#how to remove wart

[chewablepebbles]

I hate doing my own dressings 😭😭 why can't I have a pretty femme cleaning my wounds while I look out a window

[toyourliking]

i was trying to think of how to explain how i feel after having top surgery like for sure i’m happy they’re gone and i feel better about my body but it’s like nothing physically has changed??

like sure i had some balance issues at first (getting 4kg removed from your chest will do that) but it’s like this has always been the natural state of my body. not having breasts doesn’t feel strange, it feels normal, i don’t feel like anything is missing. idk i was already so divorced from my breasts that they were barely part of my body anyway

[marzipanandminutiae]

many people know about the 1950s doctor who was obsessed with lobotomies (Dr. Walter Freeman)

fewer people know about the 1860s doctor who was obsessed with clitoridectomies, Isaac Baker Brown

he claimed the operation could cure pretty much all forms of mental illness in women- and then-undesirable behaviors that weren't mental illness at all, like masturbation. it's not known how many women and girls he mutilated, but some were teenagers on whom the procedure was performed without their (or their parents') knowledge or consent

Baker Brown cited a text by Hippocrates as support for this practice- a text which in fact concerned surgical removal of genital warts

he was kicked out of the Obstetrical Society of London in 1867 because of his lax approach to consent, but clitoridectomies remained in sporadic use as a mental health treatment in the US and UK until the mid-20th century. thank heaven they don't seem to have ever been commonplace exactly, but...one person subjected to this is one too many

(note: I use language exclusively referring to women here because, as far as we know, his victims were all what we'd now call cis women and girls. obviously not everyone with a clitoris is a woman, and not every woman has a clitoris)

[highlordofkrypton]

SUMMARY: In the Spring Court, birthdays are not celebrated past the age of six... or so Tamlin thinks. His brothers surprise him with a secret tradition.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although it's my birthday, I wanted to gift everyone in this wonderful community with warmth, joy and a little silliness. I'm so deeply grateful for all of you, both in how welcoming you all have been to me, and how supportive you all of my shenanigans. The kindness you all have shown me... I don't have the words to show the depths of my appreciation. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart 💕

READ ON AO3 OR BELOW THE CUT.

"Io, do you have everything?"

"Yes," Iolin sighs softly. "Are you sure this is the correct approach? I thought I was going to die when you first did it to me."

"And I still think you're the most dramatic out of the three of us." Enfys grins. He glamours himself to look like nothing at all—just a ghost through which all the light filters through. "Just go get ready, you worry wart. I've got all the hard parts to do."

The younger Spring son rolls his eyes. Let it be known that he does not approve, and it's clear on his face, too. A delicate frown on his kind features as he sighs again. Enfys berates him, reminding him of the old adage, 'if you keep sighing like that, a wind wisp is going to lodge itself inside you'. Iolin knows that's not how that works, but he laughs anyway and makes his way into the dark and dense forest that surrounds their home.

***

Tamlin flips and flops. His limbs are heavy and lazy noodles on his too-big bed. It's hot, and he's not really sleepy. Then again, he's an adult now. At the big age of seven, he needs to sleep right on time because he's going to have responsibilities. So, he has to sleep.

His ears twitch, and he sits up suddenly. He scans the room because he's super-duper-really-very sure that he heard something. His little nostrils flare, but before he can put his nose on this mystery, he's snatched out of his bed.

Wriggling and thrashing, the little Faerie doesn't get very far because whoever has him is much bigger and much stronger. Tamlin's arms are pinned to his side, but he swings his leg, getting his kidnapper real good.

"Oof," says the invisible stranger.

Tamlin sharpens his teeth, chomping on the hand that slipped from covering his mouth.

"Ow! Fuck!"

He lands on his feet, rolling away as he's dropped onto the carpeted floor of his room. Tamlin grins, laughing breathily as he bolts towards the door.

"No, you don't," snarls the intruder, and he catches Tamlin by the waist.

He flails and flails to no avail, caught once more. He's at the mercy of his kidnapper, flying out the window as they get further and further away from safety. Tamlin thinks (off) his feet, and halfway across the grounds, he manages to half-shift into a snake, slipping out of his brother's kidnapper's arms. The stranger catches him again, and Tamlin has to stifle his giggles as he's carried off into the forest.

Whoever this mystery person is takes him towards his favourite clearing. At the centre, a small fire burns and his other brother looks on curiously.

"Cauldron, are you licking me?"

Tamlin can't help but laugh this time. Enfys lets him go and sets him down, removing his glamour. Logs have been placed around the fire, and Enfys takes his place on one of them.

"Well, he seems to be taking it better than when you first kidnapped me."

"He screamed. It was embarrassing. I got five lashings for 'waking up the baby'," Enfys rolls his eyes. He plucks a hand-rolled cigarette from his pocket, and holds it up to the fire. Enfys doesn't normally smoke; it would be incongruous with his picture perfect role as the Spring Court's pinnacle warrior.

"What's this? I'm supposed to be sleeping," Tamlin asks his brothers. He watches as Iolin uncorks a flask; his hands have minor burns, and that worries Tamlin.

"Toad's milk. It was a pain to get," Iolin explains, following his baby brother's gaze. "So, enjoy it." For the rest, he allows their eldest brother to explain.

"This is our birthday celebration. Six is the last year the Court recognizes your birthday, so the two of us usually meet up once a year to celebrate… surviving," Enfys shrugs. He hands the smoke to Tamlin who's green eyes go big and wide. Tamlin takes it, inhaling the same way his brother does. It sends tickles down his whole body, as if ants are dancing across his skin, and his head eases, like releasing a muscle or getting scratchies. It feels nice, except for the coughing. That's less pleasant.

"There are a few rules," the eldest Spring son continues. "First, we do not speak about father, his rules or his business. This is about us. Second, no matter how we feel about each other, we always show up. Third, gifts. This is your first year, so you are excused."

Tamlin understands not wanting to include their father. He made the rule that after six, little Faeries aren't carried anymore, and they don't celebrate birthdays with their friends across Prythian. But…

"What about mama?"

"What about mama?" Their mother's voice chimes softly. Leaves crunch under he boots and she holds her skirts in her hands as she steps over the log. Iolin gets a kiss on his head, and Enfys gets a kiss on his cheek as she sits next to him. Tamlin, of course, gets to climb into her lap and hug her ferociously.

"Mother!"

"The last rule is you can relax here. No formalities. Mama is just fine," Lady Margret grins, kissing her baby on the nose.

The toad's milk is spicy, venom curling down their throats and warming their belly. Tamlin has never seen his family like this, happy and relaxed. Those moments were always stolen, but here, he has never seen the dutiful Enfys smile like that or the brilliant Iolin get caught off guard so often. Their mother is so witty, and though Tamlin doesn't always get her quips, the flush on his brother's cheeks tell him everything he needs to know.

He watches them carefully, and his cheeks hurt from smiling. What a wonder.

"Gifts! We should do gifts," Iolin grins. He digs through his bottomless satchel. "For my beloved baby brother, I gift you an infinite charcoal from the Autumn Court, and an endless scroll from the Winter Court. To practice your writing whenever you want, and never needing to look for parchment."

Tamlin hops off his mother's lap to get his gifts, grinning happily and sitting next to Iolin. He writes a thank you note on the scoll, and shows it to his brother who hugs him.

"For my old fart of a sibling, I have perfected a concoction to help you on the battlefield or in bed. Whichever you prefer, just adjust the dosage. I've written it on the label, you can still read? Right? You big oaf?" Iolin tosses the vial over to his brother who catches it with a smug look.

"As if I'd need this. Thanks, I guess." But the smile on Enfys' face never fades.

"And for mother who insists on never getting any gifts every year, I have, once again, refused to listen." Iolin pulls out a large canvas from his bag, and turns it to face his mother and brother.

Lady Margret bursts into such sudden laughter, she even starts crying. Enfys, on the other hand, looks terribly embarrassed. He argues with Iolin, gesturing at the portrait dramatically.

"I wanna see, I wanna see!" Tamlin peers to see what his family is looking at. Iolin turns the canvas to show a portrait of Enfys with his eyebrows blown off, and ash freckled across his face. He looks shocked, and his dark blonde hair sticks up wildly. He starts giggling too because he's never seen his older brother look so silly.

"Our beloved older brother wanted to prove that anyone can do fire magic, especially since the wind is at our command. I may have stoked the fire too hard."

