#in gecko feet for them to stick to practically anything!

[new-bird-song]

it is op here I’m sending on anon so I’m not creepy but. Yes! She can in fact stick to normal glass!

Op. I now need to know what the fuck is going on with mac glass that makes gecko feet not work

[insomniac-dot-ink]

Hey! A new wlw short story is up on my Patreon. Check it out! And please consider becoming a Patron for more wlw writing and more. As a struggling artist anything helps.

Here’s a free preview:

Headlights Girl

Most humans carry the night with them. Even during daylight hours, they can shut out the sun, turn off the light, recede into themselves and into that soft secret place behind their eyes.

Did you know certain animals don’t have eyelids? Gecko’s have nothing between them and the violent sun which wishes to cook the colors of their world. They have to use their tongue. Dust and sand and rain, can you imagine? I was obsessed with lizards as a kid.

I stacked up books on snakes and lizards and skinks. I traced the way that sand snakes crested across the land, sideways and wrong. I put glue on the pads of my hand and tried to climb the walls of my room— I didn’t even get one handhold up. I went to the zoo and peered into their cages, up on my tiptoes, trying not to smudge the glass or breath too hard. I tried make out their triangle heads and slow tongue-flicks, but they shrank away from my gaze deep into their cages into the nooks and crannies. Most things do.

Most humans carry the night with them, right there behind their eyelids is an entire world of darkness and sleep. I have something else inside me, not quite, not soft, not secret. They called me “headlights girl” in the newspapers.

There have been stranger kids born in the age of spirits. I checked. Every morning of fifth grade, I scanned the papers for small articles and mentions of “oddities” growing into anomalies.

A boy with fire on his breath. A girl with leaves sprouting from her head. A kid with antennae that could taste the wind. There are stranger things than me in the age of beasts and magic. My father calls it the “Epoch of Bastards,” sons and daughters of flickering fire elementals and wind ghosts who seduced half-asleep ladies from their beds.

He doesn’t look at me much. And I know what he means. I know what he means when he calls it the Epoch of Bastards. Growing up, I played in my little puddle of carpet on the floor as he blustered in and out of rooms like gale force winds. He’d be looking for his keys or left shoe or wallet since he was going out, out, out. I think I missed him at first, in the way you miss strangers you’ve never met.

Later, still on my puddle of carpet, still on my island, I would glare at him with that sour, acid taste in the back of my throat. Acrid, smoky, I would barely blink as he passed; he’d jump when he turned too quickly and accidentally fell into my path. Later still, I would begin to wish they were both like that—blustery and calling people names.

It sometimes felt better than hearing my mom weep to herself on the couch. I wish she’d do it in her room or outside or anywhere else than that theatrical sobbing in the middle of the house, a naked heartbeat to the place. She spoke to her friends on the phone in that same watery voice, handkerchief in hand and sniffling, she spoke to them more than me.

What else am I supposed to do? This isn’t how it was supposed to be. They could barely afford to send me to That School. I didn’t want to be there either.

We weren’t the same, not really. None of us are the same age and most everyone else stayed in dorms where they bonded with secrets and whispers and hiding from matrons under flat mattresses. It wasn’t the same.

They called me The Lighthouse and Car Face and Nightlight. Sometimes they’d give me a few bucks to close my eyes so they could see my face. I did it. They’d laugh and reassure me I was as ugly as you’d think. Or beautiful. Or perfectly average-looking or have a pig-nose or blackhole for a nose. I’d never seen anything but the blinding light of my own eyes in the mirror so I could never contradict them.

A boy with antlers handed me a twenty for a kiss in the 6th grade. I closed my eyes for that too. It was chapped and dry and he runs away with a screaming laugh afterward. There are stranger kids than me, I reminded myself. So why do I feel so much stranger than the rest of them?

I’m 16 when I heel-toe my way down the stairs toward the front door. A duffel bag slung over my shoulder stuffed with a collection of loose clothes, change, a bath towel, sewing kit, a bible written in a language I don’t speak, all the tampons in the house, and a Swiss-army knife.

I hoped to stuff as many cheddar-cheese sandwiches in my sack as possible before the midnight bus came, but he’s at the kitchen table. I don’t think either of us expected it, like running into your teacher at Target and you’re both buying the same brand of toilet cleaner. There’s a beer in front of his idle hands and he glances at the bag on my shoulder.

He sighs like I cut him off in traffic.

“Gimme a moment.”

My father leafs through a wad of cash he kept in a safe in the garage. He hands me almost three hundred bucks and we nod at each other. I’m out the door before the midnight bus arrives.

I watch the headlights of the bus approach through dense summer night and think it must be like looking at like, the glow of my eyes against its eyes. Can a bus be your father? Can your father be a man after all this time? Will your mother come looking for you?

I get on the bus and kick my feet up against the seat in front of me. Scrunched into a ball, I cross my arms over my chest, and watch the trees turn into flickering bodies of shadow with each passing mile. ------------- My feet move like tides. They toss me against nameless city streets and toward empty forested slices of land. I taste the painted deserts toward the west. I dip my toes into the largest cities with lights brighter than my own. I graze my palms on neon signs and hunch my shoulders against brick walls of back alleys.

No one touches me. They don’t come close enough when I open my eyes and they see nothing but heaven or devils or an absent lightning-God father that will smite them.

I find my way to the ocean; beaches where other stragglers gather. I don’t talk much, I don’t like to, and people stare at me whether I’m speaking or screaming and clamping down on my jaw so hard it aches. Sometimes I get yelled at: Turn that off! No phone lights in here. You’re blinding me, bitch!

I’ve never seen a movie in any theatres, but I can imagine what it’s like.

I like the ocean cities best with their pale buildings built into cliffs, narrow winding white paths, and crushed seashell parking lots. I like the tang of salt in the air and the way my hair crinkles from the ocean water as it sun-dries. I camp out on beaches and bum cigarettes and hotdogs off strangers. I’m good at taking care of myself once I get in a rhythm.

Sometimes, or often, I dream of sinking to the bottom of the ocean. I dream of descending on pointed ballerina-feet to the silted black bottom. I am weighted down through the cold to where no human has ever been before. I open my eyes there, I open them all the way, lightning-bright, and in my dreams, the salt doesn’t sting. It doesn’t hurt, instead, I light up the world, the whole untouched world of whales and fish and terror and maybe I do something good then. Maybe I do something good and bring the sun to places that have forgotten it.

I meet Mags on the beach. She’s got one eye and five teeth and carries around string and scissors everywhere. She smells like seawater and roasting kelp, dank and crusted over. Her clothes are neat despite her leather-cracked skin and her arms and neck are covered with tattoos of shipwrecks. She cackles and pulls me aside the first night we meet.

“What’s your name?” Her voice is old creaking wood. I am quiet. “I could give you one.” She offers with a grin that is more empty space than anything.

I shake my head. “Nana.”

“What do you like, kid?”

I shake my head again.

Mags likes me more than I deserve. I pocket her last pair of socks when she’s not looking. She never mentions it and drags me down to the community showers to get clean with soap and shampoo. She takes me to the soup restaurant for something that isn’t burnt or freeze-dried or from a convenience store. She cackles, she spits when she talks, people glare at her as well.

I think she’s normal, not touched by the spirits, but she likes me more than most people and I don’t know why.

“You like art, kid?”

I snort. “No.”

“Why not? You broken?” Yeah. Probably.

“How am I supposed to know?” I snap.

“Lippy-wild thing. Come on, I’ll show you something worth your forked tongue.”

She heats the needle before she uses it, red hot and untouchable. She dips it into deep black inks, only black and sometimes red, she calls them the only colors that matter. She shows me how to prick the skin with color and movement. She shows me on her right foot first, all over those fine little bones that must hurt, in and out, a little bloody.

