#poking the wasp nest at this point

[scramratz]

Wait till these radfems find out I still identify as a lesbian

[7roaches]

ngl ice king and mbetty is cute but i think if i was ice king and i turned back into simon bc all the golbetty shit still happened my entire perception would chan why am i talking in first person i think for a looooong time like akin to his process in f&c simon would be hung up over betty nd be like “ooooo yeah ice king was terrible i understand why she was like that” and then when he cant rationalize that anymore hed be like “ooooo betty was crazy and i was too so i understand it” and then “oooooo but she loved me so much so its actually romantic” & then he’d reach his pinnacle instead of minerva therapy i think hed just sit there like hey. what the fuck was that about

[analog-smiles]

in light of recent news, and also my new graphics tablet getting here

we are back in business baby ! posts at @yomakai-chairman will continue in the near future, and any asks that might have been missed while i was away will be answered i'll also be back to posting semi-frequent art here, though i'm going to university soon so not quite as frequent as it was over the summer

[a-most-beloved-fool]

a few days ago I saw a post talking about how transandrophobia isn't really a necessary or accurate term, which I do agree with, but it did make me wonder: Why are so many people Convinced that trans men are discriminated against on the basis of being men, as opposed to because they're trans?

And, uh, I think I figured it out.

I came across a spot on Tumblr with a bunch of transphobes, and I was like, "blocking time :) " but the specific brand of their transphobia was the "radical-feminism" stuff. and. yeah, I can see how someone exposed to a bunch of "rad-fems" could come out of it Convinced that people hate them for being men.

""men are frequently discriminated against because they're men" factoid is actually just statistical error. in the real world, men are not discriminated against. RadFemVulvaLuvr Georg, who makes 473 posts to Tumblr-dot-com per day about how men are inherently violent and how they think all men and anything/anyone they deem 'too male' should be shot in the back of the head execution-style, is an outlier adn should not have been counted."

I came out of that being like, "oh god I know I'm a star trek blog but I need to make a post about how men aren't inherently evil" before I remembered that the real world does not actually work like that. The vast vast majority of people are nothing like that. Even the vast majority of transphobes are nothing like that. Transphobia is, by and large, misogyny based. That's just a very specific and very online subculture. It's not even a big one, they're just. Vitriolic about it.

And, other trans people, especially trans men? For the sake of your mental health, I implore you - do not engage. Block and ignore. Don't even read it. Really. And if you've got someone like that in your life who you can't get away from, I feel for you. It's pretty damn vile, and I'm sorry you have to put up with it. <3

[thechekhov]

Dungeon Meshi Quick Reacts: CH37

Ma'am, that down there is a crocodile. That's just a croc.

It's like watching someone poke a wasp's nest for fun.

You know, when in contrast with Kabru, Laios' utter inability to correctly judge people and their reactions is ten times funnier.

Kabru is really here tilting his head to the side like a dog trying to figure out a puzzle, but what he's actually attempting to comprehend is whether Laios is playing 4d chess or whether he's really that stupid.

And boy. The answer may not surprise you at all.

Gotta love how ride or die Chillchuck is. He complains the most, but as soon as he's on the fire he's like 'well, I guess I'm sticking with these idiots until the very end'. Marcille does one (1) illegal magic and he's already planning alibis in this head. Gotta love him.

Really not helping with the suspicious allegations, guys.

Yeah, the cleaners (not you) erased the magic circle (finally) after a long time (almost 24 hours). Thanks in no part to your efforts to extricate yourself from these allegations.

Marcille, it's like you don't WANT to be an evil end-game villain! Come on, I'm rooting for you!

Oh great, now you gotta revive another one.

.......w...wait a minute.

uh ohhh she's not so 'eepy anymore.

Hm. Reasonable. Reasonable responses. I'm--SENSHSI IS THAT MORE ONIGIRI

......can't argue with that. Can't argue at all.That's. One hell of a form .

Guess the dragon can fly now.

Laios, let her have her sparkledog dragon fursona, jeez. Even Senshi knows better than to be judgemental of someone's first furry oc.

(⊙_⊙;) whoop.

ಥ_ಥ She's so cute. I'm so conflicted.

Marcille, girlie, I hate to break it to you, but I think the issue is beyond a bit of confusion. She just crushed a woman like a watermelon against the ground. She's having a bit of murderous fun. It's fine to be into that, we're all gay here, but have some sense, girl. You need a safeword for that.

Yeah, no, Chillchuck has the right idea here.

To that point. Did anyone try to talk to her before attacking? Who struck first? In this instance, we don't know. COULD she be talked down at all?

............why is this giving me pre-trainer world pokemon vibes. Why.

I'm sure you would...

Oof. Right in the brother instinct.

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

[istadris]

[Previous]

Bowser pushed aside a couple of branches to spy through the bush he was hiding in.

On the other side of the bush, sitting in plain sight, was a quaint little house with a red roof, a green door and a blue letterbox. A cozy, unassuming house, barely bigger than any other home of any other Toad of the kingdom. All that was lacking from the scene was a rocking-chair with a knitting Toad granny on the porch.

"You're kidding me, right? This is Mario's house??"

Without a word, Kamek pointed with his wand at the big "MARIO" sign above the door. And they dared to call Bowser "tacky" or "self-absorbed to the point of ridiculousness". Pah!

"He's the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. Their saviour. The champion of their princess. He could live in a castle! He could live in Peach's castle!! Don't they even pay him for saving the world??"

"I'm not sure, Sire, I think he's doing his hero work for...free?"

"What's the point of being famous for saving people if you can't make money out of it??"

Kamek probably answered that question, but Bowser didn't actually care for the answer. In fact, it would probably only piss him off more : of course that pretentious plumber would make himself look good and virtuous by living in that...that shabby tool shed! As if he couldn't afford better! As if his nemesis wasn't the greatest king who ever lived!

More and more annoyed, he decided to focus instead on his reason to come here, and after looking around, he found ...or rather, him, as he walked past the house towards a hedge.

His first thought was: I didn't know Mario wears green sometimes.

His second thought was : Wait, am I going colorblind?

His third thought was : And since when is Mario so skinny?

And then he realized that instead of a green, lean Mario, it was instead a different guy who started to trim the hedge while whistling a little tune.

"So? What did I tell you, Your Incredulousness?"

He did look very similar to Mario, Bowser had to admit it. Taller and skinnier...

"Ow ow ow!"

...And clumsier...

"Aw, come back here, shears! I don't wanna lose another pair, I'm running outta neighbours to borrow them from!"

...And chattier...

"Hey, what's that-AWAWAWAWAWA!!!!"

...and whatever-ier the term was for poking through a hedge with a stick and disturbing a wasp nest.

"AAAAAHHHH NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!"

Treated to the sight of his potential saviour running all around the garden in a panic to escape a wasp swarm, Bowser was left speechless. Only for a moment, though, as he suddenly turned toward Kamek, eyes burning with anger :

"You sleazy little liar!! You think I'm an idiot??"

"Sire!! How could you?! What even do you mean!?"

"You really expect me to believe that this-" he pointed to what was now a blur of green and blue running in circles "-this moron is Mario's brother??"

"But it's true!! Our spies are certain of this!"

"Then they're slackers and deserve to be fired!"

"He lives in Mario's home! He looks almost the same!"

"He could be some crazy fanboy! How could he be related to my most dangerous enemy?!"

As if on cue, their target dashed and jumped inside the warp pipe near the house, disappearing for a moment. Then coming back up, checking for the wasps...who were still waiting around, forcing him to duck back inside the warp pipe. The little scene went on for a couple more times until the wasps seemed to get wiser and managed to force the human out of his safe place, forcing him to run in circles once again, swatting aimlessly through the air to keep the wasps away.

