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warcraft-lore-archives · 4 years ago

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The Folk & Fairy Tales of Azeroth Lore Facts

Editor’s Note: “Some of the tales you’ll encounter here may be rooted in canon, or they may be another traveler just telling a tall tale.”

Eyes of the Earth Mother

Though the Earth Mother heard the whispers of the Old Gods, she could not be swayed by them (13).

Pregnant, the Earth Mother sought a place away from the Old Gods’ corruptive influence to give birth to her children. Unable to find such a place, however, she decided to shape the world and, in doing so, create her own safe haven (14).

All of Azeroth’s lands, waters, and even the elements themselves came forth at this moment. They were suffused with enough of the Earth Mother’s essence so soon after their inception that they kept the Old Gods’ powers at bay (14).

The Earth Mother gave birth to twins: first An’she, a beacon of life and warmth, then came Mu’sha, who was to bring rest, tranquility, and healing. The elements called them the “sun” and the “moon” (15).

Eventually, both An’she and Mu’sha developed connections with the elements. An’she found himself able to wield the light and warmth of fire while Mu’sha maintained some control over the tides and winds (15-16).

The twins even went so far as to use the elements to create weapons to spar with. Mu’sha opted for a bow and arrow, whereas An’she’s weapon of choice was a set of blades (16).

To keep her children safe from the Old Gods’ ever-present influence while she slept, the Earth Mother took both An’she and Mu’sha up into her eyes. Their power was so great that she had to keep one eye open at all times (16).

This, however, meant that Azeroth no longer received An’she’s warmth or Mu’sha’s guidance of the wind while the Earth Mother rested. Cold slowly spread across the land and blizzards raged until she finally woke again (18).

The Earth Mother’s cycle between periods of sleep and awakening would come to form the basis of the seasons as we know them, with her time of work the summer and her time of rest the winter (18).

As the twins grew in power, they developed the ability to bring on the change of seasons at will, though they took care to do it slowly and give the world time to adjust. As the Earth Mother rested, An’she and Mu’sha continued to tend to Azeroth from behind her eyes (19).

After waking at one point, the Earth Mother found that there was new life walking the earth. Plucking wheat from the plains to sprinkle over them, the Earth Mother called them “Shu’halo,” - the tauren (19).

Just as the Earth Mother taught her children, both An’she and Mu’sha taught the Shu’halo in the ways of the elements and caring for the land (20).

When the Earth Mother next slept, however, the Old Gods extended their influence to the tauren, causing them to grow violent and turn on their own kind (20).

Saddened to see the tauren fall to such corruption, the Earth Mother shed a single tear. She realized that the land was no longer able to hold the Old Gods’ power at bay, meaning anything it touched could be corrupted (21).

Knowing that she was not safe for her children anymore because of her own connection to the land, the Earth Mother removed An’she and Mu’sha from her eyes and laid down in despair (21-22).

The single tear that the Earth Mother had shed became a blue baby, later named “Lo’sho,” or the Blue Child (22, 24).

Seeking to put an end to the Old Gods after what they had done to the tauren and the despair they instilled in their mother, An’she and Mu’sha fought against some of the eldritch beings’ manifestations. During the battle, An’she was wounded grievously. Though Mu’sha sought to heal him with wind and water, he continued to bleed (24).

The Earth Mother, stirred by her distant children’s dismay, eventually found her way to them. She urged them to take Lo’sho and go to the heavens so they could protect Azeroth from above, while the Earth Mother chose to root herself in the earth and prevent the Old Gods from ever claiming her children (26-27).

Mu’sha, the moon, continues to follow An’she closely across the sky so she can keep tending to his wounds (26).

One Small Tuskarr

The tuskarr etch their clan and family symbols into their tusks. Though this is customary, some do engrave other symbols - such as marks indicating deeds of great distinction - into their tusks as well (32, 36).

The catch master, who weighs the tuskarr’s catches, has a counting staff adorned with cords in the colors of each of the clan’s active fishermen. In accordance with how big a tuskarr’s haul of fish is, the catch master ties a single knot or more into their respective cord. These knots can be traded for tools, weapons, and coins, among other things (32-33).

A single knot is customary for those who meet basic requirements, while additional knots are allotted to those who catch more (33).

One can also earn knots from other tasks, such as fine embroidery, though they do so at a much slower rate than those who fish (38).

Food is shared equally among the tuskarr (33).

The tuskarr perform nomadic journeys that take them to various kalu’ak towns. While the fishers take their own boats, most of the mothers, adolescents, and children trek across the ice (34).

Fishing practices are passed down from parent to child. Though it is unclear if that is “law,” some of the tuskarr refuse to teach others to fish if they are not their own blood, going so far as to withhold information about the currents and places fish gather (36).

Tuskarr sometimes dye their moustaches (36).

It never gets fully dark in Northrend (38).

Oacha’noa is the tuskarr’s deity of both the sea and wisdom. Her symbol is that of a kraken (39).

The spearhead on most tuskarr weapons is made of sharpened bone (42).

A type of manta ray known as the stargazer can be found in Northrend’s waters (44).

The tuskarr can survive in water so cold it would kill other races native to Azeroth in mere minutes (45).

The tuskarr typically fly kites for fun, though they have been known to use them to send signals to others at great distances (48).

Lay Down My Bones

According to Vulpera beliefs, the first of their kind was born from the magic of the desert. Though they are a nomadic people, an old tale about an artifact called the Wailing Bone claims the desert calls their bodies back to where they began when they die. To ensure they find their way back, the vulpera follow the Wailing Bone (55-56).

Once one of their own has passed, it is customary for the next of kin to carry the bone at the head of the caravan while the vulpera wander in search of the proper place to bury them. The journey may take anywhere from days to weeks, but when the Wailing Bone begins to cry, the vulpera know they have found their loved one’s final resting place (56, 61).

A poem is carved into the Wailing Bone: “Wander, roam; bring me home, / Down paths at my behest; / Among the stones, lay down my bones, / So I, at last, may rest”. Few can read the script it is written in, but most all vulpera can recite it from heart (54).

Two vulpera, frustrated at their inability to find their elder’s final resting place, neglected their duty and left his corpse in a river in the hopes that it would bring him there for them. Refusing to obey the Wailing Bone caused it to crack. From that night on, the vulpera of the caravan found themselves cursed for failing to heed the Wailing Bone (62, 65).

Cracking under the pressure of the curse, the two negligent vulpera ultimately died gruesome deaths at each other’s hands. One of their bones was made into the next Wailing Bone (65).

A caravan always needs a Wailing Bone (65).

The Uninvited Guest

One goblin adage goes like so: “Every great goblin invention was born from necessity, bubble gum, or an accident” (69).

The goblins have a nursery rhyme: “In the dark of night and bright of day, / Keep in your hand a tossaway. / Guard your fortune, mind your greed, / Or else the Uninvited Guest will feed” (70).

The Uninvited Guest is a goblin boogeyman of sorts who is attracted by greed so egregious it offends even the dead. It is incorporeal, invisible, and has the ability to move through walls (76).

The Uninvited Guest feeds off of greed, but it can never be satisfied. It will latch onto its host like an invisible parasite to feed, inciting strange charitable behavior in them until they have given away all of their earthly possessions (76-79).

A “tossaway” is a shiny gold-painted coin stamped with the face of the very first trade prince. These fake coins get their name from the way goblins quite literally toss them away in a symbolically superstitious act to protect themselves and their fortunes from the Uninvited Guest (70, 74).

Tossaways were invented by Slixi Boompowder, the wife of one of the former trade princes of the Steamwheedle Cartel, after her own run-in with the Uninvited Guest. She only escaped from it because she distracted it with actual gold galleons, which inspired her to create the tossaways (83).

Legend has it that the Uninvited Guest still roams Azeroth to this day, looking to feed off of hapless greedy goblins (84).

Klaxz Boompowder was one of the former trade princes of the Steamwheedle Cartel. His rival was Rikter Hogsnozzle, the trade prince of the Bilgewater Cartel (70-71).

Tradition dictates that goblins are buried with their most valuable possessions so they can enjoy them at the Everlasting Party, the goblin afterlife. They are then given burial gifts by other goblins from their own riches, though most goblins are too greedy to truly part with anything important (73).

Once the coffin is sealed, goblins dance on top of it to usher the deceased on to the Everlasting Party (75).

Prominent goblins typically serve as pallbearers while goblins contractually obligated to serve as pack mules carry the rear (75).

The goblins used to employ golden galleons as their form of currency, but it fell out of fashion. Nowadays, they are incredibly rare and expensive (74-75).

Trolls have a tale about an invisible evil that sucks the souls from living beings and leaves them mad. It can only be seen in the light of a full moon (80).

Sister is Another Word For Always

Vereesa felt Sylvanas’ death at the hands of Arthas the moment it happened (89-90).

Sylvanas’ eyes were gray as a high elf (91).

In the midst of her sorrow at her sister’s death, Vereesa sought many escapes. At first she tried to sleep, but when rest and forgetfulness would not come, she embarked on a journey across deserts and forests with little in the way of proper food or nourishment except that which she found (90, 93).

It is very possible Vereesa perished at some point on this journey, for she came across a spirit healer, though she was told it was not yet her time. The spirit healer offered Vereesa a deal: if she could bring her the willing soul of Sylvanas without ever touching her, the spirit healer would restore her to life (96-97).

When Sylvanas first died at the hands of Arthas, it seems as though the Arbiter sent her to Ardenweald (98-99).

After she struggles to locate her sister in Ardenweald, Vereesa is inadvertently pulled into the Maw. There, she still has difficulty finding her, and is told by the Jailer that Sylvanas is not there - at least, not yet. He then urges her to leave, telling her she does not belong there (99, 102-103).

Eventually, Vereesa spots a silver glimmer she knows to be Sylvanas, though it is only a fragment of her soul (103-104).

Before she can escape with the soul of her sister, the Jailer stops Vereesa and inadvertently tricks her into touching Sylvanas, rendering her deal with the spirit healer null and void (106).

At the end of this journey, Vereesa awakes at the foot of a statue, her memory of the experience hazy (109).

The Paladin’s Beast

Uther is originally from Stratholme (117).

Introduced as a fable beloved by the princelings and princesses of Lordaeron, the Paladin’s Beast is a tale that follows a young Uther as he finds himself in a mysterious and unfamiliar land. Determined to prove himself and bring back a prize to his fellow paladins, Uther joins a tournament put on by a foreign kingdom despite the protests of its princess. Though he is a strong warrior, she insists the beast of the tournament kills every knight who challenges it. Still, Uther refuses to back down, confident that his faith in the Light will give him the strength he needs to prevail. However, the princess’ words hold true, as every knight who goes to fight the beast before him perishes. When it is his turn, Uther decides to stay his hammer rather than fight, remembering the princess’ words. The beast withdraws, defeated by his act of compassion. It is revealed afterward as Uther goes for his prize that the princess actually was the beast all along, cursed to fight in the tournament for disobeying her father and breaking the royal lineage. She casts a spell on Uther, making it so that when he returns to Lordaeron, he will not remember anything of who she was or his experience there until the day he finds himself in a fiery field. Though the fable ends there, it is said that Uther dreamt of the silver kingdom and its princess for many years to come. It was not until his final moments, trying to fell a beast with weapons rather than compassion, that he would fully remember the princess and her story (111-127).

For Lies and Liberty

Most undead do not get all of their memories back immediately once they are raised (or given free will). It takes time and encouragement (133-134).

On the long-standing issue of whether or not undead have ichor or blood running through their veins, it appears one Jeremiah Pall still has blood in his body, though it has stopped moving on account of his still heart (134).

The story of the “Fearless Flyer” - a man known as Captain Whitney - is famous among some of the Alliance forces. According to the man himself, Whitney and his outfit had been fighting orcs for months to no avail when he hatched a bold plan to launch himself by catapult into their camp and take them by surprise, hence the nickname the “Fearless Flyer”. This story, unfortunately, turned out to be nothing but hyperbole. As it stands, a drunk Whitney accidentally got tangled up in nets, fell in the catapult, and was unceremoniously flung into the orcish camp. Believing themselves to be under attack, the orcs retaliated and killed most of the unsuspecting humans while Captain Whitney hid (136, 142).

Stones, Moss, and Tears

Though female elves traditionally mark their faces after they have achieved a rite of passage, they can continue to add embellishments to commemorate any further deeds (155).

At least one kaldorei lorekeeper was charged with knowing the name of every Sentinel and recording details of their more noteworthy battles (156).

The Bloomblade druids were one of the oldest, unbroken lines of night elf druids (158).

A species of insect known as glowmoths migrate through Mount Hyjal every autumn (164).

The Embrace

The White Lady and the Sun were charged with keeping watch over Azeroth as it dreamed (171, 176).

Though she loved the people of Azeroth dearly, the White Lady found herself growing lonely and in want of a family (173).

The moon cycles are thought to be the White Lady turning away and hiding her face in her sorrow, though she would always look back upon Azeroth to watch over it (174).

It is said that the White Lady loved Azeroth and its denizens so much that a child - the Blue Child - was born of that love (174-175).

The Blue Child, ever curious, began asking the White Lady questions about the mortals that weighed on her heart, as she could not answer (176).

One night the White Lady woke up to find the Blue Child gone. Unable to find her, she swore off her charge until the Blue Child was returned to her (177-178).

Without her guidance, the planet sped up and the tides ceased. The White Lady was only convinced to return to her duty after the Sun urged her, telling her the Blue Child might return if she had the moonlight to guide her (178).

