#12 days of blindspot

[nachosncheezies]

One thing I can say for streaming and modern tv series having like mini-seasons of 10 to 13 episodes or w/e. It is conceivable there will come a time that not every show we've long-time loved will have premiered in September. Which would be rad, bc how are creative kiddos supposed to do stuff for every anniversary ever in a single month? You expect us to plan ahead or something? Sounds fake

[localsharkcryptid]

"The Vampiric Bloodletter"

"Out of all the dragons I've seen and studied, along with the one's I've only heard of in passing conversation, the Bloodletter wasn't one I thought truly existed. Tales of a bright red dragon with ten eyes that drank blood...? Seemed too much like an old story to scare children but it seems this nesting year at the colony has proven me wrong.

I noticed the new egg amongst a clutch of Monstrous Nightmare eggs, an odd oblong shape with a dark red shell amongst the pale orange-pink eggs certainly stood out. Moving the egg wasn't an option so I left it. Come hatching day I kept a close eye on the nest, only to find an entirely unique dragon to hatch with the Monstrous' brood. At first I figured it was a case of hybridism but that theory was dropped quickly, after all just one hybrid offspring in a nest of six didn't make sense. Not to mention the tiny-tooth's features, ten eyes that all were a dark black, unique extra digits that I assume are opposable to a degree and a notable blade on the end of it's tail.

So I can conclude that the Bloodletter is in fact a living and breathing dragon species, a colony or nest parasite from what I can tell but also it's behavior is still unique. From what I have observed the nestling has been acting like a Monstrous Nightmare, mimicking their vocal calls and behaviors which is fascinating. For now I see no need to try and relocate the dragon, nor do I think it's surrogate mother would allow me and I personally would like to keep my good record with her.

This will at least give me time to study it and hopefully pull together some proper information, since I fear the number of these dragons may only be in single digits... I've also noted while looking through some other old local legends that the Bloodletter shares some shocking resemblance to the few descriptions of the Lycanwing... I can't help but wonder if they're connected somehow, but that's research for another time." - Excerpt from "The Nature of Dragons", an extensive series of books and journals by a man named Salamander.

-----

Class: Mystery

Size: 6 to 7 feet tall, with a wingspan of 10-11 feet at Broadwing stage - Titanwings are roughly 12 to 14 feet tall with a 20-22 foot wingspan.

Preferred Food: Dragon blood or incredibly fresh meat along with specifically certain organs of most creatures.

Status: Critical - Maybe only a handful of individuals exist on the surface world, that or they are just really good at staying away from people.

The Vampiric Bloodletter is noted for it's vibrant colors and unique features that assist with defending itself and securing it's specialized diet, due to the low amount of sightings and encounters little is truly known about them by humans. They are parasites in truth, spending a lot of time in flocks or colonies with other species so they can feed easily and also mimicking the dragons around them in terms of mannerisms for survival.

Their numerous eyes negates any blindspot they would normally have, along with this a forked tongue and heat sensing pits along their upper lips makes for the perfect tracking equipment. They have opposable digits on all their limbs that are topped with claws that are much like switchblades, used for further opening the bites they leave on other dragons or for defense - same to be said about the blade on their tail.

It's vibrant coloration is a classic animal warning system of "I'm toxic, stay away!". Seeing as they possess a highly potent venom which actually changes throughout their lives.

Tiny-Tooth to Shortwing: They can use this venom as a projectile to blind much like spitting cobras and generally deter threats to them. It's noted that it also stings if it makes contact with human skin. It has mild anticoagulant properties when administered via a bite along with slight numbing, think vampire bats.

Broadwing: The venom glands develop fully, producing a highly anticoagulant hemotoxin that causes numbing and disorientation even causing dragons to become incredibly drowsy. In humans it causes severe hallucinations, supposedly making one think that they're turning into a dragon.

Titanwing: Not much changes aside from more potency and the ability to even render some dragons unconscious for a certain amount of time after being bitten. Though at this stage they can afflict humans with something much worse, it's unknown how exactly it works but if a human is bitten by a Titanwing Bloodletter there is a chance they will be afflicted with the curse that is becoming a Lycanwing - if they survive the initial bite and the first shift that is...

----

WOO! Done at last!!

The Vampiric Bloodletter is one of my very few fanmade httyd species and I love how they came out!! Also if you couldn't tell these guys are my explanation for the Lycanwing legend, basically these guys are the ones that turn people to Lycanwings and somewhat go off of the description of the one in the story told by Gobber in RTTE. I have some more notes on them so uh if anyone has questions I will gladly elaborate on my fellas!

Also I will say: Anyone is free to make one of these fellas just please credit me! The lineart of the image is under the cut and can be used as a base.

[theflyindutchwoman]

Hi. I'm back for your integration). This time to an episode from the first season when Tim visits Isabel on Valentine's Day.

Why do you think Tim was the first to talk about divorce?

I remember when I first viewed it, it surprised me. He waited for her, fought for her, endured this nightmare and it seems he still loved her. Isabelle apologized, talked about the past. She tried to understand herself and explain to him why it happened. I don't think she's thought about the future yet. And then he offers to divorce. Does he no longer see a future together?

I can only explain this by the fact that Tim, having heard how Isabel felt his pressure on her, that she did not meet his expectations, decides to rid her of herself. (I wonder, by the way, if this is objective or just her feelings, interpretation or just excuses)

Sorry for the mistakes and hopefully not too confusing, English is not my native language.

This is a delicate (and complicated) subject so I hope I'm not saying anything wrong or offensive here. And as always, this is only my interpretation.

The way I see it, when Tim went to the rehab facility to see Isabel, he didn't know what to expect, what her state of mind would be. Hence why he admitted almost turning away twice. What he did know was that he wanted his wife back, that he loved her… But as he had learned the hard way, that might not be sufficient. Still, I don't think he was envisaging divorcing her. It's only once she opened up about the pressure she felt when they were married that he considered it.

At first, Isabel was simply trying to make amends, apologise for all the things she did. It's actually part of the 12-steps program, which supports recovery from substance disorders. Step 09 is about making direct amends to the people you've harmed. Now, I don't know if she was at that stage already but her wording was very similar. Here's what she says : "I don't want to talk about it, either, but it's part of my recovery. […] The whole point is to make amends with the people that I've hurt. And I hurt you most of all". She wanted to acknowledge all the hurt she inflicted… But he wasn't really listening. From what we saw, Tim had a major blindspot regarding Isabel's addiction, where he blamed everything on the drugs. That was his coping mechanism. But it skewed his perspective as well, as Lucy tried to tell him, calling him out on this several times. In his mind, Isabel didn't do the lying, the cheating… It was the drugs. He was compartmentalising. And now that she was in recovery, he thought everything would go back to normal.

Unfortunately, this isn't as black and white. She was under the influence, but she also did those things. And most importantly : she may be in recovery, but addiction can last a lifetime. This is a disease, it doesn't go away just like that. So while she might no longer be using drugs, she was still an addict. He needed to accept that if he wanted them to move forward. But instead, he was unintentionally dismissing what she was saying - something he tends to do when he gets uncomfortable. He wasn't ready to address any of that and she got frustrated, unloading on him, telling him how she used to feel this pressure to live up to his standards. So once he understood there were deeper issues in their marriage that might have contributed to her addiction, his blinders came off. He felt he was at least partially responsible for her addiction.

Now, I don't really think she was trying to blame him at first. She genuinely wanted to apologise and was not skirting responsibility, even when Tim was offering her an easy way out. This tells me that she was sincere in her approach. I also doubt she wanted to divorce him. Addicts are usually asked to refrain from making life-altering decisions like this in their first year, to avoid any major change that could trigger a relapse (and I'm glad the show didn't go there by the way). The problem was that Tim got caught off-guard. He had no idea what he was walking into and as a result, didn't have time to prepare himself. You can't force someone to talk about something so sensitive or accept your apologies. The other person has a right to know first and to choose whether they are ready to discuss this.

Like I said earlier, Isabel got frustrated when he was deflecting and she vented out. And whether that was her intent or not, she did place some of the blame for her addiction on Tim. Deserved or not. In 5.20, she implied there were things from her past she was running away from, developing unhealthy coping mechanisms in the process... So there were clearly other factors at the very least. But regardless, this whole conversation really highlighted the dissonance and the breakdown of communication in their marriage. Because he was never aware of how she felt while they were together. She never told him how she was always afraid of disappointing him. Anyhow, Tim internalised what she said and took on the blame placed on him. Hence why he decided to divorce her. If he could be a potential trigger for her, then staying married would do her more harm than good. He would always be a reminder to that low point. So he did what he thought was best for Isabel's well-being. It wasn't for him. It was for her.

(Don't you worry or apologise about your English - I'm not a native speaker either!)

[sergeantsporks]

Gilded Family

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

Ch 38/39: Pack

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6 , Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17,  Ch 18, Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27, Ch 28, Ch 29, Ch 30, Ch 31, Ch 32, Ch 33, Ch 34, Ch 35, Ch 36, Ch 37

An alternate universe in which Evelyn managed to save Caleb after his confrontation with Phillip. The two of them escaped to present day through time pools, and have been using time pools to secretly rescue grimwalkers just after Belos attempts to kill them. The story follows Darius' mentor as he adjusts to his new life, as well as changes to the course of canon.

Ao3

Silver screamed. Phoenix almost joined them. His arms rippled, retreating to flesh and back again.

Caleb gasped, looking down at the blade, and back up at Belos. “Hah… guess you had it backwards. You’ll go through me… before you get to any of my ‘soldiers…’” He winced. “Always… ends… the same way, eh… Pip?”

