#which is basically to check if they like it and are suitable for the job

[fingertipsmp3]

Got an offer for the job I thought I’d bombed the interview for 🎉🎊🎉

[moonstruck-poet]

The Confrontation

Pairing - Kaz Brekker x reader!

Summary - three times where the Crows find you two in suspicious situations leading them to conspire and the fourth time when they learn the truth.

Warnings - Assault, Harrassment

1. Nina

"You ready?" Nina Zenik questioned, quickly giving the surroundings a scan before pinning her eyes on you. "The minute Kaz joins us, you have to leave".

You exhaled and nodded, trying your best not to wince at the obnoxiously tight corset and trying to breathe properly. "Was this the only available option?"

"Thr most suitable option," she corrected and smirked after looking at you.

"Stop checking me out when I'm literally struggling to breathe, Zenik. Remind me why is it not you instead of me? Saints know you're better at this," you grumbled and shivered as the cold hair brushed against your off shoulder gown.

"Because unfortunately I'm the Heartrender here, aren't I?" She grinned and you glared, understanding that this was quite amusing. "Ah! There's your ticket," she nodded towards Kaz who was stumbling his way towards you, slightly out of breath.

"Here it goes," you sighed, smoothing your outfit. Somehow this simply seemed a much difficult job that gutting someone in the right place. Using a knife was just easier.

Kaz, now much closer gave you a nod, his eyes glinting as he gripped his cane tightly and you understood. You merely smiled softly before shooting Nina a wink and entered the club, your eyes immediately narrowing down on the target.

Your brain was replaying all of the tricks that your dear friend had so graciously shown. You weren't dumb of course, you knew the basics but she had a degree in flirting.

And so you braced yourself and appeared in front of the man, trying to hide a cringe when his gaze instantly swept over your physique shamelessly. A small flame of anger burned internally and you would be sure to use your favorite dagger very soon.

Meanwhile Kaz and Nina were sneakily observing from the window while also keeping an eye on the environment.

"She seems to be getting the required information," Nina exclaimed but her smile soon fell upon seeing the scene. "Oh Saints no," she whispered and Kaz, who had his back to the window whipped around.

His dark, dangerous stare found you with ease and his body tensed at your uncomfortable face that you were trying so desperately to hide.

He saw the way that man pulled you closer with every passing second until you were pressed flat against him, his foul breath staining your bare shoulders as your body shook with contained fury.

His fingers skimmed your skin while his lips brushed against your cheek and all Kaz wanted to do in that moment was to stride inside and take you out of his grasp.

But he was still talking, his lips moved and so did yours. You were still trying to wrangle every little piece of information you could possibly get while also trying to keep yourself safe.

"Kaz," Nina said urgently upon seeing the malicious smile on the stranger's face. "That's enough she needs to come out".

"I can't do anything," he said bitterly. "It'll just give out our position and put everybody in danger and I cannot have that," he finished, hating every part of himself.

"I like you, sweetheart," your target whispered, his face inches away. His breath fanning you, reeking of alcohol. "I wish to see you again. Please?" He asked, his voice manipulative and he dragged his lips from your shoulder to your neck.

"Of course," you murmured back, your tone deadly which he didn't seem to notice. "You'll see me soon. Very soon indeed".

"Perfect," he grinned against your cheek before kissing the skin and you stepped back with a smile, not breaking eye contact until you exited the door.

And immediately your flirty facade shattered and your were consumed by a dark energy as you rounded the corner, your pace increasing with every step.

"Oh Saints," Nina said as soon as you reached the meeting spot. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am," you teased, a wicked smile but Kaz wasn't fooled, not at all.

He looked at you, trying to pick up every noticeable change and he sae many. The twitch of your eyebrow, the small frown appearing on your lips which was quickly replaced with a grin and the slight shudder of your shoulders.

He didn't think of anything at all as he removed his coat. "Here," he offered, his dark brown eyes burning into yours.

"It's okay, Kaz, I'm alright-"

"-Take it," he said firmly and when you didn't move, he put it over your shoulders and you almost sighed at the warmth. His touch was so gentle, so secure, a constrast to the emotions plaguing you moments before. "Are you okay?" He asked again.

"I want to go home," was all you could reply as you looked longingly at him, hoping that your eyes were enough to convey all of your feelings. "Please".

Kaz nodded, looking down as pain struck his chest. He could handle numerous difficult situations, but when it concerned you, he was always vulnerable.

"I'm sorry," he said lowly, his voice barely heard as he scanned your face, having an intense urge to place his palm on your cheek but the mere thought made him flinch. However he remained rooted to the spot, not backing away because he knew that you needed him at the present, and he wasn't leaving you.

Someone cleared her throat and that was what made him pull away.

"Extremely sorry but we have to move," she said softly and he nodded, his jaw clenching as he gave you one last, tender look before walking away.

The two of you followed and you clutched the coat around you tightly, a small smile threatening to break out on your face as you replayed the interaction with your dearest.

Meanwhile the Grisha was observing her friends quite eagerly, her eyes switching from one to the other. She had her suspicions from the minute she saw Kaz's panic-stricken face, and then the said person lending his coat confirmed it.

She saw his face contorting in sadness upon seeing your highly uneasy figure back at the club, saw the way his fingers fidgeted constantly because he felt helpless. In conclusion, she saw him lose control.

Kaz Brekker never lost control.

She should feel guilty for using her abilities on her boss, but how could she not? When a particular heart was thudding unbelievably as soon as his eyes fell onto someone else's. The beating had only seemed to intensify when he had put his coat around your shoulders.

The trip to the Crow Club was spent in silence. Everyone's mind being occupied by very different thoughts.

"There you are!" Jesper's cheery voice snapped them from their daydream. He slowly jogged over to you, excitement evident on his features. "Want to play a round of cards?"

All you gave him was a small, forced smile. He just looked so happy and you didn't want to be that person, "Let's go then".

"You don't have to," Kaz suddenly spoke making everyone stare in surprise.

"It's fine," you replied but he still gave you that look. The one where his eyes were just a tiny bit wide, eyebrows slightly raised to wordlessly ask if you were sure.

You nodded offering him a twitch of your lips before joining Jesper, Wylan and Inej at the table, helping yourself to some bread.

Nina had of course watched this soundless interaction quite seriously, and now she had some very interesting points that would definitely be shared with the other Crows; minus you two obviously.

"Now this seems fun," she said to herself, smirking at the way Dirtyhands had his eyes glued to you the entire time.

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2. Wylan & Matthias

Having a lazy day at the barrel was something that happened once in a blue moon, because Mr Brekker made sure to always keep everyone on their toes. Today was one of those rarest days that the Crows actually had no job and so naturally they were lazing around in the club.

Jesper and Nina were gossiping, holding a small muffin in their hands as they whispered amongst themselves, probably sharing the headlines of all that had happened in the Barrel.

"You're sure? Our Kaz? Kaz Brekker losing control like that?" Jesper asked, double checking to make sure they were talking about the same person.

"Yes Jesper!" Nina sighed. "His heartbeat seemed to skyrocket the minute his eyes fell on her. I wss actually worried that he might have a cardiac arrest or something.

"Djel help me," Matthias muttered. "She's too good for him to ever say yes".

"Oh come on," Nina insisted, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "They're made for each other!"

"I don't know about that but they do make quite a pair," Inej added, her face screwed up in concentration.

"There's definitely something going on," Wylan whispered, putting on his scheming face as he analysed his thoughts.

Meanwhile Nina was now feeding another round of conversation to her gossip partner who was enjoying it very much indeed.

"No way he went over to the Dime Lions!" Jesper exclaimed mid-bite, his mouth opening as he registered the statement.

"He did indeed Jes," you walked down the stairs interrupting their conversation. "Rumour had it that he was paid handsomely as well".

"Of course he was," the gunslinger snorted before shaking his head.

"Where were you?" Nina asked, her eyebrow raised in question and all four heads turned to hear your answer.

"Kaz's office," you said and sat down on one of the couch, not noticing the small smirks painted on everybody's faces.

"What's he doing in there anyway?" Inej asked, having sharpened her knives and taking yours making you shoot her a highly grateful look.

But before you could reply, the said person called from from above, "Love! Have you seen that Kerch document that I had shown you? Where did you keep it?"

Silence. Complete and utter silence followed his statement as the Crows glanced at each other, their expressions the epitome of flabbergasted.

"Check in your bottom right drawer!" You shouted unaware, standing right below the floor so your voice could be heard better. "I've kept it along with other related files".

The minute you went back to your previous seat, you felt eyes staring at every inch of your face making you suddenly look up. "What the hell?" You asked, being startled at seeing every gaze pinned towards you.

"Did he just-" Jesper began but Wylan elbowed him harshly.

"Nothing," he answered sweetly, ignoring the sharp glare thrown his way. "How about we go visit the marketplace? You said you'd show me some firing powders".

"Yeah let's go," you nodded, putting your gun in the holster and donning a black leather jacket over your shirt. "Anybody need anything? I'm not going to get you fruit loops, Jesper," you narrowed your eyes before the boy could even utter a word.

"But you told me that-"

"But you also happened to have eaten three packets yesterday. So no. Absolutely not".

Inej and Nina snickered at the banter which was surely an everyday occurence. Jesper always being the hopeless little kid and you unintentionally acting like his older sister.

The said boy was looking at you with wide eyes and a small pout and you groaned in exasperation. "Fine! I'll get you some stop looking at me like that!"

"I love you so much," he grinned and shot a wink your way.

"Whom do you love?" Kaz Brekker asked, walking down the stairs and towards him with a raised eyebrow. Everybody fell silent at his impeccable timing to arive during the most unwelcoming moments.

"Her of course!" Nina butted in, pointing towards you before Jesper could reply and Matthiss noticed the way the Demjin's face contorted and tightened.

Kaz shot the Zemeni a small glare, not knowing himself that he was actually doing it before turning to look at you and all of the other crows saw the way his gaze softened considerably.

"Should we leave then?" Wylan broke the silence and tugged at your sleeve and your attention snapped to him.

"Yes yes let's leave," you followed him, almost at the door when Kaz called your name and you halted. "What's wrong? You need anything?" You questioned softly as he walked closer.

"You forgot this," he merely said and handed you a necklace that you had forgotten on his desk. It was only Wylan who actually saw the pendant and his mouth hung open.

You took it from his hands, fingers gently brushing against his gloved ones and he instantly felt a small amount of warmth seep into his very soul.

You lit a spark with only your touch.

You ignited him.

"Thank you," you smiled and quickly clasped it around your neck, tucking it inside your shirt so it would be hidden from privy eyes. "See you later, yeah?"

He nodded, hands tightening on his cane as he watched you leave. He never got round to telling you that he had wanted to spend this day with you and you only. But unfortunately you had plans and so he remained silent. Not wanting to be a hindrance.

He couldn't even remember the last time he had spent some quality time with you. Being too busy finding new deals and searching for missions that he couldn't properly acknowledge the best thing in his life.

When did he last take you out somewhere except for sneaking around to gather valuable information? You loved having hot chocolate late at night, when had he ever bought it for you despite knowing that the drink was your favorite?

You deserved so much better, his mind kept telling him. He couldn't even bring himself to give you the comforting touches that he knew you longed for. You never said a word but he saw it in your eyes. Whenever a plan had gone too complicated and particularly difficult, all you needed was a good embrace. But he could only ever bring himself to hold your hand. Nothing more.

And he hated himself for it. Despised every inch of his self because of his inability to provide for you. It killed him inside.

You were lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved. And he was twisted, crooked, wrong but not so broken that he couldn't pull himself together into some semblance of a man for you.

He was so lost in his thoughts that his sharp instincts failed to notice the stares that were currently burning holes in his face. "What?" He snapped and was on his way back to his bedroom when they stopped him.

"Goodness Kaz you actually look sad," Nina concluded, fighting the smirk that was quick to spread on her face.

"I have no reason to be upset," he rolled his eyes and started climbing the stairs slowly, his leg throbbing with slight pain.

"Wylan's right," Matthias said lowly. "The demjin is infatuated".

Wylan on the other hand was busy geeking over the chemicals that were presented in front of him. "How did I never know about this!" He said in delight and you chucklef at the way his eyes lighted up. "These are so much cheaper too".

"Get whatever you want," you squeezed his shoulder and he nearly jumped in excitement. "I'll just quickly go and get something from that shop, yeah?"

He nodded and you crossed the street to enter the clothing shop, smiling to yourself upon seeing beautiful coats lining the walls.

"Can I see some black shirts and vests, please?" You requested the man who nodded and placed numerous boxes on the table. "I'll take these three," you smiled, selecting two dark grey shirts and a gorgeous black vest that you knew would suit your man well.

"Oh hey! Didn't see you coming in".

Wylan simply laughed and examined the clothes that were being folded neatly and transferred in a bag. "For you?"

"Oh no," you shook your head and paid the kruge, it was a little expensive but it's fine. You could give him a gift every now and then. "It's for Kaz".

His eyes widened in surprise just a tiny bit and his lips stretched wide as the two of you exited the store. But then he suddenly grabbed your hand and pulled you towards an artefacts shop.

"How would this look on Jesper?" He said and pointed at a hat which was exactly what the gunslinger preferred.

"Absolutely perfect".

"Hey take a look at this," he directed your attention towards a few bracelets kept neatly in a box, making sure to keep his trained on you to pick up on every little change.

Your hand instinctively flew towards a handmade one woven with black thread. It was quite simple but had an intricate design. You loved it immediately and wasted no time in purchasing the little present.

"Let's go?" You asked, almost forgetting for a moment that you weren't alone. While the boy had his arms crossed and a knowing smile on his face as he followed your lead. Having an intense conversation with himself in his head.

