#adding this to my collection (of shima faces)

[frymaform]

Amairin AU wip pasted from my notes

in which Amaimon and Rin are soulmates and the princes and Lucifer know about it but Rin doesn't. Therefore, Mephisto's playing matchmaker and trying to get Amaimon to play with Rin.

This is non traditional abo, demons are either submissive or dominant. They are all born one or the other and this decides what role they play in a mating/marriage as far as procreation goes. Soulmates are a rare occurrence in mid and low level demons and uncommon in higher level ones so they simply choose their mates for the most part but soulmates are definite for Princes/Kings of Gehenna.

Note/context for later: Through this, Bon and Rin are hinted to be crushing on one another. Rin had initially thought he was cool and wanted to talk to him but was turned off for a while by his shitty personality ofc. He’s still Rin so he still attempted to be civil (but Bon’s always starting shit) and he cares for everyone, no matter how shitty, so he still saved him from the leaper. After they made up, Rin absolutely went back to fawning over him and trying to insert himself into their friend group as he does in canon cause he’s cute. Bon absolutely got a crush on Rin after Rin jumped into the mouth of a demon without thinking like the fearless idiot he is and then turned around and yelled in his face that, not only did he take Bon’s aspirations seriously but that he has the same one and was going to fight him about it. Shima and Koneko picked up on this pretty quickly of course and this led to them encouraging Rin’s antics and inviting him into their group in every way they could like in canon. In between the moments summarized in this doc, there’s definitely romantic moments between the two in which they’re absolutely fascinated with the other person, though that’s not much different from canon either. 

As far as romance with Shiemi, it follows the manga more and paints them platonically. Rin didn’t know exactly whether he liked girls or not but he did sense that Yukio liked Shiemi and she basically immediately was friendzoned in his mind bc he’s not about to steal his brothers one and only love interest he’s ever seen thus far. 

Originally, Amaimon didn't know but was told during the first meeting with Mephisto. He had suspected and, rather than in canon, he had hesitated to ask if Rin was his mate. Mephisto confirmed and took Amaimon asking as a hint of interest, which he interpreted as an invitation to set them up cause he's Mephisto.

Amaimon suspected this because the kings of Gehenna are all mated to one another. The unmated ones that remained were Mephisto and Amaimon and Mephisto had laid no claim on Rin.

It's worth mentioning that from this point on, Mephisto wished to use Amaimon as a pawn in his plan. He knew he could control Amaimon and since Amai was the dominant mate, he could control Rin further in return.

At the second appearance, when Amaimon is watching Rin tame Kuro, he expresses that he'd like to play with Rin to assess his ability as a mate. With demons, a big part of the mating ritual is to fight their mate and test their strength, to decide whether they are worthy. This is not really needed for soulmates but for traditions' sake, soulmates tend to still participate. In Amaimon's case, there was the added fact that he only intended to claim Rin if Rin proved worthy, soulmates or not.

Amaimon then decided to get his curiosity of Japan out cause it had been killing him and he wished to learn a bit more about the culture Rin grew up in. He wished to study it to possibly understand Rin better and analyze him accordingly when they meet, as Mephisto had warned him that Rin had not experienced any kind of demon culture or education in his life and was rather dumb to the subject. 

Once he'd finally finished his spree and laid his collection out in Mephisto's office, he immediately asked to go play with Rin as he thought he was now ready. When he got to the amusement park, he'd watched with irritation and little patience as Rin floundered around a human girl, but chose to follow Mephisto's orders and wait to get him alone. He was curious about the fact that he couldn't smell Rin's demonic aura, the only way he'd detect if he was, in fact, his mate. He wondered idly if Mephisto was only mistaken and if Rin had actually inherited the demon mating hierarchy or not. He realized once he opened the Koma sword that Rin was, in fact, the most amazing thing he'd ever smelled in his life and that his demon heart was sealed inside the sword, along with his submissive status. Rin on the other hand, could smell something about Amaimon that was gnawing at him but without the context of why, he mostly continued as he would if anyone were fighting him like that.

He kicked Rin around for a bit and was let down, his interest waning despite his instincts screaming at him. He started to get angry at the situation and this pushed him to break Mephisto's rules. Again, soulmate or not, he didn't want a weak mate. His interest came back tenfold when Rin had finally started to fight back, meaning his irritation was far greater when Rin had saved Shiemi and calmed his emotions again. He wished to rile Rin up once more and see his beautiful flames again but Shura interrupted. In the end, he had decided to back down and continue their fight in a more suitable time and place. 

Shura takes Rin to the base and Mephisto is pleased when he can smell the territorial scent marking from Amai left all over Rin and the Koma sword. He chose not to reveal the purpose of Amaimon’s visit to anyone just yet of course, but couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy at the imposing scent of possessiveness and lust that clouded Rin’s true scent. It was overpowering since Rin’s true scent was sealed in the sword at the time so he couldn’t help but laugh and subtly cover his nose at the ridiculousness of it in the moment. 

Afterwards, Rin had idly mentioned to Kuro that Amaimon had wanted to "play" and that he'd had a sick version of playing that meant fighting. Kuro cleared up that fighting is playing for demons, pointing out that Rin himself gets excited during fights and Rin realizes he had initially been excited to fight Amaimon. This is what led to the scene on the roof in which Rin and Kuro play together. 

