#and I really want to start posting more of my stuff

[nostalgebraist]

When you finish writing a big story and you became very close the characters, was there a time after where you were like "i kind of want to revisit these characters again, but i should probably just let the story be, they deserve to rest" Im not talking about wanting to write a sequel, is more about still coming up with fun ideas for them, maybe a little scene or something, but choosing not to do anything with it because it'd feel disrespectful to the ending you gave them?

This doesn't happen to me, no.

The reason is that, once I finish the story, my sense of "being close to the characters" suddenly vanishes. And, although there are rare moments where it (briefly) returns, it mostly stays gone.

I can't remember if I've ever talked about this in detail before, but – when I'm in the process of writing a story, especially near the end, the characters feel "real" to me in a very strong and kind of uncanny way.

I don't actually believe that they exist as independent entities from me (much less sentient ones), but it does almost feel like that's true, when I'm in the thick of the writing process.

I have no trouble intellectually distinguishing fiction from reality, even in the state I'm describing. But my emotional and intuitive relationship with my characters, when I'm in that state, is pretty similar to the one I have with real people I know in real life. And there are a bunch of... uh, mental phenomena?... associated with this that I'm slightly afraid to describe because I worry they'll sound like hallucinations or delusions if I don't add a lot of caveats.

For example, when I'm alone in a room writing (especially if I'm writing in the middle of the night), I sometimes feel like it's not just me in the room, that the character I'm writing about is "there with me," in much the same way I'd be aware of someone real person's presence if I knew they were in the room but didn't happen to be looking in their direction. Or: sometimes I feel like the characters' voices are "flowing through me," that I'm merely taking dictation from them – and will sometimes even think to myself: "man, I'm so grateful that the character is helping me write this part, because if I tried to do it all by myself there's no way I would get it right." And it takes a moment before I realize, wait, no, I am writing it by myself – at least in a literal and physical sense.

Basically if you read this post, and then sort of read between the lines of it under the assumption that I'm downplaying how weird the experience actually is because I'm worried an accurate account would make me sound kind of unhinged... then you will have roughly the right impression of what the writing experience is like for me.

Whatever is going on here, it feels like it's probably on some kind of spectrum that also contains stuff like tulpas, multiple systems, and maybe also the way that children can sometimes get really deeply wrapped up in their imaginary play. I don't know how common this stuff is among writers (maybe it is common but rarely talked about?). It's not something I've experienced anywhere else in life; I don't experience it with other people's fictional characters or stories, or with fantasies I have that aren't associated with a work in progress, and I don't remember ever experiencing it before I started writing fiction as an adult.

Anyway, as I said at the top, the moment I finish writing a story, this phenomenon simply turns off, suddenly and completely. The transition is very noticeable when it happens, and makes me feel something akin to grief or loneliness over the brief span between the moment it starts and the moment it is fully completed – like I've just lost a bunch of close friends at once.

With Almost Nowhere, I remember a very specific feeling – on the evening of the day when I finished writing – that the characters were "departing 'into' the finished book," reverting to a lesser existence as "mere words" rather than "real people," as though they had been plastic toys animated by Terra Ignota's Bridger, and were now turning back into toys again. It made me sad, for a little while, but once they'd fully "lost their reality" I no longer cared, because it was that same sense of reality that made me care, and now it was gone.

So, to finish answering your question: I don't feel an urge to return to my old characters, because it feels intuitively obvious that doing this is impossible. That anything else I wrote about them would be inauthentic, somehow, in a way that the original work wasn't. They were "there," before, but they're "gone," now. This difference is very stark, and very hard to ignore.

(As I noted above, they do sometimes "come back" to me – very rarely, and very briefly, but that is enough for a proof of concept. Perhaps, if I were to try, I could find some way to "bring them back" for longer intervals. But I doubt I will ever try that. I feel a bit afraid of the concept for several reasons – for one thing, the "inauthenticity" I just mentioned squicks me out and I'd prefer not to come too close to it, and I also have a baseline wariness of doing stuff that seems too much like messing around with my own mental health. There's also a "catch-22" involved here, where I don't feel motivated about the characters the way I used to, and that means I'm not even motivated to do things that would generate that motivation. The "target" of the effort won't appeal strongly to me until I've already gone to the trouble of obtaining it, which means the effort doesn't feel justified in the first place.)

[angelsafa]

The only post you need to stop doubting.

Hi my loves,

Wdym you are not able to manifest that thing because some thoughts are popping into your head, and are making you doubt, and there's a voice that says that you are not able to do it???

Okay. Let's take a deep breath and relax.

You’ve been feeling like maybe your doubts are blocking your manifestations? Maybe you overthink a lot? Or you feel scared sometimes? Or you’re like "omg do I have to believe everything all the time or else it won't happen 😭😭"??

I got you my angel. I came here to save you hehe

First of all: NO. Your doubts aren’t ruining anything. The only way they “delay” something is if you start BELIEVING them. Like if you go “ugh I feel doubt... that means I won’t manifest” then obviously you're giving power to that version of reality. You’re choosing it. But that doesn’t mean the doubt is the problem — it’s your decision to let it be more important than what you want, yk?

The doubt itself? Harmless. Like a mosquito. Annoying but whatever. Just don’t feed it. That’s it.

You’re not supposed to feel perfect 24/7. You’re not a robot. You’re still pure consciousness, yes, but in a human experience. You get to have thoughts and still manifest instantly. You get to have doubt and still shift. You get to have fear and STILL BE THE MF CREATOR.

You think infinite consciousness is gonna get blocked by a lil anxious thought? Pfft. Be fr.

Now listen to me: You don’t need to believe in the void. You don’t need to believe in yourself. You don’t need to feel like you’re floating in a magical cloud. You just need to decide.

“I have this. It’s done.” That’s it. You decide, and the 3d shifts. Period.

And you already KNOW the 4d is the real reality, right? Sooo... you already shifted. The 3d just has to catch up. That’s literally all.

"B-but S-afa I-im scared the d-doubt is p-pushing i-it away..." My sweet angel. Let me say this lovingly: stfu. (not because I’m mean, but because I love you and you need to snap out of it). You’re too powerful to keep acting like a lost little sheep my sweet angel. YOU’RE A LION BABE. YOU ARE THE DESIGNER OF YOUR REALITY. WAKE UP.

The fear isn’t doing shit. You thinking “the fear is ruining it” is the only thing getting in the way.

Now. About the void, 4D, all that stuff...

Let’s simplify:

4D = your inner world. Your imagination. Your decisions. That’s what’s real. That’s what manifests.

3D = the mirror. The echo. The leftover energy (stop reacting to it. It’s not even real).

The void = your natural state. Pure being. No thoughts. No ego. Just the real YOU. When you’re not playing the “I’m this little human with trauma and fears” game.

Shifting = literally just choosing a different version of you and living from that. That’s it.

(Tbh I don't really belive in those terms because we are simply everything and anything all in one. But I use them so you my sweetcheeks understand it)

And no, you don’t need 100% belief. You don’t need perfect thoughts. You just need to say “I’m in the void because I said so.” And that’s it. DONE.

You think the void is a special club that only chosen ones can enter? My love, YOU ARE the void. You’re it already. You’ve just been pretending you’re not. Or maybe you forgot. Idk.

So... stop pretending, and remember who you truly are.

Be like: “lol okay yeah I feel scared and got doutbts rn but that doesn’t mean shit. I still get what I want. It’s already mine.”

You’re not affirming for fun. You’re not persisting for the aesthetic. And certainly you are not faking anything. You’re doing it because YOU ARE THE CREATOR and the 3D literally has to obey you.

You wanna manifest in the void? Go in. Say “I’m there.” That’s enough. There’s no waiting. There’s no test. It’s yours.

You wanna manifest in the 4D while still thinking random negative thoughts? Cool. Do it. Because YOU are the one deciding what’s real and what isn’t. And those couple of shitty thoughts won't do anything to the manifestation sweetie.

So now tell me, are you gonna keep crying over a thought that says "but what if it doesn’t work?" OR are you gonna laugh and say "anywayyy it’s already done so shut up?"

Your choice.

Now go be delulu, go script like crazy, go feel it, go DECIDE. Go live in the 4D like your life depends on it (bc spoiler: it kinda does). The 3D is just the old news. Boring. Let it catch up. (Or well, tbh it doesn't even need to because manifestation is instant lol).

You’re the void. You’re the imagination. You’re the power. You're everything.

So go and act like it!!

And I better see you out there ACTUALLY manifesting and not procrastinating!! Stop with reading the same information, that is just written with different words in blogs. You already know all you need.

Oh and I better read your success stories soon, you hear me my sweet angels?? Because you literally got this. Like you are the designer of your reality do you realize that??!!

Anyways, remember who you are, and you got this my loves!

Lots lots lots of love,

Safa

[boobertronian]

EPISODE 1 : CYAN

Wonyoung's Episode - HENSHIN : A KAMEN RIDER STORY

Proofread by @vorrentis, big thanks to @kise15 for the ideations with Kamen Riders-related contents Word counts : 12305 words All works are fiction

ENJOY !!

EPISODE 1 – CYAN

“Ok, let’s start. It’s me, Tyler Nakamura, video log today is Tuesday, time is 23:00, the day is 03/04/2171, location is Ichijou Hotel.”

“I’m back, back with some news. And this news will either shock you or make you. A few weeks passed by after my clues and leads, even though they weren’t much, but they led me to the small town of Godai Town.”

“Never heard of it my entire life, but worth a try, I’m in for the thrill anyway. Took me a long drive for this, about an hour? yeh, something like that, my lower back was sore thanks to that. But my curiosity backed me up for it, so it was worth the drive, at least the scenery is quite nice.”

I finally got to this town. It’s a small one, near the coast.

The weather is quite nice, cool and windy, not very sunny, but the sounds of the coals waves is music to my ears, reminds me of those fishing trip with my granddad back then.

But I’m not here for sightseeing or for a vacation, I’m here for that goal, to find those mysterious beings.

I started to walk around to look for some clues.

The town seems like a peaceful one, not many activities here, people is going on with their normal daily lives, doesn’t seem like a place with “dangerous” situations.

The local shops around the blocks are quite nice, lights being decorated around the area, some banners for local events, some outdoor markets, seems like your normal small town.

I stopped by a diner, name’s Amadam. Not many guests here, but the owner seems friendly enough to say hi.

“Welcome to Amadam’s Diner! How may I serve you young man?”

“Bacon & egg please! With apple pie and milk please!”

“Anything else? How about our local’s treat, it’s on the house today!”

“ I’ll take that too! Thank you!”

“Be right with you in ten minutes!”

Nice lady reminds me of my elementary school teacher, Ms. Kent.

I started to settle myself to a table near the window. I took out my notepad and laptop to search for some info about the locals, while waiting for the food.

My workaholic self didn’t let me eat in peace.

“There you go! Bacon, eggs, apple pie and a glass of milk!”

“Thank you so much! I’m quite starving!”

“Enjoy your meal! I will be back with our local treat!”

“Thank you!”

“You’re very welcome!”

I started to chow down my food. Man, good old bacon & egg, nothing more high protein than that. Gotta fuel my energy first before anything else happen.

“Here’s our local treat! Home grown chicken salad with  teriyaki sauce!”

“That’s dope!”

“Say, you’re not from around here aren’t you, young man? I live in this town longer than anyone here, well not everyone but yes, long enough to remember some faces, and to recognize some new ones!”

“ You’re a natural detective! Yes, I just got here!”

“Why here in all places? This town surely isn’t the most famous tourist spot!”

“ I’m a journalist! A freelance one! And I’m here for some clues to my story!”

“Oh?”

“Have you heard anything about some mysteries, about … strange creatures?”

The owner squints her eyes a bit

“Huh... never seen anything like theses before … too blurry? Is this some of those cryptid photos that the kids normally post online?”

“ I… read some info online . I saw pictures, and some news about mysterious events happened here. My curiosity led me here because I want to know about them, let’s just say, I’m a thrill seeker.”

“ Really? well Sorry I can’t help you with that young man “

“How about these things, you ever heard of them before?”

I showed her some pics of the round-eyes beings but seems like even them are a mystery to her.

“ I ... don’t know about these things, but ... I think Old Bill from that art shop knows more. The guy seems to be into these sorts of stuffs more than anyone here, you can ask him, I think? He’s down the road a few blocks!”

“But thanks for the info.”

DING

“Starship Delivery! I have some parcels for you Ms. Kent!”

A women came in, quite tall, holding onto some big boxes and in cyan-colored uniforms.

“ Yujin! Thank you so much dear !! You can leave it next to that corner please! I’ll be right with you !!”

The owner then walked back to her counter, man, that lady sure was fast for her age.

“How are you Ms. Kent? You sure have lots of packages today! take two of us to bring it here!”

“ Thank you for helping this old lady out! Those are gifts for my grandkids! I wish they can grow up as you two! Care for something to go?”

“Sure! I would love those apple pie! Hey Wonyoung, you care for something to go? Gonna be a long day!”

Another woman walked into the diner. She’s, well, I would say very pretty, both are, but this one sure has a different vibe.

“Oh hi Ms. Kent. Here are the rest of your packages.”

“Wonyoung! How are you? Love your new hair!”

“Oh, thank you Ms. Kent. I just redo my hair a bit that’s all. I would like an apple pie like Yujin too “

“Two apple pie coming right up!”

The two women stood there a bit. Gotta say, I’ve never seen visuals like that in real life. I probably should make a move, but they might think I’m a creep.

“Here you go! Two apple pie!”

“ Thank you, Ms. Kent! Man, I always love these cuties you did!”

“Say Yujin & Wonyoung, you two will attend that dance night?”

“ Yes, I will! Not sure about Wony here though, it’s a true challenge to get here ANYWHERE ha-ha”

“ I think I’ll pass. I have things to do.”

“See Ms. Kent? This girl is quiet in everything!”

“Oh well, guess I’ll see you there Yujin! This old lady still has some moves!”

“ Right on Ms. Kent !!”

“You should get to places sometimes Wonyoung! It’ll be fun !!”

“Oh thanks Ms. Kent, I’m doing ok, I like quiet places more anyway.”

“Suits yourself ! But I won’t mind familiar faces at the dance!”

“Alrighty! Well, we must get going for our next locations! See you here Ms. Kent!”

“See you girls!”

Such a nice convo, I like it. For a town this quiet they need that energy, if not everything will be bored don’t you think ?

But oh, look at the time, seems like I need to go too, that new clue seems interesting, got to pack myself up and go. No time for too much chit chat.

As I was about to reach the door, Ms. Kent then stopped me a bit

“Hope you’ll find what you’re looking for young man! Come here again if you want more of our delicious meal!”

“ I will, and thanks for the meal!”

I then walked fast past several blocks. The rain started to fall as soon as I enter the antique shop.

“Bouken Antique” I read the sign

DING

“Hello, is anyone here?”

