#they want nothing but four quadrant stuff

[fratboykate]

The idea that you're a working screenwriter or whatever legit terrifies me because that means there's a distinct chance that some of this unhinged chaos could actually exist. Like Flo and Hailee are working actresses; you're a working writer (after the strike, of course); I would die.

Here's the thing with the industry right now: it's in shambles which is exactly why we're wanting to strike. Everything that I want to write about is nothing that the industry wants right now. I want to tell queer stories with queer women of color as leads however all the people heading studios, networks, and streamers right now (both newly appointed and old) have decided that what they want is to "appeal to middle america". It's fucking idiotic because 1) "middle america" is the minority. There's literally more people in California than in a handful of the states they're trying to court combined yet that doesn't seem to matter anymore 2) they're not going to watch your shit. They call you "Hollyweird" and think we drink blood to stay young lol. You're never going to get those people back. Yet somehow, what studios and networks are looking for right now is "The Next Yellowstone" or shit that straight up has NO diversity. They shamelessly are telling us and our reps that in meetings. "If it won't appeal to EVERYONE (meaning the republicans too) we can't get it up the ladder". What they want is content that some racist hick in Arkansas will sit down and watch. This is a true story and it goes against EVERY statistic and study that proves diverse content does better in the box office and with ratings.

But honestly, it's also y'alls fault. You make shows like "The Night Agent" which is the most middle of the road, copaganda shit popular. You claim to be tired of reboots but show up to watch all of it. Those of us who are writing diverse, original content can't sell it because studios have no motivation to buy it or make it. You've given them no reason to. You just made fucking Mario the most successful animated movie of all time so legit brace for every video game ever made to be turned into a movie/series for the next ten years. You're killing us and the industry with your viewing habits because you'd rather hate watch something/make it go viral instead of ignoring it and elevating original content. You have no one to blame but yourselves about the plummeting diversity numbers we're going to see the next few years. In 2022-2023 alone somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of all queer characters are from shows that have been cancelled or had their season finales. Those are not going to be replaced with new characters because there is no appetite from the studios or incentive for them to do so. I've been telling you for over a decade that this would happen and you never listened. Now queer writers and writers of color are also paying the price because we can't sell shit. No one wants to buy "diversity" anymore. They've decided there's no money in it and that's a DIRECT result of your viewing habits. I was warning you through the "fuck around" years. Now we're "finding out".

[f1goat]

more than friends ; lando norris + part nine

In which your best friend is going to help you to gain more sexual experience and say goodbye to your insecurities, but he's quick to discover that he never wants to share you and your new experiences with others - the only problem being, him having to confess his feelings.

masterlist - playlist

fem!y/n x lando norris

warnings: smut with a plot. minors dni! probably grammar or spelling errors due to english not being my first language.

requested: yes, based on this request: something with a driver sister that’s still a virgin & lando (her bestfriend) suggests to teach her things

part one / part two / part three / part four / part five / part six / part seven / part eight

You don’t even know what you’re doing here and why you’re spending your time like this. Lando and you flew back to Monaco only yesterday, just to flight back to the last race of the triple header tomorrow. He insisted that he wanted to go back home for a bit, so you naturally followed him. Today he told you he needed to fix some Quadrant things with Max, meaning you’d be left on your one. A bit weird since you normally join them when they’re doing stuff for Quadrant. Not wanting to do nothing for the whole afternoon, you asked some friends to lunch together. Which is why you’re sitting in a small lunchroom in the centre of Monaco. 

You shouldn’t have asked them for lunch. The last time you saw your friends, they kept going on about their sex life and the non-existing one of you. This time it’s almost the same, expect that they don’t stop about yours. 

“You really should just get drunk, find some guy and let him fuck you,” one of your friends state. It’s too bad that it’s too early in the afternoon to start drinking, because being drunk sounds as a solution to make this lunch ‘date’ better. Another friend of yours laughs, “You’d feel better with a bit of experience,” she says. You don’t know what to reply to them, you simply roll your eyes. 

You remember what Lando told you when you were drunk and he picked you up. According to him boys would like it, maybe even preferred it if you’re a virgin. You wonder why he said that, was it to make you feel better or is there a truth hiding under it? 

“Guys stop,” another friend says. You didn’t even pay attention to the rest of their remarks. Not that you have to hear them to know what they’re saying. “Why don’t you ask Lando to do it?” Your friend asks, “He seems like he’s pretty vanilla during sex, so he probably won’t hurt you,” she adds. It causes you to let out a soft chuckle. They should know.

“Why is everyone so concerned about my virginity?” You ask annoyed when they still continue to make jokes about it, “It’s not even that I’m this concerned about it.”

“It’s just that probably no boy wants someone who’s as inexperienced as you,” is one of the answers you get within seconds. Your friend gets slapped on her arm by someone else for being this direct. “Maybe some guys like it,” you sigh as a response. 

“Girl, no boy likes it.”

“When you finally find some guy and act al prudish with him, he will probably cheat on you in no time,” another friend adds. 

“Prudes get cheated on.”

Reality crashes down on you. Annoyed but mostly sad you get up from your chair, you walk up to the register and pay for you own lunch before turning back to your friends. You can barely stop yourself from crying. Fuck, why are you even friends with them? Lando told you multiple times that they don’t deserve your kindness. “I’m leaving,” you state before turning away from them and walking out of the cafe. No one stands up to follow you, not that you’re surprised of that. 

When you walk further away from the place, you realize that you have no idea what to do now. All of your stuff is still at Lando his place, since you’re sleeping at his. But Lando isn’t home, right? You sigh. A couple tears run down over your cheeks. Should you just call him? Maybe he can pick you up as well. Without further thinking about it, you search for Lando his number and call him. 

“Hey babygirl,” Lando greets you within seconds of you calling him. You don’t know why, but when you hear Lando his voice more tears start to roll down on your cheeks. Before giving Lando a proper greeting, you can only let out a sob. “What’s going on?” Lando is quick to ask you, “Did your friends say something mean?” He doesn’t even need to ask, he already knows. You let out another soft sob.

“Can you come get me?” You ask Lando.

“Yes, yes of course,” he replies, “Send me your location, I’m already walking towards the car.”

Lando doesn’t know what to say, or maybe how to express his feelings and thoughts into actual logical sentences. You’re sitting next to him in his car while he’s driving back to his apartment. Since he picked you up, you haven’t said anything about what happened. He can only guess, but his best guess is that your ‘friends’ said something completely unhinged and mean what caused you to get like this.

When Lando parks his car and opens your door for you, he doesn’t know what to do. He wants to take you into his arms and cuddle you until you feel better, but he has no idea if that’s what you want as well. Today was suppose to be ‘the’ day. Fuck, now that he thinks about it - his apartment is a mess. He lied to you about his meeting with Max, there was none. He just needed you gone for a bit, so he could surprise you. Before you called he was busy with lighting candles, throwing around rose petals and creating a nice, cozy atmosphere so you would feel at home. He was almost done when you’re called, but left in a hurry to come and get you. Most of it is in his bedroom, but he’s pretty sure that you can find some hints in the living room as well. 

Together you walk inside of the apartment. “Want to talk about it?” Lando asks you. 

“Not yet,” you answer honestly, “I’m taking a shower first.” 

Lando shows you a simple nod, giving you your time while cursing your friends in his head. He presses a small kiss against the top of your head, before he lets you walk off to the bathroom. Lando wachtes when you walk away from him. He wonders what your friends said that causes you to be sad like this. He can remember multiple times that this happened, last time it was about your sexual inexperience but before that it could be about anything. That you weren’t making time for your friends, that you didn’t treated them nicely enough and he can go on like that. 

When you walk into Lando his bedroom to grab some clothes for after your shower, you don’t know what you’re seeing. There are lit candles around his bed, rose petals on the floor and on the sheet and a slow song is playing. The atmosphere seems cozy. You wonder what this is about. Before you can say something, Lando is already showing up behind you. 

After watching you walk away, Lando decided to walk to his bedroom and do the last finishing touches. Hoping he could still show you it, without expecting anything back from it. That you’re not in the mood right now is pretty clear and he understands it. When he walks to his bedroom, he almost bumps into you. You’re standing in silence and watching the room. 

“Fuck,” Lando mutters when he sees you, “This wasn’t how I planned it.”

“What’s this Lando?” You ask, “Did I interrupt something when I called?” 

Lando takes a few seconds to think about your words. Are you suggesting that he was here with another girl? That this was for another girl? Fuck. He doesn’t know if he should become mad or sad with you. 

You don’t dare to watch at Lando. You can only wonder about what this meant. Was there another girl here before you came? Did Lando do this for someone else? You can only think about the words from your friends about being prude and what will happen. Were they right? Lando and you aren’t dating, but there was a understanding between you two about not doing anything with others. Tears are rolling down on your cheeks again. You let out a loud sob. 

“Fuck babygirl,” Lando mutters, “Of course not.” He hears your sobs and decides to leave the remark for what it was. “I wanted to surprise you,” Lando explains, “I thought that I could surprise you with dinner tonight when I picked you up from your friends at the time we discussed and then when we would get back, I could surprise you with this. And if you were ready, I uh I thought tonight could be the night.”

“You wanted to surprise me?” You ask Lando confused. “Why?” 

“I wanted to make your first time special,” Lando confesses. 

“Is that why we’re in Monaco?” You continue to ask. A blush is spreading on your cheeks and tears are still rolling down. This time not because of your so called friends and their comments, but because of Lando. Your best friend. God, you don’t even know how the universe ever thought you deserved someone as Lando but you’re thankful for it everyday. 

“Yeah,” Lando admits, “I didn’t want your first time to be in a hotel.”

“But you have the most luxurious hotel rooms,” you laugh.

Lando shrugs. “Go shower baby girl, we’ll talk after.”

You grab the clothes that you came for and turn back to get to the bathroom. Lando is still staring at you. You show him a small smile. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me,” you tell Lando. Before walking off you press a small kiss against Lando his cheek. Lando doesn’t take that as enough, he takes you into his arms and presses his lips against yours. 

All flustered you walk to the shower.

+++

“Did you lie to me?” You ask Lando without any sort of context. Lando shows you a confused look, waiting for you to continue your question. “You told me that some guys would even like it that I’m a virgin, did you mean that?” You continue to ask. 

“Yes!” Lando is quick to exclaim, “I meant that.”

“Would you like it?” You question further. When Lando doesn’t answer quick enough, you continue to talk. “Suppose I’m your girlfriend and you find out that I’m a virgin, would you like that or think it’s weird?” 

“Baby,” Lando sighs, is he really going to confess this to you? “If you were my girlfriend and I would find out that you’re a virgin, I would be fucking happy.”

“You would be happy?” You ask Lando.

“Which guy wouldn’t be happy if his girl wasn’t touched by any other guy?” Lando asks you, he knows he sounds possessive right now - but he really can’t help himself. “It’s okay if she’s not a virgin, but I always liked the thought of having a virgin girlfriend more. There’s something about exploring everything together. Being the only guy who she’s going to do those things with.”

“Promise?” You ask. “Promise,” Lando answers directly, “but now you’re going to tell me what your friends told you because I think that this has something to do with it.”

It doesn’t take you long to get everything out in the open. All the remarks your friends made about you’re still being a virgin. Lando knows how to react perfectly, he lets out a couple annoyed huffs and mutters some remarks about how pathetic they are. When you tell him what they said about prudes, he feels himself fill with rage. “That’s bullshit,” he states, “not that you’re a prude and even if you were a prude, I’d never cheat on you.”

For one moment he forgets that he isn’t your boyfriend and that your friends have no idea about what’s happening between the two of you. He feels personally attacked, not because your friends thought he was vanilla at sex, but because they are filling your mind with their awful opinions. If you were his girlfriend, he wouldn’t even know what cheating meant. Who would cheat when they have you?

“Maybe we can watch something in bed?” You eventually ask Lando. You’re done with talking about it and want to relax for a bit, tomorrow you’ll have to leave early for the flight. Lando shows you a nod and takes you with him to his bedroom. 

The both of you forgot for a moment how the bedroom is looking. You still can’t believe that Lando did this for you. Lando lets out an awkward chuckle, he also forgot about this. This day went a whole other direction then he thought it would, but he’s fine with it. Al though, having sex with you still would be the best outcome of today. 

“I’m sorry for fucking up today,” you tell Lando softly, “It’s so sweet that you planned this and I really fucked it up.”

“You didn’t,” Lando quickly replies, “If anything, you can’t do anything about what happened.”

“I could stop being friends with those girls,” you sigh.

“That sounds like a good plan.”

You let out a soft laugh. It’s no secret that Lando doesn’t like them and now you can state that he’s more then right about it. The both of you are laying in Lando his bed, casually clothed and ready to watch some dumb YouTube videos. But you change your mind about that, you move yourself closer to Lando so you can feel his body against yours. Why would you let your morning stop how the rest of the day is going? 

Lando is silently watching you. He knows nothing is going to happen for the rest of the night, but he can’t stop thinking about the way today was supposed to go. He shouldn’t have brought you to your friends, maybe then it would have gone better. Lando lets out a soft sigh. Since he came up with this idea he has been horny. He can’t stop thinking about how it would be to have sex with you. How tight would you feel around his cock? Fuck, he needs to stop thinking about this.

“Lan?” You ask suddenly. 

“Yes babygirl?” 

“I’m still ready,” you confess. 

“What do you mean?” Lando asks confused. Do you mean what he thinks? Are you talking about having sex? Now? 

“Maybe we can still continue with your plan?” You suggest, “We might have missed the dinner part, but it would be a shame if you put on all those candles for nothing.”

“Are you sure?” Lando asks surprised. “Yes,” you answer him, “I want you to take my virginity.”

In no time Lando is hovering above your body. He looks you in your eyes while asking the same question again, this time you still answer him with yes. “I don’t want you to regret this,” Lando continues, “Are you really sure?” 

“Lan, I’m sure and I swear to God that if you ask me that again I’ll call Pierre Gasly to come here and do something about it.”