The White Lady began to glow even more brightly over time in the hopes that her child would see, her light quickly growing to rival that of the Sun’s. This, too, caused problems, for crops burned and navigators could not see the stars to travel by (179).

Upon seeing the terrible effect this was having on Azeroth’s denizens, the White Lady dimmed her light and retreated (181).

The Blue Child ultimately returned from her long travels to her mother. They embraced in the sky, creating a beautiful eclipse (182).

Ever curious, the Blue Child was bound to grow restless again and leave for the stars, but the White Lady knew she would always return (183).

When the moon turns red, it is a sign of her anger (177).

Why the Mermaids Left Boralus

Back when Kul Tiras was still a Gilnean colony, Boralus had hardly any walls or structures protecting it from the wind or sea. More often than not, when the Great Sea churned at the city’s edge, it took houses, ships, and even men down into its depths. So many would drown in these incidents that those remaining covered them with weighted nets, causing them to sink to the seafloor (187-188, 190).

Many of the roads out of Boralus flooded during great storms, making it deadly to try to leave the city on foot or by ship (198).

The Kul Tirans declined to build a seawall for fear that it would have done nothing and also because repairing it after a storm would have been just as dangerous as the storms themselves (188).

Most of Boralus’ early inhabitants were seamen of some sort, whether fishers, sea priests, sailors, or pearl-divers (188).

During storms, the tidesages would act as a makeshift seawall and use their power to cut the waves before they made it deeper into the harbor (199).

Mermaids appeared quite openly near Boralus in its early days. Though they lived much deeper than most could naturally dive, they liked to sit on the rocks and watch ships go by, among other things. Most lived in temples beneath the sea that belonged to Kul Tiras’ former inhabitants (189, 191).

According to superstition, sighting a mermaid was bad luck and presaged many inauspicious things including a doomed voyage, a brutal winter, and poor fishing. They were also seen as the harbingers of storms (189-190).

Tidesages were (and still are) always the first and last to disembark from a ship. As a result, they usually went down with their ships (191).

The tidesages’ unrivaled dedication, combined with the frequency of drownings and shipwrecks, often meant they died young (191).

Mermaids are spawned from eggs and leave no corpses when they die (191, 203).

The mermaids had very little understanding of the Kul Tirans’ mistrust towards them (191).

Mermaids have some power over the rocks and water - granted to them by the Tidemother from birth -, but they use it sparingly because it is finite. Once a mermaid runs out of magic, they die. As a result, mermaids can live up to five hundred years (192).

Mermaids consider sirens lazy and murlocs deplorable (192).

According to legend, the bubble seaweed in Boralus Harbor is actually discarded pearls. A mermaid by the name of Halia fell in love with a tidesage and kept secretly gifting them to her as a token of her affection. The tidesage, Ery, was far too pragmatic for such a gift and dumped the pearls back in the water every time (195).

The mermaids believe that the Tidemother will give tails to those who slit their feet from toes to heels and walk into the harbor at dawn (197).

According to legend, Boralus’ great stone seawall was formed through the combined efforts of dozens of mermaids and one lone tidesage. A virulent tempest had come upon Boralus one day, taking men and ships alike with it. Though the city’s tidesages gathered to push back the waves, all but one were lost to the storm over the course of five long days. The last remaining tidesage, Ery, persisted despite her exhaustion while the mermaid Halia, too afraid to watch her lover perish, began using her own magic to craft a seawall. Though the storm repeatedly broke it down, her fellow mermaids joined her, ultimately expending their magic and sacrificing themselves to raise a wall so grand it towered over even the mightiest of ships and waves. Ery herself nearly died after this, though Halia saved her by invoking the Tidemother. She cut Ery’s feet from toes to heels and dragged her into the harbor, performing the ritual necessary for her transformation into a mermaid (198-203).

All but one of the mermaids - Ery notwithstanding - perished to save Boralus, which is why none are seen there today (204-205).

As a result, the sailors of Boralus now see mermaids as a symbol of the highest honor, good luck, and sacrifice (205).

During calm sunsets when the red of the sky is reflected in the harbor, sailors refer to it as “Ery’s blood,” after the tidesage who fought the storm so valiantly. Ery’s blood is a sign of good weather to come (205).

The Courageous Kobold and the Wickless Candle

Kobolds tell a sleep-time story (209).

Kobold families live together in caves. They have their own nests, but congregate in common areas for stories, among other things (210).

Some time ago, the Whiskersnoot kobold tunnels crumbled, submerging the Whiskersnoots in total darkness. They lived like that for generations, having decided it was no longer safe to dig higher after the cave-in. This spawned a saying: “Never pick above your snout, else the darkness snuff you out!” (210-211).

Granny Whiskersnoot, however, dug just a little bit upward every day until one day she broke through to a light above. She intended to lead the other kobolds to it, but could never find her way back through the tunnels again. It wasn’t until her granddaughter persisted in finding it that they made their way back above ground (211, 222).

The kobolds think of the sun as a “Wickless Candle” (211).

Visage Day

On a dragon’s Visage Day, they choose what mortal form they will take. This is significant, as it shows the Aspects trust them to adopt the guise of one of the mortal races and walk among them. It is the dragons’ hope that through choosing a form to embody and relate to mortals, the more mortals can understand dragons in turn (228, 234).

Onyxia, on the other hand, maintains dragons choose visages that allow them to control the mortals (241).

In accordance with tradition, the Visage Day ceremony occurs on the uppermost level of Wyrmrest Temple. Each of the Aspects are usually present for members of their own dragonflight, though Alexstrasza herself has been known to officiate on occasion. It is also customary for each flight to send emissaries (243).

During the ceremony, all attendant dragons take their own mortal forms in honor of the dragon whose Visage Day it is (245).

Before they publicly choose their form, the dragon in question traditionally makes a proclamation (245).

The Visage Day ceremony can be delayed (244).

Nozdormu has helped many bronze dragons prepare for their own Visage Day (230).

When Nozdormu sits in the sands at the heart of the Bronze Dragonshine, intricate patterns form around him (233).

Both Kalecgos and Chromie performed a short incantation to assume their mortal forms, though Nozdormu did not appear to need to (234, 236, 246).

Kalecgos says that he chose a half-elf form - which he calls a “blend of mortal worlds” - in order to symbolize his own attempt to blend together the dragon and human worlds (237).

Onyxia, on the other hand, opted to take the form of a beautiful human woman to better manipulate mortals (241).

The dragons often go by nicknames in their mortal forms because they find their full names sound too formal to humans (238).

The drakonid were fashioned by the dragons to be helpful and loyal (238).

The black dragonflight practices how best to inflict pain (239).

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snakeboistan · 4 years ago

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Policing His Heart

Pairing: Sugino x Nagisa

This is loosely based off of the TV Show ‘ Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries ‘, which is now honestly my favourite show. Like I am only four episodes in and I am literally in love with every single character and Miss Fisher and Detective Inspector Robinson is literally Irina x Karasuma if they lived in the 1920s. And yes, I know that back then boy x boy was a crime (actually the episode that I took inspiration from is about how one of the suspects was man that’s in a relationship with his male best friend and the murder victim had evidence of it - but he didn’t go to jail because he was protected by Miss Fisher and the Detective Inspector when they got rid of the evidence) but let’s just pretend that people aren’t stupid and the world didn’t suck, okay

“So do you have any possible suspects, Miss?” Nagisa asked as he entered Irina’s lavish bedroom with a tray filled with plates, slices of toast and a variety of jams. The woman of the house herself was exquisitely reclining on the gold silk sheets of her queen sized bed, her scarlet robe flowing around her like she was a goddess as she continued to read the newspaper article that detailed yesterday’s murder.

“Oh you know, the usual,” Irina supplied to her companion, setting the paper down on her lap, “vengeful wife, greedy children, business enemies. The first people that come to mind when a wealthy charmer has been killed.”

“Did Mr Willis have many enemies?” the blunette inquired as he handed the breakfast tray to the blonde.

“A man of his reputation always has many enemies. It’s figuring out which one is daring enough to stab him which is the issue. Oh, come here, Nagisa, sit next to me” Irina called, patting the space on the duvet beside her.

“Yes, Miss,” Nagisa nodded and made his way around the bed so that he could sit by her side, making sure that he doesn’t crumple her garments. Irina made a pleased sound and she picked up a slice of toast and a butter knife with her manicured hands, deftly spreading on some strawberry jam before handing it to the boy.

“I think I’m going to have a word with Mr Thompson today,” the woman mused, “he was at the party yesterday and I’ve got a feeling that he has more information than he’s letting on.”

“Mr Thompson,” Nagisa inquired, “Clark Thompson? But he seemed so nice during last week’s party at the Robinson’s. I would hardly consider him someone that would kill.”

“Ahh, Nagisa, everyone is capable of murder when they are backed into a corner, and given Mr Willis’ business in blackmail I wouldn’t strike anyone at the party off of the list of possible suspects.”

“You seem to have few ideas on what to do, Miss,” Nagisa observed, “Is there anything you wish for me to do here in the house once you are out?”

“Nothing much, just make sure that the laundry is done and you can spend the rest of the day doing what you want. Although I may require for you to stay here in case I need to call on you. Oh that reminds me,” Irina chimed, a slight smirk forming at the corner of her crimson mouth, “I was having a word with Tadaomi at the crime scene yesterday.”

“And,” Nagisa said, because he felt as if she was silently goading him to ask, “what did Detective Inspector Karasuma say?”

“Well, apparently Constable Sugino wishes to ask you to the Fireman and Policeman’s ball.”

Nagisa choked on his mouthful of toast, sending stray crumbs onto his plain woolen brown waistcoat, “me?!”

‘Why yes,” she smiled innocently, taking her own bite of toast, “I don’t find it surprising. Our dear constable is very clearly taken with you.”

Nagisa blushed, looking down, “Oh, I wish you would stop teasing me, Miss.”

“I’m a detective, darling. It’s my job to observe people and gather information.”

“I’d much rather you do your detective work on your cases and not on me though. Anyhow, if he truly wishes to ask me, he’s cutting it awfully close - the ball is in two days.”

“Oh the poor man is simply nervous,” Irina waved him off, “give him time, he’ll surely come around. Now come on, I’ve got a suspect to visit.”

…..

When Nagisa walked into the Police Station to deliver his basket of baked treats to Irina, he stopped dead in his tracks when he caught sight of the ebony-haired policeman behind a camera. He was currently taking photographs of his employer, who seemed to have the time of her life by posing like a film actress, flaunting her figure with every click and shutter.

“Miss Jelavic,” Constable Sugino said with amusement, “I must ask you to keep still.”

“Oh darling,” she winked, “I never stay still.”

Nagisa cleared his throat, causing both the policeman and Irina to swivel their heads towards her, Irina grinned as Nagisa tightened his hold on the basket. Sugino’s eyes widened and his cheeks started to blossom with a faint rosy hue, almost dropping the camera if it weren’t for the fact that it was on a stand.

“I brought your lunch, Miss,” he informed the blonde woman. He turned to the smiled nervously, “good afternoon, Constable Sugino” - he nodded at the tall, no-nonsense policeman that stood at the doorway of the office - “Detective Inspector Karasuma.”

“Good-good afternoon, Nagisa,” Sugino stuttered, giving his own embarrassed smile, “I hope you’re well.”

Karasuma gave his own greeting before asking Irina, “you ordered lunch.”

“Why yes I did.”

“You said that the call was for an emergency.”

“Yes, I’m hungry.”

Karasuma gave an exasperated sigh as Irina took the basket from her companion.

“Excuse me,” Nagisa said, “I don’t mean to intrude but what was going on earlier?”

“I happened to catch Miss Jelavic in the act of breaking and entering,” Karasuma answered with irritation.

“It’s not breaking and entering if the window was already open,” Irina waved him off, “now why don’t you and I have a talk in your office about what was in that folder. You can have a piece of Nagisa’s apple pie, it’s to die for.”

Nagisa watched as Irina dragged Karasuma into his office, shutting the door behind them, before his eyes found themselves wandering towards Sugino only to find that the Constable was already looking at him. The two of them stared at each other for a second before retracting their gazes, cheeks blazing.

“So,” Sugino started.

“Yes, Sugino,” Nagisa smiled at him.

“I-uh-well, you-uh- see,” he was ringing his hands, as if he was mustering up the courage to ask Nagisa something homogeneously of Oliver Twist asking for more, “the thing is, Nagisa, there’s something I’ve got to tell you.”

“Yes,” Nagisa urged.

“I-I, I hope that,” Sugino looked straight into his eyes and his expression faltered, “I hope that you could-could-haveaniceday.”

The brunette blinked at the plastered smile that the navy-eyed man threw on after rushing out the last part of his sentence, something in his heart falling. He gave his own smile at Sugino, “thank you, Constable Sugino. I hope that you do too.”

….

“So, did you ask him?”

“No, Sir, I lost my nerve at the last second.”

“For heaven's sake, Constable, it’s a dance not a marriage proposal.”

“I know, I know.”

…..

“Oh,” Nagisa cried as he continued to pace the study, “I do hope that she’s alright.”

“Don’t worry Nagisa,” Taisei Yoshida said from where he was leaning against the study’s doorway with his arms crossed, “I’m sure that Miss is alright.”

“But it’s been an hour since she’s left to find the murderer,” Nagsa argued, hands flying everywhere, “she could be in danger. I hate not knowing how she is, I couldn’t even finish darning the pillowcases with how much my hands are shaking.”

“Why don’t I get you some tea,” Irina’s butler, Yuuma Isogai, offered kindly, “it would help calm your nerves.”

“Well, I don’t know about tea,” Ryouma Terasaka grumbled, “But I could use a drink. I still don’t see why she didn’t bring us with her - we always help her out!”