Alternatively, following the manga, Rin couldn’t sleep because he felt feverish and restless and wanted to take Kuro to play to let out some of his nervous energy. He figured it was emotional strain. While he’s talking with Kuro and Kuro asks to play, it reminds him of Amaimon saying he wanted to play earlier and he mentions that it was really weird to him. Kuro then tells him it’s very common for demons to fight one another as play, the way wild animals will play-fight to train their bodies in a fun way while they have free time. 

On the note of Rin being tired and sleeping through half of the next day, it wasn’t actually all due to them playing all night but late that night and into the next day, Rin had run a pretty high fever that left him a little queasy. This was why he started feeling restless and nervous at first when he originally got up and went to the roof with Kuro. While they were playing, his energy was sapped pretty quickly and he felt drowsy and hot and had gone back to bed. He ended up sleeping all night and well into the day bc of it. This was part of the reason he actually fucked up once he got to Shura’s class but mostly cause the boy can’t read for shit. 

Between this scene and the next chapter, add in Mephisto and Amaimon one on one. Basically, Mephisto had gotten wind of Rin’s absence in the morning and made a hypothesis that, at about that time, Rin would be experiencing a ‘phantom heat’ after meeting his soulmate and not being marked right away. It was a common occurrence and while it goes away fairly quickly on its own, it would make Rin a bit drowsy and feverish for the next couple days and his body would let off pheromones akin to a true heat and distress in an attempt to draw his mate back to him. Basically, he’d been recounting this to Amaimon to remind Amaimon that, no matter how much he’d want to give into the scent throughout this duration, he’d have to stay put and wait for the next most opportune time to see Rin. Of course, Amaimon had already been throwing a bit of a fit about not being able to finish playing with Rin but he became more pissy in his own shithead way about not being able to go see Rin right away, even though he was able to smell his mate from across the campus already. 

Adding on, Shura had been so calm about his tardiness because Yukio had given her a heads up that he had a bad fever and really was so deeply asleep that he wasn’t waking up for anything that morning. Shura was suspicious and wondered what could cause it, since demons don’t get colds or anything, but with soulmates being such a rare thing in demon society, there’d be no way for her to understand what was happening to him. Even the most knowledgeable humans among the Vatican had no idea about soulmates, and really only vaguely about demon mating; that there were mating seasons every year and a half or so in Assiah and that reproduction was similar to a human’s. They’d simply assumed that this meant Gehenna was split into males and females (only sex wise, of course) the way Assiah was. 

He finally told Rin they were mates at the next fight on their camping trip. Before that though, when he was setting up to face Rin again, first of all he’d gone on a rampage that was probably more aggravated than it needed to be while ‘greeting the spirit of the forest’. Though Rin’s phantom heat had passed, Amaimon was quicker to tune into Rin’s human scent, which was disgustingly muddled with the other humans he’d been too close for comfort with. He’d been focusing on it quite hard, leading to him shutting down and ignoring Mephisto, who finally started to grow a bit worried that messing with soulmates may have been something too hard to control, even for the prodigal son himself. 

In the meantime, Amaimon grew irritated watching the students bring back the peg lantern. One, because Rin was in the center of his wretched group of humans. Two, because he them had to wade through the river of demon worms without his scent marking or mating mark that told them to keep their grubby little legs off of Rin. Lastly though, because the peg lantern itself reacted more to Rin than the girl as a submissive and chased after him as if the lowly demon could ever possibly deserve such a mate. His little shitfit aside, Mephisto kept him under control for the time being as he teemed with the anxious energy of a caged bear. The giant moth actually made to grab Rin at the end to retrieve him for Amai but the poor boy had to wait a bit longer cause Rin’s friend saved his ass. Once Rin’s finished his assignment Amaimon loses his patience and pops out on the forest to fuck shit up. 

He'd taken Shiemi hostage under the impression that Rin had a crush on her, taunting Rin with the whole marriage thing. Ofc Rin was just confused as hell and wanted Amai to put his best friend down. It wasn't til Amaimon was hit with the fireworks that he realized it was Bon, not Shiemi, that Rin was interested in. That's why he went for Bon instead of the one that actually laughed at him. Bon started yelling at Rin and ignoring Amaimon and ofc Amai was even more pissed off that this asshole had the audacity to not only go after Rin but to straight up ignore him, Rin’s true mate. Rin yelled to stop and as much as Amai wanted to kill Bon right there regardless, he saw Rin grab his sword and realized he was getting exactly what he’d wanted, a chance to complete the mating ritual and take Rin. 

Rin draws his sword, Bon realizes everything’s a lie, and Amaimon and Rin finally start their fight. Amaimon starts announcing the truth to Rin, about what they are to each other, that Amaimon found him truly worthy, proclaiming his flames were beautiful. Ofc Amaimon got excited again and they started to fight like in canon and lowkey he was getting excited in another way because in his eyes, they had started the most intense and beautiful mating ritual the world had ever seen while Rin just wanted him to die.  Amaimon grabbed a hold of him from behind and Marked his neck, making Rin panic and kick him, stabbing him and trying to burn him after. When Amaimon grabbed Rin’s tail, an emerald ring of some sort appeared fastened to the base of Rin’s tail. He’d screamed at the sharp pain of it and Mephisto had assumed it was simply because Rin had never had his tail tugged in such a violent way. It was only afterwards that Mephisto realized the true depth of the situation, which made things a lot harder for him. 

Once he was marked, Rin had been overtaken by a demon heat. Before Amaimon got ahead of himself and took Rin right then and there, Mephisto grabbed the two, thinking he could stop them there and use Amaimon as he planned. 

