#i don't have the brain cells to produce this

[bitchkay]

I need a love triangle story with Toa and Guy with MC in the middle but its actually a rivals to lovers where they fall in love instead with MC as a mediator and they have a big fight, throwing punches, headmasters rules be damned, where they actually rough each other up until someone pulls them apart from eachother and they end up having a talk (against their will) and realize MC really isn't their goal is it?

"Well, if you hate me that much, then fuck off! Let me be someone else’s problem!"

"I don’t want you being someone else’s problem is the fucking problem here! I want--! ..."

"..."

"..."

"You don't actually hate eachother... do you?"

[jupiterswasphouse]

WASP REVIEW - CAZADORES (FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS)

[Image IDs: Two images of the Cazadores from Fallout: New Vegas, one being a render of the in-game model and the other being an official illustration /End IDs.]

This one's an interesting one! While the vast majority of fictional (non-ant/bee) wasps are based on Vespids such as the paper wasps, yellowjackets, or hornets, the Cazadores of the Fallout universe are based on spider wasps (Pompilidae), more specifically the genus Pepsis, one of two genera of tarantula hawk wasps (the other being Hemipepsis), a set of species that is, in fact, found in the deserts of the southwestern US, in which New Vegas is set.

[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons, Niklas299 | Image ID: A photo of an almost blueish black tarantula hawk wasp with orange and black wings, Pepsis grossa, on a leafy green plant /End IDs.]

They share many of the most famous features of these insects, such as their black coloration, curled antennae (in females, the opposite of paper wasps, whose males are the ones with curls), orange wings (although some species of the aforementioned genera have entirely black wings), and a similar body shape. These wasps also have some features, however, that don't match up with their inspiration, such as their red eyes (in-game), jagged wing shape, and much more pronounced setae (hair/fur), perhaps being adaptations brought on by the extreme radiation of the wastelands, or instead by something else entirely, which we'll be getting to later in this review.

They also have another key difference from their inspiration! Real world spider wasps are solitary and will either create or reuse existing underground burrows, whereas the Cazadores are eusocial! They create basket shaped nests out of an indeterminate material, very similar to the paper nest building hornets or tree-dwelling yellowjackets, but with multiple cells that have individual baskets and entrances, like that of a mud dauber nest.

[Image Sources: Ohio State University, Joe Boggs and Brisbane Insects | Image IDs: Three images, including one render of the Cazadores nest, and two photos of real world nests, those being the paper nest of the bald-faced hornet (actually a type of yellowjacket) and the mud nest of the vase-cell mud dauber /End IDs.]

"Well, why?" is what I asked when I first heard that this solitary wasp was suddenly eusocial, something that's not easily explained even by heavy amounts of fictionalized mutation-inducing radiation. Well, this may be best explained by the work of our resident brain-in-a-jar Think Tank robot, Doctor Borous. His work in the Z-14 Pepsinae DNA Splicing Lab of Big MT is what directly lead to the creation of the Cazadores, potentially having been spliced with the aforementioned hornets, yellowjackets, mud daubers, and possibly many more species, permanently altering their DNA and behaviors!

The idea of this is fairly fantastical, but highly likely in this universe, given Borous' other experiments, which lead to the creation of the Nightstalker, a mix of rattlesnake and coyote DNA.

Doctor Borous himself, meanwhile, seems completely unaware of his creation's prevalence throughout the wastelands of New Vegas' Mojave, content to deny their existence elsewhere and even their ability to reproduce. This fact, of course, is easily proven through the multitude of individuals you find throughout the desert and the eggs you might find alongside them.

[Image ID: A render of the model of a Cazador egg /End ID.]

Our good Doctor claims to have castrated the individuals he had in captivity within the research lab, but this only further goes to show his confident incompetence, implying he either: Heavily botched the procedure, or outright neglected to do so to female specimens.

You may think that these wasps would be incapable of reproducing, should the males be successfully castrated, however, a female wasp can still produce an unfertilized egg. This unfertilized egg, in Hymenoptera, will always contain a male, making it that much more likely to be able to reproduce with the females of its kind, creating fertilized (female) eggs, and thus the cycle continues until you have a desert full of wasps!

Finally, as for their defense techniques, Cazadores seem pretty standard for eusocial wasps, attacking potential threats to the hive when they get too close with repeated stings from multiple individuals, while having a notably higher than normal level of aggression (I would too if I was created by a supremely incompetent yet skilled mad scientist and/or floating brain like Doctor Borous). I have to wonder what their hunting techniques are, and what they go for as well. The adults would presumably still feed on nectar, but, being such large insects, might need to turn things up a notch in terms of what they collect for their young... A tasty radscorpion, perhaps?

In any case, I actually don't doubt a genetically engineered superwasp's ability to incapacitate or kill a human in a few stings, with such a large stinger doing massive mechanical damage to the skin and possibly the internal organs and presumably scaled up venom built to deal with larger creatures!

In conclusion, the Cazadores are fascinating creatures, and, while not entirely accurate to their original inspiration, New Vegas does a fantastic job making them make sense within the world they created, inaccuracies and all, clearly putting some thought into these creatures! Plus I quite appreciate the more unique and fitting choice of inspiration.

-

Overall: 8/10

-

This wasp review was suggested by @cupidtheartsy ! Leave your wasp review suggestion in the replies, tags, or askbox!

Make sure to tune in next week when we cover the Zingers from the Donkey Kong series!

[violetisderp]

OMG

YOU SEE THIS???

RIGHT HERE????

MY RANDOM HEAD CANNON, MERHEHEHEHE.

I like to think he dosnt speak, and uses sign language. It dosnt say he dose in this but STILL. AND I KNOW ITS MOST LIKELY REFERING TO THE CARTOON BUT IDC.

I am just happy about random things lol.

Also i have abit of a theory for Bobby Bearhug (Big body)

Cause it's said she has spasuims or idk how to spell it. But like, she's also not responsive and stuff and they had to fix stuff.

The words are kinda hard to read so, I'll write them here;

Subject

Bobby Bearhug: Smiling Bigger Bodies Initiative

Observations

Three hours following awakening-observations:

Her body continues to spasm Eyelids flutter. Paws twitch.

Subject doesn't seem to show any awareness of where she is. Could sensory functions be distorted, or altogether absent? We speak to her, try to get her attention by makeing sounds, but she dose not register our attempts.

The auditory nerve in the ears directly communicates sound to the auditory cortex in the brain. It appears we may have failed at wiring the connective cords and might be forced to go back under the knife to fix this. A lack of response seems to indicate the necessity of this task.

It's clear that our procedures still haven't corrected issues with vocals, ethier. Her mouth moves, as if to speak, but nothing is said. We'll need to correct these procedures with subsequent subjects if we're to potentially have these toys interact with our children.

-End-

SO. For a unknown period of time, she couldn't speak or hear, but as far as I'm aware it says nothing about physical contact. So, I'm assuming she can still FEEL, but hearing and speaking she couldn't do. (Obviously)

There abit easier to read but I'll write them out just incase;

Several hours after awakening. She tried to stand and walk to the other side of the cell but couldn't keep her balance. She looks to be searching for help. Continuing to spasm.

She's trying to scream, but she has no voice. She's silent. I'm not sure if she knows she's not making any sound.

Conclusions:

Work will need to be done to perfect the Bigger Body formula we began with Boxy. Each iteration improves on the former. However, if we're to meet Dr. Sawyer, and produce Bigger Bodies subjects that we can integrate into a factory setting, then more work will need to be done.

