#oldest wooden structure

[ancientstuff]

Incredibly lucky that this was preserved and found. Amazing.

[cnnbbcurdu]

World’s oldest wooden structure discovered in Zambia

The oldest wooden structure ever discovered was discovered by archaeologists in Paris on Wednesday, and it dates back nearly half a million years, suggesting that our ancestors may have been more advanced than previously believed. The remarkably well-preserved wooden building was discovered at Kalambo Falls in northern Zambia, close to the Tanzanian border. According to a study published in the…

[peripateticavian]

Archaeologists in Zambia discover oldest wooden structure in the world, dating to 476,000 years ago | Live Science

[deadstonemasonssociety]

Archaeologists said on Wednesday they have unearthed the oldest wooden structure ever discovered, dating from nearly half a million years ago, which suggests that our ancestors may have been more advanced than previously thought.

The exceptionally well-preserved wooden structure was found at Kalambo Falls in the north of Zambia near the border with Tanzania.

It dates back at least 476,000 years, well before the evolution of Homo sapiens, according to a study describing the find in the journal Nature.

The wood bears cut-marks showing that stone tools were used to join two large logs to make the structure, which is believed to be a platform, walkway or raised dwelling to keep our relatives above the water.

A collection of wooden tools, including a wedge and a digging stick, were also discovered at the site.

The ancestors of humans were already known to use wood at this time, but for limited purposes such as starting a fire or hunting.

[mcyt-hc-writing]

The Artificial Structures of Minecraft: An Attempted Chronology

Artificial structures in Minecraft range from the modern to the ancient. What structures are newer and which are older? It's hard to say. But here are my thoughts:

Modern - These structures are in use and new ones are likely being actively created

Villages: Actively inhabited by villagers

Woodland mansions: Actively inhabited by illagers

Pillager outposts: Actively inhabited by pillagers

Witch huts: Actively inhabited by witches

Igloos: No indication of owners, but the captive villager is still alive

Player-made structures: Self-explanatory

*Abandoned villages: Not actively in use, but new ones are likely being created

Recent - Not known to be in use, but have few signs of decay or geological changes

Abandoned villages: Explained above

Mineshafts: No signs of decay, despite wooden structures decaying easily

Desert wells: Cannot be proved to be in use, but have no signs of decay

Ocean monuments: No signs of decay, built after change in water levels (ref. ocean ruins)

End cities: No signs of decay, though in the end this may be hard to determine

*Shipwrecks: Some shipwrecks have few signs of decay or burial, indicating they are likely recent, especially given how fast wood can decay in water

*Ancient city illager structures: Structures in ancient cities made of dark oak wood and blue wool, appearing to be made by illagers. Illagers are active in the world, so it is likely that the structures are recent

Old - Structure shows signs of overgrowth or being partially buried, but no significant structural decay or changes in local geography

Jungle temples: Overgrown but structure and redstone intact

Desert pyramids: May be buried, and the secret room is entirely buried, but they are still near the surface and show little signs of decay

Dungeons/monster rooms: Cobblestone is overgrown bu structure is otherwise intact

*Shipwrecks: More decayed or buried shipwrecks likely belong in this category

Decayed - Structure has decayed or been damaged, but intact segments maintain integrity. Unclear if these are actually older than the previous category or if they were simply more prone to damage due to being larger

Strongholds: Have some cracked and overgrown bricks, and structures may have gaps. However, other than the gaps, rooms retain their shape and may even contain intact furnishings

Nether fortresses: Some bridges may be broken, but the rest of the structures have no obvious rubble or even cracks

Ancient - Structure is entirely decayed. Massive structural damage. Indications of geographic shifts since construction

Bastion remnants: Despite active habitation, they are in ruins. Some parts of the structures resemble natural caves more than artificial construction

Ruined portals: Wrecked and broken structures, often buried or flooded. Crying obsidian appears to be in an advanced stage of decay

Ancient cities: A majority of structures are in ruins. It is unclear if cities are supposed to be buried deep underground with little to no connection to the surface

Ocean ruins: In ruins. Some contain eggs of extinct animals. Evidently built before a sea level rise

Trail ruins: Likely the oldest artificial structures in the game. Almost entirely buried, with no structural integrity remaining

Conclusions:

Piglin civilization was ancient. Considering how ruined bastion remnants are, in comparison with nether fortresses, it seems unlikely that they competed with the fortress builders at the height of their civilization. It is likely that the fortress builders arrived in the nether only after the piglins had regressed to tribalism. If we assume Minecraft Legends to be canon, this likely means that fortresses (and strongholds, by extension) did not exist in the time period of Minecraft Legends

The advanced decay of ruined portals seems to indicate their extreme antiquity. Combined with their peculiar generation (generating nether terrain in the overworld, but not vice-versa) it seems likely that they are also from the Minecraft Legends time period - this makes a great deal of sense in my opinion, considering how they work in that game

Trail ruins indicate that villager civilization is likely just as old, if not older, than piglin civilization. This is consistent with Minecraft Legends, but the difference in architecture indicates that villagers may have been responsible for a lot of different kinds of structures

Nether fortresses and strongholds have similar levels of decay, indicating they may be from the same time period. This makes sense considering the ender eye crafting recipe

It is likely that the treasure maps in shipwrecks were obtained from ocean ruins

Igloos are likely owned by illagers

Abandoned mineshafts were likely made by villagers - badlands mineshafts may have been made by illagers, as they share their wood type with other illager structures

It is likely that the magic of totems of undying is related to the magic of golden apples. They have similar colours, illagers are the most likely to be responsible for igloos (where they experiment with golden apples and reversing death), they likely have mineshafts in badlands (where they find lots of gold), and they seem to have an interest in ancient cities (the best place in the game to find enchanted golden apples)

[99liv3s]

Pregnancy Adventures for Us

(I wrote this story for some friends, putting their characters, as well as mine, in it, and decided to make it public, with their blessing)

The rain poured down heavily outside, the large drops bouncing off the roof of the large wooden cabin that stood alone in the forest, deep in nature and away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It was a beautiful, multiple room structure that rivaled some houses, but was still quite cozy, warm, and inviting. There was only one floor, but this was out of necessity. Stairs were not ideal, for the occupants inside this cabin were all heavily pregnant!

The three girls were best friends, and as all three of them had ended up pregnant due to various circumstances, all at the same time, they had proposed living together in this cabin, where they could take care of each other and enjoy their experiences together. They had pooled all their money together to have this cabin built, which took a surprisingly short time, and now, the three girls lived comfortably inside it, enjoying each other's company in their conditions.

Crystal, the oldest of the three, had had experience with pregnancy before, having been a surrogate carrier three times before this one. As a result, the light skinned, green eyed, somewhat thin girl with brown shoulder length wavy hair, already had lots of experience being pregnant. Her current pregnancy was also a surrogate, and her melon-sized bump was completely at odds with her small size.

In contrast to Crystal, Mazy's size was on the heavier side, though she was still noticeably pregnant. Mazy also had brown hair, but it was shorter, just down to her chin, and her skin tone was only a tiny bit darker than Crystal's. Mazy's eyes were blue, and her breasts were pronounced, especially now that she was pregnant. Mazy was carrying a slime baby, and it was her first foray into pregnancy.

Liv, short for Olivia, was the smallest in stature of the three, even smaller than Crystal. As a result, Liv's pregnant belly looked as though she had swallowed a basketball, and her normally tiny breasts resembled two small apples. The pale, small, short black haired, brown eyed girl was pregnant with a large egg, due to an interesting alien encounter, and like Mazy, this was her first pregnancy.

Crystal was lying comfortably on the couch in the living room, reading a book and listening to the rain outside. Her hand rested on her expanded belly, which peeked out from under the green crop top she was wearing, along with gray loose pajama bottoms. The sound of a toilet flushing and a door opening made her look up, to see Liv waddling out of the bathroom, her pronounced, ball shaped belly somewhat bouncing with each step. Liv was wearing a small light pink maternity dress that the other two girls found very cute, and according to Liv, had been custom made for her. Liv sighed as she made her way over to Crystal. "This thing is sitting right on my bladder," Liv exclaimed, rubbing her bump, and causing Crystal to inadvertently rub hers. "That was my sixth trip to the bathroom!" Crystal rose up and got to her feet, motioning to Liv's belly. "May I?" Crystal asked, and Liv giggled. "One condition... I get to feel yours as well!" Crystal laughed as both girls felt around on each other's bumps. The baby inside Crystal kicked, causing both girls to giggle again, as Crystal continued to feel around carefully on Liv's orb-like belly. "Are you sure you haven't dropped a bit?" Crystal asked, looking at Liv with slight concern. "It feels lower." "But it's hard to tell with you." "I don't think so," Liv responded, as the two of them released each other. "It doesn't feel much different to me, just heavy." As Crystal smiled at her friend, Mazy came bouncing into the room, wearing a yellow shirt and loose jeans, and carrying a tray of sandwiches she had prepared. "Lunch is served," she exclaimed, setting the tray down. Mazy grimaced and rubbed her belly as the fetus inside moved around rapidly. "Hey, calm down in there," she said to it, as the other two girls reached happily for a sandwich.

As the three of them sat, happily eating their sandwiches, Mazy spoke up. "So, what should we do??" "Read??" "Should we play a game??" "There are some cards in the lower shelf over there..." Crystal swallowed her bite, then said, "Actually, I was thinking about all of us telling our stories to each other again." "I love hearing about how you two got pregnant." Liv smiled, beaming. "I mean, yours is good too, Crystal." She said, nibbling a bit more on her sandwich. "Oh, mine is nothing special, not quite as unique as both of yours," Crystal responded. "You're a surrogate, I'd call that pretty special," Liv argued back with a smile. "Why don't you start us off, miss surrogate?" Mazy suggested, leaning back in her chair. Liv giggled as Crystal smiled.

******************

A little over 8 months ago

"Everything seems to be in order," the doctor said, as Crystal lay on the exam table, her legs spread. "You are still very healthy and fit for child-bearing!" Crystal beamed as the doctor made a few notes on her clipboard. "This couple is very excited that you're giving them their first baby, but I have to note... you've already carried three times already." The doctor looked into Crystal's eyes. "Think you've had enough??" Crystal shook her head with an almost silly grin on her face. "Definitely not?" She answered. "You said it yourself how well my hips are shaped for child-bearing, and you were there for my last delivery." The doctor nodded, noting how easy it had seemed for Crystal. "You could say I'm made for this," Crystal continued. "How many carriers, even surrogate ones, can truly say that??" "You do have a point," the doctor replied, smiling. "I just had to ask, one last time, if you wanted to go through it yet again." Crystal nodded vigorously, and the doctor chuckled. "Well, there's no turning back now." "Ok, well... here we go."

******************

"I still can't believe this is your fourth," Liv said a few minutes later. Crystal's recounting of her story had been interrupted by Liv having to, yet again, run to the bathroom to pee. "I can," Mazy said, giving her a mischievous grin. "You definitely can't get enough." Crystal blushed slightly, but smiled. "After that convo, everything happened just like all the other times." "They put the baby in me, I met with the parents again, and that was that." "Huh, you're so close, are the parents not worried about you being out here with us?" Mazy asked, as Liv hung onto their every word, munching on her sandwich again. Crystal shook her head. "They don't care, as long as they get their daughter," she replied. "They told me they didn't even want to be present for the birth, and I didn't ask why..." Crystal looked at the two of them, then settled back into the couch. "Enough about me... you two have the more interesting stories anyway." The two girls looked over at Liv, who swallowed her bite of sandwich. "Me? You want me to go next??" She asked, looking rapidly between her two friends as they grinned at her. Mazy responded by picking up another sandwich. Liv sighed, though she continued to smile.

