#and some of it stays of course to build up the realistic world around them. but so much of it doesnt go in and thats so hard

[alienaiver]

he took a nap on me and i reached 2.5k before bed !!! 🥳 im not jinxing anything ofc since ive been writing this since fall 2023 🤡 (and working on the idea since spring 2023) but i do feel like im reaching the goal!!!

succeeded 1.7k words on amethyst haze chapter 7 before snøfle demanded its all about him!!!

[gremlingottoosilly]

Nature vs Nurture (monster!Konig x fem!Reader)

The new world order - monsters on top, creating the perfect dystopia for humans. You are nothing but a pet to them, a breeding mare for their perverse desires…and now you've finally been claimed by their colonel. Good luck.

Tags and TW: Dub-con, monster fucking, size kink, power imbalance, dumbification, pet play, dystopia, obsessive Konig, tentacle monster Konig, oviposition, breeding. AO3

It was supposed to be a supply run. Fast, quick, stealthy. In and out, the ruins of the abandoned store not so far from your hiding spot. Whatever you could find, some canned food – maybe, but not realistically. Some rubble and garbage that could be exchanged for food for triple the price it was – possible. Realistic. 

It was supposed to be a quick supply run. Like a rabbit out of her hole – but not really a rabbit, not even having the courtesy of strong legs and long ears that could spot anyone from a mile away. No, of course not – the universe wasn’t feeling particularly merciful when you were born a human in the age before monsters decided they didn’t want to be servants anymore. You think you remember going to the store like a normal person. Picking up a cart, hauling anything you could afford – not bothering about a lot of things. 

There are still stores, you think. Remesances of capitalism, working only for monsters – whatever crude economy they were building, it stayed in the cities. In the military bases, were filled with monsters even before the uprising. Not here, in the wasteland – it belongs to humans, as little as there were left. 

It was supposed to be a quick supply run for you and your friends – but you were dumb, but you were careless, but you grew accustomed to being the only one here, you didn’t even spot a patrol. Nasty fuckers, getting humans off the abandoned streets – you tried to fight and it didn’t work. Tried to run, and they were faster. Always faster. You should have been quicker, you shouldn’t have been a human – but you are, your soft self still not hardened by the life on the run, so you weren’t put out of your misery as you saw some other humans who got caught. Monsters took pity on you – or, perhaps, your submissiveness finally paid off. You were shown off the corner of a store – a human store, as you read, the words burning in your mind. You heard the stories about humans – attractive, soft people, mostly weak and obedient – who were snatched off the streets to do god knows what. Monsters can’t breed on their own, you remembered. 

You can hear the voices coming somewhere in the hallway, a good few meters away from your cage. You force yourself to stay as far from the bars as possible, not wanting to attract attention. Not even want to bother yourself with trying to see what your captors look like – monsters can take on human appearance and you’d rather live without seeing a human pet trader looking like someone who could have been your neighbor before the uprising. You curl in a ball, hugging your knees. Sobbing softly, quietly – knowing that there is no way out of here now. Not even other humans would help you now. “Just got new batch, colonel. Doesn’t look like a resistance member” “Ja, I heard that the last time. Schlampe killed all the hatchlings the second they were born.” “W…we didn’t know, sir! I promise, it was a…” “You can’t even breed them properly. There wasn’t any new humans in months, wolf” “Humans are…delicate, sir. They don’t want to breed in captivity.” “Make them then.” You hear something heavy shuffling around. You hear heavy footsteps that are making the flimsy flor of your cage shake. Even monsters have their disputes – but you can’t bother with caring when you hear footsteps approaching. Large shadow casting down on you. Making you feel even more small and miserable than you did before. Your head hurts. Your stomach hurts. Your everything hurts. 

Someone is staring at you. You see…someone. Humanoid silhouette – too big to belong to a human, at least 7 feet tall and broader than the entirety of your cage. You whimper when the creature tilts its head to the side, a surprisingly boyish tone of his voice grasping on your panicking mind. It isn’t the one that captured you but, for some reason, you can sense that he is even more dangerous. There is something on his uniform – some decorations, you think. Soldiers from the age before the uprising are all have quite high ranks in the new society – if they are monsters, that is. Large, droopy red tentacle falls from the guy’s hood. Definitely a monster. 

— Come closer, human. You whimper, trying to get up – only to get as far away from him as possible. You’re terrified, but he only hums in acknowledgment. A group of tentacles rising from under his hood, pushing you towards him through the bars. You were never more thankful for being locked away. 

— Disobedient. Or just dumb? 

— I d…don’t…

You cry, not wanting to give an answer – too disoriented, your nostrils are filled with the smell of sea and blood. You feel light-headed, dizzy, you’re hungry and dehydrated and you don’t know how could you even proceed to resist when one of his tentacles goes through the bars of your cage. Caresses your face, surprisingly gentle. Smearing cold slime around your skin, but even this is a welcoming feeling – you’d take everything that isn’t damp air of the human compound and the old sweat tattering your skin. You’d give anything for a bath right now. At least a few wet wipes, to wash the grime off your face – to stop feeling like an animal even though you know you’re already been reduced to one. — Just dumb, then. Gut. Monster caresses your face for a while, admiring your features. Salty tears feel like heaven on his tentacles – you can’t possibly see him, but he is grinning under that weird hood of his, adoring how obedient you are. It might be just exhaustion, but he missed humans like this – broken and abandoned. Soft and adorable, crying at the brim of a hat. König is going to have a lot of fun breaking you in – you couldn’t possibly be worse than the last wife he took. He wants to see you round and filled with his eggs. He wants you to see you cry for his cock, begging him to fill you up like the dumb, pathetic human you are. He wants to lay in the nest with you, pressing his body against yours – stealing the coolness of your body, covering you with his tentacles like a perfect chewing toy. He wants to… — Ah, sir. This is the new one. Just took her yesterday. 

A merchant smiles, slimy face spreading in a wide grin. Tentacles retreat from your face and shoulders immediately, only leaving a small trace of liquid over your features. If you were dumb enough, you could have sworn the monster was affectionate – but you don’t want to be dumb. Can’t survive in this world only on silliness, unfortunately. — I will take this one. — B…but it isn’t properly domesticated yet! You know how wild strays can be, colonel… — I thought you said all pets were properly obedient? 

— W…well, of course, sir, but… — I don’t need a trained slut to carry my eggs. This one would do nicely. Consider this your sacrifice to the order, ja? Before you know it, the merchant showed you in the hands of a giant man. Colonel, as you heard – not knowing proper military ranks, you wonder how high it can be. Or low. Monsters only value power and personal strength – and the merchant was fucking terrified of the tentacle creature who was holding you right now. Perhaps, you should have tried your chances of running away and being killed. Perhaps, you should have slowly died of hunger instead of coming out for supplies. `You’re held high in the air – too high for your liking. The monster presses you against his chest like he expects you to run away any second now – and you want to, really, nothing you’d love more but to simply jump off and run for the hills. But you’re too exhausted, the hunger sitting deep in your empty stomach makes you think that, maybe, for whatever reason this monster bought you for, he’d at least feed you. Maybe turn you into a pet – this is why there are stores for captured humans, right? Humans were treating their pets nicely, maybe the monster wouldn’t be too far off. Tentacles are swirling around your legs, around your hands – now you can’t even move your neck properly, cheek squished against a warm chest. This monster is a weird one – it’s like he can’t stop his tentacles from touching you, the cold tips of his tendrils spreading slime on the dryness of your skin. His body is warmer than any human would be, and his tentacles are cold – the contrast against your naked skin, barely covered by your torn clothes, is making you crazy. Making you think about weird things – like the monster reproduction again. Like your empty tummy, like the friends you left at the compound when you were supposed to go for supplies. Not getting captured by one of the monster higher-ups.

— You’re soft for a human. You weren’t even sure he was talking to you at first. You’ve been walking for a couple of minutes before you could finally hear some traces of civilization. Roaring vehicles. Gunfire. Laugh and groans – moans, too, to your surprise, not all of them very pain-induced. Your face is still pressed in his chest, you can’t see anything meaningful – but he stops in some corner, you think, covering you in his arms like a package he needed to deliver. You aren’t sure if you remember what the word “package” means. Something naughty, you think. — Quiet, too. 

You still don’t answer, and he hums. Pushes you on the ground, suddenly – you fall on your ass, yelping in pain and surprise as you lay on something softer than a concrete floor. It’s a pile of mattresses, you realize. You’re in a room, you realize – still too dizzy after everything that’s happened, you didn’t even notice when he entered the building and pushed you away from the sounds of life you wanted to hear so much of. You’re sitting on your ass on the pile of soft, rotten mattresses – a faint smell of decay builds up in your nose, but you can’t even concentrate. The tentacles are spreading your legs suddenly – you cry and whimper, your walls breaking down to reveal a soft center because the monster tears away your pants with ease. Your clothes weren’t much, to begin with, dirty and torn after the capture – still, you don’t want to be naked in front of him. You don’t want to be naked in front of anyone. 

— Spread your legs, human. You don’t want to, but you obey – you don’t wish to give him an opportunity to pry your legs open, to use force and make your life even more miserable. You know that being so obedient is kind of pathetic but, honestly, you couldn’t care less at this point. If being pathetic would save you from a broken leg, you will spread yourself open. Place each ankle on the side of the rotten mattress, not even caring that the thing fabric of your clothes – whatever little is left there – is slowly whiskered away by the tentacles. His hands are worse, somehow. He pushes your legs a bit wider, making you hiss from the stretch – and then he tears off your underwear. Not even letting you a chance to save your dignity – before you could cover yourself with your hands, at least, he is already launched at your cunt, smaller tendrils swirling around your core. You’re dry, obviously – and the monster tilts his head to the side. Acknowledging. Looking. He isn’t soft in his movements and the prying attention makes you embarrassed – if your legs weren’t in hid hold already, you’d try to close them. To save yourself. His motives are obvious, his intentions are clear – still, you sob and whine i his hold when his hand slowly presses on the button of your clit. The colonel – you try to remember this, it’s probably important –  is somewhat slow – he pushes your inner lips, spreads your hole as much as you can with a meager amount of fluid from the slime of his tendrils and, somehow, you find yourself getting aroused. Maybe, it’s his attention – he isn’t laying his eyes off you, and it almost makes you blush too much. He is adorable in this way if a monster of his regard can even be called this – and you’re freaking terrified when he goes closer, looks at you even more. 

