#and possibly the redwood forest

[rattkinng]

Terrified because I'll be in LA alone for the summer, excited because after I get go to the Monterey bay aquarium with my dad!

[foldingfittedsheets]

We’re having a great time on our impromptu honeymoon. We went and hung out on the beach this morning, got lunch, had the afternoon delight, then saw some of the redwoods. It was a wonderful day.

Then while driving back to our Airbnb, still way out into the boonies, we saw a dog.

I’ve seldom seen an animal closer to death. It had severe arthritis in its back legs and tail, looked overgrown and unkempt with bits of leaf matter clinging to its fur, eyes almost completely covered by hair. It was walking on the side of the road.

As we came up behind it I genuinely thought, “I really hope that’s a fucked up tiny bear,” but it was not, it was a dog.

My policy is always: stop and help lost dogs. But this animal… it had no collar, no sign of any kind of human attention, and was clearly nearing the end of its life. It was big enough to be a problem if it didn’t want to be handled, and our car is full of stuff from the road trip.

It seemed possible this animal had been dumped out in the forest to die. My betrothed and I were just stopped, staring at it. We were not in a position to offer help but this animal clearly needed it. There was no cell service to call and report.

We pulled over and watched the dog totter into the underbrush, sniffing and ambling as if for food. Both of us were frozen with indecision, unable to just leave but equally unable to help.

“Should we… we could knock on a door? And see if it belongs to someone?” my betrothed offered.

We heard a bark and saw someone walking their corgi. I immediately hopped out and called, “Excuse me! Do you live around here?”

“Is it about that dog?”

“Yes! Is it local?”

She sighed and said, “That’s my grandmas dog, she just goes wandering sometimes. It’s okay, I’ll make sure she gets home.”

I thanked her and we both breathed a sigh of relief, driving along our way, content to know that the dog was under someone’s care.

“That dog was a cryptid.”

“I thought that dog was a fucked up coyote at first.”

[gravitycavity]

Sunshine (Pomni x Ragatha) Chapter 4: Spellbound

[Click here to read from the beginning on AO3!]

Cover art by @blukiar

“...and I’m sorry.” Pomni wiped at her eyes, dragging her drooping gaze up from Ragatha’s torn, tear-soaked dress. “The other day, when I was yelling at you — and everyone else? I was being a jerk.”

Ragatha laughed. “A little. But you’re not a bad person, Pomni — if you were, you wouldn’t have apologized. That takes maturity.”

Pomni sniffed. And sniveled. And sniffed again. “What does it matter? Everyone still hates me…”

“Nobody hates you. Especially not me.” Ragatha sighed. “You’re going through so much, Pomni — we understand.”

Pomni shook her head with a shaky sigh. “I just…” Her voice warbled. Another tear dropped from her shimmering eyes, “...I just want to go home...”

“Oh, Sweetheart. Come here…” Ragatha pulled Pomni closer. She rubbed circles around the little jester’s shuddering back, patiently comforting her until her tears ran dry again — however long it would take. 

“...I don’t understand. How do you do it?” Pomni’s voice, still shriveled and small, eventually found the strength to speak again. “You’ve been trapped in this horrible place for years now. How do you stay sane? How do you just…accept it?”

Ragatha stirred her head. Had it really been that long? 

“...I try not to dwell on things that are out of my control. To focus on the little things that make life worth living.” she said. “It’s easy to be miserable — cathartic, even — but to focus on the silver lining, even if you have to squint to see it? It’s not easy, but I think it’s worth the trouble. Because it’s always, always, always there.”

Pomni was perfectly still for the longest time, quietly breathing, silently squeezing tear after tear from her weepy eyes. When at last she met Ragatha’s gaze, she opened her mouth to speak — but no words spilled forth. Instead, Pomni simply pressed her cheek against Ragatha’s chest, holding the doll tighter than she ever had before.

And Ragatha smiled. “Yeah…?” 

Pomni nodded. 

Ragatha hummed softly, brushing her finger through Pomni’s hair. “I’m glad I met you, too.”

🎪  

The memory was still fresh. 

Ragatha groaned, stirred from her sleep by the court of wild ravens clicking and cawing in the stony branches above. Just like every other morning, her drowsy eyes remained stubbornly shut, but the persistent tap-tap-tapping of woodpeckers kept her mind from sneaking back into slumber. 

Propped against the pruned, petrified redwood, Ragatha shifted her head and took in a long, soothing breath. The forest air had thickened overnight, for better and for worse; the aroma of dewy wildflowers just barely masked the foul musk of rotting wood. 

She grit her teeth, exhaling through her nose. Ow — Ragatha had forgotten how much it hurt just to breathe. The countless rips and tears carved into her fragile form worked in synergy to maximize her suffering; any slight movement was immediately punished with a cacophonous chorus of pain, pain, and more pain. 

Reluctant to even open her eyes, Ragatha remained perfectly still, spacing out her shallow breaths as far apart as she possibly could. Slowly, the roaring in her chest faded into a rumble, the screaming pain in her legs hushed to whispers, and the boiling discomfort in her right arm cooled to a bubbling simmer. 

Even as the choir’s shrill song faded into silence, however, a single voice continued its grating chant. 

It was odd — Ragatha’s left arm laid just as still as its opposite, yet a bothersome, prickling pain still coiled around the appendage. Even stranger, it was a far different sensation than the rest: instead of a blunt, radiant agony that flared up whenever she tried to move, the pain was…precise. Targeted. And dreadfully persistent. 

Every few seconds, something sharp would harass a certain spot on her arm — poking, prodding, stabbing — until her soft skin finally broke. The point would burrow deep into the fresh puncture, dragging something long, dry, and frayed behind it; it tickled as it passed through.

It was an uncomfortable sensation, to say the least, but Ragatha was hardly phased. After all, she’d been living in a body fashioned from cotton and fabric for years at this point —  she was rather accustomed to the unique body horror of being stitched back together. The procedure was just a fact of life now, no different than the uncomfortable routines she’d followed to maintain her old, human body—

Wait. Did that mean…?

Where was she? Had she and Pomni failed the adventure? Had they been teleported back to the tent? No, no — of course not. There’d be no need for anyone to stitch her back together if that were the case; Caine could simply snap his fingers and repair her in the blink of an eye. 

Not wanting to give herself away, Ragatha sat forward — slightly and slowly. Her good eye was closed, but the periwinkle button that served as its twin would be her secret spyglass. 

She concentrated, and the gloomy woods slowly came into focus — as much focus as her barely-functional button eye could handle, at least. She glanced down at her chest, and for a moment, a profound melancholy overcame her: her dear friend Pomni, who had been snuggled so tightly against her the night before, was nowhere to be found. 

Her eye scrambled to find her — she didn’t have to look very far. 

A blurry blob, roughly the shape of a certain anxious jester, kneeled on the ground beside her. One of the woman’s little hands held Ragatha’s arm in place; the other held some sort of needle. Where had she found a needle!? It trembled, stumbling around the wounded limb with whatever the exact opposite of ‘surgical precision’ was. 

Prick, pull. 

Prick, pull. 

Prick, pull. 

Ragatha ground her teeth together as the needle passed over, under, and through her fabric skin, slowly but surely mending the tear in her arm. It took everything she had to keep up the act, to not flinch and squirm with every pointed bite — but some outside force compelled her to hold in the urge. 

In fact, in some strange, backward way, the pain almost felt pleasant — and Ragatha found herself fighting the slight smirk twitching her cheek. She just couldn’t help it, just like she couldn't help how hard her heart was beating, or the brilliant warmth spreading out from her core. 

Each jab was a reminder. Proof positive that even Pomni  — the anxious, angry shut-in who hated everything and couldn’t care less if everyone around her died in a horrible accident — had a kind heart underneath all of that harsh, prickly angst. 

Ragatha surrendered, letting her smirk blossom into a full smile. She knew it. 

Prick, pull. 

Prick, pull.

Stab—

“Oh, go #!$% yourself!” Ragatha yelped. She sat up in a snap, roughly snatching her stinging arm away. 

Pomni quailed in fright. “O-O-Oh my gosh! Ragatha! I’m so sorry, are you—” 

There was a pause. And then a longer one after that. 

