#but the site only lets you buy one at a time so its a bit time consuming

[pinkopalina]

I might still go get drunk after lmao

[rayofdawnworld]

Too Late part 3

Here is part 3 of Too Late a fic that was inspired by this board done by the brilliant @darkficsyouneveraskedfor, please check out her page if you don't already know her and @thezombieprostitute also a brilliant writer that you look in too in case you don't already know her either.

This is a work of Dark Fiction. It WILL contain dark themes. I will post the appropriate tags as they become relevant.

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I do not consent to ANY of my works to be posted for profit. I do not consent to ANY of my works to be posted on to third-party sites. I only have ONE AO3 page and I post what I want on it.

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Please tell me your thoughts, this is my first Reader insert so I'm still a bit unsure if I'm doing a good job. I love constructive criticism.

Will tag you if you ask.

Tags based on Reblogs, Tag requests and likes: @roni-not-tyler @rosecentury @raritygold @fidrygalk @leonaax @severussnapesimp @lov4gor3 @kjah97 @silelda @thedragonlab @hopeasan

Part One, Part Two

Mr. Beckwourth was a kind soul. You came across him one early morning on your way to the university, six months into your escape, unconscious by the sidewalk. You didn’t know how long he had been there, but he did have a wicked gush on his forehead. Luckily for you and him, the milk lad was passing by on his way to deliveries when he spotted the two of you and recognised the old man instantly. Telling you to wait with him, the young man sprinted in a direction and came back with the man's neighbours, a foreign middle-aged couple. After telling them where you worked and asking them to send any news, you collected yourself and made your way to work. 

You received news about him a week later. The poor man was robbed; yes, he was fine; no, he didn't see who did it. After some visits and friendly banter, you became friends and had a standing agreement that every Saturday morning, you would go out to the docks with Mr. Beckwourth to get his supply of fish and then help him sell it in the market.

You were busily accepting an order of salmon and herring when your stomach lurched. Surely you were mistaken. 

Ever since you ran away from your previous life, you have lived in fear of a tall figure with broad shoulders finding you and dragging you back to those horrid people you called family. They would kill you if you ever went back home before you came of age, after what became of Darling Anne. 

There was no way that a man like Sherlock Holmes would come to the market to buy his food. Unless he was in one of his cases, why would it bring him here? You had no clue; you just hoped that whatever it was didn't bring him to this point.

Oh, yes, you had followed the news discreetly (no point in letting those around you know you were literate.), but diligently. You knew all about him and his service to the crown and its citizens. Best not to test fate. I’ve come too far. Your thought was desperate as you dove below the stall and rubbed some fish guts on your cheek and head. I’ll have to spend some money in one of the washhouses with warm water then. Mrs. Acker will have a fit if I show up soiled again. You rose again with a cheery smile, despite your fear about whether you may or may not have been seen.

You were hyper-aware of yourself leaving the market. Once, twice, three times you could have sworn you were being followed, but when you stopped in front of a shop or pretended to turn in the wrong street, with a piece of paper in your hand to make it believable, you had either come across a vagrant or no one at all. It took you longer than normal to get to the washhouse, but it was worth the coin and your time. You didn't afford yourself many luxuries, but good ointments and oils for your skin, courtesy of the two nurses, who were just old school mates and the young governess who took care of some lonely boys on the other side of London at night, and a weekly wash—a habit picked up by your mother and father's stay in their respective corners of the east—were a must. It was, in part, also why you decided to help Mr. Beckwourth. Not only did you like the old man, it also gave you a reason to visit the washhouses once a week. The ones with warm and hot water were cheaper than the tepid tub that Mrs. Acker managed. Having one last look around, you quickly dogged into the washhouse.

It was closer to evening when you finally made it to the house. Exsusted, not only from the week of labour you had but from walking up and down the streets of London just in case your follower from last night or that nuisance Sherlock Holmes had seen you or at least suspected it was you and tried to follow you back to your residence. 

Thanking Mrs. Acker for allowing you to take your supper in your room, you made your way up to what once had been a small attic workshop with a partial glass roof but was now a small room. You didn't mind it. The glass part of the roof had a hatch you could open in the summer, keeping the room cool. After all, who would climb to the roof to steal steel from a humble boarding house? And since the fireplace chimney ran through your room, it kept the winter chill out, despite part of the roof being made of glass. You liked the roof like this. It saved you on candles and gas for the lantern; it provided you with lots of natural light for you to read when you were in your room. And you always did love the sound of the rain. 

All in all, it was a quiet place with its share of whimsy. You had fallen in love with it the moment you saw it. Yes, it was a hassle to go down a flight of stairs every time you needed to go to the washroom, but since it was on the smaller side and was in the attic, it did come in cheaper than the other rooms, which suited you nicely. After eating, you settled down for some well-earned rest.

You didn't know that on the other side of London, in an apartment on Baker Street, a tall man with wide shoulders and dark blue eyes seethed in anger.

It had been by sheer coincidence that he found you at the market. Watson had to do some hours at the hospital, and Mary, being heavily pregnant, asked him to help her with her errands at the market. He stood silent as you helped an older man behind the fishmonger's stand. You couldn't help but notice your still-smooth hands. They had thickened with what he deduced was years of hard work, but they were still fine with smooth skin. On the subject of your skin, that too was fine, smooth, and quite clean. It didn't have any of the telltale muck common among the more impoverished folk. He didn't see how you could afford the cost of regular baths in a boarding house, so it could only be through the use of the washhouses that you could keep so clean. It still didn't explain the softness of your skin and healthy glow. Sherlock only had time to quickly turn around before you raised your eyes in his direction. He was going to take advantage of his luck. It seemed that he would move his plans forward by a whole day and a half. Making sure that Mary was alright and excusing himself, he made his way to the first beggar he found near the steps of the market. 

He was going to put his homeless network to good use. He would know where you lived by nightfall. 

Nightfall provided him with nothing. Despite no less than fifteen of his best in the Homeless Network having followed you discreetly, you still managed to give them the slip, more or less where he had followed you last night. He grabbed the skull on the fire mantle and threw it angrily at the wall. He then shot the wall for good measure. 

That sent Mr. Hudson into hysteria, threatening him about calling the Yard. No doubt Watson would have some choice words come Monday morning if previous fits of rage had taught him anything. He growled and threw more things at the wall opposite him. 

Pussycat was in for a right spanking when he finally got his hands on her.

Pussycat was in for a whole lot more when he got his hands on her. A lot more. 

Sherlock smiled in the darkness, clutching his violin bow in his hands.

[kyleraynermybeloved]

One Of A Kind -Chapter Two

Pairing: Kyle Rayner x Batsis!Reader

Summary: A surprise is discovered. Is it terrifying? Absolutely!

Warnings: Swearing, fluff, mentions of morning sickness, pregnancy, canon-level violence, my bad writing

Word Count: 2.9k

A/N: I'm very late but HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! Its FINALLY here, and guess who has covid! Sorry it took ages to arrive. If the pacing feels a bit off it's bc I wrote this a little drunk a while ago. (I did end up misplacing it and i finally found it so no proof read, we die like heroes) I hope yall enjoy this, if not then I'm sorry :/ ALSO, this is going to be the last short chapter of the series so expect the others to be a little longer from now on!

OOAK Masterlist

The overwhelming nausea woke you up, and you barely made it to the toilet before the contents of your stomach emptied out. You heaved some more, your body shaking from the force after each one. The bile in your mouth was enough to make you wince and spit into the toilet hoping to get rid of the taste.

Groaning, you set your head against the cold seat as the dizziness subsided a little. It was just the wake up call you needed before heading back to work. It seems the few days you had off were too short of time to readjust to your normal routine. You might as well get ready now that you’re up.

You were too busy leaving in a hurry to say bye to Billy once you checked the time, effectively running late. Hopefully you'd have time to check in with him later to see if he was faring the same. You had felt sick the entire time getting ready upon arriving on base, your stomach churning uncomfortably with unease. It might have been the food and drinks from last night or the winter air doing a number on you. For now, you shrugged it off to the best of your abilities.

There were plenty of other agents walking around when you arrived at the tarmac. A few faces you haven’t seen before looked towards you as you made your way to the chopper Sormael had instructed you to from this morning's message. They might’ve been the new hires you heard about coming in the other day. Deciding to put on a friendly face, you smiled and waved towards them as you continued walking.

“Thrasher! About time you made it, what happened to always being on time?” Sormael engulfed you in a hug, giving a firm little shake before breaking away.

“Sorry, sir. I wasn’t feeling all too well this morning and that seemed to cut into my arrival time. Won’t happen again, unless the husband has a say in it.”

“They do love to make things a little more interesting don’t you think? Are you feeling better, or do I need you to sit this one out? I have Zeru on standby seven klicks out from the target site.”

“Negative, sir. I’m much better now, only needed some fresh air and to see your wonderful face,” You bumped his shoulder against yours, sending him a lopsided grin. A gesture you’ve done countless times to let him know you were fine.

There was no chance in hell you would let Zeru, a colleague you’ve been competing against, take this job just because you felt a little sick. The two of you had an ongoing bet to see who could get more jobs done in the span of eight months, the loser had to buy the winner dinner for three weeks. And the eighth month was now coming to a close, you had one job on him but it was only a matter of time before he caught up.

“Alright, well, here’s everything you need to know,”  Sormael handed you a folder that was banded shut. “It’s a covert mission, a simple extraction job. Retrieve the data and get to the rendezvous point for further instructions. Like usual, you’ll have a ride there but you’ll need to find a way back to ensure no one can link you back here. Stay safe, the roads are freezing over. Do whatever you need to get back to us.”

“Always am.” Nodding your head in affirmation you turn to the awaiting helicopter. The snowfall began to pick up causing you to pull your coat closer to fight against the bitter cold. Harsh snowflakes pelted against your face once you got to the aircraft door. The aircraft shielded you from the oncoming storm once you got inside, sliding the door shut and getting situated in your seat.

“Morning, Agent Thrasher. Our eta is four hours, I would catch more sleep if I were you.” The pilot you recognized from previous assignments spoke through the headset. Giving him a half-assed response you went to look at the contents of the folder.

It was a fairly light folder, flipping through the papers and memorizing everything  given. Information on the building’s layout and number of personale working. Only select people had access to the server room which was located on the fifth floor, third room on the right. Attached to the last page was a small flash drive still wrapped in the package.

The nausea had finally settled down, giving you a break for the time being. But you had a sneaking suspicion that it would come back. If that was the case you'd have to make this quick.

You sent Kyle a brief text, letting him know of your whereabouts for the next few hours and decided against telling him of your sickness from the morning.

