#and i have the advantage of natural land and rocks that i can use as natural barriers

[weirdcharacter]

I'm so happy, my house is coming together nicely and I'm also working on the dino-park, hopefully I'll be done with the first step by next week or in two weeks time 🤗

[furious-blueberry0]

Theret

This is a place that was originally in a personal project of mine that I abandoned, but that I decided to bring back to life by putting it into star wars! I don't have the strenght to draw it, so for now I'll just use images to illustrate hoe this planet looks. Enjoy!

Theret is the birth place of Baheera Lee (OC), this is a planet located in the Mid Rim Territories, and is part of the Chommel sector. It's also part of the Republic, and is represented in the Senate by Senator and Princess, Madiha Akel.

It's an incredibly brightly colored planet, whose mountains, grass lands and beaches are composed by a multitude of natural colours.

Because of this biome, the human population of the planet also enjoys to surround themselves of these colors in their clothing and cities.

The cities and villages are, in fact, made of the same rocks as the mountains, and the glass of the windows are made from the colored sand, creating stunning rainbow cities that can effortlessly blend themselves with the landscape.

The people here also wear clothing and veils dyed with the natural colours of the planet, and their Tanneries are the most famous and proficient of the whole Sector.

In fact the most expensives gowns are often dyed here, like the clothing of various senators, politicians, rich merchants and even some of the gowns of the various Queens of Naboo.

Their homes are full of art of any form. From the stained glass of the windows, to the colored bricks of the walls, from the rainbow baskets to the painted vases, from the intricate embroidery of the veils to the jewelry that decorate their hands, necks and heads.

It's a planet full of joy and life, whose people are considered to be some of the happiest of the galaxy.

The planet suffered an huge attack during the Clone Wars, but the people managed to fight back and have a series of victories even before the Republic could intervene to help them.

A Battalion was then stationed there for the remain of the war, and they collaborated with the already existing, but small, military of the planet, to protect the population from the various attacks the CIS made even after their defeat.

The majority of the clones of the Battalion, by being in such close contact with the people of Theret, started to adopt their colorful lifestyle, by painting their armors in far more colors than any other clones in the whole GAR, which also had the advantage of helping them camouflage themselves on the battlefield.

[quicktosimp]

Tug on My Heart

Kinkmas Day 08

Warnings: Tail Play, Threesome, Alien Genitalia, Dom!Jake, Dom!Reader, Sub!Neytiri, Scent Kink, Cunnilingus

A/N: Currently writing this while sick, hope it comes out good

@neteyamsyawntu

Three kids within a year. That right there could end anyone's sanity, but we make it work. Mo’at is a blessing from Eywa herself; whenever we need a night out, she offers to watch the three of them. Just like tonight, we dropped them off with the supplies they needed for the night, and Mo’at took them happily into her arms. I think she misses having little ones around, but I don’t want to take advantage of her, so I always bring her gifts of her favorite berries and herbs for her tea, things that can be difficult for her to get while taking care of the clan. We each hugged and kissed the babies good night as we calmly walked out of the kelku, but the moment our feet hit the outside, we ran, giggling like courting teenagers.

We ran around, giggling and dodging each other as we tried to grab one another. In the night sky, our sanhì shines in the dark, giving our mates the perfect view of each other as we chased each other to the ikrans roosting area. After a quick call, we had bonded with our ikrans and had taken flight. The feeling of the wind hitting my face as the ground is far out of sight is a euphoria I can never forget. The dark forest underneath me, with the tops of the trees nothing but a dark cloud. I smiled at the sight, happily enjoying my view, forgetting about my mate's teasing nature. That was until he flew over me upside down; laughing at my shocked expression, Jake winked at me as he continued on, aiming for Neytiri. Unfortunately for Jake, Neytiri is a much more experienced flyer and easily dogged him with a resounding call. I chased after them, souping under Jake and swearing, so I stopped right in front of him. My ikran's wings spread out as he came to a sudden stop. Now, it was Jake’s turn to be surprised as he laughed at my antics. With a flash, Neytiri flew between us, startling the two of us. Jake and I looked at each other and knew what we would do. Eyeing Neytiri, we sped off, chasing her tail, laughing the whole way. As we chased her, we started to spiral down, circling around, simply enjoying the time. After long hours of flying, we landed, our blood pumping through us as Jake and I continued our chase. Our minds were too in sync as we both tried for Neytiri’s tail. I barely felt the fur on my fingertips before I hit Jake’s chest, giving Neytiri the opportunity to run away. I let out a playful growl as I lunged for Neytiri again, getting behind her as Jake went for the front. The two of us pinned her between us. I nubbed my chin along her neck, scenting her thoroughly, as Jake reached around and grabbed her tail, tugging on the base. 

“Ma’Jake, not there,” Her voice was weak as she moaned her words.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me. I trailed one hand up along her body, stroking her skin in a feather-light touch before I reached her head, tangling my fingers in her braids. I pulled her head to the side, giving myself more room to scent her. Neytiri’s sense of smell has always been more sensitive than the average Na’vi, which is perfect for Jake and me as our scents are like an aphrodisiac to her. With her neck spread for me, I rub my scent gland over her, dominating her natural scent and leaving my own in place. 

“Come on, Neytiri, be a good girl for us,” I whisper in her ear before licking her scent gland and biting down on it.

“Rutxe,” Neytiri keens as her knees buckle.

There was no space for her to fall, stuck between Jake and me. We both chuckle at her reaction, needing to see more from here.

“Come on baby, you can do better than that,” Jake enunciated this with a pull on her tail.

“Rutxe, Ma’Jake, Rutxe,” The moans continued to spill out of her mouth, the pitch rising from the tug on her tail.

I look at Jake and motion to the mossy rock, which is perfect for what we need. Understanding my hint, Jake picks Neytiri up and carries her over, laying her on the rock with her head hanging off the side. I stand with her head between my legs as I rake my fingers across the soft of her stomach.

“Kehe,” Neytiri whined, wrapping her arms around my thighs, trying to bring me closer.

Walking in between her legs, Jake slapped her inner thigh, “No, baby, you don’t get to tell us no. You just take what we give you,” Jake said as he started to play around her slit. 

“You really should listen, Lovie. Jake’s in a teasing mood tonight. If you’re not careful, you won’t be leaving here satisfied,” I threatened, knowing the last thing she would want is to leave her without cuming.

“Am I really that bad?” Jake asked with a smirk, already knowing the answer.

“You always are; it’s one of the many things I love about you,” I answered honestly in return.

“Come here,” Jake gestures to me.

We both lean over Neytiri’s body as our lips meet. Soft but passionate as we moved in tandem, our breaths met between each kiss before our lips locked together again. I moved closer to Jake, placing my slit right in front of Neytiri’s face, which she took advantage of. I gasped into Jake’s mouth as a warm, wet muscle licked at my central stripe. With my mouth open, Jake thrust his tongue into my mouth, intertwining with my tongue, as I start to hump into Neytiri’s face. Her tongue became more persistent as she poked and prodded at my slit, begging it to open.

I part from Jake as a groan leaves my mouth, “Look, Jake, she’s fucking needy tonight,” I roll my hips as I notice Neytiri’s slit fully open, her juices flooding over her stomach and dripping down the rock, the brightness of her slick matching the color of her sanhì. 

Jake had three fingers twisting and fucking inside Neytiri, his hand going at a speed I could barely comprehend. Her slick was flying everywhere, from the pace every time Jake pulled out, splattering it over himself as well.

“Tiri’s fucking leaking everywhere; I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much of a mess before,” His words were cruel, but he said in awe.

Just then, Neytiri’s tongue pocked inside me, my slit finally giving way to her advances, “Oh, shit, that’s good,” I moan as her tongue works inside me.

“She better be because she doesn’t get my dick until you cum first,” Jake said, bringing me back to him.

Neytiri took his words to heart as the grip on my thighs tightened, and her tongue became frantic. Moving inside me fast enough that my inner tendrils couldn’t keep up with her tongue. Irritated by this, I grabbed a hold of her tail and tugged harshly.

“Do it properly!” I demanded, keeping a hold of her tail.

