#workings of salt and blood

[artemis-ches]

So i'm slowly catching up with Candela Obscura and Tide and Bone, and shoutout to @quiddie for the amazing world and characters you give life to there. The glimpses we got of Oldfaire and the bits and pieces of magic were just *chief kiss*.

Thanks a lot for that.

[aoitakumi8148]

...𝓘𝓯 𝓘𝓽 𝓘𝓼 𝓦𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓷 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓦���� 𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓓𝓲𝓮, 𝓦𝓮 𝓢𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓐𝓽 𝓛𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓽 𝓓𝓲𝓮 𝓣𝓸𝓰𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻.

[cthulhusstepmom]

Soap's Da had a saying, "There's two types of snake keepers, those that have been bitten and those that are lying bastards". And John "Soap" MacTavish is many things but a liar isn't one of them... Unless you count making any and every possible excuse to avoid letting Ghost into his room. But does that really count?

A liar he is not but stupid he definitely may be. Intellectually he knows that Wee Man is getting big enough that he shouldn't be free handling him without a spotter, it'd been one of the first things his parents had drilled into his head before he was allowed to even think about getting out the bigger snakes. and intellectually of course he realizes that he probably ought to have a spotter for feeding time too. But Wee Man is so sweet and really he's not that big. So now he's here, with a 7 1/2 foot python latched onto his arm and the stupid fucking rat dangling from the stupid fucking tongs, thankfully it's a frozen thawed otherwise it'd be even more of a shit show.

He's next to certain the snake nicked a vein or something with the amount of blood starting to pool on his cement floor. Fuck.

His head is starting to get a wee bit fuzzy and the arm Wee Man has is well past pins and needles when he remembers what he needs to do, and realizes that he's just been standing there bleeding out like a clueless bawbag. He grabs the handle of Vodka he keeps for any number of emergencies and quickly splashes some over the snake's head, cursing none to quietly at the burn in his punctures. Wee Man drops his wrist like he's been burned, tearing back with as much of a confused expression as a snake can make. Soap tosses the rat into the python's cage and fumbles for a minute before he manages to work his arm free of the slackening coils, pushing Wee Man in after it. Slamming the door near hard enough to shatter it he's left standing in the tiny walkway he's left for himself: tongs in one hand, vodka in the other; blood dripping from his wrist, and a brain fuzzy enough to make into a down comforter.

The rational part of his brain would have him check into medical with a convenient fib, but blood loss does silly things to a man, like making him laugh at terrible jokes and flirt shamelessly with his stunning superior officer.

"Johnny?" Wide brown eyes peer down at him through a crooked balaclava.

So it really isn't much of a surprise when he finds himself swaying in front of Ghost's door, clutching his wrist as he leaves a trail of crimson splotches down the hallway. He's trying to wrap his brain around the concept of knocking when the door in front of him eases open.

"Allo Lt, lovely night we're having. Could ah ask ye a favor?"

[demodraws0606]

When you write a "perfect" counterargument against the Eden culprit theory and Tumblr nukes your entire paragraph that took you an hour to make

Edit : Just gonna add this here because I feel bad but I wanted to say that I'm not at all targetting anyone in the tags (ik i added it but i feel like this needs to be said again here), i respect culprit!eden theories especially with the effort put into some of them. I just don't like the theory as I feel like it's way too flawed to be believable.

[lupismaris]

My parents cancelled the official family gathering and I put my foot down and said I wasn't coming over on Christmas unless my brother called me himself and asked me to (because I cannot stomach being in the same space as him and my father rn) and frankly I'm glad this is a bare minimum makeshift holiday sure It be nice to have decorations up but we need to clean and get rid of shit more than we need decorations and I need a fuckin break from ppl who make me want to commit acts of violence. Gonna spend the holiday break in the woods.

[sysig]

Ok so I had an idea, if it would be fun: designs for the yanderapy boys as Just Desserts versions! Was thinking about the Vargas sweets designs, and that one art style that's out there with the neon candy looking blood/'cute' horror stuff going on, and it became a WHOLE mental image, lol. I feel like there's potential, and I'm not sure if you've already done something like this, but figured I'd put it out there!

Day 20 - Cut the cake

[reneesbooks]

last line tag

ok confession i suck at this game. i always want there to be context and i always post way more than i should. anyway i was tagged by my love @oh-no-another-idea and i will be posting a few more than just the last line bc it's my blog and i make the rules. meja is being sheltered after fleeing reijmor and stian catches up with her in kinesehas, a settlement of hass refugees.

