#and some twigs they've collected

[monstersdownthepath]

How Gremlins Are Made

Every now and again on the wonderful world of Golarion, the barrier between this world and the first--the land where the Fey live and frolic--weakens just enough for a wisp of fey magic to blow through, like a dandelion seed carried by the wind. Now, normally, these wisps are no more dangerous than an errant strand of spider's silk blown free from the web, and they land somewhere where they do no harm, causing a flower to grow or a bug to be born or an egg to hatch a little earlier than it normally would... but that's just the thing: like a strand of spider's silk, this wisp of fey magic is sticky. Not sticky in a way that a fly or a bird would get caught by, but sticky in a way like a good joke or a strange word or a harsh insult is sticky.

And that's where it starts.

As mentioned, these wisps normally just blow away, off to give vigor to some tiny plant or patch of land... but sometimes, they blow somewhere men and elves live, and they can can start catching onto things they shouldn't. Thoughts and ideas, emotions and energy, words and actions, all of these create tiny waves in the world, so small and fleeting that they're impossible for most to notice, but for these thin wisps of fey power, a spoken word may as well be a twig stuck out in the air that they can tangle around.

Some fey are born this way, you know. A lot of them, in fact, are born when these wisps of power collect enough words, thoughts, feelings, and deeds, but we're not talking about 'some' fey, we're talking about gremlins, the nastiest of the fey. THESE unfortunate buggers are born when a wisp catches onto something cruel. A cruel word spoken, a cruel deed done, a cruel thought passing over one's mind... Any act of cruelty starts the snowball, and once it starts, it's nearly impossible to stop. This wisp of mischief collects this cruelty unintentionally, and that cruelty builds up over it like dust on a cobweb until it downright resembles one! A nasty, musty mess of ugly thoughts and tangled curses that eventually drifts somewhere the sunlight can't touch it, where it weaves itself into a foul, hairy cocoon.

Gremlins are born from these cocoons. Born from mischief, nursed by cruelty, and full of tricks as any fey, they set out into the world to do as all that lives does: to thrive, grow, and spread. One gremlin can become many in short order as they snatch wisps of fey power from the air and weave in their own acts of cruelty, though (thankfully) most aren't smart enough to know a wisp when they see one... though this is only a small mercy, because if a gremlin cannot find a wisp to nurse, it will instead be cruel all the time in the hopes that a wisp happens to be passing by.

It's certainly easy to see a town suffering from a gremlin infestation and clutch your pearls, wondering how awful these people must be to each other for so much cruelty to exist. It's easy to say that surely, these folks must deserve whatever torments their fey neighbors must be delivering upon them, if they're acting foul enough to attract them! But keep mercy in your heart and some damn sense in your mind, because a gremlin parade is no show of how rotten a town is! Just how unlucky they are. Gremlins can be born from any act of cruelty, and who among the races of man and elf can say they've never thought a single cruel thought, even one never voiced or acted upon?

In fact, if all a town has in regards to foul fey is gremlins, that's certainly a good sign! Acts of cruelty spawn gremlins, but acts of pure malice? Pure hate? Pure spite? All out in the open, shouted into the air? Well, those can cause things much, much, much worse than gremlins to hatch from those greasy black cocoons.

[deadvnstudios]

Hello! This is for the character question week! I like being outdoorsy, so I would like to ask how would everybody react on a camping adventure?

"...I now understand survival of the fittest…"

Noel is once again reminded he might be the only capable person in this group, and he is forced to constantly take over tasks the others are failing at.

The next morning, Noel takes an "everyone for themselves" attitude in regard to cooking breakfast. He departs from the campsite before dawn and heads to the trails most renowned for bird watching, hoping to find some peace and quiet.

It's right as a rare bird settles in the sites of his binoculars that Mona and Vein appear from behind, their laughs piercing the air and startling the bird away. Noel turns, considering homicide, only to decide there are too many witnesses, when they both slyly suggest he might want to return to camp.

At a breakneck pace, he heads back to camp, arriving at the harrowing sight of flaming mallows being waved around and improperly secured sausages sliding off their roasting sticks and plopping into the fire.

To no one's surprise: he winds up cooking dinner.

"Nature, the finest work to be crafted by the gods! Shall we see what mysteries they've left for us to find…?"

Still dressed entirely in her dark outfits, Mona roasts beneath the sun–but she faces the heat with a dogged determination.

She volunteers to collect firewood, only to disappear for an hour because a unique cluster of mushrooms caught her attention. When she finally returns, she has no firewood, but she does have several pages worth of mushroom sketches.

This surprises no one. In fact, a contingency plan was put in place the minute she volunteered, and she delightfully curls up in front of the fire someone else constructed. There, she shows off her sketches to anyone who glances her way–particularly Sorin.

After this, much of her camping adventure is spent exploring the nearby woods (where, according to Mary, a sacrificial site can be found) and sketching every creature she comes across. In the evening, she eagerly shoves the sketches into Sorin's face in an attempt to cheer him up.

"Did mankind not begin their construction of abodes so we could avoid wallowing in filth…?"

Dripping in sweat and unable to find a clean surface to sit upon, Sorin finds maintaining his princely demeanor difficult while camping.

Having no experience and even less interest in camping, Sorin is… very little help around the campsite, unless you consider staying out of the way helping.

The only joy he seems able to find is standing near the stream's edge, watching small minnows and tadpoles drift along with the current. This joy is doubled when the sun finally sets and the moon's pale light glimmers across the water's surface.

"Really, we came all the way out here to listen to Tempest's whiny-ass songs around a campfire? We get enough of this at home."

Mary prefers to stay with her creature comforts and only agreed to go on this trip because it was a break from the commune's monotony.

She quickly discovers while she hates how needlessly complicated camping is, she greatly enjoys all the opportunities camping presents to spook the other members.

This often takes the form of disappearing at night, only to crack twigs and create odd noises near the tree line. Once everyone has gone to bed for the night, she'll grab a flashlight and create scary shadow creatures on everyone's tents.

"Aw, fuck! Another mosquito just fucking bit me! But, hah, even mosquitoes think I'm tasty. All part of the charm, I guess."

Tempest wants to believe himself a hardened naturalist, and he tells the others as such, but he is really just a stream of annoyed complaints: there's too many bugs, he's getting sunburnt, the stream water tastes funny (Noel: "…you need to boil it first."), the tent instructions don't make any sense… etc, etc, etc.

When he has to dismantle the tent for the third time, he abandons this task completely in a fit of frustration and goes to pout by the stream with Sorin. He is not safe here, either, because immediately, the bugs start gobbling him.

Eventually, he decides he will be the de facto entertainer. He takes up what seems like permanent residence by the firepit where he sings and plays his guitar, confident this will help lighten the mood.

"Nothing cozier than a nice fire and friends! Huh - we can't make a fire? Aha, oh well - nothing cozier than friends and a good game night."

Vein doesn't find much enjoyment in sweating and physical activities, but she does enjoy playing games and having everyone trapped and at her mercy in a single area. She loves hanging out–and this is the perfect excuse to hang out with no distractions.

When no one was looking, Vein loaded up every outdoor game they could find into their vehicle. It's only once things are being unloaded at the campsite that it's discovered Vein removed the group's firestarter in place of… you guessed it: another yard game.

She starts camp set-up by delegating tasks, only to eventually do most of the work alongside Noel.

[spell-jars-and-black-wolves]

Some devotional tips for closeted pagans, based on our own experiences

Not everything on this list will apply to everyone, and that's perfectly fine. Use what works for you and your practice, and leave what doesn't work. The beautiful thing about the pagan community is that we can each shape our own path based on our personal beliefs and practices. So without further ado, here's some things we do that might help you if you have to hide your spiritual beliefs.

Deity jars: this is one of the first things we ever did when we started leaving physical offerings for Loki a few months ago. A deity jar is basically a small jar filled with little things that you want to leave as offerings to the deity you work with, and it can be useful if you have to hide any objects that are of spiritual importance to you. We're able to hide ours in plain sight on top of our dresser where our altar is, and our mom just thinks it's another weird thing we like to collect. Our jar is filled with offerings to Loki such as a small pinecone, twigs, shells, a worm on a string (he loves those for whatever reason), and small coins.

Nonphysical offerings: sometimes you just aren't able to leave physical offerings for your deities on an altar like candles or food. What you can do instead is devote your time to them, especially if the activity you're doing is something related to your deity or is something they encourage you to do for your wellbeing. Shadow work and journaling are a fundamental aspect of our practice, so we always devote our journaling sessions to Thor and Loki. We also incorporate a lot of trauma work into our practice, especially our trauma related to storms and natural disasters; to honor Thor, we've developed a habit of thanking him anytime it storms where we live and use any moment where we work through our trauma as an offering to him since that's the main reason why he reached out to us.

Baking and cooking: this ties into the point listed above. If you're like us and enjoy working in the kitchen, making food for your deities is a great way to not only build your connection to them but also improve your skills. Thanks to the Internet, it's so incredibly easy to find recipes containing spices and other ingredients that your deities favor. Loki in particular loves it when we try new recipes that we've never made before, even if we're not entirely sure we'll like it.

Taking care of yourself: if you struggle a lot with your physical or mental health, this one is especially important. Sometimes the ultimate form of self care is doing what's best for you even when you don't feel like doing it, whether that's cleaning your room or getting a shower. We've all struggled with self care at some point or another, and the gods understand that. One of the greatest things you can do to honor them is to take care of your needs and be gentle with yourself, because they want what's best for us and understand that life can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. It's not always easy to get out of bed and eat or clean the house, but even baby steps are better than nothing and will make your deities happy all the same.

Giving back to those around you: if you're able to do something in your community that's related to your deity and would honor them, do it! For us personally, one of the biggest ways we honor Loki is to look after the younger neurodivergent and/or queer kids at school, because we've been in their place once and we understand how much of a difference it makes to have someone to look up to. It's common in the Norse pagan community for Loki to be the patron of those deemed to be social outcasts for whatever reason, so we've taken it upon ourselves to always look after our fellow outcasts and be a support for them whenever possible. For many of these kids, we're the first older person they've ever felt safe enough to come out to. And what could honor Loki more than that?

