#fun field trip to the ER

[geeky-politics-46]

So my day has been interesting, to say the least. It started out with this...

Here's the story...

So I went to the ER last night because I was having horrible pain in my jaw. Like 8 out of 10, I'm gonna either puke or pass out pain.

My dentist had been dismissing pain I've had since Feb when I got a deep cleaning. Saying I needed to weary night guard & that it was normal sensitivity. Well, here we are 3 months later & it's so much worse

The ER couldn't do much, but give me a nerve block. I get how worried they are about opioid addiction, but I was ready to saw off an arm in exchange for some relief. Like I was in full-on, tears break down mode. Still nothing...

Then I went home still in pain, down to a 4/5, from an 8, & began looking for emergency dentists. Found one that could get me in immediately. Showed up still in tears, but there was light at the end of the tunnel. He took 1 x-ray & found 2 large absess at the root of one of my teeth. The tooth apparently is pretty much dead now, so he drained the absess & got me started on antibiotics. Still no pain pill beyond regular ibuprofen, so I'm still in some pain but a hell of a lot better. Seriously, please look past the opioid crises & see when patients are truly in pain.

Tomorrow morning, I have an emergency root canal to try & save that tooth. I'll need a crown, obviously, but after the root canal, at least the pain should stop.

Just for fun, below are my x-rays. The 2 big dark blobs by the root of the tooth are the absesses. The one silver lining is that I did a lot of scary stuff today by myself. Took myself to the ER alone. Got major dental work (which is already a phobia) alone. Getting more major dental work done alone tomorrow. So I'm patting myself on the back for that big time.

Also fun plus, the new dentist I went to collects Doctor Strange comic books.

Moral of this story: Doctors, Nurses, Dentists, & Hygienists - please believe your patients when they say something is wrong & they are in pain. Please don't make them suffer for 3 months like I did & tell me you think it's nothing!

[cinnbar-bun]

Hugs and Kisses (One Piece) Pt.2

Featured Characters: Robin, Franky, Chopper (platonic only!), Brook, Jinbei

Scenario: How they like to give hugs and kisses to you <3

Rating: SFW

You can read this on my AO3 here!

Chopper (this is platonic!)

Chopper really loves being held and kissed by you. 

While you’re not his dad (Zoro) or his mom (Robin), you’re very up there when it comes to Chopper’s affections. 

He loves when you scratch his ears and feed him cotton candy. 

He likes just sitting on your lap. It’s comforting, and feels he can trust you a lot to keep him safe and hold him.

While he says he doesn’t like to be babied, it’s obvious once he’s in your arms that he really loves how secure you make him feel. 

You’re like a… hm… cool older sibling! Yeah! That’s it! He goes to you often for fun or to help sneak him something he may want, and you’ve become something like a sidekick to his habits. 

Not that you mind, he’s your baby bro Chopper. If Mom and Dad say no, well, he can always go to you (and 99% of the time, you give in). 

Robin 

Ever the elegant and mature woman, she will be more likely to express her emotions and love for you in more private settings. 

It kinda traces back to her personality and history, she’s just worried you’ll be an even bigger target by being seen so closely with her (the last thing she’d ever want is for you to be captured or tortured because of her) 

But in an innocent way… she would like to play the part of a “normal” couple. She knows it’s a pipe dream, considering she’s the Devil Child and you’re both a part of the Straw Hats, but still. 

That’s why, if you want to surprise her, hold her hand in public on slower days, like in the market or at a wonderful view of a flower field. She's touched when you do that, and she decides to join you in playing along as the “normal” couple she sometimes fantasizes about. 

She's never had anyone she was close to in the way you are to her, so she’s very protective of you. If she feels you are in danger or someone is trying to fight you, she immediately stands in front of you. 

She prefers hugs in private, where she can pull you close and hold you without fear of being hurt or seen. When she gets more comfortable though, she’ll wrap an arm around your shoulder or keep an arm around your waist so you two can be close. 

Robin can be a bit of a tease, and while normally her kisses are simple pecks on your forehead, cheek, or nose, she can and will put on bold red lipstick and kiss you, leaving an obvious stain (she may or may not tell you). 

Perhaps it’s something of a possessive streak coming in… and, well, she kinda can’t help it. You’re too cute. 

Franky 

Should be obvious, but Franky is SUUUUUPPPPERRRR into PDA. He’ll just sweep you in his arms and throw you over his shoulders, or snuggle you like you’re a teddy bear (and seeing how big he is, you kinda look like one). 

He doesn’t get embarrassed by what others think, he’s just wanting to hug you and kiss you lots when he feels like it. 

He’s so needy when he’s not building things. Straight up will beg to be able to hug you and sob if you have to decline. 

Despite his eagerness to be with you at almost all times, he’s not gonna jeopardize you or anyone else in a serious situation. He knows there’s a time and place for things, and he won’t try to be physically affectionate in the midst of a battle. 

He will, however, wink and say that once this is over, you owe him some kisses and hugs. 

If you compliment and hug him, he’ll give himself an ego trip and smirk. He knows he’s super, but when you say it, it just makes him feel uh- super-er! 

He likes you sitting on his lap most. It’s so comfy having you there, and he likes resting his chin on top of your head. 

Often likes to look at what you’re doing when in these positions. If you’re reading, for example, he likes to try and follow along with it. If you’re doing something like say… gaming or drawing, he’s happily watching to see what you’ll do next. 

He might even create something to go with your favorite hobby to make it easier/better for you! 

Brook 

Brook is a gentleman (for the most part), and so he won’t do anything forward without your permission. 

Listen, he’s always going to be down for you wanting to hug, hold his hand, or kiss him. He will make many, maaany jokes about how he “can’t feel it cuz he’s dead” and laugh his signature laugh, but he really does treasure your affection. 

Sure, he can’t feel it or reciprocate it back the way he could as a human, but he does enjoy and appreciate how effortlessly you make him feel like one. 

Similar to Robin, the idea of a relationship, especially in his physical state, was nigh impossible in his mind. But you, for some reason (he’s still trying to figure it out), loved him, even for all the reasons you really shouldn’t have. 

Also like Robin, when you hold his hand or kiss his cheek (or where his cheek would be if he had one-), he feels almost… “nostalgic”. That’s how he likes to describe it. He’s gotten used to life as a skeleton, and though he yearns for skin to be able to hold you correctly, he enjoys what he has with you. It’s the closest he ever gets to feeling alive again, and only you could spring forth such feelings from him. 

He can’t “kiss” persay, but he likes to press his mouth against your forehead- so at least you can get a kiss without him possibly hurting you or making it feel weird!

He loves when you lean against him, so he’ll wrap an arm around then. Also loves when you pepper kisses all over his face, it makes him happy. 

Yes, it’s a bit unconventional, but it’s your unconventional relationship and damn it, he’ll treasure it and fight for it like no tomorrow. 

Extra thought: Brook would make sure to give you an accessory that matches with him, so he can always remember you and be connected with you, even after death. 

Jinbei 

Jinbei is so respectful, so gentlemanly, and so sweet, and you can’t help but feel adored with him. 

Often takes your hand and presses a kiss to it, especially as a greeting or good morning. He likes how your hands compare to his larger ones. 

Again, very respectful and honorable, so he will not force his affection onto you unless you ask. Then when he gets more comfortable, he will begin to ask if he can hug you, kiss you, hold your hand. If you say you don’t mind/he doesn’t need to ask as much, he will take note and make an attempt to “surprise” you with a hug. He does like the look on your face when your eyes widen and the large smile on your lips once he randomly decides to hold your hand. 

Likes to hug you in private, and when he does, he makes sure to wrap you in his arms and stroke your back. It’s so nice, and Jinbei is quite warm, funnily enough. It’s like a very snuggly heater wrapped around you. 

Jinbei, despite being the “adult” in the Straw Hats for the most part, he tends to get super cute and bashful when you kiss him. It’s adorable seeing the slight blush on his face and the goofy grin when he recovers. 

He often jokes that it’s an eye for an eye, so if you kiss him, he must kiss you back, and vice versa. He's all about being equal and treating you with respect while making sure you understand how much he loves you. 

Jinbei doesn’t admit it, but he would adore wearing matching kimonos or outfits with you. He might like to wear contrasting colors but with a similar theme, or just the same pattern and color. It makes him feel closer to you sharing outfits like that. 

[quichein-me-softly]

a-maze-ing time w/ sans

(Plot: You and Sans explore a corn maze. The trip is filled with poor jokes and dead ends.)

(author's note: figured i should do something for fall.)

The fall air was crisp, tinged with the earthy scent of dried corn and leaves. You adjusted your jacket and glanced at Sans, whose grin seemed wider than usual as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, giving the entrance sign a dubious once-over.

“so… lemme get this straight,” Sans said, raising a brow bone, clearly amused. “we’re voluntarily goin’ in there, gettin’ lost, and tryin’ to find our way out?”

You laughed, nudging him. "Yes, exactly. It’s part of the fall experience! Besides, it’ll be fun with two boneheads."

You thought for a moment, then added, “Plus, isn’t that the whole point? It is a maze, after all.”

“welp, lead the way, fearless navigator. worst-case scenario, we end up in the middle of nowhere," he chuckled, eyes glinting with that familiar hint of mischief.

With that, you both stepped into the maze. The golden stalks towered above, creating a labyrinthine path that seemed to twist in every direction. Every few minutes, you found yourself at a dead end or doubling back to a path you swore you’d already taken. Sans, however, seemed to find the situation endlessly amusing.

"alright, left or right, partner?" he asked, pausing at a fork in the path.

You squinted down each direction, trying to sense which might be the right way. "Right. I’ve got a feeling about it."

“right it is,” he shrugged, taking the turn with you. Moments later, you both hit a dead end.

Sans let out a mock sigh, “guess your feeling got corralled.”

You burst into a fit of giggles, shaking your head. “Wow, you really don’t stop, do you?”

“it’s all part of the maze-ter plan.” He winked, clearly pleased with himself.

First, he compared you to a lost sheep; then he claimed you two were pioneers, forging your own path where no one had gone before… even though every path had clearly been traveled plenty of times. Between the maze’s twists and turns and Sans' never-ending puns, the thought of finding the exit now felt like another joke.

“hey, we’re makin’ great progress,” he joked as you hit your third dead end in a row. “really corn-ered ourselves there, huh?” He shot you a wink, the pun landing perfectly as you groaned, half-laughing.

By now, the sky had darkened, casting an eerie shadow over the maze. Every so often, a sudden rustle in the corn stalks made you jump, only to realize it was just the wind—or at least, you hoped. Sans, on the other hand, seemed entirely unfazed, his grin a little too wide as he visibly enjoyed your horror.

After another wrong turn, he laughed. “don’t worry, it’s just corn. i’m sure it doesn’t bite. unless…” He leaned in closer, his voice lowering in mock horror, “it’s got a-maize-ing taste for human flesh.”

You rolled your eyes, but the jump scares didn’t let up.

At one point, a particularly creepy scarecrow loomed around the next corner, making you jump back with a startled yelp. You shot Sans a look, only to find him chuckling softly, his hand steadying you as an amused glint sparkled in his eye.

