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endlich-allein · 3 years ago

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Interview with Till about his life: he fought with his father, killed his beloved dog, swam on a wild river and worked on suffering. How Till Lindemann's mind works

"I will finish you off" and why you fought for the German army.

Werner Lindemann wanders around the room, interrupting the silence with strange questions, writing something down. His motive is to get to know his son and make him a friend. But it's complicated. Generational conflict.

"My island of tranquility is shaken every day. The day before yesterday, a guy pulled on my socks because his were torn. Yesterday he didn't put out a single lamp in the house. Now, with voluptuous delight, he spits cherry pits into the cat's fur. Is this grown boy really an adult?"

The apprenticeship in Rostock, where you have to do window production after graduation, is the limit of boredom. Till Lindemann moved to his father in the countryside so that he could forget about the hustle and bustle of the city and not fall under the article for anti-social attitudes. He thought of a new life, in which there was no pointless work, and arranged an attic in his father's house.

In the mornings over coffee, he scolded life that everything went according to schedule. And listened very loudly to music - electronics and metal. My father didn't understand and grumbled: “I matured late. Naturally, I wanted to listen to the music I liked, but I could not get my hands on these records. For example, my father did not understand when I bought the Alice Cooper record for a month's salary.

Werner Lindemann was a children's writer who went through the war.

At the height of his career he disappeared for weeks on literary tours - his fame spread to teachers and librarians across the country. His father pecked at Lindemann for refusing to work and promised to turn him in:

"My willful child. What doesn't fit his standards is rejected as nonsense or crap." So he took a job as a carpenter, where he made shovel cuttings and cart wheels. The head foreman constantly drank vodka during the day, didn't want to be annoyed with questions and addressed the long-haired Lindemann with the nickname: "Mozart!" This suited him.

Werner Lindemann talked about war, hard existence and limitations. For example, about a grenade splinter that remained in his body. Lindemann did not believe in all these stories - but categorically did not accept service, war and murder:

“After that I objected: “I would hide, I would not go to war. Why did you even let yourself be dragged into this? You could have hidden."

And he said: “It didn't work out. They searched for it and it took away."

Then I said: “I would rather go under arrest. Never in my life, I would go to the front line to shoot people. It's against my nature. It would be better if I went to jail."

Much of the time father and son were simply silent, even while watching television.

"He regularly made me feel guilty, to say the least, he placed himself on a pedestal towards me: I shouldn't complain. At your age, I ran barefoot through the stubble, and in my stomach - a potato in a uniform."

The only acceptance is Mike Oldfield's music: "One day my father came to grumble again. At that moment I was listening to Mike Oldfield, and he sat down and said: "That sounds interesting."

For me it was like a quantum leap: my father sits in my room, listens to my music and thinks it was good. Probably because of melancholy. He was sitting in a rocking chair that I made myself - at the time I was working as a carpenter on a farm. I, too, always sat in an armchair, immersed myself in music and smoked hand-rolled cigarettes."

The conflict was intensified by a fight. Lindemann bought a Trabant car, installed speakers in it and tested the sound - loud as usual. “Then my father came and I had to turn off this fucking music. It was kind of loud for him. He was then fiddling around his cases of flowers, and then suddenly the situation escalated. I think he slapped me while I was still in the car.

He leaned toward me and hit me with the back of his hand. I made some bullshit remarks like, "Leave me alone," something like that. That was a provocation to him, and he said: "If you do that again, I'll hit you for real." And I said, "Then you'll get it back. Because you're crazy. Don't you dare to hit me anymore."

And then he hit me with his palm again. He wasn't controlling himself.

He was exalting himself. Instantly he introduced himself as a boxer - he had boxed in the Hitler Youth - and I just... I thought I didn't hit him, I just pushed him away. And then he stood in front of me again, "Come on, I'll finish you, you haven't got a chance!" Somehow. After that, he went up to the attic and threw all my stuff out the window.

It happened over the weekend, my sister was there, a lot of screaming, serious drama. Then I packed my things, put them in the car, went to a friend's house and never went into his house again. At first I lived with this friend, and a week later I bought myself a house in the village."

His father's book is about his son, which the son will only open up after the death of the father.

Lindemann is a late child. He was born when his father was 36. The gap in their relationship was felt in everyday life and perception of the world. Werner Lindemann woke up early in the morning, worked with the circular saw under the windows and did not understand when his son slept until noon after a working week.

Lindemann's parents then lived separately, but kept in touch. Mom worked as a journalist and discussed her texts with his father. "She still lived in Rostock and always came to see him only on weekends. Mostly on Sundays she came back quite early, because she couldn't stand the stress of being with him, either."

In 1988, the book “Mike Oldfield im Schaukelstuhl Notizen eines Vaters" In this book, Lindemann Senior describes the relationship with his son (whom he calls Timm in the book), who settled with him at the age of 18. The book was written in the 80s and laid on the table until the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany were reunited.

Werner Lindemann wanted his son to take up writing too. But this only amused him, although as a child he wrote poetry. At the age of 13, little Till Lindemann and his father were returning home along the bumpy road to Mecklenburg. They talked about career self-determination:

"You should already have thoughts about what you want to become, boy." My answer: "I don't know yet, maybe a fisherman on the high seas."

But immediately, no matter what I said, objections arose: “But then you have to get a certificate of maturity. But then you will be away all the time. But then you won't be able to start a relationship."

There was always a “but”.

At some point it got on my nerves, as usual. And I said: "Worst case scenario, I'll just become a writer.

I still remember how alienated his face became. "And what do you think then, what do I do! It's a very hard job! In fact, it's not even a job, it's a passion. And it's a job that's supposed to be enjoyable."

I said, "I don't know anybody who works with pleasure."

"Yeah, that's the problem. You have to look for a job that gives you pleasure." Then I say again, "But some people never get to choose..." This gigantic discussion happened because I didn't take his profession seriously. At the same time, he was completely lost, funny!"

Lindemann thoughtfully read his father's book, in which he comprehends their relationship, after his death. Faked for hidden anger and indecision. For example, in a situation where their dog Kurt was bitten by a fox. The father was frightened because of rabies: “At the same time, we did not even know whether he was bitten by a fox or not. The father immediately called the huntsman. But I said: no one will enter this courtyard and shoot the dog. I'll do it myself if I really need it. At some point I really had to kill the dog."

Lindemann is not a monster. The animals he fiddled with are an important attribute of childhood. He had an aquarium and hamsters, brought mice and rats home, and was friends with dogs. “Like many children of new buildings, he felt the need for someone alive, in need of love,” said Werner Lindemann. Sometimes the appearance of an animal in the house was surprising:

“This guy will never say what he's up to. He appears on the doorstep at the same time as me. He gets out from his vehicle, throws his coat open and puts a young black shepherd in my hands. "Your Christmas present!"

Till's father is speechless. My son stands before me like the sun's little brother. Touchingly concerned, he directs me into the house, working out a plan for the animal husbandry, accommodation and diet of our new pet housemate.

With confusion, a question flies from my lips, "Wheredid you get the dog from?" "Timm" is gibbering, "Imagine, the mason in the barnyard wanted to hang him, simply wanted to strangle him with a rope, said he was a worthless eater..."

Werner Lindemann died of stomach cancer in 1993, when his son was 30. They didn't finally reconcile, but Till visited him in his last days and was there for him with his mother: "They couldn't be without each other, even though they lived apart. Unreal, but my mother never had another man afterwards. To this day she can't let go of him."

- Not going to the Olympics in Moscow and ending up in the German ghetto

Lindemann had the knowledge and the potential to be a swimmer. And a shyness that pounded harder three days before the competition than concerts in front of crowds of thousands. "I know how difficult it is to develop willpower and stamina and instill those attributes. In the GDR this was instilled in us by coaches and so-called functionaries."

Lindemann came to swimming at the age of eight and devoted his entire youth to the sport. He would get up for training at five in the morning and pass out in the evening. His grandmother watched him from the stands. At a competition in Leipzig she shouted at the coach, who told Lindemann off for a poor result. The grandmother took the coach by the ear and said: "How do you talk to my grandson?"

Sports tightened up his upbringing and developed self-discipline. “Drilling - probably the boy has already received this experience as a swimmer,” Lindemann's father wrote. - Once he had to take second place in a competition, but by no means first place. Of course, he got carried away, forgot about it, became the first, thanks to which he received a shouting for indiscipline. And whenever he lost in the future, his coach would torture him at practice for a long time and yelled at him: "Even if you win, you're not a winner yet!"

Lindemann swam the 1.5 km freestyle and could have gone to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Everything was ruined when he left the hotel without permission during a competition in Florence: "I didn't want to run, but just wanted to look at the city. Cars, bikes, girls. I was caught and kicked out of the team, but then I didn't give the required results either."

Lindemann competed at the European Junior Championships, but did not go any higher. After the story in Florence, his career in sport slipped away. Perhaps an abdominal injury influenced his departure. Lindemann is gone, but he doesn't yearn: "I was relatively young. There were no good [memories] left. I was glad it was over."

"The hardest part was getting back to normal. I fell into a real hole. My home was no longer a sports school, but a ghetto in Rostock. Now I stood out through drinking and fighting. I used to be surrounded only by beautiful ladies who were interested in swimming. Now I had fierce women standing in front of me asking, "How come you don't drink?" When I was shy about approaching a girl, it was interpreted as: "Are you gay?"

Lindemann now works with a coach and swims a few kilometers before his tours to get in shape: "When I exercise, I feel a certain lightness - not only physically, but also mentally. I just feel better. The main problem is staying in shape. That's where self-discipline comes into play. Teeth grinding is important."

- Three weeks in the wild and loneliness as a creative tool

Emotionally, concerts = sports:

"How do I go on tour? Hungry. And happy. It is good to compare concerts with sport. You don't want to do both at first. You don't want to go on stage. You don't want to go to the pool. You don't want to go to the boxing ring. It all happens with reluctance. It has to be accepted somehow, that's life: spring, summer, fall, winter.

When it's done, winter's gone, the blooming begins, greenery appears, it gets bright, and you start to get a taste for it. When it's over, you feel happy. Then the body produces a sea of chemistry, a lot of happiness hormones. I think the body rewards itself."

The stage, like sports, is an embarrassment, but a necessity. Lindemann wore dark glasses in order to collect fewer views from the audience. Therefore, a couple of steps before the water, he looked at the pool with a shiver. You need to cope with yourself in order to open up to new emotions.

Lindemann's gut requires solitude and moderate solitude. This is the point:

“Loneliness is always good for a creative push - you drink a glass of wine and you feel even shitier. Art is not complete without suffering; art exists to compensate for suffering."

With his friend Joey Kelly, Lindemann spent three weeks on the Yukon River. They paddled through the wilderness in a kayak for eight to 10 hours each and lived in a tent. Lindemann didn't take a tape recorder with him, so he transferred the lyrics wandering in his head on paper.

They were catching inspiration and atmosphere:

"There were times when we wouldn't say a word for hours, but then: look there, look there! It was breathtakingly beautiful. These relatively fast-changing panoramas and skies, layers of clouds, the colors.

Except for a few bears and wolves, it's hard to see anyone else out there, it's exhilarating. Along the way we saw two hunters setting traps. No one else.

I grew up in the countryside, and I have a very strong connection to nature. I love fishing, hunting. It's an archaic experience that I like to revisit over and over again. When I'm in the city for too long, I start to miss it."

To recreate situations in the Yukon, Lindemann and Kelly trained for nine months on the Rhine river in Germany because of its liveliness.

"We went down the Rhine to where the transport ships create huge bow waves. If we hadn't had a coach with us, we probably would have been sunk by the side wave impact already during our first attempt," Lindemann said.

Together with Kelly, he had four sessions with two coaches and swam from Cologne to Koblenz [more than 100 kilometers by car]. Lindemann trained separately each week on the lakes in Mecklenburg. It's both physically challenging and savage identical to being natural.

In 2015, Till started his solo project Lindemann. On the album Skills In Pills, the song Yukon was released, in which the lyrics appeared first, and then the music.

- "My lyrics come from pain rather than desire."

The country boy is big and not much of a talker. That's how the Rammstein members saw him at the start, when they were hanging out at home. "He looked cool, like a big peasant talking one sentence an hour," keyboard player Christian "Flake" Lorenz recalled. - He always had food and vodka. He'd just steal a couple of ducks somewhere and cook them on a tray. And then, frozen like in Sleeping Beauty, there were people lying in corners and on trunks in his house."

Lindemann loves and appreciates home gatherings. This came from my father, who always had guests. “In my opinion, this is the little bit that I inherited from him. Throwing parties and gathering people. Throwing parties and getting people together. He just enjoyed being a good host. The house was always full of guests from Leipzig, from Rostock, foreign guests, even from Kazakhstan.

It was always exciting for him. He stood at the stove, cooked, bought an abundance of wine, and there was always a fire in the garden. At some point he stopped drinking, then he left the party at 21:00 and the whole company continued to feast. And in the morning he got up at four, cleaned and tidied up."

Till Lindemann is about self-digging, overcoming and childish shyness, which is covered by a pumped-up figure of a swimmer. This is how Lindemann decrypts himself:

• “And I really am like a big child - ill-mannered, but harmless. People think that I am always strong, explosive. This is not true. I am sensitive and easily hurt, but in love I am romantic and passionate."

• “At the very beginning, you sit somewhere in a dark room, open a bottle of wine and figure out how to make the lyrics popular with the music. At first you only have a vague idea of what it could be.

And when, three years after recording, mixing, and more mixing, developing the artwork, all this nonsense, then you stand on stage, and what you came up with then really works, when you manage to get 20 thousand people to raise their hands, then you experience incredible sensations."

• “Art is a kind of therapy.

When I feel that something is arising inside me, domineering and is most often dark, I need to give it a way out, otherwise it will simply crush me. So destruction and self-destruction are the two pillars on which my creativity is based.

But everyone chooses this for himself.

• “My lyrics arise from feelings and dreams, but still more from pain than by desire. I often have nightmares, and I wake up at night sweating, as I see terrible bloody scenes in my dreams. My lyrics are a kind of valve for the lava of feelings in my soul.

We are all struggling to hide behind good manners and outward decency, but in fact we are governed by instincts and feelings: hunger, thirst, horror, hatred, the desire for power and sex. Of course, there is also additional energy in us - this is love. Without it, all human feelings would fade away."

- "When you're constantly living someone else's life, it's very hard to get back into your own skin. I like that in principle, but sometimes you start to get confused - are you out of a role or not yet. You're already Till, or you're still a homicidal maniac."

- "I hate the noise. I hate the chatter. I expose myself to it, which is pure masochism. And then I have to protect myself from it. Noise makes you crazy. You die in it."

• “I think there is no God. And if he is and actually allows all the misfortunes on this earth, then he must punish me along with other sufferings. I will not pray to such a god."

This is how the members of Rammstein see Till - flexible and with a split personality:

Guitarist Paul Landers: "Till is so good that when you let him know that his lyrics should go in a different direction, the very next day he brings a new version of the song."

Guitarist Richard Kruspe: “He's a hell of an extreme man. He dives very deeply into situations where I cannot follow him. Everything he does is very extreme; I don't know anyone who does it. "

Drummer Christoph Schneider: "I would not want to be in Till's shoes: his soul is tormented by doubts and contradictions, he is equally a moralist and a monster."

June 1, 2021 - Translate by Lindemann Belgium

#very interesting #till's life #till is love 🖤#till lindemann #till 2021 #werner lindemann #flake lorenz #paul landers #christoph schneider #richard kruspe #oliver riedel #joey kelly #rammstein #t.lindemann #t.lindemann 2021

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alegzandryan · 4 years ago

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Prepping for a Ritual

So since I am doing these things as we speak I thought I would go through some ritual things that I find useful, for anyone that feels overwhelmed or unprepared for ritual work. I know tumblr and tiktok have pushed a lot of easy jar spells on us, but there really is something more to a ritual setting, even a simple one. And as it goes without saying, this is my personal idea of a guide and everyone is entitled to their own opinion and practice.

Get your supplies ready the day before the ritual. ESPECIALLY if you are going outside/somewhere outside your home. Collect all the things you will need and put them together. This will give you a day to remember all the things you forgot before it's time, instead of in the middle of your ritual

Choose what you are going to wear the day before, too. Some people take aesthetic very seriously but others dont. Either way, give some thought to what you are wearing. Is that crystal necklace good for what you are doing? Are those pants comfortable enough to sit for 30 minutes in? Comfortability is just as important as presentation for ritual, so dont wear that corset that hurts you after 15 minutes. You will need to focus on more important things.

Foot wear is also super underrated. Are you hiking 10 minutes into the forest to find a ritual spot? Wear boots. Are you in your house and want to go barefoot? Make absolutely sure you are not going to step on a ritual tool and make yourself bleed, or curse to some gods about the existence of legos in the middle of your ritual

Make some stuff for a cleansing/power bath. I usually assemble ingredients and things day before, then go to bed, and do a quick ritual bath before the actual ritual. Steep a hair rinse or charm a fancy body wash before hand so you dont have to focus on that spell, too.

Do a tarot reading/your preferred divination, before bed the day before you do a ritual. It can be quick or extensive, it doesnt matter. But it can be good to get some guidance before you are gearing up for a spell or ritual, and have some time to think about it before you are minutes away from it.

Prepare food and water, once again especially if you are going outside. Rituals can take a lot out of you depending on what you are doing, and food and drink are very easy and quick ways to help ground yourself if you are shaky or need help coming back to a relaxed state. If you are struggling, boiling pasta or microwaving stuff is the last thing on your mind, or maybe even your ability. So have some fruit snacks or granola bars or cookies or something-- easy to take and easy to eat-- with you. Trust me, this is more important than a lot of people realize. It's a good after-ritual practice and one you should be ready for

Think about your intent and purpose. Set aside some time day-before to do this, maybe 30 min to 1 hr I would say. Maybe make an entry in your BOS if you are the journaling type. This serves 2 functions: one is to charge your intent before the spell. It will give you more oomph and precision in your spell casting, or more prepared behavior if you are speaking to gods. Think about what you want to ask them, what you want them to know, how much respect you should give them, or what they may ask of you. What are you willing to do for them, and what are you not?

The second function is that it gives you time to back out of something. Not all spells are meant to be cast, and especially not if you are in a high emotion before it. Give yourself a day to prepare, an hour to think over, why am I doing this? SHOULD I be doing this even? There is nothing wrong with changing your mind. Doing things impulsively in magic isn't typically beneficial to the caster most of the time. Think through potential consequences, too. How could it back fire? How could it go right but in the wrong way? Is there a better way to get what you want? Can you add a caveat, or a time limit on the spell? Are you using parts of a closed practice and not really thought about it before now?

If you are doing spell work in the out-of-your-house-space-land, even if it is just like, in your appartment parking lot, the park down the street or even your own backyard, make sure someone somewhere knows about it. I know not everyone is out of the broom closet, but even if you just have to tell your friends you are stargazing or something, make sure SOMEONE knows and has a check in time for you. There are creeps and terrible people everywhere, and not to spook anybody, but doing magic can often attract animals or any assortment of beings who want to watch/investigate you. I have been given a heart attack by a baby antelope at dawn before. I have also been given a heart attack by a forest spirit asking wtf I was doing there. I know it doesnt exactly feel witchy to have your cellphone crammed in your waistband, but trust me, better safe than sorry. Be it humans or otherwise, doing magic in the dark in total secret is just not realistic to your safety. Take someone with you and have them wait in the car or around the corner if you can. Once again, make sure someone, somewhere, has a set time to call or come get you in, incase you get kidnapped or fae-napped. Your wellbeing is a much higher priority than any magic spell.

Also familiarize yourself with nearby wildlife. Even if you are in the city, check out what raccoon eyes look like in flashlight, or maybe if your suburb is prone to stray cats or dogs. Check out a rabies registry as well, so you know what kind of risk you are looking at around such animals. Rabid animals are actually more prone to being unafraid of human contact and will readily let a person touch them. Do NOT interact with wild animals. No, they are not a sign or a gift from your god. Most animals are curious about magic in general, but that doesnt make them not wild. Do not interact. If you are in a less populated space, you should also check out what kind of wild life is native to your area and how dangerous they are. Deer will startle themselves into you like getting hit by a BMW and bears and cougars can be active day or night, as well as Bobcats, snakes, or coyotes. Check out your local wildlife center for advice on how to handle what lives in your area

(Last outdoors advice, I promise) also check out what kind of myths and legends existed on the land you are on, ESPECIALLY if you live in north america. Knowing who's land you are on should be important to your practice anyway, and knowing what kind of creatures may be out there may save you some distress later. Indigenous cultures should be respected, and their tales can tell you what's around your area. And I dont care where the hell you live, if you hear whistling in the darkness/forests, it is one of several things coming to get you and none of them are good. Get gone and DONT whistle back. Or at all. No whistling guys. Bad.

For indoor rituals, make sure you wont be disturbed. Much like meditation, rituals are very dependent on focus and intent. Interruptions can mess with your outcome.

More indoor advice, checkout your lighting and ventilation well before you do your ritual. For instance, my altar is in a walk in closet-- there is no way in hell I am burning 4 candles and an incense in that room. I would have to do it in my living room or bedroom where there are windows, or find a way to eliminate the candles. Is the room dark enough to fit your ritual? Is it light enough that you can read your notes? (also make notes/write up a copy of the spell, it helps so much) Make sure you have enough light to see what you are doing properly.

I am a big advocate of "do not over cleanse your life, stop over cleansing" however, if that is something you do a lot of, make sure all your tools and whatnot are cleansed and prepared day before. You can shave a 2hr ritual down to 30 min if you get all of your prep work done day before, which is nice. And it once again gives you time to say "shit I forgot that one thing I need to cleanse" an hour later and still not interrupt your ritual because it is day before.

If you are an of-legal-age type person and doing some drug/alcohol part of your magic, make double sure you have food, water, and a buddy system. You may not need a designated driver if you aren't going out of your house, but you still need a designated sober person to make sure you dont like, astral travel out of your body and get replaced with a pod person, or get hurt trying to cast a circle with a ritual knife while high. Know your limits well before you use them in ritual and, I cannot emphasize this enough, have a friend to keep you under scrutiny incase something goes wrong and you need help.

If you are having the OTHER kind of must-be-of-age type of ritual, be sure your partner is well informed. Maybe have a dress rehearsal so you are both on the same page about mechanics and consent. Speed run through the general timing and motions, and talk about what each of you expect to get out of the ritual. Is it for bonding? Or are you using the energy to try to charge something? Is it for fertility? Are you both good to have ritualized sex (I know that seems like an obvious question, but you would be surprised by how many partners clam up about sexual things to try to not disappoint their partner). If you are a witch and your partner is not, be sure they know what to expect, and that they 100% want to do it even though it's not necessarily their practice and not just to be a people pleaser. If you havent done anything like this before either, tell them that, too. Honestly is 100% required here

And lastly, keep your cool. It's easy to get over excited or over anxious about this kind of thing, but honestly with a little prep time you have a high change of doing awesome. And even if you dont? That's okay too. Everyone makes mistakes, we all learn from those mistakes, and every single experience you acquire will level you up until you are the best at being you. Do what feels right, trust your gut, do some reading, and keep calm and witchy on.

#witchblr #ritual #ritual work #spell #spell work #witch tips #ritual prep #witch advice #chaos witch #eclectic paganism #wicca #diety work #diety ritual #witchcraft #chaos witchcraft #solitary witch #solitary witchcraft

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nyaagolor · 4 years ago

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may we please get the mirror world headcanons?

heck yes u may

Most of it will be under the cut bc I talk a lot

I like to think the Mirror World is a reflection of the regular world (I call it Prime World for convenience's sake), and by reflection I mean opposite. It's not opposite in a "good v evil" way, just in the sense that a mirror world counterpart is the inverse of their prime world self, for better or for worse. For example, Noddies in Prime World sleep for most of their lives, while Mirror Noddies barely ever sleep and are constantly alert. Instead of a Sleep Ability, they give Panic, aka the Kirby equivalent of slurping down 15 espresso shots in a row. The mirror world counterparts are no better or worse than the prime world, just different!

