#like. is 0 is balance. I can make 1 warmth and -1 cold

[thepandalion]

every time I touch this particular magic system I'm building I feel like I'm going down a conspiracy theorist path

[welldonebeca]

Happier Than Ever - Year 10: If I smile with my teeth (2/3)

(Alternative title "I trusted you to be kind, and look what it cost me.")

Summary: On the Headley's 10th anniversary, they pretend to the Capital. Then, to their family and friends. Then, to themselves. WC: 6.8k words. Warnings: Canon divengence - Cato wins the 74th Hunger Games. Tension. Toxic relationships. Gaslighting. Toxic relationships. Violence. Use of unprescribed medication to cope. Tension.

masterlist

Previous chapter: Year 10 (1/3)

First chapter: Year 0 (Part ½)

There was still a heavy warm sensation on Luna's body when she felt someone shaking her arm, and it was hard to pull away from unconsciousness as she sat up mechanically, barely able to focus both her eyes on the woman in front of her.

"Your hair and make up team is here, ma'am," she told her. "They are waiting to come up."

She fought the sleepiness, shaking her head.

"I'll shower," she mumbled. "They can come up."

She felt rather than saw her slip something into her hand.

"Mr Hadley said you should take this," the woman told her, sounding uncomfortable. "It'll make you feel better."

That had too be one of the new girls.

"Thank you," she held the blanked to her chest, taking whatever she had given her and just swallowing it dryly. "Close the door on your way out."

The woman stepped away, leaving her and then the room, and Luna was happy to be alone when she stood up, almost stumbling if it wasn't for the bedside table to hold onto.

Shower. She had to at least get into the bathroom before they arrived.

She walked into the bathroom with her eyes half closed, and sat down on the big bench inside the shower, letting the cold water wake her up before it warmed up.

By the time she had come out, the sleepiness had faded away, she was able to clean up and wash her hair, and the team had already taken over the bedroom when she walked inside again.

They were nice people, born and raised in her district and not at all associated with the Capitol, and after some years of torture, Luna had learned to expect their actions and they had learned not to be too crossing or intrude her space too much, and they had found a nice balance to getting dressed.

They worked on her face and hair expertly and in perfect sync, so smoothly she didn't mind it even half as much as she once did. It was so easy to get lost in the motions of it, she almost forgot where she was. If they had noticed the slight swell of her lip, then they were gracefully ignoring it.

And then, of course, the sound of laugher pulled her right back.

Her head snapped back before she could even think, and there it was again. Capitol laugher, fake and smooth and with the bubbliest and most disgusting kind of inflection.

Cato's laugher. He was probably getting ready in his closet.

Luna swallowed down. It was a fake sound, obviously. It was how he laughed to impress Capitol people, to look like he was part of them.

"Face forward, don't forget," Ellie called, grabbing her chin.

She moved without thinking, the motion a full reaction. In a minute she was feeling herself being grabbed, in the other, Luna was grabbing Ellie and pushing her arm away like she was riddled with the old plague.

Everyone stopped moving, staring at her, and she let Ellie's wrist go.

The warmth climbed up her cheeks and neck right away.

"I'm sorry," she spoke up quickly. "I... don't..."

They all stared at her, wordless, and Luna could see every little look they were giving one another – quiet, wide eyed, as if every little conversation was happening in their own brains.

"I don't like my face being grabbed," she mumbled.

Ellie's lips curled into a smile.

"Understandable," she decided. "I won't do it again."

Luna looked down. Great, now they were thinking things.

"I think we are done here," Mason spoke up, pinning the last braid into place. "And you ladies can get her the dress while I go get the shoes."

Luna nodded, still feeling her muscles still completely stiff.

"Can someone close the door?" she requested, glancing at Cato's closet through the mirror. "Please?"

Peter nodded simply, walking to it and closing the door before crossing the room again to her own closet.

The sounds muffled up enough and she stood up, waiting for him to be out of the room as Ellie and Huntress took her dress from where it was hanging, untying her robe and taking it off.

She was already used to being in her underwear around them, and they didn't even seem to care about it either. What Luna didn't expect was for them to stop midway through bringing it to her, looking at her with wide eyes and... pity.

She looked down at herself, frowning, but there was nothing to see. And then she caught sight of herself in the mirror.

The print of Cato's fingers on her skin was impossible to miss.

Oh, God.

Luna opened and closed her mouth for a moment, but she couldn't even come up with an excuse. Well, they didn't seem to be looking for one anyway. Ellie and Huntress just walked right to her, with big fake smiles plastered on their face.

"You'll look wonderful," Ellie exclaimed, moving to her side. "You look wonderful in this shade of white."

Luna clenched her teeth, just nodding with them. Of course.

Wasn’t the day getting better and better by the minute?

Huntress stood in front of her, adjusting the shoulder and sleeve of the dress – a long, lose sleeve – without even glancing at her face.

Ellie zipped the dress up, straightening quietly for a moment, and Peter came out of her closet with her shoes in hand, and they helped her put them on.

“There you go,” Ellie announced stiffly, her tone cheerful and completely out of place. “Work is done.”

The door of Cato’s closet opened right after that, and his Capitol team walked out of the room, giggling like they had just been having the best of times in there, and her husband walked into their room with a big smile on his face.

“Well, look at you,�� he spoke up.

Luna faced him fully, and his team looked at them both with smirks, and she watched him quietly as he strode in her direction.

“You look beautiful in white,” he affirmed.

Cato reached out gently, touching her belly with his knuckles as she ran her tongue on her inner lip, nervously feeling the spot her teeth had hurt it. It still tasted like blood.

“And how’s my little boy?”

“Quiet,” she mumbled. “You know how he loves to wake me up in the middle of the night.”

“Little night owl,” Cato hummed, soft and light.

As if this was a normal night, as if he was just talking about the baby in a perfectly good day.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. "Tired? Hungry?"

She frowned a bit, still watching his face.

Why was that so important out of a sudden?

"I have a gift for you," he told her.

Luna breathed in deep. Another stupid gift, then.

"It's not a big thing," Cato warned her. "I thought it would be useful when I asked for it to be custom made."

She just watched him pulling a box from inside the pocket of his jacket, not caring about reaching for it.

Cato opened it himself anyway, and showed it to her with pride.

Earrings. The chunky kind.

Like the big rings, and the big necklaces with so many stones they hurt to wear.

He took them from inside, and Luna frowned when it showed one fully to her.

Those were... earplugs.

"Took some asking and explaining," he told her. "But the plug is from the store you usually buy from."

She looked up at his face, surprised.

That was... kind of him.

"Works the same," he told her. "And it looks pretty."

Luna watched his face for a moment before taking the box.

"Thank you."

"I'll put them on for you," he told her. "They match your dress very well."

She nodded, still watching him, and Cato moved all the softness and care in the world as he touched her and put the earrings in place, surprisingly light when he let it go.

He moved to the other side, and she breathed in at the smell of the Capitol perfume on him right as he moved back.

"There you go," her husband spoke. "You look beautiful."

Luna swallowed down, her brain still processing it all.

"I'm sorry about what happened," he told her softly. "Does your cheek still hurt?"

She shook her head, eyes still trained on him, and Cato reached up for her, making her fight a flinch when he touched her cheek softly, rubbing her skin with his thumb.

"I asked the cook to make the stuff you like," he told her. "And the boys are all pilling up on your parents and Juno."

Her eyes widened at the information.

"My parents have arried already?"

Her family was here?

Why hadn't he told her?

But Cato pressed his thumb to the skin of her chin, and she kept herself still in her spot, not moving as his eyes focused right on hers.

"They have, and they are already settled in their rooms," he told her, his voice very firm. "And the boys are entertaining them very happily since then, because they knew you needed your sleep and a moment of silence."

'And she still needed to get herself together' was what he didn't say aloud.

"Loba is very excited to see you and hear about the new baby," Cato told her, his eyes still on hers. "And spend time with the boys, and Julius said she is really looking into a weekend where she doesn't need to do anything but be a grandma. No cooking, no cleaning, no problems..."

She clenched her teeth.

Of course.

No problems.

Cato put on a charming smile.

"It's not every day she can spend the weekend with her favourite daughter and her grandbabies, don't you think?"

She nodded stiffly.

"Of course," she agreed.

He leaned in and pressed a cold kiss to her lips.

"Come on," he took her hand, tugging on it. "Cato, Hunter and Victor are very excited to show you their matching outfits."

She took in a deep breath.

Of course. The boys were so excited for the party, she didn't want them to be uncomfortable or worried.

They rarely got to go to any big party, their birthday celebrations were usually small and the elite parties Luna and Cato attended weren't for kids. They were probably hoping to have a good time.

It would be very selfish to ruin everyone's time.

At last, they walked down the stairs, with Cato’s hand holding hers firmly as they made their way to the boys’ playroom, and only then he let her go to open the door.

They were all there, dressed identically – to some adaptions, considering Lex, Sammy and her dear Sweet Boy were a little too small to move well in trousers, so they were just wearing shorts that matched their older brothers.

And of course, her parents and Juno were all over them.

Mum was holding and bouncing Lex as he babbled away, and her father was roughing Sammy up, tossing him up, tossing him down, doing all things with him.

“Mama!” her boys exclaimed all together, a group echo.

“My babies!” she echoed back.

Oh, all five pairs of little legs ran right up to her, hugging her legs, jumping, trying to get attention.

“Look, mama!” Archie jumped. “Look, look, look at me.”

She chuckled, trying to touch everyone’s faces and look at them all at once.

“Look at me, mama,” Teddy called. “Grandma said I look handsome.”

“No, she said I look handsome!” Hunter called back.

“Aunt Juno said I look handsome!” Prince argued.

“Yes, yes,” Luna tried to catch up. “You all look so handsome!”

They did, the boys looked very adorable.

She brushed Teddy’s hair back. The nannies had probably been working very hard to keep them all clean and dressed up, but who could contain seven boys like that?

“It’s like seeing a bunch of pictures lined up,” her father laughed. “Do they have anything of us at all?”

Luna chuckled, touching Hunter’s face.

“Well, I tried my best,” she looked at him. “Hunter has my eye shape.”

She liked to think that, anyway.

“And the white of Lex’s eyes look at lot like yours,” Juno remarked.

Luna raised her eyebrows to her, and her sister just did the same back, smirking.

“So…” she asked. “Aren’t you coming to say hello?”

Luna softened, leaning in and giving the boys some forehead kisses before moving away and to them.

Juno jumped in right away, and nothing in the world felt like being held by her sister felt at that moment.

Luna melted into her hug, breathing out, squeezing Juno.

They didn’t hug much.

She squeezed her, closing her eyes, falling into her shoulder and breathing in, her smell so familiar it ached her.

“Alright, alright,” Juno rubbed her back. “No getting sappy on me.”

But she didn’t let her go.

The last time mum and dad had come to visit, Juno was busy with work. She couldn’t come.

This was the first time she was meeting Lex.

Luna squeezed her more, blinking the wetness in her eyes away, and Cato chuckled from the corner.

It was what made her move, the feeling of him watching – in a way.

It wouldn’t be nice to upset Juno.

“I missed you,” Luna mumbled, looking away from her face.

“Well, you are a little bit of a stranger,” Juno teased her, nudging her. “But I guess it’s hard to travel with that hoard.”

She forced herself to chuckle a little. Well, yes.

“We’re considering getting a van,” she told Juno, still a bit nervous. “15 seats, for all the kids and the nannies.”

There was no way they could travel without some nannies.

“It could fit us all,” she offered. “We could do a road trip sometimes. Explore the district.”

“I’ll show you around,” her father offered, reaching for her. “If you only remember to talk to me.”

She chuckled out, moving fully to face dad, and wrapped her arms around him as he did the same.

“There’s my moon girl,” he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You got so many boys now you’re counting me as one of them.”

Luna smiled up at him, and breathed out as he pulled back, reaching down for her and taking a hand to her belly, spreading his hand

“And there’s number eight,” he breathed out, smiling.

Luna mirrored his expression.

“Is he kicking yet?” dad asked.

She shifted his hand to where the baby’s foot was, but he was very quiet.

“At night, when I’m trying to sleep, like every brother before him,” she breathed out. “But you can try.”

He chuckled, holding her for a moment, watching the belly, and Luna could see it in his eyes how he was trying not to show anything but happiness.

“And do you have a name yet?”

Luna was about too answer – maybe Jupiter or even Julius, they hadn’t make a choice yet.

But Cato spoke up before she did.

“Orion,” he told him. “Like the constellation.”

She forced the smile to remain on her face.

“Orion.”

Luna felt his hand right on her back, squeezing her shoulder.

“It matches his mother’s name,” he remarked. “And it keeps up with the sky theme you and your brother have on, right, darling?”

She nodded softly.

“Yeah,” she breathed out.

Cato always chose the boys’ names. She only got to pick names for girls – or the little nicknames she gave her sons. Her Prince, her Honey boy… Teddy, Archie, her Sweet Boy, Sammy and Lex.

And this one would have a nickname soon. As soon as she met him she would know.

“And what about me?” mum spoke up, getting her attention again.

Luna turned right to her, meeting her eyes, and mum smiled so softly it nearly broke the wall she’d put up.

Luna walked to her quietly, and wrapped her arms around her tight.

She missed mum.

She missed mum so much, all the time.

Luna squeezed her, feeling her lips turning down against her will, her eyes welling up.

“Oh, honey,” mum rubbed her back.

She couldn’t help herself, sniffing, trying to hold back her tears.

She missed her.

Why couldn’t she just go back?

She could have her own room back. The kids would fit in Jupiter and Juno’s rooms, her siblings didn’t live with their parents anymore.

There was space. She could have the babies in her room.

It would be cramped, but they would fit.

“I know,” mum pressed a kiss to her temple, breaking her from her thoughts. “I know, I miss you too.”

Dad chuckled a little bit, and Luna could see his hand coming to rub mum’s back just as she felt Cato’s on hers.

“Come on, darling,” he nudged her, probably trying to be playful. “I want to speak to her too.”

She tried not to grimace or pull away from mum too fast, and Cato was quick to replace her and pull her into a hug as Luna stepped away.

He really liked her mother.

It was… nice. Very nice.

Cato really liked her family. It meant their relationship proceeded well. And he could spend time at her old home. And they could be together. Happily, then.

Luna rubbed her hand down her belly nervously, the taste in her mouth terribly bitter.

She was the one who’d insisted so much on bringing him home, on making him such a big part of their family.

Would they even take her side if she left?

People didn’t divorce for no reason, not in two.

Where he was Cato, she was Luna. It meant that, regardless of if the times were good or bad, if he was sick or healthy, or if he was happy or sad. She had to be there.

It was what she had promised him.

And he was sick, in a way, wasn’t he? Traumatised from the games, hurt from all he’d been enduring.

Cato stepped away, and she watched his face, how genuine his smile was. That was so rare of him.

She felt Juno brushing against her, startled as she looked up at her.

“You cool?” her sister asked suddenly.

Luna looked to her face, a bit unsure.

“Yeah,” she mumbled. “The baby is…”

But she hesitated. The baby wasn’t kicking, he wouldn’t be awake for a while.

“Heavy,” she mumbled.

Juno read her face quietly, green eyes unblinking as they stared at her.

“Wanna show me around?” she asked, lowering her voice. “I love these boys, but… I’ll be glad to have a break.”

She chuckled. Juno wasn’t a big fan of little kids. Not that she disliked them, actively, she just didn’t want to have her own and was a little overwhelmed by them easily.

“We should go out to the garden,” Cato interrupted them. “All of us. The party is about to start.”

Luna nodded, keeping her eyes down, and Juno quickly wrapped her arm around hers, pulling her along before anyone else could take the first step, and she walked out with her.

“Look at them,” dad chuckled behind them. “You know I always said this would happen one day.”

Mum chuckled, and Cato did the same.

“It took me marrying her for them to stop hating one another, I see.”

He was very close. Anything Luna or Juno said would be heard by them.

“Excuse you, I never hated her,” Juno corrected him, looking behind her shoulder. “It’s just easier to love her when we don’t share a wall.”

Luna chuckled. She was right, though.

It was certainly easier to be a good sister when they weren't all up on each other's business.

The garden looked beautiful, all set up with lights and tables and decorations for a big party.

“Damn, you really have a strawberry infestation!” Juno exclaimed.

Luna frowned. Wait, that was the first thing she saw?

“Juno!” mum exclaimed behind them.

“She does!” she insisted. “You do!”

Luna couldn’t help laughing.

God, Juno was so… Juno!

“It’s not that bad, Luna elbowed her. “I like strawberries.”

She craved it a lot when she was pregnant, it was fine.

“The last time I was here, they were all on the left side of the garden,” Juno pushed. “It’s almost all the way to the right now!”

It was half way to the right side. The strawberries grew along the fence, kind of circling the house slowly. The gardener was good at keeping it from invading everything too much, but there was only so much pulling he could do.