Then, Rin split the clock in search of his mate and Mephisto was like oh shit. When Rin is thrown into view of his classmates, he's lost to emotions and instincts. He still has no idea why he feels like shit, his mind is swimming and on attack mode and he's trying to slow his mind down. He attempted to run toward Yukio, grasping for protection and touch from someone he loves. Yukio goes to shoot him, Shiemi runs out like in canon and calms him down with a hug. His body reacts and calms down because she's registering as a friend and another submissive type, someone who won't put him in danger and only wants to help. (In demon culture, a close submissive friend is usually in charge of comforting and taking care of the submissive demon in heat between waves so that the dominant mate can recharge as well.) Once he was calm, the exhaustion hit him and he passed out, being dragged to court with the others.

Meph had genuinely meant to keep Amaimon contained, he locked him away and came to meet the others, then went to the court. When Rin started having his nightmare, Amaimon had felt the discomfort through their new bond and, already half feral with what had happened, he broke free and headed toward Rin in a rage. This is why he fucking destroyed everything and started yelling about being able to smell Rin. At this point, everything is fucked, Mephisto has lost control and has to rely on Rin being confused enough that he continues to fight Amaimon, or that Rin and Amaimon can escape to Gehenna fast enough that they don't get their asses kicked. 

The next part is planned but gets dirty so it’s upon request 👀

[vampyhoney]

Call of Duty Zombies

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2.0; Edward Richtofen X Reader (One-Shot)

From Wattpad

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Location: Zetsubou No Shima

The withered tress stood dormant. A breeze not dared to blow across the element-ridden land. Wild flowers and vines climbed and ate away at every structure still remaining, though most lied in a crumbled heap. A dark shadow cast over the island, the sun was setting. The stickiness in the air grew each passing day, making zombie slaughtering a chore.

A lone Doctor traipsed across the muddy plains aimlessly. Much like his very own plan, the German remained a mystery to all. Typically, his demeanour was rather collected and reserved, however, upon recent confrontation with the man, his manners changed drastically. Specifically, when his female counterpart were present.

“Edward!” A female voice bellowed in the distance.

Frightening the man, Richtofen spun on his heel swiftly, frantically trying to locate the girl. He squinted, seeing her skipping towards him with a bright smile adorning her face. An item she gripped in one hand, though Edward was unable to decipher what it was.

The girl stopped before him and in a cheery voice she spoke.

“Hey.” She giggled.

Edward felt his breath hitch and nervously wiped his hands on his shirt. Seemingly charmed by her bold grin, he became unable to return a small greeting. Instead, he smiled.

(Y/n) hid her hands and said item behind her back, rocking on her heels, baring a cheeky grin all the while.

“I have something for you.” The girl declared, averting her gaze almost sheepishly.

Edward felt intrigued to know what she held behind her. He cocked a brow, staring at the girl intently. “What is it?” He quizzed.

With words unspoken, (Y/n) revealed a rare piece of weaponry. It glowed under the beams of the basking sun. The dials on the gun reflected streaks of light onto the tattered flowers surrounding them. Lying the gun on both her hands, she urged the man to take it by shoving it towards him.

Edward lead a hesitant hand, reaching out the take the weapon, though quickly he retreated on the idea.

“(Y/n), my dear, you worked extremely hard for this weaponry. I can’t accept this.” He protested.

In the blink of an eye, (Y/n)’s expression had changed. Her brows furrowed as her eyes became saddened.

With a frown on her face the girl spoke. “You haven’t been yourself lately. I thought this might cheer you up.”

“I’m quite alright, (Y/n).” He perked up, speaking quickly.

“I still want you to have this gun. I’m telling you to take it.” Her tone sounded commanding, as her gaze sharpened. “I won’t take no for an answer.” She added.

Edward sighed, giving in to her persuasive attitude. After finally taking the weapon into his very hands, he twirled it, watching the scarlet-red metal shimmer and glisten under the rays of the ever-darkening ombre sunset.

With a smile present on his face, Edward said, “Thank you, (Y/n).”

Returning a grin, the girl replied. “You’re very welcome.”

With a spring in her step, (Y/n) sauntered away from the man, teasingly swinging her hips as she stepped.

Edward turned, eyeing the girl as she gradually sauntered out of sight. His gaze fell onto her swaying hips. Little effort was made to tear his eyes from her being. Soon enough his face flourished in a bold cherry-red fluster. To clear his thoughts, he shook his head, and carried on traipsing across the land.

--X--

Hordes or the undead flooded across the island. Gunfire rang through the air, never ceasing. Shrieking screams pierced the ears of anyone nearby as another zombie fell lifeless to the floor.

(Y/n) fought side-by-side with her fellow German friend. Bullets from the girl’s heavy machine gun sprayed at every undead creature in sight. Edward popped off multiple zombie heads with his ray gun, smirking as he watched their bodies sink onto the mud.

Unbeknownst to Edward himself, (Y/n) happened to be sneaking glances at him. Never would she let a zombie close to him, and if such a thing were to occur, she took it upon herself to slaughter the being right where it stood.

A pained yelp caused the girl to whip around in a panic. Seeing a large gash on Edward’s forearm made (Y/n) fill with rage. She lunged at the zombie, slicing her blade across its throat, and throwing the corpse to the ground. Thankfully, that was the last of them.

The pair panted heavily. (Y/n) wiped away beads of sweat that collected on her forehead, eyeing the man in front of her. She observed as he grabbed his forearm with a force, hissing in pain, and trying to contain as much blood as possible. Edward scurried away fast, leaving (Y/n) to watch him in worry.

