#also i noticed this account just hit 500 followers! how exciting...

[heropartnerweek]

A few quick reminders:

Late submissions are always welcome! Don't feel rushed to complete things or feel as though you can't submit anything just because the week is over. This event is not designed to stress people out, so feel free to create at your own pace.

With that said, I may be slower to reblog things now that the week is over.

If I missed any submissions, please @ this account again or send me an ask. If it's been a full day since you submitted something, then I probably missed it.

I mentioned this back when I sent out the interest check, but I, the main mod, will be unavailable for most of June. I will look into having a secondary mod keep tabs on everything while I am away.

With all that said, I'd like to thank everyone again for such a fantastic week! I hope everyone had fun!

[radiant-reid]

Hot wife request:

A photo of Reid’s hot wife just walking down the street or grocery shopping or doing whatever goes viral online. He obviously doesn’t know cuz he doesn’t use socials. The team discusses this beautiful lady only to find out she’s Reid’s wife when she stops by with the glasses he left at home.

gosh i love how much y'all have gotten into this because me too

also, this is set with him ↓ but modern

It's not unusual for Penelope to send Morgan TikToks while the BAU is off working a case somewhere around the country. Usually, they're cute ones of puppies, other animals, or babies. Today, though, it's a video of her current favorite Tiktoker who she caught onto just as she started blowing up.

The it's.y/nnnn account now has 500 thousand followers, and Penelope might be one of her biggest fans. She found the account on one of the first videos Y/n posted, a highlight reel of her best pictures in October. From there, it transformed into her doing trends and talking about her fabulous life while maintaining a healthy balance of being real, an incredibly rare feat.

Morgan watches it immediately, understanding Penelope's next message- OH MY GOD!!!- when he recognizes the street and suburb 18th Street NW, Adams Morgan. It's a video review of a Mexican restaurant, one he and Penelope had been at a week prior.

JJ and Elle, sitting with him at the boardroom table, notice his amusement. "What is it?" JJ asks.

"Penelope's favorite TikToker lives in DC." He reports, handing over his phone so they can see the video and read Penelope's following texts voicing her excitement. "Someone find Reid so I can tell her how many people live in DC and that it's not that surprising."

"Wait, no, this is good," Elle tells him, taking the phone from JJ's hand and scrolling through some of the other videos from the creator. She's heard Penelope hyping this girl up, but she wasn't curious until now. "Do you know if she's... you know?"

Morgan laughs. "What, you're going to go and stake out the restaurant and then hit on her?" He asks.

"She's hot." Elle shrugs. "You would if you had a chance."

That offends him, and he scoffs. "I absolutely would have a chance."

"Bullshit." She calls. "She's too hot for you."

Playfully wounded, he places a hand over his chest. "I'm wounded. JJ, back me up."

JJ looks like she doesn't want to pick sides, but since he's making her, she's honest with her answer. "I mean, she is really pretty."

Determined to validate himself, he asks the next person that walks in. Unfortunately, that's Hotch who's forced to watch three videos. "Do you think she'd get with me?" Morgan questions his boss.

Hotch gives him a hardened stare. "I think you should do your work." He states firmly, in his scary tone, and takes a seat before adding his answer in a whisper. "And no, I don't."

He gives up after that, not wanting to damage his ego further, and texts Penelope that he, too, is very excited by the revelation.

Every morning, Penelope gives the three of them an update on any developments she's found out, and every morning Morgan and Elle compete about who would be able to land her. Hotch quickly bans her from misusing FBI technology to uncover any personal information about a stranger and forbids her from printing memos for everyone.

She almost faints when the Y/n gets out of the elevator one morning, having to pinch herself, take off her glasses, and put them back on to make sure she isn't dreaming or hallucinating.

When she determines she's not, she rushes over, not going to miss her chance. "Oh my gosh, you're you!" She squeals, clearly catching Y/n off guard from the way she jumps.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Y/n asks awkwardly, hating when situations like this occur.

"Oh. Oh, no, but I'm a massive fan." Penelope gushes. "Your page is seriously my life goals. I'm Penelope."

She smiles gratefully. "Thank you so much." It feels weird for her to be recognized in public, especially when she's come to her husband's workplace.

It's then that Penelope notices the massive engagement ring on her finger next to the wedding band. "Oh my gosh, you're married?!" She asks excitedly, completely forgetting to ask a question about why an influencer is standing in the BAU. Y/n nods happily looking down at the ring. "To who?"

With near-perfect timing, Spencer walks through the glass doors and notices his wife and his colleague talking, frowning at them.

"Well, actually, to him." Y/n answers, nodding at her husband who's walking over to them.

"Hey, sweetheart." He greets her nonchalantly, coming to stand by her side and wrapping his arm around her waist. He then notices Penelope's shocked face, something he's never seen so intensely. "What's going on?"

She's practically speechless, but she doesn't need to speak when Elle, JJ, and Morgan turn up. "What's going on?" Morgan repeats the same question as Spencer, stunned like Elle is.

"Hey, I'm Y/n Reid." She introduces herself, shaking their hands.

"Wait, you have a sister?" Morgan asks. They don't look related but there's no chance in his mind that they're not dating.

Spencer completely misses the intention of the question. "No. Well, not that I know of, but I guess there's a chance I could have a half-sibling, but you'd tell me, right, Garcia?"

His wife rests her hand on his chest, signaling for him to stop while showing off her ring. "We're married."

"No shit," Elle remarks, raising her eyebrows.

Spencer's not only married, but he's married to a popular, stunning woman.

"Mhm." Spencer doesn't pick up on the looks being exchanged between the four of them as they try to work out how their relationship happened. She's model-level gorgeous, and Spencer, although they love him and know he's attractive, does not seem like he'd be her type. "I forgot my glasses." He informs them as Y/n takes them out of her handbag and gives the case to him.

"You've got to stay for lunch." JJ insists. "We have so such to ask you."

Morgan nods in agreement. "Like, if you weren't married to Pretty Boy, would you date me?"

[definitelynotafurinasimp]

How they like to spend your time together

Characters: Inazuma women x gn!reader (seperate)

Warnings: none, just fluff

a/n: Wanted to write something for Heizou, ended up writing all female Inazuma characters, but no Heizou instead. Sometimes my genius is… it’s almost frightening.

Call me sleep deprived, because I am-... sleep deprived.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Ayaka

Ayaka never had many people close to her, so simply having you around her was enough to make her day seem better in retrospect, that being said, there were a lot of things she’d like to try with you. She had always been a fan of the arts, and while writing poetry, learning dances and playing music alone already brought her joy, she always wondered how it would be to share her interests with others.

Whenever neither of you were busy, you’d meet up and write poems together, and while you weren’t exactly confident in your writing at the beginning, Ayaka did an excellent job at easing you in, all the while giving you small tips for how to improve yourself.

“This is even better than the last one, although you might want to try structure it like this next time. From my experience, it makes the poem sound smoother”, she recommended before showing you her piece of paper, all the while wearing a small, but genuine smile, reflecting how excited she felt about having someone to share her experience in writing with.

Kujou Sara

While there were many things Sara did outside of work, none of them could compare when it came to the time, she’d spend trying to better her skills with the bow. So, when you asked her if she’d have time to teach it to you, she was quick to accept. And while her behaviour during your lessons often resembled how she’d teach archery to her soldiers, she’d feel much prouder and happier whenever she noticed you improving. Was it because you were much closer to her than her soldiers or just because of your terrible skill in the beginning.

When you were taking aim, Sara quickly positioned herself behind you, only to stop you before you could let the arrow loose, grabbing the arm with which you held the bow before adjusting its angle.

“Hold the bow like this or the bowstring might hit your forearm”, she stated, only for you to nod, aim once more and let the bowstring go, and while you were far from hitting the bullseye, you, for the first time, didn’t miss, causing you to excitedly turn to Sara, only to be greeted by a barely visible smile and a look of approval.

Kuki Shinobu

There was no-one in the whole of Inazuma whose amount of certificates could rival Shinobu’s. After all, while some would collect coins or other things as a hobby, she seemed to do the same with degrees, seemingly never going a long time between taking exams for different certificates. All of that made it fair to say that there probably wasn’t a better person to ask for help than her, and while she’d probably be able to explain everything from accounting to architecture to you, the two of you often found yourself cooking together, with her telling you how to make different dishes while you followed her commands.

Not only was it a easy enough thing to learn to hold a conversation while doing so, but you’d also automatically be rewarded with something to eat if you succeeded.

“Okay, next you take the roasted lavender melon and cut it in pieces”, Shinobu stated, only for both of you to realise that the purple fruit was nowhere to be seen. “Wait. You didn’t leave it over the fire, did you?”, she questioned, the answer to her question coming moments later as you began smelling something burned, causing you to rush over and try your best at damage control.

Ei

There weren’t exactly things Ei would call “her hobbies”, having spent the last 500 years in her Plane of Euthymia, and while training her fighting skills was something she liked doing before she sealed herself away, she knew well enough that training with you would only result in disaster, no matter how good you were. And so, she’d simply let you take the lead, participating in whatever activities you wanted the two of you to do.

Most of the time, the two of you would take small trips around Inazuma, no matter if it was inside the city, with you looking through the different stores as you showed her whatever new inventions or products made their way into the nation, or outside of it, taking in the beautiful nature that Ei hadn’t realised she missed so much.

“How does it taste?”, you asked Ei as she took a sip of the new drink being sold at your favourite shop, not having to wait long for a response, as Ei made a small nod before responding.

“Delicious, I can’t remember this being sold the last time we were here, is it new?”

“Mhm, it’s a recipe from a Mondstadt, they call it Barbatos’ tears of joy”, you stated, only for Ei to slightly cringe at the mention of the Anemo archon before acting as if nothing happened before you had the chance to say something.

“Good to know, let’s visit the next store.”

Kokomi

Kokomi, being the divine priestess of Watatsumi Island, had a lot of things to do during her day, was it managing the Island,  or helping the residents whenever they asked her for help. So, whenever she was done with work, she’d simply find a quiet place to read or rest in. And while relaxing alone was a good way to regain her energy points, when you were with her, she felt herself recharge even more efficiently than alone.

And while it was enough for you to just sit in the same room as her and silently do things on your own, there would be times during which Kokomi would feel too tired to read on her own, only for you to take her book and read it out loud for her. And while you didn’t exactly understand tactics and strategies for warfare, causing you to have little idea what you were reciting, it nevertheless worked.

“Are you feeling better now?”, you asked while closing the book, having finally finished it, glancing over to Kokomi, slumped over her desk, obviously having been exhausted by work, only for her to silently hum in response.

“Much better, just give me… 3 more minutes”, she mumbled out loud before growing silent again. And while it took you some time to realise that she had fallen asleep, you decided not to wake her, remaining on your seat to make sure nothing happened to her, sure that she’d wake up after a while.

She woke up several hours later

Yae Miko

While Yae loved to tease you, your reactions being even more amusing to her than others, not every moment the two of you spent together would be filled with her teasing. There were many occasions the two of you would just silently sit in the same room while reading whatever novels her publishing house was about to release, the comfortable silence being enough to make you forget about Yae’s other favourite activity besides reading.

Most of the times, that’d be the moment in which she struck, your reaction being enough to instantly improve her mood, no matter what genre she was reading, only to instantly shift her focus back to her novel, continuing to read as if nothing happened.

“That’s the novel everybody is talking about isn’t it?”, Yae’s voice rang out without warning, causing you to quickly look at her before nodding your head with a small smile, only for it to vanish once you saw her smug expression. “I heard it has a Kitsune in it. Is there something you want to tell me?”, she asked in her usual teasing voice, and while you ought to have grown accustomed to it by now, you still felt you face heat up, only for your thoughts to be disrupted by her laugh.

Yoimiya

Hanging out with Yoimiya always made for a day full of surprises, the energetic girl knowing a plethora of fun ways to spend time together, from just telling each other stories to playing with the many children she called her friends or testing out firework together. All in all, there wasn’t any activity the two of you did more frequently than others, that was with one exception.

Whenever a festival took place, you’d go. That was something like an unspoken rule between the two of you. No matter how much work both of you had to do first, you’d finish it and attend the festival, no matter how small.

“Wait, you are already done?”, Yoimiya asked while sticking her head out of her door, having summoned by you knocking on her door, and while she seemed to be in a rush, unfortunately for her, you had no idea what she was talking about.

“Done with what? I just thought we could hang out today”, you questioned in return, only for her to tell you to wait for a moment before vanishing back into her home, returning with a calendar. The entire following week being filled with different smaller festivals, suddenly making you realise what she had meant.

“Now that I think about it, there’s work left for me to finish, good luck!”, you said your goodbye before quickly making your way home.

[jovaybluejay]

Dumb Ways to Die Spoof Character Sheet

Flighty (Stand in the path of a plane’s flight)

A hurricane could happen around Flighty and he wouldn’t notice a thing. That’s how oblivious Flighty is to his surroundings, just happily wandering around without a care in the world. He also tends to wander into places he shouldn’t be in. Unfortunately, one of those places ended up being a runway at an airport. 

Blight (Play around on a building site)

Blight loves to play. In fact, just about any place in the world can turn into a playground for her. She especially enjoys playing around in high places and her favorite type of game is balancing on things. So when Blight came across a building site, there would only be so many ways that this could play out. It ended the worst possible way.

Goofus (Step into a lion’s cage at the zoo)

Goofus loves cats. To him, cats are sweet, cuddly and great companions. Goofus simply couldn’t get enough of the furry felines and loves all types, big and small. So when Goofus went to the zoo one day, Goofus couldn’t resist wanting to give a caged lion all of his love and affection. The lion did not feel the same way.

Kook (Use too much gas for your barbecue)

Kook was never good at math. When he ordered a pizza to be delivered to him, he gave the pizza delivery guy $500 when the pizza only cost ten. So when Kook was hosting a barbecue, Kook couldn’t figure out how much gas to use, so Kook decided to just use up an entire gallon. The idea blew up in his face.

Loone (Wear a jellyfish as a hat)

A trendsetter with an eye for fashion, there wasn’t anything Loone wouldn’t wear. Loone wore a dress made of flowers and used duct tape rolls as stilettos and gained a small following as a result. However, that style became so yesterday very fast, so Loone decided to set another trend by using a jellyfish as a hat. The fact that the idea did not catch on stung a lot.

Muggin (Rob a gun store with a baseball bat)

Muggin was never the brightest bulb, which was how he ended up becoming broke and destitute. Desperate for cash, Muggin decided to turn to a life of crime and decided to rob the first store he saw and stormed into the place with a baseball bat. Sadly for Muggin, that store was a gun store. Muggin took a shot at crime and failed while the store owner took a shot and succeeded.

Bozo (Throw a knife straight up in the air)

Being a member of a circus was Bozo’s dream job. However, Bozo would have to train for that if he were to achieve that goal. Within weeks, Bozo mastered all sorts of performances such as tightroping, unicycling, and acrobatics. Now all that was left was to master the art of juggling. Bozo wanted to practice with knives and decided to start off with juggling a single knife. Bozo wanted to join the circus, but he was already a clown.

Cretin (Go out in the snow in your underwear)

There are two things in life that Cretin enjoys the most. One of those things is going out in only his underwear as Cretin believes that clothes are too restricting for him. The other thing was snow. One day Cretin decided to put both of those things together. Being in his underwear in public that day, bystanders weren’t the only ones giving Cretin the cold shoulder.

Galah (Try to surf on a tidal wave)

When it came to surfing, Galah was the queen. When it came to having brains, Galah was the fool. Whether the day was rainy, windy, or snowy, Galah didn’t care. Any day was a good day for surfing, including the day a siren for an incoming tidal wave was announced. On the plus side, she certainly had one gnarly ride.

Divvy (Go explore inside a wolf’s cave)

Divvy worked in accounting, but was an adventurer at heart. Divvy had fantasies of going out and exploring the natural wonders of the world. So when Divvy took a vacation, she decided to spend that time exploring different areas, including a wolf’s cave. Also being a canine lover, Divvy assumed that wolves were just big dogs. The ones she encountered were definitely not man’s best friend.

Clunk (While there’s lightning climb a pole made of steel)

Clunk was an athlete and excelled in all things physical where his favorite activity was climbing. During his school days, P.E. was the only class he passed at. One of those classes that Clunk flunked in was science, so when a thunderstorm occurred during his attempt to climb a steel pole, the lesson on what happens when lightning makes contact with metal was very shocking to Clunk.

Dolt (Use a chainsaw to prepare your meal)

Dolt loved to cook, but he was constantly looking for various ways to improve his cooking. Dolt felt like his kitchen knives were too dull and inefficient with chopping ingredients. This led to Dolt using a different tool for cooking: a chainsaw. The chainsaw ended up fulfilling what it was meant to do, which was cutting things.

Klutz (Deep-sea dive with no air tank)

Klutz loved the ocean and everything that has to do with it. Klutz decided to get a good view of what the ocean had to offer by going deep-sea diving. However, Klutz was very forgetful, so in his excitement, Klutz forgot to pack an oxygen tank to go along with his diving suit. He also forgot that his diving suit did not have an unlimited supply of air.

Bogan (Scare an armed man as a prank)

If the dictionary were to come out with a new edition, Bogan’s picture should come up as the definition for “troublemaker”. Bogan is a massive prankster and no one is safe from his shenanigans. Bogan also has no consideration for the consequences of his actions, so when he blasted an air horn to scare an armed soldier, Bogan would not be having the last laugh.

Kuckoo (Let a giant snake creep around your waist)

When Kuckoo adopted a giant snake, the two really hit it off. It was a relationship that would not be broken easily. Kucko would let her reptilian friend wrap around her all the time. Their love was strong, but unfortunately for Kuckoo, so was her pet snake. Turns out her snake was an affectionate hugger who didn’t like letting go.

Noddy (“I wonder how this will taste?”)

Noddy was a curious individual. Even if it might end badly, she wanted to know the outcome for everything. Noddy was also quick to assume, so when she found a bottle, she assumed that the bottle was a drink and wanted to know what it tasted like. Spoiler alert, the taste was not good and neither was the aftermath.

Palooka (Take a hike up a steep unstable mountain)

Palooka was a bit of a daredevil who wanted to live life to the fullest. However, Palooka was also bad at judgement, like how he judged badly on which mountain to climb and chose a steep one. Palooka was also pretty clumsy and made another made judgement that a simple walking stick would be all that he’d to fix that. Once again, it was a bad judgement call.

Schlepper (Experiment with lots of deadly poison)

A science fanatic, Schlepper was obsessed with doing different lab experiments. He wasn’t trying to invent a cure for cancer or a new hair formula or anything like that. Schlepper just liked messing around with different chemicals and seeing what they could do. What Schlepper should have focused a bit more on, however, was lab SAFETY. Especially when he worked with poison.

Ditzy (Text and drive on an interstate freeway)

Whoever introduced Ditzy to texting probably regrets it right now. With texting, she discovered social media and became obsessed with taking photos of herself and posting and texting them to other people. She did it wherever and whenever she could, including on the interstate freeway.

Mutton (Drag race inside a tight-spaced area)

Mutton was a showoff, but the thing he loved showing off the most was his car and how fast it could go. Mutton was normally the winner of the drag races he participated in. One of the tracks took place in a tight-spaced suburban neighborhood and like any other race, Mutton burned rubber. In the end, Mutton lost and was crushed.

Chump (Merge into a busy lane without signaling)

Chump was a high-ranking member in the corporate world and didn’t feel like he had to play by the rules. He felt like he could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted to without anything bad happening to him, such as merging into another lane without using his turn signals. However, Chump ended up getting a crash course in why you should use turn signals, especially on busy roads.

Dumb Ways tp Die belongs to Metro and Tangerine Kitty Made using Krita

[hammerlocke-stadium]

C i j o for Raihan pliz? Also congratulations for hitting 500 followers!!!!! You totally deserve more!!!! :)

@ Anon 1: Thank you so much for your kind words I’m!!!

@ Anon 2: fluffaphet is such a cute shorthand for it omg

there was a couple more anons but i just deleted them bc theres so many asks already kjbbvkdjfv (to the anons that complimented me w ur raihan requests i would die for you)

Activities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Raihan loves going on runs and walks with his s/o, basically anything active really! But he also loves going on picnics in the wild area with them as well.

Beauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

He admires how strong they are emotionally! Dating someone who’s as famous as him is tough when the paparazzi try and ambush dates after all! Raihan thinks everything is beautiful about them but his favourite thing is their smile, especially when he’s the cause of it!

Comfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

Starts of by holding their hands and talking about anything he can think of, and when they start calming down Raihan gets closer and pulls them into his arms.

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

Lots of cuddles, making meals together and surprising each other with gifts, helping each other groom their pokemon and being happy and in love until they die.

Equal - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Raihan is pretty dominant! But he’s willing to bow to what his s/o wants if his enthusiasm is making them uncomfortable, all Raihan wants is them to be happy with him after all!

Fight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

When he’s fighting with his s/o Raihan tends to storm off to blow steam in the Wild Area so he can avoid saying anything he’d regret later in his anger. As long as his partner is willing to talk everything out, and have both of them walk out if they start getting angry again, then Raihan is pretty forgiving! He’s super big on communication.

Gratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Raihan is grateful everyday that his partner stays with him despite all the fans and paparazzi that follow him around so much. His partner tries to make him dinner everyday and swipes his laundry to do while he’s gone to lighten the load of what he has to do at home, Raihan’s heart bursts with love every time he comes home and finds them snoozing in a half folded basket of clothes.

Honesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Raihan shares most things with his s/o! But with things like the dynamaxed pokemon on the loose he doesn’t tell them until after its over with because then they don’t have to worry for hours or days or even weeks until the situation is dealt with; telling them after it’s done means they can get all the worry over in a day.

Inspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

His partner makes me him slow down and look at the things and people around him, he appreciates his friends a lot more upon realising how much attention is heaped on them just for knowing him. Raihan helps his s/o with being more confidant with them self. 

Jealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

He’s pretty confidant with his relationship! But if someone starts flirting with his s/o and doesn’t stop when they’ve told them that they’re already taken his jealousy rears its ugly head and he swans in to take his partner’s hand and walk away.