“It’s strawberries, Juno,” she rolled her eyes. “You speak as if they are a plague.”

“They kind of are,” her sister shrugged. “You should start pulling, they might take over the whole place in another ten years.”

Luna shook her head.

Juno being Juno.

“Come on, I need a drink before people start showing up.”

“Don’t steal my wife, Juno,” Cato called back behind her.

But Juno didn’t even let him argue.

“She was my sister long before you were her boyfriend,” she called back.

She dragged Luna to the bar where the bartender was already setting things up.

“Give me your best,” Juno requested, smiling charmingly at him. “I’m the hostess' favourite sister.”

“You’re my only sister,” Luna corrected her.

Her little sister just grinned, cocky.

“Doesn’t change that,” she winked at her.

They fell into silence for a bit of time, and Juno leaned into the bar by her side, looking like her brain was running faster than her body.

“Eight kids?” she asked suddenly. “Really?”

Luna turned to look at her face, but her sister was just facing forward, as if she hadn’t said anything, and smirked to the bartender when he made his way back to then.

“We got…” he started, but she didn’t let him even continue.

“Oh, I saw you have some really nice syrups on your bag,” she spoke up quickly. “Can you bring me then first? And then we figure the drink? I’m in the mood for something really sweet.”

The man looked at Luna and then at Juno, but nodded simply, walking to his supplies – still about to be organised.

“He’s hovering over you this whole time,” Juno said simply. “Dad’s all over him now, you know how he likes to fan over Cato whenever they meet.”

Luna glanced at her side, too afraid of looking back. She knew they were being watched.

“Eight?” her sister asked again.

She breathed out.

“We still don’t have a girl,” she mumbled.

Truth was, Luna didn’t know what to answer.

Did she love her boys? Deeply.

Did she want more of them?

Luna rubbed her belly nervously.

Kids were gifts.

“The kids are blessings,” she added.

Juno let out a little hum.

“Yeah, but I reckon there’s only so many one of them a single person can have before she screws up her body and her uterus falls out,” she said simply, blunt. “Don’t you get tired of being surrounded by them all the time? They don’t stop a minute!”

They didn’t, yeah. The boys were all exhausting some days, they were little balls of energy and excitement all the time.

And there were so many of them.

“I’m fine,” she assured her. “I got good doctors.”

The bartender came back with the syrups, and Juno didn’t even seem affected as she chose slowly over them.

“This one,” she told him. “And some whipped cream?”

Luna could see the man wanting to grimace at her demands.

“I’ll go check for it in the boxes.”

Her sister just grinned.

“Take your time, we can wait.”

He walked off, and she lost some of her smile.

“And you doctors don’t know the tea mum takes?” she asked back. “You got all that fancy treatment and no one gives you birth control?”

Before she could answer, however, a sound caught her.

“Oh, just leave them be,” Luna heard their mother’s voice. “They haven’t talked in ages.”

She turned around just in time to see Cato coming, and Juno put on a smirk on her face.

Luna had no reaction as he came to her side, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

“Juno, you must know I don’t like sharing,” Cato hinted playfully, squeezing her waist.

Luna covered his hands with hers, trying not to tense up.

“I don’t know, dude, you have an awful lot of kids for a man who doesn’t like sharing his wife,” she scoffed. “Aren’t you done?”

Cato just shrugged.

“We don’t have a girl yet,” he said simply.

Her sister raised her eyebrows slowly, looking amused but… also not.

“You’re stopping on the girl, then?” she asked. “You gotta promise to name her after me.”

Cato chuckled into her ear, rubbing her belly slowly.

“We’ll try to keep that in mind,” he kissed Luna’s temple. “How’s that drink coming up?”

Juno looked over to the bartender, who was just coming back with the whipped cream.

“Still working on it, I guess,” she shrugged.

Cato moved Luna slowly side to side, humming softly.

“And when are you giving me a nephew or niece?” he asked. “The boys would love to have a little cousin or so.”

Juno scoffed loudly.

“You two have seven kids,” she remarked. “Almost eight. Do you know how much pressure you’ve taken off of my shoulders and Jupiter's? We don’t have to reproduce. Ever.”

But Cato didn’t seem convinced.

“But why wouldn’t you?” he insisted. “The happiest day of my life was the day I held Prince. I have never felt…”

He paused, taking in a deep breath, as if he had just stopped himself from speaking words he shouldn’t.

“I didn’t know I could love someone so much before,” he affirmed, at last.

Luna breathed out.

Yes, she remembered that day.

Labour was… intense.

She hated it, every time it happened, but Prince… Prince’s birth was the worst of them. Everything was new, it was just her and Cato with some doctors she didn’t even know because mum got sick and couldn’t travel, and she was overwhelmed by all the pain.

And then he was born, and all she could think of was that she wanted quiet and for people to stop touching her.

Cato was the one who spent the most time with Prince that first day, she needed a minute.

Well, a few hours.

And he looked so in love with him, holding him.

It was no surprise she got pregnant with Hunter so quickly. Cato looked beautiful when he held their babies.

Of course, mum was there for Hunter, Ted and Archie, but after that things were so tense with Cato, Luna knew they needed space, and it was just them for Gunnie.

And then they got pregnant with Sammy and she couldn’t think of having Cato in the birth room, not after he’d disregarded her not wanting to have another baby so soon.

She was alone for that, and then for Lex’s birth. She would probably be alone for this one as well.

Luna turned to watch Cato’s face, and he just looked at her with his eyebrows a little raised.

No, she wasn’t sure she would do well with him there.

“I’m glad,” Juno spoke up, taking their attention to her again. “I mean, why would you keep having kids if you weren’t completely in love and enamoured by then? They’re humans. They need parents who love them.”

She picked up her glass from the bar.

“And I would be too busy being miserable,” Juno said simply. “But good luck passing the family genes beyond, I hope this one looks less like a copy of you,” she pointed at Cato teasingly.

She walked off, leaving them behind and striding to mum and dad, and Luna didn’t move as she watched her go, wanting her to come back.

“And what were you two talking about?” Cato asked suddenly.

Luna took in a deep breath, trying not to show her tension.

“Syrup,” she lied. “And whipped cream.”

Cato didn’t answer, and she could feel him turning to look over the counter, and she did the same, seeing the whipped cream and the syrups being organised around.

“I hope she has a good night,” he said simply, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Your family deserved a taste of the good things.”

Luna breathed out slowly.

“Of course,” she mumbled.

He turned her around slowly, already taking his hand to her jaw to raise it, and she fought the way her body stiffened as he put a finger under her chin.

“You look beautiful,” he affirmed, the warmth of his words not reaching his eyes.

Cato leaned in, kissing her lips softly before letting her go, and when she looked down, she could see from the corner of her eyes how her parents were watching them.

He let her go, and she turned when she saw the butler stepping into the garden.

“Our guests,” Cato deduced. “Time to be good hosts.”

It was a very obvious nudge. A reminder, of sorts.

To be good. Social.

Behave.

Welcoming everyone was a blur; If Luna had to say, the party was for them.

The highest Elite of District 2. People with money and prestige. People who were as close to the Capitol as one could be without being part of it, who thought they were almost as good as then. And victors, of course, all of those who would say yes to being invited.

She wasn’t surprised to see Brutus and Enobaria amongst those they welcomed, so excited to speak to Cato and not at all to her.

By the time they were done speaking and welcoming everyone, Luna’s face was hurting from all the fake smiling.

She was glad it was over as everyone started mingling in the garden, away from the door and the house – at least those people didn’t feel any pleasure in getting inside and messing things around.

Cato drifted away to Brutus side, probably happy to see someone he actually enjoyed spending time with.

“It’s good to see you,” she heard by her side.

Luna turned, and Lyme was standing a few steps away from her, watching her quietly.

“Congratulations on the new baby,” she wished.

She smiled a little.

“Thank you,” Luna touched her belly.

Lyme was their neighbour. And she was a good neighbour, Luna didn’t have anything to complain about her. But she kept to herself a lot, they barely really saw one another, even being so geographically close.

She was rarely home, actually. Maybe because it was such a big house, and she was often on her own. Lyme never got married, as far as Luna knew. She didn’t have any kids, or anyone who was close to her.

“How are the boys?” Lyme asked.

“They’re alright,” she told her. “Playing inside. Prince is very excited to spend a few minutes at the party.”

Lyme smiled a bit, though looking unsure.

“Prince is…” she asked slowly.

“The oldest,” Luna told her quickly. “He’s nine.”

She nodded, finally seeming to understand it.

“I’m sorry,” she added quickly. “It’s so many kids.”

Luna swallowed down, rubbing her belly.

Yeah. Many kids.

Many little blessings.

“He’s delightful,” Luna added quickly.

Prince was a great boy.

“I know,” Lyme agreed. “I just… forget his name often.”

“Understandable.”

They fell into silence as she watched the party, not even attempting to join the people.

Juno was speaking to a young woman their age, the daughter of some official she couldn’t name, and her parents seemed to be blending in well.

Better than Luna had ever done, that was certain.

She rubbed the side of her belly, trying to keep her face straight as the noise just surrounded her, feeling her back stiff.

Cato was smiling charmingly at some guests, talking all around as so many women swooned over him he was only visible because he was taller than them.

“Lyme,” she heard mum’s voice.

“Loba.”

Luna turned to them, and mum was smiling so widely it she couldn’t help softening a little bit.

“I hope I don’t interrupt,” mum spoke softly. “I just wanted to come say hi.”

Lyme smiled to her, more genuine than to many people Luna had seen her around.

They knew one another for so long, there had to be a bit of a camaraderie between them.

“Hello,” Lyme greeted her. “We haven’t seen one another in a few years.”

Luna looked away from them for a moment, scanning the party, and she could see some men exchanging looks as her father walked by, and a pair of older women smiling, snickering, as they glanced to her mother.

Nothing unexpected from those people.

“And you, my baby?” mum asked, taking her attention to her.

Luna looked back at her, feeling her back tensing.

“Yeah?”

Mum gave her a soft look, lacing her arm with hers as she stood by her side, and she had to hold back a wince at the feeling on her arm.

“You’ve been off since we arrived,” she remarked. “And Juno thinks something is up;”

Luna breathed in deeply, looking over at Cato, but he was laughing along with the women throwing themselves at him, not even looking in their direction.

“And I agree with her,” mum added.

She turned to look at her.

“I…” she started, and then paused. “Well.”

She opened and closed her mouth. What was she going to say?

That they never had a fight so bad as today. She had never seen her parents fight, much less the way it happened in the morning.

Maybe they hid it well, their disagreements. Dad was always so enamoured with her mother regardless of when.

But her parents never had to deal with what she had to deal, did they?

Dad never went through what Cato was going through, mum never had to sit and watch him be exploited and not have anyone else to turn to.

Besides, he spent months away at a time, and she had all the freedom she could.

“I… guess I didn’t think marriage was supposed to be like this,” she confessed.

“Like this?” mum asked, sounding surprised.

Luna glanced at Cato again.

“We’ve been… having disagreements,” she spoke slowly. “A few of them.”

Constantly, she wanted to add, but didn’t.

“About?” mum asked.

She breathed in deep.

“His… work,” she looked down at her own feet. “The boys.”

The Capitol, their life, sometimes the people who worked at the house.

Everything, anything.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” mum spoke up.

Luna turned to her, wide eyed.

It didn’t?

So she knew?

“You know, the worst disagreements I had with your father were about parenting,” she remarked. “How Jupiter liked sleeping in our bed far too much. How no punishment seemed to be enough to teach Juno, and the issues she got at school… all parents disagree on things like that, baby.”

Luna swallowed down, shaking her head.

“It’s not about school, or sleeping,” she told her. “After the interview today, we had a… we had a discussion about the boys and the games. How he wants them to join it.”

Mum hated the games. She hated every little aspect of the Hunger Games, she had to understand why it would make Luna uncomfortable to even think of her boys in there!

Her mother's face softened and she exhaled slowly.

"I see," she breathed out.

Luna kept her eyes on her, trying to read her face. She did?

Mum moved to her, taking her hand gently.

"I know we both..." she started speaking, then paused. "I know I have put in you the same fear I developed after my sister died. I know... we both are... understanding to the effect of losing someone to this."

Luna watched her quietly, every little word from her mouth seeming and sounding so... controlled.

"But Cato only sees them as a path to succeess," mum continued, her tone very gentle. "Everything he has, he conquered because of the games."

She looked away from her, trying not to scoff. Didn't she understand-

"So," her mother continued. "It is only expected that he would want the same for his children."

"His children have all they need," Luna snapped, hissing.

Mum wasn't even affected, lacing her arm with hers.

"And you have your reasons to be upset," she agreed. "But we both know you aren't... the most understanding of people."

Luna pulled her arm from hers, but she didn't have words to argue with her.

It wasn't about being understanding!

"He's your husband," her mother reminded her. "You're bound to disagree on things."

"They can die!" she whispered between teeth, trying to keep attention away from them.

Didn't she know that? Her boys could die!

"There's still a few years for him to change his mind," her mother spoke back. "Right now, he's just projecting himself on them. Do you think a father who loves his sons would willingly send them into an arena? He'll come to his senses on his own, you won't have to even open your mouth about it."

Luna swallowed down, swallowing the first thought that came to her lips with it.

Wouldn't he? Really?

Cato didn't even seem to-

No, that was a stupid thought.

"Darling?" she heard.

Luna turned her head quickly, finding Cato coming to them.

He shot them a charming smile.

"We received a letter," Cato told them. "We must read them to our guests, don't you think?"

She forced herself to breathe in - to stop holding her breath.

"Of course," Luna breathed out.

She stepped away from mum in stiff steps, and he put an arm around hers as he guided her down to the centre of the garden as the national anthem played as they did.

Her throat felt dry as she tried to keep her composure as everyone clapped to them, both sounds never failing to spike her anxiety.

"Thank you, thank you," Cato grinned to their guests. "We are so glad you could all be here to celebrate such an important moment for our family."

They clapped more, and Luna plastered a fake smile on her lips as they did.

"Before we begin our celebration," her husband continued. "We have just received a letter from President Snow-"

Luna turned her head to look at him, shocked.

It was from President Snow?

When had it arrived?

Cato turned to her, his smile tighter now, his eyes hiding something.

“For our anniversary,” he said, holding her gaze with something hiding behind them she was struggling to translate.

Was it a surprise to him too?

Cato pulled the letter from his pocket, breaking the golden Capitol seal.

“To the honourable Mr and Mrs Cato Hadley," he read.

The words felt like ice sliding down her spine as she moved her hand over her belly, rubbing its side nervously. Snow’s letters never brought them any comfort.

“It is with great pleasure and heartfelt admiration that I extend my congratulations on your 10th wedding anniversary, a remarkable milestone for two individuals who exemplify the very ideals of our Capitol.”

Luna felt her stomach knot. She knew President Snow had a much deeper understanding of their lives than anyone should. She knew exactly what Cato had exchanged for their wealth and status, and Snow benefited from it above anyone else in the world.

He didn’t seem like the kind who would let it go to waste or be ruined by anyone.

"When I reflect upon your union, I am reminded of the virtues that Panem and the Capitol hold most dear: strength, resilience, loyalty, and above all, an unyielding love that triumphs over any challenge. Yours is not just a love that blossomed through triumph, but one that has endured through the trials of life, serving as an inspiration for all citizens of a beloved country."

Luna swallowed down.

“In a world where so many unions are fleeting, yours stands a beacon of inspiration. Your love story had no only inspired those of your district, but it continued to uplift and captivate the hearts of the Capitol itself.”

The garden filled with applause for a moment, loud and maybe agreeing. When Luna looked at her family, her parents were smiling so brightly it probably hurt their faces.

“Cato,” he kept reading. “Since the moment of your triumphant victory in the 74th Hunger Games, you have demonstrated what it truly means to be a Victor, to thrive in the world and build a legacy that will last generations, with Mrs Hadley standing faithfully by your side, as a representation of all the love our citizens feel for you, someone who’s grace and loyalty only further to cement the greatness of your union.”

She had to clench her teeth. Mrs Hadley, not Luna.

Cato’s smile disappeared for a moment, sudden and shocked, but he grinned right after, clearly forced.

“Your beautiful family,” he read on, his voice faltering just slightly, “is a testament to this enduring legacy. Cato II, Hunter, Victor, Archer, Gunner, Sawyer, and Alexander — your seven sons, each named with strength and courage in mind — are the embodiment of that legacy.”

Everyone at the party cheered and clapped, but the feeling sinking in her belly was hard to hide.

The boys’ names were private, they never spoke of them like that, never in public or even to the people who were present in the room.

She looked over the guests, and they looked thrilled as they clapped and grinned, and Cato inhaled deeply, his eyes sharp as they ran over the page.

“I have no doubt that they, too, will grow to embody the ideals that have made you, Cato, a legend, and I look forward to one day meeting them and seeing them grow into young men who will carry forth your name and our Capitol values with pride.”