Lando firmly grabs one of your tits underneath your clothes, squeezing it until you let out a soft yelp. “Don’t say that ever again,” he states. He releases your breast. You wrap your arms around his shoulders and pull him down onto yourself, getting close enough to properly kiss him. Lando smiles through the kiss. Is this actually happening? He feels himself getting more excited then ever before. Crazy isn’t it? He had sex with the hottest models, the most famous influencers, but he has never been so excited to fuck with someone as he is right now. 

“Lan?” 

“Yes?”

“You’re going to be careful right?” You ask a bit unsure.

“Of course baby girl,” Lando replies honestly, “We can stop anytime you like, just say the word.”

“You’re the best,” you say with a relieved sigh.

It’s a sign for Lando to continue. He pulls your shirt - or better said his own shirt which you’re wearing, up and removes it from your body. He presses multiple kisses on your neck, shoulders and keeps moving lower until your nipple is in his mouth. He feels it stiffen in his mouth. In the mean time he lets his hands wander around your body. He toys with the waistband of your sweatpants. This time you’re the one who pulls them down, causing you to lay in only your string for now. 

“Eager babygirl?” He asks you. 

“Maybe,” you confess.

Lando slides his fingers over your string. Making sure to tease you a bit. He moves himself lower on your body, slowly he presses some kisses on your stomach before lowering himself even more and kissing your more private parts. It doesn’t take long before you let out the first couple of moans. When Lando hears the moan falling from your lips, he can’t stop smiling. 

“Don’t tease,” you mutter when Lando is still toying with your underwear. 

“Want you as wet as possible,” Lando replies. You grab his hand, move away your string and let his hand feel the pool of wetness between your legs. “I don’t think you have to do much for that,” you tell Lando. You move your own hand towards Lando his private parts, slowly tracing the outlines of his boner through his sweatpants. He grunts lowly and finally pulls of your string. Lando lowers himself again, causing you to lose the feeling of his boner on your hands.

He takes a minute to look at your vagina before pressing his lips on it. Multiple soft kisses are pressed around your pussy before Lando gives his attention to your clit. Slowly he laps onto it. His goal is to make you as horny as possible, so you might even cum when he fucks you. It doesn’t take him long before you’re close to your orgasm. It’s his cue to stop. You let out a soft whine when Lando removes his mouth from your pussy and looks at you. 

“Still sure?” He asks you while pulling down his sweatpants and underwear. His boner springs free, you notice how it softly slaps against Lando his stomach. You wonder if you have ever seen him this hard. Lando on the other hand knows for sure he has never been this hard. The things you’re doing to him, without actually doing something, are insane. 

“Yes,” you state. You look at Lando trying to grab something out of his nightstand. When you see him with a condom wrapper, you slowly shake your head at him. “Are you clean?” You ask Lando. He is fast to tell you a yes, “I’ve never done anything without a condom,” he adds. “Then this will be a first for the both of us,” you reply. Lando asks you a couple more times if you’re sure about it, which you keep answering with yes and green. 

Then he throws away the condom and moves closely to you. Gently he spreads your legs. “You can tell me to stop anytime,” he softly says. “Please just fuck me already,” you whine. It causes Lando to let out a deep chuckle. 

He positions himself in front of your entrance. In a weird way he’s nervous about this as well. He wants to ask you if you’re ready (again), but you’re already nodding at him. It’s the sign for Lando to start with slowly pushing himself inside of you. When he you clenching around his dick, he almost loses it. As soft as he can manage he pushes his dick inside of you. You don’t say anything. Lando closely watches your face, but doesn’t spot many signs of discomfort. When he’s fully inside of you, you let out a soft moan. Lando does the same, but only a lot harder.

“Fuck babygirl,” he mutters, “You feel so fucking good.”

You show Lando a small smile. 

“Can I move?” He asks you.

“Of course Lan.”

Lando slowly starts to move inside of you. You feel him pulling back a bit before going all the way in again. He does so a couple times. His movements are slow but steady. It doesn’t hurt, but that can also be because of Lando who’s distracting you. His lips has found their way back to your tits. He sucks on them, leaving all kind of marks. When he moves his lips higher and starts to make a mark on your neck as well, you wonder how you’ll ever hide that during the race week in another hot country. 

“You can go a bit faster,” you eventually tell Lando. He is quick to act out your instructions. When he increases his pace, things are starting to feel better and better. 

“Fuck, it’s insane how good you feel around my dick,” Lando mutters. He isn’t surprised that he already feels his orgasm coming close to him. This has been on top of his mind for the last weeks and now he finally gets to feel you like this. Your pussy clenches on his dick. It causes him to let out a hard moan. “Such a good girl,” he tells you, “taking me so well.” He increases his pace a bit more, asking you for your color after doing so. When he hears you almost moan out the word green, he increases even more. 

You feel your stomach tighten. Everyone always said that the first time wouldn’t be a nice experience. You’ve always been afraid for it, maybe that’s why you waited this long. But Lando, fuck, Lando takes away all the pain. Maybe it’s pure because he is the one that it doesn’t hurt. Nobody knows your body as well as Lando does, he can surprise you with what he does. When he increases his pace, you let out a soft moan. You’re close. For the first time you don’t ask Lando for permission, you don’t tell him that you’re close. It just happens. Your orgasm crashes over you, leaving you in a state of pure bliss. 

Lando is quick to follow. “Can I cum inside you?” He asks. You tell him a yes, you’re on the pill so it’s fine. That’s all it takes for him, you feel him empty himself in your vagina. When Lando slowly pulls back, you let out a soft whine. 

“Was it okay?” Lando asks you. You turn yourself a bit more towards him, laying your head on top of his chest. “Yes,” you confess, “more then okay.”

You start to doubt about what will happen now. Will this be the end of your lessons with Lando? You certainly don’t hope so, but what if he thinks it is? You start to get a bit nervous. How will things ever go back to normal? Is that still possible? You’re head over heals for your best friend, but you have no idea how he feels. Maybe this was just sex for him and the chance of it being done now is kinda big. You want to ask Lando how things will continue for now, but you can’t find the right words. 

“Fuck,” Lando mutters, “I can’t wait to feel you around me again.”

That makes your worries go away for a bit.

part ten

a/n; it finally happened!!

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[owlhari]

Please info dump to me about this like omega AU you keep mentioning I’m so interested

omega blue!! my most beloved little world to write about. while i usually call it an AU to differentiate from what is actually canon to universe omega, everything is technically canon compliant. and that's what makes it fun! filling in all the holes left by canon.

my fic fractured mirror is a sort-of introduction, but i can't help myself so there's an infodump under the cut!

all we really know about universe omega is what's in the vice quadrant and its timeline on the website. while it covers the astronaut and cosmica's story pretty well, there's a lot of questions. like... what happened to spg?

the only thing we know is from the space giant. it says "the parallel universe i’m from / steam powered giraffe is done." the song takes place in 2015, so unless the space giant can time travel, that means spg as a band doesn't exist in 2015. so i thought, why? what about omega would be different?

nothing on the timeline directly points to a reason, though i suppose a butterfly effect thing might be possible. if omega's peter four doesn't become cosmo in 1962, other things could happen that snowballs into spg disbanding before 2015. but i came up with a far more angsty reason.

what if, after the 1950 incident where rabbit's core explodes, the incident that splits the universes in the first place... what if in omega, her blue matter core drains near completely? because it fuels her creativity, it would mean she can't write songs or do anything creative anymore. the bots would still form spg in 2008, but she wouldn't be present. without rabbit, there's a hole that can't be filled, and they quit after album one.

then fractured mirror happens and rabbit gets her blue matter back. but that doesn't mean the two universes are equal again. there's a lot of little differences.

like in canon, "on top of the universe" was written by rabbit in the eight minutes after she bought jenny the toaster. even if omega rabbit fell in love with jenny too, she'd never have written the song. in omega, that song will never exist.

it's the little stuff that i enjoy exploring. omega rabbit's emotional arc is sort of resolved after the fic, although of course there's a lot of her healing that i skipped over and i might write about later. but what about all the years in between? all the little details? like, did the walters believe four died after cosmica destroyed his ship and took him away?

i want to explore all those little differences eventually. so keep an eye out for fics and art and stuff!

[the-firebird69]

Most of your s*** Trump is so childish everybody calls you want it and starts beating your idiots up you're trying to find out who the author is of the shark article he had can send and they will go beat him up. They also making some kind of Jesus reference to your wife and disciple refers to our son and what he says is they call us sharks quite often cuz you go around and pick it it's off like you or weak and stupid and waiting for it.

We're not going after you let me see your b******* plan and sit there and inciting him on purpose everyone knows it cuz you're there illegally

I'm going to introduce you to a bunch of fish and other stuff cuz you're going to try and get here on a small boat and show you where you're wrong

I was going to handle your hat a whole bunch of times today you didn't need you talking.

It seems you want to get rid of your own people and we're trying to help you out as much as possible today we have a tax by yours about 10 octillion an hour in your area has a thousand Oct is it by the end of the day we anticipate over 100 an hour and each area will be out tonight empty and that's about 19 out of 20 areas the other where infiltrating and it's sucking idiots from all over the place too so might be more like 2,000 octillion and it's going to ramp up to probably 2 or 300 until an hour. In other words goodbye. We also tested the nights in white sand when you hate it so bad you sent tons of troops this is good to know

Thor Freya

The diamonds have fallen no it's still going about 8 miles an hour that's around 24 hours from where it was that was yesterday at 3:00 so today at 3:00 p.m. it's about right it's about 160 mi away and it's 20 hours from now so it was further I wasn't about the same length about 300 miles or more so 6:00 p.m. tonight unless they speed up if they will and it's going to be around 3:00 p.m. where we said and start decompressing and someone said three or four hours and it's our son just guessing and we agree it could be three or four hours I'm going to check on it shortly so could be 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. tonight that the Gulf of Mexico fourth area quadrant in Northern quadrant drops and that would be the whole thing and the golf Charlotte harbor will drop too I had at the same time or shortly after cuz yeah that whole western side is still kind of pressurized even though it dropped it didn't drop fully instead of at 5:00 instead of 10 ft it with eight instead of the 200 ft at 250 and they're not close so it's going to happen here today what will happen tonight and swell out of the way I was a tidal wave shouldn't be very big here we shall see. Is it a model I've done a lot of models and the way the wave goes mostly and we've seen it already happened somewhere it will go lateral to the largest edge and that's mostly the way it's going to go and sometimes other ones developed enough very big on the side the largest one we've seen is about half the height of the big one this one's only 50 ft so bring it to 20 ft even at 20 ft it wouldn't make it to our son's house it's about a mile from shore tons of stuff in the way and 20 ft would only make it like 300 ft with nothing in the way so it's not bad we hv to watch it. This is going to happen and before hurricane heist we Believe and what triggers the ships to come down is the Alabama fed and several other things then trying to block morlock from coming here, when they have to try and grab him it's going to be an exodus from the United States to Australia and New Zealand and then you want to try and grab him and they can't grab them so they stop in Cuba and then they come back and still didn't work and I tried to sit there and didn't work and they can't get to Australia and New Zealand because of the obelisk so they proceed to the United Kingdom and they go to Iran to try and get power from the AI

Zig Zag

Well. Don't that say it all

Hera

Zues

Yup

Frank Castle Hardcastle

I'll be there in now there's a huge number of devices and we need people and now and he pulled tons of people off and assign them but it's not enough we need tons of people armies and asking for volunteers now so this Trump guy can leave and more cuz he's starting our people to try and get shattered over rigged it's an emergency

Duke and Blockbuster

They're going to work the verbiage but really I did study and a test and made some videos of how they could gain the stuff that shattered them was what they're doing now I put it out there to hours what our son wants to do me to do a formal presentation so when I came up with was another model and it's with conventional stuff cuz he has way too many boms and I'm getting ready to do it today. With a special note that others do it too and a better at it and I will try it later

Zig Zag

Olympus we approved this message as it is and I'm going to send it to ours

[dalishthunder]

Cronus => Defile the Pile

Rating: Explicit Pairing: Cronus/reader (gender neutral) Words: 1375 Guilty Wank, Quadrant Confusion, Breeding, Creampie

It wasn't wrong to watch pailvids starring someone who looked so incredibly like his best friend. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that. What was a little more dubious was Cronus thinking about that best friend while he wrangled his bulge.

"It's so big..." The human on the screen moaned as they sunk down onto a shamestick. "Shiiit that feels so gooood."

The voice was wrong, but of all the cam stars he'd searched through (a good many) this one looked the most like you. A little more airbrushed maybe, but their eyes, their skin, their hair it all reminded him of you.... As long as he kept his glasses off. With them on he frequently got caught up on the details that weren't quite right.

There was also one that sounded sort of like you, with that same cadence and tone (not quite you... never quite you, but close enough that he could get lost for a moment) and sometimes he would overlay the audio from one of their videos over the video of this one's and he could pretend that it was really you putting on this show for him.

But this was a new upload so he hadn't really had time to mess with it yet.

Besides... he should probably stop that anyway. He couldn't imagine you being okay with him masturbating to some patchwork simulacrum of you. Masturbating to a human that looked like you though, that was something he felt he could probably get away with.

The cam star (named Digital_Honey) didn't pause their gyrations as they spoke, "So I know I was hinting at it on my patreon over the last few weeks, but today we have a very special guest star!" They yanked on a leash and pulled another human forward. "Come here, stud."

They licked their lips and smiled, and Cronus really wished you'd smile at him like that. Not that he didn't love the smiles you already gave him, soft, sweet things that they were, but he wanted more. He wanted to know what it would feel like to be on the receiving end of a smile like that from you; full of hunger, want, desire.

The thought was enough to send a jolt of desire down his acid tract. He pumped his bulge a few times, trying to alleviate some of it.

