#so i have to settle for it being invisible which means you can see how ragged the edges it usually hides are

[softgrungeprophet]

i hate mods and i hate making mods actually

literally like 7 hours in the hole today and what i accomplished was: still not being able to fix the zipper so i shortened it so it just wouldn't cross the uv seam on the head, which is like, a compromise. it's fine and doesn't need to be that long anyway and i prob should have just done that in the first place

and

uhh

that's it lol! cause i spent at least half of those 7 hours on the lenses that don't look right no matter what i try!

[hedgehog-moss]

I bought a roll of chicken netting to fence off my vegetable garden—which I haven't planted yet because it's been raining every single day for like two months and I didn't want my young tomato plants to rot, but the weather is finally improving. I'll plant my garden next week, and I wanted to trim the grass around it and clear the area of weeds, but then I remembered I have animals that can do this job.

So I opened the pasture in front of the (future) garden. Currently it looks like a long pile of dirt, because that's what it is (well, compost + llama manure + dirt)—but look how long it is! I'm feeling ambitious this year and I have quintupled the length of my initial hügelkultur mound.

You might be surprised to learn that Pirlouit was the first animal who noticed the opening in the fence and got out. It's not actually surprising because Pirou has a fresh grass-dar—but Pampe was very much surprised & vexed.

Everyone looked really happy to have access to this new little area!

Initially I thought I would be able to continue preparing the garden while they were eating, but I quickly realised I was too paranoid for that. I mean, it's Pampe vs. a small temporary fence meant for chickens. Enough said. I didn't dare to turn my back on her even for a minute, so I ended up just sitting in the grass next to them with a book, which was really nice.

Pampe decided to lie down in the grass to eat more comfortably, something Pirlouit still deeply disapproves of.

Poldine however thinks it's a brilliant idea.

Update: all my llamas are now horizontal, eating like three Roman emperors. Only Pirlouit continues to mind his table manners.

Of course this peacefulness couldn't last, and after stuffing herself with new grass for half an hour, Pampe remembered there was also a new fence to think about.

She decided to lie down again 5 centimetres away from it, so she could inspect it and strategise while maintaining a demeanour of relaxed innocence.

I was not relaxed.

You are exhausting.

At 7:30pm I started feeling torn, because I don't like to miss apéritif time but—could I run to the kitchen to get a glass of apéritif and some biscuits and run back before Pampe had time to do anything? (The kitchen is 15 metres away.) (I feel like this detail doesn't change anything and if I inserted a poll here everyone would massively vote "Pampe will have time to escape")

But you would be wrong!! When I returned from my quick and suspenseful dash to the kitchen, guess who was on the verge of doing something illegal...?

PAMPOLDINE. Bad llama!! She was interested in tasting the flowers on the other side and she was pretty bashful when I shooed her away.

I believe the only reason Pampérigouste didn't escape is because she assumed her daughter was about to, so her family's reputation was maintained, she would get to see me run and curse llamakind and straighten the fence grumpily, and she didn't even have to get up.

Which goes to show that she doesn't escape due to a deep and unquenchable thirst for freedom, but to aggravate me personally.

I settled on my ash wood throne to have apéritif, comfortably seated in full view of all the animals—

—so of course Pampe immediately got up and went to inspect the fence on the other end of this little pen, behind the hazel tree that was blocking my line of sight, in the one place that I couldn't see from my seat.

I had to get up to see what she was doing (and angrily wave a stick in her direction until she moved away) and when I returned to my tree stump there was a little insect swimming in my wine. Pampe lay down again, pleased with herself.

When it was dinner time and I kindly invited everyone to return to the pasture (Pirlouit & Pampelune complied without fuss), Pampe suddenly lay completely flat in the grass, in what was clearly an attempt to make herself invisible and be forgotten all by herself in this barely-fenced area, kind of like children who dream of being locked in a toy shop overnight.

I haven't taken my eyes off you all evening. Of course I can see you.

I had to poke her with my stick until she deigned to get up and leave (Poldine followed), but all in all it was a very successful little outing. I might do this regularly throughout the summer to keep the grass trimmed in this area, although the difficulty level will be greatly increased when I have to patrol the fence and protect my vegetables at the same time.

I'll add that when I went out later in the evening to close the chicken coop, Poldine & Pampelune were far away, grazing together under the plum trees, meanwhile Pirlouit and Pampe were still queueing in front of the part of the fence that was previously open. Both waiting for me to let them access this heavenly garden again (but with different motivations)

[bunnliix]

The Invisible Strings that Bind Us - Chapter Nine

I'm finally back with Chapter Nine of this story, which honestly might be a lil angsty and sad once again, because y/n has to pack up her entire life back home so she can head back to her boys.

Also sidenote after writing this, I'm not sure I love this chapter, but I also wanted to get something out after not writing for this series for a while, so I may come back and rewrite this later on.

masterlist Pairing: OT8 Stray Kids x reader wc: 1.2k AU: Soulmates Genre: Fluff/Angst warnings: none! (I think) Nets: @mirohs-aurora-society

Y/n had met her new bodyguards at the airport, as they had come to pick her up, her family having been too busy to do so. She directed them back to her home, taking a deep breath as she walked up to the front door, typing in the passcode and breathing a sigh of relief when the door unlocked. It seemed no one was home at that moment. She beckoned the two men to enter behind her, and to her surprise, neither of the family dogs started barking. The dogs only stared at her, tails wagging and happiness visible in the way they looked at her as she moved closer, coming up to say hello to them.

“Hi my loves, how are you both? I’ve missed you so so much!” Was all she was able to get out before she was smothered by the two dogs, almost being pinned to the floor in their excitement to see her.

At this time, one of the men received a call, quickly pulling out his phone and answering it.

“Hello sir. Yes we’ve arrived, and we’re currently at her house. You want to speak to her? Hold on, I’ll get her.” He responded to whomever was on the phone, before looking over at y/n. “Miss, Mr. Bang wants to speak with you.” He told her, motioning to his phone. 

Y/n took the phone from the man, holding it up to her ear and hearing the voice of her oldest soulmate.

“You’ve arrived safely?” He asked her immediately.

“I’m safe, Chris. I’m at my house, being smothered by my dogs.” She replied.

“Okay good.” She could hear him let out a relieved breath at her response. 

“Chris, why did you get so concerned?” She asked him.

“I always get worried whenever one of my loves is away, where I can’t protect you.” He told her as if it was common knowledge.

Her heart warmed at hearing how much Chris already cared for her, that he considered her one of his loves.

“Okay now that I know you’re okay and I’ve heard your voice, you should go ahead and get settled in so you’re able to start packing things. You can hand the phone back over now, okay babygirl?” He told her, though she was reluctant to let him go, wanting to talk with him further.

She handed the phone back over to the guard who had given it to her, before she headed down to her own room, bringing her bags with her. She dropped them quickly as she entered her room to see her bunny looking up at her, having heard all of the noise upstairs.

“Hi baby! Oh how I’ve missed you!” She called out to him, as she sped over to his cage, picking him up carefully, acting as if she hadn’t seen him in months, when in reality it had been maybe a week since she last saw him. Though really, the days were hard to keep track of sometimes, so who knows exactly how many days it had been.

The smile on her face was so large, it almost made her face hurt, but she couldn’t contain her smile and Jack greeted her, leaving tiny kisses on her nose and rubbing his chin wherever he could, making sure y/n knew her bunny loved her just as much as she loved him back. The two had a special bond, one that every animal and their owner had, and with Jack being around for so much of y/n’s life, she couldn’t imagine life without him.

She was so occupied with greeting and holding Jack that she hadn’t realized her two guards had made their way into her room as well.

She jumped a bit upon turning around and seeing them there. She however kept a tight hold on her bunny, not letting go of him despite her being frightened. 

“Sorry ma’am, we didn’t mean to frighten you.” They both said in unison.

“Don’t worry about it, I get scared easily.” She reassured them.

“We’ve ordered boxes for you to pack your items, and Stray Kids has a shipping company that will ship them back to Seoul.” She was informed, and put Jack back down into his cage before facing them.

“Okay. Thank you for doing that and letting me know. I’ll start making lists of everything that needs to be packed, so that this is all much easier to tackle.” She said, both to them and herself.

Y/n sat down on her bed, having grabbed a journal on the way over, and started writing down everything she would need to bring back with her, organizing it by categories. The lists were longer than she expected they would be, but she did have quite a few things, plus anything of Jack’s that had to be packed as well.

“When will the boxes be delivered?” She asked, looking up at the men.

“It should be tomorrow morning.” One of them answered.

“Okay. Since I’ve already figured out the logistics of visas and taking my bunny with me, the next step is to talk with my school about finishing my degree online. So, we’re heading to my school.” She informed them.

She put down her notebook and got off the bed, thanking everything that she had arrived in the early morning and that it was a weekday, so she could go to campus today and get it sorted. She quickly moved throughout the rest of the house, making sure she had everything she needed, plus checking that her dogs couldn’t get into too much trouble while she was gone.

“I’m ready to go.” She told the men, who nodded and followed her out of the house before they led her to the car once again. It thankfully was a quick ride to her university, where things were not as easy. She waited in the dean’s office while they checked her credit hours and to see exactly what else she needed for her degree, and if all of it could be done virtually. She was hoping this would be quick, but when were bureaucratic or academic matters quick?

It took a couple hours of emailing and calling professors and creating a plan for her to finish her final year abroad, but almost five hours later, she was walking out of the building with an email detailing the plan for her final year of university, and the knowledge that it was all sorted out. She was more than tired after that entire process, and y/n was more than ready to head back home and sleep the rest of the day away.

“Take me home please.” She asked her driver/bodyguard once she was in the car. Once she was safely buckled in, it was once again a quick ride back home. Once she arrived back home, she found that the house was no longer empty, as he parent’s car sat in the driveway.

‘Well, here goes nothing,’ she thought, as she entered the front door, dreading what her parents would say.

Taglist: @queen-thiccness @k-k-kn1v3s @ihrtlix @calisnewworld @lailac13 

@thegingerthatwaited @hyunmikim @pheonixfire777 @sapphirewaves @yukichan67

Taglist: Open!

[sleepingnova]

imagine miles morales confessing to you that he is spider man after he saves you from something idk I love him

sure thing anon :) I don't know if you wanted this to be a pre - established relationship, so I'm just gonna go on a limb here and do that. sorry this took so long, I had a sudden burst of motivation. it's 1 am, so this isn't proofread

wc : I don't have a fucking clue, how do you check your word count if you're mobile?? I wanna do that 😭

Friendly neighborhood spider - man

pairing: miles morales x journalist reader

summary : being new york's top journalist has its perks, but it always seems to attract the wrong type of attention.

Journalism. It's not for the faint of heart. When you have deadlines to make, interviews to take care of, and people constantly yelling either at you or around you 24 / 7, everything can be a bit time consuming.

That also means you get a lot of attention. Some good, while others..not so much. Sure, its nice to have a free coffee or cake pop every now and then for the articles and the interviews you do; people have always said you have a way with words.

You really don't even know how you got into this situation. The caffeine kicked in, which made you jumpy to everyone and everything, really. Your eyebags were not very nice to look at and to be honest, you looked a mess.

You woke up late for class, you weren't really feeling like getting out of bed anyways but you did it anyway. No makeup, no nice and preppy clothing, just you; and boy did that bite you in the ass. You were 95% sure that all the things you had in life were handed to you because you were pretty. For instance, the guy who hired you literally took one look at you and said "congratulations, you're hired. we could use a pretty girl like you for coffee runs, right sweetheart?"

With balancing college and your career as a journalist, it's not too difficult. So then why'd you end up in this situation? Getting cornered by 3 guys in a dark ass alleyway, and it's 3:05 am.

No one at your job comes close to you when it comes to performance. Every single time. The newest topic of discussion is Brooklyn's number one trending for 7 years straight : spider - man.

