#got on my computer at last and just went ham with them

[drev-the-procrastinator]

20 Questions for Fic Writers -tag game

I got tagged by @zyrafowe-sny, thank you for the tag! This was fun! I wrote the answers at like 5 am sorry if they're rambly and unhinged haha.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

13, but really 7, because all but one of them are Finnish and English language versions of the same stories sjdfnasdfj

WWAIT 14! one of them is anonymous jhfashdfj almost forgot about that one

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

24 448

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Well,,, the fandoms I’ve published fic for are Hetalia (kringelis krongelis i know) and The Owl House, but when you add WIPs there’s also the Mandalorian, Noragami, and BNHA, and there USED to be HTTYD and GNG as well. Yeah the last one is the old anime where dogs fight bears. What can I say it’s really popular in Finland, Hopeanuoli 4ever

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

hands, grasping (the one TOH fic so no surprise there), Six Sunflowers (which is the oldest), Traitor’s Glory, Two Boys, Two Moments in Time, and lastly December 30th, 1929. 

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I mean I do try! When I leave comments it’s always nice to get answers, so I think it’s just nice to answer others. :) I do have some comments atm I’ve not answered but. Well. Just look at my url lmao

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

LMAO. I have no idea. I’m just going by the published ones here, but like: character seemingly falls to his death, character finds his mom’s dead on his 9th birthday and is left with his two other underage siblings to fend for themselves in the 1930s ussr, character resigns himself to the fact that his siblings probably hate him as he’s starving to death in a prison camp. Which one’s the angstiest? You choose!!

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Lmaooo well none of them are really _happy_, uh. I think Laid Down By Human Hands has probably the most neutral ending, whereas Six Sunflowers is more bittersweet, but like the sweet is there… And then Two Boys isn’t terrible either? Like it sucks a little cuz that kid’s living in WWII time Finland ya know, but it’s _fine_. I dunno! In truth it’s probably the fic on anon that’s the least terrible, but even that ending’s not a _happy_ one, it’s got unrequited pining in it lol.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope! So far at least! I don’t think my fics are popular enough to get it haha.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope! I’m almost strictly a gen writer, aside from like. 2 AUs and one TOH wip. I guess some of the WIPs could potentially and maybe should have some fade to black kinda scenes because they’re stories involving a fair amount of romance and in one of them it’s even kind of relevant to the plot. But yeah no. 

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

WELL, okay. You see, I actually started out writing via original fiction? I was like 12 when I made up a story based on a long-lasting play-pretend during recess thing I had going on with my dear friend, and it was. Written and plotted by a 12-year-old. But THEN I got really into the How To Train Your Dragon movies, and then I crossed over my story and HTTYD and then tried (still kinda low-key sorta in the process of) to separate it into my original story again, but this time with dragons! So that’s. Like the craziest journey ahfijsd my original as-of-yet unwritten fantasy story has a crossover sequel with HTTYD lmao. Also just occasionally I think about a potential giant crossover that’s got allllll my faves meeting and interacting, but that’s solely for daydreaming and “lmao wouldn’t it be funny if” -scenarios in my head. I’ve later also crossed the characters from my original story with other ones I’ve liked, in my head lol, but I don’t think I’ve written out any. Other than the TT x HTTYD hybrid. (TT is the WIP name for that original story. it doesn’t stand for anything anymore tho lmao it’s just tt)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope! Not to my knowledge, at least! Again, my fics don’t get enough hits/are too niche for anyone to think about stealing them, I imagine. 

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah! Almost all of them! By me. What can I say, I try to fight the good fight to keep my native language alive on the internet and also in my head. 

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. I did once talk about the possibility with a friend, but nothing ever came out of it. 

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Hhhh. This is very silly but I don’t really actively ship stuff, and rarely think of ships outside of when I’m watching or reading the source material or something. Thus the one I can feel confident in saying I ship is a…. oc x canon ship sshfskjfsidkfajksaf or maybe it’d be more accurate to say oc x mutated blorbo version of a canon character lmao. It’s mainly in. 2 AUs that have so little to do with the source material that they might as well be original fiction and probably by this point mostly are lol. 

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

GHHH I want to finish ALL of my big 5 main WIPs because I love them dearly and want to read them, but then again. I don’t know if I ever will because I can’t get myself to fuckin WRITE any of them. So I’m just gonna say all of my main WIPs. That is:

TT (original fantasy story thing)

home front fic (historical fic set in WWII Finland about the friendship between a kid and the soviet POW sent to work on his home farm)

Kingdom AU (girl from the country accidentally befriends the crown prince and there’s politics and they fall in love and some cool stuff and some less cool stuff happens. hard to summarize cuz i’ve never had to, target demographic is like. three people + me. here's the aesthetics and vibe blog it's got)

sad BNHA fic (what if. Eri got ofa. but how? i murder someone to haunt the narrative. easy. sad. sad bnha fd. naming skills on full display here) 

anddddd. hypothetical TOH fic (what if i came up with what happens after TTT before the two other eps of s3 came out and stayed on that path. what if the first thing i wrote about it was hunter falling off a cliff to his death. what then).

Kind of also TOH fic 3 (it’s about evelynnnnn) but that one is. Hopefully. Shorter and has the outline all written out so there’s a bigger likelihood of me finishing it someday. And to be fair the hypothetical TOH fic isn’t that long either, I could get it done, one day, but then the other ones have grown to massive size plotwise so I don’t know if I could ever get them done, actually. I hope so! But ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

16. What are your writing strengths?

I guess my plots are sometimes kinda good? Sad BNHA fic and Kingdom AU are pretty cool on that side. I used to be pretty good at writing dialogue too, but that was back when I a) wrote regularly, b) read a lot, and c) socialized. So. But I used to be good! though back then my plots were real frickin weird lol. in my defense. i was 14 to 17.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Writing itself. That’s the only answer I’ve got because recently I haven’t written enough to know what I’d be bad at. So just. Writing. See I can plot without writing, that’s why I’m good at that lmao

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Sure! Hell yeah! I’m gonna do that! I have done that! I love it, I love languages. Though translations are appreciated. Though I think it should be for emphasis, more so than just writing it in the language just for the hell of it (though like I had a wip where all the spoken dialogue was to be in Russian because there was so little of it and it was simple enough that I could do that, but i lost my notes for it). I think if it’s just normal dialogue and the pov character knows the language, it’s best to just add like, “they said in Finnish” to the dialogue tag, especially if there’s a lot of it. 

In my personal opinion, also when the character doesn’t know the language, I probably wouldn’t write it out? But then if a character knew the basics of the language and it was maybe one sentence I would write it in the language. Or if it was a really important line, like someone telling another character they love them in their native language, or a culturally significant thing, like, idk the adoption vow in mando'a in the Star Wars universe. But sometimes it’s also just fun to show off your own language skills! So overall, strongly encouraged. Just. Try not to use Google Translate (etc.) for it jfajfasjdn

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Hhooo. Probably the Ginga-fandom, but that one was so brief it barely counts, so I’ll say HTTYD because of the crossover thing. If it’s just fanfic without crossing it over with my own original work lol then Hetalia. 

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

TRAITOR’S GLORY!!!!!! I got to talk about my rather niche but intense area of interest in it, which is Soviet POWs in Finland during the Continuation War 1941-1944. Well, that’s the finished one at least, there are some snippets of WIPs I’ve not posted nor finished that are also very good. Imo. But. Yeah. Most of the other favourite stuff I have, concerning my fics, hasn’t been written. So. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But Traitor’s Glory is pretty nice. :)  Thanks again for the tag! I guess I'll tag some people, though no pressure: @evevoli @cowboy-garfield @peach-oolong-tea @starcloud-nova @littlekysworld @slightlycrunchy uh. yeah. If you see this and wanna do it you can say I tagged you! :) And no pressure!

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Streamer! and Gamer!Reader who gets the RoR characters involved with her stream by playing group horror game or game that needed teamwork like Pico Park?

I’m not much of a gamer myself, except for games like Pokemon, Stardew Valley, and Assassins Creed, so I’ll try my best with this one! I’m going to use Friday the 13th, even though I can’t stand horror, I love watching other gamers play and get scared while playing scary games like this.

-Your family never had to worry about you being out late at night, as you preferred to be inside playing video games, either on your consoles, handhelds like your switch, or your computer.

-You were an indoor type of kid, but you didn’t mind. You loved gaming and you found joy in streaming while you play, as people found you entertaining, especially when you played scary games.

-You were a big baby with scary games, always screaming, and you’ve gotten yelled at for being up so late playing multiple times and for scaring them, which you did apologize for.

-A few of your family members expressed interest on what game you had been playing that had been making you scream so much, and you were pleased to announce that you were going to live stream with those family members.

-Buddha- Was an instant hit, the thirst posts that came over were almost instant, which did make him grin while you rolled your eyes at him before you provided him with his own cat ear headphones and a controller to play with you. At first, things started off okay, you were both campers and Buddha was a little nervous, hearing the music change to something darker. He got jumped by Jason and jumped, biting down and crushing his lollipop and you shouted, “Every coward for themselves!!” he playfully shoved you, trying to get away, “Come save me!!” you went back and forth, bantering and the chat loved it, sending so many likes and comments as well as a few donations as well. By the end of your stream, you had died seven times over the course of the games, and Buddha died six times, as the seventh time he was the killer and went after you first, which was cold. He grinned at your camera as you signed off, waving with you. Once you were done, you both went out to a bakery to binge on sweets, using the money he helped you earn.

-Loki- Was cocky with this idea, thinking it wasn’t that scary, teasing you and he grinned at the chat comments, giving them peace signs and was a total ham. However, once you started to play, Loki was very quick to shut up, playing a teenager alongside you, sticking to you. Jason jumped out and Loki let out a comical shriek, jumping and actually fell back, takin the chair and controller with him. The chat exploded with laughter while you were running away from Jason, “Women and chickens first!!” The last round you played you were the killer and Loki thought he had gotten away from you but you killed him last and the chat loved how he immediately went to your bed, flopping down on it and cuddling your stuffed animals, lamenting your cold nature against him. You signed off and thanked your fans before you turned to him with a grin, “We earned about three hundred bucks, want to do this again next week?” his eyes instantly lit up, agreeing with you.

-Adam- He wasn’t pleased to be wearing clothes, but to make you happy, he would, just for a bit. The chat was alive with thirst and you scowled as you both read them, announcing to the camera, “C’mon guys, that’s my dad!” this made things worse and you started to regret doing this. Adam was okay, making it almost halfway through the round before he saw Jason killing your character and he gasped, “My baby!” he tried to rush Jason, and succeeded in punching him twice, before being gutting himself. He stared at the screen with a blank stare before he vowed revenge and the chat was here for it, finding it hilarious. He didn’t get jumped scared like the others, he would flinch when you screamed and he did flinch when he got attacked by Jason once or twice, but he was the calmest of the three who streamed with you. You were surprised when Adam asked if he could do this again with you, not every time, but once in a while and you beamed up at him, welcoming the idea of it.

[bitterkarmaa]

SO

Got a few prompts for you for past KC and Eclipse! Since i couldn't choose just one and the brain worms are still strong agfjg:

29. “I can’t believe I thought you were a good person. Congratulations, you’ve proven me wrong.”

I figured this would be a good one for after the incident and KC confronts Eclipse about what happened

39. “If this was the last time we ever spoke, what would you want me to know?”

This one could mayhaps go with the above prompt too for that extra layer of angst mwehehehe

24. “I’ll protect you, with my life if necessary.”

This could either be before incident (maybe with young Eclipse) or after KC revives Eclipse?

6. “I... I can’t believe it’s really you. I thought I’d never see you again.”

Another alternate version to the prior one! Post Eclipse revival!

3. “You’re wrong. So just sit there in your wrongness and be wrong”

A break from the angst prompts - KC and Eclipse being sassy with one another ahdfas family banter

(ALSO YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ALL OF THESE OR EVEN ANY AT ALL HDFJKG i just went a lil ham haha)

I’m inhaling all of these ideas like crack and struggling to pick like a bird picking a favorite seed

“I’ll protect you, with my life if necessary.”

-KC & Eclipse-

It has always been a patient animatronic, despite being the lead security bot. It had to be patient. It was made to be patient.

And yet, watching the fragmented code running slowly across the screen, it is filled with unmistakable fury over the fact that reality chooses to taunt it in one of its worst, most vulnerable moments. Impatience burns a hole through every rule it’s ever learned, eating away at the emotional wall between it and the tears that threaten to fall down its face.

Each time another error pops up, his claws dig deeper into the desk’s flimsy wooden surface.

Growing weary of the endless cycle of disappointment that staring at the screen brings, KC instead decides to turn away, gazing solemnly at his son’s immobile body, at his eyes that no longer gleam with emotion, replaced by a cruel, ever-encompassing darkness. It can’t help but wonder if doing its best to repair the body and card was a waste of its time. Maybe he was too late. Maybe his son really is dead.

Just as they wanted. Bitterness rises like bile in its chest, a snarl ripping through its bared teeth.

Humans. People. Society. Spitting lies he believed long enough to allow them to take his son from him. Even now, the disgust he feels towards both himself and humanity is vivid- unwavering.

The room is silent aside from the soft beeping and clicking of the computer doing its work. It clasps its hands together, lowering its head in shame as the reality of the situation sinks in for the thousandth time. It still hurts, fresh as a bleeding wound. He doubts it will ever heal.

A garbled scream forces his eyes up once again, alarm pulsing through him as he moves towards Eclipse before truly putting much thought into it. His son continues to scream and cry, oil leaking from his mouth in a steady stream that makes KC’s core lurch.

He reaches out, but Eclipse flails and whimpers as soon as his father’s hand nears him. It stops, watching helplessly as Eclipse’s venting falters, letting out ragged wheezes as his body fights to stay online.

“D-Don’t-D-Don’t-“ Eclipse rasps, voice hitching and breaking in places, voicebox straining against the unwelcome use.

“Eclipse…” It begins, voice low, soft and gentle. A contrast to its more recent tones, reminiscent of better times.

“Don’t!” He snaps, a sob escaping his mouth afterwards. The venom in his tone is worn and empty, lacking the bite in favor of showing face for a bark that he hopes may deter his hovering father. It doesn’t.

“I’m…I’m not going to hurt you.”

Eclipse’s shaking hands twist into weak fists that contain more emotion than his twisted expression, somehow.

“I-“ Eclipse breaks off, letting out a yelp that slowly devolves into a scream, wrapping his arms around himself, clutching the dented, destroyed paneling that trembles under his unsteady hands.

KC panics.

KC doesn’t panic, but he does. He doesn’t but right now he does.

For a moment, all he can really do is watch as Eclipse’s screaming begins to die off into broken sobs.

It seems that his previous caution is quickly discarded, because next he’s shifting closer to KC, tears still streaming down his face as he shakes and breaks down before his fathers eyes. It stares at him idly, a small frown coming onto its face as Eclipse reaches out with one hand to grasp loosely onto its sleeve, his other arm still wrapped around his torso.

“Sw-Swear it?” Eclipse mumbles miserably between sobs, earning a puzzled expression from KC.

“Swear what?”

“That you…won’t hurt me…”

The tears that have been threatening to gather in KC’s eyes finally come, metaphorical heart shattering all over the floor, leaving him to vainly struggle to gather the pieces.

“Oh, Eclipse…” It whispers sorrowfully, moving closer to pull his son to his chest. Eclipse buries himself against his father, more sobs wracking through his body as he leans into its arms.

The most KC can do is hold Eclipse as he wails his grievances into his fathers attire, fingers curled into the faded fabric as if afraid KC might leave, or move, or do something that would break his fit and shame his needs. KC plans to do nothing of the sort, caught up in guilt as it is.

"I tried to stop her."

Eclipse's voice is tight, distant, and KC lets out a heavy sigh as he realizes that this is probably another living nightmare his son's mind is forcing him to remember. He's had these...'fits' ever since that cursed day, wrapped in memories, bound so tightly that he can't escape no matter how hard he damns the vision to the back of his mind. KC has tried to help him out of these episodes, but it proves futile time and time again. The most he can truly do is stay by his side until they subside once again. It's truly excruciating, watching his son experience horrifically vivid recollections, unable to help no matter how hard he tries.