His hand is making squelching sounds as your cunt becomes wetter by the second – it’s the first time in forever you had this kind of attention, and surviving the monster revolution didn’t exactly help with getting the edge off. You’re desperate for anyone to touch you – and the monster has beautiful hands. Big and burly, with tendrils sometimes running around to add even more lube – you know you’d never get anything like this with a normal human. — Need to check you first, Maus. The merchant keeps sending me infertile ones. You don’t know what he is talking about – but his hand lays flat on your tummy, putting you in place, and the larger tentacle – big, slimy one, with uneven structure with little bumps that made you wonder how it’s even going to fit inside – slowly creps to your sloppy, wet opening. It doesn’t hurt, you’re wet and open – something in the lube he extracted made you dizzy, dumb, you don’t even know when you spread your legs a bit more and welcomed the intrusion. It feels right, it feels wrong, it feels like the thing to die for – it feels like something that could kill you. He laughs and it sends slow rumbles right to the tendril penetrating your pussy. The pressure on your clit is too much – and your brain is to foggy to think that it reminds you more of a medical exam than actual sex. The tentacle inside is vibrating, twisting and turning, pressing on your cervix – it should feel painful, it can’t be this good but, somehow, you welcome the feeling of being this fucking full. You don’t buck your hips, but you cry and moan – and it’s enough of an indication of your pleasure. Monster laughs, his other hand goes to lay on your face – a surprisingly gentle gesture. Short-lived, but you could still feel the warmness lingering on your tattered skin. It’s hot and cold with him – you aren’t sure what comes next, but the tendrils are sliding in and out, probing at the entrance of your womb and, despite everything, you feel the knot in your stomach untying. The orgasm is a quiet one – build up is slow and small, and it doesn’t make you black out – but you whimper nonetheless, the tight embrace of his hands on your body feeling more like a cage than a normal hug. He is too powerful, probably not sure about his strength – you feel him squishing you like a fruit. The slime is leaking from your empty pussy, clenching around nothing. — Obedient. You’d be a good vessel for my eggs, human. You whine, turning away from him. He chuckles, pressing you in his arms again. Like a child with his favorite new toy – you feel squeezed and touched in various places, his tentacles having a mind on their own. Not an inch of flesh getting ungroped. — Ar…are you going to kill me? — Ach. You can talk after all. — Are you going to… — No. Have a much better way to use you. He chuckles in your hair, pressing his face in it. Inhales the scent – if he has nose, of course. This stupid hood conceals everything, not letting you know anything besides his rank. Which makes you think about…

— What is your name? 

A stupid question, really. You shouldn’t care about the name of a monster who bought you – still, you don’t want to refer to him as just “a monster”. This dumb part of your brain wants closure. — König. Remember it, little human. Oh. So his name is König. Somehow, it doesn’t make you feel any better. 

[ahollowgrave]

There was a post asking RPers with moon-worshipping characters how they handle the moon's revelation, especially with Endwalker. But! I am too shy to reblog that with my actual answers so instead I will post this two page rambling under a cut. (:

Okay, so I look at it through two lenses: 1) How much does your average citizen know about the big wide star and everything our beloved Warrior of Light gets up to in saving it all the time?

There are things in the real world I don’t know and things I am shocked to find out other people don’t know!

The history of the Star is vast and dense and no one can possibly know every crumb of it. 

2) Faith requires a sort of peace in knowing you don’t and won’t know certain things. If you have all the answers to all your questions, you don’t need faith.

The asking of questions is vital, here. If you are not curious about the world around you how can you possibly come to love it and those it shelters? If you believe for a second that you have all the answers to all the questions then your curiosity dies. 

That said with Odette and her convent it really boils down to:  They don’t know!

Odette is young, she may not have been alive during Dalamud’s fall and Bahamut’s defeat. I’m not really sure because time bubbles and I’m very vague with her age because time is my mortal enemy. When the moon started its fall the convent probably took it to mean: gods mad. Who wouldn’t? Even the faithless might pray under such a thing, no?  But the convent is secluded and news is slow to reach them and what does reach them is often embellished or outdated or just untrue. They must pick through the stories they are told and find the truth of the matter - which is subjective, as well! What is true for one might not be true for another. 

It is a bit of a chore, is what I am trying to say, and unreliable narrators are aplenty.

Currently, the Convent believes that earlier scripture naming Dalamud as Menphina’s Loyal Hound were written by Spoken who were trying to make sense of the world around them. They got it wrong, but no doubt there are things we get wrong even now with all our knowledge. 

The point of their faith is not to get things 100% right all the time but rather to meet the star and her denizens with hearts full of love. They don’t allow dogs at the convent, however.

The news out of EW is another matter since it still feels very fresh and new. Odette has stepped into the role of Nun Errant and she does relay information back to her Convent, either in person or via letter. I don’t know if the news of the WoL fighting the 12 made papers and so far it seems that most of the Loporrits that stayed star-side are in Old Sharlayan to learn! A big ship did go beyond the moon but that was… beyond the moon! So, like the nuns, I don’t know! They are but Spoken creatures, they question, yes, but it is difficult for them to see the grand picture being as small as they are.  It should be noted that Odette is not the warrior of light. I try very hard for her to not know everything the warrior of light gets up to in the MSQ because she, realistically, would not know. She’s just some nun! What I CAN say is that if Odette knew everything that I, the player, know she would still worship the Moon and Menphina. Imprisoning Zodiark before more needless death, setting the Loporrits to building a fallback and escape plan, reincarnating her closest and most trusted allies to serve as deities and make sure he cannot be freed? That’s love, baby. Of course, Menphina, the deity of Love, would be the keeper of the moon and its secrets! Also, almost none of this answered the secondary questions but… This is already very long but I could go on about the dark side of the moon, what it means to love, and all that but I’ll end it with this: It is okay for your characters to be wrong and make mistakes, IC! Let them have harmlessly bad and factually untrue opinions. 

BONUS: I recall a question about how a manmade moon might effect a god or goddess who is tied to it! But -- prayer and belief is were deities get their powers.

Well, the 12 as we know them are kind of ‘manmade’ themselves. Yes, Venat sort of reincarnated her most trusted allies, however… It was shown that prayers have the power to change them! We know that this altered Halone in some ways and I believe that it altered Menphina the same. Basically: Enough of her worshippers thought Dalamud was her ‘loyal hound’ and so she got a loyal hound. So, why should the moon(s) be any different?

[stardancerluv]

A Time to Love and to Fight

Part Twenty

Summary: Fighting…till all things change.

Notes/Warnings: 18 & over. Revolutionary violence. Character death. Gun and sword violence. Angst…with a dash of fluff.

Thank you, for reading! (It’s a long chapter) Be nice! Feedback is welcome! Want to be tagged, please let me know! ❤️ and of course…Enjoy! (Two collages!) More chapters are coming!

My love, I finally fear for my death and I do not wish for you to witness it. - Mon amour, je crains enfin pour ma mort et je ne souhaite pas que tu en sois témoin.

Feeling hollow, knowing this the end he climbed to the top of the barricade and hung the flag, a gentle breeze made it billow out and flap near where he stood.

Swallowing, he turned back to all those who gathered. As he saw you stand in the doorway hanging back, he tightened inside.

“Citizens! This is the end game.”

He saw the exchanging of glances, heard their soft murmurs. Lastly, he saw your eyes grow.

“Every man and woman who stays here and fights today will die. History will remember us, and one day the people will prevail.”

He swallowed. Distantly, he could heard marching and gunfire.

“But for now, the whole Paris army is out, and within an hour they will be upon us. You have nothing to expect, nothing to hope for.”

“We will stand fight. We can strengthen this barricade. We can fight to the last man!” The man held his fist high as he rallied among the people rallying them.

It lift d his heart to see. But they had to be realistic. Absently, he reached up to your ribbon that was still tied to eyelet of his vest.

“Friends, consider. Some of you have wives, husbands, sons, daughters, think of them. A heroic death will do nothing for them. You get yourself killed, they starve. Or worse.” He exhaled. “For you, it is a braver thing to live, for your family’s sake.

“Enjolras, is right.” Called out Marius.

Surprising, him. He glanced down at him from where he stood.

“There’s no shame on you living to fight another day. Every married man and woman, every breadwinner, come forward shake our hands and leave!”

He climbed down to join Marius. “I command you!”

“I entreat you!” Marius added.

He looked the man up and down, who at one time thought had joined the wrong table, at the wrong tavern. Now here he was beside him. He grimaced.

There were more murmurs and glances between the people. A few women began to quietly sob. A few came over, for an embrace a hand shake.

Enjolras’s stomach churned as Despiat came forward. He had been there since day one.

He shared a tight embrace with the man, he continued to swallow down the lump of anguish he felt growing.

“Live well, comrade.” He wished the man. Giving him a brave smile. “You’ll be building a better world.”

*******

Exhaling, he turned you. “My angel.” He whispered. He strode over to where you stood.

“Come with me.”

You nodded. Your footfalls filled the small room as you followed him.

“We don’t have much time.” Looking at your beauty, he swallowed. “I need you to take leave.”

“Enjolras ask me anything, but not that.”

He could heard the crack in your voice. “You will listen to me.”

Tears twinkled then slid down your cheeks. In a short steps, he was directly before you. “Mon amour, je crains enfin pour ma mort et je ne souhaite pas que tu en sois témoin.”

“I will not allow you to die alone. You pledged your heart, I pledged mine. I am not leaving.”

“Stay here, stay hidden they are almost upon us. I will come back for you.”

You nodded. Stepping forward, he reached his fingers caressed your cheek. He pressed his lips together, nodded and ran back.

Once in He immediately two others as they brought over a mattress. Inhaling he glanced back at the alley that led to you, turning he climbed up to his place beside Marius on the barricade. He slapped him on the shoulder.

His heart stilled as he watched as the finished rolling cannons into place.

“Prepare yourself! Cannon fire!”

He braced himself. Around him what had once been chairs, tables splintered and exploded as bullets wizzed by.

“Get down!” He managed to scream.

A cannon ball slammed into the barricade it blew someone backwards. They didn’t even have tome to scream. The barricade stood and so shall he.

In the billowing smoke, he looked for the navy blue fabric of their uniforms and took aim.

There was a blur of limbs and people in the midst of screaming. Guns, rfles were being fired. Swords clanged loudly as they were being wielded.

******

“They are falling back!” Enjolras, screamed.

All at once the soldiers turned and fled. His heart lifted.

Cheers rang out but in the pit of his stomach. He knew this wasn’t good. If the general had taught him anything, he knew they were most likely regrouping.

“Comrades! This is a grim moment in our history. But a glorious one! Our sacrifice will help build a better world!” He swallowed the growing lump in his throat.

“This barricade is made of more than just cobblestones and bedsteads; it is made of hopes, ideals and of love of our fellow men. We are fighting for the wretched and if we go to our deaths, we go to our deaths with joy! Love live the republic!”

The last part made his heart hurt, despite all the cheers that rang out.

He climbed down. “Marius,” He leaned in close, to whisper to him. “We are running low on bullets. We desperately need more.”

He reached out, feeling the ribbon looped to his vest filled his lung with breath despite the pain growing in his heart.

Marius nodded.

“We won’t last long.” His mouth formed a thin line.

“We could try to fall back.” Marius suggested.

He shook his head. “Too late for that.”

“Leave it to me.” Gavroche gave them both a huge smile. Enjolras watched as he quickly climbed and then hopped down from where he had usually perched on the barricade.

“Gavroche, get back here!” He yelled.

He watched as the boy moved with his usual flair as he would stop and collect bullets, tucking them away here and there.

“Gaveoche!” Marius hollered after him. “You’ll get yourself killed.”

That’s when the first bullet whistled by.

The boy only paused to looked. “Hey lay off the corpses!”

A few more bullets whizzed by. Marius ducked behind a table.

Gavroche, chuckled and spun about. “Bad luck! Try again.”

Enjolras, barely glanced around a bed post as a bullet impacted on the edge of the warehouse stone rained down onto the cobblestones. He could hear as the kid began to softly sing a lullaby. He glanced around a bed post.

“Get back here you are gonna get yourself killed!”

Gavroche kept singing and dancing along grabbing bullets where he saw them. Bullets just missed him. They would hit cobblestones or random debris.

Some of the men began to peak out from where they hit in the recesses of the barricade. A few smiles appeared.

He continued to hop about. Though he was getting terribly closer to where the bullets came from.