"Who was he?" is your focus. The CEO of your job was retiring, and he held a competition to see who would take his spot. He obviously had you in mind, but he wanted to make things fair and you told him you wanted to earn it, not have it given to you.

The challenge was fairly simple: Get an exclusive interview with spider - man and have him answer a couple questions.

You've done exclusives before, not a problem. Until you realized, major problem. He swings around the city 24/7 how in fucks name were you going to catch him? Until an idea came to you. You stayed up all night, then you got hungry, so you left your dorm and walked down the street to the 24 hour convenience store. You liked documenting what you do, so you were recording on your phone where you were going.

After getting some snacks, you left and couldn't shake the feeling you were being followed. You were. By 4 different people. One of whom was none other than the infamous Miles Morales or, well, spider - man. He saw the guys five minutes ago and didn't want to do anything until he knew for sure you were getting followed.

A bit of time passes and miles realizes, he lost you. He hears a muffled shout from down the street so he runs towards it, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

Now your mind comes back to this exact moment. You can't really make out what the guy in front of you is saying, but you think he's trying to rob you, but why would he need two other guys to rob someone? Especially in the middle of the night. You look dazed and totally not scared at all, Miles thinks, as he's literally invisible right in front of you.

You come out of your trance to one of them forcing you onto the ground. You wiggle and worm your way away, but it's not enough. Fear settled in as you realized what they were doing.

"Hey! Let her go." A voice shouts. You reach into your pocket to grab your pepper spray as you see a bunch of webs and hear hard blows hitting, but it's really dark and you can't see in the dark for shit.

You start running out of the alley and back towards your building, you look back and see the three of them running after you. So you run a little faster, and faster, until you're full on sprinting down the street.

'Thank god my parents forced me into track and field.' you thought, as you got closer and closer to the building. As luck would have it, the doors were locked, and your key was in that bag full of snacks.

They finally catch you, and in a split second, you brace for impact, but it never comes. You're in the air.

You look up and there it is. This is the story that'll get you CEO position, you'll be CEO for the rest of your life. A thought pops into your head as he drops you off at his apartment.

'Was my phone recording everything? Oh shit it was.' you think to yourself as you pull out your phone, your eyes widening.

Another thought pops up. 'oh my god, I'm in spider - man's apartment. it's not even that far from my building.' you wonder as you stop the recording.

"you do know you're going to have to delete that footage, right?" he asks as he lifts up his mask and puts something in his mouth.

"I get your job as a journalist is important, but sweetheart, I gotta keep you safe."

You raise your eyebrow, "how do you know about my job?"

he shrugs as he removes his mask.

"Miles? What the fuck is this? Don't tell me you're.. You're spider - man?" You whisper yell as you back up towards his desk.

"The one and only, love. surprised to see me?" he chuckles.

it was then that everything started to piece together. he always bails on plans, he's always late and has sudden injuries. hell, you even saw his suit in his bag once, but you didn't think anything of it.

"wait.. what does my interview with you have anything to do with keeping me safe?" you raised a brow at him as he plops down on his bed.

"think about it, baby. Me swinging around being spider - man gets pretty complicated when there's an article released by my girlfriend about how she got saved, by me. It puts you in jeopardy, because criminals can find you and use you as bait, and because I don't know that you won't put my identity out there." he explained.

"but you know I'm not like that." you replied.

"yes, I know baby. it's just complicated." he said.

you sighed with a defeated look, knowing that your boss wasn't going to be pleased, but it was for the best.

"if it's alright with you, do you mind if I just stay here for the night? in the morning, on my way to work, I can ask for another key." you asked, softly, him catching your disappointed change in octave.

"yeah sure, that's fine." he replied, walking into his room.

"do you have a spare blanket? I can just sleep out here on the couch." you called to him.

"hm? uh yeah, I think I have a spare. unless you'd like to sleep in my room, with me? the couch is kinda uncomfortable, and it gets kinda cold in here throughout the night." he offered, shyly.

"what about your roommate?" you questioned quietly.

"he won't be back for another week or so, as far as I'm concerned, he'll text if something goes south." he answered.

you thought for a moment, then nodded as you followed him into his room and climbed into his soft bed.

"woah, this is way softer than I thought it would be. what softener do you use when you wash your blankets?" you wondered aloud, cuddling all in his blankets and he chuckled.

"uhhh, I don't know. my roommate does laundry. I don't ever go with him unless he needs me to, which isn't often." he responded.

'ah.' you thought.

"aren't you going to spoon me? c'mon miles, please?" you pleaded with the tired, little puppy dog eyes miles swore he hated, because he could never say no to you when you made that face.

"I'm sorry, I have a couple of essays to write still. Why don't you get the bed nice and warm, then I'll be in bed before you know it." he cooed.

your eyelids started to get heavy as you let out a small hum as you started to fall asleep.

when you woke up the next day, it was 8 am and there was a small basket in the chair next to you.

the basket was filled with your snacks from the night before all wrapped up in the bag still, a hoodie and some clothes to wear to class, a water bottle and a nice book for you to read. on the desk, there was your favorite iced coffee and a note with absolutely beautiful penmanship.

you smiled as you read the letter.

[ hello,

spider man here!

I only have time to answer one of your questions right now, so here it is.

Being a hero isn't about being famous or rich, it's about your own morals and how you stick to them. I started the whole "spiderman" thing when I was 14 years old. It was hard, I had just lost a family member and I felt isolated from my family. You wouldn't believe me if I said that under the mask, I'm just an ordinary person, just like all of you, but I am, really.

I chose to be a hero because I believed in helping others. I really have to leave, so I can't say much more.

Remember, anyone can wear the mask.

Until next time,

—your friendly neighborhood spider man. ]

while you knew that you couldn't tell anyone about who was really under the mask, a part of you felt proud that he trusted you with his secret.

should I make another part to this? likes and reblogs are always appreciated :>

[flaetsbnortoriginals]

I've just had a dream that was so steeped in Magic: The Gathering lore that I need to post it to tumblr on the off-chance that people who know enough to understand it will be able to read it, because if I tell it to the people I usually tell my dreams to they won't understand a dang thing. Sorry @one-time-i-dreamt

So. The dream was in Ravnica, and was about this planeswalker lady. She was white, with long straight blonde hair, and a fancy blue dress. I have the feeling that I was dreaming I was her before my dream remembered I'm a boring cis man without any amazing powers so as far as I can recall I'm just following her, like the main character of a story. I'm not sure I should call her my OC since she was created without any prompting of my conscious mind but none of the characters in the dream have names so I'll call her that.

OC was walking down a boulevard in Ravnica with this dude. They were pretending to be a couple, but the dude was actually a Dimir spy she had bested and was kind of her prisoner. Dimir guy wasn't very happy about it but wasn't too angry either, he saw his "custodianship" as a work thing and kind of respected OC, so they were chill.

OC saw a woman who she realized wasn't from this plane, although she was pretending to be a local. She challenged Dimir guy to point out what made them realize this. Now I expected this to go like a Sherlock sequence, with each one pointing out a detail in the woman's outfit or some very precise behaviour. Instead, OC starts by pointing out that this woman is wearing

A FRIGGING BRIGHT BLUE SOCCER JERSEY

and not only are soccer jerseys not usual clothes in Ravnica, (at least not until Hooligans at Rakdos Stadium is released), but it also has a giant number on it (77 if you're curious), except that Ravnica uses a different writing system, so any planeswalker would immediately clock her as an outsider. (I think that it's only sort of implied that each plane uses a different writing system, but in the dream that was settled truth.)

OC is so apalled at how poorly this woman - who needs a name, so I'll call her BadKellan for reasons that will soon become apparent - is at hiding herself, she decides to have a word with her. BadKellan realizes she's being followed and hoofs it - but OC and Dimir guy immediately use their Dimir crap to become invisible. BadKellan thinks he's shaken them off, but she's quite rattled, so she goes to her safehouse, which happens to be just around the corner. OC and Dimir sneak in behind her, then make themselves visible.

Now I should tell you that Dimir Guy does nothing else in this story. I was going to say that he's just Ken, he's just there, but it's actually worse - his presence makes the story make no sense, since OC is about to reveal some secrets to some random lady. But the dream didn't forget him: I vividly recall that he was still around all throughout this part of the dream, even though he does nothing else.

So. OC reveals herself and tells BadKellan that what she's doing is very dangerous. She tells her about the Dimir (the guild, not the random guy) and says that if they see her poorly sneaking around and think she's going to be trouble, or even can't figure out what her deal is, they're just going to kill her. Which means it's incredibly dangerous for her to go around like that.

BadKellan reveals a few things about herself. She's from Earth - yes, our real world. She's not a planeswalker. She was brought to Ravnica against her will and told to blend in and pretend to be a local. She doesn't feel comfortable revealing who told her to do that.

OC decides to give BadKellan a few pointers on how to lay low on Ravnica. She explains that she would dress mostly in gray, since colours are strongly associated with the guilds and she should stay away from them to stop making waves. She asks her to change her outift and she'll say if it draws attention.

BadKellan changes clothes. She's now dressed entirely in gray, which is good, except that her shirt

HAS A LARGE, GLITTERING PRINT ACROSS THE FRONT READING

girl

IT'S THE EXACT SAME THING AS BEFORE. IT'S A LARGE PRINT USING OFF-PLANE SCRIPT. It's not as large as the jersey number, sure, but I'd like to remind you that it's glittering!

OC is apparently as taken aback by this as I am, because she turns her into a squirrel.

In fact, she specifically turns her into the squirrel from Bloomburrow key art.

OC's logic is that BadKellan is so bad at blending in that this is the only way she can be safe. OC intends to release "squirrel girl" in a park while she tries to look into exactly whose plans she just ruined and how bad of an idea it was.

There was more to this dream, but my memories are fuzzy and it's (even more) uninteresting. I think it involves the Boros having a special currency that they gain when they help people but the Dimir also use it in a kind of ironic way? I don't remember.

[frangipani-wanderlust]

How To Call 911

So most of my followers know now that I started working last May as a 911 dispatcher. Super proud of myself. And now that I am starting (very much still starting) to settle in a bit, I want to offer some tips on how to call 911. So, hold on to your hats.

(no-color version if the yellow text isn't rendering on your screen correctly)

When in doubt, call 911. Don't take this as me encouraging you to jump at shadows. Your neighbors' loud party is not an emergency, google the local non-emergency line and call that. Neither is the dry cleaning not giving you your clothes (I actually got this call on our 911 line). Nor is the fact that you saw a fox inside city limits (also something a real human called 911 about). But if you see a situation unfolding and you think "this seems dangerous, maybe this is 911-worthy" then it's 911-worthy. Don't hesitate. Call.

If you call 911 and you are freaking out, that's okay. If you're in a crisis, you may not remember a single tip I'm about to give you. We are trained for that, we can handle it, just do the best you can. It's not the end of the world to have a hysterical or frightened caller, and these are tips, not rules.

Location, location, location. We can't send you help if we have nowhere to send it to. Ideally, know the address. Failing that, know the name of a business or a church or an intersection. It is not cheating if you read this off a sign. There isn't a set of invisible rules that says you have to have your exact GPS coordinates memorized. Be prepared to describe the location somehow. That way, if our connection drops and that's all you can tell me, I can still send some police out to come find out what's going on and they can ask for medics or firefighters or whatever if needed. But we absolutely must know where to send assistance, it is the first thing we're going to ask.

Location again, but with a twist. The first thing our office says for emergencies is, "911, what is the address of the emergency?" If a building is on fire, tell us where the fire is. If your neighbors are being robbed at gunpoint across the street, give us their address. If you witnessed a car accident, tell us where the accident happened. The location of the emergency isn't necessarily the location where you are. Don't send police and fire to your office building if the wreck is on the freeway.