"I will cherish this forever," Lady Margret wipes tears from her eyes and accepts the gift. She hugs it to her chest as Enfys glowers, but he doesn't feel mad, not really.

"It's your turn, grumpy," Iolin teases.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Enfys grumbles, pulling out a pile of gifts wrapped in large leaves. He tosses all of them to each member of his family without preamble. They gifts speak for themselves. Not everyone needs to yap like Iolin.

Tamlin tears his gift open, eyes widening at the sight of the brand new fiddle. It's so shiny and carved in a beautiful redwood. He can't stop running his fingers over it. He didn't know Enfys noticed or cared. His brother and his mother seem equally fascinated by their thoughtful gifts—a new alchemy toolkit for Iolin, and a beautiful embroidered handkerchief for their mother.

The little Fae hops off his log to run back to the other side, where his mother and older brother are. He climbs onto Enfys' log and hops onto his shoulders, hugging his neck and thanking him with a happy chomp of his ear.

Enfys laughs and flips Tamlin over, so he lands into his arms.

"Yeah, yeah, you better get me something good next year," Enfys grins and tickles Tamlin's sides.

Lady Margret's gifts are simple. She bakes special cookies for them—the kind that she would never allow inside the manor. It would go against every rule of etiquette, but she's already cried of laughter once tonight, and no one will know if the cookies have her so air-headed that she snorts her joy away. Today is special. They can be as strange and as free as they like.

After one bite, Tamlin nearly floats away, and his oldest brother has to anchor him by holding his hand. He can't stop laughing, though.

"This is the best day ever! But I wanna give gifts, too!"

"Maybe when you're not on the verge of floating off into the skies, sprout," Enfys clips.

"No, help me!"

That's how the Spring Court's fiercest and most dutiful warrior ends up braiding flower crowns with his baby brother. Tamlin picks each flower carefully, ones that represent each member of his family, and teaches Enfys how to weave delicately. Their mother gives helpful tips that only serve to annoy her eldest.

Although his previous birthday drew in High Faeries from near and far, Tamlin will always remember this special night of little kindnesses. Despite all the gifts, his favourite one of all was finally meeting his brothers and his mother, and seeing them for all their joy.

[lunareel]

You've described the relationship between Luigi and General Guy, but we haven't really got to know what is personality is like in this au.

Can you help clarify what he's like?

His loyalty to Bowser has been removed. He is instead mistrustful of royalty, more so for how I am going to be using King Wart in this setup. I do want to keep the pompous vibe/tone he has, alongside him talking in a very formal manner.

This is based off his fight with Mario in Paper Mario 64 he calls him sir for a majority of the battle while slipping in insults towards him.

He has a strong dislike for both Bowser, Kamek and Merlon. He looks down upon the Mushroom Kingdom for how easy it has been to hide beneath their noses. He is neutral to Mario at best. He wants to help Luigi reconnect with Mario, but he does not like the reconnection potentially causing Luigi to leave and never look back.

With all that being said when thinking of him talking like Gordon Ramsey.

[a-crazy-fangirl]

SPN posting ahead!

This might be a controversial take, but I am firmly of the opinion that Dean full on settled for Lisa and didn’t really love her like he thought he did.

NOTE: I SAY THIS WITH ALL THE LOVE AND RESPECT FOR LISA!! My hand to God, I’m not trying to be a hater or anything like that. Lisa’s perfectly fine, I just think she and Dean aren’t compatible.

I think he stayed with her because she checked a lot of the boxes of what he thought he wanted. Like on paper, Lisa should be perfect for him. Lisa and her lifestyle embodies what Dean thought he wanted— a picket fence life away from hunting with a hot, down to earth woman and a good kid that idolizes him. It was what his Dad was fighting to avenge, so I think Dean internalized his dad’s desires and goals and saw it as the be all and end all of what someone should want. And again, like he was taught from a very young age, achievement of “goals” and “tasks” as defined by his dad should supersede whatever “””fantasies””” he had for himself (aka his own desires, thoughts, and feelings).

So in that light, maybe his emotional connection with Lisa wasn’t as good as he had experienced with other women, but she was supportive enough and offered a lifestyle that he thought he wanted, so he made due with her fully expecting the rest of the pieces to fall into place. I think he expected that, based on what his dad taught him, if he was a good partner and did what he was supposed to do, the love and happiness would inevitably follow.

I think the fact it didn’t was a part of the reason he went back to hunting with Sam so readily.

Above all, I think the failure of his relationship with Lisa was a moment of serious growth for Dean.

I want to preface this by saying I don’t think he settled intentionally like some kind of fuckboy. He truly cared about Lisa and Ben, without a doubt, and I fully believe he went into that relationship thinking he was right where he wanted and needed to be. I don’t think he went into it lightly or casually by any stretch of the imagination.

But I think his relationship with Lisa, and the way it failed over the course of season 5/6, taught him that a relationship has to be more than just your idealized concept of what a partner (and a relationship) should be. It also involves the connection and truth, no matter how messy or vulnerable that maybe. That, and that it doesn’t always match up with what you expect it should be.

What cements my theory for me is the relationships he had with people that were fully a part of his entire life, warts and all. He loved Cassie. He was on his way to loving Jo. He loved Benny. And he loved Castiel.

His connections with those who truly saw and understood him for who he was in his entirety were far deeper than what he got from someone so far removed from his life.

Looking beyond what’s textual and more into my spitball, head canon opinions, if the show had been fair to Dean, he would have ended up with a fellow hunter— I think that would have been the only way Dean could have had a “real” love interest. Dean is a very emotional man and I think he would need someone who really fully understood him. He never really got that in any long-term fling that was well depicted in the show, which sucks. I think, after everything, he deserved that. I wish we had had at least one lady that matched his freak

(It would have been Jo but the fandom motherfuckers in the mid/late 00s fucked that up for us 🤬)

TLDR!! Lisa strikes me more as someone who John would have liked Dean to pursue rather than someone Dean would have organically sought out on his own. For that reason, the relationship failed because it was what Dean thought he wanted rather than what he actually wanted.

[laurancezvahlslefteyebrow]

SHADOW KNIGHT HEADCANONS

aka things from my rewrite

idea from @xerith-42 <- <- <-

————————————————————

Appearance:

They have pointed ears. They’re not as large as an elf’s or half elf’s ears, really just the size of a human’s ear… But pointed.

They’re skin sparkles. (Edward who?) Idk why I added this I just like the idea of Laury lookin like he’s rocking body glitter 24/7 ig. It’s most noticeable in direct sunlight.

They’re eyes are reflective, like a cats, and often glow in the dark. They’re eyes also appear more… empty… than a regular person’s. Almost uncanny.

When in their full Shadow Knight form, their irises become red, and the whites of their eyes turn black. The skin around their eyes also becomes red and cracked, almost irritated looking.

They have fangs. Much like this v

They each have a scar pertaining to the way in which they died. (Assuming it wasn’t something like poison). It is usually a dark grey or black color, but not always.

When they are premature, their fingers and toes are blacken. This is called the corruption. Each SK has at least some, but the amount tells you how long they resisted gaining their immortality. The longer they go without gaining their immortality, the further up the corruption creeps, only stopping at the shoulders and hips.

They have Rune Scars and Tattoos. The tattoo is located on their palms and is the source of their SK abilities. It’s embedded with the curse of binding so it cannot be removed or carved out. The scars are on their face, three claw marks on each cheek. These are referred to as The Tears. These scars enhance their SK abilities.

While in their full SK form, their scar runes turn black and emanate pure darkness. Their fingernails also grow into claws that are extremely sharp and nearly unbreakable.

All SKs appear pale, no matter their skin tone. They have no red/pink/orange undertones bc their blood technically no longer flows.

They often appear very ridged or mannequin like. Standing either too perfectly or too hunched over. Again, uncanny.

Because of all these physical traits, Shadow Knights are very easy to spot, assuming you know what to look for. Many trying to hide or blend in, will hide their heads, faces, and hands.

THE… OTHER STUFF:

Their body temperature fluctuates quite a bit. Generally, theyre cold to the touch, because yk their dead. But when they feel strong emotions like anger or happiness their temp rises, possibly to the point where they feel feverish. The only emotions that actively make them colder are sadness and fear.

Their temp also rises when the Calling comes a knocking. Rising hotter and hotter the longer they try to ignore or fight it.

