#i have 3 hours to do each lab for perspective and i usually take like 2 hours

[muirneach]

just finished my lab in an hour and everyone else is still like halfway through… gonna be embarrassing if i dont get good marks on that

[supercorpkid]

It’s called agony, honestly.

Part 3 of T is for Trauma - The Series

Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader

Word count: 2510.

Warnings: All aboard the angst train.

Notes: This is happening at the same time of part 2, but from a different perspective.

Previously on the series – part 1, part 2

“Guys, I brought dinner!” Kara yells going into the kitchen and Lena walks in a while later. Kara is setting the table and already has a potsticker in her mouth, she looks behind Lena. “Where’s our little moody teenager?”

“I don’t know. I just got home.” Lena goes to Kara and they kiss, lovingly. “She’s probably in her room, on her phone, trying to ignore us. Is it weird that exactly when she turned 16, she started being moody?”

“It took her long enough.” Kara smiles, then kisses Lena one more time. “I’ll go check on her, don’t touch my potstickers.” She points at Lena with a smile, who rolls her eyes in response. Kara runs to your bedroom, and knocks on the door. “Hey, kid. Food is here.” No answer. “Kid! Come on!”

When she doesn’t hear anything back, and doesn’t see you inside with her x-ray vision, she opens the door unceremoniously to investigate inside.

“Kid, that’s not funny. Where are you?”

When she finally realizes you’re not in your room, she comes back to the kitchen, looking confused with her furrowed brows. Lena looks back at her.

“She’s not home.” Kara announces it. She used her x-ray vision; she is sure you’re not around.

“What do you mean she’s not home? It’s really late.” Lena points at the clock, like Kara doesn’t know it’s way past your time to be home. She then goes to the refrigerator to look at the calendar on the door. “Was there something at school? It’s not on the calendar.”

“Not that I know of. She doesn’t have training today either. Did you see her at L Corp today?”

“No. I had to ask them to stop letting me know when she was there, remember?” Lena looks back at Kara who looks like it’s seconds away from panicking. “Just call her. Maybe she’s distracted with something.”

Kara takes her phone out of her pocket and tries calling you. No answer.

“She’s not picking up.” Kara is now on the verge of a breakdown, and Lena knows it, just by how her eyebrows look.

“Keep trying. Let me call Jamie.” Lena goes to the living room where her phone is, and Kara follows her closely, phone still on her ear, as she is trying to call you again. “Jamie.”

“Hey, aunt Lena.”

“Hey hun, is your cousin with you?”

“uh…No?”

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“When we left school. Why? Is everything alright?”

“Did she tell you where she was heading to?”

“Yeah, she was going to L Corp to talk to you. Why? What happened? Did you two talk?”

“No. But do you know the reason for the conversation?”

“I mean, yeah, but… I think it’s best if you and aunt Kara talk to her first.”

“Ok. Well, thank you, Jamie.” Lena hangs up and looks at Kara ready to pass the information along, but Kara already heard everything.

“I’m going to L Corp. Keep trying her phone.” Kara flies out the window and Lena tries to call you and texting you a few times.

It doesn’t take long, maybe a little more than five minutes, for Kara to call Lena again with news.

“She’s not at her lab, and I asked around L Corp and she hasn’t stepped foot in here today.” Kara's heart is beating incredibly fast, and her hands shake so much she almost drops her phone a few times. Lena sits on the couch at home, her own heart going crazy, and she allows herself to have the same reaction Kara is having. Something is wrong. She was trying to ignore her mother's sense, but now she can’t anymore. They don’t talk for a full minute. “Lena. What do we do?”

“The watch.” It’s like they even forgot about all of that. Lena runs to her laptop, while Kara looks at her own watch to see your location in it. She doesn’t even take the phone out of her ear. “She’s close.”

“Yeah, I’m tracking her on the necklace’s GPS and it seems she’s around L Corp.” Lena agrees, and Kara uses her super speed to get to you. But, it’s not you.

“Lena…” Kara bends down to grab both the watch and the necklace from the ground. “It’s on the sidewalk, both watch and necklace together.”

“What? She never takes off the necklace.”

“I don’t think she took it off.” Kara flies high, phone still in her hand and glued to her ear. “Call Alex, go to the DEO, I’m going to fly around to see if I can locate her. I’ll see you there in a few.”

When they talk again, it’s already on the DEO. Alex, Brainy and Lena are all there. As soon as Kara lands and Lena doesn’t see you with her, she starts crying. Kara goes to her and hugs her, trying to calm her down, but it’s hard when she is fighting her own tears.

“We’ll find her.” She whispers on Lena’s head and turns to Alex, waiting for good news.

“Maybe you should try flying around the planet?” It’s Alex's suggestion and Kara breaths heavily, knowing there’s no good news yet.

“I did. Twice.” She looks at Brainy. “Any portals to different dimensions were open today? Any readings on fifth dimension magic?” Brainy has already denied both options. “If someone took her, they have kryptonite. Any luck on that lead?”

“Still looking into that.” Brainy says and goes back to the computer. Alex gives a couple of steps towards your moms, holds Kara’s arm, squeezing it lightly.

“We’re going to find her.” Alex says reassuringly. She then goes to where Brainy is, leaving Kara and Lena alone to talk.

“Do you think she-she…” Lena’s lips are trembling, her hands are shaking so much, and there are so many tears her entire face is wet. “She ran away from us?”

“No! Lena, no!” Kara says, grabbing each side of Lena’s arms, and she shakes her head in denial. “No! She wouldn’t have left everything in the middle of the sidewalk like that. Not the necklace.”

“But she was so upset yesterday, and it’s our fault. Kara! Kara, it’s our fault. We let our baby down.” Lena sobs desperately. “What if she wanted to leave? What if she doesn’t want us to find her?”

“Hey, hey. That didn’t happen. I know she was mad, but she wouldn’t ditch everything on the sidewalk like that, she would’ve left it home or… Lena, love. It was just a stupid fight; she wouldn’t run away from us.” Kara says, but it’s not how she really feels, she is just saying that to reassure your mom. In her heart she knows they let you down. “And you heard Jamie, she wanted to go to L Corp to talk to you. So she couldn’t be that mad-”

“She might have changed her mind.” Lena says before she’s finished. Kara looks down, and then around. She breaths deep a couple of times knowing that if the two of them get desperate at the same time, nothing will get done.

“Lena.” Kara holds her tight. “I think I would rather have her run away from us and be safe, than the scenario I’m playing in my mind right now.”

“You don’t think I have that scenario too?” Lena tries to let go of her embrace, but Kara keeps her in, protectively. “I have every scenario playing in my head. I have everyone who could harm her listed in my head, and I-I should’ve figured out a way to put a microchip inside her. This is all my fault.”

“Love, we’re going to find her.” Kara kisses her forehead, and that makes Lena cry even harder thinking that’s how they sooth you. “I’m going to fly around again. Maybe I missed something.”

“Please. Kara, please, find our baby. Please.” Lena asks desperately and Kara’s heart shrinks even more.

“I’ll do whatever I can, love.” She kisses Lena, and yells at Alex on the other side of the room. “Find every building made out of lead. I’ll burst into every single one of them if I have to.”

“We’ll cross data with readings of Kryptonite.” Alex answers and Kara leaves right after.

“Tell me how I can help.” Lena asks both of the DEO agents, aggressively wiping her tears away. They both look at her with pity in their eyes.

“Lena-” Alex starts, but your mom doesn’t let her finish.

“Alex, don’t. Your daughter is home, safe and sound. You’re not allowed to do that, to look at me like that!”

“Little boxes, comrade.” Brainy jumps in, trying to help. Her eyes are filled with tears instantly.

“No offense Brainy, but there isn’t a box big enough for this. Just-Just please. I can’t sit around and do nothing. Please, tell me what to do.” She pleads in so much agony, Alex can’t ignore it.

“Come here.” Alex sits her in front of a big screen. “Kryptonite usually leaves a signature, but it disappears after a few hours. Jamie was the last one to see her, and that was after school. So, we’re having a hard time scanning for kryptonite. Brainy is looking at lead covered buildings, I’m looking into surveillance cameras on the way to L Corp. Can you keep scanning for kryptonite?”

“Yes. I’ll do it.” Lena goes back to the computer. Hearts jumping in her chest in anticipation.

She has to find you. She has to tell you that you were right. She promised she would be at your science fair, and she should’ve left everything and everyone behind, and kept her word. You’re the most important person in her life. No business deal is worth having you disappointed at her. And you were right, she was being selfish. She gave you a lab at L Corp to have you around her, while she could work at the same time. That wasn’t fair to you, it wasn’t quality time, since her mind wasn’t there with you. She has to find you. She has to apologize; she has to hug you and tell you she loves you. She has to.

“Alex, tell me you found something.” Kara comes back to the DEO after a few more rounds around the planet. It didn’t take her long to do so, but lucky for her, Alex has new leads.

“Surveillance camera.” Alex points at the big screen in front of them. Kara sees someone throwing you inside a van, and dropping your belongings on the floor. “You can try to find the van, there’s too many places with lead around here.”

“I’ll try that first, but keep going on the lead hiding spots.” Kara looks at Lena before flying away again. She is not crying anymore, but her eyes and face are still red and puffy. Kara wants to stop and comfort her, but she can’t, not unless she finds you. Until you’re back in their arms, there’s nothing she can say or do to comfort your mom, or herself.

Kara flies out again, knowing what to look for now. It takes her a while but she finds the van dumped on the side of a dark road. She opens the van with so much anger, the door comes out in her hand, leaving a hole where it used to be its place.

You’re not inside. There’s no one inside. Kara grunts in frustration and holds the bottom of the van, flipping it over in agony.

She can’t believe she hasn’t found you yet. She feels her heart squeezing in her chest and tears falling without her consent. It’s her fault you’re missing, that’s the only thing in her mind right now. If she wasn’t Supergirl, if she hadn’t pissed off so many people in this life, you wouldn’t be in this situation. She knows, by looking at your face in the video, that you were in so much pain because of kryptonite. There you were, in pain, and where was she when you needed her again? Why does this keep happening? Why can’t she ever protect you? This is all her fault, it’s all her fault. Kara’s heat vision explodes the van, while her mind plays tricks on her.

She flies high in the sky to look around. There is no place around where you could be, they ditched the van to trick her.

“Kara, get back to the DEO now.” She hears on her earpiece and she sure never flew so fast in her life before.

“What is it?” She asks appearing before them, out of the blue, making all three of them jump in surprise.

“The van?” Lena asks and Kara’s response is a head shake in denial.

“Dumped on the side of the road.” She looks at Brainy who’s currently looking for a way to focus on something in his tablet. “What is it?”

“Caught a message.” He says mysteriously. He puts whatever is in his tablet on the TVs in front of them. “It could be from anyone. It’s morse code.”

“Does she know morse code?” Kara looks at Lena who shrugs her response.

“It says. G-O-T. L-I-L-1.” Brainy looks back at them. “Does any of that means something to you?”

“It’s her.” Kara says, feeling her heart jumping in her chest. “Little one. It’s her.” She looks back at Lena. “Lena. It’s her!”

“What does G-O-T mean? Any idea?” Alex asks, going to her own tablet.

“I don’t know.” Lena sits in front of the computer again, typing furiously to find out. Everyone is silent for a few minutes, until Kara opens her mouth. “KARA, if you say Game of Thrones, I swear to GOD-”

“The van.” Kara looks at Alex, and then back at the message. “The van was on the road to Gotham.”

“Gotham.” Lena stands up fast. “Our baby is in Gotham.”

“Kara, wait!” Alex manages to hold her hand just in time before she flies away. “If they took her, they have Kryptonite, you said it yourself. You can’t go alone. You need a team.”

“Alex, the more she is exposed to Kryptonite, the less chance she has to survive.”

“I know. Brainy call J’onn! Kara, let me get some heavy armory. Supergirl doesn’t kill, but Agent Danvers sure does when someone messes with her family.” Alex says leaving everyone behind. Brainy is already talking to J’onn. Kara looks back at Lena, hearing both of their hearts jumping in anticipation.

“Supergirl might kill.” Kara mumbles with so much anger, it sends a shiver through Lena’s spine.

“Honey, listen to me.” Lena holds her arms. “I hate them just as much as you do, but don’t do it. Get our daughter, bring her home. That’s it. That’s the only thing you have to do. Let everyone else care about whoever did this to her.” Kara reluctantly agrees with her head. “This is your only mission. Bring our baby home.”

“I promise.” Kara brings Lena’s hand to her mouth and kisses it, gently. “I’ll bring our baby home if it’s the last thing I do.”

[mariaiscrafting]

Cishet dnf stans are without fail just super gross about it. I've cultivated my tumblr sphere to be so queer that I genuinely forgot how terrible cishets are about mlm ships they deem "attractive". Cishets making homophobic "jokes"........bro that's just homophobia.

I feel like that's so much easier on Tumblr anyways since Tumblr is so disproportionately queer. I can actually stand to follow Dream stans (*cough* looking at you Angel *cough*), George pfps, and some DNFers here because they're mostly queer. Probably the main reason I stopped using Twitter was actually because of all the cishet DNF shippers. I think there's just something about being queer that makes you more understanding of comp het, queer fetishization, being treated as Other, being psychoanalyzed like a lab specimen, and being potentially outed. Subsequently, queer shippers are simply less likely to take DNF shipping a step too far...

There are lots of ways in which cishet shippers take it a step too far. One common thing is fetishization. Contrary to popular-anti belief, not every shipper is fetishizing mlm relationships. But a lot of them are. Fetishization is contingent on a foundational belief that one is consuming media about a certain romantic/sexual dynamic because they find it attractive. To fetishize is to treat a ship as Other, as lesser or more or weirder or "special" or whatever. If one wouldn't treat a het relationship the same way as they do the mlm relationship they're theorizing about, gushing about, drawing about, writing about, etc., then one should reexamine the reasons one is even shipping them, because the likely answer is fetishizing reasons. Another way shippers take it too far is their creepy fascination with all the intricacies of DNF. Like, the analysis of every voice inflection, every mention of the other, every moment they're together, every smile and laugh and facial expression. It's so beyond creepy. This isn't how you treat real life humans. This isn't how you treat people you respect. This is how you treat fictional characters, or toys, or specimens you're curious about. It's absurd.

But those are all things I've talked about a hundred times on this blog. I'm glad I have been able to, too, because it seems so impossible to get through to Twitter DNFers compared to Tumblr DNFers, partially because of the character limit and partially because of what mcyttwt stan culture is like (stubborn, hardheaded, overly protective, significantly more obsessive, etc).

Regarding homophobic jokes... I think a lot of cishet shippers think they can't be homophobic if they are shipping an mlm pairing. Because if you're so open to gay people that you ship them, how could you possibly be homophobic? Isn't that the opposite of homophobia? To that, I respond the same way I respond to cishet men who claim they're not lesbophobic because they like lesbian porn and white people who claim they're not racist because they have black friends and men who claim they're not misogynistic because they love their daughters or wives; bigotry is not solely enacted upon with explicit hatred. Bigotry can manifest itself in many ways, and in the 21st Century, most often that is in subtle ways that implicate one's own view of minorities/oppressed groups as distinctly "Other." You can have a fascination, love, or adoration for an oppressed group, and still be bigoted against them. Love /=/ the inability to be racist, homophobic, sexist, etc. A failure to accept criticism and recognize one's own propensity for homophobia will only lead to making the same homophobic remarks/jokes, failing to eradicate one's own subconscious beliefs that led to one's homophobia (e.g., comp het), and stagnation in one's personal growth.

And yes, if you can’t understand how treating DNF like this obsession, this other-than-human idealized fasion, is homophobic, then you are one of these subtlely bigoted people, and I am begging you to pause, step back, and self-reflect, please.

As always, the usual disclaimers apply. First, not all cishet DNF shippers cross a line in their shipping. If you read this and you don't know if this applies to you, it's important for you to pause and reflect on your manner of shipping. Recognizing when we do wrong is the first step in eradicating homophobia and fetishization. Second of all, for those who don't know what prompted this ask, here is a link to the half-joke post of mine from a few hours ago. Third of all, I am never an expert on any of the discourse I engage in. I'm simply providing my opinion. Fourth of all, this is not meant to be hateful. Yes, I come from a place of extreme frustration and exhaustion towards cishet shippers, but I still think there is capability for growth within the mlm shipping community. I am a DNFer, just a queer one; I read DNF fics, I love DNF art, and I watch DNF compilations. I, too, gush whenever Dream and George act fond of each other. I'm not an anti; I just like to criticize the communities I am a part of because I love the spaces they provide for me and want them to grow and improve through self-reflection and critical analysis. Positive change always starts from within.

Anyways, if you're interested in my other random rants about related issues: here is one of my original takes on DNFers crossing lines they shouldn't and dehumanizing DNF for their own enjoyment, here is a more general take of mine about reading into DNF dynamics with empathy, here is my thing with fetishization (thank you Angel for the input), and here is a long-ass post with queer perspectives on DNF shipping (thank you Xen for the input).

As always, reminder to blacklist /neg or #discourse if you don’t want to see posts like this from me. Take care of yourselves <3

[hahanoiwont]

Okay, hear me out: Sans gets a job as a physics professor on the surface.

I hear uni professors are super lazy.

okay tbh I think Sans would be like. a great and terrible professor. let us explore this idea let's play in this space

like his first year teaching. horrible. He's used to being a cryptic little gremlin and now he has to give away information? all of the time?? that's supposed to be a good thing??? no. He doesn't take it seriously and the students complain about how he's always late, his lectures are so obscure as to be meaningless, and he seems more interested in making fun of them than teaching.

Then I feel like maybe he gets a baby post-grad student who tracks him down from half a country away. They've read his extremely niche paper. It sneaks in clever but not mean-hearted academic mudslinging at the old stagnants in the field. It makes groundbreaking points from a unique perspective. It's positively made of jargon but the jargon is explained concisely and understandably. Baby postgrad has stars in their eyes--they had the exact same idea (it is not the exact same idea. but to their credit it is close and they would have gotten there if they knew more about magic) and he explained it so well. He's a genius, they say. Can they please sit in on one of his courses. any of his courses. They'll be a TA if he promises to read over this paper they've been writing, it's not done yet but they think it could really be something and he's the only person in the field to legitimize their theory...

Sans is not into this at all. He's a little weirded out, honestly. Or, he's trying to be. But also, he does remember being a baby physicist who wanted his physics idol to notice him...so sure, he'll throw them a bone. They can put in all of the work for organizing his classes and grading things and all, and he'll get coffee with them and talk theory once a week.

More fool him. Sans is microdosing on being a professor.

Baby grad student talks in their office hours about their "lecture hour" with prof sans and how he was actually just explaining something to do with... and to Sans's chagrin, people start actually attending his coffee hour. And then they start bringing their homework questions to coffee hour. And then x student has work but can y student record... and then Sans's lessons have just moved to a coffee shop. He is still teaching his class he's just not doing it when he's supposed to. There is an email chain going around with recordings for each lesson, and since Sans has never bothered with taking attendance, his coffee lessons quickly become his main curriculum, while his alleged lesson times are just times when his TA previews the material with the students and Sans makes jokes.

Reviews become mixed. About 6 students swear by his classes and will rearrange their schedules any which way to be in his class next semester. At least a dozen have dropped his class and refuse to take another from him. Baby grad student is actually getting somewhere with their research, which Sans absolutely did not expect. He starts actually using the lab time he was given to work with them on that, and since everyone knows prof sans doesn't care if you walk in or out of his classes, a couple of undergrads filter in to poke at diagrams and try to understand what's being said...boom. lab section of the course. It's not remotely covering the same information as, say, physics 101, but the students are getting experience and gaining confidence in a lab environment. And you're only allowed to skip lab safety if you have a provable ability to evade or survive multiple kinds of explosion and acid burns, so they learn lab safety, too.

I feel like at this point Sans's classes are less actual courses and more really informative interest clubs that students join for credit. You sign up, disregard the course information listed, and if you ask leading questions he might explain a particular theory or branch of pretty much any scientific discipline (since monsters have like 3 scientists, they try to cover everything). This works great until Sans gets annoyed with having to explain calc 2 a million times because someone has obviously failed in educating his undergrads. It's just in the name of efficiency and therefore laziness that Sans proposes a remedial study group.

So. Twice a week, prof Sans will teach physics 101, and once a week a rotating schedule of math, chemistry, or a handful of other subjects on request. If nothing is requested, he will do stand-up or magic tricks for 2 straight hours and then go home. (sometimes students organize and agree to not prompt him for anything so that they can see the show. it's pretty good stand-up and very good magic tricks). Twice a week, his undergrad duckling will cover mostly remedial calc and help with homework for whatever science/math class they can. Baby undergrad is finally hired by the school and no longer paid in food and research tips (some of which are cash but most of which are advice) from Sans. Sans is still allegedly teaching several courses, which he usually covers the material of; but only when cornered, bribed with coffee, or at the expense of one (1) joke. Most of his classes are just study groups under his or their own loose direction.

Strangely, this does seem to help students discover their own interest in the material, since it feels much more based in what they want to learn (because they have to put so much effort into getting their professor to actually teach them). Students take his courses for a laid-back semester, but actually end up learning a lot of diverse skills and shortcuts in a variety of fields. Sans is absolutely not preparing them for any kind of curriculum, but he is creating baby scientists in much the same way as he was taught--here is All of Science, what do you want to learn? We'll fill in the backlog of what you need to know as it comes up.

