#local lizard remembers things about past lives

[flecks-of-stardust]

Avengeance: Chapter Four

Chapter four and the final chapter of a multi-chapter Rain World short story about Artificer.

Content warning for copious amounts of gore, in particular eye trauma, and for mentions of hallucinations. Contains spoilers for Artificer's campaign; read at your own discretion.

Read this chapter on AO3.

Some cycles, she wakes with the sensation of her pups suckling at her, with her mate pressed against her back. A phantom warmth of those moments long ago, one that vanishes the moment she opens her eye to the dreary world without them. Sometimes, she keeps her eye closed, if only to savor those moments for a little while longer. 

She scratches at her left eye as she gets up, picking up her spear with her other paw. The wound scarred long ago, the skin there ridged and rugged, forever sealing that eye shut. She caught a glimpse of herself, once, when she dared approach a pool of water deep enough to show her reflection, but she turned away when her pup, with their eyes clawed out, came to sit next to her. Beauty has no use to her; all the better if her face strikes terror into the hearts of scavengers. 

The blinking golden… thing brushes against her head as she slithers out of her den, and she bats it away with a huff. “Citizen ID drone,” as that pink… metal… creature. Iterator. As that iterator had called it. She doesn’t even remember when it started following her, or why, but its incessant presence has been little more than a nuisance. It has not done anything for her but attract the attention of scavengers, which initially mistake its glimmering exterior for a pearl. Though she’s by no means unused to spears flying past her face, she would rather have more time to prepare for the onslaught. 

It at least opened the gate into this area for her, though she would have found a way in, sooner or later, if the scavengers crawling throughout this maze of a region are any indication. It matters little now, either way. She’s here, and she will see this business through. 

The closer to this area she got, the more defensive the scavengers became, almost as if they were trying to protect something. Wherever she encountered them, they would cluster around certain exits, inevitably making it so she had to dispose of their bodies first before she could explore the region ahead. The last group fought tooth and nail—quite literally, after she disarmed the last scavenger—to keep her from entering this area. She must be close. 

The stench of scavengers hits her nose the moment she emerges into bright daylight, and she snorts to clear her airways as she flings a bomb at the closest source. A yip of terror is cut short, followed by the cold sprinkling of blood onto her head; she slides out of the pipe, shaking her fur out, before wandering over to the nearest body and taking a bite out of it. The scavengers here are plumper than usual, their fur lusher than those in the areas below. It scratches her throat as she swallows, but she continues eating the corpse anyway. She can’t be bothered to skin it. 

She takes a moment to observe the distant landscape as she grooms herself, licking the blood off her paws. Never could she ever have dreamed of being above the clouds, in this strange place filled with towering structures that, despite their identical grey and red exteriors, appear to serve a purpose she does not care to comprehend. The pink creature—the iterator—proves as much. Despite being made of metal, there is something strangely… lively about it, particularly considering how it grabbed her and flung her at the exit pipe while shouting at her to leave. Though that was partially her fault; she was curious about its face. It had not taken kindly to her prodding at it. 

It had all but commanded her to deal with the scavenger population here. She had no reason to disagree, so she did as she was told. She spent a while simply killing every scavenger she met, tearing their throats out and throwing their bodies at the local lizard population, but eventually, she found her way here, some place high up above everything else. 

She climbs, squinting in the bright sunlight, up the wall of the structure in front of her and along the sloped ground beyond, and perches at the apex of the pole protruding from the top of the structure as she admires her surroundings. The endless sea of clouds, set beneath a deep blue sky… This is truly a beautiful place, even despite the endless hordes of scavengers stinking up the area. It would be nice to watch the sun set from here; whenever the rains were soft enough, her pups always enjoyed watching the sky shift between the dizzying blur of blues, purples, and reds. And, there is no rain here, so she could have let them stay up all night, watching them scamper around under the light of the moon as she laid next to her mate.

All broken dreams, none of which can be fulfilled. She scratches at her eye again; the skin there is unusually itchy this cycle. 

The reek of scavengers from below is much stronger than anywhere else she has been to in this area. She’s grown to recognize this scent marker: it is one of importance, placed where the path is heavily traversed, for one reason or another. But there is also a second smell, one that is familiar. 

She leaps down from the pole, clambering down to where the scent is most potent. Every scavenger in this area bears traces of this scent. Even some of the spears she takes from their bodies have it, a musky, putrid odor that makes her nose itch. The more recent ones she had encountered smelled more strongly of it than the others, too. Whatever scavenger resides here must hold a certain level of influence. 

A growl builds in her throat as she drops down to the base of the structure, landing right in front of a dim entryway illuminated by scavenger lanterns. The culmination of all she’s striven to do… it shall be here. She can smell it. 

The gold drone floats silently behind her as she enters the room, brushing her way past chains of pearls hanging from the ceiling and piles of spears lying on the floor. In the center of the room, atop a raised platform, is a brown scavenger wearing the most ornate mask she has ever seen. It stares at her, orange eyes burning with equal parts fury and knowledge. She returns the stare with a hiss, clenching her spear tighter as she marches closer. It has a drone, too, a dark red one that flashes at her as she approaches. Her own doesn’t react to it, still drifting uselessly behind her; she opts to ignore both. If it hadn’t been helpful before, it won’t be helpful now.

She jumps up onto the platform, brandishing her spear and glowering down at the scavenger. Unlike all the others, it continues staring at her, not making any moves to fetch a weapon. Instead, it gestures toward the exit, making an ushering motion with its paws. Its gaze is unwavering, unnervingly wise, staring deep into her. 

For a brief moment, her resolve falters. Why isn’t it attacking her? After all she’s done to its species, why would it hold back? 

… but after all they’ve done to her family, why should she hold back? With a snarl, she thrusts the spear towards the scavenger’s chest. 

No other scavenger has ever moved this fast. She barely has time to blink before it’s gone, having leaped off the platform to the field of weapons below. In a flurry of movement, it’s next to her again, spear aimed towards her neck. She knocks it away with her own, bomb jumping away as it follows the move with a second spear. A dark gratification blossoms in her chest as she lands, skidding slightly before charging back towards the scavenger, grabbing a bomb off the ground as she runs. It’s time for her to settle this. 

The scavenger is fast, but she’s faster; for every spear it sends her way, she retaliates with two, flipping over and away from its attacks. Her first few hits glance off its armor, metal clashing against tough chitin with a loud screech. But she presses on, throwing spear after spear, and as the scavenger tires, one of her spears connects, sinking deep into its abdomen. It staggers and falls to the ground, clutching at the spear; she growls in satisfaction, picking up another spear as she approaches it. 

Her left eye prickles. Instinctively, she ducks; a crackle of electricity sounds behind her. The chattering of scavengers echoes through the room, interspersed by the clinking of metal against metal. She snarls at the crowd, staring them down. She’ll kill the reinforcements too. 

But the scavengers make no further move to attack her. She glances back at the electric spear, now lying harmlessly on the floor, then back at the ornate scavenger, which is dragging itself across the floor away from her, its chest heaving. One of the scavengers steps closer, reaching for the ornate scavenger’s paw, but looks at her and backs away again.

She looks at the electric spear again. Time seems to slow as she walks towards it, picking it up and holding it in both paws. Glimmers of blue and green dance in her vision as she turns, staring down at the ornate scavenger.

All of this, all this time. It was all for her family. For her mate. For her pups. 

Even the scavengers are silent, just this once, as she approaches the ornate scavenger, tugging the mask off its face. It paws at her, fumbling for the mask, but she kicks it away. Without it obscuring its face, the fear in its eyes is obvious.

She can smell her pups, their milky scents wreathing around her. She can feel her mate, a comforting presence pressing itself into her face, against her ruined eye. 

An eye for an eye. 

She lifts the spear above her head, the tip sparking blue and white.

She will make them feel the agony they caused her.

With a shriek, she drives the spear down into the scavenger’s left eye. It screams as its eye instantly burns away, writhing on the floor; she plants her paw on its chest to stop it from squirming away from her. The smell of charred flesh wafts through the air as she draws the spear back and drives it down again and again and again, each stab sinking the spear deeper into its skull, burning its way through its eye and its brain. Blood sloshes and vaporizes and burns, the acrid smell coating the back of her throat, but she keeps stabbing, keeps driving it deeper into the scavenger’s face. 

The tip of the spear explodes, taking the scavenger’s head with it. Bits of flesh and bone splatter in all directions. The decapitated body gushes blood onto the floor, unmoving. She stands there, broken spear still raised in the air, panting. 

Slowly, she looks up. There are even more scavengers now, more in one place than she has ever seen before. They’re all staring at her, frozen in place, eyes wide with terror. 

They’re afraid of her. 

She steps closer to them, paws splashing in the blood. They begin backing away, their chattering taking on a nervous tone she has never heard before. 

They’re running away from her. 

She can’t let them get away.

The remainder of a cycle is a blur of blood and screaming as she chases the scavengers down. One by one, she kills them all, whether by a spear to the neck, a bomb to the face, or merely grabbing onto them and tearing their chest open. They shriek, they struggle, they writhe, but they all fall as she sweeps through the area, wading through blood and gore and bone. When night falls, nothing comes to challenge her. 

Now alone, she wanders. Her paws, unsteady and shaky, take her back to the pole atop the domed structure. Her fur slick with blood, she slips as she climbs, but she eventually makes her way up, clinging to the metal numbly as she stares out across the roiling sea of clouds. Her drone blinks beside her, the dull red glow mimicking the green flashes in the distant cloud cover.

She did this for her family. She did this to avenge them. She has avenged them, now. No scavenger will ever… 

Her paws slip. She lets herself slide down the pole, limply resting at the bottom. 

She has avenged them…? 

Chapter one | two | three | four

[ledenews]

Was It OK to Put a Christmas Tree on Top of a Prehistoric Native American Burial Ground?

(Publisher's Note: This article was public on the blog Moundsville.org and has been shared with LEDE News by the author.) Every December, until around 40 years ago, town leaders in Moundsville, WV erected a giant Christmas tree on top of the Grave Creek Mound. You could see it for miles around, all the way across the Ohio River. Around 1980, Moundsville pulled the tree, as a sign of respect to Native American groups and their ancestors. In town, however, people still talk about that tree. The inmates from the prison across the street “actually did the decorating,” said Tom Stiles, coordinator at the old Moundsville penitentiary. “They’d string up the old C-9 bulbs” and light up the mound. “Growing up, I remember the Christmas tree,” Moundsville town historian Gary Rider told me. “It was just something you expected every Christmas.” People in town would have preferred to keep the tree up, and Rider himself didn’t see a problem with the tree “because it wasn’t physically damaging or altering the mound”, but they didn’t fight the request from Native American groups to take it down. The Mound has been investigated by experts in the field. We included the story of the tree in our PBS film Moundsville because it told an interesting story about Americans’ relationship to their land, one of the main reasons for making a film in a town named after a prehistoric mound. You can’t live in Moundsville without confronting the fact that the U.S. is a country that’s existed for less than 300 years in a place where people have lived for over 10,000. In our research, we couldn’t find a picture of the tree and the luminaries on the path leading to the top of the mound, but this past Saturday, I visited an open house at The Marshall CoUnty Historical Society, and found some uncredited pictures of the tree, which I’m publishing here.  The 69-foot-high conical structure was built around 2,200 years ago to entomb three bodies from the Adena people, probably royalty. Taking down the tree was a way of respecting their lives, and those of Native Americans who lived in and around these lands for thousands of years. They left behind thousands of mounds, most of which were knocked down by European immigrants as they rolled west in the 18th and 19th centuries. Grave Creek is a survivor, like a few thousand other sites, including Poverty Point in Louisiana, and Cahokia, near St. Louis, which is on the verge of being declared a National Park. The tree was removed after complaints were filed with local officials. Mounds were built across a vast region, from Florida to Wisconsin, in all kinds of styles, often shaped like cones, but also sometimes like lizards, bears, birds and alligators. Serpent Mound, in Peebles, OH, is shaped like a 1,330-foot-long snake. The mound in Moundsville looms over the town, and so did that tree.  “You could see the Christmas tree all the way to Ohio,” said Andrea Keller, cultural coordinator of the Grave Creek Mound.  The Grave Creek Mound has been a feature in the life of anybody who grew up in Moundsville. It’s where they went to eat ice cream and stargaze as teenagers. At one point there was a bar on top. And it was an easy way to learn and think about history. “The mound was the first time I learned” about colonialism and “another group being invaded,” said Alexis Martinez, who grew up in Moundsville.  Thousands of tourists visit the Mound in Moundsville each and every year. The Christmas tree “was a thing the city looked forward to each year,” said Stiles. “But that artifact of history was taken away from Moundsville.” For Stiles, who’s spent a life in Moundsville, the tree was an “artifact of history” that was “taken away.” In our ongoing conversation about America’s complicated past, acknowledging Stiles’ point of view might be crucial. In fact, maybe it’s only Stiles’ love and nostalgia for the town’s Christmas tree that permits real dialogue. If people in Moundsville hadn’t loved their Christmas tree, giving it up would not have been a significant act of respect and solidarity. After 1980, Moundsville didn’t find another elevated place to put a Christmas tree. Said Rider: “That was our highest point.” Read the full article

[storms-path]

Day 21 – Feckless

“Do you remember?”

The question came completely out of the blue, startling Arashi. She had been stargazing just outside of Fanow, marvelling at the newly liberated night that now basked the Greatwood. Apparently she had been noticed, for now she had Emet-Selch’s baleful gaze on her.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“Do you remember? Staring at those countless stars in some other life?” There was something about his voice, something so desperate for just the right words to be spoken. Arashi shook her head ruefully.

“Afraid not, no. My father taught me how to read the stars, that’s all. Thought I might see some familiar patterns.” Emet-Selch met her words with a weary sigh, then disappeared without a word. Arashi frowned as she stared at the space where he had once been.

It hadn’t been her intention to lie to him, but something told her to keep the truth to herself. No telling what the ancient enemy of her star might weaponise.

Those fragmented, barely-there memories of another time and place, another her and another Emet-Selch, could remain her little secret.

[astormyjet]

Winter of 2018 - Summer of 2021 TIME FILES WHEN YOU’RE IN YOUR 20s!!!!

OH BOY. It’s been three years (or more) since I updated this. “Time is a weird soup!” to quote a fave. I guess I quit tumblr around the time there was a purge of content and creators and a smack down on a lot of the fandom communities. Tumblr has always been something of a crapshow though so I’ve been more productive with my time than I was in some ways, but I’ve also found other ways to waste my time. *cough twitter/netflix/youtube/MTGArena cough*.

General Life Achievements since 2018 -JLPT N3 GET in 2019! -Blackbelt GET in 2018! -TESOL 120 Hour and BE 50 Hour Cert from online provider GET in 2021 -STUDENT LOAN BANISHED (Thank you grandparents) -Survived Apartment flooding in early 2020. -Mystery anxiety related illness and chronic pain in my left leg from early 2020 - Present. -A mythical 6th and 7th year on the JET Programme. -Started posting on Instagram a lot more about my wanderings around Matsuyama/Uwajima. Mainly old buildings and stray cats. @astormyknight -Surviving so far in Japan with old rona-chan.

2018 was rough. I was given an additional school in the first semester (March to July) as we had someone find a better job. I enjoyed it, but it was a bit of a rough go especially when I was transferred that August after three fantastic years at Tsubaki JHS and ES and only a semester there. I legit went through the five stages of grief - which I think is another reason I stopped blogging. I was given my current base school along with four other schools. Going from 2(3) to 5 schools was a bit of an adjustment. I still feel a bit spread out.

That said, I keep running into teachers and students who were at the Tsubaki’s. The teachers shuffle around every April, so it's always a lottery with which new faces are going to be old friends (or enemies…). A couple of kids moved and transferred into my current schools from Tsubaki too. So I have one kid I can say I've been teaching for 6 out of the 7 years I've been here!

One of the kids who was in JHS 3rd grade when I first got here (in 2015!) hangs out around one of my favorite cafes, so I got chatting with him recently. He's in his second year of nursing school - his class nearly broke me in the first year, it was really a trial by fire with those kids. I was 22 then, and he’s 20 now, so it was interesting chatting to him about that first year of teaching. His younger sister was one of my favorite students too, she was in the group of kids that graduated in the March of 2018, the year group that went through Tsubaki JHS with me - they’re newly minted University students now!

This Thursday morning when I was cycling in to work, a kid who was 2nd year JHS when I left  (so 2nd or 3rd year JHS now) pulled up with their Mum in a van and got their mamachari out of the back to bike to school. The franticness of it all was hilarious. Their Mum legit sat on the horn until I pulled over. I was so happy to run into this kid, even at social distance and both of us late to work/school - because we both remembered each other and as they were going around the corners they were yelling each time they turned and humming the old elementary school directions chant and pelting me with questions about what I’ve been up to.

I've had so many students and schools now, that everything is kind of running into a blur. I remember flashes of kids faces and voices, random memories of in class or out of class shenanigans out of the blue. Also, I now, more than ever, have issues remembering kids' names, but I still know their faces (even with their masks), whose homeroom class they were in, who their friends were and which club they were in. I get random flashbacks to past conversations with them when I see them on the street or we run into each other. I feel bad because the first thing former students ask is ‘Do you remember my name?’ and I always have to be like, ‘Honestly, no, but I remember you did this on x day, x month in x classroom’.

Socially in 2018 -2019 - a few of our friends went home and things shook up a little. Our DnD group changed a bit - one of our players stepped into the role forever DM (THANK YOU RALPH). From memory the newbies were great - some of them just went home at the start of last month and it’s weird not seeing them around (JESS DO YOUR BEST!). I think we only have one or two people left from that rotation. There’s no 6th year ALTs, and only two 5th years.

Aug 2018 - Aug 2019 was the year of Hiura - my mountain school. Dang man, they were so cool. The students of the JHS and the ES combined barely hit 30, so each class was between 3-10 students depending on the grade. It was easier to get to know the kids, their abilities and their goals than it has been for me at other schools. I miss it so bad, being in nature once a week did my country-kid heart so good! The bugs! The frogs! The river! The mountain! The monkeys! The lizards! The dilapidated houses and hidden shrines!!!! The random crabs in the English room...I forgot that there was such a thing as freshwater crabs, and being right next to a river, the invasion wasn’t as out of place as I first thought...  

The area is so picturesque and calming. Every week up there was a small adventure (after getting over my motion sickness from the bus ride up). The kids were constantly pranking either myself or the main English teacher. There was always some new weird bug or lizard in a tank to be educated about. There were chickens on the way to the JHS that used to escape from their cardboard box prisons to run riot on the gardens. There were old people to freak out with my youth and foreignness! The kids also got to do a lot of extra classes, sumiyakai (making charcoal the traditional way), planting and maintaining rice paddies, setting up vegetable gardens, raising fireflies, conserving a special breed of fire lily (only found in this particular mountain valley) and another rare flower, wilderness training ect.

I wish I could have stayed there a lot longer but SOMEONE (read...the BoE) decided that schools had to be shuffled again(thank goodness the dude who has it now was able to keep it from the 2021 shuffle, he's the best fit for the school). I had so many good memories from there, I wish I had been more consistent in writing it down. I do have a bunch of photos and videos from there though, so that's nice. The only thing I don’t miss is the bus trip up and down - not only was it motion sickness, there was a healthy dose of fear each ride as the driver brought us perilously close to the edge of the mountain drop…

2019 - 2020 was interesting. With the school I got given instead of the Hirua’s I was roped into more demonstration lessons which was a lot of pressure because I was also involved quite heavily with the JHS observation and training lessons too. They were somewhat rewarding, the third graders are now super smart 5th graders, but the teachers  who need to embrace the new curriculum and ways of teaching really haven’t taken on anything from the lessons....

