#so need to remove fence and replace all with other blocks

[imogenkol]

❝   hey stop— stop!  look at me.  they’re dead now.  you can stop.  ❞ + imogen/bix xxx

First of all, sorry this took me forever to get to! Second, thank you!!!! I probably enjoyed this one a lil too much… but so did Imogen. Warning for strangulation under the cut!

Bix stopped dead in her tracks and Imogen saw the color drain from her face. She tried to follow her line of sight, but nothing in the crowd stood out. “What is it?” she asked and stepped closer, protectively reaching for Bix’s waist. 

“That man over there by the café,” Bix muttered as her body started to tremble. Imogen saw him now. A rather unremarkable looking man in an Imperial doctor’s uniform conversed with another officer just outside of the establishment. He appeared exceptionally ordinary in almost every way, easily blending in with the many faces of the Empire and did not seem very threatening at all. Apart from his smile. Something about it felt off and unsettled even Imogen. “Doctor Gorst, he… he was the one who…” 

“The one who interrogated you,” Imogen guessed. She did not need Bix to confirm, certainty settled deep within her bones and replaced the ice in her veins with a sudden fury – white-hot and steeped in hatred. The feeling tightly coiled her muscles like a predator who was about to pounce. 

Panic seized Bix’s tone. “I-I can’t be here. If he sees me –” 

“He won’t,” Imogen said with eerie calmness.  

She kept her vengeful gaze locked on the doctor as she removed her coat and draped it over Bix’s shoulders. Gorst’s role as an Imperial interrogator granted him the privilege of two Stormtroopers to guard him in public spaces, but Imogen saw little issue in that. She pulled her attention away from the small group to address the mechanic. 

“Keep out of sight,” she softly instructed and pulled the hood over Bix’s head. “He will not see you.”

Bix shook herself out of a stupor when Imogen began to walk away. Her hand shot out and caught the other woman’s wrist. “Hey, wait, what are you doing?”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Imogen –”

Imogen placed a reassuring hand on the side of Bix’s face, her thumb gently stroking her cheek. The look of alarm in her beloved’s eyes was the only excuse she needed. Imogen would not allow this ghost to haunt Bix any longer. “I will return to you shortly.”

Without another word, she severed their contact and smoothly blended into the general bustle on the street. 

Imogen deftly weaved her way in between bodies that were nothing more than faceless obstacles to her, blocking her from her prey. The absence of her coat may not offer as much cover as she would prefer, but she kept her head down and managed not to draw attention to herself. The doctor finished his conversation and made his leave with the guards. Imogen trailed behind them while maintaining a safe distance, patiently waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

That opportunity came when the doctor was directed down a barely populated side street. Imogen had studied the city before their mission. She knew the layout enough to quickly calculate an alternate route which would position her ahead of them, allowing her the advantage of cutting them off at the pass. She picked up her pace and slipped into an alleyway behind two markets. A few quick turns and a couple of vaults over rusted fences later and she pressed up against a shadowed wall, attuning her senses to the footsteps that approached from around the corner. This will be swift and simple. 

Once they were where she wanted them, Imogen stepped out to halt their progress. She eyed the doctor who tilted his head curiously at her unexpected appearance. The troopers on the other hand lifted their blasters and aimed directly at her chest. 

“Move out of the way, citizen,” the one on the left ordered. 

Imogen did not bother to even look at them. “Leave us,” she calmly commanded, her voice penetrating their minds and seizing control of their faculties. Both troopers simultaneously straightened as they lowered their weapons. Gorst frowned at his guards, but a short moment passed and Imogen watched with satisfaction as his eyes gradually widened in fear. She smiled and uttered one final instruction as the Stormtroopers harmlessly marched by her. “Seek out your commanding officers and apologize for abandoning your posts.”

They repeated her words in robotic tones and carried on until they were out of sight. Imogen stood like a statue in front of the doctor, soaking up the terror that rippled through him. Gorst still hadn’t uttered a single word – didn’t dare to. He stood nearly as still as Imogen, unsure when to expect the killing blow. She felt no rush. 

“Do you wish to know what this is?” she asked. 

Gorst swallowed hard and wrung his hands together. “I could hazard a guess, given my line of work.”

“You damaged someone very dear to me.”

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. “I-I don’t damage them, I merely –” 

Imogen waved her hand and the doctor flew across the alley until he slammed into the far wall with a grunt. The back of his head made a hollow sound as it knocked against ferrocrete. His pain was music to Imogen’s ears. She kept him pinned there and casually approached, unclipping her lightsaber from her belt. 

Gorst began to grovel pathetically. “Please, please, it was just a job. It’s just my job!”

Imogen hesitated before igniting her blade. Just a job. It is never just a job when one is a servant to the Empire. She once derived sick pleasure from the horror committed by her own hands. The image of Gorst’s unsettling smile flashed in her mind’s eye. He enjoyed it as well. The doctor had even filled a seat she had once occupied, in a way. They were much too similar and it disgusted Imogen to her core, especially when the next face she conjured was Bix’s the day she rescued her from this very man’s torment. 

Deciding Gorst was unworthy of such a death, Imogen clipped the saber hilt back onto her belt. The hand she held out to keep him in place slowly started to close. Through the Force, she felt the doctor’s windpipe shut under her influence. She watched him struggle for what little breath she allowed – watched his eyes bulge as he realized he could no longer draw in any oxygen. She watched his lips turn blue. She watched every second of it, not noticing that she had inched closer and closer. 

It wasn’t until she felt a tendon in his neck snap that Imogen looked down to see her hand wrapped tightly around his throat. At some point she had stopped channeling the Force altogether to strangle this man with her bare hands. She did not relent. Life still pumped through his veins. Her free hand joined the other and she squeezed with all her might and then some. Doctor Gorst’s heart would not give in easily, but eventually it could no longer fight Imogen’s violent will to snuff it out. 

A pair of warm calloused hands materialized and cradled the sides of Imogen’s face, yanking her out of the dark trance she had been in. “Hey, stop – stop! Look at me.” Bix’s rich brown eyes filled her field of vision as the mechanic directed her gaze away from the doctor. “He’s dead now. You can stop.” 

The rest of the world snapped back into focus and Imogen finally released her grip, the empty shell of Doctor Gorst crumpling to the ground in a heap. “Bix,” she breathed. “What are you doing? Why are you here?” 

Bix continued to pull her away. Her eyes kept shifting from what was left of Gorst to Imogen. “I was worried about you.”

“I’m fine. I took care of it.” 

“Clearly.” Her eyes lingered on the body for a few moments with an expression Imogen struggled to decipher. “We should have taken him alive, Imogen.” 

“No,” Imogen replied with a sneer towards the body. “We really shouldn’t have.” 

“They’ll just replace him.” 

She knew it to be true, even before she took Gorst’s life, but a vengeful passion flared within her. “Then I will kill them, too. And I will kill any more after that.” 

Bix stared at Imogen, absorbing her vow, and reached for the same hand that had just strangled a man to death. Instead of the usual chill of her skin, Imogen’s palm felt hot as it delicately fit against Bix’s. “Thank you. Really, you know I’ll sleep a little better at night knowing he’s gone,” Bix said in earnest. “But you can’t do something like this again. The rebellion is struggling enough as it is, we need every bit of leverage we can get and Gorst could have been more valuable to us alive. This put the mission at risk, Imogen. I really don’t want to worry about what the alliance will do if they start to view you as a liability.”

From the very moment they warily allowed her in, Imogen expected the alliance were just waiting for an indiscretion such as this. She hadn’t cared in the slightest before and certainly had no intentions of apologizing, but the frightened gleam in Bix’s eyes struck Imogen with the sudden desire to correct her actions. What defense could she possibly make? That she murdered an asset because he deserved it as much as she did? 

“I will deliver a more valuable prize instead,” Imogen declared. 

“Like what?”

“I am still a hunter and the Empire is full of prey.”

[pgxn]

Recent PGXN Improvements

One of the perks of my new gig at Tembo is that I have more time to work on PGXN. In the last ten years I've had very little time to give, so things have stagnated. The API, for example, hasn't seen a meaningful update since 2016!

But that's all changed now, and every bit of the PGXN architecture has experienced a fair bit of TLC in the last few weeks. A quick review.

PGXN Manager

PGXN Manager provides user registration and extension release services. It maintains the root registry of the project, ensuring the consistency of download formatting and naming ($extension-$version.zip if you're wondering). Last year I added a LISTEN/NOTIFY queue for publishing new releases to Twitter and Mastodon, replacing the old Twitter posting on upload. It has worked quite well (although Twitter killed the API so we no longer post there), but has sometimes disappeared for days or weeks at a time. I've futzed with it over the past year, but last weekend I think I finally got to the bottom of the problem.

As a result, the PGXN Mastodon account should say much more up-to-date than it sometimes has. I've also added additional logging capability, because sometimes the posts fail and I need better clarity into what failed and how so it, too, can be fixed. So messaging should continue to become more reliable. Oh, and testing and unstable releases are now prominently marked as such in the posts (or will be, next time someone uploads a non-stable release).

I also did a little work on the formatting of the How To doc, upgrading to MultiMarkdown 6 and removing some post-processing that appended unwanted backslashes to the ends of code lines.

PGXN API

PGXN API (docs) has been the least loved part of the architecture, but all that changed in the last couple weeks. I finally got over my trepidation and got it working where I could hack on it again. Turns out, the pending issues and to-dos — some dating back to 2011! — weren't so difficult to take on as I had feared. In the last few weeks, API has finally come unstuck and evolved:

Switched the parsing of Markdown documents from the quite old Text::Markdown module to CommonMark, which is a thin wrapper around the well-maintained and modern cmark library. The main way in which this change will be visible is in the support for fenced code blocks. Compare the pg_later 0.0.14 README, formatted with the old parser, with pg_later 0.1.0 README, formatted with the new parser.

Updated the full text indexer to index the file identified in the META.json as the documentation for an extension even if the file name is different from the extension (issue 10), including the README.

Furthermore, if the indexer finds no documentation for the extension, either in its metadata or an appropriately-named file, it falls back on the README (issue 12).

These two fixes, the oldest and most significant of the whole system, greatly increase the accuracy of documentation search, because so many extensions have no docs other than the README. Prior to this fix, for example, a search for "later" failed to turn up pg_later, and now it's appropriately the first result.

The indexer now indexes releases marked "testing" or "unstable" in the metadata if there is no stable release (issue 2!). This makes new extensions under development easier to find on the site than previously, when only stable releases were indexed. However, once a stable release is made, no more testing or unstable releases will be indexed. I believe this is more intuitive behavior.

Also fixed some permissions issue, ensuring that source code unzipped for browsing is accessible to the app. In other words, a zip file without READ permission would trigger a not found response; the API now ensures that all files and directories are accessible to the application.

As a bonus, the API now also recognizes plain text files (.txt and .text) as documentation and indexes their contents and adds links for display on the site. Previously plain text files other than READMEs were ignored (issue 13).

I'm quite pleased with some of these fixes, and relieved to have finally cleared out the karmic overhang of the backlog. But the indexing and HTML rendering changes, in particular, are tactical: until the entire registry can be re-indexed, only new uploads will benefit from the indexing improvements. I hope to find time to work on the indexing project soon.

PGXN Site

The pgxn-site project powers the main site, pgxn.org, and has seen 7 new releases since the beginning of the year! Notable changes:

Changed the default search index from Documentation too Distributions, because most release include no docs other than a READMe, which was indexed as part of the distribution and not the extension contained in a distribution. As a result, searches return more relevant and comprehensive results. However, I say "was indexed" because, as described above, the PGXN API has since been updated to appropriately identify and index READMEs as extension documentation. So this change might get reverted at some point, but not before the entire registry can be re-indexed.

Changed the link to the How To in the footer from the somewhat opaque "Release It!" to "Release on PGXN". Should make it clearer what it is. Also, have you considered releasing your extension on PGXN? You should!

Fixed "not found" errors for links to files with uppercase letters, such as /dist/vectorize/vector-serve/README.html.

Tweaked the CSS a bit to improve list item alignment in the "Contents" of doc pages (like semver), as well as the spacing between definition lists, as in the FAQ.

Switched the parsing and formatting of the static pages (about, art, FAQ, feedback, and mirroring) from the quite ancient Text::MultiMarkdown module to MultiMarkdown 6.

Oh, and I fixed or removed a bunch of outdated links from those pages, and replaced all relevant HTTP URLs with HTTPS URLs. Then had to revert those changes from a bunch of SVG files, where xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" is relevant but xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" is not. 🤦🏻‍♂️

Grab Bag

I've made a number of more iterative improvements, as well, mostly to the maintainability of PGXN projects:

The GitHub repositories for all of these projects have been updated with comprehensive test and release workflows, as well as improved Perl release configuration.

The WWW::PGXN, PGXN::API::Searcher Perl modules have been updated with test and release workflows and improved Perl release configuration, as well.

The libexec configuration of the PGXN Client Homebrew formula has been fixed, allowing PGXN::Meta::Validator to install itself in the proper place to allow pgxn validate-meta to work properly on Homebrew managed-systems (like mine!)

The pgxn/pgxn-tools Docker image, which saw some fixes and improvements last month, has continued to evolve, as well. Recent improvements include support for PostgreSQL TAP tests (not to be confused with pgTAP, already supported), finer control over managing the Postgres cluster — or multiple clusters — by setting NO_CLUSTER= to prevent pg-start from creating the cluster. Both these improvements better enable multi-cluster testing.

The End

I think that about covers it. Although I'm thinking and writing quite a lot about what's next for the Postgres extension ecosystem, I expect to continue tending to the care and feeding and improvement of PGXN as well. To the future!

[deepinmummymatters]

How to Boost Your Home's Curb Appeal With Professional Pressure Washing

Increasing your home's curb appeal can help you sell it for more money. It also enables you to feel prouder of your property. Curb appeal is important for commercial properties as well. It's been shown that people are more likely to shop at a clean-looking building. Regular professional pressure washing can help you keep your facility looking great. Remove Dirt and Debris Dirt and grime can build up on your home's exterior over time, giving it a dull, worn-down appearance. A thorough pressure washing with a professional power washer can remove this buildup and restore your home's curb appeal. Aside from looking unsightly, dirt can also damage your home's exterior. Over time, it can cause the paint on your house to chip or crack. A buildup of land can also lead to the formation of mold and mildew. These problems can be dangerous for your family's health, especially if anyone in your household has allergies. If you're considering selling your home, regularly pressure washing your exterior can help boost its value. Buyers will be less likely to view a dirty home as an investment and more likely to offer top dollar for your property. Whether it's oil or wax buildup from vehicles or other substances that stain your driveway, sidewalk, or patio, the blasts of water from a professional pressure washing service provider can break them down and restore your surfaces to their original color and sheen. A thorough cleaning is also necessary before applying a new paint, sealant, or stain coat. The labels on these products typically warn against applying them to dirty surfaces, so a proper pressure wash is needed first. Using a power washer to clean your exterior can save you the time and hassle of hauling out a ladder to scrub hard-to-reach areas. Repair or Replace Broken Fence Slats The lawn and landscaping are the first things visitors notice when visiting your home. Keeping your lawn trimmed, mowed, and aerated and removing overgrown bushes and trees is a great way to boost curb appeal. Adding a fresh coat of paint to the front door or shutters is another easy way to make your home look newer and increase your perceived value. Fence slats, if damaged or in disrepair, will also distract from the overall aesthetic of your home. Replacing a few slats or even the entire panel can help keep your fence in good condition and prevent it from becoming a safety hazard. Over time, wood fence panels may start to sag due to weathering, or the fasteners that secure them to the posts can loosen. Fixing a sagging fence is easy with some simple tools and materials. Place wood blocks next to the post on both sides of the damaged panel and remove the screws holding it in place. Use a level to ensure the panel is level, and hammer galvanized nails into the holes on both sides to secure the board. Use a drill to create pilot holes for the pins before drilling so they do not split the wood. Once the slat is attached, use a putty knife to smooth it and remove any lumps, using medium grit sandpaper if necessary. Replace Light Fixtures Many people think that boosting their home's curb appeal is too time-consuming or expensive, but the truth is, it's easier and cheaper than you might think. Adding a fresh coat of paint or stain to your fence, planting flowers in your garden, and even giving your house a thorough pressure washing are all simple ways to make it look newer and more appealing. Improving your home's exterior is a smart investment if you plan to sell your home. Potential buyers are more likely to be impressed by a well-maintained home and will be willing to pay more for it. Adding a light fixture to your porch, deck, or garage can brighten the area and improve your home's overall appearance. Choose an institution that matches the style of your home and is energy-efficient to reduce your electricity bill. Most modern light fixtures come with the mounting bracket and wire nuts you'll need for installation, but it's a good idea to pick up a pack of metal ones, too, as these tend to bite into the wiring more securely. Also, pick up a few packs of electrical tape and a non-contact voltage detector. Start by removing any detachable parts, then remove the canopy (the rounded, broad covering that lies flush with the ceiling) to expose the wiring and fixture hardware. Once the wires are exposed, you can use the non-contact voltage detector to ensure that no one or anything is still connected to them before undoing the wiring caps and removing the fixture. Paint or Stain Over time, outdoor surfaces accumulate dirt, grime and stains from weather, pet accidents, bird droppings and other sources. Regular pressure washing makes this caked-on mess look good and can protect the surface. Pressure washing is effective on various exterior surfaces, including wood and vinyl fences, decks, metal patio furniture and concrete driveways. It can also be used to clean brick, stucco and cement surfaces. However, it's important to note that not all surfaces can withstand a power washer's heat, friction and pressure. Professional pressure washing is trained to recognize which surfaces can and cannot withstand high-pressure cleaning and will only use the appropriate pressure levels for your home's needs. Regular pressure washing can ensure a smooth and even application of new paint for homeowners planning to repaint. Without proper cleaning, surface residue can prevent the fresh paint from adhering, leaving unsightly drips and lap marks. In addition to preparing surfaces for repainting, pressure washing can also remove cobwebs, wasp nests and other debris that may be stuck in the cracks of your house. However, it's important to note that the tool can strip old paint from surfaces if the right amount of pressure is applied. Typically, it's best to hire a professional for this task to avoid damaging the integrity of your home. Read the full article

[acleanhousewashing]

High Pressure Cleaning Ipswich

Over time dirt, mildew and other spores will naturally build up on your surfaces. Regular high pressure cleaning can keep them looking pristine and odour free.