Kiss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

I’m bias but he is absolutely a good kisser. The first kiss with Raihan is rushed and giggly, he’s so excited they return his feelings he ends up bumping noses with them and laughing as they kiss.

Love Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

He’d do it in private, probably with a letter and some of their favourite flavours or if they’re allergic to flowers then their favourite food. Raihan would make sure they know that no matter their answer he still wants to be friends though.

Marriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

Yeah Raihan wants to get married someday, he really wants to find someone he loves and loves him back enough to spend the rest of his life with. Raihan would propose with an Applin! Instead of an evolution item it would be holding a ring though. Marriage with him would be full of fun little games and spontaneous dates! It would probably feel like being in their honeymoon forever.

Nicknames - What do they call their s/o?

Babe, Love, Hun, Fae (bc they’re his greatest weakness ;) lmao).

On Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

He’s naturally very touchy feely already so unless they’ve known him for a while they won’t notice that he’s in love.

PDA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Raihan doesn’t care about anyone’s opinion but his s/o’s about the pda but he refuses to hide their relationship like a dirty secret he loves them to much to pretend like they aren’t together.

Quirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

He’s got a godly ability to open cans without the pin breaking off.

Romance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

He can be super romantic! Raihan once wore one of those tuxedo graphic tees because his partner was sick and walked into the bedroom with a tray of soup (badly) pretending to be their personal butler because he knew it would make them laugh.

Support - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Raihan absolutely and unashamedly boosts his s/o’s endeavours on his social media accounts, he is their number one believer.

Thrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Both? He likes trying new things out with his s/o but doing something they know they both enjoy is just as fun.

Understanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Raihan knows his partner very well!! And he’s very empathetic, in fact he’s an empathetic crier so when his s/o get teary its tissue hell.

Value - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

His relationship is very important to Raihan, sure he loves being a gym leader and he’s honoured to be the one in charge of protecting the Hammerlocke vault but Raihan will drop those without a single thought if it meant he had a chance to be with his s/o for the rest of his life.

Wild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

Raihan will unzip his hoodie wrap it around his s/o’s front then re-zip it up so they’re trapped in it with him.

XOXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

He’s very, very affectionate! Raihan loves kissing and cuddling but if his partner gets overwhelmed he’s happy too stop until they’re okay again.

Yearning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

He sulks all the time while they’re gone, and channels all his energy into gym matches and training to distract himself from watching the clock to count the minutes until they’re home.

Zeal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Yell heah he is! As stated before Raihan is willing to drop his job as gym leader and protector of the vault if it means he can stay with his s/o for the rest of his life. In his opinion having someone to love and be loved by for his entire life is more important than being recognised as strong or famous.

[misti2460]

Is Search Engine Submission Necessary?

Is Search Engine Submission Necessary? The essential answer is no – web list convenience isn't basic. The vast majority of web search apparatuses nowadays (most famously Google) creep and record pages by following associations. Using that reasoning, a singular inbound association from any inside and out recorded page will perceive your page to the engine. Subsequently, if that page associates with various pages inside your site, they will similarly be requested, and so on this is the explanation behind the Google PageRank figuring. You don't have to end up lost in the online blend.

Is Search Engine Submission Necessary? Web composition upgrades Company in Singapore

Thusly, inbound associating is essential. Getting back-associations may be the hugest of SEO. On a fundamental level, in any case, a site owner shouldn't have to 'scout' or 'pursue' for joins. In case the presented content is of interest, important, or conceivably huge, there is a trademark penchant among web customers to association with information. Underneath I will give you ten phases to help you map out your course about Is Search Engine Submission Necessary? Likewise, dismiss you from the right way. It isn't all that you need to know in any capacity whatsoever, anyway it will give you a fundamental foundation to develop.

With all due respect, introducing your webpage to the web crawlers can't do any damage. Also, it simply includes around 5 minutes of added work expecting you simply submit to the colossal people. Moreover, once is adequate… you don't need to introduce your site more than once. It doesn't help or get your site crawled any quicker or even more oftentimes. It should be seen that introducing your site to Google, Yahoo, MSN, and various others doesn't cost a charge. Various SEO associations express that you need to pay to be recorded. This isn't the circumstance and I would maintain a strategic distance from these associations. They are money hungry and aren't paying unique brain to your prosperity.

Would you really consider going on a move away the country over without bringing a guide? It is adequately difficult to find your way in specific spots with a guide. How hard would it be if you endeavored this experience without one? Nonetheless, this is really what people do every single day in the online world. They endeavored to collect their associations online without having a manual for progress. By then, after months or significant stretches of basically wandering around on the web, they give up in disappointment and quit. They leave saying that the Internet doesn't work for them. The clarification it didn't work is that they didn't get a guide and follow it!

1. Pick a zeroed in on market

Is Search Engine Submission Necessary? The best misunderstanding by far most make when starting a business is that they pick a thing and a while later endeavor to find people who need to get it. If that is the heading you are starting from on your trip, by then you are going the alternate path from your target. Keen associations work from a substitute thought. They pick a market first, and subsequently they pick a thing those people are searching for. With everything taken into account, instead of endeavoring to find prompts offer their thing to, they find zeroed in on leads and a while later ask them what they are expecting to buy.

Make an effort not to attempt to consider starting a business until you know accurately where you will get your leads from. Consider zeroed in on customers first. By then, you can think about a thing for those individuals. Would you rather have 1,000 hits each day at your site of a general group OR 10 hits each day of people who are tense and ready to finish on any expense to buy your things? If you are sagacious, you will pick people who are set up to buy!

2. Develop a Product | Is Search Engine Submission Necessary?

At that point, you need to develop a thing or organization for this market. Don't just jump aboard with the pattern of partner projects when you bring about these current conditions step. There are three huge techniques for selling a thing on the web:

a. You make your prohibitive thing.

This is the most obvious opportunity you have. If you develop your thing, you can pick it the worth, sell duplicate rights to others, set up an accomplice program, etc Try not to uncover to me you can't do this. A colossal number of creative financial specialists have used their information things to kick their callings off. You can also.

For the length of your life, I am sure that there is something you have found that you can participate in a How-To thing. Maybe you know someone else who has the right data for a How-To thing and you could offer to help them with making a thing if you both shared the rights to it. Don't just ricochet past this opportunity and say it is beyond the realm of imagination.

b. You buy the rights to a thing or you JV for a detached thing.

You can buy the rights to successful things for $500 – $20,000. In case someone else has caused a thing that you to understand your zeroed in on market is excited about, offer them an immense ahead of time charge for the rights to it. This way you can get your thing and never need to pay a penny in eminences. You can moreover glance through magazines your zeroed in on market examines and look for things people are selling. By then, consider them and solicitation the first class Internet rights to their thing for a particular level of the advantages or an ahead of time cost.

c. You join an auxiliary program.

If you are just start on the web, this can be a good choice. You do have to recollect anyway that it doesn't offer a staggering advantage potential that making your thing or getting rights to one has. While picking a branch program, guarantee that it is something you’re centered around market can't be without. They should have it. Also, give remarkable thought to the advantages you get from each arrangement.

If you are simply be paid 5% commissions on the arrangements of $10 books, you may be making 50 pennies for every customer. It would take 2,000 customers just to make $1,000 in advantages. You can't get money like this on the web! Quest for all the more exorbitant things and higher commissions… especially commissions in the 25% or higher reach.

3. Make a USP

Is Search Engine Submission Necessary? Make a Unique Selling Position for your thing or organization. A particularly number of associations are just endeavoring to be me-additionally associations on the web. You can't be a lot of equivalent to any other person and desire to make an advantage in an overall economy. Just going to coming up next individual's site to orchestrate is unreasonably straightforward for your customers.

You need to make Uniqueness for your thing or offer. What might you have the option to offer that no one else can? Would you have the option to offer better guarantees, better customer help, more specific assistance, speedier conveyance, or lower costs? Consider something that will isolate you from the aggregate of your online opponents and tell in complete detail what it is.

4. Pick a Domain Name and Hosting Service

The accompanying stage is to pick a space name that depicts your association, USP, and offer. Endeavor to keep them as short and connecting with about your business as could be considered typical. Do whatever it takes not to use runs or wrong spellings of your thing. Both of these things will make people leave out piece of your space if they type it in. Someone else will get free traffic that you tried to get.

For encouraging, I choose to use Virtualis since they have the Fastest customer help and concentrated assistance in the business. Test them out. They will respond to you inside the hour… at whatever point 24 hours consistently. No other association I have ever been with has even drawn nearer!

5. Develop a Customer Friendly Site

The ensuing stage in the process is to develop your site and put it up for the world to see. In case you are needing to guarantee a full-time Internet business, I endorse that you sort out some way to design the site yourself using one of the numerous undertakings that are instantly open at any item store. You will put aside such a ton of cash if you can achieve the work yourself on the changing alone as your site creates. If your principal business is separated and you are basically adding an assistant compensation, by then you may have to consider having a specialist do your site for you.

When arranging your site, recall the customer reliably. Give demand designs to online Mastercard orders. Make the sum of the associations direct. Endeavor to keep your site essential. Embrace the point of view of a customer, not the business person. Your customers are not almost as enthusiastic about your business as you are. Attempt to put the benefits of your site and your USP straightforwardly on top of the site. Most of the web surfers never drop down past the chief screen stacked with information. Thusly, you need to give them the information they need as quick as could be considered typical. The principles for a business are Benefits, Benefits, and more Benefits.

6. Offer a Freebie

Is Search Engine Submission Necessary? digital marketing agency in singapore has one of the huge keys to making traffic and arrangements at your site are to reliably offer some sort of blessing as a drawing factor. For example, I offer many free reports, environment projections, news, to say the very least. My most conspicuous drawing factor all through the past 8 months anyway has been the two free computerized books that we offer on our site to people who purchase in to this notice.

[wangtaeil]

wow. hello everyone! i cant believe i really get to say this, but i just hit 3,500 followers. w o w. i've been making ateez gifs for exactly 3 months now and in those 3 short months i have gained over 500 followers, bringing me to an amount i am totally undeserving of. i honestly have no idea how this happened but i am so grateful for each and every one of you i didnt know what i should do to celebrate this amazing milestone. i considered opening requests for gifs or moodboards, maybe even start taking requests for the amazing writing skills i've developed recently. that might still happen (and would probably be for mutuals only i'm afraid) but for now i want to just give a shout out to my amazing mutuals who make being here worth it. its gonna get loooong so its under the cut thank you all so much for this, i love you all

here we gooo....

@cryiingemoji if i said everything i want to say to you here, it would take up this entire post. luckily you already know it all because its been 700 years lol. speak to you soon, ily 💚

@sooncheolie i’ve said it a thousand times in the what, 3 years we’ve been friends? but you are one of my closest friends on here, and i’d like to think that if we knew each other in the real world we would be basically best friends. you’re amazing and i’m so glad we stumbled into each other’s lives back when we were just imhobi and jinjackson. you got me into seventeen and taught me all their names, now i just have to get you into ateez... ily 💚

@mauloveskpop miss mau, anyone that is lucky enough to call you a friend is truly blessed. we’ve known each other for years and i’ve loved every damn second of it. you’re amazing and so hard working, a real treasure. i’ve discovered a lot of groups through you and learned how to gif by watching you grow, ily 💚

@1oonar my daughter... you’ve been gone for over a month now but i still think about you every day. i hope you are well and i will be here waiting when you get back, ily 💚

@whiteconfession laura, honestly, i’d be lost without you. you’re an absolute riot to talk to, every time i see your name come up in my dm’s i know i’m about to lol in real life. i’m so proud of you for all your achievements, not that i ever had any doubts. and its not that long until sungyeol returns woo! ily 💚

@visualsan i dont know that i’d be writing all of this right now if it wasnt for you and your sister, i think its all down to you two that the amount of atinys that follow me are following me. i remember being really scared to talk to you at first because i’d admired your blog for a while and i actually freaked out a little when you followed me. i’m so glad we became friends, you’re so wonderful, ily 💚

@smol-joong like i said to bea, i wouldnt be able to write a 3.5k follower post if it hadnt been for you. you told people to follow me and then everything just blew up. you did that for me, i cannot thank you enough. you’re very special to me and i’d take a bullet for you (or take a buffet for you as my sister would say...). ily 💚

@prettyseonghwa wow, where do i start with you miss yasmin? you are an actual angel. i dont know what i did to deserve you but i’m so thankful for you. you’ve been there to talk me through some rough times and you handle everything with such maturity. you’re so thoughtful and caring, even when you’re struggling yourself. i wish i could do for you what you have done for me. ily 💚

@softmingis wonderful miss luna. you were one of the people i was most intimidated by when i first became part of atinyblr. no matter what you say, to me you are a big account and i was scared to approach you. but look at us now! you’re one of my favourite people here and i love talking to you. i’m so happy you came back, ily 💚

@doorootu res, i’m so happy to have met you. your finals are almost over and i’m so proud of you! soon you will be all over my dash again and i cannot wait! ily 💚

@omg-gyu i’ve missed you while you’ve been away taking your exams, i hope everything is going well for you. i was honoured to be the one you asked for advice when getting into ateez, i hope you’ve been enjoying this comeback, ily 💚

@honeyboysan jules, i admire you so much. your love of all things nature is so pure and wholesome and its a joy to see. you’re so thoughtful towards other people’s feelings and weird phobias. allowing myself and your followers to share your nb journey is inspiring, i wish you nothing but happiness, ily 💚

@cherryjoong honestly maggie, you’re some kind of chaotic good, you’re the human embodiment of your ateez crack moodboards, so much fun and i love interacting with you. also you and jules are so EFFIN cute i cannot handle it. ily 💚

@moonctzen you’re so much fun and you’re taeil biased so that automatically means you’re awesome. i know we dont interact that much but i thoroughly enjoy seeing you on my dash. ily 💚

@moonitaeil we dont interact much but your posts on my dash brighten my day. i’m glad we share a love of taeil, ily 💚

@127-mile emilie, you’re a very talented writer and you bring so much joy to so many people with your au’s. i hope you continue to write and grow for many many years, ily 💚

@softforyunho it says it right there in your url, you are the softest. so lovable and seeing you share your love for yunho is heartwarming. ily 💚

@jaehyunay you are hilarious, i love talking to you and seeing all of your lovely wallpapers that you make. keep up the good work! ily 💚

@meinyunho natali you’re so lovely. watching your adventures in gif making has been a pleasure. you’re doing so well and i hope you continue. you’re doing so well, i’m proud of you, ily 💚

@honeyjoongie elli, you’ve been gone for so long but its like you’re still here because of the amazing queue you set up. its so thoughtful and you’ve really made everyone so happy with the posts you’ve tagged them in. you even remembered who my stray kids bias is, you’re so powerful and you dont even realise it. everyone is so excited for you to come back, including me. i hope your exams went well, ily 💚

@missminji miss harleigh. you are another person i was quite intimidated by when i first got into the fandom, but looking back i have no idea why. you’re wonderful and totally deserve to see your bias yuto when you go to see pentagon. ily 💚

@wooyuong inna inna inna... you are the one i was the most intimidated by. literally everyone i know already knew you, even people not in atinyblr knew you and i once posted that i wanted to be friends with you and then immediately deleted the post because i was scared you’d see it. but it turns out you’re not scary, you’re infact very cute and adorable and lovable and i might adopt you. ily 💚

@choisansbitch we dont know each other very well, but maybe that will change one day. you are chaotic, but sometimes we all need a little chaos in our lives. you’re fun, i like it. ily 💚

@dearmingi you are someone i would like to get to know better because i dont think we know each other too well just yet. that being said, i do love seeing you on my dash. lets talk more, ily 💚

@sonqmingi definitely was intimidated by you at first and tbh still am a little and i dont know why. you’re awesome though and i’d love to get to know you more, ily 💚

@soulofatiny an angel in disguise. you are so wonderful and kind and caring and i wish there were more people like you in the world. it would be a much kinder place is there were. ily 💚

@woovoung​ another little bit of much needed chaos on my dash. we dont really know each other that well, but you’re definitely fun. ily 💚

@multidino​ sometimes i feel like i can actually hear your posts. you’re always there and always first to interact when i say i’m bored for which i’m always grateful. ily 💚

@jonghostation​ i was a little intimidated by you at first because even before i followed you you were always all over my dash interacting with everyone. i hope we can become friends, ily 💚

@celestial-yunho​ the last of the people i was most intimidated by. you have such a big presence within the fandom that i didnt think you’d even notice if i followed you. i’d love to get to know you more! ily 💚

@kqyvnho​ we’ve been mutuals for 2 whole days but i didnt want to leave you out! i hope we can become friends! ily 💚

so there we go! thank you all so much for everything 💚💚💚

[newstfionline]

How’s Life in the War Zone? Not Great

By Alisa Sopova, NY Times, May 26, 2018

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--I have a strong accent. When I say hello, people ask where I’m from. Ukraine, I answer. The eastern part not controlled by the government. The so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, from which I recently returned after a three-month visit.

Invariably, the next questions are: “Oh, what’s happening there? Is there a war still going on?” This indicates a failure of media coverage. We write about things extensively while they are new and exciting--and drop them as soon as they get boring.

The war in Ukraine has become boring. So I answer:

Well, it’s still taking lives at an average of one to two people every day. However, it has become so static that it’s sort of weird. Two armies sit before each other, sometimes just 100 feet apart. Bound by the Minsk truce agreements of 2014 and 2015, they cannot really fight each other. But without a political solution, they cannot leave. Sometimes they exchange fire, mostly at night while international monitors sleep. Mostly it’s just to let off steam.

Recently, violence has escalated, but the world has hardly noticed. This happens from time to time, without bringing any change. Then comes a new period of simmering.

Because the fighting is so ritualized, predictable and low-profile, civilian life is returning near the front lines, where war and peace coexist bizarrely and uneasily. I’ve seen a school that operates 500 feet from the front. Children are bused there along a narrow road through minefields. I’ve heard that another school was shelled earlier this month. The windows were blown out while 370 children were inside. Four days later, the glass was fixed and the classes resumed. War is war, but you’ve got to go to school.

I’ve seen people fishing and picnicking close to the front line, taking short breaks if shelling starts--if it “becomes loud,” as they say.

One man I met lives in his bathroom because it’s the only part of his house that has survived the shelling, which was most intense early in the war, in 2014 and 2015. Another man is rebuilding his house a mile from the Donetsk airport, where fighting reignites now and then. His house has taken five hits, but the foundation is O.K. and the owner is optimistic. “Why are you doing it?” I asked. “Well,” he said, “I am an old man, and I have two daughters. I want to leave the house for them in good condition, but if I wait for the war to end I might not live that long.”

When I tell these stories, people ask if I still have family there. Yes, my family remains in Donetsk. What’s life like? It’s hard to explain. But I try:

When you think of war, you imagine terror, action and panicked people enduring bombings and shootings. There, it’s different. In downtown Donetsk, life looks pretty normal: hipster coffee shops, mothers pushing strollers, and in spring blossoming lilacs and roses.

But life is hard for other reasons.

Ukraine’s breakaway territory is the size of New York State, with about four million inhabitants facing impossible choices. Held hostage by opportunistic separatist authorities, they are simultaneously cast as outlaws by the Ukrainian government--as separatist sympathizers and disloyal citizens, whose sin was having been taken hostage. Even when they leave, as I did, accusations of treason and collaboration follow them.

As a result, these people have trouble receiving pensions, traveling to “mainland” Ukraine and back, obtaining passports, working or voting. Locked in a ghettoized quasi-state, they are torn between both sides’ unclear and repressive rules.

One of my relatives runs a small business in Donetsk but finds it difficult. Ukraine’s government has imposed an economic blockade on local businesses that are accountable only to the Ministry of Finance of the breakaway republic. The chairman of this ministry is known not by his given name, but by a nom de guerre--Tashkent.

Every two months, my grandmother must travel to government-controlled territory to claim her pension. The trip is not fun: You spend a whole day waiting in maddeningly slow lines at multiple checkpoints. People swarm on a narrow road that bisects a minefield. Because of the lack of facilities, they use roadside bushes as lavatories and occasionally become land-mine casualties. You can avoid this by traveling with a smuggler, who bribes the checkpoint bureaucrats to skip the lines. But that costs a whole month’s pension. You get to choose.

A friend of mine had a grandmother who wasn’t receiving her pension because she was too old for the grueling trip. She died recently. The death certificate issued by separatist authorities has no legal force, and there is no mechanism to issue a Ukrainian one for people who lived in uncontrolled territory. When my friend sought help in court, the judge demanded evidence--three witnesses to grandma’s death, or a video of the funeral. So goes the surrealism of life in this war.

Soon enough, the final question comes: So, whom do local people support--the separatists or the government? My answer disappoints everyone: Most support neither. It’s tempting to root for good guys against bad guys in a conflict on TV, especially if Russia is involved. But when you find soldiers digging trenches in your backyard, you suddenly don’t care if they are good or bad soldiers. You just want them out.

Our real-life choices are seldom political. People choose to stay in the war zone for many reasons--work, property, old age, disability, sentimental attachment to home. The lack of support from the state and the stigma attached elsewhere to being a displaced person also make it sensible to stay put.

Those who remain hope that somehow something will change. But hope is gradually yielding to despair and fatalism. The conflict is at a geopolitical deadlock in which everyone seems more satisfied with the status quo than with any proposed solution. Everyone except the people who must pay the price.

Recently, a thoughtful interlocutor who pursued a conversation like this concluded by telling me: “Frankly speaking, people in the U.S. are tired of hearing about this chronic conflict in Ukraine poisoned by corruption and the lack of political will to move anywhere.”

All I could say was, “If you are tired, imagine how tired we are.”

[maned-cerdae]

Namesakes

“fav! you wrote lore for the first time in forever! whats it about?”

“yeah its like 2000 years into the future and-”

“EXCUSE ME”

“Now come away from the window, or you’ll break the glass and fall through. Besides, today we’re learning about your namesake. Aren’t you interested in learning more about her?”