Belos drew back with a messy squelch, pacing like an animal. Blood dripped from his fingertips to the ground, crimson droplets like little drops of setting sun splattering against the dirt of their home. “That was your fault,” he accused, no pleaded, “You wouldn’t—you made me—”

Evelyn knelt next to Caleb, her hands already glowing blue. But the magic flickered—of course it did, of course she wasn’t ready for this kind of healing. She hadn’t been operating at full capacity for weeks now while trying to keep the shield up, and she’d barely been breathing only minutes ago. But her magic did its best, and Caleb’s chest still rose and fell, if erratically. Phoenix let out a sigh of relief. He’d be alright. For now.

“It was his fault,” Belos snarled again, stalking towards Caleb’s limp body, “It was—”

Spikes of ice jabbed up out of the ground, forming a barrier around Caleb and Evelyn and shooting outwards towards Belos. Meleager crouched on the ground, one hand touching a glowing ice glyph.

“Stay away from him,” he commanded, his voice steely and deadly calm. His breath steamed in the cold air next to his barrier.

Belos stepped back, eying the barrier, but before he could spot a weakness, a spear slammed into the ground at his feet. Hamlet stepped back, and Horus took his place, hefting a spear of his own and preparing to throw. Venari traced a glyph in the dirt with their good arm, making another spear to replace Hamlet’s.

Belos dodged the second spear, and, before Hamlet could throw his new one, pounced on Petro’s semi-conscious body. He rose shakily to his feet, and Phoenix’s stomach twisted. Even Belos didn’t seem quite able to fix the damage he’d done earlier—or maybe he didn’t want to. He shuffled forward, his eyes flickering into blue even while he winced in pain.

“Go ahead,” he taunted, spreading out his arms, “Strike! You won’t hurt him, not now that he’s betrayed me and joined y—”

A glittering knife made of stone whirred through the air, slicing across Belos’ cheekbone. The knife sprouted vines that latched onto the wound, wrapping around the left side of Belos’ face, covering one eye and continuing their steady creep over his forehead.

Sam pushed up his glasses with his free hand, dropping the hand he’d used to throw the knife. “Somehow, I doubt the person who was suicidally dedicated to killing Phoenix will mind too much if he gets a little banged up while we try to get rid of you.” His voice held a matter-of-fact quality to it, but vibrated with barely-contained rage underneath. “And besides, you picked the wrong grimwalker to pull the ‘you wouldn’t hurt him, would you?’ card with.” A small, cold smile appeared on his face that didn’t quite match the tears blooming behind his glasses. “You might want to check your blindspot, Uncle Pip.”

Belos’ head swiveled to the left, but, Phoenix realized, it had just been another distraction. Lucy swept down from the sky (when had she taken off? Phoenix hadn’t thought such a huge creature would be capable of such stealth, but the last few minutes had been chaotic enough he supposed), Joseph steering and Cherry standing on the griffin’s back. He leapt off his perch, easily overpowering the disoriented Belos and pinning Petro’s arms to his sides.

“Leave his body before this gets more painful for both of you,” Cherry told him, “Those broken ribs are going to hurt an awful lot in about three seconds.” He squeezed slightly to emphasize his point, and Belos yipped in pain, his eyes flickering from blue to magenta, and back to blue.

Sam tilted his head at Meleager’s group, who watched patiently with their spears in hand, waiting for Cherry to no longer be in firing range. “I guess we weren’t the only little group who made a contingency plan.”

“No,” Phoenix agreed. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Novus quickly twisting together the barest skeletons of windup toys while Matt, Cyrus, and Ash armed them with glyphs, “I guess not.” He blinked, tallying up Grimwalkers in his head. “Wait—where’d Lake and Locke go?”

Petro’s face shifted, and Belos sort of… ripped away from him, like a second head extending from his neck, snapping at Cherry’s throat. Cherry dropped him with a yelp, stepping back, but Belos was didn’t get to enjoy his new freedom. Petro’s eyes burned, and his hands twitched weakly. “Get�� out…” he hissed, “Get…”

Phoenix heard two sharp, twin intakes. Lake and Locke appeared behind Belos, invisibility glyphs burning away. Before Belos had time to wrestle back control of Petro’s body, Lake grabbed Belos’ hair and yanked, while Locke pushed Petro’s body in the opposite direction with one foot. Belos yelped, and with a disgusting slurping noise, pulled loose from Petro. The moment his arms reformed, Lake and Locke jumped backwards to avoid his swipes. Petro dragged himself just far enough away from Belos that the emperor couldn’t grab him again, then collapsed against the dirt again.

“And there’s part two,” Sam remarked calmly.

Phoenix bounced Ghost up and down in his arms, turning their face away from the fight. “I’m surprised your plan was to get Belos out and not just take Petro down with him.”

Sam shrugged. “Usually I’m all about efficiency, but honestly, I sort of want to beat each of them separately. More cathartic that way.”

Belos rose to his feet, but almost immediately had to twist and dodge more spears from Hamlet, Horus, and Meleager. Novus released the little army of toys, and they waddled across the field, exploding in flashes of bright light or puffs of smoke. Belos roared—he’d turned to his completely monstrous form, abandoning any pretenses at remaining human.

The disorientation from everyone’s combined effort was all the rest of the Grimwalkers needed. They charged forward, summoning glyph weapons of their own and surrounding Belos in a deadly, pointy ring. He whirled around in a circle, unsure of who to choose while they struck, darting in close and taking a swing, then skipping back out of reach before he could overcome the disorienting blow and strike back. Dagger and Venari stayed outside of the mob, drawing new glyphs, and the grimwalkers around Belos moved in an intricate dance of striking, retreating, retrieving a glyph from Dagger or Venari, and rejoining the circle.

Phoenix thought he and Ghost might be the only ones besides the rescued hostages left out, but Hunter quietly stood next to him, watching in awe. “They’re incredible,” he murmured.

A small, proud smile worked its way onto Phoenix’s face. “Yeah,” he replied, “They are.”

Hunter gripped his staff tightly. “I should help.”

“Are you ready?”

“I want to be.” But he shuddered, glancing Petro’s direction.

Phoenix understood. Hunter had just been possessed—and he’d nearly lost Flapjack, to boot. Of course he was nervous. “Don’t worry about it,” Phoenix told him gently, “This is what being part of the family is for—you don’t have to confront him unless you’re ready. And they’ll protect you if you’re not—even if you’re never ready. I get it. I wish I could help, but… I think I’d just get in the way right now. Can’t move fast enough.” He nodded to his injured leg. “And I never learned glyphs well enough to draw them. Besides,” he added, forcing cheer into his voice and patting Ghost’s back, “Someone has to take care of Ghost.”

A smile flickered across Hunter’s face. “They do not want to let go of you,” he agreed. He turned his attention back towards the fight, taking tiny, shuffling steps forward and then back.  

Sam finished drawing a massive glyph in the dirt, and darted forward, stomping to activate it. “Haha!”

Nothing happened.

“Uh…” Sam hit the glyph again, but again, nothing happened. Belos whirled around, striking out at Sam before he could move out of the way.

“Look out!”

Hunter disappeared from Phoenix’s side in a flash of gold, reappearing next to Sam and teleporting him away just as Belos’ scythe sliced into the air where he’d just been. Hunter resurfaced next to Phoenix again, both he and Sam’s chests heaving for air. Sam patted himself as if to make sure he was still there.

Hunter hissed. “That was close.”

All around the circle, glyphs flickered and went out. Meleager attacked with a spear made of ice, but it shattered against Belos’ skin. Belos turned towards him with a dangerous glow in his eyes.

Again, Hunter disappeared, and again, he snatched Belos’ target just in the nick of time, dropping him safely with Phoenix and Sam.

Belos’ lips curled into a sneer, and he went on the offensive, lashing out at the grimwalkers who were now too close, with no way to defend themselves. Hunter disappeared and reappeared all around the circle with a distinctive whoosh, always barely half a step ahead of Belos’ attacks, always just in time.

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it, I’ve got it,” Phoenix thought he heard him repeat to himself as he dropped their siblings to safety, “I can do this.”

The remaining grimwalkers broke ranks, retreating from Belos’ onslaught, half-panicked and some of them fruitlessly still trying to use glyphs. Hunter continued to pull them from danger, while others retreated on their own, backing out of Belos’ reach.

Belos lunged at Cherry, the last grimwalker within his easy hitting range, but something seemed… off… about the attack. His eyes shifted behind Cherry, and Phoenix realized what he was up to just before Hunter teleported to grab Cherry.

Belos lashed out, almost quicker than Phoenix could follow, but instead of hitting Cherry, he aimed past him. His hand slammed into Hunter just as he solidified, knocking his staff out of his hands and sending him skidding backwards. Cherry stepped in, taking swing to divert Belos’ attention, but Belos batted him aside with barely a second glance.

“You should have stayed dead in the human realm,” Belos hissed, raising his scythe.

Hunter’s staff rolled to Phoenix’s feet, and the bird on top sprang to life. The staff flew into Phoenix’s hand with a shrill cry that Phoenix understood perfectly—save him. Without thinking, Phoenix moved, stepping forward. The palisman did the rest—that step blurred gold, and when his foot landed on the ground, he stood over Hunter, holding one arm up to block Belos’ blade and angling his body to keep Ghost away from harm.

He flinched as Belos’ scythe sank into his arm, almost certain it would push past the layers of mud and cleave straight through bone.

But instead the curse wrapped itself around the scythe when it made contact, gumming up the blade and stopping it completely.