Finally a gunshot rang out but this time it impacted something solid and Gavroche’s song wavered on his lips. He collapsed to his knees like a sack of flour.

“Good shot.” His voice was weak.

His finger trips grazed the back of Marius’s vest as he jumped off the barricade and began running to the boy.

“Don’t be a fool.” Enjolras screamed out.

He couldn’t afford to lose anyone else. Grantaire was still out cold, maybe permanently he couldn’t tell and Courfeyrac had a wound that needed to be looked at.

Watched as Marius scooped him up and put him over his shoulder and then ran as fast as he could back to them. His heart was beating fast in his chest, he helped bring Gavroche back over.

Marius was back over the barricade in no time. to help climb up. He watched as Marius soon cradled Gavroche in his lap. It didn’t look good.

He trembled at the sight.

His voice was fading. “It was good sport wasn’t it?” Then he stilled forever.

Shortly after his he watched as Marius fainted back against the barricade. “Get him inside quickly, we need to dress his wounds.”

Courfeyrac came over and together the two of them carried Marius into the warehouse. Soon they were making quick work of his wounds. Relief filled him as it wasn’t long before Marius came around again.

“Marius, give me your eyes.” The man looked woozy. “When they take the barricade, those left alive will have to fight on in here.” He swallowed. “This will be our last refuge.”

“Oh Marius, Enjolras are you ok?”

He turned to your anguish filled voice; it tore at him harder then the bullets that drove into the cobblestones outside.

********

Fear slid down your back when you came out of the small room. You immediately saw a bloodied Marius, Enjolras had smudges of blood and soot. You shook uncontrollably.

He closed the distance, you could smell the gunpowder and whatever else that chose to clung to him. Your stomach churned.

“You, you have to get out of here they are coming down the alley.”

“Not without you.”

*******

An unnatural smile curled his lips at your love and determination. He nodded. “Yes ange.”

Your presence lifted his spirits despite death surely knocking just behind him. Easily he grabbed you, thankfully you didn’t yield and he managed to bring you to the small alley on the other side. “Stay here, I will come for you.” He barely saw you nod as he turned to run back.

Eyeing a sword, he grabbed it and made to the alley where the sounds of bullets, groans and puffs of smoke filled it. He glanced towards what had left of the barricade the army had breached it. Movements of attack and defense came naturally within moments. His sword clanging, he bared his teeth managing to fend off a few that came right at him.

******

You could barely make out that it was Enjolras. One side of his face was terribly smudged from fighting. It was the clean side that reminded you of siting with him in the park or under your willow. That was the man you loved, regardless. He was becoming your warrior today. The two of you would have stories to tell.

*******

“Get back!” He hollered.

Soon him and some of the others fled into the warehouse. The closed the large doors behind them. They pulled down the large wooden plank and slid the locks into place. They would hold for only so long.

Turning, he found Courfeyrac slumped against the wall. “Get up, they are right outside those doors.”

Courfeyrac swallowed and nodded. But didn’t stand any straighter.

“This is history.”

The wooden doors creaked and cracked and creak as the army kept on pushing against it.

A sound of frustration poured from his lips. As he turned and ran off. Just as he did the door burst open, soldiers poured in.

His sword clanged as it met with other swords. Somehow, he struck a few and pushed off others. Enough logic still ran in his veins, he closed the door ran over to you. He could see your shock wash over you, he must be quite a mess.

“Ange.” As he ran to you, he could hear as the burst open. A scream came from you before he could even look behind him.

Turning, it was a lone solider with his sword he cutting the short distance to the two of you.

He stood in front of you, stepping towards the solider. Enjolras would protect you to the death. There was no grace in the solider’s movements. All he was did was try to cut him down.

Eyes met and the swords followed. The sound of the metal hitting echoed and bounced off the walls. Seeing the man’s eyes shift, he glanced that way and you were not budging. Gathering some strength, he managed to push you out of the way. Your scream and the clashing of the swords was awful. It made him pause.

It was all the solider needed in a smooth blow he knocked the sword from him and rushed him. A shot filled the air, the man stumbled and fell into him.

Blinking, Enjolras looked up and saw Courfeyrac, gun still drawn.

@aftertheglitterfades @corrodedcoffn @dealswiththedevilsblog @randomstory56 @pl1nfa1 @phantomxoxo @ladybug0095 @the-iridescent-phoenix @maryan028 @netusha @kindablackenedsuperhero @amethyst-serenade @crazyworldofsiani @moondev1l @eddiethebloodiedhand @Ilo @samunson83 @ @julieteagk @little-wormwood @gretavankleep37 @wafflepixie @joe-quinn-loving-queer @peacefroggg23

[breithenua]

Ok I'm just gonna say it, whoever says Boruto sucks probably hasn't given it half a chance, for any combination of reasons. Be it just to be contrarian, or them expecting it to be the same as Shippuden despite it taking place in peacetime, hating slice of life, or not trying to understand Boruto's frustrations with his dad at all.

He's a kid whose dad was present in his life for a while, and then all of a sudden was a lot less present because his dad's now the Hokage. Of course he's gonna be resentful. Of course he's going to have disdain for the position of Hokage, and want to be his own person. Of course he's going to be desperate enough for his dad's attention and approval to cheat during the Chunin exams. Of course he's going to not understand as much at first the value of hard work versus shortcuts. And of course, he's going to be immature about a lit of shit in general *because he's a kid*. It's ok if that's too annoying for you, kids can be fucking annoying, but don't tell me it isn't realistic of Boruto to be such a little shit. Naruto was a little shit too, for his own reasons.

All that being said, Boruto shows a lot of growth during the course of the series. He doesn't stay as much of a little shit. He learns the value of hard work. He resents his dad a lot less, he becomes a little less impulsive and stupid. Sure, he's still impulsive as hell. But that doesn't change overnight, and he's still around 12. You expect him to be as mature as Naruto was at the end of Shippuden when he's only 12? Come on now.

Putting aside the complaints with Boruto himself for now, let's talk about the characterization, because dear god they are doing that well. From Sumire being a victim of her former Root member father's hatred of the Leaf, to the kids of the previous generation being such a good meld of both their parents (Inojin being a combination of Ino and Sai not just in abilities, but personality as well), to Kawaki being distrustful of everyone because of how he'd been abandoned, neglected, and mistreated by everyone he'd known up until that point. There's numerous other examples as well. Ao's reason for his face-turn. So many shinobi being resentful of a world in which they're afraid that their role is no longer needed. Etc etc.

And then, there's the world-building. Starting off with the more negative (as in depressing, not badly written) we see that just because it's peacetime now, that doesn't mean everything is great for everyone outside of the 5 great nations. Or even some inside them, for that matter. A lot of smaller nations are still in poverty, still suffering. Naruto for as benevolent of a Hokage he is, he isn't capable of helping everyone. He doesn't have the time, the land of fire doesn't have the resources to help everyone, and because of bureaucracy, it isn't always possible to give help even when it's available.

On the more positive side of world-building, we see pretty-rapidly advancing technology. From the Kamanarimon company heir straight up using a laptop in combat to survey the battlefield and be the team analyst, to the new generation playing actual video games, to there being machines that can use ninjutsu for the user without seals, and there being actual trains to travel not just around Konoha, but between nations. Hell where I'm at in the story rn, I'm seeing actual flashbang grenades, chakra lightsabers, etc etc.

We also still have a looming threat to everyone in the form of the Otsutsuki clan. We're getting a logical continuation of the Kaguya storyline and her legacy, we're finding out more about where she came from and how it not just impacts, but endangers the shinobi world as a whole. Not just directly from the Otsutsuki invaders as a whole, but from organizations linked to them somehow, as is the case with the Kara.

Point being that Boruto is way better than people give it credit for, if you don't go in expecting the exact same thing as Shippuden, and keep an open mind for all the changes. It's not the same as Naruto was, it was never going to be the same. And if it was, it wouldn't be believable. I'm not saying the series is perfect by any means, it isn't. But neither was Naruto. I'm not saying you have to like it, but at least give it a chance yourself before writing it off, and don't just listen to what other people say about it.

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

Retro-Janeing: chapters 10 and 11

"It was dreadful to think you out never to have been born… that your own mother wasn't glad to have you." Jane doesn't quite realize it, I'm sure, but she is describing Phyllis' mom's experience. If I have my family tree correct, Phyllis' mother is the third of Mrs. Kennedy's children by her first husband. She knows keenly what it's like to have a mother who isn't glad to have her. Aunt Sylvia got out through marrying someone her mother approves of -- this to her is the correct path for Robin as well. Getting divorced and remarrying would get Robin out of her mother's house and Jane too. Even if it's not a love match, or a perfect marriage, it has to be better than grandmother's house. Which, of course, is why grandmother wouldn't hear of it.

Phyllis knows a great deal about this whole situation. Do we imagine she's known for a while, either because her parents told her directly or because they discuss it around her a lot? Or do we imagine that after the dreadful family conference about Jane going to the island that Phyllis' parents told her what they knew? Either way, this is so far the most functional family unit we have.

Meanwhile, I think this is the first mention of Irene, and already we set up the tension between her and grandmother. This book does this thing where it kind of throws characters at you and wants you to keep up. Blue Castle did it too, to an extent, but it had fewer characters so it's easier to keep track. But clearly it's a thing LMM likes to do -- to toss in a reference to a character and then introduce them properly later. It builds the world as more realistic -- and in this particular case serves to put the reader into Jane's shoes as the name washes right over her -- but I don't always love it. We're a ways away from it yet, but one of my complaints about this book is that there are honestly too many characters in it, and it's not helped by half of them just being dropped into the narrative one day as if they've always been there.

Do we think the staff at St. Agatha's sent inquiries to the house as to whether Jane was ill? Becoming noticeably thinner in a few weeks is generally a bad sign. Or was that kind of checking and watching not in the school's purview at this point? Wouldn't have done any good, but I am curious about a full outside perspective of Jane.

What is grandmother worried about, when she restricts Jane from writing more than once a month? I can't figure out if she's hoping that breaking the bond between Robin and Jane will mean Jane wants to stay on PEI permanently, once she meets Andrew, or if she just is so wedded to being jealous of Jane that she can't bear the thought of Jane and Robin communicating freely for any reason. (Or, possibly most likely, is she worried that Jane will be happy on the island and tell Robin as much and entice Robin to leave again?)

So Robin thinks that Andrew doesn't love her anymore. Furthermore, she has lived her whole life with her mother, and so she thinks Jane loving her will taint Jane in Andrew's eyes. After all, back in chapter one we get this about grandmother: "And Jane felt, if she did not yet know, that grandmother did not like mother loving her so much." At Gay Street, love is a zero sum game. Neither Jane nor Robin have any reason to expect things to be different on PEI.

Enter Mrs. Stanley. This book has never heard of the law of economy of characters and on some level I respect that. Like I said earlier about Irene, it makes the world feel more complete. And we don't get a character sketch of Mrs. Stanley either, beyond her name and why she's going to the island and that she isn't impressed with Jane. Which is also more true to life than some books -- our lives are indeed filled with meetings with strangers we only see once and never again. It's fun as a reader to get little sketches of every character who interacts with the protagonist, but it's more true to Jane's lived experience to know nothing at all about this woman and have her vanish from the story after this one interaction.

[serial-serializednovelreader]

A Beginning at the End...