He kept reading it, but she didn’t hear real words – something about true love and perseverance, legacy.

Her boys. He had his eyes on their boys.

Next Chapter: Part 3

[traceemerald]

You know, it's been a while, and I think it's time for me to play Minecraft again (though I unfortunately don't have a very creative journal name).

-August 26th, Plantperson Journal, Entry 0-

This is journal entry 0, so I'm just giving an overview of what this journal is about, and not actually playing on the world yet.

To summarize (so you can get a vague idea before you click keep reading), I'll be starting a mostly-vanilla 1.20 world in order to test a data pack made for the Origins mod.

The most important mod (actually data pack) I'm using doesn't have an official name yet (though it'll probably be something simple like "Vailimia's Custom Origins"), but it adds a custom "Dendrian" (basically plantperson) origin to the Origins mod, which I will be using.

For those unfamiliar with the Origins mod, it lets you pick 1 of 9 (10 if you count Human) "origins" when you first join the world, which each provide different advantages and disadvantages which you'll have until you stop playing on the world, more information can be found on the Origins mod's CurseForge page.

As for the advantages and disadvantages provided by the custom origin I'll be using, I'll list those below.

Standing in direct sunlight acts as a food source, but standard food sources are no longer usable.

Water, water bottles, and rain also act as food sources.

To prevent staying in caves for too long, natural regeneration is disabled unless I'm on the surface.

Areas that are "too hot" or "too cold" will prevent sleeping, prevent sprinting, and give weakness and slowness until I leave the area.

All fire damage taken is doubled.

By the way, there's no complicated "warmth" system to determine how hot or cold an area is, it's just based on what weather the biome gets (biomes that get snow are too cold, biomes that don't get weather are too hot, biomes that get rain (and the end because it's a special exception) are a comfortable temperature).

My main goal of this world will basically just be to balance-test this origin by starting a standard survival world with it and seeing where I have trouble.

Anyway, the other mods probably don't need that much explaining since they're mostly just client-side helper/cosmetic mods (at lot of which are just mods I'd like to start using in general).

Here's the modlist.

-Main Content Mods (actually just a data pack)-

Dendrian Origin (by Vailimia), adds the "Dendrian" origin that I described above, requires the Origins mod in order to work.

(not publicly available yet)

-Helper Mods-

AppleSkin (by squeek502), makes saturation and exhaustion visible on the hunger bar and shows how filling food items are (not that I'll be eating any).

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/appleskin

Controlling (by Jaredlll08), adds a search bar to the keybinds menu and helps with finding conflicting keybinds.

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/controlling

Freecam (by hashalites), allows controlling the camera separately from the player (this can be used for cheating, but I'll just be using it for screenshots).

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/free-cam

Just Enough Items (by mezz), crafting recipe viewer.

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/jei

Litematica (by masady), helps with building things from schematics.

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/litematica

MiniHUD (also by masady), allows seeing helpful things like spawn chunks and light levels.

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/minihud

Mouse Tweaks (by YaLTeR), helps with moving items around in inventories.

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/mouse-tweaks

No Chat Reports (by Aizistral), strips cryptographic signatures from chat messages, basically preventing people from reporting me to Mojang (not necessary in singleplayer, but I have it anyway).

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/no-chat-reports

Tweakeroo (by masady), adds a bunch of toggleable client-side tweaks, I mostly have it because DocM77 does.

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/tweakeroo

-Cosmetic Mods-

Chat Heads (by dzwdz), adds player heads next to chat messages.

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/chat-heads

Customizable Player Models (by tom54541), allows creation and use of fully customizable player models that work on vanilla servers (though they can only be seen by other people who have the mod), I'm not using this for much.

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/custom-player-models-fabric

LambDynamicLights (by LambdAurora), adds dynamic lighting when holding light sources.

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/lambdynamiclights

Sound Physics Remastered (by henkelmax), adds sound stuff, I don't know how to describe it without just copying the description from CurseForge.

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/sound-physics-remastered

-Dependencies-

Cloth Config API (by shedaniel and LinkielsBetterThanK9)

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/cloth-config

Fabric API (by modmuss50)

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/fabric-api

MaLiLib (by masady)

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/malilib

Origins (by Apace), this adds content on its own, but I'm not using any of it.

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/origins

Searchables (by Jaredlll08)

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/searchables

That's all.

-End Journal Entry 0-

[itsmypeach13]

[Please welcome my first ever fanfic series chapter 1🤭The story contains of f/f relationships, centres around Asassins Creed Valhalla women female Eivor, Soma Jarlskona(the Bear Heart is my own nickname I gave her will be often used 😁), Randvi, Valka and other fictional characters. It is for +18 readership as it may contain explicit language, drinking, sexual intercourses, fighting in battles. Please bare these in mind before reading.]

TALES OF THE BEAR-HEART:SOMA

CHAPTER I.

A Letter from the Wolf-Kissed

Soma's POV:

I opened my eyes swiftly , my head was heavy with the thoughts swirling inside after a sleepless night. A warming beam of light brightened my room as the sun was rising slowly outside. I turned to my side and looked at the empty side of the bed. I ran my fingers slowly on the cold pillow and let out a sigh. It doesn't matter how many girls of Gratenbridgeshire offered themselves to me , this place belongs to Eivor. Well, only in my dreams..she haunts me like a she-wolf hunrgry to taste meat and blood. And I would always face this wolf, giving in and letting my walls down for her, but this world was apart from reality.

I had a jarldom to rule and protect my people, today was no different either. Just when I finished dressing up I heard knocking on the door like a bear would rant at me from outside.

'Splendid morning Soma, I know you had fun with that blonde amazon last night, I came to make sure we arrive on time , so get your ass out here.'- Revna greeted me with her raspy voice. She was my right hand in ruling the town , my finest warrior and my best friend in one tall, brunette woman. She was even taller then Eivor and always carried two hammers on her sides. Her weapons put many fine men in the grave , Revna was a beast on the battlefield, but a big hearted puppy to her loved ones. She and I grew closer after Birna left us, I needed somebody to trust.

'You think yourself a seeress of all.I haven't slept a bit, even without any ladies invited in my bed-I stepped out of the door grinning, and placed my hand on her shoulder.' Don't worry my friend, Cheolbert must be still sleeping like a baby.

We both headed to the longhouse as Cheolbert arrived late at night and asked an assemby in the morning. I didn't know what was it about, so I felt curious to know. I peaked towards the main entrance seeing jarls arriving on horseback from the neighbouring jarldoms. It must be either a wedding or war ahead of us, I thought to myself.

'What is on your mind Soma? You seem a bit worn-out this morning.-Revna questioned me by gently pushing my right arm. I didn't want to tell her the truth , that Eivor was the cause of my insomnia.

'Everything is fine Revna , it was full moon yesterday and you know well I can't sleep when it comes'-I assured my shield maiden. 'We have a long day ahead of us, I count on you if we have to fight side by side again.'

Revna silently nodded and hurried to the front of the assembly. The longhouse was filled with people, curious eyes were glued to Cheolbert who stepped in , wearing a glorious red and white cloak and black learher tunic. Our eyes met and he signalled me he wanted to speak in private at the side first.

We both went to the map room, his blue eyes were narrow and mysterious. I gave him a welcoming hug.

'Cheolbert my dear friend, I swear you've grown a feet since we last met.'-I teased.

' Soma, good to meet again, I wish the circumstances were different.'

'What happened? '-I grew impatient and started walking up and down.

'Eivor told me to hand over this letter to you first'.-he held out a letter with a raven seal. I turned my back so that he can't see my face, and I felt the world around me spin. Is she in trouble? Is she alright?

Dear Soma,

I write you in haste now, as your rotten friend Brina , whom you kept so close to your heart as a pet has betrayed all of us. She is a serpent who slyly earned your trust. She got married to Ivarr the Boneless and they sworn revenge on both Ravensthorpe and Gratenbridgeshire. Ivarr wants to be king of this continent...son is like farher. Their fleet is now close to us, we must unite our men and act swiftly. Please come as fast as you can to Ravensthorpe. I already informed your neighbours, I sent Cheolbert to gather all the men at Gratenbridgeshire.

When we win there will be a cause of celebration I sware to you dear. With all my thanks.

Eivor the Wolf-Kissed

My heart grew heavy with disappointment and sadness over hearing what Birna brought for our people. After all I had two friends betray me, I will cut the throat of this traitor too I swore to myself.

I felt blood rush to my cheeks as the word 'dear' was ringing like a bell in my head. The wolf could play mind games with me even if she wasn't here.

The assemby was quick, I told my people to gather every man to fight for the woman who made this place a safe home for us. I climbed up to my black mare after putting on my silver and blue gear and dictated a rushed tempo for our horses on the way to Ravensthorpe, so our army arrived the same afternoon. I held my back tightly and confident in my straddle to show people a firm leader. As we rode closer to the gates a flood of excitement gripped my stomach. It was funny because I feared not the bloodshed of war or heavy strikes of axes, but seeing the deep blue eyes of Eivor again. Too afraid what I would see in the reflection of her endless iris. Just when I was confident enough to let the idea of the two of us together go , I knew it well the depth of her eyes will eat me alive again. Somehow Freya threads our paths in the same direction? Why does she condemned me to suffering?

***

As I got off my mare at the entrance of the longhouse Valka humbly walked up to me and greeted with a tusk of her best mead. It was a secret recipe I was obsessed with so Eivor sometimes sent a few barrells to me. Valka made the sweet liquid with a hint of star anise and petals of orange jasmine.

'Now that you are finally here the universe is balanced'- she winked handing over the mead. I had no idea what she mean by that, but I gratefully accepted and took a long shot.

'Thanks Valka, I am happy to see my favourite seeress. -I winked at her and slightly raised my tusk.' May this give me strength and fortune on the battlefield.

'Freya will have her hand on your shoulder , she has plans with you.'

This conversation made me suspicious Valka had a vision of the future and it seems I am the part of it. Anyhow, I was sure of one thing, my duty is to be here and help.

'I can't wait to fulfill my destiny, my friend. Whatever the future holds I am ready to take it in.'

In that moment Eivor rushed out of the longhouse seeming quite annoyed with something her rough hands forming into fists. She looked astonishing, deadly in her black and gold armor, the axe of her father as a token swagged on her side. Even if it was a brief moment, I saw her eyes widened at the sight of me, her look pierced into my soul when she smirked at me. She was saying without words that she was grateful that I came and trusted me, this filled my heart with warmth and my chest swelled.

'Dear Soma' -she spoke with her deep, raspy voice that was stealing my sanity every time I heard her close.'I knew you would come and aid us in the moment of need.'-she took my right hand for a moment then let it fall back.

'You know I'll always be there like a true friend. It's my pleasure.-Eivor's smile ended at the word friend, but people around us were staring and we weren't more than that behind their backs either.

To cut off our slightly awkward meeting, Randvi stormed out of the wooden bulding her cheeks burning, and arms folded. She looked like a child who didn't get the piece of cake. I wondered what happened between those two in there. In the second she caught a glipse of me and Eivor standing quite close , Randvi joined between us and politely thanked me to bring a huge force here. She was a perfect diplomat and an impeccable service around me after that.She arranged a dinner for only the leaders and jarls to lay out the plan for tomorrow's battle. We decided to surprise Birna and Ivarr and hide our best archers in the woods until they ride towards the gates. I must admit I can see now why Eivor loves Randvi. The copper-haired woman was not only beautiful with soft features, but intelligent in a way that humiliated the man leaders here.

It felt extremely hard to look at Randvi and listen to the details as I felt my helpless jealousy hit me like a wave. It angered me how Eivor drunk every word she uttered her eyes sometimes wandered lover than Randvi's lips.

After dinner I wanted to retreat to my tent as soon as possible , the sight of Eivor and Randvi in the same room sickened me. Before I could do that Randvi came to me with a letter.

'Soma, wait. Let me give this letter to you.' she instructed quickly.

'Who is it from?'-I enquired furrowing my brows with second guessing.

'It's uh..from me actually...-she hesitated then blurted out' there are certain things you better read than hear me say it out loud.'

This fucking woman had guts to speak to me like that..I knew it was intently personal. She must have heard rumors of Eivor's visits to me sometimes, but hardly knew the wolf was only hers not mine for a single bit.

'How thoughtful of you. The rumors are true , you really have balls in spite of being a shieldmaid. I will read your bedtime story later, now if you excuse me.' Randvi 0-Soma 1. Every inch of me wanted to tear off she seal and read it right away but I waited until I was left alone in the provacy of my tent.

Jarl Soma,

Please let me be honest and plain with you. Eivor's invite here was merely political. I know more than anyone how she behaves around women to get what she wants. I have firsthand experience in that. But you have to know Eivor doesn't look at you like a woman, she told me she sees a long lost older sister in you. If I were you, I would think twice what I let people gossip about and make a fool of myself.

Randvi

In the second I finished reading I crumpled the piece of paper and thowed behind my back. Her words were agressive and protective just like a female wolf and I could feel Randvi's bite marks on my neck.

I decided not to believe anything until I asked Eivor.. oh but how could I do that? The wolf would realise I cared about her in a different way, and I couldn't let that happen until she gives me something. A flickering sign in the hollowing darkness I am living in.

I decided to visit Valka and have drinks together, I desperately needed somebody to keep my mind of this mess I became part of.

***

The little hut stood with watchful eyes on the slight hill close to the village. There were died flowers hanged outside and a sweet smoky and flowery scent filled my nostrils. As I get close I recognized Valka now wearing a red gown with hood on her head. She looked like Freya preparing a love potion as she was pouring something in a tusk and put some petals on the top.

'Good Evening Valka.. I hope you don't mind my late night visit. I just needed some of your special mead I guess and my feet brought me here' I stared to her fiery reddish brow eyes. She had neat tattos on her face forming dots and gentle marks on her smooth skin.

'I knew you would come tonight, so I prepared this mead with some herbs that will rock you in a pleasant slumber.'she handed over the tusk , the liquid looked like shiny rubies.

'How is that you always know better what I need than myself?-I smirked at her and found comforting in her eyes.

'A gift from the gods my lady-her eyes had a mysterious spark in them, a little dimple formed on her face from smiling.

'Come sit with me inside, it is getting cold out here.'

I nodded and followed the seeress into the firm hut, theought the entrance ornamented with animal bones and more dried flowers.

There was a freshly lit fire inside warming up my limbs and cheeks. It also colored the space with wrath orange that played on our faces like the sunset.

'Now tell me, what makes your heart heavy?'-she asked with care.

'I think I feel a bond to Eivor that is irrational and grows between us every time we meet. It is like an invisible string pulls me towards her maybe it's the wish of the Gods.-I sipped bitterly in the mead , a slight soothing feeling ran through my body.

'We both know our fate is inevitable, so you have to show what's inside your heart first.' -Valka looked deeply in my eyes. -You are Soma, our fearless Bear warrior sent by Freya to our aid and to fight on Eivor's side.

'Randvi told me Eivor loves me with a sisterly care.. I image she is right., look at her, she could have anybody.

'Don't listen to Randvi , she is hurt and trapped in her own feeling of helplessness. If she can't have Eivor accepted by the public, then nobody can'-Valka nodded and squuezed my hand.

'I just can't trust people anymore Valka. My love towards people turned into a bitter storm inside me.-Except for Revna, I couldn't trust a soul, not even Eivor. She didn't reveal her hidden side to me.

'Just talk to her in the morning, it will ease your turmoil Soma.-she winked and headed to bed. To my utter surprise she started to undress in front of my sleepy eyes, they popped in surprise no matter the mead.

Valka's toned back was shining under the wrath orange fireligt, she revealed her impeccably and naked body.

'Good night Valka, I have to get some sleep now. Thank...you...for uh.. everything!' I mumbled to her and hurried to my hut until I was able to stand still. Before sleep my head was filled with Eivor's piercing eyes and... I was a bit surprised but Valka's slender back flashed through as well. Damn, this woman was also fine. Like all women!

My eyelids felt to heavy , soon enough I was fast asleep like a newborn baby.

[ask-de-writer]

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT : Part 50 of 83 : World of Sea

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT

Part 50 of 83

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

140406 words

copyright 2020

written 2007

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

//////////////

Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users   of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may   reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information   remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in   my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical   compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

New to the story?  Read from the beginning.  PART 1 is here

///////////////////////

She accepted that, and went further aft to the helmsman.  It was still Darkistry who was holding their course.  Tanlin took the helm tackle while Darkistry drank her warm broth.  Even with the tackle to take the jolt, it was hard to keep the ship steady when a wave took the stern and tried to push the rudder out of line.

In lulls of wind, Tanlin was able to yell questions and get answers shouted back.

“Wye int’ t’e storm?”

“It’s a Coriolis storm, a cyclone!”

“So?”

“It has a calmer core where we can ride the storm north and escape over the pole to another fleet!”

“‘Oose idea wa’ t’at?”