It takes her six hours to make a little shipwreck right above her big toe. It’s a schooner going under and I’m the only witness to the way she makes the waves come to life and crash against its sides. I can’t look away and I forget to blink. She didn’t seem to mind.

She washes another needle. She heats it red-hot. She dips it in ink and hands it to me.

I practice all over my thighs first, there’s enough meat there and it’s easy enough to reach: a lizard design that looks like nothing but squiggles, a wobbly stick figure on a skateboard, a tiny smudged skink with its tongue out. I practice designs in the sand. Mags takes me to the museum on Sundays. They’re free on Sundays.

Something stirs in my chest, even as the guards yell at me about how flash photography isn’t allowed in the museum. Even as I’m shooed out of exhibits for ruining the paint. Still, an ache so old it rots roars to life in my chest.

I stab in and out, gentle, a collection of stars right above my right knee. A winding sand snake next, and then finally, something good, something that gives people a reason to stare. I make it in the mirror: a ghost on my collarbone. Shadowed and intricate and simple, I put a ghost right above my collarbone and it bleeds more than the others.

I don’t want to leave the ocean city. Mags says she has to keep moving though. She gives me a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“You're a gem, kid. You’ll knock ‘em all to the pavement.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “You’ll be back?”

She cackles. “Wouldn’t miss it. You know me.” She winks as she turns to the bus, my second father. “You think I’ll miss your great becoming, kid? I’ll be back.”

I want to make her pinky-promise like I’m a kid again and begging one of the other kids to tell me if I’m actually beautiful when I close my eyes. I can’t do that; I wave as she totters up the steps of the bus and is taken away with the tides of her own feet. ------------ I get an apprenticeship. Technically, Mags talked to them first and I just followed up when I had nothing better to do.

I didn’t think I’d like it much, but coach surfing and camping out on beaches is a tiring pastime. Penguin Davies and Bitch-Annie run a tattoo shop together. Davies walks like he’s never encountered land before, and Bitch-Annie has a throw-pillow that says “If you don’t have anything nice to say then come sit next to me.”

Davies is nothing but birds and dizzying M. C. Escher house-designs up and down his chest and arms. Bitch-Annie has topless mermaids and pinup girls across her shoulders and legs. She’s been asked to leave a number of stores before the children start staring or thinking thoughts.

Neither of them had ever met someone like me, it’s not that type of town. I rankle at most their questions, a cat meeting a steel brush. I brush off anything more personal than my favorite type of soda. Bitch-Annie calls me “Shadow” and I think it’s a joke. Davies says I must be possessed by the ghost of a dead star and now I’m nothing but a blackhole: take everything in and let nothing out.

Neither of them lets me touch a needle in those first six months. They have me practice on pig skin and stand by their shoulder as they work. I feel like a dental assistant except I’m the hanging light above shining into open mouths instead of anything with a pulse. I stand at their shoulder as they draw thick lines and thin dots and make hearts and wolves and names of dead lovers come to life.

They ask me to stop blinking and stand still. I almost walk out and find a new cliff to crash against, almost. No one had ever expected me to show up to something before. No one cared if I went to school or when I got home. And no one kept any tabs on me after I took that first bus. That’s how I liked it.

I should’ve left, it didn’t mean anything to me, not really. But Bitch-Annie stomped up to my attic-apartment one morning and threw pants at me.

“Get up, Shadow.” She was sterner than Mags, no hint of humor in her eyes. “I told you 9am so I expect 9am.”

“The fuck!?” I am eloquent in the morning.

“Pants, shirt, shoes, and bra if you don’t want the desk idiot staring at something other than your eyes all day.”

I grumble. I put on everything but the bra. No one ever expected me to be anywhere before. I tell myself I’ll just try it out, no harm in having a bit of a savings anyway. No harm in seeing what the fuss was about.

I wasn’t an artist of course. I didn’t understand what everyone else was seeing when they looked at the “old masters” paintings of water or war or lovers pulled apart. I didn’t feel anything in front of stain-glass windows in churches or mosaics on walls. Maybe there really was something wrong with my eyes. I don’t let up though. I put on pants for this, after all.

Penguin Davies hovered by my shoulder now.

“Mm.” He rumbled deep in his chest. He’d gone grey at an early age, he had tired eyes and quick hands. The desk kid said he’d been in medical school once, a surgeon. Davies muttered a lot, stared off into space too much, and laughed like it was always a surprise

“Perfectionist,” he muttered at me now as I start over on a crappy unicorn design. “The line’s barely off. You’re being a perfectionist, Nana.”

I scowled over my shoulder and let the full weight of my light hit him across the face. “Got a problem with it?” He chuckled darkly. His grin is crooked like a broken door handle. I tried to hide my work from him with my shoulder. “It’s not done yet.

“Look at you go. You know who makes the best artists, Nana?” He was always a bit of a philosopher. Maybe he used to study that before medicine.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up. I’m working on it.”

He gave my shoulder a light push. “The ones that don’t quit.”

They let me touch a needle gun before the new year. I tell myself I’ll only sign my new apartment lease as an experiment. I don’t have to actually stay. I’ll just run from the ink on paper and hope no one chases after girls with eyes that glow.

I don’t break my lease. I draw cartoon heroes in speedos on tipsy college girls who swear they’re sober and erotic vampires on the chests of men getting their first divorce. I have to give two refunds for a duck that turns out lopsided and a tattoo of someone’s dog which I swore really was that ugly to begin with.

There was one at the end of that next year though, another college girl with nothing but doors ahead of her. She asked for a stick and poke, that was what I’m best at anyway, she asked for a butterfly. Butterflies were easy, I could do the little ones in my sleep. She wanted one all across her back, she said I could make it look however I wanted. So I did. Wings like fringed shawls and straight heavy lines combined with wispy swirling ones. It’s dark, black ink with red highlights and gray shadows under each wing to give it movement and flight.

I hide my smile when she goes to my bosses and points at it while jumping up and down. The best thing she’s ever seen. She should pay us double. Where did you get this girl? I try not to blink so they can’t see the wetness under my eyes.

Sometimes I still stand by the bus stop to check who’s coming off. I don’t expect to see Mags again so soon, but sometimes I want to show her: Hey, maybe your work wasn’t all wasted. Maybe I did start to become.

🌸Check out my Patreon for the full story! 🌸

[zaph1337]

Monster Hunter Rating 21: Khezu, the Blank Stare

When I reviewed Basarios, I made a joke about how the devs likely gave it human teeth over sharp teeth because the latter might not give children nightmares, but I don’t actually think that the devs ever intended Basarios to be more terrifying than any other monster in the game. This monster, however, is literally the stuff of nightmares, and I’m not misusing “literally” here. This may be the longest review I’ve written yet, so buckle up. Time to get spooky with Khezu!

(How it appears in Monster Hunter 1)

(How it appears in Monster Hunter Rise)

Appearance: I think there’s been a mistake here; last I checked, Capcom wasn’t making Silent Hill games. Seriously, this thing would fit right into that series, and not just ‘cause its phallic neck lends itself well to metaphors. The pale, veiny skin, the leech-like mouth, the complete lack of eyes...Khezu’s unlike any other monster in the series because it’s the only monster that’s meant to be horrifying to look at. It’s got flabby, tattered wings and gecko-like feet, but its main characteristic (other than the head) is its tail, the tip of which can open up into a suction cup that allows Khezu to stick to ceilings.

