#but it's been around 1/3rd for years now so. probably still is

[bookwyrminspiration]

Quill, I have book recommendations for you! I have read all of these books and can guarantee that they are at least somewhat enjoyable! Also, if you want to learn more about the books, let me know!

Tarnished are the Stars by Rosie Thor: Sci-Fi novel featuring the son of what is essentially the chief of the law enforcement, a spy for the queen, and an illegal medic. Very interesting book to read, and the romance, while not the focus, is very interesting.

In the Role of Brie Hutchens: Okay, so middle schooler with an obsession with soap operas that has to lie to her religious mother about being awarded a very high honor after being caught looking at some inappropriate pictures of her favorite actress. It’s a lovely queer novel featuring monologues and discovery. The other books by the author are also very good!

Felix Yz: About a kid who fused with a 4th dimensional being when he was 3, and what life is like years later. He has a minor romantic side plot with his crush on his classmate, but not the focus. Also, the author has another book about a trans girl if you are interested!

The other boy: doesn’t go with the stereotype of a trans guy hating sports and instead has the main character be a part of the sports team. After he’s outed he has to deal with the consequences of that. Very good book.

I have more but I don’t want to overwhelm you! If you want anymore book recommendations, let me know!

-⚙️

!! thank you very much!! I love getting suggestions and learning about other books, especially through the lens of someone's whose read and enjoyed it. Adds a bit of excitement and sentiment to it

Out of these four, the two that are catching my interest more than the others are Tarnished are the Stars (because I have an affinity for fantasy/sci-fi) and Felix Yz (once again, for the sci-fi). However! I do like to peruse through queer media of other genres, even though sports and soap opera related things really aren't my area. So perhaps I'll end up reading those as well.

I say this every time but its still true: I have a lot of books to read through so I don't know when I'll get to these, but I'll try my best to check them out!

Also I'm always open to book suggestions, though I can't promise to read every single one I get. So if you'd ever like to send more (or anyone else would, preferably with a summary), you're more than welcome to do so :)

[hiveswap]

Summary of The Cat of The Year poll atrocities of 2023/2024

I'm sure that most people on this side of tumblr have seen the Jellie vs. Nefarious Anglerfish poll going around with like 60k votes at this point, and I'd really like clear up some of what happened since I was around for the whole thing.

Url blocked out for op's privacy. They have already left but don't look for it if you haven't seen it/don't harrass them if you already have.

1. The previous round (preparation)

I discovered the poll in its previous round, needless to say she beat Jort's ass severely. This was around the 3rd of january, meaning that this round finished before jellie's passing with only about 7k votes. Op did add their own piece of propaganda from their main:

...which was FINE. (except for stuff we'll see later) Of course running a poll while biased isn't ideal but I for one didn't even know they were the op until much later. I also added my own piece in a separate thread, and they didn't interact with it at all. There was no drama.

2. The Finale

Jellie unfortunately passed away right before the starting of this poll, which was the catalyst for what happened next. Op did exactly as last time and added a slightly more mean spirited encouragement to vote for the other contestant. This is the point where I believe that i fucked up personally.

I added this thinkpiece accusing op of associating all mcyters with Dream (who we all hate for the record) despite them not alluding to him at all. This is because tumblr has a history of disimissing all mcyters as... everything that dream was been accused of. Op did allude to not caring for mcyt. but they didn't say what i accused them of. This is important to point out because this reblog of mine is still being spread. Jellie was in the lead at the time, but not by the time i woke up next morning.

I won't be including anyone else's additions because I don't want to put blame on any specific person. Just felt like clearing up mine.

3. The Fuckening

Some time later op made this post to their personal blog:

which is insanely shitty because, as other people have pointed out, the "lame ass youtube cat" didn't die to inconvinience op or ruin their fun, and people would have probably voted for her anyway because jelly is universally beloved in the mcyt community. This isn't anti democratic. This post was added to the poll with a caption saying op should not be running this poll, and it took off. Op later went on to say that this was a joke:

This apology was not taken well by people, (including me) because "you were not meant to see it" isn't an apology and they still very much made fun of someone's pet dying. Safe to say this did not make the drama stop and only added fuel to the flame. I believe this was the point where the conversation of mcyt fans being unjustly sent hate to was reignited.

We should discuss that! it's a real thing that happens often and is equal to childish bullying. However, in this case, OP was the only one getting sent hate to my knowledge. The notes were mostly saturated by mcyt fans, and even now i can only find one or two hateful stance towards us under the whole 20k notes post.

4. Conclusions

Op posted a second apology to the catoftheyear blog to try and calm people down (i believe this is comprehensive and a lot better than the previous one) The blog was deactivated shortly after, so i only have my phone screenshots of it that i also added to the poll itself at some point:

(Edit) Here's proof that op did not write the justification they got criticised for, from the notes of the original poll:

This apology didn't get seen, or get accepted by enough people, so op made this statement on their personal:

Needless to say I am deeply dissapointed (and guilty) that it's come to this. Yes, op said tasteless things that made us all angry, but telling a human being to commit suicide is worse than being insensitive about a stranger's pet dying. Even after I posted about the blog being decatived i had someone come into my notes to wish that "they never find happiness" i mean wtf. This isn't like shipping where we can do whatever without the content creator's input. this is fucking harrowing and i can't imagine how i'd feel if this was done in my/my pet's name especially after losing them as recently as a week ago.

I hope no one from hermitcraft who is on here (let alone scar holy shit) learns about this like they did with previous lighthearted tournaments. If you truly respect the creators you claim to be a fan of as people, you do not tell people to kill themselves over them. And finally, let Jellie fucking rest, guys. she had a long, good life. I hope op can come back and also avoids behaving like this if they ever wish to do so. I'm angrier at mcytblr, though.

[kathaynesart]

Replica Anniversary DTIYS!

Well, it was one year ago today that I started Replica!  It’s been a wonderful experience so far and I wanted to do something fun to show my appreciation to you all!  So in celebration I want to do my very first DTIYS, but we’re going to do this one a little differently. 

YOUR MISSION: to design a comic cover for the upcoming Replica Holiday Special that is all about the birth of Casey Jr:

The year is 2028, eight years before the start of Replica.  The Central Park Colony is still going strong and the turtles now must protect an expecting Cassandra Jones from the very people they are sworn to defend. 

As far as theme that is entirely up to you!  I’ve always found comic covers to be fun because they don’t necessarily have to show what happens in the actual story. So if you want Casey Senior holding up Junior on Pride Rock, Lion King style?  That’s great. You want to do an epic pose of the turtles battling Krang while trying to defend the Caseys?  Perfect.  You want to have Casey Junior bursting out of a Krang’s stomach like a Xenomorph???  Okay weird, but I’ll accept it so long as it’s not too gory!  Also the cover doesn’t  have to be Casey centric, I just want to see what you all come up with! (Note: please no NSFW art)

I have included character sheets and some visual development as reference for how the characters will look at this point in the story (though you do not need to strictly follow it. Feel free to give it your own artistic twist).  I will also include a PNG of the logo in case you have a vision for how you want it to be incorporated. Note you don’t have to use the logo but if yours is picked as the winner I will be putting a logo in there somewhere!

PRIZES: 3rd Place: an OC of yours will get to be a bg character in Replica (note the character cannot be an AU version of one of the main cast for obvious reasons). 2nd Place: a black and white commission of one character of your choosing. 1st Place: your cover front and center in the Replica lineup (with credit of course) as well as a 1-2 character commission w/ color (please no nsfw requests for either commission). 

DUE DATE: NOVEMBER 19 (gives you all 2 months)

IMPORTANT: please use #replica DTIYS hashtag for easy search Also please DM me with your finished cover on Tumblr (otherwise I might miss it!)

NOTE: while not mandatory you’ll probably want the piece to be around the typical comic cover vertical 2:3 ratio (10x15" for example).

DISCLAIMERS:

I’ve never done an event like this before so I’ll admit I’m a little nervous.  Don’t know if this will even gain any traction but I just want people to have good time and get creative :) 

This is all just for fun so please do not push yourself too hard!

Let me know if you have any other questions and have fun!

[xavieryaa]

The Reddit Blackout, #196, And Being New to Tumblr

okay i've seen a lot of people in the past ~24 hours or so confused by everything going on with Reddit & Tumblr from both sides - people new to tumblr who don't know how to use it, and tumblr users who don't know what's going on with reddit and why many of its users have joined up here i know this isn't really related to my blog but fun fact about me: i was up until recently a very active reddit user and even mod a subreddit, but I've also been on tumblr for about 3 years now on different accounts, so I think I can see pretty well from both sides of this and explain what's going on this post will be split in 2 sections: what happened with reddit (and what #196 means), and a guide for new users

1. What The Hell Is Going On With Reddit?

The thing that's caused all this ruckus is a major change to Reddit's API, which is what Reddit provides to people so they can pull directly from Reddit to make third-party apps or tools.

The change is that Reddit is changing its previously free API to be paid. Which on its own kinda sucks for developers, but it's not unexpected. They need to make money somehow, right?

The problem is that the API pricing is WAY TOO FUCKING EXPENSIVE. The developer of the most popular 3rd party Reddit app, Apollo, says it will cost him $20 million a year to continue running the app as normal.

Essentially, this pricing forces almost everything third-party to shut down, which causes 3 major problems:

Third-party apps cannot keep running, which sucks for normal users because Reddit's official app is awful. It's slow, its video player is a thing of nightmares, it doesn't have many useful features third-party developers have made.

It sucks even more for visually impaired users because they can't use the official Reddit app at all. Reddit's official app does not work with iOS's native text-to-speech function. Third party apps, on the other hand, often do. So Reddit is forcing blind users away.

Third-party moderator tools cannot keep running, which sucks for moderators because many rely on these tools to properly moderate their subreddits. And moderators are often necessary, because without them subreddits get banned and hate speech and even CSA can often run rampant.

So you see why this change is bad.

Reddit users were PISSED.

So over the past week and a half or so, they have been working on organizing a site-wide blackout. The majority of the most active subreddits have now gone private. Some are only doing it for 48 hours, others (such as r/196) are doing it indefinitely.

That's why you can't access most of Reddit right now, and that's why many users have come here.

You're probably still wondering, though - what is this #196?

Well, as you may guess, it's connected to that subreddit r/196 I just mentioned. r/196 is a subreddit which only has one rule: every time you visit, you must post before you leave.

That's it, that's the subreddit.

The thing about r/196 that set it apart from most other subreddits - and what lends the subreddit's users perfectly to Tumblr - is that it was dominated by queer and leftist users.

So now they've come here and set up shop in #196 and r/196 so they can continue their merry little shitposting.

There's a ton of lore related to r/196, actually, but this is already a long tumblr post and quite frankly I cannot be bothered to write about it at the moment.

2. I'm Here From Reddit, What Now?

Hello there, random new user. As a double-citizen of Reddit and Tumblr, let me show you around this place.

First off, there are some other people who are better at explaining that I am who have made some really helpful things. Watch this Strange Aeons video as a guide to Tumblr culture and functionality and read this post which directly compares Reddit and Tumblr.

Assuming you've done that, here's some additional advice of my own:

Do you miss sorting subreddits by top of all time/the year/the month? Well, you can do something very similar with tags! If you go to a tag at the top of the screen you can select top, and then at the dropdown that says "all time" you can select different time periods! Even 6 months, which Reddit hasn't ever had.

Tumblr has a lot of cool customization features! Even outside your icon/banner/bio, you can change you blog colors and on desktop you can have an html theme (which has its own thriving community here). That customization is part of what sets Tumblr apart from everywhere else - I think you'll enjoy playing with it.

Notes will probably confuse you at first. Unlike the different numbers for upvotes and comments, notes combines the total number of likes, reblogs, and replies into the same number.

Outside of organizing your own blog, when making your own posts tags are what help other people find your post. Use them! But don't abuse them, because then people will just block you.

There are three ways of people finding your post: if someone follows you, if someone follows the tag(s) assigned to your post, and if someone is just scrolling through the tag(s) assigned to your post (and also the secret 4th way no one uses, which is finding it on the trending page, but even if people did use it no one will find your post initially that way)

tumblr is no longer The Discourse Website. And unlike what Reddit wants you to believe for some reason, it is very much alive still. Most of the people seeking fights have moved to Twitter (though some have also moved back here again). You will not get any brownie points for being a dipshit like you do on some subreddits.

So there, welcome to the hellsite (affectionate), you'll pick up on all the in-jokes eventually, for now just try not to be a nuisance and soon enough this'll be your new internet home.

[94blazed]

OBSESSION

PART 1

WC : 8.3K

Genre: smut. fluff. crack. angst.

Rating: M (minors dni)

Warnings: depression. alcohol; consumption. no smut in this part!

Summary: Seven wednesday jungkook. You and Jungkook have been delusional about each other your whole lives, but when Jungkook is off the market, you start to wonder if it was all just one-sided. After the break-up with sohee, you became friends with benefits right after a simple hookup, but when he receives a text from his ex..

a/n: this is a two part series! i couldn’t stop expanding the story :,) - no hate to sohee this is fiction!