Hunter stared up at him, wide-eyed. “Flap-jack?” he whispered. Phoenix dropped the staff, and it fluttered to its witch. Hunter scrambled to his feet, clutching the shaft tightly. “Phoenix—”

Belos pushed harder, and the blade came dangerously close to Phoenix’s face, his own curse dripping and splattering onto his skin in steaming droplets.

“Take Ghost,” Phoenix grunted, “Now.”

Hunter wrapped one arm around Ghost’s waist and disappeared, back safely with the others in the blink of an eye. With his other arm free, Phoenix lashed out, scraping claws against Belos’ arm. Belos stepped back with a hiss, reevaluating and holding his dripping arm. A savage smile to rival Petro’s flickered across Phoenix’s face.

“Not so easy to kill us when we have the tools to fight back, is it?”

Belos’ face twisted into an ugly snarl, and he lunged again. Phoenix caught his hands with a grunt, digging his feet into the ground and pushing back.

“You won’t get past me.”

Belos’ face was already half-melted, showing his teeth like a skull, but he still somehow managed to smile. “That’s fine with me.”

Tendrils of Belos’ mud separated from the rest of his arms and jabbed into Phoenix’s own cursed flesh, like twisted harpoons lashing the two of them together. Belos clutched Phoenix’s hands so that he couldn’t pull away, his rotting breath heavy on Phoenix’s face.

“Together, then,” he hissed.

Phoenix’s arms rippled in terror, pushing back against the connection, trying to force Belos’ influence out.

No. No, no, no—

The glow of Belos’ eyes spread across Phoenix’s sight, tinging everything blue. Behind him, someone screamed his name, and he slowly, slowly tore his eyes away from Belos’, twisting to look.

Jason had leapt off of the gallows and ran towards him, but Cherry caught him, his one eye widening in horror. He wrapped his arms around the struggling grimwalker to keep him back, shouting something, but Phoenix couldn’t hear him.

Fight it, Cherry’s lips mouthed, Fight him.

What does he think I’m doing?

Phoenix turned his head back to Belos, but the emperor was gone.

Oh.

Phoenix’s arms pulsed, twice as big as they were supposed to be, and spreading towards his shoulders. Phoenix lifted his hands, slow as if he was moving through honey, clawing fruitlessly at the growth.

You never stood a chance.

Phoenix’s head throbbed in time with someone else’s heart. Something clawed at the inside of his chest, tore at the inside of his skull, ripped at his soul with razor sharp claws.

Stupid

Weak

You failed me—you were always going to fail them, too.

Phoenix curled up in himself, a voice that sounded suspiciously like his screaming somewhere outside of himself, then abruptly cutting off as his lungs succumbed to the overwhelming pressure.

Stupid

Weak

“No,” Phoenix whispered, but his body didn’t respond, didn’t pass the word along.

Something slammed against his consciousness, tearing at it with massive claws.

“Did you think you would fight me with my own power?”

A knee—no, an elbow—no, a foot—slammed into Phoenix’s chest, and a massive paw curled around his throat.

“I gave you that power,” Belos’ voice whispered, surrounding him like a cocoon, dissolving his insides, “I made you, and made you everything you are. You. Belong. To me.”

Phoenix’s soul constricted, and somewhere, he could feel that terror from his curse, the deep fear of a hunted animal. It didn’t want to go back to Belos—maybe remnants of Belos were in his curse, but remnants of the palisman were, too. And they were terrified.

“Please,” he whispered.

“Please? Oh, we’re far past the point where you have any say.” Belos’ laugh echoed all around him and that horrible force dropped him.

“Please,” Phoenix whispered again, reaching out towards that sad, scared thing inside him, “He’ll kill us both again. I know it’s hard to stand up. I know you’re scared, and it’s okay to be scared. But we have to do this together. We can’t do it alone.”

Belos tore at Phoenix’s soul again, scraping him out of his own body. “You were never going to be clever enough or strong enough to defeat me. Goodbye, Hunter.”

Something wrapped around Phoenix, anchoring him to himself like a lifeline. A cold, slimy, acidic lifeline, but a lifeline nonetheless. He took a deep breath. Then another. And another. And he felt that breath echoing in his body. One slow piece of control at a time. One recovery by one recovery. His heart started to beat with his pulse, not Belos’.

“I don’t need to be clever enough to get rid of you.” The words ebbed out of him—he didn’t say them, they just sort of echoed, pushing Belos away in pulses of warmth while the curse kept him anchored in his body. “I don’t need to be strong enough. I just need a little help.”

His arms rippled again, and this time, this time, Belos went flying backwards, Phoenix’s curse rejecting its origin and pushing him out. Belos skidded against the ground, and Phoenix slowly marched towards him. His curse covered his arms, but twisted around him in the air, too, forming wings of mud.

“Maybe it was your power,” Phoenix said, and this time, his voice was his own. This time, his body was his, only his, curse and all. “Maybe you made me what I am.” The wings spiraled back into his arms, and he grabbed Belos by his collarbone. He seemed… smaller than Phoenix remembered him ever being before, barely Phoenix’s height. “But it is my choice what I do with it.”

Belos tried again to possess him, creeping spikes of mud jabbing at Phoenix’s arms, but his curse didn’t give, didn’t let him in again.

“I choose who I am,” Phoenix told him. He slammed Belos against the ground, drawing his hands back for another blow. Belos scrambled to his feet, but he couldn’t move away fast enough. “Not you.”

He brought his clawed hand careening right towards Belos’ face.

Belos caught it, struggling to push Phoenix’s hand back before it could plunge into his eyes. “Ah—wait—wait—”

I’m winning, Phoenix realized as Belos took a step back, and his arms shook under the force of Phoenix’s onslaught, He’s not strong enough to beat me—to beat us.

Belos’ foot slid backwards again.

Almost—

Belos’ eyes darted down, and his foot swung forward.

He hadn’t been losing a step.

He’d been drawing back for a kick.

Belos’ blow crashed into Phoenix’s injured ankle so hard the cast cracked and shivers of pain rippled up his spine. Phoenix’s leg buckled, and the moment of hesitation was all Belos needed. He twisted away from Phoenix, grabbing Phoenix’s face in one hand and slamming him back against the ground. He pulled Phoenix up again, this time pushing him forward against the earth. He couldn’t see—couldn’t feel—there was nothing but emptiness.

“Stop!”

Stars danced in front of Phoenix’s eyes, and he slowly rolled out of the crater Belos had made with his body. He’d gone past the point of hurting—all he could feel was a startling numbness and some bright flashes of… something… from the curse in his arms. Not quite fear. But a weakness and a hunger.

Belos had left him the moment he’d blacked out—he’d turned his attention back to the gallows, back to Evelyn’s flickering magic, back to Caleb.

But Jason stood in his way, arms out.

“Leave him alone.” Tears ran down Jason’s face, but Phoenix couldn’t tell who they were for. “I know you were hurt, but haven’t you punished him enough for it?”

No, Phoenix thought dizzily, trying and failing to push himself up, to crawl, to do anything but sit here uselessly, He can’t be reasoned with—Jason, you have to move.

But to his surprise, Belos stopped. To his surprise, Belos hesitated, struggling against himself like an animal chewing its own leg to get out of a trap.

“I’m not punishing him,” he said finally, “I’m saving him.”

Jason gave Belos a look so quietly sad, Phoenix’s own eyes grew wet. “Do you even know the difference anymore?”

Belos snarled, lunging at Jason, but froze halfway, looking down at his feet. Phoenix blinked once or twice, wondering if he was hallucinating. But no, the creeping grey didn’t disappear, instead spreading up.

Belos was turning to stone.

Belos twisted around to find the source of the magic, and Phoenix followed his gaze. Mole stood behind Belos, a giant glyph drawn in the dirt around him—the petrification glyph, Phoenix realized. In the middle, stuck in the dirt like a flagpole, was Petro’s dropped staff. The red gem at the top glowed and crackled with red lightning, powering the glyph with the last of its magic. Belos twisted and swiped, but Mole stood just out of reach, unfazed.

“I suppose it always was going to be you,” Belos snarled, “You never held any loyalty to me, did you? I should have bashed your head in with a shovel before you ever crawled out of the mud.” The petrification had crept up to his chest now, and his lips peeled back in a sneer. “What, nothing to say? Even now?”

Mole didn’t respond, just watched coldly as the stone devoured more and more of Belos’ skin. Belos turned frantically back to Jason, reaching almost gently towards his face. His own face changed, back to the face of a battered old man.

“You’re not going to let him do this to me, are you?” he asked, his voice honey-sweet, but tinged with desperation, “No, Hunter, you’re not going to let him kill me. We’re going to the human realm, remember? Just you and I, no one else. Phillip and Caleb again. That’s what you wanted, remember? You said that’s what you wanted, just you and I, no witches, none of these other grimwalkers, nothing. Just you and I. You won’t let him kill me. You promised.”

Jason said nothing for a long moment, just looked at Belos as if he was searching for something, then sighed. “You were so good at tricking people. So good at telling them what they wanted to hear,” he told Belos in a low, sad voice, “You told so many lies—can’t you recognize one when you hear it?”

He stepped back. Belos reached out towards him, but his fingers turned to stone just before he could touch Jason again.

His face froze tilted towards Caleb.

Mole took a deep breath, pulled the shaking, smoking staff out of the glyph, and pointed it at Belos’ petrified body. A pulse of red energy shot out, and the statue collapsed into rubble. The red gem at the top shattered. The last remnants of him… gone.

Xxx

Jason watched Belos’ face fall to pieces in front of him and fell to his knees with them. He’d thought he’d feel something when Belos died. Happiness. Pride. Maybe even a little bit of sadness. But he just felt… empty. Scraped out and hollow.