“Mine. Captain liked it though!”

Darkistry took back the steering tackle and Tanlin saw how she braced and adjusted the rudder just before the following seas hit the ship.  She could now better appreciate the artistry with which Darkistry was handling the vessel.

Carefully, using the storm lines, Tanlin made her way back.  Screaming wind, rain and seas flooding across the deck nearly took her.  The storm lines kept her from being washed away.

Regaining her feet she got to the companionway hatch.  It was opened at her knock and she hastened in, accompanied by a rush of wave and wind-driven rain.  She made her way forward down the dark corridor, bracing against the walls to keep from falling as the ship rolled and pitched underfoot.  Only three candle-lanterns lit the big mess room, leaving it a gloomy cavern.  Hands came from the dimness and assisted her in shedding her soaked foul-weathers.  A hot broth was thrust into her hands and she was guided to a bench to sit.

A respectful silence followed while Tanlin sipped her drink and got some warmth back into her.  She smiled at the anxious faces about her.

“T’e Ca’tain knows w’at ‘e’s about.  We’re steerin’ deeper int’ t’e storm.  Unless we strike somet’in’, we should be in nae special danger.”

“What I want to know is why?  Why is the Captain steering this course?” the voice of Mister Timms asked from the shadows about her.

“Tis a Coriolis Cyclone.  We’re makin’ for t’e calmer ‘eart so t’at we can ride t’e storm north, safe from pursuit.  T’e Coriolis storms all die about 650 or 700 North an’ we’ll be able t’ slip t’rough t’e Dragon Sea t’ safety.

“Is Master Selked ‘ere?”

“Yes, Lady Tanlin, I am.”

“D’ we ‘ave a Main Spar in stores?  Prefer’bly an old ane?”

Master Selked bent his gaze to the wildly swinging lantern nearest him and thought a moment, “There’s a main-yard that was damaged and saved for salvage after our last storm.  That was down in Arrakan waters, Lady.  It has a split and crush damage to the interior structure of the outer port-side quarter.”

“T’at’ll be perfect!” Tanlin enthused.  “Master Calin!  We’ll need all o’ t’e old or worn out cordage in t’e ropewalk t’ rig ‘t. Master Arran!  We just replaced a wind-bagged main sail.  We need t’ get ‘t out an’ furl ‘t t’ t’e spar wit’ t’e old riggin’.  We wont t’ make ‘t look like t’e wind got int’ t’e sail an’ blew ‘t open, breakin’ t’e spar!  We’ll cast ‘t overboard for t’e search t’ find.”

The crew leaped into action, glad of something to do.  The Rope Walk was opened and the spar and sail brought in.  Ropes were sorted and the sail rigged to the yardarm so that it appeared to have lost reefing points and blown open to the force of the storm.  Experts debated over how it came loose and which rigging should be borne with it.  

One of the men who had helped with the Fauline repairs produced a broken chunk of railing.  It had been ripped free when the Fauline was rammed.  Properly secured and sized rigging was attached, including a portion of a mast brace from standing rigging.

When all was ready, it was wrestled to an amidships companionway and the storm hatch opened.  Cold, wind driven rain slashed in, followed by a gush of water as a wave rolled the length of the ship down the deck. The crew, men and women both, wrestled the big decoy out.  Once the wind found it, it became near impossible to manage.  Finally they got it out onto the deck.  They struggled to get it overside before wind and wave could hurl it like a deadly missile at their own rigging. As they watched, the yardarm took some water through the split and the broken end sank, pivoting the arm up like a marker buoy as it floated away from the ship.

Captain Barad gave them the ancient OK sign of circled thumb and forefinger, with the other fingers spread.

Back in the common room of the mess, Tanlin saw to the distribution of rations and a cup of warm drink to everyone involved.

Mister Timms entered along with helmsman Macoul, both shaking the water from their foul-weather gear.  “They won’t let us replace them. They’ve been on watch continuously for near twenty four hours!”

“How are they holding up?” Tanlin asked anxiously.

“They are both alert and strong for now,” said Macoul.  “As long as I was there, Darkistry let me help with the tackle.  She always works it ahead of the storm, better than I can do it.  I gave up and joined Mister Timms in returning.”

Hours later, the tocsin rattled ‘watch change, crew on deck!’  There had been a very perceptible alteration in the nature of the storm. The waves were still rough, though nowhere near the height or power of before.  The wind was dying down from its previous ferocity.  They had made it to the eye of the storm, the so called calm center of the cyclone.  Calm was a relative term.  It was still hard gusty weather and the seas were choppy and heavy, filled with the wrack stirred up by the storm.

Without waiting to be ordered, Lenai Halin began to mount the ratlines to inspect the sails and rigging for storm damage.

“Can I come, too, Mother?” Arnat called.

“Sure, son.  Remember, if I tell you to stop or wait someplace, you do it. The rigging can be tricky while it’s wet like this.”  She looked on with pride as Arnat refused the help of a deck-hand in getting up to the rail.  The ratlines were like a rope ladder going up from the rail to high on the foremast.  Each mast had them.  They were spaced for grown folk, not children, but once Arnat had a grip he climbed quickly and surely  to where his mother was waiting.  They climbed easily, side by side, up to the first lookout.

The jibs were billowed out tight in the breeze ahead of them.  Lenai examined them critically.  “What do you see, Arnat?  Are the sails still sound?”  She waited patiently while Arnat looked as closely as his perch permitted.

“The lead jib mid-seam is showing signs of stretching, mother.”

“You are right about the sail,” she said with a smile.  “Noticed like a true sail-lofter and rigging surveyor.”  She paused and corrected, “Up here, I’m Lenai.  Remember that.”  She gave him a quick hug while automatically catching a line for balance as the ship yawed under them.

“Moth. . .Lenai, there are two reefing points on the mid-jib that are starting to tear out.  If they aren’t fixed, the sail will split in the next storm.”

“Good eyes, Arnat.  That covers the fore-sails used in this storm.  Let’s go on up.  We have to survey the running rigging.  Those head-blocks took almost the whole load of this ship during the blow.”

Ratlines could only take them part way to the head-blocks, just below the masthead.  Clinging casually to the ropes and bracing against the mast, she examined all of the lashings and the condition of the blocks.

“What do you see here, Sharp-eyes?”

Arnat climbed past her and looked everything over carefully.

“These lashings held up well.  That line,” he pointed, “has chafing.” Then he caught what his mother had seen.  “The block wheel has frozen, that’s why the line chafed!”

“I knew that there was a reason I taught you to think!  Good catch!” Lenai wrapped an arm around her son, grabbed an up-haul with her free hand and both legs and slid down to the blocks for the mid-jib. Everything there passed inspection and they slid on down to the deck. Barad was waiting there for their report.  Lenai proudly pushed Arnat forward.  “Make our report, crewman Arnat,” she ordered.

Arnat, a little big-eyed at the trust, honor and responsibility, said, “Captain Barad, Sir, the fore-jib head-block has frozen.  It needs replacement, along with the uphaul.  Both jibs need to be replaced for maintenance.  There is minor stretching in the mid-seam of the fore and some tears starting around two reefing points on the mid.”

A grin split Barad’s face, “Very good, Arnat.  We will get men on it right away.”

Fresh sails were broken out and the slight damage repaired before it could grow to ship damaging or destroying proportions.  All around them the storm clouds could be seen charging in a wide circle, while overhead the sky was a clear blue.

Barad and Darkistry gladly gave up the control of the ship and went below, aiming for food and bunks in that order.  The crew surrounded them with congratulations and pressed hot drinks and food on them until they could never have eaten or drunk it all.

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS   NEXT==>

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

[cameron-ashurst22]

Colour Theory Research- Character Design

Colour Theory within Character Design 

Colour theory is a vital component within character design as there are few things that are more subjective than that of the use of colour. A colour can evoke reaction and emotion from the viewer due to culture, prior association or even just personal preference.

The attributes of colour

Hue: This is the identity of the colour separate from its saturation or value. The hue establishes whether the colour is blue, orange, green or yellow.

Saturation:Saturation refers to the intensity of a colour. Can be used to create a focal point as areas of high saturation draw the eye. High saturation gives a vibrant and joyous feel while desaturated colours feel serious, dull, old and sad.

Value: Value refers to how light or dark it is .Areas of high value contrast, that is a difference of light and dark values, become the focal point as this also draws the eye

Warm Colours 

Red , orange and yellow are considered warm colours. Red and yellow are primary colours with orange a secondary colours. Warm colours are truly warm and are not made by combining a warm colour with a cool colour. Warm colours reflect passion, happiness , enthusiasm and energy.

Red: Associated with fire, violence, warfare and anger. However it is also associated with love and passion. In history it has been associated with both the devil and cupid. Red can also be associated with importance and can dictate danger like the stop light on a set of traffic lights. The physical effect of the colour red on the human body can cause the body to raise blood pressure and respiration rates.

Orange: Can be associated with Autumn as the leaves begin to change colour and fall to the ground. Orange can represent change and movement in general. Orange is considered inviting and friendly compared to red as it is less in your face.

Yellow: Yellow us the brightest and most energising of the warm colours. It is associated with warmth, happiness, hope and the sun. However yellow can also be associated with deceit ,cowards and danger.In some countries, yellow has very different connotations. In Egypt, for example, yellow is for mourning. In Japan, it represents courage and in India it’s a colour for merchants.

Cool Colours

Cool colours include green, blue and purple. They are colours of the night, of water and nature. They are usually calm, relaxing and reserved. Blue is the only primary colour within the cool spectrum which means blue has to be combined with a warm colour to create green and purple.

Green: Green can represent new beginnings and growth. Alternatively it can also represent jealousy and envy as well as a lack of experience. Green is a stable colour and helps to balance character designs as it incorporates the energy of yellow and the calming attributes of blue.Green can be used for characters who have a position of wealth and who are stable. It can also be used in characters who are nature based, more olive greens are used for this as they represent the natural world.

Blue: Blue is often associated with sadness, calmness and responsibility. Light blues are friendly and refreshing like the colour of Andy’s room in Toy story as this is a room of a child. Dark blues represent reliability and strength. Blue is also associated with peace and has spiritual and religious connotations in many cultures and traditions.

Purple:Purple is associated with royalty and is a combination of red and blue.In Thailand, purple is the colour of mourning for widows. Dark purples are traditionally associated with wealth and royalty, while lighter purples are considered more romantic. It is also associated with creativity and imagination.

Neutral colours

The meanings of neutral colours are much more affected by the colours that surround them. Neutral colours serve as the backdrop in design and are most commonly combined with brighter accent colours.

Black: Black is the strongest of the neutral colours associated with power, elegance and formality. Furthermore , it can also be associated with evil, death and mystery. Black can be used as an accent in character design and is common in edgier design as well as in elegant design. 

White:  White is on the opposite end of the spectrum to black but has the same amount of use as black as it can work with any colour. White is often associated with purity, cleanliness and virtue. However, In the east in countries like India whit his traditionally the only colour widows are allowed to wear and is associated with death.

Grey: On the cool end of the colour spectrum grey is considered moody and depressing. Grey is conservative and formal. Grey is also considered as the colour of mourning. Grey is commonly used in corporate design where formality and professionalism is key. This would be evident in a businessman character design where he would wear a grey suit for example.

Brown: Brown is associated with art, wood and stone. It is a completely neutral colour and is in the warmer end of the colour spectrum. Brown is associated with dependability, reliability but can also be considered dull. Brown is commonly used as a background colour but can also be present in characters of the earth.

Beige and Tan: Beige can be used in both the warm and cool end of the colour spectrum depending on the colours used surrounding it. It has the warmth of brown but the coolness of white. It is a conservative colour and in most instances is usually reserved for backgrounds. 

Cream and Ivory: Ivory and cream are sophisticated colours they evoke a sense of history , elegance and calmness.

Colour Harmony

Colour schemes are different ways to harmony between colours within a piece. Different schemes and different levels of harmony can create different moods or feelings. 

Monochromatic: A single hue is used while the value and saturation is varied.

Analogous: Three adjacent hues, the colour scheme is harmonious and pleasing to the eye. Frequently seen within nature. An example of this is Green arrow within Dc Comics as he has a yellow and green colour scheme of varying hues.

Complimentary:Two Hues on opposite side of the wheel to create maximum contrast. It is good to use one as a dominant colour and the other for highlights.

Split complimentary: Uses the two hues adjacent to one of the complementary hues. Is used to create a high degree of contrast but is not as drastic as the complimentary scheme.

Triadic: A triangle of hues. Can appear childlike. This is synonymous with Super Mario’s design as he is a combination of red, yellow and blue the three primary colours.

Tetradic: Two sets of complimentary pairs. Where warm and cool hues need to be balanced well as having equal amounts can be chaotic. 

Using colour within my character design process:

When creating my characters for this project I wanted to convey two contrasting personalities which have an aspect of duality between them. For the first character the accountant on wall street I chose to have a blue suit that signifies stability and responsibility as he is respected in his work place. But it also suggests the sadness within the character as he longs for something more , he wants to make more money and live a better life.  The ace of spades character is mainly black and white. As I wanted to create and elegance and strength within his character design. This reflects his decision making as within his decision making he is head strong and ruthless appearing cold to some. I also decided for each of the characters to have alternative  colour schemes to see which would best represent their personalities. I still chose the blue Suit for the first character as the black variation was too cold and didn’t contrast well in relation to the other character. However, for the ace of spades design the purple variation and black and red variation both stood out for me. As the purple represents royalty and could show how ace of spades works himself higher and higher in the hierarchy of the mob. Whereas the black and red design directly contrasts the black and red design as it takes inspiration from the contrasting colours in a deck of cards being black and red.

Sources:

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/color-theory-for-designers-part-1-the-meaning-of-color/

https://111426studio.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/the-role-of-colour-in-character-and-scene-design/

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/video-game-character-design/0/steps/31703

https://zevendesign.com/color-association/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2LJAP-Srhk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoO0_QC2ob8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj1FK8n7WgY

[furnacerepairsaltlakejkrd64-blog]

Guide to Purchasing an Air Conditioning Installation - Residential Or Commercial

INTRODUCTION:

Purchasing an air-con installation package deal in the UK could be a tricky conclusion for many organization, building or home owners. You will find different suppliers, various technique styles and many components to get into account, not simply the bottom line price of the Preliminary installation.

The subsequent particulars will enlighten you to what you need to contemplate before heading in advance with an air con method set up with your Office environment, retail shop or commercial creating. Please Keep to the inbound links to acquire more information to aid this article in more detail when you so wish.

Style and design:

A professional air conditioning set up firm will provide a quality layout service, giving you with the ability to have an understanding of what you're receiving. A comprehensive estimate will be provided which is able to detail just what you are getting and why. All things considered I feel This is able to be any person's minimum requirement when they are about to invest a great deal of income, but you might be surprised what number of companies You should not source this awareness to element.

A layout need to keep in mind the next components:

one. Heating and cooling tons of the place/s.

two. Air move distribution to maximise consolation for your occupants.

three. Simplicity of set up to maximise speed of installation for minimum disruption and process Value.

4. Price of the procedure to match the customer's spending budget.

5. Functioning expenses, which include ease of maintenance and electrical intake.

6. Method style to fulfill the necessities.

A comprehensive quotation really should be provided, detailing the next:

1. Design and style requirements.

2. The scope of performs.

3. The equipment equipped.

four. Set up time.

five. Warranty of the set up as well as tools.

six. Exclusions, operates and so forth that ac repair salt lake city ut aren't provided.

seven. Value.

eight. Payment terms.

9. Contractual info supporting equally get-togethers.

10. Specialized details for devices and materials.

Charge:

This is always the most crucial thought for almost any business for an air con set up, but the First Expense is not the only cost you must take into consideration. This error can set you back dearly down the road down the line. The following need to be tackled and understood to make you the vital long lasting price savings:

one. The standard of the installation is essential, leading line tools and installation products should really constantly be utilized, together with an experienced installation by qualified & expert engineers who do the job from a detailed style and design to industry criteria to an outstanding assurance amount as quoted with the set up business. Should you pay bottom price, you Generally get base high quality, air conditioning businesses will need to help make revenue much like another business! There is usually a balance while so Will not be afraid to debate this Using the installer.

two. Jogging Price is The key aspect to contemplate when creating or shopping for an air con set up. Why? As it Price tag's around the exact to operate it about its life span since it does to get the installation!

three. If the design with the set up is wrong, the process will not function appropriately, meaning it will operate and run, using up electrical energy, costing you a thing for very little and likewise escalating your carbon emissions. Also, the greater a procedure operates, the greater breakdowns you're prone to get, so harm limitation is crucial.