Again, these are all just based on our personal experiences and not all of it may apply to you. We're just sharing some things that we feel may help other folks out there who aren't yet able to be open about their beliefs, because we're in the same spot right now with our current living situation. And for those of you who can unfortunately relate to this: things will change. You won't have to hide such a core part of your being forever. One day you'll be able to openly practice your religion however you want, with nobody to tell you what you are and aren't allowed to believe in. -Blu

[cats-of-eden-valley]

what are some scenes from warriors you're excited to adapt into coev?

this ask have been staring at me for two days and the reason why i cant seem to think of any is because ive only been thinking about the mundane shit

like

imagining Asphodel touring Lotus through the different animals as he trains them, telling them about the stories he knows ("Heavensmite come from the distant islands of land seen far, far above"), about how they are to be approached ("Though corloons look like prey, they are affiliated with the Moons, seeing what her eyes cannot, and must never be hunted"), the laws and rituals of each ("The hopchomp must be flicked ten times, or its flesh will taste too bitter"), and Lotus putting such tender passion into learning it all

or thinking about the living root bridges, and Aspen (p. raven) teaches Lotus how to weave new twigs (Don't be to harsh, even the most tender of roots can be snapped), guiding the vines into place whenever you pass by, a collective effort of many to create something over the span of generation

when Lotus goes to their first Trading and sees EVEN MORE cats than they've ever seen in their life (Delphini (p. grey) doesn't care, he just wants to start a game of play, mates, or vanquish with all the pretty mollies), passing through the wide array of goods, things they never would have seen otherwise

or like Goldspring all spending a chilly, rainy day in the springs and just fucking vibing (Fuchsia (new) and Larkspur (p. spot) cuddling in the hammock (you can hear them giggling about something)) (Amaranth (p. oneeye) has a hard time in the water so she settles for a couple paws dipped in)(the kittens keep splashing and getting scolded)

[crypticpaw]

Do you have any headcanons for the ROTTMNT guys?

OMG, DO I?!? I have lots, actually!

Leo:

Gay. A fruit. CEO of the skiddle squad. Queerest of all the turtles combined

Donnie's twin and the youngest between them, only older than Mikey

Has really bad insomnia, especially after the movie and the stuff with the Kraang, because of nightmares

Took spanish classes with Señor Hueso just because he though it was cool, but now whenever he gets into an argument with someone he just starts speaking spanish and nobody can understand him

Absolute gossip king, wants to know everything about everyone and if you have any secrets whatsoever, Leo will find out about it, whether you like it or not

On the same note, he's an amazing secret keeper. If you directly ask him to not tell anyone, he won't

That doesn't aply to his own crushes, he will gush and sigh like an idiot under some love-spell, kicking up his legs with his face all red

Red-Eared Sliders actually hiss and huff whenever they get angry, and Leo does too

Dating Usagi

Donnie:

Non-Binary and Bisexual, he/him pronouns

Leo's twin and the oldest between them, only younger than Raph

Sensory seeker autistic with a special interest in technology, but knows about biology too

Also very invested in gossip, will listen to whatever stories Leo brings and add his own too. Donnie, however, could not keep a secret if his life depended on it

The one who actually met April. He was out collecting trash and scraps for his inventions and she followed him, they've been bestest of friends ever since

Pettiest turtle you will ever meet in your life. Seriously, do not piss him off, he will take revenge and you will regret it for the rest of your life

Tried drawing his eyebrows on his skin when he was a tot and had a very bad sensory ick, like, a full shut-down. So he started drawing them on his bandana instead

Sleeps cuddled with Sheldon like he's a stuffed animal

Has the voice of an angel. For real, this guy can sing like a rockstar, sometimes sings outloud as a stim and his brothers just gather around him to hype him up because Donnie is just THAT good!

Raph:

Transgender boy who loves to dress in a more femine style. Paints his nails and knows everything about makeup

Oldest of all the brothers

Has the biggest collection of stuffed animals in New York. They all have names, backstories, personalities and outfits he likes to dress them up with

Roars. Actual, loud, bellowing roars. When Raph let out his first roar as a little tot, Splinter actually thought there was a monster in the lair

Accidentally hurt their father one day while training and cried about it for weeks on end, feels terrible about it to this day

Solves all his problems with his sharp teeth, the power of his bite can crush a grown man in half like a twig

Raph actually has lost a lot of teeth because of this. Donnie had to replace a lot of them and you know he asked for a little extra sharp gold tooth that peeks out of his mouth sometimes

Loves swimming, will toss himself in the nearest body of water that looks deep enough for him, spends the most time in the bath out of all the turtles

Will stop to pet every single dog he sees walking down the streets, even if it's in the middle of a mission

Mikey:

Aroace royalty who don't need no romance!

Youngest of all the brothers

Diagnosed ADHD. Has comited arson and will do it again

His room is covered in stickers and posters from floor to roof, it's diffucult to tell where the walls or doors are

Misses Karai the most. He got so quickly attached to her, sometimes Mikey dreams that she's still there and when he wakes up and realises she's not, he tries to go back to sleep only to start crying

If you ever gift him something you made with your own hands, like a hand-written letter, card, DIY project, he will absolutely die for you no questions asked

An actual contorcionist. Will pull the most mind-blowing circus move you've ever seen in your life mid-battle like it's nothing. This boy has no bones, the most athletic of all his brothers

The first to really reach full potential of his powers and has the better control of it out of the whole family

Also, all of them can retrach into their shells, all of them! I don't know why only Mikey got to do that in the actual show!

[terrence-silver]

How would Terry in all the eras feel about calling Beloved beloved for the first time?

---

― Twig seems like he'd be, initially anyway, into nicknames and endearments that come off as oddly (and very cutely) outdated and archaic even as far back as the 60's and 70's with all the sweethearts, sweetpies, muffincakes and angelpies he might spew your way because he's downright googly-eyed and all needy puppy-love. Thing is, he is fully honest. His emotions beam and radiate honesty and enthusiasm. Not a shred of cynicism there yet. When he calls his beloved beloved, he truly means it and it comes naturally. His affections are very open. Frank. Unabashed. He isn't ashamed of them. Doesn't possess any baggage in that department, whereas he might possess baggage in all other departments post-Vietnam. He loves in a way a kid might. Unfiltered, freely and with an odd sense of borderline old timey purity to it in spite of everything else that renders him troubled. He feels that this is good and he feels that this is right. He's in love and he's loved. Why should he hide it, even though, part of him wants to hide it in a way all young, idealistic romance should. In fact, scratch that, forget it, he wants to shout it from the rooftops for everyone to hear (and envy him and him alone for once).

― Terry in the 80's is different. Different in the sense that he's developed an outright taunting edge, a sarcastic edge, a playful edge, a control freak edge, a prodding, dangerous edge, a charming edge --- just an edge, in general. Of whatever variety. He might call beloved, well, beloved, initially, with an almost accusatory, albeit possessive aura to it (like he dares you to ever call yourself anything else he hasn't dubbed you should go by) being both seductive about it as much as he is playfully passive aggressive at times, threating them like they've taken something from him and he gets to take something back from them and outfit them with names he chooses, whether they like it or not. He's a bit like a Southern woman calling someone sweetheart even as they argue. And this is an argument of sorts. This is a declaration of war, in fact. This is battle. Terry's heart is jeopardy and you're to blame. You're the culprit. His control over himself is under direct attack and beloved, you will either capitulate to him and thank him for the chance to capitulate to him as the highest of honors or else --- well, actually, there's no or else. That's your own only choice given, beloved.

― A lot of old man Terry's endearments can (deliberately) come off like endearments from an elder directed at someone younger. Yes, beloved included. Terry relishes that, because it is both weirdly paternalistic and all the more perverse for it. It confuses the senses of the receiver. Are you being flirted with? Is he being a kindly grandfatherly figure? Is he mocking you somehow or being covertly condescending? Is this purely platonic kindness from someone more mature? Are you perceptions playing tricks on you? What is the truth here? When he directly states the truth, are you the one imagining stuff? If one thing hasn't changed in all these years, it is Terry's tendency to play these games and mess with someone's brain even as he's very intentionally coming unto them and he feels downright pumped about it. He sees, he likes, he wants, he takes and he claims, assigning titles and monikers to the subject of his desires like someone naming a flower found in the wild that nobody has ever found before. Terry collects and plucks. His flower now. And in the style of some technicolor romance movie that might've been in fashion when he was awfully young half a lifetime ago, he calls it beloved.

[gladiatefm]

open to tributes , arena day one . ( 2 / 3 )

she is freezing . it is all that she can feel , this tremendous cold despite the thermals , the fitted coat which should hold in whatever warmth she has left but nothing can contend with this sort of environment , she should know . it was thirteen years ago , but this feels sickeningly familiar as mina's eyes find the cornucopia , the snow resting atop the hard metal of the thing , a reminder of the eighty first games and the blood which had soaked the pure white of the arena . will it come to that ? is she still that person ?

blanche , she seeks out her sister under the thundering boom of templesmith's voice but she isn't there . a frown , mina casts her eyes towards her fellow victors and it looks as though her confusion is shared around the circle . her hands shake , and there's no time to consider what they've done to her , where they've got her hidden away , not when it's all about to begin .

she changes her stance , grateful she's just a few weeks along , still fit enough to survive this . when the gong sounds , she jumps into the piles of perfect , powdered snow . too perfect to be anything but capitol creation . it wasn't like this in her arena , a storm sure but nothing to this extent , but mina manages to fight her way as swiftly as she can to the cornucopia where she doesn't think , nor look , just grabs the closest pack , some knives and — of course , a gleaming axe awaits her there .

pack secured , mina turns to dart free of the cornucopia and finds herself receiving a hard thump to her cheek from the district six victor , stumbles until she feels a blade nip at her arm ; but she's fast enough , jumps free of the intended strike to her neck and lodges her axe in their leg . mina ignores their screams , braces her foot against their hip as she pulls her axe free and runs .

no time to think , no time for anything , not even to find johanna as all hell breaks loose around the cornucopia . instead , mina darts into the trees where the snow has evened out , no longer up to her calf but instead easy enough to run through . and she does , she runs , and she runs until night begins to fall and she knows she needs to make camp . firewood , branches to create shelter are collected and form her survival for the night — the smoke doesn't bother her , mina has been here before , played these games , and she'll take an arrow to the head over a slow freezing to death any day .

she's rifling through her pack by the fire when she hears it , a twig underfoot , there's no denying it . slowly , she rises , fingers curling around her axe as she peers into the shadowed woods . her back to her shelter , she knows at least that no one can slip around her from here , and instead she scans the area . " i can hear you breathing , " she says softly , eyes narrowed . " you either show yourself or i'll hunt you like a baby deer . "

[john-t-rarriea]

Log #1

I love Terraria so much, I can't fathom just how much I just love this video game. When I go to bed at night, I can't get my mind off of it. I mean honestly, how could one not think about digging and fighting, no other games have those two defining features present among their properties and characteristics. When I join a voice call, everybody better be playing Terraria non-stop for at least 19 hours without stopping or I will FUCK SOMEBODY'S SHIT UP.

