#geology shirt

[grumblytumbleweed]

(via "Geologist Word Text - Simple - Black" Cap for Sale by tumbleweedphoto)

[mo-gxn]

mini christmas haul and my face ig

i was too scared to ask for dndads merch so i balled a bit

anyways yeah it’s official- i’m a drummer and a guitarist now🤭🤭

i also love geology joke shirts- i have three

[anastacialuce]

[chiropteracupola]

local sillyman who did not change into normaler clothing after doing a spirit photography photoshoot first thing in the morning is now in the exciting situation of doing all assignments in their most cuntservy shirt

[antzinha]

Sorry for only ever drawing Mavi and Allo it will happen again Mavi definitely has a ton of corny pun shirts and this splatfest just presented the perfect opportunity for that

[darabeatha]

/ If your muse had to share the bus seat with one of my servant muses, who would it be-

[good-night-space-kid]

I haven’t done travel in a non geology setting in ages so I’m very nervous about my upcoming trip (with my entire family) because I have no idea how to dress 😭

[duckysprouts]

can i have teenage dirtbag dick grayson hcs pls?? my parents are getting divorced i want to relate to him

in high school, dick was… interesting

1. he went to a prestigious private school with uniforms and never wore it properly. sometimes he would wear his gymnastics jacket over the summer dress shirt to hide the bruises and bandages that would peek through when he sweats. other times he would lie and say it was a sports accident

2. always red eyes. could have been weed, insomnia, or his daily breakdown in the bathroom

3. literally never shows up on time and comes up with increasingly wild excuses for why. still the top of the class

4. dyed his hair and wore jewellery even tho it was against code. they still let him keep it cause he was captain of the mathletes team and they couldn’t afford to lose him to win nationals

5. carries a pot and portable stove in his bag so he can make hangover ramen in class

6. hands always had bandages and sports tape

7. they made him get rid of his sneakers and wear dress shoes, so he started wearing weird socks instead. the worst was when he wore the grippy socks he stole from the mental health center

8. would pick up jason from book club and scare the shit out of everyone

9. got into fights a LOT. bruce sent a lot of gift baskets to the rich parents of the kids. but he secretly thought dick was in the right so all the gifts consisted of things he knew the family hated or were allergic to

10. regulated inconsistently between “energetic popular guy who is witty and fun to be around” and “dead inside” many times throughout the day

11. once borrowed a wax pen thinking it was a vape and was SO high for a geology exam that he resorted to licking the rock samples to identify them. he got a 98% on it, 2% off for spelling his name wrong

12. once stabbed himself with an epipen to stay awake long enough to study, nearly pissed himself

13. set the back of his hair on fire during patrol in sophomore year and had a reverse mullet for a few months (see picture)

[starrycassi]

Fluff jayvik hcs because why the fuck not.

Jayce is the in-universe equivalent to Latino. This is not a headcanon I'm Chris Lane himself.

Outside of their hex work, Viktor is quite fond of biology. He appreciates learning about evolution and how many different life forms deal with the same problems but face it in different ways. He is that one bug lover in every campus. Particularly fond of butterflies. He's got a few pinned down on his wall. Jayce finds it sort of creepy but keeps quiet.

Jayce is a geology nerd. He started getting into it while searching for a mineral that could resemble the first "stone" given to him by the mage when he was about 12. This was his very first theory: the arcane is actually stored in rocks and can be extracted like gold or such. It was clearly wrong but left him with a vast knowledge of just rocks. He has a million little chips around his bedroom. He fears the day he has to move because they're all heavy as fuck when combined.

Jayce is actually really athletic. But, like, for health benefits. He does appreciate his own body and WILL flex it if given the opportunity, but it's not the main reason why he exercises/works out (yes I know the forge bla bla I'm talking when he finally becomes a scientist guys). He wants to live a long life to take care of his mom, and knows that a good physique would make that easier.

Jayce ends up annoying Viktor into agreeing to do some low-impact stretches with him when they spend more than 24 hours just sitting around in the lab. And I'm talking VERY low impact. Wrist stretches, shoulder openers, some neck looseners. He's actually really patient and caring when they do this, and Viktor has definitely fallen a little bit more in love with each muscle movement.

Expanding on that: after 48 hours of work he Will Get The Zoomies. This ends up in Viktor, sitting peacefully, counting down the pushup reps Jayce is doing. He needs to get rid of all that energy and Viktor is more than happy to help. Especially when Jayce eventually starts taking out his shirt to do his little routines.

Jayce likes psychology and general health. He is really in tune with his own emotions in the show, okay? This man is reading self help books in his spare time. A lot of time the theory doesn't actually make it to his heart but at least he understands it. Viktor finds the chemistry side of psychology interesting, but is not that interested in the rest of it. Basically psychology vs psychiatrist ig.

They're both dinosaur nerds. Jayce is a big fan of their diets/possible mating rituals while Viktor is obsessed with fossils and evolution. Jayce likes flying specimens more, while Viktor is partial to the marine ones.