The jester blinked. “What did you just say?”

“Nothing! I—” Ragatha was as white as a ghost. “I didn’t mean that!”

“Did you just say the F-word?” 

Ragatha cringed. The pain of her injuries was nothing compared to this mental torment. “I’m so, so, sorry! That just slipped out! You have to believe me — I would never!”

“Ragatha, it’s okay! Really! Think about who you’re talking to right now.” Pomni giggled. She was smiling now. “Honestly, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Ragatha struggled to swallow the embarrassment sizzling in the back of her throat. With her mind too scrambled to think anywhere close to straight, her gaze bounced around the darkness, desperately searching for something she could latch onto to change the subject. It took several moments of hemming and hawing before the obvious pivot she was searching for popped into her head.

Her face still hot, Ragatha looked over herself. Just like she had suspected, Pomni had been hard at work mending her wounds — but it was clear that the younger woman didn’t have much experience with sewing. And by ‘not much’, of course, she meant ‘none whatsoever’.

Frayed threads stuck out from hundreds of jagged stitches. Fluffy chunks of cotton bulged out of hastily-sewn seams that were already starting to come apart. Parts of Ragatha’s delicate fabric skin, stretched and compressed at seemingly random points, were far tighter or looser than they were supposed to be, which made movement even more of a struggle than it already was.

Pomni had done a laughably-poor job; nevertheless, her earnest efforts drove an arrow straight through Ragatha’s soft heart. “I…You…” Ragatha could barely get a word out, “How…?”

“Kind of a long story, actually.” Pomni stared at the gound, rubbing the back of her neck. “So, basically…”

Pomni’s flustered explanation was long, rambling, and hard to parse through all the stuttering. Suffice it to say: over the past several hours, she had gathered the pieces of Ragatha’s torn dress, painstakingly de-threaded them, and twisted them up into thin ropes. Her ‘needle’ was actually the feather from her cap — she’d cut off the end, poked a hole through it using one of the redwood’s thorns, then sharpened its pointed tip.

“...and…yeah.” Pomni tugged on her collar. “I woke up early, so I figured I might as well keep myself busy...”

Unconsciously, Ragatha parted her lips. “You did all that?” she said, “For me?”

“I mean, we’re friends now, right?” Pomni shrugged the most awkward shrug in the history of shrugs. “I wanted you to get better.”

Ragatha was enchanted — and the nagging doubt that had strangled her heart since Pomni’s chaotic debut at last loosened its vice grip. That sealed it. Of course she had been right not to trust her first impression. Of course Pomni cared. To the jester, at least, this unremarkable ragdoll was someone worth protecting. Someone she considered a friend. Someone…beautiful.

Recalling the memory did to Ragatha’s heart as sunbeams did to April blossoms. Beautiful — when had she last heard that word? Since when had she felt so wanted? So cherished and valued? Had she ever?

The raggedy doll cast a yearning look toward the jester. “I don’t know what to say. This is…” she hesitated softly, “...Thank you, Pomni.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I still need to finish your arm.” Pomni’s tone was the same she might use to describe the weather. She pointed at the limb still held tightly against Ragatha’s chest. “So, um, if you wouldn’t mind…?”

“...Oh.” Ragatha touched her face. “Oh! Of course — yeah!” she nodded, cautiously surrendering her arm. She wore an anxious smile, and wore it poorly. “Just try to be a bit more delicate this time…?”

“I dunno. Now that I know what happens when I poke you the wrong way, a small part of me wants to know what you’re gonna say next—”

“Try it. I dare you.” 

Pomni chuckled, sinking her makeshift needle into Ragatha’s arm yet again. “Okay, okay. I’ll be careful.” she said. Gently, she pulled the tool through. The doll’s pliable skin tightened, and the deep gash stretching across her arm shrank in turn. 

Ragatha watched Pomni work in silence. The woman, normally a twitching little bundle of nerves, was so…calm. Controlled. Confident, even. It was as if the pitiful, sobbing mess that Ragatha had soothed to sleep the previous night had transformed into an entirely different person overnight. 

Once Pomni had stopped her crying, she and Ragatha had just…talked. And talked. And talked. They vented about the things that annoyed them, chatted about their common interests, and listened to each other’s infodumping about their particular hyperfixations. 

In the midst of it, Ragatha’s troubles had melted away. She and Pomni, holding each other close, were lost in their own little world — but now that Ragatha was back in reality, a nagging worry snuck its way into her mind, and no matter what, it refused to give her peace: 

Exactly what had Pomni been trying to say before her meltdown? 

Why did Ragatha…what? Why did she what? 

The question sat like a boulder in Ragatha’s stomach. She hadn’t done something wrong…had she?

Ragatha looked at Pomni. She shifted her posture, then shifted again. The question, harassing her psyche like a bothersome itch, needed an answer — and yet, Ragatha stayed silent, drowsy eyes admiring the calm smile on Pomni’s face. 

Why would she say anything that might make it disappear?

🎪  🎪  🎪 

Pomni squinted. Her tongue peeked out from between her lips as she carefully — very, very carefully — triple-knotted the thick thread in her hands. With one final tug, the stitches were taut, sealing shut the long gash carved into Ragatha’s arm. “...voilà! Okay, you can open your eyes now!”

Ragatha still leaned against the petrified redwood. Her hand covered her eyes, and, despite her darling companion’s command, didn’t budge an inch. “Again, Pomni, what exactly is the point of this…?”

“What do you mean? This is it — the big reveal!”

“Well, I get that…” Ragatha said, “but I’ve already seen everything. Five minutes ago.”

“But you haven’t seen the whole picture!”

Ragatha breathed in the world’s most angelically-patient breath. “Sweetheart—”

“Ugh, come on! You’re ruining the moment!” Pomni pulled Ragatha’s hand away from her face. Practically bouncing, the jester stepped back, gesturing at Ragatha as if the doll had just been revealed from underneath a sheet. “Ta-da!”

Ragatha shook her head; a relaxed smile brightened her face. She was tickled pink to see that Pomni was finally comfortable enough to show off her goofier side — especially after seeing her at such a low point last night. 

Pomni’s expectant grin didn’t flinch. “So? What do you think?”

Ragatha tilted her head downward. A familiar warmth spread across her face as her eyes retreaded the sloppily-mended tears scattered across her body. Ragatha knew she could have done a much better job herself — but she didn’t care. If it were up to her, she would choose Pomni’s subpar stitching every time. 

She swayed, crossing her hands over her thumping heart. “Gosh, who would’ve guessed you were so talented with a needle and thread, Pomni?” Ragatha batted her hand, “One pales to imagine what this helpless princess would have done without her dashing knight at her side~”

“It’s…It’s not that big a deal.” Pomni swallowed, hands curling around her middle. Her bubbly affect popped just like that. “Really. I-It’s the least I could do…”

“And so modest! Mercy me. Are you just getting into character, or are you always this chivalrous?”

“Um…!” Pomni, wearing an apocalyptic blush, quickly averted her gaze. She awkwardly offered her hand. “S-So, a-anyway, we should probably get going, right…?”

Pomni already looked like a tomato just offering her clammy hand — words could hardly describe the look on her face when, at last, Ragatha grabbed hold.

Sweating, Pomni wrapped her other arm around Ragatha’s back and carefully helped the injured doll to her feet. “You look like you’re in pain.” She frowned, watching Ragatha struggle to stand even with her assistance. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

“I’m a big girl. I think I can handle it.” Ragatha winked. Steadying herself against Pomni, she broke away from the jester’s support. She carefully shifted her weight onto her feet, and— 

An agonized shout, paired with the sickening sound of tearing fabric, echoed beneath the canopy. Ragatha collapsed, clutching her stomach. 

Pomni just barely caught her. 

“Ragatha!” Pomni shrieked. Cotton spilled freely from the reopened wound slashed across the older woman’s chest — now twice as long as it had been before. 

Pain was spelled in bold all across Ragatha’s face, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. “Th-Thanks…” she trembled; a loose tear traveled between the twisted creases that wound across her face. “...for catching me...”