“Could you get us some cups of tea and a bottle of whisky please, Yuuma,” Taisei asked.

“Certainly.”

When Isogai left, Taisei turned to the still panicking Nagisa, “Calm down, Nagisa. You know Miss Jelavic. That woman is strong enough to handle herself even if she wasn’t accompanied by that Detective. She carries around a golden revolver at all times for crying out loud. Or are you worrying because it’s not just Miss that has left but also the Detective Inspector’s right hand man.”

“Huh, who?” Terasaka asked as Nagisa paused and blushed, gulping and looking down.

“Constable Tomohito Sugino,” Taisei enunciated with a sly grin, “the chap that helped us during the Asano case. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that he seems to be quite taken with our Nagisa.”

“It’s not like that,” Nagisa mumbled, face still red, “we’re just acquaintances.”

“I see,” Taisei smirked, sharing a look with Ryouma, “well, I know just what to take your mind out of this. Let me tell you what I heard from Taiga Okajima at the pub-”

He was cut off by the doorbell and heavy knocking at the door. Isogai’s voice could be heard saying, “Good evening, Miss, Detective Inspector.”

Nagisa gasped and rushed to the door, breathing out, “Miss, you’ve returned!”

Irina smirked, “Of course I have.”

“So you’ve caught him?”

“What do you expect? Now if you gentlemen don’t mind me, I am going to have a nice warm bath.”

As Irina sauntered up the stairs, the ends of her white fur stole swaying in tandem, Nagisa turned towards the two policemen at the door. After exchanging a glance with his subordinate, Detective Inspector Karasuma nodded at him, “I’ll be taking my leave then.”

Only Nagisa and Sugino were left at the entrance. Sugino looked at the shorter boy and opened his mouth, about to say something when Nagisa spoe instead,

“Are you alright? Did the murderer hurt you?”

“Wha-,” Sugino’s eyes widened, “no, no. Fortunately I am unharmed.”

“That’s good,” Nagisa smiled, “I was so worried. I-”

“Will you accompany me to the policemen and firemen’s ball?”

Silence descended onto the duo as Sugino’s blurted out words registered in Nagisa’s head. Nagisa inhaled deeply, staring intently at the Constable before him, the same Constable whose name would make him feel something in his soul like no other word could, whose face shined with nothing but kindness and soft care that made his day brighten in ways he couldn’t describe.

“Yes,” he breathed, feeling breathless and giddy, “I would love to.”

“Oh,” Sugino stated plainly, taken aback. He said nothing for a moment, his face had yet to lose its rosy hue, but then a shaky, exuberant smile made its way onto his mouth, “alright then. I’ll pick you up at ten?”

“That works for me.”

“Wonderful.”

…..

Later that week, Sugino extended the crook of his elbow towards Nagisa. The blue-haired boy smiled, remembering the star-struck look the policeman wore when he saw him wearing his raven black tuxedo (perfectly tailored by one of Irina’s friends - “almost too perfectly,” Irina herself had quipped). Nagisa interlocked his own arm through and together they walked into the ballroom.

#assassination classroom #sugino x nagisa #my writing

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davepeta-posting · 7 years ago

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Hey. I wrote a research paper on my special interest. Read it?

The phylogeny of birds of prey defies expectations, as their genetic relations do not seem to match phenotypic expressions. In most animals, similar appearance indicates a close relationship, as with felines. In birds of prey, closely related birds will often appear drastically different, while some who are genetically very different from one another seem similar. The diversification within families, combined with many cases of convergent evolution, led to birds of prey having been incorrectly grouped.

The classification of birds of prey, as with most animals, came well before DNA testing, and so they were split into groups based on observation. With additional scientific research it has become clear that certain aspects of this classification were incorrect, such as barn owls being an entirely different family than true owls, or falcons not being raptors. Raptors are eagles and hawks, where falcons are actually perching birds [Jaggard, 2018]. Corvids, or Corvidae, refers to crows, ravens and allies, but these are not considered birds of prey, as will be discussed later. Falcons are often misclassified as hawks, or close relatives thereof. Many falcons are even referred to as hawks in their names or nicknames. For example, the peregrine falcon is often called a duck hawk because it hunts other birds.

Eagles have a reputation for being majestic beasts who soar through the skies and can bring down prey of staggering sizes. This is true for some, like the golden eagle, who have been known to prey on antelope and sheep [National Eagle Center]. Bald eagles, however, are fishers when necessary but are primarily thieves and scavengers, stealing prey from osprey, another bird of prey, and sometimes even from vultures. Eagles are as diverse in what they hunt as is possible, preying on anything from rodents and small fish to deer. Eagles hunt by soaring over their prey, sighting them and diving down to make the catch. While they cannot reach the incredible speeds of the peregrine falcon, they are quite adept at snatching prey off the ground or out of the water and carrying it with them to a safe place for feeding. Fishing hawks are also able to swim, assisting them when the fish they catch are to large to carry in the air.

Eagles and hawks are justifiably famous for their eyesight. On a clear day, eagles can sight a rabbit from two miles away. While hawks are not quite as impressive, they still have sight more than eight times better than that of humans.

Eagles are much larger than other raptors, in the range of twenty pounds. Even many large hawks are about eight pounds. Certain vultures are able to grow even larger, but less consistently. Hawks are more of a jack-of-all-trades than other birds of prey. They are in the very middle of the size range of birds of prey, and are decent at all the things that other birds specialize in. They have a much wider ecological niche than the other raptors, being able to hunt a greater variety of prey.

Vultures are evolved to be scavengers much more efficiently than even their bald eagle cousins. They have almost no feathers on their heads and neck to keep blood and gore from sticking to them as they eat, as they sometimes need to stick their beaks far into carcasses to reach meat. They have extremely acidic gastric juices, which allows them to kill the bacteria that cause cholera and the virus that causes rabies [James 2016]. They are invaluable to the environment, getting rid of animal corpses before they can fester and spread disease, and they keep insect populations in check by competing for food. Many vultures, especially black vultures, will in fact hunt their own prey when carrion is hard to come by.

Vultures are endangered in their environments for many different reasons, though mostly due to human intervention. In Kenya, farmers will poison the carcasses of their cattle that were killed by lions, so that when the pride returns to feed, the lions will die off. This also kills the vultures who eat both the cattle and the poisoned lions. In India, drugs intended to assist cattle with joint pain causes kidney failure in vultures that feed off of them after they die. The Indian population of vultures has declined by 96% in only ten years. As a result of the decline in vulture population, conservation efforts are being put into place to provide vultures with safe food and medical care, in addition to attempting to regulate chemicals harmful to vultures.

Owls are closely related to raptors, and therefore quite far from falcons. Unlike other birds of prey, they are nocturnal and hunt mainly using their hearing, in addition to their night vision [Ponder and Willette, 2015] . Their other advantage is that owls have evolved to fly near silently. Owls have wings that are proportionally much larger than those of any other bird of prey, giving them more lift per flap and so less need to flap. They also have much less aerodynamic feathers than birds evolved for speed, and this fluffiness acts as a muffler for the noise of their feathers rubbing against each other in flight [Mahmood, etc. 2014].

Strigiformes, the order of owls, contains two families. Strigidae, or true owls, and Tytonidae, or barn owls. Tytonidae includes fewer than twenty species, while Strigidae represent twenty five genera. Owls are one of the oldest land birds, with lineages going back seventy to eighty million years. Only in the modern day have they begun to go extinct, due to humans destroying their habitats and displacing both them and their prey. The laughing owl of New Zealand has gone completely extinct due to habitat loss [Ponder and Willette 2015].

Falcons differ strongly from other birds of prey. While eagles, hawks, and other raptors have a close common ancestor, and even vultures are quite close, falcons are much more closely related to the songbirds they hunt than they are to raptors. While raptors hunt prey on land, and occasionally fish, falcons primarily target other birds. They dive on their prey, sometimes reaching speeds of 240 miles per hour. While most falcons are carnivorous, some will also eat insects, like the American and European kestrels. Falcons will also use their beaks to kill their prey, where raptors hunt solely using their talons [National Geographic]. Male falcons are referred to as tiercels, meaning “one third” in Latin, as they are about one third of the size of females.

Falcons are perching birds, the furthest birds of prey from raptors and the others. Their closest relatives are parrots, and yet they look like slightly smaller versions of raptors. Falcons are an amazing case of convergent evolution, having developed essentially the same talons and beak as raptors. These developments are advantageous to hunting birds, and as such developed independently in falcons and the common ancestor of the other birds of prey.

Peregrine falcons were formerly endangered due to DDT and other pesticides being consumed by the birds they preyed on building up in their digestive systems. Rather than just killing the falcons who were exposed, DDT causes their eggs to be less firm, bursting open easily and killing the infants. Falconers would climb up cliff sides to reach the nests of wild falcons and take the eggs when they were small, replacing them with plaster fakes. The eggs were carefully incubated and fledglings returned to their parents’ nests a few weeks after hatching. DDT and similar pesticides have now been banned in the United States. Falcons are now considered “least concern” on the endangered species list. [The Nature Conservatory].

Corvidae such as crows or ravens are not considered to be birds of prey. Although they will hunt and scavenge, much like vultures and bald eagles, corvids are entirely opportunists and will eat plant matter when it is more readily available than flesh. As such, they are considered omnivores where birds of prey are carnivores and occasionally insectivores. They are also the most intelligent birds, magpies being the only non-mammal to recognise itself in the mirror. They are able to use tools, solve multi-step problems, and work as a group. Crows are able to communicate advanced topics, and seem to have exceptional long term memory. Corvids are perching birds, and so significantly closer to falcons than raptors [Ericson, et. al. 2005].

Although they are all hunters in the air, each species takes a different approach to how one should catch prey. Hawks and eagles are perfect for soaring, scouring the ground below for prey before swooping down and pulling the animal into the air with them. The have long, broad wings to catch updrafts and spend the least possible energy to remain in the air for long periods of time. Owls have similar wings, but more broad than long. They do not have to stay up in the air for as long, merely avoiding flapping to not reveal their presence to the prey as they closely stalk it. As always, falcons seem to be the exception to these trends. Instead of soaring, falcons gain height before diving on their prey, generally moving large distances vertically while hunting, rather than laterally. All birds of prey will hunt relatively much larger prey than most predators, sometimes taking on animals even larger than themselves. Falcons’ most common prey are pigeons, the largest of which are the same weight as some of the falcons who hunt them.

As birds of prey spread across the globe, they diversified to fill different ecological niches. Due to many having migratory tendencies, the gene pools on each continent are fairly large, but there is a major difference between Old World and New World birds of prey. Old World vultures, from Eurasia and Africa, are more closely related to raptors than they are to the New World vultures of the Americas. Vultures are the main surprise in the area of differences between birds of prey in the old and new worlds, as raptors and falcons don’t seem to differ much between the two supercontinents[ Seibold and Helbig, 1995].

Almost all birds of prey are on the top of their respective food chains, only being at risk when confined to the nest as eggs and fledglings, when they can fall prey to snakes and climbing mammals. The parents, however, are often in the nest when these creatures attempt their attacks and will fight them off. The only animals that will hunt a fully-grown bird of prey are other birds of prey. There have been many recorded cases of eagles trespassing on a falcons territory and being fought off by the smaller bird, and sometimes even killed [Outside My Window, 2012].

Falcons will defend their nests and young with their lives, taking on animals they have little chance against in the hopes that they can scare these predators off. Although birds of prey, and falcons specifically, are extremely protective of their young, once they have matured fully the young are treated like any other trespassing bird and chased away. The formidable size of most birds of prey will discourage any attackers, and when it does not, these birds are perfectly adapted for both fight and flight.

Falconers have been using birds of prey to assist them in their hunting for thousands of years. The earliest case known case of falconry was in 2000 BCE in China [PBS, 2000]. Working alongside birds of prey has persisted since then, spreading to every continent except Antarctica. However, the first known case of falconers crossbreeding their birds did not occur until 1970, when to falcons of different species were housed in the same nest and mated [Frost]. Since then, cross breeding has been done intentionally to improve upon falcons and raptors. Falconers are able to combine positive traits from different species and cut out certain flaws. Crossbreeding is also the most foolproof way for falconers to avoid inbreeding.

Falconers are legally forbidden from releasing these crossbreeds into the wild, for fear of them breeding with local populations and outcompeting pure-breed birds of prey. So while these crossbreeds are being actively prevented from influencing the wild birds’ genotype, captive falcons are more likely to be crossbred than not. The crossbreeds are consistently able to outperform purebreds of both parent species, gaining the positive traits that assist in hunting, while the other parent balances out the flaws. One of the more common crosses is between the gyr, the largest falcon, and the peregrine, the fastest. While the offspring do not reach the size of a gyr, they are much faster, and while they’re slower than peregrines, they are much larger. This balance between the advantages of each parent species makes them even more successful in their hunts [The Falconry Center].

Recently, English falconers have been able to cross the Harris hawk with the golden eagle. This is groundbreaking, as it is not just a cross between two different species, but also through different Genera and subfamilies. It is not yet clear if these offspring are fertile, but in most birds of prey male crossbreeds are fertile, while females are much less likely to be. The fact that eagles and hawks can produce viable offspring together calls into question how closely the two are related. Once gene sequencing becomes more cheaply available it will be much easier to tell [Terrierman’s Daily Dose, 2010].

