#core safari

[kaasbolletje]

[maxphotoarchive]

August 29, 2024

[realsafari]

picture me, in highschool, attempting to act normal after getting sudden intrusive thoughts of being railed within an inch of my life in math class

[fun-adventures-travels]

Best Time to Visit Mandalpatti: Misty Mornings or Sunset Views?

Are you looking for a breathtaking spot that perfectly blends adventure and serenity? Whether you're a sunrise chaser or someone who adores watching the sun sink behind rolling hills, Mandalpatti is a destination that delivers on both fronts. Nestled in the heart of Coorg, this offbeat gem has drawn nature lovers and thrill seekers alike. One of the best ways to explore this terrain? The Mandalpatti Jeep Safari—a rugged ride that’s as exciting as it sounds.

Let’s dive into the debate — should you head there for the morning mist or the golden hour?

Experience the Tranquility of Mandalpatti Coorg

If you’re planning a trip to Coorg, include Mandalpatti Coorg in your itinerary. This is not your typical tourist spot—Mandalpatti is raw, wild, and unfiltered. Located about 20 km from Madikeri, it sits at an elevation of approximately 1,600 meters, offering you an escape from the usual crowd. While Coorg is known for its coffee plantations and homestays, Mandalpatti adds a more adventurous flavor to the trip. The drive to this spot itself takes you through forest cover, meandering roads, and misty lanes. It’s a beautiful reminder of why Coorg is called the “Scotland of India.”

At the heart of it all lies the Mandalpatti View Point Coorg—a 360-degree natural theater that unfolds in front of you. The air is crisp, and the clouds often seem within arm’s reach. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to sit in silence, breathe deeply, and let nature do all the talking. The viewpoint doesn’t just offer a visual treat—it offers a feeling. A mix of awe, freedom, and peace that’s hard to come by in our daily lives. Be it photography, meditation, or just admiring the vast horizon, this spot is ideal for every soul.

Don’t Miss the Details: Know the Mandalpatti Timings

To make the most of your visit, knowing the Mandalpatti timings is crucial. The viewpoint is open from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, allowing you to catch either the dreamy sunrise or the golden sunset. If you're an early bird, mornings are magical here, blanketed in mist, and the silence of the forest makes the experience surreal. On the other hand, sunset lovers will be rewarded with fiery hues and long shadows falling across the hills. Both timings offer something unforgettable. The best tip? Plan based on your preference, but arrive at least 30 minutes early to settle in before the show begins.

What About the Mandalpatti Jeep Safari Price?

Worried about the cost? Don’t be. The Mandalpatti Jeep Safari price is surprisingly budget-friendly, especially when split among a group. Usually, a jeep can accommodate up to 5–6 people and costs around  ₹2,499, depending on the season and starting point (like from Madikeri or Abbey Falls). Considering the incredible views, the unique terrain, and the exclusivity of the location, the price is well worth every rupee. And hey, experiences like these don’t come with price tags—they come with lifelong memories!

Conclusion

Whether you're standing above a blanket of morning clouds or watching the sun dip behind the hills, Mandalpatti will steal a piece of your heart. The journey, the safari, the views—they all come together in perfect harmony. So next time you find yourself wandering around Coorg, remember to take the road less traveled—literally—and venture to this hidden paradise. Misty mornings or sunset views? That’s a choice you’ll have to make. Because when it comes to Mandalpatti, there’s no wrong time—just unforgettable moments.

Pack your bags, charge your camera, and set out on a journey you’ll always remember!

[invinciblelikeu]

he’s so chronically online i love him

[slightly-knot-insane]

Pride and Joy

Monstertober 2024 - day 1 [ Marking the territory ] by @ozzgin

[ lion hybrids x fem!reader ]

You're the only human in the pride. You stumbled upon them during the safari (when you ended up unsupervised and lost) and the females noticed you. They wanted you to be part of their family and offer you to their alpha.

The alpha male lion hybrid was more than eager to let you join, especially seeing his queens so excited about you. Before letting their king mark you (whatever that is), they wanted to get you dolled up. They immediately took you to their baths.

You noticed all the lioness hybrids having oval-shaped stains all over their bodies. At first, you thought those were some kind of tattoos. You asked the lionesses about them, but they just giggled. They surrounded you, undressed you, and pushed you into the bath. They washed your body slowly and thoroughly, making lewd but sweet comments about your body and purring from pleasure. Their hands would disappear into the soapy water and start exploring your thighs, ass, and cunt. They were gentle and skillful. Your nipples became hard above the hot water and you couldn't help but moan. They were very happy to hear you. "You will like our king, sweet regina. He is powerful but obedient. Everyone knows that queens rule the pride."

After deciding you had enough (even though you most certainly did not!), they dress you up in beautiful silk and cotton and present you to their king lion. His eyes light up like a rising sun. You notice his powerful mane and incredible scars... but no strange markings like lionesses.

"Mark our new queen, just like you mark us every sunrise," said one of the lionesses.

With a lustful lick of his tongue, the lion hybrid starts kissing your lips, neck, chest, and shoulders, slowly undressing you with his big hands, and leaving hickeys all over your body. He even kneels in front of you - the king himself! His deep, guttural purring, fingers that locate your erogenous zones as if his fingertips had eyes, and amazing kisses, melt your core. You are sure they can all smell the nectar dripping down your thighs. The king most certainly does. He bites his lower lip before diving between your folds and, like a tidal wave, pleasure washes over you.

