#Factoring the Difference of Two Squares

[icanseethefuture333]

How does the planets you have in your first house in astrology affect your physical appearance?

How planets in the 1st house affect your physical appearance 🖤

Sun in the 1st house:

Overall feline features. There are two types. Some resemble a kitten, while others resemble a lion. Face shape tends to be oval, diamond, or heart. Their face is long in length and they have a tall nose with a triangular nose tip. Eyes can be upturned and curious, or narrow with a soft gaze. Their skin tone is very vibrant and they tan or get sun burned easily in comparison to others. As they age, they tend to get smile lines or aged wrinkly skin, sun spots are noticeable as well. Body type usually has a singular prominent feature, something about it just stands out, whether that is their height, curves, or physique. They can either have a pear shaped body or be short and stocky in stature. They often have long arms and thick legs. Hair tends to be shiny and voluminous as well.

Celebrities: Doja Cat, Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, Azealia Banks, Brenda Song, Markliplier, Robert Pattinson, Donald Glover, Joshua Bassett, & 21 Savage

Moon in the 1st house:

Soft, full, rounded facial features. Round face shape. Cheekbones tend to be rounded in shape or something about the cheeks looks “fleshy”. Eyes are big and round or beady looking. The flesh of their nose is thick and you are less likely to see the bone. Round lips, almost as if they’re puckering them. They often have pitch black hair or look best with darker hair colors for it contrasts with their luminescent eyes and glowing skin. Side profile resembles a crescent moon 🌙 . They tend to get “pudgy” in the face as they gain weight. Body type is usually very curvy and luscious, leaning towards an hourglass figure with large breasts and softer bellies. The men are likely to gain muscle in their pectorals and have a rounded frame. They are more likely to gain weight due to emotional eating.

Celebrities: Jihyo, Kali Uchis, Cardi B, Aishwarya Rai, SZA, Baekhyun, Ashton Irwin, Cameron Dallas, Jussie Smollet, & Doyoung

Mars in the 1st House:

Big heads!!! Their heads may be bigger in proportion to their bodies, especially if it’s aspected by Jupiter (Christina Ricci has both Jupiter and Mars in the 1st house and she looks like a real life Blythe doll). Rectangular or square face shape, their jawline tends to be square and angular. Prominent cheekbones with full cheeks. Almond shaped eyes, thin noses, and wide mouths. Martian body types tend to be average in weight or very athletic and strong in muscle. The women have a rectangle body shape while the men are buff and have wide shoulders (apple shaped). Likely to have a scar or bruise on their body from an incident (sports injury or car accident). They often have a “healthy” look. Most of these people have “baby skin”! Their skin is so clear and majority of the time is free from imperfections. Martians have a youthful factor to their beauty due to Aries being the youngest zodiac sign, so as they age, they look very young or have this “forever young” quality about them.

Celebrities: Megan Fox, Erykah Badu, Anne Hathaway, Miranda Cosgrove, Raven Symone, Jackson Wang, Andy Samberg, John Legend, Niall Horan, & Kai Cenat

Venus in the 1st house:

Very luscious facial features! Their face is more alluring in comparison to other planets in the 1st house, similar to lunar people, they both have full features. The difference is that Venusians’ features are more balanced and harmonious. They could fit the “beauty standard” so to speak or their beauty sets trends. Sultry eyes, can have a shimmer to them or they tend to sparkle when it comes to discussing or seeing the things they love. Sloped nose bridge. Plump lips. The men have full beards or a signature mustache, blessed with a nice jawline. Their facial structure has a mix of feminine and masculine elements (sharp and rounded). Oval face shape. When they are young, their body is thin and rectangular, but as they get older, their curves start to spread out, especially when they have children. Small waists with a prominent bust and wide hips. Big butts! Venusian men tend to be smaller in frame but taller than Martian men. Their bodies look balanced and they are often average in height and their shoulders might be more narrow as well. A Venusian man will look more delicate and charming, while a Martian man will look cheeky and mischievous.

Celebrities: Angelina Jolie, Beyoncé, Meagan Good, Olivia Rodrigo, Keke Palmer, Zayn, Ben Affleck, Frank Ocean, Charles Leclerc, & Odell Beckham Jr.

Mercury in the 1st house

Fairies!!! They are so miniature and cute! Mercurians have a “gamine” or “ethereal” essence their beauty. Petite with an otherworldly and boyish charm. Asymmetrical or androgynous features. The men are often spotted with long luscious locks and the women with short hair (especially pixie cuts). If worn long, their hair is thin and sleek. If tall, their necks are long like a swan’s, resembling an alien’s body, they tend to be very lanky. Short torso and long legs. Eyes are very curious and “awake”, one eye might be bigger than the other. Lighter eye color. Tiny mouthes with bigger teeth. Very attractive smiles. They can have freckles or moles. Mercurian women’s curves are slightly noticeable and their shoulders tend to be sharp or angular. Mercurian men are very tall with prominent Adam’s apples.

Celebrities: Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Zooey Deschanel, Anya Taylor Joy, Simone Biles, Christian Ronaldo, Hozier, Mark Tuan, Bryson Tiller, & Alexander Wang

Saturn in the 1st house:

The ones who look like they’ve seen some shit. Saturnians have a darker and intense look to their eyes. If they are healed, their eyes can be very magnetic and draw you in, if they are in a place of turmoil, their eyes reflect the pain they feel inside. Often spotted with heavy eyeliner or a dark Smokey eye. Triangle or oblong face shapes. Eyes can be narrow and slanted eyes, with small pupils, or large downturned eyes. Visible aging is often due to addictions, physical stress, and trauma. Tall stature with a petite bone structure. They can gain “healthy weight” meaning they look less sharp and softer once fat is accumulated. Apple or inverted triangle body shape, physique can look “wider” as well. Muscles are prominent in triceps and thighs. Average to tall in height.

Celebrities: Britney Spears, Lana Del Rey, Tracee Ellis Ross, Cher, Zoe Saldana, Adam Levine, Kevin Hart, Usher, Pedro Pascal, & Travis Barker

Jupiter in the 1st house:

The wild child. Tousled hair, hooded eyes, wide noses, and big smiles. Everything about their features and facial structure is prominent. Bigger foreheads as well. They stand out in the crowd with their effortless style. Often muscular, wide in bone structure, and/or tall. If short, they wear platform heels and chunky boots. Jupiterian women have a big butt, thick legs, wide hips, and their waist leans towards square-ish. Bust grows bigger with age or after pregnancy. While the men also have a squared waist and have big hands and big feet. Something about their presence is daring and strong, they are more adventurous in terms of style and pull off the best risks in fashion. They are also statuesque, if it’s not their height or muscles, their aura dominates the room.

Celebrities: Rihanna, Jennie, Millie Bobby Brown, Willow, Hailey Baldwin, Harry Styles, Big Sean, Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse, & Jaebum

Uranus in the 1st house:

Girl/boy next door type of beauty. Something about their appearance feels natural and familiar. To some, they are viewed as just average or they could have needed to grow into their looks (they experience a glow up as they progress into puberty). Could have experienced bullying on the internet or faced a lot of criticism from their peers for their unique looks or personal style. May have been “forced” to become “conventionally attractive”. Close set eyes, droopy noses, and thin lips. Prominent aegyo-sal or fatty eye bags. These natives are likely to get plastic surgery at some point in their lives because they are constantly judged for their insecurities (poor babies :(!). If they learn to embrace their flaws, Uranians can have so much potential with their unique appearance and can stand out in a crowd that’s pressured to fit into the beauty standard. Experimental in style and may suit “futuristic” makeup. Body tends to fluctuate in weight or their shape seems to change overtime (naturally or cosmetically). Likely to have tattoos, birth marks, or scars visible on their body.

Celebrities: Ariana Grande, FKA Twigs, Kylie Jenner, Rosalia, Soyeon, Jungkook, Chris Evans, Kid Cudi, Jimin, & Tom Brady

Neptune in the 1st house:

The dreamy ones. Something about their appearance people obsess over and fantasize about. Can be over romanticized by people who are romantically interested in them and unfortunately, this diminishes the beauty that they possess inside. Shapeshifters - Neptunians can change their appearance however they desire. Identity complex issues. They wear a mask to hide their insecurities and can often create an alter ego to be deemed as more confident. Alluring eyes, button noses, and heart shaped lips. Heart or diamond face shape. Wide cheekbones and narrow jawline. Eyebrows tend to be thick or bushy unless groomed, similar with men’s facial hair, it can sprout quickly like a weed. Their undereyes or cheeks may have lines or they have noticeable smile lines. Body type leans toward curvy and average in height. Hourglass or they are more likely to wear corsets to cinch their waists. Men are balanced in proportions.

Celebrities: Adriana Lima, Kim Kardashian, Kelly Rowland, Emma Chamberlain, Mila Kunis, Sebastian Stan, Denzel Washington, Norman Reedus, Dave Franco, & Taecyeon

Pluto in the 1st house:

Melancholic beauty. Arched eyebrows, sanpaku eyes, dorsal hump or hooked noses, & puckered lips (looks like they’re getting ready to kiss?). Hair is usually thin and long, with a slight bend or curl. V line face shape. Some can look similar to a bird, a crow more specifically. Swarthy skin complexions. Either very pale or darker skinned. Cool undertones. Their hair and skin lack contrasts, very muted and muddled together. Their eyes are their most prominent feature. Inverted triangle body, wider shoulders or fuller busts. Hip dips are visible as well (yes I know everyone can have them but these people flaunt their natural body very proudly!). Thicker in weight or they feel confident as they grow into their “grown woman/man” body. Men tend to give a “smoulder” look or have flirty expressions.

Celebrities: Lily Rose Depp, Nicole Sherzinger, Melanie Martinez, Sydney Sweeney, Mitski, Justin Bieber, Keanu Reeves, Kendrick Lamar, Jaden Smith, & Idris Elba

[arciam]

Underrated JayVik moments/lines (18/∞)

"I was supposed to die."

(I can NOT get over how absolutely livid he looks.)

I always did wonder what precisely Viktor meant by that.

Because although we are led to believe that the main reason for his ire is that Jayce broke his promise to destroy the HexCore, not only would this line be entirely unnecessary for that, but this is the line that sees the focus fully on Viktor's delivery and expression (whereas his comment on Jayce's broken promise is instead "shot" from behind, with the focus falling squarely on Jayce's reaction).

All this - and adding to it how inherently striking a statement it is to tell someone you were supposed to die in the first place - goes to put a much heavier emphasis on this line over the other one, really. But why?

I believe it is because (though their parting was likely already inevitable at this point due to additional factors such as the HexTech weapons) it is in fact a crucial part of what informs Viktor and Jayce's disconnect in this scene. As I see it, one of the various ways Jayce goes wrong here is in dwelling on the HexCore and interpreting Viktor's disapproval as solely targeting Jayce's failure to "cling to principle", when the scene direction already told us he was supposed to have paid closer attention to the line above instead.

So, since the show insists - let's unpack this, I guess.

To me, the key to understanding is the question I posed in the very beginning; the question of which of Viktor's two possible deaths this line is actually referring to - his prognosed death by disease or his de facto death in the explosion (neither of which Jayce was "supposed to" avert by using the HexCore). And after some consideration, I think the answer is this:

It makes precious little difference to Viktor - and a world of difference to Jayce.

Let's take a look at the situation from their respective points of view:

"Promise. Me."

When Viktor made Jayce promise to destroy the HexCore, it's not like he wanted to die (even his suicide attempt was more of a bid to escape his guilt and despair than a death wish), but he was coming to terms with the inevitability of it. He may not know that he has only hours left to live here, but at this point, what's the difference really?

And then, something extraordinary happens:

While we don't get to see it, it is heavily implied - both by the way Viktor saying "We have to make it right" is played over the image of Silco reading Jayce's request for parley, and of course, by how he and Jayce end up presenting it to the council together - that this negotiation for peace with Zaun is a joint endeavour.

After all of the lonely struggles Viktor fought over the course of acts 2 and 3, he spends his final day working united with Jayce the way they used to be, and his final moments seeing his people be granted independence through his and Jayce's own efforts.

With him dying - or at least being knocked unconscious - instantly in the explosion, this was the "roll credits" moment of Viktor's life, and he would never have to learn how everything went to shit.

If your death was inescapable anyway - what moment could have been more beautiful to leave the stage?

...Only to wake up in a body horror nightmare, standing less than human before the person you needed to trust more than anything having broken his promise to let you die on your own terms.

"I was supposed to die." - Why did you put me back here just because you could?

"Okay... Okay. I promise."

When Jayce promises to destroy the HexCore, he doesn't want to, but he would hate to deny Viktor's plea even more. And I do genuinely believe he would have gone through with it, too.

However, imagine how exactly Jayce is interpreting what is being asked of him in this moment. To a staunch optimist like Jayce, while a devastating blow, this is not the end of all hope. This is not a DNR.

In a way, it is merely a "back to square one" - the prospect of spending however many months remain working urgently to find a different solution, perhaps. But more importantly:

It is the solace of still having those months.

(If nothing else, then just to prepare emotionally. As someone who lost her father to illness young, believe you me when I say that having the time to prepare for what's coming is invaluable.)

Jayce is not imagining the death he is unwittingly promising Viktor here to be a sudden, frantic thing. Bloodied and dirt-streaked amidst rubble and smoke, his body cast aside and broken against stone like another piece of furniture that happened to stand in the way of the blast.

Jayce is not imagining ever looking at Viktor's corpse in a state that suggests he never mattered at all.

And Jayce - no matter what Viktor thinks his promise should entail - did most definitely not promise to be able to keep his head cool and his heart detached in a situation so far removed from anything he was ever expecting to handle when he gave it.

"I never asked for this!" - It was never fair of you to ask me for this!

Speaking of fair: that's another thing I want to touch on real quick.

Because even though Viktor acts like it should have been a matter of course for Jayce to accept Viktor's death, I have often wondered what Viktor wouldn't have been willing to do if their roles were reversed; if it was Jayce caught in the blast instead. (After all, Viktor knows he is a doomed man, but not Jayce. That's not how it's supposed to go.)

Now, I don't know that he would have gone full Singed, but luckily, we don't have to know. The show tells us exactly what Viktor would do to save Jayce's life, over and over again if need be.

Forget breaking a promise - how about breaking the very fabric of time and space itself? I know we often talk about Viktor as being the one "doomed by the narrative", and while that is true, make no mistake:

For whatever it's worth, Jayce was "supposed to die" too.

