#i started okami the same week i got it

[goldensunset]

bearer of the curse <—- has a new unopened game that requires both ample free time and the right mental state at once to begin playing; doesn’t know when that will be

[m0e-ru]

p4 pokemon au where all problems are because of some stupid zoroark cracked with action replay

maul me over as much as you want over poke partner choices because idgaf im going to start yapping under the cut (2.5k words are yuo joking ?)

um where can i start

i wanna make it clear im sure these characters would all have different pokemon teams if they were playing pokemon on the nintendo ds, like, souji could be a rest staller if he wanted to. but anyway, heres my idea of who these guys would partner up with because i think it’s fun. and none of this is final i could give namatame a goomy too AHAHA

oh another disclaimer while i proclaim ive played all the mainline games, is i havent actually played a pokemon game past XY also im a unova babygirl est 2014 . yippie

Souji feels like such a normal-type guy to me. Cheren black and white. Well, the gray did influence it, but also he’s a very flexible guy.

He caught a Lillipup as a kid, and it’s been with him through multiple moves. His parents didn’t care about a pokemon in the house as long as it didn’t make a fuss, and was kind of Souji’s only friend at the time. It evolved into a Herdier at some point before he gets to Inaba, and probably gets to be a Stoutland for the whole Izanagi-no-Okami equivalent.

Not that I think he’d cheese his way through battles with Work Up -> Return shtick, but I think it’s a funny thought lol

Yusuke got a Tadbulb following him around, which he found in the moving van when his family was unpacking. And the next few weeks, he almost ran over a Froakie going 60kph on his bike. Yosuke appreciates having the Tadbulb around when working around Junes, and the Froakie guides him through Inaba as a local I guess lol. It evolves into the Frogadier when they go investigate the serial murders with Souji. It probably knows Aerial Ace for all I know LMAO

Chie’s Glaceon’s actually Muku, the Eevee Yukiko tried to take care of, until it was put in Chie’s care when she wasn’t allowed to keep it. When they were middle school, after one vacation at Mt. Yasogami, the Eevee ended up evolving next to an Ice Rock of all things. The two wondered why it didn’t evolve from friendship, like an Espeon or an Umbreon, and they joke around that the Eevee loved neither of them and bonded with a chunk of ice instead. Chie makes it wear a muffler because she misses Eevee's fluffy coat, in a way.

Around the same time, Chie found a Mienshao training with her at the flood plains, and it decided to stay with her. Sometimes, she’d offer Yukiko to have it help out at the inn.

Kanji’s mom actually kept a Cottonee around to gather the stray cotton it leaves around to spin into thread sometimes. She wondered where it went, until Kanji admitted it evolved into a Whimsicott after it touched a rock he found lying around on the way home, which was a Sun Stone. It still stays around to help, and even floats all the way to Yasogami just to deliver Kanji’s lunch he forgot at home.

Kanji caught a Blitzle himself, and it was also there when he was beating up all the bikers making a ruckus by the highway, which made him easy to profile during that one TV segment about him. It goes with Kanji while he’s biking, and he’d refuse its help even when he gets tired.

Nobody really knows how Teddie became a boy, nor where he got his Cubchoo. All he’s mentioned is that they “saw one another in each other’s eyes” and it starts sneezing into Yosuke’s face. Well, it’s not too bad because they’re both Junes’ new mascots, in a way. Maybe he IS the Cubchoo 🤔🤔🤔

Rise had the Ralts since middle school. Having it perform with her during her audition to be an idol almost basically made her in the cut. It evolved into a Kirlia which made her more popular as Risette. Although, fans and haters started throwing Dawn Stones at it after a statement where Rise didn’t want to reveal its gender even with so many people asking. Most of them were fake, just to give Rise a scare, and it was only super fans or super haters that would throw in the real deal at shows or even just handshake sessions.

Naoto’s grandfather helped him catch a Surskit before he left the estate and became the Detective Prince. He once accused a Sneasel to be a culprit of one case, but it ended up proving itself innocent, nagging Naoto to certain evidence when he just thought it was annoying him. Impressed by each other’s wit, they’ve become partners in solving crime. Naoto would pacify it with his Surskit’s sweet syrup. And when the Surskit evolved into a Masquerain, Naoto would have two partners by his side. Although, this lead to trusting his own instincts and pokemon more than other people.

Chisato owned a Rockruff, which even adored Dojima before they were even married. It evolved into a midday Lycanroc, which started to help Dojima with his own investigations. When Chisato passed, it was less bitter than Dojima, and would be sent home to stay with Nanako if he ever had to work overnight. When Nanako was comfortable enough with Souji and his Herdier, the Lycanroc would stay with Dojima, and Adachi would help prop him on its back when he gets himself drunk.

A bit after Chisato’s funeral in the middle of the mourning period, her mother came to her granddaughter, Nanako, and gave her a Cleffa, in which they would both learn to take care of each other. It would have fun being tossed around in the air by the Lycanroc and Herdier at home, while Souji would tell Nanako to make a wish on the star everytime it was in the air. Because it’s the Star Shape pokemon lol i think it’s cute

While Adachi was still in the big city, he’d see the skinniest Purrloin in an alley on the way home. He fed it once, and it wouldn’t stop pestering him since. He thought it was over when his apartment complex neighbors started feeding it, but it found delight in annoying Adachi specifically, taking his keys from his pockets, or nabbing a bit of his takeout when he was distracted.

It jumped into the boot of his car, genuinely curious of what was going on, until it found itself in an hours long trip which ended with it in Inaba. Dojima mentioned his Lycanroc smelled a feline scent on him, while Adachi just denies he owns a pokemon, much less that Purrloin that isn’t even native to the area. It’s caught the attention of the locals for a while, and it took it to its advantage to get more people to feed it, but still hangs around Adachi to go nick his new, rusty apartment keys.

There’s also like, this Shuppet that shows up at some point, and his landlady and neighbors keep telling him about it and giving him weird looks. But he doesnt believe in superstitions and doesnt have a pokedex to look at so who cares

Namatame's family has a Bunnelby helping around the business with little chores and such. His parents send it off to Namatame to work with him and keep him company while he tries to recover. Somewhere along the way, he finds an Absol following him on a rainy day, which he takes care of alongside the Bunnelby entrusted to him, or maybe it’s taking care of him? While Namatame becomes more manic each passing day as his messiah complex gets to him, he starts distancing himself from Bunnelby and spends more time with Absol. 

The MOEL gas station has a shiny Heliolisk, but a lot of people don't really know the concept of shiny pokemon, and they haven't seen Heliolisks or Helioptiles in the urban area, so they don't really think it's so special besides it being a different color. It's nothing more than a mascot of sorts, and does silly things with the attendant; like startling Adachi and that Purrloin that follows him around. It can sense when it's going to rain by feeling the static electricity around it. And what's rather peculiar is that it doesn't seem too averse to rain or cloudy skies. It does enjoy basking in the sun, and people would look up to see it hanging around on the station canopy with a spread out frill those days.

okay, so this is the part where I'm supposed to talk about plot. um. anyway

Way back when, there was a Zoroark that would walk among people, disguised as a human. People started rumors and suspected this woman really is a pokemon, but nobody seemed to shun her or really care, she was just a nice lady and took care of the people around her. People would say she came to them from a greater power to be a guardian to the land, similar to the legends in different regions, like Sinnoh and their Arceus.

However, the way she protects her people would be through illusions. She would keep external and malicious forces at bay by severely frightening them at the mountaintops, or the forests, if they ever got through, be it human or pokemon. If anyone were hurt or were about to die, unable to be treated to health, she would comfort them in a grand dream as they would fall asleep for the very last time. 

As time went on and technology developed, people were so entranced with the television broadcasts, wanting to know who was behind the screen, even if they were covered up in makeup and filters. 

The greater power sought to sate the people's desires, and saw the Zoroark it left in their care wasn't enough. So it split the pokemon into two, with one half so weak it was just a Zorua. The newly born Zoroark went off to accomplish its appointed duty, no matter the means. To better determine what the people wanted, however, it created a scheme which would involve stimulating the masses to come to an answer.

The Zoroark played a simple gas station attendant, which would stay close and observe the people. It would choose three pawns to watch over, manipulating the situation in tandem to their reactions. 

well so um basically there's still an isekai with TV portals. the iznmi Zoroark has enough power this time to create pocket dimensions straight from its illusion power. Every victim that ends up inside still gets haunted by their “truth” iznmi determines after scrutinizing them. The Midnight Channel broadcasts are also their illustrations. so basically, instead of things going on by itself from the collective unconscious reacting, it's a Zoroark piecing things together. it's kinda like pokepark 2. HAHAHA

Namatame's still kidnapping people he sees on the Midnight Channel. And when he gets Nanako, the Bunnelby stays behind and begs the IT to help. It helps them find Namatame, where they confront him and his Absol. Through illusions and legitimate power channeling, the Absol mega evolves. The IT defeat it and it returns to a normal Absol. They take both Nanako and Namatame to the hospital, the Bunnelby by Namatame's side the whole time.

When Adachi's suspected to be the killer, he escapes into the world inside the TV and makes a deal with the Zoroark. The Purrloin follows Adachi's scent and ends up in the TV, terrified of its unknown surroundings and hiding from the rest of the monstrous illusions that popped up. It got used to the world, however, and when the IT arrived, it helped them with Adachi's silly puzzles, to which he groans through a PA about how that pokemon’s still annoying him in another world. 

The IT confront Adachi, until a Mismagius appears to stop them. It sings Perish Song (because Magatsu-Izanagi is a Ghastly Wail kind of thing lmfao) but everyone stood their ground, blocking the song from their ears. Even under Adachi's (albeit in pain) command, the Mismagius falters, and the Zoroark takes things into its own hands, creating a bigger illusion to finally deal with these meddling kids for itself. 

But they defeat Ame-no-Sagiri, and its grand voice agrees to stop the grand illusions plaguing Inaba. The IT still have no idea who this conductor of schemes is, and Adachi can't give a clear answer either 

Marie's a Zorua with amnesia so bad she forgot she's a Zorua at all. She started her illusion as a human girl just to aimlessly wander around Inaba more easily and has been stuck in that form since. She was taken into the Velvet Room where they can clearly see that she isn't a human, but a pokemon. What's impressive is that she doesn't have a tail sticking out, which would mean her powers of illusion are rather potent. 

Souji’s made to chaperone her around Inaba to get her memories back, the whole shtick. While everyone stops prying into her nonexistent life, they're impressed with her ability to understand pokemon, as if she can actually understand them. Marie comes to the conclusion that she must have grown up around pokemon to be able to understand them that well. 

In the end, she finds out she is a pokemon, and iznmi Zoroark sends her to a grave that is physically in Inaba, instead of a pocket dimension. 

Margaret creates a conduit from that shed TV to that tomb somewhere in Inaba. Marie runs around as a Zorua and makes illusions to stop the IT from getting to her. But they manage to get to the heart of the tomb and get Zorua Marie from burying herself. 

They defeat another one of iznmi Zoroark’s avatars dwelling in Marie which was controlling her, then Marie comes back to the IT, accepting her identities as a pokemon and a human girl.

The IT thought that the illusions have stopped, and people are free to see what's really in front of their eyes. But Souji confronts the gas station at MOEL, where he reveals he's really a Zoroark with a duty, even startling the Heliolisk by its side. 

The IT enter the final world of illusions and desperately try to find the Zoroark to convince it to stop and let people truly live, that no one should hold their hands all the time, and quit living in a painless and meaningless utopia.

With everyone and their pokemon exhausted, Marie finds the strength to convince her other self. To let it see that she is living proof how people can live a life with the truth, and how they can stand on their own feet. 

After some time, the Zoroark agrees to dispel the illusions it has made, and appoint the rest of its power to Marie for her to be the guardian pokemon of the people of Inaba.

[go-go-devil]

2,4,14 and 20 for the video game ask bestie :]

2) Top 5 games of all time.

Aaaarrrgggghhhh don't force me to narrow it down like that, bestie! There's so many great games that I love forever T_T

Well for this I'll just pick the first five that instantly come to mind: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Pikmin 1, Hylics 1 & 2, and Okami

Dark Souls will definitely be on this list too. Only a little over halfway through and it's already one of the best games I've ever played 🔥🖤

4) Best game soundtrack (full album or single track)?