--X--

The skies turned to black long ago. Stars littered the blank space; clouds dared not to cover them. After traipsing the island for some time, the crew had found a perfect spot to make a fire. Now, they sit before the roaring flames, perched atop some scattered logs they managed to gather.

With some bandage he had salvaged, Edward wrapped his wound. Though, in (Y/n)’s eyes, it seemed like he was fumbling with the material, trying to make the procedure longer than needed. She watched as he would slowly wrap the material around his arm, sometimes even restarting with patching the gash.

“Edward.” (Y/n) called out, seemingly causing the man to jump back to reality.

His face blossomed in red as he stared at the girl, now also ceasing his task. Edward knew that her voice had caught the attention of his friends. He glanced at each of them, feeling their gaze upon him. Seeing Dempsey smirking at him made his gaze sharpen.

“Need some help there?” She giggled.

Utterly speechless, Edward shook his head in response. However, (Y/n) ignored that and stood from the log, soon coming to sit by Edward’s side.

With a soft hand, she grasped his own, making Edward stare with wide eyes. (Y/n) took the bandage and proceeded to finish what he started. The man observed her actions intently, though he felt himself in a daze.

After (Y/n) had finished wrapping his wound, Edward felt as though her touch lingered. Truth be told, the girl enjoyed the closeness they shared in the moment. The girl glanced at Dempsey, having a knowing feeling that the man would be smirking at the pair.

Startling Edward, (Y/n) leaned against his shoulder, feeling tiredness sweep her up. Hesitantly, he wrapped his bandaged arm around her, letting his hand rest gently on her waist.

Little conversation was passed around the fire for some time, until eventually, the flames had dulled to a smokey orange glow upon scattered ashes.

One-by-one, Nikolai, Takeo, and Dempsey had wandered off to their makeshift beds, in desperate need of sleep. Now, (Y/n) and Edward sit comfortably in a gentle embrace, keeping a single hand intertwined with one another. They exchanged jokes about anything, making the other giggle. Tomorrow’s plans were spoken of, though neither of them took much notice. It seemed their only focus was the person next to them.

“I wish you would smile more, Edward.” The girl spoke softly.

The Doctor sighed. “I know, my dear.”

Wriggling out of his arms, (Y/n) faced Edward. She noticed that his smile had fallen, and now setting a look of concern upon her face.

An idea soon came to mind, and in one quick motion, (Y/n) had planted a sweet kiss to Edward’s cheek. Immediate heat rose to his face once more, earning a giggle from the girl, and a smile from the German, despite how flustered he was.

“You’re blushing!” (Y/n) teased, poking at his face playfully.

Quickly, Edward concealed his face with both hands, however the girl refused to let him hide. She pulled his arms down, catching Edward of guard, and smashed her lips onto his. Once they pulled apart, Edward merely stared at the girl in bewilderment.

“New, I assume?” (Y/n) smirked upon seeing Edward nod meekly.

The girl had swung her legs across Edward’s lap, sitting contently by his side. Both her hands clutched his body, drawing herself closer to the warmth he radiated. The German held her tightly, wanting to savour the moment as much as he could.

Breaking the silence, in a luscious and seductive whisper, (Y/n) spoke, “Is there any way I may be able to tempt you into telling me about your plan?”

The girl moved to sit on the dampened soil, taking Edward by the hand and urging him to do the same. Hastily, he followed her.

(Y/n) sat straddling him in an instant. Upon seeing an awestruck expression on Edward’s face, it only encouraged her wicked smile to grow more. She bit her lip, as her eyes fell half-lidded and brimmed with lust. Her hands crawled over his chest, occasionally toying with the buttons on his shirt. (Y/n) let a single hand run through his jet black hair, all the while placing wet, open-mouthed kisses along his neck and collarbones.

Unbeknownst to Edward himself, his hands were ghosting over (Y/n)’s curves. Edward watched as he tightened his hold on the girl, it would only fuel her actions more.

Upon feeling Edward shudder beneath her after nibbling a certain spot on his neck, she drew away from him playfully, a smirk adorning her face.

“You’re such a tease.” Edward whispered with a grin.

(Y/n) giggled and soon came to whisper in his ear. “Well then, if you don’t want me to tease you, find me somewhere a little more secluded.”

With those words spoken, Edward stood before scooping the girl up into his arms. “If you wish.”

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Their Hero Academia -- Chapter 23: Takiyo Aoyama Tries to Shine

The raw, unedited next chapter of my on-going, next gen, My Hero Academia fan fic. 

All prior chapters can be found here

Takiyo is four years old and supposedly will have a Quirk. His parents have had him tested and he lacks the extra two gene and otherwise tests positive for having one. But so far, they’ve been unable to find out what it is or make it manifest.  His father can project a thin, harmless beam of light from his index fingers, like a laser pointer.  And his mother glows, ever so slightly.  But no one can yet figure out what it is his does.

And then, there’s a day when he’s playing with his father. Nothing fancy, just playing ball in the yard while his mother hangs laundry.  He misses a catch and loses the ball in the grass, but his father sees it, lighting it up with the light beam from his fingers to show him where it is. Takiyo grabs for the ball, inadvertently putting his hand in the beam.  And that is when his Quirk decides to come in. Like a man dying of thirst encountering water for the first time, his Quirk starts greedily sucking up his father’s light beam.   Takiyo starts glowing, brighter and brighter, and he can’t break away; his father is unable to turn off his beam, both of them locked together as he absorbs the light.