Answer the questions that you are asked. If the calltaker asks "Is the patient breathing?" don't start in about the seizure they just had (if they aren't breathing, the seizure they just had is not the biggest problem). If the calltaker asks, "Which way did the man you saw go when they ran?" don't tell them about how they broke down your door (if they are running away, knowing they broke your door down does not help the police know which direction to start looking). The particular question you are asked is being asked for a reason, and that reason is not frivolous but in an emergency, we aren't going to stop and explain everything.

Do not launch into a speech. If you're asked a yes/no question, yes or no is all the answer you should give. Your impulse will be to explain the yes or the no because more information is better than not enough, but overexplaining is its own problem. Now, we are hired for good typist skills, and are encouraged to get better and faster, but infodumping means things can get missed. The calltaker is going to have some information they're going to ask for by protocol and probably the option to drill down on some of it if clarification is needed. If you spend five paragraphs explaining your last answer, it delays getting other pertinent information.

Do not launch into a speech, part the second. You don't call 911 for things that happened last week, or even yesterday. Tell me the emergency that is happening right now. Ideally in one sentence. If someone is having a medical issue, and you call 911 about it, when the calltaker asks exactly what happened, do not tell them about how the patient had a surgery 5-and-a-half weeks ago. You called 911. What is the emergency that is happening right now. Don't be telling me about their surgery when the problem you called about is a broken leg. Yes, the surgery may have led to generalized loss of balance that has yet to return which caused the patient to fall which caused them to break their leg. Understood. But you didn't call because of all of that. You called because of the broken leg. Apply this principle to all emergencies.

Don't launch into a speech, part the third. When asked a specific and direct question, do not give an explanation instead of an answer. If the calltaker asks you "Is the weird person on the side of the road actually in the lanes of traffic?" do not explain to them how it's a very narrow roadway (see parenthesis for the story here). Aside from the fact that we're not asking these questions to be funny (see part the second), there's also the fact that now you are coming over as suspicious as hell. If I asked "how did that person on Facebook know what this supposedly missing kid is wearing and where he's going to be at 3:00 today?" and you say "well Facebook is a good way to spread information" I am now extremely suspicious of you.

(Also an actual call I have taken. The man was a totally ordinary guy out for a walk to the store, but this blue collar man walked through a Rich Person Neighborhood™ and according to Lady Catherine De Bourgh on the phone with me, that merited a call to the police. When I asked her if he was actually in the lanes of traffic [traffic hazard call type] versus not [suspicious person call type, on a technicality but technically...], she tried explaining three times that the road was narrow before she finally got the message that I was not going to stop asking until she told me the actual answer and answered "Well, I suppose so, yes." At this point, because she'd been so reluctant to answer me, I no longer believed the man actually was in the lanes of traffic and to this day believe that she lied to try and manipulate the police into a stronger-level response than was actually warranted. Because determining whether she was lying for sure is beyond the scope of my job, I put down what she said, but I didn't believe then and still don't believe now, that she told the truth. The totally ordinary and probably very nice guy was not arrested or hassled at all and was instead given a courtesy ride to the store.)

Be prepared to describe relevant people, maybe including yourself, and that includes race. If you have an asthma attack at a football game, the medics need to know how to find you in a crowd. If you are a black woman, that's gonna rule out everyone who isn't that. If you are a black woman wearing a yellow shirt, blue jeans, and a blue bandana over your hair, that excludes nearly everybody and when the medics arrive, they'll know exactly who to look for. Most of the time, someone's race isn't relevant information. When describing someone to emergency services, it absolutely is and it is not racist to accurately describe the relevant person or people.

There are more tips in the world, and I may come back to this post and add them as they occur to me. In the meantime, please enjoy this short treatise on how to call 911.

[yuesya]

There is a terrible silence that settles, following the Master’s declaration.

You shall faithfully obey your Lord and devotedly serve the Master of your soul, Decarabian!

The words almost seem to echo, among the restless winds that gradually pick up around them. Irritable and wild, sharp and stinging. There is a heavy pressure that coalesces and builds, a string pulled taut. The invisible tension that saturates the air before a storm breaks.

The young god –Decarabian– looks towards the Master expressionlessly.

A wide smile splits across the Master’s face, all teeth. “You’ve caused me quite enough trouble, little one. Now, kneel before me.”

There is authority imbued into that order, and the bird finds its knees slamming into the muddy ground even though the command is not directed towards it. A pained gasp escapes from its throat, not entirely of its own volition.

Its hands sink deep into the mud. The earth beneath its talons is a dark scarlet. Blood.

No no no no–

The Master revels in death and destruction. War forges strength, suffering tempers resilience; all dreams shall be achieved at the end of the road, when I ascend the Archon throne. The widespread ruin that’s wrought in the Master’s wake, according to the Master’s whims and desires… is something that already haunts the bird’s every waking moment, and every dream. An endless nightmare.

But if there is another god that becomes one of the Master’s thralls, one whose aspect is aligned with battle, then–!

Decarabian, kneel.

The Master’s irritation is compounded by impatience; it lances down through the bird’s spine, needle-sharp despite not being the target of the Master’s ire.

And yet–

Decarabian, the one that the command is targeted towards…

Does.

Not.

Kneel.

Instead, the white-haired god raises her blade, and proceeds to drive it through the Master’s chest.

There is a terrible scream. The Master is screaming. Black ichor splatters from the wound, and it burns upon the bird’s skin. Paralyzed and unable to move, there is nothing that the bird can do but tremble beneath the Master’s rage.

“How?!” The Master demands, furious and disbelieving in turn. Then, a choked-off cry of pain; the other god has twisted her blade, driving it deeper into the Master’s body.

“A spell of obedience, is it?” The adolescent god remarks, “How dull. It wouldn’t have made a difference even if it took properly; you’re far too weak to force me to submit to you. And…”

She yanks her blade out. The Master staggers, and crumples to the ground.

“Get up. I’m not done with you.” For the first time, there is emotion in the other god’s voice. A frigid, glacial anger. “How dare you attempt to taint the name of Decarabian like this.”

The Master spits out a mouthful of black blood, then throws back her head and laughs.

“Ah, I see it now… you’re not ‘Decarabian.’ To think that I would be fooled by a trick as simple as this…” the Master shakes her head, slowly rising to her feet. “I confess, I’ve underestimated you, youngling. But you… are underestimating me as well. I may not be a martially-inclined god, but I am a god nonetheless.”

The Master presses a hand to the gaping hole in their chest, adeptal energies coalescing to heal the grievous injury–

Nothing happens.

Black ichor continues to drip down from between the Master’s fingers.

“… What is this?” the Master hisses. “What is the meaning of this?”

The Master’s rage is a near-physical thing, and the bird is suffocated beneath the crushing weight that slams into it out of nowhere. But through that all-consuming anger, there is also a hint of fear.

The other god tilts her head. “Did you really think that I would let you walk away from this?”

“So that’s how it is…” A faint chuckle. Then, a laugh. With a jolt of terror, the bird realizes that there’s a note of madness to the Master’s voice, which cannot mean anything good. It’s– “But don’t think that you’ll be walking away from this, either. I shall teach you of the wrath of a dying god!”

The last words end in a shout, accompanied by the swell of divine power –more than the bird has ever seen the Master bring to bear before, and the force of the gathering energies is enough to burn the air and shake the ground underfoot.

Crazed laughter, accompanying an eruption of divine power–

The world tilts, sky becoming earth and earth becoming sea, and the surrounding waters rise up to eclipse the sun–

Silence. Blessed darkness.

…

…

…

… Am I… finally dead?

“Not yet.”

The bird’s eyes snap open.

Darkness. All around it, everything is pitch-dark. There is nothing that can be seen, as if the bird is floating in the very essence of the darkness itself–

“Pay attention,” the voice in front of him says. A girl. No, not a girl. White hair and blue eyes, divinity enfolded into a human form; this is Dec– … the god that the Master had been fighting. “And watch your step. It’s still dangerous here.”

What…?

A pale hand reaches out, pristine fingers closing over the bird’s own muddy, bloodstained ones with no trace of hesitation. It’s such an inexplicable, oddly gentle motion, and the bird experiences a brief moment of mind-numbing panic, completely at a loss as for how to respond to this.

What’s going on?

“Your god killed herself,” the white-haired girl tells the bird, tugging it along… somewhere. Woodenly, the bird moves to follow. Each step is accompanied by a new jolt of pain from its injuries, “I’m containing the Mistress of Dreams’ mess in my barrier so I can take care of it properly. Right now, we’re in… the rift between dreams and reality, I suppose. I’m taking you outside with the other survivors.”

“… You won’t kill me?”

“No. I can’t,” the god shakes her head. “Not right now, at least. It’s one of the conditions for raising a barrier like this, with precisely zero preparations beforehand and such a large range.”

The bird blinks, faintly confused. But it understands that the god does not intend to kill it, despite having fought its Master –resulting in the master’s death. As the victor, then, that… means she’s the new Master, right?

So then, “What are your orders, Master?”

“… I’m not your Master,” the Master –not Master?– tells the bird, much to its mounting confusion. “And I don’t have orders. Just go.”

“T-That’s–”

“You can wake up now.”

The bird’s eyes snap open.

… Sunlight. Bright, and blinding. There is warm sunlight shining down upon its skin, accompanied by a cool breeze. And around it, there is the soft, unmistakable murmur of startled human voices… and the bird realizes that the shores are filled with humans. 

Humans who all look confused and disoriented. Varying degrees of fearful, as well. There are also those who are openly weeping, kneeling down and bowing in the direction of–

A solid wall of darkness.

The bird’s head cranes back; up and up and up.

There is a dark dome, rising high up from the ground and stretching into the sky. It covers… quite a significant portion of the Master’s… the former Master’s territory. Is this… the ‘barrier’ that the white-haired god had mentioned? The barrier within which the catastrophic aftereffects of a god’s death were contained? … And the god had… evacuated everyone within it as well…?

…

“Well, well,” a lighthearted voice suddenly sounds jovially behind the bird. “Isn’t this an interesting –oh, no need to look so startled, little bird.”

Long blue hair tied up in a high ponytail, tanned skin the color of sand submerged beneath the waves. This is a god who’s grinning at it, who–

“Your mistress is dead, and yet you, the most powerful of her thralls live… how curious,” the man smiles sharply. Then, in a commanding voice that brooks no argument, “Tell me what happened inside there. Osial, the Lord of the Vortex, demands it.”

[bird-inacage]

Only Friends: Ray x Sand Character & Relationship Theories

So a fun game I like to play before a series airs, is to speculate on the characters and the possible direction or conflicts that may arise (based only on what we've seen so far). An initial delve into Ray and Sand as individuals and as a couple.

RAY

"Ray is quite spoiled. He wants to be pampered by everyone." Being spoilt often means getting your way, and hence unable to compromise or settle for less. Ray loves attention, which can lead to an inflated sense of self-importance or narcissism. The issue with this is your identity becomes so easily informed by those around you. Without attention to thrive on, Ray may feel invisible or inadequate. And when feeling insecure, they may feel driven to do things to purposely draw attention to themselves (exhibitionist-like behaviour or throwing tantrums/sulking). Attention only supplies a fleeting sense of validation. It's nowhere close to true fulfilment.

A spoilt nature can also manifest as clinginess or possessiveness. ‘This is mine', 'this belongs to me and only me.' As Khaotung puts it, Ray likes being 'pampered' aka doted on by those around him. So when Mew is swiped away by Top from under his nose, Ray is clearly annoyed. This is partly due to Top being his love rival, but I believe it's more simple than that. Mew is his friend. Once Top comes into the picture, Mew naturally spends much less time with him. Possessiveness is the close relative of (petty) jealousy. You don't want 'your people' spending time with anyone else. You ideally want them revolving their time around you, because they validate your existence.