Viktor's one and only loved physical activity is swimming. Takes the weight off his leg and spine for a second. One of the few "luxuries" he owns is a decently sized bathtub with all the proper accommodations to get in and out without help.

Viktor is a snake person. They're easy to care for (if you just follow the right steps), easy to transport, don't require that much physical effort, will not wreck his house while he's gone, et cetera. Of course he doesn't have a twelve feet venomous one. Probably more of a cornsnake/Rosy boa guy. Which also means that the first time Jayce visits his apartment, the man almost dies in five consecutive heart attacks.

Jayce would definitely love a golden retriever I'm sorry he truly is the living bisexual boy stereotype. Physical affection, a good excuse to go outside for a run, force him to keep a routine. I actually think he would never own one on his own because he knows his schedule is way too fucked up for a pet, but Ximena does have one to keep her company and he loves it. I can only see this man with either a cat that comes to his balcony every night or some obscure brand of bird.

Jayce is amazing at cooking, but incredibly messy and takes his sweet time with it. He had time to learn from his mom and sees cooking as an act of love that should be appreciated. Viktor is really fast and efficient, but can end up with tasteless stuff. Grew up with hastily stolen ingredients and half a bottle of kitchen oil in Zaun. Food is fuel kind of mentality.

The only person who Viktor accepts constant help from is Jayce, and this is because he knows that Jayce is Just Like That. There was one or two big fights about it at first, but, with times, he's learned that Jayce is doing this out of the wish to show love and not out of pity or concern. Jayce is well aware that Viktor can adjust his own brace and has no problem with fixing his own tie, but he loves loves loves being useful.

This evolves in Viktor trying to reciprocate the gestures. Keeping Jayce's foundation on his bag (there is no way Mr. Charisma doesn't cover his eye bags every time they need to be in public) and learning how to properly apply makeup for him. He keeps an extra pair of earphones after finding out that Jayce is actually just as easily overstimulated as him. Remembers his coffee order, straightens out his collar, refills his stapler and clip drawer.

They are PARTNERS okay? I need the little domestic signals. No big "I love you's" but daily "I got you that cinnamon latte monstrosity you call a beverage" or "You forgot them? Don't worry. I have emergency pain pills in my wallet. Yes, the ones you take. No, it's technically not stalking if you leave the receipts laying around."

They both really enjoy videogames. Viktor likes noir/detective ones and Jayce is a fan of anything that includes racing. They seldom play the same game at the same time, more often just keeping the other company while doing their own thing.

They can both sew. Pretty similar to the cooking one. Jayce learnt for pleasure, Viktor out of necessity.

Have seen the other sob silently over failed equations and burnt metals so many times that they both have perfected the routine by now. Viktor likes to be given space and Jayce needs someone to come calm him down. Which is hell, because Jayce hates leaving Viktor alone. He feels useless. And Viktor heats having to do the whole consolation thing. He feels inadequate. But that's what the other needs, so they try.

When really stressed, Jayce has been known for having psychosomatic thermal issues. Viktor has had to throw blanket after blanker over him because he will Not Move if his body gets too cold, which in return makes him panic, which makes him even colder.

Both fuckin hate winter. It always finds them with So Many Extra Sweaters in the lab. Viktor carries an extra scarf around. Just in case. Jayce's PTSD gets triggered, while Viktor's body just reacts horribly to the cold. Some days they just wrap themselves up against one another and try to guard off the cold.

Viktor has some auditory hallucinations. Very rarely. Mostly of Rio. He doesn't want to talk about it. So he doesn't. Jayce notices, but knows better than to go poke and prode at Viktor's feelings. It doesn't usually end well.

Are both amazing at chess. Have threatened to kill each other over it. Had to take out the board from the lab after the sixth consecutive tie.

(Mel is actually the only other person in the building who can easily, quickly and steadily beat them, including when they work together. Even Heimerdinger gets thrown a few curves here and there)

Jayce Can Not stand it when Viktor is disrespected, but never steps in. He knows Viktor will defend himself and will only get in the middle of it if it gets physical. The one time he tried Viktor's cane met his shins about five times in a row. It was a "small warning about limits."

Jayce avoids ordering junk food when they work for hours, for both of their health. He also doesn't want to sacrifice taste, so he buys from two/three exclusive places that can meet their nutritional + palatial needs. Viktor can, will and has eaten only pizza for about three days straight.

Had he never been... well, the man of progress, Jayce would've turned into either a bioengineer or surgeon. I have no idea on how to explain this but I need u to believe me please (I'm just a healthcare student with severe delusions)

Jayce's mom makes a big deal of his birthday. Viktor denies being jealous. It doesn't work. Next year, Ximena also makes a big deal of his special day.

