#i'm really attracted to skills and one's ability to create

[villowstar]

bismuth!

[soaringwide]

PAC: What hidden talent do you have?

Hello with another pick a card reading, this time on the topic of ''get to know yourself better''.

This time the idea is to look into what talent of yours you are not fully aware off and could tap into and develop in the future.

By definition this might not be at the core of your personality since it is hidden, but maybe that's something you will tap into later in life. So I hope it's useful to you in some way!

How does that work?

Take a moment to recollect yourself, breathe, close your eyes if you need to, focus on the moment. Look at the 4 pictures and select the one that draws you in the most. Not the one you think looks cooler but the one that creates that pinching feeling inside of you. The one that makes you feel it has something to say.

It is possible to feel attracted to more than one pile, just as it is possible to only find parts of the reading relevant. Remember that this reading is meant for many people so it won't be perfectly applicable to your situation.

PILE 1

Cards: The Nectar + The King (archetype) + 4 of Swords Rx + Empress Rx + Strength + The Hierophant + King of Cups Rx + the Protectress + The forbidden forest + yin and yang; 2 of Swords + 4 and 6 of Wands; Priestess Magician

There is definitely the idea of a latent, untapped ability.

To me it has to do with healing, as in, the ability to help people through their recovery process and put them on track to bloom and be abundant again. To remove barriers to healing.

The fact that it has to do with remediating what is poisonous for the person, transmuting something toxic into something positive, makes me think it has to do with magical or energetic healing.

Perhaps you will use your words like a fire-talker (not sure it's the right way to translate but "coupeur de feu" in the orginal french term as in those who can heal burns by talking fire out, among other things), or work on removing magical thorns with your healing touch. I'm getting strong hand imagery and holy words may be significant as well as carrier for background movements in the spiritual realms.

I'm getting you will be or are guided to do this by higher powers with this ability that can help others tremendously, somewhat relaying these healing powers into the world. Like a bridge between the healing spirits and our world, putting healing energy in motion.

There is the idea of a position of authority that must be embraced with humility, respect and reverence, in order to restore the flow and clarity of health, working in tandem with powers from the realms beyond and by learning to develop your own power and ability for leadership whilst staying true to yourself.

You have this undeveloped ability of perceiving the higher realms, harness their energies and transmute them into something not only healing, but also protecting for others.

You would need to go on your own healing journey to gather the missing parts of yourself (individuation process is another way to look at it) and rectify what is unbalanced to find a wholeness that will allow you to carry this energy over to others. I'm really getting that it's not just about picking up a skill but really going through a process yourself in order to reach that step and that's why you haven't reached it yet. With also the idea of learning to listen to guidance and understand your bond to these higher powers more, and let yourself be guided on that path.

I wanted to see if there was another message that wanted to come out and I saw that while this ability is not currently active, and even blocked by your current circumstances, there would be great success gained from going through this journey towards that path. It's a call that you have the option to answer and are encouraged to do so with the support of your spirits and god(s) and that would be a source of celebration and achievements.

PILE 2

Cards: The Fool and Fear and Happiness + 7 of Cups Rx + Queen of Cups and 4 of Cups + The Magician Rx + Queen of Pentacles + 7 of Pentacles Rx

Your hidden talent has to do with performance arts, perhaps theater or dance, with the use of your body alongside your voice. You can pretend to be someone else again and again, endorsing different roles on different days and creating this artificial image for others to see.

You have the hidden ability to perform emotions so that it can be reflected in the heart of the audience. For example, expressing sadness or joy, the whole palette of emotions, and having that be felt by those who watch you. Relieving people in the lights of the stage.

I don't think it is about showing who you truly are but rather as I said, endorsing different identities and expressing something universal through that. You might not always feel passionate about what you are expressing, what role or piece you are given, but that's the nature of the craft. And in some way it allows yourself to explore your own thoughts and emotions by shifting perspectives, so it can be healing for yourself as well if you allow it to be.

By creating an artificial space for exploration of thoughts and emotions through your craft, you can shift people's emotional state and help them let go of what worries of preoccupies them. It is cathartic and the healing aspect of the arts. Ever watched a movie, cried for a while because it reminded you of something and felt lighter in the end? That's what you can give to people: freeing them of themselves for a short while. Allowing them a break from their own lives.

It's a trickery of some sorts, but the good kind of trickery because it is part of the game and the reason why people would come to you. It is to be willingly taken on adventure.

There is also a highly democratic aspect of your craft, as in, in front of performance in the audience, everyone watches the same things, react to the same things, rich and poor, good and bad. You help people bond together by lowering the boundaries that separate us all for a while.

In any case it is a raw talent, as in, you're very much at the apprentice level at the moment. You would need to work on it consciously, nurture this talent to let it grow and harvest its rewards later on. If that reading resonates with you I think that would be a good thing to practice on a hobby level for the pure enjoyment and personal fulfillment of it, rather than in order to make money from it.

PILE 3

Cards: The King, Protect your feelings, Knight of Swords Rx, 9 of Wands + King of Cups, Reflection Rx + 4 of Wands Rx, Renewal Rx + 8 of Swords Rx, Courage + 5 of Cups, Gloom Rx + 10 of Cups + The World + Intuition Rx, Sorrow Rx

Your hidden talent is to embody some of the noble qualities of the King, especially being a protector of the weak. You have the ability to stand up for what is right when facing a menacing majority and would step up to fight to defend what you believe in. You may have a tendency to be rash and impulsive when faced with something that doesn't sit right with you, because you want to confront that and rectify the wrongs committed. You will not take a defeat and will get back up again.

Your quality associated to that talent is that you are full of compassion and look at others with empathy because you have a great understanding of human nature and suffering, and you have a desire to protect that. You are devoted to help people and this helps balance the harshness of you combative spirit.

The caveat is that you might feel like it's a lost battle, or at least that you won't personally see the end of it in your lifetime. You feel like you're doing you won't be the one in the parade at the end of the battle because you will be long gone. What you don't see is that you can still help others in the present.

What you can give others with this talent is that your bravery is infectious. You lift them up, give them courage and they can free themselves in the moment. With you by their side they feel so much stronger.

And when faced with a loss, you are, again, here to help people grieve and be a shoulder to cry on, listening to their pain with empathy, which helps them tremendously.

And for the reason why it is hidden, I think the need just hasn't arisen at this stage of your life. You will need to reach a form of completion and to move on from the idea that things are perfect to the desire to put things in motion again and start a new chapter. A content heart doesn't strive for change.

PILE 4

Cards: Aletheia, Wheel of Fortune Rx + The Moon Rx + 9 of Swords Rx + Queen of Cups + The Empress + Justice

You hidden talent is the ability to speak the truth on what's hidden and trigger changes for those you bring the news to. I see you being able to detect lies easily. It can trigger fears in others because they might not want to see what you reveal.

You are able to see through the confusion and pierce through the illusion, and thus, bring vitality back where there was just fog and stagnation. It might make you feel a bit lonely and isolated at times due to feeling misunderstood. I don't think you have come to term with that talent yet so you may fail to see the good in it.

Because your strong intuitive gift of being able to see your emotions so clearly can bring a lot of healing and clarity to people, especially if you wield it with kindness and compassion. You may get back a lot of love and consideration from helping others.

Because you can help people release who takes advantage of them by shining light on their lies, especially if they are over-dependant and attached to this person or situation.

As to why it is hidden, you may not believe that you deserve to speak up and that you have the right to do so and would feel like you're being manipulative when it doesn't have to be the case.

[creature-wizard]

What's your advice to people starting spirit work?

Hmm, so in the context of communicating with spirits? First, always remember that we don't have any solid evidence that spirits - or at least, the vast majority of what we perceive to be spirits, aren't just psychic constructs of some sort. If we look at records of spirit interactions for as long as we have them, with a decent sense of historical context, we can see a long pattern of said "spirits" conforming to what are very clearly subjective cultural and personal expectations. You can be an extremely earnest practitioner, and your "spirits" can still be very obvious mental constructs.

