#small preserved fish tag

[dieinct]

2024 is the year of the small / preserved fish for me i think

[azullumi]

“there’s so many fishes in the sea but i never learned how to swim” ; aventurine

summary — a guide to pining presented by yours truly, aventurine.

pairing — aventurine (w/ gender-neutral reader)

tags — fluff, secret pining but like aventurine can be too obvious, not proofread, 0.8k ; headcanons

tagging — @toorurs (sorry boo i forgot to tag 😭)

note — i know i could have done better with this one, my brain wasn’t just working and im also on a trip. this is day 6 and 7 of writing for him until i get him !!

Aventurine yearns for connection yet he erects tall walls of self-preservation, fearing vulnerability, attachment, and betrayals (the shadow of his fear of losing someone dear to him all over again will haunt and follow his steps). He’s always distant, seemingly detached to the people around him like a leaf that never touches the ground as the wind carries it away; his only drive for relationships is due to mutual-benefit or a give-and-take situation. So what happens to him when he falls and yearns for someone?

Love is violence, he knows that but his eyes would stumble after your shadow and he wonders what it feels like to live in it. He’ll lie under your gaze and he’ll dream what it feels like to be seen, what it feels like to be loved by you. He will seek ways to be close to you but not close enough that you’ll know the rhythm of his heart spells out the letters of your name. In each moment of longing, it is all tinged with a taste of bitterness as this yearning, though desired, is a precarious precipice—everything will crumble and fall once he speaks about it.

So he settles with stolen looks with wishful thinking that you’ll cast a glance at his direction, he settles with the small things at first before he begins to become selfish—he’ll make up reasons just to see and talk to you, think of excuses just so he could linger a little longer in your presence. He’ll make up games and initiates bets where he knows he’ll always win but would let himself lose anyways; winning or losing didn’t matter to him in those moments with you.

“Go ahead, guess.”

You fell into a deep thought, staring at the two hands balled into fist that are in front of you. Your eyebrows were scrunched, trying to listen to the voice of your instinct but everything was silent inside your head.

“Take your time. After all, whoever loses has to follow what the winner wants.” Aventurine spoke and you could discern the hint of amusement in his tone as he watched you fall into some sort of predicament—all you had to do was to choose which one of his hands was the coin in. It was just one of the simple games you’ll play with him every time you see each other. Come to think of it, his visits to your department have been quite frequent despite having no particular business, official or not.

“Shh. I’m thinking.” You answer, lifting your index finger to your mouth in a hush gesture. It took you a few moments of silence and thoughtful humming before you pointed at his left hand, “That one.”

But he opens his left hand to show nothing on his palm, his right hand revealing the coin at the same time, and you are hit with a wave of disappointment. A chuckle slips past his lips and you just sighed—there was nothing you could do but to admit defeat. “Well then, what do you want me to do?”

Aventurine, without a single second of hesitation, answered. “Let me take you out to dinner.”

The thing is you could have laid yourself bare to him, you could tell him all of the sins that taint your skin, the words left unspoken in your mouth, the growing mold in your lungs. He’ll see the rot and will choose to stay, he’ll see the cobwebs and dusty bookshelves, and he’ll love you still, he’ll see the torn wallpapers and ruined floors and he’ll still adore you (he’ll find you where you are most ruined and he will love you there).

(His hand would gently tug and hold at the cuffs of your sleeves, letting the warmth and closeness of his touch linger in hopes that you’ll see him in the sun that holds you gently.)

Many people claim that they love you but do they adore you the same way as he does? Would they cross bridges for you when he’ll swim oceans just to see the way your eyes catch the light? Would they traverse the stars just to listen to the sound of your laughter? 

(He’ll see the dirt in your hands and will help you wash it off when others would simply walk away.)

He’ll think of you as he laid in his bed, satin sheets all wrinkled and messy as his pillows scattered around his form, and he wondered how nice it would be to have your things among his. to have the smell of your perfume mixed with his, to have you in his arms before he sleeps (he has dreams of his dreams and you’re always in it).

All this yearning, longing, and adoration will turn into a sword that will make him bleed the more he holds on to it and you’ll stay in his thoughts as the blood will run dry on his being. He simply hopes he crosses your mind once in a while so that he won’t feel pathetic for thinking of you all the time.

© azullumi — do not plagiarize, copy, repost, nor translate any of my works.

[yaekiss]

Congratulations on the 400! If I'm not too late, may I send a #mailroom open letter to a yan!Albedo? Any gender neutral or feminine nickname would work and, if it so pleases you, a nsfw reply would be lovely.

__________________________

To my lovely Albedo,

How are you, love? Are you taking care of yourself while I'm away? As I sit here, working away in Inazuma City while I enjoy a sweet dessert, I cannot help but think of you... and your tendency to get swallowed up by your research when I'm not there to reel you back.

I was hoping that my business here would be done far faster than this. I suppose it isn't all bad, though. I can't say that I've ever been a social person, but people have been nothing but kind to me thus far. I may have even made a friend. But still, my heart belongs to you- and as such, no matter how I may enjoy my time, I can only eagerly await the moment I am able to return home.

I miss you dearly, my prince. I'll make sure to work even harder so that our time apart may be shortened by even a little bit. I can't to have you in my arms again, to feel the warmth of your embrace and know that everything is right with the world.

We both know that I could go on with the sweet words for pages and pages, so it's probably best that I stop here. Stay safe and take care of yourself, alright? I love you so, so much.

May my affections cross what feels like an eternity apart,

Your Wistful Lover

(Alongside the letter are various, shockingly well-preserved Inazuman sweets including Sakura Mochi and Dango milk, as well as a small pouch containing a handful of carefully-chosen Sakura Blooms. Lastly is an intricately designed silken blindfold, with its own little note attached that reads, "I had this custom made for you. I wanted to make one myself, but I couldn't find the time. Hopefully you like it anyway!")

꩜ Letter Content: Dom! GN! Reader x Yan! Sub! Albedo, no gendered terms for reader, Albedo calls you "my constant", mentions of blindfolds and a vibrator used on Albedo, unhealthy and obsessive relationship from Albedo, lmk if I missed anything ! ꩜ Delivery Notes: Albedo sure is a busy man to track down... I had to look for him all over Mondstadt since he was gathering quite a collection of alchemy ingredients. It was quite the staggering assortment too... I never understand what he's planning. ꩜ Wanna write a love letter yourself? Check out it out here!

Placed at your hotel doorstep is an innocuous package. It's decently sized, the box a lovely shade of pale indigo and shifting it slightly under the light shows an underlying iridescence hidden in the pigment.

Undoing the sturdy rope securing the lid down, you gain access to the contents within the box. You first retrieve a wondrous blooming bouquet of cecilias, wrapped in a sheer gauzy yellow fabric and tied with a teal satin ribbon. The petals are soft under your caress and for a moment, you reminisce about the first cecilia Albedo gifted to you after showcasing his alchemy.

Next, you fish out a cloth drawstring pouch. Peering into it, there's an assortment of all your favourite Mondstadt candies, enough to last you weeks. A little tag is attached to one of the strings, it reads: “In case you miss your usual sweet treats and need a boost of energy. ♡”

Unwrapping one, you pop it into your mouth before you pull out an envelope. The paper is smooth under your fingers and an impressive sketch of Dragonspine decorates the front. Flipping the envelope over, there's a wax seal, a cursive letter “A”, with flecks of gold dotted in it.

Carefully, you open it and obtain the parchment inside. His handwriting is a sight you've missed, from days spent watching him jot down his hypothesis and findings in his laboratory. Albedo's response to you reads:

“Replying to: My beloved constant.

Thank you for writing to me, my constant, I was growing somewhat nervous with your prolonged silence and I feared something unsavoury might have happened to you. As such, I am writing back to you to assure you that I've been doing alright as well. Though, I'm sure I would do a lot better with you by my side.

Next, I must thank you for the gifts you sent me. I shared the sweets with Klee and she has been pleading nonstop with me for more. Also, the sakura blooms were of high quality and proved immensely useful in my research. If you're willing, I can share my findings with you when you return, my constant.

Now, I can't help but ask what went through your mind, gifting me such a sly gift as a blindfold. What scene did you picture in your head? Was I blindfolded and tied up on your bed while begging for you to please touch me? Or perhaps I'm laid on my laboratory table, my sight obscured with the silk, pliant and willing as you drag a vibrator across my skin in an attempt to find my erogenous zones? Did you fantasise about muffling my moans with a kiss as you toyed with me? You should reenact it with me as soon as you get back, my constant, I feel as if I'm about to burst with how much I long for your embrace.

Ahem, getting back on track, I too have been working hard. (Fret not, I have not been overworking myself. I do not wish to worry you after all.) And I've made discoveries of my own and uncovered intriguing new possibilities whilst ruminating alone in my laboratory. I heard of the Inazuman archon's dedication to eternity.

Eternity... goes against natural orders, but lately, I have been finding myself relating to her obsession with such a concept. You might think it strange, my constant. However, I can understand how fearing the loss of someone close to you can affect your decisions, despite the morality of said actions.

You are golden in my eyes, unforgettable, and the time I spend with you feels like I'm the closest to unravelling the truth and meaning of this world. Is it my greed talking when I say that I want more time to uncover all of you, to understand the very fibre of your being, to see what has irreversibly drawn me to you and what makes you stay by my side? Maybe it is, but that is a question best saved for another day, my constant.

I shall end my letter here. I sincerely hope that the rest of your stay in Inazuma goes smoothly and safely, and that your return will be swift. I cannot wait to have you by my side once more, my constant. I love you so, so much as well.

Ever and eternally yours,

- Albedo -”

You fold the parchment and place it back into the envelope. One last item rests in the box. It's a handpainted painting of you, framed in an intricate wooden frame. Albedo captures your smile in the sunlight, the background featuring one of the picnics the both of you went on recently before you left for Inazuma.

However, you notice that one of the corners is a little wrinkled. Removing the backing of the frame to fix it, you discover another layer of canvas material behind that first painting. Gingerly, you peel it back to reveal a haunting portrait of the both of you. 

In dim lighting, you're seated on his laboratory table whilst he's knelt at your feet, his head resting on your lap. You almost don't recognise yourself. You're familiar with his art style but in this, you're ethereal to an eldritch degree... almost devoid of humanity. It's unnerving, to say the least. 

Perhaps Albedo's research has veered into more forbidden territories, challenging the principals of nature, all in the name of love. You muster one more look at the portrait.

A matching star rests delicately on your neck. In the bottom corner, he titles it “New birth.”

