#so I'm moving stuff smallest to largest

[peony-pearl]

Slowly moving out means putting up the important stuff first

[justkidneying]

Coloboma and Other Pupil Shapes

I saw a post about a photo similar to the one above, asking if it was photoshop or real. Both that photo and the one above are both real images, and I'll explain to you what is going on with those pupils, as well as some interesting stuff about various pupil shapes we can see in mammals.

Coloboma

This is a condition where the choroidal fissure of the optic stalk does not close completely during development. Basically, your eyes are a protrusion of your brain, and when the optic cup sticks out, it has a slit in it. If it doesn't close, parts of your iris, retina, optic disk, or eyelid. Most of the time, the iris is what is affected and the person has normal visual acuity.

Because the ring of the iris is incomplete (and usually shaped like a keyhole), this person cannot constrict their pupils the normal amount. I have a post about pupillary constriction and dilation here. The person may be overly sensitive to light. There's a surgery to correct the defect, or some people wear colored contact lenses to make up for the missing piece.

You can see coloboma on its own, or with another condition like Patau Syndrome (Trisomy 13), Cat Eye Syndrome (too many copies of chromosome 22), or CHARGE Syndrome (a set of congenital defects).

Now onto the other pupil shapes that aren't round cause I'm an animal science major.

Vertical Pupils

These are seen in small cats, foxes, hyenas, etc. Mostly ambush predators that are active at night and dusk. Vertical pupils are helpful for night vision. The difference in area from the smallest pupil size to the largest pupil size in humans is about 10x as small. In contrast, a cat's pupils vary by about 135x the area. This means that cats can have massive pupils for nighttime, but shrink them down small enough to not be blinded by light during the day.

There's a few theories on how vertical pupils help visual acuity, as they are found mostly in a certain ecological niche, but a lot of these theories are either contradictory or complete dogshit. It seems like a lot of the authors (especially whoever wrote the Wikipedia page) need to take an introductory physics class to learn how light waves work and oscillate. But I will try to explain some things that actually have proof, and I'll link an article (here) that has all the math in it. This is all theory, so I apologize if something is incorrect or doesn't make sense.

So with a vertical pupil, depth is able to be perceived without moving the head through the use of stereopsis. They have a sharper image in the central vertical area of their field of view, and can use the differing blurs of the horizontal to assume depth. Vertical pupils are also more common in shorter animals, which can use the blurriness of the ground to estimate depth, instead of taller animals that might not have as much near ground to use as reference. So, we could say that a taller animal could still have use for vertical pupils, but for night vision, rather than depth perception (however this would not be the case for someone with coloboma, as their smallest pupil size is larger than the average human's smallest pupil size).

Horizontal Pupils

These are seen in horses, sheep, goats, etc. So basically prey animals for the most part. This shape may help these animals see horizontal fields more sharply and decrease glare from the sun.

It is theorized that they allow the animal to have a wider sharp view and still see well enough in front of them to move over rough ground quickly. Since most animals with vertical pupils have eyes on the side of their head, they have smaller blind spots. With horizontal pupils, the sharpness of the image in such a wide field of vision is more uniform that that if the animals had round pupils. This means a horse can see around it and where it is stepping with sharp enough vision to be useful.

Also, these horizontal pupils would be most useful if the pupil stayed level with the ground, meaning the eye would need to rotate as the pitch of the head increased or decreased. This is seen in many of these animals, that their eyes rotate to keep their pupil horizontal.

End Notes

This was a pretty fun post to do, and I hope it seemed like it flowed well to put these things together. I hope you guys know a little bit more about eyes. I love eyes. I could talk about them all day. Maybe I'll talk about some cool neuro/ocular stuff soon.

[jaderimehardt]

Remember when I mentioned in a previous post, that I ordered some additional hand-made molds from another supplier/website and they'd likely take 2-3 months to arrive? Well... they arrived yesterday and I was able to cast in them \o/

I demolded them just a bit ago and wow, I'm 100% going to be using these often 😊

This big bright pretty pink package with my new molds came from Resin Molds Express.

Originally, I went to their website with the intent to buy the lucky fortune bag that functions as a vase, but to use as a pencil holder, and I got super side tracked looking at other things 😅

I ended up purchasing this 2-set of bee molds which I think are insanely cute and now I can cast these + my bee coasters at the same time because the colors can cross over (making things simpler on me).

They threw in a freebie mold, which is the snowflake there ❄️. Honestly that's very fitting- I'm a December baby, lol 😋 and I loooove snowflake themes and designs. That was so lucky for me, I don't know how they knew or picked that one out 💝

The orbs... so that was a total derp on my part LOL. I thought I was ordering a small set of orbs, like, varying from sizes of a marble up to a golf ball or something like that. But instead I got these massive things haha. Whelp, I mean 🤷🏻‍♀️. It's not a horrible outcome, I'm just going to roll with it.