Lionesses coax you both, enjoying the view, but they touch neither king nor you, letting you get to know each other. You grab a fistful of lion hybrid's thick mane and cum all over his tongue. Your knees buckle, but your new king quickly picks you up and kisses you again. You are covered in hickeys - the same marks that other lionesses get every morning. "What a wonderful new queen you found for our pride," he beams, and you and he are pounced on by happy lionesses.

[reunitedinterlude]

safari zone core / golf gay

[mythgendered]

heyy its pokemon day right so now's the best time to post some year old art of my pokemon ocs in their various outfits, right?

They're from a pokemon au I've not really talked about here -- with the core idea of being another sequel to the Gen 1/2 eras, seeing the changes the region would have seen by the time of, say, Gen 5. Gyms and Elite 4 members have shuffled, towns and cities have grown -- and that dude from Vermillion City finally finished building that tower with his Machoke.

Character details under the cut -v-

Leah - My main pokeoc and ancient blorbo. Loud, abrasive and confident, Leah wants to be the absolute strongest trainer. Born and raised on the Sevii Islands, Leah's life was changed when, as a young child, her town was raided by a gang of bikers. When they were poised to ruin the small town-- a young trainer in a red hat came in and beat them all, saving the day.

Ever since then, Leah swore she would be the kind of strong trainer who would go around saving people and beating up bullies. As such, she jumped at the opportunity when Professor Oak opened up his most recent round of Kanto Pokemon Survey Work. With Pokedex in hand and her beloved Bulbasaur, Sprout, in her heart, Leah set out and...immediately dove into the League Challenge, giving the barest minimum to the pokedex survey work. Leah is a direct person, toeing the line of tactless, and that translates to her training style. Brutal attacks, leaning into type advantages, and little thought given to strategy. After all, the only stat she wants to impact is HP-- and change it to zero.

Still, she is remarkably in sync with her pokemon, who she loves above all else. Her team are as good as family, and its this care that may credit her battle success despite a disdain for strategy.

She can be kind of a jerk, but all she wants to do is be a hero.

Sean - Leah's rival, and the "player character" to her "loud, annoying rival."

A Saffron City native, Sean has long admired former Gym Leader and current League Champion Sabrina. He wants to follow in her footsteps, gaining power and becoming a top trainer -- before facing his hero in the battle.

Sean is a quiet, serious boy, and is the opposite of Leah in nearly every way-- careful with his training, mindful of his team composition, and at least trying to pay attention to his Pokedex. He finds her annoying, and she finds him condescending. They're both kind of right; Sean can be quietly judgy and a bit of a snob.

Still, he cares deeply for his Pokemon, and despite his frequently shifting team composition, he tends to drift to the same handful as close companions.

He also cares deeply for his boyfriend, who is staying back home and training to be a daycare center operator. The new long distance element to their relationship has been an Adjustment, but its one they work through with lots of phone calls and gifts sent via teleporting Abra.

Alana - Alana is here too!

While Leah and Sean have their intense rivalry, and travel across Kanto and Johto earning badges, making friends and fending off a mysterious villain team -- Alana is the only one of them who's actually doing the job she signed up for.

Alana selected the third of the starters Professor Oak was offering and almost immediately got to work. She's no trainer, and has no badges to her name. She's the embodiment of spinoffs-- she's pokemon snap, she's the safari zone, she's just here to catch and catalogue 'em all.

She's a sweet girl who isn't afraid to get dirty, and in addition to using the pokedex, she has a journal on hand at all times to jot down her own research notes and sketches, delighting in the natural world around her.

She probably spent enough time in Viridian Forest for Leah and Sean both to get their third badges.

[staticair]

[safari zone core]

[danandphilupdates]

safari zone core 🐛

phil insta post

30/6/23

[swanqueenffprompter]

Regina Mills is trapped in a life she never wanted. At 33, she works tirelessly for her mother, Cora, at the family’s powerful company—a position she loathes but feels obligated to uphold. Her relationship with her mother is strained at best, and her thoughts often drift to the father she hasn't seen in 28 years. Henry Mills, her beloved father, disappeared from her life when Cora took her away after their bitter divorce. He left for South Africa, where he built a new life running a safari, and she hasn't heard from him since.

One day, Regina receives an unexpected letter from a South African lawyer. Her father has passed away, leaving her his pride and joy: the safari. The news shakes her to the core. Despite the anger and resentment she feels for being abandoned, something compels her to pack her bags and head to South Africa.

Upon arrival, she is greeted by the wild beauty of the African savannah—a stark contrast to the cold, sterile world she's used to. But as soon as she steps foot on the safari, she clashes with Emma Swan, a fiercely independent and stubborn worker who has been with the safari for years. Emma isn't thrilled about Regina's sudden appearance, and they quickly butt heads over how things should be run.

As the days pass, Regina begins to uncover secrets about her father and herself that she never imagined. Meanwhile, despite their initial animosity, the chemistry between Regina and Emma becomes undeniable. Sparks fly, and beneath the tension, an unexpected bond forms.