AN old man slowly walked out, his hands were dirty with dust from craft works. Wiping his fingers on his pants, he gave me a smile

“Eyyy welcome to Bouken Antique, how can I help ya? Ya looking for some treasures? or some souvenirs? We have it all here with a decent price!”

“ You are old Bill right sir?”

“Old? Young man, I can break that tree out there with my bare hands ha-ha!”

“ Ms. Kent from Amadam’s Diner showed me the place . I’m here for some information actually . Have you seen theses?”

I took out the photos and gave to old Bill . Suddenly, his face changed

“Where… where did you get this ??”

“ Many sources. Mostly internet. Took me a while for theses ones? You’ve seen them before?”

Old Bill then ran fast to the door, closed the windows, turn the signs into close. Then he ran back to me with full speed, quite surprising for a man his age

“Come here, I want to show you this.”

Old Bill then guided me into his workshop. To my surprised, it was full of equipment, laptop, cameras, PC, like … those superhero’s secret cave? If you know what I’m talking about.

“ I know this, because … I took it.”

“What?”

“Yes. I was the one uploaded all these pics.”

“So... were you also the one who gave me the location?”

“Yes . That was me, and I’m surprised you came here, no one did before.”

“So... you’ve seen ... it, the creature.”

“Yes, I’ve... seen It many times. But I never knew what it was. One night, I was closing my shop, then I heard some noise nears those bushes & trees over there. I thought it was just some small animals but then I heard larger sounds, like something being crushed. I rushed to it because I thought someone might got into trouble. And then I saw…”

“That thing?”

“ Yes, it was that … creature, it … looked like a human, and its eyes were glowing. The moment it noticed me... it…. jumped & ran away. I could barely take a pic, hence the blurriness, but it wasn’t human, that I can be sure. And I saw it many times more, but I couldn’t catch it nor approach it. It was like, it was looking for something... or it just ... had a fight with something.”

“Do you think, it involved in many of the missing cases?”

“Yes, I think so too. A few months ago, police noticed us about some missing people, the only thing left they could find were their clothing. Then those cases stopped for a while, then they resurfaced again, more missing people with the only thing left were their clothing, or even worst, being either hung or fell from the tree or coastal cliffs over there. They gave it a try to figure out what it was, but then they couldn’t find any for a while, and since those cases weren’t happening too often, and with this small town, don’t think the police force around here could do anything much.”

“And these cases, from what I’ve been researched, partially from your info online, are not only in this same area, but many other places too.”

“Exactly, don’ you think … there’s something in common about this? like... do you think that... thing is making people disappear all over this country?”

“That’s what I want to find out.”

“Ok, then update me if you have something, be careful young man”

“Will do.”

“Strange isn’t it. I thought things like this only happened when I was younger, but now, I’m about to hi 10 feet below ground and we still have unsolved mysteries in this time. People around here none of them believe me, well, except Ms. Kent, she’s always nice.”

“She is a nice lady. But yeh, you’re not the only one into mysterious things old Bill. That is in my blood too. I will try to find a place to stay around here for some days, will let you know”

“Sure, please do take care, things aren’t like what it seems around here.”

I exited old Bill’s antique shop. The rain didn’t seem to stop.

I managed to find a small hotel, like you already know, Ichijou Hotel, near to where Ms. Kent’s Amadam. I settled in for the night, but I hardly slept thinking about that … thing.

The next day I woke up, it was already 10 am in the morning. I quickly rushed down to the streets to see if anything happened over the night.

Nothing

People were still going on with their days.

I took my brunch over Ms. Kent’s again, same meal, nothing changed. The day just went by fast. I barely had anything to do beside ... waiting for something to happened.

I went to the coast to look for some clues. Nice views, the waves, the scent of salt, the wind was breezing through my body. I went up to the hill, the trees were quiet and such, some birds, some squirrels were running around. I guess the day would pass by quietly just like usual.

I passed by Ms. Kent for some food and just to say hi, she still greeted me just like how I first came. The delivery girls were there too for some reason, so I put myself up and said hi

“Good evening Ms. Kent, you seem to have some companies ?

“Hey there young man! Tyler, right? Did I remember your name correctly?”

“ Yes, it’s Tyler, good memories though!”

“Who’s this one Ms. Kent? Seems like a friendly one!”

The girl with the shoulder length haircut suddenly stood up and greet me

“Hello there stranger! Who would you be? The name is Yujin btw! Nice to see some new face around here!”

“Tyler, Tyler Nakamura! I’m a freelance journalist, been here since yesterday for some scoop!”

“Ooooh !! Sounds exciting! What sort of scoop? This town is rather though?”

“Well, I want to keep it a secret, will let you know if I can ever publish though “

“Mysterious guy huh? I like it! You have any plans beside being here for your gig? Oh, btw here’s my bestie Wonyoung!”

“Hello.”

“Hello there!”

The girl with longer hair nods with a small smile.

“I’m sorry she’s a bit of a quiet type but don’t worry about it! Anyway, Tyler you’ll go to the festival tonight?”

“ Uh… I’m not sure I should go honestly ...”

“Come one it’ll be fun! I’ll go with my friends and all, you should join !! Maybe you’ll find someone you’ll like hehe.”

“Oh, ha-ha thanks Yujin, guess I‘ll go then, haven’t been to festival that much in my life.”

“Then no reason to not go right ?? well then, see you there! We’ll  be there at 6:30! Now me & Wony here going to be off for our last shipments and ready to partyyyyyy!”

The two girls then stood up and left, onto their daily duties, leaving me with Ms. Kent again

“Such beautiful young girls aren’t they, back in my day I used to have that energy too ha-ha”

“ I trusted you on that Ms. Kent.”

“Btw, I heard old Bill told me, you met him. Were you able to find what you need?”

“ I did yes, not too much but I got what I need.”

“Ok, I don’t want to stop you but be careful young man.”

“I will Ms. Kent.”

A few hours later, I finally dragged myself onto the festival.

I must say, for a quiet town, they really do know how to decorate the streets . A totally different vibe from the usual quiet and rather bland town during the day.

Kids are running around with their treats, people are dancing and taking food courts, if I’m telling you this was the exact town during the morning you might think I’m bluffing.

“Heyyyy Tyler !!”

I suddenly turned myself around, a group of people men & women were approaching me in colorful attires.

“Oh hey… Yujin, nice outfit!”

“Heyyy everyone, this is Tyler !! I met him this morning !! Here are my buddies : Gaeul, Rei, LeeSeo, Liz, Chad, Eddie  and Jimin!”

“Oh, hi everyone, you guys look prepared!”

“Of course we do !! It’s party time !!!!!”

“Come join us, Tyler !! Let’s go, don’t want to waste our time here !!! Gotta take some boozes and goooooo!!”

I followed the crew, damn, they were loud, or maybe I was being too quiet? I kept following them through the food courts, got some good ones myself, then ended in a barn where they had loud live music.

“Good evening, folks !! Welcome to Godai’s Town festival !! This year is our 50th Anniversary so we’re going to hit it big !!! Foods are all here for you with any cultures and any flavors from Ms. Kent right there, and be careful, don’t drink too much !! We still have some safety laws here! But other than that, have a great night folks, enjoy !!”

The mayor seemed like a jolly one, not that much different from Ms. Kent. I guess this town is more interesting than I thought, more than meets the eyes, I guess.

The festival went on for a while, surprisingly an introverted like me lasted that long with that many noises, so was my bladder.

“Is it fun Tyler ??? You like it ???”

A girl from Yujin’s group asked me, her name was Liz, I guess?

“Oh, yeh it’s fun! I can’t believe this place can be this loud!”

“Glad you like it !!! Now come, you can go there and dance with us !! “

“Oh, I think I need a bathroom break a bit! Would you know where it is?”

“Ohh, down to your left !! Hurry !!, The dance competition is about to start !! “

“ I’ll be right back !!”

Little that she knew, something even more eventful, or, even worst, something terrible would occur that night.

I got out to the bathroom and done my ”duties;” man, I drank a bit much than usual. At least I got some break from the loud noises. If I stayed there longer my head might exploded.

Then I heard some sounds while walking back. Something rather … well, erotic over that empty space behind the barn.

“Hey, you are sure this place is empty? No one is going to go back here?”

“Hehe yehh, now come on baby give it to me.”

Ok…. What was that? Some teenagers were doing something silly.

My curiosity self then walked over the bushes, slowly and quietly. Then I saw two people are standing around that big tractor.

What were they doing there? Too much booze? Needed some private times, or... oh no, I think I know what they were getting into

“Come on baby show me your asses, fuck I want to see those cheeks  !!! “

“Gimme that big cock of yours and I’ll do that.”

Well, now that was something I was surprised I bumped into . This was not the “mystery.” I was looking for sure.

“See, I showed you my dick, now how about you make me feel good baby, you’ll love this big meat hehe.”

“Oh, really, ok, I’ll suck your cock, you better fuck me good later if not I’ll drop you off got it?”

That … was wild

Like those pornographic stuffs I occasionally look at sometimes, well, excuse-me for that, single life could do that to you

But yeh, better leave those two to their … “activities.”

I turned my head back the other direction, giving those two some “privacies.”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!1”

A loud scream was tearing up the sky where those two were

I ran back fast, as fast as I could to give some help

“What just happened ?? You’re, ok ??”

That scream did not sound erotic at all, it was a scream for something terrifying, something straight from those horror movies

Once I leaped over the bushes, I saw Yujin screaming her entire lungs out. Her face was full of shock, sweats and full of terror, looking up to the sky

Then I looked up

The sight, I can’t describe you, how horrifying it was

A creature

Yes, I wasn’t joking

A creature, crawling from a giant web, with the man’s body being entangled in the middle of it

That creature, looks humanoid, with big red eyes.

At first, I thought, did I finally encounter those creatures in the photos ?

But something … was different

The creature kept on crawling towards the man, with him also screaming while being muffled, barely forming any words

“Mppphhhh... Helppp… Mpphhhh… someone…. Help meeee.”””

“Barry !!!!!!! NO Let him go !!! “

The woman screamed in horror, in desperation

The creature, in full speed, bit onto the guy’s neck. He screams in pain, the most feared scream of the night. Then, in matter of seconds, his body … melted down to the ground, with his remains burnt the grass below into a dark spot, only his clothing left.

No bodies, no blood, nothing, just a dark spot was what remained of his poor fate.

“OMGGG !!! BARRY NOOOOOOOOO !!! NOOOOOOO !!!! “

The woman cried out, she scared, shocked, crying with full tears, hurrying back towards my direction, running at fast as she could

“Miss, I’m here !! Come on !! I’ll cover you!”

“OMG !!!  That thing… omg … that thing killed Barry… !!! “ The woman cried out while did her best to form some words

“Come on let’s get out of here!”

I helped her on her feet, and we both ran as fast as we could

But it was in vain

The creature, swinging over the trees above, caught up to us in a few leaps. It jumped right in front of us, eyes wide open, fangs were full of dark venom liquid dropping down to the ground as its was approaching us slowly.

“OMGG STAY AWAY !!! STAY AWAYY FROM ME PLEASE !!!! “

I took my courage, I grabbed a log from the side of the street, and in a desperate move, I swung at it, with the best of my self-defense knowledges.

“Get away you fucker!”

SNAP

That was the dumbest thing I ever did tonight

The creature wasn’t phase at all; he broke the log like a toothpick once I swung at his face.

At that moment, I thought maybe my curiosity really killed me

The creature then grabbed onto my jacket, then threw me away to the grass like I was a small baseball, let me fly away a few feet and crashed onto a mudhole next to it.

That hurt a lot, I could barely get up for a while.

The creature then kept on walking towards the woman, now dropped on her knees and crawling away in fear

“STAY AWAYYYY !!! PLEASEEEE !!! PLEASE DON’T KILL ME !!! ANYONE HELP ME PLEASE!!!”

The woman was screaming her heart out; she was crawling backward till her back reach the tall tree behind. The creature didn’t stop, it kept approaching her, like an apex predator cornered its prey.

The creature literally shot a giant web net into her body, then, it snatches its mandible onto her.

“PLEASE... plea-ea-...”

The woman’s body fainted to the ground, shit. Poor girl, she couldn’t handle the shocks.

And I couldn’t do anything; I guessed my useless self couldn’t be the hero today

SMASH

Something smacked towards the creature’s head, made it fall back a bit

Immediately, a figure ran towards the creature, then kicked to its body, hard. The impact made the creature flew a few feet away to the ground.

I finally got myself up from the mud, and to my surprise

The figure, in humanoid shape, with glowing pinkish eyes and cyan-colored upper body,  same with his leg armors, or … “skin”.  

It was him, the one I saw in Old Bill’s blurry photo.

I wiped the mud on my face to see it more clearly, and it was him.

The figure was more of an insect like, but the color was the same from the pictures. On his arms were a pair of weapons, looked like tonfas ?

The creature rose up from the ground, it seemed angry from the sudden hit, leaped towards the figure, as the two engaged in combat.

They traded blows with each other, with both launched punches and kicks towards each other violently, but it seemed like the figure somewhat got the upper hand.

The creature was no slouch, it used the webbing substances to evade and strike back at the figure, hence made it more difficult. Its venom melted the grass or any objects it touches, making the figure had to dodge left right.

The figure was able to fend back with his weapons, landed many strikes towards the creature. Each swing of his weapons accurately hit the creature in many areas on his body, making it growled in pain.

In a careless moment, the creature aimed its webbing and venoms towards Yujin, still lying unconscious over the tree, making the figure had to rush towards her to block the attack, ended up injured himself on his left arm

Taking the advantages, the creature charged in and repeatedly punched the figure, leaving him in defense mode while doing his best to wrestle it away from Yujin, still unconscious.

He was struggling for a while, as his injury seemed quite a severe one, as he seemed to be slower than few moments before

“Gotta help him” I said it in my head, then quickly pull my butt up and ran towards where woman was, with all my might carry her up and ran towards the side

“ I got her! Kick that thing ass!” I shout out

The figure, seemingly understood what I said, taking it as a cue to strike back. He used his left weapon and hit straight into the creature’s abdomen, then his right one slammed hard into the creature’s jaw, breaking the left side of its mandible.

And with a quick move, he kicked the creature away from himself and let it roll over the grass in pain.

The creature seemed to grow more feral and angrier; it created a giant web to cover the area and climbed to the top of it. In a feral move, it dove down from the top web and lunged itself over the figure.

The figure, got to his stance, his body then glow up with hazy cyan aura, his eyes were flashing, and the circle around his waist were charging some sort of energy that I couldn’t believe in my own eyes, somewhat powering him, like those finishers in video games.

In a quick movement, as the creature were close to kill the figure, he then immediately used his weapons and slammed it from both side of the creature’s body

“BAAAAAMMM”

The creature was being stuck in midair, growling in pain with the two weapons around his waist, burning him, as blue light running all over his body and ended up with an explosion.

“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM”

The creature’s body engulfed in blueish flame and reduced to dust, falling down the grass.

Holy bloody hell

What did I just witness ?

A fight between … two paranormal forces? Like how my grandad used to show me in his old tv series?