Viktor is currently unaware of his exact date of birth. He picked one based on analysis and what his mother could recount but has never known the exact number

They get married and live happily ever after idc idc

Addition 1: Both are Well Aware of the law (Jayce's little sister is a cop + Viktor just like reading everything). Can both hold their own in a legal conversation. They just choose to ignore it. Have a vast knowledge of legal technicalities and use them only to bend said laws. The more they learn, the worse they get. Basically those guys who read the rulebook only to find loopholes on it.

[seat-safety-switch]

Some of my friends are cave raiders. I think the actual term is "spelunker," but that makes them sound like a 1960s British children's program, instead of folks who spend way too long going outside so that they can go inside. Still, any subculture is a potential object of hyperfocus, so I decided to tag along, just in case the latest hole in the Earth they found was unusually cool this time.

First, I should introduce my friends, so that you know who I'm talking about. Metamorphic Marie and I have been pals since university. Back then, she was in geology, and I was trying to avoid the campus police by hiding under her car. Her friend, Fissure Filipoly ("It's Italian," she said, without explaining any further or how to spell it) was big into geysers.

They needed someone to drive, being as both of them were currently under probation for stealing a big chunk of very attractive basalt from the museum. In their defence, it was just sitting there on the loading dock. Anyone could have made that mistake and come back with a Mitsubishi diesel forklift that they didn't own, then blow the fork seals trying to lift a 2000kg chunk of igneous stone into the back of a $20 U-Haul truck rental. Importantly, they didn't complain too much. In fact, they seemed thrilled by the unusual grain structure of the rust in the back seat.

When we arrived at the cave, we realized it was a big ol' tourist trap. There were a huge line of regular people waiting to go inside the grotto, and someone was even selling t-shirts up near the front. I had seen this kind of thing before. Swarms of advertising robots had invaded their most precious hobby forum and convinced them through a false consensus that a totally soft, boring, cave was in fact a hardcore pothole-phile's dream.

We left immediately, of course. Mostly because my car was dieseling the entire time out in the parking lot and someone called the fire department because they were worried it might explode. That's the problem with cave tourism these days: no willingness to take a risk.

[grumblytumbleweed]

(via "Coffee and Rocks Quartz Crystal in Coffee Mug" Sleeveless Top for Sale by tumbleweedphoto)

[destinywillowleaf]

#reblog#not my art#whumptober 2022#HOLY SHIT I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO REBLOG THIS!!!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME :((#such a perfect send off to the 2022 series... I still regret the fact that i never ended up finishing it :/#i love the ugly couch representation; looks even worse than i couldve ever imagined! absolutely repuslive#thank you so so much for the fanart!!!!! im so sorry i forgot to reblog this :(

i forgive don't worry!! i'm just happy it was seen. speaking of the couch though

it's even more repulsive without the shading. watermelon couch. plus you can see other details better...

@iliketrainmen

i said i would make something in return for all the roark whumptober fics (cause holy heck, fics about The Lad!!) and here it is!

After all the angst's said and done, sometimes you just have to curl up on the couch with your friends and fall asleep after watching movies

[deancasbigbang]

Title: The Citadel: Vassal for Ransom

Author: KaylieMalinza

Artist: Aceriee

Rating: Explicit

Pairings: Dean/Cas, Dean/Benny briefly alluded to

Length: 50000

Warnings: Graphic Description of Injuries, Violence, Death, Dub-Con

Tags: Fantasy AU, worldbuilding, impact play, non-diegetic BDSM, giant!Cas, whump, stone top Cas, bittersweet ending, porn with plot, magical healing

Posting Date: November 11, 2024

Summary: Fantasy AU featuring geology, politics, family drama, metaphysical mystery, and lots of spanko smut. "His vassal's body is his to inspect and to direct, to deliver unto discipline and to succor; to countenance neither bloodshed nor corporeal wanting." When Dean and his guards are attacked by demons at the oasis, they must flee into the desert and beg for assistance from the nearest angelic citadel. He doesn't want to--the angels are weird and cold and isolationist, and it's unnerving how they can stride across the sand as giants, tall as trees, or shrink down to the size of a man with just a moment's thought. But with the supplies lost in the attack and one of his men grievously wounded, Dean doesn't have a choice. The citadel commander, Castiel, insists that Dean pledge vassalage--just temporarily, until Prince Sam back home can arrange for the ransom to be paid. The problem is that Castiel never would have agreed if he'd known Dean's true identity, and his connection to the mysterious Berserker who can murder angels as easily as breathing. Castiel's second in command is suspicious, Dean's own men doubt his judgment, and the demons are still eager to attack. Through it all, the pledge between liege and vassal grows from a political expediency to something more intimate and intense; something which neither Dean nor Castiel may be able to break when the time comes.