I could feel her scream into my slit, but nevertheless, she obeyed. I stayed leaning over Neytiri, rolling my hips into her mouth as each tendril tried to wrap around her tongue, only to lose it when she moved yet again. With her tail in hand, I knew I could have some fun; instead of tugging, I moved my hand up and down, not unlike giving a human a handjob, and the moans that came out of Neytiri were angelic. I messaged my fingers into her tail as I moved it up and down, causing her body to arch into my touch. At this point, she completely forgot about her job. I looked at Jake, smirking, knowing how this night would go. I continued my actions on her tail as Jake added a fourth finger inside her slit.

Muffled by my slit, her moans were still understandable, “Rutxe, Ma’Jake, Rutxe, Rutxe, Rutxe, Ma’Yawne.”

Neytiri’s body was tense, like her bowstring, before she releases. Knowing this, I had to go one step further to push her over the edge. With her tail in hand, I bring the end up to feel the fur along my lips and bite down.

Neytiri arched off the rock as she screamed her release, her slick glowing everywhere and continuing to gush out of her. Her toes curled, and her eyes scrunched shut.

“Irayo, irayo, irayo,” Neytiri repeatedly moaned; she repeated that until she finished cumming.

“You know Jake, Trir keeps saying thank you. Does she think that it is going to get her out of her punishment?” I ask darkly, a smirk covering my face.

“She better not, she disobeyed, and now that pretty little ass is mine,” Jake agreed, flipping her over.

I grabbed her tail again, lifting it out of Jake’s way as Neytiri started to protest.

[dailycharacteroption]

Class Feature Friday: Giant Instinct (Pathfinder Second Edition Barbarian Instinct)

(art by Mateusz Lenart on Artstation)

It’s interesting to me that as a species, one of the most common types of mythological figures we have is “it’s like a man, but really big and usually carnivorous”. All of which might have developed out of ancient stories of encountering unfamiliar tribes and having a bad time about it. Cryptid enthusiasts might even claim that these stories are evidence of at least one species of more bestial “ape men” evolving alongside us and disappearing into the wild, but that’s a dubious topic for a different day.

Regardless of the origin of these stories, giants, ogres, trolls, oni, Humbaba, and more evolved into larger and larger forms, varying in exact height by the storyteller and the region, but they all tend to represent the same things, including various combinations of the danger of the unfamiliar and the danger of the wilds. Indeed, that latter part, as well as a heavy dose of Norse mythological lore, is what gives D&D and Pathfinder their element and region-themed giant types and naming convention, alongside the legends of other lands.

It only makes sense that a mighty warrior might seek to emulate giants both in physical might and fearsomeness, which brings us to the giant instinct, our subject for the day.

While some of these barbarians might revere giants, others might see them as something to be surpassed, rather than emulated. Many a giantslaying barbarian taps into this instinct, for example. Some may even be particularly large for their species, making this a natural choice, while others may, intentionally or not, emulate giant behavior, having bombastic expressions of emotion ranging from booming laughter and terrible rages.

While weapons of greater size do not deal extra damage in 2E, in the hands of a giant instinct barbarian, they can, increasing the amount of bonus damage they gain from raging. However, the added weight of the weapon means it still makes you somewhat awkward when using such weapons.

As they gain power, the additional damage only increases, more so if they are very familiar with weapons of it’s type.

Emulating giants also means they gain some of the giant’s resilience, resisting bludgeoning blows and one elemental damage type based on what sort of giant they favor most.

The giant instinct also comes with it’s own barbarian feats, particularly Giant’s Stature and later Titan’s Stature, both of which let you grow to massive size to improve your reach at the cost of being more clumsy. Sadly no buff in strength though. Meanwhile, Giant’s Lunge lets you prepare for lunging strikes that go even further beyond your normal reach.

Beyond those feats, others might prove useful to a giant instinct barbarian, such as Oversized Throw to emulate the rock throwing of many giants; Bashing Charge to shatter terrain like a mighty juggernaut; Second Wind and Shake it Off to recover from threats that would fell a lesser man; Swipe, Cleave, and Great Cleave to take advantage of your superior reach when enlarged; and so on and so forth. Other feats might also prove useful, so keep that in mind.

This instinct offers impressively powerful extra rage damage in exchange for a minor penalty from wielding oversized weapons to activate it, which I think is perfectly fair, especially when paired with the feats that complement it. If you want to pound foes repeatedly each turn while rarely having to actually spend an action to move, you might do well with this instinct.

As mentioned before, plenty of barbarians favor a bombastic personality with this instinct, but also consider the other common trope of the “gentle giant”, a large and kind soul whose physical might it matched by their gentleness and kind heart… until that which they care about becomes endangered, unleashing a fury that few foes could ever be prepared for.

With a song constantly on her lips and a mighty stature, Anok the orc aasimar may trace her lineage to azata, but the musetouched seems to have more in kind with the elysian titans, certainly her foes think so when she grows in size and brings down her massive maul.

The River Walker people still revere giants, though they have only existed in their stories for nearly a millenia. Instead, those that tap into the totem use it to fight other massive beasts like the river elasmosaurs that lurk in the waterways of their home. All of this will change, however, when the clan of cloud giants cross over the mountain pass into their territory.

They say the Gigeo clan of the mountainous island nation of Casta has some giant blood in them. While this has occasionally elicited the “ogrekin” pejorative, they wear that heritage as a badge of honor, and some among them can grow to massive size at will, proving incredibly powerful in combat.

[triplesilverstar]

You shouldn't drink in a moving vehicle

Rating: 18+ Minors DNI 

Pairing: Knives X F!Reader

CW: Dom/Sub undertones, oral, blow jobs, car sex

Word count: Roughly 1.6K

A/N: Chapter twenty of the series, You finish your shift at Flux only to find yourself pulled into a car, at least the man pulling you in is familiar in a way you enjoy. 

When you finished your shift at Flux and walked out the door you hadn’t expected the hand to slap over your face, or to be dragged into the waiting car. After a brief moment of struggling you relax, senses invaded by a familiar scent that could only be one person. As you breathe in the aroma of sandalwood and cedar, followed by what to you is the smell right before an impending storm, this early in the morning a hint of black coffee added. The fear that had been racing through you gone in an instant, replaced by a low simmering arousal. 

Nai.

The door of the backseat isn’t even closed when the hand is removed and his mouth slots over yours and you can taste the bitter coffee he had been drinking on his tongue. A long stuttered moan as your hands tangled in his gelled hair, trying to somehow pull his body impossibly closer. Nai is unrelenting in his pursuit of dominating your mouth in this searing kiss as if he plans to swallow you whole and consume you. 

Breathless when he does break from you, your chest is heaving trying to get in enough oxygen to chase the blurry edges of your vision away. Nai doesn’t need the same recovery as you do, his mouth descending on your neck while his hands are working at the buttons of your vest and dress shirt. Popping enough of them off to feel your smooth skin under the palms of his wide callused ones, tugging you more onto his body so your legs are framing his and you can’t miss the bulge in his well-tailored suit pants. 

“Nai” Still panting you try to trail your hands down from his head to his shoulder, a low growl from his throat a warning he wants your hands where they are. That small growl also makes you shiver, a warmth growing in your core. 

“This evening you provided a rather intriguing distraction. I’ve wanted to ravish you since I walked into the club.” Teeth nipping at the hollow of your throat and you can only moan in apperication. “You look just about good enough to eat.” A long pass of his tongue along the length of your neck and to just below your ear.

You try to jerk your hips seeking some form of gratification from him, only to be denied as he sits up properly. The heat from his skin quickly disappears from your body, following after him instead of being partially on the floor and against the leather of the seat. 

“Thankfully, your distractive nature proved to be to my advantage. My business partner tonight couldn’t take his eyes off you.” Nai’s voice has dropped into that low timber that makes your entire core shutter in anticipation. “If it had gone the other way I might have needed to punish you.” From your new position, you can see the bulge in his cream pants and you know he’s rock hard after feeling him, and can vividly picture the painfully red tip glistening with a faint layer of pre-cum. “Instead I think I’ll reward you on our way home.” 

A hand grabs your throat and uses it to pull your face down so your nose is rubbing against his clothed crotch. A deep breath and you clench, you can smell the musk of his sex through the thin layers of fabric separating you. “Now be a good girl and suck me off.” His hand trails along the skin of your neck, releasing the pressure and landing in your hair grabbing a fistful you know he plans to use to control the speed and how deep his cock goes. 

With sure fingers you unbuckle the leather belt wrapped around his hips catching the zipper, and carefully watch the teeth come apart, keeping your eyes trained on his crotch. You might pay for it later but right now you want to feel the weight of his cock in your hand, the digits slipping in quickly wrapping around him the heat radiating off his skin enough to make you think you’ve grabbed a recently made hot beverage and not your sort of boyfriends dick. 

