#I MEAN BECAUSE. I WILL LOOK AT FOOD AND SEE MOLD OR TINY BUGS OR WHATEVER ELSE ON IT AND I WILL POINT IT OUT

[poppyseed799]

My vision / observation skills are so much better than others it scares me

[localbugguy]

A Guide To Temecula Termites

Termites are a serious threat to your home and can be hard to spot. Termites can destroy the structural integrity of a building, so it's important to get them under control before they do too much damage. Knowing where they live and how they behave is important in understanding how to prevent termite infestations in your home, as well as what signs you should be looking for when you suspect that there might be an issue with these pests in your home.

Temecula pest control is a very important business in the United States today. It has been estimated that up to $1 billion per year is lost in property damage caused by termites. This is due to civil lawsuits and loss of business because homes and businesses are not usable if they have a termite problem.

How do you know if you have termites?

If you notice signs of termite infestation, it's important to take action quickly. The damage they can cause is not only costly but also dangerous.

Termites are known to cause structural damage to homes by eating through wood and other materials. They leave behind mud tubes as they travel from their nests in the ground up into your home's walls or floors. It's possible for them to be found in the soil around your house as well, so if you notice any unusual mounds or holes in your yard or garden beds that look like they could have been made by insects (or even just an unusually large amount of dirt), then it might be worth investigating further before it gets worse!

Do you have a termite problem in your home?

If you're wondering whether your home has a termite problem, look no further than the wood in your house. Termites are not visible to the naked eye and can cause damage to your home without you even knowing it. This can result in costly repairs that could have been prevented if only you had taken the time to inspect for signs of infestation early on.

Termites are most prevalent in any part of the country where there is access to moisture and food sources such as dead trees or grasses. While they tend not to live near large bodies of water due to its high salt content--which would kill them--they will still invade homes near rivers or lakes because these bodies provide plenty of moisture for their survival needs (i.e., drinking).

If you're looking for a professional pest control service in Temecula, California, look no further. Our termite control specialists understand that a bad infestation of pests can be devastating to your home and property. By completing regular inspections and treatments, we help keep your home free from termites, bed bugs, cockroaches, and rodents.

How do termites get into a home?

Termites are attracted to wood and other cellulose materials. They can enter through cracks in the foundation, or through holes in the walls. They can also enter through damaged wood, like firewood that's been left outside for too long.

If you see termites in your home or yard, contact a local pest control professional immediately!

How do I know if I have an infestation of termites?

If you want to know if you have a termite infestation, look for the following signs:

Damage to wood. Termites eat wood and leave behind a trail of destruction that can be seen by the naked eye. If you see cracked or damaged wood in your home or business, it is likely that these are signs of an infestation.

Mud tubes on the exterior walls of buildings. Mud tubes are created by termites when they travel from their colony into homes through small crevices in walls or floors (or even through pipes). These tubes can appear as tiny brown lines on surfaces like stucco, brickwork, and siding. They may also appear greenish-gray due to mold growth inside them from moisture seeping out from nearby structures around them over time - which is why it's important not just for homeowners but also for commercial property owners too! If you notice any kind of tube-like structure coming out from under your siding panels then this could mean there might be some problem with moisture levels inside your building which would require immediate attention before things get worse down the road.

Where are termites found in Temecula?

Termites are found throughout Temecula, but not all homes are at risk. Termites prefer to live in wood that is damp, dark, and warm. They can be found in both new and old homes that have been left unoccupied for a period of time such as during construction or after a holiday break.

If you suspect you have termite activity on your property, it is important to get an inspection done by an experienced pest control technician as soon as possible before more damage occurs!

What happens when I call for help from pest control companies to get rid of my termites?

When you call for help from pest control companies to get rid of your termites, here's what happens:

You'll receive a free inspection. The inspector will identify the type of termite infestation and determine whether it needs treatment. If so, he or she will provide you with a quote for treatment options and explain how each option works. If there are any additional costs associated with parts or labor that are not included in the original price quote (which may happen if there are extensive damages), these costs will also be discussed during this meeting.*

The inspector provides warranty information on all products used during services provided by him/her.*

There are many different types of pests that threaten the structures and safety of your home.

There are many different types of pests that threaten the structures and safety of your home. Termites are one such pest, and they can be found in many different areas of Temecula.

If you think that you have termites in your home, the first step is to call a pest control company. They will come out and inspect your property to determine what type of treatment is needed. If they find evidence of termites, they can provide information on how much it will cost for them to treat your home as well as offer suggestions on how best to protect yourself against future infestations.

The bug guy is a local termite inspector in Temecula. He has been providing pest control services for more than 15 years, and he offers comprehensive pest control solutions for both residential and commercial properties throughout Southern California. The bug guy focuses on proactive treatments that protect your home from pests and prevent an infestation from taking hold in the first place. Whether you need termite treatments, Fleas treatments,s or Bed Bug Treatment, The Bug Guy can help!

Local Bug Guy

27570 Commerce Center Dr Suit 225, Temecula, CA 92590

(951)-330-7400

[jaxsteamblog]

Cherry Blossoms

Click here to read the entire fic on AO3

For dinner, the family stayed in the large estate near to the village. The festival had attracted the Air Nomads for years, and this time they brought along the workers from the oilrig for a well-earned reprieve. All that meant Katara and Zuko couldn’t always be out in public or else they’d be swarmed.

And Katara wasn’t keen on getting attacked or kidnapped again, especially when she was in such a good mood.

“So what do you think of the festivities, Zuko?” Malina asked as she and Hakoda brought out large platters of food. Sokka followed after them with a covered tureen that still couldn’t contain the smell of seaprune stew.

“It’s been amazing. I have a weakness for festivals like this though.” Zuko replied.

“The kind that won’t piss off the spirits if you do them wrong, you mean?” Sokka asked, setting the tureen down on the table.

Katara leaned over and plucked off the lid, breathing in the steam. It smelled right for once.

“Who made this?” She asked, looking around. Hakoda opened his mouth but, looking past her, quickly shut it.

“It’s Gran-Gran’s recipe, Kat. Don’t worry.” Sokka interjected, picking up a ladle and slopping a generous scoop into a bowl. She narrowed her eyes at him but took it.

“Do you have a favorite festival?” Suki asked.

“Does it have to be Fire Nation?” Zuko asked in return.

“No?” Suki looked confused and Zuko leaned over to look in Katara’s bowl.

“I only ask because my favorite is an Earth Kingdom one. But I do have one I like a lot in Caldera.” He said and started pulling the bowl. Katara shoved it over and returned to the tureen.

“Let’s hear the favorite.” Suki said.

“I can’t remember what it’s called because I only got to see it when I was a kid.” Zuko started, picking up a spoon. “I must’ve been really young because my cousin was…”

Zuko smiled sadly and focused on the seaprune stew.

“Anyway, my mother had taken Azula and I to visit my uncle and a festival was going on when we got there. My cousin took my sister and I out to attend, and it was a lot of fun. The cherry blossoms were in peak bloom and there were picnics and tea; I knew it was probably my uncle’s favorite festival too.

“But at night, the town had set up these lights under the trees and you could walk around this garden looking at them. When the sun had fully set, other lights went on and they made sculptures with them. It blew my tiny little mind.” Zuko explained.

“So, a colony.” Hakoda said.

Katara sat up, but Zuko nodded.

“Yes.” He answered and looked back at Hakoda.

“I think,” Malina said slowly, resting her hand on Hakoda’s arm. “We can all appreciate what Zuko went through to end up here with us.”

Hakoda looked at Katara’s face and grumbled.

“My favorite is Avatar Day.” Suki stated, loudly clattering food onto a plate. Katara relaxed, rolling her eyes.

“We’re lucky Thuy’s not here.” Zuko said.

“That’d only be a problem if Katara said it was her favorite.” Sokka corrected.

“Oh for sure.” Suki said, drawing out her accent for effect. “Zuko can never leave Katara or else Thuy will smack him down.”

“Like she did his dad.” Sokka quipped and Zuko burst with a laugh.

“What’s your favorite festival, Sokka?” Malina asked.

“Love Day.” Suki and Katara shouted together and started laughing. Sokka groaned with loud exaggeration and Malina laughed lightly.

“I don’t like most festivals if they have fireworks. Those bug me.” He did say, tearing his flatbread into shreds.

“I like the solstice stuff. I get a kick out of how serious everyone gets when in reality they’re talking about Yue and my bratty sister.” He said finally and Katara launched a seaprune at him.

“What about you, Malina? Hakoda?” Zuko asked.

“Anything with good food is the best in my opinion.” Hakoda answered gruffly.

“Mine is similar to Zuko’s, actually. But I lived in the northern part of the Earth Empire and I think what you were talking about is in the south.” Malina said.

“Cherry blossoms bloom all the way up there?” Zuko questioned.

“Not natively, but for a long time the trees were a common gift the kings would send to each other. You can find them dotted all over capitals but only in the south are they everywhere.” Malina explained.

“They’re really something.” Zuko said.

“Oh yes. They reminded me of the North Pole, or at least, how my parents talked about the North Pole.” Malina said in a rush.

“Flowers?” Zuko asked.

“What about them?” Sokka snapped.

“How are they at all like the North Pole?” Zuko asked, bewildered.

Sokka looked over and met Malina’s eye, making Katara frown.

“I mean, have you actually looked at snow?” Sokka asked, turning to Zuko.

“You are clearly Piandao’s favorite.” Zuko murmured and Sokka scoffed.

“My parents would always talk about the North Pole when it snowed. Maliq and I would go crazy seeing how little it snowed inside Ba Sing Se, and how quickly the snowplows would come through.” Malina laughed and tapped Hakoda’s arm. “We were not prepared for coming back home.”

“Did you know that some places pickle cherry blossoms and make tea out of it?” Sokka asked and Zuko choked on his soup.

“Oh spirits what.” Sokka croaked.

Katara patted Zuko’s back and shrugged.

“Apparently it’s a wedding sort of tea and Iroh gave it to Zuko and me a while back.” She said.

“I was trying so hard not throw myself at you at that point too.” Zuko said, wiping his eyes.

“Excuse me?” Hakoda interrupted sharply and Malina snorted.

“Well, turns out you’re married by swamp standards so we should probably go pick up some more.” Sokka said.

“Excuse me?” Hakoda repeated.

“We have to get married before them, really.” Suki said, looking at Sokka.

“We should probably elope then, because at this rate they’ll be married twice over.” He said.

“Now hold on…” Hakoda leaned over the table and Zuko put his arm around Katara.

“We’re going backwards through the Avatar cycle. We just have to figure out which temple Aang was born at so we can get hitched there.” He said.

“No.” Hakoda said firmly, and everyone turned to him. “Both of my children are getting married in the South Pole.”

“Dad, we were just kidding.” Sokka said.

Hakoda sighed and leaned back.

“I know.” He said.

“And Suki and I are getting married in Kyoshi.” Sokka added.

Hakoda sputtered and even Katara turned to stare at Sokka. Her brother took Suki’s hand and stared down at their rings.

“I hate being in the Poles.” He said softly.

“What?” Hakoda and Katara shouted.

“O-kay.” Zuko stood up, jostling the table. “I’m taking Sokka to show me the penguins.”

“I can fight my own battles!” Sokka protested, but Suki also stood and the two of them grabbed either of his shoulders.

“I love you man, but I am trying to keep my future wife and father-in-law from hating my guts.” Zuko muttered as he and Suki started dragging him out of the room.

“That’s not my problem! Hey wait the stairs guys wai-” Sokka’s voice was cut off by the sound of chaotic thudding.

“So, Katara, what do you want to do for your birthday?” Malina asked.

Katara lowered her face into her hands and groaned.

~

“Cherry blossoms, huh?” Katara asked, laying on her back and looking up at Zuko.

Zuko’s long hair acted like a curtain as he propped himself over her. He was doing what he normally did when they were able to sleep together; trying to see which parts of her were ticklish as he lightly kissed her.

“They’re pretty.” He said with his lips against her shoulder.

“And very dainty.” Katara added.

“I’m not in love with cherry blossoms, Katara.” Zuko murmured, moving down to her collarbone.

“I’m just saying.”

“And I’m just saying. Though it would be nice to see you in a bath with some cherry blossoms. Seeing them stick to your skin.” Zuko laid himself on her and went back to her neck. “Mmmmm.”

“You just constantly run hot don’t you?” Katara said with a laugh threading through her words.

“You should have seen me as a young man.” Zuko said, pushing himself up to look directly at her. “And when I was plagued with thoughts of a very mysterious spirit.”

“You’re still a young man.” Katara retorted, putting her hands on his chest.

“Did you ever think of me?” Zuko asked.

“The Blue Spirit?”

“Yeah.”

Katara paused then, trying to recollect. Her memory was shoddy at best, and some events were warped by time and trauma.

She remembered her first kiss with Haru before staging a prison break to rescue his father. She remembered seeing Yue in the moonlight and knew love and heartbreak in the same moment as she saw Sokka’s face. She remembered digging her nails into Jet as if she could mold him into something else.

And she remembered the vigilante that she could never figure out.

“I used to dream about running into you over and over again in the war. We’d fight the same villains, we’d tease each other because we are always suspicious, and you would unmask yourself while proclaiming your eternal love for me.” Katara said.

“Funny, I always imagined the same thing.” Zuko said.

“I would never have unmasked.” Katara scoffed.

“There’d be no need.” Zuko said with a smile and then lowered himself again. “I told you that you sweat your stripes off.”

“Zuko!”

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 12: Eye in the Sky (originally published April 5, 2021)

AN: Now here's a chapter I'm sure you all will find interesting. Out of everything I've heard people declare to be super underutilized in Steven Universe Future, a lot of them say Nephrite shouldn't have been borderline erased from existence. Okay, I'm being a little dramatic there, but you get my point. In fact, none of the other corrupted Gems get anything important to do after Guidance. Well, I plan on changing that right now!

Synopsis: Nephrite needs help coping with corruption trauma, so Steven sets up a therapy group for formerly corrupted Gems.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Aparna Nancherla as Nephrite, Nephrite's crew

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon

Kimberly Brooks as Cherry Quartz

Jennifer Paz as Lapis Lazuli, Zuli

Featuring Auli'I Cravalho as Orange Spodumene

Kimiko Glenn as Blue Chalcedony

Tara Platt as Heaven and Earth Beetles

Tara Strong as Grossular Diopside

Phillipa Soo as Chrysocolla

Anika Noni Rose as Watermelon Tourmaline

And Aimee Carrero as Moonstone

--

Steven took a deep breath in as his Dondai Supremo wheeled into Little Homeworld while "I'm Looking Forward" played on his radio. "It's just a quick visit, Steven." He muttered to himself. "No need to get so uncomfortable, everyone is just fine."

As Steven stepped out of his car and looked around the Gem village, he found many of its residents minding their business. In particular, he found Cherry Quartz at Lapis's sculpturing class, partnered up with Zuli for an assignment.

"Oh, hey Steven." Cherry greeted Steven and motioned him over to check out the clay pumpkin she and Zuli were working on. "Lapis gave us an assignment to mold a vegetable out of clay, so Zuli and I chose a pumpkin. You like what we got so far?"

"Actually, I think pumpkins are fruits." Steven stated while observing the in-progress gourd model.

"Are you sure?" Zuli wondered, picking up the sculpture she and the Quartz were making. "Then why are they put next to carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, and other foods?"

"That's a pretty loaded question," Lapis said as she turned to the quizzical trio. "Pumpkins do have seeds inside of them like a fruit, but the nutrition is when they're most like-"

"Hi, Steven!" Nephrite interrupted Lapis to greet Steven.

"Hi there Nephrite, been a while since we talked." Steven said to Nephrite. "How are things with you and your crew?"

"Everything's been going good." Nephrite answered while stretching her arms. "Hey, sorry to interrupt you guys, but I came here because I got a little problem in Peridot's class."

"Oh, anything to help you guys." Steven stated, and then he turned to Lapis's students. "Sorry to leave so soon, but I got other things to do."

"It's alright Steven, I think we can manage." Cherry Quartz said before getting back to the pumpkin.

"Alright Nephrite, what are we dealing with?" Steven asked the former Centipeedle mother as they walked over to the greenhouse.

--

Inside the greenhouse, a small group of Gems was huddled around Peridot as she info-dumped about azaleas.

"Although the azalea is very beautiful, it can be very dangerous to humans as well." Peridot explained to her pupils. "The leaves and nectar contain grayanotoxins that can mix with honey to create mad honey, hello Steven, and can cause many symptoms, particularly those related to the heart."

As Peridot continued rambling, Nephrite brought Steven over to a sunflower in a pot that had a little bug-like creature skittering around the soil and stem. "See, that's what I'm talking about." Nephrite said. "Is this little bug bad for my sunflower in any way?"

Steven examined the critter as Nephrite held the pot to his face, allowing him a better look at it. "No, it's nothing to be scared of." He assured Nephrite. "And that's not a bug, it's an anthropod. A centipede to be exact."

Although Steven meant well, the reveal of the creature's name brought chills down Nephrite's spine. She began breathing rapidly, trembling uncontrollably as she dropped the flowerpot in fright and finally, letting out a loud shriek as she dropped to her knees, catching the attention of the rest of the class.

"Is something the matter?" Peridot asked gently while trying to console the formerly corrupted Gem.

"I was just telling her about the little guy that crawled into his sunflower, and then she started having a panic attack!" Steven exclaimed, almost just as lost as everyone else is.

"Maybe she doesn't like that thing." Teal Zircon guessed when she spotted the offending centipede and let it crawl onto her hand. "Aw, look at the little guy. Hey, Steven, you said it was a centipede, ri-"

"DON'T!" Nephrite yelled at TZ. "Don't ever say that word again!"

"Teal, can you stop being so insensitive towards others?" Steven scolded the Zircon.

"Sorry Steven, this was kinda my fault." Teal said remorsefully. "Hey, no hard feelings Nephrite?"

However, Nephrite was still too panicked to respond. She had gone from screaming like crazy to cradling her legs to her chest in front of the other Gems though, but Steven still felt worried for the one-eyed green Gem.

"You are aware that she was a corrupted Gem much like all of you, correct?" Steven said to the other Gems in the class, and they silently nodded before Steven turned to TZ.

"Nephrite, in particular, felt really lost when the Diamonds corrupted most of the Gems unlucky enough to remain on Earth, since she was separated from her crew." He explained. "Thankfully, I was able to reunite them all, but was unable to heal them until I got help from the Diamonds." That was when he got an idea. "That's it!"

--

"Thank you all for coming!" Steven announced to a group of formerly corrupted Gems sitting in a circle of folding chairs. "Now, it's come to my attention that at least one of you is still reeling from having been corrupted for thousands of years. This is a term I call PCSD, or post-corruption stress disorder." He began explaining. "It's kinda like PTSD, but I'm sure you get why it's so different."

Teal Zircon raised her hand, wanting to ask a question.

"Yes TZ?" Steven asked.

"So, where did you get the idea from exactly?" TZ asked Steven. "I mean, you could've just had a one-to-one sesh with Nephrite and you'd kinda get the same effect."

"Well, there are groups like this on TV shows I've heard of." Steven answered. "One guy would sit down with other people suffering the same problem as him, and they'd all take turns telling their stories in the hopes that they would get help. Now, anyone want to go first?"

"Us, us!" the Heaven Beetle exclaimed. "Hello, we're the Heaven and Earth Beetles."

"And we were corrupted." The Earth Beetle added.

"Hi, Heaven and Earth Beetles." The other ex-monsters greeted monotonously.

"See, you're already getting the hang of it!" Steven exclaimed happily. "Now, tell us your story you two."

"Unlike all of you guys, I think our corruption ran the deepest." The Heaven Beetle declared sadly.

"I'm pretty sure we even forgot what kinds of Gems we were." The Earth Beetle added before she took a look at her gem. "I mean, we certainly aren't Diamonds, but what could we be?"

"I think I may have a decent idea of what you could be." Teal Zircon answered before she used her monocle to project a holographic image of Gems that looked similar to the Beetles. "I think you might be Cubic Zirconias. You may be little, but you got a big influence over Homeworld."

"Though I'm curious," Steven responded. "why exactly did you ditch those guys for us when you live such a charmed life?"

"Well, those charmed lives were so drab." The Earth Beetle said. "Would it be oh so wrong to have a little excitement in your lives?"

"That is a good point." TZ muttered, prompting the other Gems seated to applaud the pair of Cubic Zirconias for opening up.

"Thanks you two for coming clean." Steven thanked the tiny twosome. "Now, who wants to go next?"

"I'll go." Orange Spodumene replied as she stood up. "Hello everyone, I'm Orange Spodumene and I was corrupted."

"Hi Orange Spodumene." The Gems greeted Orange Spodumene.

"Back in the old days, I went on many deep-sea adventures to collect life forms in places that no other Gem would dare to go!" Orange Spodumene began telling her story. "You all should've been there, the ocean life was beautiful. One of my favorite adventures was when I collected coral so that there'd be room for this Sea Shrine where tons of time things are stored. I'd be so happy to show you all my collection someday!"

"I never knew you were so into coral." Steven said to the deep sea Gem.

"I don't think you ever asked." Orange Spodumene replied before she continued. "Anyways, I didn't get the message to flee back to Homeworld and hid in the ocean when they pointed right at Earth. I thought that I would be safe from the Diamonds since the ocean is so dark and they couldn't see me, but I thought wrong. For the next couple thousand years, I just kept roaming around the ocean floor until I found Steven and then got bubbled."