Obviously, Khezu’s an abomination that came from a really dark place in someone’s mind, but that’s just it: Khezu is a monster that appeared in an MH developer’s nightmare either before or during the production of the first Monster Hunter game, and said developer (I don’t actually remember who) decided to put it in the game. I learned of this from the Twitch streams of a streamer called DuncanCan’tDie, who’s a huge MH fan that’s on great terms with Capcom. Unfortunately, I can’t find any other sources for this claim, but I don’t think he’s lying for a few reasons; firstly, like I said, he’s on great terms with Capcom. He’s friends with some people who work there, and he even has a tattoo designed by someone on the MH team he called “Kaname-san” (who didn’t actually give him the tattoo, but drew the design that a tattoo artist used) and the only person who could go by that name is Kaname Fujioka, the man who literally directed several MH games, including the first one, and who was the art director for Monster Hunter World. So yeah. Duncan and Capcom get along great, and if he was spreading false rumors, they’d probably know about it.

The second reason I believe Duncan about Khezu’s origin is that someone once came into one of his streams (and I was there at the time) and started spouting “lore” about two monsters that looked like they could be related, but actually weren’t. Duncan flat out told this person that what they were claiming wasn’t mentioned anywhere and asked for sources...which the loregiver did not provide. In fact, after Duncan started getting on their case, I don’t think they said a word for the rest of the stream. Duncan believes that this person was just making stuff up to sound like they knew a lot about MH and weren’t aware that he was an MH expert, and I doubt that someone who would call someone out on that would do the same thing, especially if he had a reputation to uphold.

I apologize if I spent a lot of time talking about that, but I didn’t want people getting on my case because they couldn’t find anything to support my claims. But in conclusion, I believe that Khezu truly was born of a nightmare, and that’s awesome. It makes the Silent Hill comparison even more fitting since the enemies in those games are basically projections of the protagonists’ psyches. Disturbing enemies are much more effective if they scare(d) the people who created them, and Khezu is certainly disturbing. Because of that, as well as its ominous origin, I’m giving it a 9/10.

Behavior: Khezu mostly inhabit caves, jungles, and swamps due to the need for their skin to be moisturized, though they usually only leave caves to hunt, which they don’t have to do very often due to the plentiful fat beneath their skin, which also keeps them warm. Their favorite hunting strategy is to ambush their prey from a location usually concealed by darkness, which is made easier by their extendable necks. However, their reliance on darkness, as well as their preference to dwell in caves, has made them completely blind and reliant on their other senses; despite not having visible nostrils or ears, Khezu have great hearing and a very good sense of smell. Back to hunting, while they need to subdue larger prey, smaller ones, like Kelbi, are slowly swallowed whole...which is apparently something you can actually witness in the games, according to TV Tropes (I normally stick to the wiki and what I already know for resources, but I went to the “Monster Hunter / Nightmare Fuel” page while searching for another source for Khezu’s origin as a nightmare). As if this thing needed to be more disturbing, it doesn’t always kill its prey before it tries to swallow it, so the Kelbi you can see it eat is constantly struggling as the Khezu swallows it bottom-first. That’s...that’s messed up. But it gets worse.

Practically every monster in this series isn’t any more intelligent than what we consider a normal animal to be. Aside from Lynians, which are people, the smartest monster I’ve talked about is the Velociprey, which might not be as smart as, say, an irl crow, which is very intelligent by the standards of nonhuman animals. What I’m getting at here is that most of the monsters in this series don’t really take any sadistic pleasure in killing and eating prey; they just do it to survive. But Khezu is different. In several MH games, including Rise, the first time you go on a quest to kill a specific monster, the gameplay is preceded by a cutscene that shows off how powerful or intimidating that monster is (and in Rise’s case, you also get a poem). Here’s Khezu’s intro, and I want you to pay attention to what Khezu does from 0:24-0:30:

That’s right: this thing “looked” right at the monster it was going to eat, and smiled. That isn’t just me anthropomorphizing it, either; I’ve seen what Khezu looks like outside of that cutscene, and even with its mouth closed it has a neutral expression, so it smiling actually means something, and considering the context, it’s obvious what the devs wanted us to take from it: Khezu likes killing. It enjoyed the prospect of swallowing that monster whole while it was still alive and struggling, which means that this is the first monster I’ve talked about that we can definitively say is evil rather than just an animal. Rather fitting for a living nightmare, I would say. And if you thought all that was disturbing, I have some...unfortunate news. I hope you aren’t eating anything right now, ‘cause this next part is just gross.

Y’know how some wasps lay their eggs inside other bugs so the eggs have incubation they can eat when they hatch? Well, uh...Khezu do that, too. And they’re hermaphrodites that, from what I can gather, don’t need to mate, so any adult Khezu is capable of injecting another monster with its “whelps” (not saying that Khezu are always “pregnant,” just saying that any of them can be). And you know the really crazy part? After everything I said about Khezu, there are still people in the MH world that tame them and keep them as pets. Why would you want to have a slimy, flabby, sadistic, parasitoid, 14-to-40-foot abomination as a pet!? God, people are so freaking weird.

EDIT (05/07/2021): My older brother reminded me that I forgot about one of the odder aspects of Khezu; when you enter a fight with a Main Monster, its battle theme plays (don’t know if every monster has a unique theme, but several do, to my knowledge), but Khezu has no theme to speak of. I don’t know if this is true in every game, or even if it was intentional at first, but it’s still both funny and eerie at the same time. There’s no background music until you get in a fight, so if you somehow tick off a Khezu without seeing it, then it can sneak up on you. “But Zaph, the moment a monster enters ‘fight mode,’ it roars! So the Khezu will give away its position!” See, you’d be right about that if it wasn’t for the fact that, according to TV Tropes at least, Khezu’s roar sounds just like wind--howling wind, yes, but wind all the same. I don’t know if there’s any howling wind SFX in the areas where Khezu live, so for all I know you’ll still be able to identify it in a hurry, but just imagine what that’s like in-universe! Imagine that you’re walking around in the Frost Islands or something and hear a chilling wind from out of nowhere. Unless you’re an experienced hunter, you’d likely have no idea if that was a Khezu or not, so you wouldn’t know if it’s too late to run or not, or even if you should run at all. Going back out of universe, the details I just described are very nice touches to a monster that was already horrifying in behavior, so I’m bumping the score here up from the 7 I initially gave it to 8/10.

Abilities: All of the “Flying Wyverns” I’ve talked about so far have had a lot of trouble with the whole “flying” part, and Khezu are no exception; they’re better at it than Diablos and Gravios, but they still need to flap really frantically to stay in the air. They’re great at jumping, though, and their gecko-like feet allow them to scale walls and stick to ceilings, something that their tails also allow them to do. Khezu are Thunder-element monsters capable of discharging electricity in a manner of ways, including shooting balls of it from their mouths and emitting it all around their bodies. Since Khezu like to spend time around water, their attacks are even more dangerous, as everything near them will likely be wet and therefore more conductive. This also applies to Khezu themselves, which may be why they stick their tails onto the ground before discharging electricity; they ground themselves so that they don’t shock themselves. Finally, Khezu saliva is very dangerous; we don’t know if it’s electric or acidic, but anything that gives off smoke when it touches something probably isn’t good for your health, which is why owning a pet Khezu is so dangerous; their drool can literally kill you. 7/10.

Equipment: Most Khezu weapons are as interesting as you’d expect them to be, considering the monster they’re made from. Most of them have a horror aesthetic, like this Great Sword called the Khezu Shock Sword:

I just noticed that the skin is actually stretched over the blade, rather than being what the blade’s attached to. Gross, but I never expected Khezu weapons to look pretty. There are also weapons which emphasize the monster’s electric aspect, like this Gunlance called the Full Voltage:

It still has Silent Hill vibes due to its “rusty hospital” aesthetic, and looking at it long enough reveals little details it inherited from Khezu. Speaking of hospitals, there are a couple of weapons based off of syringes, such as the Khezu Syringe, which is a Light Bowgun, and a Lance from MHFG that’s literally a giant hypodermic needle, but I didn’t want to show those off in case they triggered anyone with needle phobia. The last weapon I’m gonna show will be very familiar to those of us who’ve played the Rise demo a lot: the Insect Glaive known as the Bolt Chamber!