ROOFS – Pressure washing removes moss, grime and dirt from roofs. It also helps them retain heat and reduce leaking.

Using hot water high pressure cleaning can also have a measurable germ reduction effect. This is particularly important for professional stables and kennels.

Clean your gutters, driveways, patio, balcony, walls, and pool surrounds with our pressure cleaning service. Dirt, grime, dust, airborne pollutants, mould and mildew can all contribute to a dull exterior. This deteriorates the quality of your home and compromises curb appeal.

Regular high pressure cleaning will make your home easier to maintain, look newer and increase its value if you are planning to sell. It will also reduce the need for expensive paint or staining jobs.

Professional roof cleaning is the easiest way to improve the longevity and quality of your Ipswich home's roofing materials, whether they are tiled, Colorbond or iron. Dirty roofs retain heat, attract spore-bearing algae, and block solar reflectance, causing them to age faster and raise your energy bills. High pressure cleaning removes accumulated dirt and debris, so your roof can keep its natural appearance and function properly. Regular high pressure cleaning can save you the cost of a roof replacement.

The constant exposure of your building and hard surfaces to the elements causes a natural build up of soils, moulds, algae and stains. A high pressure cleaning service can quickly remove these build ups and restore surfaces to their original appearance.

Dirty exteriors not only diminish curb appeal, they are harmful to your home’s structure. Mould and mildew spores can enter your home through cracks in the walls and cause the siding to deteriorate.

A professional roof cleaning Ipswich service can help you save thousands of dollars by preventing premature replacement. This service can also improve the life, appearance and quality of your roof surface.

A professional high pressure cleaner will use a wide-angle jet to avoid damaging seals and to minimise the risk of leakage. They will also use a specialised cleaning solvent to kill off any organic growth. This process is particularly effective on concrete driveways, removing oil and mud tints. This will also make your driveway safer for vehicles and pedestrians.

Whether you own an industrial property or run a warehouse, high pressure cleaning will keep your building looking great and running smoothly. It can remove ingrained dirt and grime from concrete, brick walls, retaining walls, roofs, guttering, and driveways.

A dirty exterior not only looks bad, but can also damage surfaces and lead to premature deterioration. Airborne pollutants and water droplets create a perfect habitat for spore-bearing bacteria that create dark stains on siding. Regularly washing the exterior of your building with high-pressure water can prevent these stains from forming and save you money in future repair costs.

Brick walls, textured or painted fences, and concrete surfaces such as driveways can be pressure cleaned using different techniques and varying water PSI levels to ensure optimal results. Your professional cleaner will take care to avoid spraying areas that shouldn’t be wet, such as wood around doors/windows and delicate surfaces. They will also be mindful not to use high-pressure washing on surfaces that can’t withstand it, such as brick or masonry.

If your property and garden areas begin to look scruffy, a local Ipswich pressure washer can restore them quickly and efficiently. Regularly washing away moss, grime and dirt can also prevent damage and save you money on expensive repair bills.

A professional high pressure cleaning service can use a wide range of environmentally friendly chemicals to ensure that your surfaces are thoroughly cleaned and protected. They can clean everything from brickwork to driveways, patios and garden decking. Some will even have a solution that can be used on polycarbonate or glass conservatories.

Animal enclosures such as professional stables and kennels may need regular power washing to eliminate harmful bacteria and keep the area odour free. This can be done with pet safe and child-safe chemical cleaners. If you operate a hospitality business, a regular anti-mildew wash can help to protect your walls from unsightly marks and avoid the need for repainting. It’s important to hire a fully insured Ipswich professional who will be able to provide you with an up to date safety certificate.

[melbournedecksandpergolas]

How To Add Privacy To Your Outdoor Deck?

When a person buys property, the greatest thing about it is that you can do whatever you want with it. You can build on it, add privacy, and everything else. However, if you do not have any knowledge of outdoor  Melbourne Decks or how to make them then this will be really hard for you. In this article, we will discuss how one can add privacy to their outdoor deck without having to spend too much money or without having to hire someone else to do it for them.

Lattice Deck

Lattice is the most popular way to add privacy to an outdoor deck. Lattice fencing for Decks Melbourne comes in a variety of sizes, styles, and materials. You can choose from a wide range of decorative lattice panels that will be easy on the eyes and help create your dream outdoor living area.

Lattice deck privacy walls are also available in custom designs and shapes as well as standard sizes, so you can find exactly what you need without having to compromise on aesthetics or function.

Constructing a Lattice Wall

Lattice is a wood panel with small openings. It can be made from natural or synthetic materials, and it's typically used as a privacy screen to prevent people from falling off the deck. Lattice can also be used as a covering for trellises, arbors, and pergolas.

Lattice walls are relatively easy to install. You'll need an electric drill, screw gun, and Phillips head screws (long enough for the depth of your lattice panel).

If you're replacing existing lattice panels, remove them first by taking out their nails with a claw hammer; if they're new panels that haven't been installed yet then just follow these steps:

Lay out your boards in place on the deck so they form an even pattern

Hold one end of each board tight against one side while measuring its length from there up to where it will meet another piece across its top edge - this distance will tell you exactly how many inches long each one should be once installed; mark all four sides with pencil lines every few inches so that when installing each piece you'll know where all those lines are located!

Position two rows of boards together on top of each other one at a time starting at either end (like laying down railroad tracks), making sure not to overlap any joints between these pieces during the installation process since doing so might cause splitting due to stress points caused by bending during use over time which could result in cracks appearing down along edges within weeks after the installation has been completed!

Build a Bench Around the Deck

If you want to add privacy to your outdoor deck, a great way to do so is by building a bench around the Decks Melbourne. Building a bench is an excellent way for you to create more seating space for guests and family members who visit.

A bench can be used as both seatings and as a table, which can help keep things from spilling onto the floor if there are drinks being served or food being shared.

The extra surface area also makes it easier for people who need space for their legs when sitting down with others who may have longer legs than them. And because benches come in all shapes and sizes, there are many ways that they can be customized according to whatever aesthetic style you prefer.

Installing Curtains

Buy a curtain rod and curtain rings.

Hang the curtains on the railing where you want them to go.

Choose a fabric that is durable and will not show dirt easily, such as polyester or nylon. Do not choose cotton if you live in an area where it often rains, because it will not be able to withstand moisture without getting wet or moldy very quickly.

Curtains can help block out light in some areas of your outdoor living space, which can help you get a better sleep when trying to rest outside during daytime hours when it may be bright outside normally because there aren't any windows nearby with shades yet installed over them yet!

Conclusion

You can have a beautiful outdoor space with a privacy wall. It will give you the opportunity to enjoy your outdoor area without having to worry about people looking into it or seeing what's going on inside.

[ibreathebooks-42]

Question for minecraft peeps- did I miss something about fences now autowaterlogging, or is this a bug?

Place line of water on one side of line of fence- all is good.

Try to surround fenced in area with water and suddenly all fence is waterlogged and I can't fix it. I was very surprised to turn around and the chunk I spent a fair bit of time fencing then surrounding with water was flooded....

Tried it on a smaller scale, and sure enough- place a line of water the three blocks to the left and all good... but as soon as I place water outside the top middle fence both rows are waterlogged for some reason.

[takenbyheartstrings]

ONE BED

summary: Its the one bed trope, but you and peter don't like each other and the avengers are determined to change that, so they set you and peter up for what could be success or what could be failure.

pairing: peter parker x fem!reader.

warnings: angst (not really)???, fluff, swearing, mentions of sex, mentions of masturbation, and finally SMUT.

authors note: sorry if this is a little cringworthy, it's 12am and i am tired.

Natasha walked into the kitchen of the Avengers Compound, heaving a large breath, letting out a sigh catching Tony, Bucky, Steve, Wanda and Bruce's attention.

"What was that for?" Steve questioned as he noticed Natasha's somewhat annoyed appearance.

She shrugs, "They hate each other, they hate each other and I wanna know why."

Bucky laughs, "Not this shit again."

"Yes this shit again, Y/n and Peter clearly like each other, but I don't know why they have it in for each other."

"Or maybe they just don't like each other, that's possible Nat." Bucky lets a little glare.

Tony's voice perks up, "Uhhhh, I don't know about that. They always catch second glances at each other, when the other's not looking. It's cute." Tony couldn't believe he was talking about two eighteen year olds, but you two clearly liked each other.

Bruce let out a hum, "How about, we force them into a situation where they can't escape each other. We have to go down to Washington in a few days for the new training facility, so it's the perfect cover anyway. Instead of bunking Peter with Sam and Bucky, maybe we can bunk him in with Y/n."

Natasha and Wanda nod, "That's not a totally bad idea," Wanda tries not to grin; she's seen the way the two of you pine over each other like lovesick puppies. It really was cute.

"So we're just gonna ignore the fact that this is against their will and they might hate each other more than before and you guys are willing to place on the fence based on a hunch." Bucky speaks rationally, "Besides, the kid scares easily, you'll just be taking away the fun from Sam and I."

Everyone in the room trades a glance and then looks back at him, "Yeah." They all spoke at once.

It was settled. This little side mission was happening.

You sighed as you made your way into the conference room, the mission in Washington was a big one for you - and for Peter. But you needed to be prepared for anything, but nothing could prepare you for the news you were about to hear.

"Alright, I've got our roommates for the trip ready." Tony stated as he started listing off names, you were confused as to why you weren't with Wanda like usual. "Okay and Y/N and Peter."

"WAIT WHAT?" You almost screamed standing up.

"I can't be that bad. Can I?" Peter's lip quirked into a smirk.

You rolled your eyes as they turned a shade of red at his annoyance, "Well you clearly can."

"Don't get all glitter eyes on me." Peter chuckles, as Bucky can't help but snicker, your head snaps toward him as he then backs off.

Steve puts a hand your arm and he beckons you to sit down. You do so trying to calm down.

"Hey look," Tony sighs, "Sorry kids, but that's just how it is. Two people per room and you guys just happened to be last pick."

Peter sighs, "Whatever, the sooner we get it over with the better." He rolls his eyes walking out of the room. You followed but before leaving, you used your powers to lift Tony's coffee cup and spill it on his lap.

"Real mature!" He calls after you.

"I'm eighteen, get over it!" You yelled back before going to your room and slamming the door behind you.

Everyone was right, you did have a crush on Peter. You really liked him. But you were also so jealous of him. You were jealous of his smarts, his looks. Practically everything about the boy.

So much so, that you fantasised about him. You touched yourself thinking about him - and so did he. You both liked each other, but it was so hard to admit it because you were both jealous of each other, for the same reasons. You honestly didn't know how you were going to get through the night with Peter in the same room as you. You didn't know if it was going to be a paradise or a nightmare.

The next night you got to the hotel, "All right guys, time to get settled in, we have a big day of training tomorrow. Go get rested, goodnight." He waves walking off with his key. Sam and Bucky take theirs, Bruce and Steve take theirs, Nat and Wanda take theirs and You and Peter are left standing there.

"Look I'm too tired to argue, so can we just... not?" You questioned Peter.

"That's fair," He gives an awkward smile, "Since you start them all," He mutters under his breath, quiet enough so that you don't hear it.

You both made it up to the room to be met with a sight, "Wow. One bed, like this could get any worse." You sighed.

"Really. Truely can't. I thought to myself 'Nothing's worse than having to share a room with you,' but now there's one bed and I'm not giving it up."

"Well neither am I, guess we'll share." You give a harsh glare. You set your duffle bag down next to the left side of the bed and grabbed your pyjamas and made your way to the bathroom, it was a pair of shorts and a tank top. You were so reluctant to wear a bra. But you were nervous considering that Peter was in the other room. You opted not to deciding it wasn't worth the pain.

You walked out of the bathroom and Peter met eyes with you, lingering over your body, he loved looking at every part of you, the way your nipples came through your shirt and how perfect your tits were. How perfect your thighs were. How beautiful you looked. He didn't say anything but the room was filled with a tense silence. Peter walked into the bathroom and changed, he walked out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a pair of plaid pants. Your eyes made contact with his biceps, his abs. You never realised how strong Peter actually was, you always fantasised about him like this but your fantasy was now a reality. You swore you could feel yourself getting a little wet, just thinking about what Peter could do to you.

You sighed getting into the covers at Peter did the same, the two of you were lying back to back with a large chunk of space between the two of you. You let out a little sigh, "I'm gonna go to the bathroom," you had announced.

"Alright," Peter said timidly, letting you know he was awake.

You looked at yourself in the mirror, splashing yourself with cold water. You knew you shouldn't feel this way. Not now. Why now? Why when he was here? You splashed yourself in the face one last time before opening the door and you met Peter's eyes.

"Peter I-," You started.

"I like you." Peter said nonchalantly.

"I-I like you too."

It was quick, but finally Peter's lips landed on yours and never left. You were actually the one to deepen the kiss. You felt Peters tongue slide into your mouth in one swift movement. His hands trailed up your shirt as you were pinned against a wall, he could feel your tits get hard as a chill went down your spine from the touch of his cold hands. Breaking the kiss for a moment - he lifted your shirt over your head as he started trailing kisses down your neck, you let out a heavy moan. Peter smirked against the kisses, as he trailed further down your body, licking and sucking on your nipples, his tongue making circles around them.

"Fuck, Peter." You groaned softly as the two of you then moved to the bed, you could see a bulge in Peter's pants. You slid them down as you were met with his dick, a smirk took place on your face as he sat back against the headboard.

You decided to have your way with Peter, kissing and sucking on his tip. Until you finally placed your whole mouth around it, bobbing your head up and down on his cock. You took your mouth off of it before wrapping your hand around it and slapping it onto your tongue. You could hear Peter groan heavily, "Fuck, Y/n, just like that." His words came out as hot flashes as you moved your hand up and down his dick, rubbing it.

You couldn't take it anymore, you wanted to feel Peter. You moved up to kiss him again, but before you could Peter looked at you, “Every time you made me angry I fantasised about the things I would do to you and now I finally get to do them," He smirked.

You couldn't say anything else, you just let the moment get a hold of you. You kissed him again and it was like you could feel the electricity sparking in the air between the two of you. His kisses were hungry and desperate and sweet. You were lucky to be in his arms tonight, you were lucky to be fucked by someone like him. Someone caring. Someone genuinely sweet. Even if you hadn't seen what that side of him was even like, you knew he was.

You felt your breath hitch against the air as Peter removed your shorts, and yet he could see the patch of wetness on your underwear. You swore you could hear him get hungry at the sight, Peter didn't say anything, but he removed the garment blocking him from all of you. You were naked in front of him and he was loving every minute of it. His tongue entered your pussy as he sucked and licked your clit, moving his tongue up and down your pussy. He was hungry for you and only you.

Peter finally looked up at you as you moaned softly, your back arching a little as he pleased you with his tongue, "Peter I want you, please." You said desperately.

"As you wish," Peter said huskily as he slid his dick into your wet hole and boy did that hit the spot. Sliding in and out of you, every single moan was like a godsend, like music to hears ears. You were shaking under him.

"Peter you can go rougher than that," You spoke through a strained moan and Peter could. Your bodies flowed together, the mattress moving underneath the two of you, slamming the headboard with every thrust. Each moan that came out of your mouth got higher and higher, letting Peter know you were almost at your edge. Peter continued to move in and out of you.

"Fuck Pete, I'm almost there," You whimpered softly, "Fuck!"

He smirked against you, pulling out his dick and replacing it with his mouth. His tongue moved in and out just like his whole body had and you finally reached your peak.

"FUCK PETE!" You moaned once more as your body finally relaxed.

You took a hold of Peter's dick and started rubbing it again, he moaned quietly, "Fuck, yeah, just like that, that's my girl." Peter murmured. You smirked before placing your mouth over his cock and moving your head up and down once more, wrapping your hand around it while you also moved your head.

"Fuck that's it, that's it." Peter groaned, "Fuck Y/n, I'm gonna cum." Peter said as you moved your head faster and faster, ready to take on his load and that's when you could finally feel it, the sticky, white liquid in your mouth as you let it dribble back onto his cock, before licking it off his tip and letting it fall again, tasting the excess that was left in your mouth.

You let yourself fall back next to Peter as you got back underneath the covers with him, your naked bodies lying together intertwined.

