#fox hunting season has begun

[corffee]

when I say THE TENSION-

[boooklover]

The Banned and the Banished #1: Wit'ch Fire, James Clemens

3,5/5

From a brilliant new voice in fantasy comes a band of heroes, a world in peril, and an unforgettable heroine whose unexpected gift of magic awakens an ancient, slumbering evil.

On a fateful night five centuries ago, three made a desperate last stand, sacrificing everything to preserve the only hope of goodness in the beautiful, doomed land of Alasea. Now, on the anniversary of that ominous night, a girl-child ripens into the heritage of lost power. But before she can even comprehend her terrible new gift, the Dark Lord dispatches his winged monsters to capture her and bring him the embryonic magic she embodies.

Fleeing the minions of darkness, Elena is swept toward certain doom-and into the company of unexpected allies. Aided by a one-armed warrior and a strange seer, she forms a band of the hunted and the cursed, the outcasts and the outlaws, to battle the unstoppable forces of evil and rescue a once-glorious empire.

The Wheel of Time #13: Towers of Midnight, Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

5/5

The Last Battle has started. The seals on the Dark One’s prison are crumbling. The Pattern itself is unraveling, and the armies of the Shadow have begun to boil out of the Blight.

The sun has begun to set upon the Third Age.

Perrin Aybara is now hunted by specters from his past: Whitecloaks, a slayer of wolves, and the responsibilities of leadership. All the while, an unseen foe is slowly pulling a noose tight around his neck. To prevail, he must seek answers in Tel’aran’rhiod and find a way--at long last--to master the wolf within him or lose himself to it forever

Meanwhile, Matrim Cauthon prepares for the most difficult challenge of his life. The creatures beyond the stone gateways--the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn--have confused him, taunted him, and left him hanged, his memory stuffed with bits and pieces of other men’s lives. He had hoped that his last confrontation with them would be the end of it, but the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. The time is coming when he will again have to dance with the Snakes and the Foxes, playing a game that cannot be won. The Tower of Ghenjei awaits, and its secrets will reveal the fate of a friend long lost.

Caraval #1: Caraval, Stephanie Garber

4/5

A legendary competition.

A mesmerizing romance.

An unbreakable bondbetween two sisters.

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away. 

The Space Trilogy, Arthur C. Clarke

4/5

Islands in the Sky, first published in 1954, sees Roy Malcolm win a trip to the Inner Station, a space station rotating 500 miles from Earth.

The Sands of Mars, set in the 21st century, has a group of pioneers struggling to change the face of this inhospitable planet.

Earthlight is set in a human colony on the moon.

This omnibus edition of Arthur C. Clarke's early novels shows the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey exploring space and time in adventurous and thoughtful ways. Although the course of recent history has been different, these novels offer a glimpse of what-might-have-been, as envisioned nearly 50 years ago by the greatest sci-fi writer of them all.

Lore Olympus Volume Two, Rachel Smythe

Witness what the gods do after dark in the second volume of a stylish and contemporary reimagining of one of the best-known stories in Greek mythology from creator Rachel Smythe.

Persephone was ready to start a new life when she left the mortal realm for Olympus. However, she quickly discovered the dark side of her glamorous new home—from the relatively minor gossip threatening her reputation to a realm-shattering violation of her safety by the conceited Apollo—and she’s struggling to find her footing in the fast-moving realm of the gods. Hades is also off-balance, fighting against his burgeoning feelings for the young goddess of spring while maintaining his lonely rule of the Underworld. As the pair are drawn ever closer, they must untangle the twisted webs of their past and present to build toward a new future.

Covenant of Steel #1: The Pariah

4/5

Born into the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path - one of blood and vengeance, which eventually leads him to a soldier's life in the king's army.

Fighting under the command of Lady Evadine Courlain, a noblewoman beset by visions of a demonic apocalypse, Alwyn must survive war and the deadly intrigues of the nobility if he hopes to claim his vengeance. But as dark forces, both human and arcane, gather to oppose Evadine's rise, Alwyn faces a choice: can he be a warrior, or will he always be an outlaw?

New Spring, Robert Jordan

4,5/5

The city of Canluum lies close to the scarred and desolate wastes of the Blight, a walled haven from the dangers away to the north, and a refuge from the ill works of those who serve the Dark One. Or so it is said. The city that greets Al'Lan Mandragoran, exiled king of Malkier and the finest swordsman of his generation, is instead one that is rife with rumour and the whisperings of Shadowspawn. Proof, should he have required it, that the Dark One grows powerful once more and that his minions are at work throughout the lands.

And yet it is within Canluum's walls that Lan will meet a woman who will shape his destiny. Moiraine is a young and powerful Aes Sedai who has journeyed to the city in search of a bondsman. She requires aid in a desperate quest to prove the truth of a vague and largely discredited prophecy - one that speaks of a means to turn back the shadow, and of a child who may be the dragon reborn

The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides

4,5/5

licia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....

Dune #5: Heretics of Dune, Frank Herbert

4/5

Leto Atreides, the God Emperor of Dune, is dead. In the fifteen hundred years since his passing, the Empire has fallen into ruin. The great Scattering saw millions abandon the crumbling civilization and spread out beyond the reaches of known space. The planet Arrakis-now called Rakis-has reverted to its desert climate, and its great sandworms are dying.

Now, the Lost Ones are returning home in pursuit of power. And as factions vie for control over the remnants of the Empire, a girl named Sheeana rises to prominence in the wastelands of Rakis, sending religious fervor throughout the galaxy. For she possesses the abilities of the Fremen sandriders-fulfilling a prophecy foretold by the late God Emperor…

[soc-characters-as-songs]

ocs as songs pete wentz wrote about the summer of 2005 ? https://open.spotify.com/playlist/66KPAekQd0PbVf8zM3ZKQB?si=KZaiWdkCSD-6Hp3T4RTeYA

for reference, this playlist is called "petekey"

ivy: the kids aren't alright ("and it's our time now if you want it to be/maul the world like a carnival bear set free/and your love is anemic and I can't believe/that you couldn't see it coming from me/and I still feel that rush in my veins/it twists my head just a bit to think/all the people in those old photographs I've seen are dead/and in the end/I'd do it all again/I think you're my best friend/don't you know that the kids aren't al-, kids aren't alright")

meredith: young volcanoes ("c'mon, make it easy, say I never mattered/run it up the flag pole/we will teach you how to make boys next door/out of assholes (hahaha!)/tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds/it's all over now/before it has begun/we've already won")

diana: the take over, the breaks over ("baby, seasons change but people don't/and I'll always be waiting in the back room/I'm boring but overcompensate with/headlines and flash, flash, flash photography/but don't pretend you ever forgot about me/don't pretend you ever forgot about me/wouldn't you rather be a widow than a divorcee?/style your wake for fashion magazines/widow or a divorcee?/don't pretend it, don't pretend")

alassie: I don't care ("on the oracle in my chest,/let the guitar scream like a fascist/sweat it out, shut your mouth/free love on the streets but/in the alley it ain't that cheap, now/I don't care what you think/as long as it's about me/the best of us can find happiness in misery")

ramona: heaven's gate ("I got dreams of my own/but I want to make yours come true/so please come through/honey please, please come through/go, go out in the world, start over again and again/as many times as you can/and in the end, if I don't make it on the list/would you sneak me a wristband?")

rhea: the carpal tunnel of love ("we keep the beat with your blistered feet/and we bullet the words at the mockingbirds singing/slept through the weekend and dreaming/of sinking with the melody of the cliffs of eternity/got postcards from my former selves saying how've you been/we might've said goodbyes just a little soon/(stomp out this disaster town)/robbing lips and kissing banks under this moon/whoa/we're so miserable and stunning")

cornelia: miss missing you ("I will sing to you everyday, if it will take away the pain/oh, and I heard you've got it, got it so bad/'cause I am the best you'll ever have/baby you were my picket fence/I miss missing you, now and then/chlorine kissed, summer skin/I miss missing you, now and then/sometimes before it gets better/the darkness gets bigger/the person that you'd take a bullet for, is behind the trigger")

kaden: where did the party go ("I'm here to collect your hearts,/it's the only reason that I sing/I don't believe a word you say,/but I can't stop listening/this is the story of how they met,/her picture was on the back of a pack of cigarettes,/and when she touched him he turned ruby red/a story that they'll never forget")

andreia: the calendar ("don't wanna call it a second chance/but when I came back, it was more of a relapse/anticipation's on the other line/an obsession called while you were out/yeah, it called while you were out/put another 'x' on the calendar/summer's on it's deathbed/there is simply nothing worse than knowing how it ends/and I meant everything I said that night/I will come back to life/but only for you")

suzy: fourth of july ("you and I were/you and I were fire, fire, fireworks/I said I'd never miss you, but I guess you'll never know/where the bridges I have burned never really led home/on the fourth of july/my 9 to 5 is cutting open old scars/again and again 'til I'm stuck in your head/head my downward spiral, never mind I'll be drowned/and I'm the holy water you have been without")

samuel: always ("when the world gets too heavy, put it on my back/I will be your levy/you are taking me apart, like bad glue/on a get well card")

bianca: 27 ("are all the good times getting gone?/they come and go and come and go and come and go/I've got a lot of friends who are stars/but some are just black holes/my mind is a safe/and if I keep it then we all get rich")

archibald: I'm like a lawyer with the way I'm always trying to get you off (me & you) ("collect the bad habits that you couldn't bear to keep/out of the woods, but I love/a tree I used to lay beneath/kid's teeth stained red/from a sour bottle, baby girl/with eyes the size of baby worlds/we're the new face of failure/prettier and younger, but not any better off/bulletproof loneliness at best, at best")

raphael: immortals ("sometimes the only payoff for having any faith/is when it’s tested again and again every day/I’m still comparing your past to my future/it might be your wound, but they’re my sutures")

[ultraheydudemestuff]

Waterloo Wildlife Area

OH-356

Nelsonville, OH 45764

The rugged, heavily forested Waterloo Wildlife Research Station is a 2,937-acre Ohio state wildlife area located in western Waterloo Township, Athens County, Ohio, 10 miles west of Athens at the junction of State Routes 56 and 356. Before 1940, portions of the area were cultivated and grazed. The woods were selectively cut prior to the state’s first purchase of land. Purchase for the area was begun in 1944. The area was greatly expanded in 2005 when 945 acres were added. It was originally named the Waterloo Wildlife Experiment Station. Research was done there over a period of years, until recently. The area is surrounded on three sides by the Zaleski State Forest, and Ohio State Route 356, and Ohio State Route 56 forms the border for the fourth (east) side. The entrance to the wildlife area is off Route 356 immediately south of its junction with Route 56. The wildlife area is drained by Hewett Fork, a principal tributary to Raccoon Creek. A walk-in wild turkey management area of more than 5,000 acres is located partly in this wildlife area, and partly in the adjacent state forest. This facility has an extensive system of short hiking trails, largely based on old fire roads. However, these are no longer actively maintained. The principal building of the site is now the Waterloo Aquatic Education Center, operated by the Raccoon Creek Water-Trail Association.

Although this wildlife area is essentially a forested area, scattered small openings occur on the ridgetops. Larger reverting fields occur along Hewett Fork, which parallels the eastern edge of the wildlife area. Major forest types include oak-hickory on the ridge tops and slopes, with lesser amounts of beech-maple in ravine bottoms. Important forest subtypes include scarlet oak, chestnut oak, white oak-red oak-hickory, white oak, yellow poplar-white oak-red oak, maple, and sassafras-persimmon. Management of this unit is designed to meet these requirements by providing a minimum of 60 percent trees of mast producing size and limited access. The wildlife area has been used for squirrel research. Findings from these studies have served as a partial basis for recommending the time and length of the squirrel hunting season in Ohio.

Abundant native game species include the gray squirrel, wild turkey, and white-tailed deer. Lesser numbers of fox squirrel and ruffed grouse are found on the area. Cottontail rabbits occur in small numbers in the reverting fields. All of the furbearers common to southeastern Ohio are found on the area. Approximately 80 species of birds can be seen or heard on the area in a year’s time. Included are cedar waxwing, white-eyed vireo, red-eyed vireo, blue-winged warbler, prairie warbler, yellow warbler, hooded warbler, indigo bunting, Northern mockingbird, wood thrush, Acadian flycatcher, mourning dove, and red-tailed hawk.

Squirrels are the most popular game species on the area. Hunting of ruffed grouse, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, cottontail rabbit, and raccoon is also popular. Muskrat, mink, and fox trapping may also be pursued. Hook-and-line fishing for bluegills, largemouth bass, redear sunfish, crappies, and bullheads may be enjoyed in the three ponds. Rock outcrops are in the Pennsylvania system of the Conemaugh and Allegheny series. Massive outcrops of Lower Freeport sandstone can be seen at the east end of the area. Public facilities include three miles of gravel roads, 35 walking trails, and widely distributed parking areas. Waterloo Wildlife Area also features designated access roads for Electric Powered All Purpose Vehicle (EPAPV)/Motor Vehicle Use Permit holders. The permit allows use of an EPAPV with a 30 horsepower and/or use of a motor vehicle on designated access roads on specific state wildlife areas for mobility impaired persons.

[flying-nightwing]

Dark Fox (2/7)

Wow twice in a day, I’m on fire uh. So this one is quite short, but I had to lay the ground for what’s to come. Also we get to know our character’s relations a bit better so yeah. Enjoy!

Previous - Next 

Pairing: Jason Todd x League!Reader

Word count: 2559

Warnings: same as last one

You always sat up straight.

With your legs folded under you and your back in a perfect line, you tended to the small fire and the teapot over it. Jason was observing you, his ever present scowl still judging you. He sat with his legs crossed in front of him, slouching. You had decided you wouldn't waste time in correcting his posture, because you doubted he would ever apply this in his lifetime. 

With a cloth, you removed the teapot from the heat and carefully poured it in the two cups in front of you. It had been hard to even get him to the tea part, only when fall had gotten colder he had begrudgingly agreed to drink the hot beverage with you. He was still shaking from being in the rain so long without any form of waterproof suit. You handed him his cup, catching the very subtle thank you nod sent in your direction. 

You didn't comment on it, although you were surprised he even did thank you. Gratitude wasn't part of Jason's range of emotion, not since he got out of the pit anyway. You sipped your tea in silence, with only the sound of the rain crashing down on the trees around you. That until…

"How old are you?"

You raised an eyebrow at the question, both surprised by the fact that he talked to you and the content itself of the question. 

"Age is just a milestone of the physical body. It does not matter" You answered and he frowned in frustration. You sighed, figuring out you could entertain this one question, if it could make him less disagreeable. 

