#virtual reality yeahhh!

[hopeswriting]

FANDOM: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

EVENT: Flufftober 2020 

PROMPT: Playing Games Together

AUTHOR: @hopeswriting​

RATING: G

PAIRING: Adult!Colonnello & Adult!Verde

SUMMARY:

Among Us AU but it’s a free for all where everyone is an impostor, and the game lasts until there’s only one left standing, or the space ship blows up on your face because it’s falling apart.

TAG WARNING: Swearing

WORDS: 725

*

The noises of the space ship falling apart sounds oddly in a rhythmic fashion, like he was swallowed by a breathing living monster.

Colonnello roams its cold, dark hallways, careful not to make any noise. Reborn is still out there somewhere, and god knows what he’s up to after the last devious plan he came up with Lal.

Thankfully Lal was the one to die, but the bleeding gash on his side is a reminder of what a close-call it was.

That evil bastard. Colonnello will enjoy tearing him apart slowly.

A message from Verde pops on the screen.

Reborn might be in the room around the corner. Be careful.

Colonnello grins, and presses himself against the wall. He takes the turn once he makes sure the cost is clear. He swings the door open.

The flight of bullets doesn’t come, but of course Reborn is smarter than that. He peers inside the dark storage room, that smells like a trap waiting its victim if he ever smelled one.

He should wait for Verde before investigating further. But he’s running out of time, and if he’s going down he doesn’t want it to be because of something as lame as blood loss.

The door slams shut behind him, distinctively locking itself. Colonnello whips around.

“Fuck!”

He tugs on the handle, kicks and punches even if he knows it won’t do anything.

Good new is, Reborn doesn’t seem to be locked inside with him.

Bad new is, it means he still needs to determine what kind of trap is about to close on him.

“Don’t bother,” a voice comes from behind the door, “this is where you’re going to die.”

Colonnello gapes. “Verde, you son of a—” He bangs on the door even more vigorously, his wound be damned. “Open the door right now!”

“It has to be done.”

“We were a team, you traitor!”

“You’re only going to be a liability against Reborn. And I don't only mean your wound.”

Colonnello rolls his eyes so hard they could as well have stayed stuck. He kicks the door like a petulant child. “She said she was pregnant.”

Verde scoffs. “And you believed her.”

“Fuck off, we have a really healthy sex life, alright? Don’t make me go into the details.”

“God forbid. Now don’t you worry about a thing, you’ll only suffer a little.”

Colonnello tenses. He scrutinizes the room slowly, not wanting to be caught off guard.

Maybe he can fight off whatever is about to come. And then he could still kick these two’s asses so hard they’ll never be able to sit again.

A splash sound draws his attention, and the time for him to realize what’s happening the water has risen all the way to his ankles already.

Really?

“Really? You’re going to drown me? Motherfucker, you think yourself funny?”

“You were of great use to me Colonnello,” Verde says, in a solemn voice that almost sounds sad. “You’ll join your Not-Pregnant, Not-Wife soon, be at peace.”

Colonnello tries to hold back his laugh as best he can at that. It’s his big moment, he has to go down with style.

“You would have never got that far without me,” he screams. “I hope Reborn will rip your cold dead heart out of your chest.”

Colonnello fights the door as long as he can, which isn’t long at all. The blood loss makes him dizzy, drains all of his strength.

Soon he can’t stand up anymore, and slides down the door.

The water reaches his collarbones, his neck, swallows him under entirely. Colonnello closes his eyes, lets it in through his mouth and nose.

Time to join his Not-Pregnant, Not-Wife, at long last.

His helmet beeps, switches on again, a green screen welcoming him with words written on it.

Game over, you lost. Please join the morgue until the end of the game.

Colonnello huffs. He takes off his helmet, and of course he’s in Verde’s room.

He’d won too if he could trap the others in a technologically improved room. Those two are such cheaters.

Colonnello will get them for sure in the next round.

But for now he feels like bitching about the game with the others in Luce’s room. And takes off this ridiculous, mandatory jumpsuit.

Verde and Reborn always take forever to take each other out anyway.

*

I know exactly nothing about Among Us, except for the tumblr posts that found their way to my feed lol.

Thank you for reading. Any and all review are appreciated ^^.

[himecchi]

keith trapped in a burning building, his dad saves him but his dad ends up dying ((also i already love this blog. i live for keith whump))

Summary: While learning about Altean sensory alteration rooms, Keith is shown an image that triggers an unwelcome flashback. 