The sun had peaked through the clouds once you were high enough in airspace, warming you up from the chilly temperature. It was odd that you were cold for this long, your body had gotten used to adapting to the different temperatures over the years of constant traveling in different climates. Pulling your thick coat impossibly closer you thought it best to reserve your energy and get some sleep while you still had time.

*****

You had everything under control, the mission was going smoothly. Entering the building and getting into the server room had gone seamlessly. The flash drive had all the needed information and the only thing left was your escape.

The earpiece you had in your ear was patched into a secure channel only the rendezvous team had access to. It was silent for now.

Normally, you would have to reach out first once in range of any rendezvous point or an appointed team member would reach out if you’ve been dark for too long.

You had carefully tucked the flash drive into a secure pocket, adjusting to make sure it was unnoticeable. The uniform you had acquired once getting into the lobby at the beginning of the mission had been doing its job perfectly as a disguise. No one was the wiser when you had gone in and when exiting the server room, the door locked after shutting closed.

Keeping your head down you walked through the hallway successfully keeping attention off of you. Turning around the corner to the stairwell, you quickly descended down the flight of stairs only passing by two people as they left through the door you just went through.

After reaching the second level another wave of nausea washed over you making you unsteady. Not again, you could only do so much while your whole world was spinning. The stale air wasn’t helping at all either. It made everything feel more restricted and claustrophobic.

You carefully walked down the remaining steps to the floor level, supporting most of your weight on the railing and wall so as to not stumble down. The more you had turned the corners of the staircase the harder it got to keep your composure. There was only one more turn before the ground floor, deciding it would be best to take a breather once you were far enough away from the building, you pushed on. Finally leaving the stairwell and taking the closest exit towards you welcomed the fresh winter air, inhaling deep breaths as it helped ease the bile that was threatening to come up long enough to make it past the parking lot to a lone car where you had stashed your things.

You shed the uniform changing into the spare outfit you had packed in the warmth of the car. Digging through your bag you found something to ease the nausea for the time being until you could take something once you got home. For now, you just hoped it would work.

Little flecks of snow slowly drifted down, dark clouds were filling up the bright sky. You drove until you were three miles out from the rendezvous point, hidden well enough to not stick out to oncomers, after concealing the car  and wiping it down of any prints left you grabbed your bag and walked the remaining way there.

As soon as you made it inside the hidden cabin and debriefed with the team after handing over the flash drive, you threw a few more logs into the dwindling flames of the fireplace to heat the small cabin up.

Your hands felt like icicles and your legs had gone numb a mile into the journey. The layers you’d put on did very little to help maintain heat.

The team informed you before they departed that the cabin was yours for the time being, well at least until after you leave before the cleaning crew arrives.

Knowing you had enough time to shower and change into more comfortable clothing made you physically relax, letting out a content sigh.

Thinking now was a good enough time to check your phone, possibly give Billy a call. If he was fairing as badly as you were then you definitely needed to apologize for possibly getting him sick.

“Billy speaking, what’s up?” He answered on the second ring, judging from the noise in the background he must’ve been home.

“Hey kid, glad I managed to reach you. Sounds like you’re home, did you make it back safely and in one piece?” Shifting the phone to hold it with your shoulder, you were able to take out an outfit and some essentials into the bathroom.

“Oh, yeah I made it back just a little after you left. I was gonna say something but you left in a hurry and I didn’t want to keep you back any later than you had to.” That seemed about right. Both you and Kyle had told him on many occasions that he didn’t need to keep things to himself, whatever it was that he needed the both of you would pause what you were doing and give him your undivided attention.

“No worries, next time go ahead and ask me to stay back a little. Speaking of which, I wanted to ask how you’re feeling? I’m feeling a little under the weather, it might’ve been the food from last night.”

“You know how I get, I just didn’t want to bother you too much. And I feel fine, if you want we can head over and bring you some soup or something?” There was a muffled sound on the line before he spoke up again. “Hey, I got to go. Keep me updated though, I think we’ll head over later today, if not tomorrow. See you later.”

“Will do, see you later kid.”

Well that was interesting. What else could be making you sick if not the food? At least he wasn’t under the weather, that made you feel better knowing you didn’t get him sick as well.

A ding from your phone pulled you out from your thoughts. It was a message from Kyle saying he was back on Earth. You sent a reply of your location and asked if he could bring a thermometer and cold medicine before hopping into the shower.

The water pressure wasn’t great but it also wasn’t the worst you had. It came out in soft bursts, fortunately the shower head was large so it covered more than a small area. The water did wonders for your aching muscles, which had been unusually sore and stiff for the past few weeks. You knew it couldn’t have been from either of the previous assignments you were on. Or for this one as a matter of fact.

At some point you must’ve dozed off, still on your feet. Deciding it was better to get out and get some actual rest without any incoming injuries, you turned off the shower and wrapped yourself in a towel. Kyle would be on his way soon, in the meantime you could busy yourself getting ready and warming up on the couch in front of the fireplace.

By the time Kyle came around you were passed out.

“Hey sleepy, I wasn’t sure what to get so I bought whatever I could find. I also brought some soup from your favorite place, it should still be hot.” Kyle helped ease you up to sit on the couch, you must’ve laid d0wn while you were sleeping. 

“Oh, hi,” you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes with a smile. “How long have you been here?”

He put a hand to your forehead, “Long enough to know you were tossing and turning for a while. On the bright side you don’t have a temperature but better safe than sorry, take this.” He handed you a water bottle and two tylenol from one of the two bags he had, which you gladly accepted and took.

Once you finished your water Kyle traded it for a container of soup. It was still hot enough to warm you up. He plopped down next to you with his own food, digging in once he knew you could eat fully on your own.

“Thank you, I think the soup is helping me some. How are the fellas doing? Causing more chaos for the team I assume?”

“Oh you know it, nothing but the best from Guy. I also may have enabled him… just a little bit.” his smile had a hint of mischief with the knowing look he gave you.

“Of course, babe,” you nudged him with your shoulder, “ ‘Just a little bit’ my ass. You totally orchestrated whatever it was. I feel bad for the poor soul who was on the receiving end of you two maniacs.”

He threw his head back in a laugh. “You know me so well. It wasn’t too bad this time, I swear. Oh, I forgot. Before I left you said you had something you wanted to tell me?”

Ah, you had completely forgotten about that. You tried racking your brain for the right words to explain this best. After five years together it was kind of hard to just come out and say you had been lying to him all that time about yourself. Well, in a way you weren’t lying, just always avoiding mentoning your past and family.

“Uhm,” your hands clasped together in your lap as you leaned forward, “You know how I aoid talking about my past with you or brush it off when you ask me about it?”

He put his food down to give you his full attention, motioning for you to continue once he sat back, grabbing one of your hands in reassurance.

“Gosh this is hard, uhm. I want you to know that I didnt tell you because I don’t trust you, more because I was scared to tell you. I guess the best way is to rip the bandaid off. But more or less I was… Batman’s daughter, this was years ago of course. I don’t actually know if he told anyone in the league about me since I wasn’t one of the many side-kicks.”

“I think I remember Alfred having some photos of when you were young laying around the mansion when I lived there for a bit, I asked them about it but no one really said anything. Figured it was a sore subject. Im going to be honest, I’m a little hurt that you didn’t tell me sooner but I understand having moments of the past haunting you.”

“There’s more I would like to tell you,” I pulled him towards me more, “But I’d rather tell you once we get home. How about we head over once we’re done eating?”

“No problem, eat as much as you can and we'll take the leftovers with us.” Kyle grabbed his container and gestured at you to eat with a forkful halfway to his mouth.

*****

It had been two weeks later when you decided to see your agency’s doctor to check out your recent sickness. You had been expecting a stomach bug, or the flu, the last thing you expected was finding out you were ten weeks pregnant. Ten weeks. Kyle, who went with you almost and passed out from the news, was still taking his time processing everything you told him, rightfully so. The two of you were sent home with congratulations and several pictures of your growing bean. It had felt too surreal, and overwhelming.

All that happened three days ago, now you and Kyle were just entering your apartment after buying some pregnancy essentials for you when a noise from the kitchen alerted you of an intruder. You reached for your sheathed knives, usually strapped to your thighs, out of reflex before Kyle stopped you, rushing forward with the bat you normally kept by the front door.

“Fuck man, I could killed you!” Kyle’s alarmed voice steadied your racing heart after realizing it was someone he knew. You slowly made your way to the kitchen, their muffled voices getting clear the further you walked down te hallway. One being Kyle’s and the other you now recognized to be Guy Gardner, who you haven’t actually met but have seen through videos either of your boys have shown you.

“You’re brave for knocking up Batman’s long lost daughter,” Guy pointed to the ultrasound photo pinned on the fridge. “I don’t envy you one bit man. And you must be the lovely wife. Guy Gardner, great to finally meet the mysterious lady Rayner’s been hiding from me.”

“How’d you know we’re married?” Kyle looked alarmed and confused.

“Well, you do have your wedding pictures laying ‘round the place.” He pointed out to the living room where the photos had been conveniently placed on the coffee table.

With a sigh and shake of your head, you held out your hand to Guy. “Y/N Rayner, pleased to finally meet this doofus’ best friend he speaks highly of.”

Taglist:

@esposadomd

[mmmmmmmmmmmmsoup]

A creature in the woods

Warnings: yandere, blood, murder, forced relationship, etc

As he watched her go about her tasks, he just fell more in love. I mean how could he not?

You were trying to make a camp fire, and failing miserably, but it was cute how determined you were.

“UUUGH!!” You yelled as your third try just burnt out. But that didn’t make you loose hope, nope, you just got up and gathered more wood and sticks for a fourth attempt.

He laughed to himself, how lucky was he to find you? A gorgeous lady, who at first meeting was shy and quiet, but later became this silly person who was funny and loud, god he loved you.

“YES!!” You shouted. finally, you had made a fire, and it wasn’t burning out. You had grabbed some marshmallows and started roasting them over the fire.

He remembered the first time he had met you, he was looking for something to eat, and you were looking for directions. He didn’t know what it was exactly, people have came up to him before, you were just…different. Maybe it was your bouncy hair, the cute, confused look on your face, or maybe how you spoke so gently to him. He wasn’t sure. But he was sure that he wanted to see you again.

“Honey, you got marshmallow all over your face.”

“Oh, oops” you reply as you try to wipe your face with your hand…. It wasn’t working.

“Here let me get it.”

He scowled, not liking what he was seeing. Yes, your face was dirty, but he wasn’t the one cleaning your face…

It was him.

Your “boyfriend”.

It was probably a good thing you were distracted, because if you weren’t, you might’ve felt the ominous and angry feeling radiating from deep in the woods.