Is this how Dad always felt?

Mole dropped the staff and leapt over the rubble to him, taking Jason’s face in his hands and anxiously looking him over for injuries.

“I’m okay,” Jason told him wearily, “Hey—really, I’m alright. Um.” He slowly twisted around. “We should check on—”

Mole nodded, helping him to his feet and watching him like a hawk until they reached Phoenix. He’d managed to roll over and get himself up on his knees, but he stared vacantly into space, a look Jason felt in his soul.

“Hey—” Jason reached towards his face. “Concussion buddies?”

Phoenix smiled weakly, gripping his hand. “Probably. Hey—I’m glad you’re safe. If a little banged up.” His eyes slid back to Belos. “He’s… it’s for real this time, right?”

Mole nodded fiercely. A grim smile worked its way onto Jason’s face. “Well, glyphs don’t seem to be working very well at the moment, so even if Sam wanted to turn him back, I don’t think he could.”

“And… Caleb?”

Any words Jason could have said died in his throat. He turned and wandered as if in a dream towards the foot of the gallows, pushing through the crowd of grimwalkers gathered around their parents. Evelyn still held that flickering magic circle over Caleb’s chest, but the wound… didn’t seal up. The blood flow had barely stemmed up. Sweat dripped down Evelyn’s face, and the magic flickered more dangerously, nearly going out completely.

“It’s not enough,” she whispered, looking up at Jason desperately, “I’m out of magic, I can’t…” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Auric?” she said faintly.

“I can start packing the wound, we can try to get him back to Hexside, the griffin is at the ready—”

“Auric, listen.” Evelyn opened her eyes again. “There’s one more spell I can try, and hopefully it will negate enough of the damage that he’ll survive. But I’m… going to be out of commission. I need you to take care of the rest—of him and me, okay?”

“Okay,” Auric said quietly, “Okay, okay, I can do that. But what—”

Evelyn released the spell with a sigh. “Here we go.” She pressed her forehead to Caleb’s, taking a deep breath. “With this spell declared,” she murmured, “let the pain be shared.”

She fell next to Caleb, the wound on his chest shimmering and shrinking. Evelyn’s own chest tore open, and blood flowed from the wounds.

Auric yanked out bandages and potions, swearing a blue streak while he packed the wounds. He looked up at Jason, horror dawning in his eyes. “It’s still too big,” he whispered, “She was wrong, I can’t fix this—I don’t have magic, I don’t have…”

“We need to make it smaller,” Jason murmured.

“What?”

“We need to make it smaller,” Jason declared. He gripped Evelyn’s bloody hand.

Auric’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, Jason, don’t—”

“With this spell declared,” Jason announced, “Let the pain be shared.”

For a moment, nothing. Then, a tearing, aching rawness spread across his chest, opposite the scar on his back. Jason doubled over, gasping. The ground beneath him blurred, and the strength he’d had left drained. He reached for Evelyn and Caleb’s hands again, his own shaking uncontrollably.

“With this spell declared,” he heard Cherry’s voice murmuring, and Caleb’s wound shrank even more.

“Spread out the damage,” Auric breathed, “If all of us—it can be manageable. All of us take a little so that they don’t take too much.”

Mole gripped Jason’s shoulder, his lips moving soundlessly. The pain lessened—still a tearing rawness that made each breath an almost insurmountable effort, but lessened. All around him, the murmur rose up—the spell repeated over and over again, Belos’ damage spread out between them evenly. Jason held his parents’ hands tightly.

Let us save you this time.

Xxx

Phoenix limped towards the gallows. All around Caleb and Evelyn, the rest of the family murmured the words of a spell. They shared the burden of the wound, and it shrank smaller and smaller each time. Sam held up a hand as he approached.

“Uh—no offense, Phoenix, but I think if you try, it’ll just…” His face softened. “Look—you’ve taken enough more than enough hits for us today. Let us do this part.”

A frustrated, helpless feeling rose up in the back of Phoenix’s throat. “But I want to hel—”

“You have. Easy, soldier. Time to take a break.”

Phoenix retreated. He hadn’t helped, not enough. He’d come so close to beating him, but… not enough. Belos had still won out. And he’d been left in the dust again.

Speaking of left in the dust… Phoenix slowly lowered himself in a painful, aching crouch next to Petro. He wheezed, opening one eye to glare at Phoenix.

“I still don’t like you,” he grumbled, “This doesn’t change that.”

“I figured.” Phoenix sighed. “How long?”

“What?”

“How long were you planning to kill him? Was it the whole time, or…?”

“No.” Petro stared up at the sky. “Ah… after I left you at the keep, I retreated to watch him win and destroy everything. Sort of seemed like there was nothing else to do. And then… he didn’t.”

“Mhm.”

“I went looking. I had to make sure for myself, you know. See if he was actually dead this time. And I found him, a mashed-up puddle of footprints in mud.” Petro shuddered. “It was like he was waiting for me. He knew I’d come back, and he just had to hold on until I did. And… he possessed me again. But it was different. I couldn’t tell you how, but it just felt… I don’t know, desperate. You know how someone who’s drowning will drag you down with them? Like that. And I knew, when he possessed me again, that he was going to use me up. He was going to take everything I had left, and then just leave me in a ditch somewhere.” He chuckled, then winced. “I was always willing to die for him, little bird. But I thought that sacrifice would have some meaning. That he’d care if I did. That possession… he didn’t care. I was just a means to an end, and he’d forget about me once I was gone.”

Petro took a deep, shaky breath. “And I realized… I was never going to be good enough for him. He was going to replace me, again, this time with the real article. The real Caleb. And how could I possibly compete with that?” His voice cracked. “Even if I killed Caleb, he wouldn’t love me more. He wouldn’t ever choose me over the brother who left him, even though I was right there, even though I always came back to him. Even though I would have died for him.”

Petro shook his head, his eyes suspiciously wet. “I just don’t understand how he thought I never cared this whole time. I wasn’t going to betray him, not at first. I don’t understand how he could think… I was loyal. I was loyal. How could he think I only returned to stab him in the back?” His eyes latched desperately onto Phoenix’s. “I had to. He didn’t give me another choice—I was loyal. I had to.”

“I understand,” Phoenix said softly, “Trust me, Petro, I understand. But—look. Hey. You can give your loyalty to someone who deserves it more. Someone who will be loyal back. I think… I think your caretaker would like that for you.”

“It’s not gonna be you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Come on.” Phoenix slung one of Petro’s arms over his shoulder and hauled him up to his feet.

“Let me go,” Petro grumbled, “Leave me to die here.”

“You’re not dying. And I’m not leaving you behind.”

Petro chuckled, breaking into a cough halfway through. “You’re not in much better shape than I am, little bird. You can barely stand.”

“I can stand enough.”

Phoenix dragged Petro towards the rest of the family. Lucy knelt on the ground, allowing Joseph to drape Evelyn and Caleb across her back. Caleb still hadn’t opened his eyes, and Evelyn wasn’t much better, watching them with hazy, weak eyes. But they were alive—and the gaping wound had been reduced to a nasty gash, easily packed and bandaged by Auric’s steady hand.

“Oh, no,” Sam said immediately as Phoenix approached, “He is not coming with us.”

“Good,” Petro mumbled, “I don’t want to. You’ll keep me locked in your lab again.”

Phoenix elbowed him. “No, we won’t. Sam, come on—”

“After everything he’s done?”

“He turned on Belos,” Phoenix pleaded, “He saved Evelyn.”

“For his own gain, not because he cares about us.”

“Okay, but he still helped! That has to mean something, doesn’t it?He can change,” Phoenix argued, “He’s already started—we didn’t think he’d ever turn on Belos, did we? But he did. It’s like Caleb said, he’s growing. Slowly, but growing.” He turned desperately to Cherry. “You wanted him to change—and he is. Doesn’t that mean anything?”

Cherry avoided his eyes. “Maybe he’s changing. But… I’m not sure I want to be around him while he does. He hurt us, Phoenix. He led the Collector right to us. On purpose. He had our home destroyed.”

“He stabbed Lake!” Sam yelled.

“He did do that,” Lake agreed, rubbing their shoulder.

“And he hurt Silver,” Chryses piped up, uncharacteristically angry.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Silver murmured, patting his arm, “It was part of the plan, sort of—we had to get Dad to pull the gallows lever.”

But they went ignored.

“He collapsed. A cave. On me,” Dagger seethed, “Leave him, Phoenix.”

“Okay—look—we can at least take him to a hospital—”

“Don’t want to,” Petro grumbled, “Want to be left here to die.”

Phoenix would have shaken him if he wasn’t so injured. “We’re not leaving you to die. You didn’t want Belos to use you up and leave you for dead—I know you don’t want to die now.”

“Hey, if it’s what he wants…” Sam muttered.

“Come on,” Phoenix tried one more time, “We all had a safe place to figure out how we felt and who we wanted to be. All of us were betrayed by Belos in little ways from the second we dug out of the mud, and we let it go for a long time. And all of us carried out Belos’ horrors up until the end—so did Petro, but we were on the receiving end this time. His finish line just happened after he met us, not before. Look. I get it—he tried to kill me when I was thirteen, just for existing. He killed the closest thing I had to a friend, he attacked and nearly killed me. And he’s tried again several times since. If anyone has the right to be angry with him, if anyone has the right to leave him behind, it’s me.”

Phoenix took a deep breath. “But it doesn’t matter if I’ve forgiven him or not. What matters is that he needs help. What matters is that when it really counted, he stood up to Belos. And what matters is that I’m not going to be the kind of person who leaves him behind just because I don’t like him. He’s coming with us, even if I have to drag him all the way back myself.”