But with Cora trying to pull Regina back into the corporate world and Emma wrestling with her own past, they’ll need to navigate more than just the wild terrain to find a path forward—both for the safari and for themselves. Will they give in to the passion growing between them, or will their differences tear them apart before they even begin?

[notasapleasure]

tag games

tagged by @colleybri in a couple of these, so firing this off before I get eaten by my starving dogs! Thanks, colley!

In turn no-pressure tagging @stripedroseandsketchpads @boatcats @batri-jopa @weirdsociology @elwenyere and anyone else who wants!

Last song: Beyoncé – Bodyguard. Having been tipped off by colley to @winterwyrd’s brassian rec (Radical Face – Always Gold) I’m on the collaborative agonies playlist curated by me and @distressednoise today. This was one of my adds, I thought it was a good ‘hot season in Ferrix’ vibe when writing the last chapter of Counting on You: ‘They couldn't have me / And they never will / And sometimes I hold you closer / Just to know you're real / Wheels in the gravel / Davis in my bones / Sometimes I take the day off / Just to turn you on’.

Favorite colour: shades of green, mossy, forest, grass, etc.

Last book: Look I could have finished Olive Murray Chapman’s ‘Across Lapland’ any day in ten minutes I just…haven’t (writing agonies have taken priority). Last one I finished was The Snow Leopard by Matthiessen, but I need a break from travelogues and have some James Baldwin essays up next.

Last movie: Still John Wick tbh? Though I did also watch about two thirds of The Heat. The former was great, the latter less fun than it should have been.

Last tv show: Poker Face rewatch (so goooood, when is season 2 already??). Also watching the Great British Pottery Throw Down, No Taste Like Home, UndeadUnluck, Leverage, and planning to start Moon Knight.

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: I’ve much more of a savoury tooth than a sweet tooth. Spice is good.

Last thing I searched online: bibliographic info for work. People always forget to include the series titles of books they cite.

Current Obsession: ahhh….the rock garden I’ve been building. Also the current WIPs.

Looking forward to: new season of Gardener’s World! Spring! Andor S2! The last two weeks of the Six Nations!

WIP last line game:

From at standstill and overwhelm (title from one of the tracks on Patrick Wolf’s Night Safari EP, which is the writing soundtrack), a horrible little gremlin of a mission fic daily growing out of hand.

It’s brassian still though, of course. Here is a misleadingly wholesome extract from the most recent chapter I’ve been working on. Yes, the fact that Brasso doesn't feature by name in it is a clue if you want it to be:

There's a deep-space encrypted comm aerial buried in here, and after a few minutes waiting, listening to the air recycler and three sets of lungs breathing shallow and deep, Cassian reaches past Baze to toggle it on and call Kay.

"Cassian! You should know that General Draven is monitoring encrypted channels from the Imperial core and is concerned things have gone off mission."

Cassian has to smile - it's always a relief to hear that arch voice. "Kay, don't tell him anything. I'll make it work in the report. I'm bringing home some old...some friends. But we're going to need to lie low before we can get out of here."

The line is silent for a minute, and Cassian can picture Kay's photoreceptors pulsing as he considers this. "You have instructed me on 4737 separate occasions that you don't have 'friends'. The most common reason you give is that they are a liability."

Baze arches a brow. Cassian arches one back.

"Well, they are, but I'm bringing some home now anyway."

"I will schedule a head trauma assessment for your return," Kay says snippily.

"Yeah. You do that."

When the crackly connections goes dead, Baze grunts and leans his head back against the wall of the little room. "So how long do we have to stay here? Only I don't want to be facing him when he wakes up."

"They're scanning from the speeders, they'll have gone past now. I want to get us off this station and hole up somewhere quiet until things cool off."

[fun-adventures-travels]

Dust, Thrill & Views: Mandalpatti Jeep Ride Diaries

Buckle Up for the Mandalpatti Jeep Safari Adventure

If you think you’ve seen all that nature can offer, Mandalpatti’s here to laugh in your face — kindly, of course. The Mandalpatti Jeep Safari isn’t your basic "drive-through-forest-and-click-pictures" gig. It’s a bumpy, dust-kissed dance through Coorg’s wild heart, smashing through emerald tunnels and popping out at views that look like they’ve been Photoshopped by the gods.

The ride covers a 46 km two-way journey, with 6 km of delightful off-roading that’ll shake your bones (in the best way). And if you think you're tough enough for even more magic, add Kote Abbe Falls to the mix — because why not go full Indiana Jones?

Best Deals on the Mandalpatti Jeep Safari Price

Let’s talk about money because, let’s be honest, every adventure has a price tag. The Mandalpatti Jeep Safari price isn't a soul-crusher, though — it’s a steal for the pure serotonin boost you're getting. Starting at ₹2499 per Jeep (split among six fellow thrill-seekers), you get three hours of rugged beauty.

Want the waterfalls too? Splash out ₹3999 and get four hours of safari magic with Kote Abbe Falls thrown into the mix. Trust me, that's cheaper than therapy — and ten times more scenic.

