#Destructive Chewing Prevention

[happydogophiles]

Effective Bad Dog Tools to Bring Harmony Back to Your Home!

🐾 Tired of your dog's chaos at home? 🏠😫 Discover the ultimate #BadDogTools to bring harmony back to your life! 🐶🌟 #PetBehaviorSolutions 🐾😍 #DogTraining 🐾🎉 #HarmoniousHome

At Pswsome Puppy, we understand the importance of maintaining a harmonious environment in your home. When it comes to dealing with challenging behaviors from our furry companions, it can be quite a daunting task. But fear not! We have compiled an extensive guide on the most effective bad dog tools that will help you bring back peace and serenity to your living space. Our Bad Dog Tools are…

[snobwhimsicalityy]

crk LET ME IN LET ME IN LET ME IN LEY M

[quillcraftconquer]

John Price x Ex-Wife Part II

Didnt realize you guys loved the angst so much (honestly same.)

Tw: Angst, unprotected piv, verbal argument.

(WIP still. I promise there’s more.)

—-

It was already dark out, the front porch light shining through the small glass windows that accompanied your front door. You had already put your son to bed, been woken up, and put him down again a few times. You were in the process of working towards sleep again when you heard a gentle knock on the door.

You struggled with the squirming baby in your arms, trying to avoid the toys that littered the ground around your feet like mines. You heard another small knock on the door, struggling to get to it in time.

"It's open." You called out, knowing that it was John on the other side. The handle turned, and John poked his head in, lips pressed into a tight line. You knew he wanted to chastise you about leaving the door unlocked, but his eyes fell to the floor, observing the toys strewn around, and then back up at you, kicking them out of the way with your son outstretched in your arms. He stepped inside, still dressed in his tactical pants, boots, and a tight fitting tan shirt. If you weren't struggling to keep a hold of your baby and navigate to him, you would have stumbled at the site. John, despite being a few years older than the men he worked with, still looked damn good, with thick forearms laced with dark brown hair and rounded biceps. The only part of his body that showed his age was the grey peppering his hair and the thin layer of fat that laid over his abs. He let a backpack fall from his shoulders, setting it on the ground beside him. He stepped forward, meeting you in the middle of the corridor to take the baby from your arms.

"Hi, love." He cooed at him softly, brushing the wild hair on the baby's head down with his hand. You sighed with relief, bending to pick up some of the toys on the ground and toss them into a bin.

"Been up awhile?" John asked, planting soft kisses on the side of your sons head.

"Up, down, and back up again." You admitted, sitting back on your heels and staring up at John.

"I'm sorry I'm late." He apologized, and you shrugged in response. It wasn't anything new.

"Need help?" He asked, nodding his head to the destruction on the floors. You chewed on the inside of your cheek for a moment. You did want the help, but you didn't necessarily want John in your house for longer than he needed to be.

"Yes." You finally said in a sigh, and John immediately dropped to his knees, setting your son gently on the floor next to him. John grabbed one of the toys, handing it to your son to play with while he began to gather the others around him, tossing them into the same bin. You helped him gather from your own spot on the floor, occasionally stopping to prevent your son from pulling the toys back out. Finally, both of you on your hands and knees, you met in the middle, picking up the few toys that were left. You both reached for the same toy, your fingers colliding against his hand. The touch made you pause, a tingle running down your spine. Your eyes flickered up at John, who had also paused, his large calloused hand resting on top of yours. His eyes met yours, and you swallowed the lump that had formed in your throat. Something between love, sadness, and need filled his eyes when you bit your bottom lip.

Had he always been this attractive?

"I-" You started to say, before being interrupted by the babbling coming from your son.

"Da-da. Da-da, da-da" He babbled, reaching his chubby arms out towards John. John's head whipped towards him so fast strands of your hair fluttered across your face.

Your heart tightened in your chest. Your sons first words. Part of you wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor like John was doing, eyes filled with love and adoration as he pulled your son into his lap, chuckling as he encouraged him to say it again.

The other part of you was devastated. Jealously, and guilt from it, coiling in your stomach and replacing whatever feeling John had put there. You, who spent countless hours awake with him. You, who changed the majority of the dirty diapers. You, who waved goodbye to your husband every-other-week to do this alone, and still.

You always came last.

You brushed the feelings aside, plastering a smile on your face as your son curled into his fathers body, eyes heavy with sleep. Tears pricked the corner of your eyes, and you blinked them away quickly.

"I can swing by in the morning, pick him up then." John offered softly.

You nodded, tossing the last toy into the bin.

John rose to his feet, and you followed suit. You reached out towards your son, and John hesitated, still cradling his head to his chest.

"Can I lay him down?" John asked.

You didn't want to take this moment from him.

"Sure. It's down the hall, first door on the left." You said, gesturing to the hallway behind you. John nodded, his eyes grateful as he took a step towards the room. You stopped him as he passed you, grasping his biceps. You could feel his muscles instinctively flex under your fingers, and you smiled a little at the action.

"Take your boots off." You told him, and he obliged, using his free hand to loosen the laces and the stepping on the back of the heel to kick his boots free. You took the boots, setting them to the side and kicking the remnants of dried mud to the side as well. John continued down the hallway, disappearing into your sons room.

You walked into the living room, surveying the mess in there. You dragged a hand down your face before getting on your hands and knees, gathering the toys into a small pile.

You stopped when you saw movement in the reflection of the black screen of the TV. John was standing in front of the couch, now empty handed, but not making eye contact with you.

John was staring straight at your ass.

Normally, you would grumble at him, maybe even lash out at him, but tonight you didn't.

Instead, you arched your back, knowing the bottom of your pajama shorts were already too short, showing off the crease where your thighs met your ass. John sank into the couch, still staring dumbly at you. You could see him shift uncomfortably, hands gathering in his lap to hide the bulge you knew had begun to form.

You were suddenly very grateful you hadn't put pillows on the couch yet.

You swiveled to turn towards him, and his eyes finally jumped up to your face, his face flushing with embarrassment at being caught.

"He's asleep. I'll come by in the morning. What tim-" John stopped himself as you crawled towards him, resting your hands on top of his knees. You pushed his legs apart, slowly stroking your hands up his large thighs. You could already feel how wet you were, each rub of cotton on your clit drowning out the doubt of what you were doing. John was breathing heavier now, watching you as you unbuttoned the top of his pants, the tip of his hard cock already beading with precum as you tugged it out.

“Love…” John sighed, his jaw clenching when you began to stroke him, hand molding around the familiar part of his body you once devoted your life to.

“Love, stop.” John said, unable to control his body as his hips bucked into your hand.

“Tell me you want me.” You breathed, wiggling out of your pajama shorts and climbing on top of him.

“Of course I want you.” John answered, furrowing his brow slightly at your request.

“Show me you want me.” You said, clasping a hand behind his neck as you sank down on him, letting out a moan as your body stretched for him.

You hadn’t had sex since the divorce, almost a year. Your body quaked at the sensation of being filled again, by your ex husband nonetheless.

John grabbed your face between his hands, kissing you desperately as you began to rise and fall on him. He withdrew from the kiss, wrapping his arms around your torso and smashing your body against his chest in a tight hug that matched the feverish need in his kiss. He began to thrust his own hips upwards, and you stifled a cry as your hands gripped the back of the couch behind him.

“I love you.” He mumbled into the shell of your ear, one hand twisting into your hair to hold you close to him. You could feel his pace become erratic, his other hand drifting low to grip one of your ass cheeks as he pumped into you.

Suddenly, his grip tightened, fingers digging into your flesh as you felt the hot release deep inside of you. You groaned, pressing your mouth against his flushed neck to stifle the noise. You remained there, face buried into his neck as you felt him begin to soften.

“Love.” John said, and you drew back to look at him. He lifted a hand to cup your cheek, thumb stroking the side of your face. You leaned into the touch.

“I want you. I need you. But if you want me here, if you need me, you have to stop pushing me away.” He said softly, and you immediately stiffened.

“I pushed you away?” You asked, bewildered at his audacity.

“That’s not what I-“ John started, and you interrupted him.

“It wasn’t your job, or the countless nights alone, or wondering if you were alive that pushed you away? It was me?” You snapped, quickly pulling yourself off of him, causing him to wince. “God, John.” You mumbled, snatching your shorts off the ground and pulling them onto your body. John stuffed his cock back into his pants, lifting his hips slightly to zip them.

“I want to try, love. Us, again. I think we should try.” John said, following you into the front corridor as you kicked his boots at him.

“I think you need to leave.” You bit out, crossing your arms in front of your chest. John’s shoulders slumped as he pulled his boots on, kneeling as he tied the laces.

“I am trying.” John pleaded again, and you couldn’t help but sneer.

“You’ve always been pretty shitty at trying, John.” You said, and John’s face dipped into a frown.

“You’ve always been pretty shitty at letting me.” He grumbled, angrily finishing the laces on his other boot.

“That’s my fault too, isn’t it? I pushed you away and made you a shitty father, didn’t I?” You pressed him, knowing the latter was a lie, but the anger and bile in your throat too strong to swallow.

As if on cue, you heard your son begin to cry from his room. John began to walk towards it, and you put a hand up to his chest to stop him.