“You won’t have to.”

Jason slipped around to Petro’s other side, supporting him and taking some of the weight off Phoenix’s shoulders. “He saved Mom. That’s good enough for me. Even if he is incorrigible.”

Jason stared pointedly at the others, and Cherry caved. “Alright. We can at least take him to a healer, I suppose. But Phoenix… watch your back around him, okay?”

“I will.”

They turned and looked at Sam expectantly, and finally, he threw up his hands with a disgusted sigh. “Fine! Yes! Fine! We’re a bunch of bleeding hearts! Titan. Fine. We’ll take him with us. Geeze. Joseph, I hope you have more griffins, because we are walking out of this with twice as many injured people than we walked in with.”

Joseph shrugged and whistled. One of his other griffins stalked out of the trees, lifting Dagger and Venari onto her back. Jason and Mole pushed Petro up on Lucy behind Caleb and Evelyn. The griffin eyed him for a moment, the same way she’d eyed Jason before sitting on him, but left him alone.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing.”

Phoenix jumped. He hadn’t noticed Hunter creep up at his elbow, still holding Ghost. The toddler made grabby hands at Phoenix, but Hunter didn’t move to hand the baby over, eying Phoenix’s injured foot.

“Oh. Thanks.”

Hunter shrugged. “I wouldn’t be here if people hadn’t given me a lot of second chances, even after I hurt them.” He scratched Flapjack’s chin. Blue scars ran up the bird’s chest from the repairs, but he was alive and looked like he’d never let go of Hunter again. “Maybe he’ll turn out alright if he meets the right people.”

“Maybe.”

The second griffin lifted Phoenix, depositing him neatly on her back. Cherry looked up at him. “Where to? Back to Hexside?”

Phoenix shook his head. “I’ve… actually got somewhere else in mind. Hunter? Could you lead the way?”

Hunter’s face split into a grin. “I’d love to.”

Xxx

Phoenix took a deep breath. This was it. No more barriers, no more incidents to keep him from explaining. Just he and Darius.

And the assortment of twenty plus griffins, grimwalkers, witches, and humans behind him.

He knocked on the perfectly polished purple door.

It swung open almost immediately, and Darius’s jaw dropped, staring at the mob behind Phoenix.

“Um. Hi. Do you… maybe know where we could find a healer right around now?”

Darius nodded faintly, still staring at the crowd.

“And… is your offer of a place to stay still open? Sorry, I know there’s a lot of us.”

“Ah. Yes.” Darius bobbed his head up and down a few times. “I think… I think I may need to find some more blankets.”

[courfee]

20 Qᴜᴇꜱᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ꜰɪᴄ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇʀꜱ

Thank you for the tag @snarky-magpie <333

1. How many works do you have on A03? 14 published, 1 hidden.

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 315,642

3. What fandoms do you write for? harry potter (mostly marauders and back in the day on ff.de also next gen, tho there is a golden era one happening atm), les miserables, and i used to write a handful of doctor who drabbles

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? 1. Operation Walburga's Arbitrary No Kissing Ever Rule 2. blindspot 3. All My Theory Complete 4. Borrow My Name 5. If you ask nicely

5. Do you respond to comments? Usually yes, though I am very very bad with responding (in general, not just ao3 this is a all messages kinda problem) and sometimes im off of ao3 for a solid 3 months before i check my inbox again. i am so sorry for all that, i do read all the comments when i get email notifs for them, i just often dont have the spoons to reply then and there.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Probably On Lies And Spies since it's a canon compliant peter fic, tho i think my prongsfoot fic might also be up there for competiton... (if we go off of ao3 i am currently writing a basically everyone dies fic and have written an angsty fred&george os on my first fic account)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I'd say operation wanker, probably

8. Do you get hate on fics? mm yeah.. amtc specifically... idk what it is with that fic but ive had all kinds of things said there... people who hated the ending, people who thought no one should ever forgive james, people who said no one should ever forgive sirius, people being just in general mean (and not even in english??).. especially the comments in the bookmarks suck, ive had several people rate that fic out of 10, have had people write an entire list of what i should have done different etc etc... it sucks cause i still like that fic a lot, the first long fic ive ever finished, but its reached a point where im scared when people tell me theyre going to start reading it :(

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yeahh ive written one jegulus smut fic. it was supposed to be a one shot for practicing purpose of seeing if i can do it and got slightly out of hand....

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I've started writing one chronicles of syntax hogwarts au before and i did a comic forever ago where the 10th doctor and rose end up in hogwarts meeting the next gen crew

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? someone started translating amtc

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I've had plans, but we haven't yet gotten beyond the planning stage. would love to try it some time tho!!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? whatever the fuck james and sirius have going on, their relationship has been my favourite for all eternity

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? My jegulus Krabat AU. I so badly want to have it written because i want to read it, but unfortunately the world is just not something i like writing in all that much

16. What are your writing strengths? Writing (un)healthily codependent friendships (aka james and sirius, (or the triumvirate)) and probably also consistency with little details

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Plotting. I suck at it. i am very much a paper thinker, so if i dont write i cant think

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? depends on the context? it has to work with the story line and characters and id rather use it sparingly

19. First fandom you wrote for? harry potter (my first published fic was next gen, my second marauders all the way back in 2011)

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? probably either operation wanker or on lies and spies

no pressure tagging @messymoony @static-radio-ao3 @otrtbs @iceprinceofbelair @alarainai @delicris

[legion1227]

Movies watched in 2022: Ranked!

128. Firestarter (2022) (1/5)

127. They/Them (1/5)

126. The Car: Road to Revenge (1/5)

125. Mulan 2 (1/5)

124. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) (1/5)

123. The Incredible Hulk (1.5/5)

122. Checkered Ninja (1.5/5)

121. Anger Management (1.5/5)

120. Dear Evan Hansen (1.5/5)

119. Fruit Basket: Prelude (1.5/5)

118. Heathers (2/5)

117. Remember Me (2/5)

116. Me Time (2/5)

115. Eyes Wide Shut (2/5)

114. Adam Project (2/5)

113. Hellraiser (2022) (2/5)

112. Don't Worry Darling (2/5)

111. Vacation (2/5)

110. Home Team (2/5)

109. Free Guy (2/5)

108. Fullmetal Alchemist: The Revenge of Scar (2/5)

107. Morbius (2/5)

106. Pinocchio (2022) (2/5)

105. Dynasty Warriors (2/5)

104. Black Adam (2.5/5)

103. Nomadland (2.5/5)

102. Crouching Tiger: Sword of Destiny (2.5/5)

101. Teacher of the Year (2.5/5)

100. Halloween Ends (2.5/5)

99. Clerks 2 (2.5/5)

98. Hocus Pocus 2 (2.5/5)

97. Old (2.5/5)

96. Dazed and Confused (2.5/5)

95. The Kings' Man (2.5/5)

94. The Butterfly Effect (2.5/5)

93. Beast (2.5/5)

92. Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons (3/5)

91. A Christmas Story: Christmas (3/5)

90. Disenchanted (3/5)

89. Green Street Hooligans (3/5)

88. Sing 2 (3/5)

87. Ticket to Paradise (3/5)

86. Willow (3/5)

85. War Dogs (3/5)

84. Enchanted (3/5)

83. Think Like A Man (3/5)

82. Frankenweenie (3/5)

81. Cinderella 2 (3/5)

80. West Side Story (2021) (3/5)

79. Shrek the Third (3/5)

78. Eternals (3/5)

77. Uncharted (3/5)

76. Bee Movie (3/5)

75. Zombieland: Double Tap (3/5)

74. This is Where I Leave You (3/5)

73. Paddington (3/5)

72. Hot Tub Time Machine (3/5)

71. The Cursed (3/5)

70. Liar Liar (3/5)

69. Inception (3/5)

68. Thor: Love and Thunder (3.5/5)

67. Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (3.5/5)

66. Zombieland (3.5/5)

65. DC League of Superpets (3.5/5)

64. Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (3.5/5)

63. Jackass 4.5 (3.5/5)

62. Chip N Dale: Rescue Rangers (3.5/5)

61. The Barbarian (3.5/5)

60. Turning Red (3.5/5)

59. Coda (3.5/5)

58. Jackass 2 (3.5/5)

57. Jackass The Movie (3.5/5)

56. One Piece: Strong World (3.5/5)

55. Rango (3.5/5)

54. Dumb and Dumber (3.5/5)

53. Airplane (3.5/5)

52. The Bad Guys (3.5/5)

51. How to Train Your Dragon (3.5/5)

50. The Batman (3.5/5)

49. Bruno (3.5/5)

48. Scream (2022) (3.5/5)

47. The Social Network (3.5/5)

46. Smile (3.5/5)

45. The Terminal (3.5/5)

44. Bullet Train (3.5/5)

43. Encanto (3.5/5)

42. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (3.5/5)

41. Austin Powers: Goldmember  (4/5)

40. Entergalactic  (4/5)

39. Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Plantasm  (4/5)

38. Regular Show: The Movie   (4/5)

37. Pearl   (4/5)

36. The Northman   (4/5)

35. The Tindler Swindler  (4/5)

34. One Piece: Film Z   (4/5)

33. White Men can't Jump   (4/5)

32. Dog   (4/5)

31. Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent   (4/5)

30. Jarhead   (4/5)

29. Lightyear   (4/5)

28. Palm Springs   (4/5)

27. Shutter Island   (4/5)

26. Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness   (4/5)

25. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch   (4/5)

24. Batman: The Long Halloween   (4/5)

23. Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio   (4/5)

22. Prey   (4/5)

21. Nope   (4/5)

20. Blindspotting  (4/5)

19. There Will Be Blood   (4/5)

18. La La Land   (4/5)

17. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story   (4/5)

16. True Romance   (4/5)

15. Cast Away   (4/5)

14. Shrek 2   (4/5)

13. Whiplash   (4/5)

12. Batman Begins   (4/5)

11. Glass Onion   (4/5)

10. American Psycho   (4/5)

9. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero   (4/5)

8. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever   (4/5)

7. The Last Duel  (4.5/5)

6. Jujitsu Kaisen 0   (4.5/5)

5. City of God   (4.5/5)

4. Training Day   (4.5/5)

3. Everything, Everywhere, All At Once   (4.5/5)

2. I Like it Like That   (4.5/5)

Mitchells vs The Machines   (4.5/5)

[hellhoundsprey]

hellhoundsprey's 2022

48 fics, some with multiple chapters, summing up to 393k words

most popular fic by hit count: warm (6.3k hits)

personal top 3 fics: hold you in the palm of my hand, water lily, keep

If I tell you that 2022 transformed me, I am still underselling.