It was almost night when you entered the Slat again and two of the Crows were lounging in the basement itself with the exception of Inej and Nina.

"I'll be back in a few," you whispered to Matthias who nodded and you climbed up thr stairs, eagerly wanting to give Kaz the gifts you had brought.

He waited until the sound of a door closing was heard before looking at Wylan who had a cheeky grin on his face.

===============================

3. Inej & Jesper

"Look at his hand!" Matthias whispered under his breath and nudged Wylan whose eyes shot towards Kaz Brekker. And indeed, a black bracelet was clasped onto his left wrist. Not that noticeable but nowadays nothing could ever escape their sharp stare.

"I've never ever seen him wear anything synonymous to jewellery," Matthias muttered and passed the message to Nina who perked up with a bright grin, as though struck by an inspiration.

"Watch me," was all she said and the the two boys glanced ahead in apprehension as she neared your location and bumped into you quite harshly.

"Saints!" A small shout escaped your lips as you were thrown backwards onto Kaz who was right behind you.

"Goodness I'm so sorry," Nina immediately apologised, not being sorry in the least as she rather scanned the couple's reaction.

Your back was pressed against Kaz's chest while his gloved hand, the one wearing a bracelet was wrapped securely around your waist, holding you against him. You placed your palm on top of his in reassurance, and your heart started taking up its pace.

"You okay?" He murmured in your ear and helped you stand up straight as you nodded; and he shot a deathly glare towards the heartrender, who gave a grin and sashayed her way back to the boys.

"I'm fine, thank you for that," you whispered before returning to the documents that were scattered on the table.

"You saw that?" She joined the duo with an excited expression, her hands flapping in front of her. "He didn't even flinch at her touch! It was almost like-"

"Like he's used to it!" Wylan completed her sentence and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Usually he'll push the person off for even invading his personal space, much less someone actually falling on him," Matthias added and she agreed.

"Ghezen this is going much better than I expected. Fifty kruge that they're already together since the past few months".

"Oh yeah?" Jesper interrupted the conversation with the biggest smirk on his face as he sat down, joined by Inej who was shaking her head with a smile. "Hundred kruge says that they've been married already".

"You do know that you're horrible at betting, don't you?" Matthias asked, raising an eyebrow at the large sum.

"But I think Jes is right on this one," Inej supported him making the said person's grin widen if that was even possible.

"What's making you so sure?" Wylan asked, quite suspiciously.

"Let me ah- tell you a little something I saw," his brown eyes glinted as he recounted the miracle that he and Inej had seen.

Jesper was walking on his usual route that led him back to the Crow Club with the Wraith beside him. They had both finished their parts of the job and had met on their way home.

"You got some intel?" He asked, his eyes scanning the various treats that were covering the shelves of stalls.

"Nothing," she answered with a sigh. "It is the same. He comes in everyday sharp at 7 in the morning and leaves exactly at 5. There has been no change at all".

"I think I'm going insane," he suddenly whispered and stopped dead in his tracks making Inej tense up immediately as she looked around for any threat.

"What's wrong?"

"That- That's Kaz isn't it?" He questioned, unable to believe the words that were on their way through his mouth. "In a- a goddamn flower shop?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she scoffed lightly but her she too froze upon seeing a familiar figure standing merely a few metres away. "Saints that is Kaz!"

"Let's go," he nudged her and she hesitated, not really wanting to pry but curiosity certainly gets the better of everyone. They walked closer silently, hiding behind another store which gave them the perfect view.

And there he was, the bastard of the barrel holding a beautiful, red rose in his bare fingers. Yes, he did not have his gloves on. Something that was noticed by the two.

They saw as he paid the small amount of money and began trodding down the road, his cane held tightly in one hand and the rose was held in the other that was hidden behind his back.

"Breadcrumbs," Jesper smirked at her and she let out a laugh as the two followed their leader, becoming increasingly suspicious. They didn't have to wait for long as the person that they had expected arrived soon enough making the two Crows grin.

"Nina was right after all," Inej muttered as she watched you waving at Kaz to gain his attention and the spying people stepped closer, wanting to hear the conversation that would surely grant them something.

"Hey," they heard you whisper, sounding slightly breathless.

"Hi," Kaz replied and took a tiny step closer so that his shoes were touching yours making you bite your lip. "This is for you," he added and presented the rose, his eyes hungrily scanning yours for every little change that he itched to see.

And you rewarded him with the grin that he oh so loved. When your mouth fell open slightly in surprise before morphing slowly into a gorgeous and breathtaking smile.

"For me?" You asked despite yourself, gently taking the flower from his hand and twirling it in your fingers. "Are you sure?"

A small frown marked his face, "Of course I am. Why do you ask such a thing?"

"Is it not for someone else? Maybe a pretty girl that you're thinking of wooing to help you get whatever information that you need," you teased, your lips pressed together.

"Darling," was all he said. His voice low, deep as he stared intently into your eyes, tilting his head to look even deeper. "There is no one like you," he finished and let a small smile form on his hardened face.

Jesper who had been listening with every ounce of concentration had to slap his palm over his mouth to prevent a squeal from escaping his feeble clutches. It was only for Inej roughly smacking his arm and dragging him away that he managed to not give away their position.

"Hence proved," he concluded his story with his arms extended to the present crowd who were utterly and completely shocked.

"No way that actually happened," Matthias grumbled, muttering to himself while Nina looked like she'd just received all of the available waffles for free.

"I'm a genius," she laughed heartily and chugged down a shot of whiskey in celebration of her matchmaking skills.

"I'm so going to win that bet, Zenik".

"Don't count your pigeons before they're killed, Fahey. We can't be so sure that they're actually married".

"We have to ask them!" Wylan urged, sitting up straight and looking at them for their opinions.

"We will," Nina nodded firmly while the rest appeared unconvinced. "Tomorrow".

"Let's hope that we're not murdered in our beds later that night then," Jesper sighed but he too couldn't contain his excitement.

===============================

4. The Confrontation

"Kaz," Nina said in delight as soon as the man climbed down the last step.

"Never thought I'd live to see the day when you're actually looking happy to see me," he retorted making her roll her eyes.

"We need to talk," Jesper elaborated making him raise an eyebrow as he took in all of his Crows minus you and Inej sitting with their arms crossed and heads held high.

"Does it concern me?"

"Of course it does that's why we're asking!"

"Saints give me the strength," he muttered under his breath before looking at the lot. "Go on then I don't have all day".

That's when Inej entered the scene, dragging you along with her and making you stand next to Kaz. "What's going on?" You questioned, heavily confused and looking around for an answer.

"We need to ask you something," Wylan answered your request.

"I gathered just as much".

"Are you going to ask or not?" Kaz growled in annoyance, his patience running thin.

"We just wanted to know-"

"I've been wanting to ask-"

"We had a feeling that-"

They all began together but not one could complete their sentence until Jesper was the one to blurt it out.

"You're married?"

Kaz and you stood still, dumbstruck before visibly relaxing and you chuckled, "That was quicker than I expected".

"I don't think four years is quick, love," Kaz responded, his lips stretching just the slightest making the crowd explode.

"FOUR YEARS?!"

"YOU TWO ARE ACTUALLY MARRIED!"

"WHEN DID YOU EVEN START DATING?!"

"HOW ON EARTH DID YOU EVEN MANAGE TO PULL HER OUT OF ALL THE PEOPLE??"

"Ask him about it," was all you said and sat down on a chair with a very obvious smile adorning your pleased face. Everybody fell silent at once and you knew you had said the right thing. Nobody sensible would ever dare to question Kaz.

Jesper glanced nervously at him, "Can I atleast see your ring? Just to you know, have some confirmation?"

You laughed and pulled the necklace out from under your shirt, revealing a thin but elegant silver band encrusted with a small diamond at its center.

"K- Kaz?" Wylan asked, or rather pleaded.

To their surprise, he took off the glove of his right hand to reveal a similar ring resting beautifully against his pale fingers.

"Saints I win!" Jesper said in disbelief and stood up straight, slowly turning his head to look at Nina. "GIVE ME MY KRUGE!" And all watched as the girl slowly backed away, probably hatching an escape plan and ran swiftly with him hot on her heels.

"That was something huh?" You grinned and looked at your husband, slowly leaning over to intertwine your fingers with his.

"Quite," he huffed lightly but couldn't stay annoyed for long and alas, he too smiled. Not a particularly big one, rather a small, gentle twitch of his lips. One that was only ever displayed for you.

His eyes held the entire universe as he admired you from the side, looking at you as if you had hung those few stars that formed his constellation.

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Taglist :-

@phoenix666stuff

[jymwahuwu]

imagine jing yuan hypnotized assistant!darling into believing that she should always go to work without panties... that it's perfectly fine for her to lift up her skirt and show him her fat pussy lips and her cute clitoris..... her job is to stand next to him or sit on his lap, looking all pretty while he playing with her wet folds, cockwarming him.....pumping her full of his seed..... until months llate, when he sees a tiny baby bump on her belly, jing yuan knows the hypnosis is no longer needed 🤤🤤

ignore this if it makes you uncomfortable! :D

-CW: yandere, dub-con/non-con, hypnosis, forced pregnancy

🤤Hypnosis… To add to the drama, you, as the Assistant to the Seat of Divine Foresight, have the honor of working for General Jing Yuan. You never noticed someone's burning gaze on you as you sorted papers and typed, but you did notice the gentle touch of a hand on your waist.

You have rejected the general's confession more than once. Jing Yuan still maintains his tranquility, smiles calmly, crosses his arms and listens to your reasons ("Just want to work", "General, you are very nice but not suitable for me" and other reasons).

What you don't know is that the only reason Jing Yuan didn't put you on the table and penetrate you was - some fantasy about being a little assistant. Pulling down your underwear directly is, of course, fine and feasible, but… what if you pull down your underwear yourself? This conflicts with your will and reason. Jing Yuan knows. He was thinking of a way. At that time, Penacony's advertisement appeared in front of him. Penacony is a planet known throughout the universe for its reputation for vacations and festivals.

Some dormant memories were awakened. Jing Yuan remembers - there is a technology on that planet that is recognized as safe but dangerous. The danger is…the technique of hypnosis is no longer something that appears in dreams and dramas. This technique can hypnotize the other person into living a normal life, but impose certain "unusual" rules on them, confusing their perception of normality and abnormality.

What if…applied to you?

Alas, I was almost late. Luckily I remembered not wearing underwear. This is rude.

You patted your chest gently and breathed in oxygen, your legs going weak. [General Jing Yuan] smiled and ordered you, "It's time to check your clothing and appearance." "Y-yes, General."

Without any mental burden, you pulled up your plain, black work skirt for him to check. There is no covering, you are naked, and your pubic hair has even been shaved according to the "work instructions". "Um, good. Next." You used your hands to spread your slightly thick labia as usual, revealing the most private and charming view inside, which caused a rumble of laughter in someone's chest. "come over."

You complied, muttering about how today's daily check-up was completed so quickly. You usually have to show it for at least ten minutes… your butt is sitting on his lap, like an obedient and beautiful bird. And his fingertips stroked your wet flesh, rubbing and swirling the little pearl, leaving water stains on his fingertips. After [Jing Yuan] told you that your breasts were also on display, you unbuttoned your conservative shirt and took off your bra without any hesitation.

Of course, you haven't forgotten the important rules of reproduction! Don't forget to rock yourself as that cock spreads your tight, twitching vagina and spreads your thighs. Although occasionally pleasure controls your brain like an electric shock, and you can't help but be afraid of the possibility of pregnancy, you should not deliberately allow his seeds to flow. This is not only basic professional ethics, but also your commitment to [Jing Yuan].

After multiple reproductions, signs of pregnancy appear. Jing Yuan released the control of hypnosis, and you were shocked to discover the changes in your body and sobbed, but don't forget that you are his assistant and future wife 💖

[tima7fa]

On A Colder Night Of The Year

Sukuna is doing a shitty job at parenting, at least he's trying ig. + Sukuna is bad at feelings. + Yuji deserves the world.

This is basically a part 2 of the story, I advice to read the first part to understand what exactly is happening and why it's happening.

_______________________________________

"Your bath is prepared, my lord." Uraume murmured while bowing reverently.

"Good." the cursed entity huffed as he strode through the corridor, the blood that stained his form dripping onto the tatami floor, leaving a trail in his wake. "As much as I relish the taste of mortal blood, the sensation of it upon my skin is a most unpleasant one." He wiped a smear of crimson from his cheek, his brow furrowed in distaste. The ever-attentive maids immediately set to work, swiftly cleaning the scarlet splatters from the floor.

Sukuna removed his garments without delay upon entering the bath, a contented sigh escaping him as he felt his muscles unwind in the warmth of the water. The blood that had clung to his form began to dissipate, mixing with the liquid. He rested his elbow upon the tub's edge, his cheek cradled in his palm as he contemplated the scene before him.

His thoughts drifted to Yuji's arrival at his shrine, a full month having passed since the boy's introduction. "Come to think of it, I haven't been seeing the brat as often as of late." he grumbled, leaning his head back to gaze up at the ceiling.

Sukuna had tasked the kid with simple chores, such as dusting the furniture, where the bloodstains he so often brought with him would not be a concern. He wondered if he should have assigned Yuji the role of massaging his head, for the boy's nimble fingers had proven most adept at the task on that initial day.

He let out a heavy sigh, taking up the bowl to scoop up some of the water and pour it over his head, using his fingers to work out the knots in his hair. Why should he care whether he sees the boy or not? Why was this troubling him so? It's not as if he held any true affection for the wretched brat - the boy could perish, for all Sukuna cared.

