#first system user ever to walk it like a dog

[ge]

What would you think would happen if Chung Myung has it own System?

hed jailbreak that thang hed unlock ooc feature early thru a glitch and put it on mute and verbally abuse it if it ever told him what to do

[umeoniii]

aot women beige flags!

٩( 'ω' )و

mikasa, hange, annie, sasha, ymir, pieck

~

mikasa:

☆ gets super sick easily

and these sicknesses literally beat her ass

she just has a super weak immune system

can go out one time then when she comes back home she’s literally stuck in bed like it’s her dying days.

a common cold for her is like the plague

it seems as if she’s an old victorian child lying in her bed asking her mother for bread and water.

☆ somehow physic

not so much now, it’s not like she has powers

but she has a ‘6th sense’ and she can tell when something bad is going to happen

first time she did it you thought she was joking around

but then she was right because the building next to you caught fire (cooking error…)

you were totally scared of her after that bcs what if she was behind it

then you forgave her (she did nothing wrong?) and tried to convince her to give you a fortune

then she proceeded to tell you that’s not what the sixth sense is for

hange:

☆ really likes playing games

hanges a sore loser though.

this is super funny

super competitive with stuff like board games and video games. and she takes it seriously.

when she loses she takes it to heart.

she’ll throw a temper tantrum and get upset and everything.

she’ll do anything to win as well. cheats and switches the game all she wants, especially when she’s actually winning. but when you try to do it it’s all “no no that’s not how you play!”

you DO NOT want to play uno with hange. enough said

☆ makes impressions of people in public.

let’s say you’re in the car parked and you see a couple sitting on the bench talking.

she’ll give them names and make a voice and act what she thinks is their conversation.

it’s far funnier than it sounds.

if she sees a couple and their friend,

“eh barbra? i didn’t know you were gonna invite your annoying friend, you know how much i hate her!” she’d snicker while staring at the three people

and there’s actually times where you hate it bcs of how unserious she acts.

sometimes she would invite you along to voice someone else

and she would just sit and laugh like it’s the funniest thing ever!

annie:

☆ bargain queen

has coupons for everything in the whole wide world

she has all the apps for everyplace she goes so she’ll get some kind of deal.

her total at the grocery store would go from $135 to $80 bcs she’s a diehard user of coupons

she makes u use them as well and stuffs some in your wallet

she’s a karen for these things as well

if the price tag says it’s ‘$3.12’ then it’s ‘$3.12’ whether the seller says “well that’s last weeks price”

she’ll say “well maybe you should’ve changed it, how would the manager feel if i told them you’re not doing youre job?”

and she’d get it for $3.12

☆ greets an animal before she greets a person

if she seems someone she knows walking their dog she won’t even look at them let alone speak to them

she’ll crouch and pet the dog and start baby talking to them before she gets up and says something to the walker

she actually likes animals a lot

more than ppl

she’d have some kind of shirt displaying that as well

“im more of a dog person than a people person”

sasha:

☆ cant stay on track in a conversation

she could be talking to you about something she heard about someone. then she’ll be like, “speaking of her i remember when me and her went out for these awesome burgers.”

THEN she’ll say “wait because i was actually contemplating going vegan…. what do you think?”

the whole convo switches topics every 2 minutes or so.

you get so confused as to how the conversation went from work drama to when she thinks the world is going to end.

☆ takes the first bite of your food

it’s an unspoken rule.

she doesn’t even say “to test it for poison” she just does it because she wants

trying something new? she gets the first bite. you haven’t ate all day? she still gets the first bite. it’s your favorite food in the whole wide world? two words: first. bite.

and it’s not even a small bite, it’s the BIGGEST chomp she could take.

you’ve gotten so used to it that you don’t care. you just shove it in her face.

because if you were being honest if she just suddenly stopped you’d be concerned and sad.

ymir:

☆ cannot take some things seriously

she could be out w you at a restaurant and see this waiter’s name on their tag

“gaylord”

it’s not even pronounced “gay lord” but “gaylerd”

she’ll turn around and start hysterically laughing she doesn’t even care that the waiters right there

you can tell her a story from work or something that’s completely serious and she’ll still laugh no matter what

☆ lies out of her ass for no reason

you could tell her you tried some cool new exotic food and she’ll be like

“oh i had that when i was 5 and i almost died because i’m allergic to the spices in it”

and it’s kind of obvious it’s a lie but you don’t even say anything bcs she rides hard to defend herself and say it’s the truth

she’ll even go as far as editing photos and calling other people so it would be more believable

she sometimes doesn’t even lie to be funny but just out of habit

these aren’t bad kind of lies and she tells the truth when needed but she still b lyin..

pieck:

☆ cannot save money for her life

she can put aside some money for important stuff and it would be gone in a flash

worst part is the money is wasted on totally useless stuff

like finger puppets

what are you gonna do with finger puppets when you’re stranded for miles?

tries harder to not let it happen

then it happens again and she tries to justify it by saying that maybe a corn butterer was a great investment

(it wasn’t)

☆ can sleep anywhere at anytime

we all know this don’t we…

but it’s horrible

restaurants, floor, toilet

she could probably go to sleep in the club if she’s tired enough

she doesn’t look dead when she sleeps (unlike connie)

she looks very calm whether she’s in a deep sleep or taking a power nap

and she probably gets a decent amount of sleep at night, she just naps bcs… she wants to?

♡

a/n: at least 3 of these stories are actually real things i’ve faced with friends and family LOL so this is so funny to me. some of these aren’t even beige flags and are lowkey hcs, let’s just pretend alr!

[mx-princey]

Puppies World 3D Review

Disclaimer: I have not 100% Nintendogs, have not played the newer Nintendogs+Cats editions, and rarely if ever used the commands feature in my Nintendogs game, so if some of my comparisons seem off that is probably why.

So, since the 3DS EShop was closing, I decided to get a couple of games that happened to grab my attention, and one I was curious about was Puppies World 3D. I had been playing a bit of Nintendogs recently and wanted to see how it would compare. That is what lead me to make this review. So, let's get into it :-)

The models for the puppies are exceptionally cute, and I actually find them cuter than the Nintendogs models. I am particularly fond of the German Shepherd model, so I chose that as my first dog and named him Beanie.

It was an interesting choice to have the in-game days progress at a faster rate than real life days. It tripped me up at first, having been used to the Nintendogs real-world tied system of time, but was quickly adjusted once I realised what was happening. However, the inclusion of a time system in the game becomes rather redundant when all in-game actions can be taken as many times as the user likes. The fact that there are no time limits is very appreciated, even if it is confusing. It is also nice to have the dog notify you when it needs care with the icon.

The animated pixel art featured for the icons and dog tricks are also very cute, and I admire them a lot, especially considering simpler icons could have done the job just fine if the developers had so chosen.

The fact that tricks are learned through a drag-n-drop minigame is an unexpected concept, but an appreciated one all the same. The mic-input tricks of Nintendogs may have been more immersive, but the minigame approach in Puppies World 3D is much less frustrating (and embarrassing) than yelling commands at your console. Although this does get quite tedious after a while, since the game wants you to complete this minigame maybe around ten times for each of the eight tricks.

The game introduces some photo modes, including the ability to take photos of and place stickers on the photos of your dogs, as well as a AR mode, that lets you take a photo of your room and then play with your dog there (albeit only letting you play with discs and tennis balls). There is also supposedly an AR-Card mode, which I assume would function like the AR cards that came bundled with the 3DS, but since I don't have access to the card I can't actually say. Actually pretty ingenious in my opinion, though it is disappointing that they seem to have only done the bare minimum with the concept.

However, these are where the positives end. Unfortunately, the gameplay falls flat compared to that of nintendogs.

The disc throwing physics are not as dynamic of fun to use, and can feel sluggish and weighed down, even on more powerful throws (the same goes for the tennis balls, which throw like they have weights inside), not to mention the difficulty that the puppies have actually catching the disc. You could be spending tens of minutes throwing the disc for your dog before it even catches it a single time, and when it finally does, you will be disappointed by the total lack of animation or character when it does so. It is more than just challenging - it is nothing but frustration. If there is a trick to making this minigame easier, the game certainly does not make it easy for you to work it out.

The game also copies the concept of walks and the park. The walking simulator is fine, allowing you to take your dog out for a walk in a 3D neighbourhood populated with various characters. The characters, at least to me, feel quite flat though- and not just because they utilise static 2D sprites. All they seem to be is game tips with faces, barely any substance. I wasn't expecting characters in a childrens petsim game to be the most compelling, but even Nintendogs managed to make an interesting character, ie Archie, who was entertaining and memorable.

The park is also very grating on the eyes, functioning like Nintendog's park, but with no other dogs to play with and assets that look like they were pulled straight from stock photo packs and copy pasted around the landscape. The landscape being practically a block of offensively vibrant green.

But the worst offender of all is the "combination tricks" this game introduced. Conceptually, it is actually very interesting! Tricks that have to be performed by selecting two other tricks at once, such as combining "sit" and "speak" to perform "yawn." It introduces a challenge beyond just commanding your dog to do one trick - there is an element of memory too. But then you get to actually performing the tricks... and it quickly becomes clear that this portion of the game, at least to me, has intricacies that are difficult to understand and are not explained. Many of the combination tricks are very fun and interesting to discover, like the breakdance and ballerina moves. But then some just seem to not make sense and seem to be misprogrammed, like "sneeze" having the dog stand up on its hind legs and wave its paws as if it were begging, and then the actual "beg" command only having the dog play the "paw" animation (raising a single paw while sitting), but mirrored. And then you enter the competitions, and it gets worse. They will start telling you to give your dog commands that I haven't found any way to perform. It is possible that they are just extra hidden commands, but as far as I can tell, you are only able to combine two commands together, and I have tried every combination, and still not found some of the commands they are requesting, such as "howl." Even if they are hidden behind some sort of mechanic or "level," these mysterious combination commands are never explained! Either it is the result of an unfinished game, or it is bad game design that leaves you confused and frustrated. Either way, I ended up feeling cheated after the effort I put in to train my dog, and very confused and disappointed. I dis not enjoy this.

Some immersion breaking nitpicks are that at each point that the time of in-game day changes, the game stops you for a moment while it resets your room. It also locks you out of taking any actions at all while your dog is eating or drinking, placing you in a glorified cutscene. Also, the "mentor" character greets you every in-game morning with "Congrats! Challenge Clear!" Which if having someone intrude your home every morning wasn't hellish enough is very interruptive and robotic, too.

All in all, I have found it a game that I am able to enjoy, but which has some glaring issues that keep it from having the same charm or level of enjoyment as the ever so classic Nintendogs. If you are interested in this game, I would say that it is worth a try if you can find it for cheap (or dare I say free), but overall you're probably better off with a copy of Nintendogs, or maybe even not playing at all.

Also, I wish the pixel art icons for this game were avaliable online somewhere. I do quite like those. And the homescreen icon is very cute as well.

Anyway say hi to Beanie ❤️

[carcass-confessions]

ok so yall know that magic system thing thats like "what can magic do, what can it not do, what is the cost of using it, and what does it feel like" yeah i used that for the current thing im writing except it has 3 different major types of magic (potentially more to come) so uhh heres the first one

Symbolic Magic (name subject to change): Everyone is born with at least some potential to do this type of magic. When someone is born, they are (seemingly) randomly assigned a "symbol" that is present throughout all of their magic; the vast majority of people have different flowers as their symbol, because its much more closely related to nature, but nowadays as the population has increased drastically, we see more niche symbols like teapots, doorways, windows, feathers, hourglasses, etc.

What can it do? Magic comes from the symbol itself; for example, if someone has the symbol of a hydrangea, their magic comes out of nearby hydrangeas or even drawing made to represent it. They would also, to some degree, be able to manipulate hydrangeas. Basic magic would be things like summoning fire, water, light, etc. out of the symbol, or applying effects to a symbol for putting in potions/food (mostly used by edible plant witches, like the Cherry Witch, who does have a primary focus on creating magical food. the Teapot Witch also primarily uses food magic). Much more advanced witches, who are far more in tune with their symbols, may be able to do things like teleport through their symbol (for example, creating a tornado of dandelions that they would appear out of), certain symbols can create portals more easily than others (like a door witch could much more easily make a human sized portal than a plant witch yknow), see using their symbol as a conduit, or manipulate sound through their symbol. The most powerful witches in history have been known to effectively permanently alter how their symbol exists in nature (more on that later maybe if i ever get around to exploring the Lore of this world). Purely for aesthetic trends, advanced witches have a tendency to flaunt their symbol in their magic; for example, a hydrangea witch shooting a fireball is likely to show off their mastery by shaping the fireball as a hydrangea

2. What can't it do? Symbolic magic cannot create more of a symbol in nature (for example, if a plant tied to a witch goes extinct, they cant simply make more of that plant magically), but again, drawings and symbols that represent it work. It also cannot touch the soul of another witch; magic can kill, but it cannot destroy a soul. This also means it cannot bring back the dead.

3. What is the cost? Because everyone has a unique symbol that cannot exist in someone else who is currently alive, it is a bit difficult to teach magic universally. Plant witches, being the majority, typically take precedent in teaching, as basic magic is pretty universal across them, however other symbols would be harder to teach more advanced magic. From birth there is a link between one's soul and a symbol, and although it "cannot" be cut, it can become stronger the more it is used. People who do not use magic, after death, typically are able to enter the underworld within a day or a week, as the link breaks down much easier. Novice practitioners may remain in the material planes for a few months, while the most advanced and powerful may remain for years (or a decade if youre Ursa Elara or Altair Tahtinen lmao). After descending to the underworld, it also takes longer for the symbol to reconnect to a different soul depending on the power of the living user, as the EnergyTM directed into and out of the symbol in nature has to have time to Cool Down. Despite how seemingly constrained someone is to their symbol, symbolic magic is the most free-flowing and experimental category of magic.

4. What does magic feel like? To beginners, it feels like being a dog learning how to walk with lil boots on, or like you suddenly grew extra limbs without knowing how to move them. To advanced, its probably more like finally getting the grasp on a new language, except everyone who speaks it has a completely different dialect and theres only a few key similarities, but deep down you know youre speaking it correctly

some extra notes: symbols are actually sort of a pretty small aspect of this kind of magic, especially when every student at The School TM gets a free enamel pin of their symbol so they can use magic anywhere as long as they have it without relying on nature. also eye color and symbol color are directly correlated in most cases, and there is only one witch alive for each symbol. If someone is a purple snapdragon, no other snapdragon witches are alive at the same time. Only the most powerful witches have their color tied to their title (i.e. Ursa Elara the Golden Sun Witch and Ewa Gloska the Silver Moon Witch vs. Divya Deshmukh the Hourglass Witch and Pippa Jane Owen the Dandelion Witch). Symbols also cannot be animals, those for the gods or somethin idk

[giorno-plays-piano]

Run, Hide, Leave behind

Pairing: warlock!Bucky Barnes x Reader  Warnings: yandere, obsession, swearing, stalking, mentions of kidnapping, death of minor characters.  Words: 2354  Summary: He was following you with such persistence as if you had mortally offended him once. It had hardly been a week, but you felt like you had spent an eternity lurking in the shadows, expecting the warlock to appear right in front of you any second.  P.S. Oh, Nasuverse magic system... One day I’ll make a better story about it.  _____________________________________  This place gave you creeps: abandoned medical facilities looked scary even on TV, but hiding in one of them at night by yourself was much more frightening. You would never come here if you had a choice. However, the one hunting you down did not particularly care for your fears, chasing you like a true police dog. The only reason why you came to an abandoned hospital at the outskirts of the city was because Wanda sent you here, saying that your shielding magic might work better in this particular location. Since you had no more places to hide – he destroyed every one of them, leaving dead bodies behind – it was your last refuge.

As you walked down the empty corridor, your sneaked into one of large rooms with several steel beds and no mattresses. The old creaky floor was dusty and bubbling, one of the windows boarded up, the others so dirty you could hardly see anything but silhouettes of the huge pine trees surrounding the hospital. Sighing, you took out a piece of chalk and got on your knees, drawing an uneven circle and started scribbling around it. You doubted it would really work when everything else didn’t.

The medallion on your chest got heavier with every word you whispered, and you thought how stupid it would be to die for just some old artifact. Sure, it carried the magic of the ancient, such power a mage like you could hardly imagine, but it was also the reason it was completely useless to you. Only the most talented and experienced magicians were to enjoy its power, while your pathetic charms could not even activate the medallion. You only kept it because it was your family’s heirloom, the one thing that was left to you by your parents. If you had ever known that it could nearly destroy your life, you would give it up the first time you saw Bucky.

Yes, he was the very same mage who was chasing you now, the legendary Winter Warlock who could cover the whole city in snow and ice in the middle of summer. You could still hear Wanda’s screams once he literally blew the door along with the half of a hallway with his magic.