Thanks for reading! Consider supporting me on kofi if you enjoyed this or check out my other works hehe ♡

[deancasbigbang]

Title: Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Author: norahastuff

Artist: Logan

Rating: Teen

Pairings: Castiel/Dean Winchester

Length: 27000

Warnings: undefined

Tags: Canon compliant (more or less) Takes place during season 4 and 5 Grace Healing Dreamwalking Late night conversations A whole lot of beach talk

Posting Date: October 6, 2023

Summary: It's the end of the world, and neither Dean nor Castiel is feeling particularly fine. But while the world is still spinning, they have to find a way to keep living in it. The Apocalypse may not seem like the best time to forge a bond, but if some small measure of happiness can be found amidst all the pain and uncertainty that surrounds them, that can only be a good thing. And maybe sometimes good things do happen.

Excerpt: Dean seemed remarkably at ease, the relaxed lines of his body oddly distracting sprawled across the chair. “You sound like you disagree.” Castiel shrugged. “Sam knows you better than I do.” “In some ways. Come on, Cas, let’s not pretend. You get me.” His tone was light, but Castiel knew he was serious. He was aware he connected with Dean on a level that he couldn’t quite make sense of. Yes, Dean understood him, but he understood Dean too. While he’d been hesitant before to contradict Sam on his brother’s deepest desires, Dean had asked. Castiel met his gaze. “That life… It’s what you think you should want.” “Yeah,” Dean said, leaning back in his seat and folding his hands behind his head. “That’s where I landed with that whole thing too. Sam’s not wrong, if things were different, Lisa and I… maybe we could make it work. But they’re not. Even if we save the world, I’ll still be me. And I mean, I don’t actually know her all that well, anyway. We might end up hating each other if we try to give it a go for real.” Dean shrugged. “White picket fences sound good in theory, but really, I don’t think I’m the Mr. Suburbia type. Hawaii and Springsteen, though? That sounds like my kinda thing.” “I thought you didn’t like to fly?”  Dean waved a hand dismissively. “I’ll take a bucket of Valium. Or we can charter a yacht. I’ve always wanted to go on a yacht.” “Well, my most recent experience on a boat wasn’t particularly enjoyable.” Since he was exiled from Heaven, he hadn’t known where he was going to wind up when he’d activated the banishing sigil he’d carved into his chest. A shrimping boat off the coast of Delacroix wouldn’t have been his first guess. “Big difference between fishing trawlers and luxury yachts, buddy. Come on, me, you... maybe Sam. He’s not much of a beach guy, but we’ll give it a shot. Might have to max out a few credit cards to make it work, but fuck it, right?” Dean’s eyes sparkled from something more than the alcohol. There was a vibrancy, something unquantifiable Castiel couldn’t put a name to. He was so emphatically alive, and Castiel didn’t care anymore whether they won or lost. Everything he had done had been worth it. Every additional second that Dean’s light burned in this godforsaken universe made it worth it.  Dean had balked when Castiel had compared him to Helen of Troy. Had claimed no one would ever go to war over him. Castiel had almost laughed at the absurdity. Helen may have summoned a nation to arms, but Dean could bring this universe to his knees if he tried. Castiel was suddenly glad he’d never had any real power to speak of. He wasn’t sure how far he’d go in service of protecting Dean, of preserving his happiness if he had the ability. He’d burn it all down if he had to.

DCBB 2023 Posting Schedule

[chimcess]

Birdie Shoppe || pjm (VI)

Pairing: Jimin x Reader Other tags: Werewolf!Jimin, Witch!Reader, Shifter!Reader, Shifter!Jimin, A/B/O Dynamics, Alpha!Jimin Genre: Supernatural!AU, Werewolf!AU, Angst, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Smut, Word Count: 5.5k Synopsis: Within the four realms of Lustra lay the Bangtan forest home to the Foxglove pack of the north and known as the “land of magic.” It is also home to the Birdie, a powerful witch from a cursed bloodline who is one of the sacred guardians of the forest. Y/N is the 123rd Birdie, a young girl who was given her position too early and asked by the goddess herself to fulfil a task none had ever done before- become the Grand Witch of the Foxglove pack. Now a woman, Y/N is revered as the most loved and powerful Birdie of all time, but hiding under the surface is a woman who has to battle between her duty and her heart. Warnings: Long-hair Jimin (yes, this is a warning), Cursing, ANGST, Crying, Heartbreak, kissing, tongue kissing, Tae is my sweet baby boy and I love him, pretty tame chapter... hope you’re happy... LOL (sorry in advance) A/N: Another fast update. I’m on a roll! This one was a super fun write for me- especially the end. I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you so much❤️❤️❤️

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“Y/N,” Auntie whispered, her fingers running through my hair.

The sun had just begun to rise, the sky was still purple, and I struggled to open my eyes. Stirring, I moaned and rubbed my face. My eyes continued drooping closed and I yawned loudly.

Aldara chuckled, “Wake up, sleepy head. I want to make breakfast together.”

Shaking my head, I flipped over the pancake. In the dining room, Taehyung, Jimin, and the witches were talking about the best fishing spots in Bangtan. Seokjin and Yoongi had decided to drop in this morning, and while I did not get a reason for the sudden visit, I assumed it had something to do with Wendy. Seokjin had seemed surprised about the wolves and asked if we could speak privately after everyone had eaten. I heard Taehyung asking how vegan pancakes tasted good and I laughed.

I had started a vegetarian diet after Aldara died. It was nearly impossible to get meat when I was unable to leave my home. I cut out animal products completely four years ago after I got closer with the animals in the area. It felt wrong to eat someone I could have known. 

“They’re not that different from ‘normal’ ones,” I answered. “I just use oat flour, bananas, and flaxseeds mixed with water. Everything else is the same.”

I could not see the face the alpha made, but I knew it was similar to disgust. Taehyung emoted the same for several emotions. Confusion, disgust, and anger were all similar enough to take a guess. Yoongi laughed and it made me smile. The two of us were the most similar in terms of lifestyle choices, but he ate fish with Seokjin from time-to-time. 

“Why would you mix flax seeds and water together?” Taehyung asked, his bewilderment coating his tongue. 

Grabbing a plate, I flipped the fresh pancake onto my small stack before heading over to the table. Various jars of preserves and marmalades were out along with Yoongi’s homemade syrup he had sent to me. While I had always enjoyed honey on my pancakes and toast, after cutting out animal products, I started mixing and matching to find something I liked more. Peanut butter and banana slices have not been topped by anything else. However, I had used all of my bananas making breakfast and had to settle for syrup.

“It replaces the egg,” I explained. “You mix it with the banana and let it sit for a few minutes to thicken up. It’s something our friend Hyun-jin taught me. He lives in Moland and doesn’t get access to the market very often.”

“How do you get things from the market?” Jimin asked.

“I go very often,” Seokjin replied. “I always get things for Yoongi and Birdie when I go. Yoongi does the same as well.”

I hummed and nodded. “I have great friends.”

After breakfast, Yoongi invited the boys to go on a walk with him in the forest. Taehyung had brought up his new found interest in the beings that lived in Bangtan, and the witch had offered to show him a jackalope borough a few minutes away. Jimin offered to go so he could keep an eye on Taehyung. I knew they could handle themselves but I assumed Jimin wanted to give Seokjin and I space after the solar witch declined the offer. After they left, I began picking up the dishes with Seokjin’s help.

We worked quietly for a time. I washed while he dried. I knew whatever he wanted to say was on the tip of his tongue, his constant opening and closing of his mouth making that known, but I stayed patient. Jin was hesitating which was strange for him but I knew he was trying to collect his thoughts. Wendy threw him off kilter often and all of us were friends so it made talking openly challenging. Yoongi had the same problem but would only come alone if he needed to vent. Hyun-Jin was always his first pick since he was far removed from the forest.

After the dishes were done, I began to wipe down the table and put away the toppings. Seokjin lingered but did not help with this. Instead, he put away the dishes. It took a few more minutes before he spoke.

“Wendy wrote to me,” He said.

I hummed. I did not want to talk about her letter to me yet. I tried to respect privacy as much as possible and kept a lot to myself. We were all too close for comfort at times and overzealous. Wendy was the worst with this and Jin was unable to keep his mouth shut for forever, and so I tried to be someone reliable. Yoongi was better than I was but that was because he never gave much thought to other people. Their problems were not his and therefore did not truly matter.

“She said she wants to be with me.”

“Well,” I sighed. “How do you feel about that?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s… complicated.”

Lifting myself onto the kitchen island, I nodded. 

“I’m sure I can keep up.”

“For as long as I’ve known her, I’ve liked her to some capacity. She’s never really liked me in the same way, at least, not as much as I liked her.” He reasoned. And that was true. 

Wendy had always looked the other way, said one thing and did another, and never truly opened her heart to him properly. Sure, she admitted that she liked him but would run after Yoongi when given the chance. At first, I thought Seokjin was reading too much into things, but when I stopped to think about it, he was right to be upset. Wendy placed Yoongi on a pedestal and often ignored how much she hurt everyone else in the process. Even Yoongi. 

“I knew she meant it when she said she liked me,” He continued. “I knew that she had feelings and affections, but the second she saw him it was like we were twelve again. How can I know she’s serious this time? She’s been away, hasn’t seen anyone in months, and decides she is in love with me. What about when she sees Yoongi again? Will it still be true?”

I felt sorry for Jin. He’s never looked away from Wendy, much like Wendy was never able to fully look away from Yoongi. I knew his heart was genuine, but I was also aware of how sheltered he was. Bangtan was secluded and meeting others was difficult. I was not sure if his want for Wendy would be the same if he realized that the world was much broader than this forest. Still, I was not foolish enough to think that telling someone that there were more fish in the sea would be helpful.

“I don’t want to get hurt again,” He whispered.

“I know,” I replied. “I wouldn’t want that either.”

“How can I trust her words?”

I shook my head. “I… I’m not sure. I’ve always thought you two were just stubborn. I can see how much you both care, but I’m not okay with the toxicity. As much as I want the both of you to be happy, preferably together, I can’t stand the tension. 

“I think you should try it out- if you want to. See what happens. Maybe seeing her sister getting married changed something for her, or the time away- I don’t know. I do know that if you’re coming to me then that means she said something that sat with you. I would think about that and your own feelings.”

“She said that she loves me,” He muttered after a long moment of silence. “She said that after you two spoke- thank you by the way, that she felt more confident to talk to me. It was the first time I felt her apology was genuine.”

I nodded. “It felt that way for me, too.”