‘He doesn’t deserve her, how dare he lay his disgusting hands on her, I would treat her so much better’

As he watched the site in front of him continue, he had a thought.

A smile grew on his face, he would wait till night to put his idea into action.

————-

Night had fallen and you and your Bf were getting ready for bed. The tent you guys were staying in was decent, it fit you both comfortably and still had room for other belongings. You luckily didn’t have to buy it with your own money, it was your bf’s tent that he had from previous years.

You had been planning this camping trip for a while, you both needed a brake from the city and work, and what better way to get away from it all then to camp in the middle of the woods? It was funny though, because there was a portion of time where you didn’t know where to go. There was no cell service, and neither of you knew how to read a map very well. So much from trying to take a break from our phones.

But luckily, you had found a man on a walk and asked him for directions.

That was only a few days ago.

“hey I just got to go to the bathroom, can you wait for me before you turn the flashlight off?” Your bf asked.

“Of course! Don’t take too long though, I want to cuddle! its a bit cold tonight.” You say as you hold yourself close.

Your bf winks at you as he exits the tent.

You start to set up both sleeping bags and change into your pjs.

“AAAHHHHH-!!” You hear a cut off yell and thump, as if something had hit the ground.

“Baby? Are you ok???”

….

Silence.

“Babe? Do you need me to come out there? Are you ok?” You say a little louder as you make your way to the entrance of the tent, growing with worry.

“N-No! I’m ok! I just s-stubbed my toe! Yup! Just hit it real hard, silly me!” Your bf sounds frantic. You’re not quite sure if you believe him, seems like it was a bit more then a stubbed toe, but whatever it was, he sounded embarrassed over it, maybe it was better to just leave it be?

“Oh, um ok…” you sit back down, fluffing your pillow.

After about 4 minutes, your bf comes back into the tent, his hair is a bit more messy then how he left and is shaking slightly.

“Jeez are you sure you’re ok? What happened out there?” You question him.

He freezes for a second.

“Like I said, I stubbed my toe! I wasn’t looking where I was walking and hit a stump.”

‘That doesn’t explain the thumping noise.’

You raise an eyebrow “did you fall?”

Suddenly a frustrated expression overcame your bf’s face “it doesn’t matter what I did! Let’s just ignore it and get ready for bed!” He shouts

You were surprised by this, your bf wasn’t someone who would get mad so easily, he was calm and collected. That’s why you liked him, he was able to support you through tough times and lend a helping hand if needed, all without being over dramatic or extra about it.

so it was odd that this was what he was getting upset over…

“Um ok, I got your sleeping bag ready for you.”

And just like that, his facial expression changed again, into something more loving and admiring.

He came and sat down beside you, he now looked nervous. “Can we uh, can we cuddle?” He asked, as if he was a school boy asking out his crush.

‘Why is he acting so weird? He never asks, he usually just does it, I mean we’ve been dating for 2 years now, aren’t we over acting like it’s our first date?’

“Uh yeah… before we do though, could you shut off the flashlig-“

Before you could finish your sentence, the flashlight was turned off. You chuckle slightly

‘I guess he really wants to cuddle’

You lay down and turn to your side, not long after your bf spoons you and raps an arm around you. He starts pushing his nose into the back of your neck, and his arm starts to explore.

Usually this was quite normal, but there was one thing that was keeping you from shutting your eyes.

He smelled.

Not badly per se, but he definitely didn’t smell like your bf.

He smelled of iron and pine and maybe a little more musty than most.

This wasn’t your bf.

But just to be sure, “hey babe”

“Yes honey?”

“…how do you like my tent? It was on sale”, you asked.

“Mmm, it’s very nice, you chose good!”

….

‘Wrong answer.’

You didn’t know who this person was and why they looked like your bf.

But you needed to get away.

you frantically sit up, “ACTUALLY! I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM! WOULDN'T WANT TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT IN THIS NEW TENT!”

Your so called bf also sat up, he was trying to say that “you’ll be fine” and “just come back to bed sweetie”

But you were already half outside the tent with a flashlight.

You put on your shoes on as fast as you could.

You can hear your “bf” start to shuffle out of bed.

You ran.

Not in any specific direction, you just needed to hide.

The woods was probably your best bet.

As you ran, you wish you grabbed the keys to your car, but that was an after thought, it was too late to go back now.

Out of breath, you stopped running. You looked behind a tree just to make sure no one was behind you. It was clear, you could however hear your “bf” in the distance calling your name.

You turn around, back against the tree. You bring your hands to cover your eyes and slump down to the ground.

‘This is just a bad dream, this isn’t real. For the love of god, please let this be just a super realistic dream’, you think to yourself as you hold back tears.

After a few deep breaths, you drop your hands from your face and open your eyes.

….

There in front of you was your bf.

Your actual bf, not the one that was currently looking for you, no, the real one.

But rather than feeling relieved, you were filled with shock and horror.

There your bf was, laying dead on the forest floor. There was blood everywhere, his throat was slashed, and there was a giant hole in his stomach, right where all his organs would have been.

But they were all gone. He had been plucked clean of all of his organs.

‘Oh my fucking god!’ You start to cry and try to hold back your whimpers in hopes that the creature looking for doesn't hear you.

‘NO! NO! NO! This can’t be happening!’

You caress the face of the man you loved, hoping maybe, somehow he could feel it, and bring him comfort within the after life.

But who was gonna comfort you?

“DARLING!”

You snap you head towards to voice, it was him. The thing that killed your bf, and was probably gonna kill you too.

“I see you found my little secret. You’re a bad girl for just running off like that, you could have been hurt!”

You try to crawl further away from him.

“STAY AWAY FROM ME!!”, You cry.

He felt a little guilty, making you cry, making you fear him. This wasn’t what he wanted, but you just had to run off like that didn’t you?

He tsked, “Oh honey, I’m not gonna hurt you, I would never, I love you too much!”

You frown your eyebrows together. ‘Love?’

“I don’t even know you!” You shout back.

“No but you do! Remember me I’m the guy you asked directions from!”, as he said that, he morphed into a familiar looking man.

It was a grotesque site.

You eyes widen in horror, ‘I think I’m gonna be sick’

The being walked closer and crouched beside you. You tried to get up and run again, but he was quick to shove you back down. He was stronger than he looked.

“Now don’t be doing that again, or else’s I’ll be forced to do something I don’t want to do.” He said with a threatening tone.

You were speechless. What could you say to a being that could change form and overpowered you in every way?

The being put an arm under your legs and the other on your back. Before you knew it, he was caring you bridal style.

“Now, we are gonna have a nice quiet night, we are going to cuddle and we can talk about all of this in the morning, ok?” He spoke as he made his way back to the tent.

You panicked.

You started to scream and thrashing as much as you could, but nothing gave, his grip was too strong.

The being holding you huffed, “fine, if you’re gonna act like this you’ve left me no choice.”

….

At first there was nothing.

Then your ears started to ring. Your head began to thump, it was painful, it was worse than a migraine.

You held your head, hoping it would stop. Tears fell down your face as you yelled.

You vision grew blurry, and you began to pass out.

You heard one last thing before you had fully lost consciousness.

“That’s my girl.”

So How was that? Any tips?

I’ve been camping for a bit and had this idea in my head.

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

I'm a bit shy asking this so I'll stick to anon for the time being. I visited a pet store today and they had the cutest little fish roaming at the bottom of one of their tanks gulping and spitting out sand. I couldn't find the species on the side with the names and tried to do some research and I think it may be a Sand Sifting Goby? All I saw was that they require salt water and that it seemed to feed off whatever was in that sand. I'm genuinely obsessed with this little guy and took plenty of videos, but I don't want to make bad decisions and get one without proper knowledge and research. I was curious to know if you had any facts or tips to help me out? Thank you 🩷

Sounds adorable!! Sand sifting gobies are a whole group of species that come in a variety of colours, all of them looking quite sweet! No doubt the fish was captivating to look at doing its little sand sifting :D

You say you do not wish to make a bad decision and simply impulse buy one without research, which is a good mindset to start from. Fish are not a monolith of animals, they're a large and diverse group of species, each one having their own specific criteria for keeping. I don't know if you've kept fish before or not anon, but I will be giving a general explanation that lets a person who hasn't get started: fish require specific water parameters (temperature, pH, general hardness and calcium carbonate concentration, salinity, etc.), substrate (thickness at the bottom, colour, roughness), plants (density of plants, real or fake, etc.), decor (will the decor scratch or accidentally harm the fish, do they like to hide, etc.), tankmates (of their own species or of different species, or lack thereof), food (specific dietary preferences and restrictions), lighting (harsh or dimmed, amount of light a day), so many things! Freshwater and saltwater aquariums are also different and require different equipment.

The very first thing I recommend you do is go to the pet store (or contact them through social media or email) and ask them what species the goby is. This way you can do research on the specific species instead of sifting through general information about all sand sifting gobies, which may be completely different from our dear little friend at the pet store! That's actually the crux of obtaining a fish or another aquatic life companion: RESEARCH! Soooo much research. You must research your finned friend so much it's starting to feel ridiculous and your family is asking you if you're "still planning on that fish or..?". Look up care guides and fish forums, watch YouTube videos, gather up all the information you get. Some of it contradicts itself, which is why it's important to look to many many sources. Try seeing the newest ones and see what parameters and suggestions are most common. That's only the beginning, though: if you've never owned a fish before, you need to learn about all these aquarium-keeping terms and how to maintain an aquarium, what you need for an aquarium, how to cycle it, etc.. Actually, that's probably best to do before you look up care guides, now that I think about it... Or do both at the same time, that's what I did when I was planning my shrimp tank. See beginner's guides to saltwater fishkeeping, on several sites, move onto more advanced guides and learn the terminology. Learn why these parameters matter so much, or why and how to cycle your tank. Weigh the pros and cons of having plants or some plant species, research different substrates, see what tanks and lights and filters are smartest for you, learn about aquarium pests. Try to find a good middle ground for what's sensible for you and what's the best for your pet; we keep animals for our enjoyment, but we also want to make sure they're having their best time too! Make a list for all the items you need, see how much different options cost, make a budget. Research the water parameters of your city or town, or test the water yourself. See what needs to be done to it so it's suitable for your animal. I've never kept a saltwater tank so I don't know the specifics of it myself, but if you wish to be a saltwater aquarium keeper you must learn! It's a lengthy process, but I went through seven months of preparation before I got my dwarf shrimps. This included my research (I don't have an estimate for how many articles and forums I looked through but my "Shrimps" playlist I made in preparation has 52 videos of just cherry shrimp and aquarium-keeping educational videos), shopping for equipment and plants and setting everything up, and cycling my aquarium. Dear folks in my notes also informed me that saltwater tanks and setups tend to be more expensive than freshwater setups!

