#(of which emptying or disposing of traps is not one)

[theinnermeyoullneverknow]

Hey snake people of tumblr

(by which I mean, people who have/had pet snakes or who care/cared for snakes as part of the their job or who study/studied snakes & their behavior)

Would it be safe to allow a domesticated (or semi-domesticated) snake to roam a house for a few days to take care of a rodent problem?

If so, what species would be appropriate for this and are there any organizations that would allow someone with no past experience caring for snakes to like borrow/rent/foster one for this purpose? And what type of remnants could I expect to be left behind?

[kimaswork]

A challenge. That was your solution. So many men in Sumeru wanted you for your beauty, so what was a young witch like yourself to do? Thats when you saw a stray cat in the distance and an idea hit you.

Putting up a notice on the commission board, you wrote that whoever could get a bell from a stray black cat, would be given the chance to date you. A simple challenge right? No.

For there was a catch- you were the cat.

Being a witch, a chaos witch in particular, you weren’t restrained to any rules in the magic world. Other witches like Mona, are bound to astral magic. But you could use any kind you wished with bor limits. Chaos was yours to wield and that involved having all the magic arts at your disposal.

There were many attempts made as men dashed, leaped, and chased after you. Some even resorted to traps, of which you were displeased with as you occasionally tripped just for the fun of it. You snickered as you watched the men exasperatedly groan as their traps were found empty or torn to shreds.

In full honesty this was more for your entertainment, but having the males leave you alone was a major bonus.

One day you saw a tall male with large fennec fox like ears wander into town. He gathered supplies and stopped by the board, most likely because your commission was the talk of the town. His ears perked as he saw your picture on the commission,Like all the others, your beauty captivated him, and that was when he decided to take part.

A few weeks went by as you tricked the men of the city. But only one caught your eye. The green stripes in his hair mesmerized you, seemingly glowing in the darker areas of the underground market.

You saw him disabling traps that once were laid out for you. Seeing him do this made your heart melt. He seemed to really care for the condition the cat, well, you. He was rather kind, kind enough that he tried to feed you at times. Unlike the other men around, Tighnari, as you had learned was his name, was a sweet soul. As you observed him work and continue with his duties when he wasn't gaining your trust. You found he was both a forest ranger and a healer of sorts.

His smile was like a sweet treat. His voice smooth and calming to your ears. You knew he was the one when he kneeled down before you and gently pet you, not even going for the bell that laid on the collar.

You leaned into his hand, enjoying the attention of the sweet man. It was at this moment that you had made up your mind, you'd choose him.

The only problem? You only had to get him to take the bell. The challenge you once set for the men was now a challenge for you. He didn't even seem interested in the bell, only you.

Time and time again he seemingly didn't notice the bell. No matter how many times he stroked your soft fur, gentle fingers grazing the collar, he neve took the bell.

Growing mildly impatient you sook him out each time he returned to the city. As he was in the markets, you found him and sat beside him. Only moving to follow him around the area. You nipped your sharp teeth at his puffy pants to get his attention.

Your efforts only brought a smile to his face every time he gazed down at you.

;&───⇌• :🌷: •⇋───&;

After nearly a month of trying to get him to take the bell you grew impatient. Deciding he was the one and you were going to have him.

In your natural form you decided to approach him whilst he was in the city collecting supplies. If he wouldn't take the bell then you would just take him, simple as that.

But before you could even get in a word he turned from his trade and saw you. "Why hello there, you must be ____." His cheery tone took you by surprise. It was still so early, yet he seemed to have all the energy in the world.

"Yes, that's me. And you are Tighnari, correct?" You asked, if only to keep up a more formal appearance rather than admitting you had essentially stalked him while in cat form.

"Correct. Can I help you?" He asked, his sweet smile curling his lips. "Ah, yes." You replied, clearing your throat as you put your mind back on track. "I was um..."

God, how were you supposed to ask him out? Technically this was your first time meeting. Speaking with him only now seemed difficult.

His head tilted and his large ears flopped to the side as he looked to you expectantly. You cleared your throat once more. "Ahem, I was wondering if you would perchance go on a date with me?"

Your hands clasped behind your back as you looked to your feet bashfully. Hearing a snicker you looked up to him.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to ask!" He chuckled, leaving you confused. Was he so confident in himself that he knew you would want him? Or was there something he knew and you didn't? Before you could say anything more than a soft "How?" He began to explain.

"Your scent, I knew you were that cat. Despite the form you take your scent remains the same." He states matter-of-factly. "O-oh..." You mumbled thinking you should have seen that coming.

"So is that a no?" You inquired sadly, feeling your hopes begin to fall. "Of course not! I would love to go on a date with you." He chirped. Heart soaring you looked up to him. "Really?!"

He responded with a nod before setting his hand on your head, giving it a gentle ruffle. "Of course, I'd love to." You grinned from ear to ear as he spoke his next words. "I'll pick you up tonight around 7, sound good?" Words falling short, you nodded happily.

"Alright then, I'll finish up here and see you tonight." He said as he waved you goodbye. You returned the gesture as you waved him off and returned to your home, preparing your best outfit for the night.

;&───⇌• :🌷: •⇋───&;

That's all for today, wrote this while in the psychward lmao.

Send in a request if you have any ideas for me to write!

Have a lovely day babes ❤️

[365emotionlessfaces]

nobody:

Dj Khaled: Anotha one!

i have all of the parts written, so i’ll probably just be uploading them all today as i finish the minimal editing that i do 🤷‍♀️

The Aspiring Teachers Program

Part 3 WC:~1.4k

Parent Trap was up before her the next morning. When Melissa’s eyes fluttered open, she turned her head to face the young girl’s bunk across the room, and upon seeing it was empty, Melissa made the decision to get up, too. After she got dressed, denim shorts and a simple green t shirt, she made her way to the mess hall. Looking down at her watch, Melissa realized they had opened twenty minutes ago, and hoped she would be able to find a seat.

Melissa was able to grab a bowl of breakfast and ‘Thank God, coffee!’, and as she scanned the hall for a seat, she didn’t see many seats open for her. Just as she was about to head to the door and find a picnic table outside, she saw her Aspiring One pop up out of her seat and wave to Melissa with the biggest smile Melissa had ever seen, signaling that the girl had saved her a seat. Melissa weaved through the crowd and took her place beside the girl.

“Today‘s the fishing tournament, I think,” Parent Trap didn’t take her eyes off Melissa as she waited for a response. Melissa, who hadn’t even had a chance to sip her coffee, just hummed in response, taking the chance to take her first drink. “We’ll have this one in the bag! I grew up on a bunch of different lakes.”

“Where ya from, anyways?”

“Michigan.”

“Oh, God. You’re a Lions fan, ain’t ya?” The girl laughed nervously before she told Melissa which team she actually rooted for. “A cheesehead?!” Melissa had responded incredulously. “That’s worse!” Melissa smirked when the girl turned red.

“I dunno. My parents and grandparents were all Packers fans, I think it’s genetic,” the girl grinned proudly when Melissa laughed at her joke.

They finished the rest of their meals in a comfortable silence, one Melissa was quite grateful for. When they met at the main beach area to begin fishing, Melissa realized that she had never been fishing. Before she and Joe got married, the dates were all fancy restaurants, and dinners. After they got married, Joe insisted that his fishing weekends were ‘Just for the guys, babe,’ and Melissa had never argued. She tried not letting Parent Trap realize she might be out of her depths with this one. Bullhorn Lady explained that everything at the camp was at everyone’s disposal. The only rule was that you had to get the biggest fish.

It started out slow. Everyone standing on the beach, some even wading out into the water to try to reach the bigger fish. Whether Parent Trap had sensed her hesitation or she was just genuinely trying be helpful, but Melissa noticed that every time she needed one, the young girl was right there to put a worm on her hook.

After a few hours of coming up empty handed, Parent Trap started scanning the camp, as if she were looking for something. Melissa had asked her what she was doing, and the girl’s response was to tell her to ‘hang on’ and ‘she’ll be right back,’ before shooting off into the camp. When she returned ten minutes later, the girl was dragging a pedal boat behind her.

Melissa noticed the looks of the other groups as she and Parent Trap pedaled their little boat out onto the lake. They all looked pretty upset they didn’t think about it first, especially the middle-aged men who had waded waist-deep into the lake.

Melissa couldn’t hide the smirk she had. When she looked back from the men making their ways out of the water to find their own boats, she was met with those damn shiny eyes staring at her intently.

“You’re really beautiful, Em,” Melissa noticed that Parent Trap was blushing again, and she made a mental note that this was the first time the girl had called her by her name. “I hope your husband knows how lucky he is.”

Melissa was jarred by this statement. She looked down at her left hand, and realized she still had that stupid wedding ring on, and her thoughts started to revolve around that stupid man that’s in her house, probably with another woman already. She felt her anger bubbling, and to avoid showing the young girl, she stared intently at the water beside her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say anything-”

“S’fine.” Melissa muttered. The girl didn’t take her eyes off Melissa, until the redhead continued, “I’m divorcing him. Found him with a dumb broad in our bed.” Melissa huffed angrily. She sat still for a moment before pulling the ring off her finger.

The girl sat beside her and watched as the redhead launched the ring into the lake, hearing the tiny plop that it made about ten feet away before it sank to the bottom, never to be seen again. “He’s stupid for that,” the girl looked at her shoes. “Fumbling you, I mean, he got a Flint Fifteen, and wherever you’re from, I bet you’re the most beautiful woman around, like a one hundred,” the girl said.

Melissa looked back at the girl, and just took in the girl’s presence. She was blushing again, and Melissa couldn’t help but think about being able to make the girl blush all the time. It was a cute look for her, all flustered-like.

“Maybe not. I’m not the easiest person to be around,” Melissa sighed thinking of all the fights she and Joe had, all the times he told her she wasn’t good enough for anything, and all the times she believed him.

“I wouldn’t want to be around anyone else,” Melissa felt her heart tug at the girl’s words. No one had ever told Melissa that she was important enough to be their top priority, and here was this kid practically throwing herself at Melissa. Melissa didn’t realize how close their faces were until-

“Oh!” The young girl exclaimed, pulling away from Melissa. She reached for her fishing pole as the line jiggled, and began reeling as fast as she could. Melissa, stunned that she had been close enough to kiss the girl, sat back in her seat and tried to push away the feeling in her stomach. The feeling that told her she should’ve done something.

As the girl was excitedly reeling in her fish, Melissa’s mind wandered. Did she wanna kiss the girl? Hell yeah, she did. But she’s a kid! She’s nineteen! But the girl’s making it pretty clear- No! She’s nineteen.

“Em! Look at this thing! It’s huge!!” Melissa was snapped out of thoughts and presented with a giant, wiggling fish. She immediately curled her lips in disgust. This thing was gross, and Parent Trap was way too excited for Melissa’s liking. “We’re definitely winning this one, too.” The girl stood proudly on her seat, showing off her prize to the older woman.

Melissa couldn’t help but smile at the girl’s enthusiasm. “That’s great, hon. Now put it in the cooler, so we can head back to actual land.” The girl laughed softly, and did as she was told. Melissa couldn’t find the pause or stop button for the audio track in her brain, so the entire way back to the beach, Parent Trap’s laugh replayed in her mind, over and over again, soft and sweet, and something Melissa decided she wouldn’t mind hearing all the time.

When the judgement was over, and Melissa and her Aspiring One were handed the second place ribbon, Melissa saw the look of disappointment on the girl’s face and decided she had to fix it. So, when their hard-earned free time arrived, Melissa made the decision to share her secluded beach spot.

When the girl walked out of the bathroom in a bikini that even Melissa would have hesitated to wear, the redhead’s jaw almost hit the ground. And when they headed for the beach, Melissa definitely didn’t let the girl walk ahead of her so that she could stare at her ass the whole way. That was just a bonus.

Melissa couldn’t remember a time when she had laughed this hard, or when she had enjoyed being in someone’s company this much, and when time for dinner came, she found that she didn’t want it to end. Unfortunately for her, Parent Trap was insisting she was starving.

Part Four

[demacianpuppet]

Some more thoughts/observation regarding Viktor and whatever he had going on his cult because I'm obsessed.

First of all, what exactly was Salo doing there? He went to the power source of the Hex Gates to get some (raw) Hextech crystals I assume but this leave me with more questions than answers.