We had a long stretch of silence, the two of us just looking at one another, before Jin looked down. With a deep sigh, he ruffled his hair before asking to borrow a paper and pen from me. He knew where everything was so it was an easy yes. I was no more sure of what was to come than before, but hoped whatever it may be that my friends would be happy.

He sent off his letter soon after. I had started sweeping and making a schedule for the day in my head. There was a lot that I needed to get done. My absence had caused a large supply chain blockage to the sea coven and I needed to get on it right away. Shiloh was asleep, her schedule still recovering from her trip, but I would wake her up to make the delivery later. No one else lived close enough to justify the trip and with Wendy still gone I had no one to send it to magically. After some more thinking, I asked Jin if he could write Cordelia and ask if anyone would be willing to pick up the supplies. He agreed easily and got to work.

It was a rare moment of silence with the solar witch. I knew his mind was all over the place, and his anxieties were not helping the matter one bit. I feared the worst but knew he would speak to me about it when he was ready. I would give him his quiet.

“I rejected her,” He finally said, voice cracking.

“Oh, Jinnie,” I cooed, putting my broom down and gathering him in my arms. That was a hard thing for him to do. I was proud of him for doing what was best for him, even if I was hoping my friends could make it work for both of their sake. “I’m so sorry.”

He sobbed, “I can’t do it again, B. I just can’t.”

And I understood. I would deal with Wendy later, her own emotions probably bubbling over. I was sure Jin had alluded to being friends, keeping in contact- something that would give her hope like she had done so many times before. I knew he meant it and wanted the four of us to be like we were. I was no fool to think it would actually happen. Too much had been done and said for anything to be the same as it was. Still, I hope with time we could grow together. I loved my friends dearly and hoped we could spend Yule together like we had when we were young. 

“I know. I know,” I whispered, rubbing his back.

Jin held me tightly and cried.

Over the next three days, Jimin and Taehyung started to venture out of the house more often. I had not heard from Wendy or Jin, but Yoongi wrote daily to make sure that I was alright. He was worried I would get another unexpected visit from the wolves. I was not sure if that was the case, but I was prepared to speak to someone eventually. I had a feeling Hoseok was staying away in order to keep the peace. When Jimin and I spoke about him it seemed like he was trying to make Namjoon change his mind. So far that had not been the case. Taehyung was becoming more resolute to the possibility of a fight and had been training with Jimin for when the time came.

Shiloh had woken up earlier and earlier over the course of the last few days. Not as early as I was used to, but I would take noon over eleven at night. Taehyung and Jimin were still getting used to my late mornings. After staying up well into the night I was not out of bed unless absolutely necessary. My magic was stronger than it had been but I could feel my body was still adjusting. Ever since I was child my magic drained the life out of me. Using defensive magic used even more than anything else and the Namjoon incident had thrown me for a loop. 

Aldara used to worry about my fainting spells after our lessons. She said that it was unnatural for a witch to become so overwhelmed by their own magic, but after many years of self reflection, I realized that my body was always using magic. Unlike other witches who could control their output, my gifts left me vulnerable and weakened. The constant possessions and lack of self control were two of the biggest downfalls of my own power. However, a small outburst would no longer make me as depleted as it once had. The last time I had a fainting spell had been the night I found the cottage on fire.

Flipping through my grimoire, I tried to find the potion I made that reduced anxiety. Wendy was returning tomorrow and Cordelia asked if I could send some to Syrena. I had only made this particular recipe twice and was still too unfamiliar with it to make it from memory. It would be Wendy’s luck that I sent over a shifting potion rather than a mood stabilizer. 

I was worried about her. While it was normal to go weeks without talking, I was afraid she may be upset with me over Seokjin. I was sure she was suspicious we had spoken and probably thought I told him what to do. That, or she had convinced herself that Yoongi had something to do with it. Wendy had a difficult time seeing things for what they were, and while I felt empathy for her, I would never choose between my friends. I loved and respected them both and wished I could get out of the middle of everything. It was her who told him about our conversation in the first place.

Unable to find it I grew frustrated. I hated being so unorganized. Everything was sprawled about and jotted down in sloppy, rushed writing. Half of it hardly made sense to me and I pitied my successor. Poor girl will have to learn how to read hieroglyphics before she could understand half of what was written. Giving up, I slammed the book shut and decided to write Hyun-Jin. He was the only witch I knew that would have something like this on standby. Carefully rolling the paper, I began to chant a new spell I had learned after reading Birdie Pippa’s grimoire, and blew. The paper turned to ash and was gone.

Pippa was by all accounts a whackjob. She had the most unorthodox methods of any witch I had ever read or heard of. Even looking through her countless spellbooks made that abundantly clear. She drew many of her spells in a step-by-step fashion that was somehow more difficult to follow than normal. Every spell and potion had strange ingredients that you would never put together and yet worked. She was brilliant. Aldara always made fun of my adoration for the woman, called me the next “nutcase,” and teased me about my own muddled grimoire. Still, no one could deny how talented Pippa was. This spell in particular was one of my favorites I learned so far. It was simple, used hardly any energy at all, and was extremely effective. I was happy my days of door drawing were gone- even if I invented that one.

The front door slammed open. Screaming, I felt my heart speed up and my vision flash black and white for a moment. Composing myself, I shot daggers at Taehyung as he strolled into the cottage. Jimin bowed, his apology clear, before following the younger alpha inside.

“It’s such a beautiful day!” Taehyung exclaimed, rolling onto the couch.

My eye twitched.

“Try that again,” I demanded.

The man shot up. His confusion was clear. Jimin just glared at him without a word. 

“Try what again?” Taehyung asked.

“Walking into my house like a civilized person,” I deadpanned. “I swear, you act like you’ve never learned manners a day in your life. First putting your dirty, disgusting, muddy boots on my counter and now this? Thin ice, Alpha. Thin ice.”

Taehyung scratched the back of his head and did as I asked. This time he gently opened the door and shut it. Satisfied, I hummed before going back to looking at my spellbook. I really needed to buy a new one just to fix how ugly it all looked. I wanted to slap the little girl who thought this system was going to work. Groaning, I stood up and decided to take my work to the cellar. 

“What are you looking for?” Taehyung asked, face glowing when he realized where I was going. 

The wolf enjoyed taking trips with me and looking over my shoulder. I knew he hardly understood anything since most of it was written in Latin, but I knew it meant a lot to him. His curiosity never seemed to lessen or change. Jimin had not asked to come but I had a feeling it was his way of not being “rude.” I wished he would.

“I need to find a spell for a friend,” I answered. “I have one but I wrote it when I was twelve and did not care if I could read it again. Such a childish thing to do.”

Taehyung laughed and was by my side without another second passing. Both of the wolves enjoyed hearing about my childhood. Tae had said it made me more human, but Jimin always told him that everyone knew I was. I wondered about their own childhood days. Jimin had been brave and reserved when we first met, just as he is now, but there was a sweetness there that was no longer present. This innocence that he could never get back. I knew that he could say the same about me. Seeing him again after all of those years had been a shock to my system. It was almost like our time in the forest had been completely erased from his memory. I was happy to see the gentleness within him again. 

“May I join you?”

Pausing, I looked up at the alpha. Taehyung had already gone down the stairs and I could hear him shuffling through things. Jimin smiled at me and I nodded. I was still riding high after the other night. We had not talked about it but I knew something had changed since then. Jimin was more willing to be near me, his eyes ever so slightly softer, and his voice was like clouds. It felt like the wall of ice he had around himself had melted and I was able to feel his warmth once more. Jimin followed behind me closely.

After lighting the sconces on the walls, I found Taehyung curled in a corner of the room with a book in his hand. It was probably another one of Aldara’s monster books. She had seen so much in her long life. Before she took her place as the Birdie, Aldara had been a monster slayer. The first person in the world to defeat a Quietus, and was so good at it, she chased them out of Bangtan. All the ones that remain are in the southern part of Moland and rely on lost travelers for food. The book Taehyung held were the short stories Aldara had written about her adventures. She was far cooler than me at that age. 

“It’s bigger than I thought,” Jimin whispered. 

“It grows whenever we need a new bookcase,” I replied. 

Jimin did not ask for clarification. He did not ask as many questions as Taehyung did, which I also chalked up to the etiquette training he received when he became an alpha. Taehyung had barely started those before being exiled. I thought about Namjoon and my letter and sighed. I still had not heard back from him. Jimin said my name, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“Who was the first Birdie?”

Shaking my head, I smiled. “Her name was Rosette.”

“How did this family thing even start?” Taehyung wondered out loud. 

Taking a breath, I sat down at my small desk and gestured for the two men to sit. I recalled the first time I had heard this story. Back then, Aldara was less rigid and tense. Her hands were so much bigger than mine, and I remember her cooing at the dimples where my knuckles should be. I had been entranced by the blonde woman she had spoken so highly of. 

“Rosette was from the Foxglove Village. This was many years ago when the town was home to all the shifters in Lustra. She was the daughter of a merchant and grew up surrounded by people who adored her. Life in Bangtan was hard but calm. That’s when the tales of the Quietus started to spread down south.”

Quietus were soul eaters. Their human facades hid their true form, a large, shadow-like body that could see through you. They are dangerous, deadly, and most importantly- impossible to kill. Jimin’s face told me he knew of them. Taehyung was still lost in the fairytale. I sighed before continuing.

“These creatures were unheard of. No one in the village had heard of them before. Quietus were the original people of Northorn who had been defeated by the elves that wished to conquer the land. Bangtan was the only place they could go, and they found the perfect meals in the people of Foxglove.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Taehyung interrupted. “Shifters are strong.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “Your ancestors were strong people who lived through the century war and found a home here. However,” I pursed my lips. “These were times when your kind were not fighters. The foxes that were there to protect the city were no match for the Quietus. It was said that no one but one made it out alive.”

“Rosette,” Jimin muttered.

“Yes, Rosette,” I nodded. “She was a beautiful girl. Her long, blonde hair and bright green eyes made her stand out in a crowd. She was a bird shifter who was in love with a fox in town. She was only 16 when the attack on the village began. Of course, she was not the only survivor. She, her sister, and a lucky few were able to escape. 

“Rosette was the oldest and was familiar with military strategies from her time with the fox boy. She told them all to split up and find their way to safety. Rose found herself in this very clearing when she called out to the sky to help her. She asked Lilith for help. Suddenly, she was surrounded by warmth despite the the fact that she was caught in the middle of a blizzard. She knew it was Lilith, she never knew how she did, but it was a feeling, and the wind around her asked what she wanted. 