Perhaps not just yet, though.

Groaning, he began to cleanse his body with the damp towel. "You're so infuriatingly vexing, brat." he muttered under his breath.

Once he had completed his bathing, Sukuna donned his kimono and set out to wander the halls of his shrine, searching for any sign of the young man. Yet, the brat was nowhere to be found. Where in the world had the insolent child run off to?

"Are you searching for something, my lord?" Uraume's voice broke the silence, and Sukuna was momentarily taken aback. He had not sensed the servant's approach, which was most unusual. Had his thoughts truly consumed him so thoroughly?

"What are you talking about?" Sukuna responded, brow furrowed.

Uraume hummed contemplatively. "You've now passed through this area twice." Had he truly traversed this path twice without realizing it? "I was merely ensuring the servants have done a thorough job with the cleaning, nothing more. Dont get it twisted." The curse ran a finger along the surface of a vase, inspecting the pristine finish. This is the sort of detail the boy should have seen to, Sukuna hummed, and it shines as if freshly polished.

"The brat clearly cannot even perform the simple task of cleaning properly. Bring him to me at once, that he may be suitably punished." Sukuna declared, rubbing his thumb against his forefinger as if inspecting for some speck of dust. Uraume raised a delicate brow - they knew full well the vase was immaculately clean, having checked it themselves after the boy had tended to it. And if Sukuna wished to mete out punishment, he was not one to make excuses.

"I do not like to repeat myself, Uraume." the cursed entity growled.

Uraume was drawn from their musings. "My apologies, my lord. However, Yuji is currently in the kitchen, preparing your meal."

Sukuna whirled to face his servant, a scowl twisting his features. "You are allowing the brat to cook for me? I did not assign him to such a task."

"Indeed not, but the boy has been most persistent in his desire to learn how to prepare the dishes you favor, and has been training diligently for the past two weeks." Uraume replied, their tone unwavering.

Sukuna's features softened somewhat at this revelation. Ah, so that explained why the boy had not been bringing his customary tea of late. "If this displeases you, my lord, I shall assign a chef to attend to your meal preparation." the servant offered.

"I did not say that." Sukuna cut in swiftly. "Merely ensure the brat does not make some foolish mistake, like burning himself. I've no desire to deal with his whimpering." With that, the cursed entity turned and strode down the corridor once more.

"And the punishment, my lord?" Uraume called after him.

"I have reconsidered." Sukuna replied simply, not breaking his pace.

___________________________________________

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Three precise knocks, no more and no less - a rhythm Yuji had become well accustomed to. He dutifully waited, poised at the threshold, for Sukuna's granting of permission to enter. Yet, no reply came.

Yuji's legs ached from his prolonged kneeling before the fusuma, the tray of food laid out before him. Perhaps Sukuna was sleeping? This was most unusual, as the cursed entity rarely rested. Uncertain, Yuji contemplated his next course of action.

Should he dare to knock once more, despite the established protocol of three knocks only? Nay, to do so would risk Sukuna's wrath. Nor could he simply leave, for that would mean failing to fulfill his assigned task, a transgression that was sure to invite dire consequences.

The safest path, then, was to remain and wait patiently. With great care, Yuji removed his haori and draped it over the tray, hoping to preserve the warmth of the meal. As a chill breeze swept through the corridor, he shivered slightly, now bereft of the garment's protection.

"Yuji?"

Yuji flinched as a voice sounded behind him. "Uraume!" The youth turned to face the white-haired individual.

"What are you doing?" Uraume inquired, their brow arched.

"Uh, I knocked three times, but Lord Sukuna did not answer, so I have been waiting." Yuji replied, his gaze returning to the tray before him.

Uraume let out a soft chuckle. "Child, if you have knocked three times and received no reply, you should simply enter if you are bringing food or tea. Lord Sukuna does not like to partake of his sustenance later than he has arranged."

"Oh..." Yuji realized the gravity of his error. He had been waiting for at least an hour. Biting his lip, he glanced up at Uraume.

"Just go in. I'm sure Lord Sukuna will not punish you." Uraume said, their lips curled in a slight grin as they turned and walked away.

"But... I made a mistake—" Yuji murmured, his voice barely audible as he watched Uraume depart.

Sighing, the youth donned his haori once more and, taking a deep breath, slid the fusuma open. The room was dimly lit by the light from outside. Carefully, Yuji stepped inside, setting the tray down and closing the panel behind him.

Sukuna sat on the tatami floor, the kyoto draped about him, leaning against a low table. Yuji could only see the man's back, his gaze drawn to the slow descent of snow beyond the window. The chill in the air caused Yuji to shiver involuntarily.

"Took you long enough, brat."

Yuji flinched at the harsh tone of the man's voice, so long absent. Quickly, he lifted the tray and moved towards Sukuna, setting it down before the cursed entity. Settling to the ground, Yuji's aching legs protested the prolonged kneeling he had endured. He kept his head bowed, his hands folded in his lap, eyes fixed upon the tatami.

Yuji's gaze wandered to the food, doubtful that it had remained piping hot after his lengthy wait. As Sukuna shifted, the youth's eyes snapped back to his hands, bandaged from his work in the kitchen.

"Raise your head." Sukuna commanded, and Yuji obliged, meeting the cursed spirit's four eyes. Sukuna extended a hand towards the boy.

"Your hands." he demanded.

Yuji complied in silence, a frown upon his brow, placing his hands within Sukuna's grasp. The curse closed his fingers around the child's, his thumb caressing Yuji's skin. Yuji watched the motion, perplexed, but felt no pain.

Sukuna released Yuji's hands, and the youth returned them to his lap. The curse picked up the chopsticks, and Yuji held his breath, anxiously awaiting the verdict on the quality of the meal. As Sukuna began to partake, Yuji watched intently, his gaze unwavering.

"Not bad," Sukuna mused, and Yuji let out a breath of relief, unaware he had been holding it. A smile blossomed on the youth's face, his eyes brightening.

"Could be better." Sukuna added, and just as swiftly, Yuji's happy expression vanished, not escaping the cursed spirit's notice.

"Your arms are still as skinny as before. Have my servants been starving you?" Sukuna inquired, his gaze fixed upon the boy.

Yuji looked down, his muscles tensing, and remained silent.

"I don't like repeating myself, brat." Sukuna growled. Come to think of it, this was the second time today the curse had warned someone. "If you don't speak, I'll eat you right now."

Yuji flinched, his body trembling in fear, yet still he kept his mouth shut, which seemed to further agitate Sukuna.

"I'll kill all the servants if you don't speak." the curse threatened.

"No!" Yuji yelled, the sudden outburst widening Sukuna's eyes, before the curse's gaze narrowed menacingly upon the boy's face.

"I'm sorry... please don't kill anyone." Yuji pleaded, his voice lowered, acknowledging that he had overstepped his bounds.

"Then speak." Sukuna commanded.

Yuji took a deep breath, his eyes lowering to the tatami floor. "I eat well, the servants take good care of me. It's not their fault..." The boy fell silent again, as if reconsidering his words.

"Continue," Sukuna grumbled, reaching a hand towards the boy and raising his chin. "And don't lower your head."

"I've been making myself throw up the food after eating it." Yuji sighed, and Sukuna's brows knitted together. "Is the food not to your liking?" the curse muttered, his fingers tightening around the child's chin, though not enough to hurt him.

"No... it's just... you said I have time to prove my usefulness to you, and that is until I get meat on my bones. Until now, I haven't proven anything to you, so-"

"So you started throwing up the food, ruining your health so you don't gain weight, which means I won't eat you and you will still have time to prove yourself?" Sukuna continued for him, releasing Yuji's chin. "Who gave you the right to decide what I find useful or not? Since when were you the one to make decisions for me, brat?"

"I'm sorry-"

"Stop fucking apologizing." Sukuna interrupted.

Yuji fell silent, trembling in fear, as he lowered his head. Sukuna went quiet as well, staring at the child who quivered, realizing he had made the situation worse. For some reason, he felt a tight knot in his chest as he saw the transparent substance fall to the child's hands. He had made a child cry, and he hated how bad he felt about it.

It was annoying that this child was making him feel this way. Sukuna had never felt empathy for anyone before. Even when they cowered and sobbed in fear, even when they begged, he had only felt satisfaction. It was twisted, he knew, but it didn't matter. Until now.

Ryomen Sukuna does as he pleases, without feeling the need to justify his actions to anyone.

But right here and now, he doesn't want to see this child cry, nor does he want the child to fear him. It's annoying.

"Yuji." the curse uttered the boy's name for the second time. The child desperately tried to wipe away his tears and muffle his sniffles. Sukuna sighed and pulled the boy towards him, enveloping him in a warm embrace.

Sukuna doesn't make the effort to remember his servants' names, or rather, he doesn't bother to do so. The only name he ever says is 'Uraume.' his faithful servant. But for some reason, he remembers the annoying brat's name.

Yuji yelped, just as he had the first time Sukuna pulled him close. The child's eyes were wide as he looked up at the curse. "...Lord-" "Quiet." Sukuna interrupted.

Yuji fell silent once more, but he buried his face in the curse's chest, his small hands gripping the fabric tightly, as if afraid Sukuna would leave him. The curse let out a small hum, running his hand through the soft, peach-colored hair. Perhaps the reason he didn't cut the child's hair is that he found the fluffy locks to be quite cute on the brat.

But Sukuna would never admit that.

"I won't eat you." You have grown on me too much to do so.

"Cook me a meal again."

___________________________________________

Bonus:

"Uraume, Lord Sukuna can do magic!" Yuji chirped, his eyes shining with wonder.

"Why do you think so?" Uraume hummed, a grin spreading across their face.

"Yesterday, when I was cooking, I cut myself all over. But when Lord Sukuna held my hands, I didn't feel any pain anymore. And when I opened my bandages, my hands didn't have a single wound on them!" Yuji rambled excitedly.

Uraume chuckled and ruffled the child's hair. "Yeah, Lord Sukuna is quite the magician."

"Like a magical girl!" Yuji exclaimed.

"Magical girl?" Uraume inquired.

"Granny used to tell me about magical girls. I think Lord Sukuna is an undercover magical girl." the boy said, his expression serious.

Uraume laughed. "Yeah, a pinky undercover magical girl."

"But shh, don't tell anyone, Yuji."

"I won't! I promise." Yuji said, his eyes sparkling with delight.

《 @midgetpottermills 》

[shatcey]

1st anniversary (Vic's epilogue)

William Victor Victor epilogue Liam Liam epilogue

I didn't expect that it would take me so long to read this. The story isn't that long, but this time the translator just didn't want to work properly. He gives me a completely different translation every time. And a couple of times my brain just shut down. But in the end, I got the meaning. Hopefully, I chose the right one)

The epilogue start with a letter from the Queen. The Queen has great faith in Kate and asks her to check if Victor is suitable for the Crown. So basically their roles were switched.

Victor was suspended from work as punishment for violating the Queen's direct order (not to tell Kate about the agreement). Kate thought he would be upset about it, but he spends his free time helping all the boys, even Jude. Vic did his job very quickly and efficiently, so Jude actually doubted that he was human.

Kate was watching all this with a smile when suddenly someone patted her on the back. William…

He said that Her Majesty herself was in the Victor's office and asked Kate to come for a private conversation. Kate is terrified. But William calms her down.

Well, she pretended to be her once or twice… who wouldn't be afraid to meet the original. Maybe she's not happy about it or (oh dear Lord) offended… And don't forget about the assignment. She hasn't written the report yet. What to do… What to do… Yes… I would definitely be horrified...

When Kate arrived at Victor's office, only Victor was there.

She was surprised that he lied, and he teased her a little.

Kate thinks she's never seen this side of him.

You know, girl, you probably don't know him at all… He was thinking about it at this event…

And that he himself looks like darkness. And somehow she starts to like it, and she even follows it (darkness = Victor) everywhere.

Victor asks what her opinion of him is. After all, she's been watching him all day. Victor shows the agreement he wrote as an example

I was right… they are all different.

And he pushes her to a chair, indicating that she should write. She sits down, but she can't write while he's looking at her.

Just the thought of it makes her blush (I presume, considering his reaction).

So she went to her room and wrote

And again, we see mostly Victor, whom we are used to seeing… Cheerful, helpful and kind. But his teasing, which is becoming more obvious, and his puchy side, which does not allow Kate to relax around him, lead us to think how controlling, overwhelming and aggressive he truely is. I'm not sure yet, but the picture called "Victor" has become less blurry in my eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🔝 Start page 🔝

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[bumblebeeappletree]

Clarence goes over the basics of planting.

Most gardeners agree there's nothing better than getting a new plant in the ground! Planting is a task you’ll do over and over again and everyone will develop their own style by learning on the job and listening to others. Here’s Clarence’s tips and tricks on planting for beginners.

Choose a suitable spot:

Plants do best when they grow in the conditions they like. When choosing a spot to plant, consider how much sunshine they’ll get and what kind of soil they prefer. You’ll find this information on the plant label. Clarence is planting Billy Buttons which loves full sun and good drainage. There are some Billy Buttons growing happily in this spot already, so that’s a good indication that this new plant will like it here, too.

Health Check:

To check the roots on the plant, give the pot a squeeze. If it's too hard, there may be too many roots which means it is pot-bound. If it’s too soft, there may not be enough roots, meaning it needs to stay in the pot a little longer before establishing in the ground. You want the Goldilocks version, just right.

Water the plant:

It’s important the plant is well watered before going into dry soil because dried roots can cause plant stress or transplant shock. If you think it might take some time to dig your hole, dunk the pot into a bucket of water, let it soak a few minutes, then allow it to drain thoroughly.