Their worried cries attract his mother, who throws her arms around him and tries to pull him away.  But his Quirk is a greedy one, and it starts sucking up her light too.  Only now he’s beginning to hurt, feeling like he’s burning up inside.  He desperately cries for help, for his parents to make it better, but they can’t. They can’t break contact, they’re just as scared, if not more so, than he is.

And even the sunshine is beginning to make him feel funny now, tingling on his exposed skin more than it ever has.  He can feel his little body just drinking it up.

It’s too much for him.  All of that light he’s absorbed has to go somewhere.  And in his case, it goes everywhere.   It erupts from his body like a beacon, blasting up high into the sky.  He’d never know it, but official reports would say that the flare could be seen for miles.

***

Takiyo awoke to darkness, as he always did.  The accommodations of his dorm rooms were built to a very exacting standard.  The glass doors of the sliders could be turned completely opaque and heavy blackout curtains slid over them to keep even the smallest vestige of light from the cracks from slipping in.  The door sealed similarly, blocking out everything from the hallway.  His alarm clock displayed no illuminated numbers; those could only be turned on through a manual switch.

Everything that could be done to prevent him from absorbing any light had.  It would prevent him from absorbing too much overnight and hurting himself… or others.

He groped for his bedside table as he slid out of bed, finding the small remote there and pressed the single button on it once, turning on the lights.  His pajamas covered much, but still left his face, hands, and feet exposed.   It was really just enough light to see by.  Even then, he felt the tingle across his skin as soon as the light came on. Just from that little bit of light alone, he could see the blue-white glow starting to emerge from within him.

It had been this way since his Quirk had come in.  The belt and bracelets he wore helped to control it somewhat, gave him better means of directing the light he absorbed, but the fact remained that his Quirk was, by and large, very much out of his control.

It took him the better part of an hour to get ready for the day.  Even with no classes, it would not do to look anything less than perfect. There were standards to uphold, after all.  And it would be a crime to deprive the world of his face.   One of many reasons why he didn’t wear a mask to hide his features and block out the light.

As Papa said, “When you shine, mon fils, the world must always be allowed to see.”

Dark pants, a long-sleeved white shirt buttoned all the way up, matte-black boots (fashion nominally dictated they be polished and shine, but some sacrifices had to be made for his well-being) made up his outfit for the day, to which he added his bracelets and belt.  As soon as he clipped them on, he could feel the intensity of the light within him subside slightly.  

His room was tastefully decorated, the latest in interior decorating from France.  Light colors, mirrors, the dark wood of his furniture looking quite sharp.   He took a moment and drew in a breath, before pointing at the far wall.  He let out a beam of light from his fingers, like a powerful halogen lamp.  And he kept it up for several long seconds, feeling the light leaving his body.

It gave him an empty, hungry feeling.  It always did when he was low on light.  His body craved it as much as it craved food or water.  The eight hours of beauty sleep he got a night were about just as long as he could safely do.  But the empty feeling was immediately replaced by the feeling of sucking light in. What little illumination his ceiling light provided was better than nothing at all to his Quirk.  It wasn’t picky.

Steeling himself for the world outside, he opened his door.

***

Takiyo wakes up in a hospital bed.  Quirk Exhaustion, they’d later say.  His first manifestation of his Quirk being too much for his small body to handle.  It wouldn’t be the last time it would happen to him.

The lights around him are dimmed, leaving him mostly in darkness. But even then, he’s starting to glow. It doesn’t hurt this time.  It feels good, it makes him feel… full.

Even at his young age, he knows something is very, very wrong. More so than just being in the hospital.

There’s a curtain drawn around the bed, but he can hear someone talking to his father just outside it.

“I know you’ve had a traumatic experience, Mister Akasuki,” a voice says, “but I don’t think you you’re thinking clearly.  Your son is going to need you.  His Quirk is potentially very dangerous…”

A voice, his father’s, cuts the other off.  “Don’t you think I know that?” his father asks.  “But I just…  I can’t.   I’m not strong enough.  He’s my son, but all I can think about when I look at him is there’s the boy who took off my hand and killed my wife…”

There’s more arguing outside, but Takiyo can’t hear it.  He’s crying.  Is that right?  Is his mom dead?  Is it his fault?  Did he make his dad leave him?

Long, terribly long, minutes pass.  And then the curtain parts and a doctor enters.  He has dark hair that’s long enough to make Takiyo think he’s skipped a haircut and eyes that are solid black.  It’s a little creepy, but his smile is kindly, if sad.

“You’re awake,” he says.  “How’re you feeling?”

“Who… who are you?” Takiyo asks.  “Where’s my dad?”

“My name’s Haru Shima,” the doctor says.  He doesn’t answer the question about his dad.  “I’m your doctor.”  He comes and sits in the chair near the bed, and Takiyo flinches.

Doctor Shima sees him flinch, but he doesn’t move.  “It’s okay,” he said.  “You can’t hurt me.”  He takes a pen from the pocket of his white coat and hands it to Takiyo. “Here, throw this at me.”

Takiyo gives the pen a little toss.  He doesn’t know why he does it, but it gives him something else to think about.  The pen stops in mid-air before it hits the doctor and just falls as though it had hit a wall.  The doctor catches it easily.  “See?” he says.  “Anything gets too close to me, it stops before it can hurt me.  That’s my Quirk.”

That’s something, at least.  But it just makes him think about his parents.  “What about my dad?  Where’s my mom?”