Anyway, some people out there, no matter how difficult it is to believe it, don't in fact adore Terraria. Can you imagine? There have been situations in my lifetime where I have talked to someone and they've told me "meh, I think it's alright, but I think I enjoy DUMB GAME more" and I'm just FORCED to snap their neck like a twig, y'know? There just isn't even a choice in the matter.

At times, I have to wonder just how revolutionary the concept of Terraria would be to all the cretins in the past. I mean, how crazy would it be if I went back in time and told everybody just what a good time they were in for and how much better all of their lives would be as a result of Terraria releasing to the public.

Actually, I think I'm going to do that. I am going to invent time travel and show the world of yesterday the wonders of Terraria! They'll all be so grateful. I mean, what could be better? Sure, they may not yet understand what a video game is or to an extent what a personal computer is, but who actually gives a fuck? As soon as they hear the word Terraria, they're all going to rip their shirts off and collectively howl in excitement. Will leave an update on how it goes.

[mango-whines-about-wrighting]

Wx had a very small problem, it was nothing really. They just cling to anything within reach when they enter rest mode, no biggy.

It was a quite helpful survival tactic, in fact. There were several times their life was saved by having their spear so close. But also quite, erm, embarrassing at times.

ao3 link~

Normally, that's not an issue. They'll fall asleep in their tent, far from prying eyes. And they wake up with their blanket bunched up in their arms, or find themself wrapped around their pillow.

It feels really pathetic to want so badly to hold and be held, but that's ok because nobody can see it. No one knows. It's been getting worse though.

It's changed from the abstract want for soft touches and cuddling to the much worse, much more embarrassing want to cling to specific organics. They hate the fact that word could be used to describe them. Clingy, they're supposed to be better than that, not reaching out to anything that pays attention to them.

It started with small impulses. The want to give Walter a hug when he's hurt easily turned into fetching spider glands to help him get better. The desire to lean against Winona as they sit together translated into helping her make dinner. The need to curl up with Wormwood as he talked with his friends was fixed by refilling his watering cans.

But it's been getting worse. The fleshlings have been getting too comfortable with them. They'll stand nearer when they talk, sit close when they eat. It's torture to their stupid brain.

It's gotten so bad. They have to constantly keep busy, lest they accidentally grab one of the others. They can't let that happen. First of all, what if the fleshlings hate it? Sure, they've seen the others hug. but what if they hate Wx for intruding, and they've just been playing nice?

And if they don't hate Wx for it. If they are somehow ok with Wx touching them, hugging them, playing with them. It would still be mortifying how little self-control they would have to let that happen. So they keep busy.

After a breakfast of carefully keeping exactly two and a half inches between them and anyone else, they started working on their assigned chores; gathering all the twigs from the twiggy tree farm, scaring the geckos and collecting the grass, checking the rabbit traps.

By the time they were done, it was only noon. They spotted Wormy talking with his friends. He nearly looks asleep when he does that. They so desperately want to join him. Lie in the sun, lean against him and just relax.

They were already in the garden before they realized what they were doing. They froze, they couldn't intrude. They couldn't force themself into Worm's family time.

Instead, they checked on his spare watering cans. One was empty, another was halfway there. They bent down and lifted both. Might as well spare Wormy the effort.

By the time they returned, Wormwood was off somewhere else, so they quietly placed the now full cans with the others. They noticed Walter playing with Woby. They wanted to play too.

But they know the kid's been stressed lately. a new swarm of bees moved in somewhere in the forest. So he probably wants some alone time with Woby. They grabbed their hammer and set off to find the nest.

They destroyed the hive with little incident. Only one bee managed to sting them. They placed the honey in the fridge and the wax in a random chest. They took some of the healing salve, carefully only using as much as they needed.

They gathered all those stupid glands for the organics and already feel bad enough taking some as it is. "Hey Wx-78." They flinched slightly at Winona's voice. How did they not notice her?

They quickly put the salve away and turned to her as she continued talking, "just 'bout to start dinner, you wanna help?" They nodded.

They made dessert while she made the main course. It was nice working together in tandem. The conversation flows smoothly, jokes and petty bickering weaving together flawlessly.

If they were braver or bolder, they'd say she's like their big sister. Funny and smart, helping the others when they fight. She's like the glue that holds them all together.

In fact, they all act like what Wx thinks family is supposed to act. Walter's their kid brother, always coming home with scraped knees and an interesting story.

Wormwood is their weird cozen. He's silly and constantly referencing things none of them were around for. He talks about the plants and the moon at dinner in the same way Wx has heard him talking about the bipeds to the moon.

But they're not brave or stupid enough to say any of that out loud. Dinner was finally finished, so they gathered the others for dinner so they could sit and eat as a family. even if they're probably the only one who feels that way.

As soon as they all finished eating, Winona cleared her throat to speak. "ok, I think we're all aware of the bee issue. We need to deal with them." Wx interrupted her.

"I TOOK CARE OF IT." Their statement was met with general confusion "THE HIVE, THE NEW ONE, IN THE WOODS. I DESTROYED IT." Winona blinked at them.

She smiled at them. "of course you did, never mind then." That melded into their normal nightly routine after that. talking about their days, making note of what they're running low on and assigning jobs for tomorrow. Then Walter would tell them all a story.

Wx started struggling to pay attention after they were assigned their job. Their eyes felt heavy, they were so tired. They tried to stay awake, they did!

But today was so long, and they were so tired. And everyone was here, and happy, and safe. Wx was safe with their family. They'd wake them up if anything happened.

They were safe, and they were warm. They didn't notice they were tilting until their head met Winona's shoulder. They couldn't help wrapping their arms around hers.

~~☆°○♡○°☆~~

Wormwood and Walter were chatting quietly. Winona was zoned out staring at the fire so she couldn't quite catch their conversation. But their words were a very pleasant background noise.

She was both shocked and unphased by someone suddenly falling on her. She was used to short menaces using her like a pillow. The shocking part was which menace it was.

She thought Wx hated physical contact. What with how they glare at any form of physical affection. This belief was dashed as the mechanical menace curled around her arm.

She watched as the kids wandered off to bed. Neither of them noticed her current predicament. Or if they did notice, they didn't help at all.

She tried to pull herself free but Wx whined and held tighter. She sighed and resigned herself to her fate. She leaned on them. partially for comfort, mostly for revenge.

Wx wasn't the worst pillow, far from the best. But not the worst. They were warm and solid. She was half asleep herself when she heard them mumble something she couldn't catch despite how close they were. "Sorry di'n't catch that."

They curled closer and said something she never thought they'd say. "Thank you, for being a part of my family. " They fell quiet again. Did Wx consider their little group a family? The thought did cross her mind a few times. But to hear the sentiment from Wx is shocking.

"Love ya too, ya bucket of bolts." She mumbled to them, then she fell asleep as well.

[bill-y]

𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐑𝐄

Peeta Mellark x male reader

[ We all know who Katniss Everdeen is, but what if Primrose hadn’t been chosen but another boy from another unfortunate family? YOUR family. ]

Info: This is basically a reader insert and I’ve changed a few rules, not ground breaking though. The reader is a bit bland for now but I plan for his actions to be different. Because he has different moral grounds from Katniss and such. Would appreciate feedback! FEEL FREE TO POINT OUT TYPOS. GRAMMARLY SOMETIMES DOESN’T DO MY DYSLEXIC ASS JUSTICE

Part three: Click this, Rumtumtugger.

Part four: you're here, jennyanydots

Part five: Clicky dicky here, buddy

Wattpad account: L0calxDumbass

Those words left my mouth without much thought. I wasn't thinking of the damned consequences at the moment.

Behind me was Kunal, an iron grip on my leg, bawling his eyes out. "Y/N! NO! NO! YOU CAN'T GO!" he pleaded, his cries getting louder by the second. 

My hand ruffled his strawberry blonde hair, messing it up. "Let go, Nal," I said in the calmest tone I could muster. He shook his head, tears running down his cheeks, I cleared my dry throat, gulping down nothing. My mouth was dry as if I just ate a handful of salt, which was honestly a luxury.

My face remained stoic, the moment I show a sign of distress I know the people in the Capitol would eat it up like good bread. It entertains them, our suffering entertains them. 

His hands slipped from my leg, gripping on my pants before he was finally taken away from me. "Up you go, Owl eyes," said Gale, his voice trying hard to remain steady. Beside him was Katniss, who was holding Kunal by the shoulders. She nodded, "Good luck, Y/n,"

I nodded, before looking back at the temporary stage. "Oh well, Bravo!" Effie exclaimed. "That's the spirit of the games!"

She was thrilled, finally seeing some action from this district. It made a pit in my stomach, I clenched my jaw. If only the roles were reversed, Capitol people fighting for their lives instead of us.

Oh, how funny that would be.

I strode to the stage, trying my best to look collected. The foreboding feeling in my stomach only grew with each step I took, my hands sweating as if they've just been dipped into water once I finally took my place.

"Do tell us your name," Effie said, her grin widening as she nodded, encouraging me to talk. It took all the will power I had to not strangle her.

"Y/n Greyback," I replied dryly, hoping it would set her off.

“I bet my buttons that was your brother. Don’t want him to steal all the glory, do we? Come on, everybody! Let’s give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!” she trilled, making me clench my fists.

Her words were met with silence. No one clapped, not a noise can be heard. Even the ones who would usually bet on who would wound up as a tribute didn't do anything.

I held back a smile, a surge of hope flowing through me. This was the most rebellious thing they could do without getting punishment of any sort. Silence.

Silence doesn't mean fear or that we're cowards. It meant that we do not accept this, we do not condone.

Just as my father always said, one does not need to shout to make a change.

The next thing that happened was even more of a surprise. Maybe it was because I was a son of a "rebel", maybe they pitied my family or maybe it was because I talked to the mayor's daughter.

Just one, then two, then a group almost all of the crowd put the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and held it out to me. It is an old and rarely used gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means good-bye to someone you love.

My tense hands relaxed a sense of calm washing over me. We were united in a strange way, something I thought would only happen in my dreams.

"Look at him! Look at this one!" Hollered Haymitch, throwing an arm around my shoulder. His arm was quite heavy, understandable, he's a wreck. "I like him!"

The scent of alcohol from his breath was strong, or maybe he just smelled of alcohol. "Lots of. . ." He paused, trying to think of a word.

I cringed as he slightly swayed around, trying my best to not touch him. "Spunk!" he declared triumphantly. "More than you!"

He released me, staggering to the front of the stage. "More than you!" He declared once more, pointing towards the camera.

Was he talking to the audience? Or maybe he was addressing the Capitol. I wish it's the latter, that would be funny.

Just as he opened his mouth to continue, he fell down the stage, knocking himself unconscious in the process. I snickered slightly, my face scrunching up right after.