Bowser aggressively waved his hand in the direction of the spectacle, as if to say "see??"

"...Well, that might explain why Mario never takes this brother of his along his adventures."

Bowser facepalmed.

"That's it." He said abruptly as he let got of the branches, hiding once again the little house. "This whole idea's a bust. Let's go home."

"Well, Your Stubbornness, if you know of another human you might be able to convince to help you, be my guest!"

It made Bowser halt. He could not afford to remain in his current state, but going to his only other options was simply not conceivable.

"HELP MEEEEEEE!!!!"

"Look at it this way," Kamek said cheerfully, "at least you have an easy in with this oaf: if you rescue him first, he might be willing to help you!"

Bowser grunted. He could already feel the headache coming.

[chaed-ffnet]

Paradise Lost

Natasha let the NVGs dangle from her fingers, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Below her, Madripoor was asleep… but Madripoor never slept deeply, and its dreams were always uneasy.

This stakeout wasn’t the kind of thing to normally keep her up at night. A young man, messed with the wrong people, had now made himself the latest target on a very long list. It was a story as old as sin.

What was new was how many of these cases were stacking up, all of them leading nowhere good. She’d been in the game long enough to know when trouble was brewing, and this job had that bad taste all over it. Like they were poking a wasps' nest and just waiting for the sting.

“Hey, get a load of that Code 69,” Clint said beside her, his voice cutting through the quiet. “Third window, seventh floor. Jesus, what a hot mama.”

He pointed toward an apartment building a few blocks away. Natasha didn’t bother raising the NVGs again. It was too far to see anything worth the effort, and she had no interest in whatever late-night peepshow had caught Clint’s attention this time.

She heard his quiet chuckle, the faint hum of his zoom lenses clicking into place. Stark’s latest tech had gifted him eyes that saw everything. He was running the beta for Extremis 3.1.4—still under wraps for the wider public, but Stark had chosen a select few to test the upgrade, and Clint was one of them.

He ran night vision now, extended magnification, even thermal imaging. The first few days after the upgrade, he’d been so overwhelmed by the avalanche of details, he’d almost clawed out his shiny new eyes from all the migraines. But once the headaches wore off and the nanites settled into his brain chemistry, it was a whole different story. Like an artist stumbling onto a new color no one else had ever seen. Or, in Clint’s case, more like a kid gone wild in a candy store.

Continue reading HERE.

[obxsummer]

High Tides // Ghost of You

summary: the hunt for the cross is still on when john b almost becomes gator food, jj has a tedtalk, and turns out, after saving pope from a wasp attack, kie's dad is gonna need a new truck and you really just want to take a break.

warnings: the usual obx angst, ptsd symptoms, blood

navigation -- series masterlist

--

Once everyone was piled into the van, Pope was quick to call out directions with his map in his hand. Apparently they had figured out the spot where the cross supposedly was hidden and that’s where you were heading. Pope noted a few important spots related to Denmark Tanny’s history along the way until you guys were pretty deep in the woods. 

“Oh shit, the tide’s coming in,” JJ pointed out as John B came to a stop. The road in front of you was beginning to puddle with water but the tire marks were still visible from previous drivers. 

“Look, they already came through here,” Pope pointed out as he poked his head between the two front seats. “Those have to be Limbrey’s tire tracks. Guys, we gotta go.

JJ looked at your brother from his spot in the passenger seat. “Mmm, what do you think, chief?”

John B hissed between his teeth, taking the opportunity to survey the path in front of him. “I’m thinking it’s looking a little dicey.”

“Yep, I’m gonna have to agree with that statement.”

“Okay, well clearly they made it, no?” Kie asked the duo, impatient with their indecisiveness.

“In a two-wheel drive? I don’t know about that.”

Sarah smiled softly as she sat up a little straighter to see the road for herself. “Why are y’all acting like you’re not gonna do it anyways? Like when have y’all ever done the safe thing?”

JJ and John B glanced at her for a moment before looking at each other with a point of recognition and agreeing with each other.

“Alright, speed is your friend here, okay? So put her down in second, and hammer down, brother.”

“Oh for fucks sake,” You mumbled as you pressed your back against the bench seat and planted your feet firmly so you wouldn’t slide. Sarah copied your movements, the two of you grabbing hands again before laughing at the situation and how ironic all of it was. 

John B gave a countdown before starting to speed up. JJ, Pope, and Kie were already yelling directions at him which he was clearly ignoring, even shoving Pope’s head back from the console area so he could focus at one point. The second the tires had traction again, you let out a sigh of relief and released Sarah’s hand. John B continued to drive for a little bit before coming to a stop so you could all climb out. 

“Alright so, word to the wise, definitely know that gators nest back here so keep your eyes peeled, okay?” JJ explained as you all piled out. “You definitely don’t wanna step on a mama gator. That’s the last thing you want.”

Sarah laughed, “Seems like a good place to park.”

JJ and Kie went back and forth about someone they knew apparently being bitten by a gator, which you tuned out as you followed along. JJ eventually crouched down by the edge of the water before smacking the surface with the large stick he was carrying around. 

“Right wake them up, babe. That’s smart,” You scoffed and shook your head at his antics. 

“I was just making sure it wasn’t a gator. That’s all.” He started forward along the path with Pope and Kie next before you filtered in with Sarah and John B following up the end. Once you got closer to the Angel Oak tree Pope was looking for, you could hear the whir of an engine. Peeking over the bushes, you caught site of some construction equipment with a couple people scattered around. 

“I don’t see shit! You sure this is the right spot?” The voice sent chills throughout your body as you looked around JJ’s shoulder to see Rafe walking alongside Limbrey’s partner. JJ’s arm wrapped around your waist tightly before you could even say a word, his chest pressed against your back to keep you grounded and hopefully, as calm as possible.

Limbrey began to explain the garment that supposedly lied in the cross and how it would heal her forever. She sat down in a fold out chair in front of the bulldozer that was digging at the ground. She continued rambling until there was a crunch of wood, at which point she flipped shit and ordered them to dig by hand. 

“Oh this has to be the cross.” She stumbled her way over to the hole they were digging. “It looks like a--”

“Casket,” Rafe finished her sentence, looking completely unamused at the sight before him. You all watched with wide eyes as they maneuvered the black casket out of the hole. The way Limbrey kept barking orders made you want to smack the shit out of her. “It’s just a corpse,” Rafe said after they pulled the top off.

“Sorry, Carla.”

You watched the order woman struggle to stand before she began spewing out other ideas or areas where they could’ve checked. Eventually, they packed up all their supplies and drove away with Rafe’s Range Rover being the last car to escape your view. 

Pope didn’t hesitate to burst through the bushes and once JJ let you go, everyone was following him to where they had left the unburied casket out in the open. You stopped short of the wooden box, not really wanting to see the bones that were sure to be inside. 

“Cecilia Tanny. Denmark’s wife,” Pope explained as he crouched down to read the inscription. “He buried her at the foot of the angel. Denmark was hung for burying his wife, and now they defiled her grave.”

Sarah crouched down a little closer, her hand reaching in the coffin. She pulled out a gold ring and ran her fingers along to get the dust off. “This must’ve been from Denmark. Her wedding ring.” She glanced up and made eye contact with John B, both of them staring at each other for a moment before looking away. 

“We can’t leave her like this,” Pope whispered.

“And we won’t,” John B confirmed as he put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. The boys shifted to replace the casket’s top and nailed it back together. Kie pulled some flowers from the ground to set them on top before they returned it to its original resting place. 