I pulled through my 12-month fitness coaching, went to my first multi-day music festival, decided I will move to another country to live with my girlfriend, found the courage and support to set my journey into full self-employment into motion. I have started getting more serious and organized about setting goals and financial budgeting. I explored my blindspots and my sore spots and was kinder and more honest with me than I have ever been. This year, I set several starting points for big big big things. So many decisions. I am blessed to get to do that.

As you know from my recent posts (1, 2), I have big plans for 2023: my journey into book publishing has officially begun! I’ll open a Patreon where you can read the stories chapter by chapter before they finish—and there will be art to go along with the words, too. Yes, I’m reviving my drawing muscles!

For the first half of 2023, I’ll do all this aside my day job. But only for the first half ;). And I’ll be moving internationally too in that second half.

Next to all the original stuff, I continue to take writing commissions—fanfic and Supernatural are not out of my world. I am editing a 62k vampire J2 longfic as we speak…! My muse is not done with fandom at all, no worries, please.

I am so fucking ready for 2023.

[yearningforthesublime]

i was tagged by @skinwalkerbehavior thank uuu send me ur poetry xoxo

15 questions for 15 mutuals

1. are you named after anyone? im only named after a fictional character hehe

2. when was the last time you cried? 17 days ago because i rewatched In The Mood for Love :///

3. do you have kids? nooo im successfully fighting my natural impulses on that one thanks to god and birth control and double majoring #girlboss

4. do you use sarcasm a lot? not rly i actually prefer to be sincere...i think i can be bitterly straighforward which maybe seems sarcastic but it's just trying to be real with ppl

5. what sports do you play/have you played? tennissss

6. what's the first thing you notice about other people? outfits lemme see what materials n brands i love spotting things i recognize

7. eye color? brown

8. scary movies or happy endings? idk i dont care for scary movies but endings don't have to be happy either... probably happy endings

9. any special talents? im double jointed in my elbows (i think flexibility is a talent)

10. where were you born? god's blindspot (new jersey)

11. what are your hobbies? painting, going to local music and art shows, n skating (im not good tho)

12. do you have any pets? no the dorms wouldn't let me and now i don't feel like it's a good time for one

13. how tall are you? i'm 5'1 or 154cm

14. fave subject in school? art and history

15. dream job? anything that helps make something prettier or better designed (designer or something probably)

i tag: @deep-space-tits @shyhawk @sstrange-cloudss @dulc3t-ton3s @depengu @p0maa

[blitzendoggo]

Ep8 and Ep9 Info Dump/Update

Spoilers Btw

Headcanons:

-Goodbid:

~Bit people as a kid

~has lightning-shaped scars littering his skin from the jellyfish

~is slightly hard of hearing 

~grew up in a very loud house

~is very good at reading lips

~has a slight fear of sea creatures

-Mercury and Doc have Diabetes

-Emmy:

~was an avid fantasy/sci-fi reader (escapism) 

~Was a poor wood elf

~was forgotten by his family almost instantly

-Kraken is Blob’s dad

Canon Character Info:

-It's spelled Tris Biurmk

-Ezekiel:

~is a reference to a bible story about a dude who raises skeletons

~has been cursed in Aragdus for 60-80 years

~is making a powerful invisibility potion

-S.G.:

~can reverse gravity for a minute

~can polymorph things

~invented the term Walkie-Talkie

~can communicate with Sky Skimmer

-Mercury lives on Sky Skimmer

-Sky Skimmer can be used as a boat still

-Reylias:

~is very angry at the Party

~wanted to flood Rfitreach to make it his palace

-Skeezvol:

~is from Skeezville

~isn’t technically dead.

-Goodbid isn’t his actual name

-Glib:

~eyes turn white when he talks to ghosts

~Has the Kraken’s ghost following him

-Kraken:

~was killed by Reylias

~is the same species as Blob (cuttlefish w/ wings)

~Using the Kraken’s corpus as a moving castle

-Kyland was Dream in disguise

-Dream:

~Real name is Callum

~Was a poet

~Suicidal

~Trying to Summon the Blanks

~Crazy

~Can only die if all sleeping things die

-Blanks:

~Are the Stars?

~Existed where the convergence is now

~Do not like the Gods

~Disappears things

-Emerald (The Absence):

~Named by the party

~Nicknamed Emmy

~Is 8-ish 

~God of Secrets (Chaos)

~Scared and lonely

~Superspeed (rumors travel quick)

~Can disappear things

~is quickly and often forgotten

~kidnapped Skeezvol

~Has a “pet” mini Kermit

~Speaks only in whispers

~Teleports people into the Blindspot

-Zalkas’ bar is in Riftreach

Gods and Domains

-Life

~Linked to Unknown

~Gods:

=Mushrooms God of Decay (switches hosts easily) 

-Fire

~Linked to Parian

~Gods:

=Unknown Name God of Pain

=Dramatticus God of Light

=Vassilos God of Victory (Dead)

-Order

~Linked to Bowenburg

~Gods:

=Aldor God of Knowledge (dead)

=Friday Goddess of Fate

=Voctan God of Peace and Wisdom (dead?)

-Earth

~Linked to Is

~Gods:

=S.G. Godlen of Wealth

=Barrium (Barry) God of Metal

-Death

~Gada-Yama

~Gods:

= Callum God of Dreams

=Glib God of Death

-Water

~Linked to Unknown?

~Gods:

=Kraken God of Water(?) (Dead)

=Reylias God of Monsters

-Chaos

~Linked to Aragdus

~Gods:

=Prophis Domain Unknown

=Absence (Emerald/Emmy) God of Secrets

-Air

~Linked to Whirlpool north of Franklin Castle (?)

~Gods:

=Mercury God of Travel

=Unknown Name, Goddess of Sound (previously held by Morendo)

-Time/Space

~Dead

~Primodirals were twins

~Left a cool rock

~No thrones

Extra:

-Breakpoints bottle episode takes place after ep 9 (12 hours to a day)

-Aragdus is a bastardization of the Latin word for emerald. 

-Aragdus constructs are very reactive to chaos magic

[indelibleevidence]

Since it's Christmas Eve, a reminder that there are plenty of older Christmas/winter-themed posts on the @holidayblindspot blog!

12 Days of Blindspot

Blindspot in a Winter Wonderland

Happy holidays, everyone! :)

[lovelylovelyartist]

OK, I'm road tripping to another convention on Thursday so I started thinking about it again (and procrastinating trip preparations) so here are "Max's Lonely Road Trip Tips"

(Disclaimer: I am not a long haul or professional driver. The most I've driven alone was about 12 hours.

Disclaimer 2: all of these tips come with an implied "as long as you are physically able to" and "as long as it is safe for you". I don't know your circumstances or physical limitations and I won't pretend to speak for you. Or environmental limitations- some of my tips may be moot if youre leaving with the clothes on your back or on a time crunch.)

BEFORE YOU GO

-Check your car fluids! Look up a YouTube video, ask a reputable friend/guardian/etc! You don't want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere because you ran out of oil

- get yourself road trip snacks. Stuff tends to be more expensive when you're at a gas station (esp in an isolated area)

- buy yourself a case of water. Do it. Your body will thank you and you don't always know whether your destination has good potable drinking water.

- obviously you don't have to go this route if you want to, but I typically take an induction burner (I'm actually switching to an electric pot for this trip) and some dollar store cooking supplies. If you're staying in a hotel without a microwave, it is a godsend to be able to cook yourself some kind of hot meal. (And a bonus of not having to buy food every day as long as you pack it, and especially for someone with dietary restrictions that limit restaurants.)

- research your route before you go! Know approximately how long it will take, how many miles it will take, and approximately how often you will need to stop for gas. GasBuddy has a trip calculator for this, but if you're using Google maps that can also search along your route.

- especially relavent to POC, but relavent to "visibly queer" folk, learn the sundown towns (or sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns) on your route and plan accordingly. Don't assume that because you live in a blue state/are traveling in a blue state doesn't mean they don't exist there or that you risk passing through them. (Sundown towns referring to all white communities that still practice lynching/hate crime against POC. Think "dont be here after sunset") this is an interactive map I found, but if you have a more reliable map/list/etc, please feel free to add that as well.

- pack more underwear than you think you'll need. Just good practice.

- pack an extra day of meds. If something happens and you end up stranded somehow, having an extra days meds can be a lifesaver.

PACKING YOUR CAR

-first, and I do mean first: position your seat how you are sure you will be comfortable for the drive. Tempting as it may be, packing around yourself is just not worth it, especially for a long drive.

