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talesofsonicasura · 4 years

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Diamonds and Voodoo

Brothers and Bandicoots

This was rewritten when I discovered that the document had been nothing but a word salad. This one should be much better!

Taki-Taki returns to Morioh in order to fulfill a particular agreement. Sadly, all she got was her dad walking off, two brothers with daddy issues, egotistical assholes and bandicoot urine on a landmark. Oh joy.

"Yes. I would like to confirm this very information to the Speedwagon Foundation. Apparently defeating Angelo merely revealed a new part of the going ons in Morioh. Something that could only be trouble for everyone living here and maybe even further." Spoke Jotaro Kujo, the man currently on the phone in his hotel room.

Pictures of a now deceased Angelo's mugshot with a report paper taped to the back, another picture of a disembodied hand on a table set with breakfast for one, and a small booklet that read Morioh City's Report. The man could only stare at them with pure concern.

/I wasn't born with this power! No, it was given to me by a man in a student's uniform. He appeared in my cell one night. I was so scared that my balls were in my stomach. In his hand was an ancient bow and arrow, it had to be around 100 years old. Next thing I knew, he shot the arrow into my neck. Saying the reason I survived and got this power because my soul was so strong. If you kill me, then he'll come get you too!/

Information the man had given just before Josuke and Taki-Taki trapped the psycho in his current stone prison. It did answer quite a bit of questions stemming from an incident that happened 10 years ago. One which was entangled in the tragedy of the Joestar bloodline that started over a mere century ago. The blood feud between the Joestars and Dio Brando.

It begun when the Joestar Matriarch, George Joestar, had brought in an orphan boy after this boy's father passed. That boy was Dio Brando, a child whose immense hate turned him into the most vile and dangerous person in the history of mankind. Poisoning George Joestar, ruining the life of George's son Jonathan, becoming a vampire and then stealing Jonathan's body.

Those were some of the key facts amongst a lot of the vampiric bastard's sins. Jotaro then side eyed something at the far corner of the room, a picture frame whose photo was obscured by the distance. Sadness, and rage going through the ocean blue for a few seconds before fading. He turned his thoughts to something else.

"With the Arrow somewhere on the loose in Morioh, it won't be long until the town becomes a horror show. There's also that woman, Taki-Taki Bandicoot, I'll be keeping an eye on her. I don't trust her." His thoughts going back to his previous encounter with the greenette as he looked down on the table.

There were highly detailed sketches of her, Lani-Loli, Toxic and Quill, each marked with key details depending on the individual. The drawings were so accurate, it could be mistaken for a printout if it wasn't for the fact they were made using color pencils. Strangely there was one more sheet next to them but it was blank except for two simple words.

Crash Bandicoot.

"Come on Dad! We're supposed to see Josuke and his dickish nephew today!" The Wumpa Islands, a pair of three tropical islands found somewhere in the ocean near Australia. It was a home to all sorts of peculiar creatures, mystical areas hidden in every place wrought with all sorts of danger and full of mysterious magic. It was also where the infamous Bandicoot Clan made their residence.

N.Sanity Beach, which could be found on N.Sanity Island was a spot for the clan members to enjoy fun in the sun activities. A bunch of floaties with a tube one shaped like a purple dragon next to a volleyball net, a small bar set with seats for 5 and various drinks from non-alcoholic to a few different alcohol, a couch with a makeshift roof made from cloth, and strangely a fridge and TV on the sand.

Taki-Taki, currently by the couch, was trying to put a large hoodie on some... thing? Someone? It or he from the pronoun used stood around 4'7 in height, what wasn't obscured by the large jacket was a pair of blue jorts, red tennis shoes, orange fur covered legs and part of a orange furred lean stomach with yellow at the center. Distressed gibberish coming from the neck sleeve almost if the head was stuck.

Lani-Loli was merely watching the little show alongside another floating mask. This mask looked exactly like the small charm Taki-Taki had given Ryohei but larger with more details such as a goatee made of leaves, larger feathers that were funnily taped on the back, and was alive from the eyes and mouth both curved in a 'seriously?' look. There was no doubt that this particular mask was Aku-Aku.

With a strong tug, the hood finally came down over the large head of a...bandicoot. The almost cartoonish looking bandicoot had large ears, bright teal eyes with hints of innocent insanity, a brown mohawk of hair, a yellow muzzle and large brown bushy eyebrows. His hands were four fingered and covered by fingerless brown gloves.

"I don't know what's funnier: The fact two sane people are meeting Crash or about to learn that he's an actual bandicoot." Lani-Loli mischievously chuckled. Taki-Taki only said that Crash was her father but not about him being BIOLOGICAL. The greenette is actually adopted and the only human of a family consisting of bandicoots, living masks and other oddities.

"To be fair, she has been listening to my advice about being limited to her origins. Although from what I heard about your last encounter in Morioh, caution should still be advised. This is a whole new world we stumbled upon and there are rules to follow." Aku-Aku's deep, powerful and wise voice sent a clear message to everyone.

None of them had much knowledge about Stands but do know the consequences of their own powers, the mystical energy they wield known as Mojo. It was an ancient source of magic that not only fueled voodoo but all branches of sorcery. Something that could cause unimaginable damage if abused.

Mojo was what made Crash who he is, the powers that Lani-Loli and Aku-Aku have, and what Taki-Taki is learning to master but also the consequences if abused that made creatures like Quill and Toxic. Creatures with great power but have the potential to cause devastation if they run amok: Titans.

If that Stand granting Arrow is being constantly misused and what powers a Stand could potentially manifest, Morioh wasn't as safe as it should be. And there might be its own Titans lurking in the shadows. For now, their true nature needed to be limited whenever visiting the town lest the situation could become worse.

Who knows what kind of horror can manifest if Mojo mixed with a Stand?

The Higashitaka household was a bit offbeat nowadays. Due to the recent 'stroke' that the older matriarch had suffered, the aura of the home for the family of three was a bit rugged. Ryohei had been laid off of his work for a bit as both his employers and fellow officers were worried about the man's health. He was what kept the force happy and ready to go.

Thus he was stuck at home being looked over by his daughter Tomoko and grandson Josuke from time to time. Taki-Taki was currently standing by the door with her father Crash next to her. Her face was obscured by the large hood of his jacket. Lani-Loli and Aku-Aku were currently hidden in Taki's jacket so they wouldn't be seen.

She knocked on the door politely despite how loud it sounded. "Hold on!" A woman's voice fires back in an instant. In a few seconds, the door was opened by a young woman who both father and daughter could guess was Josuke's mother. Josuke definitely got his soft face and beauty from her but Ryohei's kindness was there too.

Her hair was violet and short, eyes a similar baby blue to Josuke but more fiery, she was slim though there definitely was some muscle hidden by her yellow shirt and dark jeans. "Hello! Are you Josuke's mom? He does have your looks and you do look a bit like Mr Ryohei." Her odd deduction had the purplette surprised for a moment.

Then hearing her father's name was enough to put two to two together. "You're right, I'm his mother Tomoko and Ryohei is my father. Are you by chance Taki-Taki Bandicoot? I heard about you from my dad and son. Dad was right about you being adorable. Whose this with you?" Her voice, although soft and kind, held a ferocity behind it. Josuke's fiery temper had to come from someone.

"This is my dad, Crash. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I couldn't get home for a few days. Josuke let me stay here until I got back but under the condition that he had to talk about my stay with pops." Tomoko easily remembered her son mentioning that when she had gotten back home later that day.

Although she couldn't help but look at the figure that was Taki's father. There was not a single facial feature to make out due to the darkness of the large hoodie he wore but it was his hands that drew flags. Was the orange section part of the gloves and did he lose a finger in an accident? The hands were very odd and that orange part had a texture that looked more fur than leather or latex. Still...

"I'm sorry to say but Josuke had left for school today. Luckily he should be out by now. He attends Budo-ga Oka which isn't that far from Angelo's Rock, the new landmark which recently popped up." Taki-Taki immediately knew what she was talking about. It was near the place where that adorable turtle in the makeshift pond lived at. Shouldn't be too hard to find.

The Haunt House, an eerie landmark of sorts located near the recent Angelo's Rock. This large home could be recognized from the various broken windows that were either without glass or boarded up haphazardly, old paint that chipped away from even the gentlest of breezes and the vine covered gate with the tilted door marked by a 'No Trespassing' sign.

It was called the Haunt House from the feeling of being watched or the eyes of something watching in the shadows of the window whenever someone walks by. Police often patrolled the place for squatters due to these particular sightings and reports. Coming to the backyard strangely enough was the hoodie form of Crash Bandicoot.

From the glimpse of marsupial's green eyes and lack of companions, it was clear that he was lost. He let out a rumble of pure gibberish obviously annoyed. 'Maybe I should've stayed at that rock weirdo… Then again, Taki probably might not be happy to know I no longer have to go.' Crash let out an impish chuckle. Just because he was evolved doesn't mean he stopped 'marking his territory'.

'Dad, I need you to stay here with Angelo for me. If Josuke still isn't at school, then he'll most likely come through here to get home. It shouldn't take long for us to come back.' His daughter's words echoing in his head.

He felt a bit ashamed for not listening. It just he wasn't used to standing in one place for so long if it didn't involve napping. The bandicoot had a silly smile thinking about a nice snooze in his hammock after a nice slice of Wumpa Fruit pie. The little daydream was popped by the sound of soft skittering that hit his large furry ears.

Crash looked up before tilting his left ear towards the creepy house. The sound had to be somewhere in the upper levels from how it reverberated through the walls. Whatever made it was too big for an insect or small cat to do. Spying an open window with the least amount of boards, the bandicoot giggled to himself as an idea came. Little claws popped from the marsupial's fingers with a simple flex before he leapt onto the wall. Once the talons had a good grip, Crash climbed up the house wall and slipped in through the empty window pane.

"Motherfucker!" "Language!" Heterochromia eyes could only glare at the currently shivering stone convict. Taki had gone over to the school Tomoko mentioned after requesting her dad to stay put. Sadly, they couldn't find any sign of Josuke and looking for Jotaro was impossible without the pompadour prince's help. After visiting the little turtle in the pond, the greenette and her mask companions backtracked to the landmark.

Yet, her mutant bandicoot father was nowhere to be found and a foul smelling puddle was now present on the rock's lips. Normally something as gross as this got her laughing but at the moment the witch doctor was just annoyed. "Guess we were gone for a bit too long. Patience isn't something Crash normally has these days." Lani-Loli said while looking at the wet spot in distaste.

None of them should be surprised that the bandicoot would wander off somewhere. Luckily or disgustingly, there was a scent that could be used to find their lost marsupial. The witch doctor went into her jacket pocket to pull out a small vial that contained a soft luminous blue liquid. Taking off the small cork, Taki downed the tube's contents in a single gulp.

After placing the empty glass tube back in the pocket, the witch doctor then reached into the dinosaur skull she wore. Her hand pulled out a small peculiar object that was hidden in her bone headwear. It appeared to be a fang of some sort but was too thick, too large, and oddly too sharp to belong to any normal animal. Lani-Loli and Aku-Aku exchanged looks then quickly getting a few feet from Taki before she devoured the tooth with gusto.