TAGLIST : sign up here

⋆

⋆

⋆

You and Jungkook have known each other since the 3rd grade, basically throughout your entire lives, and have always had a connection towards each other. Ever since you were kids, there was always something there, a spark, but no match to ignite it. So it was more of an under the table type of thing, but everyone knew it was obvious.

At age 20, I was enrolled in Seoul University along with Jungkook and the rest of the boys. It was the summer of 2020 and we had gathered around the campfire on the beach, cooking s'mores, admiring the sunset, and playing a few rounds of volleyball while enjoying a few cans of Truly. Everyone was present except for Jungkook, who was the last to arrive with a hinted surprise he had mentioned in the gc. As the drinks flowed, I began to suspect that his surprise was just another bottle of alcohol. However, I'm growing a high confidence from these drinks, I start to prepare myself for this moment mentally and physically. To confess my feelings to him.

Light beams hit our faces as Jungkook finally arrived, and I couldn't contain my excitement. Everyone started dashing towards him, with me being the last to arrive. "Guys, I'd like to introduce you to Sohee, my girlfriend," Jungkook announced. Everyone greeted her as they should, and as a friend, I knew I should do the same. However, my heart sank deeper and deeper as I came into contact with her. It registered that she was now Jungkook's girlfriend and that everything that we had between us was probably one-sided and never meant anything, but I couldn't help but wonder why he never mentioned her before..

⋆ TIME SKIP ( 2 years later / december ‘22 )

After Sohee and Jungkook got together, they would always show up together at the hangouts. Even with the rest of the boys being there, I still felt like a third wheel. "jk's kinda a jerk for leading you on just for him to bring a girl out of nowhere," your best friend Jimin whispers. "Yeah," you sigh. You're honestly happy for them, but to be honest, you're a little jealous.

When we hung out with the boys, we would often sneak off to talk and maybe share a kiss or two, but it never progressed into anything further..

Just talking to him as if we were together made me feel like the world was on pause. Looking up from the ground, I saw them cuddling on the couch, his hands on her waist and hers resting on his chest, their eye contact never breaking. It stung a little, but as a friend, I knew I had to be supportive and had to accept the fact that it was over. "Hey, I'm gonna head out. I'm getting tired," I said. "y/n, stay a little longer. It's barely 11," yoongi replied, glancing at the couple. They didn't even acknowledge your presence. "No, it's okay. I have work in the morning anyway," I said, hearing a collective of "aww's" Jimin spoke up, "I'll walk her down. I'll be right back."

"I'm sorry, y/n," Jimin says, turning around to face you. You furrow your eyebrows in confusion. "Jimin, it's not your fault." "I know, but I really thought you two would've ended up together." he pauses. "You know, I've always seen you two sneak off, so I thought you two would have confessed to each other during that time. I would even distract the guys so they wouldn't notice." you smile. "I thought so too, but trust me, chim, I'm happy for them." Jimin throws you a squinted look, making you laugh, as you reach your car, as you say your goodbyes. Jimin embraces you and whispers, "Don't think about it too much. I don't like seeing you like this." grinning, you hug him back tightly, "I won't. Thank you, chim." After letting go, you waved goodbye and made your way home.

⋆ february ‘23

A week after that hangout, Jungkook stopped coming to the hangouts along with Sohee. He slowly stopped responding to the group chat and stopped posting on all his socials. You started thinking that he was just too busy being lovey-dovey with his girlfriend, but your assumption was wrong.

You attempted to contact him multiple times but went straight to voicemail. Frustrated enough you grabbed your keys, hopped in your car, and made your way to his place. Upon arriving, you knocked on his door. only to find that the lights were off, but it was only 9pm? he never goes to bed this early. Banging harder the door finally opened to a messy-haired Jungkook. "What do you wan- y/n?" He was surprised to see you at his doorstep. "What are you doing here?" "I'm here to see what's going on. You don't come to the hangouts, nor do you text or call us?" "I'm sorry." "Yeah, sorry. I love to hear it." "You think this was my choice?" Now you were confused. "What do you mean?" "Sohee. She didn't want me to be around you guys, especially you." You were taken aback a little. "Wait, me?" " I told her about us. She never did things like you did, and comparing you to her must've gotten under her skin." you didn't know Sohee would feel this threatened by you. "Wait, where is she now?" "We broke up a while ago. she took everything of mine, even my phone." You felt bad, really bad, and it kind of pissed you off. "Okay, um, can I come in?" He finally raised his gaze to meet yours, now seeing his face, you noticed how pale he got along with dark circles under his eyes. Which caused you to be concerned for his health. "Have you eaten yet?" "No, the last time was two days ago." Your heart sank, but you couldn't just stand there. "Okay, um, I'll order takeout right now, but let's wash you up first." Grabbing his hand, he followed you like a lost puppy. Looking around, you saw clothes everywhere, smashed dishes on the floor, and cabinet doors flung open. And pretty sure she did take everything.

After finding the bathroom, closing the lid to the toilet you assisted him to sit down. Turning to the tub, you plugged up the drain and turned on the warm water from the faucet. "Okay, can you undress for me and hop in once you're done?, I'll be right back." closing the door, you heard shuffling on the other side, which was a good sign. After placing an order, you helped clean up the mess that was made around the place. placing clothes in the hamper, making the bed, sweeping the glassware off the floor, and putting the dirty clothes in the washer. When completing, you went to check up on jungkook. Knocking on the door, you heard a quiet "come in." Opening the door, you saw him immersed in a bath of bubbles, which you did not recall adding, indicating that he had done so himself.

Sitting on the rim of the bathtub, you stare at his face, head tilted back, eyes shut, messy hair, and that cute little mole beneath his lip that you love so much. You didn't even notice a smile had crept onto your face until he opened his eyes, "What are you smiling about?" realizing that you were caught, you averted your gaze and responded, "Nothing, I just thought the bubbles were cool." There was a long moment of silence before you offered, "Let me wash your hair." dampening his hair a bit, you pumped a few globs of shampoo onto your palm and proceeded to massage it into his hair.

Jungkook let out a sigh of relief, "feels so good," causing your cheeks to tint a light shade of red. After rinsing it off, you continued with the conditioner, and so on. You stepped out for a little while so he could wash himself up. While waiting outside, you heard your name being called. "yeah?" "um, do you think you can wash my back?" burning up, you cooled yourself down a little before entering. returning to the rim of the tub, you took the sponge and gently applied it to his back.

While scrubbing, he spoke, "thank you, and I truly mean it. thank you." pausing, you resumed scrubbing. "That's what friends are for, Jungkook." he fully turned around this time, making eye contact with you. "No, I actually mean it y/n. thank you. To be quite honest, you were the last person I thought I would see." "Kook, after everything, I still care about you. Yeah, what happened between us was nothing, just a little fling. You didn't hurt me like you think you did. I completely understand." ( yeah right ). "Honestly though, I mean it. I owe you. a big one" You both held contact in silence, the world pausing yet again; both flicking your eyes at each other's lips, making sure the other wouldn't notice. "Can I kiss you?" you were taken by surprise, but after all this time, you couldn't miss this opportunity. Smiling, you leaned in closer, hand dipping to the bottom of the tub for support, eyes never breaking contact. You were an inch away before you answered, "yes."

Jungkook finally breaks a smile as he takes his damp thumb, tilting your chin to adjust to his angle. You deepen the kiss, not holding back as you slip your tongue through his parted lips, which he gladly accepts. Playing with his lip ring earns you a small bite to your tongue, making you want to play with his tongue instead.

You guys lasted a while in the bathroom, having an intense make-out session, but like before, it didn't lead up into anything. After helping him out of the tub, providing him with a towel. You left him to get dressed while you unclogged the drain, allowing the water to flow along with the rest of the bubbles down the drain.

After eating the takeout you ordered, you guys watched movies together on the sofa, but it was 2 in the morning, and you couldn't stay here all night, so you had to say your goodbyes. Looking over, you noticed that jungkook had fallen asleep. Cracking a smile, you get up and plant a kiss on the top of his head, but as you reach for your keys, he grasps your wrist. "stay, just for tonight." Breaking into a smile, you agreed. and let me just say, it wasn't the only night.

⋆ TIME SKIP / april ‘23

Ever since that night, you two have been fwb. slowly but surely, you started bringing him back into the group. He seems more lively now than he was when you first found him.

Like today, you both came back from the group to hang out, to spend time, just the two of you. ordered pizza, watched movies, and just enjoying each other's presence.

until now, jungkook received a notification.

- unknown: Do you like her?

- JK: who is this?

- unknown: Sohee.

- sohee: Y/N, do you like her?

- JK: why are you asking me this?

- sohee: because I still want us.

to be continued…

a/n: i hope you enjoyed part 1 even though it’s on a cliffhanger 😭 but i’ll be posting part 2 this week !

taglist : @jjklves @ane102 @moonbinniehappy @caro134340lina @bbtsficrecs @ahsluv @tatamicc @heartjiminie @ta3bae @ahsluva @starbrightday

[fuck-customers]

Vent post

Tbh this probably isn't the right place for this, but it is partly work-related.

For once, my job itself isn't the thing giving me stress, but it is still involved.

My mom and I have moved into a place after a long stint of being homeless (2 years) woo yay clap for us. It hasn't been perfect, as we've had to spend each day either making repairs around the house, cleaning up the neglected yard, getting necessary appliances, etc etc. But it's definitely better than the car.

Now, we still live in 2024, and to my knowledge, the vast majority of job listings are online only and most places don't accept/don't look at paper applications. (I know at my current job, physical resumes just end up getting lost in piles of other paper or thrown out) So obviously, to apply to a job, I'd need wifi. Which has been a small problem. We couldn't get the wifi to work and ended up having to get a repairman over to fix it. So today is actually only the 3rd day of us having wifi. (And I'm typing this at 10:30 a.m. so it's more like 2 1/4 days)

I also need to update my resume and I need another person to look at it because it doesn't look right to me, but I can't figure out how to fix it. Which I have told my mom dozens of times and she has refused to look at it for months. (Also there was the problem of not having an address...)

Also, where I live there isn't really any jobs other than retail, unless you have some kind of license or degree, which I do not. So I'd be moving from a shit retail job to another shit retail job, which does not sound appealing.

Posted by admin Rodney

[victim-of-subtraction]

guys a blue lock x jjk au came to me in a dream do we fw it? (it’s not fully fleshed out yet, but this is what I have so far)

there are KIND OF. some jjk spoilers (I make references to certain events/ characters, so be warned)

so, there’s the Kyoto and Tokyo branches, and each would have maybe 5 students, here’s what I have so far+ explanations

TOKYO -

Nagi

2nd year (17)

cursed speech user, semi first grade

orphan (deceased sorcerer parents) + abandoned by relatives bc of his ct

has been a sorcerer for less than a year, reo found him during a mission 1st year

alright this one kinda just made sense in my head, cause he’s already pretty quiet + has trouble communicating (reo is the only one who can usually understand what he’s thinking, without him saying it..)

Reo

2nd year (17)

Heir to the mikage clan (one of big 3)

copy technique, 2nd grade awaiting promotion

has limited cursed

do I really need to explain this one? (reo’s already an heir + his chameleon/copying bit)

Isagi

2nd year (17)

sukuna’s vessel, special grade

main character whos strangely overpowered, but really has no idea what he’s doing

Chigiri

2nd year (16)

sorry guys I genuinely could not assign a canon ct to him, might have to make one up later, I will take suggestions tho

was scouted to jujustu tech after being involved in some kind of incident involving cursed spirits

Comes from a non-sorcerer family

Kunigami

2nd year (17)

deadly sentencing (domain expansion) + judgeman (shikigami)

grade 3

wanted to become a sorcerer to protect/pay for his family

older sister is a sorcerer as well

His whole ‘hero’ shtick, plus his righteousness was what made me pick these for him, and I know he’s not a seasoned lawyer like higuruma, but his morals are still pretty strong I’d say

KYOTO -

Karasu

3rd year (18)

black bird manipulation, 1st grade

usually watches fights from afar, uses his birds to help with recon or intel-gathering (but he can fight if he needs to)

comes from non-sorcerer family

Again, idk if I really have to explain this one (karasu’s known for being extremely analytical + ‘karasu’ means crow)

Otoya

2nd year (17)

blood manipulation, semi first grade

probably just became a sorcerer because he had nothing better to do

sorcerer family

This one was kinda like nagi, it makes sense in my head. I don’t really have a solid explanation, but it’s just the vibes I get from him

Yukimiya

3rd year (18)

2nd grade

extremely proficient at hand-to-hand combat/handling weapons

alright now, I had two possible ideas for him, but I haven’t fully decided yet, so I will update if I do figure it out

Alright, so you can skip this if you wanna, but these are the two options + explanations for yukki: 1) grade 2 sorcerer, completely blind, uses cursed energy to sense sorcerers/spirits around him (there was a whole bit about isagi comparing him to toph, but him not knowing who that is) 2) grade 4 sorcerer, has perfect vision, but cannot see cursed spirits without the help of special glasses, and has no cursed energy (like maki) < this one might not work, because he’s not a twin, but ocs exist for a reason yk!!!

