#even though we have far more animal diversity to offer

[praise-suns-and-chill]

Question

How difficult would it be to homebrew a Fera for Werewolf The Apocalypse?

[drcloyd]

bucktommy earth day fic

getting this in right under the wire.

pretty as a vine [read on ao3] “Did you know that Los Angeles has one of the most diverse urban forests in the world?” Evan asked, about five milliseconds after Tommy managed to open his eyes to the early morning sunlight.

Evan was already sitting against the headboard.

“I did not know that,” Tommy said, sleep-rough as he wiped a hand over his face and blinked sleep out of his eyes. Evan was bright-eyed and animated, though there was still a pillow crease on his face and he had a serious case of curly bed-head. Instead of hauling him back down onto the mattress and cuddling him back to sleep, he pushed himself into a sitting position and yawned so wide his jaw cracked.

“Chris sent me an article about urban tree planting his class read to get ready for Earth Day,” he said.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, apparently there’s 95 species of tree native to Los Angeles, but thousands more that are non-native,” he said, putting his phone down, obviously reciting the stats from memory. He never could quite predict what scenario was going to bring forth a bunch of random facts from Evan, but he enjoyed it every time.

Also, he learned a lot.

“What else did you find out?” he asked, peppering the question with a closemouthed kiss against Evan’s mouth, just to see the way his cheeks flushed.

Apparently the research hole he’d gone down was too much to fluster him for long, because he barrelled ahead after a brief pause for a sweet little smile. “Did you know there’s three times as many trees planted in rich neighborhoods here in LA than in poor neighborhoods?” he said, a tiny furrow appearing between his brow. “That’s so unfair - do you know how many benefits trees have? They reduce the temperatures in heat deserts and improve air quality - “

Tommy listened as he continued, gesticulating wildly with his hands as he rattled off facts, and couldn’t help the fond smile that crossed his mouth. He hadn’t been lying, Evan was adorable but - it was also some pretty interesting stuff. Listening to one of Buck’s trivia binges inevitably led him down a rabbit hole of his own, though he was far less prone to sharing it than Buck.

He did on occasion attempt to drop them on Eddie - though that usually got him an eye roll and a teasing comment about how much time he was spending with Buck.

“I think we should do something for Earth Day,” Evan said, after going through an exhaustive list of all the ways planting trees in urban areas helped both the environment and citizens.

“You want to plant a tree?” Tommy asked, brow raised, by now leaning against the headboard, close enough that their shoulders pressed together (or more like bumped every few moments with all the gesturing Evan did).

“No - well, yeah - but it’s kind of short notice for that now,” he said. “I did look into some programs planting trees around the city that accept volunteers but there’s orientations and stuff - I was thinking of running it by Cap, seeing if we can make it a station wide thing, or maybe department wide…”

“Okay,” Tommy said, quiet, even, waiting for Evan to circle back around to what he actually wanted to do now.

“I was thinking I could plant something on my balcony. Not a tree, obviously, maybe some flowers for the bees or something?”

“That sounds doable,” Tommy said with a nod. “Is this something you’d like help with?” he asked.

“I - yeah, I mean if you’re offering,” he said. “I was thinking we could go to the home improvement store and get a little flower box and soil and stuff,” he said.

“Alright,” Tommy said, giving Evan’s thigh a little squeeze as he started to slide out of bed. “Get dressed, I’ll get the coffee going and we’ll head out,” he said.

Three hours later, they’d arrived back to the loft with a huge flower box, two bags of potting soil, two sets of gardening gloves, three different species of bee friendly flowers and a succulent Evan had fallen in love with and refused to leave behind.

Hauling it all up to Evan’s floor, even with the elevator, had been a trek, both of them a little sweaty by the time they carried it all across the threshold.

“There’s an information pamphlet in here somewhere,” Evan said, setting his flowerbox (a gorgeous piece in redwood that had cost a pretty penny but would hold up against rot and decay for as long as Evan wanted it on his balcony) on the kitchen island and rooted around inside where he’d put his part of the haul. Tommy put the large box filled with flowers (and the succulent) on the other side of the island.

“Okay, we’ve got some Great Blanket Flowers, otherwise known as Gaillardia aristata,” he said, pulling out a container with a few orange and yellow flowers, setting them beside the flower boxes on the island. “Then -” he squinted at the paper, “Million Bells, otherwise known as Calibrachoa,” a yellow flower with orange on the inside, “and a Sweet Potato vine, otherwise known as Ipomoea batatas,” he said.

“I was there when we bought them,” Tommy said, amused - it’d taken Evan a full forty-five minutes to narrow down the type of flowers he wanted to get, hemming and hawing about what would have the most benefit for bees, which would last the longest, be the most maintenance free - in the end Tommy’d had to wrangle one of the garden center employees over to give some professional advice before Evan well and truly lost himself in a Reddit spiral.

Evan laughed. “Just refreshing your memory,” he said. “Let’s get the flower box out there and then we can add the soil and start planting!” he said, clapping his hands together.

“Yes, sir,” Tommy said dryly, giving a little salute, the corner of his mouth quirking before he hefted up one of the flower boxes to take outside.

It took a bit of work to get them set up against the edge of the balcony, using some of the brackets that came with it (most of the time had been spent trying to find the drill that Evan had said he’d borrowed from Eddie - they’d found it in the hall closet under a pile of sheets).

“How’s that?” Tommy asked, knees clicking as he straightened up, peering down at the flower boxes that now took up most of the length of the balcony railing.

“Perfect,” Evan said, pressing a kiss to his cheek on his way past to grab the bags of soil. He was so much freer with his affection - Tommy knew it’d taken him some time to get used to it, but he always felt a little spark of warmth with every absent brush of his hand or chaste little kiss, just because - Evan had held his hand on the walk from the parking lot to the home improvement store and he’d had to bite the inside of his cheek to tamp down the smile.

Instead of helping, he watched Evan bring the two bags of soil out, arm muscles bulging, though he didn’t look as if he were exerting himself in the least.

“Both bags should be enough,” Evan said, leaving one to heft the other onto his shoulder and carry it toward the closest box. Tommy grabbed the other and did the same, and it only took a few moments to have it filled to an acceptable (to Evan and presumably the flowers) depth.

After procuring some beers, grabbing the flowers, and then going back inside to grab the two pairs of gloves, they were ready to start planting the flowers. Evan stood back, eyeing the box like a sculptor about to start chisling some marble. Tommy watched, amused and annoyingly fond, as he paced the length of the box, looked back to the box of flowers, and then back again.

“Let’s start with the Great Blanket Flowers,” he finally said after a long moment, giving a decisive nod. Tommy grabbed the flowers from the box - they’d gotten three large ones in separate pots, and set them on the ground next to where Evan had knelt down, gloves already on.

Tommy donned his, kneeling down, ignoring the cracking of his knees, and let Evan take the lead.

“I think they’d look best here at the front,” he said. Tommy nodded - he didn’t have a particular eye for flower arrangements, but he trusted Evan’s judgment. Also, he honestly didn’t think the bees would care one way or the other.

They worked in companionable silence to gently uproot the flowers from their pots, careful not to snag any of the roots. Evan dug some holes with his gloved hand deep enough to easily cover the roots, the soil easily moved. Tommy placed one of the bunches into a hole, patting the soil down around it and let Evan do the other two, reaching for his beer as he watched the careful way Evan handled the plants, even with the unwieldy gloves on.

There was a look of concentration on his face, and Tommy kind of wanted to kiss away that little furrow between his brow. He took a pull of beer instead, setting the bottle down as Evan patted down the last bit of soil.

“There. I think those look good there.” Tommy hummed in agreement. “The sweet potato vines should probably go along the back so they can drape down off the balcony when they grow, and we can fill in the Million Bells in around them?” he said, as if Tommy might have another idea about possible flower arrangements.

He didn’t.

Tommy helped, but mostly just sat back on his heels and watched as Evan arranged the flowers to his liking, his tongue occasionally peeking out between his teeth as he held the flowers in different spots before committing to their final resting place.

When the last flower had been put in place, Evan eased himself back onto his heels, close enough that Tommy could feel the heat of his body, sunwarm and shining faintly with perspiration.

“Looks good,” Tommy said approvingly, though his gaze wasn’t stuck on the flowers. Evan’s was though, a smile lighting up when a bee buzzed by and headed straight for the Blanket Flowers. He watched it for a while, and Tommy watched him watching it, before Evan seemed to tense a little, glancing over at him.

“Hey,” he said, sounding oddly insecure. “Thanks for doing this with me,” he said, eyes bright, as if he imagined Tommy would have agreed to come if he hadn’t wanted to. Tommy didn’t do things he didn’t want to do. He hoped in time he could get Evan to believe that.

“Of course,” Tommy said, leaning forward to kiss him, soft and sweet, forgetting his hand was still gloved as he brought it up to rest against his chin. Evan kissed him back, and when he pulled back he had a smudge of dirt on his jaw.

Tommy grinned, taking his glove off so that he could wipe the smudge away with his thumb.

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

[furiosaamadmaxsaga]

wAtCh Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 2024 FuLlMoViE FrEe oNlInE On eNgLiSh

"07 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝓊𝓉𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝑔𝑜 — [woɹᙠɹǝuɹɐZ] While several avenues exist to view the highly praised film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga online streaming offers a versatile means to access its cinematic wonder From heartfelt songs to buoyant humor this genre-bending work explores the power of friendship to upFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga communities during troubling times Directed with nuanced color and vivacious animation lighter moments are blended seamlessly with touching introspection Cinephiles and casual fans alike will find their spirits Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ed by this inspirational story of diverse characters joining in solidarity Why not spend an evening immersed in the vibrant world of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ? Don't miss out! #Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Movie

WATCH HERE ► Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Online

DOWNLOAD HD ► Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga HD

The new Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will be available for streaming first on Starz for subscribers Later on the movie will also be released on PeacockThanks to the agreement between distributor Lionsgate and the NBC Universal streaming platform Determining the exact arrival date of the movie is a slighFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga y more complex matter Typically Lionsgate movies like John Wick 4 take approximately six months to become available on Starz where they tend to reFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga n for a considerable period As for when Songbirds Snakes will be accessible on Peacock it could take nearly a year after its release although we will only receive confirmation once Lionsgate makes an official announcement However Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga you wish to watch the movie even earlier you can rent it on Video on Demand (VOD) which will likely be available before the streaming date on Starz

Warner Bros. is continuing to beat out Warner Bros. and Warner Bros,, over the New Year’s holiday weekend, with “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ” now rising above “The Color Purple” and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ” With that trFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagaecta, the studio has laid claim to the three of the top five slots at the domestic box office throughout the holiday season.

The Timothéee Chalamet-starring musical added another $8.6 million on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga y, up 32% from one week ago. The Paul King film has emerged as the theatrical favorite for the holidays, crossing $100 million domestically earlier this week. With a $119 million cume to date, the film continues to show strength and will reach $300 million globally before the calendar turns.

Though it slid into second place for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga y with $6.75 million, Warner Bros. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ” fell 51% from its opening day last week. The latest and final entry in the current continuity of DC Comics adaptations has struggled for air, only reaching $65 million in its first week of release. The first “Aquaman,” released in 2018, surpassed that figure in its opening weekend alone. Bad reviews and superhero fatigue have plagued “Lost Kingdom,” which more than likely won’t even reach half the $335 million domestic total of its predecessor, much less justFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagay a $205 million production budget.

Taking a close third place, Illumination and Universal’s“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ntaining its footing with $6.7 Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga y after a muted $12 million debut lastweekend. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” has underwhelmed so far, but its 17% increase over last Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga y reFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga ns encouraging, especially for an original animated film with a production budget of only $70 million. However,Here’s when you can bring Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga of AFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga antis into your home.

Where and Can I Stream Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ? Is Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Be Streaming?

Where Can I Stream the Original Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Movies in the Meantime?

In the meantime you can currenFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga y stream all four original Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga movies on Peacock until the end of November The availability of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga movies onPeacock varies depending on the month so make sure to take advantage of the current availability How To Watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga In English Online For Free:

As of now, the only way to watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is to head out to a movie theater when it releases on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga y, September 8. You can find a local showing onFandango. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until it becomes available to rent or purchase on digital platforms like Vudu, Apple, YouTube, and Amazon or available to stream on Max. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is still currenFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga y in theaters Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga you want to experience all the film's twists and turns in a traditional cinema. But there's also now an option to watch the film at home. As of November 25, 2024, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is available on HBO Max. Only those with a subscription to the service can watch the movie. Because the film is distributed by 20th Century Studios, it's one of the last films of the year to head to HBO Max due to a streaming deal in lieu of Disney acquiring 20th Century Studios, as Variety reports. At the end of 2024, 20th Century Studios' films will head to Hulu or Disney+ once they leave theaters. Is Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Movie on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Hulu, or Amazon Prime?

Hulu: Unfortunately, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is not available for streaming on Hulu. However, Hulu offers a variety of other exciting options like Afro Samurai Resurrection or Ninja Scroll to keep you entertained.

Disney+: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is not currenFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga y available for streaming on Disney+. Fans will have to wait until late December, when it is expected to be released on theplatform. Disney typically releases its films on Disney+ around 45-60 days after their theatrical release, ensuring an immersive cinematic experience for viewers. IS Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO?

Netflix: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is currenFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga y not available on Netflix. However, fans of dark fantasy films can explore other thrilling options such as Doctor Strange to keep themselves entertained.