“Don’t.” You ordered, and for the first time in knowing him, John grabbed your wrist, not out of love, but out of anger. You could feel how tightly wound he was, body tense as he pushed you, albeit gently, away from his body and out of his way as he walked to your son’s room silently. You balled your hands into tight fists, storming to your bedroom and slamming the door shut behind you as tears fell from your eyes.

You knew this was a mistake. A big fucking mistake.

You let the sobs escape, curling into yourself. The emptiness of the bed was almost haunting, and your heart ached with the memories of being able to curl around John when you slept.

You listened to him walk back into the corridor, slamming the front door behind him. You wiped the tears from your face as you pulled up the baby monitor on your phone, heart dropping again with sadness when you saw the empty crib. John had taken your son with him.

You clutched the phone to your body, letting yourself feel every ache as you struggled to fall asleep.

[reddesires]

A Soldier's Recovery.

Winter Soldier x Reader

Synopsis: You navigate the frangible situation of harboring the Winter Soldier within the confines of your quaint apartment. Stepping in between the lines of trust and recovery for the soldier, you fear that you may have bit off more than you can chew. 

Word Count: 3088

Tags: Winter Soldier!Bucky, mentions of blood, mentions of night terrors, hurt/comfort, trauma and slight recovery, mentions of torture, mentions of in canon-typical violence, angst, self-destructive behavior, ill mental health, few curse words, depiction of injury

a.n: So this was one was pretty tough, to be honest. I'm not sure if I'm proud of it or not, I tried to put a lot of thought into it, but I found it kinda hard to find the right words. Hopefully, people still enjoy it.

This work has been edited

The flickering of the scattered torches illuminating your small apartment does little to pull the ice from your veins as your senses heighten to the awareness of the ghostly figure that hovers in the dark corner of the room, the tension of his body doing little to lessen the strange inability to fully breathe in his presence.

It was a terrible idea, taking in this stranger. But for some reason, despite all your natural survival instincts, you approached the hunched figure who’s shoulders heaved with staggered breath.

The pounding rain minimally obscuring your view of the wound he was clutching desperately.

It was his quiet desperation that pulled at your never-ending empathy as you stood before him, the downpour drenching you entirely, and as his trembling defensive eyes scrutinized, you held out your hand, a gesture you weren’t sure he would grasp onto but the mild panic you felt climb up your throat was immediate when he did.

The wetness of your soaked clothes clung to your freezing skin, becoming increasingly difficult to ignore as your eyes turned from his weary figure to the puddle accumulated below your feet. Great.

You’ve always considered yourself a leved-headed and conscious decision maker but right at this moment, as the rain viciously slaps against your windows and the shadows seem to descend upon you reminiscent of the sharpness in his icy blue eyes, regret swiped and pierced into the nape of your neck in absolute apprehensiveness.

And so you do the next best thing that could very well stab you in the back, you act casual.

You're more than aware that he could possibly lash out at you while he’s in such a vulnerable state of being so you maintain a good distance as you turn towards a small lamp illuminating the room partly in a warm glow chasing off that dreadful darkness encasing you entirely, subtly watching the man from the corner of your eye as you remove your sodden jacket, it was like seeing a cornered animal.

But what further caught your attention was the gleam of metal that took up the space that should’ve been his left arm, causing you to halt all movement.

The nightly shadows and vision obscured by the heavy rain that still raged on outside prevented you from making this painfully obvious observation at this moment.

The man that pressed himself into the safety of your secluded apartment was HYDRA’s most valuable asset, the world’s most prestigious assassin was looking back at you with a wild vigilance that set you on edge and now you have no idea what the fuck to do.

The whole world was on the lookout for this man, and you’ve unknowingly harbored him into your normal civilized two bedroom apartment. You’re not sure if he’d kill you first or the deep, unsettling shock shooting through your heart’s aorta will.

‘So much for acting casual,’ you thought as you dropped your jacket into that damn puddle in defeat. There wasn’t much options for you in this situation as you turned your head toward his direction, his eyes immediately locking onto your gaze, your weary eyes drifting down towards his side that he refused to release, the blood once watery around his fingers turned sticky as red honey.

The drippage traveling over his fingers onto the dark leather of his tact gear and staining the top of his pants, the sight drying the entirety of your tongue. you’ve never been in a situation this monumental and dire, and it’s putting all your senses into hyperdrive.

He’d accepted your offering of shelter, but would he accept your attempts of mending his wound? His glacial glare and on guard demeanor falters any hope of getting too close, but nevertheless, you have to do something, you’re not sure what, but you need to do something. 

You carefully start in the direction of your bathroom, pulling out the first aid kit from under the sink and opening the case to check the materials inside and you hoped that it would suffice enough for his injury. it not only seemed severe but incredibly painful, the open wound a steady river of dark red. Though he gave nothing to show for it on his face, the perfect veil of suppressed emotion and practiced military composure.

But mistakenly, your movements had been too fast for his liking as he mocks a lunge towards you, feeling you closing in on his space and a demanding “нет!” tearing from him.

You yelped in fear dropping the kit as you fell from the buckling of you knees and you quickly scooched back as he glared at you with daggers in his cerulean eyes and you couldn't help the regretful frown that pulled at your lips as you positioned yourself to sit on your knees. Wary and more mindful of your movements as you grab the kit that had fallen from your grasp, you slowly slide it over towards him with a slight tremble in your fingers.

“I’m sorry.” You murmur, bowing your head as you do so hoping to come off as non-threatening to the guarded soldier.

There is no response as he snatches the kit swiftly.

-

He’s since taken refuge in your spare bedroom. You don't so much as dare to pass the threshold in fear of invading his claimed safe space. You had made no restrictions that would prevent him from wandering the rest of the apartment, but he prefers the secureness that his own area provides, so you keep your distance.

You've resorted to sitting outside the slightly opened door, passing him items that you think he’d need. Water, foods you’d figured he’s willing to eat, and clothes that were more comfortable than the gear he was strapped in.

You haven’t gotten much of a response from him aside from his guttural grunts or that defensive stare that makes goosebumps climb up on your arms. that innate fear always creeping up your spine like the tip of a knife lightly tracing your supple skin.

You couldn’t help but compare certain aspects of his behavior to the feral cat you fostered once. Your jumpiness reminding you of all the times the cat swiped and hissed in retaliation to your care. You understood your place and his need for space as you slide backward on your knees, closing the door carefully, a heavy sigh easing out of you, you’re not sure if it's from stress or despondency.

Maybe both, it’s been a week since taking him in, and you’re not sure if what you're doing for him is considerable. He’s after all, a fugitive of the state with not only S.H.I.E.L.D. agents searching high and low for him, but you could only assume that his former captors are scouting out for their missing prized asset.

This puts you in not only a precarious position but a deadly one, you just may bleed for this and it’s a heavily terrifying thought but as you study the man before you, the way his hair falls over his impossibly blues eyes just barely hiding the faint scarring on the top sides of his forehead and the overbearingly tight clench of his stubbled jaw, you realize that perhaps it would be the right thing no matter how terrifying it might be.

if it came down to it, you're willing to put yourself in this situation to help him from whatever or whoever he’s trying to escape. you can only imagine how’d he was injured in the first place.

Though you’ve noticed his side has long since healed and seems to have no effect on him, relieving that nagging part of your brain. And you find yourself pleasantly surprised on days he decides to eat even a little, the task of finding him the appropriate sustenance he was willing to eat proved to be a bit challenging, only to find he prefers the most simple of foods like bread and bland foodstuff.

You’ve also taken note that you have never seen him leave the confines of the room at least not while you were awake, so you only assume he does so when he’s sure you wouldn’t be aware. You don't mind it much. The anxious feeling that grows in your chest at the thought of running into him whilst in the apartment unsettles you, so you can only imagine how he feels.

There’s not much grounding for trust between the two of you and you don’t know if there ever will be but still it doesn’t stop you from glancing at the door as you pass or leaving new nourishments for him in hopes it’s something you’d learn he likes.

Sometimes you wonder if he considers the room a prison of sorts, the thought makes you uncomfortable, so much so you sit right outside the door, leaning against the sill with no intentions but to offer a quiet companionship.

He’d watch you, his eyes never straying from your figure, his features cast by shadow from the darkness, his expression never giving away to what was going on in his head. You didn’t expect much from these encounters, but one night, you couldn’t help but ask. “what do I call you?”

Silence.

The furrow in his brow and the clench of his jaw clear as day to you as you tilt your head examining the inner turmoil making way on his face before you offer severance to the turbulence in his head. “I'll call you Soldier.”

he says nothing.

-

Before you knew it, it was a month of harboring Soldier within your apartment and you’ve grown used to his presence, that bubbling anxiety that would steadily rise, quelling the more you allowed him within the small corners of your day to day life.

The steady routine of making whatever food he tolerates and sitting in the doorway with aimless musings talked towards him became routine. He didn’t respond, but the way he gazed back at you only encouraged you to continue. You limited that time to an hour to not overwhelm him.

You could see the uneasiness that grew within him when he’d become increasingly weary, the lines on his forehead deepening as if he was struggling against a force you couldn’t see, the whirring of his prosthetic arm as he clenched his fist. It is a quiet but meaningful notice to pull away and provide him the space he needs.

You hoped he’d wander out eventually, that he'd muster up the will to leave the room while you were awake and perhaps seek out your companionship. But you knew that more than likely wouldn’t happen anytime soon. You'd still keep out hope that it’ll happen when he was ready. If that feral foster cat came around, then you're sure that he will, too.