******************

About 5 months ago

Liv woke up with a start, rising up slowly off the moderately comfortable bed she was laying on, and looked around timidly, taking in her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was driving down the road in her car, lost in her thoughts. It was so late at night, she had been alone on the road. She remembered seeing a bright light all around her, and then waking up here. Now, she seemed to be in a somewhat large room, with metallic walls, though the lighting in this room was quite dim. There was no sign of her car or her... Liv then realized that she was also completely naked, and her clothes were nowhere to be found either. Gingerly, she stepped onto the cold metallic floor of wherever she was, noticing that there seemed to be a pool of water nearby. Liv made her way over to it and looked in with a gasp. She could see, swimming inside the water, a mermaid-like creature with long hair, a mermaid tail, but also human-like legs and arms. The creature suddenly broke the surface of the water, right in front of Liv, who cried out slightly in surprise. "Don't be alarmed," the creature said, in perfect English. She had long green hair, and sapphire colored eyes, and was also naked, as far as Liv could see. Only the creature's upper body was visible, which looked human enough, but Liv could also see where her "human" half connected to both her legs and her scaly tail. "My name is Melastra, and I am not going to hurt you." Something in her voice seemed to calm Liv somewhat, despite the circumstances. "Wh...why have you brought me here??" Liv blurted out. "What are you?" Melastra smiled, which put Liv even more at ease. "I need help." She said, almost sadly. "My people, my species is dying!" Melastra shifted in the water, as Liv gasped, clapping her hand to her mouth. "There's not many of us left, for our kind have lost... the ability to carry children," she continued. "Therefore, what few of us remain decided to go looking for other species that could carry our young for us and would volunteer to do so." "I was given this ship and some resources, with the mission to find someone to breed with, and to carry my eggs." "Humans are compatible with us, but after monitoring your species, I determined that most of you find the process of carrying children very personal, and would therefore likely not help me..." "I'll help you," Liv said immediately, deciding on the spot that she really wanted to do so. She could not even explain to herself why she felt so interested by Melastra's plight, but she felt drawn to help her. "What do I need to do?" Liv asked, as Melastra stared at her, somewhat shocked, perhaps due to how quickly and easily Liv had agreed to her request. "Well, step into the water with me," Melastra said, beckoning Liv forward. Somewhat timidly, Liv stepped into the water, until she was face to face with Melastra. Liv was about to note to herself that Melastra seemed as short as she was, before realizing that she was starting to sink. Melastra grabbed Liv and held her steady, and the alien's large mermaid-like tail wrapped around her. As Liv's and Melastra's bodies entwined, Liv gasped as she felt something enter her vagina suddenly. It was not painful, rather the opposite, but looking down into the murky water, she could not see exactly what was happening. "There, just relax into it," Melastra said soothingly, and as Liv felt wave after wave of euphoria hit her body, she complied gladly, as Melastra cuddled her into the water.

******************

"Why did she choose you, of all people?" Crystal asked, shifting plates around so that the three of them could eat dessert. "I mean, no offence of course, but when it comes to carriers, you're as small as they come." Liv smiled shyly, rubbing her belly, as Mazy piped up, "Well, it's obvious... Liv has a huge heart, and Melastra knew she would not say no." Mazy looked over at her friend with both a smile and an expression of exasperation. "I mean, you accepted immediately, barely listening to what Melastra had to say... she didn't even have to convince you." Liv smiled sheepishly, even wider. "Would you have said no?" Liv asked, and motioned at Mazy's own belly. Looking down, Mazy quipped, "That's different, and you know it!" The three girls laughed, as Crystal served cake. "Well, after fertilizing me, Melastra kept me on her ship for another day, to confirm that I was indeed pregnant, and also had this maternity dress made for me." Mazy and Crystal smiled and seemed to swoon at Liv's use of the phrase "fertilizing me", as she continued, "Then she said she would find me soon after the egg is born, and then sent me on my way." Liv patted her belly lovingly, as the girls finished their cake. "Wow, promise me we'll get to meet Melastra when that happens," Crystal said, making Liv giggle. "So, wait, does that technically mean you are a surrogate too?" Mazy asked, looking at Liv with curiosity. "Am I like, the only one who is pregnant just to be pregnant?" Liv sat her plate down, and thought for a second. "Well, Melastra did say the baby inside the egg was an alien like her, but it does take some genes from me too, so I guess that makes it our baby." she concluded. "I mean, we did mate after all..." "Well, what would you call it?" Liv asked, half chuckling at Mazy's expression at the word "mate". "I mean, you really can't say anything yourself," Crystal said, motioning to Mazy's bump. "I mean, if anyone here mated, it was you!" Mazy grinned mischievously.

******************

6 months ago

Her thoughts on Crystal and the fact she was pregnant again, Mazy strolled through the forest, enjoying the nice weather and the isolation, as all around her, birds chirped and insects buzzed. She could tell that she was moving into a deeper, denser, and darker part of the forest, but she did not care. She longed to be in Crystal's situation, carrying a child, and experiencing what it was like to be pregnant. So wrapped up in her thoughts, she did not at first hear the rustling sound nearby, dismissing it as just another forest animal. A few seconds later, she heard it again, this time much louder, and the sound it made was very different from the other usual sounds around her. It sounded almost like a slimey sloshing sound. Mazy stopped and looked around, but she did not have to look long. A green mass of some type of slime was moving toward her. Mazy blinked in astonishment, but before she could do anything else, she saw the goo start to rise up, and slowly form into a humanoid shape. Fascinated, Mazy watched, until the slime creature had finished shifting, into a girl, or rather what looked like a girl made out of green jello, though she also had striking green eyes. Mazy looked her over, noting that the slime girl was "naked", her breasts not as pronounced as Mazy's, but still noticeably firm, and her expression was friendly, even a bit shy. "Hello," the slime girl said, and something in her tone made Mazy relax a bit. "You're... a slime girl!" Mazy said, then realized a second later that that probably sounded rude, but the slime girl chuckled and said, "I am, yes." "I decided to come see you, because I could sense your... pheromones you would call it?" "Pheromones??" Mazy repeated, confused. The slime girl moved closer, and said, "Yeah, they are very strong... you are in heat!" "I'm sorry??" Mazy replied, half laughing. She was not an animal, and was not in heat... what was this creature talking about? While walking through this forest, all she had been thinking about was... "Ohhh," Mazy said, realization hitting her, as the slime girl nodded. "Yeah, I could sense your longing to be bred, your desire for reproduction..." "My heat?" Mazy interrupted, and the girl smiled wider. "You want this very badly, don't you?" She asked. Mazy hesitated for only a second, then nodded rapidly. "Well, here is some good news for you... I'm seeking that too!!" Mazy gaped at the slime girl, and slowly a smile crept onto her face. "Should we... breed??" "YES!" Mazy almost shouted, stepping forward so that she and the slime girl were almost touching, and started to take off her clothes. There was some shifting under the slime girl's exposed navel, and Mazy could clearly see a penis form, a large one. "Are you ready?" The slime girl asked, holding it in front of her as if offering it. Mazy, now standing naked, nodded, and then the slime girl touched her face with her hand. The sensation was strange, but pleasant. Her skin felt almost like a soft rubber, but Mazy barely had time to consider this before the large green penis entered her. "Now you will experience pleasure as you never have before." The slime girl said, and moved forward to completely embrace Mazy. However, the girl's body was shifting, and as Mazy closed her eyes, the slime fully engulfed her body, squeezing against her, stimulating every part of Mazy's body simultaneously. Mazy was in so much ecstasy, she did not fully realize that the slime was also shifting to entirely enter through her vagina.

******************

"She eventually entered my uterus completely," Mazy recounted, as Liv and Crystal listened in amazement, despite having already heard this story from Mazy before. "I felt her moving around in there for a while, then she came back out, the same way she had went in, reformed, and told me that she'd made me pregnant, although somehow I already knew before she had said anything." "It didn't hurt?" Liv inquired, her eyes wide in amazement. "No, it felt really really good actually," Mazy responded, rubbing her belly. "I just felt so much movement and rolling around in here, and that was it." "The "baby" though, it's just as active." Mazy grunted, shifting her belly slightly. "Like, right now!" "Here, come and feel it." Liv waddled over and placed her palm on the side of Mazy's belly, immediately feeling rapid movements inside it. "Oh wow," Liv whispered, feeling the rapid flutters of Mazy's slime baby as it moved around. Crystal then replaced Liv, rubbing her hands all along Mazy's bump. "It's so much more active than my baby," Crystal said. "Is that normal for slime babies?" Mazy shook her head. "I have no idea, honestly." "Did you ever see the girl again?" Liv asked. "What happens when you have the baby??" "I don't know," Mazy responded. "But I get the impression, based on how she was acting, that the slime "fathers" don't really have much more interaction with their children or the "mothers" once they breed." "But, that's kinda sad," Liv replied. "It is what it is... I guess that's normal for them," Mazy said, shrugging. "It just means this little guy is mine to keep, right?" Mazy looked down at her belly, cooing at it happily, as Liv absentmindedly rubbed hers. "You know it's a boy?" Liv asked. "Well, actually," Crystal spoke up, still feeling around on Mazy's belly, "Slimes don't really have genders, so the baby is... a slime." Mazy smirked up at her. "Yeah, I gathered that when the slime girl whipped out a dick," she said, causing all three girls to burst out laughing again.

Crystal grimaced as she felt another hard kick inside her. Taking one hand off Mazy, she rubbed the spot on her own belly softly. "I think she wants to play too," Crystal said, motioning to her belly. Mazy rose up and touched Crystal's bump gently, feeling a few more kicks. "Oh yeah, she's got that energy too," Mazy said. "She'll be an athlete for sure." Liv drew closer to the two of them, then clutched her own belly. "Ooh, I feel mine moving too," she said, rubbing her large ball shaped belly. "You can feel it moving?" Crystal asked. "But I thought it was an egg?" "It is," Liv replied. "But sometimes I can feel movement inside the egg, like the baby is swimming around inside." "That must feel amazing," Mazy said, and placed her hand on Liv's belly. "I don't feel anything." "It's definitely moving," Liv insisted. "Here..." Liv reached down and unfastened the back of her maternity gown, taking it off. Standing naked, other than a bra and panties, Liv invited Mazy to feel again, and Mazy did so. A few seconds later, Mazy squeaked excitedly. "Ooh yeah, I feel it, it's like... doing somersaults in there!" She exclaimed. Liv nodded, grimacing a bit in slight discomfort. "Ooh, the egg is so heavy," she breathed out, as Mazy continued to feel around on her exposed bump. Mazy's hand found it's way to Liv's protruding navel, and she stroked it gently, causing Liv to let out a little moan. "Like that, eh?" Mazy quipped, as Liv closed her eyes, enjoying the sensations. "Always thought that little outie was cute." "Hey, save some for me," Crystal said with a laugh, and put both her hands on Mazy's belly, rubbing it. Crystal climbed onto Mazy's lap and continued to rub her, moving her hands up to touch Mazy's full breasts. "Do slime babies drink the same milk?" Crystal teased, rubbing and squeezing Mazy's boobs. Mazy gasped and moaned, and inadvertantly rubbed Liv's navel and lower belly more, which in turn, caused her to moan as well. "Oh God... bathroom!!" Liv said suddenly, her eyes flying open, and she waddled as fast as she could toward the bathroom. Crystal and Mazy watched her go, then looked back in each other's faces and started laughing softly.