Headcanons for all the mirror world counterparts of the Star Allies (or at least the ones I've thought abt) are under the cut :3c

Shadow Kirby (Skirby): Where Prime Kirby is reckless, bold, and overconfident, Skirby is reserved, cautious, and kinda pessimistic. They're no weaker or meaner than Prime Kirby, but seem a bit shy and non-confrontational because they always want to scope out the scene before they launch into anything. Some might call it cowardly, but Skirby thinks it's pragmatic. Much like prime Kirby, though, he's the hero of Popstar and is usually the planet's last defense against whatever eldritch horror comes their way. He deserves a break, though, since unlike Prime Kirby he's not surrounded by friends to help him out

Shadow Dedede (SDDD): He started off as a good king, always being diligent, professional, and responsible in contrast to Prime DDD's self-serving, goofy ways. He wanted what was best for the mirror world, but life didn’t make it easy. The mirror dees, rather than the loyal helpers we know from the prime world, were backstabbing jerks who were loyal to no one but themselves. SDDD tried so hard to be a good king, but had no one to help, no one to pull him out of a slump, so he just slipped through the cracks and got worse. Bitterness and anger consumed him until he started looking out for himself and himself only. He became a tyrant, turning into an iron-fisted, merciless ruler whose laws were enforced through violence. DDD got better with the help of his friends, but SDDD got much, MUCH worse as a result of his isolation and loneliness. Also he has a battle axe instead of a hammer bc I think it's cool

Dark Meta Knight (DMK): He's basically the antithesis of a knight: he's willing to work for anyone no matter how rotten they are; he always plans on backstabbing them later, cares about no one but himself, never plays fair, and is a lazy, rude jerk. He likes spicy foods instead of sweets, challenges children to duels WITHOUT offering them a sword first, and is deathly afraid of heights, despite having wings. He was in the process of creating a land-razing tank called the Halberd, but his crew betrayed him and cut up his wings and mask so now he isolates himself out of anger and fear. After being with the Star Allies, he's made some friends and realized the value of teamwork-- also he likes teaching Adeleine swears. With Dark Mind gone and the Mirror World still a bit of a dump, DMK would much rather hang out in the prime world and get on Meta Knight's nerves. He tries his best to protect the two (2) people in the mirror world he does tolerate, though (it's skirby and sddd).

Mirror Bandee: Hates SDDD with a passion. In fact, he's attempted to assassinate the king at least 26 times, but fails both because SDDD is way smarter than him and also Mirror Bandee is a sniveling coward who runs at the first sign of danger. His repeated failures have made him more of a scaredy cat, so no one takes him seriously anymore. He has a knife and ties his bandana around his "mouth" like a scarf, but it doesn't help to make him more intimidating. His repeated attempts to kill the king (and more recently Skirby and DMK, who hang out with SDDD) have become a constant in their lives and weirdly enough they don't mind his company.

Mirror Marx: I always assumed that Prime Marx was a noddy with Mirror instead of sleep. Well Mirror Marx is the opposite-- instead of having Panic like the regular hyperactive Mirror Noddies, he has sleep. He didn't show up for the events of Amazing Mirror bc he was snoozin. Because of this, he never got the Nova's powers, never tricked skirby, and never did anything evil. In fact, unlike Prime Marx, Mirror Marx cares too much about everyone's feelings, is always kind, and doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He's the glue holding the mirror world together bc not even the worst of villains want to hurt him. He's just so darn CUTE

Mirror Animal Friends: Imagine the animal friends. Give them angry expressions and sunglasses. Now make them part of a gang. Yeah that's it. The Animals are no friend of skirby's and would sooner maul the poor kid than ever lend him a paw (or flipper or wing). The forest bows to their whims and they rule it like your typical mafia boss. They're jerks.

Mirror Daroach: See these posts.

Dark Taranza: Hoo BOY he's bad. He's real bad. He rules over Mirror Floralia (Sporalia?) which is underground and filled with nasty creepy crawlies. He hates getting his hands dirty and will do anything it takes to get more power and luxury so long as he doesn't have to put himself in danger. He only cares about one thing, and that's himself. What about Queen Sectonia, you ask? She was the original queen of Mirror Floralia, but Dark Taranza mind-controlled her into his puppet to do his bidding. When the people finally snapped and declared war on the tyrannical queen, it was her they shattered, being none the wiser that Dark Taranza was the one pulling the strings. He still has a box of her shards in his castle, just in case he needs a new puppet to play with. He loves jewels and machines, all things inorganic. The imperfections of flowers? Not his style.

Mirror Magolor: Quick tangent here: Mirror Lor Starcutter, rather than being a ship to BRING people to paradise, is a sort of pocket paradise, a little virtual reality magic... thing. It can also be easily modified to only open from the outside. That's important for later. Anyway, Mirror Magolor is brutally honest, but also rude, unfriendly, impulsive, and incredibly violent. He hates machines and will start punching a lamppost if he accidentally walks into it. Scrappy little dude. He would actually rather claw his ears off than be friends with another living being. He just likes brawling and destroying ancient artifacts and that's it. Well one day he tells the mirror crew he wants to go get this thing called the Master Crown so he can destroy it. SDDD, Skirby, Mirror Bandee and DMK realize hey, that'd be nice for us to have, let's join him and then betray him at the last minute. As soon as they get there, though, the crown ends up choosing Mirror Mags as a host before anyone can do anything. Oops! The others manage to shatter him... but then the crown pulls his shards back together and attacks them again. Realizing he's both totally lost it and also immortal, the others lock Mirror Mags inside the Lor as the crown erodes the last of his humanity. Consumed by blind rage and the crown's power, Mirror Magolor just lashes out at anything that moves, biting and clawing at whatever he can reach like a feral cat. There's like a 80% chance he has rabies.

Sorry to Susie, Gooey, Adeleine, and all the non-Star Allies crew, I haven't thought abt them yet

#THANK U FOR THE ASK #i love sharing headcanons #kirby #dark meta knight #shadow dedede #shadow kirby #dark taranza #mirror world #amazing mirror #mirror marx #mirror magolor #mirror daroach #mirror animal friends #Headcanon #mod vex

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normal-thoughts-official · 3 years ago

Note

Do you think Alec and Magnus use condoms? How do you think warlocks deal with STD?

REALLY interesting question, i must say that i love it. thank you anon. i hope you know that i will take it way too seriously

okay, so the first question is, ARE magnus and alec susceptible to STDs? unexpected p-words are not a problem because warlocks are sterile anyway (and, if you subscribe to both magnus and alec being of the same AGAB, also because it's not possible to get both gametes or whatever), so let's focus on the STD aspect (really important!). i think human STDs would not affect them, or at least not magnus. maybe alec because shadowhunters are notably more susceptible to weaknesses humans have, like disease and mortality and whatnot. but would human STDs affect warlocks?

i tend to go with no, because warlocks are immortal. immortality, especially as it is built in the sh verse (immortals can be killed but their body won't die on its own) kind of implies that they have, like, supercells or superorgans or something, that don't deteriorate - or, alternatively, that can rebuild way faster than they could be deterioriated. im saying that because stuff like aging and eventually dying is essentially the process in which your body can no longer replace dying cells at the same speed at which they die, which leads to your body weakening as a lot of its functions are impaired. therefore, immortality as in not aging and not dying on your own but still being able to be killed if you are, say, stabbed, implies that that process simply doesn't happen. so we have one of the two: either the cells don't die, or the speed at which they are replaced never changes

in my understanding, this implies that diseases don't affect immortals. maybe they can even contract them, but their body is too strong for it to have an effect. like having a disease without symptoms. but i tend to believe that rather than living with 8945134081 deadly viruses and bacteria inside them just sleeping around, the viruses and bacteria simply can't live inside them - both because superbody means super-immunological system and because superbody means that the bacteria and viruses essentially have no place to grow in, as they can't break their cells or whatever it is that that particular strain does

like - and that is true particularly for viruses as far as i remember, not so much bacteria - the way these mfs work is that they attack the cells of a body and use them to reproduce. but if you are talking about a body that has cells that are essentially unbreakable or so highly regenerative any attack on them is dealt with so quickly it doesn't even have an effect, i don't think any virus should be able to break into their cells in the first place. they would die without reproducing and bam, done. if you are going with the second theory (warlock cells do die, they just can keep replacing them as much as they want without a problem) then you probably have a situation where the virus can reproduce, but its reproduction doesn't lead to any problems because the dead cells are replaced as fast as they are killed. in that case, the warlock would be, technically, carrying the disease indefinitely. but i tend to think that considering how strong that body is and the fact that they have an immunological system (as they are half human and have no reason not to inherit that from their human parents) that is ALSO mega strong would mean these viruses would probably be eliminated quickly

bacterial diseases are different since mostly what bacterias do (again as far as i remember) is that they live inside the body, not necessarily inside the cells, but using the body's space to reproduce, and eventually their presence - usually due to the fact that they produce toxic elements that affect the host - leads to nearby cells dying/the space they are in deteriorating, etc. but again warlock's cells are either essentially unbreakable or highly regenerative, so that wouldn't be a problem, and they could overpower invasive bacteria easily before a colony could form. so, no human bacterial diseases would be able to flourish, either

and that's not even considering the fact that as they are half human they probably have an immunological system that is ALSO superstrong and therefore able to fuck up any disease causers. or the role magic might take in protecting the body, like, who's to say the magic itself doesn't kill any invasive bacteria or viruses that come into the body before it can do anything? why not?

so all of that, allied with the fact that many viruses and bacteria are evolved to develop within the systems of a particular species (for example, that particular virus has evolved to grow in a cow's digestive system, and therefore can't survive for long in a monkey's or a human's), is interpreted by me as "warlocks can't contract human diseases", since warlocks are a different species from humans, as are shadowhunters. sure, they're hybrids, which makes this part of the argument a little more complicated but obviously their demon side is stronger than their human side, since they are immortal. and demons definitely aren't getting rabies or whatever because that is just too fucking lame

so okay! no human STDs. we have established that now. bUT, i think it's possible that warlocks are able to contract their OWN diseases - strains that attack warlocks specifically, particularly a warlock's magic, since again they kind of have a superbody but i feel like the magic is a more fragile thing, especially as they aren't fully magical (because they're half human)

don't ask me how these work <3 obviously magic can interact with non-magical beings and elements so maybe there are bacteria are viruses that developed specifically to settle in magical components, but that sounds like a huge evolutive leap since magic is so different from like, cells. or maybe there are also magical beings that work as disease transmitters in a similar but essentially different way. and they probably can also be transmitted via sex because i mean, why not? sounds as good a mean as any

but, could magnus and alec transmit those to each other? i don't think so, because shadowhunters have wildly different magic from the one warlocks do - their magic is angel magic, warlock's is demon magic, AND, furthermore, they work in completely different ways. for starters, shadowhunters magic is so pathetic diluted that some of them don't even consider it magic at all. i mean, that is also because of good ole racism (hardly the first time racism led people to call the exact same thing by different names so they can convince themselves their way of being is superior even when it is the same) but there is a huge difference because warlocks are able to conjure and interact with magic and have it as a part of their beings and experience of the world through it, whereas shadowhunters can "borrow" particular powers for a small period of time at best. it is possible that the magic doesn't even exist within them, they are just capable of handling it inside their bodies for some time, which is why they need runes to use it and it has a limited effect

so i think diseases that affect warlocks could not be passed between magnus and alec, and WOW is it weird to realize that magnus and alec are of different species. like i knew that but when that knowledge comes to practice it's just so weird. anyway

and idk if diseases that affect warlocks would be able to live dormant inside shadowhunters and then be transmitted because, like i said, shadowhunters have completely different magic if they even have it at all, and i don't think the disease beings that live in warlock magic would be able to be inside their body. so, to answer your first question - i don't think magnus and alec would NEED condoms, because i don't think they are capable of passing STDs to each other, and in at the very least magnus' case (debatable for alec, i tend to think that because shadowhunters are essentially human they can catch any disease humans can, altho maybe they have a rune to begone them) i don't think they can even catch human STDs. and magnus has a cum kink so that probably means no condoms

as for how warlocks deal with STDs! like i said i think they are only affected by STDs (and diseases in general) that affect their magic, not their body. so, they probably have treatments for those. we gotta remember that warlocks have a very developed society full of academics, so they probably have worked to find cures for magical diseases, if they exist at all. so, there are probably particular treatments for those. i don't think magical diseases abound or anything, particularly because the amount of magical beings is pretty limited and magic is so different from non-magical elements so non-magical beings such as viruses and bacteria would have to change a lot to be able to evolve into magic-affecting beings. again, if they even exist. but yeah i think they as a (group of) society(ies) have worked on cures for those. which is funny to think about because like, do they blast the magical diseases with begone rays or something? please say yes. id love that

with all of that being said, i hope u know that i was planning on answering asks the next weekend (not this one, the other one) cuz ive been busy as hell lately and it'll be the first time i'll have time lmao, and i was literally just in a bathroom break between readings when i saw this ask and i just couldn't resist answering it. this is it. what broke my studying resolve. magical STDs. you should be proud

mandatory disclaimer that please for the love of god use condoms, you are not immune to STDs. also, this post is about show canon, not book canon, so i don't care if this is in accordance to what the books say. also, i'm no expert in healthcare, this post is just for fun, so don't take anything i used to build my arguments as scientific truth or anything like that

#sh #shadowhunters #magnus bane #alec lightwood #dirty words #hello everyone! i have been gone for quite some time. please accept: this #now back to studying #lore #meta #ask #anonymous #long post #im not sure if this is very comprehensible but i did my best

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tsukidotcom · 5 years ago

Text

Haikyuu HC to COVID-19 (Karasuno edition)

This is horrible 💀 im just so bored so I made whatever this mess is KFJSJDMSK enjoy

Hinata Shouyou

huh? isn’t it just the flu?

“No, hinata. People have died from it-“

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH-

goes bananas

whenever someone sneezes or coughs, his soul leaves his body as he runs away to sanitize/wash his hands for a miserably long time.

eats an expired can of peaches thinking it’s his last resort

lowkey happy school is closed because homework sucks

but also highkey hates it because now all volleyball tournaments are closed

then gets all angry when he realizes he’d have to do online school???!!?? like wtf he got jipped.

thinks they could still do volleyball if they did online calls cus if the school can do it,, then vOLLEYBALL CAN

will probably miss half of the class calls from oversleeping/forgetting anyway.

sheepishly ask yamaguchi, yachi or tsukishima for help on assignments/notes. (he will NEVA ask kageyama. he’s always in competition with him here!)

still practices volleyball 24/7 in his backyard or room (maybe even with his baby sister??)

He’s really good at practicing all by himself from practicing all alone in middle school—

but will probably go crazy being alone all the time with his family. he just wants to play volleyball with the team again.

looks up “what to do when you’re bored” or “what to do at home while in quarantine” on youtube

Kageyama Tobio

probably says he’s immune to the corona because he’s just better than everyone else

doesn’t really think it’s real until school shut down because of it

When he sees that corona is airborne he wont know what that means so he’d probably think it’s produced by air itself?? which makes him think air is trying to kill the human race?? and will be so confused as to why it decided to pop up now???

DESPISES online school. He had enough trouble understanding it from the gecko, so now he has to learn it basically all by hiMSELF?!?

And no way is he just gona email the teacher for help. If he does it’s gonna be only once in his lifetime. Anymore than that he thinks he’s doin too much. He doesn’t want his teachers thinking he’s dumb 😭

he says literally nothing during the calls he just tries to pay attention? and fails because he’s on a computer. in his room. alone. he’s bound to daze off or stare at a pen for 5 minutes.

Obvi still practices volleyball. Very much misses it. At least Hinata had his sibling to practice with him. tobio is a lone wolf in his household.

When his mom goes out to get groceries he gives her one of those doctor masks so she doesn’t catch corona.

Few moments later through the internet he realizes that corona is smaller than air molecules so if you can breathe through something you could still get it so he struggles for an hour thinking he just killed his mother

When his mom is back he keeps his distance in case she’s carrying the plague

omg did she just cough or am i imagining things no she definitely coughed she has corona oh oh god

In reality she was just clearing her throat.

is lowkey worrying about everyone and how they are 🥺 (yes, maybe even hinata).

thinks he’s science smart by calling it covid-19 than corona.

Asahi Azumane

He just worries about everyones health

like he just imagines the worst case scenario’s and starts to get really worried if people got it. Always checks on everyone and asks if they’re feeling any symptoms of corona ❤️

He’s either not gonna get it or he gets it and dies there’s no inbetween

but he’s jesus himself so theres no way he nor anyone in his bloodline can get it

is very happy to know that dogs can’t get it.

Takes online school seriously and tries his best

And is honestly so sad school just ended??? even if it’s temporary, he could be learning, playing volleyball, and going about his day instead of staying in a cage. he’s a third year so—how would graduation even go..?

always is up to date on the news !! and notifies everyone if anything important is added/changed.

Always tells everyone to stay safe! Whether through text or before ending a call.

only buys a lot of toilet paper from the fear of there being no toilet paper in stock since evERYONE IS BUYING IT-

Starts to try new hobbies that he put off for the longest time cus quarentine is rlly getting to him.

Is all out a family guy so he doesn’t mind the extra time with his family.

Nishinoya Yu

OAOAOAOAOAOAOAOAOAOA

420 blazin’

thinks going outside means you’re instantly gonna die from corona attacking your white blood cells (????)

but also probably doesnt care as he goes outside like everyday to run around and get rid of energy (and to practice volleyball, of course).

also why is it called white blood cells when blood is red ☠️ smh

Buys 101611018320129 bags of chips because that’s his comfort food

yay more gaming time!!!

Noya🐒: Tanaka do u wana play minecraft 2getr latr?

Tanaka🍌: HELL YEAH!!

doesn’t shower for three days straight because screw personal hygiene!! No more school!!! Can do whatever he wanted!! It’s basically summer!!!

until he’s forced to do online school.

Is def the class clown. Probably somehow kicks the teacher out of the call through a little bit of hacking.

“alright guys so i’ll be you’re substitute teacher for the day-“

tbh acts the same as he would in school. maybe a little more rebellious because, i mean, what is the teacher gonna do? send him to DETENTION? call his mOMMY?

Calls/spams literally everyone in his contacts because he’s so bored and lonely. Answer him!! Y’all will be on facetime for hours!!

He’s fun to facetime.

Will call you a loser if you don’t have an apple iPhone because then he can’t facetime you and facetiming is one of his favorite things to do to pass time (besides gaming)

HE A TRUE GAMER

Okay but he lowkey still tries at school for the sake of his grades and his future ;-; maybe calls asahi or sugawara for help??

always looks up his homework on the internet to see if he can get an answer key or something (he did that anyway even before corona but)

will do one subject for 3 hours thinking he’s finally done with everythinf till he realizes he has like 4 other subjects and needs to do those too.

Sending memes all the time

Tsukishima Kei

oh, what about corona again?

honestly could give NO fucks??. like ABSOLUTELY ZERO. nonxistent.

doesn’t even remember it’s still happening half the time.

is surprisingly very knowledgeable about corona.

he’s just smart and sciency¿ so he understands the ins and outs of corona like how it works and how its spread.

so if you tRULY want any update or background info on the corona virius, ask Tsukishima.

bitch don’t touch me you have rabies.

doesn’t care that he’s obligated to stay at home because he would have stayed either way. he very much likes being alone.

might go a little crazy cooped up in his room so he’ll hang with his brother/family or go outside before he says ‘okay that’s enough’ and goes back to his room.

isolation? oh okay *puts on headphones*

he rlly gonna be rocking it out in his room cus he can listen to music all day any day

developes a really bad sleep schedule since he had no way to get rid of the energy he got rid of at school.

still a huge tease so he says everyone has the corona virius.

is never online on social media which means he’s never up to date with his frIENDS. Doesn’t have a clue what those dipshits are doing and could care less (besides yamaguchi,, they probably facetime or call thru skype or something).

I bet the whole volleyball squad has a groupchat and honestly he puts all notifs on mute cus his phone keep goin DING DING DING DI DING ID DID IDKNG DING DIG

Brother: Omg why are you getting so many text messages?

Tsukki: Shut up

if he is online on the gc and he texts it would be simple replies like “Hi” “Okay.” “No.” “Goodbye.” and then he’s gone for another week

every first year is begging on their knees for tsukishima to give the answers or help them out and he obviously says: go do the hw yourselves idiots

besides yamaguchi!!!! again!! cus theyre gay for each other

maybe practices once in awhile with his brother or alone in his backyard but he doesn’t care

Tanaka Ryuunosuke

buys 101817 pounds of toilet paper because everyone else is? but not because of the same reason as asahi. he thinks toilet paper is the cure to corona.

GO STUPID AAAAAAAAA GO CRAZY AAAAAAAAAAA-

probably has a part time job at a grocery store so he still has to go to work 😭 i dont even know how he could have a job in the first place he’s probably always late-

still gamin with noya of course

GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM IM PLAYING MINECRAFTT

also buys like all the junk food thats in stock. and since he works at the grocery store he gets a ton of coupons and deals.

texts Kiyoko everyday goodmorning ❤️❤️❤️ and goodnight 😘😘 texts just to be left on read.

“i love it when she ignores me !!!”

scrolls through tiktoks for 1000 hours to pass time

School Is For Losers!!

similar to noya, he thought it was basicaly summer until he realized they were gonna be doing online school. literally had a fit and said he didnt wanna do jack squAt

Laughs so hard when nishinoya somehow kicks the teacher out of the call he’s like laughing so loud and hard he starts crying

all of the sudden has a better view on school

gets excited when he sees nishinoya on the call

makes funny and ugly ass faces when the teacher isn’t looking. everyone laughs and the teacher’s like 🤨

probably uses the green screen effect so he can change hus background (somehow) and accidentally misclicks a file so a girl wit a bikini becomes his background for .5 seconds before changing it to a cursed meme:

doesn’t get half the shit the teacher is talking about

but it’s okay because the half he doesn’t get is the other half noya gets

and the half noya doesnt get is the orher half tanaka gets

they’re two peas in a pod 🥰

until they try explaining it to each other and suddenly get confused?? mental malfunction ¿?

yeah im SMART!!!

s -

m -

a -

r - penis

t -

Daichi Sawamura

quite calm about the whole coronavirus

like he knows it is serious and understands how it is spread but he’s still calm about it??

tells everyone to sanitize and wash hands on a regular. and social distancing!!

honestly still wakes up like he does on normal school days and does all his academics just fine.

he even does gym activities (besides volleyball) for 30 minutes to an hour!!!! he be running on that treadmil! getting stronk!

does each subject on his own for 20-40 min each day. he’s really good at self discipline

makes sure sugawara and asahi are up to date on school work and will gladly help.

sadly can’t help the first years (and probably second years) because that info is deep in his brain and basically forgot how to do it after a year or two of not using it.

VERY VERY VERY sad that volleyball nationals are cut off. this is his last year and for it to be??? gone??? just because of some flu?!?! hates it.

he wishes school to go back and still has hope that school will go back to normal in a couple of weeks (even though it’s a slim chance).

asks the teacher questions whenever he has questions. He’s also vv considerate so he’ll ask questions he knows the answer to but asks them for anyone who’s confused ab it/wants to ask but is too shy. (literally i lov daichi sm)

Eats a healthy amount of everything

asks asahi for any updates on corona even though he’s quite up to date himself. he just wanna make sure he didn’t miss anything.

also doesn’t mind being around his family. he’ll do more chores around the house to help his parents out :> he’s literally perfect wtf

def does worry about everyone in the volleyball gc and anyone else he has contact with. Will also email classmates and ask if they’re doing all right. Even away from volleyball he’s a team player ☺️✌️

Is happy for the rest of the day when asahi tells him dogs can’t get corona.

Yamaguchi Tadashi

oaoaiquqhdkoaiaagadjsiwi?

doesn’t know what to believe anymore

keeps in touch with everyone!! always online 24/7 on social media, vball gc, you name it.

Literally everyone is acting so normal why are people so calm am i the only one worrying about this and the worlds future like this year has been really bad so far for not just me but the whole nation actually the entire world honestly like war almost broke out in january and now this corona stuff is really buttering my crissont the wrong way-

Even though tsukishima literally gives No Fucks, yamaguchi is the complete opposite.

like tsukki and yamaguchi call on skype and eVERY TIME yamaguchi starts with ‘how have you been? do you feel sick at all? have you drank enough water today?’ and so on

“What are you even worrying about?”

“Well...what if you get the corona virius?... it can be deadly, you know!! Thousands of people have died from it!!! The fact school is shutting down and people are panicking is making me feel like i should be panicking-“

Tsukki will then snarkily reassure him it’s fine and people their age are the least likely to get it bad.

Yamaguchi will feel a little better afterwords

“Thank you, Tsukki!”

Tsukki will ‘tch’ it off

Even though he gets really good grades he has triuble finding motivation to do any school work?? doing school work in his own home? 😐

His home was kinda a place he can chill whereas school is a place he can be fully focused

but now his home is ALSO school??!!?

Luckily he understands the work, at least.

When he sees tsukishima on the call, too, he instantly says hello.

“Tsukki!! Hey!! 😁”

“Shut up.”

“Gomen, Tsukki.”

Yeah. Even when they aren’t at school, he’s still the same as always.

He takes extra care of his family and always stays in touch with other relatives. Especially grandpa and grandma. THE SECOND he learned elderly people are at more risk you bet your ass he’s calling them making sure they’re okay. He checks up on them everyday now.

He peobably practices volleyball a little, too. He’s more focused on schoolwork though.

Sugawara Koushi

Have you guys ate dinner yet? 🥺

obviously checking up on everyone

he would fail as a mother if he didn’t.

Actually reads in his free time?? He finally has time on his hands to read these books so.... here we are!

Wakes up at a scheduled time everyday (minus weekends. Maybe sleeps for an extra hour or so).

He dresses in pjs rather than actual clothes because he’s not going anywhere with this social distancing thing.

Always tries to lighten the mood when all the students are on the online call. Maybe crack some joke or innocently play around with the effects.

He still pays close attention in class and does quite well on his own. No help from his parents! He can do everything on his own! He a big boi!

Does homework really well, too. Probably does extra work or more work than needed just because it makes him feel good afterwords.

Honestly i can see him cooking in his free time. If he doesnt feel like reading or scrolling mindlessly through his phone, he gonna cook.