"I'll go now." Watermelon Tourmaline said as she got up from her seat. "Hey, I'm Watermelon Tourmaline, and I was corrupted."

"Hi Watermelon Tourmaline." The other Gems said just as monotonously as before.

"Now, you may be wondering, weren't you a single Gem once upon a time? Why are you a fusion all of the sudden?" Watermelon Tourmaline asked rhetorically. "Well, I'm a different Watermelon Tourmaline than the one the Crystal Gems beat. I still find it super weird that there's two of me, but we learned to get along and even smash watermelons from time to time."

"Hey." The other Watermelon Tourmaline waved from her chair.

"Anyways, my components were brought together because Homeworld believed that fusing two Gems of the same type would give them an edge on the battlefield." The primary Watermelon Tourmaline continued speaking. "However, all they got was a big bouncy ball, so they just tossed me out. Didn't stop me from "bouncing back" though!"

The Gems began laughing at the Tourmaline's pun before Chrysocolla stood up. But even among the chucking, Nephrite refused to speak up.

"Hello, I am Chrysocolla." Chrysocolla introduced herself. "And I was corrupted."

"Hi, Chrysocolla."

"I once used my whips to uproot trees, but when I was that silly Slinker, I used them to be a real pain in the neck for the Crystal Gems." Chrysocolla explained. "But now, I can use my powers to not annoy others, but instead just have fun with them."

"Anything else you'd like to share with the group?" Steven asked Chrysocolla.

"I also have a bit of a fondness for history too." The former Slinker answered. "Particularly that one guy. What was his name again, Anderson Harold? Alexei Hammer?"

"You're probably thinking of Alexander Hamilton." Steven chuckled. "Hey Nephrite, you want to go next?" Nephrite just curled up on her chair and shook her head, much to Steven's disappointment. "Never mind." He muttered. "Uh, Grossular Diopside, how about you?"

"Gladly!" the little Gem exclaimed and stood up on her chair. "Hi, I'm Grossular Diopside, and I was corrupted!"

"Hi, Grossular Diopside."

"I had just emerged in the Alpha Kindergarten when the corrupting light hit, and I just wandered around with no idea what to do." Grossular explained. "But now that I'm here, I don't care what I was originally made for! All I want to do now is just enjoy life here on Earth."

"Hello, I am Blue Chalcedony." Blue Chalcedony said robotically. "And I was corrupted."

"Hi, Blue Chalcedony."

"I was heavily involved with helping to create new Kindergartens with my drills." Blue Chalcedony said, turning her hand into a drill as an example. "My drills were top of the line, so much that they impossibly kick reason to the curb, which was why Rose recruited me into the Crystal Gems."

"Howdy, I'm Moonstone." Moonstone said last. "And I was corrupted."

"Hi, Moonstone."

"My type of Gem was specifically made for stealth operations." Moonstone revealed. "Heck, we even got more than one weapon for the jobs we got!" As a demonstration, Moonstone began altering various parts of her body into various tools she would've used for her infiltration missions, to everyone's amazement. All except one.

"Hey, I don't think Nephrite over there has said anything yet." Moonstone realized as she gazed at the one-eyed Gem, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat before sadly getting up.

"I'm sorry." Nephrite apologized and began to leave. "I can see you all moved on, but I just can't."

"Nephrite, wait!" Steven cried as she ran after her before turning back to the group. "Uh, you guys go on without us!"

As Steven left, Snowflake Obsidian and Larimar turned to Teal Zircon, who was all too eager to tell her story. "Howdy, I'm Teal Zircon, and I was corrupted!"

"Hi, Teal Zircon."

--

Nephrite strolled sadly back to where it all began at Peridot's greenhouse and gazed down at the flowerpot she had dropped to the ground earlier that day. As it turned out, the centipede that started this whole mess was still there, and she wasn't happy to see it. "This is all your fault." She said angrily to the anthropod and raised a foot, ready to squish it, when someone stopped her in her tracks.

"Nephy!" Steven exclaimed, racing up to Nephrite and hugging her while shooing the centipede away. "I only wanted to help you! But why did you just run away like that?"

"Steven, I'm thankful for the kindness," Nephrite replied. "but sometimes, there are things you can never recover from in seconds flat. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, kinda." Steven admitted. "If it makes you feel any better, I brought along some friends who could help you."

"Captain?" another Nephrite asked for her leader as she and six other Nephrites entered the greenhouse with concern.

"We heard what happened from Steven." Another one of the Nephrites revealed. "How come you never told us about this PC-whatever you were suffering from?"

"Well for one, Steven just made that term up." Nephrite answered. "And second of all, he set up this support group for other corrupted Gems, but I just couldn't bring myself to talk about my experiences no matter how much the other members of the group wanted me to."

"Well don't worry cap, we were here for you back in the Rebellion and we'll be sticking by you now!" a third Nephrite cheered, bringing a smile to their leader's face as she shed a few tears of joy.

"Thanks you guys." Nephrite said as she joined her teammates in a big group hug. "I think I'm ready now."

"That's the spirit." Steven declared and he took Nephrite's hand and led her out of the greenhouse. "Come on, let's get going. I don't know how long TZ can keep talking."

--

"And that was the story of how I realized Jasper would soon become my best friend!" Teal Zircon finished a story for her fellow Gems, and there was much clapping as Steven returned with the Nephrites alongside him. "Oh hey Steven, hey Nephrite! You guys should've seen it, I was telling them all about that fight with Jasper and-"

"I think that's enough TZ." Steven chuckled. "After all, Nephrite's finally ready to talk."

"Oh yeah, I'd love to hear your story." Teal said happily. "No hard feelings about that centipede Nephy?"

"Water under the bridge." Nephrite sighed wistfully. "But still, it pays to be a bit more sensitive of others." With that, she took her seat again and finally began to speak for the other formerly corrupted Gems. "Hello, my name's Nephrite, and I was corrupted."

"Hi, Nephrite."

Nephrite turned to Steven and her fellow Nephrites, who watched on happily. "My crew and I were sent down to Earth to fight for Homeworld in the Gem War. We fought with all our might, but when we were called back home because the Diamonds were about to launch their final attack, our team got separated. I was so scared about what was going on, but then we all got turned into monsters."

The other Gems gasped as Nephrite continued. "When I first met Steven, it wasn't on the best of terms. I think he threw some kind of container at me to poof me."

"That's true." Steven revealed jokingly.

"Anyways, the next times we met were a lot friendlier." Nephrite's story became on its way to a happy ending. "The third time around, he even almost healed me! But it didn't last long, though because of that, I was able to reunite with my crew. They were waiting for me in our old ship this whole time, and I'm pretty sure you know the rest."

The rest of the group aww'd while Nephrite sat down, and she gave her thanks to Steven with an earnest smile. Steven returned it in kind.

--

Sorry this chapter was a bit short compared to the rest, but I feel I did what I wanted to do. And speaking of which, next chapter we move onto Bismuth Casual, which will feature the grand return of a certain "mystery girl" that fans have been begging to see again.

[creativeskullcreations]

Outside chapter 12: Move Out!

Whoo, got this up in time! :D

And we're meeting Stacy's other two friends! I hope y'all like them, or at least grow to like them cause we'll be seeing them a lot more in the coming chapters. They're important to the story. ;D

The apartment was full of boxes of Stacy's stuff that Will had spent however long packing for her. To the young woman, who hadn't been home in weeks, it was an odd feeling seeing her home in boxes, with her shelves and closet empty. Currently she was helping to move said boxes into the U Haul outside. By which I mean she was holding the door for Will and Mason, who were the ones actually moving the boxes. While the boys were busy, Lisa was cleaning out the cupboards and fridge, which Will had forgotten about completely despite being there so often.

"Seriously, Will! You've been over here for how many days, and never thought to check the fridge for leftovers?" Lisa asked as she threw the food, Tupperware and all, into the trash. "What, were you just bringing food from home everyday?"

"Yes." Will answered seriously, not looking up from his work. The blonde woman stared dumbfounded before rolling her eyes.

"Unbelievable! Mason! You hearing this shit?" She called. Mason gave a thumbs up as he walked by, arms laden with shoe boxes. Stacy watched him closely, not wanting to lose her old games in case he dropped them. Not that she could do much to catch them with only one arm, but she could at least yell at him for it.

"It's not that big a deal, Lisa." She told her friend, after making sure Mason could navigate the stairs okay. "Really, most of the stuff in there had probably already gone bad anyways."

"That's not the point! It's still a waste!" The blonde insisted, dumping a bottle of juice with clouds of mold floating in it into the trash. Stacy winced, knowing she'd bought that back in December and then forgotten about it. It was still mostly full, too.

"Yeah..." She moved back to the couch, where she'd left her bag. Inside the bag was Scout with the Switch. It was a risk bringing her while they did this, but somehow Stacy felt it would be a bigger risk to leave her behind. So she'd brought her along, making her she had the Switch to stay entertained, even if she had to keep the sound off. And so far, nobody seemed to have noticed.

She opened the bag, peering inside. The Puppet was curled up in the bottom, the Switch off and sitting next to her. "Hey, you okay in there?" She asked quietly.

"I'm fine!" Scout hissed back. "Close the fucking bag!" Stacy did so, zipping it all the way shut and leaving it on the couch. She sat next to it, watching the others work to pack up her home, moving the boxes down to the U Haul in the street. She wanted to help, but the few times she attempted to she dropped stuff, and then Will finally made her stop.

Still, she felt restless, so much so that eventually she grabbed her bag and stood up. "Hey, I'm going for a walk! I'll be back later!" She called out. Mason, who was nearby, gave her a wave of acknowledgement.

"Don't get eaten by the gators." He told her. She waved back, but ignored him as she went down the stairs, pausing just at the door to open it back up and grab Scout out of it.

"Hey!" She protested, but Stacy ignored her, holding her in the crook of her right arm as she swung her bag back on. It was difficult to do one handed, and she did need to try and maneuver around Scout, but she managed to get it back on

"We're going for a walk. You need some air." She told the Puppet as she did this. Said Puppet still struggled to try and break free, pounding fabric fists against her arm.

"No I fucking don't! I need to go back in the bag!" She fought against her Host, but was ignored as Stacy continued out of the lobby and walked down the sidewalk outside.   Eventually she gave up, realizing that her fighting would only attract the attention of strangers. Instead she huddled back against Stacy's body at the largeness of the world around her, that she only now viewed completely unobscured. She stared with wide eyes as the human hurried her way down the street, crossing it periodically, until she came to a place empty of buildings.

Greenery covered the area, a shade the Puppet had never seen before in fact. There was a large body of water in the middle, and some odd, colorful object in one "corner" of the area. Tiny Hosts, children, were playing on the objects, but Stacy went right by them. Instead she headed down the path to a more secluded and wooded area. She sat cross-legged by a tree, finally letting Scout go. The Puppet flopped over in her lap.

"Why are we even out here?" She griped, staring at the grass. There was a weird red bug not far away, that she hoped wouldn't come close to them. If it even tried she would smack it.

"Because you need fresh air. You can't just hide in the bag all day, no matter what Will says." Stacy told her. "Besides, I don't like watching them do all that for me, knowing I can't help them." She very much did NOT look at her stump, absolutely not. Instead she stared through the trees at the still somewhat visible lake. There were ducks on it, and she could see a couple of people feeding them.

She wondered if Scout would like feeding them.

Rather than getting up, though, she stayed seated, letting Scout look around instead. She'd been meaning to bring the Puppet out here, but hadn't had a chance before the hospitalization. And then there was the remainder of the healing, taken place at Will house - now her and Will's house - during which he'd barely let her out of sight. It was only after an intense, whispered argument that he'd even begun to let up and allow her to do stuff for herself again, though he'd still hovered.

And now they were finishing packing up her apartment, ready to make the move complete. It was a shame, in her mind. She really did love her independence. But, it was better for everyone involved if this move happened. Especially Scout. If her and Will staggered their schedules, someone could be with her at all times.

(Stacy didn't know yet why that was so important, though. She just knew she didn't want Scout alone.)

But now, at least, she could take Scout out to enjoy some nature. And even now she had crawled down to the ground to pick at the grass, and Stacy winced when she thought of the grass stains that would form. But, she didn't stop her, letting her explore around a little, and look at things. Scout even picked up a stick, though she only used it to swat a ladybug.

Soon the Puppet climbed back into her lap, looking mildly disgusted and agitated. "I hate it here. It smells fucking weird, and I want to go back to your house."

Stacy snorted, but complied, getting up with only a little difficulty. Scout climbed up to her shoulder, stick still in hand. "Fine, we'll go back. It's almost lunch time anyways. Also what you're smelling is the trees and grass."

"The trees and grass fucking stink." Scout grumbled, and Stacy did laugh quietly at that, and got smacked lightly with the stick for it.

"Well, you're not wrong." She admitted, grabbing the stick away from the Puppet and dropping it on the ground. "It can be kinda an acquired taste, so to speak."

"Ew." Scout muttered, covering her nose as they started back the way they'd come. She glared suspiciously at the plants as they passed, as though she was worried they'd spray their stench right at her.

Stacy wondered what she'd think about skunks when she found out about them.

They made their way back to Stacy's apartment in silence, though it was a more comfortable silence than before. As Stacy made her way back upstairs to her apartment, Scout took the chance to hide in the bag. Stacy may believe her friends were good, but that didn't mean Scout did. Not that it mattered much, anyways.

Soon after Stacy got back, the group decided to go for lunch, which really just meant that Mason went to get McDonald's. Stacy asked for a Happy Meal, then slipped the opened toy into her bag for Scout when no one was looking. She didn't know if the Puppet would even want the little Barbie, but it certainly didn't hurt to offer it up.

They all ate quickly, talking and laughing as they did. Lisa ribbed Will on when he would propose, now that they were living together. "You only have so long before her other hand goes." She pointed out jokingly. "Then where will you put the ring?"

Will just shrugged, and Stacy pelted her with chicken nuggets. Mason laughed.

"The neck, obviously. She'd need a nice collar to help keep her out of trouble." He explained. "I could even make you a fancy chain for night time if you need it."

"Wow!" Stacy gave an over exaggerated gasped, though she wasn't really offended. Far too often had she sneaked out at night to go explore some place or another. "And right after I threw my nuggets at Lisa, too!"

"Don't fault me on my timing!" Will smacked a ketchup packet on the back of his head, making a horrid squelching sound. "Ew! Will!" The man's voice jumped up several octaves, but Will just kept on chewing his burger.

"Oof. That's gonna need a shower. You're showering when we get home Mason." Lisa said as he tried to clean his hair with some napkins.

Eventually, though, they managed to finish eating and get back to packing. And after that it wasn't long before all of the boxes loaded up into the U Haul. As they filtered out, Mason, Will, and Lisa carrying the last few boxes, Stacy paused to take one last look.

The living room looked just like it had before she moved in. Kind of sad, really, even with the memories it brought back. She could almost see herself and her family helping her move in four years ago, and remembered the excitement she'd felt back then. Or when she'd bring Will over, before he'd moved out here himself, and how much fun they'd have.

She didn't want to leave. Will had to come back up and lead her out, then drop the keys off at the office with her.

Stacy got into the U Haul with Mason and they made their way to Will's house. They would unload it tomorrow, with another fast-food lunch somewhere in there. Until then they were all due for a good night's sleep and some real food for supper.

After Mason and Lisa left and Will started on dinner, Stacy opened up her bag to finally let Scout out. "Finally!" The Puppet gasped out dramatically, flopping out onto the couch. "I though I was going to fucking die!"

"Oh please, you were fine." Stacy snorted. "And don't worry, tomorrow we'll be working here and you can stay in the bedroom. I'll make sure Lisa and Mason stay out of there."

"Uuuuugh!" She groaned, rolling onto her back. "How much longer do I have to deal with them?!" She yelled at, and Stacy almost did laugh at that.

"You aren't dealing with anything but being in the bedroom." She told the Puppet, standing up to go set the table. "Do you wanna eat supper with us tonight?" She asked, more than a little hopeful.

"Nah, you guys go on ahead." She said, already making her way across the couch to the remote. "I found this cool show I wanna watch instead."

"Oh. Did you want me to bring you some food, then?" Stacy hoped she would say yes. She didn't know for sure if Scout needed to eat, but didn't want her to go hungry either way.

"Nope." The Puppet said, in a tone that signaled the end of any discussion on it. Stacy didn't push, and instead went into the kitchen herself. She leaned on the counter on her good hand and sighed heavily.

"You can't make her eat or join us if she doesn't want to." Will told her, deadpan. Stacy pouted.

"I know. But!" She shot up. "What if she needs to eat? What if she starves herself because of something I did? Or because she hates it here?" Will stopped stirring the meat in the pan, fixing his girlfriend with a hard stare.

"Stop freaking out." He told her, then blinked as he realized something. "Wait... Did you take your meds today?" He asked.

"No they need to be refilled. But I'm fine without them, these are real concerns, Will!" She insisted, and he just sighed, turning back to the pan.

"Yeah... we're getting those refilled as soon as possible." He muttered, though not quietly enough.

'Will!" Stacy smacked the counter, but was ignored.

[razorblade180]

Twin Snowflakes pt10: Expedited Exam pt1

“Thank you miss!” a group of three kids say with crumbs on their face and new red coats. Summer kneels down and wipes the middle child’s face, making him giggle. No problem little ones. I wish I could do more but this is all I have for now. Stay warm and go back to that that nice man’s mechanic shop if you ever need help okay?

“Okay.” They give her a big hug before running off.

Summer:Phew! That makes twenty five. I wish I had brought more money. Starting to run low.

Winter:You could swipe your card.

Summer:I never bring it down here. That little boy just now, last time he stole it.

Winter:What!?

Summer:Yeah it caught me by surprise when it happened the first time. Hehe It’s a good thing a little kid with a SDC credit card is highly suspicious. Those three tried buying an entire grocery story.

Winter:And you still let him hug you?

Summer:Everyone needs a good hug. Now let’s go to the la-

“Ms?” A small voice called out her from behind her w gave Summer a little scare. It was a little girl’s doing. Her face was all dirty and her black hair was unkept. Tiredness was in her big golden eyes.

Summer:H...hi. I don’t think I’ve seen you before. Are you okay? What’s your name.

Ruth:M..my is Ruth. *shivering*

Summer:Ruth huh? Where did you come from.

Ruth:My parents they....lost all their money. So they lost me too.

Winter:*frowning* That’s...terrible. They didn’t even give you to law enforcement or an orphanage?

Ruth:They did, but it’s hard there. I don’t like it at all. So I left.

Summer:You look cold. *unzipping jacket*

Winter:What are you-

Summer wrapped her over sized jacket around the kid. She couldn’t be older than twelve. Maybe even ten. The warm fire dust glowed and made Ruth’s eyes widen. Summer smiledat the reaction. “Pretty cool right?” A sudden weight rested on her back. She looked up to see Winter standing over them both without her military coat on. Summer chuckled bashfully at Winter’s exhausted expression.

Summer:Whoops. I’m probably stressing you out a little huh?

Winter:More than a little. Better safe than sorry.

Ruth:Th...Thank you.

Summer:The cold is a dangerous thing. Can’t let it get too close now can we? This might not fit you but hey, it’ll make a good blanket this way. Tell me, do you know the name of the orphanage?

Ruth:S...Saint Harold’s.

Summer:I’ll tell you what. If you go back there then I’ll promise I’ll do everything I can to make sure it gets a bunch of nice things so you won’t want to runaway. I might not look like it, but I’m super good at getting nice things.

Ruth:You’ll do that?

Summer:Of course! I would never lie, it would ruin my image.

Winter:And you were raised better than that.

Summer:I was getting to that part hehe. So, do we have a deal little lady?

Ruth:....You’re really gonna help out.

Summer:It’s an Arc promise. That’s worth like a hundred pinky promises. But if you want more convincing then we can make it a hundred and one.

She takes off one glove and holds out pinky in front her then wiggles it. Ruth simply stare at for a moment before it registers that she’s supposed to do it back. The tiny girl extends her pinky and watches Summer curl them around each other and give it a little tug. Something about the whole situation makes Ruth smile deep down. ‘This lady, she’s so sweet. Like an Angel.’

Summer:There we go. A hundred and one promises. Now do we have a deal?

Ruth:Y...Yes ma’am! Can you walk back with me?

Summer:I-

Oh yes, I wouldn’t mind seeing such a place. Every floor, every room, child....

......

Winter:Summer?

Summer:Huh? Sorry....spaced out for a second.

Ruth:Wow, your pinky is really cold.

Summer*lets go* Sorry about that. *puts on glove* As much as I would love to, I have to go do something really important. It’s another promise I have to keep. My Auntie would be more than happy to though; right Winter?

Winter:Are you sure?

Summer:Don’t worry about me. We’ll go to the lake some other time. I should be heading home anyways. I’ll someone and wait somewhere warm.

Winter:.....

Summer:Do I have to make a promise with you too?

Winter:I believe you, be careful though. Now then Ruth, you wanna hold my hand or be carried?

Ruth:*pouts* I am way too old to be carried.

Winter:A big girl? Okay then. Lead the way then.

Ruth:*grabs her hand* Foward march!

Winter:Hehe looks like I found a little trooper too. *walking off*

Summer:(On my own yet again.)

