#so no more risk of gas poisoning than usual

[tenrose]

Just turned on the heating for the first time of the season... Already seeing money running away through the window 🙃

[gcldfanged]

@setirophx

Getting from Midgar to Junon had been a stressful endeavor, requiring assets such as falsified documentation and passports- New identities they had to memorize and manage to seamlessly obfuscate. Jae’s cover story had been easy enough, a simple name switch and a fake occupation. Immigrants from Wutai and Haneul typically had dual citizenship, so it wasn’t a massive stretch. Sephiroth and the child, on the other hand, had been more difficult. It wasn’t just a matter of cutting and dying hair, they had uniquely colored eyes to boot- Not to mention the former General couldn’t exactly pass himself off as any other eight to five salaryman.

The worst of it was behind them, they’d managed to get through to Yoon’s nation of origin. Shinra still had its industrial claws sucking the land dry of naturally rich deposits of mako, but they would not be risking a life in the capital city. The Turk took them further in the north along the various streams and rivers branching from the sprawling mountain range. Flat grassy planes and fertile hills began to give way to steppes and rocks. But they remained along the borders at the feet of the jutting dragon’s spine of cliffs along the peninsula, where the forest was dense. Game and flora would be more abundant there.

It took some time even by truck and Al was clearly growing rather disenchanted with how windy it was in comparison to the sunny shores of Junon or mild weather of Midgar. 

“I think this might be it,” Jae finally spoke, stepping out of the pick up. Ancient slices of tree trunks made a meandering pathway to a large house, clearly abandoned and in a questionable state. He was surprised that it was still standing, to be honest.

Al glanced around, looking less than impressed as he clung to Sephiroth’s leg.

“When are we going to go back?” the child asked, fidgeting in an anxious and unsure manner.

“This is going to be our home, Al. I grew up in this house when I was about your age,” he answered, feeling a strange mixture of nostalgic familiarity yet also awareness of the passage of time. It was still on the cusp between the end of summer and the start of fall, so the foliage was alive and vibrant green, trumpet vines and creeping ivy overtaking everything.

“Good thing winter hasn’t kicked in yet, or it’d all be snow.”

The nearest trading outpost wasn’t too far away, a small village a couple miles south. They could rely on dry goods and canned food for now, but when they had to contend with day long blizzards and low visibility, hunting would be their only source of steady food in addition to preserving grown vegetables during the fairer times of the year.

“Just keep your shoes on, I have no idea what kind of nasty bugs have probably been shacking up here. We get everything- Huntsman spiders, house centipedes, geckos- At least the geckos are cute.”

The hanok is mostly wood, stone, and earth, with sliding screen doors lined with additional panes of glass. Most of them were broken or cracked from wear and weather. The floors were heated via water boiler, but there was also a gudeul system for cooking and heating via firewood. There was a bathing area inside the house that required heat as well, but the bathroom was in a shed a couple steps away. A large gas generator was housed in a shed to run appliances and electricity, though they usually saved energy and relied on the gudeul in the wintertime.

“I’ll have find someone in the village to check the ondol system, since carbon monoxide poisoning is an issue if you don’t know what you’re doing… The generator seems okay, just dry. Water comes from wells and the mountain streams. Everything is totally overgrown, I’ll have to start over from the soil up if we want to have a garden.”

It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it wasn’t great, either.

“We could make this work, but I’ll be honest- It’s going to be hard. We’re going to have to do ton of repairs while the weather’s still nice and winter prep is going to be… uh. Maybe we’ll just deal with that after we get the house in working order. What do you think…? No good?” he asks, looking over the place once more.

[dragontrailz]

What Are the Flaws With A Hydrogen Economy?

Note: This was written in late 2020 and is overdue an update.

Abstract

Climate change is already having substantial societal and ecological impacts and these are projected to worsen this century. Solutions are framed within a dominant narrative of a 'net zero' or 'carbon neutral' world, which has led to speculation of a potential ‘hydrogen economy’, where the gas is presented as a green technology and a clean burning fuel.

Many of the media stories, institutional and academic studies are very favourable towards the idea of a hydrogen economy and a critical evaluation of its downsides is lacking. Many idealists view a world powered by green hydrogen made from renewable energy as a step forward. Yet, most hydrogen is currently manufactured from fossil fuels and green hydrogen is 3-4 times the cost. Many analyses overlook some of the key limitations of hydrogen, notably the poor energy efficiency of its applications, difficulties with storage and distribution, it’s role as an indirect greenhouse gas and its potential stratospheric impacts.

Many of these issues were raised well over a decade ago and are now being conveniently overlooked, despite the challenges not having been overcome. In addition, the huge expectations placed on renewable energy and hydrogen in future scenarios often fail to consider the resource implications these technologies are constrained by and the ecological impacts from increased mining of key metals. A hydrogen-powered world is now being promoted by many companies who have played damaging roles in our current fossil fuel economy, amongst them are oil and gas, automobile and aviation companies who seek an extension to the industrial growth that has wrecked our biosphere. Carbon Capture and Storage is offered in place of ‘Keep It In The Ground’ as climate-wrecking mega-corporations attempt to rebrand their businesses as net zero.

One of the principal problems is that the public are being sold a 'Green Hydrogen' future, which is low carbon and clean burning, whereas what they will get, is 'Blue Hydrogen' i.e. Hydrogen with Carbon Capture and Storage or perhaps 'Grey Hydrogen' if CCS plans become unviable, both of which are more greenhouse gas intensive and ecologically damaging than the alternative of sticking and eventually phasing out methane.

In addition there are the dangers of Carbon Capture and Storage, which include earthquakes from induced seismicity and the potential risks of asphyxiation from leaking CO2 pipes and the poisoning of marine ecosystems.

This greenwash is business as usual. We need to be wary of climate-centric solutions which threaten the integrity of other planetary boundaries. A much smaller niche role for green hydrogen coupled to a less energy intensive future is suggested as an alternative solution.

Introduction

Greenhouse gas emissions must be drastically reduced in order to combat climate change (IPCC, 2014). Fossil fuel combustion is also accompanied by increased air pollution. This has led to speculation of a potential ‘hydrogen economy’, which presents hydrogen as a green technology and a clean burning fuel (Brandon and Kurban, 2017). However, 96% of hydrogen is currently made from fossil fuels in processes which also emit carbon dioxide, fuelling climate change (Nikolaidis and Poullikkas, 2017). Hydrogen can also be made from renewable energy by electrolysis, so-called green hydrogen. However, this process is currently around three to four times more expensive than steam methane reformation (SMR), the dominant approach at present. SMR can be coupled to carbon capture and storage (CCS) which could theoretically reduce emissions. However, there are currently only two large-scale production facilities in the world that have adopted this method (Global CCS Institute, 2019). CCS is unproven to work effectively and safely at scale and to date it has mostly been used to exploit more fossil fuels. Placing our faith in this route represents a large gamble for humanity.

A number of think tanks have recently touted the benefits of hydrogen (Institution of Engineering and Technology, 2019; International Energy Agency, 2019; Hydrogen Council, 2020). Consequently, hydrogen has been the subject of recent media stories (Clarke, 2020; Harrabin, 2020; Jolly, 2020; Hannan, 2020; Coman, 2020). The fossil fuel industry have been keen to promote hydrogen with CCS in order to maintain demand in a decarbonising economy, but their ‘solutions’ look very much like business as usual. Continued methane production also increases the likelihood of unconventional exploitation techniques, such as fracking and coal bed methane, which are known to pollute water and cause earthquakes (Concerned Health Professionals of New York and Physicians for Social Responsibility, 2019). The UK aims to achieve a carbon neutral economy by 2050 (UK Government, 2019) and one of the solutions that has been proposed is hydrogen (Committee on Climate Change, 2018; Institution of Engineering and Technology, 2019; National Infrastructure Commission, 2020; Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, 2020).

Most hydrogen is currently used for oil refining and to make ammonia for fertilisers. Potential uses that have been proposed for hydrogen are as a transport fuel, for heating buildings and for power generation, although it’s unclear, which if any of these pathways will play a major role in any future economy (Brandon and Kurban, 2017; Committee on Climate Change, 2018). Surplus renewable energy could also be used to make hydrogen that acts as an energy store, helping to balance intermittency. Alternatively, the hydrogen could be converted to methane, a solution referred to as power-to-gas, although the multiple steps in the process result in a low overall efficiency (Götz et al, 2016).

Hydrogen can be used in fuel cells or combusted directly to produce energy. The main product of either process is water and no greenhouse gas emissions are produced. Fuel cells use hydrogen to make electrical energy with zero emissions. However, if hydrogen is combusted in a gas turbine or hydrogen boiler, the process also produces nitrogen oxides (NOx), which contribute to air pollution. Air pollution is estimated to cause 40,000 annual deaths in the UK (RCP & RCPCH, 2016) and 456,000 in the EU (European Environment Agency, 2019). Increased atmospheric hydrogen due to leakage could lead to stratospheric ozone depletion and it’s also an indirect greenhouse gas, albeit with a low climate impact (Tromp, 2003; Schultz et al, 2003; Warwick et al, 2004; Derwent et al, 2020).

In addition to its environmental impacts, a number of key limitations are often overlooked when considering hydrogen as an energy carrier. There are substantial challenges with storage and distribution and production inefficiencies along each of the pathways to hydrogen means that better alternatives are available (Kreith and West, 2004; Bossel, 2006; Page and Krumdiek, 2009; Balat and Kirtay, 2010). We should be wary of viewing hydrogen as a silver bullet. These limitations manifest themselves as increased costs, which means that hydrogen will require political support and financial incentives in order to scale to the point at which it can be competitive. Pursuing the hydrogen economy to this degree means following a path of increased industrialisation, which will lead to further ecological degradation. Further, the extent to which many climate solutions are dependent on renewable energy is likely to be limited by the degree to which these technologies can be scaled up. A key constraint here will be the depletion of critical metals which are required for solar PV, wind energy, battery, fuel cell and electrolysis technologies (Kleijn and van der Voet, 2010; Watari et al, 2018; Valero et al, 2018; Heffernan, 2019). Rather worryingly, the embodied energy problem does not seem to be widely understood. All materials have an ecological footprint which comes from the mining of materials and their manufacture and distribution. Framing renewable energy as a ‘zero carbon’ solution merely shows how extensive scientific illiteracy is within the green and climate movements. Sadly, this often extends to the academic literature.

Relying on renewable energy for all our electricity, heating and transport energy requirements alongside expectations of future economic growth represent unrealistic expectations. Modern lifestyles centred on affluence and overconsumption have transgressed planetary boundaries and paths towards a sustainable future should embrace a degrowth economy (Steffen et al, 2015; Kallis, 2018; Wiedmann et al, 2020). Proposed climate solutions should be considered within the wider framework of respecting these planetary boundaries.

References

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Bossel, U. (2006) Does a Hydrogen Economy Make Sense? Proceedings of the IEEE 94, 1826– 1837.

Brandon, N.P., Kurban, Z. (2017) Clean energy and the hydrogen economy. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 375, 20160400.

Burridge, T. (2019) All aboard Britain’s first hydrogen train. BBC, 20th June [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48698532 [Accessed: 01/07/2020]

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Heffernan, O. (2019) Seabed mining is coming — bringing mineral riches and fears of epic extinctions. Nature 571, 465–468.

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Jolly, J. (2020) Hydrogen fuel bubbles up the agenda as investments rocket. The Guardian, 28th June [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/28/hydrogen-fuel- bubbles-up-the-agenda-as-investments-rocket [Accessed: 01/07/2020]

Kallis, G., Kostakis, V., Lange, S., Muraca, B., Paulson, S., Schmelzer, M. (2018) Research On Degrowth. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 43, 291–316.

Kleijn, R., van der Voet, E. (2010) Resource constraints in a hydrogen economy based on renewable energy sources: An exploration. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14, 2784–2795.

Kreith, F., West, R. (2004) Fallacies of a Hydrogen Economy: A Critical Analysis of Hydrogen Production and Utilization. Journal of Energy Resources Technology 126, 249–257.

Murray, J. (2020) Zero-carbon hydrogen injected into gas grid for first time in groundbreaking UK trial. The Guardian, 24th January [online ] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ 2020/jan/24/hydrogen-uk-gas-grid-keele-university [Accessed: 01/07/2020]

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Nikolaidis, P., Poullikkas, A. (2017) A comparative overview of hydrogen production processes. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 67, 597–611.

Page, S., Krumdieck, S. (2009) System-level energy efficiency is the greatest barrier to development of the hydrogen economy. Energy Policy 37, 3325–3335.

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Schultz, M.G., Diehl, T., Brasseur, G.P., Zittel, W. (2003) Air Pollution and Climate-Forcing Impacts of a Global Hydrogen Economy. Science 302, 624–627.

Steffen, W., Richardson, K., Rockström, J., Cornell, S.E., Fetzer, I., Bennett, E.M., Biggs, R., Carpenter, S.R., Vries, W. de, Wit, C.A. de, Folke, C., Gerten, D., Heinke, J., Mace, G.M., Persson, L.M., Ramanathan, V., Reyers, B., Sörlin, S. (2015) Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Science 347, 1259855. Tromp, T.K. (2003) Potential Environmental Impact of a Hydrogen Economy on the Stratosphere. Science 300, 1740–1742.

Valero, A., Valero, A., Calvo, G., Ortego, A. (2018) Material bottlenecks in the future development of green technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 93, 178–200.

Warwick, N.J., Bekki, S., Nisbet, E.G., Pyle, J.A. (2004) Impact of a hydrogen economy on the stratosphere and troposphere studied in a 2-D model. Geophysical Research Letters 31, L05107.

Watari, T., McLellan, B.C., Ogata, S., Tezuka, T. (2018) Analysis of Potential for Critical Metal Resource Constraints in the International Energy Agency’s Long-Term Low-Carbon Energy Scenarios. Minerals 8, 156.

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[homesecuritysystemsguide]

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[dzpenumbra]

12/26/22

Merry Christmas!

I started my day by going to the PTSD subreddit, looking for people who were struggling today, and leaving thoughtful, honest, inspiring comments for them. I hope it made an impact. It's a bittersweet feeling for me. I still get very self-conscious about being misinterpreted and taken out of context. Something about the public nature of posting really heartfelt shit on social media, I guess. But, I swear, this fear only developed over the past like... 5 years, tops. I never used to have this problem. In fact, the account that I'm using, my primary account has posts on mental health subreddits telling my story from well over 10 years ago. I made it a point to not delete anything, to trust my story to tell itself. To not let fear make decisions for me. Now... well, I guess that's kinda the PTSD thing, in a way. I think it's trauma that did it. Betrayal of trust, shit like that. Either that or I'm just 20 years late in developing teenage trust issues. I don't know.

But yeah, it's bittersweet because it still feels like... I'm speaking from a place of expertise... and I'm usually one of the only people in the comments that's not just repeating something that was said to them by a therapist or a friend or a group therapy leader or something they read in a book. I speak like this. From the heart. And from personal experiences. And I try my hardest to disclaim that, though I really don't have to, but you know... in the Age of Anxiety, how could you NOT put a label on a bag of rice cakes that says "Do not heat these in a toaster". How could I NOT sabotage my own credibility within the first sentence of giving advice by saying "just keep in mind, this is my personal experience, and your mileage may vary, and I might be completely wrong, please don't yell at me, sir or ma'am." It's so obnoxious, I hate it... but like... I hate that it makes sense to do it, to the point where it feels almost... mandatory.

So yeah, I left people some heartfelt perspectives, and I think they were appreciated. I got up and got kitty food. She puked again, twice today, but I think it was hairballs this time. So I tried not to stress too much. I checked the rock tumbler, I was supposed to let gas out of it and check to make sure the solution in it didn't turn to sludge, and I think it's still okay so... yeah. But the barrels and tumbler are pretty hot... so I'm really gonna have to keep an eye on that. I poked some holes in the box over it, but I just don't want the thing to overheat, or be a fire risk or something. My other tumbler didn't do that, and I ran that thing in the summer, so I don't know what the deal is... but I'm just gonna keep an eye on it.

I recorded some more Rimworld. The story is very interesting and compelling. Just now, the story took some turns I really didn't feel comfortable with though. And that's a tough one. Like... it's a guy that's basically a vampire (but with a nano technology rather than vampirism being a virus), and he's stranded with his ex-wife who is a nurse and helped him get this nano-treatment to cure his terminal cancer. His ex-wife is like 25 years younger than him, so it's a little weird right off the bat, but there's the whole immortality element so it's just... all of it is super confusing ethically at that point... And they reconnect and become lovers again right off the bat, like day 2. After about a full season, they start fighting. I mean, the wife picks fights with the vampire dude. Oh shit, okay, forgot this happened first, so the wife has been starting to feel the effects of aging and she was getting food poisoning a lot so she was spending huge amounts of time in bed and she was miserable. The vampire dude offered to... infect(?) her? I don't know the right term. It's a genetic infection basically, so he would do a "procedure" where he'd inject her with some of his nanites and she would go into a coma for a few days while they essentially reprogram and overwrite her genes, giving her the genetic gifts that he got, the same way he got them from someone else - a nonexistent character I've been referring to as "The Doctor". And the catch... she was in a coma as a child for a long time. That trauma was part of what made her become a nurse. So like... this was probably the biggest decision of her life. And she went for it. So he gave her the gift...