"Be patient with his hot temper, because Ray is easily frustrated." Confrontational, brash, and a loose cannon when angry. Ray seems to react on emotion rather than rationale. If things aren't to his liking, his immediate knee jerk reaction is to act out. Essentially, he's a bit of a brat. "He's going to be straightforward. His words might not be appropriate. Ray might just say what he wants honestly." Ray isn't deterred by formalities or niceties. You’ll get the truth whether you like it or not.

"Deep down, I think he's someone who needs love." "So if you're his friend, he might fall for you too." These points Khaotung shared are the most intriguing in my opinion. It implies that it's not Mew exclusively that Ray could have developed a crush on. It could have easily been another close friend in an alternative version of events. Ray may latch onto others far too easily (especially towards those who give him positive attention and reinforcement, possibly).

SAND

First emphasises that Sand's financial situation has a huge bearing on his character. "He works to earn his living, thus he must be patient when doing things to ensure his survival... he has to work many jobs to earn money". Sand appears to be a musician who side hustles as a sex worker (which is at least two jobs). He has to be resourceful and pragmatic, especially in how to set his priorities in order.

"Sand doesn't have time. He's someone you must approach first." If they say my treat, they suddenly become more interesting to him." It requires more effort for someone to get to know Sand. I speculate that Ray might begin by 'hiring' Sand under the pretence of work. If Sand doesn't have much free time to spare, this would allow Ray to see him if he offers to 'pay for it'. Even though it's in Sand's best interests to pursue connections that will benefit him, he makes exceptions for those he considers his friends. This tells me that Sand has a strong righteous and moral compass. No matter how tough his own circumstances may be, he'll prioritise those he cares about.

"You will see his patience." Patience nurtures a willingness to listen and a willingness to compromise. Patience suggests registered and thoughtful decision-making rather than haste. Unfortunately it can cause others to push your boundaries, under the assumption you'll be more forgiving. In the trailer, he's frequently on the receiving end of Ray's wrath. Everyone has a limit, and it's likely that Ray will test Sand's patience to the point he snaps.

"People around him might sense tension and pressure from him sometimes." It's no surprise that when you live on the edge, you can be highly strung. His circumstances would understandably make him less tolerant to 'first world problems' or unnecessary shenanigans. Sand seems like the type to have a no nonsense policy for mind games. He could be a voice of reason in the series, as we see him trying to talk sense into Nick regarding Boston’s treatment of him. I have a hunch Sand will act out of genuine concern for Ray in a lot of instances, which gets rebuffed or misunderstood as being overly nosy or preachy.

RAY x SAND: Potential Conflicts

Sand's Financial Status

Mew, Ray, Boston and Top all seem to move in the same circles - appearing fairly wealthy. Often seen in homes with huge pools, driving nice cars and dress fairly dapper too. Ray has a ridiculously lavish bedroom (I mean fur pillows??) Whereas I think Sand and Nick may live together, and are on the other end of the spectrum. Sand works multiple jobs and Nick works in a phone shop.

When there is a wealth imbalance, it's common for those lesser off to have a complex around this (being in a position of disadvantage and seen as inferior). "Do I need to pamper you and call you Sugar Daddy? I don't know how to do that." By definition, 'Sugar Daddy' is usually someone older/richer who lavishes gifts on their 'partner' in exchange for sexual favours. Sand's cynic quip is a little dig at their dynamic, alluding to the fact that he doesn't know how to play to those in richer circles.

"It's clear that you just can't take care of what you have." Top mocks Sand in a way that could support this theory. That he can't take care of Ray and support his lifestyle. Ray also says, "You think my life will be better with you?" Which could be interpreted as: 'What value do you bring to my life (when I already have everything)?' It also has an air of 'Who are you to comment on my life when we come from different worlds entirely?'

Ray is High Maintenance or 'Troubled'

"I'll never take someone like you as my boyfriend." Which is Sand declaring: 'You/Your type are way too much trouble for me'. (Famous last words). He also says, "You should save your money for a shrink." Ray likely comes with baggage, bad habits or more serious issues. Whatever this may be, it's very clear to Sand that Ray would be too challenging a prospect as a boyfriend. Though there is undoubtedly attraction between them, Sand's wariness about these issues are strong enough for him to be hesitant about going further.

Another curious detail is in one scene Ray's arm is in a sling, and another he appears to have a bruised lip and cheek. Ray clearly has a volatile temper, which is a probable cause for trouble. But something tells me that Ray may have a far more underlying problem that would warrant Sand suggesting he see a shrink. Anger management issues feels too on the nose.

More Than Just Bed Friends

At the start of the series, Ray is pining over Mew. Somewhere along the line he starts to pursue Sand more seriously instead, though Sand doesn't consider Ray as boyfriend material. "Can you make an exception for me?"

"Can you stop thinking about something else for just one second? Focus on me for once, will you?" Sand seems frustrated that Ray blows hot and cold, which means he doesn't really know where he stands. Ray has either given very mixed signals from the get go or majorly yo-yos after Mew is definitely taken. "Stop poking your nose into my business. What are we to each other?" "Now that you already stepped into my life, I won't let you walk away." One minute he's telling Sand to piss off, and the next he's vowing not to let Sand out of his sights.

The ultimate conflict being 'so, what are we'?

Ray and Sand are referred to as 'Bed Friends' but Boston and Nick are referred to as 'Friends with Benefits'. (I thought this meant the same thing, but is there a distinction? Someone enlighten me if so). In the context of this series, it seems 'Bed Friends' refers to sex that leads to friendship. Whereas 'Friends with Benefits' are two friends that have sex regularly but don't share a romantic relationship.

-----

There will be plenty to analyse as soon as the first episode airs this week. Super interested to hear what others have been speculating is in store for us. We will not be prepared.

[bandofchimeras]

I have to say this: the education on fascism in American education is largely limited to "Germans in 1940s." And the settler hatred and right wing extremism we are surrounded by, growing up in my privilege felt invisible as water to a fish. The first cracks in the limited America centric blinders however into international awareness came from relationship: learning about Chiapas and the Zapatistas from my ex, from my friend's education on Armenia and refugees.

It started to click in my brain because researching the situation on Instagram, even on pictures of natural landscapes or other posts not even about the genocide, you would see these accounts with the most hateful vile dehumanizing language - Azeri. And out of the American context and programming it was easier to see that for what it is, baseless aggression towards Indigenous people based on insecurity. And how insane, how strange and baseless it was. I had to block and report and argue with a few of the trolls just from commenting something harmless on an Armenian's post.

Then a few months later - that aggression erupted into white phosphorus bombs. I did not respond in the way that Palestine has been responded to, or much at all. There was less on the ground reporting but that's not really an excuse for how little the waves of pain hit me, how invisibilized Artsakh occupation and land grab was and emotionally unattended to. I was still in my own bubble of settled misery.

It's easier to share content about Palestine because there is so much content made. And the visibility is so high that propaganda can't counter it. In contrast my friend had to put in a lot of work to educate me and most people around them about Armenian history. I regret that. And the resistance and ignorance I exhibited. And I regret coming so late to awareness of colonialism's tangled roots and the history and work of resistance and persistence of indigenous peoples. However it was that particular encounter with the Azeri hatred which laid the tracks for understanding my friend, and also for this further and intense assault on Palestine. Which was already in my proximal awareness but I am ashamed to say, never fully awakened by relationships with real people here.

And meanwhile, happening, and now, people are speaking up about the Congo. About Sudan. About Tigray. About extraction and assault and bombing and execution and horrors and violence which can scarcely be out to words. About the freedom they want for their people and the immense load of pain they have been carrying for far too long as refugees, as colonized people fleeing their own lands.

About these I know even less.

And I do not think it is wise to pretend to know more. I have been called in for posturing or getting ahead of my self in ignorance, of the heart of the movement which is care for and being in community with the people who are caretakers of the land and/or doing the work of survival and fighting colonial oppression and repression.

So what I have to say from where I stand is: the future is coming. If you do not know the survivors of this generation you do not know how strong they are, and their vision of the future. Beyond all the trauma and the need for care and support, this strength is not arguable. The ancestors are with people now.

There will be a future and Armenians, Palestinians, all of these nations will be in it. I choose to believe that, believe in them but not to hope for it because there is an absolute chasm of work to be done, reconciliation and listening and conceding and fighting. And hope can let us get off easy. No, but the work is joyous if you surrender to it.

Do not lose heart, do not be afraid to sacrifice and do not lose yourself in fear, guilt and doubt. They are a maze I've been lost in for years. And only finding my way out through the hands of these friends, having done harm and been corrected in it, witnessing the meaning of pain but also spirit, of God, of joy of true undying Love. This is what revolution is and requires is a total eclipse and regeneration of the heart, the ego, the mind.

I have only taken the first baby step but already despite the horrors laid out before us, the future is glimmering. The evils of settler colonial rabid fury are stains on the world that cannot be washed out. Every second they are allowed to persist kills the collective soul of humanity. Especially the souls of those of us complicit in settler states. We must release our fears, and fall in line with the call for reparation and return.

And our time is running thin but i do believe it is here. The road ahead is very dark, very brutal and very long. But we have the strength to walk it side by side because we must. Or stand aside.

[heartscrypt]

Do you have any headcanons for transfem Riddle

OH BOY DO I EVER. sorry this is going to be a HELLISH long post i have been saving all my thoughts

- before riddle realizes she's a girl she does the thing of like. "mother i want to be like you" and mimicks her mother a lot (this is because her mother is the only female figure in her life and riddle doesn't Actually want to be her mom she wants to be what her mom Is which is a WOMAN). her mother, being an overbearing control freak, is far too pleased by this (because she enjoys the idea of a child who is a second version of her)

- never goes as far as trying to wear her mother's dresses or putting on her mother's makeup because touching her mother's personal items feels like a death sentence regardless of how badly she wants to dress up. instead settles for encouraging her mother to buy them matching clothing so that riddle can dress a little more femininely while also flying under the radar

- she realized she was a girl around the time she started sneaking out to see chenya and trey. mostly because they would start talking about themselves when they were playing. chenya especially has always been ambiguously gendered even as a kid (and occasionally i think of trey as transmasc) so they were kind of her gateway to the concept of "you don't have to be the gender you were assigned at birth"

- she grew up with a very black and white view of gender though so she initially refused to come to terms with the fact that she was transfem when chenya + trey brought it up as a possibility. denied it adamantly and insisted that maybe it wasnt true for them but She was confined to the gender she was at birth despite however she felt

- in response chenya just started referring to her using she/her anyways. lol. sending this girl into a crisis by using her proper pronouns before she even comes to terms with the fact that those are her proper pronouns

- approached the subject of wanting to be a girl Once with her mom. her mom reacted like ?what and riddle got scared and immediately backed down

(note: this is because riddle is terrified of her mom's reaction to literally Anything that doesn't fit her vision of what riddle Should be, not necessarily because riddle's mom is transphobic. it's an easy route to say she's transphobic since she's. You know. The Worst. but i have to remind you all that you can be a shitty person even if you're not transphobic and also i think transphobia hcs in fictional universes where transphobia could plausibly not exist are cornyyyy boooooo why would you want transphobia to exist in canon /hj)

- socially transitioned as soon as she came to nrc. like marched up to crowley's office as soon as freshman orientation was over and demanded to change her gender on all school documentation. girl relax its been like an hour

- has not had the means to medically transition yet (her mother has complete control over her medical records) but has been researching the effects of hrt on her own time. it's part of her "studies to be a medical mage" (wink)

- in her freshman year she's still not used to being socially out despite having charged into it at full speed so. she uses heartslabyul rules as a cover of sorts so she can justify to herself things like putting on eyeliner and wearing heels (because that's tradition for the heartslabyul housewarden, not because she wants to. Obviously). fighting invisible demons

- the last time trey saw riddle was when she was still trying to fit into her assigned gender at birth so she's so incredibly nervous meeting him again this time with the knowledge that she's a girl. she knows he'll be accepting because hes. Trey. but it still feels strange. however he is her biggest supporter 🔥🔥🔥 one of her first gender euphoria moments is when he introduces her to cater as one of his childhood best friends and uses the correct pronouns the entire time while referring to riddle's past closeted self. she nearly cries

- deuce (cis) is way too enthusiastic about being an ally. he wears his he/him pronoun badge with pride. addresses riddle as ma'am. drinks his respect women juice. maybe puts a little Too much emphasis on riddle being a lady to the point where riddles like Ok this is too much.