In an instant, her eyes narrowed into slits and tattoos blazed to life in burning blue. She suddenly hunched down as if in pain followed by the sound of beastial snarling. The statue could only stare in perpetual terror upon the morphing shadow that started to cascade over him. Tears pouring from the frozen orbs from the sight of what could only be best described as a monster.

A distorted scraping noise ripped through the ominously quiet neighborhood before it was quickly followed by the sound of shattering pavement. This ruckus came from the front of Morioh's Haunt House for a battle was being waged at its steps. One of the fighters was Josuke whose uniform was dirtied up a bit along with a few scratches on his face. It was the least of his worries though.

Standing in an defensive position was another teenager around his age and size, a male Stand User from the bright fiery blue aura that flared his form. He had the look of a punk, shaved black hair that looked gray with a mini pompadour which sat at the mods, his eyes that seemed to only have impish pupils alongside a thin but large X-shaped scar or line pattern on his head.

The punk wore a modified blue gakuran with multiple gold pins shaped like money symbols on the fabric. "I won't say this again. Okuyasu Nijimura, you better let me through you bastard! Koichi isn't part of whatever bullshit your up to!" Josuke snarled at his opponent with hot daggers in his baby blue eyes.

The now named Okuyasu merely let out an impish chuckle before speaking with a rough and ruggish voice. "Sorry pal but you'll have to go through me first! Come closer and greet The Hand!" Almost on cue, a white hand with two bulbous baseball patterned protrusions on the palm came from behind the teen's head. The pomp prince quickly jumped to the side as the appendage swatted at his previous position instead, the 'No Trespassing' sign.

Alarms bells went through his head upon noticing the sign wasn't destroyed but it wasn't the same either. The text looked...too short almost if something was missing or had disappeared. It then clicked upon another glance of the item. "That sign! It used to say 'No Trespassing' but now it only says 'No passing'! Your Stand scraped the 'tres' away!"

Josuke's deductions caused his opponent's smile to grow malicious. The spectral arm next to the young man transitioning into something larger. In seconds that limb had fully materialized its true form, a white humanoid puppet outlined by blue armor bearing gold money symbols. The puppet shared a similar build to his master, its colorless hide sharing the same hardened texture of the armor, and his head was held in a white pail bucket that obscured part of its yellow lined eyes and the almost expressionless lips.

"That's right Josuke! My Stand can scrape away anything that it's right hand touches before closing the missing space together. I don't know where it goes or even if it still exists anymore but I do know you'll be sure to follow!" The Hand then scraped the air as a green tear rips right through the dimension. It immediately shuts closed in seconds as the purplette soon found his opponent in front of him at the same time.

He had used the created tear to close the distance between them. Okuyasu held his fist back almost about to speak when… the sound of whistling flew over their heads as a blast of glowing pink had sent Josuke's attacker airborne upon striking his Stand in the chest. The pompadour prince only had the time to blink before a pair of animalistic heterochromia eyes looked back at his.

What stood before had to be one of Taki-Taki's creatures, nothing could have been as odd or mystical like they strangely were. However this one felt off in a familiar sort of way. The creature looked like a bipedal almost anthropomorphic fox. It was monstrous with spindly long arms paired with black paws that held sharp claws, limber and lean build that was perfect for predatory stealth, the face was foxish but could be mistaken for a coyote or cougar from the longer ears and snout, and there were large purple parrot feathers on its back in a leafy plumage manner.

The off signs came from the tattoos around its arm that looked too much like Taki-Taki's, the greenish short hair on its head and the dinosaur skull… It immediately clicked on what or who had just defended his bacon. "Holy shit. Taki-Taki, is that you?" His query being answered upon a large prickly tongue licking his face courteous of the 9 ft beast that once was a human girl.

Josuke's face turned beet red and he honestly couldn't say if it was in disgust, embarrassment or touched by the sticky dog kiss. "Josuke?!" He whipped his head to see Lani-Loli flying over to the two but immediately stopped from the sound of hyena/wolf growling. Eyes were on the now standing Okuyasu who then looked flabbergasted by the new faces.

"What the hell?! Is one of those things that scrawny munchkin's Stand?! Or some sort of monster? No matter, The Hand will scrape you all out of existence!" His Stand manifesting once more with the right hand ready to erase even more space. Sadly, he didn't anticipate what particular creature the greenette was.

Letting out a loud hyena-like cackle Taki threw a large but fast pink orb of energy straight from her hand. It was a glowing magenta torpedo that clipped through the side of the Stand's right wrist in seconds. Okuyasu howled in pain from a chunk of his right wrist exploding outward almost if his body was mirroring the Hand's injury.

"The Snipe, a predatory beast that hunts its targets with high speed projectiles and is a close range fighter's worse nightmare!" Lani-Loli spoke while watching the green haired beast pounce at the off guard teen. Her feet instantly knocked the air out of Okuyasu's chest which forced his Stand to vanish from the lack of breath. He could only look up at the large drooling teeth of the angry beast that currently had him pinned down in fear.

His eyes quickly shut almost if waiting for the end only to scrunch his face in confusion by a soft touch. With a small peek, the young man was greeted to the sight of the large monster's forehead gently pressed against his own. A strange sensation going through his mind in a second before it- no she looked back at him with sympathy.

Taki then looked over to Josuke and Lani-Loli before the feathers on her back started glowing in strange patterns. The purplette was confused by the odd signals but the Quantum Mask knew what it meant. It was a sign of Morse Code Taki had developed for this form. "Josuke! Heal him, this guy isn't your enemy! Apparently he has a reasonable story behind this attack! Something involving his father!"

Lani-Loli's words made Okuyasu's eyes widen in realization. "You...went through my head? You saw the 'thing'." That last word practically quivered in silent despair and sorrow. Taki merely nodded her head before getting off the teenager. She quickly stalked towards the Haunt House. The harsh stench of blood hit her nose full force which turned a small crawl into an urgent run.

Her predatory eyes immediately ignored the man in the darkness for the childlike teenager that was slowly dying on the ground. He had short well groomed silver hair, light almost pasty skin and wore a plain green gakuran but his blue eyes were slowly becoming lifeless from the nasty arrow wound in his neck. Taki knew he would die if he wasn't treated.

"How curious. You the child's Stand or perhaps belong to-" The female Snipe growled before nonchalantly tossing a blast of pink at the unwanted pest. The man must've scurried out of the way from the sound of wood exploding to chips. Knowing there wasn't going to be an interruption, Taki reached for one of her feathers and plucked it off her back.

Holding the item in hand, she let out growls that sounded close to a chant as the piece of parrot plumage began to glow a soothing green. Taki crushed the feather in her hand as it broke into verdant stardust before pouring the powder over the large gouge on the boy's neck. The large wound immediately glowed a vibrant emerald as it steadily shrank. In seconds, the large gash was gone and the young man's eyes regained its vivid color once his breathing had steadied.

He blinked once more before blue eyes settled on the large beast hovering above him. A normal reaction to the sight was to scream but instead he felt his neck and noticed that his injuries were completely gone. Taki definitely knew he was a calculative and reasonable type since he put two to two together. "You...saved me." Despite the youth in his voice, the slight baritone was enough to solidify that this was a teenager and not a child.

"Koichi!" Josuke bursted into the house alongside Lani-Loli and oddly a determined Okuyasu who was following from behind. The punk looking teen no longer had any rips on his clothing or flesh, almost if everything was returned to their previous state. "Big brother, you need to stop right now! These guys can help us! Help d-" He was cut off when Taki quickly got in front of him.

Multiple tiny holes manifesting on her hide and feather plumage as if she was hit with bullet rounds from a tiny minigun. The puncture wounds weren't deep enough to draw blood since she wasn't human at the moment but… they had enough strength to disfigure a normal person like blood swiss cheese.

Taki snarled at the attackers, no, attacker to be precise. The ones to fire the barrage of nasty tiny bullets was an entire shooting squadron that consisted of toy army sized men. Same military clothing but the faces covered in white taping, eyes just beady red headlights and a thick flame of blue around them.

When the witch doctor like this, the number of magic she could use was limited but made difficult spells like mind reading or healing very easy. Okuyasu's memories told her what exactly she was dealing with. The platinum blonde teenager slightly older than Okuyasu, his older brother Keicho and his Stand, a mini army known as Bad Company.

"Big brother…" Was all the younger brother could say upon realization that the attack was aimed for him. Taki gave the three human males behind her a look. 'He's mine.' None of them said a word of disagreement. Knowing what was about to happen, Lani-Loli took it upon himself to get Josuke and his two accomplices away from the approaching battle.

The three humans and mask vanished in a sudden puff of wispy blue smoke. Taki-Taki's sharp nose told her that her friend had taken them to the higher floors of the house. A safe place which made the monstrous witch doctor happy for they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. She then turned her head to snarl viciously at Okuyasu's older brother.

"I can only guess that little mask has the power to teleport others. No matter, it won't take long for my Bad Company to find them once I finish you off. Then your friends will be next." Keicho's threat was backed further when a swarm of mini helicopters manifested in the air. "Fire!"

The Snipe quickly sprinted into a run as the mini army fired their payloads in the form of raining bullets and mini missiles. Wood chips, glass shards, and furniture stuffing erupted in a trail that hounded the quick Taki-Taki, avoiding the deadly miniature ammunition with impressive. She leapt onto the ceiling fan and flung herself into the air whilst throwing another blast of pink energy from her claws.

A large chunk of soldiers and a few helicopters exploded into magenta tinted flames from a successful hit. However, their owner didn't seem to suffer any sign of damage despite the destruction of his soldiers. "Sorry but my Bad Company is a remote Stand. Destroy all the soldiers you want, you can't harm me!" Keicho's words caused even more miniature men to manifest but these ones were operating tanks now!

Taki knew she couldn't fight here with so many weapons aimed at her hide. She would run out of steam before her opponent did. An idea then clicked into Taki's skull which propelled her to make a quick turn. She tossed a few more explosive shots at the tiny army as she ran. Every bullet was a bullseye as even more of Bad Company's soldiers went up in magenta smoke.

Her opponent quickly caught onto what the larger puffs of smoke that slowly filled the room were. "A smokescreen?!" Eyes looking to find the obscured beastie that ran up the stairs and he quickly glared. "After it!" Multiple tiny helicopters manifested to hound their fleeing target as the blonde followed in pursuit.

On the top floor of the Haunt House, Josuke was currently glaring daggers at a certain blue mask. The sounds of an explosive scuffle happening under his feet and a set of blue spectral chains that kept the door of their current location shut. "Lani-Loli, let us out!"

Despite the pompadour prince's demand, the Quantum Mask only shook his head in nervous defiance. "N-no way! You'll be either swiss cheese from gunfire or human flambe by blasts of Mojo! It's suicide!" Lani-Loli fired back with force despite his slight stutter. Of course, the mask flinched when Crazy Diamond manifested with a snarl on his face.

The only ones not getting involved in the potential scuffle was Okuyasu and Koichi who sat on the bed at the opposite side of the room. In the silver haired teen's hands was a yellowish pale egg with green stripes but also radiated a faint verdant aura. A Stand or Stand Egg that had manifested from Koichi's throat once getting into the room.