And now, beneath the load of reality that his son is already struggling to maintain, another weight has been added. Cruelty comes in many forms, it seems, and quite a few of them are fond of poor Eclipse.

"I know." KC murmurs, rubbing a gentle hand in circles over his sons back. "It wasn't my fault."

A slight pause, then, "I know."

"Why didn't you stop them?" Eclipse's voice becomes sharper, more in tune with reality as his eyes drag up to meet KC's own. KC can't hold his gaze for long, the shame eating away at him.

"I did." He mutters, and, apparently, he said the wrong thing. Eclipse's gaze burns with fury, shoving himself away despite the obvious pain it causes him.

"As soon as it became beneficial for you, sure. Yeah. You became the hero and whatever. Main difference between you and actual heroes is that heroes succeed." Eclipse bites back, rays grinding against the crumbling springs as they retract behind his dented faceplate. KC narrows its eyes.

"I saved your life, and this is the thanks I get?"

Eclipse lets out a bitter scoff, rising to the silent challenge behind his father's words.

"You only brought me back because you felt bad!"

KC stares at his son, his formerly furious expression twisting into one of despair. "That's not true." It retorts.

"Yes, it is! You know it is!" Eclipse's voice raises into a distressed wail, tone breaking off into another sob, hands coming up to wipe furiously at his face.

"It's not, Eclipse. You-" KC reaches out with careful hands, gently beginning to guide Eclipse's hands back into his lap- before his son pulls them away, that is.

"YES, IT IS! YOU NEVER WANTED A SON, YOU JUST WANTED SOMEONE TO AGREE WITH YOU ALL THE TIME!!"

"Eclipse-"

"YOU NEVER WANTED ME AROUND!! YOU PROBABLY WANTED ME TO DIE!!"

"ECLIPSE!" KC shouts over his son's rant, grabbing Eclipse by the sides of his face, forcing him to look into his father's eyes. Eclipse stares, wide-eyed and hyperventilating, into KC's glittering red gaze.

"I have never wanted you dead. Ever. It broke me to see you as hurt as you were, and I swear that I won't allow it to happen again. I can't see you like that, my boy. You are my everything, no matter what I say or do. I regret waiting as long as I did to step in- it plagues me endlessly, the thought of what I should've done, but didn't. You will never be wounded like that again. I won't let it happen. I'll protect you...with my life, if necessary."

Eclipse's mouth hangs open the slightest bit, unwavering gaze trained on his father's serious expression. Then, his face twists, body shaking as more tears gather in his eyes and he begins to spill various apologies from his mouth, throwing himself back into KC's arms.

KC cradles his son like a precious china vase, rocking him gently in the quiet, isolated room. Time stretches on, the sobs slowly dying away into sniffles, and then, eventually, soft, raspy venting as Eclipse's exhaustion hits him like a train, effectively knocking him out for the next few hours.

KC keeps his promise. He protects Eclipse.

...even at the cost of his life.

And, as his fingers grace over the scar hidden beneath his classy attire, he wonders...

How is he staring into the eyes of the mentor he assumed was dead?

[zer0psd]

never used photoshop so im curious to see your opinions about photopea vs photoshop

ok things to be known: 1) adobe can suck my cock and balls theyre evil and i wish that the corporate entity that is adobe would go up in flames, a corporation shoud NOT have that much insight in your privacy, files, sensitive info, etc 2) photopea is great and built off a small dev team as a basically a passion project, which is awesomesauce! i'm not knocking them at all, and i think ppl should support them in anyway they can

i've been a graphic designer and photographer for years now, and in hs i became adobe certified. i literally spent four years of my life learning on an industry standard. it becomes muscle memory after a while. beside that i was a roleplayer so i became VERY familiar with edits and gifs and all that. again everything became muscle memory. adobe suites are the industry standard for a reason, and for GOOD reason. i think they have an amazing interface and work hard to update the experience and make shit easier for artists; like i will give them that even if i sound like a bootlicker. i never paid for it tho lol as a student i got it for free and i would use cracks/torrents.

when i got my new computer it wouldn't let me run bootcamp so i couldn't crack the adobe suites like i used to :/ new mac processors or whatever don't rely on intel anymore, so not intel = no bootcamp. most cracks are pc based so i just couldn't find one that worked for me. apple went ham on protecting IP and combating torrents so it's like impossible to crack without an extensive VPN or else adobe will literally send a cease and desist to your internet provider. its sincerely fucked up.

i switched to photopea bc of this. i really liked it, but im autistic so having to relearn my own workflow that ive had for years made me want to hashtag die. the interface is VERY close to photoshop, so it wasn't hard, but it doesn't have the same capabilities i was used to w ps. i do NOT like edited photos in photopea; i think its way too laggy and glitchy to work with giant raw files, which really sucks!!! for making small edits and doing my graphic design tho??? i do really like it. it doesn't have the same capabilities as ps sure, but once i just fucked with the filter galleries and different plug ins and worked my process around what photopea could accomplish, i was good as gold. i've been producing quality work on commission through photopea. it's a learning curve for sure, especially if you have zero experience with an editing interface like that, but the more i use it the more i learn.

all of that being said, i think photopea is fucking awesome for being completely free and open source. it has its issues —— sometimes its way too glitchy for me and pisses me the fuck off, i have to frequently save my psd files and hope that they don't fuck up, and then reopen so it's less laggy and rinse and repeat bc some of my stuff takes hours lmfao —— but i think its pretty darn close to the photoshop i was using like less than a year ago. its glitchy, its laggy, the ads are annoying and clog up the screen, but i simply cannot complain to much when its a smallish dev team working on a shoestring budget (last time i checked) and for FREE. like its open and usable on any browser and computer and i think thats rad.

if i could go back to ps without giving them money i would in a heartbeat. ps is awesome for the work i do, and i like that there's constant improvements and updates. it just boils down to look, feel, and workflow to me; ps is rarely laggy and glitchy, its meant to handle giant projects, there's so many plug ins you can find online, etc. i just wish it wasn't a subscription based software; honestly if i new adobe was less like the elf on the shelf and i could make a one time purchase, i would. but alas.

anyways i'm pro photopea all the way. idk if any of this was helpful its mostly rambly lmfao. but yeah. i don't do much photography anymore, so i don't have to work around the glitches and lags and all of that with photopea; i focus on graphic design for event fliers and social media content + rp resources. it has room for improvement for sure for sure, but it's lovely and helpful in its own way.

[chaletnz]

Last Day in Peru

I started my day off with another smoothie bowl from Freshii and then walked to a nearby post office to buy some stamps and send postcards out before I head back home tonight. I found a department store that I went for a browse around but all of the clothes there fit very weirdly and the brands I knew were way overpriced. I enjoyed my final Peruvian coffee at Artidoro Rodriguez Cafeteria because it was the actual café for the coffee bags I had bought at the supermarket that smelled so good. The coffee was great, possibly the best one of the entire trip, so we ended on a high note! I bought some pizza rolls and drinks from the supermarket and spent most of the day resting in my room as my flight was overnight. Once I had packed up most of my bag and watched some Netflix I went out for a final dinner at La Lucha Sangucheria Criolla, the same place I had eaten at twice in Arequipa because (as advertised) the fries were the best in Peru. This time I went for the Pollo Deluxe but I took out the jamon (ham) so it was just shredded chicken and cheese, plus a serving of fries with the sauce variety and one last fresh pineapple juice. The sandwich came with an egg on it which was not listed on the menu so I had to slide that out but it was really good. I was stuffed after dinner and walked back to the hostel for a quick shower before meeting my ride to the airport. The driver was crazy and aggressive, he was driving erratically and constantly swerving between lanes trying to get ahead. He wouldn’t let anyone merge in front of him, honking at them when they indicated to move over basically telling them “no” and speeding up. It was then very amusing when we got stuck trying to merge into the traffic and people wouldn’t let him in so he started yelling and honking, just an absolute idiot driver. I was so glad to get out at the airport and see the back of him. I walked up to the main doors of the airport and the guards wouldn’t let me inside without me finding my boarding pass on my phone first. I thought “mate I am obviously a tourist, wearing a massive backpack, here for my flight. I’m not some scammy local trying to get inside and flog off my old shit to people or panhandle for loose change.” The self check in computer didn’t work so I was unfortunately forced to line up to check in my bag but it didn’t take too long and I was very early knowing how chaotic this airport was. I spent the last of my Peruvian soles on some little snacks and a sloth salt and pepper set that would be perfect for our apartment. I tried to buy a big bottle of water to take on the plane but they told me that I wouldn’t be allowed because there is another security check for passengers travelling to the USA and they will take any liquids over 100ml. Ridiculous as I had already been through a screening checkpoint so now I would spend the next several hours with only the tiny water bottles they provide on the plane. Once I arrived in New York’s JFK in the morning I wasn’t surprised to see the immigration queues were 60 minutes for tourists. As a permanent resident it was only 30 minutes but still felt like forever to get through and get my McDonald’s on the other side (they were sold out of hash browns and it was so disappointing). A short uneventful flight to Denver, some Panda Express, and a shuttle ride later and I was home to distribute all my little knick knack souvenirs to the house!

[the-firebird69]

Chus & Ceballos - Black Rock City [Official Music Video]

They do this music every time as the intro and when would think they knew it was there cuz I keep saying burning Man and it's terribly ridiculous and the intro music is played as we said every single burning Man and pretty much for like half a day then they start playing other songs and they play it again and they like it it's electro and it's famous and he got a song played once and they thought it was really intense so they had the artist come and she was real pleased find out it was you and said no way and I said that's a weapon that I told him at that Tony is a weapon the one right there and it can be activated at this time it's just that we were at risk I said yeah people die there still and it's by Mary and she said no and she told people and they said who in the after it's mostly Max and the we're heavy hitters and against them and helps you guys grow I'll stop over too but I know if it's my dad did and he flew s***** Chitty bang bang out and I don't deserve it and Queen Elizabeth II was riding it and I told her to bring a bunch of rags here shirt and the other side and they stuffed him in his dad didn't have time to fix it was cool and she said oh no and they started talking about it it's really the flavor of it and they went nuts and said you were glad you're here and she said I'm kind of related a little and she's a Mac and he says they're trying to hit people there it's not a good idea to go there and he says possibly not you can be further away from it though so they got a little upset and they figured out that they're out in the computer is doing it and they're looking for people who are maxed but interested in there sad and said they can't help this and they got it but this is the intro music and yeah they play it every time over and over and it is awesome vital and goddess wife and I said it was us. There's a few things going on I can announce

-we have a party here and no we have a party that's out of order it's the trumps and they're leaving and they are upset their fleet is out and they have to get out of here they have other fleets and they're trying to get them going and they're going to try and do that tonight I guess if they don't they're just going to sit there getting hit and the last 1.5 billion is under attack and a lot of people want to be so damn onrry. His other news

-we have a whole bunch of people who need out of here it's happening everyday and they're dangerous and they won't stop with it and he says we know about it and let's do something so we're going to go ahead and do something and spend too long today and too many and we'll have to keep doing it and maintenance cuz other stuff too

-we have a tired little boy here and he tried to eat a lot of ham and he did but he's hoping to work and we think it will and we need to get him to rest pretty soon tonight and sleep

-there's a lot of battles going on in space it's going to take a while bja is going to battle the pseudo empire if he can get over there but it looks like Trump is trying to form up on Mars and he is probably not going to make it and he has like four billion or five billion chips and already the pseudo empire has 5 billion trumps are the same 4 billion to 5 billion but he's got to heat them all up and get them all out he's trying to do it from the apartment he's not supposed to be in and he can't tell if they're receiving and stuff like that

There's a huge argument between himself and his people and they're telling them to shut up and get off the radio and stop telling people why we're doing and he's saying no they're going to listen tonight I mean he will you hear them talking about what they're going to do she does not comply he's going to get hurt

-it's a couple other things going on that are really big this this guy Trump has been trying to mess with his social security and he is the acting director and supposedly he's a good guy at least he's telling some people that and we are intercepting him and huge forces have moved up there from the pseudo empire us the Max and foreigners and miscellaneous and bja and we're all taking him down these are higher ups in the DC area they have access codes and safeties and what they arranged and everything for probably 50% of the remaining stashes and cash systems and entrance systems. It's on okay they're going to get polished off and stopped and people are sick of your abuse the tire being abused by them and they're tired of their stupid mouth and their dumb talk and the sick and tired of seeing them moving around and saying we understand we heard you and say they're big when they're very small right now they're 3% that's not big off Island that's very small my comparison to what they were they are about 1/7 the size of what they were or about 14% instead of 100%, and yeah you're stupid you're not doing well you're not doing anything you're pissing people off and boy you rude dumb m************ so we're going to take you out I can't stand you this is some idiot stuff and he said it's kind of hard to deal with but I'm pretty sure they're just really stupid and it turned out to be true and they're kind of mean and wicked on top and they say a lot of stuff another thing to announce

-people are forming up on their walls in their areas and they're going after them and say he hired him to do the job it's not his fault and these people are morons saying they're Giants running around telling people and they haven't done anything except screw up and had someone else do it and the Trump said the trumps are fighting the Max and the max of pulverizing them and they don't get anywhere so now it's going to be them disappearing already there around 2.8% and it's because of their proximity to Giants the fact that they're holding it down and away from people and that they also know about Dave and his best friend and a computer guy in salt point to him that he has information or worse and it's going on right now and the numbers of these guys keeps reducing. 2.8% is very small they're losing people very fast and they're not going to be around for much longer really at the rates are going it's like 1% a day and with no fleet they'll have a lot less power and people are chasing down all their small ships and they're going to New Zealand the ships that are protecting New Zealand are going to be vulnerable as most of them are going to Mars and we'll update you in a moment

Bitol and Goddess wife

Olympus

[dcpbybia2024]

DCP day 1-2

March 18-19

arrived yesterday morning, my check in was supposed to be 0815 but I was late and didn't end up getting to check in until like 0900 but that wasn't a big deal at all.

met a girl in line, she was nice and we exchanged instas so I hope i get to keep in touch. Check in was basically:

a form that I filled in off a QR code from the housing company

then they put us (~100ish of us?) in a room to watch the housing policies/intro video.

getting my picture taken for my account

received my welcome ticket for the parks

received my room keycard and parking pass (I registered/paid for the parking pass in advance when I registered for housing)

the next thing on my agenda was the background check, which was super quick they just scanned my ID and took my fingerprints.

then i began to move in, i was by myself so it took a few trips to get my stuff from my car to my apartment, but it wasn't too difficult. I brought a folding beach cart thing which was a lifesaver and I would recommend.

i got to my apt and there was nobody there, so i just moved my stuff into my space (I have a 2x2) and found my roomie had left me a sweet little note and some candy/snacks for me, which i really appreciated.

i was free to move in until 4, when i was scheduled to go to Making the Most of YOUR Program, which was pretty much what it says on the label, about 40 mins of tips and guidelines alongside some inspirational/curated videos on how to use the resources in the program.

afterwards I met my roommate, and she showed me around the apartment and gave me the low down on how things work with the program.

my mom arrived later in the evening and i grabbed dinner with her and we went for groceries and stuff at the target and tjmaxx nearby.

last night my roommate invited me to meet her friend group at the hot tub so i hung out with them for a while, then took a shower and went to bed to get up for my swim test the next morning.

DAY 2

this morning i got up around 0645, made some eggs and ham for brekky (yum) and went down to the buses to go to Mickey's Retreat for my lifeguard swim test. i met some people on the bus but didn't exchange info but i hope i can catch up with them :/

the test was pretty straightforward and consistent with other coaching/lifeguarding assessments i've done prior. the deep water test was as follows:

200yd continuous swim

10lb brick retrieval from 8ft depth

2min tread no hands

hearing test (they blew a whistle)

vision test (read from an eye chart)(you can keep your glasses/contacts on)

they said we will test again on location, and i got my training schedule for the next couple weeks which includes a 3 day lifeguard course back at Mickey's Retreat which i suspect will align with the standard guard classes i am familiar with. the schedule has some costuming info included, but i'm not sure if i should be wearing a guard suit underneath or what bc its a shirt/shorts combo. it includes shoes tho so that's cool.

after i got back i checked out the gym in the community center and it looks really nice! i went on the treadmill for a little before coming back to the apartment and putting up the rest of my decorations.