For what exactly did Viktor need the crystals?

I would assume stealing from the source, which is locked behind a specific key (which seem to only open with Hextech) makes it easier do than from higher up of the Hex Gates. Considering Viktor's followers are just an extension from Viktor himself, they have the easiest option to sneak into it.

Also, Salo wears no protection gear, something that the people who maintain the Hextech Gate clearly do as seen in Season 1.

One detail I didn't catch while watching the first time is that the discussion between Jayce and Viktor happens in the Wild Rune and also seems to be Viktor who frees Jayce from it.

(Maybe Viktor knew something about Jayce being trapped in the Wild Rune which would explain why only Jayce materialized when Salo appeared and Heimerdinger and Ekko are still missing.)

So more interesting details - first of all Salo wasn't breathing the whole dialogue. You can see how Jayce breath condensed in the Hex Gates while Salo's never did. It also lines up that Jayce saw some empty husk creature whenever he looked at Viktor's followers.

Not consider how creepy the whole scene was because we see Salo is absolutely not acting like Salo, constantly switching to being possessed by Viktor.

Also, when Jayce dispose of the empty husk that once Salo was, the blood is not just red but also prismatic. His body has been also fundamentally changed from the inside.

Also Viktor doesn't seen to really care that Jayce just killed someone? Like sure, he is worried for Jayce and mentioned that someone is in his head but she shows no pity for Salo who just got killed?

I continue that none of the Viktor's followers actually acted like normal human being. Like Huck showed no sign of fear when the Noxian appear with their weapon, nor do any other people reacted with fear when Jayce appears with his weapon in his hand and clearly not best mental state.

As someone else already pointed out, you don't see anyone doing anything but to work. No children playing, no people talking with each other. Again, not human, not normal.

Whenever Viktor touched someone and tries to heal them, you can see how he left his fingerprints on them. (Vander/Warwick has them as well.)

Interesting Viktor could spot Jayce mental state without touching him, makes me wonder how close he needs to be to a person. Maybe Jayce is a special case because they both are touched by the Arcane?

When Singed talked with Viktor, Singed touched Vikor's hand and he instantly glimpsed into Singed mind. It seems to be not even an active thing he does.

(Does it mean back then Jayce hugged him after he just woke up from his metamorphosis did he already had seen the weapons Jayce had crafted during that time in his mind?)

Interesting that Singed mentioned that Viktor grows weaker, you would assume whatever the Hexcore does should be like a virus, so more people would make it stronger and not weaker.

Was this the reason why Viktor wanted the Hextech Crystals? To make a new Hexcore to replace his failing energy source? So many question, no answers.

Also what exactly was Viktor doing when he was levitating while being connected via strings to something? Did the writers just need a reason why Viktor would not try fight back when Jayce appeared? Did he was ready to face the possibility that Jayce could actually do harm to him?

Jayce goes into the room, does the shot and refusing to even look when he was firing it. There is one frame there you can see mirror version of Jayce reading the shot, it makes me wonder how often he went to Viktor and tried to change the outcome.

Jayce also left immediately once the deed was done. While Jayce was clearly tearing up, he ran way instantly.

Viktor just watched Jayce do the shot, fear in his eyes and he couldn't stop staring at him until his last breath was leaving him. The cog (which is not the same one during Hextech breakthrough) rolled away from his hand.

We know that Viktor ends the episode with his monologue how emotions are problem but I wonder if he knew that would happened and a part of him (or the Hexcore) becked Jayce to do the shot so he finally could get rid of his heart and/or influence of the Hexcore for good.

Because in Viktor's mindscape Viktor behaved like he always did while in reality he is very emotionalless despite everything.

Also going back to the hive mind thing - their life energy was clearly connected to the Hexcore which was the reason why they all started dying when the Hexcore was destroyed.

Despite Jayce ruining everything according the fans, I don't think Viktor would have stayed alive much longer anyway with Ambessa and Singed near. I wonder if this was the best-case scenario so that they would not get the Hexcore in their hands or if Jayce basically did a self-fulfilling prophecy with this action.

[hewantshisbrideback]

No Honor Among Thieves Snippets

As proof that I am working on this fic, and it is not dead in the water, I thought I would post some snippets of what I've got in my drafts! I've been hopping back and forth between chapters, and it's been slow going in part, also, because of real life things, including deaths and job changes and moving residencies, and that's about to get even busier, but as consolation to everyone who's been patient and a show of gratitude to those who have encouraged me, here's some bits and pieces as a teaser for what's coming (eventually).

There are excerpts from nine different NHAT chapters below: Jon II-V, Arya II-V, and Sansa II. Hope you like them, and please let me know if you do! I could really use the encouragement right now.

ARYA II

There was no man alive more of a frustration to Arya than Gendry.

The last time she’d laid eyes on the man, he’d been burrowed deep in the smithy at Harrenhal, chest bare and red and slick with sweat, beating a flurry of sparks so bright from the iron she’d had to turn away at risk of being blinded. Hadn’t said a word, even when she��d gone so far as to ask him nicely. How hot her own cheeks had burned at the humiliation, to plead for a kind word of farewell and receive not so much as a glimpse, not so much as a breath between swings of his hammer.

The last time he had deigned to look her in the eye, the night before her departure, he had called her a fool and a liar.

By now, part of her might’ve agreed. However, most of her was angry, still, too angry to waste precious time contemplating the hows and whys of Gendry Waters. Where would she even begin, if she tried? No, wiser to side-step thoughts of him entirely, a tactic which had panned out perfectly for Arya thus far. Of course, his absence had been a prerequisite for such success.

JON II

Arya did not arrive on time for supper. Jon stabbed a steady, mindless rhythm into the slab, metal puncturing meat. Squish. Bubble. Splatter - the prongs of his fork stuck in its side over and over. He couldn’t recall the last time the meat had beaten her to the table.

But why should he be upset? It was just a meal. He was not alone. The hall was not empty, nor the table. Even if the chair beside him was. Even if there was no one in his ear or at his arm. There was no reason he should be upset. Arya had not arrived on time for supper. What was there to be upset about?

Everything, he scoffed to himself. Suspicion bubbled in him like stew in a cauldron. The quiet murmuring from the hall, deceptively lax, like the hinge of a trap not yet sprung. The careful, docile expressions of her siblings. The extra horses in the stable. The greater quality of meat assembled. The lateness of a princess.

She wouldn’t leave without telling him. He knew that. But she wouldn’t stay without seeing him either. He found his glaring eyes drifting over to their kin, scrutinizing. Certainly, it was not suspicious, he reasoned to himself, that none of her siblings had acknowledged her absence, but neither was it... not suspicious.

ARYA III

When Jaqen's face had darkened the door of her lodging, she had not flinched. She'd ran forward, no words to spare and expecting none in return, sword raised to his neck. But he'd only stepped back in turn, and raised his hands in surrender, offering his throat, if that is what she wanted, laying his life at her disposal either way. She'd scoffed but, damn her curiosity, she'd let him continue, though she would not rest her blade, for even if he spoke like a man, moved like a man, and told her things that only a man could know, she knew better than to think that she could trust this Jaqen to be her Jaqen, or that hers was any worth accepting in the first place.

It had not been until Jaqen had disappeared entirely that she'd cocked her head and let her Needle fall, not to her side, but turning and trailing down, from the edge at his neck to the tip at his belly.

The face of the Kindly Man had looked more dead than she remembered.

The moment understanding had lit her eyes, a man had raised his hand, and Jaqen had returned before her. He had remained ever since, his face familiar. Somehow both a gesture of peace and a warning.

JON III

There was one place, though, where Jon had been more welcomed than Robb - at Arya’s side. It had been that way the moment she was born and their father had set her in his arms. Brown hair, dark eyes, a small scowl that transformed into a burbling laugh at his touch. From that moment, he had been determined to be so loving a companion, so warm a haven, that if nothing else, she would have no choice but to think him good, to think him hers. The gods had clearly sent her for him, or perhaps put him there for her, after all. She looked his kin more than their brother or her mother both.

And when Lady Catelyn’s nervous fingers had pried her daughter’s fist from his thumb and wrested her from his grasp, he'd reckoned he was not the only one who noticed. She would never speak of it to him if she did, of course, but she did not have to. The dread and jealousy in her eyes screamed without reserve, every time Arya toddled after him or shrieked his name in delight or showered him with kisses, all of which she did for him far more often than she did for any of her full-blooded siblings, or her spiteful Tully mother.

The only person in the family he may ever have come second to in her eyes was their father. But then Jon had given her a gift even Ned would never dared, had loved her in a way that he was too much of a lord and a husband and a grown-up to conceive. He never stopped giving thanks that she had sneaked out of lessons that fateful day, that conversation on the rampart, gazing down at the full-blooded boys clumsily swinging about. Her grousing, her keening envy, had given him that sword, planted it in his brain, and that sword had saved her, delivered her home. Where would she be without it?

ARYA IV

It spread out across her bed like a quilt, black as the night, lined with white fur and fixed with a red garnet clasp. Something tasted strange in the back of Arya’s throat at the sight of it. She furrowed her brow at the dark fabric, and the black ribbons tying off the ends of her braids.

"What's wrong?"

"What?" Arya blinked back innocently, but it was too late.

"You look almost ill." Jeyne ventured as she reached around and threaded the cloak through the gaps between Arya's arms. "Does it not fit right? We had it adjusted just yesterday."

"It fits fine," Arya replied quickly. The other girl looked unconvinced as she closed the clasp at the base of her neck, just under a high collar embroidered with a thick trim of white branches and leaves a burning red. Arya pretended not to notice her, eyes trained on how the bright weirwood colors stood out against the gentle gray, and beside the Braavosi tan that lingered still on the back of her hands.

JON IV

Jon had imagined himself like this when he was a boy: sat at the head of a high table above the room, with lords grandstanding and grovelling before him. Granted, he had not picture two silver-haired conquerors beside him, nor crowns atop any heads, let alone his own. Likely that was why some of those noble heads of houses wore such shakier smiles than he'd pictured, as if they stood before three great beasts, why others were so rigid they almost looked in pain. Perhaps they thought bowing before a bastard king was beneath them, that might be it. But what did it matter? Their knees still bent.

He had gotten used to being in big chairs, in front of the room, as a commander, but those chairs had been wood, and those rooms had been cramped, low ceilings and long rows of tables and benches. He was hardly used to playing prince in a metal-wrought throne, raised up for all to see at the center of a big cavern of brick and tapestry, music lilting and colors flashing across gleaming smooth floors. These walls were not built to retain heat. He was not used to the exposure, to the echoing. It did not seem a place for whispers.

ARYA V

Arya furrowed her brows, reached out to touch his shoulders, nearly as amused by his distress as she was exasperated. "Ser Dayne has promised himself in service of the queen, as a representative of the council. Even if he was in love with me, as you imagine, it would be ill-fated. He'd hardly have the time to court me between his travels across the bloody continent."

Jon scoffed at her assertions. "You are inexperienced in these matters." It was a dark and bitter laugh that escapes him then. "You are - you are borderline naive. Vows may strip you of your past, as may distance and time, but love remains. If ever true, it remains." His voice was hastening, as if he could not stop the words from pouring out. "And what is to stop him from serving the queen and demanding you as repayment for such loyal service?"

"Jon, you've served with the man," she insisted, bewildered. "You know him! He's a good man! You think him capable of such a thing? He would never. Especially if he was in love with me."

And at that, Jon went quiet, cringing back, face turning to stone, as if her words had been an insult, rather than a reassurance. He did not respond right away, steadying his breath.

SANSA II

But Arya was Sansa's sister, too, and she would not be made to quiet so easily, tears rising in her eyes. "You have no idea what you speak of at such length. Day and night, ever since the war ended, my mind has swarmed with worries, for her sake. Spinning with them, so much it feels I've lost my head completely!"

“Oh, well, I know where your head is at. The Sword of the Morning and the Night Wolf, what a song they’d make!" He snarled. "But Arya’s life is not a song, and I will not have you write her into one."

The accusation was as bizarre as it was strangely hurtful, her ears burning and throat closing up. She stammered, hand pressed to her chest in appall, but Jon was hardly pausing, let alone taking the time to justify his needling words.

"Lament as many of your own weddings as you will, whether or not you include the current to the stunted, lumbering beast responsible for much of your own sister's suffering, but I will not let your mistakes and your resentments give her cause to regret her own!"