-

He sat closer to the door. You couldn’t help the slight jolt as you caught sight of him not in his usual mess of blankets in the corner of the room but sat close enough that there couldn’t have been more than a foot between you. As soon as your surprise passed, you slid his usual of plain rice cakes and toast with water, and he didn’t flinch.

“Here you are, Soldier.” You hum softly, only receiving a grunt in reply. Your words held other meaning not just intended for the food but towards the fact that he’s finally made it towards the threshold of the door and you weren’t sure if he acknowledged that fact but if he did, he made no effort to show it.

You couldn’t help but let your eyes trace over his hunched figure as he looked to the floor in front of him, he slouched as if he carried the world on his shoulders which you don’t have a doubt about.

Even from your usual spot you could see the dark circles under his eyes, the skin thin and purplish in color and you know it’s the direct result of his night terrors, you could hear him from your room as he struggled against the shades of his past that grip onto him and most nights you found yourself up with him.

With his door ajar and yours wide open, you within his view as you sit at the doorway of your own room with a blanket draped over your shoulders and a sleepy determination, you refused to give in to the sleep that hung on desperately to the edges of your heavy eyelids, intending to wordlessly offer some sort comfort to the man. Making him aware that he was no longer trapped to wherever his mind transported him to and that you were willing to sit with him just so he didn’t suffer through it alone.

He didn’t reach for the food. He just sat there waiting, awaiting that aimless way of speaking that he’s growing more used to. Your voice no longer tethering onto that strained part of him that urges him to lash out but in some odd way, an out for him to escape the taloned clutches that his memories have on him. And as you watched him with a contemplative look, you couldn’t help the soft knowing smile that crossed your lips as he tossed you a side glance, and you nodded before you hummed out.

“I’ve been thinking about getting a cat.”

-

It was the second month that he willingly stepped out of the room. It was nothing extravagant or noteworthy. He just decided to come out at the time he knew you were preparing his breakfast. He stood at sill of the kitchen and watched as you were unaware of his presence, his hands clenched to his sides and the chilly air meaningless to the cold sweat rapidly appearing on the skin of his neck as he watched your every movement, when you turned he couldn’t help the tension that gripped onto him like a snare as you softly gasp stepping back, startled.

“Soldier, you’re out” his brows furrowed as he feels that sharp anxiety building in his chest, it feels almost wrong to be out of the four walled safety of the small room and he’s almost tempted to turn tail and lock himself back up but he looks to you and studies your body language. You don’t seem upset or disgusted by his presence, and it makes him shuffle in place.

“да.” he mutters as he bows his head, his hair curtaining his face from view, the tightness in shoulders never easing.

The conditioned part of him waited on punishment, for your anger and revulsion for his display, but it never comes, and he hates it. It’s unnatural and repugnant, it twists and ensnares, biting down with such force that his mouth waters with the potential of bile making its way up his throat but he bites it back, his breathing taking a more panicked pace.

You’re unpredictable. You’re the worst kind of unpredictability because you don't lash out, and you don’t seethe at the sight of him, and he absolutely hates it because - what can he make of that? His handlers punish and condition him with such unrelenting venom, their methods tortuous and reeked of domineering authority, but you. You lacked everything he was used to, and he hated that. He was both afflicted and irresolute by you.

And the question of ‘why?’ rang relentlessly in his head.   

You're silent as you look over him and you subconsciously take a step back gesturing to the counter where the plate of food and water sit, your voice carrying a soothing undertone as if you were trying to assuage the coiled up energy that lay vigilant within his muscles.

“It’s okay, come eat. It’s your usual. Unless you want something different?” It was a simple enough question but it reverberated in his ears, he didn’t choose what he ate, he had no right to choose, and the thought hurt his stomach, rearing up that nauseous apprehension again, he hated it. 

No. he’ll take whatever you give with no thought of his own, staying within the fine lines of your grace and avoiding the abuse that comes from ingratitude, an asset must know its place, or else he’ll be conditioned to remind him again and again. And again.

He said nothing as he mechanically turned to the counter and forced himself to eat whatever you provided, fighting against the gags building in the back of his throat. Willing himself not show a smidgen of weakness, to not show ungratefulness, he’ll eat. He’ll do whatever you want. He’ll be whatever you want him to be. He’ll accept whatever conditioning you thrust upon him.

And so with all the involuntary will he had, he swallowed.

-      

The night that you awoke to him sitting on the floor, his back pressed against your bed, you weren’t startled. You made no movement, nor did he. Even through the darkness that enshrouded your room, you could make out the trembling of his body and you felt your heart stutter in your chest, your hands curling in to restrain yourself from making the mistake of invading his vulnerable space.

He seeked you out, looking for some sort of reprieve from the terror that clung onto him in the throes of sleep. The fear and confusion were bound to his figure as he pulled his knees into his chest, shielding himself from forces that you couldn’t see, the whites of his knuckles visible within your eyesight.

Right then, you curled into yourself, your head mere inches from his shoulder, close but not enough to break that unspoken boundary that’s between the two of you. And he instinctively shivers as he feels the warmth you emit, the sound of your soft whisper breaking through the still atmosphere.

“I’m here, Soldier.”

He had willed himself past the threshold of your space despite the alarm bells blaring wildly within his exhausted mind, nearly buckling his knees. He felt as if the walls were closing in on him, he felt the numerous hands burning and clawing at his marred skin, the pleads thick in his throat like raw honey that refused to be heard no matter how much he tried to cry out.

There was no escape. There was no release. The shivers in his body refused to cease as he sat at your bedside, the thought of probable correction from you for his trespass, an easier pill to swallow than the torture happening inside his head.

He was compromised. He needed you to fix him. He wanted your punishment, your wrath, your hatred. Just fix him. Correct what’s been misplaced.

It never comes. Instead, you only offer your warmth, your wordless succor, as you lay your open palm inches from his bare shoulder, exuding that unpredictability. The absence of abhorrence for a machine like him, a tool, an asset who’s conditioning was failing him.

“Я ненавижу это.”

[aroaceleovaldez]

chewing on big 3 kids being capable of absolutely devastating natural disasters and apocalypse-level outbursts of power.

Percy who creates hurricanes complete with lightning that pummel titans and flooding and whirlpools that can trap god-powered crocodile kaijus. Earthquakes that erupt volcanoes. Hazel who sunk an entire small island entirely on her own with her final breath, against giants and a primordial goddess of the earth.

If Nico dramatically wilts plants and cracks the ground when he's mildly stressed, and disintegrates enemies down to their skeletons with a single touch or rips their souls out of their still-living bodies, and can command armies of the undead, what happens if he tries to cause destruction? Even outside of total zombie apocalypse or insta-killing a crowd, he's shown enough geokinesis to absolutely be capable of the same destruction Percy and Hazel can manifest.

What about Jason? He can control the winds and storms. There's no way he can't create the most destructive tornadoes with casual effort that he can never justify using for the collateral damage they'd cause. With a single thought he can rip up a town and launch the remnants 50 miles out. (Jason in the center of a Dead Man Walking tornado, vortexes responding to his movements like an avatar...)

And what can anyone do to combat it? How can you fight the wind lifting everything you know and love into the sky, or floods sweeping you away, or the ground giving way beneath you? The Big 3 kids are scary because they are forces of nature, and their whims are the only thing preventing you from witnessing that at any given moment.

[randomfoggytiger]

Mulder was already an FBI agent (and searching for Samantha) before he believed that it was aliens that took her, right? If I recall correctly? Because he stumbled upon the x files and then underwent the regression hypnotherapy… I think… if that’s true I think it’s underemphasized that Mulder pursued a degree in psychology and was working in profiling/Violent Crimes trying to prevent what he went through from happening to someone else before he really ever had any leads on what happened to his sister.

The Man Who Searched for His Sister: Mythology and Motives

You hit the nail on the head to me.

From the Golden Boy of the FBI (revered, respected, and honored) to Spooky in the basement (a testament of "ego" and "self-destruction" to the mainstream), the fall from grace for Mulder had to have been a tough pill to swallow. As abrasive as he can be, he's also warm and fond and empathetic: more willing to make friends (Jerry Lamana, Reggie Perdue, Diana Fowley, TLG) than go it utterly alone. But after discovering the files in 1988 and finally reopening them in 1991, he begins to (rightfully) suspect interference; and, in the face of derision and rejection, withdraws. "You were sent to spy on me," he deduces of Scully in the Pilot; and he's not wrong about the intent of her assignment, though he misjudges her motives along with it. More accurately: he offsets his interest in her work and mind by testing her upfront, unwilling to tie his loyalty to a wolf who intends to chew up the files and spit them out.

(As a side note: the story behind his and Scully's career path is so well done. Traumas in their childhood pushed Mulder and Scully to discover the truth for themselves-- be it in Oxford psychology or medical school morgues or FBI recruitment and field work-- and shaped their lives: both wanted answers to unanswered questions, hoping it would alleviate their personal struggles. Mulder's "You can deny all the things I've seen, all the things I've discovered. But not for much longer. Because too many people know what's happening out there and no one, no government agency, has jurisdiction over the truth" and Scully's "Nothing happens in contradiction to nature, only in contradiction to what we know of it. And that's a place to start. That's where the hope is" exemplify this. Their goals were fixed, their longing and struggles years in the making, before they'd begun navigating towards each other; but with each other they found their personal truths, and in each other they found "the" Truth.)