Pomni plummeted to her knees; Ragatha was draped across her lap. “No…no, NO!” she clawed her face, each panicked breath ringing louder than the last. Her pupils quivered in a sea of bloodshot white, beholding the sum of all of her hard work: absolutely nothing.

“Why did I— Why did I think—” Cackling, she bared her teeth — sharp and pointed. “Of course! Why did I think I could do anything right?!”

“Woah, woah!” Ragatha forced herself to speak through the pain. A throaty grunt punctuated her next words, “Calm down — It’s going to be okay!”

“Okay?! How is any of this okay?! What could someone like you ever do to deserve this?!” Pomni seethed. “Is this Caine’s idea of a sick joke? Is that why that psychopath paired us together? So I could lose my mind watching you suffer?” 

“Pomni! Please—”

“What now? Are we just stuck here forever?! Are we both going to die here because of me?!” Pomni’s voice cracked at the realization. “Oh, God. Oh my GOD! Please, please, please—”

“POMNI!” To the tune of another gut-wrenching tear, Ragatha sat up to grab Pomni’s trembling hand. “Listen to me! We’re not out of options, okay?!” Her thumb drew tight, soothing circles on the back of the jester’s palm. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but…why don’t you just go on by yourself? I can just stay behind and—”

“NO!” 

Ragatha dropped Pomni’s hand like hot iron. 

Pomni flinched — the hurt on Ragatha’s face finally snapped her out of her insanity spiral. “I…I didn’t mean to—” she shivered. Her mouth twisted into a hundred different shapes until, at last, she managed to say: “I’m sorry...” 

“Just take a deep breath for me. Please.” Ragatha soothed, reaching for Pomni’s hand again. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

Pomni didn’t hesitate, sandwiching Ragatha’s trembling hand between both of hers. She nodded, filling her chest with a trio of long, shaky breaths. Her racing pulse began to lag. 

“I’m not leaving you all alone.” Pomni said after a beat of silence, peering straight into Ragatha’s eyes. “I already…” she hesitated, shaking her head. “What if something happens, and I’m not there to save you?”

Ragatha couldn’t help but perk up at the look on Pomni’s face. The jester looked just like a guard dog, determined to protect her at all costs. “How about we just wait here together, then?” she said, “The others probably finished this adventure hours ago — and adventures don’t go on forever. If we take long enough, Caine will eventually just force us out and say we failed.”

“Eventually isn’t good enough! You need help now!” 

“I’m sorry, Sweetheart. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but I just…” she sighed, “…can’t.”

Pomni furrowed her brow, gently turning over Ragatha’s arm. She inched her face closer to the doll’s roughly-sutured wounds, squinting as if the answer to their predicament were spelled out somewhere in the frayed silk stitches. Her voice broke the silence. “What are you stuffed with, anyway? Cotton?”

Ragatha raised an eyebrow at that. It was Pomni’s turn, apparently, to ask a question totally out of left field. 

“More or less…?” Ragatha’s hand rapped on her chest, “But if you really want to know, I’m pretty sure I’ve got a heart crammed in here, too. Something that beats, at least.” she shrugged. She’d probably never know what the organ really looked like, but she'd always imagined a cartoon heart fashioned from the same patchy felt as the rest of her body. 

“So you really are just a walking, talking doll…?” Pomni let out a huge breath — one she’d apparently been holding in for quite a while. “Oh, perfect! This is perfect!”

Ragatha rubbed her face — how hard had Pomni’s head hit the ground yesterday? “Perfect…?” she spoke slowly, “How do you figure?"

“Well…” Pomni’s forced laugh was painful to listen to. “D-Do you think you’d be light enough to, uh…” she glanced away, stroking her hair. “W-Would it be okay if I…”

Ragatha wondered if her plush body came with a stomach as well; she definitely felt something fluttering around in the place she’d expect one to be. She just couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was pint-sized Pomni really about to suggest using her frail little arms to —

“Let me carry you!” Pomni exhaled sharply. Her stammer was gone, burned away by the heat of her passionate glare.  “There’s no way I’m gonna let you just sit here and suffer! We’re finishing this stupid adventure and getting you fixed up — today!”

Spellbound. Ragatha was utterly, completely, hopelessly spellbound — but the sly smirk spreading across her face hid her true sentiments well. “Oh, nooo! You’re just too kind…” she closed her good eye and swooned just like a debutante. Her button spied on Pomni’s reaction — watching the new girl get all hot and bothered over her, of all people, was Ragatha’s special form of self-care. “I suppose you could, but, gosh, I wouldn't want to be a burden~”

Wearing a determined look, Pomni stood up, scooping the lightweight doll into her arms. The way Ragatha’s big, bulky limbs spilled beyond the edges of Pomni’s puny frame, even when curled up, was almost comedic — but Pomni was hardly laughing. “Burden. Give me a break. You weigh fifteen pounds soaking wet.”

Ragatha sighed, leaning her head against Pomni’s chest. “My hero…”

“I-I…” Pomni glanced away, “...Don’t make it weird. You’re not even heavy.”

“Oh, but you would still carry me even if I were stuffed with sand, wouldn’t you?”

Pomni looked down with a nervous smile; her glowing cheeks did all the talking for her. Holding her damsel a little more snugly now, she launched down the path, eyeing the distant, window-studded spires peeking through the trees.

“Woah! Pomni! Take it easy!”

🎪  🎪  🎪 

The moon slept soundly in the sky, silvery light outlining the decrepit mansion’s twisted silhouette. A stark shadow stretched to the bottom of the steep hill on which the manor was perched; from all the way up there, one could see for themselves how truly endless the surrounding sea of trees really was. 

“Almost there! C’mon!” Ragatha whooped, arms curled tightly around Pomni’s waist. “You’ve got this, Girlie!”

Girlie did not, in fact, have this. Pomni huffed and puffed, puny legs wobbling for their lives as they crested the hill — and the obnoxiously-long staircase that wound all the way around it.

“What, so now you’re—” Pomni paused to suck down a breath, “— now you’re cheering me on?”

“What do you expect? Nagging you to slow down wasn’t working. If you’re determined to faint from exhaustion, you might as well do it past the finish line.”

“As if. You’re just mad—” Pomni huffed, “— You’re just mad that I was right.”

“Don’t count your chickens just yet, Sweetheart. You’ve still got a few more steps to go.”

Pomni grumbled, pressing on.

A baroque fence, punctuated by gargoyle-topped columns, hugged the perimeter of the dilapidated estate — as if the manor’s remoteness weren’t already enough to keep out the riff-raff. Pomni stumbled through the iron gate, and the very second she was through, an ethereal presence slammed the egress shut with a startling clang. 

“See?” Gasping for air, Pomni slumped over. Ragatha nearly rolled out of her arms and onto the manor’s overgrown lawn. “I…told you…” she gasped again, “...we would finish the adventure…today…” another gasp, “...and I meant it!”

Ragatha huffed. Again and again, she had begged Pomni to slow down, to stop and rest, to take a break, for the love of God. But Pomni, obstinate as usual, had refused to listen every time.

Shame weighed heavily on Ragatha’s soul as she stared up at Pomni’s pale, exhausted face. The poor woman looked absolutely awful — as if she were ready to faint at any second. 

“Ugh! You could have hurt yourself! Then what would we have done?!” Ragatha huffed, “God. Why do you have to be so stubborn?!”

Pomni’s breathing was finally beginning to slow down. “That’s not a serious question is it?.” 

“Wh-What…?” Ragatha blinked. “Of course it is!”

“Come on.” Pomni, stared straight ahead into one of the mansion’s myriad windows; the flickering candle behind the dusty glass reflected in her eyes. “After all you’ve done for me, don’t you think I owe you at least this much?”

Ragatha exhaled.

A swift tide of emotion washed away her anger, leaving behind…something else. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, or what it really was — but she knew it was a good feeling. Better than good. Much, much better.

Just like Pomni, Ragatha yearned for freedom. She dreamed of wrapping her arms around Mom and Dad just one more time, even if she could hardly remember their voices anymore. She couldn’t recall the distinctive fur patterns on her pet cat’s paws, yet she still worried herself sick about who was feeding him — if at all. By her third year of captivity, the names and faces of her two-dozen kindergarten students had all melded together, and Ragatha couldn’t help but wonder: had her little bundles of joy forgotten their teacher’s name, too? How old were they now? Ten? Eleven? Even older?