"But if you must know, I was born twenty one years ago"

His eyes widened, then annoyance settled in. 

"So they sent a kid to teach me?" He scoffed. "You're barely older than me"

"Yet I've been training with the league for 13 years" You replied sternly. You did not like the challenge. "Age is meaningless. Experience makes what you are"

Jason did not expect that. If you had been training with the league for 13 years… It meant you had begun at 8. His scowl disappeared for an instant as he realized he could respect your experience. But nothing more. 

You thought he was done with the question, but apparently that first opened the door. His curiosity about you had been stirred, as he didn't understand how an eight years old ended up in the league. He had had this idea that people seeking the league were trying to run from a problem, and by putting the mask on, they asked Ra's Al Ghul to make it disappear in exchange of their lives and soul. They were cowards, in his eyes. But an eight years old didn't have that kind of problem yet. But he wouldn't ask that straight away, because he couldn't gauge your reaction to the question. He could gauge anything about you.

"Did the league teach you survival skills?" He asked instead, pointing at the hut. You had built the shelter, you took care of the fire, you hunted for food and prepared it. Jason wasn't helpless either, but he wouldn't have been able to do it that efficiently. 

"No" You replied simply. "I had to teach myself. The League merely released us in different environments, sometimes for months, and we had to find a way to survive"

Arabian desert, russian tundra in winter, chinese forests in rainy season, you had done it all. 

"And what if you couldn't?" He asked the question he already knew the answer to.

"You died" You shrugged as you poured the rest of the tea equally in both cups. "Many did, actually. The League seeks the strongest amongst us. This exercise had the double purpose of giving us useful skills and weed out the weak"

"That's fucked up" 

You didn't answer that. You only watched as he drank the rest of his tea and retired to the rope hammock suspended a few feet further. You didn't go to sleep right away, staying by the fire and staring at the weak flames, thinking.

----

You had to give it to Talia, she knew how to pick her meeting spots. The museum was grandiose, and conveniently, closed for private business; that business being yours and Talia’s. But then again, it was an unnecessary luxury. You nodded at the guard that opened the door for you and made your way inside, your footsteps echoing on the marble floor. You were more than aware of the league members hidden in the corners, moving out of your vision field as you walked forward. Talia was probably already made aware of your arrival, which is why you didn’t bother announcing your presence when you finally found her in front of painting. She was looking at the huge frame when you halted beside her.

“I heard what happened yesterday” 

You glanced at her. Her eyes were still on the picture in front of her.

“Everything’s been taken care of” You said, dodging the implication of her words. “The order was fulfilled despite the interruption”

She remained silent, her breath even. She looked down, then up at the painting again, then at you. “I’m not talking about my father’s task for you” 

She would know, obviously. She knew you inside out, and she knew Jason as well. She was aware of your dynamic, how you worked. It didn’t come as a surprise that somehow she found out of his second visit to you. Now it was a matter of time before she asked the question.

“Did he ask you again?”

There it was. 

“Yes” You nodded, casting your glance forward. “I told him I couldn’t”

You felt her stare turn sad. Talia loved you like a younger sister, one that she chose and that she could love. She was a teenager when you had been taken in by the League, and instantly she had known she would protect you. She understood why you refused Jason again, because you were as attached as her as she was to you. But there was something in between her two protégés that she couldn’t ignore either, a bond forged with time and patience and shared pain that resulted in a devotion to the other she had rarely seen. But you were holding back, and she knew all too well why.

She reached in her bag and handed you a folder, which you took carefully. 

“This is what I could find about the project from my contacts” She explained. “I can’t do more I’m afraid, the League cannot be found to be involved”

You opened the folder to see photographs and files of people; lab techs and businessmen alike. Job descriptions, previous experiences, ties to each other. And finally, at the bottom, a blueprint of a LexCorps prototype, a small biotech machine you doubted would be used for good reasons. But nevertheless, it finally gave traction to your chase. You could work with that, you only needed to track it to… 

“Gotham” You muttered as you read where the prototype was stored. 

“You’ll need help for this” She added, and you knew who she was referencing to, specifically. You took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m serious, you can’t do this alone. He has enough resources to help you, and he will. You know he will”

“Yeah” You agreed, your voice suddenly distant. You had never thought you’d have to involve Jason in your quest, he had enough on his shoulders. But at the same time, who else could you ever trust with it? 

“But?” She could always call out your reluctance.

“But I’m afraid that if I go…” You trailed off, meeting her eyes once again. “I won’t want to come back”

She smiled warmly at you. You were afraid to break your loyalty to her, to let her down. You were afraid of what you would find there.

“Then if the path you take leads you away, it will be what’s meant to be” She reassured with a hand on your shoulder. “Don’t worry about this. I’ll take care of it if it comes to that”

You returned her smile. “Thank you, Talia” You bowed you head slightly. “For everything”

With that, you turned around and left. Talia returned to her observation of the painting, sighing.

------

The clearing was still. There was no wind, no cloud, no wildlife running around. Only the sound of metal clashing under the first ray of sun of the day, and the grunts of effort coming from Jason. He was focused, more than usual. You had more trouble catching him off guard and forcing him on the defensive, or even finding an opening to sweep his feet. You saw he was struggling to restrain his anger, which was honestly an improvement. It wasn’t perfect, he had still a lot to learn about controlling the inhumane force he had been given. But it wasn’t pathetic, and you wondered what made him change idea about your methods.

You had also stopped wearing your mask when you trained, in an attempt to make an effort to meet him in the middle. It had always bothered him, angered him even more. Ra’s never let him men remove their mask when you began training, saying it would make the whole thing personal if they did. Attachment was never good as a member of the League, but you weren’t there right now. He wasn’t training for Ra’s, but to control himself. And you understood soon enough he’d never let you teach him if you kept fueling his anger for nothing. 

But he was getting frustrated again at your strategy. You went from occasionally attacking to a passive defense, knowing it would rile him up. You still knew how to push his buttons, and you would do it all over again until  the day he understood. His jaw clenched and unclenched, his nostrils flared up as he picked up the pace.

It wasn’t the day. 

In his haste to beat you, his restraint evaporated, leaving his movements once again sloppy and uncalculated. It wasn’t hard to knock the sword out of his hand, sending it flying backward. But he didn’t stop, he only grabbed yours by the blade and threw it aside as well. Before you knew it, his fist collided with your cheek. You blinked as your body registered the pain, wiping the wetness dripping down your nose. It was bright red on your glove. Your eyes trailed up his tense form to settle on his face, then his eyes. Your fingers flexed in restraint against engaging in close combat with him, even though you wished nothing more than to beat his attitude down. But you wouldn’t win this one. So you waited for the explosion that would come, and come it did.

In a flash, you jumped back to avoid his hook punch, then his uppercut. You rolled to avoid his kick, but you didn’t see his hand coming up to grab your throat and slam you back into a tree trunk. His hand was tight on your throat, but his rage blinded him to the knife you drew out from your belt. In a quick motion, you slashed his forearm. He retracted it, and released your throat at the same time. You jumped out of the way and stopped out of his range in a guarded position. You saw the defiance in his eyes, as well as the satisfaction.

“Next time you pull that shit, the blade goes through” You warned, sheathing your blade in your belt once again.

“Are you angry?” He taunted, and you realized what he was doing. You were pissed and he knew it. Well, he’d get what he ask for. 

You crouched and picked both swords that had been discarded, then threw one at him. “I showed you what restraint looked like. Lesson over” You wiped the blood from your face once again, carefully watching his reaction. “Now you get to learn what’s channeled anger” 

Whatever he expected, it hadn’t prepared him for the beating he was about to receive. 

------

Jason didn’t need Batman.

Or Dick, or anyone for that matter. His ego had won the best of him when Bruce admitted he needed his help on the sting operation he was building, so he agreed. Of course, that meant his adoptive father would have to respect his terms, since he asked for him first. But the matter was so important, such a priority to neutralize that it didn’t matter to the Bat. Red Hood could go awol when the time came, as long as he didn’t make an attention attractive mess before they could get to the final phase of their master plan. It didn’t please Bruce that was for sure, but they were already short handed and it was a miracle Jason even agreed to work again with his adoptive family.

Still, it didn’t change the fact that he would get back into his old habits and gleefully jump from rooftop to rooftop like a happy family. He was still hell bent on working solo, and no truce would come mess that up. So that’s how he ended up all alone with his own ego on a recon mission to LexCorps. A partner would have only been in his way, slowing him down and pissing him off. He had his own way of doing things and he liked it like that.

But Jason being Jason, he often acted before thinking, which never paired well in delicate operations like this one. He was getting intel on a project lead by one of the most paranoid control freak with a knack for sparing no expenses to make sure punks like him didn’t get their hands on his stuff.

But he was proud of himself this time. He had sneaked in like a master spy and bypassed all the security like a goddamn pro to get to the lab. Although, he hadn’t expected it to find it very much occupied by more than forty lab techs and a shit ton of armed guards. There was supposed to be no one but the regular night shift and this one harmless tech, said the intel. 

Well, the intel was dead wrong apparently. 

He crouched, still in the shadows of the second floor. He watched through the rail the buzzing of the staff around what he recognized to be the very thing the whole operation was put in place to stop. He noticed with half frustration and half horror that it seemed very functional, again, to contradict the documents that said it was still in developing phase. Which meant, he and his jolly bunch of vigilante were on the clock. 

“Fuck” He muttered to himself. “Fuck fuck fuck--”

He felt the barrel of a gun being pressed to the back of his neck, interrupting his string of curse. 

“Don’t move”

He could take him, he knew. He would just have to be quicker and… Ah, fuck. A spotlight was pointed his way, quite literally, as everyone in the lab turned toward him with gasps. Shortly after, three red dots appeared on his chest, and he had no idea where they came from. 

Because he was fucking blinded.

And surrounded apparently, as he heard boots running toward him. 

“We got him, boss”

Great. Just great.

[babbushka]

Maybe medieval kylo always hating the winter, particuarly the snow, because once he left the kingdom it was harder for him to go about his rugged life but his queen loves it and tries to convice him how lovely the weather is! Pls and thank thee xxx

You’re standing on the edge of the castle hall, looking out into the great expanse of pillowy white, when Kylo turns to you with a frown.

“Must we?” He asks, and you smile softly at him, giving his hand a squeeze.

Earlier that morning you had suggested a romp in the freshly fallen snow, for winter was a most joyous time that gave reprieve from the brutal summers of the kingdom. This was the first snow of the season, and you had all but immediately sprung out of bed and donned your red velvet kirtle, the one lined with fur from the elusive snow fox, imported directly and specially just for you.

Kylo had nearly dragged his feet getting himself clothed and ready for the day, crown freshly polished and placed atop his head with care, placing yours ever so gently on too. He had taken so long in fact, that he had managed to stretch the time all the way until your stomach was rumbling, when he eagerly suggested breakfast.

But breakfast had been eaten, and the great hall had been cleared out, and the two of you were standing side by side, overlooking the fields which were once bright spring green, then had faded to brown straw, and which were now coated in a thick blanket of snow. 

And still, Kylo hesitated.

“Yes, I command it.” You say, a teasing twinkle in your eye which fades when his frown does not go away. “What’s wrong my love?”

“It’s just.” He begins, and stops. Shifts his feet, adjusts his grip on your hand as he tries not to sour your mood with his own, “I have naught but poor memories of winters so harsh as this. The terrain is dangerous and the conditions lethal, for a man and his horse who have no home.”

You hum in understanding, eyes sad and downward cast. Things were so good, so so so good for the both of you since the events of last year. But that did not erase all of the bad that had happened for so many years prior, so many years of Kylo on the move, on the hunt under the hand of a man who sought nothing but power through him.

Well, you think, moving to stand in front of him, stepping off the stone floor and onto instead the hard crunch of snow, he shall not have bad happen to him again, not while you’re here. 

He looks at you concerned when you sink an inch or two or three into the snow, but you pay it no mind.

“Listen when I speak these words: my darling you are a nomad no longer. Never again will you need to worry about the white which falls and sticks to the ground, for you have this castle and this kingdom – and this woman as your wife.” You search his gaze, those brown eyes filled with such a heat that it’s a wonder winter came at all, pouring all his love into yours.  

“I am afraid it is easier to be said than to be done.” He whispers, but he takes a step forward to meet you in the snow, and you smile just the smallest bit when he sinks an inch as well.

“May I have one chance to show you the wonders of winter?” You plead, not overly pushy, but wanting to at the very least make your offer known, “Just one chance, one day, to attempt to shed light upon the greater joys of snow?”

Kylo sighs, entirely too dramatically, and you know you’ve won, for he is walking now, tugging you along by the hand, out into the field where the castle children have already begun to laugh and play.

“You are insufferably sweet sometimes – do you know this?” Kylo asks you as you loop your arm around his in the fashion which you have adopted as being the only true way to walk with your husband.

“I do, but tell me anyway.” You tease, cheeky and adoring, as you rest your head on his shoulder, the two of you making your way through the snow.

“You’re awful, terrible. Cunning and charming are a treacherous mix, and my queen, you are a fatal balance of both.” He laughs to himself, just a quiet chuckle that has your love blooming in your chest, especially when he tugs on your hair playfully and says all too quietly, “No wonder you and winter get along so well.”

“You speak as though there is personal vendettas against you from Father Frost himself!” You can’t help but laugh at the way he hates the season so.

“How do I know there isn’t?” Kylo counters, bending down to scoop up some snow between his gloved fingers.

“Because,” You drawl, letting him pick up some more of the snow, letting him feed it to you, letting the cold melt on your tongue as you suck on the fingers he stuffs in your mouth, “My liege, you have survived every winter you have come across. Surely that must mean something. The cold has yet to claim you, and with this fortress and my love you shall never succumb to its clutches.”

He sighs, and nods, and suddenly you are running away from him, your velvet cape billowing behind you. You unclasp it from your shoulders and Kylo scrambles to chase you and catch it so that it might not touch the frozen earth, worried that it would chill you to the bone – until you flop down onto the snow yourself, arms and legs spread wide, waving back and forth like you’re some great fallen bird.

The children see you, and they laugh and come running, all of them falling as well, mimicking the movements of their queen whom they adore so dearly.

“What are you doing?” Kylo asks, when he catches up to the small display of you and your subjects, all grinning like loons from ear to ear.

“We are making ourselves angels of snow!” You explain, hoping that such a vision would bring some joy to his face. You stand after a moment more, and point to the print left in the snow from where your body has disturbed it, “Look, look how it appears as though these are my wings.”

“That is very clever.” Kylo admits, smiling against his better judgement.

But how could he not, when the children are rushing to stand too, helping you brush the snow off of your kirtle?