We both know that’s not true...when are you ever truly alone?

Summer:(Shut it....)

xxxx

“Order up. One hot chocolate, extra steaming for Schnee?”

“Thanks..” Summer said tossing what little cash she had left on the counter.

One of these days those are gonna make you f-

Summer takes a long sip of the beverage to the point she tips her head back a little. The barista’s jaw left open in amazement. “D..doesn’t that burn?” Summer finally puts the cup away and down on the counter. “If only.”

The sound of automated bells went off as the front door open. “There’s my niece; isn’t it a school day?” She turned around to see her uncle in a pristine white suit and red tie with a ice blue shirt under it. His hair was combed to the side and most importantly, his face was free of facial hair.

Summer:Hey uncle Whitley. Oh you know how school and I mix. We don’t. You look nice. Wait are you heading to work? I could’ve called someone else to pick me up.

Whitley:It’s fine. Not like they can fire me for being late. Besides, I was already picking up someone else. *steps aside*

Nick:......

Summer:.....Before you give me the “go to school” lecture, can you buy me another drink?

Nick:....I would give you that speech, but I have a better one in mind.

Summer:Do I still get a refill?

xxxx

Summer:That’s insane Nicholas. *sips drink*

Nick:Or maybe it’s genius.

Whitley:It sounds perfect insane time me.

Nick:Hey! This is a back of the limo conversation.

Whitley:I should hit the brakes for that but have it your way.

Summer:He’s right though. Just take the normal exam. You’re just gonna use the free time you created to do more work. Do you know what taking a break is?

Nick:No but I know the answer to all questions on the science test! Do you?

Summer:Yeah. Because I can learn everything in class the day it’s presented.

Nick:You should take tougher classes.

Summer:Gross. Learn to optimize learning. Maybe if you relaxed regularly then your brain could absorb information easier.

Nick:Never! This could be a win on multiple levels you see? I get more things done, Valerie feels even for me saving her-

Summer:Saving her?

Nick:She almost got ran over by some idiot driver on the way to school.

Summer:WHAT!?

Nick:Yeah it was crazy. It was a mustang with a bird on the side or something. That’s not the point. You also get a win because then you don’t have be in the women’s locker room and deal with that drama; which I wish you told someone about.

Summer:I mean.....I told Valerie

Nick:Ok well, I wish you told me.

Summer:Why?

Nick:Be...because........

Summer:?

The limo went silent and the boy seemed more frayed then usual l. He rubbed his fingers through his long messy hair before pulling out fifty lien and holding it front of Summer. “Please take it.” It wasn’t bribe money to help him. No, it was what they always did when they wanted a conversation topic to die.

Summer:The Throwaway Question? What is so hard about answering what I said.

Nick:Please just take the money and forget about it? I don’t have the energy to have that talk so let’s not have it. I always accept your money.

Summer:....*takes money* You get off easy this time but be ready if this topic gets brought up again.

Nick:*leans against window* I know I know. So, you really aren’t gonna help me with this? It’s perfect practice for the tournament for the both of us. Plus when is the last time the three of us got to fight together. I get tired seeing a tomahawk flying at my face; sometimes I want to see it helping me and not dropping my aura into the red.

Summer:You sound so bitter right now.

Nick:I’m winning gold in that tournament even if it fucking kills me! Oops, sorry uncle.

Whitley:I ain’t your parents.

Summer:....How bad do you want this to happen.

Nick:I don’t like the way you said that. What do you want?

Summer:I need your help with something.

Nick:I’m not singing.

Summer:You are literally the worst sometimes. You don’t even know what the cause is for!

Nick:Ugh, what’s the cause?

Summer:I’m thinking we get a little fundraiser going to get money for Mantle. Specially the food drives and an orphanage called Saint Harold’s.

Whitley:An orphanage? What brought that idea up.

Summer:I met a girl who recently has been placed there. I promised her that I would make it a nice place; I Arc promised.

Nick:Crap, you would. Now I’m obligated to help. *sinks into seat* can’t we just write a check? I don’t wanna sing.

Summer:That’s not fun.

Nick:When would I have the time to even put a fundraiser together. I’m a busy guy.

Summer:Uggh, I hate it when you’re right.

Whitley:Whatever check you two write, I’ll double it.

Summer:Really!?

Whitley:I’m usually holding back molding on meaningless events and it gets board members angry. You’d be giving me a valid excuse. Plus it’s a good use of our money.

Summer:Thanks, that means a lot. *smiles*

Nick:Am I off the hook?

Summer:Not even close. If I do this then that means I’m not singing at the tournament, so stop bugging me about it.

Whitley:Doesn’t that put him in the same position of messing up his schedule? Now he has to find something to fill that slot and make sure it’s good.

Nick:I apologize for trying to not include you in this conversation.

Whitley:I know. I don’t understand why you don’t duet with your sister at the tournament.

Nick:I take it back. Stop giving her ideas.

Summer:Too late! Those are my conditions. Take it or leave it.

Nick starts chewing on his lip as Summer offers a formal handshake. The deal wasn’t terrible. It only meant he’d be doing at minimum two tough matches and was still expected to entertain a crowd. That’s a tiring day; not to mention singing rehearsal. Knowing his sister, she probably won’t put him through the ringer. This exam does take care of practice as well.

Summer:So we shaking hands or not?

Nick:Don’t make me try any high notes.

Summer:Deal!

Nick:*shakes hand* Good, now you better be ready for tomorrow. I’m pretty sure we only get one shot at this.

Summer:I have a feeling you already have a plan to pass.

Nick:Oh Summer, when don’t I have a plan?

xxxx

The afternoon dragged on into night. Nicholas has spent hours with Summer and Valerie on face time to discuss their plans for tomorrow’s victory. Eventually all three of them called it a night and finally went to bed. Some of them a bit anxious about the whole thing; while others were anxious about school in general.

However night was just starting for Veronica was still on the open seas. Her gaze fixated on the moon’s reflection on the water and the dispersed glaciers everywhere. A sign that the boat was indeed getting closer to its intended destination. Two floor easels are propt up on each side of Veronica while a pencil and notebook are at the ready in her hands. She began drawing and sketching diligently; gaining ideas with each stroke until a shadow loomed over the immediate area.

Veronica:You’re blocking the light ma.

A new light quickly pushed away the darkness. Veronica smiled and looked up to see Yang looking at sketches littered everywhere; her hair glowing beautifully. Veronica went back to working.

Veronica:That works too I suppose. Always showing off. Not like I’m one to talk.

Yang:What are you working on?

Veronica:Concepts for a new fashion line. The water and scenery is the perfect cool color scheme to contrast the fiery design I want to create.

Yang:Fiery? Well I-

Veronica:Nope, won’t work. Not to put you down but your flames are a bit boring.

Yang:Boring!!?

Veronica:Seem them all my life. A grand inferno of some sort. I’m hoping the glow of Mantle’s warm glow from its heat generators against the tundra is what will do the trick.

Yang:Inspiration? That’s what motivated you to go on this trip? Menagerie getting too cramped for you?

Veronica:Something like that. I was always too much for that place anyway. Not that Solitas is exactly better. Airships roaring hourly, and the people frankly aren’t my kind of crowd for obvious reasons.

Yang:One person from Atlas definitely has your attention in a good way. As for the other...

Veronica:*flips page* I know what you’re doing. I rather not think about either of them right now. Too busy concentrat-

Her pencil breaks as she finishes another outline. Slowly her grip on it tightens intensely before she takes a deep breath and sets it down. Veronica’s hand reaches for her tail and rubs it rhythmically as she continued looking at the moon.

Yang:Blake told me something interesting before we left. About why she’s usually the one who doesn’t have to try too hard to get you to pipe up. I hope you know... I’ll listen to whatever you want to talk about. Including the emotional stuff. Everyone gets that way.

Veronica:I know that.

Yang:Still gonna be tight lipped though I see.

Veronica:No, there’s nothing to talk about. Just enjoying the view. The full moon never looked prettier than tonight.

Yang:Full moons still freak me out. The fact the gods fixed it as proof of their power is crazy. Even I almost wanted to kneel to them.

Veronica:I’d be more impressed if they did something meaningful instead of correcting their own foolish mistake. Anyways, when will we get to Atlas?

Yang:Ships slow down from here because of the glaciers. Then we port and take an airship. We still have plenty of time to kill. Wanna grab some dinner? The captain is eating with everyone tonight. I’m sure his fancy outfit has something interesting you might find.

Veronica:I’ve seen it already. It’s very tacky and daft. A far cry from even my earliest work.

Yang:I bet it’s more cost efficient at the very least. I mean those outfits in your room-

Veronica:Will be worth every last lien it took to obtain those necessary materials. Not every day I get use Grade A stuff. If all goes well then my pieces will notoriety and I can by better stuff.

Yang:You’ve thought about this a lot, haven’t you? I’m proud.

Veronica:*smiles* Of course you are. I’m great. Now if you excuse me...

She gathers all her belongings in a way everything touches each other. Her hand rests on top of it all and the items sink into the floor along with her. “I’m going to lay down.”

Yang:I’ll bring some food to your room later.

Veronica:Thanks. *vanishes*

Yang’s eyes looked towards the railing of the ship. Veronica’s pencil still rested on top motionless. “She forgot her pencil? That’s re-” The moment her finger grazed it, the pencil shattered and the railing was cracked.

Yang:Sigh...hard to read and fiery inside. I wish she’d simmer down. It’s like I’m dealing with mom. *rubbing her head* Oh geez, I really have become dad....

xxxx

Harriet:So, you actually managed to talk them into it?

“Yep!” Nicholas said proudly as he pumped his fist outward. The trio stood on the track ready for their exam; each of them in their standard fighting clothes instead of school uniforms. Not that Nichola’s clothes make too much of a difference. Semi formal is typically his style after all. His mostly white pants and shirt were replaced with icy blue this time around. His vest abandoned. He had a feeling that he’ll end up thrown into the ground before his friends finish the battle. Nick took the first three buttons on his shirt and undid them. As well as slicked his messy hair back. “I’m gonna take this seriously from the jump!” The cold edge of Mort Froide already unsheathed and lightly scraping the ground at his feet.

Valerie stood ready in a light brown coat with fur around the collar, sleeves, and bottom rim. Underneath is a pink shirt with a white lightning pattern that makes it look like it’s cracking. Navy blue leather pants and light brown fur boots complete the look. A pair of blue matching leather holsters on held her twin tomahawks nicely across her back; accessible at any given moment. “I can’t believe we’re actually attempting this.”‘excitement and wariness crept from her voice. “Might as well hand us diplomas if we manage to win.”

Summer wore a similar outfit to yesterday. Thermals and all, except for jacket that was still in Ruth’s possession. It was gonna be a bit hard to explain to Penny how the newest creations she made had already been lost. Penny was nice but Summer knew she was in for a earful whenever she eventually has to ask for another one. Her left hand rested on the blade at her hip. “I honestly don’t remember any class of Paladin being this big. It’s at least one and half times the size of a fully matured Goliath.”

Her keen eyes scouted their soon to be battlefield. It makes sense to use the track area. Plenty of space. Still, every thing about gym still irritated her to no end.

Harriet:Summer, I’m glad you could make it to my class finally. Even if it is after school.

Summer:Teach....you look lovely today.

Harriet:......

Summer:Sigh....I’ll show up to class.

Harriet:You promise?

Summer:An Arc can’t go making promises willy nilly. But I assure you that there’s no need to worry. I won’t try to cause any more problems.

Harriet:We’ll see about that. I’m not gonna give you too much of a hard time about it. Focus on the task at hand and depending on how this goes I might sweep a few absences under the rug. Maybe turn a couple zeros in your grade book to something more pleasant.

Summer:Really? Yes ma’am! I appreciate the generosity.

Harriet:*smiles* You three will start the moment you move your feet or when the five minutes timer I start beeps. I’ll be up on the bleachers the entire time watching to make sure everything goes fine. The Paladin as your data uploaded into it. That means it knows your aura level; it’ll stop targeting you once you are in the red. Remember, all of you will still pass if only one of you remains when it’s defeated; individual letter grades will be different depending how much you fumble through this. I suggest you take this time discussion any plan of attack. Break a leg.*walks off* Not really though!

Summer: Five minutes. Wanna go over the game plan one more time?

Valerie:Didn’t commit it to memory last night Snow Princess?

Summer:You were the one dozing in and out during the video call. Do you remember everything?

Valerie:*red* Hehehe, ya got me. Nicholas...?

Nicholas:The Paladin is equipped with rubber bullets, stun lasers, concussion grenade, and thrusters for maneuverability. Not to mention it could just out right hit us with its body. It is made out of the finest metal; annoyingly hard to scratch. Fortunately, so are our weapons.

Summer:One lap around the track is three miles and the Paladin starts in the middle. No doubt able to attack with at least it’s bullets and maybe it’s laser from that position. Long ways, going from one end of the track to the other his half the distance, 1.5 miles, or 7920 feet.

Valerie:If it’s in the middle then we’re actually going .75 miles, 3960 feet. Definitely within laser range.

Nicholas:Traveling .75 miles is also the total distance walking across the track going from the short ways. Making reaching the center .375 miles, 1980 feet wouldn’t be too unbelievable for its concussion grenades to reach us.

Summer:Spatial awareness is everything. We can bait out certain attacks to deplete its ammo. Adjusting accordingly, even when it moves. So let’s-

Valerie:That’s right! Keep different distances from different positions. I knew I’d remember eventually. We’ll rotate between long, mid, and close range when necessary. I’ll get in close.

Nicholas:I’ll start in midrange

Summer:Leave long range to me then. I’ll cover both of you so don’t worry.

Harriet: 30 seconds!

Nicholas:Looks like we’re good to go. Valerie, Summer you’re sort of cornerstones of this.

Valerie:Huh?

Summer:What’s that mean?

Nick:As long as you’re the one watching me Summer then I know you’ll never let me fall. You seem to always give me what I need before even I do. Reading each other is second nature at this point. Valerie, your pure strength and will has always inspired me during any battlefield or boring situation. That’s why I push myself, so I can keep up. Let me not forget how amazing your semblance is as well. Couch Bree wanted both of you for this because she knows the three of us are a force to be recognized. Passing this exam was never insane in my eyes. So thanks for believing in me. I’ll do all that I can.

Harriet: 10 seconds!!!

The two of them were stunned by his words. His genuine confession of his feelings about the pair. Summer’s eyes looked like they were dancing while Valerie couldn’t help but be a little touched by the praise. It was lucky that the cool air already had her face a bit red. They locked eyes and gave a smile as well as a nod. They weren’t going to misplace trust.

Harriet:Three!!!!

Valerie:We got this.

Harriet:Two!!!

Summer:Easy A

Harriet:One!!!

Nicholas:Let’s get to it then...

Harriet:Beg-

All three dash at the same time. Valerie straight ahead, Summer to the far left end, and Nicholas around to the right. “ LET’S GO!”

Part 9

[mindfulwrathwrites]

What Is This, An Elder God For Ants?

A story about a cosmic horror, told from the perspective of the cosmic horror.

Words: 1,937 Warnings: Animal death

View on main site

...

I used to have an ant problem in my kitchen. It's probably not what you're picturing—they didn't get into the sugar or set up camp in the coffee. I kind of wish they had. There's people who deal with that kind of thing for a living.

No, I'm pretty sure the ants in my kitchen found religion.

I don't remember exactly when it started. There wasn't any big event, any one moment I can pick out and say "this is Point A." At some point, ants got into my kitchen. It was probably spring, because that's when ants get into kitchens. They did ant things for a while. I didn't bother getting rid of them because I was in a really shitty place and just dragging myself out of bed in the morning was almost too much. The ants were just the shitty icing on a shitty cake, and I couldn't be assed to care about them.

Thinking back on it, that's probably why I didn't worry too much when it did start to get weird.

The first time I remember, it was early in the morning, probably on a Monday. I wake up before sunrise so I can get to work before rush hour hits, so my commute only takes an hour instead of two. That's not important, really, it's just that it was early and my brain hadn't turned on yet. There was only one ant on my kitchen counter. It wasn't running around, looking for food, following pheromone trails, or anything that ants usually do. It was just kind of standing there, waving its antennae, occasionally turning side to side like it was lost, or something. Waiting for something. It was tiny, I mean, all the ants were tiny, but it never really registered before then. Watching it, waiting for my coffee to brew, I started to feel kind of sorry for it.

Stupid, but what can you do. I might have let a little sugar spill off my spoon on the way to my coffee. I might have let it fall right in front of that tiny, lost ant. I might have done it on purpose, I don't know. I forgot about it ten seconds later. I didn't remember about it for another two weeks.

The next time I noticed something weird, there were a lot of ants.

Not a lot of ants in like, a swarm kind of way. Probably there were only about a dozen of them, but they were all just standing there, all just waiting—and all facing towards the edge of the counter. I don't think they were watching me. I did feel like they were waiting, probably for me to drop more sugar.

I smushed one of them. I'd had a hard week, and the last thing I wanted was my stupid sleep-deprived empathy attracting a shitload of ants. The other ones freaked out, started running around in circles, trying to find their pheromone trails. I think I smushed all of them. Certainly most of them. If I'm honest, I was a little creeped out at that point. I don't know why. Maybe I thought the ghosts of all those ants I'd killed would come back to haunt me. They didn't, of course. For a long time, there were hardly any ants at all, and so I forgot about it. I got back to the drudgery of living my life, one day at a time. It wasn't like I had anything else to do.

The next time I noticed, there wasn't any getting around how weird it was.

It was right around dawn again, and I was making coffee. At first, I didn't even notice the ants—or I didn't notice that they were ants. They were standing around again, very still, except they were in a circle. A really neat, really perfect circle. They were all moving their antennae, in a way I'd never seen ants do before. It looked coordinated, somehow. It was probably my eyes playing tricks on me. They were so small, it would be hard to make out that kind of detail, especially with sleep-blurred vision.

I dropped some sugar into the middle of the circle, just to see what would happen. The ants didn't move. I shrugged and got on with my day. When I got back that night, the sugar was gone, and so were the ants. Fine by me. I decided I must have dreamed the part with the circle. I didn't really believe it, but I pretended I did.

Couple days later, they were back, circled up again. There was one ant in the middle this time. I smushed it, still don't really know why. The others ran away. I felt bad. I left some sugar.

I think that's how it all went so wrong.

The next time I found an ant-circle, there was an ant in the middle again—only it was a different species of ant, much bigger, and it was already dead. Well, that was pretty weird, but at least it wasn't alive. I got my tweezers and I put it in the trash, and then I left some sugar for my tiny ant buddies. When I got to thinking of them as buddies, I don't know. I didn't really have any friends, and everything was such a damn struggle, and I actually kind of liked the little guys. They weren't hurting anything, they didn't eat much, they didn't get into anything but my kitchen counter. They were buddies. I didn't mind them.

Over the next few days, they brought me more dead ants. I took the big dead ants away and left sugar. The next week, they brought me a dead cockroach. I loved these ants, these ants were the best! My place had had a roach problem for years, and nothing I'd done had taken care of them, so if my little buddies wanted to do it? Awesome! Good arrangement! Have some sugar, little fellas, you did good.

A couple more roaches. A centipede. I didn't give them anything for the centipede, because those are useful predators and they'd never bothered me, really. Another roach, sugar. A spider, no sugar. A really big roach, a lot of sugar. Was the circle of ants getting bigger? Who knows. It was better pest control than my landlord could be assed with, and it cost me less than a teaspoon of sugar a week. It was such a cool little arrangement that I actually started feeling less shitty—I washed dishes regularly, cleaned (most of) my living area, did laundry, fed my ants. I started thinking of them like pets.

At some point, the ant-circle became a double ring, then a triple ring. They brought me a dead wasp. I was impressed, although a little bit unsettled. I think it was the wasp that lived over my patio door, which—sure, it was a nuisance, and I'd been meaning to kill it, but it was weird that the ants knew. I tried to convince myself that the ants didn't know, they'd just found the wasp when it got inside, or something. It was fine. I gave them lots of sugar. They did good. My little ant buddies, doing nice things for me.

Sometime around August, they brought me a dead frog.

I couldn't even tell it was dead at first. My kitchen is dark in the mornings. It was sitting on the counter, four rings of ants around it. It was very, very still. I was scared it was going to jump away. I turned the lights on. It didn't move. It was covered in bumps, so I thought it was a toad. It wasn't a toad. It was a dead frog, gone gray and dry and very, very still. Covered in ant bites.

I probably stood there for five minutes, just trying to understand. I got a couple of unopened credit-card scams and kind of swept the dead frog up. It was stiff and it was heavy and it was still dead. I put it in a ziplock bag and put the bag in the trash. I put the mail I'd used to sweep it up in the trash, too.

I smashed every ant I could find.

They ran, they broke like a panicked crowd and ran, but I didn't stop until I couldn't find any more of them. I was sick to my stomach for days. Anytime I saw an ant, I killed it on sight. I couldn't stop thinking about that dead frog on my counter. I sprayed the whole kitchen down with lysol, and then bug spray. I caulked up every crack I could see. I had no idea how the little bastards had gotten the thing inside. It must have taken hundreds of them to kill it, hours to drag it inside and onto my kitchen counter. I got new weather stripping for the doors and windows. I didn't go out much. I killed every ant I saw, but there were always more ants.