For so very long, Ragatha had believed that the only cure to her heartache was to find a way out, to return to the life she had left behind. Yet, if an exit door were to appear in front of her right this second — as the wind nipped her skin, as her entire being roared with pain, as the knowledge that another leg of this adventure still stood between herself and her soft, warm bed — she would hesitate to walk through. 

She must have been going crazy. The idea of remaining in the circus forever was horrifying, yet if she were to make the choice right this instant, she just might choose to stay here in Pomni’s arms forever.

Ragatha’s heart hammered away in her chest; she just couldn’t stay upset at her knight in shining armor. “You’re right.” she spoke softly on purpose, toying with the cute little pompoms that dangled from her protector’s handsome tunic, “Maybe I’m overreacting…”

Struggling to make out the doll’s words, Pomni leaned in closer. Closer than she’d ever been before. Close enough for Ragatha to catch the mild aroma swimming in Pomni’s auburn hair. It smelled sweet. Complex. A patchwork potpourri with notes of vanilla and dried leaves and crisp morning air.  

“You’re a good person, Pomni.” Ragatha lifted her neck, even though it pained her terribly. She closed her eyes and planted a dainty little peck on Pomni’s dainty little cheek. 

Pomni’s breathing turned shallow. She stared at the woman in her arms, mouth slack, then snapping shut, and finally falling open again. 

Ragatha, feeling herself slowly slipping out of Pomni’s loosening grip, wrapped her arms snugly around the jester’s neck. She moved her face closer, gazing up with a dreamy, expectant look — but the longer Pomni just stared down, unblinking, the more Ragatha’s smile faded. She… didn’t break the poor thing, did she?

Another well-placed smooch would snap her out of it, Ragatha thought, but even she knew that was just a sorry excuse to indulge herself further. “Goodness gracious. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” she said with a playful chuckle, placing two more kisses near the corner of Pomni’s mouth. “I’m just showing my appreciation, Sunshine. No need to overthink it.”

It happened so fast. 

Knees buckled, Pomni fainted, plummeting backwards onto the manor’s lawn like a felled tree. Ragatha went right down with her, landing roughly on top of her smaller friend — and another handful of amateur stitches burst open.

Ragatha’s everything roared with horrible, splitting pain. She would have screamed, but she was too busy cackling harder than she ever had in her life. 

My Ko-fi - Tips are very much appreciated! :)

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HUGE thank you to @spitinsideme and @blukiar, who were kind enough to illustrate a scenes from this chapter! Go check them out!

@spitinsideme: https://www.tumblr.com/spitinsideme/744502650373062656/read-a-really-good-ragapom-fanfiction?source=share

@BlukiaR: https://www.tumblr.com/blukiar/748666035752812544/long-time-no-ragapom-did-this-one-based-on

[justsomevoltronstuff]

Hey if your still doing matchups could you possibly do on for me?

I am 5’7/5’8

I like to draw, cook/bake when I can, listen to music, write, the colors blue and yellow, i also like hiking around forests cause forests are cool as hell

My favorite trees are the redwoods you find in Cali and my favorite flowers are forget me nots and sunflowers

I’ve heard from people I’m pretty stubborn at times but that I’m also really smart (though I don’t really believe that cause I’m pretty sure I’m as dumb as a box o rocks)

Again no pressure to do it but I would appreciate it a lot

okay soooooo, this might be a hot take but since it’s my opinion you seek, I think I’d match you with

Keith!

while I am a sucker for a height difference, I’m also around 5’7/5’8 and guys that are just around my height or slightly shorter even are just, dreamy sigh😌 he just seems like the perfect height for cuddles and hugs and easy kisses🤭

so while Keith himself isn’t much of an artist nor does he cook or bake much, I have a headcanon that he’s supportive and smitten when his S/O is into that kind of stuff and he will most definitely be the BEST hiking buddy and would probably find your love of nature so endearing.

the two of you would definitely butt heads, both of you too stubborn not to at times, but I also think that would make you an unbeatable duo when you’re on the same side of something.

all in all I think you would keep each other on your toes while simultaneously keeping one another content and that is so great

(also the jokes Lance would make about how you actually love him and Hunk more obviously bc they’re the paladins of your favorite colors just to see Keith grump)

-Admin Rori💜

[felassan]

EA's DA:TV launch Press Release

"Rise Up and Become the Leader in Dragon Age™: The Veilguard, Now Available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC October 31st New Single-Player RPG Invites Players on a Bold, Heroic Adventure Through the Fantasy World of Thedas"

---

"REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) and BioWare announced today that Dragon Age: The Veilguard is now available for PlayStation®5 (also enhanced for PS5 Pro), Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam (Steam Deck Verified), EA app and Epic Games Store. This bold, heroic adventure is built to deliver on what the series is best known for: rich storytelling, fantasy worldbuilding, companions & fellowship, and a world where you matter. The next installment in BioWare’s beloved franchise has captivated critics worldwide, with outlets such as IGN and GamesRadar+ proclaiming it “deserves its place in the RPG pantheon” and is “A true return to RPG form for BioWare” in their 9/10 and 4.5/5 reviews. In Dragon Age: The Veilguard , Solas, the Dread Wolf, wants to tear down the Veil that separates Thedas from the world of demons, restoring his people’s immortality and glory – even at the cost of countless lives. But his ritual goes awry, and his worst fears are realized, as two of his most ancient and powerful adversaries are released. Players will step into the role of Rook, a fully-customizable protagonist who must rise up and unite their companions to stop these two powerful deities on a journey that will span across Thedas’ bustling cities, lush tropics, boreal forests, fettered swamps and deepest depths. “On behalf of everyone at BioWare, I want to thank you for joining us on our latest adventure,” said Gary McKay, Vice President/General Manager, BioWare; Executive Producer, Dragon Age: The Veilguard . “After years of careful planning, countless hours of expert work, and innumerable design decisions, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is ready. We are so proud of this achievement and excited to see its impact on our worldwide community of fans, without whom none of this would be possible. We hope you have just as much fun in your own Rook adventure as we did creating it.” Dragon Age: The Veilguard offers 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratio support, uncapped PC frame rates and a suite of Ray Tracing features. Additionally, you’ll be able to accelerate performance with DLSS 3, make gameplay even more responsive with Reflex, and enhance image quality and immersion with ray-traced reflections and ambient occlusion. Dragon Age: The Veilguard will also be available to play in “Ultimate” quality via NVIDIA GeForce NOW, and specifically enhanced for PlayStation 5 Pro. Additionally, this will be the first EA title to offer HDR10+ GAMING functionality that delivers outstanding high dynamic range performance automatically when enabled on PCs with compatible NVIDIA graphic cards and HDR10+ GAMING certified displays. The title builds upon the pillars the iconic series is best known for, delivering a bold and heroic adventure guided by rich storytelling, fluid and strategic combat, companions and fellowship, and choices that matter. Key experiential elements include:"

"- Fellowship: Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s brand new companions come alive with some of the most compelling individual storylines in Dragon Age history. Expansive and dynamic stories navigate love, loss and complex choices that will affect your relationships and the fate of each member of the Veilguard. New companions like the Veil Jumper Bellara, the necromancer Emmrich, and the private detective Neve, come from iconic factions in Dragon Age lore, possessing individual skill trees and specialized gear for advanced team progression. You’ll see familiar faces, too, such as the archer Lace Harding who returns to the series as a full time companion. - Choice and Consequences: Dragon Age: The Veilguard builds on the series’ deep role-playing roots, providing extraordinary storytelling and worldbuilding, deep personalities for each companion, meaningful choices and impactful cinematic moments. The bonds you create and the relationships you forge will be affected by your choices made throughout your journey. - A Crafted Experience: As a character-driven RPG, Dragon Age: The Veilguard delivers a crafted experience that pays homage to BioWare’s history of storytelling. The Lighthouse provides a central place where you can rest, learn more about the world through conversations, while the Crossroads allows you to traverse to separate explorable regions of the world with your companions. You’ll experience more of Thedas than ever before as your story unfolds across meticulously crafted biomes and beautiful regions including Rivain, Weisshaupt, Arlathan, Minrathous, the Deep Roads and more, each inviting you to delve deeper into the narrative and uncover the mysteries of the land. - Fluid, Customizable Combat: Immersive combat blends fluid moment-to-moment controls with tactical decision-making. Players can fully customize their experience to fit their playstyle with diverse skill trees among three different classes - Warrior, Mage and Rogue - each with unique abilities and specializations. Choose two companions to join you on your quests and unleash powerful team combos that can change the tide of any battle. Make strategic choices and direct your allies to fight, heal or stay out of the fray with the newly-added ability wheel. - Be the Leader You Want To Be: Dragon Age: The Veilguard features a robust character creation system that allows you to be the leader you want to be with a vast range of customization. BioWare has created the most comprehensive character creator in Dragon Age yet to make this story truly your own."