Fandom: Voltron

For: @badthingshappenbingo

Square filled: Trapped in a burning building

Note: this was partially inspired by this art by @zuspacey 

An Altean sensory alteration room. The paladins were fascinated. They’d never seen anything like it before and, as they stepped inside, Coran began to explain how it worked.

“Alright Paladins, listen up!” Coran paused for a moment, then continued “This is an Altean sensory alteration room. It’s similar to the virtual reality chambers you have on Earth, but it’s a bit different. This here, alters your senses. All five of them. What you experience in here will feel real in every respect. For example…” Coran trailed off as he turned towards a large digital screen and began typing, “If we do this…”

Suddenly, the environment began to shift. An icy tundra materialized before them and, just as Coran had said, it truly felt real. They could taste the bitter air, feel the chill on their skin, smell the frosty wind, see the snow-coated landscape, and hear the dull roar of bone-chilling breeze whooshing past them.

“Wow…” Pidge began, “This is…”

“Amazing…” Hunk trailed off, taking everything in.

Lance began forming a snowball, then reached back, preparing to launch it. “Hey, Keith! How about a sensory alteration room snowball to the fac-” Lance called out, but was cut off by an orb of cold snow smacking him in the face instead.

“Heh, nice try.” He could hear the confident smile in Keith’s tone and, sure enough, as the snow slid down Lance’s cheeks, Keith’s smirking face came into view.

“Oh, you’re so gonna get it,” Lance retorted, looking unamused.

As the paladins began throwing snowballs at each other, Coran watched them at a distance, shivering from the cold. He wasn’t used to these freezing temperatures as Altea’s climate tended to be fairly mild.

“A-alright, paladins!” Coran called out, teeth chattering slightly, “That’s enough! Let’s turn up the heat!” He then typed another command into the digital screen, and suddenly, the surrounding area was on fire.

“Uhhh… Coran?” Lance questioned, cocking an eyebrow, “Is this supposed to happen…?”

“Yeah, I don’t like this,” Hunk said, knitting his eyebrows together slightly, “Can’t you make this into… I don’t know… a nice, tropical island or something?”

“Yeahhh,” Pidge began, “This is a little extreme, Coran. I mean, I know none of this is actually happening, but it feels like it’s actually happening and I’d rather not feel like I’m burning in a fire.”

“Right, right! Sorry, paladins!” Coran spoke, “It seems I accidentally input the wrong data. Just a moment.” Coran began typing into the digital screen once more…

But for Keith, it was already too late.

His eyes grew wide as the vibrant reds and yellows danced before him, his breath quickened at the overwhelming scent of smoke, and suddenly, he found himself back there.

He was 10 years old again, inside a building surrounded by the crackling of fire. Thick smoke was filling his lungs as he struggled to breathe. Vivid colors jumped into his vision. Terrifying heat engulfed his body… and the taste. A bitter, ashen taste was sharp in the back of his throat. He looked around frantically, searching for an exit - for any possible way out - but he couldn’t find anything. Terror began to set in as he realized he was trapped.

“Help!” He cried out, choking on his panicked breaths, “Somebody please! Help me! HELP!”

Hot tears began to soak his cheeks as he coughed, gasping desperately for air. Everything began to shift in and out of focus as the stifling heat intensified and the thick smoke clouded his vision.

“PLEASE! Dad! Somebody! Anybody! HEL-” he cried out, choking on the last word.

Tears continued to spill past his eyes as they stung from the ever-increasing smoke. He could feel the painful sting of cinders against his skin as the raging fire began to close in around him.

“No… I don’t… want to die…” Keith choked out weakly, “Please… somebody…”

Just as his world was about to go black, he saw a figure moving towards him. The figure quickly hoisted Keith into the air, cradling him close to his chest.

“Everything’s alright, son. I’ve gotcha.”

Keith recognized the voice instantly. It was his dad.

“D-Dad?” Keith managed to breathe out.

Suddenly, Keith registered bright light meeting his eyes as he was enveloped in cool, fresh air. The change in environment was sudden, and it jolted Keith into a state of slightly greater alertness, but everything in his vision swam and still appeared blurry to him.

He managed to pick up on bits and pieces of the commotion: flashes of red and blue, his dad’s hand brushing back his bangs, and the sound of sirens in the distance.