Sansa's hand was in the air before she could even register her own intentions, but Jon saw her hooked fingers and splayed palm coming in time to step back, leaving his jaw clipped rather than claw marks across his face.

JON V

He bent to make their eyes level, clutching her face between his palms. "Don't listen to her." He growled, nearly into her mouth, then snapped back around to bare his teeth at the trespasser. "You… Get out. Go. Into the night. Disappear, before I deliver your ashes unto your god myself!"

Arya didn't even glance away from her cousin as the woman obeyed, too fixed upon his furious, spitting visage. "Is it true?" A note of hurt slipped in and she scrambled to rein it back. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Jon's vision was black at the corners as he turned back to her, as if the world was fading into shadow, sunk into despair, a spotlight on his beloved's paling face and probing gaze. "It was not… You know I would never lie to you." He had not lied. He clung to that fact. He had not lied with his words, only kept to himself what he feared she would not understand, or worse, understand and hold against him.

"But you did not tell me, when you should have," she snaps, hand rising to her temple, as if she could press the turmoil from her head. "Why? Why did you hide it from me?"

"I did not hide it from you!" He insists, grip tightening, voice vacillating between dismissive, desperate, and dangerous. He could not let her speculate further. "I have hid nothing! That woman is trying to drive a wedge between us. The gods know why, but you cannot let her."

♡♡♡♡

All of these excerpts are on their first or second edit, as well, so I'm sure things will change eventually. Again, thanks so much for reading, and please, please interact if you liked it!

[trashisstillhere]

Some Ninja Randy related art I just wanted to post right now. But it’s not just the og, but some different versions of him that I had made long time ago and decided to try drawing again today!

Oh boy, I haven’t thought of these guys in a very long time until now. Some of you who has seen some art from both my old account and the old ones in this account may know of them (expect for Bad Ending!Randy, I never really showed him, I think). And yes, I will kinda explain each one of them since the rest of you probably don’t know about them at all so here we go.

1. Evil! Randy

an evil version of Randy, with all the chaos pearls in his disposal now that the sorcerer is fully gone. And no, not in the way like in the season 2 finale but like…well.. let’s just say, he’s still trapped.

staying in the now abandoned norrisville high school (what happen to everyone in there? No body knows), Evil! Randy is mostly alone by himself, plotting and thinking about what to do next now that everything with him has changed.

If he ever does get a visitor in the school, he seems quite calm and wise towards them, showing them around and even asking them for favours to help him a little around the place, give him company as he haven’t had some in so long…..but don’t be fooled. Remember, those green orbs corrupts whoever has them and this Randy is no different.

Howard’s and the Nomicons whereabouts in this au? currently unknown.

The only new thing about him right now are those few green glowing cracks on his suit and all, I thought those would look cool on him.

——

2. Horror! Randy

Now you can easily find this guys story and first drawings of him on my account. Just click on the Rc9gn tag while staying on my account, scroll far down and you’ll find it. Easy peasy. But if you’re too lazy, I’ll give you a short(er) and quick version.

This Randy’s story takes place back in season 1, right after he just became the ninja and a few days passed. He meets some evil spirit who takes a form of a ninja and tricks him into thinking that it’s from the nomicon and that there’s people who are monsters in disguise’s that he has to ‘get rid of’. Because of this along with illusions from the spirit to make it more believable, he ends up killing lots of innocents, even Howard which he immediately feels tons of regret and guilt for.

At the end, Randy becomes a lonely mess, a lost cause, a paranoid psycho ninja who now can’t tell the difference between an actual monster and a human thanks to the manipulation of the fake ninja spirit who is now suddenly gone along with the illusions.

Basically, this is a fucked up Randy who suffers a lot and is very lonely. He does kill though.

—-

3. Disbelief! Randy

This Randy is kinda based on and inspired by the disbelief Papyrus Undertale Au. But instead of Papyrus with Sans jacket on, it’s the poor ninja boy with Howard’s. Most of this one is just Randy wearing the only thing he has left of his dead friend, trying to avenge him. Who or what got Howard killed? From what I remember (I never wrote any of these guys stories down) it was Mcfist and Viceroy, it was an accident with a robot of theirs. They never meant to have it kill the guy but it just…happen.

Damn, I have two au’s where Howard is dead. Good lord-

—-

4. Bad Ending! Randy

One I have never shown here before.

This was first a ‘what if’ thing. Like what if at the season 2 finale, in the battle between the sorcerer and Randy, it ended up terribly wrong? With Julian and Howard coming in too late, The sorcerer successfully stabs Randy deeply in the chest, making him be the one to lose and slowly die. The last things he got to see and hear at the end is a concerned Julian, a devastated crying Howard and the laughter of his enemy in the background.

After dying with one last breath, Randy ends up in a void. A blank, white, empty void with no one else but him, who is now mostly black and white, expect for the bleeding wound on his chest, a painful reminder of his defeat. Well, the nomicon is with him. However, he can’t communicate with it anymore.

Why? Because the book, that is also lost of color like the boy, seems to be corrupted. Not like evil corruption but just some kind of corruption that keeps it shut and quiet, no glowing, no beeps, nothing, having this sort of ink all over the cover that never stops dripping and keeps its pages sticky and shut tight.

Randy doesn’t understand this and the place he is stuck in but all he does know is he can’t get help anymore and he can’t even get to see what is going on in his home right now, though he assumes that it’s now slowly turning into a chaotic wasteland thanks to the sorcerer. All he can do now is cry and cry, mumbling to himself and getting mad at himself for losing so easily like that, probably even developing self hatred in the process.

There is actually some continuation i made for this with a good ending, where Randy somehow is able to fix the Nomicon, get out of the endless white void, get revived, reunite with Howard along with many others and finally defeat the sorcerer once and for all. Though that one never got finished and from what I remember, it’s not really canon and not a true ending to this au so….oops.

——————

But yeah, these are my Randy Au’s. There is kinda a few more but not really.

[amandacanwrite]

Hazards of Endearment || Chapter Two: Recollection

Pairing || Cooper Adams (Abbott?) / Female Reader

Fandom || Trap (2024)

Warning || This is a slow-burn, dark romance. There will be lying, manipulation, infidelity, and eventual coercion and kidnapping in this fic. Cooper is not a good guy and brings out ugly sides of the reader's character. If that is problematic or upsetting to you, I encourage you to skip this one. In addition to that, the 'reader' in this fic is epileptic and there are mentions and depictions of grand mal seizures in this fic as well as allusions to parental mental abuse and munchausen's by proxy.

Tag List || @amethystblackkchaos @dirtylittlefairytales

Cooper kept his eyes on the ground as he waited for your answer. His body sang with tension; each sinew coiled in anticipation of having to jump the gun on taking his next victim. 

You had seen him. You’d caught sight of him as he disposed of his most recent kill. He didn’t know how long you’d watched him before he caught sight of you, but it was long enough that when his brown eyes met yours, you ran. 

You were small, and you were fast, but he was faster; more physically fit. He’d had a longer stride and could cross the same distance in one step as you could in two. 

You’d gotten all the way to the top of Mourner’s Peak and he’d given you two options; take a leap off the cliffside, or come with him. 

But it seemed your body chose a third option. 

He watched with surprise as your face went pale and you became eerily still.  

He thought it was the look of someone who had realized they’d lost; someone who was going to lose their life by his hand. But the expression was too blank–too empty. Something was wrong. Dissociation, maybe? Freeze response?

But then, your eyes had rolled back in your head. He watched as you dropped to the ground and every muscle in your body contracted; your back arching as if in the throes of passion, your arms and legs straightening to the point that he was sure it would be painful if you were at all aware. 

A grand mal, also called a tonic clonic. But the onset was slow–maybe it started as a temporal lobe seizure and became a grand mal?

He’d started dragging you away from the cliffside and gotten you on your side when your body had gone slack and your breathing had calmed. Your seizure had passed. And as you slowly regained your faculties, your eyes had no fear or apprehension when they’d met his. There had been no recognition in your gaze at all. 

It was all too perfect. 

So perfect that he had to risk it. He had to be sure. He had to test your recollection. 

If you remembered anything it would be easy enough to haul you back up to the peak and throw you off of it. Or to put you in his van and take you to one of his safe houses. 

“Mnh…” you said as he made it half-way down the incline. “The bus.”

“The bus?” he asked. 

“Can’t drive with the seizures,” you said. 

“Ah, right,” he said. “What else?”

“Do you know much about seizures? How they work in the brain?” you asked him. 

Yes, he thought to himself. “No,” he lied. 

“I usually have temporal lobe seizures–they look kind of like zoning out–and then they develop into grand mal seizures right after,” you said. “The temporal lobe handles memory, so it’s not uncommon for me to lose a few hours or even most of a day after I have one.”

Good, he thought.

“How often do you have them?” he asked. 

“A couple times a month,” you said. “Though I usually can tell if I’m going to have a tough day. I usually stay home on those days. Guess this one snuck up on me.”

Unseen to you, he closed his eyes and gave a silent, relieved exhale. Though if he was honest, he wasn’t sure why he was so relieved. It wouldn’t have been the first time he cleaned up a loose end, though the need to do so was rare. He was, after all, meticulous. 

Which brought him to his next question. 

“What brought you out to Mourner’s Peak, anyway?” he asked you. “It’s got a reputation for being a bit morbid.”

“What brought you out here then?” you asked. 

“I asked you first,” he insisted, sneaking a look back at you to make sure your expression hadn’t changed. 

It had, but not in the way he was fearing. You were averting your eyes, there was a little extra color dusting the apples of your cheeks and the bridge of your nose. Embarrassment. Sheepishness. Someone who didn’t want him to think you were odd. 

He could work with that. Oh yes, he could work with that. 

“I guess I just…have a fascination…with the macabre,” you said. 

“Ah,” he said. “A local urban legend chaser, then.”

Mourner’s Peak, according to local lore, was said to be a cursed place for couples. Starting back in the 1800’s when a man, rejected in courtship by his childhood friend, asked her to meet him at the peak. When she’d arrived, he’d asked for an embrace. 

And then he’d held onto her as he’d jumped off the cliffside, killing them both. 

Since then, it had been the site of multiple suicides and murders and was rumored to be haunted or cursed or whatever it was. The superstition wasn’t why Cooper had picked it as a dumping location. He picked it because it was a hard trail and it was generally avoided because of the silly rumors about it. 

“Tell me more about this fascination,” he said, doing his best to sound warm and inviting. Non-judgemental. “You seem a little young for morbid inclinations. What are you, twenty?”

“Wow, thanks–no I’m twenty-seven,” you said. “And…well… I guess I’ve had enough close calls to be a little curious about it.”

Cooper smiled to himself, enjoying a private joke at your expense. Enjoying that you had no idea just how close this particular call had been for you. 

“So is that the kinda stuff you do for fun, then? Paranormal investigating? Hanging out in graveyards? Ouiji boards?” He asked. 

“Now you’re just being mean,” you said. 

He gave a pleasant chuckle, finally making it to the base of the incline before the trail leveled out. He adjusted you up on his back a little further, rolling his neck once as he tried to ignore the primal part of him that responded to the way his hands pressed into the soft curve of your thigh. 

“You never told me what you were doing out here,” you pointed out. 

“I live nearby,” he lied smoothly. “It’s a good trail to take to keep fit, and it’s nice enough out here that I don’t feel like I’m actually exercising.”

“Mnh,” you said. “I guess it works, you’re carrying me like it’s nothing. Not even breaking a sweat.”

“This 6’3” stature has its uses,” he said.

This was exactly what he was hoping for. Nice, boring, pleasant conversation. The kind of conversation that put people at ease. 

It was quiet for a few moments after that. The sound of his steady breaths and the crunch of gravel beneath his boots were the only things that could be heard.

He lost himself in thought for a while. Lost himself in revised plans for hiding the body. In what excuse he would give to Rachel for missing dinner. Then the weight of your head dropped onto his shoulder; your breath rustling the hair at the back of his neck and making his arms prickle with gooseflesh beneath the sleeves of his sweater. 

“You alright?” he asked. 

“I’m sorry, I usually sleep all day after a seizure,” you said. “I’m just so tired.”

Something tightened in his stomach; an emotion he usually only felt for Riley or Logan. Endearment. The desire to protect. A strange shift considering he was killing you just moments ago. He wondered where it came from. 