“you okay there? i can take the lead if you’re feelin’ stalked.” He chuckled at his own joke, his chuckle almost as much a comfort as his presence.

“Very funny,” you muttered, but you didn’t let go of his arm, and he didn’t move away either. Instead, he gave your hand a gentle squeeze, keeping it there as you both pushed on.

“don’t worry, if any scarecrow tries to mess with you, i’ll make sure they’re out standing in their field as pun-ishment.” He gave you a playful nudge, and you managed a shaky laugh, feeling oddly reassured by his calmness.

Sans tightened his grip around your hand, sensing your unease. “heh. that was a little corny, even for me.” This time, he earned a genuine giggle from you.

With each twist and turn, laughter bubbled up between the two of you. Sans would point out stray corn lying on the ground and make terrible puns.

“what can i say? this maze really leaves an ear-ie vibe!” His voice was soft but warm. You couldn’t help but laugh, maybe a bit too loudly, the sound breaking through the rustling leaves.

The night continued with more wrong turns, a few unplanned scares, and plenty of laughter. Every time you got turned around, Sans would offer his “helpful” directions with a deadpan look, only to lead you to yet another dead end. Still, you couldn’t help but smile—his easygoing presence made getting hopelessly lost feel like an adventure.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the maze twisted again, leading to yet another dead end. Sans placed his hands on his hips, letting out an exaggerated sigh.

"welp, seems like we’re corn-fined. guess we’re just gonna have to make camp here, huh?"

You shot him a look, shaking your head but smiling despite yourself. “I don’t think I’ve ever been lost somewhere this long... with this many puns."

“oh, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he snickered. “'sides, i’m a-maze-in' company, right?”

“You already used that one!”

“whoops.”

You couldn’t argue with that; for all his puns and teasing, you’d been having more fun than you’d expected. With each turn, he found a new way to lighten the mood, and at some point, you realized how much easier it felt to rely on him to keep going.

You groaned, giving him a playful shove. “How much longer do you think this will take?”

Sans simply grinned, and you heard the familiar hum of his magic. “well, if you’re tired of the scenic route, i could, uh, show you a shortcut.”

Before you could ask, he secured his hand around yours. In a blink, the maze was gone, and you found yourself just outside its entrance, surrounded by the distant sounds of festival chatter and lights. The evening chill reminded you just how long you’d wandered in circles.

You shot him a sideways glance, giving him a mock glare as you let go of his hand. “You mean to tell me you could’ve gotten us out of there the whole time?”

“figured you wanted the 'full corn maze experience.'" He shrugged, chuckling. "plus, where’s the fun in takin’ the easy way out?”

“Sans!” you groaned in feigned exasperation, still grinning.

He chuckled, patting you on the shoulder. “aw, come on, you know you loved it.”

“plus, it wouldn’t have been nearly as fun without you around to keep me on the wrong path,” he teased, giving you a mischievous grin as you both exchanged a playful look.

You swatted at his arm in mock offense. “Hey! You’re the one with all the 'helpful' directions!”

“heh, gotta keep things interesting.”

You rolled your eyes, but your grin betrayed you. “Oh yeah, interesting is definitely the word for it.”

He shrugged, hands in his hoodie pockets as you walked side by side. “hey, if you’re lookin’ for predictability, you’re with the wrong skeleton.”

“Guess I’ll take my chances,” you replied, your tone light but sincere.

Sans shot you a quick sidelong glance, a softer smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “lucky me.”

As you both walked away from the maze, the last remnants of your laughter drifted into the night air, the warm glow of the festival lights casting a gentle light over you both. The chill of the evening was no match for the comfortable warmth between you as you strolled, side by side.

[shoshiwrites]

Into The Wind

I thought it might be fun to take my WarCo OC Jo, normally featuring in a Band of Brothers WIP, on a little field trip to Thorpe Abbots — no background knowledge necessary (I hope!) ♡

“See, they come in here, right, like we all learned how to do this for fun-”

“Did though, didn’t we?”

She leans against the doorframe, silent, the huddle of jackets and collars faced away from her.

The back of his hand flies out to lightly whack his friend on the arm. “Besides the point, Buck- hey- anyway, comes in here like he can fly our planes- like he’s got any idea-”

“Heard this one’s a dame though-”

He pauses. “Where’d you hear that?”

“Dunno why else Harding would be on the phone talking through his teeth about women’s facilities-”

“We got Tatty and Helen and the rest of ‘em, don’t we?”

“I’m just sorry for the poor bastards who have to listen to him next. Mr. Kalamazoo Dispatch. Think he’ll ditch the jacket?”

“The last thing we need is another reporter. Struttin’ around, getting in our business-”

“Right, there can only be one strut-er, one peacock around here-”

“Right.”

It’s not a surprise, not even a little. But she’s hardly leaving now, not with the strings someone had yanked to get her here. Maybe they wanted you for a reason. After Mr. Easy As Pie, in his leather jacket. It sits in her stomach like a stone. Her eyes refocus to the light streaming through the windows, the dust motes and the papers tacked to the walls. The tap of her shoe when she shifts her weight catches the ear and then the eye of one, and then the entire group. 

All eyes, on her. 

The one who’d been talking turns around, and she has no choice to but to walk towards the table. Guess you’re not leaving now, are you? He blinks like they’ve conjured her out of thin air.

A few ma’ams, the scrape of a chair foot.

“Would you call that a strut?” she asks. “Need to know if I should be careful.”

What the fuck, Jo?

She’s sure she sees the one next to him look amused, the tiniest tip-up of his mouth. 

He looks up at her, eyes stopping at her shoulders, the collar of her blouse and the tiny hoops in her ears glinting in the light. Like he’s daring her to argue with his assessment, just a little. “Just as long as you’re not looking for a ride on any practice missions.”

The words hang there like fruit past picking. Someone snorts. 

“No, I wasn’t planning on it.”

“Good. Glad to hear it.” He smiles, halfway to a smirk. It warms his eyes. “So, what’s your name, sunshine?”

The Clarion hadn’t been printing it — she was Your Special Correspondent, which she’d pressured them to change from Your Trusty Correspondent. They were angling for Your Girl Overseas. But, she had to go for something, right? How could she expect the same from them, otherwise?

“Jo Brandt.”

He goes like popcorn around the table, introducing — the quiet one is Major Cleven. Douglass. Blakely. Cruikshank. And he’s Major Egan. “You can call me Bucky.”

“Major Egan.”

He gives a theatrical huff. All legs, in that chair. Smiling, like something’s a foregone conclusion. His eyes dart to the class ring on her finger, her left hand. She’s got another security briefing at the top of the next hour, and it’s almost a relief. 

“My apologies for the interruption, gentlemen,” she says, even though it’s hardly one. “Please continue your meal.” They're already done anyway, she can see that, the haphazard silverware and empty coffee cups. 

“We’ll be seeing you, though, right?” he calls, even before she’s turned to go. “Around?”

“Yes. As long as I don’t strut?”

He’s still smiling. “Yes, ma’am.”

She can hear the mutters as she walks back out, the sound of at least one man getting elbowed in the ribs. “I wouldn’t say no-”

The breeze outside brings a chill through her, the smell of damp spring and grass deadened by the winter. She has a uniform to get made, back in London. No more homemade blouses, the ones with embroidery. No flight jackets, either. She doesn’t know who she’ll be to them, not yet, but she knows who she doesn’t want to be.

[helloabominacion]

𝙄𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙊𝙛 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 ....

pairing: Human!namor x (f!mexican)reader

word count: 5718

warnings: eighteen+ content, a few non-con themes ( but no rape ), nicotine, alcohol, mention of a slur

note: ok, so this man has me on a choke hold, so i wanted to add my little piece of cake to all the wonderful namor x reader fics. this is more like a plot with three chapters, but there will be spicy moments in the next chapter.... also it's been a while i've post a fic so, critics? im up for it. ASLO, all the translation except the spanish ones are inacurate, if you see a mistake, let me know! and in this fic, nobody has powers, no avengers nothing like that, just kinda dosmetic, i guess?

hope you enjoy it!

— 🌙🌙🌙 —

.

.

.

Your promises to your mother about not going overboard with your delight on this field trip that your prestigious college had paid for went down the drain just like the contents your stomach expels into the club's pristine porcelain bathroom. This vacation was the ideal justification for the students to blow off steam and unwind after a semester of extended essays and unbearable exams. But, of course, they deserved this beautiful opportunity! But you didn't earn the embarrassment of vomiting in front of the toilet.  

“Que pinche suerte tengo, at least these bathrooms are clean...”  The misty feeling of nausea still lingered in your mind, and you kept inhaling long breaths to appease your poor stomach. The rumble of cumbia and bachata mix tunes runs through your entire body, muffled by the bathroom walls.

After several minutes of listening to your body and being entirely sure that nothing else will come out of your throat, you left the cubicle with careful steps, the alcohol still circulating your blood. Your hands rested on the sink to support you and began to inspect your reflection in the illuminated mirror, making sure your beautiful hair looked decent. Still, a frown fell on your brows as you noticed you needed a retouch your makeup quickly. 

There's no way in hell you'll let half of your classmates see you in this mess. What would Riri think? After all that time, they wasted watching tutorials on how to do your makeup instead of finishing the due essays. ( and by the way, you did finish that essay, you only need three red bulls.) You blinked owlishly as your drunk mind realized something; you forgot to notify your bestie! It must have slipped your mind while rushing to the bathroom. Then, quickly pulling out your smartphone from your purse, a surprised grimace pulls your red lips at the five lost calls and 12 messages.

You were already cursing in your native language while reading Riri's angry messages, and you knew the black girl would chew your ass out instantly for leaving her all alone. Well, technically, she's not all by herself; it was a miracle how Riri's plan was a success sneaking the princess into their flight directly a Mexico, Yucatan. 

But you knew it was the worst idea your intelligent roommate agreed on, and you can't practically say no to Shuri.

And you dote on Shuri like she was your older sister who just wanted to have fun and create unforgettable memories with her loved ones, but the thought of Auntie Ramonda finding out about this tormented you sometimes. You only visit the Udaku residence occasionally because you are always busy studying. The other excuse was Ramonda's regal and elegant presence overwhelmed you; it was how she could look at you for the first time with those sharp eyes and discover your most embarrassing secrets. You jerked your head as the shiver ran down your shoulders; that's not going to happen! You'd faith in the plan, but only because they got some assistance from Shuri's older brother.

"T'challa eres un angel caido! Thank you so much for this!" Your hands made a prayerful gesture, showing how grateful you were for this great opportunity; then, you huffed sharply. Now it's time to continue putting on your makeup war because you know damn well there will be attractive and captivating individuals, and perhaps you might steal someone for yourself tonight. Who knows what could happen, and you're excited to find out.  While you were fixing your makeup, you looked sideways at your smartphone and then paused at the last message you received from Riri, your eyes narrowed at the change of image on your screen. Riri was calling you, and you answered right away.

"Oye, ¿que paso?"

The shout of your name made you wince, but you kept the phone close to your ear. "CONCHA! Where the fuck are you!?"

"Wh-what do you mean where I'm? In the bathroom bitch, didn't I send you a text!?"