I can make some cool galaxy orbs, or clear orbs for Halloween, or maybe put some flowers inside as a display, or mini sceneries/environments, among other things. This orb set also came with a freebie display stand which I thought was generous on their part and actually sold me on getting the set in the first place.

The smallest one is a little larger than a marble, but these pictures show you some size comparisons. The one shown on the stand is the largest sphere mold of them all. The four largest spheres can sit on that stand without looking terribly disproportioned. Maybe pushing for biggest five. I'd have to cast them and fit them on that stand to say for sure, and even then it's a personal opinion, lol.

But let's move on to the things I've made today! 😊 ⤵️

Of course I started with all the bee things 🐝💛🖤🤍

I think I'm getting better with matching the color of honey 🍯. I'm much happier with how this set turned out, it's my favorite to date.

I also managed to get nearly no bubbles!

And I made a bunch of extras with my left over resin. Someday I'll figure out the exact amount for this stuff 🙃. I was close. I guesstimated 300ml for the coaster set and 200ml for the 2-set bee molds and still somehow had all this leftover resin, lol 😅 (so it's somewhere around 400-450ml for all the bee things)

A little leftover isn't bad, because I can make the butterfly and maybe another couple small pendants. But too much isn't great.

The small little bees were cute and I could have detailed them better but I wanted to see how they'd turn out with simply dropping metallic inks into them, so that's what you see here.

They're small and shallow enough that it'd be easy to make more of them with UV Resin, and I'll likely be doing that to make more.

I like this a lot because you can place these little bees on top of those small honeycombs to make it look like they're sitting on top of them, just doing what honeybees do 🐝🫶🏻

[commieshorny]

It's been a couple of months since the wedding and Amy has a new assignment.

That mornings briefing.

Captain Holt finish off the brief by saying, “Amy, I have a special assignment for you, so I need you to come into my office. I will also need you in my office, Peralta”. With that, Jake stood up and follow Amy and the captain in to his office. Holt Stranded next to his door, waiting for both of them to enter the office before closing the door and lowering the blinds. Then he spoke to the both of them when saying.

“Sergeant Santiago, I have an undercover assignment for you, and I am going to have Peralta be your handler, but I am going to need both of you to say yes to go ahead”.

Amy suddenly interrupted, “why does Jake need to agree to this”.

Holt waited for her to finish before continuing, “this assignment is about a brothel we are thinking is being run out of multiple strip clubs and the reason we don't storm them our goal is to take the men at the top not just the men running each location. Your assignment is to become a call-girl at the smallest of the clubs and for you to find a date when the top brass are meeting.“

Holt pause and Amy started thinking about her first undercover assignment. When Jake spoke up and asked, “how will she reach her handler”.

With The captain quickly responded with “you're going to buy an hour with her” his face having no face inflection. While Amy's and Jake's response was shock and disbelief, with Amy asking “so I have to be one of the prostitutes”, and Jake saying “how many people will she end up sleeping with”.

To which Holt responded “yes you will Amy as to your question Peralta we have no idea. I'm going to let you two talk this over for a minute.”

Before halt could leave. Amy and Jake looked at each other and nodded and the replying “Yes” at the same time, and they both got a paper giving them the whole picture of the assignment and what it will in tale.

-----------------------------------

Case #99-61718322

Op #99-617183

Undercover officer-Sergeant Santiago

Handler—Detective Peralta

Assignment:

We are trying to capture the 6 highest members in the largest Brooklyn brothel. Santiago will be going in the smallest club she is going to start as a striped named Rosin Häus her backstory is she just moved here from Texas and her job fell thought, and she needs the money.

Check ins will be once a week at 12 on Wednesday so Remember keep this time open but if you think you can get info from a client change to 3 but always have one of those times open for Jake. Jake will pay like any other John and will get the money from the station.

Housing:

Amy will be staying in an as apartment that is in a low income area. Only Amy and Holt will know the location of this house.

Other information:

Amy from our Intel all johns have to be tested every month and after every sexual encounter with a new person, and you have a special price for non condom.

You both have the day off to discuss the case.

-----------------------------------

Jake and Amy look at the paper and read through it reach the bottom at the same time. The couple look at each other and go to grab their stuff.

As they pick up the stuff they stuff, their co-worker don't seem to notice.

Then they meet at the exit of the elevators and drove to their apartment. On the drive there, they thought of what this case will do to their relationship and if Amy could be a prostitute or not. The 2nd of those thoughts is what turned both Amy and Jake on. As Jake parked the car, Amy went up to the apartment. On her way up, she decided to put on a special show for Jake. Because it would be a while till they could have sex in their own bed.