“Take him… going back…”

Fragments of conversation flooded Keith’s ears.

“… too dangerous…”

“Take care of Keith…”

“…building could collapse…”

“…I have to…”

Keith’s weary mind was too exhausted to piece all this information together, but something in him understood the gravity of the situation and, at the realization that his father was in danger, he suddenly found himself hyper-alert.

He sat up, finding himself in a pair of unfamiliar arms. He began frantically looking around, then caught a glimpse of his dad just as he was about to turn and run back into the building. Keith struggled free, running towards his dad, calling out to him, “Dad! Wait! Don’t leave me!” he cried out. “DAD!”

Before he knew it, he felt unfamiliar arms wrapping around him once again, holding him in place. “Let go of me!” Keith screamed, “Dad! Dad!” he yelled again, as tears began to pool at the corners of his eyes. “DAD!!!” Keith cried out with every ounce of strength he had in him.

Suddenly, his dad paused, then turned towards him, “I love you, Keith,” he said smiling softly, eyes wrinkling gently to form the loving expression Keith knew so well… then, he turned and ran into the burning building.

“DAD!” Keith screamed, “No! Don’t go! DADDD!!!”

Without warning, an explosion was heard as the fire intensified and then, right before Keith’s very eyes, the building collapsed, his father still inside.

Keith stood in place as time suddenly froze. Reds and yellows and blacks and blues all merged together in his vision, and Keith felt himself completely disconnect from reality. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be happening… and then it all faded away to black.

Keith’s eyes fluttered open and he awoke to a ceiling washed in fluorescent lighting. He groaned, placing his arm over his eyes.

“Wh-where am I?” he mumbled to himself.

“Good to see you’re awake.”

Keith turned to see a nurse peering down at him.

“How are you feeling?” the nurse asked kindly.

Keith paused for a moment, trying to process everything.

What happened? How did he get here? Why was he here? Where was…

“Dad!” Keith yelled out, as it all rushed back to him. “Where is he? Where’s my dad? Is he… is he okay? Can I see him?”

The nurse gazed into Keith’s young eyes, wide and innocent, and slowly, she turned away, shifting her eyes towards the ground and swallowing hard.

“Just a moment,” she mumbled as she walked out of the room.

Keith watched her as she left, continuing to stare at the door until a new face appeared before him. He recognized this man as Jeff, one of his dad’s colleagues.

“Hey, kiddo. How ya feeling?” Jeff smiled awkwardly.

“Jeff?” Keith questioned, “What are you doing here? Where’s… where’s dad?”

The pieces were beginning to fall into place for Keith, but he didn’t dare allow himself to consciously acknowledge what he already knew to be true: his father hadn’t made it. Somewhere in his heart, he knew, but he just couldn’t bring himself to accept it.

Jeff drew in a deep, shaky breath, then moved to sit near Keith. He didn’t have it in him to break the news to the kid, but he knew he had to. One look into Keith’s eyes, glazed over with concern, was enough for Jeff to know it was no use trying to dodge the subject.

“Listen, kid,” Jeff began, “Shoot… I don’t know how to start this……” Jeff closed his eyes for a moment, attempting to compose himself. “Your dad… I just… before I tell you this, I want you to listen to me, Keith. Your dad… he loved you very much, okay? You were his entire world… all he talked about - his pride and joy. Do you understand?”

Keith nodded silently.

Jeff took another deep breath, “Okay… now listen, the thing is… that fire… your dad… he went back in to save the last person in the building and… it collapsed, Keith. He… ummm… he was inside when it collapsed.”

“I… I see…” Keith stuttered, swallowing hard, “Well… is he okay? Can I see him? He’s probably in this hospital then, right? I… I’m sure he’s worried about me, so… I should go see him and maybe-”

“Keith.” Jeff cut him off. “He’s… not here, Keith.”

“Well where is he?” Keith asked, feeling irritated.

“Don’t say it. Don’t you dare say it,” Keith’s mind was screaming as he watched Jeff begin to speak.

“He’s dead, Keith. He died… I’m… I’m so sorry. Your dad… he was a true hero. He… he knew the building would collapse, but he… just ran in there anyways and…” Jeff trailed off, voice breaking.