"Bruh! I thought you meant in the hotel's room bathroom!"

You rolled your eyes while snorting. Riri was a bit under the influence of so many Mezcal shots. "Pendeja, as if I'm going to walk like twenty blocks to go over there!"

"Fuck, okay, okay, don't worry! Let me get my key card, and I'm going to get -- wait, Shuri, stop!"

You waited for Riri to finish talking to her girlfriend. Then, finally finishing your makeup, you started packing your belongings into your purse.

“Conchita, you still there?”

“Si mensa, it’s Shuri fine thought? I can hear her laughing and shrieking.” You mused, chuckling t the frustrated groan from Riri. “Is that the reason you left me, Riri? Wanted to spend some sweet time with your princess?” 

“Shut up you! Nothing like that! I had to bring her back cuz she wanted to beat someone!”

“Why?”

“These two Dwayne Johnson-looking ass bumped into me, spilling my amazing drink. They didn’t wanna apologize, so Shuri was about to throw hands with them.”

A thunderous laugh burst from your mouth, your melodious laughter filling the bathroom. You already imagined Riri's annoyed face as you cackled like a crazy bird. You place a hand on your stomach, and tiny tears prickle the corner of your eyes for laughing too much. You panted and coughed a little in an attempt to catch your breath.

“Oh my god, that’s so her, I would’ve paid to see that,”

Riri sucked her teeth but you knew there was an amusing hint behind her tone. “But Conchita, girl, I can’t leave you all by yourself! It’s dangerous, man, what if you get lost?”

“Ay, don’t worry about me, chula! Some other students are here, asi que me voy colar con ellos.” You snicker to yourself; the tequila is getting to your brain currently. “Besides, you will have the suite all to yourself,”

BEEP!

Pulling the phone away from your ear to see that Riri hung up on you.

"Que mamona, ni siquiera me dijo adios."

A creak from the door distracted you from your angry text, and a group of girls with drinks in their manicured hands entered. The second their eyes fell on you, their drunken mouths began to shower you with compliments on your hair and dress and how they loved how your heels accentuated your ass. The comments made butterflies flutter inside your stomach, and a hot wave crept on your face. You weren't used to people throwing compliments at you. A year ago, you would've shied away and possibly left the restroom with a hot shame face, but thanks to Riri's incredible support and friendship. You began to lose yourself.

 Life's too short to be quiet.

With a flamboyant twirl of your body, the girls squealed happily and quickly swarmed you with questions about drinking more mezcal shots with them and exchanging phone numbers and socials. Oh yeah, this was going to be a special night.

FOUR HOURS LATER

Your heart began to fall in love with this magical city, Cancun. Its streets are still busy with locals visiting the stalls and tourists who come from all over the world to taste the exquisite meals, learn about the Yucatecan culture and enjoy the heat that touches your skin. Shot after shot and dancing uncontrollably to the music, you, unfortunately, had to separate from the new friends you made, promising to call them and make sure you'll get safely to your hotel.  You took another bite of your vegetable on a stick, wiping the cream off with your tongue because you forgot to ask for a napkin. The warm air from the night brushed your shoulders and naked legs, and the waves crashing over and over against the sand sounded so captivating to you that the idea of sitting in front of the ocean to contemplate your life was so tempting.

“Hey!”

A loud shout made you stumble mid-step but quickly recovered, whipping your head behind you to see what it was and a cold sensation — dread — washed over you. Your stomach dropped right at your feet at the sight of three grown men approaching you, it seemed like there was a ten-meter stretch between you and them, but that didn't alleviate the fact that you were alone in a not-so-traveled area, and you just noticed that. Mierda, mierda, mierda! You conjure up a tight smile, your chest tightens when you breathe slightly, and a knot forms in the back of your throat. This is not happening now, not tonight please, but what you expected from reality?

“Hey, mami, where are you going?”

An eyebrow twitch while holding a frown, of course they are from the states,

“I’m ‒ I’m just taking a stroll …”

“A stroll, huh?  All by yourself?”  One of them questioned, no good intentions behind that smirk. Before you could open your mouth, your mothers’ words flashed through your mind. Never tell a stranger that you are alone, make them think that someone is waiting for you.

“No, no at all!” ah shit that was too fast.  “I’m just going to back to someone,”

“Oh, you have friends? Maybe we can some fun together.”

“Sounds good to me, the more the merrier.”

Their cruel cackles disgusted your stomach but kept the tight smile on. Your conscious was yelling to run, to run far away and quick, but you knew you could be outrun easily.

" I'm s-sorry but my family is waiting for me.  I - I have to go..."

They began to approach you with steady steps.

"Aw come on, sweetheart, have a little fun with us,"

“Yeah, loose a little with us, we can show you a good time.”

Oh, you can't do this, you were trembling with uneasiness, and your eyes burned with the urge to cry. You once again shook your head, refusing their unwanted invitation, and spun around, walking away from the trio.  But your polite nature didn't stop them and they chose to follow you, taunting you and catcalling. You completely forgot the corn in a stick, and you increased the pace of your step, your heart ached from thumping so much that you believed you were going to have a panic episode. 

Please, I want to wake up from this nightmare, por favor mama, ayudanme por favor.

Your bare feet led you to where it was busy, where you might have a chance to hide and be secure. Of course, you didn't know the streets and didn't have the remotest idea of where you were going, but your feet kept moving; instinct pushed the idea to run until you were secure. You didn't dare to look over your shoulder to check if they followed you; you weren't sure. So, you turned left, entering the streets of Cancun where the neighborhood was, you slipped through the streets, getting lost in the crowd, you stumbled a few times because of the poorly made road, with its potholes and high steps, but your bare feet roared in discomfort from walking on the asphalt, you need to take a breather because you were about to throw up your lungs.

You ended up in an alley between a cheap motel and an old bar, leaning against the painted wall of the motel. Inhaling deeply through your nose to catch your breath and maybe find out where the hell you were. You pulled your smartphone out of your purse and whined in frustration, a small red bar to the left glowing annoyingly. Remind you only have a little time. You had to call an Uber and take you back to Riri and Shuri; you had enough scares in your life.

“Hi, mamacita!”

A shriek escaped you, but the rest was cut off by a hand that covered your mouth, an arm crossed over your shoulders, catching you in an iron grip. Fear strikes your stomach, accelerating your heart. You thought your eardrums were going to burst!

“What? You thought you could run away, Chiquita?”

“We’re gonna have some fun, right sweetheart?”

Your cell phone slapped from your grasp, and your right arm was crossed behind your back, wincing at the pain blooming on your right shoulder. But your muffled whining wasn't going to get listened to as you thrashed around as soon a pair of hands pulled the hem of your dress and, little by little, got dangerously close to your crotch.

No matter the shameful and desperate tears streaming down your cheeks, it didn't convince the assailants cackling, mocking you. Whispering disgusting things about what they are going to do with you. You still thrashed and pulled away from their degenerate touches.

If no one will rescue you, that doesn't mean you're going to give in, and you are not giving up without a fight.

BAM!

All attention was drawn to the emergency exit door opening fully, letting out an individual. Confusion invaded you, dumbfounded by the person's attention deficiency, focused on his pack of cigarettes. With an enraged thrash and whining loud enough to get the awareness of the man in front of you, and you could almost laugh right there, it did get his attention.

“Oh, good evening.” So casually, he spoke, making you scowl, stunned. He must joking este cabron! Is he for real!?

The leader of three-step forward trying to be intimidating, but you knew something was off about this guy.

"You got a staring problem, amigo? Just walk away, bud'"

He has yet to move from his position, not even to face them and you, fiddling with his box of cigarettes. An amused smirk pulled his lips, showing a white smile, and he began to saunter towards the leader.

“I could do that, but I’ve seen each one of your faces.” He spoke, enfacing his word as he pointed at your three assailants and returned his attention to the leader. “I could walk away and easily go to the authorities and deport you out of my country….”

The way the strange man threatened them with such confidence and casualness seemed to affect them. The guy who had your dress released it, taking a step back from you, and the other one holding you from the shoulders loosened his grasp. It looked like they were going to either run or prepare to fight. You had no idea!

"Or I can fuck up each and one of you,” The smirk fell to an intense smoldering. “Teach you a lesson for being a scum. How about that option for you, gringo de mierda?”

“Listen here, you fucking wetback loser—!”

You blinked, and the stranger swung a punch at the aggressor. The other two let you go to back up his buddy, the one holding you shoved you against the floor, harming your wrists for cushioning your fall. The quarrel started, but you were focused on putting yourself together while they were beating each other asses. Stumbling and fumbling, you got up your feet, scrambling away from them and hiding quickly behind a full dumpster, observing the fight from afar and letting out a shaky exhale, thankful that your savior appeared on time, but you were now you not sure if he was a ' good ' savior.

His punches were brutal, wasting no second to unleash another strike on your assailant’s face. His powerful kicks looked like they were going to leave a mark of his shoe on their bodies, and despite his complex, he was swift. Effortlessly dodging the pathetic attempts of the others, even though there were three of them, it seemed like your savior surpassed them in all dynamics.

“U sojol, ma' le wíiniko'ob jaaj…” He spits on them with a sneer as he walks away from the fainted men, making sure he steps on each body and wander towards you.  Now you could appreciate it in more detail when he approached you as you stepped away from the dumpster, shortening the space between you and him. His skin color was so beautiful that you'd bet if the rays of sunset illuminated him, he would look so handsome that it'll make you faint.

Short and unraveling raven hair due to the altercation, but what captivated you was his steely gaze that seemed to inspect every detail of your features. His facial hair covered his sharp chin, accompanied by a mustache above his lip. Then your eyes drop and widen, at what point did his shirt come open? Leaving his torso exposed, and even though his body didn't look like an Adonis, you bet if you caressed his chest, it would be solid rock.

“Do you have a lighter?”

His question shook from your gawking, “¿Que?”

Your intelligent answer seemed to irritate your savior, raising an eyebrow he questions again. “Do you have a lighter?”

“I – I do, but I think it’s my …”  you didn’t smoke, but it was for Riri. “In m - my purse.”

Your savior deadpanned at you, and an uncomfortable silence fell between you, giving you an unsettling feeling until he nodded behind him. As if he was saying, " then go get it, girl"

You caught the small order and headed towards your forgotten purse, a little close to the fallen bodies, you glimpsed at them asking yourself if they were alive, but you scowl, they deserved it and snatched your purse. Returning to your savior with a lighter in your open palm.

"Here you go,"

" Can you light it up? My hands are shaking a bit bruised,"

You gulp, and you weren't even subtle about it. His accent was heavy and extremely hot.  Get it together girl, he just saved you but damn stranger danger! A cigarette was already on his lips, ready to consume, and you slightly nodded. Great, this is just fantastic. You accommodated the lighter in your hand and got closer to him since you realized he was a little taller than you. Only a few inches, but you bet you could get there in your heels. 

Your hands are trembling, and the igniter doesn't seem to work when you try to start it the third time.

