#i get to decide where this canoe paddles!!!!

[wandalives]

When you’re the only one who ships something

Cons: You have to create everything

Pros: You have to create everything

[britcision]

😈 the best place for crack is surrounded by juicy juicy angst it’s the unexpectedness that makes it pop

And then of course the return to angst is all the sharper for having that momentary reprieve

Also yessss I love the idea of a slow and gentle healing process, especially if the way they discover it’s back is Danny stubs his toe, Tim swears, and they both dissolve into tears

(Part of the process should totally be napping together it’s a great bonding activity and helps your subconscious adjust to other people so it’s good good soul material)

(Also no reason they can’t both be Wrong and come up with just a BUNCH of wrong answers so the bonding and falling in love happens while Tim is going full Mad Scientist to reform the bond and Danny’s just trying to keep him alive)

Okay, so, Brain Dead rejected soulmate AU but Danny is the one who rejected Tim.

Let's say in this world that there are many types of soul bonds.

You've got your standard and fairly common First Words and Skin Art.

Then you've got less common things like Shared Dreams, Colorblind Until You Meet, and Red String.

And then you've got the very rare Telepathic Bond and Empathic Bond.

Finally, there's the ultra rare, one in a million, Shared Pain* soul bonds. It helps that the flip side of this particular bond means Shared Comforts**, but still, it is not the kind of bond people hope for.

Naturally, Fenton luck dictates that this is what Danny (and by extension, his soulmate) gets stuck with.

And at first it's fine. Like, bumps and scrapes happen but it's no big deal. Then the bullying starts and Danny feels a bit guilty that his soulmate has to deal with it by proxy.

But, Danny learns how to minimize damage. And the way Danny can feel his soulmate gentle nursing the pains when he can't, indulging in extra comforts for the both of them, makes Danny think that maybe it's okay.

After all, if it was really to much, Danny's soulmate would have already rejected him.

And when Danny's soulmate starts getting a bit more roughed up when they're 13, naturally Danny returns the favor; never wishing to sever the bond, only wishing he could prevent the pain all together.

Then Danny turns 14.

Then Danny dies. But survives.

He cries that night, his soulmate desperately trying to push comfort through their bond while all Danny can think about is how he shouldn't have gone in that portal. He shouldn't have been so reckless. He should have PROTECTED them.

And to top it all off, suddenly he's not just Dash's personal punching bag. No, there's a whole host of ghostly rogues that like to come bother Danny. And maybe it was still okay when it was just ectopusses or Lunch Lady or Boxy.

But as more and more powerful ghosts come through, as the fights get harder and Danny takes more damage, the guilt over what he's subjecting his soulmate to eats at him.

And after Danny meets Vlad, the first enemy he faces that he really can't beat, he makes the decision. This isn't going to end. These fights, these pains...

Someday he's going to face an enemy that is going to grind him into the dirt. That's going to kill him again, probably slowly and unpleasantly, and Danny already subjected his soulmate to one death, he refuses to put him through another.

So Danny mentally reaches deep inside himself, real hands placing themselves above his heart.

Feeling around for the source of that gentle warmth his soulmate is pushing through their bond.

He finds it, grasping with imaginary hands while his real ones clench the fabric of his shirt.

Feels the way the warmth stutters. The sharp jolt of pain on his elbow as his soulmate probably knocks it when he realizes what Danny is doing.

Danny pays it no mind. He holds the bond between then tightly; tears welling up in his eyes as phantom arms wrap around himself, his soulmate's desperate plea for Danny not to do what he's about to.

Danny yanks, physical hands all but tearing the shirt off his chest as mental ones rip the bond from his and his soulmate's hearts.

The last pain they'll ever share comes crashing into him, the distinct Rejection scar crackling across his chest not unlike the Lichtenburg on his arm.

It hurts, but less than dying had.

Then the pain is gone. Or rather, that pain is gone.

The dull aches from the fight with Plasmius throb and a part Danny finds himself missing the soothing comforts his soulmate had provided him, emptiness filling the space they used to occupy.

But another part of Danny, the part that is more ghost than human, swells with pride knowing he has protected his soulmate from Danny's own inevitable fate.

As Danny inspects Rejection spidering out from his heart, a strange hollow giddiness settles in his stomach. It makes him giggle.

His brain notes that if Dash ever sees this, he'll assume he finally succeeded in making Danny's soulmate reject him.

Danny giggles harder.

Not that Danny will correct him. Or his friends or his sister when they find out for that matter. They worry enough about him as is. They don't need to know just how far Danny is willing to go to protect the people he loves.

He's stifling laughter now, trying not to wake the neighbors.

Sitting alone on the roof of Fentonworks at 3 in the morning, Danny laughs until he sobs, then laughs and sobs until he can't breathe, then laughs and sobs and struggles to breathe until a light blue mist comes gasping past he lips.

His hysterics taper of and he lets the now familiar cold feeling of his ghost form spread across his body, pausing only for a second when he notices the new spiderwebbing across the chest of his hazmat suit, just a shade darker than the rest of the black material.