"I don't care if Taki can become one of those beasts like Quill or Toxic. She needs backup if her opponent's an army!" The large armored Stand clenched his fists as if ready to let loose a punch any second. "That's enough!" An aged voice immediately had the three teens raise their guard to the point even Okuyasu's The Hand manifested next to his master.

Coming through one of the half sealed windows was Aku-Aku whose appearance made whatever fight in either Josuke or Crazy Diamond vanish. "Aku! Where were you?! First Crash went puff then you go awol on us!" Lani-Loli was quickly hushed by a single look from his companion. Glowing yellow eyes then looked at the other members of the room.

"I had a feeling you were in quite a pickle so I went to find Crash first. He's somewhere in the house on the top floor waiting for you. As for Taki-Taki, her opponent is about to walk right into her 'tripwire'." Aku spoke as his gaze fixated on Josuke and his stand. The pompadour youth speaking up in confusion. "Tripwire?"

The tiki-esqe mask nodded in response at the inquiry. "Correct. Snipes are powerful long range fighters especially in confined spaces like this. Their biggest advantage isn't their ability to blast opponents with magic." A smirk then crossed Aku-Aku's face as if knowing the outcome of the ongoing battle.

Taki-Taki continued her trek up the house as Keicho and his forces relentlessly pursued the female. Every time a soldier or copter was in sight, the greenette blasted it with a pink energy shot before she took the chance to flee further. Her running however came to a halt once she reached a mostly clean room. Not a single shred of furniture or anything to hide the witch doctor's large form in sight.

"Got you now." Keicho's voice echoed through the room for hundreds of small soldiers filled it in seconds. Tanks slipping in from the vents, helicopters pouring from the open windows, armored humvees riding up from the stair railing and their owner walking in from the staircase. Taki-Taki wasn't to blind to the fact she was boxed in.

"I'll admit you're quite the fast runner and a nasty sniper. Sadly, this is the worst place for something as large as you. However, my Bad Company can thrive throughout our home base. I suggest you be a good beast and stay down." The older teen deviously chuckled as he stared down at the beast. His laughter quickly died in seconds when he noticed Taki-Taki was now smiling. A smile that revealed razor sharp fangs in a cunningly vicious way.

"It's the ability to set traps is what makes the Snipe a very dangerous Titan to fight."

Bits of pink began to lit up in sections of the room. Her opponent's eyes flickering to the source before they expanded in pure horror. Each light was coming from one of his soldiers in every group. Not even the quadcopters, tanks or humvees were unaffected. The horrifying part was the lights were blinking and were becoming faster per a second. 'Checkmate.'

The house shook hard as a loud explosion ripped throughout one of the floors, smoke tainted with hints of sparkling pink came pouring from the broken windows. In the large mist, the sound of coughing growls turned into pained ones as the large beast obscured shrunk in the purple haze. The remainder of the colorful screen filtered out as the now human Taki-Taki looked down at her fallen opponent.

Keicho was unconscious, bruises and burns covering his face and arms, platinum locks singed slightly black while billowing bits of smoke poured from the strands of hair and his uniform was charred with multiple holes through it. "The Phantom Bomber, a nice Snipe technique which lets undetectable bombs get planted on the enemy. The more collected in one spot, the bigger the boom." She walked over and hoisted the teen on her shoulders without a hint of strain.

Climbing up the stairs, the greenette could hear the voices of her friends from above. With some pep in her step, Taki ran up the stretch of stairs as the unconscious Nijimura brother shook and bounced. It didn't take long for heterochromatic eyes to stare back at a pair of baby blue. Everyone but her father was gathered outside of one specific door.

That door having the sound of familiar babble from behind its wooden threshold. "Taki-Taki! You're okay?!" Josuke looked ready to hug her if he didn't catch sight of Okuyasu's injured brother slung over the greenette's shoulder. "Big brother!" The teen quickly rushed over to his sibling. "Don't worry. He's alright albeit beaten up. Plus, his ego needed a nice kick so common sense can walk back in." The witch doctor chuckled, smiling with her tongue out.

Before anyone could go through the door, a particular situation needed to be handled first. A soft gold aura from Crazy Diamond enveloped the wounded platinum blonde in its soothing embrace. Wounds and damages done to both flesh and clothing vanished in seconds as the teen slowly woke up.

Keicho looked at all the faces surrounding him before he settled to glare at the woman who was the large beast from earlier. "You're lucky I'm a merciful person and you care about your family more than you let on. So, how long has your dad been cursed?" Taki-Taki's words surprised everyone but Lani-Loli, Aku-Aku and Okuyasu for obvious reasons.

There was a reason why the Nijimura brothers, well mainly Keicho, were using the Stand Arrow to create Stand Users. It was for the sake of their father. From Okuyasu's memories, their father had gotten into 'bad' connections with Dio. A deal of sorts that had more consequences than the man had thought. Upon Dio's death, bits of the vampire's flesh that were implanted in their dad had triggered a transformation of sorts.

A being unable to speak and unable to die that skittered through the halls of their home like a mouse for years. "Are you capable of giving him his eternal rest? We've been searching for someone that could extinguish that mindless 'thing' who used to be our father." His plea shook with pure desperate hope and sincere sorrow.

Reasonable for spending years in a house with a monster that was once your father, especially one mistaken for being mindless. "Have you noticed something odd about your home right now?" The question from the witch doctor was enough to widen the eyes of both brothers. It was the lack of skittering from something large that constantly moved through the house.

"Your father isn't mindless or gone. He's still there." Taki-Taki then opened the door to the room. Everyone was greeted to the appearance of a particular marsupial talking to an odd kappa-like creature. The being had thick green skin, slightly deformed from the lumps on his body such as the head or fingers, what appeared to be a beak for a mouth and wore worn clothes such as a white shirt and black shorts.

This had to be the Nijimura brothers' cursed father but what was strange is that he was showing a hoodless Crash something. An old photograph from the slight yellow coloration that showed a man and two very familiar young children smiling at the camera. The two were conversing in unintelligible babble but both clearly understood the other.

"That's our old family photo… He was searching for the photo of what he used to be…" The fact from Okuyasu's lips was enough to paint the picture for them. Despite the vast deformity, their father still remembered them, of their family before it all went to hell. The other oddity in the room finally hit everyone unaware of it.

"What's with the giant animal? It looks like an eastern barred bandicoot...if it was a living mascot costume." Koichi's question was paired with him pointing at the large marsupial. "Seriously dad? If you want to make friends then tell us instead of going into some rando's house after peeing on a town landmark."

The comical looks of eyeballs about to pop out from their sockets and jaws dropping to the floor made the greenette wish that she brought a camera seeing everyone's face. It was even funnier that the pompadour prince's hair looked ready to pop from the intensity of his utter shock. Surprisingly, Josuke was the first to get his speech back.

"T-that's your dad?! H-h-how?!" Now that done it for the greenette began laughing upon the purplette's insinuation. "Hahahaha! I'm adopted silly. Crash raised me ever since I was a baby that got washed ashore on his island. He may be a 'mentally challenged' wacky bandicoot but he's still my dad!"

The marsupial walked over and hugged Taki-Taki before placing a hand on her back. His pose and chest puffed up proudly practically screamed 'Yep, that's my daughter.' Strangely enough, it did make some sense about the young woman's oddness. Both Taki-Taki and Crash carried that same energetic weirdness to them.

"Aw. Such a sweet moment. Sweet enough to make me puke!" An unrecognizable male voice immediately had eyes facing the front. Part of the wall was charged with frantic electricity as if something was inside the wiring. It was easy to tell it was bad news from Keicho's sudden grimace.

One of the power outlets immediately exploded outward in large yellow bolts of electricity. The malevolent energy crackling as it began to form into a near physical entity. This new form resembled a bright yellow kappa from the beak and near egg shaped dish on its head with a long spindly lizard tail, thin almost featureless body and sparks of electricity crackling from its skin.

However it was the items it had that drew up red flags for everyone. In this being's clawed fingers was an ancient bow and arrow. The same ones no doubt capable of granting someone a Stand. "Oh no! Is that the Bow and Arrow, the one you guys have been talking about!?" Lani-Loli's cry made the electrifying entity smile maliciously.

"Guess who's Stand has fully awakened Nijimura? I honestly thought nothing would get you to drop your guard of the Arrow but I guess that chick and her friends was just enough! It was almost easy to snatch it with my Red Hot Chili Pepper's power!" The platinum blonde could only growl at his careless mistake. He was too caught up in his pursuit of powerful Stand Users to realize this kind of outcome.

"Do you really think your capable of wielding the Arrow's power? Your Stand has only just awakened after all! There's no way you can wield it properly!" Keicho hissed while the blue aura of his Stand began to flare up. The enemy Stand or Red Hot Chili Pepper merely laughed before aiming his glare on the blond.

"So naive. My Stand's powers had grown while you were busy. After all, you did say those with a powerful fighting spirit can manifest equally powerful Stands. Here let me show you!" It was quick as a bolt of lightning. One second Chili Pepper was at the socket and the next he was about to punch Keicho's chest. Only if a spin of orange didn't jump in front of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' range.

The Stand merely continued its charge only to cry out in shock when a twirling fist hit his face alongside a glare that were both from Crash Bandicoot. Chili Pepper was smacked back inside the electrical socket from the marsupial's Tornado Spin technique as Crash stood protectively in front of the older Nijimura Brother.

"Lani-Loli!" Aku-Aku's cry wasn't missed as the two masks quickly went into action. Both of them focused a bit of their magic that was quickly released in the form of a violent bluish stream. The shot struck the power outlet as the yellow electricity that threatened to return was shoved back inside the wiring so hard that the sockets literally exploded.

A scream of 'You'll pay for this!' followed until the leftover sparks crackled into nothing. "You saved my life… Why? Why help your enemy?!" Keicho questioned whilst staring at the orange bandicoot. Crash mere made a bunch of hand signals before smiling with a thumbs up. It was sign language.

"He said 'No family should mourn for a death that could be avoided.' Sure you tried to kill me, shot Koichi, created an army of Stand Users and tried to shoot your brother's face but you were only being a big jackass so your family didn't have to suffer. Your lives are already messed up as it is, you don't need it to become even worse."

The older teen who didn't expect the response widened his eyes before he subtly began to chuckle. "You all are insane." The sentence only made a stupid grin pop on the father and daughter duo's face. Everyone's attention was soon back on the blown power outlet.

"I fear that this situation has escalated into unimaginable levels. Creating a cure to the Nijimura matriarch shouldn't be difficult for me to find. However, that Bow and Arrow needs to be recovered as soon as possible. I could only fear what kind of horrors it could create in the hands of that fiend." Aku-Aku's warning wasn't lost on anyone.

Things were only to get more dangerous from now on.

I hope this was much better than my original script! There will be changes to some of Part 4's plot mainly that some deaths will be averted like Ryohei's and Keicho's. I honestly felt it was a dick to kill Keicho instead of using the chance to give him some character.

Taki-Taki's Beast Out ability has made an appearance. This lets her transform into any non-human creature whether it is a familiar or by consuming particular materials with a special potion. Kinda like N Brio's potions but more refined. Her magic is mostly restricted along with speech for particular Titans but she gets access to two powerful spells that can be set on a specific form. Her Snipe form having Mind Read and Advanced Healing Magic.

