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mostlysignssomeportents · 6 months ago

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A sexy, skinny defeat device for your HP ink cartridge

Animals keep evolving into crabs; it's a process called "carcinisation" and it's pretty weird. Crabs just turn out to be extremely evolutionarily fit for our current environment:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-animals-keep-evolving-into-crabs/

By the same token, all kinds of business keep evolving into something like a printer company. It turns out that in this enshittified, poorly regulated, rentier-friendly world, the parasitic, inkjet business model is extremely adaptive. Printerinisation is everywhere.

All that stuff you hate about your car? Trapping you into using their mechanics, spying on you, planned obsolescence? All lifted from the inkjet printer business model:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

That GE fridge that won't make ice or dispense water unless you spend $50 for a proprietary charcoal filter instead of using a $10 generic? Pure printerism:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/06/12/digital-feudalism/#filtergate

The software update to your Sonos speakers that makes them half as useful and takes away your right to play your stored music, forcing you to buy streaming music subscriptions? Straight out of the HP playbook:

https://www.wired.com/story/sonos-admits-its-recent-app-update-was-a-colossal-mistake/

But as printerinized as all these gadgets are, none can quite attain the level of high enshittification that the OG inkjet bastards attain on a daily basis. In the world championships of effortlessly authentic fuckery, no one can lay a glove on the sociopathic monsters of HP.

For example: when HP wanted to soften us all up for a new world of "subscription ink" (where you have to pre-pay every month for a certain number of pages' worth of printing, which your printer enforces by spying on you and ratting you out to HP over the internet), they offered a "lifetime subscription" plan. With this "lifetime" plan, you paid just once and your HP printer would print out 15 pages a month for so long as you owned your printer, with HP shipping you new ink every time you ran low.

Well, eventually, HP got bored of not making you pay rent on your own fucking printer, so they just turned that plan off. Yeah, it was a lifetime plan, but the "lifetime" in question was the lifetime of HP's patience for not fucking you over, and that patience has the longevity of a mayfly:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/06/horrible-products/#inkwars

It would take many pages to list all of HP's sins here. This is a company that ships printers with half-full ink cartridges and charges more than the printer cost to buy a replacement set. The company that won't let you print a black-and-white page if you're out of yellow ink. The company that won't let you scan or send a fax if you're out of any of your ink.

They make you "recalibrate" your printer or "clean your heads" by forcing you to print sheets of ink-dense paper. They also refuse to let you use your ink cartridges after they "expire."

HP raised the price of ink to over $10,000 per gallon, then went to war against third-party ink cartridge makers, cartridge remanufacturers, and cartridge refillers. They added "security chips" to their cartridges whose job was to watch the ink levels in your cartridge and, when they dip below a certain level (long before the cartridge is actually empty), declare the cartridge to be dry and permanently out of use.

Even if you refill that cartridge, it will still declare itself to be empty to your printer, which will therefore refuse to print.

Third party ink companies have options here. One thing they could do is reverse-engineer the security chip, and make compatible ones that say, "Actually, I'm full." The problem with this is that laws like Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) potentially makes this into a felony punishable by a five-year prison sentence and a $500k fine, for a first offense.

DMCA 1201 bans bypassing "an effective means of access control" to a copyrighted work. So if HP writes a copyrighted "I'm empty" program for its security chip and then adds some kind of access restriction to prevent you from dumping and reverse-engineering that program, you can end up a felon, thanks to the DMCA.

Another countermove is to harvest security chips out of dead cartridges that have been sent overseas as e-waste (one consequence of HP's $10,000/gallon ink racket is that it generates mountains of immortal, toxic e-waste that mostly ends up poisoning poor countries in the global south). These can be integrated into new cartridges, or remanufactured ones.

In practice, ink companies do all of this and more, and total normie HP printer owners go to extremely improbable lengths to find third party ink cartridges and figure out how to use them. It turns out that even people who find technology tinkering intimidating or confusing or dull can be motivated to learn and practice a lot of esoteric tech stuff as an alternative to paying $10,000/gallon for colored water.

HP has lots of countermoves for this. One truly unhinged piece of fuckery is to ask Customs and Border Patrol to block third-party ink cartridges with genuine HP security chips that have been pried loose from e-waste shipments. HP claims that these are "counterfeits" (because they were removed and re-used without permission), even though they came out of real HP cartridges, and CBP takes them at their word, seizing shipments.

Even sleazier: HP pushes out fake security updates to its printers. You get a message telling you there's an urgent security update, you click OK, and your printer shows you a downloading/installing progress bar and reboots itself. As far as you can tell, nothing has changed. But these aren't "security" updates, they're updates that block third-party ink, and HP has designed them not to kick in for several months. That way, HP owners who get tricked into installing this downgrade don't raise hell online and warn everyone else until they've installed it too, and it's too late:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

This is the infectious pathogen business model: one reason covid spread so quickly was that people were infectious before they developed symptoms. That meant that the virus could spread before the spreader knew they had it. By adding a long fuse to its logic bomb, HP greatly increases the spread of its malware.

But life finds a way. $10,000/gallon ink is an irresistible target for tinkerers, security researchers and competitors. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but the true parent of jaw-dropping ingenuity is callous, sadistic greed. That's why America's army of prisoners are the source of so many of the most beautiful and exciting forms of innovation seen today:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/09/king-rat/#mother-of-invention

Despite harsh legal penalties and the vast resources of HP, third-party ink continues to thrive, and every time HP figures out how to block one technique, three even cooler ones pop up.

Last week, Jay Summet published a video tearing down a third-party ink cartridge compatible with an HP 61XL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0ya184uaTE

The third-party cartridge has what appears to be a genuine HP security chip, but it is overlaid with a paper-thin, flexible, adhesive-backed circuit board that is skinny enough that the cartridge still fits in an HP printer.

This flexible circuit board has its own little microchip. Summet theorizes that it is designed to pass the "are you a real HP cartridge" challenge pass to the security chip, but to block the followup "are you empty or full?" message. When the printer issues that challenge, the "man in the middle" chip answers, "Oh, I'm definitely full."

In their writeup, Hackaday identifies the chip as "a single IC in a QFN package." This is just so clever and delightful:

https://hackaday.com/2024/09/28/man-in-the-middle-pcb-unlocks-hp-ink-cartridges/

Hackaday also notes that HP CEO Enrique J Lores recently threatened to brick any printer discovered to be using third-party ink:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/01/hp-ceo-blocking-third-party-ink-from-printers-fights-viruses/

As William Gibson famously quipped, "the future is here, it's just not evenly distributed." As our enshittification-rich environment drives more and more companies to evolve into rent-seeking enterprises through printerinisation, HP offers us a glimpse of the horrors of the late enshittocene.

It's just as Orwell prophesied: "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a HP installing malware on your printer to force you to spend $10,000/gallon on ink – forever."

Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/09/30/life-finds-a-way/#ink-stained-wretches

Image: Jay Summet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0ya184uaTE

#pluralistic

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uniquejobs · 2 years ago

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High Demand Jobs | Dassault Systèmes Off Campus Drive 2023

Introduction High Demand Jobs : Dassault Systèmes has Published notification for the vacancy of Apprentice The educational qualification required to apply for this is Post-graduation/graduation in Mechanical, Thermal, Computer engineering Interested and eligible candidates can apply for Dassault Systèmes. There is enough time to apply for any job. Read Dassault Systèmes Off Campus Drive 2023…

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minnesota-fats · 2 years ago

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A fic-lit about Danny working at the watchtower, not as a superhero but as an engineer.

This is based on an prompt I read months ago but cant find where Danny put that he was a halfa on his resume but the hiring manager didn’t pay attention to it and hired him anyway. Rather than that its just Danny working at the watchtower and vibing on break when a tiny Robin finds him in the viewing deck.

—

Danny had been working for the justice league watchtower for a couple of months. He has seen hero’s come and go, paying him no mind and he was absolutely living for it! Unlike at 14, he was just a simple, normal worker—despite being half dead and the next in line for the crown in the infinite realms—he is just a simple mechanical engineer, Danny Nightingale. No one to fight, no one to save, just a big space station that needed someone to help keep it up in space.

And that's another bonus to this job; Space!

He gets to spend his shift up in the stars, looking out at the cold expanse of their solar system. Admiring the earth from a whole new angle, and he is getting paid to do it! Sure he could go into space any time, but being able to spend a good portion of his time here really made his core sing in joy. When he was on break he would wander around the areas he had clearance to go into, looking out every window at every star. Cataloging the ships movement through space with sharp eyes. His favorite place to go is the viewing deck, it was exactly what it sounded like, a place to just go and view that space outside.