Excerpt: Ketch crawls up to the crest of the dune, sand sliding in his wake, and peers over it. "The demons appear to have lost our trail," he says, "but I expect they'll pick it up again soon. I don't recommend returning to the oasis." "No kidding," Dean says, as Charlie presses a tin of whitepaste into his palm; he always scrapes it off before they sleep, and obviously didn't have a chance to re-apply before the ambush. Now the sun is bearing down, and his skin is going tight and dry. "Martin, you know this area," Dean says, scooping out a healthy dollop of whitepaste and slathering it across any exposed skin: face, neck, the backs of his hands. "Suggestions?" Martin is squinting at the horizon, muttering, so Dean gives him a minute. He checks on the girls; Jo is tying on her archer's braces and Charlie is twisting Jo's hair up out of the way and smearing fresh whitepaste on the back of her neck. Dean jams his fingers at Charlie's hairline, because she never puts the whitepaste back far enough and then complains about burned scalp. "Should be a citadel near here," Martin says. "Commander is a little more friendly to humans than most." "That's not saying much," Benny cuts in. His whitepaste is cracking in the gap between shirt and deathmask, probably because he puts it on too thick. Dean reaches out to smooth out the crack, but his fingertips slip too deeply into it. So Benny didn't make it out of the melee unscathed, after all. No wonder he was moving slow. No wonder he's leaning a little too close to Dean, unable to keep his balance on the shifting sand. Charlie turns to see the mess on Dean's fingers, black-red and gelatinous clots mixing chalky pink against the paste, and she retches. "Pussy," Jo mutters, but she refuses to look at it. Even Ketch goes a little green. Martin's a breath away from passing out. "Any time your liege wants to take care of that would be great," Dean says. Benny snorts a laugh that forces a chunk of clotted blood from the slit. "She might not be paying attention," he says. "She's got a few thousand other vassals, you know." Dean grabs the front of his shirt and yanks him forward, staring through the eyeholes of the death mask. "Eve," he snaps. "Eve, listen to me, you had better--" "Mind your manners," Benny growls. Ketch skids down the dune. "Demons are moving again," he says. "Heal him," Dean says. He flicks his glance away and back, meeting Benny's eyes now instead of looking through them at the eldritch bitch who claimed him in death. "Tell her to heal you right now." "I suspect you are misconcepting the nature of vassalage," Benny says. "I don't give her orders." "Should I say please?" Dean asks, but he doesn't have to: the wound is seaming up, muscles jumping, whitepaste flaking away from smooth, whole skin.

DCBB 2024 Posting Schedule

[deancaspinefest]

following the light

Author: LoversAntiquities | Artist: jollyrolls

Posting on Thursday March 14

Almost a year to the day, and Castiel is still sick. After months of blackouts and near misses, Dean has managed to find a way to quell the spells and drag Castiel back from the proverbial abyss. However, when Castiel progressively gets worse and Dean's voice is no longer enough to keep him conscious, Dean sets out to find every faith healer in the country, in the hopes that one of them might shed light on what's happening, and how to prevent it. Only, Dean and Castiel find out more than they bargained for—and that the solution, apparently, has been right under their noses the whole time.

Keep reading for a sneak preview!

He takes the right, barely tapping the brakes. At the first clear patch of shoulder, Dean pulls off and slams the truck into park, shuttering the engine. He kicks the door open, rounds the engine—yanks the passenger handle so hard that he fears it might break. Hands to Castiel’s biceps, Dean helps him out of the seat and into the grass, just before Castiel turns to dead weight in his arms. Keeping him upright is a feat—getting him backed up against the side panel is a miracle.

“Hey, hey,” Dean rasps. He pats Castiel’s cheek, searching for Castiel’s eyes in the dark. “Hey, look at me, okay? Touch me, hey—” He takes Castiel by the wrist and maneuvers him, forcing Castiel to touch the warm cotton of his T-shirt. Limp, Castiel holds on. “Hey, I—I know you’re in there. You’re always in there, alright? Just hold on to me.”

Castiel’s head lists forward; Dean presses him into the quarter panel with all of his strength. “When we were,” Dean begins, a little too brittle, a little too rough. “When me and Sam were teenagers, we went to this… this canyon in Georgia. Dad said it was the Grand Canyon, but we weren’t even in the right part of the country, but we—we didn’t wanna fight him on it, ‘cause he actually took us somewhere, y’know?” He smiles, fighting back the tremble in his fingers, the ache in his heart. “All the runoff from the farms gouged out a canyon in the middle of nowhere, and it was just so…”

He stops to look down at his tennis shoes, so worn that he can almost see his toe poking through. “Sam thought it was the greatest thing ever. I—Shit, I barely remember it, but every once in a while, he’ll still talk about it, like the week before we weren’t chasing a ghoul across the entire fucking state. But I remember looking at it, and I thought…” He tightens his grip. “For once, I felt calm. Like I was… small, and like my problems didn't matter. Picture it.” He sucks in air, slow, like it might spur Castiel into breathing. “Water cutting through the clay. The green of the trees growing around the tops of the canyon walls. A river. Babbling brooks.”

Dean shakes his head, fighting a laugh. “You hear the water?”