“Rosette asked for her sister’s life to be spared and in exchange she would do whatever the Goddess wanted. Lilith accepted this offer. In exchange for her sister, Rosette and her bloodline would be tasked with being a guardian of the forest. That was the day we lost our freedom. She woke up the following morning in this cottage, her leg chained just as mine is now, and magic she had never had before. After being alone for over 100 years, Lilith sent her Jordana. We never know when we’ll be sent our pupil but when it happens we have 16 years left. It’s our duty to train them, raise them, and prepare them before our ascension to the spirit world.”

“Why can’t you shift as you please then?” Taehyung asked. Jimin smacked his arm but I waved him off. 

No harm in asking.

“Our transformations are directly tied with the moon and sun. Lilith loves to see us dancing, whirling, and twirling through the sky. We’re lucky we were able to keep that part of ourselves in the deal. Magic and shifting is simply unheard of outside of these woods.”

“Is it the same for genuine werewolves?” Taehyung asked. “The sun and moon thing?”

I laughed, “No, silly. Werewolves are cursed to be compelled by the full moon. They’re practically animals after their first transformation. No one comes back from that and they usually die three months later. Nothing like what you and I are.”

Taehyung seemed placated by this. He often called himself a werewolf much to Jimin’s chagrin. I could understand why the older alpha would be offended. They were born what they are and their bloodline is strong. A werewolf has to be made and their species is dying out in the Ozryn Mountains from starvation. The last werewolf outbreak was decades ago and was swiftly dealt with by the dwarves in Idris.

After the story was over, Taehyung went back to reading Aldara’s book and I got to look around for that stupid potion again. I had yet to hear back from Hyun-Jin and assumed he was busy. He was awful at writing back.

Jimin walked around the cellar and traced all of the books. It was astounding just how many were in here. Aldara alone had written over forty grimoires in her lifetime, and she was known to only figure out defensive magic spells. Rosette had 120, Jordana had 205, and Griselda had the record for the most with 223. I could not imagine having so many ideas. I have only finished three so far and was working on my fourth. I came up with more spells in my youth than I did now. I had a lot more fun with my magic then, too. Feeling bad about myself, I decided to take a break.

“Your aunt was so cool,” Taehyung said.

“Yeah, she was the coolest,” I grinned, my voice growing quiet at the word “was.”

It was late. The three of us had spent the day in the cellar. Jimin quietly skimmed through the books and was happy when I pointed him towards the diaries on the small shelf in the back. Taehyung had enough stories to last him a few more years. I flipped through Pippa’s spell books and made small talk with Taehyung. He always had something to say and it was nice to have someone fill the silence around here.

Taehyung had gone up to take a nap over an hour ago leaving Jimin and I alone in the cellar. He was hunched over a book, eyebrows knitted in concentration, and tongue sticking out ever so slightly. I was sure he knew I kept stealing looks but chose not to comment on my ogling. It was rare to see him so closely and relaxed. Shiloh had let me know she was visiting Morla to give updates on Wendy. Mumbling under my breath, I watched as the pen and ink I had brought down earlier wrote in my spellbook. I caved and let them do the work for me.

While reading over the other grimoires and books within the cellar, I had made myself a few notes of things I could experiment with. It was not as fun as Pippa’s nor as straightforward as Griselda’s, but I was happy to have thought of anything in the first place. Most of my experimenting went to the wolf pack and it was nice to have fun for myself. Aldara would be happy to see my creative muscles flexing again. 

“Birdie?” Jimin called, voice soft and smooth. 

I hummed and looked over. His hair looked dark gray in the candle light and I eyed the messy flyaways floating around him. I wished I could brush them down. Jimin regarded me with the same stoic face I had come to love. I knew it was only a small facade put in place for the sake of his people. They needed a strong, dominant leader around them and no one else wanted to fill that role. I saw the ghost of a smile graze his lips and relaxed further into my chair. Those were only reserved for a chosen few. 

“Why don’t you have anything here?” He asked.

“Everything that I own is upstairs,” I replied. “It would be far too much effort to come here anytime I needed to write or look over my work.”

He chuckled, “So, you do have a diary?”

Blushing, I nodded. 

“All of us do. It’s the best way to keep records for our successors.”

I would not allow him to read mine. It had far too many thoughts that I never wanted to reenter my mind. There was a particular time where I wrote daily and thus created five separate books detailing my misery. I would be mortified if Jimin or anyone for that matter got their hands on those. They held my deepest fears, darkest desires, and above all- my name. I was always the most open in my writing and never felt the need to keep anything hidden. No one had ever noticed them on display or bothered to care much for them at all.

“Yours must be very interesting.”

I shook my head, “Not really. Mostly the angsty ramblings of a teenager. Nothing more.”

I sounded convincing enough. I heard Jimin shuffling around but refused to look his way. Deciding that I was done for the night, I began closing and stacking the grimoires I had taken out. I will sort through them later. Glancing at the walls, I could not tell what time it was but knew it had to be close to sunset. I needed to get to my room soon.

Going to turn, strong arms found themselves resting on either side of my waist. Shocked, I turned my head to find Jimin standing directly behind me. He chest pressed against my shoulder as I turned to face him. He had never been so close to me before. 

I could count the small, individual freckles that dotted along his nose. His eyelashes were longer than I thought they were and flared out accentuating his eye shape. Everything about him was overwhelming and his scent hit me like a freight train. Hands gripping onto my desk, I struggled to speak.

“Jimin?” I managed to get out.

“Can I ask you something?” He whispered, getting closer.

Our chests touched and his hands moved behind my back. I felt his arms wrapping around me but his hands stayed on the table. Nervously breaking our eye contact, I glanced behind me to see his hands sitting one on top of the other. I was shaking and had a hard time breathing. Jimin called my name and I snapped back to his gaze.

“Can I?” His eyes were as black as coal.

A deep shiver went up my spine. Unable to form a coherent thought, I nodded. I swallowed thickly and reminded myself to breathe. Jimin smiled at me.

“Do you enjoy my company?”

Again, I could only manage a nod. Jimin’s face drew closer to mine. I took a sharp breath and held his eyes. I was searching for the meaning of this but found I could not read him anymore. This was a different man from the person that had been reading moments ago. 

“Do you like being close to me?”

“Yes,” I replied breathlessly.

“Do you want me to stop?” He whispered, his breath brushing my lips.

I knew I should have pushed him away and told him that this could never work. Our lives were too different. It was far too complicated. He had a mate out there waiting for him. He would forget about me soon enough. Even knowing all of that, I shook my head.

“No.”

It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Jimin’s lips were soft and warm and lit my body on fire. The kiss was searing and I felt the flames so deeply they licked at my bones. Hot shots of electricity licked my spine and I grabbed a hold of his chest without another thought. Jimin’s arms encased me. Everything that I feared, wondered, and regretted did not matter anymore. None of it matters. He was here and he was mine.

Pulling away, I opened my eyes and saw him already gazing down at me. His eyes were so soft, gentle, and kind. Everything about him made me feel safe. He bent down and nuzzled his nose into my hairline. 

“Thank you,” He whispered. 

Dazed, I only nodded before seeking his lips out again. Jimin cupped my face and drew me impossibly closer. Any tenderness was gone the moment my tongue accidentally grazed his bottom lips. With a small growl, Jimin licked his way into my mouth and roughly grabbed a hold of my hips. Using his leg, he gently pried my legs apart and lifted me onto the desk. My hands had a vice grip on his shirt. 

Suddenly, I felt a cold shiver run through my body and yanked away. Jimin took a few steps back. I could see that he understood what was happening. After choking out a “go,” I stood up from the desk and screamed. Jimin was out of the cellar before the first feather broke through my scarred skin.

Taglist: @greezenini @adventures-in-bookland @kthstrawberryshortcake-main @zae007live @jimin-neverout @nikkiordonez12 @canarystwin​ @yamekomz @chimthicc​

© chimcess, 2023. Do not copy or repost without permission 

[halfbit]

Im struggling to find ur lore amongst the chaos could u tag me in it please??

I wanted to read what u got since u seem to like mine a lot, i wanna show u the same support u gave me ^^

ahh LMAO ofc!! i have a complicated relationship with organization but i'm trying :'D i'll send it your way

in the mean time, here's part of something that i haven't publicly shared anywhere yet? it's a work in progress since i want the final version to include illustrations (which aren't done yet) but this segment is more or less ready. ＿＿＿＿

the information in this paper is based on the works of kanohen haeto, often dubbed "the father of modern folklore", whose books such as heas komin living legends and yaga senka night secrets have shared the stories of our past with a new generation. his academic works are also some of the most comprehensive collections of written folklore of our era. we would also like to thank ayaten omiwa[1] for her wonderful and striking illustrations accompanying this article. the goal of this project is to examine the roles and characteristics of animals and animal figures in the traditional folk culture of the southern continent, we will not be going into (most of) the world myths and tales of the gods, instead, these are the first stories we told, and some still tell, to our children. they are our fables and our warnings, our answers and our bedtime stories. at the end of this, the reader will have just scratched the surface of these tales, but that will still be a success. tens of thousands of history, lessons, and memories of tens of thousands of our ancestors cannot be held in the hands of a single work. even kanohen haeto cannot write down what has been forgotten before he could hear it. this is just a small catalyst, but perhaps it will serve to make a new generation ask what has been forgotten, and to preserve what is still remembered before it is lost all the same.