Oh well. It's not too noticeable and if some sees it he can just pretend it was always there. Just like he's going to pretend the emptiness in his heart was always there. Where it belongs.

~~~

Tim is at the Bat Computer desperately searching for any kind of clue who and where his soulmate is.

Of course, Tim had searched before, been searching basically since grade school when it became clear his soulmate was dealing with either bullying or an abusive home.

But Tim's efforts had tripled lately. Ever since that fateful day 4 months ago when he'd practically had a seizure in the middle of family dinner.

It had felt like he was dying, the echos of electric shocks up his arm and into his heart coming through his soul bonds. Followed soon after by the sense of something terrifying and foreign opening up in his chest and forcing its way into every molecule of his body.

Tim is pretty sure he screamed.

It was several minutes before the sensations ended and a strange coldness filled his being. For a minute, Tim was terrified his soulmate had died, until the cold retreated to a place just beside his heart and phantom hands could be felt trying to comfort and soothe.

At the time, Tim thought that would be that. Some kind of terrible accident. A story his soulmate would tell him when they finally found each other.

But that wasn't that.

It started with that strange coldness never leaving the space beside his heart. Then sometimes the coldness would spread, filling his whole body for brief periods of time. Then those periods of time started to come with some kind of pain. A scrape, a bruise, sore muscles.

The kind of injuries Tim got on patrol as Robin.

Which was something he'd not been allowed to do near as much since the aftermath of that dinner when Bruce had learned what kind soul bond Tim had.

"Tim, you can't keep throwing yourself into the line of fire. It's bad enough when you get hurt, but for your soulmate to have to suffer too?"

Stupid Bruce and his stupid rules. Tim and his soulmate had been fine before, thank you very much. And it wasn't Robin that got struck by lightning or something. Tim really isn't sure what kind of accident would result in the things he had felt that night, but electrocution is at least part of it.

But since then, Tim's soulmate had been getting more and more injuries at any and all hours of the day. If Tim had been worried before distressed now. Something had happened and now Tim's soulmate who was already dealing with something before now seemed to be in constant danger. Tim needs to find them, needs to help them, make them safe.

He doesn't look, doesn't take his eyes off the news articles on the screen as a presence appears behind him. No 2 presences. And the elevator dings bringing a third. But Tim keeps scanning articles, looking for some clue about a kid getting electrocuted and a town gaining a young vigilante shortly after.

A heavy hand lands on his shoulder, gravelly voice speaking in gentle tones. "It's almost 4am son." Tim doesn't respond. Bruce sighs and spins the chair around. Dick and Alfred are both there looking concerned and stern respectively. "It's bed time."

"My soulmate is in trouble. They're not safe. I need to find them. And you're worried about my bed time?"

"You need some sleep, Master Tim. You won't know you've found anything if you're to tired to see straight." Bruce nods and Dick puts on his best big brother face.

"Get some rest, Tim. We can keep looking later."

Tim opens his mouth to argue, but pauses at the strange tugging sensation in his heart. He briefly wonders what trouble his soulmate is in now before he realizes what the almost feeling of hands on his soul bond means.

He gasps and jerks in the chair, knocking his elbow on the arm rest and the warm blanket he'd cocooned himself in to send comfort back to his soulmate off his shoulders.

Even Alfred's expression turns concerned when Tim wraps his arms around himself, trying to convey along the soul bond his plea for his soul mate not to do this.

"Tim?" Tim isn't sure which family member speaks. Can't focus on it as his soulmate yanks on the bond, ripping it and the strange comfortable coldness out.

Tim cries out, three sets of hands immediately moving in to comfort him. Sight and sound turn to static as Rejection burns across his chest not unlike the electrocution had crawled up his arm four months ago.

Then the pain vanishes.

And Tim looks up at Bruce, knows he's got tears rolling down his face, searching pitifully for a father's comfort.

"They Rejected me."

Bruce startles, but quickly stoops down to wrap Tim in a hug and Dick lays a comforting hand on Tim's head and Alfred retreats probably to make something comforting and Tim cries at the emptiness where the bond should be and the now too warm spot beside his heart.

And yet, deep in his mind where gears are still turning, Tim resolves to still find his soulmate, even without the bond, if only to ask them why.

.

This was supposed to be a prompt, maybe a premise, but I got carried away.

So now y'all can have this piece of pain I have no intention of continuing. Enjoy!

And since I don't plan on continuing, if some else wants to run with it, have at and have fun!

*Shared Pain in this AU just means soulmates feel the pain, not that they recieve the injuries. So if a soulmate breaks an arm, the other will feel the break, but their arm will be physically fine.

**Shared Comforts meaning that soulmates also share good feelings. So if one person is all wrapped up comfy cozy in a nice thick blanket, the other also feels that warmth. But like with the pain, it's a phantom feeling. Won't keep the soulmate not bundled up from hypothermia.

[venileix]

𝜗𝜚 .River's Edge

PAIRING: Scott Barringer x F!reader SYNOPSIS: Tension is heavy between you and Scott and the others thought of a bonding exercise to help you make up. WARNINGS: first post!, established relationship, jealous Scott, slight angst?

⋆𝜗𝜚˚｡⋆

You simply could not understand why Scott was so mad. Raking your mind of the past few days, you were almost positive you hadn't done a thing.

It didn't take long for the others to catch on to Scott's behavior, especially towards you and anybody who tried to talk to you. So the group decided to orchestrate the perfect little getaway for the two of you.

It was a difficult task to find a way for the staff to fall blind to two students disappearing for a few hours, but the plan was almost perfect.

The next morning, the plan was put into action. The Saturday sun beamed down on you as you hiked the trail through the woods, Juliette just ahead of you, leading you to a spot she was telling you about at breakfast.

You were suspicious of her as you follow, there was no chance Juliette had a spot in the woods that she found.

The sounds of calmly flowing water got louder as you walked, the nearing river drowning out Juliette's ranting.

"Where exactly are you taking me?" Out of the years you had been at Mount Horizon you weren't very close to the girl in front of you, so the confusion hadn't left you since you both split from the cabin that morning.

"You're so impatient," Juliette rolled her eyes, "We're practically there." You didn't get the chance to respond as you freeze at the sight in front of you.

Scott and Auggie stood on the river's edge, and the confusion grows further through your chest as Auggie shoves Scott further towards the canoe resting on shore.

"Juliette, what exactly is going on?" Your voice was low, but the sound of your footsteps must of alerted the boys a couple ways down the small hill as they both snap their heads in your direction.

"Just give it a chance," The girl drags you towards the pair on the shore, "Please."

You roll your eyes, letting her lead you towards the last person you wanted to see right now.

"Nice of you to finally join us," Auggie smirked, watching the way your eyes narrowed at the three people around you.

"Can somebody just tell me what's going on?" Your chest tightened as you noticed Scott's annoyed glare on you and Auggie.

"Well," Juliette grins next to you, her shoulders straightening, "The group thought it would be good to let the two of you have some time together."

Scott scoffs, "We spend time together."

Auggie shakes his head, bringing his hand up to the boy's shoulder, "Well, now you get to spend more together. Now get in the damn canoe."

Juliette was quick to also push you in the same direction.

Soon you found yourself in the middle of the calm river across from your boyfriend, void of any paddles to be able to get yourself back to shore. Auggie said it was to make sure we actually spent the time together, or whatever.

It was silent for a while, you were stuck in your thoughts. Why hadn't Scott been talking to you lately? It did actually feel like forever since you hung out. Maybe you did something wrong? Did you overstep on any boundaries?

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Scott's voice startled you, your eyes jumping up to meet his as he sat across from you in the narrow canoe.

"Did I do something to upset you?" Your voice was quiet, and you felt small under his stormy blue eyes.

It looked as if he was struggling to form the right words as the corner of his lips tugged down.

"Do you like Auggie?" The question took you completely off guard as your eyes widen in surprise, a confused laugh ghosting over your lips.

"Auggie? God no, he's so in love with Juliette, it's honestly comical at this point!" Despite your attempt at lightening the mood, Scott still seemed ticked off.

"Really? He seemed to be real into you the other day at the bonfire," He turned his gaze away from you, refusing to meet your eyes again.

"Scott," you try to meet his eyes, sighing as he doesn't make any movement, "I was helping him with ideas for asking Juliette out."

You watched as his hands tightened into a small fist, "You were practically on top of him!"

You scoffed, crossing your arms, "Juliette was a couple feet away from us, he didn't want her to hear us!"

He didn't say anything, just flexing his hand in annoyance, still refusing to look at you. "Scott."

It all made so much sense now, Scott was jealous.

His blue eyes slowly turn towards yours again, a frustrated glare making them appear darker than usual.

"I love you. You are the only person I want to be able to know me the way you do. The only person I want to see me how you do."

That was the first time either of you had said those words to the other.