However, I'm gonna try to put this lightly... she's a bit of a bitch. I'm still learning about her, and this game is absolutely nuts in how it will simulate these kinds of behavioral traits, especially with personality mods included. She's a misandrist, and she started to be very aggressive against vampire dude, very insulting in very deep ways, and regularly. This hit a breaking point and he actually broke up with her. This was while there was a third colony member that just joined, but he was away helping another faction harvest crops. Protein, is his name. Quite an unfortunate nickname, considering these two are literal cannibals, it kinda goes with the blood drinking thing. Like, not exclusively cannibalistic, but like... they consider themselves higher life-forms than humans, and consider human meat a sacred food as part of their spiritual beliefs. So, Protein... I couldn't pass up the chance to try to rescue that dude, and I was so glad he decided to join. But, what happened tonight was... the vampire dude... okay, he needs to do this thing called "deathrest" every... month or so? And it's basically like a 2-4 day coma where he's just out of commission, but if he completes it... he can get some pretty cool perks like faster movement and more nutrition from blood and stuff. And it's kinda mandatory, because he'll get pretty sick if he doesn't do it. So vampire dude (Lorall) goes in for his deathrest, and his ex-wife (Sylph) decides to hook up with Protein the next day. Yep. And then the second Lorall wakes up, he goes to cook some meals, then Sylph bee-lines into the kitchen, breaks the news to his face and starts insulting him again. And they get in a physical fight, but Sylph is a non-combatant, so like... she doesn't do acts of violence, despite initiating a fight... so it like... turned into a dude beating his vampire ex-wife, which was kinda really uncomfortable.

I don't like encountering infidelity or abuse stuff in story games like this. I mean, at all, really. It makes me really, really uncomfortable. I know it's important to include those things because they are things that happen and it's important for people to not think life is all sunshine and rainbows, that these things do happen in life, and when they do they look like this, as a cautionary tale. So people can recognize when those things are coming up, you know? I think that's super important. But, it still makes me really just want to stop recording, and I dread when it happens when I stream, it's just like... I start freezing up and go... no... no, come on... what are you doing... make better decisions, please, you're supposed to be a protagonist.

Well, here's another fun complication. I have over 7 hours of raw footage to work with here. I just played it back for the first bit because I didn't remember the character names by heart (I only really retain those when I say them out loud a lot). And... the videos don't have audio. YEP. 7 hours of silent film. It's still useable, I'm planning on doing the whole thing in the form of a "captain's log" journal entry style narration. Big shock, huh? And I don't mind the challenge of doing foley work. It's just a bummer. All I needed to do was fix one setting, but I didn't think to because I assumed OBS would do it for me, the whole default sound driver thing. But nope... so... cool...

Anyway, enough about that for right now. I thought the story was cool, though it did take some uncomfortable turns, maybe that just spices up the story in ways that I would not creatively have gone, maybe that's just a creative curveball that I need to see how it plays out. Like a main character dying or something, and you just need to see how it goes. The ex-wife turns out to not be the nicest person in the world, she's actually kinda cruel and vindictive, and aggressive. And the protagonist narrator, the vampire dude, is... physically abusive. And... does abuse really have the same implications for immortal beings who heal completely within hours? Does it carry the same weight? It definitely opens some interesting ethical questions.

Okay, enough about that for now, for real this time. I decided to make a present for my cat. Oooo okay, first I did yoga, that was good, I missed it yesterday, THEN I started to re-wrap my cat's big cat tree thing. It was a hand-me-down, the scratching rope was all torn to shit and cats really don't like scratching on that, so I ordered new sisal rope which came in yesterday. I cleaned up the carpet, trimmed it, tore out the old rope (salvaged what I could for god knows what craft project in the future) and put in the new stuff. It actually looks much nicer. I have another one to do on another one of the legs, but now that I know how to do it, it should be easy. I also joked about the only christmas tree I had was my cat tree, so I said screw it and decorated her tree with some christmas lights, my first time ever having my own christmas tree of any kind. I don't know if she even cares about the lights, but it was a nice moment for me. =D

Then I had a really good conversation with my mom. Like, things are getting surreal. She's opening her mind and educating herself a lot about mental health stuff, and she's starting to see everything that I've been seeing. And I feel like she's finally learning my language, which... is incredibly disorienting after like 4 years of feeling like I'm speaking Japanese to her. But it's very good. And she has a lot of insight about my personal history from childhood which has been immeasurably valuable in combatting my impostor syndrome. And she told me some really cool stories about my grandfather, who was apparently a lot like me too in a lot of ways, and was a pilot, which I always thought was really cool. We spent some time talking about Christmas and traditions and church and that kinda stuff, and the whole... ritual? I guess? Like... keeping up appearances, and getting attendance points? Making sure you show up for X or else you're going to get punished or some shit. And it was really nice to be on the same page about it, and I got to share some of my ancient cultural research about like... the origins of holidays like Christmas around this time of year. Why we celebrate family gatherings and even feasts in the middle of winter, of all times. What the point is. The Spirit of Christmas, right? Because this is a rough fucking time of year. Especially if you're in the North, I don't know if it's the same in the extreme Southern Hemisphere, but I'll tell ya... The lack of daylight. The cold. The difficulty traveling. The difficulty in heating. And I think back to the past, even just like 150 years ago, which is like... nothing, like 2 human lifespans. This was the time of year that a lot of people would just... not make it to Spring. Food would run out, people would get sick, travel would become near impossible, you were isolated and stuck with people. You need to make a deliberate point to ground that. To all individually remind yourselves "this is my family, we're all in this together, we need to appreciate each other and remember why we're all here". And that's what me and my mom did, and we told stories and bonded, it was very nice. I have always considered that... the true meaning of these kinds of holidays. And it was very nice to experience the real thing for once, and I really look forward to doing it again.

The rest of the night was leftovers, cookies and recording Rimworld. Now I'm super tired and I kinda want a bath before bed. I realize that despite having a fun chill day... I didn't do anything for myself except for 26 minutes of yoga. The cat tree was for my cat, the Rimworld is for an imaginary nonexistent audience, the phone call was for both my mom and myself. Well... the cookies were for me... XD So I kinda want to go draw a nice hot bath - at 3:30 AM - because it's cold as shit, and fuck it, it's my holiday, too. And if anyone is really bothered by me filling a tub at 3:30AM... I mean... what can I really do about that? They can get over it.

[sandeepfountains-blog]

Electric Fireplaces Manufacturers in Jalandhar

Most people are unsure of which fireplace would best suit their needs because there are so many different types on the market today. Electric fireplaces are more versatile than classic wood or gas fireplaces, making them perfect for comfort on a chilly winter night, enjoyment with a loved one in the midst of the summer, or just replacing a wood or gas fireplace with a sustainable option. Find the Best Electric Fireplaces Manufacturers in Jalandhar at Sandeep Fountains.

Lots of fire but no smoke

Fire usually follows smoke, but this isn't the case with electric fireplaces. These modern technologies emit fewer fumes and no smoke than a normal wood-burning fireplace. The gases that a typical fireplace emits contribute to some of its risks. The smoke from the fire might enter your living space if there is not enough ventilation. These vapors contain a variety of poisonous and fatal chemicals, including formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide. All members of the home, including children and pets, are in danger of breathing in wood smoke because of this.

 How Do Electric Fireplaces Function?

An electric fireplace replicates a common wood-burning or gas fireplace in appearance but does not need any ventilation or type of expert installation. When an electric fireplace is in use, chilly air is drawn in, heated inside by a heating coil, and then gently forced back into the room by a fan. Infrared technology is another feature of some electric fireplaces, and it is used to heat things in a room directly. In both situations, additional warmth is given where it is needed without creating a mess or emitting harmful gasses.

Although it's difficult to match the beauty of a real wood or gas fireplace, the higher installation and upkeep expenses dissuade many from including one of these features in their construction project. We offer the ideal solution for you if you're one of those people who would like the feeling of a fireplace but are worried about the price and maintenance of gas fireplaces: an electric fireplace.

What Makes an Electric Fireplace Look Realistic?

Are you worried that the design of your electric fireplace will be lightweight or cheap? Think again. Sandeep Fountains, the best Electric Fireplaces Manufacturers in Jalandhar sells poorly built electric fireplaces that are quite different from those found in large stores.

The details are important. Huge fireplaces could please some customers, but they won't likely wow everyone. However, electric fireplaces are made by companies. 

Are Electric Fireplaces Safe?

All electric fireplace types allow users to regulate the heating components in addition to the flame effect, and they may be used to support the heating in rooms up to 400 square feet in size. Therefore, electric fireplaces may offer a flame without producing heat so that it can be used all year round.

Customers may select a little or huge flame due to the additional control of the flame effect. The use of electric fireplaces has increased, as a result of the widespread usage of reducing matching technology by electric fireplace manufacturers to closely replicate the light of a fire. Fires that are electrically generated are far safer than real ones, especially when young children and animals are around. In reality, they have cool flames that shield anyone who touches them or gets too close to get a better look from injury.

Will an electric fireplace heat the space?

On sandeepfountains.com, every electric fireplace is listed with the maximum amount of room it can heat. However, the number of rooms might differ depending on the fireplace's kind and manufacturer.

For example, fireplace packages often heat a bigger space than electric free-standing stoves. Because of this, the majority of homeowners only utilize free-standing electric stoves in smaller places and use them in rooms that are larger.

Whatever your preferences, an electric fireplace is a technological advancement that offers more possibilities than conventional wood-burning and gas fireplaces, making them a worthwhile solution that may be used for many years.

Our blog is helpful on electric fireplaces with useful tips. If you're still looking for the ideal electric fireplace device for your house, be sure to check out all of our wonderful resources.

Our team of manufacturing and product experts, Electric Fireplaces Manufacturers in Jalandhar is available if you'd like a more specialized experience. To locate the ideal fireplace for your residence or place of business, get in touch with us right now, Visit our website sandeepfountains.com, or call us at +91-981 416 7799, 978 020 7799.

Electric Fireplaces Manufacturers in Himachal | Electric Fireplaces Manufacturers in Jalandhar| Electric Fireplaces Manufacturers in Ludhiana|

[petsdaysout]

Common Symptoms to Take Your Pet to an Emergency Dog Care Center

Dogs require the most upkeep of all pets, thus parents have a lot of duty in caring for them. Dogs are energetic dogs who enjoy racing about, fetching, rubbing, chasing, and other similar activities. Even dogs can experience periods of inactivity, so if this occurs, you should rush your dog to an urgent dog care facility for a check up.

Dogs are always the object of their owner's affection, and you always take good care of your pet. If your dog is experiencing any of these problems, you should get care right once.

Common Signs Your Dog May be Experiencing

1. Urgent Dog Care Is Needed If There Is Less Urination or Defecation:

Both signs may point to developmental or neurological problems in your dog. A bladder stone can frequently prevent urine from leaving the body, leading to accumulation. The extra pressure and strain can induce renal damage or a bladder rupture, as well as other health problems. A dog in such circumstances may experience excruciating agony, so as soon as you notice such signs, seek emergency dog treatment from a professional.

2. A Sign of Urgent Dog Care Is Sudden Collapse, Fainting, Unconsciousness, Seizures, or Disorientation:

These negative consequences may be a sign of internal bleeding, lung illness, lung infection, or anaemia. Go to an urgent dog care facility if you see any signs in your dog. Additionally, losing consciousness is typically caused by a heart condition; the animal's brain might not be receiving enough oxygen.

3. Standing difficulties, shakiness, wobbling, or dragging the back legs:

These signs could point to a problem with the heart, lungs, brain, spine, or blood vessels. Always keep an eye out for anything your dog swallows or gulps. If you notice any of these consequences in your dog, find a dog care facility for them. The animal may lose the ability to use its hind limbs permanently if these diseases are not treated right away.

4. Lack of Appetite, Recurring Vomiting, Diarrhea, Not Drinking Water, or Unproductive Retching Requires Urgent Dog Care:

Usually, dogs experience all of these side effects simultaneously. If you observe blood in the vomit or stool, you must act quickly. Your pet could have consumed a poison (such a liquid catalyst, poisonous plants, or the sugar substitute xylitol), contracted an incurable disease, or had organ failure. When your pet's stomach fills with gas and curls in on itself, sometimes restricting the bloodstream, retching might be a sign of bloat. Specialist dog care is required immediately in these circumstances. An emergency exists if these symptoms persist for more than 24 hours. Avoiding such circumstances would be detrimental to your dog's health.

5. In instances of difficulty breathing, laboured breathing, choking, or persistent coughing Get Your Dog Urgent Care:

Breathing difficulties may be a sign of underlying coronary disease. A pet's gagging indicates there is an obstruction preventing its windpipe from relaxing. A collapsed windpipe or the bacterial disease tracheobronchitis may be the cause of coughing. If your pet starts to cough up blood, call an emergency dog hospital right away. When you see blood, your pet's body is experiencing a serious medical issue.

6. Squinting, a swollen eye, or bleeding from the nose, mouth, or eyes in dogs need immediate attention:

A bleeding eye can indicate a number of infections or diseases, such as when a pet's blood doesn't clot properly. Furthermore, the eyeball can occasionally pop out of the socket due to a severe trauma. The dog needs immediate veterinary care otherwise he risked losing his vision or perhaps losing an eye.

7. Contact Urgent Dog Care Clinic If You Have Limping or Swollen Limbs:

These symptoms could indicate Lyme disease, a broken bone, or a muscular injury in a dog or cat. Hives or generalised swelling could indicate an unfavourable vulnerable reaction that could result in anaphylactic shock. It is best to call your veterinarian right away if a pet has been limping for more than a day. It's an emergency if your dog isn't even putting any weight on the limb. This is an emergency, so don't forget to obtain your dog immediate attention from your neighbourhood vet facility.

8. Need for Urgent Dog Care If Whimpering, Shaking, or Restlessness Without Cause:

Some canines show signs of nervousness when there is lightning or thunder. In any event, they are most likely in torment if they suddenly become restless with no other obvious negative effects. If they don't seem like themselves, there is cause for concern. Therefore, find nearby urgent dog care. These reactions from any dog are not typical, therefore you shouldn't discourage your dog from displaying them.

9. Excessive Panting Requires Immediate Canine Care:

Due to their inability to perspire like humans, dogs gasp. Dogs are therefore susceptible to heat strokes in hot areas, which can quickly become fatal as their internal temperature rises and their organs fail. Your dog should have access to a dog care facility in the event of a crisis. It is extremely dangerous to leave a dog or cat inside a hot car or even outside on a hot day if they have no way to escape the heat.

10. The symptom of a waterborne disease is yellow eyes or a yellow body:

If your dog drinks contaminated water, they could contract waterborne illnesses including Cholera and diarrhoea. Such diseases are shown by yellow eyes or skin. It is an unavoidable symptom, so you should choose a dog care facility. These illnesses could affect your dog if they drink contaminated water. If these illnesses are not promptly treated, they may be fatal.

Conclusions Regarding the Urgent Dog Care Center

The following symptoms are ones you should never ignore. It's crucial to frequently check on your dog. A healthy dog is active all the time, has good eating and breathing habits. The dog clinic should periodically assess the health of your pet. Never ignore any signs in an emergency situation; instead, take them carefully.

[goldcnscales]

Development. Nen Abilities 

Kore is unique in the way that while she herself doesn’t have a nen ability, the sentient snakes attached to her do. They use Kore’s body as a catalyst for their abilities, making Kore as a whole fall under the specialist category for Nen Types.

Each of the sentient snakes are named after one of the nine muses, and their abilities correspond to a degree to which muse they were named after.

Under readmore since there’s alot of information.

The snakes abilities can be put into three categories; offensive, defensive, and noncombative.

Calliope (epic poetry)

Offensive ability

Epic Poetry ; A counteractive ability. When Kore gets hurt the snake Callioope grows stronger and more dangerous.

Kore is able to absorb the power from Calliope into her body to hit harder and faster. But this is done by having the snake calliope bite Kore, which means she gets poison injected into her. She’s mostly immune to the poison, mostly.

The poison will start to slow her reaction times. But combined with an ability below, she can negate the effects to a degree.

Melpomene (tragedy)

Offensive Ability

 Age of Tragedy: The ability to conjure multiple poisonous snakes.

Can conjure up to 100, but the poison the snakes have becomes more and more diluted the more snakes are summoned.

To increase effectiveness, she only keeps around 5 out so the poison is still deadly. She’ll only bring out more if she is just looking to intimidate someone. Or make a bluff that all of her snakes are poisonous

Terpsichore (dance)

Offensive Ability

Dance of Medusa; Ability to move like a snake. Makes her body more flexible and agile.

Her body is softened, and damage to her in this state hit harder than usual. But she’s also able to strike faster than usual, so it’s a risk/reward situation. Combined with Epic Poetry, she can hit hard and fast at the risk of running low on endurance faster. 

Clio (history)

Defensive Ability.

History Repeats itself; The ability to turn targets to stone.

Target has to be able to see all 20 eyes (Kore’s and every sentient snake’s eyes), Target will be turned to stone for one day. If their stone self is crushed during this time, then they’re just dead.

If target only sees part of the 20, then they are simply paralyzed for a short amount of time (an hour at most). If the target doesn’t see Clio’s eyes specifically, then they are simply stunned for 5 seconds.

Only able to be activated as a defensive measure. Kore can’t follow this ability up with an attack. She can’t touch the target for up to 5 minutes after it is activated or else the spell is broken.

Euterpe (flutes and music)

Defensive ability

Symphony of Madness ; Uses snake hissing to make an eerie noise to disorientate the target.

The more the target tries to block out the noise, the louder it becomes. This cannot be followed up with an attack, and Kore has to stay still for at least a minute after activation to get its full effect onto the target, otherwise the target is just briefly stunned/disorientated by the loud noise. 

Thalia (comedy and pastoral poetry)

Defensive ability

Comedic Relief ; Snake breathes out laughing gas to disrupt a large group of enemies. Kore and her snakes are immune. This also cannot be followed up by an attack.