I like the green tube running from the sac between the blade and the shaft of the glaive; according to the Bolt Chamber’s in-game description, it uses that “pulsating device” to steal energy from its targets. If you mentioned that to me before I grabbed its image for this review, I probably would have asked how it did that. If you then pointed out the mouth at the glaive’s end, I would have thanked you for cursing me with the knowledge of its existence. Seriously, I’ve used this thing probably more than 20 times, and until I saw this render, I never noticed that. As for the armor, here’s the Blademaster Khezu Armor from MHGU:

The male armor here is almost identical to the one from Rise--which sadly doesn’t have any pictures on the wiki yet--and yes, it does look like the main character from Assassin’s Creed. The female armor, on the other hand, looks almost like a nurse’s outfit, especially with that metal thing on the woman’s head with the cross. The more I look at this equipment, the more I feel like they wanted people to think of Silent Hill, and if so, that’s pretty cool. I’ve got another armor set to show you; the Gunner version of the Khezu R Armor from MHGU:

Jesus, is this an armor set or a medical emergency? I can’t imagine bandages are very effective at protecting your body from physical damage, but thankfully it looks like most of them are just covering actual armor...meaning that the people who designed this stuff in-universe wanted the people wearing it to look like they were in an accident. Not sure I get why, but I’m not here to--actually, I am here to judge, so never mind; it’s gross. Also the female set has Khezu mouths as arm coverings, which is someone’s fetish, I’m sure. The equipment as a whole is macabrely interesting (TIL that macabrely is a real word) and calls to mind a fascinating horror game franchise, so 8/10.

Final Thoughts and Tally: I figured that Khezu was gonna be interesting, but I didn’t know how far the devs would take the horror theming. Everything about this monster is creepy; it looks disturbing, it acts even worse, and its equipment makes me feel like I need a tetanus shot just from looking at it. But that’s not at all a bad thing...unless you’re really squeamish, in which case you were likely cringing this whole review. I’d apologize, but you made the choice to stick through ‘till the end. 8/10.

[hungarianbee]

(AN: I’m in love with the older generation of witchers. This fic was written when I was down. Yay for projection. Look out for - tw: panic attack. Keldar is the archivist and teacher of the School of the Griffin. Ivar Evil-Eye is the founder of the School of the Viper, who was put through multiple trials that ended with one of his eye mutating even further, giving him the ability to glance into other planes and follow the movements of the Wild Hunt.)

Keldar wakes to the sound of heavy breathing and someone hitting the floor. They instinctively roll to their feet, the golden glow of their Quen falling away quickly as they spy the witcher covering in the corner between the wall and bed.

Ivar’s thin face is covered with a sheen of sweat, drops rolling down his cheek, following the path of the scar running from temple to mouth. His hair sticks up in a mess as Ivar runs a hand through it, gripping the handful so tight that Keldar winces in sympathy. The pupil of his witcher eye is razor-thin when he meets the Griffin’s concerned look.

“Shit,” Ivar hisses through clenched teeth.

In a sudden flurry of motion Ivar uncoils and shoots for the door. His sleeping shirt slips from one shoulder and he doesn’t bother putting on shoes. Keldar follows in his steps. They’ve never seen Ivar in such a state before, the Viper always composed if inpatient and quick to anger.

They take the stairs up one of the towers, where Keldar knows Ivar’s office is located. When they finally burst in, Keldar has to take a second to take everything in.

The office is a mess. The walls are covered with sheets of parchment, charcoal pictures depicting figures in black, skeletal armour. One wall is dedicated to drawings of people - humans, elves, dwarves, even creatures like succubi. But what takes up the most room is a huge rectangular table in the middle, which is covered in the most detailed map Keldar has ever seen. Little painted needles stick out of it, marking places in a fashion that at first glance doesn’t make sense. Their fingers tingle with the need to touch and learn, but Ivar needs them.

The Viper circles the table and sticks a red tipped needle into it. When Keldar looks closer, he can read the location; Claywich in Temeria.

Ivar curses up a storm in his search for charcoal and clean paper. He scratches at the patch of scaled skin on the back of his neck in agitation.

“They’re here again,” he seems to be lost in his head, eyes switching from drawing to notes to the map. His tenor slips into the higher registers. “A male gnome, wild black curls, glasses on his nose, possibly shortsighted.” As he lists these, his hands practically fly on the paper. His far-away eyes are fixed to a point in the air, not comprehending anything around him. “Not particularly muscular. He would be absolutely useless to them. What’s their game? Where’s the pattern?”

Keldar crouches in front of the Viper. “Slow down, Ivar. What happened?”

“The Wild Hunt,” Ivar spits. His chest heaves with too shallow breaths. “They crossed the Spiral again, and took a gnome with them. A total of four riders, not including the navigator.”

He finishes the drawing without even looking at it, and jots down the date in the corner. It ends up on the wall with the other portraits.

Keldar carefully pulls the Viper’s shirt up his shoulder. Ivar leans into the contact slightly. Seeing as their touch wasn’t rebuffed, Keldar slips careful fingers into his hair, gently untangling the knots they find and tucking it behind mangled ears.

“I can never catch them.”

Ivar looks tired as he says this. There are dark shades under his eyes that signal countless sleepless nights and Keldar wonders how they didn’t notice them sooner.

“Always a step behind.”

“You need someone who can make portals,” Keldar murmurs, knowing the immediate rebuttal already.

“Don’t trust mages.” Venom seeps through the words. Ivar touches the scars above his mutated gecko eye and Keldar’s heart aches with the gesture.

“Then make our own,” they suggest. And it’s ludicrous - witchers are not capable of handling this kind of magic, but the Griffin’s mind is already whirling a mile a minute.

For the first time since he woke up, Ivar snaps into the present. The intensity of his wild-eyed stare makes Keldar want to shuffle in place. “What do you mean?”

“You told me how one of your own, Warritt, managed to alter a Sign so he can see once again. Something that was never once replicated.” Keldar gestures to themselves. “And I happen to be the librarian of the vastest collection on magic witcherkind has ever seen. Between the two of us, I think we can break Ban Ard in half.”

Ivar’s eyes are glued to them in awe, mouth hanging slightly open. He quickly closes it. With a soft sigh he tips forward to rest his forehead on Keldar’s shoulder. Strands of hair tickle Keldar’s face. “You brilliant man.”

The Griffin’s hands awkwardly hover over his back, then they pat his back twice, lightly scratching at Ivar’s exposed scales. “Don’t mention it.”

[slash-em-up]

War of the Neighbors pt. 3: The Collector x Reader

To think... I started tonight thinking I was gonna write something cute and romantic for Valentine’s Day... instead I wrote @voorheehees worst nightmare... :3

Part 1 & Part 2

———————————————————————

As you stumbled down the hall early that morning, the last – the VERY last – thing you wanted to feel was a tiny body crunching under your bare foot.

You grimaced at the unidentifiable glob that used to be some kind of bug sticking to your skin as you hobbled the remaining few steps to the bathroom. Gross.

Taking a wad of toilet paper, you cleaned the bug from your foot, flushing it before undressing and starting the water for your shower.

Distracted by grabbing your loofah, you barely noticed the dark shape flying toward your face.

You turned and ducked just in time to avoid getting a face full of black wings and scuttling legs. Screeching in surprise, you watched the large roach land on the floor and skitter into the corner.