I made a post the other day about MBS getting cancelled and honestly that was just a quick vent post and didn't have much of my actual thoughts and feelings about what why I was so upset. So I want to tell a story about my history with the book and later adaptation, just so I can give it a bit of a sendoff and celebrate my love for the series as a whole.

To begin, I believe I'm neurodivergent in some way (undiagnosed for reasons I won't get into), so you can imagine that I wasn't very welcomed by many of my classmates. While it was a small class and I was close with them, I didn't feel that they really understood me. I often felt alone and found my home in books, as cliche as that sounds.

On a Friday in elementary school, a book on my teacher's shelf called The Mysterious Benedict Society caught my eye. I pulled it out and asked her if I could borrow it. She hesitated a bit before saying yes, as long as I promised to take care of it as it was a very special book to her. I, of course, agreed, not knowing how special it would become to me too.

I immediately began reading and fell in love with the world of the novel, finishing it within a weekend. I loved how clever Reynie was at solving the puzzles he was given, how Sticky rattled off facts like a machine, Kate's positivity and agility (I wanted to be her sooooo badly), and Constance's stubborn nature. And of course, the world-building, themes, and overall plot were superb.

But most of all, it was the kid characters I loved, because I felt they were like me in some way (the neurodivergent coding makes a lot of sense now!!), that if I knew them in real life they would be friends with me. And this only increased when I read the rest of the series. The only unfortunate part is that almost everyone I knew had never heard of these books, let alone read them. The few who actually did I didn't get to stay in touch with due to outside circumstances.

Over the years, I've reread the series several times and I still can't get over just how GOOD this book series is. First off, they're funny. There are so many good moments where I STILL laugh, no matter how many times I've read them. The characters are well-thought out and the main four kids are dynamic characters; they each have a realistic and clear arc over the course of each book (which I hope to make a post about someday!). Book Curtain is a bit of a cartoon villain I'll admit, but his funny moments add to the charm and is still a credible threat as a villain. The themes are interesting, and understandable for kids while being even more hard-hitting for adults. The plot structures are fun and while a bit predictable definitely keep you on your toes.

So in 2019, when I found out that the fourth book, The Riddle of Ages, was releasing I was SO excited and of course bought a copy as soon as I could. It was really emotional for me, as it showed the characters aged up and coming to terms with growing up and what that could mean for their friendship. I needed it, especially with the transitional period I was going through at the time.

Around that time, another bombshell dropped: it was actually getting a TV show adaptation (on Hulu at the time)!!! This was a dream come true for me, who had imagined it so many times (and had actually wanted to play Kate lol). I was a bit wary of what they would do with the characters, but honestly I was just happy it was getting an adaptation at all. That at least some people knew about it and wanted to see it come to life.

When it finally came out on Disney Plus, I watched it every week like clockwork. I loved both seasons and how much detail they put into it. While the show changed a lot of things from the book series, I actually loved what they did with it. Kate's arc of not wanting to be a team player is even more prominent from the beginning, Show Curtain, SQ being Curtain's adopted son, I could go on, but those are just *chef's kiss* 👌👌. More than that I could just feel the LOVE that went into the show from the actors, writers...just everyone!! Even the choices I didn't like still worked for me just because I could tell how much care was put into the series. The community on here shared the love even more through posts, fanfiction, art, etc. Finally I felt like I had validation for the series I loved so much and that people were seeing how great it was!

Then I found out it wasn't being renewed for a third season... and it hurt a lot. I felt (and still feel) that it's just another example of a streaming site looking over the quality of the show for pure numbers. What has helped is the MBS blogs I follow/lurk around (shoutout to y'all <3 I know I need to engage more) and the actors of the kid characters, who have all spoken out about how they're sad it's ended but also enjoyed the journey and love the time they had with getting to play the characters, which cheered me up a lot.

So in the end, I'm still upset the show was cancelled. And I'm still holding out hope that maybe it'll get renewed somehow, or picked up by another studio. But no matter what, it'll never take away the love I have for the book and TV series and the community surrounding it, so I'm glad I'll always be able to celebrate that.

TL:DR: I have a lot of history with the original book series and while I'm still sad about the show ending, the love I have for the MBS series as a whole and the community surrounding it won't go away. I'm happy there was an adaptation that got so much love from everyone involved and that people got to enjoy it.

[greywindys]

Oh please recommend other shows. You have good taste in media hehe

Yeah, of course! I love giving recs. I'm a little biased because most of what I watch is on HBO, but I'm going to try to include as many streaming services as possible. I already posted about the anime I watch, so there won't be an animation recommendations here, because those shows are all that I'm watching. I also watch a lot of reality shows and documentaries, but I'm just going to stick to fiction for now since that's what I assume you're asking about. Please google and heed warnings if you decode to look into any of them further, as many of them are TV MA. A lot of what I like isn't exactly wholesome, but I always read up on critiques as much as I do praise. Anyhow, here are some shows:

True Detective - Season on specifically. This is one of my most re-watched seasons ever. I'm obsessed with the tone, the story, the imagery, the characters, the soundtrack. Well-written and creepy (not a common combination in the realm of horror). This is an anthology series, so there are different characters and settings each season. None of the follow-up seasons have measured up, but the new season is taking place in Alaska, and has a great cast, so I'll be watching.

The Wire: Anything by David Simon, really, I think I've watched enough of his shows to say this confidently. The Wire is probably his most famous, and for a good reason. I love his work for how realistic and well-researched it is. He has no qualms about depicting unflinching realities, even if it's not a crowd-pleasing. It's about the story. This is also one of my favorite series ever.

Severance: I went into this show blind and was blown away! Definitely not what I was expecting from and Apple TV+ show. The concept is new and well-executed. It builds tension and intrigue very well. Hopefully, it can keep control of its pacing (I felt like it moved a little fast, but that's still probably slow for some people lmao).

The White Lotus: Another anthology series, but I think it paired really well with Succession (I watched them around the same time). If you're a fan of scathing satire, I'd check this out. Both season also go completely bonkers at the end in ways you don't see coming.

The Boys: Very entertaining. Maybe not the best from a writing standpoint. It can also get a little preachy (I don't mind messages, but I prefer when they aren't delivered in such a heavy handed manner), BUT I'm never bored. There are certain story lines that they execute very well, too. I also think this is what it would actually be like if superheroes were real. I love you, MHA, but The Boys is the superhero media that I think stays truest to our real world.

Silicon Valley: I started watching this on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. Some may complain that it get repetitive, but I enjoyed the dynamics between the characters as well as learning more about the world of compute programming/tech. It's also brings some levity to the otherwise cynical and/depressing tone of shows I usually watch.

Derry Girls: Another comedy, but also one with a lot of heart. As a Catholic school alumna, I connected with this show's depiction of teen girl friendship. I'm sad it's over.

Other mini-series and shows: Watchmen, The Outside, Sharp Objects, Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon, American Vandal

Shows I'm currently making my way through...slowly lmao: The Last of Us, Barry, Yellow Jackets, Beef

[navabharathnationalschoolsstuff]

How to Be a Game-Changer in Your Child’s Educational Growth

As a parent, you play a pivotal role in your child's academic journey. While teachers and schools provide the framework for education, it's your involvement that can truly make a difference. The support, guidance, and environment you create at home can dramatically shape your child's growth and development, both academically and emotionally. If you're looking to be a game-changer in your child’s educational growth, here are some actionable steps you can take.

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1. Create a Positive Learning Environment at Home

The atmosphere at home significantly impacts how your child approaches learning. Set up a dedicated, quiet study space that’s free from distractions. Ensure they have all the necessary tools like books, stationery, and a reliable internet connection. A well-organized study space helps foster focus and productivity. In addition, keep the home environment positive and stress-free, where learning is seen as an exciting journey, not a chore.

2. Foster a Growth Mindset

Foster a growth mindset in your child—the belief that intelligence and skills can be developed through dedication and effort. Encourage them to face challenges head-on, keep going despite setbacks, and learn from their mistakes. This mindset promotes resilience, builds confidence, and turns learning into an ongoing journey of improvement rather than a fixed destination.

3. Engage Actively in Their Learning

Parental involvement doesn’t stop at helping with homework. Take an active interest in what they’re learning. Ask about their day, inquire about new concepts they've explored, and discuss topics in a way that piques their curiosity. When children see that their parents care about their academic progress, it encourages them to take their own learning seriously.

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4. Set Realistic Expectations and Goals

Setting clear, achievable academic goals can motivate your child to stay focused and work towards their personal best. However, these goals must be realistic and aligned with your child’s capabilities and interests. Acknowledge their strengths and work on improving areas where they may struggle. Celebrate their successes—both big and small—to build their confidence and maintain their enthusiasm for learning.

5. Encourage Independent Learning

While your support is essential, it's also important to encourage your child’s independence. Teach them how to manage their time, prioritize tasks, and solve problems on their own. Offer guidance when needed, but allow them to take ownership of their learning. This builds their confidence, enhances their decision-making skills, and prepares them for future challenges.

6. Cultivate a Love for Reading

Reading is the foundation of all learning. Encourage your child to read regularly, even outside of school assignments. Choose books that interest them—whether they’re fiction, non-fiction, or educational materials. Reading fosters vocabulary, comprehension skills, and critical thinking, while also sparking curiosity about the world around them. Reading together can also serve as a bonding activity that reinforces the importance of learning.

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7. Be a Role Model for Lifelong Learning

Children often mimic the actions and behavior of their parents. If they see you reading, engaging in new hobbies, or continuing your education, they’ll understand the value of lifelong learning. Share your own learning experiences with them—whether it’s a book you’re reading, a course you’re taking, or a skill you’re working on. This not only sets a positive example but also reinforces the idea that learning is a lifelong pursuit.

8. Encourage Extracurricular Activities

Education isn’t limited to the classroom. Encourage your child to participate in extracurricular activities that interest them, whether it’s sports, music, art, or a science club. These activities promote teamwork, discipline, time management, and creativity. They also give your child an opportunity to explore their passions and develop well-rounded skills that will benefit them in all aspects of life.

9. Provide Emotional Support

Your child’s emotional well-being is crucial for their academic success. Be there to listen to their concerns, offer comfort during stressful times, and provide encouragement when they face challenges. Create an open, supportive environment where your child feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and emotions. When a child feels emotionally supported, they are more likely to perform better academically.

10. Promote a Healthy Lifestyle

A healthy body supports a healthy mind. Encourage your child to eat nutritious food, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep. Physical activity improves concentration, mental health, and overall well-being, making it easier for your child to focus on learning. A balanced lifestyle is key to maintaining both physical and mental health, which in turn enhances educational performance.

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Final Thoughts

Being a game-changer in your child’s educational growth doesn’t mean you have to have all the answers. It’s about creating an environment that nurtures learning, offering emotional support, and encouraging them to reach their full potential. Your involvement can significantly shape your child's attitude toward education, and together, you can unlock the keys to their success.

[dmveduorg]

The Role of Technology in Driving Education

Technology is rapidly reshaping driving education, from online courses to advanced simulations, and it’s making learning to drive safer, more accessible, and more engaging for new drivers. With advancements in virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and connected devices, technology is offering teens the chance to practice critical driving skills before they ever hit the road. Here’s a look at how technology is playing a central role in driving education and what this means for the future of safe driving.

1. Online Driver’s Ed Courses: Learning Anywhere, Anytime

Convenient Learning Options: Online driver’s ed courses have revolutionized the way students approach driver education. With the flexibility to study at their own pace, teens can fit driver’s ed into their schedules around school, sports, and other responsibilities, making it easier for busy families to stay on track.

