#bad thoughts did bad things that I got pushed to playing fruit ninja with a pen

[loving-delusions]

yurr crying alone in the dark ass living room hours✨

gonna rant the rest in the tags because yall might not wanna see me cry abt my problems again lmaoo

but tldr, im just feeling the equivalent of these pics

i arranged them just for u guys <3

and i cant fucking see the point in time when im gonna get better :)

[jay-cult]

Crying Over Coconuts

Seabound aftermath. Jay is sad. Zippy is an adorable puppy. ~3k. All you need to know.

Things had been silent back at the monastery, which had only started feeling emptier as a new sun rose the morning after the ceremony. It was clear time wasn't going to heal this wound for anyone. Jay had to move about. Every minute he had itched to do something, to walk through a door or around the monastery walls. Because if he didn't, he would have felt awful just sitting around depressed in the plaster cage that was his room. But maybe he had deserved to lay around feeling awful. Maybe he should have just let his bad thoughts reclaim him. But of course, he had been selfish.

And so, that day, he felt the need to just go somewhere. Wherever his legs would take him, his mind would follow. He strode out the monastery. Nobody said anything to him. They just let him walk out without saying a word. At some point, through some combination of acquiring the fixed up sub speeder and making his way to the docks, he found himself speeding through the sea. He didn't even know why he had decided to use that thing. He hated being in there.

Once he got far enough, Jay had a difficult time trying to navigate. His long, skinny fingers handled the controls on some sort of autopilot to an unknown place. He couldn’t concentrate. Instead, he stared at the sea around him, getting lost in its infinite depths. His 5-foot-6, bone-dominated body laid nicely in the cushioned seat, and it made Jay suddenly wish that he could feel numb. Due to the mechanic team’s efforts, the chair was comfortable, luxurious, even. He felt bad for feeling. He didn’t want to feel. Jay let out a shaky sigh; if only he couldn’t think.

Suddenly, the sea began to rush in harsh currents around him. Loud BOOMS from the sky echoed through the water, and bright purple flashes of light blinked in his vision every few seconds. It appeared his subconscious had taken him to the storm belt- now he knew where he was going. “Ah crap-!” He returned to his senses when a chunk of stone crashed into the waves beside him. He gripped hard back onto his controls, and the fast pace of the fearful moment allowed him to focus on twisting around the dangerous zones. And eventually, finally, he rounded the corner of a wave and his sub splashed out of the storm-protected part of the shore.

Jay’s panicked breathing slowed as he looked out at the familiar calm view of the island of the keepers. He began his course along the coastline, making his way towards the keepers’ village. He now realized just what he wanted, and why he was here.

The sub’s metal body broke the water’s surface as it arrived at the keepers’ dock. Numerous guards rushed up to do their check of the visitor. The boy’s head appeared as the hood creaked open, smiling nervously. He glanced from spear-wielding keeper to keeper. “Hey! Hey, look who’s come to visit! It’s me, Gift of Jay!” He gestured exaggeratingly to himself, grinning.

They lowered their spears and let Jay hop onto the wet wood of the dock. They looked at each other with hesitance in their eyes. One of them stepped forward. “Poultik is not here. He went out with a party of keepers on a sailing voyage to search for the lost storm amulet.”

“Oh, the two-headed guy who really likes me isn’t… here?” His expression started to fall.

“Few days, maybe,” the keeper replied. “But, urhm, we can help you, Gift of Jay! What brings you here?”

Jay smiled a bit, but then his face fell again. “Oh, well, I guess I’m here to bring some news,” he answered, realizing in the moment that they should probably know what happened. They started to look excited, but Jay shook his head. “No, no, bad news. Er, last you heard… The amulet in Shintaro was fake, and Ninjago City was going to be attacked. Well, it was attacked. There were a lot of civilian casualties. I would know, I almost drowned like the rest of them.”

The keepers’ expressions turned into frowns. “Oh, no,” the speaker stepped forward. “Is Ninjago City alright?”

Jay’s heart started feeling cold. “It is alright. We were safe. But we wouldn’t have been… and I wouldn’t be alive… if it wasn’t for Nya. She… she made a sacrifice. She’s gone.”

There was silence among the group, and the only thing that could be heard was the crash of the sea and the cry of a single gull above it. The keeper spoke up again. “Oh… she was your Yang, was she not?”

“Yeah,” Jay choked out simply.

The speaking keeper ordered a guard to bring the information to Chief Mammatus and told the rest to continue on with their duties. He bowed to Jay. “Well, Gift of Jay, if there is anything else you may need, call for Sungker. For now you may rest in the Gift Room until you need anything.”

“Thanks, Sungker.” The boy in blue reached up to give him a pat on the shoulder, and unexpectedly felt a little welcoming static from his skin.

-

After a ride on the pulley-operated platforms that he felt bad for enjoying, Jay sat on a stiff chair in the room. He had taken a platter filled with exotic foods and drinks and was completely stuffing his face, and as he was doing so, tears fell in dozens down his face. He couldn’t stand himself. Here he had come, selfishly wishing to be treated like a king, and his faithful servant(s?) wasn’t even here to pamper the great gift. And now he was sad about it, and he hated himself for it.

What was he going to do now? How else was he going to make his mind feel numb from pain, so the only thing he felt was uplifted, praised, happy? The League of Jay wasn’t necessarily an option, since they were caught up in their own damages from the city’s fall. Where else could he possibly go- to Murtessa and the Munce? He cringed at the thought. Though he knew he would be treated like royalty among their people, he couldn’t possibly betray Nya by basking in the attention of another woman who liked him. That would be pure cruelty; slander to her name and to their relationship. He chucked a half-eaten fruit at the floor aggressively, and its juice stained the wood. It rolled sadly into a crack.

Jay caught his reflection in the platter and stared at it angrily. His tear-worn face snarled back at him without hesitation, all emotions having been let loose. He stood up and set the platter down gently on the chair. He sniffed and dragged his knuckles across his freckled nose, now a menacing red. “I need to go for a walk,” he expressed shakily.

The inside of the room had been lit with electric lamps after the sky had gone dark. Jay left them going as he made his way to the door and slowly pulled it open. But instead of the view of the jungle he had expected to see from the deck, he was looking into the slitted eyes of a very sweaty beast. Its body pulsed back and forth with a pant, and its light green scales shimmered menacingly in the moonlight. In its huge mouth was a gently gripped, large, brown coconut.

“Oh, Zippy! The hell are you-?” The dragon nudged his snout into Jay's torso, pushing him back with the force. Zippy dropped the slimy fruit on the ground beside him and bowed like a dog.

Jay’s gloved hands picked up the nasty ball. “Not really the time for this right now, bud,” he said with a soft smile, giving Zippy a few pats on the head with the other hand. He reeled back his arm and then sent the coconut flying past their heads and over the railing, leaving bits of slobber behind from the velocity. Jay wiped his hand on his gi as he walked on the deck and around the corner, but once again came face-to-face with the reptile.

“I mean, what did I expect?” Jay sighed, comforted by the presence of the good-hearted creature. He was presented with the coconut once more, and acquired it in his arm before giving Zippy a good scratch under the jaw. This nearly sent the dragon crashing over the rail by the sheer force of his dropping and rolling from the pleasure of the scratching.

The slobber-stained ninja shook his head in amusement after a small bout of startled shock. “Maybe we should play somewhere a little safer, buddy,” he suggested.

Zippy followed Jay like he had a whole cooked chicken. Eventually, Jay was far enough from the village to feel safe from destroying it and, most importantly, to feel alone. He settled himself on a formation that jutted up above the trees, with a singular light blue flower growing on its ledge. He stood so that it was shielded by his legs, as if he were keeping it safe from Zippy’s reckless ruckus. From here he could clearly see the island’s unique sky. The violent storm twisted in a ring around the island’s shores, but in the middle it parted to reveal a sphere of the clear night. Though the stars were pretty, it was the moon that gave the world light, cut into a neat half and half- ironically called a quarter moon. One side light, one side dark as a sea trench.

Jay gave the fruit a good chuck into the trees below, and Zippy rather ungracefully dove into the jungle to give chase. He realized how good it felt to throw something with such great force at the moment. Jay gazed a bit at the hands that had done it all, from the throwing to the fighting. They were settled in flexible gloves cut at the fingers, which had not been washed for days; gloves which had usually gotten such good care when possible.

Zippy returned back with the coconut in due time. “You know,” Jay said, patting Zippy’s nose, “I always wondered why they called it a coconut when botanically, it’s a fruit.”

The dragon tilted his head, confused at the boy’s matter-of-fact tone. But soon enough he forgot and began spinning in circles, begging for the sacred fruit-fetching ritual to continue to take place.

Jay threw again, laughing at his antics. He envied how simply the creature perceived things, with a brain and heart so, well, simple. It must have been easy living simply. All you needed to do was munch the plentiful fruit of the isle, amuse yourself with a ball, and make friends with everyone you came across.

When Zippy returned from a few more tosses, Jay put his hands on his knees, starting to really breathe a bit. “I think that’s enough for me for now,” he said. The beast gave him big puppy eyes, noticing the tire in his tone, but Jay did not relent. He turned to head back to the village, but the dragon settled into the ground quickly in a curve that blocked him. Zippy shifted his head into his claws, seemingly happy to take a break himself.

“Well, I guess I could stay a little while,” Jay decided, plopping himself into a safe spot against the dragon’s body. His thin legs still surrounded the patch of grass that the flower was growing from. He guessed he developed some sort of attachment to the little thing.

The ninja suddenly heard a deep resounding crack beside him, and the grunts of a confused Zippy. “Huh?” He twisted over to see what was happening, and within seconds, he understood. The dragon snorted and began shaking his head and spitting, sending sticky bits of fruit flying from left to right. Zippy hadn’t been paying attention to the pressure he was putting on the coconut while he was resting, and his powerful jaw had crushed the thing to smithereens.

“No, Zippy! But the coconut! It was yours… it’s all gone now!” For reasons inexplicable to him, Jay’s face started suddenly scrunching again, ugly wetness trickling endlessly from his eyes. “Now what are we gonna do? I-” he sniffed- “you broke it!”

Zippy pressed his head against Jay’s side gently, not forcefully careless like before. The dragon sighed slowly, a peaceful sound reminiscent of a comforting whisper. Jay grabbed onto the sides of his face and pressed himself against his forehead, tears seeping into his scaly skin. The boy erupted into full out sobs, letting himself go in the openness of the wild jungle. And nobody saw him except for that simple creature.

After a hefty fifteen minutes, Zippy must have sensed a steady increase of calming from Jay’s crying, and removed his head from against him. He gave Jay a sloppy couple of licks across his face, possibly hoping to make him cleaner.

“I’m- I’m really sorry, boy,” Jay forced out between decreasing sniffs. He placed his hand gently on Zippy’s chin. “I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I mean, yeah, I’m going through some stuff, b-but… a coconut?”

The dragon gently pushed the boy onto the ground, and curled himself neatly up around him and the flower. He gave Jay an understanding look, no judgement in his gaze. Just sympathy. His tail flicked gently in the grass, making a nice brushing sound. After being seated, Jay rested one of his hands on Zippy’s nose and rustled the other into a pocket in his gi. He slid out his shiny half of his charm, his Yin promise, and turned it slowly in his hand. He watched the moonlight glint on its surface and flicker at the edges as he moved it.

“I just want her back,” he lamented softly.

The creature raised his scale-touched nose and sniffed the metal charm with his big nostrils. His curious eyes crossed to give it a good look.

“Yeah, I know, it looks like just a thing,” Jay said, “but I tell ya, it’s special. I helped make it. It’s really important…” he started to bittersweetly tell the story of how their Yin-Yang charms were made, and the entire crisis that was the proposal. “I know, I know, on the edge of a battle, right? But I thought I wouldn’t’ve gotten any other chance! Besides, it was cool. Suspenseful. It was like we were in a love story.”

He fell silent again for a moment, listening only to the hum of jungle bugs. He sighed again. “I guess the best love stories do always end in tragedy.”

Zippy let out a sympathetic moan, comforting Jay’s emotional state. Jay shifted his gaze back to the clouds above the sea. “I’m always gonna hold up my end of the promise, though. No matter what. I’m never gonna give up on her, Zippy. Even if things don’t ever go back.”

The dragon grunted his approval.

“Still, though. I just can’t help it. I’m always staring at the water, with super unreasonable expectations. And then I get so hopeful, and then I get let down, until I’m staring hopelessly into a pool of my own tears.” He dug his face into his knees. “It’s abysmal. I’m sorry. You’re the only pers- er, thing- I’ve talked about it with, really.”

Zippy tilted his head affectionately, and tried to nudge Jay’s out of his knees. His eye poked out from above his daily gi’s pants, shining with emotion. “Well, I guess Maya caught me crying once, but that doesn’t count.”

The dragon’s own eyes started to gain a shine, and he shook his head, blinking erratically.

Jay took his body out of its hiding position, wrapping his arms around Zippy’s face to stop his shaking. “It’s okay to cry, boy,” he soothed, and the two cried together into the night until reality faded and they were both asleep beside a perfectly intact, dew-covered flower.

-

Morning rolled around and Jay said his lighthearted goodbyes to the keepers without eating breakfast. He stood at the edge of their dock, shaking hands with Sungker as a parting exchange.

“Thanks for being so nice, Sungker. I’ll see you again soon.”

Sungker looked to his sides bashfully. “Yes, yes, of course, Gift of Jay. Perhaps next time Poultik will be here to provide more assistance?”

Jay shrugged. “I’d like to see him, but maybe next time he and I can do something a bit more… two-sided, as friends.”

He gave an approving “hmph” to the departing visitor, and waved him off as he climbed back into his sub speeder.

As Jay sped gracefully through the aggressive waves, he came to the realization that he had been needing. Somehow, it wasn’t praise or luxury that had made him forget his sorrow. In fact, it was quite the opposite, a nature-bound therapy session with a gross but loving creature, which had made him feel a lot better.

As Ninjago City rose in the distance, he remembered one more thing.

“Whoops. Forgot to tell them their amulet broke.”

[rutilation]

Does mulching a prisoner of war into shiny little woodchips before burying them alive indefinitely count as a violation of the Geneva Conventions?  Asking for a friend.

(Hi guys, I’m back, and I brought 4,400 words with me.)

First of all, my apologies for the nearly five month wait.  Ever since last spring, I haven’t had much time at all to devote to writing and I’ve only been able to work on this essay in small increments.  And yet, despite the fact that I don’t have the time to do so, this essay somehow turned into a bloated treatise on the failings of gem society.  Truly, I am a slave to my obsessions.

I’ve refrained from reading chapter 80 because I just know that if I do, it will insinuate itself into my brain like a tumor and I won’t be able to concentrate on finishing this essay.  (That said, I did happen to see someone on twitter make a joking reference to third impact in regards to said chapter, so I am certainly Afraid.)  Though my takes may be ice cold by this point, I hope that there are some nuggets of insight to be found in this.  With that said, here are my thoughts on chapters 78 and 79.

While the past two chapters have certainly been…hard to read, I think that their contents have been a long time coming, primarily regarding the parallels between Phos and Kongou, and the uglier undercurrents of gem society reaching their logical conclusion.  (And I gotta say, this display of—for lack of a better term—inhumanity on the part of the gems jives quite well with all the Shirley Jackson I’ve been reading lately. When I get tired of one display of flagrant mob violence, I can quickly flip to another.)  

And then there’s the matter of the gems on the moon…  I remember that when I first got into hnk, which was right around the time when Phos and the others left for the moon, everyone was afraid that Phos would go off the deep end and the gems stuck on the moon would end up as collateral damage in Phos’s quest for vengeance.  But since Ichikawa is too powerful us, she said “what if it was the other way around, and Phos is the one getting thrown under the bus while the moon gems start a death cult?”

So there’s a lot to talk about, but let’s address the earth gems first, because these characters sure do live in a society.  (In order to make my prose more tolerable, I encourage my readership to take a shot every time I write the words “gem society.”)

First of all, I’ve seen a number of people interpret Kongou’s line about the gems forgetting Phos very literally, and assume that the earth gems all have Phos-specific amnesia. I highly doubt this is the case, and he probably just means that Phos is now out of sight and out of mind.

As bleak as the situation is, I think it’s been a long time coming.  From the beginning, one of the major philosophical elements of the story has been how the gems’ desire to give meaning to their long lives has compelled them to create a society in which only those with a concrete purpose have value.  The characters see themselves and each other as instrumentally but not inherently valuable.  With so much of the story focused on how this ethos hurts those individuals who aren’t seen as useful, how much it fosters shame and self-hatred, and how much it makes the gems unable and unwilling to help each other through hardship and depression, it makes sense to me that this inhumane mindset would eventually boil over into something truly cruel, and thus the other shoe has finally dropped.  In a strange way, I have more respect for Rutile’s attitude towards the situation than I do the rest of the earth gems (sans Euclase, who I’ll get to in a moment.)  Rutile is treating Phos like an enemy that must be vanquished, whereas the others are treating Phos as a kid treats their dirty clothes when they don’t want to do laundry—by shoving it in the back of a closet and trying to forget about it.  The former strikes me as less dishonest and dehumanizing than the latter.

Even before chapter 79 made it official, I had a gut feeling that the timetable for figuring out what to do with Phos was nonexistent.  I’ll be generous and assume Cinnabar was being sincere in the moment when they implied that they’d put Phos back together eventually.  But just like how everyone ignored Cinnabar’s suffering because there was no compelling incentive to do anything about it, or how they all turned a blind eye to the Kongou/Lunarian situation for millennia, I figured that Phos would end up as another problem they wouldn’t bother solving. (Regarding Cinnabar, while I hope they’re still on good terms with everyone after the time skip, I would not be the least bit surprised if the earth gems started ostracizing them again once it became apparent that there would be no new attacks from the moon and thus no further reason to tolerate their mercury.)

(Bort, please stick up for them.)