.............

countless species of birds have called saonkaya and our neighboring nations home throughout history, but some have left more of a mark than others on our tales. the most significant may be the seika, the name of a sea bird that centers many of our fables. the exact bird being spoken of has been forgotten, but common assumption is that the folklore seika is likely an aralik or naeseika based on the limited physical descriptions we have. the seika of folklore though is not so much a species as it is an individual, with a history and relationships of its own which makes it a bit of an unusual starting point. however the seika still shares some common characteristics with other birds in folk tales, for instance, often acting as the troublemaker, or in more charitable representations, the stubborn youth. that may be why the seika and other birds are so popular in children's stories, they are quite relatable to the rambunctious children they serve as lessons for. in one of the seika and betkai folktales, seika's red tail, the story centres on the seika's stubborn and impulsive nature, and the consequences of its lack of caution or preparation. when seika gets speared by a iseluba while diving into its hunting waters, the seika is so blind to its mistake that it does not even realize it has been injured until it lands on the betkai. seeing how seika's tail has turned red, it is only betkai who asks, "have you been hurt?" and the seika gives the quintessential seika answer, "if i am, it is not enough to matter." other birds, in folklore often cousins or family of seika, are usually not as extreme in their temper, but they are still reliably reckless. in the tale of taipha and the silver pond, she is so taken with her reflection that she does not warn the other creatures of the pond's danger. instead she lashes out when they plummet down for disturbing her, but does not stop them from drowning. in another variation of the tale, she becomes so incensed by the continuous interruptions that she kills every fish in the pond so that it will only have value to her.

when not contributing to destruction, in some instances birds may serve as guides, as in the black desert and the songbird, a saonkayan folktale in which a tallo guides a fisherman's daughter to a desert where each grain of sand is a precious gem. this has likely given various songbirds in saonkaya their unique association as good omens of fortune or wealth. this is less common though in pre-saonkayan stories, in the case of the little bird that turns lakes red, the titular bird is instead an omen of plague and other illness. when birds are part of a pair or ensemble of animals, they tend to be selfish and cruel instigators that often cause their own downfall, such as in the chain of betkai, where seika steals betkai's shining chain, refusing to give it back even when betkai loses his fur and claws. they are usually not particularly bright though, betkai is able to get his chain back by telling the humans where seika nests, and seika is unable to fly away fast enough with the heavy chain in its claws. still, they refuse to drop it, and it makes them easy prey. in a similar role, a baral poisons the tree it nests in so that other birds won't make it their home, and then wails to all who fly past when the poison takes their own hatchlings. however, birds are not the only creatures that fly the southern skies, and the distinctions are significant in folklore especially. the henmao has shared several stories with its brothers in flight, usually acting as an opposing force, though often not a benevolent one. in the story of the feather banquet the henmao, irritated at the incessant noise of a kakaun wedding procession, descends upon it in a feast of anger. they also show up in the henmao and the keman, where the henmao has to face a creature with even more explosive anger than it, the henmao does not seem to be a creature of pure anger though. in fact, unlike the seika, it is often risk-aware, it simply does not care as long as it thinks it can survive the retaliation. in this story the henmao ends up bringing in a third party, a young mouse, to negotiate between it and the keman. they reach a mutual agreement, and eat the mouse to seal the deal.

a more agreeable flying beast would be the untaolo, which was said to aid the hero tasuma as her wings in her battle against a wyrm, and even in less intense stories the untaolo is often a symbol of loyalty. it can fly away freely, and yet it will always return to those who have good will. there is even an old proverb, "if an untaolo turns tail to the king, you best follow." in some stories, untaolo may be associated with death, although not as a bringer. in the traditional funeral rites of some communities, especially in saira and ramoon, there is often a verse that asks for an untaolo to guide the deceased across the river of the gods.[2] another that shares the untaolo's associations with death, but not its reverence, would be the cuural, in greater myths cuural have been servants of the spirits of death, and it was bad luck to see one, especially during travels. cuural were said to steal away the health and life of people who had been unharmed or well, because they were always in competition with eachother to bring more people to their lords. since cuural travel in packs and are opportunistic feeders, including scavenging on corpses, they also got a reputation for making a feast out of the fallen in battlefields. their fiercesome faces likely aided their poor reputations, and in recent times, there have been some attempts at legislation to criminalize the excessive and ecologically unnecessary culling of their population, but none have come to fruition, and sightings get rarer by the year. perhaps one day we will only remember them by their roles in these old stories. most people would rejoice. ending this segment on an interesting example, there is a particular story that has recently had a wave of retellings, but the original is the bakotamu's daughter. the bakotamu was said to be a close relative of betkai, and shared betkai's ability to shapeshift into a person, but was often much more willing to do so, and there are many stories of it changing into a person for many years to live among humans. because of its close association with human affairs, the bakotamu has been characterized with many different traits throughout history. it is sometimes benevolent, but it can be equally vindictive, there are just as many ways to beckon a bakotamu as there are to expel it. the bakotamu in the bakotamu's daughter is an anxious and stubborn example, and they are famously very concerned by the matters and opinions of gods. they cause a great deal of suffering for their daughter due to their inability to accept her existence, and are ultimately left to anguish on their actions for time eternal. this story is often said to be why the bakotamu's face is forever streaked with tears. whenever wrong is being done, the bakotamu finds reason to cry for it, even if they have done it to themselves. because of this, they are often a comedic victim and villain in their own folktales, and children will be told not to cry unless they're a bakotamu at times. this has been a brief but broad sample of birds and other beasts of flight in folklore and fable. in the next segment, we will cover land beasts, from above and below ground. they are often the other half of a pair in a story, alongside the prior introduced birds, so we will now begin to be able to compare a more complete picture of animal dynamics as characters in our traditional stories.

footnotes 1. art created by me, damnit↩︎ 2. if someone is not particularly well-liked, the untaolo may still be invoked, but may be asked to leave them to drown instead↩︎

[lilypadlys]

Reset

Summary: Rain and Aurora both find themselves overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the ministry. They’re able to find solace in each other’s company at the lakefront.

Ship: Rain/Aurora

Word Count: 1,463

Rating: Gen

Tags: Tooth rotting fluff, cuddles, The princesses of Ghost having some quality time together

AO3 Link

Rain basks in the cool, dark, quiet of the lake. Shortly after his summoning, Rain had discovered the lake adjoining the abbey. It quickly became his favorite place to escape to. Whenever the noise and chaos of the ministry got to be too much, Rain could inevitably be found at the waterfront. Dipping his feet in while sitting on the pier. Swimming lazy laps back and forth. Sitting at the bottom of the lake and watching the fish dart by. Anything really if it meant finding solace in his element.

Tonight, he simply floats on his back. He lets the current gently steer him around; not minding if he gets carried far from the shore. The more distance from the light and noise, the better.

He’s fallen asleep out here before like this; lulled by the hum of cicadas and the lapping of water. He’d be perfectly happy to spend most nights out here if it weren’t for how cozy cuddle piles with the other ghouls could be. Even tonight he longs for some of that comfort. However, his need for peace and quiet is stronger.

Suddenly another sound enters the night. Someone with a soprano’s range is singing. It’s a welcome addition to the symphony of night sounds. The voice works its way in and mingles with the hum of insects and splishes of the water. It’s melodic. Haunting and beautiful. Rain instantly knows its source. Aurora.

He raises his head and sure enough, the petite ghoulette is perched on the small dock off in the distance. Rain turns over and ducks underwater. He swims over quickly, resurfacing to the side of the pier. He does so just in time to hear Aurora belt out an almost angelic sustained note that echoes across the water.

“That was beautiful.” He hums.

Aurora startles and looks around.

Rain waves to her from the water and she relaxes. “Hi Rain. I didn’t realize you were out here.”

“Yeah, the lake is really nice at night. It’s quiet.”

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to disturb you. I can go…” The ghoulette ducks her head shyly and makes to stand.

“No, it's okay.” Rain paddles over to the front edge of the dock and sets his arms on the ledge. “Stay?”

“Okay.” She nods with a smile, and settles back down.

“You can keep singing if you want.”

Aurora's smile widens.

Rain rests his chin on his crossed arms as he listens. Like before, her voice melds delightfully with the ambient sounds. It’s as if she’s conducting. The swish of cattails in the wind, the croak of frogs, and the push and pull of the water, following her lead.

Rain can’t help but want to join in. He hesitantly adds his own voice to the swell of sound. Aurora encourages him with a grin. Rain doesn’t sing much. At least not around the others; normally too shy too. But now, guided by Aurora, he finds a voice he didn’t know he had. When their duet comes to a grand finale of a preserved crescendo, Aurora laughs.

“I didn’t know you could sing!”

Rain shrugs, blushing. “Thanks.”

“You should join in with the backing vocals at practice. You’ve got an amazing voice.”

“Eh, I’ll stick to the bass. You, Cumulus, and Swiss have got things covered.”

“Hmm, alright.”

The two lapse into a comfortable silence. Aurora sits cross legged on the edge of the pier. Rain floats on his back again, but anchors himself with a hand on a dock support. They sit like this for a while, watching the stars move across the sky.

Rain can’t help but feel that despite the peace and calm, something’s missing. He wishes Aurora would fill the night with her haunting voice once more.

Rain breaks the quiet first. “So…you adjusting to life topside alright?” Aurora was a fairly new summon and had only been living at the abbey for a couple of months.

She takes a minute to contemplate the question; dipping a finger into the water and watching the ripples thoughtfully. “Hmm. It's really different from…down there. I think I like it. I’ve never had a pack before. Everyone is so nice and welcoming.” She pauses again before softly admitting, “It can get really overwhelming sometimes though. So many people and so much noise.”

Rain hums knowingly.

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything! But, sometimes I just need to get away.”

“Yeah. I feel that. When I first came topside it was a lot like that for me too. I love the others, but man can they be loud.”

Aurora giggles. “Like, Swiss is really funny but where does all that energy come from? Oh and Dew is constantly up to something. And Mountain? I share a wall with him. He snores like a hell hound.”

It’s Rain’s turn to laugh. “I don’t envy you. Oh, just wait til Lupercalia and Samhain. The whole abbey gets sent into a frenzy. I have literally slept out here some nights because the others were partying so long and hard.”

“Geez, I may have to join you.” She snorts. Then flushes. ”If…that’s okay with you.”

“Please. It’s not like I own the lake or something. The more the merrier.”

"Okay! I may take you up on that."

After another easy silence, Aurora suddenly exclaims, “Oh! You can see Mars really clearly tonight.”

“Huh?”

Aurora points at the sky. “See that red star?”

“Uh…oh! Yeah!”

“And that one,” She points at a different twinkling light, “is Saturn.”

“Do you like astronomy?”

“I adore it!” Aurora grins from ear to ear. “As soon as I found out the abbey had a library, I read all the astronomy books I could get my hands on.” She waves her hands excitedly as she talks.

Rain pulls himself up out of the water to sit on the pier beside her. “And what’s that one?” He points. “It looks like it’s blinking?”

“Hehe, that's an airplane. But that,” She moves his arm to indicate a different light. “is Sirius. The North Star.”

“What about that one?” He points elsewhere.

“That's the big dipper. See that little star there? And the ones next to it? Then the square they make at the end?”

Aurora continues to point out all the visible constellations as well as explain which ones will become visible once the season changes. She even knows some of the stories associated with the stars from many different mythologies. Rain is just content to listen. Even though he’d come out here looking for solitude and quiet; what he’s found in Aurora’s gentle presence is truly what he needed.

Aurora is interrupted mid explanation as she fights to stifle a yawn.

“You getting tired?”

“Yeah, a little.”

“Let's head back then.”

“I can get back fine on my own. Don’t feel like you have to come in if you still want to sit out here for a while.”