I meal prepped some greek salad/rice and then accidentally knocked out and napped for like the entire afternoon (oops)

after I woke up I came back to the community center to putz around on my computer and that brings us up to now and I'm about to go back to the hot tub with my roommate's friends and hang out :)

[thunderthighs77]

Tendou and Semi Cuckold Part 1

**Part 2** IF THE LINK DOES NOT WORK, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. PART 2 CAN BE FOUND ON MY PAGE RIGHT NOW ANYWAY  

CW/TW for Pt. 1: Fem Reader x Tendou + Semi, voyeurism, exhibitionism, mentions of weed, cursing, vaginal play, smoking weed.

Y/N comes home from college to her bf’s house. He’s rooming with Semi, who’s always had eyes for Y/N. That doesn’t bother Tendou. In fact, it excites him...

(Basically, Tendou is lead dom here)

CW/TW for BOTH PARTS: Fem Reader x Tendou + Semi, spit roast (tag team), double penetration, voyeurism, exhibitionism, vaginal/anal play, shotgunning, (smoke), oral sex (giving), mentions of weed, cursing, pussy rubbing?, whining, creampie, praise/degradation kink.

18+ MINORS DNI

You were so fed up with midterms. 5 exams this week. 5 e x a m s. You just wanted to go home and get away from this fucking campus. You left your class and checked back into your dorm to empty out your book bag of notebooks onto the floor.

You pack a few clothes and your wallet. Your roommate had left for the weekend to her girlfriend’s house and so, you locked the door and left. You took the 11 up west to where you lived and walked home with your headphones on. 

You stopped in front of a mini market and figured your parents hadn’t cooked dinner since they worked nights. It was already evening time, so you decided “what the hell.” You walked in and walked out with some instant ramen, a bag of jerky, and a Reeses, Tendou’s favorite candy. 

Speak of the devil, your phone buzzed. It was Tendou asking if your midterms went well.

“They were fine. Thanks for asking, babe. I’m home rn” You typed as you bit a chunk out of the piece of meat. 

“Ooo. Want me to pick you up tonight?”, he texted. 

You were really close to home. The market was just down the street. As you made it to your front gate, you saw a note at the front that said, “Gone for the weekend. Say hi to Tendou from us if you decide to stay over.” 

“Say less!” You shout happily. 

“No, I’m heading over rn,” you type quickly. Tendou was also nearby your house. You walked down the quiet neighborhood as you ate your jerky and listened to your vaporwave. It was rarely a nice day in March; a good 68 degrees. Odd in the early spring where you lived, but a nice change from the dreadful winter you had suffered during the fall semester. 

You knocked at the front door and was greeted by a tall blonde face you recognized from your boyfriend’s high school volleyball team. He has on some black sweats and a white tank. He opened the door while his head was turned to the side, completely focused on the volleyball game on t.v. “Hey, Y/N,” he said as he just turned his head for a second before it swung back the side to focus on the t.v. He stepped aside as you walked past him. 

You walked in to the faint smell of weed, smoked probably a few hours ago. You set the grocery back down and hung your jacket at the front. The house was dark. It was 6:43 pm to be fair, the sun had almost fully disappeared. The tv’s glare and Tendou’s computer screen were the only source of light at the moment. 

You walked to where Tendou was sitting. Shirtless and in some grey sweats, he was shouting in his headset. “Come on, you motherfucker! He’s right there!”, he shouted as he pointed to the computer screen at his game. He felt your warm hug around him and he looked back and leaned into your kiss. 

“Hey baby,” he said. He turned back and yelled to the set again, “Come on, you dick! Oh my fucking-” 

You chuckled and backed away to let him continue playing. Semi was on the couch and glued to the game on the tv. His knees were spread and you climbed over to sit down on the other side of the couch. Your passing did not faze him at all. He kept his focus on the game. “Yes!”, Semi shouted as the whistle blew on the tv. It was some random college game. You sighed and scrolled through your phone. 

The coffee table in front of the tv was messy. An ashtray of burnt out cigarettes and blunts, leaves of weed sprinkled throughout, and empty beer and redbull cans. Keys, wallets, a few bills here and there, and a charging PS4 controller. 

You shut off your phone and asked. “Can we order some takeout?” You figure the 2 packets of ramen weren’t enough to feed all three of you, and you knew Tendou nor Semi couldn't cook, or even have food in the fridge, except for drinks and the occasional condiment or two. 

Tendou sighed in relief at the screen as “YOU WON” appeared in green and he took his headset. “Sure, babe,” he said as he held the power button to shut off the computer. “Semi, do you mind takeout?”, Tendou asked. Semi shook his head no. You walk over to the kitchen and try to find a menu. “That place over on 5th is really good,” you shout back to them. 

You get no response as you burrow through Tendou’s messy kitchen drawers. You can’t find any takeout menu as you look through them. “Babe?”, you call out. “What?”, Tendou calls out from the living room. “Where are the take out menus? They’re not in the kitchen.” 

“Check the bedroom, hun,” Tendou said. You swish your lips as your stomach growls. That jerky wasn't enough to hold you. You hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. Exams ran through your lunch period so you were starved the whole day. You look through Tendou’s room and into his closet to find a pile of menus. “What the hell are these doing here?”, you ask yourself. 

You get a pile of your favorite restaurants’ takeout menus and flip through them, trying to find your favorite one. Suddenly, you felt a finger slide right between your folds and you yelp. Tendou wrapped his elbow right on top of your breasts and held you in a choke hold. He continued to slide his finger in between your folds on the outskirts of your tights, and then two fingers. 

You bite your lips and roll your eyes back. Tendou chuckles and sinks his kisses right under your ear. You close your thighs, tightening his fingers and making him rub your clit more. You bend your knees and grind against his groin, him following the motion and grinding back with you.

It has been 3 months without sex since winter break. No orgasm whatsoever. You couldn’t even touch yourself in the dorms. Senior year was brutal with classes and internships. You were just exhausted and starved. Tendou let go of his chokehold and cupped one of your breasts. “Jesusss,” he hissed and he kissed your cheeks and squeezed it. 

“Tendou,” you let out in a breathy moan. “We gotta...eat…” You could barely form a sentence. “I missed you so much, baby,” Tendou says in your ear. His fingers are going ham in between your folds. He stops and pulls you by your arm and pins them behind your back with one hand while he bends you over the dresser. Your tights were thin, and therefore, made your pussy easy access. 

Tendou took his index, middle, and ring fingers and rubbed your pussy from the back. You let out a few tiny moans and close your eyes at the feeling. You quiver and throw your head back. 

“Where is my charger?” Semi asked himself as he looked around the outlets in the living room. “Ah shit!” He realized it’s in Tendou’s bedroom since he needed it last night. Semi walked over only to stop at the door. It was slightly cracked open and he heard moans. He figured you and Tendou needed some alone time. 

Semi turned away and wanted to wait until you two were finished. “Ahhh fuuuck!”, you shouted in such a pretty whine. Semi paused in his steps. He looked to the side and sighed. “Just a peek,” he told himself. He turned back and looked into the door. The tent in his pants was pitched just from your moan. 

Lord, were you a sight. He knew you were his best friend’s girl...but damn...you can’t blame him. You were just his type, and you were always over during winter break. He could hear your moans all the time. And he didn’t mind. You were fun to listen to. He always jerked off to your moans at night. And whenever he had sex with his one night stands, your vision was what he saw sometimes. It haunted him. He felt so guilty being Tendou’s friend knowing he had such thoughts. 

“HAHAHAHA!” Tendou let out a belly laugh as he threw his head back when Semi opened up to his best friend about his guilty conscience. Tendou took an inhale of his blunt and blew it out with another slight chuckle and a sigh. “Why are you laughing? I’m serious, man. I feel awful. And I’m so sorry,” Semi said sentimentally. Tendou shook his head and smiled. 

“You don’t get it, do you?” Tendou asked. Semi made a confused face. Tendou smiled and scratched his forehead with his blunt still in his hand. “You see….” he began as he leaned in. “I like to...how do I say this…” he paused as he began to think his words carefully.

“I know my girl is hot, Semi. I know guys look at her all the time. I don’t worry, though. In fact, it’s kind of hot to think everyone wants her, but only I get to have her.” Tendou wasn’t wrong. Every event you came to for their high school, like a volleyball meet or an elegant sports dinner, a lot of guys were over you. Not to mention, Tendou always asked for you to wear tight cocktail dresses or ones that showed off your tits or ass a little. He got off on guys eyeing you as you walked in. 

He watched from a distance as guys would ask you, “Can I buy you a drink?” “Can I hold your coat?” “Can I get your number?” Nothing dangerous or unwelcomed, of course. Both you and Tendou liked the attention. And Tendou was always there to make sure everything went well, as he swooped you in last minute and gave you a deep kiss in front of all the guys, making them sigh in despair as they knew you were taken.

Tendou smiled as he watched Semi’s mouth gaped in confusion. “I still don’t get it. You’re not mad at me?” Tendou shook his head as he inhaled his blunt. Semi began to stutter; “But...but...but I imagine Y/n-”

“Don’t you get it?”, Tendou said as he cut him off and leaned in. “It turns me on, Semi. I get hard thinking someone likes Y/n.” Smoke escaped Tendou’s nostrils as he smirked. Semi backed away, almost disgusted.

 “How?”, he asked, horrified. Tendou leaned back into his chair and shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just hot. I know she’ll always be mine. But, I always had a fetish of her fucking someone in front of me. Or at least a threesome, you know? What’s that shit called?” 

“Cuckolding?”, Semi asked. “That’s it!”, Tendou shouted joyfully at Semi recalling the word he forgot. 

Semi shook his head at the past conversation he had with Tendou. He was leaking pre cum from his pants as he watched you quiver at Tendou’s hands. “Se-Semiiii!“, you let out whined. “Ah fuck,” Semi whispers as he grabs his hardened crotch. 

“What’s that, baby?”, Tendou asked as he leaned in your ear. “Se-Semi might hear,” you whine as you furrow your eyebrows and close your eyes at Tendou’s pace. Tendou smirks and looks up in the mirror and at the doorway. He sees a figure moving in the lit hallway. He forms a cheshire grin. 

Semi freezes in fear, but then realizes Tendou is probably loving this. Tendou smiles in the mirror while glaring at Semi and rubs your pussy faster. You quiver and release yourself from Tendou’s grasp and grip the sides of the dresser. Your head is pressed down by Tendou’s hand and you tremble from your orgasm creeping on you. 

You beg and ask for permission. “Oh god! Pleaseeee! Please, sir! Please!” Semi is pulling on his crotch outside the door, thanking Tendou telepathically for leaving a slight crack in the door to peek at this show. Semi was full on hard, and he whipped his cock out and stroked it as he watched you melt in Tendou’s hands.

Tendou suddenly pulled away at your dismay. “Fuck!”, you yell out. “No,” Tendou said sternly as he smiled. Semi realized Tendou had just edged the both of you. Tendou’s fingers were pruned, and a bit sticky from your wet pussy. Your juices had leaked through your thin panties and tights, and onto his fingers. He stuck his fingers in his mouth and caught a whiff of your heat he had just violated. 

You slide down to the floor and breathe heavily. Your clit was pulsating, beating rapidly, like a heartbeat. Your hair was a mess and your face was flushed red. Tendou knelt down to your height and kissed you. “Nice to have you home, baby.” You smile and let out sighs before you see a shadow move in the hallway. You gasp as Semi suddenly disappears. Tendou looks back and smiles. He stands back over you and lends a hand to help you stand up. 

“The menu was on top of the fridge, baby. “ You smiled gently as you exited the bedroom first and entered the hallway into the living room. Semi was on the couch with a pillow on his lap and scrolling mindlessly through his phone. Tendou was on the phone while you sat down next to Semi. You looked over at his flushed face. How cute. 

[joshslater]

Quarantine & VR

5500-word story, so I used the Keep Reading feature for once. Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon.

“Are you sure you’re OK with this?”

We were slowly driving through an eerily empty city center from my student flat next to campus on one side of town to Ethan’s flat on the other, with all my belongings stuffed in the back of the U-Haul. Not that I had so much stuff we needed one. I just moved into the state right before the semester started, but it was the cheapest rental we could get. No one is going anywhere with this lockdown in effect. We barely had time to read the syllabus before everything screeched to a halt. You thought we’d know by now how to handle pandemics, but nooo.

“I wouldn’t have helped you clear out your shit if I wasn’t. Bit late to ask now.” “Yeah, but it seemed like the polite thing to do.”

Ethan turned towards me and spoke with a more serious tone. “I’m really happy to have you stay at my place. I think I would go mad staying alone. Go mad or go home, and I don’t think being locked up with the parents would be better.”

He was about as new in the city as I was, but his aunt had moved out of an old apartment last year and his parents had decided to take over the lease. Apparently it was even cheaper than the student apartments and much larger, but further away from campus. Though where it was in the city didn’t really matter as long as this lockdown was going on.

“Someone else is out at least”, I said indicating out the window. Across the street, a police officer with a navy blue face mask followed our truck with his eyes. Or her eyes I guess. Hard to tell in uniform and mask. I don’t know why, but I found it a rather good look. I hate the flimsy paper masks, but these form-fitted ones kind of make you look more badass.

“Do you think he looks sexy like that?” he asked, as if he had the same thought. “It’s a bit dystopian sci-fi, but that’s not to say it doesn’t look good.” “Take next right. The one after is one way.”

The apartment had two bedrooms, a large living room, decent bathroom and kitchen. Ethan’s aunt had left some furniture, but overall there wasn’t that much stuff. Makes sense as he had barely been here a month. That’s how he had a sparsely furnished extra bedroom for me to use. This was only the second time I had been in the apartment. Ethan forced me to have a look in person before he allowed me to agree to stay with him. Now standing there with all my belongings in the truck outside and my student flat lease canceled, I realized we really didn’t know each other. I studied corporate finance and he medical computer science, whatever that meant. When I asked he tried to explain that almost everything in a hospital now has a computer in it, and a ton of work went into things like volumetric renderings of MRI scans and somewhere there I started to tune him out.

There really weren’t any overlapping circles between us, we studied completely different subjects, he was active in computer games and health, I was trying to get into the writing room of the student theatre company and looking to sign up in the cinema club. But both of us had the bright idea to start working in the student pub, and really hit it off during the start of school year party they threw for their workers. We decided to pick the same work schedule and found out we have the same taste in pop culture, music, books, movies.

And now I’m moving in with him.

He had the larger of the bedrooms with a queen-size bed in the middle, a desk with a few computers and screens set up, gaming computer chair, a reading chair. Basically his room was set up so he could live there except for visits to the kitchen and bathroom. My room didn’t have a desk, but a normal bed, an armchair that looked comfortable, and more wardrobe space than I would ever need. He told me that I could basically consider the living room as mine as well. It had two couches in front of a big flat screen. By the balcony door stood a workout bench and weights. Barbell, plates, dumbbells, and that kind of stuff. Apparently it wasn’t Ethan’s but his uncle’s, but that didn’t really make a difference here and now.

Moving my stuff only took a few runs up the stairs, so we were soon back in the truck, returning it to the rental place. Ethan really didn’t have to come with me, but he said that this would probably be the last adventure for a while, and decided to come along.

“You’re supposed to buy pizza and beer for everyone who helps you move, right? What do you fancy?” “I’d like… You know what? We’re not going to get out much, and you don’t look like someone on a strict diet. Oh, no offense!” “None taken.” “How about we both keep healthy macros and workout regimen while locked up. Instead of paying rent you can help me make sure I at least isn’t in worse shape when all this shit ends.” “Macros?” “Diet.” “Sure I can do that, if you show me what to do.” “It’s a deal then. I’d like one with Gorgonzola and ham.” “Come again?” “The pizza topping. I’m allowed one cheat day per pandemic.”