This will effect even allies in the area, Kore can’t make people immune to the gas.

Erato (love poetry and lyric poetry)

Noncombat Ability

Love Poetry ; Able to charm / Hypnotise people.

Target has to be able to hear Kore and look into Erato’s eyes.

Mostly used to make people not ask about her snakes/skin color/eye color/ etc

Can’t use this ability while in a high stress situation, so can’t be used in combat.

Polyhymnia (hymns and sacred poetry)

Noncombat ability

Hymns from on High ; Ability to change her voice to sound like another.

Perfect replication can only happen if she’s had a conversation with the desired voice/target for an hour. Otherwise, she will only be able to replicate the voice three times in the same day she required a sample of the voice. 

She loses the duplicate voice after 30 days.

Can’t use this ability while in a high stress situation, so can’t be used in combat.

Urania (astronomy)

Noncombat ability

Constellation ; Ability to connect people together mentally for a short period of time.

While those in the constellation are not exactly able to read each other’s minds, they can send information to one another by concentrating hard enough. They can even broadcast their position if in an emergency situation.

They have to be within a certain distance from one another for the connection to work. 

Kore can only group up to 9 people together, including herself and her snake, so really only 7 other people.

This ability can be used in combat, but Kore has to remained focused on the connection the whole time if she wants to keep it. This ability is best used to keep her OUT of a combat situation.

[crowsmybeloveds]

Shadow and Bone Series: Chapter Two

In Cold Blood

Pairing: Jesper Fahey x Reader

Summary: The Crows continue to visit Y/N at the Emerald Palace, and make some interesting developments.

Word Count: 4.8k

Warnings: Implied suicide (don’t take it too seriously hint hint); abuse; Pekka Rollins; again canon typical violence/slave stuff (this time it’s described more, but again nothing graphic); the Menagerie;

A/N: Thank you so much if you liked the first chapter!!! This one is a little longer and I promise the end isn’t as bad as it might seem.

Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~

Jesper Fahey liked to do his own thing. Sure, as a member of the Dregs he had to listen to his boss and go on jobs, but he loved his free time in between. Hence, he often avoided going on little arends for Kaz at all costs. It would be a waste of his time.

Jesper Fahey was now talking to Kaz. Volunteering for an arend. For the fourth time this week.

Kaz, Inej, and Jesper had been visiting the girl in the basement regularly since their first meeting with her. Kaz chalked it up to business, the girl and her potions were powerful assets, but the other two would admit they had found a new friend.

There were rules to these visits. First, only go during the day. Even if it seemed counterintuitive to sneak there in the broad daylight, Y/N insisted she would be unavailable in the night, as that was when her “work” was done. Also, if you are there, you must hide well behind the crates, and remain armed. You were lucky every time you made it out of there alive.

It was a daunting task, but Jesper was always up for it.

“You’re going to go there again?” Kaz asked him, eyebrows raised, “You know it’s Inej’s turn, correct?”

“Yes, and I also don’t care,” Jesper answered, “Also, she probably has things to see, people to do, and whatnot. I, on the other hand, have my whole day cleared. And I couldn’t deprive the lovely basement girl of this face.” He smiled, pointing to himself, “I mean, come on.”

Kaz stared at him, seeing through his antics in a minute. Jesper had taken a liking to the girl. What will happen the day he visits to find she’s not there anymore? Kaz thought. His hopes are too high.

“Fine, Jesper,” He agreed, “but be careful not to draw attention.” He scrunched his nose. “Do your best not to dawdle.”

“Right, I’m off then!” Jesper exclaimed as he clapped his hands together and ran off.

“I’m going tomorrow!” Kaz shouted after him.

The sharpshooter knew his boss was suspicious of his actions, but in all honesty he didn’t care. Normally he would have thought there wasn’t much spending time with her could do, as she had told him many of the same things over and over. That must have meant she had told him all that she knew. But Jesper was not going for information, he was going to be with her. He liked to think they were friends.

Jesper was often distracted. Whether he saw a pretty person to flirt with or a table to gamble at, he always found a way to not be doing whatever he was supposed to. Everything around him was so appealing and stimulating, especially in the Barrel. Even so, he sped down the streets without a single double take or second thought as he headed to the Emerald Palace. He really wanted to see her. So bad it was addicting. At first he thought that maybe the girl was drugging him, seeing as that is her particular expertise, but soon he realized that he just liked her. She was funny, and she laughed at all his jokes. She was also so intriguing. So powerful yet rendered powerless. He was enchanted, but he knew something was missing. It seemed it wasn’t her fault. He wanted to help.

That day when he arrived at the window (after making sure no one could see him, of course) Jesper saw Y/N sitting against the wall with her legs hugged to her chest. He called her name softly, and waited for her to reply. She didn’t reply, or even move. Against his better judgement, he shouted louder, risking being discovered by one of Pekka’s crew. He didn’t care. He banged the windows. Praying she would say something. Or turn her head. Or nod. Anything. She didn’t. A single tear rolled down her face.

Y/N had been sitting there for three hours. There wasn’t much to be said about what had happened. Only that she did not remember, whether her loss of memory was intentional or not. It was an off day, that’s all.

Jesper was panicking. He had no idea how to get her to wake up. That is, if she was asleep. Truthfully, he did not know what was wrong with her or what to do. Unfortunately, his noise making had roused a different group of people. Jesper had to run down the alley as he heard shouts coming his direction. He ran the rest of the way home, still in shock. He was not haunted by his near escape with the Dime Lions, but the look on the girl’s face. What had they done to her?

“And she didn’t move at all?” Inej asked. Jesper had just explained to her what happened after he showed up to her room at the Slat. She hadn’t appreciated being woken up from one of her rare naps, but she didn’t complain when she saw the look on his face.

“Not that I could see,” he replied, shaking his head, “Inej, I swear she could hear me.”

Inej did not know what to say. This kind of behavior was not usual for Jesper. He had his normal amount of energy, but it was not often it was all directed to one place: worry. It was odd that something upset him and he did not distract from it by going to gamble or making a joke.

“I just, if it were you I’d understand, but who could ignore me?” he said, “Going unnoticed is not a Jesper talent.”

There it was.

“You’re deflecting” She called him out, “It’s not funny. We should tell Kaz.”

“That's not funny,” Jesper replied, “what is Kaz gonna do? Tell us to stop talking to her?”

Inej sighed. It’s possible that he would advise that. But he also wouldn’t just let Pekka Rollins keep his most dangerous weapon. Especially not when she didn’t seem to have much loyalty. She had told Inej so many times. The girls had a bond due to the Menagerie, and Y/N told her much about her past and present. She explained different chemicals she had made and plans she had heard to Kaz. But with Inej, she explained how she felt about them.

Y/N hated every second in that basement. She had told Inej as much. Repeatedly. But she was rather scatterbrained. She repeated herself often and forgot things that she had already been told. She would forget what day it was and what she had done the night before. Inej had experience with trauma and sleep deprivation enough to shrug this off. She didn’t want to cause her friend anguish by questioning it.

The incident Jesper was describing made her think that maybe she should. Y/N was smart. Hell, she was a self taught Grisha fabrikator. So good, she could kill people from miles away. How could she be so forgetful? Someone so scientifically gifted must have a better mind than that. Someone must have been messing with it.

After some convincing to Jesper that Kaz would not kill or give up on Y/N, the pair made their way to their boss’s office.

“I was waiting for this to happen,” was Kaz’s response.

“What, that’s it?” Jesper raised his voice, “You have nothing else to say?”

Kaz glared at him from his desk. “I don’t know that you thought through your attachment to her, Jesper. You should never have assumed she was on our side.”

Jesper stared bullets at his boss in front of them. They seriously weren’t going to help her at all? She needed to get out of there, he knew that for certain. If it wasn’t because he cared about her then it should be because she is an asset. A good investment. Saints, he hated calling her that.

He didn’t say any of this, however, and instead started to walk out of the office. Just before he was out the door, he heard Brekker speak up.

“I’ll go and see her tomorrow.”

When Kaz Brekker reached the girl’s window, he gave it exactly seven taps with his cane, with a very specific beat. It was a signal he had made with Y/N so that she knew to open the window and talk to him without him having to raise his voice.

The girl turned toward the window at the sound. She set down the bottle she was currently working on and walked over. Kaz started speaking as soon as it was opened.

“How long have they been drugging you?”

Y/N scoffed, “Hello to you, too!”

“How long?”

“Um, never?” She replied, getting confused. “They don’t drug me with anything. I’d notice. That’s kind of my job description.”

Kaz looked to the side, thinking. The only way to explain her odd behavior, forgetfulness, and calmness in her position was that she was being manipulated. And because she was constantly making poisons and “potions” for Pekka, it made sense that she was being given her own drugs without her knowledge. He had thought this since he’d met her. She had to be on some sort of relaxers when he first saw her. Why else would she have so willingly opened the window for strangers?

“Why did you ignore Jesper when he was here yesterday?” He asked, hoping to get the information from her in a more roundabout way.

“I didn’t?” Y/N asked, “Inej was here yesterday, she got those vials of knockout gas you asked for.”

Kaz squinted at her, “Y/N, that was two days ago.”

She shook her head, “No, no, because I was working on those just yesterday and I just finished them when she stopped by. I haven’t seen Jesper in a couple of days, Kaz. Are you feeling ok?”

Kaz wasn’t sure how to react to this. She had missed the whole day? He was sure things like this had been going on this whole time, but never in the month since they began speaking with her has she forgotten a whole day. She had to have taken something.

“Are you self medicating?”

“No! Why- what are you talking about? What is going on?”

“Y/N, Jesper came here yesterday and you were sitting in that corner near catatonic. You wouldn’t speak or even move.” Kaz informed her.

“He must not have shouted loud enough, I was probably asleep.”

“You normally sleep with your eyes open?” He is tone was sharp. “Jesper said you were crying.”

She didn’t respond. She was shocked out of her mind. It was possible Kaz was lying to her to get some sort of information out of her, but it didn’t seem that way. He looked uneasy, the kind of unease that comes from not knowing something. He was a very smart man, and when something did not make sense to him he got nervous. So, this must have actually happened. And if she could not remember it, something was terribly wrong.

“I’m sorry, Kaz. I just don’t remember.”

“Fine. Then I need you to stop eating the food they give you. I’ll have Inej stop by with something to eat during the day.” Kaz paused, thinking. “And I would like to get you out of here, and have you join the Dregs. I just have to figure out how.”

“No, Kaz. I can’t leave.”

“Why? You have loyalties to Pekka Rollins?” He asked, anger clear in his voice.

Do I? She thought. While she knew his treatment of her was unfair, she wondered whether or not she still cared about him. In her time at the Emerald Palace, Pekka had told her many things about how he was the only one who would ever care for her. He claimed that he had saved her from the Menagerie, and he was taking care of her because he loved her. He also said that he would help her find her sister, often claiming that the potions Y/N was making was helping him follow leads about her.

When he started bringing men down into Y/N’s room, she was only a teenager. The first man that had ever touched her in that room also told her information about upcoming trips, which Pekka used to choose the perfect time to rob his house. Y/N felt disgusting in her skin ever since, but Pekka reassured her. I’m sorry , canary. I’ll protect you. Those men are not like me. While any sane person would call giving her food and shelter supplying her basic needs, Pekka called it courtesy. A gift because he loved her. A gift that could be taken away. He let men take advantage of her just so she could get him information, and then called it love. And she believed him. Until one day.

A man had come down into her room, which was usual for her on any given night. However, this man started out rough and stayed that way for the rest of his visit. She had tried her best with past men to get as much information as she could through simple flirting and drugging, but he was not there for small talk. For a brief moment, she considered saying no. In the moment following, she remembered what happened the other times she had done so.

She didn’t get any of the information she had been asked to draw from the man. Pekka was livid. The argument following had been explosive and painful. Not just emotionally.

“This isn’t love.” She tried to say it in a firm voice, but it came out broken and weak.

“How could you possibly know?” Pekka replied.

“Because you don’t deny it.” She said, summoning the strength to look up at him. “The men who come down here sometimes mention their wives. They might not be the pinnacle of married men, but I know they would never do this. This is bad for me.”

“Oh, is it so bad for you?” He raised his voice. “And who is going to treat you better, hm? Who out there would possibly care about you like I do?”

She turned her back to him. She sniffled as she cleaned up her worktable, silently hoping he would just leave.

He grabbed her arm, whipping her around to face him. “I don’t care if you hate me. You will stay here because of Anais. You will stay because you need me.”

The memory was scarring.

Kaz watched as Y/N got lost in her own thoughts. His voice startled her out of her memories. “Y/N, do you have loyalties to him?”

“My sister, Anais.” She breathed. “He is helping me find my sister.”

“Is that all?”

She shook her head. “You don’t understand. I need to find her. Have you ever had any siblings?”

Kaz paused for a moment. The comment seemed to toy with him. “No.”

“Then you don’t get it. I want to be with people I belong with. To figure out where I’m from.” She sighed. “Pekka is helping me with that.”

“And he has proven that he is actually doing so?”

“He said that he knew she was involved with the slavers who took me away. He is getting in with them to try and figure out where they took her.”

“Y/N, I don’t think he is actually doing that.” Kaz said, shaking his head. “This is your reason for staying?”

“And I have nowhere else to go!”

Kaz took a deep breath. He had decided what he was going to do for the girl since the day he met her. She was an asset. With her power he could complete jobs and gain kruge with record speed. Not to mention, if Kaz had her on his side, Pekka didn’t. The sweet taste of revenge covered his tongue just at the thought.

“I have an offer,” he began, “You come with me. Not now, but soon. I’ll come everyday to ask questions and we’ll plan your escape. In the meantime, you gather your things discreetly and try to find as much dirt on Rollins as you can.”

“But my sister -“

“If you are a part of the Dregs, you will help when asked, but the rest of your time is yours. Look for your sister, gamble your money away, take up baking, — I don’t care. You’ll be free.”

The offer was good. Great, actually. So why was she hesitating? Was Pekka’s manipulation really enough to make her turn away an opportunity like this? I don’t know.

And what about Kaz? Could she really trust him? The man wanted her for her powers, too. How was he different from Pekka? In her limited experience, he wasn’t. I should stay.

But Jesper. In the short while she had known him, Jesper had become her favorite part of being alive. And Inej, who was the kindest soul she had ever encountered. If they were with Kaz, he couldn’t be the demon he tried to be. At least not like Pekka. I should go. I should have gone a long time ago.

“Deal.”

In the weeks following, Kaz came every day to discuss every aspect of the Emerald Palace with her, in the hopes that he could get her out. Getting her out of the building would be simple, but keeping her from being hunted by the Dime Lions for the rest of her days would be complicated. The plan would have to be completely airtight, so Kaz needed time.

A few days later, Jesper was at the window speaking with her. The other members of the dregs would often visit along with Kaz and stay to talk to her, or they might come in his place. Today, after describing her entire tailoring process to Kaz, Y/N was speaking to Jesper about music.

“It’s like this huge golden machine made by Fabrikators, right?” Y/N smiled as she excitedly spoke. “And you take this small disc, place it on the machine and put the needle on it, and then music comes out!”

Jesper grinned at her. He loved the way she looked when she was excited about something. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one before.”

“Well, it’s wonderful,” she sighed, “Not to mention there’s thousands of the disc things, and each one is a different song. I wish more people had them than just the rich men who can afford it. I mean I wish I could have one.”

The two had been known to discuss things that had nothing to do with her escape, which Kaz had scolded them for plenty of times. But they enjoyed talking to each other, and they often got distracted. Odd topics of discussion were bound to happen whether they liked it or not. However, when Jesper realized that they had strayed from their original reason for speaking, he redirected the conversation.

“So, you get tailored nearly everyday?”

“Well, whenever anyone comes to see me. Only Pekka knows what I really look like. And you and your friends. Maybe it's a security thing.” She told him, thinking as she spoke. “Also, if anyone sees me who isn’t supposed to, I’m meant to drug them so they forget. Pekka really just does not want anyone knowing I’m here. Some bastard might try to steal me away.”

Jesper smirked at her. “I cannot imagine who would ever do something like that.”

Visits were going relatively well. Kaz had nearly enough information to finalize his plan for her escape, so he visited less and less. Y/N was becoming a solid member of the Crows even though she had so little time with them. She matched Jesper’s humor, built trust with Inej, and had a shared anger for Pekka with Kaz.

Today was Inej’s day to go visit Y/N, and she was running rather late. She knew the girl had mentioned not to visit after the sun went down, but Inej had been busy all day and could only find time to make it to the window after dark. When she got there, however, she realized why Y/N had made the warning.

When she looked through the window, she noticed that Y/N was not alone. When she looked closer, she realized Y/N was with Pekka Rollins. Luckily, Inej was the Wraith, she could watch what happened next without being seen.

“I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to eat your dinner,” She heard Rollins speak first, in the most condescending tone she had ever heard. “Not after I worked so hard to get your favorite.”

Y/N sat on her cot, avoiding eye contact. “Not hungry.”

Rollins grabbed her by the jaw roughly, forcing her to look at him. Inej noticed tears shining in Y/N’s eyes. “Not hungry, hm? We both know that’s not true.” He laughed, with a terrifying lack of humor behind it. “Why are you lying to me, canary?”

The girl shook her head as the tears fell down her face.

“Your tears will do you no good.” Rollins snarled. “Do not forget what you are.” He paused, raising a brow. “What are you?”

The girl sniffled and didn’t respond.

“What are you?” He shouted and raised his voice this time, causing her to shake.

“A canary.” She whispered out.

“Good, and if I give you a song...”