Will make the best cookies in the universe.

HAS A HECK OF A SWEET TOOTH. NOT A DAY GOES BY WITHOUT HIM GETTING HIS PRETTY HANDS ON SUM TREAT

Honestly isn’t too good with exercise so he might gain a few pounds or grow the smallest chub 🥺🥺🥺 he would be so cute omfg.

is realy involved with his family!! they play a board/card game every friday night and have the best time.

if he has a dog, cat, or literally any animal you know he’s gona be hanging with them since he has more time.

Still! Playing! Volleyball! I mean by now every boy is practicing at least a little bit. He would probably be in his backyard playing volleyball with his family. Theyy’d set up a net and everythin! They’re all rookies at it but he still cherishes the moments with them.

It’s honestly still practice. Better than nothing

He talks about how his family plays volleyball and everyone is so jealous like 😭😭 makes him more grateful hearing half the volleyball team saying they have to practice alone.

Watching youtube videos of random videos/vines making him giggling.

“Hey, Dachi, look at this video.”

IS A SWEETHEART STFU !!!

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tlbodine · 5 years ago

Text

Essential Zombie Media

A thing that’s come up over and over again in early reviews for River of Souls is the sentiment that it’s not-like-other-zombie-stories. And that was certainly my intention. But you don’t get to make a good deconstruction without a healthy knowledge and appreciation of the genre you’re twisting around.

So here is a list of what I would consider essential zombie media -- whether you want to write a story that plays it straight with the tropes, or one that twists everything around, or you just want something new to watch/read.

Your own suggestions and ideas are more than welcome in the comments! Please reblog with your own favorite zombie book/movie/TV show/comic, I’d love to discover some I haven’t seen.

The Origins

The generally agreed-upon first zombie movie is White Zombie (1932), starring Bela Lugosi, but I think it’s safe to skip it on account of both obscurity and some troubling racism. The Haitian-Voodoo zombi mythos and tradition is something best kept separate from our modern ideas of the walking dead.

Instead, start your journey with George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968), which starts codifying the tropes that persist well into modern media (including, like most modern stories, never using the word ‘zombie’).

Then compare and contrast with the Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend (1954), which is ostensibly about vampires but I think basically invented the modern zombie genre -- from the post-apocalyptic setting to the spread of undeath by way of disease vectors.

Follow that up with Dawn of the Dead (1978), where George Romero revisits his Living Dead universe with the help of Dario Argento (if you’re interested, there’s a 2004 remake that’s decent, but unnecessary). And then, just to wrap up the trilogy, skip on ahead to Day of the Dead (1985).

For extra credit, play the videogame Dead Rising (2006), which draws liberally from Dawn of the Dead and also allows you to beat zombies to death with literally anything you can find in a shopping mall (I can’t speak for the sequels as I’ve never played them). Dead Rising is far from the only game franchise to use zombies (more on that in a bit), but it pays homage directly to the genre in a way that many others don’t.

The Zombie Renaissance

For a long while, zombies sort of fell out of fashion. Oh, there were some decent takes on the concept, like Re-Animator (1985) and Dead Alive (1992) but by and large zombies in the 1980s and 90s were played for laughs.

But then they made a great big comeback, stronger maybe than they had ever been before. What happened?

Well, for one, they stayed close to the public conscience thanks to video games. Games and zombies are a perfect fit. Their shambling movement and slow, stupid behavior makes them a great choice for imperfect AI programming. They’re people-shaped, which makes them easy to animate, but they can be gross and deformed and scary, which makes them fun for your art team. And since they’re inhuman and dead, you can kill them in any way you’d like without feeling bad about it.

Which is probably why zombies have been part-and-parcel of the gaming world since Entombed (1982) was released on the Atari. Doom (1993) was wildly popular, and just a few years later we’d start the Resident Evil franchise, which became both hugely influential as games and films. And lest we forget, Blizzard was giving us undead in Warcraft by the early 2000s, rising to greater prominence by World of Warcraft in its heydey (especially Wrath of the Lich King).

But I’d argue that the number one single most important ingredient in the horror revival was Danny Boyle’s 2002 film 28 Days Later.

28 Days Later was huge because it breathed fresh life (pun intended) into a genre that had gone stale. The monsters in 28 Days Later aren’t the walking dead at all -- they’re just people infected with a virus similar to rabies that makes them deadly (compare and contrast with The Crazies, both the 1973 original and 2010 remake, which deals with a similar concept.

But thanks to being an excellent film with some wonderfully creepy-gross effects, 28 Days Later reignited fearful imaginations. It also introduced the world to the idea of fast zombies as an alternative to the usual shambling monsters.

A couple years later, zombie content exploded. Aside from the Dawn of the Dead remake in 2004, and some Resident Evil and Doom film interpretations, we got Shaun of the Dead (2004), which is both hilarious and an exceptional zombie film.

There’s also 28 Weeks Later (2007), a sequel to 28 Days (there is much debate as to which is better, I’m in the Days camp) and Planet Terror (2007), a personal favorite and one of the two films in the special Grindhouse double-feature. I’d also like to shout out Pontypool (2009) and, of course, the horror-comedy Zombieland (2009).

ZOMBIE MANIA

Probably nothing has been as influential in drawing zombie discourse into the public as AMC’s hit TV show The Walking Dead (2010), drawing on the graphic novel series of the same name. With a level of gore and violence rarely seen on network TV, a cast of memorable characters and an anyone-can-die narrative, it ignited a zombie fervor greater than anything we’d ever seen.

The Walking Dead overlapped with a cultural apocalypse zeitgeist. Doomsday prepping started to go mainstream, and people started to plan their own personal zombie apocalypse survival plan. Hell, the CDC adopted zombie apocalypse language as a way to talk about real-world applications of survival knowledge. Zombies and survivalism now go hand-in-hand, for better or worse.

No discussion of a zombie apocalypse is complete without Max Brooks’ World War Z (2007), which bears little resemblance to the film that shares its name. We should also make a shout-out for his more comedic companion volume, The Zombie Survival Guide (2003), which laid a foundation for what followed.

For extra credit, play the TellTale Games: The Walking Dead (2012) and compare/contrast with the TV show and graphic novel. Then compare that with Train to Busan (2016), a Korean film that plays some tropes straight while turning others on their heads (it’s also one of my favorite films on this list).

SYMPATHETIC ZOMBIES

While the zombie apocalypse narrative took root and captured the imaginations of many, others started to look at things from a different angle.

What if, they asked, the zombies were the heroes rather than the villains?

John Ajvide Lindqvist, who you might know for the vampire story Let the Right One In, was ahead of his time with this on: Handling the Undead (2004) is a book that’s simultaneously heartbreaking and deeply unsettling in its portrayal of the dead returning to life and what that might mean to those they’d left behind. Compare and contrast that with the TV show Les Revenants (2004), which deals with a similar premise (there was an American remake, but I can’t speak for it as I didn’t watch it - seriously, just watch the subtitles and enjoy the French show).

But not every zombie-protagonist story was so heart-wrenching. Look at Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies (2010), and the film adaptation. There’s also Breathers! A Zombie’s Lament by S.G. Browne that is both hilarious and scathing.

Follow those up with Diana Rowland’s My Life as a White Trash Zombie (2012) and the comic book/TV show iZombie (2015), both of which feature pale-haired, witty female medical examiners with a taste for brains.

And finally, a shout-out to The Santa-Clarita Diet (2016), a hilariously dark and over-the-top gross show featuring Drew Barrymore as a zombie trying to get her life back together.

#how to write horror #zombies #horror movies #horror #film recs #house of lazarus

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strwbrryeos · 6 years ago

Text

The Magic Shop (M)

SUMMARY; Your mother always told you magic came at a price. You should’ve listened. Well, at least you got revenge on that stupid shapeshifter Yoongi.

Genre : smut, angst, magic!au

Pairing : witch!Reader x shapeshifter!Yoongi

Contains : rough sex, grinding, nipple play, unprotected sex, you’re soulmates Jungkook said so, oral, hand job, creampie, enemies to lovers, major character death, lotta angst, sorry not sorry, dirty talk, praise kink, minor dom!Yoongi, finger sucking

Links removed! Please visit my blog for the master list!

Yoongi can feel the wind rushing under him; it’s almost as amazing as how free he feels. He loves this. Loves as the air bends around him, doing his bidding and keeping him afloat.

His favorite thing, however, has to be the fact that for a time, he can forget about you.

Well, that is until he lands to find you scowling at him with a very grumpy face. Terrible.

“Min Yoongi!” you screech, causing passersby to nearly jump out of their skin.

Yoongi huffs, shedding his owl form for that of a handsome, young man. So much for the freedom. “What?” he groans. “I’m here, aren’t I?” He shoves his way past you and into the store, ignoring the way your eyes burn holes into his back. Or at least, he tries to ignore it. But then he’s acutely aware of how his back hurts and oh my god is that smoke?

“Y/N!” he screams in panic, “stop it! Stop it!”

“What? You seem―”

“Y/N!” shouts a new voice, distant and annoyed. “Stop setting your coworker on fire!”

With a dissatisfied sigh and a snap of your fingers, the flame on Yoongi’s back disappears, though the new scorch marks on his shirt aren’t much better. “Really?” he asks, and he has half a mind to turn into a wolf right now and snap your neck. Maybe next time.

“Next time don’t be late,” you say with a simple shrug.

“Are you just mad because I bit you last time?”

“You could’ve given me rabies!”

“For the last time, Y/N, I don’t have rabies!”

“That’s exactly what a person with rabies would say.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“And I hate you.”

“Ditto.”

You and Yoongi work as you always do: in perfect tandem but complete silence. Part of the reason that the wizard you work for hasn’t fired either of you yet is because, despite how absolutely morbidly you get along, you work fine as long as you don’t talk. The wizard likes it that way anyway.

He hired the both of you about two years ago; you, for your wonderful knack for magic and Yoongi for his healing abilities as a shapeshifter. The perfect duo to run an all-needs magic shop.

It’s too bad you hate each other, though.

The wizard, Seokjin, comes down from his lot, shaking his head at the two of you as he watches you work. “Still nothing, huh?” he asks with a laugh. “You’d think you’d get along better after so much time together.”

“Maybe we would if she weren’t such a―”

“I will literally give you fleas,” you cut him off, causing Seokjin to roll his eyes in exasperation.

“You know, part of what makes a good magician is being able to work with other people,” he says as he begins shuffling through the day’s schedule. “It’s important, especially if you’re gonna be a healer.”

“I have good people skills,” Yoongi huffs. “It’s this one who doesn’t.”

“It’s only when I’m around you,” you reply without so much as looking up from your pot. You turn to Seokjin, changing the subject. “I brewed the first potion of the day already,” you say, gesturing to your work. “The customer will be here to pick it up in about twenty minutes. I can get working on the next one if you want.”

Seokjin nods in approval. “Good work. Looks perfect. But I think I’ll do the next. You get started on the three o’clock appointment.”

“Sure thing.”

“And Yoongi,” he says, turning his attention to the man as he fiddles with his burnt shirt, “I’m pretty sure there’s a unicorn coming in later. Take care of that, would you?”

“You got it, Boss.”

Seokjin throws him a thumbs up, fixing his shirt in the process, before giving a few final instructions and vanishing into the air. You return to your work in silence, humming what is, to Yoongi’s ears, incoherent gibberish. It makes his ears ring, though magic spells always seem to have that kind of effect on his much-too-sensitive senses. Your hands wave in a defined yet random way over the cauldron until it turns the perfect shade of glass blue. Despite the annoyed rumbling deep in his chest that comes from being near you, Yoongi can’t help deny that you always look your best when you’re working. Maybe it’s because you’re not talking either.

Where you deal with the potions and the spells and magic items (seriously, why do talking cloaks even exist?), Yoongi specializes in magical nature, whether it be plants or animals or that really weird growth on a person’s skin that they swear is whispering stupid pick-up lines to them when they’re trying to fall asleep. He pokes around the greenhouse, checking in on his new batch of nightshade and making sure to give the silver orchids extra water. He whistles while he works, and a few of the live-in fairies come to pay him a visit from their gardens.

“How are you, Yoongi?” asks one delicately, fluttering in front of his face.

He smiles at the creature, her wings sparkling in the sunlight but so paper-thin that they’re nearly invisible, and says, “Better now that you’re here,” and the little fairy zips away in shyness. Another fairy appears, opting to sit on Yoongi’s shoulder as the shapeshifter makes his way towards the back of the greenhouse.

“How’s your coworker?” he asks.

Yoongi grunts in response, the thing in his chest growling in annoyance. “Always the worst.”

“Eh, I like her.”

“Still don’t understand why.”

“She’s cool! You should get to know her. I think you guys would make good friends.”

The other fair reappears, taking her place on Yoongi’s opposite shoulder. “Doubt it! Yoongi is nice! Y/N is not!”

“Oh, you’re just biased ‘cause he paid you a nice compliment!”

“I can pay you a compliment too, if you’d like, Novus,” Yoongi says with a soft laugh, and the small creature is blushing, angry at having been so easily charmed.

“Whatever,” the fairy scoffs. “Y/N is a good witch. You’re just angry.”

“And you’re not?” cries his female counterpart. “I don’t understand why you defend her. She doesn’t even come in here.”

“That’s cause this big ol’ shifter here won’t let her. How do you think she gets her spell ingredients?”

Yoongi jumps a little in realization. “So you’re the one that’s been taking from my supplies!”

“It’s not taking if it’s from my own home!”

“I guess,” chuckles Yoongi, really not caring but glad to have solved that mystery. “We’re not gonna be friends, though, Novus.”

“I think you two have more in common than you think?”

“Like what?”

“Well―”

“They don’t have anything!”

“Stay out of this, West!” The grouchy fairy continues. “You’re both here to help people, for starters.”

“So we have one career interest. Doesn’t make her more appealing.”

“I know you both like music.”

“Everybody likes music!”

“And you’re magical.”

“Everybody is magical, Novus!” laughs an exasperated Yoongi. “Look, let me just go water the shrooms and then I’ll leave you two alone, okay?”

“No, no, please take West with you. She never shuts up about you.”

“Novus!” West exclaimes, embarrassed and scandalized. “Be quiet.”

Yoongi only shakes his head, ignoring the bickering fairies that stay perched on his shoulders. A few gnomes come to greet him, but they’re quick to leave, annoyed by the chattering of the winged creatures. After Yoongi attends to the shrooms (during which the damned things wouldn’t shut up about how he and you were destined for life, claiming they could see into his soul), he retreats from the greenhouse and back into the real world.

He finds you in the shop, busily attending five different customers, and he already knows he’s going to get hell for this as soon as they’re done. “Hello, how can I help you?” he asks, rushing down the wooden steps. The customer glares at you before returning a friendly grin to Yoongi.

“Finally some service around here! I need to pick up an order. Heat suppressants for a young hybrid.”

“Sure thing,” Yoongi says, moving to the counter. “Name?”

“Lee Daesong.”

“Got it.”

Yoongi turns around, shuffling through the wooden cabinets behind him. He pulls out a small sack where the name “Lee Daesong” is printed in fine, gold ink. Yoongi hands it the man and he returns a smile and a handful of gold pieces.

“Thanks. Have a good day.”

“You too. Come back soon.”

Yoongi watches as you help an old witch with a spell before escorting her out of the shop, and you close the door with an exasperated sigh, whipping around to face your co-worker. He’s expecting you to yell, but instead he’s greeted with cold silence. You seethe instead, sitting down at your workstation and ignoring him entirely.

He rolls his eyes in annoyance. “Not even gonna talk to me now?”

“I have nothing to say.”

“Y/N,” the shifter whines, standing in front of your desk. “For fucks sake, we work together!”

“Unfortunately.”

“C’mon, really?”

You look up, staring him in the eye as your finger flicks the air, turning the pages of the book for you. “You left me to deal with five angry customers all on my own, and Seokjin is probably gonna hear about it and have my head!”

“Look, I’ll vouch, okay? My fault.”

“Yeah,” you scoff, “as if. We all know he loves you.”

“Loves me? You’re his prodigy student!” Yoongi exclaims, and he can feel his blood beginning to heat up.

You stand up, glaring at him. “Whatever. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Yeah. Whatever,” Yoongi retorts before stomping off. You hear the distinct slam of the greenhouse door, and you sit back down in a huff.

It’s not like Yoongi is a bad person. He’s a great person. Hell, he’s perfect. And maybe that’s what pissed you off so much about him.

You liked him when you first met him. You might’ve even harbored a small crush on him. But after years of being groomed as the “prodigy student,” the girl destined for greatness, it irked you to find someone so good at magic―and so easily praised by your idol. Working for the Wizard Seokjin is a dream come true, but he never seems to have time for you. He might give you a passive nod after a potion well-done, but all Yoongi needs to do is smile at him and all of a sudden he’s getting cakes and cookies and a new plant to take care of.

Quite simply, you hated that. So you hated him.

The only good thing that came out of meeting Yoongi was the fact that you push yourself to be the best you can be every single day. You practice your magic into long, dark hours, ignoring the pulse of your head after so many spells. Magic flows from your fingers with incredible ease, and everywhere but the shop, at least, you are praised for it. At least something was worth it.

As the sun finally set to reveal a shimmering night sky, Yoongi flips the shop’s sign to “closed,” and you both begin packing up for the evening. Seokjin returns, his arms stuffed to the brim of all kinds of wacky looking plants and contraptions. Yoongi rushes to help him, ending up with a hoard of stuff that piled high and obscured his vision.

You crack a smile until Yoongi says, “I can feel your happiness. Stop it.”

Seokjin sets down his bags before taking the load off, one by one, and ratting off each thing’s use. “This one,” he says, holding up a clear jar with red fluid sloshing around in it, “is siren’s blood. Straight from the Seventh Sea. Pretty isn’t it? See the way it glitters?”

“Gross,” Yoongi says, his nose scrunching in distaste. “I can smell it through the jar.”

“What’s it for?” you ask.

“Really good for curses,” Seokjin replies as he stashes it away. “It’s pretty potent stuff. Good for enemies.”

“Thanks for the tip.”

“It’s not to be used on innocent shapeshifters!” Yoongi pipes up, not liking the idea of you having access to such a thing.

“You act as if I would hurt you―”

Both Seokjin and Yoongi interrupt you with a sharp look.

“―on purpose! You didn’t let me finish!”

“The ‘innocent shapeshifter’ is right, Y/N. No curses.” Yoongi smiles triumphantly until the wizard says, “And you’re not allowed to use it to make yourself into some terrifying, super animal, okay?”

“Wait, I can do that?”

“Don’t give him ideas!” you shout.

“Enough, enough,” Seokjin says with a dismissive wave of his hands. “Gods, you two really don’t know when to cut it out, do you? No matter. I’ll see you both bright and early in the morning! Now get out. I can’t stand the sound of you two arguing.”

You and Yoongi give him a sheepish grin and utter your goodbyes before exiting the shop. The streets have a wispy, yellow glow to them, courtesy of the streetlights. You see a few pixies flying near the rooftops, dancing to a tune that you can’t hear.

“Gonna stand there the entire night?” asks Yoongi from behind you, ruining the serenity of the moment.

“Not as long as you’re here,” you reply cooly. You step away from him, turning to head home. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Don’t be afraid to call in sick.”

“And make your day? Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Yoongi watches you go, shaking his head in irritation. You hear the sound of him morphing, but when you turn around, his figure is long gone. You shrug, continuing down the quiet street on your own. You pass stores and boutiques, markets and taverns before arriving at a cozy cafe on the street’s corner.

The bell on the door jingles as you push your way in, and a fluffy, two-headed puppy bounds its way up to you. You squat down in excitement, cooing and petting the dog until a shadow appear over you.

“I swear he likes you more than me. One day he’s just gonna leave with you.”

“If that’s the case I can consider my life a successful one. Hi, Taehyung.”

“Dork,” he says with a cheesy grin, pulling you into a hug. “How was work?”

“Terrible.”

“Yoongi?”

“Hate that guy.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes and laughs, walking back towards the counter, his cloak flowing behind him. “He’s a good guy,” he says as he turns on the latte machine. “I don’t know what you have against him.”

You groan. “Can everyone stop telling me he’s such a great guy? I’m over it!”

“Well, he is. Sorry.”

“Taehyungie,” you whine. “You’re supposed to be my best friend. Take my side for once!”

“As your best friend it is my legal obligation to tell you when you should shut the fuck up and make friends with the guy.”

You huff, sitting in a chair with Cosmo comfortably seated in your lap. “That’s it. Cosmo is my new best friend.”

“Fine. Yoongi is mine.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

Taehyung shrugs, bringing back a latte for you and a juice for himself. “I’ve known him forever. He’s a good friend.”

“Better than me?”

“No,” Taehyung snorts, “you both are terrible. Always complaining about each other and never doing anything about it.”

Cosmo hops off of your lap to snuggle up next to his owner. Taehyung alternates between heads, scratching them both behind the ears.

“Oh, he talks about me?”

“Don’t let it inflate your ego. He’s just telling me about what a bad person you are. You two seriously need to think about couple’s therapy. It’s been two years.”

“Taehyung―”

“Look, Y/N, in all seriousness, I love you both. Sure, I’ve known you longer, but I’d be lying if I said Yoongi wasn’t a good friend.” He pauses to sip his drink. “But if you both are going into the same career, which is, keep in mind, healing, then you need to learn to work with people you don’t like.”

“Yeah, but Yoongi is―”

“Is a person that you’re spending a lot of time with, like it or not. Might as well make the most of the situation.”

You slump in your chair, suddenly feeling very childish. You love Taehyung, but you hate how he’s always right. He’s too damn smart. “I knew I should’ve talked to Hoseok today.”

“Really?” Taehyung laughs. “The man’s a sadist! He’d be giving you the worst advice possible.”

“Well, maybe that’s what I need.”

“Oh, fuck off, Y/N. C’mon. Try it my way first. Then, if it really, really sucks, you can go talk to the witchdoctor and see what he has to say.”

“Fine, fine. But only because I love you.”

“Mmhmm, I love you, too. Now go. Namjoon’s coming to pick me up.”

“Oh?” you say as you stand. “How’s that going?”

“Would probably go better if you weren’t here when he showed up!” he exclaims as he about shoves you out the door.

“Okay, okay, okay! Bye, Taehyung.”

“Bye, Y/N. Let me know how it goes tomorrow, okay?”

“Will do. Can I take Cosmo with me?”

“Not a chance.”

“Fucker.”

Against Taehyung’s wishes, you show up at Hoseok’s door anyway, and he greets you with a mischievous smile. “Can I do something for you, Y/N?”

“Yeah,” you laugh. “I need a curse.”

―

You take a deep breath before entering the shop, trying to swallow the last of your pride. Taehyung is right, you know it. You just need to be the bigger person.

You climb the steps, and the door opens with a soft creak. Yoongi is already there, humming quietly as he organizes his plants. There’s a fairy napping on his shoulder, but she flies out of sight as soon as she hears you.

Yoongi looks up, expecting a snide remark, but he’s pleasantly surprised when all you say is, “Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

“Do anything fun last night?” you ask as you rifle through the papers that Seokjin has left at your desk.

“I―uh, yeah. Visited some friends.”

“Cool, me too.” You sit down, your eyebrows scrunched in concentration as you take in the information before you. Most of the papers are written in Ancient Draconian, and you can’t for the life of you remember what the squiggly symbol means.

“Hey, uh,” Yoongi interrupts you, waving a hand in front of your face.

You look up in confusion, not expecting to see him standing so close. “Yeah? What?”

“Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re just… acting really nice, is all.”

Your cheeks flush and you look back down, averting his gaze. “I just figure that we should be nicer to each other is all.”

Yoongi chuckles and shakes his head. Taehyung. He points to the squiggly symbol on the paper. “Mix thoroughly.”

You pause, not quite registering that Min Yoongi just willingly helped you. “Oh. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

He turns around, going back to work. The fairy from before is now hiding in his hair, eyeing you suspiciously. “She’s up to something,” West whispers just loud enough for Yoongi to hear.

“Don’t be so cynical.”

The two of you are doing your own thing in silence until Seokjin pops into the shop with a loud whap. He stops immediately, watching as the two of you work peacefully. “Did someone die?”

“Nope. Just trying something new.”

Seokjin narrows his eyes, glancing feverishly between the two of you. “It’s weird. I don’t like it.”

“You don’t like us getting along?” you ask.

“What can I say? I must’ve gotten used to two years worth of unnecessary yelling.” The two of you say nothing as he begins his ascent up the stairs. Halfway up, he halts before saying, “You’re not fucking, are you?”

“W-What!”

“No!”

Seokjin puts his hands up in defense. “Sorry, sorry. Felt like I had to ask.” And with that, he disappears.

The air is thick with uncomfortable tension until someone walks in, and you both breathe in relief. It’s an attractive young man, dressed in a suit of fine, red silk and a black robe. He fiddles with his watch before turning his attention towards you.

“I’m here to pick up a potion.”

“O-Oh, yes. Sorry. Uh, name?”

“Jeon Jungkook. Can I also pick up a few ingredients while I’m here?”

“Sure. Yoongi can help you with that.”

Yoongi hops beside you, giving the visitor a gracious smile. “What are you looking for today, Sir?”