Now, I say this not to discourage practitioners, but to keep them grounded. Because even if your spirits are in fact mental constructs, that doesn't mean your experiences working with them won't be valuable or enjoyable.

But it does mean that you should be aware that the communications you're getting might not be coming from some higher, objective source, and shouldn't be readily granted that kind of authority.

Secondly, even if you really believe you're working with a real entity outside of yourself, keep your critical thinking skills on. Like, while researching New Age beliefs and watching videos from New Age channelers (who were just as earnest as anyone else), I have seen them make failed claim after failed claim. Like for example, a few years back there were a bunch of them claiming that we'd soon (as in, within a few months) be seeing quantum healing technology everywhere. We'd have these "medbeds" that we could just lay on and they'd fix literally everything wrong with us. And a number of them claimed that Elon Musk was involved in creating them. Elon Musk, of all incompetent clowns. And this level of departure from reality doesn't just happen to New Agers; it can happen to anyone who starts relying on spirit communication to find out what's really going on in the world.

With this said, my next piece of advice is to be respectful and kind to spirits, and make a habit of being respectful and kind in general. If there's one thing I've noticed among practitioners, it's that the people with the worst experiences are frequently assholes. Being someone who leans toward psychological explanations, I really think a lot of this is because they just unconsciously expect hostile behavior from others, from all the pushback they get when they're assholes to people. Other people might explain it as their vibes attracting entities similar to themselves. But either way, it's a thing.

Also? Make sure you're good with setting boundaries. The type of people who are able to say "nope, we're done, bye" or "nope, I'm not gonna do that" have, in my experiences, far fewer bad experiences, while people who see themselves as powerless and always at the mercy of others often have very bad ones. In my own personal experience, one of the best wards you can have is the ability to say "no, now begone" and mean it.

If you're looking for a basic method to get started with, I wrote one over here. I can't promise it's for everyone, but it's meant to be simple and flexible.

Hope this is useful.

[wanderingmind867]

Part two of my post about the founding members of Earth-One's Infinity Inc. This one features a crossover with Percy Jackson, The X-Men, and an older Snapper Carr.

Artemis Prince: Wonder Woman's unheard of child. Born of an affair in 1972 between Wonder Woman (back when she'd renounced her superpowers) and PI Johnny Double, Artemis grew up never knowing who her parents were. She was an orphan girl living in manhattan, but even worse: she was an orphaned Demigod in the biggest city in New York City. She was a prime attraction for monsters.

If you don't know where I'm going with this, I'm throwing in a new property to this story. Artemis Prince ends up at Camp Half-Blood by the time she turns 8 or 9 (we probably can't actually say Camp Half-Blood, but it'll be very, very heavily implied). At Camp, she learns all the skills she needs to defend herself. She becomes a skilled warrior and fighter, but she still has no clues to who her parents actually are.

In 1987 (when she's around 15), Doctor Light comes to attack NYC. And coincidentally, John Dearborn was there on summer vacation (from his studies at a school heavily implied to be Professor X's Academy), and Larry Lance, Jason Todd and Eddie Bloomberg were finally meeting up (after ending up mostly being pen pals for the longest time). Then Artemis runs into the other four, and they work together to stop Doctor Light. And this is born The Legion of the Forgotten!

The Ropesmith (John Dearborn): Sue Dibny's Nephew, John Dearborn is a mutant with the ability to summon, create and control ropes made of pure energy. Born in 1974, John's mother died giving birth to him. His father raised him for a while, but then he died in a car crash when John was 3.

Adopted by Ralph and Sue in 1977, John began really manifesting his mutant powers when he was 9 (in 1983). Unsure what to do, a kind old professor in a wheelchair agreed to watch over John during the school years, at his private academy in Westchester County, NY. What I'm getting at here, is that John Dearborn went to Professor Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youngsters. We might not explicitly say it, but it'll always be heavily implied. He'll loosely mention the teachers and staff there, like it's a second home to him.

But while on summer vacation in 1987, visiting the big city (when he's around 13), John gets roped into fighting the supervillian Doctor Light. And while he fights Doctor Light, he bumps into four other teens who're also trying to fight the evil master of light waves. And after these five heroic teens team up to defeat Doctor Light and bring him to Justice, a new iteration of the Teen Titans is created.

Snapper Carr: Snapper Carr is the team's mentor. Like the Star-Spangled Kid was for Infinity Inc. This team comes into existence around 1998/99, when Snapper's around 54/55. Being a now middle aged man who used to help the Justice League back in the 60s, Snapper eagerly decided to support and back this team of Justice League heirs and descendants.

He's portrayed as a bit of a burnt out beatnik, still talking in thick 60s slang, slang which is absolutely confusing to the members of this team of young heroes. He still calls himself Snapper and loves snapping his fingers when he's excited. He also loves regaling the team with stories of the good old days, when he helped the league fight despero, kanjar ro, starro and many others. He's like the team dad, i suppose you could say.

Red Tornado: The secondary team dad. Being a robot, Red Tornado is functionally immortal (as long as he has someone there to repair him). And since the League knew Snapper couldn't reliably be trusted to guard the kids all on his own (considering his brief moments of treachery back in the 60s and 70s), they assigned Red Tornado to serve as Snapper's second-in-command, helping him guard and watch over the kids.

[trolagygirl2022]

Hi , 🫧

I saw your game just a few mins back. I hope I am not too late ⏰

I saw that your favourite idol is Ni-ki. So I will check “what he will think about you the first time you meet” (tarot) . In exchange-

Please help me interpret this synastry chart . Romantic compatibility

me 1st person (on the inside) , him 2nd(on the outside)

What will Ni-ki think of you the first time you guys meet ?

Cards drawn:Temperance (balance, patience, and harmony), The Hierophant(tradition, conformity, and authority), The Sun (success, joy, and vitality).

During the first time you meet, you might have a composed , cool and balanced demeanour 😭 or maybe you are trying to fake it as much as possible. Whatever the case , it seems to be working in your favour, as Ni-ki will be curious and intrigued by it.

Ni-ki may feel a sense of respect towards your approach to certain beliefs or customs. You are probably wearing some sort of cultural accessories or adorning certain things associated with a particular culture or race( eg: braids, bindi, hijab,etc). This could create an impression on Ni-ki.

The Sun card suggests that your meeting has the potential to bring warmth, happiness, and a sense of fulfillment to both of you. You may naturally resonate with each other's energy and outlook on life.

How will he view you physically?

Cards drawn: Temperance, The Hanged Man inverted, The Chariot

Niki will admire you physically. He might think that you have a balanced and graceful physical presence.

There is a sense of balance and moderation you exude in your outfits or look that he likes when he sees it .

There might be a difference of physical attractiveness perception. Niki might be experiencing difficulty in changing their current perception of physical appearance. (His personal preference might be different from you)

Niki may feel a powerful connection to you on a physical level, because of a sense of mutual values and shared goals. He might find your drive and passion, very attractive.

( I don’t know what else to add, so I’ll end this here 😭👍🏼 . Remember this is based on my tarot abilities, so take this with a grain of salt. Thanks 💋💋💋)

Thank you so much for this! (Also yours really resonated as I have braids lollllll) Here's your interpretation:

Your Sun conjunct his Mars: This placement has two forms, either lust or annoyance. You could have originally thought of him as someone who is either arrogant of very charming. He seems to be someone that you see and go "yeah that's my type right there". Since it's in Leo this can also mean a type of adoration or strong attraction. You guys probably share strong values and ideas.

Your Moon in his 2nd house: You rely on him alot and I see you feeling free to talk to him about anything. His energy is coming off as quite soft here. I see him possibly buying you things or doing certain things and actions.

His Mercury trine your Mars: You two could be good business partners not going to lie. I see his communication skills and your ambition working very well with each other. I see you both bonding over certain activities. The vibe I'm strongly getting is "Gym couples". They go and support each other with their goals.

Venus trine Venus: This romantic relationship is going to be a sweet one. I see both of you having a similar relationship style and you'll be all over each other! You both will see each other as a "safe space". He'll shower you with a lot of love and adoration and I see you doing the same!

