppression, it is common for book carriers of this book to get jobs elsewhere, or to at least have a hobby. This job is considered the hardest to have amongst the book carriers since the death rate is so high. For the cons is to know all, there is to know, and understanding how scary a place the Leaf village can be. This understanding either causes silent resentment or apathetic acceptance, and both cause the user to experience immensely helplessness.

Book carriers are chosen for their immensely strong souls, and resilient minds, which are gained through training and conditioning. A process in which a book carrier at a young age will go through immense mind probing and mental torture to build up resilience for the information they carrier.

This is a process that lasts up to three to five years and is done by telling the book carrier a fact each day, and their goal is to make sure the Anbu member they're assigned can't figure it out. The Anbu is allowed any means necessary to get the information from the book carrier, this involves mental torture and physical torture. This process repeats until the book carrier can keep three facts away from the Anbu guard three times in a row. This mental training is done to prevent the book carriers from going crazy from knowing all the village secrets, and not being able to tell anyone. This training also trains the book carriers to be impregnable to mind reading jutsus and mind probing.

However, this still can't prevent the suffering that comes with such knowledge, and even with all that training, the standard lifespan of a book carrier can be 16-25 years. For most of the book carriers end up committing suicide from the stress and depression, such information brings them, so due to this short life span book carriers can change very quickly.

Book carriers, due to their strong souls, can withstand a lot of the mental pain genjutsu cause, though breaking them is another story.

To a similar effect, due to strong souls book carriers can kick out users of the mind transfer jutsu.

The mental training was first started in Tobirama Senju's term as Hokage, something that was made out of distrust that a book carrier could be trusted to carry the knowledge in the first place. Not to mention most were weary others might find out this knowledge by mental probing or mind reading.

Tobirama was responsible for many strict laws against the Kikumoto clan, such as constant surveillance to keep them protected as well as able to keep tabs on them. Kikumoto book carriers weren't even allowed to take jobs as ninjas and or leave the village, as well as being barred from drinking alcohol, drug use, and smoking.

The third Hokage, Hirzuen was, in turn, a lot less strict and a lot more trusting for better or for worse, he even lifted some of the laws. Kikumoto book carriers from then on could take jobs as genin ninja. However, they still weren't allowed to leave the village and could only take community service jobs. Surveillance was changed to be only necessary if there was a visitor in the leaf village; however, while he was a lot less strict, it didn't stop the Kikumoto from judging Hiruzen for his laxness towards Danzo.

The position of book carrier isn't necessarily hereditary. Still, book carriers typically give their books to their children because family is easier to trust when your clan is known to keep to themselves.

The four books the Kikumoto possess, are books passed down from carrier to carrier; with the help of chakra, these books are a lot tougher than your typical book. The books are waterproof, fireproof, and the covers are resilient to most damage, the one fatal flaw is that the spine of the book, which can be snapped in half. There are only four Kikumoto books in existence, and currently, three out of the four are either missing or destroyed, only leaving one book left.

It's practically impossible to retrieve a book/scroll from a book carrier, without their consent since it's sealed away in their soul. And if the book carrier were to die, then it was guaranteed you would never get the book you were looking for.

Because book carriers hold important information central to the village, there are a lot of restrictions on what they can and can't do. Because of this, it makes the book carriers feel like a prisoner of leaf village government.

Since book carriers must be in constant contact with their book or else they become soulless husks, all book carriers have a special pocket where they put their book.

Messenger Ink Jutsu

The book carrier job is also about recording information learned, creating textbooks for education, and informational scrolls to give out. This process is done by writing in their books and with the "messenger ink jutsu." All the user has to do is place the written in soul possessed book beside a regular blank book of their choosing. And doing the required hand signs, causes the words from the book to transfer into the ordinary blank book.

Clan traits

Emotionally

The Kikumoto is a logical group of people, as well as very calm and open-minded believing in understanding both sides before making a decision or judgement. But while they're accepting individuals, they're also rather apathetic. This apathy comes from knowing precisely when they're powerless, and if they're powerless, then they won't even try to change it.

They were known for great wisdom and the tendency to be ignored often since they're always too ahead of their time, no one believes them until it's too late.

Most members of the clan possessed unrivalled skills in spelling, grammar, and memorization skills with some of the best handwriting in the hidden leaf.

Kikumotos (especially book carriers) are very strong-minded and question everything.

Manners and etiquette are a big thing to the Kikumoto, they make a point to be respectful, though this doesn't apply to gender norms or social hierarchies. No matter your age, they will treat you how you act emotionally.

All genders are valued the same, their clan is so logic-based, they don't care what their kids do as long as it's legal. So boys can become homemakers just as girls can get jobs outside of the house or vice versa.

The Kikumoto clan is known to be remarkably unfazed by anything, which is especially true for book-carriers.

The Kikumoto are very closed off people, keeping to their own circles and rarely befriending people outside of their family.

Physical traits

Members of the Kikumoto clan possess straight neat black hair and matching black eyes, with pasty skin.

Women book carriers in the clan tend to tie up their hair or keep it short, so hair doesn't fall in their face as they read, however, there were a few long-haired female book carriers.

Members of the Kikumoto all wear white clothing with black shoes and or black pants, skirts, or leggings. White symbolizes the clarity that understanding can bring and black symbolizes the maturity in gaining knowledge.

Non-book carrier members of the Kikumoto, wear their clan insignia on their dominant arm, while book-carrier members have the clan insignia sealed onto their dominant hand. (If they're ambidextrous then whatever hand they chose).

Having an ambidextrous child is considered fantastic luck, and most members wish for this when they have children. Ironically only two members in the entire clan's history were ambidextrous by birth.

There are four book carriers for the four books, and one of those book carriers is elected by the members of the clan to be the next leader.

Members of the Kikumoto clan tend to be short and wiry since they spend all their time reading and studying instead of getting exercise or sleeping regularly.

It is also very common for Kikumotos (especially males) to be born near-sighted, and or become nearsighted from all the reading.

Notable Clan members

First-generation

Akira Kikumoto (菊本明)

Akira is the creator of the Kikumoto clan as well as the creator of book carriers. While he was a gentle and thoughtful soul, he was also very concerned with the well being of the newly constructed leaf village. A village he was to call home but a home he felt with all of the ninja clans left to mingle, would lead to informational problems. So to create a service of equal information as security, he created the soul book transfer jutsu, along with four books each linking to the same pocket world. A pocket world that would later become its own magnificent library of secrets. After establishing and giving each book to a trusted member of his family. The book of education to himself, the book of economics to his older sister. The book of literature to his little brother, and the book of politics to his wife.

He then struck a deal with the current Hokage, Hashirama Senju, a deal that detailed the protection of his clan and in return, his clan would look after and seal any knowledge the village had within their souls. The first wave of book carriers was actually really successful, the Leaf at the time was too young of a village to have any detrimental scandals. And since the system was new, there was a lot more freedom given to them that future generations would never have.

Another notable fact about him was that he believed that since the Hokage was the village leader, anything they say must be preserved for history sake. However, since Harshima was a goofy guy, this translated into some rather comical transcripts that survive till this day.

Hiraku Kikumoto (菊本拓)

Hiraku was Akira's little brother and the very first holder of the book of literature, he was also the one to create the "The Kikumoto public library." Which at it's time carried the biggest selection of books the land of fire had to offer if a book wasn't there then it wasn't anywhere. Apart from the reason why was because Hiraku was determined to deliver free knowledge to the rest of the world. He spent his life collecting books and begging the land of fire's Daimyo to agree to give the Kikumoto permission to take any book they want free of charge, so they could put that book in the library. The Daimyo, however, wasn't having it since the claim was ridiculous, but over time, Hiraku wore them down, and they came to a compromise. The Kikumoto clan's book carriers were allowed to take ten books a month from any book store in the land of fire free of charge, any more books, and they had to pay for them.

He was also one of the two only book carriers to be ambidextrous.

Second Generation

Tadashi Kikumoto (菊本正)

Tadashi was the son of Akira Kikumoto and inheritor of his mother's book, making him the political book carrier during the time of the 2nd Hokage: Tobirama Senju. Now Tobirama Senju was a very controlling Hokage, and this was especially true for dealing with the Kikumoto. Tobirama made strict laws against Kikumoto book carriers, from having constant surveillance to not being able to even leave the village. The Kikumoto despised Lord Second; however, no one despised him just as much as Tadashi.

Now Tadashi was a bitter man, not only was he treated like a living bookcase, but anytime he tried putting input, he was formally shut down. Apart from this was also Tadashi's way of giving information, he was a very blunt person. He tended to disagree with Tobirama a lot and said everything he opposed him to his face. Tobirama couldn't exactly kill him since Tadashi was the holder of the village's knowledge, so Tobirama simply forbade him from speaking.

Tobirama's snubbing of Tadashi is actually the reason why his forbidden jutsus kept getting stolen. Because Tobirama couldn't trust Tadashi enough to not try and undermine him so, the jutsus were simply labelled forbidden and stored away. But while it's virtually impossible to steal scrolls sealed inside a Kikumoto book carrier, it's possible to steal a scroll that's put into storage somewhere.

Tadashi filled with spite felt nothing short of powerless. So to cope with this, every day he wrote a journal entry detailing what Tobirama did that day and then used all the logic he had to prove why it was a terrible choice. He ended up living his life out of pure spite and a drive to write another page on Tobirama, it really kept him going. However, while this did keep him going, it wasn't enough, and he ended up dead by his own hand. His only wish was to have Tobirama attend his funeral so that Tobirama would be forced to listen to the entirety of Tadashi's journal entries.

Tobirama stayed at the funeral until they were two entries into reading the journal. He then ordered the book burned along with Tadashi's body. However, the book burned wasn't the real book but an edited copy someone made. The real book is stored within the pocket world of the Kikumoto book carriers, out of fear that if Tobirama read the original version, he would outright demand the Kikumoto clan be eliminated.

Tadashi's only child was estranged from the clan, so his book was given to his twin sister's first daughter, Yua Kikumoto. (菊本結愛).

Sadashi Kikumoto (菊本貞士)

Sadashi Kikumoto was the twin sister of Tadashi and inheritor of her aunt's book. Making her an economic book carrier, at the time of Tobirama Senju's term of Hokage, and while her twin brother Tadashi notably hated Tobirama, she was able to be on cordial terms with the Hokage. And being the level headed person she was, used this to make a difference to make herself look better. However, those cordial terms were dashed after she read Tadashi's journal to Tobirama, but I digress.

She was most known for her idea of an orphan policy which she tricked Tobirama into thinking it was his idea, and so he would accept and pass the law. The idea is that if you were an orphan under the age of 18 with no parent or guardian, then you could be eligible for free admission to a ninja academy if you were accepted. This idea was popular with some since with the Leaf village existing at a time of war, left many kids parentless, and the ability to give those children education was appealing to most. However, this policy came at a cost, the cost of which meant taxes were significantly higher to pay for free education.

To this day it is up for debate whether or not Sadashi did the right thing, because it did solve a huge problem, but it also caused a significant rise in taxes that's never been lowered since.

