#What are the Various Types of Printing Processes

[theresattrpgforthat]

What timing on opening these --I was just thinking I had one for you. I'm looking for TTRPGs that can be played in a very short amount of time, very little setup on the player side, and are appropriate for middle and high school students! I'd love to run some games at the library, but have a very small allowed window in which to do this.

THEME: Great for Students, Very Short.

Hello there! I put you to the front of the queue because I wasn't sure how urgent the request was, so I hope this is still a timely response!

I tried to focus on games that could be appropriate for students and had very little in the form of rules. That being said, the downside of little rules is that there's not quite often a lot of GM guidance, so it might be good for you to read these a few days before you plan to run them.

Additionally, I recommend some places to find One-Page games at the bottom of this post, because I think you're going to get some very fruitful possibilities there beyond what I just recommend today.

One Spell Wizard, by noxnightly.

In this game, you are a wizard who only knows one magical spell for some reason. You’ve only learned the one and for some other reason use it for everything that you can think of. Will you be able to survive an entire dungeon this way?

It's easy to streamline character creation when all the other players have to do is write one spell! To succeed in One Spell Wizard, you roll 2d6. The closer you get to a 6, the better your success - 5 or 6 points away is an utter failure. The game encourages descriptions of how exactly your spell goes right or wrong, which I feel like me a very fruitful and fun exercise for a number of school-age kids.

As for generating challenges, the game has a quick little d6 table that uses a Mad-Libs style of creation to determine what the players will be up against. I can see this game turning well and truly goofy with this! If you want to give your players a customizable experience that is sure to generate a case of the giggles, I heavily recommend One Spell Wizard.

Super Unnatural, by Sam Robson

You are investigators specializing in paranormal problems. You have been hired to solve a mystery at a famously haunted apartment complex. Together you'll perceive, question and research your way to the answer- hopefully without becoming cursed in the process.

24XX games are another series of games that, as a system, are quick to pick up and play. Super Unnatural is specifically focused on spooky ghost stories, and I know that if given the chance, a lot of kids are more than happy to jump into spooky themes.

As for the style of game, Super Unnatural has three character investigator types, three basic skills, and a series of tables to help GM's create a problem of the week in a few seconds. The idea behind many of these games is to give you a few basic tools and then jump into the story as quickly as possible. If you want a spooky option for your group, consider Super Unnatural.

The Summit, by BATTLEAXE GAMES

Climb the White Fang mountain, and discover the long lost secrets that lie hidden at the Summit!

Take the role of an Explorer—an adventurer, survivalist, and mountaineer. Work with your fellow Explorers to climb the mountain and reach the top, before succumbing to frostbite, injury, or worse. After all, this is no ordinary mountain.

Breathless games have a pretty concise loop, and The Summit runs on Breathless. You need a pack of various multi-sided dice, and a few print-outs, and you're good to go! The Summit is designed to be a one-shot that lasts 2-3 hours, since a horror twist on a fantasy game, so I feel like death is a possibility.

The thing that makes Breathless games pretty concise is the Taking A Breath action. At various times throughout the game, the crew can pause to take a breath, which allows everyone to replenish their resources, but also introduces a new complication. In other versions of this system, I think you could even call the end of each session every time the group stops to take a breath. There are a number of different Breathless games, so if you like this idea, you have plenty to check out!

Elevator Dogs, by Blind Archivist.

ELEVATOR DOGS is a 10-minute, fast-paced, trigger-happy live-action RPG where 3 to 6 players portray a group of anonymous criminals who have just stolen something valuable in a chaotic mission. There is no fixed objective; the interesting part is seeing how the game unfolds and how the characters end up after the 10 minutes it takes for the escape elevator to reach the ground floor of the skyscraper. But I guess surviving is a good starting point.

A game with a timer! Elevator Dogs is meant to be 15 minutes long, tops, from prep to end. The game is also tiny, something you can fold up and keep in a mint tin. This game might be a great introduction for anyone who hasn't role-played before. Alternatively, it's described as a great filler game.

Shepherd's Lantern: Sheep Dog Quest, by Rogue Wave Arcade.

The sheep have been kidnapped by wolves. Are you a bad enough dog to rescue them?

For players that want animals and light-hearted themes, Shepherd's Lantern mixes child-friendly subject matter with a tactical style of play. This is a one-page game based on LUMEN, which is known for both rules that are easy to grasp and a tactical build that encourages strategic thinking.

I think you can teach this game fairly easily, while still allowing complexity to enter the experience. While you're playing sheepdogs, combat is still at the centre of this game; the setting gives your dogs a reason to be out there getting into scraps. If you want to encourage your players to problem-solve, you might get a lot out of this game.

Quest It, by Eulen Luda

If you were made out of paper, in a world made out of paper… How would you fight paper evil?

Quest-It is a role playing game about sticking Post-Its all over yourself and embodying paper champions fighting evil in a world made out of fiber, glue and ink where neon-cities, ancient castles and gigantic spaceships are all mixed-up.

I love games that find new and easy ways to incorporate a physical experience, and Quest-It does exactly that. Your character in this game is built up of special abilities called Power Post-Its, which are literally post-it notes stuck to your body! You take them off and slap them onto a table when you use them to try and do something risky.

The game itself is a standard fantasy game, with Trials that can deal damage to your characters, boilerplate templates for adventures that the GM will need to build onto, and treasures in the form of new powers every time you defeat a significant quest. One of my favourite things about this game is that when the group overcomes a challenge and fells an enemy, the players have to write their accomplishment on a Post-It and stick it onto the GM! Additionally, unlike some of the other games in this list, Quest-It includes some solid advice for the GM, giving you some short-form steps to follow to help you run a dynamic game.

The Gardening Club, by Wizard of Ox.

Welcome to our very legitimate high school club where we don’t actually do a lot of gardening! We are open to everyone: cheerleaders, talking vegetables and even people who actually garden. We only have one rule: keep our true agenda a secret. Grab a nice cup of herbal tea, water the cacti and search for clues. We must get to the root of things!

You are a group of high school students who, despite being different from each other, have an interest in common: solving mysteries.

Since a detective club would be too on the nose, you made a “gardening” club as a front. Each one of you has different abilities you can use to get to the root of things, as well as code-names that give special powers.

Can you work together and find out what is going on?

The Gardening Club prioritizes characters that are the same age as your prospective players, and it also makes character creation very quick and easy. The game comes with character cards and special abilities that you can print out and distribute so that your players have to do very little writing. Your players roll for a code-name, which gives them a unique one-use ability, as well as a general vibe for their character.

The game looks like it can be played faster or longer depending on how often the players draw clues. You need a deck of cards to generate each clue, and in order to gain a clue, a player needs to make a successful roll on a d6. In order to solve the mystery, players have to sort the clues they gather on a deduction tree to ensure all of the pieces they find form a larger picture. There's technically a lose state, as you can fail too often and land everyone in detention, which makes The Gardening Club feel like it's partially a roleplaying game, and partially a board-game.

If you like the format of this game, you might also check out Urban Legend Club, by onemorepotatochip, which is a one-page game that inspired this one!

Other Possibilities…

The Best Job On Earth, by Hilander.

Cephalopod Squad, by The Mirage Company.

The 2023 One Page RPG Jam

The 2024 One Page RPG Jam

THe 2025 One Page RPG Jam

If you like what I do and want to leave a tip, you can check out my Ko-Fi!

[cryptic-forge]

FAQ

there are a few questions i keep getting in asks & comments & reblogs, so i'm making a list.

what is the base doll in [post]?

i mostly post my own sculpts -> there is no base doll. if i use any doll parts i did not make from scratch, they will be named in the post.

is the doll in [post] for sale?

i don't sell my first prints. sometimes i make additional versions later & post them on my ko-fi. my print files are not for sale.

do you take commissions?

check the commission post. it will state whether commissions are open. if not, i probably don't know when they will be back; i do this only as much as my scrambled brain allows.

what do you use for sculpting/printing?

blender for sculpting, elegoo neptune 3 pro and various pla filaments for printing. mostly 0.1mm layer height, sometimes 0.2mm when i need to print a huge piece.

how do you post-process your prints?/various questions about sanding & smoothness

i go over the edges with a craft knife to remove any raggedness. i usually print on a raft to save my nerves, and that makes the downward edge of the print quite ugly. i don't do any post-processing beyond the knifework, because pla doesn't sand well and also because i don't want to. my dolls aren't resin-smooth, and for me they don't have to be.

how do you paint your dolls?

multiple layers of regular craft acrylics + varnish on top. sometimes i may use chalk pastels, but mainly everything is done with acrylics. i use makeup brushes to get delicate gradients.

can i use your designs in my dnd game?

yes. they're free to use for personal, private games, as long as you mention the source of the design at the table & credit and tag me if you post any art that uses them. you can toss me a coin on ko-fi if you feel like it, but this is in no way mandatory.

if you have any other questions, feel free to ask. i feel like i type like i'm pissed off at the world, but i actually enjoy interacting with people on tumblr.

[copperbadge]

Amateur Translation Programs

So I had a lot of imaginative and informative responses to my post about looking for an amateur translation program -- something where I could load in a foreign language and it would insert a box where I could add a translation every-other-line. The idea was that this way I could practice translation with more advanced texts, and texts I chose, and thus move away from Duolingo, which at this point is good for drilling and daily practice but not for more advanced learning.

I didn't find precisely what was needed but I did get some inspiration for further explanation, and I also learned that adding the term "glossing" (thank you @thewalrus-said) into my searches helped a great deal in terms of weeding out programs that were either "Let this AI translate for you" or just endless promotional links for Babbel and Duolingo and such. I thought I'd collect up the suggestions and post them here; at the end I'm including my best swing at designing what I wanted, and why it doesn't work yet.

Suggestion one, from many people, was various ways to generate a page that is simply fixed Italian text with space underneath each line to add in a translation. This is pretty simple as a process and there are sites that will do it for you, such as this one that @ame-kage suggested. However, most of these don't allow for movement in the Italian text, and many produce a PDF which you would need to print out in order to write on unless you're willing to open it in Acrobat (and deal with Acrobat). A good solution for some but not what I'm looking for purely because I'm trying to make this super frictionless so that (knowing myself as I do) I will actually do it.

I did find this version interesting, suggested by @drivemetogeek: Have one word doc saved as your "template" doc and set the line spacing as 2.0 or higher. Select your text from source and paste it into the template doc as text-only. Ctrl a, ctrl c to select all and copy, then open a new document and "paste special" as picture. Right click and set the "wrap text" as behind text. Now you have a document where you can, basically, type over the existing text because it's the background of the page. This seems like the most frictionless version, because you could set up a bunch of them ahead of time. If you wanted to move between desktop and mobile, however, you'd need to ensure that the pasted image was fairly narrow so that you don't have to sideways-scroll.

Relatedly, people suggested generating a document that is simply the Italian text with empty space beneath it for typing in of the translation. This can be done either semi-automated, using a macro or a language like Python, or find-and-replace on, say, the stops at the ends of sentences. It basically outputs the same as above but with a more digitally accessible format, without any more effort than above. If you were to do this in Google Sheets you could also fix the column width so that it didn't do anything weird when you opened it on your phone. But it is still very friction-y, and does not allow for easy shifting of the Italian as needed. There's high probability of the translation breaking weirdly across the page. Still a top option in terms of simplicity and access.

@smokeandholograms suggested another variation illustrated here where essentially you're converting the text to a series of tables, with each paragraph a row, and an empty cell next to it for the translation. I might play around more with this one eventually, since I think I could possibly make it a three-column and put the Italian in one, the translation in the next, and the auto-translate to let me know where I might be slipping in the third. (Not that I trust auto-translate but comparing a hand translation to an auto translation can be useful in terms of working out when I've messed up the way a tense or mood is read. I tend to read indirect verbs as automatically imperative because I'm a weirdo.)

@wynjara linked to an add-in for Word specifically designed for translators, known as TransTools; this appears to employ a macro to do the same thing, though it does have a format where you can place the translation next to each sentence directly rather than in a separate cell. The full suite of tools is only $45 which is reasonable for my budget, but for what I need I think I could also just create the macro.