"You have no idea how much I've thought about doing that with you," You laughed quietly, "I always hated you because you're everything I'm not Peter, but I was too quick to judge. I was wrong, wrong about most of it, almost all of it."

"Me too, Y/n, me too. I always wanted to be like you, but I see now that we have our differences and that's okay, but now we can work on that. Together." Peter spoke.

"Does that mean," You smiled against his chest.

"Yeah, it does."

"Well in that case, I really liked it when you said I was your girl," You smiled up at him, "That was really hot."

The two of you ended up falling asleep, in each others arms, feeling nothing but happiness. The two of you knew now that there was no reason to hate each other. There was no reason you couldn't be with each other.

The next morning you slid on a training bra and tights, reading for the day of training Tony had told all of you to get rest for, "Well don't you look good." Peter said wrapping his arms around your waist placing a kiss on your lips.

"I could say the same for you," You said feeling the biceps that were exposed because of his muscle tee. You and Peter walked down to the lobby with his arm wrapped around you, the rest of the group looked at the two of you surprised.

"You two look cosy," Wanda smiled.

Bucky batted an eye for a moment surprised that the plan the group had set out actually worked, "Wow, yeah, you guys do, what happened?"

"Oh we just talked, and we just confessed our feelings and now we're together." Peter explained.

Natasha let a painful look shine through, "You sure you guys just talked, it's not like the walls are soundproof."

The two of you blushed, "I- we- you- heard- what?" You were flustered you didn't know what to say. Peter just stood there in shock.

The rest of the group laughed walking off, "C'mon guys, the facility is ready for us, might as well make the best of it," Tony chuckled walking off as the rest of you followed, Peter placing a kiss on your head as you did.

[seawater-aurelia-writing]

The Break

Pairing(s): Fem!MC/Yuu/Reader x TBD

Summary: MC finally shuts down from all of her acts of helping with overblots and the countless favors/demands that are asked of her. When the Prefect of Ramshackle is the one who needs help, who steps forward?

WARNINGS

I am not the best at labeling warnings or triggers but I can say that this story is laden with neglect, self-neglect, anxiety, possible depression and attempts to justify the above. There could be more labels that I can add but i’m unsure how to word them - so please exercise caution.

Quick Note: The reader in this story is largely based upon Cinderella, for multiple reasons (#1 being that I want to and #2 being that I absolutely love Cinderella and think she’s amazingヾ(•ω•`)o ) . If that type of character behavior annoys or offends you, I recommend skipping this!

She should have seen it coming; The break. Her break.

Her sight blurred with tears, which spilled over her eyes  quickly as she laid upon the floor of the library – cold and alone. In front of her, just out of reach, laid her phone amidst the plentiful books which laid strewn chatoticly across the floor from her harsh tumble. Her phone vibrated constantly cause M/C o flinch as she imagined the messages that must be flying across her notifications; Her friends and upperclassmen asking for favors and why she hadn’t completed what they asked.

‘I need to… get up.’ She thought to herself, willing herself to move her arms but her body was more akin to cold, ancient steel, a machine that had been abandoned and forgotten throughout time; It felt nothing like how she was a month ago, a week ago, a few hours ago. ‘ I have.. so much left to do.’

As she tried to find the will to stand – M/C thought of how she ended up in this position; body battered and bruised after falling from the top of the ladder in the deserted corner of the library.

 She could barely life her feet as she made her way down the path, back towards Ramshackle Dorm. In her arms, Grim lay curled into her chest as he slept peacefully in her arms.

‘We both had a long day.’ MC mused to herself, gently pressing his closer as the cold, wintry wind blew harder. She recounted their day slowly, going over each task they had accomplished.

Crowley wished for them to wake up earlier to remove unwanted, viney weeds from around the campus gates, Sam’s Store, and the fencing around the Flying Course field in exchange he’d give them some aid to finally repair their roof. Unable to refuse such an offer, M/C awoke at 3 am to be able to accomplish all of the weeding.

However, Grim had not woken to any of her calls or he just ignored her, leaving M/C to venture into the darkened morning on her own to do the weeding.

After 2 hours, when she was finally able to head back to Ramshackle to freshen up before breakfast, she was stopped by Vil. The Pomefiore Dorm Head all but demanded her attention for an hour  in the afternoon, her lunch period specifically, to fetch him some arctic sea water from Azul.

Vil was supposedly unable to pick up the water himself as he had an impromptu photoshoot and Azul would only meet during lunchtime.

Despite the tone he used, M/C could sense that Vil was more antsy about missing his photoshoot -made more evident by the slight twitch at the mention of potentially missing the event. She agreed with a bright smile; choosing to ignore Vil’s comment about grass sticking to her and her ‘odor’ when she turned to leave.

Finally, she made it to Ramshackle and  rid herself of the stray remnants of debris before she freshened up. Grim, who finally awoke, all but rushed her from the home before she could rest – determined to beat Ace and Deuce to breakfast.

But as luck would have it, M/C could not make it to the Dining Hall before she was stopped by a rather, frazzled Ruggie, who all but shoved a bag of food onto her. He left rushed orders to take it to Leona as he was asked to help restock the lounge before classes. He ran off before she could refuse.

Grim happily skipped to the dining room, telling her not to waste time since he wasn’t going to save her any of the food. However, before she could rush off – Grim yelled back at her to pick up some tuna for him at Sam’s since she was going out of the main building anyway.

She only nodded, ignoring the hollowed feeling in her stomach and the way it rumbled in protest.

M/C remembers being stopped before she could reach Leona, the botanical garden just in sight. That view had been blocked by the ever-looming, Leech Twins. Floyd grinned down at her and plucked the sandwich from her hands.

“Ah! Koechi-chan is so sweet!~ She brought food for us, Jade” Floyd cheered, ignoring her protests and pleas for him to give her the food back.

“Indeed she did, Floyd.” Jade chuckled, doing nothing to stop his twin, who began to eat the food in front of M/C. “And by the way, Prefect. Vil told us that you would be the one picking up his items later today.”

“Y-yes that’s right. At lunch time.” She clarified, her voice softer as she deflated. In retrospect, she still didn’t know what she could have said to Floyd to make him stop. So many girls on Magicam were adamant about how they maintain dominance over their own friends to avoid being stepped on but they always sounded cruel; Giving instructions to ‘clapback’, to insult them,  to physically hurt them or poke at their insecurities to make them listen. She didn’t want to snap at the twins, not only would it not do her any good but angering them isn’t what she wanted.

“Azul needs to push that time to this evening, at dinner. Vil suddenly requested twice the amount and thus more payment is required.” M/C remembered the chill that ran down her spine as the Twins seemed to loom over her even more.

“P-Payment? But I don’t-“

“Rook is handling the payment but,in the even he doesn’t, please he prepared to pay any outstanding fees.”

The Twins ignored her pleas for clarification, with Floyd only turning around to demand that she be present for his basketball practice later today.

M/C recounted how, after that, her day became a blur with random intervals of clarity when another request or demand was made of her.

Ace and Deuce asking her to handle their chores in Heartslabyul of feeding the Hedgehogs and Flamingos while they went to mandatory study hall with Professor Trein.

Trey caught her and asked for her to pick up some cream from Sam’s shop for him. She also picked up the tuna that Grim had asked for and the only thing she could afford to eat to replace the breakfast that she missed – a discounted egg salad sandwich.

A sandwich she could only eat half of, as the other half was given to Silver, who had missed breakfast looking for Malleus. He had not asked anything of her, she remembered, but the way he looked at her was odd to say the least. He was adament on her sitting down and finishing her half of a sandwich before leaving  but the appearance of Ortho, who asked for her to run an errand for Idia, pulled her away.

Her classes came and went, leaving her feeling isolated as usual. Professor Crewel, never one to shy away from a ‘training’ opportunity, chided her for using an incorrect about of Phoeniz wings in her potion. He only became agitated when she proceeded to answer his questions about the potion, a simple draught, completely wrong. Grim was of no help as even he didn’t know the answers, nor did Ace or Deuce by what they had said but Ace and Grim took great joy in laughing at her misery.

Normally, it wouldn’t have affect her but today, it hurt.

But she smiled anyway.

Lunch time came and, again, she was stopped before she entered the dining hall. Sebek  demanded her help in finding Malleus, who was not present at lunch. Again, Grim deserted her as Sebek grabbed her and dragged her along beside him and Silver to find Malleus.

Again, Silver regarded her in an odd way but he said nothing out of the ordinary towards her.

They never did find Malleus and Sebek took too yelling at her for being unable to be of any use in finding him.

“..Sorry, Sebek. I’ll try harder next time.” Was all she could say, while Silver chided him on being too harsh.

As they made it back to the main building, it was time for classes; She had missed lunch as well.

 ‘Perhaps that’s why I was so dizzy.’ She thought to herself, managing to prop herself onto her elbows. The floor beneath her moved and rippled, similar to the waves in the great oceans back in her homeworld. ‘Correction, why I AM so dizzy…’

Her mind again wandered back to her day after lunch time; Where her day only worsened.

Without any proper food in her, there was no way that she could stay awake with Professor Trein’s class. Lucius quickly spotted her and alerted Trein, before Deuce could fully wake her up.

“Do you believe yourself too smart to pay attention within my class, Miss M/C.” He sneered, a glare firmly on his face as he gazed down at her.

“N-No, sir. I’m sorry, Professor! It wasn’t-“

“Silence.” His voice was firm as harsh, caushing her to flinch and shrink in her seat. “There will be no talking back to me of any kind. I had high expectations of you, Miss M/C and yet you have a complete lack of manners. As punishment, you will write me a paper explaining the important of Magical History, no less than 10 pages. If it is not on my desk first thing in the morning, then expect a harsher punishment. Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes, sir.” She mumbled, her head bowed in submission. M/C could remined the feeling of the heat behind her eyes; How hard it was to hold back tears in that moment.

She hadn’t expected kindness from Professor Trein but it seemed no one was recognizing that she was doing the absolute best that she could do with the circumstances that she was in.

She was blunt and sarcastic at times, yes, but she can’t think of anyone who can hold their tongue constantly. Yet when she seemed to speak, unless it was humorous in nature or her agreeing with those around her- she went unheard. But if she pressed and asked for help, who would drop their things to come to her aid?

Those thoughts plagued her for the rest of the day;

Even as Floyd threatened and scolded her for missing basketball practice, where she was supposed to stock the ice water and the cool towels for him,  even though Epel asked her to pick up some old weights from Ruggie.

Even when Ruggie scolded her for not delivering Leona’s sandwich, calling her a thief for eating the sandwich when she reassured him that she didn’t and that Floyd had taken it.

Even when Ace and Deuce whined and complained about letting them down for not feeding the animals properly, when she couldn’t do it properly as they never explained all of the rules to her.

Even when Azul asked, demanded, that she find a specific book for him within the dark recesses of the library before closing as Vil’s additional fee– the thoughts never left her.

In truth, she was merely an anomaly in this world; An irregularity that didn’t belong, didn’t have a place within this magic, twisted world that she found herself in. She was without even the most basic magic to help her through her day to day life as the other had. M/C didn’t know even the most basic of terms within classes that would help her – shown by her struggling grades and performance.

She wouldn’t last outside of NRC, even Crowley had alluded to that. She had no birth certificate, no I.D. on her person, and no family of which to speak of.

Who would risk their own education and future to help someone who wouldn’t be able to do anything on their own anyway?

Even Grim, the other half to her ‘whole student’ was beginning to separate from her as his magic was matured and refined.

But that was why she smiled, was it? She smiled because she liked being needed, feeling as if she had a place in a world where she had none. Even if it ended with her being overworked, sleep-deprived and feeling so hollow – she was needed. A little suffering was nothing.

If her friends would excel in the world around her, wouldn’t that be worth it all? They shouldn’t have to suffer and fail in their classes just because a useless anomaly couldn’t handle the most basic of things.

‘It’s fine.’ She thought to herself, finally pushing herself to her knees. She winced, her movements letting her know just how bad her fall had truly been; Her chest hurt and ached with every beat of her heart, her right leg, the one which hit the ground first, was pulsing and red hot and all over – it felt as if fire ants were stinging her.

“It’s..fine.” She mumbled to herself, reaching with shaking hands to begin the task of stacking the books that she knocked over.

“No, it is not.” Came a hardened voice from behind her.

M/C tensed, her eyes widening as she registered the voice as Professor Trein. As she straightened her back quickly, aiming to turn to look at her professor, the room began to spin once more. Sound all around her became muffled as it felt as though her entire was was submerged underwater.

 “ -s M/C. Are your manners that abhorrent that you cannot even turn to face when when I speak to y-.” Professor Trien fumed but his voice faded away despite how hard she attempted to focus on it.

“P-Professor…” She whimpered, curling into herself to try to stop the sensations around her; But they never ceased, even as she felt something wet run down her face - a pain beginning to bloom upon her head as she focused on the wet feeling.

And it all went dark.

[revengeoftheantichrist]

Red Flags

Warnings: Serial killers, breaking and entering, torture, manipulation and broken bones AN: Huge thank you to @9layerdevilfoodcake and the lovely Carissa for bouncing some ideas and beta reading this while I was struggling!

AO3

Michael had enough. He was tired and hungry, getting nothing more than delirious in this forest. He stood on shaky legs, not caring about the blood of the goat he just killed. He didn’t know where he was going, just letting his feet carry him to wherever they pleased. He no longer cared about the destination. His surroundings faded into nothingness, until a familiar white-picket fence came into view. He finally focused on his surroundings, immediately starting to sob when he recognised where he was. His childhood home, his grandmother’s house. His body must have craved the familiarity and the warm embrace that only she could provide. But like every other mother figure in his life, she was dead, and he blamed himself. With bleary eyes he pushed open the squeaky gate. The smell of roses made the memories rapidly flash through his mind. With a deep breath, he opened the door.

The house had been untouched for years. Dust and cobwebs everywhere. He thought of his grandmother watching the house fall into this state of decay. Watching.

He felt the eyes of the house next door on him. He refused to look out the window. He didn’t want to see the looks of disgust and pity. He wiped his eyes and stood a little straighter. This was his house now. He could do whatever he wanted here. No one to answer to, no more deadlines and most of all, no more older blonde woman dictating his life. ////

He stared at himself in the mirror. The stubble and lack of sleep seemed to age him. His hair was no longer perfectly styled, it was wild and uneven. The more he looked at himself the more his face began to morph into the women in his life. He hated it. He didn’t want to look like the woman that threw him out at his lowest. Or the woman who, even in her death, could not accept him as hers. He carried the ghosts of next door with him, and he’d do anything to alleviate himself of that burden. He could only change his appearance for so long. Hair dye would eventually fade; contacts would need to be removed and he wasn’t willing to put himself under the knife.

The smell of blood on his clothes pulled him out of his thoughts. The mirror reflected the decrepit house he was in, turning his nose in disgust. With the last of his strength, he mustered a tiny bit of magic, using a spell to clean the house. He walked through the house as it returned to it’s former glory, remembering his own attempts at interior design when he was younger, looking up the beams and archways where he would nail his ‘gifts’ to his grandmother. Times were simpler then. He shook his head of the nostalgia, hoping the plumbing was still working; he needed a nice hot shower.

//// None of the clothes in the closet fit him anymore, he didn’t realise how much he had grown. For now, a towel was the best he could do until his other clothes were out the dryer. He spent his time scouring the house for legal documents, anything that entitled him to some money and the deeds of the house. He needed to get this all under his name, just in case his grandmother used that stupid medium to undermine him. He tugged open the last drawer. Bingo. Everything he needed conveniently placed in one place. Money, a will and the deeds of the house. He would need to go to whatever legal office to get it sorted. The dryer still had time to go. With a big sigh, he sat on the couch. The one that faced the ‘other’ house. He gave a smile to those still watching him. He must have looked demented by the reactions he got from them. The exhaustion and hunger were catching up to him, succumbing to sleep on the couch.

////

It was morning when he woke up. He let his towel fall with a big stretch. Thus was his house; he could do anything. Even walking around naked. He kept the blinds and curtains that faced that house open. Let them watch. He pulled his warm clothes on. The detergent brought back memories, he’d buy a new scent when the time came. He grabbed some cash and whatever documents he needed for the day, venturing out into the big bad world.

////

Humanity deserved to perish simply for the time it took at the bank. The manger was an old lady, greying blonde hair and a pair of ill-fitting glasses. Michael thought she was extremely rude and didn’t hide his distaste when he spoke to her. She asked far too many questions for such a simple procedure. “Young man, aren’t you far too young to be accessing these funds?” she asked, looking over her glasses. “I can’t control when my entire family dies now can I,” he spat back, sick of her already. She continued to look him up and down as she typed away. Printing something off, she slipped a booklet of paperwork to him. “Everything has been approved, your card should arrive in the next few days. Can I do anything else for you?” “I’d like to take out some cash.” “How much?” “$500.” She paused, “what are you planning on doing with that?” Michael was getting beyond irritated, his jaw clenched, and he rubbed his temples. “There’s no need to be so rude young man,” she huffed. Michael gave her a sarcastic smile before snatching the money and walking out of the bank. The world would be better off without her. He’d deal with her soon. ////

Michael returned home with numerous bags of clothing and food. He would learn how to cook for himself, takeout was not sustainable. The pantry was stocked with basic essentials, but most of it was stocked with candy and other snacks. No one could stop him from indulging in his gluttony now.