^ Inspired by a convo with @xerith-42

It’s impossible to sleep in the Nether, though the reason is unknown. Because of this, Shadow Knights don’t require sleep. They still can sleep, but it’s not a necessity. Premature Shadow Knights however, still become tired and can still feel the physical repercussions of having no sleep.

Similarly, SKs also no longer need to eat or drink. However again, prematures do. Since not much grows in the nether, they’re forced to eat Nether Wart. It’s essentially a very tough, charcoal tasting mushroom. It’s their only source of food OR water as water cannot be found anywhere else in the Nether.

While they’re in the Nether, their blood becomes cold to accommodate for the extreme heat. Because of this they need to be careful about regulating their emotions while in the nether so their blood doesn’t overheat.

Nether time is faster than Overworld time. A year in the Nether is only a few months in the Overworld, if that.

Premature SKs can be killed the same ways a human can be, due to their lack of immortality. A full SK however, is a bit more tricky. Their physical form can be killed, though it is more difficult due to a combination of things, but they respawn. If their body dies, is will *poof* disappear and reappear back in the Nether on an alter. The amount of time it takes to respawn depends on the severity of their injury. A full SK can only be permanently killed with an enchanted Netherite weapon (hehe minecraft reference). These are extremely rare and hard to come by. …Zenix has one…

When a PMSK (Premature Shadow Knight) is trained, they fight against real, full SKs. They could very well be killed during their training, call it natural selection. The PM is expected to kill the Full SKs they’re fighting against.

Soul sand houses the souls of innocent lives taken by Shadow Knights. Their souls not only add fuel to their power, but also gives strength to the Shadow Lord/Shad.

In Shad’s eyes, someone with magicks or brains is often more valuable than someone who is physically strong. Though physical strength is needed in order to be a SK, if they are not particularly clever and they have no magicks, they aren’t very useful. Often used as simple pawns or sacrifices.

The first ever Shadow Knight was some random guy named Randal. He didn’t fit any of the criteria, in fact he was just some farmer who ate a bad potato and suffered the consequences. Shad only resurrected him to experiment a bit.

A Shadow Knight’s armor isn’t actually armor. It’s more like a shell that pops out when their body recognizes it’s needed. Or at least when it thinks it does. These shells are generally identical, but they do each have some variations depending on the person and their alignment. Their weapons are an extension of this shell as well, and can be any hand held weapon. Weather is a sword, hammer, mace, or even daggers. Swords are just most people’s go-to. Along with this, they cannot drop their weapons as they are basically a part of them. The only way to rid of it is by… sucking?? it back into the shell. Think of venom. But less… slimy.

They’re impervious to fire/lava. At any stage, full or pm.

Oooookay that’s all I got

Thanks for reading this far love ya mwah mwah

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

Hello! :] I saw your post recently regarding the pervasive feeling of shame in newer fans re: Danganronpa, and it really resonated. I wanted to offer my two cents as a fandom old/armchair fandom archeologist that's hopefully a little heartening:

I remember back in 2012/2013 when Danganronpa was beloved, during the height of the SomethingAwful TL days. It was a genuinely fun time to be into things, especially as people were getting excited for an EN release, something that I do think the fandom deserves a little credit in making happen. I was there for the UDG release, DR3 anime, and the lead-up to v3's release, and unfortunately, I think the fact that all three of those entries were in some ways polarizing effectively memory-holed a lot of people into believing Danganronpa was never "good" to begin with, which makes it a lot easier to pick out its flaws and give it a bit of a weird reputation now.

(As a tangent, but some more context that might help: Danganronpa also got really big on my neck of the woods in Tumblr during one of the big Homestuck hiatuses. Back in the day there was a lot of fandom crossover, which I don't really think is the case nowadays, but I think for people that were either in both fandoms and had negative experiences, or people outside who disliked either/or, they've been inextricably linked together as part of a particular "time" in Tumblr/internet history that isn't remembered fondly. So, I have a theory that a lot of secondhand Danganronpa disdain comes from misplaced disdain for the other Big Thing at the time.

This also overlapped with the tail end of the big SuperWhoLock era to my memory, which is usually much more focused on which discussing Tumblr history. Which is a shame, because I feel like this particular transitional era of Tumblr "fandom" history has been underdiscussed because of it!

None of this is excusing some of the things I've seen said about DR fans and the ways people have been iced out for liking it, but I find trying to understand the factors at play always helps my mind figure out how to process these things.)

However: time moves on. This isn't permanent. Having gone back and re-experienced the whole series some 5+ years removed, I was able to find joy in parts of the series that, while I was in the thick of a shift in fandom attitude, didn't appreciate as much as I think I should have. I didn't absolutely love everything, but I had so much fun, it almost felt like I was experiencing things again for the first time.

I want to believe the same thing will happen as we get some time removed, as people get nostalgic for things and get older and understand that you can love something flawed, criticize it, and not feel shame for it. I always welcome fresh faces discovering something for the first time, but I think that some day, a lot of older fans can come back and embrace it as well. Sometimes you need time and life and a few extra years on you. I'm living proof of it! :P

Of course, this is just one person's perspective from one slice of the fandom. But I remain hopeful. There really is nothing else quite like Danganronpa for me, warts and all. You don't have to post this publicly or anything if you don't want to, but I wanted to offer a little hope to go with your thoughts. :') and I hope you have a great day!

Oh man, I really really appreciate this message. I am really interested in the perspective of fans who have been here for so long, and I always feel a little out of my depth talking about old (read: 2018 and before) DR fandom because despite seeing a Lot of it in my blog-diving, I still wasn't there. It's genuinely wonderful to hear that it was beloved like that, even if only fully for the first two installments.

I HAVE noticed a weird amount of homestuck/dr crossover in my searches, so that totally makes sense! Hell, my first exposure to DR on tumblr was a homestuck blog I followed back in 2017/2018ish (for the artstyle, I haven't read homestuck) that also posted a lot about Kazuichi. That's super cool!

While I feel like today, there is at least a little bit of fondness (even if it is a little ironic) for superwholock days, I see very little talk of homestuck. And when I do, it is usually with the same flavour of "Wow that fandom was so crazy" as old-DR.

I think there is usually this reactionary retrospective on site-wide popular fandoms to some degree after they start to wane in size. I saw it when I was in the TMA fandom. That thing was a monster, and over all I felt more stressed there than I ever feel now with DR. And after it ended, and really even During those last few episodes, you could feel a level of distaste for the piece of media growing. Although it never really reached critical mass like DR.

Maybe its even more apparent with something like Steven Universe- when it was actively coming out there was so much disdain for it (from some people) and for the fandom. I was there, on the sidelines, but I saw it all and it wasn't fun. But after its finale and a couple years of silence, people now seem to have come around and realized, whoa, so much about all that discourse was way overblown. I feel like a couple years ago there could still have been this sense of "cringe" posting about steven universe, while today its a lot more neutral.

Of course, it's kind of weird to compare DR and SU, and the nature of outside of fandom perspectives on them is not the same. The level of disdain for people posting SU never reached the point of DR either. But if it's anything to go by, I feel like there is hope eventually for people to stop having an immediate knee-jerk reaction to it. To look back and realize, "hey, that was actually pretty good," or "I didn't really appreciate this the first time." Or even just "It's fine actually to have nuanced take on this piece of media I don't like that concludes with them still liking it." I feel like we already got a mini-version of that in 2020, but since that's when I joined I can't speak too much on it.

Small tangent aside, I really appreciate this. I also hope people can come back around to it, or at least appreciate that it made them or other people happy at the time c:

[dragon-communion]

Considering one of the very glaring issues about Omens is excessive, debilitating horn growth that cannot be removed without extreme agony and blood loss despite everything perfumers can throw at them… I wonder if it’s possible to at least do mitigation work on horns by trying to “train” their growth like bonsai trees with wired guiding and tension. Like I cannot find this technique being applied to natural horned animals, since I don’t know of any that have quite the same issue as Omens, but in theory it might be able to avoid incidents like Mohg’s eye getting gouged out.

What’re your thoughts on it?

Oh you have unlocked Pandora's Box hon. When I was a kid I hyperfixated on unicorns, and because I was a strange kid I hyperfixated on unicorn scams. Also I grew up near an ungodly amount of cows. While I am certainly not an expert on horns, I know enough about them to say:

calves can be chemically dehorned

modifications like any of the following are best started young

horn weights are used in real life to encourage the curvature of horns

filing is another fairly easy technique, involving filing one side of the horn a bit to encourage it to grow that direction

other suggestions I've seen include tying the horns or housing the cow in a particularly small stall so the horns are bumped often

On young cattle, the horns actually start as little buds detached from the skull like so:

And as they age, they grow in and connect like this:

Even young cattle can still be dehorned entirely, but after... two years, or thereabouts, it becomes pretty risky. I'm pretty sure you can take an inch or two off the top of an adult cow with no problems, but don't quote me on that.