The pizza place was only a block away from the apartment. Just this one time it was great, as we walked back with one quattro formaggi and one bresaola. But it would be so much harder to eat whatever Ethan had in his plans knowing a real wood fire oven pizza was just four minutes walk away.

Unprompted Ethan started to tell his story over pizza. How his father was a successful businessman in Arkansas, but his hometown always felt too small for him. He talked about how he was making synth music in school. How that made him interested in computers. How, since it was such a small town, he had ended up on the football team without any desire or skill to actually play the game. How he had almost by accident found this education program and had looked forward to both leave Arkansas and to study. I too did a year be year recap of my life so far, up to how my girlfriend dumped me just before the summer. In a way that was lucky, because it made me feel free from obligations and actually do what I wanted.

It was 9:21 when I woke up from a knock on the door. I was a bit disoriented for a second until I remembered where I was. I was sleeping in the guest bed left by Ethan’s aunt. After the pizza we did continue to talk over beer all evening, but I didn’t feel any hangover. Just thirsty. It wasn’t that early in the morning anymore on the other hand. “Yep” I called out. “I’m making breakfast,” Ethan called out from the other side of the door. “Coming”.

It literally only took me seconds to get ready. Stand up. Sweatpants. T-shirt. Done. In the kitchen I saw Ethan had a similar fashion sense, but had gone for shorts instead. “Porridge is fine with you? It would be good if it is. Lots of fibers.” I couldn’t really recall if I liked porridge and told him as much. The porridge itself didn’t taste much, but with toppings I could get used to it. “With our schedule in our own hands I think it would be a good idea to start out with breakfast and work out. That way we can get it out of the way.” Sounded sensible enough.

I changed into shorts as well and made myself ready to do my part of becoming Ethan’s gym buddy. At a quick glance we didn’t look that different, Ethan and I. On one hand I never had that big of an appetite, but on the other I had never really done any sports, and had no gym experience, so I let Ethan guide me. He tested different motions and how many times I could do them with weights he selected and noted down the results in a notebook that would log my progress. It wasn’t at all as tiring as I thought it would be. “Oh, you’ll feel it tomorrow for sure.” We each took a shower, and I went back to my room to catch up on my reading.

A few hours later I was starting to think about lunch. More because I was getting tired of reading than actually being hungry, but I thought I should ask Ethan if he had a plan. The door to his room was open, but as I got closer it became apparent it was an oversight on his part. Splayed on the bed was Ethan, naked save for a pair of boxer shorts and a big VR goggles. His right hand was massaging his obviously erect dick through the fabric of his underwear. He must have followed his normal routine and forgotten I had moved in. I’m not a prude and do the occasional tug myself, like any student, so I was more embarrassed than shocked. As on autopilot, my mind decided to ignore Ethan and continue walking to the kitchen to assess the lunch situation, but another part of my brain decided to keep him in sight.

Walking without watching in an apartment I’ve been in for all of 18 hours predictably made me jam my toe into the door frame. In the corner of my eye I could see Ethan’s body spasm and ripping off his VR goggles as I yell out in pain and surprise. He stared right at me, eyes wide open and mouth ajar in an expression that was hard to read. Surprise for sure, but also something else in between horror and delight. Perhaps it was like the smiles and laughter after you have completely made a fool of yourself. My eyes were drawn to his, and I could feel my face twisted in pain. It was like time stood still, waiting for either of us to make the next move. Out of sheer momentum my mind continued ahead as if nothing had changed and blurted out “What’s your plan for lunch?” over whatever Ethan said at the same time.

“What?” and an awkward pause again. “I said would you like to try?” “I… What is it?”

Ethan put down the VR kit on the bed, quickly got up and stepped into his pair of shorts. His erection was still very much apparent. He pressed escape on one of the keyboards and the screen switched from one incomprehensible menu to another.

“It’s a virtual reality system. I’m using an open source environment system to render inputs from an interactive story engine controlled by a GAN AI system. I’ve been experimenting with regenerative NLP feedback loop plugins for it.” “I followed you all the way up to and including virtual reality system.” “It’s like a VR movie that is generated specifically for you. Here.”

He picked up the bulky goggles and held it out to me. It wasn’t just goggles, but a pair of headphones were built in, and there were a few additional sensors glued on. Hesitantly, and with a throbbing toe, I stepped forward and took the headset. It wasn’t as heavy as it looked. I put it on my head and as it settled into place a digital version of Ethan’s room wobbled into place as well. It was remarkably similar. The colors and patterns were all slightly wrong, but the layout of the room and placement of furniture was almost spot on. I assume he had measured everything at one point and put in the data somehow.

“Go lie on the bed.” Ethan told me. I very tentatively stepped towards the bed, and feeling my way there. It was somehow surprised to find a bed where the digital bed was, and although the visuals of the sheets didn’t quite line up with what I felt, if you just moved quick enough the illusion of actually being in the digital room felt very real.

“This is so weird.” “I’ll start a blank session for you.” “A what?”

Almost immediately a guy entered the room through the door frame. This must be some VR video recording or something because he looked completely real. About the same age as Ethan and I but more fit and, I’ll admit, better looking. He looked flush and sweaty, with his french crop unkempt as if he had just ruffled it. He wore a navy blue sweatshirt and sweatpant shorts. I couldn’t see further down from my position. “Fuck, that was so dope! I love getting pump like that, you know what I’m saying” He was stretching his arms in different ways. Then he zoned in on me, like he was actually looking me over. “Fuck, I love how you look, babe. Mind if I join?” I shake my head slowly. He breaks out in a big smile. I notice he has a bit of a sweatpants boner. Carefully he climbs into bed, next to me. There’s no vibrations of course, or heat or smell, but everything I see looks utterly convincing.

“Hey, are you OK?” “What the…”

I’m looking into Ethan’s face as he stands over me. Bewildered I pat my head.

“I removed it once the program stopped. Didn’t shake you from your sleep one bit. I guess it wasn’t that interesting for you.” “It was very convincing. I fell asleep?” “Perhaps moving stressed you more than you knew? Or it could just be, you know, how shit the world is right now.” “Fuck… I only wanted to ask about lunch.” “A bit late for that. It’s like four and something. Let’s wait an hour or two more and have dinner. Ok with you?” “Sounds dope.”

It was like neither of us wanted to talk about what had happened. I certainly had questions. Had I just fallen asleep like that? Perhaps he was right and I had been anxious about the move and how things would work out. And what was up with that program? It wasn’t gay, exactly, and it didn’t mean Ethan was gay, and if he was there wasn’t anything wrong with that. All of it was just so confusing. Perhaps Ethan was right to just pretend it didn’t happen. Poor guy. I walked in on him watching porn, and then I fell asleep when he tried to show his system. Watching the news on how ever more countries were shutting down was probably time better spent.

He had not joked about being sore in the morning. I woke earlier than in weeks feeling stiff as hell. I didn’t want to wake Ethan, but I couldn’t just lie there in agony, so I got up and did some bodyweight repetitions. Squats, push-ups, dips, and stuff like that just to get some blood flowing. It honestly felt great. Me doing morning gymnastics! Who would have guessed that a week ago? When I left my room I found out Ethan was already up, but didn’t want to wake me up.

“Dude, we need to sort that shit out. I’m ok with you making noise when you’re up. You live here.” “You live here too. What if whoever gets up first makes breakfast and wakes the other up.” “Yeah, dope. I’m down with that.”

We quickly worked out the kinks in our schedule. I would typically wake up first, do a quick workout routine in my room. Then set the breakfast and wake up Ethan. Then we would do workout together. We had different weights and number of reps, but we had very quickly settled on the same exercises, though Ethan was still adjusting my form ever so often. Ethan would then shower first while I did stretches. We then kept to ourselves until lunch. Ethan cooked for both of us. Depending on what we felt like and needed we would either go back to study or do something like shopping or that kind of stuff in the afternoon.

It was hard to keep track of time, but I think it was on a Sunday four weeks later when Ethan said during breakfast that he wanted to show me something he had worked on. He moved the workout bench and the barbell stuff to just outside his room and told me to lie down. The bar had no plates on it, and that’s how I’ve used it until two days ago when I started to add extra weight to it. Ethan emerged out of his room with the VR set in hand, and a trail of cables running in into one of his computers. “Here, give this a go.”

I was a bit surprised, given the last time, but I was also curious what he had to show. Once snugly fitted on my head I was transported into a real gym. It wasn’t a very large one, but a few people did their thing around me. He almost scared me, the guy with the french crop, when he called out “Hey, bro!” just to my left. He had the same navy blue sweatpant shorts as the last time, but his upper body was bare, glistening muscles. He took a step back and his eyes were scanning me up and down. “Dude, you look so fucking good! You’ve really been hitting the weights.” I smiled and immediately realized that I was smiling at an avatar that wasn’t actually there and couldn’t see me, but it’s amazing how good some positive reinforcement feels, even if it is from a program. Perhaps that was the surprise from Ethan.

“Here, show me what you got!”

He walked around me, through the couch I knew was there in the real room, and stood behind me. I leaned back fully on the bench and looked up. He stood over me, just behind my head, so all I saw was a navy blue bulge, some abs and pecs, and his face looking down on me. “Go on, I’ve got you.” I could somehow feel him standing over me. Was Ethan spotting me in the real world? Not that it matters with an empty bar. I grabbed it. It felt heavy. “Good. Give me 15.” He started counting as I lifted. “Slower on the way down. Keep control all the way. Ten more” As I was getting to fifteen he upped it a bit. “Come one! Five more!” As I sat the bar back I felt utterly exhausted. “Fucking awesome, dude!”

“You really went all out.” “What?”

I was lying on the workout bench but I wasn’t wearing any VR shit. I sat up and hit my head in the barbell.

“Fuck! Dude, what the hell!” “The idea was for it to be motivational, but you really took it to heart.” “It was fucking dope, bro. I’m so pumped. Guy was kind of cute too.” “You think?” “Fuck, yeah. I wish I had those pecs.” “You better start some supplements then, if you can’t even last a virtual session.” “What you mean, dude?” “It’s already lunch.” “Fuck dammit!”

I rubbed my head where I had hit it and looked around the room. It looked mostly like before, but the sun had clearly moved ahead. Fuck, I really felt pumped to get some reps in hard and really make a difference. Perhaps lunch, and then do my daily sets.

“You ok with shopping without me after lunch?” “Sure. You need anything?” “I… You said supplements.”

Fortunately for me I have a roommate that studies medicine, kind of. Well, he hasn’t actually gone to any of the classes yet, but he has the books, so he picked out some things for me to boost me. Some of it looked like medicine, in small plastic jars with scientific-sounding names that could just as well have been a frat house. Alpha-omega-manganese-BS-whatever. Some of it decidedly did not look like medicine. Enormous containers with lids that looked too fucking small, with names like amazing-gainz-ultra. He set up a regimen for me to follow, basically some stuff with every meal. I started right away that evening with something like a vanilla and chalk milkshake after dinner. I don’t know why, but something made me feel really good drinking it.

I slept fucking fantastic, and despite having done way more lifting the day before than ever I barely felt any soreness or anything. I probably woke up Ethan with my harder than normal pre-breakfast cardio. Lots of burpees and jumping jacks, so I almost felt guilty making breakfast while steaming sweaty, but whatever. Ethan had to remind me what supplements to take. I really should have written that shit down.

I had a strong deja vu while doing weights. It wasn’t until Ethan spotted barbell for me I realized that this was almost exactly what I had seen doing the VR shit. I looked up and saw Ethan standing over me similar to the guy, but Ethan was wearing grey sweatpant shorts and a red tank. I kind of wished he was topless as well, like the other guy.

“You ok down there?” “Fucking dope, bro”

I realized I must have zoned out a bit. What’s worse I could feel I rocked a hard erection out of nowhere. Rather than making a deal out of it, and run to the shower, I decided to pretend like everything is normal. Guys get boners all the times. He’s a guy, so he knows that. I even did a few extra exercises to really drive home that point. While Ethan took his shower I dared to lower my shorts and slowly stroke my dick. I haven’t cummed once since moving in with Ethan, which I realized was longer than I’ve gone in years. The days were blurring together. I hadn’t watched porn either since moving in. I’ve been too preoccupied with the move and everything else going on.

“All yours” Ethan said and closed the door to his room. I just froze. I was sitting on the workout bench, shorts by my ankles and dick in hand. He saw that. There is no way he didn’t see that. I could feel my face getting hot by embarrassment, yet I continued to sit there and stroke my dick. What the fuck is wrong with me. My mind flashed to Ethan, to the guy in the VR, to his bulge just above my eyes, to his abs to the barbell, to the free weights.

No. I got up and took a long shower, trying really hard to not think about anything. Just observing the tiles, the shampoo bottles, the soap. But there were the creeping thoughts that perhaps Ethan will find me a weird creep and kick me out. How would he do it? He’s been far too nice to be direct. Would he bring up this incident or would he just wait a week or something and over one lunch say something vague like we are not as good of a match as he hoped? Fuck. I needed to do something.

I couldn’t concentrate at all on the block on taxation I was supposed to read. Apart from the residual thoughts of unease I was beginning to see what a mistake it was to not cum in the shower. I was very close to surfing porn sites, but decided against it and ended up aimlessly browsing social media. I can’t really explain how, a hundred clicks that trended in that direction perhaps, but I got into the circles of fitness instagram people. Big arms, broad chests, and slinky stringers. Somehow I was hard again. Stealthily I walked back to the bathroom, locked the door, and started to jerk off in the shower. I’d been saving for a week and been hot all day, but somehow it took quite a while to shoot the load. My mind was a soup of barbells, Ethan, sweatpant shorts, vague old porn clips, and more recent instagram models. When I finally came it was like I’ve never orgasmed before in my life. Rope after rope shot out of me, the first few even hit the wall, and my hips involuntary thrust forward for each of them. I felt cleansed in a way, like a weight had been lifted from me. I couldn’t really understand why, though. Nothing had really changed.

I didn’t want to go back to my room and study. I rinsed the shower, got a pad and a pen, and went to the kitchen to get on top of the supplements. I decided to write down all the ingredients from the labels. I had just accepted Ethan’s plan uncritically. It’s probably fine, but I wanted to understand it. That’s where Ethan found me.

“Hey, dude. Already hungry?” “Yeah… No… I don’t know, bro.” “You don’t know?” “It’s like… Fuck. You saw, bro.” “Saw what? You jerking off?” He laughed and sat down. “You saw me doing it first.”

He was right, of course. I didn’t know how that could have slipped my mind.

“Was it porn?” I didn’t know why I asked that. I was curious, but it also felt a bit too personal of a question. “Yeah. Wanna see?”

Before I even had time to respond he continued “Let’s fill up your macros first and then I can show you. If past experiences are any indications you’ll take your time.” “Already jacked off today.” Why did I tell him that? “Even better”

Ethan had this ever changing dish where he would chop and fry vegetables like bell pepper, chili, garlic, ginger, onion, peas, and whatever else was around, pour in coconut milk and whatever spices you craved that day green curry or red curry for Thai, madras curry for Indian, Soy and miso for Japanese, anise and szechuan for Chinese, saffron and parmesan for Italian, and so on. Then serve it with pasta or grains or rice. I helped him prepare it, as I always do unless he started making it without telling me. This time however the air was different, filled with tension and awkward anticipation. He made it with chicken, lemon grass, and brown rice this time. We hardly spoke a word while cooking, and then continued to eat in silence. We both knew what was on my mind, and there wasn’t any question on the subject that wouldn’t be awkward. I was weirdly looking forward to trying out whatever it was he wanted me to try. I couldn’t explain why it felt so compelling to me. Just thinking about it made me hard. “You clean up here and I’ll go and set it up for you,” he said as soon as his plate was empty. “Yeah,” was all I could manage, and he left. I finished my plate as well, put the few things we’ve used in the dishwasher and went to his room.

His bed was made and on it was the VR headset and what I first though was a protein drink shaker. “Dude, is that a… fleshlight?” I asked him both with incredulity and genuine curiosity. Curiosity because a cable ran from it to one of the boxes on the floor that connected to his computers, and incredulity because I couldn’t believe he thought I would use one of his sex toys.