Samantha marked Mulder's life deeply and irrevocably when she vanished. His family fell apart; his life fell apart. And perhaps-- like many other lost souls-- he fastened onto psychology to understand what happened. And in seeking and becoming a source of help, he then latched onto the elusive "truth" as the ultimate solution-- a vision, as The X-Files would call it (his memories always did come back to him in visions)-- and became a crusader, willing to spend a lonely lifetime in the basement, on the road, on a cloistered couch while life on this planet passed him by.

Another thought: was Mulder's peg leg desire-- "If you have a peg leg or hooks for hands, you know, maybe it’s enough to simply carry on living. You know, bravely facing life with your disability. It's heroic just to survive. But without these things you're actually expected to make something of your life — achieve something, earn a raise, wear a necktie. So — so — so, if anything I'm actually the antithesis of Ahab, because if I did have a peg leg I'd quite possibly be more happy and more content and not feel the need to chase after these creatures of the unknown"-- formed before or after Samantha's disappearance? I'd say before: that it was part of his nature, like Scully's, to prove his pain to himself-- he externally, she internally. He lost his sister, she killed her rabbit; both were haunted by invisible scars that drove them ever onward. But while he could stop, finally, if he had a wound to point to (even die if his death had meaning), Scully couldn't (and avoided, and feared, a final end): legacy, she found in the morgue, is forged in life "on this planet", not in box scores or down endless roads or in running back to the past. "I've got things to prove-- but for my own reasons" and "If I quit now, they win" and "Mulder, get up. Get up and fight."

Another 'nother thought: CSM often put Mulder up on a cross, projecting his own "martyrdom" onto the other man-- a sinner purifying himself by piercing his sins into the flesh of the Lamb of God and slitting his throat. An allegory wholly unfitting to his megalomaniacal narrative: he sees himself as "God" (says so directly, post here) while failing to recognize that his motives are entirely selfish; and that his sacrificial son is hardly righteous or perfect-- that, in fact, his Christ-like figure isn't out to save the world. Mulder's fathers (canonically, both of them) pinned their agenda onto him when that was neither his goal nor his ideal from the start-- the world, "life on this planet" as a rule was furthest from his thoughts. His was a personally rewarding quest, with "selfish", not "altruistic", motives-- he wanted to find the Truth, and expose it; to search out mysteries with a baseball and sandwiches and a house like Home and his sister and his partner. And that simplicity of perspective gave him true insight, able to see through the net of lies Bill Mulder and the Consortium and Jeffrey Spender and Krycek and Marita and Skinner (and even Scully, at times) were caught in.

[scribblestatic]

More Sheepzun cause I'm on a roll:

---

When spring returned, Yuan shed his wool, and Luo Binghe could finally make something of a decent pillow and add extra stuffing into his blanket. Yuan wasn't as fluffy anymore, but he still maintained a softer appearance than purely wild spirit sheep would.

It was around that time, a few months into Shen Qingqiu's seclusion in the Ling Xi Caves that Yuan, using signals that they've built up to communicate with each other, tells Luo Binghe that he was going away for a little bit. Of course, Luo Binghe didn't want him to go, but his shizun insisted it was important. He couldn't keep Shizun from leaving, but at least the sheep placed his head over Luo Binghe's shoulder as the boy cried into his wool.

He felt comforting qi circulate through him, and after signaling he would be back as soon as possible, Yuan left him alone.

Truthfully, Yuan didn't really want to leave Qing Jing Peak either. He still didn't trust most humans to not try to eat him, even if his little sheep of the woodshed was trustworthy and had made himself his student of all things. But he felt a drive to leave, to try and prevent a tragedy that he wasn't sure was even possible.

But, thankfully, focusing on secrecy and surprise attacks as a prey animal was quite beneficial. He managed to sneak his way onto Qiong Ding Peak of all places. Honestly, on the way there, he was starting to doubt the security measures of the place. How could a mere beast of burden like himself sneak around among all these premium cultivators? Surely he wasn't that strong.

(No, actually, a spiritual sheep cultivating to his extent was actually quite unusual.)

He managed, with a few close calls, to sneak into the Ling Xi Caves. As soon as his hooves touched down on the other side, he felt the qi density shift, to the point it made it feel like his wool was going to stand on end. As a spiritual sheep, this place was like static electricity shooting into his meridians! Very tingly! Somewhat energizing!

He breathed carefully to circulate his qi, keeping his steps as quiet as possible. If he was going to find the place where the tragedy nagging at the back of his mind would occur, he needed to navigate the caves well. Unfortunately, the place seemed like quite the maze, and with all of the scents there diluted by heavy qi and the constant presence of water, he found himself getting lost.

Yuan didn't really encounter anyone else for a little while, pausing to chew on some tasty-looking grass and moss growing inside the qi-dense caves. He wasn't quite sure how time passed, but he felt like more time was passing than he'd expected. Regardless, he continued his search, lounging in the water at times, drinking it at others, practicing inedia except when he wanted to taste a plant.

But then, one day, he started hearing panting. How strange... Was this finally it? Was it related to the anxiety dwelling at the edge of his consciousness?

He continued on, not really noticing that his hooves no longer submerged into the waters below him, hearing as the noises got louder. Then, he startled as another voice added into the mix. The one that had been panting suddenly let out a bloodcurdling wail as something like metal seemed to collide with each other.

Yeesh...maybe he could still just, uh, let whatever was happening go.

But no. No. It felt wrong to just leave things be. He felt the urge to go look anyway. And so, he did.

Peering into the room, he saw two humans. Both would be quite beautiful if one wasn't screaming bloody murder with bloodshot eyes, his meridians starting to self-destruct, and the other was yelling back insults and trying to use every dirty tactic in the book to slow the down. It wasn't at all like an elegant cultivation battle. No, it was more like a dogfight, with blood and scars etched into skin, and qi deviations.

Ah... Yeah. Qi deviations. Two.

Both of these cultivators were having qi deviations?!

What the hell was up with this place! At first, he had started assuming the teachers didn't teach Luo-lamb how to cultivate properly out of some kind of spite. He'd seen how the other humans treated him, so surely he was being targeted by someone.

And maybe he still was being targeted, but it seemed no one could cultivate properly without falling into a serious deviation!!

He wasn't sure what else to do, but he knew he needed to interrupt the deviations and reintroduce a steady flow of qi. But how would he get them to stop fighting? Could he do that?

But he had to think fast!! If he wasted much more time--

The prettier of the two pretty people coughed up blood, and the other, cursing one screamed in anger, sinking into his own deviation worse than before.

Were these punks trying to die?! Fine!! Screw it!! He'd do what he's called!!

Ah, that is to say, he's a male sheep over a year old.

With the one in green robes turned away from him, they didn't notice him running up. The other was too sunken into his deviation to notice much more than the green-robed man in front of him. Both of them had their swords raised, ready to clash.

Neither was ready when he rammed head-first into the green robed one's back, colliding with the chest of the other.

Sheep Dao Technique: Bam-ba-lamb!!

Corny, yeah, but you've gotta have fun sometimes.

Anyway, his technique was simple. Use qi to obfuscate his body, causing the temporary illusion as though nothing is there as he runs forward and builds up speed. Collect his qi into his head. Then, at the last moment, if at all, reappear as a surprise.

Shove all the qi gathered in his head into the target he's ramming!

His qi shot straight into their back and chest, disrupting their attacks and causing them to smash into the wall behind the pretty one. They both slumped down, half conscious with their clothes torn and bodies scratched up and bloodied. The pretty one was...definitely the worse off of the two. He'd been in his deviation for longer, and without stabilization, he was a goner.

Dammit, he still didn't have hands.

Unable to do much else, he moved as close to the two slumped humans as possible and, carefully, bit into his sleeve. He then pulled him over until he fell onto his back, laying over the pretty one's knee quite uncomfortably. However, of the two of them, he managed to be the more unconscious one, so Yuan didn't worry.

Much more gently than before, pressed his forehead to the pretty one's chest now that he had access to it. His qi began flowing from his head and into the other's meridians, seeing the scored veins and soothing them. The pretty man, panting, slowly started clearing up, his eyes becoming a shade much healthier and closer to white than red.

"...Wh...What..."

'You're just dreaming, bud. I'm not here, I'm not here,' Yuan thought.

Not that he'd understand it, but hey, again, entertainment value.

Yuan backed away once the man started circulating his qi better on his own, his eyes glancing up toward the other.

And wow. Gosh, what a pretty man. He didn't think humans could be so attractive... Actually, he did have an inkling. His student was quite the stunner himself, and he was just a lamb. Once he grew up into a full ram, he was sure Luo-boy would attract many, many mates.

The pretty person stared back at him in dazed confusion.

'Remember, I'm not here,' Yuan thought, huffing.

Jeez, get with the program. You're definitely not seeing a sheep right now, okay?

With the pretty man sufficiently well, he moved and placed his forehead on the green robe's chest. Actually, those green robes were rather familiar. Weren't they the Qing Jing Peak's colors? Like, it was kinda a green-blue-turquoise that didn't seem to want to decide what category to be in. Very Qing Jing.

It couldn't be the peak lord, though. He'd never seen the man, but he was sure someone this handsome would have no reason to bully his little human lamb.