The shivers that wracked your body were completely involuntary as you scrambled for a towel, a bottle, anything to squash the nasty interloper.

A glance back to the tub caused you to let out an ear-splitting scream as your horrified gaze took in the half-a-dozen other roaches scrambling up and over the shower walls.

They were coming up from the drain.

Oh god.

Still screaming in absolute disgust, you whipped a towel around your naked form and ran from the bathroom.

You dodged several more flying and crawling vermin on your way down the stairs. When you slid to a stop at the kitchen entrance your worst fears were confirmed.

The clogged sink practically moved with the multitude of roaches crawling through the detritus of rotted food and dirty dish water you hadn’t been able to clean until your landlord got off his ass to fix your grinder.

Backing away with a gasp, you grabbed your phone from the side table and jerked the front door open, sprinting into the cool morning air.

You took a deep breath, trying to calm your racing heart as you shakily opened your phone and googled ‘Exterminator near me’.

The first result was ‘Master Trap Exterminator’… wait, that couldn’t be right… google said it was only 500 feet away?!

Involuntarily your eyes rose to scan the street – as if you’d missed a whole storefront in the months you’d lived here.

You blinked in shock as you saw the white van that definitely hadn’t been parked across the street last night.

Oh well, you weren’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Dialing, you tapped your foot impatiently as you felt goosebumps begin to form on your bare arms.

Someone picked up on the third ring.

“Yes?”

You sighed in relief.

“Is this Master Trap exterminators?”

“It is.”

“Oh thank god. I think you’re in my neighborhood right now – I have an emergency, there’s like a million roaches in my house. Please send someone over!”

“Where do you live?”

You gave the man your address.

“Alright. I’ll be over in 30 seconds.”

“Oh gre- wait… 30 seconds?!”

The disbelief quickly turned into horror as a tall shape rose from the porch swing of the house next to yours.

Your jaw dropped as your neighbor casually drained the last of a mug of coffee and sat it on his porch before sticking his hands into his kaki pants pockets and striding across his lawn to mount your steps.

Though his face gave nothing away, you got the distinct feeling that he was laughing at you as he took in your nearly naked and shivering self.

“How unfortunate. Roaches usually don’t congregate in houses… unless there’s something for them to feed on…”

Your mouth opened and closed without making a sound. What the actual fuck?

“Were you… waiting for me?”

The man was definitely laughing at you now - you could see a mean spark in his black eyes that loudly proclaimed his disdain for you, and humor at the situation; but what he said was:

“Don’t be ridiculous. Now do you want me to get rid of your roaches or not?”

You wanted to scream and rage; but you were feeling very vulnerable and more than a little upended by the way this morning had gone, so instead you simply nodded.

The man vaguely smirked.

“Good. Wise choice. Stay here.”

Withdrawing a large set of keys from his jacket he strode over to the Master Trap van and opened the back.

You plopped down on the stairs and watched as he rummaged around for a moment before withdrawing, holding two covered cages.

Feeling a sense of dread in your gut, you pulled yourself to your feet as your neighbor strolled casually past you and into your house. He deposited whatever was in the carriers inside and returned, closing the front door with a divisive BANG.

He turned to you.

“Here is the invoice for my services. I’ll be back in three days to pick up the geckos.”

Your eyes bulged out of your head.

“The WHAT?!”

“They’re natural predators of periplaneta brunnea. The four I released in your house should finish off the roaches and their eggs in a day or so.”

You were flabbergasted. The paper in your hand crinkled as you opened it and quickly scanned the contents.

$500 x per lizard charge for eco-friendly pest removal

Technician: Dr. Asa Emory

Oh dear god.

The man -Asa… what kind of a name was ‘Asa’ anyway? – was halfway down the steps before he snapped his fingers and turned to face you once more.

“One more thing. I’d keep my fingers away from the geckos if I were you. They bite. And just try to ignore their barking, it’s very normal.”

You let out a screech of indignation at Asa Emory as he offered you a brief, professional nod and walked back to his house without a second glance.

Shaking once more, from rage now instead of the cold, you turned and twisted the door handle.

It wouldn’t budge.

That bastard had locked you out!

You kicked the wooden door frame and yelled in anger and pain as your foot met unyielding oak.

If Asa Emory wanted to fight dirty, then by god you’d oblige him.

[retiredhq]

Hello everyone! Yesterday I asked if any of you were interested in seeing a sample application to give you an idea of what I am looking for in the responses to the sections of the app and many of you said yes. So I have placed under the cut a mock application for the character I will be playing: Monarch. If you have any further questions don’t hesitate to ask! I hope this is helpful! 

STATS

Chosen skeleton: Monarch

Full Name: Elizabeth Mitchell

Age: 41

Gender: Cis female

Pronouns: she/her

Faceclaim: Carla Gugino, Keri Russel 

HEADCANONS

Beth was raised by her mother. They lived in a small trailer in Ankeytown, Ohio. For as long as Beth can remember it was just her, her mother, and a series of bums. Beth never knew what it was like to have a father or a stable relationship with a parent. A few of the men her mom dated tried to play as a father figure, but Beth’s mother thought that was a step too far and would often call off relationships once the men got too familiar. It was the ones that were rude and treated Beth more like a dog that were the ones who tended to stick around. Beth doesn’t know if her mother liked them more or if it was just harder to get rid of them. 

Beth’s mom imposed a lot of her dreams onto Beth. Beth was a pretty and vibrant young lady, but very shy and self-conscious. Beth mom forced her into uncomfortable social situations and showed her off like a prized poodle. Her mother made her sign up for the cheerleading team and vie for the role of head cheerleader. Beth had no interest in the sport but knew better than to argue or resist her mother’s wishes. So Beth worked tirelessly to maintain decent grades while training to be a flier for the cheer team. It was never enough to satisfy her mother, who constantly picked apart Beth’s performance, appearance, and presentation. Phrases like ‘if only you cared enough to brush your hair the boys might ask you out’ were common for Beth to hear. 

During high school, Beth fell in love with the works of Shakespeare and has a teacher which encouraged her passion. He invited her to be a part of the school production of Midsummer’s Night Dream but it conflicted with her cheer practice so she declined. But the thought of acting captivated her. Beth always wanted to be anyone but herself. So when she graduated college she left her small town and her toxic mother behind and moved to Los Angeles for what she thought would be a time of sunshine and self-fulfillment. 

For two years Elizabeth lived in L.A. working as a waitress and going to auditions. She used all of her tip money to pay for an acting coach and never got a callback. But in 1982 she heard of an audition for a non-traditional acting role for the U.S. government. As a last-ditch effort, she auditioned for a role called ‘Babydoll’. She didn’t get the part but she got the callback. Her sweet face and overexaggerated expressions were just what they were looking for. She was given the role of Monarch and trained for a year to fight and operate the mechanical wings. 

In 1986 while on a mission, Beth nearly died. She was using the wingsuit as they fought the Bugmen from Mars and one of them attacked her midair and pulled out some of the wires of her wings before she was able to knock them off. She didn’t realize that they’d done damage to her equipment so she carried on. While about four hundred feet up in the air, surveying the scene, her wings glitched and folded in, causing her to plummet. She fell, screaming and helpless for over three hundred feet. Fortunately, Starscreech was able to catch her before she hit the ground but that moment has made her anxious to fly too high or too far from Starscreech since. 

When Exemplar disbanded Beth was told by the bureau to avoid a career that would put her in the public eye. Because she’d signed a nondisclosure agreement that kept her silent on all things Exemplar, she knew it would be best to try and lead a life where she pretended she wasn’t Monarch instead of trying to tiptoe around questions. She got a job working for Mary Kay as a door to door saleswoman. She would still get prying questions from housewives or be asked to pose for photos. But it was clear most people pitied her and her downfall more than they were genuinely excited to see her. But her boss was very excited to have a former celebrity as the unofficial face of the company. 