Ayla turned towards her tutor, fins flicking in annoyance. “But I don’t wanna learn anything today! I want to look at the pretty clouds. Besides, these windows haven’t been made with glass for like, 500 years or something.”

Her tutor raised one eyebrow and took another puff of his pipe, and Ayla sighed and sat back down with a huff.

“Good good. Well then. Today we’re gonna be learning about the formative years of the Democratic Republic of Akkure Loham, and it’s effects on larger Sorneith as a whole. Now, open your book to chapter... Ayla, you’re not listening to me again.”

The fae had turned her head back to the window, craning her neck to try and see the clouds just below the flying home. She jumped at hearing her name and sunk down in her seat. “I don’t want to learn anything! I want to look at the clouds and play my new game! Why do I have to learn about some dusty old dead dragon who lived like, ten million years ago probably!”

“Ten million? Ayla dear, this is only about 2000 years ago. This is recent history.” He took another puff. “How about this? I can ask your parents if we could go to the capital. I heard that the other cloud dragons there make the ‘prettiest clouds ever’ in the public squares, and you can see all the monuments too. There’s tons of them named after dragons from this period. If you find all of them and tell me why that dragon was important, you can see one of the professional cloud dancers.”

Ayla’s eyes lit up. “A professional cloud dancer? Can I use a map? Can I look up a map of the monuments at least pleeasseee? I’ll find all of them and do research and everything! I promise!”

He laughed. “Go ahead.” The second the words left his mouth, Ayla was already racing out of the room and down the steps to look up a map on her computer.

Ayla wiggled impatiently in her seat, map and monument list clutched to her chest. The airship crept forward an inch and she finally whined. “Can I go onto the deck? The airship is like, barely moving! So it would be safe, right? Pleaaasseeeee.”

Her tutor looked over at the driver, and they shrugged. “With traffic like this, might as well take the opportunity. Looks like it won’t be clearing up anytime soon,” they answered, and Ayla turned her best puppy eyes to her tutor. 

He finally sighed. “Go on then.” Ayla squeaked and shoved her papers at him. “Thank you thank you thank you Mr. A! I’ll be good, I promise!”

She scrambled out of the cockpit and onto the deck. All around her were other airships, six lanes in total. Ayla crept over to the railing and looked down. There were several more tiers below her, all feeding into different levels of the city. She had never seen so many other dragons in her life, and she wanted to shift and leap into an excited flight right then and there. Her parents would kill her though, if Mr. A didn’t do it first on their behalf.

She looked back up, and saw on the airship across from her other hatchlings also scrambling on their deck. Three coatl siblings practically tumbled over each other in excitement, and a small pearlcatcher crept out cautiously, clutching a pearl tightly to their chest. Rounding out the little parade was an older guardian, holding the pearlcatcher’s shoulder encouragingly.

One of the coatls noticed her looking and ran over to the railing, waving enthusiastically. The other followed. Now that they were closer, she could see their eyes. For a second she thought plague, but they were a tinge too dark. Ayla wracked her minds for the element list her tutor had made her memorize ages ago, and fell upon blood. The smallest of the three had one eye of brilliant ice blue however. The pearlcatcher shrank back against their guardian and pouted. They were too far away to see still.

“-ello! Hello! Hi!” The voice of the first coatl barely carried across the distance and over the hum of hundreds on engines. Ayla raised a hand in greeting back.

“My name’s Rhosyn! My sister is named after the dragon that made shampoo!”

The smallest coatl with the ice heterochromia shrieked loud enough that it carried clearly and started hitting them. They laughed even as their sister yelled. “YOU! ARE! SO! MEAN!!!!!”

“Hi Rhosyn! I’m Ayla! Did you mean your sister is named Akako?”

The coatl stopped hitting her sibling and turned to Ayla, puffing out her chest proudly. “Yes, and she didn’t invent shampoo! I saw it on the computers, but Rhosyn doesn’t believe me even though it was on original Akako’s page thing!”

The pearlcatcher finally handed over the pearl to the guardian, and the second they were close enough they grabbed onto Rhosyn’s arm, though the one that had just been waled on. Rhosyn winced, and the pearlcatcher jumped back hurriedly. Akako grabbed their sleeve and pulled them back towards the railing.

“No, stay with us Ayla! Look, there’s another girl with your name on the other ship!”

Ayla found herself looking at another set of pale white eyes and burst out laughing. The other girl tried to jump back again. Akako kept her still stubbornly. “You’re a cloud dragon too!” Ayla wheezed. “Oh my gods!”

The three coatls immediately turned on the other Ayla to check like they had never seen her before. She frowned over the gap, practically saying Why did you do this to me with her eyes. Rhosyn started laughing as well. “You two are like long lost sisters!”

The third sibling, who hadn’t spoken yet, turned away from the chaos of his siblings. “Ay- The other Ayla, you, what are you going to the city for?”

“I’m seeing a bunch of monuments and maybe a professional cloud dancer with my teacher! Why are you going?”

“I think it’s because my parents bought a new winter home here so they want us to be there earlier than usual so they can throw a bunch of parties.” He shrugged, before his feathers popped up in realization. “Oh! I forgot. My name’s Roscato. Our parents are like, huge history nerds you know? Mom does work at the university though for history but... you know?”

Ayla turned her heard in confusion. “What university? There’s like, a lot, like, everywhere.”

Roscato opened his mouth like he was gonna reply, but his feathers suddenly dropped as he realized he didn’t know the answer. He tugged Rhosyn’s sleeve. “Hey Rhosyn, where does Mom work again? Like, the name?”

Rhosyn looked away from where they had been in a tug of war over a very stressed pearlcatcher Ayla, accidentally letting Akako get the upper hand who then wrapped her arms around around her ‘prize’ in triumph. “Why?”

“The other Ayla wants to know.”

Rhosyn hummed thoughtfully, and open their mouth to reply before… realizing they didn’t know either. “Akako, do you know?”

“Do I know what?” She was still clutching the other Ayla, who very much looked like she would rather jump over the railing then deal with this right now.

“The name of the university Mom works at.”

The other Ayla pulled herself free and matched over to her guard, before stopping and running back. “Gods! The name is the Ayla Tieren School of Advanced Learning! You are talking to two, TWO!! Dragons named Ayla and you forgot??”

The siblings all winced, and simultaneously muttered “maybe”.

Ayla perked up at the name. “Oh, I know that one! My parents spoke there a few times, but I’ve never seen it. I’ve only seen like, the very upper levels of the city. But! Mr. A says for my project I can visit all the levels, even Level D, since that’s where the original Ayla lived as a kid and you can tour it and everything!”

The other Ayla’s eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to say something. However, traffic decided that moment to start crawling forward again. She yelled and flung her arms around Rhosyn for support. It slowed to a stop and she cautiously perked over Rhosyn’s shoulder. “You’re Ayla Tieren, the chancellor’s daughter! I knew you looked familiar; I was forced to read a really old news story about your first birthday once.”

Rhosyn frowned. “I thought that the chancellor didn’t have any children?”

The other Ayla pulled away with a huff. “It’s like, a secret or something. But not a secret. She’s not supposed to come out in the open because there was a threat against her when she was a little hatchling or something.” She squinted across the gap. “If you are her, why are you being let to go to Level D? That’s where criminals live.”

Ayla paled. A threat against me? She made a mental note to look it up later. “Y-yeah, the chancellor is my mom. And... well. I’m not sure?”

Before the conversation could continue, a shadow fell over the group of hatchlings. Ayla looked up and saw a massive floating gate that separated each lane in two. The guardian sighed and started herding the hatchlings on the other ship back inside. 

Rhosyn waved frantically. “Ayla, Ayla, the other one, hey! Do you have Courier? Add our Ayla on there! She’s Ayla Ceniceros, like the company Ceniceros! She’ll be the easiest to find so I’ll just break into her account and request you on everyone’s accounts! Bye!”

With that, Rhosyn followed the others back inside. Ayla blinked and peered past the gates, and what she saw took her breath away.

The city spiraled miles into the air, tiers of floating platforms and ships connecting the surface, and even below the surface, to areas so high up they were obscured by clouds. Faint swirling specks hinted at dragons in flight, some circling the perimeter for protection while others traced lazy loops and played games. She had never seen anything below the Cloud Layer before, and it was nothing like she imagined.

Her moment of awe was popped by another dragon clearing their throat. She turned to around to see a kind old skydancer looking at her from a window in what she had thought was a support pillar for the gate. “I wouldn’t recommend being out on the deck much longer, hun. Traffic speeds up quite a bit after here and I wouldn’t want a little thing like you flying off!”

Ayla nodded, running back inside. The driver had a side window open and was handing papers to the skydancer, who stamped them and handed them back. “Have a nice visit little one!” The skydancer chirped at her, and Ayla felt the airship start picking up speed considerably. She retrieved her map and list from Mr. A and found an old pencil down the crack in her seat, hurriedly scribbling “Ayla Ceniceros” and “threat on me when young??” on the back of one before she could forget.

[johnboothus]

How Breweries Can Stand Out in a Spectrum of Hazy IPAs

Joe Whitney has a story he likes to tell about an IPA drinker and peer pressure. Seven or maybe six years ago, Whitney, Sierra Nevada Brewing’s chief commercial officer, was at a hop harvest and talking to a guy in his 20s who was mostly consuming double IPAs. Following the era’s fashion, the IPAs were likely strong, aggressively bitter, and as approachable as a pissed-off porcupine.

“I was like, ‘Have you always loved IPAs?’” Whitney says. “He was like, ‘No! I hated them, but my friends were drinking them. I forced myself to drink them for, like, two years until I learned to like them.’”

He passed on the anecdote to the brewing and marketing team at Sierra Nevada, which made the piney, assertive Torpedo IPA. Its firm bitterness served as a virtue — the beer is one of the brewery’s best sellers — and a cross to bear. “We shouldn’t torture people for two years so they can have the ability to drink our beers,” Whitney says.

Sierra Nevada dug into R&D and developed the Hazy Little Thing IPA, released at the end of 2017. The lullaby-soft, lightly filtered Thing balances candied orange rinds and ripe pineapple with a bass line of bitterness, an IPA that’s easy to love at first sip. This month, in October, Hazy Little Thing passed Lagunitas IPA as America’s top-selling IPA, according to Nielsen. “Hazy Little Thing is leading our growth,” Whitney says.

A half-decade ago, the hazy IPA hit the industry like a sticky tidal wave made from pineapple, mango, and orange juices. Lined up alongside the resinous, resoundingly bitter, and filtered West Coast IPAs, the foggy, fruity IPAs of Vermont and the larger Northeast were not so clearly different. Beer geeks paid pilgrimages to The Alchemist, Tree House, and Hill Farmstead, returning home with suitcases and trunks stuffed with New England IPAs (NEIPAs), more often referred to now as hazy IPAs.

Now, opaque IPAs that taste like pillows plumped with fruit juice are the norm, sold cold at grocery stores — and selling well. Year to date (through Sept. 5), hazy IPAs account for 6.5 percent of craft dollars, according to Nielsen, an increase of 81 percent from 2019.

“Hazy IPAs have experienced more than two years of strong growth, which typically is an indication that they will not be a ‘boom, splat’ phenomenon,” says Danelle Kosmal, Nielsen’s vice president of beverage alcohol.

The category is still growing, but “we most likely have reached the saturation point” on new brands, she adds. Nielsen now measures more than 500 hazy IPAs in its off-premise channels, meaning that new entrants “will need to find ways to clearly differentiate themselves.”

A Matter of Selection

In search of a flavorful edge, breweries are focusing on sourcing the choicest hops. Agriculture is variable, and a variety’s profile can annually vary from farm to farm. One batch of Mosaic might evoke sun-ripened blueberries, while another could smell like gasoline-spritzed raw onions. “The biggest thing for IPA producers is hop selection,” says Sam Richardson, a founder of Brooklyn’s Other Half Brewing. “We take that very seriously.”

Since opening in early 2014, Other Half has built its name on IPAs with huge, hop-derived fragrances and flavors. A triple dry-hopped triple IPA is nothing unusual. “We cater to a more niche demographic that is really looking for that big hop character,” he says.

A little milk can also go a long way to setting hazy IPAs apart. Brewers started using lactose, an unfermentable milk sugar, to lend IPAs a sweet lushness and create the so-called “milkshake IPA” variant. To find white space amid the haze, Dogfish Head leaned on an alternative: Oat milk.

The brewery spent a year formulating Hazy-O!, an IPA containing four forms of oats: Rolled, naked, malted, and milk. They create a silky, creamy IPA complemented by coconut-y Sabro hops and other tropical varietals, as well as a vegan-friendly health veneer: Oat milk sales have increased more than 300 percent this year, becoming America’s second-most-popular alternative milk, after almond.

Dogfish Head will release Hazy-O! IPA nationally in the new year, and the beer’s price point — around $10 for a 6-pack — and flavor profile augur well for success. “It has the potential to grow to a top-five American hazy IPA in volume,” Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery’s founder, says.

Semantics can also be a selling point as brewers looking to rebrand the haze. Thirsty Bear of San Francisco crafts “foggy IPAs,” a tip to the city’s weather, while Pure Project in San Diego makes so-called “murky” IPAs that are impenetrable to light and look like “a solid in a glass,” says Winslow Sawyer, Pure Project’s head brewer and a partner.

“Haze is a spectrum, but murk is opaque,” he says. “We wanted to make a callout and brand it in a certain way and own it.”

What’s in Store

No matter what you call them, hazy IPAs are driving sales at specialty beer stores. At City Beer Store in San Francisco, “hazy IPA are dominating our shelves and the market,” says Beth Wathen, who owns the store and bar with her husband, Craig. They regularly stock IPAs from California standouts, including Alvarado Street Brewery in Monterey and San Francisco’s Cellarmaker, as well as Equilibrium Brewery from Middletown, N.Y. “There’s an excitement when we pop up a true East Coast-style IPA,” Beth says. “It’s from the motherland.”

IPAs make up more than 85 percent of the dollar sales at Bier Cellar, which has two locations in and around Portland, Maine.

“IPAs in Portland are hazy IPAs,” says Greg Norton, the president of Bier Cellar. “It’s become the de facto standard.” IPAs from Maine breweries such as Bissell Brothers, Battery Steele, and Orono regularly top his sales charts. A year and a half ago, Norton says, he was talking to a brewer buying a couple of German lagers, and lamenting the store’s many IPAs. Simultaneously, two customers rang out with three cases of New England-style IPAs. Each. “Their total was $600,” Norton says. “What do you think I’m going to stock more of? Customers run the market.”

Essential to the hazy IPA’s sales appeal is its eternal ephemerality. Breweries can alter hop combos, swap yeast strains, and rejigger grain bills to create fresh haze, attracting customers chasing “the ethereal IPA that’s way better than the one they’ve had before,” Norton says.

After nearly nine years in business, though, Norton is noticing fatigue. “We have 24- and 25-year-old customers that are burnt out,” he says. “They did it for two years, spent thousands of dollars, and can’t taste anything anymore. They’ve moved to high-end lagers.”

Nothing in brewing is eternal. Today’s trends are tomorrow’s recycling. With hazy IPAs, we’re witnessing an ascendant category that’s splintering to satisfy different needs, both economically and aromatically. You can choose from widely available offerings like Bell’s Official Hazy IPA, or Dogfish Head’s forthcoming Hazy-O!, sold for $10 a 6-pack; or a $20 4-pack of Other Half IPA, its intense scent perfuming a room.

“You’re going to pay more for more hops,” Richardson says. “When people go into a wine shop, they don’t get nitpicky over the prices of different wines. They just choose the wine at the price point they want.”

For its part, Sierra Nevada is enjoying the unlikely rise of Hazy Little Thing, a beer never meant for a national star turn. “We were only going to sell it on draft in Northern California,” Whitney says. More than 40 years ago, the brewery’s Pale Ale helped redefine American beer. Now the future might be Hazy.

“It’s not inconceivable to think it’ll pass Pale Ale one day,” Whitney says.

The article How Breweries Can Stand Out in a Spectrum of Hazy IPAs appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/hazy-ipa-brand-growth/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/how-breweries-can-stand-out-in-a-spectrum-of-hazy-ipas

[just-jordie-things]

Dreaming of Us - Allison Argent

word count: 1882 warnings: swearing

(prompt forty four)

[ love is not just talk, but action ]

You sat on your apartment’s couch, leaning your head as far back as it could go and closed your eyes.  While you enjoyed your freedom, that of owning an apartment that was 100% yours and living in Oregon during your college years and truly becoming an adult, it was getting hard.

Bills, rent, gas, groceries, and not to mention the expense of college, made a serious dent in your bank account.  No, you weren’t really the type to go on a huge shopping spree with your girlfriend every weekend, so at first you didn’t think that being independant could really be that hard.  But boy were you wrong.  In fact you couldn’t possibly be more wrong.

Classes were beginning to stress you out, you didn’t need all the extra anxiety of getting kicked out of your complex added to it.

Just as you were ready to cry to relieve the stressors (which no, you admitted was not healthy but there wasn’t much of another option) there was a knocking on your door.

“Please don’t be the and lord please don’t be the landlord” You mumbled to yourself repeatedly, your fingers crossing as you walked to your door and opened it up with shut tight eyes.

“Hey n/n how’re you- why’re your eyes closed?” The sweet sound of Allison’s voice prompted you to open your eyes, a smile growing on your lips in relief that it was only your girlfriend, and not security ready to drag you off of the premises.

“Oh thank god, I thought you were gonna be a guy with an eviction notice” You breathed, stepping aside to let her in.  Allison gave you a wide eyed confused look as she took he boots off, setting them neatly by your door and hanging her coat up on her hook, the same way she always did when she came over.

“Eviction? What are you running a drug cartel here that you aren’t telling me about?” She asked with a chuckle, but concerned laced through her words.  You shook your head, shutting and locking the door.

“No, it’s just my rent is due in two days and I don’t even have half of it” You groaned, wandering towards the couch and collapsing onto it dramatically.

“Well how much of it do you need?” Allison pondered, making her way towards the couch as you squirmed around to get comfortable.

“A thousand.  A thousand dollars” You said in a monotone voice, dragging your hands from your eyes and dragging your skin all the way down to your chin before your limbs fell bonelessly onto the sofa cushions.

“Okay” Allison propped your head up to sit on the seat below, placing your head gently onto her lap as she thought.  “How about I just spot you the cash until you can pay me back?” She offered sweetly as she ran her fingers through your hair to calm you down.  It worked, and soon you were breathing softly out of content by the action.

“I don’t wanna take money from you Al, I promised I wasn’t gonna borrow money from friends” You told her.

“Okay, but I don’t want you to be kicked out of here.  I like it here, why else would I come here every day?” She asked and you looked up at her with playfully narrowed eyes.

“Because you love me and love spending time with your amazingly perfect and beautiful and talented and… smart… girlfriend?” You retorted sarcastically, but she didn’t nod and shrug like you thought she would’ve.  Instead she pretended to think about your response, eventually shaking her head.

“No, I think not” She said simply, and you rolled your eyes.

“Bitch” You muttered, and she chuckled.

“A bitch you’re head over heels in love with” She responded, and you smiled at her, leaning up to peck her lips quickly before laying back down.  Allison gave you a wink and went back to petting your hair.

“That I am” You sighed, nuzzling into her and curling up on the couch more into her body.  “But I’m also about to go broke” She let out a soft chuckle, her hands trailing to your face to stroke her fingers gently over your skin.

“I won’t let that happen” She hummed, and you sighed.  

“I’m not sure I’ve got much of a choice” You groaned.  Where were you supposed to get the other $500 by the end of the week?

“You’ll figure it out, you always do” She said softly, back to running her fingers through your hair and slowly untangling it.  “Why don’t you just rest, I’ll help you figure all this out when you wake up okay?” She offered gently, and you nodded.  Allison smiled softly as your eyes fluttered shut.

She continued her delicate caress on you as you fell asleep in her arms.  And soon she was beginning to drift off as well, so she wiggled out from under you, and laid down against the back of the couch, still holding onto you as she was comforted by your warmth.  You mumbled something in a content sigh and wrapped your arms around her middle, stroking her back ever so gently before falling right back into sleep again.

You laughed as Allison danced around the apartment, holding a box labeled CLOTHES by a thick black sharpie.  She carried it back to the room while you went through the both of yours’ dishes and silverware, deciding what you needed and what you could sell.  A song you didn’t know but had a joyful melody was blasting through the flat as the both of you unpacked your girlfriend’s things together.

“Hey, when we break, we seriously need to have a talk about this painting” You called to her, and she came out of the bedroom while tying her hair up into a messy bun.

“What painting?” She replied, and you held up the one that she had to have known you were speaking of.  Allison pouted.  “What’s there to talk about? Isn’t it awesome?”

You raised an inquisitive brow and looked at the elaborate painting of a wolf howling to a full moon, a very dramatic portrait if you do say so.

“What? Lydia made it for Scott” Allison couldn’t say it with a straight face.  Both of your brows shot up as you looked between her and the large frame in your hands.

“Then why do you have it?” You asked and Allison pursed her lips.

“Lost a bet” She responded and you let out a laugh.

“Well why don’t you go win a bet and ship it back to them because it is not going up on the walls of our home” Allison smiled brightly at the words, even though you denied the work of art that she’d been stuck with.  “What? Oh god what’s that look for?” You asked, a slight wince taking over your features as you visibly deflated, preparing yourself for her argument as to why the painting was staying.

“As long as it’s our home,” Allison walked over and set the frame on the counter, taking both of your hands in hers.  “I don’t care what stays or goes” A big grin tugged on your lips as you pushed forward and kissed her softly, your hands releasing hers to cup around her face.  When you parted Allison’s doe eyes batted lovingly as she pulled you back in for a quick kiss and a tight embrace.

“I’m so happy about this, I’m so happy about us” You told her, and she planted a few little kisses up and down the side of your face.

“I’m happy about this too.  This is good for us, a new step” She pulled away to look at you, the both of you smiling like you were newlyweds.

Your eyes opened, almost quickly enough to make Allison jump.  She’d been cuddling with you not having slept for very long, but you’d stayed passed out in her arms for a while.