Overall this romantic compatibility is chef's kiss and I see you guys doing really well together if you both make it work!

[katatedge1]

Hey there, mutual :3

I was wondering if you could perhaps write Dazai with a s/o who is a siren? If you're unsure of what those are, sirens are creatures from Greek Mythology that can take any form, and lure sailors to their deaths with their singing (which manipulates the mind of the person who hears their song) Headcanons and a scenario (or just one!)

Have a lovely day!

Oh my!! What an awesome request, I'll do a scenario and headcannon!! :DD

You hypnotised me with your beauty!

When he first met you, Dazai thought you were a normal citizen, a really beatiful citizen!

He thought he he could get you really flustered

But oh my did he struggle with that.

You kept on flirting back, even though he used his flirting skills to the fullest!

You even made him blush a bit

But when he found out you were a siren, oh my.

Imagine that you look like the GIF in the start, Clothing that show alot of skin, Beatifull face and body, everything about you was beatiful.

He created nicknames like "Fishy" or "Mermaid Maiden" even tho he knew you were a siren, he just wanted to mess with you.

When he found out you lure sailors (mostly men) to their deaths, he was rather shocked, but he quickly tried to cover it up.

But now that you have met Dazai, you may have lowered your hunger of killing.

Scenario:

The sun was reflecting its light on the sea, and it was going down, symbolising that the moon was yet to come around.

(Dazai is wearing the same outfit as the 0316 mayoi dazai card, search it up so that you can know)

Dazai was watching the sky, waiting any moment for you to come around. He was madly in love with you and he was NOT afraid to let it show. He gives you gifts,love and all that.

Dazai turned to the sea, looking at it, its beauty reminding him of you, you were as beatiful as the sea, gentle as the sea, and calming as the sea.

A head poked out of the water, Dazai's eyes widening as he gets ready to use his abillity.

He wasn't ready for that, nor did he expect it, who would be on the beach that late in the night.

As he was in his own thoughts, you showed your half body (head to waist) in a beatiful outfit that looked like a swimming suit, but not quite it (readers outfit looks like the GIF)

"Y/N? Is that..You?"

"Oh my, yes it is indeed me."

He was shocked, you looked so beautiful, you suddenly came out of the water, he instantly spotted the scales on your arms, legs and everywhere around your body.

"Are..Are you A MERMAID?!" He yelled, not caring if anyone heard him, all he wanted were answers right now.

"Not quite mermaid, No~ I'm a siren!" You said slowly, with some blood dripping down your legs.

"Are you okay?! Are you hurt??" He asked, looking REALLY worried.

"No..That's not my blood, it was a random sailors, my abillity is to attract anyone with my song, or to hypnotise them, that allows me to kill them in water."

He didn't know you had an abillity, He didn't know! Why didn't he know? Why didn't he look into you like he does with anyone else?! Did you..Hypnotise him?

"...Why do you kill?"

"I don't have a choice, it's how my abillity is structured, it can only be used to kill, not for good."

"But, you made me stop killing everyday, I kill so rarely now, I have made progress haven't I?"

"It will be much better if you don't kill at all..."

You walked to him, suddenly hugging him, get some sea water on his clothes, you smelled of the calming sea.

You were as beatiful as the sea. You were as gentle as the sea. You were as calm as the sea.

He wasn't hypnotised, these were his true feeling. He loved you more than anything else I'm the world.

You hypnotised him with your beauty, no powers, just beauty.

@nikolaisswifey here u go <33 hope you enjoy it!

Reblogs are always appreciated!!

[overflowchute]

having a job vs working

so yada yada alienation of labor but basically when you do a work like old ass trades and shit like people do in video games as an idealized older way of working it's a way of life, it's your identity - a dude makes baskets or is a merchant or something. they work. but when you have a job you just kinda *gestures vaguely* doing some role as part of an organization and it doesn't feel like anything. you have a job you're employed but it's not like anything. it's just sort of a challenge you deal with unsatisfyingly on a regular basis that mostly exists as a time sink upon your soul.

all of this came from the fact that even though i am, in fact, employed, i feel like i'm unemployed at heart. what i mean by this is that what i do to make money and what defines anything about me or anything about what i want to do are only tangentially related, there's no real connection between my work answering phone calls at a certain government institution and anything i feel any personal interest in at all, this is what gives rise to the worksona - a sort of roleplayed set of activities and tasks that we are made to dance as a puppet for the approval of other people, also roleplaying their dancing puppet selves, so that we may be given the ability to live and possibly allow the true self to be an actual human in our spare time

we talk about how no one really loves their job and this is interesting to me because i think obviously there must be people who do, for reasons relating to the ideals of being able to feel like you're meaningfully having an effect on the lives of people around you and creating something you can be proud of. but the jobs where you can truly do that are basically vanishingly small and rare and now almost every job is not defined by the social network of (me as an offerer of a service and another as a receiver of a service) but by the role of (me as an interchangeable part welded into a giant machine, where personality and individuality actively runs against the goal of converting money into service into money again), this is the core of the ideal of how work does not actually exist as true labor anymore

that is to say, the labor still exists, the same things are being done, these jobs in some way relate to actual services and creation and activities and so on, and yet somehow the goal is for the majority of labor to be transformed from a human activity into an automatic assembly of mechanical parts. thus does the rise of automation once again lead to the problem of people fearing their deletion, thus too do we recreate a sort of spiritual despair of time wasted in a meaningless existence

i think especially in office jobs and bureaucracy, where you advance beyond the world of specialized skill-sets that you learn how to do and can sort of gamify, you reach this nightmarish prison where you're being kept around to be a human that does a vague variety of office and computer and file related things, or perhaps just one thing, but it doesn't FEEL like you're learning some skill, it's just vaguely understanding the annals of a contrived and stupid system where trying to figure out who does anything is a pain in the ass and your job is just to shunt various comments and paper around in the hope it eventually gets processed out into something someone wants - this in particular distances you from the idea that you've really developed a true "skill", rather than just sort of the ability to live in a corporate space without attracting undue negative attention

hence the total separation of the employed self and the unemployed self, the negation of one's tradeness, and the desperation of having to spend a great amount of every day and structure one's waking and sleeping hours week after week around the gnawing negation of selfhood that makes up approximately 1/7th of our daily life

the madness of it all...

[scribble-dee-vee]

Happy STS! Which of your characters do you think would be most popular among cosplayers? If you had to pick one of your OCs to cosplay, who would it be?

Oh heck yea! Thanks for the ask; I lowkey forgot that STS was a thing

So, I loooove cosplay as an art form/means of having fun! I used to do it more when I was younger, and I still dress up for cons/fan themed events. I also follow a lot of cosplay content online. I must admit that I think about the cosplay-ability of my characters a LOT. Like, every author wants a screen adaptation/a fully VA'd audiobook/whatever, but I specifically want silly creative ppl on the internet to dress up as my lads!!

That being said, I have many opinions on this front.

Taking a broad look at the Heart of Lead universe, I think it would offer a lot of different options to cosplayers. I could see the extended cast catering to people of all skill levels and interests, at least in terms of character design. You got regular-ass humans with one or two defining physical traits (although someone could always go in for more detail, because of the Victorian-fantasy clothes)! You also got characters with A.) complicated armor/uniforms/gowns, B.) wings/fangs/assorted fantastical traits, and C.) like,,, props?? Like there is a very large, somewhat evil sentient sword in this universe, and I would die happy if someone made their own for cosplay purposes. I would DIE.

All that in mind, here are the characters I think would be the most popular to cosplay, based on my observations of present-day cosplay communities online. I've given all them "most ___" awards, for funsies.

Dale Porter – most popular. No contest whatsoever. Sarcastic, evil, conventionally attractive white man. People love to cosplay characters with this profile; it's inescapable, and somewhat obnoxious. He's also fairly easy to cosplay, I would argue, as long as u got a white wig. (I would not personally cosplay him. He is my pookie but he can go ROT.)

