#took them today and now i feel kinda weird and spacey

[cambius]

GOOD MORNING. gonna try to get some more starters posted before my friend comes over today, maybe go through my askbox on my old blog and post the answers here.

[the-good-projxct]

March 28th, 2024

8:50pm. Listening to beauty in the dark by Isley brothers and Mos Def sitting in Munene’s living room. I have not written for a few days because I am applying for a job at Braeburn school and it is consuming my writing. I am also drawing which is DOPE. It feels a bit weird applying for a job again. I have not done that in a while. It also feels like applying for grants, that was a wild ride. I learnt the greatest lesson through those challenges though. What is for me is for me. I know that if this job is for me, I will get it. I think it is insane that I might be an Art teacher at the school I did kindergarten at. I am praying because that would be lit. But again, if it's for me, it will happen. If not, it was not meant for me. PeriodT. I got amazing references from Sobia, Mark and Brian. I am so grateful to the pals and community I built in PEI because I truly Love them and they come in clutch for me. As I worked on my resume, it dawned on me how much work and effort I have put in over the last five years. When I got sober in 2019, my resume was sparse and full of short term, incomplete things. Getting a reference was hard because I had burnt bridges at jobs via addiction. It is so different now. My resume is POPPIN’. I got incredible references very easily because I nurtured my relationships with the folx I worked with. I am just so content with the life I am leading, the choices I am making and who I am becoming. I am genuinely enjoying this little life of mine. It is spectacular and complex. I started writing today's daily writing at 8pm, it is 2am when I am writing. We ordered pizza, I got my letters of recommendation, we went to the shops, I took a shower, we made dawa’s, watched music videos and talked for hours. Then I remembered the daily writing. At least I came and did it though. I had a lovely day, I woke up kinda late, people were making noise outside, we made a yummy breakfast of eggs, tomatoes and bread. Munene made coffee. We chilled as the power was out, we sat outside and just talked kinda like an old couple. He had his fleece sweater and I had my deera with a hoodie. We came in and went to get laundry from the line, checked out the swimming pool then sorted the clothes. I now have space in his closet. Anyway, it was a very simple, slow, spending time together kind of day. I sometimes struggle with the idea of forever but like AA taught me, one day at a time. Be present. And whenever I focus on one day at a time, forever feels doable. So yeah, I love this life. I know my life is on a very unique trajectory. As everyones is but I feel the Universe rewarding me for taking Gøod risks. I Love that Munene and I’s conversations revolve around the Universe, a lot. I showed him my prayer today and he understood it because it is in KiMeru. We talked about prayer, faith and the Universe. He believes in the Universe as well. That alignment is peak. Earlier in the day I was missing Karen. I was missing the fam and the version of slow days over there. There are slow days and more people but it is a very spacey place so I can disappear from folx for hours at a time. I know I like certain amounts of solitude, it recharges me and it feels Gøod. I know over time we will need more space while together, not necessarily a bigger home type of thing but more space to have solitude even in proximity of one another. We don’t live together yet..but I see it coming. Anyway, Life is Gøod. I am Gøod. Love is Gøod. Ase. Ase. Ase.

[dzpenumbra]

1/27/23

Last night was a highlight reel of annoying and frustrating things that cats do, and of course it's the night that my cat is drugged up for her vet appointment the next morning. Of course that's the night she needs to try to jump her arthritic ass up an obstacle course to the bathroom sink to drink from the sink three times.

It was a late night. I got up early, got everything I needed done, shoveled the car out. The guy plowing the parking lot made some comment about how I've been "gone awhile". I have no idea if he was talking about how much snow was piled up on the car I never use, or the fact that my car has a big dealership sticker on it from a town very far away and he's likely seen it over and over this winter, knowing it's obviously a rental. Either way... like... is that an ice breaker or something? Like... what was that guy trying to communicate? I don't really understand. Like, I get it's a joke or something, but like... he just kept driving... XD Like, didn't even say "hi". Kinda rude, if you ask me. I don't know, people are weird, I guess. I don't know, that was just really confusing for me. I'm not really used to people talking to me, let alone cryptic jokes like that.

Went to the vet appointment. It was very quick, I was spacey as hell for some reason, really couldn't focus. I had a list of two things I needed to talk about when I was there written on my fucking hand. Food. Fountain. I wanted to check on whether my cats prescription food is auto-refilling and/or being sent to my apartment... and get a recommendation of a fountain for her, because she really doesn't like drinking from her bowl anymore, I think it hurts her hips. And I really need to get her to stop drinking from the bathroom sink. I didn't ask fucking either of them. I completely spaced out. I could barely answer the question she had about the nighttime meds she's getting. I was supposed to double the dosage a while back and I just... didn't? For some reason? I still can't even remember why, it was like 3 weeks ago. Maybe because I didn't want to be inconsistent with times or something? I don't know. Either way, I didn't do it. It's not the end of the world. The whole appointment was like 10 minutes. And the roads were horrible. They just took her to the back and drew her blood and then we left. So yeah, that's over with for now. We'll see what the blood results look like.

I got home and worked on some stream stuff for a bit. It went well, it's looking good. Then I said fuck it and went skating. It had been snowing most of the day, I waited for it to get dark and colder so the snow would firm up. Good call. The conditions were great. I didn't land a lot of new tricks today, but I landed one of the best moving kickflips of my life. I got a FS 1 down the 2 set, which was a nice change, that's a new trick for me. I tried switch ollie and laughed audibly at how horrible I am at riding switch. I skated the 4-set for a while. I might actually start my sessions going to the 2 or flat for a little to get the muscles warmed up, then right to the 4. I noticed that my confidence in landing, my commitment to my tricks, was substantially better after I skated the 4.

I also had a fun little run set up where I cleared the 4, then made a sharp roller down the two (instead of clearing it) to pump down, then cleared the next 4 set. That was a really cool feeling. Like, two days ago I had never ollied anything this big, now I've cleared it at least a dozen times and cleared it twice back-to-back in a line. I can just feel my hips and lower back fighting me and holding me back on a lot of this stuff. But I can tell very clearly that the yoga is making a very big difference, and I'm really glad I've committed to it.

I battled with a kickflip down the 2-set a bit. I came really close a few times, but I really struggled to commit to it. Mind-games. The same with 3-shuv, which was really pissing me off because I used to have that trick completely locked down, like every try. Now, it just feels like I'm just hucking it and praying I land on it. I really can't wait to get more of a sense of board control. It feels much easier to get that on a skateboard than a snowskate, the snowskate can just slide out in such unpredictable ways, especially on really slick packed snow or ice.

After skating the park, I walked up the hill and went over to the sidewalk leading down to my street. It was covered in a nice thin layer of snow and no salt or sand, which is perfect. There was a guy ahead of me on the sidewalk with earbuds in so he didn't hear me, but it was a good excuse to go slow and not bomb the hill like I was tempted to... which turned out to be a good idea, because most of the sidewalk was slanted so I was constantly slipping towards the road. That whole "slide out in such unpredictable ways" thing. But it was fun, because it was like... real street skating with a snowskate, which I haven't done in ages.

I really can't stress enough how happy I am to be skating again. And to have terrain available that I have never skated before. I'd love it if I had a kicker or a box or something too, I miss doing slides and whatnot, but I feel like the change in terrain is pushing me outside of my comfort zone to adapt my style to what is available. Like... what am I going to do next down the 4 set? Ollie still scares me! I was thinking maybe I could figure out how to Airwalk? Is that too ambitious? Indy is just too far of a reach for my back. Shuv seems really scary, to be honest. Kickflip just seems ridiculous. I can't even kickflip the 2 set yet. So it's like... how do I up the ante? Front 1? Maybe? I don't know. It's a real test of my willingness to push myself. But this park is really great for like.. incrementally learning how to skate stairs. There's a spot that's basically a flat to bank that you can use as a natural kicker and roll away with some nice speed, so you get used to landing, riding away and carrying speed. There's the 2 set to start getting used to gapping out and down stuff. The 4 set is like... a real stair set. There's a 2 block that could be doable with a ramp leading up to it, I think, but it's like... the width and height of the 4 set but you really gotta send it to clear that whole thing. Then there's the 7 right uphill from the 4 I've been skating. And there's a 6 at the bottom of the hill with a nice run-up to it, but the landing has like 12 feet and then it just dumps right out into (usually) heavy traffic. I haven't felt brave enough to take that on yet.

So yeah, I got Applebee's delivered and curled up with the cat for the rest of the night. Worked on some more stream stuff. And now I'm completely exhausted so I'm heading to bed.

[hawks-supremacy]

New Beginnings - New Job

A/N: Hello, sorry for the spacey and weird updates I’m trying to figure out a day that I can update regularly so hopefully I can update weekly soon. Anyway, here’s part two to the last one. Do you guys like the written chapters? I’m still going to have the texts and ish but I feel like the written chapters give it more context?

Words: 2k

Warnings: None? Swearing?

Masterlist

Arriving at the small store last you see everyone on the team in front of the store talking already. You stopped in front of the large group with your hands on your knees breathing heavily. “What...the...hell” you said in between breaths, “How...do you run...so fast.” You stood up placing one hand on your hip as the other wiped the accumulative sweat from your forehead.

Everyone laughed as you struggled to get air to your lungs while Suga threw an arm around your shoulders. “We have to do daily exercise while you just sit on the bench looking pretty.” Suga ruffled your hair and laughed after he finished his sentence and walked into the store with everyone following suit. You huffed and entered the store last walking in on Ukai giving everyone an earful. You didn’t get the full conversation but from what you got it was something about calling the store and talking to his mom. So if you had to guess you were right about Ukai not being happy about this. Zoning back into the conversation you caught the end, “Since there’s already a replacement here for me I guess I’ll go so Y/n doesn’t lose their mind.” You gave him a grin as he stopped talking and went to go look for snacks.