“I just don’t get it,” Pope ranted as JJ finished replacing the dirt. “I mean, you guys saw the map. He hides his gold so no one finds it for 170 years. And then he sends a message to his son Robert to come here to his mother’s grave, but the message never gets to him. Denmark wanted him to find the cross. I know we’re in the right spot. It just feels like-”

“Like we missed something?” JJ called out from where he was leaning against the van. He quickly climbed up the side of the Twinke to stand on the roof. Following him in confusion, you pulled yourself up to stand behind him. He was looking at a hole in the tree trunk of the Angel Oak.

You pulled your phone out to reference the photos Sarah had sent to everyone of the map on the Island Room walls. “That looks like-”

“The painting in the Island Room,” JJ finished for you. “It’s worth a shot right? Go for it, babe.”

You gave him a weird look. “Are you serious right now?” When he didn’t answer you rolled your eyes and reached forward. “You’re scared.” 

JJ was quick to deny the accusation as you pushed past the cobwebs and moss into the opening. Knowing all of their eyes were on you, you decided to play along with the suspension. Your fingers brushed over an object that you grasped into your hand. “There’s something in here… wait.” You let out a scream and pushed your arm fully into the opening, acting as if something had pulled you forward. Everyone shouted along with you, JJ’s arm wrapping around your waist to tug you back before you burst into laughter. 

John B’s hand released your ankle as he flopped against the roof in annoyance. “Oh, you asshole!” he grumbled.

The smile didn’t leave your face as you pulled your arm out of the opening. “Oh, I got you all on that one.” You moved your hand into view, letting Pope take the object you had discovered from your grasp. 

He brushed the dust away to look at the inscription. “HMS Royal Merchant,” He read out. 

JJ hopped from the roof to take it from him as he extended it out all the way. “Give it to the captain. It’s a spyglass.”

You sat down on the roof, your feet lightly kicking your boyfriend in the shoulder as you caught sight of more inscriptions on the piece. “There’s something on it, J.”

John B reached forward to twist the pieces into place so Pope could read it. “You’ve come this far, do not falter. The cross is on the Freedman’s altar. Freedman’s altar! The cross is at the church!”

JJ reached up with open hands to help you off the roof before you were all back in the van and rushing towards the church that you’d passed on your way in. Pope was eagerly tapping his feet across from you before John B stopped short. 

“Ah shit. The tide.” 

Looking out the window, you could all see that the tide had submerged the rocky path you had used to get this far. You glanced at the growing water with concern, eyes flickering to your boyfriend and brother in hopes that they weren’t actually going to go through with this. 

“Uhh, John B. How high are the spark plugs?” JJ asked as he surveyed the expressions in the back of the van. 

John B answered after a moment of hesitance, “They’re good. We’re fine.”

“How high are they?” You repeated the question since he clearly didn’t want to answer.

“Oh… um,” He paused to lean out the window and look towards the back of the car. “Uh, just above the tail light.”

“Okay, so that’s what… three feet?”

“That water can’t be three feet.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Not a problem!” JJ decided. “We’re good. She’ll make it.”

John B didn’t leave room for any disagreement as he backed up slightly to gain speed. “Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts. Hold on to something, we’re going into hyperdrive.”

Hands grabbing the back of John B’s seat tightly, you sucked in a deep breath as he gave a quick countdown before flooring it. Collective screaming ensued as you crossed the path relatively smoothly before your luck disappeared at the last second and the van took a sharp right off into the water. John B tried to restart the engine but all you got in return was a clicking noise. 

“No, no, no, no, no, no.”

“I think we miscalculated.”

“I knew I should’ve driven.”

With a groan, you pulled yourself out the back window with Pope into the cold murky water below. You could feel the mud sink around your feet as you winced. The feeling gave you the creeps and made you want to throw up all at the same time. “Gross.”

“Okay, I think we can walk from here,” Pope looked at the distance between the van and the path.

“What? And leave the Twinkie? The tide’s coming in,” John B protested.

Sarah looked between the three boys and shrugged. “So then what are we supposed to do?”

“Not stay here,” JJ answered simply as he tugged his feet from the sinking muck beneath him. 

“I can take my dad’s truck,” Kie lifted her arms in defeat at the idea of going back home. “How much worse can it get, you know?”

“We’re gonna need something to pull her out with. There’s the winch at the Chateau. That’s like two miles.”

You ran your hands over your face, suddenly stressed out at the idea of everyone splitting up but it was going to have to happen. 

“Y/N, you coming?” JJ asked as he grabbed his backpack from the van. 

You shook your head softly. “No need to stack all of us in a small truck, J.” You walked forward to kiss him softly before stepping back. “Be careful, okay?”

With a quick nod and a call goodbye, JJ and Kie began wading their way through the water to get back on dry ground. You waited until they disappeared out of view to stand back up on the edge of the van and pull yourself to the roof to get out of the disgusting water. Sarah was quick to plop next to you while Pope and John B tried to think of other solutions in the meantime. You almost fell asleep with the comfortable silence if it weren’t for the constant thought of an alligator showing up.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Sarah’s question was quiet as she swung her legs back and forth. “The house, I mean.”

Taking a deep breath, you shrugged your shoulders. “It’s just scary, you know? Being back somewhere with a lot of heavy, horrible memories. I didn’t expect for that to happen, but it needed to.”

She nodded and looked across the trees spread through the water. “I don’t consider him my brother anymore. After what he did, to Peterkin, to John B. To you.” She turned to face you, her own tears threatening to spill across her cheeks. “I know you may never forgive me for what’s happened to you and John B, but I’m sorry. I’m sorry, for all of it.”

“It’s not your fault,” You whispered, putting your hand over hers. “It never was. I’m sorry for yelling at you on the beach. It just felt like hope was lost and there was no escape and you were the person I took it out on.”

She nodded and brushed her watery eyes. “I know that feeling now,” She let out a short laugh. You caught her eyes drifting to where your brother was standing in heavy discussion with Pope. “I feel like I lost everything in the past few days.”

“You guys will work it out,” You answered her unspoken question. “He loves you, you know? Always has. Sometimes he gets a little blinded, but he means well.” 

After a moment, Sarah moved her gaze back to you to smile thankfully at your reassurances. “I never got to thank you for what you did at the bonfire. You didn’t have to.”

You chuckled at the memory, it having slipped from your mind with the chaos elsewhere. “Oh, please don’t thank me. That bitch had it coming from the second she splashed her drink on me.” The two of you burst into laughter at the replay of the situation from that night.

“How long does it take to go two miles and back in a car?” Pope interrupted your giggles as he turned around in frustration. Some time had passed and clearly, both boys were ancy with anticipation at getting out of here. “I feel like they’re taking a minute. Should I go look for them? Should I go find them and bring them back?”

“I don’t.. I don’t know. Just give me a sec.” John B pulled his bandana between his teeth as he tried to ponder a solution. You watched him for a moment, unaware of Sarah's glances over your shoulder as he untied the fabric from around his neck to shove it in his pocket. 

“Okay, okay. So, here’s something I think we can do. We can maybe find something to leverage the Twinke, and you can drive it out.”

You looked down at Pope and John B. “Boys, we’re in a little too deep for leverage at this point.”

Your brother took a glance at you before agreeing with his friend’s statement. “Let’s do driftwood.” They quickly did their handshake before beginning to sort through the murky water. You let out a groan at the waste of time, laying back against the roof of the van in boredom. 

A period of silence went by before John B was calling out that he found something. “Hey, Pope, come help me out!”

There was a random noise and then a loud splash that had you sitting up in curiosity. You followed the ripples in the water and spotted Pope over to your left but your brother was nowhere in sight.

“John B?” 

A burst of water followed Sarah’s voice as the boy in question shouted for help before he was dunked back underwater. You and Sarah were off the roof in a split second, the Cameron girl pausing to find something to use in defense.