“Yes. No. Not exactly. It’s modified to connect into the haptic subsystem.” “Haptic?” “Force feedback” “It’s a vibrator, bro.” “Eh.. No. Well, not only. You’ll see.” “Why do you think I’d touch that, bro?” Though somewhere inside I knew I would. “It’s a brand new inset. You’ll be fine.”

I walked up to the bed and suddenly wasn’t sure what to do. I would need to at least lower my shorts and boxers to get the until-recently-fleshlight on my dick, but Ethan was still in the room. Not only in the room but almost studying me like a lab project.

“I’ll lie down?” “Got to strip first,” he said motioning towards my tenting shorts. He saw me hesitated and continued “Dude, I just saw you jerk off in the living room this morning”. I blushed and pulled down my shorts and boxers, and stepped out of them. “Shirt too,” he said. I removed that as well and stood naked in front of him. “Wow, you are making progress. Ok, on the bed and hook yourself up. Red dot up.” I climbed into the bed, as he told me, and grabbed the cyber-fleshlight and pushed it down on my hard dick with the red dot up towards my head. There was some sort of lubrication in it and it slid on with very little effort. It must have been heated as well, because the lubrication didn’t make it feel cold. I was given a nod from Ethan and put on the helmet over my eyes and ears.

The alternative version of Ethan’s bedroom was already there, waiting for me. I looked around and as far as I could tell everything looked like in the real world, except no Ethan of course. After half a minute, perhaps more, I was almost about to ask if he had started it when the French crop guy jumped in through the doorway, as if he was in a hurry. He was naked except for a pair of white, tight speedos that both highlighted his big package and created a reference point for his deep tan and made it look even deeper. There was a sheen over all his body, like he had been working out hard or oiled himself up, and he was breathing heavy. “Sorry, I’m late. I didn’t expect you so soon,” he panted. I didn’t know what to say. “You want me to help you with that?” he asked and nodded towards my dick. I looked down and saw a massive erection, easily twice my real size. “As an apology…” he continued.

“Yeah, sure bro.”

He made the cutest little jump of joy in response, and caught my smile. He composed himself and locked eyes with me. Then he started some sort of dance where all the movement was in his hips and abs. Then he added more of the upper body, still keeping eye contact. I thought I would hose him down with cum from my monster penis right there, so sexy was it. He smirked and moved closer. Still swaying he leaned forward and licked the head of my dick, which shot pleasure up my spine. He then started to circle the head with his tongue, before taking it into his mouth. The first few times were shallow, but then he stopped teasing and begun to really do down deep on the dick. In addition I could feel him alternate between stroking my hips, the insides of my thighs, and tugging my balls. Just as I was about to nut he stopped working on my dick and started to slowly run his tongue up my faint abs, circling my nipple. I was squirming in horny delight.

He was straddling me now, face to face. I couldn’t resist it any longer and reached to pull him towards me and kiss him on the mouth. There was a loud crack of plastic against plastic as our VR helmets collided. “Dude?” I was looking at the French crop guy who was moving his hands in front of his eyes. “Ethan?” I asked, suddenly realizing what was going on. The French crop guy looked bashful, did a little wave, and answered in not-Ethan’s voice “Yeah.”

“Did you just blow me?” “I wasn’t… No, it’s still the device.” I hesitated, considering briefly what this would mean. “Would you like to?”

[zackcollins]

Erik Johnson + 48 fluff? - “Stop flirting with me, I’m not going to fall for it.” 🥰

Alrighty! Here ya go! Hope you like it!

None of the post-op patients you normally worked with had really needed much care today, which you were grateful for. That being said, it made the day drag on and on because it left you with nothing to do besides sit down and catch up on reports. And writing reports was the thing you hated the most about being a nurse. Sometimes, no matter how hard you tried, you could just never find the right words to say when it came to describing a patient’s care and treatment. You would stare blankly at the computer screen for hours upon hours because your mind would be filled with white noise and static instead of anything productive that pertained to your job.

It was times like that that made you wish you had followed your other passion in life and become a ballet dancer. You had been the best dancer in your academy; the best dancer in the state of Colorado for a short time. You threw it all away when you were awarded a nursing scholarship straight out of high school because of your exceptional grades and extensive community service hours at the nursing homes in and around Denver. You weren’t exactly unhappy with your job (you enjoyed talking with and getting to know the patients a lot) but it could be so stressful that you wished you were in your happy place on a theatre stage dancing the Nutcracker like you had when you were younger.

You had managed to finish one report by the time lunch rolled around. The report was on a teenager who had to have knee surgery after getting into a pretty bad car accident. The report consisted of how she had responded when she first awoke from anesthetics, how she responded to the first dose of painkillers, and how the first change of the dressing on her surgical incision went. She had only been post-op for about fourteen hours so there would be more to write in your report as she progressed but, for now, the report was up to date with her care.

It was time for you to eat as was it time for the patients to eat. You went to the staff room, grabbed your lunch bag, and walked to one of the patient rooms. When you walked in, you grabbed a chair and dragged it over to the patient’s bedside. The patient smiled at you as he took a drink from the mug of hospital coffee. He made a sour facial expression before he grabbed the sugar packets, ripped them open, and poured the sugar into the mug. He swished the mug around a little before taking another sip. He made the same sour expression as he placed the mug back onto the tray.

“Hospital coffee is horrendous,” he muttered, grabbing the ham sandwich and taking a bite. He swallowed, took another bite and swallowed before looking at you again. “Thank you for coming to sit with me. It means a lot.”

“You’re welcome, Erik,” you smiled softly, unzipping your lunch bag and pulling out a cup of pudding and a spoon. You placed the bag onto the floor, opened the pudding, ripped the foil off and licked it, before dropping it into your lunch bag. You swirled your spoon around in your pudding momentarily before pulling it out and licking it clean. You saw Erik blink and clear his throat, though he tried to disguise it as a cough. Smirking, you spoke again. “I know you’re used to having company when you eat. Hockey players tend to do a lot together. Or so you’ve told me.”

“Ye… yeah,” Erik said, voice a little strangled. He quickly grabbed his coffee and took a long drink, coughing awkwardly when he put the mug back onto the tray. You raised an eyebrow, lips slightly curling into a smirk as you licked another spoonful of pudding clean. “I like eating with you more than I like eating with my teammates though.”

You huffed an amused breath as you tossed the empty pudding cup into your lunch bag. Reaching down, you pulled out a small Pyrex container of salad and a fork. When you opened the container, you pulled out the salad dressing packet, ripped it open, and drizzled it over your food. When the packet was empty, you tossed it into your bag before tossing the salad with your fork to make sure all of it would be coated. Looking back up at Erik when you were finished, you smirked when you saw that he looked flustered and a little flushed.

“I like your company more because you’re not a knuckle-headed hockey player,” Erik continued. He took a bite of his sandwich, chewed it, swallowed, and looked at you earnestly. “You’re pretty. I’ve seen you practising your ballet when you thought no one was watching--you’re really amazing at it. Your bedside manner is probably the best I’ve ever had. You seriously treat me with so much respect. And, yeah. You’re just great.”

You smirked in amusement as you stabbed some of your salad. Taking the fork, you pointed it towards Erik. “Stop flirting with me. I’m not going to fall for it.” You felt a sense of pride wash over you when you saw Erik startle and nearly knock his tray of food off of his lap. Smirking even more amusedly, you stuck your fork in your mouth and munched on the salad.

“Flirting? Who said--”

“Erik, c’mon,” you chuckled after you had swallowed your salad. “I’m not an idiot. I know that’s what you’re trying to do.”

Erik huffed and ran a hand through his hair. “Alright, fine. You got me. Last time I checked, it wasn’t a crime to flirt with the pretty female nurse.”

You chuckled, placing the lid back onto your Pyrex container. You slipped it back into your lunch bag before you looked over at Erik. Smiling sweetly, you placed a hand on Erik’s knee and rubbed your thumb along the bone.

“It’s not,” you said, making an amused noise. “And trust me, the pretty female nurse appreciates it.”

“What’s the issue then?” Erik frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. He crossed his good arm over his chest, being mindful of the giant sling his other arm was in.

“Oh, there isn’t really one,” you smiled, patting Erik’s knee. “My type is just more along the lines of people named Erika.”

[lupin-the-3rd-case-files]

Goodbye Partner

Target: Time Crystal

This special made me feel things. The last act of this special goes on a bit too long and is a little too extra, but I don’t mind because there was so much other good stuff about it. Jigen is one of my favorite characters, so seeing a special that digs deeper into his past fills me with pure joy.

There’s a scene where Jigen tries to do the magic trick Lupin does for Clarice in Castle of Cagliostro and it made my heart stop. Seeing him show compassion to Alisa made me fall in love with him. We got to dig deeper into his past with his connection to her. It’s implied he was with her mother but he split off because he couldn’t give her a child, or he didn’t feel comfortable being a dad. I love seeing this flash of vulnerability for Lupin’s main partner. It’s also a reason why I enjoyed Voyage to Danger but this one did it even better.

However, Jigen isn’t the only thing I love about this special. I love when we get to see Lupin and Goemon work together alone. The two have great chemistry but they act slightly different when it’s with the whole group. It’s hard for me to describe as anything other than they just act different, but it’s super fun to watch.

But not only that we get one of my favorite Lupin tropes, and that’s when Lupin and Zenigata are forced to team up. Even better we get a team up we never really see with Lupin, Zenigata and Goemon all together. The escape sequence with the trio is so well done I was on the edge of my seat watching it.

But it’s sadly not all perfect. The first thing I have issues with is the piano scenes which use CG almost needlessly. It looked very off and was not enjoyable to look at. I wouldn’t have minded if it was just the once but it happened quite a bit. 

Secondly, the last act goes a little too ham. It ditches the villain and replaces him with an AI who starts taking over the world. It’s able to do computer magic and intercept all attacks against it. It reminds me of Bye Bye Lady Liberty where the story just kind of expects you to suspend your disbelief and believe that an AI is capable of all this computer magic. I don’t mind it, I didn’t mind it with Lady Liberty either, but the whole thing went on for about half an hour which was way too long in my opinion. If it had just been the last fifteen minutes I think it would’ve been more bearable. Instead I would’ve liked more scenes about Jigen’s past or with Alisa, or more scenes between Lupin, Goemon and Zenigata.

Anyway, the treasure is called the Time Crystal. It’s a magic diamond that allows a supercomputer to become a super quantum computer. None of it makes any realistic sense so there’s no real world equivalent to compare it to. I was curious on how much a quantum computer would be valued at. According to this article, D-Wave made a quantum computer for $15 million. It doesn’t look nearly as extravagant or have a cute AI voiced by Hatsune Miku in Japanese, but it’s what the real world has. Ultimately it doesn’t matter as Goemon cuts through both the time crystal and the quantum computer.

Lupin’s Reward: $0 

This was pretty high up there in terms of specials. It had a good plot with good character interactions and that’s all I really want out of them. It’s a shame they couldn’t all be this good, otherwise it would’ve been less of a slog these last few weeks getting through some of the less-good specials. 

Next up is the last special that’s aired, Prison of the Past. I’m not sure why this one hasn’t also been dubbed by Discotek when Goodbye Partner has been. Maybe it’s not very good. Regardless once I finish it, I can watch The First again which I’m looking forward to then I’ll be moving on to the tv series.

[forbidding-souda]

for the kiss thing: what about 5 with souda, 19 with gundham & 33 with komaeda? gender neutral or female reader is preferred! tysm!

5: “Throwing their arms around the other person’s neck, hugging them close before kissing them passionately on the lips” Kazuichi Souda (fem reader)

x 19: “One person stopping a kiss to ask “Do you want to do this?”, only to have the other person answer with a deeper, more passionate kiss” Gundham Tanaka (fem reader)

x 33: “An unexpected kiss that shocks the one receiving it” Nagito Komaeda

I literally like felt butterflies in my stomach thinking about the Gundham one hhhhh anon you are <333333 for that.

THE GUNDHAM ONE BAHAHA I WENT TOO HAM LMAOO WHO LETTT MEE XX THE GUNDHAM ONE IS AAA A BIT UHHH NSFW KINDA NOT REALLY BUT KINDA

-Mod Souda

Kazuichi Souda

You wait impatiently, filing your nails to spend the time.

People around you stand with their briefcases in hand, waiting to return from their job. But that’s not what you care about. Not any of these normal, average people. The person you are waiting for is extraordinary. And he’s going to get off of that train.

Even though he got accepted into the best school in Japan, and you didn’t, there were no hard feelings.

Because you aren’t anything like these briefcase carrying average people.

You are the girlfriend of the SHSL Mechanic! 

Now, you stare down at your nails, done perfectly and painted pink and yellows.

He’s coming home, finally, for spring break.

Every night he has facetimed you, telling you about his time, telling you about all of his friends and the fun times they have together.

You wonder if he misses you the same way you miss him.

In the distance you can see a train, white and smooth with the green front, and flashing characters for a name.

Ah! 

Your heart leaps and you fight the urge to jump up.

Is he wearing the school uniform? His work jumper?

Does he have the patches you gave him? Oh, what a wonder!

You wonder if he still has that silly beanie he wears to hide his roots.

Calmly, even though you are about to explode, you stand up, leaning weight onto one of your legs before wrapping your arms around yourself.

You can hardly contain you breath, either, having to open your mouth to get more air.

He’s really going to be here!

The train stops, coming to a slow halt.

When the doors open, you can hardly believe it! He moves his way out, twisting through the crowd.

His beanie, his jumper, it’s all there! It really is Kazuichi!

You take a big step towards him.

For the last few months you have been waiting for this, hoping that he would return back to you. And now here he is.

Wrapping your arms around his neck, your lips meet before your bodies do. The drawback has him stumbling but he gains his composure, holding onto your waist, keeping you pressed against him.

He pulls back, letting your feet touch the ground, before diving back in for another kiss.

Nothing in the world can bother you anymore.

His arms feel like safety, holding you warmly.

Gundham Tanaka

“Be more productive.”

“Productive?” He scoffs. “I do not have time for such foolish things like that.”

You just shake your head, continuing to jot down notes onto your pad.

He sits at your desk, spending his time on your computer researching whatever it is the SHSL animal breeder researches.

And here, on your bed, is all of the work he should be doing.

“There are no cons to being productive,” you mutter.

In the swivel chair he turns, just barely, to glance at you from over his shoulder.

“My temper when it comes to mandatory tasks is rather faulty.”

“And it’s going to get worse if you don’t do it, Tanaka.”

Another scoff leaves his mouth as he turns back around. “Calling me by my given name. Touché.” 

“What if I said I just want you to sit next to me?”

“Ah!” He laughs. “I will not be fooled by such tricks.”

“So you don’t want to be next to me?”

Damn you, woman! Pulling at his heart strings! Your logic has no flaws.

He gets up, his frame broad and confident, before making his way towards you. “Maiden of the night and the winner of debates.”

He plants himself next to you while you lean your back against the headboard. 

“Taker of hearts,” you say. The proximity of you two thins, ever so slightly, on your behalf.

“Taker of a heart.” He matches your movements.

One of his hands reaches up, stroking your hair, the touch giving you permission to feel his poisonous skin.

You kiss him, and he draws you close, his hand making a fist.

Your hands pull up his shirt, sliding your hands underneath his layers to run your fingers up and down his body.

The touch makes him shiver, a small whimper coming out of his mouth.

So you pull back. Both of your noses touch, just barely, and he hovers over your face.

You whisper, “are you sure you want to do this?”

His beady eyes roll. And he answers with actions rather than words.

Pushing you backwards, up against the headboard, and raises your thighs up so they rub against his waist.

His knuckles turn white from gripping onto the bed, his hands gripping the wood, locking you in place.

You’re squished.

Every inch of your torso is pressed up against something, and you can feel him between your legs.

Then, he attacks your mouth again, slipping his tongue in and out of your mouth, forcing you to make the cutest noises.

Nagito Komaeda

After your stroll around the new island, you cross the bridge back to the cabins.