Should I post my AO3 sm*t here

it is a b99 brothel plot have thought about going back and adding to it.

[afroherbalism]

"Emma Dupree (1897-1992) was an influential black herbalist from Falkland and Fountain, in Pitt County in North Carolina. She was known locally as “granny woman.”

Because she prays, she brews herbs. Because she brews herbs, she heals. Because she heals, she is the undisputed sage of Pitt County. They say her home remedies can quiet a colicky baby, cure a mean cold and scare lice off a hog.

"All that we see, everything that is growin' in the earth," Emma says, "is healin' to the nation of any kind of disease."

She was the daughter of freed slaves and grew up on the Tar River. She was known for her work with native herbs: Sassafras, white mint, double tansy, rabbit tobacco, maypop, mullein, catnip, horseradish, and silkweed.

Here is an excerpt from an article published shortly after her death:

"From the time she could walk, Emma felt drawn to the land. She would roam the woods, plucking, sniffing, tasting weeds. She grew up that way, collecting the leaves, stems, roots and bark of sweet gum, white mint, mullen, sassafras in her coattail or a tin bucket. She'd tote them back to the farm, rinse them in well water and tie them in bunches to dry. In the backyard, she'd raise a fire under a kettle and boil her herbs to a bubbly froth, then pour it up in brown-necked stone jugs: A white-mint potion for poor circulation; catnip tea for babies with colic; tansy tea - hot or cold - for low blood sugar; mullein tea for a stomach ache. Mixed with molasses or peppermint candy to knock out the bitterness. Her kind of folk medicine dates back centuries. In the 1600s, African slaves brought root-doctor remedies to America. Indians and immigrants had cure-alls, too. In some rural areas, scattered herbalists still practice."

She was born on July 4, 1897, the seventh among 18 siblings, Emma Williams Dupree grew up on the Tar River and was known in her family as "that little medicine thing" because of her early understanding of herbs.

Her parents, Pennia and Noah Williams, were freed slaves farming in Falkland, NC.

She told an interviewer in 1979 that her mother remembered being "on the porch of the old Wooten's farm home when freedom came. She was 16 when Mr. and Mrs. Wooten walked out on that porch and told her she was 'as free as they were, but they loved her just the same.'"

She was married for one year to Ethan Cherry, a farmer. She divorced him and remarried another farmer, Austin Dupree, Jr., who was born in 1892. Emma and Austin moved to Fountain, NC in 1936 and had five children, whose ages in the 1930 U.S. Census are indicated in parentheses: Lucy (12), Herbert (9), John (5), Doris (3), and Mary (1).

They remained married until his death at age 90. She died at home, at 3313 N. Jefferson St, Fountain, on March 12, 1996. She is buried at Saint John's Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, in Falkland,NC.

Emma Dupree's "garden-grown pharamacy" included sassafras, white mint, double tansy, rabbit tobacco, maypop, mullein, catnip, horseradish, silkweed and other plants from which she made tonics, teas, salves and dried preparations. These were cultivated in her yard and gathered from the banks of the Tar River. She told Karen Baldwin that she grew a special tree in her back yard, which she called her "healing berry tree."

She explained, "Now that tree, I don't know of another name for it, but it's in the old-fashioned Bible and the seed for it came from Rome." She also told Baldwin of being an especially alert baby: "They said I was just looking every which way. And I kept acting and moving and doing things a baby didn't do. And I walked early. I was walking at seven months old, just as good and strong. When I got so I got out doors, I went to work. I was pulling up weeds, biting them, smelling in them, and spitting them out. And folks in them days, they just watched me, watched what I was doing.

Awards and Recognition

In 1984, Dupree was awarded the Brown-Hudson Award by the North Carolina Folklore Society, recognizing her as an individual who contributed significantly to the transmission, appreciation and observance of traditional culture and folk life in North Carolina.

In 1992, Dupree received the North Carolina Heritage Award, lifetime achievement recognition for outstanding traditional artists in North Carolina

NOTE:

Here is a link to a video of Mrs Emma Dupree being interviewed by students of the ECU medical research department. This video is Produced by the office of Health Services Research and Development, School of Medicine, East Carolina University.

It is 40 minutes long.

Link: https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/58575?fbclid=IwAR1e22I8_vRfvzI0nZXDBT8XG7Z-4DgiNykjqsbPD8hoD2Aw8haC2uI8vvo#details

Source;https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/ncpi/view/5581

Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Dupree

---

Herbalist, 94, Lets Nature Heal

by Paige Williams Feb 20, 1992

Before her came African root doctors and Indian medicine men. People believed their mystical potions could cure body and soul and sometimes they could. Some modern medicines still use herbal derivatives. Few old-time herbalists like Emma are left in North Carolina. Hospitals first forced her kind out of business. Death is finishing the job. Emma Dupree's hanging tough, though, pushing 10 decades. She takes the tonic, see. Drinks it like water. She jumps out of her chair, props fists on her waist and swivels her hips Hula-Hoop style. She holds both hands out flat and squirms her wrinkled fingers all around, crossing and uncrossing, like she's making a million wishes. No arthritis there.