“Pope, help!” You screamed over your shoulder as you tried to rush through the water. Your fingers latched on to a rough branch that you grabbed in hopes of it being helpful. Your feet were sinking each second but you kept running towards where you last saw John B only to come up empty handed.

A scream left your lips a second later as the alligator popped up in front of your face and rolled in an attempt to drown your brother. Sarah was suddenly next to you as you both began attacking the gator with your chosen defenses. Eventually, the gator let go long enough that Sarah was able to grab John B’s shirt and yank him out of the way. 

“You okay man? Holy shit!”

You stared at the retreating reptile in shock. “What the fuck just happened!”

“Let’s go!” Pope’s hand snagged the back of your jacket to pull you along as you all clambered back to the Twinkie. Your eyes instantly wandered to the trail of blood in the water, and you knew better than to hope it was just the alligator that got injured in the attack.

Wading back through the water, Sarah was quick to climb up on the roof while you and Pope managed to get John B up to her. You were behind your brother in an instant, now well aware of his injured leg and not wanting to waste time in getting out of here. 

“Careful,” Pope commented as Sarah pulled the jean fabric away from the wound. “I’m pretty sure that’ll get infected.”

You almost wanted to respond with a ‘no shit’ but let it go, knowing it wouldn’t be helpful in the slightest. Pulling on John B’s shoulders, you let him lean against you as Sarah extended his leg out to take a better look. His hand grabbed your wrist for something to hold on to as she touched a little too close.

“Yeah, you’re lucky it didn’t cut into the muscle too much,” Sarah observed.

“Lucky I got bit by an alligator and my car is underwater,” John B repeated sarcastically. He hissed in pain and leaned back fully to take the weight off his arms. You tried not to let the tears in your eyes fall, but like you said to JJ before, seeing people you love in pain is hard.

In the split second glance you shared, Pope could tell you were terrified. He didn’t want to tell you it wasn’t life threatening because hell, anything was at this point, but he hated seeing you so scared all the time. 

“Do you have something to wrap it with… to stop the bleeding?” Sarah watched as John B offered up his purple bandana, the same one she used to wear a piece of, in solution. You looked up at the sound of tires on gravel to see a truck backing down the drive.

“Oh, and speak of the fricking devil,” Pope scoffed once he caught sight of it, “Look who it is. The tortoise and the tortoise. Just a couple hours late. Where the hell were you guys?”

“Paternal complications,” Kie answered simply as she climbed out of the passenger side door first while JJ came around from the other end. You didn’t understand how they couldn’t see the blood all over the van, or your brother’s ruined white Converse next to you, or hell, the fact that all of you were clearly not okay. 

Pope let out a laugh, “Oh great. While you were having family time with your pops, John B got bit by a gator.”

JJ’s eyes snapped over to you instantly, the winch threatening to fall from his hand as he finally observed the scene before him. John B, obviously in pain, covered in blood. Sarah was seemingly fine as she attempted to wrap the bandana as tightly as possible around the wound. Pope, fine, upset maybe, but physically fine. And you, staring back at him, terrified, but in one piece. 

“Like for real?”

“Does it look like we’re joking?” You felt bad for snapping at him, knowing fair well any time with his dad was unpleasant, but you were scared, and seeing the blood surrounding you wasn’t helping. John B sat up fully once Sarah had finished her attempt at wrapping the wound as best as possible.

“Okay what the hell happened?”

You stared at Kie, dumbfounded as the four of you on the roof yelled at the same time. “John B/I got bit by a gator!”

“I don’t know why I’m being yelled at. I put my ass on the line-”

“You’re being yelled at because it was 20 minutes and-”

“It’s not my fault!”

“I’m not yelling at you, just this situation is-”

“We got here as fast as we could!”

“Shut up!” The frustration is JJ’s voice stunned you all to silence. “Seriously, guys. I can’t take it anymore, alright? Everyone just cut it out for a second.”

You shifted uncomfortably, wanting nothing more than to wrap your arms around him and take the pain from his shoulders, but you couldn’t. And JJ wouldn’t let you get the chance even if you tried. The two of you were stubborn when it came to watching out for each other, and especially with your revelation earlier, he wasn’t letting you take anything on anytime soon.

“Look, I just helped my dad leave this island… for good, like he’s not ever coming back. He’s straight up like the Spanish, just ‘bon voyage’.”

Looks of confusion filled everyone’s faces, Sarah even whispering that it wasn’t the correct language, but letting it slide.

“All we got,” JJ continued, “And I for sure know all I got is you guys, okay? You’re it. And I’ve come too close to losing you, all of you. I mean, shit, like Kie almost drowned. Pope, you were kidnapped. Sarah, you’ve been shot. John B, you were almost dinner for a freaking gator, bro. And Y/N… I won’t ever forget the way you looked when I rescued you that night. So, this blaming each other is some Kookass bullshit, alright? We don’t do that. We’re Pogues.” He paused and let out a deep breath while tucking his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to… it’s just a lot right now.”

Sharing a glance with your brother and friends, the four of you broke into applause at the finished speech. 

“I gotta be honest, that was the best freaking speech you have ever given.”

“I’m impressed.”

“Also, babe, you should think about like, a Rosetta Stone because your Spanish and French are flip-flopped.”

JJ lovingly flipped everyone off while Sarah mentioned ‘bon voyaging out of here’ before everyone was on the move. JJ worked on getting the winch hooked up once Pope got the truck in position while you, Kie, and Sarah helped John B off the roof and back into the van. You climbed in the driver’s seat, John B next to you with his leg elevated on the dash. JJ started calling out directions to you, screaming out -- Woohoo! The Twinkie lives! -- once it was finally out of the water. 

JJ situated himself back in the truck with Pope, the two of them taking the lead as you followed behind. Glancing over at John B, he twirled the spyglass from earlier in between his hands. You wanted to rush him home to make sure his leg was properly taken care of but he was adamant on staying with Pope on going to the church.

“Hey.” You tapped his shoulder lightly to grab his attention, unable to hide the smile forming on your face even if you tried. You’d been waiting so long to finally say it back.

“Get your shoes off my dash.”

--

The drive to the church was uneventful and the second you climbed out of the van, you were rushing into JJ’s arms. The blond barely had two seconds to close his door before you collided with him, a small ‘oof’ leaving his lips. 

“Hi,” You mumbled into his chest, clutching onto his jacket tightly.

He let out a small laugh, his hands holding you just as close. “Hi, baby.”

“Are you okay?” Your words were still muffled by his clothing but he could hear you loud and clear.

Letting out a deep breath, JJ nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I will be. Are you?”

You hummed in agreement before you took a step back, hands tucking themselves beneath his jacket so you could feel his t-shirt against his skin. “What happened?”

“Later,” JJ’s answer was short and simple, and although you didn’t like it, you accepted that it wasn’t the place or time to ask. Grabbing his hand, the two of you walked to meet the rest of the group at the front doors of the church. They finally opened with a harsh shove and you all piled in, John B using Pope’s shoulder as a temporary crutch.

“You’re telling me Denmark Tanny decided to hide the cross here?” JJ asked once you guys had a second to look around. It truly was an old, rundown church that definitely would fall apart if a hurricane hit it hard enough. 

“Okay, well, if I was a cross and wanted to be hidden in an old church, where would I hide?”

The floorboards creaked beneath your steps as you dodged misplaced pews across the room. Pope was getting obviously frustrated by the lack of treasure as everyone tried to come up with a solution. The entire room was visible and clearly, there was no cross to be seen.

“Look, we just have to think about this logically. Where would someone hide a seven foot cross of gold where it can’t be seen?”

A moment of silence passed between the group before everyone caught on to Pope looking up at the ceiling, Sure as shit, the wooden framework was set into shapes of crosses, supporting the falling ceiling across the room. Without a moment of hesitation, Pope was trying to climb the wall without any help.

