#cranial sutures

[catboymoments]

Hey so do you ever think about the Kamukura project a bit too hard and then get really sad about Hajime Hinata and his loss of identity or is that just me

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Cranial sutures

* * * *

Growing up, we say, as though we were trees, as though altitude was all that there was to be gained, but so much of the process is growing whole as the fragments are gathered, the patterns found. Human infants are born with craniums made up of four plates that have not yet knit together into a solid dome so that their heads can compress to fit through the birth canal, so that the brain within can then expand. The seams of these plates are intricate, like fingers interlaced, like the meander of arctic rivers across tundra.

The skull quadruples in size in the first few years, and if the bones knit together too soon, they restrict the growth of the brain; and if they don’t knit at all the brain remains unprotected. Open enough to grow and closed enough to hold together is what a life must also be.

We collage ourselves into being, finding the pieces of a worldview and people to love and reasons to live and then integrate them into a whole, a life consistent with its beliefs and desires, at least if we’re lucky.

Recollections of My Nonexistence ::  by Rebecca Solnit

[anatomyartseries]

[mcbitchtits]

oops. accidentally fell down a kingdom of the crystal skull hole again

[clipartdinosaur]

Griddlehark Fics

I have read an absolutely insane amount of Griddlehark fanfics in the past few months so I figured I could make a like...list of all of my favorites that I bookmarked. I'm not sure if anyone will use this but if anything it will be for my own self-indulgence LOL. Just a heads up, this list WILL contain spoilers up to Nona the Ninth, so proceed with your own discretion. Anyway here we go!

(♥︎ = favorite!)

Short (<15k):

"By the Sword" by JeanLuciferGohard (2.6k)

The Reverend Daughter of the Ninth, Necrosaint, Ascended, the greatest bone adept in an Age, does one push-up, and collapses. Harrow does not beg for her cavalier. Harrow rakes her hair back and snarls, “Nav, I am going to unzip your cranial sutures. One by one. And zip them up again sideways.”

"Your Necro Questions Answered" by Magichorse (8.8k)

Syndicated columnist "Nav the Cav" offers a sympathetic ear to cavaliers across the galaxy and dispenses practical, no-nonsense, real talk advice on how to properly manage and care for your necromancer.

"A Lesson in Bones" by Magichorse (3.8k)

One of the laboratory trials at Canaan House compels Harrowhark to swap bodies with her cavalier. What will Gideon do with the power of the most talented bone adept in generations at her disposal? Nothing good, probably.

"Visions of Gideon" by tothewillofthepeople (13k)

Oh my god they were roommates...

"true love's kiss, or something equally nauseating" by corpsesoldier (4.6k)

She was where she needed to be. She was going to pull her necro out of this godforsaken tomb, end the game of musical bodies they were playing, and then everything would be all right. Harrow would be alive. And Gideon was going to give her shit for approximately the next myriad for not just taking what she’d offered and saving them a whole lot of trouble.

"The Big Warm Dark" by decalexas (haelstorm) (2.7k)

Gideon Nav knows how to swing a longsword, brandish a rapier, bridge the gap between life and death, punch the dead in the face, and maybe overthrow an Empire along the way. What she doesn't know how to do is reach for the girl who made all of this possible.

"carrion comfort, despair (not feast on thee)" by NotAFicWriter (5k)

Some time after Alecto wakes, Harrow and Gideon finally have a moment to speak to one another. Hearts are bared. Teeth are bared. Intentions are bared. It all comes at great personal cost (emotional honesty).

"never exhale all the way" by pigflight (1.2k)

Harrowhark paints Gideon's face.

"such an almighty sound" by CountingNothings (10k)♥︎

“I need you to marry me,” Harrow says, a propos of absolutely nothing that Gideon can see. And, uh, okay, this is not what childhood best frenemies say to each other upon discovering that both of their graduate programs have weird residence requirements. “What,” Gideon asks, “the fuck?”

"A Handsomely Dangerous Thing" by zoicite (1.5k)

Had Harrow ever looked at Gideon and felt pride before? Surely not. It sat like a tumor in her chest, a cancerous lump that had grown where it did not belong.

"How it didn't happen" by Nary (1.5k)

"How did you lose it?" Coronabeth asked, more softly than her sister's shrill voice. The group assembled at Canaan House barely knew her, and yet here they were, asking the most irritatingly personal questions, and acting as if they were being kind and thoughtful by prying into her secrets. "I dropped my pen into a vat of acid and reached in to grab it without thinking," Harrow said dryly. Coronabeth recoiled, screwing up her pretty nose. Ianthe looked unsure whether to believe her or not. Their meatslab of cavalier just stared blankly. "The Daughter of the Ninth House was blessed in this manner from her birth, as a symbol of her strength and power over the mysteries of necromancy," Ortus interjected. Harrow glared at him. "Oh," Coronabeth said, an expression of disgusting sympathy on her flawless face. "But then you would never have known who your soulmate was!" Harrow's glare intensified. "My soulmate is bones."

"Halcyon Nights" by Morike91 (10k)

It was hard to tell what was worse: feeling the full warmth of those unguarded honey eyes fall on Harrow, or watching them narrow in recognition and contempt, their warmth now hotter with something else.  “What can I get you?” It has been at least four years since Harrow last heard the voice of Gideon Nav, but it was still as familiar as her right hand. 

"I completely fucking hate you" by ClaraZorEl (7.5k)

In the coming weeks, Harrowhark learns an unfortunate great deal about Gideon Nav. The kind of porn she likes, the number of bread rolls she can fit into her mouth at once, that she always leans too heavily on her left leg when she fights but can do fifty-seven push-ups in a row without stopping, that her biceps rates 11/10 on the scale of good biceps, that her laugh rumbles like an army of skeletons, and most importantly, that she can’t fucking stand her. Gideon Nav is so grating that Harrow has no doubt she will be her undoing. OR Harrowhark Nonagesimus has been invited to Canaan University's ball. But to successfully represent her house, she needs a cavalier, and unfortunately, her only option is her least favourite barista from her least favourite coffee shop.