Hiori

2nd year (16)

Heir to the hiori clan (one of big 3)

ten shadows technique + chimera shadow garden (domain)

2nd grade

inherited technique

faces heavy pressure/abuse from his clan to become the next head

has no interest in being a sorcerer

I think I kinda explained it in the 2nd to last bullet, but hiori already faces pressure from his parents to be the best, so making him a clan heir seemed reasonable in my head

Nanase

1st year (16)

straw doll technique, 3rd grade

non-sorcerer family

Again, like Otoya this is purely from vibes. I guess I was kind of influenced by nobara and Nanase both being from the country

———

alright that’s it for students ☝️ I’m considering adding some more, but we’ll see later.

now the teachers are:

Anri

Tokyo branch

powerful reversed cursed technique

grade 1

Vibes. She’d definitely be leagues cheerier than shoko though

Ego

Tokyo branch

creates cursed corpses

grade 1

The cursed corpses are like the blue lock men (if you don’t remember, they were the ai goalkeeper things)

———

now, before we get into the antagonists, I did plan one extra character:

Sae

Current head of the Itoshi clan (one of big 3)

limitless technique + possesses the six eyes

special grade

I knew sae had to be powerful, so I gave him the technique.

———

antagonist time 😈

Rin

Curse user, special grade

cursed spirit manipulation

non-inherited technique

sick of never being taken seriously for having a non-inherited technique, so he defected from his clan just as he was about to join jujustu tech

started a group of cursed users

:3 sibling fights! (Sae doesn’t gaf)

Shoei Barou

Curse user, grade 1

part of rin itoshi’s group

disaster flames

doesn’t get along with any of the other members, but sticks around to have powerful allies

barou was like. THE first one I chose to be a villain. He fr says it himself, if he can’t be the main character, he’s gonna become the villain.

Bachira

curse user, special grade

part of rin’s group

yorozu’s vessel

Guys. You gotta hear me out, but the whole yorozu sukuna thing.. rn it only makes sense to me but I’ll explain more in a bit i would like to note that Bachira can still control his body, it’s more like an itadori vessel type thing than how it actually was with tsumiki

Shidou

No cursed energy at all

uses cursed tools

known as the ‘sorcerer killer’

basically a hitman for hire

not technically part of rin’s group, but used to hover around them since rin gave him good assignments and paid him well

again, the second I started making this I knew 100% Shidou would be an antagonist. The only part that idk ab is the fact he’d willingly work with rin..

———

now, I don’t have a full plot in my head yet, but these are some pretty important facts that happen in this au (not in chronological order):

The Kyoto and Tokyo schools have an exchange event where the Kyoto students attempt to murder isagi, and the event is later crashed by curse users (rin’s group)

Shidou kills Kunigami (I’m sorry I’m sorry I love him but I had to)

Nanase is outed as a traitor/spy for rin (bros motto was ‘if you cant beat them, join them’)

with karasu’s help, hiori figures out how to do a domain expansion

Bachira (who has previously been fully devoted to rin, since he owed his life to him) meets isagi, and feels an instant bond with him, partially due to yorozu (who took the place of his ‘monster’ in this au) seeking out sukuna

isagi later convinced Bachira that he could reform, and join jujustu tech to live a happier life with him, and just as he’s about to accept, he’s killed by rin itoshi for betraying him. (Again, I’m sorry, but I had to. Think junpei itadori relationship. That’s what they are)

hiori (again, with karasu’s help) breaks away from his clan

————

some notes:

I didnt wanna add any nel players bcuz then it’d get too complicated (otherwise Lorenzo would’ve been the perfect sorcerer killer, bc ‘ace eater’ and everything..)

but I do not have any teachers for the Kyoto branch bc of this, and I’m contemplating changing the story a lil bit to have the Kyoto students possibly join the Tokyo school because of their teachers dying or smth?? I’m honestly not sure. there are a couple things I wanna add, but haven’t figured out yet, like nagi betraying (but not really betraying) reo somehow, chigiri witnessing kunigami’s death and fighting Shidou, and Shidou somehow meeting sae (im a ryusae kinda guy at heart)

I was planning to try to draw smth from this au, but I’ve had absolutely 0 motivation to do art lately if I missed smth important or if you have any questions or recommendations plsplspls lmk 🙏🙏

[youhavelessproof]

More Info ↓

When?

2025, for sure. I, myself, am far too busy in the later months of the year to even try and organize it for this year. plus, I think trying to do it this year would be too soon for people to actually get stuff together and participate. as for when in 2025, I'm thinking February. the Teen Titans series started in February and Roy also joined the team in February. (publishing wise.) (also yes Garth quit the issue where Roy officially joined but shhhh.) the specific week in Febuary is not locked in yet, but I'm looking at the 3rd-8th right now. (again only 6 days.) the process of the event being public with an account would probably be in November/December which would give me a couple months to work behind the scenes to set stuff up before stuff like voting starts.

Why 6 Days?

I explain more in the prompts section, but basically the way I have envisioned setting up the prompts of this event up fit better with 6 days rather than 7. rest assured, there will still be a free day.

What Kind Content Would be Allowed?

any and all. as long as the Fab 5 are the central theme. as long as everything is tagged responsibly, any content would be allowed. fics and art would be welcome of any variety. I might had a word minimum for fics, but it would be reasonable.

more clarifications on content ↓

What Would be the Theme Specifically?

the Fab 5's bond in general! it wouldn't be platonic or romantic specific. it might be a little romantic skewed, depending on how things go, but platonic content would be welcome. it would be more comics oriented since the Fab Five is mostly a thing in the comics, but it wouldn't be a rule that it had to be comicsverse.

Would All 5 Characters Need to be Included for Every Work?

realistically, no. I'm not gonna force everyone to draw or write 5 characters for every fic of artwork. I think that would just be unrealistic. the way it would probably be done is that you could write about/draw whatever members of the Fab 5 you wanted for the specific prompt you choose. the core theme is their bond, so whatever aspect of that bond you want to explore you can. I would encourage fics about all 5, but that doesn't mean that's required or that all 5 would have to physically be there.

Would Other Characters be Allowed?

of course. as long as it's Fab 5-centric, I see no reason not to allow other characters.

Would NSFW Content be Allowed?

yes absolutely. I have no plans of making the event NSFW or SFW specific just as I won't make it platonic or romantic specific.

Would the Event be Era Specific? (Teen Titans, Titans, etc.)

nope. I'm planning on making it Fab 5 in general, not just specifically Teen Titans Fab 5. there will probably be prompts that are era specific, but you won't have to pick those if you don't want. AUs would also be allowed!

Prompts?

yes there are gonna be prompts as most week events do.

more clarifications on prompts ↓

How Would the Prompts be Determined?

there would likely be two forms. one where people could suggest prompts and the second where you could vote for the ones you want. again, I think I'll probably wait until November/December to start the process of getting prompts so that it's not too long waiting once the prompts are chosen.

Would Any Prompts be Character Specific?

yes! at least, probably. I have been thinking of having a section on the prompt suggestion form to submit character specific prompts. there would be one per day minus the 6th free day. the set up would basically look like this if I go through with it:

prompt 1 | prompt 2 | prompt 3 | character specific prompt

Day 1 would be Dick, Day 2 would be Wally, Day 3 would be Garth, Day 4 would be Donna, and Day 5 would be Roy. (in order of when they joined the team. Dick, Wally, and Garth were the first to team up so they're in order of when they were introduced into the comics.) you would not be required to use the character prompt or even make that day's work character specific, (you could have every day be Wally-centric for example if you wanted,) but I think it would be cool to offer an opportunity to focus on each member of the Fab 5. this is still in the brainstorming phase, so the specific set up might change, but this is my idea right now!

Would There be a Catch-Up Week?

yes absolutely. there wouldn't be strict cut off for submissions. things might not be reblogged timely or at all after a certain point, but the ao3 collection would stay open. there might also be bonus prompts for the catch-up week inspired by Omega Dick Week 2024. we'll see.

Do I, Moon, Have Literally Any Experience Running Events?

nope! :D however, I do have a plan in mind and have plans to ask for help when I need it. (which I probably will.) I still have experience in fandom and have participated multiple events myself. I'm not too worried about my ability to make this happen as long as people want it to happen. I'm also planning on getting someone to help me run the event if this gets enough of a positive response. if you interested in helping, feel free to DM me on here or on Discord (youhavelessproof)

I think that's all the info that I think would be helpful in the decision of being interested in the event. if you have any more questions or concerns though, or just have thoughts you want to share, feel free to ask or reach out! 🩵

I did also do a quick search on Tumblr and it doesn't seem like anyone has plans to do this, but if I'm stepping on anyone's toes feel free to tell me hfsdjkhfjksh

[fostercare-expat]

I told my former husband that I’m not going to follow his request that no 10 year old boys will be allowed to sleep in my house and that I’ll be having Older Brother sleep in the house for 4 nights this month while the girls will be here. He asked to meet in person the next day.

We discussed again that he sees Older Brother and Fearless as sexual predators due to their age and gender, and it is his job as a father to protect his daughters against abuse. By me bringing in "these sort of children" (meaning foster children) that I am exposing his daughter to a high risk of abuse and he will not allow it. I offered to meet together with his therapist so we could discuss this all together, but he refused. Yet in another point of the meeting, he himself said that we should meet with a 3rd party to help work this out, which I said I would like to do. He said since I won’t honour our agreement that the boys are not allowed to spend the night that I must install CCTV cameras in every room of my house including my own bedroom and my helpers bedroom and the girls bedroom. He is not requiring the password to the CCTV stream but he wants the boys to known they are being watched.

When I have refused to do this he threatened me with the following "if I push him":

- He will “go nuclear” / “take the nuclear route”

- He will contact CPS to “tell them everything” (not sure what he is referring to) and get any foster kids removed from my home.

- He will stop all child support.

- He will take me to court to get full custom our girls and they will live with him full time

- He wants me to sign a paper that if our girls are ever abused that I automatically lose custody of them.

He then calmed down and agreed he will accept CCTV cameras in the kitchen, the livingroom and the girls bedroom only, at my own expense. I have agreed to this. I will have them installed before 13 June. He also still insists that I sign a paper that if our girls are ever abused that I automatically lose custody of them, which I have not agreed to and do not intend to, but I told him that he could write up whatever document he wanted to give me for consideration for signing.

And then he announces he has something else to tell me. He’s going to be moving in with his girlfriend in November. He says he’s known her for a year but it’s only in the last 4 or 5 months he told me and the kids about her. My Older Daughter has met her 3 times. My Younger Daughter has met her 1 time. I made the joke “guess we need to get divorced now” because he has always been strongly against getting a legal divorce. We have been separated for 7 years and he was always opposed to divorcing. I even got papers drawn up in 2021 and he convinced me it didn’t make sense. His response to my joke was “Yup, my girlfriend and I talking about getting married eventually so you and I should probably go ahead with that divorce.” This is so bizarre because he’s always sworn he will never get married for a third time. (He was married before me at age 18.) So I’m guessing his girlfriend is giving him an ultimatum. I’m totally ok with the legal divorce, the only substantial difference is that he won’t be able to stay on my health insurance, and my tax bracket will go down, so the financial situation is upside for me and there isn’t anything else that really depends on being married other than who can make healthcare decisions in the case of being incapacitated. No negatives there. But he’s done an emotional 180 on that.

So in the space of drinking 1 coffee, he threatened to blow up my entire life, and then asked me to support him as he introduces a stepmother into my kids life. This guy is mind blowing lately. I pointed this out to him and he seems to think it all makes sense. I’ll be supportive of his new relationship and help the girls manage their emotions around it all because it’s the right thing to do, not because he deserves it. So yeah, there’s some big emotions care giving ahead because this isn’t going to be easy for my daughters.

[fountainpenguin]

"I simply must go-" ("Baby, it's cold outside...") "The answer is 'No-'" ("But baby, it's cold outside...") (x)

---

New Dog's Life chapter today! ~ 3rd Life series fan-season

Chapter 22 - “Fizzle (Bdubs, Scar, Mumbo)”

❤️ Read on AO3

💛 Start from Chapter 1

💚 More Pixels Imperfect fics

---

Bdubs ruins the soul delivery route for everybody. Scar tolerates NPC_Grian's snark as best he can. Mumbo eats pizza and makes a new… friend?

Also, Scar follows up with Grian on the rumor that he's secretly trapped in his red life even in the Between dimension, one slip-up from a perma-death... That talk goes great!

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

---

Bdubs - Phantom

Status: Morose

Captain of New Star Station’s Phantom Hybrid Flock

💙  🧡  💚

There are no horses in New Star Station. Not even one. Horse hybrids, sure, though they're not as common as you think. People have been saying for years that horses might be extinct in Between by now, but he's still got hope. You're sharing minds with Bdubs right now, just so we're on the same page. He's the guy with hope.

It's fine! There's no time in his schedule for horse caretaking anyway. Being captain is practically a full-time job. Seriously.