Maybe at some point you find that the setup and equipment are simply too expensive, or incompatible with your lifestyle or living situation, or you change your mind for another reason during the preparation process. And that's valid and okay! You took the time to learn and what you learned was just that: it wasn't meant to be. It's much better than getting an animal without preparing and only finding out afterwards that you're incompatible in some way. Learning about these things won't be for "nothing" either, as now you have the valuable knowledge of how to keep fish and an aquarium! It may prove useful later in life if you eventually do obtain an aquarium, or you can become the resident fish knower (very rewarding). You may also decide to look into freshwater gobies, as they are gobies all the same but easier to care for! Please take a look at the folks in the notes and their lovely info.

Hope this helps anon! Perhaps you were wishing for a fish facts -format post, but my measly one-to-four sentence daily fish facts do not a species expert make. Instead I want to give out a guide on how to get started on your goby-keeping journey. I hope it works out for you, I wish you good luck! :)

[meeeeeeese]

Moose's Guide to Quick and Easy Gold

So I get the vibes in the community here that a bunch of people don't really know all the tips and tricks to making easy money, so I thought I'd do a writeup on some of the small ways I make gold in Guild wars 2

Trick 1: You have wealth you don't know about

An inportant thing about Gw2 is that a lot of the wealth it gives out isn't in actual gold but in materials that you can then sell for gold. For a lot of people I think its easy to just click 'deposit all materials' and then forget about it. For me personally I have only 100 gold in my wallet but If I were to empty out my material storage I'd gain an additional 300 or so gold. The site GW2 efficiency is really helpful for telling you what high value items you might be holding on to, though It takes a bit of setting up.

Trick 2: Sell Orders!

Admittedly this is something I'm bad about, but if you can delay your gratification, but when you sell something don't fulfill someone elses buy order and instead, set up a sell order. I'll give you up to 10% more gold out of everything you sell

Ok now onto the acutal wealth generation methods

Trick 3: Send your least favorite character to the New Kaineng Jumping Puzzle

Jumping Puzzles in EoD reward jade runestones from their final chest, which go for 80 silver on the trading post.

Find the wiki page to get you through the jumping puzzle here, though there are often commanders on the New Kaineng lfg offering teleport to friend transport to the end of the puzzle. Basically you get a character to the end chest and every reset log in on that character and get your free! runestone, almost a gold for ~30 seconds of work

(as a note you only get the runestone once per day per account so don't send multiple characters there)

Trick 4: Leivas Hands out Gold, make sure to collect it

Ok not actually but he may as well. So this guy who hangs out in Arborstone, once you've gotten the Globalization mastery, will sell you 5 antique summoning stones every week for a grand total of 10 green prophet shards, 10 unusual coins, 100 imperial favours, 7000 karma and 1 gold. The summoning stones can then be sold on for ~3 gold each, netting you a profit of 14 gold for going up to an npc and pressing 'f' (or whatever your interact key is)

Trick 5: fast and profitable metas you should be doing daily

Let me introduce you to my favorite wiki page:

the event timers list

This lists out every meta event and world boss that'll be happening soon and all of them will give you at least something, and the meta's from HoT onwards awards you a hero's choice chest that'll contain at least one of these valuable materials to choose from: amalgamated gemstone (60 silver), jade runestone (80 silver), ancient ambergris (1 gold 70 silver) or an antique summoning stone (3 gold). It should be noted the last 3 only appear in the EoD meta's, for all other times choose the amalgamated gemstone.

With that aside there are 3 events in particular that you should try to get done that'll take 10 minutes or less

first up is the Legendary Ley-Line Anomaly, the naked man. The timer's page tells you which zone it'll spawn in and when it does you have to seek it out and murder it. Mounts are very recommended because this thing dies fast. Anyway when you kill it, it drops 2 things: a mystic coin (1 gold 20 silver) and some vendor trash worth 50 silver, pretty gold for 5 minutes of work

next is Dragonstorm. It happens once every 2 hours starting from the eye of the north and affords you the opportunity to beat up Ryland. If you join the public option you join a crowd of up to 50 other people and its easy enough that you could even afk if you wanted (though that would be very rude). Anyway once you murder the champions and blast the dragons you get to watch them share a passionate kiss as the die and you then get 2 gold straight up, 6 memories of aurene (worth 1.5 gold in total) as well as a chance to win the lottery and get ascended weapons or, even rarer, the very expensive eye infusions

Finally is Tequatl the Sunless, a world boss in Sparkfly Fen that awards you 1 gold straight up as well as a chance at an ascended weapon as well as a bunch of materials and unidentified gear

speaking of which all the other events give unidentified gear too and they aren't actually terrible rewards, you can get a pretty penny from selling them.

Trick 6: Daily Rewards

Firstly, just logging in every day gives you a sadly decent amount of income, mostly in laurels and mystic coins. Coins can just be sold if you're after cold, laurels can be spent on a variety of stuff. And if you're looking to turn a profit, HERE are the best ways to do so.

Also, do your daily achievements people, sometimes they're a pain but the daily completionist gives 2 gold as well as 15 achievement points, more than most other achievements in the game. Also they drive you towards content you wouldn't do otherwise (the daily achievements are the reason why I've done most of the jumping puzzles). Also If you're bad at any of the dailies on offer, usually a bunch of other people are also trying to do dailies and they're often willing to help. I see mesmers porting people through the daily JPs all the time.

Trick 7: Spirit shards can be converted to Gold???

I admit, this isn't something I do myself but if you're accumulating spirit shards like I am there are methods to turn them into gold

They're listed HERE

(again, this isn't something I've tried myself, I can't vouch for how well it works and all the methods require a starting amount of gold. But if you're desperate it might be something to consider

But I want more Gold, how do I get it?

If your looking for serious gold farming there are probably better guides than this but here are a few pointers to start raking in the money

1: As far as I understand, Drizzlewood Coast is the most profitable activity in the game, gold per hour wise. Runs take a while and you kind of have to pay attention to maximise gains but, if gold's what you want this is a good option.

2: Look for meta trains, I notice them happening a lot around reset, basically its a group that goes from meta to meta doing them in sequence. There are a few guilds that do them every day so if you see a train, chances are its on at the same time every day. I find them to be pretty chill, offer some nice variety in content and offer good rewards as well.

3: Fractals. Yeah I know this is getting into endgame content but doing T4 fractal dailies every day gives you around 20 gold straight up, a bunch of materials worth even more gold and a decent chance at ascended armor and weapons (and so many ascended trinkets, seriously at this point they get auto-salvaged if they drop)

Apart from that, pretty much everything in this game gives you some amount of rewards, even if they aren't entirely obvious, so don't stress too much, provided you aren't roleplaying in the serrated blade or whatever (Though good on you for having fun!) you're likely earning some amount of income. Even if it's only in materials

[seresinsbabe]

Some Strings Attached

Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x fem!reader

Synopsis: It was supposed to be a quick fuck. No strings attached. That was all. But six weeks later when you’re staring at two pink lines you realize there were some strings attached. And now you have no idea how to find the father because you only know his first name.

Warnings: discussions of pregnancy symptoms, pregnancy tests, mention of abortion, doctors visits, ultrasounds, general early pregnancy stuff that may trigger some

Word Count: 2.2k

THIS BLOG AND ITS FICS ARE 18+! MINORS DNI!

I do not consent to having any of my work shared on any other platform. If you see any rendition of my works on another site know that it has been posted without my permission.

Prologue | Masterlist | Next Chapter

You ran through the next few weeks on autopilot. Things at work were so busy between the big case you were helping on and trying to study for the Bar exam. And the lease on your apartment was ending in the next few months. The leasing office had been bugging you about renewing, but you just weren’t sure if you wanted to yet. It was a nice enough apartment, but you were starting to feel like you needed more space. It was only a one bedroom and San Diego was going to be your home again. It was time to put down some actual roots. Your parents would always let you move in with them until you found a house. Not to mention your car was starting to become unreliable. Just the other day it stalled in the middle of an intersection that thankfully wasn’t busy. 

With all this going on you hadn’t noticed the changes happening in your body. The sudden upswing in nausea you had barely noticed and when you did you attributed it to a pattern of forgetting to eat because you were so deep into your work. You hadn’t even noticed the tenderness in your breasts, perhaps because no one, including yourself had touched them in a way you’d notice the tenderness. You’d been feeling extra tired but you just attributed that to the amount of work you’d been doing. It wasn’t until your nausea hit the breaking point of vomiting one morning when Cassie was over that your mind even went there.

“Wha-no! I mean ma-no!” You vehemently shook your head as Cassie looked at you with wide, nervous eyes. “I’m on the pill!” You were religious in the way you took it…okay well that was a lie. If anyone was a serial pill forgetter it was you. 

“Yeah but didn’t you forget them at your parents house that weekend?” Your eyes went wide and you felt sick again at the realization. That night you hadn’t been taking your pill and you hadn’t used a condom and…he didn’t pull out. 

“Ohmygod. Oh. My. Fucking. God.” Your finger wove through your hair, gripping so hard at the root that it was a bit painful. “What am I going to do? A kid? Am I even ready to be a mom? I don’t even know his last name!” The tailspin was starting and Cassie knew she was going to have to stop the spiral before it got out of control. 

Softly she grabbed your wrists and pried your fingers out of your hair. It was like you were paralyzed with shock as your best friend pulled you into a tight hug. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I mean period and pregnancy symptoms are the same. It could just be your time of the month. Come on, I’ll go with you to get some tests.” Cassie was right. It could very well just be your period showing up. You nodded and let out a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. 

No words were spoken as she grabbed both of your purses and pulled you out the front door. There was a CVS not far from your apartment. Your body was wrought with nerves at buying a pregnancy test in your hometown, but San Diego was big enough and the parking lot was still mostly empty with it being morning that you didn’t think you would run into anyone. You were coming close to your twenty-seventh birthday anyway. Buying a pregnancy test was common for people your age, but that didn’t make it any less awkward in your mind.

Ten minutes later you stood in the family planning aisle of the pharmacy. There were so many tests you had no idea what ones to get. Digital? Not digital? Clearblue? First response? How was it that you graduated law school at the top of your class but you couldn’t pick a fucking pregnancy test?

Cassie showed back up at your side, a bottle of wine and a multitude of snacks in the basket on her arm. 

“Wine?” You raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah, for us to celebrate if it’s negative.”

“And if it’s positive?”

“Then I’ll drink the bottle for the both of us.” You let out a biting laugh and turned back to the tests. Cassie’s hand popped up in your view, plucking a pink box with a set of three tests. “I remember seeing a couple boxes of these in my sister’s bathroom when she was trying for Stella.” That was all the convincing you needed.