It was there that Danny decided to take his break today, the Watchtower was at just the right angle to be able to see the earth from the viewing deck. Danny smiled watching the planet he lived on from afar, this really was the best job he could have ended up with!

A few months back he was having a hard time finding work after college, sure he had all the proper qualifications for the positions he applied for. But due to his medical condition—being half dead with a slow almost nonexistent heartbeat—they all refused him, afraid that his heart wouldn't keep up if he left the atmosphere to board any of the space stations orbiting the earth. To be fair it wouldn't have, he tested it by flying up to the moon and back the old fashioned way. But he couldn't just tell them that; being an ecto entity was still a crime that he was just barely able to get away from at age eighteen.

He came out to his parents once he graduated high school, they reacted poorly. Danny’s mom saw red and tried to kill him the rest of the way, claiming that Danny was just a ghost “piloting” his corpse around. Danny’s dad just stayed silent and watched, but before maddie could really do anything he acted. Jack knocked Maddie out with a strong blow to the back of her head. Danny remembered the hope that he had when Jack did that, but after he looked up at the man that hope died in his chest. The man looked torn, both angry and sad and in a voice lacking any of the familiar warmth said, “leave before she wakes up.” And he turned to pick up Maddie and made his way up the stairs. It was because of his dad that he was able to get away because after that Danny Fenton was declared dead. With the help of Sam and Tucker he was able to make a new identity for himself and go to school. From that day on Danny decided to move on and never look back.

After putting his name out there time and time again he was rejected. It wasn't until he got a letter in the mail saying he had been scheduled for an interview at Wayne tech of all places. He didn’t remember applying there but decided to go anyway, needing some sort of job to get him through. But when he got there he was greeted by Lucius Fox and Batman of all people! Danny nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the dark knight, Danny couldn't help but think the worst. But before he could bolt, Lucius explained that Batman was looking for workers with the help of Wayne Industries for the base of operations for the Justice League—The Watchtower. Turns out all his applications to several different space programs caught the man’s attention. He even explained that Danny wouldn't even need to have a physical or get on a spaceship because The Watchtower utilized teleportation technology. Danny was so excited that he agreed on the spot without even knowing the benefits he would get from working with them. Which—surprising to no one—were a lot of benefits.

Danny was drawn from his thoughts when he heard the soft, almost nearly nonexistent footsteps coming from behind him. Danny turned and saw a child—no older than twelve—wearing a hero’s costume that looked like he was mimicking a traffic light. The kid froze in his tracks when Danny turned to face him, the two staring at each other for a few moments before the kid smiled and waved at him.

“Hi,” the kid beamed at Danny, “I’m D—Robin!”

Danny lifted a brow, “you a part of the justice league?” He asked, not remembering a kid being a part of their team.

The kid shook his head, “No, my guardian is though!” He explained.

“Ah, neat,” Danny said nonshalontly as he turned back to look at the window, “you come to see the view?” He asked.

The kid walked farther into the room and gasped when he got a better look at said view. “Woah—”, he exclaimed, now standing next to Danny.

Danny looked beside him to see the stars reflecting off of the kids' eyes, “cool isn't it? I come here on my lunch breaks," Danny says.

The kid looked at him and then squinted suspiciously, “if you're at lunch where is your food?” He asked.

Danny smiled, “I forgot my lunch at home today,” Danny lied, seeing the stars gave him enough energy to continue going. He usually eats when he gets home.

“Really?” The kid asked with a raised brow.

Danny smiled and looked around to see if anyone else was there, when he saw no one he asked, “do you wanna hear a secret?” He asked. Robin looked around himself as well before he leaned down a bit so Danny could whisper into his ear, “I actually just absorb the energy from the stars to sustain myself.” He explained.

“Really?” Robin asked, looking at him again, trying to gauge if Danny was lying or not.

Danny smiled, “yep,” he said, popping the p, “that's why I got a job here, that way I won’t starve to death.” Danny grins.

“But cant you just look at the stars from earth?” Robin asked, tilting his head.

“I mean, sure,” Danny says with a shrug, looking back out the window, “but this is so much better, isn't it?”

Robin looked out the window, “yeah!” The boy exclaimed, “it's so much clearer up here than in Gotham.” He commented.

Danny smiled and looked back at the boy, “I live in Gotham, too.”

“Really?” Robin asked, “No wonder you come up here,” the boy commented, causing Danny to snort in laughter and it wasn't long before Robin joined him.

“You got that right,” Danny says with a smirk before something dawns on him, “Wait, hero from gotham? I didn't know Batman had a kid?” Robin looked away, Danny could feel his nerves and sadness pass through him.

Danny was about to tell him that he didn't have to talk about it but before he could get his words out Robin spoke up, “My parents died about a year ago… he took me in only recently, he decided to train me when I found out he was Batman,” the kid says looking down at his feet, a glare etched on his face, “i never got to avenge my parents, the murderer had a heart attack before I could even get to him….”

Danny reached out to the kid and placed his hand on Robin’s shoulder, Robin looked up at him—as if remembering that Danny was there with him.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Danny says softly, Robin looks away from him. “But I can tell you wholeheartedly, your parents are proud of you and what you are doing,” robin began rubbing at his mask, preventing him from wiping the tears away from his eyes underneath. “Here,” Danny says as he goes to pick up the 12 year old, “let's get you back to the Big Black Bat, I bet he is looking for you.”

Danny sits Robin on his hip and walks out of the room, rubbing circles into the child’s back. They walk together in silence, Robin resting his head in the crook of Danny's neck. “…Thank you,” Robin mumbles.

“Don't mention it kid,” Danny says as he looks around the corridor trying to spot anyone who could help him get this kid to the upper levels, “I know what it's like to lose your parents….”

“Really?” Robin asked, his head lifting off of Danny’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Danny says, “they didn't die, but they basically said they never wanted to see me again.”

Robin gasped, “that's not nice!” Robin declared making Danny laugh again.

“Your right,” Danny agrees as he turns down another hall towards where the zeta tubes were, maybe someone in there could help. “But, now I'm here, having the time of my life with the job of my dreams.”

Robin smiled again, “you could say you're living the HIGH life.”

Danny paused in the hall and started snickering, “that was a good one, Birdy.”

“Birdy?” Robin asked.

“Yeah, your name is Robin, that's a bird, so Birdy,” Danny explained, “its a nickname

“Does that make us friends?” Robin asked.

“Sure, as long as your guardian is ok with it.”

The boy smiled happily, excited at the idea of having made a new friend. The calm was interrupted but Danny’s supervisor yelled from across the room, “Nightingale!” He shouts, causing Danny to jump.

Danny turns to look at the man, “hey boss—” he starts, blocking Robin from the man, not wanting to scare the kid.

“You are late to clock back in! You're not getting paid to sit around with your head in the clouds!” The man shouts.

“Sorry sir, I was—”

“No! You need to get back to work, NOW!” He demanded, “this is a multibillion dollar space station, everything needs to be on a strict schedule!”

Danny sighed, his supervisor hasn't liked Danny from day one. Something about him being “young and nïeve” or something like that; “head higher up into space than we were right now.” At least that's what Danny heard him say about him once or twice.

Danny was about to talk back when something just past his manager caught his eye. It was Batman, walking fast with a look that told everyone to get out of the way. But Danny could feel the worry bleed off the man in waves. Must be looking for Robin, Danny’s mind supplied. Danny sidesteps his supervisor and shouts, “Hey Batman!” To catch the dark knight’s attention. Danny had to restrain his laughter when he saw the look of horror pass on his supervisor's face.

Now with the vigilanties cold glare focused on him, Danny smiled and adjusted his stance to show Robbin to him. “Looking for you kid?” Danny asked.

Robin smiled nervously and waved at Batman, guess he wasn’t supposed to wander off like he did. “Hey B!” He shouts.

Batman’s glare softens so slightly, a regular person would have missed it. However, Danny could feel the man’s previous anxieties melt away into a strong relief. Batman strutted forward and glared down at Danny—despite Danny being taller than him. Danny just smiled and adjusted Robin on him so he could hand him over to the dark knight.

Now in Batman’s arms, Robin tapped his pointer fingers together nervously. “Sorry for wandering off,” he mumbled before his smile came back full force, “but,” he exclaimed, “I made a friend! His name is Danny and he liked my puns! And we both have bird names!” He exclaimed all while pointing at Danny.

Batman looked from the kid in his arms to Danny, “hmm,” he grumbled. A man of few words, Batman nods at Danny.

