#but i currently take 15 tablets a day

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

love it when my gp surgery sends me a message to be like hey, so we're contacting you about one of your medications. there are some medications that need to be temporarily stopped if you experience dehydration and then just doesnt mention what medication

my guy, my dude, my gaffer, my monthly prescription has 8 medications in it, can you not tell me which one??

like i should not be on drugs.com trying to figure out myself

[moondirti]

animalic (2)

← chapter 1 // series masterlist

pairing: Miguel O'Hara x F!Reader rating: mature word count: 2.2k summary: a game of cat and mouse warnings: enemies to lovers, canon typical violence, guns, death, blood, angst, no use of y/n (reader is referred to as ‘wraith’) notes: remember when i said part 2 would take a while? i lied. the next chapter is fun as all hell so i wanted to churn this one out as build up. teehee i hope yall like it regardless

He let you go. 

He let you go. 

No matter how Miguel tries to vindicate it, he rounds back to the same conclusion. You weren’t subtle, regardless of what you’d have yourself believe; he’d seen the calculations glaze over your eyes the instant he pinned you to the wall. He knew what was coming, how your heavy breathing was a cover for the clicks of his watch – of which he heard regardless – and your squirming a diversion from the movement of your busy fingers. He had a goddamn plan too, a fail safe in case you decided to attack instead of listening to reason. 

(One he’d settled on for the duration of your lost consciousness, for knowledge that you would.)

So, there is no dismissing it. You’re obnoxious and lack precision, and he could have had you halfway back home by now, which isn’t the case – because he let you go.  

The frigid air of his office thrums with irritation, weighing down on his shoulders until they collapse inwards, his hands coming up to rub the weariness off his expression. HQ has been unsettlingly quiet as of late – occupied by only a fraction of its regular population – and the peace worries him. History betrays its status as the precursor to havoc; lulls in the past have fooled him into believing his mission was drawing to a close, only for another anomaly, another mess, to spin that naivety on its head. 

You were one such instance. A year ago, you’d popped up on an Earth that wasn’t your own, and didn’t leave until you’d drawn all that you could from it. It’s an empty husk now, lacking land to propagate its agriculture. Thousands – millions – dead, from the flap of a butterfly’s wings.

Parasite. A fucking parasite who just won’t quit. 

The mantra surges through him, festering from the base of his gut to the cap of his tongue. It bursts out with a roar right then, the sudden violence finding monitors thrown across the room, smashed to bits of orange light and static. It does nothing to sate him, though, the heady anger filtering out like molasses. His back hunches as he draws in thin breaths. He doesn’t count, nor does he attempt to. Instead, he looks for his only real decompressor. 

The video of Gabriella flickers at him from a distant floor, the transparent tablet wrecked with four distinct claw marks. He exhales, pulling it back to the platform with an extended web. 

“Boss,” 

His mija smiles toothily down at his digital self, winding her small palms in his hair for balance as he carries her. He recalls helping with hers, tying it back into shabby ponytails the mornings before a big game. How she wouldn’t let anyone fix it afterwards, not until her elastic slipped off the ends and her bangs hindered her playing. And she’d run to him, whenever, to get it fixed again. 

“Boss.” 

Her jokes resonate still, echoing laughter from when she’d poke fun at how bad he’d gotten at it, amused by the sudden decline in ability. To Miguel, it was one more reminder that the life he led wasn’t his own. 

“Oh Miguel!” 

So much for calming down.

“Lyla.” He looks up at the virtual assistant, her corporeal character a little fuzzy around the edges. She chooses to ignore his dissociative episode, rather projecting a map of the arachno-humanoid poly-multiverse, a point off centre highlighted in red. His heart skips. Placing the tablet down on his desk, he takes a step closer to survey the pin.

“Managed to track the Wraith down using the day pass you’d given her. Currently stationed on Earth-15, no signs of jumping anytime soon.” 

Parasitic, and stupid enough to forgo destroying a potential tracking device.

Lyla snickers, seemingly able to read the sneer pulling at his cheeks. 

“Seems like she’s afraid of glitching more so than she is you, Boss.” 

His glare snaps to meet her heart shaped sunglasses. 

“Funny.” His assistant shrugs at his admonishment. “Pull up the anomaly cam.” 

A second later, your figure blinks into sight. 

You’re crouched atop a tiled floor, the grout darkened to near-black with grime. In front of you lies a sparse spread of medical supplies; gauze, scissors, and miniature packets of disinfectant wipes. Miguel can’t help but wonder what you think you’re doing, treating your wounds in a bathroom as unsanitary as the one that cramps you. Graffiti littered walls, nests of used paper towels in every corner. You spring up to wash your hands after undoing the old bandages that hugged your forearm, but all that comes out is an inconsistent splutter of grey water. 

His chest twinges, a tug of intrinsic sympathy playing against him. It worsens at the sight of your injury, the consequences of his talons’ assault on you, the puncture points brimming yellow and blackening closer to their middles. He can’t tell whether it’s gotten any better, whether you were good and had it treated by a professional, or made the common mistake of relying too much on your enhanced healing. 

“Gave her a harsh gig there. You always that rough?” 

“When I need to be.” Miguel murmurs, skimming over the conspicuous innuendo.

“Right. Until it comes to finishing the job, that is.” And, despite the offence taken to Lyla’s jest, he can hardly disagree. Newfound resolve hardens within him, sympathy fleeting at its failure to deter him. 

“Set coordinates for Earth-15.” He rumbles, gesturing to his wrist as he walks away. The assistant does as she’s told, shrinking back to an icon on his watch. While waiting for the portal to configure, Miguel cocks his head, taking one last look at your oblivious form. 

“I won't let her get away this time.” 

“Put the money in the fucking bag or she gets it!”

Of all the spider-people you’ve met, you don’t believe any have been the hostage in an armed robbery situation. You imagine that they’d come in at the last minute, valiantly swinging through the window, accentuating their arrival in a shower of shattered glass. They’d demand the money be remitted, and all’s well that ends well. But – of course �� there’s got to be a first for everything; your record just so happens to be the lamest of the bunch. 

The masked man presses the gun further into your temple, bursting capillaries until the spot starts to ache with a raw tenderness. His body wraps around you, other arm waving wildly outwards, extending a plastic bag to the poor soul behind the register. You take a great gulp of air, staring at the buzzing fluorescents above, and pray. 

Lord, now would be a really good time to phase out. 

“P-Please, leave her be.” The owner throws a potful of crumpled fives into the bag, as if to punctuate her plea. The man is dismissive in face, urging her for more, shaking the receptacle with comedic insistence. You purse your lips, blinking up at the ceiling once more. 

Or make this more exciting, at the very least. 

“And you!” You’re jolted out of being a passive observer, rattled when the man diverts his attention to you. His gun thrusts harder against your forming bruise, adding to the list of damages sustained in the past week alone. You peer at him from the corner of your eye. His roll incredulously, pointing to the bill in your grip. “The twenty!” 

“Is that a real gun?” 

“Wha– Of course it’s a real fucking gun! Put the money–” 

“In the bag. I know.” 

His hold on you slackens, expectant. By contrast, you ball your fist and punch him square in the nose. The hit sends him reeling farther than it should for the amount of space you had in winding back, the feat prompting a deluge of pride to wash over you. It’s bolstered when he drops the spoils in the process, toppling into a rack of chips and cup noodles that consequently cushion his fall. 

Your first save. 

Filled with bravado, you snatch and pass over the bag to the cashier. 

“Here you go, ma’am.” 

But she doesn’t look at you. Rather, her stare remains trained on the man you’d just disabled. Nerves maturating, you join her line of vision, only to be met with the barrel end of his weapon. You catch the vicious conclusion in the way his hand trembles, veins protruding from the pale skin, supplying courage to the finger hovering right over the trigger. You process it all, aware of the ways it can end, at how fast it can sour.  

Before you can so much as act on it, he shoots. 

Your skin prickles. 

You’ve heard stories of people who don’t realise when a bullet strikes them. Their bodies take time to catch up to the pain, cells stuck in paralytic shock, stimulus signals held somewhere between the existential and a will to delay the inevitable. You think you understand what they mean, your mind dragging in a rare bout of silence. Things slow, for a perennial moment, and you wonder how fast the blood loss will kill you.

You can do nothing but follow the man, who scrambles to a stand, letting him take the money – with whatever else – and watching as he runs out onto the street. 

And even still, the pain hasn’t caught up to you. 

Looking down, the case starts piecing itself together. No blood sticks to your shirt, the fabric still as pristine as it had been upon purchase. You check your arms, then your legs, then reach up to smooth over your head. Nothing. You’re okay.

The relief is short-lived when the morbid sound of gurgling meets your ears. Slowly, you turn, bracing for what you knew you’d find.  

The scene unfolds with a distressing intensity as crimson liquid blooms from the cashier’s throat. The torrent is never-ending, every gush of ichor bringing forth a new momentum, splattering its macabre scene over the register. Her eyes gloss over with an unshed panel of tears, and she looks to you for help. 

She looks to you. 

(You don’t admit it to yourself, but it’s the novelty of that fact that pushes you into action.) 

With a swift leap over the counter, you intercept her mid-fall, carefully cradling her weight as you guide her down to the ground. Scanning your surroundings, you search for a means to call for help. A rotary phone catches your recognition, situated a ways off by the back exit. Despite the inconvenient placement, it stands as your sole option at this stage.

In a split second decision, you sling your backpack off, hastily rummaging through its contents. You find solace in your hoodie, gathering its folds to tightly bunch it up, converting it into a makeshift compress.  Knowing she lacks the strength to apply pressure to the wound, you move to wrap it around her neck, hopeful that it’s tight enough to stem the bleeding while leaving enough room for air. 

Urgency fuelling your every step, you leave her side for a fleeting moment, dashing over to call an ambulance. Your medical knowledge only extends so far, and some selfish part of you itches to pass on the responsibility to someone more competent. It’s an impulse that derives from an innate acceptance, that resoundingly insightful voice in your head telling you it's too late. That she’s already dead, had been from the moment the bullet – that was meant for you – missed. 

Perhaps your help isn’t really helpful at all, then. Perhaps it’s your attempt to wash your hands of the sin. You think back to the grey water in the bathroom, how exasperated you had been at your inability to stay clean. 

(You don’t think you’ll ever rid yourself of this.) 

“911, what’s your emergency?” The question crackles through the receiver.

The bell by the entrance jingles, the chime accompanied by heavy footsteps. You press yourself against the wall, the concept of the robber returning filling you with such dread that you feel your stomach tighten and congeal. It’s a heavy lump, icy cold and slippery, and it seems to weigh a hundred pounds.

“Hello?” The operator says. 

But if it was the man, then he'd have to have changed into a navy and red suit. Somehow, your terror worsens. 

“Hijo de la chingada…” The whisper is barely legible, but the deep baritone is discernible enough to validate the assumption pulled from your brief glimpse. You’d recognise him anywhere. 

Shrinking in on yourself, you cup your palm over your mouth. “Hello,” 

“Ma’am? Can you describe your emergency?” 

“There was an armed robbery at the convenience off sixth and Third. Someone’s hurt.” You hardly register the words as they escape you, eyeing Miguel when he crouches over the lady. You’re propelled back to the conclusion of your last meeting; how his claws tore into you, how his persistence didn't falter until you pressed yourself onto him. 

That kiss. 

He runs a finger over your hoodie-turned-compress, wavering, like he can’t quite place where he’d seen it before. 

Or, maybe he can, for he spins to meet your wide-eyed stare. 