Nothing new was found, no more clues to why you were here.

You still search everyday.

What if you miss something?

So you make it your job to be the investigator to get everyone off this island!

“Still walking around, I see?”

The love interest, as you coined him. He lets you hold him when you’re scared, and he runs his fingers through your hair to calm you.

Now the two of you are on flirting basis.

“Are you feeding off of my hope?” You tease, walking up to him. His white hair is brushed, from this morning when you snuck into his cabin. He doesn’t look as tired as he usually does.

He joins you on your walk, which you don’t mind about.

“Are you making fun of me? How unfortunate...” He replies with his usual breathy tone, casting his gaze down to the floor.

“Oh, Nagito, you know I like you too much to do that.”

Quickly, you place a kiss to his cheek.

He stops walking, his hand going to the area.

The shock on his face almost scares you. Did you do something wrong?

Is he surprised at your words or your actions?

“What? It’s not like--”

You stumble back, but hands catch you, pulling you close.

He kissed you, and rough, holding you to him like it was his life’s purpose.

And knowing him, it probably is.

But he’s... actually kissing you?

Soon enough it ends. And he pulls back, embarrassed at himself, returning to the walk like nothing happened.

“You kissed me.” You gawk.

“Sorry I put you through that. It’s a shame you had to kiss someone like me.”

Truly, you never thought he could make you so flustered. You can hardly walk, cheeks heated and heart beating.

“Wh-Why did you?”

He turns to you, an innocent smile on his face. “You said you liked me, and I like you too. Simple, right?”

“Right...” you agree with a chuckle. Unbelievable. Hajime was right, he absolutely unpredictable. “Right.”

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Even The Grinch Needs A Sidekick

Summary- 4k Mike (Me from Playing It Cool) x You. You have been busy, and today is no different. A children's Christmas Party at the hospital where you work is taking up all your time. Mike calls in Scott for some culinary help so you can have a relaxing night. Mike also finds a new friend and brings him home. Fluff. I really don’t think there are any warnings, but if you all pick up on something, go ahead and let me know. The lovely divider made by @firefly-graphics​ Happy Holiday Everyone

A/N- This wasn’t what I had planned for this chapter. But you know what, sometimes the story just does what it wants, damned if the writer wants that. I do love it though. 

Previous Chapter- Tonight It’s Scrooge McDuck

You tugged on your scrubs, having pulled out your favorite pair with The Grinch dressed as Santa Claus, Max with his single antler and little Cindy Lou Who with her red Christmas bauble. You hummed while grabbing your bell earrings when Mike came into the bedroom, glancing at you all dressed up for the hospital. “What's the occasion?” He questioned while turning you around and looking you up and down. 

“A group of us are going down into the children's ward to hand out some presents. I know I'm not supposed to wear the decorated scrubs, but it's once a year. Tomorrow I will go back to those boring as fuck ones.” You leaned up to kiss him swiftly before stepping around him. “But I'm going to be late, and I have an order of cookies to pick up on my way to work.” 

Mike followed you out, unlike you, he wasn't in a rush anywhere. It was a few days before Christmas and just as he had promised, he was about halfway done with Brian's script. The detective drama story line spoke to him a bit more than the rom-com scripts he was stuck with last time, and was finding it a hell of a lot easier to spend his day thinking about. 

You were busy packing a bag with some stuff you had picked up for the kids, and Mike grabbed a bagel he wrapped earlier, toasted lightly with cream cheese as well as a to go mug of coffee, you were distracted and listing off your to-dos when he handed them to you. “Don't forget to eat, and I got dinner tonight.” 

“Oh thank you, I know i have been all over the place the past week.” You paused when you saw what he had and took them to set the mug beside your bag, and pack away the bagel while continuing to talk to him. “You know… tonight is Chopped, and I shouldn’t be late tonight.” You bit your lip in a grin and turned to face him. “We might be able to beat our record.” Hinting at a bedroom game you two played, just for the hell of it.

Mike's eyes crinkled in the corner knowing well what you were playing at, reaching out to grab the front of your shirt and ease you forward into his arms, a grin softening his features as he wiggled his brows. “Think we will beat our time tonight. It's been awhile since we’ve messed around.” His hands slid down to cup your ass cheeks through your scrubs, making you arch into him, and you chuckled while easing your arms around his neck and tilting your head to press your lips to his, teasing darts of the tongue dragging against his bottom lip before pulling away, not letting the kiss get to that deep needing way. That has caused you to be late before and you weren’t going to let yourself be late today.

“That will have to wait till tonight Mike.” You wink at him as he groans as if waiting was not in his plan. “See you later tonight, and smile Baby, no being a Grinch just before Christmas.” You shouldered your bag and backed to the door to stay out of his reach, and slipped out the door with a grin. Mike snapped the door open as you were heading down the stairs. 

“Love you to Y/N” He shouted, and you waved back at him before disappearing from sight. Mike closed the door behind him, and pulled out his phone to scroll through his contacts. Hitting Scott’s name, he pressed dial and waited through the rings before a groggy voice answered. 

“What Man, it's 7 am, what in the hell do you already want Mike?” Scott snapped out and Mike grinned hearing his best friend. 

“Good Morning to you to Scott, are you still up for helping me tonight?” Mike asked and Scott groaned out a yes before hanging up. Whistling Mike grabbed a piece of toast and went to his computer to get to work. A text came through a short time later, a grocery list for Mike to pick up. 

Mike was coming back from the store with the ingredients Scott sent him a list of when he heard something shuffling in an alleyway he was passing. His head tilted when he heard the whimper that shifted into a scared woof, and Mike turned partially into the dirty alleyway, a particularly smelly dumpster half blocked it from sight and the light bright street seemed to grow into a darker ominous presence the further he stepped in, listening intently for that noise again. “Hello?” He asked cautiously, and all that filled his mind was somebody stashed behind the disgusting dumpster, and then he would be pulled into questioning by the cops… 

I really gotta stop watching those dramas Y/N liked so much he thought to himself as he peered into the edge of the dumpster to see nothing then dirty black garbage bags that had been torn into. Nothing unusual. But under the dumpster came a whine, rather pathetic, and Mike looked down between his feet to see a black nose with streaked white fur peek out with a loud sniff against his shoe, and a tilt had it grabbing at his shoelaces that were half hanging loose. “Hey!” he exclaimed and backed up to see the nose disappear back under the dumpster.

 “Here boy… or girl, whatever you are.” Mike called while shifting to a kneel while setting his groceries aside and landing carefully on his palms to lean down and peek under the dumpster. At first there was nothing to see, but then a puppy was trying to wriggle its way out the other side, on its belly with its back legs stretched out behind him. 

Mike was quick to bolt around the dumpster to see the puppy almost out from underneath it. Covered in mud and who knows what else, his head much bigger than the rest of his body, Mike was able to nab the puppy on the nape of his neck and pick him up, which he hung there growling and barking, his hind end and tail curled up in the fetal position. “Okay little guy, just hold on. Promise not to bite me and I will quit holding you like this.” Mike folded his arm to cradle under the puppy’s backside, and let him lean against his chest. He weighed practically nothing, it seemed all his matted fur made him appear bigger then he actually was. Once he was supported, he quit squirming and studied the man. All while Mike studied him back, now unsure of what to do with him. 

Big brown eyes started to droop as a wet black nose bopped against Mikes, and that sealed the deal. Sure there apartment didn't allow dogs but Mike couldn't just leave him there. “Guess you're coming home with me. I already know Y/N will be thrilled.” He grabbed his bag of groceries and made his way back to the apartment, sure to rush up the three flights of stairs and try to shift puppy, and groceries into one arm to get his keys. The puppy ended up wriggling in his arm and he set him down between his shoes to dig out his keys from his pants pocket while the wide eyed mutt peeked around his leg and bounded down the hallway, yipping. “No! Boy get back here.” Mike shoved the door open, along with the groceries before he sprinted after the fleeing canine to get him back. Scooping him up, he rushed back towards his door when the neighbor poked her head out. “Mike, what are you doing?” 

“Uh nothing Mrs. Beatrix… Sorry to have bothered you.” He waved one handed over his shoulder while trying to contain the squirming pup in his arms. Once he dipped into the apartment, half tripping over the bag of groceries, Mike slammed the door shut and set the puppy down, who dropped nose to the floor and started weaving back and forth. 

“Listen man… if this is gonna work out, you have to help out.” Mike said, kicking off his tennis shoes and grabbing the bag to bring to the kitchen, right behind him was the pitter patter of nails on linoleum and while he was emptying the bag of stuff for Scott, a pair of paws pressed against the back of his calves. A loud whine issued, and looking over his shoulder, he chuckled. “Hungry, arnt ya kiddo? Okay, lets see if Y/N has any ham left over from the night before.” He turned and searched the fridge, the puppy right there with his head stuck in it as well. 

It was much later when Scott came over, Mike was working on his script as well as keeping an eye on the new house guest when his ears perked to Scott entering the apartment, his arms filled as well with a couple bags that he set down. 

“Uuuh, are you babysitting someone's dog?” Scott asked curiously while his shoes were getting inspected. And Mike snapped his laptop shut to look over the edge of his desk at them. 

“No, I found him wedged under a dumpster. I couldn’t leave him there.” Mike dropped his hand and gave a soft whistle, which the pup gave Scott one last sniff before barreling back to Mike which scooped him up into his lap, scratching behind his ears. 

“What do you think Y/N will say?” Scott dropped his bags onto the counter and started to unpack and add his ingredients with the stuff Mike had picked up earlier. 

“I think she will be secretly thrilled.” Mike ruffled the pups ears and then set him back down on the floor. He moved to a stand and crossed into the kitchen to scrub his hands clean. “She loves dogs and watch her insist we keep him.” 

“Even when your landlord doesn't allow dogs here?” Scott was asking with a slight laugh while peeling open all the spices, and Mike took his time making faces down at the pup while drying his hands. 

“Eh, hes hardly around and we will figure it out. Besides, I would like to get out of this building, nothing ever works. Last week the hot water was out for the hundredth time it seems. This block always loses power first and last to get it back. Time for an upgrade, Brian already has another script for me to work on after this one finishes. If I really work on it, I should be done right after Christmas.” 

Scott grimaced a bit, but kept himself turned away from Mike while listening to him. “You know… a break afterwards might not be a bad thing, You’ve been writing steadily since before October. I know you're on a streak, but you have to come up for air sometime.” 

Mike shrugged at Scott. “Hey, I gotta take the pieces where I can get them right? Money is good and getting my name known will help in the long run. It's nothing I can’t handle. I know I’ve been distant a bit with Y/N, why you are here today, teaching me how to roast a chicken.” 

“I don’t know how you convinced me to do this. What person doesn't know how to cook a meal for their partner? You two have been dating for two years and this is the first time?” He scolded Mike while grabbing vegetables to give a rinse in the sink. The pup had planted himself between the two men, his ears perked while swinging his head back and forth to listen. 

“Take out, out to dinner, breakfast? I don't know, it just hasn’t happened. But tonight my man, with your help, I’m changing that. Y/N has been working hard the last couple weeks, and I know this will make her feel special.” Mike rolled up his sleeves, preparing to help Scott with whatever he needed while winking at their guest. “And who better to help me then you? You and Neil took all those cooking classes together. So what is on the menu tonight?” Mike leaned in to look at a bag, which Scott shooed him out and reached in pulling out the last thing Mike expected, a whole chicken. 

“Roast chicken, garlic baby red potatoes, a nice side salad, and rolls. You really can't get easier than that, and it speaks sophisticated.” Scott informed him while placing the chicken in the sink. 

“Easy? Dude that's a whole damn bird.” Mike scoffed while coming around the counter. “What do you want me to do with it?” 

Scott was already going through the kitchen, grabbing cooking pans and aluminum foil. “Well you can start with unwrapping the chicken and giving it a rinse.” 

Mike gave the chicken a look and took a breath. “No big deal, right pupper?” Mike directed at the puppy, who yipped in excitement and tipped his head back to give a cheeky howl, making both the men laugh at his reaction. 

The crash course into cooking had Mike's head spinning. Scott had him chopping, dicing, sprinkling seasonings, tossing stuff together and when he finally got the pans into the oven, he took a deep breath. “Okay what's next?” Mike was now on his toes, ready for the next project but Scott was busy washing his hands. 

“Now you wait an hour, check it by popping one of the legs near the joint and seeing if the juices run clear. Also let it rest when you take it out for good, or else it will be dry as hell.” Scott informed while drying his hands. “Also you need to get cleaned up. And give the poor dog a bath.” Scott leaned down where the puppy scooted away from Mike and sniffed at his fingers, giving them a lick first and then a playful bite which Scott shook his finger loose from the tiny teeth. Mike watched a moment before checking his phone. 

“Y/N will be home soon, so I will get on that. I bet he's a pretty cute pup under all that dirt.” Mike leaned down to pick him up, and Scott straightened, grabbing his reusable grocery bags and tucked them under his arm. 

“Text me tomorrow to let me know how it came out and we on for Saturday at the bowling alley?” Scott approached the door and Mike followed, turning the pup around to wave his paw at Scott.

“Yes Uncle Scott.” Mike mimicked in a joking high pitched voice, leaving Scott rolling his eyes at his friend. 

“Bite him would ya? You still got those sharp baby teeth.” Scott let himself out and Mike twisted the puppy once more to face him. 

“What an ass huh?” Which rewarded him with a resounding woof in agreement and a nip at the end of his nose. “God damn it, you weren't supposed to listen to him.” Mike grumbled while retreating to the bathroom, knowing the timer would let him know when to check on the chicken. “Okay, what's safe to use on you?” he questioned while setting the pup down in the bathtub and pulled out his phone to google while starting to put warm water in the tub. 

You trudged up the apartment's stairs, a few gift bags hanging off your arm from some of the long time residents at the hospital. You were exhausted and really looking forward to opening up that bottle of wine you’ve been saving and crashing on the couch with Mike. 

Jingling keys from your coat pocket and letting yourself in, the first thing that you noticed was the smell of chicken and potatoes wafting in from the kitchen, making your stomach roll in hunger and your mouth water. Following your nose, you went to drop off your bags when you called out “Mike? Where you at?” You had expected him to be in front of his glowing computer screen, where he usually was when in the middle of writing a script, but not tonight. 

“Will you stop it? I'M IN HERE.” You heard him call from down the hallway, and after you toed off your shoes, you started down to hear something whining and splashing. 

“Mike… what's going on?” You question as you stop at the bathroom doorway to see something you never expected to see. Mike was kneeling next to the tub and hanging off the edge was soggy paws and a soapy puppy giving the most pitiful look up at him while wagging his tail, sending a trail of water and soap spreading all over the room. 

“I said cut that out!” Mike wailed while reaching to catch the tail and squeeze out the excess water from it before letting it go, which just started the sloppy wagging again and a howl now while Mike attempted to rinse him off. “Welcome home Baby.” 

You just melt at the scene, grabbing a towel off the counter and unfolding it while Mike moves to a stand, picking the soaked dripping pup with him and you go to wrap him up in the fluffy towel. “Mike, where did you find this sweet baby?” You croon as you go to gently rub him dry, cupping his face and smiling at him. 

“Well… Under a dumpster a few blocks away.” Mike let you take the pup in your arms as your gently swaying him back and forth, still crooning and nuzzling him while hes giving licks to the tip of your nose. “I couldn't leave him there.” 

“Absolutely not.” You turned to leave the bathroom, leaving Mike to drain and rinse the tub while you brought your new friend out to the living room. Having him still wrapped in a towel, you settled on the couch and started to unwrap him from the towel, seeing his little yawns as he curled up on your scrub clad thighs. “Who would just leave you out there all alone little baby?” 

Mike finished up, taking a quick peek at his chicken, which had turned a deep golden brown, and the scent of sage and butter wafted from the open oven. Pulling it out, he listened to you talking to the puppy while setting it on the counter to let it sit before cutting into it. 

“Wine?” He called out while pulling out your favorite glass, already knowing the answer when you resounded a yes from the other room. Pouring it, he went back in to sit down next to you, handing you the wine and tossing his arm over your shoulder to pull you in closer. Tucking in his side, you hummed softly while softly petting the snoring pup in your lap. 