He raised her chin higher, prompting her to finish his words. “I sing it.” The words fell from her lips like something rehearsed, but unbearably painful.

He gave a tight lipped smile. “Right. Don’t forget it again.” He sat down next to her and handed her the plate she had sat on the table beside her. “Now you eat and I’ll tell you about the man who is coming here tonight.”

Inej felt like she was going to throw up as she travelled the rooftops of Ketterdam back to the Crow Club. She knew Y/N was being mistreated at the Emerald Palace, but seeing it take place was something entirely apart.

As she walked in the doors of the club she felt a presence beside her. She looked over to see Jesper walking with her. He must have been guarding the door. He was waiting to ask a question.

“Yes, Jesper, I went to see her.” Inej spoke to him, her voice rough.

“And?”

“And Pekka Rollins was there.”

Jesper stopped in his tracks. “Saints, is she ok? Are you?”

“I’m fine,” Inej assured, “But I’m not sure about Y/N. He is anything but gentle with her. And he forced her to eat the dinner he gave her. I don’t think she’s gonna be able to avoid the drugs they give her anymore. If only she could remember to take an antidote before her mind goes.”

“Shit, we need to get her out of there, soon.”

The pair once again went to Kaz to discuss the girl, only to find him at his desk, writing furiously with two bottles in front of him.

“Kaz, Inej -“ Jesper was cut off.

“She told me how she’s been killing all those people.” Kaz stared at the bottle in front of him, observing it scientifically.

Inej and Jesper looked at each other before looking back at their boss. What was he on about?

“I don’t understand.” Inej had a confused look on her face as she tried her best to make eye contact with Kaz. She wanted to try and read him like she knew she could, but right now the man in front of her was like a blank page.

“Y/N. She gives them a liquid of her own design, but it isn’t poisonous,” He kept his eyes trained on his work, “At least not until she makes it poisonous. She can give someone poison hours in advance but it kills them right at the perfect moment. Right when she can get away. And, once they are dead, she can change it back to something nontoxic. It’s flawless: not a single trace is left.”

“Great, boss,” Jesper said, growing impatient. “Can we talk about why we are here?”

Kaz frowned, “What, because you want to get Y/N out sooner? She’s in a terrible situation?”

“Exactly,” Inej pleaded.

“If I tried to save everyone in the Barrel I’d be broke by dawn.” Kaz said, looking back at his work. Inej and Jesper stood there in shock. “If you don’t have anything else to say…”

Inej placed a hand up to keep Jesper from exploding. “Kaz, you told us that you would help her escape.”

“I needed information, Wraith, you wouldn’t help me if I told the truth.”

Jesper spoke up, “So you lied to us? And what did you tell her?”

“Nothing. She’s prepared to leave the Emerald Palace tonight.” Kaz tsked. “I doubt she’ll make it two feet out the building without our help. Solves all of my problems.”

Without another word, Inej slipped out of the room, leaving the boys to fight. Through the walls, she heard muffled shouting.

“How could you? You act like you have nothing you believe in but really you are so terrible that you’ve made yourself your own Saint!” Jespers voice was desperate, filled with rage. The betrayal he felt was clear even though he was muffled. He sniffed. “Put too much faith in that saint and he’ll kill your friends.”

Inej cringed, hating the harsh truths her friend was sending toward her boss. She had always known partnership with Kaz would mean conflict, but it also meant freedom. She and Jesper often commented on their cold-hearted boss. “We are both too good for him.” Jesper would laugh as he said it, but now it seemed to be a reason to leave. But where would they go? When it came to Kaz Brekker, no one was better, and no one was worse.

One thing was for certain, Inej was not going to let her friend die. She had just pulled Y/N up from the grave, and she’d be damned if she let Kaz Brekker push her back in. If he was so certain the girl would be dead by tomorrow, she’d get to her before then. She didn’t have time for Kaz’s lectures and Jesper’s shouting. There was a life at stake. She begged the Saints to help her, but deep down she knew that this was up to her and her knives. If Inej couldn’t save Y/N, the Wraith would.

When she reached the Emerald Palace, a nauseous feeling spread throughout her stomach. She willed her hands to stop shaking, but the tremor remained. She reached the window after carefully checking her surroundings and gasped at what she saw. Nothing remained in Y/N’s room but a white letter and dark ash, both standing out against the gray stone floor. Inej frowned in confusion. So, she is gone. Where could she be?

Y/N was a smart girl, she could be out of Ketterdam by now. However, she had barely had any human contact and had been drugged and manipulated for years. If she was not already found by Pekka Rollins, she could have already been killed on the street. But no one knew who she was, and only Pekka and the Crows knew what she truly looked like. She had become one huge question.

Suddenly, Inej remembered something.. Specifically, a conversation she had with Y/N not long ago.

Inej, this might be the worst thing I’ve ever made. She had said, a fire in her eyes.

Then why are you smiling? Inej replied.

Look! Y/N had pulled a thin glass bottle of a swirling liquid and a small flower out from behind her back. She then poured a drop of the bottle on the flower, which disintegrated into a pile of ash within seconds.

Saints. Inej was amazed.

Wild, huh? Footsteps came from the stairwell in the corner of the room. Shit. Inej, go. Inej hesitated. Go! He’ll see you!

Now, looking at the large pile of ash on the floor of the room, Inej realized what had happened.

“Saints,” She whispered, tears forming in her eyes. “She’s drunk it.”

She heard footsteps approaching in the alley, and immediately grabbed two of her knives, ready to protect herself.

“Easy,” Jesper appeared, holding his hands out toward her. “It’s just me.”

Inej lowered her knives as she stared back at him. “We’re too late, Jes. She’s gone.”

He laughed, nervous. “No, she wouldn’t.” He lowered himself down to the window. “No.”

Inej stood up and looked up at the stars, praying to any Saint that she could think of that she wasn’t dead. That her friend was out there somewhere. Alive. “Jesper, we need to get out of here.”

“But,” Jesper paused, his voice weak. “She was just here.”

“She’s not anymore.” Inej looked at him with pity. She could tell how much the girl had meant to him. “I’m sorry.”

“She was just here.” He repeated, voice cracks littering his words.

Inej grabbed his hand, forcing him out of this frozen state. “I know, Jes. I’m sorry.”

[trashytummiez]

Not necessarily a kink rating, but how would you rate the burps for each character in twisted wonderland? 1-10

Ace is a 9 because he's loud and obnoxious and complains about eating too much. He has the loudest burps of anyone in his dorm and is totally shameless about it too. Ace will chug soda and intentionally give the biggest burp he can to mess with all his friends. He knows how to burp talk too and do the alphabet but he's not as good at it as Ruggie~

Deuce is an 8 because the game showed that he can get roped into eating a lot alongside Ace so I bet that he can burp pretty loudly himself. Unlike ace though Deuce doesn't do it on purpose he gets embarrassed if he burps in public. But he can probably get roped into contests with Ace pretty easily ;3

Riddle is a 5. He's very smol and has a sweet tooth but he's also very well mannered and probably tries really hard not to ever burp out loud. If he does its probably not the loudest they usually sound low and a little strained but even those will still embarrass and anger him if anyone mocks him for it

Cater is a 7. He can do some good burps but he's more casual than anyone else. He doesn't burp on purpose but if he does he takes it in strides and just excuses himself like it's no big deal and if he gets roped into a contest he'll play along and probably lose but post videos anyway since burp videos on his page always get more views for some reason X3

Trey is a 5 too. His burps are pretty weak and only ever come out if he burps by accident. That only ever really comes if he drinks too fast and even that doesn't produce the strongest burps but he doesn't care because he thinks burps are gross anyway and gets annoyed whenever Ace lets them rip around him or tries to rope others into contests

Ruggie is a 10 pure and simple. He has some of the loudest burps in the whole school and is the most skilled burper in all of night raven. He can burp talk entire sentences do the full alphabet and let rip a burp for ten seconds! He can also let rip some really loud ones even with an empty tummy. He's loud proud and absolutely shameless <3

Leona is another 10 as well. He isn't as skilled as Ruggie but his burps are much louder and stronger coming from the deepest parts of his tummy. Leona's biggest burps are so loud they're often mistaken for beastly roars which he lets fly without shame. He always burps when he stuffs himself and will carelessly burp out words in the middle of talking especially to piss off Vil or to fluster Yuu~

Jack is a 9 like Ace. He has some incredibly deep burps the kind you can feel rumbling out of him that can make it feel like stuff around you is rumbling too. He's very passive about it too. If he has air in his tummy he's gonna let it out and when he's full his burps are really deep and strong. But he can get roped into burping contests because the good boi doesn't want to be left out of the fun :3

Jade is a 9. His burps are strong which is why when he holds them in you feel them rumble in his mouth. And he intentionally lets them loose in his mouth to pretend he's a gentleman and to tease Yuu. If he doesn't hold back he can push some really big ones out especially if he's full. He's also not remotely apologetic. He'll feign apologies and excuse himself but he's still smirking when he does it especially if he sees Yuu fidget around him after a good closed mouth burp.

Floyd is a 10. His burps are absolutely massive! Whereas Jade is subtle Floyd will squeeze the biggest loudest burps out of his tummy that he can manage. Whether he's full or if he's chugged a lot of soda Floyd is a burpy boi who is really amused by burping too. He giggles at how good they feel coming up and even more at how red his little shrimpy gets anytime he lets one rattle out. Outside of Leona he's the only other one in the school who can top Ruggie

Azul is an 8. He's more genuinely well mannered than Jade and Floyd and tries to hold his burps in when they gurgle up but if they do come up then they can be really throaty and come out strong. He'll get embarrassed if that happens especially if he has a full tummy. He tries not to indulge too much remembering when he was a chubby little octopus boi but from time to time he forgets himself and when that happens he can get some pretty big ones that he may struggle to hold in

Kalim is a 10 easy. The sweet boi can burp like a pro and can get some incredibly loud ones out. He's so cute about it too. When he's stuffed he can get some huge burps and each one will make him giggle adorably. If there's a contest he'll get competitive and chug a whole lot of soda to get some monsters out. But that sometimes gives him a tummyache that requires some much needed tummy rubs and those can squeeze out some truly epic burps that will leave Kalim panting and smiling the cutest smile you can imagine.

Jamil's a 9. He's got a greedy side to him that he doesn't always get to show off so when he overindulges he can get some really deep throaty burps out the kind that rumble pretty hard out of a person. He's also a bit hedonistic and will eagerly tease Yuu if he knows burps turn her on. He can suck down a lot of air in his tummy and let rip a really lengthy burp in her ear then seductively blow the gases against her cheek. Like Jade Jamil knows how to turn a person on and gets a huge kick out of doing so

Rook is a 5. He's not very good at burping and only does so if he's full or if he drank too much. Usually they're really quick and short burps that he will immediately excuse himself over. He's genuinely well mannered and finds burps to be incredibly gross.

Vil is a 7. Like Rook he's very well mannered and finds burps to be absolutely hideous but unlike Rook he's actually pretty good at it whether he likes it or not. Vil doesn't overeat but he has a very sensitive stomach and is actually prone to getting indigestion from eating things that don't sit well in his tummy or if he drinks something too fast. Doing so can give him some pretty loud burps and if that happens he'll be absolutely mortified. Tease him and he's liable to poison you for it X3

Epel is an 8. He tries to have good manners but deep down Epel wants to be one of the bois and as such he can let rip some really good burps. He's about on par with Deuce but not as good as some others. He overeats often because he underestimates his stomach capacity which can leave him pretty bloated and giving some really deep and forceful burps. When that happens he hides out at other dorms until he digests everything because he can't risk letting Vil see him in such an unsightly manner

Ortho is an 8 as well. The little bot boi consumes fuel which can sometimes stir up excess air in his robo tummy which gives him some strong burps. If that happens he'll giggle and excuse himself. Idia designed him like that intentionally because it makes Ortho feel more real and it gives them a chance to occasionally have burping contests which Idia always wins but if Ortho gets to bond he doesn't care he's just having fun <3

Idia is another 10. The anxious boi has some of the strongest loudest burps in the school because his tummy is always fluctuating. He eats a lot and drinks tons of soda all the time. This fills his tummy up with a lot of gas that he can let out in some absolutely magnificent burps the kind that feel like they're exploding in his tummy. If he has a lot of gas in his belly at once Yuu can squeeze burps that last almost ten seconds out of him that's how good Idia is. Like Jade he'll try and muffle them in public but his closed mouth burps are even deeper than Jades simply because of how strong they are. Unlike Jade Idia isn't a hedonist who gets off to riling Yuu up he's always really shy and embarrassed and whimpers around her because he's the cutest <3

Sebek is a 7. He can get some pretty good burps out because his tummy is kind of in flux too from being so tightly wound but he's also got a pretty considerable appetite. He's well mannered so he usually tries to hold his burps back as in swallow them before they can turn into closed mouth burps but doing so too much just makes his tummy grumble hard which eventually forces up some pretty strong burps that leave him horrified

Silver's an 8. He knows how to burp and can let out some really good ones either if he's full or if he's had soda. He can chug soda down really fast and those give him some especially loud burps for such a quiet boi. But unlike Sebek he's not shy about it. He's very indifferent about it neither boastful nor embarrassed. Like Jack if he's gotta burp he's gonna burp and if he knows Yuu likes it he'll shrug and burp for her but not be super into it unless she's rubbing his belly then he becomes very docile and into it ;3

Lilia's a 9. He's very knowledgeable and full of surprises. So what's more surprising than the feminine looking old little girl boi letting out these giant burps out of nowhere? He knows how to burp on command with nothing but air in his tummy and has a really healthy appetite that leaves his tummy nice and pooched out and can chug faster than most students because he's got plenty of experience doing so. He changes depending on who he's with. He knows how to behave around any given person and when he needs to be civilized then like Sebek he'll swallow any burps down then excuse himself to go out of earshot and let rip a heavy closed mouth burp so his tummy doesn't start hurting. And if he's with people he can be casual with he'll let rip a big one and put others to shame. And if he knows Yuu likes them he'll be a massive tease to her~

Malleus is a 10 as well. He has manners and usually stifles any burps that work their way up his throat which result in some really deep closed mouth burps. But he can eat a ton and doing so gives him some especially excellent burps. They're loud and they can last pretty long especially if his tummy is really full. That comes with being a dragon. Sometimes Malleus will burp so hard that some fire comes out with them and those tend to actually make him blush in the cutest way possible X3

[popitdontdropitwrites]

"Mx. Sinister" Engineer/Medic - Chapter 6

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

CW: Stalking, obsession and things of that nature.

It pained Dell to hear the slamming of doors, the forceful click of heels and the muttered complaints. He still looked so… angry.

He’d made it back to the apartment before Joseph for whatever reason. He assumed that the man went out to get gas or for some groceries. Maybe he had gone on a nice, calming walk. But whatever he did, it certainly hadn’t helped.

Joseph stormed into the bedroom, practically ripping his shirt off along the way. He dropped his pants just as quickly and kicked off his boots with a frustrated huff. He went in the direction of the bathroom, but something caught his eye and he stopped. Joseph took off his glasses and Dell took a peek at what the fuss was about. The man brought his wrist closer to his eyes, examining it closely. A frown bloomed on his lips like a poisonous flower. He inched forward just a little more, risking being seen just to know what was upsetting his lover so much.

Dark, purple bruises lined the delicate, perfect skin on Joseph’s forearm.

It registered like a punch to the mouth. Immense, overwhelming guilt tore through him, settling like bile in his guts, weighing him down with shame. He’d done this. He’d hurt his precious, beautiful lover. His own two hands had ripped into his soft, precious flesh and damaged it when they should have worshipped it. The engineer bit his lip as his eyes fixed themselves upon the injury – it looked so sore. Every part of Dell’s body screamed at him to burst free and kiss Joseph’s bruises. He’d knead cream into his wrists and make it all better. He’d do anything to make it right. He’d beg and plead for forgiveness if it weren’t for the fact that he’d more likely be killed by Joseph than granted grace.

With an agitated shake of the head, Joseph finally went into the bathroom. He left the door wide open as usual, as if to invite him inside even after all he had done. He heard the clink of the shower curtains being pulled and the trickle of water. Dell swallowed drily, imagining his lover delightfully wet and dripping with water. He reached out to open the closet, but guilt held him still. He did not deserve to see his sweetheart so bare and beautiful after what he had done. If he were to open the doors before him, he would have to earn forgiveness.

He wanted it now.

He opened the closet doors incredibly slowly, as to not make even the slightest creak. Dell snuck out, his spine tingling with excitement. He crept into the hall and peered into the doorway ever so slowly, his mouth turning dry when he laid eyes upon his stunning machine. Joseph hadn’t even bothered to close the shower curtains. The way his body glistened with water and how the drops fell made him look like a god, bathing in paradise.

Dell hadn’t yet earned this prize, but in the days to come he would recall this moment and drink in the memory of his well-earned reward. It would be sweeter then, like a saccharine berry left to ripen.

For now, he simply watched and delighted in the shapely, beautiful contraption before him. He cleansed himself as if he knew he was being watched. It made Dell wonder if the man was trying to impress him. He blushed, feeling every part of him warming and tightening. It would all release when the pressure became too much, and a satisfying rush would follow as pleasure flooded out. Dell smiled, already feeling the first gentle squeezes inside of him that would eventually transform into insistent pulses. He looked forward to the moment when it became unignorable and he would have to let it all out.

He was just beginning to relax when the doorbell rang. He frantically darted to the next room, his eyes darting to every piece of furniture, trying to decide on a hiding place. It was the storage room, with a small bed – assumedly a makeshift guest bed – along with old chairs, knickknacks, cardboard boxes and stacks of books. He scurried under the bed, making more sound than he would have liked to, releasing a shaky, panicked breath now that he was safe.