Crash deflecting an electric Stand like Red Hot Chili Pepper isn't so farfetched if you take the Cortex battle in the first Crash game. He's also more of a forgiving person when you take into consideration his interactions with Cortex in both Twinsanity but also some flashback tapes I heard about in Crash 4.

And Jotaro having trust issues is normal considering how many bad encounters he had with Stand Users especially in Part 3.

Until next time folks! Enjoy this Crash Bandicoot 4 Rap by JT Machinima.

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thelastspeecher · 5 years

Text

Stanuary ‘20 - Week One: Burn

Why yes, it is the last day of January and I am posting my ficlet for the prompt of the first week, but I don’t care.

As a quick frame of reference, this ficlet takes place in my Superhero/villain AU, which is a superhero AU of my own design. In it, Stan has pyrokinesis (the ability to control fire) and Ford can teleport things if he’s touched them before. Also, Ma Pines is a retired superhero, in whose footsteps Stan eventually follows. But this ficlet takes place before then, after Stan was kicked out of the house due to the science fair incident, while Stan is still homeless and roaming around the country.

That’s about all you need to know to follow the ficlet but if you’re curious about the rest of the AU (since there’s a LOT more to it than what I just described), feel free to check out its tag on my writing blog and my main blog.

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Stan couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t have his powers. According to his mom, his powers manifested when he was two, in a very showy manner. Ma Pines liked to point out the burn marks on the wall in the kitchen to him whenever she felt he needed to be embarrassed.

“That was when I realized that I needed to up my parenting game. I mean, you tried to burn the house down just ‘cause I wouldn’t let you spoil your dinner!”

Stan could, however, remember very well when he first learned the limit of his powers. He was six. Ma Pines had set out a candle for Stan to practice controlling. It went smoothly at first – Stan made the flame grow and shrink, even coaxed it out of its native teardrop shape into a triangular one. Things went south when he tried to scoop the flame into his hands.

That was something he’d done plenty of times before with flames he’d generated himself. In fact, it was one of his favorite tricks. Flames raced down his arms and into his cupped hands, then he’d throw them up into the air, where the sparks would go out almost instantly, as he lacked any ability yet to make them last.

It was a trick his mom insisted he only do outside, with his older brother Shermie standing by ready with a bucket of water and a fire extinguisher.

But the day he tried to do that trick with the candle, he felt something completely foreign: a burn. His shriek of pain reverberated throughout the house and his mom appeared by his side so quickly it was like she had super speed instead of telekinesis.

“What happened, Stanley Danley?” she cooed, cupping his face in her hands.

“The- the candle-” Stan sobbed, “it- it hurt me!” Ma Pines then inspected Stan’s hands carefully and gently, turning them over. She stroked his cheek.

“It’s okay, sweetie. Just a coupla minor burns, that’s all. We’ve been stockin’ up on that good burn cream ever since you accidentally set my rose bush on fire, just in case somethin’ like this happened. Come on.” Ma Pines guided him towards the bathroom, where she set him up running his hands under cool water. Stan watched her through teary eyes as she dug through the cabinet, looking for the burn cream. “Ah! Here we are.” She set a tub of something called “Silvadene” on the counter. “So, how did you get burned?”

“The candle.”

“Did you try to touch the candle’s flame?” Ma Pines asked. Stan nodded tearfully. “Why would you do that?”

“Fire never hurt me before,” Stan whined. Ma Pines stroked his rambunctious curls.

“Well, you’ve never tried to touch fire that wasn’t your own before.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve had my suspicions for a while now about how powerful you are.” Ma Pines’ voice adopted a lecturing tone. Stan immediately began to focus more. Whenever Ma Pines told him about superpowers, it was smart to listen. She didn’t like repeating herself, particularly given that Stan wanted to follow in her footsteps someday and be a superhero. “I’ve told you before that elementals like yourself have distinct levels of abilities.”

“Level one, two, and three,” Stan said obediently. Ma Pines smiled at him.

“That’s right. I knew you were at least a level two, since you can create your own fire. Level one pyrokinetics can only control fire, they can’t generate it.” Stan nodded. “But lately I’ve been leaning towards you being level two, not level three. You don’t seem to have the powers a level three pyro should. You getting burned confirms it. A level three pyro is completely fireproof, while a level two would be vulnerable to fire they don’t themselves generate.” Ma Pines turned the faucet off and began to carefully towel Stan’s hands.

“I’m a wimp, then,” Stan said quietly. Ma Pines stopped drying to frown at her son.

“I never said that. Level two is perfectly respectable for an elemental. Your great-great-grandfather was the only elemental in this family’s history before you came along, and he was a level one pyro. Level threes are very rare. In all the time I put on my mask and took care of evildoers, I only ever met one level three elemental. Do you know who that was?”

“Sirocco?” Stan asked after a moment, naming the only elemental he knew of.

“That’s right. She was a level three aerokinetic. Worldwide, there’s only a handful of people with that strength of power.” Ma Pines set aside the towel and started putting the burn cream on Stan’s hands. “You’ve got a lot of potential, sweetie. Now we know your limits, we can really work on making sure you live up to all that potential.”

-----

Stan thought back to that day as he watched the Juke Joint burn down. It had been abandoned for years now, so the fire crews standing by were just focusing on keeping the fire from spreading, rather than extinguishing the whole building. He leaned against the Stanleymobile and wrestled with what he felt the urge to do.

Since the day he’d learned he could be burned, he’d found out about his other limits. Namely, that his lungs were vulnerable to smoke. The rasp he’d developed after picking up cigarettes was proof enough of that.

If I run inside, I can fuck myself up in a million different ways. Fire he didn’t himself create was more difficult to control; Stan liked to think of it as being feral, much like the possum he’d tried to train as a child. It would take a lot of concentration to keep the flames from scorching him. Even if he managed to get in and out without burning, he’d still be breathing in smoke. But would it really be that bad? I mean, I do that for fun. What’s a few more puffs of smoke? Still, Stan could feel himself tensing with nerves, both trying to charge into the building and resisting that urge at the same time.

“You came back to town for a reason,” he told himself firmly. “Don’t let that go to waste.” Stan closed his eyes and pictured where he would find what he’d come for. Emboldened, he opened his eyes. “C’mon, Stan. Just do it. You’ll be fine.”

Probably. Stan half-walked, half-jogged over to the other side of the building, away from the observing fire crews. He took a deep breath and spread his arms wide, parting the flames covering the back entrance. Already, he could feel the fire resisting him. He grit his teeth.

“Hell, no. You’re gonna do what I tell you, capisce?” he ground out. The resistance against his control dwindled. He grinned. “That’s right.” Stan sprinted into the diner, clearing the flames ahead of him as he ran. By the time he got to the parlor where the booths were, his breath was running ragged in his throat.

Gotta move fast, Stan. You won’t be able to keep the fire off you for long. Stan quickly scanned the room. The smoke filling the room made it near impossible to make out any details. Stan chewed on the inside of his cheek. Great. Okay. Think. Where did they keep it? Stan fumbled his way over to the counter, where he dimly remembered a corkboard hanging on the wall, covered in pictures. He brushed his hands over the wall. Ha! Under his fingers, he could feel tacks and what could be paper or photographs. No time to figure out which one is which. Just take all of ‘em. Stan quickly pulled the pictures off the corkboard, tearing them in his haste and not caring. Get out! Get out! Stan stumbled through the haze of smoke and flames, his control over the fire loosening. Flames tugged at his clothes and skin, scorching him.

“Just get out,” Stan grunted to himself. After what felt like an eternity, he escaped through the back door, burned and coughing. He bent over to wheeze loudly. Fresh air filled his lungs.

Sweet Moses, I never realized how sweet the air in Glass Shard Beach is. Relatively speaking. Stan straightened his back and looked at the scraps in his hands. Time to see if it was worth it. He began to flip through the stack of photos, tossing each one on the ground as he realized it wasn’t the one he wanted. At the second-to-last photo, he stopped. Is it… He rubbed off a thin layer of soot and smiled slowly.

“Got ‘im,” he whispered, staring at the picture. The Juke Joint would take pictures of kids who had their parties at the restaurant, and if asked, would hang the pictures up on the wall. On their seventeenth birthday, the last one they’d celebrated together, Ford and Stan had done just that. Stan was wearing both his conical paper party hat and Ford’s, his arm slung around Ford’s shoulder. They were both laughing with their eyes closed, their food forgotten on their plates.

Stan stared at the picture for a few moments before tucking it into his back pocket. He leaned against the Stanleymobile and watched The Juke Joint finish burning down to the ground. The fire crews in the front began to extinguish the remaining embers. Stan winced as the night air brushed across his fresh burns.

I’ll never get used to how that feels. A small smile played at the corners of his mouth. But this time, it was worth it.

#not as long as my stuff usually is but I think it turned out pretty good nonetheless #Stanuary #Superhero/villain AU #Stanley Pines #Ma Pines #my writing #my stuff #speecher speaks

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darryl-jacobson · 5 years

Text

And we are back! Even better news, the next chapter is close to 90% done so it won’t be long before the next chapter.

Chapter 4 of the AU, 3.6 K

When Dale came back to his room a few days later, the cat-now named Onyx- was sound asleep on his bed.

He reached out and stroked her, enjoying the feel of her soft, plush fur beneath his fingers. It was hard to believe that everyone had ever thought she was a mean cat, when she was actually quite sweet. A bit shy and it took her awhile to warm up to people but still sweet.

So far, she had only liked him and Dare but he figured it would take her a few days to warm up to everyone else. She made a chirping noise and turned to look at him.

“Guess what I did today?” He asked, before plunging ahead as she yawned. “Mom taught me how to boil pasta. I’ve never done it before, back at school they made all my meals for me. But here everyone has to know how to cook, so we made spaghetti.”

The teenage boy paused and stroked Onyx as she slunk into his lap and curled up. “Then me and Indigo and Killian and Astrid and Icarus spent the afternoon together. I think Icarus has a crush on Astrid. He keeps blushing and staring at her.”

“But want to know the craziest thing? I... liked it... a lot.”

It was weird to say out loud, as if he was disrespecting his former life and parent. Every moment that he was here, happy, not trying to get back to them, it felt like he had turned his back on them and had spat on everything they had done

As he sat there, Dale realized he would soon have to make a choice. He wasn’t a little kid and was more then old enough to have a say in what happened to him and where he lived and with who. If he wanted to keep his fun and exciting new life or return to the one he had left behind. The new family he had found or the old one he had left behind. There was no chance that it would happen, no way to merge both of them together.

And how was he supposed to choose?

It was hard, he wished both sides of his life could coexist peacefully. But that was a child’s fantasy, one that could never actually happen. Quite strange, when he had been at the school, he had wanted something more. Now he was debating on whether or not he wanted to return or continuing on this exciting new journey.

***

Darryl looked busy, but then again, he always looked busy. A lot of the time, Dale wondered what Darryl officially did around here. It seemed like he spent a lot of time trying to boss people around, whether they liked it or not. It wasn’t a life he would want.

It had taken the teenager a long time to find him. Everyone kept saying they had just seen him somewhere but by the time he got there, Darryl was gone again.

“Hey.”