Rosalind Lake – most sexy. If you want to wear an ostentatious dress and look hot in a femme way, here ya go. She's not the most important character, but her look is distinctive and fun. (I would definitely cosplay Rosalind.)

Wren Dorian – most steampunk. Listen, if you love steampunk/gaslamp fantasy/cabaret rock aesthetics, she is your GIRL. Big curly hair, big boots, massive belt full of tools, potentially goggles if you're feeling really fancy. Wren also gets some interesting design variations throughout the series that make her even cooler. (I would cosplay Wren. I have closet-cosplayed her before.)

Nicolas – most edgy. At least, that's how I think people would cosplay him. He wears a black trench coat and fingerless gloves for like half of the series; he has emo boy hair; he lowkey looks like Dream of the Endless. I'm not going to spoil his magical abilities, which make him EVEN EDGIER, but those exist, and they also impact his physical appearance. He's a sweetie boy baby who cries a whole lot, but he LOOKS very cool to one's inner 13-year-old. (I would cosplay Nicolas, and I have closet-cosplayed him before!)

Vesper – most fantasy. They're a faerie. He has wings. Their magic turns their eyes and fingers black. He wears sickass gender-nonconforming outfits, including such articles as capes and tiaras. If I was actually going to pour tens of hours into creating a cosplay from the HoL universe, I would 100% cosplay Vesper. They look cool as hell. (Also, fun personality – he's very outgoing and sweet!)

I'll leave it there for now, but I genuinely have SO many more opinions about HoL cosplay potentiality. There are options for the ppl who only cosplay evil dilfs,,,, for ppl who like to play princess dress-up,,,,, for ppl who incorporate gore and horror elements into their cosplays,,,,, we've got it all!!

(Now to get about FINISHING and PUBLISHING these books, so ppl can feasibly do this. Lmao.)

[dy-will-cry]

Once you get this, you have to say five things you like about yourself, publicly. Then you have to send this to ten of your favourite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool~) 🌈 🌈 ← slickskullshock actually decided it's negotiable, send it to whoever you want!!

I normally don't do these, but what the hell.

I genuinely like how I'm able to make my friends laugh. I don't want to say that I think I'm hilarious, but I like seeing that I was able to make them happy.

I love my ocs! For some reason i think that one of my biggest skills is writing a good charactwr with a really emotional story. I just like that I have the ability to create in some way!

This is like. Highly specific but I have a weird thing where I somehow manage to attract either lesbians, asexuals, or autistic people wherever I go. I'm like a damn magnet for them and I will become friends with one if near one for over an hour.

I feel like I can be very passionate about things. When I care about something I care about it with my whole being, latching on with an iron grip and engrave it into my heartbeat.

I've been told that I'm REALLY good at expressing bittersweet and intense emotions through my writing. My teachers, my friends, and evenboth of my parents have told me that I can write something very poetic and intense, and I feel proud of that.

[askthekirbysquad]

"Meta Kniiiiight!!!" Kirby whined, batting at the older puffball with his fists as he leaned against him. "Just let me wiiiiiiiin!"

Meta Knight raised an eyebrow, unbothered by the other's 'attacks'. "And allow you to split yet another one of my masks in half?" He chuckled. "I'm afraid not, Kirby."

The swordsman had already learned that lesson twice by now, after going a little easier on his student and paying the price for it. At this point, with his stash of spare masks dwindling in order to truly challenge Kirby's abilities, he had no intentions of going anything less than all-out.

"You will not get any stronger if you only ever fight against weak foes."

"But it's haaaaard!" Kirby pouted, sinking to the floor. Though he may have been Dream Land's hero and had saved both it and the wider universe on several occasions, Kirby was still a child, and clearly, not one who appreciated losing several times over. "This dumb samurai stuff is different from our usual training!! I can fight really good when it's a normal battle. But this is just waiting... And waiting... And more waiting..." He yawned. Even just talking about all the waiting he had to do was making him tired. "And then when I can actually fight without getting in trouble, I've gotta be really really fast, because I lose if you hit me even once! I don't like it."

"What if you someday face a foe capable of defeating you in one blow?" Given the exceedingly powerful threats Kirby had faced in recent times, such an opponent was not entirely out of the question. So, it was important that, as his mentor, Meta Knight prepared him for the situation before it could arise. "It may be more wise to dodge rather than strike first in such a scenario, that is true, but the point of this exercise is to train your reaction time. Being able to react quickly and intelligently to anything your opponent may throw at you in the heat of battle is a vital skill to learn."

Kirby merely grumbled in response, absentmindedly wondering if there was any copy ability he could use to melt further into the ground. Maybe Meta Knight's lecture made just a teensy tiny little bit of sense, but it didn't make him any less frustrated by the new training regimen.

Meta Knight sighed at the young puff's antics, and produced the Maxim Tomato he had kept safely tucked within his cape. They had been training for a while now, he supposed, and it was good to have small rests every now and then between sessions. ...Even if that was something he himself was notoriously bad at incorporating into his own training. Luckily for the swordsman, Kirby immediately perked up upon seeing his favourite food.

"You will get better with practice, I am sure." Meta Knight said. "You are already quite skilled at spooking Dedede with that party popper, I must say." Handing Kirby the tomato, he added, "Take a break for now, however, and let me know when you are prepared to resume our training."

"Mm-hm! Thank you, Meta Knight!" Kirby gleefully responded, his sour mood forgotten as he held the precious Maxim Tomato in his hands. Good food made everything better! The new type of training was still dumb, in his opinion, and it was gonna be hard to beat Meta Knight with all those extra rules in place, but thanks to his snack, he had a feeling that he could do it!!

...Meanwhile, in the distance and out of sight of the unsuspecting duo, Magolor snickered to himself as he prepared his legion of mini Scarcutter attacks. It was wonderful to see his friends enjoying the theme park he created, and while he did have some Park Manager work to attend to... Well, who's to say he couldn't have his own fun in Merry Magoland's attractions?

[sixxtytoo]

11, 12, and 25?

11. Something you want to do again next year?

i wanna keep my drawing output up!!!!! unfortunately this is prolly gonna directly conflict with my need to expand my musical repertoire, but as always i will somehow find a way to do both !

12. Talk about a friend you made this year

AH funnily enough i didn't really start making friends again til the latter half of the year... one of them is suuuuuuper nice though!! we went out to lunch before winter break started and we got bubble tea in 10℉ weather and we have plans to hang out again before break finishes... i think!! i'm too excited about it

25. Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one.

I ACTUALLY made a handful this year. ummm. non fandom-based OCs i make are usually pairs, so one half of like. the two (?) pairs i made this year would be??? it may just be easier to paste from my notes,,

??? aka. ludolf, the wolf of 1000 years, etc.

(ulrich kirchhoff during their natural life) dob: ???. ??, 16??

age: ???

gender: none/genderfluid (i can't decide), it/they

•holds great respect for creatures of the forest

•maneater, both literal and figurative. it can and will eat you alive

•shapeshifts both for fun and to attract prey

•usually taciturn, but loves scaring and teasing people in general, especially [other half of pair]

•sleeps in trees or behind bushes beside lakes

believed to have been spirited away as a child. displayed what was seen as abnormal tendencies and personality traits from young childhood and was abandoned by their parents in the forest beside their town's church circa 1650. first discovered they could shapeshift while trying to flee from pursuers and honed their abilities over the centuries they've lived. when the townsfolk in their natal village became suspicious, they relocated regularly, never to return to the forest in which they were abandoned. as they grew increasingly bold and skilled in their hunting, legends were eventually spread about a man-eating wolf that lived in the black forest. the parents of families who lived nearby would use such tales to frighten their children into behaving.

IT'S CORNY.. I KNOW.. i really wanted to set some story or other in the 1800s and so There I Went. i also. really love fantasy stuff. and. and

[commiemartyrshighschool]

Two things have been on my mind lately.

It is not enough to be right, you also need to be persuasive.

Video essays are significantly more work than written essays.