Once again, the whole world froze around Keith. No, no, no. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t… it couldn’t be… none of this was real. The neutral tones of the hospital room began to shake and… wait… the hospital room wasn’t shaking. Keith was shaking. His vision began to blur as fresh tears welled up in his eyes and overflowed, leaking down his face.

“Keith,” Jeff spoke softly as he moved to place his hand on Keith’s shoulder.

Smack.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Keith screamed at him, slapping his hand away with the ferocity of a wounded beast, eyes wide as tears continued streaming endlessly down his cheeks.

“You’re lying!” Keith yelled, “I know you’re lying! I’m going to find my dad… I’m going to… see him…”

Keith’s breathing was beginning to quicken as panic set in, causing him to struggle to get the words out.

“I’m… he’s… I have to… have to see him… where… which way…” Keith began frantically looking around the room, trying to orient himself as his breathing picked up pace yet again.

“Keith…” Jeff began moving towards him, unsure of what to do.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Keith screamed, slicing his arm through the air in an attempt to make his point clear.

“I just… have to… dad… which way… dad… dad…”

Huff. Huff. Huff. Keith’s erratic breath was now ringing in his ears and, with the way he seemed to be choking on air, he felt as if he were back in that burning building all over again. He was suffocating - completely consumed by the thoughts whirring around in his mind.

Keith… Keith… Keith…

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“I thought I told this guy to leave me alone!” Keith thought.

He angrily slapped the hand away. “I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!” he cried out.

Immediately, Keith paused as he was met with a familiar set of eyes: Hunk.

“Keith… hey, calm down,” Hunk spoke in a soft, gentle tone, “Are you okay?”

Keith blinked several times, eyes darting around the room in a panic, trying to process this sudden change of scenery.

“Where… where are we?” Keith asked urgently, “What happened? The fire… there was a fire…” Keith was still looking around the room, terrified.

“Keith,” Hunk tried again, placing a hand on Keith’s shoulder. This time, Keith accepted the touch. “Calm down, buddy. We’re in the sensory alteration room. Remember? The fire was just a sensory illusion. Coran accidentally typed in the wrong code.”

“Are you okay, Keith?” Pidge asked, features tensed in concern, “You completely zoned out.”

“I… I did?” Keith asked, swallowing hard as he brought a hand up to his head in confusion.

“Yeah,” Lance spoke, “We called your name again and again, but you were just… it was like you were in another world…”

As reality began to set in, Keith started regaining his senses.

“That’s right,” he thought, “I remember now… we’ve been in here the whole time… but it felt like I was…”

Keith could feel fresh waves of panic rising in the back of his throat as the flashback he’d just had resurfaced in his mind. He felt sweat begin to pool on his skin as his face went pale.

“I… I’m fine, guys,” Keith spoke, trying to keep his voice from shaking, “Sorry… I think I’m just t-tired… I’m gonna go.”

It wasn’t at all convincing, but Keith’s fellow paladins felt it would be best not to push him, so they decided to let it slide, instead exchanging worried looks with one another.

After several moments, Hunk spoke, “Maybe we should go talk to Shiro?” he suggested.

“Yeah,” Lance said, looking at the ground, “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

“Shiro probably knows best when it comes to Keith,” Pidge mused.

Shiro was in his room reading, when suddenly, his double doors slid open to reveal Pidge, Hunk, and Lance. Shiro cocked an eyebrow. This was certainly out of the ordinary.

“Hey guys,” Shiro said, closing his book and walking towards them, “What’s up?”

None of them spoke, instead they awkwardly stared at the ground, unsure how to begin the conversation.

“Okay… you’re kinda freakin’ me out,” Shiro noted, eyebrows raised, “Seriously, what’s up?”

“It’s…” Lance began to speak.

“It’s about Keith!” Hunk blurted out.

Shiro’s demeanor immediately shifted, his casual stance becoming alert as his eyes flooded with concern.

“Keith? What’s wrong? What happened?” Shiro questioned.

“Well…” Pidge began, “We were in the Altean sensory alteration room and Coran accidentally put in some incorrect data. It made everything seem like it was on fire, and-”

Pidge didn’t even get to finish her sentence before Shiro was pushing past them and running down the hall.

Keith sat on the floor in his room, head between his knees, body shaking.

“Calm down,” he told himself, trying to steady his breathing.