Silence—then, a breath, and the weight piled on Dean’s shoulders threatens to bury him in the grass. Castiel blinks, his mouth forming around a word Dean can’t hear. “Hey, hey,” Dean hushes. He clasps both sides of Castiel’s neck, thumbs pressed to his Adam’s apple as he swallows. “Hey, you with me?”

“It’s loam,” Castiel croaks, and Dean lifts a brow. “Most of the soil in southern Georgia is composed of sand and clay—”

“Okay, not what I’m concerned about.” He swallows around the knot in his throat. “Seriously, you wanna give me a geology lesson, any other time. Now, are you good?”

(continue reading on Ao3 on )

[lollystocks]

Therapy for the Dead and Buried, Chapter 3

Chapter two here

Masterpost here

AO3

"Patient 17-X-(A)-2, session three. A lot of progress was made last week, and it seems that allowing the patient to lead the conversation is the key. Any abilities still unconfirmed, though I suspect he has some kind of emotion-altering capabilities. This must be handled with care, for obvious reasons.

“I have practiced self-hypnosis and meditation before today’s session, in the hope that I will be less affected. At present, the only emotion the patient can instill is fear, and he can’t seem to consciously… turn it off. I did notice, however, a slight reduction in intensity when he was distracted by talking about his interests. This is a good sign.

”I’m returning to a traditional cassette tape for this session. My digital recorder’s file was almost unintelligible, again. Must get that looked at…”

--

They talked about wormholes, to start.

They’d been on his mind, obviously. Relativistic physics in this world seemed to be a little behind his own, probably owing to his home dimension’s little… problem. But it was still all way too advanced for him to really get his mind around - tragically, advanced physics required a little more math knowledge than high school pre-calc.

But this world’s understanding seemed to be missing a whole ecto-shaped chunk out of its standard physical model, leaving them behind. It was interesting.

They didn’t talk about that, of course. Just the basics.

“I’m curious, James. Why space? Your interests cover a lot of different fields - astrophysics, aeronautical engineering, relativity, geology. But they all cover this general concept.”

“Not really sure. I just don’t think I ever outgrew ‘wanting to be an astronaut’. I kinda made it my personality as a kid - stars on the ceiling, Apollo 11 posters, rocket plushies, I had three different NASA t-shirts when I was like, thirteen, I wore them on rotation. Part of me wonders why more people aren’t into it - like, the earth is tiny. And on the timescale of the universe, it’s a spec. I don’t think I’m so much interested in space, as like… the whole universe. It feels arrogant to not want to have a sense of what’s out there. Or to put the earth on a pedestal, just ‘cause we’re here.”

Doctor Bright smiled, and her voice was light. “I must say James, you’ve certainly got me more interested. I agree that we can often be wilfully ignorant of the world around us.”

“Yeah. And just, the community’s great too. All the space agencies are just full of nerds doing amazing things, and space-Reddit is insane.” Some things didn’t change across dimensional boundaries. Even as a newbie in this universe, he’d quickly slotted into the online world. “I genuinely like these people.”

“Do you feel you have more of a community online than in real life, James?”

“Well yeah. I have no community in real life, it’s kinda my problem. But the people on discord and the forums don’t have the same issues with me, so I can actually be, you know, social.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Virtual communities can be a fantastic way to socialize across boundaries you may not be able to otherwise - geographic distance, for instance. And in your case, without the need for physical proximity.”

“Yeah! Like, I can feel normal, ‘cause no one who doesn’t know me in real life is gonna call me a ‘school shooter waiting to happen.’ Well, mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“Well, like. Sometimes people are still sensitive to it. Online. There was a whole thing where someone made a separate channel without me and wanted to know why everyone else was okay with such a creep around, but no one could understand what he meant. So like, I think my thing can still work across technology, just. Not as reliably. Thankfully.”

The doctor considered this. “I see. So again, this person couldn’t pinpoint any reason behind their fear, just a ‘vibe’, as you’ve said?”

“Yeah. Sucks. And that’s just with text threads - not like I can even jump on voice channels.”

“Why’s that?”

“Oh. Just, um. Can’t afford a mic. That’s all.”

It was a weak excuse, but there was no way he could explain the effect his voice had on digital audio. Once again, he’d slipped.

This whole thing was dangerous anyway - they had become far too comfortable talking about his fear aura like it was real.

"James, have you noticed any variation in the… intensity, of this phenomenon? That perhaps, your own mood may be having an affect on others? Have you ever tried experimenting?"

Danny winced at the word.

This was stupid. Admitting this all was stupid. It felt really good, to say it out loud, but Doctor Bright was so cold and calculating and it probably meant nothing but her perfectly pressed shirt was white and she was a doctor and-

"Look Doc, I know this thing is all in my head, you know it's all in my head, so just like, write me a prescription for an antipsychotic and we can move on."

She closed her notebook, and placed it on the coffee table. "I don't think it's all in your head, James."

Shit.

"Sorry?"