"There's something to that stuff," said her granddaughter, Sandra White.

Joe Exum, town grocer, keeps a Crown Royal bourbon bottle under the front seat of his pickup truck. It holds the slimy remnants of Emma's tonic: oily brown syrup that looks like tobacco spit, stings the nose like paint thinner and tastes like pine tar smells.

"I'd pay $50 for a bottle right now," Exum said. "Two swallers and it'll knock the sore throat right out." He's waiting for Emma to brew another batch. She stewed her last at Christmas. She used to make the tonic right steady, every day almost, the way she learned 80 years ago, when the woods first called her.

Pitt County borders the Pamlico River 80 miles east of Raleigh. Its largest town is Greenville, the county seat, population

44,972. One of its smallest is Fountain, population 445, founded in 1900 on the western rim. Emma Dupree was Emma Williams then, a 3-year-old growing up the daughter of freed slaves on a farm 9 miles east in Falkland, where she was born the Fourth of July, 1897. Emma was the knee baby, second from the youngest of seven girls and four boys, and always hanging on her mama's knee. Early on, Pennia and Noah Williams knew she was nature's child. From the time she could walk, Emma felt drawn to the land.

She would roam the woods, plucking, sniffing, tasting weeds. She grew up that way, collecting the leaves, stems, roots and bark of sweet gum, white mint, mullen, sassafras in her coattail or a tin bucket. She'd tote them back to the farm, rinse them in well water and tie them in bunches to dry. In the backyard, she'd raise a fire under a kettle and boil her herbs to a bubbly froth, then pour it up in brown-necked stone jugs: A white-mint potion for poor circulation; catnip tea for babies with colic; tansy tea - hot or cold - for low blood sugar; mullen tea for a stomach ache. Mixed with molasses or peppermint candy to knock out the bitterness. Her kind of folk medicine dates back centuries. In the 1600s, African slaves brought root-doctor remedies to America. Indians and immigrants had cure-alls, too. In some rural areas, scattered herbalists still practice.

"It's dying out," says Charles Reagan Wilson of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. "People more and more rely on modern science." Pitt County's got both. Modern medicine and Emma Dupree. Her school was God's school; her classroom, the land. While the other children played, she picked herbs. Sometimes she caught the other children talking about her: "There comes that ol' rovin' gal. Reckon where she goin' now?" Yet they always followed her.

When Emma was about 20, she married Ethan Cherry, a farmer. It lasted about a year. The story goes that Cherry went one wisecrack too far about how many women it takes to satisfy a man. Emma whacked him with a chair. Knocked him out cold. Then she divorced him. "He wasn't no good husband." She married another farmer, Austin Dupree. They moved to Fountain in 1936. Old age killed him in the the early 1970s. He was nearly 90. Of Emma's five children, only Doris, 66, is left. She lives next door to Emma's little white-and-green house on Jefferson Street, a longtime magnet to the afflicted.

Herbs' earthy aroma herbs brewed day and night. Their warm earthy aroma filled the whole house. Emma poured her tonic up in glass vinegar jugs and canning jars and kept it in a pantry off the kitchen. Somebody was always knocking on the front door. Emma would fetch it: "Now you take this with faith because it's not me. I'm just the instrument." She never set a price. People paid what they could, sometimes $5, sometimes $30. "It was a common thing for people to literally be waiting in line," said White, 38, the granddaughter Emma raised. People sought advice, too. They'd bang on the door, pull her aside: "Can I talk to you?" Fountain's own Ann Landers. "You can tell her a problem and she can work it out so it don't seem so bad," White said.

Some, she couldn't help. Once, a young girl dying of leukemia and weary of doctors showed up at Emma's door. Emma suspected it was hopeless. Still, she couldn't say no. She gave her the tonic. "I don't want to make her sound like a saint," White said, "but she tried to help everybody." Emma won't take the credit. "Whatever your talent, whatever you is, you come with it," she said. "When you come into this world, God's done fixed you with what you got to do." To townspeople, she's "Aunt Emma."

In December, they made her grand marshal of the Fountain Christmas parade, all two blocks of it. She waved from the back of the long white limousine borrowed from the local funeral home. Only the best for the sage of Pitt County.