Katamari Damacy, no question. That game still has my absolute favorite synergy with music/gameplay of any game I've played, though I will say both it's sequel We Love Katamari and Undertale come the closest to reaching that level to me. Personally out of the three Damacy's got greater amount of my favorite songs though <3

14) Worst game you’ve ever played?

That's a really great question! I'll admit I've been pretty lucky when it came to avoiding godawful shovelware trash games as a kid, and any ones I willing play now via emulation don't count for me since I'm willing subjecting myself to them. For me a REAL worst game is one you play expecting a good time, only to be let down horribly

The winner in that regard is definitely the Finding Nemo tie-in game. I was a huge fan of the film when it came out, so I rented the game for a whole week expecting an experience that made me feel like a small fish in the open ocean, only to instead get an endless slog of the most boring gameplay ever designed. Literally just "pick up this object and place it over there" for the first several levels. It was so mind-numbing I just gave up and let the game disc waste away on my shelf before I could return it for another game.

A close runner-up though would be the time I actually tried to play the NES Ghosts n' Goblins on actual hardware at my cousin's house several years back. I'm no stranger to hard NES games, hell I even beat Castlevania 1 on the same NES I used to play this one, but fuck does Gn'G have some of the most needlessly bullshit design I've ever seen in a game of that era! I couldn't get past Level 3, but unlike w/ other hard games I didn't feel compelled to continue further. It's not hard because it's an 80's game, it's hard because the devs who ported it thought fast, awkward enemy patterns and cryptic item placement makes a game "good" -_-

20) A game that made you cry.

I remember one of the final cutscenes during the final boss of Okami made me cry. Spoilers below!

It's not that it was a "sad" scene per say, but after such a long journey meeting and helping out these characters I really grew to care for, seeing them all pray for Amaterasu to regain her full strength and defeat Yami, and then the music that started playing afterward... once that track started I just lost it. Tears were streaming down my eyes, and even with that I still had the determination to win the battle! It was the final push to make this game fall into one of my favorite pieces of art I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing :')

[mochipon-vt]

i realize that i've kinda been leaving this social out of the loop a bit probably due to the fact that i barely use twitter anymore since it's basically useless now and tumblr has vibes of heading in the same slippery slope direction as twit so it's made me shift my focus to being more active on bsky than anything else.

i apologize but it also seems to be coming to light a lil bit that tumblr is almost just as manipulative as twitter is/was for suppressing engagement and visibility and increasing amounts of users + bots abusing the tagging system is starting to render it useless as well.

but, aside from all that, i will try to keep any followers or viewers from my other locations informed and updated on things going on.

if anyone checked on my previous post of what happened in october, you'll know it got a bit stressful for me towards the end of the month which resulted in me forgetting about trying to plan things for halloween, hitting affiliate status on my twitch, my upcoming birthday and wanting to celebrate a sort of? 1 year anniversary for being able to stream consistently. and while i hadn't been planning anything huge or spectacular for it, i still wanted to make note of all these things i was excited to celebrate.

that being said, this month has been rather busy + some disrespectful viewers put me in a slump for a little bit that i'm still kinda slowly trying to bounce back from but the month is catching up to me quickly and i had planned to postpone any baby celebrations till the middle of this month. well, now i realize next week is holiday time already and i most likely won't be able to do MUCH celebrating or streaming due to spending time with family and friends etc so i'm gonna try to plan a little something for the end of this week to celebrate things. i'll post an update on whatever it is i plan to do.

i also wanted to toss this in here bc idk if anyone from here comes to view my streams but should anyone be interested or have input on what i play next after i finish mario wonder, feel free to vote on what you'd like to see me play next. all of these options are things i feel in the mood for playing in the near future so i literally don't care which one wins, i'm just incredibly indecisive.

but now having caught this social up to speed with what's going on, hope everyone is doing well and i'll try to update here more along side bsky but not twitter bc it just. is not worth anyone's time to bother with anymore. i had also wanted to maybe start using insta for art things but i'm not hearing great things about it's future recently and it has always seems quite horrible to do anything picture/photo related on there in a creative way + it seems like the uploads things in the worst resolution possible so. idk what to do with that account other than to keep up with people leaving twitter now. sure would be awesome if everyone would stop killing social platforms.

[kankuroplease]

Could you tell us a bit more about kawaramas and Okamis background like before they became a thing? Ik that one of them kinda found the other and took care of them when they were children during the war but how did that happen and did they stay friends after that or did they meet again after some years?

I’m not a fanfic writer sejhdns so I can’t write things with a lot of uh, clarity? Or cohesively lmao. But the way I see it happening;

Okami couldn’t just sit around and allow people to die, so anytime her parents dozed off in their hiding place, she was sneaking out with supplies and ninken to try and aid wounded Shinobi.

On one such night, she happened to see a boy in a fight that he was losing. There would be no saving him if she didn’t intervene and for the first time, she got the courage to ride into a fight.

Everything happened in a flash. Her ninken took a life and the gravity of the situation sunk in as she looked down on the boy who was gravely wounded, struggling to breathe.

She removed his bloody armor to allow him to breathe more comfortably and locate where he was bleeding from so she could heal him, only taking notice that he was a Senju at that moment.

It dawned on her that she couldn’t simply bring him home and ask for her parents assistance. If they knew she not only took a life and brought a SENJU home, they would definitely let him die to balance the scales.

So she took him to her secret hidden den to remove his armor and began properly taking care of the unconscious boy.

She made sure he had a comfortable place to lay and monitored him the best she could and made sure to listen to breathing and giving him medicine for his fever

By the time Kawarama wakes up, there’s this grey haired girl(?) is passed out next to him and a massive white ninken that looked more like a wolf than a dog snoozing behind them.

His first instinct tells him to defend himself but he’s still hurting and can’t move much and all his armor and weapons are missing

His groans awaken Okami and they have a mini stare down. His foggy mind remembers seeing a grey haired kid riding a big ninken towards him in battle and the same fluffy gray hair with blood dripping from it hovering over him as tears fell from those same honey brown eyes he was looking into now

She murmured asking if he was feeling as she sat up rubbing the sleep from her eyes

He was safe? Or at least he didn’t feel threatened looking at her

She never gave him her name or talked about clans, she just changed his bandages, made the same bland broth, hummed him songs to fall asleep to, and once he was feeling well enough to sit up, they played games together.

After about a week of this, he was able to leave the den, with some assistance. That’s when Okami tells him it’s time for to go back to his clan. She had packed him a bag of rations knowing and assured him her ninken can find his home following his directions.

Kawarama told her his name and asks her for hers but she told him to just call her his friend.

After that, They didn’t see each other for years. Kawarama tried going back to that den a few times, but it was long abandoned. So he gave up hope of finding her again.

It wasn’t until there was yet another battle a few more years later, that Kawarama caught a glimpse of grey fluffy hair dashing threw the forest on the back of a white ninken being pursued by several men.

That’s when Kawarama saved and greeted her with a “didn’t think I’d see you again, friend”

To which Okami nervously laughs and tells him that was sort of the plan, but she thanks him by name and tries to be on her way

However Kawarama stops her ninken (and Okami feels betrayed by her furry companion. Since when did she start listening to menfolk??) and tells her she owes her old friend a name for saving her butt this time

And that’s how I HC they met, met again, and started an actual friendship

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1019 - Initial Thoughts

And we return!

A week break and an excellent anime episode later and we can continue on from the raid to settle more fights.

One hopes that 1020 is gonna bring us something huge like 1000 and 1010 but we'll have to get through this one first and see

Spoilers for the Chapter, Please also support the Official

Starting this one with a color spread this time, a fancy bikini shot for the ladies as they ride on Jimbei's shark bros with the rest of the crew. Nothing to look too deeply into I don't think

Starting with the chapter we have Sanji vs Queen about to commence, as well as Miyagi trying to give the healing remedy to Zoro through the bandages in vain

What's the bet that Zoro will be pissed at Sanji for bandaging him up so thick that it took longer for him to get back in the fight?

In the Polar Tang Luffy is urged to wake up too, but of course when he does it's one thing on his mind: Meshi!

But Sanji's mention of Franky being intrigued by Queen's lasers leads into his fight with Sasaki

Sasaki doesn't like that his Armoured Squadron has turned on him and is ready to kill anyone regardless of whether they're controlled, though Franky can at least plea ignorance since he hasn't seen Tama's power before

New Sword though, WW had the disappointing dagger but Sasaki has a kinda drill sword

And he's in his hybrid form, which is twice the size of General Franky

Whaaaaaaaaaaaa? He's using his triceratops frame to spin like a propeller...he's literally hovering with his neck...

Paired with his sword the 'Triceracopter' attack is effective, but Oda really is drinking the wild juice today

'The Triceratops is a pretty special breed of dinosaur' - maybe, but it don't fucking fly Sasaki!

Sasaki looks to prepare a tackle, but as Franky guards himself with his mini-shield, Sasaki is using his propulsion to get more distance instead, charging Franky with more momentum

The mech suit is taking some damage, but Franky uses that momentum to hit a headache of a German Suplex

He tries for the Victory Slash again, but Sasaki copters out and his sword is broken

Pushed to a corner, this means Franky has to use his big guns: the big gun

Also interesting note that they're near the performance floor, the battle is once again converging into the same spot

The General Cannon sends Sasaki in the air, but not KO'd and hammers head first into Franky

Also noticing that there are some weapon-themed names among the flying six; X-Calibur, Ulti Mortar, Fang Pistol, now Tricera Bullet/Magnum

The mech is lost but Franky ejects out of it, leaving Sasaki open to a Radical Beam

That finishes Sasaki off, for now at least, I don't think you can write off most of the Flying Six being KO'd for good right now. But still, 4 down, Black Maria to go

Finally back up to Kaido and Yamato and Kaido is lamenting how Yamato refuses to be a feather in his military cap, and that he even went out of his way to get a devil fruit for him

But Yamato also sees it differently, he only ate it because Kaido starved him, and was unaware of its powers too - since he likely spent most of his life in Wano which is mostly ignorant to what DFs are

We finally get to see it though, at first I thought he was a Kitsune but Devon has that, so my guess is that Yamato has the Inu Inu no Mi: Model Okami

So a fair bit of coverage there.

Luffy's awake, Zoro is being delayed a little, Franky got his win and we know what Yamato's Zoan form looks like.

While I understand that people wanted more from Sasaki character wise I won't fault Oda because we envisioned a narrative he wasn't following. Would it have been cool for him to be related to Kokoro? Sure, but it wasn't all necessary, and we can't undermine Sasaki's durability; he was jumped by Denjiro first (who is still AWOL), had his belly cut open early into the fight, got suplexed right on the head, plus he took a General Cannon and survived - the same kinda attack that even knocked Big Mom back a bit. Franky was clever in his fight too, using the deception of his mechsuit to carve an opening - I do however wonder if the suit will return into play, the docking system is already jammed by the Numbers and now the shoulder cannon and shield are tattered, maybe it's cause for an upgrade?

Luffy being awake will of course set us on a path to get him back in the fight, and Zoro's delay seems to be leading to him arriving only at a decisive moment - perhaps when King comes to outnumber Sanji or someone attacks Tiny Tiny Chopper.

Yamato's Zoan form looks cool, though I do worry like others about how feminine it looks. I trust Oda not to make Yamato go back to identifying as a woman when Kaido's defeated but it is a small voice in the back of the mind, I know a lot were set on the White Tiger as well to counter the Azure Dragon and it might still be the case but it does look to be more canine. It is kinda strange how similar it looks to Su Long as well, the argument of Yamato or Carrot continues in that regard and maybe a plus for whoever thinks that Momo and Tama will join the crew as apprentices with Carrot and Yamato as retainers to parallel Oden, Toki, Inu and Neko (Yamato being Inu as the Okami and Carrot being Neko since Su Long is Moon Lion).

Alas, more questions will be due for next week, one expects Robin to get that W over Maria next time around, though the fact that we're running out of big names is still cause for worry, their converging on the Performance Hall implies there might be a battle royale at the end, army vs 2 yonko or something? No Week break for now so we shall have to wait and see.

[winghero-writing]

Hi, hope you’re doing well! Can I request Hawks x Tokoyami’s sister or cousin reader?

Hey! I loved writing this one! Thanks for the ask! Also, I made the quirk while writing so I didn't explain it too much. Since Y/N is Tokoyami's cousin I thought in something related to his hero name, that's why I choose Amaterasu. I mixed it with the videogame Okami, I don't know if some of you know it but I took inspiration from there!