Magic allows for fascinating demonstrations, not only of how things work, but how it would look if it didn't work, or worked differently. Gravity is a universal favorite because Sans will sometimes let students jump from irresponsible heights and experience zero gravity for a while. Conservation of mass and energy has him summoning things out of thin air. When astronomy comes up, he'll take them out and let them use his own telescope to see exactly how this theory was first observed, or what it looks like when that theory comes into play in such and such a way. So Sans does not get fired for being a horrible professor. It's generally understood that any freshman who took Physics 101 with Professor sans M.S. may not have any idea what they were supposed to learn, but he turns out competent scientists who are willing to testify that he's the best thing that's ever happened to their science education.

Anyway I think Sans would end up as a wonderful professor--despite his best efforts.

[peonybane]

Agape and Pragma: Chapter 3

Pairings: OT7 (BTS) x Reader

Word Count: 4.5 k

Genre: Hybrid AU, Fluff, Angst, Sci-Fi, Crack (?), Smut (eventually)

Chapter Specific Notes: Fluff, Crack (?), Suggestive, a little bit of Angst

Summary: Your entire world had be torn asunder by just one lab test. Time heals all wounds, but does it really? What will it take to feel whole again?

Hybrid Types: Peacock Jin, Serval Yoongi, Golden Retriever Hoseok, Gray Wolf Namjoon, Great Dane Taehyung, and French Lop Eared Rabbit Jungkook… with one more to come.

a/n: It’s Sunday somewhere. Anyways, this story is broken up into two different perspectives: Reader’s and Yoongi’s. I hope you all enjoy this one. One more boy to introduce and the real fun begins!

<— Previous (Chapter 2)

After your nightmare, things were… awkward. It happened all too soon. It wasn’t like you were hiding your issues— it just never really came up. So to have your issue exposed in that way, well, it made it hard to face your two new roommates. Jin didn’t really help with how he wasn’t quite sure how to act around you. If anything he tried too hard to take the attention away from you and onto himself. Which would honestly be alright… except that you would begin to feel second hand embarrassment. He always tried to make you laugh. Like when you all were talking at breakfast— you, him, and Hoseok— he’d tell stories about work from the previous night. It always got you and Hoseok howling with laughter. Every once in a while though, he’d tell a story about a child. Halfway through, he’d get self conscious and try to backtrack… which only made the awkwardness even worse.

Yoongi on the other hand went out of his way to make it seem like nothing happened. He still gave off this elusive aura that all wild cats had. It was in the smaller things that made you wonder if he was also being, well, awkward about the whole situation, but in his own way. On the days you were working at home, laptop balanced on your lap and editing your authors’ manuscripts on the couch in the living room, it wasn’t uncommon for Yoongi to leave for work then comeback several hours later, you seemingly not having moved from that spot on the couch, too in the zone to do anything else. On those days, Yoongi would bring you an extra water bottle from the kitchen or would loudly announce that he was hungry and wanted some suggestions from you on what he should eat, often pulling you out of the zone and realizing that you were indeed, starving. When you’d finally look up from your laptop screen, and your gaze fell upon Yoongi, you’d find that his posture was alert and almost… on guard at these times, as if he wasn’t sure how to broach a subject with you.

This state of utter awkwardness finally broke about a month into Jin and Yoongi staying at the house. Well, that wasn’t entirely correct, it changed to a different, much less painful awkwardness. 

You had just finished getting dressed into your cocktail dress, getting ready for the quarterly work dinner. Director Bang always insisted that once a quarter, as many editors and authors as possible should all go out to dinner, to mingle, to network, and perhaps discuss potential story ideas in a semi-casual environment. Since this dinner had more RSVPs that usual, Director Bang decided to make a party of it, booking out a party room at a fancy hotel. 

Giving yourself a once over in your mirror, actually quite happy with how you looked, you left your room, ready to deal with whatever was thrown your way. Well… almost.

You had just closed your bedroom door when you heard yelling. Panicking a bit, you rushed down the hall to where you heard the yelling coming from. Your steps were heavy, trying to jog in short heels. You reached one of the bathrooms. Mid stride, the door was thrown open to expose a very wet and very naked Jin. “Yah! What was taking you so lo—“

You yelped, jumping a bit. Both you and Jin froze, staring at each other. You tried desperately not to look at his body, but your gaze fell upon his shoulders, down his toned and slightly scarred arms, then the trail of iridescent blue and green hair starting at his bellybutton caught your eye. Before you could help yourself, your eyes followed that trail. 

Jin reacted a bit too slowly, trying to cover up his crotch with his hands. But the damage had already been done, the words already sputtering from your lips.

“You have a penis!”

“Yes, and I’m quite attached to it, you know. We’re in separable.”

The pun was completely lost on you, your face blushed as your brain tried desperately to reboot itself. No footsteps were heard until Yoongi (the damn cat) was already practically on top of your two, with towel in hand. “Stop prancing around naked, you peacock.”

The sexually frustrated part of your brain whispered, cock instead.

Jin shot him a deadly look as he stopped trying to hide the monstrosity between his legs, to grab the towel and wrapped it around himself. Your gaze shot up to the ceiling, feeling very, very embarrassed. After all, the thing hanging between his legs was just as big as he was. And just as pretty. “It’s not my fault, Tae used the last of the clean towels.”

Yoongi sniggered, gummy smile peaking through. Jin turned his attention back on you. He teased, “Yah! What did you think I had? A cloaca?”

If it was possible, you had turned even redder, making Jin smirk. “Ahhh. I see. I just happened to be lucky enough to be born with entirely human genitalia. Unlike some of our roommates.”

This earned him a shoulder smack from Yoongi. Jin yelped and the two started arguing. Not that you heard it. Instead, your attention was grabbed by how red Yoongi had flushed. You had never seen him look so embarrassed before. Nor will you probably again. It was rather adorable actually.

Once they had both calmed down, Yoongi cleared this throat, turning his attention to you. You mused that he wanted to the avoid the subject of his penis around his female roommate. “You look very nice. Going on date?”

Looking down at yourself, you had completely forgotten that you had dressed up. “Oh!”

You looked back up at them, shaking your head. “No. This is for work. My boss does these quarterly dinners for editors and authors to mingle. I can’t get out of this one though. He’ll hound his editors if he doesn’t see you at two consecutive dinners…. Guess where I’m at?”

This got a chuckle out of them. Jin asked, “Anyone joining you? Want one of us, namely me, to come with?”

You shook you head, after you’ve picked your jaw off the floor. “No. Believe me, the only person I’d bring with is Liam. I’ve tried taking Tae and Hobi. I’ve had to pull a few of the men chasers off of Tae and the son-in-law seekers off of Hobi. Those ladies would have a fucking field day with you.”

Jin pouted while Yoongi smirked. “Well, if you need a ride home, just call me up.”

“Thank you, Yoongi. I will.”

You waved goodbye to the both of them as you made your way downstairs. You shook your head, trying to get that image of Jin out of it. At the bottom of the stairs you heard a whistle. “Damn, hot mama, who’s the date?”

Hoseok was sipping on a glass of water, his hair mussied up from his post-phone-conference nap. You giggled as you made your way over to your purse. “Not you, too.”

He looked at you as if you had insulted his child. “What? Can I not ask why my roommate is looking hotter than usual?”

You gave him a hard look as you checked that you had everything. “It’s the quarterly dinner. Bang got us a party room at a hotel that requires a dress code.”

“Ahhh. Well, have fun. I most certainly will as I will NOT be evaluated like a prized bull being put up for auction. Geez ladies, leave me and your daughters alone.”

You pouted to cover up the giggle that was threatening to escape. “Don’t wait up. Bang is probably going to try to add another author to my list. Make sure that Tae doesn’t stay too late to grade with Jimin. You know how they get this time of year.”

“Will do. They’ll probably go out to drink or something after work. Have fun, hot mama. Knock ‘em dead.”

You waved farewell as you headed out the door. Now it was time to fight rush hour traffic on the way to the hotel. Great….

^~^~^~^~^ 

Just standing in the hotel lobby alone made you feel like you had underdressed, despite being explicitly told by your immediate manager, Sejin, that a cocktail dress was more than formal enough. Just how much did Director Bang invest in this little soiree? After asking the concierge where the BigHIT publishing company party was, you led yourself over the elevator, waiting for it to return to ground level.

Not a moment later, a rather tall man joined you. He towered over you, looking very sharp in his suit, a tad bit overdressed. A salt and pepper bushy tail caught your attention. You glanced up at his face to see a pair of sharp black ears sat on top of salt and pepper hair. His eyes were sharp and when he noticed you looking at him, he shot you a dimpled smile. 

Oh fuck, no. Not dimples. Hoseok tortured your enough with his own little ones. These ones were even more torturous, being far more prominent.

You shyly nodded, both of you acknowledging the other’s presence. When the elevator dinged, announcing its arrival, he stepped to the side, “Ladies first.”

Nodding your thanks, you entered the elevator. He soon joined you. You pressed the button for the fifth floor. He did not press any. Instead, he inquired, “The BigHIT publishing party?”

“Oh. Yes. I’m an editor there. You?”

“Author.” He offered his hand. “I’m Namjoon.”

You took his hand, shaking it as you gave him your name. His hand was warm, reminded you of Hoseok and Taehyung a bit, their temperature higher than most people’s. He cleared his throat and he let go of your hand. “It’ll be nice to know a face other than Mr. Bang’s and my current editor.”

Giggling a little, you replied, “Well, I can guarantee that you’ll get to know quite a number of people. First party I take it?”

He hummed as he nodded. Just then, the elevator dinged, letting you know that you had arrived on your floor. Namjoon held his hand out for you to go first. “Ladies first.”

You smiled and nodded your thanks before stepping out; Namjoon was close on your heels. You both made your way down the winding hallway, getting closer to the light music and chatter. Namjoon opened the door for both of you and as you went to thank him, you heard Director Bang call out your name.

Both you and Namjoon turned to see Director Bang head your way. You met him half way. The older man was like a father to everyone working under him: very gentle but also firm, his word was final. Director Bang gave you a brief hug, muttering about how much he missed you and hardly ever saw you. Finally, he turned to Namjoon taking his hand and shaking it. “And it’s so good to see you again, Namjoon. Or should I say R.M. Kim?”

Namjoon blushed as your jaw dropped. R.M. Kim? The R.M. Kim? He was sort of a legend within the company itself, no one except his manager and Director Bang having ever met him, never mind actually seeing his face. No one has. He quickly became a best seller with just his debut novel alone called, Forever Rain. His second novel called, Reflection did just as well. Despite all of his success and popularity, he refused to be on camera or be interviewed. 

“It’s good to see you again, Director Bang.”

Director Bang’s smile grew. “I see you’ve already met our one and only science fiction editor. I was hoping to introduce her to you for your next book.”

You looked over at Namjoon with large eyes. “Oh? You’re looking into expanding into science fiction. Were you not enjoying slice of life?”

“I, uh,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “actually wanted branch into something different. But also focused more on what I went to school for.”

Director Bang started leading you two towards one of the tables. Once there, the three of you sat down. Your full attention was on Namjoon now; he piqued your interest as most of your authors started out in science fiction, realized they weren’t cut out for it and switched over to something or quit writing all together. It was interesting coming across someone else who wanted to go the other way. “Mr. Kim—“

“Namjoon.”

You swallowed, continuing, “Namjoon… what did you study exactly?”

Director Bang waved over a waiter as he watched you two talk with a knowing gaze. “Medicine, actually. I specialized in Hybrid medicine. I take it you’ve read Reflection?”

How could you have not? You snuck read it after Liam had reread that book almost a half dozen times in the span of two months. Liam never told you why he loved it, almost he was embarrassed about it, but after reading it, you figured out why: it was written like a diary about a doctor traveling the world, trying to figuring out himself and what role he played in the world. It has caused a sharp rise in high schoolers pursuing Hybrid medicine degrees and people going out on missionary missions of sorts.

You simply nodded. “Yes. It was hard to read at times, it felt way too real.”

Namjoon sheepishly smiled. “Ha. Well, that’s because it was a diary. My diary to be specific.”

“Wait. You’re telling me you went through all of that?”

“Some of it is exaggerated.”

You leaned back in your chair. You both had ignored Director Bang, who proceeded to order you all drinks. When the waiter returned with the drinks, you absentmindedly took a sip. It was bitter and strong, but there was a certain sweetness to it. You grimaced. Director Bang just chuckled. “See you still can’t drink that well.”

Flushing slightly, you just made a face back at him.  He laughed before standing up, drink in hand. “Well, I got to go say hello to some other. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about you two.”

Just as he was about to walk off, Director Bang turned back towards you two, calling out your name. “I’m surprised you didn’t bring any of your roommates. I was hoping to verbally spar with Liam again.”

You chuckled nervously. “Well, you know why I couldn’t bring the Trio.”

Director Bang nodded, rolling his eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“And, uh, well… Liam’s married and is living in India, now.”

He gawked at you. “Married? The forever bachelor?”

You couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yep. And she’s amazing.”

Blinking a moment, he cleared his throat. “Well, looks like I owe Mr. Sejin that bottle of scotch.”

You tilted your head curiously. At that he had enough shame to look guilty. “We may have had a bet about whether or not you’d end up with Liam.”

It was your turn to balk at him. Before you could stutter out a reply, Director Bang walked off, laughing to himself. As soon as your brain rebooted, you looked over at Namjoon. His ears were at full attention, his brow knit together as he muttered. You leaned in, hoping to hear him. “Liam, Liam, Liam, Liam….”

He started a bit as he looked up at you. “Arzt? Liam Arzt?”

You gasped a bit. It took you a moment, but you laughed, smiling at him. “Yes. How do you know the infamous Liam?”

Namjoon smiled back at you, dimples showing through. Those damn dimples. “Liam and I studied at school together. We went into the same program afterwards, too. For the most part, we were sent to different parts of the world. I thought I had heard something about Liam getting married.”

“That’s— that’s interesting that we never met before through Liam. I went to the same university. Though I studied Astronomy, not pre-medicine.”

Namjoon chuckled, smirking a bit as he took a drink. He muttered something but you didn’t hear it very well, sounded something like, of course he didn’t introduce us. “I’m sorry, Namjoon. Did you say something? I missed it.”

He swallowed, setting his cup down. “Nah, it was nothing important.”

The conversation flowed easily between the two of you as he explained his plans for his next book he was hoping to call Moon Child.

^~^~^~^~^ 

You and Namjoon has separated a few times to socialize with others. Mostly because some of your authors wanted to talk to you in person. Though, you’d often have to leave them behind as Namjoon was surrounded by a gaggle of husband chasers and son-in-law snatchers. You found yourself swooping in a few times, grabbing him under the guise of helping him with his next novel. 

While Namjoon would do his best to quickly give them an apology, these ladies would send you dirty looks, sizing you up. It’s not the like this was the first time they had looked at you like this. After all, you’d been the sourpuss constantly raining on their parade when it came to them trying to devour men whole. 

Liam could handle himself. While he wasn’t hideous by any means, he wasn’t drop dead gorgeous either. Which both Taehyung and Hoseok were. And unlike Taehyung and Hoseok, Liam was willing to get nasty and make sure that none of those woman would approach him again that manner (this usually took the form of him making some sort of remark regarding Sejin’s ass or inquiring whether or not they thought he’d be good in the sack). Your sweet boys on the other hand didn’t have it in them. After the failures with your two more outgoing roommates, you wisely chose never to introduce shy Jungkook to this pack of hyenas (figuratively, of course). 

As a thank you, each time Namjoon would bring you over a drink. Even though you were pacing yourself, you found yourself slowly getting drunk as the night progressed, having completely forgotten that you were your own ride. You were having too much fun talking to Namjoon as he spoke excitedly about his story, about life, about everything really. 

The night started winding down and it was soon only the two of you and a few stragglers. A waiter came over to you and asked you to leave the party room, the party having run well over the allotted booking time. Sheepishly, Namjoon escorted you out of the room and to the downstairs lobby where he led you over to a pair of plush seats. He left you alone for a couple of minutes, coming back with a water bottle for you. He sat down beside you as you took a sip.

“You staying anywhere nearby?”

You shook your head. “Nah. I’ll just have to call one of my roommates to come get me. But I’m having too much fun here with you.”

Namjoon smiled as you pouted. “As lovely as that would be, I think you need to go home.”

You pouted some more like a petulant child before finally pulling out your phone. You called Yoongi. A few rings later, he answered. “Finally. Taehyung has been bothering me to call you.”

You started giggling. You could hear Jungkook and Taehyung scrambling in the background to try to hear your conversation as much as possible. “Yoongs… pwease come get me. I ended up having soooooooo much fun with my new friend that I ended up dwinking too much.”

He sighed, but you could almost hear the smile behind it. “Fine. Hang tight, I’m bring Jungkook along so your car doesn’t stay over night.”

“Thank you, Yoongs.”

Right before the phone clicked off, you could hear Taehyung ask why couldn’t go. You giggled again as you pocketed your phone. Namjoon was smiling as he watched you. You blushed a little looking away. “Sounds like you got some great roommates.”

“Yeah… they’re awesome. Yoongi’s so sweet for volunteering to come get me. He’s such a grumpy cat, but really, he’s a sweetheart.”

If it was possible, Namjoon’s eyes softened even further. There was something else in his gaze that made you sober up a little. “It’s late. I don’t want to keep you up. I’ll be fine. You head home.”

Namjoon leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Well, you see, I actually live here at this hotel. So really, it’s like you’re waiting in my home.”

Your eyebrows knit together. “You staying from out of town?”

“In a way, yes. But really it’s because I can’t seem to find a place I like. You know, I wrote most of those two books while I was traveling. In the past year, I’d been hopping around from different headquarters of W.H.H.O. (World Hybrid Health Organization). Finally, a few months ago, I resigned. Haven’t figured out where I wanted to end up quite yet.”

It was silent between the two of you for a short while. Well, except for the night concierge trying to stay awake by walking around the lobby. You broke the silence, clearing your throat. “Why don’t you stay with us?”

“What?”

“We have plenty of room. There’s plenty of space to write. There’s always something going on. I mean after all, you did mention that you like working in spaces that feel like they’re alive. Believe me, this house is ALWAYS alive. And there’s plenty land to explore since the house backs up to a greenbelt and forest. It’s perfect!”

The excited gleam in your eye startled him a bit. Just as he was about to open his mouth to reply, he was interrupted by a familiar, excited voice. “Shortstack, are you trying to add another roommate to the house?”

You couldn’t help the shameful look that colored your cheeks scarlet as you looked up at Jungkook and Yoongi. Jungkook was doing a rather fine job at looking at you like he was disappointed if it wasn’t for the fact that Yoongi stood behind him, smirking. Their usual roles somehow reversed. “But Koooookie.”

Jungkook laughed, making his way over to you. “Damn, Shortstack. It’s been a good while since you’ve been this drunk.”

You made a face at him as he helped you stand up. You stumbled a little, the quick change causing you to feel dizzy. You landed against Jungkook’s chest and he wrapped his arms around you. You couldn’t help but nuzzle him— he just smelled so good and well, you were still a little drunk. Jungkook laughed. “You are so drunk.”

“No, I’m not. You’ve seen me hammered.”

Jungkook couldn’t help but concede. He loved it when you nuzzled him like this. His attention was stolen from you as Namjoon coughed. You both looked his way. Namjoon stood and held his hand out to shake. “Hi. You must be one of her roommates. I’m Namjoon.”

Jungkook took his hand, shaking it. “Jungkook. Thanks for taking care of our drunkard over here.”

They let go. “It was no problem. In fact, she saved my ass a few times back there.”

Jungkook laughed before looking down at you. “Well then, you little drunkard. How about we get you home and into bed?”

You nodded quickly. Jungkook placed his hand on the small of your back as he turned his attention towards Yoongi. “Who do you want to ride with? Me or Yoongi?”

Before you could reply, Yoongi said, “You take her. I wanna walk around the hotel a little before heading home.”

Jungkook hesitated, but shrugged his shoulders. “Suit yourself. Come on.”

Jungkook started leading out the hotel. You paused a moment. “You have my number. But really, consider it. We’d love to have you, Namjoon.”

He smiled at you, his dimples poking through. “Definitely, I’ll think on it.”

You returned his smile and allowed Jungkook to lead you out the car.

**^~^~^~^~^ **

As soon as she and Jungkook were out of sight, Yoongi said, “Long time no see.”

Namjoon laughed. “No kidding. Who would’ve thought we’d run into each other like this.”

The both of them gave each other a hard look before Yoongi broke into a gummy smile, which Namjoon couldn’t help but return. Namjoon pulled Yoongi in for a bro hug. Namjoon laughed out, “It’s so good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you again too.” 

They pulled away from each other. Namjoon retook his seat and Yoongi took his roommate’s. “Tell me, what you been up to, kid?”

“Work, traveling, writing. The usual.”

“How long are you the country for this time?”

The smile on Namjoon’s face fell. “Permanently.”

Yoongi’s brow knit together. “Did… did something happen?”

“Yeah….But I can’t— I don’t want to remember.”

Namjoon looked at him with pleading eyes— and there was something else there that Yoongi had never seen before. Yoongi also knew him well enough from college that it wasn’t wise to press; he’d share when he was ready. Otherwise he’d just shutdown and it would get worse.“Fair enough.”

There was a pregnant pause. “You going to take her up on her offer?”