Doctor Shima frowns.  “I’m sorry,” he says after a long moment.  “We should probably have the social worker here for this, but…”

***

Takiyo entered the Common Room to find it in chaos.  This wasn’t actually uncommon, but it was always a toss-up as to who would be responsible.   Had Mika Mineta angered Katsumi Kirishima-Bakugo?  Was Asuka Tokoyami’s Frog-Shadow acting up again?   Was Shota Shinso going on about something he saw on the internet and had dragged Toshinori Midoriya and Isamu Haimawari into it?

No, today’s nonsense came in the form of the far more usual suspects: Kimiko Ojiro, Kenta Sato, and Takuma Sero.   Ojiro was not quite as terrible as her partners in crime and he did find her an enjoyable source of gossip, but collectively, the three were nothing but trouble.  He blamed the Sero boy for corrupting them both.  Sero was sitting across from the other two, who were sitting at one of the dining tables.  

“Okay,” Sero said, keeping his phone pointed at Sato and Ojiro, “tell me what about you’re doing?”

Sato gave the camera a grin. “So this is a very special addition of Will Sato Eat it?  Kimiko here is going to give me something to eat, but she’s going to use her Quirk to make it invisible.   Without being able to see it or touch it, I’m going to have to guess what it is.”

Ojiro elbowed him in the side.  “Oh yeah,” Sato added hastily.  “Hastag invisi-lunch!”

Idiots, all of them. He understood the desire for fame. His papa had taught about controlling your image and putting your best face forward from the moment he had decided he was going to be a Hero. Takiyo knew all about how to stand out and shine.  But he also knew you didn’t do it through idiotic stunts and trying to go “viral.” To say nothing of the fact that neither Sero nor Sato had enough of a sense of style or stage presence to pull it off no matter what.  Ojiro, at least, did have some of that.

He just wanted to make himself some breakfast and now he had to deal with this. Very pointedly ignoring them, he made his way to the kitchen to start preparing an omelet.  They seemed to be ignoring his ignoring them (how very rude!) but he still took some satisfaction from not giving them the attention that they so obviously craved.

Unfortunately, even as he worked on his food, the noise from the others was distracting.  Every so often something would crunch or snap or make some other unnatural noise as Sato bit through whatever it was.   Already, Takiyo could see he had bitten the head off a garden gnome, taken a bite out of a Frisbee, eaten all he glass from a light bulb, and was about to take a bite out of a traffic cone.  It also looked like Ojiro had several more items on the table for Sato to taste, only some of which he could readily identify.   He let out a weary sigh.

“Is this going to be going on all morning?”

Sero stopped filming for a moment, putting his phone down and shooting him an angry look.  “Dude,” he said.  “You ruined my shot!  Don’t you know we’re supposed to have quiet on the set?”

Sato gave him an incredulous look.  “Dude. It’s not a set.  It’s the Common Room.”  Perhaps he had an ounce of sense after all.

“Aoyammmmma,” Ojiro whined, crossing her arms.  “Whyyyyy?”

“Because I’m tired of having to put up with the three of you acting like you’re going to be the next big thing.”

Sero frowned. “Dude.  That’s harsh.”

“Sometimes,” Takiyo shot back.  “Harsh reality is needed.”

***

It’s days later and his father still hasn’t come back for him. The nice lady from social services had said something about “giving up parental rights” and that they were “trying to find a nice home for him.”

They did lots of tests and they kept his room really dark. Every time there’s even the least little bit of light, he can feel his body and Quirk sucking greedily at it, wanting every bit of it.  It doesn’t look like he can turn that off, they say.  The hospital’s Quirk specialist says they’re trying to see if they can have any support gear made that will help him,

He spends most of his days crying.  He hurt his dad and…  

There’s no words around it.  He killed his mom.   He’s only four and he understands that much.  The nice Doctor Shima and everyone has tried to make him understand it wasn’t his fault, but he can’t stop thinking about it.

But Doctor Shima visits him every day, talks to him, makes him feel just a little less like a monster.  It doesn’t last, but it lasts for a moment.  It’s nice to have someone, at least, who isn’t afraid he might hurt them.

One time, Doctor Shima visits him with another man.  And he is the prettiest man Takiyo has ever seen. Skinny, with blonde hair.  He wears a thick belt that wraps around his middle and has a sparkle of his own.  Takiyo instantly tries to scoot farther back on the bed, away from the man’s light.

“It’s okay, Takiyo,” Doctor Shima says.  “Anything happens, I’m right here.  Nobody’s going to get hurt.”    He gestures to the other man.  “This is my husband, Yuga Aoyama.”

“Don’t… don’t get close,” Takiyo cries, desperately.  “I don’t want to hurt you!”

In spite of his warnings, Doctor Shima’s husband sits next to him.  He sees the slight glow coming from him, the little bit of light he’s absorbed from the machines in the room and the light from the hallway.  He looks over to Doctor Shima for a minute, who merely nods. His gaze quickly returns to Takiyo and Takiyo realizes he has some of the kindest eyes he’s ever seen.

“I too, know what it is like to have a Quirk that scares you, mon petit ami.  Mine has, most of my life.  But my husband tells me you have been very brave.  You must be very strong.”

“I don’t feel strong,” Takiyo says.  “I hurt my dad.  I hurt… I… my mom…”

Doctor Shima’s husband does something unexpected then, and he wraps his arms around Takiyo, completely unafraid.  “It was an accident,” Aoyama says.  “It was not your fault.  It was not your fault.”

