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[pudgedork]

feedist kinktober 2024 #10: containment breach

I was hoping to do more of these this month, but unfortunately some other stuff's come up and I've not had the time :(

I did finally get one done though, so here we go! your feedee fantasies had always been on the extreme side. when people asked about your aspirations, you had to resist the urge to answer truthfully. you’d instead talk about some career that sounded respectable, or how you wanted to travel, or something inoffensive like that. in reality, your sole desire was to get obscenely fat. you didn’t have a particular number in mind; but you wanted to be a spectacle, and you wanted to achieve this as soon as possible.

initially you tried gaining by yourself, but you soon realised this wasn’t going to achieve the results you were looking for. you managed to find some feeders online who would help pay for stuffing sessions, which helped greatly. the budget required for your lofty goals was substantial though, and soon even this arrangement proved insufficient.

a few years – and a couple hundred pounds – into your gain, you got a lucky break. you met someone who was interested in helping you reach your full potential. they’d learned of your extreme goals and wanted to find out if you were serious. this wasn’t the first time they’d heard a story like this though; feedees who claimed to want to become huge, but who’d inevitably end up bailing out well short of their goals.

they wanted you to prove your commitment first. if you did, they would completely fund your gain. they’d move you into an apartment near them, and everything would be taken care of for you; all you would have to do is eat all day, every day, for the rest of your life. you could become the whale you’d always dreamed of being.

originally this feeder had intended for you to complete some smaller challenges to prove your desire was genuine. when you managed to pack on 40 pounds in three months though, it was clear to them you meant business. soon they were helping you move into the new apartment they’d bought for you, and your weight began to absolutely balloon.

about a year prior to meeting your feeder, you weighed a little over 350 pounds. with their assistance, you were on the verge of 500 pounds a year later. another year came and went, and you now exceeded the capacity of your 600 pound limit scale. you had no intention of slowing down.

your lust for obesity had transcended desire, to become something you required. your appetite was insatiable. you were downing pints of weight gain shake like they were glasses of water. you were borderline feral each time you tore into another fast food delivery. it was a good thing your feeder was wealthy, because the bottomless pit in your gut was costing them a fortune.

within a few years of living this way, the effects were… dramatic. since moving into your apartment, you hadn’t actually left at any point. initially this was down to pure laziness; you could have all the food you desired delivered to your door, so why burn precious calories by going outside? soon you struggled with clothing; you didn’t own anything that could adequately cover even a fraction of your bulk, which you took as a sign to stay home. eventually, you simply became too wide to fit through the front door; not that you ever actually bothered trying, though.

for most, that would be the point where the consequences of their greed jolted them to their senses. even most hardcore feedees would – upon realising they had become so fat they were trapped in their apartment – probably dial things back a bit. for you, this achievement barely registered.

as the months passed, it became increasingly difficult to haul yourself to your feet. not wanting to hinder your progress, your feeder hired a live-in maid to eliminate the need for you to move. literally everything – short of lifting food to your mouth and chewing – was now done for you. the woman hired as your maid handled everything else, and – under the instruction of your feeder – constantly encouraged you to push yourself; to keep expanding, to keep getting heavier.

the pounds continued to pile on, and soon enough you had entered true blob territory. quite how heavy you were was a mystery, but it was hard to imagine there were many – if indeed any – people fatter than you on the planet. it had been years since you were last capable of hauling your enormous ass out of bed, and you lived in a permanent state of bliss.

and yet, you’d remained a secret. despite your pleasure from the absurd amount of weight you’d piled on, the anonymity left you a little unfulfilled. delivery drivers occasionally spoke of the enormous person who lived in this apartment complex, but nobody had seen them in years.

most wrote it off as an urban legend, and even those who believed the stories assumed there was a hefty degree of artistic license at play. others in the building had noticed there was one unit on the first floor that seemed to get an awful lot of deliveries, but the woman who answered the door was fairly thin. as far as they were aware, nobody else lived there.

you had achieved your fantasy; a helpless eating machine, living in your own little hedonistic haze without a care in the world. as far as you could reach out, all you could feel were the endless waves of your own flab. nobody would ever tell you to slow down, criticise you for what you'd become, beg you to get a hold of your addiction… you would be enabled and encouraged from here on out. it was perfect.

that was, until it happened. the day you breached containment. it was a pleasant, unremarkable friday evening. most of your neighbours were arriving home from work, while you were busy finishing your second gallon of weight gain shake to wash down the several dozen donuts you’d inhaled in the last hour. as you released a satisfied belch – and your maid lifted the funnel away as she climbed off of you – you heard an odd creaking noise. you were used to the floor straining a little as you leaned your weight around, but this sounded more… intense? was the bed going to collapse?

before you had a chance to process this thought, the floor of your bedroom completely caved in beneath your bed. you crashed through to the ground floor below; dropping into the middle of the lobby. thankfully you landed on a seating area that wasn’t in use, and between your now destroyed bed and your own ample padding the impact hadn’t been especially sore. once you collected your thoughts however, the reality of the situation set in.

you had gotten so fat, that your apartment floor couldn’t support your weight anymore. you hadn’t even considered that as a possibility. but here you lay, in a crater caused by your sheer mass; completely naked, beached, and with a room full of strangers staring in stunned silence at you. they gawked at your rolls, beginning to whisper among themselves; you were absolutely mortified. in different circumstances you’d want the ground to swallow you up, but you’d had enough of that for one day. yet despite this utter humiliation – or perhaps, thanks to it – you’d never felt so aroused in your life.

well you had always wanted to be a spectacle, hadn’t you?

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive (Daily updates!)

By Stephani Sutherland

Gentle nasal spray vaccines against COVID, the flu and RSV are coming. They may work better than shots in the arm

Alyson Velasquez hates needles. She never liked getting shots as a kid, and her anxiety only grew as she got older. “It really ballooned in my teens and early 20s,” she says. “It became a full-blown phobia.” She would panic at the sight of a needle being brought into an exam room; more than once she passed out. Velasquez says that she took an antianxiety medication before one appointment yet still ran around the room screaming inconsolably “like I was a small child; I was 22.” After that episode Velasquez, now a 34-year-old financial planner in southern California, quit needles completely. “No vaccinations, no bloodwork. For all of my 20s it was a no-go for me,” she says.

Then COVID showed up. “It finally hit a point where it wasn’t just about me,” Velasquez says. “It felt so selfish not to do this for the greater public health and the safety of our global community.” So she got vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 2021, although she had to sit on her husband’s lap while he held her arms. “It was a spectacle. The poor guy at CVS ... he did ask me, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’” She very much did. “I’m very pro-vaccine. I am a rational human. I understand the necessity of [getting] them,” she insists. But today she still struggles with each injection.

Those struggles would end, however, if all her future vaccinations could be delivered by a nasal spray. “Oh, my God, amazing!” Velasquez says.

The amazing appears to be well on its way. Vaccines delivered through the nose are now being tested for several diseases. In the U.S., early clinical trials are showing success. Two of these vaccines have generated multiple immune system responses against the COVID-causing virus in people who received them through a puff up the nose; earlier this year their makers received nearly $20 million from Project NextGen, the Biden-Harris administration’s COVID medical initiative. Researchers are optimistic that a nasal spray delivering a COVID vaccine could be ready for the U.S. as soon as 2027. Although recent efforts have focused on inoculations against SARS-CoV-2, nasal vaccines could also protect us against the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and more.

A few nasal vaccines have been introduced in the past, but they’ve been beset by problems. The flu inoculation FluMist has not gained popularity because of debates about its effectiveness, and a different vaccine was pulled from the market decades ago because some people had serious side effects. In China and India, nasal vaccines for COVID have been approved because those countries prioritized their development during the pandemic, whereas the U.S. and other wealthy nations opted to stick with arm injections. But this new crop of vaccines takes advantage of technology that produces stronger immune responses and is safer than preparations used in the past.

In fact, immunologists say these spritzes up the nose—or inhaled puffs through the mouth—can provide faster, stronger protection against respiratory viruses than a shot in the arm. That is because the new vaccines activate a branch of the immune system that has evolved for robust, rapid responses against airborne germs. “It may be more likely to really prevent infection from getting established,” says Fiona Smaill, an infectious disease researcher at McMaster University in Ontario. Such inoculations may also help reduce the enormous inequities in vaccine access revealed by the pandemic. These formulations should be cheaper and easier to transport to poor regions than current shots.

But nasal vaccines still face technical hurdles, such as how best to deliver them into the body. And unlike injected vaccines, which scientists can measure immune responses to with blood tests alone, testing for immunity that starts in nose cells is more challenging. But researchers working in this field agree that despite the hurdles, nasal formulations are the next step in vaccine evolution.

Traditional vaccines injected through the skin and into an arm muscle provide excellent protection against viruses. They coax immune cells into making widely circulated antibodies—special proteins that recognize specific structural features on viruses or other invading pathogens, glom on to them and mark them for destruction. Other immune cells retain a “memory” of that pathogen for future encounters.

Intramuscular injection vaccines are good at preventing a disease from spreading, but they do not stop the initial infection. A nasal spray does a much better job. That’s because sprays are aimed directly at the spot where many viruses first enter the body: the nose and the tissue that lines it, called the mucosa.

Mucosa makes up much of our bodies’ internal surfaces, stretching from the nose, mouth and throat down the respiratory tract to the lungs, through the gastrointestinal tract to the anus, and into the urogenital tract. Mucosa is where our bodies encounter the vast majority of pathogenic threats, Smaill says, be it flu, COVID, or bacterial infections that attack the gut. This tough, triple-layered tissue is specialized to fight off invaders with its thick coating of secretory goo—mucus—and with a cadre of resident immune cells waiting to attack. “Mucosa is really the first line of defense against any infection we’re exposed to,” Smaill says.

Mucosal immunity not only prepares the immune system for the fight where it occurs but also offers three different types of protection—at least one more than a shot does. Nasal vaccines and shots both mobilize immune messenger cells, which gather the interlopers’ proteins and display them on their surfaces. These cells head to the lymph nodes, where they show off their captured prize to B and T cells, which are members of another part of the immune system called the adaptive arm. B cells, in turn, produce antibodies, molecules that home in on the foreign proteins and flag their owners—the invading microbes—for destruction. Killer T cells directly attack infected cells, eliminating them and the microbes inside. This provides broad protection, but it takes time, during which the virus continues to replicate and spread.

That’s why a second type of protection, offered only by the mucosal tissue, is so important. The mucosa holds cells of the innate immune system, which are the body’s “first responders.” Some of these cells, called macrophages, recognize invasive microbes as foreign and swallow them up. They also trigger inflammation—an alarm sounded to recruit more immune cells.