In the flash of an eye Scott closes the distance between you, catching your lips in a love filled kiss.

"I love you." He grinned into the kiss, and you would never complain about his switch up in moods in this moment.

You push him away gently, smiling sweetly as you stare into him, feeling the relief flowing through his veins.

You lean back but the sudden movements rock the canoe and in the blink of an eye you find yourself submerged into chilled water.

Hands find your waist, and as you open your eyes, the dark water is brightened by beams of light around you. The blue eyes in front of you are like a saving grace as they peer into yours.

Breathing feels like a distant thought as his eyes search your own, and with a wide, closed-lipped smile you tug his face towards you, this time it's you bringing him in for a kiss.

He responds immediately, wrapping his arms further around your waist, the cold water long forgotten as your lips move in sync.

Letting this moment sink in for as long as possible, the internal fight for air wins as you drag your bodies up, breaking the surface and separating for breaths.

The two of you swim to shore, tugging the canoe in tow.

Logically, you knew you probably didn't have a lot of time left, knowing the group can keep the staff distracted from your disappearance for only so long.

But you ignored that, instead choosing to sit in comfortable silence with your head on Scott's shoulder as you sat on some rocks on the river's edge.

With the affection from your boyfriend back, you both complied ideas to pitch to Auggie about how to win over Juliette.

[valeovalairs]

Smiles, here’s a Legend of the Riptide Pirate AU character lore dump (slash info about them just compiled into one place)

Chip

The “Riptide Pirate”

Uses his bandana to appear alive and eternally 19, despite being undead and being an actual skeleton at this point.

You know that meme, how do you do fellow kids? That’s how I envision Chip in this AU. He desperately wants to still appear young and cool once he meets the girls and warms up to them but he is an old man in a modern world. My guy is struggling.

He is very sad.

He kept the Albatross busy and alive with people for a very long time, at least a good hundred years, until it became too painful and he stopped letting people on. That’s when he became more of a legend, when he retreated into the shadows.

He still hangs out in Zero. He tries to spend most of his time there because he wants to enjoy what time he has left with Ollie, but sometimes he’ll get restless and go off on the Albatross.

He has grey streaks in hair- because when he realized Jay and Gil had both started greying and looking older and he still looked 19, they all got really sad and he gave himself grey streaks and said, “look, we match now.” There were tears.

Ollie

He’s alive!

He is a very very old man though. Like maybe even 200ish probably (half-elf’s can exceed 180 which is probably for them what 70 is for humans).

He did travel a lot with the Riptide Pirates in his adulthood, but eventually settled in Zero.

Chip still comes to visit him and his family, who know him as “Uncle Chip”. A lot of them also traveled with the Riptide Pirates at one point or another while he still had a crew.

He has dementia:( Sometimes he’ll see Chip and ask where Gill and Ms. Jay are and it hurts Chip every single time.

Jay

Guys she’s dead, I’m sorry.

She traveled on the Albatross for decades before retiring/settling (with who, idk, but I do really like clockwork/birdbolt wives, so with Ensa maybe?)

I don’t know if she had kids (definitely not bio kids but maybe she like raised some kiddos at some point idk)

She still would join Chip and Gil occasionally on the Albatross until she physically could not anymore, and then Chip would visit her.

She died of old age.

Gillion

He’d dead, but I don’t know what happened to him.

I mean it’s Gillion Tidestrider do we really think this guy is going to live his entire possible 200 year lifespan? No. Because it’s Gillion Tidestrider. He’s going to die heroically in some way. Maybe it’s before Jay, maybe it’s after, idk. But he was too slow. That’s what happened he’s gotten older and one day he was too slow. 

Fnc? Im more leaning towards this au being one sided fnc on chips side but there is for sure a whole other kind of angst potential for fnc being an established thing in this au.

Phoebe

The Ferin!

A descendant of one of Jay Ferin’s cousins. (The Ferin’s feel like a big family too me, one with lots of cousins and twice removeds and stuff like that)

One of her parents, the not Ferin, was never too fond of the Ferins practices and so they tried to keep Phoebe distanced from them. (This included the name thing but they caved and allowed her to be called Phoebe May Ferin) And her Ferin parent agreed, despite having been in the Navy themself, that their family was a bit intense.

The family has pushed her to the point of joining the Navy academy, and her family wasn’t given much of a choice, so she was sent off.

She’s heard about the Riptide Pirate, through stories- but her favorite part is that one of his earliest companions was also a Ferin. She hears rumors that he’s still around, being spotted at various docks and Zero.

She decides to risk it and run away, looking for the Riptide Pirate. She escapes the evening the Champion is in the city as all attention will be on that. She panics when she realizes that the champion is also trying to run away.

She knows how to sail (small crafts) I feel like she’d canoe and paddle and know how to man like one of those tiny sail boats.

She has reddish hair but it’s a lot more mute than Jay’s. She also has darker eyes and a stockier build.

Class wise, she’s a fighter, I think. I’m not one hundred percent sure.

Edyn

Edyn is also still alive!

She’s “The Champion’s” grandmother

I think she never returned to the undersea, and ended up settling somewhere on the surface. She ended having kids. The Undersea found out about this, and at someone point sent some people up for them, and offered the kid (now an adult) money, status, community, as long as they returned to the undersea. All they want is for them to sire a child to be “the chosen one”, someone from the same lineage as the original. They like seed some distrust in their head and it turns into a whole argument with Edyn and they never speak again.

She hears about the Champion coming to All Port as part of some diplomacy delegation, several months before, and she really wants to see her granddaughter, get to meet her, so she ends up getting a job for the place they’re staying at as like a maid or an attendant or smth under a different name, and no one suspects anything of a sweet old lady. And they end up promoting her to serve the Champions room because a) sweet old lady b) shes a triton and a triton who has never been too the surface will probably be more comfortable around another triton.

Edyn gets to speak to Calypso and reveals first of all that she is her grandmother, and second of all that she is not actually the chosen one.

Calypso

The “Champion”!

The “Chosen One” who is not actually the chosen one! Just a person meant to replace Gillion as a religious figurehead after his “failure” she and most other people do not know this (they pushed Gillion under the rug and waited for people to forget about him before trying again)

She is a Tidestrider

Her thing is mostly the Elders trying to remain relevant in an increasing secular world.

Her training is less strict and started at a much earlier age than Gillion’s, and it followed a lot less combat and fighting and more religious and magical 

She’s literally just for ceremonially purposes, they keep harping about the prophecy and destiny but the elders all know it won’t come to pass for her. She does not.

She goes as part of a diplomacy thing to All Port and there meets Edyn. She had already been discontent with the undersea and uncertain of her place and she had thought about the possibility of leaving but Edyn finally sows the final seeds of distrust and she leaves- Edyn helping by creating a distraction and letting her slip out the window.

She realizes she has no idea of where she is going until she meets Phoebe. They put the dots together and once Phoebe understands she offers to bring Cal along with her, to join the Riptide Pirate. She follows.

She has a crown of coral that looks a lot like Gillion’s but it’s a crown that she can take on and off. It’s not real.

She has lighter hair than Gil and she has a more willowy build (she is also taller than he was)

Class wise, I thought about her being a paladin, but with there being less focus on combat and being a holy warrior, I think she’s a cleric (my heart is telling me she’s a cleric)

[gingerfale]

Fuck it, I haven't posted anything in too long, have a snippet of my Destiel camping fic coming out this summer!

Castiel is a little miffed that he's learning the proper way to steer from the front of the canoe on his third day on the water, but he's mollified by the fact that Dean has decided the best way to teach him is by correcting his form manually.

He's not interested, Castiel chants internally as Dean stands beside him and positions his hands on the paddle. The rest of the group is down on the rocky shore, readying the canoes to go so they can catch the morning release at the dam.

"Alright, you're not going to change hands while you paddle in the rapids. Cuts down on the chance of you losing your paddle. If you do, just grab the spare from the bottom of the canoe."

Dean smiles as he gets Castiel to hold the paddle out to his side. Right hand on the top to direct the motion, and left hand on the shaft (don't think about shafts) to do the heavy pulling. Dean continues as he guides Castiel's hands as he paddles the air.

"Alright, so to turn left you're going to want to lean out over the left side, but keep your center of gravity in the canoe, and you're going to turn the flat of the paddle broadside with the canoe and pull in as hard as you can. Like you want to slap the side of the canoe with the flat of the paddle, but don't actually do that."

Castiel mimes the motion. Pull in to his side with the flat of the paddle. Easy enough. Dean nods approvingly, continuing. "To turn right you're going to reach over to the other side. It's going to feel weird."

It doesn't feel right, crossing his left arm across with the paddle. It's not possible to paddle properly this way, and he jerks his sore shoulder as he tries.