If not in the snow storm, then perhaps by his own hand, or through the Glorious Evolution. All of which Viktor simply... refuses to let happen, cosmic integrity be damned.

Long story short: In Jayce's defence, your Honour - Viktor is equally unwell about him.

Additional thoughts I didn't know how to include:

The idea for this entry is very closely tied to this video edit I made (although in a classic "chicken or egg" situation, I wouldn't be able to say which inspired which first), so if for some reason you'd like to see these themes put in a music video format - there you go.

For more on "Jayce is the one doomed by the narrative", please do read this meta by @zecroswe. While I don't agree on every detail, I absolutely see the vision and highly recommend giving it a read.

I've been wanting to expand on Jayce's POV on the necromancy thing ever since part 2 (where I said Viktor "knows that Jayce broke his promise to destroy the HexCore, but not of the wide-eyed desparation with which he scrambled for any way at all to save Viktor"). On that post, @luciansuir made a comment that I really want to include here because they kinda nailed some of my thoughts all the way back then:

Jayce fumbled so bad that he pulled excuses like “maybe the HexCore wasn’t so bad, maybe Heimer was wrong” Man how was that ever about the features of HexCore? Of course Viktor was convinced that you experimented with his death and treated him as a sample. Just tell the truth that you were so desperate and couldn’t bear the thought of losing him

Part 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/7½/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

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[alexiswritingstuff]

Everyone can heal.

Pairing: Logan Howlett x Gn!reader

Summary: Logan falls asleep in the day room at Xavier's school, you accidently startle him awake and end up getting hurt.

Genre: hurt/comfort.

Warnings: mentions of blood, and descriptions of wounds, mentions of nightmares.

This is the first time that I am writing in a while, so I hope this isn't just straight up terrible.

A/n: this if my first fic for Logan, so like I usually say when writing for a new character, I may not have portrayed him in an accurate way. There might be parts that seem out of character and such, so please keep that in mind while reading!

Anyway, I've watched the X-men movies since I was a kid. And after watching the new Deadpool and Wolverine movie I was put right back at square one. So, here you go!

I hope you enjoy!!

Logan masterlist.

It had been a long few days.

It was one of the first weeks that you had actually tried to be a professor. Of some sort.

Now, generally, you weren't exactly the kind of person that worked well with kids. It was a lack of experience on your end, as you hadn't gotten the chance to grow up with much others.

But you wanted to learn. Or... did.

The main fault was that you had forgotten to weigh your personal life, more so the things you needed, alongside being a professor in a school.

See, there were a few things that you didn't know about your abilities beforehand. Charles managed to bring some to light, and in turn, you had to figure out how to use them: Incorporate them into your training, into your fighting skills.

It was a lot to relearn. And you misjudged just how much it was going take it out of you.

Though, you didn't seem to be the only one.

Logan was practically in the same boat. Maybe even a little worse. I mean, he was good with kids, but working with them was different, especially when it's a whole group of them at a time. He even bailed on his own classes once. Or twice... could’ve been more.

But you couldn't exactly blame him.

This was the man that barely stayed a week anyway. He was always leaving, whether it was for a bar or something else, you didn't know unless you went with him.

He wasn't used to it yet. The change of being alone, pretty much all the time, to suddenly being surrounded by a boat load of people 24/7. It was understandable. Especially to you, which is probably why you had got to know him so well.

It was the end of the day. The sun was tucked far beneath the horizon, blanketing your part of the earth in a complete darkness. Minus the slight light pollution.

The hallways of the schools were empty at this time, each kid, hopefully, getting a good night's sleep for the next day of learning. But you could never be sure when it came to the teenagers.

It meant that there were less things in the surrounding area for the sound of your footsteps to bounce off. And that, combined with the size of the archways themselves, allowed the echoes to ring a lot longer than needed. 

You were on your way back to the day room, having made a quick stop by the kitchen to get more sodas in order to soothe the joint annoyance of having a lack of beer. 

It was where the two of you usually set up for quiet moments like these. There wasn't really anywhere else to go, unless you wanted to be stuck in an empty classroom, or have to sit on a freezing bench. And neither of you had an interest in being near a bed.

The most important factor about the day room, however, was that it had a TV. Which just so happened to be the first thing you heard after passing through the final corridor.

It was distant, set at a cautious volume. It must've been one of those talk shows, or maybe some kind of sitcom, as a chorus of laughter would erupt after almost every sentence said.

Either way, it didn't really matter. It had only been put on for background noise. A sound that would carry the silence whenever the two of you had stopped talking, unsure of what to bring up next.

Though, it seemed it had worked a little too well.

The last time you got a look at Logan, he had resumed his usual position. He was upright, back pressed firmly into the sofa as if he were trying to meld with it, and leant against the palm of his hand that had his elbow digging into the armrest.

Your feet halted in a matter of seconds of turning into that doorway. Your tongue was curled in your mouth, lips parted and remaining so, as your eyes had landed back on the man.

He was lying in the opposite direction. His body was sprawled across the length of the couch, though his feet were cursed to hang loosely over the edge. His muscles looked tense, regardless of the usual relief that sort of position was supposed to give a person. But that wasn't the interesting part.

His eyes were closed.

At this point the condensation on the bottles had begun to grow into little drops of water, joining together, one by one, before leaking onto your skin.

Your steps were slow, testing each of the floorboards beneath your shoes to avoid the ones that creaked like an old door.

Logan wasn't a person who got tired easily. It was part of his mutation, that of which you had learned very quickly, but apparently it had manifested into thinking that he couldn't even feel it at all. I guess you were wrong.

Though, in his defence, he may not have even meant to fall asleep when he closed his eyes.

Eventually, you had made it to the edge of the couch. There was a side table on each end of it, the safest and the closest option regardless of the fact his shoed feet were almost right above it.

You took one of the bottles in your free hand, making sure that your grip was just right, before beginning the descent to the table.

You held your breath, narrowed gaze flickering consistently from the eventual destination to the sleeping man. The concentration had even caused your tongue to poke through your teeth as you took about a step closer--

And then bam.

Right as the bottom of the bottle had touched down on the wood, this sudden guttural sound rippled through the air. It had you stumbling backwards, gaping in the direction of the continued noise that sounded like fear itself.

In front of you, now, was not the same sleeping man. In fact, this man was sat up, though almost hunched over most of his body. His arms were raised, aimed straight ahead, and that happened to be right at you.

“Whoa-- hey!”

He was heaving. Each breath taken almost shook his entire body. And the noises... They were almost like growls.

They were so deep and harsh as they pushed out of his throat one after the other, but his inhales were somehow even worse. It was like all the air in the room had suddenly dissipated.

It wasn't until you heard the seams of the couch starting to rip that you realised his claws were even out, the ends just about digging into the pillows beside him.

“Logan, hey, it's me, okay? Look,” you attempted to call, trying to lower your head so that he could properly meet your eyes, “Look, it's me!” And then he did. He saw you, even if It took a moment for it to actually kick in. 

He was still heaving, his gaze was fierce and his eyebrows never eased. He had even slightly choked on a breath on its way out.

But you saw the way he had slightly leaned back. There was a relief within the swirl of other emotions.

Until his gaze lowered.

Now, at some point in the past few minutes, the other bottle in your hand had been discarded. It most likely hit the edge of your shoe, sending it to roll off into some corner of the room where it would be forgotten about until morning... But it hadn't smashed.

So, why did something sound like it was dripping?

“Y/n.”

By the time your eyebrows had furrowed in confusion, Logan had hurriedly shoved himself up from the couch, his claws shrinking back between his knuckles within seconds. “Shit.”

You were lost. The sudden switch in atmosphere had you just standing there, fixated on the man that was moving towards you with this look on his face. Similar to one of guilt.

“Logan?” You had barely gotten the name out before you suddenly felt a hand on your arm. Your head snapped in its direction, lips parting so that you could ask what the hell was going on. And then he slightly tilted your arm.

There was your answer. “Oh.”

Three marks. There were three lines etched diagonally into your arm, one deep enough that it led the pooling blood to trickle down your skin. How did you not feel that?

“Fuck,” Logan's hand was careful. His fingers were light and gentle as they grazed the side of your arm. Hesitant. His breaths were getting louder again. “I'm…”

“I'm sorry,” he attempted, his voice barely escaping as a whisper, “I'm so sorry.”

His eyebrows were more furrowed than they were before. The rest of his face was sort of scrunched up too, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Or he was disgusted by it.

“Logan,” You tried placing your hand on his closest wrist, but he immediately retracted. He let go of your arm, “Hey, look, I'm fine, okay?” you started louder, more insistent, “It doesn't hurt.”

Logan shook his head for a moment. He took a slight step backwards, his stance heavy. His eyes never moved. “I'm sorry.”

He grunted, the frown taking over his lips deepening for just a moment before his torso twisted. He grabbed the neck of the successfully placed soda, and then just walked around you.

“No, wait,” You tried to reach out, wanting to grasp his arm or even the fabric of his top, but he swerved, completely avoiding you, “Logan?”

You couldn't even make another attempt as if your other hand was away for longer, more blood would end up dripping on the floor. So, your body turned, desperate eyes following the man in a way that was more of a plea than anything else.