That comes together, I think, in making video essays a preferred medium for ideas at the moment. They hold your attention and hit you with sound and visuals alongside words that invite concentration but not thought. They're performed in a way that tone of voice, facial expression, and visual display of information are at least as important as the text being delivered.

Being a good video essayist requires not just a way with words, but also editing skills and the ability to not only make a case but be an orator.

A slick, well produced video essay is a lot of work, and if you don't have all the resources necessary yourself to pull it together you need the resources necessary to pull together a team that can do it.

In essence it becomes much harder to "argue back" in a medium where you need to do a lot more than simply write a response.

Now, writing ability varies considerably among people, even before accounting for things like discussions with multilingual dimensions. But almost anybody on Earth who would care to respond to a written essay on the internet has access to a keyboard! Not everybody can become a novelist or essayist for the ages, but even minimal practice and reading can improve anybody's ability.

But video essays have essentially raised the barrier to entry in participating in many conversations. Only a handful are truly consequential, to be sure, but the comment section is almost always going to be relegated to a peanut gallery unless the channel runner takes the time to respond in a video format.

This, I believe, creates a sort of assumed parasociality to watching a video essayist. Because even if the ideas are on your level the presentation is more likely than not, well beyond you.

But a written essay? There might be apparent differences in writing ability, and being persuasive is distinct from being right as well, yet you won't be able to tell if the response was made on a new computer or an old one, who has the bigger stock asset library, the nicer set, the better camera, the quickest cuts. Things that absolutely do matter in a video essay, as does if the watcher finds the essayist attractive, or feel they look trustworthy.

I don't know if there's any way TO actually bring back a public appreciation for essays though. Less than 60 percent of millennials EVER read newspapers, and older generations don't lag far behind on that stat. The internet is ostensibly a great place to discover, read, and share essays but now that video essays can be delivered at watchable speeds even if they're in HD and four hours long they have almost no competitive advantage.

Text oriented platforms do exist, but they're skewed towards the pithy and combative, the hot takes of twitter, bluesky, threads, what have you. I'm not sure that traditional forums, even the few that exist, are free from that either.

I dunno, it's part of why when I published my magazine I really wanted that magazine format, that print-ability. Wish I had the time and energy to get past Issue Zero.

But it seems to me that might be where some of the hope is to be found, collections and curations with accessible submissions.

Anyways, another perk of the written essay is that you don't need to plot the whole thing out. You can just kinda jam and dash off thoughts without an ending sorted.

[heywriters]

Hey, I have a huge question here, mostly pertaining to that scary "55%," so uh....

Do these US literacy statistics account for ability to read and write in any language, or just American English? Because I had actually looked at literacy stats for the US before seeing this post, and the states with the lowest literacy appeared to be,

areas with high concentrations of immigrants from non-English-speaking countries

My grandparents emigrated to and lived in the US for forty years, and neither of them ever became fluent in spoken English let alone written. I worked with people daily who needed their young children to translate English signs and pamphlets for them. Is their ability to read material in their own language not counted? In a country where approx. 22% of the population speaks primarily non-English languages, would literacy not be improved by accommodating that section of the population instead of calling them blanket illiterate?

That initial link states it tested "12,330 U.S. adults ages 16 to 74[...]from 2012 to 2017" to create "model-based estimates" on US American literacy. They rely on demographics data from the census bureau to fill in their gaping lack of information. Thus, their model guesses the literacy levels of state/county populations based on their,

level of ability to speak (not read) english

educational level

when they entered the country

employment status at time of census

willingness to voluntarily provide accurate personal data with the US government

It also notably counts 16year olds as adults, presumably because that is a standard age at which an American can drop out of school, obtain employment, a DL/ID, and overall care for themselves.

Now, op states "55% of adults can't read long texts" then alters that to say "55% of adults under 30" which is a vastly different number. If this "55%" is based on data from the PIAAC link they provided, 16–29 year-olds do not make up 55% of US adult population. They account for roughly 18% of the pop as a whole (based on census data). So 55% of that actually represents >10% of all US adults. Not that this isn't still a lot, but it's far less eye-catching than "55%."

May I ask why that age range is the one you chose to focus on, op? And does this number account for adult immigrants, English or non-English literate, who received their educations elsewhere? There did not appear to be a variable for adults with learning disabilities or other possible hindrances to individual literacy. Because if that number includes these factors the data is inherently skewed. If it excludes these factors, the "55%" becomes an even smaller number of people.

I'm truly pleased everyone on this post supports improving literacy. Reading comprehension is vastly important and is certainly not being taught well across all classrooms. However, the initial post and opinions themselves are creating the "shock" that we are all in fact illiterate and didn't know it. Between this and the dozens of articles announcing the same thing in their headlines to attract readers, no one ever really stopped to ask a) why are these Americans illiterate?, or b) what was the test basing this information on? In the spirit of learning, this is not a helpful way to inform people.

TL;DR — In addition to practicing your reading comprehension skills, please also practice researching subjects on your own and critically analyzing that research before jumping to conclusions!

Quick question, genuine question:

Why on earth does "more than half of US adults under 30 cannot read above an elementary school level" not strike horror into the heart of everyone who hears it?

Are the implications of it unclear????

I'm serious, people keep reacting with a sort of vague dismissal when I point this out, and I want to know why!

If adults in the US cannot read, then the only information they have access to is TV and video, the spaces with the most egregious and horrific misinformation!

If they cannot read, they cannot escape that misinformation.

This obscene lack of literacy should strike fear into every heart! US TV is notoriously horrific propaganda!

Is that???? Not??? Obvious???????

I know this sounds sarcastic, I know it does, but I'm completely serious here. I do not understand where the disconnect is.

[artsytoasterwaffle]

MY PERSONAL STATEMENT :)

I'm a very passionate person and I love to indulge in the vibrant and intricate aspects of the world around me. The first time I watched the animated TV show Steven Universe, I almost instantly fell in love with its beautifully designed settings and worlds so much that I had the desire to bring its beauty into other parts of my life.

When the time came to start my A Level art personal investigation project, I decided to explore the concept of landscape paintings acting as portals that allow you to escape into whatever world is depicted. Having taken the title from an episode called “Escapism” I explored all sorts of media until I eventually found my strength in gouache. I love intricacy and gouache helped me to incorporate lots of idyllic details into my work as well as maintaining a slight cartoonish style so as to not forget the roots of my inspiration.

My main intention for my escapism project was to make people wish that they could enter my paintings, and I was successful in this by picking techniques and aspects from artists along my journey in order to create the ultimate escape; I was able to capture the blissful and timeless feelings and combine them into an ethereal and whimsical atmosphere. It fills me with love to see other people in awe of the worlds that I've created, so in the later parts of my project I brought more personal influences into it, like my dual heritage (Mauritian and South African) where I created a hybrid out of each country's national flower.

Doing an art foundation course will allow me to further bring beauty into the world with the skills I'd learn, and being able to create things in the future that I wouldn't be able to now would broaden my ability to spread love through my art. I consider myself quite open to new experiences. Having travelled all over the globe to beautiful places like Mauritius, South Africa and Spain throughout my life I tend to meet opportunities with excitement and anticipation whilst taking inspiration from everything, and I would be ecstatic to study a foundation course and try out new techniques and materials as well as developing skills i have already acquired.

Photography is a skill that I am quite experienced in, where I chose to investigate the changes in fashion over the past 100 years for my A Level personal project. However along the way I found it to push me out of my comfort zone. Photography really helped me with my problem solving capabilities as I found myself having to overcome many obstacles such as set building, makeup design, outfit design and much more, but as aforementioned I love to bring out the beauty in things and one of the most rewarding aspects of the A level was getting to see the final products. Just something about these elegant and graceful images really ignited my passion for the subject and made me want to learn more.