Darryl turned around and smiled. “Hey kid. Your family driving you crazy already?”

He blinked at him. “No.”

“Ah, well, if they do, it’s alright. I understand it happens sometimes,” Darryl continued. “I used to live with them, all of them. Including the other one.”

“Fari,” Dale supplied quietly. “Why did they live with you?”

“Long story, your blue mom was the first roommate, then your other mom and then... them. It wasn’t really planned, it just… happened. And then you came along.” The older human smiled at him. “But then your… parent left. And then they came back and took you with them.” He finished, a more somber note in his voice.

“Because they wanted to become president and later ruler of the earth as The Great Representative.”

Darryl nodded. “Yeah.”

Dale shoved his hands into his pockets. “What was politics like on earth before they came along?”

“Well...” The older man thought for a few moments. “You already knew each country had its own ruler. Some were kings and queens, some were presidents or prime ministers. lt depended on the country. Some rulers were for life and some were only for a few years.“

“Was it better than it is now, or worse?”

He sighed, “it’s hard to say.”

Dale scowled. “It can’t be that hard to say.”

“It’s hard to explain to someone who doesn’t remember what it was like. Maybe having a single ruler is better but humans were ruled by humans and that will always be better. Also for a lot of leaders, they were elected by the people and changed out according to set guidance and standards. Your parent will live for thousands of years and could be The Great Representative for all of that time.”

“And that’s bad?”

“People change, society and countries change. Look back in history to what the world was like at the beginning of the 20th century vs the beginning of the 21st. Massive difference, with changes for women, LGBTQ people, black and minorities. And we’ll continue to change. We should have leaders that grow and are shaped by the times, not held to one particular way of doing things.”

“Besides,” Darryl continued. “Who’s to say they are doing a better job? Them? A ruler might say they’re doing a good job but really, you should be asking the people being governed on how they think it’s going.”

Dale frowned. “I see.” He said and then changed the subject. “What was it like when I was little?”

“Before LE took you?”

“LE?”

“Yeah.” Darryl nodded. “That’s what we called them.” He frowned, lost in thought. “What was it like? It was... normal?”

Dale scowled. “Normal how? What’s normal?”

“Well…” Darryl said. “I had a house in LA and we all lived there. It was, well, you know.. day to day normal life stuff. Paying bills, taking care of you kids, going grocery shopping and such. Normal stuff.”

“I heard someone call them the basement bastard.”

“Yeah, that’s because they lived in the basement. They’re bedroom was down there and they usually had food and such down there. Sometimes we wouldn’t see them for a day or two.”

The teenager blinked, trying to imagine his parent living a simple life in someone's basement, especially the way this man was describing it. It was difficult. They had always been a force to be reckoned with, larger than life and powerful, not a footnote in someone else’s story.

“And… bastard, because everyone thinks they’re a bastard.” Dale finished for him.

“Yeah.”

“Who… who took care of me?”

Darryl shrugged. “All of us did, but if you want the truth, Val and Loki did the most. They prepared the meals that you ate and played with you and bathed and read to you and tucked you into bed. Yes, LE did it a little bit, here and there, but they were more concerned with whatever they were doing downstairs. Val and Loki took care of you and loved you and were heartbroken when they kidnapped you. Trust me when I tell you, neither of them forgot you or ever really got over it.”

Dale was silent.

Darryl smiled at him and looked at his watch before grimacing. “I’d love to talk more, kid, but I have to run.”

If the teenager’s ears were capable of perking up, they would have. “Where are you going?”

“A meeting.” Darryl answered before turning to leave. “The Loki who you met earlier, the one who said he was your uncle-grandpa, he’s back.”

“Is my mom back?”

There was a slight back pause, short enough that other people might have never noticed but Dale did, followed by a sigh.

“No.”

He didn’t want to think about them being dead but he was worried. Really worried. Fari had talked about them long enough to know they would kill them. They hated that person with a passion, saying they were a fake out to steal and wreck their reputation and destroy the legacy that they had so carefully built.

No matter how hard he tried to redirect his thoughts, they always came back to that. Was his mother dead, would Fari have spared them so they could humiliate them on a global scale? They were capable of being that petty, especially to someone they loathed with every fiber of their being?

“Can I come with you?”

That made Darryl stop. “You want to come?”

“Yes…”

“Dale,” the older man said as gently as possible. “You know what this meeting is going to be about right?”

“Finding my mom and stopping my parent?”

“Yeah.”

The teenager took a deep breath. “I still want to come.” He said.

Darryl eyed him a moment before glancing at his watch. “Alright, but we need to hurry or they’re going to start without us.” He said, and took off walking, Dale trailing behind him.

The older man was right, by the time they arrived, it had just started, Darryl pushed his way through the crowd so he was up front, with Dale’s mom, grandpa Loki, and the other female Loki as well. Dale on the other hand, didn’t want to draw attention to the fact he was here and stayed back near the door.

The small room was almost packed, full of people Dale had never met before. Looking around, some were humans, some aliens and some he wasn’t sure about. It amazed him to think all these people came here for one reason, because of his parent.

Darryl wasted no time. “Where’s Loki?”

Grandpa Loki cleared his throat. “I don’t know,” he said. “Which is a problem. I’m not even sure if they are still alive or if LE had them killed.”

The temperature in the room seemed to drop as everyone took in the news. Val’s jaw tightened and she glared at the wall, as if it could give her spouse back to her.

“Couldn’t you use your magic?”

“That’s the other problem.” Grandpa crossed his arms. “LE has been busy working on something that severely restricts magic, I barely was able to use enough to get back. I would of returned days ago, but that was a problem.”

Darryl frowned. “Is that how they caught them?”

“Maybe,” He considered it briefly. “Or the fact they rushed in again without a backup plan while LE has soldiers, resources and almost a decade to make plans.”

“So what do we do?” Someone asked.

His mom crossed her arms, her voice full of anger and pain. “I don’t care as long as we remove them from power and I get to punch the bitch.”

Darryl glanced up. “Val.”

“If they don’t want to be called a bitch, maybe they shouldn’t be one,” she responded.

“No, I meant...” He tilted his head toward where Dale was standing. Her eyes followed and she relaxed her stance, as if she had been caught. “Oh, Dale.”

Dale frowned.

She hesitated and then exhaled, running her fingers through her dark hair. “I’m sorry if hearing that upsets you... but I hate them and have good reason for it.”

Grandpa Loki cleared his throat. “I’m sorry you have to hear this kiddo... but, they’re a bitch. Anyway, we have three objectives. Either we need to find Blue or find evidence of what happened to them. Then, disable LE’s magic restricting devices and then take them down before their army shows up.”

“You need me.” The female Loki said, speaking up for the first time

Grandpa turned toward her. “We need you here.”

“You need another magic user there, especially if they have soldiers.” She said.

There was a pause and his mom came across the room to gently touch the female Loki’s other arm. “We’ll need her.”

Grandpa Loki paused and then nodded. “We will, especially against LE.”

“We’re not killing them.” Darryl announced.

Everyone in the room turned toward him. “We’re not?”

“No,” he said, short and simple. “It would be a greater punishment if forced to stay alive and pay for their crimes. Plus that would be humiliating for them and they don’t deserve a quick death.”

“Great, catch them without them being killed, disable their devices and find Blue.” Grandpa created an illusion on the table of his parent’s home, the fortress they had created after they became the sole ruler of the earth. “There was no sign of them back at Dale’s school, so if they are alive, it would probably be here.”

Dale felt his stomach drop as he stared at the illusion. He knew that place better than anyone in the room, because he had not only been there but had lived there. In the northwest corner, was his bedroom for the holidays and breaks when he wasn’t in school. His parent highly desired extra safety for their home, they had teams of armed guards, and the best security system money could buy.

The others stood somewhat of a chance of getting in, but he knew exactly where they should go and what they should do.

Grandpa Loki was still speaking. “We should break into teams and at least disable their devices first, it will make everything easier. Then, we’ll plant a trap out of the fortress, LE can’t stand the idea of someone breaking rules and would come right out to investigate it. They’re dumb enough to go right for it. Anything else?”

“I have something.” Dale said quietly, as everyone turned to look at him. “There’s two things everyone needs to know about this. If my ... mum is alive, they’ll be here.” He said and pointed below the illusion. “There’s a huge bunker below it.”

“They still love their basements.” His mom said, an icy tone to her voice.

“Yeah,” Dale said, unsure what else to say to that. “And over here is the command room.” He said, pointing to the south quadrant of the building. “It’s where the entire security system is controlled.”

“Good, that’s good, there’s never been an official release of what the inside looks like. LE has never let anyone film inside.” Darryl said.

Grandpa nodded. “Anything else? No? Great, Meeting adjourned.”

Instantly, everyone started to break off, talking among themselves as they began to trickle out the door. Dale wasn’t among them, as he instead fought against the crowd to go talk to grandpa Loki

“Um… Can I ask you something?”

“You want to come with us.”

Dale nodded, becoming very aware that his mother overheard their conversation and stopped dead in her tracks to turn toward them to listen.

Grandpa smiled sympathetically, the gentleness of his voice taking most of the bite out of his words. “Because you want to see them?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do. But also because they’re not stupid, they won’t come outside just because of some trick or whatever. But they would come if I was there.”

He heard a small noise behind him and his mom stepped up so she was next to the two of them, wringing her hands together. “I don’t feel comfortable with you coming or using you as bait. You’re not some prize to be won, you’re our son. And I especially don’t want you around them.”

Dale’s shoulder’s stiffened. “I need to come. Not to go back to them or abandon anyone or anything I just….”

“Need closure.” Loki finished for him.

“Yeah.”

He raised his eyes to look behind Dale. “I think you should talk to your mom about it.”

Dale turned around, to see her frowning, worry drawn across her brow. “I really don’t want you to go. I can’t lose you again.”

The teenage boy closed his eyes, his voice breaking. “I need to do this. I need this closure and you guys need me to catch them. I promise I’ll stay safe and away from fighting or whatever you want, but I need to come. Please.”

Her face pinched together before she hugged him tight. “You’ll stay with Darryl. And away from any danger.”

“I will.” He promised.

She released him and sighed. “If you are coming, then I should probably give you something first.” She put her arm around him and lead him out of the room.

Fifteen minutes later, they were back in the house that was now his home. “What’s this?” He asked.

His mother led him to her bedroom, and took a box out from under her bed before she sat on the bed, holding the box in her lap. “I was going to give it to you later, but I think you need it now. But first, this isn’t a toy, this is a weapon.”

Dale sat next to her, burning with curiosity.

She opened the box and removed a long knife, inside a sheaf, which she handed to him. “This belonged to my mother, it’s been in my family for generations. It’s always given to the firstborn. I want you to have it.”

Slowly he took it, feeling the weight in his hand. “Wait, really?”

His mother smiled, showing off her teeth. “Really.”

“But what about Icarus? And Dare?”

“Don’t worry, both of them have gotten other weapons. Besides, neither of them are my oldest.” She reached over and squeezed his shoulder. “You are.”

Tears started to prickle in his eyes and he leaned over, letting her embrace him in a warm hug. It felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket, there was no doubt of the security and comfort that surrounded him. “Thanks mom...” He mumbled into her shoulder

She stroked his hair a moment. “You’re welcome.” She said and then pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I love you, Dale.”