Why was the medallion so important to him? He was above all the sorcerers you had ever known. He probably had tons of magical artifacts like this, the silver glove he wore on his left hand being a much more powerful item. Moreover, since Bucky Barnes was a well-known outlaw of the magic world who had been in hiding for years, it was odd he came out now. He was following you with such persistence as if you had mortally offended him once. It had hardly been a week, but you felt like you had spent an eternity lurking in the shadows, expecting the warlock to appear right in front of you any second.

The sacred symbols were glowing with gentle golden light as you finished creating your shield, probably the only thing you were more or less good at. It was a great pity your shields were just the means of protection, nothing else. You saw once how Pietro’s Bounded Fields cut an arm of a mage who wanted to break through, but you were so repulsed by the sight of blood and someone’s suffering that you have never tried to learn this type of magecraft.

Nonetheless, even Pietro’s charms were not good enough against someone like Winter Warlock. He was amongst the few ones who could use True Magic. They said he even knew the spatial warping spells.

You heard a loud bang and felt your skin crawling. Warlock was here, in the corridor on your right, you could see his massive distorted form through the open door – a dark cloud was slowly turning into a tall beefy figure. Apparently, Barnes was keen on keeping himself in a good physical condition.

You swallowed, your heart pounding wildly. It was the end of you. Quickly removing the medallion from your chest, you looked at it and bit down on your lower lip. You asked your ancestors to forgive you for not being able to keep your heirloom safe and stood up. When Tony, the head wizard of your coven, had given up on helping you, you knew you will die in a matter of few days.

“It’s nice to see you waiting for me.” Warlock said in a low voice, and you shivered: he had always been silent every time you saw him. Something was different today.

You could not utter a single word in return, watching him entering the dark room and smirking at the sight of your pathetic golden shield. He raised his right arm, and the chalk was immediately erased from the dirty floor, living you with no protection against his magic whatsoever. Well, it was worth a try.

As he advanced towards you, his black cloak almost reaching the floor, you suddenly reached out for him, having a medallion in your hand. Maybe he could give you an easy death then, you thought. Maybe he would not, but now there was nothing you could do about it. For some reason you were unable to end your own life – three days ago you tried to drink the poison but dropped the bottle once your lips touched its top.

“Why?”

Warlock narrowed his icy blue eyes, and you gasped for air. Did he expect you to fight him? Was he thinking you had to die an honorable death for your heirloom? Surely, he knew your pathetic sorcery couldn’t even reach him through his own magic circle.

“You wanted to have it. Take it then.” You managed to say meekly, watching the red star on his shoulder, a symbol of deadly blood magic user. “Anyway, there’s nothing I can do to protect it.”

“The medallion?” Bucky chuckled, coming closer to you with each step and watching your body tremble. “You think I’ve been following you the whole fucking week for this?”

Despite his harsh tone, he carefully took the artifact in his flesh hand and then touched the dull metal with his silver fingers, making the medallion shine all of a sudden. Ah, his power activated it.

“I… I thought… you reached out for it when you came the first time.” You mumbled, confused. “I have nothing except it. Nothing valuable.”

Suddenly, he tilted his head back and laughed loudly, still carrying the medallion in his hand. You were taken aback by his response and just froze on the spot – what the hell was happening here? He tried to snatch this little piece of metal from your chest once he spotted you. If he wasn’t coming for it, what else could he possibly want from you, a low mage who had only discovered her powers a year ago?

The corners of his eyes crinkled once he grinned at you, coming so close that you could feel his breath on your skin. He didn’t punch you, though, or hurt you in any other way. Bucky simply put the medallion back on you again.

“Look at me closely, little girl.” He demanded, and you stared at him like a rabbit in front of a snake.

Before you could realize what was happening, his face features started to change, the magic making him look younger, healthier as his dark circles and pale skin were transforming slowly. His dark long hair became much shorter, his smile less threatening, and in a few seconds, you were looking into the face of a young soldier James you had met something like a month ago in an amusement park. In fact, you started going out with him - he was probably the sweetest men you had ever encountered, gentle and caring. James was one of a few people who could make you laugh to tears with his jokes, too.

But a sudden appearance of Winter Warlock ruined everything. You had to hide, and since James knew nothing of your magic powers, it was very unclever to get him involved in all this. So, you simply stopped calling him and then dumped your phone shortly, afraid for both his life and your own. You were scared Warlock could do something to him once he learnt James was important to you, but, thankfully, it had never happened.

Then it suddenly occurred to you that you saw those icy blue eyes before. It’s just that time you thought they were the same color as the winter sky, and you told James a few times how unusual they looked. He was both proud and somewhat shy about it.

Clenching the medallion in your hand, you felt tears filling your eyes and stepped back from Warlock as he reversed his magic, and his hair grew back again, his face tired and aged up.

“Is this how you entertain yourself?” You barked at him and wiped the wet tracks with you shaking hands, but tears kept streaming, nonetheless. “Pretending to be someone you’re not and having fun with a mage who can’t win against you? Do you enjoy hunting people down that much?”

“No, I don’t.” He said sternly and made a step towards you while you kept going back. “You brought it upon yourself, don’t you think?”

“And what have I done?” You tried to fight back the tears, thinking of all the times you spent together, talking nonsense, having fun, laughing. It stung. It only made you cry harder, and you turned your reddened face away from his. “What didn’t you like? Didn’t my kisses feel nice? Or was it the way I dressed? Were you mad at me because you didn’t get into my skirts?”

“Oh, I could get there pretty fast if I wanted to, love.” Bucky smirked, and you sent him a glare. How could this bastard be your James, the man who spent all his money to win you a teddy bear in an amusement park? How could he play his role to perfection, making you never even once doubt his intentions? Did he use a love potion or charms of some kind to draw you to him? With his level of skill, it would be easy. Maybe it explained why you fell in love with him so goddamn fast.

“Then what the hell do you want from me?”

You realized he had cornered you only when your back was pressed into the cold wall beside you. Although you were ready to die just mere minutes ago, now you wanted to fight. Regardless whether you could use magic or not, you were ready to make everything a bit harder for Warlock rather than silently submitting to him.

“Why didn’t you come to the cinema that night, little girl? I was waiting.” His smug smile faded, and you felt fear rising up in your gut again. “I’ve been waiting for a damn hour for you to show up or send me a message. When you didn’t, I went to see you only to find a pretty blond guy taking care of you in bed.”

The color drained out of your face when you remembered the night when you didn’t come to see the movie you two chose. Warlock was right. You weren’t there for James because you had a migraine, and Pietro and Wanda came to put some soothing charms and help you relieve the pain. It was Pietro who had casted a sleeping spell when his sister was in the kitchen doing her herb potion.

When Warlock came to ruin your house in the middle of the night, you chose to run, completely forgetting about apologizing to James. You had no time for it. You fled immediately and never thought of the night when you were supposed to meet him in the cinema, instead thinking of keeping him away from the mess you got yourself into. It was impossible to link these two events in your head as Bucky had never said why he was following you in the first place. Of course, for you the only logical reason was the artifact.

But in the end, he didn’t want to grab to your medallion. He was reaching out to touch you.

Well, at least it explained why he was trying to tear Pietro apart, almost chopping his arm. If not the Bounding Fields and Wanda’s teleportation spell, he would be dead for sure.

“I was unwell.” You forced the words out of your mouth. “Pietro and Wanda were there to heal me.”

“Did they, truly?” His cool silver hand gently touched your wet cheek.

“Give me the Truth Potion then.” You almost spat in his face, clenching your hands into fists. “Go inside my head, see the truth for yourself. You blame me for something I have never done when you made me believe you’re a nice man, used me, manipulated my feelings, and then hunt me down like an animal. God, you had almost killed the man who only tried to help me! You murdered several trespassers who weren’t ever wizards at all!”

When you finished, you felt your hands going limp as you could no longer control your own body. You felt like you were floating in the air, your legs too weak to keep you standing, and you let out a small sob. Did you forget in your rage that you were talking to one of the most powerful dark magicians? He could kill you with his thumb.

“If what you’re saying is true, you’ll get your sweet soldier back, love.” A dark smile slid across his lips. “Or would you prefer me, the mage? I bet I could give you much more as a sorcerer. I could teach you to use your medallion, give you the power you’d never even dreamt of. Believe me, you’re going to like it.”

“I want you to leave me alone.” You said under your breath, frightened and distressed, but his hand was already on your chest leaving a bloody star on your grey jacket.

“Too late, dear. You’ve made your choice a month ago.”

[hpdabbles]

MORE FOR MAGICAL RAMEN PLEASE! I WOULD LIKE TO SEE NARUTO'S DEDICATION IN SEEING REMUS AGAIN

Naruto- who refuses to go by Harry no matter how much it would have meant to his new parents- allowed himself to laugh as yet another bully stumbled away. His cousin had attempted to have him jump but the civilians were sadly way over their heads if they thought they could take on Naruto, who had finally worked his body up to chunin levels. 

He flexes his hands, fingers thumping in the familiar ache of his knuckles releasing the tension they had been placed in for throwing punches. He leans back on his heels, his chakra humming and causing extensive amounts of energy his young body couldn’t control yet, which has him in consent movement.

His aunt hates that he can’t keep still but so did many of his instructors back at the academy and like then he merely sticks out his tongue, all while keeping his sunny disposition. 

The Dursleys are at their wit's ends with him. His uncle had tried to be big and intimating but Naruto has taken down foes just as large and twice as strong. His aunt tried to lock him in a cupboard with no food, but Naruto picked the lock and hunted his own meal- though it was rather hard with nearly no forest near him. 

They threaten to throw him out in the street which he cheerfully informs them, that would be nothing he couldn’t handle and he would be taking his dead parents money with him. Naruto had learn how to save his funds, and budget from a lifetime of being a scorn orphan, which meant he knew just how much power gold really held. 

He wasn’t sure how he would go about getting the child services to give him the money that belong to the Potters since this new world had ridiculous child protection laws but he was sure he find a way. His uncle and aunt knew it too, after seeing his never wavering stubbornness.

It didn’t stop them from spreading rumors about him and his parents, rumors that turn him into a trouble making burden but again, Naruto was used to the sneers and looks of distain. It hurt but it wasn’t going to stop him from finding the three men who were more like family then the two adults and chubby child he was dumped on.  

It finally came down to a a agreement. The Dursleys pretend Naruto didn’t exist if he keep up with his chores- D rank missions really- and they turn a blind eye to everything off about him.

Like the fact that while “unusually” intelligent for his age he detested any paperwork and especially classwork, he self-taught himself his personalize Taijustu in the park under the amazed eyes of the neighbors impressed despite themselves  and out of many preying eyes he regain his Justus. 

The chores were much easier to do with his shadow clones. Though the first time he summon them his Aunt threw a fit, trying to tell him “magic” would not be allowed in her house. 

Naruto and his clones had laughed at her,  simultaneously until she fled back to her room, urging Dudley to stay in his until Naruto finished with the chores. He agree not to use it in public- as even he knew civilians didn’t react well to ninjas making a prolong stay among them especially when they used Justus. It made them unlikely to hire the Leaf for missions.  A ninja that couldn’t get missions was a ninja that failed his village. 

It was a bit strange to be the only ninja with a functioning chakra system for miles and miles. Naruto tried to find others like him for years but no matter where he went none of the people had tapped into their chakra’s. Sometimes it felt like they didn’t even have a system which went against everything he was taught as Naruto Uzumaki. 

Naruto did not let any of this get in the way of his search for ‘Emus, Dog-man, and Rat-man. He created flyers from the foggy memories, and placed them everywhere. He asked random people in the street. He sent out clones to near by cities and broke into any government building he could find- their security is terrible- but nothing had come up.

His attempt to gather information from his guardians yield the same results though he got the sense they knew more then they let on. Back in the Leaf village Naruto’s team had always been more of front line combat then information gathers or trackers and his lack of support from those departments were making his search that much harder.

He finally understood what Iruka-sensei meant when he used to say every role a Leaf Ninja played was a role needed for the success village.

It was during one of his daily on foot searches that Naruto had a owl land before him carrying a letter. He paused from where he was stapling a poster of  Dog-man, a terrible drawing and a brief description of the last time seen, were the only thing on the poster with his house number as a place to contact should anyone have any information. 

The owl hoots, sticking out it’s leg at him. 

“A messenger bird...” Naruto breathes stun. It’s not much but it’s been so long since he had something familiar like what his life as a Leaf Ninja in this new world that he thought he would never see a messenger bird again. It feels like a small part of him, of his old life, had been return.  

Carefully, while licking his dry lips, he reaches out to take the letter. Years of animal care kick in as he gently unwarps the string holding the envelope, and hands over bits of the granola bar he had in his pocket for the bird to eat. 

He waits until the Owl finished picking the bits form his palm, smiling when it climbs onto his arm and runs up his forearm to rest on his shoulder. The talons are digging into his skin, the dull pain a breath of fresh air as he suddenly remember the same type of feeling when he send back reports to his village. 

Carefully he opens the letter.

Naruto reads the lines over and over again. It’s a letter congratulating him on his acceptance to a magical school, a list of supplies and a map to where he can find them. He tries to search for lies but he can’t figure out what is and isn’t though written form. It’s only because they sent a messenger bird, a form of communication he knows is not common place, that he doesn’t crumble up the strange paper and accepts the fact.

Harry Potter is a wizard and Naruto is Harry Potter.

He sends back a agreement to be present the first day of school and races home, his stack of posters flying behind him in his red wagon. He doesn’t bother with letting his aunt and uncle argue that they won’t allow him to go because this may be the closest he’s ever been to finding  ‘Emus, Dog-man, and Rat-man. 

He stares them down, unwilling to back off or crumble until they agree. He is bouncing all over the place, excited even when his aunt takes him to a strange pub hands him a wallet of money and tells him to buy what he needs before speeding away.

Naruto likes the Leaky cauldron even though it goes dead salient when he walks in. His eyes run over the stun customers down right gleeful he has finally, finally , found the chakra users.

Sure the systems feel slightly different like the samurai felt different but not exactly the same as the honor based sword swingers. The people in this establishment had tapped their chakra’s and that alone gave him new found hope. 

“I say, Harry Potter! As I live and breath! Sir it’s a honor” A gruffy old man says stepping into his line of sight and shaking Naruto’s hand. The dark hair boy- still after all these years he was not used to not seeing sunshine bright hair- blinks up at him but he smiles anyway.

He likes meeting new people, after all a stranger could be his new friend and his new precious  person . 

“Hi there!” He chirps signature grin springing to life on his lips. The man looks blinded. “It’s nice to meet you. Call me Naruto please.”

As if though that was a signal everyone around him leaps to their feet racing over to introduce themselves as well and Naruto can’t fandom why. He always wanted a warm hero’s welcome like this but he hasn’t done anything to earn it yet. Not here. There was no war or grand fight he part took in to earn the kind of awe and devotion of the population like the aftermath of Pain’s attack did.

It while he meeting everyone that his eyes land on a family of red heads half sitting and half standing in the corner, looking as if they all want to get closer too but aren’t sure if they should. There is a woman, a man, five children- four male on female- and Naruto has to crane his neck to keep them in sight as the crowd around him grows. 

He doesn’t know what about them caught his attention but his eyes zero in on the one in the glasses.

Or more specifically on the rat resting on the teenager’s shoulder. A quick scan with his chakra confirms what he already knew. He pushes the hands trying to shake his own and breaks though the crowd faster then what the people are expecting. Ninja speed is still faster then what these wizards are used to.

Before the red-head teenager knows what is happening Naruto has reached out and taken the rat, holding the squealing creature to his face smiling widely. Maybe even madly. “RAT-MAN I FOUND YOU!”

Everyone stares at him. 

“Um...that’s Scabbers” The red head around his age says slowly.  “He is Percy’s pet.”

“No this is Rat-man!” Naruto corrects breezily, he pulls the thrashing animal closer gently petting it’s head. “He used to visit me as a baby. I never forget his chakra. Rat-man have you seen ‘Emus or Dog-man? I can’t find them anywhere!”

The boy is staring at him with the kind of look one would give a screaming man in the street. Weary and unable to look away.

“Stop shaking Scabbers!” The red-head with glasses Percy he thinks, yells. He holds out his hand. “You’re scaring him! Give him back!”

“No! I just found him! I’ve been looking for years for him.” Naruto yells back pressing the animal to his chest and sticking out his tongue at the rapidly red face turning teenager.

“I think there may have been a mistake.” The man who looks like all the children, their father, says stepping in and holding a stick. “Scabbers has been in our family. He isn’t a man.”

“He is!” Naruto argues. 

The man has the kind of look Kakashi-sensei used to wear. The one that says he only agree to amuse Naruto. “How about I cast Animagus reversal spell. Then we can see if he is a man or my son’s pet.” 

Naruto fingers tighten around the suddenly much more violently thrashing rat. “It won’t hurt him? He is my parents’ friend.”

“He won’t feel a thing.” The man swears and Naruto nods keeping a weary eye on the man’s chakra in case he tries anything but feeling nothing but good intentions from him and holding out the rat. A light blue light zaps out of the man’s wand landing on the Rat-man and at once his features change. Naruto doesn’t let go, not even when the body out grows his hands and the man turns back into a human.