I couldn’t believe I just witnessed that

As I let the women’s unconscious body down to the soft grass, the figure slowly turned towards us, kneeled from where he stood, right arm covering his left one, seemingly in quite painful moment.

A blue light ran from the top of his “antenna,” slowly dissolved the “shell,” or the armor on his body, down to his leg, reavealing a person whom, caught me in full surprised.

“Wait. wait a minute ?? You’re... you’re that girl ?? That delivery girl with Yujin ???? Wonyoung ??”

The girl then slowly looked up to me, still having hard breathing out of tiredness from the battle.

“Worry about me later, that woman, how is she?”

“She was just too shocked I think, I think she’s ok. Wait, oh no ....”

The woman’s body melted right in front of me.

“She’s gone isn’t she.”

“That was… no… I thought we saved her...”

“There’s nothing we can do about it. It happens ... Ah...”

“You look injured, we need to get you to the infirmary.And we should report to the police ”

“No, don’t go there, there’s nothing they can do for me there, police or hospital. They won’t be of help. I … must get out of here, I mean it,  ah...” Wonyoung talked while still covering her arm

“But let’s cover your injured arm first, it looks dangerous, quite infecting …”

I then took my jacket and made the torn pieces into a makeshift bandage for her. Once things done, Wonyoung then insisted me again

“ I’m ok now, go, get outta here,  ah …” The scar on Wonyoung’s started to spread throughout her arm darkening her biceps and forearms.

“Ok, but we need to treat you too, that injury seems to be serious, if you’re heavily injured that would be even more troublesome. If you can’t go to hospital, where should we go? And I don’t think you can get there alone in this state.”

“Ok... Guess ... I have no choice... follow my lead, I have a place, it’s outside of the town “

 “My car is near here, I can drive you there, can you hold yourself up to it?”

“I can.”

We took the shortcut path towards the bushes through the parking lot. We had to be very careful not to be spotted by the partygoers. Once we got into my car, I pushed the pedal in speed just to get out of there

“Ok, go straight down that road, outside the border of the town and then make a right turn “

“ Is it, some sort of secret hideout?”

“ It’s a place where we can hide her from those creatures, for now”

“Those?”

“Just drive...”

“Ok sure.”

We got to a lodge deep inside an abandoned factory.

Wonyoung then pushed the buttons next to the fences, and an old elevator then pulled up from the ground, arm was still covering the wound while I was doing my best helping her out of the car.

As the elevator descend the underground, we got into a room, full of martial art gears and sandbags, some wooden weapons on the walls.

As we walked past it, we got into a computer system, looked quite high tech for the place.

There were some notes on a giant board, with pictures that looked like those from the online sources I saw.

Wonyoung’s wound seemed to take its toll onto her, as her body started to loosen balance, dropped down from her knees again.

Until a small totem, looked like made from stone, started to glow in blue light. The light then started to flow onto her wounds, slowly nullifying the poison running through her veins.

The process seemed to be quite painful, as she had to hold down herself just to get through it for a few moments, her eyes squinted and her teeth grinded to themselves until it stopped completely.

“You’re, ok?”

“I’ll recover soon.”

“You mind telling me… what just happened?”

“It’s hard to explain to you, things are complicated.”

“At least, well, let me know why all this happened . I mean, I just witnessed two people being killed, and you in your ... transformed state just fought off that creature, and that magical stone just “cure” you. I think I would like to know what I was dealing with?”

Wonyoung stayed quiet for a bit, then she opened her words.

“How can I trust you? We just met.”

“Well, I think it’s up to you then, at least so far, I did everything you’ve been telling me right? I guess I’m partially involved into this debacle now.”

“it’s hard for someone to believe in what just happened, and I can’t trust you that fast.”

“Well, I do, because I was looking for this this entire time here. I followed the rumors and information, pictures I could find online about this mystery, I’m just surprised You are the one I’m looking for.”

I then showed Wonyoung pictures, info on my phones, my notes, everything I could tell her about my trip until now.

“Even with your information, I still don’t know if I could fully trust you to tell you what happened.”

“I think if I even spill this out, hardly anyone going to believe a total stranger not from this town too, right? And according to you the police didn’t do a good job Like I said, I’m involved in this already and, I do want to help too, if not I already ran away after you got injured from the monster and I didn’t . So please, you can trust me on this, even if it’s just a little.”

Wonyoung stayed quiet again for a few secs, then she started her explanations.

“It was a healing process, the stone used its power to cure the poison, and it can only be cure by that light.”

I sit down to the bed next to me, then walks towards Wonyoung who was still in the process of catching her strength.

“That monster, it ...”

“That wasn’t the first one, I defeated many before.”

“Woah... ok, like, only you?”

“Yes.”

“And … that form, is it... some sort of armor? or … are you a human being?”

“ I am a human, and that was part of my body, I change into it at will”

“Oh... ok, but… how did you find us?”

“ I can sense the creature, but I should’ve got there earlier, now that Chad was being killed, it will cause some more rumors . We cannot tell the local police about this, they won’t believe us, believe me I tried before.”

“Oh ok, so, I mean, what now, what should we do now?”

“We must find the last one, so others won’t suffer the same fate. I know that thing is still out there.”

“There are two of them?”

“3, counting the one I defeated today, was 2, so the last one is still out there somewhere.”

“That sounds dangerous, should we notify the police.”

“The police won’t help you much, believe me, I tried. They listed them as missing people or someone playing pranks.”

“But we could let them know to protect people, right?”

“I can protect them; with my abilities I will do at all costs. This isn’t for debate.” Wonyoung looked at me with fierce eyes

“Ok, I guess we have to keep it to ourselves then.”

“That was also a risky move you did there, two risky moves actually.”

“But … You were struggling and I was trying to fight back”

“ I get your effort, and thankfully it did work out, but do not be that risky again. Those things won’t hesitate to kill a bystander”

I then sat down to a chair, stayed quite a bit, then I opened myself again

“So... that creature, what was that thing?”

“They’re called the Gara, they’re creature from a long time ago.”

“How do you know?”

“The belt here talked to me.”

Wonyoung showed me the belt forming around her waist, then it disappeared

“So, you transformed into that … form, through that belt? Is it some source of magic?”

“ I don’t know about it, it seems to come from ancient time, and to my understanding, there are some links between it and the monsters.”

“So, this belt, it gives you powers to transform? how long have you’ve been doing this.”

“Nearly a year, I hunted down many before the ones targeting Yujin. Keeping it a secret to people, until I recognized Old Bill were able to take pictures of me, so I had to do my best to deter the attention of others from his posts.”

“You ... hacked into his network?”

“Sort of, I used ghost accounts to stray his information, I guess, I doesn’t work with you.”

“Well, to be fair, my curiosity nearly killed me if you weren’t there, but hey at least I met you.”

“You got thrown off hard by that Gara, you good?”

“A few scratches and bumps but I’ll be good, don’t worry.”

“Good.”

“But Wonyoung, that thing it can track people, how are we going to get there faster than it can?”

“I have my ways; I’ll beat him for sure. I will make sure I will get to him being anyone being killed.”

As Wonyoung finally eased down Yujin and taking care of her, Wonyoung then turn up her PC system, then opening some files.

On the screen, there are multiple sightings of those creatures, with some videos, blurry photos from different sources online.

“You told me, you got the information about the Gara online, right? Have you seen theses too?”

“Yes, I did. and some of theses old Bill gathered online.”

I then showed Wonyoung more pictures through my tablets. She squinted her eyes at some of them, then zoom in and out on three specific photos

“These 3,they look similar to me.”

“They? I thought they were all you?”

“No, my belts and colors do not show these colors.”

“So ... does this mean, there are someone else ... with the power like you?”

“Possibly. I’ve never seen anyone around here with similar power like me. I can’t sense their presence.”

“So maybe theses are from different places outside of here? Do you think we should look for them?”

“The belt did give me a premonition about it.”

“Oh really?”

“The first time I got this power, when it awakened in me that day, I got a premonition about other people with powers like me, but it was blurry. Since then, I’ve been looking around here but I couldn’t sense anyone.”

“Should we look for them? I mean, I can help you more since now there’s two of us?”

“Why are you so interested about this?”

“Because my reporter’s blood is boiling to find the mystery, but, after today, I think, you need some companies, to help you fight back these things. And I think the other three are part of that solution. These “Gara” thing, they are dangerous, and I think we need more hands to protect people.”

Wonyoung stays silent a bit before letting out a deep breath.

“Ok, I trust you on this part, no further. Once we’re done with it, we’re also done with everything, you got me? I don’t want to drag more people into this mess. But I warned you, any sign of double-crossing, you know where it will end ” Wonyoung stared at me with a stern voice.

“I don’t think I dare to do that after seeing how capable you were today honestly.” I tried to calm her down.

“Okay.”

“So Wonyoung, do you know why they only target some people, like, not on a large scale?”

“I’ve been wondering about it for a while, and from I’m seeing, there’s a... pattern.”

“Pattern? Like they ... only kill specific people?”

“I noticed by the way I could sense them. The victims, they often had a larger aura of energy projecting from them. The Gara seems to target only those. And ...”

“And?”

“I was one of the victims too. The day I awakened my power, one of them found me, and I could sense it when that Gara attacked me, right here.”

“How did you survive?”

“I managed to defeat it, since then, I take these responsibilities seriously to not letting anyone suffer that same fate. I saved some but also lose some too.”

“Must’ve been hard for you, all that time.”

“I’ve toughened up over time. There’s no room for weakness.”

“But you can use some help, right? I mean, even if you’re capable, I think you should let others help you too. Not like you cry for help all the time don’t you think?”

“For now, I’m doing the best I can, and I want to keep it that way. Once we’re done with finding the others, and hopefully we do, we part ways.”

“Sure, whatever you say, won’t argue with you on that.”

Wonyoung finally healed from her wounds. She stood up and did some shadowboxing to test her strength. Quite impressive movements I would say, for someone her frame

“You sure trained a lot huh?”

“Since before this power in me, I’ve been training my entire life.”

“Very hardcore I see, I guess I can… spare with you sometimes? I got some moves on my own!” I tried to loosen up the tension with Wonyoung, but she seemed unfazed.

“I’ve seen your moves, very lacking.”

“Ouch, that hurts.”

“If you have nothing else to show me, I suggest you leave. I can take care of my own now”

“Sure Wonyoung, but do you think tomorrow we should get to old Bill’s, for more evidence? I think we can dig up some more there?”

“I told you I don’t want any more people involved.”

“Look, I get what you’re trying to say, but I think we should get some more leads to this, I mean, some of his leads helped me to find you, and now his photos helped us to know there are more like you in different place, I don’t think it would hurt if we check with him.”

“Old Bill, is an old friend of my late father, I want to keep him safe from all this.”

“So, you haven’t told him about any of this?”

“I want to but could never find a proper occasion.”

“I think, well, I think you should let him know. He can be the best help we can get around here.”

“I ...” Wonyoung startled for the first time that night talking to me. She paused her moves for a few minutes, then, she took a deep breath again with her decision.

“Then, if that’s the way, I’ll meet you in front of his shop tomorrow after my work” Wonyoung sounded a bit reluctant.

“Will do, I’ll see you tomorrow”

I then left the place back to my motel. The party were still going on, so nobody noticed my presence, of course beside the receptionist

“Going back so soon? The party is still on my friend! Go enjoy!”

“Oh no thanks, I feel like I need to hit the bed. Night!”

I lied.

I couldn’t sleep well that night.

So many thoughts in my head.

“Where will this going to go, what is going on, who is the Gara really is anyway? etc.”

My thoughts were running wild through the night

The morning finally came. I kept going on through my day, acting as normal as possible: loitering around, chatted to Ms.Kent about the festival last night without telling her any of those “eventful” details

I even saw Yujin and Wonyoung again, but she seemed to not noticing my presence much

Until the evening

The town seemed like it had a bit more fun than usual, lots of cleaning were on the way from the aftermath.

I rushed myself to Old Bill’sshop, and Wonyoung was already there with her motorbike, right at the door, not in her usual delivery outfit, but in a university jacket and jeans.

She looked ... well, amazing. She made me kept looking at her for a bit until she woke me up with her voice

“You’re late.”

“Got here the best I can.”

Both of us entered the shop, while Old Bill was in the process of setting and packing his stuffs and brewing his drinks.

“Ohh hey you again young man! And ... Wony, my dear, been a while seeing you here.”

“Hey Bill, you’re doing good?” Wonyoung greeted him with a smile and softer tone.

“Very well my dear, look, I just got some new collections !”

“You’re always the same Bill, reminds me of my dad all the time.”

“He sure was a fine collector himself too! So, what can I help you two? Seems kind of odd you’re in here together?”

“Remember those pics you gave me Bill? We want to talk to you about it.”

“Oh ... What happened, did you find anything else about it?”

“Actually, we do.”

“Bill, there’s ... there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you, since the day my dad passed, I... discovered something.”

“Yes, my dear?”

“Something I’ve been hiding from you for a while, that was why I didn’t meet you much. I think it would be dangerous for you to know.”

“My dear, you’re like a daughter of mine. Your father entrusted me to look after you even if we don’t have many interactions, I want you to know you can trust me with anything.”

Wonyoung stays quiet for a bit.

“Then Bill, this is what I wanted to show you.”

Wonyoung stepped back a bit. She held her palms around her waist, forming a cyan light turning into the belt, with the cyan ring glowing around the circular gem in the middle.

Wonyoung then raised her right arm in diagonal across her body, palm pointing towards the left side of her body. She then spelled out a word in a calm but powerful tone.

“HENSHIN!”

As Wonyoung swiped her right palm over the circular glowing ring, the armor started to manifest from the belt, spreading across her limbs like forming a shell all over her entire body, then finished with a “melting down” process, revealing the armor from the molten shell, finished with a glowing action from her rounded bug-like eyes.

It was... unlike anything I’ve seen before.

Her body, now cladded in some sort of exo-skeleton armor, with a dominant black color, cyan over the breast plate, arms and legs. Even the “Face,” or helmet I think, is in cyan, with two antennas formed from the forehead, like an insect, and glowing pink eyes, almost if a grasshopper and a human cross-species.

Around her neck is a scarf-like piece folding down like wings behind her back, created the visual of those dirty bike rider.

“My word... Wonyoung, you’re... you’re that one, the one I saw that night!”

“Yes.”

“And the one in the pics, it’s you ... right my dear?”

“I know Bill, this is why I kept a secret. I’ve been fighting... monsters, monsters that attacked people. I use this power to protect them. They targeted people, only specific ones, and... you were one of the targets too. That night, I was protecting you from one.”

“Woah Wonyoung, so … Bill was one of the victims too?”

“Yes, luckily, I beat that one before it could get to him”

“So, the rumors online are true, there are monsters attacking people. And this, I never thought, it would be you my dear Wonyoung, who’s been protecting me and people all this time.”

“I am not sure if I’ll be able to protect everyone, but, I’m willing to carry that burden.” Wonyoung de-transforms immediately.