And to be clear, this is a problem that the earth gems are refusing to solve in exchange for a short-term sense of security.  If Phos and Kongou had been allowed to hash things out, and this stalemate hadn’t festered for 220 years, then maybe the moon gems wouldn’t be entertaining the idea of starting that aforementioned death cult.  (Tbh, this mostly applies to 84, Yellow, and Dia, since Cairn has been their own personal death cult since chapter 33.)  Even leaving aside how bad things have gotten already, if this state of affairs had continued to drag on, I think the situation would have gotten very ugly the second Aechmea got tired of waiting.  While playing fruit ninja or whatever with Cairngorm, he says something to the effect of losing a battle here or there isn’t important as long as you win the war in the end, which I’m pretty sure is meant to communicate to the audience that Aechmea is playing the long game.  And since he hasn’t done anything in the interim other than reluctantly and incrementally humor Cairngorm’s pet project, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he’s biding his time specifically for Phos, and that he’s counting on them eventually being reawakened.  In that case, what would have happened if Kongou had been too meek to interfere, and the gems succeeded in getting rid of Phos for good?  If Aechmea eventually gave up on his current scheme, scrapped working with Phos, and came up with a new plan, I’m betting things would quickly devolve into heinous war crimes since he’s only played nice so far in order to keep Phos on his side.

In chapter 78, we get to see two instances of the most common nugget of gem wisdom: only act when you’re guaranteed to succeed, and never take risks.  It been a common refrain, with Antarc, and more subtly, Dia being the only gems aside from Phos to push back against that sentiment.  And to be clear, I’m not saying any one of these iterations necessarily are bad advice, but it’s become increasingly obvious that it’s the only acceptable mode of dealing with problems in gem society.  More on that in a minute.

So, uh, regarding Euclase, here’s an exclusive picture of me, after I’d spent months writing: “Gee, this Euclase character seems pretty shady, but I have faith in Cinnabar, Bort, and Jade to act humanely!’

That said, I think I got at least one aspect of their characterization right in my Euclase-focused essay—that they have a greater comprehension of their mortality than most.  Unlike the other gems, they’re not childishly naïve enough to believe that ignoring their problems will save them; they understand that death is always around the corner, and that the (mostly) tranquil life the gems lead requires constant maintenance.  Simply sliding down the path of least resistance will come back to bite them all in the ass later down the line, and Euclase knows it.  That’s probably why they at least went through the motions of asking Kongou to pray every day for two hundred twenty years.

This is a bit of a tangent, but regarding my earlier point about the gems not commiserating at all, Peridot and Sphene come across as anomalies in that they helped each other through their grief over their lost partners, but that doesn’t seem to happen all that often.  As we see in the aftermath of the winter arc, it seemingly did not occur to any of the gems who had lost friends of their own to try and help Phos through their grief.  And I think it’s likely that they weren’t given much comfort in their hours of need either.  Yellow bottled up their grief, Alex and (presumably) Red Beryl threw themselves into their work to the point of obsession, and Ghost seemed to have largely withdrawn from everyone else.  But none of them really healed or helped anyone else heal.  Despite their society placing a high value on interdependence, the gems are truly alone when they have to reckon with complicated or inconvenient emotions.

It may be hard to remember, but Phos was once influenced by all these toxic mindsets as well.  Recall Phos’s conversation with Benito in chapter two: it implies that Cinnabar did live with the other gems during Phos’s lifetime, recently enough that Phos expects to find them in their room.  From this we can infer that our kindhearted Phos never reached out to the clearly lonely Cinnabar while they were actually around, and didn’t even notice when they left the school for good.  They may have had the potential for kindness from a very young age, but it was only when they were hit with with the stark truth of Cinnabar’s suffering that they snapped out of the fog of apathy that seems to surround the gems.

In fact, it almost seems like the struggle to drag the gems kicking and screaming out of their comfort zone is a macrocosm for what Phos had to grow out of at the beginning of the series.  You’ll recall that once upon a time they were lazy, wanted easy solutions to their problems, and had no faith in their ability to effect change.  In fact, I’d go so far as to say that in the eyes of gem society, the problem wasn’t really that Phos was lazy, it’s that their laziness manifested in the wrong ways.  They were supposed to be fastidious and reliable about things like crafting, or fighting, or writing reports, but apathetic towards anything that requires more nuance or imagination than that, kindness or cruelty be damned.

All this is cast into even sharper relief if you think back on the arc with Ventricosus.  She was in far more dire straits than the earth gems are now, and had a compelling incentive to throw Phos under the bus.  But in the end, that wasn’t a line she was willing to cross.  Her final line: “If we’re not willing to change our ways, we’ll end up just like the Lunarians,” seems quite portentous in retrospect.  I don’t think Ichikawa is positing that being immortal makes you a sociopath, otherwise characters like Kongou, Yellow, and Padpa wouldn’t be such cinnamon buns.  But I think she is insinuating that someone who refuses to change is dooming themselves to a state of perpetual immaturity, and that being truly kind requires growing up a bit.  It’s a harder for someone who knows they’ll die one day to remain in a state of arrested development than it is for someone who could indefinitely procrastinate on growing up, and just focus all their mental energy into making paper or whatever for all of eternity.

And this seems as good a point as any to stop harping on gem society and start talking about the gems on the moon, starting with my muse, my most problematic of faves.

I brought up in my chapter 77 essay that Aechmea may not be willing to divulge what he was about to tell Cairn, and that was exactly what happened.  Since he’s only willing to share this mysterious information if he literally would not be around for the fall out, I’m guessing that whatever this secret is, it’s not benign.  And while Cairn has probably put it out of their mind by chapter 79, it’s clear that it’s bugging them before the time skip.  I smell a shocking revelation brewing and I dread to imagine what could possibly top mind-control eyeballs.  Make no mistake, I’ve devoted an embarrassing amount of brainspace the past nine months or so to contemplating what it will look like when the other shoe finally drops for Cairn’s character arc.  (Is there a German word for the ambivalence that arises from wanting to call future plot twists for bragging rights, but not wanting to look like a dipshit if your predictions are wrong?)

Their line from chapter 78 that I alluded to earlier in this essay is rather interesting to me, because although they’re referring to Phos, they might as well be talking about Aechmea.  They exhausted themselves to their breaking point trying to look after someone who didn’t take care of themselves, but they’ve nonetheless latched onto someone who is also seeking self-destruction.  And as I pointed out earlier in this essay, this line also serves as yet another iteration of the defeatist sentiment that the gems often espouse.  But, for a while, it had seemed like Cairn was moving away from that.  The decision Cairn made in chapter 67 was certainly…fraught.  But, one can’t deny that it wasn’t a brave one on their part, to leave behind everything they knew and cared about for a shot at living authentically; the only problem was that they undercut that step forward by returning to their chronic doormat tendencies.  And again in chapter 70, they took a risk by sneaking off to earth knowing that Aechmea would pitch a fit later.  But ever since chapter 75, they’ve been backsliding.  As said chapter pointed out, their wish has shifted from wanting freedom to wanting what amounts to eternal codependency.  I also find it interesting that Cairngorm apparently hasn’t bothered with getting a new name, and is just copying Aechmea’s shtick of going by his title.  They’ve gone from sharing a name with Ghost, to having their own name, to not having a name at all.  In conclusion, my child is a god damned mess.

I know I said I was done talking about gem society, but I guess I’m not.  Going back to what I said in the last paragraph, about Phos not taking care of themselves, that’s been a reoccurring element throughout the series, and in my opinion, it was a significant contributor to the breakdown of Phos’s relationships.  The reason Phos never just tried to make friends with Cinnabar—which is what the latter really wanted, and only focused their efforts on following through on their promise, was because Phos’s self-loathing runs so deep that it doesn’t occur to them that anyone would actually want their company for its own sake. Chapter 14 is the most direct allusion to this in my mind.  Phos clearly wants to talk to Cinnabar, but instead they hide away and mutter that they’d have nothing to say to them.  And as I touched on a moment ago, Phos’s self-destructive tendencies wore down Cairngorm over the course of their partnership.  

But, here’s the thing: Phos’s self-loathing isn’t some immutable part of their nature, it was instilled in them by their society from the moment it became apparent that Phos couldn’t slot neatly into a role.  This is very apparent in the early chapters, in which no one ever misses an opportunity to remind Phos of their uselessness (except Dia, bless their heart.)  Back then, they pretended to not care about it by way of snark and bravado, but in truth, I think it warped their self-perception in an incredibly negative way.  

There’s also something that illustrates this which has been on my mind for a while, but I haven’t had the opportunity to talk about it.  When Phos was trapped by their arms during Antarc’s fateful capture, the insult they yelled at their arms to get them moving is the same one that Bort lobbed at them a few times in volume one.  I usually see different translations of the word between the two scenes, but to my non-Japanese-fluent ears, it sounded like the same word to me when I watched the anime.  It was a striking way of implying that this moment of personal growth had been seeded with something more insidious, that their self-loathing is a taint that has followed them across their many incarnations.  I’m not the first one to point this out, but there’s always been a certain tension within the text regarding Phos’s changes.  On one hand, their courage to change is framed as admirable and heroic, but on the other hand, they’re also hurting themselves because of social pressure to avoid being useless, which is kind of awful.  I think the narrative resolves this tension by making Phos’s quest for validation something which would eventually lead them to try and tear down the status quo that they hurt themselves for in the first place.  

Okay, back to the moon gems.  I’ve reread the part of chapter 79 focused on the moon several times, and it just feels more ominous with each iteration.  What exactly was their idea of administering therapy for Yellow?  Why is Amethyst on board with Cairn’s death bullshit?  Why is Dia okay with it?  Why did they stop fixing the dusted gems?  And most concerning, where are the other three gems—especially Alex who would probably be extremely opposed to halting the gem restoration?  It feels as if there’s something terrible just out of our field of view and chapter 79 is dancing around it.  (But hey, my intuition was wrong about Euclase so maybe when I read chapter 80 Ichikawa will tell me that Alex, Goshe, and Benito were at moon-disneyland the whole time, and that Aechmea is a real swell guy, actually.)

(No, I’m not bitter in the least.)

I also find it interesting that in chapter 79, Cairn is espousing a lot of the same sentiments as poor Yellow, but since they can mask the dysfunction better, they’re treated as an expert rather than a victim.  In reality, both of them are in serious need of a therapist, which is apparently non-existent in the post-post-apocalypse.

And finally, Barbata continues to be the truest audience surrogate.  I find it interesting that he clearly doesn’t approve of all the bullshit going on, while at the same time being too reticent to do anything about it, aside from some side-eyes and passive-aggressive comments.  Perhaps there will be some payoff to this down the line?

At this point, let’s talk about Kongou, because both his actions and his role as a sort of parallel to Phos in the narrative are fascinating.  I think this is the first time in the story that he’s really done something proactive.  I touched on this in a cursory character analysis I did for him, but to reiterate, the impression I got from his at times obtuse and contradictory behavior was that he had completely given up on trying to solve the Lunarian problem long before the series had begun, and that the only thing cutting through his despair and compelling him to get up in the morning and not just “meditate” forever was the prospect of spending a little more time with the people he loves, even knowing that he couldn’t protect them in any way that mattered.  But watching Phos’s struggle reignited a tiny bit of hope in him, enough that he wanted them to succeed in their efforts, but not enough for him to believe that he himself could make a difference.  To me, that seems like the only explanation that accounts for both his obstinacy when Phos directly confronted him along with his casual acceptance of the path Phos has been walking.

So for him to go behind everyone’s back to fix Phos is quite the departure from his usual passivity, and it tells us that he’d rather subject himself and everyone else to Phos’s brand of chaos than endure stasis that comes with their absence.  And it really does seem like the world enters a stasis along with Phos whenever they end up comatose.  Nothing moves forward, and the only thing to mark the passage of time are small deteriorations: Morga and Goshe are captured, and Cairn quietly becomes suicidal, and this time around, Yellow gradually loses their mind, the Admirabilis that Phos tried to spare overcrowd the tiny waterways they were released into, and the gems on the moon stop caring about whether they live or die.

For a while now, various characters both gem and Lunarian have called Phos their hope, or their savior, or some variation thereupon, and with each new iteration, the sentiment feels more and more ironic.  Time and time again, Phos rises to the occasion only to buckle under pressure, their noble intentions haven’t gotten them good results since, like, chapter 10, and everyone who at one point had faith in them is completely done with them.  And at the end of it all, they don’t have it in them to ask Kongou to pray on anyone’s behalf but their own, as if they’ve become so exhausted that they don’t have the energy to be kind anymore.  And just to rub salt in the wound, their ambiguous phrasing makes it unclear whether Phos is asking to Kongou get rid of the Lunarians or themselves.

All of this seems to mirror what Kongou is implied to have gone through.  He was created to save the souls of humanity, but was ill-equipped for the task, and he’s spent god knows how many millennia dogged by his failure to deliver.  Aechmea’s line in chapter 55 about how his human creators didn’t bother to think about what would happen to him after everyone was gone, in my mind, parallels how Phos has been abandoned by the people who once supported them once they became too much of an inconvenience.

So now that these two failed saviors are finally confronting each other with no lies to hide behind, and nothing to get between them, what’s going to happen?  I get the feeling that chapter 80 is going to give us some long awaited catharsis, for better or worse.  (Please Ichikawa, make things a little better for once.)

On a related note, I’m hoping this possible catharsis might clarify something else for me.  For all that the series is steeped in Buddhist symbolism and philosophy, I’ve never been able to tell what Ichikawa actually thinks of Buddhism.  On one hand, the assumptions that life boils down to suffering and that the self is ephemeral and illusory are certainly present, but on the other hand, the characters who lean most heavily on the Buddhist aesthetic are villains, the characters most invested in reaching nirvana are portrayed as…let’s say misguided at best, and as I’ve already noted above, our two would-be Buddhas are chronically ineffectual.  If I had to take a stab at it, I’d guess that the aspect of the philosophy that she takes issue with is the idea of relying on a savior figure and the idea that there exists a nirvana that could save anyone from samsara.  But if the Lunarians’ wish were a complete pipe dream, then Shiro et al wouldn’t have already disappeared?  Unless that was a misdirection and their souls were actually reincarnated?  Idk, I don’t have enough brain cells to parse The Most Viable Interpretation at this juncture in the story.

Lastly, assuming Phos doesn’t ascend to nirvana via pure rage next chapter, I think their next replacement is going to be imminent.  All of Phos’s other changes have been accompanied by death and birth imagery: they lost their legs out at sea, which is where inclusions are said to emerge, they lost their arms and their head at the site of their birth, the time they spent comatose evoked the image of a shrouded corpse in a morgue, their first trip to the moon in which they got their new eye apparently lasted the length of a Buddhist funeral, and now, they’ve literally been buried.  (On a side note, it’s interesting that there’s a lot more death imagery for their later transformations, while their earlier changes alluded to birth.)  I’m not the first person to point this out, but it seems likely to me that Rutile made good on their threat to throw Phos into the ocean, and discarded whatever pieces they were assigned to bury.  And indeed, there seems to be a gaping hole in Phos’s torso.  I still think Padparadscha is the most likely candidate for a replacement—the red stone from the lotus sutra has been alternately described as ruby, carnelian, amber, or coral, and Padparadscha is the closest we have to any of those—but who knows.  Ichikawa might even decide to stop short of all seven treasures in service of some greater thematic purpose.

And with that, this belated essay is finally done.  Except it isn’t.  This is a complete tangent, but I recently looked up the one and only region where gem-quality phosphophyllite was briefly mined, a mountain in the Bolivian Andes called Cerro Rico.  Hundreds of thousands have died there since the 16th century while mining silver, and that figure may be lowballing it, as some scholars think the death toll is actually in the millions.  It is colloquially known as “the Mountain that Eats Men,” and the miners pay tribute to this fellow in hopes of avoiding cave-ins and pockets of toxic gas, but are otherwise doomed to die young from silicosis.  According to a forum post I found belonging to a mineral collector, the mineshaft where all the phosphophyllite came from had to be walled off with a concrete bulkhead because the poisonous gases that accumulated in the tunnel had killed a number of miners.  The idea of gem mining already conjures up images of exploited workers in abject conditions, but I must say that Maneater Mountain exceeded my expectations.

Okay, now I’m actually done.  I’m going to get some sleep on account of the fact that it’s 2 AM, but afterwards I shall read the new chapter and repeat this whole grueling cycle over again, but like, in a timely manner.

[chemicalmagecraft]

Foresight is 20/20 Chapter 1

The village was devastated. So many of the buildings were smashed, and so many people had lost their lives to the Kyubi. Entire squads of ninja were needed to sift through the wreckage for any survivors. It is with two of these ninja that our story starts. "This destruction..." one ninja said. "It's unreal... How could this happen?"

"The nine-tailed demon fox," the other ninja replied brusquely. "That damned fox killed people by stepping on them. What else would happen when it went on a rampage? Now come on, we need to clear this whole sector in an hour."

"Do you hear that?" the first ninja asked. The second ninja stopped talking and listened for a bit.

"Is that... a baby crying?" he said. They both hurried to where the sound seemed to be coming from. A ray of light pierced the clouds to fall down on a blanket on top of a large piece of rubble. One of the ninja lifted up the blanket to reveal... a log. The other ninja rolled his eyes and picked up the baby lying on another piece of rubble. The child, a boy, couldn't have been more than a few months old. He had a thick head of brown hair and dark marks under his eyes. The ninja rocked the baby, and he stopped crying. He opened his hazel eyes and cooed at the sight of the man. "Found the baby. Let's take him to the other survivors. Hopefully one of the survivors is looking for him."

"And if not?"

"Then the kid's going to be in for a rough childhood."

"Well just in case, let's give him a name."