Thankfully, the cameras were all pointed towards him, watching as they whisked him away into a stretcher. I took this moment to glare back into the distance, watching the scenery.

There was the hill that me, Katniss and Gale were just at. It looked so peaceful, contrary to my day.

"What an exciting day!" Effie warbled, trying to fix her tilted wig. It looked ridiculous. Why would Capitol people, no, why would anyone wear that?

It looks ugly, like a beaten up squirrel. Though I'd be lying if I said it wasn't eye-catching, though, beaten up squirrels are also eye-catching. “But more excitement to come! It’s time to choose our next tribute!” she continued, putting one hand to the second bowl.

Her fingertips grab the first slip it encounters. I hoped it wasn't Gale or Katniss. I didn't want to kill them, not that I'd ever stand a chance.

Katniss was extremely skilled with the bow, she could probably shoot my head from miles away. Gale, on the other hand, was strong, compared to him, I had the strength of a broken twig.

"Peeta Mellark," She read. Oh no. Why him? Of all the people in this district. His father just "introduced" me to him this morning, not just that, I knew him.

I watched him make his way up the stage, I had a clear look at him this time. He had a stocky build, medium height,  ashy blonde hair that falls in waves over his forehead. The shock of the situation registered on his face, though you could tell that he was alarmed by the way his blue eyes looked.

Like a prey knowing it'd be hunted.

Despite this, he still manages to climb up the small flight of stairs calmly.

Effie Trinket then asked for volunteers, but no one spoke up. He has two older brothers, I've seen them. But one is probably too old to volunteer, and the other just wouldn't. This was standard family devotion, what I'd done was a radical thing.

The mayor began to say the same old words he always says every reaping day. I couldn't help but think, why him?

I remember it all too well, that day, it was raining up a storm, the wind was howling. My mother and my brother were left at home, I was tasked to find food for us since my mother couldn't bear to show her face to the district.

How could she? Her husband has been executed for rebellion against the Capitol. One of the peacekeepers found weapons under his possession and he was killed. He managed to convince them to spare us, though sometimes I wished it hadn't worked.

Within a week of his death, we began to lose money, and therefore, food. Nobody wanted to help us, nobody wanted to associate with the family of a tyrant.

Shame, the family name bared shame. My mother didn't have the gall to go out and sell any of my father's things, my brother was too young to even understand what was going on.

I was angry. How could they have just taken everything away from us that easy? Who gave them the right to do that?

But at that moment, I couldn't afford to sit still and wallow in my resentment. That was a luxury I couldn't afford. not many could afford it either.

Starvation was a fairly common thing in district 12, though the amount of covering up the peacekeepers do no one a favour and fools no one.

There I was, a boy who wasn't even old enough to be registered into the pile walking around in the harsh weather, stripped away from my dignity and whatever money we had.

I found myself in the Mellark's bakery, being told off by the baker's wife, who was tired of having brats from the Seam paw through her trash. I would've screamed back then, but I didn't want the Peacekeepers called on me.

So I left without another word, sitting at a tree for some sort of cover from the harsh rain.  I remember the snorts of the pigs beside me, and that was when I realized I'm no better than cattle; the people of Panim were no better than cattle.

My knees buckles as I collapsed onto the wet grass, shuddering from the cold and the harsh reality. Maybe I had gone insane then, but I vaguely remember talking to the pigs, ranting to them.

They didn't listen, they were too busy rolling in the mud. Looking back, I find this extremely funny, but maybe that's because I don't want to pity myself.

I didn't even notice a boy until the pigs actually rose to eat the pieces of bread thrown at them. I stared at him for a long while, mainly because of the burnt bread, the crust was scorched black.

But a red mark on his cheekbone caught my attention. Had they hit him for burning the bread? My parents have never hit me, I couldn't even imagine what that would feel like.

He took one look at the bakery as if checking if the coast was clear before he turned back to the pigs. Though instead of feeding the pigs he tossed the loaves of bread to me.

I watched him walk towards the bakery and closing the kitchen door tightly behind him. All I could do was stay silent, before shoving them up to my shirt, muttering a broken thank you as I ran home.

The loaves had cooled by the time I got home, but that didn't matter. We had something to eat. Mother looked at me, relieved I didn't die. She hugged me, apologizing.

I didn't care though, we had food, that's what's important.

And for the first time in weeks, we had a proper meal.

I was thankful, the fact that he'd probably burnt the bread on purpose never occurred to me until I crawled onto the bed, staring at the wooden ceiling. An act of kindness, someone still cared.

It was as if spring came overnight, fluffy clouds, blue sky, the warm sweet air. At school, we would always catch each other's gazes. I felt a tad bit bad, his cheek was swollen and his eye had blackened.

I couldn't come up to say thank you, instead, I watched him from a distance, contemplating whether I should. When I went to fetch Nal, out eyes met once more, I was about to mouth a thank you until Nal tugged my shirt.

He handed me a dandelion. He's always loved flowers. His love for it made me realize how I would get the food we needed. All that time I and my father spent in the forest won't be for nothing.

To this day, I still feel as if I owe my family's life to him. I had honestly given up, but he gave me something. Peeta Mellark, the boy who gave me bread and the dandelion, both gave me hope.

Maybe if I had said thank you all those years ago I wouldn't be feeling so guilty now. I could always say it but something about thanking him whilst I'm practically holding a knife against his throat seems dishonest.

The mayor finished his speech, telling us to shake hands. His were as warm and firm as those loaves of bread. He squeezed me as if reassuring me. Or maybe those were just nervous spasms.

We turn back to the crowd as the anthem of Panem plays.

There are twenty-four of us fighting in that arena, as grim as it is, let's just hope someone kills him before I'm forced to. I don't wanna kill the reason I've survived all those years.

Word count: 2026

Tags:

@nin3s

Sorry for the late update my exams are next week and im rushing to finish my requirements at school. :"

[fandom-joiner]

Kota

Wild, Wild Pussycats before this

Third Person P.o.V

"Are you sure this will work?"

"You said you thought you needed a blank mind," Shota said. "We're blocking out as many senses as possible to keep the distractions as few as possible."

"That seems like not a good idea," Hiva said as she put the nose clip on anyway.

"You have this area of the forest memorized, right?" Shota asked. "I want it up in flames."

"Pardon?" Hiva put her earplugs in.

"You heard me." Hiva sighed as she put her headphones over the earplugs.

"There's no music!" she yelled when Shota opened his mouth. She slipped the blindfold between her head and headphones and tied it tight. She felt Aza sink into her hand, and Shota stepped back to watch the black flames form beside her. They shot up into the air, and he put his arms in front of his face like it would block him from the sudden rush of heat. He went to the edge of the area assigned and watched the fire rain down. It seemed like an invisible wall was keeping the flames from spreading. Shota could see them push against it. He returned to the center where Hiva was and sighed at the cracks going up her arms. He pulled the blindfold away to make a 'cut it out' motion, and the fire disappeared, leaving nothing, not even a singed twig behind.

"It's better than before," Shota told her after she pulled her headphones off. "It's still injuring you, though." Hiva sighed and nodded. "I want you to try again." Hiva nodded again at his muffled voice and put the headphones back on.

---Hiva's P.o.V

"Now, remember what I said yesterday?" Pixie-Bob asked. "'Today's the only day we'll be doing stuff for you'!"

"At least make your own food!" Ragdoll added. "Curry!"

"Yessir," everyone mumbled. Ragdoll giggled.

"You all look exhausted! But that doesn't mean you can make any old sloppy cat food!"

"It's true that part of rescuing someone is filling the stomachs and spirits of those exhausted during disaster," Iida said. "That's U.A. for you! No opportunity wasted! Let's make the most delicious curry in the world, everyone!"

"Okay..." everyone grumbled.

"You're taking this too seriously," I whined as I stepped to the front. "We've had a hard day of training. We deserve to have some fun, so don't stress it." I lightly punched Iida's shoulder. "Would ya loosen up?"

---

I tossed the knife in the air and caught the handle to twirl it. I forced a smile at the look on Tokage's face and started chopping. "Show off."

"I said have fun," I defended.

"Obviously, you're skilled with a knife," she continued. "What else can you do?"

"You're very aware," I replied. "Don't start acting chummy with me, Kai." Kai sighed and leaned on the counter.

"How could you tell?"

"Blueberries." Kai laughed, and I shook my head. "Considering I want to be on Shigaraki's good side, I won't sell you out. Come near again though, and I'm gonna rethink that." I grabbed the chopping board to walk away but turned back to him. "Oh, and if you're gonna make Shinso turn you into someone else, at least act like them." I dropped my cutting board off at Mina's station and wiped the sweat from my forehead. I leaned on the counter and used a hand to unbutton my flannel.

"Hot?" I nodded at Mina.

"I've been literally playing with fire all day, and it's summer. Not a fun mix." I pulled the clothing off and wrapped it around my waist before straightening my tank top.

"Why must you hide from me?" Mina teased with a playful poke to my bicep. I laughed and pushed her away. "That's probably why Class B's been staring at you." I looked over the class, and a collection of eyes flicked away. "They've all been checking you out."

"Monoma too?" I asked.

"He stole a couple glances. Why?"

"So, I can make fun of him later." 'This has Ayame written all over it. What's she doing warning me?' I groaned and fanned my face. "How are you not dying?! I feel like I'm melting." Mina laughed when I threw myself at her. I yelped when she let go of me and hit the ground with an 'oof'. I squeaked at the new arms that lifted me into the air. I looked up at Denki and crossed my arms. Release me!" I squealed and threw my arms around his neck when he pretended to drop me. He put me on my feet.

"Hi." I chuckled and moved my face back when he tried to rub his nose against mine.

"I'm disgusting. Do NOT!" His nose bumped mine anyway when he traded the Eskimo kiss for a real one.

"You're sticky."

"I told you I was disgusting."

---

"Thanks for the food!" everyone shouted. I watched the tables from the side with a smile and turned to see Kota watching from a distance. I watched him turn and walk away and decided to follow him to his destination. That destination turned out to be the top of a mountain. He sat, and I laughed when I heard his stomach.

"Hey, kiddo. You're rumbling." He turned to me with a glare, and I put my free hand up in surrender. "Chill. I won't stick around if you don't want me to. I just came to bring you food." I nodded at the bowl of curry in my hand. "It could be better, but it's edible. If you want, I'm sure I could sneak you something else." His glare faded for a second and then turned behind me. Izuku stopped at my side.

"You...! How'd you find this place?"

"I followed you," I replied.

"And I followed Veeves," Izuku stated. I went up to Kota, and Izuku followed.

"You want food, or are you gonna starve?" I questioned.

"Veeves!" I waved Izuku away.