“You gave me a start” She chuckled softly as she pushed your hair out of your face.  “Did you have a bad dream babe?” You shook your head, he corners of your lips beginning to turn up into a brilliant smile.

“No, not at all” You whispered, and Allison raised a curious brow as to what your wide smile and sparkling eyes were hiding.

“What’re you up to? Why’re you looking at me like that?” She asked, but you just laid silently staring at her.  Allison grew anxious as she laughed nervously.  “y/n what is it? What’re you thinking abou-”

“Move in with me” The brunette huntress blinked, absolute shock crashing over her in an intense wave, and a watery smile began to ease onto her lips.

“Really?” She murmured, and you nodded gently.

“Really” You assured, and she let out a laugh, a sound of excitement that was like music to your ears as her hold on you tightened.  “Allison you’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, I love you, you’re here all the time why not just take the step? We’ll split rent it’ll be so much cheaper for the both of us” You went on and on about all the great reasoning and Allison’s heart fluttered at every one of them.  “Alli, I love you, I want this, I really want this with you”

There were tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I want this with you too” She cried, kissing you tentatively, and you chuckled, wiping her lips of her salty tears with your thumb, before sliding your lips against hers again  “I love you” She whispered, her arms wrapping around your neck and tangling into your hair.  “I love you so much” She cried between sweet kisses and you pulled her further against you.

But you pulled a little to quickly and you both rolled off of the sofa, luckily missing hitting your heads on the coffee table, but not so lucky as you landed with a thump  on the ground.  You groaned as your back hit the floor, Allison lying with her chest over yours, also groaning in pain as her legs landed awkwardly in the space between yours.

“Well that wasn’t as romantic as I was hoping for” You grumbled, rubbing the back of your head.  Allison chuckled, holding her wait over you and leaning down to kiss your lips gently, her long hair cascading onto your shoulders and pooling on the carpeted floor.

“I don’t care” She whispered.  “I’m still too happy” Your eyes shut as you winced.

“Well I’m just gonna be happy and in pain” You mumbled, and Allison’s eyes rolled at your dramatics.  She stood up off of you and helped you to your feet.

“Come on drama queen, we gotta go buy some moving boxes” She said with an eager skip in her step as she went towards your door for her shoes and coat.  The ache in your body went away as you followed her.

This was maybe the best choice you could’ve made, and as you watched Allison skip out into the hallway towards the elevator, it only confirmed your thoughts.

It was almost simple, the way that she was the one for you.

here’s the prompt list  and feel free to request sweeties!!!!

xoxo ~ jordie

[oneweekoneband]

Why Did It Take Me So Long To Notice That The Word Is “Fury” Not “Furry”?

Hello again. While I must admit to mild surprise at Dinosaur Jr.’s absence from the constantly growing roster of artists covered on OWOB, I should also state my attempted approach to writing about a band with no lack of wordage already available on its behalf. Though potentially futile, I will be trying to write something that benefits a cross-section of readers, from the unfamiliar but curious to the currently dismissive therefore purposely detached to the self-appointed superfan. All of this being stated, please understand that “attempted” carries one hell of an implied emphasis.

As covered in the previous post, I’m an active writer with many years in the trenches, though at least a half-decade in between my first toe-dips into this endeavor and the formative teenage moment when exposure to two Dinosaur Jr. albums (1987’s You’re Living All Over Me and 1991’s Green Mind, their second and fourth, respectively) combined to transform a fervent interest in underground music into a terminal, all-consuming obsession that almost seems to have dictated, in some way, shape or form, each lifting of a finger since. 

I’ve had a fair amount of writing published on the subject of this band, but most of it appeared during the first half of my now 18 years in this racket, barring the entries about several Dinosaur Jr. albums did make it into my second (and most recent) book, which carried the subtitle of 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981 - 1996 and a title that I absolutely hate so it shall not be revisited. On that note, attacks of full-body cringe have become as reliable as Christmas upon revisiting older writings, therefore I did not in order to guarantee no points or angles reiterated. But for what it’s worth, at some point in the early-00s, I did a long and embarrassing tribute to You’re Living All Over Me for the Perfect Sound Forever website as my first piece of writing on the band. Then once the spotlight was aimed backwards and topically in 2004-2006 for that period’s two-tiered reissue and reunion activity, I wrote a bunch of features about the Homestead and SST years (plus the early run of reunion shows) for several outlets. I interviewed both Mascis and Barlow, twice each if I remember correctly, and essentially felt like I said everything there was to possibly say about this band whose music more or less put me on a personal and professional course that continues to this day. I don’t feel like that anymore.

Two things to take into account before we move on: First, none of the subsequent entries will be this long, or at least that’s the plan. Secondly, this week will feature very little writing on the four albums of new material Dinosaur Jr. has released since the original lineup of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Emmett Jefferson Murphy III (almost exclusively known as “Murph” but I find his full given name to be amusing) reunited in 2005…will be of the unflattering comparative variety. However popular it might be to jump to black-and-white, definitive conclusions, do not take this to mean I consider these albums to be bad or boring or anything of the sort. But do know that they are, despite what the rest of the world seemingly believes, inferior when placed against what I will be trying to push into your ears and lives going forward. And understand that Dinosaur Jr.’s major-label era (1991 - 1997) will be explored in a nooks-and-crannies fashion (meaning, we’re going to get into Mike Johnson’s discography), as I feel there’s a nice chunk of amazing music hidden in there that has been largely overlooked or misunderstood.

I am about as obsessed with music as I am the non-fiction ghetto in which I operate.  Therefore it might or might not behoove me to do something no one outside of this little world should waste their time with, and that would be lot of overthinking about a couple of crucial elements of artistic criticism and appreciation that appear to be under constant attack these days: context and nuance. There is no such thing as good-to-great creative nonfiction or journalism that lacks or misuses either, and the most difficult to translate of the two is, of course, context. 

These days it seems every talking head (or every record-store loiterer or live show barnacle) of similar vintage to myself should be wearing a t-shirt or rocking a bumper-sticker that says, “Ask Me What It Was Like Before The Internet!”. This is something for which I harbor a visceral and distinct distaste if not great embarrassment. Any historically-precise party line of assumed profundity is going to fail at transmitting the intended impact for two reasons. First is the obvious neutering of any meaning or relevance when beating a cultural audience over the head with something, year after year, generation after generation. The second is more problematic, as I’m not certain that being present during its heyday or for a following period of linear influence is necessitated so as to provide fundamental context needed to understand how or why a band was groundbreaking or brain-rearranging or whatnot. 

For example, Dinosaur Jr. was four albums and seven years active once its music entered my life in earnest. Still, when it comes to blanket mantras of the reality-removed like, “This Was Before The Internet!” or “We Didn’t Have Cell Phones” battle stories, usually issued as some delusional badge of struggle or evidence of authenticity, we’re talking something that means far less than is assumed to a recipient without the same experiential history. I usually cringe when I witness someone else trying to get this across to a younger generation, though I have yet to figure out myself how to do it effectively. 

Conversely, there are examples of past underground rock prescience (well beyond the legendary trio of albums released by Dinosaur Jr. between 1985 and 1988) such as Mission of Burma, Black Flag, NEU!, Brian Eno’s “Third Uncle”, The Feelies, The Embarrassment, Can, This Heat, The Fall, mid-period Sonic Youth, Husker Du’s SST years, Black Sabbath, Slayer, mid-80s Swans, and Miles Davis’ 1970 - 1975 output, to name but a few, that occurred long before I developed anything close to refined taste or the ability to let music have an impact on a deep emotional and intellectual level. Or, for that matter, the ability to breath air outside of the womb in some of those cases. 

Still, once properly blown away, I could easily wrap my head around how each example was way ahead of the curve, or scared the shit out of most listeners who came in contact with it in real time. Of course, it helps if the music in question resides in the exclusive canon reserved for that which is genuinely timeless. If it falls short of timeless it sure as hell better be a high quality, well-aged specimen of music that’s nonetheless easily identifiable as being from a certain era of yore. Much of material released by Dinosaur Jr.’s during the band’s first two phases of activity, which together span 1985 until 1997, fits into one of those two categories.

My first meaningful introduction to Dinosaur Jr. essentially played out in similar a similar fashion to formative life-altering moments spun by many writers, musicians, and fans of my generation or older. I suppose a warning should now be issued that you’re about to read yet another account of someone taping episodes of MTV’s 120 Minutes. I had a habit of setting the recording time to the shittiest quality of six hours and fitting three episodes of said show onto my parents’ VHS copies of HBO and Cinemax films like The Cotton Club and Bill Cosby’s Himself. Some time after its parent album (You’re Living All Over Me) was released, on a Christmas night when I was in my early teens, the video for “Little Fury Things” ran between a Michelle Shocked number and The Cure’s infuriatingly awful “Let’s Go To Bed” (that goes for the video and the song). At first I focused on other future life-alterers like the clip for The Fall’s “New Big Prinz” and Sonic Youth’s iconic “Teenage Riot” video, as Dinosaur Jr.’s idea of a video and that song were just too fucking dark and ominous for my young teenage mind. 

But because I had to fast forward or rewind through multiple Christmas-special live-in-the-studio tomfoolery from hosts They Might Be Giants along with crap that was somehow already “not for me” like Fishbone, Camouflage, Translator, and the not-that-bad-but-long-as-hell video for Love And Rockets’ “Dog End Of A Day Gone By”, I eventually came around to the three minutes and change that was the “Little Fury Things” video….like a moth to flame. I still have the very VHS tape I used to play and rewind repeatedly while my parents were at work during the day, blasting it through the shitty speakers of our 27” Sony Trinitron and running all over the floorplans of the three houses (well, one house and two apartments, if we’re to split hairs) I lived in during my high school years. The beginning of the video goes blank for a few seconds because I accidentally hit “record” on the remote amidst some furious bouncing all over the couches and chairs.

I seriously doubt there’s a song I’ve listened to, on my own accord, more times than this one and it still delivers a palpable, albeit much different due to time passed, charge as it plays at this very moment. The sonic dichotomy that makes this track exciting- powerful noise/distortion married to a huge, highly emotive pop hook-happens to be another dragon I chase to this day and in general has been one of the crucial elements of forward movement undertaken by post-hardcore, proto and first-gen indie-rock, punk rock, shoegaze and underground metal over the last 30 years. Because I still run into music obsessives, mostly younger, who are unaware of Dinosaur Jr.’s legacy and historical place as a paramount force of innovation, influence and well-aged listening excitement, I’ll close this entry with the aforementioned video despite it visually communicating far less than it does musically. 

Much has been written (years ago by myself and more recently in Nick Atfield’s 33 ⅓ book on the album it opens) about attempting to decipher or assign one’s own meaning and words to what is probably a bunch of lyrical nonsense. I think that’s organically symptomatic of anything that hits with this kind of power and non-cheesy melancholic punch. A personal fave, however, would have to go to the one-off “Hallelujah, the sunlight brings the red out in your eyes” line that opens the gate for an instrumental mid-section of riffs (where a guitar solo might normally be).

“Little Fury Things” official video from 1987′s You’re Living All Over Me

And here’s a couple of clips that hopefully illustrate how insanely loud and air-moving Dinosaur Jr. Mach I must have been as a live band, especially considering the average age of the members was 20 to 22.

1986 at UMass…

Germany, 1988, full set. Pretty good sound given the age/era.

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

Forest is a useful app that helps you go phone-free by inspiring you to plant trees

I'm obsessed with my phone. Addicted to it, really. It's not something I'm proud of, but alas, it's true.

I've tried my fair share of productivity apps in hopes of cutting down on screen time, and while many have helped me hone my organizational skills, apps rarely hold users like me accountable if we don't follow through. That's what makes the Forest app so refreshingly different.

With a simple mission to help users "stay focused" and "be present," Forest trains people to manage their time and become less dependent on their phones in a fun, purposeful way. By spending time away from their phones, users grow virtual trees and earn coins, which can then be saved up and used to help plant real trees in five countries in Africa — Cameroon, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, and Tanzania. The app also gently shames you if you don't successfully complete your goal, which is apparently the component I've always been missing.

In an ideal world, I'd spend less time glued to my iPhone on the weekends. I'd give dining companions my full attention during meals rather than rudely checking incoming push notifications. I'd spend my commute deeply immersed in a book instead of pausing to check social media every ten minutes, and I'd drift off to sleep in the dark without having exposed my retinas to a half hour of blue light beforehand. I downloaded Forest in hopes that it would help turn my unplugged dreams into a reality, and to my great surprise, it did.

SEE ALSO: The Hear app makes trippy sounds, but it probably won't help you concentrate

Forest can be purchased on iOS devices for $1.99, and though there are several in-app purchases that help you receive more coins per virtual tree planted— $0.99 for a bottle of Sunshine Elixir, or $1.99 for a box of Sunshine Elixir — you can definitely enjoy the app without them.

To plant real trees across the world, the app partners with Trees for the Future — a nonprofit organization that works to end hunger and poverty by planting trees that help feed families in need. But understanding how the partnership and the app itself work takes a bit of explaining, so let's dive in.

Welcome to the Forest

After downloading Forest, all first-time users are welcomed with a simple set of instructions. The app explains that it will encourage users to stay focused and be more present in their daily lives by planting virtual trees. The trees planted in the app take a certain amount of time to grow — which you can customize depending on how long you want to abstain from your device — but because the trees can only grow if the app remains open, people have to put down their phones if they want to add to their virtual forests.

Before you get started, I recommend visiting the settings page in the app and creating an account so all of your data will be tracked. After that, you're ready to grow.

Image: mashable composite: forest app

To plant a virtual tree, set a timer by dragging the green button around the circular photo of a plant on the app's homepage. The app allows you to set the timer for a minimum of 10 minutes, a maximum of 120 minutes, or any 5-minute increments in between. During the set time, your virtual tree will grow provided you keep the app open, and it will die if you exit the app or attempt to use any outside feature on your phone for longer than a few seconds.

While the death of a digital tree is obviously very low-stakes, and there are no real consequences if you let it bite the dust, over the course of a week using the app I learned that just knowing a few measly minutes away from your phone is all it takes to save a life — even that of a fake tree — is a surprisingly successful motivational tactic.

Planting a virtual tree

When it came time to plant my first virtual tree I wanted to get the feel of the app, so I only set the timer for 10 minutes.

Once you hit the "plant" button, Forest graciously gives you 10 seconds to cancel your impending phone-free commitment, just in case you want to send an important text first, or realize you've made a horrible mistake and aren't ready to unplug, but don't want to put a virtual tree's life at risk.

After embarking on my first Forest experience, I noticed that after the 10-second grace period expires, the cancel countdown is replaced with a button that straight-up says, "Give Up." You can press this at any time during the run of your timer to abandon your mindfulness mission, but just know that doing so will prompt the guilt-ridden question: "Are you sure you want to give up? Your cute little tree will die." 💔

If you're not the type to admit defeat via Give Up button, you always have the option of leaving the app of your own free will — which I will admit I did several times accidentally, simply because I'm so addicted to using my phone. But before killing your tree, Forest gives you a chance to redeem yourself.

The app will send a push notification seconds after you leave, which reads, "Go back to Forest immediately to prevent the tree from dying!" You have less than a minute to return to the app and save your tree, and if you fail to do so, the next time you open Forest, an image of your sad-looking husk of a tree will appear alongside the words: "Oops! you can do better next time!"

Image: MASHABLE COMPOSITE: FOREST

Should you fail to wait out your full timer, a dead tree will show up in your virtual forest to serve as a reminder that you gave up. You won't receive any coins for the minutes you remained in the app before abandoning it, but they will be counted towards your total daily focus time, which is nice.

Planting my first tree was a delightful experience until I received a measly THREE COINS as a reward! After playing around with the app, it appears the maximum reward users can receive for a single plant (without the help of in-app purchases) is 43 coins from a 120-minute timer, which wouldn't be so disheartening if a real-life tree didn't cost a whopping 2,500 coins to plant.

Planting a real tree

If you're downloading the app with the goal of planting real trees, it can definitely be done, but it's going to take a bit of time (or additional money invested in the app) to save up the necessary coins.

The way the system works is that each time a user spends 2,500 virtual coins on a real tree, Forest donates real money to Trees for the Future, which uses that money to plant a tree in Africa.

Unfortunately, due to "budget constraint," the number of real trees each user can currently plant using the app is limited to five. Forest assures users that there will be "limited time events that will allow users to plant more real trees" in the future, though, and planting five trees is still far more productive than not planting any.

Image: forest

Features galore

While the app's teal home page presents an extremely minimalist design, Forest is full of elaborate features. 

For starters, by using the notch located in the upper center of the screen, users can switch from planting solo to planting with friends or family. Enabling the app's Plant Together feature syncs several Forest accounts and raises the stakes by challenging everyone to go phone-free simultaneously. If one person in the group uses their phone, everyone's trees will die, which makes it perfect for group dinners or movie nights.

In the upper left of the app's home screen lies the main menu, which offers a trove of customizable options. It includes nine expandable features: Forest, Timeline, Tags, Friend, Achievements, Store, Real Forest, News, and Settings. Each has the potential to enhance your in-app experience, should you take advantage of them, but I want to highlight the most important.

Image: Forest

The "Forest" option in the Forest app is where you can see all the virtual trees you’ve planted so far. You can use it to track your visual progress over days, weeks, months, or years, and use more specific filters to review your historical app data.

The Tags feature allows you to search more specifically, by the labels you use to tag your plants, such as Work, Study, Social, Rest, Entertainment, and more. This is especially helpful if you’re curious about which types of activities you spend the most time on when you’re not glued to your phone screen.

Achievements allow you to keep track of all your performance awards, such as when you reach four hours of focus time. (These rewards are extra fun because they come with coins.) And the Real Forest page is where you go to turn your coins into real life trees, should you ever reach that impressive milestone. The page also reveals that many real trees have been planted as a result of the app. (At the time of writing, Forest and Trees for the Future had planted 434,459 trees around the world.)

Image: mashable composite: forest

For those of you itching to blow your coins as you earn them, however, the store is the place for you. Forest's in-app store allows users to unlock different species of virtual bushes and trees in hopes of making the virtual gardens more exciting.

Each additional plant — from virtual cacti and trees to flowers and more —  takes 500 coins to unlock, and you can also use coins to unlock ambient sounds like "Café in Paris," "Rain and thunder," and "Times Square" to turn phone-free time into a more meditative experience. To listen to an ambient sound while planting a tree, simply press and hold the headphone icon in the upper righthand corner of the app screen.

The verdict

Up until a week ago, I seriously struggled to separate myself from my phone. Now, I'm free from my mobile device whenever I want to be — even if it's only 10 minutes a day.

After using Forest for just a few days, I felt transformed. I used the app at a restaurant one night and it helped me fight the temptation to periodically check my phone. I turned on timers when I wanted to watch television or read books and successfully did so distraction-free. And right before bed, I'd set a 120-minute timer to prevent me from falling into the vicious cycle of late-night social media scrolling. (The creators of Forest have another app called SleepTown that was specifically created to help build more healthy sleep patterns.)

I love that Forest lets users categorize each break they take, and add descriptions — this way I can track whether I spend more time working or binge-watching Queer Eye. And I had some fun with the personalized message feature, which lets you write your own encouraging phrases that pop up throughout your phone-free journey.

Image: forest

The app also lets you set up to five Planting Reminders during a day, so you don't forget to unplug, and I discovered that if you really need to send a timely text message in the middle of a Forest timer, you can cheat the system.

By quickly leaving and returning to the app a few times, you can manage to type and send a text without sacrificing your plant progress. It's not a loophole I abuse often, but it's one I do like knowing exists. There's also an additional "Work With Phone" option on the settings page that allows users to leave the app without killing plants, but you have to sacrifice half of the final reward and the tree will not be counted towards the leaderboard.

Ultimately, I think the app is well worth the money, and I have very few complaints, but I would like Forest's timers to show up on my lock screen when the app is in use like a regular iPhone timer does.

If there's a setting to make that happen I haven't found it yet, but when I'm in the focus zone I'd rather be able to tap my home button and see how much time I have left until my tree grows than unlock my phone and go back into the app.

Otherwise, Forest exceeded my expectations and genuinely helped me unplug during times when I desperately wanted to but didn't know how. It's an uplifting app that celebrates and rewards you for the time spent away from your phone, rather than trying to curb your phone addiction by highlighting all time you do spend using social media and other apps.

If you have a healthy conscience, the low-stakes death of a virtual tree will be enough to inspire you to focus. And the thought of working toward planting a real tree should successfully motivate you to commit the app for the long haul.

WATCH: 11 meditation apps to help you de-stress

[choisgirls]

Hello!! RFAs reaction to MC who casts spells? Like lights candles and casts spells like a little witch. MC started because she found spells online and tried them out, but they actually seemed to work! Whether or not they really do is up to you haha

A/N: guys idk if youknow this but i’m actually really into witchcraft- like magick, crystals,spirituality, spells, sO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS and i just im soRRY IM SOEXCITED FOR THIS REQUEST but i toned it down a little to spare y'all ~Admin 404

*YOOSUNG:

           -He was the one to bring the idea upin the first place, actually!

           -“MC!!! I can’t rememberanything! I’ve studied this same page for the past hour or so and I can’tremember ANY of it. Uhg, why can’t there be any kind of magic to help me withthis? You know, kind of like Harry Potter? Or the magic spells in LOLOL!!”

           -Now you weren’t witch-savvy but youwere determined to find something that could help him!! Or at least make himfeel as if he’s being helped! He needed to pass this upcoming test and seeinghim suffer made you feel terrible!

           -So, thanks to the internet, youfound a sort of “Study star” spell for him! You explain it to him andhe is so!!! ready!!! to try!!

           -You light up an orange candle, ashe focuses on the light. You had him draw a seven point star, had him dab a smudgeof sage oil in the center of the star and on his forehead between his eyes. Youalso had him repeat the chant a few times.

           -You had him keep the paper in hishand the whole time he studied, and when he was done, he blew out the candle

           -Neither of you knew if it didanything but he did have to admit that he was excited to try it anyway!!