The doctor recrossed her ankles. Black shoes, navy slacks. Clear glasses. It was just a white shirt. Cream, even.

No white suit here.

"I don't believe you're psychotic, James. At least, I have no reason to believe so. On the surface this would read as a classic paranoid delusion, but it's hard to ignore the evidence."

"That everyone is scared of me? ‘Cause people have told you so? You can just chalk it up to my actions Doctor Bright, I won’t take it personally."

"But I can’t, James. You’ve been nothing but polite, articulate, and considerate in our sessions. A little nervous and distrusting, but that’s perfectly understandable. But this effect you’ve described - an instinctual feeling of unease in your presence. I can feel that myself, and I can't ascertain a logical reason for it."

Huh.

"You look perplexed, James. Has no one ever admitted that before?"

"I told you, no. It's um. Not nice, exactly. But refreshing."

"I'm curious, James. This phenomenon, that the people you interact with are overcome with a- a foreign emotion. One without a clear stimulus, other than your mere presence. I’ve asked you this before, but I really want you to think - has it always been discomfort and fear? Or has it ever been something else?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, Doctor Bright. That's my thing. Being unnerving." He waggled his fingers. "Fear me.”

"Of course. I just want to explore this further, get some more data points. You clearly have a keen interest in science, James, despite the academic setbacks. Help me understand this on a scientist’s level."

Danny's breath caught, just a little. He knew he was being paranoid. That he was safe here. That he couldn't be taken. He was fine, they couldn't find him here, he was sa-

"You a researcher, Doctor Bright? Obviously you are, you've got a PhD on the wall. Psychology. You work with human subjects much? Non-human subjects?"

"James, as happy as I am to talk about my personal work, this session is to-"

"No, no, this is important, Doctor Bright. Like, who even are you? You're a scientist, but you're a downtown shrink? You just take my whole thing in your stride? Do you ask about anything ‘strange and unusual’ with all your patients? Like I don't want to give off paranoid vibes here but I have good reason to think they are actually out to get me so why should I even trust you? What's your deal? Why are you interested in my whole deal? Who do you even work f-"

With a crack, the light bulb blew. Pieces of shattered glass fell to the coffee table.

A stunned silence followed.

With only the cold, cloudy daylight to illuminate the room, the doctor was backlit against the window, her face in shadow, save for the barest, caustic green glow. Danny could see her fingers pressed against her mouth, as she stared at the ceiling.

Fuck, his ‘angry eyes’. He squeezed them shut.

Danny needed to bolt, he needed to go now, he could go back to school, but his new name was on the file here, he'd need to make new documents, he’d need to-  he'd need to-

There was a squeak of vinyl,, and he heard the doctor rise to her feet, cross the room, and retrieve a gun something from a drawer in her desk. The soft sound of her heels on the carpet then made their way towards the office door. Danny opened his eyes.

"Wait-!"

She flipped the light switch to ‘off’. "Sorry, basic electrical safety, James. This won't take a second."

She walked towards Danny, towards the table, gently picked up the pieces of broken glass, and placed them in the empty box of the new bulb. After a thorough inspection of the surface, she kicked off her heels and stepped lightly onto the coffee table. He saw now that she held a fresh lightbulb in her hand, the base of which she popped between her teeth as she reached up to unscrew the shattered one from within the lampshade. She dropped that into the small box and swiftly fitted the new one.

She hopped down, returned to the light switch, and flicked it on. The new light buzzed to life, and the doctor stepped back into her heels and took a seat, like nothing had happened.

The whole thing couldn’t have been more than thirty seconds, but in Danny’s panic, it had stretched on and on.

She smiled, a little awkwardly. "You'd be surprised how many lightbulbs I get through in this room, James. No need to be..." She seemed to change the word in her mouth. "Anxious."

Danny set his jaw. "Right. Bad electrics.”

“Perhaps. Not always though. Tensions in this room can… run high, as you might imagine.”

Danny could scarcely believe what she was implying. “Tensions running high with your… strange and unusual patients?”

"Yes, James. I assure you, that was nothing I haven't seen before. You may also notice my full suite of fire extinguishers."

"For your faulty electrics?"

"James, correct me if I'm wrong, but - that was you, correct? Blowing the lightbulb in a moment of stress?"

Danny sat back, rubbing the back of his neck. "No. It wasn't."

"Of course."

"Say if it were-"

"Okay."

"What would happen? I mean, what's happened to other people who've blown your lightbulbs? You should know I can disappear. You'd never find me."

"I don't doubt that, James. You seem a very capable young man." The doctor went to pick up her notebook, but thought better of it, and sat back. "Are you asking specifically about clients who have blown my lights, or about all my clients with atypical abilities?"

And wasn’t that an interesting phrase. Danny studied her, eyes lidded. "How many people are we talking?"

"Telling you would breach my doctor-patient confidentiality I'm afraid, and be a breach of all my clients’ trust. However, I can tell you I have been working with 'strange and unusual' people since college, many of them in this room. I'm something of a specialist in providing therapy to people with atypical abilities."