"Easy sunshine. You're not trying to propel the canoe forward, the current'll do that for you. You're just going to guide the bow." Dean moves to stand behind Castiel, his arms sliding around him. They're warm, with sun browned skin dotted with freckles. Castiel tightens his grip on the shaft (goddammit) of the paddle to keep him from pulling Dean's arms closer, getting him flush against him, and investigating his skin with a closer eye. Dean doesn't notice this, placing his hands over Castiel's and guiding him gently, fanning the paddle in towards where the front of the canoe will be.

"Think of it as pulling the water towards the bow." Dean says, low into his ear. Castiel copies the motion. "There you go." Dean's breath is warm on his neck and Castiel forgets how to paddle again, his hands floundering. He chances a glance at the other campers getting ready on the other side of camp. Sam is demonstrating for Rowena, Eileen, Donna, and a perpetually distracted Gabriel with his own paddle, while Jody and Bobby chat casually with their backs to them. Rufus reclines in the back of his canoe with his arms crossed and cap pulled low over his eyes.

Only Castiel is getting the hands on treatment. He'd appreciate it more if he knew if this is the best way to learn or if it was reserved only for the most hopeless cases.

He focuses on the motion, trying to make sure he understands enough of the mechanics of what Dean is teaching him that they won't get swamped in the rapids. They move together. Warm skin on warm skin. A mosquito lands on his wrist and he ignores it, too determined to keep Dean's hands on his. Dean notices though, and he makes a soft grunt of disapproval, and slides his thumb down across Castiel's skin to dislodge it. Doesn't swat it flat and smear it, just nudges it away. He rubs the spot it had bitten down, presses the pad of his thumb down just hard enough that when he adjusts the grip back to focus on paddling that the white imprint of his finger ghosts Castiel's skin for a moment before blood rushes back in and it fades away.

Castiel carefully steels his expression before looking up to meet Dean's gaze. Up close he can see where Dean's long lashes have been clumped together by a sleepy hand. There are even smaller freckles on the soft skin under Dean's eyes and hidden in the stubble around his lips, which are a very pleasing color this close up.

"How dangerous is this exactly?" Castiel asks.

Dean's tongue quickly wets those lips and he clears his throat, Adam apple bobbing slightly before answering. "Every couple of years we have somebody dump in the rapids, it's possible to get hurt bad but just remember to point your feet downriver if you fall in, and don't fight the current."

"Don't fight the current?" Castiel asks, eyes still on Dean's mouth.

"Nah, you're gonna end up where the river wants you. Getting swept away is scary, but you have more control than you think," Dean shifted on his feet, "you know, uh, swimming and all that."

Castiel looks up to meet Dean's eyes, unsurprised to find he's being watched. He wonders if Dean minds how close they're standing, with Dean's arms still around him.

"I'm an excellent swimmer." Castiel says in a low but steady voice. Dean huffs out a laugh that may just be a deep breath, finally pulling away. He shakes his hands out like they've gone numb.

"I bet you are, Rainman."

[aniron48]

24. just really needed a hug sort of hug for 00leiter would be amazing if inspiration strikes! 🥰

Alex, mi vida! Thank you for always inspiring and indulging my deep-seated need for 00leiter, and thank you for this prompt. 🥰 Your wish is my command, my friend! It's here, continuing below the cut, as well as on ao3:

sometimes it takes the night to fall

“My mother wanted me to go to law school,” Felix says. His tone is measured, and this, this, is something he’s going to include in his annual performance review at the Agency, which his supervisor signs every year without reading a word: Agent Leiter is calm and measured, even when he is soaking wet, covered in pink feathers, and holding a flash drive with the plans for a chemical weapon designed to take out half of Europe, circumstances which Agent Leiter would have avoided entirely had his MI6 counterpart not been a fucking asshole.

“‘You’ll make good money, son,’ she would tell me,” Felix says. He pulls his Glock out of his holster, pointing it toward the floor to let the water drain from the barrel. “‘You’ll wear nice suits.’ But no, I knew better. I didn’t want to take the motherfucking bar exam.”

“You wear nice suits now, Felix,” Bond drawls, looking him up and down, and Felix is either going to punch or kiss that look off his face, but he hasn’t decided which, yet.

“Normally, I would agree with you, James,” Felix says. Measuredly, again, because he’s a goddamn station chief for the CIA. “But right now, my nice suit looks like it survived simultaneous explosions at a poultry farm and a Pepto-Bismol factory.”

Felix had had plans for their mission in Prague, plans which involved a timeline, and coordinates on a map, and the judicious use of SIGINT. James Bond had had instincts, and even if those instincts had been accurate, as far as identifying the Belarusian middleman they were looking for went, his methods left a lot to be desired, seeing as they primarily involved a chase through a crowded craft fair in the center of town, followed by what could charitably be called hijacking a bachelorette cruise in order to chase said middleman down the Vltava River. And now here they were, on a deserted dock in a decidedly seedy part of town, mercifully free of bachelorettes, but with an unconscious henchman tied to an oil barrel behind them, waiting for the ride that would take them not to their warm, comfortable hotel room near Karluv Most, but to the U.S. Embassy, where Felix could hand off the hard drive and then spend the rest of the night filling out the ream of paperwork required after the sort of nuclear-grade shitshow James Bond tended to leave behind him on a good night.

“I think I know what you need, Felix,” Bond says, and the way his mouth turns up at the corner can’t mean anything good.

“What I need,” Felix says, “is not to be picking penis-shaped confetti out of my beard.”

“No,” Bond says, stepping closer, and if the British exfil team doesn’t get there soon, Felix is going to paddle to the Embassy on a goddamn inflatable canoe, “No, that’s not it.” 

He brings a hand to the back of Felix’s head, drawing him in close. “Why don’t you start by putting your arm around my waist.”

They’re Felix’s own words from years ago, directed back at him with Bond’s characteristically lethal precision. Not long after the events in Bolivia, Felix had flown into London for the memorial service of another MI6 colleague who had died in the line of duty. Later, after everyone else had left, he’d joined Bond where he stood in the back of the church, stiff with grief and the bone-deep chill of the British winter.

“She drowned, you know,” Bond had said, his tone conversational. “004, I mean. She deserved better. It’s a terrible way to go.”

Bond and Felix had been lovers for mere weeks at that point, if that designation even applied to the handful of hours they’d stolen in South American hotel rooms and, on one memorable occasion, the lost luggage room of a train station in the middle of nowhere. But Felix wasn’t an idiot. He’d been in Venice when Vesper died. Even then, he’d known Bond well enough to know what wounds would be fatal to him, if left untreated.

“It is,” Felix had said. He hadn’t dared to say much of anything else. “I’m sorry for your loss, James.”

“It’s England’s loss,” Bond had said. He’d already begun to go distant around the edges, all of the lines of his body tensed for a fight. Felix had wanted nothing more than to demand Bond come back with him to his hotel room, to fuck him fast and merciless until all the tension bled from his body, until he was easy and louche again, unspooled against the Egyptian cotton sheets. But his first instinct with Bond wasn’t always the right one, back then, and he’d looked at Bond in silence for a long moment before making his decision.

“Come here,” he’d said. “I’m going to give you a hug.”

Bond had looked at Felix like he’d just suggested they piss in the baptismal font. “A what?”

“A hug, Bond. Jesus Christ. Come here.” He’d pulled Bond in by the lapel of his expensive wool coat. “You start by putting your arm around my waist, like that. Then you put your other arm around my shoulders. Like this, asshole. And then—” Felix had squeezed with all his might. “Then you hold on tight.”

They are here, now, tonight—and by “here” Felix means Prague, means the dock, means covered in dirty river water and the detritus of phallus-shaped souvenirs, but he also means so much more than that—in no small part because all those years ago, his own instincts had been right when he’d taken James Bond in his arms in an empty church, and so as angry as he is, he’s powerless to deny James this, now. He gives in to the inevitable and steps into the embrace, dropping his head against James’s neck.

“I hate you,” he says, but there’s no longer any heat in it. “This was the worst night of my career.”

“The ladies liked it,” Bond says.

“The ‘ladies’ thought we were strippers. One of them threw her drink on me when I refused to take my shirt off.”

“The night is still young,” Bond points out. Felix refuses to turn his head to look at him, on principle, but he can feel Bond’s smile against his cheek.

“Fuck you and your entire country,” Felix says. “I’m glad we threw your fucking tea in the harbor.” But his head is still on Bond’s shoulder, and his arms are around his waist, and he’ll stay that way until the sound of a distant motor signals that their ride is near, and the night moves on around them.

[alex51324]

Summer vacation 2024, Nockamixon State Park, part 3: Aquatic adventures!

After Chloe left, Sophie and I had a quiet day, and then on Monday we went out for some adventures, starting with a stop at the scenic spillway overlook:

This is where the water drains out when the lake gets high, but since it's been so hot and dry, there isn't much happening.