"Isn't he just the cutest stud you've ever seen?" The one that looked like you showed off the other human, reaching down and stroking his human dick. Cronus mimicked the action, fingers slicked in his violet genmat. Digital_Honey rose up off of the shamestick and got on all fours, making sure to give the camera a good look at their human nook. They tugged on the leash and the other human rubbed up against them before sliding in.

Fuck, what he wouldn't give to be right there... pushing into a hot, dripping nook. Your hot dripping nook... that he wasn't even sure you had to be honest. He might even be masturbating to the wrong stuff. But Digital_Honey looked like you and it was so, so easy to pretend like he knew.

Because this was probably the closest he would ever get to fucking you and damn if that didn't just kill his wiggly. And he was suddenly very much Not In The Mood despite the nagging from his bulge.

"C'mon, stud, knock me up and breed me. Fill me up with that seed." Digital_Honey moaned out, looking like they were in absolute human heaven. "O-oh fuck, that's it.... Can't call yourself a stud without knocking up your breeding bitch."

There was a resounding clunk as Cronus set his husktop down on his "coffee" table. He probably should have done this in his own block so he could have just tried going to sleep but noooo he'd gotten horny watching those stupid Earth romance movies and thinking of how blissed out he was from piling with you.

Maybe if he just went back to the pile....

No. The pile was a sacred place.

A place for pale feelings.

But.... pale sounded a lot like pail............

Maybe if he just laid down on the pile he'd feel better though.

Maybe his wiggly would go away and he could focus on just how he knew you would pap him and soothe him and take care of him like a real moirail. Yeah. What a great idea!

Cronus shoved his bulge back into his jeans, trying to ignore it while he made his way over to the pile before turning back.

He grabbed the snuggleplane from the comfort sla- couch, and laid it over the bottom half of the pile for protection in case he soaked through his pants. Then, and only then, he flopped down on it, immediately inhaling your scent... your scent mingling with his, and relaxed. His lips parted, letting the air flow over his tongue and into his olfactory translation organ. There wasn't a human shorthand word for it, he'd looked it up.

He nuzzled into a pillow, thinking about your warm fingers on his cheek-

"Stuff me, Stud! Just like that! Breed me," Digital_Honey moaned out. His bulge writhed against the confines of his pants, and he made the mistake of inhaling sharply because your scent was all around him and this was just such a bad idea.

A soft, static-y moan escaped his lips... His bulge writhing around his hand as he thrust it into his pants.

"Oh, you know I'm gonna breed you real good, Honey. Gonna make you my little breeding bitch. Gotta- Gotta knock up my favorite little whore." The stud finally groaned out.

Shit.

Cronus stroked his bulge, the thought of you on all fours in front of him, your ass up in the air, exposing a human nook and fuck did he need to know what you had down there.... He could try asking you later, but for now... for now all he could think of was a dripping nook ready to swallow down his bulge.

"C'mon, Stud." You'd call, winking at him from over your shoulder. "You gotta fill me up."

You'd bite your lip with those blunt teeth of yours and his breath hitched. You'd be so fucking hot as he slid in. Oh fuck, he was probably too big to fully fit inside of you.

"Gonna fill you up so good, kitten." He moaned into the pile. "Gonna fuck you so good you won't even remember that chutesniffer's name."

Thumb working over his tip, rubbing over his slurry hole, smearing genmat all over as it leaked out. Fuck, humans could be bred. How fucking bizarre, but he had to admit the thought of filling you so full of his slurry, and you, you'd just take it all wouldn't you?

He'd hunch over you, fronds gripping your hips as he rammed into you over, and over, and over as you'd scream out his name. "Breed me, Stud! Fill me with your slurry, Cronus, let me lay your eggs like the filthy human I am!"

"You look so good when you need a good breeding, kitten," He keened, burying his face into a pillow that smelled so much like you it hurt.

And as he thought about filling you to the brim with his violet, Cronus' eyes shot open, swim bladders stopping as his hips arched up.

Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshi-

Slurry spurted out in thick streams, covering his thorax and chest.

He hopped up, immediately looking at the pile to make sure no genetic material had gotten on it, aortic pump racing.

Nononononononononono! The pile was meant to be a sacred place!

He'd... he'd defiled the pile.

Fins fluttering nervously, Cronus picked up the thick towel he'd put down. His entire body sighed in relief upon seeing that he hadn't soaked through to the pile.... At least now you'd never know.

He made the mistake of looking over at the video, vaguely aware that the cam star was talking because they were spreading their nook lips... and the way that the cream colored human genmat seeped out slowly as they wiggled their ass was beyond mesmerizing.

Maybe... maybe he could worry about cleaning everything up a little later.

His bulge was already writhing to life again.

[love-fireflysong]

Hi. This is so late and I’m a failure oops. Cause while me missing last week has an excuse (ala my siblings coming to visit so i wasn’t around a whole lot lol) me missing the week before that was just being too lazy to make a post. So I’m here to (hopefully) fix that. Unfortunately, not a whole lot of writing’s been done to my ever expanding displeasure, but I did get some minor stuff done before the visit so you can all have some minorly angsty chrashley for my last kiss prompt to tide you over.

And yet, despite the near-panic with the pork, the rest of the morning had gone well enough that Ashley actually felt brave enough to leave the safety of her home for the first time since the mountain. It had taken a not insubstantial amount of time to try and convince Saundra of that fact though, almost an hour of begging and pleading and even then she only barely relented. The fact that the place in question would be the Hartley residence meant very little to her, only agreeing after Ashley swore that they would turn around or leave the second it looked like she was about to start freaking out.

And yet, while she had agreed to any and all stipulations in a heartbeat, Ashley almost hadn't been able to even make out the threshold of her own front door. When she turned around after locking the door behind her, the sight of the thick and heavy layer of freshly fallen snow was nearly enough to make her want nothing more than to bury herself under the safety of her blankets. The sharp whistle of wind through the couple of trees just in front of the building certainly hadn't helped matters either. Involuntarily, her body froze on the front step as she held her breath. The only reason she was able to move again after that was the realization that although the sky was fairly overcast, they didn't come out to hunt during the day and she was safe. Still, she tucked her head down onto her chest and all but ran to the idling car at the end of the sidewalk. Just in case. 

The second she opened the passenger-side door, the warm air buffeted against Ashley as she practically threw her herself in the vehicle. The warm air was like a wall, strong and thick enough that it made her feel safe again and she let out a sigh of relief and was brought back to her senses just in time to see the suspicious and worried frown on Saundra's face.

Due to seeing a couple of my sibs for the first time in nearly four years, I also didn’t get any time to sew either. But considering my last sewing update I was barely even half-done with baby timon, it’s a decently large improvement nonetheless. Fully finished previously mentioned timon, added an arm to a sentient bell, half of a purple ball of literal ghostly gas, and got a magnet boy looking—dare I say?—magnetic. So pretty close to finishing this page all in all, just three more pokemon left to fill in before I can finally move on to the last one for this particular quadrant!

[meanderings0ul]

Warp Speed Licenses?

Working out vague canon things into completely unnecessary levels of realism is how I show love, so I was thinking about how Star Trek handles piloting/helmsmen as a role and profession (beyond usually not very well) and it occurred to me not only would you have to qualify for different ships and qual for impulse only vs warp travel, you'd realistically have to qual for different warp speed categories.

Which actually justifies some dumber worldbuilding imo and fixes some thin plot spots within the canon, especially for Voyager.

For the general 24th century Federation, everything from atmosphere-only shuttles to warp 9.9 starships is on the table.

People who can pilot in-atmosphere and impulse-only would be common. Ground travel is just no longer the standard. Fancy flying for racing is also an impulse thing, quick turns and close passes and maneuvering around obstacles. We see this with Drive on Voyager and with Nova Squadron stuff on TNG.

Warp speed racing would be pretty dull to watch. Firstly, Trek treats sunspace like a universal constant more than a type of technology. Societies discover subspace and warp speed the same way they discover gravity or the atom. (Which you know, if that's your in-universe physics that's fine but holy shit there should be a ton of approaches towards warp engines and forming a warp bubble and they just never...!) Warp speed is a bubble formed around a starship to shove it into subspace to go super super fast, with a deflection field emitted in front to keep micro-meteoroids and other space flotsam from turning your ship into swiss cheese, right? And that warp bubble needs to be kept nice and stable or your ship is going to quickly have a terrible day.

So generally we know warp travel happens a bit outside of normal space, is still affected by objects in normal space, and can drop you back into normal space in a violent fashion.

When traveling at warp course corrections would have to be very long curves, no tight turns at warp, and the faster you're going the more gentle you'd need to be. It takes longer to execute a change, it's easier to screw up, and more things are coming at you to be addressed compared to lower warp. You overcorrect and now you're off course and straining the ship. The deflector disk is for the common small space flotsam, not the issue of oh, our heading was fine 20 minutes ago but now long range scans say we're going to clip the edge of a star or something.

On the practical level, a Fleet starship typically has three or four shifts and would need a dedicated helmsman for each of those, plus redundancies. People get days off or sick or eaten by giant lizards. Basically, you'd have a good handful of dedicated helmsmen on board every fleet ship and lots more qualified to step in and limp the ship along to safety if they had to.

Not all your helmsmen are probably qualified for warp 8, let alone warp 9.9.

You're going to have people that are qualified helmsman for three types of ships, but only up to warp 6. You're going to have more restrictions on warp speeds for commercial ships compared to military/government/emergency response ships. That one guy moving goods from A to B is probably not barreling through at warp 8.

You're going to have lots and lots of pilots only good up to warp 2 or 3. Starfleet's typical shuttlecraft can reach warp 2 now, so you'd have plenty of Fleet people who are qualified to do that. Janeway is not a frequent helmsman, but several times she flies a shuttle at low warp and Voyager at impulse. It'd be very reasonable to think she's not qualed for much higher speeds. (Willing to wing it though? Absolutely. Legal to do it in Federation space? Ehhh.)

So just like ordering full impulse really means as fast as the ship can go at impulse rather than a specific speed, snapping out maximum warp at your helmsman probably means as fast as you at the helm can take the ship right now.

Which also covers why they swap out the pilot when Plot pops up so often beyond main character status. Your warp 9 pilots are going to be the best qualified of the warp speed bunch.

In-universe, why does Chakotay have an introduction as a talented pilot that we then almost never see beyond landing Voyager through an atmosphere made of battery acid? Probably qualified through warp 9.

In-universe, why does Tom Paris go from disgraced "consultant" to a lieutenant's rank and the dedicated Alpha shift helmsmen? Definitely qualified through warp 9, and Voyager had lost its top pilot when the Caretaker dropped them in the Delta Quadrant so very gently.

This whole concept also fixes another peeve of mine: the idea that Gamma shift is staffed by less qualified officers cause nothing happens. (Why the hell would you run a starship like that? A by necessity 24 hours a day 7 days a week operation?? There's no nighttime! It's all nighttime! Just keep people on regular shifts so they can have a sleep schedule ffs.)

Voyager is usually travelling at warps 5-6-7, not 9. But for Gamma shift, they're probably usually going less than that because a younger and less qualified pilot has the helm.

Less happens on Gamma shifts for most departments cause the ship is moving slower and encountering less stuff, not cause they're useless. You'd want your more senior officers around for the times you're encountering 5 star systems and two anomalies cruising along at warp 6.5 and you'd want to let them sleep while the ships chugging along at warp 4 and only gets three cool things on long range scans.

It just makes more sense for me, thinking of it this way. I hope it makes sense to anyone reading this!

[crowstan]

Sanders Sides post except I haven't seen it before

Ok this post is inspired by an absolute flood of Patton and Logan in a skirt, on my Instagram, which was not anything related to any of the dnd or homestuck tags but whatever. That whole mess that happened yesterday inspired this, because as y'all know: I love analyzing things weirdly and what is blogging but analyzing your own thoughts in an odd way? Anyway, spoilers ahead because this is what I've unfortunately been leaked, which means I got this stuff via spoilers.

What is Sanders Sides? So, I actually have no idea and I want to go in bare bones because. I never get to go in with little info. All i know is that it's by Thomas Sanders (he apparently does have a tumblr, I did not look up what it was because, once again, trying to get the barest and best experience I can and I worry that may taint it in some way). All I know about Thomas is that he did vines that I really like and that he has his pronouns in all of his bio's, which so far makes him very ok in my books because I have not met one person who is in any way harmful to others who has their pronouns in their bio. Then again i don't see it often anyway but regardless. And that's literally all I know about him and Sanders Sides, so. Stuff that I have worked together with the unhealthy amount of spoilers I didn't willing get that made me want to make this. -They are all symbolic or are humanoid versions of like, different parts of someone? They're also color coded which my little color coding heart loves sm! There's morality, creativity, creativity #2: electric boogaloo, logic, anxiety, and deciet which may also be denial? not sure about the last bit. -Morality's (moralities?) name is Patton, and his color is light blue. He is the dad character and is bad with any "negative" feelings, which, mood. He is one of the sides i saw in a skirt and may be my favorite possibly, simply bc I Do Not Have Good Male Figures and he's a dad character. Name a better duo than good dad characters and my lack of any positive guys in my life that aren't my age. He's part of the "core four", whatever that means. Really likes animals? I mean that does make sense bc, morality, but also that's different for each person. overall conclusion: now my dad. (/j) -Next up: Anxiety. Name is Virgil (?), color is a shade of purple. Don't know what one bc purple is one of those colors i can't remember too well. Seems like how I imagine my anxiety but a little less focused on death. I would befriend him were in not for the fact I Cannot approach people unless I'm actually dying and even then I can't. Apparently was a "dark side" at some point but now isn't? Redemption ark ig, idk what a dark side is or if it would be equivalent enough with "evil" to have that be a redemption ark. Final conclusion: wait, is that me but cis and let loose in a hot topic? -Creativity #1. Name is Roman, color is red I think. A prince character, and I'm not sure what else to add. I think he is a theatre fan, amd also I would avoid him at all costs because as friendly as he is, we don't have the same vibes and i would panic. Definitely drinks his "respect women" juice, and it's actually "respect women" juice n not whatever the hecc it is that people who /say/ the drink "respect women" juice drinks. he'd go out of his way to make sure your drink doesn't get spiked. this man is hella good, 10/10, would trust but not talk to. -Creativity #2, apparently the brother of Roman? His name is Remus, color is green, and i say this with my full heart: I love him. he seems like the kind of person who barked at people in middle school bc he thought he was a werewolf. who drank an entire bottle of glue in kindergarten at had to go to the hospital and did it again. he's the kind of person who would offer you up a worm and tell you disturbing facts about animals and then go off and play his little games he made up with twisted scenarios. and you know what? that's amazing and i absolutely love that so much. I know nothing about him except he eats deodorant and is the embodiment of intrusive thoughts and "oh god /why/" scenarios you thought of for some reason. -Logic. Name is Logan, ah, really similar to what he represents but I mean, still a very good name. His color is dark blue, aka my favorite color besides dark grey. Really likes jam? I feel like this man has read the dictionary and has "different vocabularies" he uses for different events and people, which may be a self projection but. Def Ravenclaw vibes bc!! hear me out!! not stereotypes!! I feel this man, the literal *embodiment* of logic, would value learning and knowledge which is part of what makes a ravenclaw! so it is not self projection, it is *knowledge* (/hj). that's it, i would absolutely love to debate him sm but i feel like that would be similar to that time i talked about Quadrants with a friend for an hour and they had no idea what was going on at all.