It was no use. The flashback had really shaken him up, and he couldn’t keep the panic at bay any longer. It was now at full force, wreaking havoc on him. Each time he told himself to calm down, he felt a fresh wave of alarm rise in his chest. The air around him was stifling and he felt as if it was suffocating him. It was an endless cycle: whenever he had a panic attack, he’d find it hard to breathe, which would remind him of the feeling he had when he was trapped in that building, choking on smoke the way he was now choking on air. This would cause his panic to rise even more, which would make it even harder to breathe, and it would continue on like that for what felt to Keith like an eternity.

As fresh memories flooded his system, Keith began to sob. These were the memories he’d buried deep within himself - the memories he’d wanted to forget. They resided in the darkest depths of his being and he had intended to always keep it that way… but today, it was all too much. It was all too real, and it had opened the gate he’d built to keep these memories locked away.

“Get out!” Keith screamed in his mind, “Stay out of my head! Just stop! Please stop!”

“Keith!” Shiro’s voice came out in a panic as the doors to Keith’s room slammed open.

Suddenly, Keith felt familiar hands wrapping around his shoulders, pulling him into a comforting embrace.

“Sh… Shiro?” Keith choked out, confused.

“I heard what happened,” Shiro explained. “It’s okay, Keith. You’re okay.”

Shiro rubbed comforting circles into Keith’s back, trying to help him calm down.

“You’re safe, Keith,” Shiro reassured him, “It’s okay.”

“I miss him so much,” Keith cried out, choking on a stifled sob. “I… he died when he went to save the l-last p-person in the building… th-that means… if… if I hadn’t been there… m-maybe he’d still be-”

“Don’t say that,” Shiro shushed, “Don’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault. None of it was your fault.”

“I don’t… I just… I never knew how to feel back then… sometimes I still don’t. I was so angry. I didn’t understand why he’d leave me. I was so lonely. I missed him so much… but… I was also so proud… so proud to have such an amazing dad… but… I… I just… why… why did it have to be this way? I just…… I miss my dad,” Keith whispered the last words, as if he was admitting a secret to himself, and with that, the flood gates had been opened. Keith was now crying freely, the grief too intense to hold inside himself any longer.

“I know you do,” Shiro said softly, rubbing gentle circles against Keith’s trembling back.

Shiro reached back behind him and grabbed a blanket, draping it over Keith’s shoulders, then pulled him in closer as liquid grief continued to spill past Keith’s weary eyes. Shiro knew nothing he said right now would help, so instead he let Keith bury himself in his shirt as tears cascaded down his face like waterfalls.

“You’re okay, Keith. I’ve got you.” Shiro whispered soothingly.

Eventually, Keith had cried himself to sleep in Shiro’s comforting embrace.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed! Thank you so much for the prompt @koganewest! I’m glad to hear you’re liking the blog! I lowkey highkey live for Keith whump too :) 

 If anyone else has prompts, feel free to check my bingo card (updated version can be found on my page) and send any that haven’t already been requested my way :)

[studyari]

26 trying to become an engineer. (2nd attempt)

Hello everyone :-)

Today I’ve been feeling pretty down and thought, well, I may as well do something that might get my mind off of my mood. I thought, “hey maybe I’ll share my story on tumblr.” So, here I am spiraling.

This is not my main blog but I did notice that over the years it was hard to find blogs that were active. Somehow, I came across the ‘studyblr’ community and couldn’t believe how many people were currently using this platform in that way. I’m starting school in the fall so I thought it would be a cool idea to also make one, and maybe it would keep me motivated! We will see. I have a good feeling because there are already sooo many amazing resources and advice tips. It’s very reassuring.

I guess I should start my story off with a few details about who I am and the type of life I had before coming to this point. My name is Ari and I love learning but I never had the vision or drive to look forward into the future very much. I did not concern myself with the responsibilities of adulthood when I was in high school. During that time, I wasn’t really focused on anything in particular. I didn’t sign up for the AP Classes, I didn’t see myself going to college, and the classes I wanted to take, I never was able to get in (my school already had overcapacity classes and it was the oldest high school in my city picture the not having enough books, packed classes, and old and worn learning materials). I really wanted to get into horticulture and signed up for it 3 years straight to no avail. Even though I lacked the competitive spirit and drive, I still had high enough standards for myself to try my best in school even if I didn’t know exactly why I was doing it. I did well and my class rank, I found out was #3. I only found out because the teacher I worked for would tell me “hey you’re really close to having to give a speech” to that I was like HUH? I also was way too shy to even think about that so I just kind of brushed it off. But to this day, I wonder what I could have accomplished if I had the same goals my peers had. 