You guys were still waiting on Takeda, Kiyoko, and Yachi to come to the store so you can head to the mall. Some of the guys sat at the tables talking about what they needed to buy and some were also looking for something to eat until you ate lunch at the mall. Walking up to the register to buy your favorite snack as well as a drink you saw Ukai talking to his mom. Hearing the beeping of items being scanned, Ukai-san glanced over and walked over, leaving her son in the middle of his sentence.

Arriving at her destination behind the register facing you she said, “Why hello dear, who are you?” As she finished your sentence you heard Coach Ukai let out an exasperated “Ma”.

Laughing at his expense you gave the cashier your money as you replied, “I’m Sawamura Y/n ma’am. I’m Daichi’s older sister, I’m helping with the team a bit. It’s nice to meet you.” You put your snack in your small backpack and opened your drink to take a sip as you finished your drink.

“It’s nice to meet you too dear. Are you single?” Upon hearing the question you started choking on your drink sending you into a coughing fit. You felt someone patting your back but didn’t see who and you heard faint laughing in the background.

“Jesus Mom you’re gonna kill the poor girl.” You heard Ukai state from your right. You assumed he was the one patting your back which didn’t help the redness of your face from the question.

After calming down from the near death experience and getting over the trauma you finally answered her bold question, “Yes I am ma’am. But with all due respect I don’t think I’m your type.” Feeling a hand slap over your mouth you looked over at your brother profusely apologizing to the older lady as he swore up and down you were either adopted or dropped on your head as a kid. Getting tired of the hand over your mouth you decided to do the grown up thing and lick his hand, to which you both gagged at. You took a few gulps of your drink to wash the Daichi out and heard the door open. 

Very horror movie like you all turned your heads to the door and looked at who entered. If it was anyone else but the three you were waiting on you were sure they would have run the opposite direction. Everyone greeted the three and said your goodbyes to Ukai-san and the cashier as you left on your way to the mall. Tanaka, Noya, and Ennoshita lead the group. Kageyama, Hinata, and Yachi followed after. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were in the middle. Kiyoko and Asahi were in front of Daichi and Suga while you, Ukai and Takeda were in the back. 

“So Y/n do you need to get anything from the mall?” Takeda asked, looking around Ukai at you deciding to make conversation on the way there. You hadn’t really thought about it, much like Ukai you didn’t know about the trip so you didn’t have anything in mind. Sure if something caught your eye and it wasn’t super expensive you might buy it but other than that you can’t think of anything you desperately need right this moment.

“I guess I don’t need anything. I didn’t know we were going to the mall until this morning when the boys woke me up.” You shrugged as you looked ahead so you could see where you were walking. You weren’t super clumsy but if the universe had their chance they’d make you trip on a pebble if you weren’t careful. “Do you need to get anything Takeda?” 

You softly giggled to yourself as he got out his phone to read the list of various supplies and things he needed to buy. Your giggles soon turned to full blown laughter when you looked ahead and saw Daichi trip over his own feet, you stopped to help him up from the floor and noticed his cheeks were slightly tinted pink and wiggled your eyebrows at him. He stood up straight and coughed as he shoved you away from him and continued walking. You were still calming down from laughing as you caught up to the rest of the group.

Takeda and Ukai were discussing some volleyball plans and arrangements when you caught up so you decided to keep to yourself and let them finish their conversation while you zoned out thinking. You had been here for a little while and you were pretty settled in, so you could probably get a job now. Maybe a place at the mall would be hiring, but you didn’t walk that distance everyday, plus the scheduling probably wouldn’t work out seeing as how you still wanted to help with the boys’ volleyball team as much as you can. Maybe Ukai’s store needs help. You could stock, I mean how hard could it be? It’s putting items on shelves and making them look nice. There was probably more to it but you didn’t need to know that unless you actually got a job stocking.

Tuning back into the world you didn’t hear Takeda or Ukai talking so you assumed they were done talking. You turned to Ukai deciding to ask, “Hey Ukai are you guys looking for help at the store in the mornings? Like stocking shelves or something?” He glanced down at you with his eyebrows furrowed before looking forward again.

“We’re always looking for help, why? Are you looking for a job or something?” He shrugged his shoulders as he responded.

You also shrugged your shoulders as you responded, “Nah just making small talk. Yes I’m asking because I’m looking for a job, why else would I be asking for?” Giving you a look that basically said he was done with your shit you continued speaking, “I just want something to do in the morning before I go to the school to help out. It gets bored at the house while everyone’s away, plus it gets lonely. I don’t like staying in an empty house. It’s nice at first but then it just gets sad. I dunno.” You looked down at the ground as you finished your sentence. You didn’t know how to phrase it, you just know you didn’t like being in an empty house that big for too long. 

“Yeah I get it kid. I can ask my folks about it but I’m sure they’ll give you a job.” You gave him a small smile as your brain processed what he said before letting out a kinda loud hey and a small rant about him calling you a kid. With the way he talks you would’ve thought he was ten years older then you and not one.

Arriving at the mall everyone agreed on a plan to meet back at one so you could all eat lunch. Everyone went their separate ways still staying in small groups as they went to the stores they wanted to visit. You decided to stay with Ukai because everyone else had left before you could ask where everyone was going. Even Takeda took off in the direction to the nearest clothing store claiming to need more work clothes.

Ukai looked at you with an eyebrow raised. Before he could open his mouth you spoke, “I don’t really need anything and I didn’t wanna be left alone so you’re stuck with me. Everyone else took off.” He shrugged in response and headed off to the first store stating he doesn’t really need anything either.

You went store to store making jokes as you went and laughing at dumb things that you saw or said. At one point in time you were laughing loud enough to the point someone told you you needed to quiet down or you’d have to go to another store and shop. After walking around for a few hours you felt hungry and decided to go get lunch early and eat while the others showed up. You sat down and ate quietly until the rest of the group and started talking about what they bought and things they saw or did around the mall. As you traded stories you decided you were happy with the way things have been since you moved back. Life’s been better, easier almost. You had more support here and more interaction with more people than your ex and co-workers. You felt like you finally had a life and friends to share it with. You wouldn’t wish for another group of people to spend your Saturday with. 

After you finished eating you all left the mall around two thirty with your bags in hand. Deciding that the mall had been enough excitement for today you all walked in the direction of your homes. Most of you were tired from walking across town and around the mall. You and Daichi said your goodbyes to the rest of the group as you parted ways to your home. Daichi decided to make small talk asking if you had fun and if you’d want to continue hanging out with the rest of the team when you had time. Telling him that that’s a stupid question you agreed with no hesitation. You decided to take this time to ask Daichi about Suga and if any progress had been made. The answer was bittersweet, they made plans to hang out next weekend but then they both chickened out and panic invited Asahi and Kiyoko as well. You rolled your eyes and scolded him for not being mad enough.

Walking into your home you called out that you arrived but were met with silence. You looked at each other as you shrugged and walked over to the kitchen where a note was on the counter stating that your parents were out of town for a week and there was food money next to the fridge. You laughed at the fact that it was kinda like you were in high school again as you threw away the note and went to go set the stuff you had bought in your room. 

For the rest of the day you guys just lounged in the living room and talked about various things in life as the tv played in the back. At about nine you decided to go back to your room, not to sleep necessarily but to lay down in the warmth of your blankets. Glancing at your phone you noticed you had a text from Ukai. 

Hot Coach: You start Monday at 11, don’t be late.

Smiling you sent back that you wouldn’t miss it for the world.

[backtobackbakubabe]

Stuck in the Middle with You (Part 2)

Bakugo x Reader 

Reader is a closet couponer and when word started spreading that there was going to be a mandatory quarantine to fend off a virus you weren't worried. You had enough supplies to last for months. However it wasn't until now that you realized you had no idea how to cook and you relied on take out and fast food for most of your meals. The only person who knew about your crazy couponing habit was Bakugo, so when he called and asked if he could raid your stash you got an idea.

Words: 2054

*****************************************************************************************************

You tried not to moan as you took your first bite of Bakugo’s pancakes. They were so delicious, but you didn’t want to add to his already huge ego. For the most part you both are in silence, locking eyes every so often before immediately looking anywhere else but at each other. There was still some awkward tension between the two of you. He had kissed you, like actually kissed you but neither of you wanted to be the one to bring it up. 

You knew he only did it to try and help you through your panic attack. There was no way he would have done it for any other reason. He was Bakugo after all and you weren't even convinced that he even liked you as a friend. Sure he always attended movie nights, and yeah he brought you coupons. But that was it. The two of you never hung out one on one and you rarely spoke to each other over the phone. You had known the man for years and you didn’t know a damm thing about him. 

It wasnt until he cleared his thought that you realized you had been staring at him, “Do I need to teach you manners as well as cooking? Lesson number one, don’t stare at people.”

You snorted, “Oh that’s rich. A lesson on manners from the same person who manages to find a way to insult anyone who dares try and speak to him.”

He slammed his fork down, “Well at least I wasn't the one staring at another person practically drooling while they ate!”

You stood up and tossed your plate into the sink, “I was not drooling! I was just thinking...”

Bakugo came up behind you and rinsed your dish as well as his before putting them in the dish washer, “You really shouldn't leave dishes in the sink. Its a bad habbit...”

When you didnt answer he took a deep breath, “If we’re going to be stuck here then we should probably at least try and get along.”

Again you were struck by how little you knew about him. How had you been friends with him for this long and not know anything about him.

He groaned, “Are you even fucking listening to me?”

You nodded and pinched the bridge of you nose, “Yeah sorry, just was thinking again... I can be kind of spacey.” 

He softened a bit before leaning on the counter next to you, “So I’ve noticed... What are you thinking about?”

You blushed slightly before regaining your composure, “Honestly you... Not anything weird... It’s just. Well I feel like I actually don’t know much about you. Like are you a morning person? Whats your favorite color? What kind of movies do you like? I know none of that seems important but for some reason it just weirds me out that I dont know.”