(This lake, like most Pennsylvania state park lakes, was created by damming up a stream. The founding goal of the Pennsylvania state park system was for every Pennsylvanian to have a state park within 25 miles--almost a century on, this goal still hasn't quite been achieved, but it's close! So, while we do have a few parks that were centered around unique places of intrinsic natural beauty, a lot of them were simply chosen for being conveniently located and having good potential to be developed for conservation and recreation. A lot of them are places that were unproductive for farming, and/or had been subject to extensive resource-extraction, especially timbering, so they required extensive ecological restoration, in addition to building park features. Some people are disparaging about our "fake lakes," but honestly, I think it's rather splendid, both in intention and result.)

Anyway, after the overlook, we walked the park's paved trail, which goes along one side of the lake and to a small waterfall. You can take a little detour out onto the fishing pier, which has stunning views of the lake:

(On the July 4 holiday--of which more, anon--this section of the park was packed. This is one of the parks nearest to Philadelphia, so a lot of people and families came out for the day.)

Here's the waterfall:

And a sign about it:

A wider view, showing more of the stone wall:

After that, it was back to the cabin for a campfire!

Tuesday, we got up early for a special adventure:

Kayaking! The previous day, I had tried to sign up for the local park's free kayaking program, again, and got wait-listed (even though it had just opened for registration that day), so I decided I'd just watch some how-to videos and try it on my own. Luckily, the temperature really dropped overnight, Monday into Tuesday, so it was cool enough for Sophie to hang out by herself in the car for a bit, as long as I got there first thing when the rental stand opened.

(Note: Sophie is very chill about being in the car; I clip her harness to the seatbelt and open all four windows the whole way, and make sure she has a big bowl of water in reach. This would not work with every dog.)

Anyway, kayaking was fantastic; I'm already planning to go again at the local lake, once the current heat wave is over. I mostly noodled around close to the rental area:

But the kayak felt very stable--I canoed a little as a kid, and I was really surprised to find that the kayak was less "tippy." It was also very easy to paddle; I expected I'd be super-sore the next day, but I wasn't.

This lake is long and narrow, so there was a lot of shoreline to explore. I think this is about as far out as I got:

Here are some cormorants that like to sit on these big floats near the boat rental stand:

One more kayaking picture:

So if anyone out there's been thinking about trying kayaking--do it! If I--with my noodle arms, aversion to physical danger, and general lack of athleticism--can do it and enjoy it, you probably can, too!

After the kayak adventure, we took a drive down to a nearby town with some interesting shops--Doylestown, it's called. It has three bookstores, a rarity in these days, and a found a parking spot in the shade, so Sophie could hang out while I popped in (and checked on her between shops). After that we took a nice walk around the town, looking in windows (me) and collecting pats from strangers (Sophie).

Back to the cabin for another campfire--I'm going to do a food post next, because I made a lot of interesting campfire dinners--and then a night walk down to the wading spot at the lake:

My phone camera is not especially good for low-light conditions, but this turned out sort of atmospheric, I think.

Wednesday we took a hike, through an area with lots of berry bushes and lake views:

It was pretty hot, but a gorgeous day:

Then a campfire and a sunset walk to the lake:

Thursday was the July 4 holiday, which in Pennsylvania is always a Free Fishing Day, when you don't need a license to fish on state waters, and the park had fishing equipment to borrow, so I picked some up, and we went back to the fishing pier! Luckily, even though there were a lot of people, we got a spot. And I caught some fish!

This was actually my second fish; I caught one almost as soon as I put the hook in the water, and I Was Not Prepared, so I just put it back right away.

After that I got a bucket out of the car and filled it with lake water, so I could appreciate my fish for a little longer:

This guy jumped out of the bucket and escaped, but after that I covered the top of the bucket with my fish identification brochure, and ended up with four in the bucket!

So, I may have caught six fish, or four and two of them twice. (I identified two different kinds, green sunfish and bluegill, but within each type they all looked pretty similar.) I fished for a bit over an hour, then put the fish back and gave the spot to somebody else. We walked around a bit, and checked out a few areas of the park; somewhere or other--I think it was the boat launch area where we had lunch, but it might have been at the fishing pier, or somewhere else, we saw this cool boat!

It's all wood; the guy said his uncle had it made in Canada.

Once we'd had enough of the crowds, we went to a spot called John's Pond, which is one of those where you park on the shoulder of the road and walk in a little ways. I thought I'd try fishing a little there:

I caught one more little fish in there--and a lot of seaweed, and lost most of the hooks they gave me.

So I went to the Marina and bought some more--they have a vending machine--and we tried the fishing pier there. This one had no shade, but luckily, we had stopped at a yard sale earlier:

This beach umbrella was only $1, and I've already gotten my money's worth out of it! It was kind of baking on that pier, and I wasn't catching anything, so we packed it in and went back to the cabin. I had been going to walk down to the wading spot and see if I could see any fireworks there--town 4 miles away in the direction you're looking in that spot was having them--but just as it was getting dark it started to pour. So instead we sat on the porch and watched the rain for a bit, then went in to start packing up before our last night at the cabin.

The morning was hazy and hot, but on our way out we made a last stop at the wading spot:

And that was our trip! Another good one, even with the weird incident at the beginning.

[tiny-minecraft-rabbit]

Untitled Soulmate Goose

Or, Joel and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad misadventure for his soulmate. This is Part Three!

Here for Chapter One - Read on AO3 - Next Chapter (coming soon)

Apparently the goose needed him on the completely other side of town; which was extremely unfortunate, because the goose apparently didn’t know anything about public transport and how it, not only got you from one place to another quickly, but also meant you didn’t have to walk the whole way there. That being said, Joel was pretty pissed that he was now at Relationship Boating Park, what is only supposed to be a ten minute bus ride, two hours later in only sandals! 

The goose was terrible. The goose was awful and evil. If his soulmate was in another town and the goose made him walk all the way there he was going to risk the Universe Retribution of killing a soul animal and strike down the feathered beast. No person was worth this much trouble of being chased by a goose. 

He could see the lake in the distance, a long, thin thing where you saw the opposite coast before you saw the coasts to the sides. It was glistening and it was still early enough in the day that there were couples paddle boating and small canoes and families on the shore having picnics. It would have been nice, serene even, if the goose wasn’t pecking at his heels. He was pretty sure there would be bruises in the morning from how much the goose had gotten him. 

They passed loads of people as he was forced towards the lake. It took a minute for him to realize that the goose was definitely trying to get him in the water and that was where he drew the line.

“No!” he shouted as he dodged another running attack from the goose. “I’m not– I’m not going in the water! If he’s on the other side I’d rather walk around the entire lake than get soaking wet; and if he’s in a boat I can very much wait for him here!” 

The goose, obviously, did not appreciate his insolence, as it hissed at him and flapped it’s wings to propel itself at him. He yelped as he ran from it, hopping on top of a picnic table to avoid it biting his heels more. 

That put a stop to it surprisingly. He hadn’t thought it would be a mere three foot vertical jump up that would finally make the goose stop, but apparently it was. It stared at him and he stared at it. 

Thus began the long stand off between the two of them. Joel would like to say that he could out-wait some stupid goose, that eventually the thing would turn around and into the water himself if and when it got bored of standing by some picnic bench. This, however, wasn’t a normal goose, it was a bloody magically summoned soul animal. It wouldn’t need to eat or sleep or go terrorize someone else for fun, the thing had a single goal in mind, and wouldn’t stop until that goal was achieved so it could return to whence it came. Which means that Joel was very much stuck until he finally gave in and let the goose chase him. 

But he was stubborn, angry, and tired of the goose. Logically, there was nothing he could do to stop this goose. Emotionally, he was going to sit here until the goose was gone, it was the only thing he could do to stay sane. 

So, he sat down on top of the table, the goose sat in the dirt, and they watched each other. His tail thrashed behind him and the goose would occasionally hiss lowly whenever he shifted too much. Seems they were both stubborn geese. 

Joel sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialing Grian. The goose seemed rather angry at that, but it didn’t try and jump up on the table as the call was picked up. 

“Yellow?” Grian answered, slightly out of breath for some reason.

“G, can you find a way to reverse this?” Joel grumbled, giving the goose the bird when it honked angrily at him, “I’ve decided this is stupid and I want to come home.” 

“Yeah sure,” Grian huffed and there was a ruffle of wings, “I think the spell is busted anyways– No! Would you– oh, pinfeathers and needle pricks– Would you stop!” 

“Uh.. Grian? You good?” 

“Yeah! It’s just, after you left me and Scar tried the spell again and well. There’s a very angry cockatoo trying very hard to land on Scar and I’ve been trying to tell it for the last hour it’s going in the wrong direction! So, yes, Joel, I will find a reverse spell, cause I am not letting it anywhere near Scar and letting him be right.” 