"Kouki."

kukukuku~

I plopped down on my bed and groaned. The last thing I remembered... or I guess one of the last things I remembered, I was doing a writing assignment thinking about how I would totally beat up Jiraiya if I was in Naruto. The other last thing I remembered was one of the caretakers of my orphanage of telling me and some other kids that Naruto is an evil demon child we should never interact with. Really compliant with Sarutobi's law there, Chang. Also there was the fact that I apparently was now three years old and living in a Konohagakure orphanage...

I immediately recognized this as the start of a self-insert fanfiction because I know myself. "Really, Me?" I asked. "You just had to write an SI." If I'm going to be doing this, I'm sooo going to fourth-wall break. "You'd better give me a good reason for knowing the future so I don't get thrown in an insane asylum." I paused. "Does Konoha even have insane asylums? Thinking about it, they don't really seem to have any form of psychological therapy, what with how nobody helped any of the various orphans in Naruto. Or Hinata, for that matter. Where was I again? Oh, right! I could also use a way to refresh myself on the timing of things, Me." I licked my lips. "Well, seems that habit followed me here. I should probably cut down on it or people might think I'm the secret lovechild of Orochimaru and... I don't know, Tsuyu Asui?" I thought about that for a moment and groaned again. "Thanks for that mental image, brain. That was almost as bad as that one horrible dream I had where Naruto and Jiraiya were..." I trailed off, screamed, stood up, and walked to the nearest wall, which I immediately started banging my head on.

As I did that, an older orphan came in the room. "What are you doing?" he asked me.

"Punishing my brain," I stopped to answer.

"Why?"

"Because it needs to be punished."

"O...kay... just... don't hurt yourself?" He walked away, muttering, "Weirdo."

Once I decided that my brain had been punished enough (I took the headache as a sign of surrender), I plopped back down on my bed. "What now?" I said to myself. A leaf drifted through an open window and landed on my forehead. It was at this moment that I realized that I somehow knew how to mold and use chakra to some degree as if it was instinctual. Also my eyes tingled for some reason... "Plus Ultra, I guess." I started channeling chakra into the leaf on my forehead, hoping that I was doing the chakra exercise right.

kukukuku~

I collapsed, water splashing slightly as I fell on its surface. It had been a little over a month and my complete and utter lack of a life and the fact that I was otherwise totally bored without any form of videogames or TV had served me well in my quest for power. Plus the fact that I was somehow totally fine spending more time staying up than I used to in my past life (which, admittedly, was already unhealthily long...), as long as I didn't pull too many all-nighters.

I'd managed to slip off to a secluded area of woods with a lazy and shallow river where I'd spent a great deal of time mercilessly training myself in the ways of sticking leaves to myself, only stopping for a rest and snack break when I started to get tired. At first, I couldn't do too much because, as a small child, my chakra reserves were limited (though I think that my reserves were also higher than they should have been due to me having the mental energy of a teenager instead of a three-year-old). Of course, practice makes perfect, so I soon found myself able to use more chakra at once.

Once I could hold multiple leaves on multiple parts of my body simultaneously for a few seconds, I upgraded to tree climbing. While I didn't have any kunai to mark my progress, I'd figured out how to channel chakra through my fingernails to leave small scratches in the bark without harming my nails, which I ended up calling Cat Claws Jutsu. Once I was able to walk up trees like I was walking on the ground and also stick leaves to myself while doing it, I took a day for rest (chakra exhaustion suuucks) and then started on water walking. That... that involved much more getting wet than I'd like to admit... Eventually, however, I'd managed to get water walking down pat and included leaves in it as well, which is what I had just finished at that point.

I got up, figuring that laying down on the water is probably a bad idea, and got to solid ground before plopping down on the grass. As I did, the leaves that had been clinging to my skin fell off. I pulled out the apple I'd brought as a snack. Mmm, fuji apples. When I was done devouring the fruit, I licked my lips, wrapped the core in the napkin I'd stored it in, and lay there for a bit. I breathed in the nice, Springy air. So far as I knew, the Hi no Kuni was almost constantly warm, which is how it got its name. I certainly wasn't complaining; I like it hot. Once I'd caught my breath and had time to rest, I picked up one of the leaves I'd been using for training. "Time for some advanced training," I said. I sandwiched the leaf between my palms, closed my eyes, and focused. "Two fronts grinding against each other," I thought. Snip. I opened my hands, revealing that the leaf had developed a small cut on it, as if someone had cut it with a pair of scissors. "It's a start," I said.

kukukuku~

When I started with wind chakra, I decided to start doing light exercise not related to chakra. I didn't want to do too much because I had once heard something about lifting weights as a child stunting growth or something. It probably wasn't as big of a problem in a world where Rock friggin Lee can exist, but I still wanted to be careful. I just did some light jogging (while collecting and attempting to cut leaves), sit-ups (while attempting to cut leaves), and push-ups (fun fact: it is very hard to cut leaves with wind chakra while doing push-ups, but not impossible). It was on a jog around the playground near the orphanage that everyone played in that I saw him. A blonde boy with markings on his cheeks sitting alone by a tree. All of the other kids were ignoring him. I was already going to try to befriend Naruto, but now I really wanted to do something. He just... looked sad.

I nonchalantly walked over to the other side of the tree Naruto was sitting at and looked around to see if anyone was looking. When I saw that nobody was, I muttered "Cat Claws Jutsu" and started using my claws to get a good grip on the tree. I could have just used the regular tree walking, but I was trying to be discreet so as to not have people asking why I knew ninja techniques. I did, however, use the tree walking to grip with my feet. Once I was situated on a branch above Naruto, I looked around to see if anyone was looking. It seemed not. Apparently, tree-climbing in a ninja village full of trees named after those trees that was founded by a tree-man is a very uninteresting sight. Who knew? I licked my lips, took a deep breath, and said, "Hi, there," to him. When he looked up, I gave a small but friendly smile and waved. "My name's Kouki, what's yours?" I mean, I already knew his name, but it's not like I could tell him that.

He sniffed and said "Naruto." I noticed that his eyes were all red (not Kyuubi red, irritated red) and puffy. "Why are you here?"

I jumped down, using a light burst of wind chakra to cushion my fall, and said, "Everybody avoids you, so I felt like you might want somebody to play with." I sat down next to him. "People avoid me, too. I think it's because I don't talk to people much, look like I'm really bored most of the time, and have really freaky eye markings." For whatever reason, I had black markings with a white dot under and offset to the outer side of each eye, which in my past life was just permanent dark shadows under my eyes and... what were they, freckles? Beauty marks? I had dot markings under each eye, among other places, and the two under my eyes apparently decided that they would look cooler if they were white. I guess author me's basis for that was the fact that several people in Naruto had what appeared to be biological, and in some cases hereditary, markings not directly related to being the prison for a demonic monster. For example, the Inuzuka, the Akimichi, Jiraiyass, Orochimaru, and the second and third Hokages. "I'm fine with being alone, but I had a feeling you aren't. Wanna be friends?"

He gasped, then gave me a bright smile. His eyes began to water and he gave me a hug. I patted him on the back and just let him hug it out. When he was done, he asked, "What do friends do?"

"I... don't know. I guess maybe I show you something cool?"

"Like what?" I pulled a leaf from my pocket and cut it in half. He gasped. "Cool, 'ttebayo! How'd you do that?"

"When I grow up, I wanna be a ninja. I managed to find out how to do some stuff with chakra. That's apparently an advanced technique that grants you wind powers."

He looked confused at that. "How does cutting a leaf give you wind powers?"

"It's more like it's the easiest use of wind chakra or something. Doing it lets you practice wind chakra so you can do more advanced stuff."

He beamed at me. "Can you teach me?"

I smiled. Idea. If I could get Naruto to train his chakra control, then we could skip a few problems in the future. "There were a lot of steps involved in learning how to do it. I had to do a bunch of other special exercises to work up to it." He pouted. "Buuut, if you do exactly what I tell you and don't question it, I can teach you some cool stuff."

He nodded vigorously. "I'm gonna be Hokage someday, 'ttebayo! Knowing how to use chakra stuff would be great!"

I smiled. The was no doubt in his words. It was as if he already knew he would be Hokage, and the world just had to catch up. I bowed. "Very well, then, Hokage-sama. Let the training montage begin."

kukukuku~

"Whoa!" Naruto said. He was staring at the small tree that I had just felled with a few quick swipes.

"That's what I can teach you," I said with a smug grin as I put my hands in my pockets. "Before that, though, there are some rules that I have for you. First, I don't think that non-ninja are supposed to use jutsu in public, so please don't do stuff like this until you're in the academy at least. Second, even when you do use chakra, please be careful with it." I kicked the tree that I'd just killed. "You can do some serious damage. Third, if you start to feel tired, stop using your chakra unless you absolutely have to. It's a combination of mental and physical energy, meaning it uses your life force. You do the math. Got that?" He nodded eagerly. "Good. Now, for your first task," I picked a leaf off of the tree and gave it to him, "use chakra to stick this leaf to your body."

Naruto groaned. "That's so boring!"

I narrowed my eyes and said, "I told you to do exactly what I say. This is a chakra exercise. It lets you practice in the use of chakra. It's just the first step in what I have to teach you." I walked up a nearby tree. "Get good enough with it and I get to teach you the next trick." I looked at him expectantly. He stared at the leaf, then placed it on the palm of his hand. He then channeled enough chakra into it that it started glowing blue slightly. He flipped his palm over so that the leaf should've fallen over, but it didn't. I dropped to the ground and inspected the leaf. It was a little unsteady, but holding. I guess he was having an easier time controlling his chakra because he hadn't yet developed stupid amounts of it, just a decent amount. "Rein it in slightly. Other than that, it seems fine. I'm going to do my stuff. Once you think you're good with one, add another. Do that until I say you're ready."

kukukuku~

"You're ready," I told him with a laugh a few days later. His arms were covered in leaves. "Take a little break and I'll teach you the next step."

kukukuku~

It continued like that for a while. I don't know how long it lasted for, but by the time Naruto started with leaf cutting, I saw... was he the Raikage? The one guy who Hiashi Hyuuga called the head ninja of Kumogakure when he was talking about the incident with Hinata's kidnapping. I saw that jerk walking down the streets. I managed to find out from a nearby villager that it was December 27th, which I somehow remembered was Hinata's birthday, and he was going to sign the peace treaty with Konoha. I decided that I would help stop the incident in whatever way I could, seeing as that was pretty much where everything started to go wrong in Hinata's life and I could hopefully stop it.

I was thinking about how I could sneak my way into the Hyuuga compound when I got a splitting headache and a tingly feeling in my eyeballs. When I opened my eyes, I could see... myself sneaking into the compound and finding the Raikage in Hinata's room. It was like that one hint stone in Skyward Sword, where you could see a cutscene of what you had to do, except really trippy because it was in real life. I looked in the general direction of the fourth wall and said, "Well that's a deus ex machina and a half, Me. Thanks, I'll make good use of the intel."

I quickly found Naruto and told him that I had to do something and that he should continue with the leaf-cutting practice until I got back. He was making decent progress with it. His leaves were already cut almost halfway through. I then began with the path that I'd seen. When I finally managed to sneak in, it was already dark. I went to the spot on the fence I'd seen myself brooding in the vision when I saw the enemy in my vision. Thankfully, I was just in time to see the man dressed in all black sneak up to Hinata's room. I licked my lips as I thought for a second about what I could do, but quickly decided with a silent 'screw it.'

"HYUGA HIASHI!" I screamed. "A MASKED MAN IS TRYING TO KIDNAP YOUR DAUGHTER! MAKE SURE TO CAPTURE HIM ALIVE, THOUGH, OR HIS VILLAGE WILL DEMAND YOUR HEAD OR START A WAR!"

"WHAT!?" a man who I assumed was Hiashi screamed.

"I SAID THAT A MAN IS TRYING TO KIDNAP YOUR DAUGHTER! PROBABLY FOR HER EYES! AND IF YOU KILL HIM HIS VILLAGE WILL DEMAND YOUR CORPSE FOR YOUR EYES! PLEASE HURRY! I'M PRETTY SURE HE'S ABOUT TO KILL ME FOR RUINING HIS PLANS AND I DON'T FEEL LIKE DYING SO SOON!" As I was shouting at him, the masked man came out and started making a few hand seals. I jumped off of the fence and made a single seal of my own (dragon seal, one of the few I knew and the only one I knew that was primarily for the wind element) and started molding wind chakra.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Shot!" He shot a bolt of lightning chakra out of his hand at me.

"Wind Release: Mini Air Slashes!" I countered by making small slashing motions with my index fingers. Small blades of air spawned from my fingers and rammed straight into the lightning. After most of the slashes dissipated while expending some of the lightning, the remaining one cut straight through the weakened jutsu and cut slightly into his chest. I breathed a sigh of relief and licked my lips. That wouldn't have worked if he hadn't underestimated me, though to be fair not many small children can make air slashes, whatever the size. I dashed in close to him and activated my other wind jutsu. "Wind Release: Dragon Claws." Before I could attack him, I saw him punch me in the chest, but... he hadn't punched me yet. His fist came at me and I ducked away from it. As I dodged I swiped at his leg, hoping that I could distract him if I made enough cuts. What really happened... it was both better and worse than I was hoping for...

Squelch. "GYAAAAH!" the man screamed as blood spouted everywhere. I stopped in my tracks. Even in the dim light, though for some reason it was brighter than it should have been, I definitely saw his leg fall off.

"What?" I turned around to see several Hyuuga ninja staring at me. I made to answer but was suddenly overtaken by a wave of fatigue and dizziness. Chakra exhaustion. "How did you get here? How did you do that?" the ninja in the lead, Hiashi, asked me.

I just barely managed to grin and say, "I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said I could see the future?" before my eyes rolled back in my head and I passed out.

I guess the first chapter ends with a cliffhanger...

[overwatchworks]

Blackwatch Week: Friends

Jesse had spent most of his time in Blackwatch standing in the background. He didn’t like drawing too much attention to himself, though it was kind of counter-intuitive considering what he wore just about every day. He only made as many friends as necessary, knowing it wasn’t a fantastic idea to get too attached, but he recognized the importance of being close with his teammates. 

Jesse worked well with everyone--it was hard not to get along with him--and he was comfortable with whoever he was paired with during training. The gunslinger knew he was definitely one of Reyes’ favourites, but seeing as he was a commanding officer, there was always the barrier of professionalism. No one had really counted as a true friend until Genji Shimada came along. And no one quite got along with Genji Shimada like Jesse McCree did. 

When Genji had first showed up, he was a mess of scars, rage, and prosthetics that still didn’t function quite right. He was always tense and silent, fists clenched at his sides, an ever present glare keeping everyone at bay. Everyone except Jesse. 

The cowboy knew it was probably a mistake to pester someone who had so obviously been traumatized in just about every way possible, but that was also his reasoning for trying to get close. Genji needed some support, whether he knew it or not. But he didn’t want it. No, Genji did not want any of Jesse’s shit. And he made it very obvious. 

Jesse, however, ignored all the furious glares, the annoyed sighs every time he showed up by the cyborg’s side, the rough jabs and shoves when he got too close, the incoherent yelling and screaming on bad days. He ignored them against his better judgement, because it had become a challenge to him at that point. No one had even gotten relatively close to being able to call themselves acquaintances with Genji, much less friends, and Jesse would be damned before he called it quits. 

Eventually, the gunslinger had started noticing the little things Genji would say or do that were just slightly kinder than usual for him with each passing day. A compliment during training, a slight smile shining through Genji’s eyes when he told him a story, sitting with him during dinner even when he never got anything for himself. 

Genji wasn’t half bad, he just had a thick wall he put between himself and everyone else, and Jesse could guess why. He didn’t want to be hurt by someone he trusted again. Jesse could understand that, could respect it. But he also wanted to show the ninja that he had people now that would watch out for him, take care of him. They were a team, a family, and maybe, just maybe, they could even be friends.

It had taken months of effort; awkward conversations or just flat out tense silence eventually turning to shared stories and amiable chatter. Training together turned into missions together, Jesse able to trust Genji to have his back and he his in return. They shared meals and even some free time together, but the cowboy was always the one to initiate anything until, one day, the fruits of his labour were finally beginning to show. 

Jesse had gone on a mission, something that should have been some easy spy work that ended up turning into a shitstorm. The team had been caught, and the gunslinger had not gotten away unscathed. He was in a recovery room in the med bay, lights turned off for the sake of his concussion-induced headache. A piece of gauze was covering a nasty cut going down from his temple and over his eye, the bleeding only stopping after an injection of golden doctor juice. 

Jesse’s whole body ached dully, just enough to be an annoyingly painful distraction. However, the gunslinger found a new distraction when a soft, hesitant sounding knock resonated throughout the otherwise silent room. Raising a brow, Jesse called to whoever it was.

“Come on in.”

The eye that wasn’t covered widened slightly when Genji’s slight form slipped inside, closing the door quietly behind himself. A smirk then crossed his lips for a beat before he schooled his face, Genji’s red eyes meeting his own.

“Well heya, Gen. Didn’t expect visitors.” Jesse greeted, the cyborg leaning against the wall by the door, arms crossing over his chest. It was like he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to commit to staying or not. Then, he spoke softly, voice not betraying anything, but his eyes did.

“You did not come to dinner.”

“Yeah, can’t really eat when yer unconscious.”

Genji didn’t have a response to that, his gaze drifting to the floor. Fingers clicking against the armour of his prosthetic in a steady beat.

“Somethin’ botherin’ ya?” Jesse asked after the silence prevailed. The ninja shifted, still not looking up at him.

“Nothing quite out of the usual.” Genji finally murmured, the cowboy raising a brow at his peculiar behaviour.

“Penny fer yer thoughts.”

“Penny for what...?”

“Tell me what’s on yer mind, bud.” Jesse amended, forgetting that Genji still wasn’t accustomed to his sayings quite yet. It still made him smile a bit, the way Genji’s brows raised in understanding, the subtle narrowing of his eyes. Even with the mask on, he was incredibly expressive, if anyone took the time to notice the little things. Jesse always did.