“Do you know where she went?” Every syllable is clipped and furious, the kind that usually were punctuated with projectiles.

“I don’t care to tell you.”

“Why the hell—“

“Because I suspect your intentions towards her are malicious.”

Several men speak angrily at once and Meja adjusts her hold on Reijka, covering her ears better.

The other voices quiet and Stian's bites out, “She is my wife.”

“All the more reason to doubt your honor. I saw the baby in her arms. She loved an outsider more than you and now you want to take her to Bjerkja, where she'd be killed and you would be allowed to destroy her child.”

“She stole my daughter.”

Joni laughs. “Her daughter, too. Get out. This isn't the homeland, and you have no right to that woman anymore, nor her children. We will certainly not help you hunt them. Go to the harbor if you wish, ask the dock workers who has seen her. You'll have better luck asking the fish in the market when the tides will come in.”

salt and brine taglist (ask to be added <3!): @oh-no-another-idea @k--havok

tagging @kaylinalexanderbooks @lyssa-ink and @avrablake and anyone else who would like to join in <3

[victorluvsalice]

The "Valicer In The Dark Meets Baldur's Gate III" Not-Incorrect Quotes/Shitpost Collection

(Don't worry too much about spoilers -- most of this is early-game stuff, with just a couple of things relating to stuff in Act II)

--

Alice: [having just met Lae'zel on the Nautiloid and been informed of the situation with the parasites] And who are you, exactly?

Lae'zel: Who am I? Your only chance of survival.

[later, after the imps have been fought, and everyone's met back up and freed Shadowheart:]

Victor: [introducing himself as they get back on the move] I'm Victor.

Alice: I'm Alice. [pointing to Lae'zel] And this is Only.

Lae'zel: ?

Alice: Well, you've given me nothing else to call you.

--

Shadowheart: [after being informed the trio live in a world without a sun and that's why they're being so weird about the sky being blue] I -- are you Shar's Chosen? Is this some sort of test? Am I not supposed to believe you when you say you like sunlight? I can totally not believe you if that's the case!

Alice: ...I feel like we've missed something.

Smiler: [lying down and sunbathing] Yeah, it's in the sky above us.

--

Withers: What is the worth of a single mortal's life?

Victor: I -- I would say priceless. You can't put a value on life itself.

Alice: I say it's worth whatever you're willing to pay to defend it. Only the owner of said life can set the value.

Smiler: I'm pretty sure the standard rate of assassins in Duskwall is four Coin minimum -- not sure how that translates to your money.

Victor & Alice: [look at Smiler]

Smiler: What? It's a legitimate answer!

--

Withers: I shall be here, in thy camp, for whenever thou has need of my services.

Alice: Oh? What kind of services do you offer?

Withers: A mending of the threads between life and death. Should thou or any of thy compatriots perish, I will cleave soul to body once more.

Victor: Cleave soul to -- wait a minute, isn't that how you get vampires?

Astarion: [rearranging his tent, pauses and gives them a really weird look]

--

Alice: [during one of the meetings with Raphael] You do seem like a very powerful devil.

Raphael: [preening] I consider myself no slouch, yes.

Smiler: [cheerfully] I bet your blood could power an entire city block for a month!

Raphael: [blink blink] ...thank...you?

--

Strange Ox: Ah, you're addressing me. A humble ox. How...quaint.

Smiler: [tilting their head] What are you?

Strange Ox: As I said, a humble ox. I don't know why you're --

Smiler: No, I mean, what's an ox?

Strange Ox: ...

--

Smiler: [standing behind a table lined with eight samples of the same Potion Of Glorious Vaulting, with Victor, Alice, and the companions all gathered around the front of it] Thank you all for coming to this blind taste test, where we will be disproving the idiotic notion that you only need one specific ingredient per potion to create something that does what you want it to. In front of you are eight individual Potions of Glorious Vaulting, each made with a different type of Ashes -- I would like you each to drink one, test the effects, then rate it based on how strong the effects were, how long they lasted, and how tasty it was.

Wyll: You care about the taste?

Smiler: Of course! If we're going to be making potions, the least we could do is make them pleasant to consume! We're working toward maximum happiness here! Now everybody pick one and let's get jumping!

--

Gale: [realizing the trio isn't with them as they move through the mind flayer colony under Moonrise] Hold -- where's Victor, Alice, and Smiler?