“Would you like to try?” You ask, holding one of his large hands in both of your own.

“No, my dear please, you’ll grow chilled.” He deflects, to a great big sound of complaint from the children.

“It is a good thing my handsome husband runs hot, then, is it not?” You ask, biting your lip.

“(Y/N).” Is all the Kylo says, undeterred by your soft eyes and beautiful charm, eyes which grow sharp when you decide to not push your luck.

“Fine yes yes yes, alright.” Yousay, before gasping and pointing just beyond the horizon, “What’s that – over there!”

Kylo whips around, and has his sword drawn immediately, searching for the threat which has startled you so. But he grows confused for he cannot see anything, there is no one charging towards you, no one which should –

And then he feels the thump of cold on his back, and lets his shoulders sag slightly, sheathing the sword back in its place, and turning around to complain, only to have another soft thump of cold hit his chest.

You and the children have balled up small projectiles of the snow, and are lobbing with poor aim at his body. He finds that he isn’t angry, how could he be? No, he is – for the first time – feeling rather playful in the snow himself.

“(Y/N)!” He exclaims when another ball of snow hits him square in the face, sending the children all giggling and hiding behind your legs, especially when he begins to scoop up the largest ball of snow you’d ever seen and stalks menacingly forward with, “You’re truly going to get it now.”

“Kylo!” You shout and laugh, laughter ringing high up in the air as you run away from him as his very own projectiles, ones which could never be so big if crafted from your own hands, “Wait Kylo that’s no fair!”

“Children, help your king!” Kylo asks playfully, and you gasp in mock surprise when a few of the castle children rush to his aid, and an all-out battle begins.

It is through winning this battle, through having the snow and the ice melt on your bodies as you run round and round one another in the great white field, that Kylo begins to understand why winter is your favorite. With the joy that games like this can bring, and the safety of the castle walls surrounding you, he finds it easy to relax the tension in his back, his shoulders, finds it even easier to pull you into his arms and kiss you before the whole of the kingdom, kiss you like you’d never been kissed before…

Before you dump snow down the back of his tunic and he’s off chasing you once again.

[sagehaleyofficial]

HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (10.2-10.8.19):

NEW MUSIC:

·         Pop star Carly Rae Jepsen went alternative with her new cover of the classic ska track “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt. The cover was part of the artists Spotify Singles series, where she also re-recorded her song “Want You in My Room.”

·         Speaking to Radio.com, Pete Wentz revealed how Fall Out Boy was inspired by OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” while writing their newest song, “Dear Future Self (Hands Up).” “It’s got kind of a ska undertone to it, it’s a weird song,” he said. “It works for Fall Out Boy and Wyclef together, which seems like it would never work on paper in a million years.”

·         Teen Wolf star, Tyler Posey, introduced his new band, Five North, with their debut single, “This Mess.” The actor is no stranger to the music world, previously performing with his pop-punk act PVMNTS.

·         Alternative artist JUMEX just released a new song “Spraypaint” with Blink-182 drummer, Travis Barker. The single comes after the artist dropped his debut Loner EP earlier this year.

·         Twenty One Pilots released a new vertical video for their song “The Hype,” on top of the “Surplus Collection” merchandise line. The band’s new video can be found on Spotify, and they made the announcement via their Instagram account.

·         Anti-Flag are returning with a brand new politically-charged single titled “Christian Nationalist” alongside a lyric video. The new single arrives as the band continue to work on the follow-up to their 2017 record, American Fall, and their Live Vol. 2 record that dropped earlier this year.

·         Simple Creatures have debuted their brand new track “One Little Lie” ahead of their Everything Opposite EP release slated for this Friday. Originally, the band debuted the track back in April during a live performance at Hangar – London Fields.

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

·         Simple Plan, State Champs and We the Kings announced the supporting act for their upcoming U.S. tour. Northbound, a.k.a. Jonathon Fraser, will be supporting the aforementioned bands during their fall run.

·         Sum 41 frontman/guitarist/co-founder, Deryck Whibley, shared a photo of the band’s setlist after a Pittsburgh show last Tuesday night. The band have just begun their fall world tour that celebrates the 15th anniversary of their album, Chuck, and their latest record, Order in Decline.

·         Silverstein are celebrating 20 years as a band in the biggest and best way possible with the announcement of a massive North American tour. The band will be performing three sets throughout the tour.

·         Grayscale gave “Tommy’s Song” an emotional live debut with a gospel choir in their hometown of Philadelphia this past Saturday night. The song is a tribute to frontman Collin Walsh’s late cousin.

OTHER NEWS:

·         Vans finally revealed their full Nightmare Before Christmas collection after some photos were shared online. The line, inspired by the Tim Burton film, featured 10 shoes, apparel and accessories.

·         MTV dropped the nominees for the 2019 European Music Awards that include nods for Twenty One Pilots, Panic! at the Disco, the 1975, Billie Eilish and more. Additionally, Green Day, Avril Lavigne and more are up for some of the night’s biggest awards.

·         Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker achieved the number 1 spot on Billboard’s Rock Songwriters chart due to his various collaborations. In addition to the top spot, he has 15 songs that include his songwriting credits on Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart.

·         Popular music competition show, The Masked Singer, just started its second season, and fans think that Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco may be hiding under one of the masks. Fans guess who is under the masks as the competition progresses, until a winner is picked and reveals their identity.

·         Nirvana‘s Krist Novoselic came to Nickelback‘s defense the other day after Fox News took a shot at the band. The bassist, involved in politics, has now tweeted a response to the story that originally ran with a message for the POTUS and congress to focus on politics instead of grunge bands.

·         Since the end of September, Waterparks have been putting their fans to the ultimate test with an international scavenger hunt to unveil the full tracklist to their forthcoming album Fandom. Fans in cities such as Manchester, Boston, Dallas, London, Houston, Toronto and more were each given the task of tracking down a song within their city.

·         Netflix announced the forthcoming animated holiday film today with a trailer featuring the Panic! at the Disco track “High Hopes.” Slated to hit Netflix on November 15th, Klaus will tell the story of an “unlikely friendship that launched a legend.”

·         Cassadee Pope posted a cryptic tweet on Hey Monday’s album anniversary yesterday. It marked the 11-year anniversary of the band’s debut album Hold on Tight, which they released with Decaydance Records.

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!

[xanth-the-wizard]

Random Mountain Encounters (1d100)

(More Random Encounters on Tuesdays! If you like my work, consider supporting me by leaving a tip at my Ko-Fi Page! Image credit: x)

An interesting challenge, but overall I think a successful one! Here are my Random Mountain Encounters (#1-5). Try them out in your campaign and let me know how it goes! Check out all my Other Encounters! See you next week for Desert Encounters!

[1] A metal shack shimmers in the light, inside you discover a hideaway for Ice Gnome Guards. They are playing cards and are willing to make bets with anybody [2] It is migration season, thousands of goats are making their way up the mountain. To pass through them is truly a foolish task [3] The remains of an abandoned city lies quietly in a valley between two great mountains. Evidence for the city’s collapse is not well hidden and perhaps even a bit devious in nature [4] Rumors say at the very top of the mountain lies a golden egg. Yes you heard me right, an egg made of gold. I don’t know who laid it so don’t ask! [5] Friendly Stone Golems patrol the mountains in order to help smaller beings climb to the top. They cannot speak and often throw giant boulders for fun. This can be lead to serious misunderstandings of course [6] All of the mountain peaks are covered in snow, all but one. The odd one out is home to a dormant volcano that is home to a civilization of merfolk. Yeah, I don’t understand it either [7] Birds in these cliffs have grown to the size of lions due to their lack of competition when it comes to hunting prey. They are intelligent and offer wisdom or mockery depending on their mood [8] You discover the cavern of a ghoulish green furred beast that is plotting to attack a nearby town and ruin their festival. This information is easy to discover as there are plans strewn about all over the place [9] Nearby two Ancient Dragons loudly argue over a borrowed book completely unaware of your party’s existence [10] There is a dimensional rift cracking through the stone of the mountain range, gravity occasionally reverses, spontaneous magic effects occur, and otherworldly beings appear without warning [11] A dedicated chef and their protégé are hunting a Yeti. The meat is said to be a delicacy. The chef will offer a grand reward to the party if they choose to assist them. Perhaps you may even be invited to dine with the Monarch who ordered it [12] You discover bodies encased in ice scattered around the path. Was this an accident or an attack? Better be careful either way [13] KABOOM! An explosion in the distance as two high level adventurers duke it out. Have them inspire your players or potentially even guide them [14] A ski resort operates on a hidden slope, it is run by Goblins who desire rare metals [15] Hidden among the sparse trees and shrubbery are large ice cocoons freshly opened [16] Shit! A near fatal slip leads to the discovery of an abandoned mineshaft within a deep ravine [17] Harpies. Just some classic Harpy encounters. They want to either eat the party or eat their rations [18] The mouth of a cavern sings sweetly, it’s quiet but insistent and impossible to ignore. Choose a random player, they are hypnotized by the sound [19] After a long night’s rest the party discover they have been separated mysteriously [20] A lone monk sits peacefully atop of the peaks. They claim to have mastered the art of reversing time [21] Howling can be heard every few hours. The source of this terrifying scream can be traced to a Dragonborn Barbarian who refuses to wear a shirt. They believe shouting into the heavens will bring them closer to the spirit of the planet [22] Due to a magical accident hundreds of years ago the mountains radiate elemental energy. Random combustion is not uncommon and neither are Elementals [23] An infectious fungus is spreading across the mountain peaks. If it is not stopped, it will grow to cover the entire range and beyond [24] Broom race season has just begun! Witches and Wizards are flying all around the place without any concern for nature or the party. Watch out for Fireballs! [25] Awoken from sleep, an eager creature excitedly attempts to pass on words of wisdom to travelers. They get a little too excited and start panicking when trying to deliver their speech [26] In the middle of the night a bear has dug into the party’s packs and has stolen the most hilarious item possible. Be it drugs or someone’s underwear. Perhaps both? Fuck, please let it be both [27] Animated objects have escaped from a neglectful master and have built a small but pitiful society. Surely a new home would suit them better [28] Buried deep within the mountain lies an army of undead, your players happen upon this after a small collapse [29] Shattered statues of gold litter the snow, neglected by time. They appear to be adventurers rumored to have gone missing a few months before [30] These alps are home to unpredictable creatures known as Shadows. They are seemingly intelligent but often attack without warning. Your party discovers a village [31] A powerful spirit guardian visits the party and attempts to lead them to their destination. They either take on the form of a four headed deer or a small white fox [32] It’s finally time. Choose one of your players at random, their bag is actually a Mimic. They’ve been keeping quiet for quite some time, but decide it’s finally time to make their escape [33] Atop the highest peak is a pool of clean spring water. Rumors say that those who drink from it will find their true love within a week. It is a well sought after ingredient for potion making [34] Atop the highest peak is a pool of black liquid. Rumors say that those who drink from it have visions of the future. It is a well sought after ingredient for potion making [35] Medicinal herbs grow all around the sierra, they are believed to be able to cure any illness. But they are guarded by poisonous ants who use it to feed their queen [36] Every few weeks a strange light emanates from the mountains in the dead of night [37] Abandoned minecart rails run through entire range and can offer a quicker, but more dangerous, way to travel [38] A stoic Troll lives near the base of the mountain, they know where the party needs to go to finish their quest. But they will only give directions if they can make the beast laugh. They haven’t laughed in almost a century (This can either be really difficult or really easy to achieve) [39] Tireless exploration has lead your party to the cave of a horrendous beast. Describe it in the most haunting and visceral way possible. That way, when they discover it’s a Pokémon they will probably threaten to fire you as their Dungeon Master but it’ll be so worth it [40] Nomadic Bards offer a detour through the mountains. They claim to know a, “Secret Tunnel” [41] Explorers stumble out of a crypt, at first glance they seem to be wounded but the truth is much worse… [42] Intricate traps litter the mountainside to the point of it being ridiculous! The trappers are actually really enthusiastic Cryptid Hunters [43] Shield surfing you say? The God of shield surfing challenges the party to a race offering valuable treasure if they win [44] Within the mountain is a dwarven forge and after a serious accident molten metals begin exploding out from the natural vents and caves. Watch your step! [45] At the base of the mountain lies a restaurant known as, “The Lost Souls Cafe.” It is run by disguised demon lords who love to gamble souls for rare rewards. The bartender quietly warns all who enter to leave before it is too late [46] Beautiful crystals line hard to reach cliffs. If your players are fortunate enough to collect some they will unfortunately discover it begins growing on exposed skin [47] A giant demon known as the Nurikabe blocks the path, it is nearly impossible to pass without employing magic or trickery [48] Rock insects have infested the entire range. Their camouflage allows them to be nearly invisible, watch your step of face their wrath [49] Wounded and dying of exposure, a warrior lies slumped in a pile of snow. She is incredibly strong and is hunting a Warlock who they have sworn to kill. Or perhaps, the person they are hunting is a villain your party has met before [50] Strong winds threaten to force the party off the side of the mountain. Is it the wrath of nature or perhaps a supernatural entity? [51] A squadron of patrolling Samurai ride upon Velociraptors. They are not friendly [52] One of the player’s voices echoes loudly in the valley. The strange thing is, the voice echoes even without any words being spoken [53] The mountains are alive and have large wounds. If the party isn’t careful they may they will face deadly consequences. But the opposite is also true, if the party are able to heal the wounds the mountains may help them on their journey [54] Fairies dance around a roaring waterfall. They act friendly and offer to heal the party, but beware.. They like to trick people into taking leaps of faith [55] Numerous quarries line the mountain range. Villages are littered throughout, all of them are hanging upside down like stalactites [56] A never ending fire burns within a crater. Travelers often come here to collect the flame [57] The only effective means of travel is a long winding road that forces the party to walk in a single file line. It is not much of an issue until something decides to attack [58] Deep within the blizzarding alps a lone peak is laced with flames. It is home to an ancient Dragon and a Sorcerer who worships and protects their master [59] Roll for which player who is going to be kidnapped by a Giant. Have fun! [60] A range of glass mountains shine brilliantly in the light. They were discovered a few days before replacing a large portion of the western coast. Their reason for existing is unknown [61] ZAP! A young spunky witch has accidentally shrunk the party. In a panic she puts them in a pocket dimension within her walking dresser companion. Surely things will be fine, right? [62] Out of nowhere bump into an invisible object. While trying to investigate they may discover a door that leads to an abandoned magical college. Rare magical treasure can be found within but something seems to have made this place their new home… [63] Clouds swirl around the peak, they are dense and have an almost unnatural appearance to them, as if they were stairs leading up to the heavens [64] Avalanche! The party are now trapped in a monster’s den. For a more dramatic challenge, all but one player is unconscious [65] A sickly looking child is wandering alone in the cold, they speak incoherent gibberish. If the party help this child and let them travel along, after reaching a safe destination they will reveal themselves as a spirit of the mountain, rewarding the party with blessings or treasure [66] The mountain pass is long but not too difficult to traverse. However, this specific path is looping over and over again without end [67] Flail Snails emerge from the mountain. They are dangerous but can be easily tamed [68] A meteor blasts through the summit, the debris rains down upon the party. It is quite deadly if they are hit. The crater is smoking and is home to a new mysterious plant [69] Hidden above are small hornet’s nests, be careful not to disturb them for the main hive is home to giant hornets who are not afraid of fighting [70] Within the rubble of a destroyed altar rests a tome with the title, “Hand of Fate” [71] Broken down on the road, a snobby noble offers to pay the party a large sum of money to help the noble and their servants to an important meeting. It takes place in a week and is important in solving interspecies relations [72] Smoke blows up from a dozen chimneys atop a bizarrely shaped house. It is home to a shy alchemist who collects rare materials from the alps [73] While climbing the mountain, the hard rocky surface suddenly begins cracking and weakening as the surface has turned into chocolate [74] Clockwork animals occupy the area. They act like regular animals… All except for Archimedes the glitchy owl. A loud creature that claims to have been created by a space demon [75] Civilians are traveling all throughout the mountain pass. With all of their belongings they venture toward a developing city in the valley. It’s a great/safe place to make new connections [76] Civilians are traveling all throughout the mountain pass. They claim it is a great land of opportunity and wealth, but something much more sinister is afoot [77] Select a random Goosebumps book, this is the new monster/obstacle the players must face [78] Spider webbing covers the entrance to a cave. Within the webs a sign reads, “Fortune readings in exchange for beautiful cups or tankards.” Sounds trustworthy enough [79] You discover a hamlet constructed out of trash and broken tools. Aloft in this pile of garbage, a Goblin’s eye cracks open. “Come have a look. One gob’s trash is another gob’s treasure.” They are a bit of con-gob so be quite careful [80] A camp of miners ask your party to sit down and join them for drinks. They are fascinated by the life of adventure your party leads [81] Poisonous mist swirls around the sierra, be careful not to lose consciousness while it seeps through your skin [82] Built into the side of the jagged stone, a Monk Temple sits peacefully amidst the storm [83] Bound to the mountain, a hellish warrior slaughters anyone who enters their domain. They are horrendously powerful and would wipe out any unsuspecting low-level party [84] Hosting a prestigious singing competition, a Purple Dragon with a tie and top hat invites all to watch this once in a lifetime event. Gods, Spirits, Giants, Beholders, etc.. are all participants [85] A campfire burns brightly on the side of the road, no one is around. Food is roasting, bottles left unopened, treasure left untouched. Do you search for those who set up this camp or take it for yourselves? [86] The party stumbles upon a murder scene and are framed for the crime by corrupt guards who came to investigate the death of a famous hero. The situation seems far too convenient [87] Frozen in ice a monstrous beast is slowly thawing, it’s power is equal to that of a Tarrasque but it does have the dumbest name in the world [88] Mimics as large as houses, disguised as, you guessed it. Houses. They lie in wait, hidden in plain sight among other buildings of an abandoned city. A storm is brewing and the party needs to take shelter. Hopefully they don’t wander into the wrong house [89] Introduce a new or reoccurring cult from your campaign. One of the members is infusing with a demon and will become a powerful antagonist that will continue to be a problem for the players in the campaign [90] The world’s worst rogue has been stalking the party. They want to kill the party or go on an adventure. The choice is yours, but they HAVE to be lovable. A new child to adopt [91] “Oi! You’ve come fer blood, haven’t you?” You are handed a flyer for a Colosseum nearby [92] A misguided entrepreneur has built their new Fast Food restaurant on a summit. They got the place for cheap but business is… Not ideal [93] Throw a Legend of Zelda boss at the players! Some suggestions: Bongo Bongo, Volvagia, Stallord, Stone Talus, Lynel [94] Struck with lightning, an unlucky party member’s eyes begin to glow as they have gained newfound powers. They’ve been selected by a powerful deity to carry out a prophecy [95] A deserted alchemy lab wanders the wilderness, it is sentient and left without a purpose [96] Thrown from the top of the mountain, a wooden chest filled with cursed magic items has been disposed of, never to be found again. Well until you rolled this random encounter [97] The party meets a high level party of badasses. They are kind of jerks and act as secondary antagonists on this journey up or through the range [98] Treasure map! No tricks, no traps. Just some sick loot [99] Let’s try out a traditional encounter. Find a cool monster (preferably displaced) and let the party fight it or perhaps help calm it down and lead it somewhere safe [100] Hidden away from the rest of the world, an observatory keeps track of planetary movement, stars, and unusual phenomenon. The observatory is run by a secret organization that watches over the world. Grand secrets reside within the somber halls