“We should think about what we're going to do with him.” You sigh a bit, scritching behind his ear while he twisted in your lap and went belly up, your fingers tickling along the pink of his belly. 

Mike considered it, letting his own fingers trail along your shoulder. “Why not keep him? We only have a few months left of our lease. About time we move right? Maybe something bigger.” 

You had never heard Mike talk like this, like in the future setting. He had always been in the moment, by the seat of your pants kind of man, and you were always a bit nervous to even bring up the future with him. You cleared your throat a bit while looking up at him, straightening a bit, which jostled the puppy just a bit and woke him up with a whining yawn, stretching in your lap. “You really want that Mike?” You searched his face and he shrugged, a tinge of pink along the top of his cheeks. 

“Well I wouldn't mention it if I didn't Y/N.” He teased while reaching for the pup who started to wriggle around in your lap, and set him down on the floor before pushing himself to a stand. “Come, I actually made a real dinner and you still gotta tell me about work. Did that intern drive you crazy today?” He efficiently changed the subject, which you let him. Slipping into his hold, you went to help him in the kitchen. Leaning over the counter as he transferred the chicken, you inhaled deeply. 

“You made this Mike?” you asked incredulously with an arched brow, waiting for him to confess that it was an order in and he made it look homemade, but he smirked at you while starting to carve. 

“I will have you know I made this myself.” 

You gave him the look, the one that demanded the ultimate truth. 

“With Scotts help, okay. But I did the work.” Mike plucked a piece of chicken loose and held it to you, which you popped in your mouth, licking at your lip and grinning at how it tasted. Reaching for another piece and plucking a piece to give to the puppy waiting patiently at your foot. “Scott just instructed me on what to do.” 

“His classes are paying off. Maybe he can become our free instructor.” You joked while going around the counter to finish helping Mike get stuff ready and for the first time in a while you two sat at the table instead of crashing in front of the tv with junk food. Soon plates were pushed aside, full from the excellent food and tired after the long day, you went to take a quick shower while Mike cleaned up the kitchen. 

Coming back out dressed in sleep shorts and a tank, you found Mike laying on the couch with the puppy standing on his back legs, front paws on the couch trying to jump up. Mike scooped him up onto the couch with him, whispering to him. “Looks like your staying boy, what are we going to name you? Buster? You almost look like a Buster.” You approached the couch and Mike shifted enough so you could lay down along his side, half wedged on him and between the couch, laying your head on Mike's shoulder. 

“Hmmm, what about Scout?” You wiggle your nose at the puppy, who efficiently ignored both names, proceeding to chew on Mike's shirt, the Christmas lights on the tree being the only glow in the room. You smiled and whispered out. “Hey Max… look at me.” 

Which the brown and white puppy immediately perked up, and Mike shook his head. “Max? Why Max?” 

You grinned while watching Max perk up every time Mike said his name, your giggle muffled against his shirt. “We needed a Christmas dog name.” Then you hummed out Your A Mean One Mr.Grinch. “Max can be your sidekick now Mr.Grinch.” 

Mike gave a laugh, running his fingers along your hips, making you laugh out and trying to pull away. Max growled out, barreling against you and Mike to tug at Mikes hand, and you grasped the pup to set him aside gently so that you two rough housing didn’t end up getting him hurt. 

“Seems like he is more your sidekick Baby.” Mike smirked as he pulled you in closer to him, flushing kisses against your neck and rubbing up and down your back. You settled back in against his chest. “Ready for bed?” He asked, calculating how many hours were left so he could write a bit after you fell asleep. 

“Mmhh, it was such a nice evening, I hate to end it so soon.�� You tilted your head up to press your lips to his and Mike pushed up to a sit. 

“We will pick it up tomorrow. Besides, I should probably take the rugrat out to potty, now that it’s dark out.” 

Your arms eased around his neck and you gave him a more passionate loving kiss in thank you, and eased up. “I will see you when you come back up Mike.” Max sat there watching the two of you and you ruffled Max’s ears, then headed to the bedroom. Mike watched you go down the hallway and then looked to see Max had ditched him to go check out the tree, sniffing excitedly when Mike's eyes sprang wide to see him pop a squat. 

“Max! No!” Mike yelled, springing up to catch the pup. 

[avengerscompound]

Running to a Standstill - 2

Running to a Standstill: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count:  2342

Rating:  E

Square filled: None for this chapter

Warnings: none

Synopsis: While on the run from an unknown organization trying to take your son, you meet two super-soldiers.  While they try to help you get to the bottom of who is hunting you and your son, feelings come out and admissions are made that make your personal life even more tricky.

Chapter 2

Steve had expected to meet you out somewhere casual.  He hadn’t really been thinking about this as a date-date.  More a casual meeting to try and get to the bottom of what you were hiding from.  He’d agreed to let Natasha and Clint organize the venue and convince you to meet him there because they knew you better.  He’d been given the address and name of the restaurant and he’d dressed in his usual casual wear of a blue button-down and tan slacks and when he’d shown up, he suddenly felt very underdressed.

The restaurant was lined in hardwood, and decorated with pots of fresh herbs and copper cookware, giving it a rustic farm feel, but the floor to ceiling wine racks that took up three walls and the fact most of the guests were wearing suits or cocktail dresses said that it was anything but homey.

He arrived before you and was taken to a booth table under some wine barrels, that’s boxed seats were covered in cushions.  He was just looking over the menu of items - some of which he’d never even heard of before and all had prices that made him glad for the 60 years of back pay the army had owed him -  when you arrived.  You were wearing a champagne cocktail dress with a gold lace overlay and around your shoulders you had a red wool shawl.

Steve stood and greeted you with a kiss on the cheek, waiting for you to sit before he did too.  “You look beautiful,” he said.  He realized that it probably sounded ingenuine - the kind of thing you just say to someone on a first date - but he meant it.  He’d thought you were attractive the day he met you, even in the hoodie and jeans that were stained with grass and had a patch where it looked like either you or Geo had dropped ice cream.  Tonight you looked stunning.  The dress was flattering to your figure and you looked radiant with your hair and makeup done for a night out.  Mostly he loved the way you smiled.  You seemed excited to be out on this date with him, though a little nervous.

“Thank you,” you said.  “I can’t even remember when I last went out on a date.  I was surprised when Natasha said you were interested.  So I wanted to make the effort.  Who knows when I will get to again?”

“Hopefully it won’t be that long,” Steve said genuinely.  Not exactly meaning that it would be him that took you out, but realizing that’s exactly how it sounded when you smiled and picked up your menu like you were trying to hide how excited you were.

Natasha and Clint had obviously made you think this was a real date and even though he hadn’t come here tonight thinking the same thing, he decided that he should treat it the same way.  Besides, maybe Clint and Natasha knew something he didn’t and the two of you might be a good match.  Maybe you’d be able to distract him from his crush on Bucky that was never going to go anywhere at the very least.

A waiter came over to take your drink orders and with a little discussion, the two of you decided to share a bottle of Merlot.

“So you haven’t been out with anyone for a long time?”  Steve asked as he browsed the menu.

You shook your head and looked up at him over your menu.  “Not since before Geo was born.  I bet you date a lot.”

He shook his head.  “You know,” he said.  “I think this might be my first real one.  I mean… don’t get me wrong, I’ve had relationships, but they always came out of my work and we never made it to the dating part.”

“Wow, no wonder you picked this,” you said.  “Of course you’d want to make it special.”

“Oh,” he said. “This was Clint and Nat.  I guess they’re playing match-maker.”

You laughed.  “This is so not a Clint and Nat place.”

“No,” he chuckled.  “Well, maybe Nat, but she’d be working an angle.”

You laughed and the waiter returned with the wine.  He poured a small amount for Steve to try.  He had no idea what made a wine good or not, so when it didn’t taste like vinegar Steve gave a small nod and the waiter topped off both glasses.  He took both your orders.  Steve went with a dish that had ham, mozzarella, and truffles, followed by a steak because at least he recognized what they were.  You were a little more daring ordering spugnole as a starter, followed by tagliatelle.

“So why don’t you date?”  You asked, taking a sip of the wine.

Steve let out a breath and shook his head.  “Time mostly.  Never had the time to actually date,” he explained.  “But it’s not only that.”

You put your hand on his and smiled softly.  “What else is it?”

“I’ll tell you what,” Steve said, giving your hand a small squeeze.  “I’ll tell you my story and you tell me yours.”

You seemed to mull the question over for a moment.  “I’m worried that if you know, that will attract their attention.”

“You know that doesn’t make any sense don’t you?”  Steve reasoned.

“Maybe.  But,” you said taking your hand away.  “This is the longest we’ve ever managed to stay in the same place.  I’m expecting them any moment and if you decide to try and find them, then they’ll know it’s because of him.”

“We can keep you safe.  And Geo.  It’s what we do,” he said.

You let out a breath.  “You go first.”

The waiter came out with the starters and when he left again, Steve took a bite of ham and chewed it slowly, focusing on the smokey, salty taste.

“Are you avoiding?”  You asked as you collected some mushrooms onto your fork.

“Maybe a little,” he said.  “I guess there’s a lot of factors.  I don’t know how much you know about my past but I wasn’t always this.  I was small.  Really small.  And sick.  I had a long list of medical issues.  I was bullied a lot.  No one really looked at me as a possible romantic partner.  And I suppose I did go on dates back then, but they were double dates Bucky organized and there was always this supreme look of disappointment on the face of the woman he brought them to meet me.  Like they expected me to look like him.  I was a letdown.  I think it affected me in a lot of ways.  When women look at me now - like …’

“...They used to look at Bucky?”  You suggested.

“Yeah,” he agreed.  “That.  Well, I can’t help but think about back then.  And then I wonder if they like me for me.  I need time to get to know people and that doesn’t work out in the real world.  Only with people in mine and then work gets in the way.  Plus…”

He stopped talking and considered if he had it in him to admit this last piece.  The bit about how he had feelings for his best friend.  He hadn’t admitted that to anyone.  Not Bucky.  Not Nat.  Not even Sam.  He had said he’d tell you his if you told you yours, and it was only fair to keep his side of the bargain if he wanted you to do the same.

“I have had a crush on Bucky for a very, very long time,” he said.

“Oh my god,” you said, dropping your jaw.  “Does he know?”

“No,” he said quickly.  “I didn’t want to make him feel awkward.  He was always a real ladies man.  And now… he’s healing and I doubt his sexuality has changed,” Steve explained.  “And please know -” he reached over the table and touched your hand again.  “I like women too.  The relationships I’ve had have been with women.  It’s just… you know?”

“No,” you said. “I mean, yes.  I get it.  It’s okay.  I know how you feel.”

He let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.   “So… it’s unrequited. But I think I do a lot of comparing people to him, which isn’t healthy.  A couple of people have made the cut, but in the end, things weren’t meant to be.  So maybe I’m not supposed to have that.  Which I guess is another thing.  I once had someone tell me that I was nothing if I couldn’t be a soldier.  And I think it got to me.  This here -” he gestured around him. “- is a level of normal that I don't often allow myself to have.”

You nodded and took a drink from your wine.  Not a small one either.  You swallowed the dark liquid like it was water and when the glass was drained you filled it again.  “You didn't hold back did you?”

“I said I'd tell you mine if you told me yours,” Steve said.

You nodded and leaned back against the back of the booth.  “Yes.  I suppose you did,” you agreed.  “It’s long.”

Steve shrugged.  “For once, I have time.”

“When I went to college, I did lots of stupid little things for money.  I sold blood.  I tutored high school kids.  Just any little thing to give me some money to cover my bills.  One day the biology department had these posters up for an experiment.  It paid a lot.  You got $100 if you were accepted.  And if you made it to the end they'd give you $7500.  So I signed up.  I figured that whatever they were doing was probably safe if it had gotten to the human trial stage,” you explained.  Steve couldn't exactly criticize your reasoning.  He'd signed up for some pretty extensive human experimentation himself.

“I was accepted and once a week I'd go in with a group of about thirty other people and we’d have some injections and then we’d be tested.  It was a little odd.  The injections were painful and the tests were strange.  They'd ask us to try and reprogram a computer. Then try and guess what cards they were holding up.  We’d go on a treadmill for a bit and lift some heavyweights.  Then we'd be sent home,” you explained.  “I made friends with most of the other people but I also met the man I'd end up marrying.”

You stopped talking when the waiter approached and cleared away your plates and didn't start again until he'd bought out the entrees.  Steve waited patiently.  He knew there was no point in rushing the story.  “After about six weeks things started to happen.  John, my husband was running much faster than should be possible.  And I was guessing every single card correctly.  It never lasted.  By the following day we were back to normal, but every time we had an injection it was more.  By the end of the experiment, I'd get those shots and be able to hear every single thought of every person in the building.  Even the ones people don't want you to hear.  The intrusive thoughts you don’t even want to be having.  John could run at the speed of light.”

You drained your glass again and topped it off again and Steve leaned over and took your hand.  “What happened?”

“Project got canceled and we were told we were free to go.  We got paid our money,” you answered.  “Only one day I heard… In my mind… These people… I think they were government agents, coming to take us.  The injection hadn't completely worn off yet.  I told John and he packed a backpack, scooped me up into his arms and we ran.

“It was fine for a while.  We changed our identities.  Got cash-in-hand work.  No one came for us.  Then I got pregnant and when Geo was born the equipment went haywire.  When he cried it broke every machine on the floor cried along with him.  They wanted to keep him there to be tested but we knew what would happen so we ran again.  Only those people found us.  They killed John.  I got away.  But I've been running ever since.”

“Do you know who they were?” Steve asked.

You shook your head.  “I have no idea.  They never thought of anything that linked them to an organization.  Just things that made them seem like authority figures.  Official.  You know?”

Steve nodded.  “I understand.”

“If they're official, like the CIA you can't help me,” you said with pain in your voice.  “You're a private militia.  You have no authority.”

“I see my role in this world as exactly the person who steps in when the government is mistreating its people,” Steve said.  “I promise.  We won't let anything happen to you or your son.”

You nodded and seemed to make yourself smaller.  “I wish I could believe that.”

“You can trust me,” Steve said.  When you didn't say anything Steve caressed the back of your hand with his thumb.  “Do you know what Geo’s powers are?”

“I think they call it technopathy,” you explained.  “He has an affinity with machines.  Sometimes he can even communicate with them.  It’s come in handy actually.  I don't like using him like that but he can make ATMs give us money.  Change car titles to our name in the system.  Have our names changed.  Erase record of us.  In emergencies, it has helped us get away.”

“He would love meeting Tony,” Steve said.  “Maybe the two of you should move to the tower for a while.”

You shook your head fervently, “No.  No.  Too high profile.  I feel safe where I am.  Clint and Nat keep it safe and it's just some apartment block.  No one looks twice at it.”

Steve nodded and drained the last of his wine.  There was a lot to process and a lot of work to do.  He'd need to find out who was after you first and foremost. He just wished there was a way he could convince you the safest place you could be was under his watch.

// NEXT

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Ranked S

Tigre stood in the doorway to the dining hall of Cassell College in awe of the massive chandelier. It was gold, in the shape of a great tree under a high domed ceiling and every leaf was a light. It was the most magnificent thing he had seen in all of the College so far and it was accessible because he knew what a tree was and what a lamp was and he could see that this work of art was the two put together. What great innovation!

After spending a few hours last night with Chu Zihang’s friends, he felt too excited to sleep. He kept fiddling with the tablet computer all night, surfing the internet and googling all manner of things until the machine ran out of batteries. They had explained how to charge it, but Tigre felt a moment of great panic when the low battery warning came up. What if he tried to charge it and it didn’t work? He’d be up a creek on his first day of school.

The freshman students in green uniforms all sat at very long heavy wooden tables. He recognized the Smith sisters and waved, trotting up to them and sitting down. “Hi! I hope you feel better now!”

The Smith sisters all looked at him in silence and uncomfortable smiles. Except for Ruby. She gave a little laugh and said. “Yeah, we do… thanks.”