As his qi began circulating through his meridians, he found they were...entirely too strained. Like they'd been forcefully widened out in some places and narrowed in others. Somehow, it was even worse off than Luo Binghe's condition when he first met him.

Something like this...well, he had an idea of how to fix it, but it took him months to help Luo-lamb. He'd just fix him up at least a bit.

"...I'm dreaming..." the pretty one muttered.

'Yeah, you are,' Yuan thought back playfully.

"I see..."

'I'd rest after all that. Qi deviations as serious as yours are no joke,' Yuan hummed, humoring himself with acting like the man could understand him.

"...Why are you here? Who are you?"

'I'm a figment of your imagination, that's all.'

"You..." A shift in his body, a tired wheeze. "...Shen Qin..."

The man's voice trailed off. Once Yuan finished and looked up, he saw the man sleeping, both of them unconscious.

Shen Qingqiu? That was Luo Binghe's human shizun, right? Why was he thinking about him now? Maybe they liked each other or something. Well, it wasn't his business.

Shen, though... Hm. Shen.

Shen Yuan. Hah... He liked that. He liked that quite a bit!

Shen Yuan. Yeah. He would use that as his name. A name like the humans! It was quite dignified, wasn't it? Because Luo Binghe's human shizun was Shen Qingqiu, he'd end his name in Shen as well! Quite nice, quite nice!

Satisfied with the development, Shen Yuan turned around and trotted out. The feeling of doom was gone from the back of his mind, and a sense of satisfaction filled him. Indeed, quite fantastic trip, if he said so himself!

But now, he was going to get back to Luo-lamb. He found he quite missed the young, slightly anxiety-inducing human boy! Aiyah, what trouble it was being a prey animal.

[mareastrorum]

I’m still chewing on why Matt chose the Arch Heart for this encounter, and I think it really was needed.

In Downfall, the Arch Heart was the only PC god to express an interest in just letting Aeor destroy all the gods. None of their siblings agreed with them. Every time the issue of the gods dying was brought up, they pushed, “Is it really so bad?” But when the moment came to let Aeorian arch mages destroy a god or redirect the weapon, the Arch Heart destroyed Aeor to save the god. They didn’t even know which one it was. They made a choice in a split second, preserved the soul of one of the arch mages in their own domain, and then eventually decided that they like living.

Of all the gods, Matt chose to arrange for a meeting between the PCs and the Arch Heart. Here’s the Prime Deity that chose the gods over mortals. Here’s the one that killed every Aeorian for simply knowing how to kill a god, even the children, even the poor, even the sick. The Arch Heart doesn’t want to die anymore. They even want Predathos loose so that they and their siblings have a reason to leave Exandria. You can have your freedom. More people will die, we don’t know how many, but hey, the Arch Heart thinks that’s fine. The PCs got a divine stamp of approval to destroy the power structure of the entire system of planes. Go get ‘er done.

It doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t fix problems.

There is no answer that would feel good, feel right, or fix this situation. People will die no matter what the PCs choose. The only “safe” choice—the only way to prevent additional risk—is the status quo, which requires stopping the Vanguard, keeping Predathos contained, and letting the gods live beyond the Divine Gate.

And that’s exactly how power struggles work in the real world. It’s gross. It’s unfair. It’s demoralizing.

But PCs have to choose, and if they refuse to make a decision, it will be made for them. This time, instead of the Arch Heart, it might be Ludinus, or Liliana, or the Weave Mind, or the Unseelie, or any other power players waiting in the wings to grab power.

There is no right way to rule the world. That’s why the only entities vying for it are people who fervently want to destroy.

So here is the Arch Heart, the god that said one thing and did another, who made a choice and never regretted or apologized for it even when it contradicted everything they had said leading up to that point, looking at PCs directly, talking to them like a person, and they say, hey, if you choose this horrifically destructive and unknown path, that’s cool with me. I chose the status quo, and here’s the final victim of mine, who I preserved here for centuries, and now you can have her ring. That was my choice, but if you don’t want to do the same, that’s okay. In fact, I think that’d be great.

But you have to choose.

[superscrub323]

If the birth of the War Gods we know were to be tied to certain events.

Alright I should probably come upfront and say that even within any classic mythological world or headcanon I come up with these stories these will be treated as myths within myths (if that makes any sense). Basically there's no way I'll verify if they're true in-universe and the only ones who possibly can know or verify if they're true in-universe swore upon the river Styx to never confirm if they are. Besides, a little mystery is fun~...

But having said that, it is interesting that the Gods of War could possibly be tied to the birth of so many divine conflicts. Which is why I'm going to introduce my head canon on which Titan and/or God of War was born during which event.

Pallas the Titan, The Prime Mover of Violence and Titan of War, The Titan Rebellion: Pallas the Titan (not to be confused with Pallas the Giant or Pallas, Daughter of Triton) would be born right as Kronos castrated his father Oranous. From that very day he would be the Prime Mover of Violence among the Titans and Kronos's Victory would also mark the birth of Pallas's and Styx's children Nike, Bia, Kratos (not that one), and Zelus. Unfortunately for Kronos, if one rebellion of the spawn can succeed why can't another? And even more unfortunately...he didn't chew his food after the first one...

Athena, Goddess of Divine Warfare and Wisdom, The Titanomachy: After Zeus ate Metis to prevent his next children from rising against him, he would lead his siblings and sympathetic Titans to he cause and defeat his father Kronos with the Wisdom he gained from eating Metis and unborn Athena. Her birth, inside of Zeus's head, would forever mark the birth of conflict among Gods and the Wisdom of Warfare. Fortunately for humans, they would be spared this fate, unfortunately for them, Zeus really wanted the meat of sacrifices, really unfortunately for them, Zeus caught Prometheus dealing fire and wanted to punish mortal kind and are Hera and Nyx with children?

Ares and Eris, God of Mortal Warfare and Goddess of Strife, The Opening of Pandora's Jar: The whisper among mortalkind is that when Pandora first opened the jar there was the scream like 1000 men dying in pain and chaos but it was actually Ares and Eris taking their first breaths for the first time. Eris would forever be known as a representation of the horrors and evils of Pandora's Jar and be the Winged Goddess of Strife Incarnate, while Ares would be the God who's cries and presence would cause men to fight, to kill, and to die to each other for good or for ill. Ironically enough Ares would go on to befriend Eris and have her limit her influence so wars didn't turn into genocide and both would also still have the unintentional gift of hope inside of them.

Phobos and Deimos, Fear and Terror Incarnate, The Aftermath of the Flood of Deucalion: When Zeus was disappointed in something he asked to have happen on people who had nothing to do with it, he flooded the world leaving humanity to start over, incidentally the God of War would eventually grow up and meet the Goddess of Passion and they would have two children born right as humanity first step foot on the flooded land, Phobos and Deimos, when humanity first walked upon the earth and realized how small and weak they were in the face of true divine wrath, they felt fear and dread for the first time, and that would be when Fear and Terror would breath their first breaths.

Enyo, Goddess of Destruction, The Creation of Typhon: When Gaia created Typhon to first wage war on the Olympians for...several reasons, up to and including the Titans imprisonment, Hera would give birth to another Goddess to give voice to the destruction of the Olympians...Enyo. Born during the Typhon War, when she would grow up she would revel in the bloodshed and hold impartiality between the sides just to see the war go on longer and when Zeus wanted to punish her, Ares stepped in and defended her and made her work with him so that they may revel in the destruction of war and bloodshed.

Enyalius, God of International Warfare, The Dionysis War: When war started to reach beyond the borders of the Olympian's Domain and into other countries like India where Dionysus waged his war, Enyo would give birth to a child of Ares born from Enyo's amorous fever during the deaths of 49 men. His birth would forever mark the day War became something bigger beyond the borders of men and women who paid tribute to the Olympians but also his domain paradoxically he wouldn't be seen much.

Alright I know Aphrodite Areia is missing but considering we know how she was born and what she represents I'd figure it would go without saying.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

I love the fact that in the walking dead universe, everyone is infected because it means everyone has the capacity to become a walker, a monster. Y'know, a central theme to the series. It’s not just the bite. The outbreak happened and now it’s inside everyone; the rot and capacity to devour, to maim and kill, to infect others, to destroy, to only be focused on one’s sole interest; the hunger.

It festers within everyone's core with most working to keep hold of their humanity, even as they navigate a world where the living are just as dangerous as the dead. You prevent someone from turning by destroying the brain, a conscious effort to not become a monster.

With that in mind, I'm fascinated by the fact that if you don't trust AJ to make the right call, Louis and Violet will die on the bridge to save Tenn's life... but they don't become monsters because the walkers ate and ate until there was nothing left to come back.

Louis and Violet literally give everything to save Tenn, and by extent Clementine and AJ; their hearts, their minds, their bones, the air they breathed and every organ they had. They sacrificed a happy future with Clementine and AJ to save Tenn, all because Minerva was too far gone, given into the destructive and selfish nature of the walkers. She became the monster that decays and takes and takes and then takes some more.

Louis and Violet, despite their pasts as "troubled youth" and all the mistakes they made that hurt others, they were good at their cores. They were a symbol of humanity and hope for Clementine. Like everyone else, they had it in them to turn, but TFS shows us with this particular route and death that they were never going to become monstrous... they loved Clementine, AJ, and Tenn too much.