“Wait, stay still, you are shaking too much,”

Your cheeks burned up, and every hair on your arms stood up when a shiver went through you, but there wasn't a cold draft, not with this hot weather as his rough hands engulfed yours, steading your right hand as you once again ignited the lighter and voilà, a small flame appear. The tip of the nicotine stick ignited with just a few puffs of his mouth. He exhaled a gust of smoke, invading your space as it floated away. You maintained the man's gaze for a few beats but then blushed awkwardly, you snatched your hand out of his grasp. You didn't know what you would do if he kept looking that way. His hooded gaze was causing your lower belly to get warmer, as well as something else.

He straightened up, removing the stick from his lips.  " So, what did you do to piss them off?"

"I didn't do anything." A slight frown pulls your brows.

“Okay,” Your savior looked at you up and down, your scowl frowning even more.

“You don’t believe me?”

“I didn’t say anything, where’s your hotel?”

“What?”

He raises his eyebrow and smirk amused. ´” What is not an answer, where’s your hotel?  I’m going to walk you there.”

As if you’re going to reveal your temporary location - “It’s the Hyatt Zilara Cancun, that’s my hotel.” Ah shit.

Your savior remains silent for a few seconds as if he was remembering something, and then he nodded.  He started strolling to the opposite street of the alley. “Okay, vamonos, your hotel is a bit far, but we will make it in twenty minutes.”

“Wha-? Wait, wait so you’re just going to take me there, just like that?”  He glanced over his shoulder and nodded, looking at you as if wasn’t that obvious.  He wasn’t giving explanations as to why he was helping you. Something fishy is up.  “But – but I don’t even know your name!”

He pauses and turns towards you, the wheels in his mind were grinding on how to answer your answer, and he gave a confident smile. “My family calls me K’uk’ulkan, but a different kind of people call me Namor.”

You hid the fact that you could finally give your handsome, shady savior a name, but you still continue with your interrogation. “And what can kind of people are those?”

“My enemies.”

“Oh,”

Namor chuckled at the pale shade on your face, “I understand you are suspicious towards me, but if I wanted you to get hurt, I would’ve turned away.” Your jaw clenches at Namor's words, a heavy insecurity you sense in your throat, and then fades away at his changed response with a mischievous smirk on his attractive face. “But that would never happen since I'm not a man like them.”

“Que chistosito cabron…”  You muttered under your breath as you went to collect your heels and return to him. Waiting for him to start leading, but he seemed too busy watching your gestures. “What? Is there cream on my face??”

 Namor tilted his head at you. "What's your name?"

You chewed your tongue before you blurt out your real name, savior or not. You still couldn't trust him 101%. Not until you were sure he wasn't a serial killer or worst.

“Conchita.”

Namor repeated the name, unsure if he was listening correctly.

“Sipi, Conchita, that’s my name. Don’t pronounce too much it loses its charm.”

The smile that revealed his white teeth turned your stomach into butterflies, chuckling slightly at your humor.  Namor steps to your side and puts out his arm for you to grab. " After you, my lady."

“You’re the one who’s showing me, Menso.” You snorted but linked your arms anyway.

Namor chuckled and shook his head, “U ch'úupalo' ya'abtal jela'an.”

And he started to move, letting him take you through the streets of Cancun. But remember, you are only using Namor’s knowledge to bring you safely to your hotel, nothing more and nothing less.

 ↼ TEN MINUTES LATER ⇁

All your questions were ignored or answered with another question. When you began to have confidence in asking personal stuff, Namor would avoid it, always turning everything about you. You even thought that he was getting bored with all your personal life that you were oversharing.

But nothing like that; Namor would interrupt you for a second, only to cross a busy street, then he would ask you to continue with your childhood memories from Mexico when you visited with your mother. But you wanted so badly to know about Namor. Where did he work at? What was his favorite scent? Did he have a wife/girlfriend? Did he live alone? So many questions! He lived with two close cousins and was born and raised in Yucatan. At least, that is not bad to know about him.

You let out a loud yawn while Namor was telling a story about how he and his cousins were diving in cenotes, you didn't mean to be rude, but your exhausted body was at its limits. With sore feet and a wholly drained mind, it sounded tempting to fall asleep on the sand.

“Is my story that boring, In ch'ujuk lool? “

You offered him a giggly smile, but you were slowing down, your brain demanding rest, but you kept ambling while resting your head on Namor's shoulder. " No, nothing like that. I'm just exhausted."

" Ah, in that case, you no longer have to worry, see that? "

Your eyes went up and then watered a little. The sight of your hotel illuminated in all its glory seemed like a miracle straight from heaven. You ignored the pleas of your feet. You pushed a bit more until you finally faced the stairs leading to the hotel's lobby. Desolate was the hotel from the outside, but you knew there were still staff members inside. Namor's warmth was lulling you away while you were holding onto his big bicep as if they were a pillow.

Namor untangled his arm from yours and then took your hand in his grasp, “Well, here ends our little adventure.”

“What?”

“We finally made it.”

“Oh, yeah right.” Ay no, you didn’t want this to end, it’s too soon to say goodbye! “So, this is goodbye.”

“Indeed, it is, In lool.” Namor brough your hand to his mouth, brushing his lips to your knuckle and you were about melt right there if it wasn’t for his deep rich voice. “It was nice meeting you, despite the events of tonight.”

“It was nice meeting you too, Namor, and I know you already hate hearing me say but thank you so much for saving me. I mean, you didn’t have to do that….” Your voice cracks a bit. Oh boy, you really need to rest and be in the arm of your dearest girlfriends. You feel you were about a break in front of Namor.

Namor goes for your other hand and holds them to his chest, pulling you towards him as he stares you down with deep brown eyes. “No, no, I had to in ki'ichpam nikte'.  No one deserves that type of violation on their person and less someone like you.”

The caress with his knuckles on your cheek was your breaking point. Leaning just a bit closer to his space, your nostrils were filled with Namor's cologne, salt sea water, and nicotine. And Namor was drinking every detail of your features, every mole, and the tiny scar he could find on your plump cheeks that he could kiss, observing how your stunning ( c / e ) eyes shone with the light of the tall lamp posts. They were practically glowing for him.

His nose was grazing yours closely, hot breaths mixing, and Namor could end this intense hunger to kiss you until he stole your breath, but he noticed how you shivered and that glazed look in your eyes. You're still shaken from the event in the alley.

And when you were about to cut the space between your lips and his, but logic slapped you to come to your senses, and backed away.

“Namor, can I borrow your phone?”

He blinked confused for a second but responded. “What for?”

“Well, before you came one of the guys slapped my phone away. Oh, I didn’t event grabbed it." You winced at your forgetfulness and shrugged anyway. “Meh, I’m due to upgrade and all my photos are in the cloud.”  That didn’t answer Namor’s question. “I mean, I need to text my friend so she can come out…”

Namor blinked twice and huffed amusedly, he nodded and fish out his smartphone from his pocket. “Here you go.”

“Thank you,”

Reluctantly you released his hands to punch Riri's number on the phone. No calls. You didn't have the energy to speak everything through the device, so you sent two messages straight to the point. Hoping Riri wouldn't call this phone, you turned towards Namor, offering his phone back with a quiet thank you. Namor reached for his phone, but he didn't miss the opportunity for his fingers to caress yours as he grabbed the device.

You sent him a look when he put his phone away. You were not mad at Namor but at how the fuck this man affected you emotionally and physically.

“So, do you wish to go inside the lobby, and we can wait for your friend?”

You glared at Namor for a second then you glanced at the ten long stairs leading to the hotel lobby, and then back to the handsome shady savior. It’s not worth it, it ain’t worth moving your sore feet from your spot.

“I mean, we could stay outside here. I don’t mind sitting on the hard stairs while waiting in the suffocating heat for my friend….” Oh god, it was the warm weather, too warm for your tastes, you felt the sweat growing in the back of your dress. Namor licked his lips as he smiled at you, shaking his head amusedly by your rant, but he had an easy plan to fix that.

“Hey, yan my ch'ujuk concha, I think there’s a peacock behind you,” A malice glint flashed through his brown eyes.

Your mistake was twisting your neck, you pouted at the lack of the pretty feather birds, and before you could confront Namor, a squeal left your mouth as a pair of solid arms sneaked under your knees and waist. Your arms encircled Namor's broad shoulders to support, and shame began to heat your head. He didn't seem to shake as he went up the stairs with you in his arms, and being this close to his personal space was a bonus point, but you weren't going to let him know that.

“Eres un pinche cabron, pero si no fueras tan chulo te hubiera pegado…” You mumble under your breath, not making eye contact with him as he tries to search for you with a smug smirk.

“If you don’t tell me what that means, I will drop you.”

“It’s nothing, nada!”  You replied quickly, earning a loud chuckled as you tighten your grip around his shoulders. You cling to him like a cat not wanting to get in the water tub.   

“You should’ve told me your feet were hurting, In chan lool .” Namor chided near your ear. “And I told you so for not wearing your high heels.”

“So, my blisters can have blisters? HA! No thank you sir.”

The hotel doors were opened with the help of one of the workers when they glimpsed you from the counter. Namor nodded gratefully for the aid and went to the waiting area. He gently dropped you onto the expensive sofa and sat beside you. A heavy yawn broke out from you, covering your mouth with the palm of your hand. Then you glance at Namor with a hooded gaze, not hiding the fact you are about to fall asleep on this expensive couch with him, and beam tiredly at him, who was observing you with endearment or boredom. You couldn't tell.

“Are you tired, Ba'ax táan a cansada, in jela'an lool?”

“You know it’s not veery nice of you to say those things in your awesome language with your hot accent and voice…” You leaned into him; his arm dropped on your shoulders.  Namor was smiling at your slurred words and your accent slipping sometimes.

“And why it’s not nice?”

“Because! I can’t understand shit and it juuust driving crazy what are you saying.”

“I’ll tell you what those words meant if you give me your real name….” Namor leaned down, brushing the bridge of your nose with his, making you aware of the position. That hot sensation returned with more fervor in your stomach and your intimate parts. Your hand ended up in Namor's abdomen, feeling his warmth and his muscles flex a little. You could finish all this. You can satisfy your hunger and end your desire with just one kiss.

“My real name…?”

“Yes, In yakunaj, only your name.”

You frowned annoyed again by the words, no ideas whatsoever. You brush the tip of your nose against his, almost like an eskimo kiss. Your heart was pumping blood through your eardrums, your body buzzing with heat as you nestled against his. You bet he could hear your poor heart hammering loudly.

“I don’t understand any of that, how do you even pronounce it,”

Namor smirked, eyes focused on your half-open lips. “Do you want me to show you?”

YES, PLEASE, DO IT!

Your mind screamed, but you nodded weakly. You desired those lips to burn and mark you, and you wanted them on top of you in any way possible.

Namor smiled smugly, showing few of his teeth while connecting his forehead with yours. “I need you to hear your words in jela'an floor.”

“CONCHA, WHERE ARE YOU MY GIRL?”

Shuri's thunderous shout echoed through the empty lobby, you and Namor wince, backing away from each other as your attention landed on Shuri stepping out of the elevator with stumbling steps. You stood up from your seat, ignoring the sharp pain in your feet, and headed to Shuri with open arms.