As the two of them continued to stimulate each other, which had effectively devolved into Crystal kissing Mazy's belly gently, and Mazy rubbing around near Crystal's pussy, they could hear a trickle of water and the usual soft moaning from Liv in the bathroom. However, lost in their own horniness, they only vaguely became aware that Liv's moaning continued long after hearing her pee. A few minutes later, it seemed to be getting worse, as well as louder. Her mouth still inches from Mazy's stomach, Crystal called out, "Liv, are you ok??" She was answered by a loud whine, and, looking at each other in alarm, Mazy and Crystal got off each other and began to hurry to the bathroom, as fast as their pregnant selves could waddle. They got halfway to it, before Liv stumbled out, one hand on her belly, the other clutching the door frame for support. "Th... the pressure's... so much worse..." Liv panted out, grimacing in pain. "It hurts!" Crystal reached out and helped Liv forward, feeling on her orb. "Are you in labor, Liv??" She asked, as Liv moaned, gingerly taking step after step. After a few seconds, in which the three of them had made it back over to the couch, Liv nodded. "I... I think I am..." she breathed out.

Liv quickly determined that she could not get comfortable on the couch, as she tried to do breathing exercises. She felt like she really wanted to be held, and so her friends complied. First, she and Crystal swayed together, with Mazy standing behind Liv, rubbing her back. Then, Liv swayed with Mazy, crying in pain on her shoulder. Liv felt the pressure continue to worsen, spreading pain into her back and entire lower body. After the swaying sessions, Liv leaned up against the wall, her legs slightly spread, her head buried in her arms as she moaned and cried loudly. Mazy approached her from behind, reached around her and cupped her belly, rubbing it gently. "You're going to be ok," Crystal encouraged over Liv's noises of pain. "I know it hurts, but you're doing great."

They had made their way to the birthing room, where a large comfortable bed sat in the middle of the room, complete with stirrups. Crystal had asked Liv if she wanted her to put her legs in the stirrups, but Liv begged her not to, as at this point, Liv was constantly moving around, getting on and off the bed, trying anything for some relief and comfort, but finding none. At one point, Liv was lying in the bed, crying out loudly, when Crystal met with Mazy outside the door, and pulled it shut. Listening to Liv moan loudly in pain, Crystal said, "I'm kinda worried." "Liv is so small, I don't know if she can push that egg out." "I think her small body just finally decided it couldn't carry that egg any longer." "She can do it," Mazy said, as they heard Liv whine behind the door. "It's not going to be easy, but I think she can do it." Mazy rubbed her belly, where her slime baby was moving around more aggressively than it ever had, almost as if it sensed another offspring nearby was coming. "I really hope you're right," Crystal said.

A few minutes later, Liv was on the floor, on her hands and knees, now completely naked. It had felt the most comfortable to her, what little she could get. Her belly hanging down, lightly touching the floor, Liv screamed as the other girls tried their best to comfort her. Liv's vagina was hanging in the air for all to see, and the other girls did see it open up suddenly, a bulge visible in it. "OOH GOD GET IT OUT PLEASE!" Liv pleaded loudly, her head thrown back as pain and pressure shot constantly through her body. "You're doing it, Liv," Crystal coached, as Mazy rubbed the laboring girl's back. "We can see it coming, right Mazy??" Liv shouted as her vagina opened even wider, and a blue and white tip poked out. "Oh my God, it's so cute," Mazy said as soon as she saw the crowning egg. "AAAHH IT HURTS AAAAHHHH!!" Liv screeched, involuntarily pushing despite there being no contraction, and the egg crowned even more. It looked like it was the size of a slightly deflated Soccer ball, and Mazy gasped in amazement that an object of that size was coming out of her friend. "IT BURNS AAHHHH HELP OOWW!" Liv yelled hysterically, and Crystal, still rubbing Liv's back, told Mazy to try to spread Liv's folds wider. Mazy did so, rubbing Liv's sore aching pussy as Crystal coached her to push again. After a loud painful scream that pierced the other girls' hearts, the egg was fully born, and slipped out with a small plop. Liv collapsed in relief and exhaustion onto the floor, as Crystal and Mazy laughed in celebration. "You did it," Crystal cried out, as Mazy cheered. Being closest to the large blue and white egg, Mazy picked it up gently, thinking to herself just how cute it was. She could immediately feel the baby swimming around inside, through the shell. "Oh, that is so cool," she thought to herself.

After helping Liv, who was semi-conscious at this point, into the bed so that she could rest, the other two girls made their way back into the living room, where Crystal collapsed into a chair, rubbing her bump furiously. Mazy settled onto the couch, and breathed out a sigh. Liv's labor had been an intense, exhausting situation, but it was done, and the girls felt they deserved a rest. Mazy let out a laugh, she could not help herself. "I can't believe she pushed that thing out," Mazy exclaimed, smiling at Crystal, who breathed heavily. "Well, you said she could do it, and she did," Crystal responded, still rubbing her belly. "I just wonder if it came early because she was small, or if those eggs just grow fast... mmmhhh!" Crystal let out a few pants, as Mazy looked over through the door of the birthing room, where she could see the egg sitting on a table. Looking back over at Crystal, she saw her friend stand back up, a grimace of discomfort on her face. Crystal was still panting and rubbing her belly as she slowly waddled around the room, her other hand clutching her back. "Crystal, what... have you been in labor this entire time and didn't tell us?" Mazy cried out, standing up as well. "I didn't notice anything until around the time Liv got down on all fours," Crystal replied with a small smile. "Besides, I don't even know if this is labor." "It could be false..." She was interrupted by a splash at her feet, as her pajama bottoms became soaked and excess fluid trickled onto the wooden floor. "Well, that answers that question," Mazy quipped loudly.

Having already given birth three times in the past, Crystal was quite familiar with the process now, and therefore, was not too bothered by her labor pains. She sat, naked except for a bra, on the couch doing breathing exercises, and though she was uncomfortable, she seemed to be in very little pain. Mazy cleaned up Crystal's water break as Crystal did her breathing exercises. An hour later, Crystal, panting a bit harder, decided to get up and walk around. After waddling around the room for another half hour, she returned over to the couch and sat down beside Mazy. "How are you feeling?" Mazy asked as Crystal panted. With a grimace through another contraction, she said, "Still not too bad, although they're getting very close together." Mazy rubbed Crystal's belly as Crystal moaned a bit in pain. "Here, let me help!" Mazy offered, and traced her finger down to Crystal's vagina, noticing how dilated it already was. Crystal let out a little cry upon Mazy touching it, as it was very sensitive at the moment. Mazy smiled at Crystal as she rubbed her friend's pussy with one hand, and her belly with the other. Crystal moaned loudly, but more from pleasure than pain.

By the time Liv woke up, Crystal was in the pushing stage, and since Liv had been occupying the birthing bed, Crystal was squatting in the middle of the living room, bearing down with grunts of effort, while Mazy watched between her legs. Liv weakly approached this scene, a shocked expression on her face. "C..Crystal?? You're having your baby right now too??" Crystal nodded, her eyes closed and her face in a grimace as she pushed. Without another word, Liv got behind Crystal and began to massage her back, as Mazy said, "I see the head!" Liv helped hold Crystal steady as she crowned, and Crystal let out a cry of pain as she pushed the head out. Squatting even deeper, Crystal grunted loudly as she gave another push, and Mazy caught the baby as it slid from Crystal. "Yay, you did it," Liv cheered, as a loud cry filled the room. Mazy handed the newborn girl up to Crystal, who took her in her arms and smiled down at it. "Hello, little girl," Crystal said to the baby. "Your parents are very eager to meet you!"

Crystal had passed the newborn girl around so that Mazy and Liv could hold her. Afterward, Crystal placed her in a small bassinet in another room, where she slept peacefully, also clearly exhausted from the process of labor. Liv and Crystal, both sore and tired, sat on the couch as Mazy, now the only one of them still pregnant, came back into the room with a plate of snacks. As the three of them ravenously tore into the snacks, Mazy rubbed her belly absentmindedly. The baby inside her seemed to still be quite active. "Well, I feel so empty now," Liv said, and the other two knew exactly what she was talking about. "I do too," Crystal replied, and the two of them looked over at Mazy. Though happy that they had brought their offspring into the world finally, the two girls were admittedly a bit jealous that Mazy was still carrying. Mazy smiled and motioned for them to get closer. "Here, both of you come over here and play with it," she said, patting her belly. Crystal and Liv did so gladly, rubbing around on Mazy's large bump lovingly, feeling the movement inside. Liv leaned down and hugged Mazy's belly, laying her entire head on it, giggling, as Crystal rubbed Mazy's legs. "Wow, I've heard of after pregnancy depression, but not after pregnancy horniness," Mazy said with a laugh. Liv giggled, still nuzzling Mazy's bump. Crystal's hand found Mazy's pussy and stroked it gently, causing the pregnant girl to moan out contentedly. Crystal then leaned down and kissed Mazy's belly, as Liv began to feel around on it again. "Oh yeah, please more," Mazy begged. Crystal stroked faster and faster as Liv's hands moved up Mazy's bump and found their way to her breasts, which Liv started to play with. Mazy cried out, fully stimulated now, and her belly rolled, as if the slime baby inside was also reacting to it. The three girls giggled, and Mazy grunted a bit as she felt pressure in her pelvis.

Twenty minutes later, Mazy was still panting, long after the girls had gotten off her, and she rubbed her belly rapidly. "I think...I think you both put me in labor," Mazy said, half grinning, half grimacing. Crystal and Liv helped Mazy into the birthing room, where, by her request, they locked her legs into the stirrups. Now spread wide on her back in the birthing position, Mazy felt her belly shift and contract. "How bad are the contractions?" Crystal asked, as Liv watched, ready to help. Mazy rubbed her belly and thought for a second. "There's a lot of pressure, but it really doesn't hurt much," she responded, surprised. "It just feels like I need to use the bathroom... a LOT!"

Another half hour passed, and Mazy seemed to be fully in labor now, but instead of crying and moaning in pain, she was giggling and even crying out in pleasure. The baby that Crystal had given birth to had started crying, and so Crystal had run to the other room to check on her, leaving Mazy in the care of Liv, who watched Mazy labor with an expression of bewilderment. "It doesn't hurt at all?" Liv asked, and Mazy laughed. "No, it feels great actually," she answered, panting. "I... I feel it coming, and there's pressure, but I... want it to come!" "It feels soooo good!" Mazy cried out as another contraction hit her, and she pushed. "How does it feel?" Liv asked, and Mazy immediately said, "Slimey!" The two of them laughed at the involuntary pun. "No it feels solid, but not hard and heavy like a baby, almost like... rubbery??" Mazy continued, trying to explain as best she could. Crystal then came back into the room, clutching the newborn baby girl, which she was breastfeeding. "How are you doing, Mazy?" Crystal asked. Mazy gasped as another contraction brought the baby closer to delivery. "Wonderful," Mazy replied, panting in pleasure. "It's coming!" Mazy screamed in pleasure as something started emerging from her vagina. The other two girls saw that, it was not just liquid, there was a shape, but not really a head exactly. It was more like a pink blob, a gelatinous form that was somewhere between solid and liquid. Mazy moaned out loudly, as if she was in the middle of an orgasm. "OH GOD YES YES YES!!" she screamed as the mass seemed to pulsate out of her opening slowly. The other two girls watched with wide eyes. They wanted to help, but there did not seem to be anything for them to do, as Mazy was clearly doing just fine. With another "push", more of the slime emerged, and then the amount of slime that was currently already out shifted to form a head, which hung out of Mazy, connected to the rest of the form still inside. The head was gelatinous and the girls could see through it, but it was a bright pink instead of the expected green, as the "father" had been. "This is so amazing," Mazy said, reaching down to feel the head with one hand. As the other two girls exclaimed in amazement, Mazy felt her body push again, and panted in ecstasy as more of the slime emerged from her. A minute later, the slime, now fully emerged between her legs, shifted into a pink gelatinous baby. Liv moved forward and picked up the slime baby, handing it to Mazy, who held it lovingly. The slime newborn did not cry, but looked up at its mother with bright pink eyes. "You are so adorable," Mazy said to it.