"Two-time Academy Award® winner Hans Zimmer and GRAMMY® Award winner Lorne Balfe co-composed the Official Soundtrack (OST) for Dragon Age: The Veilguard , which officially releases on November 1st via Lakeshore Records. The album’s first single, Dragon Age: The Veilguard Main Theme, can be downloaded and streamed now on all major music services such as Spotify, iTunes and Deezer. Players can purchase the Standard Edition of Dragon Age: The Veilguard for the suggested retail price of $69.99 USD on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, or $59.99 USD on PC. Meanwhile, the Deluxe Edition is available for the suggested retail price of $89.99 USD on console or $79.99 USD on PC and will include the following cosmetics: three Rook armor sets, six Rook weapons, seven companion armor sets and seven companion weapons. EA Play Pro members on the EA app will enjoy unlimited access to the EA Play Pro Edition starting October 31st † . The BioWare Gear Store is outfitted with a variety of merchandise, including Rook’s Coffer. Available for the suggested retail price of $150 USD * , Rook’s Coffer features a variety of unique physical keepsakes including a light-up Lyrium Dagger, Rook’s deck of cards featuring in-game art, and more (game not included). For additional information and to stay up to date on Dragon Age: The Veilguard , visit the official website, like Dragon Age on Facebook, follow the franchise on Discord, TikTok, Tumblr, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), and subscribe to its YouTube channel."

[source]

[lilghostiequinni]

Would You Choose Masterlist

Main Masterlist Avatar ML Jake Sully ML Neytiri ML Tsu'tey ML

Pairing: Avatar driver!female oc x Tsu'tey x Jake Sully x Neytiri

Warnings: violence, death, guns & weapons, mentions of death, polyamory, more to come...

Description: She always wanted to go to Pandora, she wanted to learn the ways of the native people first hand, she wanted to know how they healed. Her mom went to Pandora seven years ago, making her promise to come when the time was right, after she came back from her first ten year deployment. She took over the projects her mother worked and started her own. She took care of her mother's legacy on Earth. Trying to protect what little Earth had of its forests, that were once large and covered the planet and trying to restore the once breathable oxygen. The Amazon and Everglades being like her mom's other children, with the Redwoods following like the children's friend. But, she had watch as the things her mother loved and would be proud of we're cut down, burned, and died only have the Amazon left that's where she moved, throwing herself into her work. She focused on healing and medical studies, because while loving the forests and helping a dying planet, she realized that's all it is, a dying planet. A year later she was shipped off to Pandora with no real explanation. But there was no warm welcome, her family wasn't waiting for her, she was all alone with the mystery of herself to figure out.

It was over a year after the fall of Hell's Gate. Everything was peaceful, no more humans to come destroy the wonderous planet of Pandora. That is until a new star in the sky appeared for all of Pandora to see, what would this mean for the newly peaceful planet? Had the demons come back to Pandora? What more could they possibly want?

Part I: Wasn't Supposed To

Part II:

Part III:

Part IV:

Part V:

[futurebird]

The Worst Ant Video on the Internet

I did it. I found the worst ant video on youTube. I'm not going to link to it because it's *so* bad that I can't rule out the very real possibility that someone made it this bad just to bait people into watching it. But, let me give you a little taste of the horror.  The calamity starts with the title:

"Most Dangerous Ant Spices"

Yes. "Spices."

Dangerous ant spices? Are we talking tarragon and cumin? Are these spices dangerous to ants? Or is this a warning about the dangers of ant cooking?

The spelling error is bad enough, but also the whole concept of such a list is a little... gauche? Why is there this idea that the only thing that makes insects interesting is thinking about how much they could kill you?

But-- even this I could excuse. After all there are a few ants with dangerous stings. But, what do you think is on the list? Do you want to know? Too bad I'm telling you anyways:  

10. Harvester ant (This ant has a sting as bad as a bee. So, not a terrible entry for the bottom of this list...But the photo they used)

That is NOT a harvester ant. That is a weaver ant, genus Oecophylla. Weaver ants are tropical and use silk to make their nests in trees. Harvester ants are from the families Pogonomyrmecini and Stenammini, these are desert-dwelling ants who collect seeds and live underground. They don't even look alike at all. They do both have a sting, that's about as bad as a bee sting.

Maybe the next ant on the list will be better...? (of course not)

9. Redwood ant (What did wood ants do to deserve this??)

I don't even know what ant they meant by this. They showed an image of Formica rufa, the wood ant, and rufa do have a reddish color ... so maybe they are also called "redwood ants" But, why are these ants on a list of "Dangerous Ants" ?? They are a protected species that lives in the pine forests of Europe! They don't sting and can't even effectively bite a person. Their colonies are huge. They build mound nests of pine needles a meter in height and live in groups of 100s of thousands. They are gentle custodians of the forest enriching the soil and keeping the arthropod populations under-control. Beneficial ants that are so well loved they are protected from poaching since without them the forests would not thrive as well.

8. Odorous house ant (lol what?)

A few years back there was a recurring argument online about if ants have a smell. People who grew up in areas with the odorous house ant know that some ants, when crushed smell like coconut... or rotten face cream. The smell isn't exactly overwhelming and it's only around when the ants are crushed or injured. But it's very distinctive nothing is exactly like it. Most ants have no real smell. So people argued about this online.

But other than the smell there isn't much to say about these little ants. They are tiny, can't sting, can't bite. They can be house pests. So they are dangerous to your poptarts. Might smell a little odd for a few moments if you step on one. If this is "Dangerous" I don't even know.

7. Leafcutter ant

These ants are remarkable but they can't sting, they do have a powerful bite so I guess that's a little "dangerous" ... the majors could draw blood biting you. And they can defoliate a tree overnight ... so that's kinda ... "dangerous" ... at least they used the correct image.

6. Argentine ant

(is this a list of ants... most dangerous to other ants?)

Another ant that can't sting or bite. Linepithema humile is an invasive species and a huge threat to ant diversity in some parts of the world. This makes it even more unfortunate that the video, like many "resources" online used the incorrect photo for this ant. If you search for this ant with the common name "Argentine Ant" you will probably find a photo of another species incorrectly identified as an Argentine ant-- and, since it's invasive, incorrectly identifying one of your local beneficial species of ant as Argentine could lead to killing off the wrong ants. So. I edited this photo as it's not just misinformation... it is destructive misinformation.

Neither the ant in the photo, nor Linepithema humile are in any way "dangerous" except for the danger posed to native ants.

5. Carpenter ant (YES every single one!)

They did at least use a photo of one of the thousands of carpenter ants (Genus Camponotus) for this one. But that doesn't make up for labeling a harmless Campontus as an invasive in the last list item.

None of the Carpenter ants can sting or be dangerous. Some have a significant bite, but not as bad as the leafcutter ants lower on this list.

4. African ant (You aren't even trying anymore.)

I've decided making up something called an "African ant" putting it on a list of "dangerous ants" then using a photo of a trapjaw ant (Odontomachus speceis) that isn't even from Africa is probably racist ... somehow.

I think they meant to show the most famous ants from Africa, the driver ants. (Genus Dorylus) This is a genus of army ant that roves through the forests in columns of thousands. Their majors look vaguely like trap jaw ants. And they are a little "dangerous" ... though they are also well-loved since they will clean your home and land of pests.