But given that we do see Tenn as a walker, I think that gives the idea that Minerva did that to him, made him a monster, rather than Tenn becoming one, y'know? He didn't choose it, it was forced upon him by a sister who wanted him to die with her and a friend who didn't want him to die at all, didn't want him to be a monster, but knew he had to make a choice... and that choice was to let Tenn go.

Everyone's infected, but you only turn unless you or someone else makes a conscious decision to not let you... Louis and Violet made their choices, but Tenn couldn't; others decided for him.

Just something to chew on.

[dronebiscuitbat]

Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 70)

Uzi didn't go out very much. That was kinda a given. People didn't like her very much, and she didn't like people. But today she had arrands to run, namely, picking up more oil. And heading to the market.

And it totally wasn't a way to get V off her ass. No, no way.

So now she was milling through the crowd of people with Tera in tow, bat plush and all, being the only toy that she hadn't chewed to ribbons. The toddler was clinging to her, curled into her shoulder as she quietly looked over her mother's shoulder at all the people passing by. She was more used to it now, but it was clear she still wasn't a fan.

Uzi found that she'd walked into the kids store again, weather on purpose or by accident she couldn't tell herself. She contemplated on getting Tera a new toy, but the chances were she'd tear it up before they even got home.

She did put some new bedding into a basket she'd picked up on her way in, since Tera had begun to chew hers as well, adding some dark greys in with the purple, maybe a change would prevent her from destroying what she slept on. Maybe.

“I can't wait until you grow out of this ‘destroy everything in sight’ phase…” She sighed bitterly, talking to her toddler as if she could understand what that meant, Tera only gave her a toothy, wide smile.

“Oh no, do I have to worry about that?” A familiar voice called out, and Uzi whipped around to face whoever it was. Coming face to face with Delilah, smiling at here while holding Kiara, who looked much more mobile then the month prior.

“Hi!” Tera immediately beamed at the both of them, showing off her new pointy teeth, Kiara stared at her for a good moment, before smiling back, not seeming to notice the difference.

“Oooh, those are new.” Delilah pointed out, leaning in slightly to take a gander at them, putting a hand underneath her chin. Uzi was just glad she wasn't freaked out.

“New and destructive… N and I’s hands are covered in nips, and all my pillows are ribbons…” She showed off the many small dents in her hands that her solver had yet to heal, for whatever reason it seemed to ignore superficial wounds… N's newest mark on her neck proved that, as it was still there.

“Well, both you and your husband have fangs right? So it's not that weird.” Uzi's breath caught in her throat for a moment, before she realized that yeah, thar entire support group thought they were married, and she hadn't corrected anybody.

She could correct her now.

“Yeah, I guess, we just didn't expect it.”

Or not.

“You did say she was adopted right? I can see why it caught you two off guard.” Delilah chuckled before her eyes landed on Uzi, where they squinted as if something was wrong. Tera and Kiara babbled at each other, having a riveting nonsensical conversation.

“Is that a bite mark on your neck?” Delilah asked, a teasing expression written on her face as Uzi quickly clasped a hand over the small indentation on her metal, her visor went completely purple, almost covering her eyelights.

“I- Uh. N-no?”

She'd never before felt this kind of visceral embarrassment, mouth instantly evaporating of all moisture as the drone in front of her giggled like a little schoolgirl at her reaction.

It wasn't her fault N tended to leave love bites! Or that the stupid solver loved to let them stay visible on her casing for a couple days!

“So he bites, that makes sense.” Delilah winked teasingly, making Uzi's blush somehow grow worse, no one had ever paid that much attention to her, so she was absolutely not prepared for it.

“He's n-not violent or anything…” She defended weakly, still embarrassed as all hell, she just didn't want anyone under the impression that N would actually hurt her intentionally. He just… got excited.

“Oh I'm sure. He gives me puppy energy. Did he take a treat too fast?’ Delilah teased again, making Uzi want to keel over and perish from how hot her face was getting.

“Okay, Okay! I'll stop! You're so easy to embarrass.” Delilah chuckled, putting a friendly hand on her shoulder that surprisingly Uzi didn't want to immediately push off.

Oh God, character growth. Ew.

“What brings you here anyway? Tera need another toy?” Okay, this was normal small talk, she could do normal small talk.

“Bedding, and I'm just looking; going to need more supplies soon.” She replied absentmindedly, not realizing what she was very much implying until Delilah let out a squeal.

“Oh! You're pregnant!? Oh my- congratulations! How far along are you? Are you doing okay? Are you getting enough charge?” Her voice sped up as she asked in quick succession, clearly excited beyond measure. It felt… nice to have someone so excited for her, after everyone's initial reaction was less then positive.

“Uh, two months, I'm fine, really.” She replied, being basic as hell but not sure how else to answer.

“That's amazing! I felt so much like crap carrying Kiara I couldn't get up out of bed! And you're just, here, shopping on your own. I'm kinda jealous.” She admitted, though speaking of Kiara, her and Tera were now making random hand gestures at each other.

“Oh no, I feel miserable. I passed out a couple of days ago, and this morning I was so dizzy I walked into the bedroom door, I’m just uh… powering through, I’ve been through worse.” Uzi admitted, smiling although it was clearly slightly pained, it was true though, she had felt worse.

“Aw, yeah… I remember feeling so exhausted I slept for 48 hours… Rick wasn’t happy about that-heh.”

This was nice… talking about symptoms with someone who actually somewhat understood what she was going through even if it wasn’t exact. (Since she doubted Delilah grew Kiara herself.)

“Oh! Sorry Uzi, I have to go. I’ve been yapping too long.” She waved goodbye, Kiara giving a tiny wave to Tera as well, who replied with her own, incredibly enthusiastic one.

Uzi smiled a little, heading back to what she was doing; heading to the baby section to see what she might need.

Her eyes roamed over bottles and colorful bottle tips, onesies of every color and design, roll-toys that rattled, small felt plushies for pillbabies to sleep with and blankets, so many different blankets.

And that same, off-white bespectacled owl blanket she’d seen last time, she reached out towards it again, for some reason still drawn to it, it was extremely soft, made of thick felt and yes; was incredibly cute.

So she put it in the basket, if she was going to be drawn to this random blanket then she would buy it, no use in not, she’d need a baby blanket for the newborn anyway.

The rest of the day went much the same, carrying Tera around, explaining what each shop was to her even if she probably didn’t understand every word she was saying, and picking up a few things they needed, cleaners, snacks, (and another microchip to snack on.) Until she headed off in the direction of the nursery with a bag full of stuff and a sleepy toddler, now dozing off into her shoulder. Uzi snatched the bat plush out of her hand before she dropped it, and shoved it in her pocket, rubbing calming circles into her kits back as she drifted off. And Uzi could start to hear light snoring

“Zi!” Thad’s voice came from behind her, and she didn’t bother to turn around to face him, instead she kept walking towards the nursery as Thad came up to her side, books in hand. Oh yeah, school was still a thing. She’d stopped going after she’d moved in full time with N, technically being independent, she no longer was required to go.

“Hey Thad, did school just let out?” She asked, and Thad nodded looking relieved.

“Finally. Lizzy and Chloe got into a catfight, I think Chloe said something about N and V, and well… you know Liz.” He explained sheepishly, smiling a bit when he noticed Tera asleep in her shoulder.

“You been doing okay? N’s been telling me you feel like garbage.”

“I’m fine. What’s with that? V’s been on my case too.” Uzi replied, while all this care was nice, she wasn’t used to it, and now it had begun to get on her fraying nerves.

“I’m just looking out, V is too.” Thad shrugged, he was standing awfully close to her side, and he hadn’t stopped walking in the same direction she was despite the fact that his apartment was in the other direction. She was a little confused, first V was hanging around, now Thad was not so subtly escorting her around?

“Your apartment is the other way.”

“Yup. You’re going to the nursery right? I’m going with you.” Thad gave her no room to refuse, keeping her pace as they made their way up and around towards the nursery. It’s not like she minded his company, but it didn’t make his behavior any less weird.

“Isn’t that Guy? The co-worker N doesn’t like?” At the entrance to the nursery, there he was, out of uniform, so clearly off the clock, talking to a couple of girls that looked only moderately interested in what he was saying. Until apparently he said something that offended one of them, because one of them reared back and slapped him across the visor.

Somehow, Uzi was not surprised.

“Looks like it, not sure why he’s here, I don’t think he has kids… I hope he doesn’t have kids.” She rephrased, imagining Guy being a decent dad was near impossible, he just didn’t seem responsible enough, among other, creepier things.

“Let’s just get you your oil and get out of here.” Thad suggested, moving to stand between her and where Guy was, ushering her inside, as far as she knew, Thad didn’t have any beef with Guy, but with the way Thad looked back with a glare, maybe he did.

He was standing even closer now, almost enough that he was physically touching her, and his focus seemed to be on their surroundings, he still said hello to the people he recognized around them (I.e everybody.) but he seemed like he was standing guard more then anything. It… almost reminded her of how territorial N would get sometimes.

She got her oil. After saying a brief hello and catch up with Mrs. Rayn, who only complimented about how healthy Tera looked, and told her to “take care of herself.” Before having to check on a new batch of adorable little pillbabies- it looked like the birthrate had skyrocketed, the nursery was almost at capacity.

“She looks busy.”

“Mmhm.” Thad replied, tense.