“Oh...I just noticed that there was less noise and chatter without you around. Less distractions.”

The gunslinger grinned, Genji’s eyes shifting away again, his fingers drumming over his forearm now.

“Well, don’t get too used to it, ‘cause this ain’t nothin’ that I can’t bounce back from.” He teased. The ninja’s eyes crinkled just ever so slightly, and Jesse almost missed it. But he was definitely smiling under that faceplate.

“Since I have seen that you are not dead, I’ll leave you to your recovery.” Genji told him, turning back to the door he hadn’t strayed far from and opening it.

“Thanks fer stoppin’ by, partner. I appreciate it.” The cowboy called with a little wave.

“Get well soon.”

Jesse leaned back on his pillows when the door clicked shut quietly, a smile playing on his lips as he stared at the ceiling. That damn ninja had actually missed him.

“Yer full of surprises, Shimada. Ain’t all of ‘em half bad.” Jesse muttered out loud, huffing a laugh and rolling over to get some more sleep.

-

Genji was the first to meet with him when Jesse was discharged from the med bay, nothing but a fading scar left on his face. The ninja had apparently been waiting, arms crossed over his chest once more with an air of feigned disinterest. Jesse had walked out and been pleasantly surprised by Genji’s presence, and they had walked to training together.

“How are you feeling?” Genji asked halfway to the gym, glancing at the cowboy with those sharp eyes.

“Not too bad. My mind’s still a lil’ fuzzy, but doc said that’d clear up by tomorrow.”

“That scar...Is it going to stay?”

“Why, ya don’t like it?” Jesse teased, Genji giving him a deadpan look.

“I don’t, actually.”

The gunslinger frowned a bit, then shrugged it off. He knew Genji didn’t mean for most of the things he said to come off as rude or harsh. They finished their walk in silence, the two of them entering the gym, Jesse waving to a few agents he knew. He had gone to work on weights, Genji agreeing to spot him. When they had finished a set, the cyborg grabbed his arm lightly, Jesse’s brows raising a bit at the contact. Genji never touched anyone of his own accord if he could help it.

“What I said earlier, it was only because of my own scars. You have a good face, be grateful it is unmarred.” He murmured, Jesse tilting his head to the side slightly before a little smile tugged his lips up.

“I appreciate the thought. An’ I didn’t take that the wrong way anyways. Yer good, partner.”

Genji nodded to himself, then sat down at the bench press. The cowboy leaned on the bar and looked down at Genji as he laid back, getting in the way of their workout routine. Jesse grinned as Genji’s eyes narrowed a bit suspiciously.

“Now, was I hearin’ wrong, or did ya just call me handsome back there?” Jesse asked in a playful tone, Genji huffing and smacking his face away lightly.

“That may be pushing it.”

“Now wait just a minute there! I think I’m mighty handsome!”

“Eh, debatable.” Genji hummed. The gunslinger slapped a hand to his chest in mock hurt, Genji laughing softly. The noise made Jesse smile, and he straightened, allowing the ninja to finish his workout without further teasing. He was one of the few people that could drag a smile or laugh from Genji, and it always made him happy when Genji was happy. 

They finished their routine with idle banter, poking fun at one another while they worked. When that was through, they went off to the mess hall for a shared dinner. It was nice, seeing that Genji was truly becoming a teammate he could rely on, and better yet, one of Jesse’s best friends.

~~

[morfinwen]

For the headcanon ask: Sarah (Chuck), Steris, Anakin, and then any OC you would like to answer for, please. :)

So i’ve been sitting on this for i don’t know how long, chipping away at the answers, and this is what i got. It doesn’t cover everything for every one you asked, but it covers a fair amount. At any rate, it’s enough that i’m putting it under a read-more.

Sarah Walker

Headcanon B: [hilarious]

Despite being the daughter of a con man and a trained CIA spy for her entire adult life, post-series Sarah gets a deer-in-the-headlights look whenever some chatty new acquaintance asks how she and her husband met. Unless Chuck is there to rescue her, or her panicking mind manages to remember that a simple relating of “he fixed my phone and I gave him my number” without any of the classified details would work just fine, she winds up inventing some story on the spur of the moment. She’s not that good with inventing things spur of the moment.

Eventually she memorizes a safe, straightforward version of events to tell people who ask, but that isn’t until after she tells their neighbors across the street a complicated story involving ninja muggers and a computer virus that turned out to be a bomb.

Steris

Headcanon A:  [realistic]

Steris has learned, to some extent, to express her emotions in a way that other people understand. It’s still acting, though. She may be pleased, but she does not feel like smiling. She may wish to get to know someone better, but she does not have any actual interest in who tailored their clothing.

Wax and Marasi are learning to understand how she expresses things. Wax, particularly, tries to learn how to communicate the same way. It will probably always be as much acting for him as ordinary social conventions are for her, but she appreciates it more than can be expressed, in either way.

Headcanon B: [hilarious]

She has a notebook dedicated to plans for the Scadriel equivalent of the zombie apocalypse. It started years ago, after an especially stressful society event, and her mind picked that particular topic to obsess on. After that, whenever she had difficult emotions that could not be soothed any other way, she would work them out by refining the plans or expanding them further.

Marasi came across the notebook once. She had read about half a page before realizing it belonged to Steris. She put it back quickly and has never brought it up, but sometimes she passes by an abandoned building and ponders its defensive capabilities, or eats some fresh fruit and wonders how difficult the plants would be to cultivate in desperate circumstances.

Steris’ theoretical colony is doing much better now that she’s married to Wax.

Headcanon C: [heart-crushing]

For a long time, Steris wished she had a sister. She tried to connect with other girls her own age, but it never seemed to work out. Some, particularly the daughters of older families, wouldn’t have anything to do with her at all, and those that did would suddenly stop, and Steris was never sure why.

When she first learned she had a baby half-sister, she started making a list: things to teach her, things they could do together, what personal things she could share (and what ones she would never, ever be allowed to touch). She was still working on it when her mother, still very upset, explained to her that none of those things were ever going to happen. Steris still didn’t understand why, but she tore up the list and threw it out.

Anakin

Headcanon A:  [realistic]

A lot of things would have gone very differently if the Council had thought a bit more about the fact that Anakin had an incredibly different outlook than the kids brought up in the Temple.

Headcanon B: [hilarious]

Due to their radically different upbringings, experiences, and temperaments, Obi-Wan and Anakin miscommunicate regularly. Sometimes, far too often, it leads to frustration and disappointment. Other times, however, it leads to ridiculousness that leaves them scratching their heads, wondering where it all went wrong …

Obi-Wan tells Anakin to “meet him by the ship”. He then spends two hours waiting by the crashed ship in the forest, nibbling on preserved food packets, and very deliberately not worrying about what might have befallen his Padawan to delay him so long. Meanwhile, Anakin is hanging out on the ship they arrived in, tinkering with something he’s been secretly working on all week while he waits for his master to show up already.

Headcanon C: [heart-crushing]

Everything about Anakin’s life is heart-crushing, if you ask me.

Any OC  

I picked Leah Tolkien, my character from Fallout 4.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Fallout games at all, so here are a few things you need to know about Fallout 4 for the following headcanons to make sense. I’ll try and keep them brief …

- The Fallout games take place in a post-apocalypse America, about 200 years after nuclear war. It also takes place in an alternate universe, as its pre-War America looks a lot more like 1950s America than modern-day, despite the War taking place in 2077. There were more advancements than in 1950, but mostly based on what people of the 1950s might have thought advanced science would look like.

- Fallout 4 starts with the main character, his or her spouse, and their infant son entering a vault to escape the nuclear war that’s just started (in 2077). They are, unwittingly, frozen cryogenically. Some time later, they wake up briefly to witness strangers kill their spouse and kidnap their son. The MC is frozen again, wakes up after an unknown amount of time, and escapes the Vault, vowing to find their son and avenge their spouse.

    - Everyone else in the Vault is dead. The life support systems were discontinued for every pod except the MC’s.

Headcanon A:  [realistic]

I have issues with how the concept of artificial life is handled in Fallout 4, both from scientific and philosophical standpoints, so there’s a lot of official information about synths that i ignore. Most notably -- this is a spoiler for the game, in case that matters -- i ignore the in-game fact that the synth child Shaun Leah ends up having custody of (eventually … i haven’t gotten that far) will never grow up or age.

Headcanon B: [hilarious]

The Silver Shroud was a popular radio/TV series before the War, with all the ham and cheese you would expect of a 50s-style serial about a masked vigilante going by a name like The Silver Shroud. Leah and her family loved it.

One of the (many) side quests Leah took up while searching for her son involved finding the original Silver Shroud costume, then using it and a weapon based off the one used by The Silver Shroud to fight crime. Leah did the entire thing as in-character as it was possible for her to be.

While that side quest eventually ended, Leah still indulges in acting like The Silver Shroud from time to time. Some of her companions are as enthusiastic as she is about it. Others, well, they have to brace themselves every time she has the chance to talk to the bad guys she’s fighting.

Headcanon C: [heart-crushing]

As i’ve noted previously, Leah considers herself as two different people -- pre-War Leah and post-War Leah. In many ways, post-War Leah is a much stronger person. She can carry more, walk farther and faster, and is probably healthier than she’s ever been. Morally, her beliefs and principles have been challenged, both more often and much more dangerously than in the past. She’s learned to do things that her younger self would not have believed possible. But at the same time, she is far more fragile.

Sometimes, she’ll find a broken-down crib or a baby’s rattle, and mentally … go somewhere else for a half hour. Someone will walk by in a scavenged military uniform, and she’ll spend the rest of the day on the verge of tears (her husband was in the military). A song will play on the radio that reminds her of her wedding, and she’ll turn it off so fast the knob just about breaks. The thing that sets her off today might have caused no reaction yesterday. She might not even understand what about this thing reminds her of the past. Sometimes she can push it to the side or ignore it, but other times there’s nothing to be done but wait for it to pass.

Her companions eventually learn how to help, in their own ways, even if it’s just making sure nothing sneaks up on them while Leah’s out of commission. But it never fully heals or goes away. What happened to her was a drastic, awful thing, like getting a limb cut off. She’s learned to move forward, but something has been lost that can’t be replaced.

Headcanon D: [unrealistic]

Not sure if this counts as “unrealistic”, but it’s all i got.

After the end of the game, once all the dangling threads have been resolved and the dust is settling, Leah has a funeral for all the people who died in Vault 111. It’s a very personal affair, so she only asks her closest friends to come.

There’s not much more to it than digging graves outside the vault and laying the bodies to rest. For some people, she didn’t know them well enough to say much more than their names and professions, and even for the ones she did know she doesn’t say many words. It’s easier to cover the graves with stones to protect them from animals rather than put up markers, and honestly Leah prefers it that way. In a better world, they would have headstones up for their families to visit and mourn at, but that isn’t the world they live in. Most likely anyone coming to Vault 111 is coming to raid it or to gawk at it, so this way they won’t be raiding or gawking at the graves.

She visits once every year, on the anniversary of the day she left the vault, and leaves flowers, one for every person.

Thanks for asking!

[sonsup2sonsdown]

Today felt like a Monday to me!! I was just off...cranky...every noise/thing bothered me this morning.

Charlie has a great Zoom Kindermusic and the older boys built with their legos. Casey was home for a bit this morning and was able to get a few things done before he had to go into work.

After the Special for the day is usually academic time...I encouraged the boys to make a card for someone. Getting them to expand on their thoughts has been a struggle...today was not the day I was going to push the issue. One boy finished the other had all kinds of energy.

I decided it was best if we all got some fresh air even though it was cold and very windy we did it! After lunch all 3 boys played ninjas together. When I put Charlie to bed the older boys took turns one on one with me for music lesson and other did academic on computer...they love there school programs.

Picture of all 3 doing their Music today. This was my keyboard when I was a kid...they got a book to learn for Christmas. Working with them 1 on 1 sure helped. It was nice to spend time and not juggle each one at the same time...those times I feel like I am being stretched in different directions, like a stretch Armstrong...haha who remembers that toy?!

Charlie was still napping so older boys and I played this fun game that we turned into a math game at the end of each hand. Each fruit had a value and they had to count their points at the end.

Tuesday=Music

After the game they watched a story bot show...mamma needed some no thinking time. They then decided to go back to playing Legos and Ninjago which older boys understood oh mr Charlie is struggling talking or asking his brothers...his way is to just punch them. Let’s just say Charlie had several time outs today.

The day ended with rain, snow, hail and sunlight. Boys wanted to go play outside...which I welcomed. They got a lot for 2 hours playing outside well I enjoyed cooking a breakfast casserole and catching up with a few family members. Also enjoyed a quiet dinner and drink. I was hungry, casey was still working they were playing nicely so figured I would take the opportunity!

Oh what a difference it did to my mood. I am a go go go person. For example this weekend Casey said I’ll take the boys outside you relax so what do I decided to do organize the toy room! This was so relaxing to me as I was doing it knowing this will only help in the week to come. With this being said I need to remember to just be still take time for me don’t feel guilty no one is putting the pressure on me. All we can do in this new experience is recognize that all days will not be positive. We just can’t get caught up in the mind games. Reminds me a lot of running a marathon we need to build our endurance as parents to make it through this time. Some training runs are better then others, we don’t let a bad run ruin our race we push on...running a marathon is mostly mental. The training will get you to the start line but your mind/heart will get you to the finish.

Tomorrow I already know as I look at the rain/snow forecast I will have to push to find that joy! The joy will come watching the boys create a rain gauge. I feel I’m to blame for the rain/cloudsthis week...I decided many of our activities would be based on rain/clouds. Who knows if there are puddles we might just have to jump in them! Why not we can always do laundry...teaching life skills too! They are not a fan of the folding laundry their own but I sure am! They do actually fight over who gets to fold the towels. Alright I better get to bed tomorrow so I am well rested for the day.

[syao]

Neji Plays an Otome Game - Finale

Read Time: 7 mins | Random | Prompt: Competition

RECAP: With Rock Lee’s inspired intervention, Hyuuga Neji was moved by his flowing feelings of a man to play an otome game for his bedridden comrade, Tenten.

“What flowing feelings?” interjected Neji wanly. “And what is Gai doing here?”

Maito Gai emerged from out of nowhere, cracking up. “Ohohoho, count on Neji-kun to sense his beloved sensei’s chakra, even when he’s disguised as a narrator!”

Neji scowled. “I’d really prefer that you refrain from breaking the fourth wall.”

Gai pumped his fist. “You’re right. Why break just the fourth wall when I can do MUCH BETTER than that! The fifth, sixth, seventh, nay, EIGHTH wall awaits!”

Rock Lee’s eyes glistened with tears of pride. “Wohooo! Gai-sensei, so coooool!”

“Won’t you come in, Gai-sensei?” Tenten called from inside the room. “You’re all scaring the tenants.”

“Woooo!!!”

“And don’t break any of my walls on the way in, okay?”

“Woooo!!!”

“NEJI--”

“I’ve got this. Go back to bed.”

Unlikely Kindred Spirit

“Ah, so you’re playing Dokidoki Tutorial’s handheld release,” said Gai, nodding to himself solemnly as he watched Neji navigate through the dialogues. “It’s been many years since I’ve seen these...”

“YOU’VE PLAYED THIS?!” Neji and Tenten exclaimed in unison.

Gai grinned. “Don’t sound too impressed, disciples of mine! Kakashi and I have fought in many, many battles in the game’s original arcade release to test each other’s true strengths. It was a fierce competition to see who gets the Good Ending for all the boys first.”

KAKASHI-SENSEI PLAYED THIS, TOO?! Both faces darkened as they imagined the Copy Ninja calmly and impassively answering all the dokidoki decision points without missing a beat.

“No wonder he grew up to be such a remorseless, feared shinobi,” muttered Neji.

Life’s Philosophy

"So really, you can consult me about the choices and I’ll be happy to enlighten you, Neji.” Gai offered him a fatherly smile, as if reassuring him that of his reliability.

“Very well.” Neji pressed the Start button on the handheld and started to go play back the opening scenes.

Tenten’s forehead creased. “Neji, haven’t you read through those screens before? You can just press Skip to quickly move past those parts, you know.”

“I prefer not to,” he answered curtly. “In real life, we can’t skip out the parts of life we find tedious or those we don’t like. It’s what makes us stronger and more resilient, fallible human beings as we are.”

“Well-said, Neji-kun!” Lee and Gai applauded him enthusiastically.

Tenten’s eyes narrowed. You just didn’t know about the Skip option, did you?

How Women Do It

Tenten forced herself to sit up on the bed. “Well at least use the Load function!” She grabbed the device and demonstrated how to bring up the full menu. “Save the decision parts so it’ll be easier to go back to them in the future!” 

Lee and Neji both gaped at Tenten as she repeatedly tapped on Next to get past filled pages with various dates, game times, and chapters. Finally, she found a blank slot at page 35 to save.

“How long have you been playing this, Tenten?” asked Neji.

“I probably started a week ago.”

Lee held out his fingers to count. “15 slots per page, then multiply it by 34...”

Neji had long computed the answer in his mind, based on the strange look he was suddenly giving at her.

Gai rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “So that’s how women remember all of a man’s past mistakes in life. No wonder these can be easily brought up during arguments.”

“THAT’S SEXIST!!!”

It’s Perfectly Normal

Tenten puffed her cheeks in annoyance. “Look, it’s not just the choice screens you can save. It’s normal to save certain points of the game that you really enjoyed.”

Gai nodded along. “That’s true. There are certain conversations that are always fun to go back to, but they’re not selected to be part of the Clips Gallery.”

The kunoichi nodded gratefully to her sensei for his back-up. “Right! It’s perfectly normal! For example, I saved the moment from Hattori’s route when he finally understood that the female MC was more than just a childhood friend to him. You’ll see that on Page 16, Slot#3.”