I hope that you like the quirk haha

Have a great day!

"Okay, class. Today we're going to have a Pro Hero helping your training." Aizawa shot his class a glare before they could start screaming.

"Behave."

Class 1-A was excited to know which Pro is going to help them. None of the students notice their classmate, Tokoyami, let out a long sigh.

"Tokoyami-kun! Who do you think is going to help us today?" Tokoyami turned to Midoriya who started talking to him.

"We have rescue training now so maybe a hero specialized in rescues?"

Midoriya nodded to him and went away. In reality, Tokoyami had an idea of the person.

A week ago, he went home for a weekend since UA let them go visit their family. When he arrived he saw his cousin, Y/N sat in the living room talking with his parents. He has always been close to her since she visited them with frequency when he was little but after some time, she didn't have the time with her work as a hero.

And now that she is in the Top 10, she had less time to see him. It was a surprise to see her in his house that weekend.

They talked a lot on those days to catch up. When Fumikage asked her why she was here she just changed the topic so he never got to know why she came here.

Now that Aizawa-sensei told them that someone was going to help them in rescue training, Tokoyami began to put the pieces together.

He was out of his thoughts when someone opened the door of the classroom rather harshly.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Y/N entered the classroom rapidly and bowed.

'Damn you Keigo!' She was out of breath, running to UA tired her out, sure, but her boyfriend also had a lot to do with her breathless look right now.

Her boyfriend, Keigo, who just happens to be the Number Two hero, choose to have a make-out session in the morning. The same morning she had to go teach her cousin's class at UA.

Straightening up her back, she looked over at the class. She searched for her little cousin and smiled at him.

"I'm Y/N! Also known as Amaterasu!" The hero gave a big smile. "I'll help you with your rescue training today. I look forward to it!"

Y/N finished her presentation and all the class went to change for their hero costume.

While waiting for the kids Y/N made conversation with Aizawa, it was mostly one-sided since she did all the talking but she didn't mind. It didn't take long for the kids to be ready. They were in the Gym so they could train. The USJ was under construction after the villain attack.

"I'll start explaining what are we gonna do!" Y/N stood in front of the kids. "I'll explain my quirk first. I can create this little guy." Y/N opened her hand and all of Class 1-A saw a little wolf in her hand. "His name is Okami! He is linked to me since birth. He can change size at will or when I tell him. My hero name is Amaterasu, as the Goddess of the sun. Okami gains strength with sunlight, so do I!"

All the class was in awe at her quirk. It was a weird quirk but awesome nonetheless.

"The drawn back is that if I gain too much sunlight I'll start to heat up and Okami will start to dehydrate." Okami was in full size now beside Y/N.

"Explanation ended!" She clapped her hands. "Now we'll start the train-"

Y/N saw that none of the kids were paying attention, their attention focus on something behind her.

"THE NUMBER TWO HERO!" Y/N wince at how loud some of the kids scream.

She turned around, her eyes clashing with golden eyes. Y/N let out a sigh and rubbed her temples, already having a headache because of her boyfriend.

"What are you doing here Hawks?"

"I just came to help my lovely girlfriend!" He gave her a side hug to keep watching the class.

"And to pay a visit to my disciple." He searched for Tokoyami who was trying to hide from him.

"Tsukuyomi! Hey, Tsukuyomi!"

Tokoyami stood up and went to say hi to his teacher. He bowed before him.

"You are too formal Tsukuyomi! Relax!"

"Wait..."

Y/N got out from the side hug and stood in front of Tokoyami, like a mother protecting her child.

"You didn't tell me that Fumikage was your intern!"

The class was watching the whole drama in front of them. Some were amused, some were confused, and some others didn't care.

Aizawa was sleeping so he didn't help the situation either.

"Huh? I told you about Tsukuyomi, Y/N. Do you even pay attention when I tell you about my day?" He made a hurt expression, Y/N knew that it was fake, she knows her bird boyfriend too well.

"Well, you told me his Hero name, not his real name." She put her hands in her hips, her expression changing to a proud one. "Fumikage is my beloved cousin!"

All of Tokoyami's classmates let out a gasp. They didn't know that he was related to such a Hero like Y/N.

"What!" Now it was Hawks turn to be surprised. "You didn't tell me that you had a cousin!"

"Hawks, I have told you all about my family." She covered her face with her hand and began shaking her body. It was obvious that she was pretending to cry. "You are the one who doesn't listen to me!"

"Is this some 'Keeping up with the Kardashians' episode?" Denki was about to ask Momo to make popcorn to enjoy the show in front of them.

Tokoyami let out a long sigh, tired of his cousin and his teacher, that for his bad luck, happened to be a couple.

Hawks began laughing, he went to hug Y/N who just happened to started laughing along with him.

"Did you have to make such a show?"

"Don't you like it when we pull out this performance?"

"No, it's weird and tiring." Tokoyami went back to his classmates who kept looking at the couple trying to understand what just happened.

"Don't worry kids! We're just acting it out!" Y/N smiled at the class who were more confused by now.

'They look like some old married couple who tried to embarrass their kid...'

"We like to embarrass Tsukuyomi when we are together!" Hawks smiled at Tokoyami. "Anyway, sorry to interrupt your class. I'll let Y/N keep doing the class."

Y/N frown at that. "You'll help me with the class since you were the one who interrupted it in the first place!"

Hawks whine and beg to Y/N to let him rest while she reprimanded him for overworking himself.

"I didn't know that you were related to Y/N Tokoyami-kun!" Midoriya strikes a conversation with him. "That's awesome!"

Tokoyami hummed in agreement. "It is." He looked over at the couple. "It's just really chaotic with those two together."

The class sweatdropped at his statement and turned to look at the couple waiting for their class to begin.

'They really do look like an old married couple...'

[lovabletomholland]

The Beach House- Chapter 6

Tom Holland Imagine (Tom Holland x Reader)

Word Count: 1,405

Warnings: Language, Angst, Fluff (that’s it for now, will add to it if needed)

Summary: You know Tom has spoken to Harry but he hasn’t told you anything about it and it is driving you crazy. The whole house finds out about the fact that you and Tom are together. Nikki seems to be very happy about it but you mother does not. Later, something puts a damper on your happiness.

A/N: Finally! Here is Chapter 6. Sorry it took so long, it took me longer than anticipated to get it how I wanted it. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and thank you all so much for the support and feedback! It still blows my mind. Hope you all have a lovely day!

Previously - Chapter 5

It's been a few days but you know Tom has talked to Harry. You saw Tom leaving his room later that day. He hasn't told you about it though and it is driving you crazy. You just want to know that Harry is okay, you don't need details (though that would be nice) of what happened. Things have gotten a little better between you and Harry but it's not how it used to be. It's stressing you out. At least things are going good with you and Tom.

There is one thing you have noticed. Tom won’t even hold your hand when Harry is around. That makes you wonder but you just feel like there is no way his problem could possibly be that. The two of you have been best friends for so long, you push that thought out of your head and try to relax. You feel a touch on your arm and open your eyes to see Tom smiling down at you. You were laying down on a chair by the pool. "Hey beautiful." You scoot over a little as he sits down next to you and his hand moves to your cheek, caressing it. You lean into his touch, a smile on your face, "Hello handsome." He leans over and pecks your lips a couple times before straightening back up. "I'll be down at the beach with Harrison and Will if you need me, okay?" He leans back over and kisses your nose. "Okay," you smile, "are you ever going to tell me what was up with Harry?" You can't help but ask. "He will tell you when he is ready," Tom smiles. He pats your leg before he gets up, "See you later." *** You knock on the twin's door a little later that day. You couldn't help yourself. This silence from Harry was driving you nuts. He's always been the one you were closest to while you were here. "Come in," Sam calls out and you push the door open slowly. The boys were in their beds on either side of the room. Sam looks up and smiles at you before he looks at his brother. They share a look and Sam gets up, "Well I'm heading to the beach. Talk to you guys later." He grabs his swimming trunks and towel and then he is gone, the door clicks shut behind him. "Hey," Harry smiles at you. He sits up and closes his laptop. "Look, I'm sorry for how I've been acting," he shrugs, "I was being selfish." "No you haven't. Everyone has a right to go through something. I just wanted to know what it was so I could help you." Harry snorts, "Y/N, this wasn't something you could help me with. Trust me." You sigh, "Will you ever tell me?" You thoughts go back to what you were thinking earlier today but no that simply can’t be it. "Of course. When I am ready, not right now." He smiles, "Don't worry about it, okay?" "We're still friends?" "Always." "Okay." You'll let it go for now because you can tell it's what he needs and if your thought are correct that would simply be the best. *** A few days later things have become almost normal between you and Harry and you are relieved. You missed your movie nights with him. He is like a brother to you, sometimes he gets you better than your own brother. Maybe that's because you're the same age. You've had an amazing day with Tom and now you're watching a movie with Harry. Things feel normal, perfect. You kind of wish you never stopped coming here. Maybe you and Tom would have got together sooner, then again maybe not. You will never know, it's not something you can change so there is no point wondering about what ifs. Besides you enjoyed your summers with your dad anyways. You wouldn't change those for the world.

“What are you thinking about?” Harry asks.

“What makes you think I am thinking about something?” you ask him. “I’m watching the movie,” you grin at him.

“I can tell by the look on your face,” Harry chuckles.

“You know me so well,” you shrug. “Just things. Nothing important.”

“Okay.” *** Over the next week you really enjoy yourself. It's the best summer of your life. Hell, not just summer but just the best week of your life. It's been blissful. You can't stop smiling even when your brother teases you. Unfortunately, he caught you and Tom in the middle of a heavy make-out session and haven't left either of you alone about it since. So naturally the whole house found out, not that you were going to keep it from them. Mostly you just wanted to keep it from your annoying older brother. You can't help but catch the approving smiles Nikki has on her face when she sees you and Tom holding hands. Your mom doesn't seem too pleased about it though, you've caught her frowning a few times when she sees you with him. She hasn't said anything about it yet but you know she will soon. You can tell when she is getting antsy and boy was she getting antsy. It seems like that time will be now, you can see her waiting on you as you walk up from the beach hand in hand with Tom. "Do you mind if I talk to my daughter for a second?" She asks Tom with a tight smile on her face. "Yes ma'am, of course." Tom kisses your cheek and then walks to the door. He turns around and gives you a worried look before heading inside. You quietly follow your mom into her room and sit on the bed, waiting for her to speak up. She sighs and sits next to you, "I fear you may be moving a little too fast with Tom. I don't want you to get hurt." "Mom, you've known Tom his whole life. You know he's a good guy. He wouldn't hurt me." "Yes, but no one ever intentionally means to do it. He has a crazy life now. Girls throwing themselves at him everywhere he goes. People wanting to know about every aspect of his life, especially who he's dating. Some fans will be cool with it but some will be very harsh. So again I just don't want to see you hurt." You've already witnessed the harsh side that comes with him having fans, not that you plan on telling her that. "Mom. I can take care of myself. Plus he makes me happy. So very happy," you can't help but smile just thinking about him. A small smile appears on your mom's face, "I know sweetie. God, you've had a crush on him forever. I knew one day he would open his eyes and see you too. I just wish he hadn't become an actor. That changes people." "Mom, you've seen him all summer. He hasn't changed. You know Nikki raised him right." The only change you see is that he is closer to his brothers and tries his best to even include Paddy, who is the youngest. "I know, but I will always worry, okay? So just be careful and that goes with all boys, not just him." You wrap your arms around your mom and hug her tightly, "Of course." You kiss her cheek before leaving the room. When you open Tom's door you see he has his suitcase out on the bed and it looks like he is packing. "Why are you packing?" You ask, confused. You still had a week and three days left here. He gives you a sad smile, "Sorry Y/N. I've been meaning to talk to you about this. It just never seemed to be the right time but I guess now it is. I leave in two days. We start shooting Spider-Man 3 soon." "Oh." That's all you say. That's all you can say. Reality just hit you. Hard. You didn't think that would happen for another week at least. You thought you had that time with him but you don't. He leaves in two days to go back to his crazy life and soon you'll be back in classes. You'll both be busy, how can this ever work? That's just it, it can't and that knowledge has hit you sooner than you would have wanted it to.

Chapter 7

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If your name has a line through it, it means I can’t tag you.    

[yhs-okami]

Deathcup by mom jeans ?