Crunchyroll: Crunchyroll and Funimation have acquired the rights to distribute Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga in North America. Stay tuned for its release on the platform inthe coming months. In the meantime, indulge in dark fantasy shows like Spider-man to fulfill your entertainment needs.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga movie could eventually be available to watch on Prime Video, though it will likely be a paid digital release rather than being included with anAmazon Prime subscription. This means that rather than watching the movie as part of an existing subscription fee, you may have to pay money to rent the movie digitally on Amazon. However, Warner Bros. and Amazon have yet to discuss whether or not this will be the case.

WHEN WILL 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ', BE AVAILABLE DVD AND BLU-RAY?

As of right now, we don't know. While the film will eventually land on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4KUltraHD, Warner Bros has yet to reveal a specFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagaic date as to when that would be. The first Nun film also premiered in theaters in early September and was released on Blu-ray and DVD in December. Our best guess is that the sequel will follow a similar path and will be available around the holiday season. HERE'S HOW TO WATCH 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ' ONLINE STREAMING IN AUSTRALIA

To watch 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ' (2024) for free online streaming in Australia and New Zealand, you can explore options like as mentioned in the search results. However, please note that the legality and safety of using such websites may vary, so exercise caution when accessing them. Additionally, you can check Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga the movie is available on popular streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video, as they often offer a wide selection of movies and TV.

Mark your calendars for July 8th, as that's when Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will be available on Disney+. This highly anticipated installment inthe franchise is packed with thrilling action and adventure, promising to captivate audiences and leave them craving for more. Captivate audiences and leave them craving for more.

Here is a comprehensive guide on how to watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga online in its entirety from the comfort of your own home. You can access thefull movie free of charge on the respected platform known as 123Movies. Immerse yourself in the captivating experience of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga by watching it online for free. Alternatively, you can also enjoy the movie by downloading it in high definition. Enhance your movie viewing experience by watching Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on 123movies, a trusted source for online movie streaming.

Unfortunately Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is not currenFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga y available to on Disney Plus and it’s not expected that the film will release on Disney Plus until late December at the absolute earliest

While Disney eventually releases its various studios’ films on Disney Plus for subscribers to Watch viaits platform most major releases don’t arrive on Disney Plus until at least 45-60 days after the film’s theatrical release

The sequel opened to $150 million internationally which Disney reports is 4% ahead of the first film when comparing like for likes at current exchange rates Overall the global cume comes to $330 million Can it become the year’s third film to make it past $1 billion worldwide despite China and Russia which made up around $124 million of the first film’s $682 million international box office being out of play? It may be tough but it’s not impossible Legging out past $500 million is plausible on the domestic front (that would be a multiplier of at least 27) and another $500 million abroad would be a drop of around $58 million from the original after excluding the two MIA markets It’d be another story Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga audiences didn’t Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga the film but the positive reception suggests that Wakanda Forever will outperform the legs on this year’s earlier MCU tiFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga es (Multiverse of Madness and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Thunder had multipliers of 22 and 23 respectively)

Heres How To Watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) Online FullMovie At Home

WATCH— Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Movie [2024] FullMovie Free Online ON 123MOVIES

WATCH! Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) (FullMovie) Free Online

WATCH Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 2024 (Online) Free FullMovie Download HD ON YFuriosa: A Mad Max SagaY

[WATCH] Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Movie (FullMovie) fRee Online on 123movies

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (FullMovie) Online Free on 123Movies

Heres How To Watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Free Online At Home

WATCH Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (free) FULLMOVIE ONLINE ENGLISH/DUB/SUB STREAMING

Taking the top spot this week was Aquaman with $58.3 million, although the film's star Jason Momoa recenFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga y admitted to Entertainment Tonight that he was unsure of the franchise's future. Trailing Aquaman was Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga , Timothée Chalamet's debut as the fictional chocolate factory owner. During the film's second week, it earned $53.1 million, along with leading all movies Thursday with $8 million. In total, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga boasts $110.6 million domestically, currenFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga y morethan any other flick this season.

According to Deadline, the domestic box office amassed $281.4 million during Christmas week, a 14-percent jump from Dec. 23-29 of last year ($246.4). The holiday competition was thick, as Dec. 25 marked the release of musical drama The Color Purple and sports drama biopic Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga , while Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga , Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga , Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga , Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga were released justdays before.

Related Searches:

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga FullMovie

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga volledigefilm

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga filmcomplet

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga helfilm

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga całyfilm

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga _पूरी फिल्म

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga فيلمكامل

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga plenafilmo

Watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Movie Online

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga PeliculaCompleta

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga bộ phimđầy_đủ

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga หนังเต็ม

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Kokoelokuva

'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ' is playing now in theaters worldwide Thanksᴴᴰ

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Is It Really That Bad?

There are very few bad movies quite as legendary as this one. I’ve been sitting on this one for a while, because boy did I need some time to process what I saw. And what better day to finally drop this review than on May the 4th, 2023, a year where good Star Wars content is few and far between.

Still, even with how bad the franchise can get these days, we need to be grateful it even survived this special to get to the point where there were any good films at all. Something as negatively received as this was, to the point that it has never aired again after its initial broadcast and only exists via bootlegs, is the sort of thing that completely tanks a franchise that was just getting off the ground. All they had to go off of was A New Hope back then; Empire Strikes Back was still a ways off, so literally all there was was the original film and this.

Nobody involved with the franchise has ever had anything nice to say about it. George Lucas has stressed his lack of involvement, Carrie Fisher said she had a special copy to put on to make guests leave parties, Mark Hamill has said he’s never sat through the whole thing, Harrison Ford has said he has never seen it, and Anthony Daniels called it a turd in his autobiography. The official website even has little kind things to say about it, with the only praise being for the Boba Fett animated segment (which pretty much everyone agrees is the highlight of the thing). And outside people who have worked on the franchise, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone willing to defend this film. Internet critics like Doug Walker and JonTron have all gone for this film’s throat at one point or another, and even in nerdier circles the special is basically the butt of all sorts of jokes. It’s the one thing everyone can agree on when it comes to Star Wars, or so it seems anyway.

But really, looking back on this little holiday special, is it honestly so bad? Is this the television special equivalent of Order 66, or is there enough of the Star Wars magic to keep this from being utterly unwatchable?

THE GOOD

Yes, there is some good stuff here.

First off, there are the concepts the worldbuilding here has to offer. This was still when Star Wars was in its infancy as a franchise, so there was a lot more wiggle room, and so we get some really interesting concepts. The existence of a holiday like Life Day is pretty cool, and Chewie having a family he’s out fighting for gives his character a lot more depth (even if the characters themselves aren’t the most amazing thing ever). The Imperial occupation of Kashyyyk is touched upon slightly, and though not in an intelligent way it still gives a little bit of insight. Plus, as stupid as most of the diversions are, it’s kind of interesting to see the sort of media the residents of the galaxy far, far away like to watch.

This special also marks one of the earliest efforts of Stan Winston of all people, but I guess everyone has to start somewhere. The music isn’t the worst thing either, with a solid Jefferson Starship number and a fun little tune sung by Bea Arthur being the most notable, though at the very end you get to see a coked-out-of-her-mind Carrie Fisher singing a song along to the Star Wars theme music.

Then we have the animated segment, which is actually, genuinely good. I know, it’s shocking, but how can it not be when it introduced the world to everyone’s favorite jobber, Boba Fett? Here he rides a big dinosaur and also backstabs the heroes after seeming like a helpful guy, so he’s quite a bit cooler than he usually is outside of that one awesome fight scene in The Mandalorian.

Oh, there’s also a funny Stormtrooper who trips, falls over a railing, and dies. Complete with a Wilhelm Scream! You can always count on random mooks in Star Wars to be far more entertaining than anyone else.

THE BAD

Nerds can argue all day about whether Jar Jar or Rose Tico are the worst characters in Star Wars, but they’ll be wrong, because Chewie’s father Itchy is literally the worst of them all. Sure, his yeti-like design is kind of cool, but the dude watches softcore VR porn in the middle of the living room. That alone makes him more repulsive than even someone like Watto. There’s a fucking kid around, dude!

Then there’s Chef Gormaanda, the star chef of a cooking show Chewie’s wife watches. Gormaanda is entirely insufferable, and what’s more, is played by a man in drag looking like what appears to be blackface. It’s pretty clear, too, that the “it’s a man dressed like a woman!” is the sole joke of this segment, which doesn’t exactly endear it or the character to me.

And… Look. I get it. Early on in franchises, before you really establish what you’re going for, I think it’s fine to play around and see what ideas work and what don’t. Freddy’s Revenge is a great movie even if it’s an oddball in the series because it went in a different direction than the first film, for instance; it manages to feel fresher and more interesting than a lot of the later films. But the thing with that movie is that it doesn’t feel tonally out of place in the franchise. Sure it’s a lot more homoerotic than later films, but it’s still a supernatural slasher movie.

This, though? This is a goofy 70s variety show following up an epic science-fantasy space opera. I get wanting to try new things and experiment, but some weird ass space variety show is not exactly what I’d want to see Luke, Han, Leia, and the rest have to endure after watching the pulpy space opera goodness of A New Hope. Obviously this wasn’t meant to be an actual, canonical continuation of the story, but it boggles the mind why this is the first thing they’d try and jump into immediately after the first film. The franchise is lucky it even exists the way it does after this, because a lesser franchise just would not be able to recover from something like this, a special that just veers into completely baffling territory for no good reason.

IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

This special is definitely bad, but I think time has been far kinder to it than most movies.

Like this is undeniably stupid, it is an absurd idea to try and do a variety show in the Star Wars universe, and even back in a time before it became a supermassive franchise this should still have been regarded as a very poor decision. And yet, it happened, and there’s a sort of quaint, cozy 70s insanity to it that is undeniably charming. Maybe it’s boring, maybe it’s weird, maybe it’s horrendously stupid, but the fact it happened at all is just so genuinely funny it’s hard to muster genuine hatred for it.

And with how bad some of the later Star Wars films got, it’s easy to look at this and at least cut it a tiny bit of slack. Sure, it’s not good, but at least it is genuinely something unique and different and not trying to pass off bad writing as “subverting expectations” like The Last Jedi did. And it is honestly, genuinely a better film than The Rise of Skywalker. I’m dead serious. As stupid and terrible as this special is, there was more heart, soul, effort, care, and interesting ideas put into it than the big budget supposed grand finale of a franchise that has made more money than I can even imagine. It really says more about how bad The Rise of Skywalker is than anything, but this special needs to take its wins where it can get them.

There’s not really any way to fault someone for hating this, because it’s not good by any means, but there’s something fascinating about it that makes me unable to muster much hate for it despite it putting me to sleep a couple times. It’s a cultural milestone, a signifier of how big Star Wars was even way back in its earliest years, and its one of the most amusing jokes in any franchise ever. To this day it’s still the punchline of jokes and even manages to influence canon, with Life Day, Bea Arthur’s character, and Chewie’s family (sans Itchy, thank god) making the jump into the main continuity in spinoff media, with Life Day getting a notable name drop in The Mandalorian.

Frankly, its score on IMDB is perfect. It’s a bad special for sure, no argument there. But I’d still argue it is an important movie, an interesting movie, and a culturally significant movie. It’s “so bad it’s good” at its baddest and goodest, and it’s worth checking out just to see how far Star Wars has come.

Now my biggest hope is for the next film to have Poe come out and say “Somehow, Itchy has returned.” Let Itchy be the next big villain, Disney. No man who watches VR porn when his grandkid could wander by at any moment is a good guy.

[emmybeearts]

Day 7: Parasite

We’ve made our way to the lowlands leaving the forest plateau behind us. The rift was supposed to send us straight to the desert while Alivander was supposed to be assigned to the north forests. However, I'm glad our introduction to this planet was headed by such a nice detour. Spending a bit of time in the forest and mountains gave me some much needed experience with Atrian wildlife and biology before plunging headfirst into the one of the most hostile biomes this planet has to offer. 

The lowlands here are pleasant. They are comparable to the grasslands of Earth, but consist of colorful, knee high polyp-grass that stretch for miles to the horizon. Also like grasslands, the biodiversity here is incredibly diverse and astounding. Grazers feed on the grass-like polyps, mid and high browsers eat off the sparse pseudo-trees. We also came across a highly unlikely predator in this alien savanna, followed by the tragic end of its prey’s tale. 

It was earlier today when we came across a Golden Verber, or rather, it came across us. The golden verber is one of the smaller verber species that can be found in this area. Usually, the verbers we've come across in these fields run from anything that moves. They are more skittish than deer or gazelle but have high set vision like that of a giraffe. They can see anything approaching them from a very long ways away and run far from any sign they think could mean danger. Let me tell you, taking a blood sample from any one of them is a real pain. 

Strangely though, this particular one didn't run. As a matter of fact, it was walking straight towards us; not with any intent, we just happened to be standing in the path it was dead set on walking. Its eyes looked cold and gray and its legs haphazardly flailed and traipsed at the ground like a spider that forgot how to walk and had to make it up on the fly. Verbers are usually so lithe and graceful in step, so this was more than unsettling to say the least. 

The golden verber itself was not the predator we found. They are peaceful high browsers who pierce the balloon like leaves of lowland polyp trees and feast on the algae blooming inside. No, the predator was the thing growing out of the verbers every orifice. 

It's known as bone coral. A close relative to the polyp grass that creates the lowland fields. It's a parasitic polyp species that, once ingested, attacks the bones of its host. As soon as it has established a steady foothold, its mesenterial filaments worm between the spinal plates and it begins to attack the host's nervous system. The spine and skull, in particular, become growth beds for this cordyceps like parasite.