“Dude, what is your damage?”

“He keeps looking at you.” He grumbled, gesturing over to where Guy was standing, he was taking unsubtle long glances at her, making her roll her eyes and punch Thad lightly to knock him out of his funk.

“He’s stupid, but harmless. Come on, since your adamant about escorting me, you can walk me home.” Thad smiled, taking the bag full of oil canisters and carrying it for her as they began to leave, but alas; “Hey, uh, Miss Doorman.”

Guy had approached, standing far out of biting distance, but looking at her awkwardly, she could feel Thad tense up next to her, clearly not happy at all.

“Guy. How’s your hand?” Ah, the immediate veiled threat. She idly wondered how much damage Tera could do to his hand now that she had fangs, probably significantly more.

“F-fine, thanks.” He rubbed the back of his head, blushing red a little, Uzi kind of wanted to gag.

“What do you want?” Thad asked, voice not nearly as friendly as it normally was, apparently Thad also got bad vibes from him, if he also had his hackles raised.

“W-what? Can’t I talk to a co-workers girl?” Guy was taller then Thad by quite a bit, so maybe he was less threatened by him then N.

“Not when you clearly have a thing for her, no.”

Unfortunately for Guy, Thad was less instinctually polite then N ever would be, so he was unrestrained in calling him out on his nonsense.

“Wh- well clearly so do you! Or you wouldn’t be standing so close. Her boyfriend will be pretty pissed if he finds out you’ve been making moves, he’s a murder drone you know?” Guy grinned, clearly taking this as some sort of weird challenge rather then the warning it was, Thad pushed Uzi and Tera behind him, using himself as a shield.

“Yeah, I know. He’s my best friend. Stay the hell away from my sister.” Thad barked, having Guy immediately back up slightly, looking a bit off-balance. Uzi looked at him strangely, as far as she knew, she was an only child, but the sentiment was sweet.

“Khan only has the one kid.” He said dumbly.

“And if you touch her I’ll make sure your parents have one less. Back off.” Thad almost growled, but he clearly didn’t have the vocal structure to actually make the sound, so it just sounded like an aggressive gravelly grunt.

“Fine! Whatever.” Guy grumbled and walked away with his hands in his pockets, mumbling to himself, Thad huffed, turning back to Uzi to look her over like she’d been in danger, she smiled at him.

“Dude.”

“Yeah, I know, you can take care of yourself and didn’t need me to do that.” Thad replied, either not noticing or trying hard not to bring any attention to what he just said, he ruffled Tera’s hair as she slept, making her smile in her sleep.

“Nah, thank you. I wouldn’t have been so nice.” She chuckled, making him smile as he led her back down to her apartment, halfway walking backwards.

“Come on, I’ll take you home.”

[randomrabbidramblings]

how would be like keeping rabbids as pets?

As said in this post, Rabbids are not very suitable creature to keep as pets.

However there are some Rabbids that may decide to be adopted as a pet by other creatures, due to various factors (being lost alone in an unfamiliar place, being banned from their community, being abandoned as kits...).

Rabbids as pets are quite difficult to handle: unless adopted from a very young age, they tend to be quite destructive and uncooperative. They need space to explore, lots of toys (especially chewable ones), hiding spot, digging boxes and a near constant supervision. Some Rabbids enjoy reading and watching tv as well, especially the adults. Even the calmest Rabbid will get bored and start to chew on furniture and running on the walls. They are almost untrainable, being terribly stubborn or seemingly stupid (they are not, they just think in peculiar ways and their logic isn't straight-forward). They are also not food motivated so rewarding them is quite difficult. Also, if the Rabbid can speak your language, expect them to talk back if they don't want to do something.

The easiest thing in Rabbid care is food: they will eat anything they consider edible and will very rarely get sick from eating something bad. Keeping a Rabbid well fed prevents them from trying to eat non food items they may find appetible. Rabbids are also quite clean as they often groom themselves and are not afraid of water, so sometimes they enjoy a bath.

It's very rare to stumble on a group of Rabbids wanting to be adopted as pets, but when they do expect them to flee from captivity very fast as they just needed a quick safe place to be for a while. Also Rabbids adopted as adults can decide to leave for similar reasons.

[spindle-and-nima]

What would you say are the essentials of a bunny enclosure? I'm trying to get ready to make one for my new apartment

Hello friend!

First and extremely importantly you need space. I strongly encourage a minimum pen size of roughly 3x5 (vet and shelter told me to make sure my pens were no smaller than that size for my rabbits but a bit bigger is good). If your rabbit is not free roam, you can certainly make it bigger (my pen is a 6x6 my rabbits are semi free roam). I use a tall dog playpen to build mine so that or a Z pen will make for easy building. You can get creative with how you block out an area but space is incredibly important.

As for what goes in it:

-litter box of course but what's important is size. Do not get a tiny corner triangle box it's unhealthy for their posture. Opt for a cat litter box that's big enough for your rabbits to sit comfortably in and turn around easily in.

-hay tower or rack. You can either hang a rack (you can literally get a metal rack basket for cheap from Lowe's or home Depot and just stuff hay in it) or a wood tower like what I have. Bunnies must have Timothy Hay available 24/7 in unlimited quantities so this is the way to ensure that. It keeps the hay from getting soiled though I do always add additional hay to the litter box. Keep the hay near the litter box to kinda just keep em poopin in the litter when they want a snack

-hides. You need at least 1 hide per rabbit. I have 4 hides for mine. I like the cute wooden Castle hides bc they are roomy and my bunnies like them a lot but really you can get creative with it. Just absolutely no igloos those are not good for rabbits or their postures (vet and shelter advice). You can do tunnels or cardboard boxes but yea hides are a necessity for rabbits.

-flooring. There's a lot of things you can do for flooring but you definitely want something to prevent your rabbits from soiling your carpet and most rabbits dislike smooth tile or hardwood (slippery on non padded feet). A few things I've seen people do are use pee pads and lay fleece, blankets, towels, or rugs on top which are good options. If you're like me and busy and want easy cleaning and a cute aesthetic, you can use EVA carpeted foam mats. They absorb well without letting urine leak through.

I would NOT advise EVA foam if your rabbits really chew and actually eat everything. while I find these dont give bunnies much leverage for biting, especially destructive ones will find a way and you don't want them eating these. My bungies are luckily not interested in chewing them so they work well. A handful of guest rabbits I've housed did well with them too. Even my more destructive guests didn't manage to bite through it well but I need to put that disclaimer because I'm kind of lucky with my rabbits behaviour.

They look like this and come in many colors:

Pretty good and I like them because they are easy cleanup (wash by hand but you can just pop the soiled square out and replace it with a spare so the pen is immediately freshened up. And you can clean the soiled ones immediately or if you're busy just set it aside to wash when you got the time.) these are not essential ofc you can just use the ol fleece or towel or rug thing. Since you are renting i would really reccomend putting puppy pee pads under whatever you choose to protect the flooring.

[crying-fantasies]

Complex

Masterlist

It was the middle of the cycle, mechs were walking in the streets outside, there is no sun till the next rotation of the planet but you're on your own, just in the other room and tending to your work, the playpen in the main room, it was of good quality, designed to hold a being made of metal but soft enough to not scratch the strangely delicate protoform, no worries as your kid just absentmindedly made his own activities, as his dentae was just poking out, quite weird for a cybertronian to go through that at first, but it was normal to see him biting a glowing toy even in recharge.

The playpen was strong enough to stop him if he ever tried to got out, strong to hold him inside even in the most destructive tantrum, as Long Haul had once joked given the calm nature of Chainbreaker.

It was created to be durable, and no one would have believe that it would also be used with other purposes.

"If only I've got out sooner"

As in like a custom made scenario.

"If I could have been less naive"

With a very attentive onlooker.

"I shouldn't have let them take him"

"Ummm"

The rage and literal venom coming out of the technorganic's mouth should have been more than enough to make even the most fearless warrior recoil on his place, his frightening EM field covering endless pain and sorrows, only showing a tint of happiness when the protoform, even with barely formed servos and clumsy proto digits, gave him his favorite chewing toy, stopping the angry march he had been doing all along on the fence of the playpen, his sounds were something he had never heard a cybertronian do before, not even his Ostaros during his creation, and he related it to the organic side of the protoform while accepting his offering, chewing on the toy too with a muffled "thanks, dear" and rewarded by a thrilled sound that tugged at his own spark with affection.

He remembers the first time he got here, a whole plan to destroy Prowl, make him suffer just like he did to him, expose his deeds to the open, only to be faced with that, someone, already knew and did, Tarantulas expected a bigger uproar, but alas, it seemed like it was water under the bridge without much problem, because everyone knew that Prowl was really like that; burning shame and embarrassment spread easily, as he so flawlessly followed him, so naively he loved him.

Next in his plan, he could kill him, but it was too easy, maybe torture him, he followed his own creation, Ostaros, knowing full well that one only needs to follow one autobot to get to the other, but it was hard, find Prowl showed to be a challenge, jumping from one bot to the next, and he finally found him, as his plan was already forming on his helm he got inside, obvious change in pattern from the last time, but Prowl and his usual protocol to prevent every variability was easy to understand for Tarantulas.

He knew Prowl, he did, all the details, the most little of them.

He expected Prowl to return, later, enough time to be ready, assault him in his own house.