His wardrobe was full of blacks and reds, the perfect colours for him. He was most looking forward to the black jumpsuit. It stood out to him in the store, a style he had never tried before. His fingers drifted over the seams when he tried it on, turning and admiring the various angles in the mirror. He looked up to the clock through the mirror, it was almost 5pm, if he didn’t leave now, he would miss her leaving. ////

Michael waited for the old bank manager to leave. Biding his time in the shadows. He watched her as she said her goodbyes in her shrill voice, then as she walked to her car. Michael stalked behind her, waiting for her to get in. As she got comfortable, she dropped something by her foot pedals. When she reached down to grab it, Michael took the opportunity to get in the car and lock the doors. He smiled at her when she screamed. The parking lot was empty, no one would hear her. “Shhh,” Michael put a finger to his lips, the other hand held up a gun. It was one of Constance’s that she had hidden in the house. The woman suddenly stopped, her shaking hands on the wheel. “You’re going to drive, and I’m going to give you directions,” he said, his tone left no space to argue. She nodded, tears in her eyes, hoping he would let her go eventually.

////

They pulled up outside the murder house. Michael got out first, taking the keys from the ignition. The woman stayed in the car, still shaking. She wasn’t given much time to think, Michael dragged her out of the car and up the steps, his hand over her mouth. Her legs flailed around, heels falling off and feet dragging on the ground. Sill, Michael paid her no mind, not even as she thumped down the stairs when he threw her into the basement.

He felt eyes on him again as he went into the kitchen, looking for something sharp. When he got to the basement door, it was blocked by none other than Dr. Harmon himself. “You don’t have to do this kind, you know you’re better than this,” he tried to convince Michael. “You didn’t have to cheat on your wife, now here we all are, miserable in the same fucking house,” Michael spat back. “He didn’t give Harmon a chance to respond, teleporting into the basement where the woman cowered in the corner.

“Please, I’m sorry if I did something, there’s other ways to solve this,” she cried. “I need to get home to my grandkids,” she tried to appeal to his softer side. He continued to stalk towards her, ignoring her and inspecting the sharp knife. “You’re far too old to still be this rude. I think that it’s a habit that can’t be solved anymore,” Michael replied, sounding disappointed. The woman couldn’t back away any further, stuck to the wall. Michael got down to her level, wiping away her tears. “You have grandkids?” She rapidly nodded, hoping he changed his mind. “I had a grandma too. Looked just like you,” he took a blonde hair and sniffed it, it didn’t smell like her. “At least she had basic manners. And, she wouldn’t be caught dead in this hideous number,” he pointed out. He had to give Constance credit where it was due. “Do you want to know what happened to my grandma?” he whispered in her ear. She was too shaky to respond. “I killed her too,” he whispered again, this time his voice cracked a little; remembering the day he found her dead in this very house. Even if she was a ghost, she could have at least spared him a hug. His eyes began to well up. The woman took this as an opportunity to reach out, placing her hand on her face. He snapped back to her, taking her hand in his. “But no one can ever replace her,” his voice still shaking. He felt like a little boy again. He could feel the pity from the woman. She wasn’t scared of him anymore and he didn’t like that. He was no longer a child. He had a greater purpose. Without hesitation, Michael sliced her throat, letting himself be covered in her blood. He looked at his reflection in the knife. Maybe this was the look for him, covered in blood. He licked his fingers, tasting the liquid. “I’ll save the heart for later,” he thought to himself, before ripping it out and making use of one of the fridges. This was one way to pass the time and maybe, it would finally get his father’s attention. //// A car was found on a random highway. In it was the mangled corpse of the owner, and a simple letter signed by ‘the Alpha’. This marked the beginning of a new wave of violence in southern California. A serial killer was on the prowl. The victim profile was quite strange. Typically, killers would choose young women. However, this killer liked older blonde women, usually grandmothers or mothers. It scared you regardless, worried that one day the preference might change. You worried for your co-workers too, many of them fitting the description. The thought that you might have even interacted with the culprit made your skin crawl. ////

Things would inevitably go wrong if one were fuelled by bloodlust alone. Michael had broken into the wrong house. The woman that pissed him off at the supermarket lived a few doors down. Regardless, he was curious as to who lived here. The home was so different to what he was used to. The interior design choices were not the standard ‘live, laugh, love’ and farmhouse kitchen with seashell bathrooms. This house was nice, it had a younger feel to it, the heels by the door further proof of his theory. He quietly made his way up the stairs, looking into every room and taking it all in. He finally found the occupied room. The dark-haired woman was fast asleep in her bed. Comfortably sank into her pillows. He adjusted the blinds a little so he could see better. The way the moonlight reflected off her face took his breath away. His fingers twitched, he wanted to take her home this instant. He could take care of her, he knew he could. He liked a challenge however, he wanted her to come to him. He didn’t know how long he stood and stared at her, only leaving once she stared to stir. He’d be back. ////

Michael’s heart was jumping out of his chest when he arrived back to the murder house. The residents were surprised he didn’t come home with another victim or even a drop of blood on him. His face was flush and he was in deep thought. Luckily for the residents, souls were not congesting the house, as Michael would make sure to burn the new souls as soon as he could. He whispered nonsense to himself as he made his way up to the attic. His trance was interrupted by his foot hitting a box. Had it always been there? He slowly took the lid off, finding an old camcorder and lots of tape. Was he living in the movie ‘sinister’? He was the scariest thing in this house, no ghoul could ever top him.

The box gave him something to do for the rest of the night. Returning with some snacks and in his pyjamas. The entertainment didn’t last long. It was just shitty home movies from former residents. It got worse when they’d come forward and explain them. He turned his face in disgust at the last one; a homemade sex tape. He gagged before turning it off. The sun was rising, telling him to go to bed. As he put the camcorder way, he had a genius idea.

////

You felt weird when you woke up. It was as if someone had been watching you. Your blinds were slightly open, and your bedroom door ajar. Had someone been in? As you walked through the house, something just seemed a little off. Things were ever so slightly out of place. There even seemed to be less fruit juice this morning than you were sure you had last night. Maybe it was the paranoia of the current situation getting to you. You sighed and shook your head before going to get ready for the day.

////

You hated working in the family and wills sector of the legal profession. You were hoping to make the move to fashion law soon, just waiting for the right opportunity. You really weren’t made for the requests of dead people and their bickering relatives.

You greeted one of the partners. Ms Grace everyone called her. She was your mento and a mother figure to you out here in the big bad legal world. Hopefully, she’d give you a good reference when you left. “New client for you today, just… entire dead family,” she whispered the last bit, making a cutting gesture with her hand. “That sounds horrible.” She nodded, before letting you set up for the day. ////

It was afternoon before said client showed up. Your office phone rang informing you of his arrival. A tall, blond man sat in the waiting room; his eyes widened in recognition when he saw you. You decided to ignore it. “Hello, are you Mr. Langdon?” “I am.” “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, in Y/N and I’ll be taking your case,” you held your hand out for him to shake. It was comfortably warm. “Please, call me Michael.” You nodded and smiled, before leading him to your office. “Any refreshments before we get started?” He shook his head. From the outside, his case looked simple However, the deaths in his family left a convoluted mess, but you were sure Mr Langdon would get what he wanted. He was the only legal and living heir after all. You chatted away as you printed off and filled out the relevant forms. The conversation came easy. It had been a while since someone had caused butterflies in your stomach.   You weren’t unprofessional however, keeping it professional with clients. When all was done for the session, you saw him out and waved him off. The interaction with him had left you a little flush. The receptionist giving you a knowing look.

////

This was totally unplanned. Michael wasn’t expecting to see you so soon. He thought that maybe his father had a hand in this, a reward for his hard work. He made his way back home, keeping the packet you gave him close, it still faintly smelled of you. He sat on the couch facing the other house. Images of you occupying his mind. It all got too much, lazily stroking himself to the thought of you that afternoon. ////

He left the house again, camcorder in hand. He pressed record as soon as he got inside your house. Filming every little detail leading up to your room. Even filming himself waving in the hallway mirror, as if he were recording and innocent home video.

He slowly opened your door. You accidently left the lamp on that night, giving him the perfect lighting. He zoomed in on your face before getting closer. Your duvet was blocking the view, reaching forward to carefully move it a little. Running his thumb over your lips and getting it on camera. He groaned at the softness. His fingers skimmed over your face, neck and collarbones. He watched as your nose crinkled a little at the touch. Cute. His evening plans were abruptly cut short when your phone began to ring. At this hour? Who was it? You began to stir at the invasive sound. Michael didn’t have time to run, transmuting out the house as fast as he could.

////

In his free time, Michael indulged in all that his family would disapprove of. And nothing could vex Constance Langdon more than her shitty grandson doing all types of drugs. He liked the feeling weed gave him. It helped him relax after the adrenaline rush of a kill. Sometimes, the murder house had a horrible stench of weed and rotting flesh, prompting the residents to keep the windows open. He even tried other things, like Acid and MD. He didn’t like the restlessness they gave him. He especially hated when his face would morph in the mirror, turning him into the people he hated the most. He wondered what it would be like to get high with you. He wanted to melt into you just like he did the floor when the THC finally got him. If he couldn’t get to you that night, he would replay the tapes on the big screen and jack off, wishing you were there. The residents of the house watched in disgust and horror. They may have done terrible things but surely, they weren’t this bad.

////

Mr Langdon’s case had successfully ended, he had gotten what he wanted. You bumped into him a week later, on your lunch break. “Oh? Y/N? so nice to see you,” he stood in the line at your favourite coffee shop. “Like wise,” you smiled up at him. “Would you like anything? I insist. It’s the least I can do.” You tried to reject his kindness but didn’t want to hold up the line, giving him your order. You both sat at a quiet table, waiting for your drinks and pastry. “I don’t usually see my clients on lunch breaks.” “Former client,” he pointed out, taking a sip of his coffee. You watched him add five packets of sugar and wondered why he didn’t just get a sweeter drink. Your conversation continued, with your shoes constantly touching under the table. It felt very childish, but maybe you were missing the playfulness in life. Your phone alarm went off, indicating you had to get back to work. As your phone was unlocked, Michael took it and tapped his number in, leaving you at the table with a wink.

////

These interactions led to casual dates. The murders began to slow down, making you feel a little safer. With this in mind, you accepted Michael’s invitation when he invited you over. You were nervous as you waited for him to open the door. The evening breeze did little to distract you from the feeling of being watched. Michael opened the door and you sighed in relief. “You look… beautiful,” he stuttered. “Not too bad yourself,” you smiled back.

He moved aside to let you in, leading you to where he had set up. “I didn’t know you could cook.” “I’m a man of many talents.” He looked out the window, making sure the other house was watching. They looked nervous, hoping you would leave in one piece. They watched you laugh and talk. This could not have been the same boy that had terrorised so many. He was confident, suave, and personable. Worlds away from the awkward, nervous cry baby of a serial killer that they had become used to. He cleaned up well, even tidying up his wild hair. They wondered how long it would last. How long would it take for you to see the real him? They hoped you got out before it got to that state. The time flew by, and you both seemed to get closer by the second. You didn’t notice until your noses were touching, conversation halting. He seemed to be waiting for something, almost hesitant. You took the initiative and captured his lips. All of his hesitation melted away, his hand reaching around you and pulling you closer. The kiss got more heated, indicating that it would lead to something else. However, luck was not on your side. You phone ringing and interrupting you. Michael wanted to smash that phone; this was the second time it had stopped him. You apologised before picking up. Michael watched your expression change and brows knit in annoyance. You put the phone down, apologising. “I’m so sorry Michael, but I’m going to have to go, I’ve been called into work tomorrow and this is an important client, I hope you can understand.” “Of course, I’m sure you’re busy and I won’t keep you. Do you want me to drop you off?” He didn’t know why he asked that question, he didn’t have a car. “Oh thank you so much for understanding, and the offer. I drove here myself so there’s no need to worry about that,” you smiled at him. Michael helped you with your belongings, leading you out the door. You turned to thank him again, before he leaned down to give you another kiss, causing you to blush. He walked you to your car, taking in the interior. He waved you off with a smile. He knew you’d be back soon. ////

Michael shut the door behind him. He thought the night was a success. He opened the cupboard and pulled out your jacket. He hid it away, so you’d forget about it. The designer logo stood out to him. He buried his face in the fur, taking in all of it. Your scent, your warmth, everything. He had been so close to you. He wanted to watch the tapes with this in hand, for that he would have to venture next door. He wasn’t prepared to finally come face to face with his grandmother, looking down on him, cigarette in hand. “Michael fucking Langdon,” her southern drawl was harsh. He hadn’t been spoken to like that in years. He gulped as he watched her slowly walk down the stairs. “Why haven’t you grown out of that terrible habit of yours. You just have to destroy pretty things.” She stopped at the step just above him, still looking down. She gently stroked his face like she used to when he was a child, and he leaned into the touch. The peace was disturbed by a loud slap echoing through the house. Michael’s face turned to the side. He held his cheek, slowly turning to the woman with bleary eyes. “You have some nerve coming back to this house with that attitude of yours, clearly the ‘Church’ didn’t teach you any manners” Michael was trying to find his voice, to finally face the woman that he blamed for half of his problems. “And now look at you, that poor girl doesn’t even know the half of it.” She snatched the coat away from him. “Look at this Michael, this is Prada. And did you see the car she drove? What makes you think you deserve her? Look at yourself,” she gestured towards him. “Hair unkempt, Jobless, all you eat is candy and human flesh. What are you going to when she finds out the truth?” Michael hadn’t actually thought about that. He had neglected himself and his appearance for a while now. Did it really matter that much?

////

“Look, Y/N, all I’m saying is that you can do better. Look at you, you’re beautiful and well dressed and have such a good job. And him, well… he’s a little scruffy and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even have a car,” Ms Grace did not approve of your relationship with Michael. She thought you could do better. “I see where you’re coming from but he’s charming. Although I do agree he could clean up a little better. I’ve seen him all dressed up and he looks so good. I just don’t understand why he chooses to look like… that most of the time,” the last bit was more meant for yourself. Your conversation was interrupted by Kevin, a colleague from another office. “He should take a page out of Kevin’s book,” Ms Grace pointed out. Kevin raised a brow at the conversation he had just become a part of. He too was on a lawyer salary, a well-dressed man that anyone would swoon for. “Who’s ‘he’?” “Y/Ns …. Boyfriend?” Ms Grace replied. “Nothing to concern yourself too much with Kevin, you know what Ms Grace is like,” you interjected. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. He must be something to reach those high standards of yours,” he pointed out. “Oh he’s something alright,” Ms Grace muttered. You huffed at the conversation. You didn’t think you were a superficial person, but your colleagues thought otherwise. //// Michael had heard enough. Sometimes he would scry into your workplace, just to check on you, to see if you thought of him as much as he did. The conversation reinforced Constance’s criticisms from the other day. He hadn’t felt this self-conscious in a while. He was not one to idle, immediately finding a hair stylist with an availability. He wanted a transformation that would floor you. With that in mind, he headed to ‘Gallants’. //// The hairstylist was truly annoying, yet he seemed to have magic in his hands. The final reveal shocked Michael also. The confidence he had at Hawthorne seemed to return. He held his head just a little higher as he walked out. He felt everyone’s eyes on him, people stopping to stare at the angelic looking man that strutted down the street. On his way to his next destination, he stopped at the sight of a certain symbol. An inverted cross. His feet had a mind of their own, leading him inside. His scar began to tingle. The congregation turned to stare at the man that had just walked in. They knew. It had to be. The high priestess getting on her knees before him. He could get used to this. //// He reached his final destination for the day. He didn’t usually kill men, but if they got in his way, he didn’t care who he killed. He waited for Kevin to come home. He was going to kill him here. He wasn’t worth the effort of taking him all the way to the murder house. Michael didn’t even give the man a chance to scream. Getting rid of him with a snap of his fingers. //// The murder house watched Michael carefully curate his image the next few months. An entire new wardrobe, his old clothes dumped in the murder house. They watched the elaborate skincare ritual every morning. Carefully peeling away masks and applying serums. How very American Psycho of him. You loved the new look. You made sure everyone in the office new you’d made the right choice. Michael loved the new attention, but he made sure you knew he only had eyes for you. He even planned on offering you a better job in Kineros’ legal team, just so he could keep you close and get you out of the sector you complained about so often. //// A strange thing happened one night. Michael took the camcorder down into the basement with him, setting the lens to record his newest victim. After he was done, he burned the footage onto a disk. What was he up to? //// You were on autopilot as you opened your door. You felt numb. Ms Grace had become another victim to ‘the Alpha’ along with one of your neighbours. You spent the entire day in police interviews, trying to make sense on the situation. As you walked into the house, you stepped on something. A thick envelope, labelled only with your name. You picked it up with shaky hands and opened it. In it was just an unlabelled disc and a sticky note saying ‘love from the Alpha’. It made your blood run cold. This had to be a joke. Some was messing with you; it could be the only explanation. You ran to your DVD player, you had to see what was on the disc, you hoped it was some shitty quality movie ripped from the internet. The video came on, starting in a dark room. The camera turned to a woman tied up, it zoomed in on her face and you immediately recognised her as Ms Grace. Your eyes widened and you felt ill, running to the bathroom to be sick. It was still playing when you came back, changing to a different video. It was dark again but it all seemed so familiar. The camera panned up and you gasped, your hands covering your face. It was a video of you, sleeping in your own home. You no longer felt safe here. You quickly took the disc out and grabbed your essentials, running to your car. As you pulled out your street, you had no idea what turn to take. Turning right would lead to the police station, you could submit the disc and ask for protection. However, they rarely did anything about stalking cases, and the disc had your finger prints all-over it. A left turn would lead to Michael. You felt safe around him and you were sure he could offer you comfort at this time. The beeping behind you made you make your decision. //// You pulled up outside Michael’s house. You rapidly knocked on the door, there was no answer. No light was on in the house. You prayed to whoever that would listen that he didn’t have any other plans for the night. As you lost hope and looked around, your eyes fell to the imposing structure next door. You remembered a conversation where he had said he was restoring the home. A light was on. With a deep breath, you ran up the steps, repeating your previous actions and hoping for a response. A shocked Michael opened the door. You immediately wrapped your arms around him, burying your face in his chest and sobbing. You didn’t notice the feral look he had going on. Hair dishevelled and blood-stained clothes. He gently put the knife down and wrapped his arms around you, cooing and shushing you. Telling you to calm down and it would all be okay. He was glad you were wearing a dark colour; you hadn’t noticed the stickiness of his hands and the stain they left. He gently moved you into the house, shutting the door. He used his magic to shut the basement door too. Your face was still buried in his arm as he walked you up the stairs. You should have paid attention to your strange surroundings. The ghosts of the house looked at you with the greatest of pity, wishing they could do something.