He keeps a tight hold until the man is sitting before the gasping audience. Naruto doesn’t care for the rapidly paling face of the red headed family or the scrambling of people who try to get away. He throws himself around Rat-man’s neck and squeezes.  “I knew you were okay! I knew you haven’t been caught even when Mom and Dad got killed. Where have you been? Why are you hiding like a rat? Do you like ramen? Hey hey, do you still have that skull and snake tattoo?”

His celebration and rapid firing questions is cut short by a couple of wizards in red robes called Aurors body slamming Rat-man into the ground.

Naruto finds them very rude.

[yaneyanedaze]

My Android Lover 2: Part 1

As I am currently flooded with requests, I wanted to leave this here to show that:

MY ANDROID LOVER IS BACK BABY!

Now this is a Sequel to the series..But I’ll let you figure out the bulk of the story~

With that on with the story!

———————————————————————

My name is Y/n L/n,

I am an Investigative reporter for the Stone Ocean Times. I have tasked with a job to investigate the recent disappearances of people who order from a certain website.

The Websites name?

Jojo’s Bizarre Androids.

Now I wasn’t completely against the idea of Androids to help us out in the world. Hell, I work along side a couple myself, but these were different. According to reports, each Android is made especially for the user, but recently, a certain spike of disappearances have been plaguing people who buy one. My Boss has ordered me to do what ever it takes to figure out an answer to this..even if it means ordering one.

So here I am, it’s 8:40pm and I’m scrolling down the site, taking notes as I go along. “Every Android made for your love and compassion...Each one is programmed for you and only you alone.” I read slowly, clicking on a link, that took me to a page with most of their top sellers. I chuckled at myself in disbelief. “I can’t believe I’m doing this..” I muttered. I heard a soft bark and rustling, I turned to see that my dog, Iggy, took his seat next to me on the chair. I guess he couldn’t believe I was doing it either.

As I scrolled down, one caught my eye.

JONATHAN JOESTAR: THE GENTLEMAN ANDROID

Jonathan is an android made to be the perfect man, he’ll cater to your every need and will got out of the way to make sure you’re okay. He’s a sweetheart and is an all around gentlemen. There’s only one of him, so order now or forever lose your chance!

I raised an eyebrow before decided to click on him to examine him more. He seemed to be based off a standard English gentleman. He had blue hair and large muscles, but from the way the website described him, he appeared to be a softly with a huge heart. He was perfect.

I clicked purchased and headed to the next screen, where I put some information in about myself, from my likes and dislikes, to what my job is. Lastly I was about to enter my payment method when a pop up appeared:

CONGRATULATIONS MS.Y/N

You have been chosen to receive the following Android you have selected for free! Continue ahead to finalize your purchase and remember, your Android is made for you! We hope you enjoy Mr.Joestar!

I questioned it heavily, but it didn’t even give me a chance to respond before I was booted back out and the only thing on screen was a receipt and a confirmation about what I ordered. I looked back at Iggy who had the same confused look on his face before raising his paws as if to say ‘I don’t know’. I was somewhat creeped out and decided to close my laptop and headed upstairs to bed with Iggy. I was already skeptically about ordering but that just kinda made things worse, I shook my head and got into to bed letting Iggy hop up into his spot.

‘If only your knew Sweetie..you’ll be mine soon enough..my plan is falling right into place~..’

(The Next Morning)

I yawned as I suddenly jolted up at the sound of things falling downstairs, I also heard Iggy barking, but he suddenly stopped. Slowly climbing out of bed, I grabbed the baseball bat I kept on my bed side and I crept downstairs as quietly as I could. When I reached the base of my stairs, I saw someone standing in my kitchen cooking. Iggy was munching on a bone that was placed in his bowl, he looked up at me and started barking happily, gaining the attention of the male. He turned and gave a breath taking smile.

“Good Morning Master! You were asleep, so I decided to activate and make you breakfast, I hope you like it!~”

I felt a blush creeping up on my face, there in all his glory was the Android I had ordered. He was even better looking in person, defined features, great smile, you wouldn’t be able to tell that he was an Android. The main this that gave it away was the 01 on his neck. I guess that means he’s the first model. I lowered the bat and walked over, he had made eggs, bacon and pancakes for me. He even made the special fluffy pancakes that I really like with extra strawberries. “T-thanks...” I stuttered out. He was just too beautiful for human eyes, he had silky looking blue hair with matching eyes that you could lost in. He sat down infront of me before he began introducing himself.

“My names Jonathan! I am your personal Android Assistant! Thank you so much for choosing me, most people go for the younger models..But I’m really grateful!” He said softly, looking me dead in my face. I nodded in understanding as I stuffed my face. This had to be the best food I’ve even had in my life, whatever he did to it, he made it amazing! He smiled bashfully at me and began speaking again “Tell me more about yourself Master! I only have the basics in my system..I wanna know more about you.” He asks, His hands running through his hair, it seemed as if he was nervous, it was adorable, he was shy.

I felt most of my worry melt away when I began talking to him. He seemed so interested, we even moved from the breakfast table to my living room. He sat on the couch and allowed for me to put my head on his lap as I continued to talk. He would nod his head, laugh and chuckle at the things that I was saying. He was human, Minus the metal parts that are hidden away. Jonathan was exactly what I needed, someone to talk to, someone just to hear me out. I couldn’t wait to show him to the boss tomorrow, maybe Jonathan could even help us out in the office.

I sighed as I felt myself getting sleepy. I had only closed my eyes for a second when I felt Jonathan pick me up into his arms. He mumbled something that I didn’t hear, but at that moment I didn’t care. Sleep was taking over me and I cuddled up to the Android male. I usually don’t open up to people, let alone androids, this easily, but Jonathan was just so sweet and nice I couldn’t help it.

But something felt off....I couldn’t put my finger on it..

———————————————————————

Jonathan walked out of her room with a smile on his face as he headed downstairs. Pressing a button on his chest he heard a females voice come out. “Did you do what I told you SweetHeart?..” She said. Jonathan gave a comfirmatory noise, making her chuckle.

“Good, We can now put our plan in motion...My darling y/n..We’ll meet soon enough. If you want to know the truth..”

[cruecifymesixx]

Love and Leather /part seventy eight/

Word Count: 4.6k

A/N: Enjoy!

Warnings: angst, language, 

Taglist:  @brideofdraculana, @aryssav , @miserablecunt , @fandomshit6000, @anntheboneless,, @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol, @justjodeye, @supernaturalvikingwhore, @hi-my-name-is-riley, @extremesadnerding , , @thatbandchick39, @awkwrdcait, @countrygirlswonderland, @awesomealmostdopestudent​ , @romanticvengeance , @tashy-bear, @krazykatkay456, @terror-triplet @shoutatthedevill, @beachystars , @beachystars, @rodriguez025 , @kickstart-myheart-sixx, @s-outhie, @anxious-diabetic, @awkwardblackgirls, @rockersbox , @brooklyn-antiques, @shamelessobsessions, @jerseytaint, @lilytalebi, @criminalyetminimal, @motley-queen, @trapt-in-a-dream, @lunamadhatter99, @broke-n-bitchy @thanks2pete,  @lovesick-heart0, @keepcalm-and-beyou, @miriampraez, @teenwolflover28, @lilyhw1, @motherloovebone, @random-internet-user-4471, @falcon-arrows, @talranocchia2001,  @waywardprincess666, @malibubarbievince, @iluvmesomemarvelndc, @zoenicoles, @vamprlestat, @supersoldierballerina, @primal-screamer @electradestiny, @marshbev, @n0-sh0rtage-0f-faults, @cruebaby, @ggorehorror, @valentines-in-london, @miss2001babe, @nassauartist  @cmft-jr-winchester  @bokkie92, @notworthyofyou1120 @xrosegoldwolfx, @lauravic, @mgkobsessed, @chaoticvybe,  @kellysimagines @thoughtsoftheantagonist @marvelismylifffe, @sleepyjunhong  @meetthesixxter @sparxx27 @gingerspicetalks @kaitieskidmore1 @unknownoblivion @nevergoodenuffbutokaaayyy @sublimeprincesswasteland @kylieinwonderland @haileynicoleseavey17 @lavendersoundbarrier @youretheonlyonewhomakesme, @xxisxxisxxis, @dogmom2014, @cruesixxlover1991 , @xpoisonousrosesx, @cranberrirolls, @m0rnlngstar, @love-struck-aries, @findingmyths , @minxtruck, @i-want-to-shoot-myself, @arianareirg, @fentitrbl, @sinningsixx, @motleycrueprincess, @redlipscrystalskies14, @samanthadegaro

~New Years Eve 1995~

Nikki crawled over the velvet red seats of the limo, reaching for Vanitys purse and tugging on it, "Get your ass back in the limo now!" He slid his hand off the strap, fingers wrapping around her wrist and pulling her back to the door, "You aren't gonna act like a fucking brat and just runaway like you usually do!"

Vanity stared down at him before pinching his hand, "No! I don't want to go anywhere with you! You're pissing me off! Now, let go!"

"Sir, the light is green. I am holding up traffic."

"I don't give a fuck! Vanity, I swear to god I will drag you into this car!" Nikki hissed, tightening his grip on her and pulling her, prying her hand off his with his left one.

"Fuck you and fuck off!" She yelled at him, flipping off the people behind them honking. She reached for the door and started shutting it on him. Nikki quickly let go when it almost slammed on his hand.

"Fuckin' psycho bit-" Nikki quickly shut his mouth and closed his eyes, taking deep breath after deep breath.

"May I start driving now, sir?"

*A few hours prior*

"How do I look?" Vanity twirled around for Nikki, the blue silk dress with criss cross straps in the back shining in the light. The diamond choker from Christmas glistening as well.

"Like a million bucks, babe." Nikki grinned, reaching for her hand and kissing it.

"Only a million?" Vanity joked as Nikki rolled his eyes.

"An infinite amount, that better?" He questioned as he peppered kisses up her arm and across her shoulder before kissing her lips, moaning at the taste, "Peaches?"

Vanity shook her head, "And cream. It's a new lipgloss." She kisses him again before wiping it off his lip with her thumb.

"It's almost time!" Arianna came in bursting through Vans bedroom door, "We have to!" She yelled, grabbing both her parents hands and pulling them out of the bedroom.

Nikki had came up with the idea to set all the clocks in the house three hours ahead so it would line with the ball drop on the east coast at midnight as it was only roughly fifteen minutes to nine, "Told you it would work." Nikki mumbled to Vanity as they went down the stairs and to the living room, "Plus, she can't even tell time yet."

Vanity grabbed some confetti poppers and gave them to Arianna and him before answering the doorbell, "Hi Jessie. It's nice to see you again." She smiled at the red headed teenager that lived a few houses down from theirs. While being on winter break to make some extra cash, Jessie had went door to door offering to babysit the kids of the neighborhood and walk the dogs. Nikki found it as a way to slowly get Clementine out of the way. Did he tell Vanity that? No, of course not.

"So this is a list of contacts, there's me, Nikki, Clementine and Tommy and if all else fails call Mick and he'll be over as soon as he can. And if no one answers at all, I'm sure you know how to call 9-1-1 if there's a true emergency. Um, she has no allergies to food. We do have Anarchy, our dog, but she's a sweetheart. She usually sleeps with Ari at night. Arianna does wake up sometimes to go potty or wanting a snack or water. Um, please help yourself to any food in the fridge or pantry. There's a bathroom downstairs...uh am I missing anything?" Vanity chuckled nervously, it was the first time she was leaving Arianna in the hands of a complete stranger.

Jessie smiled at her, "No, I think I got it. I see she's still awake?"

Van nodded, "Yeah, she wanted to stay up till midnight so we just changed the clocks."

"Mommy! C'mon!" Arianna ran to her, handing her party poppers.

"Ari, this is Jessie. She's gonna stay and hang out with you for a little bit while me and daddy go hang out with auntie and uncle Tommy." Vanity told her as she stared back.

Vanity cursed in her head, seeing the bottom lip start to quiver, "I don't want her. Why can't I come with you?" Arianna started the water works, red as a tomato as she clung to Vanity.

"She's tired. She's rarely up this late." Vanity explained, giving Jessie an apologetic look as she picked up Arianna.

"Baby, c'mon. We'll be back in a few hours. It's okay." Vanity rubbed her back soothingly, and kissed her cheek, "I know you can be a big girl for me. Then tomorrow, daddy's gonna take us to the boardwalk. And we can play all the games and ride some of the rides. It's not like the gigantic one in New York but it's fun."

"I am?" Nikki questioned, before pulling the string of the popper and pointing it in the air, causing colorful confetti to fall on top of Vanity and Ari.

"Yes, you are." Vanity blew him a kiss, "You think you can be okay without us?" Van questioned as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

Arianna nodded and stuck her hand out for one of the poppers in Nikkis hand, "I can be a big girl." She mumbled as she shot the popper directly at Nikki's chest, giggling in Vans ear as she rested her head on her shoulder.

"Okay okay. Let's not waste them." Nikki grumbled as he changed the channel to the ball drop in Times Square.

"I've been there!!" Arianna pointed at the tv. Nikki handed her another popper, holding her hand as she went for the string again.

"No, you gotta wait." Nikki spoke as he handed one to Van before Jessie, "You get in on this too, kid."

"5...4...3...2...1...Happy New Years!!"

They all pulled the strings as Arianna covered her ears at the noise, tossing her popper down to the carpet, "happy New Years! And it's time for bed!" Vanity kissed her cheek before handing her to Nikki.

"Goodnight baby! I love you!" Van waved to her, Ari waving back as Nikki took her upstairs, "So was I missing anything?"

Jessie shook her head, "Do you know when you'll be back home?"

"Oh! Um, maybe a little bit after midnight? Maybe one? Is that okay? We can come home earlier if you want?"

Jessie shook her head, "No, no it's okay. I was just curious. I think we'll be alright. You two go out and have fun."

Van smiled, "We will. Please don't hesitate to call if you have any questions or concerns." She glanced up when Nikki came down the stairs.

"I think that's the easiest I've ever seen her lay down. Did you tell her the rules?" Nikki questioned as Van rolled her eyes.

"What rules?"

"Nikki, I'm not telling her that."

Nikki looked at Jessie, "No sneaking boys in, no drugs or alcohol in the house and respect it like it's your own. And I will find out, I have surveillance in and out of the house." Vanity groaned and swatted his chest.

"We only have cameras in the front and on the sides of the house. He's just being a pest. Don't listen to him."

Jessie laughed, "My dad said you were the crazy one of the band."

Vanity laughed and grabbed her purse, "You don't know the half of it sweetie. We'll see you in a few hours." She grabbed Nikkis hand and pulled him towards the front door.

"The code is 7362. If you need it." Nikki smiled at Jessie as he armed the security system, "I'm serious, no boys." He warned her again.

"Yes sir. No boys." Jessie waved them goodbye as Vanity pulled him out of the front door.

"You got us a limo?" Vanity questioned as she saw the sleek black car waiting out front, the driver holding open the door.

"Well yeah? What else was I suppose to get. Come on get in. I told tommy we'd be there at nine fifteen to pick them up."

*End flashback*

"Van-Vanity! Wait!" Clementine chased after her as Tommy stuck his body out of the sun roof.

"Babe! Baby! What the hell did I do?! C'mon! Please get back in the limo!" Tommy shouted, "You too Van- hey I'm talking!" He grumbled as Nikki pulled him down and he changed positions.

"Vanity! Don't fucking do this, alright?! You're ruining everyone's night, including yours and I don't want to hear you bitching about it in the morn- don't throw your fucking shoe at me!" He dodged it when the black stiletto came flying at him, "Okay! Baby, look I was an asshole! And I'm sorry, alright!? I am sorry! I shouldn't have called you a whore! But we're both drunk and we're gonna regret this whole fight in the morning, so please, can you get in the limo!?"

"What part of leave me the fuck alone do you not understand!? God! I can't fucking stand you sometimes!" Vanity spat back, taking off her other heel and chucking as hard as she could, completely missing Nikki and hitting the side window.

"And I really can't stand this Vanity and all her bratty tantrums but here I am! Just like always, you started this shit!!"

"I did not start it!”

“Yes! You! Did!"

"Maybe I wouldn't have been mad in the first place if you didn't talk to that fucking bitch!!" Vanity screamed at him, throwing down her purse as she stormed down the sidewalk, Clementine quickly picking it up and chasing her.

*Flashback* 

Vanity cradled her watered down vodka cranberry as she waited patiently for Nikki to bring her back another one. The band had their own private lounge at the club, rightfully so but their bar tending service sucked. She sat on the leather couch bobbing her head to the music and listening to Tommy and John talk about the ideas for the new album. Clementine looked as annoyed as Vanity felt, "You know, sometimes I wish it was 1986 and the guys were still excited about being at a party." She said into Clementines ear over the loud music that played through the speaker.

"If I hear Tommy say 'dude, it's killer' one more time I'm gonna loose it." Clementine groaned as Tommy said it again, laughing as he did so.