I decided that I needed to kill the whole nest, and that would be the end of it. Once I'd killed the nest, maybe I could sleep again.

It took me a while to find it, a lot of hunting around outside. I figured it had to be near my kitchen, and it was. It wasn't a big nest, or at least it wasn't a big mound. Maybe it went deep, or sprawled, but I wasn't thinking much about that. I wasn't thinking much about anything except the dead frog on my kitchen counter. I filled up my tea kettle and set it to boiling. It wasn't a long wait, comparatively. It felt like it took hours.

By the time the kettle whistled, there was one ant on my kitchen counter.

It was right up on the edge, holding very still, waving its tiny antennae. It was facing me. It was so small, they'd always been so small, and it was looking at me. Huge me, towering me, boiling up the apocalypse for its tiny, tiny world.

The ants didn't know. The ants couldn't have understood the difference between a roach and a wasp, a wasp and a frog. I wasn't sure I understood what the difference was. I'd trained them, really. I'd trained them to kill things and bring me the bodies. It wasn't their fault that they didn't know where the line was.

But I didn't want any more dead frogs.

I picked up the kettle. I opened the lid. I started pouring boiling water on my kitchen counter, slowly. I wanted to know if the ant would run. It did run. I kept pouring. It ran all the way back to the molding, up the backsplash, behind the electrical socket. I kept pouring until the ant was gone. My hand was wet and stinging with steam. I put the kettle down. I cleaned up the water. I caulked up the spaces around the electrical socket.

I haven't seen an ant in my kitchen since.

At the start of spring this year, I went out to check on the nest. I've been feeling pretty shitty about the whole thing, and I wanted to know if the ants were still there. They are. It's weird, though, the nest doesn't look like it used to, and it's the kind of thing that convinces me I didn't imagine the whole thing like one big stress dream.

It's hard to tell, because the perspective is awfully weird, but these days that anthill kind of looks like a frog.

[unicorn-sprinkles-101]

I'm an autistic, mentally ill young adult who very desperately needs to find a new place to live.

I can't exactly recount what happened during most of my childhood but I have to say that my parents have drastically spiraled out of control since then. 

My mother had never really been a big impact on my life other than being my primary guardian and taking me from place to place. Other than that, she has little to no emotional connection to me and especially not now. I don't really "hate" anyone listed here, I just don't care for my family anymore and don't want anything to do with any of them.

My mother is completely unable to work, relying mostly on disability since I was a baby due to an ongoing condition. My father refuses to get a better job to support my mother and I, often leaving us with around $5-$10 at a for gas money (often with tons of quarters) or to take with me when it is absolutely required.

Now that I've turned 18, things have gotten much harder when it comes to me being used for financial gain. I do admit that alot of that money was used towards me in some way or another while I was growing up, but not anymore.

While my father is unable to let go of grandmother's old house (which has gone to shambles), one of my mother's friends has lives under us in the basement after being rendered homeless, which can make akward when describing family troubles.

She started living with us a while ago after her trailer finally caved in after we packed water jugs back and forth to her location for several years.

Ever since she moved here, she's developed an overbearing attachment to her "animals". It got so bad she refused time and time again to put her very ill 16-year-old dog to sleep, rendering them unable to walk, see, eat or hear for months on end. The breaking point was when they bled out all over the kitchen (which we knew would happen eventually), which was traumatic for us and highly unnecessary for the dog to go through considering how miserable they were when they came here.

She has made tons very rude and hurtful comments to me about how I'm such an "abuser" when I told her dogs (she has 3) to go away or get off the couch in front of her. She often claims that I'm abusive towards my guinea pigs, saying that I don't "take care of [my] animals".

This friend of my mother has also made comments ranging from my weight to my behavior and called me names ranging from "brat" to the more recent "trashy white girl" while my mother rolls her eyes and tells me it was all just a joke.

She's physically done things towards me such as shoving me out of the way, crushing me on the bed, and almost hauling a foot tall scratching post towards my direction after I refused to get her a broom the second she demanded it (I ended up getting it for her anyway.

However, physical altercations between me and my mom's friend are very rare and this type of behavior is often seen as the norm in my area, so unless it's something that left bruises or sexual assault, it isn't really that big of a deal compared to the other stuff I face on a daily basis.

It only got worse after I graduated from highschool. It got so bad that it became worse than all of the countless harassment I faced throughout my highschool education combined.

I was forced to give up over 3/4s of my $700 worth of graduation money to my mother in order to pay off bills, food, and other neccessities. While I ended up snagging some small gifts for myself (apx. $120) before it was all sucked up, I know I'll probably never be able to get paid back that amount of money from either one of them and I feel extremely cheated as a result.

While I was legitimately excited to see them grow as people in a good home, my sister's kids have drastically changed for the worse ever since they've been shoved in a tiny old trailer and moved back to the classic small town community full of people with money (maybe extracurriculars will keep them busy).

The youngest of them (8), who is often dumped here on a daily basis, has disrespected us in a variety of ways including: eating at the computer after my mom's friend made a rule not to, not picking up after themselves when they did so (often leaving uneaten food out), and using every other dollar my mom had to go get candy and drinks from the Dollar Store (they stole my leftover change in front of me and lied about it, but that was a one-time occurrence).

The back room often smells like trash because my mother puts off going to the dump until the very last minute.

Nobody can keep up with the animals, use a flyswatter on the cat to keep it from climbing everything and having to lock it up so it wouldn't take the food straight off our plates while we were eating.

While two of the dogs from my mom's friend stay downstairs in the basement, the third one stays up here and refuses to go downstairs.

The dog is well-behaved (aside from agressive barking) but while it doesn't pee anywhere in the house (as far as we know), it appears to leave, traces of leftover urine on pillows, blankets, and the furniture (or at least the odor, although I felt small wet spots on the couch before) which could spread germs, not good for someone with a few open sores.

None of them use leashes, so when this dog bursts out the door it takes off up the street aggressively barking at everyone and everything, with little to no repercussions from either adult. The overly intense noise from this small dog has gotten way out of hand, making me a nervous wreck.

These two stress factors combined with everything else makes it impossible to keep the house clean by nearly any means (I'm doing my best just to sweep off the porch).

I'm grateful that my mom's friend took one last shot at trying to clean up the bedroom, but there's no point in trying to keep anything kept up when all it does is get destroyed.

Moving to my own place means I won't have to look after anyone else but me and my pets (guinea pigs). However, I don't have anyone to support me in my endeavors.

As my parents often failed to attend my physical and emotional needs, I became highly unstimulated and constantly stressed as a result. This has lead to severe bouts of depression and executive dysfunction, which has caused my mom's friend's harassment to get even worse.

Not only did they fail to properly take care of my needs all throughout highschool, we've never been able to afford ANY sort of renovations to the house during our residence here (about 8 years), aside from basic roofing which was performed by a small Hispanic business instead of a professional company. 

The only two instances of DIY fix-ups I can remember during my 8 years here are replacing the shattered windows with plexiglass (which happened years ago) and recently restoring some of the rotten floorboards under the washer that were caked in mold.

The simple act of taking a shower has now become one of my worst dreaded nightmares and unless I move to a safe environment then I won't ever be able to properly take care of myself like I dream of doing someday.

Even though it'll take top surgery to make me feel comfortable taking showers again, moving to an inspected apartment means I  have one less worry about falling through the basement and the rancid smell of burnt urine that sometimes reeks from the basement.

I never went outside much, aside from sitting on the corner of the porch since the rest of it was turned green by air conditioning water and the walkway was flooded by overgrown plants (even they've been given more respect than I have).

I often vented through various social platforms but I decided that enough is enough: I needed to grow as a person and stop shoving all my problems on others.

It was then I knew I had to find a way to escape. Unfortunately, in order to move out I needed at least a little bit of stable funding, which I'm very, very far from.

My sensory issues make it hard to gain interests in whatever food was cooked (ex. spaghetti, dumplings), and I didn't have the desire to eat expired canned greens from the food bank, which have since been covered in roach poo. They're pretty much everywhere you go.

Even the cleanest of countertops could be seen crawling with a few roaches. They reside deep within the microwave along with fried maggots from ages ago.

They have also made their way into the refrigerator, making it difficult to scour what little there is without feeling grossed out. It's getting harder day by day to tell the difference between of the smallest of bugs and pepper. Since we we can't afford a closed-top hamper, our dirty clothes are often covered in roaches trying to find a place to hide, making it difficult to gather the strength to wash them like I should.

They've also taken over my computer, rendering my unable to even touch it for months.

No amount of bombing, traps, or pesticides will clear them either. They were there to begin with, and they always come back.

There's even been an increase in other types of bugs, most notably fly's and gnats.

The Crock-Pot would often fill up with mold  every other week because me and my mother didn't like chowing down on her friend's grand "homestyle cooking" every day. 

We didn't eat it as much as we should've because it was often bland in taste and we don't know how to make her stop (I know I can't). She ended up making a fuss when we tried to make suggestions, so we let her get what she wants even if it wasting precious ingredients we could've used to make something we could actually eat.

To make up for it, I often had to buy single cans of Spaghettio's at a time from the Dollar Store and call it my meal for the day. 

Now it seems like I can't even do THAT anymore. 

It got to the point where I even considered that any drink besides water, hell even soda, could have some sort of nutritional value. It was better that eating nothing, after all.

I often pondered mother's financial choices when came to these things but as we all have been told "mother knows best" and we as children should not be allowed to question our parent's decision.

She recently told me my SSI completely cut because the government labels me as "being able to work".  It turns out that they cut my disability check as opposed to SSI but I'm still left just as broken inside as before.

Why? Because there's absolutely no way I can save up such a large amount, we need every last drop to survive off of. I've used a very small portion of it to buy some little stuff to help me cope from time to time, but I'm gonna refrain from that from now on until I completely move out.

Even though the issue has been resolved for now, I'm tired of being dragged through hoops when I know they'll just try to cut it off again. I can't keep staying here because I'm sick and tired of having our only source of income dangling on a string.

I would really like to gain some much needed work experience and I plan on applying to Wal-Mart as soon as I upload this post.

However, there's one problem: I have no source of reliable transportation to get to my job.

My mother had to borrow money off of my grandmother (as she has done in the past) in order to have the gas to pick me up from therapy this week. While that tank of gas may last a bit, this is not sustainable enough for me to keep any sort of job regardless if it were part-time or full-time. The three job options in this very small town don't offer a position that would be comfortable enough for me to perform the tasks I am assigned and two are often known for mistreating their staff members on a regular basis.

Another reason I want to get a job in a bigger city is so I can continue to work once I move closer to Wal-Mart, which will save tremendous amounts of gas money and time. To avoid the trauma of driving, I will probably be using a transport bus as opposed to using a car.

The reason it appears that I don't look after my guinea pigs as much as I should is because their cages are inaccessible making it excruciatingly difficult to clean their cages and fufill their needs. With my own apartment to live in, I will have the ability make room for them and I can organize a place for my piggies in a much more open location free of mess.

I'd really like to keep them with me when I move alone, especially considering that I adopted one all the way from Louisville (I live around the west side of KY). I want to give Marlene the proper life she deserves after traveling across the state to take her beautiful soul home with me.

While I probably won't have access to a small animal veterinarian to get a proper diagnosis, my older guinea pig Chloe (about 4 years) had a massive tumor/cyst on her leg burst open a while back.

Her weight has drastically increased to the point where she feels like a limp water balloon when I attempt to pick her up, so it lead me to assume that her body is slowly being taken over by some form of internal cancer.

Even though there's nothing I can do to heal her, my ultimate wish is for Chloe to drift away peacefully in a safe environment free of bugs and other filth. This means that not only do I have myself to care for, but my two precious babies as well.

I admit that I have been going through a slow regression in regards to financial behavior, but I would love to learn how to shop responsibly while keeping my true interests at heart. I have plenty of plushies and figurines to keep me company at the moment. Some I'll sell to make room for new ones, but most of them will there to  comfort me during stressful times.

After buying one of the most beautiful children's lamps I had ever seen at GoodWill, I soon found out that buying doesn't have to be boring and dull like all the adults have told us all our lives. I learned that you should buy furniture and clothes based on how it makes you feel instead of relying on others to tell you what to do, I would love to purchase decorations for my apartment that reflect who I want to become as a person.

Not everything should have to be about scrounging for my next meal.

However, the funds from this will go towards covering down-payment, rental costs, and buying a new setup for my guinea pigs if they are allowed at the apartment (I don't want to track bugs from the old cages, plus they need a bigger space).

I wanted to let you guys know that I will have to use a portion of the donations

to cover my mother's monthly electric bill. As much as I want to talk myself out of it, she literally relies on me for money so I don't exactly have the ability to opt-out of that right now.

The extra stuff (such as small appliances, furniture, groceries, and of course... a limited-edition plush or two) will be paid for using a compilation of my paycheck and whatever I earn off of Redbubble.

I'd love to start a YouTube channel where I do things like art, gaming, and reviews to strengthen my voice and get it out into the world in a peaceful, sanitary environment free from interruptions or harassment over a seemingly innocent/important subject matter.

There's lots of things that I missed out on when I was younger and I bet it would be so awesome to finally express myself free of constant toxicity and hatred.

I deeply love OK K.O. and I'd love to honor the impact that this person of color and his creation has left on me someday, as well as continue down my path of original content that I've been waiting to share with you guys!

[themonolithicmystique]

Further Marvel growth/tg/expansion, the works

macrocondy3point0 https://hdover.deviantart.com/art/Blueberry-Mantis-744714307 https://hdover.deviantart.com/art/Mantis-Inflation-744692879 I don’t think i can stress how precious bloaty mantis is

twitchystitch she’s just so… CUDDLYYY! and she’s even MORE cuddly here!

twitchystitch a thought: MJ’s venom is SO powerful that shse can make even mantis in matnis’ sheer brain defying size get all bloated or mantis is so overwhelmed with ‘SO CUTE!’ that she amplifies its effects

macrocondy3point0 MJ’s got big ambitions if she sees someone as enormous as Mantis and thinks “Must smooch”

twitchystitch she takes one look at a woman so big that her proportions overshadow entire solar systems and she thinks “damn she is so cute imma smooch that” her ambition is Legendary!

macrocondy3point0

also

macrocondy3point0 i kind of want hope to be involved somehow

twitchystitch i suggest that Hope and MJ develop a kind of friendship, going about and smooching up people, bloating them to incredible size they try to outdo each other in competitions hope flies, MJ ensnares them a wasp/spider attack rivalry

macrocondy3point0 has hope mutated any

twitchystitch i wanna say permanant biomechanical wasp wings POSSIBLY some chitin maybe multiple bug eyes??

twitchystitch very thick, big lips for powerful venom delivery

macrocondy3point0 I’m down for all of that

twitchystitch (I AM SO DOWN FOR SUPER MUTATION STUFF IN EVERYTHING) she can fly whether or not she is small but she does enjoy shrinking down to incredibly tiny sizes fractions of inches and so forth and giving people kisses that puff them up they barely even feel her now they are POOFED

macrocondy3point0 I assume the effectiveness of her venom doesn’t dilute at all the smaller she gets?

twitchystitch nope! im torn between implied that it gets more concentrated or that the smalelr she gets the longer it takes to take effect if she kisses you at full size, for instance, it happens immediately but she likes giving MULTIPLE injections at small size no such luck when full sized

macrocondy3point0 I like the sound of that Another question what about Janet, still stuck in the microverse?

twitchystitch i think, by now, she should be rescued! with mantis making the laws of physics way more flexible, hope and scott were able to shrink down and pull her out

twitchystitch “huh. who gave the bug lady pym particles?” “no one, she showed up like that”

“HUH”

macrocondy3point0 Hope overrules Hank and Scott and releases Pym tech to the world so now people can just casually adjust their height at will Though nobody’s nearly as good at it as the two of them

twitchystitch YES everyone can change size to their whim! and mantis has gently readjusted reality so you cant hurt yourself using it basically everyone has sizeshifting as a Thing now i also propose that Janet has Giant-Woman themes here

twitchystitch hope has wasp pretty well covered she’s proud to let her daughter take up the mantle

macrocondy3point0 plus she spent so long tiny she’s determined to never be under ten feet ever again

twitchystitch she feels weird when she’s too small she likes seeing how BIG she can get! sometimes she can push even geographic sizes she will toelrate being 'merely’ 10 feet tal, but only because Hank likes to be able to hold her hand (otherwise he is usually on her body, somewhere)

macrocondy3point0 also, an idea they kind of have to smooch someone on the regular

macrocondy3point0 because the venom builds up fast, and if they don’t release it somehow, you start to see their lips glistening or even dripping with it and eventually getting bigger from the sheer amount stored

twitchystitch OOOOH YES it has a good blend of physical weirdness and even MORE lip expansion! between them i say that MJ likes waiting as long as she can, until she is oozing venom, and she has a surprisingly high threshhold hope is less patient

macrocondy3point0 so MJ has inflation covered, Hope shrinking, Janet giant

twitchystitch as soon as she feels strain, she will kiss to off-put the load

macrocondy3point0 what should Widow have unique to her?

twitchystitch HMMMM

twitchystitch perhaps hyper hourglass? her widow symbol is a pretty good description of her body shape (also would their venom change people to fit their personal theme: hope can shrink people, Janet makes them grow, and so forth?)

macrocondy3point0 maybe not at first, but once mantis becomes aware of them definitely (Effects from janet and hope have to wear off naturally and can’t be effected by pym particles)

twitchystitch YES widow’s hips were wider than she is tall, her breasts bigger than her entire upper torso her waist is so slim it’s technically invisible from some angles I LIKE THAT IDEA FOR THE VENOM

twitchystitch sometimes the three kiss the same person with different doesses just to see what will happen!

macrocondy3point0 like maybe gwen?

twitchystitch yes!! in fact consider that Gwen is a happy test subject for all the different kinds of experiemnts she will volunteer for them sometimes she takes notes (also, how about Gwen is hosting a symbiote? it just turned up and took residence on her and Gwen loves the darling)

macrocondy3point0 Definitely Maybe in her hair specifically?

twitchystitch oooh yes

twitchystitch for hair growth??

macrocondy3point0 yes gooey gloopy hair growth

twitchystitch massively long, luxuriant hair that does all kinds of unusual things, sometimes feeling up people Gwen has Feelings for GOOEY GLOOPY HAIR THE VERY BEST KIND OF HAIR gwen often goes about with just godiva hair wearing nothing but properly placed trails of her hair

macrocondy3point0 Yes, good or using it as limbs to walk around on

twitchystitch she walsk by and MJ goes EEP

macrocondy3point0 So she’s just hanging in the middle of it

twitchystitch gwen’s hair just gave her a healthy pat to the butt, MJ is actually flustered YES she swings around with her hair makes webs and stuff with it even crude objects or limbs its like the green lantern ring of hair (as for color i provide these suggestions: same as her original hair

twitchystitch rainbow colored, changes to whatever they feel like or a pretty iridescent shade) or possibly all of those; the hair changes color depending on whatever the symbiote has recently absorbed or eaten?

macrocondy3point0 I think a briliant blonde color works well with colored highlights

twitchystitch yes, I like this a lot!! gwen lieks to pose seductively, trails of goopy slime sliding down her body often in suggestive ways a few droplets making kissy shapes at nearby people

macrocondy3point0 they try to snare Hope pretty regularly

twitchystitch hope ALWAYS flits just out of range no matter how tiny she is, or how fast the goo whips they cannot ever ensnare her she is just too fast

macrocondy3point0 she’s surprisingly swift given her sheer bulk

twitchystitch im forced to assume that even at small size, Hope is a shortstack she looks like she is too meaty to move fast but she essentially has super speed

macrocondy3point0 So when she’s not restricting herself, how tall does Janet hang out at?

twitchystitch i’d say around a hundred feet or so she’s willing to go smaller to fit around places but she likes being big

twitchystitch scott is super envious goliath just shrugs, he doesn’t mind

macrocondy3point0 or she just smooches what’s in her way and they go soft

twitchystitch ooh yes a building in her way, she kisses it and gently nudgles it aside until its like molding some kind of jello, or playdoh she manipualtes it into a shape and moves around it at big enough sizes, she will do this to entire cities not for any gain, she can’t hurt them, she just likes doing that for fun

twitchystitch hank: janet was a very… firm woman. and by that i mean she was domineering as hell and i love that about her

macrocondy3point0 Things she kisses don’t puff up or melt or anything they just get really, really squishy. imagine her kissing MJ

twitchystitch yes like suepr duper elastic and modable; people kissed by her become perfect contortionists! (as a side note that is a thing sierra can do with her mass shifting powers i’ve been mentioning)

BUT LIKE MJ OH GEEZ with MJ’s sheer possible mass, just imagine how much SQUISH janet has to work with! her hands were already sinking into MJ BEFORE she kissed her now she can just pick up MJ and remold her into an entirely different form

macrocondy3point0 or, alternately since we haven’t mentioned her in a while Jessica

twitchystitch oooh, jessica! and i’m not sure if she has any particular abilities in this AU?

macrocondy3point0 well What we did with her was have her go to Wakanda and get really heavy off their food and then get smooched a bunch by MJ when she got home

macrocondy3point0 so she’s HUGE

twitchystitch absolutely MASSIVE in size! would she be ballooned, or should she maintain a human form? just

twitchystitch very puffed up?