They all wore the same hairstyle with their hair tied up and back and the mass of curls poofed out like a bouquet of flowers. They still had the insect motif. Ruby with her butterfly earrings, Porsche with her dragonfly earrings, and Ladybug Celeste.

“Oh. What’s that on the wall? Is that dragon language too?” Tigre asked in wonder.

“That’s Latin…” Porsche drawled. “You should be able to tell if you speak Spanish.” She rested her cheek in her hand and pointed at him, doubt filling her voice.

“He said he only spoke a little!” Ruby was quick to defend him. “It’s just saying ‘Welcome new students.”

“Oh… Latin…” Now that he stared at it he could tell it was a bit like Spanish. 

Suddenly a silver platter was settled in front of him and the lid opened to reveal a plate of hardboiled eggs, bread, cheese and ham. He yelped in surprise. “Woah!”

Ruby laughed again. Even Celeste cracked a smile. “You must have grown up in the boonies. You act like you’re in Disney World.” She said, chuckling.

Tigre was already stuffing his face with the bread and eggs and mumbled. “No, I’m from Mexico.”

Celeste shook her head, covering her smile. “I know! What I meant was… you know what? Never mind. It’s nice to meet someone who’s not a sourpuss.”

A sudden hush fell over the dining room and a few students stood up as Lu Mingfei entered accompanied by the members of the Student Union Elite and a beautiful woman walking behind him. “That’s Lu Mingfei, S ranked President of the Student Union. I hear he’s back from killing a real dragon.” Ruby explained in a hush whisper. “I hear he’s the strongest student the College has ever had.”

“Really he did?” Tigre watched in awe. This guy was so quiet and normal and humble, he never imagined that he could have killed a dragon. “I heard he was President of the Student Union. What does that mean?”

“There are many clubs here but two main ones. The Student Union and Lionheart. The Student Union was run by Caesar Gattuso who killed the King of Bronze and Fire two years ago. He passed his club to Lu Mingfei. Lionheart was run by Chu Zihang who killed the King of Earth and Mountains year before last. They had a great rivalry but Lu Mingfei doesn’t seem to be interested in continuing that and Lionheart leadership has been hollowed out. Chu Zihang, Susie, and Lancelot all graduated. They were all the Lionheart elite.”

“Was run? Chu Zihang doesn’t run it any more?” 

“No, he graduated recently and was sent on missions. In fact, they’re all graduated now. Caesar is in Rome in the Italy branch.”

Tigre’s chewing slowed and he swallowed. “Graduated… so Chu Zihang doesn’t go here any more…”

“No, he was just here recovering from his last mission. He’ll probably go back to work now that he’s fully recovered.” Porsche shrugged.

He sighed and lowered his eyes. “Oh… he… he didn’t tell me that.”

Celeste’s elegant eyebrow raised. “Why would he tell you that? Do you know him?”

For the first time, Tigre seemed genuinely sad to the sisters. He stopped eating and hung his head. “Yeah. He saved my life.”

“Get out!” Porsche’s eyes were wide in her head. “How did that happen?”

Tigre looked on the verge of tears. “It’s kinda sad but I was not let out of a prison all my life. Chu Zihang broke me out of that prison and that’s how I came here. He gave me a computer tablet. He didn’t say he was leaving.”

The sisters all fixed him with sad serious gazes.

“No wonder you don’t know anything…” Ruby sighed.

“I… I’ll send him a farewell message later I guess.” He mumbled. He understood that Chu Zihang had to leave, but did he have to leave without saying anything? The tablet computer must have been a goodbye gift as well as a welcome gift.

The Smith sister’s eyes all went wide at the same time, like a row of kittens. They were looking behind him and when Tigre turned around, Lu Mingfei was standing behind him. 

“All settled in?”

“Yes… sir?” He asked.

“Oh no, not you too with the sir stuff.” Mingfei lamented, one hand on his head. 

“I’m sorry I just heard you were the strongest student in Cassell!” Tigre explained quickly.

Lu Mingfei winced slowly and sighed. “Anyway. I wanted to ask you if you’ve settled in alright.”

Tigre nodded. He noticed that all the students in the dining hall were staring at him. Some of them whispered to each other, their eyes fixed on him as they did so.

“I heard Chu Zihang was leaving. Do you know when?” Tigre asked quietly sad.

“Oh… yeah he left last night. He didn’t tell you?” Mingfei’s eyes widened slightly.

Crestfallen, Tigre shook his head. 

“Ah… Senior Brother is always like this. He comes and goes without a word and doesn’t understand how that might affect people. He thought a lot of you. Anyway, We can talk later, don’t take it so hard, okay?” He gave Tigre an awkward pat on the shoulder.

The sisters were rendered speechless. Lu Mingfei walked away to the Senior Student’s table where he sat down, surrounded by men in suits as he was served by three separate waiters. It seemed like he was in the lap of luxury, the King of Cassell. Yet, looking at him, Tigre couldn’t help but think that Lu Mingfei was very lonely. He didn’t really talk to the people next to him, just lowered his head and ate like a horse in a stable.

A hand suddenly slammed into his view. “Hey, I’m talking here.”

“Charles Xavier!” Tigre exclaimed.

The boy with dark hair and eyes who challenged him before apparently had been trying to get his attention when he was looking at Lu Mingfei.

“My name’s not ‘Charles Xavier’ I was messing with you!” He wrinkled his nose and glared his eyes down at him. “You know Lu Mingfei? How the hell?”

“I… I met him yesterday after the test. There was a little party at Chu Zihang’s house.” Tigre answered honestly with an owlish expression.

‘Charles Xavier’ massaged the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut like he suddenly had a massive headache. “You were at… Chu Zihang’s party?”

Tigre flinched. “Uh… Yeah… Sorry, if I knew you wanted to go I would have invited you…”

Celeste and her two sisters all lifted their coffee cups in unison and sipped, watching this scene with great pleasure.

‘Charles’ cleared his throat. “Well then… allow me to reintroduce myself. I’m Robert Musonda, of the Musonda copper mining company in Zambia. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh… nice to meet you too.” Tigre accepted the offered hand.

“Have you decided which club you were going to join? I personally have not. I was waiting to see how things were. With all the elites gone, things could go either way. The Student Union could fall, or Lionheart could resurge.”

“I haven’t… really thought of clubs. I…” Tigre looked to Ruby for help. She’d been very helpful so far.

“Lionheart and Student Union were huge rivals before. I think people are expecting that to continue but it doesn’t have to. It depends on leadership. I think Lionheart will really push hard to regain some ground after losing so much to Student Union.” She nodded to him.

Robert Musonda clasped his hands behind his back. “In fact, leadership itself is up for grabs at Lionheart. A lot of freshmen are thinking of going to see if they can snatch the spot. With you being good friends with Mingfei and Chu Zihang, you’d be a shoe in!”

“I wouldn’t call myself good friends… We just met yesterday…”

Robert Musonda leaned forward. “He came over here and greeted you and only you… I call that good friends.” He patted Tigre on the shoulder the same way Lu Mingfei had and dropped his card next to him. “Let’s chat after class.”

Robert sauntered away. His card had a small floral scent but was simple and white with black block lettering of his family business and name along with a phone number and email.

As they were leaving the breakfast hall, Tigre’s tablet computer chimed. When he looked at it, he had a new message in his inbox. “Oh. I got my exam results.”

“Quick check your email!” Celeste exclaimed.

Apparently all the results were posted publicly and at the same time.  Students all stopped what they were doing and were looking at their results, heads bowed over their phones. Some students cheered and pumped their fists. Others gave each other high fives. Some students huddled together, giving consoling pats on the back. They were listed in order by last name and, since Tigre didn’t have a last name, the null entry in the last name field put his name right at the top.

Name: Tigre

Resonance Test result: S

Attached to his email was several pages of materials. Based on his ranking, he was afforded a stipend of money. $100,000! He also had a lot of privileges like first pick of meals and he could call the train to take him to Chicago whenever he wanted.

“Congratulations on your high level of Ranking.” It said. “With these privileges also come responsibilities. You are expected to perform at high level in the college in both class attendance and performance. If you fail to perform, you will be downgraded and your privileges will be revoked.”

He looked up at Ruby, relying on her once again for guidance. “What classes do I have?”

“You have to pick your own classes.” She said, with a trembling voice. “I can’t believe you’re S ranked. That’s insane. Are you half dragon?”

“I don’t know. Maybe?” Tigre shrugged.

Celeste stepped in, pushing Tigre forward. “There’s a link to register for classes. But let’s not do this in the hallway where everyone stares at us.”

She leaned over to him, smiling gently. “So, do you have a roommate yet?”

“Uh… I don’t have a dorm.” He said quietly.

“Then you should stay with us. We’ll help you.” Celeste smiled at him.

“Yeah!” Porsche said, glancing at her Celeste and holding his hand. “We’ll start by registering you for classes and stuff. Do you have anything you need to move?”

“Not… really? Just a few things.” Tigre said nervously as he was herded out of the Dining Hall by the three women.

Ruby clung to his other arm. “Then I’ll help you move!”

“Move? Move where?” 

The triplets turned and looked at him with shining brown eyes. They beamed at him, speaking in unison. “To our dorm silly!”

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week: 2021-03-01

First Monday of the Month. My boss just quit at work which means I'm now the only formally trained engineer left who has any particular specialization in embedded systems. This week is going to be a doozy.

I also wrote a Very Long set of media updates because I’ve been consuming some stuff that makes me think a lot. Never a good sign.

Listening: I spent all of Saturday playing Minecraft after talking with some friends about it during the week on IRC. Practicing what I preach with regards to my Large Biome Supermacy policy, which does involve a lot of walking. Hence, I started catching up on The Adventure Zone: Graduation again, I'm like ten episodes behind.

https://maximumfun.org/episodes/adventure-zone/the-adventure-zone-graduation-ep-32-by-a-haircut/

I don't really enjoy Travis' DM'ing style. It's very loose and he has a tendency to let players run wild without much structure which is a tricky thing to handle. He does a lot of worldbuilding and character design but doesn't seem to plan much in the way of arcs. That pays off sometimes (returning to the school to realize they broke a promise they made a few sessions earlier and had to deal with consequences, for example) and when it does, it’s really good, but it's finnicky. I know DM's who can do that, but, well, actually I know One Single DM who can do that well and she's absurdly smart.

Reading: Still on Worm, I just got past chapter 8 or so now. It lives in my phone browser so I've mostly been reading it whenever I get some spare time, which is a good sign. If a book doesn't grab me I need to really settle down in a quiet space to avoid getting distracted, but I can read Worm while someone else is on the phone in the same room.

It is a story with a lot of very well-conveyed feelings and events. It's very easy to imagine yourself in it. Characters actually act like they care about what they're doing, I feel like writing this took a lot of care to keep everyone on model.

There's also a certain care given to the superpowers that you'd usually only see in forum posts arguing about an actual superhero story. Everyone always likes to argue about how far you can push a superpower: can you use teleporting to fly? What prevents a speedster from catching fire in the air? Where does the energy for a  pyrokinetic ability come from? Worm takes these and runs with them as a way to make absolutely any fight become a series of gambits relying on whether a power can or cannot be used to perform some high-stakes trick.

The world certainly has some underpinning contrivances to explain why no one gets killed very often but I've always considered nitpicking the base contrivances of a setting silly, because that's precisely what they are: contrived, in order to allow the rest of the story to flow from there. Like arguing about Omega’s abilities in the famous thought experi-*I am dragged off stage by the ratblr police for making a by now extremely stale joke*

Watching: I came and edited this section in like an hour before this posts because I keep on forgetting to put it in. I don’t really like watching TV and with my parents stuck at home in Pandemic Times it’s how they pass the time.

I did finish S3 of the Good Place. It’s very funny. I’m glad I’m watching it and I’m going to have to go find S4 because ZA Netflix doesn’t have it for whatever reason. It feels a little like it was written by Phillip Pullman if Phillip Pullman was a comedy TV writer.

I also really enjoyed the PBS Spacetime video about how time causes gravity. Love when an explanation of concepts is good enough that you drawn the conclusion on your own.

Playing: Visual Novel Hell plus Minecraft.

I spent approximately seven hours in Minecraft over two days. I tend to hop in and out of games for 1-2 hours at a time but there's a handful that can suck me in for an entire day. Minecraft, Warframe, Horizon Zero Dawn, Night in the Woods. Bastion, to a lesser extent. I end up avoiding them because I don't like loosing entire days, but I wasn't really planning on doing anything this weekend anyways.

Minecraft was mostly a long-ass trek to find a saddle, because as previously mentioned, I enjoy playing it with Large Biomes for the sense of scale.

I also completed Act 3 of Psycholonials and Eliza.

Psycholonials is odd. It is doing the thing that Hussie does where it dances around what's ostensibly the story to carry out the actual story. You get used to the trope after your first encounter but it still makes you wonder when the other shoe will drop, and of course, there's no reason it ever has to. The story may remain in suspended animation behind the every growing mess of narrative red tape tying the B-plot together.

Stories about Social Media have no well established norms. I think I might pick up Feed by M. T. Anderson and also perhaps Hank Green's books sometime. See what context they set that in.

Eliza is frustrating to me. It's a game for programmers, by programmers, about programmers. I'm friends with a lot of Capital P Programmers, the types who go to university and get sniped for developer positions at Seattle or Silicon Valley tech companies and who make great and terrible things and then warn you about the deep problems that underpin the slowly rolling ball of venture capital and bloated technology that is the tech industry. But at the same time, it makes me feel like I've burnt out on that conceptually before I even went in. It’s a whole other world that I’m familiar with but very distant from. In fact, that’s kinda how I feel about Psycholonials too. I’m familiar with the social media rat race but I also don’t go there. Parallels!

My cousins (who are halfway to Capital P Programmers, only so much you can do halfway around the world from silicon valley) warned me not to go into CS, because it would bore me, and that's a non-trivial part of why I'm in Engineering. They gave the same advice about Biology and Physics, without that I may have ended up in Microbiology. it’s not my domain, but because of how Engineering is going, you end up a lot closer to programmers than you think. I found out the other day that most of the software developers on my team have no formal tertiary qualifications, which is accepted in CS but of course, right out when it comes to engineering. It’s a whole other world that I kinda expected to skip around. I might go into this another time, since this post is already getting long.

Making: I haven’t done any engineering scicomm posts on here in a while so I started a few blank drafts and finally got one off the ground. With some luck I’ll have that ready this week. What’s it about? Not saying! It might change!

I’ve been doing layout for a custom keyboard, I need to call a laser cutting place and find out what their kerf requirements are so I can adjust the path accordingly. Wouldn’t do to burn a couple hundred rand on an oversized part, I’m paying for this, not my employer like the other times I’ve done laser cutting, so I’m probably not going to spring for getting one of their designers to check my design. At some point I should CAD up a chassis, but at the same time I might just buy some wood and go ham with a router once I get the plates cut.

Computers Slot: I got WeeChat set up properly on my desktop, which technically was just a matter of getting my SSH keys moved over. It’s taking me forever to move in to Cinnabar, in part because Stibnite lost her boot partition and I haven’t bothered to fix it.

So here’s a pitch for WeeChat as a good quality Terminal UI IRC Client. Many of my closest friends live there and it has a good set of tools to help me keep in touch.

WeeChat is very configurable but with perfectly sane defaults, I didn’t configure it for years. The UI is smarter and less arcane than something like irssi, and if you enable mouse support it can be downright modern. Running it remotely like this limits some features but as long as you don’t mind jumping through a few hoops to do filesharing, IRC is really great like this.

One of the big ones is the ability to do that double-pane thing, I can keep an eye on two channels at once (really as many as I can cram on my screen, but usually two) which is great when you want to browse channels while talking in your home channel.

It also has a good array of remote access tools, from what I’m running up there, just weechat running on my server inside tmux connected over mosh for low-latency SSH, to weechat-relay, a relay protocol built in to weechat. At the moment relay only supports android phones and the glowingbear web client, but I’ve never really looked around since both of those cover all my needs. Easily one of the best ways to get IRC on a modern mobile device, barring maybe IRCCloud.