“Conchita, where’ve you been?” Shuri’s tone scolded. “Twenty-five calls, fifty text messages, and nothing! What happened to you?”

You didn't reply away, mind already clouding with exhaustion, relief surrounded you when Shuri engulfed you with her long arms.

“It’s – it’s a long story, Namor brought me here because I had no idea where I was-”

“Who?”

“The guy right behind me, isn’t he cute?”

Shuri glanced behind you then look you up and down, “ Conchita, what kind of ecstacy have you taken?”

“Uhm no?”

“Then what man are you talking about?”

You whipped your head behind you and indeed, the lobby was vacant. The couch where you left Namor was empty, and a wrenching feeling twisted your gust, disappointed in yourself for not going for the kiss.  And the urges of crying took you over.

“I – I didn’t even get to kiss him,.”

Shuri cooed as she hugged you when your shoulders were shaking. “oh sisi wam omncinci othandekayo,, come on, let us go back to Riri and you can explain us...”

You let out a frail yeah while Shuri led you to the elevator and ignored the staff member approaching you with your heels and purse. So yeah, although the nightmare was over, your precious dream ended terribly. But who knows? You might see him again; you wonder to yourself. Just a little feeling that you would see Namor again, and this time, your tired mind promised to steal a kiss from him.

transations:

Que pinche suerte tengo ⇀ how fucking lucky I'm

eres un angel caido ⇀ you're a fallen angel

Oye, ¿que paso? ⇀ hey, what happened?

pendeja ⇀ bitch

chula, asi que me voy a colar con ellas ⇀ sweetie , i'm going to be with them

Que mamona, ni siquiera me dijo adios.⇀ What a bitch , he didn't even say goodbye to me.

U sojol, ma' le wíiniko'ob jaaj ⇀ you're a piece of scum, you are not men.

U ch'úupalo' ya'abtal jela'an. ⇀ what a curious girl you are.

In ch'ujuk lool? ⇀ My sweet flower

In lool ⇀ my flower.

in ki'ichpam nikte' ⇀ my beautiful flower

yan my ch'ujuk concha ⇀ oh my sweet concha

Eres un pinche cabron, pero si no fueras tan chulo te hubiera pegado… ⇀ You're a fucking bastard, but if you weren't so handsome would have hit you.

In chan lool ⇀ my little flower

Ba'ax táan a cansada, in jela'an lool? ⇀ Are you tired, my rare flower?

In yakunaj ⇀ my flower

oh sisi wam omncinci othandekayo, ⇀ oh my dear little sister,

[tozettastone]

I've previously mentioned I think it'd be fun to do a fic where Merlin is banished and has some adventures through Anglo-Saxon Britain (ideally landing me with a Gwaine/Lancelot/Merlin fic, as I deserve). I was thinking today it would be kind of fun to have him — as a physician's apprentice — very confidently put forward his ideas about humoral theory. As a treat.

So I wrote him stumbling into some mercenaries who are about to discover his magic and mcfucking kidnap him while bellowing "diiiibs!" and riding off into the sunset, like so:

(a warning for general battlefield-related grossness below)

---

"Oof," said Merlin, nearly tripping over himself at the force of his shove. Abruptly and horribly reminded of Arthur, he looked over his shoulder.

But however upset he currently felt, the huge and red-faced Egbert did not push him a second time. There was probably not much satisfaction in shoving Merlin, if you were roughly the size of a warhorse.

They both ducked into the cramped tent, which rendered it even more cramped. It, too, smelled awful, but marginally less than the field of battle outside — like, hey, perhaps nobody had died in here yet, so it was still more or less free of faeces.

Merlin looked down at the mercenary on the stained cot. Wilfrid, too, was a big man, with thighs like tree trunks, thick wheat-gold hair, and a reddish complexion. He was just as intimidating as his friend, even though he'd been stripped out of half his armour, and just the bloodstained padding and boots remained.

He was clammy, sweating, grim-faced with pain.

"Wilfrid? Hi. I'm Merlin. I'm a physician," sort of, "from, er, from Camelot."

Wilfrid's jaw was very tight and his breathing was laboured. He heaved in a breath and said, "You're a long... way from home."

"I s'pose. I've been exiled, though."

"That's, ha, that's comforting."

"Get on with it," hissed Egbert.

It was obvious what was the matter with him: there was a great bloody knife sticking out of his side. The wound was still bleeding sluggishly, a bright and healthy red.

Merlin swallowed hard and knelt in the dirt next to the cot to look, not just with his eyes, but with his nose, too.

The skin around the wound was swollen and streaked with spilt blood. More had dribbled free as the first wash was drying, and successive layers had left the skin a tacky mess.

"Let me have a look..." He said, and he glanced up to meet Wilfrid's eyes for a moment just before he laid hands on him. He proved the area around the knife gently and carefully with his fingers.

Wilfrid was apparently made of good Roman concrete, because his jaw flexed and he breathed out hard but didn"t make a noise.

Unfortunately, despite how it looked �� clean red blood, good pink flesh — what Merlin could smell wasn't just the iron of blood or the reek of urine, but also the acid scent of half-digested onions. And that meant that the knife had penetrated Wilfrid's stomach.

"I think..." 'I think there's nothing I can do for this,' was what he was about to say. But... there probably was something, wasn't there? Something magical. He was no longer in Camelot, after all. The incantation to close the wound would be something as simple as gehælan, rendered in the speech of the old religion, perhaps. But...

But, well, as soon as the yellow bile leaking from his stomach mixed with his blood, its humoral characteristics would become so unbalanced, so significantly, that he would begin to show the symptoms of a catastrophic excess of hot and dry qualities: confusion, fever, and a thirst that would likely kill him.

"You think what?"

Merlin chewed his bottom lip. "I can stop the bleeding. But from the smell, the knife's got his guts."

"God's blood!" Egbert spun on his heel and kicked savagely at the ground, sending up a clod of dirt. It smacked into the heavy fabric wall of the tent.

Wilfrid unclenched his teeth long enough to say only: "Thought so. And I don't want to lie here and fade away helplessly like a woman in childbed. Egbert, go and get that damned axe."

Egbert swore again, but he stormed out, presumably to take the axe from his friend's saddle.

Merlin tapped the edge of the cot with his fingertips, drumming them nervously. He wasn't in Camelot anymore, which was — don't get him wrong — awful. But it meant there was less danger if he used magic.

And it wasn't like Wilfrid was staring down all that many options.

"Let's, erm, keep the axe as a last resort. There... might be something else we can try, first."

[alexbkrieger13]

https://www.dr.dk/sporten/fodbold/kvindelandsholdet/brandvarm-harder-er-klar-til-jagte-em-hun-betyder-alt-landsholdet

Brandvarm Harder is ready to chase the EC: 'She means everything to the national team'

The national team's talisman shows great form for his club. (Photo: © Kim Price, Associated Press)

After a training camp in Marbella's milder weather in February, it is a slightly different backdrop that Pernille Harder and the rest of the Danish national team have arrived for, ahead of the European Championship qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Belgium.

With heavy rain as the backdrop at the hotel in Viborg and the prospect of sleet and artificial turf later in the day, there is no doubt what the Danish national team captain would choose if the opportunity presented itself.

- It was great to be in Marbella, but it's the tournament matches that you think are fun. I'm looking forward to getting out and playing for something, says the 31-year-old profile.

And it's no wonder that Pernille Harder looks forward to playing football every time she steps on the field these days.

The last five games have featured four goals, two assists and a decisive penalty kick in the German cup semi-final for the big club Bayern Munich.

After a long period of constant bumps in the road, including in the form of injuries, it thus appears that the offensive ace has hit top speed again.

Pernille Harder has had a good start to 2024 at Bayern Munich. (Photo: © Matthias Schrader, Associated Press)

Doesn't fly up when things are going well

Before this week's meeting, national coach Andree Jeglertz has also tripped to meet his captain with open arms. The aforementioned injury period has to that extent patched up Jeglertz's takeover of the national team, and although Harder has still delivered, a little extra confidence is not to be missed.

- When a player comes in with confidence and a feeling that she is in good shape, it rubs off on the other players. So when Pernille does it, we are happy, says Jeglertz.

Having said that, the 52-year-old Swede has never been prone to deep wrinkles, even though everything may not have gone smoothly for Denmark's biggest star.

- I think she has a fairly mature mindset. She doesn't fly up when things are going well, or fall too deep when things are going the other way. You can really feel an experienced player who can handle both success and adversity, says Andree Jeglertz.

Experienced, or just a world star with your feet firmly buried in the Jutland soil?

Regardless, the most important thing for the protagonist himself is to feel comfortable on the field.

Pernille Harder is ready to turn out for the national team again. (Photo: © LUISA GONZALEZ, Ritzau Scanpix)

Means everything to the national team

Regardless of whether Harder is successful at his club or not, there is no doubt that the captain is a vital part of the Danish national team.

In the last three games, there have been four goals for Denmark's number ten, and therefore the long-term team-mate Sanne Troelsgaard is also pleased that her captain is coming into the Danish camp hot.

- I love being on the team with her, and the fact that she is Danish, I think we benefit from that. When we have a captain who enjoys playing and is in great form, it naturally rubs off on the rest of the team, says Sanne Troelsgaard, before emphasizing Harder's importance to the Danish team.

- She means everything to the national team and IS the national team. Not least in our offensive, where she must shine and take responsibility. She performs every weekend and scores a lot of goals. I hope we can benefit from that here, and get her to play well so that she can decide it, says Sanne Troelsgaard.

Even though the rain falls in thigh-deep rays, the weather forecast calls for sleet, and the legwear needs a little extra treatment after the 120-minute cup semi-final on Sunday, at least it's nothing that seems to affect Pernille Harder's desire to get out and give it gas on the football field in the next two games.

Behind the smile, however, there are also a pair of steely eyes, as the fiery striker is asked about the matches against the Czech Republic and Belgium.

- We must have six points and so on. That is absolutely certain, says Pernille Harder.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Sonic Youth - Little John's Farm, Reading, England, August 23, 1991

1991! Punk, it broke! Here, we've got Sonic Youth near the top of the bill at the Reading Festival ... a lineup that earned a lifetime's worth of bragging rights for attendees — mainly because they would've caught Nirvana right on the precipice, the bleeding edge! In just a few months, Cobain and co. would be well on their way to becoming the world's biggest band. Surprise!

And certainly, their afternoon set at Reading is very exciting. Bear witness to: a field full of headbangers hearing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the first time; Tony the Interpretive Dancer getting down like a clown; the Vaselines' Eugene Kelly popping up for a "Molly's Lips" duet; Kurt hurling himself into the drum kit like a madman, only to emerge seconds later waving to the crowd with a big goofy grin. Really, Nirvana just seem like an incredibly fun band here. The, er, doom and gloom was somewhere in the future, unknown and nameless.

Whatever, nevermind! We're not here to talk about Nirvana. We're here to talk about Sonic Youth, who had already had an eventful year. For one thing, they'd run the gauntlet across the States with Neil Young & Crazy Horse on the eardrum-shattering Weld tour. On those dates, they might not have been quite arena-ready. But at Little John's Farm, they sound perfectly at home in a larger setting, blasting off and digging in, offering up a rollicking and righteous set for our listening enjoyment (you can watch it, too).