Source:https://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/herbalist-lets-nature-heal/article_3b0e06d1-4af9-5567-93ee-bc4b50d5867f.html

[fugitivehues]

I'm a long time fan of your style and the soft but bright quality of your watercolor work! Do you have any advice for getting started learning? Or is it a matter of starting and doing?

thank you so much!! that’s very nice of you!! ⁺✧(˶´⚰︎`˵)⁺‧

sure, just starting and doing watercolor is definitely important, because experience is the only way to intuitively know which paint+water ratios give the effects you want. that's also kind of frustrating in the beginning (or at least it was for me) so maybe some tips will make that smoother...

Here's one of my old guides on mixing bright colors. Most watercolor sets at least come with a "split primary" palette, with both a cool and a warm version of each primary color. Getting familiar with the mixing behaviors of your paints will help so much!

Put more water and paint on your brush than you think you need. Watercolors become lighter when dry, and without enough water they dry too quickly on the paper.

Practice the three main techniques: wet paint on wet paper, wet paint on dry paper, and dry paint on dry paper. (I mostly use wet on dry in my art, but the others have their uses, especially in backgrounds!)

The more you rub the paper with your brush, the more it separates the fibers and makes colors less bright and clear. So try to do your layer with as few brush strokes as possible. Working from the lightest/largest areas to the darkest/smallest is recommended.

Let each layer dry completely unless you’re going for a specific effect!! If you add the next layer too soon, the one under it might get wiped away. orz

Maybe plan your colors and shadows in advance (digitally or in thumbnails). It helps me focus on painting without stopping to figure out what to do next!

Put a tissue under your hand or wear a glove while you work to prevent skin oils from repelling the water.

It’s fine if the paper starts warping while you’re painting. It’ll probably dry less warped, and you can flatten it fully once you’re done.

I’m sure you already know this, but there’s a ton of watercolor tutorials and speedpaint videos on Youtube. They’re great for seeing how others mix colors and blend with water, as well as getting an idea for how the paint moves on the paper and what it looks like when dry. Consider looking at copic/alcohol marker artists too, since they also work from lightest-to-darkest and blend colors according to similar rules. I watch videos almost every day; it’s a relaxing way to learn! ^^

Also, here's my process for painting a character, if you haven’t seen that!

Below is mostly about supplies, but it's stuff that I wish I knew in my first years of painting!

To get smooth gradients and soft blending, consider investing in good quality paper most of all. Basically, Paper > Brushes > Paint.

You can do almost anything with student-quality paints. Just check what the manufacturer says about lightfastness. Paints with a low lightfastness score will fade over time.

You only need a few decent brushes ([synthetic] sable or squirrel for large areas of color, and maybe a very small or calligraphy brush with a sharp point for details and lineart, if those are in your style). 

If you use "pan" paints, consider using an old spare brush to wet them, because pans will wear out your brushes faster than tube paint.

Your paper absolutely must be watercolor or mixed media paper, because they contain "sizing" that allows the paints to blend smoothly and not stain immediately. “Cold press 300gsm” is probably the most versatile texture and weight. Cotton paper is stronger and more forgiving than cellulose papers but is also more expensive.

Unless you’re working in a watercolor sketchbook, only one side of the paper will have sizing. The "wrong” side can't handle watercolor.

If your finished artwork won’t lay flat, then lightly wet the back of the paper with water, wipe off the excess, and flatten the damp sheet between some heavy books. 

I use mixed media paper to practice color mixtures and thumbnails. And I do a ton of color mixing just for fun. 10/10 would recommend filling pages with gradients and stuff!

SO YEAH, watercolor is totally worth the learning curve and is super fun to paint with once you’re more comfortable. I hope you have a great time with your painting! ^^ Let me know if you have any more questions!

[idiosyncrasy-thoughts]

Trust - Yvette Short Story

(a continuation of Empathy)

"The largest cell in the human body is the female egg while the smallest is the male sperm. Now, I..."

I sigh boredly, my ears automatically tuning out the professor's blabbering. I have decided to return back to medical school after the whole assassin versus demon thing. It was an interesting experience to go through and a definite wake-up call for me. Seeing Wrath and her troupe protecting people from demons reminded me of the reason why I had joined medical school; which is to save lives.

Oh please MC, the last push to go back is because of Yvette's interest in biology too.

Speaking of her, it has been more than two weeks since that fight between Wrath and her happened. Things eventually go back to the way they used to be; with no more demons to chase after me, no more powerful assassins to protect my weak ass; no more chaos. I should be happy that I don't have to live in fear anymore.

But somehow, that feeling just never comes.

Instead, I'm stuck with a longingness in my chest, for a certain green-haired girl that has probably forgotten about me. Her gorgeous features ingrained in my memory, there is never a time when her face doesn't pop up in my head.

I doubt Yvette's gonna bother you anymore after getting what she wants. You can go back to your normal life now. Wrath's previous words sink in my head, and I release another breath of defeat.