Prep the soil:

Dig a hole the same depth as your pot and soften the surrounding soil. You want the soil level to be the same depth that the plant is used to, which is usually the point that joins the stem to the roots. If it’s planted too deep the stem can rot, or too high the roots will dry out. Test out the size of your hole by placing the whole pot inside the hole and adjust as needed.

Some people might be tempted to add compost or fertilizer to help the plant along. However, as the plant establishes its new surroundings, it will send out soft new roots which can be harmed by fertiliser. If the soil is unsuitable or needs amending, it’s best to do this a week before planting.

Remove the plant:

Gently tease the plant out of the pot. If the roots are well developed, it should slide out easily, or you can turn it upside-down and give it a tap. Any overcrowded roots can gently be teased to give them space - however, this depends on what type of plant it is, as some plants don’t like root disturbance.

Firm it in:

Get your hands dirty for this part! Clarence says it helps you connect to the plant and the garden. Place the plant into its position and gently firm down the soil around it. You want to make sure the soil particles are in good contact with the roots without big air pockets, but not too hard that it compacts.

Mulch:

Cover the soil with a layer of mulch, no higher than 50mm. Make it wide enough that it covers the dripline where the leaves would drip water down. Mulch helps keep moisture in and weeds out.

Water it in:

Give your plant a good thorough soaking. This will help the soil settle in place and keep the plant from stress as it settles in. You'll need to water it regularly for the first two weeks but once it's established, just sit back, relax and watch it grow!

Featured Plants:

BILLY BUTTONS - Pycnosorus globosus

[bonesandthebees]

YEAHHHH LMAOO that was the only time I've sent an ask on anon idk why I was so anxious that day LMAOOO

Tho I will say I've debated asking this one question to u so many times and everytime I wanna go on anon but then I realise it would not. Make any sense . If I was on anon so I've just refrained from asking lmaoo (which wow brain as soon as I typed this I've forgotten the question. Good job brain)

ANYWAYS MHMHMHM it's of a strawberry flower!! It's genuinely just such a gorgeous tatt I'd want it for myself even if it wasn't matching so I feel very comfortable getting it in the case we ever split up or anything <3

OOHHH THANK YOU YES PLS FEEL FREE TO GIVE ADVICE I AM ALWAYS LOOKING FOR MORE both for traveling solo in another country (I am Scared) and also tattoo after care?? Like. It's gonna be above my ankle how careful of socks/pants should I be :000

I mean if you ever wanna go on anon to ask me something that's totally fine I get it, and also if you're ever worried about asking me something just know that if I ever don't want to answer a question for any reason (ie: the answer isn't something I want to divulge publicly, I don't feel comfortable talking about that subject, I feel like I just don't have a good answer, etc.) I just won't answer it. it doesn't mean I'm going to hold a grudge against someone who asks me something I don't wanna answer. I get it, people are curious or have questions or whatever and that's fine! if I don't wanna answer I simply won't and that doesn't mean I'm upset or annoyed or anything like that

oooo a strawberry flower sounds so pretty!! I'm sure that's gonna look amazing

okay advice time for travel + tattoos under the cut bc it got long

oh yeah I was gonna say you're from canada right? I think going through customs is a bit easier for US/Canadian citizens traveling between the two countries, but still good luck with the lines. other advice I have for traveling in another country solo... while you might consider getting your currency exchanged, almost everyone and everywhere takes card these days so as long as you have a card that can be used internationally (I believe mastercard and visa are pretty much usable in every country, although I'm sure if it's just between the US and Canada most cards are fine, just make sure to check). but also if you do wanna do currency exchange, wait until you're in the US to do that or else you'll get ripped off. once you're in the US just go to an ATM and withdraw cash from your bank account, and it'll come out in US dollars without the additional fee you'd get from going to a currency exchange place

OKAY TATTOO TIPS

I think most tattoo artists these days use second skin after giving someone a tattoo. it's basically a sticky thin sheet of plastic that the artist will put on top of the tattoo after it's finished, and usually your artist will instruct you to leave it on anywhere from 24 hours to several days. any artist worth their salt will properly explain how long to keep it on for, what to expect and look out for, etc. the second skin will protect the tattoo so you won't have to worry about it rubbing against fabric in the initial few days after getting it. although I'll say taking that stuff off is a BITCH it's like peeling a bandaid off but so much worse

however, your artist might not use second skin. out of my five tattoos, only two of the artists I've been to used second skin which is apparently unusual because from what I've heard from tattoo artists is that it's pretty much standard at this point to use it. however because only my latter two tattoos used second skin, I didn't realize that I have reactions to second skin that make it not suitable for me to use. you might have a reaction as well and that's ok! for me at least my reaction wasn't anything bad, it's just that I noticed a lot of redness around the second skin and when I took it off (earlier than I was supposed to) it left marks around my tattoo that didn't go away for 6 months. so yeah in the future if I go to an artist and they want to use second skin, I'm going to refuse because I've healed 3 tattoos perfectly fine without it. so if your artist doesn't use second skin (and tbh even if they do because you'll need this once you take the second skin off) buy some aquaphor. your artist is probably going to instruct you to wash the tattoo with antibacterial soap 2-3 times a day, and afterwards you should put a thin layer of aquaphor on top of the tattoo to protect it and soothe any dryness or scabbing. it might seem annoying to wash a tattoo so many times a day, but trust me once it starts scabbing you're going to want to wash it because it itches and the aquaphor calms it down.

having the tattoo on your ankle might be tricky since it's too cold to wear shorts, and the hem of your pants might rub against it. try to wear pants that are looser around your ankles (no skinny jeans or leggings) so that the fabric doesn't irritate it. and try to wear socks that don't touch the tattoo.

above all though, your tattoo artist should be able to tell you everything I just told you. don't be afraid to ask them questions. they want your tattoo to heal nicely bc that's their work! and just in general don't be shy to talk to your artist. my first two tattoos aren't bad by any means, but I don't love them because I was too anxious to properly communicate with my artist about what I wanted. don't be afraid to ask them to change something in the design, or if they put the stencil on and you want a different placement tell them! your artist is there to work with you so just talk to them :)

okay that got so much longer than I meant it to hope that helps!!

[unluckyhoneybee]

Hiii, could I get something where you are briss sister and have to stay with Thomas for a while because of an impromptu job offer you get?? Some good old brother best friend trope + our favourite roommates trope basically. I'd like prompt 7 "This wasn't supposed to happen" from the random prompt list after a heavy make out session in the sofa.

Random Prompt List.

Blue: Brother's best friend. + Roommates

7. "This wasn't supposed to happen".

"So... Is this the last one?" Thomas asked leaving the box in the corner with all the others.

"Yeah" You nodded checking everything. "Thank you."

"It's nothing. The guest room is empty, I have no problem with having you around. For as long as you need"

That was how it started. A job offer that you couldn't ignore had come out of nowhere. But the job was in San José and you had barely 4 days to find a place to live and move and everything. While desperately talking with your brother, he told you about Thomas. Only half an hour later, you had room to stay in San José for as long as you needed to.

"Okay, this is your home now. Just... do whatever you want" Thomas said trying to sound cool. But you both ended up laughing. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms on his chest. "No, seriously. Feel at home."

"No rules?" You asked with a little smile that sent him spiralling into thoughts he knew he shouldn't be having.

"One rule"

You nodded.

"No guys" He said. Was it selfish? Yeah, obviously. But he wouldn't lay there while you had some random dude in his guest room.

Somehow, you understood. It was common sense.

"Yeah sure. I wasn't going to, you know?" You shrugged. "I won't stay here for that long. I can take a few days without it" You winked at him and Thomas almost died.

You grew comfortable in the flat quickly, Thomas made it easy and you were sure Brendan had something to do with it. You could picture him giving his friend a talk about taking care of you and all of that.

That day, you opened the door and he was already on the sofa.

"YN! C'mon. It's going to start."

You chuckled and hurriedly left all your stuff in the hall. You didn't even bother changing clothes. You sat on the sofa and stole his Pepsi.

"Hey"

"Shh. It has been a long day"

He laughed and got comfortable, watching you with a smile. What had started as only a few days, was now a few weeks of you staying with him. It was more difficult than you thought. There were no available flats for you to rent on your own, all of them were too expensive or not suitable. But Thomas hadn't complained and now you had slowed the search.

"Why did you arrive so late?" He asked. "You almost miss the start of the game"

Whenever Briss would play, you guys would watch it together.

"Um... Sally, the girl that drives me here at night, called sick today"

Thomas frowned and watched you.

"So I had to take the bus" You simply said.

"I could have picked you, you know?"

You smiled and shook your head. "It's fine, you already do a lot"

"No, YN. For real. Just call me next time." He insisted.

You looked at him. He was serious and it was really cute actually. You sighed.

"Okay. But I'm telling you, there is no..."

"Bullshit" He chuckled "You almost miss this. It's a tradition"

You giggled and left the Pepsi on the table. Then, you leaned back. You hadn't checked and you laid over his arm, which was casually dropped over the back of the sofa. "Sorry" You muttered.

You had both moved quickly, putting some distance and clearing your throats. Thomas was attractive and so were you. You were sharing a flat, living together and doing domestic stuff together the whole time. You had seen him laying there with only sweats and he had seen you walking around in those comfy pants you loved so much and that left little to the imagination. There was something dragging you close but you had both tried to ignore it.

Silence fell and you tried to focus on the game. At some point, Thomas had gotten up and came back with some drinks.

"Thanks, Bords" You muttered. "You are a fantastic host"

He giggled. "You are nice too, follow the rules and all of that" He had said that on purpose. He needed to know. It was eating him alive.

"What rule? The no boys rule?"

He nodded. "The only rule"

"Well, it's not hard."

"You said you could take a few days and it has been weeks, I'm impressed" He was because he had gone through it too.

"Well, it's not as if I couldn't meet them somewhere else" You said not taking your eyes from the screen. Briss was playing really well.

Thomas tensed. You had been seeing people. And he had been here thinking that... Fucking shit.

"What?" You were looking at him with a weird face. He had a very very disgusted expression.

"I didn't..." He muttered and frowned.

"What?" You insisted.

"I thought you weren't seeing anyone"

You got goosebumps on your skin. Was he jealous? Thomas Bordeleau

"Wait..." Was he jealous? Thomas Bordeleau was jelaous? Because you were seeing people? "Thomas"

He looked at you and clenched his fist.

"Aren't you seeing..."

"No. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable by bringing people here and..."

"You didn't though of meeting somewhere else"

He pressed his lips together.

"Are you jealous?"

He lowered his eyes and your heart went crazy. Thomas was fucking jealous, he was even mad. He felt stupid.

"Thomas"

When he turned to look at you, you cupped his face and pressed your lips to his, making him groan and grab your leg. With your hands on his face and your lips so sweetly kissing him, Thomas couldn't contain himself. He pushed you so you were now laying on the sofa. Your body responded to his so quickly, your legs opened for him giving the enough space so he could climb over your body and deepen the kiss. It escalated quickly, so quickly. Your hands were now under his shirt and his hips were grinding into yours so nicely. You were both a mess, biting, sucking the other's lips, moaning and gasping for air.

Until the TV brought you back to reality. Brendan had scored. You pere both panting for air and looking at the TV.

"This wasn't supposed to happen" You muttered. You felt guilty.

Thomas looked down at you and cupped your face. "Do you want to stop?"

"That's the problem, I don't"

[sonkitty]

The Pocket Trick: Basics - LINK - Update

-Updated Introduction. There are a lot of changes, so it's best to just read it. If you still don't want to bother, the most important things are that I removed "hit me like a ton of bricks" and instead worded things as this Trick "snowballs" into an increasing realization about its profound impact on so much else.

-Also, my understanding of the clothing touch requirement has reached that it helps find the touches to begin with since advanced pocket mechanics extend over so much else in the game.

-Reworded this part of the summary from saying, "I don't know what's really happening here" to, "I have a limited understanding of what's happening here, but I know things are happening."

-Redid quite a bit of the "Definitely Not a Summary", probably worth quoting here:

Definitely Not a Summary Now for the long stuff that's still just helping lay the groundwork. There is a lot going on. This Trick part of a game, and this part of this game is something I very much struggle with. I have often said I am defeated by this thing. I am defeated in the sense that I can't explain every little bit of every finer mechanic happening. I still pieced together some significant parts, and that's worth something. I'm not going to throw away all my progress by deleting my save, so I'm still keeping and sometimes updating this post anyway. Despite my complaints and frustrations, The Pocket Trick is my strongest assurance that the Earthly Objects game is a game and it does exist. It's given me some laughs along the way too. I'm still taking breaks and if I actually do think of a way to go further, I take the time to do so.

Even so, I am going to miss things because it is really hard to pay attention to everything when you don't really know what's going on but know enough to sense something's going on. It just is. Crowley's dark clothes and the show's lighting make this part of the game difficult. My own PC wasn't the best to use for the visuals either, but I have finally found a way to adjust the brightness in a more suitable way. The way this Threshold Trick works, a player has to be willing to check things frame by frame. It helps to be willing to do things like brighten a screenshot or draw a line from one place to the other too.

-Minor rewording in The Door Trick section

-Updated The Bigger Thresholds Trick section, best to just read it, but if you've been keeping up my Sideburns Scheme posts and read the one about the pub visit, it'll sound familiar.

-Updating wording in Tied Hands section to say "imaginary mirror" instead of "initiating invisible mirror". I also removed the link to The Rainbow Connection Part 4 and just noted to go read the Rainbow Connection section for more.

-I've started capitalizing Touch Point.

-Various re-wording in the apparel sections.