The Goo stuff is kinetic and razor-sharp — I especially like the intense "Tunic," with the controls set for the heart of the abyss. "Eric's Trip" is a total rager, Ranaldo hanging on for dear life as Shelley goes nuts. We even get a few Dirty previews. This is a band operating at a very high level! The #SonicSummer rolls on!

Dudes, I can't find a tape of Iggy's evening-closing show ... but you can listen to Dino Jr from earlier in the day. That's pretty good, right?

[fandom-go-round]

Sorry if this is super tmi btw (I once had chest pain on my left side, anything that wasn't sitting still and breathing shallowlly was very painful and I went to the ER, i would not recommend it) I'd like some headcanons about a master with high blood pressure/heart issues with Fate/grand Orders Mori nagayoshi and caster Merlin, if you would be so kind dear author ♥️

I hope you feel better Anon, that doesn’t sound fun. Well wishes for you!

Warnings: Health Issues, Going to the Doctor, Long Term Health Affects, Heart Issues, Mentions of Chronic Issues/Pain, Illegally Looking through Medical Records (Merlin), Taking Medication

Mori Nagayoshi:

Mori isn’t going to notice anything unless you tell him yourself. As much as he cares about your safety, it’s from an external perspective. Sure, he notices if you trip or something like that but heart issues are outside his wheelhouse. Once you tell him, he’s a lot more conscious about how things can affect you and your heart.

He is, despite his best efforts, horrible at helping with your issues. Even when telling other people to leave you alone, Mori is yelling and adding more stress to the situation. He’s a lot quicker to calm down once he knows that your heart might not be able to take it. You’re not that fragile but don’t tell him that; better that he tries to restrain himself, even if it’s only a little.

Mori is great about getting people to give you space. If you’re having pain or need a minute he’s always there, being a physical barrier to anyone trying to get to you. It’s very helpful during field missions but he’ll do it back at Chaldea too. It’s wonderful to have a Berserker barrier between you and the world.

Mori loves intimidating people for you and he’s discovered a special love of making the doctors nervous. He knows that you don’t love going and makes it his mission that they all ‘behave’. What he means by this you don’t really know but doctors take you a lot more seriously than before and it’s nice. Part of you feels a little guilty but mostly bringing Mori ends a lot better than you would have feared.

Merlin (Caster):

Merlin knows the first time that meets you that something is going on. He is, at the end of the day, a healer and it’s not hard to notice things. He always plays off his concern but he does check in on you more than he did before. Merlin claims that he’s better with a sword than healing but don’t listen to him.

He may sneak a look at your medical records. It’s totally not illegal because the concept of hospitals is gone. There’s no world right now you know. He does it to make sure he can support you and it’s coming from a good place, even if it’s not ethical. If you end up telling him yourself, he’ll pretend he didn’t know specifics and the truth will never come out.

Merlin is wonderful in dealing with chronic pain. If he notices that you’re uncomfortable or in pain, a small healing spell is thrown your way. He uses his magic to support you and if you complain he waves you off. He’s a great mage Master, a few stray healing spells isn’t going to wear him out. No worries.

He thinks that it’s important you manage your health in terms of getting better. If you have to take medication, he’ll remind you and then see what happens. He’s not cruel if you forget (he always has extras) but he’s a bit of a mom about it. Merlin doesn’t love traditional doctors but if they’ve given you something, for sure he’s going to make you take it.

[depressedhatakekakashi]

School teacher kakashi takes the gang on a field trip. The bus driver is gai. It’s a long ride,,

I love the mental image of Kakashi stepping onto the bus expecting the regular driver (maybe Genma or Ebisu) and instead being greeted by this absolute snack of a human

He has to be professional and while it may seem easy to everyone around him, it’s not. Kakashi is having an in er war with himself the the side that wants to flirt with Gai and ask him out to dinner is WINNING but the side that says ‘be professional!’ Is curb stomping him in anger

Gai absolutely thinks Kakashi is a hottie and is no where near as avoidant in making those feelings known

It has been five minutes and the students are already placing bets on who will ask who out first, and if Kakashi even has a crush on Gai (Neji says yes, Sasuke doesn’t care, Naruto thinks his friends have lost their minds because Kakashi-sensei would never fall in love with someone fun like Gai)

Iruka is also on this trip and he is texting Yamato the entire time keeping him up to date because this shit is funny

There is at least one parent on the trip and it’s probably Choza who is reminiscing with Gai because he recognizes his old student (he used to be a teacher but retired young to do other things) and Kakashi is struggling not to speak over him

At least one kid tried to pet Pakkun while Kakashi was distracted and promptly got the death glare from Iruka

[jazzy---j]

Daughter of Poseidon: The Lightning Thief

“even the gods have to bow to fate”

Chapter Summary: A field trip suddenly becomes dangerous and traumatic, unveiling an unsettling reality for Cassie Jackson. Leaving her and her brother scrabbling for answers.

Masterlist >>> Read on ao3 (1/23)

We Accidentally Vaporize Our Pre-Algebra Teacher

This is not really how I pictured my life going. I don't know what exactly I pictured but the life of a half-blood was not it. But I am who I am for a reason.

However despite how amazing my demigod, hero life sounds, if YOU are reading this because you think you might be one of us, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life. It almost is not worth it.

Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways. Which can honestly be such a drag.

If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think this is fiction, great. Congratulations. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that this is just a fun little bit of urban fantasy escapism.

But if you recognize yourself in these pages, if you feel something stirring inside-stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you. Don't ignore it. Try and get in touch with me, with any of us and we will find you. We never leave a demigod behind.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

My name is Cassandra Jackson. But everyone just calls me Cassie. It’s faster, easier and if you call me Cassandra... well you will literally be sleeping with the fishes.

I'm eleven years old. Until a few months ago, I was in the sixth grade with my older brother Percy. We went to Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.

Are we troubled kids? Well duh. Wouldn't be much fun if we weren't.

I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan- twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.

I know, it sounds like a chaotic disaster. Most Yancy field trips were.

But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so it may not be so bad.

Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put Percy to sleep.

I hoped the trip would be okay for us. At least, I hoped that for once Percy and I wouldn't get in trouble. Boy, was I wrong.

See, bad things happen to us on field trips. Like at our fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, Percy had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. He wasn't aiming for the school bus on purpose. And I still swear I didn't mean to light the wick. At the time I didn't know the thing still even worked. Percy and I were just immersing ourselves in the history of Saratoga. But of course, we got expelled anyway.

And before that, at our fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, Percy sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk, and our class took an unplanned swim.

At our third-grade school, I let out all the animals at the petting zoo. They just looked so sad, and I know this is crazy but I heard the horses just begging me to let them out. So I did, and a teacher may or may not have taken a trip to the ER.

And the time before that... Well, you get the idea.

But this time Percy and I talked it over and we decided that we had to get it together. We were determined to be good. We were gonna keep each other in check, no mess ups, no screw ups.

All the way into the city, we put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, (also my roommate, lucky me) hitting Percy's best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.

Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria. He also had the weirdest fashion sense with a rasta cap and baggy jeans. But he was one of the greatest friends Percy has ever had, besides me of course, and I was thankful for that.

Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew we couldn't do anything back to her because Percy and I were already on probation. The headmaster had threatened us with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.

Which is such a shame because I had so many plans.

"I'm going to kill her," Percy mumbled.

I scoffed, picking the foam out of the hole of my seat, "Get in line bro."

Grover tried to calm him down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."

He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.

"That's it." Percy started to get up, but Grover and I pulled him back into the seat.

"You're already on probation," Grover reminded him.

"And you know who'll get blamed if anything happens," I added.

I grabbed his hand, "Come on Percy we talked about this."

We locked eyes, and I took a second to analyze my brother's face. Even though we weren't actually twins we still looked really similar. Both of us had wild windswept jet black hair and vibrant sea-green eyes.

“Remember what mom said, ‘“Hold fast, Perseus.””

He sighed and closed his eyes, nodding in agreement.

Looking back on it, I wish I'd let Percy deck Nancy Bobofit right then and there. Heck, I wished I'd done it. An in-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.

Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.

He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.

It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years. Probably even longer.

He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time Percy or I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give us the evil eye.

Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.

Which I, of course, had nothing to do with.

From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured Percy and I were devil spawns. She's not entirely wrong but, that wasn't the point.

She would point her crooked finger at us and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew we were going to get after-school detention for a month.

One time, she'd made Percy erase answers out of old math workbooks and I had to scrap gum off the bottom of all the desks in her classroom. We were both up until pass midnight. One day Percy angrily told Grover he didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at us, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."

So not ominous at all. Everything's all fine and dandy.

Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.

Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele. I turned around to say something but Percy beat me to it exclaiming, "Will you shut up?"

It totally came out louder than he meant it to.

My big brother ladies and gentlemen.

The whole group laughed. I turned and gave them a death stare and they quickly shut up. That's right no one was gonna make fun of my brother except me. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.

"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"

I dared a glance at Percy and his face was totally red. He said, "No, sir."

Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"

I looked at the carving and felt a flush of relief because we just studied this in class. Percy should remember this. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?" Percy exclaimed.

"Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because..."

"Well..." Percy started trying to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and-"

"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.

"Titan," I coughed into my hand.

"Titan," he corrected himself as grabbed my hand to give a gentle squeeze in thanks.

"And... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"

"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me, I turned and made a face at her. Percy gripped my hand tighter in warning. I turned back around and made a face at him too. He ignored me.

"-and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," He continued, "and the gods won."

Some snickers from the group.

Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"

"And why, Miss Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"

"Busted," Grover muttered.

"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.

At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had horse ears.

I thought about his question, shrugged, and gave the safe non-committal answer, "I don't know, sir."

"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. and Miss. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"

The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like complete morons.

Grover, Percy, and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. and Miss. Jackson."

Damn... almost made it.

Percy told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"

Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go, intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.

"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told us. "About the Titans?" Percy asked.

"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."

"Oh."

"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy and Cassie Jackson."

I was kinda annoyed with that statement. He pushed us so hard.

I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped. But Mr. Brunner expected Percy and I to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that we both have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder, and Percy and I had never made above a C- in our lives. And no he didn't expect us to be as good; he expected us to be better.

No pressure.

Percy mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele like he'd been at this girl's funeral.

He told us to go outside and eat lunch.

The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.

Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snowstorms, flooding, and wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in. That would actually be the least of my concerns.

Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds didn't see a thing. Morons.

Grover, Percy, and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from that school-the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.

"Detention?" Grover asked.

"Nah," Percy said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean- I'm not a genius."

"You most certainly are not," I said smirking as I unwrapped my sandwich.

“Shut up, Cassie,” Percy said jokingly as he flicked my shoulder.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give us some deep philosophical crap like they say in the movies, he said, "Can I have your apple?"

Percy shrugged and handed it to him. I offered him my granola, but he declined, and I began to feed it to the pigeons.

I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so badly to jump in a taxi and head home with Percy. She'd hug us and be glad to see us, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send us right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was our sixth school in six years and we were probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.