Chemical dehorning is basically like when they chemically freeze off a wart at the doctor. Kill that entire section of skin, let it scab off, no more horn. Best done very young.

I'm mostly using cattle as an example because I know of cases where a horn just curled around and tried to impale the poor thing's own head, and also you're probably only going to find horn training in domesticated horned animals anyway. I'd be curious if anyone does this to goats, but my guess is goats do what they want regardless of man or god.

So! In summation, particularly for Mohg, I think it would've been extremely possible to train his horn away from self-mutilation. By the time he was old enough for it to be a problem, though, he was likely already in the Shunning Grounds and I hear the healthcare down there is piss poor.

While there are goats in Elden Ring there is a distinct lack of cattle, and given the stigma against horns in general I really have to wonder if anyone knows how to take care of them? Maybe the Crucible Knights, but if they do they aren't talking.

As a side note: remember when I mentioned unicorn scams? If I'm remembering my facts right, it's possible to move the horn buds while an animal is still young to the center of their forehead, so it'll grow there instead. Considering one can only hope that omens are born with soft little buds instead of horns, it would theoretically be possible to alter the placement of horns too, in addition to removing them entirely.

[theblackdahliaemporium]

Dandelion

Lat. Taraxacum officinale

─━━━━━━⊱༻🦋༺⊰━━━━━━─

Dandelions belong to the composites and their ordinary species of plants. You can spot them in Asia, Europe, as well as in North America. This plant can grow up to 40cm in height, its leaves are toothed and grow directly from the ground in a circular way. Their bright yellow, round blossoms, which are formed by many thin petals, make them easy to identify. Another distinctive feature are their hollow stems, filled with a milky substance.

As soon as the blossoms vanish, on their position appear their well-known seeds with their white parachutes – which get blown away for all kinds of wishes. The seeds can be easily carried away by even soft wind and that’s how dandelions spread their seeds, that’s why they’re also named “blowballs”.

As soon as you spot the first dandelions on meadows or even roadsides, we can be sure that the winter is mostly over at this point.

This plant does prefer the direct sunlight – and they grow in every place and are very frugal.

It’s best to harvest their leaves right away – after just a short time they produce bitter substances. They’re also best used fresh, since they’re not ideal to store over time. For their blossoms you better wait until they’ve fully opened up to pick. Remove the green parts on them, to use them in salads, vinegar, tea or even to refine wines.

Dandelion roots can be harvested too, best during autumn, as soon as it is rich in starch. But if you like it a bit sweeter, spring time would provide a harvest of the roots. So it’s a good time between September and February to dig the roots up. The best way to dry them is to cut them in small pieces and let them dry in a well aired and dry place. Later on they can be stored in containers in dark, cool places and can be used till up to a year.

In addition dandelion can be enjoyed raw and cooked. The blossoms go well in soups and broths, the root can be used grounded in coffees as well as in salads. Even in beer the dandelion can be used, as a refiner etc. – as you can see, this plant is very versatile.

Among botanicals it is known as the blowball.

Caution

Even though dandelions are widely spread and well-known, there is still a chance of danger of confusions with other plants! Dandelions do not have their leaves on the stems, stems got no hair and is hallow with a milky liquid inside. Per stem are only one blossom at time! Please consider all this facts and do not eat any plants without identifying them to 100%. Never forget: In case of sickness, you should always consult a doctor. Please don’t try to treat a sickness with the effects of any plant without the advice of a doctor.

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╔.🦋. .═════════════╗

correspondences

╚═════════════.🦋. .╝

- masculine

- Sagittarius, Pisces

- Jupiter, Sun

- Air

- Hekate, Brigid, Medusa, Belenos/Belenus/Apollo(n), Ra

╔.🦋. .═════════════╗

healing properties

╚═════════════.🦋. .╝

- against urinary problems as well as liver & kidney diseases

- detoxifying

- aids stomach ache and flatulences

- clears the skin and it’s milky substance erases warts

╔.🦋. .═════════════╗

magical properties

╚═════════════.🦋. .╝

- wishes

- increases psychic abilities, braveness and self-confidence

- supports spirit summonings

- sun magic

- positivity, cleansing, banishing

- furthers creativity & motivation and solvents blockages

- hope, new beginnings

- kitchen magic

- can be used to deliver messages (including the underworld as well as other realms)

- love magic

Like so many other plants that are assigned to the sun, but are also yellow, dandelions brings in a huge amount of joy and happiness into life. At the same time it motivates and is ideal to use for creativity and motivation spell jars.

Its positive vibes can be also used for any kind of incenses and smoke cleansing.

Since dandelions have a wide variety of usage in the kitchen, there are naturally tons of ways to bring in your wanted intentions while cooking. Above you already got some ideas how to use dandelion in meals, but let your creativity spark! Dandelions can also be used in pastries, as glaze or toppings. The sky is the limit!

As the lion is already part of the name, the lions spends you enough strength and bravery to overcome the obstacles in life.

Not to forget the simplest way to integrate the dandelion into magic: As blowball that makes your wishes come true! We all are familiar with this kind of magic, since we grew up with this. Many adults still believe in this magic, that’s why it gets passed on from generation to generation. It’s the same principle as with shooting stars, lashes and birthday candles.

In love, it also has its input – when creamed in with it’s milky juice, the lovers become even more desirable in the eyes of their partners.

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[deludedfantasy]

On Tesla, Rem, and Agency in Trimax

Volume 7 gave me a lot of Thoughts, especially about Tesla and her place in the narrative. She's such a tragic character and I'm obsessed with the implications of her existence, and how her death and Rem's motivate the twins in very different ways. Much more under the cut.

After volume 7, I’ve been thinking a lot about agency in Trimax, who gets it and who doesn’t. On a slightly related note, I’ve also been thinking about female characters and fridging, so let’s talk about two very important figures who motivate a lot of Vash and Knives’s actions: Rem and Tesla. 

On my first watch of Tristamp, the moment Rem died saving Vash and Knives, I went, “Oh no, not again.” That is the classic set-up for fridging a female character. You see her briefly, she declares her love for the main characters, and she’s dead within minutes, now providing our main characters with the correct amount of angst to fuel their actions for the rest of the story. That is essentially what happens in Tristamp. We do see more of Rem later and learn a bit more about her, but that vision of the perfect woman, the perfect mother, who was so unjustly murdered by Nai’s actions, remains constant. She doesn’t have a whole lot of agency. 

Part of the problem with fridging is it completely removes any individuality or agency from a female character. She’s basically an empty doll for the main character to project their emotions on and give the readers an easy explanation for their actions. A fridged woman doesn’t have any personality except being perfect and dead. 

From where we stand in Tristamp season 1, that’s all we have. But Trimax is another story entirely. It shows us Rem as a whole person. She’s very much so still the mother Vash loves and idealizes, but we learn there’s so much more to her. I’d even argue that’s part of why he loves her: because he’s seen her fully, warts and all. 

Her first scene in volume 6, during the birthday party, already starts shifting the narrative we’ve become used to. There’s something off about her, we can’t see her eyes. We get the feeling she’s hiding something. When she forces Vash and Knives to hide when the crew wakes up, we’re proven right. 

Volume 7 is when we really see her for the first time though. She’s not perfect. She let something horrible happen to a little girl. She’s a woman laboring under a lot of guilt and a lot of love. Everything she’s done for Vash and Knives has been because she hasn’t forgiven herself for what happened to Tesla. Her determination to keep Vash alive when all he wants is to die and the story she tells him about the blank ticket is a defining moment for her character and for him. We understand why Vash has based so much of himself around her, why he’s trying so hard to keep her memory alive. But it also makes it hit even harder that she sacrificed herself to save not just the twins, but the whole fleet. Her death suddenly becomes even more meaningful. She isn’t another woman shoved into a refrigerator; she’s brave, smart, idealistic, loving to a fault, full of guilt and shame and depression, but so very determined to do the right thing when she’s failed before. 

Now, compare her to Tesla. I talked a bit about this in my book club post, but I want to expand on it. We don’t actually meet her. Her ghost leads Vash and Knives to her body. We see her dissected body and learn about her through the researchers’ reports and Rem’s explanations. But we never hear her voice or her story in her own words. We don’t know what she wants. 