Junko Kikumoto (菊本順子)

Junko Kikumoto was the daughter of Akira's little brother and inheritor of Akira's book, making her an educational book carrier. She was what you could call a "history cleaner," anytime something happened that the Leaf would want to be forgotten, or a piece of history that the Leaf doesn't wish to teach in schools. Then it was her job to clean it up by whitewashing information to create new textbooks. Despite a sharp mind, she was also a very obedient and honourable person, such traits made it easy for her to be convinced she was doing something for the village's safety. However, she could never get rid of the immense guilt felt by erasing the truth.

For every truth she erased, she wrote a textbook containing that truth to give to her future child, that never came.

Junko due to guilt had constant stress, stress that made it hard for her to find love. So it was a relief when she found a student to mentor, his name was Takumi Saito (斉藤匠) an exceptional young boy who will be talked in depth later. Perhaps it was selfish to use teaching Takumi as a will to live, instead of finding inner peace. But before Takumi, she felt horrible every day of her life and if you were to ask her about her most significant accomplishment, she would say becoming a mentor. Because she was finally able to teach someone what really happened, to question the world around them, was something she could never do in her line of work, and she was happy to at least contribute in one way or another.

Shortly after Takumi surpassed Junko and was on his way to becoming a suitable book carrier, she died, peacefully in her sleep.

Third generation

Hibiki Kikumoto (菊本響) Isamu (勇)

Hibiki Kikumoto was the estranged son of Tadashi Kikumoto, as said before Tadashi was a bitter man and the acorn doesn't fall too far from the same tree. But the ideas and parenting that were able to shape Tadashi into a calm and sane individual weren't present in Hibiki's life, causing him to be full of bitterness and resentment. A part of this resentment was caused by the metal conditioning Tadashi went through, causing Tadashi to become emotionally distant to his son. Hibiki, a supposed inheritor of his father's book, went through similar treatment, only his was milder since he wasn't a book carrier yet. Combined with Tadashi extreme bitter honesty on how their village worked, Hibiki grew up to be a sullenly spiteful young man who viewed power as a way to protect himself.

He indeed had the drive to become a splendid ninja and had enough chakra and intelligence to gain the strength he wanted. Only gaining strength was the problem, because he was a Kikumoto he already had a strong amount of knowledge. But to have power as well as something that seemed like a potential problem to the leaf government. So it was a matter of time before Hibiki was ordered to leave his clan and in turn, join the Anbu black ops by Danzo.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, wanting to try his best to be less strict than Lord Second wasn't exactly sure how to deal with a troublesome Kikumoto. So it was especially easy for Danzo to convince him that Hibiki would fare better with the Anbu.

Danzo's argument was that due to the darkness that gripped Hibiki's heart with a little more conditioning, he would be perfect for the Anbu.

Hibiki was a kenjutsu specialist whose main attack pattern involved a mix of duel iron swords and martial arts, and because of his cleverness, he was perfect for assassinations. He may have not been the strongest ninja in the world but combined with his stealth, attention to detail, and overall cleverness, he was a force to fear. He took pride in the lives he took, he used it as a way to gain what little control he did have. He's practically a shadow with how unknown he is since, for in a lot of ways he isn't all that remarkable or special. He's just another soulless Anbu ninja when it comes down to it, a tool to use and throw away.

He took the name Isamu (勇) a name that means bravery, the bravery he hoped to gain after hearing the news of his disownment and his drafting into the Anbu.

People aren't really sure if he's dead or not since on the day of his retirement from the Anbu, he simply disappeared, and since no one found his body, many assume he ran away, he's been in the bingo book ever since.

Takumi Kikumoto (菊本匠)

Takumi Kikumoto (菊本匠) previously Takumi Saito (斉藤匠); he inherited the book of education by Junko Kikumoto (菊本順子). Which makes him the only Kikumoto book carrier to marry into the family and become a book carrier. Takumi was as stated before an exceptional young boy. At the same time, he wasn't the strongest (actually rather weak), he had the innate ability to be able to make anyone understand a piece of knowledge, no matter how difficult. It was even said he could explain jonin level educational material to academy students.

Junko saw this talent and knew he'd be the perfect educational book carrier, so with permission from him, his family, the leaf village government, and the blessing of her clan. She arranged a marriage between Takumi Saito and Yua Kikumoto, so Takumi could become a part of the Kikumoto clan and become a book carrier. A Marriage that ended up being functional and healthy; it was actually the second marriage between book carriers since the time of Akira since for a long time, all book carriers were in some way related.

Takumi was a very open-minded and a somewhat eccentric person, having many questions no one could answer. This eccentricity led him to think up his own answers that were well rather stupid and made him seem like a crazy conspiracy theorist. However, while his theories were outlandish, he was able to get his classmates to believe them out of sheer charisma and his talent of making anything sound real. He was energetic and eccentric, someone who always had another plan no matter how crazy, he believed in the scientific method and tested everything out no matter how small.

This contrasted nicely with Junko, who was a rather straight-laced and cynical person. Every time he has a question, she would answer it with a question, he would have to answer until he leads himself to the correct answer to what he thought about.

A method he used with his son, and for himself anytime he was in an intellectual pickle.

Despite making books for the government, he hated social norms. While he did try his best to be respectful and gentlemanly when required, if he wasn't talking to Junko, he never used honorifics. Some days you could find him wearing a kimono, pink rain boots, and a pickle jar tied to his head, and he says "Do you like my new haircut?" Or walking a lobster on a leash.

Not a lot of people tease him though, he was so positive and very quick on his feet that even if they wanted to, there would be no reason, so most just ignored him.

He loved his son dearly and encouraged him to question the world just like him and pursue whatever he wanted, book carrier or not he truly wanted it to be his son's choice. In turn, his son took after him a little too much, and even if he was a mama's boy, he still greatly respected his dad.

He handled the guilt better than his teacher since he wasn't really all that concerned in the knowledge of others, as long as the people he cared about were taught the truth. So in a way, he was happy to keep knowledge all to himself and share it only to his wife and son, it made them better he believed. Gave him more of a reason to put them on a pedestal.

Yua Kikumoto (菊本結愛)

Yua was the first daughter of Sadashi Kikumoto, and inheritor of Tadashi's book, making her a political book carrier. She wasn't known for much since the one thing people in the village can remember her for is being a failed experiment. Yua was a gentle child, so much so, people doubted her ability as a book carrier believing her too fragile for such work. So with concerns and ideas, a new system was decided on for the training of political book carriers. Typically a book carrier would toughen up through rigorous conditioning and be resilient against mental attacks. However, with the short life span that most book carriers had, it was thought that if book carriers were to feel immense pain when they were young, it would help appreciate life more in the future.

So in a process called memory swap, in which a book carrier would be placed under a genjutsu that relieves some of Anbu's members' worst memories. The idea was that all the training they go under is to prepare for potential threats but to experience memories, scenarios that really happened it would be the ultimate lesson. Yua was the first and last book carrier to undergo this training method because while it was effective in what it set out, it was too effective. Yua was too young even for Kikumoto standards to even begin to process the horrors she saw, so in turn, she couldn't. She became unable to speak that day, and for the rest of her life, it felt as if her mind was trapped in the horror of the memories she saw. When seeing the finished product there was a scared girl who couldn't even muster a greeting, they decided to scrap the training altogether.

For a long time, she simply lived as the perfect bookcase, when information needed storage, she'd store the information. When people required information instead of merely explaining it, she'd just give them the book. Sitting on a chair and only getting up for bare necessities was how she felt her life was going to go, well until she was arranged to marry Takumi.

Takumi was kind enough for Yua, so it wasn't like she opposed the marriage; she just didn't expect him to actually treat it like a marriage. In her opinion, if he were to just politely eat the food she made and leave for work, she was fine with that. She never left her chair anyway so, it wasn't like she was going to be the best wife either. But no Takumi was determined as he was eccentric and he practically made it his mission to be the best husband he could. He started out by sitting next to her and doing his work from home, writing, translating, and giving remarks every other hour. He did this for two months before he even asked a question, she'd nod or shake her head yes or no, and he'd ask the most random questions like "do you like oolong tea," or "can you do a handstand?"

He tried teaching her to use sign language in hopes of giving her options to communicate. She was a fast learner, but her hands couldn't talk as fast as her mind, so it frustrated her quite a bit. Eventually, Takumi showed her spots outside he liked to study at, they were sweet and remote places that Yua found beautiful. Takumi loved to explain things to her, nothing important, just small everyday bits of knowledge, like how to start a compost bin or how to recycle.

He would also explain his own ideas, and Yua always made sure to take notes and give a smile whenever she particularly likes something he said. Yua loved note-taking when she was younger, it had been a long time before she had taken notes or even so much as wrote something, but she was happy to pick up the skill again. After a while, she also started to write letters, they were far in between, but they were always heartfelt, and in the proper book, carrier fashion held some sage wisdom to it. Takumi always made it a point to respond to these letters with his own instead of telling her his response, because he felt letters should be returned to by other letters.

It wasn't long until Yua had a child, a darling young boy who was like his father, she always liked that. However, the boy had a terribly weak soul and medically speaking could never transfer his soul, to begin with, and call her cruel, but she liked that as well. She was a prisoner trapped as a book carrier and the fact her son would never be able to experience any of it, made her happy. She explained this to her son through letters, writing to never tell his father the things she'd written to him.

Her son was twelve years old before Yua was pregnant again and with a girl, she worried deeply because she had the feeling that this child would become a book carrier, that this child wouldn't get the freedom her son has. However, she should have been more worried about the calamity that was to come, the day the nine tails Kurama attacked the hidden leaf village.

This day was devastating for the Kikumoto compound, for it sat in the blast zone. It killed three out of the four-book carriers at the time, destroying two out of the three books forever. The third book carrier was Takumi, and in trying to get Yua and his children to safety, he ended up crushed by a wooden pillar. A wooden pillar meant to break Yua, but he was able to push her out in time, and with his last strength he told Yua to store his book away within her book and to write to everyone his book was destroyed as well. As the pages fell out of the book leaving the shell of the book of education in tow, he signed "I love you," to his family.

Two months later, she finally gave birth to her second child dying shortly after, some say it was a broken heart. Some say she didn't have enough to live for and that her son wasn't enough of a drive. And some don't care either way, but in the end, no one knows, she simply never told anyone.

Fourth Generation

Shusuke Kikumoto (菊本修介)

(Just a note but I'm keeping this bio to only his accomplishments, but in the future, I'll be making him a full-on character bio.)

Shusuke is the son of Takumi and Yua Kikumoto, he is the second non-book carrier born to book carrier parents. Though technically, their clan officially disbanded after Yua died since book carriers were the lifeblood of the clan. All that was left were some widows, and with Shusuke holding the only book left and unable to use it, they thought it best if the clan simply disbanded.

Shusuke was also known for being the only Kikumoto to be born with a weak soul. He had such a weak soul in fact that if he were to even attempt to become a book carrier, he medically speaking would die. So with the path of book carrier out of reach, he became left out of any clan talk, and if he were to ask questions, the other members would talk down to him, deeming him "idiotic," and moving along; his parents were the only ones to believe in him. However, what he lacked in soul strength, intuition, and charisma, he made up in emotional intelligence. He was a great listener and picked up on even tiniest details in a person, it was even said he could look a person in the eyes and understand them on an emotional level.