“I— I don’t know.”

Yoongi eyed him suspiciously. “Is it the fact that you smelt five male Hybrids on her?”

Namjoon stiffened. He continued. “You know there’s nothing to worry about. None of us are involved with her.”

“Bullshit. I smelt pheromones on her. Her’s and a few others’. And don’t tell me you don’t smell them. There’s no way you could’ve missed it coming from Jungkook just a moment ago.”

Yoongi rubbed the back of his neck, sighing a little. “I forgot that you’re nose was the strongest. I’ll lay it out straight then for you. There is nothing going on. Just because we’re part animal doesn’t mean that we aren’t human first and foremost. We respect her and her boundaries. No matter our feelings.”

“Then what about her’s? I know female pheromones when I smell it.”

Yoongi let out a defeated laugh, leaning back in his chair. “How do I put this delicately…. Remember how Jin would run around the apartment naked?”

Namjoon nodded. “Well, try imagine being a female with something like Jin surprising you. Never mind that, from my understanding, you’ve not been intimate with anyone for something like three years. I don’t think even a Tibetan monk could resist Jin’s naked charms.”

This time, Namjoon couldn’t help but laugh. Yoongi knew he struck something within him. “Fair enough, fair enough.” 

Once Namjoon had calmed down, Yoongi coolly said, “Seriously though. You’re more than welcome to move in. I know she’d love it.”

“Would she— or any of you for that matter— want someone who’s so broken?”

Yoongi dryly laughed. “You’d fit right in. More than a few of us are broken. What’s one more?”

Namjoon clenched his jaw before turning his gaze back on Yoongi. “Could I sleep on it?”

As always, reviews, comments, asks, and tags are always loved! ~Peony

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[sweetwritertanya]

Dormant Heart

Author’s Note: Hi! So, this is the story I asked you guys if it was okay to write an original character. Since no one opposed, I decided to keep it like this. As always, it’s from a chubby reader’s perspective and it will probably be like a 3 or 5 part series. Hope you like it.

Summary: It’s been two years since the zombie apocalypse happened. You and your older brother were in a safe city, readjusting to how life was now. When a newly infected male is transferred into the cells that you are in charge of surveilling, something unexpected happens. Something that will change everything.

Warnings: just a bit of swearing. It’s mostly exposition and fluff.

Word Count: 3303

You were making your way to your room after a late lunch when you heard the heavy rusty gate being open, meaning a team was arriving from the outside. You stopped apprehensively, your eyes scanning in hopes of seeing the familiar face you worried about. A smile took over your features as you saw your older brother at the head of the group.

Running up to him, you noticed the rest of the team pulling in a big chest with three locks surrounding it, something heavy inside it.

“John, you made it!” you exclaimed happily, still keeping an eye on the chest as you stopped in front of your brother. “What’s that?”

“Well, nice to see you too, Y/N. And no, I wasn’t heavily injured while I was away, thank you for your concern” he teased. You rolled your eyes at him but inspected his form to make sure he wasn’t lying. “And that’s a Dormant. We found it stuck underneath the bridge that fell last week.”

“Oh, that’s rare. Not a lot of Dormants left” you recalled.

“Never mind that, how is the job I got you at the kitchens?” he asked you, putting an arm around your shoulders and walking with you to the rooms, probably wanting to go and rest in his room too. You bitt your lip in guilt and he noticed. An angry sigh escaped him and his arm fell from your figure. “You’re fucking kidding.”

“It’s not my fault” you started to defend yourself, but he wasn’t having it.

“When is it ever your fault, Y/N? You can’t be in the lab because you’re not a scientist. You can’t be a vigilante because you have bad eye-sight. You failed at the exercise tests so you couldn’t be a scavenger. Now you’re telling me you couldn’t even farm and cook in the kitchens?”

“I was doing just fine, but they kicked me out for giving food to the children” you explained, trying to appeal to his heart.

“As they should! You know we have a very limited food supply, we need to preserve the most amount of food possible. They would have eaten when it was time to, like everyone else.”

“They were hungry, John” you persisted.

“But they are alive, Y/N.” He looked disappointed at you. “I don’t know if you’re too naïve or too dumb to understand this is no longer the world we grew up in.”

With that he reached his room and entered, leaving you behind, looking hurt as he closed the door on you.

The infection outburst happened two years ago. Like the virus that it was, it spread way too fast and way to aggressively for people to be able to fight back. What started with a few people worldwide becoming bizarrely numb, they soon became super strong flesh-eating monsters that no one would ever dare to call human again.

The chaos that ensued was tragic. A single bite from those horrific monsters turned people into one of them, if they didn’t take the time to eat your brains out after tasting you. It was estimated that about half of the world’s population was contaminated, about a third had died already, eaten by the zombie-like creatures, and the remaining were secluded in safe built cites, like the one you were in. Well, those were the estimations when communication was still available. That had ended about a year after.

You never really gave much thought to what would happen to you if a zombie apocalypse happened. Mostly because you didn’t believe one would ever occur, you were sure it was just something made up for movies and books. All made believe and scientifically impossible. Which is why, when your small town was attacked, you would have been dead if it wasn’t for your brother. He was the one who protected you, and later the one who tried to teach you how to fight. You learned self-defense against monsters, but you were not a fighter. Your plump body was not made for running around attacking and smashing the zombies as you went.

You were in your room, a book on your lap that you avidly read. People found them useless nowadays, but you treasured them ten times more than you did before. They were now your only source of diversion, taking you away from the awful world you were now living in. A knock on your door called you attention and the door was opened before you even responded.

“Y/N, get off your ass. I got you a job” your brother informed you. “You can bring that stupid book, you’ll probably need it.”

You were frowning heavily, but were also intrigued by what job could possibly require a book. You followed John out the building, through the city and gasped when you realized where he was taking you, on the most outskirts of the town, underground.

“The cells?” You questioned.

“Yes. Mike, the guard here, wants to become a scavenger. He grew bored of being here all day. So, there’s an opening for you.”

Holding the book tightly against your tummy, you scrunched up your nose when your brother opened the underground metallic gate, locking it again behind you both and leading you through the hallway. It was musky and dirty smelling from this point on.

John introduced you to Ralph, the other guard you would be rotating shifts with guarding the cells down here. It was 12 hours each time, but at least you had peace and quiet. No one reprimanding you, no one controlling you and you had more than time to read all your favorite books.

“Just keep an eye on them and feed them. You can do this, right, Y/N?” John looked at you with big expecting eyes, his voice filled with concern. “I’m running out of options here. I don’t know what else to find you if you don’t make it here.”

“I can do it” you assured him, feeling guilty about how much of a bother you were to him sometimes.

You were handed a gun and some spare bullets, just in case. You knew how to shoot it, but truly hoped you never would have to. John and Ralph left you then, the latter promising to be back twelve hour later. Someone would bring you food not only for yourself but the prisoners in the cells as well.

Getting acquainted with the space, you started to slowly walk the corridors with the cells on each side. Your heart was beating strongly in your chest, your body highly aware of the gun resting against your hip.

There were quite a few Dormants in the cells. They had gotten that name from the state they always seemed to be in – dormant, numb, latent. They were infected people that had not yet tasted human flesh. Scientists had discovered that the virus, once in its victim’s system, would lay low until the first bite of human meat. Only then would it take over every system in the human body, shutting down almost all internal organs and ceasing all the brain activity except for what kept them moving with desperate for another taste.

Dormant zombies had not yet reached the second phase of the disease. They didn’t have the super strength or unnatural hunger the other zombies had. Mostly, they just stayed put in a spot, moving occasionally because they still had humanly body needs and needed to eat, drink and such. But they were not really humans anymore, their heartbeats slowing down to an almost complete stop and their brainwaves being just short of a vegetative state. They weren’t completely harmless either. If a non-infected human stood to close, the virus would press them to attack, beginning the second phase.

Scientist were trying to find a cure without success ever since the beginning. These Dormants were essential for their research, being the only way they could test their antidotes. Although the full-infected zombies were believed incurable, the Dormants may still be savable. And could help in the discovery of some kind of preventive vaccine against the virus.

So far, no Dormant had survived the solutions the scientists had come up with.

At the end of the corridor, away from the other Dormants, was the new one your brother and his team had brought the day before. You noticed it was a man, with dark hair and light skin. He was wearing a red sweater and some dirty denim pants, no shoes. You couldn’t, however, see much more of him since he was crunched down in a ball, hugging his knees up to his chest, turned to the wall rather than to the metal bars that kept him encaged.

There was a chair against the wall opposite his cell for you to sit. The new Dormants were always more heavily surveilled than the other ones. Sitting down, you found the chair a bit small for you voluptuous booty, but leaned back until you found a comfortable position and opened your book where you had last left it.

Soon you were completely sucked in the story you were reading, gasping at any twist you didn’t see coming and laughing at the funny dialogue between the characters. During a particular funny scene, you laughed a bit louder than usual and it echoed against the walls, making you look up to remember where you were.

Immediately you froze, something catching your eyes. The Dormant had moved. Still hugging his long legs against his chest, he was now turned in your direction, making it possible to see his facial features. He looked to be in his mid to late twenty’s. You took in the strong square jaw line, the full small lips, a straight nose bridge, the dark brown hair grown past his ears with a long side fringe almost covering his big hazel colored eyes. Glazed over eyes, due to the virus.

You shifted uncomfortably in the chair, but tried to ignore it. He probably wasn’t even really looking at you, but rather just in your direction, absent minded like Dormants were. You tried to focus back in the words of the page you were reading, but it wasn’t really working. You glanced back up and you could have sworn he was looking straight into your eyes, but that would be completely abnormal behavior.

“I must be losing my mind” you mumbled lowly, sighing heavily.

You decided to move from the chair to the ground, where you could sit more comfortably against the wall, bringing your chunky legs up so you could rest your book against your thighs as you read. Just to be sure, as you still felt uneasy, you looked up again and there it was. Hazel eyes looking right at you, even when you moved down from your chair.

A sudden knock on the gate at the end of the corridor made you jump in surprise. Realizing it was probably just someone bringing you food, you got up and unlocked it, thanking the woman who brought the cart with all the trays of food.

Making your way through the cells, each one had a small rectangular hole you could open up at the end of the door so you could slide the food inside. You had a metal stick you could use to shove the trays in, for safety, but none of the prisoners moved at your actions, so you didn’t have to use it.

At the last cell, you saw the man was still on the opposite wall, but again his eyes seemed to follow you. You pushed the food inside and went to get your own tray, feeling starved already. You sat again on the ground, the tray on your big thighs with your legs stretched. The man had not moved.

“You should eat” you found yourself saying. “You were beneath that bridge for at least a few days, you need to eat or you’ll end up just dying.”

To anyone else it would seem like a waste of time, talking to a Dormant. They wouldn’t hear or acknowledge you, much less respond to your words. Still, the fact that they looked so very human even after being infected made you pity them. They were stuck between human and monster, but everyone already treated them as the latter.

“Aren’t I silly? Talking to a Dormant? Might as well talk to the wall…” you mused to yourself, biting a piece of cabbage from your plate. “Maybe I should try and make some friends, apparently I’m lonelier than I thought.”

Not that you haven’t tried, making friends here. But everyone seemed to look at you with disparagement, no matter what you did. Most people looked at your chubby body and labeled you as a gluttonous supply eater, when you honestly tried to eat just as little as the other people, even if it made you hungry just a short time after.

“Then again, with this job, I won’t have time for friends” you concluded, still looking at your plate as you spoke. “I’ll be here the whole day, just going out to sleep. Should I just make friends with you, then?” You chuckled sarcastically.  

A noise caught your attention and you raised your head in time to see the Dormant nod, taking a piece of bread into his mouth, his eyes once again set on yours. He was now next to the cell’s metal bars, having moved from the wall without making a sound you could notice.

You gasped, your fork falling on your tray as you stared open mouthed at him.

“D-Did… Did you just nod?” you asked in a whisper, completely taken back.

The man didn’t answer or made any movement at your words, just kept chewing his bread and looking at you. Anyone else would have just thought it was all in their mind, that there was no way this infected person responded to your words. But you had nothing but time to kill, and persistence was your middle name.

“You… You are looking at me, aren’t you?”

As if to prove it to yourself, you set your now empty tray on top of the chair and moved around in the room, amazed as the glassy eyes followed your figure.

“Why are you different?” You wondered, crossing your arms and keeping a safe distance from the boy in the red sweater. “Is it because you were bitten recently? Are all newly infected like this? Gosh, I really wish I was a scientist right now, or at least knew enough about this disease to have some answers.”

He grabbed another bite of the bread, slowly munched on it, keeping his eyes on you.

“Maybe I should ask my brother when my shift is done” you pondered. But thoughts of him calling you naïve and dumb came across your mind, yelling at you for not knowing something as simple as this. “No, no. It’s probably normal. Yeah, I’m sure in just a week or so you’ll be like the others in here” you convinced yourself.

But he didn’t. Every time you came to do your shift, the man’s eyes would set on you and, without you noticing due to how silent he was, he moved closer to the cell bars. You ended up having to use the metal stick to move his food to him, since he was so close.

You decided to talk to him. Such an act had two main objectives to you: prove to yourself that he was, in fact, still a Dormant, for he never talked back or recognized your words, and to entertain yourself in the long hours of this job. Although you still brought a book with you every time, after a few hours your eyes would start to hurt and the light would dim outside. Talking with him - or, more precisely, at him – was strangely soothing. You were able to recall the time before the zombies showed up, the friends you had, your parents…

John never liked to talk about them or how life was before. It hurt him too much. Even though it hurt you too, it hurt more the fear of forgetting them. So, finding someone to talk to about them was liberating.

You talked with him about school, college, fears and dreams you had before the apocalypse. You shared your fears and dark thoughts, knowing you wouldn’t have to worry about someone else finding out about them. Around the sixth day of talking to him for hours at a time, something unexpected happened.

“Yeah, so John talked to Ralph and got me this job instead. Now here I am. Oh, Ralph is the other guy who comes here, by the way. Not sure you know.”

You were laying in the middle of the floor, looking at the dark ceiling, as the mute man ate and gazed at you. You had now gotten used to it. A random thought made you sit up straight, turning your head towards the Dormant.

“Speaking of names… I haven’t even told you my name, have I? Not that it matters anyway, but I told you so much about myself that it feels weird that I never told you my name. I’m Y/N.”

You laid back down, sighing at how meaningless these interactions were, if you could even call them that.

“I wonder what your name was. And where you came from. I mean, you must be from another safe city, you were only bitten about two weeks ago. What were you doing in the bridge anyway?”

“… Y/N.”

You gasped. Jumping back at the unfamiliar sound and moving as quickly away from the cell as possible. You looked wide-eyed and panting at the boy across the bars, unbelieving of what just happened. Your right hand hovered above your gun, bringing you some sense of safety.

“W-What? D-Did you… Did you just talk?” The thought sounded ridiculous based on all the information gathered on the virus the last two years. And yet…

“Y/N” he repeated, and this time you saw his lips move as the breathy voice echoed in the room.

He moved to stand up as well, making you push yourself further into the wall behind you, panic thoughts making your hands shake. Was he no longer Dormant? Had he eaten human flesh somehow? Was he able to break through the cell? Was he about to kill you now?

Instead, the boy just stood up, glassed eyes taking your fearful state. And you could have sworn you saw him frown with worry.

“No fear… Y/N.”

“Oh my fucking God” you exhaled, falling to your knees and bringing your face to your hands. “You can talk. You can actually talk. D-Did you always… Do you talk with Ralph too?”

What you thought would forever remain in the confidence of this room, believing the man could not repeat, or even hear, the things you told him, was now something you worried about.

“No. Y/N… only Y/N” he assured, voice still breathy and raspy as if he hadn’t used it in a long time.

“Why? And since when ha-” your questions where stopped when a loud knock was heard. You looked scared at the metal gate. “Fuck. It’s Ralph, for his shift.” Looking back at the glassy hazel eyes that always followed you, you realized there was nothing you could do now than hope he kept your confessions to himself. “P-Please, don’t tell him anything of what I told you, okay?”

He shook his head.

“Only Y/N” he repeated.

You nodded and, with a racing heart, made your way to the gate and opened it for Ralph. You tried to act normal, handing him the keys and gun before leaving until your next shift.

You were absolutely certain you would not rest at all after what just happened.

[yellowcanna]

Two Sides, Same Coin

Summary: Since the beginning of Quirks, Yokohama has announced independence from Japan and closed itself from the rest of the world.

To this day and age, no one knows what lies within the city of Yokohama—or that was what the public was made to believe. In reality, Yokohama has long fallen into the control of the world’s largest criminal organization known as the Port Mafia.

Follow Class 1-A as their principal organized a field trip to Yokohama! In their short trip there, they must change their perspectives and learn exactly what it means to be justice and what it means to be villains.

Rating: T

Genre: Crossover, hint of shounen-ai (boy love)

Pairing: Contains mild Soukoku (Dazai x Chuuya) and Shin Soukoku (Akutagawa x Atsushi) if you squint

Author: Canna / Yellow Canna

Available on AO3!!

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CHAPTER 14

STRAYS (NIGHT 3: TUESDAY)

This story has been beta'd by Momentary_Flight, Nanami_ontheShore, Shady Spades

Dazai sat comfortably in his seat as he looked towards the stage, his eye meeting a pair of sky blue ones. Bathed within the red light, nobody noticed the faint trail of a crimson glow slowly disappearing from the singer’s body.

Chuuya was smiling at the crowds and even talked to some of the audience that ran too close to the stage despite the line of waiters holding them back. Somewhere in the back, someone even threw him a can of beer, which he caught with ease before waving in that direction.

The man down there was like a star shining brilliantly in the night sky.

Yet only Dazai knew that, right now, every movement Chuuya made was carefully calculated. No matter how he stood or where he was seemingly looking towards, he made sure that Dazai was well within his sight. Despite how relaxed he may look, there was no question that the Executive would spring into action the second danger towards his boss was detected.

Chuuya walked off the stage, tossing the microphone to Tachihara who took his place.

The music picked up again, pulling the crowd's attention away from Chuuya as the redhead made his way back into the VIP section.

As soon as Chuuya returned, Dazai dismissed the guards around him, leaving the space for only the two of them.

The brunet patted his knees, but the redhead stopped right in front of him with his arms crossed.

“What’s wrong, Chuuya?” Dazai blinked his large, chocolate brown eye at his lover expectantly. “You were so docile before!”

“You want to see how docile I am?” Chuuya gritted, cracking his knuckles to loosen his joints.

“You never know who might be watching, we need to keep the act up!”

“There’s no one watching,” Chuuya retorted.

“They could from that giant hole in the wall.”

“You mean that?” Chuuya huffed proudly as he gestured towards the wall he had thrown the League of Villains through. The hole was already filled up by broken pieces of bricks, smashed together and squeezed into the hole until not even the smallest gap could be found.

“Uwaah…” Dazai made a disgusted face. “I bet interior designers all over the world are crying in joy that Chuuya didn’t become a construction worker.”

“Hah?!” Chuuya felt a vein on his forehead throb. It was a miracle his veins haven't popped yet. "I'd like to see you do better, you shitty—mmh!”

While the Executive was distracted, Dazai reached up, a nimble finger hooking onto the silver ring on the redhead’s choker, and pulled him down. Chuuya stumbled as he fell over Dazai, but he swiftly put a knee between his boss’s legs and a hand on each side of the brunet’s head to stop them from colliding.

Chuuya moaned into a pair of lips that smothered against his, with a wet tongue slipping into his mouth without any warning. Rough, calloused hands caressed his hips before they slipped under his tank top to feel his abs.

The redhead shivered at the touch before pulling away.

Dazai didn’t stop him. He just sighed in disappointment and licked his lips that were moist from the shorter man’s saliva.

“You know, Chuuya.” He looked up to the redhead who was fixing his clothes despite how it didn’t matter since they were in a club and the other wasn’t in his usual suit. “Maybe I should demote you and have you become my personal dog. That way, I can have you on my lap day and night.”

“I would like to ask the boss to please reconsider, as the Port Mafia cannot afford to lose a valuable asset such as Chuuya-sama.”

The boss and his right-hand man turned to see an elderly man making his way up the stairs.

“Ah, Hirotsu-san,” Dazai greeted cheerfully, “did you enjoy your vacation?”

“It was quite eventful.” Hirotsu bowed to his boss before turning to Chuuya. “Your performance tonight was spectacular, Chuuya-sama.”

"At least someone appreciates my effort," Chuuya moved to stand by his boss's side. 

“Well then, tell me about your reports, Hirotsu,” the Port Mafia boss said as he got comfortable in his chair.

Hirotsu reached into his coat and pulled out a large yellow envelope. Chuuya stepped forward to take it before passing it to his boss.

The first thing the two of them saw when Dazai pulled out the papers was the picture stapled on the first page. She was a young girl about the age of six or seven with bluish silver hair, crimson eyes, and a horn on the right side of her forehead.

“I have confirmed that the Shie Hassaikai is indeed creating a drug capable of destroying Quirks. The drug is created using the flesh of Chisaki Kai’s adoptive daughter, Eri.”

“Flesh?” Chuuya raised a brow. “So it’s a Quirk?”

“Yes. The girl’s Quirk is to rewind the time of living beings.”

"Which means with proper adjustments her Quirk can directly attack the virus within the host's bloodstream and completely erase the virus from the body without damaging the body itself," Dazai hummed as he flipped through the documents.