Birds of prey is an extremely diverse group of animals, although it seems to be a somewhat arbitrary term. While the majority of birds classified as birds of prey are closely related, the inclusion of falcons removes credibility from the group. Furthermore, corvidae being excluded seems to make even less sense, as they are just as similar to raptors as falcons are. The term and requirements to be classified as a “bird of prey” seem to be based solely on outdated phenotypic observations. While it is a useful phrase in falconry, it appears to have little place in the scientific community.

The crossbreeding of two birds from different genera, in the form of the Harris hawk and golden eagle cross, is an amazing scientific breakthrough. It raises many questions about how close their genetics are, and about how far two creatures can be genetically before breeding viable offspring becomes impossible. The mechanical compatibility between raptors will no doubt be very important to further experimentation on this subject.

In conclusion, although humans have been in close contact with birds of prey for thousands of years, we still do not have a concrete grasp on how they are related to each other, as we gain more information each day. The phenotypic variation in species that are closely genetically tied and the similar appearances of those quite far from one another makes classifying relationships between birds of prey a great challenge.

#LONG POST #please its so long save yourselves #im literally just posting my research paper

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newtothewaywardparty · 7 years ago

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The Ghost of an Idea 3

Read Stave One: Bobby’s Ghost, Part 1

Read Stave Two: Bobby’s Ghost, Part 2

Stave Two: The First of the Three Spirits, Part 1

When Dean awoke, it was so dark he couldn’t make out the rickety TV stand in the ratty motel room. He blindly fumbled on the nightstand for his phone and checked the time, his eyes squinting against the blue glare of the screen.

To his astonishment, it read 11:58 p.m. Dean had passed out around two in the morning. He swiped his screen to wake it up, checking the date next to the time. Had he actually passed out and slept all the way through the day and into the next night? No, the date still read December 24.

Dean stumbled out of bed and groped his way to the window, pulling aside the curtains, upsetting a cloud of dust that rained cigarette ash smell into the room, clouding his vision and making him cough. When the fine powder settled, Dean almost shrieked. Jo Harvelle stood just outside the window.

She stood still as a statue, unblinking yet unmenacing. Her hair was long and golden, carefully arranged in gentle waves. Mindless of the cold, she wore not her usual hunter’s jeans but rather a long, white sundress, the kind Dean knew chicks sometimes wore to outdoor music festivals. The dress was cinched with a southwestern-style silver concho belt, studded with turquoise. Her well-worn shit-kickers completed the ensemble, Dean noted with a small smile. You could take the girl out of hunting, but you couldn’t take the hunter out of the girl.

The weirdest part was, she seemed to glow from the inside out with a strange light, making her appear both younger and older than when Dean had known her at the Roadhouse and, later, on hunts together. The light emanated strongest from her head, which was just weird. Dean held his arm up like a visor to protect his hungover eyes as he tried to see which version (childlike or ancient) she really was, but it made him dizzy and sick. He was going to blame the sherry.

Dean pulled the window open. Let’s kick this in the ass, he thought. “So you’re Bobby’s first messenger?” he asked.

“That’s right, sweetheart” Jo replied, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “I’m the Ghost of Christmas Past.” She spread her arms wide. She always had a flair for the dramatic, Dean reflected.

“Can you maybe-” Dean waved his other hand to indicate her head, shining like a beacon in the dark parking lot.

“Fine,” she sighed, producing a straw cowgirl hat with a colored beaded band from somewhere and placing it on her head. The light dampened considerably so that Dean could look at her through narrowed eyelids. “But it’s not my fault you can’t look at it.” She pouted a bit, and looked every bit the young woman she had been all those years ago at the Roadhouse in Nebraska. Dean shook that memory away, trying to clear his head.

“Uh,” Dean began. Articulate as always. “So what’s the game plan, here?” The frigid air was beginning to make him shiver, even fully dressed as he had fallen asleep. He grabbed his own arms to stop his shivering.

Jo gave him a lopsided smile. “C’mon Dean. I know you like to pretend to be dumber than a post, but I know you’ve at least seen Scrooged.”

Dean shrugged noncomittally. He was a huge Bill Murray fan. Of course he had seen it, but he wasn’t going to give anything up easily. He was even more reluctant to admit he had seen A Muppet Christmas Carol back at the bunker with Cas. They had sat together on Dean’s bed, comfortable with beer and Funyuns. Dean’s heart clenched as he remembered fielding Cas’ questions. “How can a Pig and a Frog be romantically attracted to each other? How do they reproduce? This movie is extremely scientifically inaccurate, Dean.”

“Let’s go, Dean” Jo said, now seeming older again, confident and immune to Dean’s bullshit, holding out her hand through the window. “We’re burning time here.”

Dean took her hand, a little unsure how she expected him to scramble through the windowsill, high above the ancient radiator. Once they touched, though, he found himself floating, perfectly warm, through the air with her, flying above the Western Kansas countryside. The highway stretched out below them, and Dean could see wind turbines like a field of white sunflowers, their red air safety lights blinking at the top. It was like looking down onto a field of twinkling red Christmas lights.

“I can’t believe you Superman’d me!” Dean shouted over the rushing wind. He couldn’t help grinning widely as they soared over the Flint Hills, the lack of moonlight making their rolling curves seem sharper and deeper.

Jo laughed, a childish bubbling sound. “Can You Read My Mind?” She intoned in mock-serious tones.

Dean rolled his eyes. “You’re no Lois Lane, Joanna Beth.” He glanced down to see Mount Oread speeding toward them, the red-tiled roofs of the limestone University buildings visible even in the gloom. “Hey, this is Lawrence!” he exclaimed in recognition. “I grew up near here,” he said, even as they glided over his old elementary school, the playground where he had first learned to swing, pumping his little legs forward and back. It felt like flying. Dean experienced an unfamiliar physical sensation, one which he was unaccustomed to feeling, except on rare occasions of peace with Sam, and of course whenever he and Cas shared companionable moments, like when they had worked that case in Dodge City. He felt light in a way that had nothing to do with the magic of soaring through the air with Jo.

Jo steered them lower until they almost hit the roofs of the houses on the suburban block. “Do you know where you are?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Dean nodded. “Sam and I actually worked a case here about ten years back.” He blinked and somehow they were in the living room. He would have been more panicked but time travel had kind of becoming routine for him. Nevertheless, he was still amazed, taking in all the detail his memory had forgotten over the years. An afghan of multicolored granny squares adorned the avocado green and harvest gold plaid couch. A modest tree, draped with tinsel, stood by the window. Dean’s eyes fell to the carnage of empty boxes and wrapping paper under it.

“Oh wow! My Big Wheel!” He ran a hand over the red, yellow, and blue tricycle. “I totally forgot about this! And my G.I. Joe, man, he was so cool.” Dean picked up the action figure (no, it was totally not a doll, thankyouverymuch) and made shooting noises with its little gun. He turned, dropping it, as his eyes widened. “Oh, whoah, I totally remember this-” He started toward the object of his attention when he was interrupted by a man walking into the room.

He wore wide-leg light-wash jeans cinched with a brown belt with a large buckle. His western-style plaid shirt was tight with pearlescent buttons. His hair was shaggy (almost as long as Sam’s now), his face clean-shaven, but Dean would know him anywhere.

“Dad?” Dean breathed. His chest hitched. His Dad did not acknowledge them in any way. Jo placed a reassuring hand on Dean’s arm.

“They can’t hear or see us” she said, a too-kind expression on her face.

“Dean! Get in here, son. I found what I was looking for” John Winchester called. For the first time, Dean noticed the cardboard album cover in John’s hands. A small boy, little more than a toddler, careened into the living room, rushing into his dad’s arms with a squeal. He had a blonde bowl haircut, chunky cheeks, and brown corduroy jeans. Dean flinched, instinctively guarding against John’s reaction. His father only gathered the boy up in a bear hug and roared.

“All right, little monster,” John said, after setting young Dean down on the braided rug. “I want to show you how to use this new tool.” Dean’s mouth fell open as the man indicated the toy adult Dean had been wanting to get his hands on, an orange plastic Fisher-Price record player in its own portable case, designed for young hands.

With patience Dean had never seen John Winchester use anytime in his conscious memory, his father explained, step-by-step to his child self how to carefully place the vinyl on the turntable, turn it on, and place the needle. The album in use was John Denver’s Poems, Prayers, & Promises. After completing his explanation, John kindly coached young Dean through the steps himself, praising the child when he did something correctly, and gently correcting him when he forgot the order of steps or was too rough. Preschool Dean beamed, eyes gleaming, when “Sunshine on my Shoulders” began playing from the player’s tiny speakers. John patted him on the shoulder, silently approving.

“Boys!” came a voice from the kitchen. “Supper’s almost ready.” Dean’s mother appeared at the doorway, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. Mary’s skin was flushed from the heat of cooking. She was lovely and warm, just as Dean remembered. “Go get washed up now” she said, in a not-at-all-stern tone, putting her hands on her hips, her belly heavy with Sam, who would be born in the spring. Dean drank her in greedily. This was Christmas 1982. Dean was just three years old. This was his last Christmas with his mom. Their last Christmas as a family. Before…

Jo interrupted him. “What’s that on your cheek, Dean?”

Dean sniffed “Sweat. It’s too damn hot in here.” Jo pretended not to see him discreetly swipe at his eyes with the back of a sleeve. He resumed watching as his small family gathered around the oak table piled high with ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and of course, his mom’s homemade apple pie. Little Dean sat in a green molded plastic booster, eating enthusiastically with his Bert and Ernie and Big Bird silverware, his parents chatting happily on either side. Dean shook his head. “Poor kid,” he uttered under his breath.

“What’s wrong?” asked Jo. She raised an eyebrow knowingly.

“I just…” Dean struggled to find the words. I barely remember this, but at least I had it once. Sam never had it all, even though I tried my best. Now it’s Jack’s first Christmas, and…” he shrugged, stuffing his hand in his pockets. “I just wish I had maybe stuck around; shown him a good one. Like this.”

Jo smiled thoughtfully and waved her hand. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand” she said brightly, and suddenly they were in a different living room. Dean recognized the tan velour couch instantly. This was Sonny’s farmhouse, the boy’s home where he had spent a couple of months in 1995 after he had gotten nabbed for stealing food for Sam. Teen-aged him sat on the couch, sucking face with Robin.

Dean whirled on Jo. “What the hell? This wasn’t even at Christmas!”

“Your history didn’t leave a plethora of choices. We had to make do with what we had.” Jo shot back, defensively.

“We?” inquired Dean.

Jo gave him a sharp smile. “When Bobby Singer calls, I answer.” She shrugged. “Plus, I’m not gonna pass up the chance to work one last case with a Winchester.” She winked at him, then nudged his arm. “Shhh, or you’ll miss it.”

They turned back to the teenagers making out on the couch. They were discussing the upcoming school dance. “I’m not going anywhere, Robin.” Grown-up Dean winced at those words. He knew how much he meant them at the time. How quickly he’d forget them once John showed up with Sam in tow. Sam would come first, before anything else, for a long time after that.

“She was your first love.” Jo said, a soft look on her face. Dean’s face didn’t leave young Robin. He nodded.

“You never loved anyone like this again.” stated Jo. She looked older now, tired and sad.

Dean whipped his head toward her. “I have so!” he retorted.

“Not like this,” said Jo. “Not in that whole, pure, unguarded way.” The scene around them shifted. Sixteen-year-old Dean was tying his tie over that dorky short-sleeved dress shirt, and Sonny was telling him his father was here to take him away.

“This was the moment, Dean.” Jo said, voice low and deliberate. “The moment you discovered giving your heart to someone could mean getting it broken.” Dean’s tracked his young self helplessly as he went to the window, looking out at John and Sam. Followed the boy, he was just a kid, as he shook hands, brave face through tears with Sonny. Jo continued: “You always held yourself back after this. Cassie, Lisa, anyone else; you never really let them in.”

Dean grit his teeth and whirled on Jo. “Good talk, Russ. Next stop?” Jo touched his hand and they stood on the shore of a lake Dean had never wanted to see again in his life or any other. He barely had time to draw a breath before his eyes landed on Cas, blade sticking through his check, blue light escaping his mouth and eyes. Shit.

Read Stave Two: The First of the Three Spirits, Part 2

#supernatural #spn #fanfiction #futurefic #Sam Winchester #John Winchester #Dean Winchester #Mary Winchester #Jo Harvelle #A Christmas Carol #Dickens Crossover #destiel #deancas #Cas isn't really in this yet #don't worry we'll get there #it's a lot longer than I planned #yes I know it's not Christmastime anymore who cares?#I'm the same age as Dean can you tell?#1980s christmas

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colourupuniforms · 5 years ago

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Fish Species found in Western Australia.

Australia’s fish population has had tens of millions of years to evolve and adapt to the unique aquatic environments of this massive, isolated island continent, so it’s hardly surprising that many species are found nowhere else on Earth. However, even those species you might be familiar with, such as black marlin and some types of tuna, tend to be more abundant and grow larger here than almost anywhere else.

Firstly you have to know what sort of fish you have caught. If you are not familiar with the different species of fish then the informations below will help you identify many of the more common fish caught in W.A. It is always a good idea to buy a good identification guide to fish so that you can find out what you have caught and if it is edible.

There are some fish, like toad fish (known locally as blowies), that are highly toxic and can kill people if they eat them. Other fish have venomous spines that can inflict severe pain. In some areas of Australia certain species of fish may contain ciguatera poison. This is caused by the things they eat and builds up to dangerous levels in larger fish. The Chinaman fish, for example, is not eaten in Queensland because of the risk of this poison. In W.A. some people do eat these fish with no ill effects so the danger may be regional.

As a general rule of thumb, never eat a fish that does not have scales. If it has spines then be very careful how you handle it. Rabbit fish or spinefoot have a very nasty venom in their spines but they don't look very different to many other fish with non-venomous spines.