His understanding, combined with his reflecting nature, made him understand one thing, that the world is filled with pain, and no one actually knows what to do about it. Shusuke knew some people share trauma and get along, and some people isolate themselves and relish in it, but he found both ways to be a slippery slope at best. This realization scared Shusuke because from what his mother wrote to him about the job of a book carrier, it meant that his sister would experience pain. Pain that the world couldn't seem to remedy and if the only way was through shared trauma, then how was he supposed to be a good older brother if he never had any trauma.

So he did what his father would do, applying the scientific method and trying his best to gather data. He talked to war veterans, begged his mother for a book on interrogation tactics that the Anbu used, that she begrudgingly gave him. He studied books on how medical ninjas dealt with uneasy patients, and with all of this, he used it to find discrepancies and similarities with all the data he could get his hands on. He even tried begging the Uchiha clan to let him talk to prisoners, so he could see how their minds work, but the Uchiha always told him to go home and stop bothering them.

The data he sought was found, it was then he realized that the things people labelled "little problems." Were actually a lot more common and could be connected just as one could connect symptoms to an illness. This realization caused him to write an essay of mental illness as a concept showcasing and giving names to what was known before as nothing more than another troubled past. Not only did it showcase mental illness, but it has talked about the symptoms that could be commonly attributed and possible treatments for said symptoms.

This research paper would continue to be his life's work and be a baseline for his sister's work as a therapist.

His work specialized in research and data development and creating thesis papers, thesis papers that centred the most around depression, PTSD, and anxiety.

He lacked his father's social skills, and at first, few believed him and even called him delusional and or insane. Still, it never seems to get him down and to this day, while his experiences will never be as painful as others, he'll always try his best to sympathize for his sister. So she can help other people, he's more of a loner in comparison to his sister and keeps to himself.

Rin Kikumoto (菊本凛)

(Rin will be the main character in the story I'm making about her, so her bio will be short here since she's not only getting a full bio but also a whole mini-series.)

Rin Kikumoto is the daughter of Takumi and Yua Kikumoto and the little sister to Shusuke Kikumoto, and inheritor of her mother's book which makes her a political book carrier. A position undecided, since while each book held its own purpose with three out of the four books destroyed, there has been talk of making Rin a carrier of all four books. However, others say that at best she could be both an educational and political book carrier but forcing someone to do all four is impossible. As of now, it is decided that Rin will remain a political book carrier and the leaf village has its own library, accountants, and textbook makers. Promptly eliminating the three other book carrier jobs, since the only job out of the four that only the Kikumoto could do was the political job. Since no one other than a book carrier could really be able to hold leaf village secrets as secretive as they do.

Her soul is immensely strong, in contrast to her older brother, so it's as if his soul strength all went to her.

She is known mostly for being the last book carrier, those who know of her clan pity her because they believe she's fated to die young. However, she makes it a point to try and live the longest she can, outright refusing to not only leave her brother alone but to be another prisoner of depression as the rest of the clan were. For she may be a prisoner of the leaf, but that doesn't mean she's a prisoner to her own mind.

She lacks the skill to immediately understand people like her brother, but she tries her best, and she did inherit her father's charisma making her a fantastic conversationalist. She's also the second member in the entire history of Kikumoto book carriers to be ambidextrous. So it's a silver lining.

She became a ninja, even knowing she'd remain forever a genin ninja because even if it's small, she wanted to do her best to help and understand the people around her.

She's trying her best to understand the people around her. Because her older brother helped her so much with his research that she wants the same for others. Something that her older brother isn't willing to do himself, preferring to stick to his thesis writing. Since Rin isn't as reclusive as her brother, combined with her social skills. She's set on doing what her brother won't do, become the first professional therapist. She just needs experience and practice.

Clan Customs

Letters are a massive deal to the Kikumoto, and to throw away or misplace a letter is the equivalent to ending a relationship of any kind since it shows them that you no longer care about them.

It is customary to give flowers to dead loved ones, every week as well as telling the gravestone what the person did over the week.

While marrying outside of the clan is fine, if the person they seek to marry is part of another clan, it is simply forbidden. Since the Leaf village is afraid that members might try to marry Kikumotos for their information.

Carrying books aren't the only things Kikumoto can store, in fact as long as it doesn't damage other items within the pocket world, practically anything non-sentient can be stored. However, while they can store virtually anything, the Kikumoto will only carry luggage amongst other things for the people they care about. Since the objects are going into their souls, it feels intimate to them in a way, be it in a platonic way or a romantic one, it's a way to show trust in their clan.

#naruto #naruto shippuden #naruto clan oc #naruto ocs #leaf village

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peace-coast-island · 4 years ago

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Diary of a Junebug

A lesson in knowing your limits

Gyroid hunting, magic spells, mountain climbing, hanging with friends - all the makings of a fun campsite event! But as with all events, there's also the stress of getting things done in time.

Let's say that what happened earlier today served as a reminder to us that sometimes life gets too stressful and that there will be times where we don't have everything under control. That's not to say that this gyroid adventure hasn't been fun, but on top of all the other stuff that's been going on, it's hard to enjoy yourself when your mind is elsewhere.

Since opening the camp, I have developed a love/hate relationship with the holidays. And with this being a holiday event, we're in a bigger time crunch if we want to get everything set for Toy Day. There's also the fact that Daisy Jane and I are going back home to Rosevine for Emmaline and Minnie's wedding right after the festivities so that puts even more pressure on ourselves to finish things fast.

Joining us for our toy gyroid escapades are Almie, Pippa, and a new friend - Mariposa Silva! Her name means butterfly - isn't that pretty! Almie and Pippa talked about her a lot last time and I'm glad to finally meet her! The three are staying with us until Toy Day, which is in a couple days, so Daisy Jane and I will be leaving with them for home.

I can see why Pippa's all starry eyed over Mariposa and after what happened today, I think the two of them being friends is the best thing to ever happen to her in light of everything she's been through this year. Almie's been a good big brother to her but Pippa really needs someone who can understand her and Mariposa's the kind of friend who fits right in.

So Mariposa is a newcomer who's been living with Rosevine's notorious troublemaker witch Luna as her apprentice. Luna may act all tough but we all know she has a soft spot for us kids like Almie and Emmaline. Pippa's been training with Luna too as witchcraft and wizardry kinda overlap in some areas. I don't know what surprises me more - Luna taking in a teenage girl she randomly bumped into (literally) with no questions and teaching her magic or Luna agreeing to help Pippa (a wizard of all beings - in short, bad association with wizards) with her magic as well as teaching some witchcraft as well. Then again, for the latter, Luna and Almie are partners in crime so it makes sense that she has a soft spot for Pippa as well.

What makes Mariposa unique is that she's able to conjure magic despite not being magical herself, which takes a lot of work. It's not an easy feat for us ordinary people - believe me, I've tried (and tried)! Maybe there's hope for me but at this point I shouldn't get my hopes up too high. Because of life circumstances she has to bear since birth (she really has a way with words), Mariposa has mastered the art of improvisation.

Since she can't summon magic naturally like Luna and Pippa, Mariposa developed her own way of conjuring glyphs and such. So she has to do a little bit of extra work to cast a spell, which can complicate things a bit. There's a lot of things that can slow Mariposa down, however there's two that can't. First is the conjuring of spells - she's resourceful, creative, and super imaginative - when you can't make magic the traditional way, you gotta get crafty. Second is her right arm - or lack of.

In short, Mariposa was born with a bunch of health problems, a nonexistent right arm is one of them. At this point it's all just "blah, blah, blah" to her. She's spent sixteen years with one arm - her entire life - so whatever pitying thing someone wants to say to her, she's heard it all. Sure it might complicate conjuring magic in some situations but she just rolls with it. That's why she's so good at improvising, problem solving, and thinking way outside the box - something she believes is the universe's way of compensating for what she's been given.

For the past few days we've been hiking around the camp looking for gyroids. Mariposa and Pippa showed off some cool spells they learned from Luna while Almie told us about their latest shenanigans. Highlights include Pippa one-upping a frenemy of Luna's with a scalding hot burn, Almie offering to fix up Luna's car with some "embellishments" which may or may not have caused a wingbat uprising, and Mariposa accidentally awakening an ancient spirit while trying to impress Willow and Angie. And of course, we've been talking about the upcoming wedding.

Since I last saw Pippa, she's been getting her strength back. From being diagnosed with leukemia to suffering from complications as well as a near relapse, the past several months have been hard on her. Almie said that outside of family, Mariposa and Angie, and later Willow, were a great deal of help - especially Mariposa. It's so good to see Pippa out and about, almost like how she was before she got sick.

I guess sometimes we're so focused on trying to get things back to normal after getting thrown off that we don't always realize that in many cases, there's no going back. With Pippa keeping up with her studies, practicing her magic, and helping out with the wedding, it seems like everything's back to normal. Aside from having to keep up with meds and appointments and such, Pippa's well on her way to recovery.

Of course, looks can be deceiving. While Pippa is doing well, she still has to be careful not to wear herself out too much. The wedding's been a bit of an incentive for her to stay healthy, especially since she's a bridesmaid - so she's been keeping busy helping Soph with planning the reception and everything. Pippa's a hard worker but she has a bad habit of putting herself last.

The main reason why Almie wanted to come back to the camp was to give Pippa a chance to relax. He's been protective of Pippa since her hospitalization due to other people's carelessness regarding her health. So he wasn't too happy when Pippa admitted to him a couple days ago that she slipped up by missing her meds a couple times over the past few weeks. He said she'd tell him if something was wrong but seeing that she's been trying to keep on schedule for the most part, she should be okay.

While the past couple days were fun, it was clear that the cracks were starting to show. A combined mess of stress from personal life stuff, holidays, the gyroid event, and the upcoming wedding hit us all at once. My mind was elsewhere, worrying about getting stuff done - it can be draining.

Mariposa was the one who helped us refocus by sitting Pippa down and setting some hard truths for her. Almie was right to be concerned about Pippa overworking herself. I get that she's been feeling stuck in a rut so anything to break her out of that monotony is a welcome change. It's good to try to get back on track but you can't force it. From the way she was jumping up and down and climbing all over the place, you'd think we were being timed on finding gyroids.

Exhaustion has a way of wearing you down, physical and mental. If we had health bars hanging over our heads, Pippa's would be almost depleted. And if I'm being honest, mine's probably in the red zone too. Almie and Daisy Jane are likely in red too while Mariposa's probably in yellow. To be honest, I think everyone in the camp's either a red or yellow - it's just one of these days.

So Pippa overestimated herself and eventually reached a point where she couldn't just get back up and act like everything's fine. As in, she fell off a tree, landing hard on her back and was unable to move for a few seconds, scaring the hell out of everyone. Thankfully she doesn't have a concussion or broken bones but she'll be really sore and bruised tomorrow. By then I figured that we collected enough gyroids for the day so we headed back to the camp despite Pippa's protests.

Almie's usually a pretty chill guy so seeing him go off on Pippa was... let's just say I'm glad we all cleared out when they both started raising their voices. When things started getting out of hand, Mariposa decided to step in for a bit. What she said to Pippa had me thinking about accepting your limits.

Basically what Mariposa's saying is that we can't measure our worth by our productivity. If anyone knows how Pippa feels about stagnating due to circumstances out of control, it's Mariposa.