"You okay?" Serena, my classmate, asks. "You've sighed like fifty times today."

I sigh again. "I'm just...tired. The class is so dry."

"I know, but what do you expect from studying in a medical school?" Serena offers an apologetic smile. "Just hang on for a few more hours."

"Ugh, I can't wait to graduate."

"Feeling's mutual."

When the bell rings to signal the end of school, I mutter a quiet 'yes' before packing my stuff into my bag. Saying a quick 'bye' to Serena, I head back to my dorm.

Being in medical school means there's a need to understand rich content from a heap of thick textbooks, so I'm required to lock myself up in my room and revise daily. Tedious, but it will be worth it in the end.

As I inch closer to my dormitory, a dark trail of green catches my attention. Out of curiosity, I follow the path.

It leads me through a narrow and dimmed alley, taking me further and further away from the sunlit pavement. I take a right turn, stopping in my tracks when I reach a dead end. The strange trail discontinues too, with no other traces in sight.

I decide to examine the green goo, racking my brain for answers as to what has caused this. A faint memory resurfaces, causing the blood in my veins to run cold.

Could it be...?

My stomach churns sickly at the first thought that comes to my mind.

Demon's blood.

"But how?" I mumble to myself, so deep in consideration that I don't realise that I'm not alone anymore.

Heavy footsteps can be heard behind me, and I turn to be met with two strangers. They block the only pathway, leaving no available space to escape.

"Uh, can I help the both of you?" I ask, apparently talking to the walls since they refuse to reply.

A smile spread across their faces; too wide for me to feel comfortable in their presence.

They start to approach me.

"Stop right there!"

They do as I say, still wearing that abnormally large smile. Their eyelids begin to stretch out, revealing huge eyeballs that threaten to pop out. Thin, green veins emerge into sight, spreading far and wide on every inch of skin. Saliva dripping down their mouths, they let out a loud, aggressive growl.

Ah shit, here we go again.

I yell for help when one of them dashes towards me, shoving me hard. Tumbling backwards, my head hits the wall.