Danny nodded back, “He’s a good kid, glad I was able to help.” Danny replied. Feeling gratitude from that small gesture alone. Batman isn't the most expressive but being able to read emotions like Danny really helps when talking to people.

Batman turns his head to look over at Danny’s superior, “hmm.” After that Batman turned and walked away.

Robin climbed to sit up on Batman’s shoulder and waved back at Danny, “Bye bird buddy! Have a good day!” He shouts as Batman enters the elevator. The doors closing behind them and leaving the zeta tube control center in near silence.

Danny looked back to his supervisor who looked as pale as a sheet ghost, Danny gave him a shit eating grin and shrugged at him. “I tried to tell ya—”

“Get back to work Nightingale!” He shouts.

“Ok, ok, I'm going.” Danny says, turning on his heels and walking away from the man with his hands held up in surrender.

—

I have so many ideas for this au and if I write more I might post it on my AO3 feel free to read other things I posted on there!

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20dollarlolita · 8 months ago

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Stop putting thick thread in your freaking sewing machine.

If you have a home machine, it's not ready for it. If you have a drop in bobbin, it's really not ready for it. If it's bonded nylon then it's SUPER not ready for it.

Your Viking Emerald 118 is not a commercial machine. It's got a powerful engine, but it does not have a mechanical system that can handle the thickness and inflexibility of heavy weight thread. You're going to yank it out of time and that's not a warranty issue because the warranty doesn't cover you breaking it yourself with bad thread. The warranty also doesn't cover you trying to sew through a sterilite bin lid or getting sliced ham in your feed teeth, despite the warranty not specifically saying that you can't do that. It's not unreasonable for a machine to expect you to check your supplies for compatibility before using them.

If you want to sew with really heavy thread, you need a machine set up for that thread. This is like how if you want to put diesel in your car, you need a diesel engine.

You need a different threading set up for heavy thread, and you need the kind of bobbin case that can handle it as well. This is the Janome HD9 Professional, which is a home sewing machine that can sew with thick thread. You can see that the thread has to be wound in a different way to use the thick thread. If your machine doesn't have this, it probably shouldn't be using tex70. And by "probably," I mean "definitely."

The Janome HD9 is a sort of semi-commercial machine, where you sacrifice a bit of foot clearance, a bit of thread thickness, and some bobbin size in exchange for getting a machine that fits on your table top.

If you only want to work on thick thread, you probably need a commercial machine.

Quick flow chart on how people buy commercial sewing machines:

Step 1) Be aware that you're buying a piece of furniture. The table is part of the machine.

Step 2) What kind of foot do you want? If you're getting a machine for sewing, you need to pick if you want a straight stitch foot or a walking foot. On commercial machines, the walking foot is built into the machine, and a walking foot machine cannot be made to not walk. However, walking foot machines are a lot better than a walking foot attachment for a home machine.

Step 3) How thick are you going to put in it. Please note that I don't mean thick in how difficult it is for the machine to penetrate. The motor is a different part of the machine from the head, and you can stick a more powerful motor in there if you want. What we're talking about is how high of clearance the presser foot can give you. If you've sewn with really thick fabric on a home machine, you might have run into a situation where your fabric is so thick that it physically pushes the presser foot up so high that your tension disengages. All machines can do the same thing, so check on your machine that the physical dimensions of what you want to put in will fit under the foot.

Step 4) How thick of thread are you going to put into that thing? Tex90? Tex 180? You might need a lighter weight thread if you're making bags or clothing, but if you want that big, chunky decorative stitching you see on car upholstery, you need a machine that can handle that thread.

So, as you can see, dear home machine owners, people will buy commercial machines specifically to run heavy thread in them. If you want to run thick thread, you have two options.

The first option is to get the right tool for the job. Commercial machines aren't anywhere near as pricey as high end home machines. If you come to me and say that the only thing you want to sew is heavy thread, you're going to do better to get a Juki DDL8700 than to buy a new Emerald 118 every year when you run yours into the ground. You're only really paying about 2.5x the cost of an Emerald when you get the Juki with a full set up, and that's not bad when you take into account that you are going to be either servicing or replacing your 118 pretty frequently if you're still sticking that thread in it.

The second option is to get an old and broken sad fuck of a machine and mess up all the tensions yourself. Hang around junk shops long enough and someone's going to get rid of some kind of 1910's cast iron monstrosity that was converted to electric in the 1930's by someone who may have had no idea what they were doing. Get yourself something that you're mildly afraid of. If that maching has survived from 1914 to 2024, you're probably not going to break it by messing around with the stitch tension. If the head of the machine was made before we were capable of precision manufacturing thin, strong thread, it can probably adapt to the nightmare that is Coats Outdoor Upholstery thread or whatever that thread thing you bought on Amazon is.

Anyway, you're not going to buy the As Seen on TV Keyboard Vacuum and try to vacuum the front office of a dirt and rock emporium and then get upset when it doesn't work. Not every vacuum is interchangeable and not every sewing machine can handle carpet thread. Not every bad decision you make is covered by your warranty. Sometimes you break things and then it's your problem to fix it.

Thank you for coming to my TexX talk.

#today at work #not lolita #okay i was going to say tedx talk but #you measure heavy weight thread in tex so it's a pune #or play on words

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godhandler · 7 months ago

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College Major Headcanons:

[Extra content for The Homo Economicus in Love - noritoshi kamo x reader, cute college au]

Yuuji Itadori - Media Studies, on a full sports scholarship even though he's not too interested in sports. He doesn't show up to practice that much but carries the team in tournaments. Not really very academically inclined but everyone he meets loves him so much that he's gotten a shit ton of internships and work experience just cuz he's nice to work with. Stays on campus dorms.

Nobara Kugisaki - Fashion Merchandising (yay legally blonde). Another one who's not very academically inclined but does great at the practical aspects of the job. Gets 40% off on tuition, but has some funds from her grandma. also gets money from her fashion blog, part-time jobs at fashion mags, and manages clothing for photoshoots on a freelance basis (if she commits she commits). Saves on residence by renting with Inumaki and Panda.

Megumi Fushiguro - Computer Science with a minor in Math. Full scholarship and bursary grant by the college due to his shitty financial conditions (orphaned and destitute at a young age). Prof Gojo is his legal guardian. grew up in and stays on campus dorms.

Maki Zenin - Star Athlete, literally training for the Olympics. Her degree is in Mass Communications but she doesn't actually have to attend classes cuz the Uni wants her to focus on sports. Disowned by her family. Full sports scholarship and occasionally gets sponsored by sportswear companies. Trying to go pro.

Yuuta Okkotsu - Sociology and Anthropolgy. He enjoys talking to and meeting people and works as a part-time Journalist for local news channels to bring attention to issues like poverty. Gets a bursary grant from the uni, gets paid for and is decently recognized for his journalism work. Both Geto and Gojo want to mentor him. He talks to himself when he's alone but that's a secret.

Toge Inumaki - Architectural Design, chose this degree just for the hell of it, is a solid B+ student. Has a YouTube gaming and ASMR channel with 200k followers but is struggling to monetize it profitably. Got in on legacy admissions but gets a sports scholarship of 30% (he's pretty good at athletics)

Panda - ???

Noritoshi Kamo - Economics and Finance, specializing in Private Equity and Investment Banking. he's the heir of the Kamo Conglomerate. Full legacy admission even though he graduated valedictorian of high school and is the captain of the Archery team.

Todo Aoi - Quantum Physics. he's literally the top student of every class he takes. he keeps taking random other classes from different majors based on his whims. his genius was recognised and personally mentored by Yuki Tsukumo, but is now undergoing formal college education for the certificate even though he already knows all this and more. he spends half the day in the gym and the other half streaming Takada-chan variety clips.

Mai Zenin - Economics and Finance, her family made her take it. good at academics even though she's not super into it. legacy admission.

Momo Nishimiya - Literature and Creative Writing. She posts regularly for a gender and sexuality magazine. loves nobara's blog.

Miwa Kasumi - Computer Science with a minor in Software Engineering. She just wanted a degree that would lead to a well-paying job. Cabinet Member of the Student Council. She vouched a lot for Mechamaru/Kokichi to get disability-friendly accommodation. she struggles a bit with academics but pulls through with A- all around. Kokichi/Mechamaru helps her if she finds something particularly difficult to understand. has her own campus residence but has practically moved in with Kokichi.

Arata Nitta - Health and Medicine, focusing on Emergency Care Medicine. he TAs for Prof Shoko's classes. his sister works in college admin office. has campus residence but mostly stays in the college affilitated hospital, bit of an over-worker.