Lee and Neji’s face darkened. That random yet accurate memory is definitely NOT normal!

Mission Completion Rate

Neji firmly pushed the coughing Tenten back to her bed. “Get some rest. You’re straining yourself out too much.” 

Lee nodded. “Yeah, Tenten! Leave this game to us.”

“B-But..”

The Hyuuga’s forehead creased. “Are you still holding a grudge against me for turning that guy into a Yandere? I told you, he had some issues right from the start. He had a double personality. He wasn’t a healthy choice for the MC at all. Also, I saw that the bad ending unlocked one picture for the CG gallery, improving your completion rate.”

Tenten sweatdropped. Count on Neji to find mission completion as the most attractive part of the game.

The Essence of Choices

Prince looks like he’s about to cry.

<< You hug him. >>

<< You stroke his head. >>

Neji glanced at Gai. “So what do you think? They’re basically the same thing.”

“HMP!” Their sensei wore a smug grin. “Listen, cherished student of mine. On the surface, skinship in otome games may all look the same. However,  the key to making the right choice in scenarios like this is to understand the context of your relationship. Try to recall your journey of love: did he previously share a rarely-spoken-of past memory of a precious loved one stroking his head as an expression of affection? Then that may be the right answer. Or maybe you two have known each other all your lives and have always treated him like a little brother. Stroking his head is what a big sister will do, so he’ll only feel disheartened if you choose to go with that option.” 

Gai capped it off by patting his student on the shoulder. “The bottom line is, an almost-correct answer means nothing to the game. It’s either you get the exact response and progress your relationship, or you don’t, and you get a smaller leeway for mistakes until the next bad ending cut-off.”

Neji hated to admit it, but he couldn’t help feeling impressed by the expert understanding the man had for the game. “You must have beat Kakashi during the challenge.”

The jounin raised a shaking fist in the air. “Almost! I was so close to beating him! But his choices were flawless and he beat all the endings before I did.” Gai looked torn between frustration and awe as he recalled that memory. “That Kakashi seems to have more experiences with different men than I do!”

Neji (and Tenten, who was trying to rest on her bed) both grimaced. THAT DIDN’T SOUND RIGHT!!!

Okay Kind of Guy

I am caught by surprise when I hear a soft voice speak from behind.

“Do not trust people so easily, Tenten.” He refuses to meet my gaze, but we are the only ones left in the empty classroom, so I’m sure he is talking to me. “What you see is not always what one is.”

“Finally, a sensible person in the game,” remarked Neji. “Who’s this silver-haired, blue-eyed fellow?”

“Oh, that’s Vincent. He’s the mysterious foreign exchange student from England,” explained Tenten. “Really smart but really quiet guy. He always watches the female MC from a distance and gives her advice. He’s cold to everyone else, though.”

“... sounds like an okay guy to me,” shrugged Neji.

"It sounds like someone I know, though,” murmured Lee, tapping on his chin.

What’s Wrong with Him?

“Does Vincent have a route?” Neji wanted to know.

Tenten thought for a moment. “Yeah, I think I saw a page for him in the CG Gallery. I just haven’t gotten around to playing Vincent’s route.”

He gave her an incredulous look. “So you’ve opted to play all the other men before him? What’s wrong with Vincent?”

Tenten sweatdropped. Neji... really does have a soft spot for Vincent, huh?

Down, Boy, Down!

Neji was still inconsolably miffed by what he perceived as a snub of his newfound bias, so Tenten felt compelled to say something.

“I wanted to play Vincent last because I heard his route has the most number of story spoilers.”

“...”

He’s still mad. Tenten sighed, and then added, “I also want to save the best route for last.”

“...really?” He opened one eye and looked at her skeptically.

But Lee and Gai were seeing something else. Neji’s like a puppy wagging his tail!

The Girl Who Feels Loved

“Well, we’ve made enough ruckus for one day.” Lee gave the bedridden patient a snappy farewell salute. “Feel better, Tenten!”

“We’ll check in from time to time to make sure you’ve taken your meds and are well-fed,” promised Gai as he left fruits and bottled water within her reach.

“I left three choice screens on Slots 11, 12, and 13 in case I made a mistake on Prince’ route,” said Neji. “It’s really difficult to seduce a sociopath bastard.”

She stifled a laugh. For all their quirks, her team really loves her, and she loves them back just as much.

"Thank you, everyone. I had a great time today.” She beamed fondly at them.

Otome guys may be cute and all, but nothing beats my 3D boys.

That Word Again 

“Didn't you have fun, Neji?” asked Lee as the trio walked home leisurely.

“Fun. Heh.” Neji rolled his eyes. “Playing to please fictional men so they’ll date the female MC is hardly fun. A relationship should be the product of two people working together to keep it stable and strong, not a one-sided effort to fit somebody’s preferences and expectations.”

Gai looked impressed. “For a tsundere, you seem to express the ways of love so clearly.”

Neji scowled. “There’s that word again! Why do you keep calling me that?!”

Lee and Gai both wore a stupid expression on their faces as if they were doing their damn best not to burst out laughing.

“F-Fine! Just call me whatever you want! It’s not like I particularly care.” He crossed his arms with a scowl.

Neji’s tsundere-ness is a dating sim dream! Gai imagined hordes of male players exploding into massive nosebleeds if they overhear this conversation. We must keep this dere side of him a secret... or he’ll pose a threat to the future of Konoha youth! 

The Last Word

“But all that aside, I really appreciate that you decided to meet Tenten’s interests halfway,” said Lee smilingly. “You’re typically not the kind of person who’d be pushed into doing something he didn’t like.”

Neji shrugged. “If I didn’t do that, Tenten would have insisted on playing all day. Otherwise, I just want to move on from this day and forget those sissy-looking, psychologically-problematic jerks.”

“Now. now, Neji. it”s not so bad,” chuckled Lee. “Besides, it’s not as if it’s the furthest you would go for her.”

The Hyuuga glared pointedly at him, but had no words to rebut until they parted ways.

“Was I too upfront with him, Gai-sensei?” asked Rock Lee when it was just the two of them walking back.

In response, Gai grinned. “A bit. I have a feeling that someone’s going to do a lot of thinking tonight about circumstances.”

Indeed, that night, Neji could hardly feel the beckoning of slumber. He was busy writing down in-depth character profiles for each otome male route, his famed observational skills polished by Gai’s game insights meticulously detailing the nuances of possible choice screens that would come up as the game progressed.

Neji sighed. Maybe Lee was right-- there wasn’t a lot he wouldn’t do for the sake of Tenten’s smile. 

But it’s not like he could help it. Just like the female MC in the game, pleasing someone that matters to him did feel... a little nice.

THE END

[bluesakurablossom]