If you are not familiar with the different types of fish you can ask other people who are fishing nearby what you have caught and if it is safe to eat.

Water quality in Western Australia generally isn't an issue if you are fishing in the ocean. In rivers and lakes you need to be aware (especially in summer) of any toxic algal bloom warnings. These are usually issued on the internet so it is a simple matter of doing a search with Google.

BARRAMUNDI

These giant perch live in both fresh and saltwater in our tropical north including the Kimberley region in Western Australia, across the Northern Territory and northern Queensland. They can grow to lengths of 1.4 metres (over 55 inches) and weigh more than 40 kilos (90 pounds). They’re an internationally renowned sport fish, taking bait with an explosive strike, gill-rattling jumps and fast, powerful runs. They are biting all year but the peak season is March and April.

GIANT BLACK MARLIN

Australia has the world’s most reliable big black marlin fishing. From September until early December each year, giant black marlin (including many “granders” in excess of a thousand pounds) gather in large numbers along the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef between Cairns and Lizard Island, in far northern Queensland.

BLUE, BLACK & STRIPED MARLIN

From Brisbane in Queensland to the far south coast of New South Wales, as well as off the west coast around Exmouth in Western Australia, large numbers of striped, black and blue marlin follow bait fish schools during the warmer months (best months are February and March), providing an exceptional standard of game fishing.

MACKEREL

Several species of tropical and sub-tropical mackerel are prolific in Australia’s northern waters. Foremost amongst these is the narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, a close relative of the king mackerel. These sharp-toothed predators are a prized catch around the top of the nation, from southern Queensland to the mid-coast of Western Australia. Readily available, they can be caught all year, but are often at their best through the cooler winter or dry season months.

SWORDFISH

Australia is one of the most reliable destinations on earth for catching broadbill swordfish �� game fishing’s greatest prize. “Deep dropping” baits that sink into the depths during daylight hours are producing exciting numbers of swords from southern Queensland to Tasmania, with many reaching record-breaking sizes.

TUNA

Australian waters boast healthy stocks of several species of tuna, including yellowfin, longtail, bigeye, dogtooth and albacore, many of them occurring at trophy sizes. The largest tuna tend to be found in our temperate, southern waters, including South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Vast shoals of smaller longtail and kawa-kawa tuna also provide impressive angling for fly and lure fishers in the tropical north. The best months for tuna are March to May.

YELLOWTAIL KINGFISH

Renowned amongst anglers all over the world for their incredible power and stamina, yellowtail kingfish are seasonally abundant in many Australian waters, particularly along our southeastern and southern coastlines from New South Wales around to the southern coast of Western Australia, where they often flourish alongside their less well-known but fittingly named cousins: the Samson fish. The best months to bag kingfish are February to April.

GIANT TREVALLY

“GTs”, as they’re widely known these days, are the bullies of the fish world. The way these mega jacks take to a bouncing “surface popper” lure before powering away into the depths is famous around the globe. The thrill of such encounters attracts keen anglers from far and wide to Australia’s tropical north, as well coral or rocky reefs across the Top End from Western Australia to the Queensland coast, where big GTs abound.

PERMIT, BONEFISH AND GOLDEN TREVALLY

Permit, bonefish and golden trevally are the hallowed “big three” of inshore flats fishing. While abundant, the Indo-Pacific permit (referred to locally as oyster cracker or pumpkin head), is just as tough to catch as its Atlantic and Caribbean cousins, and equally celebrated. While golden trevally and permit are wide-spread around the north of Australia, bonefish are only caught in a few specific pockets (especially near Exmouth in Western Australia), but are also held in high esteem. All three of these fish are generally easiest to find in August and September.

SNAPPER AND SOUTHERN REEF FISH

Australia’s beautiful pink snapper or squirefish is a prize catch right around the southern half of Australia, and a highly valued table fish with delicious white meat. It shares its southern waters with a host of similarly hard-fighting and tasty prizes, including the Bight redfish, queen snapper or blue morwong and the West Australian dhufish: arguably the most delectable of them all. While some states allow fishing year round, there are some closed seasons in states such as Western Australia and South Australia.

KING GEORGE WHITING

In most parts of the world, members of the Silago genus, better known as whiting, are tiny yet keenly sought prizes, valued for their tasty flesh and the challenge of hooking them on fine tackle. However, in the shallow, inshore waters of Victoria, South Australia and southern Western Australia lurk the true giants of the whiting clan: the aptly named King George. Capable of exceeding 60 centimetres (24 inches) and two kilos (four pounds), the King George or “KG” is a special fish that attracts the international following it deserves. March and April are the best months to catch a KG.

BROWN, RAINBOW AND BROOK TROUT

Trout were first introduced to Australian waters during the 1860s, and they thrived in their new home. Today brown and rainbow trout occur in good numbers in cooler parts of Australia with reliable fishing found in Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. Smaller populations of brook trout – as well as some land-locked Atlantic and Chinook (quinnat) salmon – also found in a few isolated pockets. The very best Australian trout action occurs in Tasmania and the higher altitude areas of Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

MURRAY COD

One of the four largest freshwater fish on earth, Murray cod have been recorded to lengths of almost two metres (six feet) and weights close to 100 kilos (200 pounds). These bucket-mouthed predators look like a freshwater grouper, and will happily dine on ducks, lizards and snakes that make the mistake of venturing into their home patch. Not surprisingly, Murray cod represent an exciting and unique freshwater fishing target. The best months to catch them are March and April.

Catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping.

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whopooh · 8 years ago

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Great tension in the Miss Fisher fanfic – third and last post

“It seems it got all tense again, Miss Fisher.”

Some time ago, I asked for help from the fandom to spread some fanfic love – asking for fics with great tension, either with Unresolved or Resolved Sexual Tension, or both. This is the third and last post with these recommendations.

Thank you to all recommenders and all writers!

I’ll start with @bluecityrose, who wrote a full, lovely list of fic recommendations, and I don’t want to split it up so I’ll just post her list here in one go:

I'm so sorry, this is the best I could do. There are soooo many to choose from, this was kind of impossible. Here is my too short list:

“A Man in Need” and “Sweltering,” both by Collingwoodgirl/ @jeneenp. These are the first works of fanfiction I had ever read (I didn't even know it was a genre before that!) and I was stunned by the beauty of the writing. There are a million incredible moments in “A Man in Need”, but one that stands out is when Phryne walks in on Jack and he is shirtless – It was the first time my imagination saw him shirtless as well, and well, I'll never forget that image. “Sweltering” builds the URST until it explodes into the hottest scene in the back of the Hispano Suiza. I'm still sweating from that one.

“The Pleasures of a Slow Dance” by Ollyjay/ @ollyjayonline consists of two chapters in which Phryne and Jack flirt and banter with delicious dialogue that seems so true to the show, I am convinced that I saw them as filmed episodes.

“The Journey Towards” by @ladyroxie is an exquisitely drawn portrait of Jack and Phryne's growing emotional closeness as they discuss their evolving relationship obliquely. I love URST but I'm a sucker for emotional tension also, and this story is just beautiful. Plus they end up holding hands.

I adored “Still Holding My Heart” by @flashofthefuse, and there was plenty of URST as Phryne and Jack worked towards repairing their relationship, plus it has Jack sitting on the grass in jeans repairing a bicycle with a grease smudge on his face, and I'm grateful for that.

@whopooh's “Sense and Sensibility” added to the "only one bed" URST trope, with a hilarious twist involving feet (trying to avoid spoilers here), and a lovely resolution.

Collingwoodgirl's/ @jeneenp “The Night Within” puts P & J into a very small space, only to then make Morse Code into the sexiest foreplay of all time.

Finally, “Varying States of Muscular Undress” by @gaslightgallows boils with so much URST that it fairly explodes off the page. It takes them on an emotional journey (and physical) that is both tender and hot, and I return to it over and over. In a series of beautiful scenes, J&P reveal their scars (both literal and figurative) to each other, and move slowly closer to a relationship as they build a strong sense of trust, respect and equality that makes their partnership so intriguing and satisfying.

“The Wager” by @soupsouffle. Recommended by @kanste

Jack makes a wager with Phryne, about who will manage to resist the other’s innuendos for the longest time, and they both try to make the other break.

It’s so difficult to choose specific quote, this whole fic is full of wonderful tension, but here is one:

“Jack,” she half-whispered, shivering at the sensation of his hot breath gliding over her fevered skin. His eyes darted over her features like a bumblebee at a bouquet, looking panicked as her fingers reached to undo the knot of his tie and tug apart the buttons at the top of his collar. She dragged the pads of her fingers over the newly exposed skin, thumbing his Adam’s apple and whimpering softly as she felt his throat convulse beneath her touch. “Jack,” she repeated.

“Yes?” he rumbled. The sound of his deep, sure voice did evil things to her nether regions. Her index finger found a notch at the side of his knee and began to make little patterns with her nails upwards from the spot, mapping a fiery trail up the inside of his thigh. She wished his wool trousers were not quite so thick, but his breath came quicker all the same.

She touched the corner of his mouth, where a speck of jam lingered. “You’ve got a little spot here. No, I’ll get it for you,” she purred, leaning in before he could escape her and touching the spot ever so carefully with her tongue. She felt his large hands, which he had been keeping locked at his sides, fly to her body, one clamping around her upper arm while the other clutched upwards at her back, pressing desperately into her spine.

“Phryne,” he sighed. It was not a protest or a plea. It sounded more like pure appreciation. She pulled back and rubbed her thumb over the spot she had licked clean.

“There we are. Right as rain.”

His heavy-lidded eyes were fixed on her, his lips parted slightly, his breathing fast and shallow. Phryne snickered to herself. Who was putty now?

“This is an excellent spot for teasing, Jack.”

"In the Car," part 7 of “Down and Dirty” by @omgimsarahtoo. Recommended by @kanste .

The drabbles are all just wonderful, but I love the way Jack is teasing her in this chapter.

“The Size of Dreaming” by innie. Recommended by @firesign23.

The Size of Dreaming was one of the first fanfics I read for MFMM, and it's a lovely examination of the tension, desires, and intimacy in the slowly developing relationship between Jack and Phryne. From merely desiring the handsome detective inspector to wanting Jack for the man he is, it's a lovely glimpse of Phryne's journey, strewn with sensual images and thoughts. She desires his humour, his acceptance, his cheekbones; she thinks of his body unguarded in slumber or in the guise of Mark Antony. There are so many passages I could quote, and the way they build upon each other to slowly build the tension, but I will go with this moment during the investigation at the House of Fleuri.

Since becoming a Lady Detective, she'd often had cause to bewail the lack of pockets in most ladies' clothes, but had consoled herself with the thought that without pockets, her skirts swirled as prettily as they were meant to and her trousers clung sleekly to her hips. Phryne hadn't really considered the crowning virtue of her attire until she saw Jack taken aback but unmistakably aroused by her fishing the last aubergine pearl out of her blouse.

She was inured by now to his disapproving sternness, so the admonishing look he gave her was easily ignored in favour of thinking through what it would be like to lie back against the yielding softness of her bed with Jack on top of her and savour the sensation of pearls caught between their frantic bodies. She had ropes of champagne, milk, and rose pearls, all of which would lend their lustre to his skin when he inevitably got tangled in them. They would warm from the friction, their slipperiness adding a frisson where none was needed, sending her over the edge all the quicker. And Jack – he would wind a demanding hand in the strands to pull her up to his questing mouth even as she still shook, and he would not let her down until her eyes rolled back in her head, ruthless in the pursuit of his pleasure.

His lips would close around the beads as he sought her nipple, his hands would brush them aside in his fervour to get to her skin, and he would growl and tear them free; she would hear a thousand clicks as they scattered on her floor, but dimly, because Jack would still be moving over her, eager for more, for all she could give him.

She really needed to go to the bank in the morning and liberate her pearls from the safety-deposit box.

”A Night in Queenscliff” by @whopooh. Recommended by @quiltingmom.

Hi whopooh, I want to thank you again for the assignment. I'm doing exactly what I wanted to do, going back and rereading some works and getting reacquainted with some newer fics that I'd forgotten about (it really does stink getting older...) and you're not going to believe the first one I found that I wanted to tag. It's “A Night in Queenscliff” by the wonderful @whopooh. And I'm totally serious about this. When I reread it I was reminded of first, your first attempt at writing smut (which was utterly sensational by the way) but secondly, of the beautiful sexual tension you created in the beginning passages:

He was on fire. Every single nerve end seemed to be alive, sensing her closeness, screaming for him to do something, anything, that involved touching her. It was an odd sensation when you were completely drenched, standing on a beach in the warm night, trying to calm your breath after having swum and waded back to land.

(...)

"I cannot decide, Jack,” – her voice made that clicking sound she sometimes did when she pronounced his name – “if you are more soaked or more on fire right now.”

And then from there, well let's just say, it was a very satisfying and fulfilling RST, lol.

“I know what you’re thinking -- this dress is stunning.”

“The Scientific Method” by @omgimsarahtoo. Recommended by @olderbynow.

And if he were so close, he would have no choice but to see the contrast of his skin, with its underlying golden hue against hers with its pale pink alabaster. Would his calloused fingertips catch on the fabric of her gown as he passed them over her breast? Would she shiver at the sensation of his palm stroking her bare arm or the nape of her neck? Would her mouth taste of hot spice the way that he remembered it from the kiss he’d stolen at Café Replique? There really were too many unanswered questions. He would have to answer them, one by one. It was a scientific necessity.

science as an excuse for sexytimes? sign me up, please!