“It is quite similar to the vaccine first created when Quirk began to appear,” Hirotsu nodded.

“But now, those vaccines will only kill them,” Chuuya pointed out. “Since the second generation, the bodies of those outsiders started to merge with the virus and now it is part of their genetics. There's no way of reversing that process without killing them.”

“Yet this girl can rewind the time of the genetic structure of the body to separate the virus without taking their life.” Dazai smiled before his eye snapped to Hirotsu. “How far along is the development of this drug?”

“I would say at eighty percent," Hirotsu replied. “The current drug created by Shie Hassaikai can only temporarily remove a host’s Quirk for six to seven hours.”

“And?” Dazai tossed the documents onto the table. “Surely you’ve brought me the finished product.”

Hirotsu bowed before setting a black briefcase onto the table. He unlocked the case with a finger scanner then swiftly keyed in the passwords.

The case unlocked with a light click.

Spinning the briefcase around, Hirotsu laid it down and opened it to reveal five syringes. Each syringe was within a vacuum-sealed bag and filled with crimson fluid.

“During my infiltration, I had taken some of the incomplete drugs as well as some samples from the girl and brought it to the laboratory yesterday evening. These are the completed versions that the lab has created.”

“So they only needed one day to finish what Shie Hassaikai had been trying for years,” Chuuya snorted. Organized crime in the outside world is getting worse and worse as the years go by. It was also stupid of the Shie Hassaikai to sell the drug when it was still incomplete. Did they think they wouldn't catch unwanted attention? Or were they that confident in thinking they were the only ones capable of creating the drug just because they had the material?

Dazai reached forward and took out one of the syringes. He squinted his eyes to get a closer look at the drug inside. While the colour was the same as blood, the density was closer to water’s.

“Have these been tested on Ability users?”

"No," Hirotsu replied. “According to the head scientist, this drug only targets the body's DNA which the viruses reside in.”

“That I’m sure.” The brunet agreed as he put the syringe back into the case. “But nevertheless, we can never be too careful. Give these to Ryuunosuke-kun and have him test it out on Ability users. If by some miracle it does have the power to destroy Ability…”

Dazai’s eye narrowed, losing the warm light it held before and took a colder, crueler quality.

“Kill the girl and burn the Shie Hassaikai to the ground.”

“Yes, boss.” Hirotsu bowed. Recognizing his boss’s dismissal, he took his briefcase and headed off to complete the first task he was assigned since returning to work.

Chuuya watched Hirotsu leave before looking over to Dazai who was lazily flipping through the documents scattered on the table while humming a light tune.

“You seem pretty happy,” the redhead noted.

“Can you blame me?” Dazai grinned at his right-hand man. “It’s been a while since someone dared to blatantly scheme in front of me like that, especially when the schemer is as easy to read as an open book. I can’t help but play along~”

“Play along?” Chuuya narrowed his eyes, not believing a single word that came out of his boss’s mouth. “You mean manipulating them to play along with your shit? And don’t fucking tell me that making me sing on stage every Tuesday for the past three months was just for this!”

“How could you accuse me of that, Chuuya!” Dazai gasped with his hands flying over his heart. “I truly enjoyed watching you sing every night. Chuuya’s like a shining star on stage!”

Another vein popped out from Chuuya’s forehead. As much as he wanted to slam his fist into this man’s gut right here and now, he knew he couldn’t. They were in public, they had an image to keep up.

“So? What’s with those kids?” Chuuya snapped, changing the subject.

“Chuuya, even if they have eighth-grader syndrome with dreams of destroying the world, calling them kids is a bit—”

“I’m talking about those Hero kids,” Chuuya corrected. “The ones from U.A. You purposely led them here at this time and knew I would have no choice but to let them out the backdoor.”

“I did promise their principal to show them around Yokohama," Dazai smirked. “What kind of guide would I be if I didn’t let them enjoy Yokohama to the fullest?”

Chuuya snorted at the poor excuse. He didn’t care that Dazai didn't answer his question, as he already has a clue as to what that was about. After all, that person was doing his mission nearby. Although the chances of them accidentally running into one another were slim, if a certain scheming bastard manipulated this…

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Seven Months Ago—Port Mafia Headquarters

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  BOOOOOOOOOOM

The sounds of explosions resonated through the air, shaking the entire building as dark smoke stretched towards the night sky.

“Fire! Shoot it down!”  

“The barrier’s been damaged!”

“What are they doing?! Why isn’t the barrier restored yet?!”

“The system’s been jammed! We can’t operate it!”

"Another one's coming!"

"GET DOWN!!"

Within the darkness, a missile flew down from the sky, slicing through the wind as it aimed towards one of the five Port Mafia buildings. The missile slipped through the hole in the barrier the first missile had created, slamming into the side of the building as crimson flames erupted, followed by the sound of explosion.

Alarms echoed across the halls as sprinklers were immediately activated to put out the flames.

Men and women ran towards where the explosion had occurred to help put out the fire.

A man cloaked in black rushed down the hallway, his body almost becoming a blur as he flew down the stairs and arrived at the floors that had suffered the most from the explosion.

“Senpai!” a blond-haired woman gasped as she did her best to catch up to her superior. “Senpai! It’s too dangerous, please head back!” she shouted after him, but the man did not listen to her words.

The explosion had annihilated the hallways of three floors, but that wasn’t important at all. What’s important was the room at the end of the middle hallway.

He ran into the fire, one hand holding a cloth over his nose and mouth to protect his lungs from the heavy smoke. When he arrived at the room, his eyes flew wide at the metallic door that had been completely blasted off its hinge, distorted and leaning against the corner.

His cloak fluttered around him as he walked into the room. Silver eyes narrowed as he surveyed his surroundings. Aside from one side of the wall completely blasted away by the explosion, the remainder of the room was pretty much undamaged.

The man looked over to the bed, then to the collection of large stuffed animal toys. Activating his Ability, black tendrils shot out of his coat, stabbing into the bed, toys, and closets—tearing everything apart.

The blond woman finally caught up, panting heavily as she walked into the room. She wasn’t given the time to take in what the room looked like before her eyes shifted to the missing wall where the outside world was visible to her eyes.

“Senpai!” She cried as the man whirled around, looking up to the sky where a giant whale was swimming beneath the sea of stars.

They were only able to see the barrier around the headquarters materialize for a split second before multiple explosions blasted over the surface of the barrier. For a minute straight, the barrier was engulfed in flames, casting crimson light upon those inside the building.

Everyone shielded their eyes as the barrier protected the building from being touched by the scorching flames. When the flames finally disappeared, all that was left was the crumbling pieces of the barrier. When the raven-haired man looked back up to the sky, the whale was gone.

“So this was what they were after.” The man gritted his teeth as he stormed out of the room, stepping over a framed TV in the process, completely shattering the screen under the pressure of his foot. “Higuchi, send out an order. They couldn’t have gotten far with Q. Send out all men to find Q and kill them on sight.”

“Yes!” The woman hurriedly did as she was told. She tapped onto the Bluetooth in her right ear and commanded, “Abandon all battle stations! Q has been captured by the Guild! All personnel are to find Q and kill on sight!!”

From another building identical to the one that had suffered from the bombing, a man in a black suit and a red scarf stared at the bright flames lighting up the night.

“Boss, please step away from the window! The barrier is gone, it’s dangerous!” the men around him fretted, but the brunet just waved them off.

“It’s fine. They can’t see anything from the outside.”

“But—” The men looked like they wanted to argue, but a sharp glare from their boss silenced them as they remembered their place.

“Boss.”

“Ah, ane-san.” Dazai smiled when he saw Kouyou speed walking over to him. The men surrounding him backed away, making room for their Executive.

“Where’s Chuuya?” She furrowed her brows, instantly noticing the lack of a petite redhead. Ever since Chuuya had become Dazai’s right-hand man, the two were barely ever seen being apart.

“Chuuya is checking on the barrier," Dazai replied. “Do you need something, ane-san?”

"The Guild has Q," Kouyou informed her boss with a grave look on her face. “Please follow me into the safe room until the situation is dealt with.”

“Ah-ah~” Dazai sighed, but obediently followed Kouyou down the hall with men surrounding the two as protection. “I leave the headquarters’ defense to Ryuunosuke-kun and this is the result. Looks like he’ll need some more discipline once the Guild’s been dealt with.”

“The missiles accurately targeted the room Q was confined in,” Kouyou frowned, not as easy going as her boss. “I’m afraid we may have a traitor amongst us.”

“Hm…” Dazai hummed, “There’s no need to worry, ane-san. I’m sure everything will work out.”

Kouyou glanced over her shoulder to her boss. Questions were swirling in her eyes, but the Executive kept her silence and continued leading the way. 

It was only after they began descending the spiral of stairs that she spoke again.

"The Guild has crossed the line by directly attacking us," Kouyou said as they arrived at the lowest floor. She waved off the men around them and led Dazai down a long hallway. “Do you still refuse to let us step in?”

“I told you, ane-san. Taking down the Guild is Atsushi-kun and Ryuunosuke-kun’s job,” Dazai said, stopping in front of a door. The two guards standing by the door bowed at his presence as Dazai’s fingers danced swiftly across the number pad.

After scanning his palm, the doors opened, one layer after another. The moment Dazai stepped inside, the doors slammed shut, clicking sounds echoing in the air as the locks were being put back into place.

Dazai strolled into the simple underground chamber. The most elaborate thing here was the bed and chandelier. He leaned over a handrail, humming as he gazed up at the chandelier hanging directly above his large bed. He should find some time to replace that obnoxious thing.

Dazai blinked, seeming slightly surprised before he stifled a small laugh.

“Four years ago, the first thing that would have come across my mind would be how perfect it is for hanging.” Dazai snorted at his own change as he walked to his bed and plopped onto the king-size mattress. Or perhaps he could sabotage the chandelier and have it fall on him while having a peaceful sleep.

“If you want to die that badly, I can come and finish you off,” a sarcastic voice came from the black Bluetooth in the Port Mafia boss’s ear. “How does the curb sound to you, shitty boss?”

“And leave Chuuya to become a widow?” Dazai smirked as he folded his hands behind his head. “I trust that you haven’t been caught?”

“Who the hell do you think I am?”

In the other building, a short man in a black suit and fedora kicked down the iron door. He emerged from his hiding spot with his hands tucked in his pockets. Despite the entire place being charred and dusty, there wasn’t a speck of dirt on his body.

“As if I’d get caught by that apprentice of yours,” Nahakara Chuuya snorted as he walked into the room that looked as if a beast had been rampaging in it. Everything that could hide a person had been violently torn apart and thrown onto the ground.

“Looks like I wasn’t needed,” he said, kicking away a small piece of cement by his feet. “But to think those bastards broke through the walls with just two missiles…!”

Chuuya clicked his teeth. Even if this was planned by Dazai, he didn’t like it one bit. The outer layer of the building was specially made to withstand at least sixty consecutive missiles! And for the protection barrier around the headquarters to be so easily blasted apart was another issue.

“It’s not surprising that their weapons are more advanced than ours. They don’t have a city like Yokohama to protect them in America, so the developments of their technologies are solely focused on weapons,” Dazai hummed, “Though they were still discovered and hunted for human experimentation.”

Chuuya frowned at that. He has heard of too many similar stories in the outside world.

Despite the seemingly peaceful relationship they have with Japan, the rest of the world treated Old Humans very differently. For one, the knowledge of Old Humans isn’t known to the whole world. Their existence had always been top secret in Japan and kept from the rest of the world. It’s only in the last century that it was no longer a state secret.

As society became more and more stable, there were always curious eyes turned towards the mysterious city. So occasionally, Yokohama would invite a selected few inside, allowing only one to walk back out and deliver information.

This was the only way to get those nosy governments to get rid of any weird ideas about Yokohama—like reclaiming it for example. By showing Yokohama as a threat, the Japanese government wouldn’t move recklessly, especially when they still have the issue of Villains. They couldn’t afford to create another enemy, and as long as they are left alone, Yokohama has no intention of waging war against them.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for other countries. Without a base to protect them, once discovered, Old Humans will easily be captured. Abilities are extremely rare and even if they were powerful, they cannot fight while protecting a whole community.

“If that’s the case, then won’t they blast the entire city to the ground?”

“They won’t,” Dazai replied with certainty, “Even if their technology in weaponry is a tad higher than ours, Fitzgerald isn’t stupid enough to think we won’t have a countermeasure against large scale attacks. And even if he is, he knows he won’t find what he’s looking for if the entire city is gone.”

Chuuya walked over to the open wall. He leaned forward, poking his head out a little so he could see the state of things below. Blue eyes sharply trailed over each man and their positions before the redhead leaned back and glanced to a torn blanket lying on the ground not far away.

“So who were the ones that took Q?” Dazai asked cheerfully. Chuuya was sure the other knew already, but responded anyway.

“It’s the two that engaged with that other apprentice of yours,” Chuuya said as he took out a small booklet from his pocket and flipped through the pages. “John Steinbeck and Howard Phillips Lovecraft. So far, we still can’t figure out what Ability the second guy has.”

“Then perhaps it’s not an Ability at all.”

“You mean he’s a Quirk user?” Chuuya didn’t believe it. After all, if that man was a Quirk user, he wouldn’t have slipped through the barrier.

“It doesn’t matter.” The redhead could hear the smirk behind his boss’s lips. “After tonight, they won’t be relevant.”

Chuuya didn’t ask what that meant as he picked up the cotton blanket and headed back towards the edge. Crimson light coated his body as Chuuya activated his Ability. With a stomp of his feet, the floor beneath his feet caved in. Chuuya threw the blanket around his body as he fell towards the ground.

The sight of the baby blue blanket falling attracted the attention of the men stationed nearby. They raised their guns and circled the blanket that had a bulge in the middle. One of the men stepped forward, gripping the corner of the blanket and ripping it away only to find that it was a piece of concrete.

To be sure, the men searched around the area. After making sure there wasn't anything suspicious, they returned to their posts.

Perched on a nearby tree, a certain Executive watched the sight with narrowed eyes.

“Bunch of morons. I’ll deal with them after this is over,” he muttered darkly before he turned and darted off. He easily made it across the street, undetected by the Port Mafia underlings that were on watch.

The more of them he successfully evaded, the more the redhead felt his blood boil. It seemed their training had been too lax. He'll need to have a long talk with Kouyou about creating a new program after this entire mess got cleaned up.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. With a quick scan of his fingerprint, the phone lit up with a map on the screen. Chuuya stared at the blinking red dot that was rapidly approaching. He looked towards that direction just in time to catch a blur of white darting across the street before it was gone.

“Dazai.”

“Yes, love?” Dazai’s voice whispered gently into his ear.

“If this plan of yours doesn’t work, I will kill Q.”

“Of course.”

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Present

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 “Who are you?” the child asked as mismatched eyes looked at the group of twenty people standing there.

They were all stunned at the sight of such a young girl—or perhaps a boy? Either way, this didn’t seem to be a place where they would find a child.

They automatically looked around, hoping to find the kid’s parents, but couldn’t see another soul in sight.

“We’re just some people who are a bit lost,” Uraraka laughed as she crouched down to get to the child’s height. “What about you? Where’s your mom and dad?”

“Mom and dad?” the child hummed, needing to take some time to think over that question before smiling back at them. “I don’t have one.”

“E-eh?” Uraraka’s jaw dropped. This was an answer neither she nor her classmates had expected. She frantically waved her hands as guilt consumed her. “I’m so sorry! I-I had no idea!”

"Sorry?" the child tested the word as if it was something foreign to them. "Why?"

Uraraka blinked as her hands stopped in midair.

Why? Why what?

However, she couldn’t ask that, as she had already stepped on a landmine. Fortunately, Asui came up to save her.

“Do you have anyone looking after you?” she questioned with a finger to her lips.

“I do!” the child chirped brightly, but then saddened as they slowly swung their legs back and forth. “But I got lost…”

“Do you know their phone number?” Iida asked, already pulling out his phone, “I’ll call them for you.”

“I don’t know...” the child replied, looking unconcerned over not remembering their guardian’s contact number. “But it’s fine! He’ll find me. He always does!”

Everyone exchanged looks. They were all skeptical about this. During their way to the bar, the latter half of their trip was void of any people. No matter how they looked at it, this area was filled with factories and warehouses. Why in the world was there a child so young here all alone in the middle of the night?

Didn’t anyone know how dangerous it was?

"Maybe his dad brought him to the bar or something and forgot about him," Mineta whispered, only to be stabbed in the eyeball by an earphone jack.

"Let's wait around for a bit," Midoriya suggested. “Maybe his guardian is looking around for him.”

"Ah…there goes our curfew time," Kaminari whined jokingly. He understood that finding this kid's guardian takes priority over everything else. He looked around the empty street, “What if they never show up?”

"We can always call the police afterward," Tokoyami stated.

Midoriya walked up to the child and knelt in front of them with the friendliest smile he could muster. "My name is Midoriya Izuku, what’s your name?”

“I’m Kyuusaku!” the kid replied. Those symbol-carrying eyes looked Midoriya up and down, scanning over his body before the kid brightened even more. “You’re the one that broke your arms and legs!”

Arms and legs?

Midoriya recalled the foreigner he met when he was handing out the flyers earlier today. “You watched the Sports Festival?”

Everyone was surprised, but then remembered that the people here had access to the outside channels.

“So you watch the Sports Festival!” Kaminari laughed as he crouched down in front of the kid and pointed at himself. “Then do you remember me?”

Kyuusaku shook his head, still smiling so brightly that Kaminari didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“….Don’t mind," Asui patted his shoulder.

"Did you enjoy the Sports festival?" Jirou asked.

Kyuusaku nodded, “It looked really fun! I wish I could play too…”

“Oh! Do you wish to become a Hero in the future?” Iida asked excitedly.

“Hero?” Kyuusaku blinked. They stared at Iida with wide eyes before the child suddenly burst out into laughter, as if Iida had spoken the most hilarious joke they’ve ever heard. “No way!”

Everyone just stared at the child in confusion, then to each other. None of them were able to understand the joke.

“Big brother, do you like Stain?” Kyuusaku asked, mismatched eyes locking onto Iida.

Everyone froze at the name none of them had expected to hear coming out of this kid's mouth. They automatically looked towards Iida, whose face had darkened at the memories of the Villain flickering through his mind.

“Of course we don’t like Stain!” Sero exclaimed, drawing the kid’s attention to him. “He’s a bad guy!”

“Bad guy?” Kyuusaku tilted their head cutely. “Why?”

“Because he does bad things," Sato explained.

“Like what?” the kid pushed on, not noticing the discomfort the teenagers were feeling. There was only pure curiosity on the child’s face.

“Well, like—” Kirishima swiftly caught himself and stopped talking. He couldn’t possibly talk about killing in front of a kid, but even without the redhead saying it out loud, the child already knew the answer.

Kyuusaku smiled at the redhead and finished the words for him. “Like killing?”

Everyone stared at the child who had spoken of killing with such a happy expression.

"Yes…like killing," Yaoyorozu said slowly, eyes darting to her classmates.

“But don’t Heroes kill people too?” Kyuusaku then asked.

“Of course not! Heroes don’t kill people!” Midoriya defended.

At that, Kyuusaku looked genuinely confused as they turned to Midoriya. “So when Heroes fight Villains, they hold back their strength?”

“Well, no—”

“So you don’t hold back?” the boy asked, not even bothering to wait for Sato to finish.

"When Heroes fight, we use our strength to save people," Iida told the boy. "It's not about holding back or not."

“So you fight with all your strength?” Kyuusaku giggled. “Then how do you know you won’t kill the bad people?”

Some of the students opened their mouths but found that they couldn't answer the question.

"I saw a bad person die on TV. He died when fighting Heroes." Kyuusaku told them, still smiling.

“That’s not killing,” Todoroki tried to explain.

“But someone died?”

"Yes, but those are accidents," Shouji told the boy. “It couldn’t be helped. In a fight against Villains, there are always innocent bystanders getting caught in between. A Hero’s job is to—”

“But killing is killing,” the kid stated. “No matter what reason it is, you still killed someone.”

“Kyuusaku-chan…do you like Stain?” Yaoyorozu couldn't help but ask. The child's thought process was so…well, weird. How could a child talk about killing so easily? No, it’s because they’re a child that they didn’t understand the gravity of what their words meant. Considering the amount of influence the Hero Killer brought, Yaoyorozu wouldn't be surprised if Kyuusaku, much like many others in Japan, could understand Stain’s motive.

She wasn’t the only one thinking this way. Everyone else was expecting the kid to answer yes, given the conversation they just had. But to everyone’s surprise, the warm smile on Kyuusaku’s face dropped for the first time. On that kid’s face was an expression of pure confusion as those large eyes blinked up at them.

"No," Kyuusaku answered, as if it should be obvious. “He’s just a murderer that needed excuses to kill people. Why would I like him?”

Kyuusaku’s voice and tone were purely innocent. There was no mockery, no laughter…nothing. The child’s voice only held confusion over why they even asked that.

Everyone was taken back by the child’s response. Never had they heard anyone describe Stain like that. When Stain’s name first came around, the only things discussed were his actions and the current state of Heroes. There had been many debates over whether or not Stain’s actions were right, but so blatantly calling Stain a murderer was…something else.

“Kyuusaku-chan, what do you mean by that?” Asui asked with a frown on her lips.