Life's Gift of Love: Mikey's Love Story

Chapter 6 Sky's Pov... It felt like it was only a second before I woke up again, but I didn't open my eyes. I felt like I was surrounded what felt like giant soft fluffy arms surrounding me, not only just around my arms, but around my legs too. I tried to move, but it was just too comfy to move a muscle. I could sense my mind was going back to sleep just right before I felt myself sinking in and slipping down sliding on my left side till I rolled up on to my back. "Hey wakey wakey eggs and bakey", a funny voice said I giggled a little and I rubbed my eyes open with my hand. I blinked my eyes open a few times as I shifted my arms out till they were in front of me. I stretched out before collapsing in bed. I looked over to see Mikey with the usual bright smile on his face that I see. "Morning sunshine", he said "Wait what time is it?", I asked "Its nine in the morning Sky, you sure slept in quite awhile", he said I then gasped feeling like I just hit a brick wall when I looked around to see I wasn't in my room in my apartment. My heart began to race and my stomach turn into knots. "Oh nuts! My pets! They need to be fed! I totally spaced out!", I said, quickly kicking off the covers trying to get up "Easy Sky, easy, wait", Mikey said, stopping me by putting his hands on my shoulders "I have to go!", I said, eagerly "Everything is fine, you don't need to worry about it", he said, with a smile "What?", I asked, confused "I went to your apartment this morning and I took care of everything, you don't have to worry about nothing", he said "All of them got fed, got some play time and cleaned up their enclosures" "Wait how did you even get in?", I asked "A ninja never reveals his secrets", he said, in a mimicking tone "That is what a magician says you knucklehead", I said, smirk "But you seriously took care of everything? Pellets for Iggy and Lola? Kale for Usagi? Flakes for my fish? Raspberries and nuts for Skittles? And a can of Beveno cat food for Kisa?" "Check, check, check, check, check and check", he said, with a nod each time I let out a heavy sigh of relief as I crashed back down in bed. "Awwww Mikey, you didn't have to do that, you could of just dumped cold water on me and made me go do it", I said, with a smile "Nah don't worry about it, you looked too precious to wake up when you were asleep", he said, with a smile I blushed slightly pink in my cheeks as I giggled. "I am sorry I fell asleep here, I was just so tired from work and the fight and everything", I said "I hope I didn't cause no one a restless night of sleep" "Nah its all good", he said "I just slept on my bean bag, I do it on occasions when playing video games" "By the way, super comfy body pillow, slept like a baby", I said, snuggling against it "I know right! Soon as I snuggle with it, I am out like a light", he said "Dude I need to get myself one of these, I can get used to sleeping like this", I said, with a smile He chuckled. "Rise and shine, we got breakfast being made in a little bit", he said "Mmmmmm yum I could use a little something", I said, giving my stomach a smack "Definitely me too, I'll be right back", he said, getting up and giving my head a rub before leaving I smiled and giggled a little. I then slid out of bed and I looked to see my bag that carried my tank the night before right beside the bed. I unzipped it to see I had a pair of sweats that I had decided to put in my bag in case I wanted to go on a run. "Thank goodness I had an extra pair of clothes in here", I said, taking out my outfit I got out of my old clothes and I slipped on a black shirt with the Susan B pink ribbon for breast cancer and a message in pink letters saying "Fight Like a Girl" and I got into slim black yoga pants that pooled at the ankles. I slid off my blue bandanna and replaced it with a black, white, and dark pink zig zag one, letting the tails hang behind my back. I walked out of the bedroom and I could hear already hip hop music playing from stereo speakers all around the lair and I heard the sound of whipping going through the air. "What the?", I said, looking up To my absolute surprise it was Mikey riding on top of a skateboard in the air with rockets attached at the end! "Woah! Mikey! That is freaking awesome!", I called out "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!", he said, doing a flip in the air He then came doing a sharp turn down towards my left kicking his board and making it spin a few 360 turns before landing back on top, coming straight towards me. "Your coffee little lady", he said, handing me a hot steaming mug "Awww you big green sweetie", I said, smiling and taking a sip "Mmmmmm you even got my favorite flavor" "Saw it at your place this morning, figured you would want to some", he said, doing a loop "You read my mind my friend", I said, giggling Mikey flew off doing more tricks on his board as I enjoyed my morning cup. As I walked around getting to know the place better, it seemed like I was more in a hang out area then an actual home. But hey I am not complaining, its different and its really cool, makes you want to stay. As I passed a desk with a bunch of computer screens I came to a fast stream water slide. "Wow that would be fun to go down", I said, to myself "Ahh its good to see you up in about", someone said "Who said that?", I asked, looking around "Over here young one", a wise voice said I looked over and I saw Splinter in an odd position balancing only on one claw on his paw and the tip of his tail. "Oh Splinter I didn't see you there", I said, walking over "I thought I was looking at something else" He chuckled slightly. "No, I am just doing my meditation", he said, pushing up on his claw and balancing himself up till he was on a tail "Very interesting", I said, with a nod "Good morning Splinter" "How are you this morning my dear?", Splinter asked "Oh not too bad thank you, I don't quite remembering falling asleep", I said He chuckled. "Yes, you had passed out when you and the others were watching the movie marathon last night", he said "Oh right! It was a rather long marathon", I said, remembering last night "Watching all the those Jason Voorhees movies can really tire you out" "You had fallen asleep on the couch and with the incident that occurred last night, we considered letting you stay the night to make sure that you were not going to be harms way", he said "Thank you, I really appreciate this", I said, smiling "You are our guest and our friend Miss Richards, you are welcomed here anytime you desire", Splinter said, bowing his head slightly I smiled softly towards him. "Guys breakfast is almost ready!", Mikey called out, making my head turn towards the direction of his voice "I better see how he is holding up", I said, looking back at Splinter "Alright my dear, I will join you in a moment", Splinter said, with a nod I walked off finishing up my last bit of coffee as I walked into the kitchen to see Mikey moving around by the stove doing random things such as stirring, flipping and moving a pan on the stove top. "Wow you seem to be very busy", I said, leaning against the counter "Yeah everyone likes something different in the morning", he said I giggled. "Well I can see that from the amount of things you got going", I said "Speaking of that, what do you want?", he asked "What?", I asked, confused "What can I make you? You name it", he said "Mmmmmmm I don't know really, never had anyone make me something in a very long time", I said, shrugging "Honestly, I am not so sure" "Say no more!", he said, with a smile He then went around the island in the kitchen and skid to a halt in front of the pantry grabbing something off a shelf. I watched him curiously as I sat down at the dinning table, he took the box in his hand ripping the top off of it and pouring it into a little bowl and he poured some hot water into it and began to stir it up quickly. He then took an apple out of the fruit basket on the counter beside the stove and he tossed it up in the air and threw up two ninja stars slicing the apple into slices as they landed perfectly in the bowl. He then slid it up on his hand till it slid all the way around his shoulders and down his other arm and the bowl landed in front of me. "Oatmeal a la que", he said, in a funny French voice "Mmmmmm looks good", I said, taking my spoon and taking a bite I smiled happily as I swallowed it whole. "Yum apple cinnamon one of favorites", I said, looking up at him "Eat up madame", he said, still doing the accent as he poured me a glass of orange juice "Morning Sky", a voice said I looked up and I saw Leo, Donnie and Raph had all entered in the kitchen. As soon as I saw them Leo and Donnie gave me a warm smile, but Raph just kept that gruff looking face like he did on the night before. When he tried to look at me I slightly looked away not wanting to get into a dispute this early in the morning. "Morning guys", I said, with a smile turning back to Leo and Donnie "Hey you doing okay?", Leo asked "Feeling alright?" "Yeah, still kind of shaken up by the whole ordeal, but I will get over it", I said, nodding "Good to hear you are doing alright, you seemed pretty tense last night", Donnie said "I know, I am sorry for my harsh behavior last night, I was just pissed off at the guy who nearly tried to kill you all and its been a long time I have actually talked about family", I said "It's okay, we have had worse, and yeah its not easy to talk about a troubled past, especially having to go through it at a young age", Leo said "You know that was a pretty powerful air tank you had Skylar", Donnie said "Yeah it was highly concentrated oxygen that's why it exploded so much", I said "It was even more violent than the last time I did it" "What do you mean the last time?", Leo asked "Well when I first encountered Mikey, I saw him getting beaten up by thugs and I didn't know how to help and I have seen air tanks explode before on the internet and I thought maybe I could give it a shot", I said "Turned out to be a hero that night" "It sure was", Mikey said, sitting beside me "I ended up repaying the debt when I found her again" "Found me? He did more than that, he saved my life", I said "He did?", Leo asked, curiously "From nearly drowning out in the ocean", I said "You nearly drowned out in the ocean?!", Leo asked, looking shocked "I was out on the boardwalk and some guy was drunk came near me and he tried to rape me", I said "I used some pepper spray that I had on me to try to escape, but it wasn't enough and he pushed me over the edge. I got caught in the kelp and I hit my head hard trying to swim up to the surface and nearly drowned" "That's when I found Skylar again, and that's basically when we started hanging out together", Mikey said "I knew she could be trusted" "Wow, you surely do have quite the interesting life", Donnie said "Could become quite the amazing biography story in my eyes" "Hey who am I to complain?", I said, shrugging "When life gives you lemons you just got learn how to deal with them" "So you left home at an early age, had to make it out on your own, you meet our brother, get into life and death situations, a cancer battler and a vegan?", Leo said I looked at him surprised. "Wait how did you know that?", I asked "Well it says so on your tattoo on your wrist", he said, motioning to my left wrist I looked to see my first tattoo I had gotten when I got my job at the parlor, in black ink written in cursive saying "vegan" along my wrist almost like as if I was wearing a bracelet. "Oh yeah, I am one, been one for pretty much all my life", I said "I know it must sound silly" "Not really", he said, shrugging and shaking his head "I don't think it is either", Donnie said "A lot of people are vegan, even some famous people are vegan and I don't see what's wrong with it" I smiled slightly and I felt Mikey nudge me in the shoulder with his arm. "See they don't think its weird, they are not going to laugh at you", he said, with a smile "Its not weird" "Weird if you ask me", Raph said, with a dark look while eating eggs I looked slightly over at him as the others looked back at him with unpleasant looks. "Well no one asked for your opinion", Leo said "It's just weird to me", he said, again sounding not phased by the comment "It's not weird Raph, its just a different life style", Donnie said "She doesn't believe in exploiting someone else's life" "Still not typical to me, how can she even stop?", Raph asked "Well she found a way and that's something for her to be proud of", Leo said "You shouldn't judge her just because what she thinks, how would you feel if she made fun of your lifestyle?" "How would she know? Barely known her for a day", he said "They say vegans are just skinny weaklings" "Will you knock it off?!", Mikey said, suddenly standing up from his chair I was a bit taken back from the sudden outburst from Mikey, causing Leo and Donnie to gasp in surprise, and with that, that made Raph shut up immediately and looked at him confused. I could see Mikey was glaring at him from out of the corner of my eye and I was shaking terribly inside. "That is her choice, if that is what she believes in, then that is what it is, leave her alone!", he said I gulped silently to myself, making myself smaller in the chair. Raph and Mikey just glared at each other for what seemed like a long time, but eventually Raph stood up abruptly from his seat and I instinctively scooted more beside Mikey's leg hiding myself a bit. He then turned around and walked out and smashed one of the cabinets breaking it off its hinges, causing me to gasp softly in fright, before he disappeared. "Yikes", I said, softly "And I just fixed that!", Donnie said, sounding irritated "Jeez is he really like this much?", I asked "That was about a six there on his anger scale, you don't want to see him go to ten", Leo said, shaking his head "Why? What's the worst he can do?", I asked "Break bones, smash concrete with a single punch, and throw heavy things around that causes a lot of destruction", Donnie said, adjusting his glasses "Last time he got pissed he smashed my laptop" "Woah! Jeez and I thought Charlie Sheen had anger management problems", I said, shocked "Just keep your distance from him until he cools down, you don't want to see him at his worst", Mikey said, sitting back down "I will keep that in mind definitely", I said, nodding in agreement After trying to have a decent breakfast after the whole dispute that unfolded, I left the kitchen being sure to avoid Raph as much as possible not wanting to get in his path. I walked in some random direction and right when I thought I was in the clear, I felt someone touch my shoulder. I shrieked and quickly whipped around thinking it was Raph, but to my relief it was Donnie gently holding me by the arms thinking I was going to fall. "It's okay, it's just me", he said, trying to sound as calm as he could "Jeez you scared me for a second there", I said, regaining my breath "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were okay", he said "You looked really scared" "Well despite having my vegan lifestyle choice being ridiculed once more, yeah I am peachy", I said, with a nod "I never expected him to do that, that's something I have never seen before", he said "I hope it didn't hurt you too much" "Hardly, it's not the first time I have been criticized on what I believe in", I said "I am sorry, I didn't think it would happen", he said, sitting down in his swivel chair "It's okay, its not your fault", I said, sitting on a metal file cabinet "Well while you are here with me", he said "Mind if maybe I ask you a few questions about your cancer?" "Sure, fire away amigo", I said, nodding "What exactly kind of therapy do you get when you go to the hospital?", he asked "I get my therapy by injections", I said "I get them every week, its a intra muscular injection where they put the needle in the muscle in my arm" "Now do they say what chemicals they put in?", he asked "Not that I remember when I first started, I guess maybe just ones that fight off cancer cells, they never really disclose what they put in me", I said, shrugging "Now how long have been getting these injections?", he asked "For close to eleven years now, so basically since I was diagnosed", I said "Have they considered doing any other therapy? Seeing how you don't think its helping or have they not noticed?", he asked "No, I don't think they have noticed its not working, I have not been given any other kind of therapy", I said "I have taken no drugs, no prescription pills, nothing like that, they didn't recommend a change and kept me going on the injections" "Interesting", he said, nodding as he wrote down on the clipboard "Are you allergic to any chemicals?" "No I am not, not allergic really to anything", I said, shaking my head "How often do you have to use the air tanks?", he asked "Usually if I have a bit of trouble breathing on certain days and when its really smoggy out", I said "They said if I get a lot of smog into me it could cause damage to my lungs" "Okay, and last one what is your blood type?", he asked "Its A negative", I said He wrote down on the clipboard before setting it down on the desk. "Okay great, now do you mind if I can possibly get a blood sample?", he asked "What for?", I asked, a bit confused "To study what maybe could be going wrong with the therapy you are receiving and why its not being effective", I said "I think with the answers that you provided me, I can trace the source of the cancer cells and see what reaction it gets from getting the therapy you are getting now and see what can possibly be the right treatment" "You can do that?", I asked, surprised "Well it would be my first time trying, but I did read about cancer treatments last year", he said "I might be able to find the right adequate treatment you need in order to be cured" "Yeah I mean I do want to be cured more than anything", I said "Get back the life I always wanted, that would be a dream come true, yeah totally you can have a sample, do you need a lot?" "Oh no, not a lot, just need a little sample of it", he said, taking out a few things from a metal draw "Don't want to drain too much of that, I know that feeling all too well" "What do you mean?", I asked, curiously "I was captured by an enemy of ours last year and he was going to use our blood to make an antidote", he said, taking the cap off a butterfly needle with his teeth "He was going to spread a chemical in the air and make New York a quarantine zone" "Why in the world would someone do that?", I asked "Make money off of it", he said, rubbing his fingers together "Oh well that's obvious", I said, rolling my eyes "How much did they drain out of you?" "Enough where I almost went into cardiac arrest", he said, screwing on a blood valve on the needle "Holy shit!", I said, stunned "Yeah it was not a good experience at all", he said, shaking his head "I really thought we were going to die" "I can't believe someone would do that, I'm so sorry that happened", I said, feeling sympathetic "Hey its not your fault, things just happen when you don't expect it, what matters is we did get out of there alive", he said "Yeah that's true", I said, nodding "Though I would like to find out that asshole who did that to you" "He vanished last year, we have no idea where he is at", Donnie said, shaking his head "People who do things like that should have the same treatment done to them and see how they like it", I said "If only they could", Donnie said He was about to inject the needle into my arm until I blocked his hand with my own and he looked at me confused. "Sorry just not this arm", I said, rubbing my right arm "Its the one where they injected so many times, it becomes really numb when a needle gets pushed in" "Oh of course, no worries", he said, getting on the other side of me He put some alcohol on a gauze pad on my wrist and he gently injected the needle into my vein. The blood slowly came out until it filled the valve up to the top. "I will get straight to work on the sample and see what I can do", he said, taking the needle out and pushing a band aid on the cut "Well hopefully you will find something, I am not sure if you will", I said "Hey they don't call me the residential genius for nothing, I am sure I will find something", he said, with a smile "Okay then genius, good luck", I said, with a slight giggle I left Donnie to do his work and I began to explore more around the lair that I didn't quite yet get the chance to see. I came across a more darkened part of it and I could see lit candles on the ground inside a room that glowed dimly from the fog that was coming from an vent on the wall. I walked more inside to take a look and just when I did I saw Splinter walk out in front of me, carrying a tray in his paws with a kettle and small cups passing me. He set down the tree and he picked up a small water can and started to fill up a small pot holding a bonsai tree. Once he finished he began to rearrange the leaves in an orderly manner as I walked a bit closer. "You have a nice bonsai", I said "Yes, I do tend to it daily, making sure it grows properly", Splinter said, with his back still to me arranging the leaves "Reminds me of the one I have at home", I said, walking inside "I keep it on my windowsill where I see it every morning" "You have grown much Skylar, you have blossomed from a young sprout to a beautiful rose", he said, turning around and facing me "I can't believe I am really seeing you again Splinter, after so many years", I said, sitting down on my legs "Time has greatly gone by, I always thought about you every day and how you were coping with your family and cancer", he said, sitting down on a cushion in front of me "Oh and by the way", I said I pulled out from my shirt and gripped the necklace that was hiding and I pulled it out letting it dangle in front of me. "You still have it", he said, surprised "Best present anyone has ever given me", I said, with a smile "I wear it all the time" "It was my gift to you for your heroic act", he said "Its really beautiful, thank you", I said "Though I haven't been able to figure out what to put into it quite yet" "Many ideas do cloud the mind, but one will stand out in front, like a lighthouse glowing in the bay", Splinter said "Nice philosophy", I said, smiling "I will keep that one in mind" "May I ask you something Skylar?", Splinter asked "Okay, what is it?", I asked "I need you tell me about your mother", he said I inhaled sharply, my heart was racing fast. I bit down on my lip and I hunched myself over, trying to hide myself away. "What about her?", I asked "I need to know what she did to you while we were apart", Splinter said "Did she ever hurt you?" I glanced up at him, and I kept my head down as I did. I had no indication of wanting to speak. Splinter placed his paw on top of my knee. "The night we met, when you said she was yelling at you, did she hurt you?" I slowly shook my head and I could hear him take a deep breath. "The bruises were hiding under my shirt, she pushed me hard", I said "Can you remember the first time she ever hurt you?", he asked "When dad left home", I said "Mom came home, she looked really mad, I asked her what's wrong, and she slapped me across the face and she pushed me on the ground...hard and she threw a photo frame at me" I moved my shirt down slightly and on my shoulder three scars, different lengths and all just half a inch apart. Splinter looked at me speechless, as if he had just seen a ghost and he was loss of words and emotion. I hung my head as I pulled my shirt back up and my body began to shake violently. I could see Splinter's paw slowly and gently reach over and he grasped both of my hands in his, shielding them from the outside world. "Skylar, listen to me", he said, gently "You don't ever have to be scared anymore, you will never have to worry about seeing her again, for she does come back, me and my sons will be protect you" "I know its been a long time since I have seen her and I still have been scared, but I believe you", I said, nodding "Come here", he said, holding his arms out I scooted over to him as his arms wrapped around me and I hugged him sniffling into his robe. "I know we have only meet a few times over the years, but I always thought of you as a daughter", he said "And you know, even though we met only twice you always acted like a dad towards me", I said "Better than what my dad ever did for me" "And I will keep caring and protect you as if you were my own", he said I squeezed him tighter, moving my head deeper into his hug. "Thanks", I said, with a smile We both kept in our hug for a bit longer before we released, looking at each other. "Would you do me a favor Skylar?", he asked "Of course anything", I said, nodding "Could you bring this tray to Leonardo? He is in the dojo and he should be finishing up his katas and he always needs his tea after training", he asked "Yeah totally of course", I said, picking up the tray and get up to my feet "It's on the same path from here to your right", he said "I'll find it, thank you", I said, as I turned to slowly walk away "And Skylar?", Splinter said I stopped and looked over my shoulder. "I couldn't be more proud of how far you overcome", he said, with a smile and nod I gave him a warm smile before I walked forward again, heading to the dojo where Leo was at. I saw Leo was doing different moves in the middle of the dojo, pretending it looked like he was fighting an invisible figure in front of him. He did numerous slices in front of him in a quick attack, then did a back flip and when he threw one of his swords up in the air, he did a complete back flip and when the sword came back down it stabbed down in front of him as it toggled. He grunted in frustration as he kicked some dust with his foot. "Leo, that was amazing!", I said, in awe Leo immediately jumped up in the air spinning around and was about to strike down with one of his swords, before I saw his eyes widen stopping his arm immediately seeing me. Even though he was a few feet away it did make my heart skip a few beats. "Oh Skylar, its you, yikes you scared me there for a second, I could sliced you in half", he said, regaining his breath "Sorry, I thought you might of heard me coming in", I said "It's okay, don't worry about it, just wait till I finish before you come in okay?", he said, spinning his swords around his wrists before stabbing in the ground "Woah! You are sure are skilled with those swords Leo", I said, amazed "Oh its nothing really, trying to get this one move down but can't seem to get it right", he said, wiping some sweat off his forehead "Well I thought it looked pretty good, you have good swordsmanship", I said He smiled some. "Thanks Sky, what do you have there?", he asked, eyeing the tray in my hands "Oh! Splinter asked me if I could bring you your green tea, he told me you like to have some after your training sessions", I said "I do, it helps relax my mind", he said, with a nod "You care to join me for some?" "Oh sure, that sounds nice, its been actually a long time since I have had tea", I said, walking over to a cushioned area next to the arena "I don't think I ever had green tea before" "Well I think you are certainly going to love it", Leo said, sheathing his swords and walking down from the arena "Well let's see", I said, sitting down on a cushion and putting the tray in the middle of the floor Leo joined me in front of me as I poured in some tea into the small cups. He took his own taking a sip and I gently blew on mine before taking a sip. "Mmmmmm this is really good", I said, as the warm flavor went down my throat "One of my personal favorites", he said, with a smile "I will have to get myself some of this", I said "It's really tasty" "And best part of it for you, its vegan", he said "Even better", I said, smiling "You seem to be really open towards us", Leo said "Considering no one really gives us the chance" "Yeah, well, I had a little help from Mikey coming out of my own shell myself", I said "I didn't really talk too much" "Really? It seems a bit hard to believe that you could of ever been an introvert", he said, taking a sip of his tea "Well with childhood neglect, it left me with physical, mental and emotional injuries", I said "Including difficulty relating to people, but I always could relate to animals" "Like relating what you were going through what they had gone through?", he asked "Exactly, the more we got to know each other and having rough childhoods growing up, and just not being understood by people", I said "It relates to me so I can understand what it means, but the only difference is you guys had someone there that loved you" "Do you have a hard talking with others?", he asked "Well I had what I call limitations, I had a very difficult time comprehending language", I said "I knew something was really wrong with me because I wasn't getting along with the other children around me, but I couldn't tell what it was. I thought it might of been my cancer because I was still attending school after I was diagnosed, but I think it was something more. It was a source of great distress and fear for me and I was very reclusive growing up and I spent a whole lot of my time by myself outside. As I got older I sought help for my condition, but it was very difficult for me to open up to anyone and I couldn't overcome the obstacle" "Wow, you certainly had rough it growing up", Leo said, looking at me with wonder "You know how they put the racing horses behind the gates, there is an incredible of energy before they let them out, but you see I felt like I was stuck in the gate there for all these years", I said "I just can't believe your own mother treated you like that", he said "That doesn't make any sense, I mean you couldn't control what happened and yet she still blames you for something you didn't do intentionally" "Trust me I have been trying to find that answer for a long time", I said, nodding "But I don't think I will be finding out any time soon, even if I don't, its not worth it, I consider our relationship has already gone out the window" "When you said you ran away from home, and that you were living out on the streets for few nights, did it occur to you that you might of gone back?", he asked I took a sip of my tea before setting it down. "I did think about it for a little bit, to be quite honest, but I also thought if I did go back I would be back to square one of trying to get my life in order and make it better", I said "I knew couldn't stay, I didn't want to go but I had to" "I wouldn't say I blame you, it's just too much to handle", he said "It was, but even though I did spend a few nights out there, I don't regret it", I said "It felt like a sense of freedom, like I finally broke loose from my chains of misery and sadness and I was on a road to recovery from my troubled past" "I just can't believe you really made it out there on your own", he said "And you never had to go back when you thought things were going to get rough and you built your own staircase that led you where you wanted to go in life" I smiled softly. "It wasn't easy, but I am glad I did what I did", I said "And I wouldn't change one thing about it" "You are really brave Skylar as well as a fighter too, you really are inspiring to me", he said, with a smile "Awwww thanks Leo", I said, with a smile I gave him a hug around his shoulder and he chuckled hugging me back with one arm, giving my back a few pats, before I released him. "And look don't let this new move put you down", I said "Certain things are just difficult at first until you can figure out a plan of action in order to accomplish what it is you want to accomplish, but you will get there, it takes time. But I know you can do it, as long as you keep believing in yourself, you will always succeed" Leo gave me a hopeful look before I gave him a smile, and eventually he did smile up to me. I gave his shoulder a squeeze and rub before I got up and walked off. I stopped when I reached the kitchen and looked around the corner and I saw Leo looked to be in deep thought and he got back up on the arena and he did the first move I saw him do once, then he did a few more times before he did the second move getting used to it. Finally when he did the first move and second moves a few times, he managed to do the flip kicking his sword up in the air with his foot and he did a complete flip before letting the sword spin around his neck and fly up in the air again before it landed back down in his hand catching it. A big grin then came to his face. "Yes!", he said, doing a fist pump "Way to go big guy", I said, softly with a smile Later on I was doing yoga in the living room right in front of the water slide. It made it more relaxing since it was like I was outside in nature. When I moved forward on my arms resting on my forearms and letting my legs go into a perfect split, I took a soft breathe letting my body relax and let my mind flow. After a few minutes in this position, my eyes shot open as I got a vision in my head of something amazing. I reached over for my backpack beside me and unzipped it trying to stay in the same position while I wriggled my sketchpad out and I grabbed my pencil bag out from the front pocket. I opened up my pad and grabbed a pencil from my bag and I began to quickly sketch out what I had seen during my yoga, before the vision escape my mind. "Skylar?", a voice said I stopped drawing and I looked under my arms to see Mikey upside down looking at me. "Oh hey Mikey, what's up?", I asked, wobbling a bit before I steadied myself "What are you doing?", he asked, looking at me funny "I am doing a new sketch, possibly that could be a new design for work", I said, tracing a few lines on the paper "Yeah but why are you doing it upside down?", he asked, cocking his head to where it was right side with mine "I always get inspirations when I do it at a different angle for some reason", I said "I don't know why, but every time I do my yoga I always get an idea and I just have to get it on paper before it disappears" "Huh how different", he said, seeming like he understood "Or weird", I said, giggling as I shaded in some parts "Mind if I see?", he asked "Sure, just finishing up", I said, feeling my legs starting to sink back down I shaded and outlined the last remaining details before I felt my arm give out. "Ouch! Shoulder cramp!", I said, falling on my side with a thump Mikey started laughing at me as I sat up pushing up my bandanna that was covering my eyes, giving him a smirk. "Haha very funny", I said, sarcastically He then picked up my sketch pad as he began to look over my design as I took a chug of my strawberry lemonade vitamin water. "Wow this is really cool!", he said, looking at it amazed "It's just a rough draft at the moment, still need to add in more detail", I said He then started going through the other pages that were in the sketch pad, through my other sketches. "Wow, Sky these are awesome!", he said, impressed "Awww its nothing, those were actually my first ever drawings I did before I took art classes in school", I said "I'm serious! These are way better than what I can do", he said "Well I don't know about that, I think they kind of suck", I said, shrugging "Don't be so self judgmental about yourself Sky, I always give out an honest opinion, and I am really serious on these look", he said "You should be proud of yourself for what you made" "Thanks Mikey, that really, really does mean something to mean" I said, with a soft smile I'm not sure what it was, but Mikey's eyes were a beautiful light crystal blue as he smiled at me. It's like you could look at them all day and you could lose your heart and soul into them. He was more free lanced and easy going than his other brothers and he was full of kindness. We just looked at each other for the longest time, his face was a bit firm but yet so kid like and his eyes were still facing mine deeply. Almost like we were both lost in a deep spell and neither one of us was breaking from it. "Guys! Guys! Guys!", a voice called out We both shook out of the trance as we saw Donnie come running into the living room. "Donnie, what's goin on?", I asked "Skylar I found something when I was testing out your blood sample and found a possible therapy", he said, excitedly "Well paint me green and call me a cucumber, you actually did find something! You are a genius!", I said, amazed I saw Mikey struggling not to laugh by holding his hands over his mouth, trying to keep it together from the funny expression. "Sorry, heard that one from work", I said, giggling Donnie looked like he was holding his breath trying not to look like to laugh too. I giggled a little before they both took a breath calming down. "So what did you find Donnie?", I asked "Okay so I made a solution of the sample of the blood and with the answers that you gave me, I made a new kind of chemotherapy with a little bit of a twist to it", he said "Does it involve getting giant needles poked into you?", I asked "Not even close, its so painlessly its easy as if you were breathing the air right now", he said "So its like chemotherapy, but not necessarily the kind you would see if you were in a hospital?", I asked "Exactly", he said, with a smile I shrugged. "Okay, I am willing try anything if it means to improve this life destroyer", I said "Great I will go get the tank", he said, walking quickly off "You are going to love this!" I then sat down beside Mikey on the couch. "Do you think this will work?", he asked "I don't know if it will or not, but it beats to having to get a giant needle stuck in your arm every week and have it do nothing beneficial", I said, shrugging Donnie came back with the tank and a mask with a hose, with Leo coming from the dojo with Splinter. But Raph decided to keep his distance away from the rest of us by leaning against the wall and chewing on a toothpick. Well I didn't care at the moment, after all he did make fun of my lifestyle choice and caused damage in the kitchen. I decided to just keep a low profile and not acknowledge his presence. "What is happening?", Splinter asked "Donnie thinks he might of found something to help with my leukemia Splinter", I said "Maybe it could the be the cure to this!", Mikey said, excitedly "Well I don't think its an overnight miracle Mikey, but I am sure it could be a positive start", Leo said, sounding hopeful "I studied her blood sample while I was running some tests on typical different kinds of chemicals that is used in intra muscular injection", Donnie said "I found out what chemicals that the hospital has been giving her and it turns out to be the wrong kind of chemicals that are being used" "What do you mean wrong kind Donnie?", I asked "When I tested the chemicals on a cancer cell in your blood, many were actually fighting over the cell on how to kill the cell", he said "So it was mixed messages being sent out on what the cell was suppose to do and it thought it was being attacked and white blood cells came and destroyed the chemicals, that's why your therapy hasn't been working properly because of mixed messages" "And now its starting to make sense!", I said, flopping my arms in my lap "I can't believe it!" "So basically she was given that therapy for nothing?", Leo asked "Unfortunately, yes", Donnie said, with a nod "So what now?", Mikey asked "Well with this new tank", Donnie said "I created a new therapy by testing out different chemicals that have been known to treat properly cancer cells and they neutralize it to where it starts to build up an immunity where it can began the healing process, and its easy as simply breathing in this air in this tank" "That sounds promising", I said "So you are going to make her breathe in that?", Leo asked "I already tested it out, it should be safe for her", Donnie said "Like I said, I am willing to try anything", I said "Let's give it a shot" "Alright", he said, handing me the mask and setting the tank beside me "Just breathe it in for a few seconds and let me know what you think" I looked at the mask for a few moments before I looked over at Mikey giving me a bit of a encouraging look to make me try it and I nodded slowly. I took a shaky breath and I placed the mask over my mouth as I inhaled in the air deeply. It had a funny taste to it, kind of like a minty grape taste. I inhaled in for a few more seconds before I exhaled taking the mask off my mouth and I felt...amazing. It felt like my body just got a shot of immunity and could go out and do a marathon if I wanted to. I never felt better than any other chemotherapy session I had since my first treatment. "It feels...great", I said, looking up at Donnie smiling He smiled in excitement and I placed the mask back over my mouth and began to take in another inhale, feeling my breathing was already starting to improve and feeling weight being lifted off of my shoulders. Donnie then took the stethoscope around his neck as I was inhaling in the air again and he placed it over my heart, hearing for a few seconds, before looking up at me. "Your heartbeat is already getting stronger", he said "It's working", Leo said, with a hopeful smile I smiled and I placed the mask over my mouth again and inhaled in more of the air. I don't know what it was, but I think these turtles and rat are like angels that were sent from heaven above to do wonders on the ground. They are such friendly creatures. I don't see how anyone could be scared of someone who acted even more human than anyone I have ever seen before. I wish that people were so such judgmental on things that don't make sense in their eyes and just allow it to explain and perform its true potential. I'm starting to begin to realize that maybe that it was a sign for me to meet Mikey and his family, since they are welcoming a complete stranger and helping me cure a deadly disease in my body. Maybe Splinter's words were right when I was a little girl that I did have a bright future and things would change for the better. Well I feel that, that dream was becoming a reality.