“Wait, hey.”

“Pope!”

“This is really old, it isn’t safe!”

The Heyward boy clearly wasn’t listening and continued up on his journey until he got a stable footing on the rafters. He pounded on the wooden rail to see if it was hollow. “Alright, that’s one solid wood. I’m gonna try the other beam!”

You watched anxiously as he climbed over the rotting wood. The frustration on his face was evident, and you really hoped you could find something here for his sake. The boys continued to call out instructions until he was on the other side of the beam. 

“It’s hollow, go get me a crowbar!” Sarah was quick to follow the request and tossed it up to him successfully.

“Hey, hey. Pope. There’s the wasp nest right up there, okay? Just move slow, alright?” John B pointed out before Pope started tearing apart the wood.

A quick glimpse of color caught your eye as debris began to fall in front of you. Once Pope was able to get a large enough piece out, he tore it off to reveal the large golden cross beneath the wood. 

“Holy shit!”

“Pope, you did it!

“I thought you were crazy!

“We did it!”

The moment of celebration was ruined as the wasps began to attack. JJ’s hand grabbed the back of your jacket, tugging you sharply when the crowbar came flying your way unintentionally. You glanced up to see Pope lose his balance and grab onto the beam for leverage.

“Hold on, Pope!”

Everyone scrambled to grab as many leftover cushions off the floor as possible, compiling them below where Pope was holding on. You grabbed a pew with Kie, moving it out of the way as a precaution. In a second, he lost his grasp and landed just as JJ had tossed the final pillow into the mix. 

“Pope, are you okay?” Kie was in motion first kneeling beside him as JJ asked if anything was broken. While your friends overloaded him with questions, you followed the noise of creaking wood to the cross just as the final board came loose. All seven feet of pure gold started its descent as you screamed for everyone to move. The cross embedded itself into the crowd of pillows Pope had been on a second beforehand. 

Your hands shook as you touched the cold surface of the cross, not expecting it to be so detailed and elegant after all these years. Your finger brushed over a keyhole, no doubt the one Limbrey had been so desperate to steal from Pope a few days ago. JJ and John B began bickering over the worth of the cross, Pope interrupting them to shut down any attempt at money, “That’s my ancestors’ cross. This is bigger than money, and the world’s going to know the truth.”

“Yes, and if we don’t get this shit outta here before Limbrey gets here, nobody’s gonna know. So saddle up.”

Everyone moved into position at various spots along the cross before a countdown was given to lift it. The weight was much heavier than you anticipated and your fingers threatened to slip on the surface.

“Who-who’s not lifting right now? Sarah, are you seriously-- it doesn’t feel like it!” JJ huffed as you all took baby steps towards the door.

Pope suddenly let out a loud groan, “Ah, okay guys. I can’t. I can’t.” 

“No, no no no!”

Everyone let out noises of protest as the cross clanged to the ground a second later without the additional help. You took a step back to sit on a pew behind you, suddenly exhausted from the slightest bit of activity. 

“Guys! Guys, guys. I am not okay, I’m not okay,” Pope’s shout was concerning as everyone rushed to crowd around him. He was very clearly in pain and you began to panic at the idea of something happening that you couldn’t help control. 

“He’s having an allergic reaction!” You pieced together the signs quickly as he started to gasp for air. Pope’s eyes rolled back in his head causing everyone to grab him before he hit the floor. You and JJ attempted to hide the cross as your friends carried Pope out to the car. 

Everyone’s voices were blurring together as you all piled into Kie’s dad’s truck. JJ took off the second the door closed, shouting that he knew where to go and to hold on. You were pressed against the window, hands resting against Pope’s legs to keep them elevated as Kie tried to talk to him and keep him awake. JJ’s aggressive driving made you nauseous in the back seat so you could only imagine how Pope felt. 

JJ was honking the horn obnoxiously the second you pulled into a driveway. You quickly moved out of the way so John B could help Kie get Pope out of the back before you and Sarah grabbed on to help. JJ was clearly struggling for his cousin, Ricky, to believe him before the man finally swung the door open. 

“Who can’t breathe?” It took a moment of consideration before JJ’s cousin was letting you all into his house and asking what was wrong for you all to start shouting about wasps and allergic reactions. “Hang tight, I gotta get my kit.”

“Hang tight?” JJ repeated in distress before darting off in search of said item. You took off in the other direction, searching for anything that looked useful. Your heart was racing in your chest painfully as you dug through the closet only to come up empty handed. 

“I got it, I got it!” Ricky called as he came running back from the garage. “Okay, hey Pope. How ya doing, man? You look like shit. Here’s the thing. This is a pediatric dose of epinephrine. It is ten times a normal dose. So, if-if it doesn’t stop his heart, it’ll help him. But I gotta use the whole thing or it won’t work. And I’m not going down if he dies.”

You stared at him with wide eyes. “That’s a big ‘if’ there dude!” Ricky stared at you blankly before JJ started screaming to do it.

You winced once the large needle entered Pope’s skin for the medicine to be injected before Ricky took a step back. “Okay, that’s it. Now, we wait.”

Kie was sobbing next to you as she paced back in forth. You were frozen, the adrenaline rush still kicking as you stood there and waited for something, anything, that would say Pope was okay. Kiara lost her chill seconds later, screaming that Ricky killed him before the boy in question started coughing violently and sat up pin straight. 

“Pope!”

“There he is! That’s my boy right there!”

“It’s hot. I’m like, real hot, guys.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay! Take it easy.”

“I gotta go outside!” Continuous shouts to slow down or stop followed Pope as he escaped out the front door. “Let’s go get that cross! Woo!”

You watched with a slight smile as Pope ran around like a headless chicken with the newfound energy in his system. It didn’t take long before you were all back in Kie’s dad’s truck and on your way back towards where the cross was discovered. Why everyone had let Pope drive, you had no idea, but your concern was growing the further he kept driving. 

“Um, Pope. You’re driving pretty fast,” You spoke up as you looked over his shoulder to see his speed growing. Ignoring your concern, he let out a whoop of excitement.

“Pope, last to judge, but I think you should slow down a little,” JJ tried to reason with him but was cut off in protest. 

“That would definitely delay out arrival to the cross. We gotta get there.”

With a small groan, you let your head fall back against the headrest, your whole body tight with tension. JJ’s hand landed on your knee with a soft squeeze as he gave you a sympathetic smile. You appreciated the gesture, but you seriously questioned why nobody told Pope no to driving.

“Why did we let him drive again?” Sarah asked from the passenger seat, her hand tightly wrapped around the handle bar. She was very clearly unamused with the whole situation as well. 

“Because I said I’d rip your ears off,” Pope answered for her.

“Because he said he’d rip our ears off. He did.”

“I was joking about that by the way.”

“It’s a really funny joke.”

“Hey, hey. How ya feeling buddy? How you doing?” John B redirected the conversation in an attempt to keep your friend focused on his driving. He was to your left, JJ to your right while Kie was smushed up from in the middle between Sarah and Pope. 

Pope laughed, “Uh, fantastic. I don’t know what JJ’s cousin gave me, but I am moving!” 

John B nodded. “Okay, well, um. You’re going really fast right now-”

Pope’s head was suddenly turning to face you as he agreed while everyone let out screams of protest when the truck swerved. Your friend ignored all of them though and attempted to pass the car in front of you, pushing the truck head on with another car. Pope turned towards Kie, completely serious. “What an asshole, right?”

“He was going the speed limit!”

“We’re not gonna get to the cross if we’re dead, Pope!” John B shouted from next to you. 

“We’re not gonna die. It’s our divine right to get that cross.” He turned to look at you again, oblivious of his erratic driving.

“Pope, look at the road!”