[sediogayba]

YGO Pridecember DAY 2: NATURE

▪▪▪

“Let me guess: the fox has escaped. Again. Like the last time. And the year before.”

“It was very fast, grandfather.” Lord Muto said, pouring himself a glass of sherry and taking seat on the sofa. “You should have seen how fast it was. Right, Mr. Kaiba?”

From behind the newspaper, a grunt of assent rose from Mr. Kaiba's lips, sitting on his armchair beside the lit fireplace, after the long hunt that had kept the family busy all day.

Lord Muto's grandfather, the Earl of Hereford, glanced at his nephew, and then turned his gaze to the businessman.

Since Mr. Kaiba had begun to join those last hunts with the family, he and his nephew vanished in the woods to look for the foxes with the hounds, according to them, returning only at sunset. Empty-handed.

Where exactly the two men disappeared, no one knew.

Well,  the old man had begun to have some suspicion...

“Sure sure. The foxes are very clever in this county.” he muttered, looking at the two “At first they are there, in front of your eyes... and then they vanish, uh? As if by magic.”

Lord Muto hid a smirk behind his glass of sherry, and returned the quick and satisfied gaze Mr. Kaiba was throwing at him.

"There is always the next season, grandfather. Do not be so upset."

▪▪▪

I just wanted to mention a headcanon about these two foxes, but I ended up writing a short ff...

[duckscrabble]

SATURDAY STORY TIME #1

Every other Saturday, I’ll be showcasing a new piece of my writing! It’s a bi-weekly affair--be there or be square.

Today’s Saturday Story is entitled “The Mistress has Returned.” It’s a spooky story all about a man who made some very bad choices regarding the treatment of his wife. The nachzehrer, a Germanic vampire with some interesting folkloric attachments, is a major feature of the tale. What will become of poor Gerhardt after his wife’s untimely death? Nothing good, I can assure you...

WARNING: This one does have some mildly graphic descriptions of death, gore, and bits of body horror, so avoid if those are triggering for you!

               His wife’s body twisted eerily as it hung from the rafters of the great hall, her bare feet dangling off the ground as her eyes, bulging and swollen in death, stared wildly—accusatorily—at him. The servants had found her first. They now refused to enter the manor, much to his annoyance. Superstitious fools. He let out a snort, looking over his shoulder at the closed great doors before sighing and drawing the dagger he wore at his hip. They had left him to clean up the whole mess on his own.

               Stupid woman had been a nuisance from the day they had married. Now, she had left him one last mess to clean up. He grabbed a table and shoved it closer to her dangling corpse, wincing slightly when it rotated to glare at him with those glazed-over eyes that still burned green like witchfire. A knock sounded on the door when he moved to begin cutting the thick rope that held her aloft by the neck.

               “One moment,” he called, his eyes focused on the rope.

               The knock sounded again. The rope frayed.

               “Ugh,” he grunted, rolling his eyes as he hopped off the table and stalked over to yank open one of the double doors that closed him off from the rest of the town. A pair of guardsmen met his gaze, staring out at him dully from under their strange, swooping helmets.

               “We heard there was a death?” One of them asked, hand resting on the sword at his hip.

               “Yes,” the widower responded, folding his arms over his chest. “My wife has had… an accident.”

               “Foul play?”

               “No. Foolishness.”

               “She was due for trial. We had come to make our arrest.”

               “Well,” the widower drawled, regarding the pair of guards with a flat stare of irritation, “you’re a little late for that, aren’t you?”

               A dull, heavy thud sounded from behind him, and he grimaced. The guards glanced at one another, then moved almost as one to begin walking through the doors. He did not stop them; instead, he turned to stand aside, arms folded behind his back as he took a brief moment to look at the crumpled body of his wife, now in a heap on the floor after the frayed rope had finally snapped.

               She had brought it on herself. She was wild and willful, some middle-class upstart that her father wanted to marry up. He watched as the guards rolled her over, laid her out on the floor—her arm had been broken in the fall, hung at an awkward angle as they examined her. His gaze slid away, and he picked at the lint on his fine jacket. She had been beautiful, once. His dear, lovely Adelinde… She had golden hair that shone like the sun, skin the color of moon-kissed petals of the lily, and green eyes that blazed like emeralds. In death, she looked nothing like herself. Those sparkling green eyes bulged from fields of red, and her swollen face stuck out its putrid tongue like the masks the savages wore to frighten their enemies…

               “She took her own life, then?” One of the guards asked, and the widower flicked his gaze up for a brief moment before looking away once more.

               “I presume so, yes.”

               “One of the servants?”

               “Doubtful,” he replied at length. “They either avoided her or enjoyed her company. Besides… I doubt they would go through the trouble of… stringing her up like this.”

               One of the guards, the younger of the two, fixed the widower with a pointed stare.

               “Did she know that she had been accused of witchcraft? Took her own life to keep from going to trial and facing the proper judgment of God?”

               The widower grimaced, and he adjusted his jacket with a harsh jerk from both hands.

               “If she did, it was from no word of my own. I would never give warning to a witch.”

               The guards stared at him a moment, then looked down at the horrible, twisted features of his former wife’s corpse. Finally, as one, the two of them rose, each holding one end of the body between them.

               “Well. Either way, she faces God’s judgment now. All sinners must take their rightful places in hell.”

               The widower nodded mechanically, watched as they hauled his wife off toward the grounds on the outskirts of the town—unhallowed ground reserved for the burial of criminals, suicides, and witches. As he stood in the doorway, feeling a sick sense of satisfaction, he heard the soft murmurings of the servants rising up like the rustle of leaves falling in the woods.

               “Nachzehrer,” one old woman who worked the kitchens whispered, clutching tightly to her apron. An older man beside her nodded, head bobbling like a hungry duck’s.

               All at once, the widower was filled with fury. He stepped outside, slamming the door behind him, and glowered down at the hired help that clustered around like a flock of terrified hens after a fox had been discovered in the coop. All eyes were on him, blinking stupidly in the mid-morning sun.

               “Enough with your foolish superstitions,” he growled. “Everyone back to work.”

               There was no argument voiced, but he could see the resentment that echoed in the pairs of eyes that glanced at him before slowly sliding away. The whispers continued, regardless.

               Nachzehrer. Nachzehrer. Nachzehrer… the consuming dead.

                 He wore mourning clothes for only a week, then promptly shed them to begin making his advances toward other eligible women around the town. Some thought him improper, but most took pity upon him; poor handsome Gerhardt, trapped into marriage by a cunning witch’s charms, only to have her commit the ultimate act of sin before her judgment day! There was certainly no lack of pretty women to walk with, to dance with, to impress with his hunting talent and natural eloquence…

               Many of the ladies with whom he pitched woo had been rivals of his dear Adelinde before her death. Women she had jousted with her sharp tongue, who had often slinked away in defeat, licking the gaping, bleeding wounds left in their reputations. Women she vied with in the dance hall, each flaunting the newest season’s fashions and the quick, easy knowledge of the latest steps from across Europe. Women who mocked her low birth, only to promptly have every secret dalliance exposed to the horror and delight of the entire town.

He sighed wistfully as he listened to the vapid rambling of his newest pursuit—beautiful but frightfully boring, with a long family history of producing a large number of heirs. That had been another thorn in his side; his Adelinde had never given him a child, though he had tried tirelessly—to the point where his lovely wife had begun to hate his advances, had glowered at him even in the darkness after the candles had been blown out.

               In fits of boredom, he undertook a number of dalliances with tavern women, with peasants, with unfortunate servant girls who got in his way. Through it all, however, their faces became her face. He watched with horror as, at the height of his passion, the face that looked up at him, tears shimmering in dark eyes, swelled and twisted into the horrific mask that had been his wife’s face in death. Green eyes burned like witchfire into his soul, and those bloated lips sneered silent curses at him.

               He began to take ill, hiding himself in his rooms save for the occasional venture out into the town to keep up appearances and court the ladies at the balls. Every woman he saw seemed to be his Adelinde, her gaze still falling on his shoulders long after she was gone. The whispers of the servants hounded his every step: Nachzehrer. She will be back. The mistress will return, and God help us all.

                 The first disappearance came as a shock that rippled throughout the entire community. The boring-yet-beautiful woman he had courted in earnest, now his fiancée, had gone out on an afternoon walk, as per usual, and had never returned. No one that had walked with her remembered seeing her go, and no one in the town or the surrounding countryside had seen anyone of her description. There were suspicions of robbery and kidnapping bubbling up amongst the crowd, and it seemed to be the only subject anyone could speak of at the ball.

               “Poor Brunhilde,” one elderly dowager said, fanning herself quietly as she stared off at the dancers with a frown. “And you, Gerhardt. Losing your wife and so soon after to lose your fiancée. How dreadful.”

               The widower nodded, face pale as he clutched his drink with white knuckles.

               Nachzehrer.

               “Yes,” he murmured. “Thank you.”

               “I do hope they find her soon, and unharmed. Though the way she carries herself, I have no doubt her father will soon be getting a ransom note. The poor dear. Poor, sweet Brunhilde. She would have made you a lovely wife. Not like that wretch you married, before. No way to speak of the dead, I know, but that woman was a monster. Terrible creature.”

               He excused himself from the ball early that night.

                 Peasant girls vanished with little notice, though their families mourned in their own private way. He had arranged a secret rendezvous with the tavern owner’s girl, but she had never arrived. She did not come to the tavern the next day. Her father leveled the widower with an unpleasant stare the next several times he visited the tavern.

               These were only the start. One by one, each and every woman he had made contact with, save for the servant girls trapped in the manor with him, began to vanish off the face of the earth. There was no outcry, no mess left behind—they simply disappeared, as if the earth had opened up and swallowed them altogether. People stared at him, now, with the same heavy stare that his wife’s dangling corpse had leveled upon him when he had gone to cut her down from her final perch.