After the team disbanded Beth made a valiant effort to keep up with the others. She was restricted from seeing Gecko, Price, or The Creature but she was able to track down some of the other members. Those who chose to live on the east coast were easiest for her to visit. She would stop by about once a year and bring over a casserole (she’s not a very good cook so these were often secretly trashed by all except Tallahassee). She didn’t want anyone to feel too lonely or get lost in disbelief. Some of them were having trouble with denial after the team ended because of how dramatic the life change was. Beth just wanted to make sure everyone was okay. 

Most nights after missions Beth would offer to cook dinner for the team. But the team learned quickly that Beth is a terrible cook and when she made food. Somehow it tasted burnt while being undercooked. So after she offered the team would exchange nervous glances. To protect her feelings one of them would say ‘We already worked tonight you shouldn’t have to work more! Let’s get pizza!’  and they’d order pizza. They ate enough pizza that they all ended up sick of it by the time the team disbanded but it was better than eating her cooking or telling her the truth. 

(Not related to Beth but I think that the pizza guys who brought food to the Exemplar HQ had a running competition to see who could stay at HG the longest before a.) Being scared off by The Creature b.) Being escorted out by security or c.) Being mildly physically assaulted by Tallahassee). 

PLOTS

Most importantly I’d like her relationship with Babydoll to heal. It’s really Beth’s fault that there has been so much bad blood. Beth was projecting her insecurities that she learned from her mother. I want Beth to apologize to Babydoll and maybe even have Babydoll refuse to accept the apology because it’s twenty years too late. But it would be wonderful for there to be a moment when Beth saves Babydoll’s life and asks for forgiveness again and Babydoll starts to come around. Beth needs to be supportive and really prove that she has learned and changed. I want to see them turn into a healthy and loving friendship where they build each other up and kick ass together. 

I also want there to be a scene where Beth takes charge. She has never really aspired to leadership because she never believed she was worth listening to. But she’s smart and considerate and she knows her team very well. So if there’s a part where Captain Kick and Price are unavailable I think it would be great to see Beth step up to the plate. Even if it’s just working to build a plan with one other person I want Beth to be sure of her idea. 

I want Beth to get mortally injured at some point. As the healer of the team and the one who usually transports them to safety I would love to have her be incapacitated and in need of someone to rescue her. I want to see that role reversal and how the team deals with having their healer be on the brink of death. 

The general arc for her I see is one where she learns to love herself and accept that there is no such thing as second best. She must learn to strive to be the best version of herself. 

THEME SONG

Kate Bush’s - Running up that Hill 

I’m going to ignore the original intention of the lyrics and rework them to suit my purposes. To me, the song Running up that Hill embodies Beth’s relationship with the team, especially Babydoll. In many ways, Beth wishes she was anyone but herself. She wishes she was as pretty, charming, and captivating as Babydoll and would give anything to take over that role. But Beth is also very self-sacrificing and when she sees her team in danger she flies directly into the line of fire. She would risk her own life to protect them and sometimes that means diving in front of an attack and taking the blow. I especially think the line “Is there so much hate for the ones we love?” resonates with her character because she loves the team like family but sometimes she hates them and how they make her feel (inferior, frustrated, scared, etc). Additionally, the general sound and vibe of the song match the sort of dark, melancholic and thoughtful, yet groovy vibe that I get from Elizabeth. 

PARA SAMPLE

A shaking breath drawn in. She rubbed the plastic handle of her Mary Kay case, half-surprised it wasn’t worn down by now. The ritual of quelling her anxious by running her thumb over the ridge on top of the handle was one she performed at every house she stopped at. This one, painted pastel blue with a well-groomed front lawn was the perfect target. There were two types of houses she found success at: those with perfect lawns and those with nothing but a patch of dirt. Women who had spare money to spend and women who liked to look like they did. Anyone with practical landscaping wouldn’t have time for her or her long-winded, fake smile filled speech. 

Then the exhale. Moving fast enough that her anxiety could not catch up to stop her, she extended her well-manicured forefinger and pressed the doorbell. She could hear the chime echo throughout the house as the buzzing in her chest seeped upwards until her jaw clenched. She heard the definitive click-clack of heels on a tile floor and then the door swung open. Raising her head up quickly and donning a bright smile, she put on the mask over ever-cheerful feminine dignity and in a sing-song voice spoke, “Hi, I’m Lizzie Mitchell and I’m here on behalf of Mary Kay!” 

ANYTHING ELSE

Here’s an edit I made for her!

[rvb-junior]

Anonymous ask: do you have any pets? What are their names? Why do you keep them? What got you into keeping them? Do you have any future pet plans? 💖💖

Ok anon do u really wanna get into this convo? Itll take a while.

Okay so im at college so rn the only pets with me are my fishb a male halfmoon plakat named Cosmos Florence the second, a nerite snail named Nertb and a black mystery named Onyx. I keep them because god man i just. I just love em so much ya know? Its like. I have this little ball of hate and rage in my dorm who has such a beautiful personality and then to complement that i have these chill snaild who r just trying really hard. Back home we have even more pets and oh man oh man i love them?? They are what love and joy looks like?? We have my dogs, cat, turtle, lizards, birds, hairless guinea pigs, fish, and chickens.

The chickens are named Short Bread and Oreo bevause of how they looked when they were younger. Oreo is a little spunkyer that Short bread while i think short bread is a little…. Confused? Yeah just generally confused by everything.

We have Mr. T, our full grown, healthy red ear slider who lives in a small pond in the back yard with a few feeder fish he never ate. Those fish have grown to be his pals and he just. Hase never eaten them.

Then we have the birds, Able, who likes to tell at you if u look at her to long. Her hobbys are chewing through toys as she is hanging from them and being suprised when she falls. We then have Birbank, named after the airport my dad found him at, who lives very closely with his bf Ruby. Birbank is a grey and white cockatiel and Ruby is a green Indian Ringneck. They had being more than 2 feet apart for longer than 2 seconds and often u will find Ruby yelling when Birbank flys somewhere he cant go (ruby doesnt know how to fly) and birbank screaming when he realises the mistake he made. Ruby likes to give people kisses and is a lover, not a fighter. Birbank likes to hiss at peanuts and ignore everything besides Ruby. Next we have our Canary, Mango whos fav food is blue berrys and kale. He likes to sing when he hears trumpets and my flute. He has a club foot so when we adopted him the bird rescue we got him from was relived because no one else would take him. He is the most graceful flying bird i have ever seen! Finally we have the zebra finch named Shimmy. When we first adopted him he had a super bad plucking problem and was almost completly bald but hes doing much better now, aggressivly peeping when he hears the canary.

Okay now we have 2 lizards, a leopard gecko named Romeo and a crested gecko named Gargoyle. Romeo is a sweet boi with a chubby tail who loves his crickets fast and his meal worms slow. He has one of those reptile hammocks but he prefers climding his cave more. Gargoyle is a sweet girl who will only eat her food when it starts to harden again for some reason. We dont know why but she does and shes kinda a butt. But ya gotta love her!

Our cat’s name is Figaro and she’s currently bald. She had to get shaved, the vet said shes getting up in her years so when she stopped grooming for a month and got matts in her long fur they said she had basicly cat arthritis. Shes doing good and her hobbies are (well atleast when i was home) meowing in my mouth at 3 am to tell me she ate all her food and wanted more.