-Big stuff first, small stuff can fit around.

-stuff you want easily accessible should be close to a door, window, etc.

- when it is possible, keep line of sight of blindspots, mirrors and rear view mirror. If that's not possible, leave at minimum driver side blindspot and passenger mirror.

WHILE YOURE DRIVING

-OBEY THE RULES OF THE ROAD. your trip costs money. Don't make it cost more with a ticket, or God forbid with your life.

- take breaks! When you feel distracted, or fidgety, or sore, or you have to use the bathroom, take breaks! Stretch, breathe, explore a little (my favorite pastime is to walk around the unfamiliar gas station stores and look for neat regional drinks/snacks)

- oh yeah, make it a point to stretch. There's lots of YouTube videos for the best stretches to do on road trips, and your legs/body will thank you for it.

-listen to your brain and body. If you feel like you're tired, find a place to stop and have a nap. Tired driving has the same effect as driving drunk.

- to help the boredom, download media offline. If you lose cell reception for half your trip, you'll be quite bored. Audiobooks, music, podcasts of course. But what I've actually found helpful is to download the audio files for TV shows/movies that have a podcast feel. (Star Trek is very good for this. Murder She Wrote is also good. Something that is very dialogue heavy and relies on tell rather than show is very good for this)

- Stop for gas before you think you'll need it. (I usually fill up at a 1/4 tank, but if I'm already stopped for a break, I'll usually top off)

- actually stop for meal breaks. This is a sanity keeper for me personally. Even if you're packing a lunch, whatever, find a park or a point of interest to stop and enjoy the scenery. It helps to break up the journey a bit and not feel so long.

- keep someone updated on your trip plans/progress. A friend, a partner, a parent, someone. This way if something happens and you don't make it to your destination, someone has your last known location, and possibly where you could be.

- Stop at points of interest when they intrigue you. Life is about exploration. If you're on a time crunch, understandable to skip this, but if not- stop and enjoy the roses.

That's everything I can think of rn, but I'm sure I'll add more when I'm on the road and thinking about it lol please feel free to RB and add your own tips :)

[nachosncheezies]

20 questions for 20 writers

I was tagged by @thursdayinspace, and possibly others but idk, I'd have to go back through my activity feed to find out and. No. Bless you and thank you to anyone else who may have done it xD

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 13

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? Only 26,434! So far xD

3. What fandoms do you write for? NBC's Blindspot and X-Files.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? The Bet (txf), A Good Team (blindspot), Bitter Truth (txf), Selfless Disregard (blindspot), A Joke A Lie (txf)

5. Do you respond to comments? I try to! I really, really try to!!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Well right now it is hands down and without question a Deadalive chapter I've written for my txf AU, but that won't be posted for a while. I guess I would have to say it's a toss up between Bitter Truth (txf) and The Coin (blindspot).

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? The Family (blindspot). If you want an x files one then where I've currently left The Bet is happy as shit. This will change however lmao

8. Do you get hate on fics? To date I have not. There is one fic I went into knowing that it was going to be a possibly unpopular take on an already INCREDIBLY unpopular plot line. I knew it will never be beloved, but thankfully, people were gracious even so.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do not. I am not brave enough. 😂

10. Do you write crossovers? 🙈🙉🙊

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Also not to my knowledge.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Sort of! I was working on a series of drabbles with someone, but my co-author had to step away from fandom for life reasons. I did receive blessing to proceed on my own, but idk, it's just not the same. :/ So they will probably never see the light of day.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? This is a more complicated question than I can convey in a tag game.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? The aforementioned team project.

16. What are your writing strengths? I think I'm pretty good at getting into some characters' heads. I do (what to me is) fantastic angst, but that also usually involves a lot of purple prose. xD I'm very arty farty about it. xD

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I tend to go round in circles. Fortunately I think I've been so far pretty successful at brutally editing my way out of it, at the end of the day. I struggle with physicality. Emoting, gestures, movement and action.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I have thus far had no reason to do so, and I'm not sure I'd take that on. As a reader I think it's tough to do it well, in a way that doesn't make things awkward or clunky for people who don't speak the language.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Star Wars

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? I mean, I love them all? They're my babies. I love Bitter Truth. I love Selfless Disregard. I love love love my blindspot 5x11 deleted scenes fix WIP, my x files season 8 deleted scenes WIP, and now I've got this x files married on a dare AU eating holes of pain and delight all through my sensibility. Do not make me choose amongst my children xD

@randomfoggytiger added additional questions:

1. Is writing a hobby or way of life? Both and neither. I love to play with words. I can't not play with words. Not everything need be written, however. I went many many years without writing.

2. A journal full of writing notes or a clean, completed manuscript? I don't really do notes, scenes generally come for me in one, so I guess I'd have to say manuscript?

3. Who (or what) is your writing inspiration? It's a ~mystery~. There is a mental slow cooker. Anything at all can be an ingredient. I never know what's gonna come out til it dings at me. I would never have turned it back on if not for my lovely pal over at Blindspot (you know who you are xD) and a handful of others, though. Their work and their friendship inspires me constantly.

4.Which is worse: someone you "idolize" reading your first draft or listening to you sing? Am I singing solo. If so, do I get to pick my key. These are VERY important questions.

5. Has writing from someone else's POV ever changed your own perspective? It can do, yeah.

6. Tumblr, AO3, LiveJournal, or FFN? AO3 for the posting/feedback (and love the download option), Tumblr for the community aspects especially while in progress.

7. AO3 wordcount, and are you satisfied with it? 26,434; yes and no. I'm happy that I've posted anything at all; three years ago it never would have happened. Would I really, really, really like to add my 23k and counting x files and my 24k blindspot WIPs to that number? OF COURSE. (Come to think of it, I have several thousand more words floating around tumblr that I've never migrated. I should get on that. xD)

8. What movie/book/fic gripped you irrevocably? Movies/books you are LOOKING at them, every time you look at my tumblr. Fics? Ahh, too long a list. Would need its own post.

9. What's the highest compliment you could ever be given, and have you been given it? When it's my writing, I love to hear if I've made someone cry tbh 😅 That I've made someone feel anything at all, really, but I write a lot of angst, so. 😅😅 Misery delights in company, I guess xD In life? Someone I really respect and looked up to professionally once paid me an extremely high and thoughtful compliment about my curiosity. I still carry that one tucked under my ribs.

10. What defines your writing style? I. have. NO IDEA. xD xD xD Messy chaotic angst! Words that come unbidden and often at the most annoying times so they may or may not have any "style" at all! Wordy and sometimes overly poetic and entirely novice! Are any of those "styles"???? xD

[overmore]

i love the things you write with all my heart and it makes me want to write my own so bad.. theres nothing stopping me, and im not particularly worried about skill or anything, im just lazy as fuck and everytime i imagine something and then swoon and go "wow i should write this 💞" i just continue to lay in bed and go on with my day without doing anything haha. maybe one day!!

anyways im not the best with using words to describe how i feel but , my first works of yours i read were the hangover/blindspot ones and they permanently changed my brain chemistry. i think about them daily, and i am not exaggerating that. i eventually read your dmspot things too, i put them off for a while because im not too big a fan of dm and t&i in general at all, but theyve done a very good job at softening me up to them a bit, to the point i (for the most point) dont actively avoid reading things about dm anymore lol

and the cinnaseph one !!! i adore that skin i wasnt expecting to see anyone write with it especially not in a setting like that, and its so cute :( i felt so bad for aesop the whole time bc i resonated w him soo bad and hrgrhgdghf the whole thing just melted my heart in all honesty.. i wonder if joseph will ever know just how much aesop is going to think about that event and him afterwards, sweet thing

Took me a while to think of how to respond because HDGSHSGAHGA KYAAAA. I never get asks here at all and much less so detailed thoughts of people about my fics 😭

I'm so happy every time someone says they like any of my Blindspot fics, regardless of what Joseph I use in it. Hangoverspot seems to be a hit with everyone though hahahahah. I hope you do read the dmspot ones, since I consider a lot if them to be my favorites (especially ma petit fleur. I consider it my best written thing up to date). They're my go to to write for joscarl when I use Blindspot.

Yes the cinnaseph one. I tend to project onto Blindspot from time to time so a lot of things written about him are definitely easier to relate to sometimes. The cinna skin was also just so cute I couldn't resist not writing something with it! (that fic was written for someone I don't talk to anymore and I'm glad other people love it too, does make me feel better about it hsgsgsgsgs)

And on writing: it is actually a task to sit down and do it the first time. I've been writing since I was 11 and actively doing this in fandom spaces since I was 12, so I've been here and doing it for a very long time. Getting that first push can be a lot sometimes whether you're doing it for the first time or you're going into a new fandom and getting the hang of the characters for the first time. It might seem scary, but once you break that ice the first time, it becomes easier, even when there are bumps on the road.

[middleagerunblog]

XXXI.

Week 4 Recap

Exercise:

Sun Dec 31 - 1:10p, hike in Econ Wilderness Area with my youngest son, 2.79 mi, 1:08:31

Mon Jan 1 - 9:58a, outdoors near home, 3.5 mi, 35:45, 10:12 pace

Tue Jan 2 - 8:09a, outdoors near home, 35 min tempo, 12 min easy/18 min acceleration/5 min easy, 3.82 mi, 9:10 avg pace

Wed Jan 3 - 9:14a, outdoors near home, 3 mi, 30:53, 10:17 pace

Thu Jan 4 - rest

Fri Jan 5 - 7:04a, outdoors near home, 3 mi, 30:41, 10:12 pace

Sat Jan 6 - 7:11a, in the rain, Lockwood to McCullough to Old Lockwood to Lockwood, 7 mi, 1:10:45, 10:05 pace

Diet:

Grades by day: Sun C, Mon A-, Tue B, Wed A-, Thu, B, Fri B-, Sat C

That's an EGPA for the week of 2.86, a B/B-, better than Q1's 2.40, the 2nd best week to week 1's 3.14. Still under 3.0 is not going to get it done in terms of my weight loss goals.