As it stands, Bobby will require further experimentation. If we're to create Subject 1188 according to schematics, then each of these "Smiling Critters" will prove a good testing ground for ironing out these issues.

-end-

SO. It seems they did some more tests and put her "under the knife" some more. It dosnt seem like it helps much for her movements but it's better then motionless. Now I'm not sure if they manage to fix her speaking and hearing,

Also, the little Doodle at the bottom, you can slightly see her ribs, but with CatNap you can fully see his ribcage and he is oddly skinny. But with dogday he ISNT skinny (which also funny cause he was left to hang, now i have other theorys for that but on were on about bobby.)

Ik it's a sketch BUT STILL.

Sooooooooo, from what we know from what dogday said:

"Im.. the last.. of the smiling critters" (R.I.P sad boi-)

So we know Bobby has to have died, but we don't know how, so she has to have died from SoMtHiNg. So she could have straved to death, from what poppy told us in chapter 3 (deep sleep)

Somthing about how they hid the bodies and "feasted on them."

And from what we know about Mrs. Delight, how she killed who she saw AS HER OWN SISTERS to stay alive. And so they very much can starve.

But Bobby could have also died from one of the surgerys she went under, while trying to fix her hearing or her speaking.

She had to have gone under quite abit "to fix her" and the problems she was having.

SPEAKING OF EATING A DRINKING, how do they eat and drink, they speak and there mouth stays open cause there in a plush so uhm-? And mommy long legs mouth moves but not the smiling critters, it stays open so like... how..?

Sorry about the ramble I was just having a moment

[worlds-worst-ships]

Do you ship it? ((C*nt of the month edition) trying not to get banned)

Hi Matt! Since I know comedians these days love googling themselves and finding things about them that piss them off so they can whinge on stage about it, I have something to show you. Here's a list of people in history with disabilities who made more of an impact on the world than you could possibly imagine;

1: Michael Bisping, professional MMA fighter, had multiple fights at the highest level on the trot with an impressive win ratio with a missing eye, unbeknownst to anyone but him (would love to see you make fun of him)

2: Albert Einstein, most famed and celebrated professor of the 20th century, was on the autistic spectrum. Gave more to the world in a year than you did in your life.

3: Tim Burton, among the most famous directors, producers and animators in history, revolutionizing goth culture in his long career, is also autistic. He put in far more work than standing on stage and being a dick.

4: Stephen Hawking. Even an idiot like you knows this one. I'll leave it at that.

5: Hellen Keller, was literally deaf and blind for most of her life and was still a famous author. So whats your excuse for writing such shit, tasteless jokes?

6: Zack Gottsagen, an actor with down syndrome, became the first actor with down syndrome to present an Oscar.

7: Stevie Wonder. I imagine even he could see how utterly insufferable modern comedians are.

Nooooow then, lemme guess, "yOu'Re jUsT a PiSsEd oFf TrAnS pErSoN gEtTiNg OFfEnDeD" lemme tell everyone something about myself.

I'm not trans.

I'm straight.

I have no physical disabilities whatsoever.

I actually don't get along with a lot of lgbt people because they're, guess what, PEOPLE, very few of whom I get along with anyway. Its never once been to do with their identities or rights, but purely because, as is the case with every demographic, most of the ones I've met are pricks.

"BuT ThEy GEt OFfEnDeD-" yes, when you deliberately scroll twitter looking for offended lgbt people, you tend to stumble across them. Wouldn't ya know it?

Anyways. Comedy is dog shit. Getting up on stage and deliberately being edgy because you've lived no sort of life away from people who you know you'll offend is not talent. Its something a 14 year old with an inferiority complex would do. Thanks for being another nail in the coffin of actual, watchable comedy.

Oh yeah, and if you want an example on how to actually joke about domestic violence, cross-reference the name "Wilbur" on my blog. See, its funny when you're making fun of the abuser and the fact that they do these things, but not when you mock a victim and make fun of them for having these things happen to them. Never once do I mention his victims, its purely making fun of him and the sheer absurdity of his behavior in the scope of who he is. And we're on Tumblr, literally the symbol of people getting offended, and never once have I gotten backlash for those jokes, so you, as a man with a Netflix special, have no excuse for such lacking creativity.

One last thing, for my readers... anyone wanna bet some petty cash that a woman or three from his past are gonna come out with a few tasty bits of drama about ol' Matty boy, if you know what I mean?

[dathomirdumpsterfire]

For fun, I wanted to think through which organs Darth Maul is actually missing. This gives us clues as to which bodily processes he just doesn't have anymore, which ones he's using sith juju to make up for, and what Talzin or Death Watch might've done for him with the prosthetics. To be fair, humans have about 70 to 80 possible organs systems (don't ask), but who knows what zabrak have, and where they truly are located. We can only guess.

✓ Means he probably has this.

X Means he probably doesn't have this.

O Means he probably only has some.

(Checklist and conclusions below the cut.)

✓ Adrenal glands (above the kidneys)

X Anus

X Appendix

X Bladder

O Bones

O Bone marrow (spongy part of the bone)

✓ Brain

✓ Bronchi (tubes in the lungs)

✓ Diaphragm (muscle of breathing)

✓ Ears

✓ Esophagus

✓ Eyes

✓ Gallbladder

X Genitals

✓ Heart ( 2 of them!)

✓ Hypothalamus (in the brain)

O Joints

✓ Kidneys

O Large intestine

✓ Larynx (voice box)

✓ Liver

✓ Lungs

O Lymph nodes

O Mesentery (Nerves, vessel, & fat storage in gut)

✓ Mouth

✓ Nasal cavity

✓ Nose

✓ Pancreas (hormones/enzymes)

✓ Pineal gland (in the brain- hormone production)

✓ Parathyroid glands (hormones, in the neck)

✓ Pharynx (back of the throat)

��� Pituitary gland (in the brain, hormones)

X Prostate

X Rectum

✓ Salivary glands

O Skeletal muscles

O Skin

O Small intestine

O Spinal cord

✓ Spleen (big blood filter)

✓ Stomach

✓ Teeth

✓ Thymus gland (immune training, in the chest)

✓ Thyroid (hormones, in the neck)

✓ Trachea

✓ Tongue

O Ureters (Kidney to bladder tubes)

X Urethra

O Ligaments (connect muscles to bones)

O Tendons (connect bones to bones)

✓ Blood cells

✓ Hair (Uhhh... horns? I guess he has eyelashes?)

✓ The vestibular system (of the ear)

X Testes (unless zabrak locate them internally)

✓ Nails

X Vas deferens (testes to genitals tube)

X Seminal vesicles (semen fluid production)

X Bulbourethral glands (makes preejaculate)

X Penis

X Scrotum (if zabrak keep the testes externally)

✓ Parathyroid glands (neck, hormonal)

O Thoracic ducts (Where lymph flows into veins)

O Arteries

O Veins

O Capillaries

O Lymphatic vessels

✓ Tonsils

O Nerves

O Subcutaneous tissue

O Olfactory epithelium (nose)

✓ Cerebellum

Long story short, besides just his legs and genitals, Maul lost most of his digestive and urinary systems.