“Tsk tsk, teasing will only make me delay any other pleasures for you later.” His voice still has that deep low timber, but not any hint of amusement at your antics lacing his words. Nai knows you do some of this on purpose, not quite a brat, not quite an obedient little pet. Just enough to make him aware you want him to think you’re questioning his control, knowing he loves the slight challenge. 

Using both hands you pull his silk boxers down, revealing the thick heavy length you’ve become intimately familiar with. The wide head of his cock, the slight narrowing just under it, the veins that weave over the burning flesh like a pattern that was made to bring his partner pleasure. The even paler trail of platinum hair at his base, a trail you’ve happily followed with your tongue from his belly button to that same base. The same fine hairs that cover his ball which you’ve kept tucked away under the band of his boxers. He’s magnificent. 

A low hum of approval at his member finally being freed from its confines, you don’t look up but you’re certain you just heard Nai lick his lips in anticipation. It should be you licking your lips at the sight of a small bead of pre cum pooling on his slit. 

You don’t get started right away, no you want to savor this in the back of his car glad for the privacy divider being up. If that blue-haired bastard had been watching you would have shut this down before it even started. 

Grasping his length in one hand you lick a hard strip from his base to just beneath his head, going from a flat tongue pressing against his flesh to just the tip near the top. Tracing the dip between the fold of skin that’s disappeared with the blood flowing around the appendix. Repeating the action, loving the groan that sounds more like a growl as it rumbles from the harsh man. A trail of wet kisses pressed to the underside by lush lips, the faint impression of your mouth left behind. Remnants of your fading lipstick, most of it smeared against Nai’s own pale plush ones. 

While you tease him aware at some point he’ll reach his limit you breathe deeply, all you can smell is the scent of his skin. A smell that is just Nai, not hidden under his aftershave. The smell of an incoming storm, and you’ve never thought someone could smell so accurately, Knives Savrem is exactly that. 

A storm. 

The grip on your head tightens, and you stop your teasing nibbles along his tip, licking your lips and engulfing his hot twitching flesh in the wet cavern of your mouth. A low exhale from his nose and the grip on your head loosens once more, and you get to work. Bobbing your head up and down his length. Aware your lips are spread as far as they can around him, each time you go down you take a little more of him until you’re as swallowing as much of him as the position will allow in the back seat of a car and with a hand using your hair as a handle.

Now as you bob, you start to suck, feeling the fluid of your own mouth starting to pool at the corners of your lips. Leaving a thin trail on either side of him with tiny bubbles. Another appreciative groan and the hand in your hair is pressing down. He wants you to move faster and so you do, moving quicker, adding your hand into the mix and twisting one way as you reach the line around the base of his head, then the other and you move downwards. Humming when you can, trying to use the air you breathe in through your nose as best as you’re able to try and bring pleasure to the man seated above you. 

It doesn’t long before Nai holds you in place “Swallow it all Pet.” A command you’ve come to expect, and you’ve yet to let him down on that front, swallowing every drop he pumps into your mouth, including this time. Moaning as he unloads what you can assume is his first load of the night down your throat. It has that tang you’re starting to associate with his pent-up release, just a hint more astringent than others that follow. 

When his hand releases you, you pull off his cock slowly making a show of licking your lips while he watches you through hooded eyes. “Good girl. It does indulge my ego to know when everyone else watches you and wishes you were doing what you just did to me to them. Knowing it’s only my cock that passes those pretty swollen lips of yours.” 

A compliment you take, you’ve always known you were attractive but Nai adds to that with his comments about how often he sees others watching you. Glancing out the window you frown, you’re somewhere in midtown, you know the car has been moving but this section is nowhere near where either of you live. 

A short rap on the divider from Nai. “Legato, we’re done. You no longer need to drive aimlessly.” 

Sighing you settle in your seat, as Nai sits back you tuck his softening member away with careful and sure fingers. Figures he’d have someone drive around town while you sucked him off.

Back to masterlist

[theultim]

I love Knuckles. Not Boom Knuckles. No. I lock Boom Knuckles into the abyss of my mind since it kinda deletes what makes Knuckles... Knuckles. (AKA Awesome) His story; They MENTION IT, but it's like completely removed from who he is and it's like. :( He just became a very stereotypical guy, much like the other characters for that show. But I think it hurt Knuckles the most.

Sonic Prime spoilers if you haven't watched it below. (Specifically the end of Season 1)

I do LOVE the Sonic Prime versions of him. Especially Knuckles the Dread. He doesn't have anything to protect, so he becomes self-indulgent as a treasure hunter and it GETS TO HIM. The thing he's been seeking changes from a fun pastime/passion to an obsession.

His priorities shift from caring about his crew to ENSURING that he gets the shard the closer he gets to finally having it. He actively looks out for opportunities to get the shard, no matter what it takes.

I need to backtrack a LOT real quick.

In S1 EP7 we get introduced to No Place, the reality of a sunken Green Hill and little to no land left to see.

Although Black Rose, Batten Rouge, and Sails weren't the kindest to Sonic upon initial encounter (Possibly due to living too peaceful of a life on the sea), he seemed to prove himself to them by being a valuable asset for his speed.

Dread by this point seems extremely passive, only showing signs of aggression whenever his crew speaks about his past.

Something seems to happen to Dread whenever he holds the shard in high priority. He got the name for a reason, BECAUSE he was so obsessed with getting the shard. "Dread" comes from what he's trying to isolate himself from, which makes this nickname of his corny.

Possibly as a warning to whoever he's against about the "Dread" that will come. But it was also foreshadowing for the "Dread" he will bring unto himself.

He lost his crew, he lost his ship. He lost everything he worked for all in one moment, because of his desire to get the shard.

So he physically distanced himself and his crew from ever getting to it. I get the feeling they only really joined Dread because he's Dread, the most feared pirate on the seas. Why wouldn't you side with someone as menacing as that?

Just for their expectations to be let down to rock bottom. All he does now is sail, cower, party, avoid combat. His crew is left actively seeking out more when they're not under his watch.

His crew his violent by nature. And he doesn't indulge in it whatsoever. Until Sonic comes around.

Sonics an outlier in every single dimension he visits. There's nowhere he belongs in. He continues to believe that these are just his friends and they're not all too different from each other.

Dread gives a warm welcome in comparison. In fact, he doesn't put up a fight when his own crew decides that Sonic is a better leader when he fights back against a raid. He tells Sonic his story, and they resolve to go after the shard. This is when it starts.

Sonic is better in combat than actually finding solutions in this world, leaving Dread to take his position back after Sonic tells him he'll be Legendary if they get the shard.

When they get their gusto back after the raid from Rusty Rose, now Dread is more violent. He's taking advantage of every given opportunity. His crew loves this. This, is the Dread they've been eager to work for. Knuckles the Dread.

But there's something he says when he returns from Rusty Rose's raid. (When his ship is sinking) He literally says he didn't come back for his crew; another sign.

Once Sonic teaches Dread a new trick while fighting off Rusty Rose once more, he uses it to get a boost to get closer to the shard.

Abandoning crew mid battle. Although Sonic does a trick himself that makes it seem like he did the same thing, he actually came back almost immediately. The crew only reacted to Sonics disappearance. This can mean a few things, like either they've become dependent on Sonics presence in order to perform well (Given how they don't risk fighting once he disappears), or it shows their weak trust in him. Could be both, or either.

Next few bits focus on Dreads sanity visibly deteriorating the closer he gets to the shard. He's becoming desperate. Insanity is visibly shown in his eyes, the way he shakes. He's finally got what he's been looking for. He'll do anything to keep it from anyone and anything else. He does fall off the mountain though.

Sonics glad he got the shard. In fact, he's not even worried about the shard itself. He's worried about Dread. Or, in his mind; Knuckles. (Due to Sonic equating every parallel he meets to his friends, although they are all different beings all together.)

Sonic saves Dread, even though in the process, he got teleported out of No Place. Dread doesn't even care that he could've died, and is just ecstatic to have the shard back in his hands.

This is where his priorities really lie. This is what separates Dread, from Knuckles.