The shower curtains clinked, and the taps squealed as they were turned off. Footsteps tapped down the hall, stopping by the front door. The faint click of a lock followed. He paid close attention to the dull mumble of voices, hoping to identify who had the nerve to interrupt Joseph. The voice was deep and monotone, as if they were bored – suggesting a stranger, not a friend. They paid Joseph little mind, no matter how much he deserved it. Perhaps it had been a deliveryman or some other service. The door closed shortly after and those same footfalls trotted down the hall and he waited for them to soften as they entered the bathroom, but instead, they grew louder.

Joseph was coming closer.

Dell sucked in a breath and held it, willing himself not to panic. Now, he could smell Joseph in the room with him. He held himself completely still, even though a deep seeded fear was ravaging his every muscle, gnawing at them, tying to make them twitch. His darling’s footsteps became deafening as he searched for the intruder. The wardrobe squealed in protest as it was opened, and Dell braced for the inevitable lifting of sheets and the sight of a blue eye from under the bed. He’d made a horrible mistake. Joseph knew that something was amiss, and he’d be alert, like prey that knew it was being tailed.

A shadow fell in front of the bed and Dell forced himself not to breathe, though his starving lungs were painfully shrivelling in his chest. The rustle of sheets and padded thump of pillows sounded from above, shaking the mattress ever so slightly. Dell squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for a gasp, a scream or a shout but none came.

At last, like a miracle, footfalls returned to the bathroom. The water ran and Dell allowed himself to breathe once more. He sucked in deep, calming breaths as sweat trickled down his forehead. Relief washed over him like a warm, comforting wave. He thought to rest a while, to let his sweetheart calm down. It would be some time before Joseph would feel at ease again. He couldn’t take any risks for a time, nor could he pamper Joseph like he had hoped.

He would rest, just for a while.

Next Chapter

[kiwikipedia]

Lepidoptera

Chapter 3: Danaus plexippus

Fandom(s): Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Rating: T (Language, violence, death, possible inuendo)

Summary:

There exists a creature that spans across many planets in the galaxy, with an unthreatening appearance and reputation. Their bodies are simplified to the utmost limit.

Simplicity is therefore flexibility. Simplicity is therefore tenacious. That is the Caterpillar. A simple insect dropped into the Box.

Cad Bane had thought she was retired, known she was. Because, after all, Sylv Rex was a well-known Bartender on Coruscant now. And hasn’t donned her moniker in ages.

Extra Notes: Cad Bane/OC/Embo Established Relationship, Deception Arc AU

AO3

First Chapter || < Prev || Next >

I wish i had something witty to say here but nope. Enjoy the chapter and thank you for reading

Dioxis had a strange smell. It was sharp and pungent to anyone who had better senses than the average human.

The effects of the poison gas would likely just make her drowsy if she stayed in the thick of it for too long. That was something that Sylv would give it credit for, but she had gone through worse. At least it wasn't a paralytic type of nerve gas. The only real issue that she would face because of the gas would be the pain of having to get the smell out of her clothing at the end of his little challenge of Dooku's.

Sylv sighed as she held a hand over her nose even though the action didn’t do much to stop the gas. She slowly scanned the floor, eyes narrowed a bit as she adjusted from the bright light of the box to the dim light within the fog of Dioxis.

It didn’t take long to find what she was looking for— The hole the gas had come out of. 

She moved towards it, kneeling down and peering down into the hole. It was far deeper than it had initially appeared to be but dropping down into it would get them under the gas line.

However, there was a small issue because even though it was rather deep down into the floor of the Box, the hole itself would probably only hold one person. And there was no guarantee of her survival if she did drop down too. 

There was always a chance that Dooku was just trying to kill them all off at once. She wouldn’t put it past him to do something like that.

She sighed again, weighing her options. There weren’t many in truth, it was either risk it or wait until everyone else in the chamber dropped dead. She wasn’t a fan of either idea, really.

She dropped down despite the risk.

Nothing happened to her once she landed, so she began inspecting the walls around her. There wasn’t anything that stuck out immediately, but it didn’t seem as if she had to find whichever mechanic allowed for their escape— if this was the right choice. Instead, with the whirring of mechanical parts, a bottom panel fell away.

She crouched, watching as more and more of the wall fell away and created a tunnel out. It would be a cramped fit for some of them, but it would do.

“Get your asses down here!” She called back up, “The hole where the gas came from leads to a tunnel! It’ll get you below the gas line and we can move on.”

There was some grumbling from above but ignored it as she rolled her eyes before crawling into the tunnel.

If they wanted to die up there it wasn’t her problem. Just because she wasn’t fond of leaving them to die didn’t mean she was going to go another extra mile for them. She had found and then given them a way out, but if they chose to follow it or not was their choice.

The sound of boots hitting the ground followed not soon after she had started crawling and a presence behind her told her Bane had arrived. Embo followed quickly after, but after him, she couldn’t hear who else did as she crawled through the tunnel.

“Stop looking at my ass, Bane,” she hummed, feeling eyes on her as she crawled, but she only got a snort back.

“Tha hell d’ya want me ta look then, bitch?” he growled.

Grumpy as usual it seemed.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and raised a brow for a moment before she looked back at the path ahead of them.

“What are your thoughts on Hardeen?” she asked instead and she sensed him tense up a bit at the question. A low growl escaped his throat and she rolled her eyes again. She knew about the other Hunter’s sense of possession, it wasn’t a secret to her no matter how much he tried to play it off.

Bane was possessive. That was just a fact. It was almost sweet in its own weird way.

“Not like that, Bane. I mean in general. I never have and don't want to start any sort of relationship that isn't Guildmaster and Employee with that one,” she scoffed before frowning a bit. “But you’ve noticed it too, right? The weird oddities he’s been displaying?”

Bane grunted, and that was all she needed for her to know how he felt on the matter.

Truly, the only people worth trusting here were herself and her two boys.

Not that Embo or Bane would like that being said, she was sure.

(Embo, maybe. He was a bit softer than Bane.)

It didn’t matter though, their brief conversation had to end as they neared the end of the tunnel. The end brought them out to the bottom of a hole much like the last one, leading into a darkened room.

She scaled to the top easily, climbing out before digging into her pockets. Bane climbed up after her as she found what she was looking for— a half-empty container of cigarettes.

In the past, the contents of the container had been Deathsticks, but that had been years ago. Stopping her smoking habit had been neigh impossible, so she had opted for the more legal of the two upon retiring from the bounty hunter life— mostly, at least.

She nudged Bane after she took one out, holding it between her teeth. The duros glanced over, still looking irate (when didn’t he though?) but she just offered the container to him.

“Keep an eye on Hardeen,” she said quietly as he took the offered cigarette. “Whatever is going on, I don’t think it's the same guy from the past.”

“Tch, ya know ‘im?” he asked as Embo flipped up from the hole. Unnecessary, but very on-brand for the other Hunter. She didn’t offer him one, he wouldn’t have accepted anyway— not here, at least. Maybe when they were done, sitting in the back of the Guillotine, or the Justifier, or the Swallowtail.

She shrugged, digging into her pockets for her lighter.

“He’s dropped by the Clover before. Saccha doesn’t like him, neither does Ajina. I don’t think Charlotte does either, but that’s beside the point,” she hummed, pulling the silver lighter out from her coat pocket. “The point is he’s acting differently than he usually would. Keep an eye out.”

Bane just adjusted his hat as the others started to climb out as well. Twazzi first, then Derrown, then Hardeen. 

She handed the lighter over to Bane after she had lit the end of her cigarette. He took it, lighting his own, and passing it back as the rest slowly climbed up and out of the hole.

“Moralo Eval is impressed,” Eval’s voice came from over the loudspeakers, and the screens lit up along the walls again. “No casualties on the first challenge.”

Eval chuckled and Sylv lurched a bit as the platform they were on lowered.

“I guarantee that will not be the case for the next.”

The platform sunk into the floor, allowing them all to spread out again, but the room remained dark as Eval’s face vanished and the screens disappeared from the walls.

She remained near Embo, glancing around before a mechanical whirring caught her attention. She glanced back, watching as a section of the wall opened up. A plasma blade was attached to the section, and the others dove out of the way as it shot forwards. Onca ducked under it and Sylv dropped to the ground as well, boots anchoring her into the ground as she bent back at the knee.

She had gotten low enough to avoid the blade, but it seemed as if her cigarette wasn’t lucky enough to afford that liberty. She frowned as the section withdrew, allowing her to stand back up. Embo glanced over at her and she tossed the cigarette to the side as other parts of the wall also opened up.

“Acrobatics, probably,” she mused before looking up at her Kyuzo partner. “Have you ever run into traps like these while working?”

Embo snorted. “No. Never.”

“Betcha Eval gets off to watching shit like this then!” she hummed as she moved out of the way of another deadly spike. 

He snorted again, but this time it was more akin to a snort of laughter.

It wasn’t long before those on the edge of the group began to feel a bit more overwhelmed than those who didn’t wander off did. A fatal mistake in the end, she supposed, as she saw Onca get cornered before impaled.

Well at least he was with his brother now she mused internally as she backed up towards the center. As of now, none of the sections could reach the dead center— which was where Bane and Hardeen had taken up the defense as well.

The sound of machinery made her tense as the room started to shift and the walls closed in on them.

At the same time, a walkway extended out from the wall above them, stopping at a hole in the ceiling and Sylv narrowed her eyes as she gazed up at it, sidestepping a plasma spike as it extended past her face.

So they had to get up there, then?

She glanced around, watching the various sections of the wall as they moved.

“I know how to get out!” She heard Hadeen say, likely directed to Bane, though she glanced at Embo, who shrugged a bit. If Hardeen was trying to be subtle, he wasn’t succeeding— but if he was trying to help them all out, then he was succeeding wonderfully. And succeeding in being the most suspicious of them here.

Sylv was naturally friendly in an aggressive way, those who knew her like Embo, Bane, and Twazzi knew that, so helping them out last round wasn’t out of the ordinary for her. But again, she knew Hardeen, and knew that a few of the others here likely did as well— Sixtat, for one, probably did, as she knew he was a sniper as well and snipers often ran in the same circles— then they would also find the way that Hardeen was helping others out suspicious.

“Show me,” Bane demanded with a slight grunt.

“There’s a pattern to the blades,” Hardeen explained, pointing to a section along the wall. “That one’s next, see?”

She glanced over, following where he was pointing, and, true to his word, the section of the wall extended out. 

“If I can time it right, I can climb up to that exit shaft,” He continued. “Just follow me and time your jump.”

Bane nodded. “Go.”

And like that, Hardeen was off. 

Bane watched him carefully, and at this point, she was certain they all were as he climbed up the sections of the wall.

“Get moving!” Hardeen barked and she had to bite back a chuckle as Bane readjusted his hat— he looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but held himself back from doing so.

He glanced over to her and she just gave him a shrug before a section of the wall blocked him from her sight— just as Kira Swan got impaled.

She turned back to Embo, rolling her shoulder a bit before nodding. 

“Let’s get out of here, Embabe,” she hummed, making him chuckle a bit. “What? I don’t want to end up like Onca and Kiara, the boss wives wouldn’t like that very much and I have things to do back at my place!”

“Whatever you say,” he mused. “And ‘Embabe’? Really?”

“You want baby instead?”

He just shook his head, a semi-rare instance of playful banter between them, before he took off towards the far wall. It was easy to see why, as he flipped up to a section of the wall that just shot out. She followed after him, using the different sections of the wall to push off in a form of free running instead. She did find this rather fun, in truth. Sylv was a proficient climber and enjoyed free running. And she did have the muscle ability to make some of the jumps that the Kyuzo could— just not the several meters up kind of jumps like he preferred to do.

Twazzi followed right after them, running along the walls instead of jumping from platform to platform.

She liked Twazzi, actually. She was a decent person in terms of Bounty Hunters, easy to work with, and an honorable sort when it came down to it.

Sylv gave Embo a slight salute before following after the Frenk woman with a small grin, they Kuyzo letting out a slight rumble, before following right after the two of them to the top.

It didn’t take long for the three of them to get to where Bane and Hardeen were waiting for the next section of the wall to extend. When it did, Hardeen took off before Bane, sliding under another section of the wall and leaping up towards the walkway. The other sniper paused for a moment, looking up into the exit before he leaped up. Bane was quick to follow with Derrown after him.

Embo seemed to be watching those who were still alive as they clambered up to them, but Sylv nudged him slightly.

“Don’t wait too long, ‘Bo,” she said before she turned, following the path that Hardeen had charted out for them and climbing up through the exit in the ceiling.

Hardeen reached down to help her, and she narrowed her eyes just a bit before she allowed him to haul her up. She didn’t miss the narrowed gaze that Bane was giving the other Hunter behind his back.

“You’re feeling rather helpful today, Hardeen,” she said as she pulled her arm from his grasp, with a bit more force than she normally would have with anyone else, but Hardeen didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he tilted his head a bit.

“What do you mean?” he asked, leaning down to help Jakoli up. She stretched her back out a bit before she answered.

“You’re just acting weird is all,” she hummed, brushing a bit of dust off of her coat. “Hey, Embo. Welcome to the party.”

The Kyuzo just grunted in response as he climbed up next to her the same time Hardeen made a slight noise in the back of his throat.

“Maybe I’m in a good mood,” The sniper tried to defend himself and she saw Twazzi raise a brow ridge at that.

“What’s good about this shit?” Bane growled.

“Eval is kind of an insane fucker, maybe that’s why Hardeen is in a good mood, Bane,” Twazzi piped up as she stretched. “Sadistic people who get off on this shit flock together.”

Embo and Sixtat both snorted out chuckles at that as Hardeen sputtered. Sylv chuckled a bit and shaking her head before she caught the Frenk’s eye. She gave the slightest of nods to her when she did.

It seemed as if she also found the way that Hardeen was acting to be strange.

They didn’t get a chance to poke at Hardeen again, though, as Eval’s giant face made an appearance again on the screens that decorated one of the walls for the time being.

“To reach your final challenge, you must pass through my Ray-Shield,” he told them before a mechanical whirring noise filled the room before the said shields buzzed to life— red in color, and if the way that Eval had been throwing life and death situations at them was anything to go by, it was likely also deadly.

Yeah, Twazzi was definitely right.

Eval was probably getting off at the amount of danger he was putting them all in.

Malacosoma americanum or the eastern tent caterpillar are the ones you see in the USA with those massive nests in the trees that look like cobwebs. Fantastic climbers. Also rip Sylv's cigarette, you tried so hard.

[mooniefics]

— in the grand scheme of things [ 1 ]

pairings : zeke jaeger / reader, referenced eren jaeger / reader

word count : 8.4k

tags : unhealthy relationships, relationship discussions, implied cheating, drinking, break ups, eventual smut, praise kink, mutual infidelity, dubious morality, love triangles

warnings : contains nsfw, sexual coercion, intoxicated reader, rlly toxic behavior

summary : you and eren hadn't been doing the best these past few months, and no one that you knew seemed to have any answers for you, or pointers in the right direction. who better to offer you some sound, insightful relationship advice than his older brother. or so you thought.

note : i apologize if the text convoformatting is a little yucky, i pinky promise it looked wayy better on ao3 (//▽//)

— originally posted 1 / 20 / 21 on ao3 —

you would reluctantly admit that you and eren had been experiencing a few issues as of recently.

it was the run-of-the-mill turbulence: ignored texts and phone calls, unexplained hostility, hanging around with your shared group of friends—more his than yours—without you. you'd been able to ignore it around midterms, being so busy with studying and getting all your family affairs in order for the end of the year that you didn't have much time to worry about how he hadn't bothered to respond to your "happy new year, baby!!!" message you'd sent days ago.

but winter break came and went with no reply from him, you spent christmas and new years in the company of your parents, who couldn't seem to keep quiet about asking about "that jaeger boy". you couldn't really blame them for their questions, you'd been friends for nearly four years now, in a relationship since the night of senior prom, even followed each other to the same university with a few other high school friends just to stay close. the summer that preceded your first year of college was so full of love and life, celebrating your newfound freedom that you had always thought would come with adulthood. but you supposed that it was just the hopeless romantic in you talking, it was called the honeymoon phase for a reason.

consulting his best friends about his sudden detachedness yielded nothing—mikasa had never held much besides poorly hidden disdain for you, and all armin had to offer was nervous glances over to the uninterested girl as he assured you that he was probably stressed about his classes, or had another disagreement with his mother about his choice of major, just excuse after excuse for his friend's behavior. you were feeling desperate. you had little desire to break things off, to throw away nine months of commitment despite how your relationship had soured. you were in love with him, and he hadn't explicitly expressed that he wanted to end things, just left you out of the loop for a bit, nothing that couldn't be fixed with a nice long conversation over dinner, right?

but how could you reach him if he wouldn't answer your calls, if his friends only seemed to want to placate you rather than actively help, you felt like there was nobody to turn to—except him.

zeke, the ever-elusive older brother. you'd met him upon one of your first visits to eren's house, a brief, somewhat awkward exchange when you'd ventured into the kitchen by yourself to grab a few things for your friends in the living room. he'd startled you when you turned out of the pantry to find him standing by the fridge, eyeing you and your armful of chip bags curiously, only wearing a pair of thin-framed glasses and grey sweatpants, revealing the sculpted expanse of his muscular arms and torso, an unopened can of beer in his hand.