“Nah, it’s getting late. I’ll walk back with you. Plus, if you're okay with it, I’d like to hang out with you some more.”

“Hehe, you sure? I must be boring you.”

“Of course not. I want to hear all about all the constellations that you haven’t told me about yet.”

“Okay! Do you want to crash in my room tonight?”

“Sure.”

The two ghouls make their way back to the abbey, Rain shaking himself dry before they enter. They pass the common room where the rest of the pack is still going strong, shouting and laughing over board games. Upon reaching Aurora’s room, the ghoulette flops on the bed.

Rain stops at the doorway. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna shower real quick.”

“Kay.” Aurora snuggles into her comforter.

Rain ducks into his room, and showers quickly. After drying off and changing into a clean tee and shorts, he heads back to Aurora’s room. When he enters, he finds her curled up in a nest of blankets, already fast asleep.

He quietly closes the door behind him and dims the lights before carefully joining her on the bed. Lifting the blankets up just enough to slide underneath, he lays next to her, his chest to her back.

The motion rouses Aurora and she sleepily rolls over so she’s facing Rain. She inches in close, pressing her forehead to his chest and tossing her arms around him. Rain wraps an arm around her back and nuzzles between her horns. Their tails meet and twine together.

Only in Aurora’s warm embrace does Rain realize just how strongly he’d been craving physical affection. He melts into her, letting himself relax. Aurora starts to hum a soft rendition of the song she’d been singing before, and Rain knows he’s done for. Together, the two ghouls drift off into peaceful sleep.

[scienceandstorytelling]

I would love to hear about your experience as a park ranger! I'm trying to shift my work into park stuff (and nature stuff in general) and I don't know much about park rangers

Aaa hello!

So I was an interpreter at a state park, it was a small park with nothing too dramatic happening (@wild-west-wind is a ranger at a National Park and has more experience than me and talks about it in their park ranger tag). The best part about my park was that it was in a fairly suburban area, about an hour away from a major city, so I feel like it was really valuable for people to find this area of nature that was preserved right here near their homes. One of my goals was to show them that some of the nature there could be found at their own homes as well.

Idk what kind of things you want to know and whether I have the experience to answer it, but I want to say that my main goal was to connect people both to nature in general and, as I said, the nature around them at home. The suburbs can both feel like and actually be somewhat of a wasteland sometimes (this is a main theme in the book of short stories I’m working on). But nature cannot be erased entirely. People’s lawns are made of manicured monoculture grass, but that grass is still a plant. There may be a small group of trees on the corner, but they’re still trees. Butterflies, bees, and other pollinating bugs still come to the exotic and ornamental flowers they plant in their yards. Coyotes, raccoons, and foxes sniff around their trash cans at night. Birds, squirrels, moss, lichen, and countless bugs live in those few trees on the corner. Hawks sit on the backyard fences, and ospreys and herons fly overhead, commuting from fish pond to reservoir. And that’s only the life we’re capable of seeing. The local ecosystem may not be healthy, but it’s always there.

I want to connect people to that kind of thing. I want them to pay attention to the plants and animals that share their neighborhood. They don’t even have to learn species names, it’s enough just to notice that there’s moss on that tree or that there are multiple types of weeds in the crack on the sidewalk or that that one bush is always full of birds in the morning. And the start of that journey might be having me point out wildlife in a slightly more wild setting, teaching them to notice and think about and wonder about various different things. If I point out how the male dragonflies are guarding prime egg-laying spots if you only stop to watch, maybe they’ll wonder what else they can notice if they stop and pay attention to the bugs in their yard. If I show them the little spring flowers under their feet that they didn’t even notice, maybe they’ll look for them as they walk to their mailbox at home. If I teach them to listen to the alarm calls that birds make, maybe it will unlock a whole new soundscape in their backyard.

Connecting to nature is important both for conservation and for our own physical and mental health. The more we care about something, or at least understand it, the more we protect it. People don’t need to come away from my hikes loving vultures, but if they come away understanding that every living thing is connected in our ecosystem, that’s what’s important. They don’t have to like vultures to see the importance of that interconnectedness and consider their own role in it (although liking vultures is always encouraged). And not only is our health linked to the health of the planet, we are also a species that evolved in nature like every other and it is genuinely good for our health to engage with it. Exercise is one thing, but then also just being in the sun improves the quality of sleep you get and increases the production of dopamine and serotonin in your brain. Exposure to nature makes you more relaxed. Being aware of the living things around you is mentally stimulating and makes you feel less alone, and more engaged with the passage of time and the things going on around you. This is why nature accessibility is so important, both in terms of having natural spaces available to people of all income levels and in a way that works with our capitalist work and life schedules and in terms of making it accessible to disabled people, especially those who can’t leave the house. (Side note, I really admire how @geopsych gets people that nature exposure and connection through their photography)

So idk, that’s my mission as a nature educator. Yes, I love infodumping and getting to show people coyote pelts and baby bugs and all the little nature secrets. But that’s the larger goal I carry beyond the self-satisfaction of talking about nature facts. It’s a very big goal but like everything in an ecosystem, little impacts add up, and I hope I’ll be able to make lots of those little impacts throughout my life.

[dieinct]

etsy dot com slash listing slash 1687151087 slash tinned-fish-patch :)

(link)

THANK YOU!!!

[dorthyanndrarry]

Whatever You Want, Draco Malfoy -45-

Tags: alcohol use, marijuana use, cigarettes, smoking, reckless behaviour, lack of self preservation, anxiety issues, chronic illness, deportation, racism, the fucking Tories, ptsd, super unhealthy coping mechanisms, Down and out Draco who’s friends with muggles, various OC’s, enemies to lovers, angst, mentions of throwing up/vomit, mentions of suicide, mentions of panic attacks, swearing

suggested rating: Mature

Part 1 (contains links to all parts) <- Part 44 || Part 46 ->

-

Chapter Twenty

Potter went to work the next day. Which was utterly beyond belief, as far as Draco was concerned.

He coped by spending the day with Mary. He did Mary’s shopping for her first and then settled in to watch her programs with her and eat biscuits with weak sweet tea. He couldn’t keep up with Coronation street, which often had long, convoluted storylines, but he adored listening to Mary’s excited recaps. The comedies were more his speed. Draco liked being able to just laugh and not think.

Elle joined them during Father Ted, hearing Draco’s laughter through Mary’s open window. And Samuel showed up after his shift, squeezing onto the middle of Mary’s tiny couch between Draco and Elle to watch a panel chat show. They all pitched in for fish and chips from a small local chippy down the street and laid the bag across Mary’s little coffee table, chips tumbling out of the greasy waxed bags as they shared around.

Mary dozed off in her little gliding rocker, her gentle snores keeping them company as they watched some sort of mystery program. Draco wasn’t following it terribly well, half-asleep himself, leaning against Samuel’s shoulder. Elle was pressed to Samuel’s other side, hugging a faded floral pillow to her chest as she watched the show. Samuel seemed the most interested, guessing what would happen next and mostly being right. None of them had a telly; Samuel and Elle preferred books, and Draco preferred company, but occasionally they all managed to come together and watch a few shows at Mary’s like this. They were always Draco’s favourite sorts of days.

Draco left when everyone else did, promising Mary he would visit again soon, waving as Samuel headed into his flat, giving Elle a hug before she went upstairs. He remained in the centre of the courtyard, standing perfectly still until he heard Elle’s door close.

It was quiet. If he strained his ears, Draco could just barely hear cars passing by on the road outside, and even then, part of him thought it might just be in his head. His mind gently twisting the sound of his own blood pumping in his ears into something alive and real, so he wouldn’t feel as alone as he was.

Draco patted his jeans down until he found what was left of his battered pack of cigarettes. He finished out a bent cigarette, lighting it with his wand, hunched over slightly to hide what he was doing. He breathed in too deeply, making his lungs and throat burn, his eyes watering and fighting to keep himself from coughing. Draco pressed his wand back into his pocket, a simple extension charm holding his wand in a space the size of a pound coin.  He wondered, with a bitter smile as he took another drag, if the Ministry would also call this misuse of muggle artefacts since he bought them in a muggle shop.

Draco closed his eyes, rocking onto the balls of his feet. He was already feeling it grow, that gnawing ache that lived in the centre of him. And with it, the desire to find a bar, a club, somewhere full of life and warmth, and alcohol to soften the jagged edges.

Draco flicked the butt onto the ground, ground it with the toe of his shoe, and went around to the back of the building to apparate back to Potter’s flat.

-

💜 Next update will be tuesday pst 💜 i think I had the evil eye on me last week, I had an uncanny amount of badluck, but things have been better this week, hopefully it will stay so 💜thank you for reading! 💜

Tags below v (I don’t have a permanent tags list. All tags are of the wonderful people who left messages or reblogs on the previous 2 parts.)

💜 @idareyoutotakealook  thank you so much!😍 I’m really enjoying exploring this potential version of Draco

💜 @luna13e-blog  💜 💜thankyou!!! hope you’re feelin better 💜

💜 @dewitty1 yay for brain medicine! I don’t know what I’d do without it 💜 💜thank you!

💜 @shadowybook harry really does need a break, silly boy 💜 💜thank you!

💜 @addicted-to-w0rds 😆it’s such a good image 💜 💜thank you! 💜 💜

💜 @languedor71 draco does like to bother people into spending time with him the little shit😂 💜 💜thank you!

💜 @deadhoneybee thank you so much! hope the delay didn’t dissuade you lol

💜 @devilrising draco loves being loved and wanted and needed, the silly boy, someone just give him some attention 💜 💜 thank you so much!! (happy to see you again)💜

💜 @beelzebub-banshee 😁at least your doggos are having fun while they wear themselves out!  💜thank yous! 💜

💜 @pain-changes-everything  draco; half blunt asshole, half a ball of anxiety and panic, a recipe for a man🤣 thank you soooo much!

💜 @havingaverydrarryday thank you!

💜 @chamomileteafuel  💜  @harley--queen  💜 @hmmihaventdecidedyet  💜 @atomicauthorathletevoid  💜 

💜 @kaosuiinku    💜  

[oddmawd]

THE GRASP OF GILDED STRINGS - Chapter 12 [A Doflamingo/OC Fanfic]

SYNOPSIS: Through violence and bloodshed, Donquixote Doflamingo carved out a world of his own making. Now someone is mending the broken toys of Dressrosa with gold — and they did not ask the king of the island for permission. In a land he rules with an iron fist, this small act of rebellion cannot go unchallenged...but for all his schemes and plans, Doflamingo was unprepared to meet the woman behind the gold. Through dogged determination, Saffron engineered a quiet place for herself in the kingdom of Dressrosa. She is content in her self-imposed isolation, because solitude means safety when you have an ability like hers. Too bad she’s been noticed by the one man who could destroy her hard-won way of life. Mending broken toys seemed an act of mercy. Now Saffron can only hope the king of Dressrosa will show her the same. (Doflamingo/OC. Unhealthy relationship. Doffy corrupts. This is not a redemption story.)