“Isn’t it true though?” Kyuusaku jumped down from the bench and landed onto their feet. A bright smile lifted the corner of their lips. “He just wants to kill, yet he justified his actions by making a grand excuse. Isn’t that funny?”

“Justified…?” Midoriya stared at Kyuusaku. What is this kid even talking about?

The rest of the class wasn’t doing any better. They stared at the kid strangely as if they couldn’t understand the words coming from the kid’s mouth. This was no longer weird—it wasn’t normal.

“Hey, let’s play a game!” Kyuusaku suddenly changed the topic as they walked up to the U.A students. “I haven’t played a game in a long time! Won’t you play with me?”

Midoriya opened and closed his mouth. He was still trying to wrap his head around what this child had just said.

“S-sure, what do you want to play?” Hagakure hurriedly asked when the silence dragged on for a bit too long.

Everyone was now looking at the child weirdly. There was something not right with this kid. Despite that, none of them saw Kyuusaku as a threat. What they were beginning to worry about was this child’s environment.

Just what kind of environment gave the child such a skewed viewpoint? Kyuusaku did say they don’t have parents, but what about the guardian? Was this child perhaps neglected?

Many of them were already compensating on whether or not to call the police, but then Kyuusaku spoke.

“Let’s play tag!”

“Oh! Tag! That’s a great game!” Sero laughed, trying to brighten the weird tension in the air. “I’m super good at tag!”

“We can play in that park!” Ashido said, pointing to the park right next to them. Even if there weren’t any cars around, playing on the street was still dangerous.

“Alright! Who will be it?” Kaminari asked as he looked around.

“What’s an it?” Kyuusaku suddenly asked, causing everyone to look at the child in surprise.

“Kyuusaku-chan, have you not played tag before?” Asui asked carefully.

The young child shook their head, “I’ve only seen other people play it.”

“…I haven’t either.” Todoroki suddenly spoke up, frowning as he looked at the child.

Everyone stared between Todoroki and Kyuusaku while Midoriya’s eyes widened.

He looked over to the young kid. Could it be that this child had a similar childhood to Todoroki? No, rather than saying it's similar, it's more like…

“The it is the person that catches the other people," Ojiro explained as he walked up to crouch by the child. "They catch people by tapping them. If you get tagged by the it, you’re out.”

“What happens when you’re out?” Kyuusaku asked.

“Then you have to sit and wait until the it catches everyone. After that, the game restarts.” Tokoyami finished the explanation.

“Then I want to be it!” Kyuusaku said happily before reaching their hand out and tapping Ojiro on the shoulder. “You’re out!”

No one bothered to correct the child on how they should be given time to run. The moment Kyuusaku announced this, everyone ran off, squealing and giggling like little kids. Ojiro just laughed as he scratched his cheek, not minding how quickly he got thrown out of the game.

“Do I have to run after them?” Kyuusaku blinked as they watched the older kids run away.

“Yes, if you want to catch them?” Ojiro replied unsurely. "You don't like to run?"

"No, it's just running hurts," Kyuusaku replied. They didn’t sound sad or anything…just stating a fact.

Ojiro’s eyes automatically dropped to the child’s legs. Since the kid was wearing shorts, he was able to get a good look at slender legs lacking any form of muscle. Aside from the kid being a little thin, there didn't seem to be anything wrong. Maybe they sprained their ankle? Was that why they were sitting on a bench?

Believing that he had found the answer, Ojiro turned to his classmates who were scattered on the grass. They hadn’t gone far and were all waiting for the child to begin chasing them.

“Come on, Kyuusaku-chan!” Uraraka called as she waved her hand at them.

“Guys!” Ojiro called, successfully grabbing their attention.

“What’s wrong, man?” Kirishima asked, about to walk up when he stepped on a tiny twig lying in the grass.

Snap

“…!”

Ojiro heard a sharp intake of breath behind him. He turned and saw Kyuusaku standing there, trembling with wide eyes locked on Kirishima. Those irises were dilated and unsteady…there were even droplets of sweats rolling down the kid’s face despite how chilly the night was.

Those small hands were gripping onto his doll so tightly that they were shaking and white around the knuckles.

“Kyuusaku…?” Ojiro called out gently, but the kid didn’t even seem to have heard him. Their breathing was growing faster and faster. The time between each breath was also getting dangerously short, to the point where Ojiro thought they might hyperventilate.

The other kids noticed this as well and they all began to run over. Their footsteps thundered across the grass and somewhere amongst those footsteps, another twig snapped, causing the boy to completely freeze in place, his breathing stopped altogether.

“Kyuusaku?” Ojiro reached out both hands and grabbed the child’s forearms, hoping to snap the kid out of whatever shock they were in. The moment his hands made contact, he felt something very wrong. There were multiple hard objects under his palms sinking into the kid’s arms from the pressure of his grip.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!”

Kyuusaku suddenly let out an ear-piercing scream, pushing Ojiro away and stumbled back, clutching onto the doll even tighter.

“NOOO!!!” They shrieked, voice cracking as pale fingers sank into the fabric of the doll, pulling on the surface of the fabric so hard that some of the white stuffing was being squeezed out. “NO! NO! NOOOO!!!”

“Kyuusaku-chan?!” Yaoyorozu wanted to approach, but was afraid she might agitate the child even more.

“What’s wrong?” Midoriya spoke loudly, hoping his voice could be heard through the child’s screams.

“IT’s aLL YouR fAuLt!!” Kyuusaku screamed, face morphing into what could only be described as pure malice. The doll trapped in his grip was beginning to move, but no one noticed as their eyes were all locked on the child’s face.

“I’LL cUrsE yOU! I’ll CURSE—!!”

“Q!!”

A voice bellowed from the distance, causing Kyuusaku to freeze up.

For a long moment, nobody could move. They all stared at Kyuusaku with cold sweat rolling down their faces.

What…what was that?

What exactly was that?

The sound of footsteps slowly brought the students back. One by one, they turned around to see a person emerging from the dark alleyway. He was covered in a long, black leather coat with white fur around the base of his collar.

Silvery white hair fluttered in the gentle breeze as the person slowly stepped into the light. They couldn’t see much of his face, as half of it was covered by his coat’s tall collar, but the way those golden eyes seemed to glow in the dim streetlight was unnerving.

He looked young… not much older than Class 1-A.

“A…Atsushi!” Kyuusaku seemed terrified as they clenched onto the old doll.

"What were you going to do, Q?" the white-haired boy questioned.

“I-I wasn’t doing anything!” Kyuusaku gasped, sounding desperate as they ran up to the young man. They reached out a small hand and gripped onto his black coat. “I wasn’t, so—”

When those golden eyes narrowed, Kyuusaku swallowed down the rest of the words. They clutched the doll tighter to their chest and spoke in a desperate voice.

“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again! So…don’t leave me!”

The white-haired boy’s gaze softened a little before shifting to the students.

“Thank you for taking care of this child. I apologize for the trouble,” he said, nodding in their direction before turning to leave.

“Wait!”

Upon being called, the man stopped and turned around. His golden eyes met with Midoriya’s green ones.

“Are you…” Midoriya hesitated, eyes darting down to Kyuusaku then back to the stranger. “Kyuusaku’s guardian?”

“I am,” the other replied naturally. That didn’t seem to be a lie…and from how Kyuusaku interacted with this man, he was most likely the child’s guardian. However, it was precisely because of this that Midoriya needed to stop them.

"Do you have any identification to prove that you're that child's guardian?" Iida asked, looking at the man with a face full of distrust.

No matter how they looked at it, that interaction just now wasn’t normal. It wasn’t a conversation any ordinary kid would have with their guardian. Kyuusaku was terrified of this man, yet the way they still begged not to be thrown aside was raising red flags in all of their heads.

The images of Kyuusaku’s crazed look were still fresh in their minds, but that only fueled their desire and need to protect this young child. Anyone could tell by now that the kid’s mental stability wasn’t, well, stable. The cause may very well be this person right there.

 “Proof?” The man raised a fine brow as those golden eyes shifted to Iida. The moment their eyes met, Iida felt a droplet of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. He didn’t know why, but something wasn’t right with this person.

“…There is no need for me to prove anything to you,” the white-haired boy said calmly. He turned again and began to walk away.

“Wait!” Kirishima called, but the other didn’t stop. He just kept on walking with Kyuusaku by his side.

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!” Bakugou roared. He knew he needed to stop them. Something wasn’t right about that guy. He couldn’t let him take the kid. “We’re not done speaking!”

“Don’t yell at Atsushi!” Kyuusaku suddenly spun around and shouted. Those eyes were glaring murderously at Bakugou who stopped in his tracks.

Bakugou was stunned. He couldn’t understand why the kid would defend this man who terrified them like that.

“Q, we’re leaving,” the boy known as Atsushi called. He didn’t look back and continued to walk away, not caring about the group of teenagers behind him.

Kyuusaku ran back to his side, one hand gripping onto the older boy’s jacket as they walked down the abandoned street. From the shadow of the alleyway Atsushi had emerged from, a dagger soundlessly slid back into its sheath as a figure slowly stepped back and vanished into the darkness.

Class 1-A could only watch as the young man and the child disappeared from their sight. None of them were able to stop them.

“We…we have to call sensei!” Aoyama all but screamed after they lost sight of the pair.

“No matter how you look at it, that’s not normal,” Jirou agreed.

“I’m calling right now!” Iida was way ahead of his classmates as he opened his phone, pausing at the contact list. Who should they call? Their teachers? But their teachers were outsiders as well, would they be able to do anything?

So Iida chose the most obvious choice and clicked on Kunikida’s contact. The blond man was the one they were most familiar with. Iida was certain he could save Kyuusaku.

“What’s wrong, Ojiro?” Shouji asked when he noticed Ojiro was still sitting on the floor, the same position he had been in since Kyuusaku pushed him away.

Ojiro didn’t reply, his head dipped low as he stared down at his own hands. When everyone else looked to his hands, they paled at the sight of red fluid covering both of his palms.

“Ojiro-kun! What happened to your hands?!” Midoriya was horrified by the amount of blood that was there.

“It’s not my blood!” Ojiro explained, voice quivering slightly. "When Kyuusaku was screaming, I tried to get him to calm down and gripped his arms, I—"

Ojiro was quickly calming down as he recalled the feeling of what he felt underneath the child’s sleeves. Whatever those were, they were sharp and all over the kid’s arms. No, rather, it felt like his hands were the ones that made those sharp objects sink into the child's flesh.

He quickly explained that to the others.

“Back then…Kyuusaku said that running hurts.” Ojiro felt sick as he finally realized what was wrong. It wasn’t the child’s legs that were hurting, it was his upper body that was hidden beneath his coat. “We have to find him, he might be in danger!”

They should have realized sooner just how incongruent everything about Kyuusaku was!

“Kunikida-san?” Iida spoke and everyone turned to see him on the phone with Kunikida. “We need help! There’s a child and— where are we? Uh…” Iida began looking around, but couldn’t see any road signs indicating their location.

“I know!” Kaminari said as he fumbled with the paper map he used to lead them to the bar.

Iida turned the phone to speaker mode and turned it towards his classmate.

“We’re on—!” Before Kaminari could say the address, Kunikida began to speak.

“That’s alright, I can see where you are on the map,” the blond stated from the other end. “I am not going to start with why all of you are even there. You have forty minutes to come back. I won’t be explaining to your teachers if you miss your curfew time.”

“Kunikida-san! There’s a kid that’s hurt and got taken away by a strange man!” Ashido explained.

“He could be a human trafficker!” Aoyama joined in the background.

“A kid was taken by a strange man?” They could all hear the frown on Kunikida���s face. “By force?”

“No, they walked away together but—” Todoroki tried to pipe in, but was interrupted by Kunikida.

“Forget it.”

“Eh?” Ashido blinked, as if unable to believe she had heard right. “What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I meant.” Kunikida said on the other end. “If you don’t know how to get back, stay put. I’ll come to get you.”

“Wait!” Midoriya yelled. “There’s an injured child who might be in danger!”

A sigh came from the other end of the line.

“Yokohama is not the outside world,” Kunikida reminded the group. “Don't stick your nose into places where it doesn't belong.”

“That’s got nothing to do with anything!” Bakugou shouted. “Did you not hear a fucking word we said?! There’s a kid—”

“And I’m telling you to forget about this kid,” the man sighed “Use your brains, would any ordinary kid appear in such an isolated place so late at night?"

“That’s why we need to help!” Yaoyorozu said, as if it was the most obvious thing. “Something isn’t right and that child could be in danger! He’s bleeding!”

Another sigh. “You know what, this is going nowhere. Just stay there and don’t move around. I’m coming to pick you up.”

Click

Just like that, Kunikida hung up, leaving the kids staring in shock and disbelief.

“What the fuck?!” Bakugou hollered, voicing out everyone’s thoughts in three short words.

Iida gritted his teeth, hands gripping tightly onto his phone before he began dialing again.

“What are you doing?” Tokoyami asked.

“The police!” Iida answered, typing in the numbers before putting the phone over his ear. He reached the helpline fairly quickly. Everyone watched hopefully as Iida explained the situation to the operator.

“It’s Kyuusaku, sir!” Iida said into the phone. “Surname? I don’t know...gender? A boy maybe? No, I don’t know for sure—we just met in the park!”

Iida seemed to be panicking as he struggled to converse with the other side. Everyone just watched as his responses grew weaker and weaker.

“Well, yes, that person claimed to be their guardian but—…yes…yes…they left together.” After that, Iida didn’t say anything. He just waited for the other side to finish before he slowly pulled the phone away from his ear.

“They…” Iida opened and closed his mouth a few times before he could finally utter the words. “They said they can’t do anything.”

“What…do you mean?” Uraraka asked. “A child’s being taken—”

“Kyuusaku-kun walked away by himself," Iida told everyone. "And that person said he’s Kyuusaku-kun’s guardian. The operator said the police won’t get involved unless we can provide proof that he was being taken away against his will.”

“What?!” Ashido was outraged. “What kind of response is that?!”

“How can…are we just going to let it happen?!” Sato spluttered.

For the first time since arriving, the kids felt the malice within Yokohama. This was wrong! This whole city was wrong! How could they all turn a blind eye to someone—a child — that needed help? No matter how they looked at it, it’s just not normal!

“I’m going.” Midoriya suddenly announced.

“Deku-kun?!” Uraraka gasped.

“Kyuusaku needs help, and I can’t turn a blind eye to it,” he said as his hands rolled into tight fists. Questions flooded through his mind as he kept replaying their conversation with Kunikida.

Why?

Why did he refuse to help even when there was someone in need of help? Wasn’t the Armed Detective Agency there to help people?

Midoriya didn’t understand, but one thing that’s clear was that no one was going to save Kyuusaku.

“It might be dangerous!” Aoyama whimpered. “Kunikida-san told us to stay put, and we can’t use our Quirks!”

“I’m just going to follow them and find out where they went,” Midoriya explained. “If I can find their location, then we can call the police and have them do something, right?”

“That’s true,” Sero agreed. “They want proof right? If they go take a look for themselves I’m sure they’ll find something wrong!”

“But you saw how Kyuusaku-chan defended that person,” Yaoyorozu pointed out.

“We can’t just do nothing!” Ojiro was the most affected by the situation due to the child’s blood staining his hands.

“I agree with Midoriya,” Todoroki said. “I’m going as well.”

“I’m coming too!” Bakugou announced, still grinding his teeth in irritation at the thought of that man. “There’s something off about that guy.”

“You guys can’t all go! You’ll get found out!” Hagakure said as she pulled off her gloves and threw them onto the floor. “How about this, I’ll go with Midoriya-kun! Since they can’t see me, I can scout the area without getting seen!”

“But your Quirk—” Sato began, only to get cut off.

“I’m not using my Quirk! I’m just naturally like this!”

Well, she wasn’t wrong about that. 

“I’ll go with them!” Jirou said. “Even if I can’t use my quirk, I can still hear better than average people.”

“I’ll go with you too,” Shouji walked over to Midoriya. “If anything happens, I can take everyone and run.”

“Then I’ll—” Kirishima also wanted to volunteer, but was stopped by Bakugou.

“Any more and the enemy will notice, stupid,” he pointed out.

“We have enemies now?” the blond gaped.

“Thank you, Shouji-kun, Hagakure-san, Jirou-san,” Midoriya thanked the three. He knew he was being selfish, and he knew that it was going to be dangerous. Whoever that white haired male was, Midoriya could tell he wasn’t anyone ordinary.

Everyone else knew as well, that’s why none of them could turn a blind eye to Kyuusaku’s situation.

“Fifteen minutes,” Iida finally gritted out. Anyone could tell he strongly disapproved of it, but he also wanted to save Kyuusaku more than anyone else. “If you don’t come back in fifteen minutes, we will call the teachers and Kunikida-san.”

“Yeah,” Midoriya nodded.

“Here, take this phone.” Yaoyorozu held out her phone. “It seems there are trackers on the phone for Kunikida-san to find us. I’ve turned off the sound just in case. If anything happens, we can find you.”

“Thank you, Yaoyorozu,” Jirou said as she took the phone.

Ashido also handed the phone she carried to Hagakure, while Midoriya and Shouji took out their own phones and muted them.

“Don’t do anything dangerous, ok?” Uraraka told them.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be back before you guys know it!” Hagakure said cheerfully, though no one could see her aside from the pair of shoes still on her feet.

Just like that, the four of them took off, running towards where the man had disappeared off to with Kyuusaku.

As the rest of the class watched them go, Asui let out a small croak from the back of her throat and looked up to the cloudy sky. A cold droplet of water came out of nowhere and fell onto her left cheek.

“Gero?”

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[togglesbloggle]

The Dark Souls of Classrooms

I’m teaching again this quarter, which has me musing about the teacher/student relationship once more.  I’m not terrible at it, even if it’s painfully obvious sometimes that I’m the university’s budget option, and I usually succeed in communicating some genuine passion for the subject.  But I keep returning to the topic of grades as a source of confusion and frustration.  They drive me nuts. Basically, they’re doing double duty in self-contradictory ways.  Is a grade a way for me to give feedback to the student about their ongoing performance, or is it a way for me to communicate that student’s overall competence in the subject to some future employer?  In practice this tension is resolved by putting a large number of points in a small number of assessment exams (the final and a midterm or project), with day-to-day learning assignments only taking 10-20% of the final score.  Those assignments aren’t intended as assessments at all; they’re memory exercises, with the goal of reinforcing learning for long-term retention.  The grading is meant to be just serious enough to get students to actually do the damn things. The trouble is that by assigning any points to the exercises, we unlock a very adversarial relationship between me and my students.  I’m simultaneously trying to help them do well, and knocking them down when they do poorly.  I really don’t like this, and I think it makes their relationship with me kind of broken at best.  At worst, they start making tradeoffs against my helpful roles in an attempt to maximize scores- for example, taking less-than-necessary sick days if they haven’t finished the homework. I’m not out to be The Cool Instructor as such; I was a big dweeb when I was on the other side of these classrooms, and I’m a big dweeb now.  But I’m not just here for the paycheck either.  The things I teach matter, and I do want to inspire an understanding of the world and of the tools we use to understand it.  Being well-liked is more of an instrumental virtue, in that appreciation and respect help me keep a classroom moving in the direction I need it to move.  So I’m willing to be an adversary when it’s called for- but I consistently feel like the tradeoff in this case isn’t worth it. Once in the past, I managed to find a way around this problem.  It was a summer class, about four hours in the room per day plus ancillary support.  And the prof in charge was doing a ton of crazy experimental stuff, because this class was in theory in the testing stages for a sedimentology MOOC that could be scaled up to many many students with limited teacher support.  There were lots of interesting things being done all at once, which was bad science but very exciting- remind me to devote some other post to what happens when you ask students to grade themselves- but the part that most impressed me was the ways in which it was inspired by video game logic. The class was divided in to several units, each of which consisted of recorded lectures, short quizzes over those lectures, and a laboratory ‘capstone’ project which could be attempted after they had a grade on every quiz.  These could be done asynchronously, at the students’ own pace, and with a branching order (units had prerequisites, but looked a bit like a Diablo skill tree).  Not all units were mandatory for each student, but the ‘final’ was a group project that required knowledge of each unit, so the students made sure to have ‘specialists’ in each domain in their group at the end. Here’s the fun part: your grade in the class was the lowest grade you got on any assignment- quiz, capstone lab, or final project.  So if you got an A on everything but the very first quiz, which was a C, that would be a C for the semester.  All other things being equal, this would be lunatic, but we balanced it with an offer: you could attempt any of these assignments as many times as you liked, and we’d discard all but the highest grade on each.  They’d be remixed; quiz questions were randomized, so you wouldn’t ever see precisely the same quiz twice, and we had enough rock samples to make every lab new no matter how many times they tried them.  And you could only try any given assignment once per day, so there was no brute-forcing it; if you flubbed a question then you’d have to stew until the next day’s class.  But if you get  seven F’s in a row on quiz #3, followed by an A, we’ll record it as an A. In games, you can often attempt any given challenge as many times as you need to.  Failure is rather lightly punished, and success opens permanent opportunities.  As a consequence of this, they can often demand incredibly precise feats of learning and skill.  This classroom worked the same way- high standards, low stakes.  In the end, of our 14 students or so, a solid 12 made As overall, and had a degree of competence in the subject that was fully consistent with that grade. And from my perspective, as a teaching assistant, it was a really excellent experience of being completely on their side.  I was still, in a formal sense, the person judging them- I wrote all the quiz questions, and graded them when they were turned in, even designed a few of the units from the ground up.  But any given bad grade that I handed out didn’t matter except as an instructional tool, because everyone was willing to take the quizzes over and over until they nailed it.  I, then, was seen much more an actual ally helping them to beat a third-party mechanism or environmental challenge, rather than being seen as the challenge itself.  It was quite typical for me to hand them a grade of 45% or something, and then immediately get drawn in to a 5-10 minute conversation actually helping them understand what went wrong, so that they could do better on the same quiz next time.  This is really a teacher’s dream situation, and I wish I could feel like that as an educator more often.