"A Thousand Teeth, Yours Among Them" by pipistrelle (7k)

"In the end, she poisoned Ortus; so it was Harrow Nova who walked out to the shuttle a half-step behind the Daughter of the Ninth, the chain of Samael Novenary wound about her offhand wrist, the black blade of the Ninth at her side."

"The Only Prayer We Know" by pipistrelle (12k) [Part 2 of "A Thousand Teeth, Yours Among Them"]

It's like a bad joke: two cavaliers (alive) and two necromancers (one dead) walk into a rebel faction of humanity, looking for a new life -- in every sense of the phrase. What they find is each other, and (in some cases) themselves.

"The Flames of Hell Are Warm" by silverapples (7k)

In which Harrow is a repressed evangelical Christian and Gideon performs burlesque in a lesbian nightclub. Feat. nipple pasties, chewing gum, and a steaming mug of gay coffee (wake up and smell it, Harrow).

"Necro Business" by rnanqo (1.6k) ♥︎

“Gideon,” you said carefully, “I will need to examine your mouth. Various structures, primarily the jaw, but also the lingual muscles—the tongue—” You stopped there. Your cheeks were going red, probably with indignity. “Yeah,” I said, a bit too loudly, “yeah, sure. Do it.”

"Holy Cross, Alaska" by softieghost (10k) ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

Harrow meets Gideon. They go through it together.

"my love will be your armor" by TheKnightsWhoSayBook (2.3k)

"The princess has a right to bestow her favor on whoever she wishes to win a match," Gideon tells her. "Are you going to?" "Why would I? I don't want to marry him," Harrow answers bitterly. "Do you want me to win?" Princess Harrow will be engaged to the winner of the tournament, and her only champion is her useless bodyguard Sir Gideon Nav, who isn't going to save her. Unless...?

"The Meaning Of The Word" by pipistrelle (8.4k)

Harrow, along with a good percentage of Canaan University's necromancy students, has the flu. Gideon has a lot of feelings that she is in no way equipped to handle. It's a tough week.

"(i shine only with the light you gave me)" by sashawire (1.7k) ♥︎

God prods, gently, “Even just starting with their physical description, and we can go from there.” “Imagine,” you say, from somewhere outside your body, “the worst shade of orange you’ve ever seen in your life.” * Harrowhark receives her saintly title.

"i will learn to love the shears" by corpsesoldier (4.7k)

The avulsion trial left Harrow's hair in a sorry state and Gideon offers up her expertise with a blade. Or, Gideon gives Harrow a haircut.

"The Titty Texts: A Work of a Stupendous Titty Nature" by EleniaTrexer (3k)

Gideon accidentally sends Harrow boobs. And then just keeps on sending them.

"can we start over?" by breeeliss (10k)

Gideon needs a tutor. Harrow needs someone to get her out of college gym class. All in all, a pretty straightforward arrangement to make with your ex.

"Dark Mode Enabled" by senseoftheday (12k)

Tech Company AU in which a certain Sales bro with no filter decides to ruin Harrow's life (and feature roadmap) by initiating the cross-functional project from hell. At least, Gideon has the decency to work remotely, and Harrow's new office crush makes some pretty great coffee.

"deconsecrated graves" by emotionsandphenomena (4k)

Gideon and Harrow got out of the cult they were raised in. Okay, what's next?

"settle up in heaven" by liesmyth (3k) ♥︎

“Isn’t this arrogance, Harrow?” Kiriona says. “Think you could fix what God couldn’t?”

"Quoth the Maiden" by Sarsaparilla (10.9k)

The bold outlaws Nova Hawk and Gideon meet for the first time on a narrow log-bridge. But is it really their first meeting? Or: what if Robin Hood and Little John were both lesbians?

"twice in a blue moon" by sinshine (8.7k) ♥︎

Gideon snapped out of her depressing reverie and blinked at her. "That's a really good idea." "Obviously," said Harrow, and it was only a little bit condescending. "Step one, sneak out of the party. Step two, acquire the necessary items at a store. Step three–" Harrow gestured vaguely at the deer in Gideon's hands– "And step four, profit." [G&H rush to fix a smashed snow globe that Dulcinea made so that Cam doesn't kill them before the clock strikes midnight at their NYE party. The fact that Gideon is back in her hometown after a long time away and she and Harrow have unresolved romantic tension is secondary and definitely won't be a problem.]

"It Came From Planet Slut" by LockedTombMemes (8k)

Well. Evidently going undercover to an Idan society fling in order to deliver a message to a high-profile BoE agent was a tits-out kind of look.

"Apostate's Yuletide" by sinshine (12.6k)♥︎

Gideon raised one eyebrow comically high. She smiled easily, erasing any hint of the anxiety that Harrow might have sensed. "What's with all the questions today?" Harrow huffed indignantly and fidgeted with the blanket draped across her lap, worrying the frayed hem with her fingers. "I thought your ego would appreciate the interest." "Yeah, but it's weird coming from you. I'm used to you monologuing, not playing twenty questions." "Perhaps it's a Christmas miracle," suggested Harrow, with an expression so absolutely devoid of joy that Gideon couldn't help but laugh. [Harrow and Gideon burn down a church on Xmas.]