John B’s scream rattled your ears the second before disaster struck. Tires were squealing as Pope attempted to overcorrect his swerve causing the truck to slide across the wet pavement. The force sent you into JJ’s side before glass shattered across the back seat when the tailgate connected with a tree trunk. The dust from the airbags danced in the air as you all groaned.

“Is everyone okay?”

“I think so.”

You let out a deep hiss at the pain in your back and previously-dislocated shoulder that no doubt was caused by the sharp movements of the car. JJ’s hand was on your arm, shaking gently as he asked if you were okay. You nodded, giving him enough of an answer before he was pushing the door open.

“That is the last time you drive, Pope.” He commented as he climbed out with Kiara, the two of them observing the damage.

John B kicked his door open next, tugging on your arm to get you out of the cramped space. You winced when he pulled on your sore spot, his eyes immediately going to you in concern. You shook your head and shuffled out after him so you could join your friends. 

“We’re gonna have to walk the rest of the way,” Pope spoke up once the initial shock was settled. “I’m going to get my cross.”

“Dude!”

“Hey, just relax for a second,” John B intervened as he grabbed Pope’s arm and pull him to stop despite the protests. “No, I’m trying to help. We just crashed the car, Pope!”

The two of them started down the road, John B limping beside as Kie yelled after them. You looked up at the large moving truck heading towards your group. Eyes landing on the person in the driver’s seat, you were frozen when you locked gazes with Rafe Cameron. The Kook King himself had the audacity to blow you a kiss that had JJ flipping him off. 

“We gotta get back to the church!”

With a deep breath, you took off next with everyone in direction of the church. The crickets echoed around you, the air damp with the tide and humidity as your group sprinted through the night. It didn’t take too long before the church was ahead of you, the door creaking as Pope pushed it open to reveal an empty floor where you and JJ had hid the cross hours before. 

“It’s gone,” Kie mumbled once the flashlights confirmed what you were all fearing. 

JJ started to spiral angrily, slamming cushions around as he shouted in frustration. You knew he was mad, obviously, but you guys couldn’t compete with Rafe and Limbrey at this point. He continued to pace as you sat down to watch him closely. “Alright, here’s what we do. We’ll grab some kerosene tanks form the Chat, then we… we go to my dad’s shop and get some dynamite and then we drive down to Charleston and tell this lady who she’s messing with! Because this is some bullshit, y’all!”

You stood from the pew with a soft groan before grabbing JJ by the back of his jacket hood. He spun around quickly, still pissy until he realized it was you and softened up. You placed your hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look at you before leaning to steal a deep kiss from his lips. His hand grasped your hip for a moment until you pulled back to look at him fully. “J, baby. We’re not blowing up anything, okay? You need to take a breath and calm down so we can figure this out.”

In a fit of defeat, JJ nodded and plopped down on a seat, resting his forehead against your abdomen as you rubbed his back comfortingly. He sincerely just wanted to help his friends and get this treasure locked in, so it’s not like he had bad intentions. He just went into things without thinking them through for a moment. 

“Denmark would’ve stood right here, preaching to everyone he set free. A slave, the sole survivor of the Royal Merchant, he got the gold and the cross and he brought them both to shore. He used it to free every person who walked through those doors. He made a church, a family, a congregation, a home. And the Limbreys took everything from him. They sicced dogs on his wife and his kids, and when he tried to get her remains, they hung him,” Pope’s voice wavered emotions as he paced the wooden floors. “Well, I’m done. I’m tired of that shit. That is not how this is gonna end. We need a freaking win, guys. I’m going to get my family’s cross.”

You all watched silently as he made his way down the aisle to the large wooden doors you had entered through before pausing to look back. 

“You guys coming?”

--

navigation -- series masterlist

tags: @strawberryfolks @jinxfirebolt18902 @lnnlove @itsmytimetoodream @dazzlingnights

[amarantine-amirite]

Buzzkill

We have about three to five wasps buzzing around the PSAT prep classroom. They're pretty relentless. They've permitted themselves to land on people’s arms, clothes, and even their faces. 

A wasp landed on my cheek and stung me. “Holy balls, that hurt!” I squealed.

Mr. Draybick turned toward me and reprimanded me, “Language, Victoria,”

“Sorry,” I said, “one of the wasps stung me on the cheek.”

Mr. Draybick shrugged. “I don’t see any wasps,” he said. 

I found that hard to believe. “One of them just flew past your head, sir,” I commented.

Mr. Draybick didn’t seem to care. “Doesn’t matter, I don't think I saw it,” he said, “Moving on.”

He continued talking about what we were talking about before. During that time, two more wasps landed on my hands, but they flew away without stinging me. 

I turned around to Louise. “What’s up with the wasps?” I asked, pointing to the bugs and trying to ignore how much my cheek hurt.

“Fall and wasps just go together,” Louise said, oblivious to my situation, “They know they will die in winter and are just looking for somewhere safe.” 

Her response seemed canned, almost like she’d been coached to say that. “It is winter,” I hissed, “why the hell aren’t they dead?”

I must have slapped the desk hard enough that Mr. Draybick stopped what he was doing and grimaced at us. “Lousie, Victoria, this is your second strike,” he huffed annoyedly, referring to Louise not spitting out her gum when asked.

“Vic started it,” Louise said as she stood up and pointed at me, “She’s going off about getting stung by a wasp.”

Mr. Draybick walked up to my desk, knelt, and said, “Yes, wasps bug me too, but they are a part of life.” 

Amazing. Another canned response. “I understand,” I nodded, “but it’s the middle of February in Vermont, they should all be dead by now.”

Mr. Draybick stared at me with raised eyebrows. “Let me explain,” he began, “With climate change getting worse, wasp season is now year-round here like it is in more southerly parts of the country.” He nodded at me like I was stupid. 

I don't think that’s what’s causing there to be so many wasps here. I've lived in Vermont long enough to know that wasps are practically nonexistent in the winter months, even in a heated building. I’m pretty sure there's a nest or two in the walls somewhere in the building.

“Heck, it’s already almost tick season year-round on the East Coast,” Evelyn chimed in, “I got Lyme on Christmas in Rhode Island.” 

I laughed because Evelyn’s comment made me picture a sleigh pulled by white-tail deer and driven by thousands of black-legged ticks massed together to form a Santa lookalike gliding on a snowy road.

Evelyn narrowed her gaze. Her bottom lip poked out. “You think climate change is funny?” she hissed.

“Um, no, but your comment made me picture a funny idea for a Christmas card,” I said. 

Evelyn was not pleased to hear my clarification. “It better not be a sleigh pulled by deer and driven by thousands of black-legged ticks in a Santa suit, because getting Lyme over Christmas ruined the holiday season for me for the rest of my life.”

I backed down after that. We all returned to our work. 

Six minutes later, the wasps dive-bombed me and I bolted out of the room. “Victoria, come back here!” shouted Mr. Draybick. 

I would’ve made it down the stairs except I wasn’t paying attention and I hit the glass door. If my cheek wasn’t unbearably sore before, it certainly was after that. 

I looked up and saw Mr. Draybick approach me. “Get up,” he barked.

I stood up. “Why did you run out of the classroom?” he asked. 

I shook my head. “I had not one, not two, not three, but five wasps chase me,” I panted as I counted off my fingers. 

“I understand you don’t like the wasps, but we can’t have you running out of the classroom every time you see one,” he said in a stern voice, “Not only do you lose out on your own learning, but you disrupt everybody else.” 

I started to lose it. “I get that, but there are a lot of wasps in the classroom,” I shouted,  “and I think there might be a nest because it's a lot of wasps and it's the middle of winter, there's no way in hell that these are just ambient bugs!”

“Even if there is a nest, does it even matter?” 