[theichthyostegawrites]

Writing the Graduate School Experience/Writing a Graduate Student: A Guide

Below you will find information on what the graduate school experience is like from a general and more scientific side. I am a graduate student so I figured I would write a guide on what that experience is like. 

Note, I am American, so this is from the an American perspective, but from my understanding a lot of elements overlap between. Let me know if I missed anything!

Let’s start with Master’s Students!

01. Thesis or Non-Thesis (Master’s Students)

This is the first question to consider. Is your character writing a thesis? Not all Master’s degrees require a thesis (but some universities or degrees don’t have the option for non-thesis). All Doctoral degrees require a dissertation, but Master’s degrees can be more flexible. The non-thesis option typically will still require independent study, but is much less intensive than the thesis track. 

On the other hand, non-thesis track is more course intensive. Most non-thesis students will take 12 hours a semester (as opposed to thesis students that take 9 or 10 hours a semester, a few of which are research hours). Non-thesis students may form a small committe and take an oral exam at the end of the program.

Many Master’s degrees take 2-3 years. A master’s in business typically takes around a year.

02. The Thesis

A thesis is research the master’s student is pursing under the guidance of a professor at their university (more on this later). Largely, the student takes control of the project and works independently on a topic they are interested in to answer some research questions. The first stage of this process is writing a proposal. This is a write up of what the student intents to do with their research that is submitted to the university after being approved by their committee (more on this later). This is usually submitted in the student’s first or second semester of their program. The thesis is a final write up of the research after the 2+ years of study. These documents can span from 20-100+ pages and is very through. Again, final approval has to be given by the committee before acceptance. The thesis will be bound and put in the university archives, and, in some cases, the condensed research will be published. Generally, the research conducted for the thesis is largely guided by the student’s adviser.

Overlap in Master’s and Ph.D.

03. The Committee

If the student is doing research, they form a committee. The size of the committee will vary, but it is made up of professionals in the student’s field of study that have experience with their topic. For one, there is the adviser - this is the person the student essentially works for and is also referred to as the committee chair. They are the ones the student interacts with the most. Master’s students generally have 3 people on their committee, where as Ph.D. students have 5 or more people on their committee. 

04. The Defense

Likely the most stressful day of the graduate career - this is when the graduate student presents their research in front of their committee and anyone else who wishes to attend. The student goes through their whole project and opens the floor to questions. None of the questions are prepared beforehand, so the student may have questions thrown their way that may not be anticipated, but members of their committee may step in to help. Afterwards, the committee convenes and decides whether to pass or fail the student. Note: some schools do not have a public thesis/dissertation defense

05. Graduate Assistantships/Research Assistantships

This is the way the student gets paid. Some advisers have the money to pay their students so they can focus on their research (this all depends on grants). But, most students end up with a graduate assistantship. This means they teach a course (either a lab or lecture). The intensity of the workload depends on the professor they work under, because they typically do not work under their own adviser. This is considered part-time work, but it helps pay the bills because in graduate school, if the student is doing research, there is little time to have another job.

On to Ph.D. students

07. General Differences

Doctoral degrees take longer. The shortest time is 3-4 years, but 5-6 years is more typical, in my experience. And it can take longer than that, depending on the research. The research for a doctoral agree, generally, has to be innovative and original. It cannot be a repeat of other studies. There are also fewer course requirements, so after the first year or so the student is not going to classes. Ph.D. students also get paid more than master’s students.

06. Qualifying Exams

One of the other most stressful parts of the graduate career. Low key qualifying exams (AKA quals) have been referred to as academic hazing. In the beginning of the Ph.D. program, the student is referred to as a Ph.D student. And at a point, they are required to take their quals. Their committee will give them reading assignments based off of their research topic and then, give an exam. Months of studying can take place before the quals come up. Part of the exam is written (this part can span over a week) and part of the exam is written (note, this depends on the university once again. Some will just have oral exams). The reading assignment can be several books, so the student often has no idea what to expect. But, once the student passes quals, they are considered a Ph.D. candidate.

07. The Dissertation

The main difference with a dissertation and a thesis is the intensity of the research. Generally, a dissertation has multiple chapters (stand alone research questions), so the final product is 150+ pages long. Publications are expected out of the dissertation.

Now, one of the science-specific things

08. Labs

In most cases, the adviser will have a lab. All of their students will have a place where they work together on related projects and most become a very tight-knit group. Some advisers will host lab-meetings and some graduate students in the same lab will be collaborating on projects.

Lastly,

09. Main Differences with Graduate Degree and Undergraduate Degree

For one, graduate students take far fewer classes (around 30-60 credit hours are required as opposed to 120+ hours). Graduate students can get away with calling professors they know and work with by their first name, in most instances. Classes (if they aren’t stacked [grad/undergrad]) are very small so graduate students get to know each other very well. Most time is dedicated to research, and not studying. Classes are no longer the big stress of the student’s academic career, because it is expected the student knows how to study. 

On the flip side, grades are more intense (at my school, if you get below a 3.0 one semester, you are placed on academic probation). The student is much more involved in the school. Sometimes, students will go to lunches with potential hires and get to know them (especially because of that free food). And they will attend seminars their department holds.

[mimymomo]

Rejanis Royalty Forced Roommates AU Part II

Hello again! So I’m back way later than I originally planned...sorry about that, school really got the best of me so free time writing took the back burner. But hey I’m back now so hopefully the next parts will be up much sooner. So here’s the long waited part 2! The Angsty Part! Thank you @kleksuh for chatting with me last night while I wrote this.

( I noticed it looks different on mobile so sorry about that)

End of May

The day the girls move into the cabin was tense. The trek to the cabin is about 4 hours each direction so it takes a while. Neither girl would ever admit this but they both are nervous to see each other again after nearly 5 years.

Both kings agree to take their daughters to the cabin while the queens stay home. 

It’s a tearful goodbye on both ends but one daughter is much less noticeably upset about leaving

When the girls first arrived in the forest and see other each other for the first time they are stunned - they look the same yet vastly different:

Janis now forgoes her fancy princess dresses optioning for a short cream colored tunic with maroon trim and old embellishment that ends above her knees with brown leather belt buckled around right above her waist and boots.

Regina is wearing a long blue gown with a corset and long hanging sleeves plus her tiara (not great for the forest but whatever, she wants to look good. For who though? Well you know the answer but she’ll never admit that).

Both girls feel something in the pits of their stomachs, neither of them know what exactly it is but at the same time they don’t want to find out.

Behind some trees Karen pops out and tells the girls and company to follow her and she leads them deeper into the forest until she stops them and tells the group that only Janis, Regina, Damian and Gretchen can continue on from that point. The kings say goodbye to their daughters (well King Sarkisian does, King George just tells Regina to not embarrass the George family and to not forget who she is).

Karen gives the remaining 4 a vile of greenish liquid that they have to drink in order to see the cabin. I shall now explain how this potion works:

The cabin is charmed to be distorted to outsiders and can only be truly seen by individuals who have drank said potion

The person will also turn invisible/distorted to others who haven’t drank the potion

However the potion stops taking effect if the person is more than 100 yards (a little less than 92 meters) away from the cabin. Meaning the person will be visibly normal again and the cabin will not.

After walking a bit longer, including passing by a stream, they see in the distance what reminds them of a wall of tall trees and moss. When they get closer they discover a HUGE tree with the largest trunk they’ve ever in the middle of the trees. 

This tree is famously known as the Kingdoms Tree since it’s in the center of the forest and is thought to have the largest tree trunk in the world.

When they get closer they notice at the base of the trunk a maroon wooden door with a multi-colored glass window and golden handle sticking out on the side of the tree with vines and flowers growing on and out of it. 

The cabin is part of the tree. Oh shit, the cabin IS the TREE.

When Karen unlocks the door they discover that the cabin is huge and has 3 floors: the first floor (kitchen, dining room, living room space, closet and secret room (Karen’s lab) and a large beautiful chandelier), the second floor (5 bedrooms, 1 study, and 2 bathrooms on each end of the hall) and the rooftop lit by magical lamp posts. There’s even a horse stable at the back of the tree that you can reach through the backdoor in the kitchen.

Once the get settled in their rooms (on the right side is Janis, Damian and the study plus a small closet. On the left is Regina, Gretchen and Karen) it’s surprisingly quiet. And it stays that way - for maybe 2 days. 

THOSE 2 BICKER LIKE CRAZY!!! And it’s usually for really stupid stuff:

Who gets to use the bathroom first (there’s 2 bathrooms on the same floor…), who sits in what seat, what the other is wearing, plenty of name calling as well (you get the point)

The group immediately warms up to Karen- she’s kinda, to put it nicely, not the brightest and at first it concerns them all that she’s the one that’s supposed to be protecting them. But after talking to her and seeing her work her magic they come to trust her.

Janis and Damian also warms up to Gretchen pretty fast too.

Regina has been especially bitchy to Gretchen and Janis since moving to the cabin. And she spends most of her time in her room.

Janis spends most of her time on the roof looking the stars.

June

One day in early June after 2 straight weeks of arguing the girls get into their biggest fight yet. This time it’s about what happened 5 years ago.

The day started off well enough but it soon sours during breakfast. Janis is trying to throw grapes in Damian’s mouth and Regina speaks up:

“Why must you always be so childish?” “I don’t know Regina, why do you always have a stick up your ass?” And it just gets worse and worse from that.

“If you weren’t such a freak people would actually respect you!” “Maybe Regina if you quit being so bitchy for once and stop ruining everyone’s lives people would actually like you instead of fear you! But maybe being the worst is just in your dna. You do seem to have a knack for being a life ruiner.” “Oh god will please just get over that Jan-” “No! I won’t just “get over it”! You ruined my life and nearly started a war. It’s your fucking fault we’re stuck here in the first place!”

Regina is quiet and refuses to look at Janis in the eye, “you don’t know anything.” 

“You know what, fuck you!”

Janis decides after that she has had enough and a few days later along with Damian they sneak out in the middle of the night and begin their trip back home

But they don’t make it too far. They get just out the safety of the barrier before the run into band of drunk robbers, three of them to be exact. 

One of the guys is HUGE, bald and bulky, the other two (one with brown hair, other with blonde) are smaller but still quite impressive.

They start catcalling Janis and encircle the two

“Where’d you two think ya goin’?”

They try to leave peacefully but things start to get physical when the brown haired man grabs Janis’ wrist. Damian tries to intervene but the blonde guy punches him and forces the bald man to hold him down.

Things seem bad until: 

“Hey bastards! Let her go and leave before things get ugly.” Regina freaking George with her fencing sword.

A fight breaks out between the four with Regina, despite not practicing fencing is years, actually getting the upper hand. She gives the men plenty of cuts and bruises and knocks one out with the swords handle.

When she’s done she turns back to Janis who’s in complete shock. ‘Regina, fencing? And more importantly protecting her?’ 

“Janis are you okay?” “Uh, yeah…” “Okay then let’s get you and Damian bac-” CCRRAAACCCKKKK

Before anyone had noticed the bald guy had gotten up and thrown Regina with so much force her back flung into a nearby tree, the impact so loud you could hear the sound of cracking from the tree and Regina’s back.

Regina let out a scream. Janis tried to run towards the wailing girl but the man punches her so hard she falls down and can’t see straight. He stalks over to Regina and wraps his meaty hands around her neck and starts squeezing. Regina is slowly losing consciousness and her lungs are on fire. Things start turning black when she hears the sound of what sounds like Karen and the pressure around her neck is gone.

Karen cast a spell (do mages even cast spells? Whatever I my au she can do whatever I say) that debilitates the attacker and knocks him out. Gretchen and Damian tie the others up.

Janis rushes to Regina - she’s pale and each shallow breath is met with a wince. She looks like shit. 

“Karen, help! Regina’s barely breathing!”

Janis holds Regina still while Karen gives her a vile of dark indigo liquid. “There, that should help with the pain. We need to get her back to the cabin now.”

Damian, Janis and Gretchen help lift her and they race Regina back to the cabin. When they get back Karen treats Regina while Gretchen handles Janis and Damian. 

“Why did she come after us?”

“She heard you guys leaving, well we all did but Regina said she would bring you two back. When she was gonna for 10 minutes we decided to follow. Regina would never admit this but I could tell she was worried about you.”

“How can you tell? Why are you even concerned about her? She treats you like shit.”

“Look I've taken care of Regina for years now. You don't know how crazy her family is, how her father is...life isn’t perfect for her Janis. And yes, while I do wish that she was nicer, more than anything, I get see her in her in her highest of highs and lowest of lows. It puts things into perspective. And you want to know how I know she cares about you? It’s the way she looks at you. The way her eyes look whenever you were mentioned back at home. Always wide with melancholy and longing - and regret.

Gretchen gets up and begins to leave when she turns back around, “I lied earlier when I said we all heard you leave - it was Regina who discovered that. She was on her way to your room.”

“Why though?”

“You should ask her that yourself.”

Later Janis goes to Regina’s room and sees her asleep lying on her side facing away from the door, all bandaged up. Karen is leaving while she’s entering:

“Her back is pretty messed up but she should be okey dokey in a few days...probably.”

Janis walks over to Regina pulls a chair up to face her. Her eyes are closed, this time not as tight from pain.

She starts to inspect the rest of her face and sees a few cuts on her cheeks and below her eye. Lower down there’s bruises from the attackers hands around her neck. Regina’s not wearing a shirt but her chest and torso is all covered from the bandages plus a blanket. 

“Are you gonna say something or are you just gonna stare at my chest this whole time?”

Okay so she’s definitely not asleep.

Janis meets Regina’s eyes and in then she sees a bit of...fear?

They awkwardly talk about what just happened earlier that night and Janis asks why Regina came after her. 

“Because I had a feeling something bad would happen. Plus what would happen if you returned before they finished a treaty? Jeez you’re a damn idiot you know that?”

“So it wasn’t because you were worried about me, cause that’s what Gretchen thought.”

Regina focuses on the sheets below her when she mumbles out “of course I was fucking worried about you, too damn much for my liking.”

This just raises more questions for Janis: Regina was actually worried about her safety? Hearing someone tell her that is one thing but for it to come straight from Regina’s mouth is another entirely. “So why did you go to my room in the first place?”

“I’m only answering this because Karen’s potion is borderline a truth serum.” Janis knew she was lying but chose to indulge her. “I was going there to...apologize…”

“I’m sorry what did you say I couldn’t hear you?”

“Damn it apologize! I was there to apologize! Look if we’re going to make it through living here for...however long we’re stuck here we should at least try to be civil with each other. So I’m sorry, for being a huge bitch.”

Janis ends up apologizing as well for her behavior and thanks Regina for coming to save her. Janis swears Regina’s cheeks turn a dusty pink but maybe she’s just seeing things.

Janis starts to get out of the chair but Regina stops her by grabbing her hand. 

“Can you stay in here? Just for a bit longer?” Janis can see Regina struggling to keep her eyes open.

“Sure.”

It doesn’t take long before Regina is fast asleep, her hand still latched to Janis’.

Janis uses her other hand and brushes a few stray locks of blonde hair out of Regina’s face. 

“Goodnight sunshine.”

To Be Continued in Part III

[scripttorture]

I have a character who was never held as a child, never given any physical affection and was kept in a lab and experimented on (needles, etc.) for the first six years of his life. He was trained as a weapon of sorts as well. years later he still trusts almost no-one, what would I have to do to make a romantic relationship realistic? (Sorry if this makes no sense) тнαик уσυ!!（*＾3＾）

OK so I’ve consulted with members of the Script Family who know a lot more about childhood developmentthan I do and there’s a good chance that your character wouldn’t live intoadulthood.

 Insufficient touch at an early age is linked to a host of conditions andimpairments in human children. The mechanism is more thoroughly studied in rats(for rather obvious ethical reasons) but the essential conclusion is this:gentle, caring touch is essential for childhood development.

 There’sa short academic review paper on the subject here which covers humans and rats(and worms but that’s not relevant to your story). There’s a moreaccessible piece in Scientific American here. Basedon these papers I think whatever you decide you need to remove the ‘lack oftouch’ as an element in your story.

 You want this to be realistic so I think the most helpful thing I can dois start suggesting alternatives rather than try to go into depth aboutchildhood development (an area where my knowledge is patchy at best).

 I have issues with the motif of children being raised as ‘weapons’. I’vespent too much time reading about (and seen too many) child soldiers to feeleasy treating it as pure fantasy (the way I gather most audiences from richstable countries do).  

 I’m saying that as statement of bias- from what you’ve described I don’tthink it’s an element you ‘have’ to change but I think you need to think aboutwhich of these background elements you’ve included is most important to yourstory.

 Basically what I think you need to decide is which of these things is most important to the story:

 1)     The character was raised as aweapon and is an effective fighter

2)     The character was used as asubject in unethical experiments

3)     The character was tortured

 The reason you can’t realistically include all of those elementstogether is because they all reduce the efficiency of each other.

 A character who is tortured willbe a less effective fighter and torture would add another unaccounted forvariable into a scientific study which would basically make any data gathereduseless.

 A character who is used as an experimental subject couldn’t be effectively trained as a fighter without alsodisrupting the experiments.

 The best way to achieve point 1) is to raise the character in a loving, caring environment (includinghaving positive reinforcement, caring parental figures and touch). Thecharacter’s kind, caring, lovingparental figures would then teach the child about war, weapons and fighting inmuch the same way a normal parent would introduce teaching a child to read.They would lavish praise on him and teach him that he is part of somethingbigger, a glorious cause.

 And if they did it ‘right’ he would grow up mentally healthy, welltrained and perfectly willing to kill for them.

 I’vewritten about scenarios like this before and you might find this ask helpful.

 The best way to achieve point 2) is to get rid of any notion thatthe character is being trained for anything and remember that in this scenario any torture is secondary.

 Serious scientists do not setout to cause animal experimental models more pain. If your character is beingtreated like an experimental animal then that means any pain he experienceswill be secondary to what thescientists are interested in.

 Let me give you an example: the case of Elsie Lacks.

 Elsie was committed to a mental ward as a child in America during the50s. Elsie was mentally handicapped (the diagnosis of the time was ‘idiocy’)she was epileptic and deaf. She was also black.

 Elsie was used in at least two, and possibly more, medical experiments.There’s no evidence the hospital sought consent and given her age andcapacities Elsie may not have been capable of giving it. One involved insertingmetal probes into patient’s brains. The other drained the fluid from apatient’s skull so the brain could be x-rayed, a procedure that causes dizziness,vomiting, seizures and headaches for months while the skull refills with fluidand can also cause permanent brain damage and paralysis. Elsie died aftermaking herself vomit for six months. By the end she was bringing up clottedblood. She was 15.

 The pain Elsie suffered was notthe point.

 The people who did this to her did notgo out of their way to cause her greater suffering. They treated her like anobject, another part of the test. They acted in a manner that was systematic, reproducible,recorded and wrong.

 Torture is not reproducible. It is rarely recorded. It is notsystematic. And it always treats pain, cruelty and neglect as the point rather than as a secondaryfactor.

 Which brings me to scenario 3).

 Torture and abuse doesn’t mesh well with science. It’s usually conductedimpulsively with little regard for any controlling factors.

 Torturers usually use multiple techniques and they will generallycombine techniques. They often misjudge how much damage they’ve caused whichcommonly results in serious injury or the victim’s death.

 This doesn’t mean they always leave scars. Some techniques, what I referto as ‘clean’ torture, don’t leave obvious external marks. This can maketorture incredibly hard to detect and prove.

 Deaths from clean torture techniques are often attributed to accidentsor an underlying health condition in the victim (for instance a sudden heartattack, stroke or organ failure).

 The pattern of abuse is generally that torturers use a lot of techniquesvery quickly, over a period of perhaps the first three days. After that theytend to start to lose interest in the particular victim and start concentratingtheir efforts on other individuals.

 In the longer term (ie months) what you tend to see is an irregularcycle of intense abuse, followed by longer periods when the victim ismore-or-less ignored.

 How to approach the question ofyour character having a romantic relationship as an adult depends on which ofthese three points is important to you in the story.

 In scenario 1) where the character is primarily a soldier/weapon I’dtreat it as if he’d escaped from a cult. Difficulty trusting his partner andhaving to take the relationship incredibly slowly both seem reasonable. Therelationship would probably also bring up a lot of self-doubt for thecharacter. His partner would probably contradict everything he was taught aboutpeople outside the organisation that raised him. He might find himself thinkingabout his childhood a lot and recognising ‘new’ things that were wrong orpoisonous about it.

 He might find innocent things his partner did reminded him of his ‘family’and ‘training’.

 You mightfind this BBC article, which interviews a woman who left a US cult, helpful forwriting that sort of scenario.

 In scenarios 2) and 3) your character would, realistically, have a lotof serious mental health problems. Youcan find out more about the common symptoms of torture here, these symptomswould also apply to someone used in unethical experimentation.