He sat you down on the bed, kneeling before you and taking your hands in his. “Hey, look at me. What’s going on?” he asked gently, wiping your eyes. You sniffled and calmed your breathing, trying not to freak out again as you explained the situation to him. “I… I think he’s after me,” you whispered. “Who’s ‘he?” “The Alpha, he’s after me, I know it.” Michael paused, you must have seen the DVD. He had to stop himself from laughing. “Why do you think that hmm?” his thumb stroked your cheek. “Three people I know have died and then I got this DVD in the mail,” you paused, “It… it’s a video of Ms Grace tied up and then one of me sleeping,” you began to cry again. Michael sat on the bed next to you, pulling you in for a hug, you buried your face into him again, taking in his scent and trying to calm down. “You’re the only person I feel safe around,” you mumbled. Michael smiled into your hair. He had you exactly where he wanted. ////

You decided to wash your face after you had calmed down. Wetting a towel with cold water, you placed it on your eyes in an attempt to de-puff them. The ghosts thought this was the perfect opportunity to warn you about your possible doom. Vivienne pulled open the shower curtain behind you. Revealing a bathtub full of ice and another victim placed in it. However, their plan didn’t seem to work. You didn’t even look back at the sound, having walked out the bathroom just in-time. Michael was sitting on the bad, waiting for you. He had changed into more casual clothing and was rolling a joint. “It might help you calm down,” he smiled up at you, twisting the end off. You sat back on the bed and joined him, relaxing into the headboard. The conversation was casual and mundane, something you really needed right now. Between the sound of his voice and the passing of the joint, you had no idea how much time had passed. All you knew at this moment was that you wanted to be as close to him as possible. Hands began to wander, and your lips met for a heated kiss, you ended up straddling him. You let yourself be lost in the haze, not knowing exactly when your clothes came off, just that you enjoyed the feel of his skin on yours. You lifted your hips, moving to finally having him inside you, to be as close as you could be. You waited a little, resting your forehead on his shoulder as you got used to his size and took it all in. The feeling of his hands rubbing up and down your spine was blissful. His hands finally rested on your hips, gripping them and encouraging you to finally move. You complied, taking your time. You moved away from his shoulder. He took the opportunity to leave marks all over your breasts. It just felt so good. You could feel that you wouldn’t last much longer, your movements becoming sloppier. Michael rested his hand on your throat, his face morphed into something a lot more vicious than you were used to. It must have rang some alarm bells, but you weren’t listening. His grip on your neck tightened, and his hips began to thrust up, meeting your movements. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head as his grip tightened once more, causing the coil in your belly to snap. Your legs shook, walls pulsing around him as he followed not long after. He pulled you into a deep kiss by your neck, slowly moving you off him and onto the bed. You lay there catching your breath, staring into his eyes. Just for that brief moment, nothing else mattered, forgetting about the serial killer that was on the hunt somewhere. You got closer to him and got comfortable, your head resting on his chest, being lulled by his heartbeat. “I was thinking,” he started. “Hmm?” you mumbled back, enjoying the vibration of his speech. “Maybe you should take a break from work for a while and stay with me for a bit, just until things calm down,” he suggested. At that moment in time, the combined high of weed and sex made it seem like a genius idea. Surely it was the most obvious solution? “Yeah it’s a good idea,” you yawned. The exhaustion caught up to you, your heavy eyes falling shut. Michael squeezed you just a little tighter and smirked up at the residents that had surrounded you. Their looks of pity towards you were something else. Michael buried his face into your hair, turning off the lights around him. It was the most blissful sleep he had had in years.

////

You woke up sometime the next afternoon. Michael was nowhere to be seen. After using (the now empty) bathroom, you ventured through the house. It looked different. It looked complete in a way. The tarp, random cans of paint and building materials that you were sure where there last night, were gone. It was as if it had been transformed overnight. The strangest thing was how familiar the décor and interior looked. It looked like a bigger version of your own home. It felt familiar yet uncomfortably so. Quite frankly, it looked like your dream home, styled as if it was going to featured in Architectural Digest. You knew it didn’t look like this last night, nothing close to it. Then you thought back to the wardrobe upstairs, the one you had sleepily pulled your current clothing out of. It was full of your own clothing. Clothing that you didn’t bring with you. Did Michael do this while you were asleep? When did he get the time? You scoured the house for your car keys and purse. Only finding pieces of familiar décor instead. Your stomach got the better of you, heading to the kitchen and hopefully finding something to eat. The pantry was stocked full of your favourites, pulling out a box of your favourite cereal. It was at this moment you were sure that all the pieces were taken from your home. One of the cereal bowls had the same chip that yours had. The nervousness and paranoia of last night began to seep back into you, your face visibly twisted in those emotions. As you mindlessly ate your cereal, the basement door creaked open. You stopped mid chew to look. You quickly swallowed and slowly walked towards it. Telling yourself that there was nothing to fear, and that you were just going to shut it. You heard a thud as you reached the door. Maybe Michael was down there and needed some help or something. You slowly walked down the steps, being careful not to make any noise. Your hand covered your mouth to stop your scream and prevent you from vomiting from the smell. The image forever burned into your memory. There was blood everywhere. Michael had his back turned to you, you were sure he hadn’t sensed your presence yet. You slowly backed away, trying to be quiet and not alert him. You let out a shaky breath when you were back in the hallway. You didn’t care about finding your things now, you had to get out of here. The front door wouldn’t budge open, the backdoor was no different. None of the window’s downstairs would open either. You then remember one of the windows was cracked open in the room you were sleeping in. You may injure yourself, but it looked like your only way out. You pushed the window up even further, making enough room for you to jump out. You hoisted one leg over the ledge, looking out for your landing spot. You prepared yourself to move the other leg, but it wouldn’t budge. You tugged at it a few times before looking back. Those blue, rage filled eyes were staring back at you, holding your leg, and preventing you from getting out. “Get. Back. In.,” he said, through clenched teeth. You shook your head, looking away from him. You didn’t want to think about who’s blood he was covered in. “Please let me go,” you whispered, hoping he’d take mercy on you somehow. His grip just got tighter. You mustered up all your strength, kicking him off you. He let go of your leg, it gave you enough time to jump. You felt the wind rush around you as you fell. You hit the ground a lot harder than you thought. Your head ricocheted off the ground painfully. You ignored the crunch your legs made. Everything hurt so bad, the pain wouldn’t even let you scream. You knew you had calculated your fall right. The ghosts thought you did too, all watching with various shocked expressions. You tried to move and look around you and stay awake. You could only look up. Through your darkening vision, the last thing you saw was Michael leaning out the window, smiling down at you. The cat had caught the canary.

////

You groaned in pain as you opened your eyes.

The light was blinding, difficult to adjust to.

Where were you? Why were you here? How long had it been?

As you looked around, the room looked familiar, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it.

“Oh? You’re finally awake, It’s been a few days, I missed seeing your eyes” a male voice spoke from beside you.

You slowly turned your head to the voice.

The man looked familiar; you raked your brain to figure out who it was.

He placed his hand on your cheek, you hissed and flinched as he stroked scabby and bruised skin. “Look at you. If you had stayed inside, we wouldn’t be here now, would we?”

His eyes finally met yours and everything came rushing back.

A feeling of dread overtook you. You tried to shuffle away from him, but something was preventing you from moving.

You tried to figure out what it was. Looking yourself over, noticing the blanket was bulky.

You momentarily forgot about the predator in the room, pulling the blanket away and revealing your legs, both in casts.

One of the casts had been signed, ‘get well soon, Love, your Alpha’.

You wanted to sob, but you knew any sudden movements would be painful.

Michael rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket back over you, tucking you in.

“If you’re good, you’ll get your painkillers. If you’re bad…,” he leaned over you, putting his weight on your legs, “I’ll cut them off next time,” he grinned.

He got onto the other side of the bed, holding you close to him, squeezing you just a little too tight, and giving your forehead a kiss.

Not even the apocalypse could get you out of his grasp now, he’d kill you both before anything tried to take you from him. Wherever you were, that was his sanctuary. Even if it meant eternal torment in the pits of hell, it didn’t matter, as long as it was with you.

[avian-writes]

The day we found solitude

The Days: Part 2

Content warnings: anxiety

words: 2,026

You would think after what happened last time, Darian and I would never open that damn Randonautica app again. That we would delete it from his phone, block any website with articles on it, turn off app location completely. That we would suppress that memory deep, deep down until brought up years later in therapy. You would also think wrong.

    Did we want something similar to happen? Proof that what we experienced was real and not just a dual hallucination? Or maybe we wanted a normal experience as proof that it wasn’t real. Or maybe we were just idiots with not enough time on our hands and desperate for something more stimulating than sleeping all day.

    We chose attractor this time. A more dense area should mean not in the middle of the woods again which was honestly our main priority. What could go wrong in a more localized place?

    Well, what could go worse?

    Manifest what you want

What did we want this time? We glanced at each other and didn’t say a word. I don’t even believe I thought of anything. Just complete blankness, manifesting the void dwelling over our space.

Before we could react, it dinged and a map pulled up. A red flag pinpointed a location neither of us recognized. We took the coordinates to Google maps and waited.

  One of the local high schools. Thankfully the nearest one. As much as I loved driving normally, lately all it did was tire me out. But Darian did it last time so it was my turn. We grabbed our bags, now more fully stocked than normal complete with pocket knives and pepper spray, and jumped into my debilitating car.

   The sun started to set during the 20 minute drive there, casting an orange glow across the dashboard where Darian laid his head. Just like I wanted to, but I kept my eyes on the road and ears open for any suspicious sounds my car made, a constant and nerve wracking weight on my chest.

   “What do you think we’ll find?” Darian asked, eyes moving from staring out the window at the dwindling sun to me.

   I shrugged. “This time? Hopefully not a dead animal on school grounds.”

   “I’m not the one calling the police if we do.”

   “Eh, we can just leave it for the seniors to find in the morning.”   Darian chuckled but there was something heavy behind it. I waited a moment but when he didn’t elaborate on his undertoning misery, I reached over and poked his arm. “Hey, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

   He was quiet for a few more seconds, staring down at his lap. “Should we have a plan? Or...something grounding? Just in case something happens again?”

   I looked over at him. His small eyes were now wide with what I recognized as potential worry and fear. Did I feel it as well? It was hard to tell past all the nerves running me down. “We do have something grounding: each other.” I held the gruff of his sleeve and shook it, not taking my own eyes off the road. “We’ll be fine as long as we don’t lose track of each other again.”

   Darian smiled weakly and laughed. “Sappy but yeah, alright. Whatever you say.”

  The gate into the parking lot was left open, probably by a school cop who wasn’t paid enough to care. We easily drove in and around the cracked, gray top pavement to the senior lot. Neither of us went to that school; we were both from out of town. But the lot was fairly easy to navigate.

   After parking where we hoped was out of sight of the cameras, we got out and stared down at my phone where the map blinked back up at us. We looked at each other and he gestured for me to go first. Traitor.

   Following the small dot on the screen, we vultured out of the lot and down the grassy hill towards the stadium. It was completely surrounded by a chain link fence. I looped my frail fingers through the metal bearings and pushed myself up, vaulting over the top and carefully avoiding the circlets at the top. Darian, a known climber of school buildings, easily got up and over. We dropped down on the other side and continued skirting around the hill.

   We ended up at the top, hoping over the knee-high bar that was poorly meant to keep kids off the grass during games. The ticket entrances were just holes in the cement walls for people to come and go. The snack bar was in the middle of them. We wandered over and Darian said nothing as I hoisted myself up onto the counter.

   I leaned back so I could look at the inside in all its upside down glory. Nothing there. Why would there be in Spring?

   I heaved back up, grunting as I did so. “Wanna see if there’s anything in the storage room?”

  But Darian wasn’t paying attention to me. He was staring towards a concrete box standing above the seats, two doors leading no doubt to stairs going up. The announcer’s box.

   “Darian?” I lightly kicked his leg and he jumped. “You okay there?”

   He waved me off. “Yeah, just fazed out there for a moment. What’s back there?”

   I swiveled around and hopped off the counter. “Nothing at all. They must’ve cleared it out once football season was over.”

   “Were you hoping for some months old candy or something?”

  “Candy never goes bad, Darian! We’ve been over this!” We started to laugh but it quickly dimmed to light huffs of breath. The atmosphere was something odd, breaking it seemed like hammering down a barrier to somewhere we didn’t know. Like we were doing something incredibly wrong by even speaking, much less laughing.

   We headed down towards the football field, taking the large stone steps two at a time. Jumping down and giving the illusion of shattering our ankles in the process. We ended up at the 50 yard line. Right in the middle.

   I turned in circles, gazing in confused wonder at the empty concrete seats on one side and the bleachers on the other, designated home and visitor sides respectfully. I had never gone there before, but I felt a strange sense of nostalgia nevertheless. It was like any other high school stadium.

  I would always sit with my family at football games, subtly curling up against the nearest family member as we were surrounded by hundreds of strangers yelling, either cheering happily or screaming in anger.

  Either way, it was overwhelming. I could still feel the cold breath of every surrounding person dragging down my back, their eyes darting to me with every small movement I made. Scrutinizing and judging a life they didn’t know and motives they couldn’t understand.

   That’s when a high-pitched shriek broke through the air.

  The sound pierced my eardrums, shaking my head, brain, mind, everything. I collapsed to my knees and held my hands over my ears in a poor attempt to block out the skull shattering screeching. Nails dug into my hair follicles to rip them from my bare head to overrun the pain searing through my body right then.

   My chest didn’t hurt. It was burning. Fire was trekking its way down my throat, chest cavity, all the way until its journey ended in my legs that were tucked underneath me in a tight ball.

   Then started the roaring sounds, a rumbling scan over the field and steamrolling right over me into the freshly mowed grass. All the wind was knocked out of me and I coughed and choked on purely nothing. My throat hurt but I didn’t dare remove my hands in favor of holding it. I forced myself to look up and nearly passed out.

The previously empty stands were filled with spectators. I turned around, still pressing my hands over my ears as the piercing sound was gradually replaced with roaring voices. Thunderous speaking over one another as if every person was right next to me, each attempting to be heard over everyone else.

   Something covered my hands and I jumped before realizing they were just Darian. I turned my head to see him staring at me confused but alarmed. “Don’t you hear them?” I shouted.

   He shook his head and pressed his hands tighter to my head. My cheeks were hot, my face was hot, every muscle in my body was heat running over deep coals. It was agonizing and all I wanted was for it to stop.

   “Jake!” Darian moved his hands to my face and forced me to look at him. “Just focus on me, okay?”

  I could feel something wet running down my cheeks and I shut my eyes. Shaking my head back and forth, side to side, trying to shake out the spectators’ voice drilling their way into me. The shrieking merged with theirs and everything became a bubble of sound, bouncing off the outside and growing louder.

   Darian suddenly took hold of my hand and started running. I was forced to take it off my ear and the sounds grew louder in my head as they took advantage of the entryway into my mind. We ran across the grass and up the concrete steps amongst the spectators. As we climbed past, they reached out almost skeletal like arms at us, grabbing at our legs.

   One successfully nabbed my ankle and I tripped on the stairs, banging my knee into the solid stone. Sharp pain erupted in my shin and more tears threatened to prick at my eyes. The hand tugged on my ankle and I started to slide down towards the sourced man.

   “Jake!” Darian pulled on my hand but it did little to nothing as I slid down the step, harshly scraping my knee against the concrete. He leapt down next to me and wrapped an arm behind and under my shoulders. “Let him go!”

   He yanked and this time, the skeletal hand let go. He got me to my feet and we ran the rest of the way to the top. As soon as we hit the flat landing, the cheering for our demise got louder.

   I staggered to my knees under the sheer weight of their chaos, but Darian shook his head. “Nope, nope. It’s not doing this again!” He pulled me back up and looked around feverishly. Eyes landing on the announcer’s box, he dragged me along to one of the doors and threw it open.