Phantoms don't need to go offline (as long as they're absorbing souls on the regular for the energy zing, of course). A phantom who goes more than three days without a single soul will start dropping the hunger meter fast, and if they can't find someone to eat, they'll probably go offline a while so they can rest and think things through.

It's all about energy. Even Scott's not immune to naptime, no matter how hard he denies it. Have you ever seen him sleep when he's on-server for like, the Life series and stuff? He's out cold. Might as well be in free-cam with how little reaction you'll get out of his body. Maybe he really does go into free-cam and wander around, pretending he's sleeping when he's really not. Scott's the type who can't settle down for anything. Maybe that's why he's so big on cozy little builds.

But the thing about 'No horses in New Star' is, well… Not having horses doesn't leave him with much to do on nights like this when he's stripped of title and stripped of wings. He should probably be taking Brittney out to dinner, but since he wasn't expecting to, y'know… Lose his wings this weekend, he didn't make reservations early enough. Brittney's fine! She's doing Gals' Night tonight with Cocoa, Jewel, Ferks, and Vera. They'll have fun. Bdubs snorts, kicking his foot against the edge of town square's fountain.

A stubborn sniffer, an athletic ravager, a sharp-eyed hoglin, a parkour-loving axolotl, and a beefy glow squid walk into a bar… Now that's a group you don't wanna mess with. The ravager is not the one with the most XP in her close combat skill. And Bdubs knows firsthand that as mellow as his beloved wife is, she's not afraid to headbutt or wrestle around. Look- phantoms do wrestle, but even Bdubs finds himself all too easily pinned when facing a woman with four arms.

I should bring her some chocolates. Not back to their server, obviously, but they've got an apartment he's spent… way too little time in lately. Bdubs stares down at his reflection in the fountain water. His mossy cloak sways, hands tucked in his pants pockets beneath. No wings. Nobody paying him any mind. Hhh… Well. Brittney still loves him. And even though she's got a Gals' Night going on, it's not hard to be romantic. He does this all the time, obviously.

Plucking blossoms off the cherry trees is going to be such a pain without wings.

I mean, it's just temporary… He'll get his wings back after someone cycles him through the system, but that'll knock him out for a week if he's not careful. The secret plan is to join Cub in Hermitcraft tidying - They're down to the last couple days before the Season 9 download drops, you know - and then treat the guy to dinner tonight. Scar ate last week. So did Etho's mystery vex… whoever he is.

See, that's the problem. Since unthreading's illegal, it's not like there are lots of other vex to choose from. Phantoms have a game balance stipulation in their code that prevents them from logging each other out properly, so submitting to a vex is the easiest way to go. Not a lot of other vex besides those two around, which is such a shame. Sure, New Star Station is a refuge, but most of its residents peaced out of the anarchy world before they ever mod up (either forcibly or of their own will).

Modding is a skilled art, especially if you're looking for body tweaks that will stay consistent in and out of different servers (not to mention Between). Tango's one of the best aesthetics modders Bdubs has ever met. That lion-like tail he wears wherever he goes? That's free advertising. Do you have any idea how hard it is to code an additional limb like that, and make it prehensile and expressive at the same time? Yeah. Tango's your guy if you like looking pretty.

What? Oh, yeah. There's zero horses in New Star. Bdubs already logged out a straggler who dropped to phantom hour and refused to pathfind home, too busy flirting instead. Combined with the "Thanks for being a captain; here's your parting meal" thing from yesterday, his hunger bar's topped off. No point in hunting. There's nothing else to do if you're a phantom except whatever the captain orders. And Martyn tasked him with the delivery route.

Bdubs climbs the clock tower and ducks inside the storage room. Pungence already prepped a satchel of souls for delivery. He always does. Good on him. Some people have an easier time hunting than others (Physically and/or emotionally). Bdubs slings it over his shoulder and turns out the lanterns. He shuts the storage room door, but leaves it slightly propped so it won't auto-lock. None of the fox eggs look like they've hatched yet. Hard to tell, though… Most are under a blanket. A few sit by a magma block.

Bdubs glances at the stairwell, but Martyn stomped off with Cleo. He'll be back soon, of course, of course, but… Don't they need to be rotated? That's what Etho always says. Etho used to eggsit for his mom all the time before he finally moved out of her den and settled long-term in New Star.

The fox eggs are Martyn's responsibility. It does him no favors if Bdubs handles everything for him. But… Bdubs walks over and touches one of the exposed eggs with a hand. He yanks his fingers back.

Too hot. Oh, they're cookin'.

Dozens and dozens of eggs lay cozied up in warm wool blankets all around the roost. Bdubs shifts the eggs nearest the magma block away and replaces them with the eggs at the farthest blanket edges. He tucks the blanket under a bit more, sends Martyn a whisper - Leaving for delivery route, eggs look kinda cold btw but I rotated the ones on the magma - and heads downstairs again. Every step clunks and clangs. When he reaches the bottom, he's got a response from Martyn… but it's not much to look at.

InTheLittleWood: k

All right. If that's all he has to say, that's all he has to say. So off on the delivery route he goes.

[Full chapter on AO3 - Link at top]

[chiomaus]

heute ist es ein Jahr her, dass ich angefangen habe, Deutsch zu lernen

ich schreibe nicht den ganzen Beitrag auf Deutsch :p weil ich zu viel zu sagen habe

why did i start learning german? well, there was a german guy i was extremely fond of. so it just made sense to me to start learning the language. hearing someone you really like speak their language to you has a funny way of making you fall in love with a language. well 6 months later we broke up and i was left feeling very lost and lonely. i don't really talk about it much but it had a big effect on me.

but in that time i got to learn a lot about german language and culture. i spent a week in dortmund and visited the weihnachtsmarkt. i got really really into kraftwerk. i realised i didnt want to give up german. i guess part of it was trying to cling naively to something good from the break-up, but the other part was "german language is cool as hell."

am i where i hoped to be a year later? part of me thinks if i was more dedicated i could be soooo much better than i am. going to cologne on my own made me realise my listening comprehension is dogshit.

but on the other hand, my reading and writing is pretty good. my vocabulary is decent. i have a good memory for grammatical gender. i think my accent is pretty great. and maybe i'm not spending three hours every day studying diligently, but i have a daily study plan, i'm driven, and, most importantly, i'm having fun.

i think sometimes i forget that there is no omnipotent force judging me for learning for 1 year and not knowing X or Y. did i struggle a bit in cologne? yes. did i also get by just fine? yes. and very few people switched to english with me which i can only take as an endorsement.

it's very easy to be self-critical and to pick out the things you struggle with and take it as some kind of moral failing. at least if you have brain disease like i do. it's difficult to look back on where you started and appreciate your progress because you have no way to measure yourself. i guess now i will be able to measure my progress by whether my listening comprehension is any better next time i visit germany! (i am hopefully going to berlin in november with my cool friends)

what are my goals for the next year?

work on my listening comprehension with podcasts, tv and films (i should have started this sooner – futurama is really fun in german)

write more (i started a blog and have been doing some language exchange stuff). i'm still relying a LOT on dictionaries and grammar checkers, but i know these things take practice.

maybe think about finding a tutor. honestly i think this might be the way to go because i am bigly lacking in confidence (story of my life). there's also the option of doing a goethe course but 1) spenny 2) intense 3) my ability levels are all over the place.

try and make some german friends. this is hard enough in english tbh so i'm not counting on this.

get to a strong B1 or maybe even B2. the material i'm studying right now is B2 but i don't think any of my skills are that level. reading is probably B1, maybe writing, but speaking is probably not and listening is definitely not.

related: finish up learning A1-A2 flashcards (i am about about 2/3rds of the way through) and move onto B1. i haven't found a good B2 deck yet so i might have to construct my own from the goethe word lists.

get my head around prepositions and adjective endings (i will excuse a lot of the complexities of german grammar but i don't understand why adjective endings should be different depending on whether the article is definite, indefinite or null). these are definitely getting easier and i think will come naturally with more speaking/writing, but i have a few ways to specifically practice these areas too.

definitely visit germany on my own again (unless by some miracle i am in a relationship by then). i have a few places on my list but i will gladly take recommendations. i'm also tempted to go back to cologne because there's a lot i didn't have time to do, plus it's very convenient being so close to the ruhr valley (i don't drive so easy/fast transport links are helpful. i don't mind contending with the german train network).

ok das war's. danke fürs Lesen :)

[redfoxwritesstuff]

Sunflower: Book 1, Chapter 4

Tom Hiddleston x OFC Series rated: M Chapter warnings: drinking AN: Bonus chapter- It's cold AF in most of the USA right now. We deserve a bonus posting this week. I know I do, my toes are still cold from changing the Bunny's water for the 3rd time today. Chapter 3, Masterlist, Chapter 5 ~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 4

They walked as the city woke up slowly around them. Most of the buzz was from new arrivals, not yet having had the chance to drink too much or stay out too late. 

“There’s a shoe store,” Tom pointed to the shop up ahead. “Do you want to get some better shoes? I can’t imagine your feet are comfortable in those heels.”

He was right, the heels were far from comfortable. She had been trying not to show the discomfort though it seemed that she hadn’t been successful. “Oh no, it’s fine. The Tram isn’t far ahead and then it’ll be a little bit of a walk.” 

“Why are you lying to me?” The cheer that seemed to be near always present in his voice was gone. It seemed to disappear whenever the topics turned more serious. 

“I’m not?” It was useless to lie but she tried anyway. 

He grabbed her elbow and pulled her to the side of the walkway. His grip was strong but not so much so as to hurt her. Facing him, she felt ashamed for the lie.

His blue eyes were earnest and caring. Again and again he insisted he wanted nothing but to help her, to be there for her, to know her and yet she lied about her sore feet. 

“You’re limping.” 

“It’s fine-”

“Why do you not want to get some more comfortable shoes?” Why did he have to care so much about her? “If we’re going to do this we have to talk to each other. We have to be honest with each other.”

“I don’t need new shoes. I have shoes-”

“Talk to me.” He was pleading with her as his grip on her arm turned slack.

“Look, I just- It’s not in the budget.”

“I’ll get it.” Tom offered as if it was nothing. Hell, to him it probably was nothing. 

“I don’t want to take from you. I- everyone is going to think I married you for money or to use you or something. Fuck, for all I know I did but…” 

“But what? I’m offering. Your feet hurt. I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks. You need shoes. I can afford shoes. Simple mathematics.

She felt terrible for allowing him to buy her new shoes on top of the clothes and breakfast. Whenever she had mentioned it, he would just remind her that he was her husband for now. He would say that it didn’t matter because of that but she wasn’t so sure about it.

“So, where do you live?” She knew he was British but there wasn’t a lot she knew otherwise about him. It seemed to her that British People tended to spread out and settle all over the world, making their accent and nationality little use in telling where someone actually lived. “You know I’m a local so I guess I should know that about you too.”

“London, England. I travel a lot for work though. I’ve spent most of the year in America for filming, going here and there as needed.” 

“When do you go back?” They walked by women wearing nothing but a thong and stickers on their nipples. The city was warming up and coming to life but the man walking beside her didn’t offer them so much as a glance. 

“I’ve got a ticket a week out to go back home.”

“What happens then?” She couldn’t make sense of how they were going to give this marriage a chance. Was there any point when they were strangers and he lived halfway around the world.

“We’ll figure that out when it comes. I can move the ticket or maybe you can come with me.”

“Maybe we’ll need a break from each other too.” Mia wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.

“Do you need to head home?” Tom asked, glancing at his watch. 

Mia sighed. Going home was something she did need to do but it wasn’t something she wanted to do. “Probably, yeah.” 

“Do you have a car?” He was well aware that it was the norm in America to have cars but with her hesitation to spend the money on shoes, he wasn’t sure if it was something he should assume.

“Yeah, the employee parking is just around here.” She gestured toward a large building tucked away behind the resort they had met in. “What will you do?”

“Would I be too forward if I asked to go with you?” 

“Oh,”

“I- we have so much to work out still but if we stay separate, especially this soon, I don’t it’ll help us get to know each other.”

“You want to stay with me?” Questions raced through her mind. Risks were calculated and weighed and she didn’t have enough time. 

“I’ll sleep on the couch if you’d rather and I can be out when you’ve got engagements to attend to.”

“Work- normal people call it work.” He chuckled and she hated how she liked the sound. 

“I can busy myself outside of your home while you’re working if you’d rather.”

There was no way he would want to stay in her apartment. It was small and cramped and he was a goddamn actor of enough note to have Ashley swearing. “We’ll see.” 

“I’ll take it.” Reaching out, he grabbed her hand in his and squeezed it softly. Her face grew warm at the small affection. Until now, they hadn’t touched each other since they woke up. “I’ll go get checked out and grab my bag. We’ll meet out front?”

“Okay.”

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

“Mia Maria!” Michelle called for her as soon as she stepped into the employee locker room. “You’re not supposed to be in today?”

“Thanks, I didn’t want to see you today either.” Mia teased. Michelle had long been a good friend and trusted coworker. “Stayed on the strip last night.” 