Doctor Shima clears his throat.  “Takiyo…  my husband and I have been talking it over… and how would you like to come live with us?”

***

“Really?” Sero asked. “Now you’re just getting pissy. Do you have over a thousand followers on HeroTube?”

Takiyo put a hand to his chest.  “Over two thousand on InstaGlam.  Some of us are meant to shine.  Some of us are not.”

“So what you’re really saying is you’re not any different than us,” Sero said, pointing an accusing finger.  He moved from the table toward the kitchen.

“Guys…” Ojiro said, trying to come between them.

“This… is gonna be ugly,” Sato said, looking like he was trying to find an escape.

“Non,” Takiyo said.  “I, at least, am trading upon my natural grace and beauty.  You three are a sideshow attraction, trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator.  Which is fine for you.  But do not subject the rest of us to it.”

“You think you’re so much better than us,” Sero said.  “You try to hog the glory, you talk down to Mineta, you think you’re such hot stuff, always trying to show off.   Well, you’re not any different than any of us.  You… you’re…”

“You’re on fire,” Sato said.

“Of course I am,” Takiyo said.  “When you’re this good, you’re…”

“No!” Ojiro cried out. “You’re on fire!  Your arm!”

Takiyo looked down to see his sleeve had slipped near the burner of the stove.  He’d moved his omelet when he’d started ranting at the three idiots, but had neglected to turn the burner off.  And now his sleeve was very much on fire.  

“Aaah!”  he let out a cry of alarm.

“Aaah!” Sero cried.

“Aaah!”  screamed Ojiro and Sato.

Takiyo hastily turned to the sink, turning on the cold water and sticking his arm under it.  It extinguished the blaze and he did not seem to have any burns, but his shirt was ruined.  “This.  Was. Silk!”

“Whoa, dude,” Sero said, holding up both hands. Ojiro and Sato had moved to stand beside him. “You okay?”

“This is all your fault,” Takiyo snapped.   Before he even knew what he was doing, he threw up a hand and a beam of light lanced out towards the three of them.

The three acted surprisingly quickly.  Ojiro and Sato both wrapped their arms around Sero, who shot a stream of his tape up towards the ceiling and yanked, pulling all three of them out of the path of his light beam.  It struck the couch on the other end of the Common Room, but did no damage.  He didn’t have enough light stored up for that.  Not yet anyway.

***

Takiyo is five and a half years old and he has been living with Doctor Shima and Yuga Aoyama for more than a year.  Six months ago, they adopted him.  They didn’t ask him to forget his mom or dad, but they wanted him as a part of their family now and forever.  And they are good, kind people who love him and who aren’t afraid of his Quirk.  He wants to be a part of their family.  They spent part of their time in Japan and part of their time in France, where some of his papa’s family is from.  His papa is a famous hero and his dad is a doctor.  

He doesn’t see his old friends anymore.  Their parents are afraid of him, won’t let them play with him. But he’s made new friends, the kids of his papa’s friends. They aren’t afraid of him.  Maybe he doesn’t get as close to them as he’d like, but they are good people too.

He is six when he decides he wants to be a Hero like Papa. Papa’s friends, Mrs. Yaoyorozu and Mrs. Iida do some tests on him and design him a belt and bracelets to wear, like the belt Papa wears.  He works with Papa to learn how to use his Quirk. He will be a Hero.

“In this world,” Papa tells him once, “there will be many people who say you cannot do it.  Because you need support.  Because your Quirk is not quite right for who you are.  You must ignore it.  You shine and show the world your sparkle.  You will take them all by storm and prove the wrong.”

So he tries to always shine, to always sparkle.  He has to prove everyone wrong.  He has to be the best, so that no one can ever say there is anything wrong with him again.

***

Sero had somehow managed to swing his trio from one spot to another across the Common Room ceiling.  Takiyo had continued trying to tag them with light blasts—one good one would probably make him lose his grip and then he could get his hands on them—but to no avail.

Unfortunately, their fighting had attracted attention of others in the dorm and they now all found themselves under the disapproving glares of Asuka Tokoyami and Akaya Koda.

“Someone please explain to me why you’re turned the Common Room into a shooting gallery?” Tokoyami asked, one finger aside her beak.

Sero and Takiyo both pointed at the other.  “He started it!” they said as one.

Tokoyami let out a groan. “I don’t know why I expected anything else,” she said.

“Kenta,” Koda said, looking to her friend.  “Could you tell us what happened?”

The thick-lipped young man looked guiltily at Sero.  “We were filming and Aoyama started yelling at us… But Takuma started yelling back and then Aoyama got distracted and set himself on fire and it kind of spiraled from there.”

Under the dual gaze of the most responsible and level-headed members of the class, Takiyo did not especially feel like putting up an argument.  Koda was of one of the few members of the class who did not seek to make him less than he was.  And Tokoyami had mastered the art of “disappointed in you” to a level he was not fully certain he understood.

“Clean up the mess, please,” Tokoyami said.  “I don’t want any of you getting in trouble with Aizawa for destroying the dorm.”

“Aw, but we were going to…” Ojiro began.   Sato gave her a nudge in the ribs.  “Oh, okay.”

Takiyo grumbled, but reluctantly nodded.

He couldn’t afford to let anything jeopardize his future as a Hero.

Because he had to be a Hero. And a famous, important one at that.   Because if he saved people, if he saved everyone, if everyone loved him…

Then maybe he could save enough people to make up for what he’d done.  Maybe one day he could look in the mirror and see a Hero, instead of someone who’d killed his own mom.