           -He came home the next day from histest extremely hyper, loud, and just all around excited puppy yoosung

           -“MC! MC! I PASSED! I PASSED ITWITH FLYING COLOURS! IT WORKED, THE SPELL-THINGY WORKED! OH MY GOD WE HAVE TODO IT EVERY SINGLE TIME”

           -He was yelling in excitement,jumping on the other half of the couch as you bounced up and down on the otherhalf due to him. You agreed to do it every time he need to study, so he couldget and keep his grades up!

*ZEN:

           -He was disappointed about notgetting the part he wanted in a play

           -And the moment he walked into yourguy’s home, you were practically hit in the face with his negative aura

           -“Oh no, nonono, step backoutside”

           -You pushed him out of the frontdoor and he stood there completely confused. Too confused to even ask what wasgoing on, or attempt to re-enter the home

           -He watched as you mixed salt andgarlic and sprinkled it along the doorsteps, the windowsills, any entry pointto the house

           -“MC what in the world are youdoing can I please come inside now?? What are your sprinklingeverywhere??”

           -You explained that you protectedthe house from negative influences, and that now he was able to enter the house

           -“I don’t want your negativeenergy up in here Zen, so I’m protecting our home. Now, come on inside and tellme what’s wrong, love”

           -HE DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE INTO THISKIND OF STUFF???? MC can you give me more protection things? Self-care? BeauTYSPELLS????

           -You just sigh every time he asksbut you do secretly draw him an herbal protection bath at least once a monthand he just thinks you buy the MOST amazing bath salts because they smell andmake him feel a m a z i n g

*JAEHEE:

           -You’ve noticed her stress lately,it’s not like she hides it well

           -And you wanted to help!! But youjust COULDN’T think of a spell to help

           -You thought of maybe combining twoof them, but suddenly you had an idea!

           -You ran up to her with a bag fullof different colour yarn, and told her the meaning of each colour. She wasthrown off and wasn’t sure why you were telling her, but she played along

           -“You have to pick oneaccording to how you feel, as in what kind of problems you’re having! Did youpick one? Oh good! Okay, the next thing you need to do is hold it taut. Gotit?”

           -She followed your directionssilently. She knew you believed in things like spells and magic and she wantedto respect you although she didn’t believe in it herself. Besides, she knowsyou’re just trying to help, and she can’t complain about that!

           -“Okay now, concentrate on allof your problems you’re having. Really visualize them as you tie knots intoyarn. Yes, just like that! You’re tying up the problems and they can’t getaway!”

           -She held it out to you when she wasdone visualizing, “Alright now what? Do we do something about visualizingthe same problems and untie the knots, as if we’re letting go of- MC where areyou going?”

           -You snatched the yarn from herwhile she talked, holding it far out in front of you as if it was evil, and youran outside. She watched as you tried to quickly dig a hole in the dirt andthrow the yarn in it, figuratively burying her problems

           -She shook her head and couldn’thelp but smile. She didn’t feel any problems go away, but she did get happierknowing you wanted to help her bad enough that you’d run outside and try to diga hole with one hand

*JUMIN:

           -He came home one day to find yourubbing some sort of liquid across your wrist, heart, and forehead. And onlythose places. He was thoroughly confused. You weren’t new to spell casting buthe’s never SEEN you do it

           -It smelt like a mix of lemon juice,mint, basil, and a few more that he couldn’t place off the top of his head

           -He asked what you were doing andyou just smiled at him, shrugging before you answered

           -“I made a spell! I boiledbasil, bay leaves, coriander, lemon juice,-” He watched you list several thingsoff but just tilted his head to the side out of confusion

           -“You…casted… a spell? Likeas in magic? And witches?”

           -“Yeah! I casted itbecause…well.. I just wanted to strengthen our relationship and make sure ourlove is there and strong at all times…”

           -You looked down at your feet,pouting a little bit, hoping you didn’t freak him out, but he kissed yourforehead instead

           -“Oh, MC, you didn’t need aspell for that. The love I have for you is immense, there’s no need toworry”

           -Which wOW you couldn’t tell if thatwas just him being honest with you or if your spell DID work. You’d have to tryanother one to see if it worked.

           -“But um, MC? What can I usedto wash this mixture off because I really dislike the taste. I probably shouldhave kissed your cheek instead.”

*SAEYOUNG:

           -Can’t tell me nerd boy hasn’t triedto recreate spells from Harry Potter or the show Charmed

           - i also believe that he’s trieda few protection spells for saeran growing up

           -But lately you’ve noticed he’s hada string of nightmares and you felt terrible! Watching him wake up completelyfreaked out broke your heart

           -You weren’t sure how to reallybring up the idea of performing a spell, so you just blurted it out

           -He just nodded and smiled towardsyou before saying, “Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Last time they gotreally bad I tired one and it seemed to help. Maybe with you doing it with me,it’ll work even better!!!!”

           - im sorry last time you whAT

           -You threw your shock out of thewindow when he pulled out the items you needed- salt, rosemary, rose petals,glass bowl, valerian, and polish moonstone

           -WheRE DID HE HAVE THESE THINGS ANDWHY DIDN’T YOU KNOW ABOUT IT

           -Helped him find a place by the bedto put the bowl where he wouldn’t accidently knock it over

           -Overall you had no real part inthis?? He did it all himself??? You weren’t NEW to witchcraft or anythingbut??? You’re just disappointed that you had nO IDEA HE WAS INTO IT

*V:

           -He travels often for hisphotography

           -But this most recent trip, therewas a little hiccup and made the trip a little dangerous

           -And you DID. NOT. LIKE. IT.

           -So you were determined to make surehe was safe every time he left the house

           -You were new to the whole magickaspect, and decided to find something on the internet and see if it would helpat all

           -(Or at least help ease your mindabout him leaving)

           -You decided to make a “SafeTravel” charm for him!!!

           -Crying a little on the inside asyou tore a bit of your red flannel shirt (MC it’s not like it fits anymore,it’ll be okay), placed some dirt, large pieces of rock salt, and one of yourfavourite silver rings into it. The moment you were done sewing it into alittle bag, you rushed to give it to him

           -He was surprised at the gift, buthis heart immediately MELTED when you told him what it was, what it’s made of,and why you made it. HONESTLY DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE ON TRIPS AFTER THAT, howcould he worry his MC that much??

           -He swore to be 500% careful when heleft the house, and NEVER do anything to make you worry. Neither of you knew ifthe charm actually worked the way it was supposed to, but it did remind himthat he needed to take your feelings into account when he takes trips

*SAERAN:

           -He’s seen you participate in spellsand rituals before

           -He’s even read up about the magick!Mainly because he was interested in the black magick aspect before meeting you

           -Now that he’s met you, and youparticipate in the white magick, he figures what could it hurt.

           -He’s been pretty down lately, andyou felt horrible about it! The both of you knew nothing really caused it, but youstill wanted to try to help

           -He was walking into the room to askyou a question about this new movie he saw, but noticed you were sitting at thealtar you set up

           -You were sitting in front of 3yellow candles, he could smell cedar, and he watched you sprinkle some herbsaround the candles

           -He kept hearing you mutter to yourself,and he decided not to disturb you. But once you were done, he definitelyquestioned just what you were doing

           -“You were testing a happinessspell? What for? Are you not happy, MC? Is everything alright?” Heactually got REALLY worried like oh nO MY MC IS SAD???

           -“No, no! I wanted to see if itworked because… I mean, if it does work I was gonna suggest you try it.You’ve been down lately and I just want to help but I guess I should have justasked if you wanted help and I’m sor-”

           -He cut you off before you couldapologize by hugging you. He muttered a thank you before he kissed the side ofyour head. He agreed to try the spell with you, as well! that was easy,thought i’d have to fight more

[sehxnismylover-blog]

my adventures of being an anti to being the biggest stan of EXO

Hey ~ this post isn’t really a need-to-read blog but if you do read it then thank you. Since EXO’s 5th year anniversary is coming soon, I just wanted to share how much I fucking hated the whole genre KPOP itself and how EXO like legit changed my life. cheesy af but bear with me it’s a good story i tell ya, or so I think lol.

I haven’t been a kpop fan for long, but since I’ve been exposed to kpop since I was a kid I grew up listening to a few selected kpop songs which are from the groups every kpop stan should know about. I’m from the Philippines, and I’m still a junior in high school ~ ever since I was a kid me and my elder sister (who also legit turned into a kpop fan herself because of me // both of us were antis before) always tuned in on MTV because music is just the world to us. Back then, I was the biggest brat for One Direction ever since they debuted. So me and my sis would always tune in on MTV to see them, but since it was MTV Asia, ofc they would show groups from all over Asia. That’s when I saw all legends and the biggest hits on kpop  like SNSD, 2NE1, 2PM, BIGBANG, SUJU, WONDER GIRLS, PSY, and EXO themselves. 

Since EXO was already a big hit during the Wolf era, that was the very first time I saw them on TV and I sure as hell hated them the first time I saw them. I was all like, “Ugh, they’re disgusting” and “Why do they even exist” during that time ~keep in mind this was 2012 ~ I tried to let myself watch them but they never just grew on me that time, like ever. And so at school, my classmates were already aware of this rising kpop group EXO, and I could always hear the name Luhan and Chanyeol. I can never forget how much of a fangirl my friend was to them and I was always glaring at them for liking those types of music and bands since I was a hardcore Directioner during that time. 

It wasn’t long since Growl was released, and it became a really huge hit here in the Philippines! I swear to God I remember always hearing the song in malls, in public markets, in stores, in the sidewalks and basically just everywhere! I began to hear more about this group but just ignored it since kpop just really wasn’t my style back then. I saw them around tv, on the news, newspapers and magazines and they just legit boomed during that time. My classmates went really crazy for them and I was still like, “Meh, those idiots aren’t even as famous as One Direction”. 

Then came Overdose and EXO boomed even more but I still ignored. I saw them on TV when they had their first concert on Manila, they were on the headlines for singing a very famous filipino song called “Hawak Kamay” and was praised a lot by people and impressed some elders for that. ugh such an iconic time says my exo-l self who missed a lot during that time

Tons and tons and TONS of EXO merchandise were around the Philippines and everyone I see was always wearing them! Although some were not aware of who EXO was, the name EXO and the members numbers were a big fashion hit here in the Philippines. I always saw WOLF 88 printed on their shirts, some with the other members numbers and printed names like shit they still are a big fashion hit here in the Philippines until now. 

Moving on, I didn’t hear much about EXO during the Call Me Baby era but I still saw them on tv and online. I kind of faded away from 1D since Zayn left lmao lol iconic time but I still liked the band and their music and all. After I faded away from 1D I was addicted to anime and became an animaniac lol. This isn’t much of an important part of my story so I’ll fast forward.

Fast forward to when I was like in the middle of high school, I have a friend who was a kpop fan since 3rd grade according to what she said, and as I’ve mentioned, ever since before I used to listen to a few kpop songs and I forgot how but I did discover Jay Park on tv and then listened to his music and had a huge crush on him for about 2 years before I became a kpop fan (i still listen to him now i luv his music) and then I listened to some of Taeyang’s music (ofc Eyes,Nose, Lips), with which I had no idea was part of legit the biggest kpop band in the world until I was tempted to listen to some BB songs and secretly listened to Growl when my sister wasn’t watching lmao because who doesn’t like that song???, So back to my point, my friend whom I never knew was a die-hard kpop fan since 3rd grade, was always silent since understandably not much of my friends were kpop fans when I first entered high school.  

This part is for me, a hilariously pathetic excuse since this is the time I started being a kpop fan: 

It was when we were tackling about the Music of Korea in class, our book had SNSD, Red Velvet, SUJU, 2NE1, and Wonder Girls and had a fun fact part about Dara since she’s called the Pambansang Krung-Krung (”krung krung” is a filipino slang which means foolish weird or crazy and “pambansang” meaning national so she’s legit called the National Weirdo of the Philippines lmao nothing offensive btw dont take it srsly) here in the PH. So after our class, our teacher told us to prepare a dance or a song in korean and put us in groups and I was a group leader since, not to brag, I’m pretty good at singing lmao, I got a little excited over the thought that we would probably sing Eyes Nose Lips or dance Growl and Fantastic Baby like that was already awesome for me. I had a friend who was really good at dancing so I assigned her to help out learning the choreo with me and I searched for what we were gonna present. I ended up choosing Come Back Home by 2ne1, EXO’s Growl and Good Boy by GD and TY. We didn’t have much time for practicing so we just dropped Growl and mashed up Good Boy and Come Back Home. 

But while we were practicing our dance, we considered Growl and I downloaded the dance practices for our chosen songs, me and my group watched the choreos carefully and guess what? While watching the Growl dance practice, I suddenly felt weird while watching this EXO member I never noticed before. I asked my kpop friend about it, and I eventually found out this little cute boy was Baekhyun. He wasn’t my bias though, my first EXO bias was Tao but after I found out there were 3 members who left the group and Tao was one of them, I became sad. Tao wasn’t my ub tho. 

After our presentations in class, when I got home I suddenly itched to search for EXO some more. I mean it wouldn’t hurt to know about them right? And so I searched and started watching interviews and watched EXO Showtime since people had recommended that watching that would be a good start for a new fan. I din’t watch all the ep’s of EXO Showtime but I did watch the famous episodes of the show, including the last EP which was when I suddenly fell head over heels for the fucking maknae Oh Sehun. 

After that, Sehun just became my universal bias, and then I watched Monster and fell in love, and then I became their biggest fan after just one month. Always keeping up with updates, following all the members who had IG accounts, and officially became an EXO-L just when I celebrated with other EXO-L’s online during Yixing’s birthday last year when What U Need? MV came out and then eventually Yixing became my biggest bias wrecker ever. 

I’ve only been an EXO-L for seven months, but I have memorized almost every lyric of all their albums and have downloaded every album on my phone. I know all their birthdays and their facts and their ideal types and I’ve memorized some choreos of their songs, I havent’t met them yet but I’m positive to see them before Xiumin’s military enlistment this 2019. 

I’ve realized there’s nothing wrong with trying something new out, EXO became a big inspiration for my life, they made me change into a more hard working person. Because of them I actually considered not giving up my dreams of becoming a singer and because of them I actually learned to appreciate dancing lmao. They’ve helped me into focusing on my studies and suprisingly my grades went higher ever since I entered a new life of being a kpop fan.

I explored kpop a bit more after becoming an EXO-L, I also joined the BTS Army fandom shortly after becoming an EXO-L and after seven months of being a kpop fan I legit stan a lot of groups and singers now. I’m a multifandom girl now even tho EXO is my bias group.

I stan BTS, Seventeen, NCT, KARD, 2NE1, BIGBANG, BLACKPINK, DEAN, Red Velvet, GOT7, Jay Park and Heize. I know almost 500 kpop groups and I know a lot about the history of kpop and I know how to speak average Korean now and its only been seven months lol.

Anyways, that ends my long post lol. Cheers to you if you finished reading this. EXO SARANGHAJA! EXO AND EXO-L FIGHTING! Cheers to 5 years with our beloved idols! 

(IM LEGIT SO EXCITED FOR THEIR NEW COMEBACK OMF BYE)

[diddlesanddoodles]

BITTER LEMONS MAKE (GT/Fantasy)

Prologue to Salted Lemonade. 

This monstrosity is a bit shy of 16,000 words. Holy biscuits. I decided to upload the prologue as one big story rather than into short chapters as I originally intended for the sake of simplicity and because I don’t have the patience to upload another story via separate chapters. Also, I am a person who appreciates a good long read, especially GT stories since many tend o be short. And I hope the people who do read my stories appreciate it as well. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it.

The changing of the leaves brought the first frost of the coming season as well as excited talk of costumes and candy and parties. Recess was spent ogling over the newly released Party City costume insert from last Sunday’s newspaper and fervent discussions on who would go as what or as who. Most of the girls in her class were all fawning over the newest Disney Princess costume. The deluxe one that came with the nicer wig and accessories with a price tag to match. Astrid wanted to be a zombie. Not a princess or something girly like that. A proper and true zombie with blood and guts and lots of cool make up.

But her Mother did not like her daughter’s idea and had been not so subtly suggesting she pick something with more frills and skirts and sequins. To which Astrid had cheekily suggested that she could go as Mrs. Lovette. Her mother shot down the idea after doing a google search on the character.

So as the number 24 bus drove down W. Gulliver Blvd, Astrid was in deep thought about her costume choices. She did not want to go door to door dressed as a floofy cupcake like every other girl in town. Every Halloween since she could rightly remember, Astrid had gone with whatever costume idea her mother had. She never had anything against them because they were always funny or unique. But this year, her mother seemed determined to see her daughter in a puffy pink dress parading around like the Princess of Prussia. All Astrid wanted to be was an undead brain eating monster. Maybe they could compromise and she could be a Zombie princess.

She was jarred from her thoughts when the bus slowed and stopped. Looking up, she saw Rosita’s diner and the shell gas station, a full three blocks from the next bus stop. Her bus stop. A crack of static from the loud speaker drew the attention of the bus passengers and the driver’s voice spoke out.

“Attention all Jessup Road passengers. We got construction on Herald Circle and a wreck blocking Main street, so I’m afraid I’ll be having to drop you off here. Come see me up to the front when disembarking and I shall issue you a refund receipt.”

With a sigh, Astrid pulled on her jacket and slipped her yellow backpack onto her shoulders before slipping off the hard plastic seat, standing aside as a young man in a high school jersey nudged passed her. Following the young man, an elderly woman with a two wheeled hand cart filled with groceries, and a businessman with a cell phone pressed to his ear, Astrid collected her refund receipt.

His bored and lazy expression sharpened into something resembling mild concern s as Astrid waited, hand outstretched for her receipt.

“You live close by, kid?” he asked.

“Yeah. Off of Comly.”

“Oh, okay. Well, tell your folks to go to that URL on the back and sign into your account. Follow the prompts and put in that code, it’ll refund your buss pass,” said the driver, handing her a small slip of paper. She muttered a quiet thank you and stepped off the warm bus into the chilly air. She could cut through the strip mall and walk down Forrest St and walk straight into her backyard. She would be home in five minutes.  

The young man in the high school jersey and matching jacket seemed to have had the same idea and was heading towards the strip mall. He had paused by the window to the Hibbett’s Sports and by the time he had moved on, Astrid had caught up, passing him by. After the Michael’s craft store, there was the large expansive overflow parking lot. There was a few semi trucks parked off to the side and a few employee cars, but it was mostly empty. The high school boy’s legs were much longer than her own and by the time they were almost half way across the asphalt, he had passed her again. He flashed her a smarmy lopsided grin. Astrid scrunched her nose and stuck her tongue out at the back of his head.

Under her sneakers, the ground shivered. Stopping, Astrid looked around her and hearing something jingle, she looked up at the light post. She could see it sway slightly. The young man had stopped too and was glancing around curiously.

“Oh man,” he said with an excited grin. “That was an earthquake!”

The ground shivered again. And bucked. And swayed. Astrid cried out as she fell to her knees, unable to keep on her feet as everything that should not be moving was moving.

“Ah, cool!” yelled the older boy, his excitement was nearly palpable. “This is awesome!”

Astrid was no where near as excited as he was at experiencing her first earthquake. There was nothing as sturdy and as present and solid as the ground a person walked on and to feel it move and buck like a horse was terrifying. And she would very much like for it to stop.

However, instead of complying to the wishes of a fourth grader, it got worse. There was a crack like the sound of a whip somewhere nearby, and the wind started to kick up. Astrid watched the dirt and small rocks fly about in the wind as it began to turn and twist and there came a sudden shift in the strength of the wind’s spin. She felt herself sliding as the twisting air pulled at her. Her bare hands batted feebly at the ground, trying to find purchase. She heard the older boy scream as he lost his balance and fell hard on the ground and too began to slid towards the eye of the cyclone. Their fear filled eyes met for the briefest of moments before the surface below them dropped away and the pair fell into the nothingness.

…………….

The nothingness gave way to sound and air and an uncomfortable tightness in her chest. She gasped for breath and tumbled into the dirt. She heard the sound of someone gasping loudly and suspected it to be the older boy.

“Uuugh,” he muttered. “Augh, my chest.”

She whined in feeble agreement, rubbing her sternum as she pushed up from the ground. It felt as though someone had punched her. There was a pungent smell of pine that greeted her next inhale of air and she raised her head, curious. Her stomach clenched. All around were trees taller than any she had ever seen. The seemed to stretch high above them like hands reaching up to block the sky. Their sharp needled branches, looking like tiny clawed fingers against the orange light of the dying sun.  

Wait. Sunset? Astrid glanced at her cell phone. 3:22 PM. And no signal. The strip mall was no where in sight. In fact, the only thing she could see were the huge trees. Trees and dirt and rocks.  

“Where the hell...?” asked the boy aloud, sitting up from where he had been laying. “Crap...these trees are freakin’ huge!”

Carefully pulling herself up from the dirt, Astrid rose to her feet and winced against several new aches. Her backpack was a familiar and comforting weight against her back and shoulders.

“Hey. Do you have a cell phone, kid?” The boy asked. In his hands, he held a thin white iphone.  

“Yeah,” she replied, flashing him a small black brick that was her prepaid Nokia. “But no bars.”

“Me neither. Damn,” he replied, glaring at the useless piece of metal in his hands. “Well. This day has been very weird.”

Astrid nodded numbly, still starring at the trees and wondering how such giant things could exist. And a though struck her.

“I think I know where we are!” She exclaimed, excited at her genius.

“Where?” asked the boy, a hopeful glint in his brown eyes.

“California!”

The hopeful glint was replaced with an incredulous raising of an eyebrow. “California.”

“Yeah.”

“Suuuure. We just magically popped across the country. California is like...500 miles away!”

“But the trees,” she replied with a huff. “They’re big.”

“I noticed that.”

“And they have big trees in California.”

A spark of recognition hit him. “Oh! The redwoods!”

“Yeah!”

“Hey, you might not be wrong,” he replied. “But still. How the hell did we get to California?”

………………………………..