Joel sighed and dropped his head in hands. If Grian’s cockatoo was anything like his Canada goose, then it would be a long time before that reverse spell would ever be in action. 

“Got it. Thank you.” He ended the call. 

The goose seemed rather smug from where it sat.

[leopoldainter]

Buffer lament no ti.me to cry. CradleOfilth

Those hellos, come helps that bathroom toilet paper. In the hotel underShad3really walk way and come closer say happy birthday to the sight of smell herpes Hell ya herpes

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How about over Ander Joanna previously bridget

Ba ba black sheep, it came with the night stand there as a kid craflOfilth cuz I wasn't gennveer Good9

Ok can someone explain how much of Australia is minable because we got that coal thing goingfog foggy

You gotta try at least another charm before Moses takes his stick out

An indoor swing I feel soreclpwered to the ground

Now try something with chamber in the title and no one standingalert by the ball floor courtyard it came with his own ride away from here

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-justa nona

It's very dirty water. You can see the brown of the dirt on,the bridge you tame past regulation out of district street funded coFunded by the good people at wraptalmond chocolate 2$

5 bill

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Ok where the gd girl

We got table cloths hun

B a

M a

Moved away flew away gave away one fell out

Save the singing

Schools have breakfast.

Only if she's from russia

Just like that tap tap,but only if you logged in early and show up with I don't know say every moonless in neopets, but maybe yours are allowed to watch in the library when ut rains always squid oops seatbeltw pukeSplat tight d'exNeyeLook glued

How boar this bluenose dolt xeip sail boat huh look it says enjoy tge ride to Montreal the whol

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Be honest,

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The plow does the parking lots through we assumed you heard Norms moms sick of seeing snow from the bridge in the river, she's got paddle boats cooling by there

-cepretPractice secretary with debit combine lost the walkie in the parking lot with her kids hearing aids and glove

Omygosh you were with Josh last weekend

Beg a tiny hippo fuck yeah then some pbBath tub

Are you ok

She wants to know how fat your knuckles clump mom are we getting a new puppy or mayonaissr

Mi lufa

I don't even like any food

Stairs! Are you ok it's so many sides andsqarees and even rainbows.Im coming in321 are u p AfoxTrot ok there

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[mightyflamethrower]

The far-left Washington Post is awfully excited about an electric vehicle (EV) driving 20,0000 miles from the Arctic to the South Pole and just as ecstatic to bury the inconvenient facts about this ludicrously dumb legendary trip.

“They drove from the Arctic to the South Pole – in an electric car,” screams the excited headline from one of the most dishonest publications on the planet.

“Scottish adventurers Chris and Julie Ramsey wanted to prove their electric SUV was as rugged and reliable as a conventional car. To do it, they decided to take it on a drive,” the Post reports.

“That drive started in March on the frozen waters of the Arctic Circle near the North Pole. It ended in December, about nine months and approximately 20,000 miles later, at the south pole in Antarctica.”

“The couple … hoped their feat could inspire other adventurers and any consumers considering electric vehicles,” the Post adds. “We could have failed at any moment, for whatever reason, and you just don’t know if you’re going to make it,” Julie Ramsey told the Post. “It just proves that EVs can go the distance.”

Yep, those amazing EVs, currently stuck in what is far from the coldest of cold weather in Chicago, certainly can go the distance. Who wouldn’t want to purchase a battery-powered car capable of driving 20,000 miles in nine months? After all, such a miraculous accom— Wait. According to my public school math, that’s an average of only 80 miles daily.

Hey, maybe 80 miles per day is impressive, considering the harsh environment.

Or maybe not…

As they continued south through Calgary, Alberta, and Vancouver, B.C., before entering Washington state, the couple said they faced another challenge: unreliable charging stations. The Ramseys praised the size and coverage of the electric-vehicle charging network in the United States but said they often encountered stations across the country that weren’t working.

Maybe I’m being too cynical. Maybe averaging 80 miles daily is a way not to rush and enjoy the trip.

Or maybe not…”The Ramseys stopped to sightsee but spent much of their time on the road, nervously watching their speed and battery levels to avoid getting stuck.”

Hey, at least they made it without any special treatment, right?

Or maybe not…

Before the trip, the couple partnered with an energy company, Enel X, to arrange the installation of more than 20 new electric-vehicle charging stations in countries including Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, where they spotted gaps in the coverage of existing stations[.]

But let’s not pick at nits here. The only thing that matters is that no fossil fuels were burned during this trip.

Or maybe not…”The remote location meant the Ramseys couldn’t eschew fossil fuels entirely – they recharged the vehicle using a gas-powered generator[.]”

Do you have any idea how stupid this all is? The Post wants us to believe this is like Charles Lindbergh’s historic non-stop flight from New York to Paris. Well, it’s not. What Lindbergh accomplished improved travel, sped it up, and made it more convenient than it was before, when the only way to cross the Atlantic was on a slow ocean voyage.

EVs do not improve travel. EVs are a step back in convenience, stress levels, and speed. Driving an EV from the Arctic to the South Pole is more like Lindbergh paddling a canoe across the Atlantic. Great job, Lindy, but I believe in progress.

It’s like these stupid high-speed trains. Hey, you can travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in two hours. That’s not progress. I can do that now in an airplane without spending a trillion tax dollars.

An EV that allows you to unplug at home, make your daily commute, and then plug back in at home… That makes sense if you live in a warm climate. An EV for anything is nothing more than an invitation to stress, breakdowns, and inconvenience.

Maybe someday EVs will become more practical, but even then, why? You power the EV battery with electricity generated by fossil fuels. Won’t somebody please explain the upside to me — other than a sense of smuggery included with each Prius?

[karizard-ao3]

I really like the idea of boy scout Eren and Mikasa eloping and "marrying" with their friends's help

I went to a church camp as a youngster (age 12-17). It was a girl's only camp on the shore of a lake. On the other side of the lake was a boy scout camp. Oh, how we in our canoes, constantly under the watchful eyes of our adult leaders, would try to get close enough to see the boys. One time, the boys almost made it to our side of the lake before they got chased off. It was so exciting. I like to imagine Eren and Mikasa meeting in a situation like that and then running off together. Maybe Eren has stolen a canoe to go exploring and paddles out to the other side of the lake, where he spots Mikasa, who has snuck down to the water to have a little cry because she feels like she doesn't fit in with the other girls in her cabin, and he offers to be her friend or something. Maybe they become pen pals like in Moonrise Kingdom. And then, of course, they decide at the end of camp to run away and wed.

[shardkeeperwip]

I decided to move the opening of Shardkeeper to earlier in the day to better introduce Rebecca and Paige before things hit the fan.

Excerpt under the cut.

My chest tightened and my feet rooted themselves to the dirt below while the other girls moved easily around me. Free choice of partners – so freeing to everyone else – froze me to the spot. Canoeing. It was just canoeing. I could hardly slow anyone down or get in anyone’s way. It was just sitting in a little boat and rowing. I’d wanted to do it a half-hour ago. Now I was sure I was going to mess up.

Sasha hurried past me to play rock-paper-scissors with Alma over who got to pair with Jasmine, the only one in the troop who’d been canoeing before. Other girls gravitated to their best friends or split off from larger gaggles into duos. I scanned the thinning crowd for someone who might offer their hand first. I didn’t want to annoy anyone. I told myself that it wouldn’t matter that I’d never done this before. Almost none of us had. We’d all be equally bad at it.

Some eyes glanced at me and then quickly slid away to other partners just as our gazes met. I’d done it. I’d held still too long and made it weird.

I felt a presence behind me and a light smack on my shoulder. I turned to see Paige Cullen’s freckled face and cheerful brown eyes.

“Come on, Rebecca,” said Paige, smiling brightly. “Don’t just stand there. Let’s pick a canoe and go!”

The tension that paralyzed me in place melted into relief, followed by regret.

“She just follows Paige around everywhere. Like she’s lost.” The whisper overheard at breakfast echoes in my thoughts.

“You’re okay with always doing stuff with me?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Paige raised an eyebrow. “Where’s this coming from?” She cast a fierce gaze around at the other campers as though hoping she’d catch one of them smirking.

“I just… I mean… I’m not holding you back, am I?” I stammered. “In case you want to go with someone else?”

“I’m cool with going with you,” said Paige. “Did you want to go with someone else?”

By now everyone else was partnered up, so I shook my head and followed Paige. Why shouldn’t I always hang out with her? She was my friend, after all. I hesitated to call her a “best friend” because I’ve never really been sure where the mark is for that sort of thing, but we probably counted. She’d introduced herself to me at lunch one day. I was too shy to do more than just answer her questions at first, but now we share our interests and hang out. I don’t know how I’d have ever gotten along if Paige hadn’t made the first move.