She got it through to Pippa that it's okay to fall short of expectations. I get that it's frustrating when you try to set goals for yourself, only to fail - but you just gotta accept that sometimes things don't work out and it's not your fault. I know that Pippa can be hard on herself, especially since this year has been turned upside down for her.

Mariposa also brought up a good point about the whole don't let your disabilities and illnesses stop you from being accomplished. It's one of those things that's supposed to be encouraging but does more harm than good. Because there will be days when your disabilities will stop you from achieving what you want. There will be times when you're forced to put your life on hold while the world is unsympathetic to your battles. You have to learn how to accept that it's okay to step back and accept that there are things beyond your capability - and that you shouldn't be shamed for that.

In other words, it's important to know your limits. Wise words from the witch in training, something we all need to be reminded of.

Once it seemed like Mariposa's words got through to Pippa, we stepped aside so the siblings can have a moment alone. To keep ourselves busy, I took Mariposa to the Marketplace to craft Toy Day stuff with Reese, Cyrus, and Jingle, which she had a blast doing. After making a bunch of toys we headed to the cabin and put together gift boxes.

It was nice getting to know Mariposa on a one on one basis during that time. Almie and Pippa weren't exaggerating with her wild, creative, and daring imagination. Who knew that there could be so many ways to wrap gift boxes? We got to talking about a lot of stuff, like how she's enjoying staying with Luna, Skully, and Owly, her magic training, Willow and Angie - she's only been in town for a short time and it feels like she's been part of the Rosevine gang since forever!

Also, she has met Emmaline and Minnie so she's definitely on the guest list. Actually she's coming as Luna's plus one since she met the couple after the list was finalized. Though knowing how Emmaline makes friends like bees to honey, Soph made extra sure to accommodate for a growing guest list - which I'm pretty sure has doubled since the invitations went out!

Once we finished with the gift boxes, we headed back to the campsite. Pippa and Almie finally worked things out and were back to their old, playful, bickering ways. They surprised us with desserts - Toy Day themed cookies and mochi! After having a busy couple days hunting gyroids, we decided to take it easy with a cozy bonfire dinner.

Nothing like freshly baked cookies and mulled cider to unwind after a stressful week!

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #Diary of a Junebug #headcanon ramble

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erogenousmind · 6 years ago

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Pretalk

“It can just be a conversation,” he reassured her. “Two like minds sharing themselves for a little while. Exploring a mutual area of interest we are both passionate about. And one where it can be quite fun to explore what might be possible.”

“And shamelessly flirting while we are at it, I assume," she retorted, dryly.

“After a fashion. Flirting tends to look very different in these sorts of discussions. Most people wouldn’t find half an hour of discussing what mental state you might be in particularly erotic.”

“Most people are boring.” She sank back into the hotel bed as she spoke. “How do you manage to make talking about kinky sex so formal?”

“I just don’t want to bias our talks too much before we begin. You were the one who was concerned about things getting out of hand, and if talking about talking already gets you all hot and bothered, you might be in trouble.” He winked as he stressed the word “trouble.”

She rolled her eyes. “If only I were that easy. Do you think we are going to negotiate some play and by the time we actually start I’ll already be a dripping mindless mess? Sounds like fun. But I’m not sure a change of tone from you is going to do it.”

"That is the concern though,” he said. On cue his voice deepened, the volume turned down the smallest amount. That is always a possibility when we start talking about what will be going on in your head. Because then you think about it, and, in a sense, it is going on in your head. And you like what you are thinking and you love the idea of what it is going to do to you. And then you don’t even notice that it is already happening. And that’s what you were concerned about. You were eager, you were ready. But you wanted to make sure we discussed exactly what was going to happen, starting with the goal in mind. And we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves or start before we begin.

“So we can just talk,” he continued. “And you can start to imagine the things that might happen to you. That’s the point after all: to put ideas in each other’s heads. I might describe some lovely idea where you are slowly and meticulously made into a doll. Starting with your body, you imagine every part of you slowly losing agency, less and less under your control. Your body just a toy for me to play with. I begin to position you, to pose you, to use you as I desire. Maybe my doll can follow some simple instructions. Maybe she can move as dance for me as she is told. And as you lose more and more control of your body, it begins to feel so natural to give over your mind. If your body is that of a helpless, delicate doll, your mind can’t help but follow suit. And you begin to feel so placid, so calm, so blank. Ready to just respond and to do as you are told...”

“Unf!” was all she could manage in response.

“Indeed!” he laughed. “But that’s only the start of it, or rather, the end of it. Because what wonderful sequence of events lead you to that wonderful state? I’m sure you can picture those moments as we sit facing each other. Your eyes half lidded and unfocused. Your mouth hanging open slightly. You remember how that place feels and it is such a joy to be able to dive so deeply into it. You could already feel the relaxation as my voice winds its way through your thoughts. Feel that familiar sag in your shoulders, that looseness in your joints. Maybe your body is adopting that slight sway, your muscles only barely keeping you upright.

“But you don’t notice those things. They happen automatically, your body as eager to sink down as your mind is. But your mind is elsewhere. Your mind is focused. Focused on my words. Focused on my voice. And I continue to speak to you. My voice is soft and even. But I speak with authority. I tell you exactly what is going to happen to you, exactly what is going to happen to your mind. The suggestions find their way into the very core of you to be remembered or forgotten by your conscious mind as I desire. Your mind is so receptive to my words, so eager to comply, to feel yourself transformed into that blank, pliant toy. You have fallen so deeply that all you can do is follow and allow yourself to be programmed.”

“Mmm,” she moaned, her thighs rubbing against each other as she listened. She had laid back at some point, her head sunken into a mound of pillows so that she could focus more easily. Her hand slowly wandered across her stomach and over her legs.

“And how did you get so deep?” he asked. “We fall back to you dropping. Your head dropping down toward your lap in response to a snap of my fingers. And falling backward as you flop with a gentle pull of your hair. And again as my fingers flutter an inch too high over you and your eyes roll back. And again as you feel your hand falling through mine and you are tumbling down. Every time you go deeper. You never really come up in between. Your eyes may open; your body may respond, but it is a poor facsimile of lucidity. That doesn’t keep you from feeling the full force of every drop though. It just makes it more intense, and after a while the feeling of falling never really fades away. Another snap of my fingers and your eyes close and you fall deeper. My hands moving your body back and forth, gently but irregularly, and again you are falling. Soon it’s too much work to think about anything else, to remember what is happening or why. Thoughts struggle to form in your mind and then you are dropping again. It’s easier to just let go. You know what to do when you drop, and letting go of everything else makes it so much easier. Every time takes you deeper. You already surrendered the ability to resist long ago. You can’t even focus enough to anticipate the next fall. All you can do is follow. You’ve lost all control. Your mind is so open and ready to accept every suggestion. Your mind is ready to submit, ready to obey. But still you drop for me over and over again. Every time, your mind opens more. And every time you go deeper.”

“Deeper...” she echoes, her voice distant.

“And you fall back further for me, back to that first fall. You can picture so well your eyes locked onto that gently swinging pendant, already struggling to remain open, already the light fading from them. And already my words are flowing into your mind, your resistances already crumbling. Or maybe you don’t even need the pendant and you can just stare into my eyes, knowing you are going to spend so much of our time together sinking into those depths. Those eyes will slowly drain the last of your will. You can already feel that blank docile state spreading over you. You can see what you will become reflected in those eyes. Maybe you did struggle for a moment. Maybe that was part of what made it feel so good to give in. Or maybe you never had the chance to resist. You can see yourself being caught off guard. My hand on your wrist pulling you toward me. A flourish of my fingers draws your eyes up and you are falling again. Or had you fallen yet for me? Maybe you can already see the endless fractionation slowly dripping every last thought out of you. As you continue to stare into those eyes. My words are finding their way into you, but it is too hard to focus on them. It’s easier to just stare and agree. You find your head nodding along to words that you don’t really register. You hear a familiar voice resonating in your head. She sounds so peaceful, so placid, so empty. She echoes the words she is told. A simple ‘yes’ and she has agreed to surrender so much.

“Yes”

“Maybe she is already starting to become that doll she dreamed of being. Maybe her mind has already given in to the suggestions she didn’t even remember being given. But she had already been deeply hypnotized and fractionated and conditioned. Maybe she her mind had already been played with to the point that she had lost all control. Maybe she had already lost the ability to resist. But it doesn’t matter. She sounds so happy to be blank. She just gets to listen and sink deeper and let it happen all over again. She’s already lost the ability to fight after it all. She has already become that toy to be played with, even if her mind hasn’t realized it yet. She has seen it all happen already. Felt every moment, surrendered every thought. Succumb to every suggestion. Now she just gets to watch it happen. She knows its inevitable. She hears it in every hollow word that slips from her lips, repeating mantras her conscious mind will never remember. Training her mind in how good it feels to go deeper.”

“Deeper...”

“How wonderful it feels to be completely entranced.”

“Entranced...”

“How helpless she has become and how easy it is to just follow and obey.”

“Helpless...obey...”

“And it all ends with a conversation. With two like minds opening themselves and sharing their deepest desires. It starts at the end when your mind is taken from you and you are left empty and blank and obedient. And it ends here as she listens and submits and agrees to open her mind. And so we have that conversation. We talk about how good it would feel for you to be deeply hypnotized, to have your thoughts slowly taken from you as you are dropped again and again and again. Until you can no longer resist and my suggestions leave you so open to being transformed, to being controlled. And gradually you are reduced to a placid, docile toy for me to use. Feeling so wonderful with every moment of submission. And you would love to feel that, wouldn’t you?”

“Yesss...”

“And so I begin to speak to you, and it is so easy for you to focus and let it all happen exactly how you already know it will, exactly how it played out in your mind. And you are so glad to be back at the beginning where a simple conversation shows you just how fall you will have allowed yourself to drop.”

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briankang · 5 years ago

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Then spend your time elsewhere? No one is forcing you to get on here lmao

i’m guessing this is in response to me saying it’s exhausting to be here? lmao i absolutely do. i spend most of my day at university and my off time going to plays, next week i work on a show, sometimes i have friends over! however i don’t think it’s wrong for me to express that it’s mentally draining to be here when i LOVE being here!!! i come here to relax and have fun and talk about taylor!! i’ve been doing that for years!!! and i miss that! i can feel like this place is becoming incessantly negative and nitpicky and just? mean??? ALL the time. it didn’t used to be this way and i miss that! i miss it being a place where taylor could release or announce something and the FIRST thing people do isn’t @ her in mean, overly ridiculous and critical messages about how they don’t like it! it sucks!

#why does this sound like one of those anon's jaime gets like daily #asks #Anonymous

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randomoranges · 6 years ago

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Oranges as Peace Offerings

Étienne pushed back his lunch tray and let out a disdained sigh. He had no appetite, the food did not even look interesting and he wasn’t even sure why he bothered. In fact – he wasn’t sure why he had bothered with anything at all. It was another one of those never ending city conferences and he had been quite willing to send Élyse off in his place, but he had been specifically requested and told to attend, or else. He didn’t know what was the point and knew before he even left that it would be a complete waste of time, but he’d prepared his work, packed his bag and gone off like a man sent to the gallows.