Using LaTeX as a tool specially designed for glossing was an option on offer, but I don't know enough about LaTeX to figure out the pros of this one, which is in itself the major con -- there's a learning curve that I think varies widely by person but for me is unfortunately a wall. It came out of a discussion on Reddit about trying to find something like what I want; also in that discussion is a link to a code generator that allows you to…do something…to the initial language, but it's not entirely clear to me (I'm sure it's clear to people who understand coding) what you would then do with it that would allow it to be output in the way I'm hoping for. Like, I could turn a paragraph of text into HTML, I understand that far, but any Italian I find is already on a website.

Moving more into apps that might work, Redditors on the LaTeX discussion suggested SIL Fieldworks, which is a professional language tech tool. Fieldworks isn't a program I'd previously encountered but much as with the ones I had, it looks like the learning curve is fairly steep and it is definitely overkill generally for what I need, though it might also harbor within it the thing I want. It is free, so I may download and play around with it.

@brightwanderer suggested using note-taking or "whiteboard" apps such as Freeform or Nebo; these are generally a kind of "infinite canvas" in which you can drop objects, text boxes, or handwriting. I don't know that Freeform would be measurably different to just using Word and a macro, since I'd still have to input/format all the text and then be stuck with the same "fixed text" setup -- and it's also iOS only -- but for some folks it might be more helpful. Nebo is a similar infinite-canvas with unfortunately the same issues, though on the plus it's available for Android, which is where most of my mobile property resides.

@bloodbright suggested that I was looking for a CAT tool, a professional translation tool mainly used by translators working in the field. This was a concept I'd encountered, but I hadn't found a good starting place. They suggested Smartcat and OmegaT. Smartcat bills itself as an AI translation platform and is HARD pushing the "don't translate it yourself, hire a translator or let AI do it" angle, so it's difficult to tell what it offers in terms of actual tools for translators, and it's also cagey about pricing, so I can't really evaluate it. OmegaT is free and gives off big "some weirdo homebrewed this in their basement" vibe (which I am here for) but I also recognized it from screengrabs that were the reason I veered away from professional-grade software: it looked too complex. Realistically, the major downside of OmegaT is that I don't think I can put it on my phone. One thing I did find interesting is that once you translate a portion of the text, the original language goes away, though I assume you can turn that off if needed. I do kind of like that because it means my distractable brain is looking at Less Stuff.

So where did I end up?

Well, it looked like I was going to have to try a homebrew myself. I had the idea of trying some of the initial suggestions but in reverse -- designing a document where every other line was a single-cell table fixed to the page. You could paste in the Italian, which would wrap around the cells, and then enter the English in the cells.

You can fix a table in place in Google Docs -- you click on the table, then under Table > Style select Wrap Text, Both Sides, and Fix On Page. Getting the whole page set up is a little labor intensive but once you did that, you could just save it as a template and make a duplicate of it each time. And this actually works….on desktop.

Unfortunately, if you open it in the mobile Docs app, the app can't handle the fixed tables and automatically moves them all to after the text that's been pasted in. I tried redesigning it so that it's a table within a table -- one for the Italian, then within that a series of them for the English -- but when you nest a table in Google Docs, it doesn't let you fix the second table in place. And you are also still dealing with the wrap issue, although you can resize the page and add a large right-hand margin as a kludge of a fix for that.

You can build this same kind of document in Word, so I tried building one in Word and then uploading it to Drive, but when you open the Word file in Docs (or in Microsoft Word for Android), it still strips the fixed positioning -- there's just some functionality missing from both apps that doesn't allow them to handle fixed-position tables.

So, the design is sound, just not the final execution. If I could program an app, I could probably remedy the issues with it -- it's simply a series of text boxes nested inside one another with different formatting. I would imagine that's relatively basic to set up, although given that neither Docs nor Word can handle fixed tables in mobile, perhaps I've stumbled on a much bigger problem that everyone is ignoring because nobody actually needs or wants fixed tables in mobile. :D

Experimentation is ongoing, anyway. I might simply have to resign myself to the fact that my translation study is going to have to be in front of a computer, which might be for the best anyway when I inevitably want to compare my translation to an auto-translate to see where I might have read something wrong.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Worth the Risk

Switch AU

A JSE Fanfic

As I write this description, I am EXTREMELY tired. So forgive me if I skip the usual chat about the chapter writing process and go straight to the summary fhsdjakl After sneaking into the IRIS facility last chapter, the guys wait to see if the proof they found is able to drive IRIS out of Mirygale so they can return. Meanwhile, Distorter appears again with a vague statement: Return to Mirygale now, or else. The group debates what to do. Enjoy! :D

More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Read on AO3 under CrystalNinjaPhoenix

———————

“I didn’t even know Internet cafes still existed,” Jackie said, leaning close to the computer monitor. “In the year 2019? Who even uses these places?”

“You’d be surprised,” Anti said, calmly scanning the website he’d pulled up. “Not everyone has reliable Internet or access to a computer or smartphone. Even in this day and age. Case in point: we’re here.”

“Well... we kinda have... special circumstances.” Jackie glanced around as he said that. The cafe was pretty empty around them, except for a couple teenagers gathered around one monitor and a couple scattered adults each with their own computer. The monitors are lined up on long tables, and the air is hot from all of the running CPUs, the scent of coffee at war with the smell of electronics. A cloudy afternoon sky lets in little light through the wide windows.

“Fair enough,” Anti muttered. He frowned, not satisfied with what he was seeing, and opened up another webpage in another tab.

“Whoa, how’d you just do that?!” Jackie gasped.

Anti couldn’t help but laugh a little. “If you click a link with the middle mouse button, it opens it in another tab in most computers.”

“Middle mouse button?”

“The scroll wheel. I’m surprised you don’t know any of this.” Anti grinned. “If you click the scroll wheel on a blank page, you can also get this smooth scrolling thing. Watch.” He did just that, moving the mouse up and down. The webpage scrolled in accordance with the movement.

“God, you’re a wizard,” Jackie mumbled.

Anti laughed louder. “I’m not. I just picked up a lot of stuff from experience.” The smile faded from his face as he actually read the webpage now. “Hm... no news about IRIS here, either.”

“I’m not surprised,” Jackie said. “It’s only been a day since we sent the footage.”

Yesterday, Anti and Jack had gone to the library to use their computers, spending the whole afternoon uploading the footage from the camera to a hard drive that the group had bought during the tech-buying spree a few days ago. From there, they sent the raw footage to various news sources. Just about as many as they could find before the library closed. They also printed out screenshots, copied photos, did just about everything they could to get backups, and this morning Jack and Stacy had gone to send packets of the physical copies to other news sources. They also sent both digital and physical copies to the Mirygale police, since Detective Kikelomo had said she’d start an investigation into IRIS.

This all might’ve been a bit overkill, but none of them wanted to take chances. They knew that some news places might think the whole thing was a big prank. But they needed someone to take them seriously. Otherwise, IRIS would still be a threat.

“Y’know... have you thought that... maybe this plan won’t work?” Jackie whispered, not wanting to say it out loud. “I mean, just because IRIS’s experiments might be exposed, it doesn’t guarantee they’ll forget about us.”

“...Yeah, I know,” Anti agreed, his voice just as quiet. “But the plan’s not to take them down forever. We just need to get them to leave us alone long enough for us to deal with Distorter. And like... these guys seem like the type to avoid taking risks. That detective lady is probably our best bet. If IRIS knows that a city is onto them, they’ll pull out, at least for a little bit.”

Jackie nodded. “I guess that’s all true.” He laughed a little. “Good thing Schneep ran into her, right?”

“Hrm.” Anti grumbled wordlessly.

“What?” Jackie looked at him, rolling his desk chair a bit closer to Anti’s. “What is it? You don’t like her?”

“No, it’s not just that.” Anti shook his head. “It’s just that... She happened to be in town? The town that’s at least an hour’s drive from where she lives? In the exact same shop that Volt and Jackson went to? At the exact moment the two of them went out? It’s a bit suspicious, isn’t it?”

Jackie blinked. “Well, look at it this way. Why would she plan to be there? What sort of nefarious scheme required her to run into Schneep and promise to investigate IRIS for him?”

“I dunno. Maybe IRIS hired her.”

“Well if they did, it’s a good thing we sent the recordings and photos to people besides Rachel,” Jackie pointed out. “Besides. I don’t think that’s IRIS’s style, anyway. They’re a lot more... direct.”

“...true,” Anti admitted. He opened another tab on the browser and typed in another address. “So... what if it was Distorter? We know he doesn’t have to be nearby to...” He trailed off. “Y-you know. To... do his thing.”

Jackie shuddered. “That’s true. But Schneep and JJ are very experienced in spotting the signs of Distorter’s control. It’s not exactly subtle. They would’ve realized she was different.”

“...yeah.” Anti nodded slowly. He was quiet for a minute, searching through the site he’d pulled up. Then he whispered, “Thanks.”

“Thanks?” Jackie repeated, confused.

“For, uh... keeping me grounded, I guess,” Anti mumbled. “I have... problems with that.”

Jackie was silent. Then he nodded. “No problem.”

They continued to read and search for a while, but after about an hour, they had to give up. It seemed like one day wasn’t enough time for news to arrive. It also didn’t help that they were being charged every thirty minutes for using the computer. The two of them paid for their time in cash, then headed out onto the street.

“The library didn’t charge me and Jack for using their stuff,” Anti muttered. “And we had to use their special computers with editing software and shit.”

“Well the whole point of the library is to offer things for no cost,” Jackie pointed out. “An Internet cafe is not the same. We could’ve just gone to the library again, you know.”

“No. They might’ve realized I was there two days in a row,” Anti said stubbornly. 

“I don’t think the library cares about how often people visit,” Jackie laughed. “In fact, I think they’d be delighted to see you there so often. That’s probably good for, uh... numbers, or whatever.”

Anti grumbled some more. “I just don’t want to stand out. I already look pretty distinct. Even though the streaks in my hair are really fading.”

“You’ll be fine,” Jackie said, nudging him. “But if you’re really so concerned, that cafe didn’t cost that much, really.”

Anti grunted noncommittally. 

They walked down the street until they reached the bus stop. It was a nice bus stop, actually. There was a little metal structure with a bench inside and plants on the roof—a good way to bring some green to the otherwise dull gray urban landscape. Jackie checked the schedule hanging on the inside of the stop. “Alright, if all goes well, the bus will be here in five minutes,” Jackie said. “Probably closer to six.”

“Cool.” Anti folded his arms and leaned against one of the metal support poles. He idly watched the few cars going down the street, eyes flicking back and forth.

Jackie sat down on the bench. “So... uh, how have things been?”

“I dunno.” Anti shrugged. “Same as you, really. How have things been with you?”

“Well... I’ve been worried about Marvin,” Jackie said. “The whole, you know... ‘time freeze having an effect on him’ thing...” He sighed. “He’s been acting weird since then, have you seen it?”

“Not really...” Anti started to say, then trailed off. “I mean... I guess a little. He’s been kinda quiet, maybe?”

Jackie nodded. “Yeah, that! He’s not really talking to anyone that much. Even JJ. I wonder what’s going on.”

“He’s probably having some existential shit,” Anti said. “That’s what always happens in time travel stories. Or to people with time manipulation powers. You start to wonder about the nature of stuff. And in Marvin’s case, do you think that if Volt and Jackson hadn’t been with him, he’d have just disappeared?”

Jackie shuddered. “I don’t want to think about that!”

Anti grinned. “When I was younger, I wasn’t much for reading, but there was this one series I remember very distinctly about time travel. One character could pause time, though as the story went on she began to lose control of the ability and could only stay in the normal flow of time by holding onto another character. She ended up defeating the villain by letting go of the second character, grabbing onto the bad guy, and disappearing into a void together. Then her molecules pulled apart and she disappeared from the timeline.”

“Jesus fucking hell!” Jackie blinked. “How old were you when you read that? Cause if you were a kid, that’s pretty dark and intense!”