Engaging, Interactive Content: Many online platforms offer multimedia-rich lessons, incorporating videos, quizzes, and interactive games. This style of learning is appealing to young drivers and helps reinforce important topics such as traffic laws, safe driving practices, and situational awareness.

Accessible for Diverse Learning Styles: Online courses cater to a variety of learning styles, which can be particularly helpful for students who may not thrive in a traditional classroom setting. Teens can revisit topics as often as needed, enabling them to fully understand foundational driving concepts.

2. Virtual Reality (VR) Simulations: Experiencing Real-World Scenarios

Safe Practice for Risky Situations: Virtual reality has opened up new possibilities for driving education by allowing students to practice in realistic, risk-free environments. VR driving simulations can replicate hazardous situations, such as slippery roads or heavy traffic, so that students learn how to react without any danger.

Building Confidence Through Practice: For some students, driving can be intimidating. VR allows them to build confidence by practicing driving techniques in a safe environment. By the time they’re on real roads, they’ve already had exposure to challenging scenarios, making them better prepared.

Experiencing Rare, Yet Critical Situations: VR can also simulate rare but essential emergency situations, like brake failure or swerving to avoid an animal. Practicing these high-stakes scenarios helps teens build confidence and quick decision-making skills, preparing them for unpredictable situations on the road.

3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Personalized Learning

Adaptive Learning Paths: AI-powered courses can identify areas where students may struggle and adjust the curriculum accordingly. For instance, if a student consistently misses questions related to road signs, the AI can provide additional materials or quizzes to reinforce that specific topic.

Real-Time Feedback and Correction: AI enables real-time assessment of student performance, offering immediate feedback. This instant response allows students to correct mistakes and improve their understanding before moving forward, ensuring they retain important information.

Tailored Practice Based on Individual Needs: AI-based tools use data to recommend practice exercises and tests for each learner, helping students master areas that require extra attention, like parallel parking or safe following distances. This approach creates a personalized path that ensures each student becomes a confident, competent driver.

4. Mobile Apps for On-the-Go Practice

Learning On Demand: Mobile apps make it possible to practice driver’s ed concepts anytime, anywhere. Many apps offer permit practice tests, video lessons, and interactive quizzes, allowing students to review information on the go, even while waiting for a ride or between classes.

Tracking Driving Habits and Improvements: Beyond theory, some apps use sensors to monitor driving behavior once students are on the road, tracking metrics like sudden braking, speeding, and phone use. These insights help students (and parents) see which habits need improvement.

Augmented Reality (AR) for Real-World Application: Some apps are incorporating augmented reality, which uses a phone’s camera to overlay digital information in the real world. For example, pointing a phone at a road sign could provide instant information on its meaning, helping reinforce learning in real-life situations.

5. In-Vehicle Technology and Connected Cars

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS): Many modern vehicles come equipped with ADAS features, like lane departure warnings, adaptive cruise control, and automatic braking. These technologies act as added safety layers for new drivers, helping them develop good habits and alerting them to hazards on the road.

Telematics for Monitoring Performance: Telematics technology, which collects data on driving behavior, allows families to monitor how teens are driving once they’re on the road. Parents can receive detailed reports on their teen’s driving habits, like average speed, hard braking, and use of turn signals, which can be used to encourage safe driving practices.

Incentives for Safe Driving: Many insurance providers offer discounts for families that use telematics to monitor teen drivers, rewarding responsible behavior and helping to reinforce safe driving. This financial incentive is a motivator for young drivers to practice safe, defensive driving skills.

6. The Power of Gamification in Driving Education

Making Learning Fun and Engaging: Gamification incorporates elements like points, badges, and rewards to motivate students. Many online driver’s ed programs use gamified modules to make learning about road signs, traffic laws, and defensive driving more enjoyable.

Peer Competition for Motivation: Some programs include leaderboards and peer scoring, which can be highly motivating for teens who enjoy a bit of friendly competition. This can encourage students to stay engaged and improve their performance, especially in areas like reaction time or hazard recognition.

Real-World Decision-Making Practice: Gamification allows students to test their reaction times and decision-making skills in a controlled setting. By creating scenarios that simulate real-world driving situations, gamified learning builds critical thinking and prepares young drivers for quick responses.

7. The Future of Driving Education with Technology

Technology is transforming driving education by providing students with advanced, flexible tools that teach driving skills in a safer, more personalized way. Here are some of the ways technology will continue to shape the future of driver’s ed:

Hybrid Models of Learning: The most effective driver education programs are likely to combine online learning with in-person driving instruction. Blended learning allows students to complete the classroom portion at their own pace while also gaining valuable, real-world experience with a certified instructor.

Greater Emphasis on Defensive Driving and Risk Management: As technology enables more realistic simulations, driver’s ed programs can emphasize defensive driving skills and hazard awareness. This focus will help new drivers become more proactive about safety.

Parental Involvement and Oversight: With apps and telematics devices, parents have more tools than ever to monitor their teen’s progress and encourage safe driving. These tools can help parents stay engaged in the learning process, supporting their teen as they develop strong driving skills.

Conclusion

As technology reshapes driver’s education, teens are gaining new ways to learn driving skills that go beyond the traditional classroom. From online courses and VR simulations to AI-powered assessments and telematics, the tools of today are creating more confident, safety-conscious drivers. For parents and teens alike, technology brings convenience, customization, and safety to driver education, helping to build a foundation of responsible driving habits for life. By combining these innovations with hands-on experience, driver’s ed is set to prepare new drivers more effectively than ever before, making our roads safer for everyone.

[healthifydiet]

How can we lose our weight without diet?

Weight loss is an ongoing goal for millions of people around the world. Although dieting is known to be one of the most popular and efficient ways to lose excess weight, there are many other techniques which can be used to achieve a healthy balance of body mass and fat levels in the body. This article will explore some of those techniques and how you can use them to help you achieve your weight loss goals without having to subject yourself to the sometimes restrictive and punishing nature of a traditional diet.  

The first technique to consider is exercise. Exercise is an effective way to lose weight, as it helps burn calories and increases metabolism. Additionally, regular exercise can have a positive effect on overall health by reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other conditions. When it comes to losing weight, it is important to understand that not all physical activities are created equal.

Cardio such as running, walking, cycling, swimming, and aerobics are the best forms of exercise for burning calories and fat, while strength training helps to build lean muscle mass and boosts metabolism. Of course, combining different types of exercises into a routine is the best way to maximize the benefits of exercise for weight loss. Additionally, setting realistic goals and being consistent with exercise is key to ensure your efforts are paying off.  

Another technique for losing weight without dieting is mindful eating. Mindful eating simply means to be aware of what you are eating, when you are eating, and your feelings about food. It involves being conscious of the taste, texture, smell, and appearance of food, and not eating for emotional reasons or out of boredom. Being mindful while you eat can help you feel more satisfied after meals and reduce overeating and snacking.

Additionally, it can help to slow down the eating process by taking time to enjoy your food and savor each bite. In addition to exercise and mindful eating, getting sufficient sleep is also key for successful weight loss without dieting. Sleep deprivation can lead to an increase in appetite and cravings, as well as a decrease in metabolism. It can also lead to mood swings and poor decision making related to food choices. Therefore, it is important to make sure you are getting at least seven to eight hours of sleep per night in order to set yourself up for successful weight loss.

 Finally, another key component to successful weight loss without dieting is staying hydrated. Drinking adequate amounts of fluids helps to keep your body’s metabolism running at its peak efficiency and can help curb hunger cravings. Staying hydrated can also help to flush toxins out of your body and help to enhance your body’s ability to absorb nutrients from food. The recommended daily intake of water is eight to ten cups, but it is important to make sure that all liquids count toward this amount, including coffee, tea, and other beverages.

In conclusion, there are many effective strategies for successful weight loss without a strict diet. These include getting adequate exercise, mindful eating, getting enough sleep, and staying hydrated. By following these tips, you can set yourself up for success in achieving your weight loss goals without having to follow a restrictive diet plan.

[freewillacquired]

Yeah. That was dumb. Why did he bring up chocolate? Now he was going to be thinking about chocolate all day. "Sor-ry..." he apologized, and a moment later as she whacked him, he figured it was for putting chocolate into her head, too. Then again, Rain didn't necessarily need a reason if she wanted to bop him one. They had been through enough that if it made her feel better, even in some small way, Nemesis was all for it.

There were two different types of "good food" for Nemesis, the kind that actually kept him alive, and the kind that tasted good. To stay alive, he needed meat. That was fairly hard to come by nowadays, since undead flesh wasn't good enough and he wasn't about to start eating the few animals that had managed to survive to this point. The animal lover in him just wouldn't allow it. So he relied mostly on things like canned cat food and frozen meats, which were pretty scarce. And, of course, the kind that tasted good usually involved cookies, but also crackers, biscuits, granola bars, and other such things that, although stale, were still decent to eat.

"Mmmm.... Coooookieeees...." Nemesis happily growled. "I need to thind... neat too, though.... Like... throzen neat. Or canned... cat thood." He waited for her to inevitably be either grossed out or laugh before he sighed dejectedly. "Yeah... I know. This is... ny lithe now," he said. Who would have thought that after loving cats his whole life, he'd be eating their food. Not a good look for him.

Thinking back to his photography days made a nostalgic smile come to Nemesis' face, which... was only indicated by a wrinkle in his receded upper lip. "Yeah. Trees, a-ni-nals, in-sects... Any-thing that caught ny eye." It was fun and very peaceful hobby. Even if he had a camera now, he doubted he could even work it with his thick, stiff fingers. That was a sad thought.

Ever the optimist, Nemesis quickly latched onto Rain's words in agreement of her optimistic sentiment. "Ny ge-ner-al rule is... Ith you don't know... assune they're a-lithe," Nemesis said. On a realistic level, he knew his parents were dead. He knew his neighbors were dead. He even knew his dog, Pickles, was dead. But he hadn't actually seen any of them die, so in his mind there was always a chance. Lisa was the only one he knew for sure wasn't ever going to be found.

He shouldn't. He should not. But he simply could not resist. "Yeah... you need... only one. Child-sized," he said, holding his hands no more than six inches apart to denote the small size of the bed Rain would need. The joke was followed by a laugh as he waited to more than likely get whacked yet again.

"Yay, road trid!" he exclaimed with boyish excitement - rather terrifying coming from a large mutated being like him - as he pushed himself all the way onto the bed of Rain's truck and got situated. God, it's so nice to have a friend, to have someone to talk to, he thought. And to have a ghost from the past return in a state of being very much alive was an added dose of relief and happiness for a weary soul.

It was nice to go for a proverbial "ride in the car." No wonder dogs like this so much, Nemesis thought, thinking back to how excited Pickles used to get with the air whipping around as they rode in his Jeep. Sitting in the truck bed, Nemesis watched the world go by, inasmuch as it was a broken, desolate, deserted wasteland much of the time. Only the buildings seemed to bear some resemblance to how life used to be, but even they were dirty and beginning to fall into disrepair. The wind and the movement felt good, though, far better than always stomping through life at a snail's pace on foot. His tentacles seemed to be enjoying themselves too, undulating in the wind like streamers.

In a world ravaged by a virus that primarily creates monsters, nasty encounters are in no short supply. When Rain begins to hear heavy footfalls—when she feels them practically shaking the ground beneath her, she figures she's about to have another.