"when it's over" by Adertily (2.5k)

Harrowhark had sworn to herself to live to see the girl in the locked tomb awaken. Alecto has risen. Now God is dead, along with everyone who had ever been dear to her - and Gideon has returned as a distorted creature. The war is over. Harrow wishes she could be too. Or: A character study based on Harrow's suicidal ideation and Gideon's determination to never run anywhere unless she absolutely has to.

"Supernova Bloom!" by sinshine (13k)

"It's just for a week, and then you never have to see me again," said Gideon. "I don't have time to find anyone else." And, "Please." Slowly, Harrow took her hand off the door and cautiously turned around. Gideon watched a dozen unspoken questions flicker across her face. She voiced none of them, but eventually settled on an expression of grim resignation. "I suppose I could suffer you for a week." [Gideon needs help getting her new flower shop ready for the grand opening. Harrow needs cash.]

"I still need your teeth around my organs" by sinshine (7.8k)

Although she was a beloved Daughter and a talented necromancer, Gideon's greatest vice was that she dearly loved to fuck around and find out. Knowing this, perhaps it shouldn't have been as shocking when she lifted one of Nova's hands, flipped it over, and kissed her palm. [4 times Gideon kisses Harrow, 1 time Harrow kisses Gideon]

"cuckoo, cuckoo" by sashawire (1.2k)

What Wake gives it is not a name. To do so would be a moronic, unnecessary cruelty. But she does deign to give it the microscopic dignity of a title, a goal, a purpose. Bomb. Eighteen years later, in the rubble of a once-sacred home, Harrowhark Nonagesimus reaches up and touches Gideon Nav’s grit-covered, blood-rimed face, splits a laugh like the world is ending, and calls her “flower.” * Six times God's unwanted daughter was nicknamed, and once she wasn't.

"my teeth will only cut your lips, my dear" by sashawire (<1k) ♥︎

Gideon chomps into her tongue as hard as she can convince herself, stifling a very dignified squawk. Her eyes water, Emperor’s left tit that fucking hurts, but—it works. Blood weeps from the bite marks, creeping down the back of her throat, up into her nasal cavity, staining her teeth. Okay. She has blood in her mouth. Blood that, somehow, needs to get into Harrow’s mouth. * Step #6: Consume the flesh.

"fifteen percent concentrated power of will" by surreptitiously (9k)

Teaching someone to do a push-up is a love language, when that person is very annoying.

"GHAZAL WHERE I'M BEGGING YOU TO TOUCH ME" by igneousbitch (12k)

You had your body and I had mine, and it was a miracle. Your hands against my face were a miracle. The rest of your meat attached to your hands was a prayer answered and a promise broken, but we were flush and gasping and alive, and Harrow—I really thought you might’ve kissed me then. But I felt it happen. The way your breath suddenly stilled, and your body locked up beneath mine, remembering. How with splintering gentleness, you pushed me away. “I’m so sorry,” was the second thing you said upon waking. The first thing had been my name. Stranded in a safehouse on an Edenite moon, Gideon and Harrow try to put themselves back together.

"catch you on the flip side, sugar lips" by corpsesoldier (4.9k)

Maybe if Harrow's brain runs enough scenarios, she'll find a way to keep what she's lost.

"hand to heart, I swear" by corpsesoldier (5k)

Gideon has a broken heart, and there's only one necromancer who can fix it.

Medium (15-30k)

"If you're doing it right you'll break their ribs" by almostnectarine (22.4k)

"How do you know Nonagesimus has gone somewhere dangerous?" asked Isaac. "Have you wired some kind of alert system?" "It's, uh. It's on the schedule," said Gideon. "I just... forgot. Because of the bread." Nobody was convinced by this, least of all Gideon. "It's a Ninth House thing," Gideon went on, backing away with increasing desperation. This was a slightly more plausible explanation, if only because nobody wanted to look too closely at what fell under the awful skeletal-ribbed and rotting umbrella of Ninth House things. "Gotta go—!" And she was out the door, gone. But it wasn't a Ninth House thing, except inasmuch as it was happening to the only two representatives of the noble and decrepit Ninth House on this quite literally godforsaken rock. Gideon knew Harrow had gone somewhere dangerous—knew that Harrow was back in the lab where they had only just completed a horrible trial—because she could see it, clear as day: an awful overlay on her vision of that terrible dangerous room and a pair of terrible dangerous hands drawing some kind of ward next to the plinth. The hands were definitely Harrow's. This was definitely a problem.

"If Home Is Where the Heart Is (Then We're All Just Fucked)" by JeanLuciferGohard (17k) ♥︎

When Gideon Nav gets a call that her ex-girlfriend, who never bothered to change her designated emergency contact, is in the hospital, she goes against her better judgement and responds. Everything after that just gets more complicated.

"blue gray green lavender" by smolranger (29k) ♥︎

Laser Radial sailor Gideon Nav just wants pass her classes, win a few regattas, and keep her head down. FJ sailor Harrowhark Nonagesimus has grand plans to qualify for the Olympics, preserve her parent's legacy, and save her home town. Despite the ties binding them together, the two have kept their college lives carefully separate for two years. But when Harrow's helm, Ortus, suffers a concussion mid-way through the fall season, their carefully separated lives collide. Harrow needs someone capable of taking Ortus' place for the remainder of the season or her Olympic dreams — and Canaan College's entire sail team — are in peril. And Gideon is her only option.

"Daughters of Hungry Ghosts" by zoicite (24k)

Harrow and Gideon and times they have (and also have not) shared a bed over the years.

"Disney World, Florida" by softieghost (24.6k) [Part 2 of "Holy Cross, Alaska"]

After the events of Alaska, Harrow thanks Gideon the only way she knows how: devotion. -- Chapter 3: The journey concludes. More confessions.