macrocondy3point0 i think we said that it inflates pretty much everything, including fat So she’s exaggeratedly flabby, but also puffy

twitchystitch yes, i like that! im thinking that she might also be even heavier than you’d think for her size she is MASSIVELY dense relative to her size so its aL OT of mass for Janet to work with

macrocondy3point0 all her stress and tension evaporates instantly

twitchystitch idea, jessica finds having her body worked and generally messed with, by any source, incredibly soothing she seeks out the feeling at every opportunity

macrocondy3point0 maybe hope shrinks her down?

twitchystitch yes hope actually routinely seeks out those who get to big and might go overboard or cant handle the sensation of being Big jessica is constantly trying to get ridiculously big and Hope has to rein her in

macrocondy3point0 shrinks her small enough to fit in her hand Jessica whines and squirms in protest

twitchystitch she’s still so bulgy that her body squishes against hope’s fingers but hope remains firm

macrocondy3point0 a lot of Hope’s superhero duties involve finding people who lost control of their pym particles and started growing out of control, shrinking them down to comfort them

twitchystitch “No big for you until you’re responsible for it.” OOOH YES, i like that a lot!a

twitchystitch she deals with a lot of people who simply cant control it, or wont sometimes she has little pockets ona  belt to carry them all in (but usually prefers to put them in her cleavage or against her body in some way they find the contact comforting and they doze off easily

macrocondy3point0 if she has too many she drops them off with Gwen

twitchystitch who ALWAYS has plenty of room for them; her symbiote gently scoops them up making little lips to kiss them and hides them in its hair-body somewhere there is a LOT of slorping noises as they get contained in it all no matter how many hope provides, there is never any visible sign of them at all

macrocondy3point0 only some ever get grown back

twitchystitch hope says that lots of them haven’t shown the responsibiltiy to handle their new poewrs, and believes that if they CAN grow back, than they have the responsibility to be allowed to do so a lot of them like Gwen’s hair too much to leave and gwen gets protective of them her hair hisses if you try to take them from her

macrocondy3point0 (what if it starts to shrink gwen within her own hair)

twitchystitch OOOOH like im assuming that while gwen’s hair remains consistent size gwen HERSELF will start dwindling down usually not much, only a bit at a time

twitchystitch but culmatively, with all those people? she will get VERY small over time

macrocondy3point0 all while her hair pampers her

twitchystitch gwen’s hair is extremely coddling; even normal sized it will hand her things, tuck her in, feed her and spoil her rotten as she shrinks, becoming smaller and, to her hair’s perspective, more helpless, it gets even more fussy gwen hardly moves at all as her hair picks her up and shuffles about handling all possible needs for her

macrocondy3point0 she gets to the point where individual strands of hair are doens of feet thick to her

twitchystitch and any one of them, close enough, is gently curling around her, supporting her tightly and embracing her like a blanket

macrocondy3point0 hope occassionally smooches MJ so she can visit Gwen in her hair

twitchystitch gwen is torn; shel ikes to be nude but she likes to be cuddled, she eventually opts to let her hair embrace her because it feels so Nice

twitchystitch MJ’s visists are greatly looked foward to by Gwen; they hug a lot and even do non-sizeshifting smooches while MJ makes sure that the others in gwen’s hair are cared for

macrocondy3point0 would gwen still be skinny, or plumped up from her hair taking care of her?

twitchystitch im thinking plumped up from her hair taking so much care of her; it spoils her silly!

macrocondy3point0 has her personality changed any?

twitchystitch mmmm maybe she’s getting a bit on the bratty side? she wants what she wants and she wants it NOW rather impatient and pouty when she doesnt get her way MJ teases her mercilessly when she’s in those moods

macrocondy3point0 it always miffs her that MJ is even bigger no matter how small she shrinks

twitchystitch no matter how tiny the both of them might be, MJ always, ALWAYS dwarfs her

twitchystitch sometimes gwen is knee sized to MJ sometime’s only half her size but mj is always pick enough to pick her up and taunt her over how cute and tiny she is! symbiote hair allows this, she thinks it’s cute (im assuming symbiote hair is fine with being a girl)

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

There are probably 1,001 uses for wooden shipping pallets besides sticking them in a burn barrel. We can regularly source them for free or for very low cost by talking to distribution centers and contractor supply stores about their breakage piles, eyeballing the dumpster areas of shopping centers and warehouses, or checking sites like Craigslist and Freecycle.

Spin around online and you can find all sorts of projects and builds for people of all skill levels. They can make our lives easier and seriously cut our costs in many cases. A free item with that much potential makes them an automatic must-have in my book. I’m mostly going to talk about simple builds this time around, but pallets also get turned into pretty impressive structures, gardens, and furniture.

Pallets come in several standard sizes and a handful of configurations. While the type can matter for some of our projects due to the number, cut, and spacing of boards, for the most part applications are pretty universal. For details about shipping pallet types and sizes, check out this site http://www.airseacontainers.com/blog/most-common-shipping-pallet-measurements/.

Disassembled = Board Lumber

Remember, once disassembled, our pallets are just lumber. That opens up the whole world of projects. Rifle racks for the range or safes, food storage shelves, bird houses and playhouses; anything we’d repair or build can be done with pallets.

Those boards also have use in hiding some of the “ugly” around our homes. We can use them to sheath everything from our water storage totes and barrels, to whatever containers we’re planting in.

We can also double up our pallet boards for a little more durability and strength if we want. I mention this because some stuff is heavy and would do better with a 2×4 than 1×4. (I tend to live in the “abundance of caution” and JIC world for the most part, although I’ll dispel that and make heads spin in the next section.)

Safe or Unsafe

How “safe” the various treatments used on pallets is for us depends on our intended use, even if we’re worried about chemicals. Most articles and videos will tell you that only HT-Heat treated pallets are safe, although others include debarked (DB) and the “safe” EPAL European designator. I’m not going to hand my kids lead pacifiers or mix up powdered milk or pony drenches in bleach bottles, but I also don’t get too wrapped around the axle on some fronts. This is one of them.

If you consume Big Ag meats (supermarket to Outback or Whataburger), farmed or bottom-feeder fish, “normal” supermarket eggs and dairy, soda or anything in the center aisles made with corn or soy, or if you drive 3 hours/week, burn trash, touch cash and then your face/food, smoke (anything), handle lead (ammo), sit by campfires, live in a city, microwave food in plastic, use rain catchment without serious decontamination filters, have dark irrigation hoses or foam mattresses, or buy commercial animal feed … don’t sweat those markers too much.

One, you’re more likely to die from a vehicular accident, and be hospitalized from supermarket leafy greens or infection contracted in the hospital than from one more of the ubiquitous chemicals around us. Two, those chemicals mostly only become available as our pallets (or anything) decays. That means tiny increments released over time (vice chugging a can of stain). Chemicals mostly head downward with moisture, with only some outward contact spreading outward – only fractions of them are available for possible uptake. Only fractions of that then ends up in the seeds and fruits we eat.

All that said, the warnings about chem-treated pallets originate from garden methods using them, then became universal “rules”. (Pallet garden potentials are so numerous, I’m not even going to talk about them here – they rate an entire article.)

Point is, don’t blanketly accept conventional wisdoms without thinking them through. They may not even apply (or are total bunk). Some stuff, for some/many people, is worth stressing. Some stuff isn’t.

Water Storage

Speaking of safe and unsafe, the conventional wisdom is that we don’t want to store plastic containers, particularly of water, on concrete due to the chemical interaction that allows contaminants to enter our foods. There’s some hot-not and storage-duration wiggle room, and while I tend to err on the side of caution in this case (and when it comes to previous milk containers), there’s some myth-truth proposals here http://www.preparednesspro.com/myths-and-facts-of-water-storage to spur analytical thinking.

For the most part, I don’t really see how laying cardboard, 2×4’s, or 1×4’s under plastic barrels and buckets destabilizes them unless somebody gets really cute (or stingy). Personally, I’m a big believer in keeping stuff up off the floor, period. Even beyond chemical interaction concerns, being able to stack stuff also comes in handy, both to maximize storage space and in some cases to make it easier to use.

One point to note about water in particular is that it’s heavy. Not only does that apply to any rack we use, it also applies to container sizes. The older I get and more injuries I accumulate and heal, the more I’m willing to downsize. That includes containers for dry goods and water.

It’s just easier to build structures for, pull down, move, clean, and refill a 3-6 gallon bucket than a 35-55 gallon barrel. About the only remaining exceptions in my various storage are wheeled trash cans.

*Those are not food safe, either, if it’s a concern – told you I’d make heads spin. (Most of my trash cans hold mylar-bagged foods and animal evac feed and supplies; some are wash/laundry water catchment).

As-Is Uses

There’s lots pallets can do for us even if we’re not yet DIY-ers, and lots that requires minimal building skills. For one, just getting stuff off the ground, as mentioned above. That can be hay, mulch, bagged amendments, toolboxes in our sheds or outdoors, food storage buckets and barrels, or creating elevated resting platforms and feeding stations in pens or pastures that tend to get muddy.

They can help keep our boots cleaner – and to some degree limit the risk of slipping in wet and icy weather – by creating walkways, and prevent ATVs, Gators, carts, and bikes from bogging down or tearing ruts on trails and in gardens. They can also decrease or eliminate risks and wetness from ditches and seasonal streams, making getting around faster and easier.

Steps & Rails

If we’re on a tight budget, we might find we can use a boost as well as a stepping stone. We might also decide that a step or hill is a little too much for us as we age, get pregnant, or face injury. Pallets can help us there, too, and it tends to be a ridiculously easy build.

Go easy on how high we go with these things – I’ve seen some crazy. They are wood and even treated, they are eventually going to rot and crack, and need replaced. Also, make sure you anchor these things together and to the ground.

If you want or need steps or a sidewalk past mud, a hand rail is usually a fantastic idea, even if it’s just posts somebody can snag. We can turn other pallets into those rails to increase safety and ease.  

Simple Builds

There are plenty of other simple builds out there that at most require splitting, hanging, or trimming an as-is pallet to size, adding some screws or in some cases a hinge, a few hooks, and some cord or chain. The ease makes pallets a valuable learning tool (and confidence boost) for preppers who are just dipping their toe into DIY. The in-expense also means if there’s a screw-up, no big. Scrap lumber is handy to have around.

Some of the simplest ways to use pallets is just to slap three or four of them together to make a work bench, desk, countertop, or table. Flip that on its side, link a few in series, and you’ve got a leaf mold or compost heap. With a sturdy wall or a couple of convenient trees and $3-10 in hardware, and you can make one or two pallets into a permanent or Murphy-bed style station that functions as a desk, a table, or a workbench, indoors or out.

With some additional screws and hooks or disassembled boards, we can use a wall or those handy trees to hang our tools in a shed or outside the garage. We can also hang them from the sides of our tables or benches.

For a really simple build, just fix a handful of shipping pallets together with deck screws (flip-flop which side is up as you stack to increase shelf depth). Add caster wheels and it’s a rolling storage shelf or workbench.

With some cinder blocks or some 4x4s, we can create shelving with very little building experience, using whole pallets, pallets that are cut in half to make shallower widths, or disassembled boards. (Remember: even a pint canning jar is heavy on its own and holds another pound worth of liquids or foods – use healthy boards and consider doubling them up.)

Another super-simple build using just deck screws is stacking a few pallets and adding one perpendicular to form an L shape. Set that on some cinder blocks and top with a mattress, seat cushions, or pads and you’ve got a bench seat or day bed. Some additional lumber or blocks creates storage spaces for totes, baskets, or drawers salvaged from a wrecked dresser or filing cabinet.

If you’re after some inexpensive yard, starter-home, or bug-out location furniture, the sky is the limit and the internet is just full of ideas. Personally, I’m not much for the rustic pallet look, but with a coat of paint or whitewash, our pallets can get prettier if and where it matters.

Fencing & Pens

Another fantastic use for pallets that requires little DIY experience is fencing for our dooryards, gardens, and animals, to protect trees, or just to increase our privacy a little. We can use them pretty much as-is and connect them to each other, standard fenceposts, or poles we make our or a neighbor’s overgrown saplings and trimmings. We can also pull a board or two from each to cut at an angle and drive into the ground for stability or to use as an overlapping connector between pallets.

If heights of 18-24” work instead of 3-4’, we can very quickly halve our pallets and double the area we enclose. We can also totally or partly disassemble them and churn out top-rail or a 2-3 rail plank fencing, or do some extra cutting for an HOA-acceptable picket fence.

If we have problems with raccoons reaching through our poultry and rabbit fencing, we can brace whole or half-height pallets against our existing runs to add depth. Likewise, they can create a buffer to allow some grazing but keep chickens and goats from eating something to the trunk or roots.

We can also take pallets apart and reassemble them in a solid wall if our birds/hares like to do dumb stuff like huddle in a corner where something can get its claws through – there’s little worse than a disassembled critter the predator couldn’t even get out to eat.

I said I wasn’t going to talk about pallet gardens, but when it comes to fencing, that’s actually one of the benefits they offer. Pallet fences allow us to grow vertically either on the protected inside or on the outside of critter pens where our critters can’t reach, or both.

Pallets for Preppers

Pallets can be an excellent step into the world of DIY for beginners, as well as help everybody save money. Gardens, livestock feeders, and sheds are big enough categories to really rate their own articles, but there’s so much more. If you’ve got a need, see if somebody has a how-to using pallets, but don’t forget that pallets are also just board lumber waiting to be sanded.

 Follow The Prepper Journal on Facebook!

The post Prepper Must-Haves: Shipping Pallets appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

[activatebekket-blog]

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Bekket, And Then a Little More

“If I want to be touched, I’ll let you know. Otherwise, don’t ever fucking touch me.”

  General Information

Name: Bekket O’Calley Name Meaning: The name Bekket means “bee cottage.”   Pronunciation: BECK-it OH-Caw-LEE

Other Names: Sometimes referred to as Bek, Bekkie, Bekkie-Boo or Bekkie-Bee. Their dead name was Ha Eun, a name that they always hated. Titles: He was often referred to as “That One” or “You-Know-Who” by teachers when growing up.

Sex: Designated female at birth Gender: Male Age: They’re 23, but are often thought to be younger, due to both the fact that they have a very youthful appearance, and that they are trans.

Birth Date: Thought to be and celebrated on June 22nd, but since they were abandoned at birth the exact date and time is unknown. Birth Place: South Korea; exact place unknown. Raised in Jeju City; assumed to have been born in Jeju City.

Species: Human Home-Planet: Earth Nationality: South Korean Occupation: Social Activist

Dominant Hand: Right-handed. Astrological Sign: Cancer Blood Type: AB

  Appearance

Main Appearance:  He has straight, slightly messy black hair, pale skin, and dark eyes; he used to wear glasses, but due to a degenerative eye disease he was born with, he's blind and no longer needs them. Skinny and small, he (luckily) has next to no curves to speak of, feminine or otherwise, and hardly needs to bind. He's a bit on the shorter side at five foot two. He’s very thin, and has a soft, pudgy tummy from a diet of mostly pasta, but doesn’t have a slender or fragile appearance. He’s just small. Kind of underweight, and allergic to fucking everything-- pets, bees, nuts, soy, dust... You name it, he'll sneeze at it. He has an ovular face, and a broad, round-tipped nose. His lips are kind of plump and have a slight Cupid’s bow, and he usually dresses in very casual wear. He doesn’t shave or put much energy into his appearance, because he doesn’t see the point to it, really. It’s not like he can see it anyway. His eyes are not blue or hazy or cloudy, they look the same way they always did; they just don’t work anymore.

Alternative Appearances: Before the age of 13, Bekket had a very feminine appearance, with very long black hair that he often wore down, glasses, and a frequently pink wardrobe. Most anyone who saw him before he came out wouldn’t recognize him. Once he came to the conclusion that he was trans and started to transition, he made an absolute 180.

  Image

Wardrobe: Bekket basically just wears whatever’s comfortable, which mainly consists of tee-shirts, hoodies, jeans, beanies, and snapbacks. Though he is perfectly capable of coming up with a system to work out picking outfits on his own, he chooses not to. All he really owns are tee-shirts, mostly in neutral colors, hoodies, and jeans anyway. What’s the point in mixing and matching? He’s usually in the clear no matter what he pulls out of his drawers in the morning, so that’s simply what he puts on. He figures it’s the easiest system, and it’s the least amount of work. And, hey, if he ever manages to put together some sort of truly atrocious outfit, he has the perfect excuse.

Accessories: Beyond the hats he occasionally wears, Bekket never goes anywhere without his medical alert bracelets and necklaces, (for both his allergies and his sight impairment,) or the little blue case he keeps clipped onto his belt loops that hold his epi-pens. Musical Instruments: He played a bit of piano when he was younger, but he quit it once his sight started to get worse; this was mostly an excuse for him to stop playing the stupid piano, which he always hated to have to play. He still knows quite a bit, and can play, but chooses not to more often than not. He’s trying to slowly re-teach himself the more complicated songs he used to be able to play now that he can’t see. Piercings: He has two piercings in each ear, which he usually just keeps simple studs or hoops in. Hygiene: Bekket isn’t terribly rigorous about such topics, but he does an alright job, for a man of his age. He brushes his teeth and showers regularly, but doesn’t do much beyond that. Sometimes he’ll wash his face with water, but usually only if he’s feeling crummy. In the shower, he spends most of his time soaking up the heat and sitting in the tub, spacing off, before he finally gets up and actually washes his hair and body. But where he lacks in his own body, he more than makes up for in his home and kitchen. He is rigorous about the cleanliness of his home, as he has a slight phobia of bugs and spoiled food. He marks any food he buys when he gets it, so he knows exactly when it spoils and he must throw it out. While there is some clutter in his home, (though never only the floors,) there is never any filth. Makeup: Never Perfume / Cologne: Never Scent: He usually smells like Febreeze, in all honesty. Tattoos: None. He doesn’t see the point in getting them if he can’t see them.

  Health

Diet: Since he has a multitude of food allergies, the amount of food he can eat is limited. He frequently needs someone to help him when he goes shopping or buys food at a restaurant so he can know for sure what ingredients are in it. He is also not a gifted cook, especially since he is blind, so he mostly just eats gluten-free pasta and chicken… Exercise: Though he gets a decent amount of exercise by running around and cleaning, trying to find things he’s lost, going on his adventures, and burning nervous energy, he never does anything with the intent of it being exercise. He just happens to get exercise along the way in his life in general, and he is just fine with that. Fitness: His physique isn’t TERRIBLE, but he’s definitely not in shape. He’s very small, but soft, and his tummy sticks out a tiny bit with chub from so much pasta. Posture: He has a very loose posture, and is usually slouching at least a little bit, usually shuffling his feet a bit when he walks. He doesn’t really worry about things like that.

Abnormalities: He was born with a degenerative eye disease, which led to him becoming blind at the age of seventeen. He also has a variety of severe allergies that he must regulate. Aids: Bekket takes anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications, as well as always carrying his Epi-pens with him. He also has a red-and-white cane that he carries with him, and medical alert bracelets and necklaces.   Allergies: Bekket is severely allergic to gluten (it causes him to throw up and be sick for a few days, as he has Celiac’s Disease,) mildly allergic to dairy (causes him to throw up and other stomach problems, lactose intolerant,) severely allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, (taste and touch, touching causes a rash, eating or cross-contamination causes anaphylaxis and needs an Epi-pen,) severely allergic to shellfish (taste and touch, touching causes a rash, eating or cross-contamination causes anaphylaxis and needs an Epi-pen,) moderately allergic to soy (causes hives, vomiting, stomach pain, and wheezing, but usually does not require an Epi-pen,) moderately allergic to pollen (causes sneezing, wheezing, runny eyes, etc. but does not require an Epi-pen,) moderately allergic to dust mites (causes sneezing, wheezing, runny eyes, etc. but does not require an Epi-pen,) moderately allergic to pet dander (causes sneezing, wheezing, runny eyes, etc. but does not require an Epi-pen,) severely allergic to penicillin (causes swelling, hives, fever, wheezing, may require Epi-pen,) severely allergic to iodine, (causes swelling, stomach pain, hives, fever, fainting, confusion, requires an Epi-pen) severely allergic to bee stings (causes swelling and anaphylaxis, requires an Epi-pen) and honey (causes swelling, hives, stomach pain, light-heartedness, confusion, sometimes requires an Epi-pen), severely allergic to latex (exposure causes swelling, heart palpations, hives, and light-headedness, may require an Epi-pen,) mildly allergic to ragweed (causes sneezing, wheezing, runny eyes, does not require an Epi-pen,) and mildly allergic to mold, (causes sneezing, wheezing, runny eyes, does not require an Epi-pen.) Diseases: Bekket has Stargardt’s Disease, a genetic, degenerative eye disease that slowly reduced his vision until he was totally blind. He first just had poor detail vision, which led to him having to wear glasses, but then resulted in color vision loss, and then blind spots that simply grew larger and larger as time went by until, when he was around seventeen, he couldn’t see anything. It does not progress anymore, as there’s nothing left for it to progress to. He is still adjusting to being totally blind but is overall fairly capable, as he has been preparing for this inevitable outcome his entire life, but through therapy and classes and through living with poor vision and blind spots. Illnesses: None Disorders: N/A Broken Bones: H has broken his wrist/arm/ankle multiple times throughout his life doing stupid, reckless things. Reason for Health: All of their conditions are hereditary; they were born genetically predisposed to them. Since they are adopted, there is no way to check their family health history, however, so they just have to take the things as they come, despite Bekket’s less-than-stellar health.