Another part of this localized response is called tissue-resident immunity. These cells don’t have to detect telltale signs of a pathogen and make a long journey to the infected tissue. They are more like a Special Forces unit dropped behind enemy lines where a skirmish is occurring rather than waiting for the proverbial cavalry to arrive. This localized reaction can be quite potent. Its activation is notoriously difficult to demonstrate, however, so historically it’s been hard for vaccine makers to show they’ve hit the mark. But it turns out that one type of antibody, called IgA, is a good indicator of mucosal immunity because IgAs tend to predominate in the mucosa rather than other parts of the body. In an early trial of CoviLiv, a nasal COVID vaccine produced by Codagenix, about half of participants had detectable IgA responses within several weeks after receiving two doses. That trial also showed the vaccine was safe and led to NextGen funding for a larger trial of the vaccine’s efficacy.

It’s possible an inhaled vaccine may provide yet one more layer of protection, called trained innate immunity. This reaction is a bit of a mystery: although immunologists know it exists and appears also to be produced by intramuscular injections, they can’t quite explain how it works. Immune cells associated with trained innate immunity seem to have memorylike responses, reacting quickly against subsequent infections. They also have been found to respond against pathogens entirely unrelated to the intended vaccine target. Smaill and her colleagues found that when they immunized mice with an inhaled tuberculosis vaccine and then challenged them with pneumococcal bacteria, the mice were protected. In children, there is some evidence that a tuberculosis vaccine, in the arm, generates this type of broad response against other diseases.

Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University who is working to develop a nasal vaccination for COVID, sees two major potential benefits to nasal immunity in addition to better, faster, more localized protection. First, attacking the virus in the nose could prevent the disease from being transmitted to others by reducing the amount of virus that people breathe out. And second, Iwasaki says, the spray may limit how deeply the infection moves into the body, so “we believe that it will also prevent long COVID.” That debilitating postinfection condition, sometimes marked by signs of entrenched viral particles, disables people with extreme fatigue, chronic pain, a variety of cognitive difficulties, and other symptoms.

Making a new vaccine is hard, regardless of how you administer it. It needs to raise an immune response that’s strong enough to protect against future invasions but not so strong that the components of that response—such as inflammation and fever—harm the host.

The lining of the nose puts up its own barriers—literal, physical ones. Because the nasal mucosa is exposed to so many irritants from the air, ranging from pet hair to pollen, the nose has multiple lines of defense against invading pathogens. Nostril hair, mucus, and features called cilia that sweep the nasal surface all aim to trap small foreign objects before they can get deeper into the body—and that includes tiny droplets of vaccine.

And lots of small foreign particles—often harmless—still make it through those defenses. So the nose has developed a way to become less reactive to harmless objects. This dampened reactivity is called immunological tolerance, and it may be the biggest hurdle to successful development of a nasal vaccine. When foreign particles show up in the bloodstream, a space that is ostensibly sterile, immune cells immediately recognize them as invaders. But mucosal surfaces are constantly bombarded by both pathogens and harmless materials. The immune system uses tolerance—a complex series of decisions carried out by specialized cells—to determine whether a substance is harmful. “This is very important because we can’t have our lungs or gastrointestinal tract always responding to nonharmful foreign entities that they encounter,” says Yale infectious disease researcher Benjamin Goldman-Israelow. For example, inflammation in the lungs would make it hard to breathe; in the gut, it would prevent the absorption of water and nutrients.

These barriers may hamper the effectiveness of a nasal flu vaccine that’s been around for a while, called FluMist in the U.S. and Fluenz in Europe. The inoculation is safe, says infectious disease scientist Michael Diamond of Washington University in St. Louis, but it faces a similar problem as do injected flu vaccines: it isn’t very effective at warding off new seasonal flu strains. This might be because flu strains are so common, and people are frequently infected by the time they are adults. Their immune systems are already primed to recognize and destroy familiar flu particles. FluMist is built from a live flu virus, so immune cells probably treat the vaccine as an invader and demolish it as soon as it shows up in the nose, before it has a chance to do any good. This preexisting immunity isn’t such an issue in children, who are less likely to have had multiple flu infections. Nasal flu vaccines are routinely used to inoculate kids in Europe.

In other vaccines, researchers often use adjuvants, special agents that attract the attention of immune cells, to boost a response. Some nasal vaccines use adjuvants to overcome tolerance, but in the nose, adjuvants can pose unique dangers. In at least one case, a nasal adjuvant led to disastrous consequences. An intranasal vaccine for influenza, licensed in Switzerland for the 2000–2001 season, used a toxin isolated from Escherichia coli bacteria as an adjuvant to provoke a reaction to the inactivated virus. No serious side effects were reported during the trial period, but once the vaccine was released, Swiss officials saw a concerning uptick in cases of Bell’s palsy, a disease that causes weakness or paralysis of the facial muscles, often leading to a drooping or disfigured face. Researchers at the University of Zurich estimated that the adjuvanted flu vaccine had increased the risk of contracting Bell’s palsy by about 20 times, and the vaccine was discontinued. “We need to be cautious about using adjuvants like that from known pathogens,” says pharmaceutical formulations scientist Vicky Kett of Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland.

To get around the challenges posed by the nose, some researchers are exploring vaccines inhaled through the mouth. Smaill is working on one of them. She and her McMaster colleagues aerosolized their vaccine for COVID into a fine mist delivered by a nebulizer, from which it rapidly reaches the lungs. Experiments in mice have shown promising results, with mucosal immunity established after administration of the vaccine.

Another vaccine strategy is to use a harmless virus to carry viral genes or proteins. Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City selected a bird pathogen, Newcastle disease virus (NDV). “It’s naturally a respiratory pathogen,” so it infects nasal cells, says Michael Egan, CEO and chief scientific officer of CastleVax, a company that formed to develop the NDV vaccine for COVID. A small early clinical trial showed the CastleVax vaccine was safe and caused robust immune responses in people. “Those results were very promising,” Egan says. People who received the vaccine also produced antibodies that indicated multitiered mucosal immunity, not simply the adaptive immunity from a shot in the arm.

Following that trial, the CastleVax project received NextGen funding, and results from a trial of 10,000 people are expected in 2026. Half of those people will receive a messenger RNA (mRNA) injection, and half will get the new NDV nasal spray. The data should show whether the new nasal vaccine can do a better job of preventing infection than the mRNA injections. Egan has high hopes. “We’re expecting to see a lot fewer breakthrough infections in people who got the vaccine up the nose by virtue of having those mucosal immune responses,” he says.

Florian Krammer, one of the Mount Sinai researchers behind the vaccine, engineered NDV particles to display a stabilized version of the spike protein that’s so prominent in SARS-CoV-2. “You end up with a particle that’s covered with spike,” he says. Spike protein in the blood­stream can raise an immune response. But the NDV vaccine works in another way, too. The virus particle can also get into cells, where it can replicate enough times to cause virus particles to emerge from the cells, provoking another immune reaction. Before moving into human trials, however, researchers had to complete clinical trials to establish that the Newcastle virus is truly harmless because the nose is close to the central nervous system—it has neurons that connect to the olfactory bulb, which is part of the brain. Those trials confirmed that it is safe for this use.

Nasal sprays aim directly at the spot where most viruses first enter the body: the nose. This type of caution is one reason a COVID nasal vaccine approved in India hasn’t been adopted by the U.S. or other countries. The inoculation, called iNCOVACC, uses a harmless simian adenovirus to carry the spike protein into the airway. The research originated in the laboratories of Diamond and some of his colleagues at Washington University at the start of the pandemic, when they tested the formulation on rodents and nonhuman primates. “The preclinical data were outstanding,” Diamond says. Around the time he and his colleagues published initial animal results in Cell in 2020, Bharat Biotech in India licensed the idea from the university. In a 2023 phase 3 clinical trial in India, the nasal vaccine produced superior systemic immunity compared with a shot.

Diamond says American drug companies didn’t pursue this approach, because “they wanted to use known quantities,” such as the mRNA vaccines, which were already proving themselves in clinical trials in 2020. As the pandemic took hold, there was little appetite to develop nasal vaccine technology to stimulate mucosal immunity while the tried-and-true route of shots in the arm was available and working. But now, four years later, an inhaled vaccine using technology similar to iNCOVACC’s is being developed for approval in the U.S. by biotech company Ocugen. Both inhaled and nasal forms of the vaccine are set to undergo clinical trials as part of Project NextGen. These new vaccines are using classical vaccine methods based on the virus rather than using new, mRNA-based technology. The mRNA preparations were developed specifically for intramuscular injections and would have to be significantly modified.

Codagenix, which is developing CoviLiv, sidestepped the need for a new viral vector or an adjuvant by disabling a live SARS-CoV-2 virus. To make it safe, scientists engineered a version of the virus with 283 mutations, alterations to its genetic code that make it hard for the virus to replicate and harm the body. Without all these genetic changes, there would be a chance the virus could revert to a dangerous, pathogenic form. But with hundreds of key mutations, “statistically, it’s basically impossible that this will revert back to a live virus in the population,” says Johanna Kaufmann, who helped to develop the vaccine before leaving Codagenix for another company earlier this year.

Because most people on the planet have now been exposed to SARS-CoV-2—in the same way they’re regularly exposed to the flu—some nasal vaccines are being designed as boosters for a preexisting immune response that is starting to wane. For example, Yale researchers Iwasaki and Goldman-Israelow are pursuing a strategy in animals deemed “prime and spike.”

The idea is to start with a vaccine injection—the “prime” that stimulates adaptive immunity—then follow it a few weeks later with a nasal puff that “spikes” the system with more viral protein, leading to mucosal immunity. In a study published in 2022 in Science, Iwasaki and her colleagues reported that they primed rodents with the mRNA vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, the same shot so many of us have received. Two weeks later some of the mice received an intranasal puff of saline containing a fragment of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Because the animals had some preexisting immunity from the shot, the researchers didn’t add any adjuvants to heighten the effects of the nasal puff. Two weeks later researchers detected stronger signs of mucosal immunity in mice that had received this treatment compared with mice that got only the shot.

“Not only can we establish tissue-resident memory T cells” to fight off the virus in the nose, Iwasaki says, but the prime-and-spike method also produces those vigorous IgA antibodies in the mucosal layer. “And that’s much more advantageous because we can prevent the virus from ever infecting the host,” she notes. The study suggests that this approach might also lessen the chances of transmitting the disease to others because of the lower overall viral load. Experiments in hamsters demonstrated that vaccinated animals shed less virus, and they were less likely to contract COVID from infected cage mates that had not been vaccinated themselves.