-For the watch in particular, I noted it might be what's helping the Tied Hands stay tied in the Single.

-For the Belt Head in particular, I removed the first two sentences. I also added "for a potential three heads at once" when going over whatever special job it seems to have during the Triple of the Heaven elevator.

-Updated the shoes section to note the two times they appear in these touches and that they are also part of the set of clues about The Door Catch's Ground Zero cut.

-Added that there is a possible rule Crowley isn't allowed to smile during these pocket touches.

-Removed "I'm not going to say "pocket frame" every time. I'm either talking about a frame for a video or the frame in which Crowley is being placed. However,"; I'm actually quite mindful of when I say each lately and hopefully when I forget, a reader can figure it out from the context.

-Added the following to the Pocket Puzzle section, "In addition to finding the particular Touch Point, the puzzles are about discovering the mechanics at work, such as the existence of the Tied Hands and Overhead Lights."

-Removed saying the rainbows in The Door Trick and The Window Trick stand out as if they are giving some power to Crowley. That could still be true, but I wanted more focus on the rainbows or non-rainbows for all of the Threshold Tricks.

-Added, "The Bigger Thresholds Trick, The Door Trick, and The Window Trick also have rainbows. The Sunglasses Trick receives a reflection of white light, theoretically due to its layering. The Perfect Entrance Trick doesn't get one, and I've excused it on the grounds that the Rainbow Connection described below hadn't initiated yet."

-Updated the follow sections: Overhead Lights, Imaginary Pocketing, Reflective Surfaces. Best to just read or skim them.

-Added a new Hidden Messages section:

Hidden Messages The Pocket Trick has hidden messages. They aren't necessarily found within The Pocket Trick itself. Some can be found by realizing the scale of impact this Threshold Trick has on the rest of Earthly Objects and the Threshold Tricks. I will note them as best I can in my various Earthly Objects posts. Here are some links and words that mention them: The tie strands are connected to the hands because they are Crowley's Tied Hands. The Metatron makes mistakes. The Door Catch Ground Zero: "Here goes nothing." Pay attention to the pockets.

...

Updated the Links description to note that I am considering redoing the posts if I can come up with a better format for my limited understanding of what's happening.

...

I'm getting closer and closer to The Pocket Trick actually starting when going over the Crowley scene-by-scene posts for the Sideburns Scheme, so having those posts improved would be helpful.

[eschatology-zihua]

Fireseed flower

Chapter.5 Fifth record

"After the first time my own ignition chamber spewed out sparks like a fire well, my ignition chamber would erupt every once in a while. Although it was beautiful and full of hope, it still caused me some trouble. Unlike before, I can now use my 'new' body normally. Although the dual perspectives are still not suitable, everything is moving in the right direction..."

When checking the CPU information storage, I found four records and feelings that were written when I first entered space and was tortured. This is a habit of mine. On the battlefield, we cannot confirm what kind of damage we will suffer, especially the damage to the head eagle, which may cause damage to the memory module. It is not that the module cannot be restored, but it will be a waste of time. As a leader, I must review the battlefield in the shortest possible time "I cannot waste time restoring amnesia caused by mistakes, and I will keep track of everything that happens now and synchronize it with my core memory."

I looked back and made a backup. I plan to find another time slot for analysis. I will put the records back in the encrypted culture and focus on reality. After a period of exploration, I will basically use this console, which is similar to what I used before, but different. I put my armor on the console, and the text used here is very strange, mixed with many languages. I can find Cybertron's text on it "The characters and the languages of most countries on Earth, as well as some that I cannot describe... they are numerous, complex, and very similar, which often makes me mistake them."

"However, it cannot be denied that the data, information, and knowledge here have indeed piqued my interest, and even made me a bit addicted. I really enjoy accepting more new knowledge, after all, learning is always an important thing. As I know more and more, I also gradually understand where I am and why."

"This is a connected space that has been squeezed by countless parallel worlds. Here, it is possible to connect and communicate with the desired world. However, due to the squeezing, this place is also unstable, and there may be situations where the world suddenly connects. The role I play here should be considered as responsible for searching and receiving... at least that's how I understand it."

"As I delved deeper, I realized that it wasn't just me who was here. While cracking the data, I also got some information, some mixed language... job assignments? I could only roughly infer what was written through a guessing process."

"There are a total of six long sentences, each containing at least 12 non repeating languages, and only the first sentence uses a few Cybertan languages. The rest are mostly languages from Earth and a small number of other civilizations, as well as a small number of languages that I am not familiar with. I can roughly guess that the first sentence is written about me, because the content written above is basically consistent with my current situation. It is not too troublesome to guess the remaining five sentences from the first sentence... right?"

"The following is what I understand"

:TFP [unknown content] renovation progress 39%

: [Unknown content] already acceptable and basic [Unknown content]

:Project A-level - Representative

: [Unknown content] (PS: I didn't figure out what was here, probably letters or similar) Progress 24% (PS: I can roughly guess it's a number in the 20s, but I can't be more precise)

: Force the activation of processed [unknown content] - dimensional [unknown content] to treat unimportant [unknown content]

:G1 (ps: I was surprised that the first half of this section was entirely in English) ;exists as a character: Optimus Prime Megatron

: Modification type: Optimus Prime removes movement ability, controls four mental connections, progress [unknown content] has healed Megatron's self destruction result and controlled its fire [unknown content]

Project B4 Level - [Unknown Content]

: 08 (PS: There is almost no unknown content in this sentence, but there are too many similar words, which makes the translation a bit convoluted)

Existing character: Optimus Prime Megatron

: Modification type: Optimus Prime limb dataization, changing fire seed to fire seed flower

:Megatron left arm, chest armor, fire chamber reshaping, connecting the world's compressed crystal pipeline, progress [unknown content]

(PS: Special Project:)

:Content 1: wg-e1 has been implanted into the brain module of Optimus Prime, and the data has been concretized with a deviation of 30%, which is within a controllable range

:Content 2: SN-I7 has been implanted into Megatron's brain module to assimilate its [unknown content]

:Project 2C-B3 Level - Classification

: [Unknown content] (PS: There is almost nothing I can understand about this sentence) [Unknown content]

Project: 6B-Ai1 Level - Adjustment

: S [Unknown Content] Renovation Progress [Unknown Content](PS: Corrected and strengthened its control)

: [Unknown Content] S-A4 Level - Dominate

"Besides me, there are also five world counterparts who have been brought in with Megatron and have all undergone varying degrees of 'modification'. I don't know if these things are good or bad, but I definitely need to obtain more information and..."

"I need to find a way to contact them"

Record date: unknown

Recorded by: TFP Optimus Prime

Additional content:

Content 1: As time goes on, this permission will become higher and higher. I now have regular permission 4-B and can now see some encrypted information

Content 2: After careful consideration, I have decided to add tfp in front of each name I fill out (ps: These three letters are probably the world name I belong to, and I will also add tfp in front of me when I see that information) to facilitate me in finding records

Content 3: This space should only prohibit me from sending messages to the outside, but I can still receive those messages... Should I also be able to contact them through an insider?

Content 4: Be careful in everything

-Recording completed-

-Encrypted-

[sleepydross]

Chapter One, Route_A: Clerks, Too A Chapter of the 'SEER' or 'Spontaneous Edifice Emergence / Reification' Storyline. "Chapter One, Route_B" coming when I can. CW: Damage to fingers, mutilation, body horror, disturbing imagery, fleshpunk concepts, blood and injury, surreal terror / horror, harsh language etc.

Song Title: Everything Burns Eventually (I think)

Description: A person whose voice sounds vaguely masculine sings about how fire (Passion?) is churning and burning (Lyrics specifically mention 'churning and burning,' like, as part of the chorus. It's… weird.) and tearing across the land, and consuming everyone that it touched. It sounded like a raging orgy, or something. It started to be a little… more blunt than most modern songs about sex and horny shit, uh, in the last verse, from what I remember. I just remember… I remember it struck me as odd. No one else seemed to notice, but it was… strange.

I remember the lyrics said, they said, "And the fire's burnin' and churnin', burnin' and churnin' and all the fat little kids sizzle like they're on a griddle."

I almost said "What the fuck?" when my brain processed it, and then… The song was over. After that it was, I don't know, some pop shit. I'd heard it before, it played like, once a night when I was on shift, you know? It was normal.

I thought maybe, maybe it was just stress, you know? I thought I imagined it. Maybe I did.

The doors slid open, and another customer walked in. Jackie looked up, and said, cheerfully, "hello!"

Mostly, the cheer wasn't fake. J liked xis job, liked working the night shift… liked that every single hour that passed was another hour of pay to make xis life better. Fake cheer was only a necessity because of the exhaustion. Xe hadn't slept very well, during the day before - nightmares had assailed, and eventually won ground, in Jackie's mind. They'd been real bastards, too, pervasive and cruel.

They were snakey, awful fucking things and xe'd woken up screaming loud enough to piss off xis roomate.

"Great deals!" the customer replied, cheerfully. She was a nice looking older lady, hair dyed a bright purple - scrubs indicated she was a nurse, and the fact that it was two in the morning indicated she was a seasoned nurse working some graves. Whether she was coming or going, Jackie had no idea, but the response felt… off kilter, strange.

"Yes ma'am, UltiMart's got pretty solid bargains!" xe replied, bemused more than anything else. A terminal case of desperation to work nights meant xe had only very rarely showed up to the store during the day, and even then, it was only to pick up partial shifts or cover for coworkers who were sick - it wasn't anything long term. Terminal overnighters were an odd kind of kin, like that recognized like, and they'd share their little jokes about the lack of daylight.

While the old lady did her shipping, J did what J did, checked the list of all the shit xe needed to get done, and then moved down it until xe found a task that was suitable for a time when there was a customer in the store and got to it. Each of the coffee makers was an absurd Austrian thing that looked like what aerospace engineers worked on when not making space ships - they even had touch screens, which had thoroughly confused a number of customers who, for whatever reason, lacked the basic decency to just read the very simple on-screen instructions.

They made a damn fine cup of coffee, at least.

While the old lady did her browsing, J did what needed to be done with the coffee machines. First, xe had to pull out the tray all the coffee grounds were dumped into by the individual bean grinders, and brush them out - and then wipe them down with the bottle of food safe sanitizer hanging from xis belt.

A song started playing, an unfamiliar one - which was, in and of itself, something of an event. The store's radio had been standardized for the three years xe had worked at the fucking place, with new songs being added only very rarely. It was covers, always covers of popular songs from years past, because (presumably) licensing fees were less.

This song, however, was wildly unfamiliar. Right then, it was december the fourth, and the ugly American phenomenon of Christmas music had already begun, with essentially every song being some softly shitty, saccharine song about how Christmas was good and lovely (it wasn't) and how snowing it was definitely going to be (or how not snowing it would be but how it was in fact still Christmas in Vegas). All of it was thankfully constantly rubbing its ass across the floor of a room labelled 'easy listening' like a dog in heat, and thusly, was incredibly easy to tune out.

This was not easy listening, and was not dragging its ass. It started up right away with a strange, slightly overdriven scream of a note on what could've been a guitar, or what could've been a violin having its various indelible rights violated. J looked up, confusedly, staring at the nearest ceiling mounted speakerplate. The first words of the song were definitely in English, but they were unintelligible, howled with such ferocity that J couldn't make anything out.

Unnerved, xe let the cleaning routine finish on the coffee machine and wiped down the grill people set their cups on, cleaning up loose droplets wondering how people could make so much off a mess with a damned device that was largely automatic, and-

The music was loud, louder than it should have been, loud enough to be downright unpleasant. Whatever the verse was supposed to be about, J heard the word 'fuck,' and then 'death is our business, and business is good' and wondered with a kind of dim anxiety what xis boss was doing with the damned radio. Usually, she didn't fuck with it in the middle of the night, neither the volume nor the station, preferring to change it during morning shift change if she changed it at all.

Baffled, xe threw the soiled towel into the trash can behind the counter, passing through the swinging, saloon style waist-high doors to get to the register - the old lady was meandering her way back towards the front of the store, and three years of instinct told xim that she was done and ready to check out.

As she approached, the singer was howling the words 'hunt, fight, kill, spill' over and over as the guitar player went absolutely fucking bananas. It sounded like a challenge song made by a sadistic modder for some guitar-legend type video game - not meant to be musical, really, but instead meant to be as hard and inhuman as possible.

"Sorry about the radio!" J half-shouted, in the most customer service voice that xe could manage. "We have no control over it in the store, its controlled remotely!"

"What radio, sweetie?" the old lady asked. This simple question was not one that would normally frighten anyone, but when she asked it, with that fake sweetness that all the music tasted of, a trickle of icewater ran through xis spinal fluid.

"The, uh, really loud song that's playing, right now!" xe told her, confusedly, as she set… something, on the counter.

"Sweetheart, I'm old, not deaf, you don't have to shout," she said, still sweetly, but with a freezing, hard edge.

"S-Sorry," J said, trying to shut out the music that felt like it kept getting louder, and now had words in it like 'fuck, consume, eat, devour' mixed in with the other ones in some kind of charnel, wylde hunt of a crescendo. "Let me, just uh, ring you out."

So, J did what J always did when unnerved - focused on process. Grab the items, get them in place on the counter, find the barcode, scan them…

But the old woman had set, on the counter, a huge wet hank of something that looked an awful lot like intestines, loosely wrapped in some kind of slick plastic that was labelled with the store's branding, but was definitely not something xe had ever sold before. This had happened once or twice, though usually not with something so viscerally disgusting, but strange products made their way to shelves in rural areas - they had, after all, a whole goddamn minifridge by the door full of live bait and weird bottles of deer attractant or whatever.