I smiled and nudged Clementine, "Do you maybe want to go dance? Since they're having such a in depth conversation?" Clementine nodded immediately and grabbed Vanity's hand as she pulled her to the dance floor. The two laughed as they swayed to the music.

Nikki took a breath of fresh air as he stepped out of the bathroom. All he wanted was to take a piss but almost every guy in there just needed to have an autograph and a picture. He loved his fans, but man, did they get on his nerves sometimes.

He stepped through the crowd, avoiding bumping into people as much as possible, his anxiety was off the charts as it had been quite sometime since he's been in a party atmosphere. He stepped over to the bar ordering Van another vodka cranberry and himself a jack and coke. As he waited, he looked over to the lounge and noticed the girls weren't there till he saw them dancing. He smiled a bit and waved at Vanity to grab her attention, but stopped when a petite blonde crossed his line of sight. His eyes followed her to the bar a few bodies away from him. He gazed up her tan legs and over the bright red dress. He twiddled with his thumbs for a moment, glancing at Vanity to decide what to do. She wasn't paying attention anyways.

Nikki moved down the bar, squeezing in between her and some others, "He-hey." He choked out, scratching the back of his neck as he leaned into the bar.

The blonde smiles at him, recognizing him immediately, "Oh! Hey! You're Nikki Sixx!"

He nodded, "Yeah, that's me." He cleared his throat, "What's your name?"

"Donna D'Errico. I'm actually a big fan of Mötley Crüe."

"Thank you. You're on TV, right?" Nikki questioned

Donna nodded, "Yes, Baywatch. I'm surprised you would know that. I wouldn't expect you to watch something like that." She chuckled a bit and looked at him.

"Oh, yeah my uh...yes I watch it. It's a guilty pleasure. It's really good. Can I get you a drink?" He asked, flagging the bartender down.

"Sure, a Mai Tai please." Donna spoke kindly as the bartender nodded and went back to making drinks and taking orders, "Where's your girlfriend?"

Nikki looked at her rather confused, "Huh? Girlfriend? I-I don't have a girlfriend." Nikki shook his head, "Where's your boyfriend?"

Donna smiled at him and moved closer to Nikki, "What boyfriend?" She smirks and lets her fingers glide over his wrist, her nail tapping the gold skull ring on his middle finger, "I just assumed you had one because of the whole daughter thing that happened."

"Daughter?" Nikki questioned before his eyes widened, "Fuck! Yeah, Arianna! My daughter. She's five. And such a pain in my neck sometimes." Nikki chuckled nervously as the bartender slid the drinks over the counter. He handed Donna's fruity cocktail to her, "But no, me and her mother aren't together."

"Oh? Well, can I give you my number?" Donna asked curiously as she was already reaching into her purse to grab a pan.

Nikki nodded feverishly, "Yeah, Yes. I would love to have your number."

Donna smiled at Nikki, reaching for a napkin behind him and letting her chest brush against his. She wrote her number down, plus her name before kissing the paper and leaving a pink lip print.

*End Flashback*

"Stop the fucking limo!!" Nikki barked his orders as he stared Vanity down, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No! I'm not kidding-"

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up Vanity! How the fuck are you going to be pissed at me for talking to another woman when you're the one saying we aren't together every god damn day! You are saying that! Not me!"

Vanity balled her fists up at her sides glaring at him, "That's not what I mean and-"

Nikki started laughing, "Yeah, because as usual, you don't fucking mean anything ever! We aren't fucking together and if I want to talk to some chick that isn't you then I'm gonna fucking do it! You aren't my girlfriend and I don't see a ring on your finger!"

"No, you aren't!!" Vanity yelled back at him, feeling tears swelling up in her eyes as he smirked at her.

"And why the fuck not?! We are not together! If I wanna talk, flirt, or fuck some other woman I can!"

*Flashback*

Vanity noticed Nikki at the bar talking to some short blonde chick her eyes narrowed as she saw her vodka cranberry in his hand, "I'm gonna go get a drink." She told Clementine, leaving the dance floor as she walked to them. She smirked to herself seeing the woman touching his hand and holding out a piece of paper to Nikki.

"There you are!" Vanity announced her presence as Nikki sent her a warning look. She stepped over wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his arm, "Is that my drink?" She took it from his hand and took a sip, "Oh! I'm sorry." Vanity pretended to finally notice the woman, the shit eating grin almost faltering on her face, "Oh! Wow, you're uh, uh Donna right? From Baywatch?"

Donna smiled brightly, brushing her bangs out of her eyes, "I am! You must be Vanity, right? God, the tabloids don't even remotely capture how pretty you are."

Vanity had to hold back an eye roll, "Oh thank you. Is it hard being a model when you see normal pictures of yourself?"

Nikki looked down at her before wrapping his arm around her and lightly squeezing the side of her shoulder as a way to say 'be nice'.

Donna chuckled and took a sip of her drink, "No, it's not hard at all. It's a lot of fun. You know, if you ever wanted to try it out I could probably link you up with some agencies and photographers."

"Modeling? Uh, I don't know. Nikki's really the only one that ever takes pictures of me." She leaned into his chest and rested her hand upon his sternum before reaching up and kissing his cheek, "But I'll think about it."

Donna nods and looks at the two, "Oh, well I gave him my number but you can call and we can set something up maybe. I would've never guessed you had a kid."

Vanity smiled through tight lips, "Yeah, it was a uh special diet I was on." She quickly took the paper out of Nikki's hand, "I'll give you a call if I decide."

"Thank you for my drink Nikki. Happy New Years." Donna squeezed his hand one more time before waving to Vanity.

Nikki's eyes followed her for a moment before narrowing on Vanity, "That was a shitty move." He let go of her and put some space between them.

"What's a shitty move?" She smiles innocently at him as she chewed on the straw in her cup as she waved for the bartender "Hey dude, can you throw this in the trash for me?" She laughed waving around the slip of paper with Donnas number on it.

Nikki glares and grabbed her wrist before ripping the number out of her hand, "This isn't trash." He grumbled, shoving it into his jean pocket.

"Uh yes it is? The fuck? What do you need it for?" Vanity scrunched up her nose in disgust as she tried reaching into his pocket.

Nikki quickly grabbed her wrist again, "Vanity, knock it off. I want her number."

"But why?"

"Because why the fuck not? For now it's just a number. So go away and be with Clementine." Nikki snapped quickly, eyes dark and lowering his face down to hers, "Go away." He handed her the drink with an eye roll before turning his back towards her.

*End flashback*

"And you want to be pissed about me getting some chicks number?! You fucking made out with some dude, Van! Right in front of me! How do you think that makes me feel?! Watching you all over a guy, kissing him at midnight and not me!"

"We aren't together, Nikki! I wasn't obligated to kiss you!!" Van retorted, tears finally streaming down her face as Clementine tried pulling her away from the argument.

"For fucks sake!" Nikki groaned, "Then don't get fucking pissed at me when I get someone's number since we aren't together! And while we're at it, stop acting like we're a couple when we aren't! You're either mine or you aren't! I'm done doing this shit with you, Vanity!"

"Then go the fuck home if you're done."

Nikki glared at her before sinking through the sun roof and sitting down on the cushions, swiping the spilt bottle of champagne off the floor and taking swig, "Take Tommy home and then take me back to my daughter." Nikki grumbles, wiping his face before glancing out the back window and seeing Vanity crying on Clementines shoulder.

*Flashback*

“Okay, Van. I think that's enough tequila shots." Clementine saywatching her grab another one from the tray of a passing by cocktail waitress.

"What? No! I'm fine!" Vanity's words are slurred as she stumbles around the dance floor, Clementine quickly grabbing ahold of her arm to help her stay up right.

"Maybe we should take a break, go sit with the boys. It's almost midnight."

Vanity laughs in her face, "Fuck the boys. If you wanna go so badly you can. But I'm gonna stay right here and-" her eyes scour the crowd, glossed over hazel hues landing on a blonde guy with a half buttoned red shirt, "And I'm-I'm gonna dance with him." She points to him before handing Clem her watered down drink and moving through the crowd.

"Van-Vanity come on! Think about Nikki! And please pull down your dress, your ass is almost hanging out!" Clem yells over the music, attempting to pull the fabric down.

"Fuck Nikki and fuck you, leave me alone!" Vanity grabbed the strangers hands and put them on her hips as she danced with him, "Go be with Tommy." Van shooed Clementine away.

"Come on baby. Your friend can join us." The guy laughed over the music as Clementine scoffed in disgust before going back over to the lounge.

"You're just gonna leave her?" Nikki questioned, his eyes flickering over to Vanity and then back to Clementine.

"She's drunk and isn't listening." Clem sighed when she plopped down on the couch next to Tommy and grabbed a water bottle from the ice bucket.

Nikki gripped the cup, his eyes narrowing at them as the guys hands roamed up and down Vanity's curves and his face resting in the crook of her neck. His blood boiled picturing what that guy was probably saying to her. How she smells good, how he can't wait to see what's under her dress as his fingers went beneath the fabric. How he could make her feel so good but really he wouldn't be able to satisfy her. Nikki's stoic expression softened and switched to hurt when Vanity locked eyes with his, a smirk on her face when the New Years countdown hit one and she locked lips with some guy that wasn't him.

She's drunk. She's drunk. She's drunk. She comes home with me. Just take a breath, Sixx.

Nikki picked up his drink from the table and chugged it, glancing at the band when they all said happy New Years to one another. Tommy laughing loudly as he wiped clementines lipstick off his face with the back of his hand.

Vanity felt her stomach churn, tasting vodka on his lips. They weren't soft like Nikki's, they were rough and in dire need of some chapstick. She winced when he felt his teeth tug on her bottom lip, she tried pulling away from him but his hand wrapped around the nape of her neck and kept her in place.

"You fucking dick!!" Vanity moved away when she felt the guy tense up, watching a chick in a red glittery dress throw a drink on him before being shoved into the crowd.

"Hahahaha sorry!" Van laughed as she made her way over to the band and Clementine, looking over her shoulder she sees that same brunette yelling at her so called boyfriend before glaring at her, "We gotta go!"

Tommy glances at Nikki, noticing him staring off and brewing, "How about some water first?"

"No, no. Not yet. We-we can go to another bar." Van pouted, making Tommy sigh as he looked at Clementine for help.

"Actually Van.." Clem laughed a bit, moving a piece of hair out of Vanity's face, "Maybe we should get back. You know, relieve the babysitter early and get some sleep."

Vanity looked at her confused, "But we told her till one. If you guys want to go home you can. I can just hang out by myself since grumpy pants over here doesn't want too." She attempts to whisper, pointing at Nikki as she was completely oblivious to his glare.

"Well, I could stay with you and keep you company." John piped up as Vans smile grew.

"See! I have John! I'll be okay. You guys can go home and I'll see you in the morning." Vanity reached over grabbing a half drunken cocktail and sipping it through the red straw, "You guys can go." She waves them off.

"Vanity. You're going home." Clementine got stern, standing her ground as Van started scowling at her.

"You fucking suck. All of you. Hey! That's mine!" Her attention got taken away when Nikki grabbed the plastic cup out of her hand and slammed it on the table.

"We're going home." Nikki told her, Vans eyes watching him as he stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet.

"Nikki, I'm sorry..." She drunkenly mumbled as he guided her threw the crowd, Clem and Tommy following behind them, "Baby, I'm-"

Nikki quickly turned around, Van colliding with his chest, "I don't want to fucking hear it right now, Vanity. You got it?" He glares, watching her nod her head but still using those pouty eyes to get her out of trouble like always.

He muttered under his breath, opening up the limo door for her and getting in, Tommy and Clem following right after. Nikki breathed out lighting a cigarette as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the chair.

"Can we get something to eat at least?" She asked him, he peeked one eye open and side eyed her.

"Yeah...whatever you want." He grumbled, taking a drag of the cigarette before tapping on the glass window and telling the driver to stop at the diner.

"Thank you..." Van quietly told him, attempting to rest her head on his shoulder but he brushed her off and shifted away. She kept her eye roll suppressed and opted for just laying on the seat and letting her feet rest on Nikki's lap, surprised at the fact he'd allow it.

When Nikki Sixx is angry, he makes everyone know it. Not a single soul could be happy if he wasn't. It was like that back in the junkie years and it's like that now. Was it because he was drunk and the little demons like to come out and play every now and then? Maybe.

He glares at Tommy and Clementine watching them giggle and smile at one another, Clem kissing his cheek and then his lips before Tommy whispered something in his ear, "You know, if you moved out of my house and moved into his house you could get all the kisses you want." Nikki spat his anger, his nose wrinkling up in disgust.

Tommy nodded his head in agreement, "I told you it was a good idea." He tells Clem, kissing the side of her neck and squeezing her thigh a bit.

"Stop trying to stir the pot." Van said, nudging him with her foot and half closed eyes as she was on the brink of falling asleep.

"I told you and her it was only going to be a couple of months. We have a babysitter, and she's use to L.A. and Tommy wants her to move in."

"Guys...come on." Tommy groaned, "Enough of the arguing, you're both drunk and we know how this is gonna end up. So let's stop before we start."

Vanity sat up, the world around her spinning, "I'm fine T. It's all him. It's not just his decision, just like it isn't just his house. I like having Clemmy around."

Nikki scoffed and stared at her, "Because she's your bitch when I get mad."

"Excuse me?" Clementine blurted out pushing Tommy's hands off of her, "The only bitch in the house is you Nikki. Just drop us off at Tommy's house. You're being a dick to her for no reason!"

Nikki glared at her, "Me? I'm being- shut the fuck up you fucking cunt! She's the one acting like a god damn whore!"

The limo came to a brief stop at a red light, Vanity sent daggers through Nikki before kicking him in the side of the ribs repeatedly, "Fuck you." She quickly grabbed her purse and opened up the limo door, Nikki's hand grasping her wrist...

[stormhawksplanb]

Plan B: A Storm Hawks Fanfic

Chapter 8

https://myhushhushdarling.tumblr.com/PlanB

(The link above is the master list of the Chapters, but you can also check out the 3planb for mobile users <3) I gave a big sigh as I followed Piper and Aerrow to the ship. Silently thanking the Ancient Mages of Atmosia that Aerrow didn't tell me to stay behind on the Terra. Instead, I got to listened in on their conversation.

"The Rex Guardians had called us up for a mission. The whole terra has been experiencing tremors at an unnatural rate."

Piper nodded at him, understanding more than I could.

"Terra Rex isn't sitting anywhere near the edge of a tectonic plate, so that's not a good sign. Do you think it's possible that this is where she was heading?"

"Yes."

My heart fluttered in my chest. I wasn't scared, but not exactly excited. Maybe this was my chance to prove to the Storm Hawks my worth. That I was more than capable of joining them on their mission to stop Ravess.

On our way to the cockpit all we could hear was the sounds of Crashing Boxes and clinking Metal. The three of us looked at each other nervously and rushed to open the door.

The scene that was playing out in front of us earned a quick giggle from both me and Piper.

Stork and Finn was currently chasing Raddar and Gear around the room. The two small furry friends were playing keep away with a crtustal. Soon enough they realized we had eventually walked in, and they froze in place. Piper was the first to break the ice.

"What's going on here you guys?"

Stork stood up straight, clearing his throat. Acting like nothing happened.

"Uh- Nothing just... You know..."

"Isn't that Nova's... Nova Crystal?"

Piper seemed just as dissapointed in the situation as I was. It's nice to know that she at least listened to me when I told them not to touch my Crystal.

Finn was quick to defend himself as all eyes landed on him.

"What!? It started to make this really weird ringing sound, then it started to hiss and I thought it was going to explode!"

Piper turned her head at me, concern in her eyes. I shook my head at them, and Quickly took the Crystal from Raddar.

"Well for starters no one here should be touching this crystal with bare hands. You're lucky I treat the Nova Crystal with a water bath to dampen the effects."

Piper's hand shot back into her chest as it started to glow again. Burning my hand in return.

"OW! DAMMIT!"

Doubling over to my knees, I held my heated hand to my stomach. The high pitched hissing got louder, and everyone watched as the crystal started slowly sinking through the floor.

After I adjusted the red gauntlet on my burned hand, metal prongs extended from the fingers. Acting like a claw that let me pick up the crystal. The hissing seizing.

"Like I said... Shouldn't be touched with bare hands..."

After that everyone just kind of looked at me in bewilderment. Piper seemed the most astounded as she kept her eyes glued on the crystal.

"I didn't know the crystal could do that. I thought all it did was make clouds of colorful mist!"

I chortled at her.

"Actually, the Nova Crystal had a lot of similar properties of Leech Crystals. It developed on my Home terra, Argonia-"

I took a quick break in my explanation to store the Crystal back in its metal box.

"For a few hundred years no one knew it even existed. It was my own family line that discovered it, and ho dangerous it could be. The day they did was the day they decided to join the rest of Atmosia, and take on a Sky Knight. All while keeping knowledge of the Nova Crystal a secret."

Piper nodded at me, seemingly satisfied. Meanwhile Finn was scratching his head.

"So you really are a Sky Knight then?"

Stork scoffed at him.

"Wait, your telling me none of you realized it yet? The Nova Crystal? Her name being 'Nova'. The Name of her home Terra being Argonia?"