At this stage the animal begins wandering far from the origin of infection so the bone coral can spread its influence as far as possible. Inevitably, it’ll collapse due to exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, or even an unwitting predator. All the while the bone coral is releasing buds into the air from the coral-like growths bursting from the animal's skeleton. They will stick to polyp-grass or be filtered into pseudo-trees to flourish amongst the algae. Soon these buds will be eaten by some other unsuspecting grazer and the cycle begins again.

 It's strange to think that the closest relative to the creature that fills the same ecological role as grass back on Earth, is a bone eating, mind controlling parasite. The polyps must not like to be eaten if this is how they choose to retaliate. The creatures of Atria know vengeance like we never could. 

[End Transcription]

[henrike-does-writing-sometimes]

The Realm of Mirrors Trilogy, In which a group of childhood friends discover the dark secrets hiding within the wall of the old castle in their hometown. Secrets which they’re more involved in than what they ever could’ve imagined.

Current Stage - Slowly but surely working through the first draft Genre - Low fantasy  Setting - The fictional city of Grimmvik, located on the west coast of Sweden Books - A shattered heirloom | A reflection of malice | A youthful demise

Synopsis - The old is swarmed in mysteries. Some are meant to be found, some to be forgotten. And some we wish would’ve stayed hidden. 

Returning back to his hometown Emil is finally reunited with his childhood friends, and although they never lost contact it feels incredible to be back together. With no limit on their time, meaning their new adventures are about to be spectacular. Although not even their wildest child-like imagination could’ve predicted what was about to come.

Grimmvik’s castle, now a beating heart of history and the arts, seems to be infested with ghosts and strange mirrors that act on their own. Strange things only they seem to be able to see are just a handful of the many unexplainable things that have started to happen. 

The answers are found within the castle itself, revealing the dark past of its prime and the horrors lurking within its dungeons. A shrine for an old mirror rests deep below their feet, whispering for them to come; once again calling for a dreaded history to repeat itself. 

Main Characters -

Emil Nimuel-Noreen: Adventure seeker and fun lover, not the brightest but he does his best. His head is up in the clouds more often than not. He has an easy time making friends and works very well in social situations. Longs to be and do something great and to change the world for the better. Might have gotten more than he bargained for. 

Tess Lundell: The seemingly most responsible in the group, though she doesn’t mind breaking a few rules now and again. She loves the arts, painting and poetry to be specific, and can often be found far away in daydreams. She has an easy time finding beauty in mundane things and can spend hours being lost in oil paintings and shiny rocks.

Ida Brolin: Intelligent but reckless, does dumb things for the fun of it. Or because she’s simply curious, something she’s mainly driven by. Although she maintains a professional and calm demeanor most of the time, she has a wild and chaotic imagination and is not one to keep her crazy ideas to herself. Nor does she fear testing her many theories. 

Astrid Ryu: Smug bastard but also baby. Is a major tease and actively encourages their friends’ dumbassery, they’re also the cause most of the time. They adore the unexplainable and unsolved mysteries, a firm believer in Mothman and cryptids of the like. Tends to throw away logic to have fun with “fake” sightings. Isn’t one to get aggressive but will cut a bitch if they have to. 

Jake Castner: The unofficial leader of the group and professional himbo. While not too comfortable taking the lead he falls into the role naturally being the most observant of the group. He’s most in his element when he’s designing and building, something he’s been doing for most of his life. Whether miniature figurines or lego sets of all kinds. 

Tindra Hellberg: Huge literature nerd, likes to dissect different works to find hidden meanings and symbolism. Which she has an easy time with, given her tendency to connect things that might not even be connected. She may not believe in them, but she really enjoys conspiracy theories and will often ramble about the possibilities of them being true.  

Themes - Dark Academia | Morality | Sacrifice | Death | Repeating cycles | Rituals | Tragedy | Bittersweet end | Humanity | Loss of innocence

Main Theme - Shatter me : Lindsey Stirling

Warnings - Violence | Death | Death of one (1) animal | Body horror | Gore | Abuse | More May Be Added

What I Got To Offer ? ANGST, diverse cast (LGBTQ+, ethnicity, etc.), friends sharing a brain cell, healthy relationships both romantic and platonic, mirror based magic system, fucked up and morally questionable mentors

Tags - wip : Realm of Mirrors | RoM Playlist

: Taglist - @waysofink​​ @metanoiamorii @fiercely-raging-writer @zonnemaagd @writing-is-a-martial-art @writing-with-l @chazzawrites @vacantgodling :

Let me know if you want to be added !

[dailycharacteroption]

Planar Tour Guide: Ethereal Plane part 1

(art by T3H-5T3V3N on DeviantArt)

Intro

 Cosmologies are sometimes easy to forget in fantasy gaming until the demons show up. Sure, you may have a cleric in your party whose faith channels the power of a deity, but you probably don’t think about the fact that said deity has a home too often.

We’ve discussed the Pathfinder multiverse/cosmology and how to design your own briefly in the past, but this week, I’d like to begin a series focused on the various planes that form the cosmology of the Lost Omens core setting as well as it’s origins in previous systems and so on.

And our first subject is the Ethereal plane, as well as lesser planes connected to it such as the Dimension of Dreams, Leng, and the sahkil fortress-dimension of Xibalba.

A transitive plane that overlaps the material world, the ethereal is also known as the Ghost World, the In-Between, and the Space Between Spaces, all appropriate names as this plane is what the spirits of the dead travel through to reach the River of Souls on their way to the afterlife (or get stuck there and become phantoms or incorporeal undead) as well as being a useful plane to magically slip into as a way to bypass obstacles.

However, the plane is hardly without risks. As in addition to unquiet spirits, it is also home to strange native monsters, fear-mongering sahkils, rogue dreams from the Dimension of Dreams, Night hags, visitors from the elemental planes, and so on.

The dimension is also heavily affected by mortal emotion and thought, similar to the Astral Plane, and as such it is an important part of occult traditions and psychic magic.

The ethereal plane is mostly empty, filled with a silvery-gray fog, but it is possible to see the shadows of physical objects on the material plane and even living creatures, though they are vague and indistinct. However, no magic on the ethereal can reach the material, and vice versal with the exception of force effects manifesting on the material side, which are just as solid and forceful to ethereal foes. Indeed, most incorporeal foes exist simultaneously on the ethereal plane and their substanceless manifestation that can be seen from the material side. Of course, such manifestations can still be affected to a lesser extent by regular magic, affecting their ethereal source as well.

There is, however, sometimes matter to be found there, whether it be drawn from other planes, or created from a dream or by the will of a powerful mage. Structures are common, but any sort of place where strong emotion gathers is possible.

 The Ethereal Plane may overlap with the Material, but it does extend beyond it in the strange directions one must think in outside of three-dimensional space, and far from it lies the Dimension of Dreams, a plane accessed by the dreaming minds of mortals, which forms like a frothy film of soap bubbles along the border of the ethereal plane to form individual dreamscapes that grow and vanish with wakefulness. However, it is also possible to go deeper into what are called the Dreamlands, permanent (or seemingly so) realms formed by powerful entities that may still be dreaming to this day. The denizens of such places, including animate dreams, are as diverse as the imagination itself, and one who travels there physically or through a lucid body may be capable of the impossible.

However, once must be careful when travelling the Dreamlands lest they find themselves in Leng, a demiplane of nightmares where every denizen is a slaver or predator that either ventures out to prey upon mortals waking or otherwise, or lives in constant war with each other with visitors caught in the middle. Worse still, certain Elder Powers such as Nyarlahotep have an interest in the plane as well.

 As we can see, the Ethereal plane and it’s associated lesser and demiplanes has much more to offer than a gray void with the occasional ghost in it, and throughout the week, we’ll talk more about it!

[bambi-kinos]

Your Discord server sounds really interesting. Do you think the small numbers involved turn it into a bit of an echo chamber however? For me, the appeal of a site like HD is that you get a lot of different opinions or nuggets of information from a diverse group of people and that you learn more as a result. On the other hand, it is great that you are offering a forum for discussion. There don’t seem to be many others out there.

It absolutely runs the risk of there being an echo chamber. Back when there was only four of us, we frequently talked about "the server consensus" because we ended up falling in with one another's ideas about some major points regarding John and Paul. There are more people now so we are getting more perspectives particularly on George which is really nice. But yeah, that's something that preys on my mind sometimes and it's the main reason why I opened membership briefly.

I think part of the struggle with curating discussion is that a lot of people can struggle to come up with anything to say, that's probably the biggest roadblock to more discussion re: the Beatles in any forum. Many fans don't know what to say or don't have anything to contribute, so the people who do have opinions end up dominating the discussion because there's a vacuum. It's somewhat better in the Discord server because it's semi-private and it's safer to have controversial opinions because there's no tumblrina culture to result in hateanons which can be difficult to deal with.

What's proved the most difficult so far has been getting people with contrary opinions that also aren't assholes who cause dysfunction. Back in...February or March (I'd have to check the timestamps) I had to ban a sexpest who posted CSA material regarding one of the Beatles -- something I never thought I'd have to deal with. (Went through the whole Discord report thing and all but nothing ever came of it.) This person was a really interesting source of discussion but then they had to be banned because holy shit??? Then I had to ban another person for rulebreaking...etc, and all the other stuff I've talked about here. It's why I'm super reactive to rulebreaking because I've already had people try to take advantage of me so they can post illegal material and [laughs nervously] what the fuck!!! Fuck that!!!

All that stuff though makes me even more protective of the space as a place where people can discuss topics. My goal is to make a place where we break away from the tumblr consensus because frankly I think a lot of the meta discussion about the Beatles is kind of crap. That might mean we replace it with another consensus but at least it'll be different.

It's been a weird experience because I've never had trouble like this in MGS, Persona, or Final Fantasy XIV fandoms, there are troublemakers there but as fandoms they tend towards a lot more harmony. That's not even all of the weird shit I've encountered since landing here. It's been less than a year and I have stories. That's weird considering I'm coming out of anime fandom which is supposed to be loli and shotacon heaven but the fact is that anime fandoms self police a lot more heavily than Beatles fandom does.

I've joined other Beatles discord servers and their biggest problem is lack of engagement from the owners which means the members don't have anything to work with. I try to post something at least once a day to get the attention of the server. Sometimes it takes and sometimes it doesn't, but the point is that if I'm consistently present than the members become more comfortable and will chat more. @gnocchichi and @skylikeaflame have been invaluable in that area too.

[beckyluvsjapan]

Subscribe To My Channel!

Hello everyone!

First of all, I hope that you are all doing well and staying safe in these challenging times. I am sure that many of us are longing for a time when we can freely travel and explore the world again. One place that has always been on top of my travel wishlist is Japan. Its rich culture, vibrant cities, delicious food, and stunning landscapes have always fascinated me. That's why I decided to start a YouTube channel to share my love for everything Japan with all of you.

My channel is all about showcasing the beauty of Japan and its unique culture. You can expect to find videos about traditional Japanese festivals, mouth-watering food adventures, city and nature tours, and much more. I am constantly exploring and discovering new places to share with my viewers, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Japan to you through my videos.

One of the main reasons I started this channel is my passion for Japanese culture. From anime and manga to tea ceremonies and traditional arts, Japan has a wide range of cultural experiences to offer. Through my videos, I want to give people a glimpse into this fascinating world and inspire them to learn more about it.

It's also important for me to have a positive impact through my channel. I want to promote cultural understanding and appreciation for diversity by showcasing Japan's unique customs and traditions. I believe that through sharing our different cultures, we can all learn from each other and create a more open-minded society.

I am incredibly grateful for the support I have received so far. Seeing the positive comments and messages from viewers who have been inspired by my videos truly makes my day. It motivates me to keep creating more content and sharing my passion for Japan with the world.

So, if you haven't already, I invite you to subscribe to my channel and join me on this journey through Japan. I promise to bring you the best of what this amazing country has to offer and provide you with a virtual escape to a land of beauty and wonder. Also, don't forget to hit the like button and leave a comment to let me know your thoughts and recommendations for future videos.

Thank you once again for your support, and I look forward to sharing more of Japan with you all!

Until then, stay safe and keep dreaming of our future adventures in Japan.

Arigatou gozaimasu! (Thank you very much!)

[climateangst]

Am I the Center of the Universe?: Environmental Worldviews

Week 7: Oct. 18

Chapter 25 opens with introducing the concept of environmental worldviews. These are, “the assumptions and beliefs that you have about how the natural world works and how you think you should interact with the environment” (Miller, 637). Environmental worldviews are largely informed by environmental ethics– that is, our moral compass regarding the human relationship to the environment. These are personal to each individual, so even when presented with the same situation and the same data, people will reach different conclusions based on their environmental worldviews. Miller offers three main schools of thought: human centered, life centered, and earth centered environmental worldviews. 

As the name would suggest, the human centered environmental worldview highlights human significance. Subscribers to this view focus on the function of people. There is diversity within this ideology though, the planetary management and stewardship worldviews taking opposing stances. The planetary management worldview maintains that humans are the most important species on earth, and therefore hold the right to manage and dominate the planet for personal gain. All other species on earth are only valuable in so far as they provide value to humans, since we sit atop the pyramid. On the flip side, the stewardship worldview holds that humans have a duty to manage the earth responsibly. Believers argue that we have a responsibility to save the earth, so we must focus our efforts on continued beneficial practices and limiting harmful ones.

While the stewardship worldview may seem more ethical than the planetary management worldview, they both hold the same foundations. In believing that humans are to be prioritized in environmental matters, how ethical can we really be? Western individualism and modern capitalistic practices are so clearly the footing on which these ideas stand. I would argue that to place humans at the center of environmental issues takes a stance of extreme entitlement. The stewardship view still has a focus on economic growth and human interest in the preservation of the environment. While this may appear to be more moral, it’s merely the planetary management view in its sunday best. Why should it be that the economy is considered at all in environmental issues? As long as the environment is seen as a tool in human production, we cannot truly act in its best interest. Any effort at conservation will take stepping outside the human concern.