Typical samples of bottom line expenditures influencing conclusions are commonly observed the place an individual indoor air con device is put in whenever a twin indoor unit is required. The only is much less expensive to order than the twin, significantly less labour to install, products and product prices. The installer estimates the cheapest selling price achievable With all the poorest (unknowingly for the customer) high quality set up as well as shopper see's a saving and accepts the quote. You receive complaints of warm and cold places in the home, individuals are uncomfortable, running fees are sky significant, the unit breaks down and very little can be achieved but begin yet again which isn't within the clients agenda and price range for an answer to a dilemma that can of been fixed in the design and tender stage.

If the twin method was recognized, at a better bottom line Price tag, the system would get the job done easily, occupants would be cozy, no very hot or chilly places plus a usually more Skilled set up would suggest constrained breakdowns if any in the slightest degree (given that they are maintained each year).

COMFORT:

The consolation on the occupants is essential into a satisfactory air conditioning design and style and set up Resolution. You use air conditioning to generate an ecosystem snug, so it would not make sense to buy air conditioning if it can make the occupants un-comfy. A cushty temperature range for human beings is 21 to 25 levels Celsius, 21 for males, 25 for females with 23 the standard I suggest since the advised established temp.

Air-con units will give air in the indoor unit's at a temperature from 0 to twenty degrees Celsius, based on the outdoor ambient temperature ranging from twenty to 40 levels Celsius. The indoor air off temperature is pertinent to your outside ambient.

Air-con will work because of the indoor device absorbing the warmth by using a heat exchanger, not by blowing cold air into a space. You should nevertheless, structure a technique that provides air flow to the best areas, this air should then return to the unit as it's absorbed the energy or warmth from the air.

I am nonetheless to discover someone that can sit in an Place of work all day less than just one air-con unit that blasts 0 to five diploma air onto them in a rate just like a desk fan would, It is really just not incredibly comfy in any respect! The easiest way to fight This really is to employ a ducted device, you'll be able to place approximately 4 ducts on a ducted unit, Each individual duct incorporates a diffuser grille that blows the air out 360 levels at ceiling stage, at a pleasant and slow amount permitting it to gently & easily fall down on to the occupants which gives the consolation degree you call for in a finances the two the installer and consumer obtain satisfactory.

Process Kinds:

Air conditioning methods are extremely technological. Units are a combination of electrics and plumbing with a high-end scale. The systems have gotten particularly productive and offer you far more possibilities than others.

There are many differing types of indoor models, They are really as follows:

one. Wall unit, fastest and cheapest to put in.

two. Cassette unit, popular in workplaces, mounted in suspended ceilings.

3. Ducted unit, the most costly for each unit but probably the most comfortable and Electrical power effective.

Here are a few differing kinds of out of doors models, They are really as follows:

1. One break up program.

two. Multi-split system.

3. VRV Technique.

It is crucial to be aware of what process you want to or what you are receiving. This way you can Look at quotes if you went to a number of suppliers, Then you can certainly make an smart conclusion based on some cooling or air conditioning repair service salt lake city technological knowledge

MAINTENANCE:

Maintenance is crucial because it lets the device to operate mainly because it must, a hundred% efficiently. When the filters and heat exchangers are blocked, it will not likely operate as competently as it could do, in some cases approximately fifty% fewer. The unit will then create complications and price dollars to repair it through breakdowns and too much electrical usage.

Standard upkeep is furnished for each Wintertime and summer time year, so two visits a 12 months. An honest air conditioning firm will be able to undertake this work, offer you a maintenance agreement and possess some high quality assurance which happens to be relevant to a great maintenance method.

Power CONSUMPTION:

Any purchaser of air con should really evaluate the Vitality consumption of your program they involve or has long been quoted as an answer. Electricity labelling is witnessed on client merchandise like washing devices, tumble dryers and dishwashers. The same relates to air conditioning units.

Air conditioning models Possess a electrical performance ranking or EER in cooling and a co-performance of efficiency CoP in heating. Air-con requirements are typically a mean of three.5 EER and 4 CoP. In other words, they give off three.5kw of cooling and 4kw of heat to 1kw of energy.

All methods have different EER and CoP, it depends upon the type of maker, the type of system and also the configuration. The supplier can supply the EER and CoP in the technical aspects in the quotation.

CARBON EMISSIONS:

Most of us have an obligation to carbon emissions reduction [http://www.angelz-air-conditioning.com/carbon.html] and to scale back them exactly where we can. Saving on electrical usage not merely will save you income, but lowers your carbon emissions. There are several products and solutions, services and alternatives to envisage to reduce the two electrical usage and carbon emissions.

[lotrewrite]

8/19 Chat Recap

Same as the previous recap - I'm mostly keeping the comments intact! Putting the more fun/general stuff above the cut:

SNEAK PEEK of the COLORED tarot cards: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jq1lm3nd64sx9d3/AAC5qUDB6EvTK28tqE1zffExa?dl=0

Playlist: I think we really need an official playlist for this? There's no depression in new zealand, yo ho, come on eileen, istanbul not constantinople...POC crossed with AC Black Flag music...XD Backstreet boys in the 90s! ep. 13 playlist has to be mercedes sosa; argentinian singer who had to go into exile during the dictatorship. I’m Henry the Eight I Am for the Tudor episode, plus Pastime With Good Company someone should make a playlist for all the episodes maybe when we're posting the episodes I'll make a music suggestion post each day :) that way people can suggest songs based on the final version

INTROS:

We should try to split them up semi-evenly, but also depending on who the episode focuses on.

1 – Mick?

2 – [Ray] [proposed]

3 – [Nate] [proposed]

4 – Sara

5 – Jax

6 – Lisa

7 – [Stein] [proposed]

8 – Rip

9 – Mick

10 – Amaya

11 – Jax

12 – Gideon

13 – Len

14 – Sara

15 – Stein

16 – Hosts

17 – [Ray] [proposed]

18 – Amaya

19 – Mick

20 – [Legion] [proposed]

21 – [Legion OR Sara]

22 - Len

Thoughts? There's only one Ray one so far, despite him having several Ray-centric episodes. Not sure what we would switch, though!

General Points:

can O!Len change his clothes? He had a beer from somewhere in ep6 I think, so can he have objects? i think it'd make more sense if he's 'full ghost' so to speak; I think he can't change his clothes or interact with objects until later in the season. As much as I'd love for more dress-up for Len, I think he works best as a ghost

Interesting consistency note: Because Anne gave away the spear piece, her life went to hell. That is a terrifying but wonderful thought. we have something similar with Ching and her history, because she also suffers defeats after her spear piece is gone And technichally the ship in new zealand sinks after they take the piece, too They could have had a chance to change their fates but they lost/gave away the spear pieces and thus couldn't

Stephanie Fisher - we should at the very least give her a shout-out for all her wonderful comments. I vote we give Stephanie some kind of award, not just for the comments, but for ALWAYS catching Damien Darhk's name and correcting it!!!!!

just generally, I really love the snarky Gideon we have. And Jax. I love Jax so much this season. and I even like Stein again! I wasn't a big fan of Ray, but I think we've managed to redeem him as well and Sara is actually the badass captain we wanted her to be

Sara's journey is soooo good. Ray here is isolated, but not so terribly self centered like he was on the show. Like, as the season goes, he goes from being traumatized and lonely, to struggling with his identity, to accepting his identity and...I guess, growing more comfortable with himself and others??

Oh, question: Does Gideon still call Rip Captain Hunter and Sara Ms Lance? Or Mr Hunter and Captain Lance now? I think I went with both of them being called Captain

MaryWisdom might just do a German translation; DaughterOfScotland can help

just checking, we're all having Queen Bee use the amulet for her powers, right? Yes

Episode 9 Turncoat was my favorite canon ep and I feel like it only got better Jax and Amaya were so much better here than canon's "cuddle for warmth pwp" I feel like the rat sequence in ep 9 is actually a really great lead-up to episode 10 btw since we're talking about Ray, I really hope somebody makes one of those little things that fly across your screen with Ray and his rocket boot, and maybe the poor rat too XD

Episode 10 Because ep 10 was /also/ AMAZING that intro sequence was gold from start to finish There was so much world-building, character-building, and humor I really liked the villain sequences too There's some great exchanges there! The interactions were really in character! Oh, and the Amaya sequences with the British? PERFECT I love how Amaya continues to question her own knowledge and keeps evolving it was just such a fun ride honestly I think the lead up to Ray using the cold gun worked too? Oculus!Len giving it the tacit OK was such a balm Len is SO BORED he just wants to see Ray totally fail and laugh and Ray screwing up just worked so well as symbolism for his identity struggles also, I am so sad this isn't actually visual/audio because now I want someone to put together a short clip with the Waverider flying away, then pan down to a ship and you hear the "yo ho" song

Episode 11 I'm a bit bummed we haven't been able to fit in Stein singing, but I'll look over it again and maybe we can find a spot Maybe we could get that into episode 11? I've had there's no depression in new zealand stuck in my head for almost two days now btw episode 11, any more comments, or should we go back to it next week once people have had a chance to look it over? prob the best to look at it again tbh

Episode 12 OH MY GOD 12!!! THE TERROR! it was so good KAKO YOU MADE ME SCREAM literally, my phone rang during the Mick scene and I legit screamed the way you worked in the movie references so organically was genius THE LEN REVEAL WAS PERFECT was the ending scene of 12 okay? the scene with Mick and Sara I liked it a lot that was beautiful I knew I was gonna love this episode the moment it was pitched, but you exceeded all my expectations <3 so well done it's perfect That episode is definitely going to turn heads. It is very different compared to the rest and will stand out! perfect for the mid-season finale Is there a way we can make it a real mid-season finale? aka not post for aday or two afterwards? Well, if we start posting on the 1st and it's 22 episodes, with a month of 30 days... if we started on Sept 4 and posted every day, I think we'd end up with it falling on a weekend Sept 4, posting every day, would make 12 fall on a Friday We could then restart the next Monday

Episode 13 I LOVE THE INTRO I like the "did you learn that in school?" mention. Because the history classes suck yes that is a GREAT cold open the episode was really powerful also, the umbrella scenes were hilarious it really was, the tension followed throughout and was quite perfectly cut through with the UTTERLY FLAWLESS umbrella scenes Also, bitching Legion. This is great, seeing as we want them to implode also: the Len and Gideon scene <3 basically everything was fantastic i know we need to add the rip intro scene, but is there anything else you think we should work on? there were a few suggestions, but those are already in the google doc - overall I think it was an incredible episode, and you guys should be proud - you dealt with a really heavy topic really well Quick question to eisode 13... the Spanish they all got the pill, but we kind of wanted to show the other side of it, like what it sounded like to the woman at the bakery Like the Legends go into the bakery - then we see the woman working inside and it's from HER perspective, and there's spanish dialogue and then it switches to english and we're back to the Legends POV If you wanted it from the woman's POV, maybe start the scene with the woman? as in, she's working inside the register, and then some guys come in and buy stuff and then stay with her a second as they walk out and she's kinda wondering what's up, then shrugs and goes back to work then we jump back to the Legends talking in English she picks up on Mick being distracted by something that's not there i keep craving churros every time I look at this episode I loved how you guys mixed in the light-hearted scenes in with all the heavy stuff yeah it was really well balanced RIP EXITS, PURSUED BY MICK!!!

Episode 14 Sara saves the timeline with a threesome XD nuff said LOVED the bit where Amaya realises that Sara is dancing with the King! So fitting, too, because of my episode following with all the Shakespeare :D I think... I think I didn't actually mentioned an abberation? Just the spear piece rip found there Alternatively Rip is using his Time Master skills to find a piece before it ever causes an abberation That was what I was going for. He finds it, or thinks he did ooh. i like that. but if it is that then i don't think you should mention the witchcraft rumors The rumors that she bewitched Henry had been around for a long time already. Thy say that tht's the reason he left his wife and Rip thinks it's related to the spear piece but it's just generally people being shit can I just say, I really loved all the scenes with Amaya and Jax? seconded My only thing to add is, and I think I mentioned that in the comments, that it would be great if you could fit the Legion in somewhere Yeah, I agree with you. I'll put it in that they arrive late and Len is like "I got this", I think Before I forget: can I suggest Sara to narrate the intro? the last one she did was ep4

Episode 15 basically Kendra's Old West incarnation and the New York Riots incarnaton exist at the same time OW!Kendra doesn't have a name, so she *could* be Josephine from the NYR 8 years prior and that would make that Carter Hannibal  but then her Carter should be named Hannibal, not Shay :( his name could be Hannibal and then he goes by Shay Or he could've changed his name when they moved out west due to being wanted under his old name Just... don't explain it. Leave it for the reader to figure out. And wonder :P (for what it's worth, I thought 15 was delightful and SO GOOD at actually USING history the way a time travel story should) More next week

Episode 19 I could knight Ystina! that would be AWESOME!

[impalaanddemons]

Gravity - Part 5

Summary: Reader’s a young security officer (Lieutanent Junior Grade) who happened to be on an away mission and fall hard for a certain Chief Engineer. Both of them aren’t the most outgoing regarding their feelings and tend to just watch each other from a distance, which is going to change.

Wordcount: 1590

A/N: Some of you guessed what would happen - well, you guessed wrong :P I really hope you like this one!

This fiction is set in AOS

Warnings: some blood, injury, nothing too explicit

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

„MEDICAL TEAM REQUIRED AT SHUTTLE BAY 2.“, Lieutenant Tahak signaled to the Enterprise. You would’ve hailed the Medical Team yourself, but you were too busy pressing down on Cassandras leg. „Stay with me, Cas, just stay with me.“, you said to her as calm as possible, remaining a professional facade. Just as you had learned in academy. What was it with those freak away missions in the last few weeks anyway? „How are you feeling, Cas?“, Ensign Bancroft did his best to tie off her leg. Carmichael was applying first aid to Ensign Mihan from Engineering. „G…Good.“, the voice of your friend was weak, but steady. You gave her a sympathetic pat on the arm. „Stay with me for just a bit longer, then, you don’t want to miss me embarrassing myself on shore leave, don’t you?“ you tried to sound reassuring and turned your head to the helmsmen: „How long ‘til we reach the Enterprise?“ - „Just one more minute, Sir.“ Cassandra managed something of a giggle and a grin.

„S..So.. you’re goin’ to ask him out, will ya?“ she muttered. You could see her consciousness slipping away. „If that’s what makes you stay with me right now“, you smiled down to her. Her breath was coming in small, short gasps now. „TOUCH DOWN IN 30 SECONDS, MEDICAL TEAM STANDING BY.“, your helmsman shouted. „There, we’re basically there“. „TOUCH DOWN IN 10 … 9 … 8 … 7 …“ Your head started to feel dizzy for a moment. A soft shock went through the shuttle as you touched down. The ramp was pulled down and the medical team flooded in. „We got two people injured“, you said but of course they were already informed. A relieved sigh left your lips, as you staggered down the ramp: Cassandra and Ensign Mihan were transported off hastily, hypos were used faster then you could look. They were in good hands now. Space: 0 - Enterprise Crew: 1 Once again. You managed an exhausted smile.

The shuttle bay seemed brighter then you remembered, but you tried to not be bothered by it. Your head started too feel light and your eyes seemed to lose focus. „Ah, shock.“, you said to yourself. „Better get to my room then.“ - you felt how the adrenaline pushed logical thought away and how wobbly your legs were. You knew the symptoms, of course. It happened to anyone. Someone called your name, but you didn’t care - focused on your room and on maintaining balance. That voice was far away. Maybe you should sit down for a moment. A giggle slipped from deep in your throat, making it sound alien. Now you were sure it was a shock. A couple of hours in bed, a cup of tea and writing your report would do. You had done this before. „Lieutenant Y/L/N“, the voice was sounding positively angry. „Stop. Right now.“, it was a dark voice. You turned around and saw the great doctor himself. He caught up to you in two long strides. God that men was gorgeous. Not your type but he was like an angry god descending upon you. An angry god, carrying a medical tricorder, which was promptly planted in your face. „You’re vitals are way off, kid, are you injured?“ - „What? No, Sir.“ you stifled a giggle. „Explosion in one of the engineering thingies“, you said and blinked slowly. That should probably not be the wording of your report later on, but at the moment it seemed as accurate as necessary „Right, engineering thingies.“, he muttered and continued his scan. „How’s Cas?“ - „I’ll tell you in a few hours. You’re in shock. I’ll give you a tranquilizer, you’ll stay in medbay for the day.“ he already waved over a stretcher, but you tried to decline: „No, seriously, Sir. I’ll just go shower, go to bed“, you stifled a giggle and straightened up, „and write my report after sleeping it all off.“ He was now growling: „Why does Security always have to argue with me? I am your doctor. You’re in shock. Medbay.“ - „Sir, please. It’s really nothing. We’re trained for this“ giggling again you probably did not make the best argument for your case, but adrenaline was a curious thing. „Good Lord, woman!“ he pushed you onto the next stretcher, nodding to the nurse and  put a tranquilizer shot into your shoulder. „Off to medbay with her“, he scoffed, and that was the last of it.