This is why I love Dread.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

“The Land before Time:“ The Gorge of the Río Grande del Norte near Taos, NM. Photo: Elijah S Rael (2023) ::  [Scott Horton]

* * * *

The point where grace and synergy are reconciled is worth seeking out. In the meantime, here's a synergy-based perspective.

Being Acted Through :: by Joanna Macy

Here's a discovery we can make along our ecological Pilgrim's Progress: the discovery of what can happen through us. If we are the rocks dancing, then that which evolved us from those rocks carries us forward now and sustains us in our work for the continuance of life.

When I admired a nurse for her strength and devotion in keeping long hours in the children's ward, she shrugged off my compliment as if it were entirely misplaced. "It's not my strength, you know. I get it from them," she said, nodding at the rows of cots and cribs. "They give me what I need to keep going." 

Whether tending a garden or cooking in a soup kitchen, there is the sense sometimes of being sustained by something beyond one's own individual power, a sense of being acted "through."

It is close to the religious concept of grace, but distinct from the traditional Western understanding of grace, as it does not require belief in God or a supernatural agency. One simply finds oneself empowered to act on behalf of other beings—or on behalf of the larger whole—and the empowerment itself seems to come "through" that or those for whose sake one acts. This phenomenon, when approached from the perspective of ecology, can be understood as synergy. This is an important point because it leads us to reconceptualize our very notion of what power is.

From the ecological perspective, all open systems—be they cells or organisms, cedars or swamps—are seen to be self-organizing. They don't require any external or superior agency to regulate them, any more than your liver or your apple tree needs to be told how to function. In other words, order is implicit in life; it is integral to life processes. This contrasts with the hierarchical worldview our culture held for centuries, where mind is set above nature and where order is assumed to be something imposed from above on otherwise random, material stuff. We have tended to define power in the same way, seeing it as imposed from above. So we have equated power with domination, with one thing exerting its will over another. It becomes a zero-sum, or win-lose, game, where to be powerful means to resist the demands or influences of another, and strong defenses are necessary to maintain one's advantage.

In falling into this way of thinking, we lost sight of the fact that this is not the way nature works. Living systems evolve in complexity, flexibility, and intelligence through interaction with each other. These interactions require openness and vulnerability in order to process the flow-through of energy and information. They bring into play new responses and new possibilities not previously present, increasing the capacity to effect change. 

This interdependent release of fresh potential is called synergy. It is like grace, because it brings an increase of power beyond one's own capacity as a separate entity.

[Thanks to Ian Sanders]

[cherry-froggie]

the masked warrior — chapter 4

pairing — childe x f!reader

summary — Having to live by draining other people’s blood to pay your debt was already a burden to your heart, but you let your mask fall in front of the ones that were hungry to know your identity and take advantage of it. Even worse, it was one of the most distinguished Fatui Harbingers, the Snezhnayan organization you owed and killed to pay the debt. With him appearing on your balcony to offer a big deal, your world shifted radically.

tags — slow burn

notes — there are already 12 chapters released on ao3 in case you want to read more!!

LAST CHAPTER || MASTERLIST || REQUESTS

Chapter 4 — Come Back To Shore

Your battlefield was illuminated by nature's spotlight when your surroundings faded to black. A doubtful mind told you this period wouldn't last long. Moreover, sleep was not affecting you. Tiring yourself before returning to a land of nightmares and disturbances didn't feel inadequate. You took your weapon and rested it on the ground without worries.

"I got lost while reflecting on several things." To Childe, your response was tolerable. He had also lost track of time after accepting another task at the bank. He took hold of the steady weapon and threw it somewhere else. Where it had landed was not clear. It should have been near a big rock from the metal sound that resonated after the crash. That sudden action confused you. You didn't come so far to play fetch with such a childish enemy.

"Old toys grow tiring after a certain point. As good as it is to have your enemies fear a blade bathed in the victorious blood that represents your power, you should learn to use something better." Having nothing else to fight with wasn't a good sign. The test hadn't even started, but frustration was crawling onto you. Even if it was old, the weapon was a gift from your father when he discovered your passion for the protection of others. It meant much more than fear from those who could never surpass the fright and step forward to defend their ideals. Ready for confronting, you opened your mouth to have it shut again by his words. He took out a bow and rested it on the ground. He left it far from the likely area of the battleground, by what appeared to be your father's weapon. "You and I can have our life saviors back after this. I'm convinced it won't take long." This beginning was everything but what you expected. For the sake of your mood, you let it slip and accepted the terms. It's not like you didn't learn some things when you lost your defense. Most of it was about how to retrieve it, but you could manage it. If you could get to his spot, you could take it into your own hands. Tartaglia wasn't going to be the determining factor between your safety and more bruises.

The distance was shortened after he took a few steps in your direction. He was about to make a move, yet the gap left was enough to assure your security to make a move after his. "Keep in mind this is for testing purposes only. I won't kill you, but that doesn't mean I'll go easy on your either." You expected those words, assuming them from the beginning without him ever saying anything. Your heart skipped a beat when he dashed in your direction. Memories of the first time you encountered him flashed in front of you. The last time you jumped back, chaos descended to your world and fought for its control. You dodged to the right. Your head turned to where you were last standing to examine the scene in search of possible progress. Something blue swung in your direction. Could Childe be using his vision? Ah, how unfair. That changed a lot of your strategy. Your body lowered to the ground as your legs extended, ready to go around his ankles and make him fall. Your intentions didn't go unnoticed by him, and the proof was his jump to the back. You could tell he didn't plan his landing as well as he intended. One of his feet made a strong sound against the ground. He reached balance as soon as his body rose again. The laugh he let out revealed his amusement with the fight.

"Not bad, not bad. Most of the Fatui newcomers I know would have fallen already." Was it a compliment? In that case, it sounded like most of the soldiers the Cryo Archon possessed were not trained appropriately. Either that or they just let them pass with the minimum requirements. He jumped in your direction, sure to land on top of you. Taking a few steps back didn't guarantee your escape from his attack, but granted the hold of your weapon once more. Your body rolled on the grass to the opposite side where he was about to land. His attempts to cut you with his pure water blades failed on account of your blockage. You needed distance to plan your attacks, but the man didn't let that happen, continuously striving to get you down or cut you open. Your muscles became sore from the constant blocking. You jumped back to gain some distance. The strength he was using to take you down with his blades almost led to his fall when you moved away. His expression didn't look so pleased anymore. Both of you were getting tired of this fight.

"All you do is run. I've seen you do better."

That's what he wanted, that's what you would give him. You'd do anything to get out of that dull mess. Hardly sensing your feet, you approached him with a quick run and landed a perfect short that could have sliced his head open if not for his blade forcing his intensity against yours. The sudden collision of those forces influenced your collapse and forced your back against the mountain. The fall was inevitable, but it was nothing dangerous. You established your sword into the ground to help you rise. However, Childe had already reached your spot and made you stay down. "I'm impressed with what you can do without owning a Vision." He leaned down to have a better look at you. That's just what you had been waiting for, the grand opening. You recovered your breath during his monologue. One final blow to end the day and go back home to your glaze lilies. Your clenched fist reached his stomach and forced him to retreat a step. Finally, your leg touched the high up skies and kicked Childe to the ground. By getting a good grip on your weapon again, you let it fall and pierce the grass by the side of his head. He lied down with his spine facing the terrain, looking up to your kneeled figure on top of his. Both of you were panting from the amount of energy it took to reach that point. Having him down at your mercy was a new feeling for you. You could end this torture if you wanted to and start a revolution by killing the eleventh harbinger. How long would it take for someone to find him in that place? Days, maybe weeks. This feeling of power and choice released adrenaline into your veins and excitement to your spirit. Someone's life was in your hands, your enemy's life. You grinned helplessly as your eyes widened with satisfaction. Right as you were about to crush him with your father's divine weapon, he switched your positions and made sure to pin your hands to the ground with his. A gasp escaped from you right away. You left dreamland to come back to being in a lower position than the one you remembered. The gap between you was short - too short to your liking - but you didn't have the energy to kick him up, so you decided to turn your head somewhere else. He showed you a surprised look that turned into a smile. He was nervous. It was visible from the corner of your eye that his smile wasn't hiding anything from you.

"It appears you've never had that much fun with someone of a higher league. All this enthusiasm made it look like you were about to kill me. I have to say I'm quite impressed. Rest assured, you will be in a high position during your stay with us. You'll be free in the battlegrounds around Liyue."