- riddle and vil are baby transfem + elder transfem solidarity. this is honestly just canon if you read the halloween riddle vignette. but im gonna take it one step further and say vil helps riddle gradually feel more comfortable with her identity without feeling the need to justify her actions with some arbitrary rule. also instructs her on how to do makeup because riddles never done anything like that pre-nrc

- cater (genderfluid, loves to experiment on both sides of the gender spectrum when it comes to fashion) definitely regularly insists on taking riddle out to buy cute clothes and dresses. riddle bristles at the idea of being so frivolous when the only thing she Needs to wear at nrc is the uniform but she actually finds herself enjoying the little outings. after they go shopping they'll go to a nice cafe so that riddle can get a cute sweet treat and cater can post it on his magicam without actually having to consume anything sweet himself. they are friends :')...

- ohhhh thinking about their shopping trips is so </3 i love them so much. riddle has old lady fashion taste (tfw your middle aged mom is the only female figure in your life for 16 years and all she wears is dresses that look like theyre from the 17th century) and cater is just a little appalled. says the clothes riddle picks out aren't even vintage they're just Old. riddle retorts that the clothes cater picks out make no sense style-wise. she thinks things like crop tops and ripped jeans are stupid as a concept ("where's the rest of the shirt?" and "why would you want to buy damaged pants?" are common questions cater must endure when shopping for any type of modern fashion with riddle around)

- ace (transmasc guy) likes to torment riddle with gender-affirming misogyny. it's a joke that it is only funny to him. like he'll go "girls 🙄 all they do is nag" (he says its funny because he used to be a girl ok he's allowed to say that) whenever riddle starts bossing him around and riddle gets sooo fucking madhdDGDHHFH

[carriehobbs]

i would love to talk about juno 💕💕 !!

(these are probably not the best screenshots of juno but they are also my favourites. the first one because it shows the colour of her eyes and her little under-eye mole (the most important thing in the world) and the second one because i like how her armour looks and the shine on her hair)

juno is my other (and first) redemption durge! she's a wood half-elf ranger (hunter subclass, urban tracker/bounty hunter specs) who romanced gale! she fits very well into the selfless hero archetype she gets cast as during the adventure, but her only talking-to-people stat is intimidation, which i choose to represent as her having an off-putting and kind of threatening energy with strangers. anyone who knows her knows that she's a caring person, but she always reads as just a little bit dangerous to others. i miss playing her so much because she was completely unstoppable in combat (with 3 attacks (two main hand and one offhand that dealt almost as much damage), a cape that turns her invisible, 16m/approx 52 feet of movement speed, and an ac of 23).

juno's post-game breakdown (which is what i said i wanted to talk about the other day) is kind of a two-hander. firstly, it lets me play with one of my favourite tropes of all time: when an amnesiac character is immediately given a new (and often important) job upon entering a community, builds their entire identity around being the person who does that job, and then loses the ability to do the job (either permanently or temporarily). imagine that your entire sense of identity, self, value, purpose, etc., was all tied to one particular thing. the only person you have ever known yourself to be is the person who does this thing, but now you don't have that thing anymore. so who the fuck are you?

in juno's case, she doesn't remember her life leading the bhaalist cult. i know in act 3 you get some memories back, but i prefer to think of it more like she is able to remember some key details of her life that were previously lost to her and can remember some things that happened, but not everything, and that those memories don't really feel like they're hers. she knows objectively who she was and what she did, but it feels more like seeing someone else's memories rather than her own. she feels like her life started with the nautiloid crash.

this means that her entire life (that she remembers) involves solving everyone's problems, saving the day, and stopping the cult of the absolute. it's the only purpose she's ever had. it's the only context for her life that she's ever been given. she's always been needed. she doesn't see herself as "a person who happens to be doing this important quest" but as "the person who does this important quest", which is a subtle but significant difference.

and then she achieves her goal. she realizes her life's purpose. and she's still here, existing, except now she's directionless. she leaves one of the only cities she's ever known for a city she's only ever seen part of in one of gale's illusions. all of her friends (the only people she remembers being close to, the only family she remembers having) go their different directions and find new ways to give their lives meaning. and juno goes with gale to waterdeep.

and juno is genuinely thrilled to go to waterdeep and to marry gale. and at first things are going well, when they're in that honeymoon period as they first settle in. i think things start going south after gale starts working at blackstaff. because now she has empty hours to fill with her day while he's at work. she has no purpose anymore, she's in a brand new city, and her social circle has been reduced to her boyfriend, his mom, and his flying cat (who doesn't seem to like her that much). wedding planning can only occupy her so much. she doesn't even have a job to just fill her time. and given that the last two jobs listed on her resume are "ex-bhaalist cult leader" and "saviour of baldur's gate" and her professional skills are "murder", she's not exactly in a great position to get a job at waterdeep's fantasy walmart.

and, as much as i love gale, he gives me the impression of someone who can get a little too absorbed in their work. considering he's just returned from a year-long self-imposed seclusion followed by a quest to stop the illithid grand design, this is the first time he's been back in a wizardly and academic environment in a while. he's also not had a mortal partner for quite some time and thus not had to balance his professional life with his personal life the way he does now. so as much as he loves juno and wants to be a good partner to her, i don't think it's unrealistic to imagine him getting a little too caught up in his work and having some late nights at blackstaff.

which would be fine, except juno's now the partner who waits all day for him to come home, only for him to be late. which isn't a position she could ever be happy being in. she needs something to do, something to drive her. she's never been idle (or relaxed) before.

all of this (the directionlessness, the lack of purpose and meaning, the almost nonexistent social life, the idle time) is compounded by the second major component of juno's post-game breakdown: redemption durge kind of has harm ocd? it's not a perfect 1:1 representation of what ocd is like, but there are enough similarities that i had to stop as i was playing and go, "does durge have harm ocd? why did no one ever mention that durge kind of has harm ocd?"

(this entire description is going to be somewhat of an oversimplification of what ocd is like but) as redemption durge, you experience intense, ego-dystonic and unwanted thoughts (and sometimes images) that urge you to harm others throughout your daily life. furthermore, you literally have a guy (sceleritas fel) who follows you around, deliberately voicing these unwanted thoughts and trying to convince you that they are real and inevitable (a physical manifestation of intrusive thoughts). these thoughts may target the people or things you care about most, such as your friends or your partner. you may find yourself confessing these thoughts to people around you and seeking reassurance that these thoughts are not real, have not really happened, or that you are a good person.

the only place where this doesn't really fit is in the compulsions themselves: (again, this is an oversimplification, but) with ocd, your intrusive thoughts say "xyz thing is happening/is going to happen" and, in response, you perform a compulsion that ocd says will prevent the intrusive thought from coming true (ex. ocd tells you that, if you handle knives while cooking, you will use those knives to hurt someone in your home. the compulsion could be something like avoiding using knives or performing a particular ritual/habitual behaviour before or after you use knives. ocd tells you that in some way this repetitive, compulsive behaviour prevents your fear/intrusive thoughts (that you could hurt someone) from being realized). in the case of redemption durge, the compulsion kind of is the fear? you fear that you will hurt someone as a result of your urges, and so the compulsive behaviour that results is... for you to hurt people? it kind of falls apart here.

but after juno rejects bhaal and has her dark urges taken from her, there's so much space left over for actual ocd. a lot of her intrusive thoughts involve her urges coming back and causing her to hurt people. she avoids cooking (especially meats) because she fears working with meat will cause her urges to rise again (flesh is flesh, after all). she's terrified that she will kill gale without noticing it, particularly during the night (after all, she killed alfira in her sleep, and tried to kill gale in her sleep once), and so she compulsively checks on gale when he's home with her (things like leaving a room, having an intrusive thought about having killed him while she was in the room with him and having forgotten that she did it, and having to go back into the room she's just left to see that he's safe). things like that. and the thing about ocd is that it can get worse when you're idle, and so juno's empty time during the day exacerbates the symptoms of her ocd, making them much more acute.

but juno doesn't tell gale about these struggles (both to find a sense of purpose and a reason for her own existence after the defeat of the absolute and a resurgence of fears around her dark urges) because she doesn't want him to think she's not happy with him in waterdeep. she's decidedly not happy there (she's lonely, scared, aimless), but she wants to be happy there, and she hates the idea that she could ever make gale think she regrets coming to waterdeep with him or agreeing to marry him (which she doesn't, she does want those things, it's just hard right now). and she feels shame, too, i think, for struggling. everyone else seems to have settled so easily either back into their old lives or into new lives, and she seems to be the only one having trouble.

and so i think she kind of carries on with things getting progressively worse until everything becomes so unmanageable that it comes to a head. i don't know specifically the catalyst for it, but eventually juno has to tell gale about all of the things she's been struggling with. it's explosive, there are a lot of tears (and at least one wail about how tara doesn't even like her. juno has not been taking this well), and ultimately their relationship comes out stronger for having weathered this storm together. because now juno has expressed her needs and, while gale can't fix either of these problems for her, he can support her as her partner when he didn't know she needed his support before.

and eventually juno does find a new purpose: she decides to start doing whatever research she can into bhaal and bhaalspawn. she seeks to understand the information about herself and her legacy that she's been missing since the amnesia, and to be prepared in case bhaal or his other spawn rear their ugly heads again (and, though she and gale are not decided on if they want children, she has determined that she would not have biological children before she knows what happens to the children of bhaalspawn who have been disowned and stripped of their urges - she wouldn't want to pass her urges on, or give bhaal the chance to turn a child of hers into his new chosen).

but it makes the 6 month reunion in the epilogue very bittersweet for juno. though she's doing better by then than she was, she still feels delayed compared to everyone else, and she still feels a lot of shame and embarrassment over the ways she struggled to adjust to life after the absolute when everyone else seemed to manage so easily (especially since everyone keeps asking her what she's been doing and how she is). and just because she's doing better doesn't mean that the spectre of those hard times doesn't linger. at this point, she and gale aren't even married - the game gives you the option to reference your wedding day, but i never choose it because, in my mind, after juno has her big breakdown, she and gale decide to delay the wedding. they've not called off the engagement, but just decided to leave wedding planning until she's feeling better and more settled in their new lives together.

time (and a new direction) helps juno settle in waterdeep. eventually she and gale do marry and she gets used to the city and starts to make friends (and makes regular trips to see the other companions, no matter how far and wide they're spread now). she grows closer with gale's mother morena and finds more family in her. she and tara form an uneasy truce that grows into mutual respect and eventually affection (though juno knows her friendship with tara will never touch what tara has with gale). so, while things are rough for a while, they do get better :)

[yanderes-galore]

Can you please do a yandere Pythor from ninjago?

Hell yeah you can, here's a cunning snake for you :) Takes place in no specific season.

Yandere! Pythor P. Chumsworth Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Manipulation, Stalking, Violence, Threats, Obsession, Kidnapping, Mentions of mates, Forced relationship, Possessive behavior, Biting, Sadism, Marking, Degrading behavior, Murder, Blood mention, Mentions of eating people, Intimacy mention.

Pythor is a yandere who knows how to manipulate his darling to get what he wants.

He is threatening and well-equipped to pursue his goals.