You guys were in the home stretch. Standing in line behind some old lady picking up a pack of depends and prune juice when the door chime went off. Your leg was bouncing and you were staring at the floor when a familiar voice spoke out.

“Well look what we have here!” If a black hole was going to open up and swallow you whole you wished it would happen sooner rather than later.

Looking up you spotted hair so bleached it was unnaturally white, especially when paired with the overly tanned skin. Libby Wilson. A ghost from high school past that you hoped would stay in the cemetery. Libby had taken the Y2K popular girl trope way too seriously. From the looks of it she still took it too seriously. Most people grew after high school, became different people and changed their looks. Not Libby. Her clothes were a little more modern, but other than that it was as if she was looking at a yearbook picture.

And as if the universe wasn’t shitting on you enough it was like her eyes were drawn to the items in your basket, specifically the box of tests. Her eyes bounced around at the other items and then to you and Cassie. Apparently the bleach hadn’t completely fried her brain and she was still able to connect the dots.

“Oh, honey, aren’t we a little too old for this? I mean we’re not in college anymore.” You didn’t have the fucking mental capacity to deal with this. Normally you would have been quick on your feet with a comeback, but your mind was failing you at the moment. 

Thankfully Cassie’s mind was still working at full capacity. 

“Your husband still seems to be stuck in high school. Or at least he was when I saw him at O'Shaughnessy's with Melanie Baker last weekend.” A smirk tugged at your lips as you watched the anger flash across Libb’s face for a quick second before she regained her composure. 

“Well. Good luck.” It was a sickly sweet call of support before the woman turned and walked towards the pharmacy counter.

You squeezed Cassie’s hand in silent thanks as the old woman finally paid for her items. Your nerves shot back up one ride home, only getting worse the close you got to your apartment. What were you going to do if you were pregnant? There was always an abortion, but did you really want to do that? Yet at the same time could you really juggle being a single mom and starting a law career? Sure, your parents, your siblings and your friends would absolutely help where they could. But you knew yourself, you knew how stubborn you were when it came to accepting help. Even if you needed it. 

And Jake. What were you going to do on that front? All you had was his first name. He could be halfway across the world right now. Even if you did find him, who was to say he would want any part of this? Still, did he deserve to know if you were pregnant? This whole thing was a mess. This was exactly why you didn’t listen to your pussy. Your brain has never steered you wrong.

Three minutes had never felt so long. Your hand was tightly clasped around Cassies as you waited, tears ready to spill no matter the results. The time on your phone went off, but you didn’t move. It was Cassie who made the move to shut the sound off. She stayed still, her eyes on you as she watched to see if you would move. When she realized you weren’t she tentatively pushed herself up from the floor. 

“So?”

“It’s positive.”

Suddenly you couldn’t breathe. Your chest felt tight and at the same time you could hear your heartbeat in your ears. You felt the tears rolling down your cheeks but your head spinning so much you weren’t sure if they were real or not. Positive. You were pregnant. A metaphorical window opened and all your plans for the future flew out of it.

Of course you knew you had options. It was your body, it was your life. Despite the heavy feministic views you had you just knew you couldn’t make the decision without at least trying to find Jake. It was only fair. You worked in the legal system, you’d witnessed mothers give up their legal rights. If that was what you so chose to do. Maybe you would come to find you wanted to step up. That you would want to be a mom to the little thing growing inside of you.

Cassie’s voice was what finally brought you out of your second spiral of the day. 

“Don’t freak out yet,” you scoffed. That was easy for her to say. She wasn’t the one pregnant. “I think you should call your doctor. Set up an appointment to get a blood test. Maybe you just happened to have three false positives?” You gave her a look that said yeah right, but you knew she was just trying to make you feel better. To find a glimmer of hope in a not so sunny situation.

The days leading up to your appointment felt like an out of body experience. Your mind was constantly running, you’d called in sick yesterday, and then again today. Which thankfully, due to your otherwise spectacular attendance, no one questioned it. 

You took a deep breath and it came out shaky. The paper sheet underneath you crinkled as you waited for Dr. Bahn to return with your results. Over the weekend, through a lot of tears with Cass you decided you were going to go through with the pregnancy. 

It wasn’t going to be easy, but you wanted it. You’d always wanted to be a mom, maybe not in this way and not this soon, but you knew you wanted it. As far as Jake was concerned, you were still going to try to find him. You were going to give him the option to be in the child’s life, but you were also going to give him an out. If he didn’t want anything to do with the kid he could waive his rights, you wouldn’t come after him for any child support. He could effectively wipe his hands clean of it all.

A knock at the door signaled the doctor’s return and you sat up straighter. Cassie, who had stuck with you like the dutiful best friend she was, tightened her grip on your hand. Dr. Bahn studied your face, trying to read your expression while hers remained neutral. 

“The blood test came back positive.” Relief you hadn’t been expecting washed over you. Happy tears pricked at your eyes. “Considering the estimated date of conception would put you at about 7 weeks we’re going to go ahead and do the initial ultrasound. I’ll give you a moment to change.” You nodded, watching as the woman exited the room again.

No sooner had the door closed was Cassie asking you how you felt. You just shrugged as you changed out of your clothes, not thinking twice about Cassie being in the room with you. It wasn’t as if she had never seen you naked before during your twenty-two year friendship.

“Relieved? Happy? Nervous? I don’t know, this is a big change.” You answered as she helped tie the robe from behind you. Another knock came and the ultrasound machine was pushed in by a medical assistant. Dr. Bahn followed in, her expression still neutral. It must have been something she’d practiced over the years. It wasn’t until you were crying, a small smile on your face as she pointed out the barely there blip on the screen. 

In the passenger seat of Cassie’s car you stared down at the ultrasound picture, your fingertips lightly brushing over it. It was a quiet moment of solitary bliss before Cassie started up with the questions again. Questions you didn’t want to think about just yet but that you knew you couldn’t really push off. Like when you were going to tell your parents, what you were going to do about your car that was in the shop again, and of course what you were going to do about Jake.

“I’m not going to tell my parents until I figure things out regarding Jake.” It wasn’t that your parents would be overly upset with you, your mom was somewhat of a free spirit and your dad pretty much did whatever she wanted of him, they would probably be happy. After the initial shock wore off, but you knew they would want to know about the father. It was already going to be embarrassing enough for you to tell them the pregnancy was the result of a one night stand, let alone that you had no clue who or where the father was.

Cassie nodded. “Alright, let’s get looking for Mr. Jake.” 

@zbeez-outlet @glenpowellsstargirl @laneyspaulding19 @isakyakiisak @clancycucumber230 @rosewritesitout @crthurston @marvellover91 @the-house-of-rose-and-ember @fighterpilothoe @eternalsams @honeymilkshakesblog @cycbaby @whatislovevavy @cherrycola27 @so-I'm-blue @cassiemitchell @bioodforbiood @mjsvinyl @getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth @buckystwilight @luvrrish @yourmomssidehoesposts @afterglowsb-tch13 @classyunknownlover @pono-pura-vida @milestomaverick @stiles-banshees @hangmanscoming @alana4610 @itsa-me-marioooo @freshavocadoooo @ravenhood2792 @finelytaylored @fredsandlokiswhore @startrekfangirl2233 @lillie-g98 @one-sweet-gubler @blackwidownat2814 @saskiameyersstuff @hopeless-romanticnamed-s @agentstarkid @lilyhw1 @nobody7102 @cosmic-psychickitty @goldenloverschild @novagreen04 @sophham @algae-tm @darkheartcherry @djs8891

[museeeuuuum]

So, as promised, I thought I would introduce the museum where I am currently employed as an assistant curator and share a bit of the history. Point Ellice House is one of nearly a dozen provincially owned heritage sites across British Columbia. We have over 12,000 objects, and it is my job to care for not only the artifacts but the historic house as well. I run a strict pest management and cleanliness regimen that helps to preserve the house and all of the neat artifacts on display (and in storage) under its roof.

Like most museums, this place has a very colonial history. Point Ellice House is among the oldest homes in Victoria and was constructed between 1861 and 1862 for Catherine Wallace (daughter of Hudson’s Bay Chief Factor, John Work) and Charles Wentworth Wallace. By 1867, the couple fell on hard times and were forced to sell the home, at which point the O’Reilly family moved in. The O’Reilly’s would live at Point Ellice House until 1975 when they sold the house (and everything in it) to the province. Three generations of the O’Reilly family lived at Point Ellice House over 108 years, and they rarely threw things away, resulting in a massive collection of Victorian, Edwardian, and mid-20th century household ephemera. It is an amazing collection, and I am so lucky to be able to work with it. In my next post I will talk a bit more about the O’Reilly family and how they were able to afford such a luxurious lifestyle (and what that meant not only for the First Nations people of BC, but the Chinese settlers who also called this city their home).

This is primarily an introductory post, but please let me know if you have any questions you would like answered!

If you enjoy these posts, I also have a YouTube channel where I chat “in person” about niche historical topics and museums. If you enjoy my content, you can buy me a coffee or join one of my membership tiers (which have some juicy perks!). Thank you for joining the adventure!

[badwithten]

camping with skz hyung line - delulu head cannons

PAIRING SKZ hyung line (Bangchan, Lee Know, Changbin & Hyunjin) x fem!reader

GENRE fluff

WORD COUNT 1.6k

this is very self indulgent but it is 11pm on my 18th birthday when i’m writing this and my mother is sleeping and we are in the middle of no where camping/staying in some cabins with no power or reception so i’m writing this on notes app bc i can’t sleep early so i am just up and i want to be delusional and go camping with skz (changbin but lets give them all a chance ig 🙄) 

in saying that its self indulgent its more of a warning that i’m writing this reader based on me! usually i don’t do this and try to keep everything as neutral as i can (ik i still only write fem!reader but still i try make it as inclusive fem as i can be!)  but for this y/n is def based on how i am camping which happens to be kinda stereotypical girl “omg im scared of bug come save me” which i know isn’t true for all fem people but it is for me and its my birthday so let me be delusional! 

with that in mind, if you still decide to read these i hope you enjoy! might expand onto the maknae line if this is something that is received well? i’ve never really written headcanons so we’ll see!

also also, i know since lee knows camping vlogs theres be a lot of camping with skz stuff but once again, idc bc i am camping now so this is what i want lmao

chan 

chan is definitely the ‘i am prepared, I’ve got you babe’ which quickly turns into ‘omg this fire isn’t staying lit and its cold af right now”

like he comes well prepared, buying and packing the best gear money can get

but no matter how fancy the tent, it is no use if you can’t put it up!