-Last one, deceit/denial. I don't know if he's denial as i got that from a little comic that i thought was funny because it had a pun. His name is Janus (don't know how to pronounce it, been saying it like Jay-Nuhss), and his color is yellow. apparently part snake or something and!! I love snakes. Apparently was in a courtroom at one point, and we all know those are fae territory, so possibly a fae (hj). apparently has multiple arms!! which does not fit in with the snake bit, as snakes have zero arms, but regardless still cool! I know the least about him, and I'm definitely looking forward to watching him!! i love snakes sm.-

moving on from the sides slightly, apparently there's another one, who's color is orange! from someone who vaguely knows about colors but knows enough that each side more or less relates to their color, i have no idea what this side could be! best guess is it's just Thomas in a top hat. I never learned about orange because orange, yellow, some reds, and some blues are very stabby to my eyes and i will get a headache so I just. never learned it. why would i learn about a color i literally can't look at without my eyes hurting? I do know orange is a caution color, and in nature it cam be found on dangerous stuff as a "stay away!" color, and pared with black it doesn't kill my eyes and those are the Halloween colors. So maybe caution? Or some dangerous thing? It doesn't make sense, as those aren't really "sides" in the traditional sense, nor with anxiety being a sort of "caution" thing. Anyway, I would need more info on orange and, depending on how the orange color is, i may react more negatively. Like with blue Christmas lights.

-there are lots of puns!! i love puns!! i don't take the opportunity to make many, but i love them sm. just like snakes! and cats! in fact i actually know a lot about cat behavior

lmao that's literally all i have, I'll go watch the whole series and also talk about that later in smaller posts, each post being one or two episodes depending on how long it is

(ah jeez it got all messed up again, under maintenance!! sorry about that!! the tags got all mixed around too!!)

(update #2: still messed up but I'll need to not use my tablet to fix it, which i can't do rn! sorry y'all :(!! )

[sharraus]

WIP list tag

tagged by my new-ish(?) friend @writingonesdreams. Thank you! Your WIPs sound damn neat tbh.

Rules: Share a list of all the stories you’re currently working on, regardless of whether or not you have introduced them to writeblr.

well, the rules fail to define “work” so I´m going to put everything I vaguely think and/or add to notes about every once in a blue moon on this list. Mostly because otherwise it would have 3 WIPs at best. Top to bottom by how often or how much I actually work on them.

Hogwarts Elite - Harry Potter fanfiction taking place in Harry´s fifth year. A what if story where prophecies are a bitch, someone is thoroughly done with magical Britain´s nonsense and Albus Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge nor Lord Voldemort are having a good time. Neither is anyone else, but hey, at least they´re alive. So far.

Question of Trust - A sorcerer, a herbalist, a witchhunter and a noble´s daughter try to save a small village from a terrible curse while failing to hide terrible secrets from each other.

Swindler Zero - A young Terran accidentally escapes the Corps´ best guarded prison, joins a feared group of space pirates, punches an elder being and kills what is probably a god. He really just wanted to get off the bloody Earth before it decalred war on something. Again.

Estranged family - Guardiands of the Galaxy vol. 2 sort of fix-it.The Quadrant got hit by rubble from exploding Ego and sent everyone flying in space. Stakar Ogord showed up fast enough to save them, but trauma and family issues don´t go away just because they are inconvenient.

Not worth the war - Started off as Thor 1 rewrite where the fight on Jotunheim didn´t happen. Now it´s a political novel where Frigga is done, Odin´s empire is falling apart and none of their children are okay. And above it all looms the ever-present threat of the Mad Titan´s ugly mug.

One step back - another Harry Potter fanfiction. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna have been sent back in time during the battle at the ministry. Their memory of their proper time is quickly fading and even the wisdom of the founders and various Merlin´s can stop it. They must get back, but there is a slight problem. In the late 10th century british isles no one has even thought of manipulating time, let alone travelling through it.

Keepers of the Ancient Woods - Four young people get a conveniently easy job - taking care of a patch of land in the middle of nowhere. Except nothing is ever that easy and soon they are trapped on a far larger property where the magical creatures don´t care that the four humans are technically in charge. There is no escape until the contract´s been fullfilled. It´s just too bad they didn´t bother to read it.

Woes of the 4.B class - inspired by the unfortunate group of losers people that´s my class and the shit that goes down on our school. There´s just bad teachers, no organizational skills and a whole lot of swearing. The road to graduation is, after all, paved with tears, bad jokes, bucketloads of chocolate and spite and maybe luck.

I´m going to tag a bunch of people, because why not and also it´s a literal tag game... @writeouswriter @hysteriwah @writtendevastation @emberv @zmlorenz @marewriteblr @goldenzingy46butwriteblr @pens-swords-stuff Feel free to just not, or to join if not tagged.

[kiranxrys]

Alone Together Episode 2 Transcript

Okay, I guess I’m going to keep doing these for now! This is a viewer-made transcript of Episode 2 ‘Sources’ of Alone Together: A DS9 Companion performed on the Sid City Social Club. Again, beneath the cut, and again, please let me know if you think there are any errors and I’ll fix them ♥

watch: one | two | three | four

read: one | three | four

ANNOUNCER (ON-SCREEN): ‘Alone Together’ – a DS9 companion, Episode 2 – ‘Sources’. Jake Sisko is forty-four years old. He is now the editor in chief for the Federation News Service and living in the apartment above Sisko’s restaurant with his wife and their two daughters. Jake has clearly matured and carries the weight of the world on his shoulders most days. Nathan took over the restaurant from Joseph when he finally realized he could no longer keep up with day-to-day operations. Nathan continues to use Joseph’s time-honored recipes, but he still forgets to stir the gumbo often enough.

Jake first moved in with his grandfather when he decided to pursue his reporting career on Earth. The great thing about Jake’s father, Benjamin Sisko, being a Bajoran Prophet is that he can always reach out to Jake, Kasidy, or their son. Today Jake’s not-so-baby brother lieutenant junior-grade Joseph Yates-Sisko is an engineer on Deep Space 9. Doctor Julian Bashir has taken on a rather paternal role with the Sisko children, as has Professor Miles O’Brien at Starfleet Academy. Miles has even been known to show up with a bottle of the good stuff from time to time. Quark even keeps in touch with Jake, usually to trade information as much as checking up on Jake. Having dated a Dabo girl, Jake became a rather proficient Dabo player. Quark gives him information and in exchange, Jake doesn’t play so much Dabo when he visits the station.

[fade to black]

RECAP: In our last episode, Garak called Doctor Bashir to Cardassia Prime under a mysterious pretense. Unable to transport to the surface or access medical records from the planetary health authority, Doctor Bashir is at an impasse starting to treat or cure the unknown illness affecting Cardassia.

JULIAN BASHIR (VOICE ONLY): Mission log stardate 73712.6. Castellan Garak has brought me up to speed on the medical situation on Cardassia. A genetically engineered virus has begun sweeping through the populace, seemingly infecting at random. The source remains a mystery. My analysis is quite preliminary at this point.

JAKE SISKO (VOICE ONLY): Julian, is that you? I can’t seem to make visual contact. Please respond.

JULIAN (ON-SCREEN): Jake? Jake, I’m reading your transmission – standby, I’m trying to clean up the signal. Computer, apply a recursive algorithm to the bandwidth filter.

COMPUTER: Working.

JULIAN: Jake! I’m not receiving this transmission under ideal circumstances. Wait- wait a minute, there we go. Is that better?

JAKE (ON-SCREEN): Julian. [laughs] Hi. I tried to contact you on the station.

JULIAN: Yes, I was called away on a priority mission. What can I do for you?

JAKE: Well, uh, Doctor Jabara told me – the medical emergency, right? Is everything okay?

JULIAN: Yes, I’ve only just arrived so there’s a lot of work to be done. It’s good to hear from you, Jake but I’ve a lot to do and I’m a team of one – what can I do for you?

JAKE: Yeah, well, when Doctor Jabara told me I tried to call Kira but she was in consultation with the Vedek Assembly.

JULIAN: Yes, the life of a Kai is a busy one, but I wasn’t called to Bajor.

JAKE: Yeah, um, any chance that this has something to do with what’s happening on Cardassia?

JULIAN: Um… where I am is classified. However it’s simply a humanitarian mission. But what do you mean, what have you heard is happening on Cardassia?

JAKE: Ah, I have my sources.

JULIAN: Jake…

JAKE (LAUGHING): I just have a few questions, Julian. Um… you know me, I won’t take too much of your time.

JULIAN: The last time you had a few questions I spent the next four hours consulting on your latest novel.

JAKE: Yeah, well today I’m contacting you in official capacity for the Federation News Service. And… I’ll make you a deal. You tell me what you know, and I’ll tell you whatever it is that you think I know.

JULIAN (LAUGHING): Look, Mister Editor-In-Chief, you contacted me.

JAKE: Oh, well, you know you can’t blame a reporter for trying.

JULIAN: A doctor isn’t normally the most newsworthy source. The last time I was important to a story was when you were writing a profile of me, right before…

JAKE: Yeah, before we responded to that medical emergency on uh- Ajilon Prime, right?

JULIAN: Yes.

JAKE: I think uh- to be honest, that was the kind of diversion I was looking for for an interesting angle.

JULIAN: Interesting angle?! I’d just proposed one of the most controversial theories of my career – you didn’t think it was interesting enough?! Well no wonder you wrote about yourself! I could’ve explained the theory more clearly if you’d just told me-

JAKE: Yeah, well, you know honestly- you know this really wasn’t about Ajilon Prime and that wasn’t why I changed the story- the focus of the story, Julian. But enough about Ajilon Prime – I want to talk about Cardassia. According to my sources, it is on lockdown. I mean nobody is able to get permission to enter the place or leave the place, from what I heard. And you know Quark told me than Grand Nagus Rom said that business is horrible and he’s completely frustrated. But no one can give me a clear and solid explanation so I was hoping that maybe, you know, given your close relationship with Garak, that um… maybe you could uh- clear things up for me.

JULIAN: Well frankly I’m surprised you were able to get that much information.

JAKE: Interesting.

JULIAN: What is?

JAKE: Well, I mean a second ago when I was bringing up the topic, you know, you seemed a little bit uh- evasive. But now that you know what I know a little bit you seem that you have more that you want to tell me.

JULIAN: Not at all, Jake! I have absolutely nothing further to tell you, other than-

JAKE: Well you’re talking to the editor-in-chief of the Federation News Service, Julian – I know when people are trying to keep a secret from me so… I mean hell, you don’t know what I know!

JULIAN: You’d be surprised – and watch your language.

JAKE: I’m- I’m sorry, I- I just- I just called because I know that there’s issues on Cardassia and… you know, with you being coincidentally called to a medical emergency, and Garak being the Castellan of Cardassia… it didn’t take much for me to kind of do some dot connecting.

JULIAN: Hmm… look, Jake, I really can’t talk about it. Suffice to say, I’ve been called to a priority mission and understandably, I cannot comment on a mission that has only just begun.

JAKE: Julian, I’m not just looking for a story. I want to help. At least I- I think I can help. But I do have an obligation to the truth, and- and I will honor that.

JULIAN: Now that is interesting.

JAKE: What?

JULIAN: You just reminded me of your father for a moment. Had you said ‘looking for a damn story’, I might’ve sworn we were back in his old office.

JAKE: [laughs]

JULIAN: More importantly, how do you think you can help?

JAKE: I heard mumblings about an attempt on Garak’s life a few weeks ago. I had contacted him at his home.

JULIAN: He took your call?

JAKE: Well, you know, Garak checks in from time to time, but in this case subspace communications were a little shaky so he took a call from Bajor’s newly-appointed ambassador.

JULIAN: But you don’t even live on Bajor.

JAKE (LAUGHING): Well, wait a minute, I’m the firstborn of the Emissary so you know, all Siskos are Bajoran citizens. One word from the Kai and I, you know, I kind of landed the job.

JULIAN: [laughs] Well Garak must’ve been surprised to see you on the other side of a diplomatic communicate.

JAKE: Yeah, well, not that he let it on but he did compliment me on my resolution – I think his exact words were uh- [clears throat] ‘Truly the manouver of a Sisko’.

JULIAN: [laughs]

JAKE: Yeah, you know, I told him a source said he might be in danger and… he was alerted as rumor of a coup.

JULIAN: What did he say?

JAKE: Well, he didn’t really say much, you know how he does – he listened, he avoided my questions, he asked about my family, he complimented my last novel and he, you know, he redirected every subject change and then he got me talking about my dad so… I learned more from a rumor than I ever would’ve from Garak. I’ll give him this, though – he’s good.