   He shoved me through and the door slammed shut behind us. The sound dulled but the ringing didn’t. It throbbed my brain cells to smithereens, sending them to combustion inside my small skull.

   “How are you feeling? Can you still hear...whatever it is?”

  He couldn’t hear them. He wasn’t in extreme mental pain from the phantom spectators. But he did believe me and that was all I needed to know. “I can hear them, but not as bad. It just hurts, so much.” I groaned and held my head in my hands, closing my eyes and trying to block out my own pain receptors.

   Darian nodded but judging from his face, he far from understood what was happening. I knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t really registering anything going on, just going through the motions to get out on the other side somewhat intact.

   Diluted and weak, we trudged up the stairs further into the actual announcer’s box. It was a small room with a board nailed to either side up against the far wall to act as a desk. Windows were on all the other three walls and I could see clearly through them that the stands were completely empty.

   My sore knees buckled underneath me and I collapsed to the ground. Darian was at my side instantly and instead of forcing me to stand up again, he helped me lean against the wall and sat down next to me. “Let’s just, stay here for a little while. Then we’ll get out of here.”

   I nodded. “Sounds like a good idea….wanna play sticks?”

   “Sure.”

[of-tatooine]

honor him. | chapter 3 - ready or not

an Empress is killed and a new era of constant guilt dawns upon you.

Gray tiles over the rooftops contrasted the clear blue beauty of the Dunwall skies on the 18th of the Month of Earth. The uneven skyline decorated with the light smoke rising from the numerous chimneys scattered around the peaks.

The Tower stood tall and pristine, overlooking the gloomy city. White blocks of stone reflecting the sunlight, light blue drapes, embellished with the Kaldwin family crest, swaying ever so slightly to the beautiful dance of the wind. Flowers flourishing across the vast gardens of the Tower, the waves of the river licking at the edges of the walls.

It was an unusually beautiful day to be a royal. Years back, when you were fighting off stragglers and gang members in the streets of Karnaca, even dreaming about being this close to royalty had been out of question. You never had time for such useless fantasies when the reality had been proving to be nothing less than ruthless and cold.  

It was quite ironic - in contrast to the deeds your kin would commit, it was as if the Outsider had cursed you with sunshine and warmth to make you never forget the moments to come.

Commotion. A deafening, sickening sound of machinery turning in its cogs and screws, digging into your skull like daggers. Screams, thick boots thudding against the wooden floors, making the entire ground shake. Your younger feet descending the carpet-covered stairs of your apartment rapidly, heart about to burst out of your chest. The usual faint whale songs you would otherwise gladly welcome in your mind then subdued by the creaking music echoing through the narrow foyer - to be replaced with the cries of the one you loved the most.  

Every single little detail about that night was still alive and burning in your mind, just like how the events of the present day would hurt your conscience for years to come. There you stood, up on the rooftops of the tower, leaning against one of the chimneys which concealed your red-leather clad figure, the higher up vantage point giving you an unobstructed view of the gazebo.

So far, everything had been going according to the assault plan Daud had spent a couple of months perfecting - couple Whalers holding up the smaller edge closer to where the target stood, with Daud waiting alongside them for an easier transversal. The remaining Whalers all positions up on the roofs, blending into the navy blue tiles, some setting up lookouts on top of the water lock, and you staying on the lookout on the furthest end of the to ensure a safe escape route. There was no room for error, not even a single breath could be taken out of order.

This was the mission that would change the Whalers, affect every single living piece of soul of the Empire and the blood would soon be all over your hands. Every one of your fellow assassins felt it inside - felt the balances and the energies shift in haste of what’s to come, some sort of dark hunch in all of their souls, yet no one could put it into words nor admit it.

Many of those who noticed you merely guarding the furthest tower away from the gazebo, very much unlike the key roles you had in past contracts, did not dare confront you or Daud about it - they simply knew better than to be scolded by the master assassin to focus on the mission of their lives. Nothing escaped the sight nor the quick wit of Billie Lurk though, you remembered, as she appeared right near you, causing you to shift your position to face her.

“What’d you do this time to make him mad?” she would ask in a tone you could not discern beneath the muffling of the vapor mask, combined with the ringing in your head with the added stress of the mission.

That had caught you by slight surprise - although you were used to Lurk’s teasing intrusions and insights just about everything as you would train together and plan out how to approach missions, you had been silently hoping every Whaler to be so preoccupied about the job at hand as they should have been, that they would not pay attention to one assassin’s uncharacteristic task.  You would only shrug at her, tilting your head slightly and letting out a muffled breath. “Just following the old man’s orders.”

If only she knew. If only she knew the resolve it took for you not to crumble right there and then, how hard it had been for you to sound emotionless and nonchalant.

She would change towards you, talk different and act different, you did not have a single doubt about that. Maybe she would look at you with pity, or she would remove all her trust from you for being such a weak soul unable to get anything done because you were so caught up in your memories.

Either way, revealing the truth was something you could not afford.

The seasoned assassin shrugged with a simple mumble of “fair enough”. Billie knew better not to dive into personal details during high-risk missions, or during anything else - she had been an enigma of her own, ever since Daud had brought her in. You did not mind.

Her, you could look at. You could even sneak glances at the Empress’s silhouette with her famous up-do, her hands against the marble fences of the gazebo as she gazed over her city, unaware of her approaching demise. Hiram Burrows, the sick man behind this litany, talking to her with his hands clasped behind his back, with his crooked face and sneering attitude that spoke of no rainbows and sunshine.

But your covered orbs beneath the mask would not dare sneak a glance towards your master, who stood rigid as ever in his position minus the mask he adorned usually. He did not dare look at you either - after all, you had been two souls who knew this was wrong, so wrong, this entire mission was all sorts of wrong and it must, under any circumstance, be stoppe-

The loud thuds of the water lock bringing in a skiff echoed across the walls all of a sudden.

The hairs on your neck rose in response to the sheer suspense - according to the plan, no guests were expected to the Tower in the morning. The damn water-lock was supposed to be sealed towards any outside traffic from the river. That bastard Burrows himself had assured you no one would intervene when you landed on the gazebo after he was done briefing the Empress. Besides a few corrupt guards and maids, no other key staff to royalty was supposed to be on the premises.

Billie’s alarmed stance found yours, no doubt having the same racing thoughts in her mind as you, whereas the stress of the unknown pawn in your mission made you finally manage to look at Daud. His jaw was clenched as he shook his head at you, sensing your gaze on him, his gloved hand held upwards in a closed fist as he signaled his small army to stand by till someone could identify who was coming. You could feel the nerves of the fellow assassins tightening - it was vital everything went according to the plan, word by word, minute by minute on a mission as impossible as this. The Whalers could not afford any last-minute unknowns into the equation, not this time.

“Corvo! You’re back!” you hear the young girl exclaim in the happiest cute little voice you have ever heard as she ran towards the tall figure waiting to take her in his open arms.

No. No, no, no.

He was not supposed to be here till the 20th. The Royal Protector being away was the main guarantee Daud had made sure when he was taking up the mission. This was not supposed to happen.

When this was all done, if you survived, you would give your heart and soul to the Outsider just to stab one of your sharpest blades into that crooked, scrawny throat of Burrows, for omitting this piece of information that changed everything.

If there had been anyone who deserved to die that day, it would have been that sniveling bastard. But no, he just had to hire you to do his dirty work for him and his forsaken conspiracy. You knew one thing - he would not omit the supposed presence of Corvo unless he had something to gain from it.

Just how he planned to use him in the grand scheme of things was still a mystery to you, one that made your blood go cold.

Transversing closer to the edge of the roof with a clearer view of the lower tower entrance, something inside you was on the verge of breaking as you saw the Lord Protector hug little Emily, the child inviting him towards the back gardens for a quick game of hide and seek.

Innocent and pure, the total opposite of the acts you would commit later on. Of the world the little girl would be thrown into after her mother has died - a world of corruption, hatred, fright and cruelty.

Just like the one you had been thrown into without a choice, all those years ago.

Jaw-clenched, you walked with a certain quick determination towards the chimney Lurk was still holed up near, overlooking the strike point yet her mask was focused on you. The way you approached with a certain rigidness and unease now even more evident in your movements and they certainly did not get unnoticed by the assassin. Your fists clenched as you held onto the tiles, crouching. Waiting,  as well as you could, with your heart beating out of your chest.

Just how many lives would be ruined that day? At that point, you had lost all hope in counting. How many would be stabbed and how much blood would be spilled all over the crisp white marble? Souls left to perish, so one more rich bastard with less than honorable motives could rise to the throne and throw the entire Empire to dust?

The clock was ticking against your favor. The Lord Protector could already be seen making his way towards the gazebo, the little girl trailing just a couple steps in front. The crooked bastard Burrows lingering to exchange some words with him before he reached the Empress.

All of these thoughts, these truthful yet dangerous ramblings in your mind making your ears ring, shots of adrenaline and some sort of determination started to coax through your veins. Something needed to be done, someone needed to stop this right then and there, before Daud sent the first wave of assassins in. Only the Outsider knew what would happen next if you did not intervene - after all, you personally could confirm no one was a match to Corvo in a duel, if the years hadn’t changed him.

You needed to reach Daud and get him to call this entire thing off. Fast.

Suddenly, you caved into your morality as your hand lifted up, engulfed in darkness, and your body lunged forward quickly - only to be stopped by a forceful wind blasting you back, as you tumbled backwards with a muffled gasp escaping your mouth. The blast muting your fall as the sheer power in your hands ceased. Under the skies of Dunwall,  the intimidating mask of Lurk was standing over you, shadows lurking around her gloved hand directed towards your frame.

“This is meant to be. This one, you cannot change, Lieutenant,” she spoke, crouching to your level. The sickening clangs of swords mixed in with screams as your chest heaved with breaths. Daud had sent his first wave in.

“We can only watch.”

So you did. 

Each second passing adding another flame to the frustrated fire burning inside you, you got up with a quiet snarl, leaning against the stones with your sights set towards the gazebo.

You could only watch when Daud slapped the Empress before wrapping his hands around her throat.

You could only watch as she fought him helplessly before the assassin put his blade through her weakened body.

You could only watch when Thomas grabbed the poor little Lady, with the Lord Protector disheveled and damaged on the floor. And you could only watch as Billie gave the signal to head back to base.

It killed you.

It killed you to your core, made your bones go stone cold, your heart break into a million pieces into the Void. The droplets of royal blood leaking on the floors from Daud’s blade felt as if it had been your own blood spilled. It hurt as such.

It was the Void’s parting gift to you that your master ordered to travel back to base before you could witness the corrupted bastards hold the helpless Royal Protector accountable as the one person he had sworn to protect died in his arms.

[rennyforpresident]

Renny’s BBSim: First Boots Week 10

Welcome back to Biiiiiiiiig Brother!

@ashleaevans @bathroom-sand @kaysarswhore @kayysarridha @kelleekim @lahallucinations @maxdoesbb @misshoh @music-obsessednerd @nerdphobic @nomwastaken @pawn2393 @phylisisley @remember-caltoru @rennyforpresident @shaolinbynature

Previously, @phylisisley was blindsided and sent home in favor of keeping her showmance partner, @shaolinbynature. @kaysarswhore had yet another messy HOH reign, but once again, she’s back in jeopardy. Will the Block Destroyers remain strong, or will @kaysarswhore‘s antics finally catch up to her?

It looks like the Block Destroyers will NOT remain strong

@pawn2393 is solely attached to @ashleaevans now. He just feels like he can’t win against either of the two people he’s in an alliance with. He needs to win HOH, and prove that he’s here to play this game too.

Speaking of the HOH competition

Oh look, yet ANOTHER endurance comp. Well, we all know at this point the one person in this house who refuses to do well in a comp, so last place goes to

@kelleekim in the DR: “I have no idea why I can’t win a comp! Maybe if we had something other than stupid endurance comps, I’d be able to take one home!”

After thirty minutes, @ashleaevans and @pawn2393 are talking. Suddenly, @ashleaevans gets distracted and loses his grip

But, seeing his BFF fall, @pawn2393 loses concentration too!

It comes down to @misshoh and @shaolinbynature. Will we see our first ever four-time HOH? Or will someone else finally take control? After just 42 minutes up on the can...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

@shaolinbynature! You have won HOH AGAIN and have earned safety for the week, in addition to the right to nominate two of your fellow houseguests for eviction!

@kaysarswhore talks to @shaolinbynature in the HOH room later that night. 

@kaysarswhore: “You know I’m not winning this. You have no reason to target me because you know I’m losing the whole thing, right?”

@shaolinbynature: “I truly don’t care! I’m tired of your lies, and I want you gone. I don’t even want you to get second or third place. You have to go this week.”

The two end up in a screaming match, until @kaysarswhore storms out of the room, angry that her antics won’t work this time.

At the nomination ceremony, it’s pretty clear what’s about to happen

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

@shaolinbynature: “I feel like I’ve made this speech a thousand times before. @kaysarswhore, it is your time. I feel it in my bones. You’re time has come, and @misshoh, if I were you, I’d fight like hell to win that veto. If she wins it, your goose is cooked. This nomination ceremony is adjourned.”

@kaysarswhore: “I’m sick of this!! Why couldn’t she have gone home last week? I just have to win veto and hang on by the skin of my teeth again this week, and then win HOH again my damn self, since @misshoh couldn’t seem to do it.”

@misshoh: “She’s right, I need this veto. At the very least, I need @kaysarswhore NOT to win the veto. I just need peace in this house for once!”

Because there are only six people left, there is no veto selection!

Zingbot is here! He walks in, slaps all of you across the face instead of zinging you, and then demands that you follow him into the backyard for the veto competition. When everyone walks out, it’s a mental comp! Finally, and even playing ground.

Throughout the competition, Zingbot seems meaner than usual. He walks around and gets in people’s way on purpose, he insults people during the competition, and he even starts throwing rotten tomatoes at people!

Zingbot: “Move faster, idiots! This wouldn’t happen if Julie were still in charge!”

A few houseguests fell behind early, and just can’t catch up (I’ll give you three guesses who’s last though)

@shaolinbynature, @pawn2393, and @kaysarswhore all are working feverishly on their puzzles. Who will come out on top. By the skin of their teeth, the winner of this competition is...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

@kaysarswhore! You have won the Power of Veto (I couldn’t make this up I swear @kaysarswhore hacked my goddamn simulator)

Just as @kaysarswhore begins to celebrate, the producers come on over the speaker system in the backyard: “Julie, give it up! Take off the helmet and exit the backyard!”

Just then, Zingbot removes his helmet to reveal that it’s been Julie Chen in disguise the whole time!

Zingbot Julie: “Give me my goddamn show back! You’ll never take me alive!!”

Julie then hops the fence and runs away from the house. The houseguests, all stunned into silence, head back inside.

@kaysarswhore in the DR: “I don’t even care that Julie broke into the house, I won veto!! I made it to final 5!! Against all odds, I am STILL HERE BITCHES!!”

Of course, we know who’s coming off the block. But who’s going up as a replacement nominee? Will it be @kelleekim, the eternal last-placer? Will it be @ashleaevans, the only eligible person who’s won HOH? Or will it be @pawn2393, a former Block Destroyer and current middle-rider?

At the veto ceremony, 

@kaysarswhore: “Because I have vetoed one of our nominations, @shaolinbynature, you must now name a replacement nominee.”

@shaolinbynature: “I feel like this is the point in the game where the going gets tough. So I want to see the tough get going. You’re the closest to @misshoh, and you haven’t felt the taste of the block yet. Sorry, but...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

@kelleekim in the DR: “I’m heartbroken. @misshoh is my BFF in this house, and to lose her now is gonna wreck me. I just hope that I can avenge her going forward, if I manage to stay!”

The nominees are locked, and the houseguests are left to their own devices. In a final attempt to sway people against @kaysarswhore (because this season is truly the season where everyone tries to get out @kaysarswhore and fails), @ashleaevans decided he has had enough.

@ashleaevans, in front of everyone: “Everything bad in this house is because of you! You’re the one to blame for the kitchen fires, for the messy voting, and for the ugly alliances! I’m sick of you, and I hope everyone in this house targets your ass next week.”

@kaysarswhore: “I hope they do! They’ve targeted me every week I’ve been here, I’m not afraid of them. I’ll just win like I always do.”

It seems like @ashleaevans‘s plea is working with the house, and @kaysarswhore‘s allies might finally decide to flip on her.

But we’ll save that for another week. For now, it’s EVICTION NIGHT!

Arisa: “Hello houseguests! Final 6! But soon to be final 5. Tonight, let’s get straight to those speeches.”

@kelleekim: “Hey guys! I just want to say, I’ve loved playing this game with you all and getting to know you, but I don’t want to go yet! I think it’s clear why I should stay over @misshoh: you can always beat me in any comp! Take me to the end as an easy win, I don’t care. Just keep me around!”

@misshoh: “I have fought hard these past 81 days, and I am going to continue to fight hard for the rest of them. I don’t care whether I have to fight here or in the jury house, I’m fighting. Keep me around, and you won’t have to worry about what I’m fighting for.”

Arisa: “Such passion! Let’s vote!”

@pawn2393 decides to officially cut ties with the Block Destroyers, and votes out @misshoh. He knows he can beat @kelleekim moving forward, and desperately wants to win a comp.