Pain penetrates my head like a bullet; darkness engulfs my vision.

~~~

I wake up to the feeling of a soft mattress underneath me. Lifting my hand to my forehead, I feel the material of gauze bandage.

Wha-what happened? Where am I?

"I told you to bring her here, not break her fucking head!" a female voice booms, the familiarity of it igniting every muscle in me.

It's her.

My body snaps up, the quick motion causing a spike of pain to pierce through my head. I gasp, my hand instinctively flying to the back of my head.

The mattress sinks as two warm, gloved hands hold my shoulders to guide me back to the bed. "You need to rest MC."

Obliging, my head rests on the soft pillow again. The tension between my brows leaves and I slowly open my eyes. Air leaves my lungs as my vision clears.

It's none other than the girl that has been running through my mind for the past two weeks.

Yvette.

Seeing her in real life sure relieves the yearning feeling in my heart, and the pain in my head slowly dissipates. I don't hold back a wide grin.

"I...thought I'd never see you again," I speak, a little out of breath.

She smiles endearingly, shrugging. "I thought so too. But here we are."

I stay silent, taking the moment to admire the view before me. The girl's healing from her encounter with Wrath, which is a good sign. A cut on her lip and a square bandage on the right side of her head are still visible, but other than that, Yvette is beautiful as ever.

A cough breaks me out of my trance, and the green-haired girl's not looking at me anymore. A hint of pink colours her tanned cheeks.

Oh my god, she's so cute. Wait, stop it MC, you're making things awkward!

"Sorry, um, It's great that you're healing well."

"Yeah. Now it's your turn." Yvette offers a sympathetic smile. "Sorry about your head. I couldn't contact you or find you at the bike shop. So I sent them to search for you."

"Well, my phone broke after the whole incident, and I've decided to go back to medical school," I explain, sputtering the next sentence unintentionally. "I thought you wouldn't need me after you got the charm."

Yvette blinks at me. "You'd think so lowly of me?"

"No! As in...I thought you would forget about me eventually."

"I would never. Especially when you've helped me immensely."

It's my turn to blink blankly. "I didn't do much though. I was like a damsel in distress."

Yvette strokes my hair out of the way, offering a lingering look that makes my heart do somersaults. "You defended me when no one else would."

"I had to! You looked close to death when you were on the gr-"

"You helped drag the time while I was catching my breath!" the girl defends her ego, in which I roll my eyes amusedly.

"Sure Yvette, whatever you say."

She lets out a laugh, one that sounds so melodic and lovely that it makes the temperature in the room warmer. It is surely a tune that I would love to hear everyday.

"Do you want anything? Water or some snacks?"

"A glass of water sounds nice."

Yvette turns her attention to the regretful-looking demon who pushed me previously. "You heard her. Get me a glass of water. Now."

The demon straightens his posture and nods his head, quickly leaving the room.

"Do demons actually have feelings?"

"Of course. Remember? I'm a demon too," Yvette reminds, a sad smile settling on her face.

Way to go MC. You just made your crush sad.

"Right, I should just keep my mouth shut. Or you could just throw me out now."

A teasing smile returns on Yvette. "I could never get rid of a cutie like you," she teases, pinching my cheek lightly.

I fluster.

"Wa-err," the demon utters, his quiet entrance startling me.

Indifferent, Yvette takes the glass and shoos him. She then aids me in sitting up as I drink my water. The domestic gesture warms my heart.

She's not that horrible person Wrath have described to me. In fact, Yvette's caring nature reminds me of a kind doctor who takes care of her patients dutifully.

"Thanks doc," I playfully comment. "I could get used to this."

"Taking advantage are we?"

I smile innocently. "Just a little."

The woman reciprocates the smile and puts away the glass once I'm done. I shift myself so that I can lean on the bedframe, and Yvette does the same as well, our shoulders brushing against each other.

"How's school so far?"

I update Yvette on the modules I'm currently taking and the upcoming tests I have, not failing to mention that much memory power is needed to survive medical school.

"If you like, I can tutor you," the girl offers.

"Really? That'll help a lot."

I hand my new phone to Yvette for her to enter her number. This reminds me of the first time I successfully asked a girl for her number; the experience both nerve-racking and exhilarating.

We then move on to more serious topics; of the reason why she needed my charm.

"That...I can't tell you. I've agreed to keep this deal with the demons strictly confidential," Yvette explains with a frown. "But I can assure you that your charm will help me greatly."

Hopefully my charm isn't some key to demon domination, or the troupe will come for my head. But Yvette said that it will benefit her, so maybe...it will get rid of the demon essence in her?

Yvette's deepening frown brings me back to reality. Her eyes are studying me, wary of any change of emotions. "Look MC, I'd love to give you an explanation, but-"

"I understand," I cut off the girl, offering a reassuring smile and daring to hold her gloved hand. "I trust you."

Silence fills the air. The girl gazes at me, her eyes a mixture of wonder and vulnerability.

At times like these, where the girl is just silent, I wish I could know what she's thinking about. What she thinks of me. Her impression of me.

"You do?" she asks, tone full of uncertainty.

I ponder.

Do I? Yvette's an intelligent person, and I trust that everything she does, is for a logical reason.

The only concern I have is the intensity of it; of how easily I let myself to trust someone I don't know well; someone with intentions that I have no clue about. It might be to my demise, or benefit; whichever rules out the other.

Returning the gaze, I see myself in Yvette's emerald eyes. The sight of white bandage around my head reminds me that the girl has been nothing but kind to me.

...I'll take my chances.

"I do."

Yvette releases a breath, as if she has been holding it for a while. She interlocks our fingers together, sparking a connection between us. A smile tugs on her lips and her eyes are bright with gratitude and hope.

"I'll make sure that it won't die down."

We spend the rest of the day bantering happily.

[creek-cryptid-deluxe]

Legitimately this is one of those things that's been second nature to me for so long that I had forgotten how difficult it was to get the hang of.... until it was time to do Cooking Tutorial: Hardmode with The Spawn.

Basically what we do is this:

We sit down together & I look at recipes that fit into whatever she's up to eating that week. I skim the recipe to see if it's feasible to do. If it is, I read the name & ingredients to her. We choose 2 or 3 a week, I write the grocery list for her (because she frequently cannot read her own handwriting). She grocery shops, frequently calling me if there is something unusual on the list that she can't find.