Bakugo scratched the back of his neck, “Well I mean you never asked...” 

You hopped up on the kitchen counter and swung your legs that were now dangling, “Okay well to be fair that can go both ways. I’m sure you don’t know anything about me either.”

He seemed to think for a minute before nodding, “Well I guess it’s a good thing we have some time to catch up. Just promise me that what you learn stays between us. I dont need any fucking extras thinking they know me.” 

You rolled your eyes at his abrasiveness. “How about you pick something to watch and I’ll go raid my closet for things you could wear. I doubt you want to wear the same clothes every day for the foreseeable future.” 

“Tsk as if I’d wear girls clothes. The director from my hero agency said he’d send someone over with some clothes. It’ll probably just be a bunch of training gear with the agencies logo on it but I guess beggars cant be choosers.” 

Bakugo was right because halfway through “Gladiator” a man showed up with a duffle bag full of grey and black shirts, shorts, and sweats with his agencies logo on it. They were all still wrapped in plastic just to be safe. 

He threw the bag full of clothes behind the couch and reclaimed his spot next to you. You were bundled up in a blanket, trying not to fall asleep but you were drained after your episode earlier. It was only a little after 8 and you could feel your eye lids growing heavier. 

At some point you woke up and to your horror you were leaning on Bakugo. You would have panicked except you could feel his arm draped around your shoulders holding you to him. This was odd. You slowly sat up and stretched. “Sorry. You could have pushed me off. I wouldn't have blamed you. Especially with social distancing or whatever.”

He chuckled, “Oh believe me I thought about it. But you were cold and if we stuck together I cant have you getting sick.”

You saw a slight blush creep up his neck. You knew there was no way you would have gotten sick from being chilly in your own living room. But you also knew he was probably more comfortable doing something nice if he had an excuse. So you game him a genuine smile. “Thanks. I’ll be honest that's the best nap I’ve ever had. Well best I’ve slept in months actually. I’m always tossing and turning.” You turned off the tv that was now playing the credits. You had seriously slept through the entire second half of the movie. 

You walked over and started pulling out pillows and blankets from the hall closet. “You can sleep on the couch. It pulls out into a bed but honestly its more comfortable if you just sleep on it normally. We can take turns sleeping in the bed if you’re here long enough.”

He accepted the blankets but held tight to your hand. “Hey you know I meant it earlier when I said you could talk to me. I’m the last person to voluntarily open up about my feelings, but you know... I worry about you sometimes.” 

You plopped down on the couch with a huge sigh. “I appreciate your concern. But I wouldn't even know where to begin... I’m just... I don’t know. I’m fine.”

Bakugo took a seat next to you, “You’re what? Smart? Strong? Badass? Because those are the first words that come to mind when I think of you...”

You could feel your eyes prick with unshed tears. “Well those are definitely not high on the list of adjectives I would consider for myself. More like small, scared, and incompetent.” You leaned your head back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. 

Bakugo crossed his arms over his chest in mild frustration. “Why? That couldn’t be further from the truth! Well except the small thing. You are kinda little. But last I checked that wasn’t a bad thing. If anything... its kinda.... cute.” 

You looked up expecting to see him blushing. But instead you saw him giving you a nervous smile. You wiped a tear from the corner of your eyes and returned his smile, “Well you know how my quirk can be really vague? I only get fragments of the truth and even then it’s up to me to decide what they mean... That’s a lot of pressure. I cant be wrong. Ever. And there was this one time when I was a child... I was living with my mom.. I interpreted something wrong and someone died because of it. That kind of thing sticks with you.”

Bakugo reached out and took your hand, “Is that why you decided not to be a hero?”

You nodded as you wiped away another tear, “Yeah. Now I work behind a desk, looking at files, and no body gets hurt.” 

Bakugo surprised you by pulling you to him and giving you a tight hug. “I’m going to say something and you better not ever repeat it.... But I was always nervous to spar against you. You always seemed to be able to read me like a book. You worked harder than the rest of us including me. You were always in the gym or the library. I’m not saying I don’t understand your decision. I just want you to know that I think you would have been great.” 

You leaned into his hug, “Thank you... for everything today. For helping through my panic attack, for making me dinner, for hanging out with me. I know you say you didnt have a choice. But you really are a great friend.” 

You both laid there on the couch. Bakugo holding onto you taking deep breaths, “You want to talk about earlier? You dont have to but it might help me out to know what might trigger you if we’re going to be stuck here.”

You buried your face into his chest. “I dont really want to talk about it. But I will say I dont do very well when I feel trapped, especially if I have to be alone.”

He gave you a quick squeeze, “You going to be okay alone tonight?”

You sat up and swatted as his chest, “Bakugo Katsuki! Did you just ask if you could spend the night with me?”

He rolled his eyed before he pushed you off the couch. “Sorry for being concerned. I promise it’ll never happen again. Next time I’ll just let you suffer.”

You giggled, “There’s the Bakugo I know.” You started your trek up the stairs to your room calling a goodnight over your shoulder to the man who was getting cozy on your couch. When you had woken up this morning there was no way you could have predicted your day would end up like this. You didn’t know what was harder to believe, the lockdown, or the fact that Bakugo was a secret softy.

You were already so exhausted that it was hard for you to fall asleep. The hard part was staying asleep. You woke up several times, tossing and turning. Your anxiety was truly kicking your ass tonight. At one point you felt compelled to go and check that Bakugo was still there. Not that it would make any difference. There’s no way your insomnia would magically be cured by knowing that Bakugo was still there. 

But logic wasnt on your side tonight.

You wrapped yourself in a towel and tip toes across the cold hardwood floor. You tried really hard to be silent, slowly making your way down the stairs. It was so dark, but you could just make out the silhouette of his rising and falling chest. At least he could sleep. 

After you had satisfied your irrational need to make sure he was still there you stood and turned to go back up the stairs. You were almost to the top when the board groaned under your foot. You froze. 

“Y/n?” Bakugo slowly sat up. “Y/n what are you doing up?” He picked up his phone and groaned. “Y/n it’s four in the morning!” You remained frozen to your spot on the stairs. “Y/n I can see you... Are you okay?”

You sighed, “I’m fine, I was just having a hard time sleeping again. Its nothing new. Go back to sleep.”

He stood up and wrapped the blanket around his half asleep form. He slowly made his way up the stairs. When he got to you he didnt stop but kept walking towards your room. He only paused when he got to the door. “Are you coming or not?” 

You silently nodded and joined him in your room. He laid down on  the floor next to your bed, which looked extremely uncomfortable. “You sure you’re going to be okay down there?”

He scoffed, “Of course I’ll be okay. I’m no cry baby.”

You rolled your eyed and threw a pillow at him, “At lest take a pillow!”

He muttered something under his breath but excepted the pillow none the less. 

You rolled over and pulled the covers up to your chin, “Thank you Bakugo.”

“You’re welcome smalls.” 

Smalls.... It was a nickname he had used during your time at UA. You used to hate it but after tonights confession, you found it endearing. 

[thebladeblaster]

Digimon Tamer ZERO

(Vanguard x Digimon crossover. I am still having a hard time writing so I thought I would post this that has been in my notes for like months. I didn’t really know how interested people would be in this fic idea so here’s a concept chapter like the one I made for Bonds Beyond Dimensions.)

Concept Chapter The Digimon Phenomenon part 1

A few days after the Link Joker incident...

Inside of Card Capital a familiar light purple haired girl sat behind the counter reading a book. She wore a white dress shirt and a red apron. A little black and white cat slept soundly on the counter. There wasn’t quite as many customers in as usual. The girl lifted up her book revealing her blue eyes as she heard someone walk over. It was a blond teen with grey eyes and a white and red hoodie.

“Slow day huh?”, the blond teen questioned putting his elbows on the counter and leaning in.

The girl sighed in response.

“Well, business has gotten a bit slower lately because of the release of that new digital pet line, Digimon. Many kids have been playing those rather than playing card games.”, the girl replied before sighing again.

“While, that is a bit sad I have a feeling that’s not the thing really bothering you.”, the blond surmised which caused the girl to sigh again.

“Well, I guess there’s no point in trying to hide it from you’ll just keep asking until I tell you, Miwa.”, the girl replied sighing again.

“That’s what friends are for so what’s really wrong, Misaki?”, Miwa asked.

Misaki’s gaze seemed to linger over to the door as she started speaking.

“It’s Aichi.”, Misaki answered.

“I thought so he has seemed a bit distant lately...”, Miwa trailed off.

“I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of everything that happened with Link Joker. He was fine at first but well three days ago he started acting a bit weird. He seems to be a bit spacey, he’s been avoiding cardfights and...even us.”, Misaki elaborated.

“Maybe he just needs some space. To be fair this isn’t the first time he’s been a bit moody.”, Miwa assured.

“The last times he was like this were after he found out about Kai joining Link Joker and...before...”, Misaki trailed off looking down with a bit of a nervous sweat.

The two suddenly turned there heads to the door as it slid open and gasped in surprise.

A man with green hair and grey eyes wearing glasses walked backwards in holding a cardboard box that seemed packed to the point it was close to bursting.

“Look who I found!”, the man said.

Saying that they almost expected Kai to walk in after him. However instead they saw there was another person helping the green haired man with the box. It was a blue haired teen with blue eyes. He was wearing a white jacket with a black trim and a light purple under. He also wore blue jeans and black shoes.

“Aichi?”, Misaki questioned genuinely shocked to see him.

Aichi looked over towards Misaki and Miwa.

“Oh h-hey.”, he greeted a bit awkwardly.

“That box looks pretty heavy. Have you been working out a bit?”, Miwa questioned.

“Not really Shin’s is carrying most of it.”, Aichi replied.