But Knives takes up his crusade and his revenge on humanity because of what happened to her. It seems like a pretty straightforward instance of fridging, but I don’t think it’s that, not fully. Because that’s the whole point is that Tesla never had a voice. 

Usually, when a woman is fridged, any actions taken in her name are seen as noble or at least understandable. But Knives’s motivations are deeply, deeply flawed (for many reasons). Despite his goals to free Plants from the tyranny of humanity and give them agency, many of his methods involve taking away agency from other Plants, including his own brother. By starting the crusade in Tesla’s name, he makes it hers. But we don’t know if that’s what she would have wanted! She was just a little kid. Maybe she would’ve wanted to visit those same horrors upon humanity that were visited on her. Maybe she would’ve just wanted to kill the scientists who caused her pain. Maybe she would’ve wanted to disappear and just live a normal life. We can’t know! And that’s the tragedy of it. 

Like I said in my book club post, she becomes a martyr for a cause she didn't know existed.

The absence of Tesla’s voice is so loud. She never had a choice, not when she was alive and not even when she was dead. We don’t know why she showed herself to the twins or if that apparition was even a ghost with some form of agency or a simply some sort of Plant impression that didn’t have an intent one way or another. But Knives decides that the legacy she will receive is of death and destruction and revenge. There’s something that feels so wrong to me about that. It feels like a continuation of Knives lashing out in fear and anger, not considering anything or anyone else. 

This isn’t to say that the way Vash treats Rem is perfect either. It’s not. His devotion to the idea of her and living up to her sacrifice are pretty flawed too. At the same time as he knows that she wasn’t perfect, she becomes something of an untouchable figure in his head. He’s living his life in penance for her sacrifice and shattering himself in the process. He takes her ideals to the very extreme and doesn’t leave a lot of room for nuance. It’s questionable whether Rem would’ve wanted this to be her legacy. But at least Vash knows what she would’ve wanted for him: for him to never give up hope, to see the world in all its glory and horror, and give himself the freedom to remake his future when all seems bleak. 

I really hope season 2 of Tristamp gives us more of Rem and Tesla, especially since there’s some indication that Tesla was still alive in Tristamp. Rem holds such an important place in the story of Trigun and I want to see the wonderful flawed version of her translated to the story Tristamp is trying to tell.

[layce2015]

Supernatural (Dean Winchester x Female!Reader)

Malleus Maleficarum

Masterlist

"She was so scared. I couldn't help; I couldn't do anything to stop it. And I've talked to the police, and I've talked to the medical examiner and no one can explain it." Mr Dutton said to me as Dean and Sam search around the house. "Well that's why they put the call in to us, Mr. Dutton." I said to him.

"But the CDC, that's disease control right? What do you think; it's some kind of virus?" he asked me, confused. "We're not ruling out anything yet." I said. "Mr. Dutton, did Janet have any enemies?"

"I'm sorry?" he said, confused. "Anyone that might have a reason to hurt her?" I asked him. "Wait, what are you saying? That somebody poisoned her?" Mr Dutton asked, slightly panicked. "I'm just saying we have to cover every base here." I said. "Well, I mean, what kind of poison? You think a person could have done this?" Mr Dutton asked.

"Would anyone want to?" I asked, curiously. "What?! No, no, there's just no one that could've--" Mr Dutton started to say but stops as Sam and Dean open the bathroom door. "Mr. Dutton?" I said and he looks over at me and shakes his head. 

"Uh, everyone loved Janet." He said and I look over at the boys and they nod at me, letting me know they were done. "Okay. Thank you very much; I think we've got everything we need. We'll get out of your way now." I said to Mr Dutton and the three of us began to walk out.

We walked out of the house and the rain poured down on us as we made it over to the Impala. "That guys seem a little evasive to you?" I asked the boys. "Don't know I was under a sink, pulling this out." Sam said as he takes a hex bag out of his pocket and hands it to me as we stop. I take the bag from Sam and open it.

"Hex bag." I grumbled. "Awww gross." Dean said, disgusted. "Yeah, there are bird bones, rabbit's teeth. This cloth is probably cut from something Janet Dutton owned." Sam said as Dean and I look back at the house for a second and turn back. I hand the bag to Sam and we start walking towards the Impala again.

"So, we're thinking witch?" I asked. "Uh, yeah, and not some new age wicked water douser either. This is old world black magic guys, I mean, warts and all." Sam said as we get into the car. "I hate witches." Dean exclaims, making Sam and I chuckle.

"They're always spewing their bodily fluids everywhere." said Dean. "Pretty much." Sam said. "It's creepy, you know, it's down right unsanitary." Dean said. "Yeah, well someone definitely had it out for Janet Dutton." I said.

"Yeah, someone who snuck into that house and planted the bag. So what are we thinking, we're uh, looking for some old craggy blair bitch in the woods." Dean suggests. "No it could be anyone. Neighbor, coworker, man, woman that's the problem Dean, they're human, they're like everyone else." Sam said.

"Great, how do we find 'em?" Dean asked, annoyed. "This wasn't random; someone in Janet Dutton's life had an ugly axe to grind. We find the motive-" I said then Dean finishes the sentence for me. "We find the murderer." he said.

"Yeah." Sam and I said, in unison, then Dean starts the Impala and pulls away from the curb, driving off in the rain.

Throughout the day, we followed Paul to see if there were any hints of witches near him or if he was somehow involved with his wife's death. At first everything seemed normal, nothing out of place, but then at one point he was sitting in his car, eating. It was a few minutes after sitting in his car, the door opens and he crawls out, coughing. The boys and I run over to him and we see that he was coughing up maggots.

"Check the car!" Dean yells at me and Sam. We began to search under the dashboard and steering column as Dean tries to help Paul. "Guys!" Dean yells just as I found it. "Got it!" I said as I get up and remove the hex bag while Dean pulls Paul up from the pavement. "Come on." Dean said and I light the hex bag on fire and drop it to the ground as it glows with blue and green flames

Moments later, Paul recovers from choking and leans back against his car. "You okay?" Sam asked him. "What the hell is happening to me?!" Paul asked, panicked. "Someone murdered your wife and now they're trying to kill you, that's what's happening to you." Dean said, firmly. "That's impossible! There's no way-" Paul exclaims but I speak up.

"If we hadn't have been following you, you'd be a doornail right now." I said and he looks up at me with worry. "Now who wants you dead?" I asked him.

"I-uh..." Paul stammers but Dean speaks up. "Come on think." He said. "There's a woman-uh..." Paul stammers. "A woman, okay?" Dean mutters. "An affair--a mistake, she was un-balanced, she was blackmailing me and I put an end to it a week ago." Paul replied.

"What's her name?" Sam asked him. "What could she have to do with--?" Paul asked but Dean talks over him.

"Paul, what is her name?" he asked and Paul looks between us.

Later, Dean picks the lock and we enter Amanda's house, our guns drawn. We enter the room and I switch on the light, only to find Amanda's lifeless on the table covered in blood. "That's a curveball." Dean said as I let out a sigh. "Yeah." Sam mutters and we approach Amanda's body.

Dean lifts her right arm with the barrel of his gun then looks at the other as well. "Three per wrist, vertical. She wasn't foolin' around." Dean points out as I put my gun in the back of my jeans and bend down to look at the scattered remnant of the altar, holding my nose to the smell of the burnt rotten food.

"Yeah, looks like she was working some heavyweight evil here." I said. "Yup." the boys said as Dean turns around nearly running into the hanging body of a rabbit. "Oh God! Freakin' witches! Seriously guys, come on!" Dean yells as Sam and I look at the rabbit.

"Guess we know where she got the rabbit's teeth from." Sam said. "Well, Paul sure knows how to pick 'em, huh? It's like Fatal Attraction all over again." I said. "Yeah." Sam mutters. "And why does the rabbit always get screwed in the deal?! The poor little guy." Dean said, upset. 

"You know what I don't get, boys? If she was so bent on revenge, why do this?" I asked them. "Well, she got Janet Dutton, thought she finished off Paul, decided to cap herself and make it a spurned lovers hat-trick." Dean replied. "Maybe." I muttered as I start to look under the glass table that Amanda is on.