A/N: This one was hard bc I couldn't understand the lyrics that well (bc I'm hoh), but I got a sad kinda vibe from it, so that's what you're gonna get bro kdjdndjsnsnd

The light pitter-patter of rain on the roof of the school soothes Grian's frazzled nerves a little. It had been nearly two decades since he had step foot into this place and he had almost hoped it would stay that way, but, of course, Meri had gotten into another fight with Dom and J's kid and Ellen was at work so he was the one that needed to come pick her up.

Okami and Rowan give him small, tired smiles as they pass Grian's daughter off with only a week's suspension this time. Absentmindedly, Grian notices how his former teachers looked so much worse for wear, grey hairs overbearing and wrinkles gathering where they weren't before. They make small talk for a couple minutes, Grian asking about Silly and Necra's well-being and Okami asking in return about his and Ellen's relationship and Sam's therapy.

Slowly, Rowan hobbles over from the empty student desk he had been sat in top of and claps Grian on the shoulder firmly, nearly causing the young man to fall over from the force. It seemed, even in his old age, Rowan was still tens times as strong as Grian would ever be.

"You know, kid, you never did say goodbye..." Rowan says gruffly, his booming voice now but a distant memory.

Grian draws his brows together.

"No, I said goodbye when I graduated. I would have never forgot because you two were the closest I had to actual parents." He says in confusion.

Okami sighs softly and shakes her head adjusting her glasses softly.

"No, dear, he doesn't mean us..." She murmurs, her voice just as soft and sweet as the day she started teaching their class.

Grian pauses to think before it hits him like a bag of bricks and he looks down sadly, tugging at a loose string on the sleeve of his sweater.

"Is... Is he still down there?" He asks softly, feeling a little embarrassed and ashamed.

Okami nods and Grian sighs.

"I'll only be down there a few minutes..." He mumbles, despite everyone knowing he's lying.

If he finally goes to say goodbye, everyone knows he'll finally break down and probably be there for a couple hours.

With a confused huff, Meri follows after her father, down the first flight of stairs and into the lunch room. Off to the back of the room, there was an iron gate closed over a doorway in the wall that she had never noticed before, but Grian goes right up to it and pushes it open with no problem. He walks over, the rain misting over his skin and clothes and the humidity frying his hair, but he pays no mind to it as he spots the small row of gravestones.

Teacher Gareth, a man he never met, but had heard great things about.

Salex Brown, a girl he had heard so many things about, hearing she was so kind and so pretty and so amazing.

And...

And Taurtis.

Grian tears up as he sighs, moving to sit cross legged on the grass in front of the stone as he runs his hands over the text engraved into it.

Taurtis Tanaka.

1999-2015

A brave and loving soul.

Grian bites his lip to try to stifle a small sob that threatens to escape. Taurtis died that night on Halloween while trying drive the bus and, for so so many years, Grian never wanted to accept that. He didn't want to say goodbye because he knew, when he inevitably had to, he would never be the same again.

Slowly, Grian looks over at his daughter, who looks wide-eyed, surprised to see her strong and happy father so emotionally vulnerable.

"Meri... I think I'll be a while. Go on home if you want to, I trust you." He says, his voice cracking as he tries to pull himself together.

The teal haired teenager nods and turns on her heel, already reaching for her phone, likely to call Ellen or Uncle Sammy to have them make sure Grian is okay. Grian doesn't notice though as he looks back at his friend's gravestone.

"Hey, dude... Long time no see..."

Send a song for some vibe writing?

[mrslittletall]

Don’t tell me where to go.  Earlier I watched a video about the flaws in Pokémon Sun/Moon. One of them I heavily agreed with, that annoying red flag that indicates where you should go next. In an already very linear game.  Imo, it is just unneccessary. I barely am able to explore the world and even when I am allowed to go exploring, sooner or later I have to go back to the part where the latest roadblock was. I probably haven’t forgotten about it, because I am stuck in a small area. Also, Rotom Dex is reminding me constantly where to go anyway. So why is there this red flag on the map? It’s pointless.  Thinking about this, I started Trials of Mana to get the last spirit. The remake, not the original. And just like in Pokémon Sun/Moon, I got annoyed. There is always that glowing big star on the map, telling me where to go even though this game is as linear as Sun/Moon! The elfin elder told me to go the mana goddess statue in the northwest of the forest, I can press on minus and see a map with this exact same statue on it and still, a shiny glowing star points on it! It is unneccessary!  I played the original, the original didn’t had a map, the map was also divided in screens because old game and guess what? I still was able to found this mana statue! In fact, even just two weeks ago because I like to play the original with my husband.  Why are games so adamant to tell you where to go? Heck, even one of my favourite games, Okami, did it. Not often, but at a few points, mostly when you have to hurry (but actually have all the time in the world), a glowing red arrow shows in which direction you should run. This actually gets me out of the immersion. That giant red arrow doesn’t make any sense, especially when Okami normally never tells you where to go with a marker, you just can look into your log and normally get Issuns latest hint where to go, but you have to find out yourself just how to get there. And mostly, in this “hurry to a location” events you already know where the location is, because you have to run back to it!  I am getting more and more annoyed by this... do the game developer think we gamers are stupid? That we can’t find our way? That we have trouble when there isn’t a giant marker on the map, especially in linear games? Alright, now let’s talk about Open World games. One example I play atm is Death Stranding. That game actually TELLS me where I need to go, BUT, while I know where I need to head, the way to the location isn’t clear at all. Often you can’t just cross in a straight line, the world is in your way and you are just a basic human without any superpowers (ok outside of the whole BT sensing thing and not being able to die thing), but you get the gist.  The thing is, you have to go from point A to point B and have to figure out HOW you get there. Do you pack a bunch of ladders to scale the mountains in your way? Do you try to find a way around the mountains? Do you pack weapons to take out the MULE camp in your way or do you try to sneak through it? Do you try to avoid the timefall and the BTs or do you take them head on?  You have a lot of choices in this game how to handle the situation and it is beautiful. Moreso, the game profits from its online features. When you are alone, you can see and use structures of other players, you can see signs that warn you and you can see footpathes that have been created by other players. It really makes it fun to reconnect the world and connect with the other players you never see but know are there.  Alright, different game. Zelda Breath of the Wild. That game has a huge world. You are in a tutorial arena in the beginning, but after you got all your shieka stone apps, you are free to leave.  And that is meant literally. Once you are done with the tutorial, BotW lets you do WHATEVER you want. You can literally go straight to Hyrule Castle and defeat Ganon and it is a common speedrunner thing.  But you don’t have to defeat Ganon. The game gives you several objectives, like tame the titans or find the shrines or the memories.  Now, the only thing that downright points to where to go are the titans and they are actually pretty easy to spot from a hight point, because they are HUGE. Everything else? Find it on your own. You get a sensor for shrine and you get quests for them. Nothing ever points to them with a marker, you have to solve the hints and find the shrine yourself. The same for the sidequest of the game. You get pointed to who gave you the quest, which is a good thing because it isn’t easy to remember where they were, but the actual quest? Read the text and figure out where to go. Normally it is near the quest giver, so just exploring a bit will help.  And the memories! You have twelve photos and have to find the places they got shot at. So how do you find the needle in the haystack?  There is this painter in each main town and a few stables and you can show him the photos, he then gives you a hint just where to search! I pretty much found every memory with his hints, I just needed to look up the last memory that wasn’t on the shieka stone because it had been three years since I visited that area and I forgot where it was (I still remembered that it existed, so iconic did it look).  BotW gets praised a lot for his sense of freeness and I totally get why.  Ok, now let me talk about the last games for now...  Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Sekiro.  When I started Dark Souls, I was really upset. Why? Not because the asylum demon crushed my sorry ass five times, not because I thought I had to beat him with the sword hilt, not because of the boulder trap that killed me.  That game had no map! I would get so lost! I am HELPLESS without a map!  To my surprise... I was completely fine without the map. Sure, in the beginning I got awfully lost and stumbled to the skeletons, but then I found the Undead Burg. I fought myself through it, explored, remembered where which enemy was when I was running back to Taurus the 20th time (I really struggled, ok?) and the gameworld... just made sense.  It became a really aha-moment when the shortcuts clicked into place. Granted, the shortcuts aren’t a big part of the game anymore after the lordvessel, but the first half is beautifully done! Finding the shortcut back to Firelink, finding the back exit out of Blighttown, seeing how Anor Londo opens up, the shortcut in Sen’s Fortress, beautiful. That was what let me thought about Dark Souls as Metroidvania. That game is a Metroidvania. Sadly, Dark Souls 2 and 3 don’t have it as much anymore, especially Dark Souls 3 is a lot more linear, but still has loads of optional stuff to do for me and most importantly, never tells me where to go.  Bloodborne is a lot like the first Dark Souls and also different. Bloodborne has a lot more areas that are disembodied, but they have that beauty of the Metroidvania in them. One of the most mind baffling things was finding the back entrance to Iosefka’s clinic... coming from the Forbidden Woods! And the finding out, HEY, that is that gate I saw at the start of the game and couldn’t open!  Slowly, you open up Yharnam and even the other areas like the nightmares have cool shortcuts to find. It feels like your exploring got rewarded, that you don’t have to fight through all this enemies anymore, only a few, to get back to the boss.  Now let me talk about the last game... Sekiro.  This game opens up at a certain plot point and your only hints? You talk with Kuro and Emma and they tell you a few things they found out about. I was SO confused. I had no idea what they were talking about and where to go. So I decided to check the areas out they talked about and try to make sense of the riddles they told me.  I couldn’t find a lot at first and went back often to listen to their riddles, until I just went full risque and jumped into a pit only to find out that this indeed had been the right solution!  One by one, I found out how to find the other locations.  The game never pointed them out for me, I followed the hints and found them myself.  So, to conclude. Video games, please don’t tell me where to go.

[watermelinoe]

I legit had to google what they looked like in game because I’d completely forgotten. I can’t say I ever really noticed or cared but I do see what you mean. Sword/Shield were very lifeless to me anyway, the mc had like two facial expressions and that was it which was weird because they went kind of back to the X/Y mc and they had more personality. I was generally just rather disappointed in S/S tbh. I hope the next pkmn game will be less... everything the series is now. (1/5)

agreed, i noticed it in botw, too, that link just stares blankly during cutscenes and then your pokemon trainer does the same thing in s/s. i know it’s my player avatar but i wouldn’t be standing there like a zombie with all this shit goin on! plus both have had so much personality in the past. and yeah to me s/s felt way too linear just bc there was like... nothing in between each gym. the world felt lacking. the big open area was kinda cool but tbh there wasn’t as much in it as i would’ve liked. idk, it didn’t feel complete, and i don’t wanna pay for the dlc content... plus no new eeveelution? boooo

Yeah it was! We played OoT and MM together, puzzling over the dungeons and being terrified of all the undeads together. Also, those giant eels in MM when you go to save the Zora eggs. They were so scary the first time. She’s kind of stopped playing when WW came out because she hated the look so much and then the Wii came with motion controls and she threw in the towel. But I got her interested in BotW so she got herself a switch and is currently playing (struggling) through LA. (2/5)

that’s so sweet! i know ww was really controversial when it came out bc of the look, i’m glad it turned out to be well-remembered but i can understand seeing the trailer and thinking “wtf is this” lol. especially bc the tech demo was this realistic thing if i remember right. but it’s great that she’s getting back into it!

It’s cute that your mom learned pkmn to help you! And that she plays AC now! Does she game otherwise? I don’t do hard games either. The hardest I’m willing to go is basically Final Fantasy but other than that it’s Zelda/Okami/Mario like games and stuff like Harvest Moon. I do think Nintendo forgets the nostalgia part a little with the remakes sometimes. They didn’t fuck over OoT but I think it’d’ve rained hellfire if they had. I have no idea how hard the motion controls would be to convert. 3/5

she plays mobile games, but she might branch out more now that she’s got a switch so that’s exciting. i play games for fun so i’m not that interested in super brutal games, a bit of a challenge is fine sometimes but i don’t wanna be swearing at the tv lol. i agree that sometimes nintendo gets a little too... ambitious. the whole “always gotta change it up” shtick does make for some unique concepts but other times they’re tinkering around messing something up that wasn’t even broken. it’s like they don’t quite understand what the appeal was in the first place sometimes. cough, the paper mario series. cough.