Life centered environmental worldviews “hold that all forms of life have value as participating members of the biosphere, regardless of their potential or actual use to humans” (Miller. 639). Those who have life centered environmental worldviews prioritize the life of all species on earth. While there is disagreement amongst believers of this view over how involved humans should be in the preservation of life, most agree that humans should not be responsible for increased rates of extinction. 

People with earth centered environmental worldviews zoom out from this life centered view and assert that more than just life is important to the world’s environment. This perspective maintains that we are obligated to preserve biodiversity, ecosystem services and the overall functioning of the earth in the interest of the earth itself.

The earth centered environmental worldview stands in direct opposition to the human centered worldview. It asserts that humans do not deserve to be dominant over other species, we are a part of the community of earth, not the “rulers” of it. This is much more reminiscent of eastern and native philosophies. Native Americans famously viewed humans as part of living communities, not governors of them. In Buddhist tradition, the soul can cycle between human and animal lives for eternity, equating man with fauna. In adopting an earth centered view, it's necessary that one abandons the egoistic nature of the modern western world. Current mainstream philosophies and economic systems won’t allow for this thinking by nature. Capitalism demands a self centered approach, so by definition it cannot coexist with an earth centered environmental worldview. To truly highlight the environment as the focus of our musings, we should take a look back to past societies which achieved this without the constraints of our modern world.

How can we encourage earth centered environmental worldviews on a global scale?

Word Count: 692

[thinlascl]

Top anime studio 9 creations

#Top anime studio 9 creations series#

Where Brotherhood excels lies in the sensitivity it expresses for every one of the characters’ fighting for their desires and contending with their mistakes, with particular highlights for the plights of minorities and women. It’s not your classic military drama, though, as Ed and Alphonse quickly learn how far Amestris’ authoritarianism stretches. The show’s emotional core revolves around the plight of the Elric brothers, Ed and Alphonse, two alchemists sponsored by the authoritarian Amestris military. Brotherhood is just the right length, never overstaying its welcome and proving how versatile and malleable the conventions of shounen anime can be.īrotherhood has a sizeable cast of characters all of different nationalities and ideologies, with motivations that often oppose one another-the show manages to use these moving forces to form factions, alliances, and foils that flow in multiple directions, paralleling the often messy, always chaotic nature of human relationships during wartime. What’s more, the show is paced perfectly, with neatly wrapped arcs that lead into each other and bolster a greater global narrative on selected themes.

#Top anime studio 9 creations series#

A more faithful adaptation to Hiromu Arakawa’s mega-popular manga series than the original adaptation, Brotherhood contends with loss, grief, war, racism and ethics in mature and unique ways, ahead of its time in nearly every aspect. Watch On: Crunchyroll, VRV, Funimation, HBO Max, Netflixįor many, Brotherhood is the essential anime experience, and it’s easy to see why. It is a masterwork that should justly rank among the best works of television of all time, let alone anime. It feels like a magnum opus produced at the pinnacle of a long career despite being, almost unbelievably, Watanabe’s first series as a director. It’s an original property, not an adaptation. Yoko Kanno’s magnificent, jazz-heavy soundtrack and score stand on their own. It’s accessible to new hands and still rewards old-timers with every repeated watch. Its 26-episode run was near-perfect, and episodes that might have served as filler in another series are tight, taut, and serve the show’s thesis even as they do not distract from its overarching plot, which is compelling but not overbearing. Its English dub, boasting some of America’s greatest full-time voiceover talents, somehow equals the subtitled Japanese-language original. The future it presents is ethnically diverse and eerily prescient. Its characters are complex and flawed, yet still ooze cool. Its existential and traumatic themes are universally relatable. Its particular blend of cyberpunk intrigue, Western atmosphere, martial arts action, and noir cool in seinen form is unmatched and widely appealing. Cowboy BebopĮvery debate over whether or not Cowboy Bebop-Shinichiro Watanabe’s science-fiction masterpiece-is the pinnacle of anime is a semantic one. We hope you find something you’ll fall in love with. Our list is carefully curated with both accessible and challenging titles, a perfect landing pad for anime newcomers looking to dive headlong into shows that are essential, strange, or soothing. The world of animation is constantly evolving, and we want to evolve with it. In these anime, almost everyone can be seen in some way, whether it be in the rosy meditations of a slice-of-life show or the bombast of thrilling action. Shows both young and old are represented, with at least one show for everyone no matter their age, gender, or sexuality. These anime are great, and you’ll find many of the expected takes on this list, but in compiling this I tried to consider every genre’s most exemplary offerings. Prestige anime is often centered around a man and his struggles, themes that often disclude varied viewers and create an echo chamber of impenetrable, inarguable taste for fans to discuss. I’ve long enjoyed shoujo for its florid style and high melodrama, but when I thought of anime that deserved to be on a list of the best ever, only shows with male protagonists came to mind. Working on this list allowed me to examine my own taste and the sort of aesthetic that guides me. So why is it that lists like this leave out anime made by women, for women? And why can’t these anime be enjoyed by men, too? Hobbyists and fandoms have long had distinctive, individualized communities, lively groups that often do not intersect except, maybe, at anime conventions, given over half of North America’s attendees are female. With lists like this, diverse demographics are often left unconsidered, effectively sidelining female and LGBT viewers. At Paste, we believe there’s an anime for everyone.

[thorntonkrell-blog-blog]

Because we are born with such big noggins overcrammed with gigantic brains, it takes us a long time to mature as we are born shockingly underdeveloped and premature. A colt can trot shortly after birth; a kitten leaves its mother to forage when it is just a few weeks old. Human babies are helpless and dependent on their elders for sustenance, protection and education. Infants are much lower on the food chain than are adults. Just ask the dingo.

This concept is known as altriciality, which describes the condition of being born in a relatively undeveloped and helpless state. Humans are considered altricial species because human babies are born with significant physical and neurological immaturity compared to other animals.

This characteristic is often linked to the size of the brain at birth. Human infants have large brains relative to their body size, and the pelvis size of the human female limits the size of the newborn's head. As a result, human babies are born at an earlier stage of development compared to other mammals.

Because of our altricial intelligence as compared to artifiicial intelliegence, we can be, need to be educated and socialized to a far greater extent than do aardvarks or lemmings. So we have schools. As a general rule, the longer we stay in school, the better our chances to succeed in life as we pursue happiness through attainment of long and short term goals. So we go to college and graduate school. Some of us become teachers at twenty one even though we rreally don't know what the hell is going on but we pretend we do because oh My God we're teachers and we're supposed to know what's going on etc,

Schools, colleges, and graduate programs play a crucial role in providing structured environments for learning and socialization. These institutions not only impart knowledge but also help individuals develop critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to navigate social interactions including kegs, drugs, broken hearts, cheating and oversleeping. The prolonged period of education in humans is linked to the complexity of our societies and the diverse range of skills needed for success.

Other humans opt for another type of support such as living with Mom and Dad in the basement or joining the military or having children of their own. Usually these activities goes on until we're thirty or so. By that time, we have a job, a religion, a favorite team, and/or a political party to take us the rest of the way. Some of us become attached to the Bills and become masochists finding happiness in pain.

Meanwhile and for the entirity of our lives we pursue happiness which we find in personal well being, relationships, achieivement and earning more money than everybody else and thus having more toys which we never outgrow, particularly we boys who become men. Just ask our wives or ex-wives.

Or Eve in Eden

It was hard to find something sweet in Eden.

The others found it first……

She noticed and wondered

She called herself Eve but nobody else did yet.

She knew she was different

She was gorgeous but she didn't know it.

She was about to find out…

One day she was walking by a tree and saw a bunch

of what we now call baboons feeding in that tree.

She thought the tree belonged to them.

One of the baboons knocked an apple from the tree.

She picked it up. It looked what we now call

DELICIOUS

She had a male that she liked more than any of the rest. He was different.

She hid from the others. They were all alike.

They left her alone.

She took the apple and offered it to the male.

He took a bite. The taste was sweet.

Sweet was rare in Eden so was sharing.

He felt something both invisible and physical

beyond reproductive urgency.

What he felt was the beginning of affection

which was the beginning of love as well as happiness.

She led him back to the tree.

He threw some rocks at the baboons.

They threw back shit and split

He climbed the tree

brought back another apple.

He shared this one with her.

She felt something like gratitude.

She said what was to become her name.

She said "Eve"

The baboons were gone but many apples remained.

She looked at him and said "Adam"

He nodded and went back up into the tree.

He threw down as many apples as he could.

Eve collected them.

They ate them all.

They gorged.

They didn't know when the baboons would be back

so they ate too many.

Adam looked at Eve.

She was gorgeous and he knew it and he knew why.

Eventually they found a fig tree.

A buch of baboons also found the tree.

Adam climbed first.

The baboons backed off.

The figs were sweet.

Once again they binged.

They took some leaves from the fig tree

They covered their privates.

The idea caught on and soon

all the sapes began to cover up

And binge on sweets

And call each other by name

And save themselves for one another.

This was the beginning of happiness.

I'm happy.

There I said it.

I'm happy for a lot of different reasons. I'll give you a few.

I don't have a toothache.

The Russians turned back during the Cuban Missile Crisis

My wife is not pissed off at me

I survived cancer.

I've got all the money that I need.

My daughter has joined us here down South.

She confessed that she was happy being near us.

I'm not living in Gaza or the Ukraine.

I could go on and on but I think you get the picture.

That wasn't so hard.

Why do we have such a hard time admitting to happiness?

Why would we just as soon confess to guilt or sing the blues.

Is it because that confessing happness might attract negativity. For many years, Sports Illustrated was infamous for jinxing whatever individual or team made the cover. Lately it's been jinxing itself has the magazine is as near extinction as are the fishwraps.

Is it because our culture teaches us to be humble or boastful? Remember how pissed off we were at Cassius Clay when he changed his name to Muhahammad Ali and told us that he was the greatest.

We don't want to make anybody envious and expose ourselves to the gossip that has been spreading since we went from Neanderthal to Sapien. We live in a competive society. We don't want to piss off anybody by making them feel inferior or to rub salt in their wounds or to give the impression that we don't give a shit about the less fortunate.

We feel unworthy of our happiness. We know how lucky we've been to get where we are and realize we're only a few crises or catastrophes or paychecks or black swans or impulses away from losing all that we didn't deserve in the first place so let's feign indifference if not down and out depression.

Happiness? What's happiness. No such thing. Why pursue and illusion? John Lennon sure as hell didn't find any happiness in the wam gun that killed him unless perhaps death is happiness but let's not go there. I don't want to diem right now. I'm happy.

Is it because we remember past instances when we thought we were happy before the shit hit the fan or we started smoking victory cigars before Smoking Joe floored Muhammad and we realized that we were kidding ourselves all along.

Is it because we are afraid of disappointment so we walk around faking didappointment to protect ourselves from the real thing. How we hate this evaluation, "I'm disappoinrted in you."

How could you be disappointed in me, I wasn't much to begin with even though I'm almost all that I think about.

Is it because our families of our traditions encourage crying in our beer. Was it Paul or John that sang about the luck of the Irish and how if ya had it you'd wish you was English.

Yeah there's a lotta rrasons that I could be unhappy right now.

Today I'm happy.

There I said it again.

God Bless me.

Where were we? Oh yeah, at what we humans like to imagine as the beginning although there was a whole lot a shakin' goin on before Adam and Eve.

Adam and Eve were the first two of us to call each other by name. They experienced happiness as well as the pain and disppointment that go along with it. Where would happiness be without pain. I remember my last toothach and I'm overjoyed that I'm not having one right now.

Eve had a small pelvis which added to the pain and danger of delivery but which made the child more precious and cherished for both the mother and the father, particularly the father who up to this time had no idea if the kid was his or not.

Prior to Adam and Eve, the Neanderthals could have used a Maury Povich except every male in the audience and on stage might be the father.

Adam and Eve started the concept of monogamy. The concept swept through Eden. We began naming each other as well as our offspring which did wonders for the concept of gossip which slowly turned into fiction. Not everybody in Eden went along with monogamy which suggested something invisible and beyond the grasp of many sapiens. Even today we have a hard time with the concept of love.

Adam and Eve named their two sons Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer. Abel was a gatherer primarily of wool. Cain got hold of another invisible, imaginary concept with green eyes called jealousy when he didn't believe that his gifts were appreciated enough which is a perfect example of the complexities that emerged in Eden as structures appeared along with hierarchies and competition not only for visible resources but also invisible imaginings.

Disobedience

Murder

Crime

Punishment

Oh Yeah.

Cain was a farmer. Abel was a shepherd. Cain was a hunter gatherer and wanderer. Cain was a farmer and homebody. Thus began the conflict between going out or staying home and watching teevee. Cain became jealous when God said ya gotta get out more even though everybody was starting to be more like Cain than Abel.

Cain said, "No, I'm good." but he became very aware of the difference between himsel and his brother in what we now know as jealousy/envy.

Gossip began to spread in what we now know as tension and suspicion. Jealousy, envy, tension and suspicion are the opposite of happiness which we now recognize as buzzkill.

All of a sudden, Abel wasn't around anymore.

Somebody asked Cain, "Hey man, where's your brother."

Cain snottily replied, "Am I my brother's keeper?".

This only increased the gossip until somebody came across Abel's body.

The gossip continued in what we now call specualtion and accusation.