JULIAN: You don’t know how good. Frankly I don’t even think I know how good he really is.

JAKE: Maybe not but… that’s where it ended, my trail was cold until about fourteen hours ago when I heard that you had left. Anyway, my sources in Cardassia had told me that-

JULIAN: You have sources on Cardassia?

JAKE: Yeah, I have sources throughout the quadrant, Julian, you know that! Anyway, multiple sources on Cardassia said that Garak was uh- hosting a diplomatic conference. He was still trying to smooth things over with the Breen and their trade agreement was developing some cracks, shall we say, along their distribution routes.

JULIAN: Cracks?

JAKE: You know, apparently some Ferengi merchants had sold a couple of Cardassian cargo haulers some second-rate transporter modules, you know, led to some major consignment issues and losses for both sides. They were crying foul, I mean it took some time to figure out who was at fault.

JULIAN: Jake- Jake, this is fascinating, but… what does it have to do with Garak?

JAKE: I thought doctors were supposed to have patience.

JULIAN: Actually, doctors make the worst patients.

JAKE: No, no I’m-

JULIAN: -oh, making a little joke.

JAKE: All right, well I- I was… where was I?

JULIAN: Lost cargo.

JAKE: Right. So the Breen, they weren’t going to get the payments because the cargo never completed the rematerialization routine and basically once they started the transporter sequence, something happened and they ended up with a bunch of organic and inorganic goo all over the place. Cardassians accused the Breen transport captain of deception and vice versa.

JULIAN: Neither race are particularly trusting of others.

JAKE: Yeah, well, that’s right. Um… Cardassians wouldn’t allow the Breen to complete their own analysis and the Breen denied any wrongdoing, so the whole thing is about to become a galactic incident, if Grand Nagus Rom hadn’t been in the middle of an audit-

JULIAN: An audit? Jake, where are you going with this? I really don’t have time.

JAKE: Yeah, yeah I’m getting there, Julian, just bear with me! So being the man that he is, you know, Grand Nagus Rom was completing his annual audit of Ferengi trade practices and discovered uh- the transporter modules were known to be faulty. They came from decaying annex-class prototypes that had been found in an abandoned shipyard. You know, the Ferengi, they came across this stuff and they started scavenging, they tweaked the old module transporter biomatter- I’m sure you’re aware that annex-class ships weren’t known for flawless transporters, and- and those were prototypes.

JULIAN: So you think the Breen tried to assassinate Garak as retribution?

JAKE: Yeah, well, that’s one of three theories that I’ve kind of come by to explain Cardassia’s apparent shutdown. But after this trade embargo, suddenly uh- I don’t know, apparently usage of all medical equipment is subject to state approval?

JULIAN: It doesn’t make sense. The Breen aren’t known for biogenic weapons, they use brute force, with rather advanced weapons technology, but I’ve never heard of any weaponized viruses.

JAKE: Hm… a virus?

JULIAN: [sighs] Jake, I really have to get back to work. If there’s nothing else you can tell me of any use-

JAKE: No, no- Well, just- just let me- bear with me… There’s two other somewhat credible theories that I have that implicate the Andorians and the Romulans.

JULIAN: Romulans?

JAKE: And Andorians.

JULIAN: The Andorians have nothing to gain from Garak’s death.

JAKE: That’s true but their beef is also with the Breen. You know, Andoria’s population and its fleet were completely decimated and they’re still recovering from the Breen assaults during the Dominion War. So, you know, icy moons are not exactly lending themselves to quick procreation.

JULIAN: Well, their colonies are also further apart due to the need for lower temperatures that still fall within the M-class conditions. Plus, Andoria is militaristic – they have great warships, but they don’t devote resources to espionage or underhand methods. Look, Jake, the last time you broke a story about Andoria, you found yourself in front of the Federation Council being threatened with extradition.

JAKE: Yeah… and my evidence convinced them to recall the ambassador before the charges were dropped. Anyways, the Andorians and the Breens may have issues, and the Breens and the Cardassians are resolving this trade dispute-

JULIAN: But the Romulans are the only species you’ve mentioned who have been known to use biogenic weapons.

JAKE: Would they have a reason to want Garak dead?

JULIAN: Well let’s just say that Garak and the Romulans have… past dealings.

JAKE: You mean his past with the embassy?

JULIAN: What are you talking about?

JAKE: Come on, Julian, we all know that he was a member of the Obsidian Order. I mean, he was working as a groundskeeper on Romulus for the Cardassian embassy. He never told you? Garak was no more a gardener than he was a tailor.

JULIAN: Actually, Garak is quite a good tailor.

JAKE: You- you know what I mean. He may be a politician now but as a spy he played many roles. I’m surprised he’s satisfied with, you know, such a quiet life.

JULIAN: World leaders hardly live quiet lives.

JAKE: Yeah, you- you know what I mean.

JULIAN: I do. Jake, listen, I appreciate your insights, at least I have a starting point. If you hear anything else, please let me know.

JAKE: Now that I know where to keep digging I’m sure we’ll be in touch.

JULIAN: Give the girls a hug from me.

JAKE: Julian, one more thing! Sorry, I’m glad you’re still there. [laughs] Before you go I want to say uh- I thought about it a little and I think I’m old enough to say hell now.

JULIAN: You’ll never be old enough to swear, you’re still thirteen! Though I may have some work for you later, I’ll be in touch.

JAKE: Work? A job? No I- I didn’t think I was any really much use at Ajilon Prime – I don’t think you would uh- have any use for me. I couldn’t do any much more than that.

JULIAN: We’ll see. Take care.

ELIM GARAK (ON-SCREEN): Uh, excuse me- are you uh- are you quite finished, Doctor?

JULIAN: Garak? Have you been monitoring us this whole time?

GARAK: Doctor, all communications in and out of Cardassia are currently under my direct control.

JULIAN: Well, we may have a lead.

GARAK: Yes, the Romulans.

JULIAN: You already suspected them?

GARAK: Oh, I’m suspicious of everyone, but- but Jake, you did confirm that specific concern of mine.

JAKE: I’m glad I could help.

GARAK: Indeed. I suspected that the Romulans could be involved. I’ve placed agents on several planets for reconnaissance – only three of the eight are still alive. Never send a boy to do a man’s work.

JAKE: Only three left?

GARAK: Now, remember, Mister Jake, remember, all of this is off the record.

JAKE: Yeah, as long as you’re in danger I’ll respect that.

GARAK: Even after my life is no longer in immediate danger, we may not be able to discuss this particular situation publicly. I’ll- I’ll let you know.

JAKE: Understood.

JULIAN: Garak, how were you able to monitor my communication with Jake? I was barely able to receive his signal at first.

GARAK: I know, I had to run his signal through the same encryption protocols we’re using ��� it took a moment to reconfigure our local systems to allow us to communicate outside of it. Although your recursive algorithm was a good idea, it never would’ve worked. The bandwidth filter has nothing to do with my encryption protocols.

JULIAN: Five out of eight operatives are dead?

GARAK: Yes, yes, acceptable losses – twenty percent. But this is a bit more, isn’t it? It’s a serious issue, and it requires risk.

JULIAN: Garak, Jake and I figured out in a few minutes of conversation, you really have to learn to trust.

GARAK (LAUGHING): And who would you have me trust, Doctor? An intelligence operative for an alien government and a reporter who shares his secrets as part of his job? Hardly people one should consider trustworthy.

JULIAN: But you have to trust me, Garak.

GARAK: Yes, Doctor, for better or worse, I trust you. But Captain Sisko once told me that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. We all have a weakness, and if it’s the right interrogator who discovers it, the information revealed could devastate sectors of space and destabilize entire worlds.

JULIAN: I never realized you and the Captain discussed philosophy.

GARAK: Well-

JAKE: I never realized you discussed anything with my dad. [laughs]

GARAK: The Captain and I saw each other from time to time – it’s a small station, after all. However, the uh- the good intentions paving the road to hell in this case are the secrets. Knowledge. People see secrets as being malicious little things, but they keep the peace. Secrets are both power and penalty. If everyone was honest, there’d be no need for secrets. If no one shared secrets, the galaxy would be a much happier place. But Doctor, you know the things I know, and in some cases the things we both know are the things we need to ensure that no one knows. Anarchy would reign and the order of the day would be chaos. Trust, especially for people who hold this information, is both a luxury, and a burden of truth.

JULIAN: I hate to admit it, but you’re right.

JAKE: Listen guys, uh- if you ever need to share some of that truth…

JULIAN & GARAK: [laugh]

GARAK: It isn’t, Jake, that I wouldn’t trust you with Mila’s recipes or even- even some wildly outdated intelligence data, but I know you have a hunger for information. And you also feel a great responsibility to let your people know of any threats, and thus, this virus, is a threat. Not only to Cardassians but quite possibly to off-worlders, as well.

JULIAN: Fair point, but Garak-

GARAK: You know Doctor, haven’t we wasted enough time?

JULIAN: You’re right. Jake if you’re willing to keep digging you can focus your investigations on Romulus now. I’ll do some looking myself.

JAKE: I’m on it. [leaves]

JULIAN: Garak, you said that you have holographic systems. An EMH. How sophisticated are your emitters? Could you create some scanning equipment at your location that will be tied into your equipment? By now I suspect you have a closed system like the one you’ve locked your medical professionals up in. Does it have medical databases?

GARAK: I suppose I do and I suppose it does, but… what are you getting at?

JULIAN: Well you were willing to transmit images – if I can’t do the analysis myself, if you had access to the equipment, well, I can at least analyse the results.

GARAK: You- you know Julian, that really hadn’t occurred to me.

JULIAN: Oh yes, well, you wanted the best.

GARAK: That enhanced brain of yours rarely ceases to amaze me.

JULIAN: Let’s get started. We’ll likely need standard biobed with an [uncertain] scanning interface. I need to map your cerebrum to see if we should expect any issues with reasoning. A portable retinal scanner too, will help identify any changes in blood pressure or possible sensory complications. The biobed will also monitor your cardiopulmonary system, which should give me a look at your heart. We may be able to slow the progression until we have a cure.

GARAK: It’s a good thing I had a PADD nearby, Julian – that’s quite a list. With no EMH to conduct the scans, it will take a few minutes.

JULIAN: Well contact me when you’re finished, I want to see if Jake has learned anything.

GARAK: Very well Doctor, I’ll contact you shortly. [leaves]

JULIAN: Jake? Jake?

JAKE (ON-SCREEN): Julian. Yeah, Garak had more than a few enemies on Romulus. There was a proconsul Mirok who opened- who opposed opening diplomatic relations with Cardassia at all. He was poisoned. Uh, subcommander named Ustard, who was the Chief of Staff for the Romulan ambassador. Ustard died in a transporter accident beaming to the Romulan Senate. And the ambassador, well, we all know about the ambassador.

JULIAN: We do indeed. But they’re all dead. Are you suggesting this is a vendetta from someone related to one of those people?

JAKE: Well, anything is possible. I’m more suggesting behavior.

JULIAN: I suppose. But Garak was assigned there – it’s not like he goes around killing Romulans.

JAKE: No, but it sounds more to me like he may have been ordered to kill Romulans… Did you ever meet a Senator Varak or… Vreenak on the station?

JULIAN: Should I have?

JAKE: Well, not really but, you know, Quark would sometimes sell me little tidbits of information. Now let’s just say, I take the occasion break from the uh- Dabo wheel and he would tell me things. Now one of the things he told me about was a Senator Vreenak, who apparently visited the station before the Romulans joined the Dominion War. Now Senator Vreenak… maybe- maybe he was working with my dad to have some kind of negotiation into the entry into the war… I don’t know, I’m not sure, but you know shortly after he would’ve left the station, he… he was lost in a shuttle explosion.

JULIAN: Vreenak also negotiated the non-aggression pact for the Dominion. It’s quite a chance of alliance.

JAKE: And he’s dead.

JULIAN: [sighs] I suppose it’s possible that the Romulan government, or the Tal Shiar for that matter, could be playing a rather long game.

JAKE: Garak is the leader of the world- of his world, you know, Cardassia is in a much better place now and you know, they may even someday join the Federation, who knows? We have a level of isolation to get over but-

JULIAN: Koval.

JAKE: I’m sorry, what?

JULIAN: Jake, I have to go – keep digging. If you hear anything else, let me know.

JAKE: I’ll be in touch.

JULIAN: Thank you.

[pause]

JULIAN: And Garak! If you’re listening, which I expect you are – medication, rest. I’ll contact you shortly.

[fade to black]

[CREDITS]

[ask-them-bois]

Ancient Sounds 1/5

(Startin’ off nice and slow, folks, here we go.)

“Happy wriggling day, Mushy!” Drayco crowed, flinging their arms around Musrio’s neck.

Musrio tipped and turned his head to look at his matesprit without hitting them with his horns. The rustblood was sat at the dinner table, having what he’d thought was a quiet evening coffee in his favorite sweater, until his flushmate snuck up on him. He looked at them, amused, his lips unwittingly tugged into a tired smile.

“Thxnk you, Dee.” He murmured, releasing his mug with one hand to gently scratch his claws through his lover’s hair. Drayco tipped their head back, into his hand, a gurgling purr in their throat.

“Yoou wanna doo anything special foor toonight?” They asked, opening their eyes to look at Musrio.

“Not rexlly. I don’t xge, I see no rexson to celebrxte my hxtchdxy. Ribbit.” Musrio shrugged. Drayco clearly didn’t like that answer. They released Musrio from their embrace and stood up.

“Coome oon, noothing at all?” They frowned, pulling out a chair and taking a seat.

“Well… depends. Did you hxve something in mind?” Musrio asked, taking a sip of coffee.

“Uh, noo, noot really, but I’m doown foor anything. Coome oon, yoou name it. Anything yoou wanna doo today. Besides woork.” They added quickly as Musrio opened his mouth. The rust shut his jaws again and snorted. He took another drink and sighed, staring into his mug as he thought.