Plan Your Thrill: Know the Mandalpatti Jeep Timings

You can’t just roll into Mandalpatti whenever your coffee kicks in — timing, my friend, is everything. The Mandalpatti jeep timings start with the brave-hearted sunrise squads at 5:00 AM. Imagine the sun punching through the morning mist like a golden boxer, just for your viewing pleasure.

Miss the sunrise? No worries. The afternoon trips run between 9 AM to 3 PM, perfect for those of us who like our adventures after a hearty breakfast and two snooze-button hits.

Choose Your Path: Jeep Ride or Mandalpatti Trekking Coorg?

Not everyone is a "sit back and enjoy" type. Some are the "let's climb it even if it kills us" breed. Enter Mandalpatti trekking Coorg — the perfect option if you want to earn that view the sweaty, lung-burning way.

The trek through Pushpagiri’s lush forest reserve will test your calves and your willpower, but the hilltop payoff? Beyond worth it. Whether you arrive dusty by Jeep or dripping sweat from trekking, the views don’t discriminate. They’re jaw-dropping either way.

At Last: Soaking In The Mandalpatti Magic at the Mandalpatti View Point Coorg

There are views, and then there’s Mandalpatti view point Coorg — a place that doesn’t just "look nice" but socks you right in the emotions. You stand there, hair whipping, heart thudding, staring at a sea of green mountains swimming through the mist. It’s the kind of view that makes you rethink life choices and maybe even tear up a little (no shame, happens to the best of us).

The vibe? A cocktail of wild, windy freedom with just a splash of "I should write poetry about this."

Leave With Dust On Your Shoes and Stars In Your Eyes

Here’s the truth straight from the jeep trail: the Mandalpatti Jeep Safari isn't about luxury. It's about feeling alive. It's about gripping the edge of your seat while the forest explodes around you in green chaos. It’s about that raw, unfiltered gasp when the horizon unfurls itself like an ancient scroll.

So go — let the dust cling to you like a medal. Let the thrill zip through your veins. Let the views burn themselves into your memory, long after your sneakers have stopped crunching on Coorg's red earth. Mandalpatti is calling, and it doesn’t leave voicemails.

[pinof]

safari zone core 🐛

[hannahmanderr]

For @scarletsaphire's ask in response to this ask game. Prompt was #19 for Gray Ghost.

important blob ghost context here lol

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Danny, I swear there’d better be a good answer to why you brought me to the freaking dumpster behind the Nasty Burger at two in the morning.”

He turned back to look at her with a sheepish grin. “Aw, come on Val, I know how to show a girl a good time.” 

That earned him a thwack on the back of his head.

“Ow! Okay, okay, lesson learned,” he grumbled, rubbing where she’d hit him. 

“I’m still serious about having a good answer,” she said. She hugged herself tightly. “And thanks for warning me to bring a jacket by the way. Why can’t I put my suit on again?”

“You’ll scare them off.”

Valerie stopped in her tracks. “Them? Oh my God, do not tell me you brought me here to a dumpster to see ghosts!”

“Hey, you already established the dumpster thing!” he said, still wearing his goofy grin. “And I won’t tell you I brought you here to see ghosts, ‘cause I brought you here to meet ghosts.”

“... You are about three seconds away from getting shoved into your own thermos, ghost boy. Human or not.”

He finally dropped the grin. “Right. Sorry. Serious mode. But, uh, I am being serious about meeting a few ghosts.”

She frowned. “I thought we talked about this.”

“I know, I know. And I promise I’m not trying to change your mind or anything, I just… wanted to show you.”

He watched her carefully, trying to read her poker face. He hoped she believed him about not wanting to try and influence her. She’d made him promise, after all, and he didn’t break his promises.

Especially to someone like her.

Even if she was so close, yet still so far.

When she didn’t respond, he ventured further. “Think of it like evidence or something. Or - or when you go into a safari and you just watch animals do their thing in their natural habitat.”

“Isn’t their natural habitat the Ghost Zone?”

“Eh, sort of? There’s enough ambient ectoplasm around Amity for them to sustain themselves, I think. Plus I kinda get the feeling I’m like a magnet for the stuff, and since I’m always here…”

He tried not to shy away under her piercing gaze, as pretty as it was.

No. Bad Fenton. Friend.

Finally, she sighed heavily. “Alright. Show me what you got. But only because you already dragged me out here in the middle of the night, okay? This isn’t gonna be a regular thing.”

“Yes!” he said with a fist pump. He realized how stupid he probably looked, but he was too excited to care.

He turned toward the dumpster, trying to ignore the odor drifting out from the one opened side. Taking a deep breath, he put his fingers to his mouth, and with a little bit of energy from his core fused into his breath, he whistled soundlessly.

Soundlessly to humans, anyway.

Valerie tilted her head. “... What the heck are you doing?”

He shot her a grin. “Consider it the dinner bell.”

The first one faded into visibility right in front of Valerie’s face. She squeaked in very uncharacteristic surprise, and Danny didn’t miss how her hand twitched up to her bag, where he knew she stowed a spare blaster or two. To his relief, she didn’t move her hand any further and instead let the ghost drift towards him with a wary glare.

The little blob ghost was round, bright green and about the size of a grapefruit. Actually a pretty decent size for a blob ghost like this. Its core glimmered brightly from within its fluid body.