Outside of work as well, I was given the chance, thanks to an ALT buddy of mine, to join in with the local festival. It's been one of the biggest highlights of my time here, and I am gutted it’s been cancelled for the last two years, but I understand the reason…. I was able to travel to Okinawa too during that summer for an international Karate seminar with the Dojo I train with. I met the head of the style I currently practice and a bunch of people from around the world. I also got to see Shuri castle before it burned down. So that was a stroke of luck. One of the places I want to go when/if we get out of this pandemic is Okinawa. I want to see more of those Islands so bad. Just before the whole pandemic thing too - I managed to see the Rugby World Cup, a Canada vs NZ match, I even ran into Tana Umanga in Oita city!!!

2019 - 2020 was supposed to be my last year on JET, so I was frantically Job hunting. I went to the Career Fair in Osaka in early Feb/Late January 2020. I applied and got interviewed for a position in Sendai in early Jan 2020. In the end though - the Rona hit. We started hearing whispers of it around the end of 2019, then the cruise boats happened, and then Japan refused to cancel the Olympics...every holiday season there is a new wave of infections, my nurse friends in Tokyo are struggling....my teacher friends in more populous areas of Japan are struggling…

JET couldn't get new ALTs for 2020-2021, I took the extra year when it was eventually offered, as the one job I had managed to get a serious offer for was hesitating because with the rona setting in, things were uncertain. There was a lot of time spent adjusting to the new rules surrounding what we could do in class with the kids as well as textbook change. Schools shut on and off during the spring months. 

I also got a reminder of my mortality mid May with an unrelated illness which is still smacking me around a bit - stress/age, it does things to the human body it has no right to. It's only been in the last three months I’ve been able to exercise like I used to, I’ve put on a bunch of weight I can't shrug off (one part medication, another part diet) My relationship with food needs to change, and I really need a kitchen that allows me for more than one pan meals. I also need to figure out what to do with a left leg that is in constant pain from the knee down and a heart that misses beats when stressed out (mentally and physically…). 

My apartment also got flooded by the guy upstairs at one point, I spent most of late February/early March living in a hotel while my walls and floor got redone - I think this was one of the things that really stressed me out and kicked my anxiety right up a notch, it was right when things were getting REALLY bad with rona-chan in Hokkaido and schools were shutting down here as it was filtering into the prefecture and so Japan closed schools for the first time…

Classes in covid times have been weird. We’ve been wearing facemasks full time since the early stages of the pandemic (March 2020) - so I admit that I get a bit pissed off seeing both Americans and New Zealanders back home bitching about just having to start wearing them full time in public. I have asthma and have been suffering with the things on during the 30*C plus with high 90s humidity summers. Teachers were offered vaccines late July 2021, just days before the Olympics were open - and I finished my two shots in the middle of August. But the overall distribution and take up of the jab has been slow.  As mentioned above, we can't play a lot of the games we used to play with kids in classes anymore, and a lot of the activities outlined in the textbook curriculum need to be adjusted too, so we’ve had to be creative. We use hand sanitizer a lot more too. One of the things I miss the most though, is eating lunch with the kids.

Socially from summer 2020 - now 2021 we played a lot of DnD and board games, both online and in person when we could. There were no new ALTs again for the 2021-2022 JET year, and those of us who were in 6th year were offered a 7th. Four out of six of us took it. As a whole we’re down from a peak of 38 ALTs for Junior High and Elementary school to 22 for now. We hopefully will get a new person at the end of September, and 4 more in November. Which will bring us to 27. This has led to ANOTHER round of school shuffles.

Summer vacation has been weird the last two years. With rona-chan, we haven’t really been able to travel. All the summer festivals (all the Autumn and Winter ones too!) have been cancelled, so the changing of seasons just feels, wrong. I dunno. There is so much we all miss from pre-rona-chan, and so much that doesn’t happen that makes this just feel like one long long unending year of sadness, coldness, raininess, unbearable heat and repeat. I’m tired. Time is going so fast, but so.dang.slow.

I lost my favorite school (AGAIN GDI!!!) and gained the school I taught a semester at in 2019....I had my first day there on Wednesday. Schools actually started back on September 1st so there was some drama as the BoE didn’t communicate fast enough about our school changes. We legit got told on the 27th of August (on a Friday) our schools were changing effective September 1st, but somehow some of our schools found out on the Monday 30th August. In July we were told we would be changing schools at the end of September, so.a lot of ALTs and schools were left short changed, not having opportunities to say goodbye to co-workers or students/having their planning for the semester more or less thrown out the window too. I love my job. I really dislike the way the BoE treats us, the Japanese assistant language teachers and our schools.

The new school I have is used to having an ALT there twice a week, who plans all the lessons and executes them. I’m at three elementary schools. I'm only at each once a week, I want to plan, but being that I miss an entire lesson in between visits, it's going to be difficult to do so. Not impossible, but being that I'm already doing it for two other schools, who are at two different places in the textbook ah…….. From what I have talked to my new supervisor about though, it sounds like the teachers have taken on more of the lesson planning and I'll be able to contribute ideas when I'm there. I just want to and wish I could do more without being confused all the time. (This is all usually done in my second language too, not in English so extra levels of confusion and miscommunication abound).

 I feel like this at my JHS too a lot of the time. I want to contribute more, but even with constant communication with my main in school supervisor (who is a badass and pretty much on the same page about everything with me) I still feel about as useful as tits on a bull. Especially now that classes have been cancelled and or shortened, there's less time to do stuff. Any game or activity I plan is usually cut in favor of making up time in the textbook. When I'm in class, I'm back to being a tape recorder, the fun police and general nuisance.　

Also in the last week...my two of my schools were  shut due to students testing positive for the rona. This is the second time my schools have had a scare in the last 8 months. And by shut, I mean the students were all at home, but the teachers  all had to come into the office. Because why not I guess….. I mean,  the cases increasing is really not unexpected with the amount of people who were travelling over obon and the increase of cases due to the Olympics/Japan being slow on vaccinating/delta being the dominant strain/Japan's leaders doing relatively little except asking shops and restaurants to limit people coming in at one time and closing before 8pm. I know my schools weren't the only one shut either - but still High Schools were having their sports days this week. I kept on seeing groups of kids hanging in the park after, so that was a little bit nerve wracking.

It's just frustrating - we’ve been on half days to “minimize the risk of infection” for kids and teachers, as if only being at school from 8am through to 1pm is going to reduce the risk.  My schools have only just started testing out Microsoft teams and Zoom lesson equipment. Thankfully our school’s run in this time was contained real quick, the family was super good about informing us when they got their results back, and the fact they needed to be tested. The homeroom teacher and the students from the same class were the only ones tested, and they all came back clear, which was nice. But the information came back so SLOW. 

I’m a little irritated because I found out on Wednesday night what was going on, and even if I am vaccinated, I am super worried that I will end up being the covid monkey due to being at different schools three days out of five. I think other than being worried that I will catch it myself and get real sick, my biggest fear is that I will be protected from bad symptoms from the vaccine, but still be able to pass it onto some of my more vulnerable friends and students. The whole thing is a mess.  

Other than Covid and BoE drama, life is good. I’ve had a couple of other big changes - both fantastic and not so great, but yeah.  I have my health (and health insurance!) for now. I have a job, for now. I have a sense of existential dread for the next 12 months, but we’ll see where we end up. Life post JET is going to be way less cushy and I am TERRIFIED. I mean, I have a BA in Eng/Ling and no idea what to do with it…..because I am NOT suited for academia.

TLDR: Love my job. Don’t like the system. What is life? Future scary. 

[jakobdodson]

2021 in Music

Here is a note about the music I listened to in 2021. I hope you enjoy it!

Favorite Albums of 2021

Promises - Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra

I could cheese it up and try to articulate something about how Promises can imbue wonder into the ordinary and blah blah blah... but I like the way this review from Paste puts it: 

“Promises is the kind of album that can rearrange the molecules in the room.”

Word.

I remember studying for the LSAT one Saturday morning earlier this year and deciding to put this one on. I thought it was boring. “Mmm... nice background music!”, or so I thought.

By Movement 6, I had a thousand yard stare and onset existential crisis.

How often do I give my full attention to really listening? (and not just to music...) How often is it taken from me? 

Pretty rare, in my experience. For better or for worse.

Anyway, shoutout to this one for inflicting irreparable damage to my LSAT score!

Favorite Songs:

Movement 6

Movement 7

Movement 8

I Don’t Live Here Anymore - The War On Drugs

Sometimes something finds you at the right moment; a relationship, a nice view, the peanut butter bacon burger at Fat Guys...

I spun this one over and over and over and I think its because it found me at a good time? Musically, lyrically... it really moved me.

“Feel the storm coming on Feel the darkness at your gate Live the loneliness of life Keep on moving at your pace Ain't the sky just shades of gray Until you seen it from the other side? Oh, if loving you is the same It's only some occasional rain”

Just shades of gray, indeed.

Favorite Songs:

Harmonia’s Dream

Change

I Don’t Live Here Anymore (feat. Lucius)

Occasional Rain

_______________________________________________________________________

Runners up

Ignorance - The Weather Station

Talk Memory - BADBADNOTGOOD

My Morning Jacket - My Morning Jacket

Music For Psychedelic Therapy - Jon Hopkins

An Overview on Phenomenal Nature - Cassandra Jenkins

Far In - Helado Negro

Day/Night - Parcels

Liked It

Sympathetic Magic - Typhoon

Two Saviors - Buck Meek

Good Woman - The Staves

A Billion Little Lights - Wild Pink

L.W. - King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard

CARNAGE - Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

As the Love Continues - Mogwai

Yol - Altin Gün

The Pet Parade - Fruit Bats

Collections From The Whiteout - Ben Howard

Green to Gold - The Antlers

G_d’s Pee AT STATES END - Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Head of Roses - Flock of Dimes

Music - Benny Sings

MAYBE WERE THE VISITORS - Page McConnell

Bright Green Field - Squid

Cicada Waves - Ben Seretan

Fire In Little Africa - Fire In Little Africa

Long Lost - Lord Huron

Butterfly 3000 - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Quietly Blowing It - Hiss Golden Messenger

Home Video - Lucy Dacus

I Know I’m Funny haha - Faye Webster

The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers - Valerie June

SOUR - Olivia Rodrigo

Jubilee - Japanese Breakfast

BLONDIE - Nick Midnight

Gold-Digger Sound - Leon Bridges

One Foot In Front Of The Other - Griff

The Ballad of Dood & Juanita - Sturgill Simpson

Lost Futures - Marisa Anderson & William Tyler

Local Valley - José González

Big Bend (An Original Soundtrack for Public Television) - Explosions In The Sky

Year Of The Spider - Shannon & The Clams

Music Of The Spheres - Coldplay

Donda - Kanye West

Projector - Geese

Valentine - Snail Mail

Pressure Machine - The Killers

Infinite Granite - Deafheaven

Tethers - Minor Moon

An Evening With Silk Sonic - Silk Sonic

30 - Adele

Things Take Time, Take Time - Courtney Barnett

How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? - Big Red Machine

Cerulean - Nashville Ambient Ensemble

Meh

For the first time - Black Country, New Road

Little Oblivions - Julien Baker

New Long Leg - Dry Cleaning

Sketchy - Tune Yards

Ice Melt - Crumb

Star-Crossed - Kacey Musgraves

Sob Rock - John Mayer

Afrique Victime - Mdou Moctar

Audio Drag for Ego Slobs - Gustaf

Certified Lover Boy - Drake

Queens of the Summer Hotel - Aimee Mann

Dark in Here - The Mountain Goats

Haven’t listened yet...

Silver Dream - Moon Taxi

Strawberry Mansion - Langhorne Slim

Medicine at Midnight - Foo Fighters

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - New Fragility

As Days Get Dark - Arab Strap

When You See Yourself - Kings of Leon

Reincarnation - BONZIE

The Million Masks of God - Manchester Orchestra

Convocations - Sufjan Stevens

Daddy’s Home - St. Vincent

Changephobia - Rostam

Blue Weekend - Wolf Alice

CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST - Tyler, The Creator

Alem - Altin Gun

Peace Or Love - Kings Of Convenience

Elsewhere - Hammock

Trespass on Foot - Kiran Leonard

Petunia - Tonstartssbandht

Raise the Roof - Robert Plant & Allison Kraus

Which Way to Be Happy - Penelope Isles

Henki - Richard Dawson & Circle

Long Lost - Lord Huron

Not from 2021 (Albums that weren’t released this year, yet finally clicked for me):

Naturally - J.J. Cale

American Stars ‘N Bars - Neil Young

Youth Pastoral - Ben Seretan

Aja - Steely Dan

The Royal Scam - Steely Dan

Exile On Main Street - The Rolling Stones

Look-Ka Py Py - The Meters

Capacity - Big Thief

UFOF - Big Thief

Departure Songs - Hammock

Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow - Hammock

Live Vol. 1 - Parcels

Wildflowers - Tom Petty

Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town - Emmylou Harris

Wrecking Ball - Emmylou Harris 

Concerts Attended in 2021:

Jon Fullbright & Patty Griffin - Woody Guthrie Folk Festival - Guthrie, OK - 7/16/21

Phish - Walmart AMP - Rogers, AR - 7/28/21

Links to past lists:

10 Albums that changed my life, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

_________________________________________________

Happy Listening!

Jake

[doctorslippery]

1d50 Fantasy Rumors

In a bathhouse to the far south, there is a well that grants wishes to those who please the guardian Naiad.

The Lord of a nearby country has set an enormous bounty on the head of a wicked bandit chief. However the old folk whisper the bandit is actually the true King, having been spirited away in the night when he was but a small boy.

The dwarves of the Jarring Peaks only surface mine and refuse to go underground. Something terrible drove them from the deeper mines generations ago, and still rests there today.

A foreign dignitary repeatedly insulted the Governor, however this is because by custom speaking praise of someone invites upon them ill luck. An international incident is looming.

In the Hinterlands, defeating someone in a fair duel entitles you to their lands or their lives. The duels, however, have incredibly complex rules that are nearly impenetrable to outsiders.

In the eastern seaport, the bay is supposedly teaming with mermaids. Dangling your toes off the docks is a sure way to get their attention, for better or worse.

There exists a flower that blooms once a century in the depths of the Sparkleberry Swamp that can cure any illness, no matter how dreadful. A tribe of lizard folk have been protecting the site for countless generations.

The mausoleum in the center of the city’s graveyard refuses to remain sealed, the bricks always burst outward in the night. Nothing, however, has been seen going in or out of it.

The old hag who sells flowers in the market place is in fact a powerful witch, waiting for a prophecy to fulfill itself.

The old orphanage at the edge of town doesn’t house real children, but changelings who were discovered in the crib.

Gert the Butcher once got into regular rows with his brother Bert. Bert vanished a few weeks ago and Gert had a sale on delicious sausages.

During a New Moon, the tides dip low revealing an isthmus connecting to Finnegan’s Atoll. The very best pearls can be found in reefs, it is a race to find them first.

Hjalmar Bjornson defeated the evil conjuror Illhugi and took residence in his tower. Recently, however, dark things have been coming from the tower again.

Cattle has been disappearing recently from local fields, a crime that the thieves’ guild refuses to claim. The town fool claims they are being abducted by invisible creatures for their heinous rituals.

The baron’s daughter is set to marry the heir of a neighboring fiefdom. Her maidservant, however, claims she plans to elope with the captain of the Guard, Providence Blanchard.

The Gleaming Desert gets so hot during the summer months that whole areas melt into glass. A local alchemist thinks if conditions are right a huge and perfect lens could be created.

The White Forest is so called for the strange, color draining sickness that affects the animals within. Farmer Gregor claims, however, to have seen a giant black stag with glowing rainbow antlers.

A pair of river traders have brought a new, powerful and addictive medicine which they initially gave away for free. However prices have risen and addicts have taken to increasingly aggressive acts of robbery to fuel their addictions.

Gloria Haversham is a tinker who travels the countryside in her one donkey cart. People say she can fix absolutely anything, but her prices are never in mere coins.

Word on the street is that the fireworks prepared for the New Years celebration have been tampered with and their glowing bursts will in fact place a hex on the city.

A new tattoo artist from the far west has set up shop, creating beautiful works of art on their patron’s skin. They’re almost too lifelike.

Parents always told their children that the Weeping Man would take away naughty children on full moons, but recently children have actually started going missing and the bogeyman has turned into hysteria.

The Wizard-Archeologist Philipa Saint-John claims there is a lost ziggurat buried in the permafrost of the Karngorm Tundra, she just needs the funding and manpower to uncover it.

Jenny Greenteeth has haunted the swamp since time out of mind and the locals now live in a tenuous peace with her. However a rich merchant has brought in foreign workers to fill the swamp and build a road.

The Count’s fortune was read in tea leaves last month. He was so horrified by the prophecy that he banned all fortune tellers and all tea from the county.

A giant hand made of an unknown metal was uncovered by flash floods in the hills.

Migratory patterns have shifted, taking game away from the barony. Something is happening up north that is scaring all the animals away.

The cats hold a monthly sabbath where they make reports to their true master.

The border marauders have been getting more bold after their leader uncovered a trove of strange weapons that fire burning light.

Stay away from the harbor on misty nights, that’s when the ghost ship and her dread captain looks for new crew to take aboard.

13 O’Clock, the Witching Hour, only strikes for those who know to listen for it.

The King in Chains, an especially rowdy tavern, has a terrible rat problem, but for some reason the landlord refuses to do anything about it. He also despises cats.

The Patron Saint of Thieves famously stole themselves right out of the hangman’s noose as they dropped. It is said the holder of that noose cannot be barred by any locked door.

A truly massive thunderhead has been passing back and forth across the plains for weeks without a drop of rain. The locals have taken to calling it the Thunder Anvil.

The city on the other side of the mountain throws a truly spectacular street celebration each year. Its participants, despite the fireworks, feasts, and music are all masked and silent.

A powerful noble was cursed in her youth to never be able to eat the same meal twice. She is elderly now and is desperate for truly exotic ingredients for her increasingly bizarre diet.

The old barrows have always been a haunt of fairies and their mischief was mostly benign. A necromancer recently desecrated those ancient tombs and the fairies have gone berserk.

A travelling circus filled with exotic animals of all kinda passed through last year, however a fire at the big top consumed it. Strange trumpeting and growling are still heard from the village green.

Theodore Goldfinch, the secretary of the magistrate, ran screaming out of the courthouse last week claiming he uncovered a snakeman conspiracy.

“The Slithery-Dee came out the sea, he ate all the others but he didn’t eat me,” claimed the only survivor of a fishing village, found covered in blood and holding a notched whaling hook.

There is a deaf musician who wanders the south who knows a tune terribly sad that those that hear it die of a broken heart. They say the musician is in fact a master assassin.

Giant petroglyphs cut across the shrublands where the sheep graze. The wizards claim that the petroglyphs have actually been walking across the land at geologic speed.

Everyone ties a ribbon with wishes on it to the Angel Oak, hoping they’d come true. Sometimes, they actually do!