Pythor himself didn't think he'd ever want to settle with anyone until he saw you.

You are naturally good natured, perhaps even a bit naive.

Which only makes your perfect material for him to manipulate.

Think about how Pythor has acted as a villain throughout the series for a moment.

He loves power as a megalomaniac, he's tricky and arrogant...

Charisma is one of his most powerful tools.

Pythor doesn't enjoy being confrontational when it comes to combat or removing competition.

He likes to scheme from a distance and get others to do the dirty work.

Due to being an Anacondrai, Pythor is capable of turning invisible to stalk you.

For the start of his obsession he likes to plan and watch you from afar.

When Pythor first met you I can picture it as a hostage situation or you are somehow involved with the ninja.

Somehow you'd need to be involved in his goals in at least Season 1 or 3 to get him obsessed with you.

Pythor also seems like a yandere who'd take awhile to fully sink into his obsession.

For the most part the snake is more focused and obsessive about his personal goals.

He's obsessed with himself and power.

It will take time before he even considers being mates with anyone.

Let alone a human.

He's a Serpentine with a lot of pride.

Although his obsession takes time, it hits hard and usually always means danger.

Many yanderes who take a long time with their obsession tend to be dangerous.

Yet they give you time to back out, usually.

When Pythor realizes he likes you in a strange obsession akin to his megalomania, you're doomed.

Any forces he has under his command are sent to keep an eye on you under the guise of you having information.

There's times Pythor stalks close to you by cloaking and slithering closer.

He likes the close proximity, even getting giddy at the idea of you not knowing how much danger you're truly in.

Pythor's a yandere who's Obsessive, Manipulative, Sadistic, Possessive, Cruel, and Forceful.

He loves the idea of your torment and loves to taunt you at times.

Honestly, at first he hates you because he can't get the thought of you out of his mind.

When he's given into the idea of needing you for one reason or another, he likes to playfully tell you it's your fault.

Essentially he likes to blame you for his obsession.

He likes the idea of lightly brushing past you when invisible just to see you freak out.

Don't you look so cute when you recoil from his breath on your skin?

It's just the wind, dear... he promises!

Pythor would be a pain for his darling, he takes joy in it.

It isn't long before he can't take it anymore when his obsession fully sets in.

You distract his mind with foul thoughts...

It's after this acceptance that he finally kidnaps you himself.

Pythor isn't cuddly when it comes to affection, usually.

He's cruel and sadistic, often playing with your emotions because he "loves" you.

This... is love, right? It's obsession, he likes the power more than you.

He's just playing with his mate....

That has a nice ring to it, actually...!

Mate....

Pythor expects his obsession to listen to his orders.

If you don't then he typically threatens you with a smile.

You want to keep him happy, don't you?

If not... he could always just eat you or your loved ones alive?

He is an Anacondrai... they tend to be known for that- (Or at least he was-)

Despite how cruel Pythor acts, often threatening you into complacency as his chosen mate, that doesn't mean he hates you fully.

He blames you for distracting him, but he still indulges.

He's possessive as I feel most Serpentine would be.

Pythor likes to feel he's in power over you.

Power is his big thing and he's very capable.

Aww... is his darling putting up a fight again?

Pythor likes to wrap around you and constrict you with his large body.

Then he holds you in his arms, maybe he even bites your neck to remind you you're his.

The entire time he likes to taunt you, grinning maliciously as his claws dig into your arms.

Pythor is one of this cruel yanderes who likes to tease, torment, and mark his darling all because of the power he feels from it.

But... you're still his lover.

He isn't going to stand back and allow others to have you or harm you.

Pythor may not like combat, yet he likes the idea of coating his scales in the blood of those who thought they could have you.

Getting rid of others who threaten to remove you from him gives him even more of a rush.

He may be tamer after he's gotten rid of a "rival".

Who cares if you see the blood quickly staining his scales?

There's no need to worry, dear...

Pythor just saved you from a later annoyance.

After he gets rid of a "nuisance", he's a bit easier to deal with.

Pythor's favorite thing to do is sneak up on your before wrapping around you.

It's nice to wrap around your warmth.

When he's constricting you he can feel your body snug against him.

He just likes to hold you for hours.

Need to get up?

No you don't.

You just need him right now, he loves you, doesn't he?

He'd wrap his long neck around you, nipping at your skin and flicking his tongue across your face.

Pythor may be horrible... but when he feels like it he just wants to hold you in a vice grip.

Power has always been an obsession of his...

You just happen to be another way for Pythor to feel powerful... just in a more... intimate way.

"What's wrong, my dear? Scared of snakes? Or... are you just scared of me~?"

[badcaseofcasey]

were there clues I didn't see? (an invisible string 'verse timestamp)

Surprise! Lol. I know I promised Eddie's POV but I sat down to write it and ended up writing this instead. Eddie's POV is still very much in the works and should also be posted soon! As always, let me know if you'd like to be added/removed from the taglist!

Read on AO3

It was a slower process than Steve had thought it would be, everyone else finding out.

Of course, Robin pretty much found out right away. Steve went into work at Family Video the day after he and Eddie had talked feeling more rested than he had in a while. He had slept in the downstairs bedroom with Eddie again that night, which did wonders for Steve being able to fall asleep at a reasonable time and stay asleep without being woken up by worries or nightmares.

“You’re looking chipper this morning,” Robin said, elbows resting on the counter as she watched Steve head to the back room to clock in.

“Do I?” he asked, trying to play it cool. “Had a good night’s sleep, I guess.”

Robin eyed him skeptically. “Something’s different about you. I can tell. And it’s not just a good night’s sleep.”

“Rob, do we have to do this?”

“We do, because it seems like there’s been a major change in my best friend and platonic soulmate’s life, and he doesn’t want to tell me about it.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you,” Steve argued. “It’s that I’ve only been here for two minutes.”

“Come on, Steve,” Robin whined. “Tell me - you know I would tell you.”

“That’s because you’re physically incapable of keeping things to yourself,” Steve said. ��But fine, just… promise not to freak out.”

“What did you do, Steven?”

“Nothing, just - remember, we’re in public, okay?” Steve said, taking a deep breath. “Eddie and I talked about being soulmates and what that, you know, means .”

“And?” Robin asked, practically vibrating where she sat on the stool behind the counter.

“And we kissed,” Steve said, blushing. “He told me he loved me, so I kissed him.”

Robin popped up off of the stool to wrap her arms around Steve before he had even finished his sentence. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Thanks, Buckley,” Steve said, giving her a quick squeeze in return.

“Does he know that if he hurts you, I’ll kick his ass?” she asked. “Wait… do you know that if you hurt him, I’ll kick your ass?”

Steve laughed and went to sit on his own stool, spinning back and forth on top of it and feeling lighter than he had in a long time. “Hopefully there will be no ass-kicking necessary.”

“So?” Robin asked, settling back on her stool. Luckily, Tuesday mornings weren’t a high-traffic time for video rentals, so they could sit back and talk without anyone overhearing. “What did you say?”

“What do you mean, what did I say?” 

“He told you he loves you, you kissed him, and then…” Robin said, gesturing for Steve to finish the sentence.

“Then, I dunno, we went about our day?” Steve said. “I made him breakfast, and we sat in the kitchen. Wayne came home after a while and we all hung out for a bit.”

“You didn’t tell him you loved him?!” Robin said, eyes wide. “Steve! I thought you were supposed to be good at this kind of stuff!”

Steve's eyes widened to match hers. “Oh my god.”

“Dingus, I swear,” Robin said, shaking her head.

Steve eyed the phone on the counter. “Is it weird to say it over the phone?”

“I don’t think I’m the best authority on what’s weird and what isn’t when it comes to relationships,” Robin said. “But I do know that if you don’t call him, you’re just going to be thinking about it all day.”

Steve grabbed the phone off the counter and pulled it towards him, quickly dialing the house phone. Eddie should still be awake; he had been sitting in the kitchen eating cereal when Steve left that morning.

“Hello, Harrington-Munson residence.”

“Do you really answer the phone like that?” Steve asked, laughing at how alien the phrase sounded in Eddie’s voice.

“Excuse me for trying to keep up your good reputation,” Eddie said. “Although, I should’ve known it was you calling. Can’t even go an hour without missing me too much?”

“Kind of,” Steve said. “I told Robin about us-”

“Hi, Eddie!” Robin called from where she sat, watching the door and flipping through a magazine.

“Tell her hi from me,” Eddie said.

Steve rolled his eyes and repeated the greeting. “Anyway, I was talking to Robin and she pointed out, very correctly, that I hadn’t actually told you how I feel at any point.”

Eddie was quiet for a few moments. “You know, just because I busted out the ‘L-word’ doesn’t mean-”

“No,” Steve interrupted. “No, I do. Love you, that is. That’s why I called.”

Steve could practically hear the blush and smile that was on Eddie’s face through the phone. He would have called him out on it, if it weren’t for the same blush that was currently on Steve’s cheeks.

“Well,” Eddie said. “Isn’t that a nice thing to hear? Steve Harrington, in love with little ol’ me?”

“Tease all you want, but I mean it,” Steve said. “So like, get ready to hear that more often.”

“Consider me sufficiently prepared,” Eddie said, sounding a little breathless.

“Sure,” Steve said. “So when I come home from work and say it to your face, I won’t get to see you blush?”

The other end of the line was silent.

“Okay,” Robin said, taking the receiver out of Steve’s hand. “That’s a little too close to the line of phone sex for me. Say goodbye, Eddie.”

“Goodbye, Eddie,” came the response from the receiver.

“Goodbye,” Steve called. “I love you!”

It was probably a good thing Robin was in charge of hanging up the phone, because knowing Steve, he probably wouldn’t have been able to end it there.

Continued on AO3...

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[missacidburn928s-heathenhideaway]

Moonlight & Fang Ch. 5

Divider by @firefly-graphics

Ari

For as long as I can remember, I have always forged my own path. A lone wolf. Going against the traditions ingrained in me as a pup. 

It’s not that I don’t enjoy the company of other wolves. My knot can more than attest to that. I just like the freedom to come and go as I please. Living in the shadows, affords me a means of which to protect himself and help other supernaturals, born and bitten, get to safety when their lives are in danger. 

Having safely delivered a young Firbolg back into the arms of their mother. I was left to my own devices once more. I had been exploring the vast forest of what was rumored to be cursed land. 

These woods may be dark and ominous, but I felt an ease wash over me as I crossed through its threshold and set foot upon its soil.

My wolf, who is normally pacing back and forth, unable to settle, is oddly calm the deeper I go. A steady glow in the distance catches my attention. As the wind makes its way through the trees, it carries with it a myriad of scents, coming from the direction of the light. 

Four distinct scents to be precise. One of which has my wolf perking up, wanting to play. I can smell that the scents are mingled together. Three males mixed in with a very strong female. Most likely Alpha’s and their Omega. Mates. Pack. I should turn away and go on about my business; but my stubborn wolf is pushing me forward. 

I watch the group from the shadows. The female’s beauty is unparalleled. Draped in black, like myself, from head to toe. A perfect matching set, if I do say so myself. I’m not one for sharing though. So I will have to challenge the head alpha. 

Too bad there doesn't seem to be one. They naturally follow her. What a powerful Omega she must be. I can sense she is much more than just a wolf and I’m dying to know what that is.

Selene

I can sense the eyes of a wolf, an Alpha to be specific, observing us from the protection of the shadows. As much as he is trying to mask his scent, the notes of sandalwood, black tea and pepper fill my lungs as I inhale deeply. The way it meshes with ours has my wolf ready to perfume the air.

It looks as if another mate has found their way to me. It’s been only months since Sy and I bonded. The fates must be smiling upon us for our paths to cross so soon. You won’t find me complaining.

Time for this game of hide and seek to come to an end. “Are you going to brood in the shadows all night or are you going to join us?”