This was marked as 'Sausage casing, natural, unprocessed' which was pretty much exactly what it looked like was inside - intestines, unprocessed, raw guts. Sure, that was fucked, and sure it made J want to go leap out a fucking window into a hot shower that would presumably be waiting out the window as a matter of course, but… It was hunting season. Rural freaks… bought all kinds of weird shit.

"I can't wait to get home and tuck into that," the old lady said, as J scanned it. J looked up at her immediately, with a kind of sluggish trepidation rising up alongside the ice-water level in xis insides. "Hard to get good, fresh intestine these days, oh boy, but you all… Well, like you said! Ultimart has some great deals!"

"Y-Yeah, absolutely," J replied, at that point, shaking. It hadn't been like this in a long time, the anxiety, the terrible feeling that something was getting worse and worse every moment, and whatever the fuck it was, it was wholly inconceivable and impossible for a human mind to understand. Early on, working the graves, that had happened a few times and required medication to quell - but it had been at least half a year since such a thing was a necessity.

The last item that J scanned was a knife, which xe was incredibly sure that they didn't sell - but it rang up in the POS system just fine, despite being a bowie styled weapon with blade length J was almost entirely sure was illegal. After several long moments of staring at the weapon, and then at the screen, xe said, "I need just a moment, okay, ma'am?"

"Oh come on now, I really would like to get home to sleep," she said, barely audible over the blood-horny shrieking of the 'music.' "What's the problem anyway?"

"I'm fairly sure this knife is of illegal blade length," J replied, evenly. "I'm going to call my manager real fast, just to make sure you're not exposed to liability, and neither are we, okay?"

For a long moment, the old lady stared at xim, paper white skin, eyes like puddles of mud with spots of green algae floating on the surface, pupils lightless pits that seemed overlarge, and then she said, "check me out, boy, or I'll use the knife on you."

"W… Excuse me?" J asked, softly, having never once been threatened by a fucking grandmother whose hair was still tinged cyan with blue-rinse. She looked like an octogenarian but had just-

"Sell me my fucking knife and my guts, boy, and let me go home. They're on SALE!" she all but barked, voice deeper than it ought to have been. For a long, ice cold moment, a temporal crystal of a ten-second cluster, J just fucking stood there, struck silent and immobile.

"I'm… I'll be right back," J said, stalking off away from the register before the old lady could be any more of a freak. Some reasoning had to be done, and xe wasn't going to do any of it standing right there with nightmare grandma. Once behind the enormous display stand wherein all of the scratch off tickets were located, xe took a long breath and pulled out xis phone.

No service. That had happened a few times before, always at crucial and stressful moments for it to happen, but it meant xe was on xis own and had to made a damn decision. Decisions had never been J's strong suit, nor had making them, nor had making good ones - but in this case, there were a few scraps of logic to cling to.

Tattered though those scraps were, the items had been entered into the POS, and were up on screen. They had prices matching the tagged prices, and that meant at least, at LEAST a manager and an assistant manager… nothing got in the system without their approval.

If anything legal-related happened, it'd happen to them. Employees below management weren't to be held responsible for such things, especially if they didn't do anything out of the ordinary but check out a registered item. After another moment of exhaustion and fear, and decision making, J headed back to the register and faced down nightmare granny with the music she couldn't hear blaring in a new, brutal, howling hellscape of sound. Satan himself and all his choruses roared and bleated.

"Okay. I had to do a quick check with the management. Everything is fine. My apologies for the inconvenience," J said.

"You fucking freaks get worse and worse every year, I swear," the grandma said, digging in her purse and tugging out a series of bills. J had been threatened, had been nearly beaten, had been yelled and screamed at, people had tried to scam xim, but no one had ever been quite as scary as this old lady and her widening pupils. Whatever she was on, and she WAS on something, it had dilated them at that point to a level that the irises could scarcely be seen.

"Sure," J said, because 'freak' was hardly the worst xe had been called by customers. Xe took the bills, checked their values, and then quickly and quietly typed the amount in the POS. The drawer snapped open, the automatic change vault dispensed the coins, and then J handed her the bills. "Have a nice day, ma'am."

"Great deals!" the old lady crowed, and then she gathered her guts and her long knife and her chocolate bar and can of coffee, and fucking dipped. That was it, she just left, walkd out the doors into a soothing darkness that absorbed her readily as if she was made of it and simply evaporated back into it past the glass.

Finally free of whatever the fuck that was, J started to emerge from behind the counters, only to realize that xis hands were wet. Soaking, dripping, and xe raised them to stare at them, finding them wet and slick and-

"What the riddling goddamn fuck?" xe asked, as the smell, the familiar smell of iron and pennies touched xis nose and that special kind of instinct-triggering vital red pattered weakly onto the floor. Already trembling with the shock and the anxiety, the worker-alone stalked into the back room and grabbed one of the GOOD cleaning paper towels to dry the red away. It was a hazmat issue, for starters, and that meant procedures had to be followed and-

"Where did it come from?" xe demanded, heading to the sink with its three huge, wide bays - and then past it, to the hand sink, where xe could wash without violating biohazard protocols. Once all the iron stink was gone and with it all that vital red, J stalked back out behind the counter, taking careful note of the pattern of blood droplets on the floor, so that he could fill out a biohaz report and clean it all properly.

At the register, J saw the blood running out from underneath the drawer, and decided this was a great time to wake up from what was most assuredly a nightmare. The howling chorus of murder and violence carried on its carrion chorus until at last, xe hit the button to open xis drawer and-

Silence. It cut out, a shocking and startling abuse of sudden peace. Inside of the drawer, the bills were soaked in blood, floating in the liquid as if it had been full up before the money was even placed inside, and none of that made sense…

Confounded, confused, xe reached in and tried to take one of the bills out - and then jerked xis hand back as the drawer snapped viciously shut, so fast that the reaction was more instinct than anything else. Strangulation of a scream was something J had experience with, and xe choked the rising scream in xis throat, and choked the bile of horror down with a guttural swallow.

Xis pinkie finger was gone, cloven off cleanly between the two middle knuckles, at an angle. Blood squirted, red and so vital, and J walked with numbness and purposeful intent. Each footstep was a labor of necessity, a cold wrought iron act that could only be forged out by someone who had experienced pain, horror and sudden and unexpected wounding before.

In the back, xe grabbed another of the good cleaning paper towels and wrapped it around the digit, taking great effort to fold the flap of skin over the stump for the moment. Whatever had happened, the bone had slowed down the cut, and perhaps that was the only reason there was so much of the digit left. With duct tape from the emergency toolbox, xe secured the makeshift dressing.

A lot of things were happening in xis head at once, most of them related to trying to get xis fucking finger sewn back on. It wasn't a terrible loss, a pinkie that was barely used for anything, and the pain, the pain was so immense but so much less than xis mind would have thought had xe been made aware of the cut before it came.

It ached. It hurt. It was-

"Need the bit," J muttered, feverishly, half-drunk with adrenaline and half-sick with horror. These new steps, back out to the register, were accompanied by the forceful requisition of a pair of heavy metal tongs that were normally used for pulling hot wings off the cook plates. Shaking still, J used the POS to open the drawer, and stared into it, seeing what was wrong, what xe had missed.

The bills that strange woman had given over, they weren't the source of the blood - xe wasn't even sure it was really blood. Somehow, all the fleshy horror of the inside of the drawer was almost not a surprise. The various slots for all of the bills had been replaced with chambers full of blood, oozing from little holes near the top and soaking all of the coins and paper, drowning them in thickened red. The fingertip, the digit, was hissing and smoking, that smoke the acrid horror of digestion. The inside lip of the drawer was lined with a thick, wide row of misshapen but unmistakably human front teeth - misshapen, but razor sharp.

Pain. Beneath the layers of tissue, thick plates of bone formed the basic skeleton of the drawer, though the outside remained mottle gray metal. Wrong, it was all wrong. It was a horror. Disgusted, enraged, J wedged the tongs in and watched it snap shut. This animal was nothing but that, an animal, operating on instinct - and it kept trying to close, grinding aggressively against the shaft of the tongs… and then gave up. This gave J only a moment to snap the remains of the digit from the single dollar slot.

This time, when it snapped shut, it was done. Xe set the digit on the counter, having fully given the screaming fuck up on hazmat protocols, and was distressed to find that there wasn't enough flesh to sew back on. It was just grotesque, awful bone and some tendon gumming it all together.

Frantic with afterthought, J checked xis hands and… they had burns, mild ones, on the palms. It wasn't blood, it was some digestive fluid that smelled and felt a lot like blood, but was just a bit thicker and-

J opened the drawer again. It was still there.

"Fuck," xe said, because if xe was just crazy, it'd be a lot less fucking scary.

It was that moment that xis phone started beeping, and the wounded worker fumbled the device out and squeeze-pressed the side button to reveal…

Six thirty AM. It was morning, and not just morning, but half an hour past the end of xis shift. Xis relief, an assistant manager, hadn't shown up, and was half an hour late - and this was when xe would have to call xis boss, if xe had ANY FUCKING SIGNAL.

Xe did not have, in fact, any signal, fucking or otherwise.

Panting with the extreme exhaustion of an adrenaline crash and the staggering pain of a severed digit, an executive decision was called for - and this one was easy, in the extreme, to make. Without even pausing to think, to wait, to hesitate, J walked to the manager's desk behind the front counter and opened the non-manager drawer on it, retrieving the emergency key for the doors. With that in hand, xe stumblefucked to the rear door and fully closed it, tricking it to latch with a little wiggle of the 'if you press this, the fire department will come' bar that forced them to leave that particular portal open, if only just, propped that way.

That done, xe walked to the front doors and reached up to the sensor controls, disabling the sensor so it wouldn't open for anyone. A final step had to be followed, and xe followed out, because at that moment, clinging to procedure was basically all that was keeping xim fucking sane. With a certain amount of disdain, xe slapped on the 'Closed due to emergency circumstances, please wait for a manager, or otherwise find another location to serve you' sign on the front door.

Xe then stepped out into the cold of morning, locked the doors, and turned to the parking lot intending to head right next store to the apartments where xis manager lived. If the phones were down, xe would pound on the fucking door and wake the poor woman up.

Except, facing the parking lot, that preternatural darkness still enveloped everything but the pumps and the area beneath the bright canopy lights. Something was wrong with that darkness, something that J couldn't quite figure until xe walked halfway across the lot and saw something that made that cold ice-water-in-the-cerebrospinal-fluid feeling come on back.

Bricks. Through that thick, syrupy darkness, xe saw bricks at the edge of the parking lot, at the very edge of the store's lot. Baffled, nauseous, xe made xis way to that edge and pressed xis wounded hand to the brickwork and just… breathed, slowly, carefully. Walking down the wall revealed just another wall, at the edge of the lot farthest from the doors - and then, xe walked down that door to a pool of light that had been hard to even notice through the black.

They slid open smoothly. J stepped into the entrance of Ultimart, and turned around as the doors shut, staring across the parking lot at pumps that had been mutated and warped, blended together and superimposed with pumps that had been mirrored. Light shone out of doors to the right, to the left, and to the locked doors with the posted sign directly across the lot.

"Welcome to Ultimart! We have great deals and fantastic meals!" a voice called. J turned, slowly, looking at a cashier that stood behind the counter. Frightened, sick with anger, xe walked up to the swinging doors and stared over them.

The Cashier was not standing there. Instead, thick rivulets of bone ran down from a bare and exposed pelvis, tubes connected to various internal organs emerging from blistered, scarred up, cauterized flesh - the tubes themselves were thick, glistening white connective tissue, wet. The bone formed pillars all the way to the floor, lumpy and uneven like melted stick candles.

There, at the floor, that bone grew in sickly, plantlike tendrils straight into the gaps between the tiles. Those cartilaginous tubes ran down through holes below the register.

"Working hard, or hardly working?" the cashier asked, like a fucking freak, like a disgusting nightmare. Neither of this things eyes were the same color, and both of them failed to focus equally, pupils seemingly set at entirely different levels of dilation. "Great deals!"

"Fall over and fucking die," J said, quite evenly, before walking back through those same goddamned doors and past the overlaid, mutated pumps. Xe unlocked the doors from the outside, and then re-locked them from the inside, and walked behind the counter. There, J sat down against the cigarette wall, and just… stared at the register. Blood was still dripping from the counter, and the bone and tissue still smoked faintly.

Finally, after a few minutes, xe said, softly…

"Fuck."

