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stillinghagen72 · 1 month

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Comparing The Insurance Policy Agent With Online Van Insurance

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runveganwankerrun · 1 year

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Long run - the next day

Mon 23rd Jan '23

Thoughts the day after the long run.

I think the Tailwind helped a lot. I made up 750 ml and put it in my backpack. I took three small sips each time my watch buzzed the km markers, and it was just the right amount of liquid. It was my first time in ages using fuelling. I’ve avoided it so I could run with less kit. It was time to get used to it again, and it was time to see if it would make a difference to the run. I think it definitely did. I don’t think I tired as quickly as last week. I was at pretty much the same level of discomfort all the way through. That’s bloody good over 20k. If I can maintain that for a whole marathon, I’ll be well chuffed. I think another effect of the fuelling was on my muscles after the run. I don’t think they were quite as sore at the end, didn’t seize up as much. Conclusion? I will use it again on the next long run, which is 21k, but I will make up slightly more.

Boredom is a proper issue on these longer runs. Even with good music and a podcast that I’m enjoying, I just don’t want to be out, or on my feet, for that length of time. Over two hours is a long time, and by the time I get another few weeks in, it will be over three hours. That’s why I’ve said before that I need to fine a different, more positive mindset of the longer runs. I think my main option might be to find a training partner. I have a major problem here though, routed in my awkward, contrary personality. I get annoyed when I’m by myself, but I also get annoyed when I’m with someone else. As the miles get longer, it takes less and less to bug the fuck out of me. Is it wise to subject another personality to my repellent moods? I want people to remain friends with me! 😆 I don’t know what I’m going to do about it yet. Suffer alone for a while yet, me thinks.

I have a couple of niggles now. When the run was over, there was just the standard tiredness, and as I mentioned above, my legs didn’t seem to feel quite as heavy as last week. A few hours afterwards however, my right foot, inside of the ankle, was hurting a little. I taped it up before going to club training to hopefully keep any pain under control. It’s not too bad, I just don’t want it to turn in to anything. That was yesterday after the run. Today, my right knee hurt a little. Sound as if I’m starting to fall apart, but neither the foot nor the knee are even at a four out of ten. Nothing to worry about thus far, but worth keeping an eye on.

My time yesterday would suggest that my predicted marathon time will be about the five hour mark. I will try to make myself okay with that. It feels like a step down, but it’s really not. I can’t pretend though that I wouldn’t rather be closer to four hours than five. A drop in weight would help, but I’ve stayed in around 160lb for ages now.

I sent Coach my run report yesterday. This is my plan for the week.

1. Club Fartlek

2. Easy peasy 7km

3. Club 400s. Like FAST! But steadily paced

4. 21 km

5.Optional 5km

Today’s club Fartlek session. I’m really pleased. I ran an average pace which was under 6 min per km. First time I’ve managed 5k in under thirty minutes. YAY! The steady sections were a good effort. They were the main bulk of the session. The fast bits could have been faster, but they were still okay. It was a good night’s work, especially as I nearly talked myself out of it. Around six o’clock I was seriously considering putting my pyjamas on and vegging out in front of the telly. I went upstairs and nearly did get undressed. Instead I got into my running gear, telling myself that if I wasted this evening as an opportunity to run, then I’d have less of a comfort zone for the rest of the week. I should really run at least two days in a row before I take a rest day. As is always the case, I was glad I ran.

You never regret a run. This is today’s lesson.

#runblr #fitblr #long run #Tailwind #training plan #niggles #boredom #running club #marathon #fartlek

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casaplaya · 2 years

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Licorna Holiday Apartments In Umhlanga Rocks

The modern kitchen is fully geared up with all home equipment. There is a microwave oven, under counter oven and hob, washer, dryer and dishwasher. There is a wonderful swimming pool for the exclusive use by visitors residing at Ben Siesta. The fashionable kitchen is newly renovated and fully geared up including an underneath counter oven, hob, microwave, dish washer and fridge.

King Shaka International Airport is a 15 minute drive from Umhlanga. Situated 800m from the village centre, these magnificent apartments are also inside walking distance to eating places, pubs, café’s and shopping centres. Leading off the lounge are sliding doors onto the patio with the most spectacular views of the ocean and the beaches. Sit on the patio in the morning and luxuriate in your cup of coffee while watching the solar rise and listening to the sound of the waves below you. I am back at work after a wonderful holiday at your house.

This all inside a stone’s throw of the center of the charming Umhlanga Rocks village, solely 15 minutes from the airport and within 80 metres of the principle swimming seaside. Parked the car and never used it the whole trip, walking distance to beach and metropolis life. Having wifi was unbelievable so I might keep up with work. Would highly suggest to anyone on the lookout for a calming getaway.

Off the lounge, eating space are sliding doorways that lead out to the backyard. This luxury, two-bedroom, self catering apartment is situated north of Umhlanga, 5km from the center of Umhlanga Rocks. Please notice that the apartment is on the bottom flooring, but there holiday apartments in umhlanga is a flight of stairs main down to the apartment from the parking. The apartment is air-conditioned throughout, with both heating and cooling functions. There are additionally ceiling fans in the dwelling room and each bedrooms.

Boasting 2 en-suite bathrooms from the bedrooms, open-plan designs, smart-ready living and premium fixtures, these apartments make your visit a breeze. This apartment area has 1 devoted, safe underground parking bays for residents to make the most of. Enjoy fast entry to Umhlanga choices, the seashore and Umhlanga Arch co-working areas and excessive street.

The apartment presents 3 bedrooms and a pair of bogs, open plan lounge and eating area and a kitchen. 14 Kyalanga is located on the first flooring of this beachfront complicated with partial sea views. This totally equipped, modern self catering apartment offers you direct beach holiday apartments in umhlanga access. The apartment consists of a lounge, eating area and a kitchen. There are three double bedrooms with a major en-suite and a separate rest room for the other two bedrooms. Leading off the open plan lounge and eating room are sliding doors which take you onto the beautiful patio with spectacular sea views.

The apartment has important services and It is near all the places we needed to get to throughout our stay. Kimona and Clinton were extremely pretty, reliable and really much understanding. 703 Oyster Schelles is located in the heart of Umhlanga’s upmarket beachfront space. This apartment overlooks a panoramic expanse of sea and has direct...

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Professional providers agency, PwC, has relocated to a brand new purpose-built building within the Ridgeside Office Park in La Lucia. Aaron Brink, a one-time MMA fighter who went on to star in porn movies, gave a sequence of interviews this week after his son was arrested for finishing up a mass shooting.... During her time as a nanny for billionaires and millionaires, Kathryn Lord travelled to gorgeous areas everywhere in the world and was gifted a glimpse at the existence of the elite.... Emily and Pete had been spotted collectively at a star-spangled NBA sport on Sunday night, seated subsequent to Ben Stiller and his wife.... Our native and international holiday packages have been carefully designed by our Travel Experts to empower you, the traveller, to explore the world regardless of expertise or finances. At a later stage we want to additionally show the map and its directions, so it will merely present you a text based model of your directions.

Sea Glass is a welcoming self-catering visitor house located in Freeland Park, a preferred suburb of Scottburgh and is just minutes away from a number of well-liked coastal actions. Whether you're planning a holiday or traveling on enterprise you will benefit from the relaxed and clear environment of Valley View Apartments in Durban. The apartments are situated holiday apartments in umhlanga one block up from in style Addington Beach. Up market Bed and Breakfast located excessive on the unique Umhlanga Ridge with gorgeous ocean views. Fantastic location for all your business or leisure needs. Relax and unwind on our magnificent sundeck and watch the ships sail off into the blue.

#accommodation

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ghostdrew22 · 3 years

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Glass Shatters || Draco Malfoy

Requested: No Pairing: Draco Malfoy x fem!reader, also kinda Blaise x fem!reader Warnings: mentions of drinking, toxicity, ANGST, just pure fucking angst and asshole!draco, oh and swearing lol Summary: You realise that it’s time to end things with Draco when he hurts you one last time. AU with no Voldemort - 7th Year.