Two away missions and out cold on both of them. The rest of your crew mates in Security would never have an end of it. You would have to spent a few drinks on shore leave, just to prompt them to forget that. Although, you thought, you weren’t out cold exactly and in this particular case it was foul play on behalf of the CMO. „I’m fine“, you mumbled as you were transferred to a biobed. „Is she STILL protesting?“, the angry gods voice crossed through the room, but steps quickly left and you sighed. Your eyelids were heavy, but you wouldn’t give up that soon. „Doctor gave you a mild sedative to ease the shock“, a blonde nurse next to you said. „I would really“, you tried to get up and grumbled as your plan did not work out. „ .. really like to just go to my room“. Mild. Yeah. Of course. Another voice pierced the buzz of medbay: „Hows Ensign Mihan doin’?“ - „They’re all fine. As in: Not dead or dying.“ the answer was a slow growl that was really too busy to deal with anyone right now, but it was the first voice that oozed through a thick layer of medicine to your half-awake brain. Oh shit. It was Montgomery Scott.

Feet shuffled around and that voice was talking to someone. The blonde nurse - Chapel - was gone. He hadn’t seen you yet. Maybe you could just get up and sneak to your room? There was nothing more sobering in the universe then deep felt embarrassment. You test-wriggled your toes and got a positive response. Your arms moved too. Balance wasn’t fully there yet. You slowly moved your feet over the bed and to the ground. Just in case your eyes followed your feet to verify correct position. What had that Doctor given you? You had a slight shock, nothing more. Medics always had to blow everything out of proportion. It was this fundamental schism that made life with Medics so … interesting. „‚‘Tis nothing but a small laceration“, said the redshirt with the missing leg, and continued working - you giggled at the thought. „Y/N!“, exclaimed that voice, thick with accent, concerned. Ah Shit. „Are ya alright? Ya not gonnae stand up, are ya?!“ „Would be interesting to see her try“, Doctor McCoy raised an eyebrow at this. You pulled your lower lip between your teeth and mumbled something to yourself best not heard by anyone but the gods that may or may not be watching you. „What the hell happened to you?“ his voice got husky with worry, at which you felt flattered. Only then did your eyes notice the blood on your clothes, splattering that uniform of yours. „Oh“, you said. „Ya alright?“, he repeated and strode over to you. You blushed. His hair had that light red shine in the light, his face stern, furrowed with what looked like honest concern on the edge to becoming alarmed. „It’s not my blood“, you answered as if that explained everything, whispering and blushing and turning your head away. This day could not possibly get any worse. „Ya look like shit, lass.“ - his warm hand touched your shoulder without much hesitation. „And like ya could use a drink.“ the color of your face now matched that of your shirt, as you turned to look at him again. It was now in the range of possibility to not understand anything he said - blood rushed through your ears too loudly. „I just want to go to my room, have a good couple of hours of sleep and I’ll be fit as a fresh day.“ How could you not feel flattered by his concerned face? How his eyes were tracing you, as if there was no medical tricorder in the galaxy he’d trust until he’d made sure for himself? „Doctor McCoy here won’t let me“, you added. The engineers hand still rested on your shoulder, his thumb now drawing small absent-minded circles on your back as he turned to speak to the Doctor. You didn’t really listen to what he said at this point. The intimate gesture send goose bumps down your arms. „She can go in the evening, when I’m sure she’s got no internal injuries. And I’ve got no more time to discuss with bull headed people who think they’ve got several years of medical study covered, because they „feel like it“, and with that, Bones turned around, scoffing at a nearby nurse and made it ever so clear that this discussion was over. The smile on Scottys face as he turned back to you was more of a half grin - clearly satisfied with himself. It was the warm, slightly impish expression of someone confident that if he could handle a Warp Core at Warp 9, he could take on a few other challenges in his life. It was also the expression of a man with a plan, which only slightly intimidated you. „Ya heard the doctor, lass.“ his hand lifted from your shoulder. You already started to miss the warmth.

„So…“, he began and there was a glint of laughter in his eyes, „Shall I escort you to your … room this evening?“

READ ON

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING THIS! PLEASE LET ME KNOW! :) YOU WANNA BE TAGGED? LET ME KNOW! :) 

@kirk-enterprise @youre-on-a-starship @kaitymccoy123 @webhoard@inaugural13 @flowerbunbunny

[xacejtx]

Shadowfell Genasi Homebrew race

So as a lover of D&D and a massive edgy nerd iv decided to make my first Homebrew. here is a race iv made. iv always found elemental and genasi cool and interesting. the embodiment of an element. however their are many types of damage in D&D such as necrotic, radient, thunder, force and Psychic damage. and most of these are unexplored. mainly because there’s not really any planes where those forces are prevalent. except there is the shadowfell. which is rich with undeath and necrotic energies that seek to corrupt all. my idea is elemental from the 4 planes. if one happens to find its way to the shadowfell it can be corrupted into a shadow elemental. much the same way that a dragon can become a shadow dragon. and the offspring of a humanoid and a shadow elemental is a shadowfell genasi. anyway. heres all the info iv made for this race. they arnt really balanced well for spell casters but rogue’s, rangers, monks, fighters can work with them pretty well

Shadowfell Genasi

The interior of the Tavern was dark as the night crept in, many a patron rejoiced over jubilations and laughed heartily over a flagon of ale, a fire crackled in the corner of the room filling the patrons with a sense of warmth like sliding into a hot bath “aye cheer up would’ya lad?, tis a time of great celebration!” the dwarven man said with a chortle. “ah I know. Its just that last battle was… ghastly” shuddered the man. “ah I know what ye mean boy! Undead! Bah! Good ridden’s to them! Horrible things!” the dwarf spoke with a slight tremble at the recollection as he took a swig from his cup. The door swung open abruptly and a cold chill filled the room. The shadows grew thicker and a lone figure entered the tavern all eyes on him. A humanoid figure wrapped in a dark tattered cloak hair that draped down his face parted in the middle it rested on his shoulders. Messy and windswept it was jet black in its colour. His face was smooth and flawless with defined cheek bones and large eyes, eyes that held an inky blackness to them and no iris. His skin was as dark as coals as he scanned the room. Smoke drifted off his form obscuring his bodies features but as He slammed the door a bony black skinned arm was visible. And as he stepped forward the fire went out.

The shadowfell genasi are magical people of evil and chaotic decent. Very few exist on the material plane. Often found in the service of some dark lord. Or quietly in the corner of a deserted Tavern those who make it away from their home plane in the shadowfell are wanderers. They exist in places where light is hard to find often seeking refuge in the underdark. The shadowfell genasi detest others of their kind or those related to their race. Preferring to be alone rather then exist in a community. They value their independence and freedom above all else. But they are a cruel race that take great pleasures in the pain and misery of others. And their existence is but a rumour on the wind and the lips of those who would dare whisper their name.

Dark and Deceitful

The genasi of the shadowfell very much resemble their brethren from the elemental planes. Fully embodying their home planes energy. Necrotic. Shadowfell genasi have fine features that are accentuated by their bony structure. Smooth skin that contrasts the bones that pierce through it. their hair often covered by a black wispy mist rather then strands of keratin. They wear cloaks to hide their forms. Often looking unhealthily skinny with ribs clearly visible and their jet black skin stretched over their skeleton. Sometimes they hide these features by creating more black smoke to surround their form that some may consider hideous. They stand at roughly the same height as a human sometimes hunched ranging from around 5 feet to well above 6. Their thin forms cause them to lack much weight often only weighing up to 70 pounds. Males and females are almost identical except for a difference in bone structure that makes a difference over their starved forms. Having rounder faces and more pointed chins and slight curves around the chest and hips. The Colour of shadowfell genasi is very like that of the drow. Their skin ranges from shades of grey to as black as the night sky. Their eyes follow the same greyscale colour scheme often being the opposite of their skin colour although on rare occasions they can match exactly. The mood of a shadowfell genasi can change the Colour of their eyes as can the type of corrupted elemental that they came from effect the colour of their eyes. But they usually follow the colours of black, grey, white, silver. Without any iris. They have no body hair to speak of. And their skin is taught against their skeleton. They dress often in rags or dark leathers.

A Loose Grip on death

The genasi of the shadow tend to live the same lifespan as most human with an extra decade or so most living up until they are 100. However, unlike humans once they die they come back as sentient undead after a year of their death and will live for another 100 years before crumbling to dust. Due to their eventual undeath the concept of dying does not scare the shadow genasi. They tend to be cunning and deceitful and reckless Willing to risk a limb or two for the downfall of an enemy. They are selfish in their desires. And only work with others when they have too. They are untrusting of other races and those who are aware of their existence tend to fear them for their undead appearance and nature. Shadow Genasi focus on an objective and seek it out till its end or until their demise. Whether its seeking immortality, the riches of an old wealthy family, a position of power behind the scenes, or the downfall of the one who wronged them. They seek their goal with absolution until it is complete.

The Dark Abyss

Most shadow genasi tend to serve a darker power, but those that adventure tend to isolate themselves, hiding within civilisation not making many public appearances, living in the wilderness by caves, or fitting in down in the underdark. They mostly work as assassins. Sneaking and killing tends to get them the coin they need to survive. Some as informants with hidden information. Those that live in the wild hunt dark sub terrarium creatures. But mostly they are talented killers and most enjoy what they do and they avoid contact with others as much as possible.

The Will of The Few

Those few shadow genasi that do take up the mantle of adventurer are the very little good of the race. Those who overcome their darkness and take up their role are the most independent and headstrong of shadow genasi and they do so to escape the reality of their existence. Not wishing to merely survive or be bound to some darker power and serve another’s whims they serve themselves. Most seek power. Others just the freedom to wander in peace. But those few that do adventure. Make powerful allies, and dangerous enemies.

Shadow Genasi Names

Most often shadow genasi name themselves after aspects of the shadowfell or aspects of undead and darkness. Some however choose to name themselves after ideals such as hope. Or some other purpose of theirs. As shadow genasi are born and abandoned they tend to have no parents and live by themselves they have no family traditions and no one to name them. Most do not use names until they stumble into the materiel plane.

Adult Names: Shade, Mist, Razor, Dirk, Bolo, Stylet, Dark, Shadow, Chaos, Dusk, Umbra, Twilight, Echo, Trace, Doom, Fate, Ruin, Carnage.

Shadow Genasi Traits

Ability score changes: +2 con, +1 dex, -1 str Size: Medium speed: 30 feet

Special sense: Magical Darkvision (120-ft, can see through magical darkness, greyscale vision)

Languages: Common, Primordial, abyssal

Alignment: Usually of an evil alignment although there are a few shadowplane genasi that try to resist their homeplanes corruptive influence and relinquish their evil ways.

Undead ancestry: You have Resistance to Necrotic damage

Shadow step: you can teleport up to 30 feet into any shadow you can see at will

Encroaching shadows: you can cast Darkness once, with no components or spell slots, you regain this ability after a long rest, use con for spell casting, at 3rd level you unlock the ability to use Manipulate shadows which allows you to manipulate shadows within 30 feet of you, you can only make them do what a mage hand would be able to do and only up to a minute, additionally you can make them do minor things such as form shapes and simple illusions. You can learn one new shadow invocation at 6th, 8th,10th,12th,14th,16th, 18th and 20th level

Shadowy curse: you take double damage from fire or radiant damage

Sunlight vulnerability: you are at disadvantage when you are in direct sunlight, you take 1d4 fire damage per turn when you are exposed to bright light magical or otherwise. All abilities or invocations that require the use of shadows are unusable while any more than 30 feet from a shadow or when intense light.

   Shadow invocations

Trickster shadows: your shadows can now pick locks and pockets (roll D20 + dex mod) from a range of 15 feet

Grasping darkness: Choose one creature you can see within 300 feet of you and using shadows that are 30 feet of you, you send black strips of shadow to loop around and bind your target. The target must succeed on a strength saving throw or its movement/flying speed is reduced to 0 feet for the spells duration. An airborn target effected by this spell descends at 60 feet per round until it reaches the ground or the spell ends. On a failed save the target is paralyzed by your shadows, on a successful save the target is grappled for one turn. (concentration, 1 minute)

Striking shadows: your shadows lash out with cold fury dealing 1d6 damage to a target within 20 feet of shadows that you are 30 feet from. (at will 1 action)

Shadow melding: you back up into the shadow of an object and your body melds with the shadow vanishing from sight. You are considered invisible (at will 1 action)

Shadow step: your mastery of the shadows has imbued you with their swiftness your movement speed increases by 5 feet permanently.

Shadow shield: as a reaction your shadows come to your aid to stop an attack against you. You gain +5 AC for 2 turns or you negate the damage of an attack to 0. You regain this ability after a long rest (must be level 10)

Emulate weapons: Your shadows can form weapons at will as long as you are in a place where shadows can be drawn. As your action you can create a simple or martial melee weapon. You are proficient with said weapon. Your shadow weapons deal an addition 1 d4 necrotic damage and are considered magical for the sake of overcoming resistance to non magic weapons.

Shadow Armor: while in pitch blackness you may gain an additional 5 temporary hit points which are replenished each turn spent in darkness. Temporary hit points do not stack above 5.

Consuming shadows: your ties to the shadowfell hold power over you and your shadows hunger. Once per day you can use your shadows to consume a creature that has no more then 30 hit points. When you do you heal by that much. (must be level 14)

Light bending: as your reaction, you can use your connection to the shadowfell to manipulate any bright light that appears before you that would otherwise hurt you and protect yourself in a bubble of darkness for up to 1 minute of concentration. (must be level 12)

Shadow darts: as your action you can fire 3 bolts of darkness at up to 3 different targets. Each attack does 1d6 necrotic damage. (must be level 8)

Grasping shade: as part of your movement you can use your shadows like a grappling hook and scale up sheer vertical surfaces at your movement speed.

Blinking ambush: whenever you make a thrown weapon attack you can choose to teleport to the point of the thrown weapon.

Dark whispers: as an action, you can use your shadows to reach into the mind of a target. But only if they are unaware of your presence you can choose to do 1 of 2 things. Deal 3d10 Psychic damage. Or learn 1 secret from them.

Shade form: once per day and up to 1 minute of concentration you may become a ghastly entity of shadow. With reaching claws of darkness and a size of large. While in this form you gain resistance to radiant and fire damage. You can deal a multi-attack of three claws dealing 6d10 damage split amongst up to 3 targets. You deal double damage to structures and you can change your size at will to fit under doors and into cracks. Your speed is 60 feet. Your HP becomes 200 and all your stats increase by 5. Creatures that can look at you are put under the fear effect unless they succeed on a wisdom saving throw DC of 17. You make no sound while moving unless you choose too. Your form resembles an amorphous mass of shadows with large tentacle like claw arms sprouting from every side of you with new limbs growing all over you and one large gaping maw of teeth at the front of your form.  (must be level 20)

Shadowy resistance: you are resistant to radiant and fire damage (must be level 10)

[ask-de-writer]

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT : World of Sea : Part 50

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

140406 words

copyright 2018

written 2007

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

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Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions. All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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New to the story?  Read from the beginning.  PART 1 is here

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She accepted that, and went further aft to the helmsman.  It was still Darkistry who was holding their course.  Tanlin took the helm tackle while Darkistry drank her warm broth.  Even with the tackle to take the jolt, it was hard to keep the ship steady when a wave took the stern and tried to push the rudder out of line.

In lulls of wind, Tanlin was able to yell questions and get answers shouted back.

“Wye int’ t’e storm?”

“It’s a Coriolis storm, a cyclone!”

“So?”

“It has a calmer core where we can ride the storm north and escape over the pole to another fleet!”

“‘Oose idea wa’ t’at?”

“Mine. Captain liked it though!”

Darkistry took back the steering tackle and Tanlin saw how she braced and adjusted the rudder just before the following seas hit the ship.  She could now better appreciate the artistry with which Darkistry was handling the vessel.

Carefully, using the storm lines, Tanlin made her way back.  Screaming wind, rain and seas flooding across the deck nearly took her.  The storm lines kept her from being washed away.

Regaining her feet she got to the companionway hatch.  It was opened at her knock and she hastened in, accompanied by a rush of wave and wind-driven rain.  She made her way forward down the dark corridor, bracing against the walls to keep from falling as the ship rolled and pitched underfoot.  Only three candle-lanterns lit the big mess room, leaving it a gloomy cavern.  Hands came from the dimness and assisted her in shedding her soaked foul-weathers.  A hot broth was thrust into her hands and she was guided to a bench to sit.

A respectful silence followed while Tanlin sipped her drink and got some warmth back into her.  She smiled at the anxious faces about her.

“T’e Ca’tain knows w’at ‘e’s about.  We’re steerin’ deeper int’ t’e storm.  Unless we strike somet’in’, we should be in nae special danger.”

“What I want to know is why?  Why is the Captain steering this course?” the voice of Mister Timms asked from the shadows about her.