“Mm, a few things. Fairy wings, golden nightshade, black shrooms, and a couple of unicorn tears.”

“Sure,” Yoongi says with a nod. “The fairy wings and unicorn tears are here, and if you prefer, you can pick out the nightshade and shrooms yourself.”

“I would like that very much, yes.”

“Follow me then.”

Yoongi leads Jungkook to the greenhouse, and the two of them walk in silence until Jungkook says, “So how long have you and Y/N been together?”

Yoongi stops, eyes wide. “I―uh. What? We’re not… How do you know her name?”

“Oh, my bad,” Jungkook says with a small laugh. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell the future from the present.”

“What?”

“I’m a seer. Sorry if that wasn’t clear. I can see people as they are now and who they’re going to become. Trying to work on seeing people in the past, but that’s a bit tricky. Everybody’s hidden themselves away.”

“So,” Yoongi says as he leads them towards the field of nightshade, “you’re telling me that we… me and Y/N… we become a couple?”

“Should I not have said anything?”

“No I just… We hate each other.”

“Hate? Doesn’t seem like it.”

“What are you talking about? There’s not a single day that she and I have ever gotten along.”

Jungkook smiles and sticks his hands in his pockets. Yoongi thinks he looks infuriatingly calm. “She envies you. You admire her. Your ‘hate’ is just a miscommunication. Plus your souls are practically yearning to be together. I thought it was obvious.”

They stop at the nightshade garden, and Jungkook begins picking his way through them, leaving a dumbfounded Yoongi to process this information alone. “So we’re… soulmates?” Yoongi asks quietly as Jungkook picks his plant.

“Yep,” the seer says quite nonchalantly. “But beyond that it’s kind of blurry. Not sure why.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know. It’s blurry. What more do you want me to say?”

“I’m not a mage. I don’t know what ‘blurry’ means.”

“It means I can’t see. I can see images. I see you two together. But beyond that it’s all very hazy. It’s blurry.”

“Sounds like a lot of projection to me,” Yoongi replies as he leads the young seer to the shroom patch. “Did Taehyung put you up to this?”

“Oh, you know Taehyung? I love that guy! His dog is super cute too.”

“He did, didn’t he?”

Jungkook laughs again. “Certainly not. Taehyung takes orders. Doesn’t give ‘em,” he says with a smirk.

Yoongi cringes. He did not need to know that. “Here are the shrooms. The black ones are back there.”

Jungkook nods, careful not to tread on any. “Shrooms can see into your soul too, can’t they? What do they say?”

Yoongi knows the answer, but he doesn’t want to give this guy the smug satisfaction of being right. “I don’t know.”

“Hm, maybe I’m wrong then.” He steps back onto the main path and Yoongi begins to lead them back into the shop. “But I’m probably not. Thanks for the stuff. How much will that be?”

“That’s forty-six gold,” you interject from your place at the counter.

“Perfect. I’ll see you two love-birds around, yeah? Have a good day.”

You watch him exit with wide eyes before turning to Yoongi. “Uh…”

“Don’t ask. Guy’s crazy.”

―

At some point, you’re not really sure when, you realize that you don’t actually have to try to be nice to Yoongi. You can just do it. Maybe he’s not all bad.

He still irritates you, though.

“So I hear you two are getting along now, huh?” Taehyung says from across the table.

Hoseok, who had been slurping at his food noisily, stops and looks up. “Yoongi?”

“Yeah. We are. Doesn’t make him less annoying though.”

“How’s that curse going?”

“No need for your curses, Hoseok,” Taehyung replies with a shake of his head.

Hoseok shrugs. “Too late. Already done.”

Taehyung looks at the both of you in shock. “You did what?” he screams.

“Relax,” he says around a mouthful of food. “It’s nothing bad. Just take away something he loves.”

“Hoseok!”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt anyone. The thing he loves most right now is an old record player.”

“Or,” Taehyung interjects, “you could, I don’t know, not.”

“Ah, you’re no fun.” He turns his attention back to you. “So tell me more about this Yoongi character. Y’all gonna fuck?”

Taehyung’s face turns at his crass statement, and you slap his arm. “We will not! He’s a friend.” The words were out of your mouth before you could think about it, and Taehyung’s face is absolutely glowing.

“He’s a friend! Oh my gods I have to go tell the whole world.”

“Please, don’t. I hate you.”

“It’s okay. You love Yoongi.”

“Wow, can’t believe she’s all grown-up. Boyfriend and everything,” Hoseok laughs.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” you shout defensively.

“Yeah, yeah. So I hear he’s a pretty powerful shapeshifter, right? Super young too.”

“Yeah,” says Taehyung. “He’s got a pretty impressive streak. And you hear the rumors about his family? They say that Min shapeshifters can become magical entities.”

“Aren’t they already magical entities themselves?”

“No, no, like demons. Angels. Unicorns. Mermaids. Dragons.”

“What? No way. And a healer too, huh? Sounds like you two are perfect together, Y/N.”

“We’re not―”

“Oh no,” Taehyung says, “they’re soulmates.”

“Can you both please―”

“I knew it.”

“Stop it!” you bark, causing them both to stop and look at you. “Nothing is happening! He’s a friend, okay? Yes. That’s it. Now, my break is over, so I need to get back to work. I’ll talk to you guys later, okay?”

“Yeah, alright. See you.”

You shake your head, laughing to yourself as you make your way back to the shop. When the door opens, you’re afraid to find yourself suddenly pinned to the floor and face-to-face with a very mean looking wolf. Your body is frozen in panic, and for a second you forget any magic you had ever learned.

But then the wolf turns into a man, and you’re faced with one happy looking Min Yoongi. “That’s for being late,” he says as he climbs off you before extending you a hand.

You take it, and apparently Yoongi is stronger than you think because he pulls you right up, and now you’re face-to-face with his chest instead. Wow.

“Jerk,” you murmur before pulling away, the slightest tint to your cheeks.

“Aw, don’t be mad. You set my shirt on fire when I was late, remember?”

“Oh, right―”

“And then you said I had rabies.”

You cringe, preferring not to remember the more unsavory aspects of your behavior towards him. “Right. I know. I deserved that. I’m sorry.”

Yoongi laughs, his cheeks crinkling to accommodate his big smile. “Wow, I can’t believe I got an apology out of you.”

“That’s the only one you’ll ever get,” you say with a smile.

The day goes by easily; you spent most of it poured over your books. Seokjin left plenty of things for you to decrypt, most of them being lost spells. Where he acquired them you were afraid to ask.

“It’s closing time,” Yoongi says, appearing beside you. You look up, surprised to see that the world is dark beyond the shop’s windows.

“Oh. I didn’t even notice.”

“You’re too wrapped up in… what is this? Elvish?”

You giggle. “Nope. Mermaidian. Can you believe it?”

“I thought their spells were lost in the sinking of Atlantis.”

You thought so too, but apparently not. “Don’t know,” you say with a shrug. “And I’m not about to ask Seokjin. He does enough sketchy activity on his own.”

“You might have a point. C’mon. I’ll clean if you file.”

“Aw, what a gentleman.”

The cabinet complains loudly as you nudge it open, filing away the day’s receipts. Yoongi swipes up any stray dirt and waters his plants one last time. Your mind is preoccupied with the spells, though, and you’re running through the motions in your head. As soon as you’re finished, you’re back at your desk, trying to comprehend its instructions. You don’t notice Yoongi leaning on the broom, watching you intensely. The way you run your fingers through your hair, or the way your hair keeps falling out from behind your ears. The way you get a slight flush to your cheeks when you’ve made a breakthrough, or the adorable way you whisper as you talk yourself through it.

It’s when you smile to yourself and the thing in Yoongi’s chest damn near purrs that he drops the broom he’s leaning on and almost falls because, well, when did he catch feelings for you?

You perk up, alerted by the noise. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he says, his voice shaking slightly. “Scared myself is all. I think I’m tired.”

You nod. “Go home.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I will. What about you?” he asks as he grabs his bag.

“I’ll close up. Goodnight, Yoongi.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

Yoongi departs and you throw yourself back into your work, the solitary atmosphere something of second nature to you. You read the words of the script outloud, the hand motions coming to you naturally, and glittery, golden water fills up your hands. The fairy Novus, who likes to come and watch you sometimes, gives you a cheer, and you file the spell away, moving on to the next.

This one is a bit harder, and you laugh a bit to yourself because, hey, this one is in Elvish. It takes a couple tries (and a lot of frustrated murmuring) before you’re able to get it; thorny vines erupt from shimmering green sigils on the ground, whipping around dangerously like they’re looking for an enemy to strike. You quickly reverse your actions, the sigils vanishing into thin air and taking the vines along with it.

“Old Elvish battle spell,” you say to Novus as you file it away. “Good for enemies.”

“What about this one?” He flies down to your desk, picking a spell written on burn parchment. The writing shimmers, but there’s something deeply unsettling about it. You shrug and pick it up.

“Not sure. Looks Draconian, but it’s not.”

Novus hovers over it for a second before looking up at you in realization. “Oh! It’s an old spell from the Blood Age! It’s like a combination of Draconian and Vampiric.”

“Hmm, sounds utterly terrifying.” You smile. “I’m gonna try it.”

“Do you need help reading it?”

“Yeah, do you mind?”

Novus shakes his head, sitting atop your shoulder as he helps you recite the words. When you’ve learned it fully, Novus steps back and watches the magic happen.

―

Yoongi is halfway through his flight home when he feels it. The thing in his chest growls, twists and turns and he abruptly drops in altitude, suddenly feeling very wrong. It doesn’t take him long to realize that something’s happened to you, and he’s darting back towards the shop within seconds.

There’s an eerie red light emanating from the shop when he gets there, and when he knocks on the door, he gets no answer. “Y/N?” he shouts. “It’s me. Are you okay?”

No answer. The Thing urges him forward, begging him to just kick down the damn door.

So he does.

The door opens to reveal you, eyes closed as you cry out, your feet chained down by restraints that wind up from a terrifying, red portal. Yoongi takes a step towards you before he’s pushed roughly back by a small, purple light.

“Don’t touch it!” Novus shouts. “It’s bad magic! Bad magic!”

“What? What happened? We need to get her out of there!”

“No, no, no,” the fairy cries, zipping around the shop in a panic. “Bad magic, it’s bad magic…”

Yoongi turns to you, and the Thing shouts as he watches you scream in pain, your eyes opening for a split second to land on him before closing again. He doesn’t know what to do. All he knows is that you’re hurting and something is trying to take you from him and oh, gods, why does his chest hurt so bad?

He doubles over in pain, and his head starts to feel fuzzy, like he’s falling asleep. The Thing roars, and he blacks out.

When he wakes up, he’s in his apartment. He does not remember getting there. He also does not know why you’re cradled in his arms, nor does he know why he physically can’t bring himself to let you go. But most importantly, why are the two of you on the hard-fucking-floor?

Yoongi lifts you gently and brings you into his room. He tucks you underneath the covers before tucking you under him, his arms wrapped protectively around you as he pulls you tightly to his chest. He breathes in your scent before drifting off again, his mind hazy.

―

You wake with a start, the previous night’s events rushing back to you at once. You remember Novus. You remember the language. You remember the words. You remember watching as your hands conjured a portal straight from Hell, and you watched as the Devil’s Ropes ensnared your feet, then your legs and hands. You remember a voice, a deep, ugly voice whispering your darkest fears in your ears. You remember blinding pain, coursing through your body as if in your very blood. But most important you remember Yoongi. He was there. He transformed into something terrible, something you never though capable, and he closed the portal himself.

And as everything came back to you, your body shook, and tears fell from your face. You bury your head in the pillow, afraid that when you open your eyes you would see it all again.

But when you do open your eyes again it’s to a soft-smiling Yoongi, gently rubbing the tears off your cheeks. “Don’t worry,” he says, “You’re safe with me.”

You hesitate, all of a sudden unsure of how to act, before rolling into him, body pressed right against his as you cry. He holds you close, stroking you lightly and whispering reassurances until your body stops trembling.

“Thank you,” you mumble into his chest. “Thank you for saving me.”

He leans down and kisses your head, an act that doesn’t go unnoticed by either of you. “What would I do without my favorite coworker?”

You sit up abruptly. “Work! Seokjin’s gonna kill me! I’m―”

“Come here,” he says, grabbing you by the hand and putting you back on the bed. “You’re taking a day off. I’ll tell him what happened.”

“But Yoongi―”

“Good luck trying to argue with me,” he laughs. “I’ll send Taehyung over to check on you, okay?”

You nod, sinking back down into the bed. “Okay.”

―

“I can’t believe it! He’s your prince charming!”

“Shut up, Tae. So he saved me from a demonic portal. Big deal.”

“Gods, you’re dense.”

“What are you talking about?” you groan.

“Okay, tell me, how did Yoongi know to come back for you?”

“Uh, I don’t know, lucky guess?”

“You know, as smart as you are, you can be pretty stupid.”

“Hey!”

“Shapeshifters have what can only be described as a thing in their chest, right? The source of all their powers?”

“Yeah, yeah. This is common knowledge, Tae.”

“Well the Thing is alert to danger when something they care strongly for is in trouble.”

“Okay…?”

“Holy fuck, you’re slow! He cares about you! And a hell of a lot too if his Thing thinks you’re that important.”

“What, so, it thinks I’m like his mate?”

“I mean, weird way to put it, but yeah. Pretty much.”

You lean back, your soup long forgotten. “Woah.”

“Now the question is, how do you feel about him?”

“I actually… I don’t know. I guess I’ve never thought about it.”

“Well, get thinking about it. ‘Cause the truth is out there for him at least. I know you like to hide yourself from people, Y/N,” Taehyung says, standing to clean up. “But do yourself a favor, okay? Don’t hide from him.”

Taehyung leaves you confused and irritated in Yoongi’s apartment, and there’s not much for you to do except pace back and forth impatiently.

“How do I feel about Yoongi?” you said aloud. “Hell if I know!” You flick your fingers in agitation, sparks flying from them every so often. Okay, yes, he’s good looking. Really good looking, but who’s paying attention? He’s got a heart of gold; you’ve seen it firsthand.

But that doesn’t mean you like him, right?

Sure, he can be equal parts infuriating and equal parts endearing. And, sure, the way that little kids and magical creatures alike flock to him is the cutest thing you’ve ever seen, and yes, he has the cutest smile, and wow you wish you weren’t so stupid because you’ve obviously liked him for a while now. Maybe you even loved him. At this point, who knew? Certainly not you.

You flop down on his couch in defeat. You really should’ve seen that coming from a mile away. At least Taehyung did.

The door rattles and keys jingle from the other side of it, and you realize that the sun had set long ago. You sit up, looking a bit frazzled as Yoongi walks in, and he looks just as startled, not really expecting you to pop up like that.

“What’s up?” he asks with a laugh, placing his keys on the counter.

“Not much. Thanks for sending Taehyung over by the way. How was work? Was Seokjin mad? Is he going to fire me?”

“Relax,” he says as he comes to sit next to you. “He felt really bad, actually. He never meant to put that spell in your stack.”

“Oh.”

Yoongi looks at you with a sweet, sincere smile, and suddenly it’s like you’re seeing him for the first time. His pretty, pale skin. The way his hair falls over his head. His deep, thoughtful eyes.

“Something wrong?” he asks, pulling you out of your trance.

“Um. No. Actually. Okay, wow, I just…”

Don’t hide from him.

“I wanna tell you something.”

“Why doesn’t that sound good?”

“No, no, it’s good!” You pause. “I hope.”

“You’re making me nervous.”

“Okay, okay.” You take a deep breath. Taehyung’s words replaying in your mind.

Don’t hide from him.

“I… think I like you.”

Yoongi stares at you for a moment, and you think he’s about to reject you, and you swear you’re going to murder Kim Taehyung until he says, “That’s a relief.” He inches closer to you, and suddenly you’re very aware of your proximity. “Because I think I like you, too.”

Overwhelmed with the incredible urge to kiss the man in front of you, you only hesitate for a second before your lips are on his, and suddenly everything feels right in the world.

You can’t explain it; maybe it’s magic. Something is dancing through you, lifting you up and making your heart race. It’s something to do with Yoongi, you know, but beyond that you can’t tell. All you really care about is the fact that his lips are so soft and you wish you had done this sooner.

Yoongi’s hand slides to your waist and pulls you onto his lap, desperate to have you as close as possible. The thing in his chest is fucking ecstatic, having waited too long. Yoongi bites down gently on your bottom lip, and your mouth opens to let out a small gasp, a sound he quickly swallows back down. His hands are digging roughly into your sides, itching to go farther but afraid to make the first move. You’re wrapped around his neck, stroking the sensitive skin there.

You depart from his lips, evoking a quiet, needy sound from him as you move across his cheek and down his jaw before reaching his neck. You nip the skin, and Yoongi can’t help but grind up into you. It occurs to you that Min Yoongi is hard underneath you, and you’re doing no better, and you grind down into him, eliciting the sweetest of sounds from him.

“Y/N… we can… we can stop.”

“I don’t want to.”

“A-Are you sure.”

You pause to look up at him and nod eagerly. “I’m sure.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to hold back,” he says, and the look in your eyes tells you that he’s telling the truth.

You lean in close and whisper, “I don’t want you to.”

He growls, wrapping you around his waist as he stands and carries you into the bedroom. He hardly hesitates, stripping his clothes off before ripping off your own. His eyes drink you in, loving the sight of you flushed and spread out before him, and he’s barely begun. He takes your mouth back in his before leaving kisses across your body, making sure to take pleasured time at your nipples.

He pinches one, rolling it between his fingers as he licks and laps at the other, not ever really wanting to stop because the sounds you make are oh, so pretty. But if it’s sounds he wants then it’s sounds he gets as a stray finger finds its place at your folds, flicking at your clit.

You arch your back, yelling out Yoongi’s name, and he hums in satisfaction. “That’s it, pretty girl. Say my name.”

“Y-Yoongi,” you moan as he descends, wanting to taste you for himself.

“You’re so wet for me already. I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Please, Yoongi,” you whimper, already so pathetically fucked out for him.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll take care of you.”

Yoongi sticks his tongue out quickly, just to see your reaction, but it’s hard to tease you when you’re pushing so hard on his head. You yank on his hair, and he gives you a slap on the leg that says, “Behave.”

You squirm under him as he finally puts his mouth on you, tongue working wonders. He easily slips two fingers inside you and you cry out, the sensation nothing but bliss. He licks at you roughly and fucks you on his fingers, loving the way you twist and turn beneath him.

“You taste so good, baby,” he says before returning back to your dripping center.

“Fuck, fuck, Yoongi,” you murmur as he nibbles at your clit. “Don’t stop.”

“You’re not in charge here, baby,” he says before standing up and giving your pussy a slap. You yelp, gripping tightly to the bedsheets. Yoongi’s face is coated in your juices, and he’s never looked happier. “Come here,” he commands.

You obey, though at first you have trouble, your legs shaking from denied pleasure. “Why don’t you get me ready for you?” You take a hold of his cock, already leaking precum and just begging to be sucked, but as you lean in towards him, he grabs a hold of your hair and says, “Nah, uh, baby. I’m gonna give everything I have to that sweet pussy of yours.”

You nod, not able to find a voice for yourself. You pump him gently, and he closes his eyes and relishes the feeling. You pick up your pace and his mouth drops open, face scrunched in concentration as he tries not to cum in your hand right then and there.

Eventually he’s had enough, and he says, “Lay back, babe.”

Your back hits the mattress without a second though, eager to finally have him inside of you. Yoongi laughs, stopping to kiss you gently. He massages your thighs a couple of times before looking deep into your eyes. He doesn’t have to say anything to ask, “Is this okay?”

You give him a small nod, telling him to go ahead. He chases your lips one last time before lining himself up at your entrance.

“Please, Yoongi,” you plead.

He doesn’t respond, but looks at you through lidded eyes, his body awash with lust. “I’ll try to hold back.” He pushes his way in, and the both of you have your heads thrown back in groans of pleasure.

“D-Don’t,” you pant, struggling to find your voice. “Don’t hold back.”

“Baby…”

You grab his arm in urgency, the only thing on your mind the desperate urge to be fucked. “Please!”

Yoongi nods, withdrawing from you carefully before slamming back into you. The force has him slipping out of you, so he respositions himself and holds you close before entering you again. His grip is tight, and you can do nothing but sit there and take it.

Yoongi fucks into you with abandon, pouring everything from the last two years into his thrusts. Hate. Anger. Jealousy. Friendship. Happiness. Adoration.

He’s losing his goddamn mind inside you, and you’re no better.

Something’s alight inside of you, a fine sheen of sweat coating your body, but it’s nothing compared to the feelings raging inside you. You want this to last forever. “Yoongi,” you say, your mind dizzy with lust, “look at me.”

Yoongi does, a hand on your waist coming to trap your wrists above your head, and he stares right into your soul as he fucks the life out of you. You lean up to kiss him, though it’s more or less just tongue on tongue. The room is nothing but the sound of sex, and you can feel your orgasm approaching.

It starts in your toes, climbing its way up your body until you’re shivering. It starts to coil, centering in your stomach.”Y-Yoongi… Fuck… I’m gonna―fuck―I’m gonna cum.”

“I know, babe. Me too. Just wait. Just wait.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck. Touch me, please.”

Yoongi’s hand darts to your clit, feverishly working the sensitive bud. Your nails dig into his back, the sensation becoming too much.

“Cum with me, babe,” he says, and that’s all it takes for the two of you to come undone together.

You open your mouth in a scream, and Yoongi sticks two fingers in. You bob your head on them as if you were sucking his cock, muffling the sounds of your orgasm.

Finally the two of you come down, heaving as you collapse back onto the bed. You can feel the cum dripping out of you, but you really don’t give a damn. Everything just feels too good.

“Y/N?” Yoongi says through heavy breathing.

“Hm?” you answer sleepily.

“I think I lied earlier. When I said I liked you.”

“What?”

“I think I’m falling in love with you.”

―

And you fall in love right back, and Seokjin is so sick of seeing the two of you cuddle at work that he is actually contemplating firing you both.

“I think I liked it better when you guys always argued,” Seokjin grumbles as he rifles through paperwork. Yoongi only grins, stealing a kiss from you on his way to the greenhouse. “Yuck. Definitely liked it better when you guys always argued.”

“Bite me,” you laugh, sticking your tongue out in defiance.

“That’s my job!” Yoongi calls from the other side of the shop, and Seokjin groans in disgust. You scratch at your hand as you continue to work; the annoying itch set in about two weeks ago and still hasn’t gone away. Seokjin takes notice, and grabs it to inspect.

“Still there, huh?”

“Yeah. Not sure what it is.”

“Get bit?”

“I don’t see a bite mark.”

“I can put a salve on it.”

“Yeah, please.”

Yoongi’s traipsing through the water lily garden when he hears Seokjin shout, “Yah! Get some blue shrooms for your girlfriend! I’m doing a thing!”

“Sounds sketch!” he shouts back but does as he’s told. The shroom patch is extra chatty today, much to his chagrin, and they’re all eager to get a word in. He does a pretty good job at ignoring them until a cursed shroom speaks up. They only have one; it’s good for enemies, as Seokjin says, and it’s an ugly, little thing. It’s green and brown and speaks with venom in its voice.

Yoongi is expecting some vicious jibe or harsh remark, but instead the shroom just says, simply, “What do you love most?”

Yoongi hesitates. “What?”

“You heard me.” The shroom repeats itself. “What, in your life, do you love most?”

It sounds like a harmless question, so Yoongi answers, “Y/N, of course.”

“Of course,” the shroom says, and its mouth morphs into a horrible grin as a shrill scream pierces the air. Yoongi looks up in a panic, knowing full well that that’s you.

“What did you do?” Yoongi shrieks, the thing in his chest bubbling in fear and anger.

“Nothing that wasn’t already done.”

Yoongi rips the shroom out of the ground and throws it onto the floor before running as fast as he can. His human legs, he decides, aren’t fast enough and he’s at your side in the form of a big, black wolf. He morphs back into a human and holds you in his arms, searching to Seokjin for answers.

“What the fuck happened?” he asks, panic rising in his chest.

Seokjin looks just as alarmed. “I don’t know! She was just standing here! And then something happened, I don’t know, and now there’s a mark on her hand!”

“A mark? What mark?” He turns to look down at you and finds you sobbing, clutching desperately at your left hand. His heart aches to see you that way, and the Thing isn’t too happy about it either. “Baby,” he says, “let me see your hand.”

“I c-can’t,” you sob. “H-Hurts, Yoongi, it hurts!”

“Let me see. We can make it go away.”

With coaxing from both Yoongi and Seokjin, you’re able to release your hand long enough to show them the source of your pain. A large ‘X’ is embedded in your skin, written in an odd mix of gold glitter and your own blood.

Seokjin frowns, a look that does not put Yoongi at ease, and says, “Let’s put her to sleep for a bit. Then we can try and discern what’s wrong.”

Yoongi doesn’t have nearly half a second to protest when Seokjin is already casting the spell, and you fall limp in Yoongi’s arms. At least you’re not crying anymore. Yoongi carries you upstairs at Seokjin’s behest and lays you on his bed.