You drop the phone, bolting out the back door, charged on a paroxysm of adrenaline and pure, unadulterated panic.

chapter 3 →

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[lionlena]

We don’t love each other (PedroPascalxreader) angst! Part V

Summary:  You and Pedro are: friends with benefits, for many years. Your layout is simple and clear. You don’t love each other. You’re friends on a daily basis, you take care of each other… Sometimes you sleep together. You go on dates with other men and Pedro doesn’t mind. Everything is simple until you accidentally hear Oscar say that Pedro loves you. Then you decide to tell him the truth and you ruin everything.

Warnings: angst!!! smut, mentions of sex, friends with benefits, sad, broken hearts, age difference (reader is 15 years younger than Pedro)

*

Part V

He rested his forehead against the tiles and sighed as he felt the streams of warm water hit his hard muscles. God... He was so tense. It's all through pretending. He smiled when he saw the fans and when he signed autographs. He laughed during interviews. But it was all a lie, and he was working hard to make the world believe him.

He had no cause for joy, and going out into the outside world was a torment.

Maybe, only the interviews with Bella, did him feel better, but that was only because she reminded him of his little sister in some way, and he felt the need to take care of her. He was wondering, if you would like her? Probably yes.

You and Bella would probably tease him about taking naps on set, and he'd allow it.

He felt the pain in his heart again. God, he was so tired, so sad... Yes, he'd screwed up and he had no excuse for it. You had every right to hate him, and yet... Part of him wanted to tell you that it wasn't all his fault that he tried... He tried so hard, but he failed.

When he got out of the shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked over to the medicine cabinet. He reached for sleeping pills and immediately took two, washing them down with tap water. He doubted it would help anyway. He couldn't sleep since you left. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw your tears and the horror on your face. What did he expect? He's never yelled at you before. Yes, in play or while you were helping him with role. But he never shouted in anger. Though honestly, he wasn't angry at the time, he was terrified. Terrified that he ruined everything. That he spoiled everything for years.

He entered his bedroom and put on a t-shirt and sleeping shorts. He glanced at his phone and winced at the two missed calls from Oscar. He didn't want to talk to his friend and had been ignoring him for several days. It's not like he blamed him for the current situation, and yet... Oscar had tried for years to help him, in a way to put it mildly: useless. First, he urged him to break off the deal with you. Then he thought Pedro should confess his love to you. Then he said him that since you two been stuck in a suspension for so many years, it's better for you if your paths diverge.

However, when you parted ways, Oscar saw how wrong he was. Pedro was tired of listening to his advice. There was nothing to fix. Everything broke down.

And even though he knew it, he stared at the phone screen for a while longer, hoping that your name would be displayed on it. But nothing happened, so he decided to fetch a bottle of water from the kitchen and at least try to sleep.

As he entered the living room, the blonde sitting on the couch smiled at him. She put down the tablet she was holding in her hands.

"I already checked everything. I have a flight tomorrow morning. So, I won't bother you any longer."

Pedro shook his head.

"No problem, June. You don't remember, when I living with you and Ann for two weeks in college."

"Yes, but... I feel so stupid."

"Anyone can miss a plane. Don't worry."

June looked at him carefully.

"You look tired."

Pedro smiled sadly. If she only knew how exhausted he was.

"Yes, fame is tiring. That's why I'm going to sleep right now, but you stay as long as you want."

June immediately replied:

"Oh no, no. I'm going to bed too. If I miss my flight again tomorrow, my wife will kill me."

Pedro laughed and suddenly remembered something.

"While I was taking a shower, I thought I heard a bell ring."

"Ah yes, your neighbor was looking for her kitten."

"Hmm, strange. I didn't know they had a cat. Well, I hope she finds this kitty."

"Me too. She looked very nervous."

Pedro nodded, wished her good night, and went back to the bedroom . He laid down on his stomach and drew to himself the pillow that you always slept on. He stuck his nose in it, though he knew it was useless. You hadn't been in his bed in months, and yet he felt like he could smell you. Well, maybe because he used your shampoo in the shower. He whined as he realized how pathetic he was. But he needed so much a minimum of comfort. Just your smell.

He couldn't stop the tears escaping from his eyes. He bit his lip and closed his eyes, hoping the pills would finally take effect. Maybe his brain will show him mercy and see you in his sleep?

*

All I want is nothing more

To hear you knocking at my door

'Cause if i could see your face once more

I could die a happy man i'm sure

 When you said your last goodbye

I died a little bit inside

I lay in tears in bed all night

Alone, without you by my side Kodaline - All I Want

*

Part IV 

Part VI

Storm is coming....

There will probably be 2 more parts to this series, but I am slowly approaching the end of this series (which was never meant to be a series).

[beesmygod]

i only read tumblr once a day because i [try] to stay sane so only just caught up with the art discourse, which I do have some bits n shit I want to add: a bit fasile for one but, dont you as an artist have upkeep and resource needs to produce? even if its just like...computer, tablet and necessities to continue existence because art takes time to make, those are real, and cost money. "art" in an absolute sense can be made for free with minimal time through just thinking, but like, a webcomic that is a physical thing made of electronic patterns and hosted on a server, takes time and takes stuff. "Webcomics" isnt a free infinitely repeating resource, and you are more than a machine to create webcomic, and none of us are infinite as a resource! at worst, art hits public domain eventually. that said even from that place of survival in capitalistic society it DOES make sense to at least have free public facing art as PROMOTION even if its just idk downtime sketches, doodles, memes, fanart etc so like im not 100% disagreeing yknow, and I am not and artists cant be a paying consumer my/their own art, art has to exist for the self too, the self that isnt a "paying class", or i just start making marvel movies and then its time to find my cool wet hole in the dirt and express my creative individuality like im a mathmatician of statistical analysis of fluid dynamics.

now that im awake i was going to answer these point by point, but this kind of flies past my point that making art exclusively for those who pay is abysmal and treating your audience like they're thieves is a poisonous and off-putting response to one's perceived "loss of income" (which is not even theft because the item being "stolen" can be reproduced infinitely. im talking about like a digital image like a comic page and not a physical item where there's limited copies lol). people either want to pay you or they dont; you can't force people to pay you by making access to your work harder, worse, more inconvenient, and more degrading to your audience. you can't induce artificial scarcity and be a good person.

like yeah obviously art production takes money. that's why most artists work desk jobs instead of trying to make it a solo venture and just expecting the world around them to pick up their slack. i didn't come out of a lotus blossom with a tablet ready to go, i worked desk jobs from age 15-24 in order to have enough savings to cushion myself if need be and pay for base supplies. i use tablets and items gifted/sold to me at a steep discount by my friends. i lived really poor in order to have the life i wanted. and i really loved it lol. i still think of that time so fondly.

once the comic is produced and posted, it is free for my audience to look at and the reproduction costs of the finished image is 0 dollars. it can be copied and reposted freely without charge. it costs me basically nothing to host. the production costs are currently covered by patreon donations. if they were no longer covered by patreon donations i would get a desk job instead of making my choice to go into the financially unsuccessful field of the arts my audience's personal problem to solve. if i don't make things people want to buy, that's my problem and not my audience's.

yeah, it would suck to have to stop doing this because its no longer financially viable (it is really financially hard right now; the state of the world around us is not conductive to the patreon life), but i wasn't entitled to it anyway. i get to make art for a living bc i have an audience that permits me to. why would i start treating them like dogshit or lying about value of my work to squeeze extra money out of them after what they gifted me?

[changingplumbob]

Cat Update

Look who's back home with a wet nose that looks like a heart.

It is stage 4 kidney disease unfortunately but, depending on if we can get sodium levels down, the median time left may be 1 to 3 years. Not to say that her arthritis won't get worse before then, whatever comes being a pet owner means putting their needs first, and her well-being will be the priority.

Good news? Well there is some good news. She is on antibiotics for a UTI, a medicine to try get the protein levels down and an appetite stimulant. They gave us tips on giving her tablets as her favourite method of NO is to clamp her jaw shut and I've successfully given her the meds for tonight. When she got home she went right to where the food bowl normally is and complained until we fed her. THEN she gobbled down the new diet biscuits. After she ate maybe 15 biscuits total yesterday I can't tell you what a lovely sight that was.

I and mum are still very much in the bad books. Normally when we take her out she hides under her blanket and won't emerge until we're coming through the gate back home. She may have stayed under the blanket when we picked her up but you bet she yelled at us the whole way home. She's very shy and two days of going to the vet is a lot for anyone who can't understand human speak. She's currently under my covers between my ankles, she feels safest when she can press against things and know nothing will come from that direction.

We go back for more bloods tests on Friday but I'm hoping that we won't need regular vet visits as this week has pretty much emptied my savings. Thank you for your kind words on yesterday's update, it really means a lot to know you're sending good thoughts and wishes to my fur sibling and me.

[jpitha]

Just a Little Further 5

Part 1 2 3 4

Dinner was amazing, as always. It really helped to give a sense of family to the crew that we all ate together whenever we could. There was a real effort to make dinner a whole crew affair and you could tell that Fer'resi and Mitchel really go all out for dinner.

As much as they tried, I could tell everyone was worried about me. "I'm sorry I scared you." I said, after we all sat down. "If I knew that was going to happen, I wouldn't have touched the directory stone, honest!"

A few tight smiles across the table. Fer'resi was the only one who didn't look worried for me. He looked... jealous? "It really is amazing that it happened Melody." He took a bite of food. "I think you're the first human to ever touch a directory stone. I know that you never really used them, and any of your ships that have an addressing module have a K'laxi one with K'laxi addresses in them. I wonder if it happens when any human touches it..." He trailed off.

"But, what does that mean?" Omar asks. Omar works with FarReach on the laser batteries and also the printer - he boasts he can make anything with FarReaches help, it's pretty neat!

Fer'resi shrugged. "Without any more humans touching any other directory stones, we have no idea. This one is clearly special, maybe it would have happened to anyone who touched it."

I took another sip of my coffee, it was my own supply and it was divine. "But, what about what Captain Q'ari said? She said you said I shouted in an unknown language?"

Gene nodded here. "It was super weird. It was like you were chanting or something. We recorded it, but FarReach and Far'resi both agree it's nothing known."

"I even tried working back from the phonemes to see if we could find something shared." FarReach said. "But other than the fact that it's pronounceable by humans and presumably K'laxi, that's all we know so far. For all we know, you were shouting the terms and conditions that we had to agree to use to use the Warp Gates!" FarReach chuckled at his own joke.

As dinner wound down and Chef Fer'resi brought out some treats and nuts to chew on, Captain Q'ari stood. "Okay. Now that we've eaten and talked about what happened yesterday-" This was my first indication that it's been a day since we were on the Gate asteroid. "-It's time to discuss next steps. Commander Perinem, if you would?"

Fer'resi stood from the table and walked to the head. Behind him a screen appeared with the tablet one side, and a listing of symbols on the other. "As I had mentioned previously, we have never come across a table with so many addresses before. These-" He clicked a remote and 15 of them were highlighted. "-represent every single address that is known to us currently. They're all here on this one table. Literally centuries of work finding and deciphering the various tables we've come across in space and they're all right here." He shook his head and smiled wryly. He clicked again and the rest lit up. "Which means that these other 35 addresses - or I should say, probable addresses - represent some other points in space unknown to us. At this point, I can only recommend starting from the top and entering them into the addressing module and see where they go. We could be methodical about it. Enter one, explore, come back here, enter another, explore, come back here and so on."

There was a murmur from everyone at the table. "But this means that this mission suddenly got a whole lot longer." That was Ava Williams, who works in environmental systems. She makes sure we have air to breath and water to drink and that our waste is processed safely.