“I thought it was cool.” Anti chuckled. “Besides, kids love that dark shit. But yeah... I wouldn’t let Will read that series until he was at least thirteen. Wish I could remember the name of the books, though.”

“I-I-I really hope that sort of thing wouldn’t happen to Marvin...” Jackie muttered.

Anti blinked. “Well, I’m sure... I’m sure it wasn’t like that. From what he told us when you all got back, I bet... I-I bet he would’ve just snapped out of the spell.” He hunched his shoulders. “...sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“No, it’s fine, really!” Jackie said hurriedly. “I just... it’s not what you said, it’s just me being all anxious and stuff.” He smiled at him hesitantly. “I’m sure Marvin would’ve been fine too. JJ seemed to think he would be... eventually.”

“Yeah. Jackson’s the magic expert, listen to him.” Anti nodded. He continued to watch the cars, his vision blurring a little as his eyes lost focus. “I don’t think we should use that spell again, though. Unless we really have to.”

“Oh yeah, no, definitely,” Jackie agreed. “I think Marvin’s been a bit scared off from experimenting with his cards for a while... which is actually... kind of sad, I think. I mean, he seems to really like those cards. I guess cause they’re a connection to his life before Distorter got involved. Though that’s just me guessing, of course. I-I mean, aren’t they also the reason he got transported to this time in the first place?”

Anti didn’t answer. Something was... off. He’d seen something on the other side of the road. But when he tried to focus on it, he couldn’t quite make it out. In fact... he couldn’t quite make anything out. It all felt so... distant all of a sudden.

This immediately put him on alert—but even that alert felt distant. “Jackie,” he said quietly. “Something’s wrong.”

“Huh?” Jackie looked over at Anti. His eyes widened and he gasped. “Anti! Your eyes are bleeding!”

Anti inhaled sharply, wanting to feel more distressed from that news than he actually was. He reached up and touched his face. A single drop of blood had fallen from one eye, tracing down his cheek. “He’s here.”

Jackie shot to his feet. “W-we have to get out of here!”

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys, I had a dream about him,” Anti said idly.

“What?! Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“It, uh... felt private,” Anti said slowly.

Jackie threw his hands in the air, exasperated. “I’d be more mad if I didn’t know you and your habits. Come on!” He grabbed Anti by the arm and pulled him out of the bus stop. Anti stumbled, trying to run but having difficulty, his body feeling disconnected from his mind.

The thing on the other side of the street laughed. “Don’t worry... I’m not really here,” said a voice.

Jackie froze for a moment. Then stiffened and started to run down the street, pulling Anti behind him.

“Not even going to listen to me, are you?” Distorter made a tut-tut sound. It wasn’t clear where his voice was coming from. It was just... there. “That’s not fair, Jackie.”

“H-hey! Leave him fucking alone!” Anti shook his head, trying to push past the fog. He focused on the grip Jackie had on his arms, on the way the air passed through his nose and mouth. Things started to come a bit more into view. Focus! He wouldn’t let this bitch control him! “What are you even doing here?! Just fucking with us?!”

“I wanted to tell you something,” Distorter said.

“Don’t listen!” Jackie continued to pull Anti down the street, but Distorter’s voice remained around them.

“Maybe it’s better to say, I want to warn you,” Distorter continued. “I’m starting to miss you guys, you know? I think you should hurry back. Or else... something might happen.”

Anti stopped. Jackie tried to keep running, and yanked Anti’s arm painfully in the process. “Ow! Fuck!”

“Sorry!” Jackie stopped as well, glancing back at Anti apologetically. “But—what are you doing?! He can’t actually do anything, you know!”

Distorter laughed. “I can do a whole lot. Just because you guys are far away doesn’t mean I’m powerless. For every day you don’t come back, something will happen. I’ll be generous. You’ll get to have the rest of this day. Then, tomorrow morning, something will happen... and it will be all your fault.”

And then, abruptly, everything shifted. Anti blinked, finding himself once again aware and present in the world. He shook his head, then looked at Jackie. Jackie stared back with wide eyes. “He can’t... mean that, right?” Jackie whispered. “It has to be a bluff.”

Anti just stared back, a grim expression on his face. “We have to tell the others.”

———————

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell us about that dream?!” Jack, usually pretty calm, seemed kind of pissed by this news. Anti and Jackie had gathered everyone up in the apartment’s living room, telling them about Distorter’s sudden appearance—and Anti told them all about the dream he had with him. “I was literally right there! I checked on you! Opportune moment to say something!”

It does seem like something we should’ve known, JJ added tentatively.

“Look, we had more stuff to think about after that,” Anti said. “We had the whole IRIS time freeze shit to deal with. It kinda just slipped my mind. Besides,” He looked at Jack. “I wasn’t going to say anything in front of Will. I know he’s a strong kid, but he’s still a kid. It would freak him out to hear I had a dream where Distorter tried to claw my throat out.”

Jameson shuddered, his hand going up towards his own throat. Marvin, sitting on the sofa next to him, patted his shoulder comfortingly. 

“Well... yeah, that makes sense,” Jack mumbled. “Sorry. I just... that seems really important.”

“I can’t believe him hearing about me upset him so much,” Stacy said, looking off to the side thoughtfully. “Well... actually, I can believe it, since it sounded like you just kept pushing him. That wasn’t the smartest thing to do.”

“Yeah, well, I guess I wasn’t exactly thinking rationally,” Anti said. “Maybe some part of me wanted to get under his fucking nerves, even.”

“...probably not the best idea,” Jackie said, agreeing with Stacy.

“Look, can we focus on the most recent problem?” Anti asked. “The guy tried to threaten us. He basically said ‘come back to Mirygale or else.’”

“Or else what?” Rama asked. “Is he going to attack us?”

“If he is, it will not be physically,” Schneep muttered. “Even though he cannot be hurt by most things, we still outnumber him by a great deal. As long as we are all together, he cannot hurt our bodies. Our minds, however...”

“Do you think he’ll go for the kids again?” Jackie asked quietly, glancing down the hall towards the bedroom where Will and Michelle were. The adults had asked them to stay out of this conversation, saying it was ‘grown-up stuff.’ Will hadn’t really been happy about not being included, but he went with it. Michelle was just happy she could make him play with her while the adults talked.

“I... don’t know,” Anti admitted in the same quiet tone. “There’s always a chance. Or there’s a chance he’ll use his powers on us. Like... what happened with you, Jackie, that day at the park.”

Jackie shivered, and Rama walked over to his chair, putting their hands on his shoulders. “We won’t let that happen again,” they said.

What he’s planning to do doesn’t really matter, I think, JJ said. What matters is if we’ll cave to this demand to return back to Mirygale. We still don’t know if it’s safe there. IRIS might swoop in and grab us. In fact, for all we know, Distorter might WANT them to do that!

“That’s crazy,” Jackie said. “IRIS is very interested in Distorter, I don’t think he’d want to risk a run-in with a potential enemy.”

“Well... he definitely took advantage of me being locked in there,” Anti muttered.

“That is different, though,” Schneep said. “That is merely making the best of a bad situation... er, the best for him I mean. I agree with Jackie, I do not think Distorter would go out of his way to get IRIS involved.”

“Yeah!” Jackie nodded. “I don’t know what IRIS’s plans are for Distorter and the house on Aspen Street, but knowing what we know now, it can’t be good. At very best, they’ll hurt a lot of people by throwing them into the house’s weird pocket dimension. Distorter knows that and wouldn’t risk it.”

Do you think IRIS is powerful enough to contain him? Jameson asked.

“Yeah, what do you think, Jackie?” Stacy asked. “You, uh... have the biggest history with them.”

Jackie bit his lip, looking momentarily ashamed of his past decision. “...maybe. They’d struggle with it, and I can definitely see him escaping a few times and causing damage along the way, but he’s still just one guy, you know? IRIS has him beat on numbers alone. And... I think they’re trying to prepare for anomalies like him.” He glanced at Schneep.

Schneep folded his arms and glanced to the side. “That is true...”

“Maybe we could pit them against each other somehow.” Anti grinned.

JJ tilted his head. If IRIS caught Distorter, maybe they would leave the rest of us alone...

“I... don’t think they would,” Stacy said slowly. “I mean... you guys have magic and stuff. I don’t think they’d forget about that so easily.”

Jameson’s shoulders slumped. I know... I suppose it’s just wishful thinking. Again, Marvin patted his shoulder. He hadn’t said a word this whole time, but he’d always be there for his friend.

“We will keep that idea in mind if we need it, though,” Schneep said. “For now... what could Distorter possibly do to us if we do not return to Mirygale? Should we risk him finding some new way to hurt us?”

“Why does he even want you guys to go back there?” Jack asked. “He’s not... stuck there, is he?”

“Nah.” Anti shook his head. “He was able to go all the way to that IRIS place to break me out. I know he was physically there, I saw the weird claw marks he left behind. If he could go that far, he could reach here. It’s almost the same distance, just in the opposite direction.”

“Hm.” Jack frowned. Something moved in his hoodie pocket, and he looked down. “Sam?” Sam squirmed out, flying into the air nearby. “They say that they feel like if we don’t go back soon, something bad will happen. But also that something bad will happen when we do go back.”

“Wow, that’s very helpful,” Anti drawled.

Sam flew over to him, a streak of green light through the air, and smacked hard against his shoulder.

“Ow!” Anti rubbed the spot they hit. “God, it’s like being hit with a bigger-than-usual paintball. I get it, though. Sorry, Sam, I know you’re just trying to help.”

Sam bobbed up and down, and Jack laughed. “They said, damn right!”

Anti burst into laughter as well. “Who knew something so cute could swear?”

“They’re also flattered that you think they’re cute,” Jack reported as Sam flew back over to him, settling on his shoulder this time.

“Well, as unspecific as that is, it is good to know that both our options are bad,” Schneep muttered. “So now we must simply decide which is worse.”

Rama pursed their lips. “In my opinion, the worst thing we can do is bring the kids closer to danger. And I don’t think taking them back to the city where this thing lives is the best idea. A-at the same time, though... I know Michelle’s been missing her friends from school.”

“She wanted to start playing football this fall...” Jackie said quietly. “Hard to do that when we’re hiding from IRIS.”

But that brings up the point of IRIS again, Jameson said. Even if we return to Mirygale, we probably can’t go back to things as normal until we’re really sure that they’re gone. So... we’d still be in hiding for a while regardless. It’s just more risky to be hiding in Mirygale, closer to all their centers of operation.

Rama nodded slowly.

“Perhaps this is an empty threat?” Schneep wondered. “What can Distorter really do to us when we stick together? Historically, that has been the best way to defeat him. He cannot affect all of us at once—and he cannot affect me at all anymore.”

“I really doubt that it’s empty,” Anti said. “But... we agreed to take care of IRIS before we did anything with Distorter. Cause we’re not gonna be able to do fuck all if we’re hiding from them. We should stick to that idea.”

“Yeah... the last thing we want is to get caught again,” Jackie said slowly.

Stacy shrugged. “I’m good with whatever you guys want to do. Though I’m not really in any hurry to get close to him again, so... there’s that.”

So we’re all in agreement, then? JJ asked.

“U-uh...” Marvin coughed, clearing his throat a little. Everyone started in surprise and glanced at him. “M-maybe... I coul’... use my cards?” He offered hesitantly. “See... into the possible futures?”

Jackie blinked. “Do you... really want to do that?”

“If... it’s easiest,” Marvin said quietly. “We coul’... know what’s comin’.”

“Marvin, please do not force yourself to do something you are uncomfortable with,” Schneep said softly.

“I-I’m not—!” Marvin started to protest.

“It, uh, definitely seems like you are, sometimes,” Anti said. “You’ve been real fucking quiet lately. Something’s bothering you. Probably what happened at the IRIS place. Like, obviously we don’t know what’s going on in your head, but you’ve been acting different ever since then.”

Jack nodded. “This has all been a lot of pressure, you know? And what happened with your cards was... really scary. I-it’s okay if you’re feeling off. You don’t have to feel obligated to help.”