“My dear Wonyoung, you shouldn’t hold this to your own, I’m here for you. I won’t tell anyone about this. You can trust me, like how you dad did.”

“Promise me you will Bill.”

“I will my dear, until this old man out of his breath.”

“So Old Bill, you told me, you got more info online, right? The pics that you found, the other three humanoid creature.“

“isn’t that you my dear Wonyoung?”

“No Bill, that’s what we’re trying to find out today.”

“Come here you two, let me close the door.“ Old Bill hurried himself to close the door, then open his PC to show us his files

“According to what I found, these photos are being taken from different locations, this magenta colored one, it’s in … yes, San Wataru town. And the yellow-ish one right here… hmm, Arakawa town. And this one, huh, this one doesn’t seem to be a known location.”

“So, we located two, the last one, is still a blind mystery.”

“Yes, I’m still finding sources for the last one. But to no end. But I can keep going on.”

“While we’re going to find the last monster from this town.”

“There’s more?”

“Yes Bill, I think from what I can sense, that one will be dangerous. Don’t go anywhere much until I defeat it. Even though I already defeated the one targeted you, there’s no promise that new on will not targeting you. I must find the other victims too.”

“Sure, my dear, anything else I can do for you?”

“No Bill, please stay safe, I can .”

Suddenly, Wonyoung turned her head over the door in suspense

“The Gara, I can sense it.”

“What the, where is it?”

“I got to go, stay here.”

“Wonyoung I’ll go with you “

“NO, just stay here.” Wonyoung rushed through the door

“I can’t let her go alone Bill, she got injured yesterday, she needs help”

“Go, take this thing, go help her”

Old Bill then pulled out in his closet, a blaster, then gave it to me.

“Pull this lock, and it will activate the bullets for you.”

“What the, how the hell you have this?”

“I’ll tell you later, now go help her!”

“Ok!”

As I rushed out, Wonyoung already hopped on her motorcycle, speeding up towards a direction as I also did my best to follow her in my car.

“Wonyoung wait for me!”

I hit my pedal and speeding up after her.

Wonyoung sped up towards the direction of the coast, took me a few moments to catch up with her, but no way I could match her side by side.

Once we both reached the coastline, Wonyoung ran fast down the hill to the sand beach, where we could see a Gara monster, looked like the last one I saw, but with some noticeable difference.

This one, while visually similar, had some sort armored texture on its torso, bigger mandible and spider-like eyes, carrying a claw weapon from its right arm.

When we’re close to be there, the Gara almost attacked a small family, scared them running away and on the verge of killing them, if not for Wonyoung’s interruption by jump kick on the side.

“Run! All of you run!”

“Ok … kids, get away from here!!!”  The parents yelled out to their kids.

The Gara enraged, it growled a loud sound before lunging towards Wonyoung, in which she dodged to the side, with the Spider Gara hit his claw to the sand, poisoning it wit its venom, making a dark spot in the sand.

Without hesitation, Wonyoung then striked her pose, like how she did in front of me and Old Bill.

Her belt appeared on her waist, glowing in cyan color. Swiping her palm towards the belt, she spelled out her word

“HENSHIN!”

And with that, her body started to glow in Cyan light, transformed into her full suited up, or armored up state, eyes glowing in pinkish color.

The two then engaged in a brutal fight. The Spider Gara were full of strength, delivered huge blows towards Wonyoung

“BAAM”

“WHACKK”

Wonyoung wasn’t afraid of any of its strikes, she countered his moves with her weapons, giving him hits after hits with her kicks and from her weapons.

Her hits were raw and brutal, aiming to its face and torso, with its blood bled out to the sand.

“WHACK”

“POW”

The Spider Gara even more enraged, shot out his webs to block Wonyoung’s strike, neutralized her weapons and her arms.

It repeatedly slashes its claw towards Wonyoung, as she did her best to counter with  her legs by doing some kicks.

“WHACK !! BAMM”

The Spider Gara countered back, it caught onto her legs, making her lose some balance, then it slammed her down hard to the sand.

Wonyoung struggled to get up due to its left arm pinning her down, even if she did her best using her now freed left arm to hit its mandible.

I rushed it, pulled the lock from the blaster, then aim at the Gara’s head.

“BOOM”

The recoil of the blaster shook my hands a bit, therefore the shot hit its thigh instead of its head, making the Gara turned its head towards me immediately in full anger.

Taking the chance, I kept shooting at it, giving Wonyoung the chance to break free from its grip.

She used her leg to kick into its abdomen, enough force for her to escape its claw, then with her now freed right hand, hit its face in full force

“WHACK!!”

The Spider Gara fell back a bit, but it recovered right await due to its stamina.

It then delivers a shockwave through the sand by punching its fist, creating an avalanche, with Wonyoung had to shield herself by doing the same with her weapon, slamming them to the sand and created a cyan colored force field.

The shockwaves clashed into each other, knocking both down and flew away a few feet, with the Gara stuck in a sand hole while Wonyoung rolled her body down to the seawater.

I then rushed towards Wonyoung to help her the best I can without caring about the danger we were having.

“Come one Wonyoung! Let’s bail! That thing is too strong for you! We need some plans!”

“I told you to stay back! Why did you follow me ??”

“Call me stubborn, whatever, but that thing we need a plan to beat him, you’ve been fighting him for that last 15 min, and it still didn’t even feel much, come on let’s hide inside those caves over there !! We need to figure something else!”

I hurried up Wonyoung as we both escape the Spider Gara, about to escape the sand hole, angrier and full of rage than ever. I shot back at the Gara with my blaster, distracting it enough for us to hide.

“Come here Wonyoung! We should hide there!”

Me and Wonyoung ran into the hidden part of the cave, where the Gara couldn’t see us. Then we cowered down behind a large rock, with the Gara was still lurking around looking for us

“Ok, what’s the plan, should we trap it here? Lure it inside here?”

“This one is probably the strongest I ever faced. The ferocity is dangerous; I couldn’t beat it with my usual strikes like the others.”

“Then that’s the reason why we need a plan . What do you have Wonyoung?”

“I think it has a weakness.”

“Can you pinpoint it?”

“I noticed, when you shot into its thigh, I could feel that it felt something more painful  than the usual hit. If I can strike a harder hit towards that same spot, I can beat it.”

“Then you need a distraction, me. I’ll distract it while you wait for the time to strike.”

“No, I will do it, you stay here.”

“Again Wonyoung, if you keep going with this pace, the fight will get longer, and that won’t end well. This one like you said, it’s way stronger, we need a teamwork, and we need it now”

Wonyoung stays quite a bit, then she peeked out towards the rocks nearby the sand, in which she found something.

“Ok, you see that part of those rocks.”

“Yeh, I see that, there’s a slump down.”

“If I. .. I mean, if WE can lure it to be trapped in between those rocks, I could hit it with my strikes. Can you distract it long enough until then?”

“Sounds like a plan, a daring one, but it’s a plan, let’s go!”

We both got out of the cave and proceed with the plan. Once I saw the Spider Gara, I gave him a few shots just to get its attention

“Fuck you asshole !! Come here and get me you piece of shit !! “ I screamed out and ran fast towards the rocks while the Spider Gara, using its spider-like abilities to swings and pursued me in full rage and growl.

Luckily for me, I had a good record of stamina to run as fast as I could, if not, I might turn into dust by now. Never thought one day I would encounter such vile creature.

Once I ran over the rocks, the Gara caught up with me. It shot the webs to my foot, made me stuck there.

“Oh shit.” I thought my life would end right there once its approached me with its poisonous claw and venoms.

Suddenly, Wonyoung, from the side, lunged herself towards its thigh.

With her charged up weapon, she hit it with the hardest hit, breaking it leg.

Dark blood spilled out to the rocks, as the Gara’s other leg were being held from the lump of the rocks due to the impact.

“GRAAGHAGHAHAHGHAGAAGGHA!!!!”

The growl of the Gara pierced through the sky. The plan worked.

Wonyoung then continue her strike, repeatedly hitting it with her weapons, weaken its strength, then in one blow, she hit it down to the sand below.

“WHACK !! BAMMM !!!! POWWW !! WHACCKKK !!”

The Gara, now severely weakened, crawling down towards the beach with its limping body just to hide from her.

But Wonyoung, in one final move, charging up the energy from her belt into her right leg.

The energy from the belt glowed in cyan, running down her ankle, making her right foot condensed of energy.

And in quick succession, she jumped up in the air, did a marvelous forward somersault towards the Gara. Then, she delivered a flying side kick towards its body, sending the Spider Gara feet away to the water.

“BAAAAAM “

A giant explosion came right after the final blow, finally destroyed the Spider Gara

“KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM”

Its body engulfed in Cyan flame, created a huge explosion, signaling our victory.

I finally get rid of the web comb on my foot, then ran fast towards Wonyoung down the sand.

“Did... did we ... did we win?”

“It’s done.”

“You beat it Wonyoung!”

“No, WE beat it. Thank you.”

Wonyoung then reverted and gave me a slight smile, the first one since we met.

Some bruises and such were visible on her body, with her trying to catch her breath from the tiring encounters.

“You’re the heroine Wonyoung, you saved everyone!”

“And... I couldn’t beat it without your assistance, you... did well, Tyler”

“No biggies, I’m glad I can help . Now come one, let’s get you back to your hideout. Can you ride back there, or you need a ride.”

“I can, let’s go, we shouldn’t stay here long.”

The two of us then walked out of the beach, then quickly getting back to Wonyoung’s hideout.

A moment later, I was helping her with some bandages for her wounds and bruises. Surprisingly, she was also a bit more open to me

“Ok, I think this is pretty ok, the wounds will heal later on.”

“Glad I can help you out Wonyoung.”

“I’m sorry I was being quite harsh and distant with you. It just, I’m not used to have companions

“Non-taken Wonyoung.”

We then settled down a bit until the night comes in.

“So, Wonyoung, you think there will be more?”

“I couldn’t sense any of the Gara’s Presence here anymore. Since we beat that one, their “senses.” were quite gone.”

“Huh, maybe that’s a relief. I hope we won’t encounter any of them anymore.”

“I hope so.”

“But Wonyoung, why are you so determined to work alone like this?”

“Because…”

“I’m sorry I asked.”

“NO, because… Because my father, he was the one who awakened the power before me.”

“What?”

“My father, he was the first one that … the Gara attacked in front of me. But his body couldn’t handle it over time, and ... he did his best.”

“So, you, and your dad, were supposed to have the power together?”

“I... think so. People thought my dad passed due to illness and such, and I wanted to keep it that way. Once it was my turn awakened my power, I worked through it, I trained hard for it, I kept it a secret from everyone, because I wanted his passing wasn’t in vain.”

“So, if your dad could awaken his power, does that mean, there were more people that could awaken their powers  than just the other three we’ve seen on those pics?”

“And they might suffer that same fate as my dad too. Maybe not everyone can control the power”

“Do you think, the Gara attacked the people, who could... you know, have the power?”

“Could be, because I can sense the energy, through the victims, but not as strong as mine. I never encounter anyone with similar energy sense, or power like me.”

“Well, I guess now we’re kind of know why they were attacking only a few people.”

“And now, with the premonitions, I think, I should find the other three. We might solve the secret of my power even more.”

“I think that’s a plan, we should meet old Bill again tomorrow before we go. I’m with you Wonyoung.”

“Sure”

We stayed quiet for a moment, then I did my best to break it

“You know, for a handmade cave, you sure packed a lot of stuffs!”

“I invested in everything here, I like it.”

“It looks cool though! Man, I wish my place is this big ha-ha. Say, you want to spar with me a bit? Since, you know, you’re... kind of healed physically.”

“Are... you sure?”

“I mean, I might either get wiped by you, or I wipe you off the floor aha “

“Sounds like a challenge.”

We both stood up and walked to the mat, where I tried to impress Wonyoung by doing some shadowboxing

“So, you know how to do that.”

“Of course, I learned through some classes myself!”

I then face Wonyoung, then trying to strike a pose

“I can go easy on you.”

“Nope! Go hard on me if you can Wonyoung! I can take it!”

I surely did not know what was in my head that moment. Imagine trying to beat the person who could beat a vile creature with her bare hands.

I tried to give her some jabs, she blocked it with some counters

“Nice punches, but not good enough for me.”

“Oh, then you will love this !!”

I then lunge myself towards her, giving her a flying punch.

But, with a swift move, Wonyoung used her skill to pin me down with her arm-lock technique, pin me straight down, face up the ceiling, with her sitting on top of me.

“WHACK”

“Ouch, that hurts.”

“Told you so.”

For the first time ever, we looked at each other eyes to eyes. She looked beautiful, even with her slightly messy hair. Her features were mesmerizing during that moment; her round eyes and lips were sexy and alluring.

Something sparked between me and her while we were locking eyes

Something that made us kept staring to each other for a long while, before…

Before… this happened

In an unthinkable moment, our faces reached each other, then we gave out a kiss.

Then one kiss after another

Our kisses were slow and sensual, urging us to do more.

“What… are we doing?”

“I don’t know Wonyoung.”

“But... you seem to like it?”

“And you too Wonyoung.”

“So... are we doing this?”

“What if we do?”

“If we do this, no strings attached between you and me, got it?”

“No strings attached.”

We continued our kisses. She pinned me down with her hands, while I held onto her back, my hands moved along the silky smoothness of her dark hair, then ran down along the length of her waist, down to backside.

Clothes were starting to be removed while we were making out. I kissed her along her neckline while she was removing my long sleeve shirt, then I proceeded to remove her jacket, top and sport bra, kissing her breasts passionately.

Her scent was addictive, her skin was smooth, made me eager to do more.

Wonyoung didn’t go easy on me either, she kissed me along my chest, down to my abs, then quickly removed my pants, with my bulge couldn’t stop protruding to the heat of the moment. She didn’t wait for any sec to remove the last piece of clothing on me, then taking my hardened “friend.” and her beautiful lips.

Her movements were slow at first, and she took it deeper, made me let out a sound

“Ahh... shit... Wonyoung... that’s very good ... ahhh”

I gave her signs, she understood quickly. Then she stood up, remove her lower pants, then her thin strap undies, leaving us both naked on the mat.

We got in too far now; there was no going back.

She got to my face, then slowly dropped down her lower body onto me, letting me taste the sweet scent of her vagina, while she continued with my erected rod. My tongue ran along the softness of her folds, while her tongue was swirling around my rod in faster pace.

Her walls were tight, and sexy, my tongue couldn’t stop taking her deeper, with the help of my fingers, while Wonyoung also didn’t leave my shaft a break with her mouth, taking mine down to the base.

“Ahhh... fuckk... Wonyoung... you ... you suck me deep... fuckkkk that’s … so good…”

“Ahh... your tongue… ahh… I… I feel good... so good down there … ahh. Oh shit... ... it’s so good “

We did not stop there, not like that

She once again rode on me, this time, with my rod slowly entered her tight wet walls, leaving us both an erotic moan in unison

“Ahh… that’s... shit... that’s so tight... Wonyoung you’re so tight….”