Nobody could figure out whether Cain used a club or a rock but the result was the same. Abel was dead and Cain was to blame in what we now call murder.

The gossip around Eden was the beginning of true crime teevee even beofre Dragnet and Capote.

Cain was given the mark of the beast and had to leave town. He went off to Nod where his crops always failed in what we now know as guilt.

Today when we go to the zoo we often look at the great apes in their cages and wonder if they think "am I my keeper's brother?"

Even though we keep them caged, we are moved by their self-regard and lack of inhibition.

Look into the eyes of a great ape and you will see no signs of ignorance. They've been around at least six million years. We've been around 70,000 since Adam and Eve started stealing apples from baboons. They learned a lot during those six million years but they never learned ignorance which we discovered through the process of continual gossip only 700 years ago as our brains continued to shrink and we started to believe in our own fiction.

We became marks for our own gimmick. Marion Morrison belived he was John Wayne. Frances Gumm believed she was Judy Garland.

The gossip continued to grow as we attacked our own significance. As we discovered and admitted ignorance in the ironic Age of Enlightenment we began to believe that first the round Earth and then the fireball sun and now the milky galaxy were not the centers of the universe. Stars were aound all the time not just at night and they were all much bigger than our blue marble. We also came up with the idea that 6 million years ago one female great ape gave birth to two daughters one of those daughters became the ancestoral NaNa of all chimpanzees. . The other daughter was Adam and Eve's original Gammy.

We could no longer completely separate ourselves from animals. Many of us didn't care for that especially the ape part so we do what we always do. We started killing the apes and if it hadn't been for Sigourney Weaver and Jane Goodall we might have gotten rid of them.

Just to be sure they'll survive, we put a few in cages around the world, where we can check them out and be amazed.

Five minutes before the end of a successful working day (Is there a more blissful moment?) I was sitting in my cubicle gathering wool while contempating the first transatlantic wireless transmission by Gugliemo Marconi. Once again I was grateful to discover and embrace a new level of personal ignorance.

As a result I failed to stifle a guffaw which produced a sound like a cough mixed with a burp that must have resembled a strangled chortle.

I have come to know that sound as a snerkle.

I am a veritable snerk factory as I am perpetually discovering how little I know about everything including in this case radio while extending into the realm of magic which we now know as technology.

Any way, my colleague in the cubicle behind mine, heard the sound and asked "what the hell was that?"

My colleague was well regarded as an articulate man of wisdom

I said, "Oh I was just amused by my own ignorance."

He responded "You've got an awful lot to be amused about."

Naturally, I took that observation as a compliment.

I said "thank you" which amused us both apparently as we snerkled in unison.

I'm not sure if we were snerkeling at the same thing.

What he observed was true but it would have been wiser if he had said: "We've all got a lot to be amused about."

We like to think that the voice of God speaks perfect English and sounds like Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones or Orson Welles or all three at once.

Wouldn't that be nice?

Let's go back to December 12, 1901 when God spoke for the first time in the twentieth century. According to some accounts, the first radio signal was received by a wireless operator named Arthur Moore, who was on board the American ship SS Philadelphia. Moore, not expecting to hear anything, was startled when he heard the faint but distinct Morse code signal coming through the wireless equipment. The signal was the letter "S" in Morse code, which was the distinctive identifier Marconi used.

In the excitement and surprise of this unexpected communication, the story goes that Moore believed he was receiving a message from a divine or supernatural source.

Art was confused by science. The early moments of radio were rightly filled with wonder, confusionand discombobulation. No wonder that the dismbodied voice crackling through the speakers (at times sounding like a snerkle) convinced Art that he was perceiving a divine intervention.

Others say that Marconi's first transmissions were quite basic and didn't sound like a human voice.

MMMKKKKAAAYYY.

Art and I might argue that a powerful, unseen force was communicating through technology...saying somethin like this "I'm very busy. I gotta take a snooze .Why don't y'all take it from here for awhile.

And it wouldn't sound human.

A mere 20 years after Arthur Moore mistakenly heard the voice of God (or did he?), 1% of the Ameican descendants of Adam and Eve heard the first news broadcast which proved once again how much we treasure gosisip perhaps even more than music. 

The first NEWS program, called "The Herald of Freedom" was aired in 1920 on station WBK in Detroit.

Music caught up in a hurry. By 1926, approximately 20% of American households owned a radio which no longer could be confused with the voice of God unless we count NBC as the voice of God.which of course we don't (or do we?) It's just a broadcating company isn't it? What else could it possibly be?

The first radio show broadact on NBC was the Eveready Hour which aired on Noveber 15, 1926. The Eveready Hour was sponsored by Eveready batteries and featured performances by the baritone singerr Donald Voorhes, the jazz band The Red Hot Syncopaters and the vocal group the Electricians.

In 1888 George Eastman had made photography available. We had pictures. Around the same time as Arthur Moore thought he heard God, we had moving pictures. We could look at moving picture but we couldn't hear them when NBC first broadcast.

One year later, we could see pictures that moved and we could hear them if we listened which Al Jolson urged us to do while assuring us that we "ain't heard nuthin yet"

We listened and gossipped and passed time nationally about Babe Ruth.

Babe Ruth was born before Arthur Moore thought he heard the voice of God.

Babe made it to the Yanks in 1920 when radio began to take off.

As the popularity of radio continued to soar, Babe Ruth became not just a sports icon but a national celebrity, transcending the boundaries of baseball. His booming voice and larger-than-life personality made him a perfect fit for the airwaves, and soon, Babe found himself making guest appearances on radio shows. People tuned in not just to hear about his home runs but to be entertained by his anecdotes and humorous stories.

NBC began in 1926.

In 1927, the same year Babe hit 60, radio broadcasts were reaching an increasing number of households. The World Series that year, where the New York Yankees (Babe Ruth's team) faced the Pittsburgh Pirates, was one of the first sports events to be broadcast nationwide. Millions of fans across the country tuned in to listen to the play-by-play commentary, bringing them closer to the action even if they couldn't be at the ballpark.

Babe's presence on the radio wasn't limited to sports shows. He became a guest on variety programs, sharing the airwaves with musicians, comedians, and other celebrities. The combination of the radio's storytelling power and Babe Ruth's charismatic delivery made him a beloved figure beyond the baseball diamond.

American descendants of Adam and Eve everybody gossiped about the Babe.

Babe helped radio, radio helped Babe and they all helped baseball which helped Babe etc. Together they helped unify he country. Whenever anybody mentions the gods of baseball, Babe Ruth is at the top of the list far more famous than Marconi or Macaroni or ya know that radio guy.

As radio continued to evolve, so did Babe Ruth's connection to it. In 1934, Babe Ruth embarked on a radio tour, visiting various cities and participating in live broadcasts. His booming voice resonated through the speakers, creating a vivid image of the Sultan of Swat in the minds of listeners.

The intersection of Babe Ruth and radio also extended to advertising. Companies recognized the value of associating their products with the legendary baseball player. Babe Ruth lent his voice to radio commercials, endorsing various products from candy bars to automobiles. His endorsements not only boosted the sales of those products but further solidified his status as a cultural icon.

The radio era not only brought Babe Ruth closer to the American people but also allowed them to experience the thrill of baseball and the excitement of celebrity culture in a new way. The crackling voices on the airwaves painted a vivid picture of the Babe rounding the bases, and his impact on the radio waves mirrored the seismic impact he had on the world of sports.

By 1939, radio had become an integral part of American culture, and a substantial portion of the population regularly listened to radio broadcasts. It's estimated that around 83% of American households had a radio by the end of the 1930s. The radio had become a primary source of news, entertainment, and gossip for millions of people, playing a central role in shaping public opinion and connecting communities across the country.

Mel Allen became the voice of the Yankees. To Yankee fans, Mel sounded a lot like God.

To boxing fans, Clem McCarthy, Don Dunphy and Jimmy Powers were the radio voice of God particularly when descrinng the champioship years of Joe Louis

Joe Louis, also known as the "Brown Bomber," was a legendary American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. His reign as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 to 1949 coincided with a period when radio was a dominant form of entertainment and information dissemination.

And his fall syched up with the decline of radio and the emergence of the Baby Boom.

During the 1930s and 1940s, radio wasthe primary medium for sports broadcasting, and boxing, in particular, gained immense popularity on the airwaves. People across the United States tuned in to listen to live radio broadcasts of boxing matches, including Joe Louis's fights. The radio broadcasts allowed fans who couldn't attend the matches in person to experience the excitement and drama of the bouts.

Joe Louis's impact on the popularity of boxing on the radio was significant. His dominance in the heavyweight division, along with his charisma and talent, drew widespread attention. His fights were eagerly anticipated, and the radio broadcasts added a layer of suspense and intensity for those listening at home.

The radio commentators played a crucial role in enhancing the experience for the audience. Skilled announcers provided vivid and detailed descriptions of the action, helping listeners visualize the fight and feel the excitement. Some iconic radio personalities, such as Clem McCarthy and Don Dunphy, became synonymous with boxing broadcasts during this era.

Joe Louis's matches, including his historic bouts against Germany's Max Schmeling, were major events that captured the nation's imagination. The radio broadcasts contributed to Louis's status as a cultural and sporting icon, making him one of the most celebrated figures of his time and arguably the first "colored" national hero when he kicked Max's ass all over Madsion Sqyare Garde to the dislike of the Fuhrer.

Overall, the combination of Joe Louis's boxing prowess and the accessibility of radio broadcasts helped elevate the popularity of the sport during the golden age of radio in the 1930s and 1940s. The radio became a powerful medium for connecting fans with the world of boxing and establishing the sport as a major form of entertainment in American culture.

Even though Mel and Clem and Don and Jimmy painted articulate, compelling word pictures, sports fans yearned for less listening and more watching.

[therealvinelle]

Hello! Why do you think Carlisle likes Aro? (Love your meta btw!)

This blog lasted 25 days before becoming an Aro/Carlisle blog. The sanity was nice while it lasted, I suppose.

Oh well, I embrace my trash ship.

(Anon is referring to this post)

(This one is also relevant)

So, while on Aro’s end it was a case of “did the gods just give me my very own Enkidu?”, for Carlisle we must look at the circumstances. The Carlisle Cullen who walked into Volterra is not the Carlisle Cullen who works at Forks General.

Carlisle was a demon-hunting priest who brought his religion into his new life. Having no idea what he’d just become, apart from the obvious things like “I desperately want to kill people for their blood” and “I sparkle?!”, many of the things that are obvious to us would not be at all obvious to him. His only experience with other demons was the slum-dweller that killed him. It was brutal, and three other people from his parish were murdered as well. He’d been able to track the vampire down, something I can only take that to mean that the vampire used his parish for hunting grounds. He’s so horrified by what he’s become that he tries to destroy himself. This fails, and instead he finds a way out that lets him live without having to kill, and with that comes to the realization that vampires retain their souls (which is for another post).

My point being, Carlisle wakes up as a demon, and has no way of knowing how any of this works, nor of how to explain the fact that he is able to retain his soul. It’s telling that even after centuries of being a vampire he still thought something might be fundamentally different about him, as he chose to turn Edward by simulating his own transformation, even though it meant more pain for Edward. In other words, Carlisle was not guaranteed that his experience was universal. By the time we meet him in canon he’s wonderfully friendly to everybody regardless of what they eat, but I strongly doubt he got from point “Demons are monsters and I’ll rally a mob to lynch them!” to “Vampires are people who sadly eat other people.” right away.

So, you have freshly immortal Carlisle Cullen wandering around Europe with no way of knowing that other vampires are as (for lack of a better word) human as he is. How can they be, when they choose to eat people? (My personal headcanon is that he went by a Persephone theory, and figured that by resisting human blood he’d remained a man.)

It was this Carlisle who met Aro and the other Volturi. According to Edward (I unfortunately don’t have Twilight with me so I can’t quote his exact words), they were the ones who showed him that vampires can in fact be sophisticated.

Sophisticated. Not just as in Aro, Marcus, and Caius eat their virgins with some fava beans and a nice chianti, but as in they’re civilized and intelligent beings. Carlisle was no longer a one lone freak who somehow retained his soul while everyone else went full Buffy vampire, or any other such theory. I can’t even imagine the impact that must have had on a young Carlisle who would have been even lonelier than the Carlisle who found Edward in Chicago. That Carlisle at least had friends, this younger version had absolutely nobody.

Aro changed that.

More than being sophisticated, Aro turned out to be a kindred spirit, an absolutely brilliant mind and a generous host. Carlisle chose to live with him for decades, leaving only because of their dietary differences. And even if people disagree with me with all of the above, I don’t think anyone can argue that this one isn’t huge.

Of all the people Carlisle knows in canon, Aro is the only one he stayed with just for Aro’s own sake. Carlisle loves the Cullens dearly, but the cornerstone holding them together is their shared diet, and the fact that Carlisle turned four of them, the other two joined. He did not happen upon them and then like them so much that he decided to move in. As for his other friends, he cares for them all, but he didn’t share decades of his life with them.

Regardless of how we’re interpreting their relationship (as in, platonic, UST, or raging homosexual affair), I don’t think anyone can dispute that Carlisle and Aro are each other’s best friends.

But beyond proving that vampires aren’t all sewer-dwelling, priest-eating rascals, what exactly made Aro so special?

I’ll just list his qualities in no particular order.