“AC not fixed still?”

“They said it’ll be fixed by noon.” Mia unlocked her small locker and grabbed her keys and purse. Tom had found her Driver’s License and debit card in his wallet but everything else she left safe in her locker. Of the things she wanted to experience in life, losing her purse on the Strip was not high on the list. It was better to have a few cards in her pocket and leave everything else locked up safe and sound. If only she knew where her clothes had ended up.

“Sal stay with Ashley last night?” 

“Yeah. They’re having a day together while I get my shit figured out.”

“Must be some shit- You look stressed.”

“You wouldn’t believe it.” Mia said as she closed her locker. “We’ll take later.”

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

Was it silly to feel insecure about her car? It was nice enough for normal people but for him? Who knows. He didn’t appear to be stuck up or worried about appearances. On the other hand, he had designer suits in his closet for a casual trip to Las Vegas.

The ringing of the phone on the speakers cut off her thoughts as she answered. “I’m just walking out the doors.”

“I see you.” For better or worse. “I’m two cars back. Red SUV.”

Long legs made quick work of the distance. As soon as the door unlocked, he pulled open the hatchback. The suitcases were large but he didn’t have many. He was a light traveler which was good- there wasn’t a lot of space in her apartment. 

“Are you sure about this?” Mia asked as he slipped into the passenger seat.

“Sure, what better way to get to know you than to get to know your life?” He adjusted the seat back, making room for his legs. “How far is it?”

“About thirty minutes.” Mia sighed. “It’ll go fast, we just have to get off the strip first.” 

“You drive half an hour into work and back?” 

“Every day. Well, five days a week at least. I avoid the strip like the plague most of the time otherwise.” 

“Have you always lived here?” He was looking out the window, watching the heart of Las Vegas quickly give way to what could be mistaken as any other city. So many people never saw Las Vegas as anything more than the glittering lights and cacophony of noise in a handful of miles. 

“Yep, born and breed here. What about you?” She needed to get to know him. He seemed safe enough, kind but there was so much unknown about the man she was bringing into her home. Their home. 

“Spent most of my life around London when I’m not traveling.”

“You travel a lot?” The city gave way to highway traffic and wide open spaces. Neighborhoods and small town centers spread out around them, crashing into each other as she technically left Las Vegas without ever leaving a city.

“More than I’d like sometimes.” 

“I thought all actors thrived on travel.” A horn blared behind her as she changed lanes. They wouldn’t have gotten cut off if they were going the speed limit but who was she to tell someone how to drive.

“At times,” He admitted. “But I’ve always been a bit of a homebody. The stage is my passion though I enjoy film well enough. It’s nothing compared to a live show. Are you close to your family?” 

Silence ticked on for a few moments before she answered, “I don’t have much family. It’s just Ashley for the most part.” She needed to tell him. “You?”

“Fairly. I’ve got two sisters, nieces and nephews. I’m close with my parents, though they’ve divorced. They did their best to give us the best they could.”

“Must be nice.��� She mumbled under her breath.

“I didn’t catch that, I’m sorry?” 

The exit was coming up quickly and she was running out of time. “Why are you single?” 

It was a dumb question. He wouldn’t just come out and say ‘well you see, I’m a terrible man’ or ‘I tend to be quick to anger’ or ‘I’m not safe’ or ‘I hate kids and pets’.

“I’m not anymore, technically.” he chuckled as she shot a annoyed glance his way. “I know, not what you mean. I’d been with a woman for a while but when my career shot forward; There was a lot of eyes on me, a lot of interest in me from fans. Many of them woman and she wasn’t comfortable with that. We’d gone our own ways a bit ago, some months now. She found someone else, they got married. Turns out I wasn’t so hard to move on from.”

“That sucks.” She wasn’t sure what to say. The idea of being the target of media or fans in a negative way hadn’t occurred to her but she was well versed in the sting that was somehow being easy to leave behind.

He cleared his throat, “What about you?” 

“I was with a guy for a while right out of school. Then he decided he liked a stripper better. Can’t blame him too much, she was pretty. But he left our whole life behind. I thought we were going to get married and be a family but, oh well.”

“It doesn't matter how pretty she was, he shouldn’t have gone around on you with another woman.” 

“If you say so.” She laughed, taking her hand from the wheel and pulling strands of hair behind her ear and out of her face. Before she had a chance to replace it, he enveloped it in his. 

“I swear to you, for so long as we are doing this together, I will be loyal to you. It doesn’t matter how pretty anyone else is, I will only have eyes for you.”

“You can’t promise that.” Do not get you hopes up, she told herself. He held her hand in his. His hand was large, much larger than hers, soft, warm and begging her to believe him.

It felt weird to be touched by him. It felt even weirder as he placed a soft chase kiss to the back of her hand. 

“I am.” 

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

They laughed as they exited the bar. It was a small but fancier than she had ever thought she would drink at. It hadn’t mattered, though; he had been buying her drinks.

“Oh, look!” She gushed as a mass of white caught her eyes. 

“What’s that?” He draped his arm around her shoulders and it felt warm. It felt comfortable.

“A wedding party.” The bride and groom were perfectly styled. The white dress was fairytale poofy and flowed as she moved down the steps. “I always love stumbling on a random wedding here.” 

“People really do just get married here?” Tom mused, his words slurring some.

“Yeah. The clerks office is open late and the paperwork is quick. You can rent dresses and shit.”