  Voice

Accent / Dialect: He doesn’t really have an accent anymore, though he used to have a Korean accent. Sometimes, when he’s sleepy or upset, you can hear it a little bit. Voice: His voice isn’t particularly high-pitched or feminine, but it’s very light, and it definitely isn’t deep or low-pitched, either, at least not for a guy. For a man, his voice is considered to be more feminine than average, but he tends to speak somewhat gruffly to make up for it. (Claim: Mal Blum) Laughter: When Bekket laughs, he almost always just ends up wheezing and giggling at the same time, his laugh stuttery and tinkly and full of catches and sharp breaths. Impediments: He used to speak with a slight lisp when he was young, but has outgrown it since then.

  Psychology

Languages: English and Korean Personality: Bekket is a sarcastic, witty kid with a lot of attitude. He doesn't take shit from anybody and tends to have a lot of energy, though a lot of it is nervous energy that he needs to burn off. He has a tendency to be all over the place and then eventually crash and need to chill for a while. He gets bored and restless and anxious if he’s forced to keep still and quiet when he’s in the mood to get moving and go exploring, but he gets equally anxious and starts to break down if he’s forced to be socializing and doing things when he wants to be curled up in bed with a good book and recharging. He’s very particular and not very flexible, and a bit immature. He doesn’t like being ordered around or following rules and has a natural defiance towards authority. He has very specific needs that have to be met, due to his disabilities and conditions, and just because of who he is as a person, meaning he sometimes has to be dependent on other’s help. He HATES this, as he is a fiercely independent person and prefers to do things himself and do them exactly the way he wants them done. He can be very bossy towards those who do help him because he feels the need for everything to be done perfectly (or perfectly for him,) otherwise it won’t be correct and it will bother him or can lead to him getting hurt. He's not very sensitive to other people and sometimes fails to see why others are upset or understand their emotions. He doesn’t make much of an effort to be understanding and will say what he thinks and what he means without hesitation, even if others get hurt because he feels it’s a waste of time to sugarcoat things. At the same time, he himself gets offended very easily and will become angry and indignant if others underestimate him, annoy him, ask questions he doesn’t feel like answering, or don’t do things correctly. He’s quite picky and needs everything to be just so. If he likes you, he’s very talkative and will never shut up, practically, but will hardly speak if he doesn't, save to remind you that he doesn't really like you. Very determined, he never gives up once he's set his mind to something, refuses to let his disability hold him back and will kick the ass of anyone who tries to tell him it will. On one hand, this allows him to be very productive, ambitious, motivated, confident and strong-willed. He gets things done and lives life to the fullest. On the other hand, it also can lead to him being over-confident, stubborn, leaves him getting caught up in things even after its time to move on, and often puts him in danger when he overestimates his own abilities. In fact, he’s quite in the habit of putting his own life in jeopardy to get what he wants to do done, even if that thing is as trivial and try the new frozen yogurt bar everyone is talking about, even if it is riddled with allergens. He tends to like to "walk on the wild side" by doing stupid things, such as leaving his cane wherever and going off on his own without it, going “exploring” and getting himself lost, climbing fences and trees, running around without his cane or supervision and often falling or running into things, and tempting fate with his allergies: ie running through fields, petting that dog, eating the Reese's unless someone stops him, etc. He’s definitely a handful of a person.

  Philosophy

Outlook on Life: Bekket believes that for one to be happy, they must live life to the fullest. He also believes that if you want something done right, you must do it yourself. He likes taking risks and going on adventures and wants to get the most out of his time on earth. He doesn’t believe in taking your time or sugarcoating things. Philosophy / Motto: “You only live once.”

  Character

Priorities: His biggest priority is to go out and experience things and have a good time and make the world a better place. He wants to seek new adventures and understand new things, even without his eyesight. Personal safety, in general, is not a priority. He just wants to garnish his life with good times and leave his mark on the world somehow by making it better for others. Self Confidence: Bekket comes off as very confident, and sometimes over-confident. When he has ideas or plans, he sticks by them, no matter how many people tell him that it is poor or dangerous to himself or others. He has complete confidence in his own abilities, even when he shouldn’t. It’s actually a bruise on his ego when he does need to seek help from others, as he prefers to be entirely independent when possible. Self Control: Bekket has next to no self-control. If he has an impulse, he usually acts on it, regardless of consequences. Even if it means skipping class, eating food that will make him sick, risking his life, or making himself miserable later on, if it seems like a good idea in the moment he will almost certainly do it unless someone else stops him. Self Esteem: He has okay self-esteem, but it’s not perfect. The things that really bother him the most is his dependence on others and inability to entirely take care of himself, which makes him feel like a loser, and his body and gender dysphoria. He battles often with these things and tries not to face them when he can avoid it because it is painful.

Quirks: Bekket is almost always fidgeting, he finds it hard to stay still for long periods of time unless he feels like it personally. He always talks under his breath in Korean when he’s annoyed or upset, mostly because he prefers his first language to English and holds a firm belief that English is overall very stupid and poorly devised. Hobbies: Reading, listening to podcasts, researching random things on the internet, growing houseplants, playing video games, going “exploring,” ie walks by himself with no particular destination, drawing things and then showing them to people, trying to get them to guess what it is, describe it to them, and tell them that it looks good, etc.   Closet Hobbies: listening to Disney soundtracks over and over, “window shopping” on the internet, doting on his houseplants, finger-knitting. Guilty Pleasures: Frozen yogurt, rewatching movies he used to watch as a kid (though he more listens to them now,) and making his bed and then fucking it all up getting snuggled under the covers.

Habits: Checking and rechecking all his foods expiration dates every day, cleaning his kitchen, being late, doing a once-over clean of his room every day, carrying his DS with him at all times, cracking his knuckles when he’s idle, getting up on tip-toes whenever a group of people is looking at something, even though he can’t see it himself. Nervous Tics: He tugs at his own hair and talks to himself in Korean when he’s nervous, anxious or upset, and often takes out his cane, even if he doesn’t need it. Soft Spots: He LOVES dogs, even if he’s allergic to them. He’ll always pet them if he’s given the chance, regardless of the consequences, and would adopt one in a heartbeat if he could.

Most Prized Possession: His 3DS, which he always has on him. Collections: He collects books and video games, mostly, and is always looking to get more.

Regrets: He doesn’t believe in regrets. Secrets: He is typically fairly open about his gender identity, but certainly isn’t out to everyone, and he tries to keep it a secret when he’s scared or anxious as well. Darkest Secret: He doesn’t have many “dark secrets,” but his darkest secret, or most well-guarded one, would probably be that he sometimes does get overwhelmed and upset with the fact that he is blind, and just breaks down and cries out of frustration and mourning for his own sight. He gives off the impression, however, that he was prepared for it, doesn’t care, and has every intention of functioning perfectly well without it. Deep down, however, it bothers him, and it gets to him sometimes. It’s very frustrating when he can’t do the things he wants to do because of his disability, or it leads to him being left out.   Pet Peeves: People who offer too often to help him, people being overly sweet, nervous, hesitant people, being asked if he’s sure about that, anyone bumping into or nudging him, scratchy clothes, cars in general.

Phobias: Bugs or contamination; spoiled food or insects getting inside of his body in some way, being surrounded by or coming in contact with filth in general.

  Preferences

Likes: reading, video games, researching random things, spontaneity, things being clean, snakes, being in control, being around people he likes, speaking Korean, dogs, exploring, anything new and exciting, being in charge, freedom, plants, pasta, frozen yogurt, wide open spaces, the rain. Dislikes: talkative people, superstition, insensitivity, bugs, rotten food, mess, people being condescending, homo/bi/transphobes, lots of different kinds of food, country music, needing to ask for help, people probing at him, being bumped into, cars, relying on others, concrete, ice and heavy snow, loud windy days, being near high-ways or it being too loud in general, octopus (they freak him out.)

Favorites: frozen yogurt, any movie he’s seen before, specifically as a child, the color blue, and pink, anything peach flavored, sneakers, dogs, techno remixes, Shawn Wasabi, spring, scented candles. Least Favorites: gluten-free bread, action movies (too much stuff going on, not enough dialogue), the color purple, super salty foods, country music, farm animals, bugs, history, anything sticky, winter.

  Combat

Ability: Well, he won’t hold back or pull punches… Position: N/A Weapon: None Element: None Martial Arts: None Strengths: Won’t hold back or hesitate, will give it all he’s got. Weaknesses: Small, not in good shape, blind, doesn’t have any training, etc… Restrictions: Um, he’s blind? He’d do horribly in a fight.

  Home, Work, and Education

Abode: Right now, they live in a single room studio, right on top of a record shop. It’s cozy, impeccably clean, and has sparse furniture and decorations.

Pets: None, he’s allergic. Roommates: None, for now.

Sleep Patterns: Very sporadic. He sleeps when he’s tired, (and often misses stuff) but if he’s doing something or not tired, he will often stay up all night doing other things instead. Doesn’t get that much sleep on average. Eating Habits: Doesn’t eat very often, since he doesn’t trust most foods that weren’t made by himself. He usually eats some fruit for breakfast, and almost always makes himself pasta for dinner. He skips lunch; the only time he eats anything else is when it’s in a sealed wrapper, offered by someone else, or if it’s frozen yogurt.

  Social

Mother: None

Father: He has two fathers, who he calls his Appa and his Dad respectively. His Appa is South Korean, like him, and is the driving disciplinary force in his life. He loves him dearly, but Appa is usually the one who fusses over him, makes sure he’s healthy and safe and scolds him when he’s not doing what he’s supposed to. His name is Ji Kim, but he took his husband’s surname when they were married. He works as a computer programmer and app developer. His Dad is African-American and moved to Korea to study and teach English to students after he finished college, which is how he met his husband. His name is August O’Calley. The two fell in love, which led to his Dad settling down in Korea. They adopted three children together and then immigrated to America once they were given permission to do so by the government so that they could be married. Their Dad is much more care-free, slow-going, and low-pressure. He’s more the one who emotionally supports Bekket, and is a shoulder to cry on, while his Appa brings in the tough love. He is Ji’s business partner. Guardians: Bekket was raised by his two fathers after he was adopted at the age of two, having previously been raised at an orphanage in Jeju City after his mother left him there. Siblings: He has an older brother named Kang De, who is 30, and works in social services, mostly working with special needs children, and is married to a woman named Andrea. They have two sons, named Li and Kurtis, who are four and two respectively. His other brother, Min, is 27 and is a video game programmer and designer. He is married to a woman named Georgia and has an infant daughter named Kelsey. He has a fairly close relationship with both of them, and they get along fairly well. The two of them are often in charge of keeping an eye on the youngest of the trio and making sure he doesn’t go and accidentally kill himself. He is a bit closer to Min, as Min also grew up with ‘special needs,’ whereas Kang De was more often to be the one in charge of nagging and watching out for the younger two. Unfortunately, Min lives in California, while Kang De has remained in New York, like Bekket. Children: Bekket has no children. Best Friend: Olivia Roy. Close Friends: Ryan Andersen, Eric Andersen, Sebastian Arroyo, Nathan Roy Friends: Darius Rufus, Mary Sheehan, Alex Temple, Charlotte Brewington. Team: N/A Acquaintances: Marriage Law Group Rivals: N/A Enemies: N/A

  Romance

First Love: He had a massive crush on a girl in the second grade, who would always sit with him at lunch. He had to eat at an allergy-free table throughout school, and she was the only person who would make a point to bring in food that didn’t contain any of his allergens so that he could have someone to sit with during lunch. Definitely won her points with him, and he totally fell in love with her. They kissed each other once on the playground, but, well, they were in the second grade, so it didn’t really go anywhere, and Bekket’s family moved away shortly afterward.   Love Interests: Sebastian Arroyo Significant Other: Sebastian Arroyo Sexual and Romantic Orientation(s): bisexual

  Reactions

(Optional; but generally, this is how they react to what they’re feeling)

Angry: When Bekket is angry, you will know he is angry. He is not afraid to tell someone that he is pissed off and what they have done and is usually very straight-forward about his anger. Under some circumstances, however, he will become very anxious and cold when he’s angry. Anxious: When Bekket is anxious, he tends to withdraw slightly and lash out at anyone who approaches him and happens to misstep. Fear and anxiety make him more explosive, and he tends to try to isolate himself a little bit and fidget and worry. Conflicted: When conflicted, Bekket frequently stops everything and tries to work it out. He’s rarely satisfied until he comes to a conclusion for himself. Criticized: Bekket usually takes criticism fairly well… Er. If he thinks it’s justified, or if he asked for it. When he asks someone for their opinion, he’s pretty much always willing to take whatever he gets. When people offer unprompted criticism or advice, he tends to get very defensive and peeved off. Depressed: When Bekket is depressed, he becomes incredibly apathetic and completely withdraws. He becomes very self-pitying and somewhat pathetic, keeping to himself and allowing things to fall apart around him instead of being his usual, energetic self. Embarrassed: When Bekket is embarrassed, it usually hits him hard. His first instinct is usually to flee and try to save face, because though it is very hard to embarrass him when he is embarrassed, he takes it very hard. Excited: When Bekket gets excited he talks a lot, moves around a lot, and is overall just a little ball of energy. He has a hard time sitting still and is very bright and chipper. Frightened: Bekket is definitely more fight than flight, and when scared, he is much more likely to start a conflict and lash out at others than to run and hide, and tends to become very vocal and stressed. Guilty: This is one of the few times when Bekket will be very quiet and soft-spoken. He will speak less and act very nervous until he’s found a resolution. He has a very hard time letting go of guilt, but also struggles to confront it. Happy: Bekket is free-spoken, humorous, and bright when he’s happy. He likes to talk, make jokes, and discuss anything. He loves a good conversation and enjoys the company of others. Offended: When Bekket is offended, you will fucking know, because you will get an ear-full about exactly what you've done to offend him and why it’s wrong and what he expects you to do to fix it or not have a repeat of the incidence. Praised: He adores being praised. He absolutely soaks it up like a sponge and gets all proud and puffed up like a peacock, and talks a lot. Rejected: Bekket can get pretty bitter, depending on the rejection. If it’s something small and which he didn’t feel sure of, he will take it with grace, but otherwise, he has a tendency to become offended and hurt. Sad: Bekket is very self-pitying and teary when he’s sad. He cries pretty easy and tends to reach out to close friends for support and company, and shut everyone else out. Stressed: When going gets tough, Bekket gets going. When he’s stressed, he tends to kick it up into high gear and start to really throw himself into his work… Which is not always the most healthy thing.

  Biography

Background: Bekket has had several very distinct phases of his life. Originally, he lived in an orphanage in Jeju City, South Korea, which he has very few memories of. He was one of many children and got very little individual attention, though the workers who cared for him and the other children did their best. Eventually, he was adopted and lived with his two older brothers and fathers. Life was good, but also a bit precarious. It was often difficult for his parents due to the homophobia which was prevalent in South Korea at this time, and this often infected Bekket and his sibling’s. There were multiple times where he had a hard time at school and was also a bit of a trouble-maker. He had a hard time sitting still and paying attention and was always running around and getting himself into stuff. His parents were very over-protective and a bit strict, though loving, frequently worried about their children, especially the two youngest, well-being. When they originally immigrated to America, Bekket was absolutely opposed. South Korea was his home, and he hated the idea of such a big, sudden change. He cried and protested the whole way there, and even tried to boycott learning English… which didn’t last long. Eventually, he managed to begin to settle in living in the United States. That is, of course, until the virus hit. Bekket and his siblings spent a long time locked up in their apartment with their family, rarely venturing out and living a highly restricted lifestyle for a long while before things began to get better. He only went to school for a year or so before he came out as trans, which was a very difficult process. Though his family was completely supportive, there were few options of different schools to move to, what with the Virus and population drop, and so he had to fight through his transition almost independently with his peers, eventually forcing them all to accept his new name, pronouns, and identity. This is part of what sparked his deep fire for LGBT activism that he pursues today. He went through a very hard time in late high school when he lost his sight completely, and went through a period of very severe depression before he eventually managed to begin to work past it with the support from his family. He also went through a period of fierce independence, (during which time he dated Isaam,) before eventually finding some balance in his life. Er. Until the Marriage Law…

Earliest Memory: He vaguely remembers what it looked like inside of the Jeju City orphanage and that he shared a room with two other toddlers. The room was all beige and cream, and he had a stuffed orange cat he carried with him all the time. But this is about it. Fondest Memory: The moment when gay marriage was declared legal in New York. Their whole family celebrated and everyone cried… It was a very good feeling. Worst Memory: He vividly remembers being diagnosed with Stargardt’s, after a series of very uncomfortable and frightening tests and examinations, and it is explained to him that he was eventually going to go blind, and no one could do anything to help him. It was one of the most helpless and awful feeling moments in his life.

[sugartums]

The Full Heart and Emotional Availability

I.

The drive home from the Theater for Emotive Artificial Intelligence Science was in the rain on gravel roads past the one/laned bridge. The country. A lone squirrel was making her frantic search for acorns and sustenance for the winter. My winter of discontent, no more, thought she.

He should start acting differently in a few weeks, it’s done, the Maestro determined. It was all a matter of time now. His brain is sub/affecting the change through his baptismal/implanted devices as we speak. They were still current, no new insertion needed for the next twelve years. Strange:  none of the future Meridians had any recollection of the pain inflicted by violent insertion of ear-implants; a ritual unquestioned and decided long before consciousness was attained.

The Maestro remote activated the device to reconfigure the area around the corpus colosseum; (like in Rome, said Maestro), so that when she arrived back home; her live/in boyfriend would already be Engaged. Interconnected cryptic syntax; nerves talking one another or something, his being unaware of the whole affectation of his advanced personality. Blah blah blah.

He would be better that way, such as was advertised on TV.

Click click, program supra/routine engaged: Emotional Availability: EA.

It wasn’t a cheap upgrade. The MC in his electric/silver/plated desk and his silver/black hair swiveled when she balked at the non/premium covered cost of her boyfriend’s brain evolution. That’s not what it said on TV. The Maestro said nothing as prices were haggled.

Slicked back and side parted.

Long metallic pen in thin/tarantula length fingers, fingering the thing.

False/glass plate windows were back in vogue and behind him, the foggy dusty lines framed the once-scientist.

Weary and heaving downward in the chest, he determined the price again without argument. MC would indeed be the Master of the Ceremony and the coin.

She weighed her actions like a laundry list.

←←←←←

II.

The night before the upgrade he didn’t respond to her question. While watching her

decision  (re Boyfriend) stare at the plexiglass moonroof of their bedroom, flat-backed;  "Do you ever feel anything?" asked she.

“Whaat?” and a chuckle from him.

Even worse, any text messages received from him, after her explanation remembering a time-frame, or a series of events surrounding them, were answered with an “I see”.

She thought he may as well have said, “I don’t give a shite” instead of “I see”.

Halloween was over. The guise of insanity no longer an excuse for Fools.

↑↑↑↑

In the next phase, the doctor said, the subject, i.e. Raymond, would be responding more lovingly and with empathy.

It would be another few weeks before anything would happen; runtime errors, bugs, and self-deletion of wayward files.  

It was good for humans to have a heart. Every stew needs a salting.

Even some humans rejected the attempt of science to force more humanity, said the once-scientist. I don’t want this to happen, she thought.

Halloween was over. The guise of insanity no longer a suggestion. Who dresses up on the other days of the year?

←←←←

The stupefied glow of a man after orgasm reaches a point of lull for only five seconds, then he becomes aware of reality again. The Fukijawa light on a semi-warrior pose of Raymond by the wall window held for more than five seconds-- there was a time she could stare at his slim-toned stomach for many seconds after sex. In this time frame, she was getting up to clean herself off after the five-second lull. Wasn't the time used now for better things than sex? But without sex Raymond would retreat further into his Mother's figurative tentacles. Birdsmouth would be around to feed him immediately at her exit.

His body was never the problem. His sexual prowess, even without the help of botvibes, was never the problem.

His mind: was what she said in her mind. Born and raised without empathy. That kind of person. Mean sometimes. Critical of her driving. Unnaturally negative in simple conflicts.

Lush green mountain flora and sweet smelling air. Country s-curve roads in a to

p-down blood red Mitsubishi r-type.

→→→→

“The end of the story is when the people go away, then only come back as spirits,” Mirima explained to her 6-year old niece when visiting Fractiontown trying to forget about Raymond’s upgrade to complete.

“I don’t like this story, Aunty Em,  it scares me too much.”  Mirima laughed, “No, my baby, this is just a story that is not true, and what you are hearing cannot really happen, people cannot come back as spirits.”

“What about ghosts,” she was curious.

“I don’t know about ghosts, but your grandma is still with me, I can feel her. “  

“Do you still  talk to her anymore?”

“When I miss her, “ then a wave of emotion, silently stepped stage center from a waiting place; so Mirima let it, and let it more. Tears cannot be repressed when your heart is full.

“Stop,” said the niece slowly and atonally. Again three more times.

Mirima came home five days later.

Raymond worked at a polymer plant and got through traffic and gravel roads around  

1900ss.

His self-chosen duties were to make the dinner of fish and rice, sauces, and soy, peas and beans. Sauces and soy, peas and beans. He had an apron to protect his clothes. He maneuvered around the kitchen like one of his robots doing inspections. He amused himself by acting as they would; sharp stops and slow turning.