Destiny was not your friend, after all. Its relationship with time and desire teased the idea of a better future and shredded it apart in seconds. That would have been the perfect opportunity to give an end to a chapter of suffering and commence a historical moment of ecstasy and reconstruction of your homeland.

You were looking up, and your eyes landed on him, yet passed through. You got so immersive in your dreams you were half awake, seeking something that wasn't meant for you - a happy ending. For how long would you keep denying it? It would be careless to accept what life offered you, as careless as your actions after letting the mask slip away from your face. Was Childe still talking? You didn't know, you couldn't hear, nor you did want to hear.

"Is it over?"

You felt like you had just cut his speech. No matter, you wanted to clean your head. It took him a minute before resuming to speak to you.

"What's the rush? We were having so much fun together." He got up, allowing a feeling of freedom to reach your lungs. He wasn't that heavy. Was it the distance that cut your airflow so significantly? You sat up. Tartaglia offered you his hand to help you get on your feet. You exited and decided to refuse it, getting up on your own. The weapon left on the ground caught your eyes and demonstrated its flaws - it was ready to exit the scene of hostilities and rest by your side. Childe was right about the needed upgrade. Getting a new weapon would be another headache to take care of.

"Don't look so down, this won't be the last time we rise blades against one another. The outcome is irrelevant as long as you learn something with the experience, and you still have a lot to learn from me." How exciting for him. He seemed to enjoy a duel with someone playing heroes and thieves. You should've just held back your horses and get a job at the Northland Bank's desk. It's always about what you could have done instead of what you can do to repair things.

You turned your back to leave, barely noticing the hand that tapped your back. The moment you were about to complain, Childe shoved your mask into your face, letting it fall to your hands. You were shocked but glad the wooden cover had reunited with its warrior again. He giggled at the sight of your look. Losing the masquerade was not something you wished to repeat.

"Here, you can have this back."

With a few pats on your shoulder, he left to follow his path. You felt so optimistic about holding your dear mask once again. The heartbeats were racing along with your tears, something about it felt so special, so personal.

When the night comes and the sun goes black to let the bright moon glow, Liyue Harbor is scarier. Regardless, the little lovely things you can find in this soulless harbor at night make the horrors go away. The sound of the calm waves and the unique smell of the shore brought back memories.

Months before, during the last moments of your mother's life at night, you had fallen unconscious with your head on her lap. Noises of people walking around your house had woken and startled you. There was nothing in the room - the problem being the absence of your mother. You searched every room to look for her, she didn't get up from her bed for weeks, she couldn't just miraculously find a cure for her problems. After reaching the corridor, you noticed the front door was open. Your first instinct was to get down from your apartment to the paths of the harbor and find your mother. On top of the stairs, you could notice her on the docks near the merchants' boats. By her side was a woman in black. The thought of losing the last person that you could call family caused yelling and tears, your feet moved on their own to stop the woman from whatever she planned to do with your dear familiar. You could still try to find a remedy for this never-ending pain. You would walk to any nation and climb to the peak of Dragonspine if it meant the preservation of what you held dear. But it was over before you realized it. Pale lights rose to the sky and formed a new star by the side of the midnight sun. You never saw the lady in black ever again and never woke up from the nightmare you witnessed. After many days of waiting near the docks to retrieve what was yours, you accepted the fact that your mother wasn't coming back. No matter how much you begged the Archons or broke down in front of yourself in the mirror, never did she ever come back to shore. If she ever did, you made sure her favorite glaze lilies were visible from the balcony. That way, she knew where to find you and fix your shattered heart back together again.

LAST CHAPTER || MASTERLIST || REQUESTS

ANOTHER ONE.

proofread? not in my house, no sir

i'm just too tired to do it, and i really need to study, yknow

i hope whoever reads this still enjoys it, because this is probably only fitting for a very specific audience

[rainydawgradioblog]

Meet the Band: Juniper Honey!

Hey blawgers! I’m DJ Penny Lane and this is my first interview in a series I have named “Meet the Band,” where I interview musicians so you can get to know their musical style and background. 

My first band here on this series is Juniper Honey, a Southern California indie-rock band. The band is composed of four members, Josh West (bass), Donovan Hess (drums), Jake Hesse (vocals and guitar), and Cason LeSueur (guitar). The band started with two members, Hesse and Hess, departing from their high school band to embark on a new musical journey, eventually teaming up with West and LeSueur to form Juniper Honey. Through creating their own image, I asked if they draw inspiration from other bands, collectively the band landed on more classic bands like the Beatles. However they aren’t exactly striving for one style, as West talks about how, “A lot of us have a very broad variety of tastes, getting influenced by each other[band members] and by other bands pretty much every week.” To add on, Hesse also explains how the band brings “different musical backgrounds, but at the end of the day all of it melts together.” It’s an advantage that each of the members can contribute a different musical influence to the band, opening up a gateway of ideas when creating and sharing their music.

I am always invested in a band's creative process while inventing their music and sounds, so I asked how Juniper Honey works on theirs. “I think we all do a really great job at bringing in our individual elements to the table and hashing things out. We’re also good at giving each other feedback to help build off all of our ideas,” LeSueur answers. I asked if they ever sit down together and have creative writing sessions, and to that Hesse answers, “That’s what everyone hopes happens, but in most cases the more natural thing starts with someone in their bedroom with a guitar and they come up with something. It usually comes to the rest of the band in a very early, raw stage, so it still feels like it’s written from scratch.” West builds off of this with, “That early form could be something like the lyrics, the melody, or a simple chord structure, but then it completely takes its shape after we can all have a stab at it and start adding elements that are us along with the input we share on it.”

While Juniper Honey's performances have been somewhat spread out due to all the band members still attending school, Hesse explains how their current group of shows “has definitely felt like more of a tour.” As they transition from occasional gigs to securing more committed performances, I had to ask them whether they aspire to further pursue music. “I’d love to play some festivals,” remarks Hess regarding some long term goals for the band. “We’re definitely trying to give it all we got,” West adds. “The goal and what we’re shooting for is to continue what we're doing and see where the music takes us. We’ve seen a lot of growth over the last year, and I’m excited to see what these next years will hold.” I caught up with the band midway through their tour, and their standout memory thus far is a show they played at the Brick and Mortar in San Francisco a few weeks back. "We made a lot of cool friends along the way,” West comments, “and I feel like we all delivered a really great performance." Overall, the band receives lots of encouragement from their shows having such great turnouts in cities they didn’t expect. Hesse explains how, “Our expectations are naturally low, so we're pretty surprised when we find ourselves in a place where there are people we’ve never met, yet they know to come see us.” This positive reception fuels their passion and motivates them to continue pursuing their musical endeavors with greater determination.

The last question I asked the band was inspired by the movie Almost Famous, as the last question of the movie ends with the main character being asked,“What do you love about music?” Here are there answers:

Josh West: “I am always captivated by the emotions that music can evoke. Different types of music, different songs, different lyrics can all bring certain memories and emotions into my head. It blows my mind.”

Donovan Hess: “From the listeners perspective I would have to agree with Josh. But from a performance perspective, I’d say I love seeing the transition from playing shows in highschool where all of our friends are having a good time to seeing all of these new people having a good experience with our music. It’s cool to see how happy you can make some people even though you wouldn’t think our music can make this big of an impact on a person.”

Jake Hesse: “What I love about music is the bond that is created from such a simple thing. It can be on so many different levels and look so many different ways. Whether it’s my dad and I bonding over a song, or being at a concert and bonding with complete strangers and feeling so together. I think there’s a beautiful power to music because it’s one of those few things that can make you feel like you can escape and be anywhere except for that one moment.”

Cason LeSueur: “My favorite thing is probably how expressive music is and can make you feel. Whether it’s lyrically or musically you can feel the intimacy from a listener perspective or creator perspective, providing a super connected experience.”

It's been a pleasure delving into the world of Juniper Honey, and I'm excited to see where their musical journey takes them next. To all the readers, keep an eye out for Juniper Honey's upcoming performances and go listen to their music!

DJ Penny Lane

Meet The Band

[sniiboo]

An Unexpected Kindness

Summary: After A crazy few days, Arendith sits back, reflecting. But things get dramatic once she falls into a trance and her companion is looking for a snack.