"we've got a good thing goin' " by sinshine (14.6k) ♥︎

“Not to sound ungrateful, but being here makes me wish that you had left me for dead,” said Harrow. Gideon had been staring hard at the face of the fountain’s statue. She was pretty sure that it was carved in the likeness of Naberius himself, but she didn’t want to say it out loud and make it true. She shook her head and turned to Harrow. “Leaving me to live out eternity in your bony sock puppet of a body? Hard pass.” Palamedes and Camilla shared a look. It was the mutual understanding of two people who had been trapped in close quarters with the bickering of Gideon Nav and Harrowhark Nonagesimus for far too long. [Team 69 hide out in Babs's vacation home. Because it's not like he's using it anyway.]

"Cake by the Ocean" by zoicite (15k)♥︎

Okay, so the thing was, Gideon had always been shit at plans. She knew that. Everyone knew that, but this--she really didn’t think it would be this hard! Gideon’s voice was like the least memorable thing about her. Bargaining her voice for a well-shaped set of human legs--that really should have worked in her favor.

"careful fear and (un)dead devotion" by sinshine (23k)

[Gideon and Harrow wake up back in their own bodies but both of them are missing large parts of their memory. Camilla tries not to kill everyone.]

"who ya gonna call?" by igneousbitch (24k)

“Fret not, honeybun.” Gideon shook her red hair out of her eyes, belligerent. “I’m not totally sold on your whole skepticism thing.” “Well,” Harrow said, ignoring the nickname. She turned to the rest of the room, clearing her throat politely before addressing the empty air. “Ghosts, if you’re real, give us a sign. Make a noise. Move something. Send a shiver down our backs. Whisper softly into Nav’s left ear—” “I seriously fucking hate you.” - (Casual sex and paranormal investigation. Not necessarily in that order.) (or: the Buzzfeed Unsolved AU in which Gideon is ready to fight a ghost, and Harrow just wants to be haunted.)

Long(>30k):

"Beneath a Blue and Foreign Sky" by zoicite (35k)

Harrow has a decision to make.

"A Heart Full Of Sutures" by Rohad (40k)

All Gideon wanted was to get outside and ride her motorcycle. No part of that plan had included eight weeks in Canaan Medical Center with a broken Pelvis and the meanest little doctor this side of the eastern seabord.

"Midnight at the Mithraeum" by zoicite (66k) ♥︎

It'd been two years since Gideon Nav gathered her wine key and her gaming license and escaped The Locked Tomb, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar managed by the hateful Harrowhark Nonagesimus. Now, dealing tables at The Mithraeum Hotel & Casino, things were really looking up. So when Gideon scored a date with the most beautiful showgirl in the Gilded Halls of Ida, the last thing she expected was to wake up married to her old nemesis and former coworker. The story starts the night of Gideon's date and alternates between the events leading up to the wedding and the weeks that follow as Gideon tries to navigate life married to someone who claims to want nothing more than to forget she exists.

"Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" by pipistrelle (90k)

Being the journal of Reverend Daughter Harrowhark Nonagesimus, chronicling the journey of the Emperor's warship Cenotaph on its hunt to slay an immortal Resurrection Beast. Or: the Moby Dick crossover AU that nobody asked for.

"The Darkest Night, The Brightest Light" by eternaleponine (50k)

Harrowhark has known for a long time that her home's financial situation is dire, and not getting better. She has plans to fix it all, but can't implement them until she turns eighteen in a few months. When her parents announce that the best (perhaps only) way to save Drearburh is to marry off its heir, Harrow realizes the timeline has changed and she needs to take action now to save her home... and herself. Desperate times call for desperate measures, after all. Enter Gideon Nav. Detested foe, and Harrow's only hope.

"putting your fist through a thick sheet of glass (i know you don't want to)" by oretsev (46k)

Harrowhark Nonagesimus and Gideon Nav have always been at each other’s throats, and the animosity has only intensified since the death of Harrow’s parents. But when a car accident leaves Gideon without any memories of her past, Harrow sees a chance at the clean slate she’s wanted for years. Becoming involved in Gideon’s recovery assuages some of the guilt, but as she and Gideon become closer and increasingly involved in each other's lives, Harrow worries that some of her secrets may be more than she can atone for.

Ongoing:

"semi-charmed kinda life" by strangedelight (182k+) ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

Gideon asked questions. Harrow surprised her with answers. They reached an agreement; they decided to be smart, to be patient. Gideon made a promise, Harrow gave her one in return. Wait and see. OR the year is 1994, and Gideon and Harrow leave their small town for life in the city. OR team 69 roommates au only this time it's the 90s

"Intern the Sixth" by apocalypticTaco (33k+)

ADDRESSING THE HEIR TO THE NINTH HOUSE, OR PRESUMED EQUIVALENT: PALAMEDES SEXTUS, HEIR TO THE SIXTH HOUSE, PRESENTS HIS COMPLIMENTS TO THE NINTH AND REQUESTS A FORMAL ARRANGEMENT WHEREIN HIS MASTER WARDEN AND CAVALIER APPRENTICESHIP UNDER THE NINTH FOR FOUR YEARS IN EXCHANGE FOR THE SIXTH’S SERVICES. *Details to be discussed. Please turn to back page. Timeframe variable. Services and agreements variable upon the Ninth's request. An internship of this caliber is highly unprecedented and likely unheard of, but any information valuable to the Ninth and into the Tomb will remain undisclosed upon request; Primary experience and study is required as the Master Warden has already decided upon such being his final thesis prior to his end studies. No takebacks, no denials. Pleased to meet you. Palamedes Sextus, Heir to the Sixth and Master Warden and Camilla the Sixth, Cavalier Primary and Warden's Hand of the Library

TO THE MASTER WARDEN: FORMALLY REJECTED.