Fer'resi nodded. "Yes. If we were to continue on without a break, I estimate that going to all thirty five addresses would take 5 years or so."

Upset noises from the table.

"But, that doesn't mean we have to do them all at once." Captain Q'ari said. "We've gone from figuring that we'd have two or three addresses to explore at most to thirty five. We've officially moved beyond our original scope. Let me tell you all here, we are not going to be gone five years. We will continue with our original plan of two or three addresses and then home. Then, another exploration team can be sent out to try the others. There is no reason to expect that we'll have to try them all."

"Additionally," Fer'resi added. "Most of them I suspect will be empty systems. You notice that I've said that we K'laxi have found 15 addresses. Yet, other than K'lax we only have two colony planets. We have 5 other Starbases not counting the Joint Human/K'laxi Starbase Picaresque which means than 6 of the addresses known to us go to empty systems. It's entirely likely that the majority of addresses we have here also go to empty systems. We could visit quiet a few quickly if that's the case."

Kieran asks "So then, where should we go first?"

Captain Q'ari replies. "As Fer'resi mentioned, unless someone has a better plan, we were just going to go to the first address on the list and work our way dow-"

"No." I said, interrupting. "Start with W̷̮̱̿͝ï̵̠̜͛̀l̶̜̞͛̇Ð̵̼͕̾̇§̷̯̩̈́̔ ̷̰͚̅̋ð̴̧̞͐̕£̴̞̻̐͘ ̶͇͍̀̈́ß̵̤͇̉͗ê̵͍̦̑̈'̶̯̭̓̕m̸͉̖̂̒å̷͎̍̃ͅŗ̸͖̋͛å̷͇̘͋͆."

Everyone stopped and turned as one to look at me. I blushed a deep crimson red.

Mei'la was the first to recover. "Uh, what was that?"

"I don't know! I just know that's the one we should start with."

"O-Okay." Captain Q'ari said. "Can you tell us why?"

"Um..." I wracked my brain. "It's the one that... feels right."

"So wait." Gene looked at the list and then back at me. "You can read them?"

"No? Er Yes? Er I don't know?" I was starting to get a headache.

"Okay then," Fer'resi said kindly. "Which one is W̷̮̱̿͝ï̵̠̜͛̀-- er the one you said?"

"5th one down."

They all stared at the entry. "I mean, maybe because we've been told to look at that one... " Mitchel says cautiously "But it does look a little different than the others. Is the text like, bolder? More prominent?"

There were murmurs of agreement.

"Fascinating." Fer'resi said, looking at it closer. "I do believe you are correct.

Captain Q'ari shrugged. "It's as good of an option as any. Maybe even better than any. Does anyone have an objection to taking Melody's suggestion."

Nobody had an objection.

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning, we'll put that address into the addressing module and activate the Gate.

****

The next day, after breakfast we all gathered on the Command Deck. With there being only 12 of us, there was room, though it was tight. FarReach said that they would watch the systems so that everyone could see the gate activate.

"Lieutenant Mullen." Captain Q'ari's uniform was pressed, fresh and sharp. I think she brushed her fur until it shone too. "Has your address been entered into the addressing module?"

Hah. My Address.

"Yes Captain. The entry for W̷̮̱̿͝ï̵̠̜͛̀l̶̜̞͛̇Ð̵̼͕̾̇§̷̯̩̈́̔ ̷̰͚̅̋ð̴̧̞͐̕£̴̞̻̐͘ ̶͇͍̀̈́ß̵̤͇̉͗ê̵͍̦̑̈'̶̯̭̓̕m̸͉̖̂̒å̷͎̍̃ͅŗ̸͖̋͛å̷͇̘͋͆." has been input." Funny. The more I say it, the easier it is to say. I'm still not sure what the words mean though.

"FarReach, are we ready to depart?"

"Yes Captain. All systems are green. We can leave at your command"

"Lieutenant Mullen. Activate the Gate."

Like I did the first time we arrived, I sent the hello ping to the gate. This time, with an address entered into the module, the Gate reacted differently.

The ring out in space that was attached to the asteroid started to glow. Dim at first but with a blue almost like Cherenkov radiation it started to grow in intensity. Growing almost painfully bright, the blue increased in intensity until there was a flash and a sensation of almost like being on a dinghy in heavy seas. a feeling of up and then down and..

"The gate has responded and is active. We may traverse." I said, more calmly than I felt.

Captain Q'ari nodded. "Proceed best speed, FarReach. Traverse the gate."

As we approached, it was almost like the Gate got further from us the closer we got to it. I knew it was some kind of optical illusion and our reports about Gate traversal and our own experience said it happens, but every time it's still weird to see.

We touched the gate and...

A rumble and tinkle of debris

"Hard contact!" Gene shouts, peering at his station. "We've entered a debris field."

"It's pretty messy out here" FarReach addd. "Nothing too large. I don't think we'll be damaged so long as we go slow."

"Proceed best speed then FarReach" Captain Q'ari says, stoically. "Release point defense array to destroy any debris that gets too close."

From his station on the Command Deck, Omar confirms. "Point defense aye. Free and tracking."

"Lieutenant Mullen, any contact?"

I'm scanning the area but it appears like there's nothing. "Negative contact. Active scanning with friendly K'laxi and Human signals, no reply."

As we proceed along at a very slow pace, the amount of noise from the debris field lessens until FarReach says "We have traversed the debris field. Recommend we stop and get our bearings."

Captain Q'ari nods. "Agreed. All stop relative to Gate." There is a little feeling of movement as thrusters fire and then it dissipates. "Commander Desmen. Tell us where we are please."

Um'reli Desmen is a short K'laxi with fiery red fur. She's our navigator and is extremely skilled. She's served on many K'alxi ships and this is her first tour with a joint crew.

"Aye Captain. Scanning stars for known pulsars and magnetars, one moment."

While she works, we all busy ourselves with other tasks, though I'm pretty sure we're just really waiting for word about where we are. The Captain says we can order a beverage if we want. I request some coffee and Q'ari gets tea, but everyone else abstains.

After about a half an hour Um'reli speaks up, visibly distressed. "Captain. I think I have our location narrowed down. I apologize for the delay, I ran the numbers 3 times to make sure they were correct."

"That's all right Commander. Where are we?"

She gulps. She doesn't want to say.

"Captain. As near as I can tell, we've traversed the diameter of the Milky Way. We're about 95,000 light years from home."

My head gets light. Ninety Five Thousand Light-Years from home. If we could train a camera on Earth, the light we'd just be getting now would be from before the last Ice Age. The first ever recorded houses would be busily being built.

Captain Q'ari stares at her, mouth open slightly. "Commander, are you sure?"

She nods. "Yes Captain. Within my ability to be able to measure, and confirmed with sighting of 4 known pulsars and 2 magnetars for triangulation. We're on the other side of the Milky Way."

She blinks "FarReach. Can we link home?"

A pause.

A longer pause.

"Captain Q'ari, I'm not sure. I know the coordinates of The Joint Human/K'laxi Starbase Picaresque but I don't know if we have the power to make a link that deep. It's never been attempted. I'm going to conservatively say no, that's too far to link. If we get into a bind or it's an emergency, I'd be willing to try it, but for now... I think we're stuck traveling the Gates."

Just then, my station lights up. "Contact. We're being pinged." I say, shakily.

Part 6

[explodok1lls]

Angel (?) of Mine. | Part 1

Bakugou Katsuki is a grim reaper tasked with collecting souls from those who have borrowed time. It didn’t matter how long or how briefly they’d lived; if their name appeared on the screen he carried, he had to complete his grim duty. He never hesitated, never entertained second thoughts like, “But they only had a minute to breathe the oxygen of this messed-up world” (Kirishima’s words). To him, the duration of their lives was irrelevant.

One day, while he was about to collect the soul of Midoriya Izuku, who was on the verge of drowning, an unprecedented snag occurred. He wasn’t able to gather the soul. Wait... what? No, this had never happened before.

Determined not to let this mar his perfect record, Bakugou knew he had to delve deep into this anomaly. He resolved to do everything in his power to collect this brat’s soul, because according to all rules known to him, Izuku wasn’t supposed to live.

–

Izuku's mother had always told him that from the moment he was born, his guardian angel was watching over him, guiding and protecting him from any sort of trouble or danger. Izuku, with the trusting heart of a child, believed her. After all, who wouldn't be swayed by stories like, “You know, when you were about seven months old, I left you sleeping on the bed for just ten seconds, and you started rolling towards the edge. But somehow, just as your head was about to hit the floor, your pillow slid under you, cushioning your fall"?

However, as Izuku grew older, his faith in having a guardian angel began to wane, especially when his middle school classmates started bullying him. Do guardian angels just stop caring when you hit your teenage years? He prayed fervently, so why did the protection seem to stop?

Now, at 21, Izuku is convinced that his guardian angel has abandoned him for good. He is currently fighting for his life, struggling to swim upward, hoping desperately that someone will notice he is being swept away by the wild, relentless waves. The cold is numbing his arms and legs, sapping his strength.

Water floods his nose, and he can no longer breathe; tears form in his eyes. He wants to apologize to his mom. This was supposed to be a fun getaway with friends, but now, it looks like it might end with his death.

–

ALERT! To collect: Midoriya Izuku. July 15, 20XX. 21. Drowning. Location: Takoba Municipal Beach Park.

That was the communication sent from Above, displayed on the screen. Bakugou Katsuki carefully read the information before clicking the accept button. He sighed. This was the 100th soul he had to collect today. On the dot, Katsuki wore his black beret so mortals wouldn’t see him doing his out-of-this-world job in the flesh.

If you asked him what his favorite part of his job was, he would definitely say the way he travels; he can teleport. That’s incredibly cool, right? He still wonders if he could do this while he was alive. Probably not.

It didn’t take him three seconds to arrive at the location; he felt so smug all of a sudden. As he walked, the lifeless body of... what was his name again?... came into view. When he reached the body lying limp on the shore, Katsuki kneeled down on one knee, took out the tablet from his coat’s breast pocket, and opened the scanner to confirm that this was Midoriya Izuku. July 15, 20XX. 21. Drowning.

When the screen confirmed that this was the soul he needed to collect, Katsuki touched the pulse point on Midoriya Izuku’s wrist.

Then…

Then…

All of a sudden, Midoriya Izuku. July 15, 20XX. 21. Drowning just opened his eyes, staring right back at Katsuki, accompanied by violent coughing that shows how he was yanked back from death.

What the actual fuck?

As Izuku's coughing finally ceased, he was left breathing raggedly, blinking in disbelief. His gaze locked onto Katsuki, who had settled down on the sand.

"Sir?! Oh my God! Was it you who saved me? Thank you! Thank you! How do I repay you?" Izuku's voice quivered with emotion, tears welling up in his eyes.

Katsuki was bewildered, but he mustered all his strength to stand up. "How?! How in the hell can you see me?" Frantically checking the tablet for any trace of the communication from Above.

But he is greeted by a black screen.

THIS IS INSANE…

HOW IN THE…

The communication should have remained there indefinitely; there was no reason for it to simply disappear. No one can delete that. If it was a false alarm, then a new message should be displayed on the screen about this mortal. But there was nothing. It was as if the “alert to collect” message had never existed. This unprecedented situation sent a chill down his spine.

“Fuck, fuck!” Katsuki hisses to himself.

“Um… Sir? Are you okay?” Ah, damn.

Katsuki slipped the tablet back into his breast pocket and turned to face Izuku. "You can actually see me?" he asked.

"Uh? Yes? I can clearly see you, sir. Am I not supposed to?" Izuku responded.