But they’ve done it before, sort of. Okami went from PS to Wii to switch, they must have some way of figuring it out. I never played Zelda games that weren’t part of the official timeline, HW is more of a fighting game anyway, isn’t it? I’m notoriously bad at those so I just don’t bother. I never cared for Zelda much as a character until SS though she was sorta fun in PH. I suspect the trailer is the very start of the game and with Ganon waking up they’re torn apart. But we’ll see. 4/5

true, i don’t think it would be impossible. and there’s motion controls in the pokemon let’s go games that seem similar, having to hold the controller in a certain position and make a speciific movement. i think it’d be awesome. and yeah hw is like a dynasty warriors game (which i’ve never played) except zelda. it’s pretty cathartic, you take out large hordes of enemies and tbh button mashing combos will get you through the whole game lol. i’ve always been fond of zelda and wished she got to do more, but yeah we’ll have to see!

Also thanks for the encouragement, I'm gonna need it haha. Unrelated to either pkmn or zelda but how've you been? There's a heatwave where I live and I am actually melting. I hope you're doing better while recovering from your surgery :) - Pokenon 5/5

i’m doing good! we’ve had some storms here lately but it’s nice if you don’t have anywhere to be lol, that it is until all the power gets knocked out. i have my last post-op check-up at the end of this week and i feel like everything’s healing like it should. hope you’re doing well, too! get plenty of water

[heartfeltheart]

Alchemy: Magic Vs. Science

Chapters: 10/25 Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist/Harry Potter Rating: T Relationships: Edward/Winry, Lan Fan/Ling, and May/Alphonse. Primary Characters: Edward Elric, Severus Snape Additional Tags: Crossover, Teacher!Edward, BrOtp Edward/Severus. Sassy beyond measure. Series: Part 1 of 9. Summary: Magic and Science, are they the same or are they completely different? It just takes one person to point out all up and downs. Along with breaking the stereotypes that come up with being a wizard, alchemist and most of all being human. Thank you, @amynchan! D/C: I do not own Harry Potter or Fullmetal Alchemist. Discord: La Red(Mesh Mash of… stuff.): https://discord.gg/KYjmVAb Alchemy Series: https://discord.gg/DejEYNJ

“English and Edward’s accented voice.” “Amestrian or another foreign language.” “Written notes.” ‘Thoughts.’ First Name: Informal Last Name: Formal (Or used to annoy others)

"...You want me to get you a stand?"

"Hoot!"

"Fine."

-.-

Edward resisted the urge to slam his head against his desk. After looking through several applications, he decided it was not worth his time. Everyone will be getting the same test and be tested equally. Now that decision was the easy part, now the hard part is creating the test. What many would have perceived it to be easy to create, that depends on who you are asking. Edward keeps remembering that exam he took when he became a State Alchemist. If he was dealing with kids from Amestris, he would expect each one of them to know the basics and understanding of Alchemy it would be no problem. No, he was dealing with brats that have no knowledge of what Alchemy is or even common sense for that matter.

The test will have to be basic, far more basic than Edward wanted it to be. But still easy enough for people to understand and pass. What worries Edward more is that the test could still be difficult for the students to understand. After all, he is dealing with kids that have no formal training in learning Alchemy.

"This is going to be a disaster." Edward muttered under his breath, he stood up and stretched his arms out. Xerxes, who was perched on a coat rack, quickly flew over and landed on Edward's head with a soft hoot. The Golden Blonde reached up and nudged the owl absentmindedly as he walked towards the entrance that leads up to his room. The moment that Edward placed his hand against the brick wall, the bricks started to shift and move away to allow him through. "To bad, I can't leave them all on a deserted island for a month."

Once Edward was back in his room, he headed toward a leather chair that was placed in the corner of the room next to a couple of bookcases. Xerxes, in turn, flew off towards her cage, which was on the other side of the room. She watched Edward plop himself on the leather chair and look up at the ceiling with a vacant expression. This wasn't new, he has been doing that a lot lately and it got worse every time it seemed like the human was down on his luck or on his wits ends with humanity. After looking at the ceiling with that expression for what seemed like forever, he should now be picking up a book that is in a night table next to Edward. The same book every time. There were times that he treated the book like it was invaluable and precious, while other times he treated it as if a curse or an abomination.

'Shitty father...' Edward thought, reading the book his father had wrote. It was, begrudgingly, a respectable book about Alchemy. Everything that is needed to know about the subject and so much more. Unknown to him, Xerxes suddenly flew out his room through an open window.

-.-

"How am I going to send him all of this?" Alphonse Elric said to himself, standing in front of a Xingese style trunk that is filled with notes, books and everything else Edward had asked him for. Now gathering all those items was the easy part, the hard part is getting said items to him. He hasn't seen the owl, which sent him the letter from his brother. Even if with the owl, it would nearly impossible for it to carry it to who knows where. With a sigh, Alphonse walked over towards his desk, he needed to write a letter and wait for that owl to come back.

-.-

Today is the big day that everyone came to anticipate. The day to take the Alchemy Exam, it has been over a week since its announcement and students asking, begging or even demanding to take said exam. Now it was time to take said exam, to see if they are able to learn the Ancient Art that is called Alchemy.

For one second-year Hufflepuff, he sat with his fellow second years from all four houses. Everyone that had signed up to take the exam were separated by year and are in different classrooms. They had a total of 90 minutes to finish the test or get as much as they could get done with. He watched the Alchemy Professor hand out the test on paper he had never seen before. It wasn't writing on a scroll and on the corner of the papers is something metallic which held them together. A muggle thing? He had heard rumors that Professor Elric is a muggle, maybe this was a muggle thing. Along with the exam, he also gave out a wooden stick stating it was a pencil. A device that is used to write with and on the other end of the pencil is something pink which could erase your writing!

Taking in a deep breath, the Hufflepuff wrote his name on the top right corner of the exam, as instructed before he glanced through it. What he read caused him to tilt his head side to side, scratch said head and mentally wonder if he even could answer any of them. Some of them were like the following...

Which is heavier, a kilogram of bricks or a kilogram of feathers?

A little girl kicks a ball. It goes 10 feet and comes back to her. How is this possible?

If you were to put a coin into an empty bottle and then insert a cork into the neck, how could you remove the coin without taking out the cork or breaking the bottle?

Questions that has the Hufflepuff thinking outside the box, at first they appear simple and straightforward. However, the more the look at them, there is more than what meets the eye. Those are however the easier ones. The next set is giving him a headache, never in his life had he seen this before...

Name the following elements:

H

K

C

O

Fe

Complete the following equation:

_CO2 + _H20 (equals) _C6H12O6 + _O2

Never in his life has he ever seen such things. With a shake of his head, the Hufflepuff continued looking through the packet hoping to see something familiar. There were two more questions after that. The first one has him wondering how he should answer it.

All is one, one is all.

Then the final question, the easiest one by far.

Tell me why you wish to learn Alchemy. (Note, this counts and if you lie, I have military experience to make you suffer!)

The part that was written next to the question has the Hufflepuff gulp nervously. That quickly went away when he saw there was more written on the back of the final page of the paper.

From Minerva: He will not make you suffer. I will remove you from his class if such an event occurs.

From Edward: Shut UP!

From Severus: Mr. Elric is entitled to make the students suffer in the time it takes you to remove the said student from his class, Professor McGonagall.

From Edward: HA!

From Severus: Likewise, Mr. Elric may not do any lasting damage that Madame Promrey cannot reverse overnight.

From Minerva: Justice...

From Edward: Whose side are you on!

From Severus: The side that allows me the most enjoyment within the parameters of the school.

From Edward: Meaning?

From Severus: My own.

From Edward: ...I knew we were going to get along just right.

From Minerva: I'm surrounded by children.

From Severus: Of course. You are an instructor.

From Edward: HA!

From Minerva: Don't encourage him.

From Edward: I don't need encouragement!

From Severus: Agreed. Mr. Elric's enthusiasm is entirely his own.

From Minerva: -.-

It appeared the three professors were arguing on the original copy of the exam and it was copied out on every exam. This did not help the Hufflepuff, not one bit. If anything, he stood up from his seat and speed walked towards the Alchemy Professor's desk. He placed the unanswered test on the desk before dashing off in complete freight.

Edward watched the young boy with an eyebrow raised wondering what got into him. With a snort, he reached over towards the exam to see who it was.

"Cedric Diggory? Hm, he didn't write anything. Less trouble for me then."

-.-

"Hm...?" Fred chewed on the eraser of the pencil he was given for the test. He was taking his time answering the questions to the best of his abilities. The questions were pretty much straightforward; he wondered why Mr. Elric placed them in the test. It was the last question that got him to stomp. An idea struck him and he began to answer that last question.

I want to be given a chance to learn something new with my twin brother...and perfect our pranks.

On the other side of the classroom, George wrote a similar response to the last question. It was all about the pranks and how to perfect them. If Mr. Elric wanted the truth then he is going to get it.

-.-

Alphonse held Xerxes in his hands examining her at every angle. He wondered how the little owl could transverse long distances and know just where to go. Xerxes seemed not to mind, she made a type of almost purring type of noise, content especially flying through the harsh desert. "Do you know where Big Brother is?"

Xerxes gave Alphonse a look that did not settle well for the Alchemist. It reminded of the same look Edward would always give him before he did something devious or idiotic. It is usually a combination of both. "Big Brother always complains that I shouldn't have a pet, but here you are."

"Hoot, hoot, hoot." Xerxes huffed out smugly.

"Did you just mock me?"

"Hoot."

"You did!"

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[zenlesszonezero]

Join Zenless Zone Zero with Tsukishiro Yanagi, the deputy leader of Hollow Special Operations Section 6! Beneath her ordinary office lady exterior lies a meticulous, emotionally intelligent big sister to the team.

[yrpspiritsintheshadows]

No Rest for the Innocent

The sun was setting. He had to hurry if he wanted to make it back on time. 

Just keep moving… Keep moving…

He wasn’t alone. Far from it. There was rustling in the bushes as he passed it. 

“AAARRROOOOOO!!!!”

Ken halted, backing away as a large wolf like creature lunged out of the bushes. It towered over the small child, snarling as they approached him, clawed fingers outstretched.

“G-Get back… GET AWAY!” He broke into a run, skidding down the hillside. 

Tree limbs snapped away as the creature chased after him, determined to not lose its prey. It was so close, he could hear its heavy breathing, see every detail.

Ken could see a rocky cave coming up. Someone was peering out of it, motioning for him to hurry up.

He didn’t know who it was but he kept running for it… Then he leapt off a large rock, stretching his arms out.

He looked behind him, shocked as shimmering green and grey wings appeared on his back. They fluttered, sending him skyward with a shriek as the creature lunged up for him. 

“STAY BACK-”

The creature howled, grabbing hold of his left leg, slamming him into the ground, the wings dissipating as fast as they had come. His ears were ringing, pain blooming in his leg as its claws dug in.

“Get away… Get away….”

Ken closed his eyes, letting out a shriek.

“GET AAAAWAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Ken was shaken awake as he screamed, going to scratch whoever it was shaking him. His wrist was caught. 

“Whoa, Ken, easy! Easy!”

His heart was racing, his eyes shiny with tears that ran down his face. It took a minute to realize he wasn’t in the forest anymore. He didn’t have strange wings or a beast looming over him.

Instead, he was in his bed, with his brother looking down at him. Okami was whimpering, licking his hand, trying to help calm him down.

“Hika…?”

Hikaru frowned, sitting on the edge of his bed.

“I heard you whimpering.”

Ken rubbed at his eyes, sniffling.

“W-What was happening?”

The older boy stroked his back as Ken threw himself across Okami’s side, burrowing his face into her fur. 

Hikaru frowned, sighing heavily.

“I heard you whimpering. You were trying to talk but it was like you knew… no one heard you.”

Ken whimpered.

“Sorry…”

“Don’t.” The teen gave him a reassuring look. “I don’t want you feeling sorry for having bad dreams.” 

That was pretty bad though… 

That was the third time that week that Ken had woken up freaked out.

Already the child’s head was bobbing.

“Stay…?” 

“You don’t wanna go sleep with Eiji and Carmen?” 

“Nuh uh…” He shook his head. “M’abig boy… And they worry…”

“Alright, alright, Pup. Move.”

Ken rolled to the side a little as Hikaru laid beside him, bringing the blanket over both of them.

“No more bad dreams are gonna get you this time. Promise.” 

Ken smiled tiredly, curling up against his brother. It had been a little weird getting used to having two big brothers… but he loved them just the same.

And right now, he was glad they were there.

“I love you, Hika.”