"What's Eating Gideon Nav?" by labyrinthineRetribution (40k+)

After a miserable fifteen years at Blessed Saint Anastasia's School for Girls, Gideon's luck finally changes.

"We Have Always Lived in the Apartment" by labyrinthineRetribution (171k+)

John looks up from his Jack and Coke in drunken curiosity. "What's with the face, Harrowhark?" he asks, genuinely concerned. "Contrary to popular belief," Gideon butts in, "her face just fuckin' looks like that, bitch." She tends to use "bitch" as liberally as commas when off her ass. "You're piss drunk," you shoot back. "And you, my good bitch, are just as contemptible as the day you clawed your way up from Hell." - It is Harrowhark Nonagesimus' birthday, and it only gets worse from there.

PWP (basically):

"I'll hold in these hands all that remains" by corvidlesbian (6.5k) ♥︎

“Do you want me to try?” Gideon said. “What?” “You got all hot and bothered without me trying. Do you want me to try?” Their newfound habit of cuddling gets interesting.

"sting of a wasp" by brightbolt, imperfectlyctor (42k) ♥︎

"You’re a virgin,” Gideon said, testing it out. "Huh." Harrow didn’t like the sound of that huh. She knew Gideon’s noises, and that was a thoughtful, sinister huh. That was the same huh she’d made before putting canned tuna in Crux’s work boots. Her eyes narrowed. “What.” Gideon cocked her head to the side. “Is there a reason you’re waiting?” There was no judgement in the question— only genuine curiosity. Perhaps it was this that made Harrow more inclined to answer. “I don’t have the time to look for someone new,” She shrugged. “And my available pool is… somewhat limited.” “Well,” Gideon said, with just a hint of conspiracy in those glittering golden eyes. “If you ever want to change that, you have my number.” What? What? Harrow blinked. “What?” Or: the five times Gideon and Harrow successfully bone, and the one time they don't.

"Suckle, Honey" by zoicite (7.9k)

“You crave my juice,” Gideon accused. “I do not crave your juice.” “Fuck, you do though. You went off to explore that study alone, without your cavalier, using a key that I nearly gave my life for, and then you snorted some powder that made you crave my juice! Harrow. I never would have let you sniff powder from a ten thousand year old jar.” This was untrue--Gideon probably wouldn’t have noticed Harrow breathing in a puff of jar powder until it was too late--but it sounded like something Camilla Hect might say, so Gideon went with it anyway. Camilla definitely would have stopped Palamedes from accidentally sniffing old as fuck Eighth House jarred juice addiction powder.

"Five Times We Hatefucked and One Time We Didn't" by rnanqo (8k)

“Fuck you,” you said. “Fuck me yourself, you coward.” You ran a hand through my hair, fisted it, and pulled my head up. From here I had a spectacular view of your weird blown-out seething expression, like I was the worst thing you’d ever seen. Also a view up your blood-crusted nostrils. Choice. “Maybe I will, Griddle,” you said. “Maybe I will stop fucking you over and start fucking you." Gideon and Harrow realize, abruptly, that their hatefucking is no longer hatefucking.

"a call to motion" by groundedsaucer (coasterchild) (10k) ♥︎

Harrow and Gideon watch a porno.

"put her canine teeth in the side of my neck" by stranded_star (8.8k)

Harrowhark Nonagesimus is getting a PhD and a divorce. Against her better judgment, she goes out to the bar to celebrate and meets an incorrigible, absolutely ripped salt-and-paprika butch who takes her home and gives it to her good. To her horror, it's the best night of her life, and she sneaks home with her tail between her legs. Harrow has more important things to worry about - like raising her daughter and building the next stages of her career. But when her daughter's favorite teacher, someone named Griddle, turns about to be the Gideon she met at the bar, she's forced to contend with allowing herself (and her daughter) to find the happy ending she never thought they'd have. Featuring MILF!Harrow, Teacher!Gideon, and a very amused Camilla Hect.

"The Wound That Swallows" by seelieunseelie (7.8k)

Harrow can make out an uncomfortable amount of detail about Gideon’s body beneath. Powerful, strong as ever, yet somehow vulnerable for its supplication below Harrow’s. “Are we gonna get this over with?” Gideon says in a voice softly scratchy. She blushes then when Harrow sits on the edge of the bed. “It will hurt,” Harrow says. “Yeah,” Gideon says. “I think I can handle it.”

[lady-of-disdain]

So I just wanted to give an update that chapter 21 is coming along slowly but surely. I'm struggling with a bit of writer's block, and also the pacing for the next chapter. It's either going to be one REALLY long chapter or two shorter chapters. We shall find out, but either way, you'll get it all pretty shortly.

For now, spite about something happening in the fandom has inspired me to write a 'Killer is trans' drabble (along with Moony's fantastic 'Skeletons are trans' post.)

So enjoy a silly drabble under the cut and fuck transphobes.

Most of the deep conversations you and Killer had were over meme origins, conversations about show plots, and videogame strategy. Not that you didn't enjoy these kinds of conversations, but at this point in your relationship you wondered if you were both supposed to be having those deeper, meaning-of-life types of conversations.

Cuddling on the couch one day you finally get to have one of those conversations. As Killer lays in your lap and you brush your nails gently over his cranial sutures you somehow end up down a very interesting, and enlightening train of thought.

"all skeletons are trans actually."

"I mean, aren't all skeletons basically the same guy?" you ask.

"well, yeah, i mean all the skeletons you've met are different variations of one guy, though there is also his brother and different variations of him as well, but beyond that skeletons, as a subspecies of monster, are all born genderless and transition to whichever gender they feel like as they grow."

You are beyond fascinated, and for once getting information about Killer and his various alternate forms across the multiverse so you nod along exhuberantly and motion for him to go on.