As he’d come to expect from these things, every time he tried to give his opinion or present his own work, he’d been shot down, interrupted or completely dismissed like the irrelevant footnote he’d become. Once upon a time, he would have been insulted, now he no longer cared. He knew it would happen. It always happened. It’s why he sent Élyse. She cared enough to fight. He’d given up on these meetings some time towards the end of the past century. He’d given up once he’d realised that there was no point – that no one cared enough about his own trials and tribulations – that these meetings were just some other excuse to vent and show off – to either come out of them boasting and feeling good or desperate and at wits end. He was only sorry it had taken him that long to realise it.

Instead he focused on other things – things that mattered and were of interest to him and he passed on this role to Élyse who was only too pleased to get a chance to prove her self to the others. She liked it. He got peace of mind. It was a win-win situation. Until he was obliged and forced to attend. There was a time, recently, when he fell through a lapse of motivation – where he’d tried again, new energy coursing through him – where he’d actually tried to change and propose and interact and build – maybe it had to do with his upoming birthday, maybe it had been a fevered delusion. In any event, it hadn’t worked, his motivation had vanished and nothing had changed. It was better not to get involved. There was no point to it. He was a relic of the past and some of his so called “colleagues” and “peers” and “similars” loved reminding him of it.

Normally, when he was forced to attend these things, he played a very careful role. He sat through, pitched in his token comment here and there and entertained the masses when they were granted permission to be normal for fifteen minutes. He made it worthwhile for those who wanted and warmed up the beds of those who sought him out. He didn’t mind. It was an easy role to play. He was used to it, and, honestly, it wasn’t all that bad – made it almost worthwhile for him as well. While others poured their energy over presentations and conferences, he went out to explore the town, found good places to eat and mingled with the locals. His cultural appetite would at least be satisfied even if his brain half rotted.

But he did his best to keep busy and armed himself with a sketchbook to stay awake as he sat through one meeting after the next. He doodled through conferences, through appointments, through discussions and he was aware of what some of his “colleagues” said of him, but his doodles were also summaries of what was going on around him. It was his way of taking notes. Of keeping a log of his waste of time. It was his own way of being informed. He was often discredited – rarely thought of as the intelligent or attentive type and he did nothing to counter those opinions, but in his own way, he was.

It was better to play dumb and to fulfil the role and persona the others had painted him. It was better to keep a low profile and his head lower still.

It was less exhausting when no one expected anything great from you.

His intent with this Official City Meeting had been the same – to waltz in, do his thing, and waltz out in a flurry of bedsheets and clever jokes, but his heart hadn’t been in it. Winter had seemed longer than usual (but wasn’t that the case every year? Wasn’t last winter just as bad? As cold? Colder? And the one before that?) and he felt drained and bone tired. He felt physically and mentally exhausted. His body was heavy. His mind seemed unfocused and not for the first time he found himself wondering what the point to any of this was. Why he bothered. Why he even tried. The thought of fucking off to some remote island seemed more appealing with each passing day. An island that didn’t remain so bitterly cold for so long. Somewhere where he could just be and maybe sit under a shaded tree all day long while the sun warmed his cold, dead soul. The idea was nice.

He’d gone to this meeting out of moral obligation and had sat through, but he paid little to no attention and his hands remained still on the desk before him. He looked but did not see. Did not feel. Did not want.

At the first sign of a break, he had gone his own way, avoiding the group of his so called friends who were going to eat at some restaurant they had heard great reviews about. Étienne could have gone anywhere else. He could have even convinced his so called friends to go elsewhere. He knew this city well and had scoped out its lunch scene many times before, but he wanted peace and quiet. Solitude. Imposed isolation. He wanted to be alone.

He’d found the cafeteria and asked for the special of the day – whatever that may be. That’s how he’d found himself, sitting, alone, willing time to go by so that this day could eventually end, glaring at the tray as though it was personally responsible for his foul mood and everything that wasn’t right with the world. He could have forgone lunch all together. He could have had a quiet smoke and called it a day, but logically, in the deep recess of his mind, he knew it would be best if he made an effort and ate something – anything – but he was done with efforts. They never paid off for the likes of him.

Étienne was absorbed in his own thoughts, trapped in his own head and he failed to take notice of the environment around him. If he’d been paying attention, he may have gotten up and chosen a different place to sit, but since he hadn’t paid attention, he didn’t notice when Edward approached him and only realised the other man was there when Edward sat in front of him. It figured this would also happen.

Normally, Étienne would have thrilled to this private audience with Edward. A rare moment where they could be together and talk – catch up – exchange – make fun of the lame ass presentation they had sat through. But like with everything and everyone else, Edward had changed. Now he cared about this shit and Étienne had done enough damage that he wasn’t about to dig another foot in his own grave. Edward wasn’t outwardly avoiding him. It was already that much.

But he didn’t feel like talking to Edward. Didn’t want to speak with anyone, let alone Edward. And Edward had once upon a time been very perceptive of his moods and able to read him in ways that had scared him, but it seemed that skill had been lost over the last couple of years, for Edward remained there, seated in front of him.

“Shouldn’t you be out to lunch with the others?” Edward broke the silence, clearly trying to make small talk and Étienne wanted to hate him a little more for it. It felt forced. It felt like a check-in and an obligation. Their friendship had never been any of those things. Their friendship had been long and meaningful and fulfilling.

“Shouldn’t you be out to lunch with the others?” He retorted, his tone cold – he could regret it later. Later, when he would try to sleep and his mind would replay every one of his failures of the past three hundred odd years – it could be tonight’s special feature.

“Forgive me I asked.” Edward snapped. For a moment, Étienne believed Edward would leave. He’d tried to interact. Étienne had shot him down. He could make a checkmark next to his “attempted to be nice to the Footnote” and move on with his life. Return to the “in” crowd.

Instead Edward stayed.

Edward sat with his fists clenched and his jaw set, but he stayed.

There was a storm in Edward’s hazel eyes and everything about his posture said he was upset, but he stayed.

Étienne forgot what a stubborn old goat Edward could be.

He almost laughed.

Almost.

“I guess the old saying is true, after all,” Étienne started, tentatively, knowing that if he wanted to keep Edward around, he would have to start this conversation first. Edward remained quiet, but he looked his way and quirked an eyebrow, giving him permission to go on, “Misery does love company.” They were both silent for a moment – a while – and Étienne thought it would be the end of that exchange, but then Edward surprised him with a laugh – more of a chuckle or a startled guffaw that bubbled out of him.

“You don’t say, Maisonneuve.”

This was easy. Or at least, familiar. This type of exchange. This allusion to their murky pasts and daily personal struggles. Pointing back to their faults and flaws through self-depreciation. They’d done it before. They used to be kings at this old game. Edward seemed to be moving on from that. But it still worked.

“What are you really doing here?” Edward asked him, a little softer this time, and for the briefest of moments, Étienne thought Edward was referring to the meetings – that he was telling him he didn’t belong in these anymore – that an old relic like him should stay out and let the relevant ones attend, but then Edward motioned at his tray and he relaxed. “I didn’t take you for the “special of the day” type of guy – especially not when it’s egg salad and blob surprise,” Étienne shrugged. He didn’t know. He didn’t know why he was here and he didn’t know why he’d gone for this less than stellar meal.

He didn’t know where he’d gone wrong. He didn’t know why he’d lost everything so quickly. He didn’t know why it had taken him this long to speak to Edward. (And did this even really count?)

Edward gave him a look that could have been described as fond exasperation, or maybe it was just a good eye roll, but he pulled the tray towards him and stole a baby carrot from his dish. Étienne tried to protest but it wasn’t like he’d been eating any of it, “You’ll never change,” Edward said and wasn’t that the truth of the matter? Wasn’t that why he was still here with his same old issues from forty years past? Why he’d still be here forty years from now with the same problems? Would he ever move forward?

“You need to eat something,” Edward reached for the orange on his tray and started peeling it.

He hated oranges.

Well, no, that wasn’t a lie. He didn’t hate oranges. But he didn’t love them either. Too much work for very little reward. He had to dig his fingers into the rind, work his way in and peel it away, piece by piece, get his hands dirty and sticky, remove the white skin and string and then hope that the orange would actually taste like something and that there wouldn’t be any seeds.

It wasn’t worth his time.

Many things were not worth his time.

Maybe there was a pattern to this.

Étienne watched as Edward meticulously cleaned out the orange. He watched Edward’s gentle hands and deft fingers slowly and meticulously move around the orange. Étienne had known those hands rather well. Knew how they trembled ever so when he was nervous, knew how warm and loving they could feel on his skin. Knew how uplifting the smallest of caresses from them felt. Edward removed the rind in almost one full piece and then separated the orange into two halves, some juice squirting out, but Edward didn’t seem to mind. He sectioned off each piece and then slowly removed the white skin and the string until the slices looked almost photo ready. Étienne wondered why Edward was going through so much trouble, until he placed the pieces onto the tray and pushed it back towards Étienne, “I know how finicky you are with your oranges,” He offered, a shy, kind, playful smile playing out on his face.

Étienne blinked. He had not expected this. Had not expected Edward to be this kind. Not to him, anyways. Not after their fall out. He took a piece and placed it in his mouth before chewing down on it carefully, juice and flavour exploding in his mouth. It was a really good orange. He had not expected that either.

“Thanks,” He said when his mouth wasn’t full. Edward shrugged this time, as if it was no problem. As if he hadn’t done this millions of time beforehand. In a past that sometimes felt like some fever dream. Edward shrugged as though there was nothing to it and as though he would willingly do this for Étienne millions of other times. As though he would willingly do it all over again.

But Étienne knew better.

Silence engulfed them once more as Étienne meticulously ate his orange, piece by piece, slowly, as if he was giving each slice its just moment – evaluating each one – comparing it to the previous one. He took the moment to discreetly observe Edward. Edward looked good. It seemed he had finally grown into himself. As though this new role he had stepped into was just for him. He looked more confident. It was a really good look on him – as if he had found some sort of peace with himself and his past. Étienne wondered what that could be like.

He’d been a fool. A right old fool at that. And now he found himself in uncharted waters.

He’d gone and fallen for Edward’s easy charm and warm smile. Fallen for his witty remarks and sharp sense of humour. For all his little idiosyncrasies that made him so unique and special to his eyes. Edward was (had been? Was?) one of his oldest friends and modern technology had allowed them to develop an intimacy unparallel to what they had known for so long. For decades and centuries they had exchanged letters, waiting for weeks and months on end to hope for a response and Étienne had kept each and every one of those letters. They were placed in chronological order, protected and archived for his own personal perusal. Sometimes, he read them over and glossed his finger over the careful words Edward had written. They’d kept it up when the telephone had made its appearance, more out of habit than anything else, but it had felt familiar. They’d grown closer and had defied the imposed distance of their lands to be together – carved out time for one another. Étienne had believed that this would be it. That together, they’d face this hell they’d been thrown in.

It hadn’t worked out. Obviously.

By the time he’d calmed down and figured out on what foot to dance, too much time had passed and deep down he’d been hurt and upset that Edward hadn’t reached out. Every day that passed made it ever so harder for him to jump back – to pick up from where they had left off, until the gap grew bigger and bigger until a maelstrom stood where the roots of their friendship had once been. But Edward was one of his oldest and most cherished friends.