using the limited knowledge the two of you have, you manage to wrangle the tent up just before dark

although this wasted all of the time you had to do any hiking or adventuring for the day. you can’t say you’re to mad to skip to the cuddling

once again, he purchased a whole lot of fire starters and fancy lighters, but the two of you still struggled to get a stable fire going

eventually though, you’re both warm and feed by the fire

he bought his guitar and plays your favourite songs for you

you’re lucky that you’re out on such a clear night, able to watch the stars and listen to your partner sing for you

after a long day of getting lost in the endless pages instruction pamphlets, its finally time  to call it a night

chan thought it would be cute to get matching animal sleeping bags

he got a wolf and when he asked which one you were gonna get you chose a regular adult one

he was disappointed in your lack of humour but now he regrets not doing the same

the child size sleeping bag not even fighting one of his legs

“room in there for two?” how could you say no

lots of cuddles and late night talks, its the first time its truely just been the two of you for a long time

no sounds of the city, no loud neighbours and none of the kids disturbing the peace!

when you wake up though its a sweaty mess, tents get so hot in the sun and waking up to a warm body pressed against you is the last thing you want!

minho

ok this one is a bit hard to be crazy for bc we’ve seen him camping

but that doesn’t make it any less,,, writeable? 

if we saw a chart of “thinks their prepared, is not prepared vs thinks their prepared, is prepared” where do you think chan and minho would sit??

the camp site we’ve seen in his vlog and then his bubble messages is his little get away when his life gets too crazy

its just him and nature (plus some cats. that man is a legit cat magnet and i am so jealous!)

he doesn’t even want to bring any of the members or his friends there

its his place, all he has to worry about is himself

and its not even a worry! he enjoys cooking so feeding himself is a simple task,,, and thats all he’s sorta required to do there

but not long after he started dating you, he realised he wanted to experience the peace of his camping with you

if he was stressed and couldn’t get away, he would turn to you. both of his stress relievers in one place would be a dream come true! (that sounds sexual, i promise i didn’t mean it like that 😭*turns 18 and writes smut right away*) 

despite being there bc he’s currently stressed to the max, he can’t help but care for you still

he cooks the most delicious meals for you

lets you shower first and for as long as you want, not minding the cold water for himself if you use up the supply of the hot

and then when you’re out, makes sure you’re comfortable and warm in bed to ensure you don’t get sick on him

but its not all him caring for you! he knows this as well, loving the way you look out for him

yes he does all the cooking but you’re right by his side, helping to prepare any food he needs to create his dishes

he knows how long you shower for at home so he knows you’re conscious of him by only taking short showers despite how much he insists he doesn’t mind the cold

you’ll wait up for him while he showers, sometimes stealing his side of the bed to make sure its warm when he gets back

you even made sure to pack cat treats incase he attracted anymore strays

needless to say, camping with lee know is a break from your busy lives where you can look after each other

recharge together before heading back to work

changbin 

the man of the hour! why im writing this for hehe (he’s my boyfriend and you can’t change my mind on that idc)

biggest baby!

i’ve been having to boil hot water for drinks over a gas stove

and can you imagine doing that for him while he holds the light and just makes commentary the entire time

like i imagine it going how that one vlog went with his sister where she’s cooking for him and he’s standing there pretending to help but really is being more of a nuisance than anything

but you love him for it

you’re setting up the gas tanks and dealing with fire, he can’t help but just be impressed

not only can you hold your own, but you look after him!

he always is expected to be the caretaker in relationships, being a big strong guy and all, surely he wears the pants in the relationship

but both of you have one leg each in these pants, both of you struggling to walk in the pants. its like a three legged race but worse bc now there’s 4 legs, all out of sync (in the best way possible)

you will make him hot chocolates and deal with the gas stove top

you’ll rub his head in the spa while the two of you soak in the hot water

but he’ll carry you across the river when you two go exploring, not wanting you to get your shoes wet

he’ll make sure to watch out for any mosquitos in the area, swatting them away before they get to you

hes a bit like minho, both of you looking out for each other but a lot less prepared to do so in a campsite 

“yo binnie you know how to set this thing up?”

“y/n i’ve even seen one of these before today” he says as he swings around a tent pole and almost takes you out with it

but its ok bc both of you end up getting the tent up after a long while

he’s just a big baby and i want to give him a hug and make him a hot chocolate ok! it’s all i’ve been thinking about

you two wouldn’t be able to sleep so early into the night so you sneak out to go make hot chocolate’s and sit around the dying flame of the fire pit

its like your teenagers sneaking out despite having paid your bill to stay at the camp ground, knowing you can come and go out of your tent as you please

but that excitement is always something you’ve felt throughout your relationship with changbin and you can’t see it ever leaving

hyunjin

mr dramatic over here would be so distraught at the sight of any bug in the area

and news flash you’re outside in forest, there’s gonna be bugs

all jokes aside though, camping with hyunjin would be such a freeing experience!

he’d definitely use this time to unwind and really get into his painting, with no distractions he’s able to get the creative flow going and create some beautiful works of either you or the landscape around him

and if you’re a writer reading this, then you can do what i’m doing right now and take your boredom in the fact that there’s no power and write as well!

or really if you create anything (art, writing, knitting, any creative outlet!), you’d be right by him doing the same

you’d also do lots of exploring with him!

you’d set of on the hike only to stop every five minutes to look at something

if its somewhere you’ve been before or the two of you are camping somewhere you are knowledgeable about (like camping near your home town or something) then he’d ask lots of questions about the wildlife and plants around you!

but if its new for both of you then it would be so fun discovering everything together

i just imagine sitting by the river bank with him, watching as small fish and other strange water creatures swim through the rock pools

pointing to each and every little movement to make a comment about it

“yo that fish kinda looks like you though”

the comments soon lead to a water fight which ends in the two of you swimming

unlike any ocean or pool the two of you have swam in before, the current drags you down the river

you allow yourself to float for a bit before you’ll both swim back up to where you started

just chatting and relaxing against the river and all its sounds

eventually though one of you remembers all the fish/insects/creatures you saw swimming in there just moments ago and freaks out thinking about it swimming against your skin

so you retreat back to shore, having to hike back to your campsite soaking wet and cold

lots of cuddles to warm up in the tent though

both of you so exhausted you just crash

but it was such a good experience with him. like the two of you are so comfortable with each other that being in by yourselves camping in the woods is such a amazing time 

(but both can’t wait to get back home and enjoy the comfort of your own bed again)

[canmom]

Man, it is refreshing to find someone else who wasn't impressed by Frieren's demon arc. It is not like I disliked it, I do like this kind of shonen action bullshit, it is fun. But to me it seems like a step down to the earlier episodes, the show downplaying its own strong points to do common action. It is surprising to me so many people seemed to love it as much as they did, it is the lowest point of the show so far for me.

Mmm. 'Didn't dislike it, but a step down' is a good summary - it deemphasised what made the show stand out narratively, to try to be something else. If I was in the mood to watch Kimetsu no Yaiba or Jujutsu Kaisen I would! Fortunately, we seem to be getting back on track with ep 11 - I'll be writing that up once I've watched another 4-6 more episodes. I'm getting pretty near the end of the first cour, so I might watch up to there.

Bit of a weird cour length at 16 episodes, but honestly that's good - I'd love to see 'seasonal' anime be more able to break free from the pacing constraints of 'it must always be 12-13 episodes'. Sometimes that's not the best way to slice up a manga!

One thing I do appreciate about the simultaneous success of Frieren and Dungeon Meshi is that they're both fantasy anime which don't do the isekai thing and put some effort into establishing a setting which feels like people live there. They're both very overtly RPG-influenced, but neither is actual litRPG, which is very much to their benefit. Ryōko Kui's passion for lovingly constructing her fantasy setting goes without saying. I'm told the Frieren manga sketches its setting rather loosely, but the anime is doing a whole lot to flesh it out as a place people live, because they let Seiko Yoshioka go absolutely nuts.

I was chatting with kvin on the sakugablog server (senpai...!) and he mentioned one particular instance - there's a scene Eisen is tending to the graves of his family. In the manga it looks like this:

Nondescript piles of dirt with a rock on top that are just next to his house. (Also, oof, this colouring. I thought this was a fan colouring at first but no that's official.) When we cut forward 50 years, we see Eisen leaving flowers: they're in big wrapped bouquets like you'd buy at a supermarket. The little Minecraft hut hasn't changed at all.

In the anime, it looks like this:

Not only do we have the recurring use of fields of flowers as a symbol of remembrance, there's clearly been some thought put into the design of the grave markers - even if we're not told what the spherical stone might mean, it obviously means something, and you have the stone as a symbol of permanence. There's those little ritual plates for offerings. And, significantly, it's clear that Eisen has added to these graves over the intervening 50 year period: the graves in the later time are larger, with more stones. The area around the grave site has more flowers and another tree that's grown. It's clear he's been carefully tending to this site his whole life. It's that kind of attention to detail that really makes this anime shine.

It's clear this anime was a real labour of love, and I don't want to deny that there is a lot to praise in the demon arc. I didn't mention it in my post, but the scene where Frieren commands Aura to kill herself (after Aura's mind control attempt backfires) is impressively brutal - apparently episode director Nobuhide Kariya acted that scene out with an umbrella, complete with expressions. (The expressiveness of the acting does a lot to foreshadow the demons having more complex characterisation, too. I hope.) It's just quite a weak storyline off the bat, so the execution can only do so much to elevate it.

Honestly, skimming the manga a bit, I'm all the more impressed by this adaptation. Admittedly, some of it is down to a weak scanlation that doesn't read very well, but it really doesn't have the same impact at all on paper. It's not just the fight episode - throughout, the anime staff clearly gave themselves freedom to interpolate and expand in ways that end up making the manga feel like a rough draft.

...actually come to think of it, they did a similar thing with Bocchi. The manga is a 4koma (by all accounts a good one), and they fleshed it out into a more substantial story with a strong emotional arc and also all the wacky experimental animation gags you could hope for. So I guess that's kind of just how Keiichiro Saito rolls! But it's really impressive how adeptly this team is able to handle such a completely different register. Bocchi and Frieren could hardly look more different on the surface.

Anyway, I'll save any more comments for the next part of this impromptu liveblog.

[earthbound4project]

Hey guys! finally got a update again! there was a delay about a week ago since I got stuck with figuring out how to make Leo playable in this demo. while I could use a global value or flags to resolve this, I wanted to use events that make it easy to remember instead of using values or flags I decided to copy the test level and make it up into 2 separate scenes so we can switch Meryl and Leo!

Now with that issue out of the way, all that needs to be done left is to make finishing touches with the other 2 modes. There won't be any changes to the controls with item or sound tests, only the background color and additional music and few items to be added for the test! there might be new features to be included but for now this is all I can say!