"I'm fine. I don't need any. I told you, didn't I? I don't intend to hang out with you. With either of you. Get out of my secret hideout!"

"A secret hideout, huh?" Izuku said.

"This is the perfect hideout," I told him. "Never could've found it on my own." Kota kept his gaze away from us.

"Getting all into trying to improve your Quirk. It's gross. You want to show off your power that badly?" I nodded as I sat beside where he was before we showed up.

"I can understand that." I put the bowl down as I spoke and looked back at Kota. "It's not about showing off for us, though. We really want to improve. Personally, I've had trouble with my Quirk, so I'm trying to do the best I can." Kota didn't seem to like that answer, but it made me realize something.

"Your parents... Could they be Water Hose?" Izuku asked. "With the water Quirks?"

"Did Mandalay tell you?!"

"Oh, no, um, uh..." I sighed at Izuku's stuttering. "Sorry! Yeah, we kind of ended up hearing about it, and based on the information I got, thought maybe..."

"We took a guess," I finished. "Turns out we were right."

"It was an unfortunate incident. I remember it," Izuku added.

"Shut up," Kota ordered. "Everyone's crazy... Calling each other stupid names like 'hero' and 'villain' and killing each other... Talking about Quirks and stuff. It's because they're all showing off that it ended up like that... Stupid..."

"I get what you mean," I said. "All of this is pretty stupid of you see it that way." Izuku gave me a weird look. "I hope that one day when you're older, someone will be able to explain what happened better. Maybe you'll be able to see this society like we do." I stood up and stretched with a groan.

"What is it? If there's nothing else, then go away!" I nodded at Kota.

"Well, um... my uh... friend... My friend... couldn't inherit any Quirks from his parents."

"Huh?" I smiled at Kota's confusion and looked at Izuku.

"It's a hereditary thing, and apparently, it's rare but does happen... But he admired heroes and wanted to become one, but you can't be one these days without a Quirk... My friend couldn't accept that for a long time and practiced... Trying to draw objects to him and breathe fire... But it was no good. There are a lot of different ways to think about Quirks, so I don't know if this'll apply to everyone, but if you reject it that much, then it'll just make it more painful for you. Um, so..."

"Just shut up!" Kota yelled. "Get out of here!"

"Sorry, I'm just rambling," Izuku apologized.

"We just wanted to help," I spoke up. "We're not trying to change your opinion, everyone's allowed their own. I just... There's a lot of anger and sadness building up in you, and we're just trying to keep it from hurting you."

"Leave!" I turned Izuku around and pushed him to go first.

"Right, sorry!" I waved to Kota. "Oh, and thanks for the help, by the way." We walked down the mountain. "Do you think we helped at all?"

"I don't know," Izuku answered. "I hope so." He stopped me. "Why did you thank him?"

"Oh, he made me realize something about my Quirk," I replied. Izuku looked like he wanted me to explain. "Just need to communicate."

---

"Hiva." I yelped at pop's voice and fell. I felt his capture weapon wrap around me, and he pulled me towards him. He put an arm behind me and pushed me back up to my feet.

"Thanks." He nodded.

"You're already doing better than yesterday. What did you do? You changed something."

"I thought the problem was getting caught in my head, but it was a lack of trust."

"Explain."

"I didn't trust Aza, and Aza didn't trust me to use it correctly."

"How'd you fix it?"

"I thought it just appeared, but I think I made Aza." Aza climbed from my hand and waved to pops. "It's easier to work with something that can communicate back." Pops nodded. "We found a balance."

"And that is?"

"Aza's only worry seems to be my safety. It's worried about me getting hurt, and I don't really like feeling out of control. It's letting me fight and do what I want, and Aza just wants to control how much of the power I'm using." Pops nodded.

"Show me," he ordered. "You know your area." I nodded as Aza sunk back into my palm. I waved my hand in front of me, and the perimeter was up in black flames, crawling closer and closer to the center. It pushed against an invisible wall, trying to break through to get to us. Pops watched my arms, and his eyes rose to my neck. He nodded at the lack of injury, and I closed my fist to make the fire disappear. "Good." He turned away. "Let's waste no time. I'm asking Pixie-Bob to make her earth beasts for you to fight. Don't move from that spot and only use your Quirk."

"Yes, sir!" I gave his back a dramatic salute.

---

"Hello!" I squeaked at Denki's voice, and he laughed at me. I lightly shoved his shoulder, and he grabbed my hand. "Surprise or not, you don't usually jump like that. You okay, sweetness?" I smiled a little, and he kissed my forehead. "I love that smile." I tilted my head at him.

"You're being extra affectionate," I pointed out. "What's up with you?"

"No, no. I asked first." I sighed.

"I guess the test of courage is just making me nervous." Denki nodded, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder.

"I'll protect you." I laughed and turned with my arms crossed.

"I appreciate it, but I think I'm capable of protecting myself." I lightly flicked his nose, and he huffed.

"'M just saying," he mumbled. I patted his chest and gave him a gentle push so I could go back to chopping veggies.

"Your turn? What's up with you, pretty boy?" Denki sighed and shrugged.

"Don't know. I guess I'm just missing you." I gave him a confused look.

"I'm right here...?"

"I know, but we've barely talked this entire trip. We talk every day."

"We're both busy."

"Still," he grumbled. I sighed and turned to him. The rotting leaves smell showed that he was lying but I brushed it off.

"Okay, I wanted to talk to you after the trip," I told him. "So, we'll make up for it when we're back." Denki smirked.

"Make up for it?" I pushed his face away.

"Not like whatever you're thinking," I replied. "Keep that to yourself." Denki chuckled and kissed my cheek.

"I'm just messing with you." He gave me a confused look. "Wait, talk about what?"

"Just stuff."

"That didn't help!"

---

"Now, we've filled our bellies and washed the dishes!" Pixie-Bob began. "Next..."

"... it's time for the test of courage!" Mina finished.

"We're gonna test it!" Denki, Hanta, Kirishima, and Sato added.

"Before that, it pains me to say this, but the extra lessons group will be having class with me now." I huffed at pop's words.

"Well, that sucks," I muttered from where I was leaning on Katsuki.

"Those idiots brought it on themselves," Katsuki replied. He stepped to the side, and I stumbled.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Mina yelled.

"Sorry," pops apologized. "Your training during the day wasn't good enough, so I have to use this time. Give me a break!"

"Let us be tested!" they shouted while being pulled away.

"Okay, so Class B will be the first to be scarers," Pixie-Bob explained. "Class A will leave in pairs every three minutes. There are tags with your names written on them in the middle of the route so bring those back with you. Those being the scarers aren't allowed to make direct contact. Show us how scary you are with your Quirks."

"The class that makes the most people piss their pants with creativity and imagination wins!" Tiger finished.

"Stop it. That's filthy," Kyoka said.

"I see. They're trying to make us refine our ideas by making us compete with each other, giving us more options for our Quirks in the process! As expected of U.A.!"

"I think you're overthinking it," I told Iida.

"Now, you'll draw lots to determine your partners!" Pixie-Bob announced. I took my slip of paper and smiled. I fell into the shadows and appeared behind Izuku.

"Boo!" He jumped with a small scream, and I threw an arm around his shoulders. "Looks like you're my partner, Zuzu!" His face fell, and I laughed. "I won't scare you on the trail." He smiled at me, and I shook him a bit.

---

"Hey, does anyone else smell that?" I asked. "I don't know if I'm still just smelling the wood from the stove." I saw the smoke in the distance. "Yeah, that's not the stove." I noticed the blue embers in the sky. "That's Dabi."

"Pixie-Bob!" I turned to see her fly back, and I jumped forward. I wrapped my arms around her, and she stopped floating. I put her on the ground and turned to the two villains.

"Those pet cats are in the way," one villain said. I yelped at the sudden weightlessness I felt and groaned at the hit to the head. It was hard enough to knock my feet out from under me and make my vision go black for a second. "So is she." Aza grew into one of Pixie-Bob's beasts and huffed out breaths.

"Aza, no!" Despite that, Aza lifted its hand anyway to threaten the villains. "If the Quirk has a mind of its own, does that count as unlawful use? Is there a loophole here?"

"Now isn't the time for jokes!" Mineta panicked. I pushed myself to my feet and slightly wobbled while wiping the blood from my head.

"Isn't it?" I glared at the villain that smashed my head into the ground. "It was lucky it was me you hit. Anyone else would've been down for the count."

[adel-memes]

26- “Breathe with me. C’mon now deep breaths.” - Blue to Vio, or Shadow

HEY DUDE ILYSM /p

Nothing makes me happier than to write Blue with either of these two. Ofc I couldn't choose and had to spin the wheel and it got Shadow so yeet!!!

Here's Shadow & Blue content my favorite duo <3

Both of them were assigned kitchen duty and the castle servants weren't… the most optimistic or enthusiastic with the duo that stood in their kitchen. It wasn't because they were bad or anything, though.

They just weren't very… welcoming of the fact the very person that set their castle on fire and led to multiple injuries and pain is here. To help them. Apparently.

Of course, even if they respect the princess's wishes, it didn't ease their valid concerns though.

The next is a hero they've sort of come to agreement with, they got used to his loud argumentative nature. He reminded them of a child actively trying to prove his independence.

What they're not so pleased with, other than the obvious, is…

They know the dynamic these two share is.. destructive. One servant could say the opposing personalities is to their benefit, at least if the shade tries any more of his tricks they could rely on the hero and since he already has an established rivalry with the other. Surely he would side with them, correct?

"Boys, can you collect the dirty plates from the dining room?" Arcy called out, interrupting their quiet bickering.

One-sided bickering, Shadow was poking fun and it kept flying over Blue's head, who instead took it as an offense rather than anything.

The duo nodded, with the hero leading the way and the shade following behind with boredom. The door left open behind them and one servant groaned in frustration before pulling the door shut.

"I'm betting the knights are pleased, we got stuck with the princess's sorry excuse of a companion." One of them voiced her opinion as she tugged on her ponytail, nervously staring at the door as if she expected the shadow to come back with ill intent.

Arcy narrowed her eyes. She, too, didn't like the princess's choices at the start. Her voice of reason and logic told her that this kid is still responsible for multiple acts of war crimes. That he is still the one with much more power than them and did aim to harm them at one point. Old habits die hard, it takes a lot to unlearn these things.

Yet the motherly side of her insisted to focus on how he was still but a child. That he still has a chance to grow, he just needs a chance from the adults to help guide him.. that is if he gives them a chance.

"It doesn't help that his majesty and the captain of the guards, both are actually allowing it. Isn't this dangerous? What if he's a spy? We'll die if we continue with this ignorance, I'm telling you." she heard another huff as she carried bags of flour to the storage.