Drayco watched him for a moment, before they sat up. “Wait. Befoore yoou pick anything, can I give yoou yoour gift?” They asked, getting to their feet. Musrio looked up, surprised.

“You got me x gift?” He repeated as Drayco walked past, towards the back of the hive where their room was.

“OOf coourse I did!” They called over their shoulder, disappearing down the hall. Musrio turned back to his mug, taking a deep drink. His free hand reached up and wrapped around his amulet, his thumb brushing the scar on his throat. He tried to swallow the funny feeling in his chest, but it didn’t leave, crowding his bloodpumper like the thoughts that filled his thinkpan.

He was thankfully distracted when Drayco returned, a box in their hands. It was wrapped in black wrapping paper, with a red bow taped on top. It was surprisingly big, Musrio realized as Drayco sat it in front of him.

“OOkay, here. It’s… it’s noot much, but I coouldn’t decide what too get yoou.” Drayco explained awkwardly, rubbing the back of their neck. They sat down, slinging their air tank’s bag off their shoulder and sitting it at their feet.

Musrio set his mug to the side, Drayco watching his every move as he tore the paper off. Under the paper was a cardboard box, the top already slit open for him. Pulling back the flaps, Musrio found a large, black, wicker basket, stuffed full of various items. He pulled the basket from the box and set it on the table in front of himself before he began going through the items.

The first thing laid on top was a pencil case. When he pulled the zipper down and looked inside, he found it stuffed with many, rather expensive eyeliners, all in one color: Black.

He pursed his lips, trying and failing to stop a smile as Drayco giggled.

“How mxny of these did you get?” He asked, trying not to laugh.

“Uh… soomewhere between twenty and foorty, I think. I loost coount.” Drayco admitted, grinning, “But at least yoou woon’t run oout foor a few sweeps.” They added.

Musrio zipped the case back up and set it aside with a chuckle, pulling out the next thing; a set of six, red and black candles. He raised them to his nose and sniffed; frosted raspberry, one of his favorite scents.

“I saw the candles in yoour lab were getting loow, I figured yoou were needing replacements.” Drayco explained.

“I wxs. Thxnks, Dee.” Musrio purred, setting the candles aside and reaching for the next items.

A bottle of raspberry body lotion, a jar of bath salts, a face mask, and black nail polish.

A box of expensive coffees from East Alternia.

Several pairs of thick, fuzzy socks, all of them patterned with skulls, ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, and other silly All Hallows Eve symbols.

A coffee mug decorated with pictures of poisonous dart frogs.

And finally, at the bottom, a new sweater, with the four quadrantal signs on the chest.

He held it aloft, staring at the symbols as his throat attempted to close on him. He swallowed thickly, overcome with a nearly painful amount of feelings; the most prevalent of which was the warm, red flush of affection for his matesprit.

Drayco watched him, concerned. “Mush? Yoou okay?” They asked. Musrio nodded, pressing the sweater to his face; it had been hidden in Drayco’s room so long, it smelled like them, he realized, taking a deep, slow breath.

“Y- yexh. Thxnk you, Deedee. I love it.” He mumbled into the wool, raising his head after a moment to smile at the bronzeblood.

Drayco chirred. “Yoou’re welcoome.”

Musrio rose to his feet, so Drayco did to, only for Musrio toss the sweater into his seat and embrace the bronze. Drayco froze, startled, before they laughed and hugged him back.

Musrio finally pulled back, before bonking his forehead to Drayco’s and kissing their mask. “Flushed for you, Deedee.” He mumbled, embarrassed. Drayco, for their part, was grinning like an idiot.

“Flushed foor yoou, toooo, Mushy.” They whispered, kissing Musrio’s nose, right on his scar. “Soo, you really doon’t wanna doo anything tooday?”

“Cxn we just get txkeout xnd wxtch movies? Thxt’s… rexlly xll I wxnt. Ribbit.” Musrio confessed. Drayco gave their mate another squeeze.

“Hell yeah we can. I’ll goo get blankets and stuff, yoou pick oout moovies.” Drayco ordered, pulling away. They scooped up their bag and hurried towards their respiteblock. Musrio rolled his eyes and packed his gifts back into the box so they wouldn’t get lost, before he headed to the sitting room to do as he was told.

He picked out several films, a mix of both his and Drayco’s favorites, and stacked them on the coffee table. Drayco returned, their arms loaded with pillows, blankets, and one ferret slung around their shoulders.

“Is it cooool if Luci jooins us?” The bronze asked, dumping their armload on the couch.

“Of course it is.” Musrio hummed as he turned on the TV and set up the first movie, while Drayco got the pillows and blankets organized. Musrio picked up the remote, before he paused as a thought struck him. “Lucy.” He repeated.

Drayco, who’d turned towards the mealblock to get drinks, paused. “What aboout him?”

“No, not… not your ferret. Lucinx. Ruthless’ wife.”

“What aboout her?” Drayco corrected themself. Musrio shook his head.

“She’s the one xncestor I cxn’t seem to bring bxck. I cxn’t rexch her. I don’t… know why, though. Ribbit.”

Drayco frowned, adjusting their mask. “Didn’t Forsaken say she was looooking foor Ruthless?”

“Yes, but- she’s still dexd. Xll records of her sxy she’s dexd. The spirits tell me she’s dexd. Ribbit.” Musrio explained, before he sighed. “Thxt mexns I should be xble to rexch her, but I cxn’t. There’s nothing in the veil for me to pull bxck to the world of the living. Ruthless even gxve me their wedding rings xs x conduit, and nothing hxppened. Ribbit.”

Drayco hummed in thought as they wandered into the mealblock. When they came back with a soda for themself and a refilled coffee for Musrio, the rustblood had taken a seat on the couch and wrapped himself in a blanket. Drayco moved to join him, sitting their bag on the floor by the couch and getting cozy in their own blanket.

“Maybe she dooesn’t want too coome back.” They said at last, shuffling to pull their legs onto the couch and lay their head on Musrio’s shoulder. They slung their ferret off from around their neck and placed him on their lap. Lucifer chirped, curling into a donut and nibbling on his own paws.

“Thxt doesn’t mxtter. None of the xncestors wxnted to come bxck. I brought them bxck by force, becxuse… becxuse Neviserrxth wxnted me to. Ribbit.”

“And we still have noo idea why it wants that?”

“None.”

Drayco fell silent, their right shoulder suddenly uncomfortably warm as Musrio pressed play on the movie.

It was a few hours later, when the movie was wrapping up and they were waiting on the takeout delivery, that Drayco finally voiced what they were thinking.

“Doo you think… OOliver might have soomething too doo with it?” They asked, touching their shoulder; a thin layer of fabric separated their palm from the black, skeletal hand tattoo.

“No. Oliver doesn’t cxre xbout Ruthless. He only cxres xbout us, xnd seeing us dexd xgxin. Ribbit.” Musrio said, reaching up to rub his amulet.

“Dooes he? I mean, we doon’t even knoow what her next moove is. We haven’t seen her since-”

“I know. But I don’t think it’s smxrt for us to go hunting him down. We hxve to wxit for them to mxke the first move. Ribbit.”

[theandorianimperialarchive]

Question 3 (last one): I read Stranger Than We Can Imagine (love it! The characterizations were on point and the reactions believable. I really liked your take on andorian culture) and had a question abt a flashback you wrote. While Shran’s in the shower he remembers him and 3 of his crewmates escape a fight w Vulcans. What is that in reference to? Did I miss something in the show, is this a book canon scenario, or is it something you thought up? Cuz if it’s the last, I’d love to hear more!

Thanks, I was really pleased with that story considering it was a quick fire prompt for a friend.

If I remember rightly (I wrote it about a decade ago so bear with me) it was in reference to something I headcanoned for Shran, rather than something from the show. I hc’d that Shran and the 3 Andorians he first showed up with were a tight knit black ops team who had met in a Vulcan concentration camp where they housed and tortured Andorians. Shran and his friends escaped but when they finally got home and then led the Imperial Guard to the camp everyone else was gone, likely murdered. 

The trauma of the whole thing, especially since they were all very young, fresh out of Imperial Guard Academy, made the four of them incredibly dangerous and the Imperial Guard decided, ‘they’re already screwed up and ready to die if it means killing aliens, let’s use that’. So they became a black ops team, and they did some awful things, but also some amazing things because the four turned out to be a brilliant team together.

Shran was the most damaged of the bunch, he’d already dealt with some trauma before the camp and had suffered some of the worst torture there because he was a mouthy shit and gained the commander’s terrible attention. When he failed to save the others he ‘splintered’ where his mind fell apart and only quick intervention saved his life, but at the cost of his childhood memories. So he’s the biggest death seeker of the four, but he loves his brothers too much to let them die, so he developed an annoying habit of going on suicide missions and coming back alive that has other Guards thinking that the four are somehow magic or blessed.

Thon is an intelligence genius, he can remember any detail and and find anything out if across the quadrant. Nothing gets by him when he’s on the hunt. He’s also got some odd habits (I think I had a probably poorly understood version of OCD for him) that make him the most vulnerable of the four.

I think I had Tholos be the weapons and engineering guy, and he takes his trauma out on other aliens by making them uncomfortable however he can, hence why he was sleezing on T’Pol in “The Andorian Incident” even though he would rather die than touch a Vulcan. 

Keval was the logistics one, able to get them in and out of places better than anyone.

Shran himself is better at making decisions and taking action, so he’s the natural leader of the four. He’s also the best one at making friends funnily enough, so despite how xenophobic he is, he’s got a lot of connections across the quadrant because they’ve been doing this for nearly 40 or 50 years by the time they meet the humans.

By then they were all sick of doing all this dirty work and Shran knew they weren’t likely to survive much longer, so he decided to swallow his hate and force the Guard to make peace. However the four of them were still looking for the commander of the camp, certain he’s still alive and hiding because the Vulcan government covered up that the camp ever existed.

I’d a story in mind where they finally find him and he’s gone completely mad and just wants to abduct and hold Shran forever to leech off his emotions with mind melds. Never got around to it though, or any of the crazy adventures the four had, like how they ended up hanging out with some Klingons for a night and they all got very drunk and ended up on another planet with no idea how they had gotten there.

God I really had a lot of stuff about these guys didn’t I...

[icasttourniquet]

Operation Eve, Part II: Secondary Assessment

Scenario

In Part I, Elyssa determined that her patient Babak, who fell off a cliff, isn’t about to die before her eyes, so now she begins her secondary assessment. First, she palpates his skull; checks behind his ears, under his eyes, and his pupils; and looks up his nose for secretions. Then, she gently presses against every part of his body, squeezing limbs with two hands and rolling a flat palm along all four quadrants of his abdomen.

Next, she takes and writes down his pulse. She checks that he has a radial pulse, which he does, and assumes that means his blood pressure is more or less okay. Finally, she counts how many times he breathes in a minute and writes that down as well.

She guides the friend on top of the cliff down to safety and asks for a SAMPLE history of her patient. When she gets to P, she strikes gold–she knows how she needs to help her patient.

Secondary Assessment

The secondary assessment is composed of three parts: 1) head-to-toe exam, 2) vitals, and 3) SAMPLE history.

Head-to-Toe Exam

During the head-to-toe exam, the responder tries to touch / look at every part of the patient. Your character doesn’t need to be an expert to perform one. They’re looking for some pretty obvious stuff, like, say, a bone sticking out of the body, a limb that’s bent wrong, or the patient yelling “ow ow ow!” when they touch that spot. Your character should also note any crepitus, which is a crunchy feeling when they press on a spot—in the words of Mod N’s instructor: “you’ll know it when you feel it.”

We don’t solve any problems during this stage—we’re not making a splint or anything until we’re finished, although I suppose if you found an arterial bleed at this stage, you’d treat that, but really, you should’ve noticed the growing pool of blood before now. There’s two exceptions to the No Problem Solving rule. One, if something feels weird or hurts, the responder should expose it to skin level. That’s how they can spot things like the bones sticking out or open wounds. Two, if a patient says “ow ow ow!” when you touch a spot, you should—shocker—stop touching that spot. (Spoiler: this includes when reducing dislocations! If your patient doesn’t want you jamming their shoulder around like that, you should stop! I’m looking at you, every movie with a shoulder dislocation in it).

If your character is a little more ~advanced~ they can look for Battle’s sign. Yes, that apostrophe is in the correct spot—some guy had the great fortune of being named Battle and he noticed that people with traumatic brain injuries often show characteristic bruising behind the ears. Not only does your character look like a real pro checking behind the ears, they will sound like a total badass if they start throwing around the phrase “Battle’s sign.” (Indeed, there’s nothing wrong with a character who just talks about Battle’s sign all day long—wait, I’m hearing that apparently there might be something wrong with a character like that… if you’re a coward). Have your responder take a gander at the bags underneath their patient’s eyes too—raccoon eyes can also indicate brain injury.

Since we’re already looking at the eyes, why not check out those pupils—here at ICT we try to support all types of pupils, but if they are differently sized, don’t respond to light, or not round, this is a cause for alarm. Why not have your character throw in a peek into the ears, just to check for any secretions too? Ears, you may have noticed, are generally dry. Seeing any liquid, of any color, leaking out of the ear is what we call a Bad Sign. The two most common ear secretions are blood (not ideal) and cerebrospinal fluid (very bad). If your character sees only red, they cannot breathe a sigh of relief because CSF has no color and almost always comes with blood. So, if you see blood, assume bad.

Vitals

There are three vitals that WFRs care about: pulse, breathing, and brain. Wise readers will see that these line up with our three critical systems from the last post, because for the most part, in the wilderness, we only care about three organ systems: the circulatory system, respiratory system, and nervous system. A doctor can mess around with livers and kidneys later.

Vital signs are the closest thing we have to x-ray vision in the wilderness. We want to know what your three (important) organs are doing and this is the best way to find out.