Keep a ring of iron in your left pocket when you travel the road at night, otherwise the Wyld Hunt will turn you to a beast and hunt you till morning.

Anyone who dies without fulfilling a contract is damned to rise against to complete it. It is important to burn or transfer contracts to avoid terrible revenants.

After a long bender that the PC barely remembers, their wanted poster has been pasted across the land for the kidnapping of a rich silk merchant’s son.

A bat covered in gold dust was found in the church’s belfry, setting off a rush searching all the local caves for a rich vein.

A strange light was seen pouring out of the canyon in the night and no one who has gone to investigate has returned.

Sir Zoray and his band of knights were tasked by the High Priestess to seek a holy artifact to cure a terrible wasting illness. They were last spotted spending their gold the the most expensive brothel in an eastern city.

A wingless wyrm was spotted swimming through the Frothy Run River and coins of foreign make were later found on the pebbly shore.

[squarecarousel]

Challenge 144: 10 Years, Looking Forward: Growth

This ended up being a difficult challenge for me, because although in theory I love this theme, in practice I kept coming up against a creative block. With the past year of the pandemic and concerns about climate change very much haunting my thoughts, it was a bit crippling to try and find some positive spin that I know I wanted to do. Then at some point I remembered a thing I had just done that was a small investment in the future. My husband and I recently took some time to clear an area of the front yard to plant some native cacti and trees, alongside the wildflower seeds I’ve gathered around the neighborhood and scattered in the past few years. I’m hoping these plants will take off and provide a little sanctuary of sorts for the local wildlife, like rabbits, quail, other birds, lizards, even javelina. This of course will take time, but I hope in 10 years time, even if I’m not still living here, this patch of native wild will be flourishing. The uncolored sketch is how the yard currently looks- pretty bare except for two prickly pear cacti we planted a few years ago, some wildflowers that I’m so happy sprouted, grew and are in bloom, and some troublesome grass. The colored drawing is what I hope to see in 10 years.

-I graduated from SCAD in 2012 -I’m currently freelancing as an illustrator! Mostly working on book illustration as of right now. -What will I be doing in 10 years? I hope I’ll still be illustrating, working on cool books from the big publishers, doing surface design pattern work for products, maybe creating some cool artwork and products of my own? I hope the world gets its act together so that a positive future is still possible for all of us. On a sentimental note, thanks to everyone at Square Carousel for being such troopers especially this past year! It’s been great being able to collaborate with you all throughout all the challenges we’ve tackled together in our own unique ways. Thanks so much to the other admins, Caitlin, Elizabeth and Jordan for keeping this train a-rollin’, and on its tracks as well pull into our final stop. You guys rock, thanks for bringing me along for this journey <3 And thanks to you, followers for cheering us on! Wishing us all a wonderful decade ahead! -Sayada

[schoolmascotbyday]

BASIC QUESTIONS

First name? “Frederick.”

Surname? “Frederickson.”

Middle names? “Flamarion.”

Nicknames? “Fred, Freddie, Dumbass, Knuckle Head, Idiot, Mr. Fred, Lizard Guy, Fredzilla… Fredzilla totally counts.”

Date of birth? “I was born on August 15th of 1997.”

Age? “I am twenty three years young.”

PHYSICAL / APPEARANCE

Height? “Six foot even.”

Weight? “140 or something. Don’t body shame me.”

Build? “I guess I’d be a mesomorph.”

Hair color? “It’s blond-ish.”

Hair style? “Medium length. Sometimes it is straight, sometimes it has luscious waves.”

Eye color? “Grue. (That means green-blue.)”

Eye shape? “They’re kind of squinty, whatever you call that.”

Glasses or contact lenses? “No sir!”

Distinguishing facial features? “I have a big nose.”

Which facial feature is most prominent? “My nose.”

Which bodily feature is most prominent? “My chest.”

Other distinguishing features? “My hair. If you see my hair, you know it’s me.”

Skin? “White. Disturbingly white. I should get more sun…”

Hands? “Big.”

Make up? “I don’t understand how people wear makeup everyday. It’s hard. It would take me hours to not look like a clown. I wore eye shadow for the pride parade, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

Scars? “Nothing too noticeable.”

Birthmarks? “Nada!”

Tattoos? “None, but I think one day I’ll get a big monster on my entire back .”

Physical handicaps? “I don’t have any.”

Type of clothes? “Worn out.”

How do you wear your clothes? “Too long.”

What are your feet like? “Also big. My socks are dirty. So are my shoes. There’s a hole in my favorite pair, and the bottom is coming off…”

Race / Ethnicity? “Caucasian.”

Mannerisms? “I am overexciteable and it shows.”

Are you in good health? “I keep forgetting to make a doctor’s appointment. Actually, I just don’t wanna do it by myself. But probably.”

Do you have any disabilities? “Fortunately no!”

PERSONALITY

What words or phrases do you overuse? “I think I just shout too often.”

Do they you a catchphrase? “I say whoa-ho-ho a lot. Is that a catchphrase? Or should I have said that for my overused word and/or phrase?”

Are you more optimistic or pessimistic? “Optimistic!”

Are you introverted or extroverted? “Extroverted.”

Do you ever put on airs? “I turn the AC on a lot.”

What bad habits do you have? “Sometimes I chew with my mouth open and I stay up too late and I ramble and I don’t eat healthy foods and get obsessed with entertainment and I don’t blink enough when I’m playing video games and I choose being lazy over being productive and, oh, yeah, run-on sentences.”

What makes you laugh out loud? “A lot of things. I laugh all the time.”

How do you display affection? “Bear hugs and hair ruffles.”

Mental handicaps? “I don’t give myself time to be sad.”

How do you want to be seen by others? “Helpful, loving, loyal, genuine, fun!”

How do you see yourself? “Helpful, loving, loyal, genuine, fun!”

How are you seen by others? “I don’t worry about it too much.”

Strongest character trait? “I care so much.”

Weakest character trait? “I care too much.”

How competitive are you? “I can be kind of competitive, but I don’t trash talk or anything.”

Do you make snap judgements or take time to consider? “It depends on the situation, but I usually make snap judgements.”

How do you react to praise? “A lot of thank you!s and beaming.”

How do you react to criticism? “I don’t usually let it get to me, I try to be better.”

What is your greatest fear? “Losing another person I love.”

What are your biggest secrets? “Sometimes I say I know what I’m doing when I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. Shh.”

What is your philosophy of life? “Life is short, have fun.”

When was the last time you cried? “I don’t remember. A long time ago.”

What haunts you? “Losing Tadashi. Not being able to save him.”

What are your political views? “I’m probably a liberal.”

What will you stand up for? “Anyone that needs me to stand up for them.”

Who do you quote? “My friends. They’re so smart.”

Are you indoorsy or outdoorsy? “Indoorsy.”

What is your sinful little habit? “Buying a lot of merch. A lot of merch.”

What sense do you most rely on? “Definitely not common. Hearing.”

How do you treat people better than you? “I try to learn from them!”

How do you treat people worse than you? “I try to teach them!”

What quality do you most value in a friend? “Genuineness.” 

What do you consider an overrated virtue? “Chastity.”

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? “I think I’d like to be smarter. Just a little bit, just enough to understand half of the things my friends talked about.”

What is your obsession? “Manga, comic books, video games.”

What are your pet peeves? “Being rushed, people being mean, being ignored.”

What are your idiosyncrasies? “I talk too fast.”

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Is your family big or small? Who does it consist of? “Small. It’s just me, my dad, my mom and Heathcliff — the butler.”

What is your perception of family? “They’re supposed to be loving and accepting.”

Do you have siblings? Older or younger? “No. I think that would’ve been nice, though.”

Describe your best friend. “I have five, and they’re the best friends in the whole world. Tadashi isn’t here anymore, but he’s still one of my best friends. They’re all smart and unique and I love being around them.”

Ideal best friend? “Anyone who can be themselves around me.”

Describe your other friends. “Most of them are online.”

Describe your acquaintances. “I don’t have acquaintances, just friends.”

Do you have any pets? “I have a bunch of fish in my saltwater aquarium!”

Who are your natural allies? “Hm, Haven.”

Who are your surprising allies? “The rest of our friends.”

PAST AND FUTURE

What were you like as a baby? As a child? “Loud, wild, energetic, friendly.”

Did you grow up rich or poor? “Rich.”

Did you grow up nurtured or neglected? “I don’t want to say my parents neglected me…”

What is the most offensive thing you ever said? “I don’t even know of anything I’ve thought that was offensive.”

What is your greatest achievement? “My current grades.”

What was your first kiss like? “Quick and nervous.”

What is the worst thing you did to someone you loved? “I didn’t save Tadashi.”

What are your ambitions? “I want to write comics that people want to read.”

What advice would you give your younger self? “Enjoy being a kid while you can!”

What smells remind you of your childhood? “Freshly cut grass, pancakes, steak.”

What was your childhood ambition? “To be a superhero.”

What is your best childhood memory?

What is your worst childhood memory? “The birthday my dad told me they’d be home in time for, but missed. They didn’t come home for another week, and I’m pretty sure he forgot about it completely, because the handwriting on the card that ‘came in the mail’ looked an awful lot like Heathcliff’s.”

Did you have an imaginary childhood friend? “A few.”

When was the last time you were crushed with disappointment? “Sometime last month.”

What past act are you most ashamed of? “Shame is not an emotion I know.”

What past act are you most proud of? “Beating Dark Souls (Demons Souls).”

Has anyone ever saved your life? “Probably.”

Strongest childhood memory? “The day I broke my arm falling out of a tree.”

LOVE

Do you believe in love at first sight? “Why not?”

Are you in a relationship? “Nope.”

How do you behave in a relationship? “Like myself. I’m an affectionate guy.”

When did you last have sex? “It’s been about five months, probably.”

What sort of sex do you have? “All sorts.”

Have you ever been in love? “I fall in love all the time.”

Have you ever had your heart broken? “My heart broke when Tadashi… when I lost my friend.”

CONFLICT

How do you respond to a threat? “Just shrug and say ‘bring it’.”

Are you most likely to fight with your fists or your tongue? “I don’t like fighting, but I’ll do what a situation calls for.”

What is your kryptonite? “Funko Pops.”

If you could only save one thing from your burning house, what would it be? “My fish.”

How do you perceive strangers? “50/50. Could be friends, could be villains.”

What do you love to hate? “Cliffhangers and hard to beat games.”

What are your phobias? “Death.”

What is your choice of weapon? “Depends on the game I’m playing.”

What living person do you most despise? “I don’t despise anyone.”

Have you ever been bullied or teased? “I’ve been teased, but it doesn’t bother me much.”

Where do you go when you’re angry? “The kitchen to get a snack. The only time I get angry is when a game is being really frustrating.”

Who are your enemies and why? “I don’t have any, but maybe one day I will be a true crime fighter and I will.”

WORK, EDUCATION AND HOBBIES

What is your current job? “Sign spinning.”

What do you think about your current job? “I love it. I don’t need the money, I just like bringing in more business to the local shops and showing off my skills!”

What are some of your past jobs? “I’ve never had to work.”

What are your hobbies? “Sign flipping, gaming, writing and drawing, reading comics, binging anime, practicing guitar, coming up with new costume ideas.”

Educational background? “I didn’t do so hot in high school, but I’m in college now.”

Intelligence level? “You could say I’m a selective learner.”

Do you have any specialist training? “I wish! That would be so cool!”

Do you have a natural talent for something? “I want to say my sign spinning is a natural talent — I kind of just picked it up one day and realized I was good at it. Also, super-hearing, headlights and flame throwing.”

Do you play a sport? Are you any good? “I’m not much of a sports guy.”

What is your socioeconomic status? “Ask someone who knows what that means.”

FAVORITES

What is your favorite animal? “Maybe lizards.”

Which animal do you dislike the most? “I don’t dislike any animals.”

What place would you most like to visit? “I’d like to go on a family vacation someday. I don’t really care where we go.”

What is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen? “The ending of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.”

What is your favorite song? “You’d laugh.”

Music, art, reading preferred? “Reading mixed with art.”

What is your favorite color? “Blue. No, orange. No, green! Yellow! I don’t know! There’s too many colors!”

What is your password? “FredzillaRulesTheWorld.”

Favorite food: “Changes too often to really say.”

What is your favorite work of art? “Death Note.”

Who is your favorite artist? “My dad. He counts, right?”

What is your favorite day of the week? “Sunday.”

POSSESSIONS

What is in your fridge? “A whole lot of ingredients I’ll never use and probably some I can’t pronounce.”

What is on your bedside table? “A lot of junk. I should clean that off...”

What is in your car? “Phone charger, aux chord, a half eaten bag of barbecue chips, stick of deodorant, loose change, hair ties.”

What is in your bin? “It’s empty. I have a butler.”

What is in your purse or wallet? “A group picture with my friends, money, a few different bank cards, a condom, more loose change.”

What is in your pockets? “My keys and my cell phone.”

What is your most treasured possession? “All of my pictures with my friends. I wouldn’t trade them for the world. You never know when you won’t be able to take another one...”

SPIRITUALITY

Who or what is your character’s guardian angel? “I’m sure Tadashi is somewhere looking out for me right now.”

Do you believe in the afterlife? “Yes.”

What are your religious views? “Loosely Christian.”

What do you think heaven is? “A place where everyone is happy and free and there’s no pain. And you can play games all day.”

What do you think hell is? “Sad and lonely.”

Are you superstitious? “A little bit.”

What would you like to be reincarnated as? “A fire breathing dragon!”

How would you like to die? “In a way that matters. If I’m going to die, I’d like to save someone while I’m doing it.”

What is your spirit animal? “Probably iguanas or something.”

What is your zodiac sign? “Leo.”

VALUES

What do you think is the worst thing that can be done to a person? “Torture.”

What is your view of ‘freedom’? “Pretty much how my life is now. I can do what I want, when I want --- for the most part.”

When did you last lie? “It’s been a long time. I don’t lie unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

What’s your view of lying? “It can be easily avoided. Just be honest.”

When did you last make a promise? “I can’t remember.”

Did you keep or break your last promise? “I’m sure I kept it, I don’t make promises unless I plan to do something about it.”

DAILY LIFE

What are your eating habits? “Questionable.”

Do you have any allergies? “I’m allergic to assholes!”

Describe your home. “It’s big. Real big. The yard is big and freshly cut. There’s not a blimp of imperfection until you get to my room, then it becomes a randomized mess.”

Are your minimalist or a clutter hoarder? “Hoarder.”

What do you do first thing on a weekday morning? “Turn my alarm off.”

What do you do on a Sunday afternoon? “Relax. Wait for my dad to call.”

What do you do on a Friday night? “Stay up late gaming.”

What is your soft drink of choice? “Mountain Dew.”

What is your alcoholic drink of choice? “Just beer is fine.”

MISCELLANEOUS

What or who would you dress up as for Halloween? “Oh, I love Halloween! I go all out! I’ll dress as another superhero this year, or maybe a villain to spice it up!”

Are you comfortable with technology? “I love technology.”

If you could save one person, who would it be? “Tadashi. I wish I could’ve saved Tadashi.”

If you could call one person for help, who would it be? “Haven, she always knows what to do.”

What is your greatest extravagance? “All the merch in my room, or my tank.”

What is your greatest regret? “Not doing anything to help my friend.”

What is your perception of redemption? “Putting someone else before yourself. If you do that, if you selflessly risk your own life or needs or wants for another person, you’re obviously redeemed.”

What would you do if you won the lottery? “Donate it all to charity.”

What is your favorite fairytale? “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

What fairytale do you hate? “I don’t hate any fairytales. People put a lot of hard work into their stories and I respect that.”

Do you believe in happy endings? “I do.”

What is your idea of perfect happiness? “Living every day how you want to live it.”

What would you ask a fortune teller? “I’d give my opportunity to someone else. I don’t need anything answered.”

If you could travel through time, where would you go? “Back to save Tadashi or die trying.”

What sport do you excel at? “Is flame throwing a sport?”

What sport do you suck at? “Soccer. I get confused and score for the other team. Every. single. time.”

If you could have a superpower, what would you choose? “All of them! Fire breath, x-ray vision, flying, rocket fists, gravity manipulation, invisibility, walking through walls, the ability to teleport through people’s phones so if they needed me I’d be right there... yeah, all of them!”

[jazminetoad]

In My Reality | Chapter 1: Dreams & Wishes

Yo, I finally finished the actual first chapter of this new series! I originally wanted to get this out within a week of the prologue’s release but this turned out to be longer than I imagined. All of my TLC went into this for the past three weeks, I haven’t felt this passionate for a project in a long time. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do! ^-^

(This is a Tatsumi brothers x Reader)

(To read the first part, click -> Prologue)

(To read the next part, click → Chapter 2)

(Click “Keep reading” to read the story)

"Geez [n/n], you look so tired," Kamida pointed out. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Yeah, I did," I told them before a yawn escaped my mouth. "Just not as much as I wanted."

The three of us were standing at one of the local bus stops that took us downtown. It was our usual meeting spot since it crossed paths with the sidewalks that led us to our houses. We were heading to the arcade, our pockets filled with coins and our phones. The two artists were awake and ready but I on the other hand wished I stayed in bed.

"Oh?" Kamida quirked a brow.

"Did you go to sleep when we ended the call?" Meri-chan questioned, narrowing her eyes at me. 'Course in my sleepy state, I wasn't bothered by her laser stare.

"No-"

"[Name]!"

"Look, I wasn't ready to fall asleep at the time. Can you blame me?" I asked only to receive a sigh for an answer. "I didn't stay up too late anyway-"

"When?"

"When what?"

"When do you go to sleep?" Meri-chan inquired, placing her hands on her hips.

'Playing the mom friend, are we now?' I thought to myself. 'At least I don't have to deal with the teasing wingman.'

"Around 2 in the morning," I mumbled.

"[Name]!"

"What did you even do during that time?" Kamida asked, saving me from Meri-chan's lecture.

"I just watched the twins' episodes from Juuni Taisen." I noticed Meri-chan was about to go on again so I added, "Hey, at least I didn't watch the entire series."

"That's not the point," Meri-chan stated. I just shrugged in response.

"You really love those two, don't you," Kamida asked me.

"Yup."

I lost track of how many times I rewatched their episodes long ago. While rewatching the entire Anime is great, I didn't have the patience to go through six other episodes before seeing my favourite twins. I then just kept replaying the twins' episodes, eventually losing track of how many times I did. It's just that every time I watch the two episodes, the more I felt I could understand them. It made them seem as if they were real, but the reality is that they're not and I have to remember that. That doesn't stop my dreams though, speaking of my dreams...

"You know, I had an unusual dream last night," I told my friends. "It wasn't like the rest of my dreams that were strange and went all over the place. This dream it... it was of the Tatsumi Brothers but- but it was alternate ending with them." I left out the description of what happened because it'd spoil the Anime for Kamida, and I didn't want to do that.

"What do you mean by 'alternate ending'?" Meri-chan inquired, raising a brow.

"Like it was the ending of Juuni Taisen but different," I answered. "It just- it looked so real! It felt like I was actually watching the Anime until I woke up. You get what I'm saying?"

"Ummm, no," Meri-chan responded, sounding puzzled.

"Really?" I deadpanned.

"I get what you're saying," Kamida piped, pushing his glasses up for the Anime effect. My brow raised in question as to what his next words would be. "You're saying you're obsessed with the two to the point you dream of them!" He stated, pointing an index finger at me.