“I think you might be selling yourself short here.”, Shin replied as they noticed the way the box was tipped.

Shin who was walking backwards and holding it in the front had the box tilted downwards. While Aichi in the back had the box tilted upwards.

“I didn’t notice it felt so light I thought you were carrying most of the weight.”, Aichi replied with a bashful chuckle sweat dropping.

The two set the box down on the table as Shin sighed tiredly.

“Thank god I ran into you I don’t think I could have carried it alone.”, Shin thanked.

“Aichi um...”, Misaki trailed off as Aichi returned his attention to her flinching a bit.

“I uh...”, Aichi trailed off as the two shared a bit of a awkward silence.

Aichi sweated nervously as he turned his gaze over to the box.

“So, what is in the box anyway?”, Aichi asked changing the subject.

Miwa sweat dropped looking at Aichi a bit worriedly.

“Something must have happened.”, Miwa thought.

The three looked down at the box as Shin opened the it revealing a bunch of differently colored square objects with a little screen.

“You know...I think I’ve seen these things around before...Aren’t they called Digimon? Emi told me it was getting rather popular at her school.”, Aichi said.

“Yep! I was thinking since this new Digimon thing has been getting so popular this would be the perfect time to capitalize on it. Though it’s a bit different from our usual products Digimon is a game not to mention I heard they may make a card game soon.”, Shin said as he held up one pointing to the device.

“You see these are Digimon V Pets. This model is called ZERO. Digimon is short for digital monsters. Their a bit similar to tomagatchi in the way you raise a digital pet and that pet is your partner Digimon. With these you can evolve them and battle with your friends. It can even allow you to battle online.”, Shin explained.

“Oh cool, they sell Digimon here now!”, A kid said as a few walked up.

“See we have more customers already.”, Shin said as he looked towards Misaki.

“Oh...uh...”, Misaki trailed off as she looked towards Aichi then the group of kids before going to work.

Aichi, Shin, and Miwa looked on as Misaki served the kids. Aichi was bit caught off guard as Shin placed something in his hand.

“What?”, Aichi questioned looking down as he it was a blue V-pet.

“I was thinking it might be nice to give you a little digital pet of your own. Think of it as thanks for helping me out.”, Shin explained.

“You don’t need to do that. Besides I don’t even know how to work this thing.”, Aichi replied sweat dropping.

“Then, I’ll show you!”, Shin offered.

Miwa smiled as Shin showed Aichi how to work the device.

“He can tell too can’t he?”, Miwa thought.

“So, this is the Digimon, Choromon?”, Aichi questioned.

“Yeah, right now it’s at its baby stage. After that there’s in training, rookie, champion, ultimate, and mega. There’s countless Digimon who start out as a Choromon it could become almost anything depending on how you raise it. You could say it holds infinite potential.”, Shin explained.

Aichi looked at the little unassuming little pixel blob Digimon.

Shin pulled out a folded peace of paper which revealed what looked like over 100 branching possibles.

“T-this is a bit much...”, Aichi said as he and Miwa sweat dropped looking at the paper.

“Well, it can be made a lot easier if you know which Digimon your looking to obtain. The final forms are on the right side of the page. On this ultimate guide I gave it even has a profile on the Digimon to make the choice easier.”, Shin explained as he placed it on the table for him to look over.

Aichi sat down at the table as he started to read over some of the descriptions before he stopped on one.

“You seem interested in that one. Well, it is a knight after all like your Gold Paladins.”, Shin said.

“Yeah. I think I’ll go for this one.”, Aichi replied as he pointed at it.

He read over the steps required to achieve the Digimon a few times before just taking a picture with his phone.

“That definitely will make it a lot easier than remembering all that stuff.”, Miwa said.

Then Aichi’s phone rang.

“Oh it’s Emi...wait I forgot I’m supposed to help her with her homework today! Uh thanks Shin! Bye guys! See you later!”, Aichi said with a bit of urgency as he remembered how mad Emi was the last time he forgot to help her.

“See ya bud! You should stop by more so Misaki doesn’t look so mopey.”, Miwa said as he waved goodbye.

Aichi waved goodbye as he rushed out of the store.

“Mopey huh?”, Misaki said as Miwa jumped turning to her looking at him menacingly.

Later...

“I’m here.”, Aichi said as he walked into Emi’s room.

Inside the room sat a girl with orange hair and blue eyes. She wore a pink shirt and a skirt.

“Aichi you forgot.”, Emi said pouting.

“I’m sorry I ran into Shin and he needed my help. It just kinda slipped my mind.”, Aichi apologized.

“Oh, the shop manager. Wait...did you talk to Misaki?”, Emi asked.

Aichi raised his eyebrow at the question as he sat down next to his sister.

“No. Why?”, Aichi questioned.

“Ah...it’s nothing anyway...”, Emi trailed off as she noticed Aichi’s V pet.

“Oh, Shin gave this to me for helping him out.”, Aichi explained as he pulled out the V pet.

“So, does that mean Card Capital are going to sell Digimon now too?”, Emi asked.

“Yeah, Shin had a whole box of these. The moment we brought it out a bunch of kids already lined up to buy them.”, Aichi replied.

“Maybe, I’ll go buy one when I get my allowance.”, Emi replied.

Later...

After finishing up helping out his sister Aichi went to his room and sat down in his chair. He placed the V pet over on the desk before pulling out a deck box. He took out the cards and laid them out looking over each one of them carefully. He narrowed his eyes as they landed on one card in particular into a bit of glare. The card art depicted a white cybernetic dragon with red glowing lines. The dragon had a black visor and menacing jagged red glowing eyes. It had gold spikes on its back. It’s name was Star-Vader, Imaginary Plane Dragon.

Aichi put down the card and had a relived sigh. Aichi put the cards back into the deck box.

“Good thing there isn’t any more of these. If I avoid cardfighting I will have some time to think of some way to get rid of it. I don’t know how though since simply beating it isn’t enough.”, Aichi thought.

“That’s the point. You can’t get rid of Link Joker. We will return and destroy this world.”, a distorted voice said.

“I’ll find a way!”, Aichi thought as he then turned his attention over to the V pet it seemed his Digimon was had pooped a bit.

“That’s what they all said before we took everything they held dear.”, the distorted voice replied.

Aichi grabbed the device and cleaned up after the Digimon.

“Well, at least this Digimon will be a good distraction until I can think of a plan.”, Aichi thought.

“Oh, ho so you want to ignore me? You know if you ignore your problems for too long you never know they may consume you. Oh wait...that’s already happening. I wonder how long you intend to avoid your friends. You know those fools will eventually get fed up and try to find out what’s going on with you whether you like it or not. Who knows if you’ll even still be yourself by then...”, the distorted voice said.

Aichi said nothing but the voice could tell it was frustrating him. It it had a form it would have a shit eating grin.

“Well, you can play the silent game all you want. I can’t wait to see when you inevitably explode.”, the distorted voice said.

“Okay...So, the Digimon is alright now I should at least wait till it’s grown up a bit more before leaving primary village. Especially since all the encounters seem completely random though the chances are low for all I know I could run into a mega. Apparently, the best way to level them is through battling other people’s Digimon or wild Digimon.”, Aichi thought as he continued to take care of the baby Digimon and ignoring the voice.

Two weeks later...

Four teens were walking around to the city as they talked.

“Ah! No!!! Sukamon again!”, a teen with spiky black hair and brown eyes cried holding a purple V pet.

“That’s what happens when you keep forgetting to clean up after your Digimon.”, a teen with brown hair and brown eyes said.

They both had blue blazers and pants.

“Maybe this is a sign Izaki maybe me and Sukamon are connected by destiny!”, the black haired teen replied.

“Morikawa, so your saying your destined partner is a poop monster?”, Izaki questioned.

“I’m saying maybe it’s actually the strongest and that’s why it has chosen me! Maybe this is the Digimon that will allow me to defeat The Blaster!”, Morikawa replied.

“The Blaster?”, Miwa questioned wearing a blue blazer like the others but with a red hoodie underneath.

“Have you not heard of him Miwa? Some people say very soon he’ll be the number 1 tamer. They suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started beating a lot of upper tier tamers. Their partner is Knightmon last time I heard, but for all we know it could have became a mega by now.”, Izaki explained.

Miwa’s eyes widened as he heard the name of The Blaster’s partner.

“Is something wrong?”, Izaki questioned.

“It’s nothing.”, Miwa said with coy smile.

“Ah! Do you know who The Blaster is Miwa?”, Izaki questioned.

“Maybe.”, Miwa replied coyly.

“Is it you?!”, Morikawa asked gazing at the blond fiercely.

“No no see.”, Miwa said as he revealed a yellow V pet and showed them his partner.

“Woah, you have a ultimate Miwa?! It looks pretty cool.”, Izaki gasped.

“This is Groundramon and yeah he’s pretty cool.”, Miwa replied.

“What!? How did you get one of those?!”, Morikawa questioned.

“I read the guide you should try it sometime.”, Miwa replied.

“There’s a guide!?”, Morikawa gasped.

Miwa and Izaki sweat dropped.

“You didn’t know that?”, Izaki asked.

“No!”, Morikawa replied with comedic tears.

“What about your partner Izaki?”, Miwa asked.

“Oh, mines Tyrannomon.”, Izaki answered as he held up a green V pet.

“What about you Kai? Are you gonna get a Digimon?”, Miwa asked the fourth member of their group who had been silent up till now.

Kai had spiky brown hair and green eyes. He also wore a blue blazer like the others.

“Hmph...I’m not interested in a pet.”, Kai replied looking away.

“Well, you know Kai there’s something I didn’t mention Aichi has a Digimon.”, Miwa replied with a smile.

Kai then turned his attention to Miwa at the mention of the blue haired teen.

“Oh, really I didn’t think he’d be that interested.”, Izaki said.