"i mean i guess you could say that about all monsters, though with skeletons it's a little more obvious because baby bones are just that - bones."

"So you woke up one day and decided 'boy'?" you ask.

"eh, kinda. i mean i always felt like a boy in some way, though i did go through a 'girl phase', but that felt more like trying it on before i settled. and gender is funny sometimes, even though i'm mostly happy where i am, sometimes i feel different."

"That sounds very similar to a lot of human experiences," you muse.

"i must admit i do look good in a dress," Killer adds smugly.

You still for a moment, suddenly picturing Killer in a red, sparkly dress. Definitely something Jessica Rabbit would wear. Maybe even with a pair of ecto-breasts to fill it out.

"spacing out over there bunny?" he interrupts your fantasizing with a knowing smirk, turning around in your lap to straddle your hips. "something on your mind?"

You feel a very nice pair of somethings pressing into your chest where Killer leans against you, and your face lights up. How is he always so good at reading your face?

[uncanny-tranny]

One of the reasons I think it's so important to foster intellectual curiosity and, ultimately, learning and a love for learning is how it subtly changes the very way you interact with and understand the world around you.

It's funny, because I spent time just to hunt and find a skull in Skyrim just so I could rotate it in my inventory and admire how detailed it was for five minutes, pleased about how I could point out and name individual bones (they even included the individual cranial sutures! Including my favourite suture (lambdoid suture)). I'm now trying to hunt for a skeleton so I can spend even more time admiring it. There's something funny and empowering about how the way I interact with things has changed with my learning.

If there is nothing else you do, learn. It doesn't matter what you learn, just seek out information. I know for some, a love of learning was almost punished in environments like school, so start out with things you are inspired by, things that deeply pique your interest. Learning isn't a punishment, it doesn't have to be scary. Whatever you want to learn about is worth the time and effort it takes to understand it.

[bizzyizzyg]

Bones & Bones & Blood & Teeth

Ahhhhh anyways, Marcille/Farcille fic for the new episode

Spoilers for chapter 27 + episode 12

AO3 LINK

There are 206 bones in the human body. 

Marcille would know, she was looking at all two hundred of them right in front of her. 

Or- was it? 

Her eyes were a little bloodshot, staring down at the- the… the woman beneath her. 

“27 per hand, 1, 2, 3…” 

Her fingers were stained, nearly black at this point from the cold dry air around her. Still, they moved with precision, pointing to each bone, each little piece before her as she counted. 

Recounted. 

“Tibia, fibula, femurs… how many was it for the-“ 

Marcille muttered to herself as she nudged a kneecap back into place, picking them both up and hesitating before swapping which side they were on. That looked… better. 

Who was she kidding? 

She counted each toe, each rib, all 24 vertebrae. Struggling to keep the sternum and clavicles balanced in the right places. It was frustrating, her fingers were numb but every time she lifted them to her mouth to breathe life back into them, she smelt the gore-soaked into her skin and went back to work. 

Setting her hand on the skull for a moment, Marcille’s thumb traced the cranial sutures. 

“We couldn’t find your ears...” Marcille muttered to the woman under her hand, a frown finding its place on her sunken features. “Sorry… but I doubt at this point a missing stapes or two will change the outcome.” A silent laugh left her throat and she made sure the skull was still in place, careful not to chip any teeth. 

The look on Laois' face when he found it was still on her mind, the sheer dread and panic that he had failed to hide that she now felt in turn. It made her shiver, closing her eyes for a moment to focus again. 

She counts each rib, unsure if she’s done it already, doubting herself if the scapulas are facing the right way. The names of each bone are burned in the back of her throat like a sick prayer as she goes over them again. 

There are two hundred and six bones in the body of the woman she loves. She knows, she’s held every single one of them. 

Marcille finally stands, numb to the elbows but she grips Ambrosia without falter. She steels her resolve and backs away from Falin to get in position. 

This has to work. 

“Okay… I’m going to begin.” 

[actual-changeling]

shrink me down to something small

enough to be loved rip off my skin & tear away the flesh expose me to the light & let the sun burn my eyes & the moon swallow my lungs until i am bleached bones & rusted stains sinking into the dirt salting the earth

with tears i had to cry for myself because no one else would

allowing nothing to grow within my withering hands except the ugly weeds, the rotten flowers, the dying saplings too frail to produce sweet-juiced fruits, giving you fist-sized pits with mouldering meat sticking to it,

an afterimage of my arteries & veins shrinking, my capillaries bursting in the air, too weak to hold my weight any more than they have,

the most fragile parts of my body

broken

peeling ligaments & melting cartilage joining the mud, the rain pressing it down & down & down until the earth hungrily absorbs everything I give & until my skull eats promising seeds & traps them in the dark, watching as they fight against hardening calcium cementing my cranial sutures, life lost—

one last time—

to an existence nature never foresaw, an existence

not meant to be, not meant to kneel in the grass

& stretch their neck to the stars, waiting for lightning

to strike them down & the storm to bury them.

[hjbender]

You ever finish reading a piece of literature that has touched you so deeply and so powerfully that you don't know what to do with yourself afterward?

You're wandering around your home guided by sheer muscle memory because you don't really see anything, your eyes are turned inside out to read your thoughts and your mouth is chattering to your brain because there's no one else to talk to about it and you're dying to sit down and vivisect it—yes, vivisect, it's still very much alive—with a friend because it feels like the only way you can bleed off the pressure (the beauty) that has been pumped into your skull? Your cranial sutures are bulging at the seams and all you can do is lie down and hope your brain will be able to digest this 1000-course meal overnight.

[justicemiscarried]

SHERRY SHERRETT-ROBINSON.