Marvin glanced back and forth between the two of them, then slumped back against the sofa. “Fuck you, McLoughlins,” he muttered.

Jameson grinned slightly. They’re right, though. We’ve all been worried about you.

Marvin sighed. “I’m... I’m jus’ t’inkin’ about a lot.” He twisted his hands in his lap. “T’is... is a lot of... power. I-I want to help. To... use it to help.”

“Thank you for that, Marvin,” Schneep said. “Truly. But you do not have to.”

“You can do whatever you want,” Jackie added. “But just... we want you to be comfortable. With yourself. And your cards. And just in general.”

“Mm-hm.” Marvin looked at his hands. “I... jus’ want to help.”

Jameson nudged him. Don’t force yourself to, though. That’ll just hurt you in the long run. Remember what you’ve told me about spreading myself too thin? Same idea here.

“I guess you’re right.” Marvin smiled hesitantly. “I... I-I guess I won’ use my cards. But... I wonder if we shoul’... go back to Mirygale. Jus’ in case.”

“...we’ll give it a couple days,” Anti said slowly. “See if something happens.”

The others all nodded. It might be a bit risky, but going back to the city felt even riskier. They would wait, and hope nothing bad happened in the meantime.

———————

Over the next three days, Anti kept returning to the library and the Internet cafe to repeatedly check for any news on IRIS, each time accompanied by one of the others. Jack again, then Jameson, then on the third day, Schneep. It was a bright, sunny morning when the two of them took the bus to the library together. “Hm... this place does not look much like a library on the outside,” Schneep said as they walked in.

“It’s the architecture, right?” Anti said. “You usually think of libraries as... classical, for some reason. Not modern and urban like this. It’s like someone attached metal pillars to a metal box and plopped it in a concrete square surrounded by artsy shit.”

Schneep chuckled. “That is exactly what it looks like. And I think people think of libraries as classical for two reasons. One, that sort of classic architecture is considered intellectual, probably because of the association of it with the Renaissance and the rise of ‘modern science’. Two, we are old, and that is what libraries looked like when we were little. Perhaps as more modern libraries are built, younger kids’ views of libraries will broaden.”

“Hm.” Anti shrugged. “I guess. I never really explored a lot of libraries growing up. The only one I really knew was the one attached to my secondary school. And then, when I was, like, a young adult, I had other shit going on.”

“Really?” Schneep tilted his head. “This... is probably the most I’ve ever heard you talk about yourself.”

“Hah... I’m trying to make an effort with you guys,” Anti said. “Don’t let it get to your head.”

“Of course not.” Schneep chuckled.

As the two of them talked, they walked into the library and took the elevator up to the second floor. There were computers on all stories of the library, but Anti had noted that the ones on this floor seemed a bit newer than the others. They walked past the round help desk (where Anti grabbed a temporary library card) and the shelves of books, reaching the three rows of computers on tables. Looked like no one else was here today, except for one woman going back and forth between a computer on the end of a row and the nearby printer, fussing over them both.

Anti sat at the far end of the bottom row, powering up the computer there. It asked for his library card number, and he entered in the one from the temporary card. “Hm... do they just hand out cards these days?” Schneep asked. “It has been so long since I went to the library.”

“No, these are just for internet access,” Anti said. “See how this is flimsy?” He waved the temporary card back and forth, showing how it flapped. “They mass-print them out, and each one only works for a day. Maybe a couple days. I don’t remember.” He quickly opened up the browser and went to the same websites he’d been checking recently.

“Fascinating,” Schneep said. “It is very handy that they just hand those out. I saw a sign for free chargers on the way in as well. Fascinating. Fascinating. Fascinating. Fascinating.”

“You good, Volt?” Anti glanced at him.

“Y-yes.” Schneep shook his head slightly. “I am just... feeling a bit off. I think it has been too long since I took my medicine, you know?”

“Hm... another reason to go home soon, I guess,” Anti muttered.

“I-I will be fine,” Schneep said. “Don’t let me distract you.” He dragged over a chair from another computer so he could sit next to Anti. “Now. Local news sites? I use those quite often myself.”

“Yeah, you were the one who gave me some of these addresses,” Anti said.

“Oh. Right.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Anti looked at him again, concern on his face.

“Yes, I am sure,” Schneep insisted. “Just continue to scroll through the page, please.”

Anti scrolled. “It’s easier to Control F and search for IRIS, you know. But yeah, no harm in being thorough—”

Schneep inhaled sharply. He pointed at a line on the screen. “A-are you seeing this?!”

Anti blinked. He hadn’t really been focusing too much on all the headlines, but now he leaned forward. The headline read: Fire at Local Coffee Shop Almost Burns it Down. It was accompanied by a picture of a building with soot-stained walls. A building that looked familiar. “Isn’t that... the shop you worked at?”

“Latte Lake,” Schneep said idly. “Y-yes. So... it is real. C-can you click on that?”

“Yeah.” Anti did so, and both of them leaned forward to read intently. Apparently a worker said that she might’ve left a stove in the back on when she closed up shop. ‘I was... in a daze [that night],’ the quote read. “That—that is Jennifer,” Schneep muttered. “We often had the same shift. She was always very focused. To the point of being a bit intense about the closing-up procedure. She... she would not... leave a stove on. Even if in a daze.”

Anti stared at the text on the screen, a sinking feeling in his stomach. He returned to the main page of the website, using the Control F command to start searching for specific phrases. Addresses, place names, people names—“Oh my god.” Anti clicked on another headline. “What’s the name of Jameson’s stage manager, again?”

“Darla,” Schneep said. “I think.”

“That’s what I thought. Last name?”

“I-I do not know.”

Anti bit his lip. “Me neither. But look at this.” The headline read, Car Accident Leaves Woman Injured. The article listed the woman’s name as Darla Knight. He used the same command to search the phrase ‘stage manager’—and found it listed as the woman’s occupation. “Oh my god.”

Schneep inhaled sharply, his eyes going wide. “That—there are—look! Th-the statement from her, she mentions she is ‘in a daze.’”

“‘It was like my body stepped into the road on its own’,” Anti read, that feeling of dread growing in his stomach. “Oh my fucking god. Shit. Shit.”

“Th-this could be a coincidence, right?” Schneep asked hesitantly. “A coincidence that... two people we know back home... have been caught in tragedies...”

“Do you know the names of any people Jackie works with?” Anti asked.

“Ah, there is Dr. Green, I think? I cannot remember his first name right now. B-but Jackie’s hospital is Mirygale Saint General, remember?”

Anti was already searching that up. After a bit of scrolling, he found a single article—dated from three days ago. There was a theft of supplies at Mirygale Saint General Hospital. They were looking for suspects, but it was still early. Anti would bet that they’d find the culprit to be someone Jackie worked with frequently, though. “This is what Distorter meant,” Anti whispered. “We thought he’d target us. But... h-he’s making it hard for people back home...”

“A-are we sure?” Schneep asked.

“Look at the dates on these! This hospital thing was the morning after Distorter made that threat. Then the car accident was the day after, and the fire was this morning!” Anti shook his head. “Three times is too much to be a coincidence.”

Schneep sat there, staring quietly. Then he shook his head. “I-is there any news about IRIS?”

“Nothing I can see,” Anti said, quickly scrolling. He searched up IRIS, using both the Control F command and the website’s built-in searchbar. “Nothing at all.”

Schneep stood up. “We have to go home. Not to the flat. To Mirygale.”

“I... I think the others will agree,” Anti said quietly. It was still a risk, but... their friends were caring people. They wouldn’t let others suffer for their choices. He logged out of the computer, then stood up. “We need to tell them right now.”

...

A few hours later, a large group of people—mostly adults, but accompanied by two young kids—boarded the train across the country, the line heading north.

They couldn’t avoid it any longer. They had to take the risk.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Soft material behavior gets clearer as scientists directly map liquid crystal deformation

New research led by the University of Liverpool in collaboration with the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia) provides a significant step forward in understanding the micro-scale mechanisms that govern the behavior of soft materials. Soft materials are a type of material that can be easily bent, compressed, or indented with minimal force. They are widely used in everyday items such as toothpaste and lotions, and play critical roles in fields like food science, biomedical applications, textiles, and industrial processes, including 3D printing and battery manufacturing. In a new study published in the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, researchers have, for the first time, directly mapped what happens inside a particular type of soft material—liquid crystals—when they are deformed. The research team used advanced techniques to visualize how these materials respond at the microscopic level to various types of stress and strain.

Read more.

[autism-autobot]

Flower of a Poisonous Seed Part 31

Part 30:

"So now you are in the process of registering Wukong as a resident in your home?"

"Yes Father, that is what I'm doing."

"So when do you plan on taking him to get a Celestial ID Card?"

"..."

"...?"

"I don't wanna go to the Vehicle Management Department!!!"

"Still have to do it."

"Ugh."

~~~

Li Jing was driving with all of the required documents in the seat next to him. Red Son, Wukong, and Nezha were in the back seat with Wukong in the middle.

All three of them needed to get new IDs for various reasons. Nezha's needed to be renewed, Red Son needed one because he was now an acknowledged celestial prince, and Wukong was starting to make his residence in the Celestial Realm permanent.

SWK: Wait, so these guys won't take regular mortal ID cards and vice-versa?

RS: Yep, it's annoying, but immortals tend to live longer and have different laws and requirements for identification.

Nezha: Celestial IDs expire every few centuries or so.

RS: In the mortal realm, it depends on your age. Sometimes demons will get ones specifically designed for their life spans, but that is still quite rare.

SWK: Oh, okay.

Jing: Do you not do the same in the kingdom you used to rule?

SWK: No, everyone was just kinda... there. Y'know? Like, it never really mattered so much that we need identification documents or any documents really.

RS: Don't you still rule Flower Fruit Mountain, Uncle?

SWK: It's... complicated.

SWK: I technically retired decades ago, but they haven't said anything about choosing a new ruler, and I only trained MK to replace me in combat scenarios, not political.

SWK: The monkeys can choose a new ruler whenever they want. They always could! They just never felt a need to replace me.

SWK: Historically speaking, the monkeys have done just fine without a monarch. It's more of a 'this is who we trust to help us with our problems and guide us through hard times' type of job. They know how to do that on their own just fine without me.

SWK: So... I'm kind of still The King. It's mostly just a neat, empty title nowadays.

RS: Oh. I see.

~~~

Wukong was informed of the long wait but not how noisy everything was. Luckily, Nezha brought his noise-cancelling headphones for him.

Getting the information down and the picture taken was a breeze, but Wukong wasn't a fan of the long lines and how long it took to print the IDs.

Li Jing helped speed up the process of confirming Wukong's status as Nezha's "roommate" as he called him. Something told them it would take longer to explain their actual relationship status.

Red Son brought snacks and entertainment for them to enjoy while they waited.