“Inappropriate” by @promisesarepiecrust. Recommended by @whopooh

I adore the way Phryne and Jack talk, holding back a little bit less because they are inebriated, but still rather restrained, and with very much tension: “Why haven’t you kissed me?” Phryne asks Jack, and he first deflects, only to come back to it again:

“Alright.” He sipped his drink. “Why haven’t I kissed you? Do you want a long and pitiful answer or a short and pitiful one?”

“Well, at least I can see that the whiskey has done its job on you. But I admit I had secret hopes that you would be a chatty drunk rather than a maudlin one.”

“There is nothing maudlin about honesty,” he said with clear, suddenly sharp eyes. “Also, I could just as truthfully have said ‘short and hurtful or long and hurtful,’ if you’re worried that I’m only hard on myself.”

(---)

Her moment of discomfiture touched him—she was usually so brassy, never more so than tonight. He allowed a long, quiet moment before he answered her previous question, his voice intimate.

“Because it might feel too important…I haven’t kissed you because it might feel too important. To me.”

She nodded slowly, absorbing his meaning. She turned back to the skillet.

“Are you sober?” he asked her.

“Somewhat.”

“Why haven’t you kissed me?”

She didn’t move.

“Are you drunk?” she countered.

“Somewhat.”

“Eat this,” she said as she slid the omelet onto a plate and placed it on the table.

Well, now she’d done it, she thought. She’d walked right into that one, hadn’t she. Her wit was not up to repartee, so she was only left with honesty…or leaving the room, which did occur to her.

“I haven’t kissed you because I haven’t taken anything seriously since 1918…because it might feel too important, that was a good way to put it.”

She looked at him, proud that she could meet his eyes despite feeling so vulnerable. He began to wonder what the worst was that could happen, and realised with a start that the worst already had. He loved her, without remedy. He focused more intently on his meal.

They allowed silence. A strong, cold breeze came in through the window, effectively clearing some of the melancholy that had settled in the room. He finished his dinner and declined another drink. She saw him to the door, handing him his hat. He gave a last look back, hat in hand, ready to step into the night, then reconsidered. He turned to face her, leaned forward and kissed her on the apple of her cheek, gently, in slow-motion, finishing the gesture with an affectionate rub of her cheek from the tip of his nose.

“Now I’ve kissed you, Miss Fisher,” he breathed. “Good night.”

Shipping it on ships now, are we?

“In Every Port” by @rubycaspar. Recommeded by @scruggzi.

“In Every Port” does such a lovely job balancing their public flirting and very satisfying RST, plus nice touches with the original characters.

She held Jack’s gaze for a long moment and gave him a slow smirk. “Inspector.”

Jack nodded. “Miss Fisher.”

And with a swish of blue and gold she was gone, disappearing quickly into the crowd moving towards the doors, leaving only a trace of French perfume in the air.

“Crossed paths my arse,” said Larry the moment she was gone. He was looking at Jack like he’d never seen him before. “She looked like she wanted to eat you alive,” he said accusingly, shaking his head. “ Lucky bastard .”

“Not All Treasure Is Silver And Gold” by @omgimsarahtoo. Recommended by @ollyjayonline.

The imagery of Phryne and Jack in this romp on the high seas is just simply breathtaking…

The sea air blew a welcome breeze across Jack’s brow as he stood, his gold-trimmed black hat held securely under one arm. Phryne stood before him, dressed not in her captain’s clothing, but in a gown of floral brocade in shades of gold on a base of deep green. The neckline was square-cut and showed the upper curves of her breasts, plumped--he imagined, given their slight size when unenhanced--by a corset. The gown’s color made her skin glow, and he wanted to run his fingers along the divide between living flesh and cloth.

And the clever way characters and plot points have been interwoven with this entirely different setting and are equally as moving…

He wanted to be the kind of man who would be happy if she was happy—that he’d celebrate with her a return to whatever variety of lovers she’d enjoyed before he’d come along—but he wasn’t.

And their reunion every bit as I have always wanted it to be except instead of some foggy, wet English dock they are in the warm sunshine of Angra do Heroísmo, a small ancient city situated on the southern side of the island of Terceira in the Azores…

With a shout of joy, he lifted her and spun, shouting her name to the sky. Her squeals of laughter as he twirled her around were the finest music, and the grip of her arms around his neck the sweetest pressure. Slowing, he let her feet down to the ground again, pressing his face into her shoulder as he held her close.

And finally, I will just mention that there is sex in this fic, it is beautifully written, and quite frankly in joyous abundance – as it should be : )

A waltz is slow, and close, and metaphorical.

“The Pleasures of a Slow Dance” by @ollyjayonline. Recommended by @firesign23.

OllyJay's “Pleasures of a Slow Dance” are two scenes of Phrack banter and attraction, and could so easily be missing scenes from the show. In the first, Phryne takes a chance to thank him for his kindness to a woman in need, which he dismisses, but they are soon distracted by matters of a biscuity nature. In the second, they have a discussion about the nature of distractions. It's slow and languid and delightful teasing, and ends with Phryne appreciating the unresolved nature of the ties between them.

“Oh, she knew this game now, though she had only recently learned all the rules. The rapture of not giving into instant gratification, the slow languid delight of thinking about all the things you wanted to do with someone, one day, when the time was absolutely perfect. She settled back comfortably in her chair, brushing her fingers against the tin badge on her lapel as the last of the sun warmed her body. Happy in the knowledge that, at some unspecified time in the future, she would have the incredible pleasure of learning exactly how it felt to have Jack Robinson make love to her. A shiver of anticipation ran through her, she couldn't... no, she corrected herself... she could wait.”

“Post Scrip Port Said” by @ladyroxie. Recommeded by @scruggzi.

The whole of “Post Scrip Port Said” is a big sexy pile, perhaps especially the bit at the tailor:

As it was, he'd had to flex his abdominal muscles to the point of aggravating his incision in order to keep his body under control. Whatever became of himself and Miss Fisher, Jack had decided then and there this was the first and last time she accompanied him to the tailor. It was awkward enough having a stranger measure his inseam without worrying he was about to offend the poor gentleman to the point of apoplexy.

"Smoke and Fire” by @olderbynow. Recommended by @whopooh.

I love this fic, and the fact that it takes something slightly silly -- Phryne taking up a challenge, that isn't even a real challenge but that has awoken her competitive streak, to bake for Jack, and it turns out she’s a disastrous baker -- and then turns this premsie into one of the longest super tense scenes of “will they finally kiss or not”:

“But still a very nice gesture,” he insisted.

‘Very nice gesture’ was not exactly what she’d been going for, but considering the biscuits were a pile of ashes on her garden path at this point perhaps she shouldn’t complain.

And really, ‘very nice gesture’ wasn’t so bad at all, she decided, when he reached out and carefully brushed her cheek with his thumb. “You had a bit of flour,” he explained, his hand still hovering somewhere near her hair.

She wanted desperately to shift, just take a small step to the left, and make him touch her more. She looked down herself and then back up at him, eyes wide and inviting. She did have rather more than a bit of flour, and she was not at all averse to the idea of him taking care of all of it.

His eyes mimicked the path hers had taken and seemed to darken slightly at the unspoken suggestion. Then his hand was on her face again, his thumb trailing the same gentle path it had already gone once, and she wondered briefly if he was just doing a very thorough job of it indeed, but then the hand moved to the back of her head, his fingers burying themselves in her hair.

She smiled, pushing herself out from the table slightly, to get her body closer to his, and somehow, miraculously, he seemed to take the hint, moving closer as well, until they were mere inches apart. She tilted her head up to be able to still look at him, and licked her lips.

The movement made his gaze shift from her eyes to her lips and he swallowed, tongue darting out to lick his own lips as well.

This really was entirely too much to have to withstand, she thought to herself, wanting desperately to just close the distance between them and crush her lips against his, but somehow she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

This was Jack, and his fingers might be tracing delicious circles on the back of her head just now, his pupils might be so dilated his eyes seemed practically black, his breath might be coming in short huffs, but there was still a very real possibility that if she moved at all he’d clear his throat and make some remark about playing draughts, and then she’d have to sit across that bloody table from him for an hour or two before he excused himself and went home, leaving her to take care of her frustrations on her own, as he had done so often in the past.

The disappointment would be too much to bear, so she remained frozen, watching him for any hint of… anything.

That’s all for this time. Hope you find something you want to read or reread!

Earlier posts about “Great tension in the Miss Fisher fanfic”: no 1; no 2.

The index for Reading Miss Fisher is here.

#mfmm fanfic tidbits #reading miss fisher #fanfic #fanfic recommendations #urst/rst

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sagenundlegenden · 8 years ago

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The Infernal City lore notes

Posting for a friend, these are notes I made after reading the Elder Scrolls novel The Infernal City. Just random things that struck me as interesting or notable. Spoilers, definitely.

PART ONE

PT ONE Ch 1:

- Pushbottom is the slum of Lilmoth- “Imperials had dwelt here, too, in the early days when the Empire had first imposed its will and architecture on the lizard people of Black Marsh.”—now dominated by criminals and political opponents of the An-Xileel

- Attrebus rescued a colony of Argonians from slavery

- Glim: “My people knew slavery under the old Empire. We knew it pretty well.” Annaig: “Yes, but that was ending when the Oblivion crisis happened.”

- Lilmoth’s imperial estates were looted, but some foreigners kept on by the An-Xileel as advisors (like Annaig’s father); ch 3- “only licensed foreigners” allowed in Lilmoth

PT ONE Ch 2:

- Penitus Oculatus: has Inspector rank, barracks is the Telhall; are taught not to question orders “You are an instrument, a utensil of the Empire.” (Intendant Marall to Colin)

- Colin thinks of a Nord story about a baby born with a knife for a hand; his mother had been impregnated in a rape and attempted murder; the baby cuts his way out of her and she laughs as she dies; when his victims ask him who he is, he answers “Dalk” which means knife in old Nord

- Colin’s assassination target mentions a book called Astorie Book III and quotes from it: “No food, no wine, no lover’s kiss is as beautiful as a long deep breath.”

- One of the PO is a Khajiit

PT ONE Ch 3:

-the An-Xileel ruling council is called the Organism, in Lilmoth led by Archwarden Qajalil

-Argonian native language is called Jel; Lukiul=”assimilated”, used for Saxhleel who have adopted imperial culture; Xhu=okay; Xhuth!= exclamation;

- “The Hist gave his people life, form, purpose. It was the Hist who had seen through the shadows to the Oblivion crisis, who called all of the people back to the marsh, defeated the forces of Mehrunes Dagon, drove the Empire into the sea, and laid waste to their ancient enemies in Morrowind.

The Hist were of one mind, but just as he was four beings, the mind of the Hist could sometimes escape itself. It had happened before.” – the city tree of Lilmoth was a fragment left over from a tree destroyed 300 years earlier b/c it went rogue

-Lilmoth is mostly sunken into the soft soil; its patron is Xhon-Mehl the Fisher, Ascendant Organ Lord; the An-Xileel had excavated an ancient pyramid that used to be part of the city

- the Psijic priest Urvwen warns about Umbriel, says “We don’t teach our beliefs to outsiders. We counsel, we help.” “Help with what?” “Change… Change is inevitable. Indeed, change is sacred. But it is not to be unguided.” “Mundus—the world—is a very delicate thing, you know. Only certain rules keep it from returning to the Is/Is Not… I feel the ropes of the world, and they have become too tight. And that is never good. That is what happened in the days before the Dragonfires first burned—“

PT ONE Ch 4:

- Lazarum of the Synod had created a flying spell; Synod has conclaves, members have to pay dues

- Annaig does virtue tests on a substance from Oblivion, finding out its main property is restorative, secondary alteration

- Drykillers- only non-Argonian mercenary company in Lilmoth

- Glim thinks Coo is a venin bat or bloodmoth

PT ONE Ch 5:

- Black Marsh coast is lined with mangroves which look like crouched spiders with legs interlocked; there was an Argonian folktale that they originally were spiders that had gone against the Hist and earned their wrath

- Umbriel resembles a giant jellyfish but the underside is like a mountain ripped out of the earth and turned upside down; the top is level with towers and arches; there is a long, drooping fringe hanging from the upper edge like a lace collar disheveled by the wind and frozen in place, or like spider silk but some shining, and constantly dipping down then returning to the center of the island

- Glim starts to return to Lilmoth in a Hist daze

PT ONE Ch 6:

- if Argonians go far enough away from the Hist, they don’t hear anything

- Glim says “What the Iyorth was that?”

- From Umbriel they see humans, Argonians, sea creatures including Dreughs marching; some Bretons at Hereguard Plantation (one of the only farms still run by Bretons) fight the Umbriel creatures

- Glim understands that the rogue Hist only wants the “Lukiul” (assimilated) and foreigners to be killed by Umbriel; the An-Xileel and Wild Ones had gone away during the siege

- Annaig mentions a person called Irenbis Songblade who exploited faction fighting in Cheydinhal, probably in a story

PT ONE Ch 7:

- Umbriel residents speak a dialect of Ehlnofex

- Argonians do not have a sense of time, all moments are together as one

PART TWO

PT TWO Ch 1

- Attrebus: “The Empire is still reclaiming territory, both literally and figuratively. There are many battles yet to fight before our full glory is reclaimed.”