WORDS : 2294

Lyrics taken from ‘What Do I Tell My Friends’ by Bree Runway (the loml)

~~~

Hold me, don't let me go I'm fragile, I'm gonna fall right into you Catch time that I have lost Fly high, free fall, ooh

There’s always been something so beautiful about the way that glass shatters, loud and chaotic, scattering shards of itself everywhere and lodging itself in places that it doesn’t belong. It’s poetically exquisite, to just come apart and spread into tinier pieces of what you were once before, but it’s grossly painful to wear oneself out like that.

Sometimes, though not often enough, there is someone there to catch the glass before it hits the ground and scatters into a million pieces. A safety net, perhaps is the right word, there to protect those lattices from coming into contact with the hard surface that awaits them. Something to keep them from separating like the tangled limbs of playful children on a trampoline when they come back down to land against the woven polypropylene. But there’s not often a safety net waiting for you to fall.

And maybe that’s why people typically shatter like glass.

Turn it up for a wild one Turn it up for a wild one Turn it up for a wild one I'll get stupid, I'll get dumb (Uh-huh) Turn it up for a wild one Turn it up for a wild one Turn it up, turn it up, uh

You catch a glimpse of Draco across the room. He’s doing it again. He’s got one arm around Cho Chang’s shoulder and another around Millicent Bullstrode’s, and not a single sliver of attention is being directed toward you.

You’re not fragile. No. You never have been.

For as long as you can remember, you’ve prided yourself on being strong, on being able to protect yourself. What most people see when they look at you is power and ferocity- you're made of what Gods are made of and almost everyone knows it. You are not fragile.

But when it comes to Draco, you are like a frail baby bird that's always being nursed back to health. That was what a routine like the two of you had demanded. Submission, protection, but most would call it toxicity. You are putty in his hands and he knows it- every wall that you’ve ever built to protect yourself is nothing more than a child’s play pen when Draco is involved.

You catch his eye and scowl at the mischievous grin that he’s got on his face. He knows how much you despise his flirtatious nature, and it’s exactly that reason that encourages him to keep it up. You’re a beast that’s not to be messed with, like a tiger lodged in a cage, and he’s the only one that knows how to tame you. It always goes down the same way; he insists that the two of you need to keep it on the down-low, he then proceeds to flirt with everyone, you get upset, the two of you get in an argument and well... he always wins.

You're not fragile yet he always gets a reaction out of you.

But not tonight, no. Tonight it’ll be different.

Tonight you’re going to have a good time, with or without that snow-flake haired prick. You turn beside you where Neville, your best friend, is seated and smile at him.

“Neville, want to get smashed with me?”

“Always, Y/N.” Neville responds with a grin and you excitedly get up to get you both some drinks.

You're g-g-getting way too close (Oh oh, oh oh) Stop blowin' up my phone (Oh oh, oh oh) Just let me be alone (Oh oh, oh oh) It's gotta come to an end 'Cause what do I tell my friends? What do I tell my friends?

Draco catches a glimpse of you leaving the couch where Neville, Blaise and Hannah are sitting, and decides to follow you toward the drinks table.

“Whoring around are we?” He asks with his eyebrows raised and you roll your eyes.

“Oh please, you’re one to talk.”

“What the fuck did you just say?”He tugs on your chin and brings you up to face him.

“First of all,” You start as you softly remove his hand from your chin and lower it to his side, “You heard me. Second of all,” You put a hand to his chest and gently shove him backwards, “Back up please, I can smell your breakfast from here.”

He runs his tongue along the inside of his cheek in annoyance. “Y/N, this bratty behaviour-“

“Call me a brat, ever again, and I’ll make sure that’s the last thing you ever call me.” You smile, “I have a name, stick to it.”

This is very new for Draco, he’s never seen you speak so calmly in the heat of an argument. He’s seen you rage at him, yell until your lungs are sore and throat is raw, clench your fists so tight that crescent moons form in your palm. But he’s never seen you like this, never so collected. If he’s being completely honest, your level-headed appearance is throwing him off.

“Whatever pothead Neville’s given you is clearly fucking with your head, let’s go back to my dorm-“ He starts as he inches closer and grabs your wrist.

You yank yourself out of his grip and take a few steps away from him, “As tempting as that offer sounds, I’m good thanks.” When you notice the look of confusion painting across his features you smile awkwardly, “I know how this always ends so I’d much rather be alone.”

“So I’m just supposed to wait until you don’t want to be alone anymore?” He asks with a scoff.

“It’s not like I haven’t been doing that for you.” You accuse and watch as he clenches his jaw in frustration, a sign that his patience for you is wearing thin. “And that’s not what I meant. I want to be alone, indefinitely.”

“What?”

“This,” You gesture between the both of you, “Is over. I can’t do it anymore.”

“Oh my fuck, do what Y/N?”

“All of it. I can’t keep sneaking around anymore like some kind of dirty secret. I can’t keep watching you flirt with everyone that’s within a 5km radius, and I can’t keep lying to my friends. What am I meant to tell them when I go disappearing for hours at a time and come back, covered in hickeys?”

“Nothing. It's no one's business.” He grits out angrily and you scoff with a small laugh.

“You’re pathetic. We’re done.” You utter before walking away from him, and his little corner, and go back to join Blaise, Hannah and Neville on the dance floor.

In the mirror like you're tough, right? I shoulda known once when you bit twice Drip drop both my , yeah I been nice Vodka overdose but no ice I'm done catching feelings, I catch flights Was in the dark but I got bright Not crawling back to you tonight Not crawling back to you tonight, tonight

“Shots, now.” You mumble once you get back to your friends and they waste no time obliging.

Draco’s had the pleasure of picking you apart like a worn out doll for too long, you won’t tolerate it anymore. He calls, you run. He warns, you heed. He scolds, you leave. Whatever he wants, you do without a moment of hesitation. When had you become so easily prey to his antics? You steal a glance of him checking himself out in a nearby mirror and feel your throat close up in disgust. How can someone so gorgeous be so horrible?

Deep down, beneath all that beauty and cockiness, is a vulnerable, scared and loveless little boy who didn’t learn to outgrow his insecurities. He can pretend all he wants that he’s a diamond but you’ll always know, he’s dark and desolate like a stone of coal. Something inside of him is fractured beyond repair and now he’s just remnants of disintegrated life. And try as hard as you might, you can’t fix whatever’s broken inside him. It’s not your job to anyway.

You always run back to him, in hopes of finally curing the malaise that torments his soul, but not tonight. No. Tonight will be different.

Turn it up for a wild one Turn it up for a wild one Turn it up for a wild one I'll get stupid, I'll get dumb (Uh-uh) Turn it up for a wild one Turn it up for a wild one Turn it up, turn it up, uh

“Is this a party or a funeral? For fucks sake, turn it up Ginny!” You shout as you turn behind you to face the beautiful ginger that’s controlling the music.

“Anything for you Y/N.” She responds flirtatiously as she sends you a wink and proceeds to turn up the volume to the music. You look away from her with a dopey smile, trying to pretend that her wink hadn’t made butterflies erupt in your stomach. Oh Ginny. If you hadn’t wasted so much time pining after that blond prat then maybe you’d have gotten to her before Harry had.

“Come dance with me!” Blaise yells over the music and you happily agree as you let him take your hand and move you toward the makeshift dancefloor.

Any other time, you would have refused. It’s no secret that, despite being best friends, Blaise and Draco can be very competitive. Blaise had always been your friend and Draco, had not. But it was quite obvious to anyone who had eyes that the two of them both took quite a liking to you, and while your relationship with Draco isn’t public, it’s still never a good idea to get too close to Blaise. But fuck good ideas, tonight none of it matters.

If Draco likes to see you angry then today he’ll see you seething. Every unspoken rule that’s ever sat between the two of you will now be broken so harshly that it’ll shake him to his core.

You wait until you’ve spotted him in the room, then you hook your arms around Blaise’s neck and allow his hands to fall on your waist as a measure to guide you along with him. It’s not long until Draco sees you, and when his eyes lock with yours, you know that he’s positively enraged. If this is a game, today you are winning.

He’s almost always got the upper hand. But not tonight. No. Tonight is different.

Before you know it Draco is crossing the room and yanking you away from Blaise by the arm, dragging you to an abandoned section of the room.

“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Why are you hovering so close to me?” You ask in frustration as you step back from him. “Sheesh.”

“Sheesh? Sheesh?” He repeats in disbelief and you have to resist the urge to laugh. “Y/N, how much have you had to drink?”

“Not enough apparently, considering I’m standing here with you and not grinding against your better looking counterpart.” You mumble and Draco scoffs.

“Blaise is not better looking than me-“

“Okay Romeo, whatever you say.” You cut him off with a giggle, “Are we done here or was there more?”

“Was there more?” He repeats in a mocking tone, like a child making fun of their childhood friend. “Of course there was bloody more!”

His outburst has you laughing, genuinely laughing, and for a second you see the Draco Malfoy that got you into this mess in the first place. Your funny, good-looking, charming classmate that you accidentally allowed to creep into your heart. But he’s not the real Draco, no, that Draco doesn’t actually exist.

You bring your hand up to cup his cheek and, without even thinking, say “I wish that this was the real you.” He furrows his eyebrows at you, clearly confused, but you continue nonetheless. “I can’t keep doing this Draco, I love you but I love myself more and I can’t allow you to get in the way of my wellbeing any longer.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs, “How am I getting in the way of your wellbeing?”

“Tell me that you love me too, right now, say it.” You shrug.

“Y/N, you can’t jus-“

“Okay, tell me that we can go public.” You revert and he swallows.

“Why are you-“

“Fuck, I’ll make it easy for you.” You interrupt him once again and give him a thin smile, “Tell me that what we have is real and that we’re in a relationship.”

He opens his mouth but no words come out and you nod your head awkwardly in understanding.

“Y/N, it’s not that-“

You scoff and shake your head in disbelief, “Your chest is hollow and yet you still have no space for me.”

“No-“

You blink back tears as you continue, “You push away everyone that cares about you and then you turn around and complain about the fact that there’s no one left to root for you. How can I possibly be in your corner when you’re continuously trying to shove me out of it?”

There are tears welling in your eyes but you don’t let them fall, no, he doesn’t deserve to make you cry.

He looks at you in shock and you know that you’re not getting any kind of closure from him. Despite how hard you’d tried to convince yourself otherwise, you had always been nothing more than a warm bed that he could settle into when he was lonely. The fire in you that he’s always admired seems to dwindle whenever you’re beneath his gaze, and now you realise that it’s not fair for you to die out for him.

“I hope you learn to start letting people in.” You whisper before giving him a kiss on the cheek and walking back toward your friends.

He watches you walk away from him and struggles to sort through his thoughts. No, no, no. You can’t leave him, everyone else has already left him. You’re safe, you’re warm, you’re you, and Draco knows that he has feelings for you but how can he possibly convey that when words always get trapped in his throat like a cricket in a shoebox?

He knows what he wants to say to you, the words are scraping against the belt of his mouth like knives ripping through tape on a cardboard box, but how does he get them out, how does he make you understand?

Maybe that’s just it, he doesn’t.

He doesn’t make you understand. He doesn’t get you. He breaks, little by little, with every step you take away from him.

What do I tell my friends? What do I tell my friends? What do I tell my friends?

“What was that about?” Blaise asks in your ear and you roll your eyes as you pull back to look at him.

“Draco being immature, nothing important.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Blaise smiles sheepishly. “I was worried that maybe something was going on between you two.”

You smile brightly at the boy as you bring his hands down to your waist and sway to the music. “Why would that worry you Zabini?”

“I’m kind of into you.” Blaise whispers before bringing his lips down to connect with yours.

You don’t notice, too engulfed in the feeling of Blaise’s lips against yours, but across the room Draco’s eyes are focused quite intently on you and Blaise. When the two of you kiss Draco drops the glass that he had been holding, and he thinks that maybe he’s that glass; being smashed to smithereens.

~~~

Okay, I’ll stop with angst now... (maybe) I have the sudden desire to write fluff so the sequel to ‘Falling Out Of Love With Astoria Greengrass’ will definitely be wholesome and fluffy.

I’m probably not going to post again for a few days, I’m a bit worn out rn, but I’ll be back to writing soon!

anyway, love you all

jean <3

#draco #draco malfoy #draco x y/n #draco imagine #draco fanfiction #draco malfoy angst #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy fluff #draco malfoy imagine #draco angst #draco fluff #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter imagine

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kannra21 · 3 years

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Sniperhaul fanfic

ˡᵐᵃ�� ᶦ ᶜᵃⁿ'ᵗ ᵇᵉˡᶦᵉᵛᵉ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᶦ'ᵐ ᵈᵒᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰᶦˢ

Overhoe finally broke out of Tartarus after a very long time. However, he couldn't have done it without the help of a certain villain mistress. 😏 Who's she and why did she choose to help this terrible (x2) man? Find out bellow.

characters: overhaul (chisaki kai) x sniper lady

word count: 3k

warnings: angst, past memories, handless overhaul, hurt, comfort, gangs, yakuza, just girl taking care of her mans

notes: I'd like to thank the person responsible for proofreading this work bc I'm supposed to keep their identity a secret. 😎 Thank you once again! And of course, the manga and characters belong to Kohei Horikoshi. @meefal you were excited to see the final product so here you go, hope you like it. 🖤

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Overhaul couldn't remember how long he'd been there, he'd lost count weeks ago. The only thing he knew was that he was in "Tartarus", a prison located 5km off the coast of the Mainland. It may function like a conventional prison, but in reality, those who're deemed a severe threat toward the safety of the nation were locked up and monitored closely, regardless of whether their sentence has been decided on yet. The facility was divided into 6 levels, where the potential threat level of criminals was deemed "higher" the further underground you go. It's a prison where, once you enter, there's no chance of leaving.

He sat there in his cell, B10 being the lowest level in solitary confinement. It was too cold for his head to function and too dark for his eyes to see, with the small window above the prison doors being his only source of light. There was also an opening where prisoners received their meals, but considering that he lost his hands, the guards could easily enter without worrying too much for their well-being. They'd leave whatever they offered that day and give him a disgusted look before locking the doors after themselves. He couldn't see his reflection nor touch his face, he probably looked like crap by now. His skin was itching and he felt disoriented from all the germs occupying this space, it's been a while since he's gone out for some fresh air.

He was practically Quirkless and yet they locked him out in the worst, most dreadful place the isolation block had to offer. He couldn't even feed himself properly, he couldn't do anything by himself whatsoever. But there was only one thing left to him; he spent days and days thinking about pops, Chrono, yakuza and everything he could have if it weren't for those stupid heroes-- no, if it weren't for his plan that so grandiosely failed. It made him feel miserable, desperate even, and with grief soon followed acceptance. It was all his fault, and he needed to live with this burden for the rest of his life. Because of him, pops is still handicapped to the bed somewhere, wherever the heroes might have taken him.

He stood up and started beating the cell with his leg, curing his frustrations. He didn't know why he was doing it, it was irrational and he's hurting himself unnecessarily, but for some reason it made him feel lighter. At least he could transfer some of his inner pain to the outside world. Other criminals laughed at his patheticness, especially since they knew why the guards were allowed to enter his cell. They shouted that it was impossible to escape, but he wasn't trying to. He knew that it was useless a long time ago.

Midnight came and all the prisoners mostly fell asleep. Overhaul, however, couldn't sleep a wink. Because of the dark room he spent most of his days in, he lost his sense of time so he was pacing around, deep in thought. He couldn't dream of anything nice anyways.

"Can't fall asleep either?" a feminine voice could be heard from the other side. Wait. They allowed women here? What could she have possibly done to deserve such punishment?

He leaned his back on the doors and slid down to the floor, trying to find the right words.

"Yes." he sighed, enthusiasm lacking in his voice "But it's not like I need you to talk about my problems."

"Hm, whatever. Go beat your head against the bars. Fall unconscious, loser."

The man snorted, which might as well be his first time he ever did that.

"Well, this certainly sounds effective. It's not like I have anything to lose anyways."

"Hey." the tone of her voice was earnest, and it aroused further questions in his jumbled up head.

"What?"

"We're going to get out of here."

Is she being serious now? "Really? Because as far as I know, we're locked out here for good. We don't even know the severity of our sentences. They can do whatever they want with us."

"Not quite. You know that they're being supervised by 'The Hearts and Mind' party offshoots. They can’t do a thing to us as long as they have their heads to the pikes."

This might be true, but he didn't believe in anything the government's been telling them lately. It's only a matter of time before they switch their plans and play by their own rules, because stabbing people in the back was the only thing they've ever been good at.

"How did you end up here?"

Oh the long-awaited question. She wondered when he'd ask.

"It's not like I need you to talk about my problems."

He smiled, he liked this vicious side of hers. But he also realized that she could be nice as well because if that wasn't the case, she wouldn't spread promises of the escape. At least that's what he thought.

"Sorry about that."

"It's okay. We've all been here for a very long time, now weren't we? We lose our cool and act like total assholes."

"Direct and straight to the point I see." his deadpan voice could be heard from the other side of the bars.

"'Been raised this way, for the better or worse." it didn't sound like she was bragging, yet it felt like she was just talking about herself, honest and confident, to cover up what she felt was wrong. The incoming topic which she'd rather avoid.

The villainess didn't want to open up about her past, so she just answered his question.

"I killed people beyond counting, following AFO's orders. He always wished to become the world's greatest demon lord and thus promised us enormous change in the hero society. So in order to achieve that, he needed his underlings. And that's how I ended up here."

"You were loyal till the end."

"You know what they say; there can be no progress nor achievement without certain sacrifice."

Wise beyond her years and just as sad. He wondered how her face looked like, how the world's been treating her.

"I had my own sacrifices as well."

"Do you regret them?"

...

"I do."

Now it was her turn to snort "Really? And I thought that people situated this low couldn't have regrets. You remember what they said about us. 'Beasts in human clothing', 'Simply dreadful beings'."

He felt insulted, maybe the things she said were true but it's not like he was anything similar to these pigs he shared the same air with, unfortunately.

"I regret hurting the person important to me. The old man who once took me in when I was very young. He was the infamous boss of Shie Hassaikai."