Their jabs fell to a stop as soon as the door cracked open, instantly unnatural polite smiles on their faces as they continued to work.

"This is why you need me." Shadow stuck his tongue out as he held the door open for the hero who was pushing a cart with stacks of dirty dishes.

"Yes, of course, because I can't open a door." Blue said, sarcastic as ever as he rolled his eyes, ignoring the toothy smile as he passed by him.

"Glad to see you have some reason in that empty shell of a brain!"

The hero shot him a glare, before muttering curses under his breath as he pushed the cart towards the sink with the shade following close behind with a hum and a teasing grin.

"Now, what do we gotta do, Arcy?" Blue crossed his arms, his scowl and the shade's grin giving a clear indication that if they spent one more task together the hero's patience would snap like a twig and chaos would ensue.

"Blue, can you help carrying the bags of flour and rice to the storage?" she started and Blue nodded, instantly rushing to his task while Shadow was about to follow only to pause when Arcy addressed him.

"Er, Shadow?"

The dark prince blinked as he turned to focus on the chef, his grin faltering as he stared with confusion.

"Can you..  uh.." she grinned nervously. "Can you help clean the dishes?"

"Uh.." he gestured towards the cart. "These?" he asked, trying to get an affirmation and Arcy nodded. The shade frowned and for the first time, she could sense confusion and hesitation from him.

"Do you want me to–" before she got to finish her offer, the shade snapped back to reality and shook his head. His grin coming back yet with force rather than genuine glee or mischief.

"I can do that! I got this!" he waved in dismissal as he rolled his sleeves. "How hard can it be after all?" he rambled off as he picked three plates from the stack and carried them to the sink, setting them on the counter as he glanced every few seconds to the one next to him and following her lead without admitting he wasn't even sure what he was doing.

Arcy hummed as she watched him, then her gaze shifted to the hero who was quietly talking to one of the servants, mostly nodding and shaking his head with occasional comments. She sighed, at least one seemed to calm down. That's good enough.

She went back to cleaning up the table, enjoying the calmness as they all finished their tasks. She could feel the silence was more out of tension than any other emotion and sighed. At least they're finishing their tasks, she concluded.

Although, she might have strayed a little too far in the hopeful side than realism as a loud shattering echoed brought her back to her senses, the noise making her ears perk up and ring from how loud it was that even the hero jumped and tutned to look at the source.

The earlier servant, the one with the ponytail, standing a few steps away, the shattered pieces of the plate scattered in front of her and the shade. The shadow's hands pressed against his ears as he stared at the pieces.

"I was.. asking if you can hand me the soap.." he quietly informed and the lady didn't answer. None of them spoke after that moment, as if they were all frozen still.

Until a few steps echoed and Arcy turned to look at the hero, who set the bag of flour down before turning back to approach the duo.

"Do you want to leave?" Blue quietly asked and Shadow didn't answer. He repeated again, voice even quieter that if it weren't for the room's silence they wouldn't have heard it.

"I can take over, if you want to leave. Do you?" the shade slowly nodded then quickly nodded.

"Do you want to be alone?"

There was a pause and Arcy raised an eyebrow at the shift in dynamic. Usually they were arguing and loud and competitive. How come they're so quiet now..? She didn't know the whole story, so what would earn such a reaction from the shade and the hero?

"I can take over. You both could leave." she announced and the hero turned to face her and nodded. The shade didn't look at her though, instead he slowly lowered his hands to his sides as Blue looked back at him.

"We're both leaving, okay?"

"Okay." the shadow muttered as he let the hero guide him to the door and to the hall. He didn't ask where they were going as the hero dragged him by the wrist, he didn't even keep track of how many turns they took until they reached a familiar gate.

It was where he managed to convince Zelda to skip some royal meeting and they hid in the garden. Of course, he was called a bad influence but it was a compliment if a hylian thought he was a menace.

The door shut behind them and the shadow only stood still, yet his ears bent down as he gritted his teeth and his nails dug into his palms. Before even getting the chance to speak, the shade turned to glare at the hero.

"How did you know?" he questioned, skeptical over how quickly the other handled the situation. Almost too perfectly. "What did you do to me? Is this some hylian bullshit?"

"What? No, dumbass." 

"Then what? Why did that happen?"

Blue blinked, opening then closing his mouth as his observation indicated that the other didn't know and that his reaction was genuine. ".. wait you seriously don't know?"

Shadow nodded his head a bit too violently as he crossed his arms. "I just? What the fuck is going on– why is that? Huh?" he stopped and the hero's sigh didn't help.

"What the fuck."

Blue watched him mutter curses under his breath as he pushed his bangs up and pressed his hands against his head. "Why is it– ugh what the hell??"

"Shadow breathe."

"No shut up! What is wrong? I swear if that old hag put a curse on me–"

"No one put a curse on you."

"Then why the hell–" his voice cracked and he covered his mouth staring down in surprise before staring up in horror at the hero. At least he wasn't the only one horrified as Blue blinked and stared back speechless as well.

"Shit, wait. Follow my lead okay?"

Shadow didn't move, his palms still covering his mouth as he stared then shook his head. 

"If you follow my lead we can get this over with and forget about it."

That sounds ideal… He would like to forget this ever happened.

Shadow nodded slowly and Blue did the same as he slowly reached his hands out to his wrists. "Stop covering your mouth, idiot."

He listened, still hesitant with his hands lingering before letting the hero drag them down. "You don't have to talk okay? Just come on, sit on the floor with me?"

Shadow squinted his eyes as the hero pulled him down until he was sitting on the concrete floor and the hero squatted in front slowly let go of his hands.

"I need you to breathe okay? Slowly. Can you do that?"

What can breathing do? What does it have to do with the witch's curse and–

"Shadow, Breathe with me," he insisted and the shade gritted his teeth and shook his head. "C'mon now, deep breaths." he tried and the shade reluctantly followed along, inhaling when the other did and exhaling when he did. At one point he thought he was try to suffocate him, only for them to exhale at the last second and it didn't help. He thought.

At first it didn't. The slow breathing felt like it was too.. simple yet complicated. How would that help? 

What even happened? The plate. He was just reaching out for soap. She used the soap? He wanted to follow her lead? He would have laughed at her reaction, yet why did he feel sick? Why did he cover his ears at that loud crash and why did they stay pressed against his ears even after that? Why did he feel weird in the stomach?

"Shadow?"

"Mm?"

The shade blinked, his breathing was more in control right now and he hopes he doesn't get to experience that again. He hopes. The thought of it getting difficult again is a new found fear he didn't realize he would ever have.

"Dumbass breathe."

"I am."

"Not calmly."

"Well, what do you expect from me?!"

Blue lifted his hands up, muttering 'woah woah' and 'calm down' repeatedly at the shade's hiss. The prince frowned as he crossed his arms.

"What happened. How did you know?" 

"Uh.." 

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "What happened there?"

"I.. well." Blue scratched the back of his neck as he muttered with a soft voice that he could barely hear and his pauses were hesitant as if he was uncertain.

"I figured it was, uh, some type of.. panic attack I guess?"

"What."

"Uh.." Blue sighed as he sat down with him. "It's like when breathing gets difficult and you feel stuck in place with like.. chaos? Around?"

"What."

"Ugh, listen I'm bad at explaining!" Blue yelled, face flushing in embarrassment as if he was regretting and wishing he wasn't the one here with him. "But.. Look, some times we get this attack when we are in.."

"If it's an attack, do I get to fight it? I want to punch it."

"You– you can't punch it. It isn't physical!"

"Then what is it?!"

Blue groaned as he tried to explain it as simply as possible. "Like it's when some situation that reminds us of another bad moment where we felt not in control and got badly hurt? So we just react as if we are in that bad moment than in the present?"

"I.. don't get it?" Shadow frowned, then raised an eyebrow as he tried to reassure that he didn't have a bad moment with dishes of all things. "I didn't get hurt from a stupid plate, are you hearing yourself?"

Blue rolled his eyes, bluntly correcting the other as he tried to inform him. "Not really cause of the plate." he sighed, yet Shadow could see despite the exhaustion he could almost see a hint of a smile on the other's face, as if he was amused by it.

"Then what." Shadow asked, elaborating even further as he spoke again. "If it wasn't the plate, then what..?"

Blue stayed quiet, tugging on his sleeve before sighing and slouching as he looked at the shade. Speaking hesitantly as he tried to suggest. "... the sound? The shatter?"

Maybe. His breathing didn't get difficult until he heard the loud shatter and his hair stood up and it only got worse at the sight with the broken pieces.

"The sound of the shatter, similar to the mirror."

Oh.. it did make sense.. yet he was still unsure. The prince paused then quietly spoke up.

"I.. don't get it..?" Shadow raised an eyebrow. "I mean.. even if it made sense? Why? Why would that happen? Why now?"

Blue shrugged, "I guess this is a first time you had to deal with this?" he muttered before trying to explain it. "It's like.. the way you reacted, internally, is probably from panic because last time you heard that sound you were.. dying on the floor." his voice grew quieter as he muttered the last sentence.

Shadow nodded slowly, so far it made sense to him as Blue carried on trying to awkwardly explain the unfortunate situation.

"So maybe your brain thought you will die again." he concluded and continued again. "So you had, I guess, a panic attack?"

Shadow frowned as he tugged on his sleeves as well then pulled his legs to hug them as he rest his chin on his knees. "I.. is that why it was hard to talk? Or breathe? Or wanting to break something and yell?"

Blue bit his lip as he shook his head side to side then nodded slowly. "Sort of. I think many of us have different types of reactions but I don't know?"

"How do you know."

"What."

Shadow paused, hesitating on repeating himself before whispering as he forced himself to ask again. "How did you know this.. kinda helps?" he tried again while avoiding his gaze.

Blue's silence didn't sit right with him. It felt.. weird to sit quietly with him. It felt weird to even ask for knowledge and his guidance on these matters or anything.

The hero sighed and he tensed up. "Uh.. similar boat as you." he admitted and Shadow blinked then looked back at him with surprise. 

"Huh?"

This time, Blue was the one to avoid his gaze as he huffed. "I had the same reaction."

"So.. it's normal?" he asked, almost hopeful that he isn't alone and that its nothing embarrassing or anything.

"It shouldn't be but it is common."

"Oh."

Blue nodded slowly as he sighed,  "Do you.. want me to tell you how mine happened?" he offered and Shadow rolled his eyes.

"It would help my ego." he admitted with a small smile then it fell as he pointed out the reason he's against it. "But, I don't want to hear your lamenting."

"Shut up!"

Shadow laughed at his shout, Blue rolled his eyes at the reaction as he glared. He watched him calm down, his scowl slowly replaced by a small smile as he watched the shade lean back and his legs now crisscrossed rather than having his knees pulled to his chest.