He actually kept almost all of his life-critical organs, so whatever sith voodoo he was doing to stay alive on Lotho Minor was probably focused on fighting off sepsis (due to the unclean end points of his digestive system. Remember he got cauterized by a lightsaber so assume he had to make... new holes. There may have also been some self-done surgery to reconnect what remained of his large and small intestines.)

The loss of his testes, if he indeed had human typical location for them, could have proven a growing problem, considering that they make 90% of a man's testosterone, and that's needed just to have normal amounts of energy.

The digestive track is also a problem, as the gut microbiome is where a lot of neurochemicals are produced. For example, 95%~ of the body's seratonin is produced in the gut. Lacking huge chunks of his small and large intestine means that Maul had poor absorbtion of nutrients, and probably needed to eat all the time just to get a fraction of the calories and nutrients from his food.

So. He lived on the edge of starvation due to a truncated digestive track, had low energy, mood imbalances like you wouldn't believe, and constant sepsis. I'm sure the acid rain being the only source of fresh water was also just, so helpful.

I assume, by the lack of black veins on him afterward, and (sort of?) stable mood, that talzin might've regrown some of his gut and fixed the end point issues. Later on, Death Watch (being mandalorians) might've given him more robust life support systems that included testosterone replacement and cybernetic genitals. Seems like what they would do for their own people.

Possible lingering complications? I assume he has a VERY weird relationship with food. He had spider legs for twelve years, so bipedal motion probably fails him sometimes. Back pain. Phantom leg pain. Nerve junction issues. Immune system weirdness (from all that missing marrow, and a long stint with sepsis). Issues storing fat. Talzin yoloed his brain back to sane-adjacent, so mental health is... I mean. Yeah. Triggers. Teeth prone to chipping and cavities (from malnutrition and acid water). Possibly goes to the bathroom once a day and urinates like a race horse. Issues with being touched, myriad phobias, and a squirrelly libido.

Did I miss anything?

[sytokun]

To anyone thinking or saying Dillon Goo is unworthy of acquiring RWBY, not because of anything realistic like finances or the size of his studio, but because he's "just an animator", or just a rando from the internet who cannot write or run RWBY:

Thanks for perpetuating the piece of shit mindset that every soul-sucking corporation and braindead consumer has: that animators have no value or are just there to push buttons and make pixels move for the real creatives.

Animators are artists and creators. They have to work with numerous departments to make things work: They have to know what the writer/director wants, and tell them if it's even possible to put to screen; they have to work with artists and character designers to tell if they can commit that art into moving parts. And for an animated show, they're kind of... I dunno, the entire backbone of its production.

Anyone stupid enough to claim that, by their logic, should claim that Miles and Kerry were "just writers" and don't have the right nor the intelligence to have any opinions on RWBY's animation, character designs or music. That's how I know you have zero fucking idea how any actual media is produced, because in your head, these positions all just exist as separate little boxes in your brain so it's simple enough for you to grasp.

It was "just an animator" who made RWBY in the first place, dumbass. A "rando" making animations on the internet that Rooster Teeth took a chance on, and now he's responsible for their best-selling IP. By comparison, Dillon is starting at a way better starting position than Monty was, with a successful YouTube channel, public support from multiple current and ex-CRWBY like J Grelle (Tyrian's VA), Kim Newman (former animator who animated Sun's gunchucks in V5) and Jessica Nigri (Cinder's VA), and multiple collaborations with big companies like Hoyoverse.

If anything, I'd expect an animator like Dillon to know and care enough about his staff to not give them near-irreparable spinal damage. Gee, I wonder why Newman would think he'd be a better employer to work with? Dillon would know how an animation project is run and budgeted. Him being an animator is a benefit, for god's sake.

Monty had character design sketches but needed help from professional artists to fully design them. He knew bits of the plot but needed help fleshing it out. Do you have enough brain cells to rub together to know that's precisely what Dillon can do, too? Fuckin', I dunno, hire people? For his studio??

I'd rather have an animator run RWBY because RWBY is an animated series and he would know precisely 1) what complements the medium best and 2) the precise limits of what can or cannot work within his budget. By your ass-backwards logic, I would rather get EC Myers to run RWBY's production over Dillon just because he's a writer and has been employed with RT longer.

That's another moronic argument: "He's only been employed by RT for 1 Volume". Man, I don't care if he's been there for zero Volumes, his work clearly shows a greater understanding of RWBY's aesthetic, mainstream appeal and style than its own showrunners have for the past 7 years. Or is seniority in a defunct company responsible for a steadily unprofitable IP suddenly a positive in this business deal?

I need you to be aware that RWBY as an IP is a joke outside of the bubble of its fandom, and I am telling you bluntly as a fan. Nobody takes it seriously and the ones that do only praise it for either its action choreography or its character designs, one of which is guaranteed with Dillon's studio. Diehard fans may love RWBY, warts and all, but all that love and support clearly wasn't enough to keep it alive, because its reputation was already cemented from its own mismanagement.

What you do is you get the right person for the job. And Dillon ticks a lot of boxes for it. If you think he's unable to acquire RWBY because he's not a big corpo or cannot meet Warner's asking price, that's 100% fair. If you think he's unable to create something on the scale of Volume 9, that's also 100% fair, but only if you're attached to the idea that you'd rather have Volume 10 or more of the same RWBY that was operating at a loss than any RWBY at all. Or if you'd rather see a season of 14 episodes 15 minutes long where 60-70% of it is made up of exposition, talking head scenes and increasingly overambitious world expanding, over shorter episodes with amazing RWBY action sequences with a story that never bites off more than it can chew.

But if you think Dillon is unqualified or worse, unworthy or undeserving (what a weirdo thing to say about a person, like owning RWBY is like inheriting the fucking throne of Gondor), all because he's "just an animator" or because he was smart enough to see RT for the meat-grinder hellhole it was and left to find success on his own, you're full of shit.

And if you disapprove of him because of his association with Shane, go find a restroom because your unsightly hateboner is showing. It's been almost ten years since the letter and you all have been holding this unfettered rage clenched between your buttcheeks longer than Shane's ever been with Rooster Teeth.

And for what? Pointing out Rooster Teeth is a fucked place to work at? Whoops, that was true and now it's six feet under for every scandal and worker abuse case they brought on themselves. For stealing and cannibalising their creators' IPs? Whoops, that's fucking true as well.

[cthulhubert]

Alright, so bear with me.

Humans have three cone cells in our eyes that are how we perceive color in the world. I often think red, green, and blue, but apparently people studying them use Long, Medium, and Short to be unambiguous (just for one example, if you activate M really strongly and not L or S, the color people report seeing is yellow-green). Each type activates at different strengths to different wavelengths of light. Here's a lovely graphic from Wikipedia showing response levels of each cone type to different wavelengths:

So you can see that if some light activates L some, but not M, we'll perceive deep red, activates them both a bit, we see orange or yellow, depending on the specific amount.

It's interesting that some effect (a specific mix of pigments, or some structural coloration) could be producing some mostly 495nm light, or a blend of some slightly higher and slightly lower wavelengths, and either way we see cyan. (And a good thing, too, otherwise our display technology would be extremely unconvincing.)

Of course, then there's what happens when we get activation of L and S at once, but not M, our eye-brain systems don't infer "yellow-green", because green is specifically what's missing from there: we generate magenta, a non-spectral color. (And when all three activate we get white, of course.)

I found myself thinking about birds, with their four cones.

They're more evenly spaced too, the bastards. (These bastards are specifically finches but I'm under the impression that most birds are similar.)