Something clicked in her, it's such a small world they're living in, "Yakuza? I know you guys. We used to trade with you back in the days."

"Todou Gang?"

"You said it."

"But... you were a force to be reckoned with. One day you just collapsed and not a single trace could be found. According to certain sources, there was no way anyone could determine the exact cause of your downfall. So what happened?"

"I killed them all."

...

"AFO told me to kill them to prove my loyalty to him and, of course, to make sure that there was no one I could turn to other than himself."

For some questionable reasons, and he didn't dare to admit that it was empathy he felt towards a random stranger and a former gang member he shared some history with, Overhaul wanted to fill the silence that lingered between them. Perhaps, because he felt guilty for making her reveal more than what she initially intended.

"I used pops' niece, a 6-year-old girl who had an extraordinary Quirk; it allowed her to rewind a person's body back to a certain state. That means she could put a body back to before it was injured or before the person even developed a Quirk. With that, I wanted to create a Quirk-erasing drug to get rid of the Quirk society altogether and to make sure that yakuza could rise once again. I cut her skin every day to take blood samples and to test her regenerative abilities. However, pops didn't approve of it, so I handicapped him to the bed and planned on waking him up the moment I realized my plan, to make him proud of the achievement. Unfortunately, it didn't play out as I wanted and I never reached him."

The silence followed and the woman wore a disheartening smile on her face. It's not the answer she expected, she didn't ask for another sad story from another messed up person she's met in her life. But the intentions were pure and for her, it was good enough.

"We both fought for something only to lose it all, huh?" she laughed, but it was prominent in her tone that it was bittersweet.

"At least you're brought here in one piece."

"At least you can still revive your parent."

Were they comforting each other? Were they jealous of each other? Were they wallowing in self-pity? They couldn't tell. The only thing they certainly could was the embarrassment they felt from the moment they realized that some of the prisoners were eavesdropping and making fun of their vulnerabilities. See? That's what they hated the most about opening up about themselves; they were worried about their feelings being perceived as a joke. The only way to protect themselves was to rise up the walls and never let anyone get closer, except they didn't regret exchanging a word or two, as long as it was the two of them.

The next day, 8:34PM Mainland-side entrance, the guardians of 'The Bronze Gate' announced a code red security lockdown. Panic and shouting could be heard from across the hall and the security alarm announced the potential danger.

"Close any and all passageways on each floor. All workers are to enforce strict measures to maintain order."

"The surveillance system is down! It seems like we've been hit by some sort of EMP attack!"

Static waves were spreading around the metal frames and the prison doors of the isolation block unlocked. Overhaul could hear the commotion outside and the villains leaving their cells in a hurry, but as much as he tried, he couldn't push the heavy doors open.

"3 seconds until we're back online- wait... What the... With the system down we can't monitor the inside!"

"Nice, 3 seconds be damned." he beat the door with his legs, pushed the surface with his shoulders, leaned all of his weight on the godforsaken thing just so it could finally open. Nothing. It seems like he lost a couple of pounds during his stay here. He couldn't believe his eyes, this couldn't be happening to him. After all this time of patient waiting and hoping to meet pops once again, it turns out he'd be the only one still trapped and all because he didn't have any hands. He panicked, he really couldn't decide on what to do next. But then he remembered-

"Go beat your head against the bars, loser."

That's it! This might be his only chance to escape! He didn't have much time left though, he could hear the shooting nearby so he definitely needed to hurry.

"The system won't come back on!! The ones in solitary confinement are breaking out!! Inside!"

"Control unit's on site!! Execute lockdown in the isolation block!"

"Follow procedure! If even one of them steps a foot outside their cell-"

"Fire!! Open fire!!"

Muscular threw whatever he could find in this messed up place back at them, excitement prominent in his big smile "You ain't gonna kill me with those puny toys! So how about you show me the exit already?!"

Other villains were joining him, still overwhelmed by the sudden freedom they've been given "Dammit... After all that time..."

"Meat..." Moonfish mumbled as he cut his opponents with his blade-like teeth.

The villain lady joined them in the run, still carefully examining her surroundings in case they were tricked into something, "The system isn't responding to my Quirk. 'Guess Tartarus really is falling."

As she was running down the corridor, she could hear beating noises coming from one of the doors. It sounded dull so the person must have been using their head.

"Eh, don't tell me the idiot actually listened to my advice. He must be desperate."

She came to the doors and turned the circular lock in a hurry. She really didn't want to stay in this place any longer, but she couldn't leave him behind either. It's not like she could use him for anything since he was basically handless and Quirkless so why was she doing it? She didn't have an answer. Maybe it was their talk from the other day, maybe because they were both gang members with a history, maybe because of her regrets and her wish to do something right for once. Or maybe because she was just this kind. Nah, this couldn't be it, she never did anything in her life that didn't require a certain purpose. She cast her heart aside a long time ago and did what was necessary for the accomplishment of the mission. It would be weird if she suddenly started using her heart again, now wouldn't it? She was AFO's personal assassin, there was simply no way.

He came out of the room with eyes wide in puzzlement. He was finally free and ready to find pops so he could possibly revive him and try to fix things as much as he could.

They looked at each other for the first time. They never said it aloud, godforbid, but they liked the other's eyes. And perhaps the eyes were a window to a person's soul, their broken souls, tormented by the life's temptations. They were still so young, probably in their twenties, and yet they looked older at the same time. Maybe because of the seriousness in their faces, their stronger stance, the way they defied their fate. They were destined to fall apart, no one would argue with it, but circumstances drove them to take action and rise from the bottomless chasm. And now they had each other.

"We need to get out of here," she stated and pulled him by the sleeve that hung loosely from his shoulder. They escaped Tartarus and raided a small shop near the coast to change clothes and to mingle into the public unnoticed. She quickly picked out a dress and threw herself at work while Overhaul was still standing by the shop display, looking out for the potential intruders.

He couldn't erase the thought of this being some sort of a really weird first date; the girl coming out of the stall and the guy examining her looks. He shook his head, he never had this kind of thoughts in his entire life. He needed to pull himself together.

The bob-hair came out and adjusted the ammo on her utility belt. He looked at her from the corner and she was stunning; intimidating with a tad bit of femininity in design. He stood there and watched how good it fit her curvy form. The thoughts wandering in his head sounded so wrong, terribly wrong. He needed to bring himself to stop.

"Oh right, I almost forgot." she took a shirt off the shelf and came to him, showing him the garment in her hands "You need a little help, right?"

"Sure.'' his voice was small and he stood still while she undid his buttons. Maybe from the outside he looked completely calm, but from the inside he was a complete mess. He looked at her face and wondered if she knew, the kind of effect she's having on him. She raised her head and he looked to the side, there's no way he could look her in the eyes at this point. He hoped she didn't notice.

"You like this one, don't you?" she asked, filling the awkward silence.

"Looks don't matter, the most important thing is to change and avoid getting caught." She looked annoyed. Great. He wanted to shove his head though the wall. Wait… Why was he thinking that?

"I choose the clothes I like. It makes me feel better in my skin."

"You look good in it."

She looked at him surprised and he quickly corrected himself "the dress looks good."

"Sure." she trailed off and put the new shirt over his shoulders. She could feel his muscles tensing. This was probably because of the cool air, she assured herself.

"Why did you break me out of Tartarus? It's not like I could be of any use to you."

She buttoned up his shirt and fixed the wrinkled parts on the garment, hand accidentally brushing over the left side of his chest, feeling his heartbeat.

Well... that was a surprise.

"I thought that maybe you could be of some use to the demon lord. Not Quirk-wise, but you may offer a valuable set of information. Something that the demon lord would appreciate greatly." she could feel it slowing down and her heart dropped just as much.

"But also because I... liked you."

He looked at her incredulously and she smiled. She pinched him to bring him out of the trance and he complained. "Don't be awkward, say something."

"I like you too... I, this is my first time I ever said this to anyone. It's weird."

She slapped him gently on the shoulder and he reached to take it but, yea, no hands.

"What the hell?"

"You're the one who's weird. But I guess that I like you this way." she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek "Ew, you should definitely shave though. No doubt about it."

The former yakuza boss swore; he'll never understand women. But for some reason he couldn't deny that he was particularly drawn to this one. He wondered if pops would approve of her.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #overhaul #chisaki kai #sniperhaul #shie hassaikai #ch 311 #bnha spoilers #bnha fic #crack ship #parody

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cheri-translates · 3 years

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[CN] Gavin’s S2 R&S - Tempering (Eng Translation)

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers from an R&S (淬炼) which has not been released in English servers!🍒

This R&S features S2 Gavin!

[ Chapter One ]

Eight-year old Tang Chao wrote in his homework: My aspiration is to be free and easy, and get to sleep after a full meal.

The teacher failed him.

Eighteen-year old Tang Chao wasn’t able to be free and easy, nor get sleep after a full meal. This is because he was recommended for admission into the police academy.

Everyone knows that he’s a “specially enrolled student”. When he entered the academy, he didn’t even have to go through the “Demon Test”. He wasn’t treated harshly by the officers during training. The first semester consisted of some foundational stamina training and a few superficial criminal investigation classes. In the first month, Tang Chao barely passed in every course. Yet, he remains unusually carefree.

Tang Chao’s roommate feels indignant. “It’s only because your Evol is special. Otherwise, you’d have been expelled from the academy a long time ago with such grades.”

“That’s right, my Evol is special.” Tang Chao arches his brows. “If the academy were to expel me, they’ll experience a great loss.”

Detecting lies is essentially an Evol meant for criminal investigation. And it’s precisely because of this ability that he was recommended for admission into this first-rate police academy despite his average physique.

“Hmph. Anyway, you only have a few more days of being carefree.” His roommate flips over on the iron bed, sticking out half his head from above. “I heard from the instructors that the first month after entering the academy merely counts as a warm up. Actual training will only begin next week. The higher-ups even sent a third year student to supervise us. Guess who our class got?”

“Who?”

His roommate pauses with each syllable. “Gav. In!”

“Who’s Gavin?”

His roommate almost falls down from the bed. “You don’t even know who Gavin is?”

“Why do I have to know him...” Tang Chao mutters. “Is this person very famous?”

“Famous! He’s so famous! He’s celebrated!”

The famous Senior Gavin had passed, with record-breaking marks, the admission exam, physical capabilities, shooting, Close Quarters Combat, simulated sand tables... His marks for various segments have never fallen below the top three places. In his second year, he was already heading out on missions with full-time Evol agents. Even before graduating, he was so popular that police departments from various districts were already falling over each other in their eagerness to snatch him up.

“...but I heard that mission was pretty tragic. It seems a comrade from the same squadron as him lost his life... Hey, are you listening to me?”

“I’m listening, I’m listening.” Despite Tang Chao’s perfunctory words, he has to admit that this Senior Gavin is indeed more of a special police officer than he is.

Or rather, Evol special police officers ought to be like Gavin.

“I should caution you. Apparently, he’s exceptionally haughty, and you might as well be a grain of sand in his eyes.” His roommate pats the edge of the bed. “You should be a little more serious next week.”

Tang Chao laughs. “What can he do to me? I’m someone with a special privilege.”

His roommate clicks his tongue, not advising him further. “Seeing that you have such virtuous conduct, you can ask for help after meeting him.

[ Chapter Two ]

After assembling in the field on Monday morning, Tang Chao realises that a young man in his twenties is standing next to their class leader. The other party looks fierce, his back even straighter than the Chinese fir trees along the field. At a glance, it’s evident that there’s a world of difference between him and this batch of newly enrolled students.

“This is Student Gavin from the Seventh Squadron. This semester, he will be a provisional supervisor and instructor. In the training from now onwards, I want all of you to be more spirited and driven, and prohibited from embarrassing our class.” The class leader exclaims. “Do you hear me!”

“Yes!”

Amid the uniform responses from the formation, Gavin’s line of sight sweeps across this batch of new students. Everyone holds their breaths and keep silent, thinking that this senior would be giving them a lecture. In the end, the other party simply nods. “In that case, we’ll officially begin. As a warm up, run 10km.”

How many kilometres?

Everyone looks at each other, thinking they must have misheard.

Tang Chao raises his hand. “Reporting to the instructor - We typically run 5km in the mornings...”

Gavin turns a deaf ear to him. “Turn to the right, get ready --- Run.”

[Note] I recorded the audio for his command because why not

At this point, everyone realises that Gavin is truly like what the rumours said, and is not to be trifled with. All they can do is gulp in resentment, running in formation. Tang Chao deliberately lags at the very end, then walks towards Gavin, giving him a salute. “Reporting to the instructor.”

Gavin looks at him.

“I can’t run 10km.” Tang Chao is straightforward. “I have a special situation. The class leader and the others know about it. If I were to run 10km, I’ll really die...”

“Since you’re enrolled in the police academy, there’s no special situation.” Gavin responds. “As for whether or not you’ll die, we’ll talk about that after you’ve finished running.”

“...”

In the end, Tang Chao finishes running. Or rather, he finishes crawling.