Mechamaru/ Kokichi Muta - double major in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering. Another top student of his classes. Found it a bit difficult to adjust to campus life at first (not enough disability accommodation) but with Miwa's help he got around. campus dorm with Miwa.

Professors!

Gojo Satoru - graduated from top Ivy colleges, has 5 PhDs, and wrote 1000 papers and books, and is the one of the most respected physicist in the world but insists on teaching Intro-level Physics and Math. drives a Bugatti to college. highly competitive relative grading. prescribes his own books for his class. expect a problem set every day after class. gives a lot of individual attention to students tho, n is very nice in general. he'll accept a late submission if u bring him sweets. his lockscreen is prof geto?

Geto Suguru - teaches one class named Ethics, Philosophy and Law every semester. doesn't answer questions over email, only during Office Hours. great at explaining difficult concepts, his course is the one students fight to get into and say "opened their eyes". has a devoted cult of worshipping students, voted student favorite every year. his adopted daughters took a gap year to travel abroad and he talks about them in class. he always has sweets in his pockets?

Utahime Iori - teaches modules on Economics, Politics and Philosophy courses. great teacher, very clear explanations, bumps up the grading slightly (absolute grading) and is very accommodating as a prof. hates getting emails at night tho.

Shoko Ieiri - Shitty ass prof tbh but everyone takes her class cuz she gives everyone an A. teaches Surgical Anatomy. focuses on practical experience rather than theory. she has a no attendance policy and takes few very exams or assignments.

Yuki Tsukomo - Visiting Faculty, takes one super high level class Quantum Physical Theory one semester and comes back after 4 years. Independent researcher funded by the uni.

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sharp-silver4795 · 23 days ago

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Another Parent

Jeff’s Dad didn’t raise him and his and Liu’s mom tried her best. But it wasn’t enough…

CW!!: parentification, trauma, abuse, neglect

it starts with sweet moments but ends depressing as hell.

It’s kinda short? I just wanted to get smthn out, yk?

A Normal Older Brother

Liu cared about Jeff so so much.

They played outside together when they could, Liu walked him to school, helped him with homework, and did everything they could for Jeff.

However, some things may not be exactly common, but not too abnormal…

When Jeff had a nightmare, he’d run to Liu’s room and shake him until he was awake. Liu would ask if he wanted to say what was in the dream and comfort him either way. Liu would offer Jeff to sleep with him, and he would cling to his older brother like his life depended on it. Meanwhile, Liu is keeping a close eye on the door… just in case he comes in.

Liu made Jeff’s lunch in the morning when Jeff was a lot younger since elementary school started much earlier than Middle School, and then the night before when Jeff started middle school. They often made breakfast, too. Their mom taught Liu how to cook since she would be out trying to make money for the family. Liu never really minded.

When Jeff was bullied or picked on, Liu was there to comfort him. She often told him not to pay attention to them, and that they’re probably just insecure.

That’s not normal…

Liu did a lot for Jeff, especially when it came to school.

When Jeff needed a field trip form signed, and their parents weren’t home, Liu would sign it. By the time those started, Jeff was 9, so Liu was 16 and allowed to sign it.

He would take Jeff to the doctor’s office, go to teacher conferences, and buy groceries.

He worked his own job as a grocery bagger. It didn’t pay much, but it was enough…

Turned down a Scholarship

It weighed on him after awhile.

When he graduated high school- he was 16 at the time- he had a full scholarship to the University of Chicago through an immigration program.

But, once he was going to go… he remembered Jeff. He couldn’t leave him there. So, he stayed. He went to Florida State and aimed for mechanical engineering.

But he never finished it. Everything fell apart and he gave up.

Peter stopped him. He scared her into not going.

An Awakening

It wasn’t until Jeff met Toby that he found out that his childhood with Liu was not normal behaviour.

Toby told him about how siblings should act, even if he couldn’t understand how he knew.

It was an odd conversation for Jeff. It made him realise just how naive he was as a kid. Just how much the signs of Liu’s suffering whooshed over his understanding.

Divider Creds: Sisterlucifergraphics

#creepypasta #creepypasta fandom #crp #crp fandom #creepypasta headcanon #crp headcanon #homicidal liu #jeff the killer #jeff woods #creepypasta jeff the killer #jeffery woods #creepypasta jeff #jeff creepypasta #liu woods creepypasta #homicidal liu creepypasta #liu woods #homicidal liu headcanons #creepypasta homicidal liu

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elisysd · 8 months ago

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22. We watched it begin again

Masterlist - Previously - Next

Chapter soundtrack: Begin Again - Taylor Swift

“So Charles, can you talk us through your special design?” the Italian journalist asked him.

“Well, I’ve wanted to pay a little tribute to the person who supported me throughout this season. There are, of course, all the mechanics and engineers that worked on the car, both in Maranello and who traveled with us. But I also wanted to add my friends and family this year. They all contributed to make this season more bearable for me.”

“Bearable? Was it this hard for you?”

“No. I mean, it has been tough, for sure. 2022 was not perfect but at least I was fighting for podiums and victories. This year, I quickly understood that I wouldn’t be able to do that. The car was not it, that’s it. It happens and as a driver your job is to make the most out of what you have and to push the hardest you can, in hopes to extract as much performance as you can. So, yeah, mentally it has been tough to accept at first and this is why I wanted to thank them in a more special way. So here, you have my best friends who travel with me, my mom and brothers, my girlfriend who copes with me even when I’m not the easiest to be around. She has a podcast, by the way, and I can tell you it is a great one, you should check it out. And last, but not least, I wanted to add her late brother’s name, who was a big fan of F1. This helmet will be auctioned and the profit will be given to the research against leukemia.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Charles. Thank you for stopping by and good luck for the weekend.”

You turned off the tv, shocked by what you’ve just heard Charles saying. Special helmet? Tribute? Luc? His girlfriend? You didn’t understand. He had broken up with you, basically banishing you from his life. What was he playing at? Mentioning your podcast, praising you, as if nothing happened?

“Well, I think someone listened to your podcast and had a change of heart…” your best friend smiled.

“But that’s the thing… he can’t do this to me… It makes me wanna take a flight to Abu Dhabi.”

“Why don’t you?”

“And what if I do? We need to talk. We need to come clean. We need to…”

“Breathe. Yes, you’re right. You need to sort out your feelings, both of you. You need to do all of that so you can build a strong relationship. But you have what matters the most: love. And goddamn, this man loves you. And you love him too. So pack your bags, girl, I’m sending you off to Abu Dhabi.”

Securing P2 behind Max, Charles was confident. The Ferrari was easier to drive than expected on a track that wasn’t made for it. It was a surprising weekend and for the first time in a while, Charles had hope. A dangerous thing to have when you were a Ferrari driver. But it didn’t matter today. He was fully determined to finish the season on a high.

The Red Bull in front of him, Max as his main target, he put his visor down, letting himself feel his Ferrari, its power. It was now or never. The last dance. His last opportunity to conquer a win he so desperately needed. Oscar and his McLaren were right behind and he knew it would be a tough battle. The McLaren was quick and his driver talented but he had something Oscar was lacking and it was experience. Charles took a deep breath and waited until the lights went out. And when they finally did, Charles gave his best start possible, quickly coming behind Max, Oscar not far, fighting against George’s Mercedes.

But no matter how much Charles was trying to be threatening, Max was unreachable. Therefore, it was probably a better choice to manage his tires, waiting for the right opportunity to arise. Laps after laps and after a good pitstop, Charles was feeling better than ever. He had pace, he had confidence and when Xavi told him he had the fastest lap, it gave him another motivation to push.

“Verstappen only five seconds away, keep pushing,” Xavi informed him.

A look in his rearview mirrors indicated to him that no one was there and if he was looking straight ahead he could see the Red Bull getting closer and closer until he was finally in his reach. It was game on. He knew Max by heart, he had fought against him countless of times, if someone could take max down, it was him. Charles let himself be seen in Max’s mirrors, before launching his first attempt at overtaking him, to no avail. Charles knew it was pointless to try anything now but he just wanted to put pressure on his best enemy. And when Max least expected it, two laps before the final one, Charles attacked for real and managed after a tough defense from Max to finally take the lead. But it didn’t last for long as Max got him back at the first opportunity he found. But Charles wouldn’t go down without a fight and immediately pushed again. Wheel against wheel, egos crushing against one another, the air was thick in both garages, waiting to see who would come on top. Until finally, Max locked his wheels, sending him off the trail. A good save avoided him to encounter the wall but not without his front wing being slightly broken in the process.

“Amazing job, Charles! Now push!”