[kansascityhappenings]

Activists give jailed moms a Mother’s Day gift: bail

PHOENIX — Paz Lopez was set to spend Mother’s Day behind bars. The 42-year-old mother of six had been locked up in a Phoenix jail for the past month on forgery and other charges. She couldn’t post her $2,050 bail.

But on Thursday night she walked out and into a car waiting to give her a ride home, thanks to a drive to bail out moms so they can spend Mother’s Day with their kids. In a tearful video made immediately after her release, Lopez said it was a privilege that she would now get to see her children. She welled up when speaking about the coming birth of her first grandchild.

“There’s just no greater feeling than being a mother,” Lopez said. “I’m grateful for both of you to help me be able to spend the day with them and be able to see my grandchild be born.”

Lopez had her bail covered by Living United for Change in Arizona, or LUCHA, a social and racial justice group. The organization said they were inspired to do this for a second year by an initiative known as “Black Mamas Bail Out,” which is posting bail for dozens of mothers of color for the third straight year.

The effort is organized by the National Bail Out collective, a coalition of various grassroots groups, attorneys and activists nationwide. The campaign hopes to bail out more than 100 women in 35 cities in time for Mother’s Day. The objective is not just to reunite families but to push for change in the cash bail system.

Critics contend the nation’s courts are unfairly punishing poor defendants by setting high bail for low-level crimes that causes them to languish in jail for months, separating them from their jobs and families. In some cases, they remain locked up until their case is dismissed or they take a guilty plea just so they can get out of jail, albeit with a criminal record. There has been a national push to reform bail by advocates who say incarceration should depend on a suspect’s risk to public safety, not the ability to pay.

Mary Hooks, co-director of Atlanta-based Southerners On New Ground, came up with the idea in 2016. She joined with Law For Black Lives, a female-led network of lawyers and legal advocates, to bring together a collective of organizations. It’s been difficult at times to get sympathy, she said, because people often think someone sitting in jail pre-trial must have done something wrong.

“We’re in a political time right now where ‘Barbecue Becky’ or anyone else can call the police on someone and you can get arrested instantly for barbecuing,” Hooks said, referring to the white woman who called police on two black men using a grill in an Oakland, California, park. The men were not arrested. “This notion ‘you’re in jail because you’ve done something horrible,’ we have to remind ourselves we have a Constitution that says ‘innocent until proven guilty.’”

Jaymeshia Jordan, of Oakland, said she would have faced another 10 months in jail if she hadn’t been rescued by a bailout two days before last Mother’s Day by Oakland advocacy group Essie Justice Group. Jordan, who declined to say what she was arrested for, faced a $450,000 bail. She had no way of paying even a fraction of that on her own or with a bail bondsman.

“I would have just sat in custody till my case was over,” Jordan said.

She was in jail for three months. In that time, her 5-year-old son lost his first tooth and learned how to tie his shoes.

Organizations choose who to assist based on referrals from attorneys and other activists. They don’t take into account whether a woman is accused of a violent or non-violent crime. According to the collective’s organizers, the mothers they help show up at court at “high rates” but the majority of the money they’ve handed out for bail hasn’t been returned.

LUCHA, the Phoenix group, plans to fund as many bail releases as possible with the $9,000 they have raised. Organizers Nicole Hale said they will offer mothers additional support including court date reminders and rides.

“We don’t just hand someone a piece of paper and say ‘good luck.’ They don’t have to go through the system alone,” Hale said.

Several studies suggest that bail amounts are set sometimes as much as three times higher for people of color, said Shima Baughman, a criminal law professor at the University of Utah College of Law. Even a $200 bail for a misdemeanor crime can be beyond what’s in a person’s bank account.

According to a 2018 report from the non-partisan Prison Policy Initiative, roughly 2.9 million women are jailed in the U.S. every year. An estimated 80% are either pregnant or have children.

Women of color are even more heavily impacted, especially if they are working mothers who likely earn lower salaries, according to Baughman. A few days in jail can lead to the loss of a job or child custody.

“When women are the ones that bear most of the burdens in the family, their kids are the ones that are going to suffer,” Baughman said. “Because in many families, women are responsible for working outside the home and also for child care, they can face dire circumstances with their children when they are forced to serve even a couple of nights in jail.”

Jeff Clayton, executive director of the American Bail Coalition, said some of these Mother’s Day bailouts are publicity stunts that don’t tackle the larger issue of affordability of bail. It’s unrealistic for organizers to call for a cash-free bail system, he added.

“Not to say these people aren’t doing good work,” Clayton said. “But it’s questionable whether saying they’re an abolitionist and banning all money bail is really the best solution.”

In the past few years, several states have made moves to overhaul their own system including New Jersey, Alaska and New Mexico. There are more than 200 bail reform bills nationwide, according to Baughman. In California, voters next year will decide whether to overturn a law eliminating bail altogether for suspects awaiting trial. Instead, counties would set up their own risk-assessment programs through probation departments.

However, computer algorithms or risk-assessment programs can be biased as well, Baughman said.

Paying for bail has become a growing strategy for local communities to divert the prison pipeline. Last month, rapper T.I. and VH1’s “Love and Hip Hop” personality Scrapp Deleon joined with an Atlanta church to help post bail for nonviolent offenders for Easter. They exceeded their goal and raised $120,000. Sixteen men and seven women got to go home.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/05/11/activists-give-jailed-moms-a-mothers-day-gift-bail/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/05/11/activists-give-jailed-moms-a-mothers-day-gift-bail/