[thepokyone]

Finding Eleven Pt. 2

Pairing: Eventual Billy Hargrove x Reader

Content/Warnings: none

Words: 1401

A/N: I had a 2nd family emergency in a month last night and am therefor running on no sleep. I’m happy I had this done earlier. Probably the only thing you’ll get from me today besides maybe a headcanon or two, but we’ll see. Enjoy, everyone!

Series Masterlist

Part 2: The Tale of Joyce Byers

You walked across the street and pushed open the door to the store. A woman with reddish-brown hair greeted you with a smile. “Are you Joyce Byers?”

“I am,” She said. “Can I help you with anything?”

You tilted your head, surveying her for a moment before speaking, persuasion dripping from your tongue. “You can, actually. We need to talk.”

Joyce Byers stared at you, and your brow furrowed. Your statement should have warranted some sort of response - perhaps you were losing your edge? No, that didn’t seem to be it, because moments later she managed to stammer out a faint word. “N-now? I’m working, sweetheart, could you come back in an hour?”

Well, that was a first. No one had ever questioned you before. Then again, you hadn’t explicitly stated when you needed to speak with her. Just that it was necessary that you do so.

“I can come back in an hour,” You agreed after a beat of silence. “Is that when you get off?”

Her response was simple. “Yes.”

“Wait for me outside this store,” You ordered.

She gave you a slightly vacant smile and nodded. “Of course, sweetheart. Do you need anything else?”

“No.” With that, you turned on your heel and left the store. Though interrogating Joyce Byers was at the top of your to do list, there were several other things that needed to be taken care of as well. First and foremost, you had to find a place to stay. It was getting cold in Hawkins, and while you had survived the sub-zero winter temperatures there before, you had no desire to do so again.

You walked for a while, simply observing, and occasionally asking directions to the nearest foreclosed house. If there was one thing you had learned from years of being on the run, it was that foreclosed homes were usually a safe place to stay low. Nobody went looking there, other than the occasional teenager, and nobody wanted it.

It didn’t take very long for you to find a foreclosed home. It was a bit out of the way, not in a neighborhood, and when you glanced at your watch, you were pleased to see you still had a half hour before you had to meet Joyce. You jiggled the doorknob, hoping it was unlocked. It wasn’t.

Tilting your head, you stretched your mind outward, sensing the lock, turning it… moments later the lock clicked, and you pulled open the door.

You were five minutes late for your rendezvous with Joyce Byers. You felt kinda bad that you had left her to stand outside like some sort of weirdo, but you needed the information. You quickly ducked out of sight when you realized she was speaking to someone, and was just close enough to overhear their conversation.

“What are you doing out here, Joyce?” The man asked. He was middle-aged, probably somewhere in his 40s, with a scruffy beard. Most notably, he was a police officer.

“Just standing,” She said, shrugging.

He squinted at her. “Why?”

“I don’t know, Hop,” Joyce said, giving a half laugh. “I just feel like standing here, what’s so wrong about that?”

“It’s weird,” Hop said. “You sure you’re alright? You’re acting a bit… odd.”

Obviously, Joyce had lost her patience with him. “I said I’m fine, Hop! I think.”

“You think?” He repeated. “What the hell does that mean?”

“I… don’t know. I’m standing here, but I don’t know why, all I know is that I have to stand here,” Joyce said. “It’s like I’m waiting for someone, or something.”

“I’ll stand here with you, then,” The cop said. Shit.

Sighing, you stepped out from where you were hiding to walk over to Joyce. “Ms. Byers.”

“Hi again!” She said happily, before nudging Hop. “That’s who I was waiting for.”

“What do you want?” He snapped, a little harsher than probably necessary.

“Okay, that’s enough,” You sighed, narrowing your eyes. “I have traveled halfway across the country to find someone very important to me, and I will not be halted by some small-city cop. So you’re going to turn around, drive away, and forget about me and this conversation. Understand?”

For a moment, you thought he was fighting your control, but then his face took on the characteristic spacey look that indicated you had persuaded someone and nodded. “Alright kid. Alright. I’m goin’.” He then turned around and left.

“Wait, h-how did you do that?” Joyce demanded.

You glanced at her. “Do what?”

“Y-you told him to leave, a-and he just did. Hop never does that.” Her voice was steadily becoming stronger as she continued to speak. “So how did you do that?”

“Don’t worry about it,” You ordered, finally tearing your eyes away from the cop’s receding vehicle and training them back on Joyce. “Is there someplace private we can talk?”

“Y-yeah.” She was back to stammering again, once her dazed expression had cleared. “How about my car?”

“That’s fine. But it stays parked,” You said. She nodded and lead you to her (notably green) car. You climbed into the passenger seat.

“What did you want to talk about, sweetheart?” She asked, fiddling with her fingers and staring straight ahead.

“The circumstances surrounding Will’s disappearance.” Joyce’s head snapped towards you, a thousand questions swimming in her eyes that you wouldn’t permit her to ask. “No questions. Before the story, though, I need you to answer this: was Eleven involved?”

If it was possible, her gaze seemed to become even more questioning, but as you had forbid her from asking questions she could not voice any of them. Instead, what came out was the exact response you had been yearning to hear. “Yes.”

“How?”

“She helped me find Will. He was trapped in the Upside Down…” Joyce trailed off.

You were confused. You had never heard of a place called the Upside Down before. “What’s the Upside Down?”

“The boys described it as this alternate dimension full of death and… and monsters. Will was taken there by this… thing called the demogorgon.” Joyce looked like she was starting to get worked up, so you steered back towards safer waters.

“When you say the boys, who are you talking about?”

“Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, and Dustin Henderson. They’re Will’s closest friends,” She explained. “Mike, Lucas, and Dustin were the ones that found El in the first place, and Mike hid her in his basement.”

“Okay…” You said slowly. “Who else helped?”

Joyce wrung her hands. “Chief Hopper - that’s the cop I was talking to - my son Jonathan, Nancy Wheeler, and Steve Harrington. Jonathan, Nancy, and Steve hurt the demogorgon. That’s what helped Eleven kill it, I think.”

“So the demogorgon is dead now?” You clarified. “What about the door that it came through? Has that been closed?”

“Yes, the demogorgon is dead,” Joyce confirmed, before hesitating. “But I think the door it came through, that’s still open.”

“Who made the door in the first place?”

“Will said that Eleven is the one who opened it.”

You scowled. “Have you heard of a man named Brenner?”

“Brenner’s dead,” She said. Reading the shock on your face, she elaborated. “The demogorgon killed him.”

“And what of El? You said she killed the demogorgon, but did she come out unharmed?” You demanded.

“El… El is gone,” Joyce whispered.

Your heart plummeted so fast, you felt ill. “Gone? Gone as in… gone? Or gone as in dead?”

“I don’t know,” She said softly. “She killed the demogorgon, but once the air cleared she had just… disappeared.”

Hope flickered in your chest. All you needed was a chance El was alive, and you could go from there. “So she could still be alive?”

“I-I guess. But I just don’t know,” Joyce said, giving a small nod.

“Thank you for the information,” You said gratefully. You had come in with the full intention of wiping her memory of the whole exchange, but you hesitated. Making a rash decision, you gave her back some control. “You can ask questions now.”

“How are you doing that?!” Joyce exclaimed, her voice three octaves too high. “I mean, I’m telling you things I’ve never told anyone, and not asking questions even though I really want to, and you made Hopper just go away and you told him to forget what even happened and he didn’t even question it, and -”

You cut her off, your mind made up. You needed an ally, some sort of informant that could keep you updated should something happen. “Eleven was not unique in her history, Ms. Byers. There were ten before her.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re…”

You pulled back your sleeve, revealing the tattoo on your wrist that read ‘010’. “I’m Ten.”

Tag List: @haven-in-writing @thepatheticsuggestions @bi-pie67​ @xxwarhawk @jodibullock1 @crazylost-soul @thecrispypancak @hjlauderdale @yourneonbunny @sarcasticvodka @kaliforniacoastalteens​ @veryweirdintrovert @4-a-m @mirajanestrauss1999 @pageofalexandercross​ @hippie-taco-lady @snicketyssnake @the-crime-fighting-spider @micachu1331 @esoltis280 @ilvermornyqueen @hyphymanatee

[iguessthatthisisitfornow]

Med log day 1

So I got prescribed a simulant and today was my first day taking it. Insurance was a meanie and delayed it for a day so I didn't get to take it in the morning like I wanted to, but I ended up sleeping in anyways. My uncle picked in up for me though so I took it early in the afternoon, right before I had to leave for a study group/hang out which generally lasts like 6+ hours

And wow, it's so weird! For the first time in potentially my entire life my brain was just? So?? Quiet??? Beautiful. It felt kinda weird, physically, in my head though. Kinda like the feeling of being slightly spacey from muscle relaxants? But with the difference of still being able to focus really well. One of the things I noticed was that sound wasn't nearly as distracting as normals. We had the windows open so I could hear the birds, cars going by, the wind, the rumbling of the AC, and other house noises, but like not all at once? Idk how to describe it. Like, I heard it all and noted it but it wasn't invasive in my head. It was really nice. Today was the first time I turned in an assignment in like 3 weeks, and I'm hopeful for the future. I even drank a whole (giant) glass of water without being constantly nagged and my friends were very proud of me. I also felt much less anxious, and was able to enjoy myself in the present more while interacting with others. Hell, I spoke happily about the movie we watched and what i did or don't like about it, and that's huge for me! (I have an intense fear of sharing my opinions lol)

I felt it wearing off around 5-6 hours, but it still lasted a good hour after that still. When I finally got home it was like 9 hours after I had taken them and it was only then i realized how mad my body was at me? Felt really nauseous and i had a pretty bad headache. I'm not sure if these were directly caused by the meds though, as the food I ate was Potentially Not Good and i might be a little dehydrated. I also constantly get tension headaches, but I'll have to see if it happens again.