Collectively they all shook their heads at stork. He rubbed his temple.

"Then that means no one on this ship ever heard of 'The Raving Vultures'?"

I was impressed that Stork figured out that much.

But before anyone could ask any other questions the alert system on the ship went off, and Aerrow started to bark commands

"Stork, get the Condor moving again. Piper Identify where that alert is coming from!"

All at once they were at their stations. It was a stress signal coming from Terra Rex, only a few Klicks away from where we were.

And as if on cue Ravess was there as well. Along with a couple of her battle ships. And honestly with the size of the Condor, I'd rather be on her battle ship if a dog fight broke out.

The communication system turned on, and Ravess' voice came out from the speakers.

"Attention Terra Rex, and it's soon to be defeated Rex Guardians, Your Terra has something of great importance to me. So If you follow my instructions to the 'T' I might let you live. If not, I will most certainly obliterate your pathetic little Terra..."

Instead of any sort of compliance from the Terra there was a retaliation. Cannons shot out from somewhere on the ground. And a small group of fleet ships (Battle ships that are smaller, but built for speed and design) came out from behind us. It seemed like there was gonna be a fight one way or another.

"Fine, prepare yourselves, and your terra for it's doom!"

Just like that the Condor jerked forward, and we started taking puck shots at their battle ship with our energy cannons (As if it was going to do anything). My heart raced in my chest, and I can't lie. Images of my nearing death flashed in front of me.

We weaved in and out of the crossfir, barely missing the onslaught ammunition. Soon enough I heard Aerrow yelling toward stork to "perform 'Plan B'. Despite the panic I felt, I was already awaiting instructions from him as he turned to look at me.

"And by the way Nova. You're Plan B- Let's go".

My throat went numb, but I followed him to the hanger regardless. When I reached the doors he was already seated on his skimmer, and pointed at Finn's ride.

"Don't worry about trashing it. We have plenty of spare parts for it-"

It was time to tell the truth.

"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FLY!"

I covered my mouth just as quickly as I could. Aerrow seemed amused.

"I know..." Then he started up his skimmer and flew off. It took me a few seconds to realize what he just did to me. It was either fly, or stay behind on a rocky ship. Naturally I chose the WRONG option, and decided to fly.

Turning the key on Finn's ride, and taking lessons from my previous crash, I took off swerving from the landing strip.

As the ground below me was getting closer, I heard the familiar humming of Aerrow's Skimmer. Looking to my side I was met with a very entertained face. Aerrow was still actually flying, but yet falling beside me. That is until he flipped a switch on the dashboard of my current ride. I screeches as the wings unfolded, and caught a draft forcing the skimmer to fly horizontal.

From then on out it was relatively easy to maneuver. My only problem was when the storm hawks precious leader told me exactly what Plan B was.

"So you want to prove that your a sky knight, huh?"

I nodded at him, and he pointed at the lower entrance of the ship, and I watched as a handful of "Cyclonians" dropped out on their own skimmers.

"I'm going to sneak aboard the ship. And you're gonna distract the Cyclonians..."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Well, I figured your lack of experience riding a skimmer will make it harder for them to hit you. Good luck!"

I shook my head at him, hoping he'd change his mind. It was obvious he wasn't as he zipped past me and into the red ship.

Shaking off the growing fear I hit the throttle. I sped past in front of the group of enemies, successfully getting their attention.

I was being chased, and I was calculating the likelihood of my death. I felt my backpack shuffle around, and I saw gear crawl over my shoulder. Her claws digging in my shoulder as she tried to cling to me. We were going to need new gear if we plan on bobbing and weaving through the clouds like this more often.

Taking coverage in a thick and fluffy cumulus, I took out my Nova Crystal and attached it to the open space in my gauntlet. Then I took from gear a small, sanded down Blocking Crystal and equipped that into a deposit spot right above the Nova Crystal. The gauntlet came to life as the wired fingers reached out and locked themselves into the tips of the gauntlet rings. Giving me a different type of claw. After turning around the skimmer, I hit the throttle full force. Deciding to go head to head with the Talons.

I never had a dog fight before. And there was something about the current atmosphere, and the danger that made me feel almost free. My body felt warm against the wind, and I aimed my fingers at my opponents. My thumb was ready to pull the trigger attached to the gaunlet.

As soon as I pulled my thumb away the recoil from the energy blast jerked my whole arm back. I regained my senses in time to see the green ball of light collide, causing the guns on their skimmers to backfire, and explode. Before I knew it, the battle seemed to be heading in our favor.

"Gear, I need a reload!"

Like I said earlier, the Nova Crystal acts like a leech crystal. That means the smaller the fragment, the less shots it has. Sadly all I had on me was small shards of blocking crystals. Though it was more effective than I thought it would be.

My fighting continued as gear and I swindle down the supplies of ammo. Looking around me I could tell we were pushing back Ravess' forces, and I even watched one of her Battle ships fall from the sky. Soon enough we won the battle, and I was lead back onto the condor.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Disability and Loren

@zarohk asked for my thoughts on a Disability Studies/Media Studies perspective on the disability depictions in Animorphs.  Which was foolish, because I’m teaching an entire dang class on the subject of superheroes and mental health, so I have Many Thoughts.  [PLEASE NOTE: I am nondisabled, so if I err, please tell me so.]

Loren’s role in #49: The Diversion does a lot of things right, and a lot of things wrong.  She incurs a traumatic brain injury that results in memory loss and blindness a couple of years after Tobias is born, and lives with said injury for about ten years before Tobias finds her and gives her the ability to morph, which restores her sight but not her memory.

A few places where I commend the depiction of Loren:

It gets into the massive underemployment of disabled Americans.  Loren is smart, canny, athletic, compassionate... and working a call center job in exchange for state benefits.  Said state benefits do not afford her a decent standard of living; Tobias notes that she has few possessions and almost no time for leisure activities.  Americans with disabilities are twice as likely to be unemployed as those without, and those who do have jobs are ten times more likely to be paid less than minimum wage, e.g. in sheltered workshops.

It shows how inaccessible a lot of systems are in the U.S.  Tobias notes that Loren accidentally grabs an expired quart of milk — because nothing on the label is printed in Braille.  Putting raised text and/or Braille on food packaging is a health and safety issue, one that the U.S. ignores even though it violates its own laws (e.g. the ADA) because companies tend to do what they want and “what they want” is usually not to spend more money on packaging.  The call center and bus system are both marginally more accessible, especially when Loren has Champ to help, but they’re still clearly spaces set up for sighted people that don’t take blind users into account very well.

It shows some of the workarounds that help deal with accessibility problems.  Loren’s house is set up so that there are clear paths to and from all of the relevant spaces.  She’s doing that to allow herself to move around comfortably in that space, because she’s made it accessible for herself.  She memorizes the layout of the local store, and uses that to get around as well.  All of those details help show that she’s adjusted, and actively interacting with her own circumstances.

It drives home the difference between service dogs and pets.  This distinction is extremely important, and it gets ignored all the time by entitled ableists who want to bring their pets into stores.  Tobias and Marco both assume from the outside that it can’t be that hard to become a service animal — just do what Loren says to do, right? — but it takes Tobias 0.02 seconds to realize that it’s not that simple and that he cannot imitate Champ’s lifetime of training on the fly.  He says that he manages to get his mom home in one piece, and that that’s about all that can be said for his sad performance as a guide.  Champ has skills like ignoring interesting smells and applying exactly the right amount of pressure to the harness that most pets don’t have and also most pets can’t learn.  Champ is not a pet, at least not while he’s in that harness; he’s a gainfully employed expert assistant.

It rounds Loren out as a character, and definitely does not just make her into a lesson or problem for Tobias.  Loren is gently humorous, tolerating her coworkers’ teasing and Ax’s attempted juvenile delinquency with an eye-roll.  She’s compassionate, listening to other people’s problems on the phone with genuine concern and not swatting flies if she doesn’t have to.  She’s tough-minded and stupidly brave, chucking rocks at Visser Three’s head and flying at attack helicopters as a three-pound bird.  She’s fallible, unable to support Tobias emotionally even when he asks her to do so and unwilling to check in on him after leaving him with her sister.  She’s a fully rounded person, one whose personality is informed but not defined by her disability.

It talks about some of the unromatic aspects of a Traumatic Brain Injury.  Too often in other works of fiction, we see a person get bonked over the head and wake up with no episodic memory but all other brain functions intact (*cough* Rachel in MM1 *cough*).  Loren actually gets into the fact that she forgot huge chunks of language, forgot how to brush her teeth, forgot how to walk across a room.  She obviously lost her sight as well, and she mentions lifelong balance and coordination problems.  Even her amnesia isn’t absolute — she has some traces of recall, but can’t make anything coherent of her impressions.  Her injury isn’t 100% realistic, but it’s more so than many TBIs we see in fiction.

It focuses on the intersection of disability and social class.  Tobias notes that Loren is under a compounded threat because of her inability to move to a more secure neighborhood and her obvious vulnerability.  He feels a lot of disgust with himself when he and Marco and Ax are harassing Loren, because it’s so clear that this isn’t the first time she’s been harassed.  Tobias understands that his experience with poverty as a nondisabled male minor is different from Loren’s for those reasons.

A few places where Loren falls into the common traps of implied ableism creeping into fiction, as written about in Narrative Prosthesis: 

She gets “cured.”  Loren falls into the “kill or cure” dichotomy, like most of the other disabled characters in Animorphs.  In her case, it’s that she gains the power to morph and in the process regains the ability to see.  It isn’t a complete cure, true — she still has no memory — but it means that she’s no longer blind for the rest of the series.  Having the occasional character no longer be disabled sometimes isn’t automatically problematic; having every disabled character get either “fixed” or killed off inherently treats the disabled body as a problem that needs to be solved, through sci fi nonsense if no other way is available.

She implies that she’d rather die than continue to be disabled.  When injured by dracon burns, Loren initially refuses to morph out even though Tobias tells her she’ll die if she remains a bird, because (they both assume) to morph out is to return to her blind human body.  This moment buys into the stereotype that it’s better to be dead than disabled, again inherently devaluing the lives of actual blind individuals.

There’s a certain amount of mystery around how she became disabled.  It’s interesting that we never actually get a definitive answer on that one — Loren says she was told it was a car crash, but there’s also an implication that she was attacked by controllers, and we don’t know for sure.  However, the fact of her disability is treated as an aberrant state that needs to be explained, the book inherently asking “why are you like this?”  By contrast (for instance) she doesn’t ask Tobias “why are you in the body of a hawk?”

She views herself as a burden, and the narration doesn’t do enough to contradict her.  Loren says that she couldn’t possibly be expected to raise a child while also blind and coping with a TBI.  Real blind people raise kids all the time, however, including blind single parents, and it’d be nice to see some evidence in the story that Loren’s assumption is wrong.  Loren also apparently assumes that she can’t begin to play a role in Tobias’s life even now that Tobias is more self-sufficient, again because she views herself as relatively helpless and non-contributing due to her disability.  There are some hints that she’s wrong, but we don’t really see her either begin to contribute to the resistance or build a relationship with Tobias until after she’s become un-blind.

Tobias’s view of Loren is often pitying.  As much as Loren doesn’t initially view herself as a potential maternal figure to Tobias, he doesn’t view her as a potential mentor either.  He repeatedly expresses horror or sadness at her life circumstances, and assumes that her life must be barren due to the spartan nature of her home.  (Of course, that begs the question of why the hell a blind woman living alone would ever bother hanging pictures on her walls or putting doilies on her coffee tables, but Tobias doesn’t consider that angle.)  Again, Tobias is allowed to assume that her life must be meaningless if she’s disabled, but it’d be nice to see some contradictory evidence in the form of her having close friends or inane hobbies or some other proof that to lead a disabled life is not to automatically lead a lonely one.

Loren expresses bitterness and desperate desire to be nondisabled.  Again, it’s fine for any character to say “I wish my life was different,” and it’s a common consensus among blind writers/bloggers that being blind is often a pain in the butt.  However, views as extreme as “you need vision to have a fulfilling existence” or “vision is part of what makes us human” are ableist crocks of shit.  Loren doesn’t go so far as to espouse those extreme views, but she also doesn’t seem to view herself as having a well-rounded life in spite of her disability.  It’d be nice to see Loren talking about sight as handy or enjoyable or a thing that the designers of 99% U.S. environments assume everyone must have, rather than a necessary precondition for a minimum standard of life.

Loren’s disability is somewhat medicalized.  Same caveat as above: disabilities are by definition medical things that some bodies do or have that other bodies do not.  However, discussing disability primarily through “this is how your body is different from Implied Normal of Nondisabled Body” and focusing on doctor’s notes, diagnoses, physical differences, etc. can serve to disconnect the lived experience of the individual from their body.  It also tends to focus on the ways that the body is “the problem” rather than focusing on the ways that environments and attitudes are problematic, which then prevents anyone from asking hard questions about the environments and attitudes.  Loren’s doctor’s note, discussion of scarring and loss, and repeated physical descriptions are somewhat more medical than social.  It’d be nice to see a little more emphasis on the social factors that make blindness a disability (e.g. improperly labeled milk), and less on “your eyes are different from those of Implied Normal Nondisabled Person.”

[iamtheblondestblonde]

Slides and Serendipity

Part Four (4.3k)

Part One   Part Two   Part Three

AN: Can we just appreciate how good he looks while literally just standing there doing absolutely nothing? It’s not fair. With that said, enjoy!

Warnings: Only language for now

I told him how I’d moved to the US when I was 18, right after finishing school. I’d always had a love for programming and when I was about 15 I had my first app up and running, but it hadn’t really been successful. At 17 some of my guy friends made me think of an idea that I wouldn’t be able to forget in the following years.

I was convinced that it could be my breakthrough but it would take up every minute that I could spare for the next few years because building the interface of an app with this magnitude usually took entire teams of people but I was doing all of the work by myself. By the time Tyler and I made it through the entrance I was telling him how during my freshman year of college I’d barely slept, writing code and improving like crazy.

“At one point I was so sick of it, I just wanted to do something else, anything else really, so I made this little game. It took me two days, although I probably could have done it in like four hours if I hadn’t gone out that night. The graphics were terrible and I thought it was stupid, a silly little distraction, but the friends that I’d shown it to loved it so I published it as a joke. No one could have predicted what would come and to this day I still don’t know what exactly happened”, I told him as we slowly made our way around the aquarium.

“So your little game became famous?” he asked curiously and I laughed dryly before giving him the last piece of information that he’d need to connect the dots, a look of shock now on his face.

“You made Flappy Bird?!”, he exclaimed so loudly that the actual birds around us quickly flew away. I put my hand over his mouth to try and avoid any further attention, even though most people had already turned around to watch us curiously.

“Yes I did but please be quiet. People weren’t exactly my biggest fans after I took it down”, I said and took his hand in mine to try to pull him along with me but he wouldn’t budge.

“Wow, like holy fuck I’m honored to be in your presence. I played that game all day long”

He smiled at me then and I was relieved that he’d calmed down again. With our fingers still laced together we watched some fish in silence before he spoke up again.

“Tell me about your life back then”

“I feel like people have kind of forgotten about me now but it was absolute madness then. I was 19 and racking in around 50 grand a day, which is something that no teenager should ever do. I did a lot of stupid shit as you can imagine but also became my own investor, so at least something good came out of it”, I told him, not really daring to look him in the eye. Only a handful of people still knew about Flappy Bird and while I didn’t regret telling him, I’d had to face all kinds of reactions before.

“Yeah I know a thing or two about being left unsupervised and making too much money as a teenager”, he said bitterly and I remembered some of the stuff that Mara had told me about him and his time in Boston. I go the feeling that he probably understood me better than anyone else.

We kind of dropped the topic for a while after that, instead just talking about his workouts and the upcoming weeks. I had noticed a group of teenagers recognizing Tyler a while ago but so far they hadn’t come up to us, leaving us to continue our conversation in peace.

A while later I heard him curse and turned around to see them taking pictures of us, making me swear as well. He tried to apologize but I wouldn’t let him as I’d kind of expected something like this to happen again and it wasn’t really his fault either.

I let go of his hand to avoid stupid rumors but didn’t step back from him. We continued walking, hands still brushing once in a while but neither of us reached out again. I asked Tyler to take pictures of me for my Instagram and he acted like a professional photographer, crouching down to get the best angles and everything. I wanted to get a picture with both of us in it but didn’t dare to ask anyone else. He posted some pictures as well but I made sure to stay out of the frame.

“I just remembered your other idea. Did it have the success you expected it to have?”, he asked me a while later, surprising me with the sudden change of topic as we’d just had a discussion on whether a sloth was a good spirit animal or not.

“Yes it did, actually more than I’d hoped and my sources also told me that you’re an avid user yourself”

“I swear if you tell me that you’re behind Instagram I am absolutely losing my shit”, he said, probably only partly joking and I had to laugh.