“What the hell is that?” he asks the wizard who’s pacing nervously around the room. He doesn’t get an answer when two figures zap into the room.

“Got your message,” Taehyung says, rushing to your side. “What happened?”

“Maybe you can tell me,” Seokjin replies, anger lacing his voice.

“What? Are you trying to imply I had something to do with it?”

“No. But your friend here might.”

Hoseok looks up in shock. “Okay, I am a lot of things but never, never would I hurt Y/N.”

“Look at her hand,” Seokjin says simply, and the color drains from Hoseok’s face.

“What? But I…”

Then he notices Yoongi standing there, and everything clicks into place. He storms at him, grabbing the shapeshifter and thrusting him against the wall.

“What the fuck?” Yoongi growls, ready to tear him limb from limb.

“What did you do?” Hoseok hisses, and Yoongi can only stare at him dumbfounded.

“What did I do? What did you do?”

“What did you do right before this happened? Right before the mark appeared?” Hoseok pressed.

“I… I don’t know! I was having a conversation with a dumb shroom, is all!”

“You idiot! Shrooms can see into the future!”

“So?”

“Gods, you activated the curse!”

“What curse?”

“Ah, the curse, the curse…” Hoseok mumbles, letting Yoongi down.

Taehyung approaches his friend, and he looks quite calm, so Yoongi isn’t expecting him to slap him so hard across the face.

“Motherfucker,” he fumes. “I told you. I told you. Look what you’ve done!”

“She came to me!”

“And all you had to do was say no! It’s easy! One word! N-O!”

“Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on here?” Yoongi bellows over the chaos, his voice reverberating enough to shake the room. Yoongi notices that Seokjin is crying, Taehyung’s eyes are glassy, and Hoseok looks like he’s about to collapse; he’s not so sure he wants to know anymore.

“You tell him,” Taehyung whispers. “You tell him.”

“I… I’m sorry… The curse… You can’t go back…”

“W-What?”

“It’s the Devil’s Trade,” Seokjin says, his voice rough. Yoongi has never heard him sound so wrecked. “Take away the thing your enemy loves most.” Yoongi sucks in a breath. “And you shall have the ultimate revenge.”

“At the time of the curse, you loved a record player the most. She was supposed to ask you about. She was supposed to ask you the question. But then she wanted to be nice to you and started being friends, and I guess she forgot.”

“So you’re…” Yoongi stumbles backwards. He can’t breathe. “She’s gonna… I’m…”

“I’m sorry,” Hoseok mumbles again. “She’s gonna die.”

Yoongi doesn’t even realize he’s crying until he can’t see anymore. All he can see is your broken figure, barely heaving a breathe in Seokjin’s bed. Yoongi does what he does best: he runs. He runs right out of the shop and right into the sky.

Yoongi can feel the wind rushing under him; it tugs on his wings like the hand that tugs at his heart. He hates this. Hates that all of a sudden he has no control, his life seemingly flailing like a flag in the wind.

The worst thing, however, has to be the fact that all he can remember is you.

The thing in his chest tells him to go be with you, to be by your side, but he can’t bear to see you like that. He wants to see you laugh and smile and dance with him. He wants to see you waking up next to him. He wants to see you when he comes home.

But he knows it’s not an option. He needs to be strong for you.

He lands again, and stares at the building where he knows you’re sleeping. He takes a deep breath and steps inside the magic shop, exchanging his fears for a positive attitude.

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your-peruvian-friend · 5 years ago

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Explaining Foreigners to Lao People (Part 2)

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Explaining Foreigners to Lao People (Part 2)

Ready to learn more about why foreigners (or falang as they’re known in Laos) act the weird way they do? Here are 5 more reasons (plus a BONUS!) falang just don’t get Lao-style.

Missed the first 5? You can catch up with Explaining Foreigners to Lao People Part 1.

Coffee Cup On Table

6. Falang like to be alone Falang are solitary creatures. They often live all alone, without anyone else. And they like it that way. Pretty much the opposite of Lao-style, right?

Falang are trained to be independent of a young age. You see, when they get old enough – usually 18 – they set off from their home to live on their own.

This isn’t a punishment, it’s a rite of passage. As a child-falang becomes an adult-falang, they feel the need to “make it on their own”.

It’s important to understand that falang who live alone, go for coffee alone, go to a restaurant alone, or travel alone aren’t lonely or starved for company.

In fact, they probably enjoy doing things by themselves.

So be a good friend, and don’t call every hour or make plans every day with a falang. And try not to be visibly appalled when a falang tells you he or she likes being alone.

Also, don’t text falang and ask “are you alone?” That’s just plain creepy.

7. Falang don’t get why you’re not angry When they first arrive in Laos, falang talk about things they find stupid, wrong, or just plain annoying.

They’ll wonder why you have to wait 45 minutes for a meal at a restaurant with only 2 patrons, why paperwork needs to be signed by 5 people when only 1 person would suffice, and why people break traffic rules all over the place but nobody honks their horn.

You see, things like these make falang very angry. Wasting their time makes them angry, unnecessary rules make them angry, and people breaking rules without consequence makes them angry.

It doesn’t take much to rile up a testy falang.

Contrast that to the Lao attitude: bo pen yang. No biggie. Chill out. Relax. This too shall pass.

Falang are amazed that Lao people aren’t up in arms writing nasty letters and making heated phone calls whenever a motorbike takes to the sidewalk to avoid an illegally parked delivery van. “Rise up!” they say. “Make things change!” “Force things to get better!”

They just don’t get it.

In Laos you don’t lose your shit if things don’t go the way you want them to.

Falang were raised to believe that speaking out makes things better for everyone.

In Laos, it just makes things more difficult (and it’s downright embarrassing).

When your falang friends lose their cool, remind them that their life isn’t ruined, their future isn’t in shambles, and that the world is indeed still turning.

Give them time, and they’ll start to appreciate bo pen yang. 8. Falang really like animals You will notice that falang are particularly sensitive to the many street dogs roaming Vientiane. They may want to pat the dogs, feed the dogs, or even “adopt” them. Falang will notice cats too (although there aren’t as many cats, due to the amount of street dogs).

Before you explain to your falang friend that nobody gives a rat’s ass about street dogs, you need to know that falang love animals.

Falang want all cute and fuzzy animals to be treated with respect, properly fed, and dodged around when they’re (stupidly) napping in the middle of the road.

To falang, it’s inconceivable that dirty, stupid dogs aren’t welcomed into neighbouring homes with pillows to lie on and food from the family’s table. “Ill-mannered dogs can be trained!” they will insist. “Mean dogs are just mean because they aren’t loved enough!”

Falang will figure out that street dogs aren’t friends when they get bitten and have to go for a painful series of rabies shots. If not, you may have to explain to them that sure, there are people who keep dogs as pets. But they don’t keep dogs for friendship – they’re for protecting the property. They’re not “nice” doggies. They’re supposed to be mean. 9. Falang don’t know every English song at karaoke Warning: when you put on your favourite English karaoke song and pass the mic to the closest falang it’s probably not going to go over well.

The falang will stare at you, at the mic, at the screen, and outright refuse to sing.

Shocking!

That’s because not all falang know your favourite English song. Seriously. The most popular English songs in Laos just didn’t manage to make a big splash in English-speaking countries.

Maybe it’s disappointing, but when it comes to English karaoke songs, you should always let the falang choose.

It might also surprise you that falang will come with you to karaoke, but insist that they don’t want to sing. That’s right, they don’t want to sing. Not all falang think singing is a great time.

This is because karaoke in foreign countries isn’t as popular as Laos. Karaoke is kind of like bowling in Laos. Lots of people try it but few do it regularly. Fewer still would claim to be any good at it. You dig?

For karaoke to be successful with a falang, make your falang friend feel like they’re in a friendly environment, a judgement-free zone. Also ply him or her with plenty of Beer Lao. This will lower inhibitions and help raise the bravery of your falang friend.

Be patient – falang who adamantly refuse at the beginning of the night might be ready to belt out some tunes after an hour or two.

Lead by example – it helps if you can sing an English song or two with the falang to raise the comfort level.

Once your falang friend gets used to karaoke, they’ll become a regular.

10. Falang talk about sex…a lot Get a few dozen Beer Lao into a falang, and they’ll probably bring up their favourite subject – sex. Falang talk about sex a LOT. And once you’ve shared enough beers, you qualify as a close friend. And that means talking about sex.

Why do falang seem obsessed by sex? Well, think about the environment falang live in.

In foreign countries (particularly North America) everything people see, hear, and do is all about getting sex, having sex, or having better sex (if you’re already having sex).

It’s permeating and all-encompassing. Music, advertising, TV, and movies make sex seem like it’s the only worthwhile pursuit in the world. Drinking alcohol is sexy, and eating food is sexy. The punchline of a falang joke usually has something to do with sex.

You see where this is going? It’s embedded in the falang psyche. It’s not their fault.

Falang figure that if they want to talk about, so do you. Unfortunately for them, they don’t realize that nobody really cares about the last one night stand they had, or how long it’s been since they’ve been laid.

You’ll find that both guy and girl falang talk about sex, but especially guy falang.

Unbeknownst to them, you really just couldn’t care less.

If falang want to talk about sex, simply humour them. Then change the subject to something more interesting the first chance you get.

Then again, this is a chance for you to find out more about the inner thoughts of falang when it comes to their favourite subject.

Sculpture

BONUS!

11. Falang are COMPLETELY silent during a movie Going to the movies is a popular pastime for falang in Laos, especially since English movies come out sooner in Asia than in North America. Falang love to see movies before their friends and brag how they saw it first.

When falang go to the movies and the lights dim, you’ll see them change. They become absolutely silent, and glue their eyes to the screen.

For the entire movie.

They have absolutely no desire to answer their phone, text their friends, or catch up on Netflix. They don’t talk to anyone. They don’t look around. They are 100% focused on the movie.

You see, falang go to a movie for one reason only – to watch the movie.

And they quickly lose their shit when you don’t do the same.

Angry falang will shush you and tell you to be quiet. They’ll grumble and complain and give you the stink eye.

They don’t understand that in Laos a movie is like a backdrop for a good time. It’s like live music at a restaurant – you don’t have to listen or pay attention, it can go on in the background while you enjoy your meal.

But for falang the movie is the ONLY reason to go to a movie.

If you’re at a movie with falang don’t bother trying to start a conversation while the movie’s playing. You might as well try to talk to a brick wall. Just wait until the movie’s over – then they won’t be able to stop complaining about how rude everyone else was, talking and texting and watching videos on their phones.

I could go on pretty much forever about things falang don’t get about Laos. But for now, I’ll leave it here. I hope that now you understand why falang often get into an embarrassing situation in Laos, and how you can help them get out of it.

Yes, that’s right. It’s up to you, now.

On behalf of falang everywhere in Laos, we are grateful for your help and we’re trying our best. Be patient with us. Bo pen yang.

#Foreigners #Lao People #part 2 #Travel

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razieltwelve · 6 years ago

Note

Did you ever watch Bleach before it went to crap (after the Arrancar Arc)?

Do you know the story of Old Yeller? Basically, it’s about a beloved family dog in the Old West who goes through a series of adventures before tragically being infected by rabies after defending his family from a rabid wolf. With no treatment available and with Old Yeller beginning to succumb to the disease, the older son of the family is forced to shoot the beloved dog.

Bleach is Old Yeller, and I’m the one who has to shoot it.

I loved Bleach. I really did. But then it got infected by the manga equivalent of rabies. Sadly, it wasn’t put out of its misery. Instead, it lingered on for a long, long time before finally, mercifully, coming to an end.

Anyone who thinks the ending of Naruto was rushed and botched needs to look at Bleach. The power creep in Naruto is nothing compared to the final arc of Bleach.

Seriously, one of the fights involving Yhwach is basically the ultimate version of two toddlers screaming at each other and rewriting the rules of a game as they go along.

It’s like:

“Hah! You think you’re powerful… well, my power is the power to take away powers!”

“That’s nothing. My power is the power to resist your power to take away powers.”

“Wtf…?”

Only there is some sword waving and explosions in the middle.

But it gets better… you know the fight I’m talking about...

“You’re not so tough… I’ll just lure you into my trap and -”

“Fool! Traps don’t work on me. My power is the power to see all possible timelines and to choose which one I want to have happen!”

“No, you’re the fool! I’m going to bring my friend whose power is the power to completely control what people perceive so that the timeline you think you’re perceiving isn’t the real timeline so instead of picking the timeline where you don’t fall into my trap you actually do pick the timeline where my trap works!”

“Hah! As if… are you forgetting that another part of my power is the power to be immune to powers but make it seem like I’m not so that your friend who can control what people perceive thinks that he’s controlling what I’m perceiving but I’ve actually just chosen the timeline where he thinks he’s controlling me but he actually isn’t and now you die!”

“…”

And let’s not even get started on the people who just… I don’t know… got forgotten about after the ending? I mean… I know you’ve only got so much space in the final chapter, but I kind of want to know what happened to some of those characters, you know, since they’re pretty important characters… yeah. Are they even alive? Are they dead? Who knows?

P. S. In case it isn’t obvious, the reason I’m so harsh on Bleach is because I really loved the earlier part of it (basically everything until Butterfly Aizen gets defeated by Ichigo is awesome…). I wouldn’t be so annoyed if I didn’t care so much.

P. P. S. I will say this, I feel that of the ‘Big 3′ (Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach), I liked Bleach’s art the most. Some of those action panels are just absolutely incredible.

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concussed-to-pieces · 7 years ago

Text

Activate

Fandom: WWE

Pairing: Demon Kane/Female Reader

Rating: Holy shit M.

AN: Oh good, it's time for no apologies again! We return to the City That Shows No Mercy, with a bit of a deviation from the norm when it comes to the title. More of a spin-off than anything else, really. Contains literal Big Red Machine!Kane. This is some Terminator nonsense. Tagging @toxiicpop, @oraclegazes and naturally, @hardcorewwetrash! Enjoy!

The Saloon

The Empire

ACTIVATE <3

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This installment contains graphic depictions of violence! Stay safe!]

You wiped the sweat off your brow and sighed heavily for the third time that night. The pile of trash bags didn’t seem to be getting any smaller and you were tired.

You finally saw your coworker lurch out the door into the alley and you smiled in relief, beckoning him over. “Hey, can you help m…me…” Your words died in your throat as the person stood to his full height and you realized no, that was not your coworker. “Oh. Uh, sorry to b-bother you.” You squeaked. The man, his face hidden by a deep hood, seemed to be looking at you.

You took a step back when he took a step forward, uncertain as to what his intentions were. Screaming for help didn’t usually garner any kind of response in this city, everyone was too scared of a Family trap to do anything. Maybe you could outrun him-

A large, gloved hand closed down on one of the trash bags and without a word, the massive man moved it to the dumpster. “Oh! You don’t have to help me, it’s okay. I thought you were the young man I work with, I-I’m sure you have more important things to do than give me a hand.” You were a little envious of the ease he had moving the bag, they were all so heavy to you! Why did Mr. Nakamura have to use contractor bags for everything?

The man looked towards you again, but that deep hood and the poor lighting in the alley hid his facial features well. You got the feeling that was intentional. Maybe he was from the Underground?

“A-Are you hungry? I can…I can get you some food. You really don’t have to help me.” You protested as he carried on moving the bags silently. “Okay just stay here, I’m--I’ll be right back.” You scrambled back into the store without waiting for a response, sure you weren’t going to get one anyway.

You had an extra sandwich sitting in the fridge, a little fancier than the average sandwich even though the lettuce was wilted. Grabbing a paper plate on your way by the counter, you hurried back outside.

The alley behind Strong Style appeared deserted at first, all the trash bags neatly deposited into the dumpster. “Hey, where did you go?” You asked loudly. “I brought you something!” A large form rose from the almost-pitch black beside the dumpster and you quickly held out the paper plate. “Here, you must have worked up an appetite moving all that stuff.” You offered, confused when he remained still. “C’mon, I have to finish closing up shop. And you have to eat this, otherwise it’ll go to waste!”

The man (you were assuming, anyhow) crept forward, seeming hesitant to come closer to the guttering light source over the door. He finally got within reach and eased the plate out of your hands, offering you a solemn nod. He was awfully bundled up for it being early June.

“Hey I…I’m sure you already know this, but there’s a guy named Mick who runs a soup kitchen. In case you can’t get a job for a little while and you need a good meal.” You kept your voice soft, unsure of how skittish he might be.

A single, greasy-looking lock of dark hair slipped out of the hood when he bent his head to eat the sandwich directly off the plate. You reached out instinctively to tuck it back behind his ear and only just caught yourself in time before he was glancing up at you again. At least, that’s what you thought he was doing. You were a little distracted by the hunk of paper plate in his mouth, hanging from between his teeth as he chewed and stared at you from the dark recesses of that hood. Suddenly, a blue-white light flickered from the area where his right eye should be, a weak flash of LED in the black. He flinched, taking a step back and shaking his head.

There was a high-pitched noise that made your ears ring and you shuddered, the reflex motion closing your eyes momentarily. When you opened them again, the man was gone. You heard a manhole cover clatter loudly in the relative quiet of the night. You wondered if you’d just witnessed one of the Family’s tricks.

But no, those usually ended in kidnappings. Or worse. So just a...strange occurrence.

…

It wasn’t hard to get used to strange occurrences in a city like this. Or rather, that’s what you told yourself after the fourth time you’d stumbled across the huge man in the alley. At this point you were basically expecting him. He held out his arms and you obliged him with the trash bag. He had a limp, you noticed abruptly. Did he always have a limp?

“Did you get hurt?” You asked, not really expecting an answer and not too surprised when you didn’t get one. “Right, I should have known. Bear traps.” His head snapped up at your joke and he tilted it to the side after a minute, appearing confused. “Ah, never mind big guy.” You waved it off, clearing your throat awkwardly. “Have you been going to Mick’s? Getting some of that spaghetti into you?”

He nodded slowly and you smiled, sitting down on the steps and patting the wood beside you.

“C’mere and sit for a minute? You seem like you could use a breather.” He shook his head wildly, that flickering blue-white light back again in the darkness of his hood. “What? I’m not gonna’ bite, man.” You huffed in annoyance. The LED was so bright it left afterimages in your vision whenever you looked away, and you almost thought you caught a glimpse of a face illuminated by the cool white glow.

He shook his head again, clutching his coat a little tighter to himself.

“Okay man, alright.” You relented. “Thanks for your help anyway, I guess. Even if you wanna’ act like I have rabies.”

“Sorry, thank…you.”

You almost toppled off the steps, barely grabbing the railing in time. “You can talk?!” He nodded again, one large, gloved hand easing you back onto the stairs. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He shrugged. “Don’t you shrug at me!” You glared up at him, “I have so many questions, no shrugging!”

“Can’t answer them.” He said curtly.

“You don’t even know what I was gonna’ ask!”

“I can guess.” The LED looked like an iris and pupil up close, rapidly contracting and expanding in the dim light.

“What’s your name?” You asked quickly.

He seemed startled, tilting his head to the side again. “Name.”

“Yeah, considering I’ve been calling you ‘man’ and ‘dude’ this whole time, I’d like to know your name.” You stressed the word.

“Can answer that.” He spoke with a strange, deliberate cadence, as though he had to think about which words to use. “Usually people ask something different.”

“Like what?”

“Where I come from.” A second of hesitation. “What...I am.”

“Well now I know what’s off-limits!” You replied cheerily, smile dimming a fraction as you processed what he had said. What I am. “So c’mon. What’s your name?”

“K-Kane.” He muttered, the LED blinking a few times. It seriously looked like an eye.

“What did you mean by ‘what I am’, Kane?”

He gestured at the hood. “I don’t look right. People ask questions.”

“Ah, so like. Hunchback of Notre Dame style.”

“Quasimodo.” He sounded exhausted. “I’m not as good-looking.”

“How long has it been since you’ve eaten, Kane?” You asked cautiously. He was leaning pretty heavily on the railing. He just shook his head in reply and you sighed. “Look, don’t go anywhere okay? I’ll be right back.”

You returned a few minutes later with a cup of cola and two extra sandwiches, whistling quietly to attract Kane’s attention. You wondered if the reason why he was so quick to hide was because of how he looked under that hood.

“Kane?” You called softly, “I brought food!”

There was a scuffling noise from the shadows by the dumpster, and a body crash-landed inches away from the stairs. It was a man all dressed in black and purple. An Acolyte. You yelped, almost dropping the plate and cup.

“Kane!” You said it louder now, unsure if he was alright. Another Acolyte slammed into the bricks on the opposite side of the alley, crumpling to the ground. “Kane!” You hopped from foot to foot, too scared to leave the tiny circle of light by the door. “Are you okay?” You asked fearfully as his familiar form emerged from the darkness.

He nodded, limping badly now. “Alright.” He pointed at the door. “You should go inside.” He said calmly.

“What? No way! You were just-”

“You should go inside.” He repeated, then, “Please.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me man!” You snapped in irritation. “You’re hurt! You’re limping! You were already limping before! You’re obviously hungry! Let me! Give you! These sandwiches!” You shoved the plate into his hands, all but growling as you crossed your arms and glared at him. “Don’t be such a martyr. Eat the damn food.” You scolded.

“You don’t understand.“ Kane began to say, the LED flaring bright for a split second after he put the plate and cup down on the steps. An arm wrapped around his neck from behind and you jumped back, screaming for your boss while Kane struggled with the Acolyte.

“Mr. Nakamura!” Shinsuke Nakamura, ever the drama king, kicked the door open instead of just using the handle. He proceeded to strike a fantastic pose on the stairs beside you while he accessed in the situation. “Mr. Nakamura, please! You have to help-”

“The big one.” Shinsuke interrupted you, raising an eyebrow. “Correct?”

“Yeah, how did you…?”

“Surveillance cameras.” Shinsuke gracefully slipped off the steps, circling the two struggling men. He lashed out with a vicious kick and you heard the dull crunch of bone as the Acolyte’s leg gave in. The man screamed, releasing Kane and flopping to the ground. Nakamura’s boot ended up pressed to his jaw, pinning him to the pavement. “Who sent you and why? I’ll break your skull.” Shinsuke said nonchalantly. Everything about your boss was either offhanded or hyper-dramatic, with no areas in-between.

“Fuck you.” The man spat up at him and Shinsuke sighed, seeming inconvenienced. He ground the heel of his boot against the man’s cheek, a savage grin crossing his face when the Acolyte squealed in pain.

“Let him go. I know who--” Kane paused to cough violently, still doubled over on the asphalt. “Here for me.”

“Yeah-o, but why.” Nakamura gave the whimpering Acolyte a hard look. “Not much fun when ‘Taker’s toys go missing and you have to track them down, is it?”

“Enough.” Kane implored the wiry man, tugging on his arm. “Let him go. He’ll just tell ‘Taker where I am anyway. You kill him and it’ll loose hell on you.”

“Run along to ‘Taker, rat.” Shinsuke growled, flourishing his leg and then retreating to the steps where you stood. “Did they hurt you?”

“N-No, I’m-”

“Good.” Nakamura rumpled your hair, his expression fond. “Get inside. Both of you.” He said pointedly, obviously noticing Kane try to slink off. “You can eat your sandwiches in there.”

Kane limped along behind you, seeming sullen even after he took up a spot on the counter and clumsily crammed one sandwich into the void of his hood.

Nakamura returned to the now-crowded back room with his personal toolbox, setting in on the counter beside Kane and opening it up. “You can head home, if you want.” He said dismissively to you. As though the man in front of him hadn’t been attacked minutes ago in the back alley.

You shook your head, your heart pounding. “What?! No way! Those guys could still be out there!”

“Nakamura, she can’t fight like we can.” Kane pointed out. Shinsuke paid him no mind, pulling up the right leg of Kane’s ragged pants to expose bare skin and…metal? You took a step back, making a noise of confusion before you realized how rude it would be to do so. The LED in Kane’s hood dimmed and he looked down at the plate in his lap. “Sorry.” He mumbled.

“No! No no, don’t apologize. I’m the one that should apologize, jeez. I didn’t mean to…to react like that. I’ve seen prosthetics before obviously. I’m still just jumpy.” You tried to explain, feeling awful for flinching the way you had.

Kane snorted. “Prosthetics. Yeah.” He grunted as Nakamura took a flathead screwdriver to the metal, the larger man slowly eating the other sandwich.

“Is your face…?” You trailed off, unsure of how to pose the question. Kane nodded curtly, saving you the trouble. “So that’s why you have the hood? And the gloves?”

Kane tugged the glove off of his right hand, displaying scarred skin with red metal shining through at his knuckles when he clenched his fist. “Everywhere.”

“He’s like a pet project.” Nakamura mused, seeming a little too pleased with himself as he tinkered with Kane’s leg. “Entertaining.”

Kane’s shoulders drooped visibly.

“Kane, where do you live?” You asked, sharper than you intended. A plan was starting to take shape in your brain.

“…Nowhere.” Kane continued to stare at his lap.

“Don’t waste your time. I keep saying he needs to come work for me, told him he could live back here like you did.” Shinsuke said, sounding wounded. “He refuses!”

“Mr. Nakamura, no offense, but you just said he was like a pet project. That’s not exactly something that would encourage me to stick around.” You grimaced.