[1doesnotsimplyhavejust1fandam]

Can you IMAGINE if Sirius and Harry had been truly reunited the night Harry ran away after blowing up Aunt Marge? I feel like the two of them would've been SO chaotic together. 13 year old Harry fresh from inflating his non-blood aunt and seething over the Dursleys' words about his parents, teaming up with 33 year old Sirius fresh from 12 years in Azkaban, basically frothing at the mouth to rip Peter apart and protect his godson. They would be SO fucking fun for the Wizarding World to deal with (NOT). I'm imagining a world where Harry recognizes Sirius' magical signature or some bullshit as Padfoot and isn't immediately terrified when Padfoot suddenly turns into the murderous ex-con he just saw on the news had escaped. They're both just suddenly on the run from the Ministry bc Harry is like ??? WHY DO I RECOGNIZE YOU??? And Sirius is like I'M NOT LEAVING THIS KID AGAIN LIKE I DID THAT NIGHT!!!! So they're running around Britain and Harry's getting the 411 on Peter's betrayal and cute Marauders anecdotes and Sirius is losing his mind bc OMG it's his best friend and best friend-in-law (it's a thing, OKAY!?)'s son and he's so big and sassy and angry. And then Sirius is trying to figure out where they should go, and ends up deciding to go to fuckin Moony's place even though that's the first place people who knew them back then would check bc idk luck is on their side for once idc. So Remus has the absolute pleasure of opening the door to Mr. Harry James Potter in the company of a terrifyingly familiar black dog, and Remus' alarms are firing in his head as Sirius transforms from Padfoo t back into himself and he's shouting at Remus to LET HIM EXPLAIN, while Harry is doing his best to not let Remus fire a spell at his newly discovered godfather. Eventually Remus just lets Sirius explain on his front porch steps like they're a bunch of barbarians bc he refuses to let Sirius inside or let his guard down for a single second, and then Sirius tells him the whole story and Harry pulls out the Daily Prophet, and suddenly Harry has two absolutely FUCKIN FURIOUS Marauders on his hands, and they both want to chop Peter's head off and roast it on a stick, but Harry is oddly enough the most reasonable bc he's suddenly got a godfather that he doesn't want to lose bc hey, dude's kinda really great and also doesn't hate his guts like the Dursleys do, so of course he yells at them that they can't do anything yet bc Sirius would be carted back to Azkaban and probably Remus (who is still currently this random man to him ngl but also apparently the other loyal bestie his dad had at Hogwarts, so Harry doesn't want him chucked in Azkaban either) as well. So they devise a plan that involves kidnapped the fuck outta Scabbers as soon as Ron and Harry board the train together on September 1st, and Remus already has the DADA job, so he can help w that (although he still falls asleep bc I think Moony is absolutely iconic for that). And then the three of them just chill for about a month til it's time to board the Hogwarts Express, in which everyone at the station is suitably horrified when Harry just rolls up to the train with his brand spankin new pet dog Snuffles like nothing happened and he didn't just disappear off the face of the earth for nearly a MONTH, but Harry just ignores all that shit bc boy is on a MISSION and that mission is to destroy the bastard who got his parents killed and also started the catalyst of events that led to him growing up in an abusive household for like 10 years. Which is a thing he discussed at length w Remus and Sirius because Dumbledore is a manipulative piece of shit who TOTALLY KNEW the Dursleys were awful people and still decided to place him there :))))

Basically what ends up happening is Harry asks Ron to hand Scabbers over for a minute under the pretense of idek checking his lil rat toes or some shit bc he saw one was missing ???? And then Harry kicks Remus awake to do the spell, which he does, while Ron and Hermione are becoming deeply confused and disturbed by Harry's one-track mind and clear hatred for this stupid little RAT, but they let it happen bc Hermione sees the Professor part of RJ Lupin on Remus' briefcase (which, SCORE 1 for the Marauders definitely pranking him by getting him that briefcase at some point bc they WOULD and he had never been a professor before then so ???), and Ron and Hermione don't have a problem with authority figures, that's fuckin Harry. And Remus turns Wormtail back into Peter, and we get the whole Peter begging the Trio for mercy before Sirius turns back into himself from Padfoot, at which time Ron and Hermione start yelling about the escaped very dangerous convict in their TRAIN CAR, while Harry tries to convince them that Sirius isn't a danger to anyone in the tiny space but the fucking RAT, at which time Ron is like WELL HE'S NOT ACTUALLY A RAT ANYMORE NOW IS HE HARRY???!!! And Harry has to go with the short version of HE BETRAYED MY PARENTS RONALD!!!! while Peter is cornered by Sirius and Remus. And no, nobody has heard the yelling yet bc obviously Remus cast the Muffliato Charm or something, of course he did, I wouldn't forget that people have EARS. And then all of the sudden, the train car starts getting all cold, so Remus starts yelling at Sirius to change back to Padfoot bc the dementors won't sense a human that could be Kissed if he's not in human form, and Sirius does, but Peter also tries and Ron realizes what's happening and knocks him out (why Ron? Idk, why NOT him honestly, it's what he deserves after letting that creepy motherfucker live with him for the past few years bc YIKES I would be so freaked out) before Peter can turn back into a rat. The dementors come into the train car and Harry has his fainting spell which makes Sirius and Remus suitably LOSE THEIR MINDS bc WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED TO THE KID?!!??!! and Remus uses the Patronus Charm to repel them even though it means Peter won't be Kissed and Remus really wants revenge.

So Harry wakes up and is immediately accosted by his best friends, Sirius back in human form, and Remus trying to force chocolate into him. Ron and Hermione have been suitably informed of the situation, so they've closed the curtains, and nobody even knows what's happened besides those in the train car with them. Sirius doesn't have his wand, but he resolves to sit as Padfoot, staring at an unconscious Peter for the rest of the journey to Hogwarts, and the other four join him because no way in HELL are they letting that MF escape after Harry and Remus have managed to explain everything (and even before bc Ron and Hermione are the best and all they needed to hear was that Harry's parents died bc of Peter to determine that they would fucking the rat UP if he tried anything at all). So of course this weird fuckin quintet shows up to Hogsmeade's station with the real traitor and have to wait for everyone else to exit the train before traipsing up to the castle with the still unconscious Peter (Ron may not have cared all that much about being careful with head injuries from knocking bastards out bc of the whole ya know TRAITOR thing). Remus manages to send off a Patronus message to McGonagall (her bc of the aforementioned Dumbledore is a shithead thing) and they all head to Remus' new office with Peter in tow. Minerva shows up to Sirius as Padfoot, but an unconscious man who is CLEARLY Peter Pettigrew, and she's immediately like WHAT THE HELL??? and calls in some Aurors to deal with the trash. The Aurors are all suitably horrified but clear out soon bc they're not important to this story (sorry, kisses Aurors😘), and Minerva starts raging about Sirius being innocent and how DARE Peter, to which the Trio are extremely horrified bc they've never seen her lose her shit QUITE this much and it is highkey terrifying, but Remus is enjoying the show bc at least SOMEONE AGREES and Padfoot is wagging his tail and panting happily before Sirius realizes that Minerva can KNOW and he transforms back into himself, giving the poor professor half a heart attack. And because I think it would be hilarious for me personally, Snape walks in at the end of this lil story to see where tf Remus is bc he and Minerva are BOTH missing from the Welcome Feast, to Minerva McGonagall hugging the life out of a beaming Sirius Black while Remus looks at the two of them with a huge amount of relief bc THANK GOD she accepted his innocence, that could've been so bad for them lmao, they couldn't even Disapparate away at Hogwarts if she decided he wasn't innocent after all. And then Snape sees the Trio right beside Remus, also watching the hug and grinning like fools, especially Harry bc this meant Sirius was going to be FREE and also Harry would never have to deal with seeing the Dursleys or dealing with the fact that he literally blew up Dudley's aunt ever :)))

[eldritch-araneae]

Sparkpulse Lore: Newsparks

Any cybetronian life is born from pods growing in Hot Spots. First the pod takes in mechon from the core of the planet (where dead bodies are smelted) and over times creates a protoform.

(Which is a thing I changed recently, before all protoforms were creating in the core.)

The protoform needs a spark to finish its development, and normally sparks don't recognise biolmetalic life as a suitable vessel for them. This is why this type of life depends on their Planet Titan, to put spark into protoforms.

In Cybertronian case Bumblebee is doing this job (or any overseer of the Spire when he was "dead" to activate AllSpark to run this protocol) and after a cyb finish their development inside the pod, it opens like a flower.

A Newspark is born with basic life and social skills (thanks to forging dream - a simulation that they go thought as soon as spark root itself into protoform) and maturity level is the same as human young adults.

They don't immediately leave the Hot Spot, bc they instinctively know it's a safe place. First, they try their body and what it can do (and they also need to detach themselves from the pod. They connected by 6 cords coming from the pod to their back. Once disconnected, the pod closes), if there are several other cybs born at the same time (which happens often) they bond with each other.

But they can't stay long in Hot Spot, so they have to get moving. There is an information displayed in Hot Spots for Newsparks saying where is nearest town and what to do, but also very often ppl from nearby towns come to check if there are newspark to escort them.

From this point newsparks go through a learning period that usually lasts for 20 years. They hone their social skills, their surviving skills, they get education and explore the world. Mentors aren't really a thing, thought some mechs could choose to mentor a newspark. Usually, the local community helps out with all this.

One visible thing that can tell you if a mech is a newspark are those ports on the back, with molting they gradually disappear in first 15 years.

During the period newsparks also can't take big jobs (or send on serious missions if it's during war), so if a cyb has an established job that means they are past this period, with maturity of 30+ year old human.

Fan fact: some Newsparks has their ports hidden under the cockpit or other elements. Like it was in Windblade's case. So when Ratchet examined Bumblebee for the first time, he noticed other signs of Bee's age like "freshens" of his plating and inner components. And since Bee also has a cockpit on his back, Ratchet never bothered to check there.

But if he did, he would see that Bee doesn't have any because he's a Cold Construct.

[josephinesaro22]

What are the Benefits of AI in Business?

AI means computers can be smart. They can learn, solve problems, and decide things alone. They learn from numbers and patterns, just like humans. It's like your phone talking to you, cars driving themselves, and websites guessing what you like. AI makes machines clever, so they work better without us telling them what to do all the time.

Evolution of AI in Business

AI in business has come a long way and it's pretty amazing. It's changed how businesses do things, making them work better and faster. At first, AI could only do simple jobs like looking at data and doing tasks automatically. But now, it's super smart. It can understand how we talk and learn new things on its own. This is a big deal because it means businesses can do lots of cool stuff. They can talk to customers better, predict what they'll sell, and make sure they have enough of what they need. They can even make new things people want.

And the best part is, that AI is going to keep getting better. So, in the future, we'll see even more changes in how we work and do business because of AI.

Which businesses are using AI in the current Scenario?

These days, lots of businesses are using AI, which stands for Artificial Intelligence. They're using it in different areas to work better and make smarter choices. In healthcare, AI helps look at medical information and give accurate diagnoses. Stores use AI to make shopping more personal and suggest things you might like. Banks use AI to catch fraud and handle risks. Also, in factories, AI helps do tasks by itself and makes things faster. So, AI is helping all kinds of businesses do their jobs better and stay ahead.

Is AI used in blockchain also? 

Sure thing! AI and blockchain are two cool technologies. Blockchain is like a fancy digital record book that keeps track of transactions on lots of computers. It's great because it's safe and everyone can see what's happening. Now, AI is about making machines think like humans. When we put AI and blockchain together, some magic happens. AI helps with things like smart contracts (they're like self-working agreements), spotting bad stuff happening, and looking at lots of data to find useful stuff. So, AI makes blockchain even better by helping it do more smart things and keeping it safe and useful. 

Which AI tool is now a trend in business? 

That trending tool is Chatbot. Most businesses are based on ChatBot. The story of chatbots getting smarter is pretty cool. They started as basic robots that could only follow specific instructions. But as technology got better, chatbots learned to understand and talk like us. Nowadays, they're clever. They can figure out what we mean and learn from our chats to get even better. The good news is that making chatbots has gotten easier too. You don't need to be a computer whiz to create one. Some tools make it simple for regular folks to build and use chatbots. So, chatbots have come a long way, from basic machines to smart helpers.

What is the best & easiest method of getting AI for your business?

The Best and easiest way is to approach the right AI Development Company. That is not easy. Because a lot of AI development companies are here in this universe. But good and best service providers are very rare. So the first thing is to reach the service provider to develop your AI. And check they are how many AI-related projects handled. Then check the demo is suitable for your requirements. Finally, Check whether the AI requirements are at a reasonable price for your business!

Whatsapp/Telegram: +91 9384232288

Mail: business@kryptobees.com

[islandpcosjourney]

Faith, Hope, Love

16th August 2023

I bought this new leather-bound refillable notebook for my new job when I started working with the Scottish Bible Society in June. Never did I think how much I would look at the three simple words on its cover and for it to be a daily reminder of God’s grace – the need to be reminded of his ultimate control over our world.

Faith – I have plenty of that. 

Hope – I can find plenty of that too.

Love – I definitely have plenty of that, receiving it and giving it.

We have finally navigated through all of the bureaucracy associated with the pre-IVF process, where you haven’t quite started but you technically have and still don’t know what’s ahead of you. 

I have written previously about my ups and downs relating to this process. I may have even mentioned my religion in relation to my anxiety about even starting this process. Well, we are well passed that stage now. We were referred, we waited, we have been tested and further tested, waited, and waited some more and now we have consented and have been given our start month – September. Now, all that means is that with the start of my September period, I go in for a scan on Day 3 to see if my body will allow them to start intervening on my behalf. In other words, checking to see that I don’t have any unwanted cysts lying around anywhere, that my endometrial layer is thick enough and that I am healthy enough to start pumping myself full of chemicals to get my ovaries working in full-blown Hulk mode 💚 It also means we will then be signing a child welfare form which is basically a contract between us and the HFEA to check/agree that we will be suitable parents. Kevin will have to be formally identified as "himself", in person, so that they can go ahead to use his fresh or frozen swimmers to be combined with whatever eggs they harvest out of me weeks later. I will also be taught how to self-inject subcutaneously for up to 10-12 days – oh the joys! I certainly can’t wait for that fun! They will also test me for blood-borne viruses.

So, what I meant by all of that was, we’ve been given a start month but that still doesn’t guarantee anything. It’s a bit like when Kevin is due home on crew change day. It is never certain that he will definitely be making his way home that day, until he’s physically off the ship and on dry land. Until that moment, absolutely anything can happen, and it has in the past. So, until that Day 3 appointment when all papers are signed and my body is given the all-clear to start being manipulated, your guess is as good as mine as to what the preceding month will look like 😉 However, I do now have a clearer picture of what it POTENTIALLY might look like. I am on a short (antagonist) protocol as I have a 5% risk of developing OHSS.