“Tis a Coriolis Cyclone.  We’re makin’ for t’e calmer ‘eart so t’at we can ride t’e storm north, safe from pursuit.  T’e Coriolis storms all die about 650 or 700 North an’ we’ll be able t’ slip t’rough t’e Dragon Sea t’ safety.

“Is Master Selked ‘ere?”

“Yes, Lady Tanlin, I am.”

“D’ we ‘ave a Main Spar in stores?  Prefer’bly an old ane?”

Master Selked bent his gaze to the wildly swinging lantern nearest him and thought a moment, “There’s a main-yard that was damaged and saved for salvage after our last storm.  That was down in Arrakan waters, Lady.  It has a split and crush damage to the interior structure of the outer port-side quarter.”

“T’at’ll be perfect!” Tanlin enthused.  “Master Calin!  We’ll need all o’ t’e old or worn out cordage in t’e ropewalk t’ rig ‘t. Master Arran!  We just replaced a wind-bagged main sail.  We need t’ get ‘t out an’ furl ‘t t’ t’e spar wit’ t’e old riggin’.  We wont t’ make ‘t look like t’e wind got int’ t’e sail an’ blew ‘t open, breakin’ t’e spar!  We’ll cast ‘t overboard for t’e search t’ find.”

The crew leaped into action, glad of something to do.  The Rope Walk was opened and the spar and sail brought in.  Ropes were sorted and the sail rigged to the yardarm so that it appeared to have lost reefing points and blown open to the force of the storm.  Experts debated over how it came loose and which rigging should be borne with it.  

One of the men who had helped with the Fauline repairs produced a broken chunk of railing.  It had been ripped free when the Fauline was rammed.  Properly secured and sized rigging was attached, including a portion of a mast brace from standing rigging.

When all was ready, it was wrestled to an amidships companionway and the storm hatch opened.  Cold, wind driven rain slashed in, followed by a gush of water as a wave rolled the length of the ship down the deck. The crew, men and women both, wrestled the big decoy out.  Once the wind found it, it became near impossible to manage.  Finally they got it out onto the deck.  They struggled to get it overside before wind and wave could hurl it like a deadly missile at their own rigging. As they watched, the yardarm took some water through the split and the broken end sank, pivoting the arm up like a marker buoy as it floated away from the ship.

Captain Barad gave them the ancient OK sign of circled thumb and forefinger, with the other fingers spread.

Back in the common room of the mess, Tanlin saw to the distribution of rations and a cup of warm drink to everyone involved.

Mister Timms entered along with helmsman Macoul, both shaking the water from their foul-weather gear.  “They won’t let us replace them. They’ve been on watch continuously for near twenty four hours!”

“How are they holding up?” Tanlin asked anxiously.

“They are both alert and strong for now,” said Macoul.  “As long as I was there, Darkistry let me help with the tackle.  She always works it ahead of the storm, better than I can do it.  I gave up and joined Mister Timms in returning.”

Hours later, the tocsin rattled ‘watch change, crew on deck!’  There had been a very perceptible alteration in the nature of the storm. The waves were still rough, though nowhere near the height or power of before.  The wind was dying down from its previous ferocity.  They had made it to the eye of the storm, the so called calm center of the cyclone.  Calm was a relative term.  It was still hard gusty weather and the seas were choppy and heavy, filled with the wrack stirred up by the storm.

Without waiting to be ordered, Lenai Halin began to mount the ratlines to inspect the sails and rigging for storm damage.

“Can I come, too, Mother?” Arnat called.

“Sure, son.  Remember, if I tell you to stop or wait someplace, you do it. The rigging can be tricky while it’s wet like this.”  She looked on with pride as Arnat refused the help of a deck-hand in getting up to the rail.  The ratlines were like a rope ladder going up from the rail to high on the foremast.  Each mast had them.  They were spaced for grown folk, not children, but once Arnat had a grip he climbed quickly and surely  to where his mother was waiting.  They climbed easily, side by side, up to the first lookout.

The jibs were billowed out tight in the breeze ahead of them.  Lenai examined them critically.  “What do you see, Arnat?  Are the sails still sound?”  She waited patiently while Arnat looked as closely as his perch permitted.

“The lead jib mid-seam is showing signs of stretching, mother.”

“You are right about the sail,” she said with a smile.  “Noticed like a true sail-lofter and rigging surveyor.”  She paused and corrected, “Up here, I’m Lenai.  Remember that.”  She gave him a quick hug while automatically catching a line for balance as the ship yawed under them.

“Moth. . .Lenai, there are two reefing points on the mid-jib that are starting to tear out.  If they aren’t fixed, the sail will split in the next storm.”

“Good eyes, Arnat.  That covers the fore-sails used in this storm.  Let’s go on up.  We have to survey the running rigging.  Those head-blocks took almost the whole load of this ship during the blow.”

Ratlines could only take them part way to the head-blocks, just below the masthead.  Clinging casually to the ropes and bracing against the mast, she examined all of the lashings and the condition of the blocks.

“What do you see here, Sharp-eyes?”

Arnat climbed past her and looked everything over carefully.

“These lashings held up well.  That line,” he pointed, “has chafing.” Then he caught what his mother had seen.  “The block wheel has frozen, that’s why the line chafed!”

“I knew that there was a reason I taught you to think!  Good catch!” Lenai wrapped an arm around her son, grabbed an up-haul with her free hand and both legs and slid down to the blocks for the mid-jib. Everything there passed inspection and they slid on down to the deck. Barad was waiting there for their report.  Lenai proudly pushed Arnat forward.  “Make our report, crewman Arnat,” she ordered.

Arnat, a little big-eyed at the trust, honor and responsibility, said, “Captain Barad, Sir, the fore-jib head-block has frozen.  It needs replacement, along with the uphaul.  Both jibs need to be replaced for maintenance.  There is minor stretching in the mid-seam of the fore and some tears starting around two reefing points on the mid.”

A grin split Barad’s face, “Very good, Arnat.  We will get men on it right away.”

Fresh sails were broken out and the slight damage repaired before it could grow to ship damaging or destroying proportions.  All around them the storm clouds could be seen charging in a wide circle, while overhead the sky was a clear blue.

Barad and Darkistry gladly gave up the control of the ship and went below, aiming for food and bunks in that order.  The crew surrounded them with congratulations and pressed hot drinks and food on them until they could never have eaten or drunk it all.

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS   NEXT==>

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

[samuelmmarcus]

Inspiring Home Renovation

  Hi, my dear friends. How are today? It’s getting really cold here and I had to take a little break while writing this post to make myself a mug of hot chocolate. I am being so bad about sweets lately! I am really into baking and all I will say is that I have to put myself back on track! Anyone feeling the same way? It’s so hard to avoid these type of temptations at this time of the year, right?

You can’t think about food without thinking of kitchens… unless you love to eat out, which is something I also love doing! But if you enjoy cooking and baking, having a beautiful kitchen certainly can make you feel more inspired and even help make things easier and more practical. If you’re looking for kitchen renovation ideas, this post should really inspire you. In fact, it might even inspire you to renovate not only your kitchen but also extend it to your mudroom and laundry room as well. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Please keep reading to know more details about this beautiful and welcoming home renovation done by Katelyn of KBG Design. She’s a wonderful and talented interior designer and I feel we will learn a thing or two with her today:

  “Our clients wanted a bright and classic white kitchen/ laundry/ mud room with touches of warm grey and accents of marble, brass, and natural wood elements. They wanted to keep the color palette neutral so that colorful accessories could be swapped out during various holidays throughout the year. This project was an addition plus an interior remodel reconfiguration. We were brought in on the project after permits were already pulled, but did some tweaks to the plans during construction to accommodate details that the homeowner wanted. From there, we custom designed all the cabinetry, built-ins and tile layouts and we quite involved during construction to ensure proper design execution.” – Katelyn of KBG Design.

  Inspiring Home Renovation

Designer Tip: “If you want to do away with an eat-in kitchen table, make sure you have plenty of room for seating at your island – and be mindful as to where those are placed. Play close attention to keeping guests out of the kitchen’s main work-triangle i.e. the connection between the sink/fridge/cooktop. I often place the refrigerator right at the transition between the public and private space of the kitchen just like this kitchen. That way, guests can access the refrigerator without crossing through the cook’s work triangle.”

White Kitchen Paint Color

Soft Color Palette: “For the cabinet paint color, I selected Dunn Edward’s “Cool December”, which I feel is the perfect balance of a white that is not too creamy or yellow, but still has hints of warmth to it. It’s basically the perfect white.”

 Vent Hood: Zephyr 42”.

Pot Filler: Kingston Brass.

Backsplash

“For the backsplash, my clients wanted a traditional honed Carrara Marble so we went with the 3” x 6” size in an offset pattern by Bedrosians. This really shows off the variety of veining throughout the natural stone.”

Backsplash: Bedrosians 3×6 Carrara Marble Tile.

Counterstools

Counterstools are Rove Concepts (provided by the client) – similar here.

Beautiful Counterstools: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Eat-in

“Many of our clients are doing away with kitchen tables and opting for super large islands. That way family and guests can be close by or dine informally while still gathering together in the kitchen.”

Dimensions: Kitchen space is 26’-7” x 14’ deep or 365 square feet including the desk command center area.

All Appliances by GE Monogram.

Kitchen Island

“Because this island is so large (7’-8” x 10’), we were larger than any single available engineered quartz material. So, we opted to source a manufacturer that makes consecutive slabs. You’d never know it, but this island has a seam but it’s unnoticeable in real life and in pictures.

The island countertop is Vadara’s Calcatta Blanco, an engineered quartz, which again has ribbons of warm gray mixed with gold on a mostly off-white background.”

Kitchen Sink & Lighting

Kitchen Sink: Kohler Undermount single-bowl farmhouse kitchen sink.

Lighting: Wayfair (provided by the client) – similar here (great quality).

Kitchen Faucet

Kitchen Faucet: Kingston Brass Bridge-Style Kitchen Faucet.

White Oak Island

“The island was custom stained by the cabinet maker to match the warm-toned engineered hardwood flooring by Hallmark Floors, Alta Vista Collection in color Del Mar.”

Other Wide Plank Hardwood Flooring: here, here & here.

Homework Zone

Kitchen Trends: “Many clients are requesting built-in desks areas that I call a command center- if you will. A place for a laptop or desktop computer, file storage, charging stations, etc.”

Shelves: Restoration Hardware Floating Metal Shelf in “Brass” (68” size). Others: here (White Oak).

Chairs: here.

Layout

The mudroom and laundry room are located close by the kitchen. Ahead, you will find the formal dining room.

Beautiful Runners: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Cabinetry

“We went through great lengths to design every inch of the cabinetry to give it a truly custom look. My client has beautiful taste so she was already equipped with several concept images and selections to inspired our designs. Instead of a traditional one-piece crown, we created our our crown by inverting a base moulding plus a 1” x 1” which is traditional with a twist – and might be my favorite part of the kitchen.”

Cabinet Hardware: Rejuvenation Cabinet Pulls & Knobs Mission Collection, unlacquered brass.

Perimeter Countertop

“The perimeter is a velvet Cabrini Grey engineered quartz by Daltile. The grey perimeter broke up all the white cabinetry without weighing the color palette down.”

Family Living

The kitchen opens to a comfy and inviting family room.

Fireplace

The fireplace is flanked by custom cabinets and White Oak floating shelves.

Sconces: here.

Basket: here – similar.

Rug: here.

Accent Chairs

Lounge Chairs: World Market.

Pillow: here – similar.

Fireplace Tile: Bedrosians – Other Beautiful Marble Tiles: here, here, here, here & here.

Sectional

Sofa sectional is by Crate & Barrel.

Pillows: Serena & Lily.

Mudroom

This recently-renovated mudroom is perfect for this growing family.

Cabinet Paint Color

White Mudroom Cabinet Paint Color: “Cool December by Dunn Edwards”.

Hardware

The mudroom cabinetry features black matte cabinet hardware and hooks.

Hardware: here – similar.

Laundry Room

Featuring custom white cabinets and an utility sink, this laundry room is not only beautiful but also very practical. The cabinet and wall color is Cool December by Dunn Edwards.

Lighting: here.

Flooring: here & here – similar.

Backsplash & Sink

This tile is made by Sonoma Tilemakers, Stellar Akira 4 x 8.

Beautiful Tiles: here, here,  here, here, here, here & here.

Utility Sink: Kohler – Utility Faucet: Rejuvenation.

Glass Knobs: Emtek.

  Many thanks to the interior designer for sharing the details above!

Builder: KBG Design (Instagram)

Designer: Katelyn Gilmour, Owner and Principal Designer at KBG Design.

Photography: Konstrukt Photo.

  Bring the Holidays Home!

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Thank you for shopping through Home Bunch. For your shopping convenience, this post may contain AFFILIATE LINKS to retailers where you can purchase the products (or similar) featured. I make a small commission if you use these links to make your purchase, at no extra cost to you, so thank you for your support. I would be happy to assist you if you have any questions or are looking for something in particular. Feel free to contact me and always make sure to check dimensions before ordering. Happy shopping!

        Wayfair: Huge Cyber Monday Sale – Up to 80% OFF on Furniture and Decor!!!

  Serena & Lily: Thankful Sale 25% OFF Everything!

  Joss & Main: Huge Sales on Early Cyber Monday Deals – Up to 80% Off!

  Pottery Barn: Cyber Monday Sale + Free Shipping.

  West Elm: Cyber Monday Sale.

  Anthropologie: 30% off Everything – New Arrivals!

  Saks Fifith Avenue: Designer sale up to 50% Off.

  Nordstrom: Designer Clearance – Up to 40% Off!

  Posts of the Week:

Extended Black Friday Sales.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Christmas Edition.

Open and Airy Townhouse Design.

2019 New Year Home Tour.

New California Mid-century Modern.

New-Construction California Cottage.

Modern English Country Home Design.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Interior Design.

California Modern Farmhouse for Sale.

French Country Style Home Design.

Builder’s Home.

New Year, New Kitchen!

2020 Kitchen Design Ideas.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Modern Farmhouse.

Black & White Modern Farmhouse.

Neutral Home.

Coastal Farmhouse Home Decor.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Charlotte, NC.

Small Lot Modern Farmhouse.

Florida Beach Cottage.

Dark Cedar Shaker Exterior.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Coastal Farmhouse Design.

Grey Kitchen Paint Colors.

Follow me on Instagram: @HomeBunch

You can follow my pins here: Pinterest/HomeBunch

See more Inspiring Interior Design Ideas in my Archives.

“Dear God,

If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

Have a wonderful day, my friends and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

with Love,

Luciane from HomeBunch.com

from Home https://www.homebunch.com/inspiring-home-renovation/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[jamespdsolmcc09]

REVIEW: The North Face Ventrix Jacket

REVIEW: The North Face Ventrix Jacket

The North Face Ventrix is a jacket that caught my attention. The quick video describing the Ventrix system and how it vents excess heat during aerobic activity seemed like a really cool design technology that might come in handy here in Texas where it can get cold but not cold enough to stay indoors.

About The North Face Ventrix

TNF explains the Ventrix as, “Our new, dynamic ventilation responds to your body movements during aerobic activities for balanced warmth and breathability. Perforated micro vents open with motion to prevent overheating and close with decreased activity to keep you warm and ready for your next move. ”

If you don’t look at the jacket closely enough you might miss the vents but they are definitely there. This quick video displays the Ventrix jacket in its intended environments.

The Ventrix weighs in at about 15 ounces, has a durable water-resistant polyester and ripstop nylon blend, and has a lifetime warranty. Make sure when ordering you always check the fit recommendations. If you have a Dad Bod, you’re going to want to go one size up.

The Good

The weight of this jacket is awesome. It’s almost as if it isn’t there at all. The wind resistance and water repellence work exactly as advertised. I did several outings in the jacket to make sure I covered several different conditions and temperatures.

The Ventrix system is legit. My first trip out was hiking on a local set of trails which has some elevation changes and boulder climbs. The air temp outside was 55 degrees Fahrenheit with a north wind at about 10 miles per hour. It was cool for sure. At the trailhead, I put on the Ventrix and our party took off down the trails. After 15 minutes in, several of our party were shedding their outer layers of sweatshirts and hoodies but the Ventrix didn’t need a break. I was warm but I wasn’t hot and I wasn’t sweating. Worth it.

On another outing is was 40 degrees and raining. Big, fat, wet drops of rain. I didn’t really want to be outside but I needed to secure some of the kayak covers outside and clean up some debris the high winds from the storm that had blown in had created. The water repelling feature worked pretty well. After 20 minutes out in the wet torrent, the jacket had put on a little weight but I was still dry and warm. Another point.

Points of Improvement

The sizing of the jacket is a little small and to be fair, The North Face lists it as slim cut. Maybe I’m in denial. At 6’2″ and 195 pounds it recommended a large. I should have gotten an XL. Maybe update the sizer to flow with that.