Im posting here to let my followers know this is not dead and still ongoing. hopefully will be done tonight or tomorrow morning depends how Im doing!

the delay was taken up by ripping things from n64 game Conker for another side project which you will find out on my Rare Unofficial blog! This blog is for Earthbound related works only so lets stay on topic about that here lmao.

By the way, I have good news but it might not sound much. Gavin Thomas's portfolio site is back on just recent but currently no Oddity yet. He mentioned a website for Oddity couple years ago which might happen soon since he is currently active with doing sprite art for a mentioned "demo". Gav even predicted that Oddity will come around 2025 and thats next year! but its currently hard to believe at the moment as its still too early for them to announce anything after many years of broken promises, lies, and so much show off plus the team done a bit of abuse with bullying and ghosting around their community and I just happen to be one of their "victims" since I was on their Discord! :(

Oddity staff should be considered notorious, full of secrecy, toxic individuals, and poorly mismanaged! If I were the team, they should give up their game since its no longer the "Mother 4" we wanted anymore and even someone else said that the whole "rebrand" was only excuse to further delay their game and anger their followers! It makes you wonder how a fan project from 2008 could still go on this far when it was once handled by a much more friendly, loving, caring, and more social group back in the day before stupid Pastel came to ruined Azure's project that could been faithful for a Mother 3 follow up but as it already turn out, they screwed up and not anyone else besides that other group https://mother4.org/ ever accomplish a single Mother 4 attempt!

and thats why this project happen, I'll be the very first to make Mother 4 happen for real because I have all the time and THE GUTS to make my own follow up for Mother 3, a game that will never likely continue unless another company buys the EB franchise one day.

While this version of Mother 4 won't be accurate to Oddity's changed storyline, the characters and setting will remain the same because this project was meant to kick off Mother 4 from when it was last seen as a EB fan sequel before the rebrand with everything I gathered from what was already been known so far as of 2019.

The leaks made a excellent resource I wish this could been done the same with Kirby Cosmic Chaos (another fan project we also lost) but since theres nothing leaked from that other fan game we're screwed with Cosmic Chaos anyway lol.

Theres also very few leaked things found from the other Mother 4 but its not much. This project is to serve as a makeup from the mistake that both Mother 4 teams failed to provide or done yet, they hardly stay in touch with their community and let alone not sharing a single demo! Thats why Im doing this, the very early demos is to serve the followers here to give them a idea how the game will be played like. they are only proof of concepts and does not show the exact look of the game once I get down to the bigger versions of this project!

I had a few confused people in the past few weeks who mistaken my game for what it is. I want to clear up that the demos was something I would do with all my other previous projects since 2006. I always start with experimental demos and this shows! the experimental demos is to test the controls, sound, and other important features we might see in the finished game but at the moment you will have to enjoy what I can provide for now. I don't have all the resources to make a complete Mother 4 yet but at least whatever we got from the leaks can help with my own version of Mother 4 lmao.

By the way, I plan on going back to Starmen.net since Earthbound Eternal is still very inactive with fewer people online there. I used to update my project there but now my main page would be both Game Jolt and Earthbound Eternal as I have no better place where to share my games! :(

Mediafire would be a risky choice as I heard some files went missing on Mediafire plus Dropbox has limited space and only useful for personally sharing files privately with a friend or community.

Internet Archive would be another great choice but Im currently unable to share stand alones there due to virus total scanning them there and calling them malware when they are not! Im only able to share project files there so if you got your own copy of clickteam, you can make the stand alone yourself to run the game that way! However I like to stick with Game Jolt and Earthbound Eternal to release my EB games and demos!

Look forward to updates from me later tonight or tomorrow morning!

[firstagent]

Digimon Ghost Game #67 Review

When you’re piecing together what the ideal Ghost Game ending would look like, there’s quite a bit to cover. More than can fit into one episode for sure. The finale solves this in two ways. One is limiting the climactic battle to only its key spots, throwing out bombastic traditions like super-final evolutions that look amazing but cover ground that can be accomplished more efficiently. The second is to speedrun through all the explanations as fast as possible to conserve time for the good stuff. That part of it is as rushed and confusing and absolutely wild as you would expect, especially since there’s way more to everything than we could have anticipated. But when the result of these time-saving measures is a first act with so much heart and a second act featuring Hiro finally acting on the dream he’d been idealizing all series, why let a little thing like a surprise alien conspiracy ruin our fun?

After the Siriusmon vs. Regulusmon showdown last episode, it was appropriate to do a reset and make the fight what it really has been all along: a psychological conflict for control. Gammamon’s trying to preserve his world, Regulusmon is destroying it, and Hiro jumps in to lead his little brother to the light. This has been a mind game between Gammamon and GulusGammamon the entire time, and rather than escalate the physical conflict, treating it as a fight within their headspaces works. Even when Gammamon frees himself and we’re back to duking it out, it’s he and Hiro winning through all of his forms rather than some massive power. GulusGammamon is allowed to live—the show’s just pacifist like that—and Gammamon passing along Hiro’s rule-setting is a lovely payoff.

Fast forwarding through all the alien doomsday prophecies and weak closure on the dark Digimon surrounding Gulus (this is why some shows just don’t bother explaining things) and we end up with string-puller Quantumon declaring that research on human-Digimon interactions (courtesy BlackTailmon) shows that the two mingling is hopelessly toxic, fated for disaster, and the two worlds must be severed immediately. Hiro and friends do what they’ve been doing all season: they use words and reason. Rather than live in fear of a far-off disaster, they want to spend time with their Digimon and work to create a world where the two can co-exist peacefully. Of all the things repeated through the show that needed to pay off here, none was more important than Hiro pondering what such a world would look like. And as annoying as it was that he never worked towards that before, he and the others defiantly demand it here. Then they follow through by actively putting in the work, making noise, and turning this into everyone’s problem. Without saying as much, this world is what every major character had been striving for this entire time, and embracing the immense challenge of creating it is as well suited an ending as Ghost Game could have received.

Initial Grade: A-

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[shardofhope-fanfic]

A celebration of life for a very special rat.

Juice Box, May 2021 to April 5th, 2023

I knew that neither of them would be around very long. I was told time and time again that they only lived 2 years or so, 3 if you were lucky and 4 if you had an immortal on your hands. I thought I would have been ready for it, when the time came. I had seen people and pets pass before. I was wrong.

I'm not going to talk about his sudden failing weight. I'm not going to talk about him shrinking compared to his brother. I'm not going to talk about the medications and special diet I used to try and ween him back to health. I'm not going to talk about the half a dozen vet visits I took him to in two months, trying to buy him comfort and health for as long as I could. And I'm not going to talk about the gradual recovery, only for a steep decline to suddenly take him within 36 hours. That's not what this was about. This is a celebration, a show of love to the little gremlin that improved my life tremendously even while causing me problems. The best I can give him now is a digital memory that will, luck serving, even outlive me. An extension of existence that only I can provide. A digital rat ghost, and a way to show off my best boy to the world, one last time.

I had bought them on a whim. I was working nights, my mental health was at its worst, and like all fools, I decided on a bit of retail therapy. I have no idea how I landed on a rat breeder site, but it went downhill from there.

I drove for 3 hours after a 12 hour shift to pick these two goones, Juice box and Jimmothy from the breeder. Those are the names I gave them because at that point I was delirious from caffeine and excitement, so named them the best I could

I had no idea what I was getting into whatsoever. You look at that adorable, photogenic man and tell me you expected trouble! But he was. Although not as brash and indipendet as his brother, he was a escape artist through and through. He was the one that first broke out of the cage when I wasn't looking. I found him 10 min later, watching me from the trash can.

And then under the dresser

And later, on the bed after breaking into the snacks.

I would later have to modify the cage to keep him and his brother from escaping. What I learned first is that rats were smarter than you would give them credit for. They would engineer escapes if they caught me slacking, pull things through the bars of the cage, the works.

But what I learned about my pocket puppies was a diffrence of personality. Jimmothy was, and still is, a tank of a rat. Even at two years old, he fights off my younger rat Jeepers with ease. The man is nearly 500 grams but according to the vet is "Healthy as a old man could possiably be, if a bit fat." Hes always had a personality to match. A rowdy, demanding rat with an independence streak a mile long Juice box turned out to be a god-damned goofball.

Jimmothy, if given the ability, would mug you for cheese. Juice box? oh he would just share it and try to be your friend. There wasn;t a brain cell rattling around in that head that wasn't dedicated to friendship. So he was a goofy, dumb little goblin.

Unlike his brother, he would sometimes come up and just flop in your lap, or hang out on your shoulder like a fuzzy parrot. He didn't pretend he didn't want your love like his prideful brother.. He had no pride, only love in his little heart.

He of course, cuddled most with his brother, something he grudgingly went along with. he was the runt after all, and like the little brat he was he got what he wanted. But that didn;t mean he shunned human company completely.

He would let me pose him for these silly little photos as well, but I didn't just use him for my own artistic desires, I enjoyed some smuggle time as well.

not to mention he would groom me constantly. At first I thought it was just something tastey on my hands. I would not assume love out of this simple act. But after some tests, washing my hands with non sented soaps, and even showering, he still groomed me. A simple act that showed me how much he cared, in his own little air headed way. I find it funny that I have so few picures of this act, despite the fact he would do it for half a hour if allowed. I guess I was too busy enjoying the moment.

That's not to say his brother didn't love me, Juice was just more willing to show it. Jimmothy had his ways but he was much like a cat in that respect. I was also his second fav. His love for his brother was unmatched, even when he was being a bit of a bully.

They would fuck with each other constantly, steal food from each other constantly, and play wrestle. Pretty much brothers through and through. Little shitheads that they were

But although his brother hadn't aged a day, Jimmothy began to slow down. I won't torment you with that slow painful process. But what I will share with you is a small ray of sunshine. A small, warm moment, from me to you. And a comfort most other rat owners needed to hear.

As he got older and started to slow down, he grew more gentle and more attached. he would run to me during their playtime and cuddle into me. He would bury his little face into my shirt. He would even hide under my shirt. The little scamp was most likely getting away for his more energetic younger brother. But then he started getting sick.