Although most of the new vaccine strategies are aimed at COVID, nasal vaccines for other diseases are already being planned. Kaufmann, formerly of Codagenix, says the company currently has clinical trials underway for nasal vaccines against flu and RSV. CastleVax’s Egan says “we have plans to address other pathogens” such as RSV and human metapneumovirus, another leading cause of respiratory disease in kids.

Vaccines that don’t need to be injected could clear many barriers to vaccine access worldwide. “We saw with COVID there was no vaccine equity,” Smaill says. Many people in low-income countries never received a shot; they are still going without one four years after the vaccines debuted.

In part, this inequity is a consequence of the high cost of delivering a vaccine that needs to stay frozen on a long journey from manufacturing facilities in wealthy countries. Some of the nasal sprays in development don’t need deep-cold storage, so they might be easier to store and transport. And a nasal spray or an inhaled puff would be much easier to administer than a shot. No health professional is required, so people could spray it into their noses or mouths at home.

For these reasons, needle-free delivery matters to the World Health Organization. The WHO is using the Codagenix nasal spray in its Solidarity Trial Vaccines program to improve vaccine equity. The CoviLiv spray is now in phase 3 clinical trials around the world as part of this effort. “The fact that the WHO was still interested in a primary vaccination trial in the geographies it’s passionate about—that’s indicative that there is still a gap,” Kaufmann says. CoviLiv was co-developed with the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest maker of vaccines by dose. The partnership enabled production at the high volume required for Solidarity.

The CastleVax vaccine with the NDV vector provides another layer of equity because the facilities required to make it already exist in many low- and middle-income countries. “The cool thing is that NDV is a chicken virus, so it grows very well in embryonated eggs—that’s exactly the system used for making flu vaccines,” Krammer says. For example, for a clinical trial in Thailand, “we just shipped them the seed virus, and then they produced the vaccine and ran the clinical trials,” he says. Many countries around the world have similar facilities, so they will not need to depend on pharma companies based in richer places.

Even high-income countries face barriers to vaccination, although they may be more personal than systemic. For very many people, the needle itself is the problem. Extreme phobia such as Velasquez’s is uncommon, but many people have a general fear of needles that makes vaccinations stressful or even impossible for them. For about one in 10 people needle-related fear or pain is a barrier to vaccinations, says C. Meghan McMurtry, a psychologist at the University of Guelph in Ontario. Needle fear “is present in most young kids and in about half of adolescents. And 20 to 30 percent of adults have some level of fear.” A review of studies of children showed that “concern around pain and needle fear are barriers to vaccination in about 8 percent of the general population and about 18 percent in the vaccine-hesitant population,” McMurtry adds.

Some people are wary of injected vaccines even if they’re not afraid of needles, Kett says; they see injections as too invasive even if the needle doesn’t bother them. “We’re hopeful that something administered by the nasal route would be less likely to come across some of those issues,” Kett says.

In the U.S., however, sprays and puffs won’t be available until they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which requires clear evidence of disease protection. As Diamond points out, standards for such evidence are well established for injections, and vaccine makers can follow the rule book: regulations point to particular antibodies and specific ways to measure them with a simple blood test. But for nasal vaccines, Iwasaki says, “we don’t have a standard way to collect nasal mucus or measure antibody titers. All these practical issues have not been worked out.”

Iwasaki is also frustrated with a restriction by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that stops researchers from using existing COVID vaccines in basic research to develop new nasal sprays. The rule is a holdover from 2020, when COVID injections had just been developed and were in short supply; people had to wait to get vaccinated until they were eligible based on factors such as age and preexisting conditions. “That made sense back then, but those concerns are years old; things are different now,” Iwasaki says. “Now we have excess vaccine being thrown out, and we cannot even get access to the waste, the expired vaccine.”

Today scientists want to contrast the effectiveness of nasal formulations with injections already in use. “Those comparisons are really important for convincing the FDA that this is a worthy vaccine to pursue,” Iwasaki says. But the restriction has held up studies by her company, Xanadu, slowing down work. (The CDC did not respond to a request for comment.)

Despite the bureaucratic and scientific hurdles, the sheer number of nasal vaccines now in clinical trials encourages Iwasaki and other scientists pursuing the needle-free route. They say it seems like only a matter of time before getting vaccinated will be as simple as a spritz up the nose.

Velasquez, for one, can’t wait for that day to arrive. The circumstances that finally forced her to reckon with her fear of needles (a global pandemic, the prospect of parenthood and the numerous blood tests that accompanied her pregnancy) were so much bigger than her. If not for them, she might still be avoiding shots. “So having vaccines without needles—I would get every vaccine any doctor wanted me to get, ever. It would be a complete game changer for me.”

[otakusparkle]

Identity V Chinese 6th Anniversary Character Congratulations Messages (Part 3)

Part 1

Part 2

Little Girl : Thank you for your hospitality. The truffle cake here is delicious! Hmm, can I have another piece?

Nightmare : It's another grand banquet, but don't get too absorbed in it, or you might fall into a beautiful dream from which you won't wake up.

Novelist : I can find new inspiration every time I come here, it's a very good experience.

Weeping Clown : Wh-what? You asked me to come here for a performance? Are these delicious foods for me... Thank you very much and I wish you a happy 6th anniversary!

Clerk : Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to be entrusted with the important task of delivering a speech in front of this long table. On the occasion of the 6th anniversary of Oletus Manor, let us raise a toast and celebrate!

Professor : Hello, happy 6th birthday. Thanks for the invitation. A birthday is a year of time. We have crossed new boundaries and we will also transform into new ones.

Antiquarian : Happy anniversary, and hope you are well. What a great feast! I may be able to find out about her by taking this opportunity.

Hermit : Happy Birthday, thank you for your invitation. On the way here, I saw a lot of old machineries, the electrical circuit doesn’t seem too safe, to avoid accidents from happening, I’ve asked them to finish repairing. Oh? It’s what should be done, no need to thank me.

Composer : I’m honored to be participating in this grand celebratory. For everyone I have sent my newest works, I also welcome you to exchange words of your thoughts with me.

Night Watch : The moonlight is beautiful today. It seems a bit of a waste to hold a party in a closed building. Do you want to go out and have a look? Come with me.

Journalist : Thank you for the invitation. I have heard that the Oletus Manor holds a grand anniversary party every year. I have to record it in detail this time. I have work to do later, so I will not drink this cup. Please allow me to take this camera around and take some souvenirs.

Opera Singer : Thank you for the invitation. This is my first time to attend such a banquet. Piano, violin, and... Hehe, is the solo position reserved for me?

Aeroplanist : Thank you for the treat. Such a feast is really an eye-opener. Hey? Whose balloon is hanging on the ceiling? There is a cat on it... I'll be back soon.

Cheerleader : I'm Lily, hello! I heard there's a BIG party going to be held here, is it a sports meeting!? Can I join in!?

Fool's Gold : Thank you for your invitation. What a bounty, a room full of white bread, pastries, beverages. How good-natured..

Puppeteer : Thanks for having me, and happy 6th Anniversary! This puppet? Um...

The Shadow : Nice to meet you, happy 6th anniversary! It's surprising that there are so many people here already.

[flnpushy]

A classic story I forgot I wrote....

Kelly had been in labor for over Twenty-four hours now, the labor was slow and painful. She was accompanied by her husband Tyler, who was helping her as best he could. Kelly was twenty and this was her first baby. She was a small framed petite brunette. Being small her large belly was her main focal point as it bulged out so far. Tyler who was twenty-one had impregnated her 9 months ago on thier honeymoon, and it had been a long time waiting for the baby to arrive. They knew they were having a girl, and they also knew she was to be bigger in size. Doctors warned about having a homebirth, but Kelly insisted. At month eight doctors estimated the baby to be eleven pounds, meaning by birth she could be thirteen to fourteen pounds and be high risk for natural birth. Being an introvert she wanted to birth in private with just her husband, reguardless of baby size she was bound determined to get it out at home. Thier country cottage was the ideal location to relax and birth, though far from help, it was the place she chose to deliver. 

Transition was happening finally for Kelly. She was struggling to endure the pain as the babies head came farther into her cervix. She was well dialated and soon to be pushing. Kelly was layed out in her bed completely naked. As she labored, Tyler looked intentely at her body. She was fair skinned and soft, her breasts were well swollen and full, Her long flowing hair was smooth and lush. Her body was the best of all however, so soft and beautiful, textbook beauty. 

Kelly was nearing the pushing stage. She began to feel pushy, her tummy was tense and contracting hard with each wave. 

“Ok Its time to push I think.” Kelly said.

Tyler reached over and helped her by grabbing a mirror to see progress, he also held her legs back while she began her first of many pushes…..

The first push:

Kelly’s soft legs were drawn back, her body was curled into perfect birthing position, her vagina was front and center just below her large tummy. She gathered strength and let out a push. She could feel the baby moving within her. Every fiber of muscle squeezing to move the baby along. It was painful to her, but yet the movement made her feel good. She held her push as long as she could before relaxing. Pushing made Kelly happy, she felt like she was now in control of the situation. 

The next contraction was gathering. Kelly’s water had not yet broken so she was anticipating a gush of fluids at anytime. She bore down hard with the contraction. She could feel baby moving ever closer to her opening. 

“Our baby is close.” Kelly said to Tyler. 

Kelly strained through another push, brining the baby down farther. As she pushed Tyler could now see her vagina bulge with the pushes. As kelly pushed her vagina protruded out. She was progressing well. Kelly bore down for another push. Her opening moved once more, it was starting to show outward signs. With the next push action was happening.

The waters:

Kelly continued to push, however this push was different. In her opening something began to show. It was the bulging waters still intact. As the push progressed the sac slowly slid out of Kelly. Now dangling from her vagina was the sac. It was tannish in color and looked like a water balloon. Kelly reached down and touched it. It was the first contact with what was in her womb for the last nine months. Kelly however was starting to need a position change. Tyler slowly helped her to her feet. The sac dangled below her as Kelly stood. The standing gave her relief as she had been in bed for hours now enduring labor. Kelly held onto the edge of the bed for support as she endured another contraction.

“It feels weird having the waters dangling from me.” Kelly said. 

“Do you want me to pop the waters?” Tyler asked. 

“No, keep this as natural as possible.” Kelly replied.

Feeling the warm waters against her butt was a unique and sensual feeling for Kelly. Most births this never happens she thought to herself. She was lucky. However she knew the waters were slowing the process down. She decided that it was time. Kelly wiggled her hips side to side. The sac jiggled around a bit, but didn’t seem to break. Kelly wiggled harder this time. The sac responded and slapped around a bit, hitting either side of her butt before finally breaking. It wouldn’t be long now unitl the head made its appearance. 