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Partial Nudity, Mentions of Blood

Arendith sat with arms wrapped around her knees, back hunched to allow her chin to rest on their tops. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and inched her toes into the muddy silt, wiggling them free from the cold muck cautiously. She sighed, elven ears twitching picking up the sounds of nature all around her. For the first time since she found herself mid-air falling from a nautiloid ship, she felt centered and even slightly dare she say it? At ease? It had just been such a crazy few days... finding people strewn about the beach... Pulling a wizard from a rock.. and.. Oh Yes.. her favourite.. being conned. Of course, she was used to his particular flavour of action. Pull knives and ask questions later. Little did he know she pegged him right away. She smelt him miles away. You can’t fool a bloodhound and she was used to hunting. She slipped into memories of Alistair sending her out frequently to hunt his ilk when they had disappeared. Following alongside leather long lead in hand attached to a metal collar and muzzle. She wondered if she had snarled out loud when she had scented Astarion.

She had kept her mouth shut as Astarion had pointed to his quarry, ears flickering to his movement as he drew the blade to her throat. In those situations, one must always see what they can glean from their surroundings, and her ears heard silence where there should be sound. She went about with his play tucking the information away she could use this man to her advantage. She tried to weasel it out of him.. and yet even after finding his boar, he was tight-lipped. 

She reached across her body to grab her glass and threw the liquid back before chucking the chalice in frustration. She heard a few companions heading to clean up by the river. She rolled her eyes, likely the whole Universe heard Karlach rushing her way down, whooping and hollering. Arendith pocketed a few things before getting up and dusting off her dress as Karlach ran into view.

“We’re gonna have a swim. Care to join us, Soldier?” 

“Ahh, rather not tonight.. I’ve got some stuff to sort out for potions and the like..” she shuffled nervously; she was thrown off her game. She waved her hand in adieu and stalked back to camp, noticing the vampire as soon as it came into view. She wasn’t sure she could trust him; she didn’t know his motives. He flirted carelessly, attempting to win her over to his side surely, but what his ultimate goal was, she couldn’t glean. When he looked up from his book at her settling into her bedroll, she saw the look in his eyes. She felt his pain; he was hungry. Arendith just rolled onto her side, trying not to look like she was in the fetal position. He’d eventually slip or ask for help if he was that hungry. Tonight, she would enjoy the night wind and trance under the stars. 

Before she knew it, her ears twitched her into awareness; something stalked above her, and she didn’t take it kindly. Arendith lunged forward, missing Astarion’s throat by millimeters. She hissed, teeth bared before her deep green eyes landed on his face. 

“Shit…” he uttered.

“Astarion, what in the hells do you think you are doing?” she muttered angrily.

“No, no! It’s not what it looks like, I swear!”

“Mhmm.. Right, you weren’t about to crawl on top of me -” 

He cut her off. “I wasn’t going to hurt you! I just needed, well… Blood.” 

Arendith did her damnest not to laugh at the idiot standing before her. She sighed, exhausted but thankful this part of the game was over. 

“It’s not what you think - I’m not some kind of monster. I feed on animals! Boars, deer, kobolds - whatever I can get. I’m just too slow right now. Too weak. If I had a bit of blood, I could think clearly. Fight better. Please.”

Arendith relaxed as he opened his mind through their tadpole link to show her. Her skin crawled with emotions that hit a bit too close to home. She shuddered before she could stop herself.

“Why didn’t you just tell me before Astarion?” She tossed her blankets aside before looking around to ensure nobody had heard the scuffle and awoken. 

He sighed, opening his mouth and hesitating before saying, “At best, I was sure you’d say no. More likely, you’d ram a stake through my ribs.”

She grabbed his hand, pulling him up as she walked through the camp. 

“No, I needed you to trust me. And you can trust me.” Astarion said, panicked, unsure if she was about to stake or chew him out. 

“I do trust you, Astarion. This all cou-”

He cut her off. “Thank you. Do you think you could trust me just a little further? I only need a taste, I swear.

She pulled him into her tent and tied the flaps before motioning to a second bedroll encased in a pathetic-looking pillow and blanket nest. She sat cross-legged before motioning for him to join her.

“Let’s make ourselves comfortable, shall we?” Astarion said almost flirtatiously.

Arendith closed her eyes without a thought, reaching to remove her collar. She set it beside her reverently before removing her camp shirt and crooked her neck to the side.

“Darling, as much as I’d love to indulge your offer, I am starving.” 

Arendith lifted a finger to silence him before she scoffed, “I’d much rather not get my favourite shirt bloodstained. You seem like you’d be a messy eater.” 

She patted the ground behind her as she shyly motioned to take his hand. He took it and slotted himself behind her as she toyed with her dark silver hair nervously. Astarion swept her hair to the side as he lowered his head to bite her. He started to groan at her scent, prompting her hand to come to her neck, but she was too slow. His groan turned to a gasp as he caught sight of the twin scars on her neck. How had he not seen them before? Her collar or armour must typically cover them; otherwise, he’d have indeed recognized something he also owned.

“Arendith…” 

The female elf rolled her eyes and reached behind her to grab his hair, pulling him down to her neck, effectively shutting him up. He recovered, mind reeling with what this discovery meant, but his hunger got the best of him. He licked a stripe up Arendiths’ pale neck, nose flaring at the rush of blood he scented. Astarion had expected a flinch or some sort of reaction; his prey usually fought their oncoming death, but she remained still as he sank his teeth into the place someone had previously visited. His hand wanders to support her head as the first taste of her blood coats his tongue. He latches deeper onto her and suckles intensely, doing his best to keep his moans at bay as he pulls her body closer with his other arm. She tastes like the finest of wines, with bursts of chocolate and a musky undertone. A feeling of calm and comfort reaches the core of his being. He immediately forgets about everything else for the moment; her warm scent of earth and spiced teas mingles with the smell of her blood, overwhelming him. He struggles not to rut against her as every sense gets filled with tendrils of her. Before he knows it, Arendith pats the side of his head, gently signaling for him to unlatch, which he does with a large gasp, like he’s just coming up for air after being submerged in water. 

“Ah! That... That was amazing..” he utters in disbelief as he stands. “My mind is finally clear. I feel strong. I feel… happy.”

Arendith grabs her shirt and slips it back on; the laces are loose, so it falls back bearing one shoulder as she smiles lightly. She wipes the remaining blood with a cloth before clipping her collar back on. “I’m glad I could help.” She whispers, looking down at her hands in her lap, fiddling with a teddy bear bunny. She heard him move to the front of the tent, reaching to untie the flaps.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, you’re invigorating, but I need something more filling.” Astarion turned his head to her before adding, “This is a gift, you know. I won’t forget it.” 

Arendith finds herself trusting him slightly, more than she knows she should, and lets her guard slip. Her glowing pinkish-red eyes catch his gaze, and he finds his breath catching. She quirks her mouth slightly into a gentle smirk as she snuggles down into her nest. He turns with a swagger, leaving the tent flap to fall quietly closed as he heads towards the forest to stalk some sort of side dish.

[stromuprisahat]

I wish we could have gotten an examination of people in Shu-taken Ravkan territory who actually prefer being considered Shu. Like:

'Come again?' Nikolai asked.

The old man in front of him snorted, ignoring his fellow villagers' outcry. 'You heard me, Prince Puppy. I want to be part of Shu territory.'

'Anatoly you can't possibly want to be one country with those -insert slur-!'

'yes I do. What has Ravka given me but empty graves and the corpses of my children? I don't care how they think of us as barbarians, mind, but for the first time in my life I have a full belly and savings because the Shu actually bothers to invest in this Saints-forsaken place.'

'you do realize,' Nikolai said, 'that they're taking advantage of your destitution?'

'and you arent?' Anatoly spat at the ground. 'At least the Shu are fucking honest about it instead of hiding it behind patriotism.'

I'm not saying colonialism good! It's bad, very bad! But I want an acknowledgement of how shit Ravka management is

Dear anon, feel free to drop by with whole-ass short fic again. You also made it hilarious to me, since we have a guy named Anatoly at work, and after witnessing several of his football arguments, I can totally see him talking to Nikolai like this.

There's also the question, whether we should call it "colonialism", when said area is naturally inhabited by Shu AND Ravkans both, especially if they truly chose to become regular part of Shu Han.

colonialism

noun

the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

If we're talking borders, it's not a whole country, but merely some regions. Shu could send more settlers, but there already are their citizens and mountains can feed only so many. If they were interested in "stealing" people, not just land, they wouldn't try to replace them. As for economical exploitation... there's abandoned copper mine mentioned in R&R and that's about it... Rocks and more useless rocks further south you go.