He god did he push. He pushed like never. Like his life was on the line and when he crossed the checkered flag, he let out a scream of relief. His ears were filled with praises but he wasn’t hearing them.

“Did we do it? Do we have it? Are we P2 of the constructors?”

“We are, Charlie, we are! All thanks to you. Splendid job,” Fred Vasseur’s words, filled with pride and emotions echoed in his ears.

Everything went by in a blur and Charles wasn’t even sure what he had said during the after race interview. By some miracles, Max had still managed a P3 but by the grin he gave Charles in the cool room, you could have thought he had won. George was P2 and when he shook Charles’ hand, he didn’t fail to whisper a few words saying how impressed he was by how the Ferrari driver had raced today.

When the podium finally arrived, Charles felt all the emotions held back all along the year come to the surface. All the late night work spent at the factory, all the disillusionments, all the hopes finally paid off and were worth it. He knew it, but when he scrutinized the crowd, trying to search for your face, forgetting briefly you wouldn’t be there, he felt a weight on his shoulders. And as soon as Monaco's national anthem started to play his eyes went up to the sky.

“I know you don’t know me and you must be mad at me for what I did to your sister, but this win is for you, Luc,” he whispered.

A champagne celebration in his garage along with his team and a shower later, he was finally ready to go partying until the early hours of the morning. Joris and Andrea were waiting for him, his bags with them, a smirk playing on their lips which drew suspicion on Charles’ side.

“What?” he asked as Andrea shrugged, avoiding his glance.

“Nothing. We were just thinking that it was a really beautiful day, don’t you think?” Joris replied.

“We are in Abu Dhabi, it’s a beautiful day every day, mate. Seriously, what is wrong with both of you?”

“Well… we have a surprise for you. To celebrate your victory,” explained Andrea, mischief glimmering in his eyes.

“No… I know what your idea of a surprise is and it is never good nor fun.”

“Believe me, I think you will love this one. Just turn around.”

When he did, it took him a few seconds to recognise you. You were there, in front of him, a long blue dress floating around your silhouette, making you look ethereal. You looked older, tired and he knew it was probably his fault. A shy smile was playing on your lips as if you were unsure of what to say. It was brief, though, as you quickly shook your head, composed yourself and glued your eyes to his before walking determinedly towards Charles who was suddenly alone.

“Y/N… I have so many things to tell you…” he started.

“Did you mean it? When you said that it was important for you to have Luc’s name on your helmet?”

“I meant every word I said.”

“Good. Good.”

A silence floated in the air.

“I’m sorry. I know it won’t erase the pain I caused you but I know the truth… You were right and I didn’t listen to you. Instead, I let Stan manipulate me.”

“It’s not only Stan, Charles… It’s everything else. What I said in my letter…”

“I read every word. Again and again. And then again, you are right. But you’re wrong about one thing. We will work out. We will find a way but you and I, we are meant to be. I don’t want you to regret us. And maybe I’ll spend the rest of my days trying to redeem myself and prove to you that you matter and that I love you, but so be it. I plan to woo you today, tomorrow and the next days. All my life if you let me,” he smiled, his forehead pressed against yours, your hands in his as he put them close to his chest letting you feel his heart beating loud.

“And how do you plan to do that, exactly?” you smiled with an air of defiance.

“I don’t know yet, but something tells me an idea is growing inside that pretty head of yours.”

You coughed, getting your composure back as you took a step back. You straightened up, smoothed your dress and looked at him right in the eyes.

“Charles Leclerc, I’m Y/N, host of a podcast about racing. Usually I only interview women but I would love to have a chat with you, around a coffee maybe, whenever you’re free. What do you say?” you asked, hand outstretched, waiting and hoping for him to play along.

“Well, Y/N, give me your number and I’ll see if I can fit you in my very busy agenda.”

And just like that, you both watched your story begin again.

Author's note: So this is it. This is the (almost) end to a story that has been tough to write for more reasons than one. Thank you for those of you who took their time to read it, comment it, like it or reblog it, it means a lot to me. But stay around for a little while, would you, there is still the epilogue. 😜

Don't hesitate to leave a comment or an ask, as well as reblogging and leaving a like. Besides the fact that I absolutely love to read you, it helps a lot for the story to find its audience. I also have a taglist for this story, so if you want to be added so you never miss a chapter, let me know.

If you wanna be part of the taglist, let me know.

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos @thirstylion @cmleitora @charizznorizz @sltwins @boherahpsody @herondalism @roseamongthorns13 @aundercover @snowflakesfluff @fictional-l0v3r @queensassybitchsworld @jehun @reengard @valntynebaby @janeh22

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jd07201990 · 1 year ago

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My car had broken down while hauling ass down a wide open, middle of nowhere road toward the city. I was passing through nowheres-ville, when the engine made this horrid clanging noise, and puttered out. I knew I should’ve paid extra for the newer rental, but this old classic seemed fun at the time! One last ride of freedom before starting my Bank job and finally moving away from this small-town living. I couldn’t wait to be gone. Luckily, or rather, incredibly unfortunately as I’d later find out, this oil stained, drawling mechanic was putting down the same road, saw me at the side, and offered a tow. He even let me ride with him to his shop. The whole way, he talked nonstop about how his daughter had run off to the city the moment she could, and only called to brag about her successes. He'd hoped she’d have stayed, and settled down with a good, hard working young man, have a slew of grand-babies, to keep the family business alive for generations. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that was my exact plan as well. That I’d been on my way out of cow-ville when the engine had blown up. So, I told him I was just going into the city to pick up some things instead. He was working on the car, when he popped his head up and asked if I was able to pay, when he figured out what was wrong. I gulped, and nodded, pulling out the insurance papers the rental place had given me. The mechanic Frowned, tossing them on a table full of tools and crossing his arms. He glared at me as he said he wasn’t about to wait 6 months for the rental place to fight their insurance, and that if I wanted it fixed, it was cash or credit only. I had neither, as I’d spent the last I had on the rental and the down-payment on my new apartment. He wasn’t thrilled when I said this, and lumbered to the door, locking it. He turned and shocked me as he pushed me off the stool I was sitting on, his boot on my chest. He told me that if I couldn’t pay, I couldn’t leave. His boot pressed down on my ribs, forcing all the air out of my lungs. I gasped, trying weakly to grip his ankle, when finally, I’d blacked out. When I finally woke, 2 years had passed, and one look in the mirror told me I was Mitch’s boy. The strapping young buck he’d always wanted. Best of both worlds, a strong worker, and a virile stud who’d provide him with a big family. Keeping the garage running, living the high life in a double wide trailer with my gorgeous fiancé, one pudgy tot at her breast, the result of a one night stand turned future marriage, and twins swelling her belly once again. Mitch says it’s a blessing to have a large family, and lots of future kin to keep the business and the lifestyle alive. Something told me Tessa and I were going to be quite busy, with me working at Mitch’s garage, and her raising many, many kids. Mitch finally got the grand-babies he was looking for, despite his daughter thriving in the City.

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avatarrecom · 1 year ago

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Sorry that I hit you, I actually love you

Pairing: Poly!recoms x Avatar!reader

Word count: 6.5k

A/N: This is the longest I've ever written lol. This story is sort of a little gift to @whxre-bxby, because I absolutely love their writing and it inspired me to write this story. I also totally did not want to write an enemies to lovers because I wanted to use the tag #foes to bro's to hoes.

There's one reason you came to Pandora. Only one simple reason. To make the people responsible for your brother's death pay. All you have is his name, the name of the man who killed your brother by ordering his helicopter to be shot down. Miles Quaritch. You will break him and everyone he cares about. You don't know how, but you will. get. revenge.

Your brother, Timmy, may he rest in peace, was fourteen years older than you and raised you from the moment you took your first breath. Your parents were even more useless than water was useless to a dead plant. Day in and day out, they were more concerned with getting high than with the two children they forgot they had. When you were four, your brother managed to become your guardian. You moved into the shitty little apartment that was the only one he could afford. Your brother insisted that you get the only bedroom. “Little girls need their own room, Butterfly,” he said before turning the old sagging couch into something that would resemble a bed.

The next few years consisted of school for you, a nine to five job for your brother and evening classes on top of that. After six years, your brother had completed his mechanical engineering degree. Shortly afterwards he told you that he had been offered a military engineer and helicopter pilot position by the RDA. But, for this he would have to go to Pandora. He told you that if he did this he would go to Pandora, his salary would be sent to you and the RDA would get you a caregiver.