The other students in class have already finished running and have headed off for breakfast. He’s the only one who resembles a ghost, drifting on the field. Occasionally, some classmates would pass by. He usually laughs and jokes around while they’re still running, so seeing him - who entered through the back door - finishing last leaves them gloating a little.

Gavin, on the other hand, doesn’t gloat. When Tang Chao staggers to the end point, he speaks with a blank expression. “You’re late by 20 minutes. Have your breakfast. The class will assemble after 20 minutes, and we’ll start with the next training.

Initially, Tang Chao was already too tired to speak. After hearing this command, he can’t help but do so. “Brother... ah no, Instructor Gavin, even if you’re just showing your authority at the first encounter, it should be enough.”

Gavin furrows his brows.

“Just look at how cooperative I’ve been. Seeing how I've ended up, the others in class will definitely listen and obey you unquestioningly.” Tang Chao cracks his knuckles. “But my physical constitution is really like this. It isn’t my choice to rank at the bottom of the class. Could you just close an eye and let me off?”

Gavin looks at his unwillingness to change, and speaks plainly. “Since you’re so unwilling to undergo training, what are you doing here.”

Tang Chao shrugs. “There’s not much reason. Someone needs me to be here, undergo some simple training, go through the motions, then graduate as a matter of course, then help crack some cases and make a living.”

“What I'm asking is - why are you staying here.” Gavin’s voice turns stern. “If someone didn’t need it, you wouldn't be here? When you were running, I asked your class leader for the training results from your first month. Most of your marks hovered around the passing grade, and you had to re-take a few tests.”

Tang Chao releases an “mm” sound -- even though it’s very embarrassing to be told this in such a straightforward manner, the results are black and white, so he doesn’t hope to get anything higher.

Gavin continues. “From the numbers of your make-up examinations, you actually have quite a lot of potential.”

Tang Chao is left dumbfounded.

“Since you have potential, don’t waste it.” After Gavin finishes speaking, he leaves.

[ Chapter Three ]

Gavin’s demon-like training continues. On the second day, he adds weight training and 200 push-ups to the training regimen. At this point, it’s not just Tang Chao who can’t handle it - the other new students in the class can’t endure it midway through. On the third day, he adds an obstacle course and forty minutes of wrestling on top of the basic training.

“I think I understand now. Senior Gavin doesn’t want me to die. He wants everyone to die.” Tang Chao feebly concludes during wrestling training.

Finally, a week goes by. A simulation tactics manoeuvre is added to the training. This is a rare course in which Tang Chao can attain high marks. With an Evol which allows him to detect lies, he’s especially skilled in courses related to psychological warfare. He looks at the holographic sand table before him. Filled with inexplicable courage, he suddenly raises his hand. “Report.”

“What is it?” Gavin’s voice drifts over from the front.

"I wish to challenge Gavin to a round.” Tang Chao raises his voice.

At this moment, soft discussions fill the surroundings. Gavin arches his brows. Amid the discussions, he walks to the other side of the holographic sand table, not engaging in superfluous words. “Which one do you want to start?”

“Rescuing hostages in a factory. I’ll storm the fortification.”

“No problem.”

Tang Chao’s palms begin to sweat slightly, but he maintains the provocative smile on the corners of his lips. “Instructor, if I win, could I be exempted from the remaining training for today?”

Gavin pulls open the map. “We’ll talk about that after you’ve won.”

The holographic sand table simulation is an entirely new course introduced to students in recent years. The maps in the sand table, the personnel’s Evol abilities, the weather and weapons are entirely constructed by the system. Because this is meant to train a students’ adaptive and judgment skills, there’s no such thing as a party gaining an advantage over another through undergoing a similar experience.

Not even after ten minutes after the round begins, Tang Chao’s moves have already garnered him sixty more points than Gavin.

In the lead over Gavin for the first time, his heart finally feels slightly pleased. He can’t help but lift his eyes to cast Gavin a glance. However, the other party doesn’t look frantic at all. Gavin’s line of sight is focused on the sand table in front of him, fingers continuously moving and tapping. The originally three-way defense team is quickly split into nine teams, intercepting and attacking Tang Chao from all directions.

At this moment, students observing from the side burst into an uproar. Having to command nine groups at the same time - is he human?!

Tang Chao is also very shocked. But in the next second, he loses his ability to be shocked. The symbols on the map representing each other’s movements flicker continuously. Gradually, he can no longer keep up with Gavin’s movements - there is too much false information. The moment he calculates that one path can’t be taken, many more paths around him have already been blocked.

An increasing number of regions struck with red crosses appear on the map. When he finally grabs the hostage, the six teams he originally had have been reduced to a small four-person group by Gavin.

Gavin shuts the holographic sand table. “Any thoughts?”

Tang Chao remains stubborn. “At least I successfully rescued the hostage...”

“You think that’s called a success?” Gavin laughs coldly. “Do you know why the highest marks are awarded based on the number of people left in the simulation? Because every red dot on the map represents the life of a comrade in real life.”

Tang Chao feels as though something is lodged in his throat.

“In an actual operation, the situations you have to face are even more dangerous, and even more complicated than in the sand table.” Gavin looks around at all of the students. “The criminal will not give you as much time and opportunities to make judgement calls. Every wrong decision could result in the death of a comrade.”

His gaze returns to Tang Chao, his tone becoming more severe. “Give it proper thought.”

Tang Chao lowers his head. “Yes.”

“But you were courageous in bringing up the challenge, and it’s worth encouraging.” Gavin curls his forefinger and taps the sand table. “5km, go.”

For the first time, Tang Chao wholeheartedly finishes the 5km run. He pounds his aching and sore legs, preparing to return to the dormitory. Suddenly, he sees his opponent from half an hour ago at a corner not afar off.

Gavin is standing underneath a tree, holding a photograph in his hand.

Gavin doesn’t notice Tang Chao. All of his focus is channelled onto that photograph. In this moment, he seems to have unloaded all his defences, becoming a Gavin different from his usual self. Those perpetually stern eyes have grown dim, bringing with them a twinge of fatigue.

Tang Chao holds his breath, subconsciously squinting his eyes to identify the photograph. On it seems to be... a female? Could she be Instructor Gavin’s...

But why is there blood on the photograph?

Before he can let his imagination roam, someone suddenly pats him on the shoulder.

“Hey, Tang Chao, have you seen Instructor Gavin?” His roommate asks. “I need to look for him.”

Tang Chao turns slightly, blocking his roommate’s line of sight. He points in another direction. “Oh, I saw him. He walked towards the canteen.”

The lies of a person who can detect lies will never be discovered by someone else. His roommate doesn’t doubt him, and gives him another pat on the shoulder. “Thanks.”

After his roommate walks a distance away, he turns his head once again to look at Gavin, before leaving quietly.

He doesn’t know what that girl in the photograph means to Gavin, but his instincts told him that the tranquil image before him wasn’t one which someone should have disrupted.

[ Chapter Four ]

Amid torrential rain, one group continues training on the field of the police academy. The gloomy weather and gloomy atmosphere seem to make the weight on their shoulders much heavier than usual. But this time, no one complains, including Tang Chao.

--Because yesterday, another comrade in the police academy lost his life in a hostage rescue operation.

The pools of water beneath their feet are akin to pools of blood. The wooden piles on their shoulders seem to be alive and breathing, weighing down on them, and leaving them unable to catch their breath. Tang Chao grits his teeth. Even if he’s at the very end of the formation, he doesn’t give up on pressing forward.

“Late by four minutes.” Gavin clutches the watch at the end point as always. “There’s improvement.”

Only Tang Chao knows just how much effort he expended for the few words “there’s improvement”.

In this moment, he vaguely figure things out in his mind. Even though it’s very unclear, there’s a life goal in his heart which is more definite and firm than being “free and easy, and sleeping after a full meal”. Carefree days are definitely good. If he were to cast down the wooden piles and shout “I quit”, he can have them. But as long as he remains in the police academy for one more day, as long as the vow he made upon entering the academy still remains engraved in his heart, his future is destined to have no fate with being free and easy.

Tang Chao releases a muddy breath. He unloads the weight, laying directly on the field. “Instructor Gavin, how did you tell that I had potential back then?”

Gavin is silent for a while. “...actually, that was a lie.”

Tang Chao bursts out laughing.

Perhaps it was indeed a lie from Gavin. But he had followed through with this lie, and enabled Tang Chao to believe this lie too - he had never given up on Tang Chao, and Tang Chao had never given up on himself.

The rain continues pouring down. After laughing, Tang Chao’s voice mixes with the clear water. “Did you know? I suddenly had the ability to detect lies overnight.”

Gavin doesn’t say anything, and Tang Chao continues. “At first, I didn’t even know how to control my Evol. I was so confused, and the people around me were also very alarmed. Because those around me could no longer conceal anything. No matter what kind of masks they wore, I could remove them. Many people were afraid of talking to me. They didn’t even dare to come near to me. That period of time was... pretty depressing. It’s such an incredible ability.”

“Afterwards, I fumbled around and became clearer on how to use this ability. I more or less figured out how to live in such an environment.” Tang Chao points at his head. “The secret is in not caring.”

“It’s not that you really don’t care.” Gavin says.

“That’s right.” Tang Chao smiles wryly. “It’s just that after pretending not to care for such a long time, I’ve become confused too. Instructor Gavin, do you think I can still find the reason for staying here?”

Gavin ponders for a moment before responding. “I can’t imagine how it feels like to be surrounded by lies. But right now, you’re able to walk out from those days, and maintain an independent judgement. It shows that you’re actually much more tenacious than the average person.”

“I don’t think that I’m strong...”

“No one is born strong.”

Tang Chao wipes at the rainwater on his face. “Including yourself?”

“Including myself.” Gavin says solemnly. “I was at a loss before, but afterwards... I found a reason to persevere. I think it’s only a matter of time before you’ll also find a conviction belonging to yourself.”

When Gavin speaks, his intonation doesn’t fluctuate much. It’s as though he’s elaborating on an obvious fact. At this moment, Tang Chao doesn’t use his Evol, because he knows that these are Gavin’s genuine words.

There’s no need to use a lie detector to determine this.

The rain gradually lessens. Tang Chao observes the ash coloured sky for a very long time. His voice is very soft, as though he’s speaking to himself. “I can’t think of any high-sounding reasons. In that case, my goal is to become a person who can live up to this ability.”

Gavin laughs. With neither too much nor too little force, he kicks Tang Chao’s arm with his foot, then blows the assembly whistle in his hand. “All right. Get up and prepare for the next training.”

Tang Chao sits up. “Big Bro, you should at least give me a compliment!”

[ Chapter Five ]

Without realising it, the semester is drawing to a close, and Gavin’s task of being an assistant supervisor is ending soon. The class had originally planned to drag Gavin along to a small New Year’s Eve farewell party. In the end, Gavin was sent to participate in a special operation that day, so everyone just brought the farewell party forward, and wish Instructor Gavin a smooth and successful mission.

After the students have left the classroom, Gavin realises that Tang Chao is still standing at the doorway. “Why haven’t you left with the others?”

“I heard this mission is pretty dangerous.” Tang Chao suddenly speaks.

“Every mission is accompanied with danger.” Gavin says.

“Not that kind of danger...” Although Tang Chao isn’t a participant in this mission, he has heard about its contents. “The moment it isn’t handled properly, the dissent between civilians and Evolvers would be aggravated. If the time comes, I’m afraid it wouldn’t end with just a few clashes and bloodshed.”

Although he’s often careless and relaxed, it doesn’t mean that he’s stupid.

“I know.” Gavin nods. “Since you’ve already heard about some of its contents, your class should more or less know about it too - did they ask you to inquire about it?”

“Not really. I wanted to ask you about it myself.” Tang Chao hugs his elbows. “If... and I’m saying ‘if’. If this operation contradicts with the convictions you’ve always persevered in, what would you do?”

“There’s no need for such hypothesis.” Gavin looks at him. “I’ll just use my own eyes to look at it, use my own mind to make a judgement, and not doubt it before the operation even begins. If conviction can be so easily swayed, it means it isn’t yours. Instead, it’s what someone else has forcefully given to you.”

Gavin pauses, glancing at his own palm. Even if its development clashes with my convictions, I’ll use my own methods to handle it.”

When Tang Chao hears this, he’s left dumbfounded. Then, he immediately laughs. “Ah, this answer is truly in line with Instructor Gavin’s style.” He moves over and crinkles his eyes at Gavin. “No wonder the higher-ups purposely trained you to become a leader. With such words, who wouldn’t want to be Instructor Gavin’s subordinate?”

Gavin shakes his head. “I’m not interested in being a leader.”

“Why aren’t you interested in anything? You said you weren’t interested in the competition earlier either...” Tang Chao grins. “It looks to me that the only interest you have is the lady in that photograph, right? When will you introduce Sis-in-law to everyone- ack!”

He receives a blow from Gavin’s elbow.

Tang Chao covers his stomach and pouts, looking aggrieved. “If you don’t want to be a leader, what about being a captain? I heard that after I graduate, the Special Operations Team proposed by the higher-ups will be formed. When the time comes, I reckon there’ll be many interesting and strong comrades joining the team. You can be the boss.”