I look for creativity and beauty everywhere I go and a lot of my interests stem from art. For about the past 10 years I have had a vast array of interests with my main 2 being toys and films. I am highly invested in the process of creating and designing toys and I find myself attracted to vibrant and brightly coloured ones as they bring me joy with their vivid patterns and hues. The process of stop motion animation and classical hand-drawn is also something that has greatly influenced me for a long time, with my first encounter with the stop motion world being in 2010 when I watched the movie Coraline in cinemas. My passion for toys and stop motion has led me to create a handful of doll-like sculptures out of plastic in the past, however I would love to try creating maquettes out of other materials in the future. I hope to

[mathandsciencearshdeep]

Name Arshdeep Kaur

Math and Science 320

Professor name: Tamara Faires

A) Choose one of the Stations from the workshop. Discuss how this experience supports the Engineering design process/steps (see class notes). Provide details and examples for each step.

The Table  Challenge is my preferred option. For me, this is a really difficult approach. I'm going to go over a few of the engineering design phases below.

What is the problem: I had to create a home, tree, boat, and the initial letter of my name in just ten minutes, which made the task difficult.

Brainstorm idea: I came up with a lot of ideas for this task by using my imagination. For instance, I use different colors and blocks for various tasks.

Design/Invent: shapes and blocks come in extremely useful. In the first exercise, for instance, I loved using blocks to write my name in various colors.

Build/create: I constructed a home. I use a triangle and two, for instance, similar blocks. My house's main door is made out of several blocks.

Test and evaluate: I keep notice of and analyze my home to see whether the blocks are flawed in any way. For the main entrance, for instance, I first used just two blocks and placed them nearby, but after testing and evaluating, I used four blocks—two of each—which seems well.

Redesign or modify a design: I changed my mind and utilized different building blocks to create a person.

Share solutions with others: When I exchange ideas with other people, they advise me not to use the same color blocks. It appears attractive if you use different shade blocks.

B) Justify the age group for this experience (experience you have chosen in 1. A). Use references to support your response.

The table challenge is suitable for students in school. I chose school-age children for a variety of reasons, one of which considering that they are capable of understanding how to complete the task in less time, especially with a 10-minute time limitation. School-agers may use their imagination to come up with creative ways to use blocks, even if they are not all the same size. School-agers can use their hand-eye coordination and problem-solving abilities to complete their task. School-age children use their finger and hand-eye coordination. However, infants and toddlers cannot use such skills. They cannot apply creativity and balance. It's a complicated task that they are unable to understand how to deal with the complex time, therefore they get frustrated.

 2. Choose your favorite station (activity) from Workshop #4 and explain why. How did the experience help support your understanding of the Engineering Design Process (one example)?

I enjoy completing the Playdough button challenge the most. This is a really enjoyable activity. This task requires both finger dexterity and hand-eye coordination in addition to imagination. The engineering design process has been integrated into this task.

What is the problem: Establishing a balance for a high building is the primary challenge.  for instance, I used buttons of varying sizes, thus it was difficult for me to maintain balance because there was more of a risk of falling.

Brainstorm Idea: I started by selecting large buttons to build a 20-meter tower. However, after determining that the height was 12 cm, I switched to smaller buttons first and large after.

Design/Invent: I came up with a plan for a straightforward tower structure that helps in meeting requirements.

Build, create: I construct a tower after a few attempts. 

Test and evaluate: it is important to identify the point of weakness first. I then measure the height, and it falls from 20 cm.

Redesign or modify a design: To meet my requirements, I discovered that it is crucial to divide the large and little buttons while building a tower because doing so saves time when creating a tall structure.

Share solutions with others: I just asked others to come join in and give advice so that I could finish the task. 

[juyub]

An ugly little horror story: Angels of Death

At night in the demon hour they, the damned, whisper from the abysses of time. In the solitude of their self-created hell between dimensions, they relive their stories again and again in never-ending hatred.  Now you may listen to the voice of a lost soul ...

*

Again, the 'patient bell' in the nurses' station was pleading for help.

"Fuck, it's that Muffling from Room 13 again, I've had enough of that troublemaker!"

Auxiliary nurse Christine Lang angrily threw her playing cards onto the dingy table in the ward room and rose furiously. As usual, her colleague Nancy Nutten smiled fatuously as her sluggish mind did not immediately realise what had happened.

"The old hag must have shat herself again if this is the fifth time she's rung the bell."

"Probably, but I'm getting sick of the constant ringing. Hop Nancy, let's take care of the Muffling!"

"What now? All right, I'll go and get the cleaning stuff."

"Nah, we won't need that!"

"Do you think the old bitch didn't shit herself?"

Christine rolled her eyes discreetly, the Nutten wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the chandelier.

"Just get a syringe and come with me!"

Finally, after an exhausting cognitive effort, Nancy came to the right conclusion. The attractive twenty-something giggled with anticipation while she got the desired utensil.

*

"Whoa, does that old slut stink!"

Nancy looked disgustedly at the bedridden, elderly lady who had been lying in her excrement for hours. The aide, who was not blessed with much intellectual ability, and her colleague had strolled leisurely to the muffling patient's room and were now standing in front of the unfortunate patient's modest bed - the poor bed for those with statutory health insurance.

Weakened by dehydration and fever, the widowed pensioner could only slur her words.

"Please...help...please"

Sick from a lifetime of physical labour and fobbed off with a pitiful mini-pension, she had the misfortune to enter the Smrowser Clinic. There, a productive medical staff subjected the old lady to an unnecessary but extremely profitable operation. Since semi-educated assistants were allowed to perfect their skills on the less well-off patients, dangerous complications quickly arose, prolonging the stay in the inhospitable realms of the absurdist health system.

Auxiliary nurse Lang looked at the helpless old woman with a sneer.

"Mrs. Muffling is already lying alone in a three-bed room and is still complaining. Then she's too lazy to crawl to the toilet - you're a real pig!"

While her colleague giggled as inanely as maliciously, 'Sister' Christine took out an ampoule of insulin.

"Nancy, the syringe!"

Almost spastically trembling with mirth, Nutten handed over the desired utensil, which Lang emphatically drew up slowly with the insulin.

"So, Mrs. Muffling will have no more worries or annoy us with her whining in a moment!"

"No...please don't..."

Brutally, the assistant angel of death rammed the syringe into the fragile-looking patient and injected the lethal dose.

"Now the old bitch has shit off forever!"

"Not quite, Nancy, you brainiac. She's only lost consciousness, but she'll be dead in no time. Let's leave her here, it's not like this is the first body the morning shift or the cleaning cunt have discovered."

"Exactly, it was really funny when the new cleaning slut ran screaming from the room when we did three of them in. I'm in the mood for another number. Shouldn't we give old Abdul or Laempel a mouthwash?"

Despite the sexual excitement Lang felt at the murder of helpless patient, rational considerations prevailed.

"No, Abdul's relatives are looking after him and Laempel's daughter is taking care of the bastard. Besides, the bitch is a teacher and could do something. But old Mueller has no one and is quite helpless. The other five in his three-bed room have already been pumped full of Narcotics  by the late shift, so they don't notice anything anyway. The guy is a poor sod anyway and nobody cares whether he lives or dies. We're probably doing the old fart a favour!"

Full of anticipation, the bringers of death hurried to the second, lethal event, wisely ignoring the pleading sounds from the rooms whose inhabitants, crammed together like sardines, had not been sent to the realm of Morpheus by the previous shift. Finally, the club of semi-debilitarian devils reached the future scene of the crime.

"Oh there's Mr Mueller, how are we doing today?"

Lang sneered at the gagged old man whom the late shift had fixed to his bed with coarse leather straps as punishment for talking back and insubordination, North Korean style. The prisoner of Azkaban alias Smrow stared contemptuously at the questioner from intelligent eyes.

"Oh, our stubborn Mueller has had his mouth shut. Didn't we want to take the new tablets from Biondead again?"

Perhaps it should be noted at this point that the above-mentioned drug was tested on unwitting test subjects for the purpose of human trials by an enterprising medical doctor in a senior position at the hospital. The lucrative gratuities of various pharmaceutical companies also created various memory gaps with regard to the Hippocratic Oath and could also easily be reconciled with Professor Luidbeek's conscience, since he did not have one. 

Roughly, the more intelligent assistant angel of Hades removed the gag to put her perverted plans into action. 