"Is that the official term for it?"

"Well, there isn't really an official term, as Atypicals don't officially exist. But yes, that is the frequently used term."

This was. This was a whole lot. This was totally different to what he’d been frantically building in his head. “But they’re all- they’re all what? Allowed to roam free? Just- be out there in the world, with ‘abilities’?”

“Of course. They have the same rights as anyone else.”

"And you think I'm an… ‘atypical?’"

"Yes James, I do."

“Because your light bulb blew.”

“Yes. Amongst other things.”

“And if I were?”

“Then, James, I hope you’d find some value in the knowing. Knowing, for instance, that you aren’t broken or ill, or even creepy. Merely that you have an atypical physiology that presents an usual symptom, or set of symptoms - namely, blowing light bulbs. And something else that I’m still trying to form a hypothesis over.”

“The scary thing?”

“The scary thing, yes. If you’d be happy to, I’d like to continue to work together, so that we can identify what control you have over your abilities, and start to make them work for you, not against you. How does that sound?”

It sounded… like a lot to think about.

The doctor was wrong, obviously. He wasn’t an atypical, (was that a capitalized ‘A’?) whatever those were.

Danny had never heard of anything remotely similar outside of fiction, in his own dimension; and he was pretty sure that if otherwise-normal people were going around with superpowers , which was what Doctor Bright made this whole thing like, then he’d know about it. His parents would be all over it, as would Vlad, the GIW - hell, half the ghosts he fought.

But they weren’t commonly known about here, either, that was for sure.

It would be a convenient answer. He could explain away the most obvious of his (stupid, fucking, glitching-out) powers in a way that blended in nicely with this dimension.

It wasn’t without risk, though. Throwing his lot in too heavily could spell disaster if he were found out - were ‘Atypicals’ identifiable through their blood, or DNA? Would his weird vital signs cast suspicion? What about all his extra powers? What could your typical Atypical even do?

And all this was assuming that he could trust Doctor Bright - that she did work with these Atypicals, with no ulterior motive other than a modest paycheck, and wasn’t a mole for a-whole-nother shadowy governmental organization who wanted to catch people like him and stab them with thousands tiny needles while keeping him barely sedated and strapped down to a-

But. The GIW didn’t exist here. He’d checked. It was why he’d stayed.

He looked back to the doctor, who was eyeing him patiently.

“It sounds like somewhere to start, Doctor Bright.”

--

You’ve reached the voicemail of Doctor Joan Bright. If this is to schedule an appointment, please press one to speak to Sarah. Otherwise, please leave your name, number, and a brief message after the tone. 

Message received on, Saturday, at, 10:52 AM.

“Hi Doctor Bright, it’s Caleb. Caleb Michaels. Well. I’m not sure how many other Calebs you treat but… but anyway yeah. So. Basically there’s this guy at school, and I think he may be an Atypical? So um, how does this work, do you take referrals? Like I’m sure there are loads of Atypicals who don't need therapy but no offense to this guy but he definitely does. 

“Like I’d love to try and strike up a conversation and I wanna know if he knows he’s an Atypical but I don’t really know how to do that and also I. Um. I kinda really hate being around him. He makes my ability go fu- kinda haywire and I feel like I’m gonna punch him. I won’t, I won’t, you don’t have to worry about that, but uh. Well. I don’t think I can talk to him. ‘Cause he’s either an Empath and we’re getting in a crazy Empathy-feedback-loop or it’s something else, like with Mark. And I can’t get his number, either.

“Adam’s tried talking to him instead but he always kinda bolts. Plus he still makes Adam all freaked out then that affects me really bad for the whole day and just…

“So um, yeah. His name’s James Jackson. I think he needs your help."

...

“Okay. Bye.”

--

To: Caleb Michaels

Subject: Referred Patient

Good afternoon Caleb.

Unfortunately, I can’t reveal any information that would break my doctor-patient confidentiality.

I can assure you though, that while you show wonderful initiative and care for this fellow student, your concerns are already being met.

We can talk at your next session.

Best wishes,

Dr. Joan Bright, PsyD, ABPP

Licensed Therapist

---

Chapter 4

[malcolm-reeds-pineapple]

Are you looking for a gift for your dad? Here is a gift guide for Weird Dad Genres

Brought to you by the child of a Weird Dad with low/no cost options. I’ve noticed that a lot of people with good dads they like a lot don’t know what to give their dads because all the gift guides around require a man to have a baseline level interest in sports, beer and cars for them to be usable. Disregard this post if your dad sucks or use this advice for a person you like that falls into one of these sub genres.