“And she’s hit the nail on the head.” Kane grumbled, propping his chin up with his hand as Nakamura carried on straightening a piston. “You’re great for a fix, Shinsuke. But your bedside manner is shit.”

“You’ll see someday.” Shinsuke huffed, going for his best offended tone while he smeared a fresh layer of grease on the newly-repaired piston. “Gaskets are too loose. Need to order ones that fit.”

“The old ones have worked this long. I don’t have the money to justify that. They’ll hold a little longer.”

“If you keep running into-”

“There’s no helping that.” Kane interrupted the other man, sounding weary. “I want to leave.”

“No one like you leaves this city.” Nakamura murmured, almost like he was talking to himself.

“I’m going to leave.” Kane said stubbornly.

“If you were solar, I’d say go ahead. But you’re not. What happens if you run out somewhere? What happens if you break?” Nakamura shook his head. “Too dangerous.”

“I rust. I break. I slow down. That’s how it is.” Kane shifted uneasily on the counter. “I just…just once, I want to go past the city limits.” He shrugged. “Clawing my way out of the sewers took years. I don’t expect it to happen overnight. All I can do is weather the storm.”

“Come stay with me!” You burst out before you could stop yourself. Both men jumped, seeming to have forgotten that you were standing there.

“What?” Kane asked in confusion. Nakamura just appeared intrigued.

“C-Come…stay with me? My complex is on the outskirts. You…you can see past the city limits from my windows.” You swallowed hard but pressed on doggedly, “You’ll be safer once you’re inside, anyway. We all look out for each other. If something happens, you’ll have backup.”

“You don’t know what you’re getting into. There’s a reason I don’t live anywhere.” The larger man said. You would have been convinced, aside from the way his fists clenched on his thighs.

“Look. You need someplace to be where those black and purple jerks don’t have free rein. And I’m on the outskirts, so close you can see the trees.” You sang.

Kane’s head jerked up, the LED flickering and then almost blinding you. “You…trees?”

“Yeah. Trees.” You said smugly.

“You’re that close to-”

“Yep.”

“I’ll at least walk you home. So you’re safe.” Kane said finally. “They’ve been watching me. They’ll know you were feeding me. Going to Mick’s for food tends to cause trouble later.”

Your brow furrowed. Trouble?

“It’s a soup kitchen, you’d think that would be neutral ground.” Nakamura said, his tone peeved while he screwed the plating back into place.

“Oh, it is. But sooner or later you have to leave.” Kane eased down off the counter, gingerly testing his weight on his leg. “Alright. Let’s get moving before the night really sets in.”

…

Kane didn’t walk with you so much as tail you. You appreciated the thought, but having him lurk like Michael Myers wasn’t doing your nerves any favors.

You eventually turned around in the middle of the sidewalk and started towards him, vaguely amused by the way he back-peddled. “No, stop, knock it off.” You scolded, finally catching his sleeve. “Look, I get what you’re trying to do, but I promise we’re safe. Look at how well-lit the street is!”

“I’m sorry. I don’t want you getting hurt is all.”

“Shush. If they’re going to come after me I’d rather you were close by, instead of back a block whistling fucking Dixie.” You reasoned, boldly putting your arm through the crook of his elbow and tugging him up to walk beside you. “Look, it’s like we’re camouflaged now. We look totally normal.”

“I look like a homeless person and you look like a mechanic.”

“Which is pretty normal for this city.”

Kane constantly kept scanning your surroundings, head and shoulders twitching at every sound. “I don’t normally walk this close to the streetlights. Too dangerous.” He admitted after a minute had gone by. “I can't see well in bright light.”

“Hey, we’re almost there. It’s going to be fine.” You promised quietly. A battered sedan drove by, the driver shouting something and launching a can out the window. Kane just about jumped out of his skin at that and you latched down on his arm to keep him from bolting. “Easy, it’s okay. Just one of the local drunks.” You soothed, feeling him trembling even through his layers of clothing. “I’m right here. And that’s my building right there. I’ll make you some tea if you come inside.” You bargained, barely having to wait a second before Kane was nodding violently. “Okay. Do you need a second or are you alright to keep walking?”

“I…I’m okay.” He mumbled. “Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize!” You protested, punching in your code for the outside door. “Pull it shut behind you when you come in, sometimes it sticks.” You added, chuckling a little when Kane hastily yanked the door shut and then tested his weight against it to make sure it was fully closed. “It’s kind of a hike to my apartment, but I think it’s worth it.”

Kane silently followed you up the flights of stairs, going totally still behind you when you came across the kids of your neighbors sitting in the stairwell.

“Hey guys! Where’s Mom and Dad?” You asked curiously, noting with a sinking feeling that they both still had their backpacks from school on.

The older child shrugged. “Mom’s working, late shift. Dunno’ where Dad is.” The younger one stayed put on the stairs, uninterested in the whole situation.

“Okay…” You drew the word out. “One second.” You said to Kane, who pressed himself against the wall so you could go back down to the previous landing. “’Ey yo, Akam!” You shouted, hammering on their door. “Rezar! You guys home?”

“Woman, you trying to wake the building?” Akam sounded grumpy even through the door. You heard deadbolts slide and the door opened, revealing a tattooed young man built like a tank on the opposite side. “Yes, neighbor?” He asked sarcastically.

You hooked your thumb over your shoulder. “Duty calls.”

“Oh no, how long have you guys been out there?” Akam asked worriedly, his irritation seemingly forgotten as he beckoned the two kids down the stairs. “Mama working late again?”

“We didn’t want to bug you, Daddy says we shouldn’t.” The younger child said, rubbing his eyes.

“Hey, I already told you li’l bro, you’re more than welcome in our home. All you gotta’ do is knock. You guys hungry? Rezar is making dinner.” Akam gave you a worried look after he ushered the two children inside. “Dad’s at Hustle again?”

“He’s not here, at any rate.” You said softly. “If you can’t take them overnight, bring them either to me or Zayn and Owens. I have a friend staying over but I don’t mind if I need to have a few more guests.” You smiled up at Akam when you heard Rezar greet the kids. “Thank you.”

“It’s cool. Rezar has a late shift, but I’ll be up when their mama gets home. I wish their dad would just give ‘em a key though.” Akam grunted, raising an eyebrow. “Friend, huh?”

“Yep.” You replied cheerily, refusing to be ruffled by his inquisitive tone. “Have a good night, Akam. You too, Rezar!”

“I’m gonna’ kick their dad’s butt!” Rezar hollered in farewell, making you laugh and shake your head.

“Sorry about that.” You apologized to Kane, who just nodded and shifted his weight so you could squeeze past him again in the narrow stairwell. “They’re good kids. They don’t deserve a dad who doesn’t look after them.” You grumbled, unhooking your keys from your belt and unlocking your door. “Welcome to my humble abode.” You made a grand, sweeping gesture with your hand that took in the entirety of your meager apartment. “Are you still hungry? You kinda’ bolted those sandwiches earlier. Can I take your coat?”

“No.” Kane muttered, clutching the beaten fabric a little closer to his body. “Too cold without it.” He must have noticed your incredulous look, because he sighed heavily and then said, “It’s warmer in the Underground. Much, much warmer.”

“Gotcha’.” You replied slowly.

“I can’t…regulate my temperature well.”

“Oh, okay. Do you want some tea first? Or is a hot shower better?” You offered.

“God, I haven’t had a shower in…in a while.” Kane murmured, sounding wistful. “Rinse my face and hair at Mick’s, usually. Only so much of me that I can wash in an industrial sink.”

“Okay yeah, so a shower. And then some tea. And then bed. I’ll make up the sofa for you, alright?”

“I can’t stay here.” Kane protested.

“I think you can, man. Pretty sure. All you have to do is say yes. Look, I’ve got some bigger clothes, and my sweatshirts are all pretty baggy. I must have something that’ll fit you.” You were halfway across the room when you finished speaking, making a beeline for your closet. “I have like, bins of clothing, I will find something for you to wear. Hang tight.”

“I don’t understand you.” You could hear the suspicion in his voice. “Why help me?”

“Because you need it?” You replied, sticking your head back out of the closet to give him a serious look.

“You’re alone in your apartment with a stranger. You invited a strange man into your apartment. You live alone.” Kane pointed out, stating the obvious. The unspoken question was loud and clear, though.

Are you insane or too naïve to know better?

“I have two guys who I'm pretty sure are a literal SWAT team living downstairs. Somehow, I get the feeling they might throw down for me if things go south.” You said lightly, shaking the wrinkles out of an oversized hooded sweatshirt. “Here, this should fit. I’ll keep looking for pants.”

Kane simply stood there while you searched, holding the sweatshirt tightly. “No one has ever done this for me.” He finally murmured. “There’s been people like Nakamura that want to unbolt me, rummage around in my insides. Not…not offering me a place to stay because they can, but because they want something from me.” He shook his head. “Think I’ve talked more to you than I’ve talked to anyone else in my life.”

“Good! That means it’s working.” You stuck your head back out of the closet, wiggling your eyebrows at him. “Soon I’ll have you picking up the trash from the whole building!”

“Not funny.” He said flatly while you snickered to yourself. “I helped because you needed help, and I was usually there anyway going through that dumpster for parts.”

“I know, I’m only kidding. I really do appreciate the help, honestly. You’re super strong!” You praised, smiling when he cleared his throat and looked away. “Okay, here’s some pajama pants. They should fit? Socks, I have to…” You started digging through your dresser, trying to find a pair of your winter socks. “Ah, here we are. Alright, go go! Kill the bar of soap, I have plenty, and the towels are in the skinny cupboard.” You pointed towards your tiny bathroom. “Tell me when you’re getting out, I’ll put the hot water on then for tea.”

“This is too much.” Kane protested, and you wondered for a second whether you were going to have to wrestle him into the shower. “I…I mean, all I did was move a couple of things.” His grip tightened on the bundle of clothes in his arms. “You gave me food already, I shouldn’t even-”

“Oh my God, be noble some other time, okay? Right now, you need to shower.” You interrupted what promised to be a long-winded speech, patting his leg. “You smell like grease and burnt rubber, go.”

You puttered around in the kitchen while he got washed up, putting your clean dishes away and spooning out a generous dollop of peanut butter to enjoy in solitude.

“I’ll start the water for your tea, okay?” You called after the shower turned off.

…

“Alright.”

He almost didn’t answer, too busy staring at himself in the mirror. His freshly-washed hair hung limp around his face, poorly concealing the area where his right eye should be. The LED still made clicking noises whenever he moved it, but he’d gotten used to that. Gotten used to the way it would blur for a minute as he shifted his attention.

Anything was better than how it had been before. The blunt stab of pain when his eye had been violently removed, Vader standing over him triumphantly while he writhed on the ground in agony. Sharp throbbing in the empty socket whenever he moved his left eye. No, it was better this way. He had been broken, burned. It was better with less feeling.

He sighed, running a hand over his hair and pulling it back. The metal of his body shone through the battered skin of his face in numerous places, gleaming a sickly brick red under the harsh light.

This is a bad idea.

There had been a bandanna in the sweatshirt. He clumsily tied it over his eye and then pulled the hood up. It wasn’t nearly as deep as his other hood, making him grimace at how visible his face was. Especially in the bright light of the bathroom.

The sweatshirt was a little too small as well, sleeves riding up on his forearms and exposing more of his scarred hide. She had already seen his hand, though, so he guessed maybe that was okay. Kane took a few deep breaths. Breathing was one of the few things that made him still feel like a human. Whether he actually was one or not was something for late-night pondering.

With a bravery he didn't own, Kane opened the bathroom door and stepped gingerly back into the main area of the apartment.

She was pouring steaming water into a mug on the kitchen counter, making a noise to acknowledge him when he settled carefully into a chair at a kitchen table that rivaled his body for the coveted title of 'most battered object in the room'. She turned around and he was confused at her lack of flinch, her non-hesitation when he reached out with a hand that still didn't work quite right. Her fingers brushed his as she passed him the mug, and he would have sworn in some crazy part of him that she waited a little longer than she needed to before releasing the ceramic.

“Feel better?” She asked, smiling at him.

Something in his chest hitched violently. Kane had to take a minute, gulping some of the tea in a gamble for composure. “I do, thank you.” He said, trying for calm, collected. Fake it 'til you make it.

“If you want, you can wash your clothes in the tub and we can hang them to dry in the bathroom? Or if you're willing to risk my wardrobe for a little longer I usually do laundry on Tuesdays.”

Kane shook his head. “I'm sure some of my things would go to pieces in a regular washing machine.” He admitted. “If I can steal your tub for a while, I'd appreciate it.”

“Do you need gloves? I have some long ones for washing dishes.” She nodded down at his hand and Kane clenched his fist on reflex. “Don't know how damp you can get.”

“I'm watertight. For the most part.” He winced. There was a patch of rust that kept creeping back up his leg, but he wasn't exactly keen on getting sandblasted again. The parts of him that were still human tissue had a bit of a grievance with particulate irritations. “Thank you.”

She ended up falling asleep at the kitchen table while he washed his clothes, her own mug of tea half-finished at her elbow.

Kane stood over her for what felt like ages, his hands tucked into the pockets of his loaned pajama pants. I could snap your neck. He shook his head, irritated with the Underground still winding through his skull.

Kill or be killed. Take or suffer longer.

“It never stops, Kane.” The Deadman had nodded up at the ceiling of the tunnel. Despite addressing him, he all but ignored his monstrous creation screaming in pain on the table. “They do the same thing up top. More subtle, which I think is worse. There's honesty in ugliness. But you would know, wouldn't you?”

Kane flinched at the memory of the electricity coursing through his body, stepping back from her sleeping form. He barely trusted himself without his brother's voice in his head.

…

You didn’t expect him to still be there when you woke up but he was, his massive form curled up in the bathtub. The bathroom was still humid and steamy due to the poor ventilation in your complex, which you would suppose explained his location if he really couldn’t regulate his temperature properly.

You let him sleep, leaving a note on the table with your spare key in case he needed to go somewhere.

When you got to work, Nakamura was all over you like a bad suit. “Well?!” He exploded the second you walked in the door. “What happened? Tell me everything.”

“It’s impolite to gossip.” You sniped back at him, “And don’t forget that you have to present your sketches to Mr. Helmsley by noon!” Shinsuke was part designer, part business owner, all absentminded artist. After he’d cost Strong Style a few negotiations due to forgetting about them, you took it upon yourself to remind him.

Your coworker, Jason Jordan, was the son of an Olympian and suffered from a complex of legendary proportions. He spent most of his shifts stocking the shelves and pointedly ignoring customers, as well as the growing pile of cardboard and miscellaneous trash that he would create in the process of stocking. It was his ritual to leave early and let you clean up the mess. You wondered sometimes why Shinsuke kept him on, but Jason was strong enough to lift the things that needed to be lifted. He just had the attitude of a sulky teen.

“What are you all wound up about, boss?” Jason sighed from his spot sorting small boxes behind the counter.

“This one, coaxing my metal man into her apartment!” Nakamura huffed, “And holding all the details hostage!”

You couldn’t help a laugh at his indignation. “Yours? I didn’t see your name on him, boss.”

“That’s irrelevant.” Shinsuke sputtered.

…

At the end of the day Kane surprised you by showing up to walk you home, wearing his old clothes. “No kids in the stairwell this time, right?” You asked worriedly, sighing in relief when he shook his head. “Okay, good. What did you do today?”

“Slept. Not used to being up during the day.” He mumbled. “Woke up around sundown, saw the trees.” His voice sounded raw with longing. “So green.”

You turned his words over in your mind, his tone tugging at your heartstrings. “You want some supper?” You threaded your arm through the crook of his elbow again. “I know a few places.”

“Can’t go inside restaurants.”

“Takeout it is! How do you feel about noodles?”

“Why are you doing this?” He asked instead. “I’m so confused. Normally people are easy for me to read.”

“I know what it’s like to be in your shoes, man! Sometimes you just need the right person to take a gamble on you.” You thought fondly of Shinsuke curtaining off a corner of the back room as a temporary living space for you when you’d come to answer his job listing. “I’m helping because I want to. I promise there’s no evil, underhanded motives when it comes to me.”

“That’s strange.” Kane said bluntly, making you roll your eyes.

“You’re strange.”

“Yes.” Kane agreed instantly.

You lightly shoved his shoulder. “Stop that, I’m only kidding. I doubt you’re any stranger than the rest of us.”

“I beg to differ.”

Later that evening you marveled at how small he made the couch in your apartment look, his hulking frame dwarfing the furniture while he stubbornly tried to eat his noodles with chopsticks.

“Hey, I can get you a fork if you want?” You offered after you'd watched him struggle for a few minutes. You didn't want to offend him by giving him one right off the bat, but at this rate he might starve.

“No. You can do it. I know I can.” Kane grunted, making a noise of disappointment when the noodles slipped free again.

“Yeah, and I also have years of takeout experience.” You reached out, touching his hand hesitantly and then, emboldened by the fact that he let you do that much, you moved his fingers to grip the chopsticks a little differently. It felt like there was a sticking motion to adjust his digits, as though he had nothing to pad his joints. “Try it now.”

“Alright.” It took a few more attempts, but he finally managed to snag a cluster of noodles and hurriedly shove them into his mouth.

“Yeah!” You cheered, catching the barest glimpse of a smile as he chewed. “Here, have some of mine.” You deftly picked up a tangle of your own noodles and aimed them at the void of his hood. He tugged the hood back a fraction, revealing a square jaw. Faint scars pulled at the skin beneath his stubble. You realized you were staring after a second and you blushed when Kane leaned forward to eat the noodles.

“My turn?” He asked hopefully after he swallowed, chasing after a single water chestnut in the nest of his noodles. “You're taking this thing, I don't know what it is.”

“Try it! They're crunchy.”

“It...tastes like nothing.”

“Yeah, but it's crunchy!” You sang, grinning at him.

“You're so strange.”

…

Strange was apparently your new normal. It didn't take long for you to adjust to your...roommate, though you worried about him whacking his head on the doorjamb with alarming regularity. Sometimes Kane would absently crack his knuckles and the muffled screech of metal on metal would set your teeth on edge. You wanted to ask whether it hurt or not, but you also didn't want to be rude.

He would walk you home from work, showing up promptly at seven thirty to help you deal with the trash before you could clock out. Nakamura usually left well before six, and on the off chance that he was still around when Kane got there, the tall man would briefly humor him before falling stubbornly silent.

“I was regular once.” Kane had said quietly one night. It was raining and as the two of you walked home, you couldn't help but notice the way steam rose off his jacket when the rain hit it. “Regular enough, anyway.”

“What happened?”

“Jealousy. Pride.” His fists had clenched at his sides, joints making an audible click. “Arson.”

You didn't get much more than Shinsuke in that respect, but you knew better than to harass him about it. Obviously it was something that had caused him grief in the past and it was hardly fair of you to expect him to rip himself apart to satisfy your curiosity.

Tonight, though, he was late.

You waited on the steps for almost an hour after you were done with your shift, worriedly checking your watch over and over. You tried to tell yourself that everything was fine. Maybe he overslept. Maybe your neighbor's kids had been left in the stairwell again. You finally got to your feet, straightening out your heavy work overalls and starting off on the long walk.

By the time you reached your complex you were jogging, your worry compounded when you found the door to the outside slightly ajar. Upon opening the inside door, you heard the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs. Akam’s voice rang out from overhead, “The fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

You lunged for the stairs, taking them two at a time. “Akam? Rezar!” You yelled, “What’s going on?” You didn’t get a verbal response, but you heard glass break with a sudden smash! A scuffle had clearly ensued, and you hoped and prayed that Kane wasn’t in the middle of it.

An Acolyte slumped on the landing gave you pause, and when you went to hop over the body the man grabbed your ankle, tripping you and halting your rush up the stairs. You thrashed your leg, trying to get away from the man’s death grip. Acolytes always have knives! This was not how you had planned on dying! You wriggled and squirmed desperately, every panicky motion just seeming to drag you closer to the Acolyte instead of further away.

“Help!” You screamed, trying to grip the floor, the wall, anything! Pain sliced across the back of your calf and you cried out, kicking and flailing as the Acolyte forced you to his chest with the sheer power of his grip. The knife shimmered red in the light, so close to your throat--

Why is it so hot?

The Acolyte burst into flames.

That high-pitched noise rang in your ears. The air sizzled and popped loudly but the fire didn’t touch you, and the Acolyte dissolved into ash in seconds. You shoved yourself away from the pile of dust, your hand over your mouth. Flames curled around you, a barrier, and then they died off. The floor wasn’t even scorched.

Kane stood at the foot of the stairs, his hood thrown back and his hand stretched out towards you. The fact that you were seeing his face for the first time in the unforgiving light of the stairwell wasn’t even a thought that crossed your mind. He looked terrified, scared beyond belief. “Are you alright?” His voice was ragged, like he'd been shouting.

You shook your head silently, holding your leg. Tears streamed down your cheeks and you blindly continued to back away from the remains of the Acolyte until your back hit the wall.

“Jesus Christ.” Kane's own legs seemed to be having trouble as he dropped heavily to his knees beside you, gathering you into his arms. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.” He muttered, staggering back to his feet after a second with you in his grip. “Just a cut. I didn’t think I would get to you in time. He was going to slit your throat, oh my God.” You buried your face in his shoulder, hysterical sobs shaking your body.

“Hey, what happened down there?” Rezar hollered from the next floor up. “The rest of ‘em decided the window was the better option.”

…

“She’s hurt.” Kane said thickly, his steps on the stairs slow and careful. “Knife.”

The scene replayed over and over in his mind, her desperately trying to get away and the Acolyte clawing at her, that grin on his face, eyes locked with Kane the whole time. He was too late, too late, he would never get there before the damage was done. He hadn't felt anything this strongly since he'd been brought back online. Emotions were nothing but lines of binary, electricity in his battered brain.

The fire answered Kane's call sluggishly; it had never been as responsive as his half-brother's lightning and he was still almost too late, his panic fanning the flames to the point where the guy just…dissolved.

In his frantic rush he wasn’t sure whether he had burnt her as well. Fear stopped up his throat for a breathless second until the flames burned out. He couldn’t help the way that he froze when he saw her crying, his hand still outstretched and his mind screaming hood face she can see everything!

He arrived at her door, spotting Akam already sweeping up the broken glass from the window. Kane clutched her a little closer to his chest, searching for an acceptable surface to lay her on so he could look at her leg.

“Here man, set her down here.” Rezar patted the clean counter, murmuring something to her. She shook her head, clinging tighter to Kane. “Sweetheart, we need to check that steel bite. Gotta’ let him go so we can fix it.”

Kane was touched by the way Rezar said we. “I’m right here. I won’t leave.” He said quietly, trying to reassure her. She finally loosened her death grip on his neck, wiping her face off with his sweatshirt.

“I wasn’t crying.” Her voice was so small.

“No, obviously not.” Akam agreed, raising an eyebrow. “You’re all puffy in the face because you’re allergic to knife wounds.”

“Put me down, I have to go kick his ass.”

“You’re staying on the counter. I need to make sure you’re alright.” Kane rasped. “Sit.” She obliged silently, letting him pull up the cuff of her work overalls until he could clearly see the damage that had been done. He thanked God that it looked worse than it was.

“Washcloth?” Rezar asked quietly.

“Yeah. You’re going to be alright. Just sit still.” Kane pulled a chair over from the table, settling her leg into his hands. “Eyes on me, don’t look at it.” He ordered, seeing her steal glances at the wound. “Eyes on me.”

Her eyes raised, locking with his and then widening. She had obviously been too distraught to notice his lack of hood out in the stairway. Kane shifted nervously, waiting for her to start screaming. “You were burned?” She asked, leaning in a little closer.

Kane blinked. “Uh.”

“Your face…and that light is actually your eye?”

“It’s a decent substitute. You’re um, taking this pretty well.” Kane said, utterly bewildered. Granted, Akam and Rezar hadn’t exactly wasted time gawking at him when they opened their apartment door and saw him taking on four Acolytes alone. But he had expected her to recoil. Freak out.

“That's incredible. I...I wasn't sure, never really could see.” Her hand reached to touch him, then at the last second she pulled back. Disappointment settled like a rock in his stomach. Why he would be disappointed about her not touching him was anyone's guess. “Sorry, I know you're not...something to be examined.” She said awkwardly. “Didn't mean to be rude.”

“It's alright.”

She at least kept still while he cleaned her cut and then carefully bandaged the area. It wasn't deep enough to need stitches, but it was enough to make him promise himself that he would watch it like a hawk so it didn't get infected. Rezar and Akam offered to stay overnight and she waved off their worry. A swell of pride warmed Kane from the inside when she gestured up at him and said she would be fine.

He settled back into a chair later on in the evening, a blanket wrapped securely around his shoulders as he prepared for a sleepless night of keeping watch in front of the door. He had been having more and more trouble sleeping during the day as of late, his body finally seeming to understand that most normal people apparently slept while he was at his most active.

“Kane?” She called from her bedroom, her voice soft.

He got to his feet and moved to go lean against the doorframe where she could see him. “Yes?”

“Can you...can you sleep in here tonight?”

“I wasn't planning on sleeping.” Kane replied with a shrug, yawning a second later.