The arm holes are a little small for folks with shoulders. As an avid kayaker for the last 15 years, my shoulders have some developed size. With the smaller arm holes the jacket pinches in the armpit area. I found myself repositioning frequently. What I ended up doing is wearing just one layer underneath to alleviate the bunching.

Stylistically I wish the cut of the collar were a little smaller. When it’s not zipped up, I have some Disco Fever flashbacks with this big butterfly collar.

The final thing is something my wife discovered. Apparently the fabric likes to soak up oils (grease) from food though I assume it would do so with other forms of oils. I was enjoying some Texas BBQ and must have gotten some fat drippings on my hand and then touched the jacket. It’s not highly visible after a wash but it’s there. What’s the recommendation? Don’t wear the jacket when at a chicken shack, burger joint, or smokehouse unless you put some protectant on it.

Final Thoughts on the Ventrix

The Ventrix is, to use a word I previously typed, legit. Order a size up, don’t order food if you don’t know how to use a napkin, and enjoy a pretty sweet jacket that’s light to wear and a workhorse of heat evacuation while keeping you warm.

http://ift.tt/2mLjpqT

[jesusjensen59ch]

REVIEW: The North Face Ventrix Jacket

REVIEW: The North Face Ventrix Jacket

The North Face Ventrix is a jacket that caught my attention. The quick video describing the Ventrix system and how it vents excess heat during aerobic activity seemed like a really cool design technology that might come in handy here in Texas where it can get cold but not cold enough to stay indoors.

About The North Face Ventrix

TNF explains the Ventrix as, “Our new, dynamic ventilation responds to your body movements during aerobic activities for balanced warmth and breathability. Perforated micro vents open with motion to prevent overheating and close with decreased activity to keep you warm and ready for your next move. ”

If you don’t look at the jacket closely enough you might miss the vents but they are definitely there. This quick video displays the Ventrix jacket in its intended environments.

The Ventrix weighs in at about 15 ounces, has a durable water-resistant polyester and ripstop nylon blend, and has a lifetime warranty. Make sure when ordering you always check the fit recommendations. If you have a Dad Bod, you’re going to want to go one size up.

The Good

The weight of this jacket is awesome. It’s almost as if it isn’t there at all. The wind resistance and water repellence work exactly as advertised. I did several outings in the jacket to make sure I covered several different conditions and temperatures.

The Ventrix system is legit. My first trip out was hiking on a local set of trails which has some elevation changes and boulder climbs. The air temp outside was 55 degrees Fahrenheit with a north wind at about 10 miles per hour. It was cool for sure. At the trailhead, I put on the Ventrix and our party took off down the trails. After 15 minutes in, several of our party were shedding their outer layers of sweatshirts and hoodies but the Ventrix didn’t need a break. I was warm but I wasn’t hot and I wasn’t sweating. Worth it.

On another outing is was 40 degrees and raining. Big, fat, wet drops of rain. I didn’t really want to be outside but I needed to secure some of the kayak covers outside and clean up some debris the high winds from the storm that had blown in had created. The water repelling feature worked pretty well. After 20 minutes out in the wet torrent, the jacket had put on a little weight but I was still dry and warm. Another point.

Points of Improvement

The sizing of the jacket is a little small and to be fair, The North Face lists it as slim cut. Maybe I’m in denial. At 6’2″ and 195 pounds it recommended a large. I should have gotten an XL. Maybe update the sizer to flow with that.

The arm holes are a little small for folks with shoulders. As an avid kayaker for the last 15 years, my shoulders have some developed size. With the smaller arm holes the jacket pinches in the armpit area. I found myself repositioning frequently. What I ended up doing is wearing just one layer underneath to alleviate the bunching.

Stylistically I wish the cut of the collar were a little smaller. When it’s not zipped up, I have some Disco Fever flashbacks with this big butterfly collar.

The final thing is something my wife discovered. Apparently the fabric likes to soak up oils (grease) from food though I assume it would do so with other forms of oils. I was enjoying some Texas BBQ and must have gotten some fat drippings on my hand and then touched the jacket. It’s not highly visible after a wash but it’s there. What’s the recommendation? Don’t wear the jacket when at a chicken shack, burger joint, or smokehouse unless you put some protectant on it.

Final Thoughts on the Ventrix

The Ventrix is, to use a word I previously typed, legit. Order a size up, don’t order food if you don’t know how to use a napkin, and enjoy a pretty sweet jacket that’s light to wear and a workhorse of heat evacuation while keeping you warm.

http://ift.tt/2mLjpqT

[homebrewtalk]

Formulating Balanced Beer Recipes

I’ve spent a lot of time researching recipes for homebrewing, and everybody claims to have the best recipe that you need to try for yourself. I find this optimism refreshing since online reviews and comments are usually negative, but I also think homebrewers tend to be too optimistic about their creations simply because they made it. He who chops his own firewood gets twice the warmth right? A lot of times I’m looking for how much of a specific ingredient to use and it’s fun to see how different everybody’s threshold is for each ingredient. I know I’ve brewed beers that feature strawberries, rye, chocolate, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, or just an excessive amount of hops, and many times I don’t get enough out of that featured ingredient. On the other hand you have some beers that use too much of an ingredient and overpower your senses (I’m looking your way Christmas ales). Both scenarios can be frustrating, but there is a kind of beer that delivers on its promises without offending. We call those balanced beers.

What Makes a Balanced Beer?

First off, I don’t want you to think a balanced beer has to be void of all flavors to appease the masses. It can still have distinct flavors suitable to its style, but none of those flavors should be overpowering. For instance, you may still have some coffee notes in a balanced stout. Yet it doesn’t taste like a cold cup of Joe. A balanced IPA may still have an underlying bitterness. Yet it’s not like you’re biting a bar of soap. Both of these attributes are expected in their style and there’s nothing wrong with those flavors showing through in an appropriate amount.

If you compare most beer recipes, you’ll realize that they follow the same general formula for malts. To start out you use about 70-100% of a light base malt like 2 row, pale, or pilsner. Then you add in 0-30% of specialty malts like caramel, chocolate, or wheat to alter the color and flavor. This is a tried and true foundation for making a well-balanced beer. For example, there is no need to use pounds of chocolate malt in a stout to get the rich flavor or color you’re looking for. This can be backed up by several commercial breweries who have released homebrew sized recipes of their popular beers. Brooklyn Brewery shared the recipe for their popular Brooklyn Lager on their website’s blog. It calls for 9.6lbs of 2 row, 14oz of Munich, and 12oz of 60L caramel. Therefore, 86% of that beer is base malt, and 14% is specialty malts. Another 200+ commercial recipes can be seen in BrewDog’s DIY Dog. It’s a free document released by BrewDog that shows how to homebrew every beer they’ve created in the last decade. Looking at their flagship Punk IPA, it calls for 9.6lbs of extra pale malt and 0.55lbs of Caramalt. That makes their IPA 95% base malts and 5% specialty malts. MadTree also offers recipes for their beers on their website. Thundersnow, their popular Scottish ale, uses 10.25lbs of 2 row, 0.98lbs of caramel 90L, 0.73lbs of extra special, 0.73lbs of Victory, 0.34lbs of Melanoidin, 0.27lbs of chocolate rye, and 0.24lbs of dark chocolate. Despite making the most complicated grain bill known to man, they still ended up with 76% base malt and 24% specialty malts. Feel free to experiment with different amounts of malts, but don’t reinvent the wheel. The world’s most experienced brewers have already figured this out for us.

Using Hops to Create a Balanced Beer

Hops can be more difficult to play with for several reasons. For starters every variety contains a unique blend of oils, flavors, and aromas. Then to further complicate things, annual crops can alter the levels of those oils making year to year batches inconsistent. If you do get a grasp on the potency of your hops, then you must figure out your utilization rate (how much of the oil you can get out of your hops) which depends on the gravity of your wort, how vigorous your boil is, how big your batch is, and many other variables. Furthermore, adding hops to your beer at different stages in the brewing process can yield more or less bitterness, flavor, and aroma. Understanding how each variable impacts your beer can be tedious, but luckily there are a few guidelines to help you achieve a balanced beer.

A basic schedule for hop additions would be as follows for a typical 60 minute boil. First, add bittering hops near the beginning of the boil (60 minutes). Even if you don’t like bitter beers, this is necessary to balance the sweetness from the malts in your finished beer. Since these hops will boil for a long time, you’ll end up destroying the more delicate compounds in the hops, and only be left with their bitterness. Next, add flavoring hops near the middle of the boil (30 minutes). Since these hops aren’t boiled as long, some of the delicate hop compounds remain in your finished beer and can add some depth and flavor. They also don’t contribute as much bitterness due to a shorter boil time. Finally, add your aroma hops near the end of the boil (5 minutes). Since these aren’t boiled for long, a lot of the delicate hop compounds remain in your finished beer to improve the hop aroma. The short boil time also means they add very little bitterness to your beer. You don’t need to follow this schedule strictly though and I recommend you experiment to learn more about timing’s impact. However, timing is the easy part. The more difficult part is figuring out how many hops to add at each stage.

As I mentioned before, every type of hop has a unique blend of oils in it. So certain hops can be better suited for bittering, while others may be better for adding flavor or aroma. This is based on the ratio of several different oils in each variety and means it’s not always easy to swap one type for another and achieve the same effect. Most hop websites like Yakima Valley, YCH, or 47 Hops have a chart or description for each hop to help guide you when creating a recipe. The most dominant oil in a hop is called its alpha acid. Packages usually display the alpha acid content to help you understand that hop’s bittering potential. A higher percentage means that hop is able to add more bitterness to your beer. In general, higher alpha acid hops (>10%) are better for bittering while lower alpha acid hops (<10%) are more mild and used for flavor and aroma. Another important factor for how much bitterness a hop will add to your beer is utilization. Utilization is how effective you are at boiling the oils out of your hops. The lower your boiling gravity is or the longer you boil your hops, the more oil you will be able to extract from them. The last piece of the puzzle is the final volume of your batch. Using all of these factors and a few simple equations, we can estimate the bitterness of a beer (expressed as International Bittering Units or IBU’s).

Let’s say we’re brewing a 5 gallon batch of amber ale and only adding 2oz of Fuggle hops for bittering. Our Fuggle hops contain 5% alpha acid. First we need to figure out how much bittering oil our hops will be adding to our wort. We can do this by calculating the AAU’s (alpha acid units) of our hop addition. This takes into account quality (alpha acid %) vs quantity (ounces of hops).

AAU = (ounces of hops) x (alpha acid %)

AAU = 2 x 5

AAU = 10

Next we need to figure out our utilization rate using the chart from John Palmer’s book “How To Brew”. Since we’re using these hops for bittering, we’ll boil them for 60 minutes. Let’s say we used 6lbs of amber DME to make our wort and are boiling 3 gallons in a small pot.

Boil Gravity = 1 + (pounds of DME x 0.04 gravity points per pound / gallons boiled)

Boil Gravity = 1 + (6 x 0.04 / 3)

Boil Gravity = 1 + (0.080)

Boil Gravity = 1.080

Now we can look at the table to see that a 60 minute boil for a 1.080 gravity wort gives us a utilization of 0.176. With that we have all the pieces we need to calculate IBU’s. So there’s no confusion, the “75” in the following equation is a conversion factor to allow us to use ounces and gallons in the equation. You didn’t overlook something in our earlier calculations.

IBU = AAU x Utilization x 75 / Finished Batch Volume

IBU = 10 x 0.176 x 75 / 5

IBU = 26.4

In this example our batch of amber ale would have about 26 IBU’s. If we wanted to do more hop additions for this recipe, then we’d need to do these calculations again for each addition, and add those IBU’s to the 26 IBU’s we already have. I use BeerTools Pro for creating my recipes, and the IBU calculator in that software is always very close to these calculations.

In my experience it’s more likely to not use enough hops and make a beer that’s too sweet. This has happened to me on styles that aren’t meant to be hoppy (so I intentionally go light on the hops) and high alcohol beers (which have poor hop utilization and more residual sugars from the large amount of malts) which both lead to a sweeter beer. The final beer ends up not having quite enough bitterness to counter balance the sweetness of the malt. It doesn’t necessarily make an awful beer, but it can leave the beer with a lot of room for improvement. I think it’s misunderstood by a lot of homebrewers on how many hops are appropriate for styles other than IPA’s. Where some people will simply say more is better.

Your Beer’s Water Profile Also Plays a Role

It’s undeniable that water plays a large role in brewing, yet the ingredient that makes up the majority of beer is often overlooked. Brewing water can be a very complicated topic when you dive into the details, but there are a few simple things you can do to improve your brews without majoring in chemistry. My first bit of advice is if your tap water tastes or smells odd don’t use it for brewing. I know tap water is cheap and easy to use, but starting with a bad ingredient will do you no favors in the end. It’s like making a cake with dirt instead of flour, and hoping that baking it and covering it with frosting will magically make it taste normal when it’s done. If you do insist on using tap water, it always helps to run it through a charcoal water filter first. That will help reduce contaminants and chlorine (if present) which is not beneficial in any amount. Even with that though, your tap water may still contain low or high levels of various minerals which can make it well-suited for some types of beer, but less so for others. It’ll vary depending on your local water supplier so there’s no single piece of advice that can cover all the different types of water in the world. I really don’t like guess work, so I prefer to buy distilled water from my local grocery store (~$0.90/gal) and “build up” my mineral profile. Distilled water has no minerals in it so you know you’re starting with a clean slate every time. From there I use the EZWaterCalculator (http://www.ezwatercalculator.com/) to figure out which minerals I need to add to my distilled water, to “build up” certain minerals. During the process, the calculator also helps you find a proper pH for your mash which is useful. To me this feels like a more precise method, and it’s a small amount of work and money to improve your beer.

Part of the fun for homebrewers is making whatever kind of beer you want. You can make it as alcoholic as you want, use whatever ingredients you want, and ultimately you decide what the beer tastes like. Some brewers are more daring when it comes to trying new ingredients, but no matter what you add, everybody’s goal is to make their beer taste good. Unfortunately, this is often easier said than done. The first homebrew that comes to my mind for being unbalanced is a grapefruit double IPA that I made a few years ago. I was trying to imitate the Grapefruit Sculpin brewed by Ballast Point. When I first tried the Ballast Point beer I was extremely impressed. It had a strong, clean taste of grapefruit and the backbone of a solid IPA. However, my version ended up less impressive. After some research I had chosen to add grapefruit peels to my secondary to get that signature flavor. So I peeled 6 giant grapefruits and threw the peels into my secondary for 10 days. At that point I didn’t realize how far 6 peels would take me for a 5 gallon batch. After kegging the beer and pulling my first pint, I left these exact notes in my binder for future Mike. “Sample is overwhelmingly grapefruity. Tastes and smells like the strong bitter oils from the peel. Good, but hoping that it mellows/blends in better. Too strong right now. Borderline taste of citrus hand sanitizer.” Unfortunately it didn’t get better. My hand sanitizer beer soon developed a soapy taste which left me pouring the batch down the drain. Ironically, this is where all Dawn eventually ends up anyways. I would like to note though, that I had pulled an 8oz sample when racking to secondary, and added a small piece of grapefruit peel to the plastic bottle to imitate my final beer. After I force carbonated the sample, a buddy and I drank it 8 hours later. At that time we were both very impressed with the beer. It had an authentic grapefruit flavor and an amazingly fresh aroma. I was on the right path but over did it. If I were to brew this beer again, I would try 1 grapefruit peel for the last 1 day in secondary. Maybe then I could recreate that delicious sample.

If you think of balance as a teeter totter, you can’t have one side that’s completely empty. The sweetness from the malts needs to be balanced by the bitterness from the hops. Water shouldn’t have absolutely no minerals or an extremely high amount of 1 mineral. Adding 1 grapefruit peel might not be enough, but 6 peels is definitely too many. In the end each brewer’s preference decides where to put the fulcrum to balance the teeter totter. Everybody still has the same goal though, which is to not leave one end sitting on the ground.

by Mike Camera Mike is a Cleveland, OH native that has been homebrewing for about 5 years. He mainly focuses on making good beer, but has also made some bad ciders in the past. His other deep passion is for cars, which led him to get a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toledo. He now lives in Columbus, OH with his beautiful wife and 2 dachshunds. He works full time at Honda’s R&D facility, where he’s an on-site engineer for a supplier called L&L Products. In a sense he likes drinking and driving, but of course not in that order. Fast beers and great cars are good for the soul. Yes you read that correctly.

Learn more about balanced grain bills »

After most of us have a few brew days behind us, and possibly a few beers in our belly, we get the bright idea that we can make a stellar recipe…on our first try. As I like to say, “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.” However, chances are that squirrel is not you! I remember my first recipe – a southern English brown ale. I looked at the BJCP guidelines for 11B and saw there was a large emphasis on the “sweetness” in this style. I proceed to throw over 2-lbs of crystal 60L malt in that five gallon recipe and used very little hops which contributed to a low bitterness…

Formulating Balanced Beer Recipes was originally published on HomeBrewTalk.com