"Just, what did you do?"

Blue's grin fell and he slouched as he admitted. "Well.. I was yelling a lot." he sighed and Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"Shocker." he teased, sarcastic as Blue stuck his tongue out and replied with his own sense of sarcasm.

"I know, right?"

The shade laughed and Blue ignored him as he continued. "But, yeah. I kinda lashed out and got more violent? Green literally forced me out to talk."

"How mad was he? On a scale of 'Disappointed but not surprised' to 'I will set Red on you and make you feel guilt for three weeks'?"

"It wasn't that bad! He was more of 'I will need a very good reason to not be upset right now.' which I did have a good one! So?"

"Ooh.." Shadow nodded slowly, "A six."

"It still worked out! First he was disappointed but I got even more upset then he realized that isn't working so it shifted to just a small walk until I was calm enough to talk." Blue shrugged as he rubbed his chin then waved his hand around as he talked.

"Apparently it was something tied with trauma?"

"Trauma?"

"Yeah, uh.. After talking I mean we figured out what triggered it and led to my reactions so I had to get my shit together and figure out my.. triggers I guess?"

"What's that?"

Blue sighed, muttering how he's horrible at explanations and tried to awkwardly explain it with a generous amount of pauses. 

"Uh.. I think Vio summarized it as like.. specific things that lead to panic or anxiety?" he started, slow and hesitant. "Like! Um! Wait uh, like when.. it happens or you see it, you feel sick inside and want to leave or yell or anything just to get away from it?"

"I.. don't get it."

"Uuuughhh. Look, it's when you see something and it reminds you of something else that makes you panic?"

"Oh. Oh wait like the guards?"

"Yeah— wait what?"

Shadow frowned as he tried to explain. "The guards didn't like seeing me? Because they thought I was here to invade again. So I reminded them of that..?"

"Well. I don't know. I'm bad at these things."

"Oh.."

Shadow hummed, opening then closing his mouth as he tried to decide on whether it was worth asking or not.

"What are they?"

"Hm?"

"What are your.. bad things." Shadow tried to ask again, "The one that make you panic?" he tried.

"Uh. Well." Blue frowned as he tried to think of them. "I know snow and winter in general make me uneasy? Also hate the dark, no offense."

"Non taken, I hate the light, so."

"Yeah, but if I was specific. I think snowstorms and anything with poes."

"Snow and Poe?"

"Died to it."

Shadow blinked then raised an eyebrow as he slowly asked with surprise. "You died? To two things?"

"Er. Sort of. But it doesn't matter! I'm still standing so!" Blue shrugged and Shadow nodded slowly before muttering "Really? Aren't you're sitting." out of sarcasm and Blue groaned.

"... you know what I meant."

"No. I don't."

Shadow snickered at the hero's frustrated glare and huff. "But yeah.. those are mine."

"How do you know them, though?"

"Do I look like a therapist?" Blue hissed and Shadow only blinked and stared, waiting for him to answer his question, and Blue pouted.

He reluctantly tried to answer. "I mean I was mostly uncomfortable with us going to that stupid quest and then a poe showed up and even after winning I couldn't relax annnnd yeah it took me a moment to realize."

"Oh. So like what happened with me.. uh..?" Shadow frowned, his eyebrows furrowed as he muttered. "The shatter?"

"I guess. The sound of shattering might be one trigger. You could have more, that's the disappointing part."

"Ughhh but I don't want a repeat." he whined and Blue gave a pitiful laugh.

"None of us do." he added.

"Mhm.."

"But you could try some exercises?" Blue suggested, grinning and Shadow only let out a 'yuck!' and violently shook his head.

"I don't want to do... sports." he rejected, shuddering at the last word and gagging, and Blue rubbed his temples.

"Not that, idiot." he said with a forced frown, as if he was holding back a laugh or even a smile. "Like coping stuff. What do you like to do?"

"... what I like?"

"Yeah, it could be anything." Blue informed and Shadow hummed before continuing, purposefully dragging it out just to provoke and add more dramatic effect on his hobby.

"Hm. So perhaps.. Since I can do anything.. can I use it to–"

"No, you won't murder or set anything on fire." Blue instantly shut down and Shadow threw his hands up.

"But you said!"

"Those aren't healthy. Get something like. You enjoy but it doesn't harm anyone or you."

"... Uh. Well. I'm going to.." Shadow gritted his teeth before scoffing and yelling. "Ugh I don't know?! I want to set stuff on fire?!"

Blue watched him yell in pity then frowned as he rubbed his chin. It could take some work, they just need a far off place where no one can get hurt and a place where they can control the fire so it doesn't get too destructive.

He sighed as he pushed himself off the floor. "Fine."

"And— huh?" Shadow turned to look up at him, head tilting.

"Come on, we'll find some wood and you set it on fire?" Blue grumbled and Shadow scurried to his feet in an instant.

"Blue? You're letting me start fires?" he repeated and the hero glared but didn't back out of his offer as he nodded. "Just as long as it ain't big and.. Can't destroy shit. Got it?"

Shadow's grin grew wide as he nodded.

"I'd like that."

"Yeah whatever dumbass, come on."

[elfdragon12]

Below the cut are homebrew encounters/one-shots I've run for my nephews and niece:

-A town has been repeatedly beset by skeletons and zombies. The mayor (a male Halfling named Jean Tufor) sees the party and asks them for help. The culprit is a Goblin Shaman (my notes say "5th level spellcaster", I believe I modified the Lizardfolk Shaman to suit my needs for this).

-A tavern owner asks the party to find a missing person. A local apothecary went to the mountains to get ingredients. They've been gone for 2 days and have yet to return. The apothecary has been captured by an imp and the mephits it summoned.

-Encounter: the party is traveling through a dark and dense forest that is silent and stuffy. An observant adventurer will smell the stale air and see the increasing amount of spider webs. They may hear a rustle behind them before turning to see a giant spider on each side. If the party notice the spiders' eggsac, it is surrounded by vine, twig, and needle blights. The tree is a Gulthias tree.

-The party goes to a tavern for a meal and overhear 2 patrons chatting about a tower about 5 miles from the village. Word is that a warlord built it as a stopping point between battles, but now a wizard lives there doing dark magics. A group of adventurers weren't there a few days ago, but haven't returned. However, the perpetual storm above the tower has faded. There are rumors of gold and treasures inside, but the villagers are too scared to go near. Among the 9 levels are ghouls, skeletons, animated armors, and mimics. Level 5 has prison cells (useful NPCs/DMPCs can be stored here), level 6 is a fighting arena, level 7 has monster cells, and level 9 is the spell room. However, when the adventurers get to level 9, the wizard is already dead and a new foe waits. (Here, I have introduced a lich as the BBEG to collect the wizard's most powerful artefacts.)

-The party enters a mid-sized town. At the gate, there's an unusual amount of guards. If there is a spellcaster in the party, the guards will stop the party and bring them to the leader of the guard, a Halfling named Roscoe Hillfoot, and interrogate them. Evil undead have been attacking the town and everyone is tense. The party can prove their innocence by stopping the nightly hordes (or, if they have no spellcaster, chat with some NPCs around town). The horde seem to be coming from the west. When they get past the hordes, they'll find a run-down cottage with a solitary wizard losing their grip on reality. Upon being perceived, the wizard attacks. What is allowing the wizard to summon hordes is the Amulet of the Dead, however, since it's not the real thing, its unstable magic has been messing with the wizard's mind. Among the horde is skeletons, zombies, and even an ogre zombie.

-After saving a mine in a previous adventure (sourced from the Wildemount sourcebook pg 89, "A Hungry Problem"), the mine owner suggests the party visit a local store called Mevis's Wonderous Emporium. The owner, a gnome merchant, is a little strange, but she carries good products. She offers her wares to the party. If they impress her, she decides to ask them for their help. A wealthy landowner stole a Bag of Holding from her and she wants it back. If the party accepts and gets it back for her, she can become a wandering merchant and meet them along their way with new wares. (how sneaky they accomplish this may affect how well she rewards them afterwards).

-While in a wealthy merchant town, there's a tavern owned by the local baron with a job board. One of the job listings is from the local sheriff (I encourage your Kronk impressions for this guy), a gruff and wordy dwarf. He owns a smoker. There are suspicious rumors from the cemetery, in particular, moved headstones and opened mausoleums. Most recently, a man rushed in a claimed he'd been biten by a vampire. The sheriff doesn't currently have the manpower to pursue it and needs extra help. The culprit are Thugs robbing tombs and digging up the ground for gemstones. When apprehended, the Thugs will proclaim "and we would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling adventurers!" (I have been watching Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated.) Also, strangely... There are more skeletons. What else could be happening in this cemetery?

A one/multi-shot I started running for the younger party:

"Night at the Museum"

The party travels to a new city called Wildetide. It's a small city or large town filled with mostly humans, but also with elves and Halflings with a smattering of other races. When the party goes to a local tavern, they'll see a half-elf, Hafier Phiven, glumly drinking at the bar. When he sees the party, he'll perk up and goes to the party.

He's been looking to renovate an old museum that he purchased a while ago. However, there are some mud creatures (mephits) that are getting in the way and he can't get rid of them. He will give the party a reward for clearing the museum of these pests.

Upon investigation, the true problem is that the museum contained two similarly colored dragon eggs... Except one is a chromatic (white) dragon while the other is metallic (silver). The chromatic dragon is trying to turn the museum into its lair and the silver dragon has been hiding from it.

[loudprincepost]

Why it’s important to give attention to Autumn-Related Plumbing Issues?

It's obvious that during autumn, you are going to start seeing some transformations in our yards. As summer fades away and the temperatures begin to drop, many things will change in our yards. But did you know that these changes can also have an impact on your plumbing? So, here are five things that you should keep in mind when it comes to preventing plumbing issues this fall, it's important to keep in touch with the professional Plumber St Kilda to fix the issue on time.

Leaves and other yard debris:

Leaves, twigs and other yard debris can easily accumulate in your home's drains. If you don't have a leaf blower (or are just too lazy to get one), then make it a priority to sweep up leaves as soon as they fall from your trees/shrubs. Keep drains free of leaves and other yard debris by placing strainers over them.

Hygiene:

Good hygiene is key to preventing any plumbing issue. Even if you are diligent in keeping your bathroom clean, it is important to remember that mould and mildew can grow even if the grout surface is dry. To keep your bathroom from smelling musty or stale at all times, spray some vinegar on a rag and wipe down any surfaces where moisture may have collected (e.g., around tubs, sinks or showers). You should also change out your shower curtain liner when it becomes dirty; this will help prevent mould from forming on the curtain itself. The same goes for towels used in bathrooms—make sure they're always fresh-smelling as well!