But he never looked back. He continued walking through the doorway, rubbing hard against his temples with a final grunt before disappearing behind the wall.

~~~

The time, at this point, was unclear. The clocks in this school were usually around the learning areas, mostly in the classrooms, which created a sort of guessing game anywhere else.

It was apparent, however, that the sun had just begun to rise. Peeking over the horizon enough so that a bright mist seeped into most of the corridors.

You found yourself back in the hallways. There wasn't a very clear reason as to why than this inability to sit. A failure to be still for seconds at a time, regardless of the tiredness that had started to cling to your skin.

But that was the last thing on your mind.

You kept thinking about it; the previous encounter. It was sort of plaguing your mind, more so how you handled it.

Granted, it was in fact your first time having to deal with a situation like that, and usually you were on the other side. Though this seemed different, like something had just been exposed.

You were aware of the fact that Logan had nightmares. I mean, it was one of the most believable things about him, considering the things he'd gone through. The extent, however, was undetermined.

Until today.

A huff of air sifted through your lips as you attempted to straighten your spine, stretch the accompanying muscles that had grown tense over the past few hours.

The aimless walking was almost nice. The surroundings were mostly quiet, excluding the wind that whistled against the glass of the windows, having picked up some time earlier.

It was that time of year again. The group of months where the weather grew cold and the plants began to change. It almost made the school feel cosy even if there was no heating in the hallways.

In fact, where you were now was the coldest, and it wasn't until you looked up properly that you realised you were about to walk into a dead-end.

Slowly, your feet came to a stop, your lazy eyes blinking hastily in the blaring yellow light, which was starting to mix into this sort of orange.

Your shoulders lowered, a sense of relief filtering through your system as the decision had been final. You were going to go to your room, maybe even get to lay down for a few hours until it was time to teach.

So, you turned on your heel, taking about a step in the other direction as your blurry eyes attempted to focus on the closest doorway, until you could note the surroundings. It was the kitchen.

Now, that door was always open, usually swung all the way back and held by a stopper. But a light was on. Allowing you to properly get a view of the room and what was in it.

More so who.

Your movements had halted right as you were about to take another step.

Logan.

He was sitting at the narrow table at the back, set between the array of windows. His elbows were against the surface of it, one of his hands clasped around a bottle he had just set down. He swallowed, and so did you.

There was an initial pause, seconds taken to calculate the right decision, before you went in. Your lips parted, ready to release the script you had gone over in your head for the last hour--

“I didn't mean to hurt you.”

Instead, you were frozen. The volume of his voice, and the angle he sat at, almost made it seem like the words didn't even come from him. He probably heard you before you had even come down the hall.

Your eyebrows furrowed, “Logan–” you tried, but his mouth opened before you could even finish, “Just let me talk,” He hadn't moved. He was in the same position, still holding the bottle, and staring straight forward like there was someone there across from him. “Okay?”

You brought your lips together, placing a hand on the kitchen island to distribute your weight. Logan took the silence as acceptance and he cleared his throat. “I'm sure you already know,” he had begun, sparing the slightest glance your way for confirmation that didn't even need, “about the... nightmares.”

It was as if something in his mouth went sour when he said it, like the words itself tasted bad.

“Some are about the past, you know-- bits and pieces of it, anyway, but…” Logan paused for a moment, both verbally and physically. It only held for a few seconds. And then he sighed. “There are other ones too- Ones... ones where people get hurt, and, I'm…”

“I'm the one doing it.” It was a slow movement, an action that looked like it had to be forced, as Logan suddenly began turning in his seat. He met your eyes with a look that had your eyebrows furrowing all over again, “I'm the one hurting people.”

“Y/n, I'm sorry.”

“Logan,” you started, shaking your head in disagreement with the apology, but he only repeated it. “I'm so sorry.”

You made your way to the edge of the island, pace slowing once round the corner, “Hey,” Logan's gaze had shifted as you moved. It was lower, directed at a specific point. He was looking at your arm.

It had been engulfed by a layer of, hopefully, the appropriate bandaging. An attempt at following the tips Jean had given you from previous injuries.

But it being covered somehow made it seem worse than it was.

“Hey, look at me,” you called, stopping at a good place where you were actually in front of him, yet still a good distance away so he wouldn’t want to back off. “Look at me.” 

The next words only left your lips when he had finally decided to comply. “I'm fine.” you assured, the tone of your voice much lighter than before. But that made the look on Logan's face shift, “I hurt you.”

“It was an accident,” Your response was quick, your voice making it sound so simple. Like the sentence said should’ve been accompanied by a shrug of the shoulders. Logan didn't like that, “Accident or not, I still hurt you, Y/n.” His tone was riddled with this disbelief, as if he couldn't believe that he had to tell you that in the first place.

“And, I'm still here, Logan.”

You didn't understand it. The two of you had trained together many times, each round ending with either one receiving a new injury until your skills developed. Hell, you had been in battle together.

A little scratch was nothing. “It was a mistake-- my mistake. I'm the one who startled you, shit like this happens.” you tried to assure. Logan scoffed immediately, “What-- Does that make it magically okay for me to hurt people?”

“No!” you huffed out, the ability to contain your annoyance dwindling the more he challenged your statements. “No, okay? But-- You know, what-- Look.”

You took a few more steps, the care for all of the previous caution going completely out the window as you grasped an end of the bandaging, and unwinded the material before pulling back the padding beneath.

“See?”

Logan almost looked like he had buffered for a few seconds. He blinked, and then again, and then twice really fast, as if it would change what was in front of him. His hand had even flexed, like he wanted to reach it out, though it remained on the table.

They were gone. Each mark, each line that was carved into the skin had completely gone. Disappeared without a trace. There wasn't even a scar.

“You…” He spoke slowly, his eyes trailing up the length of your arm to your shoulders. And then your face. “You can regenerate?”

“Granted, a little... Well, a lot slower than you-- But, yeah.” you confirmed, wrapping the bandage up in your hands before placing it on the kitchen aisle behind you.

Logan leaned back slightly in a way that straightened his up spine. He brought his legs from under the table and set them in the direction the rest of his body was facing. He had turned right towards you.

“Are you serious?” The complete deadpan had you staring right back at him. You couldn't read the expression, nor the stance. You didn't even know what to call it. “Yep.” You blinked. Logan didn't move a muscle, “You can heal.” 

Now, you could hear it in his voice. It wasn't just a statement, a form of repetition to clarify the new information. He was getting mad.

You furrowed your eyebrows, “I... I don't really know what else you want me to say.” Which was the truth, the whole healing thing was one of the things you had discovered with Charles. 

It's an entirely different process than it is for most anyway, let alone when it comes to Logan. At the moment you actually had to activate the process for anything to heal. But you were working on it.

I guess it just slipped your mind.

“So, you were just willingly acting like a damn damsel?” The lines around his eyebrows deepened the way they usually did when he was getting angry. And they weren't stopping.

“A damsel?” you repeated, even tilting your head as a wordless question, and he just nodded. “You stood there. You just stood there until I came to you-- You didn't even try to stop the bleeding. Hell, did you even notice?”

That look on his face never changed. You hated it. The way it darkened his eyes, or tensed the surrounding muscles. The most bothersome thing, however, was the fact that it was aimed at you. “No,” you started, this time with a deeper voice. “No, I didn't-- You know, why?”

“Why?” Logan commanded, the veins around his neck becoming apparent. It was as if he was trying to win an argument, get the upper hand and serve some kind of justice, like you had done something wrong.

He was supposed to be relieved.

“Maybe, it's because that was the last thing I cared about, Logan!”

The two of you were just staring at each other. At this point, both of you were almost heaving, the past few minutes taking the air out of both pair of lungs.

The expression on Logan's face twitched for a moment, a crack in the anger that usually wasn't breakable. His posture had become more of a slouch as he suddenly decided to lean back a little, like before.

You watched with curious eyes when he then sighed, breaking the held gaze to grab his bottle of soda and bring it to his lips.

It all resembled a puzzle. A constant attempt to find the right piece, the right thought, that would fit it all together. But there was a lack of progress. You were at a loss. 

Was he mad that you didn't tell him? Was he actually mad that you didn't do anything about the scratches? Were you reacting the wrong way? Did he want you to hate him? Were you supposed to?

Or did he think that you couldn't grasp the situation? The severity. The big 'What if?' Maybe he was in fact tired. 

Just a different kind.

You started to move after another few seconds, the sound of your shoes against the tiles piercing through the layer of created silence. It was apparent that Logan was watching, albeit discreetly, following what he could as he took another swig.

Your movements concluded by the length of the table he was sitting at. You leaned onto it, releasing that weight that had started aching both your knees and your feet from standing for so long.

By the time your eyes were back on Logan, his own had snapped away.

You took in a deep breath of the cold air, feeling it hit the back of your throat, your shoulders deflating, “I get them too, you know... Nightmares.”

There was a beat of silence again. A lack of movement, or reaction. And then he met your eyes again. Slower this time, almost hesitant. He set his drink down ,listening. So, you continued, “I wouldn't go about comparing them,” 

“But, I understand enough to know what it's like.”

Logan sort of huffed a laugh after that. Not a malicious one, or in disbelief of the sentiment. He was acknowledging it. “You shouldn't have to.” 

He was back to that whisper of a voice again. It was still deep, and a tad gravely, almost forceful. But it conveyed enough. “Neither should you.. yet,” you paused, shrugging your shoulders, “Here we are.”

This time, the huffed laugh was louder. More pronounced in a way. It left a mark on his lips, leaving them curling at the corners. It fit right in. You wanted it to stay. Maybe a little too much, “At least, now, I get to say that I was attacked by The Wolverine and survived.” 

The comment was a little dangerous, especially if taken the wrong way. In all honesty, your eagerness allowed it to be blurted right through your lips before you could catch it. 

But Logan practically snorted. “Shut up.” he breathed, bringing the soda back to his lips. You pretended that you didn’t hear him, even crossing your arms over your chest, though a grin had slightly appeared, “I could even say that I defeated him.” 

In about a second his eyes had snapped to yours, a singular brow rising as the bottle smacked onto the surface of the table, “Okay,” He swallowed, “you did not defeat me, bub.”

“Oh, really?” you challenged, attempting to mimic his expression. “You were done after one move.”

Logan pushed the chair with his back in a way that had the legs screeching against the tiles. He stood from it, moving about a step to the side before continuing towards you.

“I was distracted.” he pointed out, gaze narrow as his eyebrows decided to furrow in an attempt to support his justification. “Excuses, excuses,” was all you said, accompanying it with a light shrug.

Logan was right in front of you now. He was close, about a step away. Though, the longer he looked at you, his eyes scanning across the skin of your face, that amusement once held had begun to fade.

He became sort of serious, the tension making the lines of his face more prominent all over again as his lips curved into more of a frown.

“I don't want it to happen again.” He was avoiding your eyes now, his own gaze cast downward. They were following his hand as he had brought it to your arm, the fingers of which ghosting across where the marks had been like he could still see them.

“Logan,” you started, your voice quiet yet loud enough that his attention was recovered. The two of you were looking at each other again, this time properly. Your features eased, all of the concern and the previous anger completely melting away.

You brought the hand of your previously injured arm upward, and he watched it until it went out of his vision.

You gently placed your hand on the side of his cheek, your palm pressing into the hair of his mutton chops which brought his gaze back to yours. And then you smiled lightly, just enough that he could see it, “Even if it did, I am not going anywhere.”

There was this quick twitch in Logan's expression. A split second of movement that had almost gone unnoticed until it happened again. His eyebrows pinched together.

Before you could say a word, he had suddenly pulled you forward, away from the table you were once against.

By the time you were up straight, his arms had wrapped around your body one after the other, entrapping you in this warmth that the kitchen could never achieve. It had you copying him as fast as you could, letting your hands land across the skin of his back and the fabric of the tank top.

Logan's head was planted on your shoulder, his hair sort of tickling the side of your face as he tucked himself in further. 

His body slightly deflated after a moment, a sort of gravelly hum of content rumbling from his throat. He obviously wasn’t putting his entire weight on you, the two of you would've tipped over within seconds. But you could feel it.

An extra weight that you were glad to carry.

[rosepinks-world]

WHEN SHE SQUEEZED ME TIGHT, SHE NEARLY BROKE MY SPINE!

logan howlett x fem reader

logan meets wades friend in the void and to his surprise and dismay she’s stronger than he is.

a/n: powers are basically my girl queen maeves

After Wade had got beaten up by every Wolverine variant he encountered he decided to call in the big guns.

“Y/n I need your help jumping into different multiverses to find a new Wolverine.”

“…Well I ain’t got nothing better to do.”

You were not a hero. You knew from a young age the world was poisoned with corruption and evil so naturally you decided to take matters into your own hands. You were unwillingly experimented on and as a result gained intensified strength and healing factors the perfect combination to become an infamous assassin- which is how you met Wade.

After a while of searching, you met the best Wolverine you could possibly find. Although hope began to fade when you and Wade watched in horror as he chugged a whole bottle of whiskey and passed out on the floor.

You easily hoisted the unconscious man onto your shoulders and carried him out of the bar letting Wade transport you back to the building that you learned was called the ‘TVA’ You threw Wolverine down harshly as Wade presented him to the man who reminded you of someone from pride and prejudice.

Mr Darcy Paradox was not happy. Was it because you had plucked the so called ‘worst’ Wolverine from a different timeline? That Wade had broken his nose? Or because you were now suddenly involved when you really shouldn’t be? Ultimately, he immediately transported the three of you to the void.

You sat criss crossed on the floor, drawing random patterns in the sand as you waited for the two men infront of you to gain consciousness.

Logan jolted up looking around erratically. He made eye contact with you and looked you up and down before he yelled a rather polite: “Who the fuck are you?”

You went to answer but Wade finally woke up.

“That’s Y/n she’s basically an off brand Wonder Woman.”

You gave Wolverine a bright innocent smile and Logan brushed off Wade’s reference with a confused look on his face. Now realising Wade was awake, he immediately stood up and attacked him, jamming his claws into his chest and hoisting him in the air. “Where the hell are we?”

“I don’t know!” Wade yelled defensively.

You sat there entertained as you let the two grown men throw each other around for a bit when Wade said something that seemed to have struck a nerve.

“Is that what you said when your world went to shit?

Your eyes widened in surprise. If this was the worst Wolverine (according to paradox) you wondered what had happened to him to make him so bad. Logan retaliated by throwing Wade through a concrete wall. He looked pretty proud of himself and you just couldn’t help yourself. You rose from your spot kicking away the sand where you had created a very artistic depiction of their fight. You cracked your knuckles and snuck up behind him reaching up to tap his shoulder. He turned around confused and sighed dissatisfied when he saw you.

“Listen bub. Just leave this between me and red I don’t want to hurt a powerless girl-“

Just as he finished his sentence, you punched him square in the face and sent him flying through the same wall that he’d sent Wade into.

Logan threw his body up in shock for what seemed to be hundredth time today. He was getting sick of these surprises. The injuries you’d caused to his body began to heal as Wade cackled at the man from his spot on the floor.

“Told ya she’s like Wonder Woman.”

Logan growled at Wade but was also in disbelief.

You had just caught him off guard. Yep, that was it.

He charged towards you with his claws ready to attack but you countered. You grabbed his claws drawing blood from your hands and threw him to the ground. He groaned and watched as the cuts you inflicted on yourself began to heal the same way his had done. You stood above him a stern look on your face.

“I’m not doing this with you Logan. Just listen to us.”

He wasn’t giving in. He grabbed your calf and pulled you to the ground, flipping you onto your back caging you in with his muscular arms.

He won.