“Am I the one forming the Special Operations Team? Can I be the captain just because I want to?” Gavin glares at him. “Why not consider whether or not you can join it first.”

“I think if it’s you, I definitely can.” Tang Chao laughs, showing his teeth. “If Captain Gavin can do it, I definitely can do it too.”

A few days later, Gavin sets out. Students from the class send him into the vehicle at the entrance of the academy. Tang Chao gives him a salute and a smile. “Wishing Instructor Gavin an early New Year’s, and wishing you a safe and successful operation.”

Gavin nods, returning a salute to everyone. “I receive your good wishes. Happy New Year. In the future, we’ll definitely meet again.”

Everyone watches as the truck leaves their line of sight. For a very long time, nobody speaks. Finally, with a deep breath, the class leader asks. “Are we continuing with training?”

“Of course we are!”

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc gavin

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pynkhues · 4 years

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Dan Andrews (Dandrews), our premier, announced today that they were finally going to ease our lockdown restrictions in Melbourne now that we’re down to around 2 new COVID cases a day (down from nearly 800 at the start of lockdown! I’m so happy!) and a part of that is extending the 5km travel restriction to 25kms (everyone has only been allowed to travel within 5kms aka 3 miles of their house since August), and literally five minutes after Dandrews made the announcement, my brother, Alex, texted me to ask when he could see me, and just rang to lock in plans, and I am v emotional about it??

I’ve talked about it on here before, but I was my brother’s guardian on and off from the time I was 22 and he was 14, and became his full time guardian when he turned 15/16 and my dad kicked him out of home (after fighting our mum really hard for sole custody lol). When I told Alex I was moving to Melbourne, he packed up his life, transferred universities and moved with me, and when he moved out of my house earlier in the year, it was good and exciting, but really compounded negatively by everything with COVID, in no small part because after he moved, we weren’t able to see each other at all.

Which probably sounds a bit weird, haha, but there’s - - y’know - - trauma in our combined familial history which has made us close, but even beyond that, as adults (he just turned 22! Around the same age I was when I started taking care of him which is w.i.l.d. to me, haha), we’ve become really close friends too.

So I don’t know!

I’m just really emotional about it, I guess, hahaha, might have had a little stealth cry, but it’s just so nice to know he wants to see me and play shitty board games and drink and talk and hang out as much as I want to do the same with him. He’s one of my favourite humans, and I’ve missed his dumb, dry sense of humour and his dumb, serious little FACE, okay.

#rl #v in my feelings right now haha #when he texted me so quick i laughed but also CRIED #i am that embarrassing these days apparently #LOOK #lockdown's been really tough #but slowly climbing out of it right now is wildly amazing #everything feels so exciting hahaha #he and our mum have done a lot of repairwork on their relationship too over the last 18 months which is so nice #so he's excited to see her too #he's also staying over for two days lol #so i might miss rewatch this week?#i'll still tee everything up though!

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skywatch3rs · 3 years

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A Sunday mushing adventure

One of the first questions I got from friends about being at a folkehøgskole was what we do on a day off. Often I'll take the opportunity to sleep in; living with a chronic illness means I need to make the most of the time I can rest. However, sometimes I use a free day to go on an adventure!

*** Sunday 17.1.21 – Sledding with Mailin

Sunday is always a free day, so we get to do whatever we want! Normally I have a long lie in, but one of my friends isn’t feeling well, so I’m taking his feeding shift today, so I’m up at 9 to get dressed and head to the dog yard. It’s a balmy -4ºC today, so I’m just wearing one layer of wool underwear under my thick hiking pants and wool sweater, snow boots, hat and gloves. Now that it’s too cold to leave water in the bowls all day, we feed the dogs a soup in the morning to make sure they stay hydrated enough; equal amounts of meat and kibble, mixed in with lots of warm water and left to soak for about 15 minutes while we scoop poop. Tequila and Tibia both pick the kibble out of their soup and then tip their bowls over, and spend the rest of the morning licking at the snow where the meat water spilled over (weirdos). Ami doesn’t like her soup, but happily chews on a ‘meatsicle’– the disk of now-frozen soup that was accidentally left in her bowl overnight.

After plenty of cuddles, the three of us who fed today head back to our dorms to change out of our “dog clothes” before breakfast. I realise this is possibly only the second time ever that I’ve been to breakfast on a Sunday! It’s 2 hours later than on a weekday, at 10am, and I am normally always either already out doing something or still asleep, depending on the weekend.

Today I’m heading over to my friend Mailin’s to run dogs with her at 11, so I change back into my dog clothes, putting on an extra layer of wool. Between the wind and the fact you’re mostly either sitting as a passenger or standing quite still on the runners, it’s always colder when you’re out mushing. For Christmas I got myself a new pair of felted wool boots and overshoes to wear when I mush, because my old snow boots weren’t warm enough for my feet– I have terrible circulation– so I’m excited to try them out for the first time! Mailin is a friend of a friend, and has become an unofficial mentor to me in the past few months. She’s a seasoned musher who lives directly across the road from the school, and most weekends and some weekday afternoons I go over to train the dogs with her. All of last semester we were using either her car or ATV because there wasn’t enough snow, so today is going to be my first sled trip with her! I’m also taking with me several bottles of coca cola and some chocolate, as a thank you for the four bags of mushing gear that no longer fits her that she gave me last week. There were some real gems in there, and I know she won’t accept any money for them, so payment in sugar it is.

Geizzi in her tshirt being used as a chin-rest by Uvja

This morning Mailin wants to take out the puppies on a run; she has 5 pups who are 10 months old now, so they can run shorter distances than the adult dogs. We harness up pups Rajapää and Sorbme along with adult dogs Geizzi, Uvja, Timo, Hulda and Lelu, and Mailin show’s me how to tie a slipknot– her way of securing the sled to a post before we start. At school we use a different system involving pulling a short, thick stick out of two interconnected loops, and I have to say I prefer the slipknot method. One of the incredibly valuable things about training with Mailin has been seeing alternative ways of doing things with the dogs, as it means I have some familiarity wider variety of techniques. Mailin trains her dogs to stay quiet while we harness them up, which means things take a little longer, as every time one of the puppies starts barking, we stop what we’re doing and wait for them to stop again before we continue. Once all the dogs have their harnesses on, we start bringing them up to the line, and that’s when the full force of excited barking is allowed to start. Even after 5 months of mushing, that sound still fills me with a rush of joy and adrenaline.

I settle myself in the sled– I’ve only driven one three times before, so I assume I’ll be a passenger today, though Mailin has said I might be able to drive in the future, which is an absolute honour, considering the standard she has for her dogs, and the trust involved. She pulls the rope to undo the slipknot, and we’re off! I always love training with her dogs, but it is vastly different being a passenger in the sled than sitting in her car with her as we trained the dogs last year. The trail out of her dog yard is bumpy and windy, including a part where we both have to lean as hard as we can to the left, to try not to tip the sled into a ditch as we go up a slope; she wanted to fill it in earlier in the season, but there hasn’t been enough snow to do so. We make it through the bend, and suddenly we are out on the frozen river which marks the border between Norway and Russia. The sun came back yesterday; it rose above the horizon for the first time since November, putting an end to ‘mørketid’ (dark time), and Mailin tells me it’s traditional to make a wish when you see the sun again for the first time. I wish I’d known that yesterday, I would have wished for more snow!

The stunning view from the sled, out on the Pasvik river

Mushing is always beautiful, but today is particularly gorgeous: the dogs running smoothly out on the frozen river, with the most spectacular sunrise/set happening in front of us. I honestly can’t believe this is my life now. Then, as if I wasn’t already feeling like the luckiest person in the world, Mailin asks me if I want to mush. I’m incredulous– she trusts me with this already?! But the trail is smooth and mostly straight, so it’s great for a relative beginner like me. I jump out of the sled, hop on the runners, and off we go again. Immediately, I’m struck by how much better my new boots are than my old ones: they’re wider, so I have more surface area to grip the runners, and thinner and more flexible in the soles, so I can feel what’s under my feet better. My toes stay toasty warm the whole four hours I’m out with Mailin, which is a record.

We mush down the river, past the house of the friend who introduced us, Anne. If I wasn’t terrified of letting go of the sled, I would have taken a picture to send to her, but I settle for just telling her later. Soon, we get to the point where we need to turn the team, which is where things get difficult. I assume Mailin will want to take over again, but she lets me keep driving. We are trying to get the dogs to turn to the left and loop around so we can go back, but our leaders, Geizzi and Uvja, are not having it. Tiny superstar Geizzi pushes Uvja over to the left when Mailin gives her ‘haw’ command, but Uvja just runs over to the next parallel trail, so I have to break, stop the team, and give the command again. We repeat this several times, until eventually Geizzi drags the team around by turning to the right– not what we wanted them to do, but at least we managed to turn the dogs finally! I then add to the slight chaos by not turning the sled fast enough– Mailin’s sled is longer than the ones we use at school– so I crash us into a tussock, and flip the sled for the first time. I’m mortified, both because I have tipped Mailin onto the ice, and because I instinctively let go of the sled when it tipped, something you should never ever do; if you’re alone and you let go, the team will just run off without you. Luckily everyone is fine, and Mailin doesn’t mind: “every musher tips the sled sometimes!”. I’m glad she is nonchalant about this, because a few kilometres later, as we head back towards her dog yard, I tip the sled again into the ditch she navigated so smoothly on the way out. Nevertheless, we make it back to the dog yard in one piece, and Mailin asks me if I want to go out again. I still have 2 hours until dinner, so obviously the answer is yes!

We unhook the dogs, take the two puppies out of their harnesses, and then harness up Roavvi and Koru. The third pup, Biekhan, and adults Toivo, Vandre and Storm had dog chiropractic sessions yesterday (yes, that is a thing!), so they aren’t going to run today, and neither is Ella, who is in heat. I wolf down a square of peanut butter flapjack and half a bottle of soda, then hop back into the sled to head back out onto the river. We take the same route out of the dog yard, and Mailin shows me up again by navigating the ditch perfectly, but she does have more than a decade of experience on me, so I don’t take it too hard. One we make it out onto the river, we turn left instead of right, taking the trail up towards where the river gets narrower, hugging the Norwegian edge of the ice. Just after the 5km turning point, Mailin lets me switch places and drive again, which results in me accidentally letting the team start before I have given them the command to; not a great habit for them to get into, but it is so beautiful out on the river that neither of us can be too annoyed. Mailin takes some pictures of me grinning like a loon while driving, and then I complete the hat trick of sled tips with a third and final plunge into that damned ditch. I really need to practice not letting go when I fall, which means I have to tip the sled more to practice, so at least today was a useful lesson in that!

For some reason, Mailin insisted on hiding under the sled bag while taking a photo of me driving the team

Back at the dog yard, we unharness the puppies, and move the adults back to their houses for a brief snack break of some tasty frozen horse meat. Mailin is going to take the adults out again for another 30km or so after she has a quick lunch, to try and get them up to about 60km today. If she was racing this year she would be doing 300km over the weekend, but with so many young dogs, and no Finnmarksløpet ambitions until 2022, a short 60km is just fine for today. After giving the dogs one last cuddle, we head into the garage for Mailin to find her old mountain skis, which I’m going to borrow for the next couple of months, since skis are so expensive to buy new, and she doesn’t use hers very often. Norwegians don’t really do politeness in the same way Brits do, so I try to reel in my instinct to offer profuse thanks, and just say one short sincere thank you instead.

Skis in hand, I walk back across the road to school, change back into normal clothes, and head to dinner. We have 4 meals a day at school: breakfast, lunch at 11:30, middag (a hot dinner) at 3pm, and kveldsmat (supper) at 7:30. I got used to it last semester, but now that I’ve been back in the UK for Christmas, it feels weird to be eating the biggest meal of the day in the middle of the afternoon. Food at school can be a bit hit and miss, but today it is finbif, one of my favourites! I have kitchen duty this week, so after dinner I head into the kitchen to help with the dishes, which takes me right back to working as a waitress. Finally I have a couple of hours of down time before I need to feed the dogs in the evening, so I re-shave my undercut, shower, call my grandma, and chill out with a book for a bit. Then it’s back to the dog yard, where we feed with just meat in the evening. It snows a little bit, which is sorely needed, as it’s been a bad winter so far. I go back to my dorm, change, head to dinner, do my kitchen duty, and collapse into bed to watch the US men’s nationals figure skating with a couple of friends before I head to sleep, ready for my first normal school day back after Christmas tomorrow!