Katsuki ran a hand over his mouth and removed his beret. "Here, can you still see me?"

Izuku nodded.

Yeah, this is so fucking weird. He'll need to talk to the higher-ups about this.

"Ah, fuck it! You're supposed to be dead!" Katsuki shouted in frustration, unable to contain his emotions any longer.

Izuku's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, who are yo—"

Katsuki clicked his tongue, cutting Izuku off abruptly. "Well, I guess there’s something about you; that’s why the Above didn’t end you for good. Yet.”

"What are you?" Izuku pressed, his curiosity piqued.

"You don’t need to know that," Katsuki replied tersely, his tone leaving no room for argument. Whatever secrets he held, they were not meant for mortal ears.

Izuku's hopeful gaze bore into Katsuki as he stood up, his voice tinged with desperation. "I am not an idiot. Are you my guardian angel or something?" he asked, searching for answers.

Katsuki's incredulous expression spoke volumes. "Huh? The fuck? First off, I'm dressed in black from head to toe. Second, I'm far from being a guardian angel, asshat. Third, you're an idiot," he retorted, his frustration evident.

"But you mentioned something about the Above, and I'm alive; when you touched me, I came back to life, right? You are my guardian angel then!" Izuku gushed, his hope overriding his better judgment.

Exasperation washed over Katsuki as he turned away from Izuku, brushing off the sand clinging to his pants. He knew he needed to consult with Aizawa about this situation, desperate for answers to the mysteries surrounding Izuku's survival.

"I gotta go; I need to find out why you didn't die. Because you're supposed to die," Katsuki declared, his gaze lingering on Izuku for a moment before turning away. "And please, don’t ever blabber about having seen me. Also, stay away from things that might threaten your life."

With those words, Katsuki vanished, leaving Izuku standing alone on the beach, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Sir, wait!" Izuku shouted after him, his voice filled with urgency. But it was too late; Katsuki was already gone.

Bursting into Aizawa's office, Katsuki's frustration was palpable, "Hey old man, what the fuck just happened?" he spat, his tone sharp with urgency.

Aizawa, unfazed by Katsuki's outburst, continued to rifle through some papers, his expression betraying little emotion. "Bakugou, I don’t know either," he replied, his voice calm and measured. "I’m checking his records; none of them indicate he was supposed to die today. I told the higher-ups that I also saw the alert to collect. They’re investigating it now."

Katsuki strode over to one of the chairs facing Aizawa’s large marble table, his movements tense with uncertainty. As he settled into the seat, his voice came out in a murmur, laden with concern. “Is this going to count against me?” he asked, his eyes fixed on Aizawa.

Aizawa paused, considering Katsuki's question before responding in his usual matter-of-fact tone. “No, I don’t think so," he reassured him. "You were just following the orders given to you. You didn’t cause the snag.”

But Katsuki wasn't satisfied with the reassurance. His brow furrowed with worry as he voiced his deeper fears. "But what if I did? Aizawa, I’ve been working my ass off to maintain my record so I can finally…” His voice trailed off, the weight of his words hanging heavily in the air.

Grim reapers are expected to follow orders without fail. Those with excellent records are rewarded by the Above, and Katsuki is desperate to earn his reward: to finally learn the reason why, how, and when he died. Why did he become a grim reaper?

[pandorafallz]

Lest We Rest Upon Our Graves | C7

The drinks Anufi concocted were an odd balance to get used to in the following day. The first remedy made her drowsy and the second was like a caffeine shot. She had to take at least a 15-minute nap after the first for her body to absorb the first tea before she was woken for the second one. It was a little annoying when she had went to bed last night but she knew the rest of the week wasn’t going to get much better.

But the caffeine effect was good to balance out the drowsiness but she felt…a little energetic that was the only positive effect which got her back working with a lot more concentration than before.

Today, Alma had been looking back over the report Alexander had sent back regarding her smog request.

- Cortez,

The proposed suggestions are good. However, the quantity of toxic barrels is far greater than the current space available. Neutralisation would have to happen at the site first. Toxic smog shows heavy corrosive elements. Okul, the Kame’tire who gave Kìoetey the antidote has shared the recipe with the resistance and Anufi. I can show you on your next visit. The Na’vi may be able to help clear the air with us now. However, the recipe is toxic to Humans, so only So’lek and the Sarentu kids have been inoculated. We’re protected by our equipment and masks so it’s no real loss.

I’ve come up with the idea of getting mushroom farms to clean the air, much like how Cryptococcus neoformans was clearing the Chernobyl reactor. Rudimentary idea but I’ll need samples of a mushroom that’s in the smog first to see if it’s adapted to consume the smog first. I won’t ask the Sarentu to go there.

I’d like your feedback and possible ideas I have missed.

-Tremayne

Alma eyed his report, her fingers absently minding tracing the back of her splint thoughtfully but considered his idea was smart; there was flora that had been adapted to it by now and there had to be some adapted to consume it, right? Mushrooms were natural cleaners. Where to find that… was going to be hard. They’d need a shit ton of fungi samples or ask around first with the Na’vi. The latter would curb any wastage or hindsight if they already had an option.

Still, they’d need to look at other options as well in case it failed. Fungus was one thing but it wasn’t that fast. It’d take years and years for that method to work. It worked better to clear up the air after the source was neutralised.

Alma hummed a soft tune as she stood up from her lab chair, her back cracking with the bad posture she had sat in but paid it little heed as she reached for her paper notes on the toxicology again. This lab had some equipment that the Hide Out didn’t. Small blessings. Paper felt good to write on…and to stick on the walls to look at.

“Cortez,” Reeves called her shoes echoing before the scientist got to her.

Alma turned, her eyes dropping from the woman’s face to the tablet in her hand. “What’s this?”

“This got sent to my terminal by mistake. Recommendations for new Resistance Leader.” It was a statement but there was a… undertone of a question.

“Oh, good.” Alma took the tablet, though four faces were on the screen; So’lek, Shanaya Levin, Alexander Tremayne and Kìoetey. Her nose wrinkled at the selection, crossing Levin and Kìoetey out immediately as viable options. Levin was new. Fresh out of the RDA and a military woman at heart. Sure, she had loyalty but it was untested and she had no firm connection with the Na’vi or have a…warm enough streak to be what the Resistance needed. Kìoetey would not be suited to lead the resistance. Not fully. So young, had a lot to learn and… she needed to develop outside of humans. She couldn’t do that as the leader of the humans here.

“Really?” Reeves tittered, “Why do you even have this as an option?”

“Because, Dr Reeves, I know that my position is in question. I need backup options and I’d rather be prepared.” Alma said, handing the tablet back. “So’lek will need to be asked but he and Alex could run a co-op leadership. Alex will need the support and the Na’vi respect So’lek.”

“He’s a biologist.”

“I don’t care. He’s got people skills, a wide knowledge of everyone, plants and has a good reputation with the rest of the people on base.” Alma said, turning her attention back to her paper pad and monitor.

“This change of leadership have anything to do with that fucked-up brain of yours, Cortez?” Reeves questioned folding her arms.

Alma gave her an unimpressed look at her phrasing. “Why do you want to know?”

Reeves pursed her lips. “I help with your tech and I only sleep in your module to make sure you don’t die in your sleep. Do you think I haven’t put stuff together?”

“You’re smart, I didn’t doubt for a second you can do the math.” Alma remarked, “But I’m not here to confirm or deny anything. Excuse me, but people love to spread gossip about me and my business so why the hell should I tell you when you’re only helping me at the request of Dr Laine and not out of the goodness of your heart. My health, my business.” Alma didn’t turn, nor give anything more than that as she got back to work, letting her mind churn through her work to lower the slight up increase of her heart. With a look, Reeves huffed and walked off.

Alma continued on the smog work for a few more hours before she set the computer to run some calculations for her while she left to eat, drink, nap then have her second tea before she settled down in her module to read. This was something one of the Resistance members had picked up from the Zeswa clan on their visit, so she eagerly opened it up:

Zeswa Death Culture

When an older Zeswa feels their time to join Eywa is near, they may choose to walk off into the wilderness to never come back. Those who choose this self-sacrifice are remembered as legendary heroes.

Scholars have long assumed a meritocratic motive behind this practice. The value of a Zeswa lies in their strength. So, when it falters, they become a burden to the clan. However, the findings of our study, performed in collaboration with clan members Karmong and Yarun, suggest a very different meaning.

In this paper we will first analyze the storytelling tradition of the Dusk Riders. In these stories, elders who have left their loved ones have leveraged their superior skill to survive in the wilds. The venerable warriors band together and, after their last connection to The Great Mother, roam the distant grasslands in a life beyond symbolic death.

Our data will show how hunters retell these stories as a poetic record of the lives of their ancestors….

Finally, we will describe how those brave and skilled individuals who choose to leave the clan enact these stories to symbolically become dusk riders. A choice that allows them not only to honor the traditions of the clan, but to immortalize their own achievements in the medium of collective storytelling.

The paper continued to go on but Alma’s eyes drew up to the first paragraph again though she couldn’t help but…focus on something like that. She had no way to know truly her own life expectancy. Many Na’vi deaths were honoured and by no means was death treated as light or thoughtless as it initially suggested.

To walk away, never to be seen again.

That was…daunting. Leaving behind everyone. Their families, the clan… but knowing they would be held into the hearts of many. What a way to go. A very… Zeswa way to go really. No fuss, no trouble…just gone one day.

Why did that sound nice?

Alma shoved her tablet away quickly, rising from her chair with a cold pit in her stomach.

She was fine. She was fine.

Her brain would heal.

She horridly fished out a bottle of water from her cupboard, taking a heavy glug of it. No more death stories.

-

Kìoetey had been there when Ri’nela returned from the Hollows, which set some warmth into her heart and nor was she alone. So’lek has also returned which had been a pleasant sight to see but she hadn’t been able to speak much as he hurried to get an update from Priya.

“How’s everything,” Ri’nela asked, “Were you able to settle yourself with Cortez?”

Kìoetey shook her head, lips pursing discontent. “I haven’t seen her.” She said, “No one’s seen her around the last couple of days and they’re glad for it.”

Ri’nela’s head turned a little. “Something else happen?”

“Nothing too concerning. Someone leaked her personal files from her tablet. TAP stuff. Nothing we don’t already know.” Kìoetey waved it off, “No one knows where she is but they mentioned she was happy to go?”

“Let’s ask So’lek. He may know.” Ri’nela suggested. “Or the doctor that was treating her may know as well.”

Kìoetey considered her words and nodded in agreement. It wasn’t a bad idea. Nalin no doubt had kept Cortez more in mind given the…injury she had given to her. Why didn’t she think of her before?

Kìoetey headed towards the medical bay first but only found one guy resting with a treated leg injury and no doctor so she went to the next best; the kitchen. The familiar blond hair was easy to spot, making a cup of tea and looking a little tired.

“Nalin?”

Nalin startled a little, dropping her spoon into the cup and turning around quickly before she relaxed a little. “Oh, it’s you.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Kìoetey said, crouching down like she usually did to talk. “I was hoping to find Cortez. Is she here?”

Nalin sighed heavily, “No. She’s… taking a break. With…a lot of heat from everyone in the fallout of what was found out… it’s very dysfunctional for the humans to want to be led by her here. She suggested that she leave the Hideout until things calm down.”

“So she’s at a field lab?” It was the only other possibility of where she could be that wasn’t… here.

“Yes but… I don’t think she’s ready for you to visit. She’s on meds and it makes her drowsy and emotional. She might… overreact if you try to see her.” Nalin said, “She’s not alone, so don’t worry about that.”