You groaned in anger as you shoved him off of you sending him flying once again. He fell next to you on his stomach, face first into the dirt. You stood up quick before he could and placed a foot on his back and crouched down so you were closer to his face. This was how he realised the intensity of your strength. He could feel the weight of your foot and he was built of fucking adamantium.

“You gonna stop being a little bitch and listen to me or do I have to toss you around some more?”

Logan growled in a mix of anger and embarrassment. Wade had returned, finally healed, and decided to make a comment. “I’ll listen if it means you’ll toss me around.”

You rolled your eyes at Wades comment and picked up a stone throwing it at his face with your intensified strength which knocked him back onto the floor.

Still not getting an answer from the Wolverine you flipped him onto his back pinning his splayed arms to the ground as you straddled his waist. He writhed underneath you- still trying to prove his strength- but you had him, he couldn’t move.

You won.

You tilted your head at Logan and he angrily answered your question.

“I’ll listen.”

You patted the side of his face condescendingly.

“Good boy.”

You graciously unpinned him and he shoved you off, moving away from you rapidly.

He was humiliated.

You looked so ordinary. No indication of your strength and you were half his size. And here you were, tossing the big bad, made of goddamn metal Wolverine around like a fucking rag doll. He’d never met anyone that could do the things you had done to him. Wade had matched his strength when they had their little fight but you didn’t just match his strength you were exceeding it. He didn’t hold back once. He was using his full ability and it didn’t even effect you. He felt a whirlwind of emotions but one stuck out the most to him.

Lust.

He would be lying if he said this whole situation didn’t turn him on. Which didn’t go unnoticed by Wade

“You kinky son of a bitch you into a bit of masochism?” Wade asked getting dangerously close to Logan’s face.

Logan snapped out of his thoughts (unfortunately) and growled at Wade as a warning, “Shut the fuck up.”

You couldn’t help but smirk as Logan started to walk away from you two. It was kinda flattering to beat up Wolverine and also turn him on within the span of five minutes. Wade looked at you, eyes still somehow expressive through his mask.

“Oh! That was definitely a yes!”

[imliterallyf7ckin9crazy]

꧁⋆°𝓢𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓭 𝓖𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓒𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓷𝓼°⋆꧂

Squid game Season 2 men saving you when you almost die in the game

Characters: player 001, 230, 124

Warnings: canon violence, near death experience, toxic relationships, drug use, mention of suicide, romantic tension, f! Reader

A/N: this is no diss to anyone bc I respect the grind, I truly do, but everything I see of squid game is nsfw. I have to HUNT for sfw shit. I just gave up and just read everything anyways. So I’m trying to balance the scales a bit for rn. Again no diss bc yall nsfw writers COOK.

________

ᏢᏝᎯᎽᎬᏒ 001

(Weird ppl attacking you in game)

- ok so for this one I’ll say that you are just a average player in the games he happened upon. You two met because you were on the ‘X’ team, and more specifically in gi- Huns group.

- he normally is pretty resistant to the ‘worthless sob stories of the poor’ as he puts it. But for some odd reason, yours got to him

- thrown out of home, forced to survive and fend for yourself out in the streets, hopping from job to job because you can’t pay rent on time 8/10 and you get evicted. Pulling loan after loan to keep yourself afloat, and even that is starting to fail you. You are at the very end of the road and if you can’t manage to leave here without some money you are 100% fucked. You genuinely think the only way out of the hole you’ve dug is either a miracle in here or checking out of life manually.

- in-ho LOVES sad wet cat type people, he can’t help it. And even though he’s heard basically the same stories from hundreds of people yet somehow you stuck with him

- life was unfair to you, you were cast out. If that didn’t happen, you wouldn’t have to be living “like garbage”. Almost everyone else put themselves in their financial hole, you started in one. Not fair, see? He’s doing so much mental gymnastics and logistical jumping to validate himself. You’re different, you don’t count.

- you really weren’t a extremely strong individual , you didn’t draw attention to yourself like many of the others, you didn’t argue much or ask many questions. You came with a goal. And he respected that.

- after game two though, the marathon, you and many others decided it was time to call it quits. So you voted ‘X’ with gi-hun and everyone else. And surprisingly in-ho, or young-il as he named himself, also picked ‘X’

- you both didn’t really talk much besides maybe a few sentences to each other about how your group was meant to survive. But after the second vote, having a X on your shirt also meant having a target on your back. And being the “minding my own business” type it doubled that factor.

- a group of three people, two guys and one girl approached you. Sorrounding you and pestering you on your vote. It turned to raised voices and getting in your face, to shoving from all three people as you just stood there and took it, unwilling to change votes. Though you might not fight like some others that doesn’t mean you aren’t brave.

- though as soon as young-il (for simplicity) saw those men put hands on you he was already trudging his way cross room, leaving gi-hun mid conversation to aid you.

- you were backed against the bed frame of the stacked sleeping quarters, these three lunatics yelling and shoving you, telling you that you have to vote ‘O’ “or else”. You assumed it implied you leaving this place in a box.

- that’s when young-il made it to you. “That’s quite enough” he says, eyes cold as ice and facial expression locked in stone. His posture was straight and his head was held high. Very intimidating, it’s almost like he had a military commander type vide (hahaha- odd right??)

- the girl was quick to scamper off, giving you a glare as she informs the boys she’ll be waiting by their group. The men however puff their chests out and square up a bit, and you get second hand embarrassment because young-il doesn’t even flinch or break the deadly eye contact. “Are you sure.” Is all he said. It didn’t sound like an actual question, more of a “are you sure you wanna get your ass beat in front of all these people” threat.

- they got the memo from his venomous words and slowly creeped off back to wherever they came from, looking like puppies with their tails tucked as they walked away.

- “thank you so much” you say, bowing slightly in gratitude for his kindness. He gives you a nice chuckle before lifting your shoulders back up.

- “oh no no, it’s nothing. Those boys should know better, I bet their mothers would chew their ears off if they saw their lack of manners” he jokes, earning a giggle from you.

- it makes him feel kinda fuzzy, but he compartmentalizes that feeling for when he’s alone and can process it. In the mean time he just places his hand on your lower back, guiding you back to the group where you will be safe (and in arms reach)

- this just opened a Pandora’s box of possessiveness and lies, and he doesn’t even know how it will end

ᏢᏝᎯᎽᎬᏒ 230

(Mingle)

- for this let’s just say that you met up with thanos for the second game, the marathon one, and yall clicked a bit, leading him to tell you that “you should stay with me and my crew, for safety”

- and so you do. What could be the harm? He’s clearly deranged and a loose cannon, wouldn’t it be better to just go along before he kills you?

- is what you originally thought. Turns out after that conversation and you joined, he really isn’t that bad to be around. When he’s high he always makes you laugh, constantly cracking jokes and making fun of people at their expense to make you smack his shoulder a bit, saying “be nice!”

- you noticed he thrives on attention, and you give it to him freely. It’s hard not to when he’s got bright purple hair, hand tattoos WITH rainbow painted nails, and he’s rapping and dancing like he was in the comfort of his own home. Plus nam gyu, the guy who lowkey bullied the shit out of you the first few days was now told to “chill out man”

- now, you were all standing on a spinning circular floor, a cute little cheery jingle being played from over the speakers. Thanos and nam gyu danced together to the music, high in ways you didn’t even know you could get. It was pretty silly though, acting like kids.

- then the music dropped, and a number was said. You had to run with that number of people into a room to live. Those left behind will die

- the first few rounds were easy, the numbers were quite high and you held onto thanos’ jacket to stay with the group. The sounds of people begging to be let in followed by being punctured with bullets rang in your mind and the number for people in groups got lower and lower, until the number was two.

- you, thanos, nam gyu and min-su all stared at each other for a moment, frozen on who to pick before thanos started throwing his head from side to side before turning and gripping your arm and nam gyus, running full speed and pulling you along, forcing you to leave min-su. Though you felt horrible once you saw his shocked little face, you just kept going. Choosing to save your life instead of feeling bad and dying there.

- thanos shoved nam gyu towards the door next to the one you were about to be tossed in, luckily he saw someone was waiting by themselves in the room, so he was safe with two. Nam gyu gave him a small nod to let him know he was safe and set to survive.

- thanos rushed you in, slamming the door behind him and peering out. This was the last round, you made it. The door beeped behind you and locked, ensuring your victory of the game.

- adrenaline was still pumping through your veins as you gazed up at him from your spot cowering against the wall as gun shots rang. You didn’t even hear the people screaming or the poor souls who were locked from the room right behind you and thanos, damming you to hell for getting to the room first as they die. “Holy shit” you say as you look at him as he smiled back. “We did it.”

- “yup” he says confidently “now let’s see how much money we earned” thanos says as he pulled open the door for the final time. Before he can step out you grab his sleeve “hey- uh thank you” you mumbled

- he could have just left you like min-su and went with nam gyu, but he chose to save you.

- “what? Nah it’s nothing. Don’t worry” he says, patting you on the head and steering you out of the room

ᏢᏝᎯᎽᎬᏒ 124

(Lights out fight)

- there was a obvious tension in the air, one that nearly suffocated you as you sat with nam gyu on a bed… thanos’ bed.

- the vote ended in a tie, meaning the vote was to be redone the following day. After that was announced, your friends thanos and nam gyu went to the bathroom to ‘help even out the votes’. Specifically to talk to that poor min-su they’ve been harassing non stop. Only just nam gyu came back out. Eyes blown wide and covered head to toe in thick splashes of blood. Your heart nearly died when you saw him stumbling dazed out of the bathroom. You knew SOMETHING had happened when no thanos returned safely to you.

- after that, he tried convincing you they didn’t start the fight, which you saw right through. Eventually he dropped that act and told you straight up what went down. How your friend was murdered. Nam gyu tried covering his pain up by insulting thanos and taking two of his pills from the cross he stole from him. Calling him an asshole and an idiot. Again, you saw right through.

- you brought your hand up to his face to wife some blood off with your sleeve. And he leaned right into it, sighing very very deeply as he crushed the drugs between his teeth. He held your hand to his face, which you thought was just him being cute until he started talking about how there needed to be a total blood bath that night. To ensure team ‘O’ wins and you both could keep going. You tried to pull away but his grip kept you like in your spot next to him.

- “no nam gyu, we can’t just kill these people. They are just like us they just need money-“

- “yes! That’s the fucking point. We need that danm money, can’t you see? We won’t fucking win with all those stupid fucking cockroaches leeching our money” he hisses, harsh words contrasting with his hands tracing patterns gently on yours. “We won’t win this vote with them alive, we won’t get more money with them all alive. This is the only way”

- he just kept going and going until you agreed, saying you’d at least let him go out and kill and you’d be his little look out. Only nothing can go smoothly for anyone ever here.

- while there’s lights flashing and people screaming, blood and gore being sprayed from the alive and leaking from the dead, you are trying to make out what is going on around you. You can (faintly) see nam gyu out in the room, grabbing people and ripping them to shreds with his fork, the very fork that killed thanos to be exact.

- while you were looking around for nam gyu, someone had come up behind you, grabbing you by the neck and trying to choke you out. You screamed out nam gyus name as loud as you could as the attackers grip tightened and tightened to the point where you thought your neck was bound to snap. Your vision going out slowly as all you can recognize becomes the sound of the chaos. Until suddenly you were freed, and your assaulter was ripped off you and pinned to the ground by nam gyu.

- he started repeatingly stabbing the person, blood flying onto you and him as he slit the person open. When he stopped you basically flung yourself at him, crying “thank you! Thank you!”. He just saved your life, though You could barely recognize him, he was lost completely in drug fueled blood lust and rage.

- maybe not completely you figured, as he rushed to you and scooped you up. He returned you to a bunk, telling you to hide there and wait for him. Promising you he’ll come back, that he will keep you safe. And he did, as the lights came on and the gun shots rung out, he was alive and on his way back to you

______

Bet yall can’t guess who my favorite is >:3

[justafewberries]

district 12 is in a population decline by the time we meet Katniss, and I don't think it would have lasted another 100 years.

In the first book, she states the population is "about" 8000.

The square’s quite large, but not enough to hold District 12’s population of about eight thousand.

Let's stick it directly at 8,000. That's a small population, but there are other factors that harm both the life expectancy and fertility of d12 citizens:

Dangers of Coal Mining

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

The rate of fatal injuries in the coal mining industry in 2007 was 24.8 per 100,000 full- time equivalent worker

While some sources claim this number has declined over the past two decades and excludes private company deaths, it still offers a useful benchmark. Coal mining is one of the most dangerous professions in the modern USA. In Panem, it's worse.

We know of two major accidents within about 25 years of each other (mine fire and mine explosion), which leads me to believe the death rate is much higher. We also know that mining accidents occur through Ripper's loss of an arm, and black lung likely still exists.

In a population of 8,000, the risks of mine labor labor would damage the population count a lot more than a population of, say, 100,000.

Coal Mining and Fertility

Studies have found that coal dust pollution can affect both birth weight of babies and sperm count in men, whether they work directly in the mines or not.

In a study done at Sambalpur University, the researchers found "a significant decline in semen volume, seminal viscosity without any significant difference between the ages in the subjects working more than 10 years in coal mines."

Male coal workers were significantly less fertile after working 10 years regardless of age.

In another study in Appalachia, researchers found that births that occurred within 5 km of an active coal mining site often resulted in lower birth weight.

In a study from Brazil, researchers sound that air pollution from coal mines led to low birth weight and even preterm deliveries.

Interestingly, this is canon in the Hunger Games. We know Haymitch's sisters were born pre-term, so this introduces another potential factor of population decline.

By the time people are 18, they are immediately put to work in the mines (as we see with Gale and Wyatt Callow). This means by 28, their fertility has likely greatly reduced. It also puts them at a higher risk for injuries or death. They all also live in the vicinity of an active mine, so their fertility rates may be damaged from the moment they're born, not just when they start working in the mines.

Starvation and Fertility

The overwhelming majority of studies conclude that malnutrition affects fertility. We know that in d12, starvation is one of the number one killers. There simply isn't enough food.

In Catching Fire, we get a general idea of how bad it is:

One day when I dropped by to give Hazelle the game, Vick was home sick with a bad cough. Being part of Gale's family, the kid has to eat better than ninety percent of the rest of District 12. But he still spent about fifteen minutes talking about how they'd opened a can of corn syrup from Parcel Day and each had a spoonful on bread and were going to maybe have more later in the week.

With coal mining being a physical labor, they are likely burning more calories than they are taking in. The government may offer maternity leave, but it wouldn't necessarily provide for the extra calories a woman would need to sustain a healthy weight for the fetus.

Further, accidents, starvation, pollution, and sicknesses remove support systems from people who do plan to have children. Haymitch talks about his Maw, but people may not have family to rely on. With rampant poverty and no discussed childcare, it would be difficult to raise a child under such conditions.

Mortality of Youth & Reproductive Age

The Hunger Games themselves are responsible for two deaths of d12 children per year. This means two children a year will never be able to have kids of their own.

Further, the children starve. We don't know how many die of starvation, but we know it happens, meaning some of the 8,000 people may never even make it to child-bearing age, regardless of if they even want kids of their own.

Social Stigma

Having children outside of a family is never really discussed outside of Haymitch's observation about a peacekeeper baby:

Once in a blue moon a Seam girl falls for a Peacekeeper and ends up with a baby, resulting in plenty of social disapproval in 12 as well.

We don't explicitly know if the disapproval stems from it being out of wedlock or the baby being a peacekeeper's, or both. In either case, it likely contributes to low wedlock birth rates.

We also know that Peeta insisted that they had the toasting before Katniss fell "pregnant". Leading me to believe there is a more conservative view of children and wedlock in Panem.

Modern Medicine and Prenatal Care