Mazy was only slightly tired after her labor, and so a few minutes later, all three girls were found in the living room. Crystal sat on the couch, rocking the baby girl she had been carrying to sleep, while Mazy sat beside her, nursing her slime baby, which answered Crystal's earlier question of if it would drink human milk. Liv sat in a nearby chair, hugging her egg to her chest, watching the other girls take care of their daughters. The rain outside had finally stopped, and now the sun shone brightly through the windows of the cabin, as birds sang outside. For a long while, none of the girls said anything, enjoying the contentment of new life they had brought to the world. "I'm sure your egg will hatch very soon," Crystal said eventually, as Liv clutched it tightly, feeling movement through the shell. All three girls were still effectively undressed; they saw no need to redress as they were all three alone with each other in the cabin, recovering from their labors. Liv nodded and nuzzled the egg, as the other newborns fell asleep in their mothers' arms. "So, what happens now?" Mazy asked, smiling as she looked at her friends. "Well, I see no reason why we can't continue to stay here, living together," Crystal responded. "I have to take this little girl to her parents, but after that..." "You'll go get knocked up again," Mazy said, grinning at her. "So, you can help me take care of this little one," Mazy motioned down at her now sleeping slime baby with her head, "While I help you through another surrogacy." Crystal blushed a bit, a small smile on her face, but said nothing else. "That's not a no," Mazy said, and turned to look at Liv. "So, what about you??" "I guess Melastra will come looking for you now that egg's out." Crystal looked at Liv as well, watching her as she thought to herself. "Yeah, probably, but..." Liv began, then looked down at the egg she held in her arms. "I don't think I want to be separated from this." Tears fell from Liv's face as she looked into her friends' eyes. "I don't want to leave you though." Crystal and Mazy came over to her, still holding their babies gently, and they all embraced each other in a loving hug.

Two days later, after which time Crystal had delivered the baby girl to her actual parents, Liv's egg hatched, revealing a baby that resembled the mermaid-like creature that Melastra was. However, it had Liv's dark hair and its eyes were a darker blue. Melastra had come for it a day later, and with teary goodbyes, Liv chose to go with her, wishing to stay with the baby the two of them made together. Five whole months passed, during which time, Crystal and Mazy lived together in the cabin, raising Mazy's slime child together, and wondering what the future held.

One day, as Mazy worked in the kitchen, the adorable pink slime girl crawling around her, Crystal sat in the living room, at a desk covered with papers and pictures. She was looking over all this information, determining who next to surrogate for, when a loud knock on the door broke her from her thoughts. Mazy came hurrying into the room and opened the door, after which both girls screamed in surprise. Melastra stood on their doorstep, smiling at them while holding a young toddler-like version of herself, and standing beside her was Liv, grinning from ear to ear at the sight of her friends, who immediately noticed that she was once again wearing her custom made maternity gown, and had a huge pregnant bump! 

End!

[madwomansapologist]

Autumn Thunderstorm | Chapter 11 - Starlight

Pinterest Board | Series Masterlist | Spotify Playlist

series synopsis: Thranduil thought the recent attack of spiders on a periphery village was the only thing deserving of his attencion. If he could've imagined what he would found there, who he would found there, the Elvenking would wait a millenia in front of that river so he could see her sooner. Or: how Gandalf managed to keep a secret for 14 months.

eleventh chapter synopsis: Surrounded by pain and grief, Thranduil found himself willing to be something more simple than a king: he was just a man in love. [2K]

warnings: female!reader. pre-Smaug. angst. hurt no comfort. trauma. baby boy is having a difficult time.

notes: so, here i am. i wrote this chapter and it was so, so, so sad i had to actually rewrite it. like it was sad to the point y'all would ask me if i have something against love.

glossary: Idril: Treasure, sweetheart┆

Most days he can ignore the discomfort. There was once a time Thranduil would fear being unable to stop himself from tearing his face appart. A time long gone by now.

“The Elf-path was affected in multiple points”, his advisor continued the report. “Fallen trees and dead spiders block the way. Give the order and we are ready to clear the path.”

Today is not most days. The cold breeze feels like needles piercing his face, like smoke penetrating his nostrils. The collar of his robe rubbed against the sensitive skin of his neck. The perfected illusion spell hid so much of him. It recreated the bone structure of his jaw, the fat of his cheeks, his left eye. It even covered the smell of rotten flesh.

“There is no need to clean the path”, Thranduil waived his hand, dismissing the emergency council. How luck. During a tornado, one that was able to bring the oldest of trees down, the only blood spilled in the Elvenking’s domain was his own. “We are not expecting any visitors.”

We are not welcoming any visitors, he left unsaid. Soon winter will reach Woodland. The sindars, knowing the forest’s secrets, are free to cross it whenever they wish. Others will have to wait until spring.

Or die trying to reach his Halls.

“What an interesting statement”, Tuor smirked. With the other members of the council far away, nothing stopped Tuor from leaving his place as a captain and acting solely as a friend. Thranduil sighed. “A winter without visitors. No carriage or wagen crossing our land. No one enters.”

“And those who try shall face winter’s cruelty”, Thranduil descended from his wooden throne. He paused near Tuor, then continued his way down the hall. “Nature has always protected us from the rotten, my friend. Do not forget it.”

“I agree, my king. No wanderer daring to deal with wild’s harshness can be trusted near our people.” Tuor glared at Thranduil’s back before following him. Just one more thing to burn Thranduil. “It surprises me. That only now I realized something else.”

“And what is it?”

“That if no one enters, no one leaves.”

Thranduil stopped walking. He turned around, his robe sliding against the stairs. “What are you implying?”, he asked, staring at Tuor from bellow. As if he did not already knew. It was the only thing he could do.

“A new jewerly came from Erebor. One that is not on display”, Tuor walked down the stairs keeping him away from his friend. It felt wrong to look down at a king. Unnatural. “And she did not slept on her chambers.”

A blush made to Thranduil’s long ears, who so easily forgot his place as a king. “Are there any rumors-“

“No”, Tuor interrupted him. “I went looking for her this morning, to inform our trainings will cease for a while. Her reputation continues immaculate, but only because a tornado stole everyone else’s attention. You should had know better, Thranduil.”

Oh, he knew. Thranduil knew it was not right. It was not a behavior a king should manifest, not a sort of request an elve can speak out loud without feeling ashamed. Thranduil knew a lover deserves respect. That the bare minimum one could do is care for the other’s comfort and safety.

And still, he did not stopped himself.

“Stay”, Thranduil whispered. “Please, do not leave me alone.”

Your gaze burned him. For so long you stared into his eyes, and for the whole time Thranduil felt that you could see something beyond him. Where you searching for his intentions, for any hidden meaning, for a way of stopping whatever this is from continuing? Thranduil confessed, stripping the very fabric of his soul naked for you. His heart, bare for you to do as you wish.

That is why it took me so long, Thranduil admitted for himself. How vulnerable it is to not hide the truth.

Your fingers continued steady against the doorknob. He feared you changed your mind again. Thranduil averted his gaze, head turned towards his balcony. The destruction was long gone, but the wind was cold and strong still. What a privileged vision of a chaotic night.

It is late. Past midnight. It has been hours since you decided to not walk away. Enough time for you to decide it was a bad choice. Enough time for you to regret ever laying your eyes on his dead skin and putrid scars. Enough time for you to realize Thranduil is as disgunting as he thinks, and your sweet home is better than this ancient one.

The bed creaked, and his eyes immediately found a way towards yours. Slowly, as if every move had to be delibered, you lay down besides him. Your eyes glistened, the moon reflecting on them, returning his gaze. You smiled, and something inside him froze.

“I feel the same”, you confessed, voice soft in the night. “About everything.”

Thranduil gasped. His throat ached, a sudden need to cry almost taking over him. “Oh, what a relief”, he whispered again. There was no need to, you both were alone. “Thank you, idril.”

One of your hands found a home deep into his long hair. A caring stroke. As the minutes passed, you intertwined your fingers with his. Such a cold hand. Thranduil brushed his open lips against your knuckles, breathing warm air against your skin.

The sweet carress came to an end, so Thranduil looked up. He saw your eyes closed, lips appart from one another. The night was darker. The moonlight felt so cold now. You looked calm.

Gazing upon you, the Elveking rested.

Was he being scolded? A king being lectured by a captain. That would be enough to guarantee Tuor some time in the dungeons. Or it would have been, if he was not right. In the absence of a response, a chuckle came out of Tuor’s throat. “Does that means you finally confessed?”

“Enough,” Thranduil growled.

Tuor heard his king’s words. For the sake of his amusement, he simply ignored them.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

There is no medicine for his pain. After the fire went out, what remained there to be healed already was dealt with. His face itches, the ligaments of his muscles twitch, the burning on his face is constant. Meanwhile the pain is there, his body is not.

Where does a leg begins? One might say right before the thigh. Other would chose the pelvis, or at the basin. Both would be wrong. It starts and ends in the brain. Lose a leg and all the nerves shaill remain there searching for something that ceased to exist. A mind griefs, a brain does not.

His cheek is gone. His neck is gone. His left eye is gone. And it hurts. It feels cold and hot, it tingles and shocks. He can feel muscles that do not move, the need to scratch a skin that is not there. It is a real, anatomical pain.

Thranduil cannot stop it, no medicine can end a fire that is not there, but a few things can help.

Near his chambers, mere minutes away from his bed, a private garden embraces him when pain and worry is too much. Surrounded by this controlled nature, Thranduil breathes the smell of roses and wysteria. The perfume calms his nerves down.

Looking at the box between his hands, the stiffness came back to his shoulders. Inside it was a request, one the dwarves of Erebor carefully crafted. A necklace made of pure starlight. Each of the almost endless white gems came from the Elvenking’s personal collection. Except by one.

That pendant he found back in Rivendell. A tear shaped crystal, with snow locked inside it. Such a beautiful jewel. Such a cruel reminder of the time you both stayed appart, shattered.

Thranduil wondered about the moment he would be able to look at you, aware that you understood his feelings. He dreamed about you looking into his eyes, feeling the same. But Thranduil never imagined it would happen as it did. Yesterday was… not how it was supposed.

You found him crying, bleeding, deep into a filthy dream disguised as memory. You heard his screams, felt his warm blood against your skin, saw his true face. You held him, kissed him, and for a second almost ran away from him.

Thranduil can do more. He can be more.

The doors creaked open, and Thranduil forgot about how worried he was.

A sweet perfume welcomed you into this garden you have never seen before. Usually you would have admired it, but all you did was to look straight into his sore eyes. They fell towards the arms that held you close last night. To the war knuckles resting on top of an armchair.

“Your quartermaster said-”, as you noticed what filled this room, your voice betrayed you. “-you called me.”

In front of Thranduil, there was a table covered by green linin. You saw pearly folded napkins and golden cutlery. In such a intimate place, a proper supper was served. Meat and pies on display, bows with fruits and deserts. So much wine.

Thranduil breathed deep. “Would you join me for this evening?”

It was not different from any other meal you both shared. From the very first meeting, it was always the same. Thranduil would hear, you would talk, and the rest of the world would be successfully ignored. And like always, it was good. It was right. To be just the two of you.

But it was so different too. Impossible not to feel your face heating up, hands soaking in sweat. You saw the tip of his ears bright red. That made you bite back a chuckle.

How could Thranduil look into your wonderful eyes without becoming tongue tied? Or how could you look at the hands of a king serving you more wine and not remember how right they felt against your cheeks?

Listening about the destruction of the tornado, you noticed that he tastes like fine wine. Hearing you speak about your trainings, Thranduil kept on trying to discover what was the scent of your perfume.

As you tried to finish the apple pie on your plate, Thranduil moved on his seat.

“I made…”, Thranduil hesitated. Never before he felt difficulty speaking out loud. Decided to not make a fool of himself, he placed the box besides your plate. “You are so dear to me. I hope the beauty of this gift can make you as happy as you make me, idril.”