Control of heat and time. Watch the flame. Lower the flame.

Toss the food, Plate the table.

She sat at the supper table and looked on the outside of his deeply Jade and orange-flecked eyes, soft black eyelashes, and the Steve Martin-esque hairline from 1979. It was some kind of rage and admiration always. Both at once, unlike a cup of milk on the table. The table had other things there like a bowl of rice, but the rice would never be judged.

After dinner, she looked for some signs and was told to preview her questions slowly but surely over the course of four weeks. One question per day to solicit an emotional response. When the desired answer was received, she could then reward and affirm him through a series of phrases and personal attention.  

The physical attention was the first thing she desired from him in the commencement of their matchmaking.  Then as the progression happened, and her happiness waned, she let him move into her complex. He was more than willing to take over the financial and the household task halves. She watched him at the stove and garbage bin a

nd held back screams of rage.

But there were no sounds to describe the horror.

The secret remote engagement of the missing elements would be modulated to the maximum potential of Raymond’s emotional threshold. Max. pot. meaning using the prefrontal cortex as a type of clay, molded to make the emotional elements missing, would force the man into a more balanced being.

Dionysius and Apollo. Yin and yang. The fullness of the heart and mind.

                                        Lonely. Cold. Scared. Alone.

This morning she decided to wake early to make some muesli with honey and kiwi. Some fruits were rare and showed extra love to prepare for someone.

He came to the table dressed and pressed. He had a smile on his face. She asked how he was doing, he gave her a tiny pinch on the shoulder at the breakfast bar while bussing his bowl to the island.

Oh god, a rush of dopamine, oh yes. Thank you for touching me. It is happening, It is

happening! She suppressed the joy/wave but smiled back. Have a good day honey, I love you.

Love you too. And into the gravel driveway to the Mitsubishi Eclypse.

III.

Because this will help us. Because he is disabled by lack of emotion. Because he is a man.

He will thank me later for this. She wandered mentally in this matrix for the rest of her morning. She had to take off this day to get some bloodwork done. She was having her own brain chemistry tested to make sure her evolution was in order. No new upgrades for me.

I am tired today. I am feeling slow and tired. Does this happen when someone else changes?

→→→→→→

On the desk a month later, in her computer room, was a card. It said her name in black ink. She opened it and saw the picture of a heart on the front with some kind of abstract fish swimming through it.

She had a pause before the feeling she was looking for.

Ecstasy. She had to calm her beating heart. Inside, the card said:

“I have sunk like a stone to the depths of the ocean; I am lost in devotion.”

Love, Raymond

She lay back in bed with the card on her chest and cried a joyful messy cry with minimal repression.

I want to feel this way every day please please my God I knew this would work and my dreams would come true finally

She drove off the gravel driveway looking straight ahead. This will last with her eyes unblinking at the battery of red lights that forced her to pause. She would not be stopped now. Her way was now.

→→→→→

The second card. Two months later. Know that she never brought up the cards; that would ruin it. I’m not dull in the brain, for Pete’s sake.

A picture of a saint or something, looking woeful, and in pain. Only inside a quote:

"And what God? Great Jove,

Who shakes heaven's highest temples with his thunder,

And I, poor mortal man, not do the same!

I did it, and with all my heart I did it."

She put on the computer to find an answer...it was St. Augustine, talking about sex and then going on about it in a Confessional; about the vileness of lust.  

This is not what I want..I wanted to love, I must bring this up to Raymond.

She forced with some flesh resistance, a pair of crystal hoop earrings into the second hole in each ear. It was enjoyable, the feel of the skin ripping. Take it, bitch.

That voice came from nowhere and inside her head, responding to whatever leftover guilt remained. For sneaking, for cheating, for getting what she thought she wanted.

→→→→→

There is first spring, and then there is summer. You now, do not become you later.

The person who has settled down on the train is not the same person who stepped onto the train on the platform.

True words are not beautiful.

Raymond made statements such as these. Mirima went into the bathroom to knock on her head with her fist.  She caused a flux of a person; no longer a consistent person. He was more emotional, yes. But was he sensing his brain was different? What did he know of this programming?

If he was giving her a clue, it was when helped her with the kitchen duties. He said I want you to know, I will never judge you. You can be honest with me. She turned from scooping the prickly pear fruit:

Let’s go horseback riding then, you said the smell of horses makes you sick. If you

can handle that, then I know you won’t judge me for forcing you to go.

The jumping of the beasts was horrifying to him, more so at this moment; but the lucidity and clayness of her face; this new frontal cortex made him think, ok, I will go.

Ok, I will go, he said aloud.  She shrieked and hugged him around the hips; the hips felt round and lovely, like the vulnerable thighs of a baby.

IV.

The self that travels from moment to moment, corresponding to the moving water on the waves. This is the meaning that no one experiences anything, there is simply seeing and experiencing.  

The Maestro spoke to the young woman with the gentle approach of an ancient technologist; the folding rice paper table held a few oyster shells, upside down and holding sticks.

I cannot find a place to love him, he is changing in a way I cannot compute. Maestro sighed, took a long look out the plexiglass, then sneezed with a loud AHHH before the choo.  

Recovering swiftly; I can only tell you that what you experience, and you, are the same thing, he said.

So I am looking at his changes, but my insides are not separate from his outside changes?

He ignored her question, then asked if she would take a short test, to see if her brain was doing its job properly. You know, he said, the job for the thing one owns; memories, experiences, Raymond. She laid on the couch submissively with her legs spindly, hanging off the settee.

Raymond got off the phone with the Maestro and grabbed his keys. He would be going horseback riding after all. It was time to move on to look at things he no longer feared. It was his solemn duty to learn how to enjoy himself, the man said.

Mirima was absolutely smashed from a few cocktails at the kitchen table. He was hoping she would be fine to ride when they got there in two hours. Into the deep country, away from gravel and smog. No place to bicker, only the horses. He loved her fully now, no more fear of risks.

On the hill, she was still buzzed but quite aware of her skills inherited from a family

of farmers and tillers. She opted for no helmet, her hair was sprayed and beautifully luscious with copper tones.

No, he would not jump, he would take a stroll on one of the older beasts; on a short journey in the wood while she got her courage to leap over the five-foot barriers.

It was a perfect blue/sky morning. She raced forward and the horse’s gait leaned to the left. She over compromised on the right, and her foot fell from the

←←←←

Down on the ground and neck

Slowly people around the body, she is conscious, she is ok.

Raymond took her to the hospital himself, 23 kilometers away, and raced like a wooden horse.  Carried in as a Princess...saved by actions, saved by his works. This was not in the time/frame.

In the waiting room, he sat with his hands folded, knees wide apart, facing the floor.

He was called in and she was bandaged around the head and awake. I love you he felt.

“ I love you, my dear, I have to tell you something..I know what you did, you were stalked..we will be together forever, we wanted you to accept the upgrade….” he burst into tears, the first cry of his time with her. Amidst blubbering, his head in her braless breasts, I

love you I love you...

With furrowed brows, she gently pushed his head away.

“Who are you?”

[marshmallowgoop]

You think that Senketsu ever gets lulled to sleep by the sound of Ryuko's slowing heart beat if she falls asleep while wearing him?

The first time, it’s anaccident.

He’s scared. He doesn’t mean to.

The feeling comes what seemstoo late. It comes after the battle, after reddened cheeks and hasty, labored breaths,after an escape that should have left her a crumpled heap on the ground.

She only barely manages toreach the station just as the last train rings its bells and signals itsdeparture. Everyone backs away at the sight of her—of him, of them—eyes gluedto the weapon she keeps at her side and his body pressed against hers, facesfilled with a jumble of emotions and feelings that he doesn’t understand and can’t understand.

But she acts for him. Sheshouts, she yells, she holds up a blade she can scarcely keep steady, andbefore long the train is hers. None can say a word as she rides, as she goes somewherehe doesn’t know and he is sure she doesn’t know herself, her hand—his hand,their hand, he doesn’t know that, either—gripping the cool steel stanchion tight,as though her life depends on it.

She still fights to breathe. Everybreath is a desperate gasp, and she’s hot and burning beneath him, skin on fire,pushing him away with every whimpered wheeze, and yet he holds her close tohim, anyway. He holds her as she holds the cold metal, he holds her as shestrains to hold herself upright, he holds her and all her blood she’s spilledacross him and all her sweat that now covers his entirety. He holds her stenchof war, he holds her pain, he holds this girl—Ryuko, he thinks, as though he hasn’t been repeating and repeatingthe name in his head—like she is all he has.

Perhaps it is because she is all he has.

The train stops as the settingsun drenches them in a bright-orange glow that he’s never known. She can no longerstand, and he feels her fall, hard, her body collapsing to the ground in aplace where the air is thick and heavy and hot and the smell of garbageprevails. He breathes in the reek of rotting food tumbling from tipped-overbins, of rats scurrying around dark corners, of human waste and mold. He feelsthe sun pressing down on him in a way it shouldn’t this time of year—not thathe knows what time of year it is—and it suffocates him, leaving him as starvingfor breath as she had been only moments before.

The people come quickly, a smallgroup of boys. They hear the fall of his girl—no, of Ryuko—and they throw downtheir playing cards, coming over to gawk, to stare. They’re young—nothing morethan mere children, schoolbags still slung over their backs, youthful frecklesdotting their faces, too-big, hand-me-down clothes falling over their shouldersand held up at their waists with dangling belts—but their words bring him tohold her trembling body even closer to him, his own body tensing, his breath leavinghim completely.

The boys look to one another, andlook to him, and look to her with eyes that don’t see her as human. They licktheir lips, they inch ever closer, they laugh, they won’t stop laughing.

“Get away,” he wants to say. “Don’tyou touch her. Don’t you lay a finger onher.”

But his voice is gone. Wordsare gone. He can only growl, he can only hold, can only embrace, rage and angerand fear building inside, filling him, suffocating him.

He still can’t breathe.

But he has to protect her. Nothing else matters besides protecting her.

It is then, though, at that precisemoment, as the boys come closer and despair overtakes him, that Senketsu first feels it.

The sensation is soothing,somehow. It’s relaxing, a gentle rhythm that seems to seep into his very souland wash all his tension away, replacing the feelings with calm, with peace. Theworld’s vibrancy—the musty scents, the richness of the burnt orange of the sun—allfade away, as though shrouded in fog.

Senketsu gasps. Ryuko’s own breathinghas calmed. Her once-pounding heart rate has slowed to a crawl. She’s fastasleep, she’s left him, she’s gone to rest—and something is demanding that hego with her.

Something is pulling Senketsuaway.

The world continues to growmore distant, muddled, as the sensation threatens to overtake him completely. Hecan’t drift away, he knows, he has to be here, he can’t leave, but the boys’words sound less and less like language, and the boys’ shapes look less andless like humans, and he’s hardly conscious, as another boy comes before them,arms outstretched, as though his small form can serve as a barricade.

“Bug off, creeps!” the boysays, Senketsu thinks, and the group groans and slinks away, leaving only thethree of them there, right where Ryuko had fallen from the train.

Senketsu cannot say he truststhe new boy. The child will only hurt Ryuko, will only bring her harm, willonly do her ill, but the feeling dulls everything. This sensation is too nice,too wonderful, and Senketsu can hardly recall, in the days to come, his bodycollapsing around Ryuko as the boy takes her by the wrist, as he drags her to handsthat could bandage and heal in a way that Senketsu himself never could.

Sleep, Senketsu remembers a voicesaying, time and time again.

Rest.

The second time, Senketsufeels it in a time of calm.

Ryuko slumbers so peacefullythat he doesn’t even hesitate to join her, the drone of Mr. Mikisugi’s lecturevanishing into nothing, that wondrous sensation filling him to the brim.

The third time, Senketsu recognizesit when Ryuko holds her body close to his, her arms wrapped around his tiny form,her hands clutching him and all his exhaustion as though it is her own, herback pressed up against cold, cool porcelain.

All around them is the reek oftoilet water, of nauseating, flower-scented disinfectants, of blood in a placeit shouldn’t be, of a war that shouldn’t belong. He ought to feel sick, Senketsuknows, he ought to feel tense, on edge, but her grip is so warm, her scent isso calming, and her hold on him doesn’t loosen even as the sensation becomesstronger, even as that man carries them in a way that Senketsu knows he never could, even as she drifts far away and leaves him in a drowsy haze of bothwonder and fear.

Sleep, a voice says, as theman’s steps slip into the soothing feeling growing inside, as the strangernever once tries to hurt her again.

Unwittingly, Senketsu does so.

The fourth time is a blur.

He aches. Everything aches. She’salready wandered away from him, her breathing slowed, her body stained red andblack and purple, covered in fresh sores and welts that bleed, that sting, thathurt, that he can’t rub salve over, that he can’t help.

That he’d given her.

She aches. She’s silentagainst him, but every last bit of her aches, and he knows it, he feels it. Herpain is his own, as it has been since the day she first uttered his name fromlips that now will not speak.

He can’t stop staring, even asthe world fades, even as that sweet sound hugs him as she had, once, her backagainst a cold, cool porcelain wall. Her face is red still, inflamed from theirbattle, and if he could forget it, if he could act as though he weren’t what heis, he might think she looks peaceful right now, at ease, as though she hasn’t acare in the world.

But he can’t forget. He wantsto carry her in arms he doesn’t have. He wants to hold her like Kinagase had. Hewants to bandage her face and her wounds like ojisan had. He wants to be anything but what he is.

She whispers his name, from afaraway place, as people come their way, surely to free her of him, to take him away. Her voice is quiet, strained, vulnerable.

“I’m sorry,” she says, and thefeeling overcomes him once more.

The fifth time, the feelinghas grown stronger.

He is broken. He is lost. Hefeels torn in a million different directions, but she holds him together. Sheclutches him as though he is all that matters in the world, she holds him soclose he can smell the hard citrus of the kitchen soap and the sweat thatbecomes his, and it is wonderful, intoxicating.

He can almost forget that heis incomplete.

But the sound is the mostsoothing of all. It is a sound he has come to love more than most anything, andit calls for him now, it resonates with his entire being, it caresses him andholds him and somehow, he knows that she will be safe.

Sleep, a voice says, as italways does in moments like this, though he realizes it is not a voice at all. 

The world fades away as arms that are not his carry them away.

The sixth time, she notices.

She holds him close to her andhe holds her close to him, collapsing to alien sheets that are soft and finebut not what she is used to, not home, not family. She does not say anything ofit, but he understands.

Her breathing has calmed. Herheart is slowing, going to sleep, finally, after hours of racing and thudding and aching.

No, he can’t blame her, he thinks, of course he can’t, not after everything they had learned, but he has never felt more satisfied to feel the sensation overtaking him, the world taking on a dim glaze.

He yawns against her, just after she does, bringing her eyes to his.

“Are you tired, Senketsu?” sheasks. There is surprise in her voice. She has not yet realized.

“Yes,” he says. Her sound pulls at him. It is mesmerizing, incredible. He struggles to speak. “I am tired because you are.”

She runs a hand along his neckerchief, her fingers seeming to dance to the rhythm inside. 

“You can tell?” she asks.

“I can,” he says.

“And it makes you sleepy?”

“It does.”

Of course it does. She’s driftingfarther and farther away from him, and the world is already starting to fade. Hervoice seems distant, fuzzy, as though she is speaking to him underwater, andher heart won’t stop.

“You listenin’ again, huh?” she asks. “You like the sound that much?”

She’s drowsy. Her words are tired and sloppy, coming out longand drawn out. Her tone is sweeter than sugar, and she’s smiling at him,lightly, crinkles at her eyes.

Would she ever speak like thisto him, when her heartbeat is not the sound of the most beautiful lullaby?

“I do,” he tells her, asthough such simple words could convey what the sound means to him. “I adore it,Ryuko.”

He feels her relax even more against him. Sheshuts her eyes. She is so close to slipping away.

“S’nothing special,” shemumbles. She is not talking to him so much as to herself. “Nothing but aheartbeat. Nothing…”

She leaves him. Her heartbeatfalls into one of its most wondrous sounds, slow and steady and peacefuland soothing, and he wishes to say that it is not just a heartbeat to him. Thereis nothing nothing about it.

And though she will not hearhis words, he speaks anyway, as the world fades to nothing.

[ttransthirteen]

okay here we go! for sol: 8, 35, 19; for hernandez: 45, 5, 13; for jericho: 3,17, 24; for nikola: 40, 43, 50; for nix, 9, 22, 29, for scott: 3, 36, 27; for hero: 34, 18, 6; for lynx: 10, 26, 44!! sorry if that's too many!!

anon i have no idea how you know all these characters enough to send me specific ones for their names, but i want you to know this is the best thing that has happened to me in weeks and you are the absolute light of my life. if you believe in a higher power i wish you blessings and happiness for years to come. 

here we go!! (also this is so long im sorry, I tried to sort them if anybody is actually curious about any of them)

Sol- 

8. did they have pets as a child? as an adult? do they like animals?

Dani Solis, or just Sol to her coworkers, is a mechanic who never quite understood living things. she grew up in outer space and never really had the opportunity to have a pet, although the constant traveling meant she got to see a ridiculous variety of life. When she was a little girl, she would sometimes find a cockroach or other bug on the ship and catch it, keeping it and feeding it until it died. it was never a very satisfying experience, probably adding to her obsession with immortal machines. 

35. whats their guilty pleasure? what is their totally unguilty pleasure?

I’d call Eric her guilty pleasure. they would have ended up together if I hadn’t killed him off mid-breakdown. Most people live on a planet, but she doesn’t have one, so to her any sort of truly meaningful human connection is dangerous and off-limits. but she loves him deeply, although it scares her. Unguilty, I’d say shes kind of a hoarder. her bunk is full of knick-knacks from every corner of the explored universe. she spends pretty much her entire salary on it tbh

19. whats their least favorite genres? 

if this is about literature, she thinks fantasy is stupid. if it’s music, she loves rap and techno but has never really been able to tolerate slow guitar pieces about how beautiful planet life is. think space-age country. 

Hernandez-

45. How do other people see them? Is it similar to how they see themselves?

this is a big one for him. Captain Eric Hernandez is a trans man, so for a lot of his life yeah there was a massive difference. but after he transitioned, I would say the main difference would be that the people around him see him as cold, kind of scary. he’s not scary, he’s scared. he sees himself as small and weak, even after he straight up murdered his abuser and took his place as captain. His friends would say he is the strongest, bravest man they’ve ever known. They would be right.

5. Do they have any siblings? What’s their names? What is their relationship with them? Has their relationship changed since they were kids to adults?

He has two sisters and two brothers, I don’t know any of their names. He was very close with all of them and misses them every day. Since he ran away to avoid having to pretend to be a woman his whole life, and then murdered a guy, contacting any of them would have been massively dangerous. He couldn’t even tell any of them he was leaving because he wasn’t out to them. In the version of his story where he’s executed, they all get letters from Sol explaining everything. In the version where he lives, he sends the letters himself.

13. What is their least favorite food?

fish was never available to him as a kid, and he never acquired the taste. 

Jericho-

3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories they have of it? What’s a bad memory? 

this isnt something i get to say about my ocs a lot, but he did. he had a lovely childhood. he grew up with a loving father in a huge, beautiful city where he was free to explore and learn to his hearts content. he has especially fond memories of wandering around the actual ground of the city where basically nobody ever goes, looking at bugs and mold and plants with his little junior scientist magnifying glass, looking them up on his computer-band. the worst ones were probably nights where his dad had to work and he was lonely in their apartment, bc those were the nights he wondered about his mom. 

17. Do they like to take photos? What do they like to take photos of? Selfies? What do they do with their photos?

He’ll take photographs of cool specimen, but mostly he carries a journal and prefers to take notes. he takes notes on absolutely everything and has boxes and boxes of old notebooks in his closet at home. 

24. What is their sleeping pattern like? Do they snore? What do they like to sleep on? A soft or hard mattress?

my boy jericho has very little trouble sleeping and is fine with the govt issues firm mattress. he is quiet and still and sleeps deeply. 

Ok! switching universes! these characters are completely disconnected from those three.

Nikola Tchaikova- 

40. Do they like energy drinks? Coffee? Sugary food? Or can they naturally stay awake and alert?

I’m not sure she’s ever even tried it. Nikola is a full blown alcoholic and anything that makes her feel more alert is probably not something she’s gonna enjoy. Her natural senses and awareness are absolutely through the roof, so it’s not something she really needs at all. She does like sweets though. Back when she had her family, her and her close companions use to sneak away sometimes and go out to the city for milkshakes and music, and those are probably her fondest memories. 

43. Are they religious? What do they think of religion? What do they think of religious people? What do they think of non religious people?

When she was a very young girl she might have worshipped the christian/jewish/muslim god, or at least attempted to. For a young shifter where she grew up, life was rough, and she would have had a hard time finding the meaning in it all. but later in life, after the war, the major religion worshipped shifters and obviously that was ridiculous to her, so she kind of looks down on the whole thing. She might still be a little envious of the purpose and comfort that the worshippers get and that is missing so much from her life, but one of the main gods in their pantheon is based on her kid brother’s best friend. its hard to take that seriously. (the idea is that there were 5 original all powerful shifters who made the real world ones. this is wrong. shifters were a science experiment gotten out of control, and Nikola knows that.)