"I mean, this doesn't exactly look like the TV room of a bright and stable person, you know?" Dean said. "No, but then..." I said as I reach around and pull out another hex bag that was tucked under the table and stand up tossing it to boys, Sam catches it. "There's this." I said and Dean looks over his brother's arm to see the hex bag.

"Another hex bag?" Sam said, shocked. 

"Come on!" Dean shouts as Sam opens the bag to find similar contents of the bag we found in Janet's bathroom and he tosses it on the table while Dean reaches for his phone. "Looks like we got a hit, huh? A little witch on witch violence?" Dean said. "I guess." I said, shrugging, as Dean dials the phone and hold it up to his ear.

"I'd like to report a dead body, 309 Mayfair Circle. My name? Yeah, sure my name is..." Dean said and he clicks the phone shut, cutting himself off.

"Why are witches ganking each other?" Dean asked us. "I don't know, but I think maybe we got a coven on our hands." I said and the boys share a worried look.

"You must have a green thumb." Sam said to this woman after we walked up to her driveway while she was turning the soil of her garden. "Excuse me?" She asked as she turned to us. "Getting these herbs to grow out of season like this, quite impressive. I'm sorry; I should have introduced myself first." Sam said and he reaches on the pocket of his suit jacket and takes out a badge. "I'm uh, Detective Bachman, this is Detective Turner and Detective Thornton." Sam introduced as Dean and I take our badges out of our jacket pockets and flash it at her.

"Hi-ya." Dean greets.

"Afternoon." I said, smiling.

"We're following up on Amanda Burns' death, going around the neighborhood and talking to neighbors and stuff like that." Sam said to her and she looks between us, nervously. "But didn't she- I mean she killed herself right?" She said. "Maybe, maybe." Sam said.

"We heard you were friends with the deceased right?" I asked her. "Yeah, I guess so." She replies. "Did you have any idea about her practices?" Dean asked her. "I'm sorry, what kind of practices?" She asked. 

"Well see, her house was littered with satanic paraphernalia." I said. "A regular Black Sabbath." Dean added. "No, the- but she was an Episcopalian." The woman said. "Well, then we're pretty sure she was using the wrong bible." Dean said then a couple of footsteps come up to us and we turn and see a couple of women coming up to us.

"Elizabeth, you alright?" the dark haired woman said. "I'm fine uh Renee, these are Detectives. They say Amanda was- she was practicing-" Elizabeth stammers then her friend, Renee, turns to us. "I'm sorry Detectives; you can tell that Elizabeth is a little bit upset." She said, a bit rudely honestly. "Of course, Miss...?" Dean said.

"Mrs. Renee Van Allen. Would you like me to spell it for you?" she sneered at him and I narrow my eyes a bit at her. "We'll get by, thanks." I snapped and she turns to me. "This Amanda business has been hard for Liz, for all of us." She said then her friend speaks. "Yeah, I mean, you think you know a person."

"Well, I guess we all have secrets, don't we?" Dean said as we stare between the three women. "Well, thanks, um, we'll be in touch." Sam said after a few moments of silence. "Have a nice day." I said and the women tell us goodbye.

"Well, I'm already sold on that Elizabeth chick? Did you see that victory garden of hers? Belladonna, wolfs bane, mandrake, not to mention that little flinch she threw when we mentioned the occult." Dean said as we drive down a foggy country road. "Well, she's definitely had a good run lately, gone up a few tax brackets; won almost too many raffles. Kinda thing a little black magic always helps with." Sam said as he reads over some files. "Yeah." Dean mutters.

"I don't think she's alone either, look like Mrs. Renee Van Allen has won almost every craft contest she has entered in the past three months." said Sam. "Yeah, a regular Martha Stewart, huh?" I joked. "Except for the devil worship, I'm thinking that was the coven back there we met minus one member." Dean said and I shrugged.

"Amanda was clearly going off the reservation, what do you think they killed her to keep up appearances?" Sam asked. "Seems like an appearance kind of crowd, don't you think?" Dean asked. "Yeah." mutters Sam.

"If they killed the nut-job should we uh, thank them or what?" I asked. "They're working black magic too, (y/n), they need to be stopped." Sam said. "stopped like stopped?" Dean asked as he and I look over at Sam, a bit shocked. Sam gives us a look that says of course.

"They're human, Sam." Dean said. "They're murderers." Sam said. Dean and I look at Sam for a second, with doubt, and then resign ourselves. "Burn witch, burn." I remarked as Dean continues to drive when the Impala stutters and starts to choke up.

"What the hell?" Dean said, confused. The head lights of the Impala flicker on and then back on again as it slowly comes to a stop in front of a blonde woman sanding in the middle of the road.

Sam gets out of the car first and Dean and I follow. "Ruby." Sam said. "Sam, listen to me, there's no time." She said. "For what? What are you talking about?" Sam asked her. "You have to get out of town." She warns.

"So this is Ruby, huh?" Dean asked then he raises the colt and aims it at her, cocking it. "Never had the pleasure." Dean said. "Dean!" Sam shouts at him. "I was hoping you'd show up again." Dean growls.

"Point that thing somewhere else." Ruby said after rolling her eyes. "Hahahaha, right." Dean chuckles as I placed a hand on his arm. Ruby ignores him then turns to Sam. "Sam please, go, get in the car and don't look back." She begs. "Why? I don't understand." Sam said.

"Hey, hot stuff, we can take care of a few kitchen witches, thanks." Dean said. "I'm not talking about witches, you jackass, witches are whores. I'm talking about who they serve." She said and the boys and I look confused for a second, but then it dawns on me.

"Demons, they get their power from demons." I said and Ruby nods. "Yeah, and there's one here, now." She said. "Oh, what, you mean besides you?" Dean asked but Ruby ignores him. 

"Sam, it knows you and your friend here are in town and it's gonna come after you two and it's way more than you can handle." Ruby said as she gestures to me. "Me?!" I said, confused. "Oh come on, what is this, huh? Please tell me you're not listening to this crap!" Dean yells at Sam and Ruby turns to Sam. "Put a leash on your brother Sam, if you wanna keep him." She ordered. 

"Dean, look, just chill out." Sam pleads as I turn to him. "No, no! She's messing with your head, God knows why, that's who they are!" Dean yells. "Dean, honey, calm down!" I said.

"I'm telling you the truth." Ruby said, firmly. "And I'm telling you to shut up bitch." Dean growls. "I'm sorry, why are you even a part of this conversation?!" Ruby asked, angrily. "Oh, I don't know maybe because he's my brother. And now you're saying my girlfriend is in danger too, you black eyed skank!" Dean shouts.

"Oh, right, right. You care about your brother and girlfriend so much, that's why you're checking out in a few months, leaving them all alone?" Ruby sneered. "Shut up." Dean growls. "At least let me try and save them, since you won't be here to do it anymore." Ruby said. "I said shut up!" Dean yells and he moves to fire the colt at Ruby.

"Dean no!" Sam screams as he pushes Dean's arm away from Ruby as he fires the colt, and Dean tries to fight against Sam's hold and they lock arms. "Boys, stop!" I shouted as I try to fight their hold. Then we look to where Ruby was standing to see that she has vanished.

Dean gives Sam a look of disappointment and goes back to get in the Impala, as Sam looks around in vain for Ruby. I sigh then follow Dean to the car.

Later, at a hotel, Dean walks in first and switches on the light and Sam and I follow right behind him. "What the hell were you thinking?" Dean shouts at Sam. "What?! What the hell was I thinking?" Sam yelled. "She's a demon, Sam, period alright. They want us dead, we want them dead." Dean yells.

"Oh, that's funny; I remember that demon chick in Ohio, Casey? You didn't want her dead." Sam said as I just look between them. "Yeah, well she wasn't stringing me along like a fish on a hook." Dean argues. "No one's stringing me along. Look, I know it's dangerous, that she is dangerous, but like it or not, she is useful." Sam said. "No, we kill her before she kills us." Dean growls.

"Kill her with what? The gun she fixed for us?" Sam asked. "Whatever works." Dean grumbles and I sighed. "Dean, if she wants us dead, all she has to do is stop saving our lives." Sam said and Dean turns away from us and goes to the sink turning on the water.

"Look, we have to start looking at the big picture Dean, start thinking in strategies and- and moves ahead." I said as Dean splashes water on his face and Sam nods. "She's right. It's not so simple, we're not- we're not just hunting anymore, we're at war." Sam said as Dean turns off the water and looks at Sam in the mirror above the sink, grabs a towel to dry off his face and turns back around to us.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked Sam. "Uh, why are you always asking me that?" Sam asked as he sits on the foot of one of the beds in the room, and Dean moves back toward Sam. "Because you're taking advice from a demon for starters, and by the way, you seem less and less worried about offing people, it used to eat you up inside." Dean explains. "He's got a point, Sam." I said.