Sophistication This guy is a lover of the arts and of knowledge. His gallery and library must have been the most extensive and diverse in the world, and it probably still is. I can’t even begin to imagine the wealth of knowledge and treasures that Aro must have collected over the years. If the Holy Grail exists within the world of Twilight, Aro has it. Where I’m headed with this, is that not only would Aro’s collection be the coolest thing ever to Carlisle, but also that this was a time when the number of books and an art collection was a sign of high class, of intellectualism, of all things fine and noble that was considered virtuous. Aro acts very much like wealthy European nobility, he even lives in Italy, the cultural epicenter of the Western world of old. He physically could not have been more impressive to Carlisle.

Kind of a continuation of the previous point: Aro is from Ancient Greece (well, he’s Myceanaean, but same difference to a “You predate Homer?!” starstruck Carlisle). Ancient Greece was the ultimate, perfect, civilization to Europe, and Carlisle got to Volterra just ahead of the Enlightenment. This alone would have made him so unbelievably cool to Carlisle.

Nerd I think this one speaks for itself. Carlisle is an unbelievable nerd, an inquisitive mind who’ll study anything and everything, and in Aro he found someone who also has an inquisitive mind and will study anything and everything. They’re both very intelligent. Carlisle went from being that sad whale that sings on a frequency no other whales can hear, to having someone who just got it.

His gift So you’re all gonna have to stay with me on this one. Aro’s gift is one most people would find very invasive, which as I touched upon in one of the posts linked above must be very isolating. And yet we know from canon that Carlisle has no problem at all with Edward reading his mind all the time, and more, if Aro reading his mind was a problem then Aro and Marcus would both have known, and I doubt their friendship would have worked out. So, I think that Carlisle not only didn’t mind having his every thought read, but that this was an actively good thing. Because what is less lonely than the company of one who knows you as intimately as you know yourself? To be friends with Aro is to be truly understood, known more deeply than anyone else can ever know you. And to someone who seeks companionship as much as Carlisle does, I imagine this is an extremely attractive feature.

Offer of friendship Carlisle would have been hopelessly lonely when he met Aro. And as no one else is mentioned as being close to him, Jane hadn’t even met him which I find pretty telling of how he interacted (or didn’t interact) with the Guard, and he wouldn’t yet have any of his other friends that he later made, he only had Aro.

He enforcers a law that keeps the known world from descending into chaos Human civilization wouldn’t last a day without the Volturi. There would be nothing stopping vampires from taking out entire villages in one go, immortal children would be everywhere, and the newborn armies would spread like wildfire. In the world of Twilight, the Volturi are a necessary evil. And Aro is their leader. The fact that he not only keeps the world together, an ungrateful task with no end in sight, but had the idea to create a law in the first place would make him all the more amazing to Carlisle.

And I’m sure there’s more that is currently slipping my mind.

Just, Aro is on every level the most impressive, awe-inspiring, and dare I say dazzling, that anyone can be to Carlisle. And he came into Carlisle’s life at the best possible moment. If he’d agreed to do the animal diet, Carlisle would have stayed. If he wanted to seduce Carlisle, I think he’d succeed. I also think that their time together was far more formative for the person Carlisle became than anyone gives Aro credit for.

(And if Carlisle had never found anyone who’d share the diet, he would eventually have returned. I imagine Aro thought the same, but that’s for another post.)

Oh, and last bit - in Breaking Dawn we get this beautiful moment where Carlisle learns that Aro robbed the British royal family, and he just goes, “yup, that’s my guy”. Even after Eclipse, he remains fond of Aro. I mean, there’s also the fact that he’s been lugging around this giant painting for centuries, even at a time when he didn’t have a house and I can only speculate as to where he was keeping it.

Of course, over the course of Eclipse and Breaking Dawn everything goes to hell, but that’s for another post.

TL;DR, Carlisle went from a priest’s son to living with an evil vampire overlord for decades because he’s just that great, in the present he keeps a giant painting of him in his office. I feel it’s safe to assume he likes the man.

(Edited on the 13th of April to fix some phrasing and add a link)

[littjara-mirrorlake]

Expanded Kaldheim Lore: Littjara

I fell in love with the world of Kaldheim, and just one set didn’t do it justice nearly enough. So until we return, here’s some of my own lore and headcanons for the plane, starting with my favorite realm—Littjara—and its shapeshifter inhabitants.

The Realm

Littjara is a liminal realm pulled from the Einir’s own domain, where the rules of physics seem as ephemeral as mist and the landscape is ever-shifting. The boundaries of the Cosmos are said to be thinner here, making the realm itself a world between worlds. This means that things from other realms often fall through to Littjara: lost ideas, forgotten identities, relics of fallen civilizations. The forests are strewn with crumbling statues of unknown people, and those who gaze into the aurora-lit waters might catch glimpses of memory from other lives.

Like a domain of the fey, it’s all too easy to wander here by accident—stumbling under a mossy archway to nowhere, or slipping through a crack in the Cosmos on the way through an Omenpath—and much harder to leave.

To the shapeshifters who call it home, though, Littjara has not lost its protective quality from when the Einir rescued their ancestors all those millennia ago. For a shapeshifter, changing shapes is an art form and a way of self-expression, and nowhere is better suited to that than their ever-shifting home. They are met with suspicion in other realms, painted as tricksters and villains, but Littjara understands who they really are. Only the shapeshifters are truly comfortable in Littjara, and that suits them just fine.

Gladewalkers

Though most shapeshifters leave Littjara for lives of adventure, Gladewalkers are more likely to remain and communally raise young shapeshifters. Glade-wardens have the unique responsibility of guarding the trees that house shapeshifter ancestor-spirits. The ancestors are a revered source of wisdom and history, and every young Gladewalker is taught to come before them for guidance. It’s an interesting and ironic parallel with the Einir’s own eventual imprisonment in jaspera trees.

Part of a Gladewalker’s learning involves taking the shapes of as many wild creatures as they can, embodying many perspectives to more fully connect with nature. Gladewalker disciplines include druidcraft, necromancy (as it relates to spirit communication), and woodcarving, imbuing masks and staffs with druidic power.

Covewalkers

In contrast to their Gladewalker counterparts, Covewalkers are mostly wanderers and voyagers, constantly on the move. Besides the very young and very old, there are far fewer Covewalkers living in Littjara than Gladewalkers. Young Covewalkers are raised by an ever-rotating cast of mentors returning either at the end of their lives or in between adventures.

They prefer taking on humanoid forms instead of animals, as the diverse cultures of the realms fascinate them and they love to meet new people. Though they also respect their ancestors, Covewalkers prefer to learn through direct experience, and an exploit is all the more exciting to them if no one has yet attempted it.

Most Covewalkers are friendly and extroverted, but some turn their expertise to more deceptive ends, stealing faces or even names much like fey do. These are the “trickster” shapeshifters most often encountered in sagas, mischievous at best and villainous at worst.

Covewalkers often make great artisans, sages, wizards, or adventurers, picking up many different skills over their lifetimes. They get along particularly well with the Omenseekers of Bretagard, another Cosmos-faring people eager to discover the unknown.

Life, Death, and Rebirth

Some say living shapeshifters are made of the same stuff as the Cosmos itself, allowing them to walk the realms as easily as breathing. In fact, Kaldheim shapeshifters could be seen as longer-lived, shapechanging relatives of aetherborn, their glowing blue or green cores covered with elaborate wooden masks instead of stone-like skin. Aether permeates Kaldheim just as strongly as it does in Kaladesh, except here it flows freely between the branches of the world-tree, forming the Cosmos.

Unlike many other races of Kaldheim, shapeshifters are not subject to Valkyrie judgement upon their deaths, giving them a greater degree of freedom in how they want to live their lives. If a shapeshifter is particularly outstanding and dies valiantly, though, Valkyries may take notice and offer Starnheim as an option. Many actually turn them down, preferring home over an eternity with people who aren’t their own.

Even after death, shapeshifters retain their adventurous tendencies. They recount their exploits and share knowledge with one another and their descendants, almost like a Starnheim that includes the living. For truly restless spirits who yearn to walk the realms again, there is the option of reincarnation, being reborn out of the Mirrorlake for another life of adventure.

Not every shapeshifter alive today is a reincarnated spirit, but those who are will occasionally get impressions and glimpses from their previous lives. They are often instilled with a relentless drive to forge into the unknown, exploring places they never got to before the last time they died.

[maybedefinitely404]

Not Your Typical 2

Genre: college AU, hurt/comfort

Pairings: romantic Demus, background Logicality, and Prinxiety

Content: autistic characters (Logan and Janus), arguments, panic attack/anxiety, ASL, talk of pretty bad ableist parenting/manipulation.

Song mentioned is Electric Love by BØRNS

Word count: 3.3k

“BABE!”

Janus’ head shot up seconds before Remus barreled into their room, clearly having run there, possibly all the way from his night class. He dropped his load of textbooks onto the floor, hopping from foot to foot.

“You have a backpack for a reason,” Janus sighed affectionately. His boyfriend shuffled the empty bag off his shoulders so it fell to the floor with his school supplies and resumed his hopping.

“Listen to this!” He held up his headphones, clearly holding himself back from just popping them on Janus’ head himself. 

“New song?”

“Just listen!”

Janus snorted but put the offered headphones on, watching as Remus restarted the music from his phone.

It began quietly, a lilting melody that was quickly underlaid with a sharp beat. He raised an eyebrow at Remus; it was catchy, but did not seem like his boyfriend’s type of music. There was a surprising lack of… screaming. Or profanity. Or yodelling . 

He had interesting taste in music. 

But Remus just bounced on his toes, nearly wiggling until an electric guitar riff made Janus jump a bit. It wasn’t necessarily a bad jump, more one of surprise, but he gave a thumbs up anyways to reassure Remus. He closed his eyes as the verse began, relaxing in his chair and shutting his brain off. 

Janus hadn’t even noticed he was tapping his hands on the arms of the chair until he peaked an eye open to see his boyfriend’s excited expression, not unlike a child on Christmas morning. 

 A bit after they’d started officially dating, Remus had accidentally discovered Janus’ once-least-favorite neurodiverse trait in himself; happy stimming. It was overly vulnerable and had gotten him teased too often when he was younger, so he had made a habit of masking the excited movement. It had only taken one date to the animal rehabilitation centre, and an hour long detour in the reptile area, for that barrier to break. But Remus had taken him for the sole reason of showing Janus the snakes, what was he supposed to do?

The first time he’d been totally natural around Remus (due to finding a green tree python, because oh my god Remus look at it!), bouncing and tucking his cheek to his shoulder and flapping his hands, his boyfriend had solemnly taken his hands, leaned far too close, and uttered something along the lines of ‘What the fuck was that and how do I make you do it again?’ Apparently he thought it was cute.

Preposterous. 

And judging by the slow rising in the song’s pitch, that was exactly what Remus was attempting to trigger. Janus could feel a smile forming against his will as the music crescendoed, and with it came a floating sensation. It felt like fire shooting up his spine, or pop rocks in his skull, an addictive rush of joy that filled his body with adrenaline, the best possible butterflies in his stomach. His hands flapped in an effort to release the energy and for now he let them, the grin now making his cheeks hurt.

All at once the beat settled back to it’s verse tempo and Janus pulled the headphones off somewhat sheepishly. 

“Hell. Yes.” Remus whispered, a matching wide smile stretching across his face. He cradled Janus’ face between his palms, as if he were something fragile, and edged forward until their noses booped, “You’re so. Goddamn. Cute.”

“Am not,” Janus forced out between his squished cheeks. It would have been much more convincing if he weren’t fighting off more happy wiggles. 

Remus snorted and pressed a peck to Janus’ lip before whirling on his heels, more or less skipping to the common area.

“Logan, I did it!” He sang grandly. He twirled around the living room with a whoop, startling a laugh out of Janus. Virgil and Roman, who must have been situated on the couch, yelled as Remus splayed across them just out of Janus’ line of vision. 

“Get off us, you oaf-”

“Jesus, Remus!”

“Oh Logaaaaan!” 

Janus leaned against the doorway of their room to watch the scene unfold. Remus finally gave in to the pushing from their roommates and rolled onto the floor with a brilliant thud and a cackle. 

“Get him off my foot!”

“He’s your brother.”

Remus snickered and promptly attached himself to Roman’s leg like a koala, digging his teeth into his shin.

“REMUS!” 

“Yeth?” He asked around his mouthful. Roman freed the leg not being eaten and, with no preamble, delivered a solid kick to his brother’s side. 

“I’ve been shot!” Remus wailed dramatically, rolling onto his back.

“I’m going to need a rabies shot!”

“I see the light-”

“Am I bleeding? Virgil, get the first aid kit!”

“Alas, the world goes dim! What an end, what an end…”

“What if they have to amputate?”

Janus’ hand could no longer muffle his laughter, and his laughing distracted Remus enough to get a dazzling smile from where he was laying half under the coffee table. The diversion seemed to remind him of why he’d come into the living room in the first place.

His face fell into a pout and he shrieked, “LOGAN!”

The door to Logan and Patton’s room flew open and the latter poked his head out with a violent shush. 

“Logan is on the phone!” 

True to his word, Logan was pacing their room behind him, stimming anxiously while he spoke into his phone in a completely neutral voice.

Virgil sat up straighter, earning a concerned look from Roman, who gave up on nursing the bite mark on his sweatpants. However, Remus was oblivious to the sudden tenseness in the air, kicking his feet onto the coffee table.

“Who is he on the phone with?” Virgil asked, slowly getting up from the couch.

Patton shut the door after a quick glance into the room. The rest of the dorm stayed silent until he’d clicked the latch into place, as if all holding their breath. Logan’s voice became just a murmur behind the wall as Patton met Virgil’s eyes nervously.

“It’s his parents,”

“WHY-” Patton shushed Virgil wildly, hands waving up a flurry. The man continued in a hushed tone but with just as much fury, “Why is he talking to his parents?”