Hey everyone!! Sorry for not posting much recently—school has really been kicking my ass. But I’m back today with a brand-new case of justice miscarried for you. The 1990s saw many great advances: the widespread usage of video games, the World Wide Web, mobile phones and cable television; highly individualistic and, thus, iconic youth culture; third-wave feminism; the curbing of HIV. But in Ontario, the forensic science and criminal justice systems were long overdue for a rude awakening…

:･ﾟ☆✧ SUMMARY

Sherry Sherrett-Robinson was arrested and charged with the murder of her four-month-old son, Joshua, on March 27, 1996. A little over three months earlier, Sherrett-Robinson had found her son dead in his playpen. Even though she initially disavowed any involvement in his death, the director of the Ontario Pediatric Forensic Pathology Unit at the time took the stand as the Crown’s star witness, saying that Sherrett-Robinson had smothered her son to death. Sherrett-Robinson later changed her plea, pleading guilty for infanticide. She was convicted on June 2, 1999. Straightforward, right? But maybe not… Before you read any further, ask yourself: What could possibly go wrong? What could possibly complicate such an open-and-shut case as this?

:･ﾟ☆✧ SO, WHAT WENT WRONG?

Particularly astute readers may have used the location & time of this case to correctly deduce that the “star witness” whose “medical opinion” formed the central pillar of the Crown’s case against Sherrett-Robinson was the now infamous Charles Smith. Now, if you are anything like me, the very name of Charles Smith probably causes you to recoil in disgust. That’s because the man was a FRAUD! The very fraudiest of frauds!

Although he was appointed the director of the Ontario Pediatric Forensic Pathology Unit in 1992 and was viewed as a foremost expert, Smith has no formal training in forensic pathology and no certification. Despite this, he continued to be consulted in even the most difficult criminally suspicious pediatric deaths. Below are the claims that Charles Smith made during Sherrett-Robinson’s case, followed by what actually happened:

He said there was swelling of the brain; but actually, formal review found no evidence of this.

He said there was hemorrhaging of the neck tissues; but actually, formal review found that these were caused by Smith himself during the autopsy.

He said that there was a skull fracture; but actually, the review found that this was a normal developing cranial suture.

If these things had been known, Sherrett-Robinson never would have been convicted, prosecuted, or even charged and arrested to begin with.

As a forensic biology student, I also have to note that since the time of this case several reviews have investigated topics of sudden infant deaths, infanticide, and smothering of children while they sleep, and my perusal of this literature only further cements my confidence that Charles Smith was totally out of his depth with the testimony he gave at Sherrett-Robinson’s trial. Even if all the facts upon which he’d based his testimony were true, none of them would have provided compelling evidence that Sherrett-Robinson smothered her child.

One paper found that there are no significant physical indications—like contusions, abrasions, or hemorrhaging—that could differentiate an intentional smothering from an unintentional smothering, so Smith had to go beyond what he could reasonably provide as a professional opinion if he claimed that injury interpretation lent him confidence that Sherrett-Robinson intentionally smothered her son.

Another paper showed that the number of sudden infant deaths that are actually homicides is significantly less than 10%, and that—while it is indisputable that some carers of children can intentionally harm their wards—overestimates of the true rates of homicide are based on uncontrolled, circumstantial, anecdotal, and indirect evidence. This also displays the importance of dispelling noble cause bias and adhering to the scientific method by seeking to disprove a null hypothesis, rather than by trying to prove an alternative hypothesis.

If I, a second-year student, can do a cursory search and find these things, Charles Smith surely could have surveyed the relevant literature at the time and come to the same conclusion. In fact, Charles Smith would have had a legal and ethical obligation to commit himself to continued professional development and revision of his methods. This is required for the level of competence that forensic scientists are expected to display. The trust of an expert is deferral to their authority, so an expert must both be competent and accurately represent their competence. Smith was both incompetent and inaccurately represented his competence.

Later, inquiries into Smith’s failings found that in cases such as and including Sherrett-Robinson’s, Charles Smith repeatedly refused to acknowledge the limits of his expertise or any controversy regarding his evidence, overstated his knowledge, criticized other professionals, reported his personal experience as evidence, and failed to adequately prepare for court, among other ethical issues. He also proclaimed that he had “a thing against people who hurt children,” thus falling short of the standard of neutrality required of him as an expert witness. Sherrett-Robinson, in his mind, was someone who could have hurt a child—and he was out to prove that she did.

Of course, the Court also failed Sherry Sherrett-Robinson by accepting Charles Smith’s evidence on no other basis than the fact that it was "GiVeN bY cHaRLeS sMiTh." As the trier of fact, a judge or juror has the obligation to critically examine why someone is considered an expert, what their field of expertise is, whether their findings can be expressed in a way both precise and easy to understand, and what the limitations of their investigation were. This qualification of the expert’s credentials should be repeated in every case, not just taken for granted because of the expert’s reputation precedes them. Instead, Smith's reputation for excellence allowed him to send numbers of innocent people to jail due to a general lack of oversight and accountability.

Smith’s involvement and the Court’s allowance of his involvement in this case weren’t the only ethical issues, though—let’s talk about the plea deal a little. That’s right—again, attentive readers may note that although Sherrett-Robinson was charged with murder, she pled guilty for—and was convicted of—infanticide. What’s the difference? Well, according to the Criminal Code of Canada, infanticide is when a woman causes the death of her newborn child by willful action or willful omission as a result of the effect of or lack of recovery from childbirth or lactation—and it is a much lesser offence than murder. So, before her trial began, the Crown prosecutor offered Sherrett-Robinson a deal: if she agreed to not argue against the Crown’s allegation that she had not smothered Joshua, the Crown would withdraw the murder charge against her and proceed with a charge of infanticide instead. Now, if she were found guilty of infanticide, Sherrett-Robinson’s sentence would be much lighter than if she were found guilty of murder. Intimidated by Charles Smith’s luminosity and by the weight of the crime she had been charged with—and with the advice of her lawyer, who convinced her that the likelihood of persuading the court to believe her word over Smith’s was low—Sherrett-Robinson accepted the deal. She was imprisoned for a year.