"you one of eren's friends?" he'd asked, cracking open the tab and taking a generous gulp.

you replied with a quick nod, adding a sheepish "yup..! everyone else is in the living room, i'm on snack duty" with a shaky smile.

he chuckled, shaking his head and running a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "typical eren. 'm zeke, good to meet you."

he didn't bother to ask your name before he disappeared into the adjacent hallway, the distant sound of a shutting door finally letting you release the breath you didn't know you'd been holding. that was how a majority of your exchanges went over the last few years, the longest conversations you'd had was when he'd offered to help you on your physics homework more than a couple times, his number was only in your phone because of the one time you'd worn the teeshirt of a band he happened to like and he wanted to send you a playlist. there were plenty of things you didn't know about him, but he was eren's older brother—half-brother, if you wanted to get technical—and after seeing the deflective nature of his closest friends, zeke seemed to be your next best option.

so now you were here, nervously standing at the door to his new apartment, dressed nicely so you didn't risk making a bad impression after not having seen him all these months. he seemed sympathetic over the phone when you'd called him last night, not minding how you'd contacted him out of the blue or that it was only for the sake of asking something of him, inviting you to discuss things more thoroughly over dinner. you didn't know whether he'd extended a helping hand for his brother's sake or your own, but you would be grateful no matter what if he gave some sound advice and a few words of reassurance.

you were startled out of your thoughts by the sound of the lock unlatching, the door swinging open to reveal zeke, smartly dressed in a pair of dark jeans and dress shirt, the top few buttons left undone. "sorry if i kept you waiting," he said, stepping aside to allow you in, "dinner's just about ready."

"no worries." you replied quickly as you slipped off your heels, hoping the heat warming your face wasn't flushing visibly on your cheeks.

he had always been a good-looking guy, an effortless sort of attractiveness that was only magnified by the relaxed yet perceptive air he carried. but he'd changed since that day you first met—his shaggy hair had been trimmed back into a shorter, more manageable style, the usual scruff of facial hair had grown out into a well-maintained beard, frames that similarly complimented his handsome features perched on the bridge of his nose. flashing a polite smile, you stepped into the apartment, trying not to let your anxiety get the better of you as the door was shut and locked behind you.

"nice place." you mused, peering about at the spacious, well-decorated interior as you followed beside him.

"thanks, honestly i'm glad i could find someone that was willing to split the rent," you felt nerves stir in the pit of your stomach, the thought of having to meet the other tenant leaving you feeling a bit uneasy. he turned down to glance at you, grey eyes glinting as he offered you an easy grin, "you don't have to worry about my roommate, i kicked him out for the night so you didn't feel uncomfortable."

you were sure the blush on your face was evident now, biting at the inside of your cheek as you both entered into the kitchen. "oh.. thank you. sorry if i caused any trouble, i know this was kind of last minute."

"no worries." he echoed your earlier sentiment, motioning you to the table just beside the kitchen before he returned to the skillet on the stove. the warm scent of coriander and turmeric filled the air as he lifted the lid and set it aside on the counter, stirring the simmering contents within. "hope you like curry," he said over his shoulder, turning down the gas on the stove and opening up the cabinet beside him to pull out the plates, "i didn't make it too spicy, just in case."

"i don't really eat it too often, but it smells amazing."

you felt yourself starting to relax into the chair, shedding your jacket and hanging your purse on the side of the chair as you watched him scoop a generous portion of white rice onto each plate. it was just you two here, he was willing to help, and you were incredibly grateful for his hospitality.

you pulled your phone out of your pocket to fiddle with while he was still plating the food, aimlessly tapping through your apps to kill some time. your text to eren from a few days ago still read "delivered", and you felt a slight twinge prick in your chest as you closed out of your messages, opting to scroll through your feed on one of the few social medias your friends had convinced you to download. it was relatively safe to look there, seeing as eren didn't post all that often, if at all, but seeing everyone your age, people that you knew from your classes posing with their boyfriends and girlfriends and going out on excursions with their peers made you feel jealous. you couldn't have imagined what you had done to deserve such a shitty situation.

your thoughts were interrupted by the dull clink of the plate being set before you, the clatter of silverware following as he rounded over to the opposite side of the table to place his things down. you switched your phone on silent just in case, tucking it back into your purse and sitting up a bit straighter in your chair. but instead of sitting down, he wandered back over to the kitchen, reaching up into a different cabinet to fetch two glasses.

"i'm assuming talking about your relationship troubles isn't the easiest, so pick your poison. i've got gin, tequila, beer—" he listed off the myriad of drinks he had at his disposal, pausing to throw you a glance. "but i honestly pegged you as a vodka kind of girl."

you felt a nervous giggle bubble up in your chest, fingers twisting in your lap, feeling more than juvenile as you replied. "i'm still under twenty-one, so i'm not really much of a drinker.."

"come on, you're in college now," he said, pulling a bottle of vodka from one of the lower cabinets and stepping over to the fridge, "most of the people hosting parties don't give much of a shit whether you're of legal drinking age or not, and i've got a feeling that you really don't either. i know i got shit-faced plenty of times during my freshman year."

you mentally debated the principles of accepting, he was right in saying that you had attended plenty of parties where you drank with your friends, suppressing a grimace at the memories of you throwing up in a stranger's bathroom while an equally drunk historia or sasha held your hair back. but those times you'd been looking to get wasted, drinking in this context would just be for the sake of loosening up, easing the sting of ripping off the metaphorical bandaid that was the thought of your relationship slowly crumbling right before your eyes.

"you're right," you relented, much to his delight, "and, yes, i guess i am a vodka kind of girl."

you didn't appreciate how charming the grin your words garnered was, fixing your eyes on the steaming plate of chicken curry in front of you before you could embarrass yourself. you were here to figure out how to smooth things over with your boyfriend, not oogle at his unnecessarily attractive older brother.

"here, something simple to start you off." he set down the glass on your place mat, finally taking his seat across the table, "there's plenty of ginger beer and limes in the fridge, and plenty of vodka still left."

you stole a glance at his drink. "whiskey, on the rocks.. how refined."

he gave a low chuckle at your sarcasm, taking a slow sip. "it's an acquired taste, i wouldn't expect someone your age to appreciate it." that was right, he was older than you, significantly older than you. just because you were legally an adult didn't mean your life experience could crop up to zeke's.

"old man." you murmured, a small smile perking up at both of your lips as you spooned some of the curry and rice into your mouth, "wow, thi' i' really gu'!" you managed to speak around the mouthful of food, grey eyes watching you intently with an obvious bemusement from across the table.

"i'm glad you like it. guess those years working at a couple restaurants around town weren't a complete waste." he said, tasting his own bite of the food, "cumin's a little off, hope you can forgive me for that."

"are you kidding me? this exceeds restaurant quality. i can barely put eggs in a pan without burning the kitchen down."

you were nearly a quarter through your plate already, setting your utensil down to take a sip of the drink he'd made for you. it was simple, bubbly, a nice mix of ginger, vodka, and lime to cool off your tongue. you could barely taste the alcohol, which somewhat eased your worries of becoming a drunken mess that required him to babysit you for the rest of the night.

you were both silent for a moment, the air occupied with the scrape of spoons and quiet sips from your respective glasses, and you were beginning to dread ruining such an easy mood with the topic of your emotional turmoil. but zeke beat you to the punch, clearing his throat as he settled his gaze onto you.

"so, you and my brother. you wanted to talk about that, right?"

you allowed yourself to frown a bit, taking a generous sip of your drink before you answered. "yeah. i don't really know where to start.."

"when did you first start noticing problems?"

you felt somewhat eased by his calm tone, bright grey eyes that were entirely focused on you, wordlessly reassuring you that you could trust him with this. you'd come this far, there was no point in trying to back out now.

"well, i guess it was around november." you began, scraping all of the food left onto one side of your plate to keep your hands occupied, "we'd all met up for halloween, me and eren and mikasa and armin—" you prattled off the other names of your friends, even some that you weren't sure he knew from your high school days, but he nodded along all the same. "and we all had an amazing time. got all dressed up, wandered around campus and crashed in on the frat parties, drank ourselves stupid, like you said. and at one point i just completely lost track of eren, and i didn't see him or anyone else besides sasha, connie, and mina for the rest of the night. after that, he kind of dropped off the face of the earth, wouldn't pick up my calls or answer my texts, always told me he was busy when we ran into each other on campus, and he wasn't at his dorm most of the time i came to try and check on him."

by the end, you'd finished off your drink, zeke wordlessly getting up to grab everything to pour you a new one without you asking. you were more flustered at his attentiveness, forcing yourself to chalk it up to him being an excellent host as he returned with a freshly opened can of ginger beer, pouring it over the ice in your glass and adding at least two shots of vodka, finishing it off with half a lime before returning to his seat. had he put that much alcohol the last time?

the thought slipped your mind as he swallowed a few spoonfuls of curry and spoke. "hmm.. so everything was going just fine, and then all of a sudden radio silence?"

you nodded, working on your remainder of rice, watching his face take on a pensive expression.

"if i'm being honest, eren has always been a little shithead." you suppressed a giggle at that. "he's rude, he's immature, and most of all, he's a terrible liar."

"mhm, the ears are a dead giveaway." you added, earning a grin over the rim of his glass.

"exactly. my stepmom— his mom always called him on his shit with that." you shared a moment of laughter at that, the memory of how defensive he would get over in when you'd first pointed it out making you feel a distant nostalgia creeping in the back of your mind.

you remembered how easy the days where all you had to worry about was catching up on all your late work and forcing yourself to learn about nintendo games for the sake of impressing your crush. now on top of school, you had bills and parties and shitty professors and an even shittier situation with your first long-term relationship that had started off so well yet devolved into feeling like you were a million miles away despite living on the same campus.

"so, eren is a shithead. and a terrible liar. go on." you took a long sip of your drink, unable to distinguish the warmth of the alcohol from the warmth of the curry in your stomach.

"well, he's just— how do i say this..." zeke murmured the last bit more to himself than you, pushing up his glasses on his nose and scratching the back of his neck, "he doesn't know a good thing when he sees it." you felt your heart skip at that. "like that mikasa girl, her and eren have been friends since grade school, and never once in all those years has eren ever acknowledged the way she's fuckin' head over heels for him." the mention of mikasa made you feel a sharp pang echo through your chest, suddenly feeling much more disheartened than before, especially at the mention of her perpetual affinity for him.

"but, i do have to give the kid some props," he continued, taking a sip of his whiskey, "at least he had enough of a brain to realize that you're a real catch. if i'm being honest, you're out of his league, and when you first started dating, he knew that."

you couldn't tell if your face was feeling hot because of his words or the fact that you'd just finished off your second drink in one long gulp, already reaching for the unopened ginger beer and vodka. blinking away the glassiness starting to settle over your vision, you met his gaze, suddenly feeling much smaller before him. he waited until you'd finished refilling your drink before he began again, not saying anything about how you'd accidentally poured much more vodka than you meant to.

"i think eren's problem is that he's getting too cocky," your appetite was starting to disappear as you focused on his words, still trying to finish what was left on the plate, "doesn't know his ass from his elbow, but he still thinks he's got everything figured out. you know what i mean, right?"

you nodded with an affirmative hum, a series of incidents that made you want to rip the boy's head off flashing through your mind only added credence to his claim. your tongue was starting heavy in your mouth, movements sluggish as you washed away what was left of dinner with more of your drink. you hadn't been truly drunk in months, not since that halloween party, only indulging in the occasional mimosa over breakfast with your family and your celebratory champagne for new years.

you hoped the heaviness weighing at your lids didn't show on your face, or that your words didn't string together when you replied. "i know exactly what you mean, can't imagine how hard that was to deal with for the last nineteen years."

he chuckled, finishing off his whiskey. "i've saved that kid's ass more time than i could ever care to count. being the older brother is a thankless fuckin' job if i've ever seen one. you done with dinner?"

"yeah. thank you again, it was amazing."

he grinned at your praise, rising from his seat as he spoke. "here, table's kind of crowded, we can move to the couch. i'll take care of dishes later. you want a refill?"

"sure." you responded before you could really think about your answer, trying to subtly steady yourself on the table as you got to your feet, head already starting to spin.

blinking away the blurriness fuzzing at the edges of your vision, you wandered past him through the kitchen and into the adjacent living room, falling into the cushions of the couch before you could trip up over your own feet. you felt embarrassed by your lack of tolerance, but felt some of that tension ebb away when he made his way over to sit next to you, fresh glass of ginger beer and vodka in hand. you didn't expect to feel the warmth of his thigh pressing into yours when he settled down, placing your drink on the coffee table before he turned down to speak to you.

"alright, i haven't said much in the way of advice, so here's what i think."

you grimaced internally, reaching over with an unsteady hand to grab your glass and take a long sip to brace yourself for his thoughts. you weren't expecting that it would be an easy pill to swallow, he'd probably be realistic about things and tell you to just suck it up and break things off while you could still maintain a shred of dignity.

"i know this is probably not what you want to hear, but i really think you should break up with him."

your lips pressed into a thin line, partly from his assertion but mostly because of the burn of alcohol sliding down your throat. there was definitely much more vodka in this than there should be, but you didn't want to seem weak before him, trying not to shudder as you continued to take small, fast sips.

you nearly spat it up on yourself when his hand settled on the skin of your thigh exposed by your skirt, wide eyes raising to meet his intent gaze. "don't tell me you think a guy that ditches you for just about three months now is worth your time, even without everything else considered."

"everythin' else?" your words were starting to slur together, but you still tried to drown out the dread tangling in your gut with the bubbling contents of the glass.

"you haven't figured it out yet, have you.." he faltered, a slight frown drawing across his lips when you gave a hesitant shake of your head, sighing as he pulled his glasses off of his nose and folded them neatly to place on the coffee table. "think about it; he disappears on you while he was drunk at a party, most likely with hanging around alone with the female friend that's clung onto him for a majority of his life, and then after that night he just completely gives you the cold shoulder, avoids you every time you try and come talk to him, like he's running away from you." he paused, adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "like he's hiding something."

you felt your heart sink, biting firmly down on your bottom lip, a thick lump forming in your throat, eyes stinging. "s-so, you're saying th-that—"

you couldn't blink away the first tears as they dribbled down your cheeks, choking back a small sob. he carefully took the nearly empty glass from your hands and replaced it on the coffee table, you could make out the expression of pity drawn across his handsome features through your watery gaze. you didn't protest when the arm closest to you moved to wrap around your waist, the other curling around your shoulder and drawing you against him. restrained sniffles gave way to hiccuped sobs, your own hands linking around his neck and squeezing him tighter against you as you wept out into the empty air behind him.

normally you would've put on a brave face, maybe excused yourself to the bathroom to let out a few silent tears before you returned to thank him and stammer out some excuse to leave and spend the rest of the night wallowing on your own. but the alcohol had melted away any barriers you would've put up against zeke's compassion, made you crave the security his warmth provided as he pressed his face into your shoulder, a large, gentle hand rising to stroke over the crown of your head. he let you cry on your own for a while, not minding how your fingers clutched tightly at his shirt or how your snot and tears wet the pale fabric, petting your hair and rubbing soothingly over your shuddering back.

your adjacent thighs were nearly overlapping each other, but all you could think of was how your hammering heart felt like it was one beat away from bursting at the seams, the dim glow of the lamp in the corner that blurred into a shapeless ball of light, his steady breath fanning across the skin of your neck.

"that asshole doesn't deserve you." he murmured, voice low as his lips ghosted over your shoulder, strong arms fastening their hold around you.

you couldn't help but shudder at the feeling as you sniffed, swallowing down the tension balling in your throat before you managed a shaky reply. "h-he's your brother, i thought you'd b-be on his side.."

"what makes you think i'd be on his side after hearing how he treated you?" his fingers worked their way deeper into your hair, palm cradling the back of your head. you forced yourself not to squirm when his face nestled further into the crook of your neck. "you deserve someone mature, someone who can treat you right.. someone who can make you feel good..."

you let out an alarmed breath at the feeling of a soft kiss over your skin, then another, posture stiffening as your grasp around his neck slackened. "wait, i c-can't," you started, the sudden sensation of his fingers sinking into your waist and drawing you closer against him making you lose your words for a moment, "i haven' officially broken up with eren, just because he might've ch-cheated on me doesn't mean-"

"there's no use trying to deny what he did.. what's done is done, you need to do what's best for you—right here, right now." his voice lowered even further, barely a whisper as he implored, "what do you want to do?"

you bit back a weak sound when his tongue drew a slow lick over the sensitive skin, the involuntary heat stirring between your legs making your thighs clench. this was wrong, you shouldn't be here, you shouldn't be letting this happen, an endless stream of muddled thoughts flashed through your mind as you desperately searched for some sort of excuse to buy yourself a few more moments to think. a distant memory popped into your head, the blurry mental image of zeke with his arm draped around a dark-haired woman when you'd dropped by to visit eren just before you'd both moved in on campus.

"g-girlfriend!! don't you have a girlfriend?!" you blurted desperately, a small whimper slipping out of you as he gave a brief suck over your pulse.

"girlfriend?" he paused his motions, chuckling lowly and giving a small shake of his head when he realized who you were thinking of, "oh, pieck? i'd hardly call her a girlfriend, just an old buddy. honestly, it's no wonder you got stuck in this sort of situation, you manage to find an excuse for everything."

you couldn't ruminate on his patronizing tone for longer than a moment before he returned to kissing at the sensitive skin of your neck, testing the waters of your resilience. you were afraid of your responsiveness to his touch, your body's unabashed honesty, afraid of how your protests had devolved into uncertain whimpers and shifts in your seat.