Wukong munched on strawberry pocky sticks while he watched the celestial cousins kick Jing's butt in Mario Kart. It was highly entertaining.

~~~

SWK: I didn't think that would take five hours. I know you guys said it takes a long time, but wow. Just wow.

RS: Can we go out to eat now?

Jing: Absolutely. I'm starving.

Nezha: I've been meaning to show you two to this one restaurant Wukong and I enjoy!

SWK: It's really good. You guys ought to try the food there.

RS: Sounds like a plan!

Nezha: Dibs on driving!

SWK: Shotgun! I call shotgun!

Part 32:

Masterpost

@weaverpop @istopaskingmemate @ainnur @swkbiggestdefender @starrclown @fruit-fight

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞

90 for 🪞:

---

That’s sort of fair. It’s hard to decide who you want to be when you finally get a choice. Buck knows that better than anyone. He can see why she might be overwhelmed. 

Then, they’re walking by a rack of clothes right across from the boy’s section and Dove stops short. Buck staggers to halt and looks at her.

“What’s wrong?” He asks. 

“Look,” she says, pointing.

Buck follows the gesture to a mannequin little boy wearing a tee shirt that is, without a doubt, perfect for Dove. It’s a soft, gray-green type color, decorated with cartoon print alligators. 

“Oh, well,” Buck says, grinning. “That was made for you.”

Dove scrunches her mouth to the side. 

“Is it for boys?”

“It’s for whoever is wearing it,” Buck replies. “And if you want it, I think we should buy it.”

Dove smiles at him. “Yes, please.”

And once again, Buck feels like he’s done something right.

▪️▪️▪️

By the time they meet Carla for dinner, Buck thinks they’re towing a good clothing haul in the back of the Jeep. After the alligator shirt, Dove seemed a bit more ready to give her stylistic opinions. By the time they left the store, on top of that original shirt, they’d purchased two more sweaters from the boys section with various animal themes, and a corduroy skirt that she loved the feeling of under her fingers. Dove had a wide grin the whole walk to the car. Buck calls the outing a win. 

Meeting Carla goes just as well. She’s so friendly and warm that she disarms Dove’s shyness right away. Maybe Dove’s pre-established good mood and the promise of dessert also help. 

“So Carla is going to hang out with you while I’m fighting fires. That okay with you?” Buck asks, while Dove colors on her paper kid’s menu.

“Okay,” Dove shrugs. “That’s good.”

Carla chuckles. “We’re going to get along great, aren’t we Dove?”

“Yes!” Dove decides. 

Buck feels relieved. It’s all going well. She’s happy. She’s more secure than she was. He starts to feel confident that he’s not doing a bad job.

iv.

That confidence of course fizzles out at the first sign of disruption. Of course it does. 

To be fair, for over a week after Buck returns to work and Dove starts school, things are good. Gerrard makes limited jokes about Buck going on maternity leave. Buck and Eddie act pretty much normal as long as Buck doesn’t talk about spending time together outside of work. Which is a bummer. A major, anxiety-producing bummer. But Buck is still trying for patience. 

Dove is doing well in school, too. Turns out, unlike what he was warned, her reading is actually pretty on par with where it should be. It’s her confidence that’s the issue. She reads great with him. Well, for a six year-old. It’s the environment that’s the issue. He thinks that’s something they can work on. But she likes school. She already has a friend.

So things are going well. Until Buck finds himself in a pickle. 

It’s day two of his first four-off since he returned to work. And, sort of excitingly, he has an appointment with a lawyer. A lawyer who specializes in adoptions, in fact. It’s the first appointment to get the process rolling. He knows it’s quick. He’s been advised he can take more time with it if he wants. He doesn’t want. The thing is, he’s all in. He’s committed. He knows exactly what he wants. He took this little girl in, he’s gotten her to open up. There’s no way he’s turning back. He can’t do that to her. Besides, even if he’s faced challenges, he hasn’t encountered anything that has made him doubt her. Just the opposite, actually. 

The truth is, the more Buck learns about Dove, the more he likes her. The more he’s sure he wants her to be his kid. Not just that he wants a kid or wants to help in an unfortunate circumstance. He wants this kid to be his kid. This kid, with her fascination with reptiles, her surprisingly strong opinion on apple juice being better than anything else, and what he has learned is a complete and utter obsession with the Disney Tarzan cartoon. Like, he’s never listened to so much Phil Collins in his life. Dove, who is polite and gentle, but curious. He doesn’t want to imagine having to give her back. And it hasn’t even been two months. He’s going to adopt her as soon as he can and give her the security that she has somewhere forever. That is the foremost priority in his life right now. 

The morning of his appointment, Dove wears her alligator shirt, and Buck tries to braid her hair. Per her request. This would not have been his suggestion. 

[kurorotic]

bored kei going through the photo albums on his phone cuz he's trying to find an old picture when he stumbles upon one album that was named, 'being sneaky 🤭'

the thumbnail is green like his jersey and not much else.

so he taps right in and is met with several photos featuring tadashi… in an oversized sendai frogs hoodie and… not much else. like he might be wearing tiny shorts under that. kei is still processing all this.

but tadashi was in various positions and locations within kei's apartment.

selfie in front of the bathroom mirror, stealing something out of kei's fridge, long freckled legs angled upwards in the bathtub, laying on kei's bed.

all very teasing, all making kei's cheeks heat up in record time.

tadashi showing off the 'tsukishima' on his back. tadashi barely lifting the hoodie. tadashi sitting on his knees with the white string in his mouth and coyly smiling.

every single of them /teasing/ what kei was apparently dying to see. when did he even take these pictures? when did he have kei's phone this long???

but then it's in the final photo of however many.

tadashi tugged up the hoodie juuuuuuust enough to reveal a cotton pair of panties with a little strawberry print... thus destroying kei's mental psyche.

going through all those previous pictures... knowing tadashi was in those...

part of him wanting to immediately call tadashi. the other part wanting to deal with the rising issue in his pants.

………………………

fine, he'll text tadashi after.

kei: [SCREENSHOT SENT] what is this

tadashi: omgggggg you finally found it?!?! wow took u long enough.

kei: tadashi.

tadashi: did u like them :)

tadashi: i see you typing!!

kei: yes. is this some kind of kink for you?

tadashi: yeah man i looove waiting four months for my bestie to discover some lewd pics i took. and kinda forgot.

kei: idiot.

tadashi: it's called having whimsy!

kei: i know where i can shove my whimsy.

tadashi: oh? 😍😍😍😍

kei has never left his own home so quick to see a certain mischievous twink.

[punderdome]

The Fine Print: Chapter 8

Summary: Tav seeks out a set of Infernal translations from the Archivist.

[AO3]

Rating: 18+, Minors DNI

Chapter 8: The Archivist

Tav woke alone in the Archduke’s chambers.  She was stiff and slightly sore but knew what she had to do.  Raphael enjoyed it when she spoke Infernal to him.  How much?  What could she convince him to do using the Devil’s tongue?  What would the devil's tongue do if she spoke the Devil's tongue?

First, she needed a competent translator that wasn’t her husband or his incubus.  Since she had negotiated for the ability to speak to the staff, the Archivist was her best bet for a translator, but he had never even looked at her before.  There was no way he was going to translate filthy lines unless she managed to gain some rapport with him.

Tav visited the archives after breakfast.

The Archivist was pouring over a tome and making notes on the side about a pair of gauntlets sitting on his desk.  They hummed with Weave and required a thorough characterization.

“Good morning,” Tav greeted warmly.  For the first time, the Archivist looked up at her and caught her gaze.  He seemed displeased by the interruption but completely unwilling to express it to the Master’s wife.

“How may I assist you, my Lady?” he asked patiently.

“What is your name?  I’m Tav - Tavara,” she corrected, unsure if he would ever consider using her name or if titles were all she was going to be given.

“Kilzire Ozvius, Master Archivist of the House of Hope,” he returned the gesture.  “Now, what can I help you with, Lady Tav?”

“I am trying to learn proper Devilish Infernal, can you help me with a few translations?”  Tav held out the Infernal copy of the book on Asmodeus that he loaned to her a few days prior.  The Tiefling considered her question for a brief moment before he nodded.  He gestured for her to show him the passages she was struggling with.

“I have been struggling with this passage that describes Asmodeus’s true serpentine form.  I initially read this as ‘wounds dripping of acid black blood’ but the Common tongue version says ‘a series of never-healing wounds that exude blood blackened by sin and torment.’  Can you help me understand the difference?”  Tav requested.

He took a second to understand her request before going through the section rune by rune.  “I see,” there was a look of slight hesitation in his eyes.  “So you’ve never studied Devilish Infernal before?”

Tav swallowed.  “No.  My lack of study is what led me here.”  Kilzire had a look in his eye that twinged with embarrassment, though whether it was from her husband’s view on Tiefling Infernal or some sort of forbidden knowledge of how she actually became the Archduchess, she couldn’t say.

He pointed out the runes that described the blood of Asmodeus.  “This word means never-healing wound in Infernal, but in Tiefling Infernal it means just wound.”  He gave her a different word in Infernal to indicate that the wound could be healed, then added a suffix to indicate that the wound was in the process of being healed.

“May I have some parchment and a quill, I would like to take notes.”  She wrote down the new terminology along with other examples of various types of wounds that may or may not be healable, in the process of being healed, mostly healed, failed to be healed, festering, fouled, necrotic, infected, and filled with devilish black pus.  He went through and explained the subtle differences between them, often with only a single letter difference or a change in inflection or tone marked by the slight changes in angle of the letters.

“In spoken Infernal, your original reading would be sufficient to communicate most of your ideas, but written down or in a contract, the translation provided would be the correct way to interpret the writing.”  Kilzire walked out from behind his desk and into the stacks.�� He returned with a relatively thin book bound in brown leather.

“Wound Treatments for the Front Line of the Blood War?” Tav asked as she read the title on the cover.

“Should you wish to practice your new knowledge,” Kilzire explained briefly.

Tav realized how much of his time she had used, and she only asked for clarification on a single word.  “Thank you, Kilzire.”  She collected the two books and her notes and returned to her room.

She lay the books on her table.  She had an eternity to learn to properly read the works in front of her.  It was the only way she was going to be able to correct her mistakes.

That evening, Tav was summoned to dinner with her husband in the dining hall.  

The table was set with entirely too much food for the two of them to eat but nowhere nearly as lavish as the feasts for their first days of marriage.  She stood alone in the dining hall to wait for Raphael.  He came from behind her, probably having relocated from his study.

“Dear husband, how was your day?” Tav started the pleasantries.  She took an offered elbow, and they sat together at the dining table.

“Quite challenging, I’m afraid,” Raphael responded, starting to serve himself a large portion of some sort of dark meat that dripped black juices as he cut into it.  Tav declined to serve herself from that platter.

“With contracts?” Tav probed.  She took a buttery roll from the breadbasket and noticed an unappetizing yet familiar meat stew lurking behind it.  A platter of whole roasted fish on the table seemed like a safe choice.

“I was repairing the Orb of Karsus,” as he spoke of the artifact, Tav could sense his frustration as his knife cut deeper and more firmly into the flesh in front of him.

“I see, I’m sure it will be done soon enough,” Tav offered politely.  “Whenever it is ready, I’m curious to see it.”

Raphael chuckled slightly.  “How did it feel when it was within you?” he asked, taking a sip of wine.

Tav cocked her head slightly, startled by his question.  “I didn’t know that it was there, but for me I guess it felt more like an ache.”  She brushed her fingertips over the scales on her sternum.  “Like my stomach was upset because I consumed too much whiskey or that sensation when you poke at a bruise.”

“Such an adept description,  I felt a similar sensation upon testing it.  I shall have it complete soon, and then I will show you its dark beauty.”

When they finished eating, Tav took Raphael’s offered elbow and they strolled through the corridors together.  Tav pulled him gently towards the balcony that they had fucked on the day prior.  He chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

“Again?” Raphael teased.

“I didn’t really get to look at the horizon last time, as I was preoccupied,” Tav teased back.  She smirked at his radiating smugness.  She paused and gave a short chuckle.  “And yes, that position did feel very good,” she added, trying to play coy.  “Perhaps we should do that again,” she suggested with a smile.  The growl in Raphael’s chest was almost imperceptible.