My counselor nominated me for a scholarship to which I was surprised but I applied to the school (the only school I applied to) and wrote my essay. I did this because I was honored someone actually thought of me. The school could only put up one person per scholarship per university. I’m sure she put me up because of my math scores if I’m being honest. 

By that time I had decided to go into the military, because some guy from the Navy came and talked to our class. I thought, I’m sure I could do that? I was basically doing the things I needed to do my senior year so that after I graduated I could have a job. But unexpectedly, the teacher that I worked for pulled me aside one day and asked me what my plans for the future were. I told him I’m most likely joining the military and that I applied to a university but there’s no way I could pay for it. I already had received a letter that I was denied the scholarship. He sincerely looked at me and told me that I could do anything with my life and that going into the military is great but that I could join that whenever. He told me “not everyone gets to go to college.” I shrugged because I didn’t feel like I was in control of any of that. But then he did something while I was in his computer lab and it was near the end of the school year. He had called up the university I applied to and asked them about my application…. He did that for me. And after getting off the phone with them he told me the lady said “she’ll be very happy.” Although not disclosing any details. For some reason the small gesture moved me and I’m pretty sure that was the moment that I started believing that I could actually accomplish things. I started being able to think about the things I wanted out of life. I could make the decisions of what I want to be, not some recruiter. 

It wasn’t until I got my acceptance letter stating that I had received a full ride scholarship that it all became real. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think I would ever go to college but now I have a way?

Fast forward to my freshman year of college. I was 17. It was in a new city, I was on my own for the first time in my life, I had met a lot of new people, and I was a first year engineering student hoping to graduate in electrical engineering and I was proud of it. I had felt like I had already accomplished so much just off the fact I was accepted into that program. However, reality started to sink in quick. School was HARD, the classes were HUGE 200 students in most of my classes. I procrastinated, stayed up too late, was not understanding my homework, and failing my tests. I felt like a failure and I failed Chemistry I that year. The next semester, I hoped things would be better but in fact it was much worse. I was horrible and completely lost in my computer engineering course and couldn’t create a working program for the life of me, I couldn’t even create a FLOWCHART. Because of the class size I was deathly afraid to raise my hand and just ask a question. I just kept my mouth shut hoping for the best, for a miracle really. I struggled in Calc 2 and especially in Physics I. I didn’t fail any of the classes but with the grades I received it felt no different. I received D-’s for two of my classes and I felt hopeless. I felt dumb. I thought I need to figure something out, because my scholarship covers 4 years for me. I can’t afford to retake a class I just can’t.

And during that summer I transferred out. I told my mom about my experience and she didn’t have much sympathy for me. Just heard things like “well if it was me, I would have made an A”. I tried explaining to her how hard and difficult it was but I didn’t receive any emotional support that day. In my eyes I thought I tried my best. Honestly, that interaction just furthered my belief into thinking yeahhh it is my fault. I just can’t do it. 

I was in this space where I didn’t know what I wanted to do anymore and it scared me. I talked with an advisor and she helped me make a schedule to explore more majors. I explored art, math, and environmental tech. I ended up completely dropping Calc 3 because I was making like 20% on my first test *sigh*. But I did well enough in my gen eds. I truly thought school wasn’t for me. And keep in mind I also was working the entire time through college and it would take me an hour to walk there and an hour to walk back to my dorm. I really needed money T_T. My priorities were all mixed up back then. I also was dating someone who was very very bad for me. He was a cheater, never wanted to see me, and I would miss classes just because we were arguing. I ended up losing a lot of friends because of my terrible relationship as I was spending all my time on him and not on other aspects of my life. I broke up with him my junior year of college.

After that I found myself really focusing hard on my grades, wanting A’s, wanting to do well. I told myself the difference between an A and a B is just effort. My senior year I was working as well as taking 21 credit hours a semester just to graduate. I actually had to submit paperwork to be allowed to take that many hours per semester. I had little time to myself really and I would sleep on the benches outside in between classes. I was so tired my entire senior year but I know for the first time I was doing my absolute best to graduate. I needed to graduate AND do well.  I ended up graduating in environmental tech which is under the college of forestry at my university. So it was very different than what I started off in. I was proud for a little until I moved back home.