Wr have 5 dogs so just get ready for that. All our dogs but 1 is a rescue. Coal is a chow/black lab mix. She was adopted as a pup from a local animal rescue and she kniws the mist tricks. Shes a good girl who likes hugs, treats, and when u massage her face. Her favorite toy is a yellow stick that she will bring to you when asked. Shes the second youngest! Lily is the youngest, i sometiems call her satan but only because she is a trickster! You will turn around and shell be on the table eating food, stealing anything from coal, and trying to think up world domination. She and Coal are super close, when we got her Coal went all MaMa dog and now they are inseparable. What makes it better is that Lily is a half Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix so shes tiny next to Coal. Our third youngest is Scarlet, wr think shes the product of a long hair Chihuahua and a deer head Chihuahua. Shes a primadonna who enjoys her alone time and pets. She also like to be held, mainly like a baby so u can hold her and tub her tum. She also REALLY LIKES CAR RIDES like man even going to the vet shes jazzed. Second oldest is Vinnie, a pug my bro ham adopted. Hes super sweet and good he likes face squishes and whrn he naps his tail uncurles. He stands very proper like hes a gentleman and likes to sit on ur feat. He has a grain allergy so he eats special grain free food. Next we have the oldest of our dogs MY SWEET BABY GIRL GIGI. shes my sun and moon. We got gigi when i was 8 and when i was 10 my sister went to college, leaving her for me to takr care of. And well, shes literally the most important thing in the world to me. My sister got her from a breader (which i dont like cus dogs in shelters need homes) but shes a Brussels Griffon so the breader croped her ears and tail. I DO NOT CONDONE THE PRACTICE OF CROPPING AND PART OF A DOG UNLESS SUGGESTED BY A VET, SOME DOGS GET THEIR TAILS CROPPED BECAUS ETHEY BREAK BONES IN THEM AND THAT IS THE ONLY CROPPING I CONDONE. Her ears were cropped lopsidedb and improperly which brought many problems to her later on. She developed many ear infections that have caused her to scratch her ears until they bleed, has had medication for 3 different ear infections, and has almost no ear canal left. Her vet has told us she is almost deef. Also as she got older she got chronic dry eye and takes medicated eye drops for it but shes fine as long as she has those. She needs loud or sharp sounds to get her attention so i trained her to respond to clapping, whistling (which i do very loudly) and snapping fingers. She is a sweet heartb adn a super velcro dog! I cried for three days after i had to go to college and they drive her up to visit me. When im home she goes looking for me if im out of site for 2 minutes, will wait at the bathroom door for me, stare up the stairs when i go to shower, and press her face against closed doors she knows i went through. Whne she does the last thing i have to drum my fingers on the door so she knows to move back before i open it. I miss her horribly and i skype her almost every day, she gets super excited! The first few days i was gone she actually wouldnt stop barking at night. Shes also a cuddle baby and she doesnt sleep unless she is touching me ao it was probably rough for her. I miss her but ill be able to see her in october when i go to my sisters wedding.

The fish! Okay so my mother has a 75 gallon gold fish aquarium and a 30 gallon in the garage with nithing in it yet (shes thinking tetras). The gold fish tank has 2 butter fly tails and some bristle nose plecos. It also has many a snail rn! A friend of ours dismantled a large aquarium of his own ( he is going through a very hard time financially and im hoping everything works out for him) and gave us the plecos and snails. The snails are 3 rabbit snailsb one nerite (he gave us 2 but the other is with my betta) a few black mysteries, and a golden apple who i named Big Mama.

Lemme tell u about big mama real fast. I call her this because, first of all shes a full grown golden appleb second of all because shes a mama. He had a live planted tank thich included a moss ball he has been taking care of for 5 year, its the size of my head and when we put it in the 75 gallon it because the main pice of the tank. What we found out later was that Big Mama had made her family in ut and we have abou 20 BABY GOLDEN APPLES IN THERE ALONE!! He also gave us an anibius fern which i put in my betta’s tank and after getting to college and living hear for a few weeks i found out there were eggs on it because I KNOW HAVE MANY A BABY GOLDEN APPLE. these ones tho r much smaller than the moss ball ones, mine being hatchlings and those being the size of a finger nail. But anyway they have grown large enough where i can tell they r not pest snails and i will be rehoming them to other fish keepers in my dorms once they get a little bigger.

My mom has 3 hairless guinea pigs. Did you know that at petco people tend to walk in and drop off pets they “just dont want any more”? Well it hapoens a lot and my mom fell in love with them instantly. We have Billy, the oldest, Piggy, the middle in age, and sweet baby Bear who is small and young. They are all good boys and are doing very well so far in their new home! My mom had already owned billy and was looking into getting him friends, (guinea pigs live friends! They actually should be kept in atleast pairs but we were not aware at first, now we know better) all three of them are being slowly introduced! Bear and Piggy already live together but we dont want to rush this process and put billy right into the mix, that would probably be the worst think. They are slowly beibg acclimated to eachother.

I guess you could say i love pets because they are sweet and wonderful. I keep most of them because i know i can care for them, that i have the space, and the resources. I have the time and the will to foster a loving home for all my pets, and so does my family. Animals are a big part of my life and i love all of them with all my heart.

My future plans? Well nothing soon! Im in a dorm so Cosmos and his snail friends are all ivr got planed rn. But i hope to, onece in the distante future, get a tank with a school of danionella dracula in it, they are tiny fishb only getting half an inch in side. But id need a good tank for them since they school about 12 and id like to do the whome thing live plants (i also want one of those rimless aquatiums hnnnnnnnngh) i hope to upgrade cosmos to a larger aquarium b currently hes in a 2.5 which is enough for a betta, sure, but id rather he be in a 5 gallon. But really? I just wanna go home n be with GiGi more than anything.

Thank you for the ask!

[erincardenthailandblog]

Making the days count

I have nineteen days left in Thailand. I made it to August. I’ve thought over and over again about what I would feel like when I finally made it to last month. It feels surreal to know that the month I felt would never come is finally here.

The bright cloudless days are gone. Mist hangs around the mountains in the distance, catching in the banana tree leaves that are the size of small umbrellas. The fields are thick and green with rice. Sprouted plants surround my home. It has been raining for three days straight. It’s raining when I wake up and it’s raining when I go to sleep. The rice fields are over flowing. They look like rivers. Everyone is saying that this is the wettest rainy season Thailand has had in years. A foreign teacher who has lived in Thailand for fifteen years said he’s never seen it rain this much. As sick as I am of the rain, there is something special about living in Thailand long enough to experience all the seasons. Getting caught in the monsoon storms has brought me a curious sense of belonging. I like knowing that I truly understand what it means to live in Thailand at this time of the year. This morning, when the school anthem started blasting through the speakers, students darted back and forth, chatting to one another as they clutched their umbrellas and tried to shield themselves from the rain. “Welcome to rainy season” I said to myself.

I recently learned that many of the rice fields in my village are also rice field fisheries. These fields grow not only rice but also wild fish. Most of the fish enter naturally from the surrounding water which floods into the fields. These rice field fisheries constitute a vital source of income and nutrition for many farmers. Every day people wade hip deep in the rice fields with huge nets made out of mesh and tall bamboo splits. They submerge the nets into the flooded fields and when they have caught enough fish, they lift the nets up using an extended bamboo pole. One weekend Olivia and I saw people gathered around, watching the fishermen fish with as if it were some sort of sporting event.

This past weekend WorldTeach held an End of Service event. The volunteers gathered together and told stories about what our students had done the past few weeks since we had last seen each other. This reminded me of when I have listened to parents speaking and laughing about things their child had done. I now understand this sentiment. As teachers we find pleasure in recounting something a particular student did, at how predictable they are and yet how they continue to surprise us.