               A hunter returned one day after being out later than expected, following the tracks of a gigantic boar. People continued to disappear: hunters, supply wagons, travelers—all vanished without a trace on the outskirts of town. The citizens met and discussed their options, then decided that this boar and the herd it no doubt traveled with was the cause of all their woe. Gerhardt felt a brief reprieve from the oppression of their stares; no longer was he the primary suspect, no longer was he silently accused of murder by each and every pair of eyes that met him in the streets. And, sometimes, they accused him of far worse.

              They had no need to; he was tormented enough. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his wife’s eyes bulging from their hideous sockets, lips pulled back in a deathly grimace like a wild, horrible smile. Each time he saw her, it seemed, that smile grew wider and wider...

                The hunting party never returned. Vanished.

              He went home, resolved to lock himself in the manor. The old woman in the kitchens shook her head at him, and he felt a shiver run up and down his spine as he paused halfway up the stair.

              Nachzehrer, she said with her eyes alone as silence hung between them. The mistress is coming home. God save us all.

                The next day, he resolved to lay his paranoid concerns to rest. There was no such thing, he told himself, over and over in dizzying cycles of half-coherent thought; no such thing as the dead that rose again to consume the flesh of the living. He wandered to the outskirts of the town, hood drawn up high over his head as he wrapped his traveling cloak tightly around him. It was the dead of winter, now, and his breath escaped him in wisps of pale white smoke as he paused at the edge of the cemetery. The dead slept peacefully under their carved headstones. Further off, beyond the high wall, under brambles covered over with frost, was where the undesirables lay in their fitful slumber, howling for justice, for vengeance… for mercy.

              He took his first tentative steps around the wall, creeping closer to the pile of disturbed dirt that marked the recently deceased—but it had been weeks. The dirt should not look so fresh, so—he shook his head, clearing the thoughts away. The dead do not rise to eat the living. The dead do not rise... The dead do not… do not…

              There she was. His Adelinde, as beautiful as the day he had met her—but painfully pale, kissed by frost as she lay in the open hole in the earth with not even a casket for her bed. Gerhardt’s breath hitched in his throat, and he reached a shaking hand down to caress her frozen face—only to draw suddenly back when he realized that one of her eyes was open, staring at him, green emerald paled by death and brought to a blind, glassy sheen.

              It had been weeks, his mind repeated, like the sudden clanging of alarum bells. Weeks. She was still so beautiful, so—but she was not beautiful when she had died. Her face had twisted, bloated, turned beet-red with the blood that had drowned her brain and forced her tongue out of her sweet, bow-lipped mouth. Her hands held one another, left thumb tucked into her right hand as she stared up one-eyed, unseeing, at the sky, the trees, the world entire—everything but him. She was so… beautiful.

              As he gazed upon her, he found himself trembling with a sudden rage. Someone had disturbed his Adelinde in her final rest. Someone had jealously dug up her corpse, had—it was too horrible to think. He pulled himself away, groaning. Why had he accused his dear Adelinde, told the world stark falsehoods of her wickedness? She was a lamb of God, and nothing more. The most beautiful, the most beloved, innocent… no one could have her. No one could see her. Little by little, he began to push the dirt down into the hole with his bare hands, covering his dear, sweet Adelinde with the soft blanket of the earth as she stared blindly at him with that single pale eye. Before he covered her face, he could have sworn he saw her smile.

                He washed the dirt from his hands, but he could not scrub her image from his mind.

                The church bells rang in the dead of night, and Gerhardt pulled himself from his bed in quiet confusion. He lit a candle, squinting in the dim light as he saw other tiny flames burst to life in other windows all the way down the line of the main street of the town. The bells rang on—a slow, steady drone like a funerary dirge—and he pressed his face against the warped glass of his windows to try and get some idea of what was going on. Had someone died? Even so, they usually rang the bells in the day—never this late at night. Was there an emergency? He saw no one in the streets…

              Then there came a loud, panicked knocking at his bedroom door. Annoyed, confused, exhausted from persistent nightmares that had dogged him for weeks, he moved to answer his midnight caller. The old woman from the kitchens stood before him, wringing her gnarled old hands as her nearly toothless mouth gaped wide.

              “Nachzehrer,” she said, flinging her arms out to grab hold of her master’s satin nightshirt. “Nachzehrer. The mistress.”

              Furious, eyes burning in the dim candlelight, Gerhardt grabbed the old woman’s hands with fierce strength.

              “There is no such thing,” he bellowed. “Damn you and your superstitions! Adelinde is dead! She is dead, and no one will ever see her again! No one will gaze upon the roses of her cheeks, nor see the sun gleaming off the spun gold of her hair! She is dead and gone, and I have killed her, don’t you understand? It was because of me! Because of me, sweet Adelinde, light of my life is gone! And all is gone with her!”

              He flung the old woman away from him as she opened her mouth to speak again, and watched, horrified, as she stumbled back—and tumbled like a rolling boulder down the stairwell. Her eyes seemed to watch him as she fell, her gaze an unspoken accusation filled with sorrow and hurt and—and something else. She fell on the steps with a final, horrible crunch, and he could faintly see from the moonlight flooding in through the great windows of the main hall that there was blood pooling on the fine wooden floors from her mouth and nose.

              He shook his head as other servants opened their doors to see what had caused all the fuss, then quickly slammed his door when one of the servant girls screamed.

              “No, no, no, no,” he hissed, raking his hands through thick black hair as he dashed to the window, staring out as the bells rang on, heralding death. “No. I didn’t… mean…”

              “The old woman had it coming. Did she not?”

              That voice.

              He turned, slowly, and saw witch-green eyes staring at him from the darkest corner of the great bedroom he had once shared with his wife. A shadow stood there, strong and tall, fine of frame. He lifted the candle in trembling hands, saw the dirty red dress that his wife had loved so dearly.

              “We all… have it coming. Weep not, fair Gerhardt.”

              She stepped forward, and he saw her in the light—horribly pale, with the deep bruise that the rope had left behind forever imprinted on her delicate neck. His mouth moved, but no words came.

              “Death comes to everyone,” she continued, her form seeming to shimmer and distort in the flickering light of the candle. “And we all… deserve it.”

              He turned to look outside again. The streets were filled with corpses oozing blood, and the sky looked as if it burned red with hellfire. The candle fell from his hand, and its flames lazily licked at the heavy curtains, trying to grasp, to climb, to consume.

              Adelinde was growing, twisting—he heard the sickly crackling of her bones, the wet sound of flesh twisting and tearing, the faint click of hooves as she set her hands down on the floor before her. A giant boar stared him down with witch-green eyes, standing where his wife had stood. A long tongue flicked out, snake-like, tasting the air, and his heart raced as he reeled back. He did not notice the flames creeping up his nightclothes, did not hear the desperate pounding at his door.

              “Poor handsome Gerhardt. Your wife is such a boor,” the massive creature with too-long legs said, its emaciated frame drawing closer to him as he felt the first sharp pains of fire touching his flesh. He could not breathe. His chest tightened, seared with anguish, as his arms and legs went numb.

              “And the way she eats! My goodness…”

              The tusked jaws gaped open—and open, and open. Gerhardt stared into the mouth of hell until his eyes rolled back in his head, blood running from his nose. He breathed in acrid smoke as the room seemed to grow brighter. The mouth closed on his feet, and he could not scream. The teeth crunched through shin bones, through thigh bones—and he could not scream. His ribs cracked. That tongue wrapped around him, constricting, pulling—and soon there was nothing but hot, wet darkness.

              Finally, Gerhardt screamed.

              The noise resounded in the hollow echo-chamber of the creature’s gullet until, with sickening finality, the molars crushed his skull and silenced him forever.

                The door burst open, and the servants rushed in—only to find an empty room, half-ablaze, with no trace of their master left behind. The city streets ran red with blood, and babes cried, freshly-orphaned, from their beds. As they clung to one another, slowly slinking out of the manor when the building began to burn with renewed vigor, the newly-widowed old man looked at the younger ones around him and whispered a single word: Nachzehrer.

              They all nodded. They all knew.

              Everyone that had heard the horrible ringing of the bells was dead—save for them. The Mistress had returned, and the Mistress had spared them all. The Mistress was good.

              God save the Mistress.

                God save them all.

[keywestlou]

POLITICAL DEBAUCHERY

Why the lies? Why the deception? Not by Trump. By the major companies and people who support him.

Take the issue as to the need to be vaccinated.

FOX News more than 200 times has suggested not getting vaccinated. Vaccinations unnecessary, even dangerous.

FOX has made vaccinations an issue with its employees. Get vaccinated or you’re fired! One or the other. No vaccination, no job.

Management and the broadcasters must get off on it. A form of political debauchery.

It has become known as “dismissive vaccine coverage.” Particularly dangerous to FOX’s older audience.

An example. A few weeks ago, FOX News host Laura Ingraham did what she has done over the past year: Scoffed at the danger posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

She was interviewing Florida’s Governor DeSantis at the time. Ingraham stated, “They just can’t let the pandemic go.” DeSantis agreed simultaneously dismissing the idea his State was at risk.

Since DeSantis’ appearance, his reelection committee has begun selling merchandise mocking pandemic restrictions. Also since the appearance, the 7 day average of new coronavirus cases has quadrupled in Florida.

The first Capitol offender charged with a felony has been sentenced. Eight months in prison.

The length of the sentence disgraceful.

Thirty eight year old Paul Hodgkins pled guilty last month to obstructing Congressional proceedings – specifically the counting of electoral votes. He had been in the Senate chamber 15 minutes wearing a Donald Trump tee shirt and carrying a Trump flag.

Federal Judge Randolph Moss said Hodgkins deserved some leniency because he pled guilty “exceptionally early,” was not involved in violence, and issued a “sincere apology.”

Judge Ross was wrong. Off base in the sentence. It was way too lenient. Hodgkins was involved in an insurrection in one of the most sacred American buildings. His presence alone warranted a significant sentence. Federal judges normally do give credit to a defendant who pleads “exceptionally early.” Hodgkins’ crime was not a normal one, however.

When was there a previous insurrection at the Capitol? Never! The insurrection itself was a “unique experience requiring a unique application of justice.”

Amazing. Defecate on the U.S. Capitol and walk away with a slap on the hand meager sentence!

The sentence imposed by Judge Ross has set a standard by which the other 500 plus defendants will expect to be sentenced.

Kasie Hunt. An outstanding TV journalist. Always charming. Right on. No bullshit. Called them as she saw them. Never wrong.

She announced last friday she was leaving MSNBC. A quick comment to that effect at the end of her 5 am show Way Too Early. She was interviewed later when she appeared on Morning Joe. No one asked her why she was leaving, where she was going, etc.

It now appears to have been revealed. Hunt is going to CNN. Her responsibility to develop streaming control platforms. A burgeoning area in television.

Money has to have been a part of her judgment factor. She was earning $250,000 a year at MSNBC. Her new position with CNN will pay between $1 million to $1.5 million per year.

No one can argue with her move.

The word on the street is NBC could not match CNN’s offer.

The college football season less than 2 months away. Coach Dino Barber announced Tony DeVito has the “edge” to be starting quarterback.

I am disappointed DeVito might be the starting quarterback. He failed last year. I was not impressed. He simply did not have it. I feel it will be the same this year.

Syracuse fans are desperate for a “good season.” It has been years. It should be a new quarterback for a new Carrier Dome.

The Olympic Village in Tokyo is being labeled “anti-sex.” The beds are constructed of cardboard and easily fall apart with more than a sleeping body on them.

The Olympic hierarchy claims the purpose of the cardboard beds is to prevent coronavirus from spreading.

The athletes look at it differently. They believe the real reason is “to avoid intimacy among athletes.”

All good the cardboard beds will do. Where there is a will there is a way. Youthful roaring sex drives will not be denied.

Gold, etc. from Atocha found again last friday. The strike did not provide anywhere near as much as in previous discoveries. However it will keep the Mel Fisher divers at their work.

The strike revealed 1 gold coin, 2 silver ones, and an ancient musket ball.

Atocha went down 400 years ago. The gold coin found still bright and shiny. It was 30 feet down under 10 feet of sand.

The diver comes from a family who have found gold and other items from Atocha in years gone by. In 1985, the diver’s father was part of the team that discovered a bonanza. One hundred sixty five pounds of gold finger bars and chains. At another time, his mother was part of the team that discovered treasure from the mother load itself.

I have begun sharing Steve Thompson’s recollections of Key West beginning in 1973 for a very simple reason. People want to know what went on back then.

Today TACOS paragraph 4.

I met the big guy named Bud Man / He had a glass of rose in his right hand / He always had a smile on his face / He rented me my first taco place / He owned the Old Anchor Inn next door / It was the old town underground drug store / All the locals called it the “Snake Pit” / ‘Till the Feds moved in and closed it / He invited me to his house one day / And immediately gave me a glass of rose / He had chickens and ducks and rabbits too / The doors were all open they just walked right through / Bud Man and Dorothy were legends here / They sure helped me out that whole first year / Everyone remembers Bud to this day / With that big warm smile and a glass of rose.