TAGS & WARNINGS

PAIRINGS: Doflamingo x OC

RATING: E[xplicit]

WORD COUNT: Chapter 12 is 8.3k

GENRE: Dark Romance, Drama

FANDOM: One Piece

CHARACTERS: Donquixote Doflamingo, Original Characters, Baby 5, Monet, Diamante, Thunder Soldier

TAGS & WARNINGS: Doflamingo is his own warning, coercion, manipulation,

CHAPTER 12 - Excerpt

Saffron woke to a basket of food on her doorstep. A layer of red and white gingham covered simple fare: bread and cheese, smoked fish wrapped in wax paper, and a jar of cherry preserves. She had no doubt who’d sent her the modest basket. Some toy or another had come before Dressrosa’s curfew lifted to pay Ms. Mend-It for past services rendered. Food was expected payment from the toys. So was food of this type. It was food she’d eaten her entire life — common food. Typical food. Mundane food, as plain as it was satiating. And normally Saffron would be happy to receive it, to take it gratefully into her home to sustain her until her next job, without a second thought.

That morning, she picked up the basket and placed it on her hip. Gloved fingers flipped the gingham back, gold-on-silver eyes contemplating the food for a moment before she returned indoors. Inside, she looked around, pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed.

“Not exactly a normal day though, is it?” Saffron muttered.

There was food everywhere: sweet breads and fruit heaped in baskets, icebox packed to the brim with meats and soft cheeses, and a crate of vegetables with skin so perfect and shiny she could see her face reflected in the side of a tomato. A cake studded with glazed strawberries under a glass dome sat on her workbench amid her tools like a misplaced crown. The berries glimmered like gems, expensive and mouthwatering, frosting as white and pure as fresh snow.

“How am I supposed to finish all of this before it goes bad?” Saffron said to herself. She held the basket out before her like like it might bite. “And what do I do with this?”

Unlike the fresh vegetables, gorgeous cake and ripe fruit, at least the cherry preserves and smoked fish from the toys would keep for a while. But with so much food from the palace, she didn’t exactly need this basket to sustain herself. Could she give it away to someone? She found herself wondering if Baby 5 might like to come over for a tea party. But at the very least, she’d have to tell the toys to focus on non-food items as payment for the time being.

Provided any of them intended to pay her for her services in the next week or two, that is. She never quite knew when one would show up to deliver payment. The toys had...complicated schedules, to put it mildly.

That morning, as the sun rose higher and the light in her converted barn began to brighten, Saffron stared at the toys’ basket while eating a slice of the soft, sweet bread the king had given her. She was due back at the palace later that morning, and many mornings thereafter. She’d need to tell the toys her schedule so they didn’t come calling while she was away. Saffron did not normally spend quite so much time away from home; the toys would be confused to find her home empty so many days of the week. She’d been forced to skip her most recent Tuesday and Friday trips to town, too, leaving the toys none the wiser to her new routine.

Yes, she decided as she finished the bread and dusted her fingers on a handkerchief. At her next opportunity, she would take the trip into town and sit in the square to make herself available for the toys, as was her custom. She also had not visited her favored craftsmen for a supply run recently. As soon as she could, Saffron resolved to do both.

Not that she knew when she would next have a chance. Her schedule at the palace was packed to the gills. Perhaps the king would let her negotiate a day’s respite? She needed time to perform her normal Ms. Mend-It work, after all. King Doflamingo couldn’t realistically expect her to simply abandon her routine to fit his schedule, could he?

Looking at the gigantic couch in the corner did not give her much hope, sadly.

But it was no matter. Her toy-mending and other odd jobs could all wait. It wasn’t as if she was in some great need of additional work. The food spread throughout her home was evidence of how well King Doflamingo paid her, and this was just the leftovers from a lunch she’d eyed a bit too obviously. The lavish cake and expensive fruits were just a token from his coffers, and little more. So was the sumptuous rope of pearls concealed in a box beneath her bed. The actual payment he’d grant her was much, much greater — great enough that her mending work no longer represented such a dire need. Before, Saffron had needed to mend as much as she could to afford to live. But now that Saffron was in bed with a king —

Her cheeks colored at the metaphor. She was in business with the king, she mentally amended. And that meant her need to repair toys had diminished. Their need for her, conversely, remained the same. The toys would suffer without her helping, golden hands to repair them, but...

She looked at the food in the basket. The food on the tables. The cake like a crown on her workbench.

...but much as they needed her, she didn’t exactly need them. Not anymore. It wasn’t like she’d need their help to make ends meet after the king gave her her payment. Even more-so once word of her abilities spread through high society. Tending to the toys now that she had connections would be more like...charity work.

Charity. She’d never been in a position to provide it. She’d taken whatever repayment the toys could scrounge up for her, compensation not limited to money, but her work was never free. Now, though, she may never need to work again. It was difficult to imagine a life luxurious enough for charity.

But isn’t that what the toys had given her when she first arrived, friendless and destitute, in Dressrosa? And didn’t that mean she was obligated to repay them in kind?

Saffron shivered. She took a loaf of hearty grain from the toys’ basket and smeared it with the cherry preserves. Closing her eyes, she ate in slow bites, letting the tart cherry and coarse bread soothe her palate with simple flavors and familiar comfort.

But she was still hungry after she finished, so she smeared a slice of the king’s soft, white bread with churned butter and whipped honey, topping it all with shavings of pear and ribbons of thinly sliced prosciutto, salty and sweet blending beautifully on the tongue.

Saffron was no longer hungry.

KEEP READING ON AO3

[female-malice]

Sophea is the de facto leader of about 100 residents – mostly women – fighting to keep their homes for as long as possible. The group delivers petitions to city hall, stages protests in public parks, marches along the lake’s shrinking shoreline and even faces off against bulldozers nearing their stretch of roadway, documenting their activities on Facebook Live. In 2020, she led a 50-strong group in a march towards the prime minister’s house.

She and other protesters have relegated men to the back of the group, believing that police are less likely to treat women violently. Yet in a country where criticising the government can often lead to jail, the group has attracted scrutiny. Sophea and six others were recently summoned to court for allegedly obstructing a roadway during a protest. “I’m not scared,” she says. “I am a clean citizen.”

Phnom Penh was once home to 26 lakes that provided fishing, fresh water and protection from flooding, and a livelihood for thousands of people. Since the 1990s, however, 16 of the lakes have been filled in for boreys and residential housing, as Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, has pursued a development boom. The remaining 10 have been at least partly filled.

Boeng Tamok was among the last holdouts until the government claimed the area as “state public land” in 2016, paving the way for parts of it to become “state private land” – and ultimately tagged for private development. But the reclassification process is opaque, and 2,152 hectares, or about two-thirds of the lake, have been privatised without input from the public.

Environmentalists, land rights groups and researchers have pointed to the negative consequences of lake-filling, including loss of livelihoods, animal habitats and increased risk of flooding.

“How can they define if the land is no longer used for the public interest, classify it as private state land and then give it to other groups or developers?” says Soeung Saran, director of STT, an NGO, which has led research and community mapping efforts around Boeng Tamok.

“This is a very controversial and unclear line for the public. The public also wishes to know why specific groups of people can get this much or this many hectares of land while other groups are not able to, even though they have been living there for generations,” he says.

Among the longtime residents is Kong Toeur, Sophea’s 58-year-old neighbour, who was accused of “obstruction and incitement” for allegedly blocking a road while protesting in May. It hasn’t stopped her: in a separate incident in mid-October, she discovered that authorities were about to fill in the patch of the lake where she and 10 others fished for daily food. She refused to budge from her fishing boat, stopping the trucks from dumping sand for three days.

But she had to go home to sleep. When she returned, the fishing plot was gone. “You live in air conditioning and have a car,” she says of the officials and developers taking over Boeng Tamok, waving both hands in disgust. “I don’t even have an old bicycle. Why can the rich live here and the poor can’t?”

Officials have repeatedly defended the decision to carve up the lake, with Hun Sen calling critics “jealous” and a land ministry spokesperson arguing at a recent meeting that the lake’s development outweighs its preservation.

Some families have stopped protesting for fear of jail or beatings, and the remaining ones aren’t sure if their efforts will save their homes. Recent petitions to government officials have not led to any progress and none of the women facing court have been told details of possible charges or hearings, Sophea and Toeur say.

Looking out on the water, where the shoreline is clogged with new buildings, Sophea remembers living here two decades ago when her children were small. She would cook lotus roots in a big soup the family ate together sitting on the wooden deck. “I will never forget that,” she says in tears. Living on the lake “was the start of my life”.

[lovelyzealousangel]

Ginger and Cardamom

01 | Jake

Series Masterlist (Tag yourself here)

Coming here was a bad idea, this was exactly why he worked alone.

Jake had been standing outside her studio apartment for the past five minutes. Dragging her into his life was never going to end well. For all he knew she could be lying dead in the same dumpster she found him in a few weeks ago.

"Why is she not opening the door?"

Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon towered beside him, looking rather amused.

"You do not even know her name? Why do you care if she lies dead somewhere? You are moon knight, my fist of vengeance, you do not need anyone. Not the way the others do. We are wasting our time here."

"Can you be quiet and let me think," Jake mumbled as he searched his pockets for something that might help break the lock. But before he could find anything he heard her voice.

"What do you think you are doing?"

She pulled Jake by the back of his collar, forcing him to face her. The anger in her eyes quickly dissolved into understanding as she realised who Jake was.

"It's you"

He looked at the nurse, giving her a once-over for any signs of injury. She didn't look injured. He could feel his shoulders drop, as he exhaled. A calm washed over him for the first time since coming here. She was safe...and covered in glitter.

"You were not answering the door, been standing here a while" Jake offered.

The nurse sighed, giving him a disapproving nod as she fished around in her backpack for the keys. She was wearing a black top and jeans. His eyes lingered on her figure for a brief moment but he quickly came to his senses as she pushed him aside once she had found her keys.

"Was at the pride parade all day, then went to a friend's place. If you would have just asked for my number like a sane person might have saved some time."

She pushed the door open and they stepped inside her small studio apartment which made Steven's place look like a mansion in comparison.