I also wished that I could go visit the dance studio around the corner. I had been dancing since I was 6, my mom enrolled me to try and run off all my nervous energy and help me focus. I fell in love and have been dancing ever since. Unfortunately, I haven't been in a year because of school. I was extremely out of practice and just itching to start again.

Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table. Like in those Italian romance movies that I watched from the window of Ms. Noris's fourth-story apartment across the street.

I was about to drink my juice box (yeah a juice box, sue me) when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of us with her ugly friends-I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists-and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.

"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos.

I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." Sometimes, it actually worked for me. Percy on the other hand... not so much.

The next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"

Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.

Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see-" "-the water-"

"-like it grabbed her-"

There was no way what I just saw was real. No way. All I knew for sure was that my big brother was in trouble again.

I looked over at Percy like, "Dude, what did you do?"

As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on us. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes as if she just proved an argument. "Now, honey-"

"I know," Percy grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."

That wasn't the right thing to say.

"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said, "Cassandra too!" she said almost triumphantly.

Oh great! I'm in trouble by association.

Percy froze and stared at her in disbelief, "She didn't even do anything!" he yelled.

"I'll be the judge of that Mr. Jackson!" she sneered.

"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. I pushed her."

I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for us. Besides the fact that it was totally a bad idea, Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.

She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled. "I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.

"But-"

"You-will-stay-here."

Grover looked at me desperately.

"It's okay, man," Percy told him.

"Thanks for trying," I added.

"Honeys," Mrs. Dodds barked at us. "Now." Nancy Bobofit smirked.

Percy gave her his deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare as he grabbed my hand.

Damn, I did not want to be on the other end of that.

Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.

I glanced at Percy and he looked just as puzzled as I felt.

How... how did she get there so fast?

We have moments like that a lot when our brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told us this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.

I wasn't so sure, this time. My grip on Percy's hand only tightened.

We continued after Mrs. Dodds.

Halfway up the steps, Percy turned and glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between us and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.

I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.

Okay, something clearly isn't right.

In any normal situation, she would make us buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop. But that clearly wasn’t the plan.

We followed her deeper into the museum. When we finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.

Except for us, the gallery was empty.

Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.

Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze as if she wanted to pulverize it...

"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.

Percy said, "Yes, ma'am."

I decided to stay quiet, with my mouth we'd end up in even more trouble than we already were.

She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?" The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.

She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt us. I'm pretty sure that is highly illegal.

Percy said, "We-we'll try harder, ma'am." Thunder shook the building. If we were in a movie that probably means something very bad is about to happen.

"We are not fools, Percy and Cassie Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."

"Percy-, " I said nervously as I gripped him.

Ok, now I'm really confused.

I didn't know what she was talking about.

All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy Percy had been selling out of my dorm room. Or maybe they'd realized I'm the one who super glued the science teacher to his desk chair and let loose all the frogs in the classroom.

What can I say I enjoy chaos.

"Well?" she demanded.

"Ma'am, I don't..." I trailed off.

"Your time is up," she hissed.

Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.

Then things got even weirder.

Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.

"What ho, Percy, Cassie!" he shouted, tossing a pen and small glinting object in the air. It flew so fast I could barely make it out. Mrs. Dodds lunged at us.

With a yelp, Percy and I dodged in opposite directions. I felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched what I could now see was some sort of metal bracelet cuff out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a bracelet anymore. It was a spear!

Ok...that's new. Bracelet turning into medieval murder weapon.

To my right Percy was holding a sword, the same sword Mr. Brunner used on tournament days.

Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.

My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the spear.

She snarled, "Die, honey!"

And she flew straight at me.

Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing I could do: I slashed with the spear.

The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body, clashing and clanging with Percy's blade as he swung through with the sword.

Mrs. Dodds was a sandcastle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.

We were alone.

The spear went limp like a wet noodle in my hands and seemed to shrink. It began to wrap around my arm and once it was done it harden again into a bracelet cuff that looked like a snake coiled around my arm. I tugged on it, trying to get it off but it wouldn't budge. I finally decided to just pull my jacket sleeve over it and deal with it later.

So.... that happened.

Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but us.

I ran to Percy, and he gripped me tightly in a hug. He was shaking just as badly as I was.

"Percy, what was that?" I exclaimed.

"I don't know," he said, eyes still searching the exhibit as if Mrs. Dodd's would show up again.

My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.

It was much more believable than the fever dream we just witnessed.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Percy said as he grabbed my hand and we went back outside.

It had started to rain.

Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."

Percy stopped walking, "Who?"

"Our teacher. Duh!"

I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about. She just rolled her eyes and turned away.

Percy asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.

He said, "Who?"

But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at us, so I thought he was messing around.

"Not funny, dude," I told him. "This is serious."

Thunder boomed overhead.

I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book as if he'd never moved.

"Stay here Cassie, I'm gonna figure out what's going on," Percy said.

He went over to Mr. Brunner.

I moved close enough to hear what they were saying but not too close in case there were any more surprises from Mr. Brunner the only other teacher on the trip. My ears strained to listen.

Mr. Brunner looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."

Percy handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized Percy still had that. "Sir," Percy said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"

He stared at Percy blankly. "Who?"

"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."

He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"

Yep, something is definitely going on.

chapter 2 >>>

[arcadian-vampire]

[More Medical Anomaly Blogging, yippee] Putting this one under a readmore bc it's like six paragraphs of absurdity, you know how it is w the mental illness abt the physical illness 🥳

Last night I went to use our pulse oximeter while my family was standing around chatting in the kitchen, and the silence that fell when the device proudly informed me that my oxygen was only at 84%,, yeah. That was fun

I Have noticed that number hasn't really been the best lately (not That bad, but not ideal either- it's supposed to be above 98%. at the height of covid, nurses told people to go to the ER if that number was 88% or less). It's not very surprising either, considering my limbs have been displaying Slightly Alarming shades of blue/purple more and more these days

I have a doctor appointment in two weeks and I'm. finally gonna inform him that Hey My Feet Have Turned Red/Purple Whenever I Stand. since I was like. 17 probably. My heartrate Very Rarely falls below 110 when I stand now. Shit's fucked!! I've been too scared to talk about it until now because supposedly nothing is wrong with me, I'm just really bad at being a person, and it's my fault somehow.

I don't know what I'm gonna do if they tell me I did this. Lie facedown on the carpet and scream for a solid six hours, maybe. If they find a way to Fix Me though, I won't complain- it'd be nice to not worry about scaring little kids when I go to the store in shorts and flip-flops, y'know? It'd be nice to not stuff my hands in my pockets when I notice my nails are blue again, because it scares me so much I can't handle looking at it

In other news, my mom has hunted down an Ehlers-Danlos specialist in our nearest big city- a solid five hour car ride away if you don't stop at all or hit any traffic. We've been hoping I could just,, wait a bit, until we can move to that state so we'll be closer to better doctors, but woops looks like my body is Not gonna allow that, for whatever damn reason. My legs lock up so bad during even an hour long car ride, I'm gonna Fucking Die ( < being dramatic) on a trip to that city omg

And if we go there and they tell me this isn't EDS, it's some other junk nobody can figure out, I'm gonna walk out into my nearest corn field and scream so loud that six different farmers show up w their shotguns bc they think either someone is being brutally murdered, or there's an absolutely fucked up fox coming to eat all their chickens. And then I'm gonna steal some of their corn, but that's unrelated to my health situation

TLDR; I'm still going insane, but my cat keeps bringing me her mousey toys so like. it's all good

[ofamaranthine]

🍑 welcome to beautiful atlanta, kaia harris! i can’t believe you’ve been in the city for ten years as a paramedic. i guess that makes sense for 29 year old. no matter; we’re happy to have you for your + self motivated self, even if you can be a little - stubborn. you also remind me of muddy hiking boots, photos of sunsets, the smell of crisp morning air, but that might just be me. ( jaz sinclair, cis woman, she/her )

i. basics

birth name: kaia eve harris nicknames: kai date of birth: august 15th of 1994 - twenty-nine years old place of birth: new orleans, louisiana, usa residence: atlanta, georgia, usa - lives in the burrow occupation: paramedic sexual orientation: homosexual relationship status: single big three: leo sun, sagittarius moon, leo rising mbti type: esfp-a aesthetics: muddy hiking boots, photos of sunsets, the smell of crisp morning air, getting lost in the woods, the song of a mourning dove, golden hour, a fancy metal water bottle covered in stickers, post cards from all over, the smell of blooming flowers

ii. sparknotes

kaia was born to unknown birth parents, put up for adoption as soon as she was born.

she was adopted by her moms a few months after being born. she was their second child and they would adopt one more after her.

growing up, kaia was an adventurous kid. she was always outside, exploring nature and just enjoying the fresh air.

she was always encouraged by her moms to be herself, she always had a supportive environment.

she did fine in school grades wise, she was popular amongst her peers as she loved being social and being the center of attention.

out of all the people in her life, she was closest to her siblings. the three of them were practically inseparable, of course they fought from time to time, but they always ended up resolving this quickly.

hiking and walking in nature was how kaia spent a lot of her free time. doing nothing specifically, just walking.

graduated high school and opted to get her emt certification.

she loved being an emt. she loved hearing people's stories, being there to help them in their saddest moments and on occasion, their happiest.

she decided to follow her parents and moved to atlanta at nineteen.

kaia found employment relatively quickly as she was determined to get back to being an emt.

she met her first love a year into living in atlanta. she was an er nurse who kaia saw frequently during her trips back and forth from the hospital.

the two dated for four years, during which kaia was happier than she ever had been before.

her girlfriend broke up with her after getting a job as a travel nurse, she was devastated and literally never recovered.

she became an actual paramedic at twenty-seven after getting her certification.

currently she's just vibing and living her life, though you'll occasionally find her sobbing over her ex.

iii. fun facts

one of those kids who would pick up bugs and chase people with them

still super close to her siblings, she spends as much time with them as her schedule allows

delivered a baby in the back of an ambulance on her first day as an emt in atlanta

still not over her ex girlfriend (it's been five years)

she will get mad if you call her an emt and not a paramedic, she will tell you that there is a very BIG difference

doesn't really drink but insists on being there for her friends just in case anything happens

loves to go on hikes and nature walks still, she's been getting into nature photography as a hobby

has various unfinished diy projects around her apartment, will she ever finish them? the world may never know

iv. connections

someone she clicked with immediately. this person and kaia are known as those best friends. whenever kaia's not at work or with her siblings, she's probably with this person.

someone she works with/sees a lot during her job. this person probably also works as a paramedic/emt or in the medical field.

kaia's hiking buddy, someone who will come with her on her day long hikes and maybe even some camping trips.

someone kaia used to try and get over her ex girlfriend, she maybe lead them on then dropped them when she got bored.

a current fwb, very much no strings attached.

a fwb who has feelings for her, but is aware that she is very emotionally unavailable.

a childhood friends she thought she'd never see again, bonus points if they just happen to run into each other.

someone who helps her finish the diy projects she's started but never ended up finishing (there are a lot)

[beommiya]

Xuan rolls his eyes. He wasn't there to kill this boy, not when the rascal had made the mistake of annoying him to this extent and making fun of whim, all whilst basically 'in his home' so to speak. No, the boy was to be punished, but he wasn't going to kill him... Just prove a point to his organization that he wasn't a man to be joked around with or disrespected and, by hurting Kibum's boss where it hurt the most: take his beloved pet all for himself, along with destroying their small operations den he'd easily located before tracking down Bum, the main dealer. "God, you are so freaking messed up it's almost ridiculous!" The green eyed man snorts and when Kibum tries to touch him, he grabs the youngers arm with a strong and firm grip, almost yanking him. "Do you still think that I am a fucking hallucination?" He squeezes the other's arm, almost digging his nails into his skin and then, with a sinister grin, he leans in to whisper into Bum's ear. "Don't worry though, since I am a generous guy, I'll send you into dreamland where you can actually meet your 'little friends' and have as much fun as you want with them, then we can continue the 'fun' back into the real world, once you wake up." With that said, he punches Kibum full force into to solar plexus, kicking him pretty much unconscious.