There is minimal electricity in d12, meaning there likely isn't technology for ultrasounds or blood work or anything like that. Asterid seems to be the only healer in d12 in the trilogy, and she pretty much closed up shop. There may be midwives, but they wouldn't have the medicine, vitamins, and prenatal care modern medicine provides, which would increase both mother and baby fatalities.

Stability Factors & Gene Pool

In SOTR, it's established there are many distant cousins. Burdock on Lenore Dove's mother's side, the Chances on her father's side, etc. There are large, branching families.

Beyond familial relationships, there is no influx of diverse genes. There is no immigration in Panem, meaning the gene pool they had 74 years ago is the same gene pool they have in the first book. With a declining population, it doesn't bode well for people not having a common ancestor somewhere up the line.

Smaller gene pools mean higher rates of birth defects, chronic diseases, etc.

Potential Growth Factors

The government does provide some incentives to have children.

Katniss equates marriage with kids, claiming she doesn't plan to get married, and often brings up kids in the same thought.

The married couples are given their own houses, likely to encourage alone time, and tesserae may promote people having more kids to bring in more rations, although, they would have to account for another mouth to feed.

Impoverished areas tend to have higher birth rates in modern America. The average birth rate in below poverty areas tends to be about 73 births per 1,000 women.

It's safe to assume about a 50/50 split in d12. Both men and women work in the mines, so accidents would not proportionally take out any more of one gender than the other. This leaves us with 4,000 women in d12. Currently, about 78% of people in the US are over 18. For the sake of available data, we will make the reproductive age 18 (ignoring teen pregnancies). This means of those 4,000 women, approximately 3,120 of them are above 18.

We know it is rare to "grow old" from Katniss's perspective, so to account for that, I will reduce the percentage of people over 50 (49 is the cap for reproductive age according to the WHO), from 34% down to 20%, or 1/5 of the district. This is an arbitrary reduction, but seeing as how Greasy Sae and Clerk Carmine are both indicated to be close to 75, I think it's fair to assume 1/5 of the population could reach 50. Now, this further reduces the "women of birthing age" pool by 800 women, from 3,120 to 2,320.

Effectively, that means approximately 169 births a year.

That sounds like a lot of births for a small district, but not all of those children will live (lower birth rate, premature births, starvation), not all will be able to reproduce (fertility issues, lower gene pool effects, and personal desire), and not all will make it to the age where they could even try (reaping, starvation, etc.).

Conclusion

District 12 has more factors of a population in decline than it does growth or even stability. High mortality rates across demographics, impaired fertility, pollution, malnutrition, and isolationism have all likely decimated any population growth. This doesn't even account for sterilizing illnesses, such as the one encountered in d13.

Without external intervention or a dramatic shift in conditions, I don't think District 12 could have continued for another century.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Any knife injuries ideas, also I adore ur blog 💖

Writing Notes: Knife Injuries

Stab Wounds - Incised wounds where the length of injury on the surface is less than the depth of penetration into the body, and are the result of a thrusting action, where the force is delivered along the long axis of a narrow, pointed object.

The force of impact is concentrated at the tip of the implement, and the sharper the tip, the easier it will penetrate the skin.

The weapons of choice in the majority of assaults – both domestic and ‘on-the-street’ include lock knives, sheaf knives and kitchen knives.

Characteristics of Stab Wounds

Clean cut edges

One or both ends pointed

Non-pointed end may be squared off or split (fish tail or boat shaped defect)

Often gape (related to skin elasticity and Langer’s lines)

Cross section of weapon may be illustrated when edges of wounds opposed

Underlying bone may be scored by blade

Abrasions may be present

Frequently shows notching or a change in direction (caused by relative movement of the knife and body) 

Biomechanical Factors that can be assessed in sharp force injuries:

The properties of the knife

Movement of the knife up to the point of impact (affected by clothing and movement of the victim (with respect to the assailant), and from the skin to its termination within the body

The speed and direction of delivery of the blow

Intrinsic properties of the knife - shape/sharpness/weight

Delivery of the blow - velocity/type of thrust and 'follow through' ('over arm' vs. 'under arm')

Movement of the knife within the body - affected by skin/organ resistance, movement of the victim and whether bone has been impacted

Excerpts from this previous post:

Stabbings are also usually intentional (suicide, homicide) but can be unintentional, (e.g., a slip on wet floor and landing on open dishwasher with knives pointing upward). A stabbing most often:

follows a direct path,

is low velocity resulting mostly in damage along the line of the path itself, and

are of varying depth.

The type of blade affects the wound inflicted, such as straight blade versus a serrated edge.

From a forensic medicine perspective, a stab is deeper than it is long and a cut is longer than deep.

A cut differs from a blunt laceration in that the edges are clean and the direction of the wound inflicted indicates the direction of the force.

Stabs to the chest and abdomen are particularly important to investigate as the angle of the penetration may indicate that the wound crosses both cavities injuring the diaphragm in between the two.

From this previous post:

Punctures. These are deep, narrow wounds produced by sharp objects such as nails, knives, and broken glass.

A puncture wound will be greater in depth than in its length, therefore there is usually little bleeding around the outside of the wound and more bleeding inside, causing discoloration.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Glad to hear this, thanks so much <3 Hope this helps with your writing!

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - June 8-14

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $Kaybarr1735! And if you tip me and give me a way to contact you, at the end of the month I'll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn't use each week!

1. Rare foal born on estate for first time in 100 years

“The Food Museum at Abbot's Hall in Stowmarket, Suffolk, is home to a small number of Suffolk Punch horses - a breed considered critically endangered by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. A female foal was born on Saturday and has been named Abbots Juno to honour the last horse born at the museum in 1924. [...] Juno is just one of 12 fillies born so far this year in the country and she could potentially help produce more of the breed in the future.”

2. The cement that could turn your house into a giant battery

“[Scientists] at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have found a way of creating an energy storage device known as a supercapacitor from three basic, cheap materials – water, cement and a soot-like substance called carbon black. [... Supercapacitators] can charge much more quickly than a lithium ion battery and don't suffer from the same levels of degradation in performance. [... Future applications of this concrete might include] roads that store solar energy and then release it to recharge electric cars wirelessly as they drive along a road [... and] energy-storing foundations of houses.”

3. New road lights, fewer dead insects—insect-friendly lighting successfully tested

“Tailored and shielded road lights make the light source almost invisible outside the illuminated area and significantly reduces the lethal attraction for flying insects in different environments. [...] The new LED luminaires deliver more focused light, reduce spill light, and are shielded above and to the side to minimize light pollution. [... In contrast,] dimming the conventional lights by a factor of 5 had no significant effect on insect attraction.”

4. When LGBTQ health is at stake, patient navigators are ready to help

“[S]ome health care systems have begun to offer guides, or navigators, to get people the help they need. [... W]hether they're just looking for a new doctor or taking the first step toward getting gender-affirming care, "a lot of our patients really benefit from having someone like me who is there to make sure that they are getting connected with a person who is immediately going to provide a safe environment for them." [... A navigator] also connects people with LGBTQ community organizations, social groups and peer support groups.”

5. Tech company to help tackle invasive plant species

“Himalayan balsam has very sugary nectar which tempts bees and other pollinators away from native plants, thereby preventing them from producing seed. It outcompetes native plant species for resources such as sunlight, space and nutrients. [...] The volunteer scheme is open to all GWT WilderGlos users who have a smartphone and can download the Crowdorsa app, where they can then earn up to 25p per square meter of Balsam removed.”

6. [Fish & Wildlife] Service Provides Over $14 Million to Benefit Local Communities, Clean Waterways and Recreational Boaters

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is distributing more than $14 million in Clean Vessel Act grants to improve water quality and increase opportunities for fishing, shellfish harvests and safe swimming in the nation’s waterways. By helping recreational boaters properly dispose of sewage, this year’s grants will improve conditions for local communities, wildlife and recreational boaters in 18 states and Guam.”

7. Bornean clouded leopard family filmed in wild for first time ever

“Camera traps in Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesian Borneo have captured a Bornean clouded leopard mother and her two cubs wandering through a forest. It's the first time a family of these endangered leopards has been caught on camera in the wild, according [to] staff from the Orangutan Foundation who placed camera traps throughout the forest to learn more about the elusive species.”

8. Toy library helps parents save money 'and the planet'

“Started in 2015 by Annie Berry, South Bristol's toy library aims to reduce waste and allow more children access to more - and sometimes expensive - toys. [...] Ms Berry partnered with the St Philips recycling centre on a pilot project to rescue items back from landfill, bringing more toys into the library. [...] [P]eople use it to support the environment, take out toys that they might not have the space for at home or be able to afford, and allow children to pick non-gender specific toys.”

9. Chicago Receives $3M Grant to Inventory Its Trees and Create Plan to Manage City’s Urban Forest

“The Chicago Park District received a $1.48 million grant [“made available through the federal Inflation Reduction Act”] to complete a 100% inventory of its estimated 250,000 trees, develop an urban forestry management plan and plant 200 trees in disadvantaged areas with the highest need. As with the city, development of the management plan is expected to involve significant community input.”

10. Strong Public Support for Indigenous Co-Stewardship Plan for Bears Ears National Monument

“[The NFW has a] plan to collaboratively steward Bears Ears National Monument to safeguard wildlife, protect cultural resources, and better manage outdoor recreation. The plan was the result of a two-year collaboration among the five Tribes of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and upholds Tribal sovereignty, incorporates Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and responsibly manages the monument for hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation while ensuring the continued health of the ecosystem.”

June 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[creampuffqueen]

The Genetics Behind Bending

As I’m sure many of you are aware by now, I have a slight fascination with genetics. I find them so cool and intriguing, like a fun puzzle for me to solve. As such, I’ve recently been trying to figure out the genetic component behind bending in the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Here’s what I’ve figured out so far!

A few notes:

Within the ATLA universe, bending seems to have both a genetic and a spiritual component. “Spirituality” is sort of hard to quantify. While it does seem to play somewhat of a role, for this post I am operating under the assumption that bending is mostly genetically linked

This ties into another thing, which is the… sort of? Canon information that all Air Nomads are airbenders. I can’t remember exactly where it was said, but it was said at some point. I am largely ignoring that in this post as well, though I will be giving some reasons as to why most Air Nomads are also airbenders

Sub-bending techniques will also not be discussed. While bending is largely genetic, sub-bending doesn’t seem to follow any kind of pattern of inheritance. Not to mention that some sub-bending techniques can only be developed through external factors (i.e. combustionbending). For simplicity’s sake I am only discussing the 4 main bending types, though if someone wanted to use what I have started to figure out the genetics behind sub-bending, be my guest!

All right, with that out of the way, let’s get into it!

A few quick terms for anyone unfamiliar with genetics:

Gene: A chemical compound that codes for specific proteins in your body that make you… you! Passed from parent to offspring

Allele: An alternate form of a gene. For example, a gene codes for overall eye color, and the alleles for this gene are brown, blue, green, etc. A person can only have two allele per gene, but more than two alleles for a gene may exist in a population

Dominant vs. Recessive: When a dominant allele is present, it hides the presence of the recessive allele so the recessive allele is not expressed, or physically seen

Phenotype vs. Genotype: Phenotype is the physical expression of a gene, whereas genotype is the actual genetic makeup of a gene. Depending on the pattern of inheritance, the phenotype may not express all alleles present in the genotype

The main problem I kept encountering while trying to figure this out was that non-bending parents could produce bending children, AND bending parents could produce non-bending children. This means that bending can’t exactly follow your typical pattern of inheritance, where there is a single dominant and a single recessive allele. If bending is dominant, then two non-benders couldn’t have a bending child. If non-bending is dominant, then two benders couldn’t have a non-bending child. 

So now what?

For starters, I worked on figuring out specifically how the different types of bending would work inheritance-wise. I ended up deciding to treat the bending gene in a similar way to how blood-type genetics works, with multiple different alleles and a codominance style of inheritance. 

Codominance is when both alleles on a specific gene are expressed at the same time. This is how you get AB blood types. The person has both an A and a B allele, and the two are expressed together. 

Now time for my favorite part – the punnett squares!! For this gene, I opted to have 5 different alleles: non-bending, airbending, firebending, waterbending, and earthbending. No type of bending is dominant over another, because all of these alleles can be codominant. 

(A punnett square is basically just an easy tool for predicting different gene outcomes of offspring based on their parents’ genes. It can also be used to show all possible allele combinations for a certain gene.)

This gene is referred to as the bending type gene, and I decided to represent it with the letter B. To show what type of bending the allele is for, it also has a dash mark with another letter. For example, airbending is represented with B-A. Five different alleles means twenty-five different possible combinations, which I have right here:

What’s the deal with the highlighted squares? Well, I had to decide which combinations would result in a person actually being able to bend. Genes are what code different proteins in our body, each protein playing an important part in making up our body. This gene, bending type, would specifically code for proteins that… make bending possible. Not chi paths, as I’ll touch on that aspect later, but this gene determines the exact type of bending a person is able to do. Remember, these alleles are codominant, meaning both will be expressed together.

For this gene, I decided that the non-bending allele, B-N, would be an allele that results in no bending protein being developed whatsoever. This is similar to how O blood-type works, as the O allele creates zero antigens in the blood. But, also like the O blood-type allele, if a different allele is present, such as A or B, it is that allele that will be seen in the phenotype as there is still at least one allele coding for a protein. This is how two people with A or B blood types can have a child with an O blood type! And this is also how the bending type gene works. If a person has at least one bending allele, they will be able to bend. 

However, there is also the fact that bending types don’t mix. You cannot have someone who is both an earthbender and an airbender, or any combo of bending. (Outside of the Avatar, but their extra bending abilities are a result of having the Avatar Spirit, not genetics). To this end, I decided to get a little bit loose with the rules (because hey, it is a fantasy universe). This is not how this scenario would work out in real life, but it makes enough sense that I think the rule-bending is acceptable. 

The body can only code for one type of bending at a time. If you have one bending type allele and one non-bending type allele, you will be able to bend. If you have two bending alleles of the same bending type, you will also be able to bend. But, if you carry bending alleles of two different bending types, you will be a non-bender. This is because the body cannot make two different types of bending proteins, only one.

Effectively, this means there are multiple ways to be a non-bender; though all non-benders will be phenotypically identical regardless of why they can’t bend. The highlighted cells of the above punnet square represent allele combinations that will result in someone being able to bend. Out of 25 possible combinations, only 12 will result in benders, meaning with this specific allele scenario, only 48% of people will be benders.  

The reason I chose to go this route is because in order to make this gene work like it would in the real world, I would have to create a dominance hierarchy between the different bending types. Such as, Airbending is dominant to Firebending which is dominant to Waterbending and so on and so forth. But if this were how it worked, that would mean that one type of bending is more dominant than any other type – and that just doesn’t feel right for the ATLA universe. 