If she thought the weirdest thing that had ever happened to her was being magically being tossed across the country, Astrid was in for a troubling development. In the form of a thirty foot fence.

After several moments of standing around uselessly with plenty of indecisive grumbling as to what to do, they ultimately decided to pick a direction and start walking for as long as the light held out. Despite conventional wisdom telling them that it would have been better to stay where they were. They reasoned that no one would be searching for them in the Redwood nation forest when they would be reported missing several states away. So best go find a park ranger or something. Before it got dark.

So when their path was abruptly blocked by what appeared to them as a wall of chicken wire, they were confused.

“Who builds such a huge fence out of chicken wire?” the boy, Tommy, mused bitterly. Astrid ran two fingers along the metal. The wire itself was thick. Thicker that the power cord to her Grandpa’s shop vac and though the weave of the metal did resemble chicken wire, it was much sturdier and did not have near the give and sway that she normally associated it. “Damn, this thing’s tall too.”

“What do we do?” Astrid asked, starting to feel sweaty and dirty. A hot bath sounded good. And a sandwich. She was getting hungry.

“I say we follow it,” Tommy shrugged. “I mean, it’s gotta lead somewhere right?”

It was starting to get dark and the temperature was dropping fast. Her plush red flannel jacket was keeping her warm enough, but her face was chilled and she was rubbing feeling back into her nose and cheeks. The denim of her jeans was stiffening in the cold. She followed after Tommy as he continued on down the fence line. After about an hour, she noticed to her other side more fencing. They seemed to be coming to a point where the fences met.

“Hey, look!” Tommy exclaimed, pointing ahead. “There’s a gap there.”

Sure enough, just where one would expect the two fences to meet was a generous sized gap. A gate perhaps? Tommy jogged ahead, leaving Astrid to toddle along behind. The boy’s long legs brought him quickly over to the gap, kicking up forest debris as he went. Astrid saw the faint orange light of the setting sun bounce off a reflective surface, hidden under pine needles and dirt. Curious, she walked over to it and as she got close enough to see that it was indeed metal, there was a faint clink from under her sneaker and there came a horrendous crashing of metal and screaming hinges. She screamed as walls rose from from every direction and snapped shut, tossing Astrid backwards. Her shoulders slammed into metal bars.

“What the crap was that?!” Tommy yelled, whirling around. His eyed widened. “Holy-! Oh god, are you okay?!”

Astrid’s entire field of vision was framed by bars. Metal bars. Cage bars. It was a cage. She was in a cage. It took several long moments for this fact to sink in and Tommy was already at the cage, pulling on what he assumed to be a door. There was a huge bolt keeping it closed. Four feet long and several inches thick. It looked as though it could weigh an easy 100 lbs. No matter how hard Tommy yanked on it, it would not move.

Astrid was on her feet, pulling and pushing every piece that looked like it might move. But nothing did.  Suddenly, there was a bright flash of blue light, startling both of them. Atop the cage was a blue light that blinked and fluttered like a police car light.

“Please, get me out!” Astrid pleaded. The belated sense of panic was taking root in her mind now. It had been easy to be enthralled by the bizarre circumstances, let the novelty and wonder take precedent. But now accumulating evidence was beginning to leave her terrified. The trees were huge. The fence was huge. This cage was huge. She felt small and helpless. She wanted out. She wanted to go home.

“I don’t want to be here anymore! I want to go home!” Astrid cried.

Tommy bent down to her level, looking at her through the bars. He looked almost as terrified as she felt. “Look, just...uh, calm down. Okay? You’re gonna be fine. I’m gonna...” he trialed off, looking around hopelessly and then up at the blinking light. “I’m gonna try and find someone...I’ll...”

He stepped back, starring at the sky. His own sense of wonder and awe was gone as well. Replaced by panic and fear.

“HELP!” He screamed up at the sky. “SOMEBODY! PLEASE!”

“Help!” Astrid added, though she could not manage near the volume.

“ANYBODY OUT THERE?” Tommy yelled.

They carried on for a good while, screaming at empty air for help. But then, from the near silent forest came a familiar sound. A welcomed sound. Foot steps. The wave of relief was acutely palpable and Astrid almost sobbed in relief.

“Hello!” Tommy yelled, walking towards the sound. “Is somebody there?”

“Aye. That’d be me,” replied a calm voice. It echoed oddly, but both Tommy and Astrid were so relieved to have finally been found to notice. The prospect of going home filled Astrid and her face broke out into a wide happy grin. She would go home and tell her mother that she would gladly wear the gaudiest, fluffiest, pinkest princess dress she could find and go trick or treating with a skip in her step.

Tommy was almost laughing with relief. “Mind giving us a hand? Some freaking nutcase set these giant traps and my friend’s stuck inside.”

There was a laugh, a low chuckle, and the foot steps got closer and closer. And louder and louder. A dark shape amongst the trees drew their focus. It was large. Tall. Impossibly tall. The footfalls were much louder now and tremors shook the ground.

The joy of being found was starting to fade and uncertainty took hold. Fear bubbled back.

The dark shape stepped up to the gap in the fence and the dying light cast them in a deep orange light. It was man like in body, but in size it was monstrous. As she starred, everything seemed to suddenly click in Astrid’s mind. The impossibly tall trees. The thirty foot fence. This absurd cage she was trapped in. And now, a mere 100 meters away, stood a giant.

An honest to goodness giant.

He was slightly shorter than the fence, but not by much. Easily twenty something feet. Appearing middle aged with brown hair and dull gray eyes. His ears were large and laughably shaped with shared similarities to those of an elf. He was dressed in a long dark coat with something strung across his back and at his side was what appeared to be a dog. An eight foot tall dog. Lithe and thin snouted with long shaggy black fur and piercingly blue eyes. It sat on its haunches, calmly watching. “Sorry to put a damper on things, little fella...”

Both Tommy and Astrid froze and their eyes widened as their brains struggled to process what they were seeing.

“But, y’see,” continued the giant with a smirk, flashing a set of wickedly sharp canines. “I’d be that freakin’ nutcase who set them traps.”

An alarming sense of nausea took over everything. Astrid felt like her insides were being pulled down to the bottom of her feet. Adrenaline sparked through her limbs, making her hands tingle. The giant was watching them, taking in their much smaller forms and smiling enigmatically all the while. The large dog at his side did not move, but its blue eyes never left their trained focus. On Tommy.

“Gotta say, you two are mighty lucky I happened by this section,” said the giant brightly as he stepped closer. Tommy visibly recoiled and took several cautious steps back. Astrid shrank back to the furthest end of the cage. The giant took little to no notice. “Don’t come down this way much anymore. Haven’t seen anything pop through here for almost a year. Figured the partition healed or something. But here you are. Heh. And two of you as well! Must’ve been quite a collapse to suck two of you lil’ snippets up in one go.”

“Look, uh...sir. We don’t want any trouble,” Tommy said, voice cracking.

“And I ain’t here to bring any to you,” replied the giant simply, his shoulders rising and falling in a lazy shrug. “So long as you cooperate, that is.”

“Please,” Tommy continued, a desperate lilt coloring his words. Worried eyes flickered over to Astrid and back to the giant, one shaky hand gesturing to the trapped girl. “Just...let her out. We’re just trying to get home, sir. We just want to go home. Please.”

The giant’s overall pleased demeanor faltered and his eyebrow narrowed every so slightly. The curl of his smile withered. “Ain’t no goin’ home for you two now. Best come to terms with that. Make it easy for yourselves.”

“W-what do you...” Tommy muttered with a narrowing of his brow and taking a deliberate step back. “ You can’t keep us here. Of course we’re going home!”

The giant regarded the pair for a moment and his expression changed to amusement. He stifled a laugh. “Not unless you figured out how to rip space and time apart, navigate the inbetween, and rearrange your own atoms back together in the proper order and in the correct location.”

Both humans were struck dumb.

“It’d be a mighty neat party trick,” added the giant. “Pay good money to see that.”  

Astrid felt decidedly sick and her breathing was becoming erratic as she began to panic. Tommy did not seem much better.

“So, how about we wrap this up, hm? It’s gettin’ mighty late,” the giant said, striding purposefully towards them now. “And it’s nearly dinner time.”

Images of every monster movie she had ever seen flashed in Astrid’s head. Gnashing teeth and buckets of blood, glass shattering screams, and the long pained death throws of the doomed victims. All of it was wrapped in the form a twenty something foot man who making his way straight for them.

She turned to Tommy and yelled. “RUN!”

The older boy did not even spare her a glance before he turned and bolted away, his long legs and adrenaline filled veins carrying him far and fast in a manner of mere moments. Astrid heard the giant release a long frustrated sigh. “Silly boy.”

“Knew it,” quipped a new voice from behind the giant. But all Astrid saw was the dog.

“Tippan,” the giant said, glancing over his shoulder at the dog. “Fetch.”

“He looked like a runner,” replied the dog. Astrid had only the briefest moment to marvel, or tremble, at the prospect of a talking dog – a talking eight foot tall dog – before she watched in horror as the large hound bolted off after Tommy. 

“Now then,” came the giant’s voice much closer than Astrid remembered and she turned and found him kneeling over the cage and peering down at her. “Let’s get you settled away, sweetheart.”

Astrid pressed herself into the far back corner, staring up at the enormous figure. She felt hot tears streaming down her face and her breath was caught in her throat. He dipped his shoulder and slipped off a large square pack from his back. In the dim light it was hard to really tell, but it looked like it was made of boiled red leather. On the side facing Astrid, she could see a small window cut out. It looked like something a person would carry a pet in. Or something a giant would keep captured humans in. He studied her for a moment and his eyes narrowed in concentration.

“Well I’ll be damned. A kit!” said the giant in astonishment and he leaned down closer. He smiled. “Never had one fall through before. Huh. You’re just a little smidgen of a thing, aren’t you?”

“Please don’t eat me!” she begged, starring up at him with wide terrified eyes.

His grin widened and he huffed a laugh. “Eat you? Oh, sweetie. As scrumptious as you look, that’s not why I’m here.”

The large bolt that she and Tommy had struggled to move earlier was easily and effortlessly pulled out and the door popped open. A hand crept inside. Astrid curled into herself, covering her head with her arms and whimpered in sheer terror, waiting for the hand to grab her, for fingers to tear her limbs from her body, and for teeth to crush her bones.

“Aw, now. Don’t be like that, little darlin’,” said the giant. “You’re breakin’ my heart here.”

She felt something brush her side and she cried out and tried to scramble away, but large fingers easily wrapped around her and drew her out of the metal trap. Her arms were pinned to her sides, but her legs were free and she kicked uselessly at open air. The giant chortled in amusement.

“Lively one you are,” he muttered. She watched his other hand travel over to the red leather pack and peel back the flap. The inside was divided into two sections with enough room in each one for a person – a human – to stand. He then lowered Astrid into one of the compartments, closing the flap after her and sealing her in. She immediately dropped to floor and curled up. Her heart was beating so fast and it didn’t feel like she could get enough air into her lungs. From the outside, she heard a noise and the giant speak.

“Good work, Tippan.”

She could hear Tommy grunting and swearing. Astrid struggled back to her feet and pressed her face against the window cut out in the leather. There was a kind of black mesh covering the gap and the weave was large enough for her to see out.

The hound had Tommy in it’s mouth, the poor boy’s torso and legs dangling off either side while the jaws of the enormous animal were firmly clenched around his middle. Astrid wanted to scream, but she was relieved that there was no blood and Tommy did not appear to be in any pain. Mostly angry.

The giant held his hands out and the dog leaned forward and allowed the unhappy human to tumble from his mouth and into the waiting hands. Unlike Astrid, Tommy did not freeze up at the sight of the giant. He struggled and kicked and tried valiantly to pull himself from between fingers thick as man’s thigh.

“Let me go you fucking-!”

“Hey now. What happened to all them please’s and sir’s?”

“They fucked off!”

“Now, now. Calm yourself. No need to get all -OW!”

Tommy dropped to the dirt with an ‘oof!’ and was on his feet and running again, but he did not get very far, only a few feet, before the dog – Tippan -  pounced on him and pinned him to the dirt. The dog gave a low growl, a warning, before lifting its head back towards its master.  

“Okay there, Faro?” asked Tippan. “Did he get you good?”

“Nah. Didn’t even draw blood,” the giant, Faro, remarked and winced. “Still smarts a bit, though.”

Tippan huffed what might have been a laugh. “Serves you right for not having your gloves.”

The giant scowled at the dog while rummaging through a side pocket on the pack. He pulled out what looked like lengths of leather and something else that Astrid could not see.

“Just keep him still for me,” Faro replied as he brought the object in his hands over to the trapped human. The giant’s bulk blocked most of what he was doing, but Astrid could hear Tommy cursing and struggling. Faro seemed to be having a little trouble doing whatever it was he was doing, because he kept muttering for Tommy to calm down or to stop wiggling.

“There!” The giant exclaimed finally. Tippan stepped back and the giant turned towards the pack, granting Astrid a look a Tommy. His arms were crossed over his chest and pinned there with leather straps and the way he squirmed, Astrid assumed that they were a bit snug. But the most startling thing was not him being tied up. No. It was that contraption around his face. A small metal cage around his mouth secured with more leather straps and other bindings.

The giant had muzzled him.

“Really hate to use this thing on you, little fella,” Faro said as he lifted the forcibly pacified human. “But I can’t have you nibbling on my fingers like that.”

Tommy did not answer. He did not even swear. He looked broken. His eyes were wide and they glistened with frustrated tears. The flap above Astrid was pulled aside and she looked up to see the giant bringing Tommy over and lowering him gently down into one of the other compartments. Before the giant closed it up again, his eyes drifted over to her and settled on her for a moment. And then he closed the flap, snapping it closed. They were left in almost absolute darkness with the only light coming in from the mesh window. But by now the sun had all but set completely and whatever light was left did not make it through the mesh much at all. Astrid slid back down to the floor of the pack just as the entire thing rose into the air, tilting alarmingly to the side as the giant strung it across his back.

She hugged herself and tried to hold back a sob.

……………………………

“What is that noise?” asked an irritated Tippan.

“It’s the kit,” said Faro. “Little thing’s scared is all.”

“Well, can you get it to stop?”

“Have a heart, Tippan. She’s probably just callin’ for her Mum.”

“Well, her Mum ain’t gonna be answering.”

“The kit doesn’t know that. She’ll stop soon. Just be patient.”

Astrid ignored the two larger voices and continued sobbing into her kneecaps. The swaying and bouncing of the pack did not help and was a continued reminder of everything that had happened. She knew just on the other side of the pack was Tommy. The high school boy who had been pulled into this mess along with her. She couldn’t understand how he wasn’t audibly crying as well. The giant had sicced his hell hound after him and even muzzled him! She wanted to call out to him, ask him if he was alright, but she was afraid the giant or his hound would hear her. And in any case, Astrid was not sure she could muster coherent words at the moment.

They continued on for a good while in this manner, but as the giant had foretold to his hound, Astrid went quiet after a time. She felt everything and numb all at once. She idly wondered if this was what it felt like for your brain to break. Every physical sensation felt magnified. The sway of her cage. The texture of the pack’s lining, the smell of the air inside it, and pressure of gravity pressing down on her into the cushioned bottom. But inside, her head was alarmingly silent. No emotions were felt. No thoughts heard. Tears were drying on her face and she starred unblinking out the mesh lines window. It was too dark to see anything, but the chilled air from outside would push through ever so often and chill her face with a breezy kiss. She smelled pine and dirt and leather. Foreign and disturbing.

The trees she watched through the window were suddenly illuminated with faint yellow light that brightened the further the giant walked, approaching the source of the light.    

“And here we are,” said Faro with warmth in his voice. “Home sweet home.”

“Finally,” said Tippan. “Food and sleep!”

“First thing’s first,” said Faro as Astrid heard more than saw him climb a short set of stairs. “Gotta settle the humans away.”

Tippan moaned. “Can’t we do that tomorrow? I’m tired. And hungry. Just toss ‘em in the kennel and feed me!”

The giant laughed.

“You haven’t done anything today!” There was the sound of metal clinking together that Astrid recognized as keys. She could hear him push one into what she assumed was the lock on a door. Sure enough after there came the sound of a key turning and a lock clanking and then there was the distinct sound of a door opening. She felt the back of her mind tingle as the numbness gave way to a torrent of emotions. There was fear and dread, but down below all that was a faint curiosity for which she almost felt ashamed.  

“I chased down the runner,” argued Tippan, sounding hurt. “And just so you know, that one’s pretty fast. Might not have caught him so easily if he hadn’t tripped.”

“In any case, we’ll still need to settle them away first. Gotta follow protocol,” Faro replied.  “I’m not gonna leave the little fella muzzled and hog-tied all night.”

“You could.”

“I’m not, though.”

“Might teach the twerp not to bite,” Tippan sighed dramatically. “Alright, boss. Have it your way.”

Astrid watched through the window as the giant walked into the house and was reminded of the time she and her family went camping in Montana. They stayed in a log cabin with walls that looked very similar to the walls of the giant’s home. Even the smell was similar. For the most part. There was an oddly sour scent to the air mixed with the smells of the natural wood that she could not place. The walls were sparsely decorated with small shelves covered in odd nick knacks. A painting of a waterfall. An elaborately made clock carved from wood and brightly painted. The numbers were replaced with strange symbols.

The pack swung sideways as the giant slipped if off and setting it down onto a table, made from the same wood as the walls. She heard the clasp on the outside snap and the flap was pulled away. Her dark corner of the pack lit up. There was a scuffling noise from the other side of the pack and she heard Tommy curse. In response, she looked up in time to see the giant pulling Tommy out. He closed the flap back down, but did not lock it.

She peered out of the window to see Faro holding Tommy in one hand so his legs dangled off the edge of the palm and supporting the human’s back with the other. The giant was looking at him sternly.

“You’re gonna behave now, aren’t you?”

She saw Tommy nod fervently.

“Good. Because I’m gonna take this off you. But believe me, if you get snippy again, I won’t hesitate to put it back on. And it won’t be coming off for a good while. Understand me?”

Again, Tommy nodded.

Faro sat Tommy down on his feet and undid the leather bindings, sliding the muzzle off. Tommy’s face was pale and his hands were shaking. The giant sat down in a chair facing Tommy, dropping the leather and muzzle into a heap off to the side. Wordlessly, he reached into his coat and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. He popped the pen’s top off, set the tip to the paper, and gazed at the trembling human.

“What’s your name, little fella?”

“T-thomas Contini, sir.”

The giant took a note, the edges of his mouth twinges in a small grin.

“How old are you, Thomas?”

“I’m seventeen, sir.”

Another note.

“Know your blood type by chance?”

“My blood…? Uh. Yeah. O negative.”

“Good,” replied the giant. “Not many of you tend to know.”

More notes.

“Any allergies?”

“N-no.”

“Illnesses?”

“No. Not really.”

“Yes or no, Thomas.”

“No. No illnesses.”

The giant was silent as he wrote several more notes, glancing up at the human ever so often as though he was not completely confident that he would not bolt at any moment.

“C-can I ask...why you want to know...all that?” Tommy stammered.

“It’s not so much as wanting to know than needing to know. For your records.”

“My...records?”

“Oh just spell it out for him,” Tippan snapped. “Sooner you’re done, the sooner I eat!”

Faro sighed as he sat the pen down and pinned the boy with a look. “Answer me this, Thomas,” he said. “Do you know where you are?”

Tommy fidgeted, looking around warily. “Uh...in your house?”

The giant grinned. “In a larger sense than that.”

“...C-california?”

The giant rolled his eyes. “No. You’re not in Kali Fonia. So many of you humans say that. I’m tempted to start keeping a count. No. You’re no longer on you’re original plane.”

“Original plane? I...I don’t understand.”

The giant leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “What’s the last thing you remember before waking up in the woods?”

“There was...an earthquake and it got really windy and...”

The giant nodded. “What you experienced, Thomas, is what we here call a Partitional Rip. Or a collapse. Happens when the membranes of our mutual planes come in contact with one another repeatedly and over time the area becomes weakened and imbalanced. With all things needing to be equal, the energies must correct themselves and that is what causes a Partitional Rip. A portal opens up on your side of the plane and more often than not, one or more of you little buggers are sucked in, passed through the inbetween, and dropped down into our plane.”  

Tommy looked ill as he absorbed the information. “So...when you said we weren’t going home…?”

“I meant that there’s no possible way to get you home. You’re here because cosmic energy needed to balance themselves and used you, and you’re little friend there, as counter weights.”

“So...if we’re not...on Earth, where are we?”

“Still called Earth. We never had a word for the actual world, it was just the world to us. But about, oh, three hundred years ago or so we adopted the Anglish word for it. But beyond that, in a more literal sense, you’re in Audenvier. North Audenvier, Caidence Valley. On my ranch. In my house and on my table.”  

There was a pause and Tommy squinted up at Faro.

“...Anglish?”

“That’d be you. You’re Anglish.”

“Uh...I’m Italian…?”

Faro huffed a laugh. “Anglish just means you’re light skinned. As apposed to being Berunti, Piq, or Savoh.”

Tommy ran a hand through his hair and looked all around him, everywhere but the giant. Almost as though he were searching for an alternative to the piece of knowledge that Faro had just unladen upon him, his breathing became deep and near panic when none presented itself. Finally he looked to Faro, his eyes watering.

“So,” he choked. “...what happens now?”

“For you?” Faro asked, the humor gone from his eyes. “A change of clothes, something to eat, and then sleep. Actually, when we’re done here I’ll be doing those same things myself.”

“A change of clothes? W-why?”

“Part of my job is to collect anything wild humans bring in with them. Folks with long titles and expensive degrees wanna study them.”

The human was gaping incredulously at the large man across from him. “Wild?”

“Any human that comes here due to a Partitional Rip is considered wild,” he explained. “Meaning you were not born in captivity or hand raised.”

“Captivity? Like...like animals and shit?”

The giant looked exasperated for a moment and seemed to consider something. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “Allow me to explain the greater idea here: on my ranch, there are seven weaken areas where collapses occur. I set up traps around those areas so when a human does pops through, I get to them before any predators do.”