Tav gazed over the reddish horizon at the low, inhospitable rocky mountains.  The land was jagged and barren, it was hard to believe that this was the site of so much conquering and conflict.  This was the place her dear husband wanted to claim.  This was the place she would eternally call home.

Raphael offered her a hand to lead her back to their chambers.  Tav was lost in thought as they headed back to his bedchamber for the evening.  They walked together in silence, her hand wrapped around his arm at the elbow.

She was starting to observe how Raphael took her contact.  The Infernal flirting was hot and exciting.  Direct requests were met with more challenges and demands.  When he fingered her it was an ‘indulgence.’

When they entered his bedchamber, Raphael wasted no time undressing her as soon as the latch clicked shut.

“Why don’t we take our time?” Tav suggested as Raphael slid her smallclothes down her thighs.  “We can relax and savor it.”  Her suggestion gave him a slight pause.  Now that she was bare, he lowered his mouth to hers and started to kiss her softly and slowly.

Tav took her time exploring him over his clothes.  She was hoping that he would find the experience enjoyable enough to reciprocate.

“Come,” Tav bade him, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the bed.  She motioned for him to lay down, but he stayed standing.  Alright, standing it would be.

Tav circled around to his back.  She let her hands roam softly over the Infernal ridges hidden by his doublet.  She gently ran her hands through the hair at the back of his neck.  She stroked the skin of his wings gently, feeling the softness of the greater membrane and gently contrasting it to the firm leathery skin that covered the bones and muscles beneath.  She wrapped her arms around him from behind and felt a deep, contented hum emanate from his chest.

Raphael sighed slowly, as Tav started undressing him.  She undid every button on his doublet slowly, and removed it from his body.  She unlaced his undershirt, tracing over his chest with her hands lightly, trying to tease him, and a quick tension in his breath indicated it was working.  He pulled the undershirt off over his head and discarded it.

Tav rested her cheek against his chest as she started to trace the hem of the waistband of his pants with her fingertips, eliciting a breathy growl from her devilish husband.  She unlaced his pants and slid them off, leaving both of them bare.

She met her husband’s gaze.  He was eager and hungry, with an erection to support that assessment.  Her hands gripped his shaft and gave a few eager pumps, and deep groans emanated from his Infernal chest.

Tav took his hands and placed them over her breasts, encouraging him to touch.  She grabbed one of his hands and moved it to her ass, encouraging him to squeeze.  She moved the hand that was groping her ass between her legs, encouraging him to stroke.  She moaned into the sensation of Raphael pleasuring her.

Within the next ten seconds, Raphael had decided foreplay was done, and Tav was deposited on the bed for the evening’s activities.

***

Tav visited the archive the next morning.  She was prepared with the first test of what Kilzare was willing to translate for her, and it was prudent to start with something benign.  The Archivist was in the process of cataloging old tomes.

“Good morning, Kilzare,” she greeted warmly.

“Good morning, Lady Tav.  Did you need something?  More reading materials perhaps?”

“You know well enough that I am trying to learn Devilish Infernal, can you help me with a phrase?”

“Why of course, I speak all forms fluently,” he asserted gently with a smile.

“Can you teach me to say ‘I want you to kiss me all night’?” Tav requested.

He laughed and gave a bright smile.  “For the Master of the House, I presume.  I’m sure he will respond well to your gesture of romance.”  He spoke the words in Devilish Infernal, and Tav took detailed notes, documenting the word differences between the translation she anticipated and the one she was presented with.  “Should you require additional reading materials or inspiration, that section contains poetry and there is a section in the back for romantic classics of both Faerun and the Nine Hells of Baator.”  Tav smiled at him sweetly.

She pointed out a section of his translation.  “And this word, how does it mean ‘all night?’” she asked for clarification repeating the confusing part of the sentence.

“Without the suffix, it means ‘at nighttime’ but with the suffix it means ‘for all nighttime.'  As you can gather, that doesn’t get much use here in Avernus.”  Tav laughed, nodding at the clarification.

“Thank you, Kilzare.”

Tav smiled to herself as she walked the corridors of the House of Hope. The Archivist had been willing to translate romantic lines, so there was a chance he might be willing to assist her with a more carnal set of translations.   Still, this evening would be a small test on how willing Raphael was willing to follow verbal instructions or requests before he lost patience and claimed his pleasure.

***

The test of Raphael’s patience and interest had not gone well.  Tav whispered in Raphael’s ear, “I want to kiss you all night,” in a voice as seductive as she could make the harsh language sound.  He grinned and was highly amenable to a passionate make out session on the settee, for a while at least.

His control over himself for quite some time, and he even managed some light groping while keeping his composure.  Before long, he had dumped her on the bed and was quickly unlacing her corset.  His mouth was still on hers, locked in a deep kiss and a low groan emanating from his throat.  Then, they fucked.  Twice.

Raphael lay wrapped around her, running his claws through her curls.  “My love,” he whispered in her ear before they fell asleep.

The next morning, Raphael had left to finalize contracts in his study, leaving Tav free for the day to visit the archive at her leisure.  Maybe a more seductive statement would lead to a better outcome.

Tav walked into the archive, and saw Kilzire taking copious notes on a scroll over something he had been reading.  He gave a slight smile as she approached.

“Good morning, Lady Tav, how may I assist you?”

“I need a Devilish Infernal translation of something.  Can you help me smooth out the language?”

“Why yes, of course.  Whatever do you need?”

“I need you to teach me to say ‘I want you to trace my entire body with your tongue, ” Tav explained.

Any warmth that had been in his guise or his voice immediately vanished.  “You must be joking.”  

“Not in the slightest.”

“You realize that there is an entire section dedicated to erotica right over there! ” He pointed wildly at a back corner.  She would have to investigate it later.

She steadied her emotions.  “Will you help me or not?”

“Yes,” he bit back, rubbing his temples in an act of self soothing.  He gave her the correct translation and slumped over his desk.

“Thank you,” Tav said quietly as she left the archive.  Kilzare irritably waved her away with the back of his hand.

After dinner that evening, Raphael eagerly took her back to their bedroom to continue celebrating their honeymoon.

Tav whispered the Infernal line to Raphael telling him how she wanted him to trace her entire body with his tongue, and he immediately leapt at the opportunity.  He was attentive and eager, holding, kneading, stroking and licking.  They both gave warm moans of arousal as he traced each of her nipples slowly.  He just couldn’t make it any lower than that.   As soon as his tongue finished tracing both breasts, it was time for sex.  He just couldn’t wait any longer and was eager to be pleasured.

Tav finished herself off that night while Raphael was asleep, curled tightly around her.

She would have to think of other things much filthier to compel her husband to follow her instructions in his bedchamber.

***

After a tenday of honeymoon beddings, the appropriate number of nara root tea doses, and Kilzare’s flustered breakdowns, Tav sat frustrated at her vanity in her room, preparing to meet her Lord husband for dinner.  

He wanted her every day, and usually twice.  He had never once given her an orgasm.  The times she was close to coming when they fucked, he finished too quickly for her to reach that peak.  He didn’t like it when she touched herself, and he always swatted her fingers away from her clit when she stroked herself.  It was like he was jealous that her hands could give her pleasure without him being involved.

She couldn’t just ask Raphael to eat her out.  Everything with him was a negotiation.  If she asked him to pleasure her with his mouth, he definitely would demand she did the same to him in return.   He wouldn’t even finger her to orgasm, and there was no chance she was going to suck his cock if he wouldn’t put in the minimum amount of effort when they fucked.

Tav wasn’t sure the Infernal seduction phrases were working on her husband.  They seemed to only make him more eager to discontinue foreplay and move straight into fucking.

There was a knock at her door.  “My Lady, the Master of the House has requested you join him for dinner,” a maid relayed through the door.

“Very well,” Tav responded through the closed door.  She donned a red dress and the silver bracelet Raphael gifted her as a wedding gift.  He had enjoyed fucking her several times while she was wearing only the bracelet.

Raphael stood waiting in the dining hall.  “My beloved,” he greeted her magnanimously, grinning ear to ear.

Tav smiled nervously.  “You seem delighted, husband.  Are contracts going well?”

Raphael didn’t answer, he pulled back a chair and motioned her to sit.  Tav sat down and allowed him to indulge her.  He took his place by her side.

“I have mended the Orb of Karsus, and this merits a celebration.”  He poured two goblets of wine and passed one to her.

“Well, now you are in possession of the full Regalia of Karsus.  So much power at your fingertips,” Tav complimented.  Powerful fingertips that couldn’t be bothered to bring her to orgasm.

“It is indeed, my love,” Raphael grinned.  “The godlike power of the Regalia will enable me to take over the nine Hells.”  He grabbed portions of the meat dishes nearest to him.  Raphael cut into the toughest cuts with glee.

Tav served herself vegetables and a dish she was confident was beef.  “I have full confidence in your abilities,” she offered up in conversation.

“When I have spent more time exploring the power of the Regalia, I would love for you to see a demonstration.”

“I look forward to it, husband.”  Tav took a slow sip of her wine.  If Raphael had the Regalia already, maybe the Hells would leave her alone.  She was clearly not a threat.   There was light conversation as they finished their meals.

“I have a gift for you, my beautiful wife,” Raphael moved behind her.  He snapped and an object appeared in his hands that Tav couldn’t see.  He extended something around her neck and she immediately recognized the coldness of jewelry.  “I asked for five pendant rubies this time instead of one.”  He idly grasped her hand that bore the ruby bracelet from his wedding gift.  He turned her wrist over several times.  “One gemstone wasn’t enough.”

Tav brought a hand up to her throat, feeling the coldness of the silver.  “Thank you, dear husband.”   

Raphael extended a hand.  “Shall we go to bed?” he asked with a grin.  Tav sighed and took it.

***

Tav was pretty sure her plan wasn’t going to work, but at present she had no better ideas.  Maybe she could have a reliable way of making him come quickly when she just wasn’t excited about her husband’s affections.

Tav entered the archive, and Kilzare gave an audible groan.

“I don’t want to hear it, my Lady Tav,” he protested.

“Raphael needs to hear it, Kilzare.”

“Hells, what do you want me to translate now?” he demanded, the look on his face indicating that he was eager to get back to his work and to put the very concept of his boss having active nether regions out of his mind.

“ ‘Give me your fingers, so I can show you just how much I desire you,’ ” Tav answered in an absurdly straightforward fashion.  

Kilzire stared at her.  His mouth tightened in a deep frown.

“I studied at the top universities to be competent enough to serve an Archduke of the Hells.  Now, here I am, doing this,” he lamented. 

“Think about it,” Tav started with her prepared argument,  “has Raphael hurt you or threatened to hurt you since we started our honeymoon?  Who has he flayed?”

His eyes hit the rafters and he swallowed slowly in a deep show of indignity.  “No one, Lady Tav.”

“Do you want to keep it that way?” Tav inquired.

Kilzare took a deep sigh before translating the sexually charged statement for her. He gave her the phrase in Devilish Infernal, and Tav took detailed notes about each word choice he made.  There were only a few small adjustments from the initial translation that she had fabricated earlier.  “Can I just translate them in bulk?” he asked with a twinge of disgust.

Tav sighed, trying to respect his boundaries but also trying not to betray the real reason that she needed the phrase list updated daily.  “Not really,” she grimaced.

Tav’s assessment of her husband’s reaction to infernal seduction turned out to be correct.  He was never going to do what she asked, and it made him too excited to last long.   Tav utilized the second half of the effects many times, much to her displeasure.

***

One night, Tav woke to cambion claws gently tracing her naked curves and a very hard erection pressed into her lower back.

“Raphael?” she asked, still slightly sleepy.  He hummed a throaty acknowledgement into her ear.  They were spooning, with Raphael draped around her and caressing her with his free hand.  The one laying beneath her grasped her stomach.

“There you are, my dearest.  I was just admiring you.”  His fingers traced circles around her nipples, making them hard.  Tav sucked in a breath of anticipation.

Raphael traced his forked tongue down the back of her neck.  His tail had crept all the way up her thigh and squeezed gently in a subconscious rhythm.  He left kisses down her back and shoulder.