Speechless, you alternated your gaze between Thranduil and the masterpiece in front of you. Truth be told, any gift would have make you rejoice after what he said. And still, the beauty of it made you stutter. “Is this really for me?”

“I can… Help you. With it”, Thranduil managed to said. He felt the need to punch his own face, but decided that would make his situation even worse. “If you want me to.”

Looking at him, you used all your courage to answer. “Only if we agree to stop being so awkward. I want to be here. With you. And I know you feel the same. I do not want to ruin this by thinking too much when there is nothing to think.”

“You always says the thing I last expect you to”, Thranduil whispered. Biting the insides of his cheek, he nodded. “I agree. I want to be with you. Nothing else matters.”

You had to stop yourself from jumping on him. Instead, you placed the necklace at the base of your throat and turned around. It was so heavy. If it fell on your lap, it would have bruised. His fingers were so careful. So right against your skin.

Thranduil should have wanted to see how it looked on you, but he could not move his hands away from your shoulders. You should have wanted to show him, but you did not wanted to move away from his touch.

You both knew it was perfect.

AUTUMN THUNDERSTORM: @ferns-fics @notanalienindisguiseblink @rayrlupin @elvyshiarieko @graniairish @whore-of-many-hot-men @h0ly-fire @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @homewhereitsat @instantnoooodles @hungrh4yyy

if you enjoyed, please reblog! i promise it makes a difference ♡

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr.

[beatrice-otter]

World’s oldest wooden structure unearthed in Zambia

Humans have, apparently, been building structures since before we have been 'human'. They've found wooden purpose-built structures in Zambia, which they have finally managed to date, and they are about 476,000 years old. Homo Sapiens is only 100,000 years old.

By "structure" they mean "two logs found in an interlocking position, joined by an intentionally cut notch. So the "structure" could have been a lot of things, but one thing it is evidence of is the hominids of the time doing woodworking to create it.

Here's an article with quotes from the archaeologists, and here's the article in Nature.

[itzsana-kiddingmenow]

𝙟𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖 — 𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚:

𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨: 1.7k

𝙖/𝙣: HIHIHI im posting during hiatus wow

𝙩/𝙬: flustering RAHHH

𝒍𝒆𝒆: jisung, chan, seungmin

𝙡𝙚𝙧: skz

𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕: @someone-who-loves-kpop-saranghae @jeonginsdiary @leeknowstan33 @v--143 @wereallgonnadieonedaybutnottoday @inkytornpagess @lajanaa @a-wild-seungberry @channieissocute125 @soap143 @seungsluvv @skznccmlee @moony-9

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞? 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐛s🖤

“I got a brand new Jenga set!” Jisung yelled happily, showcasing his new set to all the others. 

“Ooh, let’s have some fun!” Chan exclaimed, gathering all the members and sitting in a circle. 

“Wait wait wait! As your resident ler, I say we make this a game.” Lee Know interjected. Everyone leaned in to listen. 

“We write a sensitive spot on the Jenga block and a random amount of time. Then whoever pulls the block has to suffer through that.” Minho explained, and everyone nodded hesitantly. “We’ll do three rounds.”

“Wait. What happens if we knock the thing over?” Changbin paused. 

Seungmin interjected. “Everyone. At once. Worst spot. Five minutes.”

Everyone gasped at that, some complaining that there was no way they were gonna survive through that.

“Deal.” Minho interrupted. 

The members grumbled nervously as they grabbed their markers.

“Two blocks for each person. We’ll leave the rest blank to give everyone a fighting chance.” The dancer reassured, and once everyone understood, he evenly distributed the small wooden tiles. 

Even though Jisung was slightly upset with the fact that they had to write on his new Jenga set, he had to admit, he was quite excited about the new version of this game. 

‘Especially if it gets me wrecked.’ He thought with a grin. 

Minho gathered them all once everyone had written down the information, and he set up the blocks while trying as hard as he could not to look at whatever was written on them, or where they were placed. 

“Okay. Let’s start.” Lino could feel his heart pounding in his chest. 

As they had previously agreed to go from youngest to oldest for once, Jeongin reached for a tile in the center, pulling it out with a nervous grin and a wince. 

Nothing. Innie breathed out a sigh of relief, relaxing as everyone groaned in disappointment. 

Seungmin grabbed the tile right next to Innie’s, leaving the whole structure balancing on one tile. 

Felix gasped as Seungmin grinned evilly at him. The puppy looked down at the tile, and everyone held their breath in anticipation. 

“No!” Minnie gasped, and when Chan took a look at his tile, he burst into loud cackles. 

“I was hoping you’d get that one! I wrote it!” Channie clapped, and Seungmin showed the others indignantly. 

‘Belly button for two minutes.’ 

The entire group roared with laughter, Hyunjin clapping ecsatically as Seungmin whined in agony. 

“Well, well. Get down.” Chan ordered, and Seungmjn reluctantly laid on his back and stared up at the older in embarrassment. 

“You don’t have to do this!” Seungmin whined, and Chan smirked at him. 

“Trust me. I want to.” The leader pinned the puppy’s arms above his head and leaned towards his stomach. 

“Hyung…please d-OOOONT! WAHAHAHAIT STAHAHAHAHAP!” Seungmin screamed as Chan’s lips met his belly button, blowing as if he’d done it a million times before. He probably had, though. 

The older only continued to take deep breaths and blow into the boy’s belly button. Seungmin looked his he was going insane, arching his back and cackling wildly, throwing his head in every direction. 

Most of the members cooed lovingly at the poor puppy, though Minho grinned silently. 

“HOW MUCH LONGER—AHAHAHAHAHA!” Minnie begged and pleaded, even though he knew the eldest wouldn’t stop. 

Even then, he didn’t exactly hate it, either. 

“Thirty seconds!” Felix called out, staring at the timer. 

“I CAHAHANT I REAHALLY CAHAHAHAHAHANT—!” Seungmin babbled, more loud screams ripping from his throat as Chan nibbled gently at the area. 

“He’s wayyy too sensitive.” Changbin giggled, though Seungmin couldn’t even retort, only resorting to loud laughter. 

“Okay okay! You’re done. Hyung, let up!” Felix had to practically pry the eldest off of the giggly vocalist, who lay there for a few seconds to catch his breath. 

“Two minutes was way too long!” He yelled out, and Chan began to defend himself. 

“Let’s just continue!” Jeongin rubbed his hands together, the tower on the verge of falling over. 

Felix pulled one out easily, looking at the blank tile before grinning and showing everyone.

Jisung prayed and prayed. ‘please have something written please have something written please—‘

He pulled a tile out, eyes widening when the tower rocked dangerously. Hannie had a sudden urge to knock it over anyway.  

He glanced at the tile and his heart soared as he noticed words on it. 

Jisung recognized the handwriting immediately and he suppressed a grin. 

Everyone waited in suspense as he read the writing. 

“Really, Minho hyung!?” Jisung showed him the tile with a smile he couldn’t hide even if he wanted to.

‘Waist for 12345 minutes’

Everyone burst out into loud laughter and applause, Minho flushing a bright pink. 

“You want my waist for that long?” Jisung asked, grinning teasingly even though he was incredibly flustered on the inside. 

Meanwhile, Minho was happily nodding at the thought of getting his hands on the younger’s oh so sensitive torso. 

“How about we keep it to five minutes?” Chan chuckled nervously. “I’d like to keep my kids alive, please.”

Once they had come to an agreement, Jisung had adjusted himself, managing to convince Changbin to hold his arms up so he didn’t accidentally punch Minho across the face through the intense sensations he was gonna feel later. 

Lino cracked his knuckles, slipping them up Hannie’s shirt and tapping his waist lightly as Felix set the timer. 

“W-Wait! You can’t do it bare!” Han protested, and Lee Know raised one eyebrow. 

“And why can’t I? I get to choose how I do ‘it’, thank you very much.” He spoke matter of factly. 

Jisujg squeezed his eyes shut, his cheeks flushing a bright pink in embarrassment and a small smile making its way onto his face involuntarily. 

Minho grinned before receiving the thumbs up from Felix, prompting him to suddenly switch directions completely. 

One hand pressing into the quokka’s ribs to hold him down, Lino used his other hand to absolutely destroy the younger’s sensitive skin with the other. 

He scribbled and pinched and squeezed at Hannie’s waist, pulling the loudest of laughter from the trapped ace underneath him. 

“AGHH IHIHIT TIHIHICKLES SO MUHUHUHUCH—!” Jisung squealed, boisterous cackles forcing their way one after another out of his throat. 

“It’s supposed to…” Lino deadpanned, making sure to keep a neutral expression on his face as he continued to torture Jisung’s waist. He knew how to push the quokka’s buttons. 

“HYUHUHUHUHUNG HYUNG SLOHOHOHOW DOHOHOHOWN!” Hannie shrieked, arching his back when the older found a sensitive spot on his side. 

“No, I only get five minutes of this!”

“THAHAT’S MOHORE THAHAN ENOUGH!” Jisung screamed, twisting away from the dancer’s fingers as they torturously scribbled and scratched the hypersensitive skin on his waist. 

“Not for me!” Minho retorted, not letting up for even a second, keeping the quokka in constant hysterics. 

“Two minutes left!” Felix called after a few minutes, and everyone smiled widely at Jisung, whose tears had begun to well up in his eyes. 

“NAHAHAHAHA! DOHON-NOOOHOHOHOHO!” Jisung could barely form coherent words. 

“OKAHAHAY OKAY OKAY! IHI CAHAHAHAN’T AHAHANYMOHOHOHOREEE!” Jisung begged, squeezing his eyes shut and smiling nice and wide. 

“Thirty seconds, please, you can do it!” Lino didn’t want to finish off yet. 

“FAHAHAHAHINE!” Hannie spat out, helplessly babbling and emmitting ear piercing, out of breath screams. 

Then the timer cut off all their fun. 

Minho immediately climbed off of Jisung , and Changbin let go of the giggly boy’s arms. 

“ahahah…” Jisung panted, and Minho comfortingly rubbed at his waist to calm him down. 

“You did so well, yeah? Hyung’s proud, kay?” Lino mumbled into the younger’s ear, and Jisung whined a little before smiling softly.

“It’s Hyunjin’s turn!” Jeongin called out. 

Hyunjin gulped nervously and pulled a tile out. Breathing a dramatic sigh of relief when it was empty, he almost knocked the tower over himself. 

Changbin grabbed one himself, then Minho. 

Nothing. 

Chan pulled a tile out and let out a loud scream of surprise, startling everyone in the room. 

‘Thighs for three minutes’

“I can’t! I really can’t…who wrote this?” Chan freaked out, and he freaked out more when Changbin raised his hand. 

Not even twenty seconds later, the rapper had Minho and Jeongin each holding one leg apart, and Changbin’s fingers were poised above the area. 

What made it even worse was the fact that Chan had decided to wear a pair of shorts, exposing the soft, sensitive skin. 

“Oh god…” Chan whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut and throwing his head back, biting his lip in anticipation. 

Changbin smiled wickedly at the leader. Felix signalled him to start. 

What happened next can only be described as chaos. 

Changbin’s fingers attached to the inner part of Chan’s thighs, scribbling torturously up and down the skin. 

Chan let out a loud “AGH—!”, sealing his lips as much as possible before desperately throwing his head back again. 

Changbin switched tactics and began squeezing the doughy skin, and Chan immediately screamed and broke out into loud, boisterous laughter. 

“NO—NOHOHOHOHOHO!” The leader tried desperately to pull his legs together, but the two boys holding them apart kept their grip steady. 

“I CAHAHAHAHANT—CHAHAHAHANGBIHIN!” Channie shrieked, biting his lip and twisting his upper body wildly. 