"good girl," he murmured, sending a jolt of heat racing up your spine, "see how easy that was? this is what you want, isn't it?"

you allowed the fingers in your hair to gently tug your head back, exposing more skin to his eager mouth as he teased a bite just under your jaw, drawing a soft whine and an even deeper flush of heat over your cheeks from you. your movements were sluggish, limbs leadened with inebriation falling down easily when he urged you down onto your back. in one slow blink he'd settled on top of you, warm lips melded easily against your own as his fingers began to work at unbuttoning your blouse.

maybe he was right, maybe you just needed to accept that you and eren's time had come to pass and indulge in what you really wanted—and now that he'd made it an option, what you really wanted right now was to feel the warmth of his bare flesh on yours, taste more of the whiskey on his breath as his tongue slid between your teeth, replace every hint of eren that still resided on your skin with his scent of expensive cologne. you could already feel the ache of a forming bruise at the base of your neck, fingers messily tangling in his hair and back arching up to his hands when they began to smooth across your chest, snaking under your body to undo the clasp of your bra.

"you never told me what exactly you wanted, baby.." he murmured over your lips, low-lidded eyes meeting yours, "do you want us to just kiss, or do you want me to touch you?"

"touch me, please.." you mumbled restlessly, quickly becoming impatient with the fact that his hands had halted after slipping the straps of your bra free from your arms and tossing it somewhere behind him to be forgotten.

but even after you answered, he didn't continue, a smug smirk tugging at his lips as he gazed down at you. "and then what after that? do you want me to touch you here? his fingers ghosted over the swell of your breasts. "or here?" one hand trailed down the length of your abdomen, forefinger just barely hooking onto the waistline of your skirt and giving it a teasing tug.

"zeke." you whined in frustration, mind foggy with lust and alcohol, uncoordinated hands wrestling with his shirt despite not having undone the buttons first, "you're being mean.."

"sorry," he said without a hint of remorse in his voice, only pride as he returned his hands to your chest, "you're just too easy to tease, so responsive, i'd never get bored of playing with you."

you took it as a compliment, as praise, rather than what it really was. it was easier to think of it like flattery in the moment, to push the obvious reminder that his brother had gotten bored of you out of your mind. despite the implication of such a statement, you couldn't help the odd sense of safety you found in such an equivocal intimacy, hazy, not sound of mind, not entirely yourself as you offered him your body, his to kiss and grab and bruise if only for the night.

you hummed with approval when his lips trailed down to the valley of your chest, fingers sinking into the soft flesh of your breasts, but making a point to avoid your nipples, only further denying you the stimulation that you thought he'd finally assured you with that last arrogant taunt. you could feel his smile on your skin, nearly huffing at the realization that you couldn't squeeze your thighs together to give yourself some friction with him positioned between them like he was, buzzing with warmth yet entirely unfulfilled.

"patience is a virtue.." he murmured sagely, unfazed by your second sound of annoyance.

"what about trying to fuck your brother's girlfriend is virtuous." you bit back, momentary anger leaving you in a surprised pant as he gave a gentle tug to one of your nipples.

"ex-girlfriend." he corrected after a quiet chuckle at your forthrightness, mouth closing around the pert bud not being rolled between his slender fingers.

you moaned out a soft curse, hand threading back into his thick hair and pressing him further against you. the fog that had been momentarily sobered clouding your senses once more, hips rutting up into nothing as he worshipped your skin with his lips, teeth, and tongue. you felt the spark fully reignite when one hand moved back down your stomach to wrestle with the button of your skirt, the zipper sliding down easily after it was undone, fingers delving under the loosened waistline to palm at you through your underwear. he pulled away from your nipple with one last gentle bite over the tender skin, low voice at a husky mutter.

"have you ever had sex before?"

you quickly nodded down at him, seeing your own dazed stare reflected in his darkened eyes, pupils almost entirely overtaking the cool grey.

"was it with him?"

you swallowed thickly, suddenly finding yourself unable to meet his gaze, turning away to focus on your long finished drink on the coffee table, ice already half melted in the sweating glass. "yes." you barely whispered.

"was it good?"

you bit the inside of your cheek, blinking fast, trying to dispel the blanket of unease that was quickly settling over you, suffocating you. you only answered with a non-committal shrug, feeling your face burn with a humiliation that he couldn't have thought such a line of questioning would have not inspired.

he maintained a steady gaze with you for a moment longer, lowering his head back to rest at your shoulder without another word and picking a place on your neck to bite and lick at, fingers rubbing slow circles over the drenched fabric beneath them. a small moan bubbled up in your chest, squirming at just the easy attention over your clit, lids falling shut as your head sank back into the cushioned arm of the sofa.

you sighed out a small whimper of relief when he finally tugged your underwear to the side, fingers instantly slicking with your arousal when they met your bare skin, sliding in with little resistance. he'd started out with just two, but the incessant desire to be filled was quelled for the moment with them, drawing a pathetic mewl out of you when they curled just right within you.

"are you always this excited?"

another question you didn't know the honest answer to, but you shook your head anyways, accompanying it with a weak "n-no" to stroke his ego like you knew he wanted you to. you went stiff with a sudden tension when felt a third finger prodding at your pussy, eyes flying back open as you made a disconcerted sound of protest.

"relax.." he murmured into your shoulder, biting softly over one of the fresher marks, "if you can't handle this, how can you take me?"

you took a shaky breath, taking your bottom lip between your teeth as you let your thighs fall open a bit more, doing your best to not clench your muscles. and you could feel how he let out a low groan over your skin when he finally slipped in all three, burying them knuckle-deep, rewarding you with a smattering of open-mouthed kisses across your bruised flesh.

"good girl. good girl." he nipped at your jaw, adjusting the speed of his wrist to match how your hips rolled up to meet his hand, the pad of his thumb rolling firmly over your clit.

you could feel that warm knot in your stomach tangling further, the tantalizing thought of release ebbing every bit of trepidation out of you as you allowed your moans and whines to spill out into the open air, heels digging into the felt of the couch around him. but just moments before you could find your high, his touch gone, and he was rising off of you to sit back on his calves, absentmindedly wiping the wetness from his fingers away on his pants, making quick work of his shirt, standing briefly to kick off his pants and help you out of your displaced bottoms before he settled back over you.

your skin was hot with need against his own, arm linking around his sturdy back and pressing his lips back over yours, letting him guide one leg up against his side as he lined himself up with you. you squeaked when you felt the tip of his cock press into you, hands bracing themselves on his shoulders, wide, unfocused eyes gazing up at him for some sort of reassurance. and that sense of security filled your heaving chest, that knowing look he focused solely on you, only made for you in this moment, forehead pressed to yours, breath fanning over your lips.

a strained, shuddering whine broke from your throat as he eased himself inside of you, inch by inch, barely able to hold your eyes open enough to maintain his fixed stare, mouth falling open in a feeble attempt to gasp back in all the air he'd pushed out of you.

"fuck." he growled lowly, fingers sinking almost painfully into the thigh in his grasp, trying to fit his body as close as it could possibly be to your own.

another sound rumbled out of him from deep in his chest when your nails dug into the firm muscle beneath them, hungry, greedy lips capturing yours. his pace was mercifully slow, given that he was probably just as eager for his own release as you were for yours, but the overwhelming fullness that you felt each time his hips met yours drove whatever tiny breath you'd been able to catch between his kisses.

you spread your legs as far as the narrow space of the couch allowed it, whimpering, feeling how you were already making a dripping mess of your thighs and the fabric beneath you. your heart was practically beating out of your chest, so loud in your ears that you wouldn't be surprised if he could hear it too, his mouth catching every pant and moan he drew from you, the steady pace of his movements falling away into an ardent, frenzied rhythm. his mouth strayed back to your neck, grunting and biting into the abused flesh, and without the barrier to muffle your sounds you were whining out into the open space of the apartment, gasping in the air humid with your shared arousal, nails scratching down his back without care for whether they'd leave a mark, only dragging them back across his hot skin over and over again just to hear him groan out your name once more.

you could feel yourself climbing back up towards that delightful precipice, legs wrapping around his body and forcing him deeper into you so he could reach that spot that made white stars burst across the darkness of your close-lidded eyes. you tried to force your mouth to form coherent words, to warn him about how dangerously close you were, but all that spilled from your lips was more breathless sounds, body arching up to press against his as heat scalded over every inch of your bare skin, limbs shuddering and clinging desperately to him as he continued to roughly thrust into you.

tears were pricking at your eyes by the time he moaned a jumbled string of curses into your neck, arms nearly giving out beneath him as he spilled himself inside of you, your chests heaving in an unmatched, ragged unity against each other. he stayed there for a few moments, still inside you, struggling to catch his breath but still pressing the occasional kiss over your neck and shoulders. your fingers released their grasp on him, not realizing how hard you'd been clenching your hands until you felt the stiff ache resonating through your joints.

you tried to murmur something to him, but all that escaped was a weak whimper, legs slipping back down to lay on the couch, arms resting heavy on his back. you hadn't meant to fall asleep so fast, but your head had already been spinning from warm shocks still echoing through every fiber of your body, let alone the alcohol and the sheer physical exertion. you let your eyes fall shut, lids far too heavy to keep open, and slipped away easily into a dreamless slumber.

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

zeke blindly reached about for the towel he'd set aside near the sink, finally grabbing it and pressing it to his dripping face, patting his skin and beard dry before tossing it into the hamper by the door. replacing his glasses onto his face, he blinked away the grogginess in his eyes, running his fingers through his hair to flatten it into a somewhat presentable style. he turned to the open door, catching a glimpse of you nestled under the comforter of his bed, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

he'd carried you to his room last night, but didn't get the chance to clean you up until this morning. by then, the bruises that had been an angry shade of red over your neck and chest had settled into your skin and darkened significantly, some bordered by deeper teethmarks that still had yet to fade. you hadn't stirred when he'd pulled the covers away from you for just a few moments, peeling off your underwear that he'd haphazardly replaced on your body to keep the mess to a minimum and gently wiping his cum away from your skin with a wet washcloth. he'd really tired you out, and something about seeing you so exhausted after just one night with him made a flicker of pride swell in his chest.

flicking off the light in the bathroom, he didn't bother to add a shirt over his relaxed attire of just a pair of sweatpants as he left his bedroom, making sure to quietly shut the door behind him.

"rise and shine." his back was still to the kitchen when he heard reiner's voice, turning to face his roommate who was looking at him with a mix of disapproval and curiosity, most likely having gotten a good look at the scratches you left down his skin last night.

"how was your time at bertholdt's?" zeke asked, ignoring reiner's frown as he glossed over his intrigue, wandering over to the fridge to grab some water for himself.

"not great." he grunted, reaching into the cabinet below the stove and fetching a pan, "he decided to invite annie over when he heard i was coming. you can imagine how boring it was to watch those two make eyes at each other the entire night."

zeke chuckled at that, cracking the top off of the cool bottle in his hands and taking a refreshing gulp, glancing at the table and noticing its lack of plates and the leftovers of night-old curry. "oh, you did the dishes. thanks."

"yeah, yeah, just glad you had your fun last night without me having to hear it." he stepped aside to let reiner put a carton of eggs and the butter out of the fridge. "but seriously man? the couch? you're gonna have to get that dry-cleaned or something, and i'm not helping you pay for it either."

"don't worry about it, i'll take care of it." he replied with a lazy smile, quickly adding on to his smooth response, "and be nice, alright? it's someone we know."

"who?" he asked, not at all looking it but obviously interested in his answer, flicking on the gas under the pan and dumping a spoonful of butter into it.

"one of eren's friends." reiner's eyes shot briefly over to him at that, prompting him to give a brief description of you, "remember? you saw her that time we all met up to watch that horror marathon while i still lived with my parents."

"wait.. you told me about her. isn't she dating your brother??"

"was dating my brother." he corrected, rolling his eyes at the disgruntled bewilderment etched across his friends face, "what? i had to show her that this generation of jaegers wasn't a complete disappointment.."

"whatever, man. your business." he finished off his water bottle in silence, watching reiner crack a few eggs in a bowl and whisk them together with a fork, finally breaking the silence with a generous offer. "you want me to make something for her?"

a slight grin broke out across zeke's face, dumping the empty plastic into the recycling bin, slapping reiner's back affectionately. "thought you'd never ask. thanks again, man."

"at your service." was his grumbled, monotone reply, the shadows weighing under his eyes clearly showing how late he'd arrived home last night and how little sleep he'd gotten. zeke was sure that once he'd got some coffee in him he'd cheer up a bit.

he was sure reiner wouldn't be done for another few minutes, so he wandered back into his room, wondering if you'd woken up yet so he could direct you to the shower if you wanted one. in the time that he'd been in the kitchen, you shifted around in bed, having rolled onto your back and knocked the covers away to reveal your bruised chest, hair covering half of your face but still identifiable. perfect.

zeke fished his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants, unlocking it and tapping into the camera app, taking a few steps closer to the bed and zooming in a bit before he snapped a picture of you.

                  10:39 am  you you sent an image to eren

eren  10:40 am uhhh did you send that to the wrong person

eren  10:41 am wait hold on who is that zeke who the fuck is that

eren  10:42 am is that my fuckingngirlfrined

you missed a call from eren

eren  10:43 am why the fuck aren't you fuckign picking up

you missed a call from eren (2)

eren  10:45 am holy shit what the fuck this can't be fucking happening zeke what the fuck is wrong wjth you you piece of fucking shit

zeke tapped out of his messages with his brother, sliding over his notifications setting to "do not disturb" before dropping his phone back into his pocket. he couldn't help the low chuckle he let out at his frantic replies. maybe if he'd held the same enthusiasm with you then he wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. moving over to your side of the bed, he took a seat on the mattress beside you, perking up at the sound of your small groan, eyes sleepily fluttering open to gaze up at him.

"g'morning." you murmured, letting out a quiet yawn as you sat up in bed, holding the sheets up to cover your bare chest despite him having already seen you naked.

"how'd you sleep?"

"like a fucking rock." he laughed softly at your bluntness. "my head kinda hurts.. sorry i fell asleep on you last night."

you looked positively adorable right now, and he was glad you weren't panicking or having any second thoughts about him, that you had fully digested the reality of your situation and come to peace with it. well, at least the situation before he'd sent that picture to eren.

"don't worry about it," he assured you, keeping the thought of his brother probably blowing up his phone and leaving the usual voicemails of him screaming at him when he was angry in his inbox, "i'll get you some breakfast soon. need any ibuprofen?"

"yes please." you smiled gratefully up at him, his heart twinged. "and could you grab me my purse? i left it in the kitchen, my roommates probably wondering why i didn't come back last night."

he began to say yes, but thought of how you were probably receiving a similar slew of alarmed messages by this point made him stop. "how about a shower first? you'd probably feel a lot better after that."

you hummed thoughtfully for a few moments, rubbing the sleep from your eyes with the back of your hand. "a shower sounds nice.. if you don't mind."

"wouldn't have offered if i did, babe." he grinned at the way your cheeks flushed, waving a hand over to his bathroom door, "shower's in there, plenty of towels on the rack by the tub."

he stood, turning to begin making his way to the door to give you some privacy, but felt your fingers gingerly wrapped around your wrist. "zeke.. thank you. for everything. i've been in a really tough spot for the last few months, and now everything seems... it all seems a lot clearer to me, like i just took the hardest step and it'll be a breeze after this."

your smile was genuinely, infectious, eyes full of gratitude, and had it not been for the heavy news that you would most likely be finding out about within the hour, he probably would've responded with one of equal radiance. but he managed to perk up the corners of his lips for you, tracing back to press a quick kiss over the top of your head.

"at your service."

he was pleased to see that his copied, more charmingly delivered words garnered such a positive response from you. and so he made his way back out into the kitchen, pulling out his phone to briefly check the amount of notifications that had racked up on his lock screen. thirty-six messages and sixteen missed phone calls. damn was that little brat persistent.

despite having essentially thrown you under the bus, he didn't feel any semblance of guilt for the action of having sent that incriminating photograph. the only remorse he felt was for leaving you as the sole recipient to his brother's rage, and the fact that he was starting to feel a strange sort of affinity for you, something lighter and more innocuous than the lust that he had shown you the previous evening. so he slipped over to the dinner table, acknowledging reiner's announcement that your eggs were ready with a short hum, finding your purse exactly where you said it had been.

he could hear the sound of the shower being turned on, and he felt safe unzipping the small bag and rummaging around to fish your phone out from beneath your other belongings. as he'd expected, there were a few missed calls from a "sasha", who he assumed to be your roommate, the messages from "eren <3" quickly beginning to pile up on your home screen. and as the "incoming call" text showed on the screen and the phone began to vibrate, zeke held down on the power button, completely shutting it off before he pocketed the device.

he just had to keep you busy, get you to focus on anything besides your desire to get to your purse and check your phone, or figure out a polite way to quickly shoo you out of the door and get home before you realized that you didn't have it in your bag. he hadn't really planned for this outcome, he usually didn't have this sort of compassion for others when he set his mind to getting something done, but he had a feeling that the extra work would be worth it in the grand scheme of things.

⥼ next chapter

[kingwuko]

Wuko in the comics

Welcome to my first post discussing Wuko in the LoK comic books!

This first post will be discussing Turf Wars- which unfortunately does not feature Wu. But there are lots of excellent Mako moments, and there are some major plot points that carry over into the next comic trilogy.

Turf Wars is the first LoK comic trilogy released after the finale. Though it was released two and half years after the finale aired, it picks up right where we left off. While the creators confirmed after the finale aired that Korrasami was canon, the last moments of the animated series were a little ambiguous (on purpose, since this was a time when queer representation was just not considered "acceptable" in children's media-it was truly the only way they could get away with it). The comics definitively remove all ambiguity. Turf Wars features multiple frames of Korra and Asami kissing, holding hands, and coming out to their friends and family. 