It floated towards him with curiosity brimming in its red, beady eyes. “Brrrp?” it ‘said’ as it bumped against Danny’s cheek. The sound could only be described as the perfect midpoint between a chirp and a purr.

He smiled widely and used one finger to scratch the underside of the blob. “Heya Jeff,” he said, making sure to pour as much affection as he could into his voice. In return, Jeff chirped again and nuzzled against his neck contentedly.

Valerie seemed to be frozen in place, not sure whether to be upset, disturbed, or endeared. Her eyes flicked back and forth between the blob sitting on Danny’s shoulder and Danny himself. “... You named a blob ghost Jeff?”

“Not me. Uh, Kat I think her name is. The cashier? In the year above us?”

Her eyebrows lifted at the name. “That’s who she’s been going on and on about? I thought she was talking about a puppy or something!”

“Mmm, nope. Probably this Jeff. I’m assuming anyway.” He scratched Jeff again. “Where’s everyone else?” he murmured, this time in ghost speak.

He didn’t really like having to speak ghost in front of Valerie, especially as she was still getting used to all his weirdness, but the blob ghosts didn’t really understand much beyond the common ghost language. Through some trial and error, he and Tucker and Sam had found that they seemed to understand human languages if there was enough emotion behind whatever was being said, but it had to be a pretty strong emotion, and even then it was hit or miss. They still always responded to Danny best, anyway.

Blob ghost communication aside, he couldn’t help but wince just slightly when he saw her troubled reaction to the ghost speak. Her face exploded with surprise before melting back into a guarded caution.

Jeff chirped a response before floating off his shoulder and zooming inside the dumpster. “Where’s he going?” Valerie asked quietly.

“Getting the rest of his family.”

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Jeff emerged from the open dumpster lid, followed closely by a dozen or so more blob ghosts, each of varying size and transparency, but all sharing the same green color. They all swarmed Danny, rubbing up against his face and shoulders and arms and brrrping happily.

He laughed at the ticklish sensation. “Alright, alright, cut it out guys!”

They in fact did not cut it out. If anything, they just cuddled up to him more. Excitement radiated from their tiny little auras.

Even through the bombardment of affection, he managed to catch a glimpse of Valerie’s face soften into slight amusement, even trying to stifle a laugh herself.

That alone made his heart and core soar far higher than any attention the blob ghosts could give him.

“Red, I’d like to formally introduce you to the Nasty clan,” he said proudly, attempting (and somehow failing) to gesture to the ghosts around him.

She pulled a bit of a face, but Danny didn’t sense any increase in hostility or wariness. “That’s not very nice.”

“I mean that’s what everyone calls them.”

“... Everyone?” Her eyes followed a particularly excited blob, only about the size of a grape, zipping around Danny’s head. 

“Yeah. A bunch of employees kind of took up naming them all, since they’re always hanging around here.” He glanced at her. “Honestly, I thought you would’ve known about them by now. Especially with your trackers and all.”

She scowled. “Daddy made me promise to keep them off during shifts after I got written up for ditching to help stop that one ghost who was tearing up the boardwalk.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that guy! You should’ve seen me trying to get off the Tilt-a-Whirl after they emergency stopped it so I could find a place to change. I just kept crashing into things.”

“Isn’t that what you normally do anyway?” she teased, a genuine laugh bursting from her lips. It sent Danny blushing deep red for more reasons than one.

Sticking out his lip in a pretend pout, he plopped down right onto the cement and folded his legs underneath him. “You hear that?” he asked the blobs, not caring that they probably didn’t understand a word of what either of them were saying. “She’s being mean to me.”

“Hey, you asked for it, bringing me out here in the middle of the night.” She knelt in front of him, nearly touching her knees to his. His heart skipped a beat as he realized how close she was.

No! We’re not doing this! Think of something else!

“They have a real name too,” he blurted in a desperate attempt to immediately derail this train, abort, abort -

“A real name?”

He cleared his throat as Jeff settled into his lap. His hands instinctively wrapped around him gently and began petting. “Well, like, an actual name. A ghost name.”

She watched as Jeff began to purr contentedly and flatten himself against Danny’s legs. “Will you tell me?” she asked quietly, refusing to meet his eyes.

Crap. Of course he didn’t think this through. Of course. “I - well, um, the thing is, there’s - there’s not exactly an English equivalent…”

“... Tell me anyway.”

His eyes jerked up to see her staring intently, a complete contrast to how she’d just been moments ago. The light of the blob ghosts’ glows cast a glimmer in her gorgeous green eyes, making him swallow thickly.

“Vakrot,” he whispered in ghost speech. “I… it kind of means ‘potato’? But not exactly? Ancients, I don’t know how to explain this…”

“Potato,” she repeated with a smile of disbelief. She shook her head. “Figures. They’re kind of shaped like potatoes anyway.”

He tried to calm his heart as another blob - this one nicknamed Pepsi, for some reason - nestled into his hair. They were way too tuned into emotions, and agitating them wasn’t going to do any favors. “I guess I never thought of that. I always assumed it’s because they like french fries so much? But now that I think about it, it’s not like there’s exactly a ghost equivalent of french fries - well, I did have these things one time at this little stand out past the Carnivorous Canyon, and they tasted a lot like fries, but they were in little balls, and Tucker -”

He blushed again when she held up a hand to stop his babbling. “Is that why you had me bring these?” she asked, pulling a paper bag out of her own.