“Sleep if you want,” he said. “We’ve got probably about an hour before we make it back to the beginning of the trail.”

“I don’t want to be even heavier on your back,” you said, your voice growing hoarse with sleep. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “This is easy mode. Contrary to popular belief, it’s actually easier to carry someone on your back when they’re dead weight. Makes you just kinda drape onto me instead of worrying about where your limbs are placed. Besides, you’re really not that heavy.”

“You’re sure?” you asked. 

“Positive,” he said. “I’ll wake you when we get to my car and figure out where I’m taking you, alright?” 

“Mnh,” you said again in answer. 

And just after that, your weight slackened against him. Every soft curve of your body, every ounce of weight strangely comforting to him as he continued down the trail. 

And there is something about you, he realizes. 

Something that he doesn’t feel like sharing.

[vodika-vibes]

Could you please share how your Neyo piece from the other day ends?

What a Change pt. 2

Summary: You've been trapped on this war torn planet for two days, you just have to wait for Neyo to come and get you.

Pairing: Commander Neyo x Reader

Word Count: 1332

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: There's no love confessions here, but the love is there and it's enough.

You wince as you duck behind the broken wall of what used to be a medical clinic. A medical clinic that Doctors Without Borders set up years ago, you recognize some of the equipment that lay, damaged and unused, around the exam room.

When Commander Neyo told you that the planet wasn’t peaceful anymore, you weren’t sure that you believed him. After all, you had been here before, and had helped vaccinate the population against the plague. You had friends here.

Or, you had once upon a time.

You duck your head a little more as blaster fire hits the wall over your head, and you wince as small pieces of drywall rain down on you. 

Commander Neyo had been very clear. Find a safe place, and stay there until he can come and find you. You thought it would be an easy thing to agree to. But in almost two days, you haven’t found a single safe place to hide.

Honestly, you’re kind of glad that Neyo insisted on wearing your armor, because you’re been shot several times over the last couple of days. You glance down at your chest piece, which is now decorated with three different blaster burns.

You’re also glad that Doctors Without Borders splurges for some very high end armor.

You hear heavy footsteps, and silently you drop to the ground, and shimmy your way through an opening in the wall, leading you back outside…or what was outside, when there was an inside to compare it to.

You stay low, hidden behind some bushes, and you close your eyes and try to remember. Outside the city, there was a massive cave system that the people here used to inter their deceased. Right up until they learned that the reason there was so much illness on the planet was because of all of the death so close by.

The caves had been emptied and the bodies had been properly disposed of…and the caves should be empty.

Great. Fantastic.

All you have to do is cross a city filled with people who want to kill you, and find your way out of the city into a wilderness full of creatures that want to kill you, in the hopes that maybe you’ll find a cave system that used to be a death sentence to enter.

Lovely.

The back of your head settles against the building for a moment, maybe you can just stay here. Surely no one would look for you in a place where you’d already been, right?

You close your eyes, take a deep breath, and then start moving. You know that staying in place is a death sentence, especially here. You just hope that Commander Neyo actually comes for you.

No.

No, you can’t think like that. Neyo said he would come, so he will.

Finally, you finally make it outside of the city, and you find the cave system with ease. You’re not surprised to see that the system is empty, the place still carries an air of grief and sorrow.

You’re more surprised that the cave systems haven’t been completely sealed off.

You settle yourself only a little way in from the mouth of the cave, and you curl behind a large rock. Better safe than sorry in this case.

Slowly you drift off, your head resting on your vambraces. You sure do hope that no one finds you…or that the only person who does find you is Commander Neyo.

You start awake to the sound of heavy steps on dirt, and you keep yourself still through sheer stubbornness. 

“Doc?” A familiar voice echoes through the cave, “It’s Neyo, I know you’re in here.”

You hesitate, and then poke your head out from behind the rock, “Commander?”

You see his helmet turn in your direction, and tension drains out of his shoulders. “When the General said that your tracking fob put you in the cave system we feared that you had been killed.”

You blink at him, “Tracking fob?”

He walks over to you and crouches so he’s closer to eye level with you, taking a moment to pull his helmet off and set it to the side so you’re able to see his face. Neyo reaches out to you, and then down into one of your many, many pouches, and he pulls a small plastoid disk out of the pocket, “Tracking fob.”

You stare at the disk for a moment, “You put a tracking device on me?” You don’t know if you should laugh or cry.

“Of course I did. I told you I was going to find you, how’d you think I was going to do that without a tracking device.” Neyo helps you to your feet, and his gaze drops to the blaster burns on your chest plate. “You were shot.”

You sniffle, unable to help yourself, “I was shot a lot.”

“I can tell, you’re not hurt are yo-” He stops talking mid-sentence when you fling your arms around him in a tight hug, “Uh…” Hesitantly he wraps his arms around you and lightly pets the back of your head.

“‘M sorry,” You mumble, but you don’t pull away from the hug, instead you raise onto your toes and press your nose against the spot on his neck that isn’t covered with armor, but is covered with the thin material of his blacks.

Neyo releases a slightly shaky breath, “You don’t have to apologize.” His arms tighten around you, “You’re not supposed to end up in these situations.”

“No one should end up in these kinds of situations.” You reply mournfully.

Slowly, hesitantly, Neyo brings a hand to rest on the back of your neck, trying to offer you what comfort he can.

“I’m sorry you had to come after me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the vaccines at the beginning. I’m-”

“Hey, hey. No. None of that.” Neyo pulls you away and presses his hand against your cheek, “You did the right thing. The Admiral should have passed the information down, not sat on it until it was too late. And I will always come after you. Always.” It sounds like a promise and you stare up at him with watery eyes.

“I’m sure you have better things-”

“Never. You are the most important.” Neyo interrupts. “You, who fight for me and my brothers even when we intimidate you. You who cares so very much about everything.”

You blink at him, surprised at his words.

“I am going to get you back to the ship. And then I’m going to punt the Admiral out the airlock.” Neyo bitches, “And then you’re going to cure the enhanced aging of me and my brothers.”

You sniffle and wipe your eyes, “I’m really close.”

“I know you are, it’s because you’re brilliant,” Neyo says as he brushes his thumb across your cheek, “And once you fix the enhanced aging, and the war is over, I’m going to marry the kriff out of you and give you three kids and a kriffing house with a garden and two tookas-”

You laugh softly, your anxiety and fear from the last two days fading now that you know that you’re safe again, “Seems like you have it all planned.”

“That is what I’m good at,” Neyo replies, he brushes his thumb against your cheek a little longer, and then he pulls away, “We have a camp set up about an hour walk from here. I will get you back to camp safely. But you’re going to have to stay at camp to keep you away from the Admiral.”

“You don’t trust him.”

“Not when you’re involved.” Neyo scoffs, he pulls his helmet back on, “Stay close, Doc.”

You smile at him, and stand on your toes to press a light kiss against his helmet, “Thank you, Commander.”

Later you’ll talk to him about feelings. But he’s already made it plain to you what his feelings are, you just have to do the same thing…somehow.

[mariacallous]

THIS ARTICLE IS republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

On Valentine’s Day 2025, heavy rains started to fall in parts of rural Appalachia. Over the course of a few days, residents in eastern Kentucky watched as river levels rose and surpassed flood levels. Emergency teams conducted over 1,000 water rescues. Hundreds, if not thousands of people were displaced from homes, and entire business districts filled with mud.

For some, it was the third time in just four years that their homes had flooded, and the process of disposing of destroyed furniture, cleaning out the muck, and starting anew is beginning again.

Floods wiped out businesses and homes in eastern Kentucky in February 2021, July 2022, and now February 2025. An even greater scale of destruction hit eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina in September 2024, when Hurricane Helene’s rainfall and flooding decimated towns and washed out parts of major highways.

Each of these events was considered to be a “thousand-year flood,” with a 1-in-1,000 chance of happening in a given year. Yet they’re happening more often.

The floods have highlighted the resilience of local people to work together for collective survival in rural Appalachia. But they have also exposed the deep vulnerability of communities, many of which are located along creeks at the base of hills and mountains with poor emergency warning systems. As short-term cleanup leads to long-term recovery efforts, residents can face daunting barriers that leave many facing the same flood risks over and over again.

Exposing a Housing Crisis

For the past nine years, I have been conducting research on rural health and poverty in Appalachia. It’s a complex region often painted in broad brushstrokes that miss the geographic, socioeconomic, and ideological diversity it holds.

Appalachia is home to a vibrant culture, a fierce sense of pride, and a strong sense of love. But it is also marked by the omnipresent backdrop of a declining coal industry.

There is considerable local inequality that is often overlooked in a region portrayed as one-dimensional. Poverty levels are indeed high. In Perry County, Kentucky, where one of eastern Kentucky’s larger cities, Hazard, is located, nearly 30 percent of the population lives under the federal poverty line. But the average income of the top 1 percent of workers in Perry County is nearly $470,000—17 times more than the average income of the remaining 99 percent.

This income and wealth inequality translates to unequal land ownership—much of eastern Kentucky’s most desirable land remains in the hands of corporations and families with great generational wealth.

When I first moved to eastern Kentucky in 2016, I was struck by the grave lack of affordable, quality housing. I met families paying $200 to $300 a month for a small plot to put a mobile home on. Others lived in “found housing”—often distressed properties owned by family members. They had no lease, no equity, and no insurance. They had a place to lay one’s head but lacked long-term stability in the event of disagreement or disaster. This reality was rarely acknowledged by local and state governments.

Eastern Kentucky’s 2021 and 2022 floods turned this into a full-blown housing crisis, with 9,000 homes damaged or destroyed in the 2022 flood alone.

“There was no empty housing or empty places for housing,” one resident involved in local flood recovery efforts told me. “It just was complete disaster because people just didn’t have a place to go.”

Most homeowners did not have flood insurance to assist with rebuilding costs. While many applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance, the amounts they received often did not go far. The maximum aid for temporary housing assistance and repairs is $42,500, plus up to an additional $42,500 for other needs related to the disaster.

The federal government often provides more aid for rebuilding through block grants directed to local and state governments, but that money requires congressional approval and can take months to years to arrive. Local community coalitions and organizations stepped in to fill these gaps, but they did not necessarily have sufficient donations or resources to help such large numbers of displaced people.

With a dearth of affordable rentals pre-flood, renters who lost their homes had no place to go. And those living in “found housing” that was destroyed were not eligible for federal support for rebuilding.

The sheer level of devastation also posed challenges. One health care professional told me: “In Appalachia, the way it usually works is if you lose your house or something happens, then you go stay with your brother or your mom or your cousin … But everybody’s mom and brother and cousin also lost their house. There was nowhere to stay.” From her point of view, “our homelessness just skyrocketed.”

The Cost of Land—Social and Economic

After the 2022 flood, the Kentucky Department for Local Government earmarked almost $300 million of federal funding to build new, flood-resilient homes in eastern Kentucky. Yet the question of where to build remained. As another resident involved in local flood recovery efforts told me, “You can give us all the money you want; we don’t have any place to build the house.”

It has always been costly and time-intensive to develop land in Appalachia. Available higher ground tends to be located on former strip mines, and these reclaimed lands require careful geotechnical surveying and sometimes structural reinforcements.

If these areas are remote, the cost of running electric, water, and other infrastructure services can also be prohibitive. For this reason, for-profit developers have largely avoided many counties in the region. The head of a nonprofit agency explained to me that, because of this, “The markets have broken … We have no [housing] market.”

There is also some risk involved in attempting to build homes on new land that has not previously been developed. A local government could pay for undeveloped land to be surveyed and prepared for development, with the prospect of reimbursement by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development if housing is successfully built. But if, after the work to prepare the land, it is still too cost-prohibitive to build a profitable house there, the local government would not receive any reimbursement.

Some counties have found success clearing land for large developments on former strip mine sites. But these former coal mining areas can be considerable distances from towns. Without robust public transportation systems, these distances are especially prohibitive for residents who lack reliable personal transportation.

Another barrier is the high prices that both individual and corporate landowners are asking for properties on higher ground.

The scarcity of desirable land available for sale, combined with increasingly urgent demand, has led to prices unaffordable for most. Another resident involved in local flood recovery efforts explained: “If you paid $5,000 for 30 acres 40 years ago, why won’t you sell that for $100,000? Nope, [they want] $1 million.” That makes it increasingly difficult for both individuals and housing developers to purchase land and build.