3. Red fire ant (Guess what the photo showed. GUESS.)

Oh. NOW they show a harvester ant. I think that people don't think that real fire ants look as formidable as their reputation. So they use photos of the larger more beefy looking harvester ant instead. The common name "fire ant" refers to Solenopsis invicta, and invasive species with the ability to sting.

The sting of one fire ant isn't much... but they sting in great numbers and can be a problem. But this photo is a harvester ant, which is a much larger ant and beneficial. Harvester ants also sting. This may be why these ants are so often confused.

They had correct images for the last two items in their list. And both of these ants have significant stings and bites. That said neither is hunting humans for food or planning to take over your school board and ban books or anything.

2. Bulldog ant 1. Bullet ant

List is hot mess.

[differenteagletragedy]

I need more adult mc x Cliff in my life, like what about after learning about the fruit bouquet mc decides to surprise Cliff with one and just doing other lovey dovey stuff to fluster Cliff. This man needs and deserves more love!

I am here always for Cliff and his very own MC!

-- You are gonna hear about the fruit bouquet, because you are gonna hear about everything.

-- If you don't actively think being a good parent is an attractive quality in a partner then what are you even doing with Cliff

-- You are seriously going to have to woo the pants off this man. Put in the effort, it's going to be a lot in the beginning, but once you get to it you are going to have a magical magical man to love and cherish forever.

-- Just take one of his sweet silly stories about Cove, like the fruit bouquet, and give him a surprise! Bring him one at work and watch him melt into a puddle. Blushing, trying to play it cool but actually visibly falling in love.

-- Take him back to the redwood forest, he loved it there. Make sure a bird doesn't steal his lunch, and if it does, then share yours.

-- We always talk about Cove and the beach, you know he got that from his dad. Cliff is going to want to hit up the beach with you so much, because that's one of his happy places and he wants to share that with you. Do you know how to surf? If not, let him teach you! If so, surf together! If you're not interested, just splash around with him a little bit, he'll be so happy with whatever.

-- He loooooves cooking for you, so let him do this whenever possible. He can make a lunch for you to take to the beach!

-- Sunset walks on the beach, he is an angel.

-- Oh oh oh, you tell him you want to take him out for dinner, he shows up looking so fancy like at the anniversary party! And yeah, he's overdressed, but he's just used to wearing his little shark shirts or whatever, he wants to look so nice for you. Protect this man at all costs.

-- One day you're talking on the phone, you tell him something about how you miss him, he's smiling his head off but tells you that he can't see you tonight. You tell him you know, it's Cove's birthday, and just the fact that you remembered is unbelievably touching.

-- It's so funny because he used to be a bad boy, like a legitimate bad boy, not a Baxter bad boy, but he's actually the softest man in the universe. He used to hustle with cards and now he's trying not to cry when you ask him how his son is doing.

-- He's a guy that keeps to himself mostly. I feel like he doesn't want to presume he's important in anyone's life, like he doesn't want to impose. And he's actually pretty fine with this, with being alone, because he's got Cove and that's all he needs. But when he meets you and you make it clear that you are interested, and you stick around through the long adjustment period because you like him that much? It's just so nice to have that kind of attention again.

-- He does have that whole thing where he just wants so desperately to do good that he ends up doing something bad. By the time you start dating him, this has blown up in his face enough that he's learned to fight that urge, but this means that he's very very cautious. Give him encouragement. I promise he's going to blossom, but it's going to take him a little bit.

-- I haven't thought about it or anything, but WHAT IF Cliff's MC is also a single parent who also moved to the area for a fresh start? Their kid/kids are a bit younger than Cove, but Cliff definitely doesn't have a problem developing a relationship for a parent. So Stepdad Cliff. That's it, that's what we were getting at. Stepdad Cliff, Stepbrother Cove, it's this whole thing and it's really sweet.

[blufox234isadumbname]

Wilbur doesn't know why he knows the steps. It feels like a dance you remember only in a hazy state. Walking beside a small kid, careful not to trip into her stride feels right. He feels like something overtakes him to speak in a gentler voice of reassurance. To sing her a song goodnight is instinct, not just as a musician but as something else. It feels so strange all of a sudden that he of all people is so careful with a child he's never met until that day. When he heard he was possibly a dad, he simply dismissed it like minor news. Akin to hearing you have a spider in your home or it's raining in 4 days, he'll get to it but it's nothing really.

But now he cares so much, he'd wreak havoc if anything happened to Tallulah. It feels like deja vu, like looking through a mirror to another world. A world where he has a special place surrounded by redwood trees and by the riverside. That other guy he's looking at, he's building everything up just for his own kid, with the same face of care and concerns as his own. He's singing some lullabies as him, matching the cadences and lyrics even if hushed and mumbled. He's teaching how to shoot a bow and arrow to his kid just like him, explaining the steps the same as him. He's leaving the kid soon just like the other, but at least he's trusting someone else to take care in his stead.

There's another kid, he realises. And that kid looks sad, in spite of the beautiful scenery. That kid is looking at walls, just like Tallulah. He's not living in much comfort or glamour, just like Tallulah. He's learning how to fend for himself with a bow and arrow, Tallulah will be like that soon. He's seen the dance, the rhythm of a deadbeat. And now its up to him to change the paces.

Will doesn't know why he pauses in faint recollection when a memory doesn't exist. It's merely a dream from a bygone night, but what's a memory but not a dream you've seen before. Yet when remembers walking through the forest and a flash of red fur snickering, he doesn't understand why a pang of burrowing feelings hits him.

And that feeling turns to drive, a desire to be at least the best dad he can be for now. For Tallulah and for that lonely kid he doesn't remember.

[lostwords-found]

So ep 224 of wtnv got me thinking about--well, lots of things, but one of the them was something I hadn't considered until now, which was parallels between University of What It Is and Cecil. Specifically, between how the UoWII is treating Night Vale, and how Cecil is treating his own past, or his own nature, or--himself, on some level.

At first glimpse they look like opposites. The UoWII wants to "explain everything" about this weird town. Cecil isn't interested in explanations for any of the shit that haunts him; he just wants it to Go Away. Cover the mirror, trash the cassette, forget you were ever in the redwood forest, get Rid Of That Mural We Do Not Like It, and great! Everything's fine here. He's gotten a lot of mileage out of "everything's fine here."

But this forcible shutting out of knowledge he doesn't want seems increasingly to be failing him, and more and more we're hearing him turn desperately towards rationalization, however weak. "Oh, that must have been the director's cut of Cat Ballou." "Honestly I don't really believe in tarot, and I don't think this guy's all there, anyway." "This video won't stop--it must be something I'm doing, I'm so bad at technology." When he's pushed to look past that, as we saw in the latest episode, he slams back into outright denial: Nope, he doesn't want to, he's not going to, he refuses. Cecil's all about spinning a narrative--(narrative is everything, right?)--and when the world starts contradicting the narrative he's spun about his own life, then it's the world that's wrong and needs to change.

And isn't this basically what the University of What It Is is trying to do to Night Vale? They say they want to explain it all, but what they're actually doing is trying to force Night Vale into a form that fits their narrative about how the world works. They're not interested in understanding--or even seeing--the weirdness of Night Vale as it actually is to the people who live there; they just want that weirdness to Go Away and stop messing up their nice neat narrative. The entire town calls them murderers for it? Then the entire town's delusional and needs to change. Certainly the UoWII isn't going to take a second look at any of their own conclusions, that would be ridiculous.

So I have to wonder: Is it coincidence that just when Cecil seems to be losing his control over the narrative of his own existence, the UoWII has swooped in to try to gain control over the narrative of Night Vale's existence? And will it be possible for Night Vale to stop the UoWII from denying and rationalizing away the pieces of the town it doesn't want to know, as long as Cecil carries on trying to do the same thing to himself?