“Yes,” I nodded, "it matters.”

“Well, it shouldn’t,” Evelyn said as she sashayed out of the classroom and butted into our conversation. Her arm swung at her sides as she moved. “If it does, you should probably think about changing your diet.”

“Nobody asked you, Evelyn,” I remarked without even looking at her.

“You’re missing the point,” she said, “The only reason people are afraid of wasps is because both wasps and humans eat meat, and you shouldn’t be afraid of wasps because you shouldn’t eat meat.”

“No, you’re missing the point,” I move my finger around in a circle as I pointed at her, ”I am positive that there is a wasp nest in the walls of the building, and nobody wants to do anything to get rid of it, and I don’t understand why because if somebody’s allergic to wasps and they get stung, they die in the blood is on the building manager’s hands!”

“Do you have an allergy?” Mr. Draybick asked.

“No, but I’ve been stung and it’s traumatic!” I could’ve gone on about how just because I don’t have an allergy doesn’t mean somebody else would, but since I already said that, saying it again would be redundant.

“Then you don’t have a problem, it’s all in your head. Now, get back in the classroom,” Mr. Draybick pointed.

I firmly planted my feet on the ground and shook my head. “Not until building management does something about the wasp nest in the walls.”

Mr. Draybick called my parents. I got kicked out of the PSAT course. 

A few months after my PSAT course ended, a renovation uncovered both wasp nests. One of them was in the wall, and the other was in the ceiling above the room next door to where the PSAT prep class was held.

One of the wasp nests looked like a face because the wasps built it over a dead body. We don't know who the body is, but given that the superintendent of the building was arrested not long after it was found, it's highly likely that the superintendent murdered the person.

The case went to trial. As it progressed, a backstory emerged. The superintendent’s 12-year-old daughter got bullied relentlessly. Worse, she killed herself after she got a six-week suspension for speaking up about the bullying. Nobody wanted to take any responsibility for the bully's behavior, so the super took matters into his own hands and killed the kids who’d been picking on her. He then killed the rest of the family because they’d “seen too much”. He then hid the bodies in various locations. 

Wall Guy was the older brother of one of the bullies. 

Watching that unfold reminded me that I was right. Building management sat on their hands because removing the nest would reveal where the superintendent hid at least one of the bodies. And there are probably more bodies hidden in and around that building.

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: In Bloom

One way to give your readers a cue for where and when your story is set is to mention what’s blooming.

This can let you get in multiple things, potentially in a space as short as a sentence. A specific bloom gets in time and place, a spot of color, maybe a scent in the air, whether or not this is a cultivated or wild plant, and maybe even sets up an “Uh-oh” moment for your characters later. Say, their plan depends on sneaking, but someone’s allergic to rose pollen and guess what’s planted all around the Evil Overlord’s mansion... “Ah-choo!”

What kind of flowers you get in depends on your setting. Here are a few I think are really cool.

Snowdrops: Not strongly scented, but they can and will come up through snow, and the pure white against green leaves brightens the gloomiest winter day. It’s also a good clue that your characters are in a relatively temperate climate, not freezing subarctic, desert, or semi-tropical. Outside hardiness zones about 3 to 7, snowdrops won’t make it without human interference.

Roses: Come in a variety of colors, scents, hardiness, and growing habits. You can have a single solitary planting, a wild rose climbing ardently through forest brush, an archway supporting a tunnel of roses. Roses in bloom hints of late spring to summer, romance, and often the implication that humans have directly shaped the landscape. With the right variety you can also get rose hips, which are good to have if your character’s suffering winter scurvy.

Brambles: Deserve to be mentioned along with roses, many of them are relatives. Raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, lingonberries, cloudberries - all have trailing or climbing thorny bits, with pale five-petaled flowers and very edible fruits. This will give more of a wild or homestead feel, as well as a convenient obstacle if someone has to run like heck. (Ow, ow, ow!)

Milkweeds: If you want to get butterfly/soul symbols into your story, how better than one of the best butterfly-attractors around? Monarch butterflies come to lay eggs, but all kinds of butterflies (and other insects) visit the flowers. They’ll give you color and a waist-high sight block; green leaves, darker stems, flowers anywhere from red to orange to white, depending on the species. Not a strong scent, but a good hint to your characters that this area is frequently damp, even marshy. It also means you may have a handy wasp nest nearby; wasps do like monarch caterpillars....

Beach rosemary (Conradina): This is a local; one species ranges up into Kentucky and Tennessee, but the rest are strictly Gulf Coast endemics, and mostly Florida at that. Shrubby, gray-green leaves; not as impressive as a rose bush or as colorful as a milkweed. But it likes nutrient-poor sandy soil most things don’t do well in, adding spots of pale purple flowers to ancient dunes and scrub oak. It’s in the mint family, you can guess what the flower looks like (it does smell like rosemary), yet it’s a thin woody shrub. If you see it, you have a pretty good idea where you have to be on the planet. (Yes, I plan to use this sometime.)

Poke around your world’s ecosystem. Do your research; don’t have flowers from two different seasons bloom at once unless you’re doing that on purpose. And odds are, you have your own endemic flowers that grow nowhere else. These can be plot points! After all, if your murder suspect swears he’s never been to the Gulf Coast, yet there’s a Conradina flower on the sole of his shoe....

[dcartcorner]

I'm so so happy! So, not to poke the wasp nest, but will we ever learn why Jon is Like That?

in all honesty i haven't planned anything past this point! so dont have a good answer to this question aha, my deepest apologies

[chobani-flip]

for die hard shippers who shan't be tagged or named because i enjoy being a bit snarky but im not into actively poking wasps nests

"i stuck with this show for so long for my ship and now im losing my patience!"

if this sentiment resonates with you, well...

i hate to be the bearer of bad news, and i stg i never say this but:

YOU (insert uncle sam pointing man) have been watching the show incorrectly

please, consider that a ship going canon is like... well, i hear that quite a large number of our fandom enjoy discussing media literacy and so i'll use a term close to your literary-critic hearts:

a ship going canon is pharmakon, a cure or a poison or a scapegoat.

it can be great, sure, it can also suck all the life out of very pleasant anticipation

so the moment any person involved with the show finds out about the existence of your fanon ship, you need to start being very afraid. because it might just happen. and it might just suck. (because i promise you, hardly any canon can stand against the collective imaginings of 10k+ fics on ao3 and WIN) and then where will you be?

also, just a note:

(and this is probably not your fault, there have been people here actively encouraging you and reassuring you that THIS is the way watch the show)

you lost more than half of the possible enjoyment of any moment your wishes for your ship might come true the moment you went from "enjoying the what if" to "actively anticipating the eventuality" and so effectively transformed yourself into some kind of a nagging wife from a 90s sitcom asking: "when will you take out the trash? you forgot to take out the trash again. the trash?! you won't forget today??? you say that every time and every time i believe you! will you take out the trash or not?" over and over and over...

i promise you in that situation, coming home and finding out that the trash is for once gone, taken out (that your ship is in fact canon now) does not bring any kind of joyful satisfaction. it's more like fucking finally and why the fuck did it take so long and now what

because guess what... the trash was never the only thing that bothered the wife in the first place, only the symptom of it

so you kind of have to make up your mind: can you enjoy the show without watching for signs of your fanon ship?

[cantspelldragoonwithoutgoon]

I okay. I've seen a good few references to it now I gotta ask: what horrible mistakes is Eclaire making in the AU? (And whomst is she making them with? :3c)

(Only if you want to share of course ^^)

(oops i have been perceived)

(added a read more since i ended up rambling again)

It's him.

He's the mistake.

Horrible choice on both sides, tbh. I think i vaguely mentioned Eclaire's bad habit of latching onto other people's misery before and well, there's hardly anyone more miserable.