"Ack-! No!"

"Relax [n/n]," Kamida laughed. "I'm just messing with ya."

"Ha ha..." I let out before another yawn escapes.

"Man, you really are tired."

"I think the dream took my energy," I theorized, rubbing my eyes to stay open. Just as the words left my mouth, we all caught a glimpse of the approaching city bus. I don't know if it was just me but the thing seemed to be taking its sweet time to get to the bus stop.

"It's okay, [Name]. You can take a nap on the bus," Meri-chan told me as the bus came to a stop. "We'll wake you up when we're at the stop near the arcade."

"Alright."

Following my friends, I stepped onto the bus. It wasn't crowded, which made sense considering most people were still working at 2 in the afternoon. Kamida found a set of seats for all of us and sat down, Meri-chan sat next to him, then I plopped down in the seat next to her. Adjusting my position to try and get comfortable enough to fall asleep, I tilted my head to the side and let my eyes fall shut. Soon enough, I had drifted into sleep.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Is that thing any good?" Nagayuki asked his younger brother, watching him eat the deceased, cooked lizard.

"Yeah, it's awesome!" Takeyasu's sarcasm dripped with venom as his teeth tried to tear the scaled arm. "What do you think?"

The elder twin just blankly stared at his brother. Silence filled the air around them, but the sound of the younger twin eating his dead pet prevented the silence from taking over the scene. That was until the echo of a knock on their door emitted into their ears.

In sync, they both turned their attention to the door wondering who'd come to the door at this hour aside from a delivery man, but it wouldn't make sense for it to be a delivery man. Neither of them had ordered anything. The two gave each other a glance of uncertainty before Nagayuki let out a sigh, pinching the tip of his nose.

"I'll answer it," he stated as he approached the front door.

"Alright." Takeyasu reached over and grabbed his weapon, pulling it close for easy access, just in case.

The feeling around them pulled the twins towards the edge as eerie vines grew in the room. Masking his expression, Nagayuki slowly twisted the knob and partially opened the door. He briefly eyes the person standing on the other side.

It was a man with a top hat, grey hair tied back into a ponytail, facial hair, and the structure of his face made him seem elderly. He wore a black long coat with a grey scarf and white gloves. By this alone, the elder Tatsumi brother was able to tell this man dressed to blend into the shadows and meant business. Something else emitted from the man, it seemed to be supernatural. If it had been a normal person answering the door, they would've brushed the feeling off as if it was nothing because they don't believe in it, but Nagayuki knew the supernatural existed because he was living proof. That said, he grew cautious, thinking carefully of his next actions.

"Can I help you?" Nagayuki asked the man with a stoic face.

"I do believe this is the household of the Tatsumi brothers, Nagayuki and Takeyasu, if my sources are correct," the man spoke with an unreadable smile.

"So what if it is?"

"My name is Duodecuple," the man introduced himself. "I am from the Juuni Taisen organization."

Nagayuki raised a brow, suspicious of this mysterious person. When the head of the dragon and snake household explained how the Juuni Taisen contacted you the instructions of how to get to the location, they sent a letter in a red envelope with gold wax as its seal, and it was delivered through the mail. Why was this man here?

"Are you?" Nagayuki questioned. "Do you have any proof to back up that claim of yours?"

"I figured you would say something like that," Duodecuple said, his gloved-hand reached into his coat and pulled out a red envelope with a golden seal, handing it to Nagayuki.

Taking it from the man, the elder Tsumita twin opened the letter and thoroughly read the message written. Sure enough, this was legit. Glancing back at the man, still with a hint of suspicion, Nagayuki folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope before handing it back to him.

"Alright, so why are you here exactly? Last time I checked, you don't escort the warriors to the Juuni Taisen."

"While that is indeed true, I am here on the behave of a wish someone made. A wish that you and your brother wouldn't partake in the Juuni Taisen."

Takeyasu, who was listening to the conversation nearby, swung the door open and fired his weapon at the man. In his mind, that statement is something said before another person is killed. Not necessarily a threat, but even so it wasn't something to take lightly. He wasn't taking the risk of his brother being killed.

Nagayuki hardly had any time to react before his brother started burning the person in front of them. Part of him wanted to scold his brother for acting impulsively, but gratitude is the feeling that stirred inside him. He became unsettled after what the man said, and if it wasn't for Takeyasu, there was a chance the walls would've been stained with blood. However, he should stop his brother before they burn down the apartment building, he doesn't want to have to move again.

"Alright, that's enough, Takeyasu," Nagayuki told his twin, putting a hand on the younger one's shoulder. As the final remains of ember faded away after Takeyasu had stopped, both twins saw that no evidence was left behind of the man. "You really got him good..." Nagayuki stated, almost in disbelief.

"I do believe it is considered rude to try to kill someone before they finish what they are saying." Duodecuple's voice lurked behind them. The two flinched and spun around to discover the man standing there with no trail of smoke or ash on him as if he never had made contact with the fire. "But since you are warriors, I suppose that is an exception."

"I'd like to see you try and avoid this!"

"Wait-" Nagayuki tried to stop his brother from making any haste moves but his brother slithered quickly and tried to attack the old man with physical combat.

From the way the man never flinched and stood his ground, Nagayuki knew something was up. Sure enough, when Takeyasu struck he phased right through. Surprised by this, Takeyasu barely had time to recover and stumbled to catch himself. Once he steadied himself, he looked back to the elder man with narrowed eyes, growling.

"Now, now, I don't mean to bring any harm," Duodecuple reassured the two, holding up one of his gloved hands to gesture he meant no harm. "I am just here to fulfill a wish..." he paused for a brief moment to lower his hand. "Three wishes actually."

"Huh?" Both Tatsumi brothers spoke in sync, confused. Why would there be three wishes that involved them?

"By your tone, I am sure you are confused. I do not blame you however, even if you remembered your own wish you still would not know where the third one came from."

The twins' eyes glanced at each other before going back to the man. If they had made their wish and Duodecuple was here to grant it then that means they were already in the Juuni Taisen and won. What didn't make sense was how did they both win? Did something change where they could both win? If that was the case, why was Duodecuple here before the Juuni Taisen even started? Then there was still the third wish that didn't fit in the picture.

"Since it is not possible for the two of you to avoid the Juuni Taisen while in this plane of existence, our organizers thought it would be best to move you to another. And since the organizers are generous, they thought to grant another wish that would benefit both you and the wisher."

Once again, the Tatsumi brothers shared a look. Both unsure if there was a catch, and both having a lot of questions running through their minds. This entire situation seemed to be too good to be true then again, it was the Juuni Taisen. From what the twins heard, they made anything possible, the power they have is unimaginable.  Still, better to find out now.

"Is there anything else we should know about?" Nagayuki inquired.

"You will be living with the wisher," Duodecuple informed them. "As I said, it is a win-win situation. You will be informed of the new plane and you will have a new place to stay, it makes things more convenient."

"Alright, so we get our wish granted and a new roommate." Takeyasu turned his gaze to his brother, a smirk on his face. "It doesn't seem all that bad."

"I am glad to hear that. That being said, you have seven hours to pack everything you need before you are escorted to your new home," Duodecuple told them, taking off his hat and bowing. His form began to pixelate away until the air was the only thing that remained where the mysterious hologram once stood.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"[Name], wake up," Meri-chan whispered, nudging me awake. "We're here."

"Huh? Oh, right," I mumbled before a yawn escaped my mouth as I rose to my feet.

Once the three of us had walked off the bus, I stretched my stiff limbs. Satisfaction filled me as the musical sound of my bones cracking played through my ears. I was on that bus for too long, but if that meant I got more sleep, I didn't mind. However, I still wished I had been sleeping, for one I still felt like I needed more rest, and two, I wanted to continue the dream I had. It felt real like the one I dreamt the night before, just as if I was watching Juuni Taisen. I found it rather strange that twice in a row I had a dream like that.

"Feeling more awake now, [n/n]?" Kamida asked me.

"Kinda," I answered honestly before I drew a smirk on my face. "Awake enough to be able to beat you at Street Fighter!" I told him, poking his arm then picked up my feet and dashed towards the building.

"Oh no, you don't!" Kamida shouted, sprinting after me.

"Hey, no fair! You guys got a head start!" Meri-chan complained, following behind, trying to keep up.

'Course, it didn't take long before Kamida was running ahead of me, he had the height advance. Kamida is taller than both me and Meri-chan, and I am taller than Meri-chan which leaves her as the shortest out of our trio. That said, it was the order in which we all arrived at the arcade's main doors. Laughter emerged from us as we stumble at the front entrance.

"You guys are so slow," Kamida jeered.

"Yeah, yeah." I waved it off with a hand before strolling over and opening the door. "After you."

"As the wingman, I insist you go first," he stated holding the door open.

"Fine." I stepped into the world of entertainment and scanned the dark place where black and neon lights hung from. Only a few kids were here today, which means more gameplay for us! "Alright!" I thought out loud.

"Hey [n/n]-chan," Meri-chan addressed me, catching my attention. "Let's play a round of air hockey."

"Yeah- we can do our match later Kamida," I told him, still wanting to do that duel.

"Cool, I'll just be playing Space Invaders over here," he said before walking away.

"Alright, Meri-chan." My hand fished out a dollar from my pocket and inserted it in the coin slot, activating the machine. Taking the puck from the goal and placing it on the table, I put on my game face. "First to ten wins."

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

"Aw man," I groaned, seeing my Pac-man die for 4th time playing this multiplayer game.

"You're off your game today," Kamida commented as his eyes focus on the screen, trying not to get eaten by Meri-chan's red Pac-man.

"Gee, I wonder what makes you think that." I playfully rolled my eyes, chuckling as I saw Kamida's blue Pac-man get eaten.

"Dang it!"

"Haha!" Meri-chan cheered in victory, throwing her hands in the air.

I felt a smile form on my face seeing my friends act the way they did, but my mind couldn't help but focus on the dreams I had earlier. They were stuck bouncing around my loop of thoughts, perhaps that's why I was off my game. Who can blame me though? It's not like I get these dreams every day so the fact they happen was a puzzle itself, maybe if they happened more often I wouldn't be so distracted.

"Well darn, it's 5:10." Meri-chan's statement caused me to get off my train of thought.

"Shoot, I'm supposed to be home by 6," I told them.

"And I'm supposed to be cooking dinner tonight for me and my little brother," Kamida grumbled as he dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Should we leave now and catch the next bus?" Meri-chan asked, her eyes looking at us after her phone was put back in her pocket.

"Yeah, the next bus arrives in 15 minutes," Kamida informed us, checking the bus schedule.

"Let's get going then," I said leading the way out of the arcade. Stepping outside after being inside that dim-lit building burned my eyes. My hands shot up to block the setting sun as I let out a snake-like hiss, taking a few steps back.

"Hhhhh, why couldn't it be night when we left?" Meri-chan complained, getting the same effect.

"I don't know, I don't control time," Kamida replied to her squinting his eyes to try and adjust back to the normal lighting. "Come on guys, we don't have much time before the bus gets to the stop."

"Right," I nodded, setting my hands in my jacket pockets after my eyes were used to the lighting, following the others.

"You guys wanna do this again tomorrow?" Meri-chan asked, starting conversation as we strolled to the bus stop.

"I already have stuff going on tomorrow," I lied. It's not that I didn't want to spend time with them, I just didn't want to go outside until I have to go back to school.

"And I'm going to be at my grandparents for the next three days. That's why I said we should hang out today," Kamida explained.

"Oh, that's alright. We can always voice chat at night," Meri-chan optimized.

"Yeah." A yawn escaped from my mouth once again. 'Man, I really do need sleep.'

"[n/n], you should take a nap when you get home."

"I will, I will," I grumbled. 'After I take a shower.'

I probably won't remember to take a nap when I get home, cause with showering and then dinner practically ready when I'm finished, the thought will be lost in my head. Not to mention my dreams are what have been occupying my mind. Usually, they don't, but I believe I'm still grasping onto them since I don't want them to slip away.

'What do the dreams mean?' It appeared too real to be just a normal dream but to call it a vision would absurd. Visions are stuff that happened, will happen, or a sort of warning, at least that's how it is in movies. The closest thing I ever get to a vision is the random flashes of deja vu I receive. Perhaps I'm overthinking this, maybe I'm just having proper dreams for once. Yeah, that's probably it, I-

"Whoa there, [n/n]!" Kamida grasped my hood to prevent me from walking any further.

"Huh?" I voiced, confused by his actions, I turned my head to him and gave him a "Why did you do that?" expression.

"We're at the bus stop, dummy," Meri-chan informed me.

"Oh, oops." I sweatdropped as I stood beside them.

"We're just in time too," Kamida pointed out as he watched the bus drive towards the stop.

One by one, we stepped onto the bus. I noticed the number of people taking this transportation has grown since it's at an hour where most people get off work, luckily there was still a three-seat row open for us. My legs took haste to snatch the spot before it could be in someone's possession, then I plopped down onto the window seat. By the time I had shifted into a comfortable yet civil sitting position, my friends had joined me. Kamida next to me and Meri-chan sitting on his other side.

Vines of silence grew around us so we didn't disturb anyone lurking in our surroundings. I wasn't phased by the lack of conversation, taking the opportunity to gaze at the modern buildings the bus drove by and dive further into the waters of my mind. Going through the catalogue of my memory, I searched for the recent dream I had and play it once I had found it. Something felt out of place in that dream, and it wasn't just because the scenario differed from the canon result of the flashback in episode 8 of Juuni Taisen. The fact Duodecuple stated he came to fulfill three wishes and not two didn't make sense.

If I connected the dots correctly, the first two wishes were Nagayuki and Takeyasu's wish to not partake in the Juuni Taisen, but then where did the third wish come from? Why would there be a third wish? Did I miss something in my first dream? Is it possible that if I slept a bit longer this morning I would've found out who made the third wish?

Multiple questions danced in my mind but they couldn't find any answers for them to waltz around with. After all, they were left in the mystic unknown, the only way they could return to the known land and find answers is if I returned to the dream realm, but there's no guarantee that it'll give me what I'm looking for. I highly doubt I'd be able to get another dream of the Tatsumi brothers again, my dreams have been generous enough to grant me two normal dreams in a row, I don't think they're going to give me a third. Still, it would be nice-

"[n/n], we're at our stop," Kamida informed me while waving a hand in front of my face.

"Uh-right... right," I responded and arose to my feet, following them out of the bus. Once outside, I brushed myself off, watching the bus drive out of view. Turning my attention to my friends, my hands set themselves in my jacket pockets. "So I guess I'll see you guys at school."

"{Yup|Yeah}," they answered at the same time.

"Alright, see ya then guys." I waved, beginning to stroll backwards in the direction of my house.

"Bye!"  Meri-chan exclaimed, waving.

"See ya." Kamida gave a small wave before turning and heading home.

I faced forward once we had disappeared in our path home, eyeing the slim light that emerged from the sun that is ready to be engulfed by the black night. My hand dug into my pocket and pulled out my phone, I needed to text my mom I was almost home. Turning on the device, I noticed I had two text messages, one from my mom and the other from my brother. I tapped on the notification and bypassed the lock screen to read the message my bro sent me.

"Hey, I'm going to a hangout at my friend's house.

Won't be back till morning"

"Looks like he made plans of his own," I thought out loud. "Guess that means no Code Geass tonight, but that also means I can rewatch Juuni Taisen." Drawing a smirk on my face, I chuckled before sending a response to my brother.

"Aight, cya tomorrow bro"

I waited for the message to load and confirm it was sent before tapping onto the text my mom sent.

"Just wanted to let you know your brother

is going over to his friend's place."

"Good to know."

"I'm almost home"

I turned off my phone once I had replied to her message, storing the device in my pocket. Mom always made sure to inform us whenever something came up, which I am grateful for. It helped me remember and keep track of things, they say "two heads are better than one" for a reason.

"Two heads..." I chuckled to myself when the Tsumita twins popped into my head once more. "Two heads that's been stuck in my mind all day."

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

I sat down in my office chair once I had finished drying my hair, dressed in a simple t-shirt and cargo pants. Opening my laptop I hopped onto docs and clicked the option open a new document. It had been a while since I had written anything, my search for inspiration had been harder than trying to find water in a desert, but with the two dreams I had, I thought I could use it for the idea of a plot. Fidgeting with my bracelet, I tried to construct a starter for the story in my mind, but I found myself unable to find my way around writer's block.

Glancing down at the accessory hugging my wrist as if I asked for ideas, I didn't have any other options since no one was here beside me. I would call or text Meri-chan or Kamida but I knew I'd be heading down soon for dinner. I found no point in inquiring if they could talk if I had to disappear. Funny enough, the bracelet only reminded me of the Tatsumi brothers. I laughed to myself, wondering what the twins would say if they were here, I found the idea amusing. I became tempted to tear the material on my wrist to make my greatest wish a reality, to see if they could become real once I did, but common sense popped my fantasy bubble. This wasn't some Anime where a game master could grant my wish, such fictional desires weren't possible for me to achieve, but I wish it was.

Something in my gut kicked me, flying my head out of that sad mindset I didn't know I fell into. My eyes went back to the blank doc I had open on my laptop. I felt a spark begin to flicker, attempting to get the fire of creativity going. My hands hovered over the keys, words on the tip of my fingers-

"[Name], dinner is ready," mom told me on the other side of my closed door she knocked on.

"Dah!" Frustrated, my arms flew up and mimicked the action of flipping a table before they slammed down on the edge of my desk. "Just when I had something..." I groaned and hung my head back. My mood shifted quickly, realizing some brain food would be good. "Coming mom."

As I arose from my chair, my bracelet seemed off, but when I checked it, everything appeared to be fine. I shrugged off my instinct, believing I was imagining things.

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

A yawn escaped my mouth after I heard the door to mom's room close, she went to bed since she had to work early. I was just chilling on the couch, my feet reclined up and any plans of writing had gone out the window once I had become one with the couch. I had the house somewhat to myself, considering my mom was now upstairs sleeping I couldn't do much.

I don't do things too exciting anyway, most times I just continued writing, or watch something on the tv which is what I'm doing now. Other times if my friends are available, I'd call them up and we'd discuss the fictional world. Then there was the rare occasion where I'd put on music and dance or vibe. It's relaxing me time.

Currently, Juuni Taisen played on the widescreen tv, already on the 11th episode. I don't know why, but it felt strange to watch it. I've seen these courses of events multiple times, each time understanding it more, why now do I receive this feeling? Perhaps the reason had to do with the dreams I had previously, with them appearing so real I guess coming back to what actually happened felt off to me. At least that was my thought process as I let out another yawn.

The 11th episode now halfway through and my eyes had begun to droop, feeling drowsy like Nezumi. The tv slowly turned into background noise when my tired mind began to pull me into the dream realm, my arms going limp to my sides as my eyes closed. The last audible thing I heard was Nezumi mentioning his 100 paths.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Too bad my lizard died, I think he would've liked meeting a new face," Takeyasu remarked gazing at the empty reptile tank sitting on his shelf, taking a break from packing his duffle bags.

This all seemed surreal for Takeyasu, for months he was on edge and trying to distance himself from his brother so when they were in the Taisen it wouldn't be as painful to see him die, at least that was his thought process. It probably wouldn't have worked anyway, not when Nagayuki started to take the big brother role more seriously ever since they both found out one of them was going to die in the Juuni Taisen if the other were to win. Then this wish thing came along and now they're packing for their new life, it was a miracle this was happening. Part of Takeyasu imagined this is some cruel dream that he's in and reality is about to wake him up to see those red letters for him and his brother. He sure wished it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him.