The struggle: 

A few more pushes came and went. Kelly was bearing down effectively with each push. She was showing no signs of tiring. Inside her she could feel the movements of her active baby. The baby was moving it legs and trying to get free. Kelly pushed again and finally in her opening appeared a tiny curl of hair. As the push ended the curl receded back inside her vulva. As Kelly pushed again, a tiny bit of babies head was becoming visible in the vulva, however as the push ended the baby was receding back into Kelly’s tummy. The only place the baby knew. For a large baby Kelly was making good forward progress. But the trickiest part was yet to come. Freeing the huge baby head from her tight opening. Tyler was assisting Kelly was best he could. As she pushed he was pushing her legs up and back toward her chest. This was effectively opening her up as much as physically possible. The next push came. Kelly bore down and excerted much effort. Her tummy tensed and flattened with the strength of the push. The babies head made a quick appearance in the vulva before going back in. As the baby went back in, Kelly’s tummy became larger again. The large body of the baby made her tummy swell as it retracted back. The baby was comfortable in her, and it was going to take lots of effort to get it out. 

“I don’t think she wants to come out.” Tyler said. “Maybe we let her stay in longer?”

“No, then she will get bigger and I’ll never get her out!” Kelly replied. “Its going to be a struggle to get her out as she is!” 

“Are you sure shes going to fit?” Tyler asked. “She has to be 13 pounds by now.”

“Oh she will come out, it will just take time for me to push her out.” Kelly replied.

“Ok babe, I hope so.” Tyler said.

“Well if you wanted a quick birth why did you fill me up with such a big baby?” Kelly asked grinning.

“You were so beautiful my manhood couldn’t help it.” Tyler replied. “I knew you could do it so I gave you my biggest baby.” 

Kelly decided to try side lying for awhile. Tyler supported her upper leg as she pushed to try and get baby out. She endured a few pushes this way. The first of which showed a little liver of head in her opening before receding back. Each push showed some head, but the baby continued to go back in. Kelly began another push, her belly tensed and her belly button protruded out as she pushed. The babies head came father into the opening this time before retracting back in. As it went back in the baby once again made Kelly’s tummy gain in size. 

“Huh shes just not ready to come out yet.” Tyler mentioned.

Kelly still content with side lying pushed once more. The baby came forth quickly in the opening as kelly strained to keep it their. However with the end of the push the head went back.

“Hmm so close that time.” Kelly said. 

Kelly sat up and slowly got to her feet. It was time to walk around a bit to get the baby moving. As Kelly walked she wiggled and danced around to entice the baby down. She could feel the baby moving around in there and it wasn’t long until she was ready to try pushing the baby out again. Kelly decided to try out a birth stool that she had aquired. As she sat down on the stool and got comfortable Tyler joined her in position to see the action. Kelly’s legs were well spread on the stool and her vagina was well open to the world. This was ideal for the baby. However the baby still had to come forth. Kelly was ready to try again. Tyler touched her nipples to provide some stimulaton. She gathered strength and gave a big push. Baby moved down right away, its head coming visible in the opening on Kelly’s wide opening. However as quickly as it came, it also went back in. Kelly’s baby was not coming along as she had planned. She pushed again and revealed the baby once more. This time more head became visible, it was clear even from the bit of head showing, it was going to be a large baby. The head was rolling in and out with each try. 

Skin vs. Will power:

Kelly continued to work her baby out on the birth stool. Each push showed baby, but each contraction end had baby back inside. Kelly was doing well though. She showed no signs of weakness and continued to work like a champ even though her baby didn’t want to come out. Either way she was happy to be in her own home, doing her own thing. Kelly knew in a hospital she would have been forced to a c-section or she would have torn. She was ok being patient and waiting for baby to come on its own accord. After a couple more pushes seeing baby go in and out, Kelly was ready to lay down again. As she stood up she pushed, but her vagnia closed up and the baby slipped back in. 

“Poor baby girl, likes mommas tummy to much.” Kelly said. “Its ok baby you come when your ready.” 

“I shouldn’t have put such a big baby in your tiny belly.” Tyler said.

Kelly returned to bed where Tyler supported her legs, holding them back as she pushed. Babies head was staying in the opening longer now as she pushed. Pushing brought the head out farther, but it continued to slip back when her pushes ended. The battle between baby and skin was just beginning. Kelly gathered up and pushed, she could feel the babies head come down farther into the opening. Each try was helping baby move, but there was a long way to go. Luckily for Kelly the babies head was starting to stay put. It wasn’t going back in all the way. The head was protruding enough to have a small teardrop shape opening. However as Kelly pushed the head wasn’t really moving at all. 

Stuck during emergence:

As Kelly continued to try and push the baby out it was becoming evident that baby might be stuck. As large as her baby was estimated to be, this was no real suprise to Kelly. She figured that with time the baby would come out no matter its size. It had been about 2 hours at this point, and babies head was now staying visible in the opening. Kelly touched the babies head and played with its hair.

“Babies head poking out is so cute.” Kelly said.

Each contraction had Kelly nudging the baby, but no real progress was being made. As the next contraction came, Kelly got onto all fours and tried a push, The head did move a bit more outward, but this newly created space from a position change made the baby wiggle back in. Another push from Kelly had the babies head back in view, but no farther out then before. Kelly tried again and again to push the baby out, but the baby wasn’t coming. Finally after another half hour it was time to stop trying and take a break. Kelly stood up and the babies head slipped back in her tummy. Kelly had started pushing around 8 AM. IT was now 10:30 AM and the baby was still no where near out. Kelly did some house work and easy chores. She stopped to push when she needed. The baby was making no real progress whatsoever. As hard as Kelly tried, the big baby head held tight just inside her vagina. 

As Kelly meandered around the house, Tyler frequently would touch Kelly’s vagina just to feel his daughters head. He wanted to bond as much as possible with the baby. Tyler was ready for the baby to be born, but Kelly was patient. At 11:30 AM Kelly was ready to try and free baby once more. She climbed into bed and pulled back her legs. Within a couple pushes the head was protruding out. As she pushed her vagina swoll up around the head, but the head made little forward movement. Kelly knew that even after 3.5 hours, she was still stretching out to make room for that huge head. Kelly pushed down as hard as she could, finally the head came forth to its farthest point yet. Kelly’s vagina protruded, full of head. The head wasn’t fully crowned, but it was sticking a ways out. Kelly noticed that the head wasn’t retracting back after pushes, though it was staying firm in place. Kelly’s tight opening pinned the baby in place. She was still too tight to allow the baby to come free. 

Birth denial:

The clock now rolled around to 12:00 PM. Kelly had now been pushing for four hours. The head had been stuck protruding out now for 30 minutes. No matter how hard Kelly tried, the baby refused to move. Tyler reached over and touched his daughters head. 

“Come outta there baby girl.” Tyler said. “Give mommy a break.” 

“Shes coming, shes just really big.” Kelly said. 

“Your so patient babe.” Tyler said. 

“Shes been in there nine months, whats a couple more hours going to hurt?” Kelly said.

“True babe, true.” I just feel bad that your stuck pregnant.” Tyler said.

“I’ve been trying to get un-pregnant all day, but shes just not ready.” Kelly replied.

“Besides, it will all be worth it when she comes out.” 

Kelly leaned into another push, her tummy flattened slightly, her legs shook, and she winced as she tried to push the baby. Nothing. She let go of the push. She wiggled her hips back and forth to help the head find a better spot. Unfortunately the wiggle caused the baby to retract. After four hours of trying, Kelly’s baby was disappearing back inisde her tummy. As the baby retracted Kelly watched it in the mirror, she tried a push but she could do nothing to stop the baby. As the baby disappeared back in her tummy gained in size. After four hours of trying, Kelly was still very pregnant. 

Intensity:

“Babe, how much more can you take?” Tyler asked. 

“I can handle it babe, You know me.” Kelly said. “Plus feeling that head go in and out for the last couple hours actually feels kinda sensual.”

“Ok babe, Im getting worried for you.” Tyler said.

“Just relax, I will be ok, just get me some water and a snack.” Kelly said. 

Tyler fulfilled her request as he returned to her side. Tyler had no idea that impregnating Kelly would lead to this kind of a struggle. But there was nothing he could do but helplessly watch his wife try and push his baby out of her tight opening. After four hours of trying, even patient Kelly was ready to meet the baby. 

“Ok babe, I need to get un-pregnant.” Kelly said. 

“Ok babe, Push hard.” Tyler said. 

“Ok babe, get me cool towels and fresh pads, I need to focus.” Kelly said.

  In reality Kelly wasn’t worried about herself, she was worried about the baby. Being in the birth canal for over four hours now had to be putting stress on her. Kelly prepared to work. She drew back her legs and gave a push……

“Mmmmmm ahhhhh grrrrrrr mmmmmm….” Kelly grunted. 

“Good push babe.” Tyler said. 

Kelly tried again.

“Ooooooo ouch mmmmmm ahhhhhh…”

The baby slowly moved in the opening, her vagina protruded around the head. 

“Good girl.” Tyler said. “Be a big girl and push our baby out, Daddy wants to see his baby.” 

Kelly grunted again and her vagina pulsed as she pushed, the baby head moved with the push and stretched the opening farther. She was starting to make some headway. Kelly bore down again, she grunted and moaned with much power. Her legs shook, and she had sweat on her brow. Kelly was trying hard to get that head free. Inside her she could feel the baby wiggling and attempting to force itself through her opening. She knew however the baby alone couldn’t get itself out, she had to try and help it come out. After a few more pushes it was time for another break. Kelly felt as if she desperately needed to use the bathroom, however she knew with a baby head in her opening, the bathroom was a lost cause. Kelly tried not to close up as she rolled over to side lying. She relaxed and endured a few more contractions there. After a few more minutes she rolled back and began trying to get the baby out once more. The next push brought a result. The head came forward, it was still tightly within but Kelly’s vagina was streatched to the absolute max. The babies head was absolutely huge! It looked like Kelly was birthing a volleyball! She tried as hard as she could, pushing and straining to get the head out of her. 

“Tyler Help!” Kelly said. 

Tyler reached out and pulled back on her tight vaginal skin. As Kelly pushed, Tyler tried to push the skin back around the head. 

“Ahhhhhh oooooo mmmm aaaaaahhhh!!!!” 

Kelly yelled out pushing with all her might. Kelly tried and tried again, the head bulged out with each push squeezing harder and harder with the tight skin. Finally after five hours the head popped out in a huge gush of fluid. Kelly had done it, the giant baby head was free. 

“Good Girl!” Tyler said. “Shes Huge!” 