I was really nervous about starting this medication to be honest. I tried talking to a close family member about seeking treatment and potentially medication once, and it didn't go well, at all. But my uncle turned out to be pretty supportive about it. He asked what the prescription was for, and was surprised when I told him about the problems it was prescribed for. I feel kinda bad that I didn't talk to him about what I've been going through before, but I'm working on it. When I got home he asked me how I felt and how my day was, and was happy to hear it went well! Love him, he's great. Still so eternally grateful for my family. That close family member doesn't know yet, as she's currently gone for at least a week to celebrate a wedding, and I'm kinda scared about how that conversation is gonna go when she gets back and sees the medication guide on the refrigerator lol. But that's a problem for when she gets back, and it's not worth worrying about for now. She loves me though, and i love her too, so i think whatever happens we'll be okay

Overall; excited, hopeful, happy

[alexanderwrites]

Hack Job: Why Were Hacker Movies Ever A Thing?

Lately i’ve been thinking about that weird and almost completely failed subgenre of movie that attempted to light up the LCD screens of our hearts, but instead faded like a broken computer screen: the hacker film. Now, I could ask what good the sub-genre has ever done for us, but the answer to that is clear and just a few inches above this block of text. The genre birthed this iconic Matthew Lillard role from the movie Hackers, in which he plays a (wait for it!) hacker named...erm...Cereal Killer. Because....he likes Cereal? Sure, lets go with that! He’s a character described by June Diane Raphael on an episode of the podcast How Did This Get Made? as “Disgusting”, and she is not completely wrong. He is disgusting, bizarre and the strangest character Lillard has played, and i’m including Shaggy in the live action Scooby Doo films. He’s a character that must be experienced, and once experienced, never forgotten. I mean - you’ve seen what he fucking looks like. 

But my point remains: outside of Cereal Killer (I am bolding his name because he is an Important Man), the genre has offered up very little to the world. I admittedly know nothing at all about hacking, and I don’t care at all about Hacking, like, i’d presume, 90% of people currently residing here on earth. But I cannot imagine that people who love Hacking (or Hacker Fuckers, if you will) queuing up to see Hackers, a film that thinks this is what the internet looks like:

Now, i’m no city-slickin’ mouse-clickin’ hacker, but I don’t think that’s what the internet looks like. I could be wrong, and character actor Fisher Stevens (I was about to write “beloved” character actor, but then I remembered Short Circuit) could be skating through a flashing pillar of internet right now. It’s a cool thought! Hackers came along in 1995, when future optimism was higher than it had been in years, as everyone believed the tech-bubble would never burst (spoiler alert: it did!) and that the new millennium would bring a world of positive changes and possibilities. The poor, innocent souls of 1995 could never have possibly imagined the true horrors waiting for them on the other side of the millennium...

But before Fred Durst became a thing in a hat that you had to look at, technology was booming, affordable and exciting. You got transparent Macs that allowed you to see through into the mechanical nonsense inside it. The new fangled e-mail gave us (I don’t know why i’m saying “us”. I was 3 years old in 1995. Babies don’t get emails) all the opportunity to open your email and then close it again as many times as you liked! So this is what producers saw when they started making movies like Hackers. They put their strongest marketing minds together and came up with “People got computers now. Make comPUTER FILM!”. Those wild bastards actually went and did it! And weirdly, Hackers was kinda ahead of its time. It might’ve been wildly inaccurate in almost every possible way, but it paved the way for a wave of (well, like 3) films. The Matrix wouldn’t be released for another 4 years, and Swordfish a further 2. If it did incite a trend, it was the only trend started by Director Iain Softley, his later film K-Pax tragically failing to kick start a new genre of films in which Kevin Spacey eats bananas with their skins still on.

Good stuff! Hackers does feel like a film that is unsure of whether it’s trying to replicate fads or start them off. I mean, characters rollerblade everywhere for no apparent reason in the film. That might be something Hackers do? I’ve never seen Mr Robot, so I cannot categorically say that Rami Malek doesn’t rollerblade his way around town like a Starlight Express extra who really hates computers. But I doubt it. So with the rollerblading, and the way....ugh...Cereal Killer dresses, it seems like the film is offering you up its own funky ideas that you could follow on from if you want to get murdered on the streets. Did its aesthetic style have influence? Was the game Jet Set Radio from 2000 and its rollerblading theme influenced at all by Hackers? Did Eminem see Johnny Lee Miller’s bleached blonde hair in the film (quick deeply important side note: his character is named Dade. DADE.) and think “huh. that would really compliment my insufferable personality!”? We’ll never know. The film is a weird exercise in style and trends, and the soundtrack, crammed with The Prodidgy and Underworld, is proof that at least the soundtrack department had its finger on the pulse. And, it could be argued that the film’s costume department at least came up with some creative cyber-punk clothing, and were bold enough to make Penn Jillette look like this:

The thing is, I liked the weirdness of it all, I like this misfires in capturing modern life, and inaccuracy doesn’t bother me really if a film is fun enough. I’m not a stickler for realism. I didn’t sit down to Face/Off and complain that it’s totally unbelievable that John Travolta is a human person. That’s not the issue. The issue, really is that with all the giant screen Playstations, pounding trance tracks and references to Coca Cola (weird, I thought Mountain Dew would be the Hacker’s choice), the film is in troubled water because of the fact that Hacking is unbelievably, deeply fucking boring. It is not interesting in seeing someone go clickety clack on a keyboard and make occasional faces to indicate that “oh no! the mainframe is busting my chops!” or “Huzzah! I clicked the mouse really fast just now!”.

Thankfully, the film has some fairly decent editing which intersperses the clickety-clacking with some long exposure, sped up shots of New York City just in case you forgot it was the 90′s. The fact that they need to cut away to exciting, zooming shots that have nothing to do with anything highlights the fact that the Director and Editor knew exactly what i’m talking about: HACKING IS FUCKING BORING (if you’re a hacker reading this, please don’t hack me). And they’ve built an entire film around it! A whole nonsensical plot which involves (as far as i can remember) big ships and evil corporations that want to sink the big ships is built on Hacking. Thank god this film is so wildly ridiculous, which keeps it from being entirely boring. It’s smart in that it knows to not make the film actually about hacking, but then you kind of ask yourself the question: why is this film about Hacking at all? Why is it called Hackers? Maybe a better name would’ve been ‘Bladin’ Teenz’, as an ode to their endless rollerblading. It’s a fun film, but a dumb film and proof that films entirely about hacking cannot really work.

The Matrix was a wise film. Exploiting that hip, late-90s techno excitement that everyone was buzzing over, it featured a hacker at its centre who really doesn’t do much hacking at all. In fact, Morpheus might as well have said “You Hack? Dude fucking grow up. Come on, i’ll make you a treat”. Sure, you’ve got the iconic green gibberish that turns up on the computers and would inspire a million shitty screensavers, but again the hacking is intercut with other action going on in the film. You have characters typing away and yelling shit like “I’m nearly in!” or “i’m not nearly in!” or “I am unsure of whether I am, in fact, in, nearly in, or not nearly in!”. But that is manageable and minimal, and in the end there’s so much more to remember about The Matrix that I don’t think anyone, when asked what it’s about, would say “Oh it’s about Keanu Reeves hacking on his dell”. It understood this caveat, and created its own style which would influence every single music video ever produced over the next 5 years.

These are screenshots from the video for Don’t Wanna Let You Go by 5ive, a very bad UK Boy-band that had 4 singers and 1 rapper, all of whom it’s safe to assume have passed away. 

The Matrix had the style, and the smarts to sidestep bland hacking scenes. You know what film doesn’t understand that hacking is boring? Fucking Swordfish.

Fucking Swordfish. A film so aesthetically ugly and repulsive in every way that it does the unthinkable and makes you hate Hugh Jackman. But it commits the biggest sin of all by giving John Travolta a teeny tiny beard - a decision which we still feel the fallout from today, whenever a new red carpet photo arrises of John’s new chin abomination. 

Looking like a cup of concentrated Michael Bay piss, the film leans heavily into stylishness - or lack thereof. Hugh Jackman is basically...sigh...DADE in the movie, and Travolta is regularly outfitted with funny sunglasses. It borrows a lot from Hackers, but while that had a naive, 1995 goofy charm, Swordfish is an aggressively stupid and oblivious movie, that gives us a LOT of Hacking. Like...so much Hacking. The Most Hacking. Oh, The Fucking Hacking. Its a reminder of just how boring Hackers or The Matrix could’ve been if they’d fallen into the wrong hands, and a big, horribly colour-corrected reminder that films about hacking really aren’t the best. Instead of cutaways of cityscapes, Swordfish tries to build the tension during one hacking scene in the grossest way possible: by having Hugh Jackman’s character receive forced fellatio while he works, and while John Travolta smiles. It doesn’t make a boring scene exciting, it makes a boring scene fucking disgusting (the movie’s grossness doesn’t stop there. Halle Berry was heavily pushed into taking her top off in the movie, and promised extra money if she did it.). The Hackers method of randomised cutaways feels a million miles away during these scenes, and you will be willing to pay any earthly sum to make the scene unfolding in front of you stop. Maybe that’s how hackers should make their money from here on in: stop hacking, and just start blackmailing people by forcing them to watch Swordfish. Fucking Swordfish.