Seven canoes set forth on the small lake (really more of a large pond, I thought). It didn’t take long to get the hang of rowing as we worked together to steer. A light breeze and an overcast sky kept us cool while a pair of ducks watched us from the reeds. It was nice. I let myself relax and followed Paige’s commands when she wanted to turn. It seemed silly that I’d been so hesitant earlier. This was fun.

“Your turn,” said Paige. She turned in her seat to face me.

“Huh?”

“To lead. You need to face the other way.”

“Oh. Uh.” I felt my stomach drop as the canoe rocked from side to side when I readjusted. What if I capsized us?

The canoe stabilized and I settled into place. I could see that another canoe had lost a paddle and the girls were pulling it back with the one they still had. They weren’t angry at each other for losing it, just giggling and cheering when they got it in reach.

“I need to be braver,” I muttered.

“Hm?”

I considered pretending I hadn’t said it aloud. That I’d just said ‘Let’s go left’ or something else. But I swallowed and repeated myself, head turned to Paige could hear.

“I need to be braver. I’ve been so worried about messing things up that I’ve been holding myself back. Look, Katie and Amanda can lose a paddle and carry on like nothing happened. I… I think I need to let myself make mistakes. I need to be braver.”

I wanted to scream. I really just said that all out loud, hadn’t I? I looked back at Paige, who put a hand to her chin in thought.

“You know,” she said. “I might just have an idea.”

[alpinefitco]

Alaska Trip Planning: Juneau

Juneau, AK has amazing variety of trip options from the safe and easy to multi-day adventure. Last summer we completed the cross-Admiralty trip over 5 days and it was a blast. We were able to throw in some local runs and hikes on either side of our trip so the packing was interesting, accounting for a variety adventures and weather conditions. Luckily we had clear skies for a few days which always lifts our spirits. Looking back, we packed well for the trip, we stayed warm and dry, even comfortable. Our planes departed and then arrived on time, and we never got lost!

Juneau is unfortunately known for rain, it gets an average yearly rainfall of 62 inches. Rather than big rain storms, the rain is spread out over days, weeks or months. Watching cold/wet tourists dressed in plastic bags scuttle from cruise ship to tour bus is local amusement. Knowing weather patterns such as dry seasons and rainy seasons is important no matter where you go. Juneau is usually pretty nice in May and June which is when we decided to book our trip. July and August are often rainy, and other months are not recommended for good adventuring! Regardless, don’t take anything for granted and pack ready for surprises. Despite our nice weather, this is a temperate rainforest and 2022 was a record-breaking year for rain in Juneau.

Being a coastal community, Juneau has excellent float plane access. If you get a chance there are many fun trips that involve a short ride, as little as 30 minutes, sometimes up to 90. You get excellent views and a unique perspective of the terrain from about 1000 feet off the ground. Flights do book up in advance, so plan at least several months ahead of time. The plane operators are generally very competent and willing to share their knowledge of the surrounding geography if you have any questions. There are many tales of plane crashes and some of us even have friends that have had catastrophic consequences; The larger outfits however are quite reliable and know when to call bad weather and cancel for the day. Landing on water is fun too if not a little unnerving at times. On this trip we landed on one float during a banked turn into the bay, the other setting down several seconds after the first. That was a new one for me.

Crossing Admiralty island is a leisurely walk and paddle with a fun history. Trails date back nearly a century and you can still see some of the logs that were laid by the Civilian Conservation Corp to set the trails. Fallen trees are frequent along the hike requiring maneuvering over, around, or under the massive conifers. This is punctuated by lake crossings that we managed in our packrafts. Back in the day there were tour operators that would shuttle canoes from one side of the lake to another but those days seem to have passed. Thanks to advanced planning we did secure a cabin halfway through which greatly improved our comfort level. The forest service cabins (this is located in the Tongass National Forest) are typically well-maintained, functional, and clean. Some of the older cabins are a little iffy and might have mice though.

One particularly bad section of trail was flooded several years ago by a beaver dam. We struggled to find a way past the newly formed bog but found a log to cross that had been set up with a rope indicating this was not a new situation. When we still couldn’t find the trail we consulted Avenza Maps with our planned trip already plotted; trail was right there, just a few hundred feet away through thick blueberry bushes.

I have to thank Alpine Fit for keeping our crew warm and comfortable. The baselayer tops and bottoms held up to the bushwacking, kept us warm while packrafting, never have odor problems, and are super comfortable.

Overall it was a very successful trip because of excellent trip research and planning, we packed well for the weather, and we were ready for the unforeseen. The weather cooperated for much of the trip despite a day or two of rain. The cabins were an awesome respite. No punctures in our rafts be we were ready for that too. This was a 5-star trip, one I would definitely do again.

[gracelaramusings]

Day 7: Chefs and Kayaks in Sabang

A stay in Sabang seems off the beaten path. Our hotel was nearly deserted, with what appeared to be more staff than guests. A full building remained empty, with all the guests housed in the section of the hotel that was closer to the beach.

We started our day with a lovely buffet breakfast. The highlight? Cashews. Cashew butter, roasted cashews, fresh cashews, carmelized cashews. And up there as one of my favorite nuts, I was in cashew heaven. Cashews are one of the primary crops in the island of Palawan. Hesitant to be excited because of the bad name cashew growers have in California, my presumption is, here in the Philippines, that cashews are a traditional crop for a reason, so I heartily and guiltlessly consumed them in the hopes and with the expectation that they are grown in a way that is beneficial to the local population.

Our beachfront table overlooking the turquoise water and traditional fishing boats made the cashews that much more delicious.

Almost literally in the middle of nowhere, we decided to first walk the beach. The walk led us to the launch where the boats took the tourists to another boat for the underground river.

Since we needed to book our transport to our next destination, we entered the first tour agency we saw at the dock and inquired about methods of transport. We had hoped to take a boat from Sabang to Port Barton, and heard it was possible. The agency matriarch asked us to sit down, and inquired about what we were interested in. For whatever reason, I got a heavy-ish feeling from the establishment. We quickly came to understand that, while we might be able to find someone who was willing to take us, it would be both at a price, and at our own risk. We got quotes for the van and the “at your own risk” boat transport from the first agency, then proceeded with our walk to weigh our options and get a sense of the village. I joked with Yuval that the agency seemed a bit mafia-esque, and he seemed to agree.

There’s nothing like walking a beach for as far as it will take you. We saw a canoe maker carving a traditional boat from wood, children playing, roosters cockle-a-doing. Deep breaths, long strides, turquoise water.

Heading back, we entered another agency at the other end of the port. This one was filled with about five jovial women, who were most certainly were busy with something, but gave us all their attention when we entered. They made mention of International Women’s Day, and that this whole month is a celebration of women, and I instantly loved them. Nothing like your gut, and your gut is typically never wrong. We inquired about a boat to Port Barton there too, and they said it is forbidden, that the coastguard will not allow it, and it is not safe. We happily booked the van with them— the price they gave was cheaper than the other agency, and we made no effort to bargain. They swore up and down that we would get the prime front seat, laughing all the while, made note on the receipt, and we left the office, lighter, knowing that while the boat to Port Barton wouldn’t happen this time, a safe and secure van ride would.

Chef Adonis wrote us, apologizing, explaining that he got a reservation that night for a group, so he’d be unable to give me an actual lesson. He said, instead, I could watch and he’d give me a few tips. Perfect!

We headed back towards the hotel and took out a double kayak. We splashed through the surf and made it into the sea. Paddling around, we raced and circled around the empty traditional boats that were anchored all throughout. We’d set our sights on a far-away boat— “Around number 7!” and race there, resting periodically, enjoying the effort. We caught a wave and returned the kayak, and then enjoyed the pool a bit before showering and getting ready.

I headed out to join Chef Adonis in his kitchen.

I walked to the restaurant, excited, not quite knowing what to expect. I saw the workers and the children, and asked to see the Chef. They led me to his kitchen, where he warmly greeted me, and introduced me to his family. A true family affair. His wife Wilma, and his kids smiled at me, as they kept busy, intent on preparing and serving food. I felt like I had been given the opportunity to see the inside story of a chef in action. I was intent on absorbing every insight, tip and lesson that could be learned from close observation.

Taking prompts from him, I was able to learn a bit about him and his story, as he cut, chopped, boiled and seared. At one point he suggested we take a break and come back in a bit. I went back to the room, and returned with later. This time, you could feel the intensity of preparation— the group was to arrive any minute. The family members worked in full coordination. He even invited me to flip some chicken on a grill that was meant for a curry. Intimidated and cautious, I flipped the meat, and was assured that I was doing a great job.