Kìoetey frowned lightly. “That strong meds for a broken arm?” Seemed excessive.

“Her body is very weak, Kìoetey. She spent years neglecting her human body in favour of the avatar. This neglect went beyond even her time in the resistance given her light weight and barely any muscle. I’ve got a lot of work to do to get her remotely physically and mentally healthy.” Nalin let out a shaky, overwhelmed breath. “In the past, Hajir and I had to physically have the link bed disabled when she was dipping in the red in regards to her health.”

“How long until you think she’d need? I do need to talk to her.”

“End of the week. I’ve got a medical check in with her then in the morning so you can come in the afternoon once that’s done.”

Kìoetey nodded but… at least that was something. She could respect Nalin’s request, as far away as that seemed, she had to be patient here. It would be easy to go off and locate Cortez herself on Amay but… that might cause more trouble than it was worth.

But, at least she wasn’t hiding from her. At the back of her mind, she had nurtured the notion that Corte had been hiding, or doing an excellent game of hide-and-seek to avoid them. It had been… frustrating. But at least there was a reasonable excuse for it. She had heard enough rumours and the idol discussions people had when they thought she couldn’t hear.

It was very clear Cortez was no one’s favourite and she had heard worrying comments that went from discussing the notion that Nor should have stabbed the human body and not the avatar, to those wanting to Exile Cortez from the Resistance or send her back to RDA. The kinder ones were the ones who didn’t want to get involved so Kìoetey had a fair idea of how the humans were taking it. Still, it wasn’t like Cortez had a part in killing their families.

“I’ll meet you when the times get close,” Kìoetey said, rising to her feet.

Nalin nodded with a smile. “Okay.”

Ri’nela’s eyes followed her on her return, her expression inquisitive. “And?”

“She’s not here but Nalin said she’d let me come after her medical checkup at the end of the week.” Kìoetey paraphrased, her arms folding over her chest. “Still, I wish to see her sooner.”

“Let’s not worry about Cortez then, you’ve waited a day, you can wait for six more. So’lek’s been tracking some RDA flight patterns at the Upper Plains. They’re building something close to the Celebration arches.”

Kìoetey’s head tilted curiously. “Think it’s a good time to interfere?”

“Perhaps. Priya’s concerned it’s another Drilling platform from recent chatter. A massive one. I think we need to get involved before they turn it on given how close they are to the arches.”

Kìoetey’s stomach turned cold at the thought. The drilling platform had similarities to a Pneumatic Tower. Knowing the RDA, they weren’t going to be kind. There would be risk; if the hammering force was strong enough… the arches could be at risk. And the Zeswa.

“I’ll talk to the Zeswa.” Kìoetey said, “It’s still light out. They should be welcoming. I’ll take any data with me to back up my statements. Minang may listen but the sisters will need proof of concern.”

“I’ll be here if you need me. The Resistance will still help out where we can. So’lek mentioned getting Priya out to data-hack another site near some balloons. But that’s a concern for later.”

Priya outside, a worrying thought. The woman worked better as their eyes and eyes; she was not an easy person to replace if something bad was to happen. If she couldn’t help…she could trust So’lek with her safety in a non-human world. Still, she worried.

-

Getting Samples from the smog was…easy. The upside and downside of the Horseshoe Mountain station was that… some of the smog was less than 200ms from the lab. Meaning Alma didn’t need to go far to enter the smog. The smog was inconstant and it took no genius to realise that the mix of the toxic with Pandoran elements made it unpredictable. The smog was heavy and hung in the air, yet sometimes some pockets moved and seemingly seemed disconnected. Alma suspected the one closest to the lab was one of the scattered barrels that was ditched. Air patterns suggested that it was somewhat contained but…she didn’t know for how long.

If she found it, great. She could do her best to put a sealant on it and try and get it back to the lab for better studies and containment. But it was corrosive in its pure form. She’d need help and a biohazard set up but…she was getting ahead of herself.

Alma was deep in the smog, her scanner going at one of the mushrooms that looked most promising in her hands, Radar Mushrooms, as humans called them. She hadn’t gotten the Na’vi name for it just yet. These mushrooms grew on the internal structure of the large one that stood taller than here in three or four ball-pod-like structures. To open them, she had realised that she had to open (by forcedly hitting it) the single pods' variants around before the mushroom pods relaxed and allowed her to reach in and retrieve a cluster.

The main one, she realised was female, the small single ones were male. It was a simple form of pollinating to get that reaction. Of course, she had to use a rock—zero body strength to bestow a strong enough punch to open it—to open and had only done mild damage but she knew the plant was resilient and already showed signs of healing. She didn’t plan to do more than that anyway to any other one.

The small clusters, she could see clear signs of normal growth as she turned it in her palm. No abnormalities, her scanner could see…elements of the smog but…it wasn’t flagged as poisonous. Interesting. She set the mushroom into her sample kit, then pulled out a second to take a small slice from both male and female plants as well then set them back into the case.

“Cortez, you on your way back?” Reeves called through on the radio.

“Yes, just got the last of the samples. I found come lichen that Alex may like too which can go to him when I next go up there.” Or someone does at the very least. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Alma ended the chat, being careful to pick up the case in her splint-less arm. She could use her splinted arm since the bones weren’t broken fully but she tried not to when possible. It ached less. She was used to leaning on her arms when working which was a bad habit and the shooting pains were the reminder to stop.

Her route back was almost uneventful, but her attention turned from her surroundings of the clouded forest for a moment as a…woodsprite seemed to float by. Passing above her and…seemed to float carelessly. Her head turned, watching it for a moment before she set the case down.

“I’ve just spotted something…I’ll be a bit late.” She called, not irresponsible enough to just…walk off without a word. She didn’t listen for the reply as she began to follow it, keeping track of her path the best she could to…follow.

It was probably very stupid, but... she knew this was important for Na’vi. What this could mean? She had no idea. But it had to be important, right? Was…she supposed to follow? Well, that hadn’t stopped her from trying. She had lost her ability to connect with Eywa without her avatar; her first and only time was…at the circle of ancestors. Since then, there has been no mistake in Eywa’s presence any more. No doubt.

She wanted that…connection again but she couldn’t have it. Not as a human. Never again as an avatar. It…wasn’t something she tried to keep on her mind unless she wanted to sit in a pool of self-pity or unless saw something

Like the woodspite.

For at least twenty or so minutes, Alma trekked on in clear woods; the speed was moderate and she could feel her legs aching with overuse in trying to keep up…. But ultimately, she lost sight of it and she forced herself to stop. Her eyes raked through the trees, the fungus and bushes, trying to seek the movement but… she couldn’t see it again.

She let out a disappointed sigh. Her eyes gave one last look before she posted a…small crevice in the hillside rock formations… a little bobbing white—

“Cortez. Come back now. I can’t have you getting lost.” Reeves demanded, making her jump.

“Damn…” She fished out her radio again. “Fine, fine. Thirty minutes and I’ll be back.” But she could…check that out later. She kept a note of the coordinates from her watch and then turned back. Why was it leading her there?

What was in that crevice? A cave, most likely.

Something to look forward to for certain.

[cvt2dvm]

Bag Tour 2024: Daily Bag Edition Feat. Hannibal Lector

All images have alt text descriptions with items listed, bag tour, and the reasons for each item below the cut

The Bag Itself:

This bag is a Coach Turnlock Tote bag in the pebbled leather color Blossom. This bag, the belt bag I now use as a bag organizer, and the wallet were all gifted to me in 2019 by a family member. The belt is too large for me at this point in life, so the pouch has been repurposed as a Toolkit of sorts. While it is a hair small fully packed, I enjoy the color of it and the balance of it as well as the functionality of the pockets it has.

The Straps:

My straps on this bag usually aren't this cluttered. However, Hannibal has been coming with me to work on a daily basis to get him used to the idea of traveling, and I needed a place to put his harness.

On my straps there is a malachite pendant necklace attached to the charm loop at the bottom of the right side of the outer strap, and my keys are also usually attached here with a carabiner unless I'm going somewhere that I'd want my keys a little bit more secured. I just like malachite. It looks cool. It's the right shades of green, and it's fairly easy to get ahold of.

I also have my stethoscope looped here if it's not around my neck or on my desk at home. I have a neonate size littman stethoscope since I primarily work in companion animal medicine, and I find that it focuses a bit better on my patients who are less than 15 pounds. I do have a regular litmann as well, but that one stays at the office. Most of my after-hours calls are on cats and small geriatric dogs who have standing orders for as needed injections of certain medications whose owners are either unwilling or unable to administer those medications.

Then, the big thing on the straps today is Hannibal's harness. Little dude is 17 weeks, and a whopping 7 lbs already. I could gush about him literally all day, though. His harness was only on the bag while he was allowed to have free roam over the back of the reception area and wrestle with Chewbacca (my terrier).

Turnlock Pocket:

This is where I keep my human med kit for myself, plus treats for my pets, or snacks for myself. Image 8 is the corresponding image.

Human Med Kit:

Glucometer: I have struggled with Non-diabetic hypoglycemia, POTS, and hemiplegic migraines for about 7 years now due to a moderate traumatic brain injury in my teens. So I tend to take 2-5 glucose readings per day. The rubber gloves in my glucometer bag aren't for me to use on me so much as they are to be ready if I need to assist someone in a first aid setting or administer narcan to someone.

Excedrine Migraine: A tried and true beloved OTC medication, both my terrier, Chewbacca, and my malinois, Phobos, are trained for migraine alert and POTS electrolyte imbalance alert work, although Chewbacca is retired at this point. At the first migraine alert from my dogs, I take one tablet of Excedrine and then wait an hour. If the migraine continues to worsen, I then take the second half of the regular dose. This is what works for me, and you should talk to your doctor about treatment options if you have migraines. Currently, I'm down to only 2-4 migraines a month and only experiencing breakthrough hemiplegic migraine symptoms about once every 3 months with this routine.

Narcan: I carry it everywhere. I was never an opioid addict. However, after my TBI, I did struggle with perscription amphetamine addiction, and as a result of having been through that, and having gotten clean, I've become a really big proponent of harm reduction and narcan access programs. There's a few charities I'm involved with that give away narcan locally, and I'd be happy to put anyone interested in carrying narcan some national resources. I also live fairly close to Philadelphia and have unfortunately had to utilize narcan to assist strangers in bars in the past from tainted supplies.

Menstrual cup: I have PCOS, so my cycle isn't super regular and I'd rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it.

Not Pictured: My supply of both instant iced coffee, instant electrolytes, and protein bars that I keep in my glove box, office desk, and at home. Both the caffiene (increases blood pressure) and the electrolytes (increases sodium and potassium) are important in managing my POTS symptoms. The protein bars are for when my glucose drops a bit too far.

Chicken Churu: This was Hannibal's treat for today, we worked on saying hello to strangers and walking nicely on a leash.

Tech:

Corresponding Photos: 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, & 9

Samsung Galaxybook Go: This is my laptop for work and personal use, it has an LTE data chip so I can use it on the go without sucking up my Hotspot data, and it's got fantastic battery life. I bought this refurbished off of Amazon at the beginning of the year. It also charges with a USB-C cable which is super convenient since the rest of my tech with the exception of my smart watch also utilizes USB-C charging so I can just pack a fast charge block and 2 USB-C cables rather than lug around 5 different chargers.

Samsung Galaxytab S6 Lite: It was on special at costco and has an S-Pen which is great as someone who's memory for reading/typing isn't nearly as effective as my memory for things I've written down. I mostly use this for notes on patients and my studies.