“Predators? Like what-”

The giant frowned. “Don’t interrupt me, Thomas.”

“S-sorry...”

“As I was saying: I’m a human trapper. That’s what I do for a living. I bring any humans I catch back here to my house, take their basic information down like I just have with you, and get them ready to be sent to the closest clinic for further evaluation. If everything goes well there, you’ll be put up for adoption by the end of next week.”

“A-adoption?” Tommy asked, the word seemed to tumble clumsily from his lips. “You don’t mean like...a pet, do you?”

“Exactly.”

“Humans are pets here?!” Tommy looked ready to bolt again and the giant seemed to sense it too. He brought his arms to rest on either side of the distraught human. Tommy flinched at Faro’s movements and was still, standing rigid and scared as he stared into the giant’s face.  

“That’s right,” he told the boy simply. “Highly prized too. The waiting lists in some counties can be astronomical to speak nothing of the vetting process. There’s an expression along the lines of it’s easier to be elected to office than to adopt a human. Hardly true, but the paperwork to be approved it quite extensive.”

“I...I...ah...I’m...” Tommy rubbed his face, struggling hard with the idea.

“It’s alright. Normal to feel oddly about it.”

“Normal to feel odd?” Tommy yelled. “That’s the most underrated statement of the year!”

“Perhaps to you at this moment. But I give this speech a few times a month. For the last fifteen years.”

“W-why though? Why pets?!”

“Long time ago, we mostly left you humans alone to do whatever you did out in the woods like any other living creature. But then your numbers started to drop and at one point there were almost no humans left at all. Disease, predators, low birth rates. It all ran a hard number on the population. Governments stepped in to try and rescue your species and over time, it evolved into a pet trade. If you get adopted by a historian, he’d be able to explain the minutia of it all. But even now human populations are still vastly smaller than they were even a hundred years ago. You’re a heavily protected species here.”

“What if I don’t want to. Be a pet, I mean. Do I get any say in this?”

“You wanna go try and live out in the woods on your own?” The giant seemed very amused a this idea. “You don’t strike me as very outdoorsy. Ever meet a Rhwren? Or a Mountain Roc? Because they’d be very happy to meet you. And the feeling won’t be mutual.”

“I guess they’re those predators you mentioned earlier?”

“Yup. They’d swallow a little thing like you up without a second thought.”

“I just...really do not like the idea of being someone’s pet.”

“I will never understand you wild humans aversion to the idea,” Tipppan added from somewhere below the table. “Being a pet’s great. Free food, warm bed, and belly rubs! What is to hate about that?”

“It’s a perfectly normal response, Tippan. Most wild humans hate the idea, at first at least. A certain portion of you fail the evaluation to be adopted in any case.”

The human boy looked ready to faint. “What happens when you fail an evaluation?”

The giant chuckled and raised a hand slowly up towards Tommy and lightly petted him on the head. Tommy, for his part, looked utterly lost as to how to respond and ended up merely allowing the contact, but went absolutely rigid under the giant finger’s ministrations.

“Oh, don’t look so forlorn,” said the giant. “Nothing bad. Typically, they’re sent to a zoo or a sanctuary. And getting back to the changing clothes, we do this for two reasons. The first being what I said about folks wanting to study it. Second, is to help with your transition. Make the break a little easier.”

“I...I don’t understand. I’m sorry, but I...” The giant’s hand was still at his head, lightly petting the messy mop of dark hair. Faro’s dull gray eyes stared at the boy, looking sympathetic, but there was something in his expression that made it seem like he was very accustomed to consoling overwrought humans.

“The kindest thing I can do for you right now, Thomas, is to get you prepared for the next step. The life you knew when you woke up this morning is gone. Forever. And you can think me cruel for saying so. Plenty of humans have and do. After all, I am paid to catch and sell you lot. No use mincing words or dancing around the truth of it. You’re not the first human to take a nip at me. Or even the worst, not by a long shot.” The giant used the crook of one finger to gently brush back Tommy’s hair. “But you’re still young. Young ones bounce back easier. You have a good chance to to get into a good home with a good family and find some peace in all this. Just try and keep that in mind as you go through all these steps.”

Tommy’s shoulder shook as he began to sob. “So...it’s real. This is really happening. I’m never gonna see my family again, am I? Ever?”

“No,” was the simple response. “I’m afraid not.”

…………………..

Tommy was near inconsolable for several moments. While the boy broke down on the table top, the giant got up and disappeared for a few minutes before returning with some items. He sat them down in front of Tommy.

“I know you’re feeling poorly right now,” said the giant. “And truth be told, you’ll feel like this for a good while. No one thinks this is an easy process for you. Certainly not me. But the sooner we get on, the sooner you get something to eat and then its off to bed. Might not sleep much, but you’ll have a quiet moment to sort out yourself. I’ll need you to remove your clothes, though. Got something here for you to change into. It gets cold here and this’ll keep you warm.”

Tommy looked like he wanted to protest, a bubble of indignation rising up, but it was quickly swarmed by utter despair. With slow, reluctant movements, he began to shed his jacket, his jersey, and then his jeans before putting them into a small bag the giant held open for him. His cell phone went in as well his wallet and a pack of unopened gum. Soon he was standing there in only a pair of blue boxers, looking up at the giant expectantly.  

Faro shook his head. “All of it, Thomas.”

The boy blanched and began to stammer. “I-I can’t even keep my damn underwear?!”

“Afraid not.”  

For a moment, indignation won out over fear and he was angrily muttering to himself, looking all around and back at the giant, his face red. “W-well, can you at least turn around? Let me keep some shred of my dignity? Or does that go in the bag too?”

“That much I can do,” replied the giant, grinning. He reached over to the pile of items and pulled out a single garment, dyed black. “Put this on when you’re done.”

Tommy was beet red in the face as he quickly ripped off his boxers and kicked them off before hurriedly scampering into the new clothes. It took his a moment to figure out the zipper as it was not where he expected it to be. Instead of down the front or up the back, it ran the length of the inside of one leg, across the groin, and down the other. After he finished zipping it up, he rolled his boxers into a ball and angrily shoved them into the bag with the rest of his belongings. He starred at the contents of the bag, looking torn. He sighed heavily.

“Done,” he said lowly.

The giant turned around and spared the boy a smile. He grabbed up the bag and pulled a white adhesive strip from the side before folding the top over and sealing it, quickly writing something on the outside of the bag before dropping it somewhere out of sight. Bending down closer to Tommy’s level, he regarded the freshly dressed boy. “Just remember what I told you and you’ll be fine. Might seem bad now. But trust me. It’ll get better.”

“Doesn’t look like I got much choice,” Tommy replied dejectedly.

The giant just sighed and stood back up to his full height, hands reaching out for the human once more. Tommy looked nervous at the giant hands, but did not struggle when they carefully gathered him up.

The giant strode away from the table and disappeared beyond Astrid’s range of sight.

……………….

Astrid remained silent and still at the bottom of the pack compartment. There was an unpleasant tightness in her chest and every breath she took seemed to send shivers down her body. Faro’s words echoed hauntingly in her head.

Fifteen or so minutes later, the giant returned. He was balancing two white plates in one arm while the other held onto a bundle of white fabric. With careful movements, he set the plates down first and then the bundle. One plate was piled high with a mysterious goopy meat mixture and the other was a slice of dark bread, two oily fish, and the biggest lemon Astrid had ever laid eyes on, three times the size of a large watermelon easily. The giant picked the plate with the goopy meat mixture and sat it on the floor.

“Finally!” Tippan said happily and there came the sound of joyous gluttony from below the table. “Food, food, food! Oh glorious food!”

Faro chuckled as he turned his attention to the red leather pack.

“Now it’s your turn, little one,” said the giant and he pulled the flap open and peered inside. Astrid did not meet his gaze, but sniffed miserably as she fought back more tears. She felt the heat of his hands first and then the meaty flesh as it curved around her and lifted her up with a careful and deliberate slowness. He sat her down on the table just as he had with Tommy and Astrid got her first proper view of the cabin. It was not a large space compared to the giant that lived there, but there was an unmistakably homey feeling about it. Off in one corner there was a stone fireplace and a large squishy chair. A shelf with a modest collection of books and assorted chachkies. A short hallway lead further into the house.

She heard him sit down and it was only then that she looked up. Now that she got a proper look at him in adequate light, she noted that his brown hair had streaks of gray in it and his chin was scratchy with stubble. His gray eyes were trained on her and she noted the minute movements of the irises as he studied her. Releasing a sigh through his nose, the giant tilted his head at her. “You heard all I told Thomas?”

She nodded meekly.

“Have any questions?”

She sucked in a breath, preparing to answer, but thought better of it and released it as a resigned sigh. Questions. She had millions. And none at the same time. Astrid shook her head. Faro nodded knowingly and reached for the pen and paper once more.

“Well, I’m gonna be askin’ you the same questions, alright? So, let’s start with the easiest one: What’s you’re name?”

“...Astrid,” she replied, her voice barely a squeak.

“Need your full name, sweetie.”

“Astrid Malloy.”

“And how old are you, Astrid?”

“Ten and a quarter.”

The giant paused to look at her and for the first time, seemed surprised and genuinely sad.  

“Younger than I thought. Hm.” He made an extra line of notes, reaching over to his plate and grabbing the lemon. Astrid watched in confusion as he took a large bite out of it, flashing his sharp teeth for a moment before they sunk into the yellow flesh of the fruit. His face did not pucker in the slightest. He chewed for several moments, gazing at his notes, deep in thought, before swallowing and asking, “Do you know what blood type you are?”

She shook her head, still watching in bizarre fascination. The giant nodded, setting the fruit down. “Alright. Well, I will need to know. So for us to find out, we’re gonna use this here.”

He pulled out a small egg shaped device from the pile of items he had brought in before. It was the size of a basketball with a small hole on one end and a digital read out on the other. He held it out in front of Astrid. “See that little hole there? Just put your index finger inside and the machine will do the rest.”

Astrid looked at the device and carefully raised her hand towards it and stuck her finger in the aforementioned hole. Something sharp abruptly stabbed the soft pad of her finger and she yelped and pull her hand away. The tip of her finger was bleeding from a pin prick sized hole. She immediately stuck the wounded digit into her mouth and glared up at the giant, but his attention was drawn to the small read out on the device. It beeped twice.

“Type A positive,” he remarked aloud. “A good thing for you to know off the top of your head. That way if someone needs to know, they won’t have to prick your finger again.”

He added another line of notes and taking another bite of the lemon. Astrid wondered if maybe the fruit only looked like a lemon. Because who in their right mind would eat a lemon by itself, peel and all?  

“Alright, next one: any allergies?”

“Um. Pollen, but only sometimes. I don’t take any medicine for it.”

“Illnesses?”

“No.” A pause. She had to ask. “Why are you eating a lemon?”

The giant’s eyebrows shot up, surprised at the question. He smile and shrugged as he jotted down his notes. “Because I like lemons. Don’t you?”

“Not by themselves. They’re too sour.”

“I like sour things,” the giant replied in amusement. “Most Feirgians do. Sour, salty, bitter, and pickled things. Like these pickled fish here. We love’em.”

Astrid was now certain that the oddly sour smell she had detected earlier had been pickled fish. Being within such close proximity to the plate of the oily, wrinkly skinned fish, the smell was much more acute. It bordered on being unpleasant, but it was mostly just odd. She looked at Faro curiously. “W-what’s a fair-shen?”

“Feirgian,” he corrected patiently. “And that’d be me. I’m a Feirgian.”

“Oh.” It was an answer that did not seem to answer anything at all.

Faro put his pen down and propped his head in one hand, regarding the young human with amusement. “What did you think I was?”

“A giant,” she replied simply. “But you’re ears are pointed.”

“You’re quite the sharp one, Astrid,” he replied. He turned his head and ran a finger along the top ridge of his ear. “Feirgians all have ears like this. Helps us hear really good. That’s how I was able to hear your hollering from so far away.”

Astrid nodded absently. “And you don’t eat people...right?”

Faro laughed. “No, Feirgians most certainly do not eat humans. Me included.”

“Oh. Good. I was worried.”

“And why’s that? Because I’m big?”

“...and you have really sharp teeth.”

“Need them to eat lemons.”

“I...guess?”

Faro laughed again.

“Okay. So, I’ve got your basic info,” the giant said, picking up the pen and finishing the last few notes. “All done with that. Now, Astrid, do you remember what I said about not being able to keep your things?”

Astrid gripped the straps of her backpack in response, feeling her gut tighten. “Yeah, but...can’t I just-”

“No,” said the giant flatly. Astrid looked up, biting her lip. Faro narrowed his eyes. “Now, don’t go giving me that long face. You’re cute, kichtein, I’ll give you that. But I’ve got rules I have to follow. I’d lose my license if I broke them.”

“Not even my books?”

“Not even your books.”

She pulled off her backpack and unzipped it, peering inside. The smell of school wafted up from inside it. Pencil shavings, pages of her text books, and the lingering smell of the banana that she had brought in her lunch bag. She pulled out her homework folder and opened it. Her math homework was half done. There was a science worksheet that she had gotten a B plus on. A flier for the school Halloween party. Putting away the folder, she reached inside again and pulled out her Hello Kitty pencil case, her history text book, her grammar work book and a library book she had been meaning to return. It was already a day over due. Crumbled at the bottom of her bag was the Party City costume circular, a zombie outfit circled in sharpie. She looked at it for only a moment before shoving it and everything else back inside and zipping it closed. She shoved it forward, tears dripping off her chin, and watched as large fingers plucked it up from the table and slipped it into the plastic bag just as he had with Thomas’s things.

There was a heavy moment when no one said anything. And then finally...

“My Mom wanted me to be a princess,” she said, staring at nothing in particular. “For Halloween. But I didn’t want to because all the other girls in my class were going to be princesses. I wanted to be something scary like a zombie. Because Princesses never win the costume contests. And I really wanted to win this year. I never win anything.”

The giant listened, watching the small human as she seemingly rambled about nonsense.  

“This morning,” she continued. “I got mad at my Mom because she hated my costume ideas. I called her a mean name and went to school. I didn’t tell her goodbye like I always do or that I love her...”

Fat droplets fell from her chin and she hiccuped as her words unraveled into outright sobs. “I wish I could tell her I was sorry. I don’t care about the costumes anymore. I just want to say I’m sorry...”

Covering her face with her hands, she cried. For her Mom. Her Dad. Her grandparents and uncle and aunts. The nice neighbor lady who would give them vegetables from her garden and who had taught Astrid how to prune roses. Her room, her bed. The toys in the toy chest, the clothes in her closet. The lumpy sofa in the living room that still smelled like dog pee, even years after the death of their elderly Labrador. Her house. Her town. Her world. She was being told she had to leave it all. Shed it from her body, peel it all away, and drop it into a plastic bag. Like it was a dead thing.

“I hope you believe me,” Faro said gently. “When I say that if there was any possible way to get you home, I’d get you there. It’s always a sad thing to see young humans fall through. Even worse that you’re only a kichtein.”

She felt his finger brush the top of her head and she lifted her gaze to met his eyes. “But you can certainly believe me in this, little one: you’re going to be just fine. I know you’re mighty scared and you miss your folks. It’s natural to feel that way and I’m sure they’re gonna miss you to pieces, worrying about where you went and if you’re safe. And you are. Because it’s not just my job, but my moral responsibility to make sure you stay safe and sound. For as long as you’re in my custody. You and Thomas both. Even if it’s only for tonight.”

“W-what’s gonna happen to us?” she asked thickly, brushing tears from her cheeks and chin. “Y-you said that humans are pets and...”

“Tomorrow, I’ll be taking you both to the local clinic. There’s some nice folks there who are gonna make sure you’re healthy. Get you ready to go to new homes.

“But sometimes people aren’t nice to their pets,” she mumbled. “What if..?”

“Gonna stop you right there, sweetie,” Faro said. He used the crook of a finger and lifted her chin up and giving her a warm smile. “Moral responsibility, remember that? Not just me, but all folks who work with humans. Lots of the folks at the clinic are volunteers who are there to make sure that if you’re adopted, that you go to a good home. With good people. Because they care. And with you being a kit, they’re gonna make darn sure whoever might adopt you is a good person. So in that, you don’t have to be afraid. Okay?”

She took in a shuddering breath. “Mm-hm.”

Faro brought out another of the same clothing that Thomas had changed into. It resembled footie pajamas to her, with the zipper around the inside of the legs. It was made of black flannel and the inside was lined with soft fleece.

“This is the smallest one I got,” Faro was saying. “I’ve never had a kichtein come through my ranch before. My neighbor’s caught a few over the years, but none as young as you, I don’t think. So this might be a tad loose on you.”

He handed it to her and she took it tentatively. She met his gaze. “What’s that word mean? The weird one you keep calling me?”

“Kichtein?” he asked. “It’s the Feirgish word for a young human.”

“The literal translation is ‘little squeaker’,” came Tippan’s voice, once more from below the table. “Because you’re little and you squeak.”

Astrid mad a face. “I don’t squeak.”

“My ears say otherwise. Kichtein.”

“Alright,” Faro said sternly, though he wore a small grin. “Enough, Tippan.”

“What? She asked.”

Faro gave her a small nod of encouragement. “Go on, Astrid.”

As soon as he turned his back to grant her some privacy, Astrid slipped out of her clothes.

“Remember, Astrid. All of it.”

“...I remember.”

She added her underwear to the pile of clothes and pulled the black pajamas over her head, pushed her head and arms through the appropriate holes, and zipped up the bottom. “It’s a little big,” she said.

Faro turned back around and snickered. “Aye,” he agreed. “Just a tad.”

It was several sized too large for her. It might have fit someone a good foot taller than her and the excess fabric pooled around her hips and legs. Before she could do it herself, Faro plucked up her discarded clothing and added it to the bag that held her backpack. She watched it disappear as it was sealed up and put away. There was a palpable sense of loss. Her skin felt odd in the new clothes, knowing they weren’t really her own. She felt scared that all that she had fallen into this strange new world with, she was not permitted to keep. Oddly enough, she really missed her underwear. It felt weird to not be wearing underwear. It was rude to not wear underwear.

She felt herself tear up again. She sniffed.

Faro picked up the white fabric, a blanket, and wrapped it around her gently. His large face dominated her view of the world.

“Something to eat,” he said. “And then it’s bedtime for you, kichtein. You got a long day ahead of you.”

…………………………………..

Faro gave her a sweet tasting biscuit and some water before carrying her to the back of the cabin where there was a small room off to the side of the kitchen. Inside were cages, set into the walls and lined with plush fabric. Tommy was inside one, curled up with a blanket and appearing to be asleep. At the sight of them, Astrid felt like crying again and pressed her face into the fabric of Faro’s shirt.

“I don’t want to be in a cage!” She whimpered. She felt fingers at her back, rubbing softly. “Please don’t make me...”

“Shhh, little one. It’s just for tonight,” he told her. “You won’t be in there for long. Got to keep you both secured until tomorrow.”

He sat her down in the only open cage, beside Tommy’s. She huddled into the blanket she was wrapped in, whimpering in fear. Faro rubbed his hands along her sides, trying to calm her. When the tactile approach failed, he sighed in disappointment.

“Don’t be scared,” he whispered. “It’s just a place to keep you. You won’t be here forever.”

Astrid wouldn’t meet his gaze and buried her head under the blankets, giving off a single whine in response.

“Hm,” Faro said contemplatively before turning away and walking out of the small side room. He reappeared mere moments later with something in his hand. “Do you know what a Rhwren is, Astrid?”

She shook her head.

“I believe the Anglish word is bear,” he said and raised his hand for her to see what he held. It was a small stuffed bear. “Rhwren’s are seen as guardians to Feirgians. They guard the forest, the rivers, the mountains. And people. This one here, Astrid, is for you.”

Astrid pushed her head from the blankets, looking at the bear curiously. “It is?”

“He’s gonna be your guardian,” Faro told her and placing the bear in front of her. She reached out and pulled it close. It was half her height and very fuzzy. Its eyes were solid black and it’s mouth was nothing but a black thread stitched in a line with two points to make it appear that the toy had teeth. “When you’re feeling scared or nervous, just give this little guy a squeeze. He’ll keep the bad things away. He’ll protect you.”

Astrid wrapped her arms around the bear’s neck and buried her face in the plush fur. He smelled like pickled fish and pine, but there was a palpable feeling of security in the soft touch of something vaguely familiar. She could almost pretend that she was back in her own room, snuggling one of her own stuffed animals.

“Thank you,” she said, raising her head.

“Try and get some sleep, little one,” he told her quietly. “It won’t be so scary for much longer.”

…………………….

The next morning was a flurry of confusing activity. Faro woke her and Tommy up, gave them both another sweet biscuit and water, before shuffling off to do something and leaving both humans on the table. Astrid clung to the stuffed bear with one arm while she munched on the food.

It was crumbly and did not have a real flavor other than being lightly sweet. It was not the most appetizing thing she had ever eaten, but she was hungry enough not to care. For his part, Tommy looked horrible. There were dark circled under his eyes which were red and raw. Like he had been crying all night. He absently plucked small pieces of biscuit and slipped them between his lips, but didn’t really chew.

“Are you scared?” he asked her quietly.

“Yeah,” she replied.

A pause.

“I’m sorry, Astrid.”

“Why?”

He sighed. “I...don’t know. I just am.”

She regarded the other human for a moment and nodded. “Yeah. Me too.”

“You really have nothing to be so scared over,” said Tippan as he leaped onto a chair and laid his long head on the table top, eyeing the pair. “Humans are treated pretty well here.”

“Sorry if I find the concept of loosing my freedom terrifying,” Tommy hissed and bit into the biscuit vindictively.

“Loosing your freedom? Ha!” Tippan said, his black lips pulling back into a grin. “You’re gonna be adopted. Not enslaved.”

“What’s the difference?” growled Tommy.

“Well, for starters, one involved manual labor and servitude,” replied the dog. “While the other involves belly rubs and food.”

“You’re really hung on on belly rubs, dude.”