#fhsliv #folkehøgskole #folk high school #finnmark #norway #dog sledding #mushing #photography #pasvik folkehøgskole #pasvik fhs

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garageprojectmotorcycles · 4 years

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A Step in the Right Direction

The instruments said I had 7km of range left. This was going to be a problem as home was 9km away. The last 2km was downhill so maybe I would make it to the top of the hill and roll down. Setting off from Scarborough Beach in mode 1, which limited me to a top speed of 60kmh, I quickly became a mobile chicane for the traffic behind me on West Coast Highway. Flicking it to mode 2 upped my top speed to 80kmh but it'd reduce my range even further but at least I wouldn’t be a hood ornament for a Hot Rod doing bog laps of the coast road. I made the decision to remain alive and push the bike as I selected mode 2 and accelerated up to 80kmh, turning off into Trigg, a distance of 1km. According to the instruments, I had 4km of range left. I was optimistically hoping that the bikes computer would give me a false reading and keep a little bit in reserve but any hope of that faded when the instrument went from 4km left to 2km left in one foul swoop. I was still 5km from home. 2km became 1km and then as it hit 0 range the throttle became non responsive to which I instinctively started swerving left to right trying to swish the fuel around hoping it’d find a bit more. Electricity doesn’t swish about a battery apparently.

The Super Soco TC Max is a step up in performance from the Super Soco TS which is an alternative to small capacity scooters with its motor in the rear hub. With international flights a distant memory, there isn’t much to do running Himalayan Heroes so I arranged an extended test ride with MotoMax. I picked it up and headed into Leederville to meet up with mates on their ICE motorcycles. The smallest capacity was a 750cc twin so I'd need a head start if I was going to keep up on our regular Fast Friday ride. The starting procedure is easy, press the unlock button on the remote, press the power button on the tank with the side stand up and then hit the start button which is in the usual position at your right thumb. While my mates fiddled with keys, fuel taps, finding neutral and annoying the outdoor diners on the café strip as they revved their noisy dinosaurs to warm them up, I Marcel Marceau'd away into the night. Pulling up at the lights, they started revving for a traffic light drag race. I did the same and bunny hopped into the middle of the intersection…ooops. When the lights turned green, I was with them all the way for the first 4m and then they were gone. The TC Max is not the Tesla Roadster of electric bikes, taking 7 seconds to get to 60kmh. It’s about the same as a Honda Grom but while the Grom will sound like Cardi B with a $10 loud hailer from the Reject Store, the Super Soco is like an elevator fart.

The TC Max is incredibly thin and at only 100kg it was a breeze to flick between traffic and get to the front at the lights. Unlike the Super Soco TS, the motor in the TC Max is where normal motorcycles have them (and for the owners of Harleys, the answer is not “in pieces”). With no gears, your left foot has nothing to do, however your left hand is still busy as the front brake lever is where the clutch lever usually resides. The right foot also has nothing to do as the rear foot brake lever is removed and in its place is a linked front and rear brake lever at the right hand. It takes some time to get used to it but I found that I rarely used the left hand lever. I did grab it twice, once when I nearly Crutchlow’d a 90 degree left hand corner and the other when the lights changed on me while I was daydreaming I was on a MotoE bike. Brakes are good, acceleration is adequate for its intended purpose, handling is spot on and I got nods from all types of riders so it certainly looks the part.

So, is it a replacement for a motorcycle? Not its close though. It’s a replacement for a scooter or as a 2nd bike if your daily total commute is less than 70km and you don’t need to go over 80km/h. I rode the bike as I would normally on a Fast Friday ride with lots of full throttle and I made it 58km from a full charge. If I had left it on Mode 1, I would have gotten 140km before needing a charge with the top speed limited to 60kmh. Mode 2 is 90km range and limited to 80kmh which is where I would leave it until I needed to overtake a bicycle. That's when I'd flick it into mode 3 which gives you 70km range with a 95kmh top speed. You can switch between modes on the go so it’s easy enough to manage your range. Interestingly, the different modes don’t affect acceleration, only the top speed. When driving my car and the fuel gauge hits empty, I know I still have 50km of range left, when the light comes on, I have 35km left and when it starts flashing it’s time to park it in the driveway and let my wife sort it out on her way to work. Like in a car, one would quickly get used to what the numbers on the clock really mean.

The charging is a little more complicated than it needs to be. On an electric car, you plug it in and a few hours later its charged. On the TC Max, you turn the key and lift the seat, lift the tank cover, take out the glovebox tray, flick the battery lead clip off, pull the battery lead off and then plug the lead from the charger into the battery. All up it take about 30 seconds but it could be easier. At least you don’t have to ride around looking for a petrol station, waiting behind Karen who hasn't worked out that the petrol pump hose is long enough to reach the other side of the car, remove your gloves and helmet, choose your octane, get your hands covered in corona virus, run the gauntlet in the rain across the oily petrol station forecourt into the bright lights of overpriced junk food and phone chargers. You then stand in line behind grandpa who can’t remember his PIN and Wayno who orders a packet of Winnie Blues, a diet coke and a sausage roll that has been sitting there since last week before finally making it to the counter to be asked for the one loyalty card that you don’t have, all the while hoping there is enough money in your account.

While we have become accustomed to the inconveniences of ICE vehicles (refuelling, maintenance, noise and emissions), our grandkids will not fathom why we didn’t see the light earlier. The Italian manufacturer of the motorcycles used in the MotoE races – Energica, already sell a motorcycle that has hypercar acceleration, a top speed that I have never achieved and a range that is further than the vast majority of bikes. It’s not cheap of course but its early days and that will come will with time.

The TC Max is very popular with the electric motorcycle crowd, less so in the ICE motorcycle forums but I suspect that has more to do with expectations than reality. The future is bright for those that like to customise their ride, as there have already been people tinkering with the ECU to increase acceleration, top speed, continuous and momentary draw as well as regenerative braking.

While I might not have made it to the top of the hill and I might have given the TC Max a lift home on a trailer and I might have had the piss taken out of me all night by my mates, I’m excited about the future of electric motorcycles. The Super Soco TC Max is a step in the right direction.

Pros

Not having to refuel

Sound of Silence

Looks great

50c for a full charge

Cons

Limited to commuting

A little too appliance like

Can measure acceleration with a sundial

#MotoMax #TC Max #Super Soco #Electric Motorcycle #PCR #Perth Cafe Racers #Leederville #Scarborough #SuperSoco #Super Soco TC Max #Motorcycle

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byeagra · 5 years

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how to write australia!

australia is kind of a weird place. i think because a lot of people haven’t been to or seen the “real” australia, that they tend to not read about it. which should totally change, since australia is literally a goldmine of really “aesthetic” places and ambiences

* i talk about queensland a lot in this, because you guessed it, i’m a queenslander.

where things are

lots of desert out west. people are always like “omg desert!” but it’s more in the center of the land. places like western queensland, the northern territory, northern south australia and western australia will have the stereotypical red dirt that you’re looking for.

out in the desert there’s a lot of nothing. towns with 100 people, stuff like that. there’ll most likely be a pub, maybe a couple of houses. that’s it really. out in western queensland, there’s some “tourist” towns, like longreach (qantas museum) and winton (dinosaur shit), but if you’re going there, expect a lot of dirt and dead trees

a lot of people live on the coast. especially the east coast. it’s expected that 85% of the population live within 50km of the coast, so beach holidays are pretty common.

a not lot of people live in the cities for being cities, but our cities tend to be pretty big in space. like in queensland’s capital, brisbane, there’s a population of 2 million, but that’s 15,826 km² aka a huge space for legit a tiny population

towns are really spaced out. lots of suburbs in towns.

towns are really spaced out from each other. like there’s rest stops that are called ‘towns’ but they’re definitely rest stops. there might be a service station (gas station) but that’s it. between my town and the next town in the 10,000′s, there’s a 3/4 hour drive.

towns like mine

my town is a “small town” even though it’s not that small. we ain’t brisbane.

no diners. whatsoever. we haave restaurants, takeaway (both chain and local) and hipster local coffee places. take your pick.

lot’s of coal miners. just throughout australia even. a lot of them do ‘fifo’ work (fly in, fly out), where they live in a city, but fly out to the mines on weekdays. it’s not weird for one of your parent’s to be away during the week.

my town is indeed a mining town. shit was great during ‘the mining boom’ but now it’s the mining bust and there’s big expensive houses with no one to buy them.

we’re kind of near the great barrier reef, but not close enough to profit from it lol. it’s not a tourist town.

it’s not an “oh i can walk to my friend’s house” town. i can walk to one of my friend’s houses. other times we just drive.

“the bush”

the bush is hot. it’s hot as fuck and it’s not fun 90% of the time.

the other 10% is fucking around in the bush. which is fun.

chances are that a person in your family or a family friend has owned property out in woop-woop and you’ve gone and fucked around in the bush.

lots of little creeks everywhere. if you find a creek, good on you, gold star, don’t drink from it.

my cousins and i once went crabbing, bogged our buggy, walked like 5km home, went to look for firewood in said buggy and rolled it all in the same afternoon. easter saturday.

there are miles and miles of actually nothing. literally nothing at all. if you get lost. there’s a high chance you won’t be found again.

there’s a lot of cane farming in queensland. lots of cane farms and sugar mills. i remember driving to cairns once, and seeing the steam from a sugar mill off in the distance. it was the dead of night and there was so much steam i legit thought there was a fire.

there’s ruins in the bush. lots of old cars and sheds of random shit that have rusted away.

trees aren’t lush and green. it’s not a forest. they’re barky, shredded trees. more grey than green.

climate

it’s really hot for like 8 months of the year. the other four are pretty chill.

when we say it’s hot. it’s hot like you can’t imagine. it’s not just hot, it’s humid. the air is so sticky and thick and your clothes will stick to you. there’s been days with 99% humidity. come on. that is RAIN.

we get good breeze here because we’re on the coast. out west it’s hellfire. but they’re used to it i guess lol.

no snow sorry eek. except in ski resorts like hotham, thredbo, falls creek, places like that.

school

we wear uniforms. like school uniforms. they’re not cute. they’re super dorky and everyone and their dog gets their grandma to take their skirts up.

“no hat, no play” headass.

we don’t have cafeterias. bring your own fucking lunch. we do have tuckshop though. you can buy lunch or snacks from there for money. some of my childhood faves:

choccy milk

chicken gougons (chicken chippies but they sounded fancy)

chicken noodles

we got a slushie machine in grade 4. it was legendary.

4 pieces of red licorice for 20c???? bargain.

we have grades! normally it goes kindergarden (kindy), prep and then grades 1-12

we get an ATAR instead of a gpa or whatever the fuck. it’s a score from 0.05 (ur fucked lol) and 99.95 (ur a doctor).

on facebook you’ll find heaps of “hsc discussion group 2020/2019″ groups. yeah some people post notes, some people offer tutoring and most people post memes

sport

now, i’ll admit, i’m not into sport. but we are nothing if not a sporting nation.

i did swimming, played hockey, and dance

saturday mornings are for kids sport. it’s a thing. every kid plays a sport. we are sporty by nature.

we also get really into sport. rugby league, union, touch and afl are the big ones. rugby league is the big one.

there’s also a thing called ‘the state of origin’ between the queensland (the maroons) and new south wales (the blues). the blues suck don’t @ me. the maroons had an 8 year winning streak from 2006-2013. my mum can’t watch it because it stresses her out too much.

there was an ICONIC moment done by johnathan thurston (aka the cowboys and the league’s best player of all time). i remember screaming at the television and i HATE that. there’s so much that happens in these 11 minutes. it’s fucking wild. (https://youtu.be/SU5zcrDvMDU)

politics

liberal is “not good” in australia. the labour party is basically the equivalent of the democratic party (i think??)

we have a prime minister, but it changes a lot idk who it is now lol

compolsory to vote. you get a fine if you don’t.

other things you should know

we use the metric system because we’re not fuckheads.

no guns. gun control ay. if you have a gun, you’re probably a farmer.

not many starbucks here. sorry lol it’s shit coffee anyways

#writing #writing help #australia #australian #writer #writer's #australian gothic

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jaynnie-jane · 5 years

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As a child I was taught to fear the world. My earliest memories of walking down alley ways with my Mum are all the same “don’t ever walk down here alone because it’s dangerous” she would say, that message never left me. When I wanted to visit my friend that lived 10 houses down, she would walk me down there, right up to the age of 10. Why? Because it was dangerous, “you might get raped and murdered”. I learned this crazy instinctive fear of lane ways, and to a lesser degree walking by myself anywhere right up to my mid twenties.

Our house was somewhat of a fortress. Every external door had two locks on them, some had three! It wasn’t even a particularly bad neighborhood. Every night there was the ritual of checking the three locks on the front door, checking every dead lock along the glass sliding doors (that were reinforced or something) then locking the communicating door to that part of the house. I remember the number of times I was scared doing it, the number of times I would be alone in the computer room as a 14 year old and hearing the tree outside brushing against the roof and me freaking out so hard that I would be in a slight panic state for hours. I remember checking the front door was locked then walking the 5 meter long hallway, checking every one of the six locks on the glass and the 2 on the mesh. Glass that looks out into a dark backyard on one side and the sunken, dark games room with the bar and table tennis table I couldn’t see behind on the other. Countless times I would have to turn the lights on out of fear. Many more times I refused to turn the lights on to check for an intruder because I was so sure someone was there, watching me and if I saw them they would kill me. This fear stayed with my until we moved from that house when I was 23. As a 10 year old, I remember having escape routes plotted in my head. I remember thinking if they come in this way, I go that way. I remember the number of times I double checked that I could definitely crawl out my window without making a sound, and depending on where the intruders came from I would climb into one of the four neighboring yards to safety. I developed the same plans when I stayed at friend places over night, the house layout and which walls could be climbed to get to safety. I was 10 and nothing had ever actually happened in my life to instill this level of fear in me, just my Mum. That level of paranoia stayed the same until my early twenties. Meanwhile, my brother was allowed to go riding with his friends from an early age, mostly because he always used to when he stayed at one particular friends house and my Mum had no knowledge. This allowed him to test how dangerous the world really wasn’t for himself. He is one of the most fearless people I know, fearless without being reckless or dumb... any more.