“Love you too, Kenny.” He kissed his head. “I’m not leaving.”

“Okay…”

Hikaru didn’t go to sleep until he was sure Ken was already passed out. 

Okami let out a sigh, laying her head atop Ken’s.

“Yeah, I know girl.” He rubbed behind the large dog’s ears. “I’m worried too.”

oooooo

The moon was full in the sky that night. The sun was setting, but he could sense it. Every part of his senses were firing as he broke into a sprint across the forest floor.

He had to find a safe place. A safe place before the moon came out.

Why am I scared of the moon? I like the moon.

Ken’s body was moving on autopilot as he moved, slipping and sliding down a hill, before bolting across the stream…

He knew this stream.

The sun's light faded as the moon replaced it. Ken fell to the ground, whining as he rolled onto his back to look back up at it.

Everything hurt… Everything hurt.

“NO!”

“Ken! Ken, easy! Wake up! Wake up!” 

Ken shook like crazy as he came to. It took him a second to note it was morning… Hikaru was still lying beside him, his hand on his arm, trying to calm him down.

“Hey buddy, it’s okay. I’m here.”

Ken sniffled, throwing his arms around him.

“I don’t like these dreams!” He whimpered.

“Oh, oh, oh…” Hikaru wrapped his arms around him, sitting up, rocking him. “Shh… I got you, I got you…”

It’s never easy growing up with gifts… Having freaky dreams, trying to figure out how to decipher them, whether or not they have any real meaning…

Ken sniffled, burying his face into his chest. 

“I’m sorry…”

“Hey, hey, what’d I say about this apologizing over dreams?”

“Not to?”

“That’s right. I’m here for ya, kiddo.” He stroked his back. “Your big bro knows a thing or two about night terrors.”

Ken sighed shakily, relaxing a little. This was getting old though.

“I have ‘em all the time…”

“Ken…” Hikaru frowned. “How much do the ‘rents know?”

“Um…” Ken looked down “Not… Not a lot?”

“You gotta tell ‘em…” 

“No!” He squeaked, shaking his head. “They’ll just-”

“Worry?”

Ken went quiet, nodding, pulling away. 

Hikaru laid a hand on his back. 

He knew better than anyone about trying to keep that type of thing in. To hide what terrors haunted one in their dreams when the world was quiet.

“Think about it, okay?”

“Okay…” Ken held out his hand, pinky outstretched. “Pinky promise you won’t tell on me?”

Hikaru’s heart sank. He didn’t want to. He really had no interest in keeping secrets from Eiji or Carmen. 

“Ken… You’re their everything.”

“Promise.” The boy insisted, giving a small glare.

Hikaru sighed, looping his pinky with Ken’s.

“Only for one week. If you’re still waking up like this by the time I get outta therapy Friday morning, you’re telling them. Got it?”

“Got it Hika!”

“Good boy.”

oooooo

Ken was listless, as he waited for Eiji to come get him from school. His head was foggy, his body exhausted.

“You don’t look so good, Kenny.”

“I know…” He sighed, ignoring the strange look he got from the teacher’s aid watching him while they waited on the playground. The child next to him gave him a worried look.

“You wanna take a nap?”

Ken’s eyes widened, shaking his head rapidly.

“No!” He blurted out before trying to calm himself down. “I’m… I’m fine. I’m really okay, I mean it!”

“Kenny…” The girl frowned, touching his arm.

“I’m really okay.” He smiled, exhaustion in his blue eyes. “I just had a bad sleep.”

“Two days in a row?”

“... Yeah. Yeah…” 

Eiji’s van pulled up as the man started heading for the gate.

“Daddy!” Ken called, waving as he stood up, trying to ignore how dizzy he was from the motion. If it wasn’t for the girl behind him grabbing his jacket, he would’ve fallen right down the slide. 

“Kenny…”

“I’m okay.” He waved, before climbing down, being as careful as he could be. “I’ll see you tomorrow! Bye!”

“Bye bye.”

Ken looked behind him, seeing her form steadily fading away for now, away from his view. He ran right to Eiji’s waiting arms.

“Hey, buddy.” Eiji hugged him tightly, scooping him up. “Have a good day at school?”

“Ahuh…” Ken yawned, rubbing his eyes. “A really… really good day.”

Eiji frowned, rocking him a little. That… wasn’t normal.

Ken’s never this tired after school. Not even on days where he had to wait for a good while for me to come get him. Did he not get his snack?

“Ready to go home? You hungry?”

“Mm-hm… I wanna play with Okami…” Ken mumbled, tucking his head under Eiji’s chin. Now that he was in his arms, he was having a harder time staying awake. 

“You can.”

The teacher’s aid walked up, giving the man a concerned look.

“Mr. Miyamoto… I don’t think Ken slept very well last night. He’s been like this all day.”

“What?” Eiji’s eyes widened. “Did he go to the nurse?”

“Yes. His temp came back fine and he didn’t have any other symptoms. Even after having his snack he just… hasn’t perked up.” She frowned. “Did he get his eight hours last night?”

Eiji frowned, bouncing him a little. Ken whined quietly.

“I did.”

“Shh...  As far as I know, yes. I’m sorry about this. I hope there weren’t any other issues?”

“No, no, he’s a little angel. He’s just… tired. I hope he feels better.”

“Yeah… Me too.”

Eiji glanced down at his son, cradling him close.

“S-See you.”

Don’t tell me…

He didn’t make a fuss out of it. Not at this moment, deciding that was a discussion for at home, where they could have privacy. All he did was buckle Ken into the car.

He couldn’t help but note the way Hikaru wouldn’t look him in the eyes. 

“Is Ken okay?” Hideki asked, leaning forward from the backseat. Ken wasn’t even looking directly at them, he was just staring off into space. 

“I have no idea.”

Hikaru rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

“Let’s… just talk about it at home, okay guys?” 

Eiji raised an eyebrow, sighing.

“Yeah… Let’s just go home, alright?”

“Right.”

Hikaru looked behind him, meeting Ken’s eyes. The little boy blearily shook his head.

Hikaru narrowed his eyes.

Oh, that is it. Promises be darned. he’s a mess! I promised Okaa-san I’d take care of my siblings and this isn’t taking care of him if it’s hurting him.

It was straight back to the house, Ken stumbling as he tried to make his way up the deck’s stairs to the front door.

“No ya don’t.” Hikaru scooped him up into a football carry, earning an annoyed squeak in return, Ken giving him a tired glare. “Don’t give me that glare.”

Ken growled a little, squirming.

“Put me down.”

Eiji hurried up after them, Hideki following at a slower pace.

“Hikaru, careful-”

“Don’t worry, I won’t drop him.” He opened the door, setting him down in the doorway. “There.”

Ken dusted himself off.

“Hmph.”

Eiji gave him a concerned look as he followed in.

“Ken, what’s wrong? You’re not acting like yourself.”

“I’m… FINE!” 

Eiji was taken aback. Sure, Ken had tantrums, but they were incredibly rare. Ken was panting a little, his shoulders shaking. There were bags under his eyes, his little hands curled into fists held at his side.

“Ken…” He knelt to his level. “Ken, kiddo, you gotta tell me what’s on your mind.”

“No!” Ken snapped back. “I don’t WANT to!”

“Kenny please-”

Ken growled, sniffling as tears of frustration welled up in his eyes.

“Nooo…”

“Kenny…” Hideki frowned. “C’mon, don’t be like that. Eiji just wants to help.” 

Ken sniffled, wiping at his eyes, looking down.

“I’m… I’m…” He whimpered. “I’m… Fine…” 

Hikaru knelt beside Eiji, squeezing the boy’s arm.

“Ken.” He narrowed his eyes, giving him a stern look. “You’re not okay. Just let us help you.”

Ken’s face fell, his legs were shaky as he fell into Eiji’s arms.

“I’M TIRED!!!” He cried out, sobbing. “I’m tired Daddy! Really, really tired!”

Eiji’s heart broke as he stroked his back. 

“Oh, oh, Ken…” His gaze softened, bringing him close. “Shhh… shhh… I know buddy, I know…”

Hikaru frowned.

“He’s been having night terrors. Really, really bad ones. Twice in a row last night too.”

“What!? Ken…” 

Eiji had hoped, the night terrors had ceased, not grown in intensity. He rocked his son back and forth in his arms, kissing his head.

Ken hiccuped, rubbing at his eyes.

“No sleep. No more sleep…” He whimpered. “It’s scary…”

“I know buddy, shhh…” He kissed his head again. “We’re gonna make it stop.”

“O… Okay…” Ken hiccuped, burying his face.

Eiji stood, concerned as he gazed at his youngest child. 

“I love you… I promise, we’re gonna make it all better.”

I know just who to call too.

[ghosthunthq]

Memento (Part 1 of 2)

For: @seoulsborne123​

By: @csakuras​

——

The trees on the mountain path shimmered with morning dew.  Gene passed through a row of red-orange torii gates lining the path, so dense that they practically made a vermillion tunnel.

Fushimi Inari Taisha.  He had come here first thing in the morning, to beat the crowds and the heat.  Gradually, he made his way up the mountain, snapping pictures now and then.

It was like he’d entered a different world.  He could sense it, in the trees, in the shrines, in the thousands of torii gates.  This was sacred ground.

This place is fantastic, Gene thought.  You’re really missing out, Noll.  Told you you should’ve come.

He knew his thoughts would not reach their intended recipient.  Their abilities had weakened enough by now that their telepathic link no longer stretched across oceans.  And yet, throughout his trip, Gene kept trying. Maybe it was just habit. He’d grown used to the fact that, no matter where he went— even when he was alone— he would always be able to reach his brother.

Which meant this was one of the few times in his life that Gene was truly alone.

On one hand, it was liberating.  Being able to go anywhere and do anything he liked without anyone to caution or complain.  But now, nearly a week into his trip, he was starting to realize just how isolating that could be too.

After making his way through another tunnel of torii, Gene stopped by a small shrine to catch his breath.  The hike was tougher than he’d anticipated, and the humidity didn’t help. He sat on a mossy rock and sipped from his bottle of tea.

He sensed it before he saw it.  A familiar tingle up his spine. He turned to his left, just in time to see it appear from behind a tree.

A white fox.  Said to be the messengers of the Inari Okami, he had seen many statues of them along the way, many of them holding keys in their mouths.  This fox didn’t look quite as fearsome; actually, it looked downright adorable.

“Hey, there,” Gene said.  “Come to check on me?”

The fox stood still, staring at him.

“I’m no threat, I swear.  Just visiting.” He gave it a disarming smile, and a short bow for good measure.

It sat, tilting its head curiously at him.

Slowly, Gene set down his bottle of tea and raised his digital camera, getting the fox into frame.

“Shhh…just hold still a second, okay?”

Briefly, he wondered if this might be considered disrespectful.  Well…hopefully he wouldn’t be cursed afterwards.

The camera clicked, and the picture was taken.  The fox didn’t seem perturbed; it merely stood and wandered away, having seemingly lost interest, and disappeared in a sunbeam.

Gene looked at the preview screen of his camera.  There was no sign of the fox anywhere in the picture, even when he zoomed in.  No smudge of light or anything. Just background scenery.

He smiled wryly.  Gene knew that a camera couldn’t capture everything that he saw.  Not even SPR’s high tech cameras could do that.

It was a shame.  Noll might have actually liked to see this one.

The main reason for this trip was a client’s request, of course.  And some research on the side. But also, Gene had hoped to visit his ethnic homeland someday, so he had been grateful for the opportunity.

Their ethnic homeland.  Unfortunately, Noll hadn’t been interested enough to join him.  But Gene still wished he could share what it was like. In one form or another…

——

It was on the weekend after the Agawa case.  Mai brought Naru tea in his office as usual, but instead of leaving right away, she spoke up.

“Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you something.  I mean, I would’ve told you when you first came back, but we had that case…  Anyway, Mori-san already approved it, but since you’re my boss, you should know too.”  

Naru sipped at his tea.  “Please get to the point.”  

“I won’t be here next weekend.”  

He blinked.  “Huh?”

Mai grinned.  “That’s right, this time I’m the one going on a trip!  To Kyoto!”

He stared at her, looking a bit lost.  

She took a moment to enjoy that rare look on his face before explaining.  “It’s my school trip. Do you have those in England? My whole class is going for a few days.”  

Understanding dawned in his expression.  “I see.” Then he nodded. “I will make note of it.”