"Hey, are you done packing?" Nagayuki questioned checking in, changed into his signature blue outfit.

"Almost, just gotta stash the rest of the money in there," the younger Tatsumi brother answered, going back to his task. "Do you think we can bring Hitokage and Yuki-onna?"

"I don't think that's the best idea, we don't know who our new roommate is going to be and what exactly they'll be okay with," Nagayuki stated, his hand grasping his chin as he began thinking out loud. "Normal people would probably freak out upon seeing two guys with a flamethrower and an icethrower. Still, if we have something to do with the third wish they must know who we are."

"Heh, I was just going to bring Hitokage anyway, regardless of your answer. You never know if we may need them."

Nagayuki rolled his eyes, knowing his brother would do something like that. His little bro had a point, however. They might need their weapons in this new place they're going, it'd probably give more use than the currency they were bringing with them. Both were unaware of where they were heading. Walking over, he looked inside one of Takeyasu's bags, small red rectangle boxes caught his eye and he picked one up.

"Really? You're taking your poker cards?"

"You say that like it's a question."

"Do you really need all of them?"

"Yeah, they're collector." Takeyasu stated his reason like it was obvious. The snake then cracked a smile. "At least I can reuse them unlike the bags of snacks you packed."

"Shut up." A faint blush appeared on Nagayuki's albino cheeks. "The flavours might not be available where we go, it's not like I'm going to eat them all in one go."

The little brother playfully snickered until the brief moment died down. A gentle silence sat between them, the only thing heard was Takeyasu stuffing items into the duffle bag. The elder Tatsumi brother glanced outside the room, considering if he should go check to see he had everything he needed and wasn't forgetting anything, but his bro caught his attention before he could decide.

"Hey..." Takeyasu started with a monotone, the mood in the room becoming heavy. That was a rare thing to happen among them, so he had his elder twin's full attention. "Did you ever think this would happen; Us not having to be apart of the Juuni Taisen?"

"I'm going to be honest with you, Takeyasu."

That was a phrase the younger Tsumita twin hadn't heard in a long time.

"I thought the Juuni Taisen was what our whole lives were leading up to, but I also thought the day would never come," Nagayuki spoke truthfully, his eyes gazed down at the floor. "I... just can't believe that it's not actually going to come, and how it never will..."

It grew quiet, the reality of what was happening finally settling in their minds. The reality neither of them was going to die. The reality neither of them had to kill the other. It was gone, the dark road was gone. They were free.

A laugh broke the silence, Nagayuki glance at his brother who had made the joyful sound.

"We don't have to play those bastards' game!" Takeyasu exclaimed, tackling his bro into a hug.

"Oof-" Nagayuki stumbled, not expecting the sudden embrace, but when he steadied himself he wrapped his arms around his baby brother. The burden of death has been lifted from their shoulders and they never felt more relieved. Tears of joy threatened to fall as the two hugged, knowing they wouldn't lose the other.

Before either could cry, an outsider cleared their throat. The moment now passed, the twins pulled away from the sibling hug to see Duodecuple there holding his hands behind his back.

"Are you both ready?" the man asked.

"Yeah, let me just get my bags," Nagayuki responded, moving past the elder man to get to his room.

Entering, the dragon went straight to retrieve the two duffle bags he packed. However, he ceased in his tracks when he turned to exit, spying the icethrower from the corner of his eye. He had originally planned to leave it, thinking it wasn't needed in his new life and unsure how their new roommate would feel about it, but since his little bro was taking his flamethrower what could it hurt to bring his weapon along?

"Besides, I don't I could get something like you out there, Yuki-onna," Nagayuki said, a smirk plastered on his face as he picked up the icethrower and put it on his back. He then grabbed his bags and left his now old room. Joining his brother's side in the main room, both face the mysterious man, holding their belongings.

"I hope you both are aware you are not heading to any warzones," Duodecuple told them, seeing how both Tatsumi brothers were carrying their weapons with them.

"Yeah, we know," Nagayuki stated blankly.

"But there's no way we're leaving these," Takeyasu added with a smug expression.

"I see." Duodecuple nodded, grabbing the rim of his top hat.

"So where are heading?" the elder Tatsumi brother asked.

"And how are we getting-"

Before the younger Tsumita twin could finish his question, Duodecuple had taken off his hat to bow, while doing so the brothers faded out of their reality.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"No!" I cried, reaching out to the two, only to face the actual screen in front of me. "Oh... it was just another dream," I muttered to myself, grasping my forehead with my right hand.

I'm surprised I actually was granted a third dream of the Tatsumi brothers. I expected my brain not to be so generous, not that I'm complaining, I'm grateful for it. I wished I knew what happened to them though, maybe I'll find out in the next dream. I could get used to having them on my mind as I sleep.

Returning to the reality before me, I saw the episode had finished a while ago. My hand went to pick up the phone that laid on the couch beside me to check the time, but when I did I noticed my bracelet had broken beyond repair. I quickly sat up, picking up the remains of the lime bracelet and the few beads that were once on it.

"Shit, how'd it break?" I questioned, examing the pieces. "It was fine an hour ago, wasn't it?" Shaking my head, I knew it had to throw it in the trash, it was useless now.

I reclined my spot on the couch back down and stuffed my phone in my pocket. Holding the bits of my broken bracelet, I strolled over to the trashcan in the kitchen and dropped them in there. I felt disappointed, I actually enjoyed wearing that bracelet. Not only was it a gift from one of my best friends but it was something that reminded me of the Tatsumi brothers.

"Oh well, objects can't last forever," I mumbled to myself, recalling the day our Wii console stopped reading discs, on New Year's Day too no less.

Catching a glimpse of the time set on the oven, I figured I should head upstairs to my room. If I stayed downstairs for too long and went up late in the night, I'd give mom broken sleep. Probably best I'd head there now anyway if I wanted to get any writing done.

Going up the steps silently so I wouldn't disturb mom, headed to the next floor. My mind was in a whirlwind of different thoughts, but they were put to a pause when I heard voices. At first, I concluded it was just mom talking in her sleep again, however, I crossed it off since they sounded male. My next assumption was my brother but that wouldn't make sense since he wasn't home. Before the scary sensation of the situation settled into my mindset, I had reached the floor and the semi-audio voices sounded familiar to me. With that in mind, I crept down the hallway towards the sound and I realized it was coming from my room.

'Why would it be my room of all places?' I questioned in my head. 'I don't have anything worth stealing!' I turned around to go and find something to use to defend myself but I never took another step because that's when their sentences became audible.

"Too bad we didn't have more time to pack, I would've liked to bring my desktop set up with me."

'No way...' I thought to myself, slowly twisting my head towards my door with wide eyes.

"Don't sweat it, bro. You got the USB, that's all that matters."

'No fucking way!'

I didn't even realize I moved down the hall until my hand felt the cool metal of the doorknob that opened the door to my room. My brain hardly processing my actions, I twisted the handle and pushed open the door. The sight before me I could barely believe.

There standing in my room, in their full warrior gear, were the Tatsumi brothers.

In the moment of me just staring at their backs, I forgot how to fucking breathe. Then Takeyasu was the first to turn to me.

"Hey bro, I think our roommate is here," he told his brother, his signature smirk on his face.

"Huh?" Nagayuki turning attention to me, his icy gaze settling on my skin. "I think you're right."

The expression of the younger twin changed to a semi-worried one. "Hey, are you okay?-"

I wasn't able to hear the rest of his words because all the weight that once was in my head disappeared. I saw my surroundings grow taller and tilt horizontally, but then I felt something solid collide with my back and my vision dissolved to black. I realized that I fainted from disbelief.

I mean, this couldn't have been real right? I was sleeping only moments ago and I woke up to this? No, no, this couldn't be real. I'm probably just dreaming, right? Yeah, that's what I'm doing, dreaming. I'm just dreaming. I'll wake up on the couch and see that it was only a dream.

[jessiebanethedragon]

Scuttle (2/?) Crosshair x reader

Part two warnings: mentions of death, death of loved one (sorry) 

Crosshair quickly decides he likes the rain. It’s got a way of blending in so nicely with the rest of the planet that he thinks it would be bland without it.

“Anything?” Hunter asked into the comms, and various grunts and groans of ‘negative’ filled his ear. They’d landed in what looked like an abandoned house, it was situated in the branches of a very tall, and very old tree. How anyone would have managed to climb it was a mystery. 

“How do we even know what we’re lookin’ for?” Wrecker grumbled as they rappelled down the enormous trunk. 

“All we’ve got is that they answer to the name Wren apparently it’s some animal on this planet.” Hunter grumbled, looking over a tech, expecting a lengthy explanation of what exactly a ‘Wren’ was. 

“Fairywren are small birds that  live in typical families of small groups, they come in brilliant colours of purple and blue. Very rare in the galaxy, but common to this planet.” Tech immediately replied, as their feet crunched into the ground. 

“Okay, Bad batch, let's make this quick.” The sergeant ordered before taking off into the undergrowth. 

It had been hours and they were no closer to coming across anyone or  anything that looked like a Fairywren. Keeping to the outskirts of a small town crosshair watches as a group of Trandoshan guards (from the look of their intense armour) patrolled the streets. 

“What are they doing?” He thought aloud to himself, toothpick ever present in his mouth. His concentration broke when he heard someone laughing at him. A group of teenagers were sitting under a broken piece of metal. 

“What does it look like, Laserbrain?” one of them sneered. “The trandoshans are only good for one thing. The hunt.” Crosshair doubled his pace. 

You were running faster than you ever had before, and for longer than you thought was physically possible. Your one and only advantage was the extent of your knowledge of the forest paths. The guards would be faster and run longer, they had keener senses than any human, and you knew if they put out a warrant, anyone and everyone would turn you in. But you were so close. So, so close. 

It was called the Night Lake by the locals, the canopy here was so dense no light illuminated the water below, giving the area a terrifying essence. But also ensured much needed privacy, and in this particular case, somewhere to hide. You threw yourself into the waters, letting the slightly chilly water envelop you. At least four of them had been on your tail and you knew more of them were waiting at the edge of the city, should you try and circle back. 

You swam as deep as you could manage, before stilling in the water, suspended in perfect anxiety as you watched its surface for any movement. Flares began to light up the dark sky and the water below as they tried to clear the area for your whereabouts. Closing your eyes you prayed to anything listening for them not to find you. 

Turns out. No one was listening. 

Crosshair was sprinting in the forest, creatures disturbed by his arrival scattered in every direction. The Trandoshans had taken off moments before answering a call that he couldn't interpret. But his experience and intuition told him to follow. 

It was then that he faltered and fell down the edge of a small but very muddy hill, being followed only by more water filled dirt that almost buried him. Cursing he pulled himself up, checking his whereabouts for signs of a trap. 

“So small for such trouble.” Something hissed to his right, clearly unaware of the clone that had just tumbled into their presence. His eyes snapped forward, four Trandoshans sat at the edge of what was the largest and darkest lake Crosshair had ever seen. 

“Shall we let her drown or yank her out ourselves?” One asked with a snicker. 

“The general wants her alive, something about having fun while making an example.” The first one spoke again. “Right, enough is enough, Drisk get her out of there.” with a nod towards the water, Crosshair watched as the slimmest Trandoshan (who was probably still twice the size of the sniper) dove into the black waters. The ripples dissipated for a moment before the reptile emerged carrying a struggling young girl. She was sopping wet, and struggling and turning so much they had no choice but to dump her in the mud. 

“Now, now little roach, don't run off.” The leader laughed as she started to claw her way through the mud, reaching down he grasped her ankle and yanked her into the arms of the other two reptilians. Crosshair lined up his rifle, he could take out the two grasping the girl and then worry about the leader after. He had the Trandoshans in his sight when his comm crackled to life again. 

“Crosshair, you missed your check in time, you still out there?” it was Tech, curse him and his punctuality. Because now the other two huge beings were dragging him out of his hiding place. 

“Well, would you take a look at this. A clone!” Crosshair was forced to his knees in front of the leader as it spat at him.   

“Crosshair! Come in!” Tech shouted into the helmet, thus resulting in it’s not-so gentle removal from Crosshairs head. He watched as Tech’s voice faded away as the bucket rolled into the lake. 

“Now that the rude interruption is gone, you wanna tell us whatcha up to in these parts?” he said kneeling down and meeting his newest captive eye to eye.

“Bird watching.” Crosshair deadpanned. Really not feeling in a chatty mood at that present moment.  

“Really?” the reptile hummed in thought, pretending to actually believe his answer. “Have you seen any birds yet?” 

“No.” Crosshair told him with a smile, “Saw some Bantha-shit - looking lizards though.”He didn't see the flying fist coming, but he sure as hell felt it. 

You clamp you both of your hands over your mouth. Hard. in the smallest attempt to muffle your screams. You can't tell the difference from lake water, rain water, and tears. But you know you’re wailing at an unforgiving volume. Your mother's blank eyes stare at you. A single blaster to the head. Your father, you got a blaster to the face is now unrecognizable. You don’t know which is worse. Krexx didn't even bother to keep you restrained, knowing that the horror of what he made you witness would be enough to paralyze you into compliance. The sound of conflict falls on deaf ears as you continue to shriek from your converter of what once was the family home. 

The Clone, whose name you either didn't know or couldn't remember, was cuffed to one of the ceiling's support beams by a pair of binders, only just coming to a hit to the head like that will do you in. you watch him lift  his head with a groan, the tattoo on his face covered by layers of mud. He starts pulling at the binders before his eyes meet the figure in the corner. 

You’re curled in a fetal position, still screaming bloody murder into your hands. And barely, Crosshair sees that the fingerless gloves you wear are embroidered with a bird. A bright blue bird. 

“Wren.” He grunted out, the pieces all coming together as his brain shakes the fuzz away. You don't move. “Wren!” he shouts over your tears. And you fall into more of a silent  sob, looking over at him. “I need you to get these off of me.” he gestures to the binders with a shake of his hands. You recoil in the corner and shake your head, your cries are picking up volume again. 

“Wren, please” Crosshair all but begs. The sound of battle is getting closer and closer. “I need you to uncuff me.” His voice  barely registers in your brain. You know you have to move but you feel like you physically can't. There’s no fight or flight left in you, and it appears your entire system has short circuited as a result.   

“We are both going to die if you don’t get me out of  these kriffin’ binders!” Crosshair renewed his struggles as he shouts at you. But one look at you says that would be a preferable outcome for your current state. So, he switches tactics and tries to remember everything Tech has ever told him about shock and trauma. 

“Wren,” he tries once again, softer this time. “I can help you, I can help you out of this. But I can't do that if you don't get these off of me.” Your eyes meet his. ‘Progress’ he thinks. You don't know how you do it, but you try to stand. 

“Just keep looking at me, okay?” The clone who you don't know speaks again, and your eyes meet his. You stare not into his eyes, more like past them. You're not focusing on anything you're just taking one step after another until you reach where he’s awkwardly strewn up. 

“There's a release button on the-” He starts to tell you, but you're already reaching up with shaky hands and fumbling around until they drop to the floor with a horrible clank. Immediately Crosshair jumps into action checking by each window and door and gathering all he can in terms of intel. 

“We need to move, before anyone-” He trails off again when he’s seen that you’ve slid down the wall that he was against. Curling back into a ball. Slowly, he approaches you. He knows the protocol for a clone with shock, but what you're going through looks completely different all together. And Crosshair, well, let's just say there was never any training for caring for a civilian girl whose entire life just got destroyed. 

“My name is Crosshair.” He whispers to you, crouching down to our height. You look at him with wide eyes. “Is it okay if I carry you to a safer spot?” You nod in response fumbling with your arms to lock them around his tall frame. His strength surprises you, as he lifts you with relative ease. And slowly the adrenaline wears off and you sink into his arms, vaguely you feel him pull your head into his shoulder the blasts sound deafening now as he runs through the uproar caused by the execution of an innocent family. Your family. Crosshair tells himself he pulls you closer so that you are not recognized. And that he does it so you don't have to see that carnage. But mostly he does it in hopes that you feel just a little more safe, and a little more calm in his arms.  

tags: @mangoberry43 

[apprenticegamemaster]

Pern Au Lore Snippets

Will I ever actually write this au? Probably not. But I DO want to get this nonsense out of my brain, so here’s some bits of lore. Feel free to snag for your RPs or fanfiction or the like if you want, heaven knows I’m probably borrowing from half a dozen other things I’ve seen people write.

The larger holds didn’t always have the large outbuildings and surrounding cots that they do in the “modern” day. Back before the Plague of Moreta, pretty much the entirety of a hold’s population would live within the cliffs, sometimes far enough in that the air was pretty much always stale despite whatever vents were put in when the hold was first carved out. The plague, being a respiratory-based illness, meant that suddenly it was far more important than ever for holders to have access to fresh air both to avoid the illness and to avoid aggravating the lungs of the survivors afterword. The big holds built out more than they carved in from that point on, and eventually many of them kinda forgot about some of the back passageways and rooms.

Speaking of Holds, the majority of cots and small holds are structurally similar to single or multi-generation homes do on Earth, but the major holds tend to operate similarly to Ancient Roman apartment blocks- basically, an individual person might have a room for themselves or share it with a few other people, but sleeping’s about the only thing the whole wing might be set up to do. Bathrooms, restrooms, kitchens, etc, are all in other parts of the hold. Wealthier families might have something closer to a modern college dorm with a suite or pod of rooms that all share a bathroom, but hall-style dorm living arrangements are far more common if the sleeping quarters have a nearby bathroom at all.

Mixing a bit of the “Crafthalls are not Monoliths” lore from another post I saw a while back with something I vaguely remember from the Todd books: There’s been a good handful of schisms in the past between the main crafthalls, the biggest one on my AU being between the Eastern and Western Harper Halls. Generally speaking, most of them were caused either by a few rogue Masters or Journeymen running off to do their own thing or just by way of being too physically far apart to keep from going their separate ways.

Still, the biggest split is between the people who got apprenticed to the various Halls and the people who are engaging in the craft in a vernacular manner, e.g. the guy who learned to make furniture via being apprenticed to a Master versus the guys in the smaller halls that are making furniture because their Hold needs the stuff and it’s too expensive to get something made elsewhere, or the locally-woven cloth versus the stuff made in Weavercrafthalls. In my AU there’s quite a few people that can paint frescoes and the like, for instance, but your local man is probably going to be more along the lines of your average medieval monk’s artistic ability (aka not particularly detailed or realistic), versus the more Romanesque and Renaissance-styled artists you can hire out of the Eastern Harper Hall. There’s a strong element of classism there, but the crafthalls like to think they’ve got the One True Way of doing things even when they really don’t.

Bees made it to Pern. There’s no way that half the crops the colonists brought would’ve made it if the bees didn’t.

Similarly, I’m replacing the llamas that I saw mentioned in the Dragonlover’s guide to Pern with Alpacas, specifically the Paco-Vicuna variety, because llamas are Mean and Paco-Vicunas are Nice creatures that are Extremely Soft. The High Reaches have the overwhelming majority of the herds of them, and has a small Weavercrafthall set up just to make luxury woolens from them. Local holders call them llacuanas or something similar, though, because while the guy who brought them knew what they were, pretty much all the other holders just thought they were llamas and a few wires got crossed.