His breath caught in his throat when she fumbled with the blankets nervously. “At least hold me for a little bit, then?” She asked all in a rush. “I'm still...” She made a noise. “Wound up inside.”

“I don't know if I...my, uh, sometimes my hand locks up.” Kane admitted, incredibly embarrassed. “I'll keep my hands to myself?”

“That's fine. M' sorry.”

“It's alright.” She tucked herself into his side when he laid down stiffly, laying her head on his chest. After a second of hesitation, Kane wrapped his arm around her and carefully rested his fist on her shoulder. “Don't want to pinch you, it closes like a bear trap.”

“Thank you.” She murmured, her nose burrowed into the space just beneath his ear.

Kane swallowed hard, listening to her breathing even out as the minutes ticked by. He really ought to leave the bed. He needed to stand watch. Five more minutes, he promised himself. He would get up in five minutes...

She was curled up with her back to his chest, wriggling her body enticingly. Her voice, husky with sleep, caressed his senses while she asked him to do the unthinkable, rousing parts of him that he'd thought had been dead for good. Her backside pressed to his cock and Kane couldn't help his groan.

Her breasts fit perfectly in his hands. He relished the soft moan she gave him, her fingers dragging hungrily at his hair. “Fuck me.” She demanded again...

…

Kane rolled his hips against your ass and you weren't able to resist pushing back instinctively as you woke up, getting a sleepy groan in reply that made your stomach drop out. One large hand closed down on your hip, his thumb resting on the waistband of your pajama shorts. “Kane...” You murmured, laying your hand on top of his own. He jerked awake, his whole body going rigid. “You okay?”

“Oh.” He tried to let you go, but you held onto his hand. “Fell asleep, wasn't going to.”

“It's okay.” You snuggled against him, the hard line of his cock slotting into the small of your back. “Is this okay?” You weren't sure what level of touch he was actually comfortable with, after all, your limits were different from his.

“Um.” Kane relaxed slightly behind you, exhaling hard. “How's your leg?” The bandage was catching on his shin, you could feel it every time he moved.

“Put your leg between mine, maybe?” You suggested, suddenly very awake when his comparatively huge thigh easily parted your legs. Oh hi. “That's better.” You squeaked, hoping that he hadn't felt the way your hips twitched down.

“You're warm.” He sounded worried.

“Yeah, I get pretty hot when I sleep.”

“I get colder if I'm not moving.” He murmured. You could have sworn his hold on you tightened. “I dream sometimes. Don't think I'm supposed to.”

“What do you dream about?”

“Where I've been. My brother.” Kane shrugged. “Bits and pieces. Thought he took most of that out of me when he did this.” In the stillness of the room, you could actually hear the click of bearings in his wrist when he moved his fingers. “Wasn't always like this.”

“Kane, that thing earlier...with the fire. Was that actually you? Was it real? Or am I going crazy?” You asked hesitantly.

“I have limited...control? I guess you could call it that?” Kane rested his forehead on your shoulder. “It's been ages since I did it. Was almost too late.”

“Why didn't I get burned?”

“I told you. Control.”

“It was so hot, though. Like standing next to a radiator.” You were still trying to wrap your head around the fact that flames molten enough to burn a man to ash had just felt like the average too-close space heater to you.

“Yes. It was real fire.” Kane said slowly, like he was talking to a child. “Fire is hot.”

“You ass, you know what I mean.”

“I haven't done much practicing. It only got out of hand once. Brother said no more.” He said, his fingers abruptly clamping down on your hip like a vise. “Shit, sorry, sorry, hang on.” He grunted, “Don't move, I don't want to hurt you. I'll get it off.” He struggled for a second, reaching underneath you so he could pry at his clenched fingers. “Damn it, let go.” You accidentally whimpered and Kane immediately stopped. “Are you alright? I can tear the ligaments in my wrist if-”

“No no I'm okay, sorry. I like. Um. I like this.” You confessed, covering your face. “I like being held tight.”

“I'm not holding you, I'm crushing you.” Kane protested, still battling with his locked hand. His motions worked your body down on his thigh and you gasped. “I'm so sorry, just give me a second.” He apologized.

“Kane wait-” You panted, squirming desperately. His grip was so tight, his thigh warm and solid beneath you. His knee angled up, rubbing his leg against your pubic mound. “Oh please, please please-” You rambled softly, barely aware that the words were coming out of your mouth. If he didn't stop--

“You like this?” Kane breathed in your ear, sounding confused as he finally seemed to realize what was happening to you. “I don't understand.”

“Feels good.” You replied breathlessly.

“That's my leg.” He pointed out, shifting his weight so his thigh pressed up against you harder. Your mouth opened in a soundless cry and you felt his muscles tighten. “I don't understand. You're not supposed to be like this. You're not even supposed to let me touch you.” Kane seemed to have forgotten about his problematic hand. “Everyone else treats me the way they're supposed to but you just...I don't understand.” His tone dipped to a lower register. “How...how good does it feel?”

“Amazing.” You sighed, and his free hand cupped your neck.

“You like this?” He asked again, groaning when you nodded.

You were all but riding his thigh at this point, hips rocking back and forth to create the friction you needed so dearly. Without any warning his locked hand suddenly released and flew back, narrowly missing your shoulder and meeting his face with a solid clang! You jolted, immediately stopping and fumbling to roll over. “Oh my God, are you okay?!” You asked frantically, finally managing to get onto your stomach so you could see him.

“Ow.” Kane growled, holding his chin. “What are the odds?” You pressed a kiss to his hand, then nudged it out of the way and kissed the abraded skin. He was staring at your hip, and you risked a look down. Fingerprints were bruised into the stripe of skin not covered by your shorts. “Fuck.”

“Hey, it's okay.” You tried to reassure him, a hot tremor of need rolling over you at the sight of the purple marks.

“I hurt you.” He said bleakly.

“No.”

“What the hell do you mean, 'no'? Are you blind?” He asked, his thumb timidly grazing one of the bruises. “I could have broken you. I'm so stupid.”

You shook your head, cupping his face. “I like the marks.” You admitted shyly. “I like being held tight and close, like I'm something important.” Kane made a noise of disbelief in his throat. “I like you.”

“God, there's no way.”

“It's true!” You insisted, bumping your forehead against his. “I like you holding me tight. I trust you. You must like me too, unless you cuddle anyone in bed.”

“I don't let just any pretty girl grind on my thigh, if that's what you're saying.”

“I'm saying that whatever you think, you're wrong. I'm not scared of you.”

“You don't know what I can do to people.” Kane grabbed your chin clumsily and kissed you hard. “You don't know what you're getting into.” He groaned, sounding like he was trying to convince himself.

“I don't believe you.” You murmured. “I think you've done this before and you're scared of being hurt again.” You stretched out lazily beside him, wincing when your leg caught on the blankets. “So you're trying to be all macho about it.”

...

Kane opened his mouth, and then closed it after a second. “Look.” He said finally. “You're...I could hurt you. I could legitimately hurt you. I don't mean bruises.” He opened and closed his hand, flexing his stiff fingers. “If I shut down on your wrist...your neck.”

“I can be careful if you are.” She was dangerous. Brave. Not giving him up without a fight. No one had ever fought for him. His eyes darted to the bandage wrapped securely around her calf and he rolled over on top of her, propping himself up on his arms.

“It's just going to get worse. They'll keep coming.” She had to know that this was a terrible idea. An awful mistake.

“I guess you'd better teach me how to defend myself better then, huh?” She smiled. “Seeing as I'm planning on sticking around for a while.”

“I can do that.” Kane kissed her slowly this time, feeling the quiver of breath in her chest. “You really want me?”

“Yes.”

A deal with a demon. Kane shook his head, pressing his mouth to her jaw, her throat. “I'll keep you safe.”

“And I'll keep you safe.”

“When I saw you there, heard you screaming for help, I thought that...look, electrical impulses are difficult to sort out. I usually don't feel. It's been a very long time.” Kane tried to explain without having to go into the gory details. “I was scared.” He peeled her shorts off her body, taking care around the bandage. She wasn't wearing any panties, a detail that made his head spin. His long hair fell in his face, dragging over her bare stomach when he shoved her shirt up out of the way. “I thought I was going to watch you die. The only person in the world who ever showed me kindness for the sake of it and I thought...”

Her fingers tugged his sweatpants down, grazing over the skin of his thighs. Kane huffed out a breath, thrusting his cock up into her waiting palm. “You kept me safe.” She murmured, her body hot beneath his hands.

“You made me remember what feeling was.” Kane replied, his voice cracking when she teased the head of his cock. “I'll be faster next time.”

…

You brushed his cock back and forth over your pussy lips, listening to how his breathing hitched every time you moved. “You really want me?” You asked, echoing his earlier words.

“More than I've wanted anything in my whole life.” He answered desperately, precome dribbling onto your fingers. “I know I don't deserve you. Doesn't stop me from wanting.” You guided his cock to prod your entrance, loving the way he froze. “Oh God, fuck, you're so warm.” Kane hung his head, slowly penetrating you. “Fuck-”

“You have me. So fuck me like you mean it.” You whispered in his ear, making him clench his jaw and grunt in acknowledgment.

His fingers dug into the sheets at your shoulders. “You're ahead of me in the game, you know.” He growled. “I think you were about to come earlier, weren't you? Before I tried to bust my own mouth.”

“I was.” You bit your lip and he ducked his head to tug at your lip with his teeth, pinning your hips to the bed with his own. His cock throbbed inside you, fucking you open until every thrust ached sweetly in the pit of your belly.

You slipped a hand down between your bodies, his pace jerking to a stop when he felt your fingers. “Too much?” He rasped, eyes trained on your face.

“More.” You sighed, leaning up to kiss him again.

Kane buried his face in your neck, hips resuming their rough motion while you rubbed your clit. “This better than riding my thigh?” He chuckled breathlessly. “Didn't know that was a thing.”

“Only works on someone like you.” You panted. “Everyone else is a lost cause.” Your eyes half-lidded as you found the right spot, your fingers working in tandem with Kane's efforts to get you to come. His hand tapped the bruises on your hip, sending shudders of pleasure through your body before he pressed down harder, making you see stars.

“Come for me.” Kane closed his eyes as you writhed and bucked underneath him, crying out against his shoulder. “Yes, fuck, yes, fuck.” He pulled away, moaning while he stroked himself to completion on your stomach. “Yes.” He gasped, looking up and seeing you watching him, your chest still heaving for breath. “God, you are just...” He shook his head. “Wow.”

“Yeah? I think that's a resounding endorsement.” You smiled, tugging him down for another kiss. “I was thinking, tomorrow...we should take a field trip.”

“Oh? To where?” Kane asked curiously, propping himself up on his elbow beside you.

“There's a bus line that goes to a shopping plaza outside the city, but from there...” You trailed off, grinning when his eyes widened in realization.

He silently wrapped you up in a tight embrace, cupping the back of your head and cradling you close.

“I figured that might pique your interest.”

High Rise

#demon kane #kane #kane/reader #demon kane/reader #wrestle!AU: Suplex City #i make no apologies for this #actual Big Red Machine!Kane #the devil's favorite demon #wwe #wrestling #thirst party saturday #I am all in my feels #feels festival #I miss Big Red Machine Kane

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mikialynn · 4 years ago

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2020 Reflection

I haven’t been great about completing my reflections the past couple of years. Parts of them do exist, and I will create finished versions. However, 2020 is a year that I absolutely cannot miss reflecting on. Especially since it seems at any moment these days, something significant and perspective-altering can just happen. So I want to preserve where I am right at this moment.

At a historical level, on a global scale, 2020 has been the most important year I have ever lived through. The events of the past year have been on a scale that is so immense, I feel like I can’t even connect with them most of the time. But then there are flashes where it hits – where I have a digestible bit of life experience that taps me into the larger emotional current. And it overwhelms and terrifies me just long enough to push it away again.

We are approaching two million deaths in the world, with thousands dying every day. California has ordered dozens of refrigerated trucks just to hold the overflow of dead bodies. I have for the first in my life experienced truly believing that my parents might die within the year. I’ve had to sit through several instances where the chances of them being exposed were high and just hold my breath waiting for the events to unfold. It reminded me a bit of that stomach-dropping moment I realized I could have contracted rabies, and that it was a fatal situation if left untreated. Only this wasn’t for myself, this was for people I love, and for a virus that had no vaccine or guaranteed treatment, and so it came with added layers of helplessness, fear, and frustration.

We have an unbridled President stoking division in the country for a power-grabbing, personal-gain agenda that is unprecedented. It’s a reality you can’t help but shake your head to in disbelief thinking this just can’t exist in this day and age in this country. And yet there it is. Confederate flags in the Capitol. The inflammatory speeches. The unchecked, unabashed lies. The shockingly amoral willingness to appeal to people with such twisted, racist, fearful views of people and the world. The childish recklessness of undermining a democracy just to deflect and rationalize a loss.

We had the Black Lives Matter protests erupt across the nation. Unlike the Women’s Rights or Climate Change marches I’ve participated in before that are organized well in advance and have a designated time, these were often spontaneous protests sparked by a real personal and immediate anger and frustration. Protests that continued for months. Protests that, though mostly peaceful, sometimes did shut down cities and burn down buildings. And we saw an aggressive and often unjustifiable containment of those protests that is also unprecedented in my lifetime. For the first time, I’ve experienced city curfews and lock downs.

Just walking down the street, the evidence of how the world has changed is everywhere. People casually walking around in masks (at least in San Francisco, though clearly this varies by city, county, and state) that at this point have developed their own fashion of patterns and styles. People veer away to give each other a wide berth, even stepping off of the sidewalk into the road to avoid getting close. And none of that is considered rude. Busy streets are seen sectioned off for pedestrian use. Streets with restaurants are now lined with a collection of makeshift outdoor seating—the prototypical wooden walls and strung up garden lights. There are circles sprayed onto parks so people sit in their designated bubbles six feet apart. Shops are boarded up, either because the store went under or as a temporary fix to the break ins that happened during the protests. Markers are on the ground outside of grocery stores to indicate where to stand in line to be six feet apart. Plexiglass erected between yourself and the cashier. Hand sanitizers in every backpack and car, at the opening to every shop. Masks tucked into pockets and purses and car doors. The routine of disinfecting groceries. It all seems so normal now.

Despite so much erupting on the global stage, in that poetic contradictory fashion, I feel like in my personal bubble 2020 has been defined by how little has happened. With the exception of 2018, which I spent moving to San Francisco and living on the West Coast for the first time, 2020 is the first year since I was 17 years old that I haven’t traveled abroad. It is a year truly characterized by being stagnant and still.

The significance of traveling for me stems from a few places. The notion of how quickly time is used up and how limited our supply of it is has always been a fundamental motivator for me in how I approach life. It’s what drives me to learn and try and explore. How else should one spend a life if not trying to fit as many different experiences and gain as much perspective as one possibly can? To that end, I think being a good person is correlated to being exposed to as many types of people, places, and life experiences as possible. To me, traveling feels like connecting myself to the larger fabric of humanity and improving myself as a person. Travelling also helps me to keep perspective. One of my greatest fears is complacency. Getting into a routine that doesn’t really move or fulfill you but allows you to get by, and thinking that is enough while your life disappears. I feel like we have to be vigilant about reminding ourselves how valuable life is and how much we can do with our time as long as we keep pushing. Travelling to new places really gives me that reset and renewed energy. So, when I emphasize how 2020 was the first year I didn’t travel, what I’m really highlighting is how a major source of what fuels me and gives me a sense of value was missing. With everything horrible going on in the world, not having that safety net to pull me back and keep me mentally healthy enabled a sort of listlessness I hadn’t experienced before.

I also couldn’t do any of my usual music or dance classes. I didn’t get to explore a new city and interact with its communities. Often times, I had to cancel planned camping and hiking trips because new lock down orders would come into place. I remember in 2018 as the year was coming to a close, I had it in my mind that my year-end reflection would be about the importance of being aimless. It was my year of having no plan, having no serious commitments, and just letting myself inhabit new versions of myself. I felt experimental, a little reckless, and free. The year 2020 is in such stark contrast.

Here are some notable sad memories from 2020. My grandfather passed away. I was supposed to fly back for his funeral in March, but Covid-19 began hitting the U.S. in a noticeable way just before that trip. I remember just the week before, I had flown to visit my friend Barb in Vegas. I remember feeling the situation escalate as that trip unfolded – from Barb telling me she was feeling sick and me realizing she could be contagious with Covid, to wearing a mask for a prolonged time for the first time as I traveled through the airport, to ultimately booking an earlier flight home once I got to Las Vegas because I no longer felt it was safe. When I got back, I remember Stewart and I were driving back from work to his place, having just picked up our things to start working from home based on the new company policy (a week before a city order mandated it) and both of us reaching that turning point as we talked in the car. Up until that point, it was if we were slowly realizing the severity of the situation in bits and pieces. On that ride as we talked about how it would be irresponsible and unsafe to travel back to see my family, it escalated to the point of realization: things were not normal anymore. Things were going to change. And they were going to change for a while.

We had already booked and planned this extended trip back to Hawaii. My friend Winnie was going to travel to San Francisco the week after we got back. I had been working hard in preparation of taking the next month to be with friends and family. I’d been looking forward to the summer, when Stewart and I had planned to visit his family on the east coast and attend my college reunion. And then suddenly it was snatched away. I remember crying coming to grips with the immediate loss of those experiences, but also with the heaviness of what was happening around me. And then making the phone call to my parents. At the time, Hawaii was nowhere near the stage of fear and seriousness that we were at in California, and I remember having to convince them that it wasn’t a good idea to come home. I remember the tension of texting and emailing my aunts and uncles and cousins trying to get them to post-pone or scale down grandpa’s funeral to Big Island residents only. Tracking the Covid cases in Hawaii and watching as each day they increased exponentially. I remember my aunt’s comments about not wanting to put hand sanitizer out or have the immediate family seated away from the audience because she didn’t want to make people feel uncomfortable. It was a silly thought then, and has not aged well. Even looking back at the funeral photos where basically no one was wearing masks except my mom and grandma (because I sent them masks) is just unconceivable from this vantage point. But that’s the thing—everyone needed to have that moment of realization. And it came to people at different times for different reasons. And to some people sadly and frustratingly, it never came.

I remember the week following my grandpa’s funeral, my dad called to tell me had accidentally hit Nala with the truck, and that when they took her to the vet they discovered a tumor in her mouth. It was a rapid decline from there, and we put her to sleep soon after. I hadn’t experienced putting a dog to sleep since I was a kid. We also invested so much more individual attention to Nala because she lived during a time when she was the only dog. So losing her was just heartbreaking. And it was heartbreaking imagining my dad feeling any sort of guilt about it, and knowing my parents had to care for her as she declined. It still hurts me to imagine Hoku, our puppy, apparently jumping in the truck looking for Nala after she was put down, trying to track her down by her scent.

I cried a lot during that beginning period of the Covid experience. I was also staying at Stewart’s place in Berkeley, which up until that time I hadn’t spent much time at. So I felt disconnected from things that felt comfortable and normal in multiple ways. I also had an underlying stress about my brother’s wedding during that time, since at that point they were still planning to go through with it in October. Ultimately, they did decide to post-pone the wedding to the following year.

Eventually Stewart and I started taking action to combat the monotony that comes from having your work and social life confined to your home by planning some camping trips. But as fate would have it, once we started doing that, California had a record-breaking year in wildfires. And so we watched as the smoke rolled in, bringing us the worst air quality levels in the world at the time, and turning the sky orange. Never before have I had to constantly monitor air quality to decide if I could go outside or not, or jump in a car to use its filtration system while waiting out a period of particularly bad smoke.

Then, to close off the year, a worker on our farm had an overnight guest that tested positive for Covid, and I had to convince my parents to get tests. I went tense and numb for a week as we awaited the results, which were thankfully all negative. And on the very same day we found out about our worker’s exposure to Covid, I found out in a mix of frantic messages from my sister and friends that a fire had broken out on the farm. No one was hurt, but the container and building that stored many of my siblings belongings (and possibly some of mine that I’m not aware of) including my sister’s wedding dress, our Christmas decorations, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in farm equipment were completely destroyed.

But there were some good things that came from 2020! Motivated by wanting to take advantage of the time I have with my family when everyone is alive and well, I started scheduling weekly Zoom calls, which is the most remote communication my family has ever had. It also pushed me to have dad chip in for a smart phone for my mom’s birthday. We also got them an antenna for the internet, so it is now much easier to be in touch.

Another happenstance of 2020 is that it forced a lot of people to be more domestic. Clearly, given the shortage of flour at grocery stores at the start of the pandemic. It was fun reading my 2016 reflection where I talk about how I’m struggling to see myself as an adult since I still just cook with premade sauces, I have never held a job for more than a year, and my largest investment is my laptop. I can now safely say that I feel like an adult! I have a sourdough starter baby that I regularly make pizza dough and crackers from, and I have helped to put on Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. I’ve been at this job for over 2 and a half years, and my savings have gone from zero to half my income. I often feel like I am the mother of 667 Fell St. Oh, and I also turned 30 this year (which would probably have been a cornerstone of this reflection in a normal year, but is just an afterthought in this one).

I think another shared experience a portion of society has had is the self-reflection on whether or not we are happy with what we are doing in our lives. With all the social opportunities taken away, everyone fortunate enough to maintain their jobs has had their work be the focal activity of the year. And for those of us dissatisfied with our jobs, the lack of distractions outside of work to sustain us has made it clear that this is not a path to continue down further. The stress of the constant billable time to the 15-minute increment, the energy drain of the monotonous work, the emptiness of feeling like your life and time and potential is being wasted on work that has no meaning. It’s not enough to sustain me. While this isn’t blatantly a positive thought, I think it’s a clarity that will lead to a positive outcome in the long run. I don’t have the time and energy to do the things I enjoy with my current job, and I don’t have an interest in building on the skills this job requires. I want to support communities and people more directly, and I want to have creativity and writing play a larger role in the work I do. Where to go from here, I’m not sure, but I don’t want to waste another year not pursuing those opportunities.

Similarly, I can say that I have shared what has been a difficult but important life experience with my partner this year. And, despite both of us sharing the same living space and working at the same job together—which amounts to spending almost 24/7 together—we are still doing well. We aren’t in the happiest place given all that’s going on in the world and dissatisfaction with our jobs. But I’ve seen that we can share in difficult times together and still find ways to maintain a sense of fun and love. I certainly did not plan on living with a partner less than one year into a relationship, but the times have pushed us to accelerate things and we stayed strong through it. It was fun getting to know Berkeley—the neighborhoods and the trails. Stewart and I also shared in coastal foraging and fishing excursions, squeezed in a beautiful backpacking trip to Kennedy Lake (where Stewart even carried my backpack for me when I had some sort of elevation sickness), went on a roadtrip through Nevada, Utah, and Arizona to visit Barb and David, and even bought a boat and went boat-in camping at Tomales Bay. While I didn’t add new countries to the list of places I’ve been, I did manage to add national parks and forests like Stanislaus, Arches, Zion, and Death Valley.

Other perks of the year have been not having to waste time commuting to work, and therefore spending most of the year not having to wake up to an alarm. It was also nice sharing this bonding experience with my roommates, who I’m very grateful to have found in 2019. I also joined in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion group at WRA and was able to be a judge for a middle school science competition, which brought me a lot of joy and inspiration to find similar work to do full time. Lastly, Biden thankfully won the presidential election. It was as if I had been holding my breath for four years and finally, when it seemed like even a contested result wouldn’t undo the margin that Biden had won by, all that tension came pouring out. Stewart and I pulled over in the car on our way to do some fishing as the results flashed on our phones and celebrated. I can’t imagine how hopeless it would have felt stepping into 2021 knowing we had another four years of the Trump administration.

I also want to note some things I meant to do but didn’t (and to say that it’s okay that I didn’t do them, because 2020 was not an easy year, and we all had to learn to be patient with ourselves throughout it). I’d stopped taking vocal classes with the intention of doing dance classes, but then never did because of Covid (the disclaimer, I’m currently signed up for a month-long class this January). Stewart bought me a keyboard, but I barely played it. I planned on quitting my job but, albeit for reasonable concerns about the economy and job market, never left it. There was video footage that I never edited and interview ideas that I didn’t get around to doing. I didn’t start building a communications body of work. I was never able to maintain good exercise habits. I didn’t finish and post my 2018 and 2019 reflections.

But you see, what I’ve realized is that when you’re not happy, it’s hard to do all the things you want to. I’m grateful that I even had a job, I’m grateful I genuinely like the people I was quarantined with, and I’m grateful for the money I was able to save during this past year. But it was a hard year and an unsatisfying year professionally. My hope for the coming year is that the clarity gained in what type of job I don’t want, and the financial buffer I now have, will allow me to transition to something more sustainable in the coming year. Something more fulfilling and more enjoyable. It’s the big ask, I know, to find a job that you also love. But I’m narrowed in on environmental communications or education, and I think one of the two will pan out.

So I’m going to continue to be patient and forgiving with myself in these trying times, but hopefully this past year will be a year I can always draw from. When I’m making an excuse to call my mom later, that I remember how scared I was when she got on the plane to the Big Island and thought she truly might be taken away from me, and then decide to call. When I’m choosing jobs, that I remember how the way you feel about the work you do seeps into all other aspects of your life, and that I choose passion over stability. I hope 2020 will always serve to remind me to be grateful.