Cursing under her breath, she unholsters her gun.

The days were blending together in depressing ways now. Nemesis was shocked at how quickly things had gone to hell after the Hive and Raccoon City Incidents. It had taken him quite a while to regenerate after the city's "sanitation," but once he was on his feet again, he realized the gravity of what was happening to the world.

Alone and with nothing left to do in his current mutated state, Nemesis had taken to showing up at Umbrella facilities unannounced, and destroying as much of them as he could. The digital feed supplied by the retinal implant attached to his right eye and sewn up into his head gave him a lot of useful information, especially after his mind was liberated from Umbrella's control. May as well put it to good use, right?

He'd acquired more clothes and equipment this way, with the boots and leather trenchcoat-style getup being standard issues for a creature called a Tyrant, which he apparently now was. They seemed just about the only things that were going to fit his... unique body shape nowadays.

Learning about himself and destroying Umbrella assets were good pastimes, but Nemesis was extremely lonely. The few survivors he came across now and then either screamed and ran from him or shot at him. Bullet wounds were nothing more than annoying mosquito bites to him now, thanks to his thick hide, but even so... it was demoralizing. All he wanted to do was help. He was almost getting used to being alone all the time, by necessity rather than desire, until that unexpectedly changed. While exploring a city one day, he rounded a corner and-

"Raaaain!" Nemesis bellowed the moment he saw her, unable to contain his excitement upon seeing her. "Oh... ny god!" He couldn't believe his eyes. Well, eye. He still had two, but one was... indisposed. In a move that probably looked damn near ridiculous to the other, he lifted his hand... and waved to her. "I'n so glad... to see you! How... are you... alithe... right now?" he tried to ask, his massive chompers getting in the way, as usual.

Nemesis couldn't get his voice to be anything other than a monotone growl, and with monstrous teeth and a noticeable lack of lips, his speech was something of a garbled mess. It took him a while, but he'd learned to make certain sounds in other ways, using his throat and tongue. Essentially, he'd had to relearn how to speak. Some sounds and words, though, were lost forever. None of that did anything to curb his enthusiasm at seeing Rain alive, however. Was he finally losing his mind? Hallucinating, maybe? No, the target identification system is identifying her as Rain... Right now, Nemesis didn't care either way. Just the sight of her was one for sore eyes, since his last clear memory of her was being at death's door.

"I thought... the anti-thirus... didn't work...?" he said, his elation at seeing her alive completely overriding his common sense. Nemesis wasn't thinking about the fact that Rain wouldn't recognize him anymore, or about how negatively she would likely react to seeing the hulking beast before her. Not to mention his tentacles, rooted at the backs of his shoulders, which were excitedly coiling and undulating in their own right, reacting to his surprise and happiness. He batted one of them with his hand. "Cut it out...!" he admonished the obnoxious appendage. It recoiled temporarily before returning to its idle activities.

Then it dawned on him, especially with how she had her gun at the ready. Oh no... she has no idea who I am. "It's Natt," he said, laying his hand on his chest. "Natt... Ad-di-son." How pathetic is it that I can't even say my own name correctly anymore? he thought grimly.

[ballorawan740]

SCP Scenarios: When they get scared by the reader (REQUESTED)

Main Masterlist | SCP Scenarios Masterlist | My Works Masterlist | Rules | Request | Socials | My Original Post

Requested by: @_Milla_7849_

SCP 073 (Cain)

I feel like Cain normally wouldn't be scared

Like if you made him watch a horror movie, he might flinch slightly but wouldn't be terrified of it

So when you try to scare him like a prank sort of way, he would flinch a little more than usual but would recover seconds later

Like that one time when he was alone walking down the hallway looking zoned out since he was thinking of something

And you just crept up to him like the sneaky little child you are and jumped onto his back

He did get a load yelp but realised it was you

Luckily for you, Cain didn't give you a lecture like before and actually laughed with you

However, if you were kidnapped or taken hostage or used for an experiment, it would obviously frighten him and he wouldn't forgive himself

So to prevent this, he would keep you within his line of sight at all times

Anyways, as I've mentioned before, Cain would probably also give you a tight hug after your little stunt and unbeknownst to him, the researchers recorded it for a laugh

Cain did give you a lecture but forgave you since you were so young and he couldn't resist those eyes

And the researchers did give you some sweets

SCP 076-2 (Abel)

Now, a warrior like Abel wouldn't be so easily frightened

Especially if it was a child, even more so if it's you since he knows you too well and has personally trained you from the age of 5

Basically, Abel would notice your movement and body language well since you're both stuck together

So you have devices a plan with your scientist friends to try and scare him

And yes, it's working

Because Abel got extremely distracted by Iris

Iris basically got yahooted into this mess and was told to wear a lingerie

Yes, you did scare him by shoving him into Iris

I wouldn't say he got a scare, but more like a surprise

Poor girl she just wanted to sleep

SCP 999 (Tickle Monster) 999 would most likely be scared the easiest out of everyone on this list

Aside from Glass

He's like a close second

Back to 999, you both were just chilling and wandering around the facility aimlessly

Because yall are boring (TBF you're both trapped in this giant mf blop of a building)

Anyways, let's just say that it was Bright and Clef who introduced you to the world of pranks and you guys thought it would be funny to scare our 999 here

Basically, yall decided to play dead and then pretend to turn into zombies with some makeup

Yes, it did work since you've managed to scare the living daylights out of 999

And he was about to have a cardiac arrest (if he even has a biological heart)

And yes, it almost ended in another breach

And 999 did give you a lecture on how to not scare people like that

He does sound like a grandpa though XD

SCP 682 (Hard to Destroy Reptile)

I would say that scaring 682 would be difficult, but I won't since he's already terrified of that rabbit

You, along with the other researchers, thought it'll be fun to pull a prank on 682 in form of a magic trick

It's a classic rabbit in the hat trick and yes, you did pull SCP 524 out of the hat

But, little did your tiny brain know, that rabbit basically eats everything, including itself

So you just watched 524 approaches the already terrified 682 and nibble on his feet

And yes, you and the other researchers laughed hard since he crawled up the wall to get away from the rabbit (I'm now officially adopting 524 as my other pet)

Sadly, 524 didn't stay for long since another doctor needed him for a test with Josie (yes, the cat)

682 basically shouted at you for doing such a thing on him, your dad

But you ignored him anyways since you knew he never meant what he said and he wouldn't be mad at you for long

SCP 049 (Plague Doctor)

Our bird boy here is pretty much neutral when it comes to being scared

Like, he can be quite unfazed by many things, so it's no surprise if you or any other SCPs tried to jump on him

So as part of an experiment, you and your friends had decided that you would try to play dead and see if 049 would be terrified

Well, 049 was somewhat concerned and when you carried on playing dead, he became scared since you weren't so conscious, or so he thought

Since you played dead extremely well for such a young child, he tried to see if he could fix you

And before he could do anything, you jumped up at him like Bonnie from FNAF

Yes, he looked like he jumped out of his skin and was so stunned that he just sat in the corner with his head down for an hour

You all had to check up on him and he said he was 'fine'

He wasn't

049 gave you a lecture about playing dead like that unless there's a dangerous SCP

SCP 035 (Possessive Mask)

Now, since 035 is a mask and is very much a master manipulator and an award-winning actor/actress, you would most likely be able to take on those traits from him

When you were younger, you were eager to learn from 035, who you see as not only your best friend but also an idol, so he taught you everything he could

As you got older, you've gotten better at manipulation and acting, so much so that even 035 couldn't tell if you were just being you from time to time

So one day, you've decided to prank your dad because you were hella bored (like you always are :((( cuz yall never be productive and just sit on your flat bum all day and watch YouTube, Netflix or play games then sleep)

You basically produced a fake body of yourself and wrapped it in a black bag and sent it to 035's cell

Then, you've got one of your researcher buddies to write a note of your passing and that you do love him very much

035 did receive the message and made sure that there was a dead body in the package

He was pretty much convinced that it was you since you were able to disguise the fake body like bone and flesh

Which of course scared him to death because he was about to attack everyone on site

Luckily you got there on time to stop him which freaked him out and yes, you've gotten a lecture about being such a prankster (You got grounded for life but that didn't stop a rebellious child like you)

At least everyone at the facility has gotten a laugh about it for the next 3 months

SCP 105 (Iris)

Pranking Iris wouldn't be hard, but that doesn't mean she's fazed, but not in a sense like 049 who wouldn't get a good scare from some SCPs which could do him harm

Iris is very much a self-aware and open-minded individual who has common sense (unlike you, who don't even move out of your bed or even use your non-existent brain cells)

She's very much like every other person you'll meet on the streets who wouldn't just believe the first thing that she hears since she is very much a rational person

So, if you want to devise a plan to scare her, it'll have to blend in with everything or be quiet out there with realistic effects

You'll have to use your head to think of a good prank to scare her, which you did since you've inherited her intelligence (that's a lie because you don't have any intelligence left in you)

As her child, you have decided to prank her by making her a fake copy of her camera but instead of her being able to control objects within the photo, she would end up destroying it

You gave it to her as a gift and she accepted it with suspicion since you don't normally get her anything and encouraged her to try it (you're such an ungrateful child)

Cain, Dr Glass, Dr Kondraki and a couple of others wanted to see as well, so they stayed and watch

Much to everyone's horror, the illusion camera did exactly how you designed it to and Iris was furious and saddened

Later on, you told her about the prank since you feel bad and she was extremely mad

So instead of grounding or lecturing you, she decided to have revenge

SCP 106 (Old Man)

Now, scaring this old man would be rather interesting because he doesn't seem too fazed by the other, more dangerous and unpredictable, SCPs

But, you can still scare him to a certain degree

I mean, he is an old man after all, so scaring him would be fun

As long as you don't give him a heart attack then it's fine I guess (cuz yall be evil for scaring such an old man)

So, you have decided to scare 106 by giving off little bits of harmless pranks at first so 106 would let his guard down for a moment

Like, giving him a box full of spiders (he's quite disgusted by them just like how he sees your face every time) and popping an air-filled bag (Don't lie, you've all done it and it's hella fun)

Later on, you would gradually move to play with the more dangerous things, such as getting him to look at a picture of 096's face (Probs ugly like yo-)

As time moved on, 106 seemed to be relaxed and expected you to bring him random things and soon realised that there was something off

You didn't show up to him for almost a week and he was ready to get his dad mode on

Luckily, some of the guards caught you with Abel and got 106 involved since they were afraid of causing a massive breach

106 panicked and picked you up, giving you a lecture on how you shouldn't be with other SCPs like Abel

You managed to tell him that you've befriended Abel and he was stunned and gave him the dad glare (you know the one where dads would give to warn others to not hurt their kids right?)