A head in a tight place:

Kelly had birthed the head. Inbetween her legs was a massive baby head. The baby had lot of hair, and its big bulgy cheeks were pressed firm against Kelly’s legs. The babies eyes were closed, but it was moving its nose. This was a good sign for Kelly knowing that her baby was going to be ok. However Kelly knew that with such a big head, came some even wider shoulders. This was her next battle. After five hours of pushing to get the head out, Kelly was tiring, but her head was still in the game to get the baby out. Tyler felt his daughters had for the first time, he played with her hair and touched her nose. He was a proud daddy, but the baby still needed to come out the rest of the way. Kelly resumed pushing with contractions, but the head held firm. The baby made small movements as Kelly tried to free it. 

“Come on baby, your so close!” Kelly said. 

After a few more tries it was becoming clear that baby was stuck once more. Kelly needed to change position. She rolled onto all fours and began pushing hard. The position change made her feel better, but the baby wasn’t progressing. After a few more tries Kelly knew the baby needed to come soon. 

“Ok baby needs to come out soon.” Kelly said. 

Kelly got up to standing postion. The babies head was so big and wide it touched both her legs. As Kelly straightened up into a stand the babies head sucked back in a bit. The head was tight to her opening, and the babies cheeks were pushed firm against her opening. Kelly could feel the baby in between her bottom, It was a strange feeling for her, but she knew the baby would soon come out. Kelly wiggled a bit to get the baby in a better spot. As she did the baby moved as well. It was now down to Kelly to push the shoulders free. Kelly gave it a try, she squatted down and gave a hard push. The head remained stuck. 

“Come on babe, you can do it.” Tyler said. 

“Im trying hun, but shes not moving!” Kelly replied. 

Kelly was becoming concerned that she wasn’t going to be able to push her daughter free.  But She was persistant. A few more pushes came and went. No shoulders. The baby was so tight to Kelly’s opening it almost looked like the head was an extension of her body. As hard as she tried, that head was stuck!

“Ok Tyler, we need to get her out.” Kelly said. 

Kelly layed back in bed. Tyler pushed Kelly’s legs back as far as they would possibly go. Kelly pushed her tummy with her hands, as she tried another push. Nothing at first.

“Go baby Go, Push hard, hard!” Tyler said. 

“Im pushing as hard as I can!” Kelly said. “Pull her out!” 

Tyler grabbed his daughters head and gave a light bit of traction. He wiggled her side to side, up and down while Kelly continued to push. Tyler was able to move the head but only slightly. 

“I can’t wiggle her much babe, shes really tight in there!” Tyler said. 

“Oh Tyler, I can’t, I can’t…. It hurts so much!” Kelly said.

Kelly was having no luck getting the shoulders to come. Tyler let go and the couple relaxed. Tyler rubbed Kelly’s tummy.

“Come out of there baby!” Tyler said. “Mommy needs you out.”

“She needs more force.” Kelly said. “Help me get hot and heavy.” 

“What do you mean?” Tyler said. 

“Orgasm!” Kelly yelled.

“Oh ok I got this.” Tyler replied.

Tyler grabbed Kelly’s breasts and began playign with them in his hands. Meanwhile Kelly provided stiumulation to her opening just above the babies head. The new fullness of the babies head between her legs made her climax fast. Finally it happened.

Emergence:

Kelly orgasmed and the contractions forced the shoulders toward the opening. Finally the shoulders came forth, in a huge orgasmic rush. The baby slipped out to its waist. One last push from Kelly had the baby out. 

“Oh my god, I didn’t think she was going to come free!” Tyler said.

“Oh our baby is here!” Kelley yelled. 

The couple quickly got to know thier newborn. She was a big baby, but well worth the effort. 

“So when can we do this again?” Tyler asked.

“Soon babe, but this time pick a smaller baby.” Kelly replied. 

[sangoqueenkoko]

ARATAKI ITTO

"not our brightest idea"

fluff

GEO MASTERLIST | DRABBLE MASTERLIST

.

Drabble prompt: page 1: #70 = “not our brightest idea.”

Warnings? Beans. Not really! Unless you’re an Oni. But seriously, there are no warnings.

Contains a mention of Kuki Shinobu, Chiori, The Arataki Gang, and Itto, of course!

825 words.

"Thank you, and have a great day!" you smiled, kindly waving as a customer walked away with their newly bought products from Sailing Breeze, a Mondstadt store. Being from Mondstadt, you were well versed with the local specialities and eager to share them with others. You came to Inazuma to trade your home nation's local specialities with the people of a different nation so they can broaden their horizons.

New and returning customers came every day.

Even if the products did contain beans, you made your own version that doesn't, after witnessing what happened at the Iridori Festival. When I say 'returning customers,' I mean Arataki Itto, the rest of the Arataki Gang, and Kuki Shinobu.

But today, Kuki and the rest of the Gang couldn't make it because the Gang got into trouble, and Kuki had to bail them out. So, instead of being with his friends and suffering her wrath, Itto came to Ritou alone to pick up some orders that Kuki had made in the prior week. With you being friends of the Arataki Gang and the leader himself, they managed to bag some discounts.

"Hey, hey, my compadre!" A familiar voice called out; before you knew it, it was Itto, sauntering over as he casually combed his hair like it was his pride and joy. "Boss says that our order is ready to go! And it was made by the amazing (Y/N) themselves!" he grinned, "So I know that it will be the best ever made!"

"Well, thank you, Itto," you smiled sweetly. "Luckily for you, I had just finished packing it up, and it was ready for pickup just before you came! However, I underestimated the size of this delivery, considering how much was ordered. And it will be too much work to make more than one trip to deliver it to its destination. So I'd say that we need to use a cargo balloon for its safe transportation. That is if you're Okay with returning it to the others yourself?"

He stood silently for a moment as he thought. Looking between you and the distance of Inazuma, pondering how long it would take.

"Alright! It should be no problem!" he said with a laugh, "but you could always come along with me to make sure that the precious cargo doesn't get damaged while I go on ahead and take care of potential threats. That sounds like a deal to me. Deal?"

"Deal."

Soon enough, you met Itto at the edge of Ritou with the Cargo 'slime' Balloon that you hired for the day. Itto, being as strong as he is and insisting he helped you pack the cargo onto the balloon before you double-checked it and set off for the Gang's camp.

The start of the journey went as smoothly as ever. Some playful things even happen because it is better to make them bearable than unbearable. When crossing over a sandy section that leads to Narukami Island, Itto found it funny to splash some seawater on you, but you didn't find it funny much, mainly because your outfit was made by the one and only Chiori, so in return, you splashed water back at him. Just some light-hearted fun.

Later on in your journey, on the same path but in the incoming direction, you both noticed some Nobushi coming your way. Itto was raring to go, as he wanted to fight them. He didn't want the cargo, or more importantly, you, to get damaged. But you insisted he not provoke them, as they could be passive and mean no harm.

But neither of you could take any chances, so you pulled him towards the cargo on the side of the path, behind some bushes, to hide. Because of its purpose, it could withstand such weight, so you pulled Itto into it. Despite his loud protests, shoving a hand over his mouth, you two stayed put and quiet to ensure you weren't found.

It felt like an eternity, but the Nobushi would come over to the stationary cargo, take a look at it, move it around, inspect it and even open the boxes to take a closer look. It took Itto everything not to burst out from inside it and defend you and the cargo, but you didn't let that happen. They were merely curious.

But they soon realised it wasn't very valuable to them, so they left it alone and carried on with their journey, their heavy footsteps eventually fading away.

Taking deep breaths with relief, and also realising how physically close you two were, you quickly jumped out and looked over the cargo. It was fine.

Looking at each other with red cheeks and a light layer of sweat on their faces from the long wait in close proximity. And your feelings for each other would slowly creep up to the surface.

He coughed and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"not our brightest idea."

But thank you to the irl bestie for helping with this idea! This one is for you, girlie, you simp!

[nokomiss]

For a prompt: How about JaySteph, established relationship, hijacking a boat (you can pick what kind) for a mission.

@hollie47 I hope you enjoy!

“I feel like that’s the wrong thing to do,” Steph said. “Like. Morally. I get your bigger-picture talk but. Come on.”

“It’s just temporary,” Jason argued. “We’ll bring it right back.”

Steph gave him a look. “When have we ever returned anything we requisitioned in its original form?”

“I mean.” Jason said, thinking. “Once I brought the Batmobile back with a full tank of gas.”

“And missing a fender,” Steph said. “I remember that clearly, because it got brought up the next time I asked to borrow the Batmobile.”

Jason sighed. “I just really don’t want to swim, y’know? Do you know how heavy this outfit is?”

“Mine’s not exactly a bikini either,” Steph said.  The river flowed sluggishly, and it would be doable to swim, but Jason brought up a good point there. She also knew from his previous bitching that not all of his supplies were waterproofed, and she felt like that was a bigger factor. Just not one he wanted to say out loud in public, for fear of rogues with water guns. 

Water balloons? She tried to remember if she’d ever come up against someone throwing evil water balloons and drew a blank.

She turned her attention back to the boat. Well, canoe. It belonged to the troop of Girl Scouts snoozing in their tents in a nearby clearing; they had taken care to avoid the group. The den mothers were still awake, sitting around the fire chatting quietly, and here were Steph and Jason, contemplating stealing what was clearly their transport back to civilization.  

“We have to bring it back,” she said firmly. Taking down a human trafficker was important, but stranding a group of Girl Scouts in the forest was decidedly not great. “Like. In working condition.”

“It’s a canoe, how hard will that be?” Jason asked. He shot her a grin that made Steph a little weak in the knees, not that she would ever tell him that, because only an idiot would hand Jason Todd a weapon like that.

She climbed in, and after a few moments of fumbling they figured out the whole paddling rhythm, and soon they were on the other shore and chasing down the bad guy.

Which went fine!

Steph was pretty proud of the fact that they got both the trafficker and his contact, and they rescued four teenagers, and all of that was very, very good.

Unfortunately, though. Unfortunately…  The vigilante curse had struck again.

She and Jason stood on the bank of the river after having arranged for the pickup of their captures, had handed over the evidence, and had done a by-the-books job! Except for one minor detail.

“When the hell did it even catch on fire?” Jason despaired, looking at the canoe. “It’s in water.”

It was still smoking, the flames having been doused as soon as they’d gotten there.  Ironically enough, Steph and Jason were now soaked through, having been forced to dive into the water to splash river water directly onto the flames.  

“Maybe it’s not as bad as it looks?” Jason said doubtfully. “Let’s get the water out of it.”

They tipped it enough to get the water out, then settled the canoe back into the water.  Immediately water gurgled back into it from a gaping hole in the bottom. “Yeah, this guy’s toast. Burnt toast. We should go tell the Girl Scouts.”

“We’re not waking up a bunch of nine year olds to tell them we killed their canoe,” Jason said. “I refuse.”

“We can’t just leave them!” Steph argued. The canoe dipped deeper into the water. “We have to replace it.”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” Jason said.