Day 1 – First day of period

Day 3 – Baseline scan & Ovaleap injections start (Follicle Stimulating Hormone)

Day 8 – Ganirelex injections start (ovarian down regulation)

Day 10 – Follicle scan to determine size of follicles – looking to find 3 follicles or more that are 17mm in size. If not, I continue hormone injection protocol and have a repeat scan in another 2 days’ time. Repeat scan every 2 days until follicles have grown enough.

From here on in, everything is dependent on how I am responding to the hormones to determine the next steps. Basically you can only go from one appointment to the next.

So, essentially from Day 10, you take each day as it comes.

Once I take the trigger injection (for eggs to reach final level of maturity), egg retrieval happens 36hrs later. So this could be as early as Day 12 or Day 14, basically around the usual time you’d expect to ovulate. So my plan is to be down at my Mum’s in Edinburgh from Day 10 of my cycle onwards as its from then when I’m either going to be back & forth to Dundee for scans every couple of days or preparing for egg collection straight away, depending on how I respond to the hormones. It’s worth noting here that the number of follicles growing does not equal the number of eggs collected. Sometimes there are no eggs within the follicles, sometimes there are several. IT IS SO MUCH TO TAKE IN! Pardon me if I repeat myself several times but I’m using this writing opportunity to process all that I have been told over the phone, over video consults and written down in letters, gathering together all the info to make it clear and concise for me to understand – you’d be surprised how unclear the whole process actually is! You have to figure out their wording for everything. I’ve been so “caught out” by expressions in the past. Like reading “Day 5 of Gonadotrophin injections” and working out that that means Day 8 of your cycle (because you start the injections on Day 3) and that having scans on Day 8 and Day 10 of your Ovarian stimulation (stims) means Day 10 and Day 12 of your cycle – one can see how it can all be confusing and that the way they measure everything is a new language to us. I perhaps need to get on board with their way of measuring, and I’m sure I will, but for now, my way to understand it is to compare it to my usual way of measuring my cycle, from Day 1 of my first bleed, as I’m used to.

It’s nothing I’m going to worry about though. I have been doing that and have had some very dark days about it all (ones where, if anyone had been around, they’d have been quite literally picking me up off the floor to hold me in the messy state I was in). Those days are, for the moment, being kept in check. We’ve been given a treatment diary where every important date will be filled in as we go along but knowing ahead of time that there’s a high probability of back & forth every couple of days from Day 10 onwards goes a long way to help us plan that I need to leave the island around Day 9 and expect not to be returning for a fortnight at least.

Initially, after my AMH test found I had a high egg reserve, I was told in an early document to expect a frozen transfer, that a fresh transfer would be unlikely as my body would be overloaded and needing a rest, so in my head I was only considering the time required to get from the baseline scan to egg collection. Beyond that would’ve been a couple months later when my body was then ready for an embryo transfer. However, I now know from my consultant that there’s only a 5% risk of OHSS and therefore I need to be preparing for a FRESH embryo transfer as standard, so that means that I need to account for another 5-day waiting window after the egg collection day to expect to be back in for a fresh transfer under sedation, possibly as soon as Day 17 onwards and then allow a number of days rest afterwards. But, if my ovaries become swollen to 8-9cm or blood estroegan is high or I’m symptomatic or collection retrieves more then 25 eggs – all eggs will be frozen. So, in theory the whole process could be as short as 3wks or up to 4wks long and this is the window that I am working to when I am working out whether or not it is advisable to go ahead to start in September, in the month leading up to the biggest week of the Gaelic calendar – the Royal National Mòd 😂

We started trying when we were 29 & I’m now about to turn 36. Time is not on our side, only God is in control of that, but time is not to be wasted as we only have 4 years left before our NHS funding and our own personal clock runs out – once we turn 40, we’ve agreed to let it all go and live our life in the fate that God has given us. Until then, we’re prepared to fight with all the energy we are blessed with.

We’re of course focusing on doing everything we can to help, but more importantly we’re focusing on our relationship & being us in a broken world where we are forced down this rabbit hole in search of the family we so desperately want. I lost myself in the past 7yrs and I will never get those moments back again. They haven’t been wasted, no. I found meaning in the pandemic where I finally got the chance to focus on my health. We’ve been back & forth with ideas of adoption, fostering and facing a child-less life. 

I’ve realised that for 12yrs since being told I may never have children, it’s ruled my life. All I ever wanted was to be a mum. I always talked about being a mum & having my own children, as many would at a young age, never possibly thinking that it might not be an option. To me, the innocent version of me, not being a mum wasn’t an option and to some extent I must regain that level of Faith & Hope. How I wish I could erase the information that I know and be that innocent girl who believes wholeheartedly that she WILL be a mum. No ifs, just no question about it. But above it all, above the waiting, the hoping, the letting go and letting God take over, or as I now have to think about it in some respects, letting the scientists take over (all the while praying that God’s will works within them to the best of their ability, whether they’re God-fearing or not – this is something I am requesting people to pray for - for the staff who’s care we will be under, who’s mortal hands will be guided by Him, to carry out his will) above all of that, is Love. Love that no matter what happens, is ever present and unconditional between us. We have spent years fighting our case, pleading our cause, kicking ourselves, being at our lowest and reaching the height and the depths we never thought we’d reach. But still, we love each other, no matter what, with or without a child. We used to dream of a house filled with children’s laughter but now, and we have not downgraded our dream, we dream only of 2 little lines on a pregnancy test. That is the step 1 we dream about. To us, that would be a dream come true, even just to get to that step. If I’ve learnt nothing from my health journey, of trying to regulate my menstrual cycles and get my weight down, it’s that yes you must have a long-term ultimate goal BUT in order to get there, you must have the tiny, achievable goals. We are well aware that my PCOS makes me 40% more likely to miscarry so we are fully aware that a positive pregnancy test does not equal a baby, or as the ACU unit call it, a live birth. Our NHS funding lasts until there is a “live birth”. As morbid as it sounds, that could even mean a baby born that dies of complications only hours after birth, complications which are even higher because of it being an IVF pregnancy. But to get back to the point, we pray for each tiny milestone along the way. At each and every stage, complications can arise but we can use them as a stepping stone to be grateful for.

Day 3 scan – get green light to start.

Hormone injections (stims) – at home in Lewis hopefully.

Day 8 & Day 10 of stims scans.

Trigger injection – at Mum’s in Edinburgh

Egg collection - under sedation & recovery period

Fertilisation - 70% success rate is normal expectation.

Blastocyst stage (125 cell-stage fertilised egg)

Best quality blastocyst identified for fresh transfer & any remaining good quality embryos sent into cryopreservation.

Embryo transfer - under sedation & recovery period

Pregnancy test - either it is a positive test, and we pray for the next stage for a viable pregnancy to continue (scan 2-3wks after test) or we’re back to square one again…..

Possible complications of each stage:

Headaches

Mood changes

Hot flushes

Night sweats

Nausea

Tiredness

Allergic reactions

Localised tenderness or injection site reactions

Weight gain

Abdominal pain

Diarrhoea

Breast tenderness

Ovarian cyst formation

Vaginal spotting

Vaginal irritation

Skin rashes

Shortness of breath

Risk of reduced response to drugs – cycle abandoned.

Risk of no eggs being collected – cycle abandoned.

Negative pregnancy test – move on to frozen transfers (if embryos are available) or next cycle.

Just remember, while this is an exciting prospect to finally be starting, the process itself is not exciting and there are no guarantees about a positive outcome, in fact, we have been given the stats of a 25% chance of success. While many people remind me, in a positive way, that 25% is still a good chance, try to think of it from the other way around as if you were dealing with the risk factors of agreeing to a surgery. If you were being told you only had a 25% chance of surviving that surgery, would you feel just as excited? Of course you’d hold on to the hope of that chance but you’d put your affairs in order because experience tells you that the number 75 is much bigger than 25 🤷🏻‍♀️

Being open, honest, raw & just plain & simply Me is the only way I know how to navigate this cruel journey. Kevin and I are very grateful for your support and understanding as we delve into a new world of anxiety & hormonal mood swings where he may fear for his life 😂😂😂😂😂

Faith, Hope & Love are important elements in this rollercoaster ride we’re on. Please pray that our Faith is deepened by progressing with treatment. Please pray that the Hope we have now remains strong throughout and doesn’t falter. Please also pray that the Love we have for each other develops our bond as a couple; supports us as we fall and need help; guides us to deal with each situation as we face it, wraps us up in everlasting trust and most of all, Love the God who is putting us through this pain.

Only he knows why we are going through this. 

Only he knows how to get us safely to the other side.

Only he has the power to grant us a miracle, in his name, Amen.

[nailsupplyblog]

How should hard gel be applied on natural nails?

Are you interested in learning how to apply hard gel on natural nails? If so, you've come to the correct place. We'll discuss the tools you'll need and the procedures to follow when applying hard gel overlays and extensions.

ESSENTIAL ITEMS FOR APPLYING HARD GEL ON NATURAL NAILS

You'll need a few additional items in addition to hard gel to complete the nail augmentation. Following the list comes a more thorough explanation:

A nail drill or file. A nail brush and a cleaning wipe to clear away dirt. Nail pusher. Dehydrating cleanser or a dehydrator. Primer and a protein link. If it doesn't come with a brush, use a nail art brush to apply the hard gel (see below). Forms (used to complete expansions). Hammer lamp.

You only require those basic equipment to apply firm gel on natural nails. We offer a few recommendations for goods that will do the job correctly:

Protein Bond & Primer by Lavis

We appreciate this soft and strong protein connection and primer. For better adherence and to reduce nail oil, brush on two layers. For a professional manicure, this priming is an essential step.

You might also want to try out the Valentino Super Bond Primer and Valentino Nail Prep Dehydrator. While the primer is acid-free and suitable for use with acrylics and gels, the dehydrator removes moisture and grease.

Another acid-free primer that works with gels, acrylics, and no polishes is Mia Secret Xtrabond.

In terms of the ideal hard gel to utilize, we suggest the following:

Bare Necessities Collection Lavis Builder Gel, Version 1.

With this building gel, you won't need a nail art brush because one is already included in the bottle. The easy-to-apply silky solution is extremely smooth. It is not only odorless, but it also won't harm natural nails. To achieve the ideal look, select from a choice of colors.

IBD HARD GEL is extremely popular with nail artists. Get the right kind of gel for the task you want to accomplish by making sure. IBD comes in a variety of variants, some of which are suitable for overlays and others for extensions. Additionally, transparent or neutral formulations are offered.

Finally, you'll require a method for curing the gel. The majority of brands are compatible with LED nail lamps, which use less energy and cure quickly.

UV/LED nail lamp from Lavis

This strong nail lamp with a rechargeable battery is fantastic. For various types of gel preparations, it includes four timed options. The light may also be turned on without smudging your manicure thanks to a motion sensor.

The interior of the hand-sized mirror finish cures from every aspect for consistent quality.

HOW IS HARD GEL APPLIED?

Now that you have everything you require, let's begin by going through how to apply hard gel to natural nails.

STEP 1: SET UP

Before using hard gel, it is essential to perform thorough nail preparation. Push back the cuticles and shape the nails first. Using a nail drill will make this process go more quickly.

After that, clean the shine from the nail plate to prepare it. Clean the nails and remove any debris.

Next, either use a dehydrating wipe or apply a dehydrator.

SECOND: PRIMARY

Add a protein primer or bond after that. By the time you've finished both hands, it will have air dried, allowing you to go back and give each nail a second layer.

Step 3: Apply the base Coat the gel using a brush. Make sure you didn't apply it over your skin by checking twice. then use the nail lamp to cure it.

PHASE IV: HARD GEL

Just smoothly draw out the product rather than bunny-hopping and bunching the hard gel like you would with an acrylic bead. Gravity will assist the gel in flowing into the proper C-shape on top of the nail if you turn the hand upside down. In a few seconds, builder gel levels out and settles.

Only allow the hard gel to cure for 30 seconds if you're doing extensions before removing the mold. Recurringly cure. Because the gel requires UV light to dry, the mold may block the rays, leaving the gel partially uncured. Light can enter if the mold is removed.

GEL POLISH AND TOP COAT IN STEP 5

You might require a cleaning wipe with rubbing alcohol to get rid of stickiness, depending on the brand of hard gel. The standard top coat and colored gel polish can then be used.

How Long Does a Hard Gel Manicure Take?

Usually, it takes an hour or two, especially if you're doing strong gel extensions.

What Errors Happen Most Frequently When Hard Gel Is Applied?

Preparation is essential in life, just like everything else. If you want to stop the firm gel from lifting, be sure to press back your cuticles and use primer.

How Can Hard Gel Be Removed From Natural Nails?

Hard gel is resistant to acetone. It is advisable to have a professional remove hard gels using a nail drill. You might be able to do it yourself with a hand file if there isn't any other choice. It won't be simple, though, and it will take a while. The majority of the gel must be scraped off before soaking in acetone to remove the remaining portions.

Because it doesn't pass through your natural nails and into your body, the hard gel won't injure them. Because of this, it's typical to fill in the gel where it has grown out and leave the nails with a barrier. You can just dissolve the top layer of gel polish to remove the manicure without doing the whole thing.

CONCLUSION

Fragile nails can be strengthened and made to look lovely with hard gel. It is simple to switch up your manicure without removing it because it is acetone-resistant. This flexible tool is ideal for extensions and overlays. We hope that our advice was useful in teaching you how to apply hard gel on natural nails. For great prices on all your nail care requirements, visit our weekly deals page.