A normal pulse range is 60 – 90, higher for kids or people who just exercised. In general, we care about trends over time, so if the pulse started at 105 but stayed there for five hours, this isn’t too worrying. At the very least, your patient isn’t getting worse. If the pulse starts at a healthy 60 and then skyrockets to 105 and then plummets to to 20, this indicates the patient is probably dying.

A normal breathing range is 12 – 20 breaths per minute. Regardless of the number of breaths per minute, turning blue is not normal. A top secret trick your character might know if they have some training is to take breaths while keeping your finger on your patient’s pulse. As humans, if we think someone is paying attention to our breathing, we naturally start breathing weird. So, it’s better to let the patient think we’re still getting the pulse while we count breaths.

And for brain, your character can just check in on AVPU every so often to see if the patient is getting worse.

If you are a ~fancy~ WFR, you might also take blood pressure in the field.

Remember: normal is relative. If your character’s pulse is 40, but they say that’s totally normal for them, your responder would probably not be that worried.

SAMPLE History

Most medical problems cannot simply be solved by looking at the body. We need to ask the patient. Information like “I have crushing chest pain and, hey look, my doctor prescribed me nitro for just this eventuality,” or “I have terrible stomach and arm pain and also I am pregnant,” or “I have had many seizures before and this is what I need you to do to feel better” is game-changing, and the patient is the gate-keeper.

Let’s start with the S: Symptoms. This one’s easy: what hurts most? When did that start? Does anything make it better or worse? How would you describe this pain? (Mod N’s favorite question: If you had to make feel the same pain you are, what would you have to to do to me?) Anything else bothering you? Your character might remember what to ask by running through the acronym OPQRST, or they might just go with the flow in the moment.

Allergies. Another easy one: are you allergic to anything? What happens if you come into with that allergen? Is there any chance you came into contact with it recently?

Medication. While it is not the job of the EMT or WFR to keep track of medication interactions or prescribe anything, it’s important to know if your patient has medication that is useful in this situation or recently started or stopped medication. In one particularly embarrassing exercise, I spent about 10 minutes doing what was, in my defense, excellent PROP with someone having an asthma attack without once asking her if, perchance, she had an inhaler nearby. Don’t be like Mod E, folks—always ask if there’s an inhaler nearby.

Past Pertinent History. Has this every happened before? If your patient says yes, boom! We’ve suddenly got a subject matter expert on scene. We also want to hit on the DASH here: Diabetes, Asthma, Seizures or Stroke, and Heart Conditions. It never hurts to know your patient has diabetes. Indeed, if your character is travelling into the wilderness with someone, they may ask about the DASH before setting out.

Last ins and outs. When did you last eat and drink? How much and what? When did you last poop and pee? Was it… pretty normal for you? (Note: there is no non-awkward way to ask a stranger you found in the woods what their last bowel movement looked like).

If you think it’s relevant, when did you last menstruate? And let’s all remember, we don’t have x-ray vision, so the only way to rule out pregnancy is to ask. (Yes, even the guy with the big bushy beard—you can’t see his organs, so you don’t know if he has a uterus. If you can see his organs, what the heck are you taking a SAMPLE history for? You should be on the phone calling in a helicopter stat).

Events leading up to injury. What happened? With follow-up questions as necessary.

Scenario

“He has diabetes?” Elyssa asks Babak’s friend.

“Yeah, and he said he was feeling dizzy and light-headed before he fell.”

Elyssa, a seasoned professional, carries packets of sugar with her for just such a situation. She gently rubs them into Babak’s lips, monitoring his airway to make sure he doesn’t choke. 15 minutes later, Babak is sitting up and talking, and Elyssa can work with him and his friend on an evacuation plan.

[kyoujurous-eyebrows]

Hello dear writer! I would love to read a story with mischievous demon Rengoku messing with Tanjirou's gang when they are on a mission trying to find a different demon , but not actually trying to kill them. Thank you! Have a great day!

Hello dear friend! Thank you for blessing my soul with demon Rengoku because I have a new obsession now 💕 Sorry it took so long to do this, I wanted to save it for last so I could spend plenty of time on it 😘

Also in this Rengoku was never a pillar and has been a demon for close to a century. I couldn’t write this if it was in canon storyline cause I would catch a case of the bad feels ahah

So yeah… this got very long… Hope you enjoy the shenanigans!

Demon!Rengoku Messing with the Kamaboko

Comedy

Words: 2k

The three boys watched as the sun set behind the mountains in the distance. They had been tasked with protecting this village from a demon who had made themselves known in the nearby area, and Oyakata-sama wanted to try and prevent anyone in the village from being killed.

“You two remember what we’re doing right? I’ll go to this quadrant of the village, Zenitsu is in this area, and Inosuke you’re over here… Inosuke? You with us?” The boar headed man was glancing around wildly all of a sudden. He was drawn back to the group when Tanjiro’s voice reached his ears.

“Hmph, must’ve been my imagination.”

“Did you sense something?” Tanjiro asks, his hand hovering above his sword.

“I thought I felt eyes watching me, but like, really far away. I couldn’t pinpoint the area before it disappeared.” The two boys could tell their friend was fuming, but they didn’t have time to stop his next outburst.

“Eaauugghh! Coward! Come and fight me like a man!” Inosuke shouted loudly into the quiet night street.

“Shhh! Inosuke! You’re going to wake up the whole village like that!” Tanjiro slapped the boar head that the loud boy wore before turning serious again.

“Are we good to split up now?” The two other boys nodded in agreement before vanishing from their meeting spot.

Tanjiro followed his sharp nose to an alleyway in the quadrant he had selected for himself. It was the unmistakable scent of blood and death that every demon had. However as he grew closer something else mixed with it. The scent of… ash? A campfire? He blinked a few times and rubbed his nose thinking he had gone crazy, but sure enough, the scent was still there, and was growing stronger as he closed in on it.

He slowed his step and tried his best to be completely silent as he reached the alleyway, carefully peeking around the corner. He could make out the silhouette of someone, standing close to 5′10″ who had their arms crossed. The moon began to crest over the roofs of the homes as Tanjiro sat and watched the demon. The moonlight peeked over just enough to illuminate the figure’s face and Tanjiro felt his heart skip a beat, his palms growing sweatier as he gripped the hilt of his blade.

The man’s face was tan, and he had golden hair with red streaks that made Tanjiro think of fire. His eye were a sharp golden colour, and they were staring directly at Tanjiro. Realising the boy had noticed his stare finally, the placated smile on his face turned into a grin before he vanished from sight. Tanjiro let out a gasp and drew his blade quickly before glancing around at his immediate surroundings. Sniffing the air, it was clear of the heavy scent, the demon he had just encountered gone. Tanjiro let out a low whistle and his crow descended towards him.

“Please go tell Inosuke and Zenitsu that I have encountered a demon in my quadrant, towards the south end.” The crow took off quietly heading towards the Breath of Lightning user first.

Zenitsu was walking around with shaky knees. Why did he agree to this stupid plan? Split up? But what if he encountered a demon! There’s no way he would survive if Tanjiro or Inosuke wasn’t nearby. Zenitsu let out a shaky sigh, every corner he passed, dark alley, or sound made him jump and let out a few tears in fear. He checked behind him, in front of him, and side to side every couple of steps. There was nothing. A caw from above him almost made Zenitsu crap his pants.

“Agatsuma Zenitsu! Kamado Tanjiro has spotted a demon in his sector, south end! Caw!” Zenitsu was relieved, this meant he could go to where Tanjiro was and finally be safe, or so he thought. A terrible sound made it’s way to his ears, the sickening sound that made your skin crawl and sent a shiver down your spine, the sound of a demon. Zenitsu gulped and carefully looked around, placing a hand on the hilt of his blade for safety’s sake. The sound was coming from in front of him and to the left.

He could hear their clothes rustling, it sounded like… a yukata. Zenitsu was frozen on the spot as the sound grew louder and louder to his left. His eyes glued to the place, he heard more than saw the shadowy figure peek out from behind one of the buildings. The moon hit the person’s face, lighting up their golden hair and matching golden eyes; the sickly sweet smile ever-present on his face. Zenitsu let out a squeak and took a step back. The demon waved at him before disappearing completely, taking the sickening sound with him. Though Zenitsu was a little confused. The sound of a fire crackling also went with it? He couldn’t care less at the moment as he bee-lined for Tanjiro.

The Breath of Beast User, on the other hand, was bored out of his mind. He was kicking over boxes and barrels that got in his way in the alleys and shouted at the top of his lungs for the demon to come out. He got no response back. He popped out of a now destroyed alley and started pacing down the main street. A caw drew his attention and looked up to see Gonpachiro’s crow.

“Stupid bird! What do ya want!?” The crow circled above Inosuke, staying just out of his swords reach.

“Caw! Demon spotted in Kamado Tanjiro’s sector, at the south end! Caw!”

“Tell Gonpachiro I’m busy! I got a demon to kill!” The boar headed boy turned on his heel and started running towards something. He could feel it, the unmistakable presence of a demon in the air. His senses told him that it was ahead of him now, by about 300 feet… 200… 100… Inosuke spotted a body crawling on all fours, leering over a child’s body.

“Demon! Give me my son back!” A woman’s voice echoed down the streets, a woman holding her hand to her bleeding head was standing just in the doorway of one of the homes.

“Comin’ through! Comin’ through!” The wild child shouted as he closed in on the ratty demon about to devour a small child. He head-butted the demon off of the child before taking his attack.

牙 Breath of the Beast, Sixth Fang: Jagged Gnaw 牙

Inosuke brought both of his blades down at the demon’s neck, severing it clean off of its body. The demon began to turn into ash as the woman ran to her child and held him close.

“Thank you so much for saving my boy… huh?” The woman glanced around but her son’s saviour was nowhere to be seen. Not until she heard an angry shout hundreds of feet down the street from her. The figure was a small dot at this point.

“Stupid prying eyes! Come out and fight! You’re annoying!” Inosuke had taken off in the opposite direction once again after feeling the same pair of eyes watching him. He suddenly skidded to a halt, sucking in a breath quickly. Standing in front of him, something, no someone, that was not there a few seconds prior, was a man with golden hair, matching eyes, and was wearing a fire patterned yukata. He waved at the shocked boy.

“Hey there boar boy~” The words snapped Inosuke out of his shocked brain. He gripped his jagged swords tighter and rushed the man.

“Comin’ throug-” He boy skidded to a halt once again, on the other side of where the demon had been standing. He had vanished as soon as Inosuke was close to cutting him, like a wisp of smoke being blown in the wind. The burning sensation Inosuke got from him had vanished as well.

“Eaugh! Gonpachiro! Monitsu!” The Breath of the Beast user made a mad dash towards the location the stupid crow had told him he would find his friends.

- - -

Upon converging with each other, they each told of the encounter they had with the demon that kept disappearing.

“Ha! And I killed the real demon we were after!” Tanjiro gave the boar-masked boy a smile.

“Good job Inosuke! Now all we gotta worry about is this one.”

“Which one?” A fourth voice jumped into their conversation and they all jumped back immediately, their heightened senses being assaulted with the similar sensation the demon gave them. “Oh, no need to be afraid young demon slayers! I’m not going to kill you.”

“But, but you’re a demon, and you got this really creepy sound to you!” Zenitsu pointed out, his voice wavering as he spoke. The demon before them just laughed heartily, both hands on his hips.

“Relax, relax, you kids couldn’t kill me even if you tried!”

“Oh yeah? That sounds like a challenge!” Inosuke charged forward as the demon stood still and just smiled with his eyes closed.

“Inosuke! Don’t!” Tanjiro shouted at his hot-headed friend, but it fell on deaf ears. The demon didn’t disappear this time, instead Inosuke came to a halt for the third time that night as fire sprang up in front of him. He could feel the heat burning the hairs on his arms and furs that he was wearing from the proximity to the flame.

“Oh! Smart boy! This fire burns far hotter than the stuff you’re used to. You guys got some promise in you!” The fire fell and disappeared, scorch marks burned into the dirt. “How about you guys forget that I was here and I’ll forget you were here and you guys get to walk away with your lives… deal?” A shiver ran down all of their spines as the flame demon reopened his eyes. The symbols engraved into his eyes made them get cold feet.

五  Upper Moon Five 月

This was definitely not someone they were equipped to fight, they had just barely survived Lower Moon Five. A chuckle drew their attention as the bright eyed man covered his mouth with the sleeve of his yukata.

“You all look so terrified! There’s no need to be, like I said, we just forget that we saw each other and you can get away with your lives!” Tanjiro fixed the demon with a strong stare.

“My name is Kamado Tanjiro! If we leave, are you going to attack anyone in this village? If so, we will not back down even if it costs us our lives!” The flame demon was quite shocked at the boy’s response.

“So… it’s Tanjiro, my boy! I should have introduced myself as well. You can call me Rengoku Kyoujurou! And there’s no need to be so hostile I’m not interested in cheap, easy meat like this. I’d much rather earn it fighting passionate people like you!” He laughed it off, as if the thing he just said was the most obvious thing in the whole world. Tanjiro sniffed the air, trying to get through the smell of flames and blood and death to find the scent of truth; or lies. It took him a moment, but it eventually came to him. Rengoku Kyoujurou was telling the truth.

“Zenitsu? What do you think? Should we trust him?” Zenitsu glanced over at his friend through teary eyes. He had also been listening for the sound of truth when the demon was speaking, and he had heard it. He nodded his head at Tanjiro.

“Do you?” Tanjiro nodded as well and relaxed his stance.

“Inosuke. Leave him alone, he’s out of our league. He says he’s not going to harm anyone here, and we’ve finished our mission. Let’s go.” Inosuke turned to look back at his friends ready to protest, but the serious look in Tanjiro’s eyes made him realise the gravity of the situation and he calmed down a little. They began to walk off together, the flame demon named Rengoku waving them off. Inosuke turned around and walked backwards while making the symbol for “I’m watching you” with his fingers at the demon. He simply chuckled and then vanished into a thin veil of smoke, taking the scent, sound and sense of burning flames with him.

These slayers are going to be fun!