In the past he did fight with his hallucinations while on acid. To the point where he destroyed furniture and woke up in the ER the next morning full of cuts. So touching Xuan and actually feeling how real he was did nothing to his brain. But to his surprises, the hallucination grabbed his arm and yanked him. That's when panic took over the high, almost waking him up from his own little world but his mind slipped back into the rabbit hole. "You're not even real" he continued to believe his own theory, a dumb fucked up grin playing on his lips. He made a mental note to talk to his boss, he really needed to know what was in that harmless weed he had and for sure he was going to ask for more. Whatever was going on right now, he needed more of it. That until the pain around his wrist made him whimper, trying to escape from the grip. "Let go of me, weirdo" that's all his brain could come up with. He needed to wake up. Instead he got punched, the kick knocking out the air out of his lungs almost instantly.

It was the break of down, in a field filled with flowers made out of butterflies. As he opened his eyes, he could hear them whisper. Millions of them were mocking him, repeating over and over each mistake that led him to the life he had as of now. As he got up, he tried to rip them out of the ground, in his desperate attempt to shut them up. But it was like trying to catch smoke with his fists. Their whispers grew louder, the words more venomous. The butterflies grew teeth, sharp ones and Kibum was now running, screaming and crying out for help. Until he tripped and they swallowed him up. The recurring dream was a metaphor for what his parent's used to repeat to him when he was a child "but what would the world say, Kibum?" and the world had always something negative to say.

He gasped for air when he woke up.

[faerie-goddess]

my chronic migraine/brain trauma/ptsd timeline is actually:

infancy was spent with horrendous ear infections that led to the discovery im allergic to penicillin and my left ear suffered major ear damage, i could only hear 75% as a child, its worse now. i had to have speech therapy as it affected how i learned to speak. -ages 1-3

whacked in the head with golf club (frontal bone, left side above eye) had to get stitches - age 3

first distinct memories of having migraines - grade school

got glasses; actually remember parents, fam and doctor encouraging/hoping/praying it would fix my migraines - 3rd grade

glasses dont magically fix migraine issue, lots of going to doctor and a neurologist, tests, CT scans, diet restrictions, pills, and weekends spent in the dark with a wet rag on my head while my parents hosted parties - 4th grade

dentist realizes i will need braces but also orders removal of 8 teeth and then i had spacers :) - 4th grade also!!

neurologist told my parents good news is nothing is showing up. i dont actually have any idea what was actually concluded. i only remember stopping the medicine(s) and being told we would go back after puberty????? i think it was abandoned and assumed i would "grow out of it" - between 4th and 5th grade

"your dad has enlisted and will be going away for 3 months for basic training" - 5th grade oh yeah so that explains why it was suddenly dropped.

lots of moments with my best friend erica's family on trips spent puking in public or their car from my migraines amd calls to my parents and my sweet friend stroking my head for me. when we played pretend at sleepovers we would try old school witchcraft and even resorted to black magic to try to cure me. light as a feather but her head stiff as a board no cap - 6th grade

me to my dad one summer day in the BK drive thru: hey dad... my left hand and arm are tingly hehehe is this puberty?

dad: hold these fries we are going to the ER right now

*hours later* ER doc: ah yes what your daughter is experiencing are migraine PRE-symptoms its quite normal for those who suffer from migraines often. its like a warning bell youre about to have one. hope this helps. thank you come again. -summer before 7th grade. this was the day i realized migraines are just basically microdosing having a stroke. i realized i could have a stroke one day over age 30 and i will chalk it up to another pesky ole migraine and will die. sometimes the problems choose you. this day/revelation was a major pillar in my decision to never get pregnant. in a nutshell: my quality of life already sucks lmao fuck adding more shit to it.

"your dad and i have decided its best we are your parents separately. oh also your dad is deploying to iraq so like though separate, we are united. okay? okay." - 7th grade

rehearsed cheer routine during halftime game for junior cheer team, i was a flyer, was thrown into basket toss, wasnt caught on my way down. i remember it all. everything about that day. everything but when i blacked out when i hit the ground. coach jumped onto field running to check on me, my mother screamed "my baby my baby my baby" made a huge show. i stood up and finished routine bc i am committed. it wasnt until i was re-telling this story at age 29 to my boss that i actually had a eureka moment when boss asked me "what did the ER say after? i bet you had a concussion!!! you poor thing!" and I was like "ummm what do you mean? my mom took me home?" I blacked out after hitting the ground for an unknown amount of time, and i was not even taken to get looked at after. - 7th grade, dad was deployed so i bet he would have taken me tbh.

migraines raged on, but remained fallen to the wayside because when my parents got too wrapped up in themselves, my migraine pain was dismissed, gaslit or simply ignored. (or made fun of.) i accepted there was no fixing it anymore and had for a long time, and was committed to just ... dealing with it. especially when kicked out my fathers house the summer i graduated high school, and was then promptly without health insurance until age 28. dealing with them is all i know.

i should add my rape to the timeline. most of it i dont recall. thank fucking heavens. but because it was a huge gap in time, i should consider if i received any head trauma during as well. who knows. the alcohol addiction i fell into after most definitely damaged my brain either way. - age 19.

so yeah if you see me getting uppity with either of my parents NOW who have the fucking balls to try to tell me "why dont you try using mind over matter?" im going to say with no holds barred right back to them "let me hit your head with a golf club and you tell me if YOU can use mind over matter"

im done with their narrative of throwing up their hands and being like welp oh well what can you do??? because what i have been doing is connecting all the fucking dots in my childhood and theyre painting a very obvious picture.

my migraines have to stem from BRAIN TRAUMA right?

i have huge memory lapses in most of my childhood and thats partly from many times spent laying with migraines and also because some blocks are there on purpose. one babysitter my brother and i had was abusive. she did a lot of fucked up things that i remember and i know she did worse bc recently these memories have been resurfacing to me!!! i will only mention what i think relates to migraines: this bitch would lock all the older kids outside every single day (i was one of the older kids) for hours and never would allow us back inside for anything. i was severely dehydrated and prob suffered from mild heat strokes. i remember crying my eyes out to her husband on a harder day when he would always bring the one alotted cup of apple juice bc i hated apple juice and would wail for water. i remember and even discussed in therapy how when i told my parents this they didnt take action. but when i told my grandma the babysitter ripped my 1 year old brother off her couch holding him by just 1 arm to toss his ass on the floor THEN did we finally get told we would be going to a new babysitter. again new memories have been resurfacing but only in flashes and i k n o w i suffered abuse there. i remember trying to find words for the shit i was seeing at age 6 that i didnt know the words to yet because i was 6 that now when these memories present themselves im reminded of how bad it was.

its just beyond infuriating and frustrating now all because my parents had it in their minds i would "grow out of it" so now that we are here presently still with my migraines.... unchanging. still roaring. still chronic. (nothings changed but my routine in preventing and caring which is damn better now that i am in control as a responsible adult BTW.) now that all proof of childhood neglect is staring them in the fucking face theyre blaming me actively in the tone of "you STILL cant figure them out?" which is.... hello???????? hello?!?!!! where do i even begin with that statement....

i just wanted to make this list to remind myself it isnt all in my head.

[musingsoflys]

My husband is driving me crazy

TW 2nd paragraph: unaliving

What a year. What a week. Last week we bought our youngest a motorcycle (dual sport for plenty of off-roading). Cool. Turns out, we need about another $1000 worth of stuff to go with it: new handlebars b/c the original ones bend, also because we need to add guards for the handles and those can't be added to the originals b/c the ends of those handlebars are capped and practically impossible to open up. Plus skid plates to protect the body of the bike during crashes; plus an off-road helmet b/c it has more visibility than the road helmet kiddo inherits from older sib; plus jacket and pants and boots, plus a bag for in front to hold the phone (for map and emergencies); plus...plus...plus.... I'm exhausted with it. If I'd known ahead of time about all this extra stuff, We would've waited to buy the bike till we had some of the stuff already, but my husband is so freaking impatient! I'm also trying to financially plan & prepare for retirement (I'll still get another full-time job), but he is afraid (paranoid) that we'll just end up broke, so he thinks we should go ahead and buy 'all the things' now. And he doesn't think my plan for my next career will make enough $ because his dad pursued the sane career field, and he didn't make enough money at it. Granted it's not a particularly high paying career field, but I have a master's degree, and his dad didn't. And this one's me, I accidentally let us spend the last $1000 we had of emergency savings. So the only "cushion" is credit cards, and they're almost maxed, plus, with the increase in inflation and interest rates, the payments are barely paying off interest now. So I'm trying to pay as much as possible with cash, but the 1st of the month paycheck doesn't go as far b/c of the way the bills come due, plus other kiddo has run out of own $ and is currently not working (is actively looking though), so needs gas money and such. We have the oldest kid's motorcycle to sell ... or trade in as a down payment on a 4-wheeler. It would be nice to be able to someone to go out off-roading with the kiddo on the new motorcycle, for both fun and safety. DH has a job application for the bike shop. I told him I'm on board with the 4-wheeler (the trick is keeping the price down) once he has a paycheck. Oh, and he also still has debt on a card he got at this last job! Good thing we have decent health insurance. Wednesday night, he was feeling extra depressed and unloved. He had been waiting for me to do something for him, but I was getting all the other things done first, and it was taking a long time, over and hour, and he was getting peevish and trying to guilt trip me ("I guess now you're just gonna want to go to bed" instead of helping him out.) He said I shouldn't have stopped him from unaliving himself a year and a half ago. He said he wanted a divorce and then he would kill himself. He looked around the garage at all the half-used equipment he has bought over the years. Like he kept buying camping stuff hoping it would fix our family if we'd just go camping more often, because he likes it so much. He started chiseling a block of wood, and as he turned the chisel across the grain, it slipped. He stopped and said something about needing to be careful, he almost cut himself. He started chiseling again, same pattern, it slipped again and he cut himself right in the webbing between the thumb and forefinger. We were bandaging it but it was squelching, so we decided to go to the ER. At least it got him out of his funk, but I think the cut was subconsciously intentional. This happened around midnight; apparently we checked into the ER at 1am. We got home at 4:45am (the sky was starting to lighten in the east already!).