One reason for this scarcity is the amount of land that is still owned by outside corporate interests. For example, Kentucky River Properties, formerly Kentucky River Coal Corporation, owns over 270,000 acres across seven counties in the region. While this landholding company leases land to coal, timber, and gas companies, it and others like it rarely permit residential development.

But not all unused land is owned by corporations. Some of this land is owned by families with deep roots in the region. People’s attachment to a place often makes them want to stay in their communities, even after disasters. But it can also limit the amount of land available for rebuilding. People are often hesitant to sell land that holds deep significance for their families, even if they are not living there themselves.

One health care professional expressed feeling torn between selling or keeping their own family property after the 2022 flood: “We have a significant amount of property on top of a mountain. I wouldn’t want to sell it because my papa came from nothing … His generation thought owning land was the greatest thing … And for him to provide his children and his grandchildren and their great-grandchildren a plot of land that he worked and sweat and ultimately died to give us—people want to hold onto that.”

She recognized that land was in great demand but couldn’t bring herself to sell what she owned. In cases like hers, higher grounds are owned locally but still remain unused.

Moving Toward Higher Ground, Slowly

Two years after the 2022 flood, major government funding for rebuilding still has not resulted in a significant number of homes. The state has planned seven communities on higher ground in eastern Kentucky that aim to house 665 new homes. As of early 2025, 14 houses had been completed.

Progress on providing housing on higher ground is slow, and the need is great.

In the meantime, when I conducted interviews during the summer and fall of 2024, many of the mobile home communities that were decimated in the 2022 flood had begun to fill back up. These were flood-risk areas, but there was simply no other place to go.

Last week, I watched on Facebook a friend’s live video footage showing the waters creeping up the sides of the mobile homes in one of those very communities that had flooded in 2022. Another of my friends mused: “I don’t know who constructed all this, but they did an unjustly favor by not thinking how close these towns was to the river. Can’t anyone in Frankfort help us, or has it gone too far?”

With hundreds more people now displaced by the most recent flood, the need for homes on higher grounds has only expanded, and the wait continues.

[mandalorian-trooper]

For the past week, Captain Rosetta Martin has been investigating into the disappearance of corrupt senators. After series reports, she and a few members of the 501st that Captain Rex (@captainrex-of-the-501st) hand lent her, discovered that they were taken off world to Quesh.

Quesh in recent year, had been turned in arena death match planet, were the worst of the worst would fight to death for fame and glory. Sometime bounty hunters would kidnap corrupt leaders or businessmen to have fight for amusement.

General Kenobi (@its-over-i-have-the-high-ground) has joined to captain to put a stop to human trafficking ring.

Rosetta: General, I recommend going in disguise to infiltrate the enemy.

Kenobi: That would give us the element of surprise, and lest casualties than we charged in like a certain someone I know would (@skyguy-is-gonna-fly-by). We need a distraction as well.

Commander Cody: I will take my men, and we attack from the south side. Keeping guards distracted, for you two to slip in.

Rosetta: Once we get inside fall back to here, once we take the ringleader, we will meet up here, further north.

As the group confirmed the plan. They took a rest for night and head out. Rosetta and Kenobi changed into their disguises went to the gate. As they arrived most of the guard were running to the south to defend the wall.

Kenobi and Rosetta slipped in and head towards the VIP area.

Guard 1: Hault, you not permitted in this area. Leave now!!!

Rosetta: We have orders to deliver this package. (It was an empty box with nothing side)

Guard 2: We don’t care!!! Our orders are not to let anyone through. Hand over the package and be on your way.

Rosetta gave Kenobi a nod.

Kenobi using force on the guards: You will let through, it is important.

The Guards: We will let you through, it is important.

The Guards let Rosetta and Kenobi pass. As they entered, they met with little resistance.

Kenobi: I have a bad feeling about this

They were suddenly surrounded.

Rosetta: It’s a trapped

Unknown Voice: And you felt right for it.

A Hutt entered the room being escorted by some bounty hunters.

Unknown Hutt: I am Miko the Hutt. I think I got myself two new contenders for the next match.

Rosetta: As if Miko. You nothing but a low tier Hutt. Just because you speak basic doesn’t mean you are special. (Rosetta knew that all Hutts could speak basic if they wanted too, but she wanted to push some buttons. See if Miko would slip up)

Miko: Republic Trash. How dare you. I been running this planet and all of its activities for decades!!! I am no low tier Hutt.

Kenobi: Sounds like, some couldn’t control their anger and given us all the information we need, Rosetta.

Rosetta: Indeed General. And we have all record. (Rosetta held a recording holo)

Miko: (Angrily growled, before regaining composure) No Worries, I will just dispose of you and all the evidence will be erased. Guards get them!!!

Rosetta used her mini flamethrowers to keep the guards from charging while Kenobi forced pushed the other guards against the wall. Rosetta jumped over the flames used her flame punch to knock out the remaining guards.

Miko sent out her bounty hunters next. Rosetta quickly pulled out her pistol and shot one on the left. She shot an ion blast from her wrist and disarmed the hunter. She charged towards hit, started punching him until he was down.

Kenobi was dealing with the other one on the right. Using his lightsaber to deflect the bullet back at the hunter. Kenobi threw his lightsaber at the hunter jet pack. Which launched the hunter out of the window into arena. The hunter was dragged off by animals in the pit.

They turned towards Miko.

Rosetta: It’s over Miko. As Captain of the 25th unit of Republic Special Forces I am placing you under arrest by the authority given to me by Republic High Command. (Man, we really need get name, she thought to herself.

Just as Rosetta was about to move. Something shot passed her and hit the Hutt. Instantly kill Miko.

Unknown Voice: Another Job Completed.

Kenobi: Who are you?

Unknown Voice: You can call me Anna aka the great bounty hunter (@the-greatest-mandalorian) in the world. Ta, Now!!

Anna proceeds to fly off. Rosetta not thinking, flies after her.

Kenobi: Maybe, she is not level headed as Anakin as I thought.

Rosetta proceeds to shoot at Anna.

Anna: You have to better than that to get me.

Rosetta: Surrender now!

Anna: Nah!!! I wouldn’t get my money if I did that.

Rosetta: you did this for the money.

Anna: yes and no. Miko was scum anyways, I grab bounties for scum and anything that cause mischief. I have code. But why do you care, there one less criminal in the galaxy now.

Rosetta: There is a rule of law to how things work. That is what separates us from them.

Anna: Well….It just means the a governmental body just controls who gets arrested and judge later. Sometimes, they get go free, because they information on other high level criminal. And they eventually go back their ways taking the other criminals empire. An endless cycle.

Rosetta: So you get to decide who lives and who dies. Just because you disagree, when the ruling body even if they are wrong. You can always vote them out and let someone new in willing to make a change for the better

Anna: That just wishful thinking. You will see, one day someone is going cross a line and we will never able to go back. And everything will change for the worse. Oh, looks times is up, my rides here.

Anna jumps onto her ship and fly off into the unknown. Rosetta walks back, thing on what Anna’s words. It is possible, no it can’t be, we have check and balances. I prove her wrong somehow.

THE END

[kyokimidori]

Dolohov x Hermione part 2?

Three days he kept her in a deep sleep, preparing her new home. It was torture watching her sleep all this time, unable to fight or quarrel with him. He wanted to see that fight in her. Yet he kept her asleep, taking care of her needs, emptying her bowls when needed, cleaning her every day. It was the fourth day that he found himself prepared for his ptichka, her cage prepared so beautifully.

He had been given a property by his master, one of Malfoys smaller homes. It wasn’t much to look at, but it would be comfortable enough for his ptichka. The home had been furnished by Malfoy as well, with lots of black and white furniture. He pictures something more colorful later, certain that his witch would want to decorate to what suited her. He was fine with it. The white and black reminding him too much of the grey of Azkaban. Her color would brighten his dull world, he was certain of that.

It was around noon on the fourth day that he decided to wake her, the binding spells on her magic cast, the home fortified so no one could come in or out other than himself. All instruments that his ptichka could try to harm him with were disposed of, including all metal utensils. Looking down at his sleeping witch, Antonin found himself smiling slightly, the thought of waking her filling him with excitement. How would she feel about her new home?

Leaning over her, he placed a chaste kiss on her lips, pulling away as her eyes fluttered open.

He was glad he had, because the second she was awake she was up, ready to fight.

"Did you just kiss me?" she demanded pressing herself on the other side of the bed, like that would stop him from getting her if he wanted to.

"da, how else should I have woken you ptichka?" he asked amused as he watched her looking around for a weapon of some kind only to find none.

"You are safe here dorogoy." He said soothingly, even as she looked around the room, possibly looking for an exit of some kind. There was only two ways out, the window, which was warded so she couldn't leave, or the door behind him. She was trapped and she knew it.

"Safe? How could I possibly be safe when I am in the presence of a death eater?" she spat the words at him "Where are Harry and Ron" she demanded.

Dolohov raised his eyebrow at her tone "You will show me respect" he said the words slowly, taking a step around the bed starting to close the gap between them. She reacted instantly, seeing a path to the door. She was over the bed in a matter of seconds, her agility impressing Antonin. He watched in mild amusement as she got to the door, trying to pull it open to no avail.

He watched her turn around, her eyes on a heavy looking lamp. "Accio lamp" she said holding out her hand.

Dolohov laughed, unable to help it, for his little witch's face fell when she realized she was powerless "It's a good binding spell nett?" he asked her as he rounded the bed again, headed towards her. She looked towards him her eyes defiant and angry.

"You did what?" she growled at him. For the first time Dolohov thought she might be more of a malenkyi levie then a ptichka. Not that it mattered, that fierceness would fade away.

"I bound your magic, for your safety" he replied advancing on her.

"For my safety?! " She looked at him "How is taking away my magic keeping me safe exactly."

"You will try to run with your magic, try to fight. you will lose. Nett, it is better to not have magic until you learn your place"

"My place?" she was seething, and he couldn't help but delight in it. "and exactly what is my place?"

Antonin smiled at her, a predatory smile "With me of course ptichka."

Hermione looked at him shocked for a moment "What?"

Antonin took another step towards her "I have known since the day you survived my curse that you were meant to be mine." he said, taking another step closer as he spoke." You are strong willed and talented, yes you were meant to be mine."

Understanding lit her face, and she pressed her body against the door as he closed the space between them, grasping her firmly by the neck "You will see it too soon my ptichka" he promised her before capturing her lips in a heated kiss.

He was going to show her exactly where she was meant to be.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Large Hadron Collider pipe brings search for elusive magnetic monopole closer than ever

New research using a decommissioned section of the beam pipe from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN has bought scientists closer than ever before to test whether magnetic monopoles exist.

Scientists from the University of Nottingham, in collaboration with an international team have revealed the most stringent constraints yet on the existence of magnetic monopoles, pushing the boundaries of what is known about these elusive particles. Their research has been published today in Physical Review Letters.

In particle physics, a magnetic monopole is a hypothetical elementary particle that is an isolated magnet with only one magnetic pole (a north pole without a south pole or vice versa). 

Oliver Gould, Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow at the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nottingham is the lead theorist for the study, he said: “Could there be particles with only a single magnetic pole, either north or south? This intriguing possibility, championed by renowned physicists Pierre Curie, Paul Dirac, and Joseph Polchinski, has remained one of the most captivating mysteries in theoretical physics. Confirming their existence would be transformative for physics, yet to date experimental searches have come up empty handed.” 

The team focused their search on a decommissioned section of the beam pipe from the LHC at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research. Conducted by physicists from the Monopole and Exotics Detector at the LHC (MoEDAL) experiment, the study examined a beryllium beam pipe section that had been located at the particle collision point for the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment. This pipe had endured radiation from billions of ultra-high-energy ion collisions occurring just centimetres away. 

"The proximity of the beam pipe to the collision point of ultra-relativistic heavy ions provides a unique opportunity to probe monopoles with unprecedentedly high magnetic charges," explained Aditya Upreti, a Ph.D. candidate who led the experimental analysis while working in Professor Ostrovskiy's MoEDAL group at the University of Alabama. "Since magnetic charge is conserved, the monopoles cannot decay and are expected to get trapped by the pipe's material, which allows us to reliably search for them with a device directly sensitive to magnetic charge". 