Samsung Galaxy23 Ultra: It has a stylus and is of a similar design, feel, and functionality to my Note9 I just replaced last fall.

Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro: The active noise cancelling is fantastic for working in busy coffee shops on Mondays, and the Ambient sound is great for getting a Podcast in during charting or longer monitoring stints.

Samsung Galaxy Watch5: LTE enabled watch helps when I'm away from my phone during the day, it allows me to still get calls, texts, notifications, and keep track of active time and calories burned.

Charging Bundle: One 8" USB-C -> USB-C cord for charging my tablet, phone, or earbuds off of my laptop, one 4' USB-C -> USB-C cord to charge my laptop or other devices if my laptop is sufficently charged, a USB-A -> hard drive cord for my 1TB portable drive, and a USB-A Smart watch charging cord.

Data storage: 8GB flash drive that is mostly used for ultrasound capture transfers and X-Ray Diacom transfers, although occasionally it also gets used for in-house lab data transfers when the WiFi link is acting up. 1 TB portable hard drive, this contains textbook PDFs, a large music library, archived notes, and lesser used reference tables and software. It also has copies of my more important documents.

Vlogging/Content Creation Supplies: Light bar, microphone, mini tripod, comfort grip, and microphone stand. Basically just stuff to enhance recording quality for tiktoks, reels, and YouTube videos (coming soon).

Books & Stationery:

Pocket Edition Book of Common Prayer: No, I am not carrying a Bible around, I have an app for that. This is a Book of Common Prayer (1979 edition) for The Episcopal Church. While I'm laity, I do still try and take time for Morning Prayer/Matin, Noonday Prayer/Diurnum, Evening Prayer/Evensong, and End of Day Prayer/Compline. These are quiet moments for me to break away from the stressors of the day. I also utilize 2 additional devotionals for quiet time upon rising and before bed that supplement my regular journaling, however these stay on my bedside table with my primary journal.

Martha Stewart For Staples Discbound Junior Notebook, this is my planner, quick notebook, and lazy journal, I basically dump my brain out right here throughout the day.

Paper clips: From marking off the current month and week in my planner to organizing papers from drug reps, to getting a client printed copies of their records, there's lots of paperclip usage.

Correction tape: I don't often use pencils and sometimes my brain goes faster than my hand and mistakes happen.

Erasers and pencil leads: If I'm out and about I don't want to lose my ability to sketch and use pencils if they're needed

Pens: Pink, Red, and Black ink, my standard for personal notes is Pink ink, while business notes are done in black, the red is for corrections on both

Pencil: it's the same grip as my favorite pens that I can write for hours with, super beneficial for long study sessions.

S Note App: My longer rough notes and revised notes are done in SNote with a SPen/stylus and handwritten out. I also tend to keep spare nibs on hand, however I am currently out of spare nibs.

Sticky notes/flags: great for passing off notes to coworkers, flagging charts, or marking messages.

Snack Attack:

Travel Cutlery set with a fork, spoon, and knife so that I don't have to get utensils when I grab breakfast or lunch at Wawa or the local BBQ joint

Travel straw: Save the turtles while still enjoying my Starbucks

Bandana/neckerchief: No single use napkins here

Coozie: Perfect for NA Seltzers, Sodas, or a beer at the bar after work. Plus it holds all my other eating supplies.

Beauty/Hygiene:

Hand lotion: washing hands between every patient can leave my hands feeling pretty gnarly, so I always pack lotion

Perfume: Anal Glands happen, and sometimes you just... need to freshen up a bit.

Dry Shampoo: my hair always looks super greasy after taking my scrub cap off after surgeries, this buys me enough time to get through my shift

Hand sanitizer: ideal for housecall visits or visits to elder care facilities where you may not be able to properly wash your hands between patients.

Lip gloss: I'm not a huge fan of lip balms and the waxy feeling they leave on my lips vs the glide of a lipgloss or oil.

Sewing kit: Because if your shirt rips in vet med, it's probably going to be in a place you really don't want it to rip

Manicure kit: wrestling with animals can cause nail breakage and hang nails, and I'd rather not have to chew one off. It also has tweezers that come in handy for splinters or thorns picked up from animal coats.

Blotting sponge: again, I tend to start looking greasy after surgery because I sweat. And I'd rather be able to take care of it quickly and discreetly

Condoms: These don't need to be in my work bag, but they're in the tool kit along with my most basic essentials because the Toolkit is in every bag I use, including bags I use when I go out for girls night or linedancing. Also another have and not need vs need and not have item.

Hair tie, bobby pins, barette: just little extra bits and bobs as needed for hair issues, sometimes the dry shampoo isn't enough and the only solution is to throw my hair up into a slicked back ponytail instead of having it down.

Cooling wet wipe: again, surgical sweating

Other Essentials:

Wallet: Obvious Reasons

Nicotine Pouches: I've quit vaping but I haven't quite kicked the habit entirely yet

Unpictured: Glock 43. I uber and doordash after work, I also deliver controlled substances for patients in some not-so-great areas being ravaged by the opioid epidemic. I'm also a 5'5" disabled female who lives alone and has had a stalker. Sorry not sorry, it's insured, I'm licensed, and I take courses for it routinely.

If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts, feel free to DM me, comment here, comment in the tags, or reblog. Also, I'm aware this is Tumblr and that the Jesus stuff can be frightening to see, just want to make note that I do fall somewhere between a pluralist and a universalist. As long as you aren't using your religious views to oppress, marginalize, or harm people, we're good as far as I'm concerned.

[pbandjesse]

We just watched three episodes of Interview with the Vampire. And it is ridiculously good. Like when I was a kid Queen of the Damned was everything to me. And I loved the original movie. But this is a different animal. The costumes are incredible. It's sad and funny and infuriating. It's so good. Highly highly recommend. But I am now very tired. I knit basically the whole time and got 7 squares done. Felt nice to be productive.

It was a pretty productive day overall. I really appreciated getting to sleep a little bit later. I did sleep a little better last night but it did feel really hot in here at time. Its probably just from the sun beating on us for a lot of the day but the temperature is supposed to lower again tomorrow so I have hopes of it being cool in here again.

When I woke up I would lay in bed for a bit. Getting up at 845. I took a shower and made sure my tablet was charged. I would have to leave here at about 940. The museum is only 10 minutes away but I was worried about parking. Thankfully I didn't need to be in the end.

Once I got dressed I actually felt pretty good. I had a little breakfast. Well I had a glass of a milk and a cookie. That's basically a breakfast. And I laid on the couch with sweetp until it was time to go. I would end up sitting on the stairs for the last few minutes because I was anxious about leaving. But in the end it was totally fine.

I got over to Little Italy and got an excellent parking space literally three cars from the front door of the place. I was really lucky. Also very nervous because the signs were all bent so I was only mostly sure I was parking in a legal space. And thankfully I was.

I wandered the wrong way for a second but turned around and found the house. I liked that you could see where the next row house clearly has been, but is now a courtyard. I took pictures of all the signs. I particularly loved their ground map of the United States with each state being represented by the state stone, donated by that state. It was really cool to see.

Chris would come outside to the courtyard to get me. He was a really nice guy. He is the second replacement for the woman I was originally in contact with last December. The person who replaced her apparently only stayed for two months and he's the replacement of the replacement. He knows a ton about the civil war and we had lots to talk about.

I was really blessed. I not only got a private tour of the house, I got a behind the scenes look at spaces they don't currently have open to the public, he moved ropes so I could see artifacts and spaces close up, and I got to go into the archives. It really truly felt like I was living the dream today. And I had so much fun.

I got to learn how to flag, the actual star spangled banner that Mary Pickersgill made, was constructed. With 15 fussy cut stars and special seams for each of the 15 stripes. I got to see paintings of Mary and her family. I learned a lot!

And the house was really neat as well. I loved seeing the artifacts and especially her bedroom, where the flag was most likely sewn. It wasn't just her. Her daughter, her servant, her sister, and two slave girls, all helped. But she was the business woman commissioned. And because of the enslaved girls, she didn't have to do any of the other house things and was then able to just focus on the flag. Which I think gets lost in the conversation a lot about the time (very quick) she was able to finish the flag. Chris is really interested in putting that story more forward, I appreciated that.

We talked about aesthetics. What he was hoping for for the colors of the bear and the dress she would wear. Accessories she may have, tools and such. We landed on a yellow body and a blue dress, but pink and peach were also thrown around. I would take lots of reference pictures and felt really excited for the project.

Before I left we discussed cost and he seemed really cool about it. I'll get everything in writing. And then I wished him a great rest of the day and headed out. I was in an excellent mood.

I thought the excellent mood would carry me through going to run some errands. But the heat got to me and I started feeling really woozy. I would change my GPS half way to the store, and went straight home.

When I got back here I parked and went inside and was sad about how hot it was outside. But inside was a lot better. I would put the oven on to make cream cheese wontons. I put together a bowl for my pasta salad. And went to work on stuffing some of my quilt squares for my puff quilt in the studio while my lunch cooked.

And lunch was very good. I had strawberry ice tea. I tried very hard to be hydrated. It was tough.

While I ate my lunch I tried the new video game James got me. Frog detective. It wasn't a long game, only about an hour. But it was fun. A simple little puzzle where I had to give different characters objects to get other objects to solve a mystery. Very low stakes. Cute art. It was funny and it was fun. There are two more games in the series. I may play them tomorrow. It was a good time.

I would lay down for a little. But soon I went upstairs to work on my commission.

I was a little stuck at first. But once I got going I felt really inspired and good. I got the bear itself done fairly fast. The accessories always take the longest. I would trace the table and chair from her room. Cleaned that up. Worked on a draping flag. Some little sewing tools. I have more plans but I just think it's the cutest thing. She came out so sweet. I really hope they like her. I quoted him about 5 hours of drawing, and were about 2 hours in. I may make her an actual background, but we will see. I don't want it to be to busy!

Around 4 I moved downstairs. I asked James to bring me French fries home. I didn't realize they were having such a tough day today. A flat tire. Hurt their leg. Internet went down. More and more things just weighing on my poor husband. But they would still get me fries. Even if they were in hold for 7 minutes! I love them so much.

I heated up nacho cheese for the fries when they got home with them. We shared them and James told me about their day while they started making crepe batter. I was very happy to have them home.

They went upstairs to record something for their podcast. And when they were done we would have crepes and watch interview with the vampire. And it was just a really nice night. I got really woozy at times. And my stomach hurts a little. But overall I was good. It was probably the best I've felt for the longest periods. It wasn't perfect. But I was happy.

And now I am tired. I am going to shower soon. And get ready for bed. And hopefully tomorrow is good too.

We were supposed to get our washer and dryer delivered tomorrow but now we think it was canceled because it's backordered? But we are very confused because the number in the email said we still have a delivery so I will stay home to wait just in case. Celia may come over after lunch. I just hope it's not as hot and I feel okay.

I hope you all have a good day tomorrow. I hope you sleep well. Be safe everyone. Until next time. Goodnight!

[smalife1234]

This is our THIRD weekly smiles!!

What made me smile this week?

Monday, 8/12/24 - today is the dreaded doctor appointment but the one where we finally find out about my endocrinologist!! As most of you know, my endocrinologist left because of health issues or just because of retirement on the 8th, and we decided to meet at the next Dr appointment if we could find an endocrinologist in Asheboro that would fit me for a while! Sadly, we got news that I could get a new endocrinologist, but it would still be in Greensboro since none are in Asheboro! Which is disappointing! Then after that news, we checked height and weight! Sadly I lost weight and didn't gain any height :/ at my last endocrinologist appointment, which was May 8th, I was 99.12lb. Now I am 98lb so I'm back down a pound and a half! Which is a bummer. Then we needed three shots, one shot for a strain of meningitis, another for something else, and then a finger prick to test cholesterol! The finger prick didn't hurt at first until we put Gauze on my finger and a bandaid and those shots made our shoulders all sore which sucks :( but I'm happy to have it over with and I'll be having another one in September! Whoo appointments! I'm happy that the rest of the day is just doing dishes and chilling and some editing, but I'm smiling nonetheless!