(Of course, "violet" actually means ultra-violet here. Look at the graphic, their UV cone stops responding where our S cone starts. I would edit this, but spent like half an hour discovering that tumblr doesn't support table under html or code/"preserve formatting" under markdown anymore; so you get a screencap of what I sent on discord.)

Birds could see "vio-green" (accepting name suggestions) as a color region as distinct from blue/indigo as green is from purple/magenta.

Look at that. Two whole ass independent spectral color divisions we don't have, and six non-spectral inferences. Eight whole categories of visual perception more than us. Decadent.

The heart quails to imagine what the 16 color receptors of a mantis shrimp would create. I mean, okay, it doesn't because we've studied their eyes and brains and they don't blend colors the way we do, smooshing them down to a much simpler set of perceptions.

But imagine if we rebuilt our eyes and brains for it! Color indicates chemistry, with that level of subtle blending of characteristics, would vision become like tasting everything we look at?

Please pet the bear that is with me on your way out.

[wonuwrites]

Hellooooo, I saw the reaction of seventeen to black widow🥺, I could ask you for a second part of that reaction, what would they do when accompanying you on the set, would they talk with the rest of the cast, would they record you or I don't know😘

ooo yall love supportive Seventeen!~ I don't blame y'all. Sorry this took awhile.

Sure I'll do my best <3 In case yall didn't see the black widow one: x

-> S. Coups:

Seungcheol would blend in to the producers of the movie where he watched. He would NOT want to bring any kind of attention to himself because this was your moment. He wanted to watch you in your element and would be staring at you with such love and pride. He would hug you in between scenes and constantly compliment how you executed scenes. He was the bestest and most perfect partner to bring to filming days.

-> Jeonghan:

Jeonghan would come to filming days as a surprise. He'd have your favorite bouquet of flowers and would order a food truck to come. He wouldn't talk much to the cast because he is a bit more shy but anyone would just know how proud of you he was. He would be smiling at you every time you were acting or just standing on the set. He was so proud of you. <3

-> Joshua:

Oh so boyfriend. That's Jisoo. He would be smiling at you from the background as you slayed every line and would be shocked by the dialogue even if he already knew the script because he helped you with lines shortly before you started to film. He was friendly with the rest of the crew and other actors but he was there for you. Everyone knew that. He was so proud of you.

-> Jun:

Jun would be like a fly on the wall when you were being filmed. He would be monitoring you the whole time and his face would be very similar to how he was while watching the Spell MV. Once certain scenes were finished though he would be all smiles and would tell you how amazing you were. He was your biggest fan and everyone with half a brain cell knew it.

-> Hoshi: (Ok so this is going to be very niche but y'all know im a swiftie/carat atp lmfao just hang with me for a second.)

Y'all know how Travis Kelce looks at Taylor Swift when she's performing or anything like that? Well, that would be Soonyoung with you. He would be staring at you with so much pride and would just have such a soft smile on his face. He would observe everything and would constantly swoon when you would come over to him in between scenes. He was your biggest fan and you along with everyone else knew it.

-> Wonwoo:

I feel like Wonwoo would be fangirling because he was on a Marvel set. Sure he was proud of you but he would just be so into the sets and the plot. If you were to be like "you like Marvel more than me," he would just scoff and say "you are literally Black Widow, I love you the mostest," or he would tease you by saying "depends on the day." Either response would cause your to roll your eyes and kiss his cheek. Overall, I feel like he would be such a supportive partner on set. He'd make sure you were hydrated. If you were sleepy he'd offer his shoulder during breaks. Just so perfect.

-> Woozi:

Even though Jihoon is more comfortable in his own home or studio, he would be at the set whenever he could be. He wanted to show you support just like you did for him. He'd be in the shadows but you would know when he was there. He would be smiling and taking pictures of you. He was just so proud of you doing what you loved and oh my god seeing you in your element was just so precious to him. He enjoyed when he could come to set.

-> DK:

On days Seokmin came to visit you on set, you would feel like a superstar. He would be so soft because this was your moment and not his. He would be watching you kick ass and just would feel so emotional seeing his baby be in her element. During takes, he would constantly compliment you and he would help you with lines if you asked. He was there for you. So many of the crew just found him so precious and would think you both were goals.

-> Mingyu:

Oh this beefcake of a MAN would have his phone out and take so many behind the scenes photos and videos of you acting. Mingyu often would tell you how proud of you he was but he showed every time he came on set. He also became basically part of the crew family. He knew all the directors and so many of the crew staff by name. When he came on set, everyone was so in love with him and his charms but his heart eyes were always directed at you, his precious lil actress.

-> Minghao:

Minghao is one of the members that goes to other members solo or group shoots to show support so naturally he would be at your shoots as well. He would be similar to Jihoon and be in the shadows but during breaks he would be near you and complimenting you. His whole attention would be on you and he just had so much pride toward you.

-> Seungkwan:

Seungkwan would treat your filming days like they were the most fun things ever. He was your personal cheerleader and your happy little pill. No matter the scene, he had such a proud smile on his face and would constantly tell you that you were doing such an amazing job. He would always have an extra iced americano on hand. Some of your coworkers would tease and call him your "assistant" instead of your boyfriend which he'd just joke back and say "isn't that the same thing basically?" lmfaoooo.

-> Vernon:

oh boy Hansol would be cheesing the whole time. When I said he would be there every step of the way I mean it. He would be basically besties with set designers and on first name basis with the director. If people had no idea who Hansol, they would assume he was working on set because that's how often he was there.

-> Dino:

Chan would be your biggest hype man ever. When you got done acting a scene he would have a bottle of water ready for you and would massage your shoulders and shit. He would constantly compliment you and would just feel so much pride. He'd also text his members things like "this movie is going to be the best." He was just so so so proud of you.

[animentality]

sometimes I think about the existence of the human race and I'm honestly baffled, because what are the odds, right?

the chances of life existing at all in this universe are slim, like, things have to really perfectly align for the conditions to be just right. but intelligent life capable of making like, iPhones and cell towers, is kind of miraculous when you think about the chances of it even happening THAT way.

billions of years of evolution managed to produce such an odd little species... with thumbs and complex brains and the perfect conditions to develop ourselves into the intellectual power houses we are today.

as far as we know, we're the only species on this planet that's invented wifi.

somewhere in this universe there are definitely other intelligent life forms, but who knows how they came about.

maybe they've been to space. maybe they haven't. maybe they're happy earthbound, maybe some dream of the stars. we'll probably never know.

but it's kind of amazing to think about it. and to like... I don't know. remember it on a random Wednesday and think, wow.

I'm lucky to be alive. and here.

in this age of casual miracles.

people really take this all for granted.

don't think people think about how truly ingenious the human race has been up until this point... and we will die out some day, as all species do, but..

it was cool to be around for all this.

thank you, luck.

[aestariiwilderness]

Thoughts:

Omega must be the only child to ever be kidnapped and quasi-experimented on in a secret lab by an evil fascist regime to emerge no worse for wear like six months later WITH A PET (that isn't Crosshair)

The Batch, patiently searching an entire sector of space: Omega must be here somewhere Omega and Crosshair, zooming by: hey I wonder where our fam is

That had to be the most anxiety-producing visit from the Emperor for the least actual consequence I have ever seen. The man wandered in, took a look, patted Hemlock on the back, took the time to gently warn this bouncy evil scientist that "my dude, I know you and I love what you're doing here. And I know you want to post it on Spacebook. I totally get it! But uh. Just a heads up -- most people will think your work is an abomination, TBH, so I'm gonna need you to keep it quiet. Kay? K. Thanks. See you bro, let me know when you need to evacuate an entire base again, I'll foot the bill" and left.