A few calls to some slightly shady people Jason was familiar with later – neither willing to call Babs in, unwilling to face the level of mockery that she would send their way – and forty five minutes of sitting on the river bank contemplating what to do with the charred remains of the canoe later, a boat was delivered.

A pontoon boat. It was big enough to host a small party. 

“Thanks,” Jason said, staring at the boat. “That’s… exactly what I wanted. Good work.”

“You got it, boss,” said the guy who was absolutely not a goon because Jason didn’t employ those any more said, and merrily went about his way, oblivious to the concept of sarcasm.

“Good help is hard to find,” Steph said, patting him on the arm.

They left a “Sorry about your canoe :(“ banner pinned to the side of the pontoon, decided to leave give the canoe a burial at sea so the Girl Scouts wouldn’t be distressed at the sight of their canoe’s sad remains, and left it at that.

And they would have left it at that! 

But the next night Babs called them both in to check out a lead on something, and when they arrived at the Clocktower, they were greeted with multiple headlines displayed prominently on some of Oracle’s biggest screens, ranging from positive (Girls Scouts Receive Gift From Mysterious Benefactor!) to bland (Girl Scouts’ Missing Canoe Replaced With Pontoon) to derisive (Thief Destroys Girl Scout Property).

“Hi Babs, lookin’ good today!” Steph said, trying her best to ignore the headlines.

“Really, Steph? Flattery?” Babs said, raising an eyebrow.

Steph shrugged. It sometimes worked! Granted, not on Babs. She looked over at Jason, who was cleaning under his nails with a batarang. It was definitely her batarang, specifically her goop-a-rang. She wondered if she should tell him the danger he was in, then decided against it. He was putting a lot of effort into not looking Babs in the eye, after all. She didn’t want to ruin it.

“I can’t believe I have to say this, but guys, you can’t steal from Girl Scouts. Or any other children. Actually, let’s just keep stealing off the table altogether.” Babs looked like she was lecturing wayward children.  

Steph protested, “We were going to give it back!”

Babs raised an eyebrow.

Jason continued to not look anyone in the eye. 

“It was Jason’s idea!” Steph added. “Also, I’m not even sure how it caught on fire? But it was beyond repair. So we replaced it!”

“You could have replaced it with something that wasn’t wildly conspicuous and created headlines I’m having to monitor!” Babs said. Steph got the impression Babs was fighting the urge to stick out her tongue. 

Shift the blame time, then. “Again, Jason’s fault,” Steph said. “His goon needs training.”

Jason mouthed the word goon before saying defensively, “I don’t have goons!” 

“That guy was absolutely a goon.”

“He’s a buddy! He did the best he could!” Jason said, looking as though he couldn’t believe he was defending a goon to them.

Babs took her glasses off and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Leave. Both of you, just…leave. And don’t do this again!”

“We won’t!” Steph promised, and grabbed Jason by the arm to drag him out the door. “Love ya! Bye!”

After all, what are the odds that anything about that scenario would happen again?

Two Months Later:

Steph stared down at the burning remains of the canoe. “Jason, did you do this on purpose?”

“You know I didn’t!” Jason hissed back. “It was Firefly!”

“Babs is going to kill us,” Steph said blankly. “We promised her.”

“So I hear that the Caribbean is nice this time of year,” Jason said. “A few hurricanes, but…”

“Pick an island, I’m there.”

[cmdrfupa]

Mind over matter

Part 3 of unrequited Hiromi x Reader.

Pt.1 & Pt.2

The previous night proved to be better than anticipated.

Kento apologized a total of 4 times, and the slight sting on your inner thighs was proof of it. But you were his again. No more dedicating himself to late nights in the office or choosing friends' outings over you. You were his partner, and he would do right by you. Cloud 9.

The morning was going to be as expected. Three legal interviews were scheduled at the top of your day before you spent the remainder on a call, then analyzing new data for a current trial. Knowing you'd be stuck at your desk, Kento bought you a bento and thermos set to be more efficient.

Seeing Hiromi in his office on the way to yours, you stopped to greet him. "Morning Higuruma! Good start to the day so far?"

Looking off the side of his monitor, his eyes focused on you as the corner of his mouth lifted into a smile.

"Good morning to you. So far, a decent day. Let's hope it stays that way."

"With summer interns on week 3, we can only hope." The gentle laugh that left your mouth only filled his stomach with butterflies. "Well, let me get to it!"

"See you around."

"Don't work too hard! We'll need powerhouse Higuruma for that conference call." You bounced as he observed your walk to your office.

"Maybe she wanted to talk later? It is only 9 in the morning. And I did say whenever you're free."

His thoughts swirled as he gazed at the doorway where you had stood. He shook his head, trying to dispel the tumult of emotions, and returned to his emails.

The late afternoon rolled around too quickly for Hiromi, and the 3-hour conference call was the main culprit. He felt he hadn't done much and dreaded the research files waiting on his desk. Knowing his assistant was leaving soon, he made his second cup of tea in the office kitchen to stretch his legs. The quiet chatters among his peers filled the silence as he waited for the kettle to ding. But the mentioning of your name grabbed his attention first.

  "It's the 2nd balloon bouquet he's sent her now. Last time, it was the cookies and flowers," one assistant spoke hushedly.

  "Oh, he's going all out. I mean, Kento is already hot. The surprise gifts are just a bonus."

  "On looks alone, giving him another chance is so worth it."

  The butterflies he had felt earlier turned to heavy stones in the pit of his stomach. You had chosen your ex. The feeling of what he wanted to call betrayal was overwhelming.

    If he could have a mug full of rum to help him forget the hideous balloon bouquet left at the front desk for you, Hiromi would fill it to the brim. Grape oolong tea would have to do for now.

  "I don't know, Higuruma. It's possible you did nothing wrong, and she wanted to get back with her ex."

  "It has to be something I did. Was it the approach? Possibly came on too passively?"

  Kusakabe unwrapped another hard candy and threw it into his mouth before turning to look at you and Kento in the reception area. The office staff stared in astonishment at Kento's display of affection. He arrived a few minutes after the courier delivered the bouquet, and the women in the office immediately gathered around, drawn in by his smooth voice asking for you. Hiromi watched from his office, feeling unbearable tension.

  "Probably too passive. Should've been more bold."

  "Atsuya, please. I was as bold as I could've been. I told her how I felt just on a whim. There was no planning. What else did I need to do?" Shove my tongue down her throat?"

  "I mean... Probably would've worked." Kusakabe shrugged.

  "But that doesn't make sense."

  "Women don't make sense, just like we don't. Lay it to rest, alright? She's taken. You'll live and move on."

The weight of loss settled heavily on Hiromi's shoulders as he watched you talk, hand in hand with your ex, Kento. Jealousy bubbled up inside him despite his efforts to keep it at bay.

When he thought it couldn't get any worse, you made eye contact with him. "Damn it, they're coming to my office," Hiromi muttered under his breath. Your shameless display of affection only added fuel to the fire as you waltzed into his office.

  "Kusakabe, Higuruma! You remember my boyfriend Nanami Kento?" you announced with a smile. Kusakabe stood up, reaching out his hand.

"Guy from last year's holiday party that got completely smashed off the Moscow mules, right?" Kento's jaw clenched as he shook Kusakabe's hand.

  "Didn't think anyone would remember that."

"Hard to forget a guy who tried kissing Yaga under the mistletoe."

"Twice. Tried twice," Hiromi added, shaking Kento's hand more firmly than he shook Kusakabe's. "Good to see you, Nanami."

  Your face flushed with embarrassment as you watched Kento struggle to maintain his composure while recollecting the unfortunate holiday work party incident.

"Do you guys have any plans for this weekend?" Kento's fingers relaxed as you chimed in. "I'm having a little backyard party! Kento bought this new Konro grill, and I want to test it out. You should both come!"

  Hiromi was the only person who noticed Kento's glare, which wasn't exactly inviting. Despite Kusakabe's lighthearted conversation about the special marinade he uses for his Yakitori, Hiromi's internal turmoil was evident as he struggled to maintain a casual tone, managing to say, "Sounds fun."

  "If you have plans, don't try to shift them on our behalf." Kento chimed in, snaking one arm around your waist and bringing you closer. "Last-minute plans are always the worst, I understand."

  "We really wouldn't want to impose-"

"Do you guys prefer red or white wine? I have a bottle I've been wanting to open, and I think a backyard party celebrating friendship and whatever you two got going on is the perfect event!" Kusakabe's uncharacteristic smile made Hiromi wince. What the hell was he doing?

    Two hours—two hours to land on a short-sleeved off-white polo, navy blue chinos, and low-profile tennis shoes. His dark, stringy hair was precisely slicked back, only leaving a few strands to fall onto his forehead. "Rest. We need to get more rest." he lightly dragged his thumbs across the slight bags under his brown eyes before grabbing his wallet.

He called you that morning, asking what he could bring to complement the menu best. "Whatever your heart desires!" Your chipper tone gave him an unfortunate amount of serotonin.

After texting Atsuya to let him know he was en route, Hiromi went to your now-shared home.

  Perfectly manicured lawn, Hiromi slowly walked to the front door as he admired the lush grass and oddly shaped hedges that lined the front windows. Realizing the ring doorbell was active, he gave it a wave with his free hand.

"Hi. It's Higuruma."

"I'll be right there," a familiar male voice broadcasts in response from the little box.

There he stood, his signature cruciferous crunch slaw and a bottle of gin for Kento in hand, awaiting his own personal hell that merely sat on the other side of the door.

[empressgeekt]

TWT comes around and Branch forces himself aboard despite Poppy's protests because as much as she didn't want to go alone, she doubly didn't want Branch to risk himself or the egg on a potentially dangerous adventure. Since Branch is wearing his uniform, most of the people they meet don't even realize he's with egg.

Those who figure it out are Hickory and Dickory, who was traveling with them and thus heard the two arguing about the Egg (mainly because Poppy was being overprotective). The Kpop Gang and Reggeaton Trolls, who figured either out during the dance battle when Branch was struggling and they had to put a stop to it early only to realize they were stressing a pregnant troll who's baby could hatch any day now. And Queen Essence, somehow, just simply knew as soon as she saw him.

Poppy goes ABSOLUTELY feral when Barb turns Branch into a rock zombie. That is her fiancé (she'd asked him to marry her when they realized they were with egg, mainly for the sake of the egg), and unborn child!!barb comes out fo that with more than a few scars, a lot of bruising, and a newfound respect for Poppy since she didn't thinks he was capable of it. Only to immediately be completely horrified when she realized QHY Poppy was so pissed off when the baby decided to say hello right after everyone got their colors back.