He grinned. “Yeah. I thought you might like to try and feed them.”

“Feed them?” She raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t that kind of go against the idea of it just being observation?”

Two of the blob ghosts were trying to squeeze themselves into the bag already. He snatched it away and held it shut tightly. Those things could be slippery when they wanted to be. “It’s fiiine,” he said with a drawl. “People do it all the time. It’s like feeding the ducks at the park or something.”

“You know that’s bad for the ducks, right? And wildlife experts are always having to tell people to quit feeding animals.”

He dropped his hands into his lap, bag and all, nearly squishing Jeff. “Killjoy.”

Now it was Valerie’s turn to grin sheepishly, though hers seemed far more timid. “Look, someone’s gotta keep you in check, Fenton. You may be trying to babysit Amity Park, but you need a babysitter of your own half the time.”

Hmm. He did not know how he should feel about her calling herself his babysitter.

Trying to shove those thoughts away too, he offered the bag out to her. “Come on,” he said, as if he were coaxing a puppy. “You know you want to.”

She stared at the bag, then at him. Then at the bag again. His heart thrummed faster despite himself.

After nearly a minute of contemplation, she slowly took the bag and opened it. The blob ghosts immediately caught a whiff of its greasy contents and drifted over, chirping and purring. Danny noticed how her muscles tensed ever so slightly, and he gulped.

He was worried for the blob ghosts, thank you very much. He was absolutely not thinking about how well-defined her arms looked in the pale glow.

Nope.

Valerie, with a look of trepidation, took a single fry from the bag and held it out gingerly towards the tiny grape ghost that had been racing around Danny’s head. It didn’t need any more invitation before it simply stuck the end of the fry through its body, nearly running into its teeny core. 

Danny couldn’t help but grin wildly as Valerie’s face morphed into one of fascination. The best thing about blob ghosts was their translucent exterior, which gave them a perfect view of how the little ghost - Pipp, if he remembered correctly - swam its ectoplasm around the portion of fry it had absorbed. The little portion of fry dissolved away and funneled into its core, causing it to glow the slightest bit brighter.

His felt like his face was going to split open as her wide eyes found his. “Cool, right?” he asked eagerly.

She was already holding the fry out to Pipp again. “I… I never knew they could eat,” she whispered. “I never knew it could be so beautiful.”

If only you knew how beautiful you really are.

His stomach started doing somersaults. 

He was so, absolutely, 100 percent screwed.

He forced himself to swallow and grab a fry for himself, offering it to Jeff, who immediately absorbed the entire thing in one go. Much like Pipp’s, Jeff’s glow radiated stronger.

“These guys are the best kind of ghosts for converting stuff into ectoplasmic energy,” he explained. Was his voice really shaking that badly, or was it just his anxiety talking? “That’s why there’s so many of them. They can keep themselves going on practically anything. And then they like to kind of put themselves right around ambient ectoplasm and help feed back into it.”

“Like a weird, unalive version of a tree.” Her voice was breathy. “A tree that likes french fries.”

He couldn’t help but giggle. “That’s… surprisingly accurate?” he said as he made a grab for a few more fries.

They spent the next few minutes slowly feeding fries to the blob ghost clan, laughing as one named Bingus (God, that name cracked him up) nearly absorbed Pepsi in a rush to get to a fry first, cooing with pity at the ones who got left out, and chatting back and forth about ectoplasm and ghost biology.

That last one made his core sing with just how genuinely fascinated she was with the science of it all.

Soon enough, they were surrounded by brightly glowing blob ghosts, lighting up the area like tiny green fairy lights. Pepsi had nestled herself back into Danny’s hair again, and Bingus perched on Valerie’s shoulder. Each of them held a blob in their lap, and other than one that had randomly decided to stick itself to Danny’s elbow, the rest drifted around the two of them in a lazy, post-french fry bliss.

Danny offered his last fry to Pepsi as he watched Valerie gently stroke Jeff in her lap. His stomach was still doing somersaults, and the urge to say something - anything - to her was becoming impossible to resist.

“Hey,” he said quietly. Thank the Ancients he could do without a little less oxygen, because he was pretty sure he was breathing way too shallowly. “I… I’m sorry.”

She looked up at him in confusion. “For what?”

Breathe in, Fenton. “I promised you I wouldn’t try and push you. Back when we - when I finally told you the truth.” Breathe out. “You said you wanted time to figure things out for yourself, and you didn’t want to be rushed. And - and then I go and do something like this…”

She didn’t break her gaze on him. “I’m guessing… this isn’t just about the ghosts, is it?” she said with a quiver in her own voice.

He didn’t know how it happened. He couldn’t feel his own limbs. All he knew was he felt himself lean forward and she leaned forward just a split second later and her lips were on his and his lips were on hers and they were sharing the most tender, soft kiss he’d ever experienced under the warm glow of all the little blob ghosts.

He wanted to leap. He wanted to fly. He wanted to dive to the ground and pull himself up at the last second and laugh at the thrill it left in his stomach.