Jake chuckled, "Oh that's what you find weird about this. If you were interested cariño, all you had to do was ask. You find the man you pulled out of the dumpster not long ago at your door, covered in blood probably needing stitches and this is what bothers you. Not knowing my name. For all you know, I could be one of those super terrorists that have started popping up."

Jake sat down on the couch and began opening his shirt. He was stabbed by one of Harrow's men while searching for his whereabouts. Usually, he would have gone back to the house but the others have started suspecting things and he could not risk a switch by going there. So he decided to pay the kind nurse a visit. She had patched him up the last time and given him some of her ex's clothes.

"You know what, fair. I should kick you out but I won't. You clearly don't have a lot or you wouldn't be here again."

She pulled a first aid kit from her kitchen cabinet and began setting up the contents on the countertop. Then walked up to turn on the light that was behind Khonshu. Though the god was invisible to anyone other than his avatars most of the time, Jake had a suspicion that if someone came too close they might feel his presence, evident by how quickly Khonshu moved out of her way.

"Move the couch closer. I need to see how bad it is."

Jake did his best to move the couch closer to the light. She sat down on the stool next to him and began cleaning the area. Jake could feel his skin burn as whatever was in the gauze touched the open wound.

"Just so you know, you don't look like the type of guy who would be a super soldier. Maybe it's my absolute lack of self-preservation skills but you don't feel any more dangerous than a guy I could match with on tinder."

That caused Jake to cough as he choked on the air. "What kind of people have you been dating? Nothing about this is normal."

She bit her lip trying to stop herself from smiling.

"I can not take more of this. It is child's play, stop distracting yourself. You will hear from me when I have something" Khunsho declared before dissolving into the dark corner.

"I promise it's not that bad. Crime has gone up in the area since people came back. When I found you I just assumed that you got mugged or something. Though now I'm beginning to think that is not the case."

"See you are starting to catch on. Though you never said you are not interested." Jake teased, bending over a little to be closer to her. He could not deny that she was beautiful, even more so in the dim light. Sure he knew nothing would come of it, but it couldn't hurt to look.

"Stop moving and let me focus. Flirting will distract me and I really don't want you to bleed out on my couch."

Jake dramatically moved his hands over his lips, as if he was zipping them up. he winced in pain as she started putting the stitches in.

"Why can't you go to the A&E? I mean I'm not even a practising nurse anymore. I'm worried that this might be infected, you should really get it looked at"

Perhaps Jake was being too hopeful in thinking she wouldn't ask too many questions. He thought about what to say. Nothing he could say would make her believe her. Jake had no idea why he had even bothered to come here when he could have easily used the suit to heal. There was just something so comforting about her presence, perhaps he was looking for something that could take the pain away. Pain that the suit could not heal.

In the end, Jake settled for a half-truth, "Couldn't go home looking like this. The others would worry."

When she was done, she offered him some chai. Jake thought about Steven, and how he would have loved to have a cup. But Jake politely declined, not wanting to burden her any further than he had to.

The last thing Jake could remember before he fell asleep on the nurse's blue couch, was her talking about how big of a jerk her supervisor was. And if it wasn't for the people she would have left her job a while back.

[dsandrvk]

Friday, September 1 - Halifax, Nova Scotia

Yesterday was our last full sea day and we spent it catching up on sleep, attending lectures and enjoying nice weather on deck. We should have spent more time organizing since we will be busy until debarkation, but...

Today we were fortunate to be able to tag along with our friends Gary and Sue in their rental car and see some of the "must-see" sights around Halifax. We first drove down to the town of Lunenburg, which has the distinction of being the only Canadian town listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. It is, according to the designation, an "outstanding example of British Colonial settlement in North America". Founded in 1753, and being mostly a shipbuilding and fishing community, it was well laid out and has a remarkable level of preservation of older buildings, resulting in a very cute town, and a lot of tourists. The old town area is quite walkable and full of surprises around every corner, like this over the top Carpenter Gothic Anglican Church.

Another big draw is the seafront, which is home to the Bluenose II schooner, a replica of the original Bluenose, launched in 1921, which was a fishing schooner that also raced and was undefeated in her native waters. She unfortunately sank off of Haiti in 1946. This schooner was built to the same specifications as the original and was completed in 1963, and rebuilt in 2012. She is now a sailing ambassador for the province of Nova Scotia, and is based in Lunenburg, although travels all over Nova Scotia, and we were lucky she was in port. She has a crew of 20 mostly young people who sign up for a 6 month stint. We were free to go aboard and look around while she was docked, but her afternoon sail was completely booked. She can do 16 knots at top speed under sail, and at 161 feet in length, it must be a hoot to sail on her.

We took the scenic way back up the coast, stopping at another cute town called Mahone Bay, which was much more linear than Lunenburg and was mostly along both sides of the coastal road. Further along we finally headed for Peggy's Cove, a small enclave with a famous lighthouse, and more picturesque buildings (and shops and art galleries, etc.). By now it was late afternoon, and while there were still plenty of people around, the tour buses and the bulk of the visitors had left. The town is on indigenous land, and as a result all the signs were in the native language first, then English, and finally French. They have done a good job with plenty of parking, public bathrooms, and kept the commercial stuff to a minimum visually. I can see why it is a "must-see" place when visiting the area. It is also a magnet for plain air painters, given the works in the little galleries.

It's interesting to see how certain places seem to specialize in certain foods. In Charlottetown, every bar or restaurant was also an "oyster bar". Here, every place sells lobster rolls, including Subway (they had the cheapest ones we've seen). Of course, this being Canada, most places offer poutine, too.

Because we are here overnight and tomorrow until noon, and had 24 hours for the car, we chose just to drive back to the ship and park in the large lot outside our terminal. We were stumped by how to pay, since the sign said free until 5 AM. We eventually found out that it was also free on weekends, but not after trying for 15 minutes to make it work. By then, we had just enough time to get cleaned up and have dinner. It was nice not to have to hurry through the day for an early departure.

Tomorrow we will bid farewell to Canada, and prepare to enter the US on Sunday at Bar Harbor. We continue to be lucky again with weather, and may be able to pack away our rain gear for the remainder of the trip (or maybe that will just be tempting fate).

[lonespektr]

Oct 26th The Deep House

It's a couple

The guy is a vlogger they travel

First visit is a derelict sanatorium

The lady seems to tolerate his shenanigans

They appear to travel blog for money maybe, just white people with family money probably

Yeah they are just rich white people with history degreees

Local is getting paid a small fee to show the couple a secret spot where a perfectly preferred house is under water

She's a tag a long. I mention it cause I was just reading a long thread about men who get partnered to just any woman, they don't actually like them but just want one to do things for them and these women take on their partners habits/hobbies and display an interest and the men never do the same

She scares easily he constantly does stupid pranks she doesn't like she learns how to dive goes on these creepy things she only kinda tolerates

Anyway they dive sure the guy waits up top (he hiked them in)

He's playing music she hates and making sacrilegious jokes she doesn't like

The underwater house is actually locked up tight

Save for a single window

Ok some discrepancies they were informed the area was a planned flood however inside the house is fully furnished

Wealthy enough to have 1 underwater 4k camera 1 underwater drone an air drone all this scuba shit they don't make any money off the vids they admitted

He's condensending

Family portrait perfectly preserved in water

They heard voices and said "interference "

From fucking what bro you under the water

The BIG QUESTION how is this stuff not all decayed

His hypocrisy was brought up by her earlier as he says in one tourist spot "every asshole with a go-pro is here." whilst holding a go pro

Intermittent pentagrams n shit

Now scratches on the door

Camera and audio intermittent disruptions to feed

Thru have stayed together

Not much is floating I mean old ass furniture still weighs shit even in water I suppose but it's all very "staged" like why is the candelabra floating right above the table why not any where in the house

It's close to found footage because when the camera glitches the screen goes

Missing children newspaper clippings newspaper disintegrates in like 4 seconds in water 🤷🏾🤷🏾🤷🏾

Why isn't anything degraded?

SECRET ROOM behind jesus

The water is murky they can't see shit drone in

Supply room

Super 8

Hanging suspended chain bodies

She said NOPE lets go. He said yea you right then just fuccckin

He verbalizes acquiescence and then immediately revoked it just straight lies

General Satanic pentagram shit

2 bodies with masks like man in the iron mask shit

Now they are separated the the first time

Nm they back together

They leave the way they came in

Annnddd it's brick walled off

The guy is calming her down and it's meant to make her seem hysterical but honestly why is he so fuccking calm ANND this is all his fault

Like suspiciously calm

Isn't it hard to break glass under water because uniform pressure on both sides and like no leverage of like wind up??? Plus water resistance

Back in the body room to follow a rouge fish out

No dice too small

Rouge music playing ...from no where

Now been awol'd and bodies awol'd

Now lady is meat hooked and we got red water chaos and of course..lady screaming

She's having visual and auditory hallucinations well kept the meat hook

Of course the guy takes the masks off like look babe bodies still here

Bodies start moving...home owners

Lol they aren't trying to talk just pursuing and staring

There's no reason for him to be that calm

Now falling rocks as they try to go out the chimney

I haven't mention the lady lied about how long she can free dive

Lady is stuck in chimney

Dude awol again

Electronics are on the fritz

But not... There's no reason went they can't hear each other via radio

Why is dude locked in random bedroom?

They were right next to each other

The guy who led them there is a family member of the drowned house. Not only are the bodies alive they are also walking on the floor...bodies um...float

The bodies are attacking them separately well tbh they are looking for them and grabbing at them

Woman Kris screaming for dude

Dude stopped asking after her 2 mins in

Now been mask cracked a bit access he's talking weird shit

How did he know there was a snake in her suit

Well she's afraid of them but it was tiny and adorable but underwater snakes usually poisonous but that lil baby was cute as hell it was like 2 shoe laces thick and not as long

It's a gardener baby snek

He's leading her into a trap and talking nonsense

Missing kids from the house via video footage conveniently projected

The bodies he popping up convenient times

Now sis is at 1% air finally stops stabbing with the knife edge had the whole friggin time

Ghostly stabs dude with knife

Air 0

She still down they're playing games

Ghostly bodies still standing on the ground like??? Demonic possession reduces buoyancy ???

She's breaking for it without air and with no ascent breaks

Secs from breach she stops ..inaccurate portrayal of ascension unless they are saying her lungs....it's still wrong

Lol that's it

That was dumb

Would have been better if he faked the whole thing and she dumps him and finds new hobbies

[dieinct]

i need to make a secondary fish tag bc yall know about small preserved fish but a lot of the fish you send me (thank you!) are not small or preserved