A tense moment passes as my mates look at me like I'm crazy, talking to the trees. Or maybe they think I'm taunting Othello. That is until a figure emerges from the darkness. Shrouded in black, a hood obscuring his face.

“I didn’t want to impose. I’m not much of the group setting type.”

“A lone wolf.” I tease. “How fitting. Removed from the shadows yet still remaining hidden behind swaths of fabric.”

“If you wish to see my face, you need only ask little one.” He states. Charm oozing from his pores with every word.

“Oh, this is going to be fun.” Dean quips.

“Quite.” Jax agrees.

I close the distance between and this new wolf. I have nothing to fear here. This he may be charismatic and based off of his build, most likely skilled with a weapon. But he never would have made it this far into my land if it was with malice intent.

I smile my sweetest of smiles, and place my hands behind my back. Effectively placing my ample breasts on display. “Would you be so kind as to remove your hood, solitarius lupus?”

I watch on as his hands push the well crafted fabric off of his head. Revealing a bearded jaw, cerulean eyes, and longish brown hair that I would love to run my fingers through. I am so captivated by his looks that I almost forget how to breathe.

“Not what I was expecting under there.” Sy mumbles under his breath.

“I have too memorable a face to allow myself to walk freely without cover. Being able to be invisible is necessary in my line of work.” He calmly states.

“I’d ask you what that line of work is, but I’m sure I’d have to pay for that information. Right now we have more pressing things to address.”

“And those are?”

“I’m pretty certain your wolf has a strong idea of what it might be.”

“Let me guess. It has something to do with your rousing scent.”

“My scent makes your wolf all warm and fuzzy does it?”

“He’s practically foaming at the mouth.”

“Good. You're right where the fates deem you to be.”

“And how would you know that?”

“Because, like you, I was a lone wolf for a long time. Until the fates brought them to me." I wave my hand in the direction of my pack. "Each tested to ensure they were worthy of a mate such as I.”

“So I am to be tested?” He queries. 

“It is not mandatory. The choice is yours to make. Prove your worth and fulfill your destiny. Or walk away and be left wondering what could have been.”

“Say I accept. What challenge would I face?”

“Need to see all the angles before making a decision, I see.”  I tilt my head. Almost as if in thought. When my wolf and I knew from the moment we sensed him in the shadows what his test would entail.

“Something like that.” He responds. 

“A game of agility and wills.” I declare. “One dagger each. The first to draw the others blood along their blade is the victor. And may do with the loser as they please.”

A cocky smile crosses his face. “Challenge accepted.”

Ari

“Excellent.” Her plump lips, up turn in a devilish smirk. She takes her pointer finger, nail elongated into a thick black claw, and slides it down her thigh. Forming a tear in the fabric of her dress, to which she grabs and tears down to the hem. Repeating the process to the other leg. Allowing for freedom of movement I can only guess.

Upon the bronzed skin of her right thigh, sits a leather sheath. So the little Omega was at the ready far before I made my way here. This may be more interesting than I thought. 

I watch with rapt attention as she removes the weapon from its well worn home. 

The blade, black as midnight, has a broad, warped cross-guard. An elaborate coil of mixed metals on each side. Which makes it both balanced and capable of protecting the user's hands against any sliding sword. 

This weapon wasn't created by just any blacksmith. The hilt is adorned in black and red leather and a fairly small black pommel is decorated with precious gems.  Fine details which prove how carefully this weapon was crafted.

It fits perfectly in her delicate hands. 

I remove my own dagger from its hiding place tucked between my belt. The blade itself is bare. No decorations or engraved patterns. A sheathed sword has a hidden blade and a sword in use will be dirty and bloody, so only the hilt needs decorations. And mine is dressed in the runes of my ancestors. Offering protection in battle.

As the moonlight shines down upon us, she stands draped in a flowing black dress. Ready to engage in an intense duel with a skilled adversary. Her amber eyes gleaming with determination as she clasps the hilt of her dagger.

The stakes are high, for the first drop of crimson spilled upon the ground shall proclaim the victor. 

The air crackles with anticipation as our blades dance with deadly precision, weaving a tapestry of swift strikes and agile parries. Both of us, fueled by a burning desire to prove their prowess, move swiftly. 

Her body is an embodiment of grace and strength. 

The clash of metal resonates through the trees, as if nature itself holds her breath, witnessing the outcome of this exhilarating contest. With every move, her determination intensifies. Her movements become a mesmerizing display of artistry. 

In this fateful duel, honor, skill, and destiny intertwine.

Somehow she manages to seize a split-second advantage. With a swift and calculated strike, she swivels beneath my raised bicep and grazes the flesh beneath my chin. Drawing forth a small but decisive flow of scarlet. 

The duel ends, the goddess before me standing triumphant, chest heaving from the exhilaration of battle. Her victory, a testament to her unwavering skill and indomitable spirit.

I lower my weapon. “It takes great skill to be able to best me. With no use of magic at that.” I step forward, decreasing the space between us even more. “I am nothing, if not a man of my word. To the victor go the spoils. What is it you want of me, little one?”

Selene

“Now what could I possibly want from a lone wolf such as you.” I lick his still warm blood from my blade and tap it against my chin. “You do taste oh so lovely. I think I would like some more along my tongue.” I lunge forward with my beloved dagger. Made especially for me by my favorite blacksmith as a testament to our love and bond. 

I give him a fresh cut just above his clavicle, as I allow my blade to render his shirt to shreds. The crimson pooling at the base of his neck. Standing on my tip-toes, hands gripping his waist, I am able to lean forward and suck on the wound. As I pull myself closer, I become aware of a very prominent thickness pushing against my hips. 

“Seems I’m not the only one who enjoyed that wolf.” I take a half a step back and look him in his soulful blue eyes. “Before I claim my true prize, I need know of your name.”

“Why?” He questions.

“Because I want to know who’s name to scream to the gods about who is providing me the utmost pleasure of course.” I bite my bottom lip.

“Ari.”

“Ari. Mmm. Rolls right off the tongue.” I let my hand wander down his chest until I reach his rather large bulge. Allowing my fingers to trace the outline of his cock. “Now, are you going to be a good wolf and let me have my way with you, unchallenged.” I quirk my brow.

He narrows his eyes at me . “I surrender to no one.”

“Oh goody. I hoped you’d say that.” I practically beam with pent up energy as I look over to my pack. “I’d normally have my mates watch over a first mating. Safety precautions and all. But you seem the prickly sort. You’d have your eyes on them more than me and the pleasure I’m bestowing upon you. So I will send them a distance away. But not so far that they can not come to my aid if needed.”

“Why would they need to? I mean you no harm. I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Selene. You are Silver tongued and full of charm Ari. That is the most dangerous sort. You can slide under my defenses and strike all my vulnerable parts. I won’t risk it alone. So they stay close.”

He gives a charming smile. “Agreed. Though I’m not sure I have much of a choice.”

“You don’t.” I smile. Addressing my pack. My eyes never straying from the hold they have on Ari’s. “Dean, my love, would you mind finding a nice spot for you all, that may provide a semblance of privacy for us but allow for the link to stay strong.”

“Of course. I know just the place. Follow me boys. Let’s leave our Omega to do as destined and claim another soul.”

“Sel, you use the link if he tries to pull anything. And I mean anything.”

“Oh, Sy, I’ll be fine. I caught all of you after all.”

“Correction. I, in fact, caught you.” Jax boasts.

“Move along. Move along. I have pleasure to give and receive. As well as a claim to test.”

“A claim?”

“Oh yes. You didn't think you just happened upon our fire by happenstance did you? The fates brought you here to test you. Congrats, you won.”

“Won what?”

“Me, of course. The right to claim me and become a member of my pack. Unless you’re afraid to be part of my pack.”

“I don’t share.”

“I don’t believe that. I think you just never cared enough to try. I won’t tie you down. If you don't want me as a mate, then by all means, be on your way. But be aware.” I step closer once more. “You will be leaving with a reminder of your cowardice. Turning your back on your fated. It will be deep and scar. You will never be rid of the thoughts of me.”

“I am no coward.” He grits out.

“Prove it then. Claim me. Make me yours and I will make you mine. There is no other way.”

Ari

She wants to play with fire and tempt my wolf. Well, I’ll gladly watch her burn.

With a growl, I reach forward. Wrapping my hand around the back of her neck and pulling her forward into a bruising kiss. She tastes of wild magic and sin. Breaking the kiss, I leave her breathless. Hand placed on her heaving chest as she tries to regulate her intake of air.

“Dress. Gone. Now. Before I cut it to shreds.”

She pulls her dagger back out, turning it over with a flick of her wrist and cuts it off herself. Nicking her chest in the process. “It’s just fabric. Need further assistance with yours.” She innocently asks. Doe-eyed and sweet.

“Oh you’re dangerous, little one.”

“What better to challenge you with.” She giggles.

I kiss her once more as I unlace my pants and release my aching member into the chill night air. Gripping her thighs, I lift her up onto my naked chest. Walking forward, I allow my wolf to navigate us to the nearest tree and I slam her up against it. Affording me a nip to the lip in retaliation.

Her slick if making a mess of the thick hair trailing down my abdomen. She’s ripe and ready for me. So I notch my swollen head between her leaking folds and thrust inside her.

Only giving her a moment to adjust to the size of me splitting her open, I start a punishing pace. Slamming into her hard and deep. Hitting all of the sweet spots and grinding my pelvis down against her little bundle of nerves. As her back scratches against the bark, leaving its own mark behind. Our chests, still slick with blood, slide against one another as the very essence of our beings co mingle together.

I can feel her orgasm coming on quickly and with one more deep thrust, I watch her soar over the edge. Screaming my name to Gods, as she promised. 

This is not how I wish to claim her. No, I have something special in mind for that.

Pulling out, her tight cunt grips me in protest as she whines. Unhappy to be empty once more. I place her back on solid ground and turn to a patch of soft grass to our left. 

Lying on my back on the forest floor I turn to her. “C’mere Omega. I won't make you present for me. But I do want you to ride me to where I can watch that delectable bottom bounce upon my pelvis.” 

She licks her lips before biting them and heading over to my prone frame on shaky legs. Instead of just straddling my hips and sitting on my cock, she proceeds to kneel above my head and crawl over my torso. 

I grip her hips and lick her sweet pussy from slit to clit. With a generous slap to her ass for the brattiness. A fresh wave of slick drools out of her swollen lips onto my chest as she makes her way to my cock. 

With a glance over her shoulder, she places her hands on my thighs and lifts up her hips. Slowly she lowers herself down on my throbbing cock. Undulating above me. Hips swiveling and pelvis grinding against me. 

Her walls clench down on me whenever my head grazes her sweet spongy spot. She’s lost in the pleasure of it all. Sweat dampened skin, glittering in the silvery moonlight. She reaches her hands up and gathers her curls atop her head. Exposing the unmarked flesh on the back of her neck.

That unblemished skin is like a siren's call to my wolf. I raise my knees between her thighs. Widening them further as I move to sit up. My fingers tease along where we are joined as one until my ring and middle fingers decide to dance along her engorged clit. Rewarding me a mewling whine. 

Her hips begin to speed up and right as she is at the precipice of another climax, I latch my mouth to the back of her neck and sink my fangs in deep. The sweet tang of her blood fills my mouth as she denotes. Her pussy gushing slick around my cock. 

I thrust up into her, prolonging the pleasure coursing through her body. That is until she pulls my slick soaked hand up to her face and bites the inside of my wrist. Completing our bond and setting me off with it.

My cock barely makes it back, deep into the warmth of her channel before my knot pops. Locking us together as I fill her full of every drop of me I have to give. I have been without companionship for sometime now. So I quickly have her filled to overflowing. 