None of it would compare to the thrill he felt kissing her.

And yet…

Something in the back of his mind desperately tried to pull on the reins. This isn’t right. 

You’re still pushing her.

You’re taking advantage of her.

That had him crashing back down to Earth.

Shaking, his heart and core aching, Danny opened his eyes and pulled back just far enough to take his lips off hers. Valerie’s eyes flew open as she felt his warm kiss disappear.

Their foreheads were still close enough to touch. Desperately trying not to break down, he rested his against hers and gently grabbed one of her hands. 

“I… I don’t…” he whispered, struggling to find the words through the haze of his panging heart. “Are you… do you… really want to do this?”

He had to ask.

Even if the answer broke his heart.

For a few impossibly long seconds, her green eyes bore into his blue, and another pang rippled through him as he drank in the tiny galaxies he could see behind her gaze.

And then she had her hands on his cheeks and her lips on his again, kissing him with an insatiable fervor. He found himself too stunned to do anything at first, and as soon as he could comprehend the situation, he was reciprocating just as longingly, holding her waist as if his half-life depended on it.

If he had been flying before, he had shot beyond the stars now.

Something flickered behind his closed eyelids, but it was the farthest thing from his mind. This moment, right here right now, this was the only thing that mattered. The only thing that existed. The only thing he could ever want and need, filling his heart and core with a love he couldn’t put into words.

And if her kiss was any indication of how she felt, if the emotion radiating from her entire being was true, then she felt the exact same love in that moment.

This time when the kiss broke, it was mutual. They stayed there on their knees, foreheads pressed to one another, both catching their breath and trying to calm their fluttering hearts.

He kept his eyes closed. He wanted to savor this. Memorize every detail. Memorize the feeling of her mouth on his. Memorize each feeling soaring through him at top speed.

“Um, Danny?”

His eyes popped open. “Wha- oh.”

So that’s what the flicker had been.

The blob ghosts hadn’t moved, but now instead of their normal green, their cores shone in a glittery gold, piercing through their translucent skin and casting the two in a soft, golden glow.

He lifted his head as he stared at them in wonder. “Oh Ancients, of course.”

“What? What happened to them?” she asked. A distant part in the back of his mind trilled happily at how concern for the little ghosts filled her voice.

He grinned shyly. “Okay, so um… you know how I said blob ghosts can take like, almost anything and turn it into energy?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Yeah…?”

“I think, um… I think they might’ve felt our emotion? Since it was so strong? And converted it into energy?”

Red tinged her cheeks. “And what the heck did we do that made it turn gold?”

Well.

He was pretty sure he knew the answer. If the pull in his heart was anything to go by.

Instead, he let his grin widen. She was so going to hate him for this. “I mean, those fries came from McDonald’s right? The golden arches?”

As expected, her fist landed right on his bicep, forceful enough to startle the blob ghost latched onto his elbow but not strong enough to hurt. “Okay, yeah, I deserved that.”

Valerie shook her head with a blinding smile. “You’re such an idiot.”

She laughed and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him again in the light of the warm, gold glow.

[the-sleepy-archivist]

Favorite Firefox Extensions

Firefox is a very extensible browser - through a combinations of addons and userscripts you can make it behave just about any way you want. The best part is, they're all free. Here are some of my favorites.

Note: if you have an Android device, check out my post about Firefox for Android's new extended support for addons!

Note: if you have an Apple device, check out my favorite Safari extensions here!

Last updated Feb 2025 (updated list of languages supported for native, local translation by Firefox).

Index:

uBlock Origin

Tab Session Manager

Sauron

Bypass Paywalls Clean

Auto Tab Discard

Video DownloadHelper

Highlight or Hide Search Engine Results

TWP - Translate Web Pages

UnTrap - YouTube Customizer

Indie Wiki Buddy

Cookie Auto Delete

ShopSuey - Get Rid of Ads on Amazon and Ebay

LibraryExtension

Absolute Enable Right Click & Copy

uBlock Origin

(compatible with Firefox for Android)

This is the first addon I install on any new Firefox browser. It's an adblocker, but at its core it can remove pretty much any HTML element from a website, and it comes with pre-configured lists for removing everything from ads to cookie banners to those annoying popups that ask you to sign up for email newsletters.

Tab Session Manager

Have you ever accidentally lost all your open browser tabs due to a computer update, or even just accidentally closing Firefox? With this addon you no longer have to worry about that - it automatically saves your open tabs and windows every time the browser closes, and autosaves a restore point of tabs every few minutes in case the browser crashes unexpectedly. Opening all your previous tabs and windows is a one-click deal.

Sauron

Ever wished your favorite website had a dark mode? With Sauron, now it can! Sauron attempts to intelligently figure out how to edit the color scheme of the web page (including text) to make it dark-mode friendly. It preserves the original color of images, but dims them so that they don't blind you. You can disable image dimming or dark mode on a site by site basis too. It's not perfect since it is making guesses about which colors to change, but it goes a long way toward making the internet an enjoyable place for me.

Bypass Paywalls Clean

This addon removes paywalls from hundreds of news websites around the world or adds links to open the article in a wrapper that provides the article text (like the Internet Archive etc.)