Water heaters:

Check your water heater for leaks and test it. If you have a gas water heater, check the pilot light. If you have an electric water heater, check the circuit breaker. If you have a gas or electric water heater, check the gas line and ensure it’s not leaking at any point where it enters or exits your house—or anywhere else along its length if possible.

Water pipes and faucets:

Check your drains for leaks.

Check your faucets for leaks.

Check your water meter for leaks.

Look at the surface of pipes and water heaters, looking for rust or corrosion that's making them leak or cause other problems. You might even want to take a small piece of sandpaper and see if it rubs off on one of the surfaces—if it does, there may be some corrosion going on that could lead to larger problems down the road!

If you follow these tips, you can avoid many autumn-related plumbing issues in your home. Even if you follow the tips above, your pipes may still freeze. If this happens at your home, it's important to act quickly. If a pipe freezes and bursts, it can cause extensive damage to your property and lead to a flooded basement or other areas of the house.

If you cannot prevent your pipes from freezing by following these tips or if they've already frozen and burst, contact plumber st Kilda for emergency plumbing services. They'll be able to assess what went wrong and help find solutions that will keep this from happening again in future winters!

Conclusion:

With a little preparation, you won’t have to worry about autumn-related plumbing issues this year. If you need any assistance completing these tasks, don’t hesitate to call a professional plumber.

[terrence-silver]

in an vampire alternate universe, set in KK3 Terry as a vampire obviously, do you think Kreese would let him drink his blood?

In a vampire AU, Kreese has probably been letting him drink his blood since Vietnam.

Lets say something inexplicable happens during combat.

Little Twig contracts something he shouldn't.

Could've been another frenzied soldier lounging at him and biting in a flash of violence; could've been another American. Maybe even someone they knew. Could've been an injury infected with something putrid, throwing young Terry into a fever he barely survives in the jungle, slowing down his platoon and having Captain Turner command Kreese to leave Silver, serving as a weak link, behind multiple times, which he doesn't, but I digress. How it happens is less important than what happens later. Terry is somehow different when he recovers, unable to bear sunlight, landing him in an infirmary several times and nearly having him sent back home and discharged (and only upon his desperate insistence does this not happen), relegating himself to dangerous night watches instead (the army camp doctors diagnose him with an eye tear and the sensitivity to light due to exposure to an explosion or a grenade, which of course is the furthest thing from the truth), not feeding properly which makes him even scrawnier and he hungers and craves blood, and for the longest time, both John and Terry think these are simply the after effects of Terry being shell-shocked, or rather, traumatized from his time in combat. They've heard a whole bunch of crazy and awful stories of what happens to soldiers who stay too long in the bush, how they get that thousand yard stare, like they've seen hell, appearing not quite so human in the aftermath...so, maybe this isn't all that different? Maybe Terry is simply ill and this will pass? Maybe it is treatable? Regardless, John is a ride or die in the most unhinged way possible --- the type that can keep a secret no matter how outlandish seeming that secret may be. The way he sees it, his friend ain't well (John might even blame himself for not protecting Twig from whatever happened to him out there), and if some blood will help his case, then, goodness gracious, what is solidarity between brothers-in-arms if not some of that same blood collected in a canteen every now and then so nobody sees? Licking the hunting knife clean concealed from the others? Hunting animals in the wild and feasting? It is war. The horrible thing about it is, there's boys out there during far worse than practicing bizarre dietary choices.

Decades later, it is a habit of Terry's; fully embraced and enjoyed.

He's gotten stronger, and yet instead of aging, he only grows more beautiful.

Meanwhile, John looks infinitely older somehow.

Turns out, it wasn't gas tear induced trauma, it wasn't shock, it wasn't an unusual practice between soldiers or a hazing amongst brethren when one of you makes the other bite into an animal's liver or drink the blood of a slaughtered snake, it wasn't anything therapy could fix or even necessarily explain, least of all, cure. It was vampirism. In the classical sense, yes. Mix that with the coke Terry takes in the 80's and the liquor, the tobacco and all the vices, the blood seems like a mundane fact of life, but he has tasted John before. The first blood he ever tried was John's, as a fealty of friendship and devotion; the man not only saved his life countless times from the crossfire, he ensured Terry wouldn't starve either, taking an situation unlike any other and running with it, making that life debt between them double and even triple. If anything, it wouldn't just stop at the occasional feeding of reunion 'for old time's sake' every now and when Terry's and John's paths cross because I can genuinely see Terry wishing to repay every good deed of John's by actually turning him. Why not have his best friend for all eternity with him? By his side? Why not ensure they're one and the same? Maybe this gift came to Terry in Vietnam for a reason? Maybe it was meant to be shared? Maybe it was a sign? John would be extremely reluctant to accept because hey, he is old fashioned in a great many ways and one of those ways is that a person's life should be lived as it is meant to be lived; being born, aging and dying. Terry doesn't quite agree, finding the notion stubborn, prideful and limited on John's behalf. Doesn't agree with it at all, actually. He has found a way to control the uncontrollable; youth, life and the passing years themselves. If anything, he'd be adamant about it with John for ages, panicking internally, every time John's birthday rolls around and the man is a year older than before, and then starts looking it too, all until John is beginning to appear like a mature man and Terry has stayed the same...for a while now. The tragedy and angst of Terry realizing he is losing his best friend to mortality and then and only then he starts viewing what he brought back from Vietnam as a cruse.

[terrence-silver]

How would yandere Terry Silver(different eras plus his parents since I kinda dig the possessive in laws thing) react to the reader running away from her own wedding with them and she makes a run for it when it's time for the vows to be said, how would they react and what will they do to her when they catch her?

---

Okay, but Terry Silver's parents HAVE to be at least some shade of creepy.

And at least some shade of amazingly cunning, just like him.

I think they all collectively, Terry the groom, and his parents the in-laws, kind of, sort of predict beloved's fidgety disposition in this whole marriage situation purely through being observational alone and as such go out of their way to take tactical precautions to ensure no unpredictables happen all while upholding a facade of blissful cluelessness, feeding into the notion that they haven't got an idea that beloved has plans to slither off --- which they do, they account for all unpredictables --- like, yes, one of these unpredictables being beloved getting cold feet and running off. Because, this is their son. This is them. The Silver family. They're rich! They're old money! They've companies and mansions and a pedigree! They aren't about to allow their bride to escape on them --- and they won't, hellbent on control in all aspects of everything...just like their son. Blood is blood, after all. They'll have beloved so entangled and preoccupied with the whole marriage preparations to Terry they're literally never given a free minute to themselves to even contemplate an escape, lest of all bring one into fruition successfully.

Then there's all the 'family traditions' they can make up to divert beloved.

Hey, if Terry could just...make up The Quicksilver method...

Not to mention the gardeners, the maids, the chauffeurs would just tip them off. The Major Domo of the Silver household spotted beloved at the window --- second story, looking off ominously into the distance. Is beloved contemplating climbing down somehow when they think nobody is looking and mayhaps running off a week before the happiest day in their life? Reginald doesn't know, but he alerts his bosses anyway just to be safe, the Mister and Mrs. Silver, right along their son, immediately. Long story short, the estate is immediately even more thickly populated with workers, assistants and managers decorating the whole place. Not a single truly desolate spot in this manor through which beloved could slip through in silence.

Are...is that a security team on all entrances?

Dogs barking at the gates?

Cars parked out front by the dozens?

Also, how did beloved fall asleep for an entire day?

Did someone kindly slip some harmless medication into their drink?

To calm those reception nerves and have them get some beauty rest, of course?

There's a bridal party of exclusive guests downstairs that never seems to goddamn leave --- and regardless if this is Twig, or the odd scenario with 1980's Terry and his parents perhaps still being around (?) Terry always in the bridal bedchamber with his bride-to-be. Of course, his parents say, where would he be? Devotion between spouses is key and they're awfully eager for grandchildren too --- and as soon as possible. At one point, someone tells the charming anecdote about how a distant Silver ancestor back in the old country was a great proponent of bridal kidnappings and how he acquired his own spouse through such extreme measures...but that is just an old, silly legend it is decided as everyone laughs at heartily over some wine from the family's cellar.

Did I mention they've an awful of cellars, attics and basements?

Everyone can get a tour, beloved included.

😉

Terry's mother is in her element, taking the liberty of ordering the most lavish fabrics imaginable for the eighth subsequent gown try-out this week, with constant (unnecessary) remodelings being made by her team of private seamstresses and handpicked stylists. How about this brooch? It is a family heirloom? A fascinator hat or a veil? Which shoes? Which bouquet with which obtusely expensive floral arrangements? Ivory or pure white? Silk or brocade? The size of the train. The undergarments. The gloves and the jewelry and the ring. So many unanswered questions, options, choices and decisions thrown together all at once that beloved can't seem to give an outright response to because beloved spends almost the entire day trapped in their own dress on stand while the busy, ever so diligent seamstresses are literally sowing them into the gown, with the Silver matriarch directing everything and cooing proudly and insidiously. No, no. Beloved mustn't move at all because the fine stitching will snap. They have to be perfectly still. Beloved isn't going anywhere because beloved is constantly too busy, day and night and always as a blushing bride to be ought to be, caught in the overblown artifice of all these intricate rituals.

How about specially commissioned crystal studded heels? They're awfully heavy.

Awfully difficult to run in.

What about a ring passed down from one generation to the other?

Highlighting the guilt beloved would feel in possibly breaking such an important custom.

Terry's father could be the more practical and pragmatic one, if he was ever a businessman and a company owner is his life, which it is told to us that he was; He could just show up with the officiant on his own doorstep, who's chauffeured in by the Silver family's driver, unannounced, impromptu, to make this official. Beloved isn't told. Beloved's just placed in front of an already decided thing. Surprise! You're getting married...now. After that, you're going on your honeymoon which we picked out, as our gift to you and if need be, we’ll give you, the lovebirds a lift to the airport too. Dazed and practically raised out of their own bed by a gaggle of assistants dressing beloved, they're astounded and somewhat frightening by how quickly this is happening and unfolding. They...were supposed to have a whole week left to try and escape and turns out, now they're trapped, dragged and coaxed off to a quickly slapped together private family wedding literally taking place in Terry's father's parlour. Terry knows, because Terry stands there like he's won something once his parents unveil a commissioned, mega-sized oil painting of beloved's and Terry's faces that can now hang in the study, right next to theirs. How lovely. The tradition and the legacy continues.

Maybe beloved faints in shock and terror, right into Terry's arms.

How precious; even that is seen as utterly romantic.

Beloved fainted from joy and wedding jitters.

Terry has to smile as he scoops them up.