“Do you want to get married?” 

~~~~~<3

Tag List: @winterisakillerr, @alexakeyloveloki @jennyggggrrr, @dangertoozmanykids101, @tilltheendwilliwrite @tinchentitri @wizardcherryblossom @buttercupcookies-blog @violethaze @kats72

[fioooweeooweeeoo]

Fiowee Presents...

Extraordinary You

Tags: Firstly I'd like to thank @teyamsatan for helping and inspiring me to make this fic!! Such a sweet gal and of course I'd tag her for this first chapter IN WHICH i have been cooking up for quite some time (months actually AHAHAH) EVRYONE WHO'S BEEN ANTICIPATING THIS FIRST CHAPTER PLS GO CHECK OUT HERS TOO!! LOTS OF GREAT FICS AND ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC WRITING ~~

Other Tags!!: @glimmering-darling-dolly

A/N: okay first part was rlly dedicated to my bestie who inspired me to do this. ( btw for dates it goes *mm/dd/yy*,  hope yall don't mind I put a specific birth date for Y/N ^^ 7 is actually her bday) Other than thatt what i really want to say here is that to everyone whose been waiting patiently for this, I present to you the first chapter of EXTRAORDINARY YOU! With all that is said this is my first ever fic so if this isn't ur cup of tea you don't have to read it!! anyways lemme stop me rambles pls enjoy my first chapter xoxo mwuah ^-^

Warnings: Not much here except for some guns and a little bit of violence??? its not to big tho HELP soo its rlly just the introoo n stuff

Word count is: 5.6k WHEWW it took me weeks rlly

Chapter 2 - Till i met you

--------------------------------------   ♡   -----------------------------------

(3rd person POV *YOU'RE SAYING THIS !* ) 

Hey! Probably an interesting way of starting this story here, something like breaking the fourth wall? I don't know- forget about my rambles but, My name is Y/N Chacon, and I live in Pandora.

Yep- that's right- it's not every day you realise that you became apart of a world wide astronomical party to fly out to this foreign planet to make it liveable for every possible human being, well- that's basically how my parents got here, I was just born here. Now you're probably wondering why lil' ol' me right there- the one that's basically struggling to get a hold of a vine 10,000 feet above a floating mountain has come to this-? Let's rewind a bit-

1 year and a half ago.

4.6.2175

Wind whistling. Sounds of foreign animals around you. And the smell of an earthy and forest musk emanates as you breathe in. Your eyes peel to take in to the surroundings around you-.. Pandora. Is what you first think, the forest is beautiful, you stare up to the trees as they seem longer and you feel as you've gone tinier. You breathe out as if a sigh of relief has washed over you, but then you hear it- the sound of stick cracking.

Your body instinctively rises up, you heart rate slowly escalating each unfamiliar sound your now hearing, a low growl is heard from your left, you turn to look and see a pair of two yellow beaded eyes, curious you crawl to it, your genuine curiosity gotten the best out of you when the beast pounces at you and-

You wake up. What?.. you've realised your breathing was not matched and you're hyperventilating. You sweat as if you're hot but you feel cold. Your hand slides through your hair and you breathe in slowly and out deeply. Suddenly your room door opens.

"Hey there kiddo.. you alright there?" Max enters your room and knew that you are hyperventilating due to your watch on your wrist still checking for your heart rate.

"Yeah yeah.. no, I'm fine.. I'm... I'm good-" 

"Hey hey- you sure about that? It's already around the start of morning, why don't you come eat breakfast with me, Norm and Lara?

"I- sure, yeah that sounds nice" you smile faintly, feeling a little calmer now that you've steadied your heart rate. You've come to realised it was normal for you to have these dreams, somehow you've always tried to decipher what could be the cause of it, you're unsure why, all you know is that you want to know, there's something about it- like it magnetises you. 

"Max?" you call out to him, as he turns around with a questionable face

"Do you think- maybe I can- come with you guys to the outpost later? I just got some stuff left there-" 

"Sure, kiddo. Me and your Aunt Lara will fix some stuff there too-" He smiles to you as he leaves shutting your door 

You began to stand up and went to your bathroom checking on the mirror, brushing your hair and doing your normal skincare, as you do so, you look at yourself, staring blankly at the mirror. You sighed deeply both in and out, closing your eyes and re-imagining the dream in your head- but nothing comes up. You sigh in defeat trying so hard to remember- but you tell yourself that you'd worry about it in another time, you smile at the mirror and went on out

As your camera starts rolling you place it gently on the counter angling it right to your face creating a somewhat good angle showing your face, and as you're done prepping you go face-to-face with the camer.

"Hello-? Is this working-" *taps camera lens* "oh- oops- there it is" you giggle to yourself for your clumsiness, you bring the camera up to your face to video yourself then

"Hellooo wooorld! I am back! Well technically I'm in another planet and other stuff like that- but here i am! Back again, to show you- this! Voilà!" 

You enter a room wherein both Norm and Max were checking files in large screens tapping away like they usually do to get things running in the lab incase they were needed by Jake and to produce other experiments for more of their researches. Thanks to Jake, most of the humans were allowed to stay and go about their ways unless they were needed by Jake, most of these being researchers and old scientist friends. As you were walking by you panned your camera to a tank, with a familiar avatar that was placed inside with water flowing inside it, keeping it normal, that being Grace's Avatar, it was no secret you've always longed for something like it, being able to walk freely without the need of a darn mask, and the ability to be outside without being prey to most animals around pandora, it was a struggle for you to be in a human body, never being able to go out as you want to, but you go out on rare occasions, because both of them obviously knows how it gets boring and makes you wanna go insane without having to go outside for long periods.

Norm looks up from his desk as he scribbling down notes, he pushes down his glasses as he was seeing you walk around the room eith a camera in hand recording the whole room

he chuckles and sighs contently

"No- 'Goodmorning, Norm!' today then?" He chuckles as you roll your eyes scoffing a little

"Goodmorningg, Normm!" you say in a teasing tone. 

"And Max-!" Max pops out from behind the other monitor with one hand raised, you laugh a little as Norm nudges you at your side when you pass by, camera still recording 

"And goodmorning to you Grace-" you pan the camera lens to yourself while behind you is Grace's Avatar in the tank floating, as you wave to the camera

"And so here we are- pamparampaam! The Lab! We got some old researches, scribbled notes that either Norm or Max have wrote and I have zero idea of what's in it- 

(Max:) "that's my lunch order from the cafeteria Y/N-" 

"Yeah- okay. Well- that does not look like lunch to me-" you deadpan as Norm chuckles but Max gives him a stern look

"Hey- Boys do you mind if you find the files for- Oh! Y/N- Didn't know you'd come here! Is this your first time in the lab-?" Lara says while fixing her goggles

Lara was sort of like your Aunt in a way that you guys aren't related as much, but most of the time she was like a parental figure to you- She grew fond of you ever since you had been born, she was a good friend to your mother and Grace, and was left devasted to the events of what led to their endings, and so with that, Lara had made a promise to both you and herself that she'd be able to protect you from whatever happens, no matter what. 

"Hey! Aunt Lara- come 'ere for a sec-" *you tug Lara's lab coat as she gets surprised as you bring her near you to bring the camera to her face showing her a little fluffy and curly brown hair, her goggles hanging off her neck and her half-done makeup that's looked slightly rushed but it looked good for the most part- her olive green eyes look at the camera and she shrieks a little covering her face with one hand* 

"Say hi to the cameraa!" *you squeal- as you giggle little form her hiding her face with her one hand* 

(Lara:) "oh-! Hi~ sorry- honey- my makeups a little off right now-" *you blow raspberries and scoff a little*

"Oh come on- you look gorgeous right now! Even if you got off the wrong side of bed- i bet one of the other guys eye you everyday- especially Norm-." you whisper and snicker a little together with Lara as she scrunches her nose and giggles with you

(Norm:) "I heard that-!" he answers, as you both giggle even more 

As you use both your hands to hold the camera properly, your watch beeps, you look at it with a small smile-

"Welp- gotta go guys- I will be filming again later- but this gal- gotta take her meds-! Mwuah-! Peace out-!" 

as you place your camera down, you sigh a little, a small smile creeping up as you look back to Lara who was already looking at you with a warm smile

(Lara:) "How's it been sweetie?" 

"Nothing much, just another day- stuck in a huge facility full of scientists and labs, and paperwork and all that jazz, ventilated with the only possible air for me because one step out there and I'm-" *you cut your sentence blowing raspberries, imitating that if you take one step put to pandora without the oxygen mask, then you'd die, pretty much* 

(Lara:) "I know you're tryna' convince me to let you go out- but you know the rules-" *you roll your eyes at her statement* 

"Spider gets to go out! Why can't I-?" 

(Lara:) "Then ask him to stay with you when you go out." 

"But you know how he gets everytime I see him- He always has that smug-ass shit-eating smile that always gets on my nerves-! And you obviously know what he says to me all the time" 

(Lara:) "Language!" *you raise both your hands up in defense then slowly put them in an upright position, as you place your head in between ypur palms, sighing* 

(Lara:) *She sighs feeling a little defenseless from what you said*

"... your turning 18 tomorrow right?-" 

*you nod, eyes snapping to her still in the same position wondering what she'll say next-* 

"Alright...- now I'm not saying I'm letting you go by yourself-" *eyes lighting up in excitement, your head snaps up like a dog getting alerted by an intruder, a smile slowly creeping up your face as she says this* 

"Ah-! Wait- you can go- but I'm going to call spider for this occasion specifically- he's got some friends out there that would also be with you too- so you don't wander off to some other place, okay? Can I trust you?" *You nod to her words quickly in joy, like a happy child who was allowed to go play outside* 

"Yes! Yes-! Don't worry- I'll be with them the whole entire time, just please let me go out this once! I'LL GIVE YOU MY BLOOD-" *you plead and shove your hand infornt of her face as if you would give her your blood* 

"Alright! Alright- jeez you're like your mother- you can go, I'm calling spider in today so that both of you are prepared tomorrow morning-" *you squeal in excitement- jumping a little until you grab Lara in a big hug, she chuckles as she pats you in the head* 

*you finally calmed down and patted yourself in a fancy way, you stood infront of her and breathed jn and out deeply* 

"Thank you, Aunt Lara, I will be going to my room and wait until that day comes." *you bowed as she laughs at your antics, amused by your response, leaving the lab as you make your way to the door, and as the door closes, you squeal and scream in happiness, she snorts a little from the scene*

Norm scoots his spinning chair facing opposite to Lara, as she gets nudged at the shoulder by him gaining her attention, he smiles softly and cocks his head to the side

"Somehow she reminds me of her.." she says under her breathe, Norm huffs agreeing with her*

*you walk around skipping in joy as you went around a part of lab where you usually take your medicine, as you take out a red pill, and a cup of water as you drink and swallow the pill and as you were drinking the water, a monstrous like figure pops up infront of you, making your eyes go wide as rhe monstrous figure roars in a somewhat human like voice that you felt like you could guess it was either and only one other person, but your anxiety instincts got the best of you so you spit out the water to their face and immediately grabbed one of the labs tray pans that you see right beside you immediately scream* 

"AHHHHH GET AWAY FROM ME- AHHH-" *You scream as the person then starts running away from you but you keep hitting them with he pan as they start screaming as well pleading for you to stop* 

"Y/N- AHH- WAIT- STOP STOP STOP- WAIT- ITS ME- SPIDER! WAHHH-" 

"SPIDER? WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHER- STOP POSSESSING NY BROTHER WHATEVER DEMON YOU ARE-"

*you continue to scream as two pairs of arms hold both of your hands up making you drop the pan, as you stop screaming, spider removes the mask and you sigh in relief* 

"WHAT THE F- DUDE WHY WOULD Y-" 

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!-" *A crowd emerges from behind spider and surprise you* 

As  soon as you realize who these people were your shock turned into a surprised smile 

Loak, Kiri, and Tuk come up behind spider and surprised you 

"Wh- what're you guys-" 

*Kiri immediately passed you a carefully wrapped object with banana leaves and hands you it, your confused but relieved at the same time* 

"But it's not even my-" 

"It's your gift-! We all have some gifts for you but I wanna give you mine before you see whatever Loak has for you-" 

"What??!!" *loak shouts and you all laugh* 

"Excuse you, but I for one have a very special and well crafted gift for her- y'know- cause we're close like 'that'" *Loak nudges you and wiggles his eyebrows* 

*you rolled your eyes and scoff*

"If choking is called 'being close' would you consider it?"

"Which way?" *loak interjects with a cocky smile and wiggly eyebrows*

"GROSS-" *You yell out as loak chuckles* 

"Nice one, dude" *Spider praises Loak as they both high five. Your eyes widen and you scoff, while kiri rolls her eyes, tuk left to wonder what they meant* 

"So y/n... i was thinking-"  "THERES GOING TO BE A HUGE HUGE CELEBRATION TODAY AND WE WANT YOU TO COME WITH US!!" *kiri excitedly finishes as loaks jaw was left hanging a little*

"Today-?.." *you say slowly as kiri speaks again "YEAH! there's gonna be food, dancing-" "and a hell of a lot of drinking" *loak says with his elbow placed on top of your head*

*as everyone talks about the celebration, you on the other hand is worried about what you were gonna say* 

"Guys- i really really- and i seriously wanna stress this- i cant go-" 

"Aww what-" *spider says*

"But what about us-?" *loak says after*

"Y/N." *kiri holds your hand between her large ones and has her cute pleading eyes on, the ones you've never said no to* 

"Kiri- please, you know i cant do it- not today though-"

*Kiri's eyes light up* "What do you mean, Y/N?" *you sigh as you gave a bige wide smile* "LARA GAVE ME THE GO!" *Everyone gasps as they also cheer* "Y/N!? Your serious about this!?" *spider says with pure astonishment* 

"Well- I had to convince Lara a teeny tiny bit AND IT WORKED IN THE END! I got permission to go!"

*everyone's cheers together* 

"So if your allowed tomorrow why not today-?" *Loak asks*

"It's not my birthday yet so we'll have to wait-" *you say in return*

"Okay but since your birthday is tomorrow and it is technically midnight-" *kiri says his name warning him*

"It's technically okay to go out right now-" *Loak gets gutted by Kiris elbow*

"What?? I am right- am I not??" *loak says with furrowed eyebrows*

"Loak! If she can't go it's okay! There's always tomorrow anyway!" 

"Cmon kiri it's just one night, plus I have an idea-" "please don't tell me your sneaking out-" 

"Pfft! What!? No-......" *silence overtook the air as they were waiting for him to speak again* 

"Okay maybe that's what i was thinking-" *kiri and spider groan*

"I appreciate the lovely and probably not so well-thought idea-" *Loak cocks his head to both Kiri and Spider*

"But- I can't do this- I mean, not until I turn 18 which is tomorrow and-" 

"Tanhi- cmon- we'll be sure to be with you at all times, every second, minute, hour-! Trust me, tanhi, we don't want you to miss this one too!" 

*loak places his hand on top of yours on the table as he gives you pleading eyes as well, you contemplate a little as you look from his hand back to his eyes* 

"Loak- what if we get in trouble-" *spider says worriedly*

"Sometimes your kind of a buzz kill, spider" *you gave him a stern look as he says this and he rolls his eyes* 

"Look- we'll get you back here as soon as possible, I promise"

"I hate to say this but Loaks right- we'll get you back real soon-" *kiri says back*

*you look between both of them- wondering what to do, then letting your eyes fall to spider with his arms crossed who's looking back to you*

"Don't look at me- I've been living my life by my own choices- it's time you make yours Y/N-" *He says with a soft smile, loak on the other hand squeezes your hand softly and he tilts his head giving you a reassuring look* 

you sigh looking at all of them, as tuk runs to you and hugs you at your waist, despite your height, you and tuk seemed to be the same height

"Please please please Y/N!"

*she says with cute puppy dog eyes*

"Well...." *your cut your sentence short*

"Alright- I guess- but you promise to keep quiet doing it-?.." *they all nod with smiles on their faces*

"Okay.. let's do this-" *you say firmly with a smile* 