NPR/CBC Dads

I’m Canadian and have a CBC dad so I’m hoping there is overlap

Tickets to a live taping of their favourite radio show

Merch that supports CBC/NPR and their favourite radio show

Teaching them how to use a podcast app if they don’t know already

History Dads

MASH related literature

Civilization 6 on PC

Book/audio book about their favourite historical era, particularly on a niche topic by a professor of some variety

Researching their favourite era enough to have a meaningful conversation about it with them/being willing to listen to them talk about it

Stoner Dads

Lighters, papers, doob tubes, pipe cleaners, other disposables

Weed lol (depending on regional availability don’t get arrested buying a Christmas present lmfao)

One hitter, a nice pipe, a grinder, a tray, anything like that but shop around to find something they’d actually like.

Randy’s Black Label glassware cleaner and some vase beads!!! I cannot stress this enough!!! This combo leaves glassware SPARKLING.

Cleaning his glassware for him or degunking a grinder (do NOT empty the keef catcher or I’ll kill you myself)

Music Listener Dads

Physical copy of an album they like or one you listened to together

Needles from their turntable if they have records, or alternatively a Kallax shelf from Ikea for storage (actually the best record storage I’ve ever found)

Year subscription to Spotify

Some sort of merch for their favourite artist that goes with their vibe (ie: my dad doesn’t wear band shirts so I give him coffee mugs)

A playlist of songs you listened to together. If you wanna go crazy silly haha you could also get a record out of a dollar bin and draw a cover for it and put a QR code to the playlist inside or you could go old school and do the same thing but actually have a mixtape or burn the playlist onto a CD

Music Playing Dads

Varies a lot depending on skill-level and instrument, but I’m gonna do this as if they were a hobbyist as I’m sure there are gift guides out there for professionals

Any sort of disposable they would need (reeds, picks, strings, sticks etc) but make sure you find out what they prefer (ie pick weight) or if give them a few different options when they’re just starting out to help them figure out what they like

Larger peripherals that they might not want to buy for themselves (NOTE: don’t buy anything too expensive unless you know they want/need it. If you’re not sure, you can always wrap up an IOU in a cereal box so you can go on an adventure later with them and make a day out of it)

If they play piano you can pay for a tuning however this can be pricey and requires planning

Sheet music/tabs printed out in a binder with lyrics. You can also decorate the binder if you’re crafty like that

Nature Dads (rocks/geology)

Idk how niche this is but my dad is a rock dad

Rock tumbler and/or accessories like grit and media

A vug of some sort of crystal if you’re feeling incredibly wealthy or in the likely case that you’re not, get him a few points of a crystal or a few tumbled stones for them to add to the collection

A nice cabinet for display purposes (depends on the size of the collection of course and availability, but my dad has a vintage China cabinet for his rocks that we got at auction for like 100 bucks.)

A map with local areas of geological interest for them to check out with a little blurb about each one. Bonus points if you go on day trips with them or make the map cute if you’re skilled like that

Pop Culture/Sci Fi Dads

If they have trinkets, a display cabinet (like in the above section) is a good idea if they don’t have one

Coffee table books with behind the scenes stuff in it

If there’s a convention nearby and they’re that type of person you could get them tickets

I’ll be honest sci fi/pop culture people are pretty easy to buy for imo but my best advice is to prioritise practicality over dust collectors unless you know for sure they want something else in their collection. I’d also caution to stay away from buying Funko Pops where you can unless they collect them

General Dad Gifts and Advice

Some sort of nostalgia thing that’s personal to them. Examples: snack from their youth that they talk about a lot, a board game they played growing up that they can’t find anywhere, a book he read you growing up (I gave my dad Just Me And My Dad from the Little Critter series one year and he welled up and still maintains it’s one of the best gifts he’s ever gotten)

A good joke gift like my family have been giving each other the same copy of The Search For Spock for 14 years and it’s hilarious to us. Alternatively you can wrap up one of his own possessions and give it to him but make sure that it’s obviously his so he doesn’t think you just gave him another one.

Drill bits never go amiss if a person already owns a drill btw like drill bits are Good and Righteous Things

Always try to write an inscription in a book you’re giving as a gift with a small blurb about why you picked this book and the year and occasion.

I try to stick towards practicality and sentimentality in my gift-giving since for the most part we all have enough dust collectors. Consumables that are part of a hobby/interest are always a great option since they’re something you go through fairly regularly that can add up price wise

Never underestimate the power of a home made gift or a box of little treats. If I gave my dad his favourite peanut butter and a few cans of Fresca, he would be just as happy as if I bought him a brand new stereo. As dumb as it sounds, it really is the thought you put into a gift that counts, even if they’re little coupons someone can cash in for an afternoon of manual labour.

Even if you’re broke, try to give what you can. Thrifted gifts and homemade gifts are just as valuable as brand new gifts if the person you’re giving it to is worth giving a present.

Also while we’re on the topic, don’t give gifts to anyone who doesn’t appreciate you as a person like if you’re dad’s not good to you then either don’t give him shit or give him 20 bucks if you feel like it

Please feel free to add onto this if you have advice for gifting to a niche sub genre of dad/person.