[queernerdywitch]

I'm a SAHM to a 13 month old, pondering how I'm ever going to finish my to do list. I want to hack the to do list.

Time is like money. To do debt is like financial debt- it's when you have a master to-do list that you are always far from completing. Time and money both get budgeted- time gets budgeted for the day, and money gets budgeted either for the month or until you get your next paycheck, depending on your situation. Every day, time gets budgeted first for core essentials. Then after core essentials are done, then I can see if I have time left to work on other things. Each month, money gets budgeted for core essentials- bills. After I budget out bills, I see how much I have for other things. The difference is, I can budget my money and plan how much is left for other things before spending. With time, the same tasks take different time every day, and I have to budget as I go.

To dos and financial debt have tiers too, based on priority:

Financial:

- immediate bills (the same ones due every month)

- gas/groceries/etc (also repeats regularly)

- debt: credit card

- debt: people I owed money to

- debt: car loan

- debt: student loan

Time:

- immediate/ daily grind routine: (taking care of baby, my most basic food and hygeine needs)

- nursery checklist (diapers restocked, trash emptied, pump stuff sterilized, laundry caught up)

- immediate to do list: the most important and urgent tasks; the short term list

- less urgent tasks (like cleaning)

- the master list (one-and-done tasks)

*Out of these 5 categories ranked by priority, the first 4 are repeat tasks, and the last one is for one-and-done tasks.

When your whole paycheck goes to your bills, how do you work on your debts? Similarly, when your whole day goes to repeat tasks, how do you ever get ahead? We have to deal with the things that constantly repeat before getting to the one and done tasks that will actually put me ahead. Before I can get to the one and done tasks, I have to cycle through the repeat tasks, and when they're done... I have to do them all over again.

Whenever I Google "how to complete the to do list", I always see advice geared towards people in work. Advice like "clear your schedule" is just impossible and totally unrealistic for the SAHM. I see advice for procrastinators, which is not me. I see advice to follow the 80/20 rule. I'm figuring that one out. I see advice to follow the pomodoro method. That relies on the assumption that I can work without interruption, which simply isn't happening. The likelihood that I can actually give my undivided, focused attention for a whole 20 minutes is non-existent. They say, you do have time, you're just prioritizing other things. Yes, I do think that taking care of my daughter is more important than working on to dos. I just wish I had time for both.

I read about the four time quadrants in "7 Habits of Highly Effective People". Everything you do fits into four quadrants, based on urgency and importance. Things that are urgent and important are in quadrant 1. These are things like getting to work on time and dealing with your house fire. Things that are important but not urgent are in quadrant 2. This is for things like exercise, spending time with your loved ones, investing, personal development, and home preparedness. Things that are urgent but not important are in quadrant 3. This is for things like when there's a sale that ends tonight, but there's nothing you need to buy. Lastly, things that are not important or urgent are in quadrant 4, like playing games and scrolling through social media. They say that quadrant 2 is the best one to focus on because that's where a lot of people have their goals, and it's because usually when people die, their regrets are often in not spending enough time in quadrant 2- not spending enough time with loved ones.

When it comes to how I spend my time, I spend a lot of time in quadrant 1. A lot of my to-dos are in quadrant 2. So how do I spend more time in quadrant 2 when I'm constantly battling fires in quadrant 1?

Other advice that I see about productivity states that we should avoid multitasking. I think there's effective multitasking, and then there's ineffective multitasking. Ineffective multitasking is what they mean when they advise against multitasking. If you're working on something difficult that requires all your attention, then multitasking while doing that would be a bad idea. However, I have days where I have a few different tasks on my front burner and I'm more productive for it. These are easy tasks- for example, I'll have laundry in the washer, dinner in the Crock-Pot, my pump stuff microwaving in the steam sterilizer, and I'll have a couple other small tasks in my mind that I'm motivated to do. This is what I mean by effective vs. ineffective multitasking.

I see advice to delegate your tasks out to other people. I have delegated as much as I can.

I see advice to lower your expectations when you have a baby or a young toddler. This was true during the newborn stage when we were in survival mode. However, she is 13 months now, and I just don't want to see my life go by and still have the same things left undone for much longer. I'm losing patience because we only live once, and I was never able to keep up with the to-do list before having a kid. This is why I really want to hack the to-do list, once and for all.

None of the online solutions discuss how you get ahead when you spend all day on repeat tasks. The best solution I have is to have balance in all things. I could balance repeat cleaning with one and done tasks. However, at the moment, I'm particularly behind on cleaning because the last month has been so busy for our family. Maybe now that things aren't so hectic, I can catch up on cleaning and then I can balance repeat cleaning tasks with one-and-dones. Maintaining momentum for tasks also seems to help, to try and leave nothing half done. Keeping a few simple tasks on my front burner at once typically motivates me to try and get as much done as possible. If anyone has any better ideas, please share them!

[cptsdstudyblr]

How I organize my studies with mental health issues

Hi :) I’m just here trying to survive a computer science degree with CPTSD, depression, anxiety, and some physical health issues. However, I’ve figured out a system that really (!!!) helps me keep organized and actually learn things despite all the challenges I face! So, I want to share it with you in case it helps just one person! This post is pretty long, but I promise it’s got tons and tons of amazingly helpful information in it!

I’m lucky enough to have a tablet to help me with my studies, but anything I show today can easily be done on a laptop or even on a phone, so don’t stress!

Initial Note Taking

I prefer to handwrite my initial notes if possible. Sometimes, my professors just go too fast and I have to type them, but if I have the option, I choose to handwrite them. I find that handwriting my notes helps keep my mind focused on the task at hand. 

First of all, I’m a very tactile learner, so the act of writing helps me learn the material. However, I’ve found that there are tons of other benefits to writing notes by hand. 

If you’re dissociating/anxious/etc., doodling is a good way to center yourself and help yourself calm down.

Handwritten notes are easier (at least in my non-professional opinion) to make neat and pretty, which can be a huge motivator.

Many classes have diagrams, and it’s super helpful to draw these out so that you’re more likely to remember them and so you have easy access to them.

For people who are nonlinear thinkers (NOT me at all, but I know some people are nonlinear thinkers), you can write your notes in any way you see fit - a circle, a mind map, a graph, even a dodecahedron if you so desire.

And there are tons of others I don’t have time to thoroughly explain!

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with typing notes if you feel that that works better for you. I have to do that for some classes (Geology, I’m looking at you), and I don’t prefer to type my notes, but some people find that they prefer it, and that’s totally okay! There are a few quick things to keep in mind if you choose to take typed notes, however:

I find it very helpful to keep a notepad near me so that I can doodle (again for dissociation/anxiety/etc.) and so that I can draw diagrams if necessary. I’m not talented enough to create computer diagrams quickly, so I usually draw them by hand even if I’m typing my actual notes.

Put in the effort to make sure you aren’t distracted by other things on your laptop! Typing notes can be a great thing, but technology is very quick to distract people. One method I find good for me is to make my notes full screen so that it’s harder to find things to get distracted by, but there are many methods for this.

Try to keep your typed notes tidy and organized. For me, this includes having consistent tab distances, changing font colors/styles (by styles I mean bold/italic/etc.) as necessary, and most of all splitting up my notes into documents by days or topics. I use Evernote, so it’s pretty straightforward to split them up, but even if you use another system, it’s wise to figure out a way to do so. Having one long document for the entire semester is not wise because it gets very overwhelming very quickly and is just plain hard to use.

The biggest help for me, however, is after I’ve taken my notes. I use Evernote to digitize my notes. It’s super easy to do (just take a picture in the app and it scans them like a PDF), and I find that having them digital is a huge help. It means a few things for me:

I don’t have to have every notebook with me to study - just the ones I need to take notes in. This is far more related to physical health for me because I just can’t carry that many notebooks without a lot of pain, but it’s also great for people who are forgetful due to mental health issues. All you have to remember is your laptop or tablet (or really, even your phone), so it’s much easier to make sure you have everything.

I can write all over them when I’m studying without ruining the original notes. I am a big fan of scribbling all over notes (writing mnemonics, drawing diagrams, marking what I know and don’t know, etc.), but I dislike damaging my original notes. This allows me to study as messily as I want without ruining anything.

I can make multiple copies of them if I need to - one for the class I took the notes in and one for my exam revision session. This is very helpful for people who aren’t feeling well enough to rewrite or retype everything into another place when revising for an exam.

Here’s what some of my digitized notes from my operating systems class look like (please forgive my very messy drawing - OS is hard to draw sometimes):

General Studying

This section refers to studying, but not for exams. This includes things such as doing assignments, reading for classes, and other such things. The most important thing for my studying is Google Tasks! I keep all my important due dates in there, even down to the time. Here’s an example of what my Google Tasks looks like:

Apologies for the blacked-out spot - that reveals where I go to school! I use this for every single thing that has a hard due date. This makes sure that I never miss a due date no matter how forgetful I am because my list of due dates is on my cell phone! I also find it extremely rewarding to tick the box when I finish an assignment, and even something as simple as that is such a huge motivator for me.

However, this isn’t where I plan how to study for the week. I do that - you guessed it - on paper. I have a journal (which you’ll get to see in another post) where I keep a lot of important stuff - including weekly study plan spreads! That sounds super overwhelming, but they’re incredibly easy to make and very simple to maintain. I’ll show you (artful pen to hide my school name)!

Let me break this down for you really quickly:

I have my pages divided into four (one quadrant per day plus one for notes), which works pretty well for me - I never run out of space. This setup takes me less than five minutes to make each week, and I find it works very well for me.

I like to write what classes I have each day at the top of the day just so I don’t get too confused (and I highlight it if I have an exam), then underneath that, I list everything I have to do study-wise. 

I make sure to break each big task (e.g. “Study for Geology Exam) into smaller, more manageable chunks (e.g. “Make Geology flashcards,” “Revise Ch. 6 Notes,” etc.) all on different days of the week. This helps make each task seem way less overwhelming and makes me feel better about starting each task.

As you can see, my due dates are NOT on this sheet - this is more of a Study To-Do List than a list of my due dates. I do make sure to keep this updated so that I don’t miss any due dates, however.

You’ll also notice that I don’t have all that much listed for each day. It’s incredibly hard to stay ahead of things with mental health issues (I get that - I really do), but I find that staying ahead genuinely helps my mental health. If I have something to do every day, I feel productive and thus more motivated. It also gives me more leeway if I have a day where I can’t do any more than the bare minimum - I’m already ahead of schedule so I don’t need to panic. My best method for staying ahead is just to buckle down and do it. It’s not a great tip, but it’s all I’ve got (I’m allowed to struggle too - I don’t have everything together perfectly!).

Now, let’s talk about how to tackle each thing on this list.

Readings! When I have to do readings, my preferred method of note-taking is simply writing down definitions of keywords. Most of what I cover in the reading will be covered in the lecture, so I’m not too worried about jotting down every detail. However, making sure to note key words helps keep my brain engaged so I am less likely to zone out/dissociate/etc. Additionally, I can go back to those keywords to make flashcards later on.

Assignments! There’s not a whole lot to say about this one - every assignment is so different that I can’t say much beyond “do your assignments thoroughly.” However, a tip I find helps me a lot is to fully read the assignment and create a game plan before I dive in. This makes the assignment way less overwhelming and gives you concrete stopping points if you need a break.

Studying! will have its own section right below this, do not fear.

Studying

Watch this quick video (which is at the bottom of the text for some unknown reason?) of me scrolling through a study session, then I’ll explain how I study and why it works for me!

Let me just list my Studying Steps (TM) for you and break them down:

About a week before: Write all the information in a clear, consistent way.

By this I mean: Go through your notes/the slides/the textbook/anything with information and write it down freshly. I prefer (like usual) to handwrite this, but it can certainly be typed.

This is good because it requires you to reread and rewrite every piece of information, so you’re that much more likely to remember it. It also gives you all the information consolidated in one place. I like to split this up by topic (for me, each topic takes about 30 minutes to do) so that it’s more manageable. 

This seems like a lot, and it is. But, you have to study and there’s no way around that, unfortunately. Try motivating yourself with small rewards (like food, stickers, or something fun) when you finish a topic.

When you finish that: Make charts and graphs for anything that requires charts and graphs.

The diagrams part is pretty self-explanatory. If you have diagrams, redraw them on their own sheet. This makes them less cluttered and you can write things like mnemonics on them without messing up anything else. Redrawing them is also great for muscle memory!

I also like to make charts of things that I need to memorize (this is a good tool, but isn’t always right for every subject). For example, if I need to know a lot of types of rocks, I’ll make charts listing each rock and its characteristics. This way it’s easier to find the information and (once again) muscle memory will help you out.

This can be done pretty quickly, and it’s a pretty brainless activity. It’s not hard to do, so you can do it while watching Netflix if you want to. I honestly enjoy this part, though, because I find drawing charts and graphs very satisfying. 

About 3 days before: Make flashcards and study them consistently.

This is very important!

I like to use paper flashcards (just so I have to write the information once again), but digital ones work fairly well too.

Memorization is actually a fantastic tool to help with studying with mental health issues. Sometimes brain fogginess makes it hard to think of things that you know, but couldn’t recite. However, if you have it fully memorized, it’s generally much easier to pull out of the depths of your mind.

Once again, this is pretty easy to do (not quick though, sorry), and can be done while you’re doing something else more fun.

The day before: Go through your notes, annotate what you don’t know, and rewrite it until you know it.

This is the most important part of studying for me. 

The evening before the exam, I go through every bit of my notes, charts, graphs, etc. and highlight what I 100% know.

Then, I take more paper (or often a digital piece of paper) and write out what I know, trying to focus my energy on finding ways to remember the information such as mnemonics, word associations, or the like.

I do this as many times as I need to until I feel good about how much information I have highlighted - I try to get to 85-90%, but that can vary by subject.

This is kind of tedious, but I find it easier to motivate myself since it is the final stretch. I’m also usually kind of stressed out about the exam by this point, so that works as a good motivator too.

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