Tuesday, 8/13/24 - today we are going to our grandma's house! In the morning, we woke up to sparkling water and yummy Takis and a good ol gallon of milk, wishing it was that restocked when we came back from Grandma's, but that's ok! We chilled until Grandma and Grandfather picked us up! We sat and chilled and watched Subway Surfers ads. Sadly, our arm soreness is not getting better. It's even worse than yesterday. Earlier this morning, Matthew was putting on my shirt, and it hurt, which was not fun, so thankfully, we're taking it easy! When we get to Grandma's house we will have a yummy turkey sandwich! With mayonnaise! It was very yummy, and then after that, we played uno for a while, and we had a fun time. Now we're chilling on the exercise bike for a few and did a few miles! Then, after that, we enjoyed a yummy dinner of ham, potato salad, creamed cucumbers, and macaroni and cheese! It tasted great, and then Matthew finished his last mile on the bike. After a little while, we got an ice cream sandwich, which was good, and then we went to bed at 10:00 p.m. The whole day made me smile!

Wednesday, 8/14/24 - today, we woke up around 8:00 Am and went upstairs to some yummy French toast. We ate it, and it was so yummy! Then we chilled downstairs and waited for our friend to get out of the shower so far just sleepy but enjoying the quiet morning later into the day we went outside and picked blueberries and took down the fence around the Berry it was hard work but we got to have it all rewarded with spaghetti 🍝 with some zucchini and Italian sausage! It was very yummy paired with our meal was a yummy sprit after our meal, we chilled for a while and watched Instagram reels. It wore us out, but tomorrow will be a less busy day! And currently, we're having ice cream sandwiches! Also very yummy! Now we're chilling watching ads on our tablets. Today was very tiring, but a good one made me smile!

Thursday, 8/15/24 - we woke up around 8:00 Am and didn't shower since we had taken two showers yesterday from all the hard work! We went upstairs to find yummy blueberry pancakes 🥞 sitting there and a fried egg 🍳! We sat down and got a glass of milk! And then our friend kept coughing and it made us laugh! My wife Emmie burped so disgustingly that it made us start dying in laughter! Until Grandfather came into the room, we were still dying of laughter. We hid our laughter from Grandfather. Willam was dying with his cup of milk. I was just trying to answer his remarks, lol! We still were dying after he left, lol. We then went downstairs, where I worked on weekly smiles! And then we chilled for a very long time just watching Instagram reels after hours of watching Instagram reels lol we headed upstairs around 3:00 P.m. to prepare a Mexican stew-type dish that contained green pepper onions hot pepper flakes and other seasonings we headed downstairs where we hung out and chilled until 6:00 Pm where we had the yummy stew surprisingly for having beans (which I don't like because of the texture) it tasted pretty good! It was great. Sadly, this is our last full day at Grandma's. That didn't make me smile, but the awesome day certainly made me smile!

Friday, 8/16/24 - today is the last day of Grandmas :( which sucks but we had a wonderful time! This morning we woke up to more blueberry pancakes 🥞 🫐! Yummy we talked a little about some vitamin gummies that me and our friends have to take since we're low on our vegetables! But that's ok. We headed downstairs, where I took my shower first. It's always nice to take a warm shower even though I can only feel it on my neck, my head, my top hand, and half my thumb. Fun :) now we're packing up and ready to leave around 1:00 pm! Before leaving, I was looking at old photos of me when I was first injured, which was almost 3 human years ago on September 1s,t, perfect for SCI awareness month! I saw how much strength I had originally since my SMA wasn't in effect and I didn't have ALS! It's always super cool to hear about my strength and see my strength back then it made me smile! Then after that, we had a yummy lunch, a yummy turkey sandwich with mayonnaise! It tasted great, and then we headed home, where we enjoyed new songs! That we never listened to. We said goodbye to Grandma and Grandfather! We had a lovely visit and it was amazing! But now we're home enjoying listening to music and watching many things! We're having fun. The first night at home made me smile! Later that night, I overheated, which sucked, and then during the night, something almost fell on me! Don't worry I'm fine now! It didn't make me smile, but the rest of the day did!

Saturday, 8/17/24 - today, I woke up and chilled. I woke up pretty early! Then I found out that our vitamin gummies had come in so I had to give one a try. We don't take two since we're underweight! But they weren't bad; they just had a slightly different texture than normal gummies. Overall, they were pretty good, and hopefully, I will enjoy a new flavor of gummy tomorrow! After that, I chilled until I started my chemo at 9:00 Am. During chemo, I watched reels and listened to good music! I Watched some Owl House and then got some brunch (breakfast for dinner). I had a sausage biscuit and eggs with ketchup (don't hate me..). After a while, I was done with the dishes, but two big knives almost cut my big toe. I'm thankful those knives didn't cut my big toe! And I also had esophagus surgery which sucks, but thankfully, I didn't experience any pain! Today made me smile!

Sunday, 8/18/24 - today, I woke up latish around 9:00 P.m. I watched a couple of shows and chilled the majority of the day. We finally got Luz into some jeans, and I got a cool new fancy outfit! It certainly made me smile! Although our friend Emmie overheated and needed the emergency aid bag which sucks since I had overheated ok Friday :( that's the rough part of being a Quadriplegic and then we took the second vitamin gummy! I tasted a new flavor and it might be my favorite so far! And currently, we're listening to music, and later on tonight, we're going bowling 🎳! With our friends but I'll go ahead and post this weekly smiles now so I won't forget 😅! But hitting the third weekly smiles! made me smile! Have a great day everyone!

What made you smile this week?

Img desc #1: shows Doc and Emmie at an event. Emmie, seen right of the image, is wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and grey jeans with black shoes! Emmie's arm is resting on the side of Doc's electric wheelchair. Emmie is in her manual wheelchair doc, seen on the left of the image, smiling in a pink long-sleeved shirt and beige colored pants paired with dark brown shoes. Doc's atrophied hands are resting on the joystick of her electric wheelchair.

Img desc #2: Luz, her friend, is smiling while wearing a sleeved grey jacket over her white short-sleeved shirt paired with her shirt is her grey pants. Luz is wearing a cross necklace and is in her pink manual wheelchair.

Img desc #3: doc is seen with her head tipped back off of the brown headrest of her electric wheelchair docs right arm is seen propped up holding the right side of the purple pants that's on doc, doc's left arm is stretched out Infront of her doc is wearing a black short-sleeved buttoned up shirt and overly large purple pants that weren't sized down to her size!

Img desc #4: doc is seen in a comfy seat. Doc is frowning while wearing a grey shirt and grey sweatpants. Her atrophied arms are resting on her lap near her phone. It is dark in the room.

Img desc #5: doc is seen smiling away from the camera. She is wearing a pink long-sleeved shirt paired with a dark blue bowtie. She is wearing beige colored pants and dark brown shoes.

Img desc #6: doc is seen smiling at the camera while wearing a pink long-sleeved shirt paired with a blue bowtie. She is wearing beige colored pants and dark brown shoes.

Img desc #7: Emmie is seen looking down at the camera with a funny stare. She has a fork in her mouth, and there is a bowl of pasta. In front of her, she is wearing a white Hawaiian-themed shirt and grey shorts (covered by the table).

Img desc #8: Emmie is seen in a car. She is smiling with sunglasses on. She is wearing a white Hawaiian- short-sleeved shirt and grey shorts. On her lap is a red bungy cord she uses to go to the bathroom and her grey adaptive fork (since she has no finger function).

Img desc #9: doc is seen in a red short-sleeved shirt. She is staring at a lamp while near her laptop. Her Atrophied wrists are on top of each other, and the thumb of her left hand is near a blue cup that has a red straw in the cup she is giving a blank expression.

Img desc #10: doc is seen laying in bed with a white short-sleeved shirt that has colors and words on it but is mostly covered up by Doc's arms being crossed over her chest along with her white short-sleeved shirt she is wearing black/grey shorts she has no socks or shoes on and is laying near a white lab dog and giving a bright smile towards the camera moments before doing a Catheterization or overheating!

[als145]

Hey everyone! I haven't posted here in a while, so I thought I'd share some things I did! I stayed at my grandma's for a few days and picked blue Berry's I have info of all my days here so please feel free to read!

"Monday, 8/12/24 - today is the dreaded doctor appointment but the one where we finally find out about my endocrinologist!! As most of you know, my endocrinologist left because of health issues or just because of retirement on the 8th, and we decided to meet at the next Dr appointment if we could find an endocrinologist in Asheboro that would fit me for a while! Sadly, we got news that I could get a new endocrinologist, but it would still be in Greensboro since none are in Asheboro! Which is disappointing! Then after that news, we checked height and weight! Sadly I lost weight and didn't gain any height :/ at my last endocrinologist appointment, which was May 8th, I was 99.12lb. Now I am 98lb so I'm back down a pound and a half! Which is a bummer. Then we needed three shots, one shot for a strain of meningitis, another for something else, and then a finger prick to test cholesterol! The finger prick didn't hurt at first until we put Gauze on my finger and a bandaid and those shots made our shoulders all sore which sucks :( but I'm happy to have it over with and I'll be having another one in September! Whoo appointments! I'm happy that the rest of the day is just doing dishes and chilling and some editing, but I'm smiling nonetheless!

Tuesday, 8/13/24 - today we are going to our grandma's house! In the morning, we woke up to sparkling water and yummy Takis and a good ol gallon of milk, wishing it was that restocked when we came back from Grandma's, but that's ok! We chilled until Grandma and Grandfather picked us up! We sat and chilled and watched Subway Surfers ads. Sadly, our arm soreness is not getting better. It's even worse than yesterday. Earlier this morning, Matthew was putting on my shirt, and it hurt, which was not fun, so thankfully, we're taking it easy! When we get to Grandma's house we will have a yummy turkey sandwich! With mayonnaise! It was very yummy, and then after that, we played uno for a while, and we had a fun time. Now we're chilling on the exercise bike for a few and did a few miles! Then, after that, we enjoyed a yummy dinner of ham, potato salad, creamed cucumbers, and macaroni and cheese! It tasted great, and then Matthew finished his last mile on the bike. After a little while, we got an ice cream sandwich, which was good, and then we went to bed at 10:00 p.m. The whole day made me smile!

Wednesday, 8/14/24 - today, we woke up around 8:00 Am and went upstairs to some yummy French toast. We ate it, and it was so yummy! Then we chilled downstairs and waited for our friend to get out of the shower so far just sleepy but enjoying the quiet morning later into the day we went outside and picked blueberries and took down the fence around the Berry it was hard work but we got to have it all rewarded with spaghetti 🍝 with some zucchini and Italian sausage! It was very yummy paired with our meal was a yummy sprit after our meal, we chilled for a while and watched Instagram reels. It wore us out, but tomorrow will be a less busy day! And currently, we're having ice cream sandwiches! Also very yummy! Now we're chilling watching ads on our tablets. Today was very tiring, but a good one made me smile!