The researchers investigated the production of magnetic monopoles during heavy ion collisions at the LHC, which generated magnetic fields even stronger than those of rapidly spinning neutron stars. Such intense fields could lead to the spontaneous creation of magnetic monopoles through the Schwinger mechanism. 

Oliver added: “Despite being an old piece of pipe destined for disposal, our predictions indicated it might be the most promising place on Earth to find a magnetic monopole,” 

The MoEDAL collaboration used a superconductive magnetometer to scan the beam pipe for signatures of trapped magnetic charge. Although they found no evidence of magnetic monopoles, their results exclude the existence of monopoles lighter than 80 GeV/c² (where c is the speed of light) and provide the world-leading constraints for magnetic charges ranging from 2 to 45 base units. 

The research team now plans to extend their search, Oliver concludes: “The beam pipe that we used was from the first run of the Large Hadron Collider, which was carried out before 2013 and at lower energies. Extending the study to a more recent run at higher energies could double our experimental reach. We are also now considering completely different search strategies for magnetic monopoles.” 

New research using a decommissioned section of the beam pipe from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN has bought scientists closer than ever before to test whether magnetic monopoles exist.

Scientists from the University of Nottingham, in collaboration with an international team have revealed the most stringent constraints yet on the existence of magnetic monopoles, pushing the boundaries of what is known about these elusive particles. Their research has been published today in Physical Review Letters.

In particle physics, a magnetic monopole is a hypothetical elementary particle that is an isolated magnet with only one magnetic pole (a north pole without a south pole or vice versa). 

Oliver Gould, Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow at the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nottingham is the lead theorist for the study, he said: “Could there be particles with only a single magnetic pole, either north or south? This intriguing possibility, championed by renowned physicists Pierre Curie, Paul Dirac, and Joseph Polchinski, has remained one of the most captivating mysteries in theoretical physics. Confirming their existence would be transformative for physics, yet to date experimental searches have come up empty handed.” 

The team focused their search on a decommissioned section of the beam pipe from the LHC at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research. Conducted by physicists from the Monopole and Exotics Detector at the LHC (MoEDAL) experiment, the study examined a beryllium beam pipe section that had been located at the particle collision point for the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment. This pipe had endured radiation from billions of ultra-high-energy ion collisions occurring just centimetres away. 

"The proximity of the beam pipe to the collision point of ultra-relativistic heavy ions provides a unique opportunity to probe monopoles with unprecedentedly high magnetic charges," explained Aditya Upreti, a Ph.D. candidate who led the experimental analysis while working in Professor Ostrovskiy's MoEDAL group at the University of Alabama. "Since magnetic charge is conserved, the monopoles cannot decay and are expected to get trapped by the pipe's material, which allows us to reliably search for them with a device directly sensitive to magnetic charge". 

The researchers investigated the production of magnetic monopoles during heavy ion collisions at the LHC, which generated magnetic fields even stronger than those of rapidly spinning neutron stars. Such intense fields could lead to the spontaneous creation of magnetic monopoles through the Schwinger mechanism. 

Oliver added: “Despite being an old piece of pipe destined for disposal, our predictions indicated it might be the most promising place on Earth to find a magnetic monopole,” 

The MoEDAL collaboration used a superconductive magnetometer to scan the beam pipe for signatures of trapped magnetic charge. Although they found no evidence of magnetic monopoles, their results exclude the existence of monopoles lighter than 80 GeV/c² (where c is the speed of light) and provide the world-leading constraints for magnetic charges ranging from 2 to 45 base units. 

The research team now plans to extend their search, Oliver concludes: “The beam pipe that we used was from the first run of the Large Hadron Collider, which was carried out before 2013 and at lower energies. Extending the study to a more recent run at higher energies could double our experimental reach. We are also now considering completely different search strategies for magnetic monopoles.” 

[stillresolved]

The lapis lazuli is finely reworked, a show of loyalty, and a heart Eunjae pretends to no longer possess, dangling from their ear and occasionally brushing against their neck if they move just the right way. Like now.

Eunjae makes the beeline the moment they see Annie, with the same disinterested nonchalance they'd brushed past every other victor in the room. None of their concern. They've seen too many who could have stood here instead, die. Sent some out there themselves. Annie, isolated and exploited, stands out like the indestructible buoy people describe her as. Eunjae grabs the glass a Capitolite is trying to push into her hand and pours bad champagne down their throat.

"Darn," a contorted face, the hint of a teasing smile. "Worst thing I've ever had." The empty glass is shoved back into the Capitolite's hand, Eunjae hardly turns to look. The fingers to curl around Annie's are gentle, a direct contrast to the aggression of clearing a space for Annie to be in. "This place has a fountain we can cool down next to. Come."

((personalized asks, hmmm >:3))

@ptternminds / unprompted.

THE SKIRT IS SMOOTH AGAINST HER PALMS. Blue and green silk beneath her fingers, it brushes against her ankles. The last one spilled onto the floor around her, trapping her feet in the center; they said that wouldn’t happen again. Not because it was inconvenient for her to move around, but because such luxurious fabric didn’t deserve to be trampled on by the masses. Still, Annie loathes to admit it, but if there is one thing she can appreciate about the Capitol, it’s the fact her stylists never put her in restrictive clothing.

( She also knows they struggled to figure out how to…market her: how do you style a mad girl, they kept asking themselves. We can’t go with an asylum look; that would offend the younger generations, damn snowflakes, they said. It would have been easier if they called her the Drowning Girl, another one joked. They ended up going with something similar- something about a drowned mermaid? ) 

Of course, if Annie had it her way, she wouldn’t be here, let alone the Capitol. It’s funny, the way people assume that following her games, she would be scared of the water. That she would never take another step into the ocean. Why would she be scared? To float is as natural as breathing air to Annie and if there was a way she had to go, it would have been a kindness to be surrounded by the water. The water has no morality; it only flows, flows, and flows.

Actually, it might be a kindness now to drown than being here. With this Capitolite man who keeps going on and on, something about District Four and how he’s braved his way there many times before, but she’s trying to focus more on both the glass he keeps trying to push into her hands and the other hand the keeps brushing over her shoulder. It’s getting harder and harder for her to decide which hand she wants farther away from her. It’s easier to wish she could be anywhere but here, somewhere far away like home or even further than that-

Bells jingle. Something blue in the midst of black cuts in front of her. 

She blinks.

It’s them.

The one person she always looks for in the Capitol.

They are quick to dispose of her conversation partner and even faster to take hold of her hand. The breath Annie didn’t realize she was holding comes out. She nods, following Eunjae’s lead.

–––

Eunjae is not home. Eunjae is not the water; they probably have never even seen the ocean for themselves and in this lifetime, they probably never will. It saddens Annie to know that– to know that Eunjae will never see the expanse of sea-green water beneath a sky that stretches beyond the horizon, will never taste the salt in their mouth, will never feel the sand between their toes. 

And yet. And yet, when Annie is home, Eunjae is whom she thinks of most, whom she wants to talk to most. From wondering if they would like the taste of fresh fish to collecting seashells from the shore to show them to polishing more rocks to give them. Sometimes it accumulates to Annie even looking forward to going back to the Capitol.

( Does that make her a traitor to her district? She doesn’t dare to admit that to anyone. Not that anyone would listen to her and not write it off as madness. )

Outside the ballroom is dark and cool, an array of greenery lying in wait beyond the lightshow of the mansion. As it turns out, the mansion also includes a magnificent garden that is usually used to hold the host’s biweekly tea parties. Usually the garden would be open for the nighttime guests, as the host used fireflies to light the area instead of those ‘boring lamplights’, but one of the trees had been uprooted last week, ruining the host’s flowerbeds. Their avoxes were still working to get both of those things fixed, apparently.

It still doesn’t explain how Eunjae knew this place would be unoccupied today of all days. but it makes no difference to Annie. Even if the night air sends goosebumps over her arms ( her stylists said she didn’t need a cardigan for tonight), she brightens at the sound of running water first and letting go of Eunjae’s hand, drifts over to the fountain. Hands dip into the fountain’s basin before she kicks her sandals off into the grass. Carefully ( or maybe not so ), she lifts her skirt and steps into the fountain. Annie closes her eyes and sighs.

It’s not the ocean, but it is something. Something like home. Even the light of the moon shining down is familiar.

Footsteps follow her and giddy and a little embarrassed too, she realizes Eunjae has been watching her. Eunjae who walks towards her, not a thread from their black coat nor a smidge of their facepaint out of place. And their earring, lapis lazuli dangles close by like a bell. Annie looks at them, pensively.

How odd, that people insist on calling them the ‘Jeoseungsaja of Panem’. Death itself personified- an unfeeling entity that brings the end of life without question, without warning. That’s the kind of person Panem says Eunjae is. A person without any emotions, any feelings.

The thing is, they’re wrong. Because on this chilly summer night where there are only the fireflies to bear witness, Eunjae is not Death.

Here, Eunjae is the MOON. 

They stop at the edge of the fountain, watching Annie with their hands in their pockets. Annie turns to them, water soaking the bottom of her skirt. “Thank you,” she says finally. “For taking me here.”

She takes a hold of Eunjae’s hands and squeezes them. “Join me?”

( One day, she'll find a place where both the water and Eunjae will be. Together. )

[stranger-nights-ahead]

Hello everyone!

If you're just finding this blog, there's a good chance you're reading this because of either this post where I talk about weird vitamin C misinformation or this post where I accidentally SPREAD misinformation about the Pope. Essentially, I made an overly quippy post about how funny it was that Pope Francis said "I like to think of Hell as being empty. At least I hope it is." Now, this is very funny for a lot of reasons. The Church is well known for its history of using the threat of Hell to scare its members and potential converts, especially children, into doing what they want so this pisses off a lot of conservative Catholics. Politically, this is the Pope denying one of the biggest tools of fear that the Church has at its disposal. You can see why that would cause waves.

But what I SAID was "He just about went up on stage and said 'I don't believe Hell is real, and if it is it shouldn't be'." Which is, to be clear, not strictly true. This clashes with Church doctrine in a much more subtle and complicated way than that. This is stuff like Matthew 12:31-32; the idea that to be forgiven, one must accept God into their heart (read: non-christians cannot be redeemed unless they convert); and incredibly minute debate about things like "can you go from Hell to Purgatory, or are those who go to Hell trapped there" and other such complexities. Because of all that, it would be hard to say something that's both entirely accurate AND quippy and funny.

All that being said, my addition to that post DID become the main one and judging from the notes, I would say that about 80% of the people reblogging it now think that the Pope doesn't believe in Hell. and given that the post currently has ~46k notes, that's a lot of people who think that now. Oops! Oh well, at least it's funny and mostly harmless misinformation

TL;DR: While what the Pope said was extremely funny, not entirely in line with Church doctrine, and absolutely pissing off lots of conservative Catholics, he does NOT believe that Hell isn't real. Sorry for accidentally convincing a substantial portion of tumblr that the Pope doesn't believe in Hell

[op-sys-chaos]

The first time the two boys interacted, Danny snarled “Brother” and lunged at him. Damian had just landed in a roof with his grapple, and nearly fell off in shock, catching himself at the last second. But in the time he looked away to catch his balance, Danyal had vanished.

Had he imagined it?

No, Oracle confirmed it over the comms. That was real. But it had just vanished in front of him.

Danyal had looked different. Colors inverted, glowing slightly. But there was no doubt it was him.

The second time, Damian was heading home from patrol when he was tripped. He caught himself, of course, but he saw a flash of his brother’s face before it vanished again.

The third time, Damian had been standing in an alley. “Hello, murderer of mine,” Danyal said, imitating how he’d greeted Damian when they were children. He’d always said “hello, brother of mine” when they saw each other. Damian had always replied with a curt nod, but this time, he was frozen in place.

“Brother?” Damian whispered.

“You lost the right to call me that when you killed me. All that’s left is my ghost. It took a long time to be strong enough to be seen by you.”

[author’s note: Danny meant mentally strong enough to visit his brother, psychologically fuck with him, and then find out why Damian had killed him. There’s more left than Danny’s ghost, he’s a halfa, but he’s not telling Damian that yet]

“I’m so sorry, brother,” Damian whispered. “I-“

Before he could finish his sentence, Danyal had vanished.

“Are you still here?” Damian asked the empty space, but got no reply.