And all he did was seek time with me. He would, even wobbly and ill as he was, clamber up to the cage when opened and try to climb up my arm. He would fight me when I went to put him back in the cage, weakly, but still. I thought at the time he was seeking comfort and quiet with me, while the other two healthy rats ran rampant. Now, I'm half convinced he did it for me too. I had thought them animals, smart, but animals none the less. I am convinced he knew his time was coming far before me, as I stubbornly fought to keep the reaper at bay for a few months more. But he sought me out for comfort, to be held, every single time, even when he could barely move he strive to climb up my shoulder or fall asleep in my arms. He felt safe. He trusted me when he must have been scared

The last week he spent alive was spent close to me. He didn't want to wander so I would keep him at my desk, so he would be close. He had put on weight that week, and had been eating pretty well and responding to antibiotics. But on his last day on this earth, he refused to eat but would bury himself in my warmth whenever he could. I remember watching shitty youtube videos while petting him the entire morning, a day I had had off for once in a long time. I was showered from the gym and in fresh clothes. I put him down in his pet bed, tucked him in, and got a little writing done. And then he was gone. It's the only comfort I had, really, that I was with him when he died. That although I wasn't holding him, he didn't feel alone, he didn't feel scared. Rats tend to go out loud, screaming and fighting. Juice box passed so quietly that I only noticed when I picked him up and he was cold. I am sure, that he knew he was loved. All your rats know that you love them. Take some comfort in that although their lives were short, you were their entire world.

[pynkhues]

Hey Sophie, I'm going to be in Melbourne soon! Do you have any tips for what to do, see, or eat?

Hey! Ah! How exciting! Melbourne's a really fun city to visit, and I feel really does have something for everyone.

Hmmm, tip wise, I think I'd say:

grab a Myki card for public transport. You can buy these at any news agent, train station or petrol station. Melbourne has a free inner-city tramzone, which is great for getting around the CBD, but you should also take advantage of Melbourne's incredibly good train network which'll open up the broader city to you. A Myki card works on all forms of public transport - buses, trams (for trams outside of the free tram zone) and trains - so they're pretty straight forward.

On that note, the PTV app is pretty useless for public transport (you're better off using Google maps tbh), but it does let you top up your Myki instantly via your phone, which makes it useful. The TramTracker app is very good for trams though, especially because you can type in the number of the tram you're on and know exactly which stops you're heading towards. The logos look like this: (trust the doggo)

Don't drive in the city - it's a layer of hell.

Have a little bit of cash on you. Most places take cards or smart watches, but you'll need gold coins for certain things too, particularly accessing certain gardens or markets.

Pack for all weather. Melbourne's known for having four seasons in a day, and having lived here for almost five years now, it's not an exaggeration. Layering is your friend, and always have an umbrella!

Hook turns are a real thing here, and whether you're driving or just crossing the road, they're worth being aware of.

Places to visit

Melbourne's famous for its street art, and while you can just wander around and observe yourself, doing a tour is particularly fun (and makes sure you see the best stuff!)

Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) is one of my favourite places to show out-of-towners (although that's probably partly just because it's me, haha). It's a museum of film, tv and games, and explores the moving image as both a form of commercial entertainment and as a form of art. Their cinema is often playing really interesting films too.

National Gallery Victoria is always worth checking out.

Chapel Street is known for it's little galleries, restaurants and indie shops, and makes for a fun day out.

Queen Vic Market and South Melbourne Market are both iconic and for good reason. They've been operational since the mid-1800s, and you can often feel that when you're in them. They can get packed though, so just a heads up.

I love love love heritage buildings and exploring history through place, so will always recommend checking out the National Trust's historic sites in Melbourne. Rippon Lea Estate is a personal fave and only about 20 minutes out of the CBD on the train. They shot parts of Miss Fisher there, and even if you don't get to tour the house (although I recommend you do!) even just exploring the gardens are beautiful.

Abbotsford Convent & Collingwood Children's Farm are right next door to each other and a pretty amazing day out.

If you fancy seeing a movie, my all time fave cinemas are The Classic and The Lido, which are owned by the same family. Either spot is worth checking out.

If you're looking to see a show or performance, you can look for the big ones at any of the big theatres, but for smaller, exciting indie stuff, I'd check out the programs at Malthouse, La Mama, Art House, Meat Market, and Footscray Community Arts Centre,

What to eat

Wellllll, this ultimately depends on your budget, haha, since Melbourne restaurants can run the gamut. Some of my favourite restaurants that are a bit more on the expensive side but great for a special occasion:

Maha's probably my favourite restaurant in Melbourne? It's modern Middle Eastern cuisine and their seafood in particular is divine. It's a set menu, and like I said, a little exy, haha.

Mabu Mabu is modern Australian First Nations (Torres Strait Islander) cuisine and is very good! They sell some of their own sauces too, and I highly recommend snagging their pineapple hot sauce! It's also very easy to get to, as it's located in Fed Square right next to the Koori Heritage Trust which often has Indigenous exhibitions on (and a great gift store if you're looking for anything to take home)

Chin Chin's - delicious South East Asian fusion cuisine. Again, a little exy.

Transformer - incredible vegetarian restaurant. They do both ala carte and a fixed menu. Highly recommend their fixed menu! They're also very good with dietary requirements, particularly if you're gluten free or if you have annoying allergies for a vegetarian restaurant like me, haha (tomato and eggplant).

Cheaper eats that are also delicious:

A little out in the South Side 'burbs, but Saigon Mamma is my favourite Vietnamese restaurant in Melbourne.

Rice Paper Scissors is good too, as is Chocolate Buddha, Green Man's Arms, and oh! Studley Park Boathouse is a fave. It's beautiful location-wise with pretty standard (but good) pub eats, and they've got a lot of water birds you can feed and boats you can hire pretty cheap ($30 for a kayak, $40 for a row boat) to row along the Yarra River. It's also really close to the Convent + Children's Farm if you fancy making a day of it.

If you're willing to travel a little further out of inner Melbourne, I'd also suggest:

Healesville Sanctuary - the bird show is i n c r e d i b l e. I took my nephews last year and the older one still talks about it, haha.

Mornington Penninsula Hot Springs - Mornington Penninsula is a great day trip from Melbourne. It's only just over an hour drive, and it's pretty stunning. Full of wineries and beachy walks. The hot springs are so relaxing though, and really centring if you need it.

Mount Macedon - home of the Hanging Rock of Picnic at Hanging Rock fame! Plus it's just a beautiful area.

Cranborne Gardens - the Royal Botanical Gardens in the city are beautiful too, but I'm particularly partial to these ones.

Hope this gets you started, and just let me know if you have any other questions!

[sitp-recs]

I tried to research a little bit about tumblr and as a layman it seems to be that Tumblr is def. NOT shutting down but the company is reducing staff and only letting the site maintain its status quo. It would definitely benefit tumblrs longevity if we were to actually be using this site fully and , if one has the means, even buy premium or merch. Maybe in a few years there will be a new website ppl will gravite to but right now there is nothing comparable 🫡

Ohh okay that’s great to know, thank you anon for the summary! Tbh I’ve been so awol lately I’m missing all the posts about this whole thing and not knowing if I should chill or worry about the blog disappearing is giving me anxiety lol I’ve been around long enough to remember the many times we thought Tumblr would shut down (and it never did 🤡) then again I didn’t have a recs blog to worry about. In any case I won’t be able to focus on fandom and Tumblr until the end of the month so hopefully things will stay the same until then. Thank you for reaching out!

[usedpidemo]

Do you think K-pop concert ticket prices are too expensive now? What do you think should be the threshold, and what can be done to give all fans, whether casual or diehard, a great experience?

I could go on an entire rant/tangent on what I think concerts as a whole should be like, but it would be the length of a regular fic, so I'll spare you every issue and thought I have about them. I've only been to one concert in my whole life, so I don't have the experience or depth that other concertgoers have, but let's just say the streaming and COVID economy fucked up everything.

Prices: I believe the terrible royalties from streaming, as well as the increased demand for live shows in general has caused these ticket prices to skyrocket. Like you can't just buy a ticket for a decent seat for less than $70 now, that shit only gives you nosebleed seats. Not to mention the deliberate collusion of scalpers by ticketing sites. Those resale tickets and third parties directly cooperate with Ticketmaster so they can punch a bit more money from consumers. And don't even get me started with Dynamic Pricing and those terrible service fees. I'm fortunate enough to live in a country where such things don't exist, but with HYBE openly expressing their intention to enable dynamic pricing and finding alternatives in places where it's not available, you can bet they'll find a way to punch up the prices too.

I understand why they charge this much. Fans will go out to see their favorite artist, regardless of how much they complain about it. FOMO. You don't know if they'll come back to your country or city, or when. Not to mention, the typical K-pop concert is a much grander production than, say, your average pop star. You got backup dancers, large stages, numerous costume changes, sometimes a live band, and of course, multiple members with dozens of staff managing a group. Concerts are the biggest revenue/income drive now for a majority of artists because of how music is distributed today, so they have to break even. Doing world tours are costly; consider the VISA and other costs on a country-to-country basis. No wonder they'd rather tour the US and Japan only to save a few thousand dollars.

It's difficult to gauge the threshold because popularity and demand is fickle, especially in K-pop. However, if there has to be a limit, I personally would stop at around $1000-sub range. There's not a damn singer or artist on planet earth, dead or alive, that's worth over a $1000 ticket. Even MJ. The economy isn't looking good, inflation keeps jumping year by year, and concerts have become basically rich people havens too.

Personally, I do think it'll eventually die out. There's a touring oversaturation right now that it dries people out and we have to pick and choose who we want to attend.

There's a few things I really want to see happen in the future, ideally:

• Rookies shouldn't be pricier than their seniors. I don't care if its NewJeans, IVE, or Le sserafim, they really shouldn't be more expensive than say, a 3-4 year old group. It's ridiculous how NMIXX and IVE were more expensive than The Boyz or ATEEZ.

• Announcing ticket sale literally right after the tour announcement. This is something I absolutely hate. Why are you selling tickets for a show six-eight months away like two weeks after announcing it? Fucking insane! It gives us little to no prep time to gather up resources and plan accordingly. Also, what if something happens that causes a concert to be canceled or delayed? It'll be much harder for us to get refunds back, which is exactly why they pull this shit off. Normalize selling tickets at most two months-a month before the show.

• Make the ticket prices worth it. This is my biggest gripe with concerts, more than the prices: that you're basically paying for the seats and nothing else. I'm not gonna lie, I likely wouldn't have gone out to my one and only concert if I wasn't guaranteed anything else besides a nice seat. Pre-pandemic, the price of the ticket I bought would have given me a group/solo pic with the group and some other cool perks like maybe signed merch. Now? Most concerts give you the show and nothing more. You have to justify paying that hefty tag beyond just a close view of your favorite artist. I remember when pop stars like Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and The Weeknd had photo-ops before the show for those VIP tivkets. COVID ruined all of that. It's such a damn shame, because at best, you're getting soundcheck, which I'm not fond of, in my opinion. It forces people to bait for interactions and not enjoy themselves during the show cuz they aren't guaranteed artist engagement (though this won't really change anything if we're being real lol). I personally would be a lot more comfortable and have a greater time if I knew I could greet them before or after the show instead of trying too hard to get their attention.