Thursday, 8/15/24 - we woke up around 8:00 Am and didn't shower since we had taken two showers yesterday from all the hard work! We went upstairs to find yummy blueberry pancakes 🥞 sitting there and a fried egg 🍳! We sat down and got a glass of milk! And then our friend kept coughing and it made us laugh! My wife Emmie burped so disgustingly that it made us start dying in laughter! Until Grandfather came into the room, we were still dying of laughter. We hid our laughter from Grandfather. Willam was dying with his cup of milk. I was just trying to answer his remarks, lol! We still were dying after he left, lol. We then went downstairs, where I worked on weekly smiles! And then we chilled for a very long time just watching Instagram reels after hours of watching Instagram reels lol we headed upstairs around 3:00 P.m. to prepare a Mexican stew-type dish that contained green pepper onions hot pepper flakes and other seasonings we headed downstairs where we hung out and chilled until 6:00 Pm where we had the yummy stew surprisingly for having beans (which I don't like because of the texture) it tasted pretty good! It was great. Sadly, this is our last full day at Grandma's. That didn't make me smile, but the awesome day certainly made me smile!

Friday, 8/16/24 - today is the last day of Grandmas :( which sucks but we had a wonderful time! This morning we woke up to more blueberry pancakes 🥞 🫐! Yummy we talked a little about some vitamin gummies that me and our friends have to take since we're low on our vegetables! But that's ok. We headed downstairs, where I took my shower first. It's always nice to take a warm shower even though I can only feel it on my neck, my head, my top hand, and half my thumb. Fun :) now we're packing up and ready to leave around 1:00 pm! Before leaving, I was looking at old photos of me when I was first injured, which was almost 3 human years ago on September 1st, perfect for SCI awareness month! I saw how much strength I had originally since my SMA wasn't in effect and I didn't have ALS! It's always super cool to hear about my strength and see my strength back then it made me smile!"

[cozones-hellhole]

Headcanons you say?? 👀

OKAY SO.

I planned on drawing them out BUT I am an idiot and forgot that I can't draw when I force myself and I now have burnout, deeply apologize

With that said, here's some of my TOH headcanons(Collector and King specific)

In my hc the Collector has extremely bad attachment issues from their trauma caused by Phillip, because of this they often go most places with King, though they are making progress with this. Their current record of time without having a breakdown alone is 15 minutes.

The Collector is the type of kid to doodle drawings with sun's on the wall but instead of normal kids in the drawings it's burning witches and murder of demons since it's all that Phillip taught them.

They originally got the idea to give King his own pajamas because one day they put their hat on King to put a bandaid on then looked at King and thought it was perfect.

On that note they are boo boo buddies.

King taught the Collector what Hexas Hold em' is and now they have an army of Hexas Hold em' cards in their dresser drawers.

When the Collector is stressed out they grip on their hat, since King is around them so often he also has grown to have this habit.

King, Jean Luc, and the Collector play Club Penguin(what do you mean the servers shut down? The star child says otherwise)

If François gets damaged the Collector will spend their time fixing him since they know how much it matters to King.

They have friendship bracelets that each have one part of a mini version of the Tablet they were trapped in.

King sits on the Collector's head while watching DanTDM on their iPad.

I think that's the best way I can end off these headcanons for now, but if you want more let me know!! I have a LOT of theories and stuff about these characters I'd love to share! Along with a villain Collector au, but that's gonna take a bit because I will DEFINITELY draw stuff for that if more people want it.

Also all of these are completely platonic please don't tag as ship I will fight you in a Dennys parking lot.

[radley-writes]

currently taking 6 different tablets for 6 different issues at varying frequencies and times of day, which amounts to 15 tablets a day

how the fuck do I keep track of this??? I’ve tried phone reminders. I’ve tried diary entries and pill pots. It just seems impossible - I inevitably miss at least one pill a day... :c

any tips welcome!

[shadelostwolf]

OC-Tober Day 15: With their partner, crush, or best friend

Prompt: With their partner, crush, or best friend

I used the OC-tober list made by @icannotreadcursive

Link here

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OCs: Zid and Sylv

Zid stared at the dark expanse as he waited for Sylv. His fingers fiddled with the strap on his bag. They were staying the night on the space station as they waited for repairs on Sylv’s ship. The dog fight they had gotten into pushed the small ship to its limits, and you could tell. It looked like getting to the other side of the dead space was going to take longer.

Reaching up, he rubbed at his forehead. But that wasn’t what had him worried currently. Sylv had admitted that their funds had dropped significantly with the repair. Enough that they couldn’t afford a room for both of them to sleep in. Zid had mentioned renting a sleep pod each instead, only to find out that there was only one left. The panic that settled in Zid’s stomach must have caught Sylv’s attention as he only looked at him with a raised brow before agreeing to the sleep pod. Zid was mostly worried about Sylv’s wings, but Sylv just brushed it off, saying he had slept in smaller spaces. The other worry was about the close proximity they would be in.

Zid’s fingers had slipped down the strap of his back to play with the little animal token that hung there. A small tiger. It had taken him forever to remember the name of the animal that reminded him of Sylv. Sylv had given him a funny look when he had said he didn’t remember much before his mom died, probably because of how his memory worked now. His pale fingers played with the charm a little longer. Blue eyes looked down at the charm. It really did remind him of Sylv. He just didn’t expect Sylv to give it to him. Zid also didn’t expect the stupid feelings that followed after getting the gift.

His mind was still stuck on sharing a small sleeping space with Sylv. He let out a puff of air as he scrubbed at his short black hair. It was going to be a long night. “Zid.”

He jumped and turned to find Sylv walking up to him, his wings folded tight against his back. White silvery hair was tucked under an old ball cap, exposing pointed ears. Zid looked away when his eyes found the faded, darker markings that decorated Sylv’s rich olive brown skin alongside fading scars. He really shouldn’t stare. His feet shuffled as Sylv watched him with crimson eyes. It was odd seeing him without the sunglasses that hid his eyes while they were on the space stations.

“Y-yeah?”

“They have a cafeteria here. You hungry?”

“I can eat.”

“Okay.” Sylv adjusted the strap slung around his chest. “Let’s go.”

Zid followed along until they found the small cafeteria. He looked at the different food stands. “Different choices.”

“Here.” Zid jumped when Sylv held up the card he used to pay for food and supplies. When Zid gave him a confused look, he shrugged, “I’m not going to like the food here.”

“How…?”

When Sylv tapped his nose, Zid made an understanding face. “Smells fake.” He looked around. “I’ll be at a table waiting.”

“Okay.”

Zid watched him walk toward the cluster of tables. His fingers tapped against the card before he turned to scan the food stands. Something simple he could eat that was cheap.

Sylv looked up from the tablet he carried in his bag when Zid sat the tray of noodles soaking in broth down. He passed the card back to Sylv. “What are you looking at?”

“Jobs. We’ll need to start saving money again.”

Zid hummed as he sat down to start eating his bowl of noodles. He watched as Sylv flicked his thumb over the screen. His eyes flicked over the words on the screen.

Looking back at his bowl of food, he stirred the noodles around. He worried his thumb over the edge of the fork when Sylv sat the tablet down on the table. “Hey.”

Zid looked up to find crimson eyes staring at him. He swallowed before asking, “Yeah?”

“They should have everything done by the morning cycle.”

“Okay.” So they’ll have to spend the whole night cycle here. In the sleep pod. Together. His face felt hot. Was he getting flustered? It’s not like he hadn’t shared a bed with another person before.

Sylv tipped his head to the side, and Zid refused to make eye contact. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just overthinking.”

Sylv looked back down at the tablet before he spoke up. “I figured that was your default state.”

Zid paused in stirring his noodles to look at Sylv with wide eyes. Did he? Sylv was looking back at him with amusement clear on his face. He felt defensive as he grumbled. “I do not overthink all the time!”

“You sure about that?”

“I don’t!”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, I fixed your possessed alarm clock.”

“You did.” Sylv was calm as he added on. “Thank you.”

Zid became flustered. Most people didn't thank him for trying to fix things. “It was nothing. Just some crossed wires and stuff.”

“Saved me throwing it out the airlock in a fit of anger.”

Zid smiled as he took a bit of his food. He caught the way Sylv leaned forward to rest his chin on the palm of his hand. Crimson eyes were watching the people in the cafeteria. “You know. Out of all the bodyguards, my dad got me as a kid. I think you would have been my favorite if we ever met back then.”

“Probably the only one who could keep up with you.”

“Yeah.” Zid played with his fork before adding. “I’m glad I got to meet you. Even if it’s only for a little while, I wouldn’t change anything.”

“Next time, don’t hide in my cargo hold.”

Zid smiled as he turned back to his food. “I’ll make a note of it.”

Sylv let out a yawn, “We should hurry. Don’t want that guy to hand over the pod just because we didn’t show up at a reasonable time.”

Oh, and there were the nerves again. Zid gave a nervous laugh as he found himself shoveling his food into his mouth to keep from nervously babbling at Sylv. Hopefully, the pod was large enough for both of them. He didn’t think his poor heart could handle waking up with Sylv close enough to hug or spoon him.

[theredhairedbastard]

I wanted to detail my experience with XP-Pen and trying to buy new nibs because it has been so dumb. and i want to vent about it because it has given me a headache.

So i lost track of my replacement nibs and the nib on my current pen has been loose for about 2 months now. And earlier today i was tapping my pen to the beat of the song i was listening to, and the nib was just suddenly gone.

After spending 15 minutes on my hands and knees trying to look for it i realized that it was gone for good this time. So fuck. Alright well, i guess i'll have to order more since i can't find the replacements that came with the tablet back in 2019.

So i try to amazon prime some replacement nibs, as much as i fucking hate the concept of giving jeffery bozos any of my fucking money. that two day shipping sounds way better then having to wait a month for replacements.

Wow these do not fucking look right, despite apparently being for my pen.

I'm not shelling out 25$ for a set of replacements that likely aren't going to work for my pen. so it looks like i'm going to have to go buy some from the manufacturer directly.

That's a lot of fucking options. That's fair, i guess they wouldn't make a new type of pen for every model. So instead of scrolling down to see if they had a way of finding out what kind of pen i had. i decided to look and see if the store page for my tablet said what kind of pen i have.

And i don't see a model number. Just "Battery-free Stylus"

Alright i'll just look up what Pens they have, and see which ones theyre for. and i narrow it down to two Pens.

Now obviously, its the PA2 pen, right? its for Artist 15.6 Pro, just like your model. Just pick that one. But what the fuck is that at the end.

V2!? WHat?! Where did the V2 come from. I go and check the page,

Just Pro, no V2. I even looked it up using wordsearch.

Theres no V2 here. So which Pen is it??? Is V2 one they sold recently??

I check their store page, Nope.

Also what is this red piece on the PA2, my pen doesn't have that. I'm checking my memories trying my best to remember if my pen came with that or not. or if its a separate piece you can take off. or something. But i guess thats not important since my pen doesn't have the black piece that the P05 has either

So i'm like "I got it, support will know. I'll call them." Their call center's bot tells me that they don't do phone calls right now (or something along those lines. the bot was really hard to hear for some reason.) and to press the green help button on their contact page for help.

Where? Are they closed?? its only 12pm. Well thats not going to help, And i really don't want to email them. Not for any good reason, i just don't want to do the back and forth and end up having a wait an extra day or two waiting for the nibs.

That's when i'm looking at the nibs to see if maybe i should just take the plunge and throw 20 bucks at nibs that might not work. and contact them during that period. Thats when i notice this.

The Pro IS the V2

WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS???? WHO ADDED V2 TO THIS PRODUCT BUT ITS ONLY THERE SOMETIMES!?

So i guess i'm buying the PA2 Nibs, and i'm hoping they work. Then hopefully i can start drawing again.

What a waste of an hour.