Roman jumped up, probably to try and ease an almost-spitting Virgil but only succeeding in stepping on Remus.

“Ow!”

“Then why are you on the floor!?”

Virgil took a step toward Patton. “He hasn’t talked to them in a year-”

“I will eat your whole leg off!”

“I’d like to see you try!”

“Oh? OH!? When you wake up tomorrow with no legs, you’ll regret that!”

“Remus, just get up!”

He froze from where he’d been pushing himself up from the floor, gingerly lowering himself back down and crossing his arms. “Well, now I’m not going to.”

“Why don’t…” Janus faltered as every eye in the room settled on him, fighting his instinct to shut his mouth. They want to hear you, they want to hear you- “Why don’t we like Logan’s parents?”

Virgil and Patton answered at the same time.

“They’re assholes.”

“They’re not great p- language!”

If Janus remembered correctly, Virgil and Logan had known each other far longer than any of the others, though it wasn’t hard to surmise from Virgil’s reactions. He’d never seen him get so worked up. 

“They’re ableist, homophobic pieces of sh-”

“But!” Patton interrupted, “We probably shouldn’t say more without Logan here.”

Virgil grumbled under his breath and dropped back onto the sofa, followed by Roman, who placed an arm around his shoulders. It did nothing to placate his anger, but he did lean marginally into his boyfriend’s side.

“We don’t like them,” Remus said in a falsely bright tone as he squirmed out from where he’d been trapped. “How long does he have to talk to Tweedledee and Tweedledick?”

“Language…”

“What do they want from him?” Virgil demanded. Was it Janus’ imagination, or were his eyes shinier than they’d been a minute before?

“I don’t…” Patton glanced at the closed door, “I’m sure Logan can tell you later. I’ll tell you as soon as he’s ready to talk, okay?”

They were given one more reminder to hush, and then Patton disappeared back into their room. The group fell into silence as soon as he was gone.

Remus broke the lull with a loud knuckle crack and a, “So, American Horror Story, anyone?” 

No one complained, which Remus took as affirmation. Virgil had turned to burrow his face into Roman’s shoulder, which smartly, no one addressed. The opening credits flashed across the scene as Remus scrambled onto the loveseat, patting the spot next to him.

“Snakey, sit.”

Janus shook his hands briefly to dispel his nerves before taking the spot next to his boyfriend, leaning into his side. Every bit of contact that he initiated excited Remus to no end. He swung his arm over Janus’ shoulders and pulled him even closer and then, to Janus’ revolt, began to run his thumb lightly over his hand. 

“Yuck, no, no no no, stop,” Janus squirmed, stilling Remus’ thumb with his other hand, and nestling even further into him. 

“Oh, right. Forgot.”

“No harm done.”

They’d barely gotten through an episode of the show when the door opened behind them. Roman wasted no time shutting the TV off, and the four of them watched with rapt attention as Patton and a slightly disheveled Logan emerged. 

“I hear there was some commotion over the content of my phone call.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely!” Virgil snapped. 

“Your concern is noted but unnecessary,” Logan replied curtly, “My parents called because I was not answering their messages.”

“They’ve been messaging you?!” Virgil hissed, pulling away from Roman’s hold to stand. 

“Do they ever stop?” Logan rolled his eyes and finally released his death grip on his cell phone. He slid it into his back pocket instead. “For some reason they insist I come back home this summer.”

Him and Patton did that bizarre communicate-silently thing they did often, as Logan lifted his arm and his boyfriend attached to his side immediately. Perhaps one day, him and Remus would have that level of intuitiveness that puzzled him so. The thought made his face grow hot. A glance at Remus confirmed he hadn’t noticed, though. 

“You haven’t gone back since first year. Why now?” Roman asked. His twin hummed in agreement.

Logan turned his gaze to the floor, taking a while to answer. “I don’t understand their timing. But they are threatening to withdraw financial assistance towards my schooling if I refuse.”

The room exploded into chaos. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?!”

“That’s not fair, after all they’ve done to you-”

“Would anyone notice if they went missing?”

“Remus-”

“You can’t go back there, Lo…”

“I wasn’t planning to! But now I may not have a choice, Patton.” 

“When do you have to decide?” Roman asked, earning a glare from Virgil.

“It’s not a choice, he can’t go!”

“This is my choice, not yours, Virgil! Either way, the due date is in a week. I’ll have made my decision by then.”

Janus stiffened as the air was pulled from his lungs. “Wait, what due date?”

No one seemed to notice his question, however, as the volume in the room raised another octave. His words were lost to the level of shouting, completely invisible to everyone. He tried to pretend it didn’t hurt as much as it did. 

As easy as it would have been to just fade into the background, as per usual, the unanswered question was burrowing a hole in his chest. Janus tugged on Remus’ sleeve.

“What due date?”

Finally, Remus turned sharp eyes from the conversation to him. The slightly manic glint to them softened as soon as he saw Janus’ panicked expression, and he shifted their hands so their fingers locked. 

“S’when we gotta let the school know if you’re staying on campus for summer break. Didn’t you get the email?”

“What email?!” Janus hissed just as the arguing reached its peak. Logan had pulled himself away from (a decently distraught) Patton and was gripping his own arms with white knuckles. 

“Why do you even care?! I’m fine!” He said through grit teeth.

“You’re clearly not,” Roman retorted. Virgil had pulled up his phone and was scrolling through it with purpose, clearly trying to find something. 

“I’ll figure it out! This doesn’t have to be an event for everyone!”

“That doesn’t mean you’re-”

“Will you just drop it, Roman?!” Logan yelled, voice cracking.

Janus nearly bumped into Remus with the way he flinched. The other’s arm immediately tightened around him, a grounding pressure across his shoulders. 

“I think we’re all tired,” Patton broke the tense air with a pleading tone, “Can we come back to this tomorrow? Please?”

Logan was gone without another word, followed by Patton after a round of strained good-nights. 

---------------------------------------

As clingy a couple as they were, sleeping was a different matter. One time, one time only, they’d tried to cram onto one of their puny twin beds and that had lasted a whole half hour before they decided to never try it again. Janus needed his space if he even wanted a chance at a peaceful sleep, and Remus had the lovely habit of embodying a starfish with a caffeine problem, even when unconscious. How he fit on the tiny dorm beds by himself astounded Janus, what with how he splayed. Janus had gotten two full hits to the face before he’d leaned against the wall and pushed Remus to the floor with his feet. The man hadn’t stirred. 

The next morning Remus had suggested (without thinking) that one day they’d just get a bigger bed, and Janus had turned a bright crimson at the easy way he had discussed their future together. 

Either way, for now, they stayed in their respective beds, but at that moment, Janus was missing the distinctive feeling of being Remus’ teddy bear. His mind was a whirlpool of thoughts, or perhaps a tornado. It was a flurry any which way, one that kept his eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling he couldn’t even see in the dark. Across the small room, he could hear Remus shifting, his breath catching every time he moved, meaning he was probably still awake as well. 

“Remus?”

“Yeah, snakey?” 

Guess he was right, then. Janus rolled towards him, even though he couldn’t make out anything in the pitch black. 

“I can’t sleep.”

There was a chuckle from across the room. “Have you even tried?” It was a valid question; it hadn’t been more than five minutes since they’d turned off the lights.

“I mean, I won’t be able to sleep.” Janus sighed. He gnawed at his fingernails as louder shuffling came from Remus’ bed.

“Why not?”

There were a few things, if he was honest. 

“Does Virgil get mad like that a lot?” Not what he’d meant to lead with, but oh well. 

“Oh,” Remus replied lightly, “He wasn’t mad. He probably sounded real pissed though. He was just worried about Logan. They grew up together and all that shit, so Virgil got like a front row seat of all the shit they did to him. Taping his hands to tables so he didn’t flap ‘em, all that.”

Janus was speechless. 

“Is that all that’s buggin’ ya?”

“Not really.” 

“Spill the tea.”

In a familiar moment of self consciousness, Janus curled his knees into his chest. He wants to hear you, he wants to hear you. The blankets pooled around his waist as he sat up, hoping the position would somehow grant him more courage.

“I started thinking about… what Logan said, and now I don’t know if I want to go home or stay on campus over summer. I didn’t know that was even an option. But it would be so much easier to not have to pack up again, and I’m just getting used to it here, but what if my parents are mad, like Logan��s?”

The fairy lights that encircled their room flickered to life, revealing Remus had stretched to reach the switch from his bed. 

“I didn’t get the email and now I don’t even know if it’s possible for me to stay on campus, what if I missed a due date? It’s my fault, I should have checked every folder and now I don’t know what to do, I…” Janus’ sentence bled into a hum from the back of his throat. The swirling flotsam of thoughts thickened, a swarm of bees being swallowed by their own honey; worries still existing, but now infinitely harder to reach and express. 

“I don’t know what to do- I… I don’t, I can’t think, my brain’s too busy-” He wrapped his fists in his blanket to keep from gripping his hair. All of the sudden, he was a coiled spring and there was nothing he could do to loosen the pressure. He needed a release, he needed to move and to be held still, his chest full of helium but his arms filled with a colony of ants under his skin, every molecule separating and floating away. Janus shoved his fists into the blankets, pushing and pushing and begging for the awful pressure to disappear. 

“Hey hey hey, take a breath, snakey. I’m right here.”

The bed dipped under Remus’ weight and his first reaction was to reach out but no, no the ants were still there, in his hands, and he bent them backwards at the wrist to kill the itch. Curl curl curl, and his fists were jammed against his jaw, pressure push stop stop-

“I’m trying, I am, I just-” He cut himself off with a sob that was more of a cough, drawing in a wheezing breath. Remus must be freaking out, he could tell, and god he wanted to stop but the cycle continued, cough and breathe in and try to squish the fucking ants.

“Do you want me to get Logan? Or Patton?”

No, no, no. Janus shook his head vigorously and pushed his fists under his legs, leaning forward to force his whole weight on the limbs. Yeah, yeah that felt better, more weight, he needed more-

“Pressure,” Janus gasped, interrupting whatever Remus had been saying but finding he couldn’t care less. He removed one hand from the safety he’d found and hit the heel of it to his chest. “I need- I need pressure, weight, I can’t-” Cough. Hum.

“Weighted blanket? Is that it?” The worry in Remus’ voice was so clear it was almost embarrassing, but Janus would never admit how much he adored it; it was a level of softness no one else was privy to. 

“No-” The weighted blanket would have been his go to before, when he was alone, but it was never enough. 

Deep pressure therapy, he remembered Logan calling it. A way to regulate the nervous system when it was going nuts, something about resetting the ‘fight or flight’ reflex. He couldn’t remember the details. But he could remember Logan’s explaining different forms of it.  

“Hug?” Janus pleaded, rocking forward onto his hands once more.

“I- What…- Are you sure?”

Janus let out a broken sound. He nodded quickly, freeing a hand to circle it over his chest, palm flat, over and over. Please. Logically, he knew there was no time pressure, but there was an undeniable feeling of ‘hurry, hurry, hurry’ rushing through him. Fight or flight, maybe.

Remus opened his arms and Janus was scrambling across the gap immediately, curling sideways on his lap. The only thing he could compare it to was dumping sand on a fire as Remus’ arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer to his chest and pressing his nose into Janus’ hair. Remus swayed them back and forth like he was reading Janus’ damn mind, and he finally took a deep breath. All the stress trickled from his tense muscles bit by bit, and the younger could have cried from relief. 

Janus was quickly finding it hard to keep his eyes open as Remus kept rocking them, listening to his heartbeat and following his breathing in the rare quiet of their dorm that had come to feel like home. 

“Feeling better?” Remus whispered.

Janus tensed immediately. “Don’t let go.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

And he didn’t.

Taglist:

@max-is-tired​

@joylessnightsky​

@marshymoop​

[whump-a-la-mode]

A Rather Odd Heist AKA The Trophy Room

Hi! I don’t know what this is and I have (at the time of writing) work in four hours! I had this idea in a daydream and just had to get it down in writing.

I apologize if the formatting is weird. I usually write in the tumblr text editor but this was written in docs.

CW//Threats, talk of injury, talk of disease, poison, death threats, descriptions of pain, restraints, medical emergencies, collars, chains, dehumanization, being kept as a trophy

    The wound felt like disease.

    It was a long slash, started at the front of Hero’s chest, just below the clavicle, and extending to the middle of their shoulder blade. The pain was white hot, tearing through skin and into sensitive flesh below, but more than that, even as the wound was carved, the feeling of infection, of poison, seeping in was overwhelming. 

    They lost the balance from the pain alone, slamming into the worn tile floor of the subway platform with a crack from their cheekbone. 

    Their assailant, on the other hand, landed with far more grace, on their feet. Hibou’s claws, wicked constructions of metal that had clearly recently been to the whetting stone, curled inwards towards their palm. Not far, though. The twelve inch long weapons constricted their movement, not that they minded. The aluminum feathers attached to their rust-painted goggles twitched with amusement.

    “I really thought they’d sent someone with a little more skill in… standing.” They smirked, though it stretched their mouth far too wide, enough to make Hero uncomfortable. “Do they not teach you that at HQ?”

    Hero grumbled out a half-hearted reply that even they were unable to make out. After a moment of catching their breath, they scrambled to their feet; every movement of their shoulder sending a new wave of agony through the marred flesh. 

    They met Hibou’s gaze (or, at least, the black lenses of their goggles), holding it for a long moment. The world around them took a shuddering breath as a weak gust of wind managed to find its way into the abandoned subway tunnel. 

    Through Hero’s mind ran half a dozen half-baked plans. Diversions and threats they could carry out, attacks they could make. None would work, certainly, but it occupied their panic-addled mind until the footsteps sounded behind them.