“They’re the best part. After food. Food is the best part. What I’m saying is that you’re idea of being a pet is all screwey. Some nice, and most likely rich, Feirgian is gonna take you home, make you apart of their family, and then spoil you rotten for the rest of your life. How is any of that a bad thing?”

“Have you always been Faro’s pet?”

“Since I was a pup.”

“So you’ve never lived with other...dogs, like you? In a pack or a community? Independent and self reliant?”

“Nope. Sounds tedious.”

“So you’ve never been the one to steer the direction of your own life? To make the choices that decide how and where your life goes?”

Tippan seemed to weigh those words carefully. “Nope. And I have no interest in it either.”

“Well, that’s a choice. And for us, Astrid and I, well, we’re being told that we’re not able to make them anymore. I mean, jeez! I literally had to hand over my underwear. My godddamn underwear. For what? Really? Because it might remind me of home? Of being my own person? Of being free?”

Tippan regarded the angry boy for a moment. “Hm. Well. You may have some point there, but it’s all irrelevant now. You’re gonna go be evaluated and they’re going to decided for you if you’re suitable for adoption. And from what I know of the other alternatives, kid, you wanna be adopted. Do yourself a big favor and do what you can to get adopted. Because if you’re worried about having any sense of freedom, you don’t want to go to a zoo. Sanctuaries, from what I hear, aren’t much better.” Tippan’s eyes drifted over to Astrid. “That goes for you too, squeaker. Though I doubt you’ll have a hard time getting adopted. Kit’s are always the first to go.”

Astrid was hugging her bear tightly, nuzzling the soft fur of its neck and peering at Tippan over edge of one of its ears.

“I’m not so scared about...about being adopted. I’m scared that...” she paused. “I’m scared that I won’t see my family again. What if I forget what they look like?”

Tippan shifted so his head lay closer to Astrid, close enough she could feel his breath on her knees.

“I still remember my Mum’s face,” he said. “Haven’t seen her since the day Faro took me home as a pup. But I will always remember her face. Her smell. You won’t forget. Even if you wanted to. Even though she’s not here with you, she’s still apart of you. She’s half of you, after all.”

Astrid lowered the bear a little and nodded sadly. She never considered that before. That her mother was half of her. Literally half of her. The other, her father. There was a great sense of comfort in that idea. Tippan lifted his snout and pushed his wet nose to Astrid face. She giggled, pulling back with a squeak when he stuck out the tip of his tongue and gave her a gentle lick. He sat his head back down on the table with half lidded eyes and a small smile playing on his lips.

“See? You do squeak.”

Faro returned a short time later, carrying the red leather case as before. He sat it down on the table before turning his attention to the two humans. “I called ahead to let the clinic staff know I’ll be dropping the two of you off. Apparently yesterday was quite the event, several collapses all over the county. Three other trappers are bringing in catches. So you’ll have some company.”

“Such joy,” muttered Tommy sarcastically. “I cannot contain it.”

“Just try and keep your spirits up,” Faro suggested, lifted the pack’s flap. “And remember what I told you, Thomas.”

The boy’s gazed dejectedly off to the side. “Yeah. I remember.”

Faro then carefully lifted the human up and lowered him down into the pack. He turned to Astrid.

“And you, kichtein,” the Feirgian said, reaching out and tapping the head of the stuffed bear. “If you get scared, you know what to do, right?”

Astrid tightened her grip on the bear as an answer. Smiling, Faro nodded and gently stroked the top of her head, his fingers trailing down her back before retreating. He then picked her up, studying her for a brief moment. “You’re going to be fine.” He glanced down at Tommy inside the pack. “Both of you.”

He then slipped Astrid, bear and all, down into the other compartment before closing the lip and snapping it shut.

…………………

“We’re here.”

The sound of Faro’s noisy little pick up was all Astrid could heard for what seemed like hours and when it abruptly cut off, it left a definitive ringing in her ears. She rubbed them lightly as new sounds became more prominent. The squeal of the seat as Faro slipped out of the truck, the slamming of the door. The muffled crunch of his boots on gravel as he walked around to the passenger side door and the sudden unadulterated sounds of the outside as he opened the door. She could hear other voices, but what struck her odd was that the words that were being spoken, at least those she heard, were not English. Truthfully, it did not sound like any language Astrid have ever heard. Before she could contemplate any further, Faro lifted the pack from the passenger seat, and shut the door behind him.

“Stay here, Tippan. I won’t be long.”

“Will do.”

Astrid pressed her face to the mesh window and peered around. Settled in a clearing, surrounded by towering pines, was an innocuous little white brick building. The front door was painted bright green with something written in gold letters, but Astrid did not recognize the letters. It looks utterly foreign to her. Faro stepped through and into the clinic…

...and into chaos.

The receiving room was being accosted with noise. Several Feirgians stood about the small space with what looked to Astrid like luggage. However, one of the pieces of luggage had a window and through it peeked the face of a human woman. The cases contained other humans. Even from where she was, Astrid could tell a lot of the noise was coming from the encased people. Someone was screaming every bad word Astrid knew and several she didn’t. Someone else was talking loudly in what sounded like...spanish? And there was also the unmistakable sound of helpless sobbing.

When Faro entered, the gathered giants all turned and greeted him with wide grins and a chorus of “Faro!”

And then a string of gibberish that Astrid did not understand. Faro replied in kind, in the same odd language, and waved at the cases containing the humans. Words were exchanged between the Feirgians and one of them pulled his sleeve up, to reveal a bandage. He gestured to one of the cases next to him. It was smaller than the other, big enough to only hold a single grown human. It seemed to be the source of the angry cursing.

Faro laughed at whatever the injured Feirgian said and then patted the top of the pack holding Astrid and Tommy. She heard the word Anglish and kichtein and several of the giants made sounds of surprise.

“You don’t say!” one of the giants replied, switching to flawless English. An unfamiliar face ducked down close to Astrid’s window and smiled when his large eyes caught sight of her. “Oh, aye. She’s a little sprigget of a thing alright. Gonna walk away with a healthy commission there, Faro. Lucky bastard. Twice the money, half the work.”

“Hardly,” Faro replied.

Astrid squeezed her bear and buried her face in his fur. Despite what she had told Tippan that morning, she was scared. The sounds of the other humans, the other giants, and the displeasing scent of a sterile, bleach scrubbed room. It reminded her of a hospital and the last time she had gone to a hospital was when she was seven had broken her arm riding her bike. She had been terrified the entire time just as she was now. But her parents weren’t there to soothe her. Or to reassure her. She would not go home afterwards or get an ice cream cone on the way for being so brave.

A depression settled over her like a blanket.

…………………………

“Are they all English speakers?” someone was asking. “All Anglish this time?”

“Got a Savoh yabbering away in spanish,” said someone else. “But he understands English fine. And two Berunti, same deal.”

“Alright, good. That makes this easier. So I’m going to be speaking in English for the remainder of our business and suggest you all do the same.”

“Why’s that? Never been a rule before.”

“It’s not a rule, just something we’re trying out. Our sister clinic in Barbos tried this out and saw some encouraging adoptions numbers. The thinking being, if the humans understand what we’re trying to accomplish here, their more likely to behave and pass their evaluations. Which means higher commissions for you gentlemen.”

“Well, I’m all for a higher paycheck.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I’ve been saying this for years,” Faro added with a laugh. “Talk to them in their own language and they won’t panic and freak out as much. Lot less likely to bite too. That Berunti girl wouldn’t have gouged you like that, Calvin, if she knew you weren’t trying to kill her.”

“I’ve been doing this for eight years,” grumbled a giant. “I know how to handle wild humans.”

“And I’ve been doing for fifteen. A little compassion goes a long way, Calvin. Trust me.”

“You try being compassionate when one of them little buggers is trying to carve out an artery. How does a knife that small hurt that much?”

Someone cleared their throat. “If we could continue on, gentlemen? Calvin, an intern will be by to collect your feral human. You said you had her secured?”

“Boxed and muzzled,” came the gruff reply. “I kept the knife in another bag. Wasn’t sure if you needed it or not.”

“No, that’s alright. It’ll go to Kluedachsen when the rep comes by tomorrow with all their other personal effects. Just make you the incident report is attached to the carrier, if you please.” A pause. “Faro, you mentioned that you had a kichtein?”

“That’s right.”

“How old?”

“Ten.”

“Okay, you first, then. We like to get the younger ones processed first.”

The pack shifted and Astrid flopped over as it rose into the air. Through the window, she watched the receiving area drift farther and farther away before the bulk of a white door cut it off from view.

“This will be the first kit I think we’ve gotten from you,” said the unknown giant as they walked down a blindingly white hallway.

“She is. Never had one come through,” Faro replied. “Not in all my years of trapping.”

“It’s not very common,” agreed the other giant. “When it does happen, they’re almost always with another older humans.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Well, the prevailing theory is that whatever triggers a collapse is initiated on the human’s plane and whatever the catalyst actually is, kichteins can’t trigger it by themselves.”

“So they’re collateral?”

“That’s the current theory at least.”  

Faro sighed. “Sad.”

“It is. Which is why we take great care with them. So many folks who adopt humans all want kits, because they’re all high energy and always happy and want to play. But a wild kit and a domestic one are worlds apart. Which you probably figured out quickly.”

“She’s actually one of the more well behaved humans I’ve caught.”

“Well, that bodes well for her. How about the other one?”

“Anglish male. Seventeen. Skiddish. A little mouthy, but no more than usual.”

“We can hear you,” snapped Tommy, his mildly irritated voice slughtly muffled by the wall between him and Astrid. “Just so you know.”

Faro chuckled. “See what I mean?”

“A good week for you then, huh?”

“Pretty good.”

The slightly swaying of the pack stilled for the briefest of moments as there came the sound of another door opening before Faro followed the other giant into a new room. Astrid’s stomach dropped to the floor as a wave of vertigo swept through her and the pack was lifted and set carefully on what appeared to be an examination table.

“Alright, Faro,” said the unnamed giant, appearing on the other side of the window, a clipboard in hand. “If you would.”

“The kit first, right?”

“If you please.”

The darkened interior of the leather carrying case was illuminated and Astrid lifted her head to see Faro reaching inside. As he lifted her out with the same care and gentleness as he had previously, she got a proper view of the room. Wholly unremarkable was the relatively small space as it was almost completely identical to a normal examination room. Stark white walls, a counter running along one wall,  various tools and applicators in jars, drawers, and cabinets overhead. There was a device to one end of the counter that looked like a scale fitted with a tray. Along the back-splash were items of a more nefarious nature. Various muzzles, bindings, and straps were hung on hooks for easy access. In case a human got bitey, Astrid imagined. She thought back to the receiving room the one human who had been boxed up apart from the others. It must be a common occurrence.

Almost as soon as Faro released her onto the table, another, unfamiliar, set of hands were beset upon her. She flinched at the sudden fingers pressing on her arms and side, holding her still, as a large face of the other giant lowered down close to her. He was bald, but had thick gray eyebrows and brown eyes that peeped out from behind thin wire framed glasses. She met his eyes, watching him warily, as she waiting for something to happen.    

“Oh yes, she is a young one,” the Feirgian murmured. He was dressed in brown trousers and a sweater made of various bands of green, all under a long white lab coat. Brown eyes looked her up and down and whatever it was he was searching for, he seemed to have found it as he then stepped back, opened a drawer, and drew out a black plastic square. He then pulled a sheet of paper from the clip board and sat it down near her. “Alright...” his words trailed off as he gazed down at the papers briefly before looking back to the small human, “...Astrid. My name is Dr. Weis and I’ll be taking some measurements and get your records done. We’re gonna make sure you’re good and healthy, okay?”

Astrid nodded, wishing she had grabbed her bear when Faro pulled her from the pack.

“Ever have your prints done?” Dr. Weis asked her as he pulled on purple latex gloves.

“...when I was born at the hospital,” she replied, her voice quiet.

“Well, we’re gonna do the same right here,” he said patiently, setting the black square down and removing the clear plastic cover. His brown eyes watched her as though to gauge her reaction. “This is just regular old black ink. Nothing special. We’ll do your feet first, alright?”

She nodded. He instructed her to unzip the bottom of her suit, releasing her feet from the black fabric and he hummed in approval when she followed through with his directions under her own volition. When she had finished and her feet were touching the cold metal of the table top, he carefully plucked her up, again seeming to study her reactions, before lowering her down so her feet were pressed to the ink pad. It was startlingly cold and wet, but the contact was very brief and soon her blackened toes were being pressed down onto the paper, inside a pre-marked square.

“Brilliant,” said the doctor in an overly chipper tone and then producing a moist towelette from somewhere and quickly wiping off the ink from her feet. She wiggled in his hand, unable to suppress a giggle at the ticklish ministrations. He flashed her a smile. “Sorry. Tickles a bit, does it?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, now let us get your hands,” said the doctor. He then held her over the ink pad. Suspended in the air like superman, she instinctively understanding what he expected of her and Astrid pressed her hands onto it. The pad effectively marked her fingers and palms in austere black. Then as she hovered over the large sheet of paper, she planted her inked hands into a second box, pressing down firmly as instructed. “Perfect. You’re doing wonderfully, Astrid.”

The same towelette was used to wipe away the ink from her hands and as soon as they were clean, Astrid slipped her feet back inside her warm suit and zipped it back up. Then she was weighed by being place upon the tray set above the scale. Her height was noted. A sample of her saliva was taken and placed in a tube, shaken, and the liquid poured into a tray separated into five sections. Each one turned a brilliant blue.

“All negative,” Dr. Weis said aloud. “Good, good. Very good. That means no shots for you, Astrid.”

“Oh good,” she said. “’Cause I don’t like needles.”

“You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who does,” Dr. Weis replied with a smirk. Though his amiable nature and overt attempts to reassure her were appreciated, Astrid could not truly relax. The records Faro took the night before were transferred over and all forms of various papers were clipped, stapled, and assembled before all being tucked into plain brown folder upon which her name was written in fat black marker. Dr. Weis removed his gloves and slid the clip board over to Faro. “If you could sign there, next to her name. Sonya will have the release forms for you after the boy’s evaluation.”

Astrid blinked. That was the evaluation? That was it? Somehow she expected there to be more to it. More questions, more poking. Something like the way cops interrogated bad guys on television. But it felt more like she had just had a normal check up. Was there something she missed?

Or more to the point: Did she pass?

As Faro was signing the paper, Dr. Weis walked over to the door, opened it, and leaned out. “Sonya. Advest yeir Jarden mon heist? Ver kichtein.”

“Suden rikt.” replied a female voice.

When the doctor turned back, his eyes fell to Astrid. “So now that your evaluation is done, Astrid, Sonya will be bringing you to my associate, Jarden. He’s going to get you ready for quarantine.”

Her heart rate spiked and she blanched. Quarantine? Was that bad? It sounded bad. Wasn’t quarantine the thing that happened when people were really sick? Was she sick? Oh god…

Her panic must have been showing because the doctor bent down and ran his thumb across the top of her head in a gesture of gentle reassurance. “I know it’s a big scary word, but do not let it upset you. All humans who are approved for adoption have to be quarantined for three days. The only thing that happens is you sit in a big comfy room all day, getting ready to go to a new home.”

“O-oh...um, how come?” she asked.  

“Well, the humans who are born here don’t have the antibodies to a lot of the illnesses you do and can get really sick from them. So we are very careful not to introduce dangerous illnesses. Even though you’re not sick, you still might carry them in your body. In your saliva, your blood, and other bodily fluids and materials.”

“Oh, okay. That...makes sense, I think,” she replied. She looked back at the pack, thinking of her bear, and turned back to the doctor with a hopeful lilt of her eyebrows. “Can I keep my bear?”

“Bear?” Dr. Weis asked.

“Oh, right!” Faro said, reaching into the pack and bringing out the small stuffed toy. “I gave her a Rhwren. I didn’t think to ask if she could bring it with her.”

“It’s not a problem,” Dr. Weis replied, smiling down at the little human girl. “I’ll make a note on your chart. Just in case.”

Astrid grinned in relief when Faro presented her with the bear. It might have been a small gesture to the two Feirgians, but for Astrid, after having to give up all her possessions, having something that was wholly her own was an enormous comfort. She had fallen asleep the night before, stroking the soft fur, feeling the hard plastic of its eyes, the stiff threads of its mouth, and the rounded ends of its paws. The tactile activity had brought a desperately craved sense of calm. And he made for a fantastic pillow.

She hugged the toy happily and then the door opened. A Feirgian woman with short curly brown hair, bright green eyes, and dressed in pink scrubs entered. “Jarden frare heist totkurt danem. Des Kichtein ver korcumt knut swarzen.”

“Ah, vank saden, Sonya,” Dr. Weirs said to the woman. Astrid met his mildly apologetic expression curiously. “Unfortunately, some of our volunteers do not remember much of their English lessons. Most Feirgians in Audenvier know at least some English, but a great many are fluent, so you’ll hear it a lot. More than other human language. Mandarin is a close second, but it’s more common in Lerdachest. Audenvier sees mostly Anglish and Berunti.”

“We have no idea where that is...” Tommy’s voice quipped from the pack.

“Part of the quarantine involves an assimilation period,” Dr. Weis replied. “Jarden will answer any questions you have. Including geography.”

“I’ve got a long list at this point, doc.”

“I’m sure you do. However, we must press on,” Dr. Weis then reached out for Astrid and she could not keep from gripping her bear just a tad more securely to her as his large fingers gripped around her body and lifted her from the table. Turning towards Sonya, Dr. Weis held out the small human child. “We have a lot of humans to process today. Hopefully most of them will be joining you in quarantine.”

Sonya’s hands were cold compared to Dr. Weis and even though she apparently had no idea what was being said, she still gave Astrid a pleasant smile. As she turned to leave, Astrid caught the slimmest look of Faro pulling Tommy from the pack. She waved anyway, unsure if Tommy saw her. As the door closed behind them, Astrid hoped that she would be seeing Tommy in quarantine soon.

She hugged her bear a little closer.

…………………………

Without any windows, the quarantine room’s only light came from strong florescent ceiling panels that cast the room in a blindingly white light strong enough to force Astrid clench her eyes shut as Sonya entered. Blinking blearily through the painfully sharp brightness, the space began to materialize before her. Modestly sized and rather cookie cutter in appearance, the main feature seemed to be the center of the room where large square plastic bins had been tipped onto their sides, creating a sort of open ended shelter. Placed in a loose circle, there was enough room between each of them for a Feirgian to easily walk around and indeed sit in the center of. Inside each bin there looked to be blankets of some kind, arranged in a way so as to turn them into a kind of makeshift nest. Off in one corner, almost as an afterthought, was a door. Painted the same blinding shade of white as the rest of the room, the door’s fit was so flush with the rest of the wall that it would be almost invisible if not for the copper colored hinges and knob.  

“Jarden?” Sonya called out into the empty room.“Bentkeir von shaurser. Kichtein wier kervos dan?”

“Kervos heist don ver,” replied a voice muffled from behind the door. “Vank suden.”

Sonya walked to the circle of bins and lowered herself down, carefully placing Astrid next to one of the bins. The giant woman looked to her with an oddly hopeful look as she reached into the bin and patted the nest of blanket as though inviting her to come sit. Astrid just starred, acting as though she did not understand. With a mildly disappointed look, Sonya rose back up to her feet and left the room.

Astrid watched her go, peeking out from behind the bulk of the bin. The door shut firmly with a soft click and she found herself alone in the sterile, all too bright room. Spinning slowly, she took in what little there was to see of the room, but there was a growing discomfort in her guts. Her insides clenched and there was a tightness deep in her chest. It was akin to the feeling one got when they held their breath too long. The craving for air. But no matter how many deep breaths she took, the tightness did not lessen.  

A curious and rather ironic sense of being trapped filled her bones despite the enormous proportions of the room. She was a mouse in a great space, but it suddenly felt too small for her. The whole of it all was unraveling too fast and her mind was having terrible difficulty gaining purchase.

Yesterday morning, she had awoken in her own bed: warm, safe, and familiar. She spent the day at school: safe, familiar, and secure. Got sucked into a worm hole: fantastical, unknown, and unnerving. Caught by a giant: impossible, uncertain, and scary.

Whatever form of shock had been buffering her consciousness from the reality of it all was beginning to crumble. And she was afraid. Well and truly afraid.

Not the kind of afraid when you got bad grades or did something naughty. No, this kind of afraid was different. An all encompassing, primal, sort of fear. Like when you first started to learn to swim and you reach for the edge of the pool or a floaty and it wasn’t there. And you panic. And flail. The ground it gone and you’re reaching, but there is nothing to hold onto and you begin to sink and you can’t breathe.

The ground is gone...  

There came a sound akin to the jingling of a utensil drawer mere moments before the smaller door opened and a giant unlike any of the others stepped through. Long legs delivered him across the room in moments and large blue eyes fell to Astrid, who starred back with wide eyes. He was taller than either Faro or Dr. Weis, a full head taller than Sonya, and though he had the same pointy ears and sharp canines, as evidence from the brilliant smile he wore, his skin was a creamy mocha rather than the peachy pink of all the other Feirgians. With short black curls and a thick build, he was like a living wall dressed in baby blue scrubs.

Gripping onto her bear for dear life, Astrid made a dash for one of the bins and dived into the nest of blankets. The footfalls of the large man followed her, pausing just outside the bin’s entrance. He was crouched down outside of the bin, one hand on its top edge, and he peered inside. His smile was was smaller than before and a delicate curve of his brow added the slightest hint of concern.

“Feeling a little shy are we?” he asked her, voice low. “Not to worry none, you’re fine to settle in where you want. Still have a good bit before Dr. Weis gets through all the evaluations.”

She made no motion or sound to answer of even acknowledge him as she huddled miserably in the piles of soft fabric, clutching her bear. He caught on quickly to her discomfort.

“No need to be scared, kiddo. I know I look all big and scary, but trust me...” He poked at his chest and middle with a finger. Looking up, his smirked at her. “... most of this is fluff.”

Astrid managed a small smile.

“My names Jarden,” said the giant. “What do I call you?”

“Astrid,” she replied quietly. “My name is Astrid.”