From Shu perspective it would be more of an investment with uncertain gain. Land you can't use well at the moment, decimated population you cannot fully trust yet... but it would be at Ravka's expense and if nothing else, it would piss them off.

[crystalis]

this is the first team i am making in pkmn shield, it's bad but i think it's kinda charming though and fun theorycrafting

my thoughts behind this:

i caught a hidden ability spritzee in a raid den thing so i wanted to build a team around offensive aromatisse with nasty plot + trick room (i'm sorta unsure about the item though, i'm going back and forth between babiri berry, pixie plate, life orb, and leftovers)

copperajah seems reallt good paired with aromatisse bc they cover weaknesses and have good trick room synergy .. i thought of making it spdef with stealth rock + leftovers at first but i think fully offensive with assault vest is better and use something else for hazards (?)

which is runerigus, bc it is an electric immunity and ghost type, & toxic spikes is really appealing to me bc toxic isn't a TM in sword/shield. so i want like a way to spread status i guess

dual-screens inteleon is so that aromatisse can set up easier and i can switch around more freely bc this team doesnt really have any recovery aside from rest + natural cure roserade. And i want something that is fast outside of trick room bc this isn't really a trick room team

& roserade is just another powerful attacker to help weaken stuff .. its coverage is walled by steel types, but it can bait them into sleep powder though. and life orb leaf storm is really strong regardless of resists.. i considered extrasensory to help against poison types for aromatisse, but it doesnt really seem necesary? amoongus/venusaur/salazzle/vileplume would take a lot from sludge bomb anyway, and toxtricity/nidoqueen/nihilego take a lot from leaf storm .. extrasensory only really hits crobat but aromatisse already has thunderbolt. spikes is good too but i feel like sleep powder would be more rewarding if it lands vs the initial switch-in and to take advantage of

and then random scarf ditto befause i caught an imposter ditto in a den and i want to use it

[zizygy]

Being a Faerie Knight Sucks

cw: impalement prompt: Write a story using tropes that are comfortable for you as a writer mine were: Situation: Escaping Character: Rebel Setting: A forest

Air whistles through his lungs. Malekodet wished that it wouldn’t, it’s just another thing he needs to disguise, and bird calls and cracking branches can only do so much to hid him. If it were autumn, he’d hide now. Find a pile of leaves to sink into and let the rot and mulch take over. He’d leave a locus so that he could return before rotting away completely. If it were autumn. He presses a hand to the bleeding hole in his chest. It’s the height of spring. Shakran will be at the height of his power while Malekodet is left in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar magic. The flowers here will reveal him before they hide him, there’s nothing to do but keep going and hope an advantage presents itself.

He stirs the wind to whistle louder while he ties his coat around the still bleeding wound, allowing himself the relief of a hiss as he fights the urge to pass out. His hand tightens around the spear that stabbed him and he considers making a final stand. If he was still among the bodies of his brethren, he would. There’s honor to be found in a death on a battlefield, where his blood will mix with his companions’. But it’s too late for that now, he’s already fled. He takes a deep breath and forces himself to keep going.  There’s still a chance of getting out of here.

The forest naturally forms around a path and he doesn’t bother leaving it. This is Shakran’s territory, he’ll have a much easier time navigating the vines and thorns. Malekodet’s best chance is to wrap the wind around himself and keep running.

And it works for a while. He stumbles on roots and rocks but he always keeps going. Until he reaches for the wind and it doesn’t respond. It’s still there, he can feel it ripping at his clothes, stabbing across his wounds, but he doesn’t have the magic to convince it to listen to him anymore, and worse, it’s turned against him. The next time he trips, the wind is there to punish him, blowing *hard* as he desperately windmills his arms to try to get his balance back. He drops his foot but lands badly, the ankle twisting under him and sending him to the ground.

He scrambles to get back to his feet but the ground falls away beneath him, until he’s hanging by one hand from the lance. And he hears laughter.

It makes him feel colder than anything the wind’s been able to manage and he takes the only action available to him. He lets go of the spear and drops into the void.

Or. He tries to. His enemy controls the very ground, and instead of falling to his undignified but at least strategically important death, he lands *hard* on his back, driving all remaining breath from his body. He can’t get up, can’t move as a dark figure approaches the ledge.

Shakran looks resplendent against the setting sun, the light reflecting like human blood off of his armor and the flowers on his pauldrons emphasizing his figure. Malekodet tries to summon the words to curse but his traitorous breast refuses to fill with air. All he can do is wheeze. Shakran bends down to grab the spear and as he moves from the sun, Malekodet can clearly see his face. The smirk.

“Your self sacrifice is admirable, but ultimately futile. You’ll find the rest of your life much easier if you tell me what I want to know.”

Malekodet bares his teeth in a snarl.

Shakran sighs and raises the spear. “That’s what I thought.”

The spear drives down, straight and true and final and Malekodet whistles one last breath. But his life doesn’t end with a flash of pain. The pain continues as the tip piercing through the previous wound, through blood and muscle and bone, and comes out the other side. Then Shakran *lifts* the spear, and with it, Malekodet’s body.

A powerful motion picks Malekodet off of the ground and into the air, his arc stopping an arm’s length from the lord. Shakran thrusts and Malekodet can *feel* the weapon slide through his body, and his body slide toward his captor, until Shakran can grab his face, nails digging into his cheeks.

“Don’t worry knight. We are to become very well acquainted.”

[lindsaystravelblogs3]

Days 111 to 116 13 to 18 September

Day 112   14  September

I am going to skip a day here and come back to it 'tomorrow'.  We were at sea all day on Days 111 and 113 to 116 and will write about them as a block below Day 112.

So on Day 112, we were at Smoking Hills and we had zodiac cruises in both the morning and the afternoon.  This is an amazing area where deep deposits of sulphur-rich lignite coat the rocks and oil shale and from time to time, they auto-ignite, emitting clouds of smoke, almost like a volcano.  They have been doing this for at least hundreds of years and as one area burns itself out, another ignites and there are constant plumes of smoke coming from many areas of the hillsides – sometimes just a wisp of smoke, but sometimes impenetrable clouds of it.

We zodiac-ed along a few hundred metres out to sea and the sulphuric air was quite noticeable for most of the morning.  We did another Secchi-disc drop once we were far enough from the shore and into deeper water to comply with the measurement conditions, but there was a bit of swell so the results may not have been all that reliable.

We all took lots of photos, but it was hard to capture the essence of the smoking hills.  There are lots of historic stories about dragons and demons, and early explorers interpreted the smoke as volcanic, but it is just the natural incidence of sulphur (perhaps originally from a volcano) and oil shale impacting the lignite fuel that auto-combusts to create the smoke. Even that was hard to photograph though because it is not quite constant.  It is is many different places at any one time, but one area might be smoking a lot until you focus your camera on it – and then it dies down and another flare-up occurs somewhere else.  But to the naked eye, it was all very impressive.

Days 111, 113, 114, 115 and 116    13, 15, 16, 17 and 18 September

We were at sea all day, sailing along the northern and northwestern coast of Alaska – mostly in waters of the USA rather than Canada.  Aurora had been unsuccessful in obtaining a permit to land anywhere along the US coast, so we were shipbound for each of these days.  The whole of the Chukchi Sea is usually full of sea-ice but we saw none of it this trip.  Our ship sailed quite a long way north in the hope of seeing it but without success.  This demonstrates how variable the weather and ice conditions can be in these waters.  The cruise prior to ours could not complete because its passage was blocked by impenetrable ice, whereas we saw absolutely none for maybe a thousand nautical miles.

For the record, we were in the Amundsen Sea on Day 111, near Prudhoe Bay on Day 113, and in the Chukchi Sea after that, until we reached the Bering Sea and Bering Strait on Day 116.

I think it was Day 113 when we took on board some US Customs and Immigration officers who examined everything to ensure all the boxes were ticked to allow us to dock in Nome.  The rules up here, particularly in US waters, are very stringent and rigorously enforced, so we never approached close to land at all.  A lot of the time, we could see a smudge of land on the portside horizon and at night we saw occasional lights from some of the factories and fish farms, but they were always a long way away.

There was plenty to do on board.  One thing I enjoyed was a writing ‘class’ that proved quite popular and had to be run a couple of times to accommodate all the aspiring authors.  There were art and craft classes – all mainly self-help, or all helping each other, but there were also a few minor challenges for us all.  One was a haiku challenge where most of us wrote one or more haikus that were read out during one of the recaps. 