“Ah….shit… that’s ... so big and hard... inside me... ahh...”

Wonyoung started to bounce on me. Seeing her like this, breathing in and out through the motion while having my hardened shaft inside was a sight, a beautiful sight. Her face was reddened through the bounce, her breathes were harder with her paces, while me down below enjoyed the moment with pleasure. Sweats were forming from both of us, our breathings collided with each other, so were our louder moans

“Ahhh… fuckkkk… Wonyoung… holy fuckkk... you’re… so good with this… ahhh fuckk you’re so hot… ahh fuckkk…. You’re soo tight… you’re wrapping me good... ahhhh”

“Hahh… ahhh..., fuckk. I couldn’t stop… ahhh bouncing… ahhh. … I couldn’t stop my body anymore… ahhh fuckkk …. yours are piercing me hard …fukk ahh…”

Our lips joined each other again, then I pounded her hard upward, making her moan louder, arched her body, face up to the ceiling, hair was defying gravity.

Our bodies kept on slamming into each other, our moans and pleasure reached its maximum, before we had to come to an end, at least, for this round.

“Ahhh fuckkkkk... Wonyoung… I’m … I’m gonna cummm… Oh fuck I’m gonna cummmm !!! I... can’t hold it any longer!!!”

“Hahhh… Me... me too… Oh fuckkkk … ahhhh... I’m… reaching it !! Ahhhhh”

There was nothing that could stop us at that moment anymore

Our liquids shot into each other, loud and full. My cum and hers blasted into each other, filling her up with both of ours. I couldn’t stop myself from cumming, with some of it leaking out of her, as Wonyoung stayed in the position there, enjoying her orgasm, once she didn’t have for a long time.

That was the best thing, beside this “Adventure,” that I had for a while in my boring life. My mind went blank from it.

Wonyoung then dismounted from me, lying next to me, with both of us breathing in and out like we had some hard sparring.

Sweat was running on our bodies, our skins were reddened post-orgasm, making us lie there for a while, before we were able to form some words.

“That was… woah... that was… great.”

“I ... couldn’t believe... we just ... did that.”

“Yeh …”

“You... did better than the sparring…”

“Hah... I guess... I did something good then… don’t you think?”

“Yeh... but... I don’t want to stop... not like this.”

“ME neither… I want more ... Wonyoung… it’s too good not to.”

“No, we won’t stop... not until we both want it to ...”

And we didn’t stop.

We grabbed onto our sweaty bodies again, with sloppier kisses, as if we didn’t care of anything anymore.

Sex was the only thing in our mind at that point.

I let Wonyoung in an all four position, kissing along the back of her neck, then her sexy backline, down to her backside. There, I saw her vagina was still throbbing, still leaking with my cum. The way she arched her back in this position, her sweaty body, her erotic scent, made me feel even harder and wanting to try more.

My hands then grabbed onto her butt cheeks, kneading and kissing them, then I opened them out, revealing her pinkish and small anal hole. I then dove in with my tongue, licking and circling it around her tiny entrance, with Wonyoung let out a moan

“Ah… that place... ahhh...”

“Hmmm... you’re tasting so good Wonyoung… I… I want to take you here…. Can I …”

“Hah... at this point... just do it... take me in there...”

That was erotic, even for her.

I lined up my hard shaft towards her tight entrance, then I slowly entered her.

It was too tight, tighter than I could imagine, but that didn’t stop me to keep trying.

I could feel her breathing were getting harder once I finally put my tip passed her entrance, and even harder and more lewdful once my inches went deeper inside her crazy hot and tight hole.

“Ahhh... ahhhhhh… ahhhhhh... oh fuck… … so.. so tight…”

“Fuckkkk. Omg…. Wonyoung…. Soo tight... so warm…”

“Go... go for it…Don’t stop there.”

And I didn’t stop

I thrusted into her, letting her use to the penetrations. The slow motions made me feel like heaven, her warmth were killing me with pleasure, her walls wrapped tightly around my shaft. I went deeper and faster, pounding her with the best of my abilities from behind, with Wonyoung letting out the loudest sound that I ever heard of her.

“HAHH... AHHHHH… Oh shitt... ahhhh … so hard… so hard and big in me…. AHHHHHH... Oh fuckkkk … Oh…. Aahhhhh... oh FUCKK IT’S SO HARD … AHHHH... that… so good… AHHH”

“FUCKKK Wonyoung… ahhhhh...  FUCKK THIS IS FUCKING GREAT… AHHH Fuckkkk I couldn’t stop…. Ahhhh”

I pounded and pounded harder ; I didn’t want to stop this sensation. I was fully enamored into it, I couldn’t think of anything but breaking her tight anal hole. Her moans were once again colliding with mine, echoing around her hideout.

I grabbed my hands tightly on her waist, leaving some handprints, while my lower body were attacking her non-stop. I gave her kisses from behind, stimulated her vagina, pulling her hair a bit while pounding into her.

Wonyoung’s palms gipped hard down to the mat, her head curved up and down through the pleasures, her breathings were mixing with her loud moans. AT this point, we were close to our climax once again, and our bodies erotically confirmed it.

“FUCKK ... WONYOUNG ... I’M CUMMINGGG !!!1”

“AHHHH... GOOO… DO ITTT.”

My cum shot out again.

My hot cum filled her whole.

Once again for the night, I filled the beautiful girl in front of me

My cum again blasted inside her in shots, made me lose the counts.

Our minds gone really blank with the orgasm

Her juice was also leaking down the mat, so was me cum from her tight hole once I pulled out.

I gave her kisses, and so did she.

We did not waste any moment that night.

We continued our heated moments together through the night, any positions, anything we could think off with each other, until we ran dry.

 We let ourselves wrapped inside our lustful desires with each other, until we couldn’t do no more.

Me, and Wonyoung, both lying on the messy mat after our “battle”.

We just stayed there, until she opened the convo

“That... was ...”

“Yeah... I ... seriously couldn’t believe... we went this far...”

“But... I like it…”

“Me too...”

“All this time, fighting alone, … I closed off to a lot of people… I didn’t want any to get close to me... even my close ones. Sometimes, I like it that way… but some days… I wish I could tell them...”

“Well... at least now... you have my help... and I’m willing too... So… don’t close off to me, ok?”

“I’ll try… but... not that fast... like I said... no strings attached.”

“Got you … on that.”

“Tonight... I like it… but... just keep it that way. Nothing further than this, deal?”

“Deal”

“I also been thinking...”

“Yeh?”

“We must find the other 3. The more this being delayed, the more stakes are rising. And, I feel like, this is only getting started. The Gara, they may be gone from this area, but I don’t believe they’re done for.”

“Sure Wonyoung, I’m with you. Any plans?”

“We will go tomorrow, it’s time I look for the others, let them know, that there are others like them, and we have to do this, together”

“We can do that Wonyoung, like I said, I’m already into this, so you have me as your ally.”

“Thanks Tyler”

“You know, the way you fight, how you look in that ... armor, reminds me of something.”

“Something?”

“Actually, not something, but someone. It’s a superhero show’s character, and my grandad was very into it.”

“Oh?”

“You might find it’s silly but, would be cool if you have that codename, just like that character!”

“And what would it be.”

“How about... KAMEN RIDER? How’s that sounds?”

Wonyoung stayed silence for a while, with myself thought it was a dumb idea to tell her, but to my surprise

“I like it.”

“Well then, from this day on, you will be known, as KAMEN RIDER, sounds cool?”

“Cool”

EPISODE 1 : END

[akumamazoku]

oh yeah i made this

i had this a while ago i just forgot to post it

my 1x actually DOES have a couple different forms (because i love designing stuff :3) so there actually are differences between when i draw them as a guy or a lady

(had to ss because my canvas was too high quality AGAIN) anyways i made a little chart below to kinda explain

other than the differences mostly being based off bird dimorphisms (loosely at least, since they’re technically not a real bird, but the mythical zhenniao) the vibrancy thing is SUPER important to my lore stuff for em, and i don’t want to ramble abt it if no one is interested lol so just send an ask or smth if u want to know and ill make a couple art pieces for it

i’ll start drawing the male version more because i’ve only really drawn lady 1x so far lol

[morriemonnie]

hello !! it's been a bit, really sorry for the lack of posting; a lot has been happening and i've been struggling to juggle with posting stuff here, apologies for that !

but to start, i've been really demotivated as of late; which is also why i haven't been responding to letters in my inbox too- i might be closing it for now as i don't want more in my inbox to pile up, i feel really bad that i didn't respond back.

and also since artfight is just around the corner, i've been trying to focus on my own stuff too ! as well as focusing on my well-being, some irl stuff and my commissions at the same time; which is a lot for me to juggle with and i've been really exhausted ...

so as of now, my recent fruitcake fanfic and comic is on an indefinite hiatus (really sorry! i do have chapter 3 on the verge of being ready, but the drawings haven't been started yet and i don't want to publish it without them ...) but i've been thinking of maybe posting small one-shots, i still love the silly bakers and they still rotate around my mind ...

again, i sincerely apologize for the lack of posts and i hope i'll get around to posting my recent works 🙏

[dodgeballstuckonthegymceiling]

(Accidentally posted this as a draft, then deleted it)

Florida man is a state of mind. One that shows how we all want to live. He exists without shame. Without hesitation. And most importantly, without a single thought. If you say you don't want to be like Florida man, you're lying.

If you like my work, please consider commissioning me or leaving a tip on Ko-fi (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

Julie, Frank, Wally & slightly unhinged/eccentric Reader

Julie

★ You and her make all sorts of new games. One afternoon, you "borrowed" a shopping cart from Howdy. And tried to see how fast you could go with her inside. Julie cheered. Howdy screamed. Now you owe the shopkeeper a new cart.

★ Somehow, you function on three hours of sleep and a bag of chips. Like a teen that got a hold of energy drinks for the first time. Julie just assumed it's normal for you to live like this. When you finally crash, she watches you. Amazed you stayed up this long.

★ She drew the line at "homemade fireworks." Because Julie really doesn't want you to destroy stuff. "You're gonna blow up that mailbox!" She warned you, wide eyed and a little scared. But you lit the fuse anyway. And all she did was watch.

Frank

★ Frank started questioning natural selection after meeting you. Not for being a good example. But because nothing you've done has killed you. The catalyst for this thought was when he saw you lighting... what looked like a pile of cardboard tubes? Followed by an explosion.

★ You must be doing something right if you've made it this far. Even though he's tried reasoning with you to make better decisions. "Please don't." He says while pinching the bridge of his nose. You grin "What if I do?" Sometimes, Frank makes you wear a helmet.

★ Despite everything, he likes having you around. He may tell people "They're going to be the death of me." But Frank still has a first aid kit stashed away. Just for you. As history suggests you'll need it again.

Wally

★ He always thought life was best lived carefully. Then you came along. With your scraped knuckles and busted knee. And Wally was charmed! He doesn't understand most of the things you do. Which is why he can't stop thinking about it.

★ You climbed the tall clock tower without safety gear. It wasn't damaged, but you were after losing grip. He didn't lecture you after. Just said "You should be more careful." While Frank, on the other hand, gave you an earful.

★ When somebody complains about your recklessness, he's the first to defend you. Saying “They think it's fun.” And nothing else. Because that might start an argument. And Wally doesn't care for those. 

[jupiterpiss]

i keep seeing ex remmick which u eat up everytime but i’m wondering what the process of breaking up with him would be like

Thank youuuu 😝😝 I feel that a lot of this is kinda just me retelling some stuff.. maybe? Not really but it’s different ways he’ll be ruining your life that were mentioned before. This doesn’t have a ton of smut.. actually close to none lolz. This reads to be very.. aggressive on his end. It is supposed to be like that.. he’s a piece of shit sorry.

Honestly.. I think it would be a very complicated process.. because in my mind I think Remmick doesn’t necessarily ever think you two are ‘broken up’. Like yes.. you kicked him out and told him to fuck off and said this is over BUT LIKE you were just upset. People say means things all the time when they’re upset.

I truly don’t think he ever sees you as not satisfied.. cause he knowssss he’s satisfying you so like why are you acting mean and RUDE?? Not cool wtf. It’s kinda how he wouldn’t leave alone ANYONE IN THE JUKE JOINT even tho they told him to fuck off SEVERAL TIMES. He literally won’t take no for an answer, it’s not in his vocabulary so why should it be in yours.

So with that added pain of him not really seeing you as separated just ya know going through a mild disagreement.. which if he wants to call it that he shouldn’t be using the word mild. It’s farrr from it, like you two literally threaten each other, that’s not mild.

Threats of killing one another, threats of going to the police or family or vampire hunters. Everyone and anyone at this point. It’s bad. Wtv. Ahem.

Point is— it’s hard to leave someone who doesn’t see you as separated.

That’s also where the toxicity comes from, because at some point you become beyond annoyed with him. He won’t stop showing up, won’t stop threatening to eat your family, coming up with lies that he’ll change, that NO he isn’t mean.

You eventually meet your breaking point when you do try to move on, threaten to start sleeping with other people and he, I KIDD YOU NOT, yells about how you can’t be with anyone else cause uhhhh he’ll curse them to die from a terrible infection!

“Vampirism?”

“No.. worse. If you sleep around, every dick you touch will fall off.”

And he’s not kidding LMAOOO. Do I think he’ll have the ability to do that.. idk. I don’t actually know if vampires can actually possess people or anything.. but he does cause I said so. Not possess I guess but more so he makes them go crazy. Like actually crazy.

Remmick PLAGUES the minds of those you touch. Also.. he counts this as cheating on him. He’s not too fond of it, matter of fact it pisses him off really really bad but wtv. You’re just going through a weird phase.

Ya know those people who say ‘they know where home is’ when speaking about their cheating spouse? Yeah that’s fucking him. Except he also curses and scares off anyone you actually do. I don’t wanna go tooo in depth cause quite a few people asked for a second ex!Remmick post and one person asked for this exact scenario.. so more on that later. It’s gonna be part of the part 2 of that post.

Anyway.

Once your done with sleeping with other people cause CLEARLY that isn’t helping anyone (this proves his point right btw even tho it wasn’t on purpose on ur end.. he still sees you stopping as a means of you ‘leaving this phase’)

You decide that maybe packing up and moving would do good. Leaving your house, leaving your family, the town. Everything. Last day of packing tho he shows up and fucking flips his shit.

This is where I reallly wanna reel in the fact that toxic Remmick is extremely scary. Like really scary, you should probs not be trying to look for this man, type of scary. Cause he wrecks all your shit, tells you how are you going to leave when you have nothing??

“Fuck you! I’m done, we’re done— done! I’ve been done, I’m moving-“

He tuts, shaking his head slow, “and what exactly will you be leavin with? Got no furniture now, got no clothes, jewelry.. baby, you’re not prepared to go.”