The movie was also a bit of a death knell for a subgenre that never really took off. People realised “Oh, this is dull and crap to watch!” when it came to hacking, and technology moved on rapidly that there was a lot more to do with it than watch some guy slapping the keys of his iMac. I find it a really interesting subgenre to look back at, because i’m a huge fan of outdated technologies, fashion styles, turn of the millennium culture, and really quite poor films (besides The Matrix which holds up nicely). Hollywood has tried to make a manner of subjects interesting. Stock markets. Fishing. White people who buy zoos. Some work, some don’t, and it’s all about the way the subject is handled. Because of their reliance on technology, these hacking films feel so dated that maybe Hollywood doesn’t want to risk dipping its toes back into the cyberwaters again. I kind of hope they don’t, because I would literally rather never see a film again than have to even know that a film about Anonymous is being made. I don’t want an ‘edgy’ modern movie that’s made for Banksy to watch while he plunges his hands down his pants and goes to town. I want silly old Cereal Killer and towers of nonsense computer language dammit! I want rollerblading, coke-drinking cyberpunks! Oh well. Whatever happens to the genre, at the very least, we’ll always have Dade and The Gang....

[stephaniemarlowftw]

CAVE IN ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM, ‘FINAL TRANSMISSION,’ DUE OUT JUNE 7TH VIA HYDRA HEAD

LISTEN TO THE BRAND NEW TRACK "ALL ILLUSION"

In February of 2018, the members of Cave In gathered at their rehearsal space in Boston to work on material for their next record. It had been nearly seven years since their previous album, White Silence, had been released. But they’d been writing and rehearsing methodically, off and on, to craft a worthy follow-up. In that time, guitarist/vocalist Steve Brodsky had started prog-metal power trio Mutoid Man, drummer J.R. Conners and guitarist Adam McGrath started psych-punk outfit Nomad Stones, and bassist Caleb Scofield was busy with simian rock supergroup Old Man Gloom and his own band, Zozobra. After jamming all weekend with Cave In, Caleb got in his truck and drove home to New Hampshire. It was the last time his bandmates would ever see him.

On March 28th, 2018, Caleb was killed in an auto accident. There are no words to describe what a devastating blow this was to his wife and children, his friends, family and bandmates—not to mention his countless fans around the world. A light had gone out—a light with a monstrous bass tone and a feral roar. An occasionally stubborn light with a million-dollar smile who loved his family and music above all else. To describe his death as a tragedy would be a colossal understatement. Caleb didn’t live to see 40.  

Benefit shows were held in Boston and Los Angeles, complete with performances from longtime friends and touring partners Converge, Pelican and 27. Cave In played with Converge bassist Nate Newton and Caleb’s younger brother, Kyle, filling in on bass. Old Man Gloom played with Brodsky on bass. Even long-defunct comrades Isis reformed under the non-threatening code name Celestial for a onetime performance—their first in nearly a decade—in celebration of Caleb’s life and music. All proceeds went to his wife and children.

Rewind to that night in February of ’18: Steve, Adam and JR are hanging out at Adam’s place after Caleb heads home. They get a text message from him with a voice memo attached. It’s an idea for a new song. Caleb is playing an acoustic guitar and humming a melody. “Hearing his voice fucks you up a little bit,” Adam says today. “We were surprised to get it from him, actually, but we thought it was great. And that was it. In a weird way, it’s the end of the story as far as our relationship together.”

That voice memo is the haunting opening track of Final Transmission, the first Cave In album in eight years and the band’s last with Caleb, who performs on all of the songs. “Adam, Steve and I would sometimes get together to work on stuff when Caleb couldn’t make it,” J.R. says. “But the next time Caleb would be there and the songs turned into something else. It became much more of a Cave Inproject than it was before he showed up. He had weird rhythms that none of us would ever come up with or think to try, which turned the material into a different thing. He had a huge hand in these songs.”

Originally intended as demos, Final Transmission was brought to fruition by the band, mixed by Andrew Schneider and mastered by James Plotkin. “Getting these mixes back was really hard,” Steve says. “I don’t think I’ve cried so much putting together any record. I’ve definitely felt like bursting into tears while I was working on things, but this was actual water being shed. I don’t try to look too deeply into how these things work, but these recordings are some of our last moments spending time with him.”

Caleb’s voice—musical and physical—are everywhere on Final Transmission. After the opening title track/voice memo, he plays bass on six of the album’s remaining eight songs, and guitar on the other two. Steve points to “All Illusion” and album closer “Led To The Wolves” as being particularly Caleb-driven. “‘Led To The Wolves’ is a Caleb song,” he says. “It’s his composition and mostly his riffs. If you know White Silence, you can smell the fumes of that record on ‘Led To The Wolves.’ And White Silence was heavily shaped by Caleb’s hand.”

“All Illusion” was another Caleb composition that Steve had originally written lyrics for. But that changed not long after Caleb’s passing, when Adam went to visit Caleb’s wife, Jen, and their two kids, Desmond and Sydney. “Jen found some lyrics in one of Caleb’s journals,” Adam explains. “She was going to tear them out and give them to me, but I just took a picture because I wanted her to keep it. We used the lyrics for ‘All Illusion,’ which is a song that really haunts me. I feel like it’s a weird message from Caleb sometimes.”  Listen to (and share) "All Illusion" now on YouTube.

Most of the lyrics and vocals for Final Transmission weren’t finished until after Caleb’s death. “The song ‘Shake My Blood’ was my first opportunity to express what I was feeling about the whole situation,” Steve explains. “It’s a mix of extreme grief, frustration and anger. I was trying to do something to gain the clearest answer about whatever the next move might be. We worked on the lyrics together, and all three of us sing on that song—Adam’s doing the high harmonies and JR is doing the low harmonies.”

Collaboration is one of the defining forces behind Final Transmission. “Over the years, the songwriting in Cave In has become more and more of a communal effort,” JR observes. “In my mind, it hit the pinnacle with this record that’s about to come out. It was so easy to throw around ideas between all four of us that we kinda got everything in there that we wanted to get in there. I don’t think we were aware of it at the time, but maybe subconsciously we wanted to put the best of what we’ve done in the past into this record.”

Even a cursory listen of Final Transmission will offer glimpses of past Cave In eras, from the scintillating space rock of their 2000 breakthrough opus Jupiter to the ripping metal melodies of White Silence. All told, it’s a direction that was largely spearheaded by Caleb. “When I look back at our email correspondence about the demos, Caleb had a really crystallized view of how to navigate the whole thing,” Steve reveals. “He was really digging the stuff that was spacey, heavy, a little bit weird, but with very pretty melodies and hooks—which is a very surface-level way of looking at Jupiter. So I think he was encouraging us to embrace what we’ve always been good at and what sets us apart from our contemporaries. That’s what made Jupiter a turning point for the band. So there was definitely that creative motion to slip back into the spacesuits.”

Half of the proceeds from Final Transmission will be given to Caleb’s wife and children. “I feel really lucky to have this record,” Adam concludes. “I love it, but I don’t like listening to it. I’m sure I’ll listen to it eventually, but right now it’s difficult. Just hearing him play kills me. I’ll miss him forever.”

Final Transmission, Track listing

1. Final Transmission 

2. All Illusion 

3. Shake My Blood 

4. Night Crawler 

5. Lunar Day 

6. Winter Window

7. Lanterna 

8. Strange Reflection 

9. Led To The Wolves 

Cave In, Live Dates: 

April 10 - Berlin @ Festaal Kruezberg w/Old Man Gloom, Bossk 

April 12 - London @ Electric Ballroom w/Old Man Gloom, Bossk 

April 13 - Tilburg @ Roadburn Festival 

October 19 - Boston, MA @ The Sinclair w/ Miltown 

Final Transmission, pre-order links:

USA: https://hydrahead.merchtable.com  

[thebladeblaster]

Digimon Tamer ZERO (ver.2) Chapter 1 The Digimon Phenomenon (part 1)

(The differences are more noticeable towards the end)

A few days after the Link Joker incident...

Inside of Card Capital a familiar light purple haired girl sat behind the counter reading a book. She wore a white dress shirt and a red apron. A little black and white cat slept soundly on the counter. There wasn’t quite as many customers in as usual. The girl lifted up her book revealing her blue eyes as she heard someone walk over. It was a blond teen with grey eyes and a white and red hoodie.

“Slow day huh?”, the blond teen questioned putting his elbows on the counter and leaning in.

The girl sighed in response.

“Well, business has gotten a bit slower lately because of the release of that new digital pet line, Digimon. Many kids have been playing those rather than playing card games.”, the girl replied before sighing again.

“While, that is a bit sad I have a feeling that’s not the thing really bothering you.”, the blond surmised which caused the girl to sigh again.

“Well, I guess there’s no point in trying to hide it from you’ll just keep asking until I tell you, Miwa.”, the girl replied sighing again.

“That’s what friends are for so what’s really wrong, Misaki?”, Miwa asked.

Misaki’s gaze seemed to linger over to the door as she started speaking.

“It’s Aichi.”, Misaki answered.

“I thought so he has seemed a bit distant lately...”, Miwa trailed off.

“I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of everything that happened with Link Joker. He was fine at first but well three days ago he started acting a bit weird. He seems to be a bit spacey, he’s been avoiding cardfights and...even us.”, Misaki elaborated.

“Maybe he just needs some space. To be fair this isn’t the first time he’s been a bit moody.”, Miwa assured.

“The last times he was like this were after he found out about Kai joining Link Joker and...before...”, Misaki trailed off looking down with a bit of a nervous sweat.

The two suddenly turned there heads to the door as it slid open and gasped in surprise.

A man with green hair and grey eyes wearing glasses walked backwards in holding a cardboard box that seemed packed to the point it was close to bursting.

“Look who I found!”, the man said.

Saying that they almost expected Kai to walk in after him. However instead they saw there was another person helping the green haired man with the box. It was a blue haired teen with blue eyes. He was wearing a white jacket with a black trim and a light purple under. He also wore blue jeans and black shoes.

“Aichi?”, Misaki questioned genuinely shocked to see him.

Aichi looked over towards Misaki and Miwa.

“Oh h-hey.”, he greeted a bit awkwardly.

“That box looks pretty heavy. Have you been working out a bit?”, Miwa questioned.

“Not really Shin’s is carrying most of it.”, Aichi replied.