“Come to think of it, you went to Kyoto too, right?  A little after I started working here? How was it?”

“Hot.”

She waited for him to continue, but that seemed to be all he had to say about it.

Then again, he didn’t exactly go there to sightsee, did he?  He had gone to search for Gene…

“Wait, does that mean Gene went to Kyoto too?”

Naru nodded.  “I’d been retracing Gene’s steps during his trip, and learned that he had gone there to meet with a spiritualist.  As far as I know, the man was one of the last people to have spoken with him before the accident. I went to ask if he had any idea where Gene had planned on going next.”

“Did he know?”

“No.  It seemed they only discussed mediumship or trivial matters.  If it had gone that easily, I would have found him much sooner.”  Naru sighed.

And then, within only a few short months of them meeting, Naru would have left.  And Mai would have never found out anything— about Naru’s identity, why he was here, or…about Gene.  Selfish as it was, she was almost glad that things played out the way they did.

“Hey…” she began, hesitantly.  “Do you think I could meet with that spiritualist too?”

Naru frowned.  “Meet him? Why?”  

“I guess…I’m just curious.  Maybe if I talk to him, I could find out where Gene visited in Kyoto.  I could see the same things, walk the same places…and stuff.” She blushed and shook her head.  “N-nevermind, it’s stupid. You wouldn’t understand anyway.”

She took her tray and quickly exited his office.

What was she thinking?  There was no use trying to explain something so sentimental to him.  As if he’d even care.

——

Later that afternoon, John dropped by the office for a quick visit.  Mai welcomed him eagerly; she had been hoping they could talk.

“Hey John, you lived in Kansai for a while, right?  Do you have any recommendations for places to visit?”

John did indeed have a few recommendations, beyond just the usual tourist sites too.  Mai took notes, nodding with excitement.

But partway through, the door to Naru’s office opened, and he poked his head out.

“Mai.  Bring me a large trash bag.”

“Huh?  Right now?”

“Yes, right now.”

She pouted.

John gave her an understanding smile and whispered, “We can talk again later, Mai-san.”

She sighed.  “Sorry.”

Grumbling, she found a trash bag and took it to Naru’s office.  “Here, I got you the—” she stopped.

A heap of maps, travel guides, notebooks, and paper was piled on top of Naru’s desk.  As she watched, he rummaged through a desk drawer, pulling out another handful to add to the pile.

“Bring it here,” he said.

She closed the door behind her and walked up to the desk.  “Don’t tell me…you’re throwing all this away?!”

“I found Gene.  I don’t need them anymore.”  

“That’s true, but…you should at least sort them for recycling!”  

“Then I’ll leave that to you.”

Mai groaned.  She just had to create more work for herself.

Having cleaned out his drawers, Naru sat on the edge of his desk, sifting through the pile.  He gave each item a cursory glance before tossing it into the trash bag she held open for him.  

This might take a while.  She was tempted to just leave the bag with him and return to her conversation with John, but since Naru hadn’t dismissed her yet, she decided to stay for now.

Besides, she was curious what had spurred on this sudden cleaning spree.  It had to be what they talked about earlier, right?

“I kinda forgot you still had all this stuff,” she admitted.

“Yes, well, I didn’t have time to throw them out before I left for England, and I didn’t have time when I came back, as someone immediately forced me to take on a case.”

Jeez, he was still holding a grudge about that?

Mai peered inside the trash bag.  “You know…this stuff has been here since before I began working at the office.  It feels weird to see it all go away. Like it’s the end of an era…”

She thought back to all those times she caught Naru in the office, pouring over maps.  She used to think it was just a weird hobby. But she should have suspected; that look of concentration he had while tracing his finger over roads, mountains, lakes…she should have known the reason couldn’t be so frivolous as that.

Naru tossed several travel books, clicking his tongue.  “Madoka had plenty of time while she was here,” he muttered.  “She could have cleaned this out herself.”

“She probably thought you’d complain about her touching your stuff,” Mai sniffed.  “Besides, she was busy. Actually teaching me stuff.”

He frowned.  “…She never cleaned Gene’s desk either.”

Now this got her attention.  “Gene’s desk?”

“At the Pratt Laboratory.  I didn’t get around to cleaning it before I left for Japan, as I had too many other things to worry about.  But I assumed Madoka would do it eventually. And yet when I returned, after the funeral, I found it exactly the way it was two years ago.”  He shook his head. “Ridiculous.”

Mai gulped.  If she were in his position, coming back to see that desk unchanged after all that time would have felt like a punch in the gut.  “So…you cleaned it out yourself?”

“What little there was to clean, yes.  It was mostly odd scraps of paper he had doodled on.  He was active in the field, but the rest of us generally took care of the paperwork.”

She bit her lip.  Now she felt torn.  It seemed like such a waste.  Gene would never put pen to paper again.  To her, even little doodles would be priceless.

“But…if there wasn’t even that much stuff, it couldn’t have hurt to just leave it that way, right?  Did you even need the space?”

“That is not the point.”  

She looked at him, inviting him to explain.  

He sighed.  “My parents are free to preserve Gene’s bedroom as they wish.  But we don’t need a shrine in the workplace as well.”

There was something about the way he said that.  Not quite annoyance, more like…a deep discomfort.  It made her hesitate. But at the same time, the dismissiveness of his words bothered her.

“And why do you get to decide that?  Gene was an important member of Mori-san’s team, right?  Are you saying her feelings don’t count, just because she’s not family?”

Naru paused.  “…Even so, it’s been two years.”

“You don’t get to decide how long it takes!”

“It’s just paper.”

“Maybe to you, it is.  That doesn’t mean you have to remove everything that reminds you of him!”

She had been wondering for a while.  Why exactly Naru decided to return to Japan.  He said it was for research, and that might really be all it was.  But she also wouldn’t be surprised if he was just running from something.

“Is that what you think I’m doing?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Isn’t it?”

A bitter smile crossed his face.  “I see his face every time I look in the mirror.  What other reminder do I need?”

Mai shut her mouth.  She couldn’t argue against that.

An awkward silence passed.  Naru lowered his gaze back to the notebook in his hands, flipping through the pages.  Mai looked away.

When he finished flipping through the notebook, Naru tossed it in the trash and picked up another map.  “Okinawa,” he said, looking at it with disgust. “He made me go to Okinawa.”  This also went in the trash.

Mai rolled her eyes.  “It couldn’t have been that bad.”

“I never intended to come to Japan in the first place.  But he ended up dragging me here after all.”

“He didn’t drag you, Naru. Complain all you want, but no one forced you to come here.  You made a choice.”

He scoffed.  “The only other choice was to leave things to the incompetent police.  He would have never been found.”

“But he was.  Thanks to you.”

That was one thing she could say in his favor.  Whatever his reasons— whether out of brotherly love, or merely because he wanted to dissect his brother’s brain— despite all the odds, Naru didn’t give up.  She could admire that level of dedication.

And now, this clearing of the past seemed to signal a new start.  His life had been in stasis for nearly two years, devoted to the search.  Now, he could finally live for himself again. So, did that mean…that this time, he was here because he actually wanted to be?

Mai glanced at him.  Maybe that was just wishful thinking.  But it would be nice, if that were the case.

Minutes later, Naru was flipping through another notebook, when he stopped to tear a sheet out of it.

“Here.”  He held it out to her.

“Huh?”  She took the paper.  “What’s this?” On it was a name, written in romaji, and a phone number.

“The man I met in Kyoto.”  

She gasped and looked at him in surprise.  “You found it for me?”

“It turned up while I was cleaning.  It’s going in the trash anyway, I don’t care if you feel like salvaging it.”

“Uh-huh.”  She wasn’t entirely sure she believed that excuse.  Mai turned back to the paper and read the name out slowly.  “Suzuki…Akitarou?”

“I’m surprised you could read that much,” Naru smirked.

Mai glared at him over the sheet of paper.  “What’s the kanji?”

“I don’t remember.”  

“Pfft.  Even if you could, I bet you couldn’t write it.”  Mai grinned, in better spirits now. “So I should just give him a call, ask if we could meet?  Can I tell him I work for SPR?”

“Yes.  He might be more willing to see you if you mention my name.”  

“Which name?”  

There it was.  The ‘Are you an idiot?’ look.  “Oliver Davis, obviously.”

“Well sorry.  How was I supposed to know you didn’t introduce yourself as Shibuya Kazuya?”  

He sighed.  “It doesn’t take more than two brain cells to figure out that if I went asking about my identical twin named Eugene Davis, using an alias would be pointless.”  

“My bad.  It’s just that you have sooo many names, it’s enough to confuse a girl.”  

“I have, at most, three.”  

“Not counting nicknames, you mean.”  She laughed, and waved the piece of paper.  “But thanks, Naru. I appreciate it.”

[zeldabeldauwu]

Hi meet Alex

Personality

At this point she has a:

a talkative and cheery disposition. She is very clumsy, noted for finding ways to accidentally hurt herself or to drop things. Regardless, she is shown to be a cunning individual who can trick others to get food. She is usually shown to break up arguments,, Ali is usually better when it comes to dealing with people, notably at mediations. She tries her best to help everyone be happy and dislikes attention directed at her well-being because she feels unworthy of anything that others have to offer her.she also doesn't seem to think highly of herself. Her relationship with the star Marco Tom Addison’s and other people's happiness are her main coping mechanisms since she believes that if she makes everyone else happy, she will not have a reason whatsoever to be unhappy. Oki!

I dunno if this part is important to the story itself but it’s kinda important to Alex’s character

She’s the only one of my oc x canon characters that’s self aware

No she doesn’t know she’s just in a drawing/animation but she’s fully aware she’s in an alternate universe and that there are an infinite amount more with infinite possibilities (like how there’s universes where even tho one thing is canon like Starco, people still ship tomstar tomco you get the gist ^^) and she’s perfectly fine with that because she’s happy with the life she has now and other possibilities wouldn’t usually be anything that would involve her although she does wonder what goes on in those universes other than she already knows this part kinda helps people understand that Alex isn’t apart of the canon storyline and I’m not trying to make her apart of it! Anyway there is one downside to this revelation for Alex

It really affects her relationships with other people Knowing there are infinite possibilities in that area scares her She’s not secluded or anything

She’s a very bubbly and social bb (unlike her creator quq) But it takes a while for her to really warm up to you She also never really showed interest in having a lover either so it’s easier She never really wants to settle down and wanted to put her adventures and kingdom first so love was a last priority for her tbh But she always spread her love and affection

Backstory:

She and her twin Addison use to be friends with star since they were 2

Seeing as their mothers were good friends as well Her father would never join them tho

In dragon culture of this universe dragons are basically taught “dragons are better than any other species and crush everyone beneath you” This was mainly taught by the elemental court run by the Solar family which was the top of the rank dragons who were all siblings

The only one who didn’t agree was the youngest of the court which was the magic branch ran by the youngest of the Solar family who was Alex’s mother, Novella She thought that all species were equal and that we should all be treated with love and care and that hurting and fighting eachother would only lead to chaos She tried to tell her siblings time and time again but they just claimed she was just a silly child and would brush it off So she started sneaking off into different dimensions and actually made a lot of friends and that made her devotion of wanting to protect other species even stronger But one day it was found that she fell in love with a human (which were just considered pets to them) And they locked her in a dark room until they were able to find suitable dragon men for her to marry

And since she was the youngest she couldn’t really fight back against her siblings So she was forced to marry a light sorcerer dragon who would eventually be the twin’s father But he unfortunately did not have the same mindset as her when it came to other species Soon Novella left the court and cut all ties with her siblings She turned her planet into a safe haven for all species although her husband didn’t agree

He didn’t technically have a say But when Alex and her twin Addison turned 10 both her mother and father just disappeared

The king’s body was found dead in his dragon from on a planet he was trying to take over and Novella wasn’t any where to be found They searched for months but soon just had to label her dead as well even though there was technically no evidence that she was harmed or killed But because of that the only one left for the girls was eachother and Novella’s right hand man and royal guard leader Okami Meaning the girls had to grow up early and learn to run the kingdom themselves with the help of Okami and because of that they lost contact with Star Fast forward 6 years (I bumped the ages up

A bit) in this universe Tom and star never broke up officially btw They broke off for like 3 months before getting back together

Anyway

Alex and Addie always have a small festival on the day they started running the festival It’s call the sun and moon festival Because when the twins were born Alex took after her mom so they named her the moon princess