“But hyung, you sound so cute!” Changbin started. “Look, there’s your dimple!” He pointed it out. 

Chan only screamed more when the rapper’s fingers began pinching up and down the area. 

“WHO’D YOU THIHIHK WOHOULD LAST THREEHEHE MINUTES OF THIS?!” Chan wheezed as he tried to speak without laughing. 

“Eh. I was intending for this to go to Minho hyung, but either way, you’re just as sensitive here as he is.” Changbin said nonchalantly, not expecting to tease, but Chan’s face turned red anyway. 

“YOUHOHOHOURE MEA—HAHAHAHAHA!” 

“Oh? I can be very mean when I want to be.” Changbin responded, though slowing down when tears started to run down the older’s cheeks.

“Timer!” Felix yelled, and everyone let go of Chan, who immediately squeezed his legs together and wiped his tears. 

“You okay?” Changbin asked, quick to check up on their leader.  

“Yeah…yeahah…” 

Binnie climbed on top of the older and slumped against his body. 

“We finished a round!” Hyunjin realized. 

That means, it’s Jeongin’s turn next. 

[dresshistorynerd]

Favorite Historical Architectural Styles

Since I've done my favorite historical fashions, I thought it would be fun to do historical architectural styles too. I want to write more about architecture too, but I've started thinking should I do a separate blog for architecture and architectural history or should I just do it all here? I think it would be better in a way that I wouldn't have to worry if anything I want to write is too far from the actual topic of the blog, but then again, there is a lot of overlap, especially when it comes to Arts and Crafts movement (which I'm currently writing my thesis about and which I definitely will talk a lot about), and also I would have to manage yet another blog.

Anyway, I'll again do this from oldest to newest. I will limit myself to western styles (except when we get to Modernism all styles are very international), even though there's a lot of non-western styles I enjoy, but it's what I know most about.

Perpendicular Gothic

I love Gothic architecture in general and the several first entries will be my favorite sub-styles of it. I love the the way Gothic Cathedrals try and so often succeed to feel like forests. I love how the structural elements are used to create the aesthetic. I love the organic visual elements. I love that it's such a unique style in Western architecture. And I love the amazing craftsmanship that went into it.

I'm particularly a fan of English Gothic because of it's insanely beautiful and complex ribbed vaults. From English Gothic my favorite though is the Perpendicular style, which was basically the English late Gothic. It's characteristics can be seen in the second pic. It has the stretched arch and the very flowing and organic traceries. I do include here the rest of English Gothic too, since even though the Perpendicular style is my favorite of them, all if it is still one of my Gothic favorites.

German Late Gothic

As it's becoming clear I love Late Gothic architecture in general the most, and in the geographical axis I also love German Gothic. Early and High Gothic were mainly divided into French and English styles and the French style dominated in the continent, just being altered a little to the local building traditions outside of France, but during late Gothic it diverged much more strongly into different styles.

German Gothic also has beautiful complex faulting (though less insane than English) and it also has that same pursuit of massive height French Gothic has. Those combined with that Late Gothic's more streamlined flowing and organic aesthetic, some of the German Late Gothic cathedrals really sell that feeling of standing in a forest.

Finnish "Gothic"

I have a soft spot for the Finnish Medieval stone churches, which are not nearly as sophisticated or detailed as the other European counterparts, but still made with beautiful craftsmanship and they have some cool own features. It's very far from the European Gothic traditions, as you can see, but that's still the influence, hence Gothic in scare quotes. I love the simple outward appearance with the exposed thick stone walls, the details of the gable that worked as the calling card for the building master and the very steep roof. Like everywhere at the time, the roof in these has wooden structure, which is frankly super cool. It was not a simple engineering problem to make a roof that steep and massive at the time, but the structure works so well there's 600 year old roofs with the original logs still working perfectly well. I also really love the original medieval murals in them, which were painted over during the Reformation (you can't have color in a Lutheran church damn it), but thankfully some of them have been restored from under the paint.

Finnish "Renaissance" Log Churches

Renaissance also didn't land in Finland similarly as it did rest of the Europe. When Renaissance was going on in Europe, they still were building those "Gothic" churches here. These log churches were based on Scandinavian version of the Renaissance church, but they didn't really look like Renaissance churches, and were kinda it's own thing continuing a lot of the aesthetics from those Gothic churches. This is a highly specific style, but I just think they are so cool and pretty? Like they really made a CUPOLA out of log.

Arts and Crafts Movement

Arts and Crafts Movement didn't have exactly a style, rather a design philosophy that was more important than specific style. There's of course a lot of stylistic similarities in the works of the different members of the Movement, because they had overlapping sources of inspiration and were influenced by each other, so we can think of it as a style. I could, have and will talk about them for hours, but briefly now: It was a moment in latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century and their goals were reviving craftsmanship skills and professions, socialism, opposing industrialism and abolishing the hierarchy between fine arts and applied arts. They were very much influenced by Medievalism and Gothic art and architecture, though unlike Gothic Revivalist, they took more from the guiding principles than the aesthetics. They basically started Modernism and lay ground to all the Modernist architecture's main principles, like form follows function.

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau was directly influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement and was the first mainstream Modernist style. I especially love the more toned down Finnish Art Nouveau, or Jugend as it's called here, but I do love the style more broadly too. I'm not that into those almost Baroque style versions of it though, with barely any straight lines. I love the round doors, the stylized floral patterns and the use of light.

Organic architecture

This has to be my favorite modernist/post-modernist (?) style. It's direct successor of Arts and Crafts movement and it's also more of a design principle than a unified style. There is some stylistic similarities, but it is stylistically very diverse philosophy. It was most prominent during the 20th century, but it always stayed in the sidelines, though there are still architects who might be considered practicing organic architecture. Organic architecture is all about living in harmony with nature, taking inspiration from it, designing the building to fit the building spot and the surroundings, extra care taken in to preserve the nature already there, and using local natural materials when possible. My favorite architects are Raili and Reima Pietilä, who were most prominent organic architects in Finland. (I almost moved into apartment designed by them, but it was in pretty bad condition, so it wouldn't have unfortunately been worth the price.)

Brutalism

I know it's not for everyone and it's not easy to make it work but when it works, it really does. It was born in 1950s during the reconstruction era. Brutalism is not just concrete though. The point is to show the raw materials and the structural elements. Technically a lot of Gothic and Arts and Crafts architecture is then brutalist. Timber frame architecture? Also brutalist. I'm only half joking, of course the style itself is also very bare and, well, brutal, but I love it for the same reasons. I really love bare textures of materials and exposing the materials of the structural elements. And I do actually really like the texture of concrete. Though I will say concrete is destroying our world and we should use it as little as possible. But we should also protect old buildings and keep using them rather than built new ones, so I feel fine admiring the old brutalist buildings. The best brutalist buildings combine materials very intentionally and make works of art with the light.

Bonus - Favorite contemporary architecture: Traditional methods

As we're living in the post-modern times, there's not really unified and specifiable styles or architectural ideologies anymore. They all kinda flow into each other and architects don't organize themselves into clear groups based on style and design philosophy. So it's hard to put into words the style I like in contemporary architecture. There's been growing interest in studying traditional structures and methods, learn from their sustainability and incorporate them into contemporary architecture. They are techniques that have been developed through trial and error on the span of centuries, so we really don't have to reinvent the wheel here. Traditional methods of a given area have also been developed for that area and it's climate, from the materials available there, so they also push us to use local materials. Typically these traditional structures are very simple, often made from solid material, which makes them easier to built without construction error (a huge problem in modern structures), and easier to fix and maintain, when inevitably there is issues. Also they are beautiful, definitely more so that steel and glass. I love solid brick structures, log structures, timber frames, natural stone, rammed earth and all of them, especially when these beautiful materials are left bare.

[whencyclopedia]

Horyuji

The Horyuji Temple near Nara in Japan was founded in 607 CE by Prince Shotoku and is the only surviving Buddhist monastery from the Asuka Period in its original state. The complex, consisting of 48 listed buildings including a 5-storey pagoda, has the oldest wooden buildings in Japan. Within the temples are many ancient Buddhist sculptures including some of the oldest bronze and wood figures produced by Japanese sculptors. In 1993 CE the temple complex became the country's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Foundation & Design

The Horyuji Temple was founded during the reign of Prince Shotoku (594-622 CE), regent to his aunt, Empress Suiko. Shotoku helped spread Buddhism in Japan, which had arrived via Korea in the mid-6th century CE. He oversaw the construction of many Buddhist temples, among them Shitennoji (593 CE) and Hokoji (596 CE), but Horyuji is the only one to have survived in its original state. The site was not without its problems for several buildings burnt down c. 670 CE but were then rebuilt so that by 710 CE it had regained its former glory. The historian E. F. Fenollosa suggests that the outer gate, pagoda, and Great Hall escaped the fire. The site is divided into two connecting precincts, the Sai-in (Western) and slightly later To-in (Eastern), both of which have their paving covered in white sand and are enclosed within walls to separate them from the non-sacred outer world.

Horyuji's wooden buildings, rare examples of early East Asian architecture, are the oldest such structures in Japan. Features typical of Asuka Period (538-710 CE) architecture include double terrace platforms on which the buildings stand, columns which curve slightly and taper as they rise so as to appear perfectly straight at a distance (entasis), columns topped by wooden block plates to bear the weight of the heavy tiled roofs, and wooden brackets decorated with cloud designs, again to aid in load-bearing. The site benefitted from major restoration works in 1374 CE, 1603 CE, and in the mid-20th century CE.

Continue reading...

[paganimagevault]

Scythian mummy tomb (Fifth Pazyryk Kurgan), Pazyryk culture 3rd C. BCE. More pictures on my blog, link at bottom.

"The pair were buried alongside nine horses, a huge cache of cannabis and a stash of priceless treasures - including the world's oldest carpet and an ornate carriage.

The man had curly hair and was aged between 55 and 60 when he died, whilst the woman was about ten years younger.

It is believed he was a chieftain or king of the Pazyryk civilisation, which lived in Kazakhstan, Siberia and Mongolia from the 6th to 3rd centuries BC."

...

"The attractive log cabin was a prefabricated construction by the prehistoric Pazyryk culture to house an elite tomb - in which was buried a mummified curly-haired potentate and his younger wife or concubine.

The mound in the Altai Mountains was originally 42 metres in diameter, and this tattooed couple went to the next life alongside nine geldings, saddled and harnessed.

The house itself, recently reconstructed, was not built as a dwelling but nevertheless is seen by archeologists as showing the style of domestic architecture more than two millennia ago.

This structure was the outer of two wooden houses in the large burial mound in the valley of the River Bolshoy Ulagan at an altitude of around 1,600 metres above sea level.

The core of the mound including the ice-preserved bodies of the elite couple had been excavated by Soviet archeologists in 1949, and many of the finds are on on display in the world famous State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.

As we have previously written, the pair - who owned perhaps the world’s oldest carpets - are currently undergoing an ultra modern medical scan to establish the cause of death, and reconstruct the appearance of the ancient pair, and to study the techniques of mummification in more detail.

Yet in 1949 this fascinating house was left in the permafrost ground - and only retrieved now from the so-called Fifth Pazyryk Barrow, to the excitement of archeologists.

Head of the excavation Dr Nikita Konstantinov from Gorno-Altaisk State University, was full of admiration about the skills of the ancient craftsmen.

‘We took out the log house and reassembled it right next to the mound,’ he said.

‘We made kind of express reconstruction, which made it possible to study the log house in detail.

‘Notches were made on each of its logs - building marks…’.

This was like IKEA instructions today for building their products, telling modern day excavation volunteers how to correctly construct the prehistoric building kit.

The result is seen in the pictures shown here.

‘This log house was first built somewhere away from the mound, then it was dismantled, brought and reassembled in the pit,’ said Dr Konstantinov.