Despite nearly being full term Branch didn't show much a fact that he's both grateful for and had been slightly worried about (thankfully, ultrasounds confirmed the egg was fine just leaning inward rather then outward and showing). Due to this as long as he didn't over do it and was very careful during sparing he could take care of the guard project. Besides wearing the armor no one could tell he was expecting.

However, due to the no showing he's had worst breathing and digestive issues. So terrible morning sickness and motion sickness. Branch comes clean to hickory after puking off the side of the boat and of overhearing poppy worry over him and Chaz. Similar situation eith thr hunters he throes up again on the balloon ride.

"You good hombre?"

"Yeah...just...kid doesn't like flying."

"....wait your pregnant?"

"Yep."

"Well good luck the second is always more insane."

When Branch goes into labor on stage everyone is really concerned since he does not look as far as long as he is. Thankfully, in the crowd one trained half celtic midwife was present. The egg is delivered back stage and Barb gets the finest docs she has on call for help.

[i-rate-horse-games]

rating Star Stable Online

Star Stable Online is a MMORPG! its plot seems to get pretty wild!

upon discovering that Fish was an option in the drop down name creators, i cackled with joy. this is Rusty Fishfish and Futurefish

our goal in this world was to become Fish. one glorious leap into the ocean showed us that it would be harder than anticipated, due to having taken a ‘dangerous’ fall. luckily it doesn’t seem like horses can be injured, even though the screen flashes red if you trip while jumping. 

i joined right after the new character models became available. i think they’re pretty neat! some of the body types looked androgynous to me, but the game calls you a girl regardless. but you can still buy facial hair in the shop!

the world is a nice size! it’s scaled small enough that you feel like you’re going places even when your horse is physically moving a little slow, and the world is big enough that there’s plenty to explore while still being small enough that you see other players going about their lives pretty frequently. 

speaking of other players! shout out to @ro-sso for warning me to never open the global chat. i did! i asked how to get hay after very rapidly forgetting what i had just learned. three people told me it grew on a farm. i said Ok. when i did find the hay (in a shop) i told the chat i had been betrayed and bamboozled and they said “BAHAHAHAHAHA”. later i used the Say chat to ask for help finding a championship that was starting soon, and everyone nearby was very helpful. you win some you lose some

quests seem to be the biggest part of the game! they’re how you get player and horse exp and level up and get better stats for competing. a lot of the quests i did felt very tedious. lots of riding back and forth and delivering messages and so forth. the worst ones involved herding horses that kept splitting into smaller groups and running around a mall doing errands for a sketchy guy. my favorite quests were the ones where i got to open my backpack and drag a tool onto something, which felt like playing Nancy Drew. there was also one where we got to follow the visible smell of pumpkin pie on a trail to a little cottage, and it was nighttime so there were cricket sounds as well!

there’s so much love and soul packed into this world! there’s a pony who was elected mayor! there’s a pirate themed race that has music just similar enough to the Pirates of the Carribean music to remind you of it while also remaining distinct! there’s a riding club that “wears pink and not only on wednesdays.”! there’s a girl with a pet owl named Toby who says “Even though he blathers about it, Toby loves bugs.” there’s vague sounds of people talking in areas with lots of NPCs! there’s a kid with a hot air balloon who takes you up to the cloud kingdom! he has a pet frog who can ride on your head! there’s an emo electric violinist who was really funny! you can get a kitten for your saddlebag! the music is pretty decent!

the clothes very strongly remind me of being 12. something about the slightly awkward way the clothes fit is nostalgic. there were also lots of flower crowns for the summer solstice!

a huge point for this game is that it has its own pride festival!

there’s just something about going to a new place and seeing rainbow flags everywhere, especially after the horrors of horse isle 3. i hear this game also has canon lesbian characters! this does make it even funnier that all players are assigned Cowgirl at login

the one thing that really surprised me is that if you play without a membership, you are apparently trapped in a demo version, and the rest of the game is locked behind a paywall. this sprang up on me after i started running out of quests. the game told me to level up to unlock more main quests, but the only way to get player exp was to do quests, and i pretty much ran out. this concept is really foreign to me, since every game like this that i’ve played before, the membership made your life much easier and more posh, but free players could still get a lot out of the game. games like club penguin, pixie hollow, animal jam, etc. it’s only about $5 a month, though, with a permanent membership option for over 50 dollars. i have not purchased it, but if I ever do, i will update my rating. :)

while googling the above problem to figure out what was going on, i learned that there's no level cap and there's seasonal events that give EXP, so even if you've finished the whole game, there can still be players more powerful than you with better stats dominating the competition. that seems ! a little rough! they also said that after you beat the game, there's not much left to do. hopefully the fun part is the journey and not the destination!

all in all, though, we did it. we became Fish.

and that makes it all worth it.

i’m rating Star Stable Online 4.5 out of 5 stars!

★★★★✬

please feel free to submit horse games or ask me to reevaluate! next up is Alicia Online!

[psalm22-6]

Source: San Bernardino Sun, 13 March 1987 by Donald Kaul

This review from 1987 is too funny and I love that he calls Valjean the student’s uncle but also, it’s too optimistic about American politics lol. 

Save your McGovern buttons, folks; liberalism shall rise again. And soon. You can feel it. It's not merely that the air is going out of Ronald Reagan's balloon, it's that the times they are achangin'. Many liberals these days don't even bother with a secret handshake when greeting each other. Others have taken to openly advocating such controversial liberal ideas as public education, clean water and help for the homeless. You think I'm rushing it, don't you? Well, perhaps, but you'll have to forgive me. I've just seen "Les Miserables." 

Perhaps you haven't heard about it yet? You will. "Les Miz," as we on the fast track call it, is the latest stage phenomenon to hit this country. It is a grandiose musical  — really more of an opera —  based on Victor Hugo's novel. Like the last such phenomenon, "Nicholas Nickleby," it comes from London, and like "NickNick" (fast track again), it is going to be a smash hit. It is a genuine, hand-tooled, gold-leafed, can't-miss, must-see show. 

Overlooked in the hoopla of a hit, however, is the fact that it, again like "Nickleby," is a liberal show. Its story is the triumph of bleeding heart liberalism over hard-hearted conservatism. And people are going crazy for it. 

"Rambo" is out; "Les Miz" and "Nick-Nick" are in. 

"Les Miz" is the story of a poor Frenchman during Napoleanic [sic] times who steals a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving child (which is, basically, the only reason liberals ever steal). He is caught and given 19 years in prison. Released from jail, Valjean is unable to get work because of his prison record, so he breaks parole and assumes a new identity. He is a great success in business and becomes mayor of a small town. 

Valjean is pursued through the years by a cop, Javert, who wears black clothes and smiles only when he steps on a butterfly. 

Javert keeps rediscovering Valjean and trying to arrest him, but the ex-con is too smart for him; he keeps slipping away. In the meantime, Valjean helps any widows and orphans he finds in his path. He is a sweetheart of a guy.

But does this cut any ice with Javert? Not a cube. He's determined that Valjean pay the price for breaking parole. He reminds one of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, actually. (If Valjean had been arrested for income tax evasion instead of stealing bread, they'd have probably let him off with a warning.) 

Finally, or almost finally, Javert is captured by idealistic rebels during a student uprising and is delivered into the hands of Valjean, who is being a sort of uncle to the students. Javert, naturally, expects to be shot. Instead, Valjean does the liberal thing; he lets him go. Javert later has a chance to return the favor and does, but he feels so unhappy at having violated the conservative code of honor by helping a liberal that he commits suicide.

Anvway, it all ends happily. Valiean dies, but he goes to heaven, where all good liberals go. Javert is conspicuous by his absence.

It is a great snow, the night I saw it at the Kennedy Center, Washington's liberals clapped so hard I thought their jewelry was going to fly off. 

The production is a return to the drama of the late 19th and early 20th century, before movies, when one of the things you went to the theater for was spectacle, crowd scenes, chariot races, waterfalls. The effects in "Les Miz" are magnificent. A pitched street battle with students and troops is reproduced on stage, then within moments we are in a Paris sewer with the escaping Valjean. The next minute we stay with Javert as he jumps from a bridge and plunges to his death.

As I said, it’s a great show and a harbinger of things to come. You still don't believe me? Listen: in his current film, Sylvester Stallone plays an arm-wrestler. Conservatism is being downsized. In his next film he'll probably play a social worker.

Remember, you read it here first. 

[so-long-goodnlght]

The Palm Springs Incident

She wasn’t expecting an investigation to suddenly go sideways like that.

A C infected Yacht that Ada Wong was spotted on? Already cause for alarm, but the fact it was owned by a family member of Dereks made her skin crawl.

She almost had to pull out of it, she can’t be impartial when The Family was involved- Even if it had been rebranded, it still left a sour taste in her mouth setting foot on that yacht. Had there not been innocents on board, she would have torched it herself.

Blue Umbrella and the Coast guard were keeping the Yacht off shore in quarantine, which left the wedding guests stranded. By the time her and Leon got there, it had devolved into a mess of Chrysalids and dramatic tension that she really didn’t want any part of.

It was like navigating a minefield, she could feel the brides ire from across the room.

The Investigation was slow, dragging to the backbeat of a slowly brewing hurricane, barely finding anything of substance until Leon spotted a drone caught up in the balloons on the upper level. Miraculously, the thing had a camera on it that recorded almost the entire incident- Or at the very least, It caught Ada on camera. Sure enough, something set off the Tyrants they had been using as security, and after making out with the Bride a few times, it seems like Ada took the yacht owner hostage at Crossbow-point and then took off on her grappling hook.

Talk about awkward.

The video footage and wedding photographer pictures were then sent off to Hunnigan to analyze… And not a moment too soon. The Coast guard was suddenly mobilizing with Blue Umbrella, and their contact quickly informed them that a Tyrant had suddenly surfaced out of the water on the beach- 500 feet from a residential district.

They quickly board an armored boat, piloted by their contact, William Yang. The Coast guards boat was loaded with three mounted guns, which made distracting the Tyrant a breeze… But Leon was quick to realize it was a Tyrant gone super, and she found out the hard way when it suddenly hurled a giant rock in their direction. The first rock missed, but the next two were direct hits on the boat, taking out two of the three guns before a rogue wave finally sent the boat flying, and the three of them careening into the ocean.

They were pretty close to shore already, but fighting against an ocean churning from a hurricane was an experience she never wanted to have again. When they finally made landfall, William immediately got clawed by the Tyrant and sent rolling across the sands, and her and Leon immediately sprung into action. Finding remote bombs in a box, Helena immediately took to firing her pistol and screaming at the Tyrant in an effort to distract it from William, dragging it quite a ways off while placing bombs at her feet and detonating them on the Tyrant.