And so, when you were only ten years old, he pressed a kiss to the tip of your nose, and left for Pandora. He left you in the care of a wonderful old woman, Helen, who helped you follow your dream of becoming an Avatar Driver. But after less than half a year, you received news that your brother was dead. According to the RDA report, your brother betrayed his own race by helping his fellow pilot, Trudy, free prisoners and fight the RDA. You were devastated. Your only family was gone. The RDA tried to send you to an orphanage. But Helen refused to let you go. Finally, the RDA gave up and let you stay with her. You still followed your dream of becoming an Avatar driver.

Now, sixteen years after your brother's death, you have finally arrived on Pandora.

And oh man, was it a shock when you arrived and found out you were joining the squad of the man who killed your brother. You didn't expect it to be this easy. You were supposed to meet him and his squad in your Avatar body. By now you were used to being ten feet tall, having a tail and having better hearing, sight and smell.

After changing into cargo shorts and a sports bra, you make your way to the 'Recombinant' quarters. You will find your new squad in the gym, training. You immediately spot the person you are here for. Miles Quaritch. He lies on his back on a bench and pushes the heavy weights above him. A bald man stands by his head, hands ready to take over the weights if it gets too heavy. Your gaze shifts to the other blue bodies and everyone is focused on their exercises. You see a woman with corn braids and a headband curling a dumbbell while she talks to a woman with a mohawk who is doing push-ups. To your right, you see a man wearing a bandana sparring with a man covered in tattoos. In the corner of the room, three men are doing pull-ups on the bars hanging between the walls. And finally a man wearing sunglasses 'who the hell wears sunglasses indoors' is running on a treadmill.

No one notices you because of the loud music coming from the speakers, so you knock loudly on the door behind you. Several eyes shoot your way. You feel uncomfortable with all the attention on you. "And who might you be," purrs Quaritch with a nasty grin. “Y/N,” you answer, trying not to lose your temper. Nothing could have prepared you to come face to face with your brother's killer.

Quaritch's eyes widen in realization. "You're the new addition to the squad." You nod stiffly and clasp your hands behind your back. The bald man lets out a loud laugh. "Relax, beautiful, we don't bite." The woman with the dumbbell hits him on the head and says something about men and testosterone to the other woman, who laughs in response.

Quaritch walks towards you, his posture commanding respect and obedience. "Colonel Miles Quaritch," he holds out his hand, "Pleasure to have you." You force a bitter smile and shake his hand. “I wish I could say the same.” You see everyone looking at you in shock. You give them an icy look.

Quaritch's stupid grin only widens as he takes you in. "I see, you're one of those." “One of those what,” you snap. "It doesn't matter, we'll break that behavior out of you." He steps aside and you roll your eyes so he doesn't see it. “So Y/N, meet the squad,” He gestures to the others. "The bald one is my second, Corporal Lyle Wainfleet." Lyle and the two women look at you with an almost disgusted look. "The two ladies are Walker and Z-dog."

Quaritch gestured to the men sparring before your entrance, “That's Prager and Lopez.” Bandana looks at you suspiciously and the tattooed one looks at you with a feral grin that makes him look like one of those hyenas from the Lion King. “Brown, Ja and Fike are at the bars and that's Mansk,” Quaritch finishes. "Come on guys, meet our new victim."

Quaritch gestured to the men sparring before your entrance, “That's Prager and Lopez.” One looks suspiciously and the other looks at you with a feral grin that makes him look like one of those hyenas from the Lion King. “Brown, Ja and Fike are at the bars and that's Mansk,” Quaritch finishes. "Come on guys, meet our new victim." With that he walks out of the gym. You stare hatefully at his retreating back. When he's out of sight and you turn your attention back to the rest of your squad, you see them staring at you with equal hatred.

“So,” Lyle begins, “what the hell is your problem.” “That ain't your damn business,” you reply. Lyle grins at his friends. “Women shouldn't curse,” says the tattooed man with a shit-eating grin. You roll your eyes, “Get fucked.” He blinks in surprise, but doesn't answer. You turn your back to the group and walk out of the gym.

The next few weeks were absolute hell for you. You were trained as a medic in addition to your Avatar training. You had absolutely no experience in hand to hand combat and weapons. It didn't help that your squad took pleasure in seeing you suffer. Quaritch forced you to do five hundred push-ups every morning, to run for at least an hour, and many other exercises that completely exhausted you. In the afternoon the squad would take you around and kick your ass in hand-to-hand combat. After a few days you were already covered in bruises. You already had a bruised ankle and you had muscle pain in muscles you didn't even know existed.

And of course the favorite passage of time outside of training was to make your life miserable. You lost count of how many times they 'accidentally' slammed you into the wall, how many times they 'accidentally' stepped on your tail and 'accidentally' stepped on your ankles, especially your bruised ankle. They threw the most uncreative insults at you. You simply ignored them and continued to perfect your revenge plan.

About three months after you met and three months of absolute hell, you walked to the cafeteria in your 'human body'. You were so deep in thought that you didn't realize you were bumping into someone. To be specific, a ten foot tall and blue, someone. “Oh shit, sorry,” you heard someone say as a blue hand held your arm so you could regain your balance. You look up and see that Brown was holding your arm. He tilts his head and looks at you confused. "Have we met yet? You look familiar, beautiful." Your other tormentors watch you with interest, you shiver as they sweep their gazes over your body, and you don't shiver in a good way, the way that makes you feel the heat in your core. "Wait, I know you, you're the girl of my dreams!"

You jerk your arm from his grip and scoff, “that's funny, because this feels like my nightmare.” Immediately the eyes of the blue creatures in front of you darken. “Wait, Y/N?!” Walker says in surprise. You roll your eyes and nod. Everyone's eyes widen in shock. Just as you're about to walk away, you hear Lyle, "Y/N, wait." Normally you would have just kept walking, but something in his voice catches your attention. You sigh and turn back to the Recoms, who are studying you in shock. “What,” you snap.

"Timmy was your brother," Z-dog says breathlessly. You detect a slight tremor in her voice, but pay it no mind as the rage takes over your body. “Don't say his name,” you snarl between clenched teeth. “Don't you dare ever say his name,” everything you're feeling right now is the most intense you've ever felt. Your anger is mixed with grief and sadness. You don't even realize that tears are streaming down your face. "He is dead!" you shout, unable to keep your pent-up emotions in check. "And it's all your fault!" "What's going on here," you hear an angry voice command.

In your anger you turn to the colonel, who stops slightly in his steps, thrown off by the angry tears on your face. You vaguely hear someone in the background saying that Timmy was your brother. "DON'T SAY HIS NAME!" you roar. “HE IS DEAD, HE WAS MY ONLY FAMILY, THE ONLY ONE WHO CARED ABOUT ME AND HE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!” You break more and more with every word.

Before anyone can say anything else, you storm off. Luckily no one comes after you. After rushing into your room, you collapse against the wall, exhausted. You shouldn't have gone to the cafeteria in your human body. You should have stayed in your Avatar body, then they would never have realized who you really were. Shit, if you take revenge now, they'll immediately suspect you after your public emotional explosion in the hallway. You drop your head into your hands and sigh. Then you fall asleep on the floor, completely exhausted from the recent events.

When you wake up, you are determined to continue with your plan. It doesn't matter if they actually knew your brother personally, he was your brother and he's dead because of them.

You manage to avoid your squad for a few days. You skip the daily training and don't answer when one of them comes knocking on your door. That surprises you, you expected them to be happy to be rid of you temporarily. But then again, they probably have Quaritch's orders to convince you to act like nothing's wrong. They would probably be in trouble if the bigwigs found out that they were the ones who kept damaging your Avatar body.

After about a week you appeared back in the gym in your Avatar body. The Recoms look at you without the usual hatred in their eyes. “Y/N, how nice that you're joining us, not so nice that you're a week late,” Quaritch speaks and he too looks at you without the usual hatred. You roll your eyes, “Come on, who wants to go first,” you challenge, eager to let your energy out, preferably on something that could hurt the Recoms.

Brown steps forward. You wrap your hands and walk to the mat, Brown on your heels. When Quaritch gives the signal that you can start, you jump into action. You deliver several quick punches to Brown’s vulnerable spots. Normally he would have already blocked them and thrown you onto your back, pressing his weight on your throat with his knee. Normally he wouldn't remove his knee, even if, according to the rules, you tapped the mat three times because you couldn't breathe. Normally he would only remove his knee from your throat when you almost faint from the lack of oxygen.

But this time it's different. He lets you hit him, does the minimum to block you. This only makes you angry. "Come on, fight back!" you shout. He doesn't show that he heard you, he just keeps avoiding you and doesn't do anything to fight back. "Come on! Do something!" you shout again.