‘Today we build in similar way, using Roman numerals, as a rule.

‘In those times they simply made different numbers of notches.’

The archeological team followed the code left by the ancient craftsmen and reassembled the house without problems.

‘The Pazyryks knitted the corners of the building in a masterly way and chopped the attachment points of these logs.

‘They fitted very cleanly….

‘When we built the log house and began to measure the height, it turned out that the height difference in the angles is only one centimetre.’

In modern constructions, a difference of 7 cm is allowed which showed how skilful were the ancient craftsmen.

He said: ‘This is a funerary structure, but we can say with a high degree of probability that the log cabin was created in the image and likeness of the houses in which the Pazyryks lived."

-taken from siberiantimes and thesun

[blueiscoool]

A 2,800-Year-Old Ivory-Decorated Piece Discovered in Turkey

An ivory-decorated piece, estimated to be approximately 2,800 years old, was found during the archaeological excavation in the Hattusa Ancient City in Çorum, the heart of Turkey.

The Hittite capital’s ruins date back to the Bronze Age, around 2000 BC. In 1986, the site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Hattusha, which was also included in UNESCO’s “Memory of the World List” in 2001, as it contains cuneiform tablet archives representing the oldest known Indo-European language, has the title of the only ancient city in both lists of UNESCO.

Excavations that started 116 years ago in the ancient city of Hattusa are still ongoing. Excavations have been carried out on behalf of the German Archaeological Institute since 2006, under the direction of Professor Andreas Schachner.

In the 117th year of the excavations, a work revealing information about the artistic structure of the Iron Age was unearthed on the northwest slope of the Great Fortress area of the ancient city.

The ivory piece, which is approximately 30 centimeters long and 10 centimeters wide, features a sphinx (a statue with a human head and an animal body), a lion, and two Tree of Life figures drawn on a shiny background.

Scientific studies are ongoing regarding the piece on which the figures can be seen under suitable light conditions due to the layer on it.

Excavation Director Prof. Dr. Andreas Schachner told AA correspondent that the artifact was found in the Iron Age layer at the Hattusa Archaeological Site, which bears traces of many civilizations.

Schachner, stating that the well-preserved piece is approximately 2,800 years old, said, ‘In its period, it was most likely added as a decoration to a wooden box or furniture made of wood. The artifact is broken on the right and left sides, and the upper and lower sides are in their original state. Therefore, we guess that the piece is longer.”

Schachner, the significance of the piece, explained:

“This artifact is a unique work for Boğazköy. For the first time, we are confronted with a piece adorned with a scene so intricately and beautifully crafted. Extensive excavations have been conducted in Boğazköy for the Iron Age, but we have not come across such a detailed work.

In terms of both the stage and the iconography and style used, we can better reveal the relations of Boğazköy towards Southeastern Anatolia and its artistic relations towards the Southwest and Greece in its period, that is, in the first millennium BC. “

Schachner added that the work will be exhibited at Boğazköy Museum after completing the scientific studies.

By Leman Altuntaş.

[kittymaine]

The Ghost of Wayne Manor

Summary: Even death can't stop Alfred from watching over Bruce Wayne.

Note: This fic was previously called 'Monsters Need Family Too'. I sort of abandoned this fic a while ago, but it's been stuck in my head. So, I reworked a bunch of stuff and have decided to post it as a series instead of a chaptered fic. So, this is now just the first chapter as a one shot. I've edited it a little, but if you've read it before, you don't need to reread it. I hope to do a whole series of oneshots exploring various Bat-people as cryptids and monsters for spooky season, so stay tuned if you're interested in seeing more!

Gotham is one of the worst cities in the world. Everyone in the city knows it. Everyone in the state knows it. Everyone in the country knows it. Even the low level consciousness that thrums beneath the city streets knows it. It basks in its well earned reputation and preens every time Gotham lands at the top of lists like "Worst Places In The World to Live".

Not only is Gotham one of the most violent and crime ridden cities in the world, it is also home to more strange and supernatural occurrences than anywhere on the globe. If people weren't so afraid of being shot or stabbed, it would probably be the paranormal capital of the world and a hub for paranormal investigators.

There are a lot of places in Gotham that purport to be haunted. Most of them are even legitimate. After all, murders and grisly deaths are common place, which makes the creation of ghosts pretty commonplace. But, nowhere in Gotham is more feared or haunted than Wayne Manor.

Wayne Manor sits in the middle of historic downtown Gotham. It's a huge gothic structure made out of sandstone bricks and arched stained glass windows and huge heavy wooden doors with slate roofs topped with parapets. It looks like someone dropped Dracula's castle smack into Philadelphia's oldest street. Despite being in the middle of downtown and surrounded by the ancient courthouse with huge columns and wide sweeping steps and a historic market building just down the street made of ancient red brick, Wayne Manor manages to have a small measure of green yard on all four sides. The small pop of green in the maze of concrete that is Gotham grows riotous with green vines and gnarled oak trees all fenced in with high rock walls topped with wickedly sharp black iron fencing to make climbing over them nearly impossible.

Officially, the extremely wealthy and extremely reclusive Bruce Wayne is the only person who lives inside. The only son of Thomas and Martha Wayne and their only surviving kin, Bruce is rumored to be strange, eccentric and terrified of the world outside his parent's mansion. He very rarely ventures outside and is treated like a ghost story already by the young people who live in the city.

He’s part of what makes Wayne Manor so terrifying. The other part is the rumors of the ghosts that can sometimes be seen from the windows that face the street.

People say they see an old man in old fashioned clothing in the yard or on the front porch or looking out the front facing windows. They say that he has a thin mustache and a fading hairline and that he is usually dressed in a bow tie and tailcoat. People only ever see him for a second before he disappears. But, it’s impossible for him to really be there. The only person who lives in the Manor is Bruce Wayne and he’s nowhere near that old.

The other bigger rumor is of a strange creature sometimes seen haunting the parapets and slanted roof of the Manor. Its huge hulking form merges well with the shadows, but sometimes photographs catch its supernaturally glowing red eyes or the hunch of huge wings extending from its back. They call it the Mothman of Gotham City and it's often seen gliding over the dark cloudy skies to and from the Manor. No one knows what it is or what it wants, but the rumor is that if it ever comes for you that death or madness are soon to follow it.

Nobody knows why it’s so often seen on or near Wayne Manor, but it’s more than enough to keep the natives of the city far away from the old crumbling building.

That’s what the people outside the Manor know of it. But, that’s not the whole story of Wayne Manor or its master, Bruce Wayne.

Bruce Wayne was never a normal boy. There was no chance that he would ever be one even from the start.

After a wedding that was so huge and magnificent that people still talk about it to this day, Thomas and Martha Wayne left on a year long tour of the world. When they returned at the end of that year it was with a tiny squealing baby wrapped in their arms. Alfred had been surprised by the little addition, as neither of them had mentioned anything during their weekly phone calls. When Alfred had asked if the baby was hers, Martha had smiled and only said that he was now. Everyone in Gotham assumed that Martha must have gotten pregnant and gave birth while on their world tour and that Bruce was their child together. Neither Martha nor Thomas ever said anything to the contrary.

Alfred never asked either of the Wayne's where the baby had come from and they never volunteered any information. It wasn't his place to pry into his employers' private affairs. Alfred was always very aware of his place and how to mind it.

Bruce was a strange baby who only grew to be a stranger with each passing day. He barely ate and had little interest in any food that was placed before him. Sweets and chicken and crackers were barely picked at, dinners were often left largely untouched and yet the boy was always on track with his growth. Thomas especially fussed and worried over Bruce, but every time he was weighed and measured he was on track for his age.

He was a quiet baby that never cried and barely babbled and grew into a quiet boy who didn't run or play or get into trouble. He was always watching and listening, absorbing and remembering everything that anyone ever said in front of him. Alfred was shocked many times by the boy's sudden appearance in a dark corner or behind a cracked door. Alfred considered himself very aware of his surroundings, but little Bruce seemed to be able to appear anywhere that a shadow was cast. More than that, sometimes it seemed like the shadows enveloped the boy and blurred his edges in a way that Alfred could not always blame on his old and fading eyesight.

Despite how unnerving Bruce could be, it was hard for Alfred not to fall in love with him. Whenever his parents were away at a gala or dinner party, Bruce would trail after Alfred with big pale blue eyes and curious looks until Alfred explained to him what he was doing and why. Bruce would listen quietly and ask thoughtful questions and continue to trot along after him quietly, always watching, always listening.

School was a disaster. Bruce was incredibly intelligent and his parents were part of one of the founding families of Gotham, so getting Bruce registered with Gotham Academy was not a problem. But, as soon as he began attending, things went downhill quickly.

Both Bruce's classmates and teachers found him unnerving. It didn't matter how gentle or quiet he was, by the end of the month they were all terrified of him. The administration, frustrated with the teachers who couldn't explain exactly what it was about Bruce that was so upsetting, moved him to their only other kindergarten class. Before the next month was out, the new teachers and students were also terrified of Bruce.

Before Bruce could be expelled from the most prestigious school in Gotham, his parents took him out. Unfortunately, it was too late to contain the fallout.

The teachers might have signed contracts agreeing to never discuss their students with the press, but the students and their parents signed no such documents. They went to the local newspapers with their tales of how Bruce could sit completely still and not move and not speak for hours. The students talked about how they were hounded nightly by awful nightmares with little Bruce always haunting the edges of their dreams. The parents told of how their children would cry and beg not to go to school, how they stopped eating, stopped sleeping.

The press went wild with stories of the creepy child of Gotham's royal family. It was the beginning of Bruce Wayne’s urban legend, but it certainly wouldn't be the end. To protect Bruce, his parents squirreled him away in the manor, paying exorbitant prices for the best teachers from around the world to come to the Manor and teach him there.

And then, Thomas and Martha Wayne were gunned down after leaving a late night movie (a special treat for their reclusive child) just a few blocks away from their home. Bruce was eight years old.

They left the care of Bruce to Alfred in their will, likely because he was the only person other than themselves who obviously loved the boy. The other staff were all terrified of him. Thomas and Martha's family members had barely shown any interest in him at all. Though, they sure kicked up a fuss when they realized they weren't getting a dime from Thomas and Martha's estate. It was all Bruce's, or rather it belonged to Alfred until Bruce was old enough to take ownership of the home and the bank accounts. It was the social scandal of the year, all the Wayne wealth left in the hands of a butler of all things.

Alfred paid all the press and interviews with Bruce’s distant relatives with very little mind. He suspected they wouldn’t be kicking up such a fuss about being the boy’s real family if they saw how Bruce had been changed by his parents' death. He would have been no easy child to care for.

He was wild, broken in a way that Alfred didn't know how to deal with. He was still quiet and reclusive, but now that silence simmered with barely controlled anger. He stopped eating completely. Alfred even inventoried the pantry and refrigerator to see if Bruce was sneaking food when he wasn't looking, but if Bruce was eating he wasn't getting food from the Manor kitchen. Bruce should have starved many times over, but he seemed unaffected by his own self imposed fast.

He barely spoke and when he did it was by screaming and railing. Bruce could go days without moving or speaking, no matter how gently Alfred spoke to him or begged him to. Then, as suddenly as lightning striking, he would explode in a frenzy of screaming and destruction, ripping curtains off the walls, smashing tables to bits, shattering any glassware within reach. And then, like a storm passing, he would collapse back into passivity.

Alfred would patch up Bruce's little cut and bruised hands, splint his broken fingers, and carry him to bed. Then, he would clean up the mess and order replacements for the things that Bruce had destroyed.

And, he would worry. It seemed all he could do.

One night, almost a month after Thomas and Martha Wayne had died, Alfred caught Bruce sneaking out of an upstairs window. The fight they had when Alfred stopped him was one for the history books.