The overarching plot of Turf Wars is a conflict over the land upon which the new spirit portal sets. There is also conflict between rival Triad gangs, the Triple Threats and the Creeping Crystals, over turf in Republic City following the chaos of Kuvira's invasion. These two sets of turf wars overlap when a business tycoon hires the Triple Threats to secure the spirit portal for him by driving others off. The new Leader of the Triple Threats, Tokuga, is attacked by a spirit defending the portal, causing him to gain a dragon-like appearance and a new agenda-seizing control of all Republic City. In the midst of all this there is a refugee crisis, a presidential election, and Korra and Asami trying to navigate their new relationship once they return to the real world with all their responsibilities.

Notable plot points and character developments:

Korra and Asami canon is confirmed (repeatedly)-They come out to family and their friends

Business owner Wonyong Keum, who owns the land upon which the new portal sits, demands everyone vacate so he can turn it into a tourist attraction for profit-prompting Korra to enter the Avatar state to temporarily drive him away.

An unhappy spirit requests Korra closes the portal to prevent exploitation of the spirit world.

Bolin joins Mako as his rookie detective partner.

Zhu Li is running efforts to care for refugees who lost their homes during Kuvira’s attack and teams up with Asami to begin rebuilding homes for everyone displaced.

Tokuga is introduced as the leader of the Triple Threats, fighting for control of the streets with Jargala, the leader of the Creeping Crystals.

Kya reveals she is queer and gives us a history lesson on the context of LGBTQ+ history in the world.

Tokuga is attacked by the afore-mentioned spirit and his right arm and half his face become dragon-esque.

Raiko is a colossal idiot. He is way too focused on getting reelected and making his decisions based on what his campaign advisor suggests, rather than just, you know, governing his city. He calls the military to occupy the portal, prompting the Airbenders to peacefully protest.

Zhu Li runs against Raiko for the presidency. She rallies more protesters to protect the spirit portal while her husband films her for his newest project- a “docu-mover” which he presumably uses to influence the election. 

Asami and Keum are kidnapped by Tokuga and forced to make a poison gas device bring the city under Tokuga’s control.

The Krew manages to save the day of course, thanks to Asami’s wit, Korra’s unstoppable stubbornness, and back-up from Bolin and Mako. Except Mako, bless him, says he’ll “take care of Tokuga”, and then promptly loses him.

Tokuga mysteriously disappears into the spirit world.

Zhu Li wins the presidency.

Korra and Asami share a lovely, romantic moment where they exchange their first “I love you”s at the conclusion of the comic.

Mako scenes

There is no Wu in the Turf Wars comics (Unless you count one line of dialogue where it is mentioned that the Earth Kingdom is sending supplies to help the refugee situation) - however, there is plenty of Mako! Mako’s primary role in this series is as a detective trying to find and stop the Triads from waging their turf war in the city.

Our first scenes with Mako shows him back to being a detective- and his brother is his partner. He doesn’t seem super thrilled to be working with Bolin, but I think it’s just because he knows how his brother is- not that he doesn’t want to spend time with him. They are trying to track down the new leader of the triple threats and control gang activity. Mako’s arm is still in a sling, he’s got his usual brooding grumpy facial expression, and his hair is spiky again! He and Bolin arrest two-toed Ping and try to interrogate him. Two-toed Ping is weirdly proud of Mako and Bolin for rising up from being “nobodies” to a couple of “bigtime cops”.

They catch up with Korra and Asami, and the four of them are alerted by Jinora that the Triple threats are attacking the Airbenders that were meditating at the portal. Asami gets hurt in the battle and she and Korra share a kiss in front of everyone:

Look at Opal’s sweet face. She looks like she’s barely containing her excitement and is maybe squealing a bit, and she’s looking directly at Bolin which I think is a sweet moment to show their relationship. Bolin calls dibs on the first double date.

Mako probably needs time to process the information....

Mako and Bolin do some detective work to try and find Tokuga. There is an interesting scene where they are questioning Scoochy (We saw him in the first season, he’s the kid that told Korra and Mako the Bolin went to do some work for the triple threats before getting captured by equalists) Bolin tells Mako they should do “good cop, bad cop”, with Bolin being the good cop. Mako gets annoyed, and Bolin asks if he’s grumpy because his exes are dating. Mako insists he’s cool with it- though he’s got a distressed look on his face. They catch up to Scoochy and Bolin actually loses his temper and is rather menacing. Mako pulls Bolin back and genuinely connects with Scoochy- relating to his past, pushing him to do the right thing and help others. I really liked this moment because it shows how much character growth he’s had when you compare the way he treated Kai in season 3. (They are ultimately unsuccessful and Scoochy’s tip leads them to a room rigged with explosives- but I don’t think Scoochy knew that, I think he was fed false info).

There’s another touching scene, after Asami is kidnapped, where Mako notices how upset Korra seems as everyone is trying to form a plan to stop Tokuga. He steps aside to check in and see how she’s feeling. He comforts her’ empathizes with her, and reassures her that they are going to find Asami. At this point he seems to have fully processed that they are together and seems to fully accept it and is very supportive. Not easy considering the awkward position he’s in as both their exes. In this scene, Mako also informs Korra that he can’t firebend with his injured arm.

Mako and Bolin helps Korra to find Asami by requesting help from Jargala- in spite of the fact that Chief Beifong told them not to… They show up for Korra and Asami even if it means risking their jobs. They team up and fight the bad guys together, just like the old days.

We see many examples of how bad the damage is from Mako’s injury in the Colossus. He can’t bend with his left arm, it’s in a sling almost the whole comic, and he really doesn’t seem to be at the top of his game. He told Bolin he would take care of catching Tokuga, but apparently couldn’t and lost him. Mako’s injury is pretty bad and it’s probably really frustrating.

At the end, Bolin decides to quit the force (surprise. The guy loves to hop from calling to calling!). He makes a big dramatic speech to Mako, talking about how it’s time they go their separate ways. Mako is like “Um I’m going to see you at home in like two hours”, so it sounds like they are living together.

What all this might mean for Wuko

So now I’m going to try to tie things back into how all this affects the potential of Wuko- whether that’s for headcanons or fics or whatever- and just try to give you an idea of what this comic means for Wuko shippers.

Wu is governing in the Earth Kingdom right now. It is mentioned by Zhu Li that the Earth Kingdom sent supplies, so one can assume Wu has taken his place on the throne and the Earth Kingdom is in a stable enough position to be sending supplies to aid another nation. Nothing is mentioned about efforts to transform the Earth Kingdom into a democratic nation (we’ll get to that in the Ruins of the Empire comics).

Mako’s primary relationships that are explored are with his brother and with Korra. His relationship with Bolin is just as it always is. He loves his brother even if he is a little exhausted by his upbeat, enthusiastic attitude. We build up on his final interaction with Korra from the animated series and continue to firmly establish them as friends and amicable exes. Interestingly, we don’t get any meaningful Mako and Asami interactions. When he is comforting Korra, he relates to her by remembering how worried he was when Korra was kidnapped by Amon. He doesn't try to say “Yeah I’m really worried about Asami too”, which, to me is bizarre because he and Asami are friends too, right? I don’t know if we should read too much into it though- most likely it was just a writing choice that we aren’t meant to psycho-analyze- but it could also mean he is being careful with his words so that Korra doesn’t wonder if he still has feelings for Asami. The love triangle is completely resolved and Mako is out of the picture romantically with either of them and has no lingering romantic feelings. In other words, he is 100% ready available for a relationship with someone else.

The scene where Kya gives us a history lesson establishes how LGBTQ+ people are viewed in the world of LoK. In short, Korra and Asami are fully supported by their friends and family, and even their enemies acknowledge their relationship without any homophobic tones. The closest we get to homophobia is Korra's father, who, after expressing his happiness at their relationship, warns Korra to be cautious going forward because not everyone will be as understanding. Kya gives us a quick lesson on how same-gender relationships are viewed across the nations: The water tribe, being a patriarchal culture, expects discretion. The Earth Kingdom is not particularly accepting-Kya says that Avatar Kyoshi was bisexual but couldn't affect "real change" and that the earth kingdom is the slowest to accept change and is also militarily repressive (full disclosure I have not read the Kyoshi comics, maybe there is additional insight in those?). And in the fire nation, Sozin made same-gender relationships illegal when he took power (I hope Zuko undid all that when he became Firelord). The air nation is the only one that seems truly accepting-Kya paints a picture of total acceptance and says that Aang was supportive when she herself came out. Korra is worried that maybe her father was right, but Asami points out that a lot has changed over the years and everyone seems accepting, especially in Republic City. 

I think what we can take away from this as far as Wuko goes- is that in Republic City, same-gender relationships are not much of an issue, while in the Earth Kingdom it could be viewed negatively. One could make a case that Wu might have cause to be closeted, while Mako might not. (Feel free to reject this history canon and substitute your own. I’d just as soon say that no one in the avatar-verse cares if you aren’t cis or het).

In conclusion. Mako is just a guy trying very hard to be a good, supportive friend to his exes who are now dating each other. He loves them (platonically) he loves his brother, he’s kind and has matured a lot, but he still always has a grumpy look on his face so it’s time for him to move on and get together with Wu.

Well, that’s Turf Wars. I did cram the plot of three comic books into one post, so I certainly did not hit all the details. If you feel I missed something crucial, feel free to reblog with your own takes. Next I’ll discuss Ruins of the Empire, in which we get lots of Wu and potential Wuko moments, a sizable helping of angst and even some Wu & Korra friendship! RotE is a really fun comic trilogy and I’ll be breaking it down into multiple posts. Thanks for reading everyone!

Wuko In RotE part 1

Wuko in RotE part 2

[ziracona]

While I can’t recommend this at all aside from emergency situations and you should never /try/ it except in life or death scenarios, activated charcoal can be used as poison control for the majority of drug overdoses. I’ve lived with at-risk people before, and especially if you’re somewhere with bad emergency response time, or extreme weather conditions, it can be good to have a safety measure. I think most people are probably aware of that, but not aware it takes /drastically/ more than they put in bottles you buy at a pharmacy though. Poison control dosage is between 25-100 grams for ages 12-adult, 25-50 grams for a child below age 12 (0.5 to 1 gram per KG of weight. It doesn’t have to be exact-exact to still work in an emergency though, or work enough to save a life, so it’s good to at least know the standard ranges.) You then mix powder with water and drink all of it. Pharmacies tend to sell them for gas relief, in 500-700mg capsules (or half to 2/3rds of a gram). This means even a child would have to take something like /50/ pills to hit dosage minimum at 25 grams. If you want a supply for emergencies, it’s not expensive, but you’ll have to get it from someone selling wholesale powder (usually herbalist shops).

Anyway, please don’t take this as a recommendation to use that as an alternative or even first line of defense; this is what hospitals are for, and poison control knows how to do things in practice, which is a world of difference form in theory. Still, if you want to own some for emergencies or theoretical disaster situations, much like a well stocked medial kit with splints and aid beyond what you’d expect to have at home, please keep in mind that even an entire bottle of 100 500mg pills from a pharmacy is essentially enough to hit minimum possible dosage for an adult probably just once, if they consume the entire bottle, and what you can get at a store is not designed for poison control. It’s most useful within an hour of poisoning, but can be effective within four depending on the absorption type for the drug (IE orally taken opioids). Doesn’t work on corrosives, cyanide, ethanol, fluoride, hydrocarbons, metals, or mineral acids. Does work on most household drugs and most prescription drugs used commonly for overdose including opiates and antidepressants.

[pyrofury]

Oathkeeper

Chapter 1 

Next Summary:

A woman comes back to the underworld to keep an Oath of loyalty. The one whom she made this pact with isn’t aware there was an oath to begin with. Desha x OC

Yeah I’ll be honest i just made this tumblr account about maybe 2 weeks ago for Desha content. so im still learning how this site works. yes im aware it makes me an old biddy.

By the outskirts of a town a female figure could be seen running with her pursuers not too far along.

They had been annoyingly relentless in following her for 2 months and 3 kingdoms later. That damned noble couldn’t understand the word ‘no’ even when she said it not so nicely. 

A huge pit found itself in her way and she stopped for a moment to face the men trying to apprehend her. 

She could feel the emanating heat of the pits flames on her back. What they call the Gates of Hell. If this went according to plan she wouldn’t have to deal with this issue anymore. It was still a risk though…

The men halted to a stop. surrounding her in the process. seeing their target cornered. In their eyes they had her pinned she couldn’t get past them. She was trapped and their Noble lord would have his prize. 

“Come on girlie. Make this easy on yourself and submit. Our master wouldn’t want his prize all bruised. Be nice and we’ll also be gentle with ya.” He winked while saying this. 

The thought made her ill. She wasn’t a toy and she sure wasn’t going to submit to a life of being one. She wasn’t going to break her promise for such a thing. 

“Tell your galoot of a lord, I’d rather die.” She took a few steps back. One more step and she would descend. 

“Don’t do anything drastic!” She saw the panic in their eyes. Not for her safety but the chance of their merchandise being lost in the flames. 

“Too late!” she took her last bit of nerves as she fell screaming.   

Midway in her fall she redirected the wind currents with magic to direct her landing.

‘I hope that was a convincing performance. If they think I’m dead then they have nothing to chase.’ She thought. 

She HAD been planning on coming to the underworld for quite sometime but this was sooner than what she had in mind.

Wynn swept her white hair out of her eyes. Well she was alive and in one piece. Was she mentally prepared for this…yeah, still no. She was here anyway so she might as well. 

She made her way down the stair case. If she remembered there was poison gas she had to watch out for. 

Ah there it was. She focused on the area around her. The air within her space stayed purified from the toxic mist. Another thing out of the way. 

She kept walking on and faltered when she spotted what seemed to be armored men on steeds. Friend or foe she didn’t know yet.

————————————————

The Guards brought in a woman wearing a teal and blue spaghetti strap dress with a layered skirt and sash on her waste. Her hair a silvery white and eyes green. She had a small nervous smile while she was conversing with the guards as they chaperoned her to the kings chambers. 

“My king we found this young lady in by the pit. she wasn’t harmed by the poison cursed gas” 

The topic of their conversation turned to look at the king. It seemed like his majesty hadn’t really changed all that much the last time she saw him except for the mustache. It had been roughly a half a year since she saw him.  Instead of armor he donned attire more suited for his status. How times changed. 

The king with his usual frown cast a bored look while addressing her. 

“What is a sylph doing here? Hm...Did you get lost? Are you possibly the literal definition of an airhead? Hehehe.”

He was trying to get under her skin. She threw him a obviously fake smile and joked back “ ha, like I have never heard that one before. Unfortunately just bored. Not all who wander are lost. A map would be nice though. “

He sighed in disappointment, how boring. she wasn’t irritated or atleast she didn’t show it. “ then what pray tell are you doing here?”

“Yeah… about that. I’d like to apologize, coming here was more a of a means to an end.“

He raised an eye brow. She had his attention “Go on”

“I’ve been chased by an annoying noble who just couldn’t take no for an answer and kept sending men to take me back to be his mistress. I’ve dodged them countless times but they had persistence. So 3 kingdoms later I’m here. Hopefully they think I passed on from the fire. “

“You are Sylph. you can’t disappear into the air?”

“Unfortunately my lord while you’re right. I am a sylph, but only half. While my skills are still suited for running away however I’m limited in what I can do.”

She wasn’t exactly lying she was limited in a sense but best to play the weak little lady card. 

He ended up sending her on her way to town escorted by a guard. Before telling her ‘good luck’ in a condescending way. All part of his charm apparently. She didn’t remember him being so audacious.

To be fair the last time she saw him he always had a serious demeanor accompanied by an angry scowl. Not something really anyone could help with the war that had been going on. 

———————————————————-

His gaze took in her form. She was shorter than Despa by an inch or so. She by normal human standards had an exotic look to her. Green eyes and white hair with a lithe form. In a sort of tribal looking ensemble. 

Her story wasn’t a stretch in that regard. From what he heard of sylphs none of them ever really entered this region. She was a long distance foreigner. The noble probably wanted her for her looks alone. 

Desha really had no worry about her fitting in. Between the monsters ,demons, and humans she would be fine. 

She also looked weak. He wasn’t going to bother with her much and sent a guard with her as a courtesy. 

Something about her though rang familiar and he couldn’t pinpoint it. This was his first time seeing a sylph. He squashed that feeling without much thought and went back to work. 

—————————————————-

As much as he was a jerk he atleast did her a favor by giving her an escort. With that came some more information gathering. 

Wynn started with some small conversation and learned this guard’s name was Dagna. She served after Ouken formed the underworld force. Dagna and the other knights looked upto Ouken and respected their newly crowned king. 

They talked about the city and streets. Where the different markets, taverns, and other services were located. 

“Do you happen to know Livia?”

The guard stopped and gave her a grim look.  “I knew of her. she passed away around 6 months ago in the civil war. What business do you have with her name?”

“I had hoped her family would have liked a keepsake of hers”

“Unfortunately Miss Livia didn’t have family left but you can see with the archives if they have distant relatives. “

“Thank you I appreciate that. Hey Dagna hold out your hand.” 

A bit confused the guard obliged her. Wynn put something round in her hand. “It’s a candy. Not much, but I wanted to thank you.” Dagna accepted with an appreciative nod and went off to her duties. 

Wynn looked on to the city. It was quite big and getting built bigger. Being here brought an ache to her chest as she felt closer to her friend and more lonely in this moment. 

It was bittersweet. Her best friend whom she loved the most couldn’t be here to show her the home she cherished so much. The home Livia died for. 

With that in mind, she hoped King Desha was someone she could follow and support without breaking her oath. She had a promise to keep after all.