The first person I ever kissed (properly) was when I was 14 and he was 16. We always used to see each other at the dog park and a little baby relationship grew, nothing serious as I was sure I had feelings for someone else, which I talked to him about too. I was forbidden to see him again because he was too old and not to be trusted when really, he was a decent dude and was patient and kind to me at a time when I felt like an ugly outcast. As a 14 year old who falls in love with her best friend, but is terrified my parents will forbid me from seeing her, just like they did with my first kiss I suddenly felt like there was no safe place in the world. I couldn’t talk to them and I was taught not to trust other people (and learned this by being a bit of a social outcast at the same school for 10 years). The basic lesson I learned is everything is scary, everything will murder you and everyone can’t be trusted. So when shit was hard at home and I wanted so hard to establish myself as my own person, or needed to go for a walk to just get away from everything, I didn’t think I could. Every fiber of me told me it was unsafe and dangerous. It did change, slowly, mostly because I just stopped telling my parents the truth about where I was going because I knew they would say no. I was still terrified of alleyways and avoided them at all costs, even if it meant walking past a house that was dodgy or walking a road that had lots less people on it. I remember wanting to see my girlfriend really badly one day because I had a fight with Mum. I knew she wasn’t going to drive me there and I knew there was no way in hell she would let me walk there. I told my Mum I needed to clear my head and when she insisted I take the dog for protection I told her I just really couldn’t handle it right now, plus I might go see Jonnie if I was feeling better on my way home. Jonnie of course was a trusted family friend who I had known from birth so hanging out with him was no issue. I walked the 5km there, well aware that my curfew was in 2.5 hours before she would worry or just randomly pop in at Jonnie’s place for a cuppa. It taking an hour to get there and an hour back, meant I only had half an hour with my girl, but it was enough. The entire way there I was thinking I was going to get jumped. I was so sure of this that by the time I got there I was almost in tears at the stress of it. To say I am miraculously hyper vigilant is an understatement. Growing up, I had no clue how much I was being protected because I honestly believed that the times I went out and nothing happened it was because I was being very careful. The times I cut across the park or went down a lane way that made my stomach knot, without harm coming to me were just because this time I was lucky. It wan’t until I had a little more freedom that I was able to start questioning the “wisdom” of my parents. When I was 17, I had my own car and a decent group of friends my parents knew, and knew I would crash with them. This meant that I practically lived out of my car, always told my parents where I would be and who I would be with and pretty much only go home to do my washing or if I had an early shift at work. This had been going well for a year until I wanted to see someone my parents had never met. I told my parents I would be late home which means no latter than 10 pm but I did not specify when, nor did I restate who I was seeing because I had told Mum a few days ago that I was looking forward to catching up with this friend again. I had gone straight to this friends house after work to have dinner and watch a movie. Mum was aware that this guy lived with his girlfriend and was an old acquaintance I had bumped into at university and had reconnected with. Neither of my parents had met him or his girlfriend.

At about 8 pm I realised my phone probably needed recharging so I went and grabbed my phone to put it on charge, only to find I had never put the ringer on after it being on silent at work. At least five missed calls from home since 7 pm. I panicked, I thought someone had died. My parents never called me so many times while I was out. I dial as Home starts calling again so I answer immediately but do that awkward pause when you’re not really expecting to accept an incoming call. “Hello? Hello?!” I sound panicked because I was, I thought something bad had happened. Everything was fine. Dad had expected me home for dinner because he didn’t ask Mum where I was. He had called to find out where I was, then getting no answer proceeded to freak out. He grilled my mother for information on this guy, to which she had to say I only knew him from my goth days, that yes he was three years older and that while he has a girlfriend, she wasn’t there tonight. The fact that I didn’t answer my phone made everything worse. My Dad is a worrier and I never realised until that night that more than half of the fear my mother had inflicted on me was actually from my father. After a less than 5 minute argument on the phone with him, it was decided he was coming to pick me up. I think he had decided he was going to come get me around 7:30 but didn’t know the address. I was beside myself. I was so embarrassed that my Dad was forcing me to come home and upset that I had to abandon my evening. I burst into tears. Now my friend is concerned. He and I had spent a long time chatting back when we were younger so I think he had always felt pretty darn protective of me. He gives me a hug, asks if I’m going to be okay and reassures me that we can still do this another time. In that moment I remember being angry with my Dad for thinking that this guy would ever hurt me. Dad gets to the house that has a couple of goth looking things out the front like a skull candle holder and I think a dragon on the door or something. He knocks on the door with his chest puffed out, not ready to fight, he’s not like that but he was trying to posture this guy that was in his mind probably taking advantage of his daughter. The issue here is that my friend was no slouch. A couple of piercings, visible tattoo, strong jaw and broad shoulders. My friend wasn’t trying to be imposing, I think he was trying to be helpful and apologetic, while also feeling protective of me because this bloke he doesn’t know just made his friend cry. It was pretty obvious that if it came to fisticuffs, my dad was going down pretty quick. Of course now, 12 years later I do look on what he did that night lovingly, at the time it was embarrassing and a little sad. Dad bundled me up into his car, leaving Patryick (my car) behind. He wouldn’t even let me drive home. I think he knew he was very much in the wrong, but we never spoke of it again. I did my best to distract myself the next morning at 8 am when Dad drove me back to get my car, knowing full well I had to open at work that morning. I was so insanely protected and taught to fear the world that eventually, I did. I never wanted to run away because the world was scary and I never wanted to do anything that remotely upset my parents because I didn’t want to have to live through that same experience again. So then, how did I become the person I am now? That’s an even darker story for next time I guess.

#story #life #parents #love #friendship #diary #writing

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gemayberry · 4 years

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Noble Mages Teaser Post 8: Character Q & A

We've spent the last 3 and a half weeks talking about magic and all it's uses, but there is nothing else to say on the topic. With one last teaser post promised, I turned to my beta reader on discord and asked him to come up with 3 questions for each of the main characters. He sent me some real brain teasers. I've dug deep into my creative mind to bring you these answers.

Q. What is watching death in your own experience like? Is there a uniqueness to every death or do you feel they are more or less similar? Why?

Lettie:Lettie sits in silence for a moment, the only sound is the steady drum beat on her legs, bum bum bum-bum bum bum bum-bum. Death...it's this... horrible thing. It doesn't matter who is dying, whether they are friends or enemies, whether they are trying to kill you or save you, none of that matters. Every life that is taken from this world... we are all important to someone. Someone loves us, someone is going to miss us when we are gone. To be there for that moment, when a light blinks out of this world, it's the same every time. It doesn't get any easier. And I know that sometimes people have to die so that others may live, I will always fight to protect those I care for, even if it means killing my enemies, but when that light blinks out, they're no longer my enemy. They are someones friend, their lover, their father, their son. They have loved ones who will miss them, who will wonder how they died, why they died. It never gets easier, and that's a good thing. Because if killing was ever easy, then what would stop us from killing each other?

Q. With the concept of death in the discussion, what of life? Is life the most important stage of existence?

Lettie:The Goddess teaches us that all stages of life are important, and that death is not the end, but rather the start of a new adventure. I grew up being told this, but I find it difficult to comprehend when faced with death. Lettie pauses for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. I suppose, in the end, the teachings are true. Reincarnation means that death is but the start of a new life, but are you still the same person? If you take away someones memories, their experiences, are they still the same person you know and love? I don't know. All I know is that this life is what we have. Take that away, and what's left?

Q. What do you find is difficult about life? Does anything bore you?

Lettie:I found life to be the most simple before setting out on an adventure with my sister and Hyam. It was...peaceful. In the end it was my decision to leave, I knew that the village wasn't where we were meant to be, and with our parents gone, there was nothing left to hold us there. Sometimes, when I think about everything that has happened in the last few weeks since leaving the village, I wonder if I would have made a different choice. To answer your question, for the average person life is quite simple. You get up, you greet your family, you do your chores, and you spend time with your friends. It's all so mundane. I sometimes wish I could go back to that, but I know that life is not for me. I was not meant for an easy life, and after all that I've been through, I don't think I could ever go back even if I wanted to. Life is most difficult when you have no control over it.

Q. In the heat of battle lots of things can happen at once. What is the most surprising thing that has ever happened in combat for you? Why?

Alyson: That would be the day I discovered my fire magic. It was a lot like discovering my earth magic but was activated very differently. The blinding rage I felt when I thought I had lost my sister, it brought out this primal force inside of me. I'm ashamed to admit it but... I lost control. It scared me that this power was hiding inside of me, waiting for me to lose control before coming out.

Q. The odds stacked against you and your allies, with inevitable defeat on the horizon, do you surrender and fight another day, or die a hero?

Alyson:I think that depends on the situation. Hyam has been teaching me the basics of tactics while we travel and if you have allies who will come to your rescue, then it's better to surrender than to die, but if nobody is going to come and rescue you then surrender is about as bad an option as there is, because they will likely kill you but only after they've extracted everything you know from your mind.

Q. Do you believe the love of one's family can defeat hate? Why or why not?

Alyson:Family is the most important thing in the world, and it can absolutely defeat hate. I have to believe that, otherwise what is the point of it all? And it's not just the family your born with. I love my sister absolutely, but I don't know where I would be without Hyam. He's the big brother I never knew I needed. We may not have been born family, but he is every bit the family that my sister, my mother, and my father are. As long as Hyam and Lettie are at my side, there's absolutely nothing we can't do.

Q. What aspect of spiritual magic is your favorite? Why?

Hyam:That would have to be the ability to summon the spirits of animals to enhance yourself or others. It's not an ability I use often in combat, as I have more powerful combat magic, but when I was growing up I would use it to enhance my speed and run around the palace at speeds that left me little more than a blur to the people watching. Or I might take up enhanced hearing and listen to people from far away. Once I even used it to take on the camouflage of a chameleon so I sneak around undetected.

Q. What are some limiting factors concerning how powerful a mage can be? Are these factors simple limiters that can be broken, or are they permanent barriers?

Hyam:There are both limiters and permanent barriers to how powerful a mage can become. It's rare for a self-taught mage to become as powerful as a natural mage because a natural mage is born with a much larger mana pool. It's like two people racing a 10 km race and one of them is given a 5km headstart. Each of the elements is only capable of so much power on it's own, and once you've reached that limit of power there's nowhere else to go. Beyond that, the only thing limiting any mage is their own will and creativity. You can do a lot with a little if you just open your mind to it.

Q. What connects you to the world in a unique way?

Hyam:I wandered the world for years after leaving my home. I was truly lost during those years, there was no one and nothing holding me to this world. When I met Alyson and Lettie, I think that's when my life truly began. I went to Lisedan because I had heard rumor of a reclusive prophet and I was hoping to find some purpose in life, a destiny perhaps. What I found was even more important, I found a family. You want to know what connects me to the world? They do. Alyson and Lettie.

Well folks, that's it. I promised two teaser posts a week for the entire month and this is the last one. Twin Mages (Life Mage Trilogy, Book 1) will be released on February 8th, 2020. Just 9 days to go.

The image for todays post is fanart created by one of my beta readers, BillyFlynt, on Discord. It depicts Hyam talking to Alyson and Lettie about golems.

Website: https://noblemages.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gemayberry

Pillowfort: https://www.pillowfort.social/GEMayberry

#Noble Mages #Life Mage Trilogy #Twin Mages #G. E. Mayberry #novel #new release #pre-order #amazon #fantasy #adventure #magic #mages #original characters #Q & A

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makeste · 5 years

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BnHA Chapter 221: What’s Up, Doc

Previously on BnHA: We caught up with everyone’s favorite squad of homicidal misfits some six-odd weeks before the start of the current arc. Tomura and the gang were straight up broke, squatting in a condemned building somewhere out in the mountains and raiding racist secret societies to steal their shit. As it turns out, having no money and no sense of direction or purpose starts to weigh on one’s soul after a while, and Spinner in particular seemed to be having a bit of a hard time, since he only joined the League because of Stain. Just when it looked like we might be in for a bit of internal strife, our friend Gigantomachia literally tore the door down, announced he was there to meet AFO’s successor, and then demanded for him to prove that he was worthy. Which is how the League found themselves getting their asses kicked by this sobbing giant rock man as he lamented over how weak they were. The chapter ended with Giganto’s discarded radio trying to get Tomura’s attention. Apparently the voice on the other end belongs to none other than AFO’s personal physician, a mysterious man known only as “the doctor” who is behind the creation of the Noumus.