@kaysarswhore, on the other hand, still wants her alliance with @misshoh to stay strong. She votes out @kelleekim to keep her ally in the house.

That means that @ashleaevans is the deciding vote. Will she weaken @kaysarswhore‘s grip on the house by voting out her ally, or take out @kelleekim?

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

@ashleaevans votes out @kelleekim in a surprise twist. He doesn’t want this floater wild card to make it any further, and feels like @misshoh​ will be easier to convince to cut @kaysarswhore​ later on. @ashleaevans​ really said

Arisa: “When I reveal the name of the evicted houseguest, they will have one minute to gather their belongings, say their goodbyes, and exit the Big Brother house.”

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Arisa: “Come on out @kelleekim​!”

Arisa: “Why are you here!!!??? What made them vote you out over anyone @misshoh​?“

@kelleekim​: “I think @misshoh​ just got in early with the alliances! I went in way more focused on playing with my heart than with my head, and I didn’t want to make too many waves! My strategy was to lay low and not be threatening, but unfortunately, that came back to bite me in the ass when people voted me out for it!”

Arisa: “How are you making your jury vote decision? What criteria are you going by?”

@kelleekim​: “I’m voting for whoever took me out tonight! I only want to lose against the winner. And @misshoh​, love her to death!”

Arisa: “It was great having you back with us! We’ll see you back here on finale night when you cast that vote and help crown a winner.

Only two more evictions until finale night! What could possibly happen next? For now, from outside the Big Brother house, I’m Arisa Cox, and remember, someone is aaaaaaaaalways watching!”

@kelleekim​ I have NO IDEA how you’re sitting here evicted, but ur under the radar game is iconic in every sense of the word! As I write this I have no idea who wins, but I am SO ANXIOUS to find out who’s gonna take it all

[timeflow]

fuck it, time to give info on mob spawning

been watching several videos & people playing minecraft and saw that a Lot of them have issues with spawnproofing builds and other things involving mob spawns, so here we go I guess

if you're not interested, scroll fast bc this post is longish

note that this only applies to java edition 1.16.x as some of these spawning rules are not the same in bedrock edition or even in java edition 1.15

GENERAL RULES

mobs can generally only spawn in an air block on top of an opaque block, which excludes partial blocks or transparent blocks like bottom slabs, open trapdoors, leaves (with one exception for this specific block), fences and gates, glass, carpet, etc, and most redstone components (redstone dust, buttons, pressure plates, etc.)

additionally, some mobs have requirements for the light level on a block, meaning they can only spawn if the light level in the air block they attempt to spawn in is below or above a certain value

note that given the way light levels work, "a distance of D blocks from a light source" means, for a distance from the light source on the x axis dx, a distance from the torch on the y axis dy, etc, then dx+dy+dz≤D, forming an octahedron shape of space where hostile mobs cannot spawn, the size of which changes depending on the light source

there are some exceptions to this rule, most notably every aquatic mob only needs to spawn within a water block in certain biomes and ignore the condition for having an opaque block underneath them, and some mobs ignore light levels

mobs cannot spawn within a radius of 24 blocks spherically around any player, and then they do not wander around if they are outside of 32 blocks from the player

mobs that spawn from a monster spawner can only spawn if the player is within 16 blocks of the spawner block, and will attempt to spawn 4 mobs every 10 to 40 seconds in a 3 block high 9x9 volume centered on the spawner block, only if there are less than 6 of that type of mob within a 9x9x9 volume centered on the spawner

mobs can only spawn in a space if they cannot be damaged within that space: for example, if there is a wither rose on top of a grass block, a cow would not be able to spawn there since it would immediately get hurt from the wither effect. likewise, mobs cannot spawn if there is not enough space for the mob to spawn, for example a zombie cannot spawn if there is a top trapdoor above an air block since it cannot fit there, however a creeper can spawn there since it is shorter than a zombie

mobs other than mooshrooms, phantoms, bats, wandering traders and their llamas cannot spawn in a mushroom island

OVERWORLD

hostile mobs can spawn where the light level is 7 or below, which basically means that any space within 6 blocks in any direction of a standard torch (excluding the torch itself) cannot have hostile mobs spawn in it in the overworld

the rates at which hostile mobs fail to spawn in the overworld is the light level on top of a block divided by 8, so a block with light level of 5 has a 62.5% fail rate, and a block with light level of 8 or higher has a 100% fail rate. hostile mob spawning additionally has a 50% chance of failing if the block has direct access to the sky (no blocks above it)

guardians can only spawn in the ocean monument's bounding box, which is a 58x58 area between y levels 39 to 61 inclusive, with no regard for the light level on the block, and only in a water block with a water block below it, regardless of whether or not it's flowing water. additionally, spawning fails 95% of the time if the block the guardian attempts to spawn in has no opaque blocks above it. to spawnproof against guardians, you can either remove all the water in the monument volume, and where there is water it must not be deeper than 1 block

slimes spawn in swamps at light levels below 7, following the same rules as other hostile mobs except that their spawn rates depend on the phase of the moon, with a full moon being a 100% chance of a slime spawning and a new moon being a 0% chance of a slime spawning, and they can only spawn in y levels between 51 and 69 inclusive. slimes additionally spawn in any slime chunks (except in mushroom biomes) below y level 40 with no regard for the light level and with a 90% chance of failure. spawnproofing against slimes in slime chunks can only be done by replacing all floor spaces with transparent or partial blocks

polar bears can spawn only in a frozen ocean or deep frozen ocean, on top of ice packed ice or blue ice, and only with a light level of 8 or above. spawnproofing against polar bears involves removing any ice blocks or keeping light levels below 8 (although this may cause hostile mobs to spawn)

passive mobs like cows, sheep, pigs and chicken can only spawn on the highest block at any given x,z coordinates, and only on grass blocks with a light level of 9 or higher in most biomes. ocelots can spawn on top of leaf blocks and grass blocks under the same lighting conditions in a jungle biome, mooshrooms can spawn only on mycelium in a mushroom island biome, turtles can spawn only on sand in a beach biome. to spawnproof against these mobs, the light level must be 8 or lower (although this may cause hostile mobs to spawn as well), or there have to be no grass, sand, mycelium or leaf blocks

aquatic passive mobs like fish, dolphins and squid can spawn in any water block with a water block directly above it, with no regard to the light level on the block, in an ocean or river biome. dolphins and squid additionally can only spawn between y levels 46 and 62 inclusive, and dolphins can only spawn in an ocean or deep ocean biome. spawnproofing against these mobs involves removing all the water in any river or ocean biome

bats can spawn in any air block below y level 63 where the light level is 4 or lower, unless the real date is between the 20th of october and the 7th of november, in which case the light level has to be 7 or lower. spawnproofing against bats involves lighting up caves and other underground areas so that the light level is above 4 in all areas

NETHER

nether mobs are primarily biome-specific, as no mob can spawn in all 5 nether biomes

zombified piglins and piglins can spawn in the nether wastes and the crimson forest on top of any opaque block at light levels 11 or lower. additionally, zombified piglins can spawn in nether fortresses in any biome. spawnproofing against these mobs involves having a light level above 11 at all blocks

hoglins spawn regardless of light level in the crimson forest. spawnproofing against hoglins can be done by either making all floor spaces transparent or partial blocks, or by creating pillars since hoglins need a 2x3 horizontal space to spawn in

magma cubes spawn regardless of light level in basalt deltas and nether wastes, or in nether fortresses. spawnproofing against these mobs involves replacing all floor spaces with transparent or partial blocks, or by making all areas have at most 1 air block vertically between opaque blocks.

ghasts can spawn regardless of light level in basalt deltas, nether wastes and soul sand valleys, and require a 5x5 and 4 block high volume to spawn in, and cannot spawn within a 16 block radius of another ghast. spawnproofing against ghasts involves making all areas have at most 3 air blocks vertically or 4 air blocks horizontally in one axis, or making the floor spaces transparent or partial blocks

skeletons can also spawn in the nether and have the same spawning rules as in the overworld, except that they spawn only in the soul sand valley and in nether fortresses, with 80% of nether fortress skeleton spawns being wither skeletons instead. spawnproofing against these mobs involves keeping the light level above 7 on all opaque blocks

blazes can spawn in nether fortresses only, and only in light levels of 11 or lower, except when spawning from a blaze spawner at which point it ignores the light level requirement. spawnproofing against blazes involves removing all blaze spawners and keeping light levels above 11 on all blocks, or using transparent or partial blocks on all floor spaces

endermen can spawn in the nether wastes and soul sand valleys, but most frequently in the warped forest, only in light levels of 7 or below. spawnproofing against this mob can be done by keeping the light level above 7 on all floor spaces, or by having a maximum of 2 air blocks between 2 opaque blocks (these opaque blocks can be blocks that endermen can pick up, but this may cause the area to slowly spawn endermen as they can remove the ceiling/floor)

striders are the only mob that can spawn in any nether biome, and on any lava block with an air block above it and a lava block below it, at y levels 31 and below. spawnproofing against striders involves either removing all the lava blocks below y level 32, or covering all lava blocks below y level 32 with any block (flammable blocks will work for this, but only if gamerule doFireTick is off)

END

in the end, only endermen spawn repeatedly, as the only other mobs, the ender dragon and shulkers, only spawn once. endermen follow the same rules as in the overworld and the nether

hope this can be helpful to people!

[96thdayofrage]

What the defense has planned

During the jury selection process, Nelson tried to humanize Chauvin beyond the image of the white police officer who knelt on a Black man’s neck as he struggled to breathe and begged for his mother.

When the first batch of potential jurors was being questioned, Chauvin — with half his face obscured by a black mask — sat taking notes and rarely making eye contact. At one point, a juror said she could not forget the “hateful look” on Chauvin’s face in the videos. The comment altered the way Nelson later introduced his client to potential jurors, with Chauvin removing his mask to show his full face and nodding at the group.

To avoid convicting Chauvin of the second-degree unintentional murder charge, the defense must prove he did not cause Floyd’s death while also committing a felony — in this case, assault. The defense will argue that Chauvin did not cause Floyd’s death, that it was a combination of excessive drug use and preexisting conditions that killed him. They will call on the county medical examiner who said Floyd’s toxicology report showed high traces of drugs during the incident — but the examiner also noted that it’s hard to say whether Floyd would have died of other causes, like Chauvin’s knee on his neck. If convicted, under Minnesota law, the charge is punishable by up to 40 years in prison.

To avoid conviction on the second-degree manslaughter charge, the defense needs to prove that Chauvin didn’t cause Floyd’s death due to negligence that created an unreasonable risk — meaning, he didn’t know that pinning him down by his neck for nearly nine minutes would lead to severe injury or death. In Minnesota, this charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years.

The third-degree murder charge, under Minnesota law, means the perpetrator acted in a way that was reckless at the risk of causing death and carries a sentence of no more than 25 years. Prosecutors argued to add the third-degree murder charge because not only is it easier to prove than second-degree unintentional felony murder, but it also gives jurors more options about how to convict. If convicted of any of these charges, Chauvin’s status as a first-time offender will also play into how long his prison sentence will be.

Ultimately, the defense’s central strategy is proving that something else ended Floyd’s life — and that it was not Chauvin’s knee. Nelson pushed for a pre-trial motion to include evidence of Floyd’s drug-related arrest by Minneapolis police in 2019. After reviewing Nelson’s arguments, in which the attorney called Floyd’s “emotional responses” during both arrests a “common modus operandi,” Judge Cahill has allowed the defense to show only a portion of the 2019 arrest video as evidence during the trial, adding that Floyd’s interactions with the police in 2019 mirrored the 2020 arrest that led to his death. Cahill also agreed that there were signs that Floyd may have taken drugs in both incidents.

The defense has also tried to argue that Chauvin was terminated due to prejudice, not for cause, and that Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo only fired him out of public pressure. However, prosecutors successfully motioned to exclude any evidence or testimony that speaks to the police department’s decision to fire Chauvin and the other three officers involved since it’s unrelated to how and why Floyd died.

Nelson’s arguments so far give observers a glimpse of how he expects to approach the trial — that the entire investigation leading to Floyd’s death was fundamentally biased against his client, including the ongoing federal civil rights investigation and Chauvin’s immediate firing. Arradondo, the city’s first Black police chief, said he fired the officers after reviewing all the evidence including body-camera videos.

During the month-long trial, several witnesses are expected to testify, including Arradondo, the county medical examiner, and the bystander who videotaped Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck.

The prosecution also plans to introduce “spark of life” witnesses, which under Minnesota law allows family and friends to be called to the stand to deliver testimony that would humanize the victim. Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, and former girlfriend Courteney Ross are among those expected to speak.

However, the spark-of-life testimonies won’t be considered “evidence” and will be tightly managed by Cahill. The judge said he would draw a line if witnesses talk about Floyd’s character rather than how much they loved him since it would “open the door” for the defense to introduce Floyd’s criminal history as evidence, which so far has been ruled inadmissible. Cahill, nonetheless, added he may allow witnesses to talk about Floyd’s struggles with opioid addiction.

“This is not a hard case,” Ben Crump, the attorney who helped the Floyd family secure the $27 million settlement, said in a news release after the jury selections were completed. “George Floyd had more witnesses to his death than any other person ever — white or Black. We all saw the same thing — the indisputable and unjustified torture and murder by a police officer of a Black man who was handcuffed, restrained, and posed no harm.”

What we know about the jury

The initial jury pool had 326 people, but only about 60 were questioned. Cahill decided 15 needed to be selected, including two alternates and another who will be dropped if the first 14 jurors show up for duty (only 12 will be on the actual jury).

Even though the jury selection process was broadcasted live, the faces of the prospective jurors were not shown to the public for their safety and privacy, and they will not be seen for the duration of the trial. Among the 15 selected jurors, we do know six are people of color — one Black woman, three Black men, and two mixed-race women — while nine are white, six of whom are women. Despite being a white majority, the jury is actually more diverse than the county and the city: According to 2019 data from the US Census Bureau, Hennepin County is about 74 percent white and 14 percent Black while Minneapolis is about 64 percent white and 19 percent Black.

The jurors also come from an array of backgrounds, ranging from an accountant to a chemist to a nurse who has been caring for patients throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Some are extremely familiar with the case while others haven’t been actively following monthslong developments. According to USA Today, seven are in their 20s or 30s, three in their 40s, four in their 50s, and one in her 60s.

Prior to the selection, each potential juror was asked to fill out a 14-page written questionnaire. During the selection process, the jurors were questioned and vetted by Judge Cahill, prosecution, and defense lawyers. The general line of questioning included if their views have changed since filling out the questionnaire, whether they could set aside their personal opinions on the case and social movements to remain impartial, and also about personal safety concerns. Those who expressed major anxiety and fears of being on the jury were ultimately dismissed.

The jurors were also asked about their thoughts or whether they’ve seen the video of Chauvin pinning his knee on Floyd’s neck as well as their views on the Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter movements. One of the selected jurors, who said he plans to move out of Minnesota in late May, noted he has a neutral opinion of Floyd and also generally favors the Black Lives Matter movement but also believes it was “a contributing factor” in the unrest that erupted following Floyd’s death last summer.

Another juror, a white man who works in sales, called the Blue Lives Matter movement “not offensive but shortsighted.” The man, who is supposed to get married in May but said he is willing to postpone the wedding if the trial continues, noted he generally supports law enforcement.

Some of the jurors’ responses also indicated how they would approach the final verdict of the trial. One juror said she wanted to know more about police training and whether placing a knee on someone’s neck was allowed while another said he wanted to hear Chauvin offer his side of the story.

However, one potential juror last week was dismissed by Chauvin’s defense attorney after sharing his thoughts and personal experience with the Minneapolis Police Department and the criminal justice system as a whole.

“As a Black man, you see a lot of Black people get killed and no one’s held accountable for it, and you wonder why or what was the decision, and so with this, maybe I’ll be in the room to know why,” the potential juror told the court.

Although the Army veteran said he could put his personal opinions aside to hear the case solely based on the evidence presented in court, he was still dismissed by the defense arguing that he was biased against the Minneapolis Police Department.

“That was his actual lived experiences with the Minneapolis police, but he was disqualified because it was assumed he couldn’t look past that in order to look at the facts of the case,” Bullock told Vox. “It’s an insult to Black Minneapolis residents because we have to forgo our bias and lived experiences all the time to fit in the system. It just shines a light on some of the inherent unfairness about the system.”

Cahill said he plans to reveal the names of the jurors when it is “safe” to do so. In the meantime, government buildings in downtown Minneapolis remain heavily barricaded by fencing and concrete barriers while members of the Minnesota National Guard remain stationed outside the courthouse. The heavy police presence, Bullock said, has left the community on edge.

Still, activist groups like Reclaim the Block and Black Visions Collective will keep a close eye on the trial while also protesting outside the courthouse and rallying at what’s now George Floyd Square. What they ultimately hope comes out of Floyd’s death is what they’ve always wanted: replacing Minneapolis police with a new public safety department, which means first changing the city charter and knocking door to door to collect signatures to do so.

“Regardless of the outcome of the verdict, we know that true justice would have to reflect in a fundamental change in the way we address public safety. If we’re not doing that, true justice is not served,” Bullock said. “We want justice for George Floyd and his family, of course, but we know that true justice means changing our public safety system.”