Another possibility of making this work more like the real world is by making a multi-bending genotype a lethal gene combination. Meaning that zygotes/embryos with a multi-bending genotype will not survive. Honestly this being the case could provide some lore on why the 4 Nations are so segregated by bending type – people would certainly notice that mixed bending families struggle with infertility, as depending on the parents’ genes up to one hundred percent of all gene combinations would result in a non-viable embryo. Perhaps people would notice this and begin to believe it was better to stay with people of their own bending type. 

But I’m trying to keep this light, so bending the rules a bit it is! Though people can feel free to use any of these scenarios in their own worldbuilding if they wish. 

A quick recap of what’s been covered so far because I can’t stop rambling:

The bending type gene codes for a specific protein that dictates what element a person can bend

There are 5 alleles in the population, with the non-bending allele coding for no bending protein. This makes it functionally recessive but the inheritance pattern is still technically codominant

A person with two different bending type alleles will not be able to bend. Benders result from having two of the same bending type allele or having one bending allele and one non-bending allele

People with different bending type alleles and people with two non-bending alleles will both be non-benders, making them phenotypically identical

Now, there are still a few issues when it comes to inheritance. Although this gene accounts for the different bending elements, it still doesn’t guarantee that our known bending families would work out. 

For example, Katara and Sokka have non-bending parents, but one of them is a bender and one of them is a non-bender. If both parents have two non-bending alleles, Katara couldn’t be a bender. It’s highly unlikely either parent would be a non-bender due to having different bending alleles, as the Southern Water Tribe is highly isolated during this time. So how did they get one of each?

To solve this issue, I decided to make the genetics of bending dependent on a linked gene system.

Chromosomes contain all of the genetic material in a cell. Genes mix together during reproduction, creating an embryo with genes from both parents. To do this, the chromosomes are broken apart into tiny chunks. The chunks are pretty random, but genes found closer on a chromosome are more likely to be inherited together. When certain “chunks” of genes are often inherited together, these genes can become linked, meaning they depend on each other for expression. They are still separate genes with separate alleles, but they are linked together and will affect one another. Oftentimes these linked genes code for very similar functions of development, but sometimes not. In humans, the genes for hair color and eye color are linked, which makes certain combinations of these two much more likely, i.e. blonde hair and blue eyes. 

So, which genes on the chromosome of an ATLAverse human are linked? Obviously the bending type gene, but the other gene responsible for bending is a gene I’m calling the bending ability gene. 

Remember how I said I’d be discussing the concept of chi paths later? Well, this is it! The bending ability gene is what creates chi paths in benders! Although chi is a somewhat… nebulous… concept in the universe, it clearly is at least somewhat physically present in the body because of things like healing and chi-blocking. This gene creates those chi paths, and if you also have genes that give you bending, those chi paths are what are used to physically bend the element you have the genes for. 

This gene is a bit simpler, having only two alleles and a basic dominant/recessive inheritance pattern. Here’s the punnett square, with the different alleles being represented by the letters A and a: 

Again, it’s a basic dominant/recessive inheritance pattern. The dominant gene is represented by A, and the recessive by a. A represents the allele that codes for bending chi paths, while a represents the allele that does not create bending chi paths. If a dominant gene is present in the genotype, the person will have bending chi paths.

I do believe there are other genes regarding chi paths, as even non-benders have chi and chi paths, but bending ability is a gene that codes specifically for bending chi paths. 

So, these two genes are linked. What exactly does this mean?

Well, it means there are now three different ways a person can be a non-bender, although all three ways are phenotypically identical. It also means that bending can be hidden within the phenotype, making bending itself effectively a recessive trait in certain instances. 

Let’s break it down a bit more. Here are the genetic requirements for being able to bend:

Must have at least one bending allele on the bending type gene

Bending alleles either have to be identical (homozygous) or expressed only with a non-bending allele (heterozygous)

Must have at least one dominant allele on the bending ability gene

If all those requirements are met, congrats, you can bend! But if even one of those requirements isn’t met, you’ll be a non-bender. I know it seems like I’m making non-bending more common but… actually, I sort of am. Benders are a large focus in the ATLAverse, but if you look at the population of side and background characters, being a non-bender actually seems to be quite common. 

Here are a few more worldbuilding/lore points where this gene system makes a lot of sense:

Katara being the only waterbender in her tribe for a generation. Waterbenders were targeted and systemically captured by the Fire Nation, resulting in these very specific gene combinations required to bend being removed from the population. Without benders to pass down these genes, less and less people would carry them, meaning less and less people being benders

An explanation for why almost all Air Nomads are also airbenders. The Air Nomad population is relatively small compared to the other nations, meaning a smaller gene pool and less diversity in the alleles present. This means most likely, the Air Nomads just had a higher presence of bending alleles in their population compared to other nations, resulting in more benders

A way for families to be mixed in both bending ability and bending type, like Aang and Katara’s family

Perhaps even an explanation for the Harmonic Convergence airbenders. Some folks were non-benders due to their bending type gene, some were non-benders due to their bending ability gene. Harmonic Convergence could have possibly edited these alleles, giving the capacity to bend to those carrying an airbending gene, and giving those who already had the capacity to bend a gene that would allow them to bend air

Along this same line, explaining what exactly energybending does to give and take away bending. Energybending is basically gene editing, which I feel even kind of makes sense with the name. Energybending, editing your genes, therefore your energy? Anyone get me? Which further explains how Yakone was able to father two waterbenders despite having his bending taken away. He still had waterbending genes, but his bending ability gene was edited with energybending

Hopefully this all makes sense! I really, really like genetics…

Okay, so we have our two linked genes and know what makes a bender or a nonbender. Time to have some fun with punnett squares to see how these genes would play out in our favorite ATLAverse families!

Here’s how to make a punnett square that predicts the outcomes of multiple genes:

Get the genotypes of our two parents. For this example, I’ll be using Katara and Aang. Include both alleles present for both genes being looked at

Katara: Aa/B-NB-W, and Aang: AA/B-NB-A. I gave Aang homozygous dominant bending ability alleles due to the aforementioned higher presence of bending alleles in the Air Nomad population

Now, we make our gene combos. Either allele for a gene can be inherited, so we make sure to cover all our bases. Because these genes are linked, alleles from both genes will be inherited together, so we essentially predict all possible ways these alleles could be mixed

Katara’s allele combos: A/B-N, A/B-W, a/B-N, a/B-W. Aang’s allele combos: A/B-N, A/B-A, A/B-N, A/B-A

Make our punnett square and see what combos result!

Katara & Aang, Aa/B-NB-W x AA/B-NB-A

I know this looks a bit chaotic, but it’s easy to interpret once you know what you’re looking for!

From this combination of genes 50% of the offspring would be non-benders, 25% would be airbenders, and 25% would be waterbenders. All the offspring have the capacity to bend due to the presence of an A allele in all combinations, but not all offspring are benders due to the presence of non-bending alleles and multiple bending alleles. 

Considering Katara and Aang have one kid of each outcome, this totally checks out! Some of the genes could also be adjusted in this scenario which would increase/decrease certain outcomes, but I felt this one was the most accurate to their family in canon. 

One more, just because (god i need new hobbies). This time, let’s go backwards, and try and figure out the genotypes of Hakoda and Kya that would result in two non-benders having both bending and non-bending kids.

Same steps as before! Here’s what I worked out:

Hakoda & Kya, Aa/B-NB-N x aa/B-NB-W

From this gene combination, only 25% of offspring would be able to bend. The other 75% would be non-benders. Again, I personally feel this is an accurate representation. Katara was a rarity in her tribe at the time. 

Again, these allele combos could be changed to increase or decrease the amount of benders or non-benders, depending on your preference. I’m just providing examples so hopefully anyone who reads this will be confident in making their own bending punnett squares!

I’ve worked out punnett squares for all sorts of families and ships, but I’ll stop here. I will say that one of the drawbacks for this scenario is that if you want non-benders to have bending children, the non-bending parents cannot be non-benders in the same way. 

What this means is that if both parents are non-benders because they have recessive bending ability alleles, none of their children will be able to bend, no matter what alleles they have for their bending type gene. The reverse is true as well; if both parents are non-benders for having two non-bending alleles on the bending type gene, it doesn’t matter what alleles they have for bending ability. I don’t think this is a very huge limit, but it is something to keep in mind if you’re wanting to work within the scenario I’ve established. 

And… there we have it! This has been such a fun little side project to work on, and I hope I was able to explain my thoughts in an understandable way! If you have any thoughts or questions don’t hesitate to comment or shoot me an ask, or if you just want to see me making punnett squares for your favorite families!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

[scorpihoe1111]

Synastry Observations👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨

Today I’m going to be giving Synastry Observations. Synastry charts are basically you and another individuals chart put together to help explain how you and said person might or might not get along, how you two see each other and what the future may hold for you two etc.

Synastry Charts are not only meant for romantic relationships! They can apply to familial, platonic friendships, co-workers etc!

Synastry charts are a great way to find out if you’re compatible with another person. But keep in mind that these are not set in stone, and just general observations I’ve noticed within couples charts. There are plenty examples of synastry charts clashing and the couple/friends work together perfectly, and vice versa.

With that said, let’s get into it. ☺️

Those with Sun square Sun in synastry usually can’t get along. This placement usually signifies one or the other feeling like they completely clash personality/ego wise.

Individual’s who have their Venus sextile or trine the others ASC might be highly attracted to the ASC person upon first glance/impression. The ASC person may be exactly the Venus persons type.

If your Sun ☀️, Venus 🩷, or ASC ⬆️ is the same sign as someone’s 7H, they could see you as wifey/husband material. The 7H person could immediately wanna settle down with you.

Those who’s moon trine/sextile someone’s mars knows how to help the mars person calm down or relax. Not to be cliche, but I find this aspect in a lot of relationships where the Mars person was a “player who can’t be tamed” and the moon person was the only one who managed to get them to show their softer side and change.

The sign of your 12H is usually people who can be hidden enemies.

Ex: Say you’re a Virgo rising, so you have Leo in the 12H. Leo placements could be shady towards you, or always seeming like they’re hiding something from you. Experiences with Leo placements may leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Another big factor is where your 12H sign lies within their chart. This can tell you what they could hide from you. If your 12H is their sun sign, they could be faking their entire personality with you. If your 12H sign is their moon sign, they could be hiding their true feelings about you. If it’s mercury, you may not know what they say about you behind your back and they could possibly gossip about you. If it’s mars, they could possibly have complete hatred or a grudge against you and so on.

It’s not impossible for 12H synastry to be good, but it’s rare and usually results in a lot of secret animosity/jealousy.

Moon square Venus in synastry can make the 2 individuals have completely different love languages and/or may not see eye to eye when it comes to what the other wants.

If someone’s Mars sign is the same sign as your 5H, the Mars person could want to get you pregnant (or you may want the Mars person to get you pregnant) 🤰🏻

The best way to discover if someone’s your soulmate, twin flame or overall to check who you’re probably going to get married to is to check where the asteroid Juno (3) lands in both of your charts. The Sun ☀️ sign of said person could possibly be the same as your Juno sign

Pluto aspecting personal planets in synastry can indicate the Pluto person being very possessive or controlling of the planet individual.

Venus aspecting Chiron in synastry can indicate either helping heal the Chiron persons biggest wound or worsening it. Ex: Venus Trine/sextile Chiron can help the Chiron person feel more secure and confident thanks to the Venus person. Venus Square/Opp Chiron can make the Venus person make the Chiron person more insecure or more uncomfortable with the Chiron wound.

8H synastry is sooo intense. It makes the 8H person wanna possess you as a person and makes them lust after you uncontrollably. It’s also super hard to forget or let go of someone who’s sign is in your 8H and vice versa.

2H synastry is bittersweet because I notice the 2H person genuinely cares about the planet person to an almost unconditional degree while the planet person cares just as much, however more conditionally. While the planet person does have love for the 2H, they also are mainly with the 2H person because they add to the planets self worth and image and/or the 2H person usually provides something(s) to the planet person and without that they most likely wouldn’t remain with the 2H person in the first place.

People who’s Mars lands in your 12H can be in secret competition with you and/or jealous and intimidated of you.

Mercury square moon in synastry usually have very conflicting ideologies and outlooks on life.

Someones Mars conjunct/Trine your Jupiter sign feel like you’re their lucky charm 🍀

Those who’s Sun sign is the same sign as your Saturn can come into your life to teach you a lesson.

Mars in 1H synastry can make the 1H person either EXTREMELY turned on by the Mars person or result in complete dislike. (Very much a sexual tension placement if you ask me)

Someone’s Lilith in your 1H/8H could make you feel like the Lilith person is a bad influence in your life. People with this synastry usually end up making reckless decisions on the account of the Lilith person encouraging them too.

I hope you enjoyed. Let me know if you’d like a part 2. 💕

[best-thing]

Out of all the things in everything, which one... is best?

It's a question we sometimes ask and never need to know the answer to. And finding answers no one needs is precisely the role of the tumblr tournament poll!

Frequently Asked Questions

How does this work? Tumblr users can submit a thing via ask, and the thing will be tried against the other things one by one in random order. 1v1 polls will determine which of each pair is better.

Won't that make way too many polls? Oh yes. If we do ALL the polls of the round robin, there will be a number of total polls equal to the square of the number of things that tumblr users can think of, minus that number, all divided by two. That's pretty many. Or perhaps zero. It depends on if this blog gets traction or not. This blog got some traction.

Sooo do you have a solution to that problem? We'll probably discard things that lose all their polls, or enough of their polls, or something like that. They can go on a "not that good" list that will grow over time.

It sounds like you haven't really got a plan. That's not a question!

Why not do a regular single-elimination bracket? We like round robin tournaments better! They're a more reliable way to find out the true relative quality of things. Plus we can have rolling submissions this way.

What kinds of things can be submitted? Submissions should:

1) be a thing. It can be abstract or concrete, alive or not, all are accepted. Examples include "doughnuts", "the letter M", "orgasms", "the Engraved Hourglass Nebula", "being a wizard", "fresh wizard meat cooked over an open fire with a rosemary dry rub", and more!

2) be something that a typical tumblr user could plausibly be familiar with. So "cats" is fine but "the cat that is on the lap of tumblr user fake-example-person" is not. It also can't be "your mom" or similar because that referent changes depending on the answerer. If you're getting specific, make sure it's something the voter could look up. If it's fictional, please include a brief indication of its origin.

3) be good. Or at least not bad. We are trying to find the best thing, so submitting "transmisogyny" or "smallpox" or whatever isn't going to be accepted. We also won't accept anything that it would be fucked up to apply a value judgment to, like a demographic of people or something like that.

4) not be a fandom thing. There are so many other tournament blogs for those, and they bore me. No fictional characters, works of fiction, films, shows, franchises, songs, video games, musicians, writers, actors, etc. Less specific options like genre or medium are allowed. For example, "Sherlock Holmes" or "A Study In Scarlet" or "Arthur Conan Doyle" would be disallowed, but "detective fiction" is allowed. Something that's fictional but not from a specific source, like "wizards", is allowed. (Some of these are going to be difficult edge cases and they will just be judged by my gut.)