50. If they could only take one bag of stuff somewhere with them: what would they pack? What do they consider their essentials?

She would pack her knife, which her long dead brother gave her about 1500 years ago. she would take the pendant she wears, which was symbolic of the leadership position she used to hold before the people she was leading were all killed. She has a photo collection that she says never looks at out of fear of the light ruining them. Her best friend made her some copies, but she doesn’t look at those either. I think it hurts her to see the faces of the people she misses. She has a small bag of things tucked into the back of her closet that she never, ever touches or looks at. After the massacre that took her family, Angelo (the only survivor, her best friend) went through the carnage and collected the possessions of their friends. Nikola helped him bury them, but she couldn’t stand to take their things. he gave them to her afterwards, and she’s only every managed to take them out and look at them when she’s so drunk she knows she won’t remember the next day. But she would never leave them behind.

Nix- 

9. Do animals like them? Do they get on well with animals?

Domenico “Nix” Tchaikova is Nikola’s son, so half-shifter. Shifters are, by necessity, a bit closer to nature than the rest of us, and even though he has almost no actual form changing abilities animals have always seemed to like him a bit more than his friends. He’s always assumed that it’s because of his prosthetic leg, that they realize he couldn’t chase them if he wanted to, but animals know things, and they can sense that he’s not quite the same as the other humans. 

22. What are their favorite insults to use? What do they insult people for? Or do they prefer to bitch behind someone’s back?

Nix would never insult someone behind their back- he has a temper, and if you piss him off he’s gonna confront you on the spot. His insults tend not to be physical. he might call you ugly if hes real mad, but hes much more likely to call you a coward or an idiot. He gets hit a lot for this. 

29. What do they do when they find out someone else’s fear? Do they tease them? Or get very over protective? 

No, he’d never tease someone for being genuinely afraid. He knows fear too well to try and use it against people. If somebody he cared about was afraid of something, he would plant his tiny self between them and whatever it was no matter what. hes used to being seen as small and weak and incapable, and its resulted in a stupidly brave boy who gets himself into trouble a lot because he doesnt know when to back down.

Scott-

3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories they have of it? What’s a bad memory? 

My boy!!! This is another one of Nikola’s children, one of the triplets. if you just read her thing, you can probably guess that she wouldn’t be a very good mother. Angelo, his father, was always loving and supportive, but both of his parents were just sad people who weren’t really prepared to raise three children. They grew up in the century before the war broke out, in a political climate that feared and hated them, among countless news stories of people like them being murdered and hunted. but Nikola still managed to give them a reasonably normal childhood. She found a place to settle down, near enough to a city that they could socialize and explore but far enough away they they grew up in the woods and could explore their natural abilities without being hunted down by hate groups. 

He has a lot of good memories! pretty much all of them are him doing dumb shit with his siblings. they used to use their shifting to break into concerts or fly up to the roofs of tall buildings. 

As for bad ones. definitely most of his bad memories are on Nikola’s head. He was the shifter equivalent of about eight years old when he saw her kill somebody for the first time. she didn’t know he was there, but im not sure if knowing would have changed anything. she’s been on a very long, very complicated vengeance quest since before he was born. She had tracked somebody down, and he watched while she slowly cornered him. You could practically smell the terror coming off the man as she drew her blade, moving towards him as she spoke. He had never heard her talk about the deaths of her family before, and as she told her prey all about how she had come home to find her kid brother on the floor with his throat slit open, there was something in her voice that he would never forget for the rest of his life. then he watched his mother put a knife through the bottom of the man’s jaw into his brain. he saw the light go out of his eyes, and he saw the absolute emptiness in his mother’s when she turned around. He ran as fast as he could back to his siblings and cried, but never told them what he saw. 

36. What are they good at? What hobbies do they like? Can they sing?

He can sing!!! he has a voice like an angel and he loves to use it. he plays about twenty instruments- hes had a long time to learn- and he always carries at least one on him. he can use weaponry and is good at it, but doesnt enjoy it. 

27. What makes them sad? Do they cry regularly? Do they cry openly or hide it? What are they like they are sad?

He doesn’t cry often. He doesn’t care if his siblings see him cry- theyre all so close its like crying in private- but with other people he doesnt like it. He just gets quiet when he’s sad. He’s not the moodiest of his siblings(that title goes to Lynx) but they all inherited something from their parents that makes them quiet, serious people on the whole. He feels deeply and thinks about things. Hes bisexual. I know that doesn’t go here but its important. He cried after he slept with a man for the first time, not because he was upset with himself about the gay thing but because he’d let himself fall for a human. The boy’s name was Jacob, and he didn’t understand but tried to comfort him anyways because he cared about Scott. They dated for a while, but Scott couldn’t handle knowing he would age and die so quickly and broke it off. Jacob was 43 when he was killed in a bombing during the war. Funerals had stopped happening at that time, people unable to keep up with all the dead. But there were still graves, and Scott visited Jacob’s for years afterwards. 

Hero-

34. What is their body type? How tall are they? Do they like their body?

She looks a lot like her mom. about 5′7, muscular, strong features. She got her dads eyes though, the only one of her siblings to have them. Scott and Lynx and Nix all have Nikki’s distinctive golden-ringed brown. She likes her body fine, its a good and strong body. she likes that shes not the shortest of her siblings(lynx is tied and nix is smaller) but other than that she doesnt really care. 

18. What’s their favourite genre of: books, music, tv shows, films, video games and anything else

She was never much of a reader, and the only tv she ever got to see was when there was one on in a restaurant. She did enjoy films though, and her favorites were action. She got a certain something from Nikola that neither Scott or Lynx has, something kind of cold and fierce. Whatever it was that Scott saw in his mom’s eyes when she killed that man, exists in Hero too. Nix too, but less so. She would have liked video games a lot if she’d ever had the chance to really get into them.

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate?

She never went to school. Her father taught her to read and write, as well as everything he thought she needed to know about the world. She spent her childhood wandering with her siblings, and most things she needed to know she got from that. All three of them had been planning on going to college, but the war came before they got the chance. But I think if she’d gotten the chance she would have had an interest in something technical. Engineering or architecture maybe. 

Lynx-

10. Do they like children? Do children like them? Do they have or want any children? What would they be like as a parent? Or as a godparent/babysitter/ect?

God I love Lynx. He would never, ever become a parent, but I think he would be a good one. Out of all of her children, Lynx inherited the most of Nikola’s sadness. In non dramatic terms she gave him her tendencies towards mental illness and its something hes struggled with his whole life. His siblings are a wonderful support system but he knows that any child of his would struggle like he has, and he has so many unhappy memories of Nikola’s misery that he would be too afraid. But children do like him, and he likes them. He’s a fun, playful person when he’s feeling good, and is absolutely delighted to discover he has a little brother. obviously hes got the same terror of losing him, but he has pushed those feelings tf down. he just wants to enjoy their relationship while he can. hes a wonderful, sweet, caring boy whos full of love and good times, but too scared of himself to ever be a parent.

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions? 

When he’s happy, everybody knows it. He is an absolute delight. he does dance, actually. when hes happy he does it more but also its just a thing hes good at and loves to do. humans who see it know theres something not quite natural about the way he moves, and hes beautiful to watch when hes using it to express joy. He has bright eyes and a smile that makes you feel like you are safe and loved and that everything in the entire world is gonna be ok. 

44. What is their favorite season? Type of weather? Are they good in the cold or the heat? What weather do they complain in the most? 

He loves any time of the year where it’s warm enough to wear skirts and loose, light shirts. The wintertime makes his depression worse, and a lot of years he and his siblings will head south to avoid it. but he loves warm breezes and cool nights by a fire, loves seeing the flowers in the spring and all the new baby animals. he isn’t at all a complainer, but when the weather is affecting him badly it’s easy to tell. he gets quiet, which is not something he is a lot. 

[ebrainy]

Bugs, rodent hair and poop: How much is legally allowed in the food you eat every day?

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

Brace yourselves, America: Many of your favorite foods may contain bits and pieces of creatures that you probably didn’t know were there.

How about some rodent dung in your coffee? Maggots in your pizza sauce? Mold in the jelly on your toast?

Oh, and so sorry, chocolate lovers. That dark, delicious bar you devoured might contain 30 or more insect parts and a sprinkling of rodent hair.

Called “food defects,” these dismembered creatures and their excrement are the unfortunate byproduct of growing and harvesting food.

“It is economically impractical to grow, harvest, or process raw products that are totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects,” says the US Food and Drug Administration.

So while there’s no way to get rid of all the creatures that might hitch a ride along the food processing chain, the FDA has established standards to keep food defects to a minimum.

Let’s go through a typical day of meals to see what else you’re not aware that you’re eating.

Breakfast

The coffee beans you grind for breakfast are allowed by the FDA to have an average of 10 milligrams or more animal poop per pound. As much as 4% to 6% of beans by count are also allowed to be insect-infested or moldy.

As you sprinkle black pepper on your morning eggs, try not to think about the fact you may be eating more than 40 insect fragments with every teaspoon, along with a smidgen of rodent hair.

Did you have fruit for breakfast? Common fruit flies can catch a ride anywhere from field to harvest to grocery store, getting trapped by processors or freezing in refrigerated delivery trucks and ending up in your home.

Lunch

Let’s say you packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone’s lunch. Good choice! Peanut butter is one of the most controlled foods in the FDA list; an average of one or more rodent hairs and 30 (or so) insect fragments are allowed for every 100 grams, which is 3.5 ounces.

The typical serving size for peanut butter is 2 tablespoons (unless you slather). That means each 2 tablespoon-peanut butter sandwich would only have about eight insect fragments and a teensy tiny bit of rodent filth. (“Filth” is what the FDA calls these insect and rodent food defects.)

Unfortunately, jelly and jam are not as controlled. Apple butter can contain an average of four or more rodent hairs for every 3.5 ounces (100 grams) and about five whole insects. Oh, and that isn’t counting the unknown numbers of teensy mites, aphids, and thrips.

Apple butter can also contain up to 12% mold, which is better than cherry jam, which can be 30% moldy, or black currant jam, which can be 75% moldy.

Snacks

Did you pack some of the kid-sized boxes of raisins for your child’s mid-afternoon snack? Golden raisins are allowed to contain 35 fruit fly eggs as well as 10 or more whole insects (or their equivalent heads and legs) for every 8 ounces. Kid-sized containers of raisins are an ounce each. That’s more than 4 eggs and a whole insect in each box.

After work drink

Any Bloody Mary fans? The tomato juice in that 14 oz. Bloody Mary could contain up to four maggots and 20 or more fruit fly eggs.

And if you’re having a fruity cocktail, just be aware that the canned citrus juices that many bars use can legally have five or more fruit fly eggs or other fly eggs per cup (250 ml). Or that cup of juice could contain one or more maggots. Apricot, peach and pear nectars are allowed to contain up to 12% moldy fruit.

Dinner

Oh, gosh, the possibilities are endless! Did you know there can be 450 insect parts and nine rodent hairs in every 16 oz. box of spaghetti?

Canned tomatoes, tomato paste and sauces like pizza sauce are a bit less contaminated than the tomato juice in your cocktail. The FDA only allows about two maggots in a 16 oz. can.

Adding mushrooms to your spaghetti sauce or pizza? For every 4 oz. can of mushrooms there can be an average of 20 or more maggots of any size.

The canned sweet corn we love is allowed to have two or more larvae of the corn ear worm, along with larvae fragments and the skins the worms discard as they grow.

For every ¼ cup of cornmeal, the FDA allows an average of one or more whole insects, two or more rodent hairs and 50 or more insect fragments, or one or more fragments of rodent dung.

Asparagus can contain 40 or more scary-looking but teensy thrips for every ¼ pound. If those aren’t around, FDA inspectors look for beetle eggs, entire insects or heads and body parts.

Frozen or canned spinach is allowed to have an average of 50 aphids, thrips and mites. If those are missing, the FDA allows larvae of spinach worms or eight whole leaf miner bugs.

Don’t forget the spices!

Dismembered insects can be found in many of our favorite spices as well. Crushed oregano, for example, can contain 300 or more insect bits and about two rodent hairs for every 10 grams. To put that in context, a family-size bottle of oregano is about 18 oz. or 510 grams.

Paprika can have up to 20% mold, about 75 insect parts and 11 rodent hairs for every 25 grams (just under an ounce). A typical spice jar holds about 2 to 3 oz.

Food safety process

By now you must be asking: Just how do they count those tiny insect heads and pieces of rodent dung? “Food manufacturers have quality assurance employees who are constantly taking samples of their packaged, finished product to be sure they’re not putting anything out that is against the rules,” said food safety specialist Ben Chapman, a professor in agricultural and human sciences at North Carolina State University.

Sometimes they do it by hand, Chapman said. “They take 10 bags out of a week-long production and try to shake out what might be in here,” he said. “Do we have particularly high insect parts or was it a particularly buggy time of year when the food was harvested? And they make sure they are below those FDA thresholds.”

What happens if it was a very buggy week and lots of insects decided to sacrifice themselves? Can they get all those eggs, legs and larvae out?

“They really can’t,” Chapman said. But they can take the food and send it to a process called “rework.” “Say I’ve got a whole bunch of buggy fresh cranberries that I can’t put in a bag and sell,” Chapman explained. “I might send those to a cranberry canning operation where they can boil them and then skim those insect parts off the top and put them into a can.”

That’s gross. Will I ever eat any of these foods again?

“Look, this is all a very, very, very low-risk situation,” Chapman said. “I look at it as a yuck factor versus a risk factor. Insect parts are gross, but they don’t lead to foodborne illnesses.”

Much more dangerous, Chapman points out, is the potential for stone, metal, plastic or glass parts to come along with harvested food as it enters the processing system. All foods are subjected to X-rays and metal detectors, Chapman said, because when those slip through, people can actually be hurt.

Also much more dangerous are foodborne illnesses such as salmonella, listeria, and E. coli, which can severely sicken and even kill.

“Cross-contamination from raw food, undercooking food, hand-washing and spreading germs from raw food, those are the things that contribute to the more than 48 million cases of foodborne illness we have every year in the US,” Chapman said.

Well, put that way, I guess my disgust over that rodent poop in my coffee seems overblown.

Maybe.

source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/04/health/insect-rodent-filth-in-food-wellness/index.html

© 2019 US Food Safety Corporation. No copyright claim is made for portions of this blog and linked items that are works of the United States Government, state governments or third parties.

from US Food Safety https://ift.tt/2pOnnDe Bugs, rodent hair and poop: How much is legally allowed in the food you eat every day? US Food Safety via 1best recipe https://ift.tt/335lSyS

[kansascityhappenings]

Bugs, rodent hair and poop: How much is legally allowed in the food you eat every day?

Brace yourselves, America: Many of your favorite foods may contain bits and pieces of creatures that you probably didn’t know were there.

How about some rodent dung in your coffee? Maggots in your pizza sauce? Mold in the jelly on your toast?

Oh, and so sorry, chocolate lovers. That dark, delicious bar you devoured might contain 30 or more insect parts and a sprinkling of rodent hair.

Called “food defects,” these dismembered creatures and their excrement are the unfortunate byproduct of growing and harvesting food.

Called “food defects,” these dismembered creatures and their excrement are the unfortunate byproduct of growing and harvesting food.

“It is economically impractical to grow, harvest, or process raw products that are totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects,” says the US Food and Drug Administration.

So while there’s no way to get rid of all the creatures that might hitch a ride along the food processing chain, the FDA has established standards to keep food defects to a minimum.

Let’s go through a typical day of meals to see what else you’re not aware that you’re eating.

Breakfast

The coffee beans you grind for breakfast are allowed by the FDA to have an average of 10 milligrams or more animal poop per pound. As much as 4% to 6% of beans by count are also allowed to be insect-infested or moldy.

As you sprinkle black pepper on your morning eggs, try not to think about the fact you may be eating more than 40 insect fragments with every teaspoon, along with a smidgen of rodent hair.

Did you have fruit for breakfast? Common fruit flies can catch a ride anywhere from field to harvest to grocery store, getting trapped by processors or freezing in refrigerated delivery trucks and ending up in your home.

Lunch

Let’s say you packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone’s lunch. Good choice!

Peanut butter is one of the most controlled foods in the FDA list; an average of one or more rodent hairs and 30 (or so) insect fragments are allowed for every 100 grams, which is 3.5 ounces.

The typical serving size for peanut butter is 2 tablespoons (unless you slather). That means each 2 tablespoon-peanut butter sandwich would only have about eight insect fragments and a teensy tiny bit of rodent filth. (“Filth” is what the FDA calls these insect and rodent food defects.)

Unfortunately, jelly and jam are not as controlled. Apple butter can contain an average of four or more rodent hairs for every 3.5 ounces (100 grams) and about five whole insects. Oh, and that isn’t counting the unknown numbers of teensy mites, aphids, and thrips.

Apple butter can also contain up to 12% mold, which is better than cherry jam, which can be 30% moldy, or black currant jam, which can be 75% moldy.

Snacks

Did you pack some of the kid-sized boxes of raisins for your child’s mid-afternoon snack?

Golden raisins are allowed to contain 35 fruit fly eggs as well as 10 or more whole insects (or their equivalent heads and legs) for every 8 ounces. Kid-sized containers of raisins are an ounce each. That’s more than 4 eggs and a whole insect in each box.

After work drink

Any Bloody Mary fans? The tomato juice in that 14 oz. Bloody Mary could contain up to four maggots and 20 or more fruit fly eggs.

And if you’re having a fruity cocktail, just be aware that the canned citrus juices that many bars use can legally have five or more fruit fly eggs or other fly eggs per cup (250 ml). Or that cup of juice could contain one or more maggots. Apricot, peach and pear nectars are allowed to contain up to 12% moldy fruit.

Dinner

Oh, gosh, the possibilities are endless! Did you know there can be 450 insect parts and nine rodent hairs in every 16 oz. box of spaghetti?

Canned tomatoes, tomato paste and sauces like pizza sauce are a bit less contaminated than the tomato juice in your cocktail. The FDA only allows about two maggots in a 16 oz. can.

Adding mushrooms to your spaghetti sauce or pizza? For every 4 oz. can of mushrooms there can be an average of 20 or more maggots of any size.

The canned sweet corn we love is allowed to have two or more larvae of the corn ear worm, along with larvae fragments and the skins the worms discard as they grow.

For every ¼ cup of cornmeal, the FDA allows an average of one or more whole insects, two or more rodent hairs and 50 or more insect fragments, or one or more fragments of rodent dung.

Asparagus can contain 40 or more scary-looking but teensy thrips for every ¼ pound. If those aren’t around, FDA inspectors look for beetle eggs, entire insects or heads and body parts.

Frozen or canned spinach is allowed to have an average of 50 aphids, thrips and mites. If those are missing, the FDA allows larvae of spinach worms or eight whole leaf miner bugs.

Don’t forget the spices!

Dismembered insects can be found in many of our favorite spices as well. Crushed oregano, for example, can contain 300 or more insect bits and about two rodent hairs for every 10 grams. To put that in context, a family-size bottle of oregano is about 18 oz. or 510 grams.

Paprika can have up to 20% mold, about 75 insect parts and 11 rodent hairs for every 25 grams (just under an ounce). A typical spice jar holds about 2 to 3 oz.

Food safety process

By now you must be asking: Just how do they count those tiny insect heads and pieces of rodent dung?

“Food manufacturers have quality assurance employees who are constantly taking samples of their packaged, finished product to be sure they’re not putting anything out that is against the rules,” said food safety specialist Ben Chapman, a professor in agricultural and human sciences at North Carolina State University.

Sometimes they do it by hand, Chapman said. “They take 10 bags out of a week-long production and try to shake out what might be in here,” he said. “Do we have particularly high insect parts or was it a particularly buggy time of year when the food was harvested? And they make sure they are below those FDA thresholds.”

What happens if it was a very buggy week and lots of insects decided to sacrifice themselves? Can they get all those eggs, legs and larvae out?

“They really can’t,” Chapman said. But they can take the food and send it to a process called “rework.”

“Say I’ve got a whole bunch of buggy fresh cranberries that I can’t put in a bag and sell,” Chapman explained. “I might send those to a cranberry canning operation where they can boil them and then skim those insect parts off the top and put them into a can.”

That’s gross. Will I ever eat any of these foods again?

“Look, this is all a very, very, very low-risk situation,” Chapman said. “I look at it as a yuck factor versus a risk factor. Insect parts are gross, but they don’t lead to foodborne illnesses.”

Much more dangerous, Chapman points out, is the potential for stone, metal, plastic or glass parts to come along with harvested food as it enters the processing system. All foods are subjected to X-rays and metal detectors, Chapman said, because when those slip through, people can actually be hurt.

Also much more dangerous are foodborne illnesses such as salmonella, listeria, and E. coli, which can severely sicken and even kill.

“Cross-contamination from raw food, undercooking food, hand-washing and spreading germs from raw food, those are the things that contribute to the more than 48 million cases of foodborne illness we have every year in the US,” Chapman said.

Well, put that way, I guess my disgust over that rodent poop in my coffee seems overblown.

Maybe.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/10/04/bugs-rodent-hair-and-poop-how-much-is-legally-allowed-in-the-food-you-eat-every-day/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/10/04/bugs-rodent-hair-and-poop-how-much-is-legally-allowed-in-the-food-you-eat-every-day/