"Yeah, and what has that gotten me?" Sam asked. "Nothing, but it's just what you're supposed to do okay? We're supposed to drive in the friggin' car and friggin' argue about this stuff. You know, you go on about the sanctity of life and all that crap." Dean yells. "Wait, so- so you're mad because I'm starting to agree with you?" Sam asked, confused.

"No, I'm not mad, I'm- I'm- I'm worried, Sam." Dean said as he moves and sits down on the foot of the other bed in the room. "I'm worried about you too, Sam." I said and Sam looks at me. "Because you're not acting like yourself." I  added. "Yeah, you guys are right, I'm not. I don't have a choice." Sam said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked him as Dean looks up at him. Sam sighs then looks at Dean. "Look, Dean, you're leaving right? And (y/n) and I gotta stay here in this craphole of a world, alone. So the way I see it, if I'm gonna make it, if I'm gonna fight this war after you're gone, then I gotta change." Sam replied and I noticed Dean has been looking increasingly uncomfortable during Sam's last speech, and is now clutching his stomach in discomfort and leaning forward slightly.

"Change into what?" he asked. "Into you, I gotta be more like you." Sam said and Dean tightens his face in pain, and leans further over still clutching his stomach and side with his left hand. "Dean!" I said, worried, as I go over to him.

"What's going on with you?" Sam asked as  Dean moves around in pain still clutching his stomach, and he can barely force words out. "I don't know. Oh- guys something's wrong- bunch of knives inside of me-" he groans then Sam moves off the bed and kneels in front of Dean, who is now leaning all the way forward with his head almost between his legs.

"Son of a bitch-" Dean groans and my eyes widen and I turn to Sam. "The coven, it's gotta be the coven." I said and he gets up and rush into the bathroom, opening the cupboards below the sink looking for the hex bag as Dean groans in pain and lies back on the bed, his face still twisted in pain. "Hang on, baby." I said as Sam pulls things out of the cupboard throwing them aside.

Dean leans back forward falling to his knees in front of the foot of the bed, spitting out blood, choking and sputtering. Then I get up and start to look around the room for the hex bag but couldn't find anything. Sam and I pull off the covers to the bed tearing back the sheets and I slice the mattress open with my knife but still cannot find the hex bag

"Dean, we can't find it." I said, worried, as Dean falls over sideways and looks weak and hurt and still in pain. "No." Sam mutters. As Dean continues to cough blood more weakly now, Sam rummages through his bag and pulls out the colt and opens it to make sure there are bullets in it.

"Sam, what are you doing?" I asked him as Sam gets up and moves toward the door. "Sam." I called out but Sam leaves closing the door behind him. "Sam!" Dean and I shout but he was gone.

Dean was leaning over a pool of blood he has spit out gasping and coughing blood as I try to think of what to do. Suddenly, there were quick footsteps outside and the door is kicked open and Ruby steps in. I pull out my knife, get into a stance and step in front of Dean. "You wanna kill me? Get in line bitch." Dean sneers.

Ruby ignores him and looks at me. "Do you want to keep him alive?" She asked me as I look at her. Then I look at Dean. "(Y/n)..." he groans and I look back at Ruby then step aside for her. "Better not make me regret this." I growled as Ruby goes over to Dean and pulls him up by the collar tossing him on the bed. She leans over him and forces his mouth open with her left hand as Dean tries to push her away.

Ruby sprays a black liquid into his mouth from a bag at her side with her right hand while Dean still struggles under her hold. Ruby stands up as Dean chokes on the liquid and spits some back out. "Stop calling me bitch." Ruby growls and Dean starts to look better and I go over to him and check him over then clean the blood and black liquid off of his face.

"Next time you point that gun at me, I'm not gonna just disappear, understand?" Ruby said as she tosses a sawed off shotgun over to me as Dean was back to sitting on the foot of the bed. "You saved my life." Dean said to her. "Don't mention it." Ruby said. 

"What was that stuff? God, it was ass, it tasted like ass." Dean grumbles. "It's called witchcraft shortbus." Ruby replied as she turns and walks out of the room closing the door behind her and leaving us. "You're the shortbus...shortbus." Dean grumbles and I shake my head. "Come on, we got to go after Sam." I said to him and we start to head out.

We make it to Elizabeth's house and run in with our shotgun drawn and see Sam was held up against the wall by an invisible force. And a woman with short dark hair was standing in from him. We draw our guns at her but she turns around easily and throws us over the sofa. We get up, but she pins us to the wall behind us.

"Three for one, lovely." she said, smiling. "Wait." Ruby shouts as she walks in with her hands raised in surrender. "Please, I just came to talk." She said as she puts her hands down. "You made it out of the gate, impressive. That was a bitch of a fight, wasn't it?" The woman sneered. "Doors outta hell only open for so long." Ruby said.

"What do you want, Ruby?" the woman asked. "I've been lost without you, take me back. That's why I led the Winchesters and (l/n) here." Ruby said and Dean looks angry, and mouths I told you so to Sam while I sigh and roll my eyes.

"They're for you, as a gift." Ruby said to her. "Really?" The woman asked. "Let me serve you again, I've wanted it, I've wanted you for so long." Ruby said as she walks closer to her. "You were one of my best." The woman said as her and  Ruby look at each other, until Ruby pulls her knife out and tries to stab her, but the demon catches it in mid-air.

"But then again, you always were a lying whore." she said and the knife is thrown sideways out of their hands across the wood floor. The two fight for a bit until the demon throws Ruby into the TV, but Ruby gets up and kicks her and goes to run past her, and the woman clotheslines Ruby causing her to fall flat on her back.

She pulls Ruby up and throws her into a bookcase and gets a fireplace poker from the stand on the hearth, looking at Elizabeth who was cowering from, before the woman walks back to Ruby with the poker in her hand.

"You're really telling me you threw in your chips with Abbott and Costello here?" the woman asked, nodding towards us, as Ruby tries to get up, and the demon hits her across the face with the fireplace poker. Elizabeth then runs out of the room.

"Come on, get up." the demon growls while Ruby is panting and not moving, with blood coming out of her nose. "I said get up!" she yells as she tosses the poker aside and crouches over Ruby grabbing her by the jacket and pulling her up. "We've been here before, haven't we?" She chuckles to herself and looks over at Sam.

"She didn't tell you?" She asked then she turns back to Ruby and continues. "Pretty mortifying I guess. She was one of mine. I turned her out a long, long time ago. Ruby here was a witch. Of course that was when you were human."

The three of us look at this surprised even though we are still both pinned to pur respective walls. The demon throws Ruby back down onto the debris of the bookcase she crashed through and stands up. "Didn't want your friends to know that all those centuries back you sold yourself to me? Embarrassing I guess, but don't worry love, no secrets where you're heading remember?" She said and she begins to chant and black smoke rises out of Ruby's mouth curling and hovering inches above her mouth.

But then she begins to cough.

As she coughs harder, Dean and I were dropped from the wall and fall forward. Sam also falls from the wall and drops to the floor as I look up and see the demon brings her hand up to her mouth. She coughs up a handful of long pins into her hand, her mouth bleeding in the process. She looks at the pins and raises her right hand and clenched it into a fist.

Dean then comes up behind her and stabs her in the back repeatedly with Ruby's discarded knife. The woman dies as well as the demon that was inside of her and she falls to the floor. Dean looks at Ruby and goes to help me and Sam up and they move toward the door and stop to look at Ruby.

"Go." Ruby said as she looks at us slightly embarrassed and wipes the blood away from her mouth. "I'll clean up this mess. Dean and I start to walk toward the door, helping Sam on his way. "Come on." I said but we stop and look back at Ruby one more time. Ruby turns her eyes black and glares at us. "Go." She orders and we walk out the door.

Dean and I were walking outside of the hotel, together, as the lights flicker, we look around, and then back to where we originally was looking and see Ruby standing there in the shadows of the hotel parking lot. "So the devil may care after all, is that what we're supposed to believe?" Dean asked her as we walk up to her. "I don't believe in the devil." She replied.

"Wacky night." I remarked then I look at her. "So let me get this straight, you were human once, you died, you went to hell, you became a..." I started to say and she nods. "Yeah." she said and she turns to leave.