And it’s like.. hello?? Yes I was but you literally lit all my shit on fire while happily jumping up and down. Hooting and hollering, happier than a fucking clam. He’s unwell. He saw all your stuff resting outside, heard you still shifting around stuff inside, packing the rest of what you got. You live far out.. so having shit stolen isn’t exactly on your mind but you thought ‘hey, just one more box and I’m done’ only to go outside to see a massive bonfire.

And who’s standing beside it with a box FILLED with matches? Remmick :))

He lights all your shit on fire, and if you have a car he slashes the tires. Lights it on fire too.. this is starting to sound actually really bad. Omg okay but HE DOES THIS OKAY. I’m not backing out, he destroys ur shit!!

Okay.. moving is a big no. And ya know what else is a big no.. ur friends. You see.. Remmick does some hunting and searching, he decides ya know what?! I’m gonna take this bitch’s friends. Yeahhh fuck you im making you a complete loner. So that’s what he does LMAOOOO he makes ur ass a bigger loser then him by quite literally taking out all of ur friends.

And he uses that hivemind like noooo one else. Forces them to try and convince you back together, that really he will change. That this is just a word phase ur going through, cold feet. Ya know.. but that’s okay! He’ll warm them up!! He completely takes away their personality, who they are. What they want, what made them.. them. Everything you loved, those imperfections, the characteristics.. mind you, these people are your home. A found family of some sort all built on the need to find connection outside of family. Outside of blood.

And that’s gone.

It freaks you out, rightfully so. Everyone is so.. bleak. A empty cast of what they use to be, pawns for his own destruction. Makes you wanna vomit and sob on the floor.

And you do. Really you do. You start to actually feel trapped, unable to really do anything.

Your friends keep saying, “just let us in! Let him in! I can see all his memories.. all his emotions. Everything. Honey, he really does love you.” And it would be a friend of urs that HATES men. Hello? Not the same person.

AND HE STILL WONT LEAVE GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE. Stillll thinks ur together and—

“ya know, this whole cat and mouse thing is really startin to get on my nerves, hun. Just- I don’t even know why you’re upset.”

He really doesn’t. Remmick doesn’t get why you won’t let him in, or why you keep claiming you broke up. You didn’t? He thinks he’s in the right, thinks all of this is for your own good cause.. you two are meant to be, mean to thrive together. Why would you give that up cause of one messy argument.

It wasn’t a messy argument and really he’s always been manipulative.

If he were to convince you to have make up sex he would try to baby trap you. I’m certain of it.. that or because I don’t think vampires can have babies, he would bite you. Just like in the fic. More on this later.. actually I’m thinking long and hard about this, you will be seeing it.

[talenlee]

Game Pile: Why Do Trans Women Love New Vegas (Video)

Script and thumbnail below the fold!

This script is based on this original article.

Hello everyone, my name’s TalenLee, also known as the Wrath in Pride Month, and this is a video article that seeks to answer the question ‘Why do Trans Women love Fallout New Vegas so much?’ To accompany this I’m presenting a single segment speedrun of Fallout New Vegas All Sleeping Partners % as run by Tomatoanus, or as TiredTransbian called it, World’s Fastest Bisexual Trans Woman Goes on a Bender Around the Mojave. Tomatoanus did make the video but unlike in his videos, I didn’t get him to help me explain things and you really shouldn’t go bothering him to justify his relationship to things I say here just because he gave me permission to use his video. He is as best I know, very nice and doesn’t need any further guff. If you are going to go check out TomatoAnus’ work based on this video all I ask is that you

do

not

embarrass me.

I’m providing a specific Content Warning here for drugs and violence. Not that anyone clicking on a video about Fallout New Vegas would be surprised by those things. It’s just nice to do.

This is a video version of an article I wrote a bit over a year ago and if you’ve read that article you already know the thrust of what I’m going to say, but because this is going up on Youtube, I want to pre-emptively put some stuff out there that will get the snowflake crowd to petulantly comment and then piss off. Rent-lowering gunshots, as we say on Tumblr. Anyway, trans women are women and trans men are men, at least inasmuch as they want to be, and while I’m at it, all the popes are bad, even Big Poppa Pizza Pope you got now. This isn’t one of my hand-holding babymode conversations about how trans identities work, written as if I’m explaining a baseline gender studies concept to someone to afraid to look it up and do readings, this is about an extremely in-group cultural signifier. A meme. Specifically, the meme that trans women

love

Fallout New Vegas, explained in <>.

Released in 2010, Fallout New Vegas is a classic of the first-person-shooter role-playing-game genre or FPSRPG, which sounds like a file format your phone uses to save links, which sought to bring Fallout 1 and 2’s semi-open choice-driven narrative structure, into the first-person floaty Skyrim-with-guns combat in a ‘second parse’ at the – let’s politely call it – rough execution of Fallout 3. In this game you play a character called The Courier starting at the point in their story where Matthew Perry shows he won’t be there for you, then shoots you in the head, giving you an opportunity to discover and then intervene in the existing events of history with an all new, all exciting direction.

The story is a sort of noir cowboy steampunk fantasy – there’s the trappings of modern technology and post-apocalyptica, but the world that was and its infrastructure isn’t really important as much as the way it just sweeps aside a options for progress. Technology is chunky and heavy and there’s a durability to everything, where things break, but they can always be fed more technology to make them un-break. Everything has an independence to it, a scrounging, foraging, make-it-work, it’ll-do-for-now technologism all typified with a gun at your hip and your duster fluttering in the hot wind.

When it isn’t crashing.

The game has a lot of positive sentiment around it, seemingly beloved by fans and lauded by youtubers looking for long-form stuff ever since renowned solver of plagiarism problems Harris Barris Garrus dropped ‘Fallout 3 Is Garbage, And Here’s Why,’ nine years ago.

Thing is, if you’re not in the trans community, or at least not living next to it because they have all the good electronic music, you might not know that Fallout New Vegas is notorious for being a game beloved by trans women. This renown is a meme unto itself, a joke about being into Fallout New Vegas being a gateway to the experience of being a trans woman.

Now, I position myself as both an investigator of games, and I also serve what I think is a valuable purpose which is being up to several trans people’s token cis friend. This lets me return from the hidden city then explain their mystic secrets to the normies, in the hopes that you won’t ask them annoying questions.I thought, equipped with this understanding, I could, this Pride Month, explain why all trans women love Fallout New Vegas:

They don’t, largely.

Oh, sure, there are trans women who are fans of Fallout New Vegas. A bunch of them! And they tend to describe ideas in Fallout New Vegas that excite them, it tends to be things like:

I get to shoot Matthew Perry in the face.

The story is all constructed such that everyone’s story is somehow ensnared with the dam.

There is a meaningful dialectic between Caesar’s Legion and his own ideology.

You can do drugs and shoot baddies.

Cazadors are amazing.

The courier has a backstory, has a meaningful life and narrative that you have to reconstruct through play.

Cazadors suck.

The final building is exciting and beautiful and engaging.

Spurs go Jingle Jingle

The idea that the Las Vegas strip is the kind of thing that survives our worst and is darkly funny and what we deserve.

There’s an anti-nuclear thread running throughout the whole story.

There’s more. When I compose a list of this kind of thing reflecting on feedback, I’m typically trying to collapse together similar responses, and there really isn’t a lot of commonality between these unless you start to get really broad. And when you get that broad, what it tends to come down to is:

It’s an enjoyable game and I find it engaging.

What’s more there’s some feedback I got that doesn’t match the feedback given. Now, I did ask explicitly only to trans readers to respond to this question, so I have assumed that everyone who responded did, but normally, when I ask a question like ‘what’s something about this game that excites you’ and you find a way to structure your answer to be a dunk on the question or complaining about something unrelated, I think of that as not answering the question and not being helpful.

But still, in the sense of completeness we also got:

The game is buggy and I don’t like it

The game didn’t leave an impression on me

I’ve never played the game

And okay, was this what you were expecting? These are all pretty distinct opinions, some fine enough to be about individual mobs in the game, some are about the story structure, some are about vibes of the space, and some are uuuh just about the sheer enjoyment you can get out of shooting racists while high off your face.

Every explanation I’ve heard from trans people about why they personally like Fallout New Vegas has been specifically about liking the game as a game. Not as a piece of Trans Media, something in the canon from some sort of Trans Authority. It’s not even a game with a blatant expression of Trans Rights – you can turn the lens of this game pretty easily to see it making fun of ‘man in a dress’ narratives, if you want. You can play the whole game and never find the character I’m referencing here, which means it’s obviously way less prominent than Cazadores or the Dam or Nuclear Bombs.

This is the middle of the video, and a natural break between its two major thesese, so, in honour of the runner TomatoAnus here, I’d like to say, as he would, that I hope you’re doing well. If you’re not, then please remember, as always, that there is a tomorrow and that no feeling is final.

No matter what’s going on, it cannot take that away from you. How you’re feeling does not define you, and I do know that it feels like what’s going on is all there will ever be. But that isn’t the case. It happens little by little, so small you likely won’t notice day-to-day, but someday in the future you’ll be able to look back and see how far you’ve come.

You’ll see that where you’re at now, well, it’s just that. Where you are, rather than who you are. There is so much more to you than how you’re feeling, and you’re so much stronger than you realize.

Please keep that in mind.

Back to the point about the idea of Fallout New Vegas as a game that has a particular following amongst trans women. See, I think the idea that trans women love Fallout New Vegas is a great opportunity to explain what we call a kind of floating signifier.

A floating signifier is a term for ‘a reference without a referent.’ That is, it’s a term that doesn’t have a specific, actual thing it’s referring to. The easiest example I can point to is money. While we’re probably all familiar with money, there’s nothing that money represents that actually exists. Bills and coins and bank balances all reference money, but those aren’t money; money is a system, a shared fiction that we all accept exists. If everyone tomorrow decided to not partake in the shared, communal idea of money, then nothing disappears – there’s no Money Creature that starves because it’s not getting any fairy dust or belief or something.

That’s not to say a floating signifier is a meaningless term. It’s more like an empty box that we primarily understand because of the things we have put into that box. Even if that box is full of things that doesn’t mean the box has any inherent qualities of its own. When we talk about an elephant for example, elephants are things that exist outside of our human heads, so we can go check and see if an elephant is something. On the other hand, there are a host of very normal human social experiences that we need to refer to for one another, but which have no basis outside of the shared fictional space of Humans Talk About This Thing.

(Like Gender, for example.)

Lots of people like Fallout New Vegas. It’s not a secret mysterious cult hit. It doesn’t need special trans significance to be a beloved game in the trans community. Coming out in the right chunk of time for a community with common interests means that of course a bunch of them would relate to it. Since the game is good, and people like to talk about this game they enjoy, and the game has modding, and the game has a shared common conversation (a discourse), that means you’re inevitably going to get The Trans People Who Like Fallout New Vegas, who talk to one another. They notice it’s a thing, they notice one another, they share common space, and in so doing, a meme forms. You might as well point out the common thread of trans women using Windows 7, because in the same general band of time they probably did.

(Not all trans women run Linux boxes.)

(I mean, of the four I immediately thought of in my friend space, they do. But not all of them.)

The meme that trans women love Fallout New Vegas is based on the meme that trans women love Fallout New Vegas. Stating the meme, sharing the meme, is not about a scientific fact, but rather it’s a matter of representing that you are aware of that meme, just like if someone’s coming up Milhouse. It’s a cultural marker, something that shows that you are in on this specific joke.

Now, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but memes are not particularly complicated things to understand – as a discipline, that is. They’re sticky, which isn’t the same thing as clever. Sometimes people think a meme is like a punchline or an image, but really, what a meme is, is a unit of communication. A meme transmits meaning, and that meaning needs to be shareable. You might already be familiar with some memes like this, such as, y’know, words. The purpose of memes is not to be explanatory in and of themselves, but to be useful for explanation. The fancy term we use for this, in describing a network of memes with related meanings that indicate a communal space, a sort of ‘meme dialect’ that a community holds to, is the word memeplex. A memeplex can be seen as a specific set of memes you get that indicate a shared space of meaning, in almost any fandom.

(In cult studies, they call it ‘distinguishable vernacular!’)

There is another thing here.

It’s what I think of as permissive diagnostics.

The nature of being trans is often an end point of a series of conversations with the self and with others that are entirely about undoing a series of mental hurdles that are meant to stop trans people from considering themselves trans. Some folks have rock-solid ironclad long-term considerations of their gender in one way, but for some folk it’s a lot more complicated.

Maybe you think ‘I would be a trans woman, but’ or ‘I mean, if I was a trans woman I’d be unhappy because I wouldn’t be attractive’ or ‘man, I’m jealous of trans women getting to solve something so simple about themselves,’ and those thoughts are often part of this same trapping matrix of ideas. These are things that trans folk often wind up talking about, after the fact, looking back on themselves later and going, ‘wow, it was really obvious and I didn’t notice, huh?‘

And look.

Maybe there’s no special reason trans women love Fallout New Vegas, but maybe you love Fallout New Vegas because you’re a trans women. And if that sounds like incoherent nonsense to you, then don’t worry about it.

It’s not a message for or about you.

Maybe next time I’ll do a long form video on how Doom Eternal explains the way that so many trans dudes own a short-sleeved collared blue shirt with a repeating pattern of small white dots on it.

If you made it to the end of this video, thank you so much and also thank you especially to TomatoAnus who gave me permission to use this footage without knowing if I’d do a good job of this video or not. I’ve been a fan of his channel for years and even copying his scripts like this as a bit is a reminder of how thoughtfully put together his work is and the level of attention to detail he takes in delivering excellent explainers.

If Fallout New Vegas speedruns interest you at all, or speedrun explainers do, you should check out his channel, and if being trans is a thing that interests you, you should check out your local informed consent clinic, and seek out your nearby queer community because we all need to stand together these days.

And a huge thank you to my Patrons for helping make this video possible. My Patrons don’t get anything at all out of being my Patrons which is why it’s so amazing to me that they bother to spend any money to encourage me to keep doing the things I do on the internet to give them things to read and watch in the moments before the workday really kicks in and nobody notices them scrolling on their phone having a coffee.

I know that things are super uncertain right now though, so please don’t feel compelled to support.

It’s greatly appreciated but not at all necessary.

And that’s what makes you all so so special.

Thank you all, truly.

That’s all for this video though.

This was a video article about Trans Women and Fallout New Vegas and you learned the word memeplex and the term floating signifier, all told in the style of Tomatoanus. I’ve been Talen Lee, and I hope you have an above average day.