[captainalwayslazycollectort-blog]

Should wrestlers have health insurance coverage under its company?

"Should wrestlers have health insurance coverage under its company?

I know tna and many others companies don't give insurance to their wrestlers and I think wwe superstars make enough money to get insurance themselves. Should wrestlers have health insurance under the company even if they're in a position to afford it themselves?    Dana white has all his fighers insured under ufc and he has  very large roster of fighters

BEST ANSWER:  Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://financeandcreditsolutions.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr 

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So, I got my license today, but I'm literally halfway through my driver's ed course. I was just thinking, if I pass the test, great, if not, I'll retake after the class and nbd. I honestly want to drop out since the classes are very repetitive and common-sense, and it's 15 hours I could be using on something else, but my mom disagrees... I know some insurances make you pay less if you've finished a course, but is it that significant that it would be worth it?""

What should i look for in Health Insurance? ?

i am 19, ill be 20 on 10/29. live on my own.(so i kinda have a budget) this year i went to see a doctor 3 times so far... (when i had health insurance) i dont get sick often but when i do get sick, i get really sick... i dont just get a cough... i get it all. ear infections. fevers, ect. i usually end up in the emergency room about once a year. so what should i look for in health insurance? thanks!!""

Aprox how much will my insurance cost?

im going to be 16 in a few monthes and get my license then me and my parents are going to buy my first car. Ill be 16, a girl, and the car will be some cheap used car most likely.""

Proof of Insurance for Driver's Test?

My Dad bought me a car about three days ago and the dealership said they will insure the car for 14 days while my dad gets insurance through his company. I might take my driver's test tomorrow and I want to use this car for it. If I show the dmv the insurance papers the dealership gave me, will that count as proof of insurance for my road test? Thank you.""

Car Insurance question: Hitting a deer is 'collision' .. hitting a tree is 'other than collision'?

So, on a Personal Auto Policy (PAP) if you hit a tree it's considered a 'Collision.' .. but if you hit a deer, it's considered 'Other Than Collision.' ... WHY? Is it because trees don't move and deers do?""

Which life insurance companies deny the most claims?

im shopping for life insurrance but I dont know which one to choose. I was going to try globe life because its cheap...but i heard they deny a lot of claims. which is the best company...hopefully one that can send someone to your house to talk to you and doesnt cost a fortune. i live in Chicago...thxs

Nissan Skyline insurance in USA?

Does anyone know of any companies that insure Nissan Skylines in the US? I'm looking to buy a 1990 gtst I found but I can not find insurance anywhere for it. Can anyone help me out?

Inexpensive car insurance for person driving MUCH less than 2000 miles a year?

My brother is on disability income and has about $600 a month to live on. He really needs to have a car because he lives in a rural area and there is no public transportation whatsoever.He doesn't have much money for gas, but the insurance is really the killer, it's about $150 a month at state farm (and he insures his home with that company also). does anyone know any good options for him to save money? Is it legal if he just ditches the car and the insurance and drives one of my cars some of the time, or is that fraud? He does not drive to work or school, only to get groceries/prescriptions etc. The county workers just roll their eyes and sigh and say transportation is a problem.And they don't help. Can I add him to my policy? He's in the same zip code, about 8 miles away. He already doesn't have collision or comprehensive, it's an old car.And he has great credit and no accidents/moving violations. Thanks for any help you can give!""

What is the average cost for home owners insurance in illinois?

I'm trying to get average cost of insurance for the south and southwest suburban areas of the chicago area.

Subaru Impreza 2.5 for 17 year old?

I was thinking of getting Subaru Impreza 2.5 2007, but I wonder how much the insurance would be per month? I spoke to my parents already, they did agree as long as I'll pay. My step-father works in car service so he could do all the checks/tests or whatever it is called. I am in love with that car from ages, don't want anything else.""

Can I put a car and insurance on a car if i have unpaid parking tickets from 4 years ago?

Can I put a car and insurance on a car if i have unpaid parking tickets from 4 years ago?

What is the most affordable and complete health insurance?

My husband moved to North Carolina 8 months ago from India and is a Pharmacist. However, until he passes his equivalency exams in the states, he is working as a Pharmacy Technician. I am not working at the moment (not by choice but by the terrible job situation in the country). We are shopping around for affordable health insurance. Blue Cross is too expensive and so are many others. We are on a very limited income, however, health is of utmost importance too. So even if it is really bank breaking, we are looking into getting health insurance. What is the best one in terms of affordability and coverage? We don't have children yet but hope to start a family in a couple of years when we are better settled. Neither one of us are smokers and are in pretty good shape. Please help with sound advice. Thanks so much in advance""

Question about pregnancy insurance?

My husband and I plan on trying for our 3rd child sometime around August/September. For our first child, we were eligible for Medicaid and for our second we were on Tricare since my husband was deployed. However, right now I'm the only one who is uninsured. My husband can go to the VA Hospital anytime he needs to and my kids are on State insurance. We really don't want to get some type of family insurance since everyone besides me is all taken care of. So my question is: Is there some type of insurance that covers pregnancy that I could just sign up for? I decided to come here before really starting my research on the off-chance someone here is on one/knows of one. Since a lot of insurances would say a pregnancy was a pre-existing condition and not cover me, I want to be on it before we even start trying. Anyway, thanks!""

Affordable health insurance for self employed?

My husband is selfemployed and we want to get an affordable family insurance or possibly just an insurance for me. I a m a nurse but I only work part time and my company wont cover me for insurance. any good health insurance companies that we can get and would cover maternity care in the future?

Best motorcycle insurance for me?

I was wondering what would be the best motorcycle insurance for someone like me. I'm 18, in the military, zero credit. I ride a 2011 ZX6r (sport bike). I've been driving since I was 16 and riding for about a year. No speeding tickets, no accidents, nothing. I'm SUPER busy ALL THE TIME so I really only plan on putting around 5-7k miles on the bike over the next couple of years just riding around for fun on the weekends. A lot of people suggest USAA because I'm in the military but those people don't ride bikes, and it seems like everybody I have heard of who has USAA motorcycle insurance grossly overpays. I have done a little research and it seems like the general consensus is that motorcycle insurance is the worst service (among some very good ones) that USAA offers.""

Car insurance under my parents name w/o parents being present?

Hi, i live in Miami and my parents are currently out of state. I just bought a car and i need insurance in order to get the title. I was wondering if i can go under my parents insurance without them being present or if i can do it over the phone? also the car is a honda civic ex 99 and i am 19 years old. Its my first car and i have good credit, i am a university student with very good grades, and have not had any tickets or gotten into any car accidents. About how much will my insurance be? and would it be cheaper to be under my parents name, which i might add has been in a lot of car crashes, had a lot of tickets, bad credit, and jus has bad history, or would it be cheaper to just get it on my own??? thank you!!!!!""

Which car is the most reliable? and insurance wise.?

03 Infiniti g35 coupe. 05 mazda rx8. 05 Audi a4. 05 Acura tl. Nissan 350z. 05 cadillac sts. 03 bmw 3 series. 05 nissan maxima. 06 subaru wrx impreza and legacy. 05 ford mustang. Also add which one is insurance wise cheaper if you can.

Should wrestlers have health insurance coverage under its company?

I know tna and many others companies don't give insurance to their wrestlers and I think wwe superstars make enough money to get insurance themselves. Should wrestlers have health insurance under the company even if they're in a position to afford it themselves?    Dana white has all his fighers insured under ufc and he has  very large roster of fighters

If I do not have car insurance...?

and i live with with my grandparents and they have car insurance but i dont, and i have my liscence, can i still drive their car with it not being illegal in the state of Massachusetts? Because i cant afford the insurance and if their car is insured i am told an officer cannot do anything about it, as long as the cars insured im fine, is this true? Thanks!""

How much does a male aged 17 pay for car insurance?

Well I'm 17 years old and I'm currently taking driving lessons and hopping to do my driving test really soon. So the reason i asked this question is to just find out how much you pay for your car insurance. P.S If things do go well and I pass my driving test, I am planning to get a 05 Reg Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 SXI. So it would help if someone owns a 1.2 car and they're 17 years of age to answer this question. Thanks!!""

Reasonable health insurance in CA??

My step-daughter, husband and I are currently insured trough Blue Shield of California. The Deductible is $7.500 annually and we are paying $520 a month. Whenever we are going to get my husbands prescription drugs, we have to pay 100% out of pocket, whenever my husband has to go to a doctor we have to pay %100, whatever we do, we have to pay 100% ourselves, when does the insurance come in??? Every year, we have to pay $7.500 out of pocket till we can expect the insurance to even consider covering anything, who has that much money to spend every year on health insurance?! Recently my husband started having kidney pain, hernia, heart problems... but we can't go to a doctor because after paying the $520 a month to the health insurance we are simply left with nothing. I have not been to a doctor for 8 years, now I am very frustrated, I really need to take care of my husbands health but every insurance is just a ripoff. Can anybody help me with some advice...or a good insurance with low deductible or none at all (if that even exists).""

""How much woud monthly car insurance cost for a 19 year old, and a 1963 Dodge Dart?""

I saw I nice 1963 Dodge Dart for sale, and Id like to get it but Im not entirely sure how much insurance would cost, if I can get some sort of ballpark range so I know whether or not to buy it""

""Car insurance, i only drive for 3 months or so? any options?""

I currently have a BMW m3, i will be moving to new york city where it makes no sense to have the car, but i love the car and intend on keeping it locked in my parents garage and covered for the majority of the winter. during the summer months it will be down at there vacation house but again, it will only be driven by me maybe twice a month and for two weeks one month. the only other time i could see me using it would be every once in a while when i visit home to go to the store and back, literally like 5 other days out of the year. is there any insurance for this? i have a loan on the car, but it's used and old and in pristine condition so i'd rather keep it, i have considered selling it. soo what options would i have? i also go to school in another state from wher the car is stored.""

What kind of business insurance is needed for a small business retail store?

& on average, how much does it cost (it will be in Brookly/NYC)""

""In NY, do you have to have Car Insurance even if your not driving?""

I'm a NY State Resident, and I am wondering that if I have my drivers license, do I have to have car insurance? If so, is there a way to get out of this, like getting rid of my license or something, I just can't afford insurance, but I'm not driving.""

Where is the best place to get insurance for my scooter?

i know that scooter insurance runs around 120 a year but all the quotes i keep getting from places like Allstate and progressive are more like 1167 a year. Where is the best place to get comprehensive insurance for my scooter.

""What is the cheapest car to insure, and what makes insurance go up and down?""

Well, i'm 17 and i want a car. I've been going on all the price comparison websites and lately prices have been going up, alot. Not too long ago you could get a 1.6 Focus, 02 reg - for around 2.5k. Now it seems that a 1L corsa is in excess of 4,000? I've just been looking now, and i can get a 1.4L Nova Saloon '92 reg, for less that the price of a 1L Corsa, '99 reg. What's going on here, both cars are completely standard. Also, what makes insurance go up and down? And please, don't just post about group 1 insurance vehicles, because i cant afford a new/nearly new car.""

How can a full time college student over age 26 get health insurance?

What are our options?

Question about Plan First health insurance in Michigan. Backpay?

I just had a papsmear done about two weeks ago, and I didn't get approved for my Plan First insurance until afterwards. Does anyone know if they provide a backpay program, like they'll cover any procedure done in the last 30-60 days? Also have lab tests from that papsmear that I just got the bill for and have not paid yet. Is that covered? Thanks!""

Can I use my car that is under my dads car insurance?

Since i'm a new driver and 18 years old. My insurance rate will be up and can be very expensive. Can my dad just put his name and stuff on my soon to be new car? (Subaru BRZ) after all he is paying for it so technically it's his I guess lol

Is AARP a good health insurance plan?

I'm in my 20s, any suggetions of a good health insurance coverage plan? hospital, perscription, the whole nine!?!?""

My car is worth 3200 Actual Market Value how much should insurance pay before total loss?

Car value 3200 State Ohio Third party claim (not my insurance other driver was at fault)

AAA insurance will only pay body shop?

Hi there, My mom was rear ended by an uninsured motorist while driving my car. I have uninsured motorist coverage and AAA estimated the damage to be approximately $1000. I own my car (it's paid off) and I would rather buy the bumper and someone I know replace the bumper, rather than go to the body shop of AAA's choice. AAA does not want to give me a check and is saying they want to pay a body shop to do it. Can they do this? I looked at my policy and it doesn't say anywhere that repair costs are to be paid to a body shop, rather than the car owner or driver. I certainly don't have anything signed that says that and there is nothing in my policy details. Thanks for your help!""

Who offers affordable and reliable car insurance?

Money is really tight right now, and my car insurance is around $120 a month with Liberty Mutual. I'm looking at other agencies that offer great service and are less expensive. Is Geico good? Are there any other agencies I should look at? My record isn't too bad. One speeding ticket.""

Insurance money or insurance fraud?

My dad told me a story about his boss a long time ago about how his wife survived cancer, and incurred 1million dollars in bills. the company has a health insurance that covers his entire family, but he also was covered by another health insurer...be it his or possibly his wifes. After the whole ordeal he paid off all the bills and had received an extra 1Million from insurance.... Was this legal? ( He was paying for both insurances ..knowingly or possibly not )""

""As a minor, where can I get the cheapest car insurance?""

im 16, and my dad said i wont be driving until he sees that i can pay my own insurance. i know its REEEEALLY expensive for a minor, so where can i get it cheap?""