When I got back home I couldn’t find a job in my field. I would get interviews and I would get ‘almost’ hired but I would be rejected last minute. It’s either a hiring freeze, simple rejection, or the ‘you need a car’ to work here. But I didn’t have a car, I didn’t have job to get the car and so what I did was say Fuck IT. I got a job as a cashier making $7.25 an hour at a donut shop. I could hardly save money because my family would always ask me for some. I ended up talking to a recruiter and I was about to join the military for real as I’m from a military town and jobs that weren’t the hospital or military were virtually nonexistent. That’s what I planned to do and I remember writing on my calendar in my room to “save $400” before I left. And that was a goal looking back now, made me realize how much I was struggling in that environment. 

I left. And I joined the military. I knew that I could get a free education and housing so that’s why I did it. It wasn’t a very good reason but I’m so glad that’s what I did. I grew up so much while I was there. I earned an electronics degree while I was there. In fact we went over the same exact things I learned in computer engineering, but this time I could understand and it came easy to me.  Learned a new skill. Learned social skills. Learned how to stand up for people. Learned how to manage others and really really show them that I cared. I got my first car, got my first apartment, and I learned what it meant to live comfortably and securely, even if work itself was more stressful than anything I’ve ever known. I accomplished a lot in the four years I spent there, I met so many people that are now all over the world, I have a network, and I even met my current boyfriend.  

I am now 26. Those four years I spent in the military allowed me to think about my future and what I wanted to do. I am still trying to be an engineer. I think I gave up too easily when I was 17 and I was not in the right mindset. I didn’t think I was as smart as everyone else around me. I didn’t think I deserved to be there. But I was wrong. I did deserve to be there. Now that I’m older I understand I was going through a lot of things and had very little support and I didn’t believe in myself enough. I believe we can do anything we set our minds to, because it’s about effort. This is where my new journey begins.

I’m 26 years old and I don’t think it’s too late. I’m going to be starting my nano-engineering courses in the fall and retaking chem and physics. And I will do well no matter what it takes. I’ve been talking to someone at the university here and they say that I have a good chance at getting into their Materials Science and Engineering M.S. program. Me, someone without an engineering B.S. This is where I’d like to update my story. And hopefully someone out there can relate or share their journey as well. It’s been hard understanding that I am deserving to be here and to ask questions and actually succeed. I’m not giving up this time. No way. The things you love and are passionate about will always come back to you.

[ao3feed-danganronpa]

Triviality

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3sfVajr

by ToxicPineapple

He hesitates again when he gets to the door, his fingers curling loosely around the knob. He could always… turn, and go back to sleep. That might mean more nightmares, but he’ll probably be fine in the morning, whether or not he goes and talks to Kaito. Besides, Kaito might be sleeping right now, as erratic as his sleep schedule has been since the game, and Shuichi really doesn’t want to interrupt him.

The selfish desire for comfort is just a bit stronger than that thought, though, and eventually Shuichi does leave his room, closing the door behind him with a near inaudible click and padding down the hall, the tile floor cool beneath his feet. The halls of the Team Danganronpa recovery facility glow faintly orange at night. Shuichi supposes it should be comforting, but it sets his nerves aflame, maybe just because anything that Team Danganronpa does makes him feel uncomfortable. He wants to burn this place to the ground, if he’s being honest, but that’s easier said than done, and it’s a bit hard to discuss overthrowing a corporation when you’re still under their care.

---

Shuichi has a nightmare and seeks out Kaito.

Words: 2270, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Saihara Shuichi, Momota Kaito, Other Characters Mentioned

Relationships: Momota Kaito/Saihara Shuichi

Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Virtual Reality, Post-Killing School Life (Dangan Ronpa), Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Fluff, Implied Crush, Introspection, Character Study, (somewhat), Hugs, Yeahhh babey, Trans Saihara Shuichi, Codependency, Very mild and they'll like. Fix it, But it's there

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3sfVajr

[non-newtoniangenderfluid]

Mind if I add on?

5. "Virtual Gazality" - Gaz gets a new virtual reality gaming headset and becomes addicted to it, Dib has to enlist the help of Zim's irken technology to try and beat her/make the game more lame so she snaps out of it and loses interest, meanwhile Zim uses this time while Dib is distracted to try and enact a plan to enslave humans that has to do with their clothes controlling them, the plan is ruined by Gir accidentally doing something to the mind control device in the beginning of the episode. Ends up making humans nicer to each other until it short circuits and shocks them. Everyone winds up a lot more aggressive, brawls in the street. Zim and Gir watch with popcorn.