Everyone is sleeping on the fact that Palpatine and Hemlock's relationship (such as it is) is weirdly adorable and honestly. Hemlock, my dude. He really took to heart the whole "if you love your job you'll never work a day in your life". Man is living his dreams

Yeah fine Emerie gave her a doll back. I still don't like you

Why does no one (looking at you Saw) ever just...shoot the Emperor's shuttle down.

Would have been hysterical if Omega and Crosshair just nicked the Emperor's shuttle.

Palpatine: this project must adhere to the utmost secrecy. No one must know. No one must ever leave. *Omega and Crosshair tiptoeing past in the background*

*Palpatine's shuttle lifts off ground* Clone commando: uh sir. Those, uh, pretty important prisoners have escaped. Hemlock:... Hemlock: bless you for waiting to say that till after my boss left

Hunter still sucks at technology.

It's been like half a year and they still haven't bothered to check the recordings of Tech's goggles. Color me unsurprised.

Also unsurprised: we dropped the brain cell on Eriadu. it hasn't grown back yet

FOUND THE CLONE CADETS!

Phee and Shep, back on Pabu: HUNTER WE'RE NOT YOUR CLONE CHILD PANTRY STOP DROPPING OFF ALL YOUR SPACE ORPHANS HERE. WE TOLD THEM TO PLAY AND THEY HAD UPPER AND LOWER PABU IN THE THROES OF A CIVIL WAR BY LUNCHTIME. HOW WERE YOU GUYS THE WELL-ADJUSTED CHILD SOLDIERS???

Maybe-Eh-Possibly Imperial Tech, watching the shuttle zip off without him: YOU TOOK THE DOG??

[my-rewrite-academia]

Quirk Analysis #1

As promised, this post is for the quirk analysis of the following three students!

Kirishima Eijirou, Ashido Mina, Hagakure Tooru will be discussed in this post and in that order.

Kirishima Eijirou:

Fatty and oily foods make Eijirou's skin harder, and Izuku hypothesises that it's due to the carbon content. While carbon is often associated with gases or coal, it's in food too, with the content being higher in oily or fatty foods. Eijirou manipulates the carbon in his skin by rearranging the carbon molecules to make it denser, to the point that his mohs level of hardness is equivalent to corrundum (level 9, one level below diamond).

Because of this, eating food containing high levels of carbon makes it so that there's more carbon to push between his skin cells.

While ordinary humans cannot properly digest high levels of carbon, Eijirou's body is able to, not just handle it, but properly digest it. As such, he starts eating activated charcoal, (which is safe to eat in small dosages, though Eijirou can have more), which increases his time limit, and can help him harden his entire body for longer periods of time.

It's also theorised that his teeth are sharp so that he can bite into coal.

Ashido Mina:

The most obvious contender for what her acid is made of is stomach acid, however, if she transported her stomach acid to her skin, it would make her either incredibly ill or she wouldn't be able to digest things, as she subconciously produces acid.

As such, it's much more likely that she's using carbon dioxide. It's usually pointed out as a gas, but it can exist in a liquid form. Carbon dioxide naturally exists in all humans, though typically as a gas that our body filters out through breathing. Mina is absorbing carbon dioxide as opposed to breathing it out and changing it to a liquid form.

She can alter the pH levels, though it's naturally low, around pH level 3, which leads to accidentally dissolving her bed and floor and waking up in the flat/apartment below. Don't ask. She can make the pH levels go up to about 7, which is safe to drink, though it's not recommended, and this allows her to use her acid to slip around the ground.

While she could theoretically try breathing less to increase carbon dioxide intake, but that's very dangerous without proper training. Instead, she takes sodium bicarbonate or sodium citrate pills, which increase the level of carbon dioxide in the body.

Her appearance is not connected to her quirk.

Hagakure Tooru:

Now, if Tooru were truly invisible, she would not be able to see, as the way we see is by light hitting our retinas, which bounces the light to the photoreceptors behind them which send the electrical signal to our brains. If the light passes through you, the light can't hit the retinas, meaning that no information would be sent to your brain, leaving you blind.

As such, reflecting light also cannot be her quirk, as this would lead to the same results, and would make her continuously shine.

Her quirk is actually absorbing and manipulating radiation across her skin. She doesn't feel hot or cold, as seen by her steaming lunch and how she can run around naked without a single shiver, and this is due to manipulating the thermal energy, which is a form of radiation.

Light is also a form of radiation, which is why she can produce flashes from her skin.

This could also mean that she cannot become irradiated by things such as chemical energy, though it's far too dangerous to test out.

Additionally, because of this, it's possible that she can manipulated energy across things made of her DNA, which is proven true when she gets her costume and appear invisible after she wears it.

...

So that's Izuku's analysis of Eijirou, Mina, and Tooru's quirks!

I'm not a master of science, so if there's something that doesn't seem quite right, chalk it up to psuedo-science, please. I did not take A-Levels for science. My knowledge comes from my own research, mainly due to Momo's quirk.

Thanks for tuning in!

[toaster-boi]

anyone else have theories on how augmentation works in AC6?

personally, my headcanon is that it refers to a specific type of cybernetic enhancement considered separate from other methods, by virtue of being specifically designed for pilots of high-end humanoid machines like ACs and HCs. more specifically, it's a type of nervous system augmentation where segments of nerve cells are replaced with other materials that have higher conductivity speeds (considering coral is specified to be a data conduit and is used in 1st through 4th-gen augmentation), kind of like a more persistent but less potent form of the Sandevistan and Kereznikov reflex-boosting implants from the Cyberpunk world, but being similar in a technological sense. of course, with the max signal conductivity only active when their machine is in combat mode.

however, i assume there's a sort of baseline for cybernetic enhancement necessary to pilot an AC, since the laser drone back weapon is specified to be neurally-operated iirc. it's much less extensive than full-scale human augmentation, though, so V.I Freud is still considered an "ordinary" human, with the bare minimum necessary to be a pilot since humans don't have enough limbs/digits for both posture control and all the other systems onboard. augmentation surgery is just to help pilots process large amounts of data/stimuli in combat without the sensory load dulling their reflexes.

this still makes Freud an exceptional pilot, since he can still outfly any other AC pilot other than the player without his brain being fried, while pulling off AC4A-level movement control in an AC made of basic, mass-produced components.

[reasonsforhope]

"One in five Americans will experience major depressive disorder in their lifetime, and many will not find relief from current therapies. But now researchers have identified an unexpected source of the problem: inflammation.

Inflammation in the body may be triggering or exacerbating depression in the brains of some patients. And clinical trial data suggests that targeting and treating the inflammation may be a way to provide more-precise care.

The findings have the potential to revolutionize medical care for depression, an often intractable illness that doesn't always respond to conventional drug treatments. While current drug treatments target certain neurotransmitters, the new research suggests that in some patients, depressive behaviors may be fueled by the inflammatory process.

It appears that inflammatory agents in the blood can break down the barrier between the body and the brain [and specifically the blood-brain barrier], causing neuroinflammation and altering key neural circuits, researchers say. In people at risk for depression, inflammation may be a trigger for the disorder.