What's a affordable insurance brand/plan for motorcycles?

For a ducati if that makes any difference

About how much would it cost to for a year of car insurance for a 17 year old in new york?

I am planning on getting a used 2001 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C320. Before I buy the car I will have a senior license and will have taken drivers ed and a defensive driving coarse.

Should I insure brand new car?

hey guys I wanna ask u what's the difference between warranty and insurance ? should i insure car if it's brand new ? it would cost me a lot if I insure and warranty car :( so could u tell me great way to get rid of it ? waiting ur answers :)

""I live in CA and am about to drive to PA, but I have a lost license card which is also expired, am I insured?""

I lost my drivers license about a week ago, and was just sent a letter from my insurance company which said that it was expired anyway. I would just go get a new one but I am currently living in California and will be moving back to PA in about a week. My husband is in the military so I am allowed to have a out of state license, but I am afraid that because it is expired that my insurance (state farm) may not still cover me. I am driving across the country so I need to make sure I am insured?""

Is there an oversight body for Insurance Companies?

My insurance company made a ( medical) payment decision that I don't think is fair. I'd like to know if there is any board that regulates them. Polite, constructive answers only please.""

Can you have Oklahoma auto insurance in Texas?

A friend of mine lives in Texas. Her dad just bought her an SUV and is going to pay the insurance. He lives in Oklahoma. Can her car have his insurance or does it have to be from Texas?

""In california, how much does it cost for driving without proof of insurance in the car with me?""

i have an insurance but for some reason, i misplaced it and didnt know it was not in my car. can i still bring my proof of insurance to the court to dismiss it?""

Should wrestlers have health insurance coverage under its company?

I know tna and many others companies don't give insurance to their wrestlers and I think wwe superstars make enough money to get insurance themselves. Should wrestlers have health insurance under the company even if they're in a position to afford it themselves?    Dana white has all his fighers insured under ufc and he has  very large roster of fighters

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/freistatt-missouri-cheap-car-insurance-quotes-zip-65654-mia-hobbs/"

[chemicalmagecraft]

I Would Totally Kick Jiraiya’s Butt Chapter 1

A/N: So this has a funny story behind it. I've been binge watching all of Naruto Shippuden recently and around the time when I got to the part where (spoiler alert) Jiraiya died, my English teacher had us answer a question that was something along the lines of "If you could live in a fictional universe, which would it be?" So, naturally, due to a combination of the revelations about Jiraiya lowering my already low opinion of him and someone making me think about self-insert fanfics, I decided to write this. Hopefully, I don't fail horribly like a lot of SI fics. Still, I would very much appreciate any feedback so as not to end up with a horrible SI sue fic. That being said, story me is going to train a lot because real life me has no life so why would story me.

TL;DR: I hate Jiraiya.

P.S. I was originally going to call this fic I Would Totally Kick Jiraiya's Ass, but apparently that's against rules...

kukukuku~

The village was devastated. So many of the buildings were smashed, and so many people had lost their lives to the Kyubi. Entire squads of ninja were needed to sift through the wreckage for any survivors. It is with two of these ninja that our story starts. "This destruction..." one ninja said. "It's unreal... How could this happen?"

"The nine-tailed demon fox," the other ninja replied brusquely. "That damned fox killed people by stepping on them. What else would happen when it went on a rampage? Now come on, we need to clear this whole sector in an hour."

"Do you hear that?" the first ninja asked. The second ninja stopped talking and listened for a bit.

"Is that... a baby crying?" he said. They both hurried to where the sound seemed to be coming from. A ray of light pierced the clouds to fall down on a blanket on top of a large piece of rubble. One of the ninja lifted up the blanket to reveal... a log. The other ninja rolled his eyes and picked up the baby lying on another piece of rubble. The child, a boy, couldn't have been more than a few months old. He had a thick head of brown hair and dark marks under his eyes. The ninja rocked the baby, and he stopped crying. He opened his hazel eyes and cooed at the sight of the man. "Found the baby. Let's take him to the other survivors. Hopefully one of the survivors is looking for him."

"And if not?"

"Then the kid's going to be in for a rough childhood."

"Well just in case, let's give him a name."

"Kouki." (Koh-key. Has kanji for either light or happiness and either light or hope)

"Why?"

"If he needs the name, then he's gonna need what it means more."

kukukuku~

I plopped down on my bed and groaned. One moment I was writing the assignment thinking about how I would totally beat up Jiraiya if I was in Naruto and in the next three years had passed and I was a small child in a Konohagakure orphanage. I immediately recognized this as the start of a self-insert fanfiction because I know myself. 

"Really, Me?" I asked. "You just had to write an SI." If I'm going to be doing this, I'm sooo going to fourth-wall break. "You'd better give me a good reason for knowing the future so I don't get thrown in an insane asylum." I paused. "Does Konoha even have insane asylums? Thinking about it, they don't really seem to have any form of psychological therapy, what with how nobody helped any of the various orphans in Naruto. Or Hinata, for that matter. Where was I again? Oh, right! I could also use a way to refresh myself on the timing of things, Me." I licked my lips. "Well," I said, "seems that habit followed me here. I should probably cut down on it or people might think I'm the secret child of Orochimaru and... I don't know, Tsuyu Asui?" 

I thought about that for a moment and groaned again. "Thanks for that mental image, brain. That was almost as bad as that one horrible dream I had where Naruto and Jiraiya were..." I trailed off, screamed, stood up, and walked to the nearest wall, which I immediately started banging my head on. As I did that, an older orphan came in the room.

"What are you doing?" he asked me.

"Punishing my brain," I stopped to answer.

"Why?"

"Because it needs to be punished."

"O...kay... just... don't hurt yourself?" He walked away, muttering, "Weirdo."

Once I decided that my brain had been punished enough (I took the headache as a sign of surrender), I plopped back down on my bed. "What now?" I said to myself. A leaf drifted through an open window and landed on my forehead. It was at this moment that I realized that I somehow knew how to mold and use chakra to some degree as if it was instinctual. "Plus ultra, I guess." I started channeling chakra into the leaf on my forehead, hoping that I was doing the chakra exercise right.

kukukuku~

I collapsed, water splashing slightly as I fell on its surface. It had been a little over a month and my complete and utter lack of a life had served me well in my quest for power. I'd managed to slip off to a secluded area of woods with a lazy and shallow river where I'd spent a great deal of time mercilessly training myself in the ways of sticking leaves to myself, only stopping for a rest and snack break when I started to get tired. At first, I couldn't do too much because, as a child of a little over three years, my chakra reserves were limited (though I think that my reserves were also higher than they should have been due to me having the mental energy of a teenager). Of course, practice makes perfect, so I soon found myself able to use more chakra at once. Once I could hold multiple leaves on multiple parts of my body simultaneously for a few seconds, I upgraded to tree climbing. While I didn't have any kunai to mark my progress, I'd figured out how to channel chakra through my fingernails to leave small scratches in the bark without harming my nails, which I ended up calling Cat Claws Jutsu. Once I was able to walk up trees like I was walking on the ground and also stick leaves to myself while doing it, I took a day for rest (chakra exhaustion sucks) and then started on water walking. 

That... that involved much more getting wet than I'd like to admit... Eventually, however, I'd managed to get water walking down pat and included leaves in it as well, which is what I had just finished at that point. I got up, figuring that laying down on the water is probably a bad idea, and got to solid ground before plopping down on the grass. As I did, the leaves that had been clinging to my skin fell off. I pulled out the apple I'd brought as a snack. Mmm, fuji apples. When I was done devouring the fruit, I licked my lips, wrapped the core in the napkin I'd stored it in, and lay there for a bit. I breathed in the nice, Springy air. So far as I knew, the Land of Fire was constantly warm, which is how it got its name. I certainly wasn't complaining; I like it hot. Once I'd caught my breath and had time to rest, I picked up one of the leaves I'd been using for training. "Time for some advanced training," I said. I sandwiched the leaf between my palms, closed my eyes, and focused. "Two fronts grinding against each other," I thought. Snip. I opened my hands, revealing that the leaf had developed a small cut on it, as if someone had cut it with a pair of scissors. "It's a start," I said.

kukukuku~

When I started with wind chakra, I decided to start doing light exercise not related to chakra. I didn't want to do too much because I had once heard something about lifting weights as a child stunting growth or something. It probably wasn't as big of a problem in a world where Rock friggin Lee can exist, but I still wanted to be careful. I just did some light jogging (while collecting and attempting to cut leaves), sit-ups (while attempting to cut leaves), and push-ups (fun fact: it is very hard to cut leaves with wind chakra while doing push-ups, but not impossible). It was on a jog around the playground near the orphanage that everyone played in that I saw him. A blonde boy with markings on his cheeks sitting alone by a tree. All of the other kids were ignoring him. 

I distantly remembered a time when one of the adults from the orphanage took us all aside and told us that he was a demon and we shouldn't play with him. It was before my past life memories came in... or however that worked... but now it made it all the more real what Naruto went through. I was already going to try to befriend Naruto, but now I really wanted to do something. I walked over to the other side of the tree Naruto was sitting at and looked around to see if anyone was looking. When I saw that nobody was, I muttered "Cat Claws Jutsu" and started using my claws to get a good grip on the tree. I could have just used the regular tree walking, but I was trying to be discreet so as to not have people asking why I knew ninja techniques. I did, however, use the tree walking to grip with my feet. Once I was situated on a branch above Naruto, I looked around to see if anyone was looking. It seemed not. Apparently, tree-climbing in a ninja village full of trees that was founded by a tree-man is a very uninteresting sight. Who knew? I licked my lips, took a deep breath, and said, "Hi, there," to him. When he looked up, I gave a small but friendly smile and waved. "My name's Kouki, what's yours?" I mean, I already knew his name, but it's not like I could tell him that.

He sniffed and said "Naruto." I noticed that his eyes were all red (not Kyuubi red, irritated red) and puffy. "Why are you here?"

I jumped down, using a light burst of wind chakra to cushion my fall, and said, "Everybody avoids you, so I felt like you might want somebody to play with." I sat down next to him. "People avoid me, too. I think it's because I don't talk to people much, look like I'm really bored most of the time, and have really freaky eye markings." For whatever reason, I had black markings with a white dot under and offset to the outer side of each eye, which in real life was just permanent dark shadows under my eyes and... what were they, freckles? Beauty marks? I had dot markings under each eye. I guess author me's basis for that was the fact that several people in Naruto had what appeared to be biological, and in some cases hereditary, markings not directly related to being the prison for a demonic monster. For example, the Inuzuka, the Akimichi, Jiraiyass, Orochimaru, and the second and third Hokage. "I'm fine with being alone, but I had a feeling you aren't. Wanna be friends?"

He gasped, then gave me a bright smile. His eyes began to water and he gave me a hug. I patted him on the back and just let him hug it out. When he was done, he asked, "What do friends do?"

"I... don't know. I guess maybe I show you something cool?"

"Like what?" I pulled a leaf from my pocket and cut it in half. He gasped. "Cool! How'd you do that?"

"When I grow up, I wanna be a ninja. I managed to find out how to do some stuff with chakra. That's apparently an advanced technique that grants you wind powers."

He looked confused at that. "How does cutting a leaf give you wind powers?"

"It's more like it's the easiest use of wind chakra or something. Doing it lets you practice wind chakra so you can do more advanced stuff."

He beamed at me. "Can you teach me?"

I smiled and said, "There were a lot of steps involved in learning how to do it. I had to do a bunch of other special exercises before I could do it." He pouted. "Buuut, if you do exactly what I tell you and don't question it, I can teach you some cool stuff." He nodded vigorously.

"I'm gonna be Hokage someday! Knowing how to use chakra stuff would be great!" I smiled. The was no doubt in his words. It was as if he already knew he would be Hokage, and the world just had to catch up.

I bowed. "Very well, then, Hokage-sama. Let the training montage begin."

kukukuku~

"Whoa!" Naruto said. He was staring at the small tree that I had just felled with a few quick swipes.

"That's what I can teach you," I said with a smug grin as I put my hands in my pockets. "Before that, though, I have some rules that I have for you. First, I don't think that non-ninja are supposed to use jutsu in public, so please don't do stuff like this until you're in the academy at least. Second, even when you do use chakra, please be careful with it." I kicked the tree that I'd just killed. "You can do some serious damage. Third, if you start to feel tired, stop using your chakra unless you absolutely have to. It's a combination of mental and physical energy, meaning it uses your life force. You do the math. Got that?" He nodded eagerly. "Good. Now, for your first task," I picked a leaf off of the tree and gave it to him, "use chakra to stick this leaf to your body."

Naruto groaned. "That's so boring!"

I narrowed my eyes and said, "I told you to do exactly what I say. This is a chakra exercise. It lets you practice in the use of chakra. It's just the first step in what I have to teach you." I walked up a nearby tree. "Get good enough with it and I get to teach you the next trick." I looked at him expectantly. He stared at the leaf, then placed it on the palm of his hand. He then channeled enough chakra into it that it started glowing blue slightly. He flipped his palm over so that the leaf should've fallen over, but it didn't. I dropped to the ground and inspected the leaf. It was a little unsteady, but holding. I guess he was having an easier time controlling his chakra because he hadn't yet developed stupid amounts of it. "Rein it in slightly. Other than that, it seems fine. I'm going to do my stuff. Once you think you're good with one, add another. Do that until I say you're ready."

kukukuku~

"You're ready," I told him with a laugh a few days later. His arms were covered in leaves. "Take a little break and I'll teach you the next step."

kukukuku~

It continued like that for a while. I don't know how long it lasted for, but by the time Naruto started with leaf cutting, I saw... was he the Raikage? The one guy who Hiashi Hyuuga called the head ninja of Kumogakure when he was talking about the incident with Hinata's kidnapping. I saw that jerk walking down the streets. I managed to find out from a nearby villager that it was December 27th, Hinata's birthday, and he was going to sign the peace treaty with Konoha. I decided that I would help stop the incident in whatever way I could, seeing as that was pretty much where everything started to go wrong in Hinata's life and I could hopefully stop it. I was thinking about how I could sneak my way into the Hyuuga compound when I got a splitting headache and a tingly feeling in my eyeballs. When I opened my eyes, I could see... myself sneaking into the compound and finding the Raikage in Hinata's room. It was like that one hint stone in Skyward Sword, where you could see a cutscene of what you had to do, except really trippy because it was in real life. I looked in the general direction of the fourth wall and said, "Well that's a deus ex machina and a half, Me. Thanks, I'll make good use of the intel." 

I quickly found Naruto, told him that I had to do something and that he should continue with the leaf-cutting practice until I got back. He was making decent progress with it. His leaves were already cut almost halfway through. I then began with the path that I'd seen. When I finally managed to sneak in, it was already dark. I went to the spot on the fence I'd seen myself brooding in the vision when I saw the enemy in my vision. Thankfully, I was just in time to see the man dressed in all black sneak up to Hinata's room. I licked my lips as I thought for a second about what I could do, but quickly decided with a silent "Screw it." "HYUUGA HIASHI!" I screamed. "A MASKED MAN IS TRYING TO KIDNAP YOUR DAUGHTER! MAKE SURE TO CAPTURE HIM ALIVE, THOUGH, OR HIS VILLAGE WILL DEMAND YOUR HEAD OR START A WAR!"

"WHAT!?" a man who I assume was Hiashi screamed.

"I SAID THAT A MAN IS TRYING TO KIDNAP YOUR DAUGHTER! PROBABLY FOR HER EYES! AND IF YOU KILL HIM HIS VILLAGE WILL DEMAND YOUR CORPSE FOR YOUR EYES! PLEASE HURRY! I'M PRETTY SURE HE'S ABOUT TO KILL ME FOR RUINING HIS PLANS AND I DON'T FEEL LIKE DYING SO SOON!" As I was shouting at him, the masked man came out and started making a few hand seals. I jumped off of the fence and made a single seal of my own (dragon seal, the only one I knew enough to use) and started molding wind chakra.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Shot!" He shot a bolt of lightning chakra out of his hand at me.

"Wind Release: Mini Air Slashes!" I countered by making small slashing motions with my index fingers. Small blades of air spawned from my fingers and rammed straight into the lightning. After most of the slashes dissipated while expending some of the lightning, the remaining one cut straight through the weakened jutsu and cut slightly into his chest. I breathed a sigh of relief and licked my lips. That wouldn't have worked if he hadn't underestimated me, though to be fair not many small children can make air slashes, whatever the size. I dashed in close to him and activated my other wind jutsu. "Wind Release: Dragon Claws." Before I could attack him, I saw him punch me in the chest, but... he hadn't punched me yet. His fist came at me and I ducked away from it. As I dodged I swiped at his leg, hoping that I could distract him if I made enough cuts. What really happened... it was both better and worse than I was hoping for...

Squelch. "GYAAAAH!" the man screamed as blood spouted everywhere. I stopped in my tracks. Even in the dim light, I definitely saw his leg fall off.

"What?" I turned around to see several Hyuuga ninja staring at me. I made to answer but was suddenly overtaken by a wave of fatigue and dizziness. Chakra exhaustion. "How did you get here? How did you do that?" The ninja in the lead, Hiashi, asked me.

I just barely managed to grin and say, "I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said I could see the future?" before my eyes rolled back in my head and I passed out.

I guess the first chapter ends with a cliffhanger...

kukukuku~

A/N: Yeah... sorry for not doing another episode of Gamer Hero Deku next, but inspiration can be annoyingly fickle at times and I actually really enjoy the direction that this is eventually going to go in, so yeah... Also, sorry to those who SI isn't their cup of tea. I personally like fanfics where people know future events in some way and use that knowledge to mess around with canon, though. As you could probably see, though, Kouki isn't your average boy. Beyond the SI, anyways. See ya next time!