“Nah I wish but not quite. I guess you could call me your wingwoman though because I’ve heard that you met quite a few of your hookups through my baby Bumble”, I revealed, again laughing at his reaction. He looked at me as if to try and figure out if I was kidding before coming to the realization that I wasn’t.

I didn’t make a secret out of the fact that I founded Bumble, having given interviews and everything and it was probably the biggest reason why the media paid me any mind. If he’d googled me, he would’ve found lots of articles and pictures but I guess a guy like him refrained from googling anyone, including himself.

“I’ve been wanting to ask though, why Bumble and not Tinder? I know for a fact that the amount of people looking for hookups is higher on Tinder”, I said and watched him curiously.

“I was actually on Tinder for a little while but I didn’t like having to make the first move. I didn’t want to put myself out there with like pick up lines in case people would upload screenshots, but whenever I just wrote ‘Hey what’s up?’ people were giving me shit about the Tyler Seguin being basic so I deleted it. Bumble is nice because I only have to respond and I can just ignore the crazy bunnies until their profiles are gone”, he explained and I smiled, feedback always much appreciated.

“Well the Tyler Seguin using one of the most basic lines is pretty disappointing, I’d be mad as well”, I teased and he laughed, his eyes crinkling.

“With you I put in more effort, I mean I even made my dog steal your shoe and everything, kinda like a reverse Cinderella”, he came right back and we both burst out laughing again. Spending time with him was probably one of the easiest things I’d ever done. There weren’t any awkward pauses or moments and besides the fact that I was trying my best not to fall for his charms, I could easily count us hanging out among my favorite things to do nowadays.

Once we’d seen everything at the aquarium and barely avoided getting shit on by a bird we decided that it was time to head out.

“So I know that you said that you avoid Italian restaurants but there’s this German place in town and I feel like you’re best qualified to judge it. You have to tell me what to order though”, he said as we were walking back to my car. I wasn’t even that hungry but he looked so excited that I agreed to go anyways.

The restaurant was cute, actually reminding me of places I’d been to in Germany and when the waitress came to take our order I was surprised by her being German as well. I didn’t want to be rude towards Tyler so I kept our chat short but it always felt good to speak my native language again. She told me that the restaurant was owned by a couple from Germany and I vowed to myself to come back if I was ever in the need for some quality comfort food.

“I always remembered German to be quite harsh but it actually sounds kind of beautiful when you speak it”, he said afterwards as we waited for our meals.

“Well yea, you probably only heard people yelling at each other on the ice in Switzerland and the language there also sounds quite different from the one I grew up with. Angry German is definitely harsh but I don’t think you’ll ever hear that from me”, I assured him and he started pestering me about teaching him some slang.

The food tasted more authentic than anything I’d had in the States so far and it caused a feeling of longing to bubble up in my chest. For the most part I was glad that I’d left when I did but from time to time I still missed my old home, even if the US now felt more like my home than anything else.

“Do you miss Toronto?”, I asked Tyler, knowing that he probably felt the same.

“Yeah definitely, not as much right now because I just got back from Canada but whenever I feel down I wish my family could be with me to support me. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my life here in Dallas but I guess whenever things get bad it’s easiest to want to go back to your roots, you                                         know?”, he asked and I nodded, even if I couldn’t relate that much. I didn’t have such a strong support system as the one he obviously had but I could still understand him wanting to be surrounded by familiar things in those moments.

We talked about our lives outside of Dallas and his love for fishing and the peaceful look he got on his face when talking about his cabin that he had up north was completely different from what you’d expect because of the way the media portrayed him. Of course he mentioned parties as well and while some stories were crazy, I’d been to wilder parties and no one would ever give me shit about it because no one cared.

“I think it’s because it plays into the stereotype of the party-loving hockey player, like people actively wait for you to act out so they can say that they were right”, I said as were downing the last of our drinks. He was in the spotlight and people wanted him to behave responsibly, which I understood, but he was still a real person with real feelings and I could also see why he wanted to escape those expectations from time to time.

Tyler wanted to pay our bill of course and while I thought that it was a sweet gesture, I insisted on him letting me cover the tip at least. I wrote a little note in German on the receipt and then we left. We’d spent so much time inside that the sun was already painting the sky in reds and oranges, dipping everything around us in a beautiful light.

“I think I’ll really like it here”, I said to Tyler while I looked up into the sunset.

“I’m trying to help you with that”, he responded and I tried to talk myself out of feeling my heart flutter at the soft smile he was currently giving me.

This time his song choices were more laid back and I felt myself relaxing as much as I could without causing a traffic accident. He asked me to park the car at my house so we could walk over  to his place and I happily obliged, wanting to savor these last few moments together.

There was still a little bit of the sunset sky left by the time we made it back and I basked in its light as we slowly approached his gate. I was still humming one of the songs he’d played earlier when we made our way through his front door, four dogs coming at us with full speed. Soon enough we were both buried under masses of fur and wet noses, their excitement only slowly dying down.

“Thank you for today, I had a really great time”, I said to Tyler once we were both able to untangle ourselves and stand up again.

“So did I. I’ll see you tomorrow after practice, right?”, he confirmed and I nodded before leashing Yogi and thanking Tyler’s friend for watching him on my way out.

Back home I decided to be productive, so I pulled out my laptop and began researching people I’d want in my team when I got a facetime call not long after.

“Dude how was your date?”, Lisa immediately asked me as soon as her face filled my screen.

“It wasn’t a date and you know it”, I responded, rolling my eyes at her suggestive smirk.

“I don’t know, a guy going to the aquarium with you and then taking you out to dinner sounds pretty date-like if you ask me”

“Well I’m glad no one is asking you then”, I said before giving in and telling her about the day, not date, I’d had with Tyler.

“He sounds really fun, I’m surprised with everything that Mara keeps saying in our groupchat. Anyways, what were you up to before I called?”, she wanted to know and I told her about my mission to find people that I could see myself working with, which was honestly harder than I’d expected. Lisa and I had worked at an app development company in Denver together so she knew how eccentric a lot of people in our line of work could be.

“I think I can actually help you out with that one. Do you remember Mia from back in Massachusetts, the girl with the pretty handwriting that we met at the foam party back when we were Freshmen? She was in my recommendations on Insta a while ago and she told me that she moved back home to Dallas not too long ago. Even if she has a job already you’d probably be able to poach her if you wanted to and she might know some people as well.”

I remembered Mia of course, because we used to hang out a lot during our time in college. Afterwards we’d kind of lost touch, as it happened with a lot of people but if she was back in the area I’d definitely hit her up again, remembering her to make great designs. I asked Lisa for Mia’s info and then she told me the latest office gossip about my former coworkers. Leaving the company had been a risky move but because I’d always done a lot of freelancing and was sick of only following orders, I was confident that I could pull this off by myself. I’d already had requests lined up for when I’d start working again.

My fingers were itching for something to do and I was starting to seriously consider moving up the deadline to get at least some work done. I wasn’t really good at sitting around, so I decided to text Mia to see if she wanted to casually meet up this week, while also hinting that I might be interested in having her work with me before going to bed.

Katie picked me up the next morning and we caught each other up on the last few days while driving to where we’d meet the other girls for an early lunch. I had only spoken to Dominika and Alandra for a little while at the party but we’d hit it right off. They were funny and nice to me and greeted me with warm hugs as soon as we spotted them sitting on a table in the corner of the restaurant.

“You look amazing, I love your jacket”, Alandra said and I tried my best not to blush while returning the compliment. They all looked stunning in fact and I didn’t understand how people could hate so much on these genuine and great girls. We ordered something to drink and some light lunch and then Katie and Dominika started telling me how excited they were for the season to start up again.

“You’ll have to come to the games with us. I’m sure Tyler will ask you as well but even if he doesn’t, because he can be a little dense sometimes, you still have to come”, Katie said and I laughed at her insulting her boyfriend’s best friend. I’d been to quite a few hockey games in Denver and I’d always loved the atmosphere there so that was an easy yes.

“Anything exciting happen between you and Tyler since that super hot almost make out sesh in the pool on Saturday?”, Dominika asked and I hid my face in my hands.

“You guys saw that?”, I groaned, a slight blush now definitely creeping up my face.

“Girl I think everyone saw that and the way he was looking at you all afternoon... like damn”, Alandra threw in and started fanning her face with her hands.

Surely it hadn’t been that bad, now had it?

They continued telling me how I’d raised quite a few questions within the team, people wondering who ‘that hot blonde’ was that had managed to have Tyler wrapped around her finger.

“I swear nothing interesting happened since, the most exciting was perhaps a kiss on the cheek that night”, I said but I could tell that they weren’t fully convinced. I didn’t dare telling them about the hand holding, cuddling and all those other sweet moments out of fear of making a fool of myself. I knew damn well that he might only be that way to charm my pants off and I certainly didn’t need anyone else reminding me of that fact.

Soon enough it was time to head over to the practice rink and I got back in the car with Katie again. She was telling me about how Jamie first introduced her to everyone and how nervous she felt among all of those big guys and their better halves. I could totally relate to the feeling now, even if I’d already met some of them and wasn’t his girlfriend either, but being confronted with so many new faces at once still managed to freak me out.

Katie pulled into the parking lot right before the boys were coming through the exit. She greeted Jamie with a kiss while I tried not to drool over Tyler’s post-shower look. The guy wasn’t exactly taking it easy on me lately. I went over to hug him, secretly enjoying his smell before turning around to everyone hanging around in a loose circle.

“This is Liv by the way, for anyone who hasn’t met her yet”, Tyler introduced me and I tried my best to keep a neutral but friendly expression on my face.

“He’s told us how smart you are, so good luck on being the only one with any brain cells left between the both of you”, one of the guys chirped and I had to laugh out loud.

“Let’s not embarrass me any further please”, Tyler said before throwing his arm around my shoulder and slowly leading me towards his car, not without dirty looks towards his teammates of course. I could only wave at the girls with a shrug before we reached his G wagon and he opened the door for me, even holding out his hand to help me inside.

I told him about all of the stuff I’d need and while I’d need some stuff to be delivered, I was still convinced that we could get most of the stuff home today.

Tyler put on a snapback as soon as we reached the parking lot, unfortunately covering his beautiful curls but at least he refrained from wearing sunglasses inside. We grabbed a cart and made our way around the place, contemplating on shelves, desks and the best chairs before considering decorations. Tyler helped me with his input sometimes, but mostly he just let me do my thing and stuck to following my orders on what to add to the cart.

We couldn’t take the conference table I’d chosen with us of course, but everything else fit into his spacious car after getting the backseats out of the way. I was glad to have him assisting me today, as I would’ve never been able to fit everything in the Audi, let alone play Tetris the way he did.

I connected my phone to the speakers and had my hands full with multiple items when the display showed an incoming call from Mara. I looked at Tyler to see if he had anything against me taking it and after he shook his head no I accepted.

“Hey girl, just a heads up, you’re on speaker in the car and Tyler is with me”, I warned her before she could say anything stupid, like mention any of the things we’d talked about the last couple of days.

“Hi Tyler”, she said and I knew her well enough that she was probably trying her best not to squeal, successfully taming her inner fangirl.

“Hi Mara, I’ve heard a lot about you”, Tyler greeted her and gave me a playful wink.

“I guess it’s good that you’re both there”, she started and I immediately started to worry as this couldn’t mean anything good but my train of thought was interrupted by her continuing with: “I’ve got some news for the both of you. I’ve kept a close eye on the hockey blogs lately because of everything that has been going on and I’m so sorry Liv, but you’ve been spotted and identified.

“I guess you haven’t really been on your phone today but there’s pictures circling of you two on the hike, a video from the party with you two in the background, which really started this entire witch hunt and more sets of pictures just recently from the aquarium and you shopping for furniture together, I’m really sorry. Liv, you’ve also gained lots and lots of new followers on Insta and I guess your DMs must be blowing up as well”, she finished and if my hands were free, I’d bury my head in them right now.

I’d expected something like this to happen, but not a week after I met him already. I had a public account with quite an impressive following base as well because of my business and Mara went on to explain how the fans had pointed out the similarities in our recent posts and stories, concocting all kinds of crazy stories.

I couldn’t watch it at the moment, but the video from us at the party was apparently the worst. In all of the other pictures you could see us standing close to each other, occasionally touching, but according to Mara the video showed two girls lounging at the party with us in the background, Tyler’s arms clearly wrapped around me right after we fell into the pool.

Mara could sense that I wasn’t in the mood to discuss this any further because she hung up pretty soon after dropping that bomb on us. Needless to say that the rest of the ride was quiet, a loaded silence between us for the first time since we’d met. I could tell that Tyler was trying to figure out what to say to me but I doubted that anything he could come up with could lift my mood right now.

He helped me unload the stuff from his car in silence, both of us lost in our thoughts, only speaking up to greet Yogi. We carried the stuff into the office and except for me pointing out where to place the boxes for now, no other words were spoken after that for a while.

“I’m so sorry that you got dragged into this Liv, it’s not fair that the only thing people can say about you right now is about you supposedly dating a hockey player, you deserve better”, he finally said as he was about to leave and while his apology was sweet, it was almost immediately lost in the whirlwind of thoughts rushing through my mind at this point.

I felt exposed and watched, like the victim of an obsessive stalker. I’d been reduced to nothing but a fling in Tyler’s long list of conquests in a matter of hours and probably already had his fangirls threatening me. There was no point in trying to diffuse the rumors either, not that I’d demand that from him, because people always believed what they wanted.

I didn’t mind being recognized for the hard work I’d done all my life, but this was different. This wasn’t about my knowledge in programming or any of my ideas, people were now solely interested in me because of who I was supposedly with.

It was a weird feeling, being objectified like a butterfly in a glass case with no other purpose except to be studied closely and picked apart.

“It’s not your fault Tyler, it just comes with your lifestyle I guess”, I shrugged halfheartedly and he wrapped his arms around me. His hug gave me at least some feeling of comfort, although I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it the way I would under different circumstances.

“I can tell that you need some space right now but if you need to talk to someone I’m always just a few minutes away and I’ll tell the girls to look out for you as well”, he said softly and with a kiss to my forehead he was gone, leaving me alone in the cacophony of thoughts screaming against each other inside my head.

[nathenortizblog]

Week 3 Blog Post Due 9/9/20

If people were aware of digital security guards how do you think people would be more cautious about how they use technology?

In Automating Inequality the author Virginia Eubanks describes digital security guards responsible for “collecting information about us, make inferences about our behavior, and control access to resources” (pg.16). Technology has become a requirement for people especially living in a pandemic where school and work is now done from a computer. However, not everyone has the privilege to have access to technology as much as others. For those who do have that privilege, they are basically glued to their phones even before this pandemic made us do both work and school from home. A phone has evolved from being used to do more than just call others to now doing online shopping, playing video games, watching movies, read the news, and browse social networks and connect with others. However, many users do not think twice about using private browsing when maneuvering through different applications on their phone. Apple collects data from users and even gives them a weekly report on how much screen time they had this week on their device. Also, algorithms on social media networks such as Instagram use the explore page to promote certain posts we have looked at such as fashion accounts, dog accounts, or even travel posts. This is done because they are collecting information about us and our interests but not many people stop to question it. If people were aware of digital security guards they would begin to start using private browsing and incognito features on their preferred browser. Parents would also look into what their kids are doing on their own devices and even limit their device usage.

How is living in a society that relies heavily on technology affecting marginalized communities?

As mentioned due to the current pandemic we are currently having to work from home as well as attend classes from home. In the reading the author introduces how “marginalized groups face higher levels of data collection when they access public benefits, walk through highly policed neighborhoods, and enter the health care system” (pg.18). Marginalized communities sometimes live paycheck to paycheck or in some instances rely on public benefits. Access to technology may have not been seen as essential because schools provided that when children attended. However, we are currently doing virtual learning so now having access to technology has become more essential than ever. In the news two young girls in Northern California were found in the parking lot of a Taco Bell with their laptops trying to do their homework using the wifi and their mother was then portrayed to be a bad mother. Our society functions on technology especially during a pandemic and marginalized communities are being stigmatized for not having access to technology but are also stigmatized for accessing public benefits. Marginalized communities are becoming targets for not having access to technology but also by facing higher levels of data collection.

How is cyberfeminism compared to other forms of feminism? Is it beneficial or harmful?

According to the author Jessie Daniels cyberfeminism “refers to a range of theories, debates, and practices about the relationship between gender and digital culture” (pg.102). Compared to other forms of feminism this one specifically looks into digital culture which is very important in our current society. I personally never thought of looking into a relationship between gender and digital culture. Cyberfeminist writing however can be harmful as it goes back to the early waves of feminism. The early waves of feminism before the movement during the 1970’s and 1980’s for the ratification of the ERA, feminism only included cis white women. Women of color as well as lesbian and transgender women were excluded. The reading refers to “cyberfeminist writing often assumes an educated, white, upper-middle-class, English speaking, culturally sophisticated readership” (pg.104). This demonstrates the harm of cyberfeminism because the writing is going backwards and catering to a specific population of women.

How does internetworked global feminism relate to intersectionality?