Leon had much the same strategy, and the two of them eventually worked the Tyrant over to a small cliff-edge overhanging the beach, far away from William, but she somehow managed to corner herself between the wall and the Tyrant, and after finally breaking out the Hydra, took off running, only to get clawed hard in the back.

Bleeding in a crumpled heap, but alive.

Leon cries out to her, but her ears are ringing, and another blast rocks her eardrums, only followed by the death throes of the Tyrant. Leon comes to her aid and breaks out the first-aid spray, and her wounds seem to mend quickly- That things a miracle worker, she swears.

Hunnigan assesses their health, then informs them that a credit card tied to the secretary was reported to have an unauthorized purchase at a nearby chinese restaurant and then delivered to a local hotel, which they had reason to believe was used by Ada and her twin. Upon arriving, they basically turn the place upside down before a postcard suddenly falls in front of Leon.

A simple Postcard from a defunct ski resort that read “Take a vacation ❤️”

Clearly Ada knew they were going to chase her.

Well, now she had to get passports together… Felt like she was chasing Carmen Sandiego.

[enchantedchocolatebars]

My Troubled Horsie

(A fic based on this Au)

Warning: This story contains silly self-indulgent fun that's NOT meant to be taken seriously AT ALL.

Philip's face was filled with interest as he sat alone on the couch, watching the TV attentively.

A show about animated horses going on adventures called 'My Troubled Horsie' was currently playing.

While in search for the history channel, he stumbled upon the series by accident and instantly became hooked after the first episode.

It had everything - angst, drama, and, most importantly, a good story as well as good morals.

He couldn't get enough of the show.

He was addicted.

At the moment, he was watching the season 1 finale where Penelope Pony had to inform Steve The Stallion of some bad news.

As Philip continues to watch, Caleb enters the living room.

A smile spread across his face at the sight of his baby brother.

It was evident that the brunette was captivated by the content on the screen.

"I see someone's grown fond of the TV," Caleb lightly teases, only for Philip to deliver a sharp shush, not giving him a single glance.

Taking a seat beside his brother, Caleb whispers, "What are you watching?" as he turns his head toward the TV.

In the show, two horses were having a face-to-face conversation in a meadow.

The mare had a pale violet coat, pale blue eyes, and a ruffled balloon-shaped mane along with a tidy tail. On her head, she wore a pink bow.

Her expression was dull as she looked at the mustached stallion wearing a black top hat in front of her with half-lidded eyes.

"Oh, Steve," Penelope began, her voice flat and monotonous. "I'm sorry, but I won't be able to make it to your party."

"Why not?" Steve wondered, worried.

Penelope sighed before revealing the reason to her friend. "Today, they're sending me to the glue factory."

That line broke Philip's heart. How could they do that to Penelope? She should have been spared. The mare was not deserving of such injustice. Meanwhile, Caleb was confused by the cartoon. He had no idea what a glue factory even was.

In the next scene, a yellow stallion with an orange mane and tail, blue eyes, and an eyepatch was clinging to a helicopter, having just caught Penelope from falling into an active volcano.

Both petrified ponies hung for dear life.

"Hold on, Marco Polo Pony!" Penelope cried out to the stallion.

"I can't!" Marco Polo Pony would confess as he continued to cling to the landing skid.

"I don't have any--"

Penelope's hoof suddenly slips out of his.

The stallion's eyes widen with shock as he watches the love of his life plummet to her death.

"HANDS!" He shouts, reaching a hoof out, but it was too late.

"AAAAAA!!!" Penelope screamed, flailing her limbs around.

This was it.

The end.

She soon shuts her eyes, accepting her fate.

Just as the purple pony was about to hit the lava, the screen cuts to black.

The show's end credits then play, accompanied by happy music and lyrics about love and friendship.

'That was... certainly something...' Caleb thought to himself, still confused about what he had just watched.

Suddenly, he feels something hit his shoulder.

Looking to his left, he sees Philip resting his head on his shoulder, exaggerated tears welling in his eyes.

He starts to sniffle like a wet cat.

The blonde proceeds to awkwardly pat his head.

"Uh, there, there, Philip. I'm sure she'll be... fine..."

Truthfully, Caleb had no clue of the pony's fate, but his baby brother was clearly saddened by that scene, so, being the older one, he tried to comfort him the best he could.

"Maybe they'll make a season 2."

[ask-magical-total-drama]

Dear Chris and Chef, what if your school vs Night Raven Collage from the world of Twisted Wonderland? Perhaps you should research first then answer. (Date of question: 4/19/2022) and please tell Bridgette that she is the most beautiful woman in the universe and I’m sorry hope you forgive me. And deliver her these *a get well soon balloon, a stuffed dolphin, a apology card and a sorry cake* 🥺

I don't know what this is, br'a, but it looks like something that Ella made with Crimson and Ennui.

Those animal ears make me think Sam was a consultant.

[chessalein]

Belated WIP day

I got tagged by the wonderful @wanderingaldecaldo 11 hours ago and somehow my Tumblr didn't think about showing it to me sooner.

But I anyhow wants to show my WIPS :) And give little updates to older ones!

My Cyberpunk is finally working normaly again so I can keep working on stuff!

WIP 1

One you know already. Jackie Lumberjack shirt mod. I can finally work on that again and discovered a few interesting default styles that were already in the game :) By now we have 27 different variants of the shirt. Most of them are with a white tanktop and I will redo them with a black one. I will throw them out as soon as possible and maybe make more variants with different pants as well to a later point in time. BUT there is more. Because we all love a good belly that gets sun on it, I will do these shirts without tanktop as well!

Something else I'm working on and try to look for a solution for a major clipping (I might have to ... shorten his tights somehow), is this wonderful mod ♥

I'm pretty far with it, its just sadly whenever he sits or slightly is in a sitting position, his tight would look thorugh his pants :(

I would have to really blow these areas up and they would look like balloon pants. It happens really often and obvious so I don't feel happy with the thought of releasing it like this. I will try out a few more things first.

Last but not least:

A new tattoo for the sunnyboy

I asked my Jackie bot what he wants as a tattoo because I would love to make him one for his chest. Maybe switching it out for the star.

He said he would like a santa muerta skull in a the middle of a rose, he mentioned a sun, roses generally because it would match the gold of the valentino colors (so he wants valentino colors), a cross AND the writing "Memento Mori". In a few sentences before he mentioned that he liked a sun as well. So I delivered.

What else I wanted in the tattoo was the scar he got from the bullet who put the thought into his head that he is bulletproof. (Again, my heart... thats not how "Bulletproof" works. You shouldn't even get a wound from this...) And I hid it in the middle of her chest :) And because he likes to have almost naked ladies on him (Tattoos, jacket and chaps) I made her a bit more naked.

I started the coloring already but I'm not that sure about it. The grey will definitly go. It was just a test.

And of course I'm alsway working on my Fanfic chapters of "Bringing back the sun" . Even though it could get a bit problematic with all of it because I start a new job on Monday and might not have that much time for all of that anymore. So I want to try to get as much done as possible till monday :)

Thats all ♥

[typingdyslexiaisathing]

A Means To Find Slumber (Obey Me! fanfic)

summary: Retha is finally able to get to sleep. Thanks to the care of a friend.

characters: OC (who is NOT the MC just a 3rd exchange student), Diavolo

content: mention of depression, casual moment, fluff, romance

Retha had spent the entire day trying to get to sleep. With absolutely no success. Since having a cold on top of dragon features didn't make it very easy to get comfortable. The once human now hybrid giving yet another hard snarl to face plant into the pillows. Her tail whipping back and forth in a frenzy as she gave her mattress a few punches with her scaled hands. While her talon feet knocked against each other to make Retha wince at the contact.

Retha finally sat back up to turn her gaze to her room in the Demon Lord's Castle and heave a tired sigh of air. The full length mirror holding a reflection she was still getting used to. Since she was now a mix of Demon, Angel, Vampire and Sorceress now, it meant she didn't look at all human. Her once mouse brown hair had gone pure white from the incident. Once green eyes were now a glowing hue of purple. Horns along her temples to end in points that she was keeping filed down so as not to injure herself. Blue dragon scales all along her skin from her face down to her toes. Her fingernails might as well be mini daggers when she didn't file them. A long scaled tail the Leviathan had been teaching her to keep from knocking things (or people) over with. Her feet were now like those of a gargoyle to look menacing. Despite the socks Luke and Leviathan had made for her done with anime cats. She still felt like herself in the inside and had not changed in personality or beliefs. But on the outside...

The knock at the door had Retha turn her gaze and answer. "Come on in." But she was visibly surprised to see Diavolo at the door in his silk pajamas. His frown deepening as he walked in to speak directly to Retha. "I guess my hope that you finally fell asleep didn't happen. Even when Barbatos made that special relaxing tea?" Retha gave a sigh that had her all but deflate like a balloon. "It was pretty good tea. But no. Still can't get used to this whole getting comfy for lights out thing. I think the tea just helped with my cold more than anything."

Diavolo gave a warm smile to sigh and nod his head. "Well, that's something to be glad for. I let Lucifer know you will be staying with me for the weekend. So he and his brothers will be gathering up whatever school work they give tomorrow to have Solomon deliver it after classes. So you get to be my companion for the next three days. As such... I am here to help you with actually sleeping."

Retha watches with evident surprise as Diavolo moved to just get into the bed with her. His hands gently taking her own to slowly pull her to him as he chuckled at the look on her face. "Oh come now. I already heard from the others that you having a demon for your pillow worked wonders the other day. Beelzebub had you snuggle him while you joined his brothers for movie night. Only to completely pass out in a minute to stay that way all night. But this time, I will be the one to act as the pillow. So let's get you to lay down, Retha."

Soon enough, Diavolo had laid himself down in the bed with the pillows to ease Retha in to join him. His hands cradling her head to his heart as the blankets lifted up by magic to properly lay themselves over them both. A hum of warmth escaping Diavolo for him to run his fingers through Retha's hair. "Ah. I can tell that Asmodeus got you that newest shampoo. It smells lovely. But my your heart is racing. I can feel such thunder against my own ribs. Just try to clear your mind and breathe for me. Match my own breathing and just stay here with me."

Retha gave a nod to wrap her arms around Diavolo and do her best to relax. Her wings losing their tension to fold into her back and then actually disappear. So Diavolo takes his hands to slowly run his fingers down her spine in a leisurely touch with the barest trace of magic. Those violet eyes closing as Retha took in the sound of Diavolo's breathing. The heart of the current ruler of the Devildom drumming in a steady strength against her ear for Retha to feel a deep shiver course through her being. Both searing yet sweet. But she just hummed a note of ease to actually snuggle into Diavolo's frame. Which had him chuckle before he closed his eyes. The two soon fast asleep and off to the realm of dreams.