"How long ago?" Dean asked her. "Back when the plague was big." Ruby reply as she turns back to us. "So all of 'em, every damn demon, they were all human once." I said. "Every one I've ever met." Ruby said.

"Well, they sure don't act like it." Dean remarks. "Most of them have forgotten what it means, or even that they were. That's what happens when you go to hell, Dean. That's what hell is, forgetting what you are." She said. "Philosophy lesson from the demon, I'll pass thanks." Dean growls. "Its not philosophy, it's not a metaphor. There's a real fire in the pit, agonies you can't even imagine." She said. 

"No, I saw Hellraiser, I get the gist." Dean said. "Actually they got that pretty close, except for all the custom leather." Ruby said. Dean and I look at her thoughtful and Ruby stops her departure, and turns back to us.

"The answer is yes by the way." she said as she looks at Dean. "I'm sorry?" Dean said, confused. "Yes, the same thing will happen to you. It might take centuries, but sooner or later hell will burn away your humanity. Every hell bound soul, every one turns into something else. Turns you into us, so yeah, yeah you can count on it." She said.

"There's no way of saving him from the pit is there?" I asked her. "No." she replied and I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "Then why'd you tell Sam you could?" Dean asked her. "So he would talk to me, you Winchesters can be pretty bigoted. Same thing for you, (l/n). I needed something to help him get past the-"

"The demon thing? It's pretty hard to get past." Dean growls. "Look at you, tryin' to be all stoic. My God it's heartbreaking." Ruby said. 

"Why are you telling us all this?" I asked, a bit annoyed. "I need your help." she said. "Help with what?" Dean and I said, confused. "With Sam. The way you stuck that demon tonight, Dean, it was pretty tough. Sam's almost there, but not quite, you two need to help me get him ready, for life without you, Dean; to fight this war with you, (y/n)." Ruby said and she turns and walks away again.

"Ruby, why do you want us to win?" Dean asked her and Ruby turns back around to face us. "Isn't it obvious? I'm not like them, I- I don't know why, I wish I was, but I'm not. I remember what its like." she replied. "What what's like?" I asked. "Being human." She replied and Dean looks down lost in his thoughts.

I give him a worried look and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looks up at me and places his band over mine then we look up to see Ruby has disappeared leaving us alone in the parking lot.

@rach5ive @kitsun369 @itzabbyxx @cevans-winchester @ellie-andthemachine

[invested-in-your-future]

If you are removing everything and tarnishing Monty's legacy then write your own story.

But I am not "tarnishing" anything.

It's one of the reasons I kept the first three Volumes, warts and all, unchanged - no matter the issues I have with specific plot elements (and I had plenty - I will forever bring up Weiss being treated as the badguy for saying "No" to Jaune or how Pyrrha got basically zero characterization beyond "Jaune's love interest", or the "jokes", as well as how it took them five seasons to have LGBTQ+ people exist in the world at all). I love them and those three Volumes, including trailers, are dear to my heart and the the three volumes as flawed as they are pull off really cool pay off in V3 and I still am in anguish over the loss of all the potential that end of V3 set up.

As for stuff past V3? You know, I really really really doubt "two gods" and "four relics" - the things Miles came up with in a dream - are part of Monty's legacy in any way shape or form.

No matter which fics exist or don't, which rewrites get written and which don't it won't erase the show or "Monty's legacy" - someone could write a fic where Team RWBY are hunting aliens aboard Nostromo and you could still boot up the early seasons and watch them all the same.

I am writing my own stuff too.

[picturesofthegoneworlds]

Intertwined - Chapter 14 - Cannibal

Laudna holds the freshly de-scaled fish under the surface of the running river, its underside slit open from gill to tail, dyeing the water around it in crimson tendrils that are shaped by its current, decorated by errant tumbling shining scales, sparkling like stars on a red-skied night, motion fast and twisting so it creates shapes more akin to bolts than clouds, magic-

Blood strikes away from her pallid skin; carries down the river back towards their camp nestled in the alcove of giant tree roots.

Laudna had insisted that Imogen stay on her bedroll that morning, to try and get the rest adequate to fully heal-over the puncture under her ribs. She woke with no nightmares to report, but all of the tossing and turning Laudna watched her conduct in her sleep had her grimacing when her own slumber had abandoned her, fumbling for what to do and ending up paralysed within arm’s length of Imogen in her own bedroll.

Last night was-

well.

Laudna had made a choice. Exposed herself, past how much she already did so by travelling with a telepath; that still felt remarkable in and of itself (Imogen is remarkable).

exposed

like the freshly removed fish guts on the bank of the river

Laudna drops half of them into the stream organ by organ, leaves the other a platter on the floor for whom or whatever finds them.

Out of innards

Torn and bare, bared, raw. Imogen had seen the molars through the ripped flesh in Laudna’s mother’s cheeks, had last night seen her attempt to just peel her whole face off, remove the ability to be a doppelganger for an elf with tan and pink skin. 

Mourning. Veiling. What she had or what she had lost. She was never sure if that was for one or the other or both. Probably more.

Either way, it was inspiring. She kind of enjoys it, actually, now (especially now. Excited, even, at how she perhaps has an audience to appreciate her fine outfitting).

Laudna will make them both breakfast. Fish fried in butter with chickweed - she had seen a fair amount tangled in the vines.

Moss, she should collect and dry out more moss. A lot more.

(bandages)

Silt is disturbed on the calmer slight-bend at the bank of the river.

A larger fish with rough and warted skin like a toad crawls out on hind legs from under flat rocks that are surely slick with algae and moss.

moss

bandages, bandages

rivers of red

It has whiskers like a catfish, though much longer, must have noticed the disturbance in the water with such, using them as rods to lasso swimming organs into its gullet.  

Laudna had scooped the offal out of the clean line of dissection she had made, scraped against fleshy ribs with the tips of her talons.

She could have plunged a finger into the tear in Imogen’s side, the gap was accommodating enough. Could have felt the life and warmth of her insides press around her finger. Could have searched and hooked with nail. Could have pulled out her intestines in one long string and gathered them like rope under her arm-

Not that she would

Someone else, maybe

Maybe her, if she were under their rule

(she can’t have her. she can’t give her the chance.)

It feels like heartburn

It’s not warming

Laudna is always cold, numb.

Last night Imogen's breath came out as mist when she stood in Laudna’s vicinity. Veil covering, buffeting the touch between Imogen's hand and her shrapneled jaw. Warm flesh on bone. Delightful. Laudna does not think on how bone should be able to receive the feel of the touch without the nerve endings-  

Perhaps she muses on it for a moment. Magic. Violent. Violet. Lavender. Lilac. Glowing. Warm-

One of the living-fish’s antennae breach the skirt of the riverbank, smells and touches over the pebbles and foliage and splattered blood with a whisker and soon enough glossy dinner-plate eyes and blubbering mouth are being hiked over the ridge too, webbed feet and hind legs balancing on an exposed root sticking out of the muddy bank.

“I think it’s time to go~” Laudna sings, scooping up both the gutted fish and Pâté - who had been on knife-watching duty on a boulder - under the same arm and briskly walking back towards camp, the toad-cat-fish hybrid scarfing up the remainders of the innards.

(you can read the rest at the link. Thank you as always to @distant--shadow for the illustrations)

[okkos-ferrum]

I live for the short interactions we get from chase and graham in ep 2, s4

Chase is full chase in interrogating gray, just dramatically throwing accusations, saying crazy shit only he can think of

Only for graham to fully moves past it without question and clear up the accusations chase confidently spews out. Like he's not even annoyed like chief or carmen or confused like julia. As far as he is aware, this is the first time he's meeting this man, and while chase is taking everything to 100, Graham's bringing it back down to 1 without trying

Chase: *boldly walks in, hands on table* You have no idea how happy I am to see you again

Graham: Sorry mate, I don't think we've met.

Chase: And yet I have seen you there with my own two eyes. Unless you happen to have a twin. (Legit in his face)

Graham: Not that I know of. I'm an orphan.

Chase: Having a wart removed from YOUR TISSUES OF LIES *very aggressive pointing*

Graham: Got electrocuted on the job.

Gray's the dry to chase's dramatic and i need more of it!!

[silentnightevilnight]

my friend got you pregnant, how do you feel about that.

📞...

LiarLIAR PANTS ON FIRE!!!!!AND EVEN IF YOU DID I'd get thAt WART REMOVED