- Attrebus wants to fight for a place called Arenthia in Valenwood, Mede I won’t allow it

- Mentions bandits around Cheydinhal

- Annaig’s last name is Hoinart

- “Titus Mede had been—and was—many things. A soldier in an outlaw army, a warlord in Colovia, a king in Cyrodiil, and Emperor. And to Attrebus, a father. They looked much alike, having the same lean face and strong chin, the same green eyes. He’d gotten his own slightly crooked nose and blond hair from his mother; his father’s hair was auburn, although now it was more than half silver.” - Titus has curly hair

- Mede is not concerned with Umbriel moving towards Morrowind

- Says he took the city with under 1000 men; “routed Eddar Olin’s northward thrust with barely twice that”

PT TWO Ch 3

- New town of Ione, where Attrebus has a house—an Oblivion gate opened right in the middle of a company of soldiers, commander Tertius Ione led the defense w/ a cobbled-together militia of local farmers, he disappeared but a Breton came out who was half mad & died a day later; gate later exploded

- Sardavar Leed- “where the ancient Ayleid elves had once herded his ancestors, bred them for work and pleasure.”

- Vaermina – “Dark Lady”

PT TWO Ch 4

- the Ayleids used a metagastrologic in their banquets- like a drug that stimulates the taste sensations

PT TWO Ch 5

- Colin mentions an insurgent faction from County Skingrad called the “Natives”

- Describes magic as “the spark in himself that belonged not to the world but to Aetherius, to the realm of pure and complete possibility. He was lucky—this was easy for him. If he’d needed to start a fire or walk on water, it would require training, a mental sequence worked out by someone else to convince him that such things could be done. But for what he was doing, he need only focus and pay attention, look beneath the rock that everyone else didn’t notice.”—is able to conjure up the ghosts from the attack

PT TWO Ch 6

- “cats are less than friendly with the Empire they had once been a part of”

- Riverhold is swarming with imperial agents

- slarjei- desert animal

PT TWO Ch 7

- Penitus Oculatus was watching the Thalmor; there was a Thalmor sympathizer sleeping with an official in the war ministry

- The rebel “Natives” in County Skingrad are supplied and funded by the Thalmor

- Mede says “the Thalmor are in everything these days” “their aims are obscure”; Colin objects “their goal is clear—the pacification and purification of all Tamriel—to bring about the new Merithic (sic) era”; Mede responds “we have an inkling of their long-term goals, Inspector, but their intermediate plans are less scrutable”

- Colin says they are harassing refugees from Summerset Isles and Valenwood

- Mede says Leyawiin is still restless under his rule

- Colin’s inspector says he could get assigned to spy on Nords

- Colin drinks Colovian highland ale with juniper added, popular in the west; most Colovians in the IC are military

PT TWO Ch 8

- Rimmen has an Akaviri shrine called the Tonenaka with 10,000 statues, canals

PT TWO Ch 9

- Cheydinhal is famous for thirty-layer cakes

- Khajiit mounts are like apes, with thick forearms half the size of their rear limbs, with red stripes (Senchetigers—pt 3 ch 5); a Merish looking woman had black tattoos on her skin

- “the moons come from the east”

- Je’m’ath= protection for a favor

- The Khajiit start hospitality with a ritual of serving cake sprinkled with moonsugar and a few drops of liquid—this is a rite of hospitality that confers protection on the guests; they then ate honey and date soup

- The appearance of Khajiit depends on when in the moon cycles the kits are born

- The potentate of Rimmen has declared free clans outlaws

- There is no law in the north of Elsweyr since the Empire left—bandits roam freely

- Rimmen has domed buildings of white stone, a palace with a golden dome & sheets of water; there are “viridian moths”; only half of the residents are Khajiit and most of those are skooma addicts

- Attrebus and Sul buy moon sugar at the “Kingdom of Rimmen State Store”

PART THREE

PT 3 Ch 2

- Skyrim has steam baths, which have spread as a fashion occasionally in Cyrodiil

PT 3 Ch 2

- A former 18th legion soldier who fought with Mede is working as a regulator for the Kingdom of Rimmen because there is little work in Cyrodiil

PT 3 Ch 3

- scratching under one’s chin and then under the other person’s is a Khajiit greeting (or show of respect?)

- “Seidar”— like a debt of honor

- Northern Elsweyr is swarming with renegades in hill forts

- Vivec held up the Ministry of Truth (described as “a moon from Oblivion”) and after he died or disappeared, Vuhon and others built the ingenium that used souls to keep it aloft; the ingenium exploded, hurling Vuhon and Sul into Oblivion, and the Ministry fell to earth, triggering the eruption of Red Mountain

- The ingenium used souls to keep a vent into Clavicus Vile’s realm open; Vuhon may have made a bargain with Vile to trade energy for souls

- When Sul arrived in Oblivion, a black figure named Umbra tossed a sword back through the rift; this figure had cut a piece of Vile’s power off to make the sword more powerful, after which Vile had circumscribed the walls of his realm to imprison the figure there—only the sword could get through the rift

- Vuhon made a pact with Umbra to make a new ingenium to let him escape Vile’s realm

PT 3 Ch 5

- In the collapse of the old empire Bravil and Leyawiin were independent and at odds; Water’s Edge was protected by remnants of the imperial navy and served as an alternate port

- College of Whispers outposts are called cynosures

- Attrebus’ sword is called Flashing

PT 3 Ch 7

- Khajiit call Hircine “the Hungry Cat”

- Hircine will always give prey a chance to escape for the sake of the hunt

- Khajiit expression for dying is to be “on Khenathi’s path”

- They are confronted by a driver of Hircine’s hunt who is a werebear- tall Nord with blue markings on his chest riding a bear

- Hircine hunts with a pack of werewolves; looks like an enormous man with the antlers of a stag

PT 3 Ch 8

- Vivec City is now Scathing Bay, a perfectly circular lake with an island at its center that is indented by a crater; the Argonians perform some kind of ritual there

- Some Argonians settled in southern Morrowind but would be in Umbriel’s path

- Sul’s real name is Ezhmaar, his lover is Ilzheven; he summons her as an ash wraith

PT 3 Ch 10

- Colin uses the Cloak of Nocturnal for stealth

PT 3 Ch 11

- Glim has a faintly chlorine scent

- Sul conjures a crocodilian daedroth who snarls in hate at him but must obey his command

PT 3 Ch 12

- Sul uses a white-fire spell called balefire

- Vuhon had devised a way to use living souls to power the ingenium, but it requires “large” souls—Ilzheven had one of these; Sul tried to free her and the fight destroyed the ingenium, sending the Ministry hurtling to land

- Vile tightened the circumscription after the sword was thrown through, and the only way Vuhon could escape was to leave with a piece of Vile’s realm “twisted like a sausage skin until it separated”; he came to Mundus so that Vile couldn’t pursue him; he was able to seal the rift but is searching for the sword through agents, and wants to bring Umbriel to rest on White-Gold Tower

PT 3 Ch 13

- Sul summons a powerful daedra but it makes blood come from his nose

#Elder Scrolls #Argonians #Hist #Dunmer #lore

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coppicefics · 4 years ago

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MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ‘MASKED OMENS’, PLEASE DON’T REBLOG!

[Image Description: Image 1 - A simple rendition of the Masked Singer UK logo, a golden mask with colourful fragments flying off of it. The mask has a golden halo and a golden devil tail protruding from either side. Below, gold text reads ‘Masked Omens’. Overlaid on top of all this are the words ‘MAJOR SPOILERS’ in large white capitals.

Image 2 & 3 - A double-page spread from the ‘Feature’ section of the Capital Herald, dated Saturday, 15th May 2021. The information is arranged in boxes with pale peach coloured backgrounds. Each box also contains a picture of the character or characters described therein - two of these characters are symbolised by random background characters from Good Omens. Full transcript below the cut. End ID.]

The Capital Herald, Saturday 15th May, 2021 Feature, page 8-9

Where are they now? The Celebrities behind the masks of The Masked Singer UK’s first live series, three months later They sang, danced, and were unmasked live in front of the nation. But what do their lives look like beyond the mask? We caught up with 2021′s Masked Singers to find out what’s changed MARY HODGES with additional contributions by EDWARD BIGGS & SCUZZ FISHER

Page 8

Top left: Dr. Raven Sable - APPLE Dr. Sable is awaiting the dates of an inquiry into the hospitalisations of Adam Mann and Lilith Root, former ambassadors for his CHOW brand, who allege that their conditions were the direct result of their employment with him. If the allegations are upheld, it's likely that Sable will be struck off and will no longer be permitted to practice medicine. Already, sales of his CHOW lifestyle products and books are down and stocks in his company are plummeting. Sable maintains his innocence on all counts.

Top right: Newton Pulsifer - AXOLOTL Anathema Device - BLACK CAT The unexpected it-couple of the year were spotted having a cosy picnic just last week. It seems love's young dream still has its hold on this adorable pair, who obliged passing reporters with a few posed photographs before asking for privacy for the rest of their date.The two made their relationship public at the beginning of April, and so far they show no signs of tiring of one another. Pulsifer is preparing to provide commentary on the Premier League starting in August, and Device is scheduled to set off on a UK tour in October.

Centre left: Carmine Zugiber - WAR Zugiber recently returned to Celestan, just in time to report on its division into Lestern and Fernor. While the fighting has now largely died down, Carmine intends to stay on in the country to report on the political situation as it develops. While some of her reports will be published through News World Weekly, she's also established a new website of her own where she can, as she says in the introductory post, “dig deeper into the underlying factors beneath the headlines”.

Centre right: Esther James - NINJA After leading the Red Roses to Six Nations victory in March, James began work – alongside her girlfriend, Jane Adams – on setting up a charitable foundation to encourage LGBT+ youngsters to pursue their sporting dreams. Officially set to launch in June this year, Off The Pridelines will offer scholarships, help connect youngsters with teams, and run various support services, as well as a training and accreditation scheme for teams and venues to become more supportive. “A lot of gay and trans kids have a lot of fear tied up with school PE lessons, changing rooms, and sports. Many don't know where they can safely train or play,” James states in the foundation's pre-launch press pack. “Off The Pridelines aims to fix that and help them become more confident and active without having to hide who they are.”

Bottom left: Sergeant Shadwell - BELL As well as forming an unlikely duo with Marjorie Potts – the two have been spotted together in tea shops, at antiques fairs, and even admiring the properties in the window of an estate agent's – Shadwell has been making frequent trips to the town of Little Dyvyn, where work on the restoration of Godleigh Manor has recently been allowed to begin. “Lucy [Godleigh, the owner] is really keen to keep the Wytchfynder Army informed and involved in the process, and I think it's really interesting to get to see inside the walls of the place,” Shadwell told viewers in a recent YouTube video, “so I reckon I'll pop in every so often, have a look around and report anything interesting I find out. For example, that rattling noise from the first video? Turns out there are wooden window shutters inside a hollow wall, and a draft was blowing through them. Something to keep in mind in future 'haunting' cases.”

Bottom Right:

Agnes Nutter - BONFIRE “Some stories wait for no-one,” as Nutter tweeted a couple of weeks ago, and that certainly seems to have been true of her latest book. Just a month after she first mentioned that she'd begun writing a new novel, Nutter has already reported that the first draft is almost finished, and she appears to be planning for a September release date. “I'm going to dedicate this one to my new friend Marjorie,” she told Twitter, “she's been a font of fascinating anecdotes and very generous in allowing me to draw inspiration from them.”

Page 9

Top left: Pat Maputi - SQUID P-White's Chalkdust tour is in full swing, with packed crowds selling out arenas across the UK and Europe. Tickets are currently on sale for the American stretch of the tour, which should keep Pat busy until next spring. After that, Maputi plans to “sleep for about a month and then start writing a new album”, they told the Capital Herald – although they will be making time to attend the Blue Peter garden party. For now, though, it's life on the road for Maputi as they wrap up this leg of the tour.

Top centre: Aziraphale Fell - GOOSE Anthony Crowley - SNAKE The Amazing Mr. Fell's magic show has been sold out for three solid months, ever since his appearance on The Masked Singer, and even adding extra shows on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons doesn't seem to have entirely sated the public's demand. Fell himself seems to be spending most of his time off in the company of Anthony Crowley, predominantly in various London restaurant establishments. Most recently, the two were spotted enjoying a late lunch at the Ritz to celebrate the announcement that Crowley has been cast as Rafferty in the new TV adaptation of Sir Thomas Parsett's The Grasswater Affair. “Yeah, thrilled to get another go at Grasswater,” Crowley told the Capital Herald, “and with the support of Noel [Garmin, showrunner] and all the people who've helped me reach the point where this is possible.” Asked about the nature of his friendship with Fell, Crowley seemed lost for words, but Fell stepped in with a brief statement. “I'm afraid it's quite ineffable. And, if you don't mind, I believe those are our desserts.” So it seems The Masked Singer's contestants still have some mysteries for us!

Bottom left: Marjorie Potts - TEAPOT Madame Tracy has been a very busy woman – as well as returning to TV with her show Drawing Back the Veil on Saturday nights, she's also still writing for the New Aquarian and overseeing her increasingly popular Psychic Hotline. But despite all this, she's also found time to be seen at the forefront of a couple of protests, notably against proposed changes to the Freedom Pass system, alongside fellow Masked Singer contestants Agnes Nutter and Sergeant Shadwell. The latter has also been seen making frequent calls to Potts' Camden address – but she's tight-lipped on the subject. “I don't kiss and tell, dear,” she told our reporter – and perhaps you can draw your own conclusions from that.

Bottom centre: Lawrence Richmond - PONY Last week's General Election - the third in four years - saw Richmond lose the Toffley South seat he'd occupied since 2005. In a speech to his supporters immediately after the result was declared, he announced his intention to take a brief break from politics in order to spend more time with his family, and is currently holidaying with wife Victoria and son Horace in the South of France.