[transgenderer]

how do you like the chaparral? how do you like the wonderful, peaceful dry heat? you mentioned the vegetation. you've seen the california poppy but have you seen any

manzanita?

california live oak (probably not too many within LA but whatever)?

prickly pear cactus (nopales)?

desert agave?

milkweed?

how do you like our ecosystem? if you go to the beach look for also

the famed and adorable snowy plover

the sea otter

the red urchin

the kelp! norcal has its old growth redwoods and those are nice but in socal we have (well, had) vast forests of giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, the most mighty and glorious of all brown algae. the kelp forests are disappearing but they are still present and if you go to just about any beach (well, any beach that's not actively cleaned, which most touristy beaches are) there will be a lot of kelp washed up on it. it will be full of flies and smells like rotting kelp (no joke this is the smell of my childhood and supremely nostalgic to me) but you can pick up a piece of it and pop the bladders. the bladders are fun to pop.

also if you are in LA you should eat mexican food. it will reveal the bullshit mexican food they have on the east coast for the bullshit it is.

I have had lots of Mexican food :) it seems pretty similar to the east coast Mexican food. I mean. We have real Mexicans on the east coast.

I've seen the live oak and possibly the manzanita. Definitely some chaparall type plants. Agave and such. I haven't been to the beach tho I'm not really in the city proper. More of a greater LA situation. I may trek to the beach on my one free day but getting around is so slow and expensive. And I'm not really a beach person. Sand

[shamanfox]

In sacrosanct meadows on lush green hillside

courtyards of

evergreen and lily white snow, sits

The Jester

holding cards

She waits there with a sheepish grin. Her wild eyes staring from lunacy beyond the grave of his long dead burned out mind.

Nothing

was there

rattling through his skull like a rats cage

set on fire

fleeing rodents wrapped up in disguise of "Ideas"

That thunk himself brilliant and yet

SAID he was humble which meant borrowing his neighbors coat to drape over mud holes waiting for the first fool to partake of the plastic.

The slipknot goat-head wheel turner

could have been but a single shot

transfixed into a photograph hung center in

The Museum Of Cretin.

Oh …shake the haze from the glare. There are no cards to read here, realize now as they are

just four blank mirrors void of a decent worthy expression.

Only an echo from years previous this short track roller coaster is out to lunch.

Permanently imitating chatty Kathy in a make-believe world.

….

Whilst the Thief laughed, merriment began to rise and bloom in iridescent array that "smoke screened eyelids"*

from ever knowing the secret

of unlocking beauty’s door…

When the moon made an appearance from the dusk of a cloud

barren soldiers were fighting in the cosmic dust

of infinite spiral layers

of possibilities. Love was

at the door step

opening gates

so inviting. This is the part of the story

Wise fear to tread…

Lets "talk" about love shall we?

Here, take my hand I will guide you now through the hallways of truth.

Love is always an open door speaking songs of forlorn angels and battle scars of internal injustice. It screams out as though it was not a biological drug life induced

that heart of being…

not just this falsely believing.

I myself am Wrapped up in nothing

short of insanity, sleepless, penny brained, every word:

"Yes" as in "Yes my Love Yes!"

mind babbling beggar... using only first dimensional communication.

A day spent in concrete stoic

Are now failing words

spilled in marbles

at loves door.

No now now baby,

you will never shake

this off.

No not the

real deal.

Your going to change

rid anything left insulting your

soul

your gonna wash your face

and look square

in the eyes. Your gonna smile now

"goddamit"

Smile.

Show me baby what loves all about.

Did you think it was a white picket?

Now.

holy un-roll all the fears your momma and your poppa force fed.

Stop gagging on the stew passed around this old cross for generations

You really think you know what loves all about?

Is it about jealousy

for the testosterone forgiven

from lily white to crimson dilate

clothes from every other sister

as she passed by.

Do you love em honey when every drool felt like nails into the coffin of self esteem.

Love feel safe like the choking flavor of chapstick

and gum

strangle-holding

dignity on a silver plated fork three-prongs that I swear looks just like a bird.

A fuck you

flip

this

switch bird.

a book now …

Like chapter one "first verse same as the first"

where slave driver poet lords bang minds door with words hung across arms

whilst fur is trading in dark caves of fog

Where old gathers together hand and hand to die.

or Bleed

sometimes you take a break to let it bleed.

Love is ruthless a two edged sword

for polarities balances a spinning pirouette effortlessly.

Love has a few freckles

sunspots on oceans of sea green, evergreen in redwood forests

where it flourishes a dream within this dream.

A voice always a little above or below the wave

where a dance-floor joyously

announces

heart & soul

though the train finally came home to stay…

Love walks with

or a step ahead for it is always there

freely

When you finally come home stay

love walked with you all the way

[thedevillionaire]

So I haven't re-read everything but I was thinking about Cerberus and Lilith vs Cerberus and Kia. And I think Cerberus and Lilith were equal and opposite, constantly tussling and competing for dominance and power in their relationship. She's the ice to his fire, she brings out his power through conflict and it's stressful and tense but passionate and thrilling.

Now Kia and Cerberus are like fire and a redwood forest. The forest is fire’s natural home, feeding and renewing in a cycle that benefits both. She helps him grow in true strength rather than just power. They are still passionate, but Kia sates him in body and soul and Lilith leaves him hungry for something more.

Lilith is the cunning paramor of Cerberus the Conqueror and Kia is the steady partner of Cerberus the King.

Firstly, I am sending a novelty oversize amount of extra-warm fuzzies your way for not only thinking in depth about my OCs in the first place, but for then taking the time to write out and send your thoughts about them to me. 🥹💗💗🥹 A total honour.

Secondly, I love the forest/fire analogy. I may have fixated on it...kind of a lot. And now to the main point! Which I will put under the cut because blah blah blah, talky talky, all that. 😅

You're not far off the mark with Cerberus and Lilith, although one of the main reasons their coupleship lasted as long as it did (slightly over a decade, which is notably longer than most of my various Underworldian pairings tend to last) is that they were both very independent, and Lilith already established as a powerful entity in her own right. But oh, yeah, there were certainly a LOT of ups and downs. Also, back in the early days, Cerberus was somewhere between completely disinterested in and actively against the idea of love or a significant other for most of his life - it was a distraction, a pointlessness, an unnecessary responsibility he had no desire towards - and he just flat-out wasn't interested in anyone. Not long-term, anyway, not as anything...important. He's never been short of hopeful suitors - to put it mildly - but his usual reaction to that sort of thing mostly tended to be somewhere between boredom or irritation about it. Presuming he even noticed, lol. Lilith's independence and (very strong, some would say perhaps a little too strong, heh) self-esteem, her own achievements and intellect, plus the fact she's absolutely stunning, broke this antipathy in him, and in more than a few ways they were a great match. BUT. He was always more detached than she was, and Lilith loves to be openly admired, whereas Cerberus...well, it was never much of a priority for him. In lots of areas they both took a lot for granted, though differently, and you're dead on the money in terms of the balance of power, and where it fell...or appeared to. They exasperated each other regularly. Be that as it may, though, by any measure Lilith was the first person Cerberus ever loved. To the best of his ability at the time, that is. Kia was a revelation for him. He fell for her in a way he did not think was possible. Hell, I didn't think it was possible. You think you know someone, and, uh, well...🤣🤣 Nope. Apparently not. Turns out I can be, in fact, AMAZINGLY way off the mark about my own damn people. Cerberus and Kia's ongoing fascination with one another, both of them genuinely thinking the other is the Best Thing Ever (including the negatives; they're not perfect but they are perfect together), is something truly lasting and complementary, and regenerative - that forest/fire comparison indeed. Exactly. ❤️‍🔥

[kerink]

so i relistened to 219 and am ready to talk about it

cecil first asked What do I not know, that I should know? and pulled the 12 of birds, followed by 3 listener questions

lets talk about the imagery in the card. scarecrow, multiple types of birds, yarn, and innards. scarecrows represent depression. blue jays represent cockiness/arrogance/overlooking, falcons represent focus on goals and ambitions, and pigeons represent taking blame for the actions of others as well as gossip/news. pumpkins represent being open and receptive. yarn can represent distress caused from monotony. and innards represent compassion.

taken together i think we can make a clear argument this card is trying to tell cecil he's unaware of how his positive qualities have turned into negative ones (Likely this is a pumpkin, but it evokes an open wound.) and that his actions, or inactions, are hurting himself.

this is further underscored by cecil following this card up with 3 letters from listeners (the first of whom being named robin [which represent sacrifice]) calling him and carlos out on either doing nothing about janet or accusing them of colluding with her.