 We can’t predict which individual would develop which symptoms and notall victims experience all symptoms.

 From a writing perspective that means picking symptoms from the list andshowing them consistently impacting your character’s life. I advise pickingsymptoms based on what you feel fits the character and the story, for suchprolonged abuse at such a young age I’d say around 5 severe symptoms is a goodball-park figure but don’t be afraid to use more than that.

 The issues the character would encounter with a romantic relationshipwould be dependent on his symptoms. But generally speaking I’d expect him to finda romantic relationship, or indeed anylong term relationship extremely difficult. Perhaps cripplingly difficult.

 Healthy relationships are hardwork. It isn’t unrealistic for a character with such severe mental healthproblems to be in a long term relationship butthere are a lot of good reasons why a person in his position might choose not to be in a relationship.

 There is nothing wrong with a character putting his health first. And….essentiallyif this is the character’s first romantic relationship and he went through sucha prolonged and traumatic experience as a child I think he’d have to put his health before therelationship.

 I don’t mean he’d have to break off the relationship. I mean that hispartner would probably have to accept things like:

           ‘I know you spentmonths planning this holiday for us together but I’m going to have to cancel atthe last minute while in the airport because going through security is givingme a panic attack.’

           ‘I know you wanted us togo out for your birthday but my anxiety is awful today and I can’t leave thehouse.’

           ‘I know we were havinga lovely meal, but I’ve just been triggered and I’m now going to spend half anhour having a flashback in the restaurant bathroom.’

 Not everyone is accepting of these knock-on effects of mental healthproblems. Not everyone is OK with having to suddenly drop everything going onin their day because their partner is feeling suicidal.

 Even people who are acceptingof their partner’s health problems will make mistakes. They will almostcertainly accidentally trigger things, say things that feed into mental healthproblems or do small things that make the issue worse.

 There’s a lot in this scenario that I strongly advise you to re-thinkand re-write if you want something even close to realism. Until you make adecision about what sort of background you’d like the character to have I can’tgive more detail on how it would affect his future romantic relationships.

 Nonetheless I hope it helps you with your story and if you decide youwould like to make the character’s background more realistic I’d be happy tohelp with any further questions you have about how that would affect his adultlife and relationships. :)

Disclaimer

[zacekova]

Everything’s Fine (Really) chapter 3

First - Previous - Next

“Don’t forget the meetings,” Zen said, arms crossed as he watched Mitsuhide remove Obi’s cuffs for the last time. “If you miss any of them I’ll put out a warrant for your arrest before you can blink.”

Obi rubbed at his wrists and grinned. “You got it, Master.”

Zen stared at him, a single eyebrow twitching, and shook his head. “Alright, get out of here.”

Obi fired off a two-fingered salute and turned to Shirayuki with a gleam in his eye. “I’ll see you Friday, then, Miss.”

It wasn’t a question but Shirayuki nodded anyway, caught by his gaze. “Yeah, Friday.”

They watched each other, eyes swimming with curiosity, anticipation, uncertainty, and Obi turned away and sauntered out through the lobby doors.

“Zen, are you sure about this?” Mitsuhide asked.

Zen sighed and crossed his arms. “Not really, but it’s the best option we have. He’s got direct access to some of the most powerful people in the underground. It would take my other informants months to get the kind of info he could probably glean in a matter of hours. If we don’t want anymore bodies we have to trust him, at least enough to get us the intel we need.”

“But will he keep Shirayuki safe?” Kiki asked.

The three of them turned to look at her and Shirayuki wanted to hide. The intensity of their concern was stifling after so many years of being mostly on her own. It was reassuring, comforting, most of the time but it came across like they didn’t trust her, didn’t believe Shirayuki could take care of herself.

It was intimidating, too, although it was probably warranted this time around. They didn’t know nearly enough about Obi to know whether he was trustworthy or not, whether they were getting sucked into the trap of some larger scheme or if he would simply run back and spill the whole story to his boss. In which case they would lose the advantage and possibly their entire chance at catching whoever was responsible. Not to mention the danger that would pose to Shirayuki if Obi kept up the ruse of being their contact. He could very easily turn on them at a moment’s notice at little risk to himself.

And, well. Gang members weren’t always the nicest guys. Shirayuki could get hurt in ways that had nothing to do with the case, too, if Obi was less than respectful toward woman.

But… something had flashed across his face when Zen asked how they could trust someone who worked for Umihebi, something like anger. Not rage, not defensiveness, something more… righteous. Like he was angry to be accused of something so low, of being compared to someone like that. Which didn’t explain how he could stand to work for Umihebi if he did feel that way, but the emotion was sincere. There was no definitive evidence to say so, but something in her gut said it was true.

Shirayuki believed him.

“I don’t think he has any desire to hurt me,” she said. “Or for me to get hurt.”

Zen’s gaze darted over her face, searching, and he sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, though I’ll hold my breath about the rest of it. Guess we’ll just cross our fingers and hope for the best.”

~~~

Friday came quickly. There were literal mountains of lab work to be done for the other teams at the precinct and Shirayuki filled her spare moments with trying to identify the mysterious compound. Not that there were many of those - spare moments.

Her shoulders and neck ached from hunching over documents and microscopes, her eyes burned from the overhead lights in autopsy and the glare of computer screens, and the call of her bed every night had never sounded so tempting but the poor thing had gotten barely more than a drive-by snooze all week. It would be appalled to know how much attention she’d been giving to her desk chair and the cot in Garrack’s office.

Today was the first time since the weekend Shirayuki had woken up in her own bed past dawn, ordered home late the night before by a hovering Zen.

“Consider tomorrow a personal day. Unless there’s some time-sensitive information that needs to passed along, just update me on Monday morning. And don’t come back on Saturday. I’ll kick you right back out the door myself.”

Shirayuki smiled at the memory of the determined gleam in his eye, running a brush through her hair while she waited for the shower to warm up. It would be time to go meet Obi soon.

~~~

Shirayuki glanced at the sign and back down to the scrap of paper in her hand, a hastily-scribbled address in Zen’s chicken scratch that matched the number on the plaque screwed to the doorframe. The bell over the door tinkled as someone walked out, a steaming paper cup gripped in their hand like a lifeline.

Her first fake date was in a coffee shop. Figures.

Shirayuki sighed and pushed her way inside, taking in the bistro tables and metal chairs against the front window, the plush booths and bookshelves along the walls, and the couches scattered around the main floor. It was cozy, warm.

Obi’s shock of messy black hair was nowhere to be seen so she went to the front counter to order and claimed a booth in the back corner while she waited for him.

It didn’t take long. The door chimed barely two minutes later and Shirayuki glanced up, green eyes connecting with gold from across the room.

Obi grinned and swaggered over to the table, resting his hip against it and crossing his arms. “So, you come here often?”

Shirayuki snorted and gave him a flat look. “No.”

His grin grew. “No? So where do you spend your free time?”

“My bed,” Shirayuki started.

Obi’s eyes flashed.

“Sleeping,” she finished.

Obi’s shoulders slumped and he looked down at her with a quirked brow. “You’re not so good at this flirting thing, Miss.”

Shirayuki’s brow furrowed. “We’re not here to flirt, Obi.”

Obi leaned down, bracing his hand on the table and catching her gaze with glittering, mischievous eyes. “That doesn’t mean we can’t,” he said, low and sultry.

It teased her skin into shivering, vibrating through the air and skittering along the gooseflesh. Shirayuki swallowed, trying to ignore the way it made her insides warm, and forced a glare. “Obi.”

He chuckled, straightening. “Alright, fine. But we are supposed to be pretending to be interested in each other, you know. You need to work on staying in character.”

Shirayuki watched him, taking in the easy way he leaned against the table, the stretch of his shirt over his chest, the strong line of his jaw.

Yeah, pretending to be interested wasn’t going to be a problem. At the same time it was the problem. She huffed. “Just… go get a drink or something. We need to sit here for awhile.”

He gave a little salute and headed toward the counter and Shirayuki sank her head onto the table with a sigh. The problem with this whole thing, the biggest problem, was that Shirayuki was interested. Obi was charming, rugged and cheerful and sharp-edged. And sexy, god he was sexy.

And Shirayuki was supposed to be a professional. And this was not a real relationship. And Obi seemed to flirt with everyone equally and what were the chances he would be interested in Shirayuki of all people and this was not an appropriate situation to be hoping for a date in the first place. A real date. This whole thing was a cover for a very real problem that Shirayuki was supposed to be focusing on. Not mooning over some guy’s biceps and attractive smile.

She needed to keep some distance between them, maintain the proper perspective.

Obi slid onto the bench across from her, cup in hand, the scent of coffee beans drifting over the wood table. “So, any word from Master?” he asked.

Shirayuki’s brow furrowed. “Why do you call him that?”

Obi blinked. “What, ‘Master?’”

“Yeah, that,” Shirayuki nodded. “You’re not even an actual employee, let alone his slave or something.”

Obi shrugged. “‘Master’ is about as common as ‘Boss’ for the mob heads, so it’s kind of a habit to label anyone in charge with one or the other.” His eyes skittered away and he chewed on his lip, fingers clenching around his cup. “And he said he would help me,” he murmured.

“He hasn’t really done anything yet, though,” Shirayuki said.

Obi’s smile was grim, bitter. “It’s been enough. More than I’m used to. I feel like I already owe him this much.”  

Shirayuki’s stomach churned, wondering how much kindness this man had been shown in his life to date. “And if he does help you?” she asked. “What then?”

“I was taught to take a life debt seriously,” Obi answered.

Which didn’t really answer the question, except that it did and Shirayuki’s stomach churned at what he was implying about what he’d been taught about owing people. She pushed away the desire to delve deeper, to snoop around in a history that wasn’t any of her business, and took a sip of her drink. “To answer your question, no, nothing new from Zen. Today’s just supposed to be a chance for the two of us to make a more detailed plan of where and when we‘re going to meet. And to make sure you were going to keep up with the agreement in the first place.”

Obi’s grin was sharp, brittle, but something like resignation lingered in his eyes. “You guys thought I’d bail,” he said.

Shirayuki shrugged. “I didn’t.” She ignored the way his eyes widened and dug around in her pocket for a rough schedule she had drawn up of her typical weekly routine and pushed it across the table. “I work into the evenings a lot but I’m usually free on Sundays and I can take my breaks outside the precinct. I don’t really go anywhere besides work, home, and the grocery store so I’m thinking lunch dates would probably be the best way to meet.”

Obi skimmed over the page and nodded, a tension she hadn’t noticed before easing from his frame. “So what I’m hearing is that I’m going to have to plan all of our dates or they’re going to be totally boring.”

Shirayki flushed. “Excuse me?”

Obi’s eyes sparkled, his blinding grin returning at full force. “You’re life is totally lame right now, isn’t it?” he asked. “Do you even have any friends?”

She opened her mouth-

“Outside of work?” he interrupted.

She closed her mouth.

He smirked. “I thought so. We need to get you out more, Miss. This is a travesty, ” he said, waving the paper around for emphasis. “The fact that you took the time to make it is even worse.”

Shirayuki huffed, sipping from her cup with as much disdain as she could muster. “There’s nothing wrong with being organized.”

Obi shook his her mournfully. “You poor thing. And so young, too.”

Shirayuki slammed her cup down and lunged, tearing the paper out of his hand. She crumpled it up and tossed it over the back of the booth. “There, no more schedule. Happy now?”

Obi’s eyes glittered. “Very.”

She hid the smile tugging at her lips in her hand, cupping her chin and resting her elbow on the table. “Fine then, fake boyfriend, where should we go for our next fake date?”

“Hmm, let me think about it,” Obi said. “How about we get to know each other a little so I can plan better?”

Shirayuki shrugged. “Okay. What do you want to know?”

Obi settled back in the booth, the pleather creaking as he shifted. “What’s your favorite color?”

Shirayuki bit back a smile. “My favorite color?”

“It’s a legitimate question!” Obi said.

She chuckled. “Fine. Okay, umm. I don’t know, brown?”

Obi’s brow quirked. “Brown?”

“What, now you’re going to object to my color preferences too?” Shirayuki asked.

Obi raised his hands in defence. “No, no, brown is fine! It’s a lovely color. Very earthy and… brown.”

“Don’t strain yourself.”

Obi threw a napkin at her.

She laughed, batting it away. “What’s your favorite color?”

Obi huffed, his arms crossed and nose turned up,but muttered “green,” his gaze flicking to hers before he snatched his cup up from the table and chugged the rest of its contents.

She flushed, wondering if he was talking about her eyes, before internally reprimanding herself. This isn’t a romance novel.

Obi set his cup down and rested his palm over the lid, thumbing at the paper sleeve. “So why’d you become a police officer, Miss?”

Shirayuki shrugged, shoving aside the budding curiosity over whether Obi might be interested in her like she was in him. “I wanted to feel closer to my dad.”

“Is he dead?” Obi asked, no hesitation over the bluntness of it.

Shirayuki shook her head and offered a smile. “No, not dead. He sent me to live with my grandparents after my mom died so I don’t get to see him much. But I’ve always admired him and wanted him to be proud of me.” Obi’s eyes were heavy on her, focused, and she turned away from the intensity of it. “What about you, any family?”

Obi shrugged, releasing her from his gaze. “Not really.”

Her heart clenched. “I’m sorry.”

He shrugged again. “It’s fine.” He made a show of pulling his phone out of his pocket, checking the time. “I think I need to get going, Miss. Got some stuff to take care of.” His tone was relaxed, casual. Too casual. He smiled at her but it didn’t look right on his face, not like his usual cocky grins. “How about we just say same place and time for next week and take care of the details then?”

Shirayuki bit her lip, wanting to apologize again for having crossed a line, for digging into his personal life, but it wasn’t like she could have known it would bother him. She nodded. “Sure, Obi, that sounds fine.”

He pushed up from his seat and nodded, tapping his fingers to the table once before walking off. The door chimed on his way out and Shirayuki watched him jog across the street and walk down the road until he was out of sight.

Well. It could’ve been worse.

[summer18magic1302]

Syllabus

DIG 1302: 3D Modeling

Professor Mark Simpson _________________________

Class Sessions: Mondays & Wednesdays 12:40 - 2:50pm

Room  8109

Website           summer18magic1302.tumblr.com

Contact            Message user summer18magic1302 through Tumblr

Required Materials

Flash Drive / External Hard Drive

Tumblr account & a new blog for this class

Maya 2018 Student Edition  https://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/maya

Recommended: PC or laptop with a mid-range graphics card for 3D applications

IMPORTANT DATES

http://www.mdc.edu/academics/calendar/

Summer Semester:  May 14 (Monday) - Aug 3rd   (July 28 – Aug. 3 is finals exams week)

Class Meets: Mondays & Wednesdays 3:10pm - 5:20pm

May 16: Last day to drop with refund; change courses without financial penalty; register, add a course or change sections with instructor and/or department approval; change from audit status to credit status or from credit status to audit status.

MDC Holidays Summer 2018 (college closed)

Memorial Day Weekend May 26-28(Saturday-Monday)

Independence Day July 4th

GRADES

Total Possible Points: 1000

In-Class Homework Assignments: 100 points

Project 1 (vehicle): 150 points

Midterm (interior): 200 points

Character Expression Poses: 150 points

Final Project (armored character): 250 points

Attendance: 150 points

Tips to get an A:

Follow along in class

Work outside of class at least 1 hour a day

Take notes on Maya shortcuts & project requirements

Raise your hand to ask questions

Spend time in the MAGIC lab & ask the TA’s for help on your projects (Alexis, John, and Leo, they sit by the 3D printers)

Message me through Tumblr if you have questions outside of class

Steps to get A’s on projects:

Research your subject by collecting reference images

Draw some concept art before you start modeling

Express yourself as an artist, make interesting things that people want to look at

Run your ideas by me so I can help you avoid problems

Use the techniques we learn in class to model low-poly 3D objects

Texture your objects using UV mapping techniques

Avoiding Technical Headaches:

Don’t touch anything, Maya has dozens of hotkeys, accidentally hitting keys like B, V, 1, 2,3,4, +, -, etc might change vital settings

Save often using Increment & Save so you always have backups

Delete History (Edit->Delete all by type) & Freeze Transformations (Modify)

Use *.ma Maya ASCII file format for greater stability

Export your objects as OBJ and FBX when completed

Choose File -> Archive Scene to turn in projects

GRADING SCALE

RANGE

A 100 - 90 B 80 - 89 C 70 – 79 D 60 – 69 F 0  -  59

Late Work:

Late homework is subject to a 10% late penalty for each day it is late.

No homework may be submitted more than 1 week late.

Attendance Policy:

Students are expected to attend & participate in all the classes

Attendance is taken at the beginning of each class

Lectures are given at the beginning of the class, therefore, if a student is absent during the lecture portion of the class, it is his/her responsibility to cover/study the material that is missed.

If absent, it is your responsibility to keep fully informed about the notes, class material discussed (including syllabus adjustments, additional reading assignments, changes in examination material and dates, etc.).

Students who stop attending class will receive a letter grade of “F” for the course unless they submit a drop card to the Registrar’s office prior to the withdrawal deadline date.

If you will be absent from class for any reason, please message me in advance.

COURSE POLICIES:

Academic Dishonesty Procedure:

Academic  dishonesty is  defined  as  an  action inconsistent  with  the ethical  standards  of Miami  Dade  College. Academic dishonesty includes the following actions, as well as other similar conduct aimed at making false representation with respect to a student’s academic performance.

Collaborating with others in work to be presented, if contrary to the stated rules of the course.

Plagiarizing, including  the  submission of other’s ideas or papers  (whether   purchased, borrowed,  or otherwise obtained) as one’s own.

Submitting, if contrary to the rules of a course, work previously     presented in another course.

Knowingly  and  intentionally   assisting  another     student  in  any     of  the  above     actions,  including  assistance  in     an arrangement  whereby any     work, classroom  performance, examination,     or other activity is submitted or performed by a  person     other than the student     under  whose  name the work  is submitted  or performed. Some actions of academic     dishonesty, such as stealing examinations or course material and falsifying records, may be processed through the Student Disciplinary Procedure.

The Student Disciplinary Procedure may be found on the Student’s     Rights & Responsibilities Guide (page 20).

Students are to work individually during lab hours, unless otherwise instructed.

If the prohibited behavior continues, the student may receive an “F” for the course.

Copying Project Files from another student is prohibited; both students, the author and whoever copied, will earn a grade of “F” for that assignment or exam.

Course Withdrawal:

A student not completing the course for any reason is required to     submit an official drop notice to the Registrar’s office.

If a student decides to withdraw; it is the responsibility of the     student to do so by the course withdrawal date provided on the College     Academic Calendar.

If a student stops attending this class, the student may be     dropped from the course without notice and the student’s record will show     a grade of “IW” (Instructor Withdrawal).

Students are responsible for checking the College Academic     Calendar for refund and course withdrawal deadline dates.

Incomplete Grade:

In this class, an “Incomplete” or “I” grade is not usually given.    

An incomplete grade (“I” grade) is only available at the     discretion of the instructor; as a result of a documented emergency that     prohibits your completing the course.

The “I” grade applies to students that cannot submit the final     project.

Students will only be considered for an incomplete     grade if it is beyond the course withdrawal date and the student is     passing the course at the time of the request.

The instructor and the student will complete an Agreement for     Grade of Incomplete form.

This agreement will determine the requirements for a course grade     which must be completed by the end of the next major term or a failing     grade will be assigned.

CLASSROOM POLICIES:

1.       Electronic (cellphones, iPods…etc.) devices are to be either turned off or in silent mode.

2.       NO electronic (cellphones, mp3, etc.) devices are allowed during lecture.

3.       Eating, gum chewing, eating, drinking, or smoking is strictly prohibited in the electronic classroom.

4.       All items such as soda cans, gum, food wrappings…etc. should be disposed of prior to entering the electronic classroom.

5.       Behavior in the electronic classroom is expected that will allow for conditions that foster learning and a free exchange of ideas. A positive learning atmosphere is one that shows respect and courtesy for the instructor and fellow students. For example, such things as whispering, sleeping, working on other subject matters, or interrupting students or instructor, will not be tolerated.

Class Competencies

Competency 1: The student will demonstrate how to use animation software to create geometric forms by:

1. Creating geometric forms utilizing points, vectors and polygons and curves.

2. Discussing the application of Open GL and how pixels, light and RGB colors are displayed on a computer screen.

3. Manipulating objects quickly in perspective, top, side and front views simultaneously.

Competency 2: The student will demonstrate knowledge of how to create complex three dimensional (3D) forms by:

1. Utilizing primitive shapes to model 3D forms.

2. Describing the difference between nonuniform rationalB splines (NURBS), polygons and sub division surfaces and applying these techniques to create 3D forms.

3. Using Boolean functions and Maya polygonal modeling toolset (extrude, lattices etc.) to create 3D forms.

4. Manipulating points, vertices, edges and faces to create 3D forms.

Competency 3: The student will demonstrate knowledge of spline curves and how to create 3D curvilinear forms by:

1. Creating and using loft, planar, lathe and other NURBS surface tools.

2. Creating complex geometric forms from curves.

3. Converting curves into polygons and a variety of other objects.

Competency 4: The student will demonstrate the ability to map detailed textures to complex 3D objects by:

1. Rendering algorithms.

2. Explaining how pixels in an image are created from Maya.

3. Creating a 3D object in Maya from a 3D sketch.

4. Discussing different types of techniques available in Maya to apply texture and how light interplays with a computer surface.