When she wants to cook, I pull out the recipe (a handwritten copy on the counter for her, digital copy on my phone), pull up a chair nearby but out of the way (or perch on the counter like a beautiful gargoyle with weirdly soft skin) & supervise.

She gets out ingredients, dishes, and measuring utensils she will need & looks overwhelmed. So I say, "Look at your ingredient list. What needs prep?" So she reads out loud what needs prep & how. She starts with veggies & does any meat last, putting all the prepped stuff into little glass bowls that I have a weird but handy abundance of. If there are 2 prep items that go in at once, they go into the same bowl. I remind her to put the cutting board & knife into the sink & run a bit of water over them. Then she measures out spices, putting the amounts into bowls like the prepped stuff because my glass bowl abundance is actually 2 sets of 6 different sized bowls that nest within each other, the largest being slightly bigger than a cereal bowl & the smallest being slightly bigger than a ramekin of dip you'd get at Chili's.

She puts away all leftovers of ingredients that have been prepped/measured out. Then she stands there a moment looking unsure.

"Time to read the first part of the instructions." She reads out loud. If she has questions, she asks, then she gets to work. As she goes, any time there is a lull because she's waiting for something to cook a bit, I say "Now is a good time to take all used but no longer needed dishes to the sink & if they had a liquid or raw meat in them, fill them with a drop of dish soap & hot water."

If the recipe's final stage is slow cooking or baking, once that is started, she looks at me & I say "Ok, so you've got a bit of time on your hands. Let's get the rest of the dishes into the sink & wipe down the counters/stove top real quick." If she still has some time, she gets stuff into the dishwasher & turns it on.

That way after she eats, she just has to worry about the dish she ate off of & served with.

Now that I think on it, that's probably why she leans toward making stuff that requires the instant pot or baking in the oven at the end. Because after she eats, she's absolutely unmotivated to do anything in the kitchen ("... ever again," she says dramatically. "I don't even want to look at it!" Cut to her rummaging through the kitchen at midnight like a raccoon after having smoked a bowl.)

There's actually a lot of things that my brain sort of automatically told me to do (because I basically had 0% guidance from the people who raised me & had to sort it out myself) that her brain just doesn't. So half the battle was figuring out exactly how her brain went through the process via letting her just make something. Watching the process of her making a dish she knows told me what pieces were missing. What dots needed to connect in order to streamline the process for her.

Now it's just a matter of repetition to create a habit.

Also, tbh, the first run through of a recipe is always absolute and utter chaos because I only ever have the faintest idea of wtf I'm doing. After a couple gos, you learn where you have time & where it needs your full attention. Music can help because it gives you a rhythm to go with as you move about the space.

[commieshorny]

It's been a couple of months since the wedding and Amy has a new assignment.

That mornings briefing.

Captain Holt finish off the brief by saying, “Amy, I have a special assignment for you, so I need you to come into my office. I will also need you in my office, Peralta”. With that, Jake stood up and follow Amy and the captain in to his office. Holt Stranded next to his door, waiting for both of them to enter the office before closing the door and lowering the blinds. Then he spoke to the both of them when saying.

“Sergeant Santiago, I have an undercover assignment for you, and I am going to have Peralta be your handler, but I am going to need both of you to say yes to go ahead”.

Amy suddenly interrupted, “why does Jake need to agree to this”.

Holt waited for her to finish before continuing, “this assignment is about a brothel we are thinking is being run out of multiple strip clubs and the reason we don't storm them our goal is to take the men at the top not just the men running each location. Your assignment is to become a call-girl at the smallest of the clubs and for you to find a date when the top brass are meeting.“

Holt pause and Amy started thinking about her first undercover assignment. When Jake spoke up and asked, “how will she reach her handler”.

With The captain quickly responded with “you're going to buy an hour with her” his face having no face inflection. While Amy's and Jake's response was shock and disbelief, with Amy asking “so I have to be one of the prostitutes”, and Jake saying “how many people will she end up sleeping with”.

To which Holt responded “yes you will Amy as to your question Peralta we have no idea. I'm going to let you two talk this over for a minute.”

Before halt could leave. Amy and Jake looked at each other and nodded and the replying “Yes” at the same time, and they both got a paper giving them the whole picture of the assignment and what it will in tale.

-----------------------------------

Case #99-61718322

Op #99-617183

Undercover officer-Sergeant Santiago

Handler—Detective Peralta

Assignment:

We are trying to capture the 6 highest members in the largest Brooklyn brothel. Santiago will be going in the smallest club she is going to start as a striped named Rosin Häus her backstory is she just moved here from Texas and her job fell thought, and she needs the money.

Check ins will be once a week at 12 on Wednesday so Remember keep this time open but if you think you can get info from a client change to 3 but always have one of those times open for Jake. Jake will pay like any other John and will get the money from the station.

Housing:

Amy will be staying in an as apartment that is in a low income area. Only Amy and Holt will know the location of this house.

Other information:

Amy from our Intel all johns have to be tested every month and after every sexual encounter with a new person, and you have a special price for non condom.

You both have the day off to discuss the case.

-----------------------------------

Jake and Amy look at the paper and read through it reach the bottom at the same time. The couple look at each other and go to grab their stuff.

As they pick up the stuff they stuff, their co-worker don't seem to notice.

Then they meet at the exit of the elevators and drove to their apartment. On the drive there, they thought of what this case will do to their relationship and if Amy could be a prostitute or not. The 2nd of those thoughts is what turned both Amy and Jake on. As Jake parked the car, Amy went up to the apartment. On her way up, she decided to put on a special show for Jake. Because it would be a while till they could have sex in their own bed.

Should I post my AO3 sm*t here

it is a b99 brothel plot have thought about going back and adding to it.