Alcohol - 10 drinks, the highest so far. Was actually surprised when I looked that up. 4 beers on New Year's Eve, my last beers until the race. Doing red wine only in Jan, no alcohol in Feb. Had 2 glasses of red wine on New Year's Day, 1 glass the next day, 3 straight days of no drinking, then 3 glasses of red wine on Saturday while cooking dinner and watching football. I have to drink less if I want to lose weight, but hopefully I don't have to think too deeply about this, going red wine only should naturally solve for this (though I just had 6 glasses of red wine in 6 days, so who knows).

Weigh-in:

194.4, what more can I say that I didn't already say.

Music:

New music this week- finally got around to listening to André 3000's flute album, New Blue Sun (2023). I mean, it's fine background music:

Old album new to me this week - mid '00s to mid '10s is a musical blindspot to me, got married, had 3 kids, streaming didn't exist yet, wasn't easy to keep up on new stuff. Neon Indian's Psychic Chasm (2009) wasn't too bad:

Old album I listened to the first time in a while this week - One Hot Minute (1995) by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the one with Dave Navarro, much less popular than the one with "Under the Bridge" from the early '90s or Californication from the late '90s, but this album reminds me of high school and is my favorite of theirs:

Rereading:

Only reread chapters 14 and 15 of Kafka on the Shore this week. A dog leads Nakata to Johnny Walker, who tells him he knows where the cat he is looking for is. Kafka stay alone in the mountain cabin and explores the surrounding forest a bit. Both seem to be heading down ominous paths.

Kafka waking up in the middle of nowhere covered in someone else's blood is me stepping on the scale weighing nearly 195 pounds. Like Kakfa, I am going dust myself off and persevere. I have my path.

[laresearchette]

Friday, April 14, 2023 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: JANE (Apple TV +) THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME (Apple TV+) SAGO MINI FRIENDS EARTH DAY (Apple TV+) RUGRATS (Paramout +) BLINDSPOTTING (Starz Canada) 9:00pm A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW (HBO Canada) 11:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT? GOLD RUSH: WHITE WATER (Premiering on April 18 on Discovery Canada at 10:00pm) PERSONALITY CRISIS: ONE NIGHT ONLY (TBD)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA CARAVANA DAS DRAGS THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Season 5) PEARL SALADE GRECQUE

CBC GEM SAVAGE DINNER (Season 1) SPACE EXPLORERS: MOONRISE ON THE ISS

CRAVE TV 21 JUMP STREET BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW (Season 4, Episode 1) BLADE OF THE 47 RONIN BLINDSPOTTING (Season 2, Episodes 1-2) BOYZ N’ THE HOOD CASPER THE EXHIBIT: FINDING THE NEXT GREAT ARTIST (Season 1) JUST FOR LAUGHS 2022: THE GALA SPECIALS — JO KOY LAW & ORDER (Seasons 11 &12) NONE PUMPING IRON RAW DEAL SOMETHING BORROWED

DISNEY + STAR OSWALD THE LUCKY RABBIT (short) OZUR DILERIM

NETFLIX CANADA PHENOMENA QUEENMAKER (Season 1) QUEENS ON THE RUN SEVEN KINGS MUST DIE

GRAND SLAM OF CURLING (SN) 11:30am: Players' Championship - Draw #13 (SN) 3:30Players' Championship - Draw #14 (SN1) 7:30pm: Players' Championship - Draw #15

IIHF WOMEN’S HOCKEY (TSN5) 3:00pm: Placement Game (TSN/TSN5) 7:00pm: Placement Game

BILLIE JEAN KING CUP (SN Now/OLN) 7:00pm: Canada vs. Belgium

MLB BASEBALL (SN Now) 7:00pm: Twins vs. Yankees (SN) 7:00pm: Rays vs. Jays (SN1) 10:00pm: Cubs vs. Dodgers

NBA BASKETBALL (TSN) 7:00pm: NBA Play-In: Bulls vs. Heat (TSN/TSN4) 9:30pm: NBA Play-In: Thunder vs. Timberwolves

THE BLESSING BRACELET (W Network) 8:00pm: A single mother unearths a bracelet that she made years earlier, with each bead serving as a reminder to count the blessings in her life. As her faith is renewed, the blessing bracelet takes her down a path she never could have imagined.

PUSH (CBC) 8:30pm (SEASON FINALE): Bean heads to Las Vegas confronting her past, while Vic makes an important connection, and Brian recovers from surgery.

NLL LACROSSE (TSN3) 9:00pm: Desert Dogs vs. Roughnecks

SPACE EXPLORERS: MOONRISE ON THE ISS (CBC) 9:00pm: Life on the space station is a proving ground for humanity’s next missions to the Moon and beyond.

KILLER CHEER (Investigation Discovery) 9:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): After the murder of a popular schoolgirl in broad daylight, detectives believe the killer must be from out of town; as the investigation unfolds, they discover the culprit is closer than anyone could imagine.

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF DURBAN (Slice) 9:00pm: The ladies are ready and willing to learn.

BLADE OF THE 47 RONIN (Crave) 9:00pm: Ancient Japanese Ronin warriors, set 300 years after 47 Ronin, in a modern-day world where Samurai clans exist in complete secrecy.

ALMOST UNSOLVED (Super Channel Fuse) 9:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): The body of a brutally murdered young Indigenous woman is discovered in Manitoba; four suspect's names keep coming up, but with little evidence and no one willing to talk, it takes over a decade before a new officer finds a way to break the silence.

[roseunspindle]

I have stress hives now...what fun

so at the hotel I work night shift at we have a few people that try to check in every now and then who, ten time out of nine, will not have the money to actually pay for the room they reserved, they will insist, “oh you lost my money” “no way you already charged me” “oh gosh all my money is gone” mysteriously this happens to them a lot.... After a few strikes we usually put blocks on most online booking for them, and turn them away if they try to show up as a walk in. 

One such woman has been here three times this week. Not only did I have to cancel her reservation the one night, I needed to run night audit and she was a no-show (again) she comes in at like 5, and is angry that I cancelled her room, as she should have until seven... and I had to tell her no, our audit runs at 4 so you have until 4 a.m. (well, like 3:50 as I give myself a grace period for running to do no-shows/money drops what have you. She is angry naturally because “that one girl told her seven.” (Also she was quite put out that when she demanded I give her my phone so she could go online to “get money” as her phone was dead, I flatly refused. (didn’t bother mentioning that I don’t actually have a cell phone but I digress...

Now, tonight with the whole nonsense, “that one girl” has been me, my manager, the person on the phone, or potentially the “app”. Sus to say the least.

First I had seen some people just around the big trashcan right outside and they just kept being there. So I finally went out to see who it was. Imagine my joy when I saw my current headache...

Anyway, she and the guy she’s with come in to complain about me “staring at them” and I replied that I was in fact doing my job and just checking on the random loiterers. Didn’t say anything to them at the time, had just braced myself...

And I was right to, they come in saying they want to check their “cash-apps” and “move some money around”

So I wait, and they mostly sit there, talking... inappropriately as well, for a public lobby no matter the time of night, and the half-hour mark, I ask if they are intending to actually rent a room or not. They get mad, trying to insist they were trying but it was my fault for cancelling their reservation the day before.  I pointed out that even if they had arrived on time for that one and checked in, they would have still needed to check out at 11:00, 12:00 if they asked for a late check-out. 

Then they were mad again, I guess I stole their money from the previous stay, even though that card declined and did not go through, so no charges could be made. The guy starts calling me “rude to customers” saying “it’s a free country” (?) and telling me I was going to be fired tomorrow. Joy.

He appears to leave and the woman is suddenly my bestie and “just let her finish figuring out her finances.” hour and half later I ask again, unimpressed with her staring off into space and not “finding and sorting her finances” so now someone has stolen her deposit from cash app and can I let her sit inside until she can get a ride? The guy she was with had left her blah blah, now she does use a cane and has a bad foot, so I said alright, then she makes some personal calls, none of which involve getting a ride, then she snuggles down and goes to sleep in the chair...I’m trying to ignore this, there is a homeless lady I let sleep in the chair sometimes when she passes through so fine...only I go to the bathroom and when I come out, there is the guy “who left her oh no!”, who was hiding in a camera blindspot, and he’s playing on his phone and I tell them, nope, all kindness has fled my soul now, I need you both to leave the premises. They get mad at me again, saying “they’ve been trying” ...the candycrush app open on his phone and her snoring says otherwise. 

They get out of the building at least, and both are screaming nasty things at the door (aimed at me) so I finally call the non-emergency police number (they were white locals so I figured they’d be safe enough) (any person of color would have to be like, threatening me with actual death before I would call any cops on them, once I did get a Hispanic guy to give me his mother’s phone number though, when he would not stop being a problem (very drunk and was kicking holes in the hallway walls)...good as gold after she ripped him a new one) because while I want people to behave and not be giant problems, I really, really don’t want anyone getting hurt or worse...)

Anywho, call them to ask them to come escort them from the premises, and I believe problem lady heard me as she was coming in as suddenly I was “ma’am” and “I hate to trouble you” and they suddenly were able to leave...

But yeah, stress hives now, and I seriously hope my manager blocks her from now on.