When he got back to the cave, everyone was waiting. Oracle had already shown them his mask footage, apparently. He knew they’d want an explanation. Without any ceremony, he began explaining.

“Danyal and I were born twins. Polar opposites but thick as thieves. When we were 7, Grandfather decided that I was to be heir. He gave me a hallucinogenic drug and placed Danyal in my path, testing if I would follow my assassin instincts and kill the threat while also disposing of the ‘useless spare child,’ as he called Danyal. Apparently, Danyal’s ghost is still around. I’m glad for that, though. It gives me the chance to apologize. I never wanted him dead. I will not answer any more questions tonight.”

Damian left the room, but he could still hear Father calling Talia to yell at her for hiding this big of a secret as he changed out of the Robin suit in the locker room.

When he went into his room, he was shocked to find Danyal waiting for him.

“You… really were given a hallucinogenic?”

“I saw the assassin who’d tried to kill your the week prior, bragging about your death and threatening to kill me too. I didn’t care about the latter, but I would not let the former slide. I was only told afterwards that Grandfather had been the one who’d sent the assassin. No one could match our skill but each other, so he made sure I’d kill you,” Damian admitted quietly.

Danyal nodded, his face thoughtful. He faded from view slowly this time, rather than vanishing in an instant.

The next time he saw Danyal, his brother was miraculously human again. Damian nearly cried, seeing him on a rooftop swinging his legs in the carefree manner he’d always had.

“Hello, brother of mine,” Danyal said. Damian automatically nodded back, which threatened to spill the tears once more. “Funny seeing you on this fine evening.”

“Danyal?” Damian whispered.

“Funny story. I’m not… fully dead. Mother revived me in secret after my death, and hid me with a pair of scientists. Those scientists eventually led to me getting halfway murdered, trapping me between life and death and leaving me with the ability to switch between the two states. I eventually gathered the courage to come and find you. I’d always wondered why you killed me. And now I know.”

“And now you know,” Damian echoed as he sat next to his brother.

“I missed you.”

“You as well, Danyal.”

“Danny. I go by Danny now. Danyal died on that rooftop and for his own safety he will never be seen again. I’m just Danny Fenton, a boy who looks so much like Bruce Wayne’s son that he couldn’t help but adopt the poor orphan. We’re definitely not biologically related.”

Damian chuckled. “A fine cover story indeed. You’ll be more than welcome in the manor.”

“I look forward to it.”

Demon's twin au, except....

A Demon's twin au where Danny and Damian are polar opposites of each other as usual. Damian is the serious and pokey one while Danny is the laid back, carefree twin. Except, Danny is 10x more psychotic than Dami, and his demeanor is somewhat a manipulation tactic. He's still loves Dami vv much and would gladly burn the world for him while Dami is....hm. He envies Danny but in the same time very intimidated by him (read: black cat & golden retriever situation)

One day he gets killed by Damian (may it be a duel that he didn't think seriously because he thought Dami would never kill him or Dami just flat out conspiring against him is your choice) and Danny was FURIOUS at him. Instead, he swore Damian would pay the price for betraying him.

Fast forward after he got resurrected and lived as Danny, he's soften up a bit; more talking and less stabbing, basically. One thing leads to another where he leaves and ends up in Gotham (preferably because of CW) and hey, what dya know. Dami's siblings aren't that bad...

Meanwhile Batfam™ are scrambling because there's a teenager that looks like Damian wandering over Gotham. Damian is perplexed because that could be his supposedly dead brother (eye color).

Everything went wrong when Danny straight up jumped at Damian in costume, trying to kill him.

[jonathanvik]

Kamen Rider Fenrir - Chapter 4

“Excellent work,” Visscher said, gazing down at their captives. “You’ve redeemed yourself, Dino.”

Dino snorted. “Was there any doubt? Besides, they’re only a bunch of kids.”

Johan struggled against his bonds, but a kick from a nearby guard convinced him to stop. The guard’s eyes promised further violence if Johan attempted any further funny business. With some reluctance, he complied.

The Ymir bigwig ignored this alteration, continuing their conversation. “Well, who are they?”

“Some gang called the Jotnar,” Dino replied with a shrug. “No one interesting. They still haven’t told me why they snuck into our secret lab, but I’ll find out.” Johan had the bruises to prove it, but he’d spilled nothing. Whether it was stupidity or nobility, he didn’t know.

“What about Fenrir? Have they told you anything?”

“Afraid not. Eirik is still searching, though. I get the strong suspicion that they were looking for her too.”

“Not as useful as I hoped. Learn what you can, then dispose of them.” Visscher left without another word.

Their captors dragged the Jotnars into the basement of some random building Johan couldn’t identify. Ymir had taken them to a safe house, a nice, quiet place to do their dirty business without drawing attention. It wasn’t anything attractive — a bare room with several pieces of furniture.

“Talk.”

Johan grunted in pain when a nearby thug kicked him in the stomach, leaving him gasping for air.

“Leave him alone!” Rebecca gave the thugs an angry glare.

“You killed two of my buddies.” Samuel’s voice lowered to a growl, his gaze seething with hatred toward Dino. “Once I get free, there’s nowhere you can hide. A bullet in the brain for each.”

“Not talking? Oh. well. There’s a back room we can lock them in. A couple of days without food or water should loosen their tongues.” Dino studied them before breaking into a broad smile. “I wonder. It’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try.”

“Sir?” a goon asked.

“Van, I want you to send a secure message to each head of Ymir about the Jotnar’s capture.”

Van blinked in confusion. “Why? They already know about it.”

“True, but I have a hunch,” Dino replied, beaming ear to ear. “Fenrir learned about our secret lab somehow. I suspect our company emails aren’t nearly secure enough. I wager that’s how she found out.”

“Makes sense.” Van nodded in agreement. “I’ll send word.”

Dino gave the thug’s shoulder an affectionate slap. “Good man. With any luck, she’ll come running to their rescue. I bet she’s overconfident enough to come, even if she suspects a trap! Besides, it’ll save us the torture, which I’m not a fan of.”

Johan’s ears burned in shame. Now Yareli would be in trouble, and it was all his fault.

“Over here,” Samuel whispered, gesturing with his tied hands. With a surreptitious scoot, Johan crept closer to his friend. Too busy with their conversation, the Ymir thugs didn’t notice Johan loosening his friend’s bonds.

Before Samuel could return the favor, the Ymir thugs returned their attention to their captives. They played innocent. Johan thanked God the goons didn’t notice how slack the ropes were around Samuel’s hands. Now they only needed to wait for the best opportunity to turn the tables.

---

“We found something, boss!” Hakan said in excitement. While he appeared like an empty-headed brute, the man sported a keen mind with a deep love for both sports and computers. He’d earned a reputation for breaking into several government-level computer systems without getting caught.

“What is it?” Selim tilted his head with interest. Since learning about Ymir’s secret project, he’d had his best hacker working to uncover more information. Unfortunately, Ymir had tightened their security since Jotnar’s botched job. Still, no security system was perfect. Ymir would slip somewhere. Selim could afford to be patient.

“It seems they’re putting the heat on the Jotnars! Poor them.” Hakan snickered at the rival gang’s misfortune. As he read further, the hacker’s merriment turned to confusion. “Fenrir?”

“Fenrir? Like in mythology?” According to legend, the mighty wolf would slay Odin, the Allfather, during Ragnarök — the climatic battle at world’s end. Why the message mentioned the mythological wolf was beyond Selim.

“This isn’t the only email mentioning that word. Whoever they are, Ymir wants them,” Hakan replied.

“This mentions a safe house.” Selim peered over his lackey’s shoulder, rereading the message. Apparently, this hidey-hole was where Ymir was keeping the Jotnar.

“It seems like a trap to me. Why else mention the safe house? It’s too convenient.”

“It’s a ploy to lure out this mysterious Fenrir?” A sly grin stretched across Selim’s face. “If so, we should take advantage of it.”

“What about the monsters, boss?” Kevin shuddered, remembering their encounter with the spider monster.

“Never fear. I already have a plan for that.” While Ymir was a wealthy corporation with deep pockets, the Niflhel fought dirty. If this operation proved successful, they’d possess one of Ymir’s wondrous armbands. After that, nothing would be beyond his means.

---

“Yareli!”

“What is it?” Yareli turned as Gramps barged into her studio. Alarm bells rang in her head when she caught his expression.

“Come and see.”

After carefully placing down her palette and removing her apron, she followed. Random colors spotted her biker suit like droplets of rain, but she didn’t mind.

“Feels like a trap,” an associate on the internet had brought it to Gramps’ attention. Yareli had never met this person, but apparently, they worked for a newspaper. The two were pooling their resources to investigate Ymir’s suspicious activity.

“Must be.” Gramps snorted, nodding in agreement. “Worse, they’re using those young people to lure you into the open.”

“Looks like I don’t have a choice but to spring it. I can’t abandon them.” She rushed back to her studio, retrieving her helmet. Before Yareli could leave, Gramps stopped her with a hand.

“Wait, there’s something you should know. Your Ragnadriver has a special feature that might prove useful. I uncovered it in the files you stole.” His eyes twinkled with mischief. “It’ll be a nasty surprise for Ymir.”

---

“Be careful, and good luck,” Gramps said as Yareli mounted her bike.

“I will. I’ll be back soon — with guests, hopefully,” she replied.

“I’ll have coffee prepared for them when you get back!” Gramps waved as she rode off.

Despite the dangers, Yareli was excited. It was the same thrill she’d felt when facing the bear monster. For some unknown reason, battle always inflamed her. Despite only being a skeleton, she possessed a fighter’s reflexes and instincts. Martial skills were second nature to her. Yareli wondered if it hinted at something about her past. She’d continued her training, hoping it might revive some dormant memories. Despite not having muscles, Yareli enjoyed the exercise.

“It’s funny. It’s like destiny drew me to the Ragnadriver.” The duffel bag with said device hung over her shoulder within easy reach. She suffered no illusions about what Ymir would throw against her to retrieve it.

“It’s time to knock some heads together.”

---

“Is this the place?” Yareli crouched behind an alley, peering at what appeared on the surface to be an old, abandoned apartment building. There wasn’t any sign of anyone inside. While nicer than most of downtown Bifrost, the building still resided in a slum. People around here minded their own business, pointedly ignoring the woman in a biker outfit covered in paint.

Boards covered most of the building’s doors, but Yareli noticed an unlocked garage door. Closer inspection revealed it in working order, more pristine than anything else in the building. It left her with a quandary, however.

“Time to enter the beast’s jaws.” Yareli considered the boarded-up doors. “Maybe I should slip around instead. Anything to avoid being predictable.” While Ymir’s goons would likely expect this, it was better than nothing.

With some effort, the boards guarding the back door snapped free. Dust shattered in a cloud everywhere as she entered. What greeted her inside was a rundown corridor. She found a staircase leading up, wondering where Ymir might keep Johan and the others. The only sound in the building was the soft tap of her footsteps.

Without a better plan, she explored the first floor first, keeping her steps as quiet as possible. Yareli studied each door, looking for signs of use. The building was only two stories, leaving the Ymir thugs little room to hide.

Her cursory scan of the floor revealed nothing. From the dust, nobody had used this floor in some time. It seemed unlikely her luck would improve on the second. The stairway door leading into the parking garage caught her attention. She winced when the door squealed open and found a stairway leading down.

Before she could explore further, the sound of footsteps caught her attention. The intruders entered the same door Yareli had broken down earlier. Multiple footsteps approached, Yareli slipping behind a nearby doorway as cover.

A gaunt young man led a procession of rough-looking gangers. From the bulges in their clothes, each packed a concealed weapon.

The Niflhel? Why are they here? While she’d never tangled with the infamous gang in person, she’d heard plenty stories about them. They were a rough group, led by a psycho named Selim. From a cursory glance at their leader, it was obvious how he’d earned that reputation. Something about his eyes troubled Yareli.

“Sure this is the place?” one ganger said. He peered around, expecting trouble at any moment.

“They’re here. I can sense it,” Selim replied. “Racer Wolf came here for a reason.” While the gang kept their voices low, Yareli’s sharp hearing picked up every word.

“Think she’s the Fenrir the message mentioned?” a gang member asked. “I suppose it fits.”

“Hard to say, but we’ll learn soon enough.” Suddenly, Selim raised his voice. “Well? Are you Fenrir?”