At first, during ARR patch time their interactions are somewhat like the one we get to play through in msq, which is some twisted way of... actually having fun. (even though fun might contain a few explosions and has the vibe of poking a wasp nest with a stick) and then there's the void incident (lvl 50 blackmage quest gone wrong). on the surface, i think Elidibus' motivation to pull her back from the void is something along the lines of "oh no, my plaything" but then again from that time onwards they sort of turn into each other's safe space. (e.g. for the longest time no one else knows about the extent of her permanent aether corruption) of course they never figure out where that sense of familiarity and trust stems from (*) and try to justify their clinging spending time together with "you know what, while we're at it i might just as well try to manipulate them" (that doesn't work out for either of them). he's very much encouraging her progress into black magic, that might be useful later, and at some point she just goes along with it since she may have become a bit power hungry over the course of events.

(*) it's Psyche :3 even though i don't exactly know what their relationship even was back in unsundered times other than some flavour of close with a (probably botched) soul bond

(also while we're at it, have a screenie of these dorks sizing each other up like cats separated by a garden gate)

[ajokeformur-ray]

Hey, there! I hope you don’t mind, but here’s a few questions from the ask game🤭💜☺️ Can you please do Blizzard, December, Chanukah, Hailstone, Hot chocolate, Polar, Snow, and Mulled wine for the ask game 🥺 No pressure, of course! I hope you have a great day❤️☺️🫂

Heyyy ~ ❤️ I never mind!! Okay, I answered two of them already:

Blizzard & Hailstone

December - do you have any irrational fears?

I don't believe that any fear is irrational. If you think about it hard enough, any reason to be scared of something is reasonable because we all experience the world differently. Fear protects us, it keeps us alive - to an extent. Sometimes it's detrimental, but it comes largely from the part of us that loves us and is invested in our health and safety. On the other hand, I have a phobia of water splashing back on me at work and getting into my hair. So I always stand back at least an arms' length away when I'm sorting out the chemicals I'm using all day. I work with strong chemicals - corrosives, irritants, bleaches, powders, etc., which would melt my hair right off if it ever got into my hair. If I think water splashes back, I spend the next five to ten minutes worrying so intensely about my hair that I get a psychosomatic burning across my scalp. I'll go look in the nearest mirror to make sure there's no wet patch, I'll be dabbing at the spot with my wrist to alleviate the itch, I'll ask coworkers if there's anything there. There's never anything there, I'm very careful, but I fear it all the same. And this illustrates my point - to you, that precaution of me literally jumping away from running water/leaning back when using chemicals/getting very anxious about splash back may sound silly (and that's okay), but to me, it's a very reasonable thing to be scared of. Fear, like everything in life, is subjective. And I don't think it's ever irrational - there's always a reason someone is scared. Fear in itself is a survival mechanism we've used to keep us alive for millennia. What was it the 12th Doctor once said? "Fear is your friend - it is a superpower".🥺❤️

Chanukah - who would you want to play you in a movie of your life?

Hmm... I don't know. Maybe Maya Hawke? She'd capture the awkward social skills quite well and the tendency to ramble. I can't really think of anyone.

Hot chocolate - how would you like to be remembered?

As someone who loved hard, tried her best, and lived her life inside her head.❤️

Polar – would you rather be twice as smart or twice as happy?

Hmmm... this feels like one of those 'trick' questions where there's a massive downside which isn't considered when initially answering. So I'll cop out - I'll stay just as I am, but not living with my parents. That'd fix me, and I'm not joking. Because I'm at my happiest when I'm away from them.

Snow – what fictional character reminds you most of yourself?

I don't wanna say who I'm thinking of because that'll feel like poking a wasp's nest.😂

Mulled wine - do you speak any other languages?

Unfortunately, no. I tried teaching myself Japanese and Korean a few years back, and the most I can remember is the odd word here or there.

Thank you for the questions!!!❤️

[inkedmyths]

S1 Ep 8: Bugs

Because Kayla won't shut the fuck up until I keep watching and I KNOW this episode apparently fucking sucks and I hate it here

Alright whos the unfortunate dead bitch this time

A hole!

Uh oh are those the

EW NOT THE EAR NOO

Oh he fuckin dead

Dean getting money via hustling in pool lmao idiot

Oh god the bugs ate his brain

Every new lie they come up with I want to bang my head into the desk

Salty Sam into the hole he goes

Free food!

SEXUAL ORIENTATION IM GOING TO SCREAM

YELLING SCREAMING horrible but funny

Picky up the tarantula

Daddy issues ✨️

I don't think its the kid but it might be related to the kid. Like it's a red herring before they get to the bottom of it

Ohhh interesting more bug issues EWWWW BUG IN HAIR NOO

EWWWWWWW

CORRUPTIONCORE NONSENSE FUCK THIS SHIIIT

Are they gonna lie to get info what next

And now we are harassing bug boy </3

Ohhh ok so kids gonna be a key to finding out

DADDY ISSUES ✨

Weird bug noises

Ok so either thats a hive or its a dead body buried

YEP A SKULL

Ohhhh a bunch of skeletons in an unmarked grave. Hm.

Ok Sam wanted to be a normal guy but their dad was fucked up and wanted them to be hunters

THEY ARE. LYING THAT THEY ARE. IN THIS GUYS CLASS. THE. THE AUDACITY

Oh no. Ohhh no is *that* where this is going I am going to owe so much money to the native community jesus christ

LMAO ok it is a little funny that this guy is like (points at Dean) "Liar. Little bitch" and at Sam "Ok you're not a liar you're fine"

Uh oh kid whatcha doing

DO NOT POKE THE HOLE

LYING MORONS

Are they gonna walk into a fight

Yep. But there are bugs

Is that. Is that.

Kayla why the fuck are you right that this is like MAG 39 I hate this and I hate you TMA did it better

LMAO makeshift flamethrower

Wasps nest in the attic? No we are in the attic. The bees are outside

How is this working this is bullshit

That was a very fast sunrise

And they fly away into the sunset

No guys I think you dad sucks

Edit: What the fuck do you mean they just threw bees at the actors. What the fuck

[pits-of-kaos]

Round Two is complete!

Both the online bracket and the Google Sheet have been updated.

That was some round, everyone. 😅 Congrats on making things exciting. The closest matches were:

Whirl (IDW) vs. Waspinator (Beast Wars)

Whirl barely inched ahead of Waspinator by just a few votes. 😳 I admit I wanted to see Waspinator win, but alas, he seems to be cursed to come last forever. This was also the match that was voted on most with a whopping 865 votes. 😧

Prowl (IDW) vs. Chromedome

I held my breath the entire time for this one. At one point, I was sure Chromedome was going to win, but to my surprise, grace was extended to Prowl by quite a few voters. That’s gotta be a first for him. He’s bound to lose to Ravage in Round 3, but it was nice to see him make it past his first round without discourse, for once.

Tarantulas vs. Bumblebee (IDW)

Bumblebee was ahead at the start, but then I poked the wasp’s nest and the Tara fans swarmed. I’m not even a little upset. He’s a bonafide waterlogged cat spider. I’m still not a hardcore Tara fan, but I have been convinced that he is something/someone worth studying.

Tarn vs. Predaking

Against all odds, ONE member of the DJD has made it to Round 3. I was sure Tarn was a lost cause, but I was proven wrong. Heck, even I was rooting for him near the end because he is just that sad and pathetic. In honor of his victory, he gets a special new pic for the next round: 🥺

Rattrap vs. Kup

This one didn’t get as much attention, but I was keeping my eye on it. I kinda wanted Kup to win because then we would have gotten a Wrecker v. Wrecker match in Round Three. Oh well. At least someone from Beast Wars made it to Round 3.