"You fucking harpies, if I get out of here, there will be repercussions!"

"What, harpoon? Wow, Mueller is a real firecracker. Is the old geezer dumb."

"Nancy, shut the fuck up!"

While the Nutten was now silent in offence and her facial expressions - in keeping with her mental level - bore a certain resemblance to a sulking five-year-old, the underworldly Christine turned to her victim with her voice quivering with mirth.

"Only, Mueller you old smart-ass, you're not getting out of here, at least not alive. Hup Nancy, you genius, we're going to give the old bastard a mouthwash now."

"You miserable bitches, you're going to hell...."

Although the doomed man had no idea of the nature of the lethal event that lay ahead of him, he cursed his tormentors in a weak voice. However, the complaint management did not last long, as the two unpitying sisters descended on him like hungry vultures on a fat prey. To cut a long story short: The so-called 'mouthwash' consisted of pouring water into the trachea of the protagonist of the same until he passed away in agony.

After the procedure, which was carried out with extreme brutality, the Nutten let out a hearty and infantile laugh.

"Now there's no more foreign words from that weird old fool!"

Satisfied, Lang lit a joint, seriously considering going to the ladies' room to masturbate.

*

"What a shag!"

Satisfied, senior physician Jack Cutling lit one of his 20-euro designer cigarettes - of course completely vegan and climate-friendly, made by hard-working children from Cuba - and grinned contentedly at Nancy Nutten. She, in turn, carefully closed her lover's trousers, rose and wiped the sperm from the corners of her mouth with the sleeves of her nurse's uniform.

"You really liked it, didn't you?"

"Well, my dear, you are living proof that mentally restricted people with rudimentary cognitive abilities can coitus well! You are truly the most sexually gifted troglodyte I have ever met!"

"Oh thank you, that's the most beautiful thing I've heard! Trollodite is a flower, isn't it?"

Misinterpreting the short laugh of her senior doctor loverboy, the auxiliary nurse beamed at him affectionately and flattered.

"Hey, Jacko, have you already told your old hag that you want to break up with her because she hasn't fucked you for a year?"

Nancy's eyes had now taken on a cunning expression, which probably corresponded to that of a Homo erectus lurking behind a boulder before he tried to slay a cave bear with a hand axe in a misjudgement of the balance of power.

To Nancy's surprise, another short laugh escaped her lover's oral opening.

"You are too delicious in your stupidity!"

„Stutity?“

"You don't understand, of course, and that's fine. Well, my little courtesan, unfortunately my wife is three months pregnant and I can't possibly leave her now."

"What, the old cunt is pregnant, then she cheated on you too!"

Surprised, Cutling looked at this abysmally stupid person, whose ignorance was equivalent to some members of the Teutonic parliament. Okay, the lightly spoken words were not enough even for the moronic Nutten. If he didn't want to bring up the fairy tale of the immaculate conception now, he really only had one option.

"Oh shit, that bitch has actually been unfaithful to me! But Nancy, you sage from the bible belt, I have to wait until the brat arrives before I can test paternity. So another six months and you'll get everything you deserve from me!"   

"What a crassly horny declaration of love!"

About as obtuse as the absurdist foreign minister from the Teutonic backwoods, the hooker failed to follow the true meaning of her head doctor galan's words. Caught up in the intoxication of love, an idea rumbled through the atrophied brain of the fair Nancy. With this she now intended to make her lover happy.

"Okay, if the Victimes should suddenly croak now, then you can take out the organs and sell them, can't you?"

"Victimes? Excuse me?"

"He is a young guy in room C22, he must have good mesentery! I'm sure there's a pretty penny in it."

"Oh, organ donation. Maybe I should take a look at the patient's medical records to see if an unscheduled operation might be necessary."

The business-minded medic nodded with delight, and at the thought of the handsome money to be expected from charitable organ traders, his piggy eyes lit up in a glint that was as greedy as it was rodent-like. Then there were the donations from solvent patients to inexplicably move up the transplant list when fresh goods came in. However, these were not to be sneezed at either, but since Professor Luidbeek also had a hand in them, they were less lucrative.

"Besides, the dumbass has been vaccinated six times against coronaborealis!"

The anticipation of a possible lucrative business deal fizzled out abruptly. Under such conditions, the effort was hardly worthwhile, since at best a discount price could be obtained for such pre-stressed material.

"Nancy, my cretinissima, don't worry your demented little head about things you don't understand. You'd better do what you do best and give me another blow job."

"But me and Chrissi Lang can cum dat type for you and you only need to gut him. Have already done it!"

Outraged like a six-year-old or uneducated women in absurdist ministries, the beautiful Nancy now whined at her lover. He, in turn, gazed with incredulous amazement at his, as he so affectionately referred to it among his colleagues, little temporary hooker.

"Are you saying that you accidentally gave a patient the wrong injection and didn't call a doctor to remove the organs? Well, Nancy, I'm going to have to reprimand you for that!"

"What, by mistake? No, there must have been quite a few. At least fifty, because that's how far I can count. We understand the business!"

Cutling was now beginning to brood. When occasionally some poor cash creep went to hell due to malpractice or unqualified care, almost no one was interested. But here there was a distinct possibility that, due to the number of sudden and unexpected deaths, even the like-minded, uncritical press and the overtaxed police would smell a rat. Of course, Luidbeek, the head of the ward, could not be harmed with his connections, but for the potent senior doctor, the matter certainly posed a danger because of his sex relationship. The best thing for him to do was to think it over calmly.

"Uh, Nancy, I think we'll have to take a rain check on the blowing. I'm about to have another mighty heavy brain transplant and have to leave now!"

"No, stay a little longer, I was so looking forward to give head and..."

Before the disappointed blow player could complete her sentence, her grounded Romeo had already hurriedly left the scene of unromantic intimacies.

*

It would be another month before the great war in Europe would come to an end.

Sturmbannführer Alois Luidbeek and three followers entered the village church with the loud roar of their Nazi boots. With his Walther P38 drawn, the leader of the fascist gang pointed at the priest standing in front of the altar, who looked at the SS man and his helpers with an expressionless face.

"I knew we'd get you, Priest. It looks like you're all alone now, Jew lover. Mueller, kill the pig!"

Herbert Mueller, just 14 years old, belonged to the last contingent of a thousand-year Reich, which, however, perished after a somewhat shorter time. Squeezed into a Wehrmacht uniform that was far too big and basically still a little boy, he was supposed to fight for the final victory of his shitty master race with the shotgun he had been handed after a short briefing. With his skull filled with Nazi propaganda, he actually believed in this murderous nonsense -well, in terms of gullibility, the Teutons haven't changed much in recent times- and looked forward to fighting for his fatherland.

Luidbeek had quickly recruited him and two other, more enlightened members of the Wehrmacht. This happened after the Sturmbannführer's squad from the Totenkopf units preferred to desert at a good opportunity, as is the custom with cowardly murderers when things are no longer so optimal, and leave the hunt for the conscious priest to their fanatically crazed boss.

Slowly, the boy raised his carbine and aimed at the priest. This happened almost automatically, since Prussian cadaver obedience had also been beaten into him, so to speak. However, Mueller was not a conscienceless idiot and despite all the fascist propaganda and Nazi bullshit in his head, doubts came up in him.

At first, the Sturmbannführer thought the youngest member of his gang wanted to enjoy the murder of the priest, only to become impatient after a while.

"What? Come on!"

Slowly the boy lowered his rifle.

"I can't do it!"

At first, the head Nazi could not believe his eyes and ears. A lowly people's comrade who did not obey inhuman orders? That simply could not be.

"WHAT? Miserable traitorous pig!"

Normally Luidbeek would have shot the child, but slightly confused by the disobedience, he knocked Mueller down with the butt of his pistol while the other two Wehrmacht members looked impassively at the scene and waited for further instructions.

Meanwhile, the delinquent watched the scene impassively and seemed to mumble something in Latin. The leader of the small fascist troupe misinterpreted this as a sign of fear and decided to have some more fun with his victim before gunning him down. 