Much to her shock, Yareli realized the Niflhel leader was addressing her. After some hesitation, she wearily showed herself.

“Why are you here?” Yareli asked. “It’s dangerous.”

“So you can speak. Some of us figured you were mute,” Selim replied, ignoring her warning. “I take it you’re here to rescue Johan and his little buddies?”

“I am.” Yareli had no desire to dance around the issue. “Ymir kidnapped them to lure me out. They’re after my life.”

Despite her emphasis on the dangers, the Niflhel seemed unperturbed. Instead, they appeared eager for action. Yareli remained wary..

“We have a common interest. I don’t want to see the Jotnar get hurt either. We go way back. How about we team up?”

“Sorry?”

“They after you, right? You’ll need backup. You draw their attention, and we’ll strike when Ymir turns their back.”

Despite his words, Yareli sensed the Niflhel leader wasn’t sincere about helping Johan. While scum, she had no desire to get the Niflhel killed.

“I can handle myself, but you can provide backup if you wish. Wait here for five minutes, then you can rush in and help me. I’m sure you’ll catch Ymir completely by surprise.”

She hoped the sight of monsters would make them flee in terror and wouldn’t tempt them to do anything stupid.

The Niflhel leader shrugged. “I can work with that. Get going. We don’t know what shape Johan and his friends are in.” No compassion or worry crept into his voice, his sly grin raising her hackles.

She cursed, wishing the fools would listen to reason. After a steadying moment, she forgot Niflhel, focusing on her mission instead. Ymir wouldn’t be as sloppy in their next tussle.

Her steps echoed down the empty stairwell as she crept down the stairs. At the bottom floor was a simple doorway that squeaked painfully as she pushed it open. Yareli peeked out, finding an empty parking lot illuminated by the dim light. After finding nobody in sight, she slipped through the door and walked deeper into the parking area. She passed a car wash station and brightened when she noticed a singular car parked in a far corner.

Suddenly, spotlights flashed on, their harsh lights blinding her. Massive steps stomped toward her, taking advantage of her distraction. Gashes tore into her suit as she instinctively rolled away from unseen claws, the gap revealing her skeletal spine.

As her vision adjusted to the sudden change in light, a massive spider monster towered over her. Like the man from yesterday, the creature wore an armband across one of his multiple arms. The monster swiped toward her again, but she slipped aside and attached her belt across her waist.

“Henshin!” Light flashed, and her armor appeared over her body.

“See, Eirik, the girl’s good.” The accented man from yesterday emerged from a nearby stairway door. He wore an eye patch over his injured eye, but otherwise seemed hale.

“She’s slick. I’ll give you that.” The spider monster flexed its arms, pumping his enthusiasm for the upcoming fight. “Hurry and transform, Dino. If you haven’t forgotten, we have a job to do.”

Dino released a theatrical sigh before attaching a new armband and withdrawing his Uhyre Key. “Got it. Terrorize!”

The bear monster sent a swift claw strike toward her midsection, but sparks flew as the bladed weapons intercepted the blow. She grunted as he pushed her back, his muscles bulging with the effort. The spider monster attacked her from her blind spot, but Yareli leapt upwards, away from Eirik’s four-pronged assault. Fenrir retreated as her opponents fought together, attempting to overwhelm her.

Yareli blocked every attack she could, but the spider monster’s multitude of arms was impossible to deflect completely. Each blow made her body shudder from the impact. She spun in midair after failing to block a punch from Eirik, sending her flying across the parking lot. Her fist tore pavement as she thrust it into the chipped road, halting her flight.

Her eyes caught Niflhel watching the battle with scared, fascinated eyes from a distance. Yareli eyed her opponents warily, wondering how she’d match their combined might. Should she use her ace now? The situation seemed desperate enough. No — she’d wait for a more opportune time. Instead, she charged forward, half of a plan forming in her mind.

While her opponents were quick, Fenrir was faster. She dove between them, and they recoiled in pain when her claws slashed at Eirik’s right leg and her sword sliced Dino’s chest. The bear creature snapped his fangs, but Yareli slipped out of their reach. Eirik took advantage of her momentary distraction and swiped at her rolling form with a meaty fist. As her blade caught the blow, Dino charged toward her — but he walked right into her trap.

When she pulled back her sword’s hilt, the weapon changed, opening up to reveal a barrel. Dino’s eyes widened when he came face-to-face with her newly transformed gun. Energy bolts flew from the barrel, driving the bear creature off course and barreling him into a nearby wall.

Furious at his ally’s plight, the spider monster swiped his multi-limbed claws toward her. With a sudden twist of her hand, Fenrir’s gun returned to its sword form. She ducked under his attacks, swiping her blade across his midsection. As Eirik staggered in pain, she reverted her weapon to its gun form, peppering her opponent’s face with bolts.

“Nasty trick. You’re full of surprises.” Flecks of dust fell from the bear monster’s hideous, bulbous head as he pulled himself free. Despite the injuries she’d inflicted, neither of her opponents seemed ready to surrender.

“This isn’t over!” The bear monster placed his extending claws against a wall, and ice crept over its surface. Frigid air shot from his mouth, emitting plumes of white mist.

“Again?” What was going on? Somehow, Dino’s mastery of his Uhyre Key grew stronger after every exchange.

After another roar, Dino charged forward and swung his claws. A wave of frigid air struck Yareli, freezing her against a wall. Despite Fenrir’s tremendous strength, the ice resisted her best efforts. A wall cracked on impact when the bear monster slammed his head into Yareli’s helpless form. She struggled to regain her footing, but icy breath struck her body before she could recover, freezing her in place.

“Incredible!” Eirik said, his voice awed. “Somehow, your key is reacting and making you more powerful! I wonder…” The spider’s monstrous mandibles twisted in consternation as he gathered into himself.

“Oh, crap!” She couldn’t afford to fight two super-powerful monsters. Yareli twisted her gun, blasting the ice freezing her in place. The bolts shattered the ice shattered, allowing her to leap away. Her weapon pointed toward the spider monster, wondering what threat it might pose. Instead, Eirik almost toppled over in pain. Yareli tilted her head in confusion.

“What’s the matter?” Dino asked.

“Impossible,” Eirik replied, his monstrous voice pained. “Why can’t I push past my limits?” Furious, he charged forward, planning to trample his opponent.

Yareli calmly jumped out of his path and inserted her Uhyre Key into her weapon midair. Energy gathered around the barrel of her weapon, directing her attention at the spider monster’s exposed back.

“Death Spike.”

Red-hot energy lanced into the spider monster. Eirik crashed into a nearby wall, leaving a deep crater. The intense heat from the shot melted the pavement behind him. The man untransformed and bent over, coughing blood.

“You fool, we’re meant to fight together.” Dino eyed Yareli warily, wondering if he should continue the fight.

“Excuse me.”

Yareli glanced toward the newcomer, wondering if it was another monster to fight. She froze upon finding Arend Visscher pointing a pistol at Johan’s head. The Jotnar’s hands were bound, and he struggled with his restraints.

“Sir?” Dino asked in surprise.

“Sorry to interrupt the battle, but I don’t intend on losing.” Visscher gestured with his free hand, and several men in black suits appeared, each holding a gun to one of Johan’s friends.

Annoyance appeared on Dino’s monster bear features, but he shrugged and returned to his human form. “That settles that, I suppose.”

“I shouldn’t need to remind you what happens if you don’t cooperate,” Visscher’s gun barrel pressed hard into the younger man’s forehead.

“What do you want?” Unlike Dino, Yareli remained in her Fenrir armor, considering her options. “Surrender my belt? Come with you?”

“Both. You’re an interesting subject of study.” Visscher pulled his gun away from Johan’s head and directed it toward a leg instead. “You have three seconds to untransform, or I’m shooting him apart, piece by piece, Kamen Rider.” Fear filled the young man’s features, giving her a helpless, pleading look.

“Fine.” Yareli spat out the word and pulled her pendant from her weapon, returning her to normal.

“Toss your belt here.” Visscher’s voice offered no objection or compromise. Yareli complied as instructed.

“Grab her.” Visscher gestured to one of the suited thugs, who scampered over in her direction. The man approached with a confident swagger, but his eyes remained wary, prepared for trouble.

“You okay, Eirik?” Dino asked.

“I’ll live.” Eirik froze as he spotted Selim and his buddies watching from behind a door. “Who the hell?”

As their hiding spot’s door flew off its hinges, the Niflhel opened fire, uncaring who they hit. Dino scrambled away on all fours, using the nearby car wash center as cover. Visscher wasn’t so lucky, clutching at a sudden bullet wound to the chest. Johan ducked his head, quaking as bullets zipped by. Thankfully, Johan’s friends were lucky, the Ymir thugs pulling them toward the safety of the stairwell. The goons returned fire, the parking garage becoming a bloodbath.

Yareli jerked as bullets struck her, but they didn’t appear to cause any damage. She darted forward toward her belt, ignoring the rain of gunfire around her. She used her body to cover Johan, absorbing the gunshots. While it amazed her that the bullets didn’t shatter her skeletal form, Yareli had more urgent problems to contend with.

In a single motion, she returned the Ragnadriver to her waist. Before she could activate it, a random bullet knocked her pendant from her hand. It slid some distance away. Yareli cursed, but didn’t dare move for Johan’s sake.

Eirik crawled toward Yareli’s fallen Uhyre Key and received a bullet to the neck for his trouble. He twitched for several moments, gargling blood, before going terribly still. A man yelped in surprise when Samuel pushed him from their hiding spot toward the open parking lot. The Ymir thug gasped in surprise as the suddenly free prisoners jumped him. The thug scrambled to recover and flee to safety, but Selim shot him through the forehead for his trouble.

Seeing a sudden lapse in the gunfire, Yareli took her chance. An opening! “Hold on.”

“What?” The Jotnar flailed as Yareli grabbed him by the collar and flung him across the room. Johan crashed through the doorway to his friends’ hiding spot. A Ymir thug yelped in surprise as Johan collided with him. Samuel used this opportunity to steal the man’s guns and decked the thug. More Ymir agents died in droves, eliminated until only Dino remained.

“Hold.” The shooting stopped as the Niflhel leader stepped forward, darting toward the cowering Dino.

Before the Ymir agent could struggle to his feet, a boom echoed through the underground parking lot as Selim shot him point-blank in the chest. The poor man gasped in pain and collapsed, but Yareli spotted the rising and falling of his chest. Unlike the CEO, he’d been wearing a bulletproof vest. Gingerly, the Niflhel leader removed Dino’s armband. A devilish grin appeared on his face as he attached it to his own arm. He picked up Dino’s Bear Uhyre Key, but it landed with an audible clank as he discarded it.

“Sir?” a Niflhel asked in confusion.

“It doesn’t suit me.” Instead, Selim retrived the Spider Uhyre from Eirik’s corpse, eyes glinting with malevolent glee.

“What are you planning?” Yareli said, her voice low and dangerous.

“Whatever I want. Terrorize!” Black flames surrounded the Niflhel leader as he transformed. His exoskeleton was pure white, a two-prong red stripe racing across his back. A viscous fluid dripped from his mandibles, burning through the pavement where it landed.

“What? His form is completely different!” Selim pounced toward her, but Yareli had her key ready. As lightning-fast claws whipped past her helmet. With a swift motion, she retrieved,  her pendant.

“Henshin!” A fist struck the spider monster in the mandible face, but Selim only laughed as it bounced off.

“Yareli!” Johan cried out in horror when a casual strike of the spider monster’s claws hurled Fenrir flying across the room, colliding with a wall with the force of a speeding truck.

“Amazing.” Selim examined his claw, his hideous mandibles beaming with malevolent glee.

“Damn.” Yareli’s foot slipped as she struggled to stand, using a nearby pillar to support herself. As she reached for her sword, Yareli froze at the sound of approaching police sirens. Someone must have reported the gunfire.

Forgetting Selim, she darted toward Johan and his friends. Thankfully, the Niflhel leader had no interest in pursuing the fight.

“We need to leave now,” Yareli said.

“You don’t need to tell me twice!” Johan was already dashing up the stairs.

“We’ll continue this later, Racer Wolf.” The garage door crumbled to scrap as Selim’s mighty claws slashed into it, exposing the night sky.

Great. Another new enemy. While the Niflhel getting their hands on the Uhyre Keys’ technology was disastrous, flight came first.