Tonight my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time. Join me. Lots of fun. Louis ranting and raving. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

POLITICAL DEBAUCHERY was originally published on Key West Lou

[thelapismoon]

Song recommendations pls

*cackles* Here’s my ongoing song list that I’ve kept since 2016

Good music1. Fade: No copyright sounds2. Centuries3. Floating block of ice4. The fat rat: unity5. Find the pieces 6. Grand finale: studio killers7. Soren’s theme8. Four Heroes9. Mice on Venus10. Sweden 11. Leap of faith12. Stronger than you13. Fight song14. Say goodbye to the holiday15. Children of the night16. Lullaby for a princess17. Bats18. Credits minecraft story mode 419. Soren jazz20. Soren song21. Doctor who theme22. Bad Apple Music box23. Bow ties are cool24. Don’t blink acoustic 25. Time and relative dimension in space26. Haggard27. Camp fire song song28. Minecraftable 29. The diadem 30. Gravity falls theme31. Hedwigs theme32. Counting stars33. Whatcha say remix34. Riptide 35. I will wait36. Oh Ginny37. Mischief managed38. Gold39. Waiting takes time40. Secrets41. Necessity 42. Enchanted43. I open at the close44. The hanging tree45. Renegades46. Wildest dreams47. Neon Pegasus48. What does the fox say49. Safe and sound50. Game of thrones theme51. Pistols at dawn52. Ex’s and oh’s53. Sorry54. Where are you now 55.  Luna’s future56. On the moon thuynder remix57. When I see you again58. Ladybug PV59. It’s gonna work remix60. Moog city61. Maps62. Coffee: Run to me63. Towards the sun Rihanna 64. Dancing in the dark65. Frozen: Elves66. It’s over isn’t it67. Everything stays68. I’m just your problem 69. Abraham’s daughter 70. Eyes open71. Kingdom come72. Most wonderful of nights: feat Luna 73. Aquarius- Within temptations74. Queen of France75. Ride- twenty one pilots76. I’m a star77. Everything’s alright78. From the ground up79. Buying stars80. KING81. Call me home 82. Jump 83. Good little girls bad little boys84. Look up at the sky85. Haunting(haunted house remix)86. 2.7587. Suki no kuimbu 88. C418 Far89. Love like you90. Rurelle war of hearts91. Ghosting92. Echo93. In the dark of the night94. Queen- Stephen Jerzack95. Here96. Coat of many colors97. The plague98. Against the world99. Valley of the dolls100. Hope of morning101. Daughter of the moon102. Heartbeat103. Unknown soldier 104. Waiting for love105. Shatter me106. Ruelle- Monsters107. Megalavonia sans piano108. Smoke and mirrors109. I’d love to change the world110. Villains warriors WIP111. ET Katy perry112. My demons113. Hide and seek114. This will be the day115. This is Halloween116. Life and death and love and birth117. Here comes a thought118. Heathens119. Mcsm soundtrack- Lapis120. The wolf- the cinema121. Miss Jackson122. Dollhouse Melanie Martinez123. Nightmare124. Tag you’re it125. The world is ours126. Ruelle- storm127. More than brains128. Cops and robbers129. Enchanter -dragon age OST130. Once we were- dragon age OST131. Empress of fire132. Francis forever133. Starset it has begun134. I am Lapis Lazuli135. Calls you home 136. I’m so sorry137. Like a vampire138. Partners in Crime139. Wolf in sheep’s clothing140. Stressed out- twenty pilots141. Flares- Newt tribute142. Hall of fame/ The script143. Stronger than you- Chara144. Keaton Henson- You145. Wait for it Hamilton 146. Stay alive- Hamilton147. Destiny Bond148. Cost of the crown.149. Don’t let me down - chai smokers150. Soldiers151. Starry eyed 152. Dragonhearted 153. Car radio- twenty one pilots154. Death by glamour 155. Short hair- Mulan OST156. Blossoms- Mulan OST157. Spider dance 158. This is the hunt159. The battle of Yorktown- Hamilton160. Your obedient servant- Hamilton 161. You’ll be back- Hamilton 162. Youth- troye Sivan 163. Still here164. Move like a soldier165. Something missing166. Who I am167. Marionette doll168. The coven (dark violin)169. Forever and never dark cello170. Fell invincible171.  Rise172. So what?173. Freak the freak out174. Nostalgic dream175. Guns and ships176. Bad apple- the dreemurs undertale 177. I found-Amber Run178. I can do anything 179. Red like roses180. It’ll be okay-mlp181. Mirror mirror 182. Warriors- imagine dragons 183. Monster- imagine dragons 184. Bleeding out- imagine dragons185. Ready aim fire- imagine dragons 186. Dream- imagine dragons 187. Rather be188. Crybaby 189. Castle-Alexandria 190. Haunting191. Girls like girls192. Battle against a true hero fan vocal193. Lost in thoughts all alone ft.Milky194. Asgore’s theme w/fan lyrics195. Once upon a December 196. Something that I want197. Into the open air198. What’s the use of feeling blue199. The call200. We all still die201. La da de202. Mordred’s lullaby 203. Pangur Ban204. Mademoiselle Noir205. Witch Hunt- JubyPhonic206. The game of life207. Hather 208. Orisis 209. Oh no- Maria and the diamonds 210. Death should not have taken three211. Cheshire Cat we’re all mad here212. Alice’s theme213. Zettai unmei mokishuraku 214. Your future is not mine215. Boys will be boys216. Little game-Benny217. Son of a preacher man218. Mine- Peridot tribute219. Rude220. I’m a dead girl walkin221. Meant to be yours222. Snow White and the huntsman: breath of life223. Monochrome no kiss224. Believer-Imagine Dragons 225. Lifeboat-Heathers226. Copycat 227. Unravel228. A female ninja but I want to love229. Ten faced 230. Black fox231. Secrets of Wisteria232. Self inflicted achromatic 233. Alive234. Boulevard of broken dreams235. Lunacy of duke vernomia236. Running with the wolves237. Wine red238. Muzzle of nemesis239. Judgement of corruption 240. Evil food eater conchita 241. The tailor shop on enbizaka242. Donald trump vs Hillary Clinton rap243. All DHMIS songs244. Samurai jack theme song245. Megalomaniac vers. asriel and chara246. Journey of the two mages 247. Seven crimes and punishments248. Master of the hellish yard249. A hero’s armor is always Crimson 250. Youth251. The burn marks on my epiano won’t go away252. The little witch 253. Nephthys shadow254. On the wings of night255. Echo- purple guy version256. Anubis chant257. Feathers across the seasons258. Gypsy bard259. Pretty little psycho260.  I’m only human261. Revolting children262. Escape of Salmhofer the witch263. The weathered head at onigashima264. Purple265. Can the can266. Deja vu- JubyPhonic 267. Saturn268. Keep the wolves away269. The outsider270. Sorry- seinabo sey271. Pistols at dawn- seinabo sey272. Younger- seinabo sey273. Nostalgia by little note274. Still- seinabo sey275. Another brick in the wall-Pink Floyd276. Paint it black277. No one would miss me278. New Americana279. Clean freak280. Ruby twenty one pilots 281. Rainbows282. Mars- sleeping at last283. Back stabber- Ke$ha284. Woman285. Dead hearts286. Lions- Skip Marley287. Pity party288. Little pistol289. Death of a bachelor290. Don’t mess with me- Temposhark291. When you’re evil- Voltaire292. Entropy- Gretina remix293. The spirit of nostalgia294. Secunda- SkyRim295. Attack on Titan opening theme296. Sippy cup297. First aid kit- Wolf298. Savages-Marina and the diamonds 299. The wolf- Siames300. The hoosiers- killer301. Determination- irresistible cover302. My crush was a monster boy303. Look what you made me do304. American Pie305. Out of sight out of mind306. The killers- somebody told me307. It took me by surprise 308. The night309. Teen idle310. Blue lips311. Rasputin312. It’s all over but the crying313. Take me to church314. This is Gospel 315. The ballad of Mona Lisa316. Fly away317. No control318. Sixteen tons319. Gravel to tempo320. Bee and puppycat space song321. Escapism 322. Seeds of the past323. Open up your eyes 324. Bohemian rhapsody 325. Running- Beyoncé 326. Feelings- Hayley Kiyoko327. Dernière danse- indila 328. I’ll run- Pentatonix 329. American Soul330. French seven crimes and punishments 331. Charming332. In my house333. Project Ma334. Rise- Katy perry 335. Flan- Jake Chudnow336. Try to change- Mother Mother337. Team- lords338. Love story- Indila339. Hadestown- Wedding song340. Hadestown- Why we build a wall341. Arsonists lullaby342. Madness- Ruelle343. The ballad of Sarah Berry344. Cool for the summer- Demi Lovato 345. Leave Luanne346. Coraline theme347. Crave- water parks 348. Rose colored boy

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: UCONN BIG WEEKEND IN MAINE

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The most pivotal weekend of the Hockey East season will be in Orono, Maine for the UCONN Huskies as they try to elbow their way into a solid playoff position with three weeks left. The Huskies will battle on the road to battle the third place and the 17th ranked nationally Maine Black Bears Friday night at 7 and then on Saturday in a 7:30 pm NESN televised contest. After a week off after sweeping New Hampshire in a home and home and 7-4 at the XL Center with five different Huskies having multiple-point games. UConn returns to the ice this weekend for a two-game series on the road against the No. 17 nationally-ranked Maine Black Bears.  Saturday night's game will be carried live on NESN. The Huskies and Black Bears met back on January 15th, a 3-2 UConn comeback win at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport with Vladislav Firstov scoring the game-winner that ended a Huskies four-game losing streak. Barter Turnbull started the comeback with a goal to make it 2-1. Turnbull who has been scoring key big goals was injured for the last UNH game and is expected to play in the lineup this weekend. The Huskies hold a 6-4-4 lead in the all-time series with Maine with six of those games going to overtime.  The Huskies are 6-2-3 against Maine since becoming a member of Hockey East and UConn is 3-2-2 all-time at venerable Alfond Arena. UConn enters the weekend tied Providence for seventh place in the Hockey East standings with 18 points.  The two are a point behind UNH and Boston University in fifth. The Black Bears, winners of five-straight, are tied for third with Boston College with 20 points. The Huskies freshman Vladislav Firstov is the Huskies' leading scorer with 22 points coming on 11 goals and 11 assists. Firstov was named the Pro-Ambitions Rookie of the Month for January after posting nine points over eight games, scoring five goals and passing out five assists.  He had two game-winners and was a +11. He is currently fifth among league rookies in scoring and his 11 goals are tied for second among freshmen goal scorers in Hockey East. UCONN’s sophomore Jonny Evans (Nanaimo, BC) recorded his second hat-trick this season in the road win at UNH. He also tallied three in a 7-4 win over Vermont at home and has 17 points on the year despite missing time with a broken finger.  Evans is the only player in the country to record a pair of hat-tricks this season. UCONN however still has no scorers in the Top 20 in Hockey East in any offensive category. This is a team that scores by the committee and all four lines will need to produce this weekend. UCONN does have 11 Huskies who have hit double-digits in points with three players hitting the 20-point mark on the year in Firstov tops at 22, Russian Ruslan Iskahkov 21 points and Czech sophomore Jachym Kondelik with 20. On defense senior defenseman senior Wyatt Newpower is riding a career-best five-game point streak (1g/7a).  Newpower matched his career-high with three assists in the home win over UNH and now has a career-best 17 points (three goals/14 assists).  He is tied for eighth among league defenseman in scoring. Husky defensemen junior Adam Karashik and senior Wyatt Newpower are among the top shot blockers in Hockey East this season. Karasik is third in the league with 43 blocks and Newpower is ninth having blocked 35 shots. Huskies center senior Benjamin Freeman, a Falmouth, Maine native is ranked third in Hockey East in face-off percentage, winning .590 (282-196) of his face-offs on the year.  Freeman leads the league with 282 face-off wins. In net Czech sophomore goaltender, Tomas Vomacka came up with 42 saves in the Maine win, stopping 20 in the second and 13 in the third. Vomacka made 38 saves to earn his 11th win on the year against UNH. He has been lights out in net and the reason UCONN is still in the playoff hunt. His numbers at 3.40 GAA that is 12th out of 13 spots among goalies, save percentage .894 which is 11th out of 13 and winning percentage .481 which is 10th out of 13 and his personal record of 11-12-3 playing 26 of 27 games doesn’t tell the whole story of how well he has played. (Portions of a UCONN press release were used in the formation of this section). NOTES: The 14-goal weekend was the most goals posted in consecutive games under head coach Mike Cavanaugh and the most since the Huskies posted 17 in two-straight in wins over Niagara (8-5) and Sacred Heart (9-3) in 2010-11 when they were in the AHA conference. -No surprise that Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon after 17 years (27 overall in college hockey) announced he will be stepping down from the Catamounts head coaching gig at season’s end are currently winless in the conference this season at 0-15-2 and have an overall mark of just 3-20-4. They are also winless for a full year in the conference losing 23 games. -The Walter Brown Award is awarded to the top New England Division I collegiate player the award started in 1953. Of the 23 players submitted for consideration a few CT connections. The group includes two from Sacred Heart University (AHA) in Mike Lee (Hamden/Gunnery Prep) and Pioneer teammate Jason Cotton. Cotton’s brother, David of Boston College was nominated as well making them just the third brother combo nominated since the award’s inception. Billy and Bob Cleary and former Whaler Scott and Whaler draft pick Mark were the others all four attended Harvard. Jack Drury, son of ex-Whaler Ted and uncle Wolf Pack GM Chris who grew up in Trumbull. Uncle Chris won the award twice while at BU. Five other players have won it twice including Ranger and ex-Pack Mike Mottau former New England Whaler and Hartford Whaler, Tim Sheehy and former Ranger Jimmy Vesey. Boston College’s Spencer Knight (Darien/Avon Old Farms) and Tyce Thompson from Providence College son of ex-Pack and current Sound Tigers head coach, Brent Thompson are under consideration. The winner will be announced at the end of the regular season and before the NCAA tourney begins and the winner will be presented the award on May 3rd at a banquet in Saugus, MA. Several former Wolf Pack players besides Mottau have won it. Matt Gilroy, Dov-Grumet Morris, Bobby Butler, and Ty Conklin. Rangers who have won it include current Blueshirt Adam Fox, Mottau and Brian Leetch (Cheshire). Several others with CT connections were awarded the honor, the late New England and Hartford Whaler, John Cunniff, Scott Harlow (New Haven Nighthawks) and John Curry (Taft Prep-Watertown). -Five players from CT Division II/III college hockey was among the 30 names placed in consideration for the Joe Concannon Award to the best New England Division III player. Liam Feeney, Tedy Loughborough and Barclay Gammill from Trinity College (Hartford), Walker Harris of Wesleyan University (Middletown) and Connor Rodericks of Connecticut College (New London) were nominated. The award winner is announced before the NCAA Division III Frozen Four at the LECOM Harbor Center in Buffalo, NY and the award presented at the New England College Hockey Writers brunch in May. -The announcement of the University of New Haven Board of Trustees approving in Boca Raton, Florida last week to go to Division I in all sports speculation of hockey returning to the West Haven-based school after a 37-year absence has begun. The Chargers program yielded former LA King GM Dean Lombardi, recently retired University Maine assistant coach Jay Leach and retired Amity HS head coach Gary Lindgren among their prominent hockey alumni. At the program then at the Division II level in the ECAC North conference playing its home games at Bennet Ice Rink in West Haven and the Milford ice Pavilion. was disbanded in 1983. Presently, they have an ACHA Division 2 club program. The collegiate hockey landscape has changed significantly since then and will change more in the next two years, but it's still early in this process to say exactly where they may land, clearly changes are coming. Read the full article

[ts-indonesia]

Episode 1 - "Time to put on a bra and take some selfies." - Leigh

Episode 1 saw eighteen players, some fresh faces, and some veterans arrive on the Indonesia beaches, ready to play and ready to win. On a somewhat quiet Obor tribe, Leigh/Trent bonded over the age difference on the tribe (with a cunning plan reliant on using the word ‘lit’) and Anabel/Trent begun to form a bond that would survive the test of time.