Auto Tab Discard

Ever wanted to keep a tab open for later use, but you notice the browser getting slower and slower the more tabs you have open? Auto Tab Discard will automatically "hibernate" tabs that you haven't used in a while so that they use less resources on your computer. It's smart enough not to hibernate pages that are playing media (like YouTube) or that have forms you haven't submitted yet (like job applications). You can customize how fast it puts tabs to sleep too and exclude certain websites from hibernating at all.

Video DownloadHelper

This addon can download streaming videos from most modern (HTML5) websites, and even finds soft subtitles that accompany the stream and downloads those too. Just browse to the webpage that has the video on it, click the icon in the Firefox toolbar, and select the video you want to download and click "Quick Download". For YouTube I would recommend using a YT downloader website (like KeepVid) to download the video directly, but Video DownloadHelper really shines for websites that aren't popular enough to have dedicated downloader websites like that. I've used it download videos from a Japanese film festival streaming portal, news websites, etc.

Highlight or Hide Search Engine Results

This addon allows you to blacklist websites and completely remove them from Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo search results. Don't want to see image search results from AI websites? Blacklist them. Searching for tech support advice and getting frustrated by all the auto-generated junk websites that stuff themselves full of SEO terms to jump to the top of the search results without actually providing any information at all? Blacklist them so they don't come up in your next search. Conversely, you can also whitelist websites that you know and trust so that if they ever come up in future search results, they'll be highlighted with a color of your choosing for visibility.

TWP - Translate Web Pages

(compatible with Firefox for Android)

Does what it says on the tin: auto-detects a website's language and provides a button that can translate it to a language of your choosing. You can also just select individual text on the page and translate just that. Note that this sends whatever text you translate to the servers of your selected translation service (Google, Bing, Yandex, or DeepL), so keep in mind the privacy implications if you don't want your IP address associated with having read that text.

Edit: As of version 118, Firefox now has the ability to translate text locally on your computer, without needing to send it to a cloud service. You can enable this in Settings -> Translation -> Install languages for offline translation. Note that at this time (Feb 2025), 31 languages are supported - Russian, Korean, Chinese (simplified), and Japanese were recently added. More info here.

UnTrap for YouTube

(compatible with Firefox for Android and they have a Safari for iOS extension too)

This addon lets you tweak the YouTube interface and hide anything you don't want to see. For instance, I hide all the "recommended" videos that come up when you search YT now. They have nothing to do with your search, so they're essentially just ads YT puts in your search results. I also hide Explore, Trending, More from YouTube, and Shorts sections, but you can customize it to fit your preferences.

Note: depending on the particular set of tweaks you want to make to YouTube, you may prefer to use YouTube Search Fixer instead. User preference.

Indie Wiki Buddy

I loathe Fandom.com wiki sites - they are cluttered and filled with ads and autoplaying videos that follow you down the page as you scroll. The organization is also hostile - if a community tries to leave their platform and bring their content to a new wiki hoster, Fandom bans them from the platform and reverts all their deletions/changes. Indie Wiki Buddy attempts to find an independent alternative for the wiki you're trying to browse and automatically redirects you to it, and if one doesn't exist, it will redirect you to a proxy site like antifandom or breezewiki that shows the Fandom content but removes all ads/videos/background images so you can actually, you know. READ it.

Cookie Auto Delete

(compatible with Firefox for Android)

Websites store "cookies" - little text files with info about you - on your computer as you browse so they can track you as you browse the internet. This addon automatically deletes cookies from a website a short while after you close the last tab you had open for that site. You can customize how long it waits before clearing cookies too. Note that this can sign you out of many websites, so you can whitelist any site you don't want cookies cleared for.

ShopSuey - Get Rid of Ads on Amazon and Ebay

Removes the ads/recommended products that clutter up Amazon and Ebay search results and product pages.

LibraryExtension

This fantastic addon recognizes when you are viewing a book on many popular websites and can automatically check whether that book is available in any of the library systems or subscription services you have access to, including how many copies your library(ies) have and how many are currently checked out. The best part is it shows the availability for physical books, ebooks, AND audiobooks at supported libraries. The extension currently supports libraries in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, but it also supports some global repositories like the Internet Archive and subscription services like NLS Bard for the blind and print disabled, Kobo Plus, Libro.fm, Anyplay.fm, Bookmate, and Everand. Great extension for people trying to support their local library and also save money.

Filtering+ for Tumblr

This addon lets you add tags or phrases to your tumblr tag filters with two clicks, without leaving the dashboard. I've been asking Tumblr for this tag filtering behavior on their mobile apps (i.e. press and hold a tag to get a filter option) for at least a year now in asks and surveys, without ever stopping to see if someone had already implemented this on desktop. More fool me. This addon is from the author of XKit Rewritten. Note that the right-click tag filtering only works on the dashboard; it will not appear if you are on someone's blog. Right-clicking selected text to filter the phrase works everywhere based on my testing.

Absolute Enable Right Click & Copy

This addon does its best to re-enable the normal right-click context menu and copy/paste actions on pages that try to disable them. If you run into a site that messes with either of those, select this addon and check "Enable Copy," then try again. If that doesn't work, check "Absolute mode." It doesn't work everywhere, but I find it very helpful.