Karlach: I think I saw them looking at a cage in the last room.

Lae'zel: Chk -- they should know by now that we cannot pause and look at every little thing that --

Smiler: [rejoining the group carrying a certain intellect devourer, beaming, as Victor and Alice come up behind them] Hey everyone!

Lae'zel: [stares at the brain] ...

Astarion: Why are you carrying an intellect --

Lae'zel: THAT. THING. SURVIVED?!

Us: Hello Angry Friend!

Lae'zel: I'M NOT YOUR FRIEND

--

Aylin: [after everyone's agreed to meet up with her and Isobel again later at the camp] Now -- you will leave us. We must take succour in one another's bodies and words.

Isobel: Aylin. We'll see you later.

Victor: [hiding a smile] Of course.

Alice: [biting back a chuckle] Later.

Smiler: [big beaming grin and a double thumbs up] Enjoy the hot lesbian sex!

Victor: Smiler!

Aylin: I intend to.

Isobel: AYLIN.

[sparrowsworkshop]

"Over the Edge" by OneWingedSparrow; Prologue: Is There Anyone? Oh, it Has Begun....

Next Chapter (coming soon) >> @inklings-challenge This was written for the Inklings Challenge 2023! This is but the prologue; more is to come. (I hope it was okay to tag all the themes in my story, though this prologue only touches on a few.) Main Tags: Telteas (OC) & Léloh (OC), Original Work, Original Characters, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fairytale Style, Dark Fairytale Elements, Secondary World Fantasy DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT: Angst, Blood, Broken Bones, Loss of Limbs (in a sense), Pain, Hurt...there's a lot of hurt. Summary: This is the tale of an illustrious creature residing in a high tower—and the secret of the broken, bloodied bones scattered about the dungeon floor. Read on AO3 Reblogs are appreciated! ~ Most people in Thereal had two wings; Prince Telteas had eight, until the day befell that he should have seven, and he dropped to the courtyard writhing and wailing amidst a pool of feathers and blood. Alarmed, his brother called the guards, who alerted the king and queen, who summoned the physicians, who ran their instruments over temple and neck, over shoulder and alula, over coverts and tertials, and still could find no damning evidence that would explain the sudden snap of the bone from his back.

“What happened?” fretted his mother, tearing at her own down.

“It is true I threw a snowball,” confessed his brother, biting his nails, “but the snow was soft, and scattered before it even hit his back. I do not understand how it could have damaged the wing.”

“Indeed,” griped his father, wings pinned together, “why was it so fragile, that it loosed like a leaf?"

Upon his bed, seven lonesome wings outspread wearily around him, the prince avoided all their worried eyes, and set his face instead towards the great bay window. The snowfall outside was slow but steady, each flake growing in diameter by the second. “I do not know,” said the prince, with a distant frown. “I scarcely felt the cold from the snowball. I remember, I was only singing. And then…I felt the pain.”

His mother shook her head, and his brother nodded; and his father sighed, and drew the drapes so that the room fell dark. “Let us pray it does not happen again.”

Such a request was in vain, for again did Prince Telteas lose a wing. This time, the dreaded event occurred in the ballroom, before a crowd of screaming guests and beside the startled musicians whose fingers froze to their instruments. From the platform Telteas toppled, choking on a chorus forever unfinished.

On prickling hands and aching knees, the prince quavered alone. The red and black carpet swirled before his vision like a devilish whirlpool, craving to suck him into oblivion. He bit his lip, and drew blood. Again came the fright. Again struck the pain. A stab bit his shoulder. A lurch gripped his side. A scream without sound, deafeningly silent, lapped against the vomit refusing to escape his throat. In this endless insanity, even while kind souls came rushing to aid, Telteas’ ears were open only to the echoing voices of bitterest disdain. “What is wrong with him?” “We always knew there was something wrong with him. No one was meant to have eight wings.” “It’s unnatural. Uncanny." “He was always odd, wasn’t he?” “The only one with such a quirk.” “Perhaps now he’ll fit in with the rest of us." He staggered then, and fell on his face, unawares.

Beside his prone form collapsed a great, white wing, barbs now bright red and askew—and the noise that it made when it hit the floor sounded not unalike to a heart’s frightened beat.

When Telteas awakened, his fate was sealed—though the wax had yet to harden from the weight of the signet. Once was unlucky, but twice was unforgivable. His family feared that he had fallen ill, and knew not what to do. Seeking the best for the kingdom, and thereby assuming the worst of his dire condition, in the end, they judged that he should recover in a secluded location, removed from the populace, until the oddities ceased and he should feel well again. After all, they knew not whether his wing dropping was contagious.