Your emotions completely overwhelm you, you don't understand anything anymore. At first they looked at you with hatred and did their best to make your life a living hell, which isn't that strange since you were a bitch. Then they find out who your brother was and suddenly they look at you with sadness and pity and they are reserved, as if they didn't want to torment you anymore. As if the fact that Timmy was your brother suddenly changed everything.

With every punch you get angrier and angrier. Suddenly you see red and you snap. You get so angry that you grab Brown by the base of his queue, pull him down and slam your knee into his face. You feel his nose break and you faintly hear Quaritch yelling in the background for you to stop. It's like you're underwater, everything is muffled and you can't stop. You hit harder and harder. Brown leans on his knees and tries to block you as much as possible while also trying to stop his bleeding nose.

You feel someone wrap their arms around your waist and pull you away from Brown. You continue to fight and struggle to get out of the grip on your waist. Ja is seen kneeling in front of Brown and taking off his t-shirt to gently press it against his nose, hoping to slow the bleeding. The person with his arms around your waist roughly throws you to the ground, you land wrongly on your newly healed ankle and fall to the ground. You hold your ankle with your jaw clenched.

“What the fuck do you think you're doing?!” Quaritch sneers. Before you can answer he continues, his voice louder with each word. "Stop your pathetic crying and get out of my sight!" You rub your cheeks and find that they are damp, you didn't even realize you were crying. You carefully stand up, careful not to put too much weight on your probably bruised ankle again. You look at the others and see that they are looking at you with anger and sadness. Just before you walk out the door you hear Quaritch coldly say, "If you know what's good for you, you won't come back until I say so." With one last look at the bleeding Brown, you walk out the door.

You stumble back to the Avatar's quarters and you sink onto your Avatar's bed and close your eyes. When you open your eyes again, you are lying in the link bed. The moment the bed opens, you quickly get up and forget about your bruised ankle. For the second time today your ankle collapses. The scientists look at you, but do nothing to help you. You manage to pull yourself up and limp out of the lab. Every scientist you walk past looks at you with disgust.

The nerds refuse to help you. After yet another injury, they gave up and left you to your fate. "Good," you think bitterly, "I don't need those know-it-alls, I can take care of myself." But deep down you know that's not true, right now you need your brother more than you ever needed him after he passed away.

You manage to avoid the busy hallways, limping to your room. The moment the door closes behind you you start screaming. You blindly grab the first object you feel, your favorite mug, and throw it across the room against the wall. Then you throw the next object, the book you were reading. You almost destroy your entire room and you keep screaming until your throat is so raw that no sound comes out. You don't even realize how much time has passed.

You grab another object and want to throw it against the wall when you see what it is. A photo frame with a photo of you and your brother. God, you seemed so happy then, together in your own little world. You hug the picture frame close to your chest and sink along the wall to the floor, crying. All the grief you have built up in you over the past few years is finally coming out.

It's already dark outside when your door opens. You start telling whoever it is to fuck off, but no sound comes out of your throat. You're so tired and in so much pain that you don't have the energy to do anything about the unwanted person who comes into your room. All you can do is stare blankly into space as the tears continue to flow.

You faintly hear footsteps in your room and out of the corner of your eye you see a large blue figure crouching on the floor next to you. You feel yourself being pulled into someone's blue arms, but you don't have the energy to protest, you barely have the energy to move your eyes. The blue arms gently lay you down on your bed. Through your blurred eyes you vaguely recognize Yes. Past him you'll see Walker and Mansk trying to salvage some of your destroyed room. Then Lopez walks in, pausing in shock when he sees the state of your room. His eyes land on Ja and your exhausted form. He approaches the two of you carefully and hands Ja a white box with a red cross.

You vaguely realize that Ja is putting ice on your ankle, that he is using an alcohol wipe to clean the wounds that you didn't even realize you had. He grabs a pair of tweezers and starts removing the pieces of glass from your wounds. You feel so numb that you don't even feel the pain. The mattress moves and you see Prager sit on the edge of your bed.

He waits until Ja has cleaned and bandaged your hands before handing you a steaming mug. "It's chamomile tea with honey. It's soothing and will help with your sore throat." When you don't respond and just stare blankly at him, he puts the mug on the nightstand next to your bed.

You don't react yet until you see Ja with a syringe in his hands. You start to struggle and try to scream, but only a rasp comes from your throat. "Hey, hey, calm down." Ja holds his hands up. You curl up on your bed in the corner of your room, wide-eyed, shaking and ignoring the blood through the bandages. “Hey, read the name of the drug,” Ja says calmly and holds the bottle out to you. You relax slightly when you see that it is a sedative.

Yes, he brings the syringe with the drug to your arm and if you don't protest, he pushes the needle into your arm and allows the drug to flow into your system. Your eyes become heavy and you fall into a dreamless sleep.

When you wake up again it is still dark outside. You roll your head to the side and see part of your squad, or it's probably your old squad by now, sitting in various places on the floor in your room. A painful, rough growl erupts from your throat as you feel blades shooting through your skull with the movement of your head. Immediately seven heads shoot towards your weak form.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" you hear Ja ask softly. You try to answer, but your throat is so dry that no words come out. Prager offers you the still steaming cup of tea, you sit up a little and take it gratefully. The first sip immediately soothes your sore throat. You look at Ja and say a soft "Okay." Ja sighs in relief and runs a tired hand through his hair.

"What time is it?" you ask softly. Prager looks at his watch, "zero three hundred." ‘Did I sleep that short?’ you think to yourself 'I feel like I've been hibernating.' Prager sees your questioning look and informs you that your training session and outburst was the day before yesterday and that you slept for over twenty-four hours. In the meantime, Ja has taken care of all your injuries, both your bruised ankle, which was completely swollen and blue because you didn't treat it right away and put too much strain on it during your outburst, and all the wounds from broken glass. Apparently you sat with your thigh in a pile of glass, which is how you got a large wound on your leg.

Z-dog, Walker, Mansk, Fike and Lopez cleaned up your room as much as possible and they even had to scrub blood from the floor, walls and furniture. They threw away all the broken items and even replaced some broken items. On the small counter you see your favorite mug, the one that was the first thing you broke. Lopez says that he and Fike did their best to glue it together as best they could, but it's not how it once was.

Apparently Prager didn't help clean up and just sat by your bed. He only got up to make you a new cup of chamomile tea with honey every time the tea started to get lukewarm, so that when you woke up you could immediately drink the warm tea if you wanted. According to Walker, he made dozens of cups of tea.

There is an awkward silence. “We have something to tell you,” Prager begins. The others move closer until they sit in a semicircle around your bed. You look at them questioningly and suspiciously. “We knew your brother,” Fike mutters under his breath. Lopez jabs him hard in the side and tells him to shut up. You try to sit upright as much as possible. "What?" you rasp.

Walker reaches out to you, as if to reassure you, but her hand stops in mid-air. Finally, she places her hand next to you on the bed, palm up, as if offering for you to take her hand if you want, if you need it. "It's true, we knew him," she says softly, "we knew him one day..." she trails off a bit and looks at the others uncertainly. “We knew him on a very, very personal level,” Ja continued.

You look at everyone in confusion. The Recoms see your confused look, but don't know how to respond. "We loved him," Ja said uncertainly. Your eyes start to water again, but you wipe them away roughly, you've cried enough. “What do you mean, you guys loved him,” you demand. Yes sigh, "we met him when he arrived on Pandora, he joined our squad as an engineer and Marine." You feel a pressure in your chest and you realize that you have replaced your brother in the squad.

"It didn't take long for us all to fall in love with him," Prager explains further and the others nod in agreement, "Miles, Lyle and Brown too." "He chose to go with Jake Sully to warn the Na'vi." Your emotions rise higher and higher, not only yours, also those of the Recoms. "We didn't know he was in the helicopter with Trudy, we really didn't know, otherwise Miles would never have given the order to shoot down the helicopter." You risk a look at the blue aliens and see the grief and sadness in their eyes and realize that they really loved him.

"Can you please leave me alone for a moment?" you whisper softly. The Recoms look at each other uncertainly, but decide to leave you alone. Mansk and Walker will stand outside your door so that in case you have another emotional breakdown, they will hear and they can help you.

As soon as you are alone, you start to cry softly again. And instead of having an emotional breakdown, you curl up in a ball on the corner of your bed and cry quietly so no one can hear. You are still so exhausted by all the emotions that you soon fall asleep again.

When you wake up again, you see that it is now daytime again. You stand up, careful not to step on your bruised ankle, and you hop to the sink. In the mirror you see that your eyes are red and swollen from crying. You also have a large cut on from the bottom of your jaw to the side of your nose, right under your eye. You look like complete shit.