Étienne had had his fair share of lovers over the years, but few very close friends. And he’d realised that above everything else, the one thing he really and truly missed was the easy friendship. He missed Edward his friend. Missed being able to talk to him about anything and everything. Missed the crazy adventures they went on. Missed how easy it was to breathe when he was around him. Missed hearing Edward laugh without restraint.

He’d be okay never having another one of Edward’s kissed.

He wouldn’t be okay never being able to be with Edward ever again.

“You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself,” For a moment Étienne thought for sure that he had imagined Edward speak, but the small flush on his cheeks was enough to tell him otherwise – maybe Edward still knew how to read him like a book after all, “I should start heading back, break is almost over,” Étienne nodded and Edward got up, took a step in the other direction and then paused, hesitating, “You don’t have to be such a stranger, you know?”

Étienne pondered those words long and hard, wondering what they could mean, “Maybe I’ll write to you, then.” He ventured and Edward laughed, maybe a little sad, maybe a little empty.

“Maybe you can send an e-mail, if ever you wanted to get an earlier response,” Edward left him with those words and Étienne was left pondering them. Maybe he would take Edward up on that offer. Maybe he would send a postcard, just to change things up. But maybe he would send that e-mail.

Maybe it would be a hint that he was changing as well.

#pc: montreal #pc: edmonton #Edward Murphy #étienne maisonneuve #fic #you mean this isn't an au?!?!?!#yup that's righ #ehh what did i use to tag these as lamao #dumb idea that's been floating around in my head

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gateruner · 7 years ago

Text

So this is a personal rambling of sorts. More me just trying to work out what to do about work.

I’ve been on this assignment now for about 7 weeks. And I’ve had extremely trying days and some great days. No job is perfect, never will be. But I have to say this assignment hasn’t been what I had envision.

Again, that’s not to say it’s bad. But I had this idea that I would have all this free time and be able to relax and enjoy my time away. So far that has not been the case. At all.

I work 40-45 hours a week. And I honestly have to say this is the hardest I’ve ever worked in my entire life. I’m no stranger to working on my feet, I did the retail thing for several years so that’s not what I mean exactly. It’s hours upon hours of doing tedious tasks that require the utmost attention.

Sure it can get repetitive, but the mental focus and acuity is so much greater. I can’t just zone out and go with the flow. I have to assess and review every test result before I release them and that gets very draining after a while.

So after 8-10 hours on my feet, non stop workflow, I’m utterly exhausted at the end of the day. There are some days I don’t get a break, no meal break or even a 15 minute break. I have to set stuff down and run off to go to the bathroom as quickly as I can sometimes.

Now, given everything I just said, I do still LOVE my job. I love what I do. I enjoy getting to see new cases and learn new things. I had much rather be so busy I can’t sit down than staring at the walls (and yes I did have that problem some days at my last job).

But I didn’t expect the work schedule. I had first thought I would work 3 12-hour shifts a week. Giving me 4 days a week off. But I work 5 8-hour shifts (3PM-11:30PM), rotating every 3rd week for weekends. On the weekends I’m off the Fri/Mon around it and work 12-hour night shifts (6PM-6AM).

It burns my week and all my free time. Like now, here I am at almost 2 am awake and writing this because I get home from work at midnight and need some time to wind down before I go to sleep. Plus it’s the only time I do have to get online or write or do much of anything.

I keep trying to find ways to maximize my time. I know if I would eat better, I would feel better. But I don’t cook much because hello, when?! And I don’t have time to exercise either.

Anyway, the point of all this is that I’ve been asked to renew my contract. My initial contract ends on December 16. I had already planned to go home and spend Christmas on vacation and find another assignment to begin after the first of the New Year.

Apparently they are willing to work with that at this hospital and grant me that time off. I would extend another 13 weeks and that would end on March 17.

I can’t decide what to do. There are days I’m utterly frustrated with the place. But I can see that things are trying to change. They are getting more staff, working to have better coverage, so I want to give it a chance but I can’t take 13 weeks of the same shit.

No, my schedule wouldn’t change but having a full time supervisor should help and additional people on each shift as well. But what if it doesn’t?

Add to that the fact that it is harder to find positions at the first of the year because well, everyone else is doing the same thing. Taking the holidays off and starting to travel again in January.

A bird in the hand, and all that. At least I do know if I stay here I have a set job after the first of the year. And I do have my holiday time off. I just wonder if I can make it. Or what would I miss if I didn’t look elsewhere.

I had hoped by now that I would have found my rhythm here. A balance of work and relaxation. But I am nowhere near that. Maybe I can still find it. I hope.

The time off for the Convention was fun but it was such a whirlwind event between driving and the actual convention that I never had time to relax.

I don’t know. I’m rambling......

I just want to be happy. Is that too much to ask?

#life #life of a mlt #travel tech #lab tech #travel jobs

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karrista · 8 years ago

Text

The last time she ever saw daylight.

Karrista sat down on the edge of one of the two beds as Lady Bethiloch left the farmhouse. She buried her face in her hands and shivered, trying to get the mental image burned in her retinas to fade. The sound of a succubus shifting out of stealth followed by the door locking caused her to look up. Her Felhunter chirped playfully as it settled by the door and curled up.

The sound of sharp clicking steps brought her attention to the spine-chilling raven-haired goddess approaching. Karrista’s eyes brightened briefly before narrowing on the dozing Felhunter and it’s magic sensing tendrils sticking straight up like abyssal flowers in the breeze. “A little warning would have been nice.”

“Now now Darling, it knows exactly what I’m here for, that I’m no threat.” Arabella sauntered across the living area towards Karrista. The intent in her eyes was clear, her ruby red lips curled into a seductive smile.

Karrista let out the breath she was holding and sat up, planting her hands behind her, arms locked. She couldn’t help the grin that appeared on her face. “And I suppose you’re going to lecture me about relaxing and letting down my guard?”

"Lecture, no, I was thinking something more interactive. We can talk afterwards.” Arabella stood in front of Karrista, looking down to her for a moment. She lowered herself astride Karrista’s lap and draped her arms around her shoulders. Fingers delicately undid both Karrista’s hair band and the clasp on her veil.

Karrista’s breath caught in her throat at the beauty before her. She brought her hands up her thighs, playing with the straps holding her stockings. Even in human form, Arabella was stunning. “A lecture doesn’t seem to be good pillow talk.” Karrista brought one hand to tangle in Arabella’s hair. “Shut up and ki...” Karrista pulled Arabella against her, lips crashing together. The kiss was chaste for a brief moment before she took advantage of the greatest Sayaad secret. The soul-draining kiss inflicted by a succubus had a single weakness, a soul given freely.

A kiss between sisters was more than just a kiss, it was as close to a mating as succubi came. Body, mind, and soul joined from the first touch to that last burst of pleasure. Clothing was discarded and bare bodies tangled within linen sheets. Barely twenty minutes after it started, the pair lay alongside each other, catching their breaths.

Arabella’s expression turned wary for a moment as she watched the half-human beside her. She let a hand drape on Karrista’s hip. Worry played on her features, nervous the younger warlock would take their moment with a human, not Sayaad meaning. “Darling, I think we should have a tal...”

Karrista elbowed Arabella in the breast with more than a little force. “Nuh uh, no talk, this was just the moment, keeping warm on a cold night.” She looked over her shoulder to the raven-haired vixen behind her. The smile and spark in her eyes told Arabella that Karrista knew exactly what she was doing, and what it meant.

A playful grimace formed on her cheeks. Arabella rubbed the tender breast, certain a bruise would appear shortly. She looked to Karrista and narrowed her eyes in a sensual predatory glare. A moment passed before she pounced, sending the pair tumbling off the bed and into another passionate round. “You can learn to let go.”

Karrista’s attention was broken by the sound of a howling wolf in the distance. She struggled against Arabella’s thighs and controlling hands, lifting her head to gaze along Arabella’s bucking body. “If I known you would howl like a wolf, I’d have brought some furs.”

“That wasn’t me silly darling.” Arabella’s words came between ragged moans. “And you’re not finished.” She pulled sharply on Karrista’s hair, tightening her grip and forcing her back to her center.

Karrista lay sprawled out on the bed, covers long since lost elsewhere in the room. Her attempts to recover her breath was interrupted by bright giggles. Glistening with sweat, she looked to Arabella’s back, moving one relaxed hand to rake her nails along her back.

Arabella arched her body with a throaty growl. “Oh I had no idea you could move like that, I swear you were vibrating.”

"That wasn’t me, that was all you.” Karrista laughed as she reached for Arabella’s side.

Arabella turned to face Karrista, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “I know what I felt...”

A bright chattering from the window-sill attracted the attention of both ladies. A gleaming mechanical squirrel made a gesture of tipping his hat, the mechanical sounds unintelligible to either. Cheers ladies, thanks for the fun!.

Karrista let out a loud screech of surprise, sitting up suddenly and flinging a pillow at the Squirrel before it could flee into the moonlight. “RUSTY YOU PERVERT!!!”

Arabella fell back on the bed, letting out a throaty, full body laugh. Karrista’s death-glare softened as she broke into a similar laughter and settled back against Arabella. “Fourteen vibration settings...”

Arabella nodded in agreement. “Various speeds an intensities...” Her laughter quieted and the grin became carnal, bordering on feral. She rolled on top of Karrista and grabbed her wrists, pinning her down.

The moon was halfway between zenith and horizon by the time the pair exhausted themselves. Arabella lay behind Karrista, arms around her waist, face buried in Karrista’s neck. Her breathing was steady and low, in time with Karrista’s. Already unconscious, her legs shifted along side Karrista’s under the warm covers.

Karrista remained awake for a little while longer, reflecting on the day and night’s events. She hoped that Arabella understood how much this night meant, and not in a romantic or intimate sense. That she was free to let go without fear of hurting someone. Those moments where she could explore herself helped her get comfortable with the fact she had the same desires, hungers, and feelings as the succubus spooning her. She rested a hand on Arabella’s hands, fingers linking. She closed her eyes and let herself drift off with a smile on her face.

It was hard to admit things to others, harder to admit it to herself, but damn it all if it wasn’t worth it.

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j-eliasepp · 8 years ago

Photo

Reality Leak

By: J. Elias Epp

Illustration By: Atomiiii

(I don’t own any rights to the picture and am only using it for my hobby writing purposes)

Yapo eyed the formation of soldiers. A ray of the setting sun shone between the skyscrapers and warmed him against the cool wind. His computer relayed a quick count of the soldier’s total into his vision. “Spider Five to Para-Web Ten.”

Cysten’s voice whispered into Yapo’s earpiece. “Para-Web Ten, go ahead Spider Five.” “Today’s toy count is one-hundred forty.”

“Copy Spider Five. You can go home now.”

“Copy.” Yapo quietly retreated across the rooftop. Something sticky sucked at his boot. He wrinkled his nose at the sweet stench coming from an overflowing trashcan. He shook his head.

Update 9.24.2 of Urba-Scape had just launched yesterday. One of its touted features was the improved realism of smells.

Yapo curled his lip and lightly descended the emergency fire staircase on the outside of the building. “There’s such a thing as too much realism,” he muttered.