"I'll deal with you later! Well, priest, it wasn't enough that you were sent to a concentration camp for hiding Jews, you had to run away too, you sneaky race denier. Before I finish you off, tell me, do you believe that your Jewish God will protect you? Your silly faith has been known to move mountains."

The Nazi grinned mockingly at the priest, who returned the look expressionlessly.

"I no longer invoke God!"

After these words, the power of the shadow world awoke in the escaped concentration camp inmate. Horrified, the SS officer noticed that his supposed prey's eyes turned jet black and he was no longer able to pull the trigger of his pistol to kill the priest. Instead, Luidbeek turned in a flash to both Wehrmacht members and killed them with two quick shots to the head before they could realise anything. Slowly, the remote-controlled Sturmbannführer shoved the pistol into his mouth and blew the back of his head off. What remained was a shocked Mueller, who now sat apathetically on the church floor.

The former priest looked at the survivor with an inscrutable gaze.

"I was in the First World War and after all the horror I thought I had found God. Then hell broke loose and from the depths I pleaded. There was never an answer, but finally another spoke to me and I served him. It was only a few minutes, but You gave me the time to complete the transformation. Therefore, be my promise to You: In the distant future I will bring the souls of Your murderers and their accomplices to darkness. God is not, but only chaos and darkness reign, that is the truth of this world!"

Before Mueller could realise everything, the newly created being disappeared in an impenetrable shadow that immediately dissipated.

*

That stupid bitch! The unappreciated mistress literally launched a surprise coup when she caught her gallant smoking cigarettes on the deserted, balcony-like roof gallery of the hospital after a lucrative and unnecessary operation. Cutling could hardly believe it, the 'little whore' had just told him that she was going to call his wife and talk turkey. If need be, the beautiful Nancy intended to stalk his wife and grab her at the next opportunity.

The only stupid thing about the head doctor's mishap was that the auxiliary nurse, who did not have the intelligence of a mule, possessed the latter's stubbornness and refused to be dissuaded from her idea. Moreover, in the event of separation, Cutling's assets would fall to the female part of the family under the terms of a marriage contract, and his lovely wife really couldn't take a joke when it came to cheating. So now our unwilling Romeo was talking his head off, so to speak.

"Damn you Nancy, you fatal affair, I told you we had to wait until the brat got here! Then it's the old bitch's turn. But we have to be careful and shouldn't see each other again until then. You know, with the divorce guilt and all!"

Rightly, the agitated senior doctor suspects the simple-minded mistress to be somewhat ignorant of divorce law, and no doubt it was highly advisable with regard to the murderous hobby of his sex affair to cease further contact sports.

"No, Chrissie Lang already said you were too sweet and laughed so funny. Then she told me that I should force you to be happy. I'm telling that old cunt now, and that's it!"

Well, there was really only one ultima ratio left, if it worked.

"Nancy, you grenade of the Eros Centre, you are too good for me and I don't deserve you. You know how sensitive I am! I can't take all this! For your own good, I release you so that you can find a better man. I wish you all the happiness in the world and condoms that are tighter than your cerebrum."

"What? You're a fool! I'll kill the old bitch, like all the stinkers in the ward. Then I'll go to the cops and tell them that you put me up to it, you little shit. Chrissie already warned me!"

Ooops, a nice try that backfired badly. Actually, our potential medicus had already had similar but more subtle thoughts, but they were opposed by the separation of property and the will of his conniving wife. So the motto was to gain time and come up with something.

"I was only joking, you stupid flower in the garden of evil. You're right: better a terrible end than a horror without an end. Just give me a little time and I will solve the problem!

"You're a real Joker! I knew you loved me so much. But because you're so sensitive, you can get rid of the old one by the end of the month!“

Three more weeks! Well: time will tell. Meanwhile, the intellectually satisfied Nancy spotted an acquaintance in the dreary hospital courtyard far below her and bent over the gallery railing, shrieking and waving, although of course she couldn't hear her.

The black priest materialised in Cutling's immediate field of vision.

"What the hell..."

"Shut up and do it!"

Obediently, the medico, under alien control, kept his mouth shut, gripping the lower extremities of his mistress bent dangerously over the railing. Stupidly, Nutten's hands, still clinging to the banister, prevented a steep downward career, but brutal blows to them then solved the problem. Finally, the girlfriend in the courtyard took note of Nancy after all, namely when her body smashed on the ground.

The priest winked sympathetically at the head doctor killer against his will.

"You should follow your great love now, so jump!"

Cutling did as he was told and only a short time later the cruel creatures of the shadow realm took the souls of the unequal lovers for eternal torment.

*

At the same time, auxiliary nurse Lang was happily whistling through the unkempt corridors in the section for statutory health insurance patients at Smrowser Klinikum. Cheerful to the point of sexual arousal, she was thinking of her last murder of old Mueller when she suddenly saw a kind of priest in a torn gown.

Oops, surprised? The gentle reader should know here that the laws of space and time, or what mortals considered them to be, are of a different nature for inhabitants of the dark interworld. These inter-dimensional beings can physically exist in different places at the same time. Unlikely? Well, even the brightest minds puzzle over the nature of the space-time continuum.

"Well Padre, what are you doing here outside visiting hours?"

Astonished and shaking their heads, some loitering medical assistants looked at the auxiliary. Not noticing the shadow priest, Patient Murdering Christine gave the impression that she was talking to herself.

"Be quiet and follow me!"

To her own astonishment, the helper-sister killer silently followed the saint of her last days. Although oncoming people did not notice the dark priest, they instinctively moved aside. Finally, the mismatched pair entered the ultra-modern operating theatre 99 for privately insured patients, where an illustrious crowd of doctors now stood motionless like wax dolls at Madame Tussauds.

"As you see, my dear, I have gathered here the worst butchers from your slaughterhouse. I didn't want to tell your moronic friend, but the reason for what is about to follow is your last murder and a promise I made a long time ago. Now lie down on the operating table and give yourself this injection!"

Smiling, the shadow priest handed his puppet a syringe.

"As you will notice now, your muscles are completely relaxed. You are no longer capable of any movement and cannot even scream. However, you retain your full sensation of pain and I will now no longer control you so that you can enjoy it to the full. So, you white coats, slowly remove her organs and take care that she does not die too quickly. After that, you may cut each other's throats one by one with a suitable scalpel!"

So it happened - a veritable feast for the soul thieves of the shadow world.

*

At the same time (!) Professor Luidbeek sat in his magnificent office in front of his oversized, noble empire-style desk. The big medicine man was gazing meaningfully at a fat, golden syringe that had been awarded to him by a grateful pharmaceutical company for services rendered. Of course, there were more tangible benefits from Big Pharma like fat share packages and a veritable bonanza of commissions into non-public, tax-saving accounts.

The latest coup and reason for the award of the meaningful prize was the administration of a genetically manipulated, almost ineffective vaccine to quite a few people who were stupid or helpless enough to let it happen to them. Despite claims to the contrary, the drug often caused rather nasty side effects that could well lead to a permanent stay in the local cemetery. But the enterprising professor had, of course, routinely hedged his bets, and a sycophantic, uncritical press is a real blessing after all.

"What are you doing here?"

The god of the dead in white looked contemptuously at the torn figure in the scuffed gown.

"Dogs, bums and people with statutory health insurance are forbidden here. Well, the security will be..."

"Oh, shut up and stop fidgeting."

Completely confused and motionless, the inhuman medic sat in front of his table.

"Well, you obviously have even more blood on your hands than your grandfather Alois. I knew him, by the way, and promoted him to wherever he belonged. I'm not really here because of you. But since I'm here, I might as well take care of you. So take your award and pump air into your vein. For you, the boss will probably come in person afterwards!"

Obediently, Luidbeek grabbed the golden syringe and gave himself the final inoculation, only to be picked up by the Lord of Shadows himself.

May Allah keep you in the darkest hours and protect you from the terrors of the night.

By the way, this story is pure fiction and has nothing to do with living persons.

  © 2023 Q. A. Juyub