    They dared not spin around and let Hibou out of their sight, but they were acutely aware of the two pairs of feet, one on either side, approaching to surround them.

    “This one was spying.” Hibou glanced to one of the unseen figures, the one on Hero’s right. “And you know what they thought would be a good hiding spot? You wanna know?”

    “Course we wanna know.” The voice had a snakelike quality to it, hissed out between fangs.

    “The catwalk! The broken down catwalk. You always said that if anyone ever walked up there it’d fall, and guess what! You were right.”

    A barrier of cackling penned Hero in on all sides for a moment. The slash on their shoulder didn’t seem to be bleeding, but the pinpricks of disease refused to stop.

    “So, that begs the question.” Hibou continued. “What are we going to do with them?”

    Hero felt as though a wire was tightened around their neck. In a motion that surprised even themself, they leapt onto the tracks, running along the rusty metal for a moment before attempting to struggle their way out of the other side.

    The cold, scaly hand gripped them before they had any chance to do so. With a horrifying strength, and a bold show of it, the hand threw them up, slamming them onto their back. A clawed hand pressed to their chest, foot-long blades threatening to prick into their skin. Those rusty goggles stared down at them in a way that seemed almost playful.

    It was supposed to be a simple mission, they couldn’t help but recall as they lay there, well-sharpened blades likely only a few inches of flesh away from their rapidly beating heart. 

    Despite their seniority within the Heroes’ Organization, the amount of solo missions they were assigned to was low. Extremely so. Even lower than that of some of the recruits and cadets. Most would have been bothered by the fact-- fearing that their superiors thought them to be worthless or not good enough. That fear didn’t apply to Hero, however.

    No. They knew exactly why they spent most of their days stalking around base, chatting with the medical staff or the engineers.

    After all, healing powers wouldn’t get you very far in a fight.

    Hell, they hadn’t even been supposed to go on this particular spying mission in the first place. Yet, of course, the cadet who was meant to take the simple job had broken their leg in a training accident. 

    It had sounded simple. Almost deceptively so-- as if there should have been something more to the whole thing. But, no. It was exactly as easy as it had been drawn out to be. Sneak into the villains’ temporary base, find out their numbers and exactly what kind of weaponry they possessed, and report back.

    They could have done it in an afternoon. But they just had to have taken the chance with the catwalk. They could have run, they’d had the chance, but…

    They’d been too scared. That was the other reason they were always stuck at base. They were a coward. The mission directors knew it.

    “What, hey, don’t die on me yet. That’d be boring.”

    Hibou’s voice cut through their swirling thoughts. Their eyes focused on the empty goggles looming above them.

    “And I hate when things are boring. So, answer my question.”

    “I- w- wh-”

    “Ugh. I said, what should we do with you?”

    “L- L-”

    “Come on, use your words.”

    “Let me go.” It croaked out of their parched throat like a forced tear. “Please.”

    “Oh, well, since you said please…” They rolled their eyes. “How about this. Let’s put it to a vote. This is a democracy, after all.”

    Next to Hibou’s goggled face appeared two more. One sharp and scaled around the eyes, the other with hair that hung down in wet mats. Akula and Zema. 

    “So, guys, what do you think? What should we do with them?”

    Hero felt to be a rabbit surrounded by cats.

    “Hey, boss?” Zema-- the scaled one-- spoke up. “What’s that on their shoulder?”

    “Hm?” Though their eyes could not be seen, Hero just knew that, in that moment, they lit up. “Oh, that. Now that is a good idea, Zema.”

    “Wh- What did you do to me!” Hero fought to jerk upwards, but was only met with a sharp hand forcing them back down. 

    “Oh, you know…” Hibou raised their other hand, the one not holding their captive down. The claws curled into as close to a fist as they could get. “When you came in to interrupt me and my work, I was just finishing up a special batch of… hm… what would a layman call it. A biopoison, I believe.”

    Hero choked.

    “Oh, you don’t like the sound of that, huh? That’s what you get for interrupting my work.”

    “So… they’re just gonna die?” Akula questioned.

    “Hm? Oh, I mean, without intervention, yes. Not immediately, though I could arrange that.” Ever so slightly, the claws moved towards Hero’s neck. “I guess we should probably just do that.”

    “W- Wait!” Hero gasped. “If it’s going to, uh, if it’s going to kill me anyways, then why not just let me go? It doesn’t matter either way, right?”

    Hibou smiled that horrible, wide smile.

    “You know, the little coward has a point. That’d be a lot more fun. You don’t want to die, though, do you?”

    One of those claws curled beneath Hero’s chin, forcing it upwards with the blunt end. It didn’t cut, but they knew that with any false move, it would.

    “No.” They managed to croak out.

    “So… hm. There’s something you want, and you can only get it from me. And, well, now that I think about it, there might just be something that you have that I want. Now, that sounds like a fair trade, doesn’t it?”

    “What is it? Please, anything. A- anything.”

    “That’s what I’d hoped you’d say. Hero, I think you know exactly what I want.”

    “N- No. I don’t.”

    “Of course you do.” The claw pushed their chin up even further, pressing the back of their head against the tile. “I want my kid back.”

    Hero’s eyes widened. They felt bile rise in their throat.

    “I can’t.”

    “Well, then, you’ll die. Easy as that.”

    “W- Wait-”

    “To me, it sounds like a very fair trade, Hero. We’ve had to spend so long watching our friend suffer… slowly rot away. And now, your friends will have to do the same. It’ll be easier for you, though. Your eyes will melt out of your skull far before the real gross stuff happens.”

    Hero gulped, feeling their throat press far too close to Hibou’s claws.

    “Is there any other way?”

    “Hmm… No. I don’t think so. Here’s my final offer, right now: You bring me my kid back. They’ll know where to find me. Then, I give you the antidote. Either that, or I cut your head off, here and now. I’ll even mail it back to your HQ, just as a little gift.”

    “I-”

    Hero felt their chest shudder. The sweat dripping from their forehead had long since dampened their hair. It was supposed to be a simple mission. Just some recon. Just a simple mission.

    But…

    “Okay. I accept.”

    “Good.”

    The pressure lifted almost immediately, finally allowing Hero to once again breathe. They scrambled to their feet, and were almost halfway out of the abandoned platform when they heard Hibou yell from behind:

    “The rash should start in about twelve hours! Just so you know!”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

    It was the nature of a hunter to keep trophies of those that they had killed.

    Of course, not in the wild. In the wild, animals were simply content to fill their bellies. The only trophy needed of their hunting was the fact that they were still well and alive.

    Humans, however, did not have such a luxury. Survival was not a prize to be shown off. So, other methods had to be found. Trophies had to be taken. 

    Taken and displayed.

    No one questioned the scarf that Hero had wrapped tightly about their neck, despite the fact that it was the dead of summer. They had no time to question it. The other inhabitants of the Headquarters of the Heroes’ Organization had their own duties to complete, and not a second to spare in completing them.

    So, Hero found no difficulty in walking through the front doors, every step they took threatening to aggravate the already agonizing wound on their shoulder. 

    After a few steps, they found themself in the center of the entrance lobby, legs stiffened. Hibou’s words echoed in their mind, sharper than their blades, as their head tipped upwards. Their gaze raised to the trophy room.

    That was what everyone called it, anyways. It wasn’t so much of a room as much as it was a glass cylinder, sticking out from the railing of the upper floor. On first seeing it, cadets often panicked, fearing that it would fall at any moment. It appeared simply that precarious, even though it was, supposedly, practically indestructible. Even the glass itself was rated to withstand nuclear attack.

    There was a reason for that.

    The cylinder was rather large, maybe 20 feet in diameter. However, the vast majority of it was taken up by chains-- four of them, one from each side. Heavy iron things, each link likely too heavy to be lifted on its own. The four chains all converged at one point in the center.

    The trophy.

    Villain wasn’t a particular strong person. They may have been before their capture, but any strength they had had been long since drained away. They weren’t particularly tall, to begin with, but from the angle, they looked miniscule.

    The iron collar around their neck, resting heavily on their shoulders and collarbone, was the center point of the chains. Each hooked onto one side of the collar.

    Villain’s seated position pulled the chains practically completely taut, the weight of iron resting completely and totally on their neck. The pressure would have been less had they stood, but they had stopped doing that a long time ago.

    The grey cotton prisoner uniform had about as much color to it as their face.

    Hero couldn’t say they knew the story of Villain’s capture, nor what had warranted it. The trophy room had been there as long as they had been part of the organization. They supposed it was odd, just how quickly they had gotten used to it. The trophy room and the trophy it held were simply a part of HQ.

    If Villain were to disappear for a second, everyone in the building could and would notice it. 

    Hibou’s kid… Of course, they were truly related. They seemed about the same age. But the fondness with which those horrid villains spoke about their friend…

    Hero shook their head. If they kept acting like this, they’d get dragged to the infirmary with a thermometer shoved in their mouth in an instant. They began forward again, headed towards the staging room.

    They didn’t have any missions scheduled for the day, not that they knew of at least, and they were glad for that. Still, they had their unofficial duty, preparing the other heroes for their missions. 

    The staging room sat behind a pair of steel doors, requiring a retina scan to pass through, which Hero passed easily. The doors slid open as they stepped through, already feeling a dozen pairs of eyes lock to them. 

    Colloquially, the place was often referred to as the locker room, both literally and as a joke. Lockers lined the walls, while benches filled the rest, except for at the very front, where a pair of tables were well stocked with snacks, drinks, and basic medical supplies.

    After a second, most of the heroes looked down, having been satisfied that there was no threat. The only one that kept their head up was Teammate, who quickly waved Hero over. They obliged without thinking, sitting next to them on their bench. 

    “What’s up?” Hero questioned. Teammate didn’t respond for a moment, as they were pulling a sweater off over their head. When they were finished, they replied:

    “Eh, I’m good. What’s with the scarf?”

    “‘Tis called fashion.”

    “Fair enough.”

    “Where are you headed out to?”

    “Patrolling a hospital, they had a threat or something. You?”

    “I don’t do missions.” They did their best to accompany it with a smile.

    “You did yesterday, didn’t you?”

    “Yeah.”

    “How’d that go?’

    “Eh, it was fine. Spying missions are boring.”

    “There’s no lie there. Anyways, um, when I was fighting yesterday I kinda got this cut-”

    “Where?”

    “Right here, on my leg.”

    Teammate leaned down, rolling up one of their pant legs to knee height. Sure enough, across their shin, a wicked scar carved its red mark. Hero hardly thought about it as they placed a hand on the wound.

    A green glow emanated from their palm, flowing and wrapping around the injured leg. The wound’s ragged edges solidified with scar tissue, before knitting themselves together.

    It was so simple. A grievous wound, dealt with in an instant.

    Of course, that was all they could do. Healing powers weren’t magic, not really. They couldn’t bring back the dead. They could only accelerate what the body already had the ability to do. A cold? Gone in a second? A biopoison?

    Well, they couldn’t bring back the dead.

    The wound finished its knitting, and Hero withdrew their hand. Teammate offered a quick smile, speaking:

    “Thanks so much, see ya’ later!”

    Before running off. Off on a mission. Off doing something important.

    Something good.

    Hero slumped forward on the bench, feeling a horrible exhaustion overtake them. When the call for their help came, they weren’t exactly surprised. It was quick, short, simply:

    “Is Hero here? I need Hero.”

    They raised their head, expecting to see a cadet who had hit their arm or something.

    Instead, standing halfway in the doorway, face a mask of panic, stood a person in a lab coat. They clutched themself, arms around their chest, trembling visible from halfway across the room. They met Hero’s gaze.

    “Come on, come on. Quickly, please.”

    There was nothing in their voice but panic. Even urgence was drowned out by sheer fear. Hero was on their feet in an instant, on the heels of the doctor who was moving at the same speed. They ran, together, all the way to the medical wing, on the other side of the floor.

    From there, they moved along a small catwalk, leading to-

    Hero didn’t even look up to realize the destination until they were already there.

    The only access to the trophy room was a small, horribly narrow catwalk. A horde of doctors was already flooding it, but they moved out of Hero’s way without question. The first doctor stopped in front of the door to the glass cylinder, which was sealed with just about every type of lock known to man.

    “They’re unresponsive.” The explanation was quick, curt. “Do you know how to put on a hazmat suit?”

    “What?”

    “Do you know how to put on a hazmat suit?”

    “I-”

    “Here, here, I-”

    “Why do I need a hazmat suit!”

    “It’s not safe in there, you can’t go in without one.”

    Hero’s gaze darted to the interior of the cylinder. Half of the chain had gone taut, while the other two were slack, on account of the fact that Villain had slumped over, all their weight supported only by the collar around their neck. In the little visible skin that the collar revealed, horrible red marks could be gleaned.

    “They look like they’re dead.” They whispered in horror. “Why do I need a hazmat suit?”

    “Their powers, they’ll hurt you.”

    “Even when they’re unconscious?”

    “Well, no, but-”

    Hero’s hands latched onto one of the padlocks, straining against it, trying to pull the metal apart. It did nothing, of course. They didn’t have superstrength. But it simply felt like the right thing to do.

    Eventually, someone handed them a key, then another, and another after that, until every lock on the door was opened. They swung it open, leaping inside, heart in their ears. Every panicked beat sent a new shock of diseased pain through their shoulder.

    Ducking and stepping over chains, they maneuvered until they were at Villain’s side. Their first thought was to check for a pulse-- it was weak, but there.

    They gritted their teeth.

    Hero was going to save Hibou’s kid, and by god, neither of them were going to die.