“I love you too.”

When she let him of him, he began to examine the knife. It was pretty simple, nothing fancy. The hilt was made of bronze and there were several grooves in the metal as if there used to be decorative items that were now long gone. A twisting ruin had been hand carved in.

Dale traced the rune. “What does this mean?” He asked

“Strength.”

He nodded and gently pushed the ball of his thumb against the point and then yelped as it was a lot sharper than he expected.

“Be careful,” his mother warned.

He grinned and sucked on wound a moment. “I will.”

***

Three hours later, all of them we’re back on earth. Even though he had only been in Manhattan for a short time, it was weird to see the blue sky again, hear birds and feel the wind in his hair.

It didn’t take long for them to come to LE’s fortress: a sleek, modern building that doubled as their home and base of operations. Just getting onto the land it sat on was difficult, as they had security on top of security: fences, alarms and guards everywhere.

As promised, Dale stayed back with Darryl outside, hidden among some shrubs, watching as his mother and Lady Loki went off with a small team in search of his other mom and grandpa Loki and his team went another direction, to try and destroy the device his parent had made. It was after dark, the fall night quiet and still, a chill in that reminded everyone winter was on its way.

“When was the last time you were here on earth?”

The older man shot him a confused look. “When I came to your school with Loki, to find you.”

“Oh, yeah.” He frowned. “How did you find me?”

“We’ve been looking for you for a long time. Blind searches and following where LE was traveling to. That’s how we finally figured it out. They kept going back to that spot in Canada, too many times for it to be a coincidence. As soon as your moms found out where you were, it was all either of them would talk about. Going to rescue you.”

“Do you always stay outside?”

Darryl didn’t answer for a moment, as he kept scanning , watching for guards or any sign that anyone had been detected. “Yes, because I’m still just human and I’d rather not die.”

Silence.

Then, suddenly a loud alarm started to go off and soldiers started swarming outside.

Everything Dale had been about to say died on his lips and he only stared. A tiny voice whispered that if he wanted to return to his parent, all he had to do was walk away from Darryl and go over to them. At least one would recognize him and return him to the parent he had known his whole life and not just the last few days.

But that would mean leaving behind his new friends.

And siblings

And his cat

And his new mother, who never gave up hope and worked so hard to make him feel comfortable and welcomed and had saved a priceless family knife to finally give to him.

And the other mother who has traveled so far and literally gave themself so he could safely get away.

But it would be returning to the life he knew and to the path he had been on and to the parent who had cared for and protected and loved him.

Swallowing hard, his grip tightened around the hilt of the knife and he made his choice.

#ooc #My writing #au #Dale #Darryl #Val #GoS Loki #LL #Onyx the cat #LE #JLo

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dailyaudiobible · 3 years

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05/02/2021 DAB Transcript

Judges 15:1-16:31, John 2:1-25, Psalms 103:1-22, Proverbs 14:17-19

Today is the 2nd day of May welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I'm Brian it's great to be here with you today as we continue to move in and settle into this 5th month of the year. So, this May 2nd, 2nd day of May, but it's the first day of the week and it's the first day of the first full week in the month of May. So, let's dive in. And we’ll read from the New International Version this week. We began the story of the judge Samson yesterday in the book of Judges and so we’ll continue with his story today. Judges, chapters 15 and 16.

Prayer:

Father once again, we thank you for bringing us safely into this new month that we’re getting moved into. And as we begin this brand-new, shiny, sparkly week right at the beginning of this brand-new, shiny, sparkly new month, we feel the reset of it even as we move fully into the changing of the seasons. We feel the shift of it, the new beginning, the new life of it. And, so, come Holy Spirit. Breathe into our souls the breath of life. Open our eyes that we might see your kingdom. Open our ears that we might hear. Lead us on the narrow path. Illuminate that path. Light our way. Your word is a lamp to our feet. It shows us where we’re stepping. It’s a light to our path. So, come illuminate the way forward we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi, my name’s Megan and I'm calling from the southern Illinois. Today is April 27th and on April the 8th I lost my dad very unexpectedly. He died in his sleep, which I know is a way that we all hope that we could go. He was a believer. He had faith in God. I have no doubt where he is, but I am really struggling with the sudden nature of his passing. He was an only child. I was an only child. We were extremely close. I'm so thankful for the 41 years that I had with him. A lot of kids don't have that type of relationship with their dad. I call myself a kid because that's what I feel like. I feel like a 5-year-old girl who's just lost her dad. It’s left my mother alone, obviously. And with me not having any other siblings besides the grief and the sadness there's a huge amount of responsibility that comes along with it and we're all feeling the heaviness of this loss. My dad was someone who could do anything. The community loved him. Our little town, we've all felt a big loss with his sudden passing. If you could just keep our family in your prayers. I have two young children at home who, this has been a devastating loss for them. My son goes and sits at my dad's grave site every evening and talks to him. If you could just keep our family in prayer, I would really appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Good morning DABber family this is the Burning Bush that will not be Devoured for the Glory of our God and our King. I am calling today for all the other burning bushes out there, those who feel like their lives are constantly on fire. And you may or may not understand what's going on, but I just want to remind you that you are not being devoured, that God is holding onto you and you are…that you’re living for a purpose. There is purpose in your pain. As I say this, I think about our sister Margot and Liberia. Margot, I heard your call today and my heart…my heart just breaks for you. I admire your obedience to the Lord, that you're out there away from your home, away from your comfort and you’re suffering because of what you know the Lord called you to do. Being a native of Liberia I cannot thank you enough for your sacrifice. My heart longs to be there. And, so, you are living where I would want to live. You're doing what I know my heart desires to do. And, so, I want you to know that I am praying for you and I'm calling all the prayer warriors to pray for Margot and her husband. The spiritual warfare that exists in Liberia, I cannot even begin to verbalize what happens there but I'm so, so grateful for your sacrifice and I pray that the Lord will protect you, that He will provide for you, that He will consistently guide you, and…and continually show you the next steps and give you favor in Jesus’ name. I love you all. May the Lord bless and keep you in Jesus’ name.

Hello DAB family I hope you’ve all had a blessed weekend. It's the 27th of April at 1:29 PM. We just thank God for all your lives. We thank God for this amazing ministry. And I have just finished listening to the DAB and I just wanted to say congratulations to China and Ben and also the Hardin family for this amazing, blessed news. We just thank God for the safe delivery of her baby and just to let you know that I'm praying and thinking of you and the family. God bless you all and may you have a blessed day. This is Sarah from London.

Yahoo congratulations! China, Ben you're a mom and a dad now, your first born. And Jill Ann Brian congratulations. This is This Girl is Mine. Congratulations from Toowoomba Kinta in Australia. Woo Hoo.

Hi DAB family this is Ashley from California and I am reaching out in prayer because I need prayer for my dad. My dad is just one of the most loving men you will meet. He would give somebody the shirt off his back. And I'm just feeling a little stirred right now because he had a mild stroke and he's admitted in the hospital right now, but I am feeling scared and just asking God to help my dad and to take care of him and to give him strength. I know in the book of Isaiah when it talks about God giving comfort, He doesn't send comfort like a pillow or pity or anything like that. He sends comfort in the form of strength. So, if you could lift my dad, my family, and I up and ask God to come and comfort us with His strength and fill us with that I would greatly appreciate it. And DAB family I'm lifting you all up. So, please I appreciate you and congratulations China. Reagan is beautiful and congratulations Brian and Jill on becoming grandparents. And I just appreciate everything that you guys do. Thank you and have a great rest of your day. Bye.

Hey family it's Jesse from Washington. I know I've been calling in a lot lately. And I don't want to call and ask for this prayer right now, but God has been on me all afternoon to do it. I know some of you know kind of my story since October. I reported my wife for being abusive to my kids and hurting my daughter and she's had a history of this. I had Child Protective Services release a 530-page document over the last 20 years…I have a 17-year-old stepdaughter and 21…21-year-old stepdaughter that this…similar things have been happening too as well for 20 years. So, counselors, caretakers, family members have all reported her. Nothing happens. I reported her and filed a protection order but she, as retaliation, filed a protection order against me saying that she feared for her life and the kids life from me while simultaneously saying __ that Jesse's never done anything to hurt her or her children. But the judge granted her or order. So, she's had the power to keep me from my kids. I have limited visitation. And then when I go to see my kid’s she, when I get there, I'll get to the door and then she'll tell me I can't see them. The kids are screaming and crying. It's a weekly thing. I don't know what to say. I don't want to be negative. She's an awful, awful, abusive person. She's on multiple medications for bipolar, for anxiety, for depression. She…I don't…I don't want to complain. I don't even want to make this call. I don't know what to do. I can't afford an attorney. If I have to start a new career…she fired me from my own business. She sold our house. I had to sell all my belongings to represent myself and I'm living with family now at 38 starting my life over. So, I just need help. I need representation and I need your prayers. Love you.

Good morning DAB family this is T from Texas and I've just been listening for many, many years but lately I've been listening to the people that are suffering from depression and from fear and I just want to lift all of them up to you Lord Jesus today to say Lord I just pray a hedge of angels around their mind. Lord give them the ability to know that they are children of the kingdom and that You love them. I myself suffer Lord and I know how hard it is and how it hurts. So, Lord God I pray that for all these people I believe his name was Trent, there was another young man that was in the deep, Lord I just pray Your blessings and Your peace over them today. Thank you, DAB family.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family I'm Jesse I'm 13 and I'm calling from Santa Barbara CA. It's wonderful here. The weather is really nice. We just found out that my cousin who is 23, I believe. I don't really know his age. He has had to grand mal seizures in a row, and we just need your prayer right now. I mean…I mean he's going through so much right now. I mean he…he and his girlfriend just broke up and he's all by himself unemployed and on top of that he's all of a sudden having seizures. So, everybody would just pray that we lift him up so that he would be healed and that he would just relax. And there's not much more to say. I thank you for all your prayer and encouragement. And please, in the name of the Lord help him get better. Amen.

Hello, my name is Karan and I have been listening to the Daily Audio Bible for a few years now. This is the first time that I've called in. I'm asking for prayer for my son Sebastian. He is 22 years old. He's currently living on the streets. He has been on the streets on and off since he was a teenager. He is a brain malformation that makes him be much more like a 13-year-old then his actual age. He's regularly taken advantage of financially and in other ways by people. And on top of that he has type one diabetes. I found him today and saw him and it breaks my heart every time I do because he is in such rough shape and he's not taking care of himself. He suffers from mental health problems and uses drugs as well. He was raised in the church but has walked away from that. He has struggled his entire life and has had one issue after another placed on him. I always try to put him in God's hands, but sometimes it's really hard and I just would like prayer for him. Thank you.

Congratulations on the birth of Reagan the Brave and God bless you all.

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purplesurveys · 5 years

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479

Health

How is your health? It’s doing fine, as usual. My stomach did feel weird this morning – like it couldn’t digest properly – because I downed five slices of pizza within minutes last night lmao, but it has since calmed down.

Do you know anyone who has beaten cancer? One of my former Filipino teachers had thyroid cancer but beat it.

When was the last time you had a doctor’s appointment? Three years ago when I was signing up to be admitted to my university.