What he didn't expect, for a change, was to get startled by a chaotic EM field as soon as one of his legs got inside, it was suffocating! It was inquisitive! Like it wanted to tear him open! Tarantulas struggled to keep it down, protect himself, just to notice that, while horribly obnoxious, the strange waves didn't really harm him, those were like strange sensations, always in tune, one, two, one, two, searching with greed, what kind of weapon did Prowl have in here? Now it made sense why everything was so fortified, but it seemed out of place for him to store it in his own living quarters, too much evidence, and the idea of Prowl himself guarding a weapon was strange to say the least.

What was more strange, nonetheless, was to find a protoform there, his optics looked at the new spark, shocked, and the new spark looked back at him, curious, for a moment Tarantulas couldn't believe it, but surprise was soon replaced for anger, it almost made him shout right there.

He was doing it, again, he was going to do it again and again and again, isn't it? He was going to use this new spark, just like his Ostaros! No matter the war, nothing mattered for him!

"You awake?"

If Tarantulas wasn't perfectly glued to the wall thanks his own organic modifications, then he would have fallen ungraciously to the floor, a human, the human, he knew who you were, a human as naive as him before if not worse, he knew of your existence, and even the idea of killing you to get back at Prowl crossed his processor, but he wasn't planning any of that.

Not because of Prowl but for his Ostaros, who was still tied to the former enforcer by the mistakes of his past self, but Tarantulas knew, he lived among humans, among his Ostaros and the human Verity Carlo, his creation, Springer, such a lovely new name, he was fond of humans, but more like Prowl once was, Tarantulas found them to the plump but way too messy to clean.

He liked messy, so his first reaction to you was simple, but his Ostaros respected you, and he was rewarded with the image of someone caring for his creation, something he never had chance to do, not for as long as he could have liked and done.

Humans and their instinct to bond, inadvertently it stopped him from consuming you in the spot just to spite Prowl, but his Springer, he would know, and no matter how hard he wanted to hold him on his arms, he couldn't give away his location or his current status of being active, not even mention how destroyed he would feel if his hatred was directed towards him.

Looking at the new spark, and how they reacted to you, reached for you, his EM field calming down and mimicking your heartbeat as sweet sounds escaped the protoform, it made him remember the humans and their younglings back on Earth.

It took time, to understand what happened, what was going on, and what would come later.

And he loved every bit of it.

How this extravagant protoform came to be, what made him grow up like a human toddler, what theories exploded his mind with what Prowl and you had done, smiling devilishly as a "you're a little abomination to Primus, aren't you?" came from his vox like a content purr once you took place to sleep next to the sparkling, who was still very much awake and centering his attention on the intruder, in any other moment he would have just took the new spark, but he was better than that, he was better than him.

But being better than him didn't mean he was going to just let it be.

He took, in some way, some things from Prowl, he hardly ever saw him in the living quarters, and, in some way, Tarantulas also helped you, little human that couldn't make much than hold the protoform to calm him down, not really knowing of the wild frequencies the new spark was emitting, and Tarantulas took in his own servos the work to, firstly, teach Chainbreaker to keep his EM field calm and collected like a good sparkling and even helping him grow his external armor in the right way when you couldn't do it properly not because of poor care but for your lack of real knowledge in practice, and everything was good, he saw the protoform daily and it contented his spark without limits just as when you took care of him too or when his Springer appeared from time to time, Tarantulas would be lenient and let those constructicons come just because Prowl looked irritated by their presence but couldn't do much about it, but apart from it, he was happy.

And when that little chevron appeared on Chainbreaker, obvious signal of his Praxian heritage, he almost destroyed the playpen with his own legs.

"The fact that he still keeps online makes my energon lines boil like acid", finally looking at his audience of only one mech again, his relentless hateful speech finally stops, the toy hanging loose on his leg, "but how does he manages, with all that he is, to bring life not to one but two beautiful and pure sparks", his audience still keeps on listening at him, curious blue optics attentive to every word even when his processor is so naive, or should he call it young, or just being an infant, for a moment he almost caves in and holds the soft protomesh of the sparkling's faceplates with his tarsal claws, Tarantulas wouldn't be surprised if the sparkling didn't remember this in the long run, but it was nice to have someone to hear him.

Chainbreaker did a sound again, and this time he couldn't contain himself before hugging the faceplate of the protoform with his body, making him giggle.

"CB", you call from the other room, coming inside the next moment, enough for him to reduce his size, you do a sound, maybe startled or surprised to see a spider next to the sparkling, tapping with his little servos around the supposed spider, Tarantulas knows Chainbreaker would never hurt him and he doesn't plan to do so, but he isn't surprised when you take a cube and a piece of cardboard to catch him and take him away to your garden.

"Bu-buh", the sparkling does a little wave with his digits, you aren't the only one to cooing at him but you don't need to know, not now at least, as Tarantulas knows that, while you may be grossed out for his appearance or not, you are raising your child to be kind, even to something considered a pest.

A nice one, is what he thinks as you let him go, once again, in the middle of the rosemary and mint, looking at him and being sure all his legs are in place, you're a nice human.

Nice, good, but among all else, way too naive.

Tarantulas doesn't even ask himself how long it will take for Prowl to break you as he gnaws at a leaf of mint, he just knows it will happen.

It'll happen, sooner or later, and he stuffs another leaf inside his oral receptor to calm his nerves, because if his research on you proves to be real, and he knows it is, in the worse case scenario, he knows his Springer will take care of Chainbreaker, and he will take care of both of them, if only he could talk to you, he would tell you, he would promise, Tarantulas would swear to take care of your creation, and look after him from the shadows the moment Prowl breaks you.

And with it, the bond that keeps you alive.

.

Before you kill me, I already said Prowl's route was going to end bad, because, well, come on, he is Prowl.

[11queensupreme11]

Well, let's get back to the subject of baby Percy's teething.

I remember that in the last posts on the subject we talked about the idea of ​​Percy accidentally causing a zombie apocalypse by biting Hades' bident

I imagine the following situation:

Poseidon has some official business, like maybe he needs to show up at a meeting with the other sea gods (or maybe just kill someone) and needs to take the trident along with him

He leaves Percy with Hades, like the good uncle he is, he quickly realizes the inconsolable state Percy is in due to not being able to bite his favorite "chewing toy", so he sanitizes it and hands over his weapon

When Poseidon returns and they realize how successful the exchange of the trident for the bident was, they reach an agreement in which whenever Poseidon needed his weapon, he would leave Percy with Hades

The deal was a win-win for everyone except the humans who are now alternating between zombie apocalypse and biblical-style tsunami apocalypse

Buddha, Hercules and the Valkyries are desperately trying to find a perfect replacement teething toy to prevent the destruction of humanity, they choose the best toys and go to meet Baby Percy (they have previously arranged a meeting with Poseidon)

They try, they TRY REALLY hard to attract baby Percy's attention to one of the toys but the effort fails, when hope seems lost baby Percy stretches out his little hands to try and catch it...

THE WEAPONS of Buddha and Hercules, she is drooling and alternating her gaze between the weapons with big, hopeful eyes full of desire, the two gods look at each other and realize that there is only one solution that does not result in the death of humanity:

Their weapons are baby Percy's newest teethers and from that moment on Poseidon started to carry three divine weapons (the trident and Percy's two divine teethers)

The two were without their weapons for the next few years, at least now humanity isn't being destroyed with every bite baby Percy takes.

It would be really funny if at every future meeting of gods the two of them just stared at baby Percy nibbling on the weapons as if they were the tastiest sweets in existence, it would be a pretty hilarious thought that baby Percy accidentally confiscated the weapons of two gods

And in the future when she looks at her baby photo album she will think:

WHAT THE FUCK!?

the image of poseidon lugging around not only his baby and his giant ass trident, but TWO OTHER BIG WEAPONS AS WELL makes me crack up 😭😭 especially since heracles' weapon is literally a big ass club 💀

to prevent injury (cuz some of there weapons have sharp and dangerous points!!!), i totally see poseidon buying a bunch of those foam cubes and jabbing them with the sharp tips to babyproof it. 😂

[theirwolfbicanthrope]

Regarding the recent post, I’ve actually been crazy curious to learn about the time loop premise. It feels so mysterious, but I’ve been off on the side patiently & politely waiting lol.

OH BOY

ok so at first time loop fic was just this idea I had of, what if poor Ellen after the end of the movie wakes up at the beginning of the movie (post prologue). and so she keeps trying to prevent all the death and destruction but a) she's a woman in 1838 Germany and b) she's mentally ill, so the deck is SUPREMELY stacked against her.

and then it kind of...spiraled. I ended up starting it because the idea wouldn't let me go but I actually had no idea where I was going with it?? and have been figuring it out over the course of writing it dgfdfsg and it has Evolved but it's still that basic premise - Ellen trying to save people but also wanting to save herself. also it is very much Ellen whump fic. and extremely messy sort of slow burn throuple fic.

and Greta the Cat is there, constantly, because I will take any opportunity to include her in fic.

originally I meant for it to be a mid-length one shot fic but then my brain went said no, we must dive deep into the plot! lots of interaction! lots of exploration and character study! chew on all those dynamics! also let Ellen go apeshit at least once! so yeah it is now over 32k words long and still growing. I do finally have an ending tho!

(also my tag came from my spouse making a joke about the movie's title and I found it absurdly amusing)