[endivinity]

WOUGH okay so the premise all started because of the way I play FO4 on survival which is about as long and arduous as this post. it's ALL in settlement building and most of my mods reflect this. I play that shit like minecraft. I'll chuck some screenshots at the end

the more you think about it, the less plausible it is for a soldier or a lawyer respectively to have ANY idea about the fine tuning of crafting a fusion generator or a water purifier, let alone know how to construct a pre-broken window pane. None of the wood is useable - there's no amount of fantasy that can make me believe a whole bed can be constructed out of two pencils and a pack of cigarettes. Realistically - the resources need to come from somewhere. I've also read critiques about how the commonwealth hasn't progressed for two centuries (which, part of this is because of how Bethesda handles the Fallout franchise vs the established societies in 1 and 2. for the record i LOATHED 3 and am very firmly a new vegas bitch). They're still living in Diamond City surrounded by piles of trash and the rest of the NPC settlements are canonically wiped out or basically considered the dregs (Goodneighbor, the Children of Atom, charitably the Atom Cats; Quincy and University Point, etc). They live off scavenging for trash and components that are somehow still lying around untouched. Most of this is because the game wants you to use this cool mechanic they've introduced and to feel like you're rebuilding the wasteland with your bare hands, and you get your pick of a huge scope of lands to build on, and the appearance of actual civilisation suffers for it. Nobody lives there. Realistically, you're going to build up one or two really good settlements and the rest are barebones or empty.

Jake (probably has a longer name. it's never mentioned) is a civil engineer who has combat training and survival know-how for funsies and by the cusp of the great war her department had enough downsizing that she was taking on the work of coworkers who had been "let go" (executed for thought crimes), so she knows some stuff about blueprinting things other than major city infrastructure, at least enough to delegate or make suggestions. She also stirred the pot and got higher-ups very angry at her and was punitively assigned to marriage and domesticity in Sanctuary Hills. Most importantly, she's not related to the family that have the kid. Nate gets shot and Nora suffocates in cryo.

She enters a world that perplexes her specifically because nothing has progressed for two hundred years, but through very very careful investigation she finds out that something or someone is actively interfering with any attempts to settle and develop. There's an intensive spying network going on and she has to figure out what's safe, who's safe, how the raider groups are able to be raiding year-round without dying of starvation because they're certainly not farming, how to build and manage and educate her new settlements without tripping the local spy network, how to set up trade convoys for lumber and concrete without tripping the local spy network OR instigating the raider gangs that systematically wiped out the convoys in the first place, and how to source parts for this goddamn water purifier schematic while not dying to super-radstorms or a really big wild hog. She customarily fights with a knife (Throatslicer); she's proficient at sniping and occasionally uses a plasma sniper or a gauss rifle.

Deacon is her story companion because of the 'friend' RR sign above the vault. Guy's been spying from the get-go. But because Jake's super paranoid and realistically, he has no way of knowing who you are because you aren't stupid and bald and wearing a pair of signature sunglasses, he loses her the moment she ditches the vault suit at the Abernathys'; half of his part of the story is trying to find out what happened to her, why the institute was involved in the vault at all (and increasingly wild theories about how she's a synth plant), and who this weirdass woman is who's suddenly taking over the trade routes, and talk of new settlements that's kept so hush-hush he can't even crack the secrets with his super believable caravan hand outfit.

Eventually Jake realizes she's in way over her head trying to manage settlements and hunts down the Railroad to ask for help, which... they're very downsized. They're basically a skeleton crew. I have no idea how they suddenly have all those heavies at the battle of bunker hill or the castle or whatever the fuck. So they can't and/or won't help her, and it comes down to Deacon to make an executive decision over what he thinks is going to be longterm better for the wasteland and the synth populations, and when weighing up the options between this cool lady who never shows her face and creeps around spiderman-style to sever a gunner's spinal cord and wants to crack the Institute wide open, or being trapped in a crypt with Carrington and successfully exfiltrating one synth every three months, the decision is obvious

and since you made it this far here's some shots of builds I've worked on. My main base at Egret Tours; Sanctuary Hills after I removed all the shitass housing for funsies; Murkwater Construction with incredibly poor navmeshing; my other main at Dalton Farm. yes my save file hates me

[simpfortheseven]

Randomly saw your post asking for lads fic requests so I'm shooting my shot! Can I get some exhausted Rafayel that is rlly barely holding it together (and let's say he still has stuff to do like an exhibition opening or deadline the next day) and MC taking care of him?

(If u want to ofc!) <3

Ahhh my inbox got FLOODED but i love the soft and tender fluff of taking care of someone stressed

Summary: Rafayels showcase opens tomorrow! Except there's a major problem..

As you tidied up the studio you glanced over at your boyfriend, Rafayel, who was currently yelling at someone over the phone. It was most likely Thomas, he was the only one Rafayel ever got mad at. Your boyfriend was normally calm, and riding the waves of life with a smile. But he took his art seriously.

“I don’t care, just find them!” Rafayel says as he hangs up the phone. He plops down on the couch, laying down and looking up at the ceiling.

“Honey?” You ask gently. “What happened?”

“They lost the entire collection. The truck is gone, they can’t find it,” Rafayel says bleakly.

“Oh my gosh-“ You sit next to him. “Honey, I’m so sorry,”

“I don’t have time to mope,” He sighs and stands. “I need to go have a virtual meeting with the gallery director about the lighting. The lighting for the paintings that won’t be there,”

Normally his sarcastic comments make you chuckle, but his face was giving away his true mood. Rafayel heads to his desk to get on the video call, and you're left stumped. You could go to the showcase and find the paintings, but you're sure that there's already so many staff looking. You could make food, but Rafayel needed more that a quick hit of food induced dopamine. Rafayel needed a solution.

You grab a nearby blank canvas. It was a small canvas, 10 x 8, but you weren't sure you could get anything bigger done in time. While Rafayel normally does oil glazing in his paintings, he had other paints. You settle on acrylics, their fast drying time being the better option.

You get to work, making something, anything that can hang in the showcase on Rafayel's behalf. An abstract painting with lines and curves, splatters, you put your love of him into every stroke.

As soon as it's done, you grab a hair dryer. You blast it on high, trying to get it to dry so you can seal it. Before you can, Rafayel comes in.

"Cutie-?" He tilts his head, looking at you quizzically. "What are you doing?"

"I made you something," You turn it around slowly. "It's not done yet, so don't judge.."

He looks it up and down, opening his mouth and then closing it. It's as if he cant find the words to describe the feeling in his heart.

"You made this for me?" He says quietly. His eyes are full of adoration as he looks over at you.

"Yes," You look down and mumble. "I thought it might be a good replacement for the work that went missing. I know its nothing like what you made, and its not big, and-"

"I love it," He cuts you off with a hug. "Its perfect, wonderful even!"

You sink into the hug sighing softly. Seeing him in a better mood makes your heart melt.

"You really have the best ideas, Cutie," He smiles, kissing your forehead. "I'll make it the center of my collection at the showcase! But wait, they cant keep this one, it's got to come back and be hung up here! I'll find the perfect place and buy a spot light!"

"Wait- the center? I thought they were all gone?"

"Oh yeah, they found all the paintings," He smiles cheerily at you. "But I'm not really worried about them."

"..You could have started with that, Honey,"

[denial-permanente]

Hello Mrs Edge and Tom. I don't have an account here so I'm using my husband's. I am the "ebony goddess wife" of KC. You posted his message here a few weeks ago.

I want to echo what he said about your blog being so helpful to me (to both of us really). When he showed me this chastity stuff I was turned off by just about everything I saw and I really did not want to think about my husband as a sissy or abused or anything like that. I have read a lot of your answers to questions and I love how you have made chastity about your husband's devotion and not just some kinky sex thing. That is where I am hoping to bring our marriage. Also I am guessing it must be Tom who picks out the pictures but it really has been nice to see images of regular looking black women (and Asian, Indian, etc) and not images that look like cartoons. They help me feel more comfortable about seeing myself the way my husband sees me.

I did want to comment about the crazy changes that have been happening to me for the past few years. I go from feeling cold to getting hot flashes that make me want to tear off my clothes and not in a good way. And I don't "feel like myself" anymore. I want to be intimate with my husband but sometimes I can't even stand the thought of having sex.

I go from feeling guilty for keeping him locked to thinking that if I feel this bad then maybe he should too! lol I've read the questions from other women in "no penetration" marriages. I had no idea that this was a thing until recently but now I understand why. The few times I have tried are just uncomfortable and don't really do anything for me for some reason.

Sometimes when I feel like an orgasm would make me feel better I do make him worship my pussy. It also helps to keep him interested which helps make me feel less guilty about leaving him locked up all the time. I also remind him that he asked for this but I have to admit that he rarely complains.

I am happy to see that you still get pleasure from PIV and you still allow your husband to get pleasure from intercourse although I'm not sure how much pleasure he gets if he has to wear a strap on lol. But I am seriously wondering if I will ever feel like having sex again - I mean intercourse - with my husband. If you have any advice on getting through this I think it would be helpful to a lot of us! lol

Thank you for following up on your husband's post. I totally understand what you mean by you "don't feel like yourself." My change came a bit earlier than most, and it was several years of hot flashes, night sweats, cold spells, and crazy appetite swings. Nothing felt right, and I started gaining weight. My doctor says that my metabolism slowed way down, I was tired, and the last thing I wanted was my husband bothering me for intimate time. When you are not comfortable in your own skin it's just so hard to relax and enjoy intimacy.

It really did take several years for me to get past the perimenopause and have things start settling down. Yes, my husband was locked up for most of it, not that he really needed to be because sex just was not on the table (or anywhere else 😆) anyway. I don't want to say that he was "locked and forgotten" but honestly he might as well have been. A few times I did offer that he just unlock the cage and take it off, more out of sympathy or pity or something. To his credit he remained caged on his own.

When I finally started feeling better, we did get back to intercourse and foxing. Fortunately I did not get the vaginal pain that so many women get after menopause. However, things were definitely different. My lubrication was very thin, and I would get sore more easily. We went through different lubes (and now we us organic coconut butter from Trader Joes lol). Oh, and I'm a lot more prone to UTIs. I used to think it was the vixskin, but boiling and disinfecting didn't help. My gyno told me that it was a common condition, and she gave me some antibiotics which I take a dose of whenever we have sex.

Now, if you are not enjoying intercourse and your gyno can't make any suggestions, it's okay. You already keep your husband locked, so he has already learned... or is learning... how to manage his own libido and how to turn his energy into pleasing you instead of worrying about his own orgasm. This is why I tell women who message me that they do not need to feel guilty about this change in your sex life. He asked for this... to be locked and for you to take charge. This is one of those things that happen in life that you have no control over, so all you can do is control how you deal with the situation.

I am learning that there are more "no penetration" marriages than I ever would have guessed, and while a lot of them are done out of some kind of kinky game, some of them, like yours are more because Mother Nature was not kind. If this is the way you are leaning, please remember that your husband wants all the best for you. You can still reward him with your hands or by letting him rub himself on you (he must have a favorite place lol), and then lock him back up. Or you can use a vibrator to help take the pressure off of him. If you have read some of the other women's stories that have written in, some men find the idea of being denied penetration to be a turn on.

Finally, please keep an open mind. You may come out of this once again being able to enjoy intercourse, at least, when you start feeling somewhat normal... or rather, when all these things that are happening start settling down. And there are a lot of resources and articles for you to check online. You may not feel better about it but at least you'll know that you are not alone. Best of luck hon and let me know how you're doing.

[nordsea-horizons]

hey, i just checked out your nixie island and like... how? you've probably been asked this before, but how on earth did you get so good at it? did you follow tutorials for terraforming? follow inspiration pictures? i always get really stuck terraforming and end up spending hours on one small chunk. how fast do you usually work on things? like.. just how!

hi, thank you for visiting nixie🍃 its def a hard question to answer, bc the main thing is just practice i think? ive done so many islands in this game its only natural i’d get better and better at making my ideas come to live, i promise you i did not start out like that at all! however i do have a few things ive actively done, since i also like challenges in themes and terraforming projects. So i can at least share that!

• making a plan ahead of time, a drawing or just in your mind(or an inspo picture from anothers island maybe) - and having a focus point! like if you wanna make a viewpoint you set up the whole build around that one tree in the distance that you wanna be able to see in the end and make sure you build everything else around it with that goal in mind(in general doing a small test build of layout before commiting has helped me a lot)

• checking out da’s with the kind of terraforming you want and looking at the creators maps! it can be hard to see how a build is made by just walking on an island but you can see a lot of the actual layout from the dream address map! for example on nixie i did a sunken landbridge..

so if you wanted to do a similar thing you could take inspiration directly from the way i made the double inclines or maybe the amount of space needed or whatever gives you trouble? (for my first forest island i had to do this for a sunken pathway bc i just couldnt picture exactly how much space i needed to clear in order to fit in everything)

but also just give it a go without holding back! you can always take it down again after all? all my final posts never reveal how many times i had to redo an area or that one time i ran out of space and had to move the entire build two spaces forward and almost ragequit animal crossing😅 it really is something you can practice and everyone works differently! and for massive builds and stuff like that, there were likely a lot more struggle than it seems behind it✨

[tawghasa]

I endorse all of this.

I had to change careers in my early 30s (grant-gunded research scientist + four years of no grants in my speciality = redundancy with no hiring opportunities). Here are a few things I learned from that journey:

Consider doing the same job for a different employer. I spent 5 years working for a lab that, in retrospect, had a really terrible workplace culture. I got a position in another lab in the same institute, and the experience was a LOT better.

(It was still rough at times, due to the bullshit I had internalised clashing with similar bullshit my lab supervisor had internalised. But I cried in the bathrooms WAY less.)

There can be a LOT of jobs that are tangentially related to your current job, that no one in your current job is really aware of. Or if they are aware, they overestimate the barriers to getting there.

(E.g., I moved from medical research into intellectual property. I assumed that you would need some kind of legal background for that... But nope!)

On a related note, be sceptical of any career advice you get from people at your hell-job. If they haven't gotten out themselves, they are sharing conjecture, not facts.

Most people have bad resumes and weak cover letters/responses to selection criteria. I highly recommend checking out Askamanager.org, in particular this masterpost of advice for resumes and cover letters. Alison also has a guide for preparing for job interviews that I've used with success (it's free when you sign-up to her mailing list. I think I've gotten maybe two e-mails in the six years since I signed up to get the free pdf).

Being older can be a benefit in the workplace. Some recent hires at my job are in their 50s, and were REALLY surprised they made the cut... But they both have so much experience under their belts, they're very familiar with the norms of a 9-to-5 job, etc. (They're also less likely to look for another job before they retire than younger hires.)

Also, you just know more stuff. You have more experience in having a job, talking to people, doing things. You have more years under your belt of troubleshooting, finding easier workflows, cleaning up messes.

E.g., I hated my time in retail but I know a LOT about how to talk to people: how to give someone bad news without them yelling at me, how to tell them they stuffed up without them yelling at me, how to tell them I stuffed up without them yelling at me...

I have an excellent phone manner and a "customer-centric commitment to issue resolution" which has been a huge asset in both of my post-retail careers - but neither of those jobs had any kind of intentional training/mentoring in those areas! Those are skills I developed in THE shittiest supermarket in South Australia while developing bone damage in my feet because I was standing for 10 hours a day.

A few other bits of advice:

It's hard to be productive outside of work when you work a terrible job that is corroding your soul. It's hard to write a good resume/apply to further education/whatever when you hate your job and you're exhausted and everything is pointless. Don't beat yourself up if it takes longer than you'd like to get anything done.