And Addison took after her dad so they named her the sun princess Alex was incharge of making sure the word got out since she was the social one

And she found an old photo of her and star and started to really miss her so

She sent an invite to her personally in hopes she’d come

And she happily did along with Tom (they’re still together in this universe) Marco and ofcourse comet ((my friend’s oc))

When they met up the quickly caught up and star introduced her to Tom and Marco

And Alex thought he was cute

But that’s really it As I said she showed no interest in a boyfriend at the time After the festival they all started to hang out except Addison who literally said to Star’s face she had better things to do She hated how close her sister was getting to Marco She had the same beliefs as her mother’s family so she was

1- jealous on the fact that he was getting so close to his sister

2-that she’d waste her time with a human I also should point out that Alex didn’t know anything about their family

Their mother and Okami refused to tell them anything

Basically at this point star Marco and Tom offered to help Alex find out more about her family and her mother’s past for her own sake

Also Alex and Marco have become great friends and Alex has only started to have the feels for him

But she doesn’t know it because she never had a crush before and is really really scared of love because of the infinite possibilities so first

She’s trying to get to know him more and be better friends than him before trusting him with her heart because for all she knows the feeling could disappear in a week

But during that time Addison called her a disappointment for getting so close to a human and since she’s the only family she’s aware of it stuck to her so she started dating a dragon boy named Damien just to make her happy This was when Marco and Alex first became friends and had more of a BFF relationship But Marco and star noticed how Damien changed Alex in a negative way She became more quiet and distant and when they asked she’d fake a smile and say she was just sleepy They could tell Damien was draining the life out of her and they tried to talk to Addison about it but she brushed it off saying “first relationships can be tiring she’ll get better” It was the last straw when Marco heard Damian say he’s only with Alex to get control of her kingdom and call her “an air headed dunce” that he talked to star and they decided they had to convince her to dump him and she finally did after 7 months into the relationship

It took 1 and a half years for her to realized that she had feelings for Marco Alex was afraid of love and she was so scared of being inlove with Marco because of her fear of the infinite universes she tried to date another dragon to get over her feelings but after 5 months she realized she wasn’t happy And she broke up with him

He was upset because he loved her but he wanted her to be happy so he gave her a hug and said they were cool

And now they’re best friends!

Currently in the story Alex is battling with her feelings and her anxiety while also Trying to deal with her family

This story will continue to be updated!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HEY READ THIS BEFORE COMMENTING My account along with my oc x canon work is strictly used for fun and as my coping mechanism so please don’t take it too seriously. All of the characters and Oc x Canon ships are placed in an alternate universe called OCXC-1879 which is separated from canon story lines so if one or more of the canon characters are already have a canon ship please remember that it’s in an alternate universe and i am not trying to force my characters in the canon storyline thanks for the understanding

[thesportssoundoff]

“A good yet stained main card with plenty of prospects and debuts on the undercard” The UFC Fight Night Tuivasa vs JDS Preview

Joey

November 27th

After a TUF FInale, the UFC heads to Australia where...well...things have always been hit or miss. Australian PPVs tend to be damn fun shows but these Aussie fight nights? Woof. They can be hit or miss. The one last November holds the record for the longest UFC fight night ever and I believe it STILL holds the record to this day. The UFC rolls into Australia with a really good main card and some intriguing prelims but I'm not as excited about it now as I was a week or so ago. We'll get into that. The main card's theme in so many words is about the best Australia has to offer minus stars like Robert Whittaker taking on some proven talent that's either looking to take their place (Justin Willis, Tony Martin) or looking to hold onto their spots (Shogun and JDS). The fights are well put together and intriguing on paper----but I'm having a tough time really getting into it. The prelims feature some tremendous fights at the lighter weight classes, a few intriguing debuts and a welterweight looking to survive the Yushin Okami test.  This show SHOULD be well worth your time and hopefully your concerns are not my concerns either.

Fights: 12

Debuts: Jim Crute, Sodiq Yusuff, Suman Mokhtarian, Kai Kara-France, Damir Ismagulov, Alex Gorgees

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 3 (Ross Pearson OUT, Damir Ismagulov IN vs Joe Duffy/Joe Duffy OUT, Alex Gorgees IN vs Damir Ismagulov/Askhan Mokhtarian OUT, Elias Garcia IN vs Kai Kara-France)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 6 (Shogun Rua, Mark Hunt, Junior Dos Santos, Jake Matthews, Yushin Okami, Wilson Reis)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: (Wilson Reis, Mizuto Hirota)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: (Tai Tuiavasa, Justin Willis, Tony Martin, Jake Matthews)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2016 (in the UFC):   26-12-1

Tai Tuiavasa- 3-0 Junior Dos Santos- 2-1 Justin Willis- 3-0 Mark Hunt- 2-3-1 Shogun Rua- 2-1 Tyson Pedro- 3-2 Jake Matthews- 4-2 Tony Martin- 5-1 Paul Craig- 3-2 Jim Crute- 0-0 Suman Mokhtarian- 0-0 Sodiq Yusuff- 0-0

Divisional Breakdown:

Flyweight- 3 Welterweight- 2 Lightweight- 2 Heavyweight- 2 Light Heavyweight- 2 Featherweight- 1

Too High Up- Jim Crute vs Paul Craig

I actually really really like this fight----as something for the prelims. Paul Craig has struggled with guys like Crute; hard hitters who are a smidge more athletic than him who are don't panic on the feet and pressure him into making mistakes. Jim Crute fits that bill and there's a lot of unknowns about Crute that makes this a compelling match up. Crute tends to start slow and is hittable; opening up some doors for Craig. We also don't know how good he is on the ground which is an avenue by which Crute could be exposed. It's a fine fight as a prelim headliner or something of that ilk. It's a good fight, just a bit too over the top for the main card. Chances are this one is about to be a little ugly too. Both guys have some serious technical flaws on the feet.

Too Low- Wilson Reis vs Ben Nguyen

The prelims on this card are perfectly fine for a filler December Fight Night; it's basically a lot of Japan vs the world fights (Australia, Russia and Germany) with a few filler flyweight fights thrown in. I like Reis vs Nguyen though. Even though Ben Nguyen has basically been scrubbed every time he gets tasked with taking a step up, Reis is the sort of guy he can have a hell of an action fight with. Reis vs Nguyen could be a fun fight and the main card could use that even if it interrupts the Australia vs the world run.

Stat Monitor for 2018:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 32-40-1): Jim Crute, Sodiq Yusuff, Suman Mokhtarian, Kai Kara-France, Damir Ismagulov, Alex Gorgees

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 31-30):  Elias Garcia, Alex Gorgees

Second Fight (Current number: 39- 33-1):  Elias Garcia, Salim Touahri, Alexey Kunchenko, Christos Giagos

Cage Corrosion (Current number: 22-37):  0

Undefeated Fighters (Current number: 31-23-1):  Alex Gorgees

Keeping An Eye On But Not Really; Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization:

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Has Tito vs Chuck dampened anybody else's enjoyment of this card? MMA tends to be a swing of  extremes and so when something's really good, it tends to make everything else seem really good and when something's really bad, we tend to all swing in the opposite direction and assume everything is bad. I'm in the latter right now with the top three fights on this card. JDS has been flattened every time he's faced a puncher recently with Overeem and Miocic (twice) beating him up pretty badly. The Cain fights speak for themselves of course. Tai Tuivasa may be limited in a collection of areas but he hits really hard and carries that power pretty well seemingly. I just saw Shogun get laid out by Anthony Smith and while the damage Shogun's taken may be somewhat overstated compared to the other guys involved in the "big" fights, he's been laid out in four of his last five losses. Lastly you have Mark Hunt who is way over 40 and had a full medical evaluation done after he did an interview alleging some form of brain damage. He was cleared ("and said he was joking") but he's fighting another guy who hits really hard after decades of combat sports abuse. It just feels like all of these fights paint a somewhat unsettling picture and maybe that's just the Chuck/Tito afterglow on it. I still am pretty excited for three "young guy vs old lion" fights----but man if I'm not giving this a second look and hoping we've got quick trigger finger refs available.

2- Is JDS a step too far for Tai Tuivasa? Tuivasa debuted around this time last year and he ran through some so-so dudes in Rashad Coulter and then Cyril Asker. He got a sturdy test in Andrei Arlovski in the midst of yet another career rebirth and he passed that well enough. He looked lost early, got hit a bit and then made adjustments and brawled his way back into the fight. It wasn't the sort of performance that would make you think he's ready for JDS but at the same time, JDS isn't the same guy he was in 2012 or 2013. Dos Santos' wins have all felt the same; he's comfortable when there's space and when he can press forward, he still has the primary traits and tools necessary to trouble dudes who are limited athletically or the types of HWs who rely on toughness and grappling (since he's impossible to take down) but dudes like Stipe and Overeem had zero issues walking him down and less issues finding his chin. JDS' ability to get in and out of harm's way comes and goes and fighters who can pressure him early can get him to back straight up and give them ample avenues to fire away. Lastly, Tuivasa just has a lot of different avenues to hurt JDS and while I have questions about HIS defensive ability; I feel like when shit gets squirrely you bet on the youth. At the same time this is HW and at heavyweight, nobody is ever really "done" unless they're completely comatose. Andrei Arlovski has been gone, come back and then been gone again. Alistair Overeem feels like he's one win away from pushing himself into the big fights again.  Derrick Lewis' early UFC runs were blemished by losses to dudes like Shawn Jordan and Matt Mitrione. This shit is never really over and so I'm wondering if JDS is about to wow us with yet another HW renaissance.

3- This has to be Tyson Pedro's last chance to be something, right? Losses to Latifi and OSP in fights that he probably should've won puts you in this do or die spot, no?

4- Can't tell if Justin WIllis vs Mark Hunt is an attempt to body Hunt on his way out of the organization or the UFC just throwing names and faces they have no interest in together. Willis is kinda good but also 31 and struggled with Chase Sherman's pressure at times. Not an ideal step up for him.

5- Jake Matthews vs Tony Martin is pretty interesting on paper and could be a lot of fun come fight night. I threw in the towel on Matthews a while ago but he's rallied to win three straight at 170 lbs and looks like a different fighter mentally than the dude who struggled with Andrew Holbrook. Martin is a fine fighter who has also found himself up 15 lbs at 170. Martin is probably still going to be worlds smaller than Matthews  but he's a pressure fighter who is good enough everywhere that Jake Matthews shouldn't be able to run over him. If he does then it'll be pretty damn impressive and another stamp that Matthews at 170 lbs is a serious big time fighter to keep in mind.

6- Can we pencil in Overeem vs the winner of JDS/Tuivasa now or should we at least wait a while?

7- Either way I wonder if a quick turnaround is coming for either HW winner if he gets it done in short order. Both Ngannou and Overeem had quickie finishes and January's ESPN+ show is approaching quickly.

8- What is the incentive to make weight if you're a flyweight? Wilson Reis is a guy who has a pronounced big cut, Ben Nguyen could probably make 135 lbs easy enough, Kai Kara-France is in his debut so he can't fuck up his weight cut obviously while Elias Garcia is a small dude (like natural 125 lber small) who is taking it on short notice. What's the point if everybody knows this division is going away?

9-  Sodiq Yusuff is about become yet another really talented kinda impossible to promote "problem" for the UFC. Dude's damn good and worthy of your time though.

10- Chrisos Giagos fought in late September vs Charles Oliveira and now he's back out here throwing down in December vs Mizuto Hirota. Maybe this is how he keeps his stay in the UFC, as the busy hungry man dude who takes a bunch of fights nobody else wants at any time. He has a good chance to beat Hirota from distance at least.

11- If you thought Alexey Kunchenko could be a big star, why the fuck would you put him in there vs Yushin Okami of all people? That SEEMS like a bad idea across all levels.

12- Damir Ismagulov was signed shortly after the UFC's big success in Russia and it makes sense given that he's an M1 champion and big enough deal in Russia.  The UFC tried to get Imsagulov onto the China card with apparently three different opponents falling through. They squeezed him in on a short notice deal vs Joe Duffy (and I think he would've won that fight personally) but Duffy pulled out so now he faces undefeated Kiwi Alex Gorgees. Something tells me Ismagulov is going to get fast tracked.

[zenlesszonezero]

Join Zenless Zone Zero with Tsukishiro Yanagi, the deputy leader of Hollow Special Operations Section 6! Beneath her ordinary office lady exterior lies a meticulous, emotionally intelligent big sister to the team.