Today on BnHA: The doc explains that Gigantomachia is All for One’s former bodyguard and one of the people AFO trusted the most. AFO hid him away a few years back, anticipating his own eventual defeat. Unfortunately, Giganto’s unfailing loyalty to AFO has made him unwilling to accept anyone who doesn’t live up to his former master. For the time being, the doc calms him down by playing a recording of AFO’s voice. He then proceeds to teleport the entire League to his hideout using the black sludge warping quirk. Over at the hideout, we see that the doc is in fact the spitting image of Deku’s old doctor from chapter 1, pretty much confirming a long-held fan theory. Also, this dude’s got no fewer than 12 motherfucking High-End Noumus floating around in tanks. The doc introduces himself as Ujiko Daruma (which even he admits is a fake name), and he tells Tomura that he summoned him and his gang because he wants Tomura to prove he’s worth. Anyway so during this chapter I proceeded to lose my shit like 1700 times, and tbh even rereading it now it still gets me hyped up. Oh my freaking god.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly-unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’m caught up with the manga now at chapter 226, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

oh my god

safe to say that “hyped as fuck” is a pretty accurate description of what I’m feeling right now

lol what the

Horikoshi, PSA, that’s not how radios work. were you perhaps thinking of cell phones? or walkie-talkies??

then again I suppose this might be some fancy schmancy radio FROM THE FUTURE or whatever

oh shit Tomura ain’t even joking though

giganto smash

I can’t believe Shigaraki Tomura is fucking dead. so much for your successor AFO

nah just kidding, he’s fine, at least presuming that he’s able to somehow land safely after all... this

guess we know what happened to poor Naomasa and that mountainside now

anyway, so guys. shit like this? is why Deku fucking needs to power the fuck up though. friendly reminder that the current #1 hero almost lost to fucking Hide and Seek Noumu. meanwhile this guy is out here leveling countrysides with a single Goron Pound. even Gran Torino wasn’t able to touch him. literally if our boy doesn’t get his Avatar State on soon the heroes are going to be in very bad shape here

anyway, so Giganto is still sobbing, and shouting to All for One (he can’t hear you, bro) that he wants to accept Tomura but he just can’t

okay but consider reading chapters 159 and 160 and then coming back and letting me know if you’ve had a change of heart. I’m just saying. he fucked up Overhaul something fierce and he deserves some credit. even if it was all just so he could steal Overhaul’s evil plan all for himself. because he has yet to come up with any kind of decent evil plan of his own. because between you and me, I don’t think he’s quite cut out for -- you know what, shit. maybe you’re onto something after all

so now Tomura is having a hilarious conversation with this sobbing rock man and a radio while still in mid-air

-- RECORD SCRATCH. FREEZE FRAME

SAY WHAT NOW. BACK THE FUCK UP, PRAYTELL??

are you saying this guy is the original Talking Noumu?? did AFO give him multiple quirks? is he like Wolverine or something and he’s got like a healing factor that can take a licking and keep on ticking? so they got all excited and loaded him up? ARE YOU EVEN REALLY MADE OF ROCK, FRIEND, OR IS THAT JUST ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR LIES

(ETA: I think this translation is wrong, actually; Viz’s translation says that Giganto is strong enough to be AFO’s bodyguard even without multiple quirks. in other words, he’s as strong as a Noumu without actually being one. which is arguably just as much of a shocking statement though.)

anyway so What’s Up Doc is continuing to explain Giganto’s life story so let’s un-freeze that frame

more evidence that AFO was taking steps to ensure himself a line of succession even before meeting Tomura. AFO have you ever seen Guardians of the Galaxy 2? spoiler alert, you know how Peter’s dad went and had a bunch of kids with people of all different species in order to try and create offspring that carried the same power as him, so he could use them to destroy the galaxy and shit? well my question for you is Did You Do That Exact Same Thing, Minus The Galaxy-Destroying Part. huh. huh

anyway now Dabi’s weighing in

and What’s Up Doc is all

“yep! we fucked up!!”

lol he says Giganto’s loyalty is too strong for his own good. went a bit overboard did we AFO

and nice lowkey Tomura burn as well. he says that Giganto is despairing at the “huge gap” between AFO and Tomura

so now Dabi is all “okay so we just have to do our best to kick his ass until he likes us?”

and he’s firing some flames, looking like he’s not exactly opposed to the thought

but WUD is saying that’s impossible, oh damn

what the

the hell was that click?? did he just hang up??

doesn’t seem that way, so... hmm. does he maybe have Giganto conditioned to respond to certain sounds or something? Pavlov-style?

(ETA: this really reminds me of the Avengers doing that “hey big guy, sun’s getting real low” lullaby thing with the Hulk lol.)

did he just shrink back down to size

um, what

should we... give him a moment

ohhhhhhhhhh

well that explains it then. no wonder they had him with the radio strapped around his neck

I wonder what would happen if they found out Mina was also capable of calming him down. Giganto whisperer. if SIXQUIRKS Deku ultimately fails, she may just be our last hope

and Tomura, shush. we’ve been waiting for him to join your party since chapter 50-something. this is literally years in the making. it took you time to warm up to your other misfits too, so you shut up and you deal with it

last observation before I click to the next page: is Giganto not wearing any pants. because. it looks to me like he’s not wearing any pants. just saying. um. ...

(ETA: you guys this makes me so uncomfortable though.)

OH SHIT WUD is calling Tomura out!!

AS THE PHILOSOPHER JAGGER ONCE SAID, “YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT”

fucking look at that halo of realization surrounding Tomura at this concept, though

wow he’s taking it better than I thought though

I’m not sure what Tomura’s relationship with WUD is, but up until this point I can’t recall him ever actually listening to another character and not throwing a tantrum even when they tell him something he doesn’t want to hear. like, he listened to Kurogiri more or less, but bitched about it endlessly when he didn’t like it. and even with AFO he would whine until he got his way

and yet here WUD is straight up telling him “AFO done spoiled you, kid” and he’s just like “ouch. that’s pretty harsh” but at the same time just... accepting it. Tomura you’ve done quite a bit of growing up, haven’t you?

and I think part of it is also that he’s probably been coming to these realizations on his own as well, but not really wanting to accept them yet. but he’s not stupid; what with their recent troubles it was probably starting to sink in just how good he’d had it earlier

anyway, so now WUD is saying “a moment please” and I guess he’s going off to do something

DFAKLSDJFLAKSD

HOLY SHIT IT’S THE BLACK OOZE WARP AGAIN

ARE WE FINALLY GOING TO MEET THE MYSTERIOUS UJIKO PLEASE SAY YES OH MY GOD OH SHIT

holy shit

so even they don’t know what’s going on. well I’m glad that someone is finally having the same freaking-the-fuck-out reaction that I did back in chapter 191 but no one else seemed to share my shock or concern even though WHAT THE FUCK YOU GUYS

so quick reminder that this quirk works by teleporting the user a short-range distance (supposedly; I think the limit was 5km) either toward the quirk-user, or toward someone with whom the user is well-acquainted with. so presumably that means that whoever’s using the quirk is closer to them than they think, and also this person is with the doc right now

(ETA: though on further reflection I think that AFO’s may have just had limited range because he’d just acquired it. it must be one of those quirks that you can power up with time and practice. 5km is way too limited of a range given how this quirk has been used the last few times we’ve seen it.)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

HOLY SHIT IT REALLY IS HIM!?!?!

holy fucking shit holy shit oh my god holy shit

this is Deku’s quirk doctor. that’s him, 100%. Tsubasa’s grandpa, who 100% confirmed turned his grandson into a Noumu. and who is now confirmed to be AFO’s personal doctor. and just happened to be hanging out in Musutafu conducting quirk tests on our protagonist when he was a young child

you guys I’m calling it -- Dad for One just went up to 50% likelihood. we are up to a 1 in 2 chance of this shit being confirmed as fucking canon. we have officially reached the point where these are confirmed to no longer be coincidences, or reaching for something that isn’t actually there. this is now either deliberate misdirection on Horikoshi’s part... or. it’s fucking true

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(ETA: that was a four-page quadruple fucking whammy you guys. shock after fucking shock. this chapter is amazing.)

oh my god!?!?!

okay so first of all, is that Hyped Up Noumu there on the far right?? it’s the same head, for sure. doesn’t quite look exactly the same as the final version, though. so maybe just a brother or cousin, or maybe he was incomplete

and we’ve got our first female Noumu as well! League of Villains doesn’t discriminate! nope

two of these Noumus appear to be missing the lower halves of their legs. friendly reminder that these were once normal people -- quite possibly children -- and we don’t know how much they can actually still feel. this is fucking horrifying and I’m not even joking, it’s fairly sickening to think about

I’m trying to see if I can identify any other familiar quirks, but so far it’s a no. I will point out that that one Noumu second from the left appears to have multiple Xenomorph heads. enjoy your nightmares kids

and last, these are all black Noumus, a.k.a. the special super-powerful kind. and there are at least a dozen here that we can see

so once again, just throwing it out there -- we might just be in need of a superpowered OFA kid with SIXQUIRKS once shit hits the fan and the fucking APOCALYPSE breaks loose or whatever the fuck this is all building up to, holy fucking shit

I’m seriously fucking stunned, though. leave it to Horikoshi to have me dropping my jaw to the floor on one page and then making my eyes fucking bug out of their sockets with the next

and so the heroes, as it turns out, did not even come close to unpacking all of AFO’s secrets. didn’t that one cop say way back in like chapter 96 that it was almost like he’d wanted the police to find that warehouse, and that it almost seemed too easy? so now this is evidence that everything -- basically all of Kamino -- was actually all according to AFO’s plan, and he intentionally let that hideout fall into the heroes’ hands. and even more terrifyingly, he most likely intentionally let himself get captured and it’s all part of a long con that he is currently enjoying the shit out of

tl;dr we’re screwed

anyways I think that’s all the freaking out and speculation and weak-attempts-at-analysis I can squeeze out from this two page spread for now. so let’s finish up the rest of the chapter then

so we’re getting confirmation now that Tomura has never been here before

oh my god the shock is finally wearing down and being replaced by HYPPPPPPPPE you guys...!!

so Doctor Eggman here is cackling and confirming that these are indeed not your everyday Noumu

“these children” oh my god

I suddenly feel the urge to go and hug all my U.A. babies. god bless them and please keep them safe! and I feel a particularly urgent need to hug my boy Katsuki especially, because yet again I got to wondering just what would have happened to him if he hadn’t been rescued, if All Might and the Pizza Delivery Team hadn’t come right when they did. and if he’d still refused to join Tomura. and just... shit

and one last friendly reminder that Tsubasa was Katsuki’s friend. the two of them were colossal assholes to Deku together (or well, Katsuki was an asshole and Tsubasa just followed him around smiling, mostly) when they were only four years old. there is a decent chance he’s actually met this man in the context of him being Tsubasa’s grandfather (not that he’d recognize the face given how little attention he pays to these things). and of course, Deku has met him face to face as well -- this is the man that completely altered the course of his life from age 4 through 14

sorry I keep getting so sidetracked guys, but this chapter just portends. y’know? this is some ominous foreshadowing fucking destiny shit. like, this seriously just became one of the most important plot chapters in the entire series. and just, we are finally, finally on to big things once again, and ffffffffffff but I’m so excited I can’t even fucking sit still

sdlfkjsadlkflSLDFHHSDKHFLKHLKJLKJ

THE HANDS. THE FUCKING -- HOLY SHIT

and also! he’s going to duplicate the fucking PERMANENT QUIRK-BE-GONE AHHHHHHH

this just got so much worse. everything. so much fucking worse

honestly starting to feel like six quirks may not actually be enough

anyway, so Compress is squinting and saying that he can’t clearly make out Eggman’s face “what with that backlight”

and. uh

hahaha well fuck. okay then

and Twice is all “jesus christ okay then dude, you’re the one who fucking brought us here to begin with”

and yeah, speaking of. care to explain that?? ever???

all right, so Eggman’s saying that he teleported them there because he doesn’t want to reveal his location

DLSAFHOIHW

so he’s Ujiko??? well shit, there goes the possibility of Ujiko being a lady villain. sorry Toga. still all you, Best Girl

after this I’ll have to go check out Caleb Cook’s twitter to see what he has to say about the name, given that Ujiko claims to have made it up on the spot just now

(ETA: here:

so basically his way of saying he’s AFO’s disciple, I guess.)

anyway, so now he’s saying that the reason he called Tomura here was out of respect for some arrangement that he had with AFO

I’m gonna assume that AFO was procuring quirks for him to aid in his research

oh my god you guys

it just occurred to me that this arc? might be Tomura’s version of getting his own power-ups similar to what Deku’s gotten recently. gotta keep that playing field level after all

lol oh damn

so this is like a Price is Right showcase. all this can be yours, if...

so what are you gonna do now, Tomura. ball’s in your court

and that’s the end of the chapter. oh my god

how many chapters into this arc are we actually?? and already we’ve got the Detnerat shit; Shouto and Katsuki finally getting their licenses (KACCHAN WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO CONFIRM YOUR HERO NAME???); and now these last two incredible League of Villain plot chapters. it’s been like five chapters, and this arc is already like a top three. absolutely incredible

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