On the Cahaya tribe, Matt/Jess feared the casting of one another, and Julian arrived plucky and ready to avoid another prejury experience, determined to improve. Owen/Stoner quickly formed HOS 22: Bermuda, and set to work spreading their connections across the tribe, forming at trio with Julian.

After a decisive victory in the Scavenger Hunt, it was revealed the returnees would have to send two returnees to the other tribe as “infiltrators” casting a sole vote. In an attempt to force the result, Julian went “offline”, in an attempt seen-through by his fellow tribe mates, but one that was ultimately successful, with Owen & Julian sent over as infiltrators.

At Obor’s tribal council, Evan quickly emerged as an easy vote, for his minimal challenge contribution. Two key alliances formed, a newbie majority alliance of Trent/Chris O/Leigh/Anabel/Lorelei and a girls’ alliance of Lorelei/Anabel/Leigh, with Anabel armed with an idol to boot.

As expected, Evan was sent out unanimously, but not before Julian trashed on the Cahaya tribe during tribal council... in a tribal seen... by the Cahaya tribe. With Evan out, the torches still inspiring such hate, and the infiltrators returning... that drew round one to a close.

MATT

first confessional give me idol? 

also hi Jones

OWEN

okay so im walking onto the boat.... my hair is thinning, my skin is getting wrinkly, im ancient at this point. nonetheless im back for like the sixth time. or seventh, honestly who can keep track anymore. i see these like cute little new people. ANABEL's vid is AMAZING gay icon, lorelei legend likes pokemon mystery dungeon,  Leigh is near chicago, like... i literally love all these new players but then i realize NONE OF THEM WILL BE ON MY TRIBE SKADSFJH. instead? im stuck with crazy ppl. there's julian who i voted out premerge in the season I won, and Matt who was in my most recent season nnn but NOT the matt I worked with in that game. and of all people CHRIS STONER LMAO. to be fair, chris isn't that bad bc I know he'll work with me hopefully but also I know he's a good player and wouldn't hesitate to cut me out. thank god olivia and jess are here tbh. omg and just when I thought it couldn't get any worse.....a furry shows up. WHAT THE FUCKKKKKK lmao I remember foxx back from the old old days and he seems scary :(((( good news is julian said him and isaac haven't ever gotten along and that isaac has voted him out twice :') so that might be good. and i'm fairly sure stoner and jess would have my back rn i just need to talk more to them. but for real, as soon as there's a swap or something if I survive that long? bye bye returnees :) i dont see myself getting very attached to anyone at the start so ill just do my best to ride out this beginning and maybe have some fun

LEIGH

I'm looking forward to seeing how long our tribe chat is just "Hey *Tribe Member's Name*!" 

I think it could go on a while.

OWEN

chris: ditching u for the other stoner tho chris: tumblr needs an all stoner f2... 7:23 PM me: thats ok im ditching u for the gay girl from the first post me: but for now? u and me <3 7:23 PM chris: deal stoner and I rlly did speak this into existence....... it'll happen

LEIGH

So this tribe has literal children on it. 15, 16 years old. I might have to backstab ACTUAL CHILDREN!  How do I even fit in with them? Trent suggested we could buy fidget spinners.  I said maybe yoga pants and a crop top?  There are people here BORN AFTER 9/11!!!  What the fuck I didn't even know you could be born after 9/11 and be out of kindergarten. What year is it?

EVAN

Just met some other castaways, they seem pretty chill.

FOXX

What's up. So this fox has returned after an eternity of a hiatus with more grey in his muzzle and hopefully some self-awareness to go with it. I played some pretty solid games in the past but after taking a long time lurking and sort of forgetting Tumblr Survivor Crooks asked if I wanted to play despite not knowing I have played before. That's how old and irrelevant of a has-been I am. Back from the dead. I'm glad my star has faded and I can go in with a blank slate. My biggest concern is that I am not on my anxiety medication so my social interactions, especially on call, will be a lot more stilted and I'm terrified this will impair my judgment but we'll see. Right now I'm not trying to come off as a huge strategist. I made an intentionally crappy intro video, made fun of myself, and just tried to be funny without coming off too weird/desperate etc. Almost like I'm not taking this too seriously. However, already I'm noticing a patterns in how people on my tribe are. I have no fucking clue who these mammals are. People will have extensive conversations about people, twists, running jokes, etc and I'm totally lost. That hiatus really did fuck with my ability to ingratiate myself with this community. That will be a huuuuge advantage coming to dealing with the newbies since I can leverage that to not seem so threatening but right now I think I'm doing a fair job being friendly and making people laugh. I hope. God. So my thoughts on my tribemates thus far: Stoner: Vaguely know who this guy is. Aptly named. He's clearly blazed as hell but I can tell he's bright and likable. Says "oh shit" a lot and he seems like depsite his facade he's probably someone I can work with. Isaac: We talked about Overwatch a bit and he seems nice but he's not coming on my radar too strong. Jess: Definitely made a fairly strong impression on me since we're similar ages, Francophone, and we bonded over our mutual detest and hatred of furries and then I calmly sneak in the fact I am a furry an hour later and holy shit I was trying so hard to not bust into tears. She's funny and likable and seems like she's someone I could work with. Matt: Talked a bit about me coming back. Very little in group call. Michael: Talked a fair amount about D&D and made some fun Upside Down jokes. Seems like we have a lot in common but him being a different time zone could prove hard to keep up with. Being the outlier on Time Zones is playing on Hard Mode. Olivia: Love her! We bonded over animals and she seems like a total sweetheart and I definitely wanna share pics of my cat with her some more! Owen: We talked a bit about literature and it was fun. Definitely seems intelligent and he's someone I know a bit about from Olympics. In an ideal world I'd want to work with Stoner, Jess, Olivia, & Michael but everything in on fire. Also, no luck on the idol so fuck me I guess

JESS

So... first night has been interesting? I was going to do your typical "first impressions" confessional but... FOXXX or whatever the fury's name is.... is playing too hard too fast. Am I being a Paranoid Patty and reading this the WRONG WAY entirely? Possibly. HOWEVER... It's been less than 5 hours since we were thrown into this hell hole of a game (The hosts are lovely individuals but we all know this is about to get insane) and he's telling me if I want to make a move that he's my guy? Ummm.... WE HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN OUR FIRST IMMUNITY YET? I'M NOT THINKING MOVES RIGHT NOW? I BARELY CAN REMEMBER YOUR NAME!

MICHAEL

https://youtu.be/Swisjdq1R4s

OLIVIA

Have I befriended a furry???????? Is this real life????? Is he actually a furry or just really in deep on this joke? Why are there so many Dylans in orgs? Also fucking goddamnit I like EVERYONE HERE I just wanna be friends with all y’all damn. All of the newbies are so adorable and seem so excited and unknowing to the pain that’s gonna come :’) Annabelle especially like my wig flew with that intro! I wanna meet them all. Also wtf is with the torches I WANNA KNOW ALREADY! Anyways that’s all I’m excited for this season. Owen and I renewed the o alliance :-) and Jess seems cool as hell I really clicked with her and the furry. Michael seems sweet and I already know Julian from Mykonos, the absolute crackhead. Real sweetie tho hopefully we’re friends. I hope I’m not coming off as too insane I was so nervous on the phone call with the tribe :( it was so fun but I felt like every time I said something it fell flat I felt so awkward abhhhhhahshsjaj. Anyhoo yay! New season!

Should I write the rest of my confessionals in japanese? Neko. Boom

JESS

So coming into this game with a TS under my belt is different... I still have no expectations whatsoever BUT I do know how HARD people go for in these games and I'm planning to go just as hard. The first night was wild. Everyone on my tribe except for Matt and Julian were lively on the tribe call. Everyone seemed pretty cool and super... out there.. I think Isaac might be the one to watch on my tribe. He's been around the block and knows most people on my tribe (new and old). WHICH IS WHY.. I'm going to try my best and get super close to him. I need to make sure I'm not disposable to these "older players" and as asset to these "newer" players. I just know need to cool my jets on the whole socializing bit in the main chat (Yes I know it's literally day 1). I want to be as irrelevant as possible so no one thinks I'm a threat but no one really wants to get rid of me either. Gotta focus on those INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIPS. Hopefully these other players with more TS's under their belts become bigger shields than me because if not... yikes on yikes.

ROB

I like everyone so far. Evan is giving me a few red flags because he’s only giving me one word answers, so i might take that into consideration when voting.

FOXX

We had a very fun group call with the tribe last night. Definitely haven’t laughed that much in a while. Love my tribe thus far so I hope we can keep the good vibes going. Jess & Stoner are people I feel like have talked with me the most Nd Olivia, Owen, & Michael are also friendly so I think I have options. One thing I’ve noticed is how casual and sociable this tribe is. Nothing is more frustrating than a tribe full of overserious gamebots (*cough* Selwyn *cough*) but it’s a group of funny and chill people. It’s gonna be a great game!

OLIVIA

I love these hosts 🙂 HATE the idol system but honestly it doesn’t change much I’ve never gotten an idol before and probably never will so it won’t change my gameplay lmao

I like Isaac a lot too! Forgot to say. But I’m also a little wary of him because I know he’s very experienced

JULIAN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKDvx7VxRC8

ANABEL

well. yesterday i found an idol on my second guess. and made two new friends. so yesterday was great. today was bad. i outed myself. my mom heard me tell my eyebrow lady that i was gay. this is a sad confessional and i wish i wasn’t so loud. im real fucking sad. sorry. but at least i have an idol and some friends.

LEIGH

Time to put on a bra and take some selfies.

I'm glad I shaved today for that tattoo selfie.

OLIVIA

There’s an alliance I’m not in isn’t there

Why am I so FUCKING awkward

ANABEL

im so fucking good at survivor like... good lord. trent and i are like best friends already (see, i knew this would happen, i always meet a nice old usually straight man and we become friends, it's like the hallmark of my survivor experiences) and we came up w a plan where i am gonna try and seduce evan and rob and make them my lil minions so im gonna lie to them and tell them that im a cheerleader bc that's hot right?? so ya my womanly charms will be utilized to their fullest potential. go me.

MICHAEL

https://youtu.be/aAqEUHoyy78

LEIGH

Can we talk about how bullshit it is to have "Lipstick in your tribe's color" when we're yellow and they're RED?  Honest to god might as well have "Lemon in your tribe's color" to make it fair.

Alex coming in with bold capslock "MAKE SURE EVERYONE ON YOUR TEAM HAS SUBMITTED AT LEAST ONE THING" ... Just DM Evan directly my dude.

OLIVIA

Feeling much better about this game today than I was last night I think I was just spiraling 🥰 we’re doing really well on the challenge and I hope we win!! Two people messaged me saying I’m doing great on the challenge and idk how to respond. Just tryna make sure we don’t lose I will NOT be the first vote out. Newbies go hard on scavenger hunts but I go even harder 😈

LORELEI

Ok so! I'm super bummed that obor lost the challenge, I really thought we would win! Now we have to get rid of someone and it sucks but I feel like we all know who it has to be. It's not even personal, it's just the fairest thing and the best thing for our tribe. Also, alliances are forming! I like Anabel, Leigh and Trent so I'm with them but I'm gonna try to connect with everyone so I'm not on the outskirts. I hope that the boys haven't formed an all boys alliance bc if they have, then the girls could be in danger. That's it for now!

STONER

guess I’ll follow Alex crook’s rules... https://youtu.be/ndsfCdjtcQI

Not much, about to sleep! https://youtu.be/v12a2AbklVw

MICHAEL

https://youtu.be/4inKBNkg87M

JESS

It's 2:30am so WHY NOT post ANOTHER confessional? Am I right? Honestly, we won which I'm BEYOND THANKFUL for. I hate tribal and I can now at least say I wasn't first boot. THANK GAGA. I'm just really trying to solidify things with Michael right now. I think out of everyone on my current tribe I can honestly see myself making a run at this game with him (at least up until merge). I offered him the prospect of sharing idol clues (it's literally the only collateral I have at the moment) so hopefully this doesn't bite me in the fucking ass. Other than Michael I was kind of hoping to somehow get closer to both Julian and Matt (plot twist I know). Matt has hosted me before and it's no secret he is a founding father of the "I Hate Jess" Club. However, these two seem to be the odd men out right now. They aren't overly socializing with people so there's a high chance they'll be taken out if our current tribe loses. HOWEVER.. I see potential numbers in them. So I can't let that happen. As of right now both Foxx and Stoner seem to be the ones to watch out for. I just can't let them think or know... that I know that about them. Stoner gives me mega "I say the same things to everyone" vibes. He's clearly playing a strong social game so far. I just need to play dumb and ensure that he thinks he can control/trust me. Honestly, as soon as he doesn't see value in me I have no doubt he's gonna cut me. Foxx on the other hand, just seems like he's playing too hard. He's another guy who I strongly believe is going to drop me as soon as I have no value to him. I'm just going to have to have to lay low and be dumb. Owen scares me shitless. He's giving me PTSD from my last season because homeboy is playing a strong contender game. He's definitely a pick to win. He's another person who I'm going to have to try and pretend I'm under their spell. Am I playing too hard too fast? I'm not entirely sure. I'm just going to slow my role a bit and see what happens

MATT

What’s Up? WHAT’S UP?!?!?!?  how dare you ask me such a ludicrous question.  Alright so first real general confessional of the game here.  I wanna eventually try and record some video confessionals, but that’s if i have the time. but for today, we’re good with a text.   So starting off the game on the Cahaya Tribe, which consists of entirely returnees.  So right off the bat it makes nervous bc i’m really not around much in the community.  Yeah i’m in a few VL’s and i played once before, but i really don’t know anyone.  So being the odd one out for that reason was a real fear for a little bit. Looking at my tribe, there are a few names that stood out the most to me.  Owen stood out bc we both played Kuwait, and even tho we never met each other, we still have that little connection.  Chris motherfucking Stoner is here too!!  Chris is such a chill dude.  we played together once before and i voted him out pre swap.  But that game was so long ago, and i really don’t think he cares (i know i dont).  So i’m looking forward to reconnecting with him.  Jess is also here!! Jess and I had met previously because i hosted her in Celestial Komnata, and we had some rough misunderstandings there.  But months have passed and I know that I am well over it bc i frankly don’t care.  But i feel like she still probably cares which will not be good for me. Michael was the last person that stood out to me.  Not because I know him, or know of him.  But because he’s the only Non-North American in the cast, which means if i can stay up late and socialize with him, he might favor me over other When i looked at the other tribe, i think the only person i know is Anabel?  We played together once, i hosted her, so we have somewhat of a connection that if we swap together, i hope that works in my favor.   So on the first night of the game, i was very busy with Celestial All stars premiere, so i didn’t get to talk as much as i would’ve liked.  which resulted in me telling jones on call like 5 times that i’m gonna be first boot.  But the first night, i talked with everyone (to some degree) except Issac bc i forgot Issac was here.   The torch twist thing i have no idea what it’s going to be and it worries me.  My first thought is that it somehow would result in a third tribe bc there were six torches.  so someone would light a torch and be placed on that tribe. But it’s too early to figure out what they even mean and i’m sure as the game progresses.  