‐-------------------------------

"Y/N- do you really have to take this long-" *Loak says with a groan, as he knocks on your door*

"Do you want me to die because I missed my meds while outside when im not supposed to?" *You say as loak turns and grumbles to himself, leaning against the side of the door with a small pout*

"That's what I thought- alrighty! All done-" *you unlock your door as everyone moves to see you, your wearing a small pale brownish off-shoulder top showing off your stomach a little together with shorts that are brown making you look more curvier and thicker with the clothes on, and your last piece being your sneakers that are white and little half-round sling-bag, holding all your meds and extras incase you need it, and of course your watch, checking your hearbeat and your alarm for those meds of yours, as you open the door holding on the knob, you gauge on their reactions with a small shy smile, as they stare at you with awe for sometime, loak and spider jaws dropped wide open, kiris and tuks with a big smile on hers* 

"So... what do you guys think?" *you say with a shy smile on your face*

"AHH! YOU LOOK SO CUTE!" *Kiri squeals out*

"Damn-" *loak scoffs in surprise*

"Wow -" *spider says*

"Out of my way boys!" *tuk pushes loak and spider out of her way*

"We got this-" *as tuk grabs your arm and yanks you out of your room placing you in your chair as kiri stretches her arms and cracks her knuckles, carefully braiding your hair with beads and flowers for tonight*

*as minutes passed, tuk and kiri finally complete your hair, two braids hanging,  from the front left and right sides of your forehead with two beads from each side, pink and blue beads in the left and green and  purple at right , flowy hair hanging from the sides too, and from the back, two braids connecting to the middle to make one decorated with flowers from Kiri, all vibrant with beauty, your long flowy hair splayed behind you from the bottom of the braids behind*

"Okay all done!" *tuk announces while patting her hands together*

"You face to your mirror turning around checking yourself out, with jaw down and eyes somewhat close to crying* 

"This is so beautiful.. I can't thank you guys enough-!" *you say in joy as you hug them*

*You made your way to the exit hatch where no one would be able to see you*

"You ready to explore the unknown?" *spider says side by side with you* 

"Nope," *you pause looking from him to the door* "let's do it" *you say heading out with everyone as you step out to the cool summer ish breeze*

--------------------------------

"Loak..." "I know where I'm going jeez-" "its been 30 minutes we could've been there before 20-" "just let me do my thing!" "Alright!" 

*as both kiri and spider argue with loak* 

*as you walk around with awe, turning around in every step of the way to look back at the scenery, it's dark out yet the plants and nature around you seem to live on it's own, a bright aura shining from each step you take, as soon as you step backwards you stumble one a root and find yourself yelping from falling backwards until someone catches you and you look up to see who it is* 

"Woah- slow down princess, wouldn't want getting a scratch on ya-" *loak says with a teasing grin getting you up, you roll your eyes*

"I can walk just fine y'kno- woah!" *as soon as your sentence cuts off, loak carries you placing your legs letting you sit on his broad shoulders placing your calves on his chest, you hold on to his head for support a little surprised by his actions, loak laughs at your antics* 

"Not funny." *you grumbled as you nag him to put you down*

"You're very slow y'know- even spiders much faster than you-" *you smack the side of his head and he hisses*

"Watch it-" 

*suddenly the crack of a stick disturbs the quietness of the forest around all of you, loak and kiri look at each their in slight confusion, and loak sets you down slowly to avoid any threat that may come to him while holding you with him.* 

*loak follows the hush whispers that were somewhere ahead of them as kiri tries to urge loak to stay behind, he ignores her protests and sneakily hides behind a large bush when he sees something that could get them all screwed. Recoms. RDA Recoms. Holding guns and sashes of bullets wrapped around them in military uniform. You've been told stories of the the war that happened 6 or so years ago, when your uncle Norm had told told that spider won't be at the lab because he was with jake sully and their family, you were disheartened to hear about what had happened but you were thankful spider had returned home safely, you nearly crushed him when you ran up to him and hugged him so tightly it felt like you almost choked him, but he was alright. So was Loak, Kiri, Tuk, and Neteyam, they had visited the lab back from the war to thank Norm and Max for their help, but neteyam wasn't there, ofcourse he had fought in the war fearlessly, and brought great honor to his family and people as they returned home safely, so he had to make sure everyone else was safe to meaning he had thought of his people first before humans, they had sought refuge to the Metkayina Clan, what had felt like the longest battle in years, only now would it find its way to start again. Somehow it felt like you knew everything that happened, like you were there somehow, it felt crystal clear to you of when it happened as if you had been there, but your uncle had told you it might be you just imagining things. Which leads you up to this moment, the Recoms, the RDA, Quaritch.*

"Look at that... that's your dad's actual suit..-" *loak says to spider as they sneak to the bushes too*

"What the..." *spider scrunches his eyebrows*

"Loak you're gonna be in trouble.."

"Shh-" "for life-" "Shut up-" *their voices are quite unbearably loud worrying you slightly, as you look over the bushes, you see tall avatars searching around taking to one another, like a meeting.. whatever it was- your stomach makes you feel things because of your anxiety, worriedly thinking why the hell they're back. You whisper to loak*

"Loak we need to get out of here-" 

"I got this- I've spotted before-" 

*he presses his throat com button to reach to jake* 

"Dad.." "where have you been, loak, what have I told you earlier-" 

"I've spotted some recoms... avatars.. they look like avatars..."

"What-.. where are you right now..?" 

"Uhm.. we're- we're at the old shack-"

"The old shack-? Shit- who- who are you with right now..." 

"I'm with-" *He looks around all of you, and gulps slightly*

"Im with kiri-, spider... Y/n.. and... and tuk.." 

"Tuk is with you!?.." 

"Yes..-"

"Alright... Alright- stay where you are and don't go anywhere else- we're coming- alright stay put, got it?"

*silence comes from loak as he doenst know what else to do*

"Loak I need an answer."

"Yes sir.." 

"Loak.. what's going on-" *you ask him worriedly*

"We're getting out of here- let's move-" 

"What- loak- but dad said-" 

"We need to head somewhere safer before they find us first-"

"I swear, if they find us your in so much trouble-" *kiri stresses to loak as they travel around the various bushes and leaves infront of them* 

"Guys we have to hurry what if they find- AHH-!" *tuk screams as shes taken hostage by a recom, she squirms as rhe man holds her down from her kuru, making her cry and plead. As all recoms spread out and start surrounding us, spider unsheathes his bow, hissing and aiming his bow at them, loak tells spider to lower his bow, spider reluctantly puts his bow down, as kiri then gets tugged by a recom earning a yelp from her, tuk wails and cries, pleading for them to stop* 

"Mawey... tuk mawey-.." *kiri repeats to tuk as she then gets pulled at her head by the recom, she hisses at them* 

*You suddenly get trapped in the arms of a recom making you scream, you squirm your way trying to release yourself from them but your too weak to fight them off, everyone starts panicking in some way, spider tries to bite the recom but gets pulled at the hair instead, loak tries to convince the recoms he only spoke navi* 

*another unfamiliar recom comes into view earning confused looks from all of you, he then looks between you and spider, a little surprised, you send him a glare as you huff in anger slightly trying to tug yourself away from them, but the recom pulls you back and shouts at you to stay still. He roams around everyone and spots loak* 

"Show me your hands.." *he says in a deep and rustic voice* 

*loak gets shoved by the recom behind him trying to get an answer out of him, he then pulls both of his hands out drawing the middle finger to the man infront of him, a little 'fuck you' message to him. You smile and snicker a little, at loaks antics but your hair gets tugged by the recom behind you asking you if it's funny, you then hiss and glare behind them* 

"Hmm, so you are his..." *He smiles as he then looks up and nods at rhe recom to let him go, then taking looks kuru and tugging the braid along it, making him scream in pain, you wince as you see him get tugged at.* 

"Where is he?" *He orders loak, loak hisses at him, but he continues to pull at his hair trying to get an answer out of him* 

*Loak speaks in navi*

"Sorry.. but i don't speak your language.. to buttheads" *He chuckles at this sort but his braid gets pulled back again* 

"Where is your father- now." *Quaritch speaks more sternly in navi, pulling the back of loaks kuru making him hiss* 

"Leave him alone asshole-!" *you shouted to Quaritch as Loaks eyes went wide at your statement, Quaritch let's go of loak and hands him to another recom as he makes his way over to you, he snarls at you and pulls you by the hair, your breathe knocked out off your lungs as he forces you on your knees, taking a dagger out and holds it by your neck* 

"LET HER GO- DONT HURT HER PLEASE-" *Spider yells at him*

"DONT FUCKING TOUCH HER ASSHOLE-" *Loak tries to run to you but he gets held back by the recom* 

"And how are you- a simple human girl, can breathe in this fucking planet?.." *your heart drops, how did he know? he snarls at you and you squirm spewing curses at him telling him to let you go* 

"Ahh.. I see- dad's a navi and your mom a human?-" *He says chuckling to himself as your anger is fueled even more* 

"You don't know anything about me!" *you yell at him, making him hiss at you.* 

"Colonel- we got him tracked." *A recom announces as he pulls a tablet up for him, he looks at the statistics and smiles greedily, everyone worries* "Everyone, keep your eyes on lookout, we've got company." *Your heart drops at that moment, realising what they meant* 

"Shit-" *you curse under you're breathe, as they move you to another part of the forest you try and pry yourself away from the recoms but they keep you in place and snarl at you* 

*You try to calm yourself feeling a little lightheaded of what's about to happen, your all but calm though, you feel tears threatening to spill, suddenly a recom shouts of a sighting of a navi, you and everyone else were pulled down to duck, as the recpms start aiming their guns at them, you shake as the sound of a guns terrify you, tuk being beside you, you hold her hand as she cries, she looks at you, fear driven in her irises, you calm her as the gunshots never stopped until you heard a yip. Loak then elbows the recom taking a smoke bomb distracting all of them, Loak urges all of you to run and follow him, suddenly all the recoms start to chase you, your hands still locked together by some kind of cuffs, you run together with loak, kiri, tuk, and spider. As you almost get close to clearing you stumble upon a vine catching you off and falling down, one of the recoms are close by just feet away from you as they found you vulnerable, they almost get to you until you saw it, two pairs of navi eyes looking directly at you and the recom infront of him, the recom doesn't notice until he gets shot by an arrow through their chest. You fight back to scream opting to cover your mouth instead whimpering in fear, the navi runs up to you and grabs you by the arm, undoing your cuffs saying in English "GO!". Your mind races with thoughts wondering why the navi had saved you, he could've mistakened you for a scientist ans would've killed you right then and there, but for some reason, it had felt like for a split second something about him felt familiar- but as you were too caught up in imagining, he held you by your waist and carries you, making you yelp in the sudden change as you hold on to his neck for support. He ran fast, dodging most bullets as you held onto him for dear life. But as you were close to the clearing, the navi man's ankle had caught a vine and sprained his ankle, making you both tumble over, the injury was bad and who knows how many seconds had gone by till they found you* 

"Oh my god!? Shit- your ankle-" 

*you try to think of a solution and immediately ripped both your pants in a half making it into shorts, the navi man stares at you confused and panting, you bring the fabric tp his ankle and wrap it securely, he hisses at the pain* "It's going to be fine, we gotta get out of here-" *suddenly a beeping sound was heard around both of you and you realised it was a bomb* 

"SHIT! LOOKOUT-" *the navi man shouts as he rolls you both over to a farther place making you both roll over a steep part of the forest, he holds you close to him, engulfing you in his arms as to not get you hurt or scratched. Thankfully by the time you both reached the end, you both were at the clearing, as you both meet Jake, Neytiri, loak, kiri, and tuk. 

*Neytiri gasps at the both you, seeing you and neteyam falling Iver the slope.* "Are you kids alright?!" *jake asks worriedly running up to you both as everyone huddles near you both* "Yes, sir- we're alright-" 

*Neteyam says until he unwraps his arms around you seeing you unconscious, Neteyam curses under his breathe as everyone gasps in shock*

"Shit."

[marvel1012]

Sins of the Father - Pt. 1 "Richie"

Synopsis: AU 3rd season episode of The Bear. Carm makes a startling discovery, and must navigate the fallout.

Warnings: just a lot of cursing and smoking for this installment (later parts will also have drinking, mentions of domestic violence/crime)

Word count: 1,993

Author's note: This is my very first fic posted to Tumblr, honest feedback appreciated but please go easy on me! I'm new to The Bear fandom and have hyperfixated this silly AU fic into existence, if it sucks then I probably won't bother posting the rest. I hope you enjoy this long, strange trip :) (Oh, and I had to make up a first name for Mr. Berzatto because nobody says his name in the show. Cheers!)

Part 2 | Part 3 ___________________________________________

The sound of a few distant gunshots echoed around the alley behind The Bear, but it had that bouncing, ricochet quality that meant it was far enough away to be someone else’s problem, not his. Carm took a last drag on his cigarette and tossed the still smoking butt to the pavement, stomping it out with the sole of his non-slip sneaker. Exhaling the last of the drag, he glanced over at the lone streetlight above the parking spot. It was strobing, the ancient bulb still trying to provide light but dying nonetheless. “I’ll have to get the city out here to fix that,” he thought.

“Hey Carmy, somebody’s out front to see ya,” the new guy, Connor, had his head stuck out the back door. 

“What? Who is it?” It was the middle of the night, an hour or so after service ended. Who would show up to the restaurant at this hour, asking for him? 

“I dunno, he says he’s your dad? Or somethin’?” 

Carm felt like he’d been punched in the stomach and slapped across the face simultaneously. 

Not ready…

Why now…

Why here…

On his sharp intake of breath, Connor’s eyebrows lifted in confusion. “You want me to tell him to get lost, errrr?” 

“Ah, no. No, that’s okay. I’ll— I’ll be right there.” 

Connor nodded and stepped back inside, leaving the door open for Carmen to follow. Carm rubbed hs index finger against his bottom lip, considering the empty doorway. Not ready…

As he passed through the kitchen and toward the front of house, the flurry of activity that usually followed dinner service was winding down. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sydney and Marcus talking low about something over near the prep area. He did his best to hide the fact that the thought of them dating, of them being together, made his blood boil. What right did he have to be jealous, though? It’s not like he deserved someone as beautiful, smart, and talented as Sydney. He was broken, and the whole debacle with Claire had proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Marcus is good for her, she’s good for him, and I’m not good for anybody.

Passing into the dining area, he noticed a chair that hadn’t been pushed in. Someone must have missed it when they were straightening up. He stopped to put it back where it belonged. Old habits. Or maybe just stalling to avoid the awkward interaction he was about to face. Taking a deep breath, he hit the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of The Bear, expecting to see the father he barely knew, the one from the pictures, the one that had walked away from him and everybody else all those years ago. 

But what he got was– someone else. 

Instead of broad shouldered, salt and pepper haired Jerry Berzatto, he of the deep set, dark eyes and craggy features that looked so much like Mikey’s it hurt, the man standing in front of him, taking a long drag on a Parliament, was pretty much the polar opposite. He was on the taller side, close to six feet, slender build but still muscular, kind of a wiry guy. His wild shaggy hair, haloing his face in the glare from the streetlight, was gray, but more like a light brown gone mostly to lighter blond, not like it had once been black. Not like his dad’s would have been. 