How often do you exercise? Literally never. Gab and her sisters actually made me do wall push-ups and squats last night. I could hold neither position for more than a few seconds at a time because of how unfamiliar I am with exercise lmaaaaao.

Do you take physical education in school? We took it every single year from kindergarten to high school, and we also have to take four PE classes in college.

Are you on any medications? Nope. Do you have any mental disorders? I’m sure I do. I just have never gotten around to getting myself checked. Have you ever ‘walked’ for a foundation (e.g., Breast Cancer, Heart Stroke, etc.)? No. I’ve marched before but it was for Pride lol, nothing to do with health.

Books

Are there many shelves in your house dedicated to books? No, not shelves. The top of my closet serves as a ‘shelf’ for my books, and I also have a drawer-like compartment (with 3 levels) with all of my childbook books, but that’s it; I don’t think that counts as a lot, especially because I’ve stopped reading.

A lot would be in one of our older houses. My great-grandfather was a lawyer and had shelves upon shelves UPON SHELVES UPON SHELVES of every kind of encylopedias and law books you could ever imagine. I remember as a child being confused about that house being so cramped and why we had to have so many books; I didn’t come to appreciate what it all meant until recently. What page are you on in the book you’re reading? I’m on page 30something, but I stopped reading it. It’s a book on business and it started to get all technical and I just lost interest. Do you have an opinion on the Harry Potter/Twilight debate, or is it all stupid and pointless? It’s stupid to me mainly because they’re two different books with different plots and different personalities. I liked Twilight because I resonated with Bella more and the stories of the werewolves and vampires were interesting to me. Harry Potter bored me immediately with the antics of the kids and the spells and the potions and the talking newspaper. Doesn’t stop me from picking a side though, lol. Is there a section of the library you always gravitate towards? Non-fiction. History and biography. I stay away from the fiction area. Do you read more books or magazines? If I am caught reading...books. What was the last book you read aloud? Not a book, but I would read my academic readings aloud so I can process them quicker and better. It was probably a political science reading since it was one of the last tests I took last semester. Is being published one of your biggest aspirations? It was, when I was 10. If I’m published I’d like it to be for an academic paper, and not anymore a literary work. Do you keep your books in good shape, or are they pretty thrashed? They’re all in good shape. Most are just yellowing as my collection is pretty old.

Guys

Are you a guy? Nopes.

Are males your preferred gender? I still don’t really know how to answer this because I’m a demisexual who has only ever been with a girl. Safe answer: I have no idea. I don’t put a label on myself because of this, and only go with what Dan Howell has called those who aren’t a fan of labels either, “a formless blob.”

What is your father’s name? Edgardo.

Do you have a best guy friend? My closest friend would probably be Hans.

Are guys more confusing than girls? No. I’ve found that guys are generally straightforward, way more so than girls. At least the ones I know of. If you’re not a guy, what would you do if you could be a guy for a day? I just won’t cat-call. Otherwise I’d spend the whole time wishing I was back to being a girl.

How many uncles do you have? In the Philippines, every older man that you have some sort of relationship with – whether it’s your parents’ brother, a friend’s dad, your girlfriend’s dad, a family friend, your mom’s cousin’s husband, etc. – is an uncle. That being said, I have tons of them.

Are the majority of the people in your household male? No. We’re five in the family and with my dad gone most of the time, it’s the three of us girls and my brother.

Facebook

How many times a day do you log on? Several times. All work updates are carried out there so I have to check it hourly or so. Using actual applications catering to work feels too unfamiliar for us to use; in the Philippines, it has always been Facebook.

What kind of applications do you prefer (i.e., games, trivia, gifts, etc.)? I just use Messenger. While we use Facebook for virtually everything, I’m generally not a fan of the culture there.

Do you like to ‘poke’ people a lot, or is that just annoying? I never did that when it was popular.

Who do you talk to the most on there? My executive board in my organization.

Do you join many groups? No. I joined hundreds of irrelevant groups when I first joined at 14, but I’ve since removed myself from those. I’m a member of a handful that cater to my interests, like Dogspotting for dogs and a lot of local ones like What’s your ulam pare? for people who wanna share what they’re eating for the day haha.

How many friends do you have? Like 480 if I’m not mistaken.

Is Facebook better than MySpace? I never really got to be a part of ~the Myspace experience~ honestly. I made an account but 1) I was too young, and 2) Myspace was beginning to phase out by then. I wouldn’t say Facebook is better; it’s just that I’ve used it more than Myspace.

What do you think of the current homepage layout? ?

Cooking

Would you say you’re a good cook? Nope. I did ask my grandmother, who’s an amazing cook, to pass on her recipes to me eventually because while I’m really bad in the kitchen, I really really want to learn.

Was macaroni and cheese the first thing you remember making on the stove? I think it may have been scrambled eggs, since it’s the first meal my dad ever taught me.

Have you ever cooked an entire meal for someone/a group of people? No :( I want to in the future though. I’m always the ‘mom’ in all of my friend groups so might as well push it to the limit.

Who cooks more, your mom or your dad? My dad is a chef, so there’s your answer.

Do you have any recipes that have been in your family for a while? I guess. It just sucks because cooking seems to skip generations and just affects select people lmao. Like my grandma has a bunch of original recipes, but so far, no one has learned how to cook any of them. I don’t want to lose her recipes so I made sure to be the first one to ask for my grandma’s recipe box.

When was the last time you cooked at someone else’s house? We baked cookies at Angela’s house, but that was nearly a year ago.

Have you ever cooked something on the barbecue? Nope.

Are you a better cook or baker? I can’t tell. I can still do neither lmao.

Musical Instrument

The survey said to skip this section if I can’t play any, but I don’t really like that option and I like to pretend that I play the piano anyway haha. Get ready to see some haphazard answers on here.

What instrument do you play? We had to learn the recorder from fourth grade. I’ve also had a fantasy of learning how to play the piano so I ‘know’ how to play a few melodies but only with one hand at a time haha.

How long have you been playing it? I’ve known how to use the recorder for ~10 years. I ‘taught’ myself how to play songs on the piano starting when I was 18, so that makes it three years.

Did you take lessons, or are you self-taught? We were taught the recorder in music class for several years in elementary. As for the piano, I just used YouTube videos to analyze the keys that were being pressed and just memorized them so I can play my favorite tunes. I don’t actually know what I’m pressing, or how the notes work, or if I’m using my fingers correctly hahahahaha.

What is the latest song you’ve played on it? I don’t remember; I haven’t fooled around on the piano in a while.

Would you say you’re advanced, or do you have a lot to learn? I have sooooooo much to learn when it comes to THE piano. I know nothing about it AT all; I’m just pressing keys here and there and that’s only because I’ve memorized what to press from YouTube tutorials.

Do you read sheet music to play? Nope.

Have you played this instrument in school? I’ve had to play both + guitar because we were taught all three instruments in music class so we had to play them as part of the exams.

How many of this instrument do you own? We have a guitar, a recorder, and a keyboard.

The 1990s

Were you born in the 90s? Which year? Yep, just by the end of it though so I’m not too attached to the decade. 1998.

Do you remember getting your/your parents getting their first cell phone in the early 90s? I wasn’t alive for most of it and wasn’t conscious enough for the rest of it, so I don’t actually know when my parents got their first phones. I got mine in 2005.

Can you name the main characters from Saved By The Bell? No. Never seen the show.

Were you obsessed with any boy band? I’ve been into boy bands before but this was in the 2010s, lmao.

What is one fashion trend from this decade that you hope never comes back? Low-rise jeans.

Did you get into the Japanese pop culture like most did? (e.g., Sailor Moon, Pokemon, etc.) No. I got into Pokemon though.

If you could sum the 90s up in one word, what would it be? I was too young in the 90s to remember it enough to come up with a word for it.

How old were you when we entered a new millennium? I was going to turn 2 in 2000.

Celebrities

Are you sick of hearing about the Chris Brown/Rihanna situation? No. I’d always take every opportunity to trash Chris Brown. Do you read gossip magazines? If so, who do you pay attention to the most? Sometimes. My grandma collects them some months lmao. What do you think about people still going on about the whole Brad Pitt/Jennifer Aniston/Angelina Jolie “triangle”? I was too young to ever be aware of it. What celebrity does not deserve to be famous? Logan Paul and Jake Paul and the rest of their little group.

Do you think celebrities have a right to complain about the paparazzi? Of course. Some of them can be complete assholes. Would you ever want to be a celebrity? I imagine it sometimes, but I wouldn’t know what for. What do you think of Perez Hilton? Attention seeker.

#survey #surveys

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tellmeyourstory-art-blog · 7 years

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Facade

Why is it we feel more intimacy to things then we do to people?

‘No-one has ever properly understood me, I have never fully understood anyone; and no-one understands anyone else.’

Uttered by one of history's greatest writers, and highly accomplishe Goethe as he laid on his death bed.

This is what great works of art accomplish - they take us deep into the minds of people we are intimidated by in order to show the more average, relatable experience and reassurance in that others minds much work in much the same way ours do. filled with uncertainty and anxiety.

The history of art is delievered by people who couldn;t find anyone in the vicinitu to talk to. Classic works trancend space in time and we can take up the coded of words of intimacy say in a Roman poest and a renaissance paintings or lyrics of a singer who describes our blues in a rock song from 1986.

mutual incomprehension is what we should expect from life from the very start - and we should teach how the idea for it to be something to show where life has gone wong is wrong

once we understand loneliness we can sing, write produce poetry, fully understanding that poeple may never understand us,

A good Example would be deeply misunderstood and mentally ill Van Gogh who only sold 1 painting while alive. A starry night was painted while he stayed in a mental asylum, some believe it was his view, others relegious meaning counting the stars int he sky and relating to bible verses. His critics said his brush strokes were childish lookign for realism and proved the man was clearly insane, but we when we look at the painting we see an overarching theme, hope. Light of the night projecting down onto roof tops and lighting the way into a dreamy star gazed night.

My moms bedside table was the product of the same msiunderstanding.

On it a picture of my dad in a golden frame with a poem attached on the back, a bear called Minky’ he had given made from Mink fur, a white crystal and a buddha who belly had been worn from rubbing. Much later on the table would

Meaning from which all had to her, and no one else ould understand.

She had kept a lot of the furniture my father and accured before he died, They lived on a farm together called ‘The ferny glen farm’ but this was no country bumpkin farm. It had a white picket fence surround 60 hectres of mountain side, it had it’s on beautiful lake and bridge you'd have to drive up to get too.

The furniture inside the house was oak, and had the smell of being freshly cut and varnished. This was the furniture that would adorn our house while I grew up and would slowly be destroyed. Included was a priceless painting said to be a Tom Roberts, which would later end up in my hands after she died and then in the dump (but that’s a story for later)

My mom had a Job at the Art Centre, and I grew up in the backstage of theatre, preforming in the plays, learning how to sing and play piano but being more interested in the Backstage costume and props department. I loved the Props/costume room. When I was little I was convinced that that room was what heaven looked like.