Early in the cruise, there was a somewhat presumptuous written question (there is a box for questions) challenging Aurora and the team to justify running cruises that the anonymous writer (one of the passengers taking advantage of the cruise) considered to be destroying the planet.  Our cruise leader answered the question pretty well in my view but asked everyone on board to write something that explained their personal views on the subject.  Comments could be provided anonymously in a separate box for the purpose - but would you believe only two sets of comments were provided – Heather’s and mine.  Not another soul bothered to respond.  It had been intended to read some of the responses at a recap session but in the circumstances, they abandoned the idea, so our comments went absolutely nowhere.

There was also a ‘TED Talk’ night (something I hadn’t previously heard of) and Heather and I were one of six or seven people who did one of the talks.  We did a presentation about our experience of Walking with Camels in the Simpson Desert and it seemed to go down very well.  There were quite a few questions but they had to cut questions off after a while due to time constraints, and we got more questions in the bar afterwards and around the ship in the next few days.  It seems to have been a bit of a hit.

As we approached the Bering Strait, we saw a lot more wildlife.  For days, we had seen very little: an occasional whale in the distance and the odd passing bird, but very little at all.  Then on about Day 115, there were birds everywhere.  We saw massive numbers of Short-tailed Shearwaters but many other species as well.  Interestingly, Pierre (our chief naturalist) thought the Shearwaters were predominantly a Canadian/US bird, and he was amazed when I told him how wide their range is, and that tens of thousands of them breed in southern Australia and New Zealand – a surprising little tick for me that sent him scurrying for his bird books.

Day 116 saw us in the Bering Strait surrounded by a lot of wildlife, mainly birds, but with the excitement rising as we approached the end of the expedition.

[icarusavery]

Pokéorzea pt.1: BUPHIGHTER

Yesterday I had the idea to turn the setting of critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV (now with a free trial etc. etc.), Eorzea, into a Pokémon region.

Welp, time to start with that! I figure the best place to start would be a set of starters, so here's my attempt at them. Representing the land of La Noscea is the Water-type starter, Buphighter! I also wrote some Pokédex entries for the line.

#007 - BUPHIGHTER the AUROCH POKéMON WATER/FIGHTING Despite its small stature, this childlike POKéMON finds itself frequently challenging much stronger foes in order to prove itself. Many trainers have been taken off-guard by its aggresive nature.

#008 - BUPHALANX the AUROCH POKéMON WATER/FIGHTING BUPHALANX has evolved an extremely thick head, which it can use to topple almost any obstacle. They often congregate in herds, running side-by-side to take advantage of their strong skulls.

#009 - BUPHEARSOM the AUROCH POKéMON WATER/FIGHTING This POKéMON is the scourge of rural Vylbrand. Many towns across La Noscea have had their defenses utterly decimated by the might of a single grumpy BUPHEARSOM.

So, yeah, if it's not obvious, the line is based on the Buffalo genus of beastkin. The general idea I had was just a really angry bull Pokémon that runs around and bashes things. It kinda fits the rough-and-tumble nature of Limsa Lominsa, being a nation of pirates and other ne'er-do-wells. Buphalanx's name came first, and then the rest went with the name "ph = double f" spelling, playing off of the similar sounds in "fighter" and "fearsome."

I kinda imagine these guys as really big physical tanks. High Attack, high Defense, but pretty low Special stats, and kinda average Speed. They'd definitely learn moves like Skull Bash, Close Combat, Headbutt, Horn Attack, Raging Bull, High Horsepower, Waterfall, Thrash, and Giga Impact. Like most Water-type starters, they'd have Torrent as an ability, but they'd probably also have an ability like Rock Head.

I'm kinda working backwards here - I'm probably gonna do the Ul'dahn Fire-type starter next. Hope y'all will look forward to it!

[toughgirlchallenges]

Rachael Crewesmith - One of only 46 female Winter Mountaineering Instructors (ever!), mountain bike, swim, run guide. Noisily taking up space in a male-dominated industry, bringing her peers along for the ride.

Join us as we dive into the captivating story of Rachael Crewesmith, an extraordinary mountaineer, rock climber, hill walker, and mountain bike guide. Discover how Rachael fearlessly defies boundaries in a male-dominated industry, taking on epic challenges and inspiring others along the way.

Rachael in her own words: 

“I’m a mountaineer, rock climber, hill walker, mountain biker and occasional paddler. I divide my time between the sprawling Scottish Highlands and the compact but wild mountains of Snowdonia where I work as a mountaineering instructor and mountain bike guide.

I have ridden my bike across Nepal, round and round the Strathpuffer 24 hr endurance course and down the twisty, rooty trails of the forests of the Highlands. I have climbed up 100 Munroes (and counting), El Capitan in Yosemite, to 6000m in the Himalaya and up the north face of Ben Nevis. My favourite day out ever was climbing The Original Route on The Old Man of Hoy, on Orkney. 

I’ve also spent time just travelling for travelling sake, especially in Asia. I visited Burma (Myanmar) at the same time as President Obama and witnessed the carnival of the first US state visit ever. I have walked across the living root bridges of Cherrapungee in north-eastern India and ridden the Darjeeling steam train. I have had dinner with the Nepali Army in Bhojpur and breakfast with the monks of north-eastern Thailand. I love coming home to the UK and realising just how amazing our diverse country is. From laverbread in South Wales to fresh mussels cooked in a jetboil on a Hebridean island, I love our country and all it has to offer.”

  Get ready for an exciting month of July on the Tough Girl Podcast, as we shine a spotlight on women working in the outdoors. Sponsored by Land & Wave - join us as we delve into their stories, gain insights, and discover valuable tips from their incredible experiences. 

Don't miss out on these empowering episodes released every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - hit the subscribe button and be part of the adventure!

  Show notes

Who is Rachael

Working as an outdoor professional 

Living in Llanberis in North Wales

Where her love of the mountains comes from 

Being obsessed with hockey from a young age

Being inspired by her mum - who has previously swum the English Channel!

Having a year out between school and university 

Spending time in Nepal and going to Everest Base Camp at 18

Meeting a boy who was into climbing

Joining the mountaineering club at Nottingham University 

Why climbing didn’t come naturally to her

Studying archeology at university 

Working as a hockey coach

Leaving university and getting a job at a climbing wall

Not having a plan in her career

Not knowing what she wanted to do 

Becoming a Rock Climbing Instructor (RCI) 

Following up and doing her Mountaineering Climbing Instructor (MCI) 

Becoming a Mountain Leader (ML) and doing 40 qualifying days 

Loving the variety of what she can do with her qualifications 

The challenges of working in the outdoor industry

Making the transition to becoming a freelancer

Why it’s important to build connections and networks

Getting work 

The advantages of being a women in the outdoors

Elitism in the industry

Observing other women working in the industry

Working with certain choice companies and what she’s looking for

Pay in the industry as a mountaineering instructor and mountain leader

Asking for more money and being paid what your worth

Favourite type of work to get 

Remaining positive when dealing with miserable weather while out working

Professional enthusiasm!

Winter Mountain Leader Qualification 

10% of Winter ML holders are female

Association of Mountaineering Instructors (AMI)

Women in Mountain Training Conference 2022

The importance of networking 

Proximal Role Models - Rebecca Williams 

Women’s Trad Festival 

Irish Women’s Rock Festival 

Advice for women who want to gain more qualifications

Dr. Will Hardy - completion rates of Mountain Leader Qualification 

Bangor University and Mountain Training PhD - Developing excellence in outdoor provision: enhancing training pathways for outdoor qualifications. 

Why you should practice with a variety of people 

Tips for finding people to train with 

Women in Mountain Training Facebook Page

Climbing the ‘Old Man of Hoy’ part of the Orkney archipelago off the north coast of Scotland.

What VS means in climbing - Very Severe 

An explanation of traditional climbing grades

Balancing the job/work with your love/passion for the outdoors

Being able to pick and choose her work

Being a Trustee of Cam&Bear Fund for Adventure 

How to connect with Rachael  

Wanting to run the Welsh 3000ers in under 12 hrs 

“Think big, start small, but do start”

  Social Media

Website: rachcrewe.com 

Instagram: @rachcrewe 

Twitter: @rachcrewe

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-crewesmith-75211530/

    Check out this episode!