He left the warm ray of the sun’s light and descended into cool shadows. His eyes grew accustomed to the darkness and he surveyed the narrow alley below him. Computer-generated characters walked to and fro between the buildings. A couple of bums warmed themselves next to a trashcan fire. The alley was littered with every kind of refuse some poor artist had worked for hours to make look realistic.

Yapo’s eyes were elsewhere though. A quick look at the people showed that there wasn’t any other players like himself waiting for him below.

He climbed down from the staircase and walked out of the alley and into a bustling street. A mini-map showed his location in the corner of his vision, as well as a waypoint marker showing the way back to his clan’s base.

Yapo’s phone rang and he answered with a snap of his fingers. Cysten’s voice chirped up in Yapo’s ear. “Alright, I’m done gaming for tonight but I can wait for you to get back to the base. Were you able to level up today?”

Yapo eyed his progress bar. “No,” he said irritably, “their mechanics are totally jacked. I could have leveled up three times in any other game by now.”

Cysten sighed. “Yeah, I hear they plan on fixing that in the next update. If you don’t like it then don’t play. I only asked you to buy it with me cuz my clan was leaving Twice-Life and needed more people to join.”

Yapo checked behind him, looking in the crowed for anyone tailing him. Then he checked the rooftops. “You’re fine man, I think its my role in the clan. Being the scout every time just gets boring. I mean seriously, just let me ruin their plans every once in blue moon and allow me to infiltrate a base, or I don’t know, steal something or snipe somebody. I’ve been sinking experience points into the Infiltrator tree since Day One and have barely used any of my skills.”

Cysten chuckled. “At least they pay you good.”

Yapo scoffed. “If it didn’t help pay my real-life rent, I’d have left them long ago and become a spy for hire.”

“Oh come on! There are gamers who would kill to make actual money from gaming!”

Yapo’s mouth quirked into a smile as he slipped into a sewage drain. “I don’t think they know there’s a difference between gaming for fun and gaming for a job. I bet you anything none of them have even thought about making a base in the sewers, especially with the latest update.”

Cysten laughed. “Awesome man, awesome. Dude, I hear we ticked off some small clan for enforcing protection money on one of their stores. They were totally gung-ho about taking us on until they made it into the sewers. Turned back right then and there.”

Yapo chuckled. He made his way along the drain in a crouch, doing his best to avoid dubious lumps in the running water. “I don’t blame them.” He jumped down into a larger drain and stood up. From there it was only a short way to the locked iron grate that shut their temporary listening post off from the rest of the sewers.

“Be sure to rinse off your boots!” Cysten yelled from the darkness inside the grate.

Yapo washed his boots off with what he guessed was a hose that was usually used by maintenance crews. Then he unlocked the grate and closed it behind him. The rust clung to him and he brushed it off on his pants.

“I still don’t see how you managed to get ahold of the keys to this place.” Yapo walked around the pipe’s corner and ducked his head through an open door that was usually sealed. Inside were all sorts of sewage maintenance tools and machines lit by the blue light of Cysten’s monitors.

“Magic, hey, check this out.” Cysten turned his blonde moppy head for only a moment before looking back at the screen.

Yapo leaned on the back of Cysten’s chair, by what means he had gotten down into the sewers was beyond Yapo. On one of Cysten’s monitors was a live streaming of a news conference.

The headline read; Laughing Clown Games CEO Announces Efforts to Combat Perception of Reality in his most Realistic Game.

Yapo’s mouth quirked into a smile. “What?”

“Shh, listen.”

“…have to ask,” a news reporter was saying, “why go to so much effort to make Urba-Scape realistic if you’re just going to ruin that perception?”

The CEO set his lips in a grim line. “There is a difference between making it easy for players to immerse themselves in a game through realism and causing them to lose their perception of what is real. Our company hopes to implement several policies into our games that will still allow for their enjoyment while ensuring our customers experience a wholesome lifestyle.”

“What policies will those be?”

“We are planning to implement two of the policies tomorrow. One will place a hard limit on continuous gameplay to an hour and a half. A player will get a thirty-minute warning to come to a stopping point before they are forcefully logged out of the system. After that, they will have to be out-of-game for thirty minutes before they can rejoin.”

“The second policy will be periodic notifications in-game stating that they are in a virtual world and reminders to take food and water breaks. We believe that it is important to ensure the healthy lifestyle of our customers and…”

Yapo nudged Cysten’s shoulder. “Seriously? They’re going to limit our game time like we’re children?”

Cysten shook his head in disbelief. “Dang it. You know what this means? It probably means our clan is going to move over to something like Dream-Life 6 when it comes out. I hear VT Games won’t implement restrictions on their virtual games like Laughing Clown.”

“Really?! Are you serious?” Yapo threw his hands in the air. “Whatever, they want to be like that then they won’t have me as a customer. Just….whatever, I’m done for the day.”

“See ya.”

“Yep, I’m logging out. I’m done for the day.”

Cysten turned and looked at him, frowning. “Logging out?”

Yapo was already heading around the bend. “Yep! See ya tomorrow!”

Cysten gave a small laugh. “Yeah, sure, I’ll go log out too.” He shook his head. “You’re so funny,” he said to himself.

***

Yapo reached his apartment an hour later after filling up his hunger and thirst bar at a nearby fast food joint. He tried to walk as quietly along the hallway as possible, but his neighbor still cussed him out as the floorboards creaked.

Yapo shook his head and stomped the rest of the way to his door. “Why do I even try?” he mumbled. The carpet of the hallway was nearly worn through in front of his door. He walked in and locked the door behind him. Only then did he relax.

He cleaned himself up, brushed his teeth and took care of a few chores around his apartment.

He turned the TV on to a news channel out of habit and let it run in the background while he did chores around his apartment.

The newscasters talked about the controversy surrounding L.I.F.E. recorders. The topic of the day was a study done by a group of scientists on how Heads Up Displays projected into one’s vision affected a person’s perception of reality. The study showed that those who used the technology to keep track of their eating, drinking and learning status were more likely to lose their grasp of reality.

Hunger and thirst status bars, especially life experience bars were all there to help promote healthy living. However, the scientists disagreed that it helped the mental stability of users.

Yapo didn’t hear a word of it as he plugged his L.I.F.E recorder into its charger and proceeded to begin washing dishes.

It was already late when Yapo turned on his favorite television show and sat on the edge of his bed.

The character he’d made in this world had a robotic arm and leg. While they were useful for his work, they had drawbacks. By rote, as he watched the television he took off his robotic leg, then the harness that cushioned what remained of his thigh. He massaged the muscles and tissue, making sure blood was getting to all parts. Then, he cleaned his leg of all the grime it had collected during the day.

By the time he was done cleaning his arm it was time for bed.

He sat on the edge of his bed looking at the floor for some time. Suddenly, he roused himself and lay back on his bed. He took a slim helmet with a cord attached to it from his nightstand and put it on his head. “Time to log out,” he whispered. He closed his eyes.

A light lit up words upon the helmet.

URBA-SCAPE

Note from the Author:

This is a writing exercise I’ve been wanting to do for some time. One of the things that I love to do is think of the possible repercussions of future technologies. This story is part of an idea I had for a character and plot line. The idea is about a character who struggles with his perception of the world because of the technology of virtual reality.

I don’t know about any of you guys, but I love and am leery of the idea of virtual reality. It can be used in healthy ways or destructive ways.

#jeliasepp #shortstory #scifi #virtual reality #video games #my writing #character #future #fiction #writing exercise

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topicprinter · 6 years ago

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I have a few projects / small businesses I run and I've had issues staying consistent on their social media channels. This has to an extent held back some of the projects after good initial growth. A part of that is getting through the honeymoon period and staying motivated but I think there's a few other things I was doing that started to act as a barrier to consistency.Some people seem to thrive on social media and enjoy using it both personally and for their business. They’re predisposed to reaching for their camera or their phone, they’re energised by the effort and attention instead of being drained by it. If that sounds like you, you probably don’t need to read this post! Social media just feels more like work to me. It just doesn't come naturally.That’s compounded by the fact that I value privacy and being present in the moment over sharing publicly in my personal life.. values which are becoming more and more out of place in this modern world. If I could delete all my social media, live comfortably, and surf every day, I would! But that doesn’t gel with running a small business or the way I do live my life so I have to find a balance.So having said that, this post is as much about ways I’ve found to help me stay consistent on my business’s social media channels as it is about ways to avoid it consuming your life and time.What’s the goal of your social media marketingIt’s for your business right? The goal is to make money. You need your audience to buy your products or service.Buuuut, social media is playing the long game. The number one function of social media for a business is to build a relationship with its audience. And it’s hard to build a relationship if you’re always trying to sell them something.You want your audience to have a good feeling about your brand and get to know and trust you, so that when they need or are in a position to buy what you’re selling then they will come to you.Why social media consistency is important for your businessYou are trying to cultivate relationships. I’m sure you have that friend or acquaintance who you don’t hear from for months on end and then hear from out of the blue and they ask you for something.. how do you feel about that person at that moment? That is why social media consistency is important above all else. Don’t make your business that person.Your audience is bombarded by advertisements and information all the time. There are other businesses and distractions always fighting for your audience’s attention. Keeping on top of social media keeps you in the front of your audience’s minds.There’s an old adage in marketing called the Rule of 7 which states that a business has to reach its customers seven times before they’ll take action and buy. The number isn’t important but the idea that you have to have consistent positive contact with your potential customers is.To stay consistent is to stay relevant, and to present as reliable. So, without further ado, here are some things I’ve learned.Don’t put too much pressure on yourself for quality and perfectionA big problem I had with my social accounts for my surf photography business is that I set the bar for content too high. I was only posting images that I was ready to print and sell. It was a vicious cycle because I’d feel like I’d created an expectation in my audience for the type and quality of content that I would post and I felt pressure to live up to it.This meant I wouldn’t post photos taken with my phone or other content I could create and share quickly and easily, even though I’m sure those kinds of posts would have contributed to the goal of building a relationship with my audience.I still want to post quality content, but I’ve realised that that can come in different forms. This lets me relax and have fun with it a lot more.Only use as many social media channels as you can handleThere are so many platforms. In an ideal world, your business would be present and active on them all to make sure you reach aaaall your potential customers. But if it’s just you behind the scenes, it’s not realistic. Social media can be a full-time job and you’ve other business tasks to focus on, never mind actually having personal time too!It’s made worse if you have multiple projects. I run surfpreneur.co, a surf photography business, I’m a surf and SUP instructor, and I do a couple other things.. At first, I was determined to have separate social accounts for all my projects. That quickly adds up. Am I going to run three Instagram and Twitter accounts, two Facebook business pages, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat…? Absolutely not! It’s overwhelming.I’m lucky that most of the things I do online are related and can be grouped together in a ‘personal brand’, so I’ve recently changed my strategy to mainly running only one Facebook business page and one Instagram account. I’d rather be able to focus on one or two channels and give them the attention and effort they need than to spread myself thin over multiple channels and end up neglecting them all.Instagram is most relevant to my core audience. I’d be quite happy just using it.Make coming up with post ideas a breezeEver get the feeling that you should post something but you don’t know what so you give it a few seconds thought and then put it back on the to-do list to be ignored for another day? I do the easy stuff on the list first and then procrastinate instead of doing the difficult tasks. But I still feel like I’ve accomplished something! You know..It’s all about making it easy. I have a list of different post types for my social channels that I can mix up and have a constant variety of different post ideas. For example, my Instagram account’s list is:Prints on the wall / customer photosQuality water photographsLifestyle phone photos (behind the scenes)GoPro clips of surfingPhotos taken of me surfingI combine having a list of different post types with keeping an eye on competitors and industry leaders in my niche for inspiration on how they use social media. I’m never stuck for ideas!It’s also a good idea to keep a couple posts in reserve so if you’re having a slow week (normally for me when there are no waves), you’ll still have something to post.Make it as easy as possible to make a postIf you make posting on social media easy you’re more likely to actually do it. We’ve all got our phones on us all the time, so if you’re not setting a restrictively high bar on quality you can have a convenient and quick process from idea to post.For phone photos, I do a quick edit on my phone using Snapseed and then post directly to Instagram. I’ll do the same for Facebook. I have a Twitter account but it’s not my favourite platform by a long way so I’ve set up a Zapier process to automate posting my Instagram posts to Twitter. I don’t think this is ideal but if it means I post more and spend less time on social media then I’ll take it! I can still make posts unique to Twitter if I have a post that suits that platform better (like blog posts!).You can make use of other online tools to make the process easier as well depending on your needs. I’ve used Buffer in the past and I found it helpful for scheduling posts on multiple platforms in advance.Once your post is done, it’s doneI can’t help it. When I post something I’ll check over and over on how it’s being received. Likes, comments, shares. Refresh. Likes, comments, shares. I’m trying hard not to do this.It’s worth remembering that when it’s done it’s done. It’s just one social post in a constant stream of thousands of posts all over the world. There are apparently 500 million Tweets sent each day or 6000 every second.I like to think of Twitter as a big theatre completely filled with people all screaming their opinions out and ignoring everyone else.Just let it go and get on with something else!Keep a schedule / content calendarThis is something I’ve not yet committed to for social media as my channels are more in the vein of a ‘personal brand’. I’m getting away with posting whenever I have shareable content from the various things I do. But it would allow the right kind of small business to set aside a little time every week or month to schedule all their social posts at once. That would be a significant timesaver and almost guarantee consistency.Consider hiring someone to helpAt the end of the day, you can spend as much or as little time on social media as you like. But to do it well, spending more time intelligently is the way forward. If your business or project is making money it’s worth considering the cost of the time you spend updating your social media channels. Could you spend your time better elsewhere? It could well be worth hiring a freelancer to do some or all the work for you. But then you’d have to give up some control..As small business owners, we often have a perfectionist, almost obsessive, personality type. We do all the work and make everything happen ourselves. We are extremely invested in our own success. Combine that with social media and you have a dangerous combination when it comes to mental health. Find a balance that suits you.Here’s an interesting piece from Forbes about social media fatigue in small business owners.This was originally a blog post which you can read in full here if you are interested: https://surfpreneur.co/stay-consistent-social-media-marketing/Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you've found this helpful. This is a problem I'm always battling with as I'm not really a social media person. I see it as a necessary evil as opposed to a guilty pleasure or anything like that.I'd love to hear different opinions on how you folks deal with social media fatigue or burnout and stay consistent? Cheers!