cecil believes this card represents him being pulled in different directions (loyalty to his town, and to carlos) and that if people know he holds no power, that he can't do anything, they'll assume he's sided with the enemy and turn on him.

cecil then asked What do I know that I should not know? and pulled the shadow of the leopard, followed by discussion of doubles and their relationship to their counterpart

the imagery for this card is black leopard and the colors blue and grey. leopards represent the overcoming of obstacles however a black leopard represents that you're trying to hide or conceal your true self. blue represents protection/freedom and grey represents balance.

it's interesting cecil doesn't try to interpret this card despite it, theoretically, being something he knows. i don't have to say it though, right? the calm, comforting smile of the primary leopard seeing shelter and a mate, compared to the fearful or violent posture of the shadow. the sun and moon imagery, the connection between them despite Is the shadow the leopard’s shadow? Or is it a different entity entirely? Or is it an alternate version of the leopard?

it's kevin, right, we can all see that? especially followed up with dana, kareem, and fink forming a what? doubles support group? and kareem and fink going to lubelle for help and she tells them accept that you… are simply you.

in triptych kevin muses about what his life would have been like if things had been different for him, about his connection to cecil that could have been and never was. (he also briefly touches on this in one of the patreon bonuses)

and cecil replies: A counterpart that never was. A friend that I never had. A life that was never lived. 

there's almost a radical acceptance to this card, that we must accept ourselves as we are despite the hardships that come with it.

finally cecil asked What is not knowable at all? and pulled the 5 of rakes, followed by discussion of cecil's lack of father and a callback to the redwood forest

rakes symbolize taking direction in your life, and the number five symbolizes curiosity and change

if you know me you know that i believe bedtime story was about cecil, and this card is pointing there for me as well. the core tenant of bedtime story was there was a boy who was so curious about the world he couldn't pick a direction in his life, he was then tricked by an angel into becoming a tree.

we already have a strong connection linking cecil to trees from it sticks with you but now we have a boy who looks exactly like cecil hiding in a pile of leaves.

But why five rakes? And only one boy? mr and mrs palmer, cal, abby, and cecil makes five

particularly following this up with a callback to cecil's possible father (ala it doesn't hold up)

cecil's past and his family ARE unknowable to him, and whatever dark secret his past contains and whatever is buried, he'll never find out

[solradguy]

12 and 36 for the question thing?

36. Favorite food(s)?

12 Where is somewhere you'd like to visit?

Basic weeaboo answer but I'd love to go to Japan or possibly China and visit some of their national parks some day. Japan would probably be easier because I could stumble my way through the language if I needed to, but China has some really beautiful nature too. The redwood forest out west in the USA would also be pretty cool to go visit.

36. Free pass!! - Favorite food(s)?

I LOVE SUPER SPICY GOAT ROGAN JOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of the local burrito places has a sweet potato and chicken burrito that I really like too. They used to have a habanero salsa that went well with it, but they discontinued it 😔

[lazysailor]

27 Tommie

The day after he went out to get new clothes, the storks had to get out of the hotel due to them being found out by other kids. But now they seem to have a sudden change in budget. Instead of having to rob gas stations and steal, they were able to afford to travel and get the materials they needed.

Instead of them being just being a group of storks with no interesting name. They were now referred to as “Egret Academy”, a name made by Starkey.

Right now they were traveling on a charter bus to who knows where. Kayden was asleep next to him on his shoulder. He had noticed she hadn't got that much sleep lately, he didn't know why though.

Since Kayden seemed safe at the moment, he took his main focus to the others around him.

He had taken note that lots of the kids in “Egret Academy” looked up to Starkey and that they blindly obeyed him. If Starkey had told one of those kids to jump off a cliff that kid would probably do it in a heartbeat.

Tommie hates the thought of people looking up to Starkey. He had figured Starkey didn't do anything that important that could cause him to be looked up to. 

He was just another guy to him that loved having power and control..Like his “mom”.

Tommie looks over to Kayden who is still asleep next to him. He could see eye bags that started to develop under her eyes.

He then promised himself to never let Starkeys ideas get to her head.

..

A couple days later they ended up at this camp..what was it.? Tommie was sure it was called redwood something, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Him and Kayden were standing under a tree taking in its shade. The other kids were running around, climbing trees, basically acting like kids for once. Starkey was somewhere, probably busy talking to the owner of the camp.

Tommie was enjoying the temporary peace and quiet when Kayden suddenly started trying to talk to him.

“Y'know I went camping once..” She says with a somewhat awkward tone.

He wasn't that interested in her story, but she didn't seem to notice that.

“It was sometime during the day..My parents were relaxing in the lake house we rented and my brother suggested going out to find snakes.” She starts telling him.

“We both went out to a forest that was near the lake and he found a water moccasin assuming it was a rat snake.” Kayden continues.

“The start of my vacation was ruined by him since we had to go to the ER and give him some kind of vaccine.” She finishes.

Tommie doesn't say anything to her about her story and she lets out an awkward laugh.

Before she could try to continue her conversation, she just walks away from him.

Now he stands under the shaded tree alone. He makes sure to stay a bit guard, he doesn't know when everything can go wrong again and he assumes Starkey could possibly betray them in the future..

..

Later that night he and Kayden set up camp near the rest of the kids.

Tommie looked at Kayden for a few moments and debated in his head.

“Should I tell her about Starkey? Or should I just wait till later?” He thought to himself.

“It's better to just tell her now, I don't know when Starkey could betray us.” He concludes in his head.

Tommie sits up on his sleeping bag and looks over at her.

“Kayden, I need to tell you something.” He says to her.

“What is it.?” She asks him.

He takes a second to gather his words.

“It's about Starkey, I think he can't be trusted.” He starts off.

“He's been too kind to all of us and I don't want you to fall for anything he promises us in the future.” He tells her.

“I know that.” She simply says.

He was surprised by her response.

“What?” He says in confusion.

“I know that Tommie, I obviously can't trust everyone here. That's just stupid if I did.” Kayden tells him.

Tommie stares at her for a few moments while feeling surprised and confused by her.

Then she spoke up again.

“Plus I don't plan on staying here for long.” She says.

“What do you mean?” He asks as he feels some kind of anger build up inside of him.

“I plan on leaving the storks once I find Avery.” She tells him.

“But he's probably dead by no-” He tries to say but he gets cut off.

“He's probably at a harvest camp right now and I just have a gut feeling he's still whole.” Kayden adds on.

His anger was now being replaced by jealousy.

“She just couldn't abandon him once she found this guy!?” He thought.

“She has to stay with me! I can't let her leave!” His thoughts said.

“Kayden, you don't have to leave soon as you find him.” He says to her.

Kayden gives him an annoyed look and ignores him.

She lays back down on her sleeping bag and faces away from him.

He doesn't say anything to her annoyance towards him.

Tommie stands up from his sleeping bag and walks away in frustration towards the wooded area.

He makes it a bit away from camp and sits down on the ground against a tree.

He knew that Kayden had her own personal goals.

But he wanted her to stay and be with him so bad.

All because she reminded him of her..

..

It was a nice summer day, Tommie and his younger sister Bella were walking around the neighborhood. Bella was riding on her bike while he just preferred to walk.

She started picking up the pace on her bike and started to speed past him.

“You're too slow!” She shouts as she rode past him.

He laughed a bit at her.

“Not if I get past you first! Then you'd be the slow one!” He says as he starts to run up to her.

She laughed and started to ride across the street.

But before they both noticed a car sped down the street, the driver wasn't paying attention to the road.

The car then crashed into Bella

Tommie remembers to this day the sound of her screaming in pain.

The fact the driver tried to move over her body like she wasn't even there.

The sound of sirens quickly approaching the scene.

All while Tommie stood there and watched in shock..

..He learned later that the driver was high on some kind of street drug and that he was sent to jail for murder.

He remembers the police bringing him back home and when the policeman left him alone with his “mom”.

She yelled and hit him blaming him for killing his sister even though the accident was so quick and he couldn't do anything about it..

One week later he found out he was sent to be unwound.

..

Tommie didn't want Kayden dying on him..

He needed her to live for his sake..