What do I need to send in my ask? You can just include the thing itself, but if you wish you may add explanation about what the thing is and/or propaganda in favor of it being the best. These will be included with the poll. Unless I forget, which I usually do. These will not be included in the poll because it creates a significant amount of fuss when adding polls to the queue.

What if the options are two very different levels of specificity on similar subjects? Vote with your heart. Is more specificity better or worse?

Why are you pitting two bad bitches against each other? It is our calling.

What determines whether you include a Wikipedia link on a poll? Our finely tuned reference-inclusion criteria consider such factors as an average person's familiarity with the thing, whether we feel like it (it makes the post take longer to write) and whether we remember to (remembering things is hard). We do try to post a link for both options if one is included for either, though this is not always possible.

You sound familiar. Are you some other gimmick blog? We have the distinguished honor of being the same person-posting-as-if-she's-an-organization as the prestigious @meme-conservation and the elegant and insightful @bad-time-analogies!

I'm mad (and not in a fun pretend way) about one of the options getting votes when I hate it and/or strongly prefer the other. In fact, I think that people liking this thing may be What's Wrong With Society. May I annoy you and/or others by ranting in the notes about it? No. This may get you blocked.

Can I submit my orientation, gender, or other essential element of my identity? No. That would be fucked up (see above). Do you want to find out that most people prefer frozen yogurt over your identity?

I'm upset with how you handled my submission in some way. That's not a question! Perhaps "running a gimmick blog and handling people's submissions in a way they don't like" is the real Best Thing.

I have a different question. Perhaps you should ask it instead of waiting for us to anticipate it!

[heartfullofleeches]

Moonlight Waves

Yan Alien Human Guy Person + Jellyfish Hybrid Reader 

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: None, pure fluff

“If you put some thought into it…The ocean and space have a lot in common.” 

Vast, boundless frontiers- Depths and reach never to be fully unveiled to the eyes of man. All imposing surfaces blanketing both heaven and earth. Two opposing bodies that on nights just like this might align, conjoined by midnight and the luminous orb mirrored upon them both. The full moon was a blessed companion for those who found themselves alone on eves similar to this- Solace and guidance found in her radiance. 

“Whelp- Guess it's time to throw myself.”

Wiser folk have said desperate times call for desperate measures- While there were lesser extremes he could have gone to, this seemed like the quickest solution to their predicament. Twenty-four years on this planet and they had still yet to conquer the strenuous feat that was learning how to swim. His mothers were gentle in their upbringing- Apparently too gentle as they never pressured their child into braving the horrors of the swimming pool. On one hand, the biggest factor to their child's fear may have been the fact that it was their neighbor’s pool - and it'd be quite difficult to explain the eerie glow to their toddler's tears and the stains they left on clothing. 

They were fine with it early on, but as he grew - Alien realized how much he was missing out on being unable to swim. Most humans know how to swim by their age anyway which would give less credit to his claims of an earth born and raised member of the population….Which they were regardless of whether or not they knew how to swim.

Alien squares his shoulders, testing the binds of  numerous weights anchoring various parts of their body. Unsatisfied with the distribution, he plucks a stone from the moist sand surrounding his legs - unfastening the velcro of their right breast pocket and adding it to the collection. A horde of trinkets ranging from shells to stones to a couple marbles crowded each pocket from the vest they wore down to the swimming trunks they purchased for the occasion. So what if his body was more buoyant than the average human being- requiring additional weight to avoid floating off into the endless sea. Alien had always been a scrawny person-

“That should be enough- Wait…Is that?” 

Srounging for more space to stuff the final stone, a gentle glow envelopes their fingertips following a faint- snap! Alien pushes the rocks and shells aside, wrestling the shining band from beneath them with minimal effort. 

*Jackpot! I thought I used all of these already. With this baby on, I'm definitely ready for this. Wish me luck up here!”

Alien gazes up at the moon as they slip the glow-stick bracelet onto their arm. It's the last thing they see as their legs carry the rest of them towards the end of the cliff. Had it not been a full moon or the sky so clear- tonight may have gone different for them. They could've swallowed their pride, and went to bed with intentions to sign up for the nearest swim class come morning. Realistically, Alien knew he'd never go through with that plan, but it was nice in theory. Safer too-

Head lost in the cloudless sky, Alien yelps as the ground is swept from beneath them - their screams swiftly snuffed by gallons of water as they're dragged into a plummet off the cliff's edge. Their body connects with the sea, pockets of air bubbling to the surface from the force at which they collide. The oxygen escaping him would have been alarming - had they any need for it. Whether they could hold their breath or their biology simply skipped the stage where their lungs depended on air was a secret they'd take to the grave. 

Sinking fast, Alien realizes what some might call a flaw in their ingenious plan. 

Perhaps, just maybe, they potentially added too much weight for them to claw their way back to the surface.

…

Ah well. 

Since they're already down here, there's no harm in exploring. Hard to see much beyond the gleam of their jewelry dangling freely around their wrist, but they dig the vibe of it all - drifting weightlessly without aim or reason. The deeper they dove, the brighter the natural fluorescence of their skeleton bled through their skin. Alien had heard of a condition that made people's skin slightly yellow before. Surely the green glow of their bones had to be in the same family. The shine widens their range of sight. By now, it was hard to decipher which way they were facing. The moon had long since faded from view….

Oh, wait. There it is..

….

Is it?

Stranging their eyes through the blackened depths of the ocean, Alien can clearly make something out miles away from them - shrouded by a halo of light. It almost mimics their guideless descent - floating off course before gradually aligning itself in a mostly linear ascent towards them. That alone was enough evidence whatever they were looking at was not the moon. The fluctuation of its surface and the four, almost crescent shaped markings atop only served as further proof. Inch by inch, as the space between them grew narrow, Alien could make out more of its features. Flowing tendrils, a pair of arms floating freely at its sides, a face adorned with a dopey smile. 

Face to face, the near angelic like figure raises one of its hands - waving its fingers at the unfamiliar face within its territory. Alien’s eyes tighten from the phosphorescence of the creature's skin. Ignoring the sting, Alien lifts his own hand, mirroring the entity’s motions. The corners of its smile peak higher upon its face, head following the dim glow of their bracelet. The lightly draws focus to the stones bulging from his pockets. The creature's grin falters into tight lipped confusion.

“Hey…Hey!” 

Alien struggles to make a sound as its hands paw at the straps of their pockets. Successfully tearing the sleeve open, the creature yanks out every rock, every shell- It pauses briefly to marvel at the eye of the marbles in Alien's pocket before shoving them beneath the cap of their head as they continue. Depleting their vest of its contents was all it took to send Alien on their upwards rise towards the surface. The angel waves again before swimming its way to the top, gliding gracefully as a true angel would through the sky. It grabs onto Alien's wrist, tugging him along with them as he apparently took too long for their liking.

Alien could only watch on in awe as the darkness peeled away - moonlight adding on to the ethereal, otherworldly glimmer that was this being and its flesh. Could this be Alien's first encounter with an extraterrestrial? There was no possible way a creature of this radiance was from earth. They just couldn't be-

The creature releases their hold on Alien's wrist as they breach air. Alien finds himself searching for their touch, and another item he appeared to be missing. The angel, the only term Alien found fit for them, wandered towards the shore without him- back facing the sand as they spun a glowing band around their finger. Alien channels the knowledge of every training video they viewed before their trip as they doggy paddle in the general direction of the shore. Thankfully, there was still enough weight in their shorts to keep them perfectly balanced between drifting off and going under. 

The energy is depleted from their very soul by the time they reach their destination. The angel sits with its lower half still bathed by the oncoming tide, rolling a marble through the crystalized sand. It throws its arm into the air as Alien appears.

The angel waves. Alien, running on fumes and the strange heartache that would come from not reciprocating their kind gesture- waves back.

The angel helps Alien sit upright, returning the marbles they had borrowed back into the land dweller’s pocket from which they can. Alien fishes out of the marble they saw the angel toy with and gives it back to them.

“Keep that one… So-  you got a name?” 

The angel’s mouth falls open in a “O” of both surprise and honor at the present. They brush the sand smooth before rolling the marble through it once more. Inspecting their craft, Alien can make out letters the further along the angel continues.

“Y/n? That's your name?”

You clap your hands in praise, sound and ferocity increased by the wetness of your palms. Cute. 

“You, uh, come here often?”

The point of your finger towards the water states the obvious fact that you live here. A murmur akin to laughter slips past your lips at that one. 

“You got me there… The sea’s pretty big, though. What I'm asking is can I see you again?”

You tap a finger to your chin in thought, head dipping towards the bracelet now hanging from your own wrist. You point to it, hope and wonder present in your grin. 

“You like the bracelet? You can keep that too. I can bring you more if that's what you're asking.”

Clapping again, you latch onto Alien's side - merging your fingers with theirs as you hold them both to the sky. Moonlight pours through your skin and theirs, transparency muddled by the existence of their bones. Your head falls to their chest- a whisper so quiet they almost missed it. 

“Like me…” 

They're glad that they didn't. 

[cramathonn]

Hello! I see your rules and saw Seth on your list. I just got him recently and I wanted to ask if I can request something (a drabble or a oneshot, it's up to you) of our boyo. But let me give some idea worms first.

So, i heard somewhere that Seth is a Lynx thiren (unless I'm wrong, but looking at his thiren features, seems like his counterpart is from the Felidae family), and I researched that Lynxes can purr. So... imagine when reader (gender neutral) was petting Seth (or just give him some fluffy loving) he ended up purring because he's getting very comfortable

Sorry if it's kinda long! You can skip this if you want. It's my first time making a request 😅

This is adorable, anon

And don't worry, it wasn't that long! Throughout my writing history, I've gotten requests that are SO MUCH longer (and the context and worms are much appreciated). Also, I went to check his thiren subspecies and he's just a cat, not a lynx. Lynxes, while being felines, have considerably shorter tails when compared to other members of the Felidae family! Aka, bob cat short. So yeah, I referred to him as cat thiren in this little drabble, I hope you don't mind!

Hopefully you enjoy the sillies!

Warnings: none! Only fluff

Reader: gender neutral (no pronouns used)

Seth Lowell x GN!Reader

Purring

You and Seth were finally alone, relaxing inside the comfort of your shared apartment at Lumina Square. It was an exhausting day for the both of you, with either jobs sucking more energy out of you than usual.

While Seth insisted that you two asked for some food before ultimately sitting down to relax, you convinced him to do so later by bringing his head to your lap and starting to comb through his hair with your fingers. That immediately disarmed your beloved boyfriend and made his face flush red like a tomato. It didn't take long for his body to relax, the tip of his tail starting to slowly wag in contentment.

These small moments were the ones you adored most with him. Yes, you loved your walks alongside the riverbank, going out to run at the park or eat relax at the coffee shop, but this was perfect. Just the two of you, with you sitting on the couch while he had his head upon your lap, basking in each other's presence.

However, something was different this time. A noise, low and rumbly, echoing through your living room. You swore you didn't have any laundy today and you always checked all of your electrical equipment before having a chill couch session, so where was this coming from? You pay more attention to the sound, trying to pinpoint its origing. It was... Coming from beneath you? You looked down, now staring at the top of your boyfriend's head. His ears twitched every so often, leaning a bit backwards as a way to indicate how relaxed he was.

Wait, wasn't Seth a thiren? Specifically a cat one? The name of the noise coming from him was at the tip of your tongue and when you remembered it, the soft smile previously on your face widened slightly. He was purring. Seth, your uptight and slightly reserved boyfriend, was purring. The realization that he felt so at ease, so safe and comfortable in your presence to let his guard down enough to purr made your heart swell with contentment. You changed the way tou caressed the top of his head, which made him turn his head to the side so that he could look at you better, a curious look on his face.

"Everything alright? You changed how you were caressing my head... Not that I mind!"

He asked, voice much more relaxed than usual. It obviously still had that slightly loud factor that made his voice, well, his, but it was obvious to anyone who heard it that this man was calm and comfortable. You laughed at his inquiry, tangling your fingers in his silky white strands, combing through them.

"Oh, it's nothing, Seth. It's just that..."

You pondered for a second. Should you tell him? You worried that if you did he would go back to gaurding himself and stop allowing himself to purr around you, and you didn't want that! You wanted for him to feel free to relax and let his guard down, to allow himself to unwind and confide in you. However, knowing your lovely boyfriend, he'd think you were troubled with something, instead of just being deeply infatuated with his adorable noises. So you decided to simply say it.

"Well, you were purring"

You said, voice soft and filled with undeniable affection for Seth. His ears stood and tail flinched, immediately stopping its suave content swaying.

"O-oh, uhm, I'm sorry about that! It wasn't really meant to come out, it just kind of happens when I'm really relaxed... I'll make sure it doesn't happen again, I pro-"

There it was. Your sweet overthinker of a boyfriend thinking there would be a problem and that you would, most likely, think less of him for just relaxing and emitting natural noises. You made sure to cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

"Seth, hey, it's ok. I don't mind the purring. I think it's cute! It shows me that you're comfortable enough around me to let your guard down and just... Relax, y'know?"

You said in an attempt to make Seth see your point of view. That apparently worked, seeing how his cheeks were now slightly pink and how his tail started to wag its tip once more. The thiren buried his face in your thighs, trying to hide how embarrassed your comment made him. But it also made him feel extremely giddy. You found his purring was cute? And, instead of ridiculing him for something that was natural, you were glad and happy that it meat he was comfortable around you? Heavens, what did he do to score someone as fantastic as you?

"I love you, Seth"

You said, continuing to caress his head and comb through his hair. At that, Seth turned his whole body to the side, hugging you as he shoved his face in your stomach, nuzzling your shirt.

"I love you too, (y/n)"

He answered, muffled by the fabric of your shirt. Seth's voice was soft as he allowed himself to relax once more, his purring returning and you could now feel its rumbling against you. The two of you remained there, you caressing his hair and him cuddling against your stomach. Yeah, you wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.

Written by Cramathonn, 29/09/2024

Concluded at 2:50pm

[odearly]

part 1 - without me

habits (stay high) - tove lo

⟡ summary : after your boyfriend left you to avoid getting caught in your drug scandal you enter a deadly game unknown of the fact your ex boyfriend found himself in a similar situation.

⟡ warnings : drugs and drug addictions, typical squid game violence

before the games

after su-bong's departure from your life around a month ago your addiction only worsened. requiring a weekly supply now just to get by without looming thoughts of him.

freshly out of your little blue pills you texted your dealer in a hurry, deciding to meet him in a secluded alleyway to avoid the glances of your ex-fans.

you were standing in a dark alleyway, desperately awaiting the arrival of your dealer who promised to cut you a deal today. standing against the brick wall of the building behind you, you looked away from the alleyway's entrance to avoid recognition of any paparazzi. it was difficult to keep yourself hidden from the watchful gaze of the media, especially after your recent scandal, so you opted for large hoodies and sunglasses that covered most of your face now. however, tonight you took a risk and left your friend's house in a hurry to find any kind of drugs for a release.

a flash flooded through the alleyway and the only thing you could say was out of habit. "no pictures please.." your voice sounded hoarse, almost like you were sick.

when your gaze finally turned to the man in a fitted suit, flashing a flashlight in her hand. your gaze turned confused as you noticed the ominous vibe of the man who was approaching you. you were about to make a run for it before the man spoke up.

"would you like to play a game, miss?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, then pulling out a set of ddakji.

you took a once over his entire look, slightly confused. you are great at ddakji.. but why did he want to play this game? you stared at him a moment longer before finally speaking up. "what's in it for me?"