LEIGH

Woooo so what's happened.  Well, we lost the challenge and it wasn't even close. I haven't looked at the spreadsheet to see the final scores but I feel like Me, Trent, and Anabell did the most work.  I talked to a few people last night and put Evan's name out there cuz I know most people are too scared to say a name first and I feel comfortable enough about my position to be the one to say a name that most people should agree with. A mutual alliance formed between me, Chris, Trent, Anabell, and Lorelei.  Within it, an all girls 3 alliance formed which I'm super happy to be part of.  I'm sure Trent will be paranoid about that sooner or later so hopefully Chris and I can make him feel confident.  Trent is sharing idol guesses with me so I'm hoping that means I'm like the closest person to him right now.  I like the number of options I have so far. 

I feel like Facebook might be falling out of style so maybe these youngin's don't even have it or aren't familiar with Facebook ORGs.  The only other people here who know my history as far as I know are Foxx and Chris, and I hope neither of them bring it up. If I can stay UTR that'd be nice.  Also, I think I need to stop capitalizing letters/using punctuation if I wanna fit in with these kids.  Did I already confessionalize that? Not sure.

Apparently Lorelei missed the HII thing day one haha oh well. I'm compiling guesses from me, Chris, and Trent. Hopefully I'll get them from the girls too. I'm not showing the girls' guesses to Chris though. I don't think he'll be mad at me for it. We gotta play close to the vest sometimes yo

TRENT

So far I think the game is going alright. My tribe is incredibly quiet for some reason but I guess that isn't too bad. I made a connection with Anabel and Leigh pretty early on. Decided to suggestion and alliance and both we in so I added Chris and Lorelei so we had a majority. This is the alliance I wanted from the beginning. I wanted the older people to stick together and then add in one young one. I think it's a pretty solid idea. Ive been messaging both kenny and dylan as well. I don't want an alliance with them, but I would like for them to like me and want me to stay in. I also think im getting along pretty well with the two infiltrators right now. Julian was spilling all kinds of info about his tribe to me this morning and then me and owen connected really well. Hopefully this will help me in the future if there is a split soon.

OLIVIA

Jess was hinting that her, foxx, stoner, and I should get together and I said we’d make a nifty cool group. A NIFTY COOL GROUP WHAT THE FUCK IS A NIFTY COOL OLIVIA

ISAAC

This twist can become SO detrimental. And I’m so MAD Owen went over there first because that bitch is unbelievably charismatic. Hopefully it paints a bigger target on him but like it’s whatever. I like my tribe. We seem chill and I seem to vibe the most with Olivia and Jessica Messica. Foxx is cool. Julian is....Julian ig. Matt has yet to talk to me so that’s a wig ig. Michael seems nice but ngl I get kinda bored when I try to talk to him? He seems very gamebot-y which could be frightening but idk he’s not my biggest problem atm. I’m terrified of Owen - he’s unbelievably charismatic and has the ability to twist people around his finger so like I’m gonna keep my eye on him and I’m not gonna let him out of my sight. With that being said I do wanna see him live for at least a little while for meat-shield purposes. Anyways I hope I do well this game but 👀 I have a sinking feeling.

KENNY

So yeah.. it seemed like a pretty laxxed day and Evan was the vote. How true is that? Idk but I have to trust strangers. But just heard he through my name out like 20 minutes ago, with less than 3 hours to go. So I just hope everyone’s being honest 😭

OWEN

what’s up? Everything :’) I couldn’t help as much in the scav hunt as I liked because I was living my life. But thankfully we won anyways bc my tribe kicked ass! I still contributed some and I made sure to keep talking to people. I still love olivia, and matt has been fun to talk to. Don’t rlly know why but foxx seems hard to get to know. And not big into michael rn either. I think I will stick with Julian and chris, hopefully can pull in jess and olivia to do something if we lose. Chris mentioned that both him and jess DO like foxx so we will see.... The main thing is that this twist worked out perfectly for me!!!! I couldn’t call when we were decided and I REALLY wanted to go. Thankfully I was able to take advantage of the majority vote thing and pretend like I wasn’t online hehe and by some miracle I got picked to go. MEANT TO BEEE and let me say I was right, I do love this tribe so much more than my own for some reason. Trent is great, Annabel and I are talking like I wanted, the Chicago girl and the Pokémon mystery dungeon girl. It’s so good over here, but the biggest surprise has been chris o. I really like him and could see myself working well with him if we swap. The only thing is that Julian said he was sketchy sometimes..... hehe so down the road I might have to tell chris o that Julian is after him :~) but I don’t need to snake too hard yet, for right now I’m a crocodile lookin like a log. Vote should be easy on Evan from what I’ve heard but if it changes? I’ll be living for the drama!

LORELEI

It looks like Evan is the consensus. I feel really bad though because it's not his fault. He tried to plead his case with me by saying that he wasn't the only one that was inactive, but that doesn't change the fact that he contributed the least. I know it's the fair thing to do but I feel bad about it. Voting out people is so not fun, I really hope we win the next challenge so I won't have to do this again.

EVAN

I’m pretty sure I’m fucked. I’ve been trying to get people to vote Kenny but idk fuck

KENNY

“I know I’M voting Evan = I might be voting Evan but I know others are voting you”. Or am I being paranoid

JULIAN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaH8l2R-Xt0

MATT

i feel like i did pretty good on the scavenger hunt.  i managed to scoop up a bunch of items that were left over and some that were high points.  so i do feel good about my performance and think i pulled my weight.  Speaking of pulling weight...Julian is...there.  I think he only submitted one item which was the Vine.  I mean i get you have work and are busy, but like...most of us were the same?  even issac who was celebrating his birthday did more.   after challenge results we got on call in the tribe chat (olivia, chris, michael, myself). and we were talking about the infiltrator twist and the challenge results.  We agreed to have myself and Olivia go, but we needed 5 for a majority.  Julian shows up and says he “might wanna go tbh”.  and then disappears.  We’re on call laughing bc we wanna submit this and not randomize it, so someone who isn’t here gets forced to go.  BUT JULIAN won’t talk in tribechat even tho we’re all like, “hey we’ll take turns and you can go next time.”. but no.  Julian is only talking in olivia’s pm’s and she’s telling us whatever he’s saying. eventually the hour is up, and julian got randomized to go.  that fucker strong armed us into randomizing and he still went god damnit.   I think that call was good for my game because we were just chatting for like 1.5 hours about the game stuff and people.  After michael/chris left the call it was just Olivia and myself on call and we stayed on for another hour and a half(????? ish??? probably less i can’t remember).  But that was a nice call and i think helped start to solidify a bond.  Olivia is someone i can see myself working with in this game.  Same goes for Michael and Chris.  I feel like that call group was pretty natural and we got along really well.  I’m too nervous to initiate any kind of alliance talk, but i know it’s gonna have to happen eventually.  i’m sure alliances already exist on the tribe and i’m obviously not in them.  I think for starters, i need to work on conversations a bit more, because they are somewhat weak right now.  My goal for the future is to work on olivia, michael, chris and owen.  Those are the people i feel most good about.  Foxx is cool but idk it seems hard to gel with them.  Julian is cracked and i hope he’s our first boot.  and the four of us on call forgot issac was on the tribe so that’s not good for him. i think i’m in a decent position for now, but i’m not gonna count my chickens before they hatch (i think that’s the saying idfk)

[smol-scorp]

I was tagged by @plushenko. Thank 😘💜 Rules: Put your music on shuffle, list the first 9 songs and your favorite lyrics from each. Then tag 9 other people to participate! 1. Strange Love- Halsey We wrote a story in the fog on the windows that night, but the ending is the same every damn time. 2. I Don't Care- Fall Out Boy The best of us can find happiness in misery. 3. Hallelujah- Panic! At The Disco I love the things you hate about yourself. Just finish the daydream, who were you trying to be? 4. History Maker- Dean Fujioka There'll be no more darkness when you believe in yourself. You'll be unstoppable. 5. Car Radio- Twenty-One Pilots There's faith and there's sleep. We need to pick one, please, because faith is to be awake and to be awake is for us to think and to think is to be alive. 6. Wanted Dead or Alive- Bon Jovi I've been everywhere and I'm standing tall. I've seen a million faces and I've rocked them all 7. Nature Boy- David Bowie The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return. 8. Seasons of Love- Cast of Rent In truth that she learned, or in times that he cried, In bridges he burned, or the way that she died 9. Young Volcanoes- Fall Out Boy Tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds. It's all over now. Before it has begun, we've already won. I tag @little-werewolf-tori, @feminist-tendencies, @lyratheextraordinaire, @jafrowne, and whoever else wants to because I don't know 9 people on here. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[iemiftikhar]

TIBETAN ANTELOPPE (pantholops hodgsoni) The Tibetan antelope (གཙོད།) (Pantholops hodgsonii), traditionally known as the Chiru, is a rare and remarkable creature. While denominated as an antelope, the Chiru is in face more closely related to a wild goat.  DESCRIPTION The Tibetan antelope possesses the softest and warmest wool in the world, incomparably delicate and matchlessly dense. Their fur is comprised of long guard hairs that vary from russet to a pale fawn in color. The belly is particularly woolly, either hoar or creamy white, and very velvety. The tufts of the undercoat are silky in texture and have noticeably shorter fibres. The head is darker, almost black, with bulbous nasal swellings. The Chiru’s nostrils have inflatable air sacs to enhance breathing at high altitudes, which leads to a swollen muzzle. The Tibetan antelope is lean and nimble. The ears are quite short and pointed. Males can be identified effortlessly by their slender, curved horns and the black stripes on their legs. These distinguishing characteristics are both absent with female Tibetan antelopes. The Chiru’s horns do not grow throughout their lifespans, but can reach up to 70 cm in length. A majority of the horns are ringed with prominent ridges until they taper back into a smooth, wickedly-pointed tip. Males are also substantially larger than females, weighing in at a hefty forty kilograms compared to around twenty-five or thirty.  The Tibetan Antelope with a juvenile on the Tibetan Plateau HOME The Tibetan plateau, although one of the most isolated and inhospitable places on the planet, is the Chiru’s exclusive habitat. The steppe that this bovid calls home is a cruel combination of hypothermic temperatures and a semi-arid climate. The vacant plateau falls in long, slow slopes and ridges which offer little protection from the penetrating mountain winds. The Tibetan antelope uses its cloven hooves to gouge depressions into the soil, to take shelter from the wind and predators. In decades past, the Tibetan antelope roamed a much more expansive territory. They are still occasionally spotted in the Qinghai and Xinjiang provinces, but have almost completely retreated into the ChangTang region of north-western Tibet, where there is a large wildlife sanctuary. Occasionally the Chiru ventures as low as 10,700 feet, but more commonly dwells between 13,000 of 18,000 feet. Due to the elevation of the Tibetan plateau, the air is extremely rarefied. The anoxic environment of this hinterland is responsible for the sparse vegetation.  DIET The Tibetan Antelope is a grazer and survives off a meagre diet of grasses, herbs, forbs, sedges, and shrubs. In the winter it is often necessary for the Chiru to dredge through the snow to find a meal. Herds chiefly feed in the morning and evening, and rest sporadically throughout the day. PREDATORS Extraordinarily vigilant and wary creatures, Tibetan antelope have hair-trigger alertness. At the first sign of a predator, the Chiru will bolt and be off like a bullet. Despite the thin air at such a high elevation, Tibetan antelopes are serious runners. The air sacs in their nostrils permit them to run up to eighty kilometres per hour, with unparalleled endurance. Their primary predators are wolves and snow leopards, and foxes which attack newborn calves. BREEDING AND MIGRATION Rutting season begins in November and will carry on through the winter. Courtship is brief and devoid of fanfare. Instead of actually sparring, male antelopes will simply intimidate each other through aggressive displays until one flees. The male’s coat will pale to match the snow and contrast with the dark markings on their faces and legs. They will form harems of up to twelve females, however, less fortunate Chiru’s must be satisfied with between one to four. Tibetan antelopes are both nomadic and migratory, regularly covering vast distances as they wander between summer and winter pastures. Gestating females will travel north over three hundred kilometres to arrive at their traditional birthing grounds. Calves are delivered in June and July, after a six-month pregnancy. Mothers will only produce a single offspring, and life expectancy for the newborn is startlingly grim. Calves are precocial, capable of walking within only fifteen minutes of birth and fully developed after fifteen months. In late April or May, just as their horns have begun to emerge, juvenile males will separate from their mothers. These adolescent antelopes will band together and either remain in their winter grounds throughout the summer or roam the plateau. Young females often decide to stay with their mothers until they themselves give birth. They will converge in the autumn, just in time for the annual rut. Tibetan antelopes are extremely social animals, gathering in herds of usually a dozen or so individuals. It’s not strange however to hear of these herds numbering well up into the hundreds. Males and females always remain segregated, excluding the mating season. Solitary Chiru will drift alone across the steppe, dispersing the species widely thought the Tibetan plateau.  A Tibetan Antelope by itself. SHAHTOOSH The underfur of the Tibetan antelope, or “soft gold” as it’s called by poachers, is the warmest and softest wool in the animal kingdom. Predominantly, this underfur is woven into a traditional shawl known as a shahtoosh. Mainly given away as an extremely expensive wedding present, prices for this shawl on the international market can skyrocket to as high as $40,000. For a single shahtoosh, between three to five antelopes need to be killed and harvested for their desirable, valuable underfur. Tibet has experienced an illegal hunting epidemic that, over the course of two decades, almost resulted in the Chiru’s extinction. As a ramification of this unrestrained poaching, the Tibetan antelope population is estimated to have dropped by over 50%. There is calculated to be less than 75,000 remaining antelope left on the Tibetan plateau. In addition to poaching, the Chiru must also contend with the annexation and development of their rangelands. Domesticated herds, the introduction of railways, and gold mining all contribute to the dwindling numbers of the Tibetan antelope. The Chinese government employs rangers to patrol the sprawling expanse of the Tibetan Plateau. In China the Chiru is under second-class protection, but the species is also being safeguarded overseas. The Tibetan antelope was classified as endangered in the 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The U.S. Endangered Species Act also prohibits shahtoosh products from being bought and sold within the United States. The Tibetan antelope was honoured as the mascot for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.