Research suggests that only a subset of depressed patients - roughly 30 percent - have elevated inflammation, which is also associated with poor responses to antidepressants. This inflammatory subgroup may be a key to parsing out differences in underlying mechanisms for depression and personalizing treatment...

The inflamed body and the depressed brain

...A number of studies show that depressed patients tend to have increased inflammation compared with non-depressed subjects, including more inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive protein — which is produced by the liver in response to inflammation — circulating in the blood. Patients with autoimmune diseases have inordinately high rates of depression. And postmortem brain samples from people who died by suicide showed more activation of the brain’s immune cells, which release inflammatory agents.

Crucially, pro-inflammatory drugs can induce people to become depressed, which suggests a causative link. In one seminal study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Miller and his colleagues conducted a double-blind study of 40 cancer patients undergoing treatment with interferon-alpha, an inflammatory cytokine.

Though none of the patients had depression to begin with, the inflammatory agent had a striking effect: Many became depressed, a finding that has been consistently replicated.

"The patients recognize pretty much immediately that, 'Hey, you gave me something, and now I feel this way. I don't know why I feel this way,'" Miller said.

Can treating inflammation treat depression?

If inflammation can induce or exacerbate depression and its symptoms, then reducing inflammation could provide relief.

Even if inflammation is a disease modifier rather than the cause of the problem, “you have to take care of it in order for you to be able to get your therapeutics working to restore your circuitry and what’s happening in the mind,” said Eleonore Beurel, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Anti-inflammatory drugs, used alone or in conjunction with a standard antidepressant, may help some depressed patients. A 2019 meta-analysis encompassing almost 10,000 patients from 36 randomized clinical trials found that different anti-inflammatory agents, including NSAIDs, cytokine inhibitors and statins, could improve depressive symptoms...

“We’ve come to the tipping point,” Miller said. “And we know enough at this point to begin to target the immune system and its downstream effects on the brain to treat depression. We are there.”

How to manage your own inflammation

Experts agreed that people should not take anti-inflammatories without talking with their health-care provider. Your doctor can order a C-reactive protein blood test to measure your level of inflammation.

“There are so many patients who do not respond to antidepressants,” said Ole Köhler-Forsberg, a physician and associate professor of psychiatry at Aarhus University who has given anti-inflammatory drugs to his patients in addition to antidepressants. “So there is the issue of how can we improve the individual outcomes.” Tailoring treatment for each individual on a holistic basis may add some benefit.

More clinical tests for inflammatory markers may be a way to differentiate the effectiveness of antidepressant treatment. If confirmed, it would “be the first actual biomarker in psychiatry,” Raison said. “I mean, we’ve been looking for biomarkers for 50 years and had zero luck. And it’s ironic that it’s not a brain chemical.”

In the meantime, “you get much more mileage out of the lifestyle changes than you would out of supplements or any other over-the-counter drugs at this point,” Miller said."

-via The Washington Post (via Yahoo News), February 24, 2023

[hannah-fannah9503]

going through my backlog documents again and I uncovered this, it's from a project I honestly don't know if I'll ever finish but I thought I'd share some of it anyway bc I liked the concept of this fic a lot

The atmosphere in the holding cell was a far cry from what it normally was.

On a normal day, he would get to laugh and tease the pretty sheriff until there was practically steam coming out of his ears and he was too flustered to even speak. But today, Tango could tell that wasn't the way to go.

"Yo, uh, Sheriff? You…wanna tell me what's going on in that big beautiful brain of yours?"

The sheriff looked upset, except not in the usual I'm pretending to be angry to try and intimidate the prisoners kind of way–no, he looked actually upset. He kept jumping from paper to paper and shelf to shelf, never really focusing on anything. After about an hour, which was usually the point at which Tango would have made the slip already, he finally decided he couldn't ignore it anymore.

Immediately, he was given a harsh glare, which was quickly followed by a loud groan and a sigh. The Sheriff dropped the pen he'd been pretending to work with and tossed his head over the back of his chair.

"It hasn't got anything to do with you."

Tango shrugged, leaning back with his grip on the bars keeping him upright. "Oh, I dunno, maybe I could help. Just thinkin'."

The Sheriff sighed again. And just when Tango was sure he wasn't going to respond, he mumbled, "It's my ex,"

Tango did a double-take. "Your…ex?"

"Yes,"

"As in, ex-partner? Ex-romantic partner? A person you used to be in a relationship with?"

He rolled his eyes. "No, my ex-brother–yes, my ex-romantic partner, or my ex-boyfriend I should say."

"You have an ex-boyfriend?" He exclaimed, genuinely surprised. How had he never heard of this before? And here he thought he knew everything about his favorite sheriff.

"It's a long story. But recently, I heard he started seeing someone else, and I'm…oh, forget it, this is stupid."

"No no no, s'not stupid!" Tango pushed aside the slight sting at the implication that his sheriff still had feelings for another guy, caring more about how he could make him feel better. "What's his name?"

"His name is Scott."

Tango's eyes widened. "Scott? As in Scott Smajor, the owner and proprietor of the underground black market?"

The Sheriff shot him a dirty look. "And how do you know about the black market, huh?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who dated him." He raised his hands in surrender. "Besides, he's got a reputation for being a bit of an ass."

"He's not–just because he doesn't take people's garbage doesn't make him rude." He groaned. "Oh great, I'm defending him now! I really am pathetic."

“Aw, you're not pathetic, Sheriff.” Tango leaned back against the bars. “I think it's cute.”

“Cute? You think being hung up on an ex who's clearly moved on already cute?”

“Well how do you know he's moved on?” Tango asked.

The Sheriff sighed again, slumping down in his chair. “I got a report that he was seen slipping around with some guy.”

“That doesn't mean anything–maybe it's a new customer he's got.”

“Slipping around corners to make out with his customers?”

Tango shrugged. “Well, I dunno what he's got going on! Maybe it's a special service or something.”

The Sheriff groaned. “Okay, gross. Why haven't you left already, anyway? We both know you could've been out of here hours ago.”

Tango put on his best pouty face, reaching through the bars to brush a finger over his sheriff's arm. “Aw, but I love our time together, Sheriff. Why would I wanna give that up?”

He glared, clearly not feeling up to their usual bantering. “I'm going to go get more coffee.” He said tiredly as he stood from his desk and made for the door.

Tango watched him go with a frown. When the door clicked shut, he reached into his back pocket and produced the key to the cell, unlocking it and scaling the wall to get to the window. It popped open just as easily as it always did. As he looked back at the office and holding cell, a cold, heavy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.

He needed to do something.

[cosmica-galaxy]

How a Clock Mimic eats:

I call them "soul stealers" (Clock mimics), but I actually think they are mostly after the prey's cells or stored energy. Hence, life "energy". You could be all typical and whimsical and say "oh they steal souls or whatever lol", but it's more scientific then that.

They literally REACH into your body to steal all of your sources of energy. Every cell in your body makes energy and it draws its nourishment from that. When I say "sucks you dry", I mean that in a partial literal sense.

The biggest reason why the prey of a clock mimic will lay on the ground and look all confused, is mostly because the clock mimic drains out all of their cells that produce energy. This could be components of your blood, your stored fat and carbs, as well as anything else they can literally DRAIN out of you. Your nutrients becomes THEIR nutrients. In a way, it's similar to the drill mimics, but in a much more prestigious way with much more damage.