His kitchen. Everything had its place. Scissors, a timer, and measuring spoons were tied with strings to.a ceiling rafter, so he always knew where they were. Brilliant! Coconut milk was measured out in prepared servings, the spices were all labeled at the top so they could easily be recognized. As I observed his kitchen, a felt a little twinge of pride that mine was not too distant from his set-up.

The Chef mentioned that his best dishes come from great recipes he has found. That also was a comfort to me, and left me with a sense of ease, that I could do my best to repeat his excellence, were I to also have great recipes. And I am blessed with having found many great recipes (especially Indian ones, thanks to @Anupy Singla!)

I did my best to be invisible so they could work and I could observe. Generous with spices during cooking and fresh herbs at the end, I deeply breathed in the energy and the smells, and then took leave, taking a table where the other patrons sat, and Yuval had just arrived.

The group- apparently some filmmakers making a documentary of sorts- seemed very satisfied with their dishes.

We ordered a few things and took in our last evening in Sabang. Not an oceanfront dinner, it was so much more.

Adonis came and joined us towards the end of our meal, bringing us some desserts he had made just for us. “May I join you?” he asked, and we abashedly offered him a seat, embarrassed that it hadn’t occurred us to do so before he asked. And there began our deep dive into theology, science, the art of cooking, politics and more. Heaven.

It might have been half an hour or even an hour, where we sat, shared, laughed, described and explored. Pure curiosity and interest, from both sides. From the Big Bang to creation, understanding varying levels of religiosity, ways of observing Sabbath and more, it was electrifying. Simply a pleasure.

As it started getting late, Yuval asked if we could have a picture together (the clearest demonstration of how much he enjoyed the experience, too!) Chef Adonis invited us into his kitchen to take a picture there. I was overjoyed, knowing that his kitchen was his sacred place, and honored that he let us capture it, together.

A snapshot with memories I will always hold dear.

[legacyofacat]

[9] Where Your Core Rests (Kongō x Reader)

Can also be found on Ao3 (completed), Wattpad, FanFiction.net and DA.

First Next Last

Sometimes, cats become canoes

Luigi, as it turned out, enjoyed the beach way more than anyone else ever would.

He ran along the beach as if stung by five wasps simultaneously, hunted waves like no one's business and from time to time turned from 'swimming cat' into 'fish'.

At one point, he had made his best human friend fall face first into the water, resulting in Kongō getting wet as well because she helped them back up.

"Brat!", they called, dripping wet, "get over here!"

With that they sprinted forwards into the waves and managed to grab the cat, heaving him up in the air and falling backwards immediately.

Luigi saw his chance and swam out of their arms at lightning speed.

Kongō, who had watched all that from a few metres of distance, sighed: "Are you alright?"

"Yeah!", the human called back, "good that I stripped down into some lighter clothing, tho!"

Oh, it certainly was. Kongō looked back to the beach where they had put the dark hoodie underneath a tree so it wouldn't get wet.

"Did you think about what to do with your pants?"

They had a change of clothes with Nagara, but it was questionable if she would allow them to step inside her while soaking wet.

A few minutes of silence, then they rose and stepped towards the Mental Model, getting so close that their noses almost touched.

Just as Kongō was about to ask what they were trying to do, a gush of water landed on her, leaving her blinking confused for a good while before her processor caught up with what had just happened.

The human bolted when they saw the change of expression, barely realising the sound of parting water behind them before they were hit by a force that could only have been Kongō and landing in the waves again.

They came back up and took a deep breath, looking up at Kongō with a mad grin.

Kongō, now hip deep in water and drenching wet as well, smirked back before she schooled her expression again when Makie and a very uncomfortable Haruna in swimming clothes waded towards them, the girl waving and smiling brightly.

"Hello! I'm Makie!"

"Oh hello!"

Introductions were traded and then Luigi swam by.

"That little canoe here is Luigi. Lui say hello!"

He turned back, paddling like a world master, and meowed to Haruna and Makie once before returning on his original route.

Makie's eyes were practically glowing at the ball of fur.

"Is Kirishima not with you?", the human wondered, "She said that she wanted to get you two."

"Yotaroh is over there", she pointed to the beach where a certain pink teddy bear was waving.

"Yo!", Kirishima called.

"Yo!", they called back, waving as well.

Kongō held her hand up for a second to greet her sister and then turned to her youngest one, looking at the way she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Poor girl, Kongō thought, half actually pitying her, half highly amused.

"Kongō", Makie began after looking between the two, "do you want swimwear as well?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

The girl looked critically at the wet dress that must’ve been very heavy and hindering movement in the water – to add to that, her shoes were heeled and wasn’t that just an invitation to slip and fall here?

"What if you slip?", the other asked.

"I won't slip."

Both humans stared at her as if saying 'you don't know that, it could happen'.

And it sure as fuck could, but what was supposed to happen? Would her back break? Doubtful.

They shrugged and let Kongō be, instead deciding to play with the beachball Makie had brought and forcing Haruna out of her shell so she could join them.

Kongō watched them for a while, smiling at their fun, then fished Luigi out of the water when he swam by.

He was scandalised and gaping at her.

"Hyūga is coming back", she explained, "that means we will leave soon."

The cat slumped like a whining child, head falling back like that of a corpse so she just continued holding him.

Said woman came walking into sight soon afterwards, Takao trailing behind her: "Kongō!", she waved the shard, stored in a little plastic container, "I got your results!"

Kongō walked out of the water, already seeing the brunette's catish grin as she caught sight of her outfit.

"You didn’t change? How come?"

"Wasn't in the mood."

"Ah, of course. I'm sure your little friend would have enjoyed it though."

"Lies!"

All eyes turned towards said friend splashing through the water towards them.

"I would only have enjoyed it if Kongō would have enjoyed it!"

So you would have…

Kongō brought them back on track: "What did you find?"

"I couldn't define who of them exactly, but this nanomaterial belongs to one of the battleships of the Pennsylvania class", she threw the container to Kongō who caught it, "seems like you're going to America next."

[realcrimestory]

Terror At Lake Shawnee Amusement Park

In 1783 Mitchell Clay and his 13 children found some beautiful land in Princeton, West Virginia and decided to build their homestead there. People familiar with this slice of history say that the father truly may not have realized that his new land had been a Shawnee Native American trading post and burial ground; Mitchell may have honestly believed he was the first person there. Either way, this was a deadly mistake; understandably the Shawnee were none too pleased that their sacred grounds were suddenly inhabited by strangers. They quickly decided to do something about it, and Mitchell’s children would pay the ultimate price.

Young Tabitha Cole was attacked whilst washing clothes in the river, while her brothers Ezekiel and Bartley were taken from a field where they had been playing. The Shawnee stabbed and scalped Tabitha and Bartley; Ezekiel was taken to Chillicothe, Ohio, where he was promptly burnt at the stake. As soon as Mitchell heard that his children had been captured, he traveled to Chillicothe to save them; tragically he was just a few moments too late. The hysterical father took his children back home to bury, then retaliated by killing several Shawnee.

We’ll skip ahead to 1926, when Conley T. Snidow purchased the land and built Lake Shawnee Amusement Park. It was really a nice place; there were cabins, a dance hall, swimming pool, a lake with canoes and paddle boats, rides such as swings and a carousel. It was a very popular destination in it’s heyday, and thousands of people spent their hard earned money to vacation there with their families; it was especially loved by coal miners.

Once this place opened, more tragedy ensued. Several people were reported to have died in freak accidents at the park. One little girl was hit by a truck as she swung on the circle swing; another little boy drowned while swimming after getting his hand stuck in a drain pipe, this poor kid was not found until late that evening.

By 1966 the owner was forced to shut the place down as there had just been too many tragedies. In the 80’s it’s owners planned to use the land as a fun mudding spot, when archaeologists heard of this they decided to excavate the area. They found foods from all over, weapons, beads, all sorts of artifacts, and many, many ancient Native American corpses. It seems that most of those buried on the land had been children who’d passed away from malnutrition, anemia, etc. Some of the excavated bodies date back to the 1200’s. The land was not fully excavated, there are believed to be another 3,000 bodies there today, peacefully undisturbed.

Lake Shawnee Amusement Park still stands, and is available for visits. The family who owns the property today is more than happy to give tours, and last I checked they open it up every weekend in the month of October. If you go, make sure to have your camera ready. The place is widely reported to be very haunted – many unexplained things often happen, and a bloody little girl in a dress can often be seen by the swings which move on their own.