“I think you might be selling yourself short here.”, Shin replied as they noticed the way the box was tipped.

Shin who was walking backwards and holding it in the front had the box tilted downwards. While Aichi in the back had the box tilted upwards.

“I didn’t notice it felt so light I thought you were carrying most of the weight.”, Aichi replied with a bashful chuckle sweat dropping.

The two set the box down on the table as Shin sighed tiredly.

“Thank god I ran into you I don’t think I could have carried it alone.”, Shin thanked.

“Aichi um...”, Misaki trailed off as Aichi returned his attention to her flinching a bit.

“I uh...”, Aichi trailed off as the two shared a bit of a awkward silence.

Aichi sweated nervously as he turned his gaze over to the box.

“So, what is in the box anyway?”, Aichi asked changing the subject.

Miwa sweat dropped looking at Aichi a bit worriedly.

“Something must have happened.”, Miwa thought.

The three looked down at the box as Shin opened the it revealing a bunch of differently colored square objects with a little screen.

“You know...I think I’ve seen these things around before...Aren’t they called Digimon? Emi told me it was getting rather popular at her school.”, Aichi said.

“Yep! I was thinking since this new Digimon thing has been getting so popular this would be the perfect time to capitalize on it. Though it’s a bit different from our usual products Digimon is a game not to mention I heard they may make a card game soon.”, Shin said as he held up one pointing to the device.

“You see these are Digimon V Pets. This model is called ZERO. Digimon is short for digital monsters. Their a bit similar to tomagatchi in the way you raise a digital pet and that pet is your partner Digimon. With these you can evolve them and battle with your friends. It can even allow you to battle online.”, Shin explained.

“Oh cool, they sell Digimon here now!”, A kid said as a few walked up.

“See we have more customers already.”, Shin said as he looked towards Misaki.

“Oh...uh...”, Misaki trailed off as she looked towards Aichi then the group of kids before going to work.

Aichi, Shin, and Miwa looked on as Misaki served the kids. Aichi was bit caught off guard as Shin placed something in his hand.

“What?”, Aichi questioned looking down as he it was a blue V-pet.

“I was thinking it might be nice to give you a little digital pet of your own. Think of it as thanks for helping me out.”, Shin explained.

“You don’t need to do that. Besides I don’t even know how to work this thing.”, Aichi replied sweat dropping.

“Then, I’ll show you!”, Shin offered.

Miwa smiled as Shin showed Aichi how to work the device.

“He can tell too can’t he?”, Miwa thought.

When, Aichi turned on the v pet there was a egg which shortly hatched into what looked like a black pixel blob.

“So, this is the Digimon, Choromon?”, Aichi questioned.

“Yeah, right now it’s at its baby stage. After that there’s in training, rookie, champion, ultimate, and mega. There’s countless Digimon who start out as a Choromon it could become almost anything depending on how you raise it. You could say it holds infinite potential.”, Shin explained.

Aichi looked at the little unassuming little pixel blob Digimon.

Shin pulled out a folded peace of paper which revealed what looked like over 100 branching possibles.

“T-this is a bit much...”, Aichi said as he and Miwa sweat dropped looking at the paper.

“Well, it can be made a lot easier if you know which Digimon your looking to obtain. The final forms are on the right side of the page. On this ultimate guide I gave it even has a profile on the Digimon to make the choice easier.”, Shin explained as he placed it on the table for him to look over.

Aichi sat down at the table as he started to read over some of the descriptions before he stopped on one.

“You seem interested in that one. Well, it is a knight after all like your Gold Paladins.”, Shin said.

“Yeah. I think I’ll go for this one.”, Aichi replied as he pointed at it.

He read over the steps required to achieve the Digimon a few times before just taking a picture with his phone.

“That definitely will make it a lot easier than remembering all that stuff.”, Miwa said.

Then Aichi’s phone rang.

“Oh it’s Emi...wait I forgot I’m supposed to help her with her homework today! Uh thanks Shin! Bye guys! See you later!”, Aichi said with a bit of urgency as he remembered how mad Emi was the last time he forgot to help her.

“See ya bud! You should stop by more so Misaki doesn’t look so mopey.”, Miwa said as he waved goodbye.

Aichi waved goodbye as he rushed out of the store.

“Mopey huh?”, Misaki said as Miwa jumped turning to her looking at him menacingly.

Later...

“I’m here.”, Aichi said as he walked into Emi’s room.

Inside the room sat a girl with orange hair and blue eyes. She wore a pink shirt and a skirt.

“Aichi you forgot.”, Emi said pouting.

“I’m sorry I ran into Shin and he needed my help. It just kinda slipped my mind.”, Aichi apologized.

“Oh, the shop manager. Wait...did you talk to Misaki?”, Emi asked.

Aichi raised his eyebrow at the question as he sat down next to his sister.

“No. Why?”, Aichi questioned.

“Ah...it’s nothing anyway...”, Emi trailed off as she noticed Aichi’s V pet.

“Oh, Shin gave this to me for helping him out.”, Aichi explained as he pulled out the V pet.

“So, does that mean Card Capital are going to sell Digimon now too?”, Emi asked.

“Yeah, Shin had a whole box of these. The moment we brought it out a bunch of kids already lined up to buy them.”, Aichi replied.

“Maybe, I’ll go buy one when I get my allowance.”, Emi replied.

Later...

After finishing up helping out his sister Aichi went to his room and sat down in his chair. He placed the V pet over on the desk before pulling out a deck box. He took out the cards and laid them out looking over each one of them carefully. He narrowed his eyes as they landed on one card in particular into a bit of glare. The card art depicted a white cybernetic dragon with red glowing lines. The dragon had a black visor and menacing jagged red glowing eyes. It had gold spikes on its back. It’s name was Star-Vader, Imaginary Plane Dragon.

Aichi put down the card and had a relived sigh. Aichi put the cards back into the deck box.

“Good thing there isn’t any more of these. If I avoid cardfighting I will have some time to think of some way to get rid of it. I don’t know how though since simply beating it isn’t enough.”, Aichi thought.

“That’s the point. You can’t get rid of Link Joker. We will return and destroy this world.”, a distorted voice said.

“I’ll find a way!”, Aichi thought as he then turned his attention over to the V pet it seemed his Digimon was had pooped a bit.

“That’s what they all said before we took everything they held dear.”, the distorted voice replied.

Aichi grabbed the device and cleaned up after the Digimon.

“Well, at least this Digimon will be a good distraction until I can think of a plan.”, Aichi thought.

“Oh, ho so you want to ignore me? You know if you ignore your problems for too long you never know they may consume you. Oh wait...that’s already happening. I wonder how long you intend to avoid your friends. You know those fools will eventually get fed up and try to find out what’s going on with you whether you like it or not. Who knows if you’ll even still be yourself by then...”, the distorted voice said.

Aichi said nothing but the voice could tell it was frustrating him. It it had a form it would have a shit eating grin.

“Well, you can play the silent game all you want. I can’t wait to see when you inevitably explode.”, the distorted voice said.

“Okay...So, the Digimon is alright now I should at least wait till it’s grown up a bit more before leaving primary village. Especially since all the encounters seem completely random though the chances are low for all I know I could run into a mega. Apparently, the best way to level them is through battling other people’s Digimon or wild Digimon.”, Aichi thought as he continued to take care of the baby Digimon and ignoring the voice.

Two weeks later...

Four teens were walking around to the city as they talked.

“Ah! No!!! Sukamon again!”, a teen with spiky black hair and brown eyes cried holding a purple V pet.

“That’s what happens when you keep forgetting to clean up after your Digimon.”, a teen with brown hair and brown eyes said.

They both had blue blazers and pants.

“Maybe this is a sign Izaki maybe me and Sukamon are connected by destiny!”, the black haired teen replied.

“Morikawa, so your saying your destined partner is a poop monster?”, Izaki questioned.

“I’m saying maybe it’s actually the strongest and that’s why it has chosen me! Maybe this is the Digimon that will allow me to defeat The Blaster!”, Morikawa replied.

“The Blaster?”, Miwa questioned wearing a blue blazer like the others but with a red hoodie underneath.

“Have you not heard of him Miwa? Some people say very soon he’ll be the number 1 tamer. They suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started beating a lot of upper tier tamers. Their partner is some weird variation of Knightmon last time I heard, but for all we know it could have became a mega by now.”, Izaki explained.

Miwa’s eyes widened as he heard the name of The Blaster’s partner.

“Is something wrong?”, Izaki questioned.

“It’s nothing.”, Miwa said with coy smile.

“Ah! Do you know who The Blaster is Miwa?”, Izaki questioned.

“Maybe.”, Miwa replied coyly.

“Is it you?!”, Morikawa asked gazing at the blond fiercely.

“No no see.”, Miwa said as he revealed a yellow V pet and showed them his partner.

“Woah, you have a ultimate Miwa?! It looks pretty cool.”, Izaki gasped.

“This is Groundramon and yeah he’s pretty cool.”, Miwa replied.

“What!? How did you get one of those?!”, Morikawa questioned.

“I read the guide you should try it sometime.”, Miwa replied.

“There’s a guide!?”, Morikawa gasped.

Miwa and Izaki sweat dropped.

“You didn’t know that?”, Izaki asked.

“No!”, Morikawa replied with comedic tears.

“What about your partner Izaki?”, Miwa asked.

“Oh, mines Tyrannomon.”, Izaki answered as he held up a green V pet.

“What about you Kai? Are you gonna get a Digimon?”, Miwa asked the fourth member of their group who had been silent up till now.

Kai had spiky brown hair and green eyes. He also wore a blue blazer like the others.

“Hmph...I’m not interested in a pet.”, Kai replied looking away.

“Well, you know Kai there’s something I didn’t mention Aichi has a Digimon.”, Miwa replied with a smile.

Kai then turned his attention to Miwa at the mention of the blue haired teen.