Cinnamon specifically might have failed to transplant to Pern, but the majority of spices did well enough once the right climates were found for them- mainly in Igen (Ingen? what is spelling). The area’s surprisingly wealthy as a result, similarly to how spices made the Arabian peninsula area wealthy during the days of the Silk Road and the like.

Tillek may be pretty rainy, but that’s because the climate is close to the Pacific Northwest- it’s a lot of temperate rainforest in that area. Pity the local flora doesn’t lend itself to woodcraft- most of the trees are either stubby and spindly and really only decent for firewood (if you can dry it out) or are the super-tough stonewoods that’ll pretty much break any ax or saw if you’re not careful... or if you’re just not lucky. Lots of marshes and fens and the like, too, so fishing really is pretty much the main way to go there.

Fort and Boll are accordingly north and south California. Nerat has a few parts that mimic Florida, but most of it’s tropical rainforest. Benden is just the middle coast of the USA. Heck, to an extent you can just mirror the Continental USA onto Pern’s Northern Continent- there’s general principles to how climate works re: coasts and interiors and the like and it’s just the same on Pern.

There’s been a few tries to get colonies up and going on the various island chains outside the Northern Continent, but none of them really stuck, even as a penal colony. The wyers just can’t extend protection over the oceans during Passes, and getting wooden ships to go out that far when threadfall is a thing was just too much of a risk, and it turns out that 50 years plus however long it took to send out the next few boats was generally long enough for things to go Horribly Wrong. There’s still a few landmarks there that dragonriders can Between to- mainly a couple Stonehenge-like setups- since the cattle that were released/escaped on the two biggest islands have done pretty well, making it a tasty stopoff for dragons. Plus whatever fruits and the like the wyers can scavenge. Most interesting thing otherwise is the unique subspecies of fire lizards, which have larger wingspans with a bit more patterning to the wings. They tend to migrate up and down the island chains as the seasons go.

The Southern Continent as a whole is held in about the same regard by sailors as Medieval kings held the mythical kingdom of Prester John- a super cool legendary location that TOTALLY exists, but is actually nowhere near as mystical and majestic as the stories say. It got lost pretty much the same way the islands got lost- the wyers just couldn’t spread out enough to cover the ocean passage, even if they could cover the landmass areas. By the “modern” time in my AU pretty much only the sailors near Ista and Boll give it any credit at all, and only because there’s always That One Ship that gets seriously unlucky and/or just has a shit navigator and ends up on the other side of the equator before they figure out how to get home. Boats from the Nerat area generally can’t stock enough in their holds to make it to the Southern Continent, much less make it back.

[zahra-kha]

Slights

When Zahra turned ten, she stopped calling herself a Kouris. It had been a sudden declaration for her parents, watching their daughter burst into their home - bruises all over and with a slowly swelling right eye as she snapped out that she wanted to be known as a Kha from here on in. Trotting slowly behind her was Cahil, her tiny brother with his head down and trying to hide his sniffling.

While Zahra wouldn’t open up about what had occurred, even to her father, it didn’t take much to figure out what had transpired after speaking with Cahil. After Zahra had been mended and Cahil cleaned up, Cetin sat down with the lad in his bedroom that night, hoping some time to cool down would let the child open up.

Cetin pulled the boy awkwardly in his arms. Even at six, Cahil was smaller than most children his age, looking more around the age of four. While the miqo’te man was by no means large, he oft felt as if he were going to break the poor child due to how thin and frail he felt.

Thankfully, there’d been no injuries on Cahil, so whatever had happened, it hadn’t affected the boy physically. Cetin ran his hands through his son’s fluffy dark blue hair, his gruff features melting into a smile as he got a giggle out of the boy.

“You wanna tell your old man what happened?” Cahil’s smile evaporated at his father’s question and he looked down, squirming uncomfortably in his father’s arms. With a low hum, Cetin leaned in and gave Cahil a small nudge, lightly bumping their foreheads affectionately. “Hey. I only bite the bad guys, remember?” he let out a mock growl and playfully snapped his teeth, earning him another giggle from his child.

His playful demeanor appeared to soothe Cahil as he lightly pushed his father’s face away with a laugh. “The other kids...said things about us today.” the boy shifted, snuggling close to his father as he began to recount the events of the day.

----

“Why do we have to have the babies on our team though?” a young hyur boy demanded. He picked up the red kickball they were going to play with and tucked it under his arm. “If you dummies wanna pull them in so bad have them on your team then! Me and Cyrus can play on our own team!”

“Eh~ I don’t really care either way...” Cyrus commented, putting his hands behind his head and turning away. Another young hyur a little over Zahra’s age, he looked completely disinterested in the argument breaking out. “I just wanna play, Amir.”

“We have enough to keep it even, Amir!” a young girl who looked almost identical to Amir crossed her arms, scowling heavily at him. “There’s no reason not to let them play. We all wanna have fun.”

The small group of six were arguing out at a local park. There weren’t many, and while this one wasn’t one for children to play in and was more for the locals to enjoy its beauty, it was also large enough for the local authorities to turn a blind eye to a few kids wanting to have a good time. So long as no one complained about them being an eyesore. Most of these children had the privilege of being from well to do families, so it was unlikely anyone would come to scold them anytime soon.

Zahra decided to step in and support the young girl arguing with Amir. “Sura is right. There’s no need to force the little ones to go play something else when we can all just play the game together and have fun. Try to be more reasonable, Amir.”

Amir seemed to have decided he was the leader of their little group, and was displeased that the others wanted to force him to include the younger children in his kickball team (or in the game at all). His attention snapped to Zahra and his expression darkened. 

“Shut up, Zahra. You’re just trying to have a dog in this fight because of Cahil. Otherwise, you wouldn’t even take my sister’s side.” he sneered at her, his irritation rising with how he felt everyone was ganging up on him. Not even Cyrus was backing him up. It wasn’t like he was the bad guy here for not wanting to include the babies. “You know I’ve been wondering, you two even real siblings or does your mom really get around like everyone says?”

“Amir!” his sister all but screeched at him, but the words had been spoken and it was too late to back down now. He shrugged her off when she grabbed at his arm to stop him from saying more. The kickball fell to the ground and he crossed his arms, looking down at the stunned xaela girl.

“What? Everyone’s mom talks about it. Their mom leaves high society to marry their bum of a dad and then suddenly they have a lizard kid? Who’s the dad? At least Cahil makes sense, even if he looks like a-”

WHAM!

In two steps Zahra closed the distance and slammed her fist squarely into Amir’s face with as much force as she could muster. Her face was flushed with rage, fists balled at her sides as she panted. Behind her one of the younger children began to wail.

“I’m adopted, you arse!” Zahra shouted it as loudly as she could. “I’m not their child, I was born in the Steppes from the Kha clan! Both of my parents were xaela! Tell your shitty mothers that!”

---

“...and then Sura slapped Zahra for hitting her brother and calling her mother a bad name and it turned into a big fight until Cyrus pulled them off each other and made Sura take Amir home. We think his nose is broken.”

“Haaah.” Cetin let out a heavy sigh to keep from laughing. “I see. How do you feel, Cahil? We never hid the fact that Zahra isn’t your biological sister, but we never tried to raise you two as if you weren’t siblings. You’re both our children and we love you very much. I’m sorry you had to hear a lot of bad things today. Your friend was repeating things he’d heard from his mother, and unfortunately, your mother and I have a past that isn’t agreeable with some people.”

There was a long pause, and for a moment Cetin had to lean back and look down to see if the boy had fallen asleep. But the little bundle eventually shifted again, peering up at him with wide blue eyes full of confusion and pain. “Papa, do I...is there something weird with me?”

He was referring to his appearance. At first glance, Cahil looked like a normal four year old miqo’te, although he was six. Perhaps he was a bit thin for his age, but that was about it. He had large blue eyes, slitted pupils. Even his little tail was growing out nicely. What made him distinctly different from the others were his ears. Instead of soft furry ears protruding from the top of his head, instead he had small tapered ears that one would find on an elezen child. This was the first time he’d heard anyone actively give his son grief about his mixed heritage, but it was unlikely to be the last.

“You’re a handsome boy, Cahil.” he ran his fingers through his son’s hair, smiling warmly as the child’s eyes began to droop. “And you’re smart. You know that, right? Do you know what Zahra did?”

“Mm.” he let out a tiny yawn. “I don’t like it. Those mean ladies won’t stop saying bad things. They already knew sister was adopted.”

Of course they knew. Zahra had been adopted just before Cahil had been born. There was at least a four year gap between Zahra and Cahil if they had guessed her age correctly. They’d only been married for two years at that point and Theria had lived with her family up until they had eloped. Even they weren’t that stupid to think Zahra was Theria’s bastard child. It was just trash talk to ruin her already damaged reputation in society’s eyes.

“Remember the slights done to you, Cahil. You don’t have to respond to them right away. But remember how people react when it happens. Remember the people who do nothing, and remember those who do. Remember those who protect you, like your sister, and think on how that makes you feel. And when you have the strength and power to do something about it - decide for yourself what you want to do.” he continued to run his hand through his son’s thick hair. “That’ll determine the man you’ll become.”

“What kind of man did you decide to become, papa?”

Cetin chuckled, giving his son’s nose a little boop. “A complicated one. Maybe grow up to be less like your old man, hm?”

[daughterofposeidon25]

DaughterOfPoseidon Favorites

My hero academia-Kiribaku

🔴 = NSFW

Please read at your own risk. Carefully read tags and enjoy!

A Name That You'll Remember by Heronfem

Kirishima Eijirou is a Hero. Bakugou Katsuki... is not. Trapped in his toxic workplace and increasingly desperate to get out, Red Riot's days are only brightened by a new villain known as Caution, who's not exactly villainous and keeps accidentally doing good deeds. But when a real villain appears, a threat from the past that demands that Red Riot make the ultimate sacrifice to keep the public safe, Bakugou is forced into saving the day... and eventually, Red Riot himself.

Part 1 of Won't Go Quietly

Freshly Ground Coffee by arxaris

Bakugou had been going to BeansPot Coffe for a long time. A hole-in-the-wall coffee shop in the middle of the city, the place was a wonderfully well-kept secret – at least in Bakugou’s opinion. And that’s exactly how he liked it. Coffee with a side of quiet, blissful anonymity had become his favorite way to start his work day. Which was why he was instantly on guard when he walked in one morning to see a new face standing behind the counter. Well, actually, first he saw his hair.

Stop-sign red and styled up into spikes, it looked ridiculous against the cream-colored walls of the shop. Between that and the way-too-wide smile that stretched across his face, he was almost hard to look at directly.

Too goddamn bright for this early in the morning.

Or, pro-hero Ground Zero had a morning routine that he liked perfectly fine, thank you very much. That is, until a bright-eyed new barista showed up to throw a wrench in it, one caramel latte at a time.

sparks by helwolves 🔴

“I’m just really happy,” Eijirou says. He sighs shakily and then all but collapses onto Katsuki, burying his face against the vulnerable spot at the base of his throat. “Ah, you smell so good,” he says, trailing off into a soft growl. “They say that means you’ll be really compatible with your rider, you know... Is it the same for men?”

Alternately: "they can't show us Bakugou riding a dragon that might be Kirishima and NOT expect me to want him to fuck it."

Part 1 of sparks, etc.

Blood of my Hand by PurplePersnickety

Eijirou is a half dragon, stuck in a cage, unable to shift from his human form. Then a bad-tempered barbarian arrives on the scene, Eijirou makes a blood pact he'll probably regret, and he learns that finding a missing friend of his might just tie into the fate of the world.

Katsuki is a mountain clan outcast, and if he ever wants to return then he must meet the demands of the Queen and bring back the head of a dragon. Then Katsuki meets the most irritating lizard, makes a blood pact he'll probably regret, and learns that- wait? The world? Oh fuck.

quote love unquote by newamsterdam

Sero nods. “It’s the chance of a lifetime, really,” he says. “We want you to date Bakugou, for the sake of his reputation with the press. Some public appearances, a few ‘candid’ photos. For at least a couple of months.”

“Bakugou sent you to ask me to date him?” Kirishima asks, baffled.

“Of course not. We, his people, are asking you to date him. He’s going to have to get on board, if he wants his career to survive. And in the bargain, Riot will get all sorts of publicity, because their lyricist will be dating one of the industry’s hottest stars. A win for everyone.”

When Kirishima Eijirou's band hits the big time, he's not prepared for his newfound fame. He's even less prepared to meet the actor he's been crushing on for years, or to start dating him as a publicity stunt. The closer Kirishima gets to Bakugou Katsuki, the more he realizes he's in over his head. But it's hard to stop, once his heart is in it.

A Dragon's Hoard by chezka

There was a lizard in Kirishima’s room.

A scaley, clawed, fanged lizard. A fifty centimeters long, red, winged lizard.

A dragon, there was a dragon in the middle of the floor of Kirishima’s room.

Bakugou blinked slowly, a hand curled around the door’s handle and one foot still out in the hallways. He looked at the dragon, the dragon looked back at him.

“What the fuck,” Bakugou whispered.

take your broken wings and fly by bwyn

Rifts—man, he hates these things. They look misty, but are dry; they look hot, but feel cold as a winter chill. They’re the exact opposite of what his eyes assume. It’s like some sort of sensory illusion. To top it all off, if he thinks about them too long, the space behind his eyes starts to throb. Not worth it.

The hawk takes off without prompting the closer Eijirou gets. Goosebumps prickle across his skin at the waft of cool air.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” grunts Eijirou as his skin goes hard around his hands.

Part 1 of Tales from the Rift

The Beauty of a Beast by starofjems

Once upon a time a lonely beast lived in a manor deep in the forest. He dreamed of the day his true love appeared to break his curse... When a beauty finally appears in his life, it is not quite as he imagined. For who could have thought a beauty would be more of a beast.

Or

The beauty and the beast AU nobody asked for but here it is.

Broomsticks by ComiclzWrites 🔴

Local witch Bakugo Katsuki doesn't have many friends and he'd like to keep it that way but the shop that he gets all his ingredients from has a new delivery boy that might just work his way into Bakugo's fiery little heart.

AKA: Bakugo Katuski is a witch, Kirishima Eijirou is his delivery boy, and this is the story of how they fell in love.

Broken Bridges by DeathBelle 🔴

After years of working abroad, Kirishima moves back to Japan to open his own agency, and things seem to be going well. There’s plenty of work, he gains popularity quickly, and it’s a relief to be back in his home country. Everything is perfect, until he runs into Bakugou on the scene of a villain attack.

Bakugou had been his best friend at U.A., but the two of them haven’t spoken for years. That had been Bakugou’s decision, not Kirishima’s, and he's still a little hurt by it. Regardless, it’s easy to put that aside in favor of rekindling his friendship with Bakugou. They fall back into a routine and it’s as if nothing has changed; including Kirishima’s old feelings for his best friend. When a new pair of villains starts picking off heroes one by one, Kirishima feels that he and Bakugou are the best heroes to take the case. All the extra time they spend together hunting villains is great, except Kirishima feels like his heart is being ripped out every time Bakugou looks at him.

Kneel by deviance 🔴

“Bakugou?”

Bakugou shuffled on his feet, hovering over Kirishima and looking at the ground with stormy eyes. He glanced up to glare at Kirishima, a silent dare to call him out on his odd behavior no doubt. Kirishima forced himself not to tense. Whatever Bakugou wanted, he was about to show him and Kirishima had to get this right. Bakugou was all about showing and not telling.

Kirishima nearly bit his tongue to keep in a squawk of surprise when Bakugou suddenly dropped to his knees next to him, shuffling forward until he could press his forehead to his thigh and hide his face against Kirishima's leg. Kirishima opened his mouth, questions on the tip of his tongue, and he barely managed to catch them before they could be given voice. Bakugou was trembling minutely, his entire frame so tense his muscles were twitching under Kirishima's gaze.

“Just. Don't say anything,” Bakugou muttered, hands clenching in his lap tightly. “Please,” he whispered, a short choked sound.

The Lost Continent by cattchi, paglykos 🔴

Kirishima Eijirou is from a noble family of pirate exterminators. Bakugou Katsuki is rising as one of the most fearsome pirates on the seas.

When a trade goes awry, Kirishima finds himself cast among Bakugou's crew, having to learn the ropes and the sea as they chase after All Might's infamous hidden treasure.

Of Ghosts and other Inaccurate Things by chezka

A week before the sports festival found Bakugou walking back home in the late afternoon, sunset light making his scowl even more menacing and drawing a long shadow right in front of him.

Someone was walking by his side.

There was no second shadow on the floor beside his own to confirm this, but if he kept his focus on the street ahead and carefully avoided trying to look to his left, he could consistently make out black hair swishing in the wind and strong arms leading to hands sunk in pants’ pockets. The edges were blurry, but there was definitely someone at his side.

Tell Me I'm Yours by arxaris 🔴

Bakugou was going a little crazy. He could grudgingly admit that it was at least in part his own fault; moving in with his best friend maybe hadn’t been the best idea. At first, it sounded great. The rent would be cheaper, grocery shopping and cooking for two would be way more convenient, and it would be easier for the two of them to hang out. The only thing was, Bakugou forgot to consider how the joys of moving in with his aforementioned best friend might be dampened by the fact that he was madly in love with him.

Alternatively: Kirishima Eijirou is a goddamn tease and there's no way he doesn't know what he's doing.

Part 1 of tell me i'm yours

Fire in the Storm by Vagabond for Shippeh 🔴

Bakugo Katsuki is a stubborn bastard and does what you should never do: splits the party. He gets caught in a rainstorm and seeks shelter in a cave which yields an interesting discovery in the form of a shape-changing stranger.

Or: Kirishima is a dragon, and Bakugo seeks shelter in his lair.

i'm going to the forest to kick my own ass by WannabeMarySue

“What the fuck,” he mutters, quietly but with feeling.

He stomps over and picks it up. Emotional Intelligence for Dummies glares up at him in garish yellow font.

“What the fuck,” he repeats, louder and with more feeling.

(or, todoroki tries to play a prank, but jokes on him, because bakugou is fueled by complex emotions like Anger and Winning).

Kitsune Bakugo and Oni Kiri (Inu x Boku SS AU) by ComiclzWrites 🔴

The Maison de Ayakashi is a high security apartment building where humans with demon or yōkai ancestors reside, each guarded by their own Secret Service bodyguard. Bakugo stuck with the ancestor of the Kitsune has been moved into the apartment as his parents last ditch effort to fix his aggressive personality; his hired bodyguard Kirishima the ancestor of the Oni seems determined to turn his world upside-down.

Everglow by Maplefudge

Eijirou and Katsuki are known to be a formidable duo, one being a dragon shifter, the other a powerful human with explosive magic. They work together as if it's second nature, and the nations know their names. However, it hasn’t always been like that.

aka

The story of how Eijirou and Katsuki accidentally formed a life bond with each other and ended up as reluctant partners.

'Cause the Dark's Not Taking Prisoners Tonight by imatrisarahtops

“Are those soba noodles?” Kirishima asked.

Again Bakugou’s only reply was a grunt. He offered no further explanation—not that Kirishima honestly expected one—as though making soba noodles from scratch at half past four in the morning wasn’t at all a bizarre occurrence and made complete and total sense. For a fleeting moment, Kirishima even wondered if maybe he was the odd one here. Besides, he’d already decided it was generally not in his best interest to question these types of things with Bakugou, especially when it was something essentially harmless.