6."Trending" - Zim tries to become a youtuber (called chewtube or something, probably) but everyone just watches his channel for background Gir, who eventually takes it over. Gir gets millions of subscribers, they do everything he says. Zim tries to use this to his advantage but in the end Gir makes a video with his hood down and everyone gets mad at Zim because they think Gir is CGI so they feel tricked. Zim gets cancelled, everyone throws their Gir merch away

7. "Dib Online" - Dib's adventures on the paranormal subreddit (called... I dunno. Something else. Spreddit maybe), trying to expose Zim, everyone calls him a fake. He gets into arguments on the internet. They all tell him ways to prove it's real but none of their plans work, some he's already tried. Some are pompous and dumb "like just take a picture of him without the disguise, duh." Dib is like /:

Zim is finally pictured without his disguise but it's blurry because Dib is sneezing, everyone flips shit because they think his sneeze is a ghost behind Zim when it's really just spit on the lense. Dib gives up on Reddit, defeated.

8. "Vampire Piggie Go" - There's a game like Pokemon Go except with Vampire Piggy Hunter where you have to go out and defeat all kinds of different piggies to earn points to power up your character. Gaz is determined to get the ultimate weapon, the silver stake, but Prof. Membrane won't let her go alone so she reluctantly forces Dib to go with her. They wind up in a haunted abandoned hospital and Dib is without his equipment. Also scared AF. Gaz isn't paying attention at all "YOU HAVE TO TELL ME YOU SAW THAT! THAT DOOR JUST SHUT ON ITS OWN!" "*increasingly annoyed* Dib if you make me miss this kill I swear I will Make You PAY." "OH COME ON!!" The night ends with her defeating the last piggie (a boss) that just so happens to be in the morgue with the Biggest Scariest Ghost. It ends up getting defeated somehow when Gaz kills the vampire piggie and gets the silver stake. The episode ends with Dib kinda traumatized and Gaz is just like cool ok let's go home.

9. "ZIM tries snacks" - The tallest are miraculously out of the florpus "hey remember that time we were torn apart by that terrifying space anomaly?" "Oh yeahhh." And then they never say anything else about it. They spend the whole episode tricking Zim into trying all kinds of earth snacks so they (mostly Purple) will know what they can eat """when they get there.""" Pretty much an entire episode of Zim being in different kinds of pain and the tallest laughing about it in between transmissions while Zim goes to find more snacks. Zim finds a snack at the end that doesn't hurt him, it's the best thing he's ever tasted. Like a religious experience good. The tallest are shocked and jealous now. They begrudgingly say Good Work Zim and then spend the last 3 minutes of the episode brooding about how they want that snack.

Modern Day Invader Zim Episodes

1. GIR accidentally posts a tiktok of Zim without his disguise and everyone thinks he's just in a costume and it becomes a meme. He tries to destroy memes through shenanigans but that just becomes another meme. After two weeks the memes are completely forgotten, and it offends Zim.

2. Zim becomes a flat-earther despite the fact he's seen the planet from space. The entire episode is just Dib furiously trying to prove the earth is round to an increasingly apathetic Zim.

3. Zim finds out humans are actually really close to destroying themselves. Instead of being happy about it, Zim decides that the destruction of the human race is his job alone and un-does climate change. The episode ends with him oblivious to the fact that he saved the entire planet.

4. Zim gets picked for a reality TV show similar to big brother and spends the whole time failing to break out. Dib thinks that Zim will finally be exposed, but he just ends up becoming the fan favorite. Meanwhile, GIR decides to raise chickens in the living room since Zim isn't there to stop him.

[puneetswiftie]

HAPPY DIWALI TO @taylorswift

Here we go

It's the Diwali time in INDIA

It's a festival of light and prosperity

And yeah how can we forget about the desserts

I always say i wanna @taylorswift and i have to i want to anyhow

I am far from her

But she is with me all time

Thanks to virtual reality for that

So yeahhh HAPPY DIWALI to our superstar @taylorswift

I don't know you know about this festival or not

But this Diwali for sure fills your and your family life with more happiness and health

And so ours SWIFTIES

#iwanttomeet@taylorswift @taylornation