Make things easier for yourself by asking for/accepting help. Use the Ask A Manager resources, ask friends and family (ideally ones who have jobs they like) to help you with your job search and your application materials.

(Are we mutuals? Do you want some help with a resume? Send me a DM. I can also hop on a Discord call and chat with you about interview prep and technique.)

Try to start prepping now, BEFORE the dream opportunity crosses your path. It's easier to have an up-to-date master resume that you can tailor to the role, than to scramble to pull one together the night applications close.

Reddit can actually be really helpful. There are subreddits for a lot of careers/industries, with posts every few months asking how to either break in or get out. They can also be a good place to ask what the day-to-day is like in a career you're thinking of switching to, which can help you identify any skills you already have that would be an asset/consider whether you'd enjoy the reality of the job. Keep in mind that it's all subjective, and no two people's experiences will be the same.

If you've read this far, try to find time to update your resume this weekend. Even if you like your current job. (That's usually the best time to look at other jobs - you're not desperate, so you're in a strong position to negotiate any offers.) Because if you've read this far through a thread about changing jobs/careers, you're probably interested on some level in doing the thing.

I’m thinking of doing a complete career switch- or at the very least, making an attempt to start it- and the idea is frightening for so many reasons- money, feeling like I’m behind, insecurity, family- but then i think of just sticking to the path I’m on and it sends me into a crying fit so. I think I’m going to have to be brave

Be brave! I changed industries at age 41 and it was so good for both my career and mental health.

It sounds silly to have to outright say, but if the thought of going to your current job makes you cry every day, it is time to LEAVE. You are not the first person I have had to give this advice to this week. The longer you stay in a dead-end job, the more your skills will rust and the inertia will drag you down.

It feels frightening, but you can get through the imposter syndrome by becoming a thorough note taker (assuming you are white collar, but a lot of this also applies to blue):

Capture every conversation you have

Immediately distill meetings and emails into to-do lists

Review your to-dos daily

Most importantly: write down your accomplishments, no matter how small, at the end of every week

Notes by hand helped me so much, and my little treat to keep going was to begin a fresh mini-notebook every 2 weeks, which I could decorate with ink stamps and washing tape. I used a different color gel pen every day, too. My notebooks were fun and super helpful with keeping me organized.

You will catch up soon enough. It sucks to be an older person in a junior role, but you will be more mature and hopefully adept at handling work drama. I hit senior at age 47 after doing my time, and now I'm pretty indistinguishable from the folks who beat me here.

People aren't meant to do the same thing for all their lives, if it means sacrificing other opportunities. It's ok to say goodbye to a career or hobby or whatever else, to make room for something new. Don't feel guilty sampling from life. Specialization is for insects.

[willothewispwisteriadawn]

I posted this on Reddit a LONG time ago. But here are my Until Dawn headcanons!

Josh's medical file saying he had incidents at school: I think they were based on emotional outbursts, but I also headcanon that he got in violent altercations with kids if he caught them picking on Hannah (for being shy and a little odd) or Chris (for being nerdy). He just went into angry big brother mode.

I think, in the past, that Mike and Matt tended to hang out a lot since they're guys, and Chris and Josh more hung out with each other. But, during the year between lodge visits, Chris and Mike began hanging out more. Chris was starting to need breaks from the everything going on with Josh, and Mike and Matt started to get a little awkward due to girl drama.

Josh wants Chris and Ashley to get together for these reasons: A) because he wants to see Chris win B) he finds the relationship kind of cool and cinematic C) while he's impressed by Mike's rizz, he's also annoyed at him for cycling through the girls in their group, particularly because of what happened to Hannah, and wants to prevent Mike from getting with anyone else D) I'm stealing this from someone, but Josh became aware of Sam's mom trying to set Sam up with Chris and is unhappy with that since he subconsciously likes Sam.

Chris's parents are doctors/nurses who work long shifts, and that's partially how he started spending a lot of time with tech and getting interested in it.

Chris's parents are well-off and will get him nice electronics for his birthday and Christmas, but are really against spoiling him so--the rest of the year--they make him buy pretty much all his own stuff with money he earned.

Emily and Jessica became close because of their interest in the fashion industry. They had really big dreams involving Jess being a famous model, and Emily being a well-known fashion editor. They used to have a spa night once a year where they watched *The Devil Wears Prada* (They are both very adamant that the Emily in that film is the best character, and they quote her all the time).

Ashley and Chris started studying together because Ashley is a whiz at English/literature and Chris is a whiz at math, and they joke about how they're now unstoppable because they tutor each other in their weaker areas.

Matt is not much of a reader, but Ashley got him hooked on faerie romances with girlboss characters, and they started meeting (subtly because neither of them want it to be public that they love this type of literature) to rave about the books. Matt listens to the audiobooks while he's working out. Chris started to catch onto the fact Matt/Ashley talk a lot, and he is internally a bit worried about it.

Bob and Melinda Washington adore Sam and Chris, because they were honestly a little concerned about Hannah and Josh developing good friendships. They don't like Mike much and, after the prank, they tried to cut him out of their lives and were not happy Josh wanted to invite him back up to the lodge but eventually relented. They are also a bit wary about Emily and Jess, but not as much as Mike.

Beth always picks the movie when the Washington siblings have little movie nights in their home theater. This is because Hannah and Josh have polar opposite tastes in films.

Emily keeps saying she's going to give Chris a make-over because he has no style, and she views this “as a challenge befitting of her skills and superior taste.” She's kind of insulting about it, and Chris gets very annoyed/defensive while also kind of getting that Emily doesn't actually dislike him and says some of this in fondness.

Sam is a bit of a big-sister figure to Ashley. She likes doting on her, because she views Ashley as sweet and sensitive.

Sam has another group of friends that she rock-climbs with.

Chris really loves sleeping and is always the first person to fall asleep on voice chat or at parties. He's a deep sleeper and sets like five different alarms. However, he also periodically games late at night (with the help of many energy drinks) so he specifically avoided signing up for any college classes before 11am so that he can sleep for most of the morning.

Chris got the group together for a D&D campaign (Btw, he references D&D at the seance). The following happened: Josh ended up moving it over to his house because he built a really cool setup for it, Sam was always the one to defuse fights, Emily complained about how stupid it was but was also really good at it (and opinionated about it), Josh kept trying to seduce monsters, Mike/Jess got obsessed with using "vicious mockery," Chris used NPCs to very subtly flirt with Ashley's character, and it all ended when Mike insisted they could take an enemy well above their levels--Emily's character died.

[faeritaboo]

wait sorry i'm genuinely confused, how does disagreeing with the fetishization of racism (raceplay) make you a racist? the logic is just not registering to me... shouldn't it be that the poc that are into raceplay the ones with internalized racism and the white participants who are into raceplay basically... just racists? honeslty i don't really understand where you're coming from as a woc myself bc how does opposing racism make you a racist 😭

well for one, her, a white person doesn’t have a right to tell poc how to cope with the racism they experience.

secondly, she also IMMEDIATELY started spreading lies abt me. idk where this rumour that im into raceplay came up bc im not.

thirdly, after i called her out on the fact she doesn’t have the right to tell poc how to cope, she started sprewing a whole bunch of bs and more evidently, shes ignored many poc who arent kissing her ass. and any she doesnt ignore she calls ragebait.

and an issue i have with her is also the fact she was mutuals with someone going on a racist rant, people sent her asks warning her of that mutual, she ignored it, but then someone else brought attention to it and now shes opposed to it.

her mutual also writes ddlg, so i find it hypocritical and a bit gross for her to complain and harass people who write sexist!rafe. if theres any type of dddne trope you wouldnt approve of, i find it odd that it wouldnt be ddlg.

whenever something small happens, she jumps on a hate train towards that person and takes advantage of her following to get them harassed more without even knowing the full situation. that happened before with a writer who was accused of copying fics(she wasnt).

and, yes theres even more i can add, whenever someone states a fair opinion of sexist!rafe and their opinion, she ignores it. she whines about hate but being rude is the only way she’ll acknowledge you. if she does respond to you it’s immaturely.

im used to immaturity in this fandom, but rina seems older so maybe she should act her age.

she loves to whine about whats going on in the world but what is she doing to help? i’m an idva and i regularly volunteer at shelters for abused women. i donate to shelters and programs for people struggling. i support palestine etc. i revolve my life around helping people she’s trying to ‘defend’ but because i occasionally write stuff that helps me but she disagrees with im a terrible person?? maybe she should stop posting on tumblr every hour and go actually help bc harassing writers on tumblr doesnt. hell if she wants to post every hour instead of posting hate post actual awareness.

[sos-gone-deeper]

I Could Be A Good Mother (Travis Martinez x Reader) (Part 4 - Final Part)

Part 3

Winter is gone, and spring brings new beginnings, new people, and new memories in the wilderness. Post rescue, you and Travis adapt to your new life together.

Notes:

- More talk of childbirth in this chapter

- Takes place during season 3? or maybe a little bit before it, and also a larger time jump towards the end.

- I've said it once but this isn't accurate to the plot at all lol

- I didn't name the baby because I literally did not know what to choose lmao

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Winter was harsh. There was no denying it. After what had become of Jackie, everyone worried for the day that the cold got to them. Especially when the cabin burned down.

But winter finally left, and when it did it left you with a new purpose. A new purpose that only came after tireless pushing, angrily yelling at Mari who was joking too much for your liking, and squeezing Travis' hand until you were sure you'd broken it. You'd nearly done the same as Shauna did and passed out. You didn't let yourself slip away until you heard the baby cry, and even then you were afraid that in this scenario, passing out could lead to you dying.

So there you laid on the floor of yours and Travis' makeshift hut, feeling the worst you ever had but also somehow the best. Javi was waiting outside somewhere, and you'd only let a few of the girls come in. While Misty tended to you, you tried to stay awake by listening to the girls talk to your baby in an effort to soothe it. Travis was holding the baby, but his eyes weren't leaving you.

"It's a girl." Misty said. "She looks like you."

She was beautiful. You remember that being your first thought when Travis put the baby in your arms. And she really did look like you, just so much more tiny. You were so in love.

And so was Travis. All the restless nights and blood that had been shed melted away, and for a moment it was just him, you, and the baby, not a care in the world.

Everyone loved her, especially Javi. He got over his whole 'I wish it was a boy' mindset the second he held her. He carried her all over, showing her the people, the surroundings. Van and Tai would help by taking turns holding her on the nights where it felt impossible to calm her down. Akilah would hold her bunnies up to the baby, smiling at the giggles that escaped as her tiny hands grabbed at the bunny's ears.

Travis was obviously the most in love, other than you. It was hard for you to connect this Travis back to the grumpy Travis that was always sitting in the bleachers, either watching with a grimace or studying the ground, the Travis that claimed to hate the Yellowjackets. He was constantly asking if you were okay, if you needed him to take her. He carried her everywhere in the sling he had made from some old clothes, patting the top of her head every now and then. He'd splash with her in the lake as you washed clothes nearby, watching and laughing. And on the off chance that he wasn't completely engulfed by her, he would be clinging to you, kissing all over your face, following you as you did chores, practically stuck to you.

You were really starting to enjoy yourself out there. Sure, it was dirty still, and you were still hungry and desperately waiting for rescue, but you were starting to enjoy life again. Being postpartum meant you couldn't do much heavy lifting, and you couldn't stray far from your baby, so you helped Akliah with the animals. It felt nice to have something to keep you busy. You really started to appreciate the little moments of the life you were starting to build: midday naps in the hammock where all 3 of you managed to sleep at once (a rare occurrence), Javi playing with her the best he could while you and Travis tried to get stuff done around camp, watching her laugh as Lottie gently baptized her. Lottie insisted, much to your dismay. "I don't want the wilderness freak dipping my baby in the lake." You'd said to Natalie at dinner after Lottie brought the idea up.

One night, after a particularly good day, Travis was holding the baby while you worked on stitching a hole in a blanket. The sun was starting to set, and you two were the only ones currently around the campfire.

"I want to get away from this." Travis said out of nowhere.

"Me too." You said, still working at the blanket.

"She deserves a real home in the real world. You deserve that."

"Well so do you." You were quick to say. You turned to face him, and tried not to melt over the way his big arms were so gently holding your tiny daughter.

"Well, when we get rescued, what do you want? I mean, where do you want to live? What kind of house?" Travis asked.

"I don't care how big it is, just enough room for the three of us. I want a dog- no, two dogs. And a farm with lots of animals. And I want to be close to home." You knew these things were probably unrealistic to want. Neither of you had finished high school, and your return to the real world was surely gonna be a lot harder than anticipated. But in the moment, you just let yourself think about what you really wanted.

Travis decided that night that he would make it happen. And he did.

The following years were strange, to say the least. Cameras following you everywhere you went. Trying to relearn how to fit in with society while also learning how to be parents. A lot of the Yellowjackets lost touch. Lottie was in the hospital, Nat was in rehab, Shauna got married (You and Travis attending, of course), and the rest of the girls were out there, somewhere, struggling. But you never forgot them, never forgot the pain you all went through together.

The stormy weather was done and over with, and you realized that sitting on the porch one night. The sunset was painting the sky purple and pink, and Travis was in the chicken coop, pulling a baby chick up into the pocket of his overalls. Your daughter was waiting patiently next to you on the porch swing, her legs kicking back and forth. Javi and Travis' mom had left at the same time your parents did, thanking you for the Friday night dinners at your house that they hold so dear.

"Hold your hands out." Travis said, sitting on the other side of her. The chick spilled out of his pocket and into his hands, helping your gentle toddler hold it.

You spent a lot of time admiring your family, especially in moments like this. Travis was glowing, strong from finally having a balanced diet again, and you could see his personality being lit up again the longer you were away from the wilderness. And your daughter, who was growing up faster than you had anticipated, was the light of everyone's life, always reminding you that there was good in the bad.

You were so used to being just content that you often were worried this wasn't real, and you'd wake up in that cabin, afraid and sullen.

But this was real. And both you and Travis were perfectly okay with this. Just the three of you, in this big house with a farm, filled with constant laughter and love.

That night, after the whole farm was asleep in their pens and barns, Travis came inside to find the downstairs empty, but the nursery lit up with the dim nightlight. You were pacing back and forth in your daughter's room, patting her back and singing Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. The song brought Travis back to that fall night, watching you sing to Javi. He stood in the doorway, smiling gently, watching as you gently laid the girl in her crib.

Travis often found himself thinking that his first dream about you was some sort of prophecy, and in a way, maybe it was. The house. The baby girl. Everything had come true, in some way.

You nudged him out of the doorframe, quietly shutting the door behind you.

"I always liked hearing you sing that song." Travis said, taking your hand in his. He ran his thumb over your knuckles, catching on the wedding band you wore. It wasn't the biggest diamond, Jeff had pointed out at his and Shauna's wedding, but Travis knew you never cared about those material things.

"Oh, believe me, I know." You said, kissing him.

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Yay final part! So sorry for how long it took me to write this my life got super hectic and I also hit writers block lol. I also don't rlly know how I feel about this chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy!!