Tav moved to try to roll under him, but his tail and the arm stroking her wouldn’t let her move.  “Naughty, eager Little Mouse,” Raphael whispered in her ear.  “I want you just like this.  A slow, languid bit of pleasure for us to enjoy.”

Though he held her facing away from him, she reached back around him to grab his ass and run her hands over the ridges on his hip bone.  He raised his hand to trace a claw over her jawbone, and Tav lifted her top thigh, so his legs could entwine with hers.  He shifted her so that the arm that rested under her was able to assist in soft caresses.  Tav brought her hand to her clit and pressed in firm, slow circles.  She let out a soft, breathless moan.

His free hand grabbed his hardness and pushed it between her legs, waiting to enter her.  Tav quickly tested how wet she was.

“Not yet, I’m not wet enough,” she breathed before going back to touch herself.  Raphael continued to kiss her back and shoulders, though they became staccatoed instead of soft with an undercurrent of frustration.  As Tav let out another soft groan of pleasure, Raphael replaced her hand with his and took her place pleasuring her.  She could feel his restlessness pulse through his tail and his erection between her legs.

Tav pressed two fingers into her entrance and scissored and thrust them in a rhythm she liked.  The moan she let out was no longer soft or breathless.  Raphael grabbed her hand and removed her fingers.  He brought her slick fingers to his mouth and licked them clean.

“Now?” Raphael asked softly with an air of tension in his voice.

“This feels so good, finish me,” Tav moaned as Raphael continued to stroke her.

He stopped stroking her and ran his hand over her breasts.  “Such a greedy, greedy Little Mouse,” he growled in response.  Her husband thrust deeply into her.  He was slow and languid as he moved with a consistent rhythm.

Tav angled her hips properly for Raphael’s movements, and he began to take his pleasure in earnest.  He held her tightly within his arms, one hand gripping her hips while the other wrapped around her torso with his hand gripping between her shoulder and collarbone.  She enjoyed the joining and the pleasurable way his ridges dragged within her, but this angle refused her friction where she wanted it.

Tav reached between her legs to stroke her clit.  Her breathy moans met Raphael’s.  After a few more thrusts, Raphael grabbed the hand stroking her clit and removed it.  He replaced her fingers with his own.

“I am your pleasure, my Little Mouse,” he growled into her ear.  He gave a few more thrusts before coming inside her.  “My beloved,” he purred in her ear.  He held her tightly and fell asleep again still inside her.

It had been two tendays of their honeymoon trying to get Raphael to do anything to please her.  The Infernal flirting and seduction had only served to wind him up more.  He didn’t actually listen to anything she asked for or consider anything she wanted.  It was so much simpler for him to buy her things and fuck her rather than to try to build some sort of actual relationship.  S he really was just an object to him, exactly what Haarlep had told her.  She was his new sex toy.  That was all she was ever going to be.  Forever.

Tav closed her eyes tightly as the cambion lay wrapped around her and softened inside her.  Sleep was not going to come easily.  She had a new plan, and she had to begin tomorrow.

She was going to find the divorce loophole for her contract.

[torque-witch]

Soft-launching my new Ko-fi store and page!

Support Death's Head Divination on Ko-fi! ❤️ - Ko-fi ❤️ Where creators get support from fans through donations, memberships, shop sales and more! The original 'Buy Me a Coffee' Page.

It's only stickers and prints so far, but I do want to use it as a space to re-grow my art business while I'm still working on art shows during the year. I'll also be working on blogs, witchy/pagan book reviews, art processes and memberships.

I really want to get off of Etsy ultimately because

They support AI art

It's all drop-shipping or copied listings (fake)

They are banning real artists daily

They bring in zero traffic these days

People really don't trust Etsy anymore as a service

So if you want to follow along, please visit my site! I will also be re-adding slots for commissions of various types like statues, digital art and runes. I will also add Tarot readings back into the roster.

The goal is to not need to Doordash, especially as my health has been a bit precarious over the last few years. I want the majority of my energy for art shows, which have really been going well throughout 2024.

Other than that, please feel free to chime in about what you would like to see from me in the future!

[creatingnonsense]

I like to think that most of the grandkids of Drayden were homeschooled by him in some form. It’s a way to get closer to his family. When Drayton showed an excessive amount of understanding and effort into studies though, he took some advice from Clay and sent him to Blueberry Academy.. not realizing that it would lead to Drayton burning out now that he had a set path he wasn’t really interested in at the moment.

It was never his intention to pressure Drayton into burning out. It just occurred. The burn out led to some research and a bunch of connections between his family that he’d never found a word for. Burnt out. Overstimulated. Stimming. Fidgeting. He’d recognized all the signs, from when his boys were young.. Ingo making those repetitive noises from his mouth randomly, Emmet tapping and making songs on any surface that produced a noise.. to his grandkids, Drayton being extremely smart for his age and suddenly burning out, Sylas’ forgetfulness and not eating if he didn’t like the food for its texture or what he assumed it’d taste like.

He’d never put a word to it. His own memories of a harsh childhood brought up with these words, dad shouting at him for cowering at the screeches of his dragons, rocking in place or shaking his hands when he was excited.. only for mom to tell him to sit proper and still, being really good with dragon types and nothing else.. the expectations of him being good at everything due to his expertise weighing heavily on him.

Apparently it was genetic.. and it didn’t come from Sybil. She loved him for all his flaws.. taught him to love them within his boys even if he’d already suppressed them himself. It took too long for him to put a word to it, but he wasn’t going to let his family go without this knowledge for longer than needed.

Sitting down at that table was hard. Sprawled out printed papers of diagnostic criteria, research papers from various trusted universities, his own diagnosis he had found buried in folders and papers his ma passed down.. hidden from him until it was much too late. The four looked like they couldn’t process it. That was why sometimes Emmet went non-verbal.. or why Ingo struggled to process or communicate emotions. Why Drayton would lay back and not clean his room for weeks, even as he yelled at himself in his head to get it done. Why Sylas would shut down if there was too much noise or people. All of their fixations, interests.. obsessive and a source of happiness.

Even if the effort to inform them was hard, they all soon learned to embrace it. Putting a word to their struggles that they’d never recognized before. Now they were able to talk about it easier. No more ‘he just broke down’, only ‘he’s overstimulated, we should get him somewhere quiet and give him space’.

Drayden patiently watched as they healed.. and even if trying to reverse the ignorance done by his own parents would take a long time, possibly forever.. he could atleast watch his family embrace who they are with a reason and a community and help.

His family was different. Yet he loved them for it.

[lingshanhermit]

Lingshan Hermit: What is the True Nature of the World

When we talk about venturing forth together, we're not discussing events on a distant alien world. Fundamentally, we're talking about not opposing the truth, about not attempting to make an enemy of relative reality. The content described in our collective journey forward is not religious fantasy; it is actually Buddha showing us the true nature of the relative world. This nearly encompasses all correct recognition of the relative world, from biological types to the notion of "self," to the laws governing the universe, to the various predicaments we face and how to seek benefits and avoid harms. Aside from the enlightened ones, we all live in this relative world, in a world framed by size, beauty, ugliness, length, and the distinctions between self and others. Therefore, whether we practice or not, this information is very valuable to us.

Yet because we humans do not like facing reality—in fact, we fear it, and we prefer self-deception—over the years, we have developed a complete set of perfect self-deceptive thought processes and ways of living. This makes us incredibly unfamiliar with the truth. Whether in Eastern or Western societies, everyone is trying hard to forget the fact that we could die at any moment. We fill our lives with music, gourmet food, and various novelties to help us forget reality. Thus, today, an obvious fact like "you will die" needs to be deliberately reminded to be remembered. These issues we must confront are like unwelcome, shabby guests at a feast; everyone wants to avoid them. And most of our education and propaganda are leading you away from reality. We believe in judges and the legal system, in advertisements for teeth-whitening toothpaste, in individualism, private property, and free markets, in hair removers, domestic robots, and elite education. We believe these things will bring us joy or happiness. We believe in the entire Western value system, in organizations like the World Food Programme, the CDC, and NASA, and we also believe in the value of the dollar, forgetting that it's just printed paper. When someone believes that graduating from Johns Hopkins Medical School, entering a clinic as a doctor, and earning millions a year will make their life incredibly successful, they are actually opposing the laws of the relative world, opposing the unrepairable nature of the world. Because all the pain and trouble that life should have will still inevitably come. Over the last hundred-plus years, the billions of people on our planet have been shaped to believe that this is the only path to happiness. But tragically, the things they strive so hard to find never actually existed. That is to say, you can never find these things. It is impossible to achieve happiness in this way. It's like you can't fish for whales in a washbasin, can't light a torch underwater, or keep your two cats from fighting forever. If you're smart enough and have watched enough movies and TV shows, you'll realize that all these American dramas and movies are telling you about the absurdity of American values. The theories they deeply believe in have never brought them happiness, only a busy, chaotic, and meaningless life. They must tirelessly plug one leak after another, and as soon as they plug one, another two start leaking. In the end, they lost a lot for the sake of gaining a lot, lost their freedom in pursuit of freedom, and some even lost their lives. This is the life experiment conducted by everyone from Walter White to Nucky Thompson to Michael Corleone to the ordinary American to verify American values. This is also what we have been discussing in our journey forward about the true nature of our world. But most people are not smart enough, so they will not draw such conclusions.

Written by Lingshan Hermit on April 6, 2025. First published on April 6, 2025.

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灵山居士：什么是世界真实的样子

当我们说起共同外前行，我们不是在说一个遥远外星世界所发生的事。基本上，我们是在说不要和真实对抗，是在说不要试图和相对实相为敌。共同外前行所描述的内容并非是宗教臆想，它其实是佛陀在向我们展示相对世界真实的样子，它几乎囊括了所有对相对世界的正确认知，囊括了从生物类型到“自我”认知到宇宙运行规则到我们所会面临的各种困境以及如何趋利避害等各方面的信息。除了证悟者，我们都活在这个相对的世界里，活在这个被大小美丑长短自他所框定的世界里，所以无论我们修行与否，这些信息对我们来说都非常有价值。

但是因为我们人类并不喜欢直面真实——事实上，我们是恐惧真实，我们喜欢自欺——所以这么多年我们已经发展出一整套完美的自欺思维方式和生活方式。这让我们对真相感到无比陌生。无论在东方社会还是西方社会，大家都在努力忘掉自己随时会死掉这个事实。我们用音乐美食和各种新鲜事物来填塞自己，以便让自己能忘掉真实。所以到了今天，像“你会死掉”这样显而易见的事实反而需要被刻意提醒才能被记起。这些我们必须要面对的问题就像是宴会上不受欢迎的寒酸宾客，每个人都想要避开它们。而我们所受的大多数教育和宣传，也都在带你偏离实相。我们会相信法官和法律体系，相信能让牙齿变白的牙膏广告，相信个人主义、私有财产和自由市场，相信脱毛���、家用机器人和精英教育，我们相信这些东西能带给我们快乐或是幸福。我们相信整个西方的价值体系，相信世界粮食计划署、CDC和NASA，我们同样相信美元的价值，却忘了它只是印刷出来的纸。当一个人相信如果自己能从约翰霍普金斯医学院毕业成功进入一家诊所当上医生，每年赚个几百万，自己的人生就会爽到起飞，他其实就是在对抗相对世界的规律、对抗世界无法被修复的本质。因为人生所有那些应有的痛苦和麻烦并不会因此而消遁，它们全都会如约而至。最近一百多年，我们都是被这么教育，我们星球上的数十亿人都被塑造得相信这是唯一幸福之途。但是悲剧的是，他们倾尽全力所要寻找的东西，其实从未存在过。也就是说，你永远不可能找到这些东西。永远不可能通过这种方式获致幸福。这就像是你不可能在洗脸池里钓到鲸鱼、不可能在水中点燃火把、也不可能让你的两只猫永远不打架。如果你足够聪明，又看了足够多的电影美剧，你会发现所有的美剧和美国电影都在告诉你美国价值观的荒谬。他们所深信的那套理论从未带给过他们幸福，只带给他们一个忙碌混乱而又毫无意义的人生，他们必须疲于奔命地去堵一个又一个漏水的洞，当他们堵上了一个，另外两个马上又开始漏了。最终，他们为了得到很多东西而失去了很多东西，为了得到自由而丧失了自由，有的人最后连命都没了。这就是从沃尔特.怀特到努基.汤普森到迈克.柯里昂再到普通美国人为了验证美式价值观所做的人生实验。这也是共同外前行一直在讲述的我们的世界真实的样子。但是大多数人都不够聪明，所以他们不会从中收获这样的结论。

灵山居士写于2025年4月6日，首发于2025年4月6月。

[stuarttechnologybob]

What are Optimal Character Recognition (OCR) Services?

OCR Outsourcing Services

Optical Character Recognition is a technology and resource that converts various types of documents—such as scanned and printed paper documents and sheets, PDFs, or images and physical documents captured and scanned by a digital camera or device—into editable and searchable data of information. OCR Outsourcing refers to hiring third-party experts to handle these processes, making data management more efficient and cost-effective for businesses.

How Do OCR Services Work?

OCR technology scans printed or handwritten text and translates it into digital characters using pattern recognition and machine learning. Once the data is converted, it can be edited, searched, and stored electronically. This is especially useful and beneficial for the businesses that manage and hold a high volume of paper records or image-based files as raw source data.

Key Benefits of OCR Outsourcing -

Faster Data Processing:

By outsourcing OCR services, businesses can process large volumes of data significantly faster than they can do in-house. Professional experts leverage tools and advanced resources and employ trained professionals to assure the prompt turnaround times and processing for faster data proceedings and operations.

Improved Accuracy:

High-quality OCR Outsourcing providers use AI-driven tools and resources that minimize and lower down the errors. As this guarantees that the captured data is examined up to as precise as possible, lowering the demand for manual corrections and errors.

Cost Efficiency:

Maintaining and leveraging in-house source OCR setup can be expensive and costly. As the outsourcing eliminates the demand for costly software and system, infrastructure, and specialized staff, offering a more affordable option for ongoing needs and business demands.

Better Data Organization:

OCR Outsourcing makes it easier to store and retrieve data as scanned documents become searchable. While this is quite helpful and considerable for industries such as healthcare, law, finance, and logistics.

Scalability:

Whether you need to process a few documents or thousands, outsourcing partners can scale their services to match your demand without affecting quality or delivery speed. Companies and professional experts such as Suma Soft, IBM, Cyntexa, and Cignex are known for offering reliable OCR Outsourcing services. They aid businesses to simplify the data capture process, lower down the workload, and improve the operational efficiency by handling document digitization with precision and care. Choosing a trusted partner ensures high-quality results and seamless data management. They combine technology, skilled teams, and secure processes to deliver high-quality OCR results tailored and personalized as per the settings of different industries and business sizes.

[alki-studio]

Bookbinding Process (2/2): The Wolf Queen, from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Leather Covering

I consulted pretty closely with my client on selecting a leather for this book, as I don’t maintain a stock of full hides, and instead exclusively buy industry remnants. I had some pieces that I could have patched together very nicely for the cover, but my client wasn’t a fan of the tone of the leathers. We almost decided on me buying a hide, but I ended up finding this chocolate brown nubuck from my stash.

For those unfamiliar (via bestleather.org):

WHAT IS NUBUCK LEATHER? Ever gone to a shop to buy a pair of shoes and wondered about the difference between nubuck and suede? Don’t worry, soon you’ll know where nubuck comes from, what it’s used for and how to care for it. Nubuck has a feel similar to suede but it’s more durable since it comes from the top grain of the hide. It has a great look and feel and is used for a wide variety of products. It brings together some of the finer qualities among the various kinds of leather. To make nubuck leather, the outer (top-grain) layer of calfskin or cowhide is used. The top-grain layer is tougher and more resilient than the inner layer, which is used to make suede. However, because it may have visible markings and defects, the top grain is sanded and buffed on the outside to provide a consistent appearance. The sanding process leaves a slight nap of short protein fibers, giving a velvet-like finish to the leather. In order to hide any defects remaining in the nubuck surface, it is stained or dyed.

It’s certainly an unconventional pick for a book, but since nubuck has a delicate, buffed surface, it’ll actually be able to pick up an aged patina much faster than most other leather finishes. The book feels very luxurious with this leather, I’m sure it’ll age gorgeously too.

Here, I glued the leather directly to the spine, defined the raised bands, and tied it down.

The spine looked absolutely beautiful after untying it! I went ahead and glued the remainder to the boards.

Tooling

I’m applying gilding with the We R Memory Keepers Foil Quill. At the time of purchase, there was a cheaper deal for the Standard Tip even though I wanted the Fine, so I just filed down the tip until I was happy with it. They’re quite overpriced for what they are though, I’d recommend buying an unbranded version with interchangable tips from AliExpress or the like if you can.

I ultimately couldn’t find a great reference for the Celtic knot-style pattern on the game model, so we decided to go with a freehanded border design in a similar fashion.

The model design seems to feature a variation of the trinity knot/triquetra, but as if they’re all strung along a continous rope. After a few attempts to trace over the design in Photoshop to try to figure out the logic, it ultimately seemed like the best bet was to clean this texture up for a real-life recreation.

This was pretty straightforward, just time consuming. I tried to plot approximately where each ‘triangle’ would go with small dots before starting each border edge, to make sure I’d be fitting it in nicely, and added random breaks or continuations of a “rope” connecting the triquetra.

I also gilded the perimeter of the boards with a simple stripe as an aesthetic touch:

The final tooling challenge here is the spine, which appears to be stamped, in a completely different style than the hand-tooled borders. We decided to change this to hand-tooling the vine and swirl motifs freehand for a more cohesive design. In my research though, I considered using the techniques outlined by Ingenius Designs to achieve this with leather stamps instead, it’s a great resource.

We also decided to incorporate type for the title in a Gaelic-style script and the Skyrim logo on the spine. As I don’t have stamps for either of these, I’m using a laser printer to make these designs. Using the technique from this video, I made negatives of the foil designs I want and printed them out on a laser printer.

I first made a template for sizing with a cut Post-it note and a sketch of the intended design. The space between my raised bands was 30x28mm, so I created boxes of that size for my design in Photoshop. This needs to be printed from a laser printer, not an inkjet, because they use toner. Printer toner will become adhesive at a lower temperature than heat foil sheets require for normal transfer, but will still grip to the foil.

This means I can heat transfer foil onto my toner negative at a low enough temp that my positive graphic won’t transfer with the absence of toner. The foil adheres to the toner on the paper, leaving me with foil with only my design remaining!

My toner prints were pretty spotty so my results were not great, but I’d nonetheless recommend printing a few copies of your negatives so you can pick out the best ones. In my case, I struggled to get “THE” to transfer from one sheet, so I ended up using it from another piece as well.

I don’t have a laminator or anything fancy, so I just used my iron. I tried a couple techniques, on and off the ironing board, with wax paper, etc.

For me, here’s what worked best:

iron on rayon setting (heat level 3/7 for my specific iron), you don’t want steam

iron directly onto the foil

place a smooth flat surface (I used chipboard) ontop of ironing board so you can achieve a good press

iron over the foil in a couple different directions

Of course, make sure to print some practice negatives to figure out what works for you if you use a similar technique

You can see that a lot of foil didn’t transfer onto the toner, so I cleaned these up with a hot foil pen on scrap paper.

With this, I can just transfer the design by completely tracing it over with my hot foil pen.

After I got the label type and Skyrim logo transfered, I marked where they were by placing scrap negatives over foil cut for the space and outlining the border of the design.

You can kind of see where I outlined and scratched away at where my transfers are on the 2nd and 6th spaces

From there, I freehanded the spine tooling based on the game model:

Please view the final results here!

Process: Part 1 | Part 2 | Final Results

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Stretchable electronics might make their way onto the market thanks to roll-to-roll process

Electronics have evolved over the years to supersede simply enhancing day-to-day life to becoming almost seamlessly integrated with daily life. People have become accustomed to wearable electronics, but what about stretchable ones? There is a growing demand for this type of technology, but the current methods are not easily scalable for mass production to make these devices available to the public. However, mass development may be possible using the roll-to-roll (R2R) process, which prints various layers on a flexible rolled substrate, cutting out the manual nature of the process. By rolling these types of electronics out onto the market, the possibility for stretchable electronics and even smart packaging could become commonplace. Researchers published their results in Advanced Materials Technologies on June 9.

Read more.

[innovativesourcing]

How to Choose the Best Pre Roll Packaging for Your Brand

In today’s cannabis market, being unique goes beyond your product. One of the key factors that affects customer perception and brand success is pre roll packaging. Whether you’re a dispensary owner, cannabis processor, or startup brand, knowing how to choose the right pre roll tubes, pre roll cones in bulk and other packaging solutions can make a big difference in presentation, compliance and shelf life. In this blog we’ll walk you through how to choose the best pre roll cones and packaging for your business.

What Is Pre Roll Packaging?

Pre roll packaging refers to any container or wrapping that holds a pre-rolled joint. The main goals are to keep it fresh, safe and good-looking. With higher consumer expectations and stricter regulations, businesses have to find the balance between form and function.

Types of pre roll packaging include:

Pre roll tubes (plastic or glass)

Child-resistant pop tops

Glass jars

Custom-printed boxes

Pre roll cones (bulk or individual) 

Why Pre Roll Packaging Matters for Your Brand

Your packaging is often your customer’s first impression of your product. High-quality, functional pre roll packaging shows professionalism, improves user experience and builds brand trust. Here are a few reasons why:

Freshness & Aroma Control: Airtight containers like pre roll tubes preserve the flavor and smell of the cannabis.

Compliance: Packaging must meet state-specific laws such as child resistance and labeling.

Protection: Prevents breakage, crushing, or contamination.

Brand Identity: Creative design and customization set you apart on dispensary shelves.

Sustainability: Eco-conscious options can boost appeal among environmentally aware consumers. 

How to Choose the Right Pre Roll Tubes

Pre roll tubes are the most popular packaging solution due to their durability, affordability and child resistant features. Here’s how to choose the right one:

Material Matters:

Plastic pre roll tubes are cheap, light and great for large orders.

Glass pre roll tubes are premium, reusable and show quality and sustainability.

Both are available with child-resistant features to comply with legal standards.

Size and Fit:Tubes come in sizes 98mm, 116mm or 120mm. Always match the tube to your pre roll cone size to prevent movement and breakage. 

Customization OptionsWant to stand out? Choose from color options, custom labeling, foil accents and logo printing. Turn basic pre roll tubes into a brand asset.

How to Source Pre Roll Cones in Bulk

Whether you’re rolling by hand or using an automatic rolling machine, buying pre roll cones in bulk is the way to go for scale. Here’s what to consider:

Cone Material 

Refined white paper cones burn clean with minimal taste.

Unbleached brown cones are natural and appeal to the eco-conscious.

Hemp paper cones are smooth and organic for premium products. 

Sizes AvailableCones come in various sizes such as 84mm, 98mm, and king size (109mm). Always align the size with your packaging and branding needs. 

Filter TipsQuality pre roll cones include filter tips to enhance airflow and structure. These can be spiral, flat, or customizable based on your preference. 

Buying in BulkOrdering pre roll cones bulk ensures cost savings, inventory readiness, and consistent quality across batches.

How to Pick the Best Pre Roll Cones:

Not all cones are created equal. Choosing the best pre roll cones can elevate your product experience and reduce operational headaches. Here’s what to look for:

Consistent Shape & Size: Ensures uniform fill and burn.

Minimal Paper Taste: High-quality cones enhance the flower’s flavor rather than masking it.

Slow Burn: Ideal cones burn evenly and slowly for a smooth experience.

Machine Compatibility: For high-volume producers, machine-compatible cones streamline the filling process. 

At Innovative Sourcing, we provide top-tier pre roll cones in bulk, offering custom branding options and premium paper choices to align with your vision.

Benefits of Investing in Premium Pre Roll Packaging:

Boosts Brand Recognition

Improves Customer Retention

Complies with Regulatory Laws

Protects Product Quality

Supports Marketing and Promotions 

A well-packaged pre roll isn’t just a product—it’s an experience. From the unboxing to the final puff, every detail matters.

The Benefits of Working with a Trusted Supplier:

Selecting the right pre-roll packaging is just half the battle. From concept to delivery, a smooth experience is guaranteed when you work with a supplier who shares your business goals, compliance needs, and artistic vision.

At Innovative Sourcing, we specialize in custom pre roll packaging solutions tailored for cannabis professionals. Whether you need branded pre roll tubes, pre roll cones bulk, or eco-friendly options, we offer fast turnaround, competitive pricing, and consistent quality.

Ready to add premium pre-roll packaging to your cannabis brand? See our entire selection of cones, pre-roll tubes, and customized packaging at Innovative Sourcing.

Contact us today to request a free quote or sample pack and see why we’re the trusted supplier for leading cannabis brands across the U.S.