You struggle out of your clothes and stop when you see all the wounds on your naked body. You didn't realize it was that serious. You carefully put on clean clothes. As you carefully hop out the door, you see Mansk and Walker still standing outside the door. They ignore all the confused looks from those passing by and focus their attention on you. They look at you with concern and mild concern.

"The colonel asked if we would take you to the Recom quarters when you were awake," Mansk informs, his voice, as always, devoid of emotion. You nod doubtfully and expect him to tell you that he is sending you back to earth. Mansk and Walker walk quickly in front of you, not realizing that you can't keep up with their bruised ankle and their long legs. Walker quickly realizes that you are a long way behind them and lightly hits Mansk on the arm, signaling that you cannot walk fast. The female Recom walks back to you to offer her support if you need it, while Mansk waits patiently for you to catch up.

The two slowly guide you to their living quarters. When you finally stagger into their living room, you see the rest of the squad sitting tensely in various places around the room. Your gaze shifts to Brown, who is lying on the couch with his swollen nose in bandages. You immediately feel guilty, you shouldn't have taken out your anger and all your other pent-up emotions on him.

You hear someone clear their throat and look up at Quaritch, who is staring at you intensely. You had never been in such a tense situation in your human body around the Recoms before, they only make you feel smaller. Quaritch sighs tiredly and gestures for you to sit on the couch, after a struggle and help from Walker you finally sit on the couch.

Quaritch sits across from you, resting his elbows on his knees. "What they told you is true," he begins, "we really loved your brother and we miss him every day. If I…" he trails off. "If I had known he was in that helicopter, I would never have given the order," he looks genuinely remorseful. “Here,” Lyle says, holding out a piece of photo to you. The photo shows the Recoms, in their deceased human bodies, and in the center, with Lyle's lips on his left cheek, Brown's on his right, and Lopez with his hyena grin hanging over his head, is your brother. He has the widest and happiest smile you have ever seen on his face. You don't know why, but suddenly you're sure he loved them, you believe the Recoms. Your brother was always an excellent judge of character and if he loved them too, as you see in the photo, you believe he was happy with them.

You give the photo back to Lyle and he offers you another photo. Another photo of your brother, this time he is sitting in the pilot seat of a helicopter with a toothy, silly grin. You smile sadly at the photo and hand it back to Lyle. He shakes his head, "keep the photo, we have several copies."

“We should never have treated you this way,” Quaritch says firmly. "We didn't know Timmy was your brother and I know it's not an excuse, but I'm sure we would have been different if we had known." You laugh softly and see the confused, slightly offended look in their eyes. "I was a bitch to you and besides, I came here planning to kill you all as revenge for what you did to my brother." You take in the shocked looks, slightly enjoying it. "I don't think I'll do it again, Timmy wouldn't want to."

“You know,” Lyle begins, “Your brother told us all about you, he loved you so much and he was so proud of you.” You smile sadly. "I know." "He also said he always called you butterfly, why was that?" Walker asks. "Our parents always called me an ugly duckling, so my brother started calling me butterfly, because a caterpillar blossoms into a beautiful butterfly." It was always your most favorite nickname anyone had ever given you. “And as a kid I was always hyper and he said I was always fluttering around like a butterfly.”

You suddenly frown and turn your attention to Brown. "I'm sorry, I should never have lost my temper to the extent that I hurt you." Brown looks at you in surprise. "Seriously?" he asks angrily and you recoil. "We have tormented you for weeks, months and you apologize to me?!" he asks incredulously. "And besides, I deserved it, I think we all deserve a broken nose, probably worse."

"Absolutely not, I don't want to deal with nine broken noses plus my own, we will pay for our actions in another way." Protested Yes. Brown pouts, "but if my nose heals wrong, at least I'm not the only one with an ugly, crooked nose." You smile and feel yourself relax slightly.

The following hours and then even weeks consist of exchanging stories about Timmy. Sometimes you laugh, like your story about his baking attempt for your eighth birthday that resulted in a cake literally exploding. And sometimes you cry, like their story about how he curled up next to them at movie night, just like you always did with him.

In addition, every Recoms continues to apologize every day. Ja personally sees to it that you heal completely, while he also has to listen to Brown's whining about his nose.

You slowly warm up to the Recoms, seeing and appreciating their efforts to earn your forgiveness. But after a few weeks you also start to feel things that you don't know how to feel. Every time Ja gently holds your chin in his hand to tend to the cut on your face, you feel his touch long after he lets you go. Every time Walker deliberately walks next to you to offer you support when you need it, you can't stop blushing.

It feels wrong, falling for your dead brother's lovers. It feels wrong, but also so good. You have decided to ignore your feelings, you have convinced yourself that they will go away on their own. But you didn't know that the Recoms feel the same way. Not because you are part of your brother, but because you are simply a wonderful person.

About five months after your breakdown, you and the squad are on a mission in the Hallelujah Mountains when you are suddenly attacked by several Thanators. You scatter in different directions, hoping to get rid of the Thanators with minimal casualties. You run with Prager and Z-dog through the thick jungle, fleeing from the two Thanators who are chasing you. The three of you don't have much luck when you stumble upon atop a waterfall on the edge of a high cliff.

You look around in panic, looking for a way out as the Thanators get closer and closer. "We have to jump!" Z-dog shouts. "WHAT?!" you shout back. "JUMP!" she shouts again as she grabs your hand and pulls you off the cliff. You scream all the way down to the lake at the bottom of the waterfall. Fortunately, the Thanators do not follow.

When you finally manage to get to the beach at the edge of the lake, you see Prager lying on his back in the sand, chest heaving. “Prager, are you okay?” you ask worriedly, slipping into the role of medic. Prager gives a tired thumbs up, "Let's never do that again." You hear sputtering behind you and see Z-dog walking onto the beach, her mohawk hanging wet in her face with a pissed off expression.

The two of you plop down on the sand next to Prager and let your clothes dry in the sun. After a while you hear sounds in the jungle, sounds that are getting closer. Prager and Z-dog are immediately in a crouching position. Prager pushes you behind him as he and Z-dog point their guns in the direction the sounds are coming from. "You don't think the Thanators found us, do you?" you ask nervously.

Then the rest of the squad bursts onto the mini beach. Quaritch sighs in relief when he sees the three of you. “Thank god, I thought something had happened to you guys when you didn't come back,” he studies you carefully, “why are you guys so wet?” Z-dog explains what happened and the rest look at you in shock. Quaritch walks over to you and gently takes your chin in his hands. "Are you OK?" he asks worriedly. You nod reassuringly. Quaritch sighs in relief and rests his forehead against yours.

“Thank god, I was worried about you my love,” you look up abruptly when you hear the nickname. Quaritch himself seems shocked at what he called you. You see the rest of the Recoms with the same look, until Fike breaks the silence, "why are we surprised, we all already knew we fell for her?" Lopez sighs in annoyance, "Yes, but she didn't know that."

"You guys fell for me?" you ask in shock. Quaritch rubs his neck uncomfortably. “Yes, we know it's weird because of your brother, but we can't help it.” "And the biology of the Na'vi is different, we can't control ourselves if we find someone attractive." Ja explains.

In addition, every Recoms continues to apologize every day. Ja personally sees to it that you heal completely, while he also has to listen to Brown's whining about his nose.

About five months after your collapse, you and the squad are on a mission in the Hallelujah Mountains when you are suddenly attacked by several Thanators. You scatter in different directions, hoping to get rid of the Thanators with minimal casualties. You run with Prager and Z-dog through the thick jungle, fleeing from the two Thanators who are chasing you. The three of you don't have much luck when you stumble upon atop a waterfall on the edge of a high cliff.

You look around in panic, looking for a way out as the Thanators get closer and closer. "We have to jump!" Z-dog shouts. "WHAT?!" you shout back. "TO JUMP!" she shouts again as she grabs your hand and pulls you off the cliff. You scream all the way down to the lake at the bottom of the waterfall. Fortunately, the Thanators do not follow.

When you finally manage to get to the beach at the edge of the lake, you see Prager lying on his back in the sand, chest heaving. “Prager, are you okay?” you ask worriedly, slipping into the role of medic. Prager gives a thumbs up, "Let's never do that again." You hear sputtering behind you and see Z-dog walking onto the beach, her mohawk hanging wet in her face with a pissed off expression.

Their eyes slide over your body with interest as they see how your body reacts to their confession. And this time, when you feel yourself shivering, you also feel the heat pooling in your core.

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