Most of their prey actually die from lack of blood PRESSURE then actual blood loss, as well as becoming comatose because their brain has had all of the energy rich cells/fats/carbs ripped STRAIGHT out of them, causing a lethal dip in the homeostasis that keeps your body in equilibrium. You can also tell if a creature is a victim of a clock mimic if they bleed a grayish WHITE "blood" or their eyes are entirely gray. Yes. The clock mimics can even take pigmentation from their prey. Irises, pupils, hair, hemoglobin, ect. This is what causes the "rapid aging" effect when they drain a victim.

THAT is what makes them terrifying and VERY dangerous. As well as having a VERY slow metabolism, clock mimics can compact the energy they take into their own body, usually in the chest or "head" compartment. It's argued that these versions of mimic don't even have a stomach, which is why they drain vitality from other external sources to get the nutrients they need to power their own organic parts. That also makes their heads, unfortunately, pretty valuable as energy containers or long term batteries. As the body of the clock mimic contains that energy so effectively, it can power devices for months, or years if it's a large mimic, even LONG after the clock mimic has died. Because their body can no longer ingest the material they consumed, it simply sits as a compacted energy inside of their head or chest, waiting to naturally burn out with decomposition or…be put to use by lucky scavengers. In a way, Clock Mimics can be considered "parasitic feeders", since they rely on other organisms to survive. However, "friendly" Clock Mimics can leave prey alive by managing how they drain. So instead of draining them entirely and causing lethal damage, they have a more gentle approach and will steadily drain the host in a careful manner to avoid causing serious damage. When the prey begins to feel the effects too much, the mimic will retract. Alliance scientists have dubbed the lethal feeding as "Parasitic" and the more friendly and polite version of feeding as "Vampiric". One kills the prey and the other merely feeds on them just enough to satisfy. -- This has been a log from the resident human. Logger: Resident Human Subject: Feeding Mimic: Clock Mimic (Comrade)

[violetswritingg]

Thunderstruck

Tyler Owens x OFC!

Description: When cowgirl meets cowboy after a year of no-contact and chaos ensues during storm season!

Rating: M (Mentions of blood and death in Tornadoes and storms alike, angst and loss of loved ones, car accidents, Tornado aftermath, and injury to characters, slight age gap (5 years))

Want to read the other chapters?

Click here

3

May, 2024

Oklahoma

There was something about Oklahoma during storm season, the smell in the air, like the promise death and destruction but wrapped up in the sweet scent of rain. A spring in Tornado Alley was never gonna be a peaceful one and no one knew that better that two groups of people, the people who lived there and the people who were stupid enough to chase the storms.

Riley St. James had unintentionally fallen into the second category. She blamed her genetics. Having someone like Jo Harding and her dad in her life all but guaranteed she would end up here. The rest stop they had decided to stop to gas up at apparently had been a popular choice. Other teams, all varying levels of profession, camped out just waiting for a storm. Some faces she recognized others she didn't. There were a lot more new faces than before, for a multitude of reasons she didn't want to think about.

She was one of them, she had to admit that, her celebrity in the community and among the middle of America was pretty strong. She hated it.

"Hey! Everything okay? What's it looking like out there?" Sarah Mitchell, Riley's research partner and best friend asked, sidling up next to the blonde. "I wish I could see what you see, it's kind of freaky."

"I wish I couldn't." Riley chuckled, "If you want I can give it to ya."

"Nah, it's what makes you, you. I could never take that from ya, love ya too much." Sarah joked as she threw her arm around Riley's shoulder, pulling the girl into her side and off balance. "Besides I don't think anyone would be able to handle just how awesome I would be if I had my brains and your instincts. I would be unstoppable."

"So humble."

"I try to be, it's not easy. I'll tell ya that."

"I bet."

"But really, what's it looking like out there right now?" Sarah sobered up a bit and they both went into work mode. Talking about the cells forming in the west and the lone wolf to the east.

"Look, the one to the east isn't going to produce anything. It's just not. The cap is way too strong. I've seen it happen a million times, you get close, it's about to touch down but there's not enough updraft for it to touch down and it just poofs out of existence. Trust me. Not worth our time."

"So, we go west then."

"You bet'cha." Riley grinned, passing off her tablet to a passing undergrad with a thanks and looking over just in time to see Javi roll up, a blonde woman in his front seat. "I really wish they weren't here. We're gonna be battling it out that's for sure. Why is nothing ever easy?"

"Because then life wouldn't be worth living." Sarah shrugged with a bright grin, looking down at Riley and laughed at the blonde as she groaned and flopped her head onto the slightly taller woman's shoulder.

"But why does it have to be so hard then? Shouldn't there be like an easy mode or somethin'?" Riley kept going and Sarah was more than happy to play along.

"I don't think it works like that unfortunately. Heads up." Sarah stood up straighter and made herself look busy with Dororthy.

"Is that-" A soft voice started, startled as Riley turned and locked eyes with another blonde woman. Her drown doe eyes wide as they locked onto Dorothy.

"Dorothy 6, had her since I was 18, a present from my aunt for my first official chase as an adult." Riley grinned a bit, "I haven't seen you around here, what's your name?"

"Kate. Your aunt?"

"Jo Harding. Riley St. James. Nice to meet you Kate," Riley looked to Javi with a strange look, at least to Kate, "You enjoying your time with Storm Par?"

Kate was taken aback and left reeling.

"I've read all of your papers." Kate blurted, eyes going wide, her cheeks heating up. Looking at Riely like she was some kind of unearthly being. Like Riley was better than her and while Riley had gotten used to the admiration and awe people would usually hold in their eyes this was different. She shifted a bit and rolled her shoulders back.

"Thanks. Did you like them?"

"Most of them were crazy, in a good way," Kate quickly corrected, holding out a hand in front of her palm up to clear the air of any miscommunication, "I mean you must have gotten a couple grants, at least, big ones."

"I did. Thankfully the money hasn't run out just yet, even though it looks worse for wear Dorothy here is a trooper. So is the Warlock."

"I believe it, aren't the doors alone like-"

"800 pounds each, we have to use the hydraulics system to get them open." Riley chuckled, "Thankfully that's never gone out, not yet anyway."

"Don't speak that into existence! Why would you say that?!" Sarah snapped, slapping Riley's shoulder, the blonde feigning injury and laughing when Sarah glared. "Seriously not funny! You think I wanna suffocate int there when the air runs out?"

"Sorry, sorry, I take it back."

"Thank you." Sarah huffed and crossed her arms, looking much younger than her real age at this moment.

"Sorry about her, she used to be a theatre major before meteorology corrupted her." Riley waved her hand and Sarah balked with an offended look and put a hand on her chest.

"I'll have you know, I was a theatre major with a creative writing minor... Get it right, and you call yourself my best friend, for shame." Sarah just shook her head, disappointment painted across every feature until it slips just a bit and she starts to laugh and Riley starts to laugh, but then they both went shock still and stood up straight. Clearing their throats and Kate looked to Javi, the man looking back to her with a winced smile.

"Look Riley, I just wanted to introduce you to Kate, she's the smartest person I know other than you. And I thought you two might hit it off, work well together." Javi explained with a hopeful smile, as if she wasn't here with the Warlock and a small army of underpaid and definitely overworked undergrads who couldn't be happier to be here.