When Kirishima has a nightmare and is unable to fall back asleep, he accepts defeat and decides to study in the common area of the dorms. What he doesn't expect to find is Bakugou, also very much awake, and Kirishima can't help but think that maybe they're both having the same problems with sleeping. If he's worried, it's just because they're friends. (Right?)

Cranky-rishima by PurplePersnickety

"Oh, I just fell out of bed," Kirishima said, almost airily. He put one hand to the back of his neck. "But I'm good."

Katsuki squinted at him. "No you're not."

Kirishima's expression fell, and he looked down at the hand not on his neck. His fingers were trembling and he closed his hand up into a fist. "No, I'm not. Fuck it."

Part 1 of Nightmares Aren't Explodable

Engraved in your Mind by Hejter

Bakugou Katsuki lost his ability to recognize faces, so he didn’t know any of the people who stared at him, but he knew what dread looks like when he sees it, and as he looked around the crowd, every single person had exactly that written all over their face.

He looked down at the guy who was still on the ground, part of his uniform’s shirt burnt, his wounded face covered by his hands and his hair smoking slightly.

Katsuki glanced at his hands and finally realized something.

or

Kacchan is still a stubborn prick while suffering from face blindness. Also, quirk discrimination is a thing.

alternatively-

New quirk, who dis

The Weight of Your Hand by kamin

That night, to the citizens, the explosions were a jolt of fear at every blast, but to the heroes and the students of UA, they were punches and swings, fierce fighting and loud strength. The explosions were the pulse of the battle, and the power of a boy that would never back down.

One after another, explosions set a chorus through the shuddering city.

And then, suddenly—the explosions stopped.

(In which Bakugou’s kidnapping goes a little differently, and just a few seconds could change so much.)

Obsidian by PullingAllMighters

Bakugou Katsuki's a dangerous guy, even without his unnatural, fae-given magic. Used and scorned as evil everywhere he goes for having powers he didn't ask for, Bakugou wanders the world as a rogue nova, hunting beasts and criminals for survival. It's too bad that the real villains didn't take it well that he's not joining their side. But now they've framed it so he's a mass murderer, making all the other magicked humans like him look bad. Hunted and ever the loner, Bakugou meets Kirishima, a dragon who's also alone and outcast, who vows to protect him until they can either clear his name, or get far enough away that it doesn't matter.

Not that Bakugou needs him. Bakugou Katsuki doesn't need anyone, especially not some broken dragon who can't even fly.

You Got Me Bewitched, I Am Under Your Spell by 🔴 Obsessed_As_A_Coping_Mechanism

“Uh… hello?” Kirishima calls, his deep voice echoing in the room.

The witch doesn’t answer.

Not one to be discouraged by silence, even if that silence is scary as hell, Kirishima steels his nerves and steps over the threshold.

THAT the male notices. He immediately stops grinding, his head tilting to an almost forty five degree angle. It’s almost cat like. It’s absolutely eerie. He hmphs, before he calls out, “Leave.” He grabs a fistful of sour smelling leaves off the plant in front of him and drops them into his bowl.

What?! No way! Kirishima advances further, the doorway creaking under his feet. He won’t take that for an answer. “I need your help?” Frick. Why did that sound like a question when it should have been a statement?

The witch doesn’t look up again, but he swears the male rolls his eyes. “Leave. Now.”

The witch is gorgeous.

I'll Save You Myself by Obsessed_As_A_Coping_Mechanism

After Kirishima saves Bakugou from the League of Villains he can't let go of his hand. He's been holding it for hours, but his fingers are cement. Unbreakable.

Otherwise called: Fuck Eijirou, I'm The One Who Got Kidnapped, Why The Hell Are You Leaking All Over Me? And... Why Does My Heart Feel Like Its Going To Throw-up? By: Bakugou Katsuki

The Extra's Club by Sonamae

Toru is a bright ray of sunshine! At least she pretends to be. Right up until Bakugo Katsuki catches her crying in the kitchen.

Life's a Drag(on) by PurplePersnickety

"Sparky," Katsuki turned and laid a hand on Kaminari's shoulder. "I need you to know that the position of Best Man at our wedding is between you and a fucking dragon, so start psyching yourself up to fight for it."

"A what?" Kaminari repeated faintly.

Bakugou Katsuki currently experiences three major problems with his life:

1. He helped a dragon with a broken leg once and now it keeps showing up outside his house all the time. 2. He has a huge hopeless crush on the guy with the red hair and the freaky teeth who just moved into the village. 3. He has no idea what to do about either of the above.

Burden of Proof by kytrin, Mslead 🔴

All it took was one bad day. Eijiro Kirishima was slotted to be one of UA's finest detectives before he was framed for a crime he didn't commit. Now he was used to people keeping him at arms length even after he scraped the remains of his reputation back together as a private investigator. When an old serial killer returns from the past, he finds himself in the center of a case darker and more dangerous than he could have ever anticipated. Teaming up with an angry homicide detective with ties to the killer, together they are forced to rely on one another as they face old and new enemies alike rising from the shadows.

All That Glitters Is Gold by Obsessed_As_A_Coping_Mechanism 🔴

Kirishima has been enamoured with the boy next door since he met him deep in the woods by his house as a kid.

Other than the fact that Bakugou never leaves the forest, won't voice his name, is nimble like a cat, and sometimes disappears into thin air, he's a normal kid just like Kiri!

Oh... and he's goregous.

And he just keeps getting prettier as time goes on.

No Secrets to Success by kingdoms

“Hey!” Kirishima says brightly, stepping sideways to be directly in the guy’s path. “I know you!”

“Fuck off,” the guy snarls, pushing past him and barely slowing down.

Kirishima is forced to start his first semester at UA two months late. Somehow he still meets Bakugou Katsuki, makes the most of those two months, and gains a tutor, a best friend, and an exciting way to scandalize his new peers. Canon AU where Kirishima and Bakugou become friends before Kirishima meets the rest of Class 1-A.

Smoke, Spice, and Everything Nice by let_me_wander 🔴

Bakugou Katsuki is a half-incubus and knows how to play the game: to find the perfect target, enchant them, and finally feed off of them. As long as certain conditions are met, no one can refuse him. Until Kirishima Eijirou.

Looks like Bakugou will have to seduce him the old fashioned way. Unless, of course, Kirishima wins him over first.

Oh My Gods by Synnie 🔴

Kirishima is overjoyed when he learns his fields have been blessed by the Harvest God, Crimson. When Bakugo, God of War, helps himself to the Harvest God's offerings, Kirishima learns a blessing from a god is also an open invitation for other gods to wreak havoc in his otherwise quiet life.

But when the gods are betrayed by one of their own, Kirishima finds himself caught up in the intrigue. All he wanted was to go back to the life he knew. But will that be enough for him now that he's tasted so much more?

Fire and the Flood by Maplefudge 🔴

Kirishima's good at massages and Bakugou's bad at feelings (they both are).

You Feel Like God Inside That Gold by Sacramental_Wine 🔴

When Kirishima figured out he was gay, he’d been pretty sure that the obsession his fellow male classmates had with boobs would not be an issue in his life.

He could get distracted by nice muscles or a great smile or many other things. He was an easily distracted guy! But those things were easy to keep blinders on for, he could keep from getting too distracted.

He hadn’t exactly planned on Bakugou.

Built to Fall by bigstupidjellyfish 🔴

nothing like an aftermath of a bad break up years later 

let me love you by arxaris 🔴

Kirishima’s liked Bakugou for years and years and never thought he’d even have a chance. Bakugou could easily become a runway model if he ever decided that’s what he wanted, while Kirishima is... well, just Kirishima.

There’s no denying he’s strong, but not in the graceful and beautiful way that Bakugou is. He’s got rolls no matter what he does, more body hair than he could ever hope to manage, and thighs that seem to constantly stretch his jeans at the seams no matter how big he buys them.

Yet, somehow within the span of the last hour, Kirishima’s gone from calling Bakugou ‘bro’ in their shared kitchen to lying underneath him in bed with Bakugou’s lean thigh pressed confidently between his thick ones.

So, yeah, forgive Kirishima if he’s freaking out a bit.

beautiful creatures by gothgirlclub 🔴

Caught in the middle of a morning accident, provisionally licensed Bakugou and Kirishima help take down the villain, only to fall victim to it’s quirk after taking it down.

So it’s really not their fault when they decide to play around with their new body parts, figuring out that scratching beneath the ears really was nice and that knots were annoying if your boyfriend got especially sleepy after sex.

alpha x alpha by Nutella0Mutt 🔴

If they had one dollar every time someone said it wasn’t possible, and to give it up, they'd be fucking billionaires.

Nobody thinks they'll work. It's unnatural, illogical, and against biology. Bakugou and Kirishima have one motto: fuck the haters.

It Will Find You Here by arxaris 🔴

Katsuki’s life was falling apart. He had always known what he wanted. He had his life and career completely planned out. He’d accounted for every detail and every potential obstacle. Except for one. He was not prepared in the slightest to be six years into his carefully constructed life plan, extremely successful, and suddenly so goddamned miserable that he couldn’t make it through a day of work.

He was fine. He really just needed some fucking time, space, and air to breathe. So, he loaded up his backpack and left Japan, hoping that a bit of time off and travel might help him get over this bullshit and on with the plan. However, a few weeks into his trip he met a meddlesome redhead in the Thai islands who threatened to disrupt his universe in the worst ways imaginable: by making him fall in love, and by breaking the news that Katsuki couldn’t outrun himself.

Burger Kings by plantegg

Bakugou does something illegal. Kirishima finds out and makes him take him out to dinner to keep him quiet.

That's All You Ever Have to Say by arxaris 🔴

Maybe a sane person wouldn’t put up with it. They’d probably call the whole thing unhealthy, say that Bakugou should learn to express his feelings. People have suggested to Kirishima in the past that he put his foot down and demand they talk about things. They’ve gritted their teeth as they told him Bakugou was playing games with him, looked at him with pity as if they were cluing him into something everyone knew but him, something truly awful. But of course Kirishima knew. How could he not? Katsuki wasn’t just playing games with him. They were playing games together.

And Kirishima was positively addicted to them.

Rutting For You by FoolishFortuna 🔴

Kirishima’s scent washed over him as the redhead moved to slide into bed and Katsuki found his mouth watering. For fuck sake, why was his body being such an asshole all of a sudden? He swallowed.

“Uh, Bakugou?” Eijirou's voice was quiet, almost rough, “You're putting out a pretty strong scent.” There was a tone to his best friend's voice that he'd never heard before, and it sent a shiver through Katsuki as he fisted the duvet in his hand tighter and ground his teeth.

His gums ached.

“Its nothing, shut up.” He focused on getting his pheromones under control quickly. Fuck, he really wanted to bite something. Something that smelled like Eijirou. He swallowed another mouthful of saliva.

“Do you-” Kiri swallowed as well, “d’you wanna just sleep up here?”

Why Don't We Dance a While? by Sacramental_Wine 🔴

They were supposed to be directly fighting each other but with one of them playing a villain, encouraged to fight dirty and think on their feet to fight against an unlikely team-up. It was supposed to test the solo “villain’s” ability to think on their feet and anticipate while the team was being evaluated on their ability to adapt to on the fly quirk combinations and unlikely situations. Some of them, like Momo and Sato and Aoyama, struggled a bit more than others with the villain role.

Others were shockingly good at it. Ochako had been having a blast the entire time, Iida continued to excel, and Tokoyami had played up his own more spooky allure.

Kirishima was among one of the good ones.

Something Warm by let_me_wander

When an annoying customer with ridiculous hair starts frequenting the coffee shop Bakugou works at in the weeks before Christmas, he doesn't think much of it. Until it becomes all he can think about.

Awkward flirting, the first snow, a rock show, and probably way too much coffee.

[stuffy-attic]

Tipsy [Reader x LOV Spinner] Part 2/2

Here’s the link for part one!

Somehow you ended up home and okay. And somehow the memory of the previous day, despite the alcohol’s best attempt, was very much remembered in that afternoon when you finally dragged yourself out of bed. Not an easy feat considering how much you just wanted to disappear. Despite the rumblings of a hungry stomach and the long gap of time since your last meal, you brushed past your kitchen without a second thought. The diner just down the street sounded a lot better than making a pile of dirty dishes that future you would be too bummed out to wash.

This day is going to fucking suck.

 Maybe I should just run away, you considered as you poked at your half-eaten sandwich. Could go to America, take up a new identity, and never interact with people ever again. Maybe just live alone in the woods – become the local big foot. It shouldn’t sound appealing, but it did.

“Surprised I haven’t heard from the crew yet…” you mumbled as you fished for your phone; the lingering embarrassment had caused you to forget to even check it when you first got up. “Should be about time to hear something- ah?” Opening the phone, unfortunately, lead to no answers as the screen didn’t light up. You pressed a few buttons but there was still no response. Right didn’t charge it.

Originally the plan was to check messages and likely head over to the bar, even if there wasn’t anything, but that went out the window. Shigaraki was just going to have to wait right now. You needed a working phone and its charging cord first.

You boxed up the remnants of your food, paid and tipped the (delightfully) quiet waitress, and headed out. The walk to your apartment wasn’t long. But the scene you found when you arrived? That was confusing.

“She’s not opening the goddamn door! Yeah. I was knocking for five minutes, of course she would’ve heard! Well she hasn’t been answering that either, right?” Spinner pulled one hand roughly through his untied hair before banging on the door once more. “I am!” he yelled into the phone.

Ohhhh shit. You didn’t know which was more distressing: the fact that you were apparently late to some league business or the fact that the last person you wanted to see was the one at your door. Should? No… but maybe… You swayed at the top of the stairs, trying to decide if you should run off or not while you had the chance.

“Hey!” A middle-aged man emerged from the apartment next door. “Fuck face. What do you think you’re doing?” Spinner stopped his banging but didn’t get a chance to rebuttal. “Fucking dumbass lizard. All you mutants this fucking dumb or something?”

Oh not this guy. Mind made up. “Hey yourself!” You hopped up the last of the stairs. “Don’t fucking talk to him like that.”

Spinner wheeled around and shut his phone with a snap. Whoever was on the other end must’ve been happy about that. You stood beside your reptilian coworker. It wasn’t the first time you’d had beef with this jerk and you sure as hell weren’t about to let him treat Spinner like trash.

“What’re you saying, dumb bitch?”

His words didn’t deter you in the least. “Look here ass fuck, talk shit about him again – no, if you so much as look funny at another mutant I’ll show up at your ex-wife’s apartment with aaallllll the receipts I got on you holding out on your income amount during the divorce proceedings and the child support payments you somehow keep skirting around. I will personally make sure that the court of law shoves a gavel up your fucking ass. Yeah? Get it?”

The man’s mouth flapped a few times but he had nothing of value to say and apparently couldn’t form a cohesive thought to save his life. Face fuming and red and he stomped back into his apartment and slammed the door.

“Will that guy ever learn to not be such an ass?” you asked as you fished out your keys. “I’m just gonna go ahead and tell his wife anyway. He’s had it coming for a long time.” Don’t look at him. Maybe he’ll leave. Maybe he doesn’t even remember! Yeah!

Click. The door unlocked but you didn’t even make it into the threshold before a strong scaly arm was barring the way. You actually walked straight into, nearly dropping your to-go box. “Hey!”

“Hey? Hey?” Spinner’s voice wasn’t much more than a growl. “That’s all you got to say?”

Freezing at his tone, you slowly looked up and locked eyes. Oh he’s angry. Fuck. “Yeah?”

His scaly jaw tensed and his dark eyes narrowed. “You didn’t go back to the bar.”

That’s what this is about? What the fuck does that matter? Luckily logical brain was able to be the one in charge today. You took a slow breath to temper yourself for what was going to be a tight situation. “No. I wasn’t… in the mood.”

“I told you to go back there for a reason.”

“I didn’t-”

“You could have gotten injured or attacked.”

“I’m hardly helpless!”

Spinner paused before he huffed. The air tickled your face but you didn’t flinch or look away. “Are you telling me that if something had happened and you had been attacked that you were in the right mind to respond to it?”

“… no.”

“I told you to go back. I…” Spinner looked away, “I didn’t want to walk you home, but I didn’t want you to go on your own either. You going home like that then not showing up earlier and not answering the door or your phone… I – we thought something had happened to you!” His eyes bored into yours once more.

You studied his face. Whose idea was it to come here? Did someone else suggest it first? “How did you know where I live?”

“Toga told me.”

“Because you asked…?”

Spinner ignored the question. “Learn to turn your phone on.”

“Right.” You didn’t even bother to mention that it was currently dead. You bit your lip. Should I? I can’t leave it to fester I guess… “Yesterday…”

Both of you were silent.

Please meet me halfway on this. “When I said what I said – about the… me like you thing, I was being serious…” You gripped the box tightly as you hugged yourself with one arm. Eye contact was difficult as fuck but it could serve an important role in signifying to Spinner that you were being truthful. “It’s wasn’t the alcohol or Dabi.”

“Yeah about that.” He finally dropped his arm and sighed. “I… they told me.”

Your eyebrows shot up. “Who did?”

“Everyone. Earlier. They were all excited asking if we had… they thought we had left together and you confessed and we…” He shifted. “I guess,” the leather creaked as Spinner shrugged, “maybe it wasn’t you trying to play me.”

“So you don’t think it’s some cruel prank now?” The question was a little bitter (yesterday had really sucked after all) but there was a little bit of hope renewed.

“No. I should’ve listened-”

“No, Spinner. Look…” You sighed and rocked on your feet. “I know people have treated you like shit before just because of how you look – which is dumb cuz you’re really cool, so I shouldn’t have expected you to just be immediately receptive to it. I could’ve gone about the entire thing a better way I guess.

“I definitely shouldn’t have let Dabi instigate anything… I’m sorry.”

It took a minute for you to realize that the noise coming from him was a chuckle. “You’re sorry? I should be the only one that’s sorry.”

“You don’t-”

“I’m sorry for yelling at you and being… rude,” Spinner said. “Even if I was upset it wasn’t okay of me to just leave you there like that either.”

“Spinner-”

“Shuichi.” The look on your face must’ve been especially dumb because he laughed. “My name. It’s Iguchi Shuichi.”

You nodded. “Right. Well, Shuichi, thanks for coming to check on me. Sorry I didn’t listen yesterday or show up this morning – or really give any indication that I wasn’t dead.” Maybe we can just roll right over this now. Pretending it never happened would be best. Although Dabi probably won’t let the damn thing go. Or maybe he’s already bored of it…

It was difficult to get a damn read on that stapled asshole. About as difficult as it was to get a read on this reptilian asshole…

You could see Spinner’s jaw working and his eyes shifting. It was a quick shift considering how friendly he was being just a moment ago. “You probably wanna forget about the whole thing, huh? That’s fine by me.” You shrugged, feigning indifference even though your chest burned. You stepped past Spinner and into your apartment, fully prepared to make amends and shut the door (literally and metaphorically).

However you froze at Spinner’s words. “What? No.” You looked over your shoulder to see him shaking his head with a frown. “It’s a bit…” His coloring looked off. He rubbed his neck. Oh he’s blushing? That’s cute!

You swooned internally but let him finish the thought. Short of a volcano spontaneously erupting beneath your feet, nothing was going to make you shatter this tense moment. No way were you going to crack the glass first and give him an out. You’d squeeze the words out of him at any cost.