According to Jessie Daniels in the reading “can and does bypass national states, local opposition, mass media indifference, and major national economic actors thus opening a terrain for activism that addresses gender and racial inequality” (pg.106). This relates to intersectionality because regardless of location people are able fight for the injustice against women across all borders. Also, the reading states how now there is no need to worry about “choosing which liberation struggle to fight first, gender or racial oppression” (pg.107). Global feminism allows for social movements to occur across the world. Just like how the UK had protests in support of the Black Lives Matter protests that occurred across the US this year.

Daniels, Jessie. (2009). Rethinking cyberfeminism: race, gender, and embodiment. Women’s Studies Quarterly. 37, 101-124.doi: 10.1353/wsq.0.0158

Eubanks, Virginia. (2018). Automating Inequality Introduction

[nelllraiser]

mori | montgomery & nell

LOCATION: Deep in the Woods

TIME:  7:19 PM

PARTIES: Montgomery de Ville and Nell Vural

It was just a regular evening for Nell. The sun was just beginning to set, and it was the start of her prowl for the night. Not yet having a particular target in mind, she’d lingered close to the house, not drifting all that far into the Outskirts just yet. But maybe tonight’s hunt for something to bring into the Ring would be short, and she’d be able to turn in for the night sooner rather than later. It’d been something like thirty-six hours since she slept, having been on the trail of a monster that’d bring in big cash the day before, and being unwilling to lose out on such a victory. So tonight would be quiet, and easy. Or at least she hoped as much. Ever since Morgan had mentioned the Tenome that has chased her and Blanche, Nell had been hoping to find it. She walked on through the forest, aimless at the moment as she readied herself to cast a tracking spell. Not for a moment did she think that the hunter might become the hunted. After all, these were her woods, her home territory. These dense branches and enormous trees were practically a second home by now. 

Montgomery hadn’t forgotten everything that they had been meticulously learning about their target. The hunt was something they relished, but when you were hunting for money and a human at that, the pleasure was somewhat diminished. At least in the build up. The pleasure of the kill was intricate and more importantly absolute. The one thing in the universe that Montgomery could always keep faith in. She was collecting creatures again, her skill was undeniable and she moved like an expert. Montgomery would’ve enjoyed hunting alongside her but clearly that wasn’t an option. Creeping forward, they moved parallel to their prey, keeping down wind from her and out of sight. Their opportunity would come soon enough, patience was a virtue for a reason after all.

For a moment, Nell stilled, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. It was the unmistakable feeling of being watched. Honestly, she should be used to it in woods such as these, with all sorts of creatures roaming the undergrowth, and even the trees above. Maybe tonight would be over sooner than she’d thought if something blood-thirsty was already nearby, making her hunt much shorter and less tiring than it needed to be. Already she could envision the smell of the freshly baked bread Bea had been making when she’d left the house, and Nell was all too eager to get home and chomp into it with little regard for manners or anything of that like. And then...sweet sweet release and she’d lay her head down to rest. Another night passed, finally able to close her eyes to rest and recharge.

Pausing for a moment, Montgomery sniffed the air cautiously. He wasn’t sure why he did it, it didn’t achieve anything. But it had become a habit and he was too stubborn to change it now. Creeping forward through the undergrowth on all fours, he stayed as low as he could. Moving with an athletic ease that had come from years of hunting game. This was just a different kind of hunt. Pulling the tranquiliser rifle from his shoulder he slid it through the grass alongside him. Positioning himself with a clear line of sight, Montgomery was pleased with the altitude they’d gained and took a second more to really settle in. There would only be one shot needed. Settling the rifle into his shoulder, Montgomery popped the cap off of the lense and peered through the telescopic view. Taking account of distance, wind, and of course natural projectile drop, Montgomery took his time, calmly taking a breath, his index finger slipped the safety off and curled around the trigger, pausing once more to make sure everything was perfect- he fired.

The longer this creeping sensation gripped Nell...the more foreign it felt. Rather than simply being watched, she almost felt...like prey. Like a vampire was going to jump out at any moment in an attempt to chomp down on— her neck. At the same moment the thought passed her mind, something else hit her, as if the universe had set her inner thoughts into motion. A sting in her neck, and a hand was automatically darting towards whatever had struck. What the fuck? Instinctively, she pulled the projectile from her neck, looking down at what appeared to be a tranquilizer nestled in her hand. Shit. Fuck. Adrenaline began to race through her veins, magic already sprouting to her fingertips. Her time was limited now. The chamber in the dart had been empty, and who knew what might have been in it. Anger, pure and hot shot through her as she yelled out. “Show your fucking self, coward!” Stomping her foot into the ground, the spell went out from there, designed to detect any living creature within a thirty foot radius. There, not too far from her in the tall grass. Without holding back, she sent an instinctual blast of magic in the direction of the body, summoning it towards her whether they wanted to face her or not. Her other hand had already drawn a dagger from its hiding spot, slicing a sizeable cut along her arm in preparation for her next move.

Would’ve been nice if Montgomery had been able to work out that was an option for Penelope Vural. Having literal magic at your fingertips must be convenient. Montgomery was sure that it would make his job much easier. “It wouldn’t be called hunting if I just showed myself now would it,” he protested in his Afrikaneers drawl as her magic dragged him towards her, but they knew that it wouldn’t be long now until the tranquiliser really started to take affect and then it would be all that much harder for her to really do anything. Then it would just be a matter of doing his due diligence, taking a trophy and confirming the kill for that little shit of a man August Thompson. Honestly Montgomery was almost tempted to let her live, almost. The money on this job was too good and this really wasn’t an inconvenience. Montgomery struggled against her magic, pulling their revolver out alongside the large hunting knife that he had strapped to his upper right thigh. “Are you sure you want to play this game little girl?” he asked smugly as he waited for the sedatives to take effect.

A sneer marred Nell’s features as the voice reached her. It would be impossible not to recognize that accent and tone. It only made the fight in her rear its head more passionately, knowing it was Montgomery that had come after her. What the fuck was his problem, anyway? Who the hell just hunted for sport? At least, that’s what she’d assumed. Why else would he be after her? Though...it was true she’d made plenty of enemies in her past. But surely he wouldn’t know any of them, right? Already she could feel herself becoming sluggish, her reactions taking longer to manifest than they usually did. Vainly, she pushed a bloodied thumb to the summoning tattoo on her arm in an effort to bring forth her three favorite hellhounds. Nothing happened. Looking down, she realized that with the world beginning to spin, she’d missed the tattoo, a finger’s swipe of blood now running just below the ink she’d been aiming for. “I’ll kill you first,” she spat out, trying her best to figure out which of the fuzzy Montgomery’s she was seeing was the real one. She threw her first knife, magic behind it’s throw to help it hit its intended target, both supplying assisted aiming in a time like this, and putting more force behind the dagger.

The irony in Penelope Vural’s logic was one of the most ironic parts of all of this. Normally Montgomery hunted for sport. They did it for the pleasure of the kill, they did it to make their blood rush and to feel the visceral pleasure of hauling a carcass back. He was an expert now, he’d clean it themselves and make trophies, sell what they could and he would eat what he couldn’t. His dogs got the rest. If it was edible of course. Montgomery was cruel but he wasn’t a cannibal. Not yet anyway. But today he had been forced into this position by a large sum of money. Perhaps forced was a bit of a stretch, perhaps he should simply accept that he could’ve walked away. But that was no fun. The dart was one of his own special creations. Years of studying medicine had made it easy to mix natural and supernatural sedatives and if Penelope died from the weird cocktail of magic and sleeping drug that was rushing round her system then who was Montgomery to complain? She seemed to be realising the predicament that she was in and as she pulled a knife and hurled it in his direction Montgomery side stepped it easily. His right hand snapped out and caught the handle of the blade as it sailed roughly near where his face had been. “Naughty, naughty,” Montgomery said wagging his finger and loudly tutting like a concerned nurse as he looked at the bright and shiny blade sighed, “such a beautiful creation, such a shame it’s user is so … unfortunate.”

A nearly animalistic snarl rang out from Nell as her knife was caught, wasting no time as she drew another knife as quickly as she could, though it was much slower than she normally moved, the tranquilizer still doing its work well. Pure spite was what was keeping her going, and her simple refusal to go quietly. She’d take a part of Montgomery with her or die trying. That was her only thought as she let the next knife fly, fueled by magic in the same way the first had been. As it grew nearer, it duplicated, spurred on by her magic to create an illusion that was meant to keep the intended target guessing as to which was the real knife. But to Nell it wasn’t all that different from her current vision, the world still taking strange shapes as her awareness ever so slightly began to flicker in and out. “Piece of shit!” she gasped with as much anger as she could muster, trying to remind her lungs how to draw air normally. “You fucking cunty-ass sad excuse for a human!” When was the last time she’d felt anything this strongly? Did it make sense that in her possible last moments, those would be the ones she felt the most emotion? “Shut your fucking mouth!” Each word was punctuated with effort as her magic burst forth once more, closer to the lines of instinctual now that things were getting down to the wire. She wanted him hurt. She wanted him maimed. She wanted him dead. To bring him to his knees.

Montgomery ducked beneath the shower of daggers that went flying in his direction. She was creative, he would give her that much, after all who would’ve thought that this is the way that she would choose to do things. He had always imagined that if he had been fortunate enough to have magic that he would be much flashier and creative with it. But each to their own. “If it makes you feel better to call me all of those things th- th- the-” Montgomery couldn’t finish his own sentence, looking down at his arms he found his veins bulging as the blood seemed to stop flowing around his veins and arteries. Suddenly his entire body was on fire as agony lanced through him. He couldn’t move. At least, not without it being agonisingly painful. His eyes raced around, what the fuck was going on? It took less then a second for them to train on Nell, she was doing something, it had to be a trick. Magic. Something that was stopping him from being able to move, being able to truly fight this. With a visceral, primal grunt of pain, Montgomery took the final three steps that spanned between him and Penelope Vural. The agony was almost too much. They cursed themselves for not using a higher dosage of the tranquiliser as his entire body screamed in pain. Grunting once more, Montgomery drew all their effort into one strike and with the butt of their pistol he clattered into Penelope’s temple. There was a sickening crunch as the metal contacted the bone and cartilage of her skull. 

Nell watched as Montgomery paused, sleepy brain unable to truly process what exactly was going on. All she knew was that she’d done something, expended some magical energy and suddenly he'd stopped. As the magic left her, Nell fell to her knees, a combination of the effort she’d exerted and the tranquilizer finally finishing it’s job pushing her to the ground paying no mind to her fighting tooth and claw against it. No. No. This would not be how she went. This would not be how she died. All those times she’d escaped by the skin of her teeth, all the near misses who’s tales she’d lived to tell. Being shot in the neck by a tranquilizer via a coward who hid in the bushes wouldn’t be her last stand. Her last stand. In truth, part of her had believed she’d never had one, the invincibility of youth and confidence lending her their strength when it came to the endless path that had seemed to unfold in front of her. Even though she’d seen so much more in her life than most did, there was still so much more she’d wanted to see, to touch, to feel.  She looked up as Montgomery readied the kill, biting down on any part of him she could manage to find hold of. Would this really be her last sight? She met his eyes, glaring at him even now as something glinted in the moonlight. Whatever he was meaning to kill her with, no doubt. She wouldn’t let him have the satisfaction of watching her eyes close, anger and defiance still burning in their depths.

Montgomery had to admit that as they watched her collapse, as he observed, the tranquiliser really begin to enter her blood stream and start impacting her organs and functions. Montgomery could’ve given a whole lecture just on how it all worked. He was Doctor Montgomery de Ville for a reason after all, but now wasn’t the time. He had to admit that her magic had been something new. He had never felt that sensation or anything like it. It was like his very blood was boiling. Stepping forward, Montgomery reached down and drew their hunting knife once more. A wicked blade with a razor sharp edge and even serated towards the base of the hilt. Perfect for decapitation. Oh how it shone in the light, the reflection glinting off of the sheen of the blade. 

Luce. Bea. Winston. Jared. Blanche. Countless others Nell had met and loved since coming back to White Crest. It wasn’t her life flashing before her, but the faces of those that had made it all the better in the past months and years, even those she wouldn’t have expected to etch a place in her soul. Nic. Morgan. Adam. Remmy. Her father. Her mom. God, her mom. She was going to die without so much as ever being a point of pride to her own mother. What would her legacy be? Did she even have one? Did it fucking matter? The dead were dead. Even now she still struggled, as if somehow her weak attempts to break free would find some way to be successful, that she’d find a way out of this like she always did, always had. Nell had never once stopped fighting in her entire life, and she wasn’t going to start now simply because it was coming to a close. She was going to leave this world the way she came into it, yelling, kicking, screaming as much as she could. Montgomery tensed behind her, that silver flashing once again and suddenly all she could see was—

[reynesofcastamere]

Fractured Comet(2/2)

(A/N: Welp, back into this flaming hot mess we go. Warnings for verbal/emotional abuse, misuse of the Force, intrusive thoughts, toxic communications and mentions of speciesism/dehumanization. Because the Empire sucks. Not gonna lie, some of the dialogue and actions taken in this piece are reeeeallly unpleasant. So I’ve marked that section off with **** for the consideration of those who might want to skip it entirely. Unbeta’d.) 

It takes little time and some effort to reverse their positions, perching her on the edge of his desk in the midst of their...vicious entanglement. Maul takes great satisfaction in the way she clutches his shoulders, how her tongue darts out to wet her full, kiss-swollen lips when they pause for breath. Somehow the first thought of her in these brief interludes of peace is shereshoy. She is fiercely, vibrantly alive in a way that he cannot help but covet. 

“Why are you here?” He follows the blunt inquiry by dragging his teeth down her throat, savouring her shaken intake of air. “Given your many complaints about ‘overblown monologuing’, I would expect you to welcome a less...verbose informant.” By which he means someone who gets directly to the point and doesn’t rub metaphorical fire salt into her wounds on a regular basis. Perhaps he’d missed some pertinent flaw in the agents assigned to handle this particular task? 

“You’re a vital asset to the Rebellion, and a walking target for the Inquisitors.” Which is the truth, but also hardly new information. “The Empire is getting more effective at tracking down Force users. There is...concern that you might be re-considering the arrangement.” Her statements are professional and measured. She’s learned how to lie and conceal her true feelings well, over the years. In another instance, he might have believed her, or at least let her deception pass without comment. Not so right now. Ah. Tano’s superiors are attempting to gauge whether Maul intends to save his own skin at their expense. He cannot help but laugh. “So you were sent as an enticement to dangle before me.” Maul scoffs derisively. “As if I were some Hutt lord to be distracted by a Twi’lek slave girl.” Her lips tighten, and the brief flare of her Force signature tells him that he has struck a nerve. Good. The very thought of it is an insult to them both. “That’s not why I’m here.” Ahsoka retorts, her gaze stubborn in a way that he almost finds endearing. “You’re not getting a different answer just because you don’t like what I have to say.” He hisses when one of her hands darts up lightning-quick, blunt nails digging into his nape. “ And you started this.” She pulls him in until their foreheads meet, breath mingling together in the scant space between them. Presenting herself as the immovable mountain to his wild tempest, though the cracks in the stone run deeper than she will ever admit. ****

“Krayt spit.” He echoes back at her. “Your masters will use every method at their disposal to secure victory. Do not expect me to believe that you’ve never assigned or participated in seduction to succeed in your objectives, Fulcrum.” Before she can cut him off with an undoubtedly sharp response, he continues. “Or perhaps you believe yourself to be the exception?” The focus of his eyes drops and lingers on her lips. “That they would not seek to exploit the flawed perception of your species as exotic toys? How fortunate for them, to have your considerable talents and beauty at their disposal.” He purrs, equally cruel and enticing at once, using the Force to loosen her hold and dip his head, lips brushing the fine line between her jaw and neck. “Why, you’ve even secured the allegiance of a savage monster with your charms.”