As we release each other to clean our claims and savor in the rush of endorphins. I run the fingers of my free hand along her folds. Collecting my seed along my fingers and raising them to her blood stained lips.

Without prompting, she leans forward and sucks them into her mouth. A pleasant moan vibrates through her chest as I feel her walls squeeze me once more.

I nuzzle against her shoulder. “Forever mine.”

Selene

“After all of that, there’s no getting rid of me Alpha.” I chuckle. “If you run, there is nowhere in this realm you could go where I won’t find you. I would scorch a path of fiery destruction in my wake and make you crawl through the embers back to me. And that still would not be enough.”

“Such a savage little thing. In a beautiful package.” He whispers. Undeterred by my threat.

“She means every word of it.” Sy proclaims, emerging from the shadows with your red cloak, draped over his arm. He walks confidently over to you and his new pack mate. “She ate my little brother for sneaking up on her and stabbing her while she fed in wolf form.”

“And she devoured my father and our hunting party when she was but a pup. Not to mention the countless souls that have lost their lives to her fangs in these accursed woods.” Dean adds in.

I feel Ari move his head behind me. The hairs of his beard tickling my skin. 

“Don’t look at me.” Jax throws his hands up. “She never killed anyone of importance to me. I was born this way and orphaned. Made a stable boy turned stable man. I care not for the people of that village.”

“To be clear.” I start. “Sy, your brother got what he deserved. The coward. And Dean,” I turn to him. “Let’s not forget that your father and his hunting party murdered mine in front of my very eyes. My wolf demanded blood for blood. I will never apologize for that.”

“Ruthless.” Ari speaks into my skin. “No wonder you were destined for me.”

“Or were you the one destined to be mine?” I query back.

“You had three mates before me. A pack.” He nips at my shoulder. “You needn’t another mate.”

“Actually…” I ghost my fingers over my bite on his wrist. “According to the Triple Goddesses, it is prophesied that I will have 5 mates. Upon claiming my final mate, balance on my land will be restored. The damage my mother dealt will be undone.”

“Your mother?”

“The Hag. But she’s nothing you need to concern yourself about. I killed her ages ago.” I state with a smile.

I feel him shake his head behind me and sigh. “You're something else, little one. I feel like I won’t have time to think about leaving as you’ll be keeping on my toes and entertained.”

“Does anyone else feel stronger with each new claim?” Dean blurts out.

“Now that I think of it, yeah.” Jax answers. “Just now when Red completed the bond, I felt this surge of energy zip through my spine. My skin has been thrumming with magic ever since.”

“Interesting.” Ari observes. “Well it seems there is only one more to go. So I guess I’ll have to wait and see. As of now I am feeling pretty fucking incredible.”

One more to go. 

One more before I properly feel complete. Call it witches intuition or wolf instinct but I feel like this last one is going to be different.

[frangipani-wanderlust]

How To Call 911

So most of my followers know now that I started working last May as a 911 dispatcher. Super proud of myself. And now that I am starting (very much still starting) to settle in a bit, I want to offer some tips on how to call 911. So, hold on to your hats.

(original version with colored text here)

When in doubt, call 911. Don't take this as me encouraging you to jump at shadows. Your neighbors' loud party is not an emergency, google the local non-emergency line and call that. Neither is the dry cleaning not giving you your clothes (I actually got this call on our 911 line). Nor is the fact that you saw a fox inside city limits (also something a real human called 911 about). But if you see a situation unfolding and you think "this seems dangerous, maybe this is 911-worthy" then it's 911-worthy. Don't hesitate. Call.

If you call 911 and you are freaking out, that's okay. If you're in a crisis, you may not remember a single tip I'm about to give you. We are trained for that, we can handle it, just do the best you can. It's not the end of the world to have a hysterical or frightened caller, and these are tips, not rules.

Location, location, location. We can't send you help if we have nowhere to send it to. Ideally, know the address. Failing that, know the name of a business or a church or an intersection. It is not cheating if you read this off a sign. There isn't a set of invisible rules that says you have to have your exact GPS coordinates memorized. Be prepared to describe the location somehow. That way, if our connection drops and that's all you can tell me, I can still send some police out to come find out what's going on and they can ask for medics or firefighters or whatever if needed. But we absolutely must know where to send assistance, it is the first thing we're going to ask.

Location again, but with a twist. The first thing our office says for emergencies is, "911, what is the address of the emergency?" If a building is on fire, tell us where the fire is. If your neighbors are being robbed at gunpoint across the street, give us their address. If you witnessed a car accident, tell us where the accident happened. The location of the emergency isn't necessarily the location where you are. Don't send police and fire to your office building if the wreck is on the freeway.

Answer the questions that you are asked. If the calltaker asks "Is the patient breathing?" don't start in about the seizure they just had (if they aren't breathing, the seizure they just had is not the biggest problem). If the calltaker asks, "Which way did the man you saw go when they ran?" don't tell them about how they broke down your door (if they are running away, knowing they broke your door down does not help the police know which direction to start looking). The particular question you are asked is being asked for a reason, and that reason is not frivolous but in an emergency, we aren't going to stop and explain everything.

Do not launch into a speech. If you're asked a yes/no question, yes or no is all the answer you should give. Your impulse will be to explain the yes or the no because more information is better than not enough, but overexplaining is its own problem. Now, we are hired for good typist skills, and are encouraged to get better and faster, but infodumping means things can get missed. The calltaker is going to have some information they're going to ask for by protocol and probably the option to drill down on some of it if clarification is needed. If you spend five paragraphs explaining your last answer, it delays getting other pertinent information.

Do not launch into a speech, part the second. You don't call 911 for things that happened last week, or even yesterday. Tell me the emergency that is happening right now. Ideally in one sentence. If someone is having a medical issue, and you call 911 about it, when the calltaker asks exactly what happened, do not tell them about how the patient had a surgery 5-and-a-half weeks ago. You called 911. What is the emergency that is happening right now. Don't be telling me about their surgery when the problem you called about is a broken leg. Yes, the surgery may have led to generalized loss of balance that has yet to return which caused the patient to fall which caused them to break their leg. Understood. But you didn't call because of all of that. You called because of the broken leg. Apply this principle to all emergencies.

Don't launch into a speech, part the third. When asked a specific and direct question, do not give an explanation instead of an answer. If the calltaker asks you "Is the weird person on the side of the road actually in the lanes of traffic?" do not explain to them how it's a very narrow roadway (see parenthesis for the story here). Aside from the fact that we're not asking these questions to be funny (see part the second), there's also the fact that now you are coming over as suspicious as hell. If I asked "how did that person on Facebook know what this supposedly missing kid is wearing and where he's going to be at 3:00 today?" and you say "well Facebook is a good way to spread information" I am now extremely suspicious of you.

(Also an actual call I have taken. The man was a totally ordinary guy out for a walk to the store, but this blue collar man walked through a Rich Person Neighborhood™ and according to Lady Catherine De Bourgh on the phone with me, that merited a call to the police. When I asked her if he was actually in the lanes of traffic [traffic hazard call type] versus not [suspicious person call type, on a technicality but technically...], she tried explaining three times that the road was narrow before she finally got the message that I was not going to stop asking until she told me the actual answer and answered "Well, I suppose so, yes." At this point, because she'd been so reluctant to answer me, I no longer believed the man actually was in the lanes of traffic and to this day believe that she lied to try and manipulate the police into a stronger-level response than was actually warranted. Because determining whether she was lying for sure is beyond the scope of my job, I put down what she said, but I didn't believe then and still don't believe now, that she told the truth. The totally ordinary and probably very nice guy was not arrested or hassled at all and was instead given a courtesy ride to the store.)

Be prepared to describe relevant people, maybe including yourself, and that includes race. If you have an asthma attack at a football game, the medics need to know how to find you in a crowd. If you are a black woman, that's gonna rule out everyone who isn't that. If you are a black woman wearing a yellow shirt, blue jeans, and a blue bandana over your hair, that excludes nearly everybody and when the medics arrive, they'll know exactly who to look for. Most of the time, someone's race isn't relevant information. When describing someone to emergency services, it absolutely is and it is not racist to accurately describe the relevant person or people.

There are more tips in the world, and I may come back to this post and add them as they occur to me. In the meantime, please enjoy this short treatise on how to call 911.

[mrhyde-mrseek]

SCIENCE MOST SINISTER: VOLUME II - PART FIVE

Kemp stared at the empty space where Griffin stood. “It . . . it wasn’t you?” he asked weakly.

“Of course not!” Griffin spat. “And just like you to barge in here and blame me!”

“Wait a minute.” Watson’s eyes darted over the newspaper clipping madly. “Do you mean to say, there is another invisible person wandering around somewhere?”

“Indeed,” said Utterson. “When Kemp told us the rumor, we naturally assumed it was Griffin, but now it seems we were mistaken.”

“What crimes has he committed thus far?” Holmes asked. “Where did they take place, and how long ago?”

“They began roughly two weeks ago near Port Burdock. The number of robberies in the area increased dramatically, and a few witnesses reported seeing small bags of what they assumed was money or other valuables floating through the air, with no hand to guide them. Mycroft has been keeping an eye on the reports to see if any larger crimes are being committed by his hand.”

“We still aren’t sure who it could be,” Edmund added. “As far as we know, Griffin is the only man alive who knows how to turn a human invisible. And from what I remember of Kemp’s description of you and your—er—adventures, for lack of a better word, nobody else but you ever laid eyes on your notes on the process of becoming invisible . . .” He trailed off and spread his hands.

What sounded like a fist thumped the back of the sofa, making Kemp jump. “Marvel!” There was venom in Griffin’s voice, and Kemp took a step back out of fear he would be bitten. “That cowardly bastard tramp, he stole my notebooks and kept them, I know he did! He figured out how to read them somehow, and—no, he’s too stupid for that. He must have found someone clever enough to decipher them, and used my own findings to—“

“Marvel is not the perpetrator of these crimes,” Mycroft interrupted, raising his voice. Griffin fell silent as he continued: “Three days ago, on the morning of December eleventh, Thomas Marvel was found stabbed to death in his bed.”

Kemp imagined Griffin deflating with the revelation. “Ah.” There was a long, awkward silence before he asked, “Do you have any suspects?”

“Unfortunately . . . no,” he admitted. “Besides you, of course, but I suppose we can successfully remove you from the list.”

His mood had taken a steep nosedive. He had been so certain Griffin was to blame. But if not him, then who else could it possibly be? Who else was clever enough to decode Griffin’s cryptic notes?

When Holmes spoke up, his ears pricked. “It seems,” the detective said thoughtfully, “that the only due course of action is to investigate this mystery from the beginning.”

He glanced up. “You want to help us?” he asked incredulously.

“Of course we do,” Holmes said. “We may as well, considering all the trouble your society has gone through to find us.”

Victor raised a hand. “Er, Holmes, are you sure that is a good idea?” he asked. “I only mean”—he indicated the room with a swivel of the head—“several of us have not left this house since we arrived. Would we not be endangering ourselves in doing so?”

Before Holmes had a chance to reason with Victor, Griffin interrupted him. “Our options are to either bring this imposter invisible man to justice and take my notebooks back, or hide in this dilapidated manor for the rest of our miserable lives. Which would you prefer?” It was spoken like a question, but the answer was obvious.

Holmes raised a brow. “A bit dramatically put, but I will admit, you make a fair point.”

“I didn’t realize you would be so invested in this case, considering you were shouting at me for blaming you only moments ago,” Kemp muttered.

He suddenly felt as though he were locked in the gaze of a hawk as the invisible man’s eyes settled on him. “I want my notebooks back, Kemp,” Griffin said slowly, an edge to his voice. Kemp shuddered. “And I intend to get them back.”

“Then it is settled,” Utterson said loudly before tensions had a chance to rise again. “The Society shall return tomorrow. We will leave for Port Burdock in the morning.”

And with that, it was settled.