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

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peace-coast-island · 4 years ago

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Diary of a Junebug

Having a whale of a great time!

Scuba diving in the Crystal Blue Lagoon? Check. Collecting pearl oysters and whatever else lies at Sea Glass Shores. Check. Crafting a bunch of cool floaties and braving the Shimmering Whirlpool? Check and check. Riding whales towards the sunset? Check!

Vacationing at the Sparkle Islands has been exactly what I needed! It's nice meeting up with Lenie again as well as Nico and Dewey. The Fairweathers have been taking a break from recording and performing so they've been focusing on adventuring and solo endeavors.

I can't believe that Lenie's a college senior now - where did the time go? Jimmy's busy with family stuff so that's why he's not with us. It feels like forever since I last saw him - but that's what video chats are for! Also, his kids are adorable and I'm glad to finally meet them as well as his husband. Nico's been globe trotting as usual, full of fun and exciting stories to tell us. Dewey's been taking it easy, trying to create a better work-life balance after taking on too much last year.

So far their break has been going really well. With everything going on in their personal lives, they could really take some time off. Artist's block sucks but sometimes there's nothing you can really do about it other than wait it out and focus on other things. Creativity can be finicky, especially when you've got other things on your mind like responsibilities, burnout, or a busy schedule.

I've been in a bit of a creative slump as well. From running events at the camp to personal life stuff getting in the way, I've been feeling off this past week. Like I can't relax because I have a million things running in my mind. If I'm expecting a call or email I find myself unable to focus on anything else because I'm too busy mentally preparing for having to do something that makes me nervous and often drained at the end.

Fortunately, I managed to get pretty much all the boring and stressful adulting stuff out of the way. But after spending most of last week being on edge, it's hard to fall back into my normal rhythm. I've been kinda on autopilot, just trying to get through the day. Up until a couple days ago I've been feeling pretty meh most of the time.

Usually, to de-stress, I turn to art. Doodling, journaling, knitting - whatever creative medium I'm in the mood for. But when you're in an art block, it causes more stress. As someone who's been journaling for years, there will be times when you've hardly touched your notebook in days, weeks, and even months. I have to say, though, since running the camp I've been journaling in a somewhat regular basis - especially when I started incorporating art journaling into it - but I still have times when I'm just not feeling it.

Sometimes getting your feelings out on paper doesn't help, especially when you don't have the words to explain exactly how you feel without it sounding forced or an incomprehensible mess of words. There are times when I want to write about something but the words just don't come out right, so I end up scrapping the whole thing. And of course, there are times when I want to write about something that's been on my mind, only to end up rambling about something else and going off on that tangent.

Then there are times when your mind is so fogged up that you come up completely empty. Up until today, I've been head full of fog, thoughts completely empty. Still kinda feels like that, to be completely honest, but the fog's slowly clearing up. I think the whale ride really helped with that.

As someone who believes a change of scenery and a good distraction helps when life takes a lot of out you, I find that I have a hard time following my own advice. I'm all about taking time to forget your troubles and worries for a bit, but yet I'm having difficulty doing so. I don't know why, but I always find it difficult to completely let loose - like I let myself have fun but at the same time my worries are always there in the back of my mind. It's like I'm subconsciously telling myself to have fun, but not too much fun. As much as I want to let go, there's a part of me that holds on, making me afraid to let myself fall freely.

What's the point in telling people to escape their troubles for a bit when I can't even do that without feeling like I'm doing something wrong? It's not that I don't know how to have fun - though it's taken a lot longer for me to catch on than most people - but sometimes it feels forced. I don't know, it's always something I've struggled with - at least compared to most of my peers growing up. Maybe part of it comes from being a convenient person - one who doesn't ask for much, someone who doesn't go out of their way to bring attention to themselves - the kind of person who tags along and is just there.

It's kinda like I don't know exactly how to have fun. Sort of like I'm second guessing myself by wondering, "Is this what having fun feels like? Am I doing it right? Is this enough?" and of course, that totally defeats the purpose of escaping and letting go.

I have to say, being at the camp as helped a lot in terms of teaching me how to live in the moment and enjoy the good times to the fullest. It's still a bit of a new concept for me, but at least I'm coming out of my shell - and that's what counts. Maybe I'll never be as carefree as some people - I've been told that I'm kinda low-key and serious by nature - and I'm okay with that. Sometimes I wish that I could be a bit more vocal and expressive and active, but most of the time I'm happy with being an observer and doing my own thing in the background.

It was Chai and Rhonda's idea to visit the Sparkle Islands. It was on the list for a while but for the past year the islands were undergoing a lot of reconstruction so a lot of places were closed. Leyla, who's one of the princesses of the islands, was behind a lot of the restoration and repair of various sites.

Turns out that I just missed her when we visited Maron Heights to watch our friends perform in After Hours at the Opera. Because she was so busy getting the islands back in shape, she dropped by to see the show the night before we came and went back home the next morning.

Like with Kat, Hawk, AJ, and Elara, Leyla's been going through a bunch of changes as well now that things are settling down. Aside from rebuilding the islands, Leyla's getting reacquainted with her mom Archer, who disappeared about twenty years ago in a disaster that left part of the main island in shambles for years. Having her back is still a huge adjustment for Leyla and her momma Rosie as she missed out on a lot. Leyla and Kat are pretty much on the same page when it comes to reuniting with a parent who was presumed dead for most of their lives. Despite the initial awkwardness, things are going well.

As for Leyla, a heated reunion between her moms led to an unexpected surprise - three actually. In about five months their little family of three will double in size. While her moms are terrified, Leyla's at the point where she's fully looking forward to having three new siblings. Sure, it'll be tough as her moms are out of practice with taking care of a baby (or babies). The way Leyla sees it, the 20 + age difference is more of an advantage because she can easily help take care of the babies as her moms will definitely be overwhelmed.

So along with overseeing the islands, Leyla's been helping Rosie take care of Archer, who's on strict bedrest. Archer's doing okay for the most part but the pregnancy has taken a toll on her, especially since there's a high potential for complications. Now with reconstruction almost done - about 98% according to Leyla - she has been spending a lot of time with her moms.

It was by chance that we ran into Lenie and her brothers as well as Leyla and her moms. Leyla's been dropping by to check in on us but it wasn't until today she joined us on a fun filled day of crafting floaties and riding whales. Rosie insisted that Leyla take a well deserved break and invited us for dinner when we got back.

Crafting floaties was a lot of fun and so was diving in the Shimmering Whirlpool. It does take some getting used to though, and one should be a somewhat experienced swimmer as the currents can get quite unpredictable. A bit too rough for my liking at times - not a fan of being spun around quickly because motion sickness, ugh - but overall it was an interesting experience. Definitely more into crafting floaties though.

Maybe I would be more of a thrill seeker if I didn't get so dizzy easily. I can't even look at something spinning for more than half a minute without feeling a headache coming on.

Late afternoon and evening were much more chill, thankfully. Bubble tea, sandwiches, and ice cream at the beach. Building sandcastles and breaking open coconuts. Lying on a beach towel under an umbrella and watching the waves. It's hard to believe that a couple months ago this place was left in ruins.

The biggest highlight was the whale ride. Leyla set us up with some of her friends, who were more than happy to let us hop on and show us the ocean. And I have to say, it was an amazing experience!

For a moment, I was able to let go completely. No worries, no doubts, no second guessing myself. Just bliss and exhilaration. A rare moment in which I get to be in the moment instead of being aware that I'm living a memory that I'll be looking back on fondly someday. It's strange, to lose yourself like that and not feel... weird? Guilty? Disconnected? Like you're not enjoying it enough because a part of your mind is elsewhere.

Riding a whale towards a sunset - what a way to spend an evening! I guess my takeaway from this mind blowing experience is that I need to learn that a part of having fun is letting happiness come to you instead of forcing it or telling yourself that you should be enjoying this. I need to keep that in mind.

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #Diary of a Junebug #headcanon ramble

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