She shoves him away with both her hands and the Force, cybernetics screeching against the stone floor. His own power and training keep him upright until he comes to a natural stop, twin hearts pounding with the prospect of a fight. Tano doesn’t reach for her ‘sabres, though. “Stop. Talking.” The voice that issues the order is hard and embittered as she stands, brushing off her clothing and harshly rubbing at her mouth with the back of one hand. As if to remove all traces of him from her body. “Maker, this has to be the worst recruitment pitch you’ve ever given.” There is an invisible pressure keeping his mouth shut. Clearly, she does not expect him to respect or obey her command without reinforcement. In her current estimation, he is an akk dog in desperate need of a muzzle. “The only thing you can actually give me is a lifetime of sharing your misery, because you can’t bear to suffer alone.”  There is a faint trembling in her eyes and limbs. Adrenaline, or fatigue. He catalogues this even as his cold fury breaks her would-be gag. Maul works his jaw a bit, hands primly coming to rest behind his back. He could strangle her for what she’d just done, let it be a lesson of just which one of them has spent years honing pain, fear, and anger into deadly weapons. And yet, he has a point to make that such a gesture would not serve. “I have not forced you into any aspect of this alliance, Ahsoka Tano.” He states, devastatingly soft and certain. “And despite your much-vaunted convictions, you enjoy our...entaglements.” “You actually believe that.” Ahsoka’s voice takes on a hollow quality as she speaks, a single, harsh laugh escaping from her twisted mouth. “Coercion and goading damn well count as ‘force’, last I checked.” Her arms cross, hands clenching the crook of her elbows. “I thought you had at least some sliver of respect for me as a person. Thank you so much for finally being honest, Lord Maul. I’ll see myself out.”  He holds up a hand the moment she takes a step forward, causing her to halt with barely-concealed impatience. **** There is an opportunity here, to correct her assumptions. Most of the voices within his head are practically screaming at him to do so. Her body is not what he desires to possess, even if he finds pleasure in their coupling. He would not spare a second thought if she was inclined to take the entire Rebellion into her bed. Instead, he lets her read what she will from his impassive expression and tightly-leashed control of the Dark Side. “You will want to take that.” Maul indicates the datapad still on the desk. “Intelligence reports from the Kashyyk and Lasan systems. Brother Viscus will comm you to handle the transaction.” He watches her scrutinize him for a few seconds before picking up the offered item and striding past him, maintaining a carefully set distance. For a moment, he hesitates. “Ahsoka-” She’s already slipped out the door and slammed it behind her. He does nothing as her presence steadily retreats. At least, until two pairs of footsteps approach soon afterwards, followed by Saxon’s low curse and Rook’s deadpan statement that he owed her fifty credits. The door flies open again under Maul’s own Force pull, infernal glare boring into his second-and-third-in-command. “Both of you will report to the training hall immediately.” His tone leaves no doubt in their minds that they will bleed before he is done with them, even as they reply with “Yes, my Lord.” And hasten to follow his order. The moment Maul exits the room, it shatters and collapses behind him, dust billowing around his feet . The guards stationed in the corridor are visibly terrified,even with the concealment their helmets afford them. “Organize a repair crew.” He instructs, calm as the grave, paying no heed to their shaking salutes as he stalks past them. What is the loss of one more person, when he has multitudes to rule and an Empire to ruin? (A/N: Ouch. Yeah, any chance of actual smut happening in this fic pretty much flew out the window once Maul started on that speech. Ah well. Good thing I’m not quite done with these interconnected stories yet. Fun sidenote: I did some research on Mandalorian culture&customs regarding relationships, marriage(same-sex and otherwise), courting, and family. While I still think most of  the Mando’ade are capable of being Drama Monarchs on par with a good chunk of Sith Lords, said customs are remarkably chill and simple. Which is why I can easily picture Kast and Saxon just continually side-eyeing these weird darjetiise over the years trying to figure out WTF their deal is and developing a running bet. For the record, Saxon thinks they’re married and just didn’t tell anyone, Kast has her money on them being divorced and not quite over it yet. Anyway, I’ve rambled long enough. Cheers!)

[fuwafuwamedb]

.Hack//Gilfection (.Hack AU) (Gilgamesh, Enkidu, Gudako)

The music was the first thing to load.

He could see the area around him, the artificial buildings lacking a certain level of elegance that a lot of his games held. Whoever had designed this game hadn’t been doing quite the level of quality of a lot of his consoles, but then again…

Enkidu was right. The server’s fast for the number of people here.

No clipping. No running through people. The sensors he had been able to press to his wrists really were making him feel like he was doing more than simply holding his controller and wearing headgear.

His armor clanked as he walked. The feeling of weight was running through him, fascinating him further.

He slammed his fist against the wall of one of the buildings, wincing when a pain went to his arm.

“Impressive, isn’t it?”

Gilgamesh glanced over, snorting at the rather cliché look his friend had.

“Did you mod one of their characters? I don’t believe that hair style and color was in the tutorial.”

“Shhhh,” Enkidu pressed a hand to their shoulder, pulling them away from the throngs of people. “You really want to get me in trouble? Anyway, the devs love me. I’m one of the knights in this place. I maintain peace and order.”

“Peace and order?”

Gilgamesh laughed harder, throwing his head back.

Good gods, the being was talking like they were some sweet citizen and not a menace to society who’d let their dogs shit earlier on one of the cop cars downtown.

“Alright, alright,” Enkidu waved a hand. “My fellow knight was supposed to be coming, but I guess it’ll just be us right now. I think you’ll want to level up before we meet with others anyway. You’ve always been someone to enjoy being a higher level than those around in ever other subject and game.”

“We’re gonna grind first?”

“Yeah,” Enkidu held out his hand. “Let me see your hand, Gil. I’ll give you a weapon for now.”

[Gilgamesh obtained Enki]

“Enki?”

“Aren’t I clever?” The being smiled, earning an eye roll. “We’ll have to work on getting you a full armor suit later. Look at this belly,” they jabbed his stomach, earning a growl.

“Enkidu! I’m needed at work tomorrow. Let’s not take too long.”

“Alright. Fine. Did you read your manual today at work?”

“Of course.”

“Then add me to your party.”

Gilgamesh stared at the being.

He’d read through the manual. The manual had talked about how to add the sensors to his neck and wrists. They had discussed how long would be a good length of time for playing the game and what methods of care were needed for those who played longer.

So long as people maintained their health, they would not be in any danger.

He exercised routinely for four hours a day. He didn’t have a thing to worry about.

However…

“How do I add you?”

Enkidu glanced back, no doubt trying to pull a fourth wall kind of glance before they shook their head. “Give me your hand again.”

Gilgamesh held up his hand, finding the being leaning in and kissing it.

“ENKID-“

[You now have Enkidu’s member address!]

“…You’re a seductive asshole, you know that?” Gilgamesh laughed awkwardly, opening up his member screen and inviting the asshole to his team.

“Yeah, yeah. That’s why we meet for booze normally instead of doing fun things like this.”

They moved to the platform, watching the chaos gate spin invitingly. Enkidu made them stop long enough to look through their potions and equipment. Gilgamesh busied himself with looking at others as they opened their menus and scrolled through area codes.

“Alright. Ready?”

Gilgamesh glanced to his friend before nodding.

They teleported easily enough.

The grassy plains around them swayed in the breeze. The stone structures scattered here and there over the landscape seemed a little too fake. Much like the city they’d been in, quality had been sacrificed a bit for better loading.

“Notice that?” Enkidu asked when he mentioned it. “They did it on purpose and for the reason you guessed. There’s supposed to be patches later, but they haven’t done anything yet. There’s a few areas that I like that are far better graphically.”

The being paused as a monster came roaming by.

“Let’s move!”

His blades were cumbersome. Gilgamesh cursed as he felt one of his sensors fall off.

“Hold on,” he told the other after killing the monster.

Enkidu fell over, laughing away as Gilgamesh pulled his headgear up and fixed the sensor back on.

“Gil! Use tape!”

“Tape.” Gilgamesh looked in his desk, pulling out some electrical tape and fixing the damn things on for the time being.

“You good?” Enkidu was leaning over his character, grinning.

“Fine.”

“Get a pair of wristbands and a scarf later. They help too. I do that so I don’t have to waste tape… it’s good tape, right?”

“I’m all set.”

Enkidu nodded. “This won’t be that big of an area. I mean, it’s level one.”

They moved to the dungeon building, Enkidu smiling a little until they saw something move.

A girl was floating by, moving almost too fast to get a good look at. The red hair fell in waves behind her, the colors looking off, but-

Gilgamesh froze as something flew after her. The great demonic monster roaring loudly.

“…Enkidu,” Gilgamesh leaned closer to the being as the two vanished. “…You said this was level one?”

“I’m level 99 and I have never seen that shit.”

They didn’t sound pleased by that fact for some reason.

“Treasure chest and we’re out.” Enkidu shook his head. “It must have just been a server bug. Maybe something didn’t get patched and an update messed up a new monster.”

Yeah…

He was sure that was the case.

They moved.

Three sets of enemies. New boots and gloves. Gilgamesh found himself laughing as he and Enkidu bounced from one room to the next.

He could see the appeal.

“Well?” Enkidu sat on a boobytrapped treasure chest, grinning.

“Once a week.”

“Nah, I’ll get you to play every day,” Enkidu promised. “We’re gonna be shut in nerds when I’m done with you.”

Unlikely. Gilgamesh still laughed though.

“Don’t believe me?”

“Try.”

They paused in the depth of the dungeon, opening the beast’s treasure chest. As they did, the statue floating behind the chest fell, the room growing silent around them.

“Alright.” Enkidu beamed. “Let’s go-“

The world around them morphed. Their bodies teleported.

“Uhhh-“

“Gil, get behind me.” Enkidu frowned, looking around carefully at the scene. As he moved, he could sense someone close, someone who made him turn.

“Take this.”

The red head from before was there. Her golden eyes were looking straight into his.

“Take this.”

“Is it equipment-“

“GIL!”

Enkidu was further from him now. When the other had moved, he didn’t know, but they were further-

[******* added to inventory]

Gilgamesh turned, noting the red head looking behind him now.

“A great force… the power it holds can bring forth salvation… or destruction… at the whim of the user…”

What-

“It’s coming.”

The red head was floating upwards, her eyes closing as something formed behind her. The strange figure behind her wrapped their arms around her, vanishing a moment before the beast was back. The demonic figure slammed into the earth, shaking the ground beneath his feet.

“GIL! STAY DOWN!”

He didn’t have a choice. He stared up at the face of the thing, watching it loom overhead.

Enkidu was storming forward, slamming their chains and weapons into the beast.

[MISS]

[MISS]

[MISS]

[MISS]

[MISS]

[MISS]

[MISS]

[MISS]

“WHAT?” Enkidu stared at the thing, pausing as his character was raised. The demon raised a hand, aiming it towards-

“ENKIDU!”

“Run… Gil…”

The character model exploded before his eyes, leaving his heart racing and his eyes wide. Gilgamesh roared, staring at the beast aiming their hand at him.

He could feel himself being raised up, the beast preparing to do the same when-

Something slammed between them. Something like an great wave of blossoms. The game system went black.

The menu screen returned, leaving Gilgamesh groaning.

He shoved his helmet off, throwing it to the ground.

“DAMN!”

He picked up the phone nearby, waiting and cursing more when Enkidu didn’t answer.

Busted ass game.

Tomorrow he’d tell Enkidu that they should play something else.

The monsters and leveling had been cool, but the last monster had been a damn cheat.

What kind of stupid game developer decided to make a monster that damn busted and set it loose in a newbie area anyway? Seemed like a stupid way to destroy your growing community.

[charmandhex]

Dogs on the Moon

Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last time, Magnus Burnsides watches as the false moon, Lucretia’s moon, approaches from his place inside the glass sphere. His pupils go wide as the sphere enters the moon, trying to see anything in the darkness of the space. Of course he doesn’t, one of two members (previously just him) of Tres Horny Boys without Darkvision.

As such, he’s blinking spots out of his eyes when the sphere emerges in the bright light of the hangar, and Magnus’s gaze alights on Avi, operating the cannons as per usual and looking surprised to see him.

Magnus is up and walking as soon as the sphere door opens.

“Hey, hey, Magnus, how are-” Avi starts as Magnus passes by him.

“Can’t talk now, Avi,” Magnus interrupts, jokingly brusque. “Important world-saving business, you know how it is. Weight lifting later though?” Magnus tosses the words lightly over his shoulder, already gone.

“Uh, yeah, hey, wait, where are you going?” Avi calls after him, but Magnus doesn’t answer and Avi doesn’t follow after.

He marches across the quad, hearing the summer breeze whistle through the trees and watching it sweep over the grassy field in waves. He high fives Killian and trades finger guns with Carey, wishing the couple congratulations (again) on their upcoming nuptials. But he doesn’t linger. He has somewhere to be. Obviously. That’s the whole reason he’s here.

Magnus continues on into the largest, grandest dome in the Bureau of Benevolence and doesn’t break his stride as the sound of his footsteps shifts from the muted trod against earth to the faintly echoing click of boots against marble.

Lucretia isn’t on the dais, not that he’d expect her to be. That’s not surprising.

Magnus makes it to the door at the end of the hall and walks to her office. No, unsurprisingly, Lucretia is working, as per usual. Or, she is, right up until Magnus gets to her office door and does what Magnus does best. Magnus rushes in.

“Lucretia Adventurezone,” Magnus booms, and the woman in question looks up from her desk, eyebrows already rising to nearly her hairline.

“Magnus. What. What was that?” She asks, completely nonplussed.

“It’s fine. I just needed a last name. Uh, don’t worry about it,” Magnus says, waving off the unknowable reference. “Anyway. What isn’t fine, Lucretia, is the state of dogs on the moon!” Magnus levels an accusatory glare at Lucretia.

As expected, she doesn’t shrink, meeting Magnus’s eyes with a level stare of her own. “Magnus. Dogs run off the moon. I have explained this to you countless times.”

“Two hundred twenty-five by my count, actually,” Magnus rebuts, thoroughly pulling a number out of the air, and Lucretia’s face breaks into a smile. “You have argued against fences. You have argued against leashes. You have argued against automated dog catching systems.” He counts off the arguments on his fingers. “But,” he says dramatically, raising a finger, “you have forgotten one important thing. And that thing, Lucretia, is domes.”

“I’m pretty sure I haven’t forgotten domes, Mango.” And Lucretia gestures to the moon base at large around her.

“Lucretia. You are the most powerful abjuration wizard this or literally any other plane has ever seen. A god for gods told you that you did the most powerful shit he had ever seen.”

“Yes?”

Magnus nearly sputters at Lucretia’s nonchalance. “You could have just cast a spell on the moon base the whole time! No real fences, just a big magic fence!”

Lucretia blinks. “Oh. Huh.”

“Now hold on!” Magnus exclaims. “‘Huh?’ You never thought about it, not once, despite knowing that you are, like, a super good wizard and at no point had you been walking around with less than one-seventh of the Light of Creation. For years, Lucy!”

“Well... Listen. Magnus. I was preoccupied. Very preoccupied.”

“But dogs, Lucretia!” Magnus nearly whines. “Think of the puppies left in a box! Think of the mutts who need a home! Think of the dogs!”

Lucretia doesn’t say anything, just looks like she’s thinking. Magnus deflates a little. “Uh, anyway. You are also formally invited to the grand opening or sort of re-opening of Hammer and Tails. When I open it. At some point. You know, re-building an entire town and a carpentry shop and a school for dogs is not easy.” He emphasizes. “And, uh, you know, still keeping up with those Tres Horny Boys adventures. We went to a casino with Lup, and Merle cast fucking Insect Plague, and then we kicked Greg fucking Grimaldis’s fucking ass, but Lup didn’t get her $15 anyway, and we got into another battlewagon race, so Taako got another trophy for that, and I still need a battlewagon trophy because I have vehicle proficiency, and Cap’nport, oh Lucy, he doesn’t need money, he wanted help fighting ghost pirates, but don’t worry about it, and I drove the ship and Taako adopted a Kraken and all the Reapers showed up, lots of family bonding and shit.” Magnus continues rambling about some of their various adventures and branches into the wedding preparations for Carey and Killian.

As he talks, Lucretia sweeps all of her work to the side and pulls a fresh sheet of paper toward her, starting to quickly scribble something down.

“And then Carey was, like, I don’t know if I like chocolate or spice cake better! So I told her, just talk to Taako and Lup about doing both! Great plan, right, Lucretia? Lucretia?” Magnus asks again, half-concerned that Lucretia has opted to not listen to his rather extensive rambling.

Lucretia looks up. “Uh, duh. Of course, Magnus. More cakes are better. And. Um. I have something for you. Call it... call it a Candlenights gift. A little late for sure, but-“ she passes over the piece of paper.

Magnus looks down at the paper Lucretia had quickly filled with blue ink. “COUPON,” it reads in all caps across the top. “One dog on the moon, whenever user wants. Coupon limited to one Magnus Burnsides. Director Lucretia not responsible for providing dog leash or harness. Fence negotiable. Expiry: never.” Below the text there is a quick illustration of a cartoonish Magnus with a very happy dog in a baby bjorn.

Magnus looks back to Lucretia. She looks. A little anxious, surprisingly. “Lucy.”

“Oh, shit, bad idea? I thought with your history of back rub coupons, it’d be funny, but, uh, maybe not the best joke?”

Magnus initially doesn’t answer, just walks around the desk and tugs Lucretia up into a hug. “Best moon boss Candlenights gift ever,” he says, a little watery, because Magnus Burnsides isn’t afraid to admit that he can cry. “Better than two hundred gold pieces in an envelope.”

Lucretia laughs too, and there’s a small hiccup before she answers. “Not my finest moment, yes.”

It’s quiet briefly before there’s a small yipping sound from Magnus’s bag, the sound of a puppy just waking up. Magnus steps back, and Lucretia is smiling as he goes to the bag.

“So, will you be redeeming that first coupon now then?”

“Uh... probably. But. Lucretia. Meet Johann,” Magnus says, proudly, raising a tiny deerhound puppy, still blinking the sleep out of his eyes. Johann yawns. Lucretia reaches out her arms, and Magnus gives her first the coupon and then the puppy.

“All right. I guess we do have dogs on the moon.”