"I already told you no Javi, and if you can't tell, I kind of already have my own team. Can't exactly leave them without their fearless leader. Sarah wouldn't be able to handle all the pressure on her own. They need me." Riley shrugged, as if to say, 'nothing I could do.'

"Yes, yes we do." Sarah agreed, moving shoulder to shoulder with Riley and nodding.

"And the only person I work for Javi, is me." Kate was very confused with the look shared between Javi and Riley that held a thousand words all while giving nothing away.

"What are you working on right now?" Kate blurted out, quickly raising a hand to her mouth and apologizing under her breath. Riley just looked at her with an unreadable look, and Kate started to shift awkwardly.

"Unfortunately I can't tell you that, but keep your eyes peeled." Riley winked and Kate's cheeks turned a shade pinker, knowing how silly she looked. Probably like every other fangirl. It was embarrassing. She had always wanted to meet the Riley St. James, pick her brain, ask her a million questions. She's seen more tornadoes in person than probably anyone else alive right now and lived through an F5. Like her. and kept chasing, kept fighting.

The conversation was interrupted by music blaring.

Ain't no love in Oklahoma....

The red truck made Riley freeze, Sarah shooting her a questioning glance before looking back to the truck, more specifically to the mad standing on the raised ledge of the driver's side door. Leading the group in a very familiar chant.

"What was that?! If ya feel it!"

"Chase it!" The crowd roared back and then cheered when her held up his fist in celebration. Shirts had begun to be sold, other merch items and Riley wanted to smile. But the feeling in her stomach, seeing Tyler be so Tyler. In the year she hadn't seen hide nor hair of him, he had not changed a bit. It was comforting in a way. A constant she didn't know she needed in her life until he wasn't there.

It felt like there was a bull standing on her chest. Watching him smile and autograph literally anything. She had pre-done that, and left two very trustworthy undergrad manning the table where all of that was held. Last she checked they were already sold out of the signed t-shirts she had done.

"Who are they?" Kate asked, leaning into her hip and crossing her arms over her chest. Watching the spectacle in fascination.

"Chasers out of Arkansas." Javi answered while Riley couldn't take her eyes off the blonde man going through the dog and pony show for his audience. He always had been a crowd pleaser. Knew how to work a crowd.

"Hillbillies with a YouTube channel." Sarah scoffed, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"Takes one to know one." Riley smirked, doing her best to fight her demons privately.

"You know if you weren't my best friend and boss, I would so smack you right now." Sarah huffs and Riley's smirk grew into a small grin. One of the few that met her eyes. The dark cloud receding just a bit. "I'm just saying. That whole rig and he doesn't even use it to conduct research. What a waste." Sarah buckled down, tossing an arm in the tornado wrangler's direction. One of the undergrads she had working for her motioned Riley over to Dorothy and she frowned. Laying a hand on Sarah's wrist, looking to Kate and Javi, grin still in place, but it was a little dimmer.

"Okay, it was great to meet you Kate. Javi. If you'll excuse us, we're on the clock." She pulled Sarah with her as Javi called her name. She ignored him and took the tablet from the intern reading the information on the screen and sighing. Looking up at the sky while listening to him explain the readings Dorothy was giving were a little weird and they should probably look at the software.

"Sarah, that's you. Grab Isaac and John, work it out in the next fifteen minutes." Her eyes stayed transfixed where they were as she handed the tablet to Sarah, "We've gotta get moving. Daniel last check on the barrels, don't make it obvious, you know the drill. And tell Jenney she needs to do the final checks in the van before we head out."

"You got it boss." Daniel nodded and took off. Riley sighed and laid a hand on Dorothy.

"Don't give up on me yet girl. Just a couple more, and then we can retire you. I promise."

"I thought I told you just because you talk to it like it's real doesn't mean it is." Sarah looked up from the tablet slightly. Looking at Riley through her lashes before focusing on the numbers on the screen again.

Riley licked her lips before clicking her tongue, "And I thought I told you to go get Isaac and John to crunch the number and figure out what was wrong with our lovely Dorothy here. Don't worry Dorothy, Sarah is gonna go work with the very smart undergrads we have with us and make you all better, okay?" Riley baby talked the piece of technology before looking to Sarah with feign innocence. Batting her eyelashes behind her aviators, Sarah couldn't see it because of how dark the lenses were, but she knew, "We're running out of time, tick tock."

Sarah just chuckled and shook her head, doing as told but before fully leaving. She turned over her shoulder and whisper-shouted, "You know if I weren't mad at you right now, I would warn you about the hunky cowboy storm chaser coming over here right now like a man on a mission. But I am, so I won't." With that she turns on her heel and all but sprints to the van that held all their monitors and receivers. Being constantly monitored by three of the undergrads.

Riley doesn't need to look back to hear the click of his boots, the same ones he's worn since she got them for him on their six-month anniversary. The slight jingle of the spurs giving them away. She wasn't dealing with this right now. She looked around, purposefully not in Tyler's approaching position, looking for an escape. Seeing Kate standing off to the side, watching the woman crouch down to pick a dandelion.

Riley's head tilted to the side and a soft grin came across her lips as she took off.

"Rile-" Tyler's voice was taken by the wind as she was too far by the time he got to where she used to be.

"My dad taught me to do that. All the tech is nice but uh, sometimes the old ways are just better ya know?" Riley shrugged, the older woman still looking at her like she was a god among men. She would take the ego boost, but it was a little much. "Compare wind direction versus cloud movement. Get a feel for the sheer. Where are you from?"

"New York."

Riley took in her answer for a second, pulled down her aviators to the tip of her nose and looked at Kate up and down. The older woman shocked to see startingly blue eyes, brighter blue than what she thought was natural.

"New York, huh? Long way from home." Riley pulled her glasses back up and crossed her arms over her chest. Settling into her hip.

"Yep." Kate was internally screaming, telling herself to say anything, something intelligent maybe? Hopefully.

"What do you see?" Riley nodded to the sky. The darker blonde taking a couple steps forward, leaving Kate to watch her back. White, high collared tank top giving way to toned arms and shoulders hit heavy with sun. Stray hairs curling at the nape of her neck out of her ponytail, the tied-up strands getting shifted by the wind. Kate swallowed hard and took a breath before meeting Riley where she was at.

"Two cells in the west. One in the East which on radar has better numbers and has the sky all to herself and good shear. Plenty of instability." Kate held her breath, looking at Riley out of the corner of her eye, waiting.

"Nice. I saw that too, but..." Riley lolled her head to the side before turning to look to Kate, hands on her hips.

"Cap is way-"

"-Too strong. I agree." Riley finished and smirked when Kate smiled at her. A light shining way back there in the depth. "You're good." The veteran chaser whistled, laughing when Kate looked down at her feet, rocking back on her heels. "What made you stop?"

Kate's head snapped up and she froze.

"You avoiding me Riley? I'll admit, that kinda hurt my feelings." Riley, on instinct turned around. Big mistake. Tyler Owens was right there in front of her, seston hat her dad had gotten him for a birthday of his, anniversary boots, million-watt smile as he squinted in the sun down at her. 

~~*~~

A/N: Hello! I wanted to give you guys some chapters to read with this one, I know it's still in theaters and I have now seen it three times, will probably need to see it another three to finish what I have planned for this bad boy. SO, hold your caps, it's gonna be a wild ride. 

And I will get the chapters out as quickly as I can, I promise! (I wish I could put like a thumbs up emoji here - but I can't it lowkey makes me sad)