And because it's Abel, he would even make sure to be with you whenever you were with him which made it difficult for you to play with Abel because he might steal you away (Yes I'm looking at you right now kiddo, don't play with Abel)

So in conclusion, if the prank involves you being in a dangerous position, he wouldn't necessarily be scared but would start to panic about your safety

SCP 096 (Shy Guy)

I think 096 would be similar to 106 in a sense but less logical and unfazed

It's more like he would be pretty panicky every time you weren't there with him and his anxiety would act up (like you every time you're preparing for your exams where you didn't even revise)

Like if you were with Safe class SCPs, he would be more relaxed than you being with a Euclid class, but it kinda depends on who it is

If it was Cain then it would be fine, but if you were to be with 173, he would be quite wary at first and would tell you to try and avoid being with that peanut

So if you wanted to scare him, it wouldn't be too hard

All you had to do was to be with another Keter class SCPs and play with them

He would be extremely cautious and terrified if you were with one and knowing this, you've decided that playing with 682 instead of playing with Walter the rabbit (SCP 524 | He's my other pet), you've decided to go up and pet 682

When 096 got a hold on the commission on you being with that lizard, he ran out of his cell, causing a huge containment breach on the way like he's bulletproof, and went yeehaw with 682

All you did was sit there in confusion as they entertained you with some pole dancing

Basically, if you scare 096, he would go from anxious to paranoid to berserk then to we're all going down to hell and back again

Dr Jack bright

This mf right here is unpredictable af

Like in his own body, he would remain unfazed and would even go as far as pranking you back

I mean he still would act all fun and games but since he can possess multiple bodies, the outcome of him being scared would vary which would surprise him too since he wouldn't know

Unless he decided to possess someone he knows well, but he knows better than to do that

Dr Bright would most notably be scared, like everybody else on the list, if you were to put yourself in immediate danger, but since you were just as crazy as your dad, he would most likely go along with it until you deliver your prank

Like, you could be juggling knives while standing on top of 682's head while singing 'Painted Smile' by Madam Macabre (If you haven't heard it, you should, it's amazing)

Also, he would sometimes find you having your back faced towards peanut and still be fine after having your neck being snapped (Yall be like surprise mf)

Anyways, one time Jack had made a promise to you to meet you at a certain place and he was late

So you stormed into his office (like the entitled little nugget you are) and went 'tick-tock mf' to your dad

Well it worked and you showed him your trick with the Keter classes

By causing a containment breach and somehow you managed to bribe the Keter classes to perform with you

Let's just say that just because you've inherited his craziness doesn't mean that you could go as far as doing this prank

Bright was about to drop dead from a heart attack and he banned you from doing such things in the future

Dr Simon Glass

With Simon Glass, you could give him a fright relatively easily

Just because he's a psychologist and can read people rather well, he still would be terrified and paranoid about whatever you were planning on doing

Even if he told you not to

Like that time when you were told to not make toast because you can't cook and you almost burnt the whole facility and Glass stood there and said "I told you so" (he did ask for toast, as in toasted bread, not toasted humans)

Anyways, being the child of Simon Glass meant that you would learn a lot about the human mind and behaviour

He would teach you everything you were curious about and would sometimes ask Diogenes, Light, Kondraki, Cain and Iris to help teach you the things he wouldn't have much knowledge on

And sometimes Clef and Bright would appear and spoil you (not that Glass doesn't, he's just busy and trying to be the best dad he could by being anxious about you being alone in the facility with so many dangerous SCPs)

So this often meant that you, Bright and Clef would pull pranks on each other, usually on Kondraki and Iris

Except for this time, you've decided to pull a prank on your dad, Dr Glass

You've handed him over a realistic model of SCP 058 and he freaked out and called the MTFs

They've checked the model and realised that it was all fake and poor Simon had a heart attack from you

Simon was about to yeet that spider looking thing but it was able to move so he planned to carry you and yeet you both out

He did give you a lecture on doing that stunt and you did shed a few crocodile tears

And yes, Glass gave in and comforted you

He then went to grab Clef and Bright's ears and lectured them about helping you make the prank

Dr Alto Clef

I feel like Clef would be similar to Bright but without the whole process of changing bodies because of some curse

Like Clef wouldn't be all that scared since he's dealt with SCPsbefore and dies an extremely good job at it

So for Clef to be scarred for life, it'll either be an extremely dangerous SCP, he's drunk and/or high, he must care about you a lot and you must've been out of your mind to do something seriously stupid or you're evil enough to piss off a Simon Glass (Or all of the above if you're evil enough)

You would most likely want to take the easier and quicker route out of all the ones mentioned on the list which is to put yourself in an immediate danger

So you had asked Dr Bright for some help and so he did

Moments later, midway through preparing your prank, Clef came to Bright asking if he saw you and he did

However, they heard a familiar scream from down the hallway and they both rushed to your aid and soon realised that it's you

You were about to get eaten by 939 and they had to signal for the MTFs to help (Because you mfs didn't ask me for permission when you wanted to pet 939 D:<)

Clef gave you a big lecture and comforted you after he cooled down

Bright on the other hand wasn't so lucky as Clef wanted to murder him (But in his defence, you didn't tell Bright how dangerous the prank was cuz yall are as stubborn as a rock)

Dr Benjamin Kondraki

Kondraki would be pretty much average when it comes to being scared but with a little more logical since he works with the Foundation

He's that type of dad who would let you go to sleepovers every now and again as long as they weren't of the opposite gender (Unless yall are Bi, Gay, Lesbian, Pan, Alien, Basketball etc then he's screwed)

We support BLM and LGBTQ+ in this community and anyone who says otherwise must leave now

Heck, even our friends here, especially Kondraki, Glass, Bright, 999, Cain, Iris and Josie (SCP 529, my new pet) supports them

Anyways, back to the main plot

Depending on what age you're at and whether you were planning to prank him with the Foundation staff or SCPs will lead to a different outcome

Like if you told him you were dating someone he would've died right there and then

No dating until you're 50

Anyhow, you've decided that it'll be funny to scare your dad with Clef and Bright by getting his Bootyflies to shapeshift into various Keter class SCPs and acting like it

And yes, you somehow managed to persuade the Bootiflies to do just that

And no, Kondraki didn't know about this even though he found it odd that his bootiflies didn't obey him that day

You got Kondraki to sit down in a room with Clef while you and Bright was setting up everything

The bootyflies shifted into the Scarlet King and boy sis Kondraki called the MTFs and was boutta shoot him

Everyone in the room had to get him to stop and that it was just a prank (And by everyone I mean just you, Bright and Clef)

Kondraki did manage to stop and was boutta drag you out for a big girl/boy lecture

Well, he did but not before kicked Bright and Clef in their privates first

Needless to say, nobody wanted to prank Kondraki again (Shush, no you don't, yes I'm looking at you from behind the screen and I know that you'll do it again)

[gingerchangeling]

Seeking Advice on the Making of a Village

So I am creating a village for a Dungeons and Dragons game, and after some planning, I have decided to have the setting be a village that was developed on very salt-rich land, high up in the mountains (sort of just shy of the Alpine Line, so the like 6-10,000 feet above sea level range). And yeah, it doesn't really matter in the long run whether my world choices are accurate or realistic, but why invent a world if you aren't going to try and make it work?

I wasn’t going to put a cut, but I’ve realized that I have not the source of wit, and thus, am not brief. Any help or input or thoughts, of anything would be most welcome!!!!

I am looking for input on what would be required to make a village function- the trades, buildings, and resources that would be needed to allow a village of roughly 200 or so people high up in the mountains maybe not necessarily thrive, but certainly last.

I’ve opted to have this village be supported by the salt rich soil that it has been build on. The main economy is the export of salt and the tourism driven by the reputed beneficial properties of the bathhouse (or maybe hot spring house) in the area (a la the Dead Sea).

There will be tiers that generations of residents have carved into the nooks and crannies of the surrounding mountains to offer land to farm, raise livestock (primarily goats), and to set up potash and sodium evaporation ponds. 

Obviously, the ground water will be contaminated, and so there has to be a profession that specifically address purifying water for use. Then of course professions like tanners, black and goldsmiths, carpenters, timbermen, farmers, animal husbanders, miners, porters for the ore and other goods, a doctor or herbalist, some sort of fiber processing (whether done in homes or in a more centralized location), weavers and cloth makers, dyers, masons, stables, milk processing people (I have no idea if there is a correct term for that), soap and other personal care production people, an inn, a bathhouse, a pub, a brothel, a center to manage the mining logistics from, a town center or something similar, cobbler/hatter, barber/dentist, leatherworkers, thatchers/roofers, engineers or something similar. 

I know there are resources I haven’t thought of, or steps in production I have missed, so any advice on what would be needed to make this village function would be super appreciated! And since this is a made up world, nothing is out of bounds. I want it realistic, but it doesn’t actually have to be real.

I am also looking for plants/trees/groundcover/weeds that will grow both at high altitude, with seasonal frost as well as in soil that is very salt rich. There is a standing water lake about a day's walk from the village that causes the water table in the vicinity of the village to stay close to the surface, and there may also be hot springs (haven't decided yet) so there might be some thermal activity close to the surface as well in the vicinity of the village. Then about a day and a half higher up the mountain side, there is going to be a deep delve salt mine.

So what sort of plants would it be reasonable to say grew in the area? I'm looking for sort of pine forest mountain village vibe, but if there are better tree and plant choices, I'd rather use those. I will say, since it is, you know, made up in a world with magic and stuff, if there isn't a perfect candidate, maybe those options that get close enough that I can wave my hand and create a justification for them.

Cheers and thank you!!

(And if you are an artist that’s looking for maybe a longer term commission series [I don’t have too much spare laying around but its something] hit me up, because I’d love to have the areas illustrated, and have portraits done for my players.)

[natalie-k-pan]

10 Ways the Loki show Disappointed Me

part two

6) The trailer was misleading advertising. Marvel’s done it in the past with little to no backlash:

Iron Man 3 presenting the Mandarin as the ultimate foe for Tony to defeat, only to find out he’s a charlatan in a minor role.

Falcon and Winter Soldier was presented as a light-hearted buddy adventure, only to tackle darker themes about nationalism and racism. (Not saying that those themes were bad, just that the TFAWS’s trailer was not truthful to the story).

In the case of Loki, the trailer presented the plot as Loki making time-traveling shenanigans and being captured for breaking the timeline. They included the D.B Cooper clip, and the scenes of Loki in New York and as king in Asgard. These clips never show up in season 1. The D.B Cooper scene was a off-the-cuff moment, and the highly-anticipated (imo) President Loki was around for five minutes.

The trailer shows the storyline being about Loki breaking the timeline, with Mobius saying in a voiceover, “You picked up the tesseract, breaking reality. I want you to help us fix it.”

Marvel’s publicity team knew what story we would want to see from the character. And that’s not what we got: it was a mix of Loki tagging along with Sylvie to take down the Timekeepers, and detective-esque  scenes of trying to overthrow the TimeKeepers. 

It was never about Loki having an adventure, breaking the timeline, and having to fix it.

There’s a difference between having scenes that don’t make it into the final product, between not revealing enough of the story to spoil plot twists...and deliberately choosing certain scenes and quotes  to present a false version of the story.

I guess Marvel was worried that no one would watch it if they showed us the real product.

7)    Loki’s powers were wildly inconsistent, especially compared to what we’ve seen before.

In the past, we’ve seen Loki do illusions, duplication casting and in Thor 2, some very light telekinesis. After hearing of his mother’s death, he throws several pieces of furniture in into the cell walls with his mind. This is after losing the person who probably mattered most to him at the time, and feeling responsible for her death--it’s a powerful move showing his magical capabilities.

In the show, in Episode 3 we see him pull a Roomba towards himself in order to use it as a shield during a fight--pretty in-line with what we saw in the Dark World.

One episode later, an entire flipping tower is falling towards them, and he reverses it with his mind alone.

It was in the face of death, you say. Of course he was going to pull some cool new magical move.

Sure. In the face of death, I could see him jumping from throwing chairs to something heavier, like maybe a crumbling wall or a fruit stand.

BUT A TOWER?