5. Describing how Open GL display works with texture mapping and gaming.

Competency 5: The student will demonstrate the ability to create and render a 3D image by:

1. Describing the differences between various rendering engines (e.g., MentalRay, Renderman and VRay).

2. Creating 3D cameras to produce depth of field, motion blur. and exposure 7/17/2015 www.curricunet.com/mdc/reports/Competencies.cfm?courses_id=39651http://www.curricunet.com/mdc/reports/Competencies.cfm?courses_id=39651 2/2 effects.

3. Creating a photorealistic render.

[goochills]

World’s Smallest Projector Gets Better Reviews Than LED TVs

Quarantine has made us rethink everything about our homes. We think about having a bigger TV, more screens, tablets, video games and consoles, even home theaters; but maybe the best solution we will ever find is in a small device.

As quarantine lengthens, the good weather starts to show up and the never-ending desire for an accessible cinema increases hopelessly. We would all like to be able to go to one of these rooms, but due to the absence of knowing when, and under what conditions we can do it, it could be the perfect time to set one up at home.

At a time when we use screens for everything we can, to the point where we take advantage of our walls to improve the experience and give a twist to confinement. Since we have to stay at home, better do it with all possible comforts we can access to.

If you are tired of watching any content on TV as usual and those Netflix series and movies are not entertaining anymore, or would like to try new experiences, it is time for you to try a new gadget that could come as a ring to your finger; we are talking about an actual low cost portable projector.

This is one of the new inventions that have been among us for a short period of time and at the same time are becoming very popular, although they do not give the same quality as a television, the experience can be excellent not only to watch movies but to play or even watch sports or having classes online.

Those are just a few of the reasons these projectors have been getting better reviews than some TVs which are having a very hard period trying to cope with the consumer demands and also the versatility the new products out there are offering.

Nevertheless, do the experts recommend it? George Meadow, engineer, technology expert, director of The Futuristic Labyrinth and partner of many YouTube channels stated on a recent interview that “In our center, these kinds of products always defended the importance of combining small and modest ideas with a new look and features that adapt to each person and provide good family time, not to mention care at home to obtain the best experience possible (especially in these difficult times). The PIQO projector can be a good complement to our daily routine, or be very useful at times when we get tired of doing the same over and over again, although it will probably never replace TVs, it could represent a more than valid alternative for people of all ages”.

Some of the unique features this projector offers are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection since it can cast from any device and onto any surface. A Built-in Speaker, which makes it easy to watch movies or listen to music on-the-go. A Strong Battery with 50 hours of music playback and 5 hours of video playtime, the PIQO puts in a hard competition against its rivals in terms of battery life.

Not to mention it is compatible with more than 3 million apps and counting on the Google Play Store. It also allows you to stream or download your favorite shows from either Netflix or YouTube, play Candy Crush, Clash Royale, manage your calendar and more, all in 240-inch widescreen.

Experts like Swarun Kumar, the leader of the Emerging Technology Lab at Carnegie Mellon University, agree that it is hard to get things right when it comes to try and compete against the TVs enterprises. Five years ago, Kumar’s PhD thesis involved research on new wireless and innovative alternatives for the next decades. “This is a big challenge for any company trying to assemble home projectors like the ones we build,” he said at MIT’s ImPACT 2020, a recent conference on new domestic devices.

Not only the PIQO, but projectors in general register more than 2,300,000 reviews from users of the Amazon online platform who have rated it with an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5. The most common comments are related to the quality of image and sound, how easy it is to start it up, which is very comfortable to carry, and which features are suitable for domestic use.

Some famous actors also recommend the practical and innovative alternative represented by the PIQO, this is the case of Alexander Ludwig, who said in a personal interview for FOX “I like to enjoy movies, series and video games on the big screen, and often rather to use this small projector than a large format television. I think it has interesting advantages and take things to the next level’’.

The world of projectors has always been a little confusing for us all. The idea we have always had about them is that they require a complicated installation and a lot of knowledge in order to use them properly and get the most out of them. When we think of them we always remember the classic days at high school where some teachers used old models to try and give the students a better explanation, installed in the middle of the room hanging from the ceiling.

That exact vision is what has led some people to avoid them and generate the wrong ideas. When it comes to watching movies, people have always preferred a large screen over a projector, as we mentioned before. But to be honest, this new mini projector we have been talking about has completely changed the perspective and established itself as a true alternative to TVs, laptops, mobile devices, and tablets.

GET THIS NEW MINI PROJECTOR PIQO OFFER -50% OFF-

Its practicality and mobility are also important features that makes it shine brightly among the others since it is perfectly fit for small places and you can move it wherever you want. The possibility to choose between a small wall in your room or a big flat ceiling located in the living room is amazing, with no drama, no difficult and boring installation process. All you have to do is connect it to a device, tap Play and sit back to enjoy your favorite movie, TV show, game or whatever you want to see without any problem at all.

The post World’s Smallest Projector Gets Better Reviews Than LED TVs appeared first on HUNDRED GADGETS.

source https://hundredgadgets.com/worlds-smallest-projector-gets-better-reviews-than-led-tvs/

[tyranttortoise]

The imagine is: "What all the skelebros would do if reader got cancer?  How they reacted when they found out from the doctor, how the treatment was for them mentally (cause chemotherapy fucking sucks) and their brothers being there for them and giving them hope, and how they react when the reader got better right when they thought she was gonna die."

This was submitted by @sparkly-potato-wasteland, who is a total sweetheart and one of the nicest people ever, because her friend is going through this at the moment.  I know it doesn’t have as much fluff as it probably should, but I hope it’s all right. <3

UT!Sans:  

He's the one that insisted you go to the doctor in the first place, even if he made a few jokes and puns about you being as lethargic as him before he realized you were getting sicker.  Hearing the word cancer immediately terrifies him--he knows what it means.  Cancer may not be a thing for monsters, but he's studied enough about humans to know what kind of havoc it can cause on a human's body.  He's the one that keeps a level head despite his internal turmoil; he's always been good at pushing his emotions to the back-burner, to process them during the nights when he can't sleep and ends up alone with his thoughts.  He asks the doctor all the major questions--treatment options, surgery, chemo, success rates, the size of the tumor--and he jots down notes.  He's going to research everything he can about all of it, and then he's going to make sure you're going to the best hospital.

But he doesn't tell you any of this.  Instead, he keeps his usual grin in-place and shrugs.  "you can beat this, kiddo.  you're the strongest person i know."

He means every word.

He never tells you how worried he is, or how this diagnosis--and watching you suffer through chemo--has driven him back into drinking.  He starts thinking about RESETs, and on his darker days, when you're sleeping and he's spending the night at Grillby's, he calls up Frisk and starts slurring about having them RESET.  If anything happens to you... he'll just make them RESET everything, despite their promise not to.  

Nothing's ever been permanent before, so why should it start now?  

To your face, however, he's still his usual self, encouraging you and making jokes and puns.  He watches whatever you like while you rest your head in his lap, but he isn't sleeping.  He worries all the time, and of course Papyrus notices.  Thankfully, his brother is a pillar of positivity that takes care of both of you.  After all, Papyrus has grown to love you like a member of the family, so you often end up with both skeletons lying with you on the bed or couch. 

Papyrus keeps reassuring Sans--and he confronts him late one night about his drinking--and Sans finally lets a few of his worries slip out.  It makes him feel lighter, telling someone; especially when Papyrus assures him that everything will be all right.  He's so confident that Sans believes him.

It's a rocky road to recovery.  At one point, the doctors are laying out the worst-case scenario, and Sans can feel his usual smile slipping.  However, right before you're going into surgery, he grabs your hand and looks you directly in the eye.  "it's going to be ok."

He's so serious that he resists the easy pun.  And he was right; you pull through and he stays with you when everything hurts and you can barely stomach anything.  He gets you food infused with magic, and he's there whenever you need anything--as is Papyrus.  

And when you're sleeping in his lap, and he's watching your serene expression with a soft smile, he whispers into the night, "see?  told ya you’re the strongest person i know."

UT!Papyrus:

Papyrus doesn't understand what cancer is, so the word doesn't scare him like it should.

"OH, SO YOU'RE SICK? THE DOCTORS WILL GET YOU MEDICINE, RIGHT?"  His brows are furrowed, and he looks worried.  He thought your just had a cold.  Sans is the one that ends up explaining the diagnosis to him, since you don't have the heart to tell Paps--and you're struggling to accept it yourself.  

Papyrus is panicking on the inside, but he'll never let it show.  "DON'T WORRY!  I KNOW THE HUMAN DOCTORS KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING!  SANS ASSURED ME THAT YOU'LL BE GETTING THE BEST TREATMENT!  AND I'LL BE HERE IF YOU NEED ANYTHING AT ALL!"

He's as attentive as he says, doing everything possible for you.  Watching you go through the treatments is the toughest part, however.  When you're weak and throwing up, he feels helpless.  Sans helps him find things that you can keep down, forbidding Papryus from cooking for you himself.  Papyrus is continuously positive, always reassuring you.  "YOUR BODY IS STRONG, HUMAN!  IT'S FIGHTING THIS!  THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL NOT LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO YOU, SO DON'T WORRY!!"  

He doesn't even let Sans know how worried he is, but he does ask Sans all sorts of questions about the treatment and how safe the surgery is.  Papyrus will always be your pillar of strength, and Sans wisely refuses to let him look up anything on the internet.  If he knew just what surgery entailed, he would likely start crying.  

Still, when you're being brought back for surgery, he never stops smiling and holding your hand, giving you encouraging words. "I'LL BE RIGHT HERE WHEN YOU WAKE UP!  AND WHEN YOU FEEL BETTER, WE'LL GO WHEREVER YOU WANT, AND I'LL COOK ALL YOUR FAVORITE FOODS!"  He paces for hours in the waiting area, and it's Sans that tells him everything will be fine.  He really needed to hear it.  

And, well--Sans is right.  Papyrus showers you with skeletal kisses, punctuating each clink of his teeth against your skin with a loud "MUAH!" for emphasis.  And when you feel better, he takes you to all your favorite places and absolutely dotes on you, providing cuddles, kisses, and positivity.  

UF!Sans:

Red doesn't handle the news well.  

He knows what cancer is; his background involved experimenting on studying humans before he left The Lab.  He knows how fragile humans can be-- how fragile everything can be.  It’s why he kept you at arms’ length for the longest time, keeping his flirting playful and casual.  But, he’s fallen for you--big-time--and he’ll be damned if he lets anything happen to you now.  

He threatens the doctors when you’re not around and researches the best treatment options.   He’s grouchy toward everyone except you--even his brother.  He ends up fighting with Edge when he’s in a particularly bad mood, and when Edge realizes what’s going on, he actually cuts Red some slack.  

You’re asleep when Red’s drinking in the living room, staring at the static on the TV in his own personal hell.  Edge grabs him by the front of his sweater and jerks him off the couch.  Automatically, Red’s eyesocket wisps to life with magic, his sharp teeth bared in a growl that Edge simply scowls at, unperturbed.  

“DO YOU REALLY THINK THIS IS HELPING?  STOP BEING SO PATHETIC AND PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!  THIS ISN’T ABOUT YOU, SANS!”

That actually gets through to Red, and he changes his perspective.  He’s always been sweet to you throughout this, cuddling you and rubbing your back when you feel sick and your body aches.  He tries every food he can think of to help you keep it down, and he’ll use his magic to teleport/levitate you around with ease.  

When you’re gearing up for surgery, he’s a bundle of nervous energy, but he still manages a smile as he rubs his hand along your arm.  “sweetheart, everything’ll be fine.  you’re tough; it’s what i like about’cha.  we’ll watch tons of shitty mtt re-runs after this and laugh at the terrible actin’, just ya wait.”

He paces and wrings his hands in the waiting room.  Edge has to tell him to stop and be still, so he reluctantly complies, but fidgets the entire time.  Once it’s over, he sighs in relief as he watches you slowly come to.  He’s holding your hand, touching your face like you’re made of glass, and there are red-tinted tears glinting in his sockets.  

“hey, sweetheart.”  His voice is thick and even gruffer than usual.  “ya did great.  everything’s gonna be ok now, and ’m not leavin’ your side for a minute.”

UF!Papyrus:

“WHAT?!”

Edge doesn’t understand the term, and his bony brows furrow together.  Human biology isn’t something he’s all that familiar with, aside from what he already knows about your body.  Illnesses elude him, and the more the doctor explains, the angrier he begins to feel.  You’re strong--you’re kind--you’re everything he’s ever wanted.  You’ve never done anything to deserve this, and yet you have something attacking your body from within.  

He doesn’t know how to protect you.

He’s quiet when he gets home, his body tense.  “.... ARE YOU FEELING ALL RIGHT?”  Even though he’s stressed, he’s going to make sure you’re okay.  He’s going to read to you while you lie on the couch, cuddled up to his chest, and once you fall asleep, he’ll hold you for a moment before he sneaks off to spend the night researching everything he can.  He’ll even swallow his pride and call Alphys up, even though he thinks she’s a “CRAZY BITCH” and ask for her input.   Red ends up being the one to explain a few things to him, and when he notices how tense his brother is, Red moves to touch his shoulder.  Edge flinches, but doesn’t bat him away.

“...it’s gonna be ok, boss.  they’re tough.”

He’s intimidating during doctor’s visits; he doesn’t want anyone to touch you, but he lets them because he’s been told it’s for the best.  He glowers at everyone, but his expression softens whenever he looks at you.  He’s never encountered anything like this; he’s always been able to confront any issue head-on, to do whatever it takes to protect his family.  The fact that you might... that you could...

NO.  He resolutely does not even entertain the idea.  He’s going to will you better with his stubborn attitude.  

When you’re going into surgery, he stands beside you, tenderly touching your cheek.  “....I WON’T LET THEM MESS THIS UP, ALL RIGHT?  I’LL BURN THIS PLACE TO THE GROUND IF IT COMES TO THAT.”  It’s an empty threat, but it makes you smile regardless.  He’s always been so dramatic with his threats.  “BUT YOU’RE STUBBORN, AND YOU’LL BE FINE.  I KNOW HOW STRONG YOU ARE, HOW RESILIENT!”

He works on his traps in a notebook while he’s in the waiting room in an attempt to distract himself and channel his nervous energy into something productive.   As soon as you’re out and moved to a room, he’s immediately at your side; the nurses have to work around him.  He wants to make sure you know he’s been there the entire time.  

“How’d it go?” you manage to voice, still groggy.  

Edge smirks.  “WELL, THE BUILDING’S STILL STANDING.”

He stays by your side, sleeping uncomfortably in a chair during your hospital stay.  When you’re released, he does the unthinkable and takes personal time off work to take care of you, doing everything in his power to make sure you’re not in pain and recovering your strength.  

From this point forward, he’ll be even more protective over you than usual.  

[isabellalucas312]

10 Tips For Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Exam Success

Ethical Hacker (CEH) Exam Tips

As the EC-Council states on its website, “to beat a hacker, you need to think like one!” Accordingly, the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) exam tests candidates’ knowledge on hacking techniques. These include pen testing methodologies, network security techniques, current security threats and countermeasures. To ensure exam success, it is important you understand these subjects well. Other than taking a hacking course, you can follow these 10 tips to help you pass your CEH certification exam.

1. Create a Checklist of Topics to Study

The Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) exam has 125 questions that span multiple subjects. Using a checklist can ensure you don’t get overwhelmed studying one area and forget about the rest. Your checklist should include the following topics:

Network security:

Foot printing

Reconnaissance

Scanning

Enumeration

Sniffing

Social engineering

Session hijacking

Firewalls

IDSs

SSL

TCP handshake

Threats:

Current security issues in Windows 7 and 8 operating systems

Latest trojans, viruses, phishing attempt schemes and malware types

Latest mobile hacking tools

Hacking in the cloud

SQL injection

DDoS attacks

Sniffers

Heartbleed

Shellshock (uses Bash vulnerabilities)

Countermeasures:

Current security laws and current industry standards

Security controls

Determining access points for penetration (risk assessment)

Cryptography

2. Create a Study Plan

Now that you’ve identified what you need to study, it’s time to create a study plan. Be realistic about your work and life obligations. Try to schedule study time during your down time, or in conjunction with times when you may be using some of the material you are learning. For instance, if you are scheduled to attend a technical seminar or brief that is focused on discussing current network security trends, plan to study networking techniques before, during and after that seminar.

Other factors to consider while creating your study plan include:

How soon do you intend to take the examination? Check the EC-Council Exam Center to find a time that works for you.

How much can you spend on preparation material and training courses? Look for official, certified study materials and training to make sure you have a thorough understanding of each topic covered in the exam.

What training method best suits you? Some people prefer self-learning, while others think there is no substitute for the classroom. Use your past learning experiences to help you pick the method to help you prepare best.

How well acquainted are you already with the exam subjects? Your personal experience can save you some studying time, but you should take into consideration factors such as the exam length and question logic. Relying too much on experience alone is a poor strategy that will likely lead to bad results.

3. Use Real-World Environments to Study

It is important to understand the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) exam material from a real-world perspective, as opposed to just reading about the concepts. This does not mean try to hack your neighbor’s wireless router, or pen test a business without permission, as both of these could land you in jail. But you can create a virtual lab environment at home that you can use to practice some of the techniques. If you have the ability, attend CEH training that will show you how to set up lab environments and provide training guidance.

4. Submit for Your Exam Early

The process to sit for the CEH exam can be time consuming. If you do not attend official training, you have to prove two years of information security related experience. There is a $100 fee to go through this process. If you are under a deadline to pass the exam, you need to consider the time it takes to go through this eligibility process. Include this processing time into your overall schedule for exam study and completion.

5. Get to Know Your Exam

The EC-Council website provides essential information about the CEH certification exam. It will also provide links to a lot of useful information, such as official training providers, exam topics, practice questions and study material.

The CEH Handbook contains essential details such as an overview of the certification and the exam, including its prerequisites, how many and what type of questions you are about to face, time allotted for examination and the passing mark.

6. Leverage Free Exam-Prep Resources

The CEH Handbook, CEH Exam Blueprint, practice questions and more are all available for free on the EC-Council website. Use these as a starting point to evaluate your understanding of the CEH exam.

The CEH Exam Blueprint provides detailed information on the topics covered in the examination, including the percentage of questions dedicated to each subject. This helps a lot, especially in constructing your study plan.

7. Get Involved In an Exam Prep Course

Deciding to use a self-study-only approach may seem like a bold decision, but it may not be the best strategy. Going through a certification preparation course lets you spend time with an experienced instructor, with actual knowledge on how to beat the exam. It is an excellent opportunity to get all your questions answered, share experiences and strategies, and even network if it is in-person training. This results in a greater success rate on any certification exam.

8. Take Practice Exams

No CEH candidate should approach the exam without the help of practice questions. The CEH exam contains 125 questions that must be answered in four hours – that’s about two minutes per question. This means you must be at your best, not only in terms of knowledge of the current security domains, but also in terms of time management and stress control.

To get started, review EC-Council’s CEH assessment. Another option is InfoSec Institute’s practice test service, SkillSet.

As for practice exam test results, do not be discouraged. Unless you are an experienced test taker, it is quite common for things to go sour during the first round of questions, especially if you are not done with your reading and prep course. Take your time to study and use every resource available to clarify any doubts. By the end of your study plan, you will see consistent results on practice exams.

9. Join an Online Community

A simple Google search will find several CEH forums, wikis and personal websites where both candidates and certified professionals share their certification experiences.

As usual, it is important to verify the credibility of any source you are using. For instance, if you are looking for a formal definition of a concept that is covered in the exam, the best approach is using official material, e.g., books, guidelines and other official publications. But, if you are looking for general advice, posting your question to an online forum such as reddit or TechExams can be quite helpful.

Many candidates visit online forums and search for “CEH success.” This can serve as both preparation and motivation for the upcoming exam. If you are feeling confident, searching “CEH failure” posts may also give you some important advice, as learning from the mistakes of others is way less painful than from your own.

A word of advice: Unless you have time to help others, stay away from toxic people and posts. Many unfortunate exam takers go online to vent their frustration and this can be discouraging.

10. Clear Your Mind

Use these tips to clear your mind and stay focused during the exam:

Be aware of time. During the exam, you may reach a high level of concentration I like to call “the zone.” This means a greater focus, which is good for problem solving, but can cause you to lose track of time. What may seem like seconds can be precious minutes; hours tend to pass at a very fast rate, so make sure you have time to go through every question on the exam.

Take your time reading the questions. Even with limited time, it is important not to rush. Take your time, pay attention to each question and answer option and make sure you understand what is being asked. Watch for distractors (options that are obviously false) in multiple-choice questions that can be quickly eliminated. It is also important to pay close attention to terms such as MOST, LEAST, NOT, ALL, NEVER and ALWAYS, since they can entirely change a sentence.

Try to relax. Remember to stretch and relax your muscles during the exam. A relaxed mind can help you solve difficult questions.

Remember, there is no reason to panic. Remaining calm will improve your concentration. If you followed your study plan correctly, your results will likely be great; if not, you will have a lot more experience during the next try!

In the end, the CEH certification is a great way to advance your infosec career. However, as expected, such benefits come at a cost: only the most dedicated candidates will succeed. Plan ahead and use these 10 tips as a basis for your study strategy, but also consider enrolling in official training formore :https://www.troytec.com/exam/312-50-exams