Spinner fumbled a few more times before he finally found his footing. “I like you too.”

There’s no way this is real. What the hell kind of dream is this? Maybe I really did die on the walk home. “You do?”

His gaze on the floor and head hanging low, Spinner confirmed his feelings. “Yeah, I do.” His body language was throwing you off though: closed off and stiff – sad even.

You couldn’t help but frown. “You don’t seem very happy about it.”

“Well I mean it’s… me.”

“Did my asshole of a neighbor get to you? Because I’ll happily drag him out by his ear and beat the shit out of him for you.”

Spinner chuckled but it was hollow. “No, it’s just that I know what I am. I know what I look like and how-” He jumped. “What’re you doing?”

“Your hair is so soft!” you admired as you ran your hand through it once more.

He cringed but didn’t move away. “You’re being ridiculous. What are you doing?”

This time you let your thumb brush along his cheek; he flinched. You pulled away slowly. “I like you. As in all of you. Whether you think your skin is gross and scaly or that you’re ugly or less than because you’re a mutant – none of that is what I think. So don’t debase yourself or put yourself down or think less of yourself.”

Spinner wasn’t hanging his head anymore, but he looked stiff. “Sorry I’ve, uh- no one’s ever… this is all new to me.”

You tossed your leftovers onto the nearby couch. “I’m sorry no one’s told you that before. I have to ask though: does the touching really make you uncomfortable? Because I can stop doing it if it is.”

“God no, I don’t want you to stop...” Spinner looked at you wide eyed before realizing that you weren’t going to freak out at him for his confession. “I just feel like if you touch me, you’ll realize your mistake. You’ll be grossed out by me.”

“Of course not,” you said as you grabbed one of his hands. The texture of his skin wasn’t much like scales, textured leather might be a better comparison. He was cool and remarkably smooth to the touch. “You’ve probably overheard how picky I am about clothing and food texture, right? I think there was an incident with some pasta a couple of weeks ago.”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“So clearly if I didn’t like the feel of your skin you’d know really fast. And I haven’t stopped touching you yet, right?” You punctuated you point by squeezing his hand.

“You could have anyone-”

You laughed. “I’m very flattered that you think that; but I think you’ll find that have very discerning taste and a stubborn disposition. I like you. I want to have you. And that’s the end of it. Bask in it?”

His mouth hung open for a moment. “Bask in it?” He chuckled and squeezed your hand after a moment of hesitation. Spinner gave you a questioning glance, as if asking if that action was okay. “I think-”

Ring ring!

“Now that’s an old-fashioned ring tone!” You laughed and Spinner rolled his eyes.

“It’s Shigiraki,” he confirmed as he looked at the lit-up screen. “I really don’t want to answer…”

He’s probably wondering what the fuck is going on. Although I’m sure he doesn’t care much beyond the fact that Spinner and I aren’t dead. Man, he’s gonna pissed about all of this. “I thought he was amongst the excited crowd this morning?” You asked teasingly. “Wasn’t he right there beside Toga and Magne with that excited grin he gets?” Your voice was thick with sarcasm.

Spinner snorted.  He replied in a voice equally as sarcastic, “Oh yeah. That sounds like him alright.”

“Well this’ll be fun. Let me just grab a charging cord…” You dug around in your couch cushions for a moment.

 Of course, unknowingly to you, Spinner stood right behind you unable to take his eyes off of you. His head was spinning in a way that he had previously thought only alcohol could achieve; there was no way this could be real…

Taking a deep breath, he looked at his hand. It was still warm from your touch. He glanced around your apartment only to jump when you clasped his arm with a triumphant grin. Those eyes, that smile, that nose – Everything really… “Ready?”

“Yeah. Don’t text Shig yet though. I got an idea, let’s pretend I’m missing. Oh! Or dead!”

“Do you want to actually die?” Spinner asked, deadpan. “Because that’s a one-way ticket.” His face nearly burst into flames when you planted a kiss on his cheek. He grumbled abashedly while looking at the floor.

[swampythesweetsketch]

Dimitri X Bentley. Have fun with this

Thank you, you may think this is cursed but this is my favorite, ironic ship.

Bless you.

Who asks the other on dates: Dmitri. The funky lounge lizard likes the world! The lights and space! He drags Bentley out of the lab every week for cheap chinese takeout or local festivals. Bentley wants to say he doesn't like the spontaneous dates... but he'd be lying.

Who is the bigger cuddler: Bentley. This dork is the gangly, cold blooded reptile. Dmitri may be a reptile too, but he's bigger and has a lot of soft jackets Bentley loves to scuttle under for long term snuggles.

Who initiates holding hands more often: Both! They don't realize it, but a lot of the time they somehow lock fingers. In the market, in the lab, the club, they like the contact. Brain Boy likes to rationalize that it's the friction and heat that attracts them, Boogy Boy is on the side liking that his first ever boyfriend isn't disgusted by touching him.

Who remembers anniversaries: BENTLEY. This tiny man has calenders, notes, messy sharpie sprawled on his hands!

Who is more possessive: Bentley. A bad dating scene in his teens and one very bad break up via rock'em sock'em robots- he's in denial that things with Dmitri could ever sour.

Who gets more jealous: Neither. They're on the opposite ends of "undesirable" men that ladies wouldn't touch. There's a few women, but so far in between real attraction that even Bentley doesn't feel uneased when Dmitri decides to pull out some of that Greasy Sweet action on their clubbing nights.

Who is more protective: Dmitri. Say what you will, this man has a tail that knocked Sly on his ass during the Klaww Gang days. And he's still able to catch Murray by surpise if he forgets where's he's swinging that thing.

Who is more likely to cheat: Dmitri. He's a swinger at heart, but he's trying!!! He knows he got something special with Bentley, so why dunk that down the drain for a pretty mama that's only looking for a quick romp in the stalls?

Who initiates sexy times the most: Dmitri. Bentley couldn't think of even doing anything adult since his accident, and his past relationship with Penelope was rather on the prude side that he was secretly relieved for after their messy break up. So when he started dating Dmitri, he didn't expect to be hugging his boyfriend a couple dates in. Nonetheless passionately hugging once they shared the same bed.

Who dislikes PDA the most: Neither! Hand holding! Snuggling! These two goofy reptiles share a heating pad in Winter and snuggle on the beach every Summer!

Who kills the spider: Bentley. He hates spiders.

Who asks the the other to marry them: Neither. They like their life as it is, and Bentley has some trust issues that flare when marriage is mentioned. And Dmitri doesn't like the idea of being "tied down".

But secretly, they both have rings stashed away for when they eventually break out of their funk.

Who buys the other flowers or gifts: Dmitri!!! He's the guy that used to shower ladies with free drinks, jewelry, the works. Now, he's learned the stronger, more rewarding gifting method of leaving some non-allergenic flowers for his boyfriend and cooking a hella good spaghetti with alfredo sauce.

Who would bring up possibly having kids: Neither. They're happy with each other. Nothing else. They'd enjoy babysitting for their eventual nieces/nephews, no kids of their own.

Who is more nervous to meet the parents: Bentley. He's lived his entire life as a bastard orphan with the only family being the same bastard boys he's grew up with.

So, the aspect of being sat down in front of Dmitri's entire family for dinner. And Mother Dearest would pop him like a balloon with all the food she prepared. Sure things would be awkward with Daddy Dearest, and maybe Nonna would give him the stink eye.

But I think he'd fit in.

Who sleeps on the couch when the other is angry: Dmitri. Eh, whatever dude. He's slept on worse.

Bentley at some point in the night sneaks onto the couch too and apologizes for being a dick.

Who tries to make up first after arguments: Bentley. He knows he has the worst battle between listening to his brain and his heart. Sometimes his brain is too cynical, and he hates it when he goes too far.

Dmitri doesn't hold a grudge for too long, and they have a quiet dinner talking about how to fix their problems.

Who tells the other they love them more often: Bentley. He does remind himself every hour on the dot that he has a partner, no project should be more important than their partner. Dmitri is thankful, cause then he gets to reward Bentley's little victories.

[x688plsloveme]

Companions’ Biggest Injury

ADA: She fell in some dirty water that clogged up her circuits while she was still traveling with Jackson. They were hunting some mirelurks because hey were

hurting for food, and one of them butted her into the water. Jackson repaired her head first, and she watched as he cleaned out the rest of her parts. some

wires were ruined, which made the whole process harder, but Jackson was adamant on fixing her as soon as possible because she was his favourite robot.

CAIT: During her time in the Combat Zone, Cait fought more than other people. They once put her up against a baby deathclaw. Sure it was still a baby, but it still had talons as long as her hand and was almost as big as she was. As much as she hates to admit it, the chems she was on was probably what saved her that day. Without them, she would've passed out for sure. The baby deathclaw gave hear a six inch long gash right up her side. She almost died, but at least she can use it as a good story at parties.

CODSWORTH: Sole doesn't like taking Codsworth out much, and he much prefers staying at home and cleaning, so Codsey doesn't get into a lot of trouble.

However, there was one time where a group of raiders tried to invade Sanctuary while Sole was out. He thought he had gotten all of them, but one of the slimy

dastards snuck into the kitchen during all the chaos, and as soon as Codsworth had his...back? turned, they hit him with a cast-iron skillet. The raider didn't last long, but Sole had to hear an earful when they got back. "Honestly! The nerve of some people! Do you know how hard it is to find a decent skillet

anymore? Do you!?”

CURIE: Back when she was a simple Miss Nanny, she didn't get so much as a scratch. However, as a synth with new senses and a curiosity that burns stronger than ever, she found herself getting into a lot more accidents. Particularly ones that involve food. Making dinner for everyone is a wonderful way to stimulate all of her senses and she loves it, but sometimes she gets carried away and burns herself pretty badly. There was also the time where she accidentally cut off her finger! Good thing Sole knows "someone" the institute with a mysteriously large "collection" of synth parts.

DANSE: The worst injury Danse got was actually after he left the Brotherhood. Power armor doesn't allow for many injuries after all. It's no secret that the

Brotherhood of Steel has plenty of bigots in it. Danse didn't even know the extent of it until he found a Paladin outside his door one day. It was one of his

close friends and Danse almost started crying right there at seeing someone from his past that wouldn't try to kill him just for being what he is. He was

relieved for about two minutes until the guy sucker punched him in the face and started screaming about how he "can't believe I got tricked by a filthy synth!"

and "I'm surprised you're even alive!" It shook Danse so bad he didn't know how to respond. Sole saved him from getting killed by putting a bullet in his skull

when they came to see what was happening. The mental trauma of not only finding out that one of his friends wanted him dead but also seeing them face-down themselves was terrible. Thankfully Sole is His actual friend and was, and always will be, there for him no matter what.

DEACON: No one actually knows what deacon’s worst injury is-he gives out different answers every time, but there are fan favourites that he’ll repeat every once in a while. His favourite by far (and Sole’s, but they’ll never tell him that) involves chems, a magic sword, and two dozen deathclaws. “I swear, all it took was one hit of psychojet!” He’d tell the gathering group. “When all those uglies came at me, I knew I had to buy some time. While they ran towards me in slow motion, I pulled out a magic green, glowing sword passed down by the great Shimada clan, the Ryūichi moji!” He paused for dramatic effect here. “One by one the green dragon of the Shimada legends carried me to each smelly lizard and one by one they fell. The greatest injury I received from that fight was from the mother deathclaw. Nothing is meaner than a mom with small kids let me tell you. She swung down with the force of a falling building, and right when I thought the famed sword would break, a flash of light obscured our vision, and a force knocked me back. When I came to, there was the mamma deathclaw, defeated on the ground, and a giant gash that spanned the length of my entire right arm.” This is the part where he shows a giant scar on his arm, making everyone cringe in sympathy pain. “The gash seemed like a mere cut when I noticed the sword lying shattered at my feet, my dragon friend gone. I just hope the old bugger I living large wherever he is...” The story ends and usually, people clap. The real way his arm got injured was much less fanciful. He just got caught by surprise by a raider. Where’s the fun in a story like that though?

DOGMEAT: bold of you to assume that I would ever let anything happen to my favourite puppy Poor boy was chasing a molerat and went too far from Sanctuary. He followed it back to its den where there was around two dozen of the nasty creatures. He got scratched up pretty bad before he could escape, but at least he got spoiled rotten because Sole's "poor baby" got hurt and anyone who didn't give him at least a pat on the head while he was healing was going to feel Sole's wrath. And NO ONE went against what Sole wanted for their dog.

GAGE: The most obvious large injury out of everyone-Gage's biggest injury was losing his eye. But what's not so obvious is how he lost it. Colter was pretty stupid compared to Gage, but when it came to 'street smarts,' he won against everyone. He knew he had to be ruthless and do anything to get to the top-especially in his line of work-so to show everyone that they shouldn't mess with him, he took the guy who was the biggest threat to him and gouged his eye out in front of everybody. Gage may be weaker than some of the crew but he was way more clever. You couldn't win against him one way or another, so instead of just killing him, Colter made him an example and kept him close afterwards just because he could. Gage didn't even scream. He didn't want to give that son of a bitch the satisfaction.

HANCOCK: Hancock has been in so many fights, he doesn’t even know where to start thinking. At least. That’s what he tells people when they ask. The truth of the matter is he just doesn’t want to tell anybody because they probably wouldn’t believe him. It was the story about how he met his life long brother McDonough. Both boys lived on the streets with hardly anyone to look after themselves and after a particularly bad tousle with some junkies over his last bit of water, Hancock thought he was a goner. He hadn’t expected some equally as young, and equally as scrawny kid come up and offer to take him to a place where he thought he could get some help. Hancock was in no position to deny the boy’s offer, so he followed him to a rickety shack 20 minutes away. He was feeling faint from the blood loss and passed out, but when he came to, he saw a young woman standing over him-seemingly just getting finished with giving him medical treatment. She introduced herself as “Murphey” and told him that he would help out someone very important one day. Then she just...left without another word. Late on, when Hancock asked McDonough about why he helped Murphey he just told him that she paid him to go to a certain alley and bring the kid there back to the shack. Both teens agreed that that was pretty freaky, but also agreed that they should start looking out for each other from then on out. Can’t have too many friends in the streets in their opinion. 

LONGFELLOW: He’s got stories for every single one of his scars, just ask him. He especially likes sharing about the jagged, faded one right above where his heart is. It was a long long time ago, but even in his old age, Longfellow remembered it like it was yesterday. All he had wanted in his youth was a sweetheart to battle life with. What he got was a toxic psycho. He did everything to please that girl and all he got in return was more demands and less control of his own life. Her downward spiral of hate and jealousy got so bad, that one day, after seeing Longfellow talking to another girl, his crazy girlfriend just snapped. She got a knife and went for his heart telling him that this is how he made her feel when he was around other girls. There was no hiding their abusive relationship after that. The girl was arrested and moved off island entirely. Longfellow got help, and even though it took a really really long time to gain his self-respect and confidence back, he still did it. He moved on from his past and overcame it stronger than before. He’s a strong believer that anyone can do it, and after the local therapist died, he became the unofficial one for anybody having issues with themselves because of abusive relationships. He did that for many years until the fog became so thick most people just left. He was glad to be living such a fulfilling life. He never thought he would get past his dark thoughts, yet here he was uplifting youngsters with his tale.

MACCREADY: When MacCready was a kid, no one warned him that Big Town wasn't the safest settlement in the wasteland. In fact, it was a shit hole. Sure the Lone Wanderer still popped by every now and then, but the months in between those visits were hell. If he wasn't such a good shoot he would've died within a year. In fact, he almost did. One of the first nights and MacCready stayed there, a slaver party from out west ransacked the town. being groggy because he had just woken up, his perception was thrown off and he got shot in the stomach. Red had already moved on with her life and was no longer living there and it wasn’t like anyone had any stimpacks either. He thought he was a goner up until he heard the slavers start dropping one by one in quick succession. He peaked over his cover and would’ve started crying if he wasn’t already. There stood Lone with their dog and boyfriend, Butch, who was looking very queasy at the sight of all that blood. In all 16 years of his life, MacCready had never been that happy to see anyone in his life. Lone gave him a stimpack while enthusiastically welcoming him to the real world. “I knew your birthday was around this time, so I dropped in to say hi and give you this.” They handed him an almost mint condition rifle and he wouldn’t tell anyone this, but he almost started crying again that day. He still uses that rifle. 

PIPER: Just like her buddy Nick, Piper made her fair share of enemies. The most dangerous, however, was a group of gunners that she was stalking for a story. No one except other gunners knows what goes exactly goes down in their little organization and Piper thought it would be nice if people knew. Sadly, this is the moment where she found out she wasn’t exactly cut out for being sneaky. She was found out the third day and was “interrogated” by the group. They didn’t beat her too badly, but it’s not like it was any fun for her. The group let her go shortly after realizing her smart mouth wasn’t worth the trouble of keeping around. She was just thankful to learn a valuable lesson without dying in the process, even at the cost of a few broken fingers.

PRESTON: The worst injury Preston got was when he was escaping Quincy. He had rushed to save Marcy and Jun's kid Kyle from getting killed by a gunner and took a bullet for the kid. Along with several burn wounds. At that point, he had already fractured his wrist and twisted his ankle, and was hurting like all hell but

there was no way he was just going to quit on all of these people that depended on him to defend them. He brought Kyle back to safety with cheers from everyone, only to lose him a week later in a super mutant raid. To Preston, his still healing wounds were nothing compared to the pain he felt when he had to bury a child while his parents sobbed behind him.

STRONG: Let's be real here. The super mutants are evolving. They can converse more in Fallout 4, and Strong actually has opinions of the companions besides "lunch." Regardless, besides a few exceptions, Gen 2 super mutants are so so dumb. Strong included. There's not much that can seriously hurt a mutant besides guns, or a very long fall down a very high building. And you guessed it, that's exactly what happened to Strong. A shoving match between two muties can end pretty horribly. One of Strong’s comrades(?) pushed him off the sixth floor of Trinity Tower in one such fight-resulting in many cuts, bruises, and broken bones. It’s a good thing super mutants heal fast, or Strong would’ve been toast.

VALENTINE: Nick has had his fair share of bigoted ass-hats coerce him, but this was the first time someone outright attacked him. Nick didn’t see it coming when he got knocked on the ground, but he also wasn’t worried because for every one bigot he sees, there are two friends to back him up. Still...getting beat up by some random dude is never a fun affair. Even when the neighboorhood reporter eventually follows the commotion and scares the guy off. Nick was pretty shaken about the whole thing and it really gave an insight on just how terrible people can be because of ignorance and fear. 

X6-88: X6 is a courser. He doesn't get hurt. Hell, he didn't think he could even get hurt until getting slapped in the face by a yao-gaui. He never thought

that he would ever risk his safety for someone else, but there he was, jumping in front of a giant mutated bear with paws bigger than his head, just to protect

Sole. The funny thing was that he did it solely because he wanted to protect them, not because he had to. After the initial hit though, the poor mutated bear didn't stand a chance. Sole's awed face and the gentle way they cleaned his wounds  afterwords were definitely worth the initial pain though. (he swears he did not act tsundere and grumble about this while blushing) 

Thank you anon for suggesting this! It really got me back into the writing grove and I’m happy about that. Sorry its a bit all over the place i def did not do this all in one sitting. I’m okay with how this turned out and I hope you guys enjoy it!!!