"You don't understand!" a tiny Bruce Wayne screamed at Alfred, his voice ringing through the dark wood paneled halls. "I have to do something!" he shouted before choking off a sob.

Alfred knelt down on his aching knees and pressed his hands to Bruce's little trembling shoulders. His bones were sharp and the pale skin around his eyes looked bruised and red. "I can't imagine what you're going through, dear boy," Alfred said as gently as he could.

"You don't understand!" Bruce wailed again, his pale eyes welling with big heavy tears that overflowed and ran down his sallow hollowed cheeks. "I could have done something. I should have done something!"

"Dear child, there was nothing you could have done," Alfred soothed, attempting to pull Bruce into an embrace that he rejected forcefully.

"I mean it!" he shouted. "I'm not normal! I could have stopped it! I could have saved them," Bruce said before collapsing into tears and Alfred's arms at the same time.

Alfred did his best to comfort Bruce as he screamed and cried and railed against the world. His small fists beat against his chest and his teeth dug into his coat. The tears ran and ran and Bruce gasped and cried and sobbed for almost an hour before finally going limp and drained in Alfred's arms.

It was the first time Bruce had cried since his parent's death. Alfred hoped it would be a breakthrough, that maybe Bruce would soon be able to get back to what passed for normal life for him.

He carried the boy as gently as he could back to bed and tucked him in. He always looked so small in the huge four poster bed.

"I could tell something was wrong," Bruce murmured as Alfred tucked the blankets against him tighter. "I could feel something coming for weeks. I tried to tell Mom, but I didn't know how to explain it. I've never felt something like that before."

Alfred stopped with a hand pressed over Bruce's chest and felt the steady rise and fall of his rib cage under his palm. Bruce’s eyelids were drooping and he looked like he would pass out any moment.

"I should have known it meant something bad would happen. I should have known to look harder and find the bad thing before it could happen. I'm a bad son," Bruce whispered with a wet wobble of his lower lip. But, there were no more tears to cry.

"Oh, Bruce," Alfred sighed. "Nothing could be further from the truth."

"You know I'm not a real boy, right, Alfred?" little Bruce turned big tortured eyes up at the old butler. "I'm strange. I’m not normal. Sometimes, I think I'm probably not human," he whispered.

Alfred pressed the hand not on Bruce's chest to his cheek. He stared into his charge's haunted eyes. Eyes so pale blue they were almost white, ringed in red skin and thick dark eyelashes.

"I know that you are a kind and gentle boy. I know that you loved your parents and were loved by them in turn. I know that I loved you hardly before I even knew it. You are smart and strong and even if you could have prevented the death of your parents, that was not your responsibility. It is the responsibility of parents to protect their children, not the other way around, certainly not while those children are still young," Alfred said all this very sternly. "Whatever you are or are not, these things will always be true."

Despite what must be a good bit of dehydration, a final silent tear slipped from Bruce's eye to land in the crevice between Alfred's wrinkled hand and Bruce's soft cheek.

"I love you too Alfred," Bruce choked out, lunging up to throw his arms around Alfred's neck in a brutal hug.

Alfred was startled for a moment before warming and wrapping his arms around the small precious boy in his arms. They embraced for a long time and when they finally disentangled Bruce dropped off to sleep within seconds.

Alfred stayed for a long time, long after Bruce finally fell asleep.

Alfred felt very old just then.

He was perfectly aware that he was old, of course. He had served the Wayne family for years, ever since he was a young man just out of MI5. When he first started working for the Wayne's, he had worked for Thomas' father and Thomas was just a boy himself still in short pants. Now Thomas was dead, a fact that still felt untrue while everything else about the Manor felt normal and familiar. Now, Alfred was in control of a huge manor and held a controlling stake in an even bigger company as well as being the only family and guardian of a strange heartbroken little boy.

At that moment, Alfred felt the weight of the world on his shoulders and sagged beneath it.

But, he only let his grief overwhelm him for a short while. There was nothing for it, really. Things needed to be done and Alfred had to be the one to do it. That was all there was to it.

So, after allowing himself a quiet little crisis in Bruce's dark silent bedroom, Alfred struggled to his feet and made his slow ponderous way out into the hall. The bedroom door clicked shut quietly behind him.

Though his worn body called for bed, Alfred didn't think his mind would be able to rest just yet. Not after all of little Bruce's talk of his own inhumanity. No, maybe a cup of tea would calm him down enough to finally rest.

Bruce's room was on the third floor, two sets of curving staircases led down to the open atrium at the bottom floor. There was also a narrow hidden staircase at the opposite end of the hall that led up into the small claustrophobic rooms of the servant quarters located in the attic and also down into the kitchen. When he was a younger man, Alfred had used the servant stairs in the back of the house most of the time. Though narrow, the steps were worn and uneven and unusually high. They were more direct than the the beautifully curving staircases in the front of the house, but in his old age the servant steps were too treacherous and Alfred rarely used them.

Alfred made his cautious way toward the tall carpeted steps which would lead down to the bottom floor. He was only a few steps down toward the first staircase when his knee gave out. It was an old war injury, one that usually only bothered him when he had been on his feet too long. But, it had never chosen such an inopportune time to make itself known.

Tumbling down the steps, Alfred did his best to tuck himself into a ball. Unfortunately, that meant that when he hit the first landing where the steps turned, he kept rolling into the banister which cracked and gave way under the force of the hit.

And then Alfred was falling.

And then, he was standing looking down at his own broken body crumpled in the middle of the atrium.

He looked incredibly frail, limbs tossed all akimbo on the polished parquet floors. A tiny trickle of blood made its way between his pale lips, probably from biting his tongue or maybe from a few loose teeth. His head was bent the wrong way, a snapped neck that would have been quick and painless.

Remembering his young charge slumbering above, Alfred quickly looked up but there was no movement from the floors above. It was only he and Bruce in the manor at night, the other servants much too terrified of the boy to sleep in the attic right above him. Alfred knew his tumble must have been very loud indeed, but Bruce was likely also very tired from his breakdown. He must have slept through it all.

Alfred thought of how devastated Bruce still was from the death of his parents. He thought of how he was the only person who knew and loved the strange boy sleeping one floor above him. He thought of how much it would destroy him to wake on his own and come downstairs to find Alfred's crumpled corpse. He wished that there was something he could do.

Well, maybe there was something he could do? There certainly was no harm in trying.

So, Alfred reached down and tried to pick up his body. He found that he could. Easily, in fact. He felt strong and young and the weight of his own corpse felt like hardly more than an unwieldy rug. He gathered the body up and carried it down into the basement and dropped it on the cracked cement in front of the furnace. Something to deal with later.

He returned to the atrium with a mop and bucket, though there was really very little to clean. Still it felt better to be sure there was no evidence on the floor for the observant little boy to find in the morning.

After the floor was clean, he briefly washed out the mop and bucket and stored them in their appropriate cleaning closet. He gathered up the bits of broken railing and frowned when he had them gathered in a heap. He was no carpenter and wouldn't be able to fix the banister himself. Shrugging, he gathered up the splintered bits of polished wood and tossed them into the small garden by the kitchen door. Something else to deal with later.

He made himself a cup of tea and drank it. No adverse effects there either.

Then, he went upstairs and got changed for bed. He laid in his bed and stared at the ceiling of his small room and wondered what was happening to him. It didn't seem possible that he could die and then clean up his own death as easily as he might chuck a German soldier into a hotel basement incinerator. If his body was in the basement, then how was he upstairs lying in bed? Or was the whole thing some kind of traumatic episode? It really just defied explanation from every angle.

The next morning, Alfred woke to his alarm going off. He couldn't say he really slept, per se. More like he blinked and it was morning.

He went through his normal routine of preparing breakfast and greeting the staff as they came in and making sure they had what they needed. He took a small detour to check the basement and yes there was his body just where he left it propped up against the old furnace. No time to panic, though, it was nearly breakfast. He roused Bruce at his normal time and tried to prepare himself for the real test.

Alfred wanted to say he believed with 100% certainty that Bruce was a normal human boy. But, there were just too many strange things to account for. The way he survived without eating or drinking, the way he seemed to appear suddenly in rooms that he couldn't possibly have snuck into, the strange wavering of his image when he was cast in shadow. It was too much to dismiss as mere eccentricity.

If Bruce really was something more than human, then there was a chance that he would take one look at Alfred and know what happened. If anything had happened. Alfred still wasn't sure if it wasn't just a strange hallucination.

But, Bruce was just quiet and exhausted the next day. If something was different about Alfred, Bruce didn't seem to notice.

Death was certainly a bit over exaggerated in the old butler’s estimation. If Bruce was fine with him the way he was and he could do his job just as easily as before, he saw no reason not to just continue with things as they were. After all, Bruce needed him. And, so long as he did, Alfred would endeavor to be of service.

[tanuki-kimono]

Types of ôgi (folding fans), handy reference chart by Edo-era lover Nadeshico Rin. Please note this overview doesn’t cover all Japanese fan variations, for example also see maiôgi (舞扇 dance fan), tsunenoôgi  (常の扇 common fan), shizume (鎮扇 noh fan), rokkoku (六骨 Kamakura fan), gunsen (軍扇 war fan), etc etc.

Fans were first imported to Japan from China, and were used from the start as symbols of status and refinement. Chinese fans were originaly rigid ones (see modern uchiwa), and according to Rin, foldable ones appeared in Japan during Heian period free from Chinese influences.

In the past, word ôgi 扇 meant “sliding door” (today 戸板 toita), and overtime lost its original meaning to only designate folding fans.

From right to left, you can see on first picture the oldest known Japanese folding fans:

Hiôgi (檜扇 - ひおうぎ) - hinoki cypress fan, used by Heian nobles. Some theorise those were first made from shaku 笏 (a type of ritual wooden baton used in Shinto) hold together by threads. Hiôgi were symbol of power and formal ones were heavily decorated with painted sceneries and dangling colorful ribbons.

Kawahori (蝙蝠 - かわほり) - lit. «bat» fan, appeared around mid. Heian period. Those were simplified hiôgi meant to be used in Summer. The lighter frame had paper pasted on one side, somehow giving the aspect of a bat wing when seen from reverse.

From there, kawahori fans morphed during Muromachi period:

Ukeori (浮折 - うけおり) or «floating» types which had unmovable handles and looser top parts. Some examples are: - Suehiro (末広 - すえひろ) - spread out fan, with curving ribs - Chûkei (中啓 - ちゅうけい) - ceremonial fan, used by nobles, samurai and monks - Bonbori (ぼんぼり) - the little brother of the chûkei which appeared during Edo period (bonbori are paper covered lanterns I don’t know if those and this fan are linked).

Shizumeori (沈折 - しずめおり) or folding types, where whole structure can be collapsed, looking quite sleek and refined. Most known fan of this type is: - Sensu (扇子- せんす) - folding fan, which is the most spread nowadays. During Muromachi period, paper began to be put on both sides, hiding the ribs. Interestingly, Imperial court still favors one side paper only even today as a nod to the original design.

During Edo period, folding fans use spread among the whole population and their ribs started to get more and more decorated with sukashi (透かし openwork). Some popular designs included:

Hanabishi (花菱 - はなびし) - flowery diamond-shaped cut-out​

Nekomasukashi (猫間透し - ねこますかし) - «cat door» cut-out (sometimes also called nekome/猫目/cateye)

Kamatarisukashi (鎌足透し - かまたりすかし) - «heels apart» cut-out

Oosukashi (大透し - おおすかし) - big cut-out

Rokkotsusukashi (六骨透し - ろつこつすかし) - «six points» cut-out

Chôjisukashi (丁子透し - ちょうじすかし) - «clove» cut-out

Nagachôjisukashi (長丁子透し - ながちょうじすかし) -«long clove» cut-out