 WHY?

 HOW??

He’s never done anything on that scale magically. In episode 2, he got tossed around by a (human) Alabama man. Why would he not use that move to bring the roof crumbling down if he was fighting for his life then?

So he’s got massive telepathic power when a building is falling but can’t use it in a fight against regular people.... okay?

Honestly, due to the fact that they’ve weakened him so much, and when Loki said, “I think we’re stronger than we realize”, I’m betting Season 2 will include Loki discovering the extent of his magical powers. 

 I don’t like this idea because again, it contradicts the previous canon. In Thor 1, Hogun literally calls Loki a “master of magic”. He went toe-to-toe with Thor and the Avengers and now can’t beat regular humans. A thousand+ year old being unaware of his own untapped potential doesn’t seem correct (yeah, they did that with Thor in Ragnarok, I know).

This Loki’s power levels jump up and down according to the plot, trying to make us believe that due to his spoiled past, Loki needs to apply himself to learn more about his powers.

 8)  Loki was out of character.

His lying and scheming was way too obvious. I was incredibly confused the first couple of episodes because it would be strange how he would be a pathetic buffoon  one minute and yet The only moment I was sold on his competence as a liar was episode 2 at the renaissance fair where he attempts to fool  the TVA. He was actually competent for once, but he gets caught, and goes into apologizing and sucking up 30 seconds later.   

He gets drunk when they’re on the mission on Lamentis. This didn’t make sense--when he was trying to conquer Earth, he had the opportunity to also goof off and he’s always been shown to take things seriously, with the exception of Ragnarok.                                                 

The “I’m a narcissist” scene. While Loki is the type to crave attention--in Avengers, Tony calls him a diva who wants his name plastered to the skies--it comes from a place of feeling overshadowed, never able to match his brother Thor.  Which we can see has some basis:

In Thor 1, his adopted parents raised him to hate his race,

lied to him about it,

 and when he was hanging over an wormhole, his father finally rejected him.

In Avengers, Thor tells him in  that his slights are “imagined”. 

 Thor 2, his adopted father told him his “birthright was to die”.

While it doesn’t excuse his actions in Thor and Avengers, it’s pretty clear that his family, particularly his father, have let him down.

So to make him experience character development and understand why he does what he does...the writers took him back to Asgard, and had Sif beat him up repeatedly until he admits he does terrible things because he’s a...narcissist.

It was pretty hard to watch that scene, especially because I related to Loki as someone who felt overshadowed and overlooked. He tried too hard to be what his family wanted, to show that he was “the worthy son”.

But here in the fantastic year of 2021, this show decided to throw away all of that emotional nuance away.

 9) The costumes were bad.

The brown variant jacket with its ugly orange block letters.

The guard suit on Lamentis looked like a cross between a purple sweater and a plague doctor mask. honestly makes me shuder to see it

Loki’s green-and-gold costumes are some of the most distinct, instantly recognizable outfits of the MCU. And he almost immediately loses it in the first episode. It ends being given to Sylvie, (like most of Loki’s better characteristics) and he stays in a detective skinny-tie suit instead. The costume is okay, but it lacks the flair and style he’s had previously, and he never gains it back.

10) The season finale really did showcase this show in the best way-- ig hype followed by disappointment.

For five episodes, we rushed towards the ultimate villain, the mastermind behind it all. Episode 6 was like...being handed a pack of bubble wrap, swinging your hand hard, expecting that satisfying pop! only to have it slowly putter out with a sad little sound.

First, Kang looked like he got his costume from Party City. The purple cape isn’t doing him any favors. Then, the man sat there and monologued for forty minutes, making jokes, telling us how he set the plot up, and how the multiverse worked.

 I know Marvel gets flack for there always being an CGI climactic action scene, but…they had 6 episodes leading up to the Big Bad, and for it to end that anticlimactically with a man in a Party City purple cape was a letdown. The finale had no menace, no teeth. In the words of Mobius, it was just…talkie-talkie.

All in all, this show really suffered from ignoring Loki’s past, where he would realistically be emotionally-wise, and a lack of focus on its title character’s development. Settings and costumes being better/unique would be also be nice, especially given its popularity. At the end of the day, I don’t see the character I empathized so strongly with in this show.

[bamf-jaskier]

Accidental Witcher AU

Just gonna put this here so I can find it later if I ever start writing again...

...

alright so accidental Witcher Jaskier

which is objectively hilarious. No more angst, no glamour, no memory loss or curse NOPE all we have is an absolutely shitfaced Jaskier, a Geralt who left his bag at the inn and isn't coming back until the morning.

Jaskier starts mixing together Witcher potions, why wouldn't he? He's drunk, they are shiny, what isn't there to like?

So Jaskier mixes these potions and it left with a black liquid, dark like tar. And what does this man do? What does this renowned Bard do? HE DRINKS IT

and when Jaskier wakes up the next morning, he realizes oh FUCK he can say a lot more things than the night before, he can smell a lot more things too, damn he reeks.

He looks in the mirror and thank fuck his eyes are still blue somehow but when he looks directly into the light they dilate just a bit, all Cat-eyed. Well. Okay. Jaskier isn't stupid. Something bad happened last night and now he's a Witcher.

But here's the thing: making himself physiologically a Witcher doesn't mean he's a Witcher now. He doesn't know much about the path (besides what Geralt has told him) and he has NO IDEA how to use that huge ass pointy Witcher swords. And the LAST THING he wants is for people to expect him to run around wearing armor and fighting monsters. He would much rather prefer to follow a Witcher around and perform.

So what does Jaskier do? Pretends nothing happened.

Geralt comes back from his contract that day and there is...something different about Jaskier but he can't put his finger on it. Jaskier meanwhile is desperately trying to get used to all these new sense and after accidentally breaking a door handle finds out that Witchers are just a little bit stronger than the average person. He practices with his lute until he can control his strength (and music is such a good way to practice controlling his strength)

And Jaskier just continues traveling with Geralt pretending nothing has happened. Partially because he doesn't want Geralt to get it into his head that he ought to be "trained" (Jaskier will carry a sword the day he dies) and partially because he's embarrassed to admit he recreated the lost recipe to the trials shitfaced.

Of course, if Jaskier's songs begin to focus a little more on a Witcher's senses and are just a touch too realistic about a Witcher's sense of smell? Well Jaskier needs a coping mechanism somehow and the world STINKS now.

Now, Geralt is smart, but even he wouldn't suspect Jaskier of accidentally becoming a Witcher but he knows something is wrong. So what does he do? He starts testing Jaskier to see what's wrong.

At first Geralt thinks its a doppler but that is quickly proven wrong when Jaskier falls directly into a mud puddle and makes Geralt stop at a bathhouse to change and clean up.

He thinks Jaskier has a secret lover but then he see him sleep with someone in a tavern.

Maybe Jaskier is under a curse, but the medallion doesn't even hum.

Geralt even asks Yen to check if Jaskier is under a glamour or a spell and she tells him no.

Geralt has no idea what to do so he asks Yen to dig and find out.

Yen and Jaskier like to gossip and drink together so while Geralt goes off on a contract Yennefer and Jaskier get together to bitch and stitch a little.

Once more, drunk Jaskier starts talking about how he totally accidentally made himself a witcher and he has no idea what to do now. Yennefer of course, doesn't believe him. She thinks he just fucked up and took some potions with temporary side effects that will wear off eventually.

so OF COURSE Jaskier grabs Geralt's bag and begins making the Witcher potion once more. And he holds up this tar-potion, drunk as all hell and declares he is the maker of Witcher and the god of the skies. Then Yennefer steals the bottle, pushes a drunk Jaskier to the ground and chugs the potion.

She wakes up the next morning with a resounding FUCK as her purple eyes dilate in the light. Yennefer didn't even think mages could become Witchers? What the fuck was in that potion Jaskier made?

Jaskier and Yennefer both freak out. Now they are both in deep shit and Jaskier has definitely discovered how to make more Witchers but can only do it while drunk, sober attempts to recreate the potion have been met with no success.

Geralt returns and now BOTH Yennefer and Jaskier are acting weird and fuck what's wrong with them?

Geralt comes to the COMPLETELY wrong conclusion that Jaskier and Yennefer are sleeping together.

Cue Geralt trying to make weirdly supportive comments about Jaskier and Yennefer and the two of them acting super weird because, "does he know? what the hell is Geralt talking about now?"

Geralt: I would support the two of you no matter your life choices

Jaskier: wait does he know?

Yennefer: is he trying to invite us to go monster hunting with him?

Jaskier: Oh gods, please don't let it be that

For Yennefer, the transition from Mage to Witcher-Mage isn't all that different. She supposes she's a bit stronger now and her sense are enhanced but honestly she's really just shocked that drunk Jaskier managed to recreate the trials.

Witchers put on muscle a LOT faster than humans and are better at retaining it. What does this mean? Jaskier, who previously was tall but not exactly a brick shithouse like Geralt is suddenly getting muscle definition and OH NO he doesn't like that. His doublets are getting too tight and Jaskier basically desperately trying to not build muscle which goes against the biological instinct of Witchers.

Cue Jaskier cutting his protein and doing lots of cardio to stay smaller and more lithe. Jaskier refusing to pick things up or do any kind of arm exercises.

Jaskier: Geralt can I tie my lute to Roach's side, I can't carry it anymore

Geralt: why?

Jaskier: .... because

This is when Jaskier buys his horse Pegasus so he doesn't walk quite as much (he unfortunately finds out that horseback riding give you great thigh muscles)

Meanwhile Yennefer doesn't give a shit and she is building some truly fantastic arm muscles in the corner.

Geralt stops by Yen's place on the way to Kaer Morhen and she is....chopping wood a la Captain America with an ax. When Geralt watches Yennefer rip apart a log with her bare hands he literally swoons. Jaskier catches him.

Of course, Geralt STILL thinks Jaskier and Yennefer are sleeping together so he begins to make comments about Yennefer's new look and immediately apologizing because he doesn't want to overstep his bounds.

Geralt: Yen ur looking very powerful lately

looks at Jaskier and back to Yennefer

Geralt: not that u didn't always look powerful, and not that I care or think that's it's attractive or anything.

Jaskier: what...?

Yennefer: Are you saying I'm not attractive Geralt?

Geralt: no...I'm...fuck

Jaskier: hello fuck nice to meet you I'm Jaskier.

Okay but after a few months of Geralt making pointed comments about Yen and Jaskier they begin to think he is trying to matchmake them.

Jaskier: I think that Geralt wants us to bone

Yennefer: he does keep making comments about us alone together in the bedroom, I thought he was joking but-

Jaskier: he just left the room and told us to 'have fun'

Yennefer: I mean, should we?

Jaskier: yeah, sounds fun

okay but IMAGINE. Jaskier and Yennefer are sleeping together right? and they decide to spend a Winter at Kaer Morhen with Geralt who just acquired a new child surprise and they show up at the Wolf Keep and Vesemir (who knows these things) is like, "what schools are these Witchers from" and Geralt just...blanks

Geralt: these aren't Witchers?? One is a bard and the other is a mage??

Vesemir: No these are definitely Witchers

Geralt: ???

Jaskier: ...

Yennefer: ...

Jaskier: OKAY SO LONG STORY

TL;DR Drunk Jaskier mixes together a bunch of potions, him and Yennefer end up drinking them and becoming accidental Witchers, they hide it from Geralt and end up sleeping together due to Geralt misreading the situation