[fandomrecycling]

Pax and her Potions: Prt 2/3

Part 1 here I guess

@anxiousworm @vlanderzine I blame worm for infecting me with angst but also this kinda worked p-well ngl.

Grabbing a bundle of sticks, Pax shifted through her cloak to make room for the new stack of ladders beside her pickaxe, food and notebook. After clicking that both her parents were indeed asleep and that there was no one in the streets below, she pried open the wood planks to her bedroom and looked down.

The drop was easily at least a dozen meters off the ground, maybe more. There was a tree she could jump to, but Pax didn’t trust her athletic skill. Replacing the removed planks and ladders once she hit the ground, the amature alchemist frowned up at the redstone lamps.

Technically speaking, there were no dark spots in the city. The mayor had spent dozens of diamonds ensuring that there was no risk of monsters beyond the walls entering or appearing in the middle of the night. Even the rooftops were lit up with torches. It made sleeping difficult.

On the plus side, that meant most citizens were conditions to avoid darkened patches at all costs. So the dimmer alley with only a single light source was the perfect place to creep through.

Keeping a tight grip on her tool, Pax leaned out from the alley to the small procession of sleepy guards who were standing guard at the portal. One was leaning against the obsidian structure, the other fiddling with his sword. Looking into her inventory for a moment, she found a spare stick and threw it in the opposite direction.

That worked better than she expected, cliche as it was. Both guards jumped at the sound, raising their swords in alarm. With their heads turned, Pax dashed into the open square and ducked behind a set of tall bushes.

She was forced to wait several more seconds before they wouldn’t see her in their peripheral vision. Running up towards the portal, Pax suddenly stopped.

Staring into the swirls of violet energy, there was a palpable heat radiating from the frame. She would have compared it to a summer breeze, but that was too gentle of a metaphor. Hovering a hand just over the portal, a flash of heat made her flinch back.

A moment of realism crashed into her. This was dangerous, more dangerous than just stealing ingredients for faulty potions. This was another dimension, this was fire and monsters and possibly death.

“What are you doing?” Pax asked herself.

The guards were returning. She threw herself into the portal.

The heat she’d felt radiating from the portal was nothing compared to this. Pax coughed from the humid air and ashes stinging her throat. She wasn’t even in the Nether proper, having landed in the small hub that the miners used.

Stone brick and slabs decorated the small room, with little tables that the workers could use for their breaks. A corner of the hub was locked by an iron door, with the inside filled with chests. There were tunnels cut through in all four cardinal directions, with minecart chests and rails running down as far as she could see.

Pax almost considered breaking into the locked room for more supplies, but she knew that it was likely trapped against any real thieves. Instead, she chose one of the tunnels, squeezed her pickaxe, and began to dig upward.

In all her stories, they described caves as dark, damp and scary places. Where you could be faced with the growling maw of a zombie or a spider dropping onto your face at any moment. Digging in the Nether was some other kind of dread. Pax could hear the bubbling drip of lava through the netherrack, making her flinch every time the sounds grew louder.

When she finally broke through the surface, it didn’t seem like it was the surface. The sky - at least as far as ‘sky’ meant - was a distant roof made of deep red stone. Fires speckled the ground, with long streams of lava dripping down from the layers and layers of floating islands and cliffs.

The mines below her suddenly felt pitifully small in comparison. There was just so much to explore, she almost forgot what she was here for.

Nibbling on a small bundle of golden carrots, Pax made her way across the scorched landscape. As she walked, she heard an odd sound between a snort and a growl behind her. She heard something creak, then an arrow cut a gash across her cheek.

Screaming, the girl wheeled around and found a humanoid pig creature reloading a crossbow. It was the first, non-zombified creature she’d seen and Pax had a moment to marvel at another sentient creature from this realm. Until she found another arrow pointed at her face.

The girl dashed away in an instant, remembering to dodge the magma blocks haphazardly placed across the ground and the lava pouring down. Arrows whizzed by her and another lucky shot cut another hole through her cloak. It wasn’t until she was faced with a sheer cliff that Pax turned again.

Her hands were shaking so bad, she dropped the half-eaten golden carrot and clutched her pick like a sword. The crossbow was level with her face, growing closer after each tick. It was a meter away from her but her legs refused to move.

The piglin blinked, beady eyes glancing down to the dropped food. It lowered it’s crossbow. Pax relaxed her grip.

“Uh, hello?” She asked, feeling slightly stupid.

It bent down and grabbed the carrot, stuffing it into its mouth and chewing the carrot to paste. Pax grinned, “You’re hungry?”

She fished out another carrot, threw it to the ground, then pressed her back against the wall. The piglin’s face formed something that might’ve been a grin as it bent down to munch on the carrot.

To her surprise, it also dropped it’s crossbow and began fishing through what looked like an inventory. After it finished the second carrot, it dropped a pile of greenish-orange slime, picked up it’s crossbow and walked away.

Pax watched the mob disappear back into the misty red before she felt confident enough to poke at the strange substance. Her first thought was that it was some kind of weird piglin poop, but it lacked any poop-like smell so she dismissed that theory.

Whatever it was, the mob had offered it to her out of some kind of trade. It looked interesting at the very least, so Pax stuffed handfuls into her cloak and began to tower up the side of the mountain.

The height gave her a good vantage point to look across the landscape. And to her luck, there was a fortress a few feet away. Smiling, Pax climbed down, dashed towards the closest pillar and threw down the first ladders. Sticky ash clung to her skin, excitement and fear blending together into a heady concoction.

Once she made it up to face one of the barred windows, she tore down the fence that blocked her and climbed inside the fortress.

It was quieter than she expected, the red bricks insulating her against the ambient sounds of the nether. Pax could hear footsteps, though; a shambling, rattling sound that echoed down from some unknown place deep in the structure.

Flipping through her notes, Pax found the copied out section of her book on myths that detailed some of the old mages ingredients. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the weird slime the piglin gave her looked like one of them. The specific item she was looking for, though, was a deep red, fungi-like plant named ‘netherwarts’.

There wasn’t a detailed map that showed her where she’d find this plant, so Pax found herself wandering aimlessly. Despite the oppressive atmosphere, hidden monsters and any manner of unknown danger, she was absolutely thrilled to have made it this far.

Coming down from a staircase, Pax was about to start down the new corridor until she saw the plants. She started a scream of delight, then slapped a hand over her mouth and refused to breathe. The clacking sounds grew louder, closer.

She needed to get out, but she needed that netherwart. Jumping down and onto the plot of soul sand, she tore up the plants, grabbed a chunk of the cursed dirt to grow them on and ran back up the stairs and towards her exit.

Pax screamed this time when she came face to face with a blackened skull. A stone sword nearly cut a gash down her chest, then Pax felt herself fall. Rolling down the stairs, she forced herself to her feet and blasted down the new corridor.

Wither skeletons; even she didn’t think they were real. She swerved around corners, her momentum throwing her into the walls. From what few windows she could see, the fortress extended over the bowles of a lava lake. Digging out would just be suidice then.

The next corner she turned made her heart drop. The corridor broke away, the rest presumably resting under the magma below. Pax whimpered and turned, hearing the skeleton growing closer and pinning her between two options for a painful death.

She didn’t have any combat training and she certainly wasn’t fireproof. Shuffling through her inventory, Pax pulled out the rest of her ladders and looked up to the broken remains of the hallway.

Climbing up and onto the roof, she had even less protection from whatever might drop down, but she made sure to break the makeshift stairs so mobs couldn’t follow her at least. Backtracking from where she came and making use of her ladders, Pax soon found her original entrance and began to build her way down.

A new sound made her turn her head. Hovering in the sky, a ghostly white creature with tendrils and red eyes spat out a ball of fire.

Pax let go of the ladder, dropping her onto the ground from higher than she could tolerate. Shock buzzed up her heel and through her spine, nearly knocking her off her feet. The ghost-creature had closed its eyes, but hovered closer to her position.

Running with fresh bruises, she cried out and blocked her face as hot flecks of exploding netherrack pelted her thin cloak. Scrambling up the mountainside, Pax heard the shriek of another fireball and managed to throw one arm up onto the edge.

The impact threw her into the air, flipping her over before crashing into the pit the explosion left. Pain filled her senses; lingering along with the smell of burning hair. Agony flared all across her back, refusing to dull and growing worse as all her adrenalin was sapped from her body.

She had just enough sense left to try and bury herself with whatever materials she had left and prayed that the ghast would leave her alone. Biting her sleeve to muffle her crying, Pax waited in the dark with dying ember ticking her nose.

[hcgabion]

Gabion Wall, Basket & Fence: What They Are Benefits of Using Them

If you're fond of gardening or landscaping, there's a great chance you have actually currently seen Gabion walls, baskets, or fences.

Or probably you've become aware of them prior to while researching your choices. But you may not be totally aware of what they in fact are.

Gabion walls have actually been with us a long time, made use of to develop strong, sealed structures considering that the ancient ages, many famously along the financial institution of the River Nile.

But today, they're utilized for both aesthetic as well as architectural reasons in countless yards.

Here, we're mosting likely to consider what, specifically they are, and also assist you find out if they're the choices that your yard needs.

What are Gabion Walls

Gabion frameworks are most frequently viewed as complete gabion wall surfaces. Gabion is descended from the Italian word for "big cage" and that's a suitable term for them.

Essentially, they can be thought of as the marital relationship between rocks as well as cable. They are simplistic in nature, where a wire cage is erected as well as full of rocks piled in addition to one another.

Occasionally, the rocks can be replaced with various products, such as tiles, damaged blocks, even pinecones and also stones. The product you are utilizing might need a different thickness of wire, as a thinner mesh may be called for to quit better products like stones from spilling with.

Past having excellent stability, able to endure a lot of stress, they have a rustic, all-natural look that makes them an eye-catching function in numerous gardens in addition to a sensible choice.

What are Gabion Baskets

When considering Gabion frameworks, you will likely stumble upon a couple of various terms that can appear hard to separate in the beginning. As well as Gabion wall surfaces, you might read or become aware of Gabion baskets.

Gabion baskets are simply the cord fits together made use of to have the material that composes the wall. You need to make sure when choosing the appropriate baskets, as stated, to fit the product that the wall is made out of.

In many cases, the cable is constructed from galvanized steel, however there are some other alternatives right here, as well. For lighter materials, you can make use of a vast spaced light bonded mesh.

However, when utilizing heavy products or constructing a preserving wall, you desire sheet steel cable mesh and also a heavier cord diameter to make sure the architectural honesty of the wall. They are usually marketed as level pack kit-sets that you can after that unravel and also fill with the chosen material.

Gabion baskets are very easy to construct and also lasting, covered with Galfan so they can continue to be strong and also safe for up to half a century.

What's more, they are a flexible tool, also, being available in several shapes and sizes. Besides straightforward flat Gabion wall surfaces, you can obtain bent cages to select a more spherical look for the yard.

What is Gabion Fencing

Gabion fencing functions almost specifically similarly as Gabion walls, they just have a various purpose.

Most of the times, Gabion walls are used as a retaining wall surface. This implies if you have a garden or any type of landscape that is divided right into levels, Gabion wall surfaces will help maintain the soil or pebbles to ensure that it doesn't splash out onto the reduced degree.

Gabion fencing, nevertheless, isn't made use of to preserve a higher level, yet instead as a divide between one room and also another.

Gabion secure fencing can be trickier to construct than a wall. The weight of the product alone can make it harmful and reliant topple over. For that reason, make sure you're talking to a professional builder or structural designer who has experience in dealing with this specific product.

Do Gabion Walls Demand Foundations?

Gabion structures, whether walls or fences, do not need a concrete structure. However, they do require some work under the surface. Otherwise, as hefty as they are, they would be simple to topple over.

How you create the structure relies on a great deal of factors, such as the material utilized for the wall, whether you're utilizing it to maintain or fence, the condition of the site subsoil and also even more. You need to remove the soft, peaty topsoil if there is any kind of as well as several of the subsoil before replacing it with a harder base program.

If you're building the wall on bedrock, then you only require around 25mm of base training course. Unlike lots of various other wall surfaces, Gabion does not call for a concrete foundation. For larger materials, a double width base gabion might be used below the major framework in order to improve the wall security.

In many cases, this is used where there is softer subsoil to make sure that the weight of the wall is much more uniformly distributed across it.

Smaller, light Gabion wall surfaces don't require comprehensive soil screening, yet if you're developing a bigger, heavier wall surface or fence, you should make sure you have the specialists inspect structure testing in order to find out the subsoil bearing stamina.

Just How To Use Gabion Baskets, Wall Surfaces and Fence The Garden

Prior to you start work on developing your very own Gabion wall surface or fence, you need to do your research. Whether it's used as a fencing, preserving wall surface, or something much more ornamental can alter what kind of baskets you require, as well as whether you require to a thicker base or to replace the subsoil.

What's more, you have to consider what material you wish to utilize to fill up the baskets, as well. You have to choose the basket kind and the building and construction process that guarantees the maximum safety of the wall, no matter what you're utilizing it for.

Initially, you have to prepare the ground itself. For lighter Gabion wall surfaces, this could simply mean removing the topsoil to provide adequate space for the base of the wall surface to port right into the ground.

If you have softer subsoils, you might need to remove several of it as well as replace it with a tougher base program, as well.

If you're developing a fencing, you might need concrete footings or to produce a bigger gabion wall at the base to much better soak up and also distribute the load of the wall itself.

Gabion baskets are very easy to put up when you have actually laid the groundwork, however. As discussed, they have a tendency ahead in flat packs, which can be unravelled and also set up without little hassle.

If it's a taller wall or fencing, you may need to consult a specialist regarding whether it will additionally need any kind of side support to quit it from toppling away of the various other.

As soon as the fence is erected, it's as basic as loading it with the rocks, broken blocks, or whatever various other material you could have selected for the wall surface.

For larger products such as rocks or bricks, this can take quite a great deal of time. If you're constructing a thicker wall surface, you may also choose to use the rocks as well as blocks on the outside layer, but fill up the within with smaller stones to conserve time.

Once the wall surface is totally erected, provide it a quick tube with water. This is just to make certain that the dust as well as debris of all that moving product is cleaned up away as well as you're entrusted a smooth, tidy looking wall.

Materials Made Use Of For Gabion Fence/ Walls

Which materials you utilize for you Gabion fence or wall surfaces will certainly depend largely on what your designated objective for it is. Are you constructing a retaining wall, a tall fencing, or something more attractive?

For even more functional applications, you will certainly need heavier, harder products and also stones have been one of the favourites for these sort of usages.

For even more artistic uses, however, you can use whatever you desire. Some will certainly utilize smaller stones, colourful ceramic tile pieces or perhaps acorns to attain the particular look they want for their yard.

The Gabion baskets that contain the various filling products have some variety, also. As soon as, wicker was utilized to make them (as well as still can be for some projects).

Nowadays, nonetheless, most baskets are constructed from either galvanized, covered, or stainless steel in a variety of different diameter weights.

Selecting the right products indicates considering your needs. What dimension will the wall surface be? Does it need to resist water erosion if you're consisting of a water attribute? Is it built to sustain an earth wall or just for aesthetic functions?

Have your requirements in mind and also ask a professional what products will certainly be best for your task.

Instances Of Gabion Walls Made Use Of In The Landscape

Among the reasons they're fairly so prominent is because they're so extremely flexible, too. As mentioned, you can buy Gabion baskets in 1000s of dimensions, so wall surfaces can be as high, thick, or long as you want them to be.

Commonly, they are made use of as keeping walls, as pointed out. If you're creating elevated blossom beds or bringing order to a sloping garden, they can create a good, even divide between the various degrees.

Otherwise, Gabion frameworks are most widely utilized for aesthetic purposes, such as developing fencings. Shorter gabion fences can be made use of as capped seats and also benches or racks for outside screens.

They can additionally be used as the foundation for exterior planters and even the surroundings for fireplaces, though these jobs take a little bit more work than your common Gabion wall surface.

What are the Benefits of Using Gabion Structures

The immediately recognizable advantage of a Gabion framework is the aesthetic. People enjoy materials with a natural appearance, especially in the yard. Gabion walls permit you to use all-natural products like rocks or pebbles to stay clear of the much more artificial appearance of concrete walls or steel fencings.

Past their aesthetic appeal, gabion structures have a lot of benefits. Extensively used for preserving walls as they are, it should be no surprise that they are especially hard and also good at birthing hefty loads. The cable around the product is a great deal more powerful than it looks and also with the appropriate support, it acts as the primary reinforcement of the framework in contrast to just a structure.

What's even more, Gabion walls don't require the additional work of a conventional foundation. As long as they're installed properly, a lot of them have a firm base that fully supports the weight itself.

Gabion frameworks are very permeable, allowing air as well as water to move with them. This stops the walls from building hydrostatic stress which can harm the stability of various other walls. Because the force of the water is soaked up and also enabled to travel through, this also quits disintegration from wearing off at the product.

The ease of use is an additional reason these frameworks are so preferred. As mentioned, relying on your demands, a little prep job might be required to make certain that the wall surface stands solid versus heavier loads as well as its very own weight.

However the procedure of actually constructing the wall is as straightforward as setting up the kit as well as filling it with the ideal materials. As they're not fixed to the ground, Gabion frameworks can be moved from one location to the other with relative simplicity, also.

 If you want to know more about the corrosion resistance, low carbon steel wire gabion, please come to the www.hcgabion.com to watch this video.