She had put my sister and I through a catholic primary school, and managed to buy a house beachside. I think this was the most accomplished my mom had ever been in her life. Though this was short lived and after a good facade for normalcy

She kept everything of my dads. A brief case still locked, boxes of clipped newspaper articles. Clothes, letters, reciepts. it was if my father hadn’t died or was coming back home at a later date. but there she slept in a large empty for poster bed with nothing but his photo next to it. Desperately trying to be understood again, after his death.

Expensive paintings soon filled our house, & furniture I wasn’t allowed to touch. Even my room was decorated a like a spoiled white kid though I hated the color. She swapped out my favorite bed sheets that were the ocean on one side and the sand on the other, for ugly striped butter cup sheets and buttercup color walls. and the picnic table curtains.

Our house looked like a magazine, a falsely represented upper middle-class family. Although at the heart of it completely broken.

This house is the prominent memory for me and still haunts me today as the lifestyle was a facade.

My mother had borrowed all the money to make this work. She had loaned thousands of her Mother, hundred thousands in credit card debt and thousands more to put me through private school when I would've done just as well in public. She was keeping up an image. Which I only realised after I grew up. Sitting in a bank with her death certificate being asked to sign a joint account to her 100k+ debt with this bank and 3 others. THANK GOD I was under 18. Because if I had been an adult when she died, I would still be in her debt today.

Though when I rebelled at as a teenager this became even more apparent that she was living a dream no longer accessible to her, while simultanously blaming external influences.

But this is what we do in addiction. When we aren’t satidifed with what we have or who we are internally. We keep everything and fight to keep our delusions running. Because the realit of it all will have us kill ouselves in that moment. because sometimes 5 minutes of illusion to someone who believes they have nothing left is enough bliss to keep them living in it. Like a shot of herion or a intensity of a good orgasm, escaping into delusion is just the same.

s when my mom ran through the door drunk a late afternoon, saying to tell me that the police were going to knock on the door and to say she had been home for 2 hrs.

She ran into the guest room and hid and left me to confron the officers who as she had fortold were knocking on the door. Being young - Police officer were good and allowed in the house. I answered the door and they ask me where my mom was and i happily showed them where she was in the guest room.

I watched her sheepishly try to explain why her engine was hot and that she had been drinking red wine since she got home 2hrs ago... which wwas a blantant lie. Because the police didnt catch her dricing or couldnt prove it.. they left but what insued was me being verbally abused for 2hrs about how I didnt listen to her and having water thrown at me.

Unfortunatley the verbal abuse stayed after my oma left back to america. Behind closed doors and after school when my mom was home. I would learnt hat she didn’t like me very much.

Had the police shown up to a lower class suburb when my mom had been called in for dangerous dricing drunk while 6 year old me was in the back of the car, child services would have stepped in before things got really out of control.

But Because we’re taught to keep opposites separated, as most paradoxes make us feel ambivalent and uncertain, not only in life metaphors but basic math. We think of shapes such as curves and lines as separate and distinct. We know this because we’re taught to know things in relation and in opposition to each other. - Similar to the poor man must be poor because of bad choices, or the shady neighbor must be a pervert.

No one believed that something could be entirely wrong because how could a single mom working hard to put her children through school be neglectful.

how could a painting that looks so beautiful on the outside be so misunderstood. How could I late throw out a priceless painting?

Stong woman, single mom, who triumphed widowhoodcouldnt be related to the normalcy of childhood abuse, neglecta nd addicticion and

at the heart of it a widow so desperatly trying to be understood through a photo and a poem on her bedside table.

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isppalumni · 8 years

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INTERVIEW WITH MUGABI

INTRODUCTION

Mugabi Byenkya is an ISPP alumnus who studied at ISPP from 2001 until 2005, starting in Grade 4 and finishing in Grade 7. He completed his schooling at Rainbow International School in Kampala, Uganda and currently resides in Toronto, Canada.

“I loved my time at ISPP and will forever cherish the lifelong lessons I learnt on perseverance, resilience and the celebration of diversity”.

What did you do from when you left ISPP until now?

When I left ISPP my family went to Thailand for a few months, where my father passed away, so we moved back to Uganda. This was interesting because it was my first time living in Uganda. It’s home and where my parents are from, but I hadn’t lived there before. I had only ever visited during the summers. I was born in Nigeria and moved to a different country every 3 to 4 years after that. My family moved around so much due to my father’s work with the UNDP as the Deputy Resident Representative. He was an economist by trade, working on the Millennium Development Goals.

I stayed in Uganda for 5 years, graduated and moved to start my undergraduate degree at University of Kansas, majoring in Environmental Science and International Studies, and graduated in 2014.

After that, I went to the University of Michigan to do a Masters degree, but at the end of first semester, I unfortunately suffered from 2 strokes. I moved to Washington DC while my sister Tina took care of me while I recovered. I was largely bedridden, dependent on a cane to walk and in recovery for a year. It took a year, but in 2016 I got the necessary therapy. At the Mayo Clinic I learned how to walk independently again, learned how to eat, clean and became independently functional.

Mugabi’s siblings

After I was managing things better, I started several little part-time gigs and worked many different positions. One of these was teaching English to new immigrants to the United States, ranging in age from 16 – 65, in Washington. I also tutored elementary school children on reading and writing because a lot of kids were behind, so this involved catching them up to the level they should be at. I worked as a stylist of sorts at an NGO called ‘Suited for Change’ that offers professional clothes for low income women attending job interviews. The clothes came from donations. I worked with the women who were my clients and helped pick outfits that fit them well, looked good and that they liked. My colleagues and clients were great and we got on well. They really liked me as I was the only man working there!

I also interned with an editor of a poetry anthology. I was mostly helping her out with the legalities behind the anthologies, which involved getting permission from poets to use their work as well as maintaining contact and outreach with the poets and the publisher. I also helped with formatting and the actual editing of the anthology and writing the book.

Lastly, I started writing my debut novel! Since I was 4 years old, it was my dream to be an author. My family are very avid readers and I remember when I was younger I went up to my siblings and asked them to play with me, but they were busy reading. I was shocked because playing was the best thing ever, and playing with ME especially was the best thing ever! I was like what is this reading thing that is better than playing with me? So I asked my mom to teach me how to read. It took a couple months but I got the hang of it.

I was just mind blown because I was like this is amazing, there’s a whole world out there and nothing can get better than this. But then I discovered writing and it’s the only thing better than reading, in my opinion. Ever since then I’ve been writing stories and I always wanted to be a writer…but I was pushed out if it because it’s not the most lucrative career and pushed into sciences because I was good at it.

After my recent strokes, I was basically on my death bed and my family, friends, doctors and myself thought I was going to die, so I decided life was too short and I was going to pick up writing again and decided I would write a book. After I left DC, I moved to Toronto where my older brother Victor graciously provided me with a place to live and free food so I could finish off my book. I’m still interning for the poetry editor and I am also a careers consultant for the organisation where I used to teach English. I counsel clients on career choices, edit resumes and cover letters and help them find jobs. Most of the clients are older than me and come in with education and years of work experience, but the US doesn’t recognise it. So I tell them it’s okay to feel frustrated because they’re very experienced but struggle to get a job. Additionally, I also provide consulting for a start-up using my English and editing background. The start-up is an online English writing centre for students in non-English speaking countries. Interning and counselling are part time, so I spend most time focused on the book.

The publishing industry is very difficult to get into, so I published my book independently. This is more difficult because you’re the one in control to every step of the process from the cover, sales, promotion and everything else. I found a publisher called Discovering Diversity Publishing, who is willing to help me self publish and offered me a production and distribution deal. So the publisher handles all the production and some of the distribution of the book. I take care of the writing and the rest of the distribution and the promotion. My book is came out Sunday the 26th of February. I’d already sold over 100 copies before the release date and raised over $4000 to cover publication costs with my kick starter campaign. If people are interested in buying or finding out more, go to www.mugabi.net

Dear Philomena, book cover

What is the best thing about life now?

I’d say the best thing about life now is family and friends! I have a lot of really good people in my life who have held space for me through thick and thin. The Kickstarter funding campaign is doing well and the book is out. I literally couldn’t have got here without their support.

Did you ever envisage doing what you are doing while you were at ISPP?

Yes, because I’ve always wanted to write and I’m writing now. I remember in the 7th grade, in Mr Kerrigan’s English class, we were assigned to make a comic book and I was like, this is what I want to do with my life, it’s amazing!

Compared to your other classmates in university, what were you more or less prepared for?

I was more prepared for the amount of studying that I’d have to do. I was less prepared for speaking up in discussions for the sake of speaking up. I was very much raised to speak up when and if you have a point. I noticed I wouldn’t get as good a mark at university for not talking as much, but I would only talk if I had a point.

Has your international school experience shaped your worldview? If so, how?

Attending an international school definitely shaped my worldview. It’s allowed me to be more empathetic and contextual. I find it easier to build connections and make friendships with people of various different backgrounds.

What are your favourite memories of ISPP and Cambodia?

The spicy pepper eating challenge that a bunch of 7th grade boys had on a school trip; music classes with Mr. Edson where I fell in love with the blues; the water festival; hiking in Kirirom; family trips to Kompong Som where I got stung by a jellyfish for the first time ever; the barge trip down the Chao Praya river; buying sugarcane juice through the school gate; Lucky Burger; Beef Lok Lak; $1 Squid. Special shout-out to my best friends at the time: Stephen Bleakley, Sovisal Meach and Bairy Diakite!

Mugabi’s ISPP friends

Did you have a favourite subject/subjects? If so, what did you like about them?

My favourite subjects were English, Science and History. I loved the large-scale re-enactments of Great Zimbabwe in History, highlighting the ingenuity of my marginalised African people. I loved the dissections in science and seeing the inner workings of the heart. I loved the fact that Mr. Preece (English teacher) took students opinions as seriously as his own.

If you could send an appreciation message to someone from ISPP, who would it be and why?

I would send immense gratitude and thanks to Mr. Bailey for telling me:

“You don’t have much in the way of athleticism or talent, but you have perseverance. That is going to take you farther than the rest of these kids who don’t have half the uphill battle you face to just participate.”

What advice would you give to our 11th and 12th grade students?

Vulnerability is strength.

In your opinion, what makes ISPP stand out?

The integration and respect of Cambodian traditions and culture into the classroom was unlike some of the other schools I went to where the expat ‘bubble’ was more opaque.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

Hopefully having published two more books, having a masters degree, an enjoyable work/life balance, warm friendships with friends and family new and old and having visited Cambodia!

Are there any other updates that you would like to share with our community?

You can purchase my debut novel Dear Philomena via www.mugabi.net on either ebook or paperback. Dear Philomena, is the story of two strokes, one boy, one girl and a whole lot of magical realism. See synopsis below:

“July 1991, Leocardia Byenkya underwent an ultrasound that informed her to expect a baby girl. She chose the name Philomena. January 16 1992, her baby was born as a boy. Filled with shock and surprise, Leocardia named her baby boy Mugabi. December 2014, Mugabi suffered from two strokes within a week of each other. Mugabi was 22 years old. 'Dear Philomena,' is a series of thoughts and conversations between Mugabi and Philomena (the girl he was supposed to be) about the year he was supposed to die but somehow lived through. “

Please support this young author’s dreams by reviewing and recommending the book to your social networks as well!

#ISPPalumni MugabiByenkya DearPhilomena

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