Right-hand column: AND THE REST... Jeremy Wensleydale While Wensleydale is currently in rehearsals for a production of Turandot at Glyndebourne this summer, he has also found time to announce that he will be spending the autumn recording an album of some of his favourite operatic and choral numbers, along with a number of famous voices. This will be Wensleydale's first full album since 2018, and is already eagerly anticipated by his many fans. Brian Thames Thames is now coming to the end of his latest tour, The British Inquisition, and has recently found time to appear on several comedy panel shows and chat shows. He's then scheduled to run an online comedy masterclass, which he'll be recording immediately after his tour ends. “I had a teacher at school who told me I had a real talent for helping people remember things. I think usually it was just because they remembered the jokes. So I could hardly pass up this opportunity - this one's for you, Miss Tyler.” Pepper Moonchild Moonchild is currently filling in as a presenter on The One Show, and recently announced that she hopes to publish a detective novel next year. “I've been getting loads of advice from my literary hero, Agnes Nutter – it's something I've always wanted to do, but my agent at the time advised against diversifying too much. My new agent has been nothing but supportive - they even put me in touch with a good literary agent, so now all I have to do is write the best book I can and see how it goes!” Adam Young and Warlock Dowling After years of rumours and speculation about their relationship, presenters Adam Young and Warlock Dowling eloped to tie the knot in New York last weekend.“We didn't tell anyone we were getting married,” Dowling said, after breaking the news on Pam and Sam AM earlier this week. “Our families were a bit surprised! But we just wanted it to be really low key, a day just for us.” “Yeah, some glares were exchanged when people realised they'd missed out on a wedding,” Young confirmed. “But we're going to plan a big party soon! Besides, we didn't do anything in the Big Apple that wasn't worth the trouble we got in for doing it.”

[End Transcript]

#very much fake news #masked omens #masked omens spoiler #mine

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shervonfakhimi · 7 years ago

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The Next 70 Piece? (3-25-17)

No, this is not fake news. 2nd year guard Devin Booker actually scored 70 points in an NBA game against the Boston Celtics. Even if there was some tom-foolery action late, 70 points is 70 fucking points. Give that man his due, considering some of the greatest we’ve ever seen have never reached that mark.

https://twitter.com/BenGolliver/status/845464055070449664

And if you still don’t believe me, see it for yourself. https://twitter.com/NBA/status/845473475892428800

As I was watching UCLA-Kentucky, pondering what the heck happened in Boston on March 24, 2017, I began to wonder who else could join Booker, David Thompson, David Robinson, Kobe Bryant & Wilt Chamberlain in the 70 point club. Who’s next? Let’s find out.

Just Missed: Giannis Antetoukounmpo (Not there as a scorer/shooter… YET), Karl-Anthony Towns, Carmelo Anthony (Long live the triangle, baby!), DeMar DeRozan, Kawhi Leonard (Blame Pop), Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love, Jimmy Butler, Gordon Hayward, JR Smith (too many open 3s would be needed to get there)

1) Steph Curry/Kevin Durant/Klay Thompson - Yes, any of these 3 members of Golden State’s Death Star lineup could get there if they so desire. All 3 love to run and gun, are lethal from 3 and are able to manufacture open looks due to the amount of constant pressure and fear these guys press into the minds of the opponents. Add in the masterful passing of Draymond Green & the general unselfishness Golden State plays with, these guys can be impossible to stop. Not only that, but when one is rolling, Golden State will feed that man and get him however many points he wants. Look no further than Klay Thompson’s 60 point masterpiece (in only 3 quarters, mind you) earlier this season, or has 38 point 3rd quarter bonanza a couple seasons ago, or the constant Curry barrages we’ve become accustomed to. Durant is the best scorer in our game today and can get himself a bucket from anywhere on the court and is a master at getting to the free throw line, more so than Steph or Klay. One is going to have to be scorching hot from the get go, enough to convince the others to let him cook, but that shouldn’t even be the hardest part. The hardest part would be for Golden State to not completely blow the snot out of their opponent to even give one of these guys a shot.

2) James Harden - Quite frankly, I’m surprised this hasn’t happened yet. James Harden has fit in seamlessly and perfectly as the leader of Mike D’Antoni’s high powered, fast paced offense. The additions of Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson have spread the floor perfectly for Harden to drive and get to the rim/free throw line at will, lob it over to Capela or Nene in the pick and roll for an easy dunk, or fling cross court passes to those shooters if the defense decides to help. Though Point Harden has made a monumental leap in balancing his role as scorer and facilitator, he is still an incredible scorer to counter his facilitating, as noted by his 53 point-16 rebound-17 assist performance, of which has never before been seen in the history of the NBA. His ability to bulldoze guards, run through swipes at the ball in his quest of getting to the rim, garnering him plenty of free throw attempts, and his ability to freeze centers changing speeds all contribute in his ability to finish around the rim and get to the line. This doesn’t even include his ability to draw Lou Williams-esque fouls while in the act of shooting jumpshots. In fact, as Chris Herring of 538 so astutely pointed out, James Harden has drawn more fouls on 3 point attempt than any other NBA team as a whole has (https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/james-harden-gets-fouled-on-3s-more-than-any-nba-team/).The ability to get easy free throws from anywhere on the court to go along with ample room to drive and finish and his handles to free himself from defenders and hit tough jump shots over defender, Harden has as much a chance as anybody to hit the 70 point plateau.

3) Russell Westbrook - As if Russell Westbrook needed another statistical obstacle to overcome in his 2017 revenge tour. He might not be a good enough shooter to get him the extra points to get him to 70, but by God he sure would gun for it. It’d be very Westbrookian to follow in the paths of Kobe’s ‘damn it, I’m gunning for it’ mentality when he went for 60 points on 50 shots to get up to 70. But the difference with Westbrook is, no matter how many shots he shoots or rebounds he skies for, he will still have enough energy to pull this off. Watching Westbrook reminds me of the scene from ‘Horrible Bosses’ when Jason Bateman’s character is stocking Collin Farrell’s character swing his nunchucks through a window from his car, asking himself “Where does he get this energy!?” Now, Westbrook doesn’t get his energy THAT way, rather getting it from his relentless work ethic and passion for winning. That could certainly work in his favor to get to 70. Again, he isn’t a great shooter and sometimes shoots his team out of it, but when his jump shot is falling, it doesn’t tend to stop. Also, considering Westbrook’s prowess late in close games to go with the fact he might have to single handedly will his team back with his scoring, not only could he get 70, it might provide the best theatre possible of this bunch in his quest for 70.

4) LeBron James - Yes, LeBron is not known as a scorer. He is so damn good at everything imaginable on a basketball court that his scoring goes a bit under the radar. When he isn’t going after Charles Barkley or causing a hot take hazard when he sits games out for rest, he is still torching opponents, further implementing his staple as the best player in the league. Lost though, has been LeBron’s renaissance as a shooter. In fact, he is shooting 38.1% from 3 this season, his 2nd highest mark of his career. He is more willing to shoot it from 15 feet and beyond and is nuanced enough to beat you from the post or just plow his way for a dunk as if he were Marshawn Lynch trucking guys for extra yardage. LeBron is similar to Westbrook in that their reputations do not scream that they are shooters, but can burn you with it. They’ll need to be making them though to have a chance of sniffing 70.

5) Damian Lillard/CJ McCollum - There is some Golden State-ness here in that these two might cancel each other out, but have been to cook amongst the presence of each other. Lillard is fearless on the court, not afraid to heave it from Curry-esque distances and splash it in his opponent’s eyehole. McCollum is a bit more cerebral in his approach. He has a wicked (underrated) handle, crafty around the rim and gets to his spots, primarily around the 15 foot mark for a pull-up jumpshot, at will. He’s very smooth and almost never loses the ball from speeding himself up or forces bad shots. Both are also great at moving without the ball, running off screens and cutting to the basket with enough savvy to finish among the trees. With the addition of Jusuf Nurkic to get them easy looks off the high post and Terry Stotts’ highly technical offensive system, these two have as good a chance as any to get 70. Both also showed love to Booker after it happened too.

https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard/status/845459578611351552

https://twitter.com/CJMcCollum/status/845462905084526592

6) Anthony Davis - Davis is, with much respect to Karl-Anthony Towns, Nikola Jokic, his teammate DeMarcus Cousins and Marc Gasol, the most lethal big man we have today in regards to scoring. I mean, the man dropped an unheard of 59 point, 20 rebound masterpiece against the Detroit Pistons a season ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPdJ6K2tlgY

Davis’ first step as a big man is impeccable. Plodding big men have no chance to stay in front of him to take away his high-flying floater. He uses his length and athleticism perfectly, so much so that his hand is about at the same height as the rim when he elevates & follows through with his floater. Good luck trying to stop that. Put a smaller, quicker defender on him, he’ll shoot over the top of him or plow him in the post. Not only does he have the handle to drive and finish, he’s got the midrange jumper that he can drill in his sleep. On top of that, he is a fantastic rebounder, and can use that to his advantage to get himself easy dunks. Boogie might get in the way of Davis’ quest for 70, but when he’s rolling, there might be no one else with a better chance of 70 than Anthony Davis.

7) Paul George - This may or may not be an elaborate ploy to butter up Paul George and get him to come back to his home state (In my best Princess Leia impression: Help us PG13, you’re our only hope. Rest in peace Carrie Fisher) in Purple and Gold. Fool-proof, right? Ok, probably not, but it was worth a shot. Anyway, back to George. George has had a rocky season trying to lead Indiana into a contender, but part of that is because they are a flawed roster with too many guys that can’t shoot 3s well enough to space the floor or guard anyone in their path. This is where George comes in. He has been frustrated this year, and it is entirely possible Indiana just lays an egg to the point where George just tells his team ‘give me the ball, get the hell out of my way, screen and rebound.’ George is one of the better 1v1 scorers in the league. He has enough of a handle to shake his defenders for a step back jumper, can drain it from anywhere on the floor, and is one of the more vicious finishers at the rim. He’s also a really good defender, one that can get steals jumping passing lanes or force bad shots that could lead to easy transition dunks. I wouldn’t put it past PG13 to get to 70, I just hope it comes in a Laker uniform.

9) Kyrie Irving - Kyrie’s odds for 70 are kind of similar to those of Isaiah’s. He is not as great a mover/cutter as Isaiah is when the ball isn’t in his hands, but that doesn’t really matter (at least for the quest of 70 it doesn’t) when you have some guy named LeBron James, the best passer in the game today, dishing you the rock. But when the ball is in his hands, my goodness is he electric. His handles are on a string that allow him to get anywhere he wants on the court and he is as good as anyone at contorting his body under the rim and finishing among the trees. His shooting has improved from 3 this season, along with his free throw percentage. Plus, he’s proven, when Kyrie gets hot, he gets white hot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi7OSaVB3fg

The Cavs have really bought in to the pace & space era of today’s NBA. The extra transition treys Kyrie gets gives him as good a chance at anyone for 70.

10) Kemba Walker - A bit of an under-the-radar pick, but the first time All Star has to be in this conversation. The transition and growth of Kemba from an inefficient scorer to well rounded point guard has been phenomenal. He is shooting career highs in both field goal (44.5%) and 3 point percentage (40.1%) this season. His progression from 3 has really been noticeable this season, as Chris Herring pointed out in this article. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/kemba-walker-doesnt-care-how-close-youre-guarding-him/. No matter how close you are, if he gets any sliver of daylight, he will shoot it, and odds are, he’ll drain it. He too has also improved his midrange game and his finishing around the rim. Charlotte has been decimated by injuries this season and do not have a ton of creators on their team outside of Kemba Walker, save for Nicolas Batum. That could both work against him or work in his favor, having to pick up the slack for the people around and drop 70 out of necessity. I don’t expect Kemba to be the next to drop 70, but he at least has the energy for it, as evidenced by his 6 day attack on the Big East tournament in 2011 or his participation in UConn’s 6 overtime classic against Syracuse in 2009.

11) Bradley Beal - Another outside-the-box pick. Beal is having a career year, living up to every penny of the max contract he signed last summer. What’s been the difference with Beal this season? Not only has he become more aggressive shooting more shots, he’s been a lot more efficient doing so, a pretty healthy combination. He’s shooting a career high in: field goal percentage (48.1%), shots attempted per game (17.1), 3 point attempts per game (7.1), free throw attempts (4.5) and free throw percentage (82.3%). His 3 point percentage this season is the 2nd highest of his career (40.4%). These numbers are great, and has a premiere playmaker at his disposal in John Wall, who can get to the paint at will to collapse the defense, freeing up plenty of drive and kick opportunities to free up Beal for an open 3. Beal is excellent at running off screens in a Klay Thompson sort of manner, and is unafraid to launch open 3s in transition rather than get an easy 2. His ability to create for himself has improved this year too, whether it be out of the pick and roll for a pull up jumper or go iso. He isn’t the greatest finisher in the paint, but good enough to get his from there. Klay Thompson put out the blueprint on how to get busy without having the ball in his hands for most of the game, and Beal has the goods to follow suit.

12) Devin Booker - I mean, he was the guy who did it. Who says he can’t do it again?

Look, 70 points in one game is damn near impossible, improbable at the highest of degrees at best. It was a damn-near miracle Booker even got there when he did it. I’m not saying it's going to happen again, or happen anytime soon for that matter, but if it does, I’m putting my money on these guys to do it. If I had to rank them, I’d say the 3 most likely to pull this off would be, in this order, Klay Thompson, James Harden and Steph Curry. Either way, this was a historic achievement and should be treated as such. Shouts to Devin Booker, and hopefully this is just a sign of things to come from the young Sun prodigy.

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