“Heeeey, you must be Carmen, the head honcho. You got one for your old man?” The stranger popped his cigarette into the corner of his mouth and took a step forward, offering Carmen his now free right hand for a shake. Instead of doing likewise, all Carm could do was stare. Stare directly into those piercing blue eyes– his eyes. The world tilted on its axis, and he took a step back. 

“Wh-who the fuck are you?” 

The man’s lopsided grin fell, and he reeled his hand back in, reclaiming the cigarette. “What? Didn’t your Ma tell ya I was gettin’ out this week?” He paused, looked for recognition in Carm’s eyes. Seeing none, he threw his hands out. “Didn’t– didn’t your Ma tell ya anything?” Silence. The stranger rolled his eyes. “Sheeezus, that is just like crazy Don. Just like her, that fuckin’ broad, I swear,” he rubbed his lips with the fingers of his free hand, clearly agitated. 

Just like I would do. 

What. The fuck. 

“Who are you, man?” 

His question was ignored. “I bet she ran around the whooooole neighborhood tellin’ everybody that you were Jerry’s kid. And just who did that crazy bitch think she was foolin’?” He gestured broadly toward Carm, “I mean, look at ya.” He shook his head in apparent disbelief, taking another long drag. Then mumbled under his breath, more to himself than anything, “Jerry’s fuckin’ kid, heh, get fucked.” 

Taking in the ratty bomber style leather jacket and threadbare jeans that must have come from some lower end thrift store, like the Goodwill down on Washington, the gaunt, sunken cheeks and hollow eyes, the badly faded neck tattoo that could have been a pair of dice, once, possibly? Or maybe they were dominoes? It all suddenly clicked into place. Carm’s rage flared, hot and jagged. 

“Look, I don’t know who the fuck you are, or what kind of shit you’re tryin' to pull, but you need to get the fuck away from my place. Whatever you’re sellin’, I don’t want it. Did somebody put you up to this? Did Richie put you up to this?” 

The man cocked his head to the side, any and all traces of friendliness suddenly evaporated. He flicked the cigarette into the gutter, took another step forward as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. There was anger now, barely simmering under the surface. “Look, I may have been doin’ time for the last 30 years and maybe I coulda called once in a while just ta ask about ya, but me being gone doesn’t change the fact that I’m your Dad, and-'' he stopped, stuck his hands in the pockets of his jacket, looked down at his busted Nikes, and sighed. Although it obviously pained him to swallow his pride, he had to admit defeat. Softly, almost a whisper, “And, well, I guess I could use your help. Maybe a job washin’ dishes or–” 

And there it was. “Get the fuck away from my restaurant. If I ever see you near my place again, I’m callin’ the cops and tellin’ em that you’re down here flashin’ women on the street in front of my place of business. They’ll get here quick.” 

The stranger’s mouth set in a thin, hard line. Even that small detail struck Carm as vaguely familiar, as if he’d seen the expression somewhere before. You have. In the mirror. The tall man retreated a couple of steps backward on the sidewalk, shaking his head again. “I should have known. I should have known you’d be just as psycho as she is. You go ask her, ask her about Sam Miller. If she hasn’t pickled herself by now, she’ll tell ya exactly who I am.” 

He turned on his heel, and Carm released the breath he didn’t even realize he’d been holding. What the fuck is going ON? Without waiting to make sure the guy kept walking, he bolted back into the restaurant and locked the door. 

“Cousin? Everything okay out there?” Richie was standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen, looking concerned. 

“No, ah, yes, no. I don’t know.” Carmen leaned against the door, pressing his forehead to the cool glass. He was still gripping the deadbolt, as if he thought Sam Morris was coming back to try to force his way inside. 

“What’s goin' on?” Richie moved across the darkened dining area, coming to stand beside him. He peered through the tinted glass, straining to see out. 

“My, well, my uh,” Carm swallowed, started again, “It was some crazy guy that showed up, trying to say he was my dad. Did you like, pay some guy to fuck with me?” 

Richie got very still. He didn’t say a word, just stared. It looked like all the blood had drained from his face. That, or he’d seen a ghost. 

“Richie.” 

Nothing. Richie Jerimovich speechless was a scary sight to behold.

“Richie? Do you know who that guy is?” 

His brother’s best friend finally turned to look at him, and there was so much sadness there. Whatever he was about to say, he didn’t actually want to say it. The reluctance was palpable in his voice. 

“That guy,” another pause, he really didn’t want to have to say this, “that guy is your dad, Carmy. Your real dad.” 

“No, I don’t believe you. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Carm.” 

“Nuh uh, there’s no way. I don’t– I can’t– I-I”, he could feel the panic rising in his chest, tightening, getting harder to take a full breath. He was getting out of control again. 

“Carmy, calm down. It’s gonna be alright,” Richie pulled a chair over to where they were standing, “here, sit down for a second.” 

Carmen sank into the chair, hand pressed to his sternum, rubbing. Just focus on breathing, in and out, in and out. Don’t think about those eyes. Your eyes. Don’t think about that, think about anything but that. 

“Look. Me and Mikey were just kids when all this went down. We were old enough to know that some shady shit was happenin’, but the adults didn’t really tell us anything. Sam was a guy that worked with your dad doing electrical stuff. Remember? And your mom worked in the office for the electrical company? Before they bought The Beef?" he stopped to make sure Carmen was lucid enough to be getting all this. He sure as shit did not want to repeat it. 

“Uh huh,” Carm nodded to show he was following along, and for him to continue. Focusing on Richie’s voice, on his words, was helping him calm down.

“So, from what I know, Donna and this guy had some kind of thing goin’ on, behind your dad’s back. It didn’t last long but it was, ya know, long enough, obviously. Anyway, your mom got pregnant and that Sam guy split. We never saw him come around again.” 

Carm stopped rubbing his chest and looked up, “So Mikey knew. And you knew. Who else knows? Does Nat know?” 

“Ah, no I don’t think so. She was still really little when all this was going on. Nobody ever talked about it after, either. I think we all wanted to forget that it happened, and move forward with like, life, ya know?”  

Carmen couldn’t help but grunt and shake his head at that one. Sure, just forget it all happened. Just move on, pretend it’s all okay. Except it wasn’t, not for him. This changed so much.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. How could I not know? I always looked different from them, felt different from them. Never really fit in. Not really.” 

“I don’t think you wanted to see it, Cousin.” Richie put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you head home, me and Syd can make sure everything gets finished here and lock up. If that prick has the nerve to show his face again, I’ll make him wish he hadn’t.” 

“Yeah, okay.” As he headed toward the back of house to grab his stuff, he paused. 

“Richie?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Don’t tell anybody else what’s goin' on. This is my business, and I don’t want any drama. Not Fak, not Syd, and definitely not Nat. Please.” 

“Of course, Cousin. Whatever you say.” 

Carmen nodded, and turned to leave. 

To be continued....

[shinsengumi-archives]

Okita Souji's work schedule

During the Edo period, low-ranking samurai working at Edo Castle had a "three-day shift," working two days and taking the third day off.

Working hours were shorter than now, and the work was divided into morning, evening, and night shifts.

This may sound somewhat enviable, but the pay was low, and the workers ended up working long hours at their own side jobs.

On the other hand, what was the work schedule like for the Shinsengumi, who were paid well but had to work hard?

Since there are no historical materials about the service shifts of the Shinsengumi members, I would like to speculate based on some records.

Since the Shinsengumi were often mobilized for emergencies, there were relatively few incidents, and I have referred to the events from the first year of the Genji Era to the second year of the Keio Era, when the organization seemed to be in place after the assassination of Serizawa Kamo.

Off-duty days?

In the first year of the Genji era, Tomizawa Chuemon, the village head of Hino and a fellow student, went to Kyoto and wrote in his diary that he often visited the headquarters.

According to this, on 2/2, Hijikata, Inoue, and Okita were at the headquarters from around noon to evening.

The following month, on 3/5, they attended the Peach Blossom Banquet hosted by Kondo and others. Kondo, Hijikata, Inoue, Okita, Todo and others were there and returned home the next morning.

On March 11, a cherry blossom viewing party was held. Kondo, Hijikata, Inoue, Okita, Toudou, and Takeda Kanryusai attended. After the banquet, they moved to Shimabara for an after-party, so it's likely that they returned home in the morning on this day as well.

Although we do not know the start time of either banquet, they must have been off duty that day or the next day.

The next month, on April 11, a farewell party was held for Tomizawa who had completed what he set out to do and was returning home. This was attended by Kondo, Hijikata, Inoue, and Okita. Since the party was held in the evening, it cannot be said that they were off duty.

Work days

Except for emergency dispatches such as the Ikedaya Incident, there is nothing that shows Okita's work days in the First Squad.

The mistaken arrest that caused trouble with the Higo clan was introduced in the article "Okita Souji's Apology Conference". If this was the work of the First Squad, 9/8 of Keio 1 is a work day.

On the other hand, for some reason, an attendance record still exists for Takeda Kanryusai and the 7th Squad.

Takeda was involved in the capture of Masuya (Furutaka Shuntaro) on 6/5 of the first year of the Genji era and the Akebonotei Incident on 6/10. It is believed that he belonged to the 3rd Squad at that time.

In the 7th Squad, Yano Shigetaro was captured on 5/12 in the leap month of Keio 1. On 9/12 of the following year, there is a record of Sanosuke Harada leading his unit to the Sanjo Noticeboard Incident.

It's noteworthy that in the Sanjo Noticeboard Incident, it's clear from the subsequent historical materials that Squads 3, 5, and 7 were deployed.

Although the 1st squadron was not dispatched, the other odd-numbered squads were all dispatched together, probably because they were on the same shift.

Morning shift, night shift, 3-day shift?

Then, assuming that the "Peach Blossom Banquet" was off-duty, I created a shift based on the same "three-day shift" as that of Edo Castle.

Then, the "Tomizawa's Farewell Party" was also off-duty for odd-numbered teams.

Also, Hijikata Kennosuke, a member of the Sennin Doshin (Thousand Men Army) who had come to Kyoto, visited the headquarters and held a drinking party on September 18, Keio 1 (1865) [edit: corrected typo], also off-duty, and Okita and Inoue of the First and Third Corps attended all the parties.

Furthermore, none of the days when Takeda and 7th Squad were deployed fell on off-duty days, but rather on work days.

However, 2/2, when Tomizawa visited, was a work day on this shift. Considering that Okita and the others were drinking until the evening, they may have been on a different shift before the "Peach Blossom Party," or they may have been on duty from the evening.

Since the Sanjo Noticeboard incident also did not involve the First Squad, it's also possible that they were on morning-duty on this day.

This is just a hypothesis, but I think that the Shinsengumi took turns off-duty for each even-numbered and odd-numbered squad, and that there was a morning shift and an evening shift on working days.

There is a high possibility that the work interval is a "3 days shift", but if it's based on odd or even numbers, there will be days when all employees are dispatched, so there may have been another group.

However, when Iba Hachiro went to Kyoto, he worked once every four days. Other diaries from the same period show consecutive days of work and consecutive holidays, which are irregular and depend on the organization.

The Shinsengumi's work schedule was announced in the morning, so even if there was a general schedule, it would have varied.

Incidentally, according to this schedule, the day Okita wrote a letter to his hometown informing them of Sannan's death fell on a day he was off duty.

It may have taken him a long time to write that painful letter...

References

「新選組日誌　(上)」 菊地明・伊東成郎・山村竜也

「日本人は昔から働き者?知ると深い「江戸の労働」 濱田浩一郎

「幕末武士の京都グルメ日記　「伊庭八郎征西日記」を読む」　山村竜也　幻冬舎

「慶応元年御進発御用日記  十九歳の長州出兵記録」　日野の古文書を読む会研究部会　日野市郷土資料館

「新選組史料大全」　菊地明

[sonicsbfwannbe]

Wait that was KENTA??

Summary: Kenta makes progress in feeling comfortable around x-hunter. Very heavy on Alan being a supportive and perfect. (Its rush pls don't judge to harsh I beg)

3rd pov

After everything that had happened X-Hunter and friends more or less taken Kenta in. While he had contributed to the terrible things Tony was doing it was pretty clear that he never actually wanted to and at the end of the day he was a good person forced to do bad things.

Kenta was appreciative of the fact that they were so keen to have him around but that didn't mean he didn't struggle to be comfortable. He couldn't bring himself to do or ask for anything if it could potentially even slightly inconvenience someone.

He didn't doubt that they were happy to do things for him or even just be there for him but he had never been allowed to want and asking Tony for something usually had its consequences. He felt as if he still wasn't allowed to ask for anything not that he would even know how.

He also didn't feel right joining in on the way they all teased each other. The playful jabs that would be met with a light hearted sarcastic comment. What if they took him as actually being mean? What if he just wasn't allowed? He just couldn't risk losing what he had with them.

Fortunately he had a new family that was very stubborn.

Kenta pov

"North and Sonic are gonna go to the store tomorrow to stock up the pantry at the garage is there anything you want them to grab for you?" Alan asked me. I've been working there doing paperwork since everything calmed down and I really enjoy how kind everyone is here.

"No it's okay I don't need anything," I tell him. This is true while I do have snacks and drinks I like I don't actually need any of them. I know that's not the answer he wants but that's all I can bring myself to give for now.

"Kenta that's not what I asked and I know that it's hard for you to ask for things and I also know that one conversation is not going to fix that but I promise you that we all want to be there for you. We want you to join in on the jokes. If we didn't we would not have welcomed you here so for the love of god please just tell me what to add to the list for you," Alan lectured. I noticed he was like that, always making sure everyone knew they were cared for. He was genuinely the kindest person I've ever met. Not that it was much of a competition.

"Uhm... I really don't know, maybe just some sports drinks," I was so caught off guard by how blunt he was being. Even though I did believe him I still couldn't breathe as I scrambled for something to request.

"Okay good, you can text me or one of them if you want a particular brand or flavor or if you think of anything else."

I nod before he turns to walk out the door probably to keep asking around.

"And Kenta, I'm proud of you for asking I'm sure that took a lot but that is what we are all here for. We are family here and we really hope that you will see us as such when you are ready," Alan said and slips out of the room with a smile.

Oh-

*1 year later*

Alan pov

It's been a slow day at the garage which to most people would mean calm. People idly doing their work at a comfortable pace in no rush to get a million things done. Not at X-Hunter though, not for me.

Slow day means that means that everyone is running around and being loud. Not for work but just enjoying themselves as they work. I absolutely love these days just my boys without weight on their shoulders just free to have wreckless fun.

Unfortunately today I got to be the central target for any teasing and wrestling. I would absolutely never tell any of them but I kind of enjoy it, they would never let it go.

I had spaced out watching them chase each other around when I suddenly have someone lunge on my back to start wrestling. Of course it was North ever the problem child.

"Why must you do this to me while I was minding my own business," I ask him more of a rhetorical tease than an actual question.

"Because it's fun duh," North retorts as he tries to put me in a headlock.

"Careful old people's bodies are sensitive you don't want him to throw his back out do you," a voice behind me speaks casually.

"Hey I'm not that o-" I start as I turn around. Wait was that Kenta?? He didn't even look up and just continued filling out paperwork but he had a noticeable smile on his face.

The entire garage was quiet from shock. Everyone had turned around to check that they heard it right too. If it wasn't for the smiles across everyone's face they might be mistaken for being upset.

"HOLY SHIT KENTA IM SO PROUD!!"  North shouts as he runs to hug Kenta. Me too.