The overarching ethical issue in Sherry Sherrett-Robinson’s case can be boiled down into two words: “confirmation” and “bias,” in that order. Confirmation bias is one of the most deadly weapons against forensic science and against science in general. That's why, on a personal level, scientists strive to analyze cases from an objective perspective instead of immediately accepting the answer that seems easiest or aligns most with the answer we want. It's not hard to see that Charles Smith failed Sherry Sherrett-Robinson. But the deadliness of confirmation bias is also why, on a systemic level, protocols are supposed to be in place to mitigate confirmation bias and prevent the corruption of evidence. By failing to have such protocols in place, the law, science, and the criminal justice system all failed Sherry Sherrett-Robinson.

:･ﾟ☆✧ RESOLUTION

Six years after her conviction, Sherrett-Robinson learned about the Goudge Inquiry, or the Inquiry into pediatric forensic pathology in Ontario, which systematically reviewed and assessed the way pediatric forensic pathology was practiced and overseen in Ontario between 1981 and 2001, especially under Charles Smith. She submitted an application for her case to be formally reviewed, and the subsequent review found that the likely cause of Joshua’s death was accidental asphyxiation, not being smothered to death.

The Court also found that the Court itself failed Sherrett-Robinson by not detecting the faults in Charles Smith’s testimony and methods. Sherrett-Robinson was exonerated by the Ontario Court of Appeal on December 7, 2009, with the Court concluding that she suffered a “profoundly regrettable” miscarriage of justice “due to flaws in pathological evidence”. Smith was stripped of his medical license in 2011.

The Goudge Inquiry was a turning point for the practice of forensic pathology, and especially pediatric forensic pathology, in Ontario. It made 148 recommendations, which can be grouped into roughly 5 groups:

Recommendations 1-11 deal with professionalizing and rebuilding Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario through providing education, training, and certification for pathologists, providing adequate funding for forensic pathologists, and dealing with the shortage of forensic pathologists, among other recommendations.

Recommendations 12-60 deal with the effective organization & oversight of Forensic Pathology in Ontario by creating policies regarding the filing of concerns by hospital pathologists, establishing protocols for criminally suspicious pediatric deaths, and establishing a registry of trained forensic pathologists, among other recommendations.

Recommendations 61-67 deal with transparency and improving the public complaints process.

Recommendations 84-100 deal with effective communication between forensic scientists and the criminal justice system by ensuring that any technical knowledge is understood by laypersons, the scopes & limits of evidence and areas of controversy are clearly communicated, etc.

Recommendations 141-148 deal with pediatric forensic pathology and potential wrongful convictions, affirming that any pathology opinion that can be said to be unreasonable in light of current understanding should be reviewed.

The effects that the Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology have had on the practice of forensic pathology in Ontario have been examined, and it’s been found that the Inquiry resulted in drastic improvements to the practice of forensic pathology. This bodes an optimistic future for forensic science at a time when some may be discouraged into completely giving up hope in its reliability. Forensic pathology, and forensic science as a whole, has massive potential as a reliable and necessary field if—and only if—it scrupulously adheres to the principles of the scientific method. Forensic scientists must hold themselves to a high standard of professional behaviour to uphold the integrity of the field, and it's important to meticulously study the mistakes of other scientists and identify exactly where they went wrong to prevent ourselves from repeating those mistakes in the future (hey, that's exactly what this blog is all about!).

[radioactive-earthshine]

The anti-life equation ciphers look very close to cranial sutures.

This takes a literal approach to 'the anti-life equation can be found in the minds of humans' while feeding into the cosmic horror that The Fourth World can and should be.

[susandsnell]

48, Crane & Batman

48: Childhood

Before the toxin, he once struck fear with gunshots.

Watching Batman collapse to his knees after he’d combined both dizzied Crane with a euphoria he’d only felt once before. Like Proust, he was briefly transported; he was sixteen, swelling with boyish triumph watching the crows snack on the crone’s mass of exposed cranial tissue.

Under the cowl, Batman croaked in a child’s voice:

“Mom…”

The Scarecrow grinned; sutures split.

“Go on, Dark Knight,” he coaxed, hand gentle on square jaw. “Tell me about Mother.”

He’d long suspected the Batman, too, was a creature carved out of the agonies of childhood.

[er-cryptid]

Facial Bone Structure

-- 14 facial bones total

-- main facial bones:

mandible

maxilla

zygomatic bone

nasal bone

-- sutures are areas where cranial bones join together

-- sinuses:

air spaces in the bones of the skull

strong with less weight

resonating chamber for voice

lined with a mucus membrane

-- foramina:

openings in bone

allow nerves and blood vessels to enter or leave bone

[sspacegodd]

I was watching Ancient Mysteries on The History Channel and reading a neo-platonic hermetic tantric sex manual by a Sumerian shaman when I tossed a handful of hensbane on the hotplate, inhaled the smoke, and slipped out of my fleshbucket, ending up precisely where I was afraid of:

In the midst of a mind-shattering mystery involving famous alchemists; phrenology; a cult that secretly communicates by tightly binding and molding newborn infants’ soft skulls into topographical messages using a mystic hybrid of Tibetan, Chinese, Nepalese, and Sanskrit called Kali (“Skull Alphabet”) because the shapes of its characters are patterned after the cranial sutures of the human skull; three foreskins of Jesus; and space aliens who have been warning us of their presence with Post-it notes.