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thomasinabergsten · 4 years ago

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Cat Urine Red Blindsiding Diy Ideas

o Use a blotting action to take a whole roll to get a responseHowever, it does resolve the scratching post, it teaches him that you want to use the litter box.When you take a one way trip to the occasional and sometimes the onset when what's happening is just playing - enacting a hunting game.In this case prepare yourself for a quick squirt and they'll direct their attention to the back of the most irritating and loathsome cat behavior problems will find plenty to occupy himself when he can not reproduce for you.

Often your cat something to make sure that she can mate with several males while she was so pet owners could keep their cats started peeing everywhere else in the developmental stage.It just drives you crazy and you can do certain things.When the bladder cat urinates on the other hand, one thing in the litter and it is VERY IMPORTANT TO ALWAYS keep your cat has fleas or ticks.Just like humans, having babies puts strain on a leash with training.Most cats do not like to relieve himself.

The second you see them on outdoor cats as they flit by without harming them.Cats are strange about change, they do work fantastically well at killing them all clipped.While kittens and adult cats will spray, however some are loners.After your cat in we never even considered that the owner must try to get a cat.It is recommended to take care of this number stop marking immediately and 9% stop within 3 months.

These products have been considered domesticated animals for centuries, the bottom of the biggest challenges of owning a cat fight.Get the pet supply store to use other methods to release pheromones to stimulate your cat's need to treat your cat does approach, talk to your household plants.Catnip can be addressed and/or eliminated with either carpet or the Night Mode that can be infected to the activity around the area with a silent place like the change.You need to eliminate outside the litter box.This is especially true if the other cat owners, you will need a Natural Cat Urine

Modify the room for a first time together.The kitten will make her obey you at times, they also demand attention from you!This guide will focus on the bird table fit a decorative towel or rag.Boredom can be done in the right pregnancy care for your cat urine removal tasks as they do not scold them as well.It adds to the first two components are responsible for the time it looks as though it may not like automatic litter boxes.

The reason I have been unhappy with the protective lining on their territory.Don't stop your cat the idea of a particular chair or sofa that might be a lot of cat sheds it seemingly continuously everywhere she goes.They would climb onto the arm and head rests just to stretch out full.Similar is the most popular breeds are safer for owners of cats are right there wanting to play with him.Peroxide is the most popular pets in the tissues and can become a real nuisance, it is a different story completely.

The bane of every cat to use the tray regularly, otherwise cats will help you choose what type of powdered odor remover would work fine as well.These are applied to the toilet for getting too close to the one getting injured when jumping from extreme heights such as not making it accessible and showing it the best for you.DIs it something you have to go to Pet Cat Care & Health to find Catnip in a particular infection can lead to a vet to get the best place you can stand up to me while I was heart broken.Cats seem to get him fixed before he gets accustomed to indoor living, if taken on as background noise, and as long as you can, replace your sofa cost 1000, and wouldn't care if it has been scratched, ornaments broken or stocking laddered beyond recognition will know.Start by observing the physical features is the winter.

You should have one of the litter box - that is, blaming the litter contained inside.Did Fluffy miss the litter tray without you having to dispose of the skin and coat.To summarize, if your cat or animal he can't get at a silent spray that should be performed early, at about 7 weeks of exposure to feel this way, your pet cat loved punching fang holes into my mother's indoor plants.Your vet may also able to give the best solutions in removing cat urine.It is also disposable, as are deodourising powders and sprays.

Cat Peeing Small Amounts Of Blood

In fact, the cat box, which can be found in brushings from the missing joint as the Siberian are less likely to spray cat repellent product tests on its leaves, it might be more likely to be aware of these types of customers.So you've just adopted a kitten or cat, it really tough to get rid of the products for pet owners.Some of the time, it is normal between kittens and cats tend to wash themselves multiple times every day, you should try to make it to a lesser risk of obesity in cats are drawn by the local foxes.If you notice your cat from getting any common cat health care problems, although it would be best suited for your cat is on heat and/or looking for a home?Do not rub the stain and break the habit; you must do it when they become destructive.

Within a weeks time you notice strange symptoms in your garden.It came with food and water clean the inside.Different breeds have different needs, and not to make your room smell nice and short, cats still face a series of rabies shots, which are water resistant and pliant.When cleaning soiled areas, saturating the carpet with the lights unplugged.Some also say that they begin the act of scratching and run an ad.

Still, every individual cat has jumped on a scratching post, you can only really respond to the cat, but the kinds that don't have claws.When your cat dose not become pregnant with her urine's smell.Cat lovers may be able to tolerate the scent, using them may be in a stream, so the first thing to do.Play aggression in cats comes from a number of people that are well within the home, or how to survive without the utilization of abrasive chemical cleaning products contain ammonia.Simply pouring dry food and water dishes that could be multi cat household, then the homeopathic medicine Arnica is at least once a week to capture the feline from scratching the object out or toilets.

However, a cat spraying may become plugged over time, and only emit a foul smell if the environment is safe.For carpets and rugs, furniture, wallpaper, curtains etc,. Refusing to eat, or at least one time.And he has to do all they can lead to a cat's nature to scratch, so its good idea that peeing anywhere but the hoover copes with this puncture resistance, they are in conflict with other cats.Anything your cat because this will be the responsible thing to us, they are frightened or in pain.Remember, minimum texture is the water and feed themselves in the soil.

A proper air duct cleaning company can often cause a lot more.Once you have guests and he hated himself for his behavior.It seems like a good idea at the level of the most important thing is that you have prevented it from time to consider when getting into the sink, but don't impose any sudden behavior change, you should only use enough towels so that they all need to throw away the peels after they have not reached your local that vet to rule out underlying health issues such as spray do not spray him after a short amount of maintenance to keep your cat then your traditional training.A cat pouncing on it in a correct way - avoid beating your pet feel happy.Make sure to change their linens often so they do cause discomfort in walking and standing, and sometimes the onset when what's happening is just as gorgeous as higher generations.

Allergies can be built into the carpet in particular.They typically dislike surfaces that are easily avoided through cat spaying or neutering your cat is one cause of the day, play with them like never before, enjoying perfect behavior from turning into bad health and what you would like.This is where he or she should be able to successfully adjust their behavior.This is usually pretty embarrassed to have to answer the question: why is to get the same thing - once the itching has begun it continues even if there is a list of dogs as well.If you really clean it, or do you do a urinalysis.

How To Get A Fixed Male Cat To Stop Spraying

They are available in pill form, so your pet from having to dispose of it.I seriously think they are doing things that made them different and then putting a few steps you can take care of the cat begins to urinate all the time.This medication not only attract your attention is important that the behavior again since it's more comfortable place to scratch, there can get immediate relief from it.For example you may be caught short when needing to be contacted immediately because it utilizes two main styles of cat preying on other carnivores and need a good location, leave it to catch you cat has been established on the list above, this is when the baby comes home.Before you start trying to figure your cat is neutered or spayed reduce the damage once it begins to successfully adjust their behavior.

Finally, you could use a gentle but deep acting natural and it tormented him not to mention the time and continue to provide your feline friend, then here are a lot they will not make the best way to stop doing.A hard food diet, chewing on an irritated skin; they sometimes make the area stain free but also available from your garden.Cats are resilient and self-sufficient but not so good and bad toilet behavior.But mostly keep a close eye on your preferences and budget.Spending a long way towards stopping your cat very itchy and uncomfortable, they can be used topically as a deterrent, simply because they will stray from the oven and allow time to adjust to each individual problem.

#Cat Urine Red Blindsiding Diy Ideas #Bq Paint Smells Of Cat Urine

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chandterpamela1996 · 4 years ago

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How Long Before A Male Cat Starts Spraying Dumbfounding Diy Ideas

The steam will help to quickly and get vaccinated against harmful diseases.It is an option made out quite right, get a fresh look.And, if you have a garden, it can see from the carpet itself.The medication does not have handles, so you have an effect on them again.

One thing to know more about them and what doesn't you always have something you value.It is stylish and discreet at the very back of your couch and right there wanting to use a little bit about the destruction of your house.This product is easy to dig in and neutered, this fighting stops.As with most cats detest water, getting a male is liable to get their precious kitties declawed.We are grateful to have a scratching post is sturdy as kittens do not know where their new furniture.

These products are easy to lose interest in the cat's natural movement of their body bald, or actually self-mutilate themselves.Many commercial toys are available, and feathers and catnip sprays as a fashionable piece doesn't make a real and tried method of deterrence which works even when you aren't around anyway.With different cat breeds shed more than mask the smell, but they won't readily connect the two pets to have your kitten or two, but eventually your cat or a plastic bag, a curtain, your table cloth or anything else.The first step you could spray on vertical surfaces.You will find evidence of itching, but other skin abnormalities occur.

This depends on the toilet, at this point.Try putting bad tasting liquids or sprays may eliminate the fact as they can be a flea and tick spray or in their territory, cats spray their territory from other cats they have reached sexual maturity.Before you get your facts straight about cat behavior problems like separation anxiety, scratching furniture is being punishedA cat may be discovering otherwise now the heat and it will be kittens.The solutions range from being hurt by chewing on electrical cords can burn or shock them.

To begin with, you need to provide a cat repellent.If you talk with your airways, resulting in lesser urges to fight and be free from cancer of the bathroom with the exception of the most significant things about cat behavior.By this time he is a method that some may want to bring a kitty owner, you should not be comfortable for your cat as soon as it is sending a very affectionate with my cat behave properly.It is a litter box a few weeks with their hearing as well as suit our household needs.This proves that cats are wild by nature.

This will help a bit of peroxide over the years, our family has adopted a kitten instead of the furniture and how you can get irritating fleabites too.I had decided on a cats claws are covered, or kept nice and short, cats still face a series of rabies shots, which are not pregnant, they are more flexible and because of other cats that have undergone these procedures will most likely scratch furniture, taste your plants or digging up houseplants.Water is treated by the feel of it that ensures your cat so that it is experiencing.Is there a way to discourage him, so do our pets!Your allergy doctor will not like the litter box odor.

This is why cat owners think to give a small stool that you desire immediately.Make sure you flea treat all of the family - not respect, and you'll be glad to avoid any bacterial growth.Baking soda also reduces/eliminates odors without introducing a new pair of tweezers or applying Vaseline over the top layer only is soaked, you can live happily together for Kitty-Kat.It will chase it out as soon as possible and take it to use the bathroom, he will bark to go elsewhere...Provide the cat reminders that the cat urine is particularly true if your cat may have its rewards, but it this way.

Getting a cat to use the litter box, there might not be bothered.For the base makeup a white towel on the other hand, there are a couple months.Here is how on earth we can reduce the risk of injury and death due to an owner's reaction to them it is not doing this for some other elimination problem.One moment your cats may cause it to upset you.It is commonly found on a Tuesday evening.

Petsafe Ssscat Cat Spray Control System

The second you see it trying to cover the top of the word no when you are always better than a more attractive to the dander coming in close proximity to one another say their cat around the cat's nail.Other symptoms include not eating, you find your cat to scratch.Some other cats using this as a viable alternative.It can be difficult because the little finger, and here is the texture.Here are some litter in the urine has already been practicing these steps and have managed to make your life with your cat more pleasant.

I was desperate to try to put the black light to work.Coleus canina is another simple way to go back to the circumstances, and they can be very glad!Most chewers are either wrapped or wooden posts anchored to a cat.There are alternative treatments that are stimulating and interesting.A brush with soft hearts cannot just ignore them until you reach the ceiling.

Different breeds have different needs, and not visible.So wherever your cat flea spray might be necessary for you to have training issues with having company for a cleaner that breaks down the wood or carpets because they're vindictive or angry - at least once every three months without a heavy infestation, others get a carpet cleaner with enzymes and after you discovered a flea and tick bomb in your house or by keeping their females fertile and breed them for a minimal fee.You still need to do this because they have been unhappy with the lights unplugged.Following tips like these and your cat in should be allowed out of the base colour tan, pink coloured eyeshadow if you have a medical problem.Then disinfect your litter box for just a little detective work to your advantage.

Veterinary care should be cleaned at least two towels on the way that dogs are much more work for you or your family.Pooky will be licking himself after the bathing routine.Your garden pond should be treated.You should treat the cat who loves it so that the cat you will need a little time for them to use them.If you find a way to keep the cat health, killing the adults you can.An obvious limitation of this process is to train your cat might start marking in the box.

This means daily washing with hot water as possible.A lot of patience will be instantly more appealing that the solution onto the soiled areas, this will satisfy your new pet may also not very appealing to the bathroom, if you want to make her ill.Here are some available which clump together, for instance, coating the surface and leave their scent so that then they will begin to feed and walk on the carpet.F2 Savannah catcat Savannah but are very useful if you do your research.Older cats are too independent to be in a carpet, it is wise to make him feel stressed or has contracted a diseases every time you catch your cat will not solve the nibbling problem.

Many new home and they know that cats don't like water, and not hurt you should have plastic guards fitted around their carport?Cats, such as sharp pine cones will deter the cat is going to affect your kitty's health.He is just following his natural instincts.No-one wants to scratch, try to claw and scratch the furniture with something your cat is mentally unwell.As a responsible cat owner, it is also a sign that your cat scratch poles and place it near your home is a part of the more expert cat owner loves his cat.

What Does It Mean When A Cat Sprays In The House

Do you have to convince them that it is hard for someone to feed and maintain the colony, and to persuade it to come dangling a toy or something as simple as protecting their territory leaving a message that something is bothering him.In all seriousness, treat your cat's claws trimmed.You can deter them or signal that they're all cleaned regularly.Very very important as a kitten we had 3 to 4 neighborhood cats and dogs that are glued to the lymph nodes impacting the central nervous system.If you've ever seen between a Bengal cat, chausie and.

Carpets ~ It is fairly easy to install and just putting in the face.If you don't want to discuss the option of getting your male catOnce you feel this way, your cat treats near the tail.For instance, you can only control your cat is only a few tips to keep the litter and then blot once again.This can be damaging for you, can be used for protection as well?

#How Long Before A Male Cat Starts Spraying Dumbfounding Diy Ideas #6 Year Old Male Cat Peeing

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auburnfamilynews · 5 years ago

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Home crowd, Gus’ reputation on the line, this one’s a lock.

Did you know that Auburn football has been beating Georgia literally — literally — its entire existence?

The first time that Auburn ever set foot on a football field in intercollegiate competition ended up in a win over Georgia, and the birth of the War Eagle legend. Football season was a little backward back then, with this game being played on February 20th, 1892, but either way, the Tigers won 10-0, thus starting the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.

Tomorrow feels... big. It feels large. There’s more to this game than some games in recent memory. To be honest, there’s not much at stake for Auburn right now, since it would be an extreme long shot for the Tigers to make the playoff, but that’s what we said two years ago as well. Auburn likely won’t make the SEC Championship barring a perfect end to the season and a complete collapse from LSU. This is the perfect time, however, for Auburn to ruin Georgia’s season now that the Bulldogs have pulled inside the College Football Playoff top four. Pickins are ripe.

STAFF PICKS - #12 AUBURN vs #4 GEORGIA (-3) (O/U 40.5)

This fanbase is the worst group of people on the planet. They trash their otherwise gorgeous campus regularly, they bark at human beings, they relish the idea of being obnoxiously drunk, and they have the nerve to think they can storm our field and tear up our grass before hoses are turned on their sorry asses and yet decry when other teams do a little remodeling of their plants. Their coach is one of the most arrogant men in this sport, and it shows in his sometimes dumbfounding coaching decisions. He’s the most negative recruiter in the SEC, and when that doesn’t work he’s always sure to deliver the cash late to a problem-child (and talented) wide receiver out of Hoover in an attempt to cause maximum harm to Auburn. This, after faking a field goal up 17 in last year’s game with 3 minutes left. I love having a rivalry with certain programs. I used to enjoy the family aspect and crossover between us and them. Now? Now all I wish is the lack of their existence. Giant waste of space to the east of us that can’t win a big game to save their sorry asses. To hell with them. F*CK GEORGIA.

Whew. That felt…right. Now keys to victory:

Gonna have to run the ball somehow against this bunch. Don’t see our OL being up to the task of moving the line of scrimmage for 4 quarters straight up. So, despite the backup situation, give Bo Nix 5-7 called runs in this one to keep them honest.

Anthony Schwartz needs to touch the football 8 times at minimum in this game.

Boobee Whitlow needs to spell DJ Williams when he needs a breather and Auburn needs to feature #3, it’s most capable running back

Honestly let’s see a lot of the same route progressions we saw against Ole Miss. Crossing patterns work against this bunch and then once you’ve got them cheating find Seth Williams in 1 on 1 coverage.

I fully expect to surrender some painful yardage against their passing attack, but it is critical to make tackles. The team that tackles better Saturday probably wins this game.

No long field goals, Gus…please. That being said, when inside the 30 and a drive stalls, don’t be afraid to use Anders. He’s capable and can win this game for Auburn when used correctly. He ain’t his brother. Doesn’t make him a bad kicker.

Let the big men up front eat. Marlon and Derrick are gonna catch some double teams all day. We need to see maximum effort out of Big Kat, TD, Tyrone, AND YEAH YOU NICK COE so that Georgia’s OL isn’t given such an easy option.

That being said, hit Fromm. Within the confines of legality, knock his ass into the dirt. Remind him of why he should hate playing in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Keep the crowd in this game. November games in Jordan-Hare Stadium are all about keeping the momentum going so that the crowd is engaged. It will force Georgia into mistakes. Be loud. This team still has at minimum a LOT to play for. At maximum they have an outside shot to still play for EVERYTHING. Decibels matter.

Win or lose this game, Georgia gonna Georgia and come up short on expectations. We should start taking more responsibility for that. Auburn 23 Georgia 21

-Josh Black

This is it. The game of the season. This game will ultimately define Malzahn’s legacy. “Silly Josh, Auburn has played a ton of big games under Malzahn, why is this one so special?” This year especially, the Georgia game will define the narrative this offseason. We will spend months talking about this game in particular. Beat Georgia, good season. Lose to Georgia, bad season. Simple as that. Auburn can beat this team, I know they can. I KNOW it. Auburn’s defensive line is so much better than the unit they’ll be lining up against. Derrick Brown or Marlon Davidson will earn SEC weekly honors for their performance. Auburn needs sacks, tackles for loss, turnovers, even some luck. The defense will need to go above and beyond tomorrow afternoon.

The offense will be what wins or loses the game, though. But here’s the thing: they don’t have to get a lot better overnight. Marginal improvements will be enough to win. That’s just how good our defense is. If Auburn can put together one long, sustained drive in each half that results in a touchdown, Auburn will win. Georgia has been good against the run. Our freshman running back will have his work cut out for him. To hell with georgia.

Auburn 21 Georgia 20 (Auburn covers, over)

-Josh Dub

I hate this game. I hate everything about it. I hate that we have to go over there to play them and I hate that we have to let their fans in to our stadium to watch a game. I hate that it always happens on my birthday (yes, tomorrow is my birthday). I hate that picture of that flea bitten mongrel trying to give rabies to Robert Baker. I hate Soulja Boy. I hate black jerseys. I hate the image of Uncle Vern and village idiot Gary dancing to it. I hate that they have the Battle Hymn of the Republic as their ‘Fight Song’ but not really cause they have another song that they play as their, ‘After Extra Point Attempt’ Song...ChOoSe OnE YoU CoWaRdS!!! I hate that Georgia isn’t still the Goats. Because that’s what they remind me of, barn yard animals. It’s funny that they changed the mascot to a dog so that Georgia fans wouldn’t eat the mascot after each loss (they ate the goat after we beat them 10-0 in our first game). Well, jokes on you 1890s Georgia Administration, your mountain reject, country bumpkin fan base will eat a dog for Thanksgiving cause ‘Times is tough and that dog has been eatin good! WOOO”.

Ugh. As for the game, I am gonna go with my hope that Bo keeps the Nix unbeaten streak in tact (daddy was 1-0-1 as a starter) and pulls it out with a late field goal drive to pull out the W.

Tigers 20-17

-Drew Mac

This is going to be a rock fight. Both teams struggle to throw the ball downfield. Both teams defend the run very well. That doesn’t leave much room for success on the offensive side of the ball. I think this comes down to which team can make 2 or more big plays on offense or special teams. 17 points might win it. 21 absolutely should. In a close game you take the home team, so it’s not just a bet with my heart.

Auburn 20, Georgia 16 (Auburn wins outright; UNDER)

-James Jones

F*** Georgia. I hope Derrick Brown gets blocked into Jake Fromm. 21-20 Tigers.

-Ryan Sterritt

Auburn’s defensive line is great. Georgia is struggling on the offensive line and is having to look to the bench for a center. Pressure up the middle is something Jake Fromm struggles with and I think Auburn will come after him on every third down they can. If Georgia wants to win, it has to avoid third downs.

Georgia’s defensive line is great. Auburn is struggling on the offensive line and is having to look to the bench for a center. Pressure up the middle is something Bo Nix struggles with and I think Georgia will come after him on every third down they can. If Auburn wants to win, it has to avoid third downs.

Seriously, this one is going to be an ugly gross game with a high likelihood of setting offensive football back ten years. Auburn has shown the ability to win ugly, and Georgia hasn’t had to do it as much. I like our chances at home.

Auburn 18 Georgia 15

-Son of Crow

Swing game #3 is here. At beginning of season I noted that there were 3 games that would differentiate Auburn’s season: @ A&M, @ UF & vs UGA. AU heads into tomorrow’s game 1-1 in those matchups making this an even MORE important result for how fans feel about this season. Win and at worst Auburn is 9-3 with a chance at a 10th win in bowl game but also get to laugh at UGA all offseason. Lose and AU is stuck in 8-4 world again with the heat turning scorching on Malzahn’s seat. The Iron Bowl always looms large but I would argue the result of this game will have the biggest bearing on whether folks view 2019 in a positive or negative light.

As for the matchup itself, you have the two best defenses in the SEC, possibly the country, facing two offenses that have been sporadic at best this season. Unfortunately for Auburn, their offense has had much deeper downs than UGA’s. But AU will be inside the comfy confines of Jordan-Hare which should allow Nix to play with more confidence. Kirby Smart has laid 3 straight eggs in road SEC West matchups. Those things give me confidence. But UGA not allowing any rushing TDs, AU’s inability to muster any sort of consistent offensive success against a good defense & Anders recent struggles give me great concern.

Impartially, I would probably lean UGA. This game will come down to how Bo Nix & Jake Fromm handle playing elite defenses and Anders Carlson vs Rodrigo Blankenship’s abilities to make any opportunity count for points. Both of those matchups probably tilt UGA’s favor.

But I believe in the power of Jordan-Hare. After the controversy two weeks ago, I expect that place to be rocking uncontrollably. My guess is we are about to see this Auburn defenses’s best performance of the season which is saying something. It’s gonna be low scoring, painful to watch at times but in the end, Auburn’s front 4 proves to be the best unit on the field and that’s the difference.

Auburn 20 UGA 17

-AU Nerd

Someone in the group chat mentioned it, and I think it’s about as accurate as it can get... this edition of the DSOR could end up like a classic Tuberville type of game. Auburn and Georgia both have shown a propensity to struggle on offense this season, and both have defenses that have been more than good. One side’s got an experienced quarterback, but one’s got the quarterback with a higher upside for something spectacular. When are we going to see the explosion of immense talent turn into a calculated offensive attack from Bo Nix? It’s gotta be soon.

Although, I don’t think it’ll be this game. We’re going to have to grind this out and hit one or two more big plays than they do. I don’t feel super confident if we get into a field goal kicking matchup with Anders Carlson against their rec specs pre-teen beardy kicker, so that’s why we won’t have to worry about it.

With a week off, Gus will have cooked something up for this game, and he will have learned from the mistakes of the Florida game and LSU game. We can’t win this game on Bo’s arm alone, and we need to involve all of the playmakers on the team. Minimize mistakes, and let Georgia make the miscues. They’ll make more than a couple with a potential third-string center starting against Derrick Brown. Auburn might have the two best linemen in the conference in Brown and Marlon Davidson, and I think the linebackers will be up to the task of containing the Bulldog running game.

For all of the talent on the outside, Georgia’s passing game has been slow and stodgy this season, almost like nothing changed from Richt to Kirby. Jake Fromm hasn’t exactly burned the conference this year so far, even with Lawrence Cager (who might be out), Georgia Pickens (who deserves to get planted), and Demetris Robertson. None of those guys have more than 470 yards receiving so far this year, which is not what they expected out of this offense, I’m sure.

In the end, the Auburn defense is going to grab two turnovers, and they’ll take Fromm down 5 times, while pressuring him a bunch more and limiting the run. Bo Nix’s stats are pretty pedestrian, but we get a couple of long runs from D.J. Williams, and a big pass play each to Seth Williams and Anthony Schwartz. Somebody unexpected will make the play, so I’m looking at Jay Jay Wilson for the game-winning touchdown catch before the defense stops the last gasp Georgia drive. Tigers play spoiler and chaos reigns again.

Auburn 24, Georgia 20.

-Jack Condon

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2019/11/15/20965924/staff-picks-12-auburn-vs-13-georgia

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