the man smirked a little before popping open his briefcase which looked like it had at least a billion won in it. your jaw dropped in surprise as he looked up at you, silently awaiting your answer.

"uh... yeah, I'll play." you spoke out in a surprised whisper.

in the games

your dreamless sleep was disturbed by the sound of bells ringing. you sat up in your bed and it took a moment to remind yourself exactly where you were. you had hoped this was all a nightmare but as you glanced around at the bunkbeds topped with people in dark green jumpsuits you were knocked back into the reality of this situation.

the bells stopped before a group of guards walked through the metal bolted door in the front of the room. a square guard in a different uniform stepped up before speaking to the players.

"please create a single file line to be escorted to the second game."

you let out a deep sigh before standing up on shaky legs. you followed into the line with the rest of the players walking down the colorful stairs that led so many to their demise the day before.

you notice the unsteadiness in your hands due to your withdrawal as you walk into the room used for the next game. the room was so bright, with blue walls meant to imitate a sky and the sandy floors meant to imitate a children's playground. the most distinctive factor though, was the two large rainbow track circles splitting the room in two.

you looked around before the sound of a click and a loud voice began flowing through the room. the robotic voice that announced the rules of the last game.

"Please divide into teams of five in the next ten minutes."

you begin walking around the room, gauging your options and not finding many good ones. you did, however, notice the gaze your ex-boyfriend had on you, almost like he was deciding whether to ask you to join his team or not. this moment of harsh staring was cut short by a tap on your shoulder.

you turned around, swiftly moving your gaze to the girl who had approached you. the girl's green tracksuit read the number '380', and the timid boy behind her said '125'.

the girl smiled slightly before speaking up. "would you like to join our team? I think I recognize you."

you glanced at her eyes searching for any sign of disappointment as most of your fans had in you, but surprisingly you found none. you stare at her blankly, making your decision before speaking up with a smirk. "alright, yeah. I'll join you guys."

the girl nodded at that, glancing back at the boy she had brought over with her. she pointed to him "this is Min-su." she turned back to look at you. "I'm Se-mi."

you nodded and spoke up to tell her your name but she spoke up before you.

"I know who you are." she said with a smirk on her face, she definitely didn't seem like she was in the target audience of your ex k-pop group.

you let out a small laugh and a nod. "alright then. nice to meet you Se-mi."

you, Se-mi, and Min-su began walking around together looking for a group. the glances of your ex-boyfriend lingering on your small group.

your trio began to get slightly annoyed at the amount of people who said no, except Min-su who just got worried. the time was slowly ticking down and at 3 minutes left you began to get slightly worried as well.

that's when your guardian angel worst nightmare walked over to Se-mi. you honestly didn't notice until you saw Se-mi turn around beside you, turning around as well in curiosity only to be met by the boy with purple hair you once believed you loved.

he smirked. he fucking smirked.

looking between you and Se-mi with a silly gaze, his eyes dilated as you let an angry frown settle on your face.

"senorita, join my team?" he said looking at just you now. "let thanos protect you." his voice dripping with cockiness.

you rolled your eyes with a scoff, gaining the attention of Se-mi who was confused about who the hell this guy is.

Su-bong's smirk dropped slightly at your annoyed expression but he kept his composure as he spoke again. "c'mon girl, you haven't found a team yet.. might as well team up with me. there's only a couple minutes left anyways." his sly flirty tone still remained even through his falter.

Se-mi spoke up this time. "I mean.." she looked over at you. "he's not wrong and I'm not willing to see what happens if we don't find a team."

you let out a sigh in defeat, glancing over at se-mi as you spoke. "fine.." you muttered out in an annoyed tone.

Su-bong let out a big grin at you, he was happy even if you weren't but that definitely was because of the drugs he'd snuck into this place.

your group sat down with the rest of the groups in the middle of one of the large rainbow track circles. unfortunately for you Su-bong made sure he sat beside you in the group, pulling you from the other side of Se-mi to make you sit beside him. you scoffed in annoyance but you didn't really protest because you knew you missed him.

the clock to find a team ticked down to zero slowly as everyone sat with their teams waiting for the rules of the game.

once the timer hit zero the click of the feminine robot voice began again.

 "the time for team selection is up. the game you will be playing is six legged pentathlon. You will start with your legs tied together. Each member will take turns playing a minigame at every ten-meter mark, and if you win, the team can move on to the next one.

number one, the Ddakji. number two, Flying Stone. number three, Gonggi. number four, Spinning Top. number five, Jegi. your goal is to win all the minigames and cross the finish line in five minutes.

please decide which player will play what game."

your team glanced around at each other before se-mi spoke up. "so.. who's good at these games."

your team stayed silent, Su-bong staring at the back of your head as you glanced at Se-mi and Min-su. "one of the girls should be good at gonggi, right?" the black haired boy on the other side of your ex broke the awkward silence with a slightly rude remark.

Se-mi sent him a glare as you stayed silent and looked down at your shaky hands, more worried about how you were going to play a game with your trembling hands. you knew there was only one way to fix this issue, you noticed Su-bong's dilated eyes the moment he walked up to you yesterday. the only way to fix this was to get the pills you knew he had.

the argument between Se-mi and Su-bong's friend faded into the background, turning into whispers compared to the thoughts of panic that filled your mind. Su-bong noticed you falling subject to your own worry and put a stop to the meaningless arguing between Se-mi and Nam-gyu.

he put a hand on your shoulder to try and bring you out of your thoughts. your head swiveled around seeing his hand on your shoulder, your tense state involuntarily softened at his touch. he looked at you in almost a worried stare into your eyes. Su-bong looked at you for another beat before slowly pulling out his cross necklace from under his tracksuit, whispering from beside you "I know what you need, señorita."

you glanced up at him in surprise as he tried to be less conspicuous he picked two blue pill from his cross, handed one to you, and slipped his necklace back under his shirt. putting the other pill into his mouth as he looked at you.

you immediately down the pill, although you know it's hurting you. you truly felt like you needed them now after becoming so reliant on them and being in a game like this while going through withdrawals was not going to help.

he smirked slightly, and moved over to look at his friend. "what game are you good at, bro?" he asked with a newfound confidence from the pill he just swallowed.

"I guess I could play spinning top." the man said in slight frustration, still giving Se-mi a rude glare.

Su-bong nudged you slightly. "well, señorita is great at ddakji, aren't you?" He stared at you with almost admiration in his eyes.

you let out a casual shrug as you began to feel the drugs work their way into your system. "Yeah, I can do ddakji." you are definitely still untrusting of Su-bong but you figure if you don't want to go through withdrawal in this place, you'd need to stick by your ex.

Se-mi nodded and turned to Min-su. "do you have a preferred game?" she said in a gentle tone. she was a kind girl no doubt, making sure the weak Min-su didn't get left behind.

Min-su looked up at her nervously. "gonggi I guess.. is what I'm best at." Se-mi nodded. "alright, min-su's on gonggi. I can play flying stone." she said confidently. "..unless 'thanos the great' isn't too fond of jegi." she said using intense sarcasm on the words 'thanos the great'.

Su-bong scoffed and rolled his eyes before confidently speaking up. "I can play any game. jegi is perfectly fine with me!"

you involuntarily rolled your eyes at his cockiness. the drugs he gave you we're now running wild through her veins. "alright. then its settled, we all know what to do." you announced, glancing around at your team which seemed to hold a lot of tension at the moment, despite you and Su-bong locking your equally dilated eyes on each other.

your team was settled, and you watched each group before yours compete in the game beside Su-bong. the drugs in your system make the game amusing, almost. you kept your overwhelming emotions under control, though and you didn't even notice your team being called until you felt yourself being yanked up by Su-bong to lead you to what could be you and his demise.

a/n: cliffhanger.. but I wanted to get this out tonight so I could stop procrastinating!!! enjoy dears and I will try and get part 3 written asap🥲

[starastrologyy]

Astrology Notes 🪐

Hi everyone :) My chart readings are still open! The link is in my bio for those who are interested 🤍 My reading reviews are on my Masterlist :)

When your Solar Return Mars is in the 6th house, this is likely to be a very productive year. However, you need to make sure you’re taking care of your health and not overworking yourself. Burnout and poor health will often emerge in such a year, if you are not prioritizing your health and peace.

If you have the ruler of your midheaven in the 10th house, you may own your own business or be in a managerial position at your job. People who reach great heights in the careers often have this placement. It is also possible that you may work in a traditionally ‘prestigious’ or well respected career. Examples are working as a doctor, lawyer, CEO of a successful company etc…

If you have the ruler of your 8th house in the 4th, you may find that you make a lot of money investing in real estate. This is also a placement that can suggest receiving an inheritance from a family member.

Saturn transiting your 3rd house can be a very somber time in your life. You may feel unmotivated or prone to feelings of loneliness and melancholy during this time. Similar to Saturn transiting the 9th house, your outlook on life in general may not always be the most pleasant during this time. Nevertheless, this can be a good time to enroll in a short course or some kind of educational program.

Saturn in the 9th house of a composite chart can be that the two people have very different belief systems and that consequently causes restrictions within the relationship. However, it can also be the opposite. Meaning, the thing that “binds” the couple together is in fact their shared belief systems. Saturn in the 9th is also common to see in the composite charts of couples who are long distance or those who travel long distances together(couples who travel to different countries together).

Something so interesting is that we often have aspects or placements that are associated with the sign over one or both of our parents 5th house cusp. For example, your mother may have Uranus in the 5th house, and you may have an Aquarius Sun, Moon, or rising. Alternatively, it could be that Uranus aspects many of your other placements. I know this may not apply to everyone, but look into your parent’s birth charts! You may be surprised!

A new romantic or business relationship can often start when your Progressed Moon makes a conjunction to your natal descendent. This is especially true if it is a “progressed new moon”. Meaning, your progressed moon is making a conjunction to your natal sun.

Moon square Mars synastry can at times be difficult (especially if it occurs at an orb that is less than 3 degrees) because the Moon person may perceive the Mars person as being insensitive, harsh, or even impulsive. Whereas the Mars person can view the Moon person as being overly sensitive. In a romantic relationship, this aspect can add to the attraction. However, if there are no mitigating factors there can be hurt feelings over time.

When someone’s Mercury falls into your 12th house in synastry, you may feel comfortable opening up to them, and telling them things you would not ordinarily tell someone else. You could often talk about spirituality, mental health, and things you prefer to keep “hidden” from others. At times you may even feel like they can “read your mind” or easily sense what you’re thinking.

People with the North Node in the 7th house tend to be hyper independent (South Node 1st house). Thus, actively dedicating time to connect meaningfully with others is a big part of their karmic destiny here on earth. There is a tendency to self isolate with a 1st house south node, especially when the individual is struggling in any capacity.

On the topic of isolation, those who have the ruler of their Ascendant in the 12th house are also inclined to isolate themselves from the world when struggling. Escapist behaviors can also be high with this placement. However, these are some of the most compassionate and resilient people you will meet.

People with Mars retrograde in their charts may struggle when it comes to the manner in which they express anger/their drive. These people can often hold onto anger for extended periods of time only to let it all out at once. Thus, their anger can often seem misplaced or to come from “out of the blue”.

[serpentface]

do the qilik see themselves as a kind of bird? (and do the other races see them that way?) how does it affect how they interact with birds, and are any of their closer relatives still alive, the same way monkeys/apes are to us?

This comes down entirely to cultural variation, but qilik cultures squarely conceptualizing themselves As Birds is relatively rare (at least partially in the sense that peoples often imagine themselves as separate from other animals in general). At most (with some exceptions) it tends to involve dividing the world into different Types of creatures and placing themselves into a very broad 'feathered' category, but not in a way where it's like "I am the same kind of Thing as a sparrow". Most qilik would take the question of 'are you some kind of bird' in the same way the average human would take 'are you some kind of giant rabbit' (acknowledging 'there's some things in common I guess, but no' at best, being intensely insulted at worst).

This is intensified by the fact that qilik are very obviously distant from most other birds in the setting (and are materially evolutionary distant). There's two surviving 'bird' groups here, class Aves (all irl birds) and a different paravian class that qilik belong to (the clade is fictional). Qilik-like birds are MUCH rarer, having been largely outcompeted by aves birds over the course of history and only remaining where they have securely kept their cousins out of occupying their flightless niches. The majority are found in old and isolated island environments, and many of these have gone extinct with pressures from dispersal/settlement of various sophonts and the animals they brought with them. Some do occur in mainland areas, but few of these have a wide spread (many were actually driven to extinction in ecological competition with early qilik, they tend to be found in places where qilik never spread en-masse).

Those that DO live in proximity to other qilik-like birds will generally at least note the resemblance. This does not necessarily lend towards them considering themselves the Same Thing (for comparison, humans living in close proximity to other primates don't tend to conceptualize themselves As primates. The reverse is more common if anything (imagining other apes as a sort of wildman)). It also doesn't tend to have the same degree of uncanny factor that tends to develop around Our closest relatives, because no qilik relative alive today resembles them to that same degree. It's more like a human looking at a tamarin or a spider monkey, you can see that their faces look a good bit like ours and their hands are almost identical, but it's not like the 'I am looking at a thing that is shaped almost exactly like a human but Not' factor that chimps have.

Where a qilik culture considers themselves distinct from/above other animals, they tend to treat these qilik-like birds as 'its like if a qilik was a bird lol'. Where a qilik culture conceptualizes all animals as being their own peoples, these qilik-like birds tend to be conceptualized as 'little cousins' or the like.

There are at least Some tendencies for above-baseline focus on birds in qilik cultures. Stories that attempt to explain why qilik have wings but cannot fly are VERY common. Cultural origin stories involving descent from an animal (usually an animal being transformed, or an animal mating with a qilik) frequently involve this animal being a bird (these stories almost always describe the origin of a singular ethnic group as a means of differentiating themselves from neighbors, rather than the entire species). Dances that mimic the movements/courtship behavior of birds are very common across qilik cultures (whether it be for beauty, an act of veneration, an act that attempts to summon wild game, a display of masculinity, etc), as is vocal mimicry of birds having notable significance. The motif of qilik with bird wings as deities, spirits, monsters, demons, etc, is EXTREMELY common across cultures.

None of these things Aren't true of other animals though. If you did an exhaustive compendium of all animal cultural elements in all qilik societies, you'd actually find INSECTS having slightly more prominence than birds.

The only qilik groups I've established that self label As Birds are those in structurally (rather than incidentally) interspecies societies with caelin/delkhin. This is partly a matter of explaining/justifying their commonalities by placing themselves on a sort of bird spectrum (caelin have beaks and can fly, like most birds, but have 'fur' (pycnofibers) instead of (overt) feathers. Delkhin have 'fur' + can't fly, but have beaks like most birds. Qilik cannot fly but have feathers like most birds). This classification system is usually supplementary to origin stories that Explain this connection, often placing the three groups as the first birds to be created, or superior/lords among all birds.

(There are probably some groups that self-label as birds without this factor at play, I just haven't established them and this probably isn't that common).

EXONYMS for qilik by non-qilik groups tend to describe them as birds. The most common exonyms for qilik as a species tend to be things like 'bird people' 'birdfolk' 'talking birds' etc. It's also fairly common that some dehumanizing (for lack of a better word) rhetoric used By qilik for other qilik revolves around comparisons to certain kinds of birds (this tends to be more specific than just birds in General, usually species culturally viewed as vicious, lowly, stupid, etc).