Thus, so it was that Telteas found himself watching the snowfall from a far different window, the height of which would have dwarfed the stately wintergreens, had any been left standing near enough to stretch longing branches towards his outstretched fingers. The ancient tower of Queen Ellay, rooftop dark and slanted to melt and drop any wayward drifts, speared the ground like a stern scepter thrusting its will over the quiet valley. Long ago, the tower had been a private sanctuary; now, Telteas wondered if the bygone queen would approve of his criminal trespass of her peaceful estate.

He was not alone in this place; a plucky entourage of servants, physicians, guards and others willingly subjected themselves to his temporary banishment, braving the possibility that they too might catch his unknown illness. Though the somberest part of him wished himself to be abandoned in true solitude, forgotten to the ages, the prince searched the debris of his crumbling heart and saw that he indeed was grateful for their company. In the good times, when laughter twirled around the spiraling stairwells and traipsed under the kitchen chairs, when steaming mugs of tea and cider were passed around in good cheer, when stories were dealt like cards round the fire and banter was traded for sly smirks and rolling eyes, Telteas could even muster the faintest of smiles, and pretend that everything was only as it seemed.

Yet, in the bad times, when his screams rent the air with a terrible force—when the servants leapt into flight and scrambled for rags and dustpans to mop the lost blood and sweep the stray feathers, and the physicians clapped their wings and clicked their tongues and scratched their notebooks till the pencil lead snapped for lack of answers, and the guards tensed their pinions and stood at attention for want of clearer orders and by their very presence made the locked, barred, bolted doors of the tower seem all the more impregnable, all the more eternal—

Then, in his heart torn asunder, the fantasy shattered, and Telteas wept all the harder for sight of the truth.

Despite all around him, he was alone. ~ Next Chapter >> (Coming Soon)

[x22817]

2500mg of sodium so far today

Yay Addison's Disease

[arthur-r]

what’s really embarrassing is my roommate on the phone with his mom saying “yeah i’ve been getting really sloppy i haven’t cleaned in a week it’s terrible” and my side of the room is just like that. all of the time. and i feel guilty but he also hasn’t ever said anything to my face he moved my stuff some at the beginning of the year but has never talked to me about it and i’m also so fucking ill that i just cant really handle adding that to my list while trying to also not fail school. so here i am being a terrible person i guess. did i tell you guys about turtle-person. have i showed my bracelets. i’m gonna go to sleep but in the morning i need to show my bracelets

[itshomobirb]

been on a new med and it's helping my pots symptoms. but also it's giving me headaches -- im not really a girlie who gets headaches unless it's caused by medication, and unfortunately taking otc pain medication for a headache gives me rebound headaches.

im trying to figure out (a) is it the medication itself & hence unavoidable for the unlucky who get the side effect? perhaps would a smaller dose be more fitting?

or (b) is it some sort of electrolyte imbalance?

the med works by basically swapping sodium for potassium in biological processes, which means my body will now hold onto salt better -> helps my pots symptoms. in order to work, i have to consume a lot of salt. but im already just past the limit of the amount of salt my dr is ok with me taking (~10g; im hovering around 2.6g per electrolyte packet i put in a liter of water x 4 liters of water a day = 10.4g).

do i need more salt? do i need more water, without electrolytes? do i need more potassium, since this med can cause potassium levels to drop?

yeah, this could all be solved by just getting a blood test but consider: my schedule is booked with upcoming appts and im still recovering from taking my son to the emergency vet 1.5 weeks ago. i dont wanna add even more to my plate.

[reginaofdoctorwho]

ya girl has vasovagal syncope now

[anaalnathrakhs]

argh you just know there’s something a little shady under that whole retirement situation :))))

[kidfur]

microwave mash potato followed by lamictal + vitamin gummy is favorite dinner

[tj-crochets]

hey y’’all! happy holidays! I woke up today in the middle of a pretty severe allergic reaction and am still recovering so it’ll probably be a few days before I have any crafting updates for y’all (except maybe a beanie that I almost finished yesterday) I’m okay, I think today was just an object lesson about when meds say you need to take more if your body is stressed, they mean it. Like, they REALLY mean it.  Also I forgot low blood sugar could also make you nauseous, and that was a mistake