I love reminders that on a dull, seemingly insignificant day there is still color in the world. There are things that still surprise me. I am still in awe. Not once have I considered my life here average but there are some things that I have forgotten felt so strange when I first arrived. Bathrooms without toilet paper or sinks have become normal. Power outages on a weekly, if not daily basis are expected. I am no longer bothered by the fact that I have to flick ants off my arms while relaxing in bed. I can now distinguish the sound between a gecko and a frog. Eyeing heaps of burning trash in my neighbor’s backyard no longer warrants a feeling of danger. Spicy Thai dishes no longer make my eyes water and mouth burn. I can tell whether a storm will shed light of heavy rain based on the cloud’s shade of grey and the strength of the wind. On a daily basis I use the handful of Thai phrases that I know- such as- “cow jai mai” which means, “understand?” with my youngest students. I no longer cower in fear during my runs when confronted by a mangy barking dog. I have learned the right precautions to take. If the dog is chasing me and barking, then I stop and walk. If the dog is chasing me but not barking, or barking but not chasing me, then I continue my run. I now walk through traffic dodging cars and motorbikes, with ease.

This past weekend WorldTeach also held a session on cultural readjustment in which we discussed the grief that comes with reverse culture shock. We talked about the loneliness of not being able to connect with anyone at home about our experience because it’s not something many people can relate to. We talked about the confusion, stress, and discomfort we may feel trying to reconcile this new version of ourselves in a place where an old version of our self exists.  Talking about the challenges we will face while readjusting to the life we left at home has made me aware of all that I appreciate about my life in Na Kae.

Throughout my time in Thailand, whenever I was homesick, restless, or impatient, it was because I was excited to return to the U.S and “start my life.” Teaching and traveling abroad was an opportunity I seized with the goal of expanding future career and personal possibilities but I always held the expiration date in mind. It took me a while to realize that this is my life. I have already started it, and I am living in Thailand.

A few weeks ago I sat on a crowded songthaew that I had waited one and a half hours for. The air was heavy with humidity and my back was slick with sweat. A little girl sitting directly in front of me on the middle bench was playing footsie with me. She kept brushing her feet against mine, and her little hands kept grazing my knee. My knee- caps hurt. They were pressed against the metal bench and the metal bars behind me were digging into my back. Another baby on the songthaew was crying. Because I am the “ferong” (foreigner) and I stick out like a sore thumb, everyone was staring and talking about me. I was hot, tired, and grumpy. Then, the songthaew started moving. The warm breeze came and dried the sweat from my face. Soon we were racing past the downy green rice fields. I looked at the children asleep in their mother’s arms and I became aware of how special it was to be sweaty and uncomfortable in one of the most beautiful places on the planet, partaking in something so much of a part of the daily routine and the daily lifestyle of a culture that was previously so unknown, but that now, is a part of me.

There is a new Pilipino teacher at my school who has never taught before. She confided in me about having a hard time adjusting to her new environment. I told her not to expect anything to come easily, and that it will take time for the students to feel comfortable with her, as it will take time for her to feel comfortable with the students. I told her that patience is key. I admitted that it was only after summer vacation that I ever entered into the classroom feeling like a “teacher.”  I admitted that before I always felt like I was running around the classroom like a headless chicken in the dark. I told her to be patient with not only her students, but more importantly, with herself. I told her that with trust in the process of time, she would begin to feel more grounded.

It is easy to recognize the small ways that I have changed while the bigger changes are only now beginning to resonate as my departure date approaches. Giving advice to this new teacher made me realize that I have in fact, grown as a teacher and as a person. Six months ago I don’t think I could have imagined myself as the one giving advice. I did not think of myself as a source of wisdom or experience for someone else. But now, here I was, verbalizing for the first time, the importance of patience and realizing, for the first time, the way that trusting the patience I gave myself, has changed me.

Reflecting on these past eleven months I have surprised myself in numerous ways. When I first moved to Thailand none of the volunteers knew each other and we and had to start from scratch in order to get to know one another. I was surprised by how soon it was that I began to feel close to a handful of volunteers.  I was surprised by the fact that I felt I could tell them anything and everything. I never felt like I needed to be anything more. I didn’t need to be funnier, louder, more interesting, or smarter. I didn’t need to be anyone other than who I already was. I was surprised to realize that this was probably not only because of the people they are, but also because of a sense of inner peace that all the hours I have spent alone has given me. I am also surprised by how much I enjoy serving as a person with whom others confide in and seek advice from. I am surprised by the fact that I now enjoy my own company. When I first moved to Na Kae, spending what felt like endless hours alone felt uncomfortable and unsettling. Although too many hours alone can still leave me feeling restless, I now find comfort in the silence of my own thoughts.

Other July/ August Highlights:

-My male seventh graders are a huge handful but I cannot deny that they are also sweet as pie. Every day they greet me with precious, genuine smiles and say “thank you teacher” at the end of every lesson. It is so special to be thanked every day by children. They are grateful to learn.  And no matter how hard they are to manage, I am grateful to be their teacher.

-A group of ninth graders asked me to watch them practice a Beauty and the Beast Saturday Night Live skit that had the word “ass” in it about five times. They were planning on performing it for a province wide English competition. I couldn’t stop laughing. I had to explain to them why the word “ass” was inappropriate for a school competition and why they had to find another script or they would probably be disqualified.

- After introducing new vocabulary I often ask my seventh graders to recite the new vocabulary words out loud to me after giving them an assignment. I have them stand in a line and one by one come up to me to read the words out loud. It makes me happy to hear the ones in line practicing before it is their turn. It shows me that they care and they want to do well.

- I love it when the higher-level students help the lower level students. When my seventh graders recite vocabulary words the advanced students will say it under their breath for the less advanced students because they don’t want to leave their friends hanging. I don’t mind that they are giving away the answer because I support the fact that they are growing and learning from each other.

- I taught my seventh graders about parts of the body and gave them an assignment to draw an alien with labeled body parts. A lot of my students drew really impressive drawings and I kept my favorites because I want to frame them when I’m home.

-One of my eight graders got an A+ on her midterm. She was the only one in the class. She was not advanced last semester but this semester she has the highest grade. She studies very hard and it made me so happy to see her succeed. She squealed when I gave her back her test. It brought me so much joy to see how happy she was.

-I asked my students to write me letters and some of their responses were: o “Do you love me?” o “I don’t like a grub. Do you like a grub? Why you beautiful?”

- An eleventh grader wrote me a note apologizing for missing class. I almost cried I was so touched.

- Because it is rainy season most Thai people wear huge plastic ponchos when riding on their motorbikes. One day Olivia and I saw a woman put on silver rain pants and a silver raincoat. She looked like she was wearing a space suit. Olivia and I have pepto bismol colored rain ponchos and we feel like teletubbies every time we were them.

-I love going for motorbike rides with Olivia. Last week we passed by… o An old white man with a mustache riding a pink motorbike.  

o Women sitting atop platforms made out of bamboo stalks, weaving baskets out of dried palm leaves.

o Men walking home from the rice fields carrying huge loads of grass on their backs. o Baby water buffalo napping in mud piles under the shade of willow trees.

o The simple, wild, untouched, and raw beauty that is the Issan region of Thailand.

Lowlights of July/ August

- The power turning on and off multiple times in a night and which wakes me up every time because I am a horribly light sleeper.

- The animal living in my roof has begun to dig a hole in my ceiling and I was woken up one morning at 4 A.M by pieces of crumbling plaster falling on my head.

- A tenth grader, who always plays games on her cellphone during class, one day lost the game and shrieked at the top of her lungs in the middle of my lesson. I walked over to her and said, “Turn your phone off, or leave the classroom. You are disrespectful.” This was the first time where I had to be truly stern with a student and I was surprised by my own reaction. I didn’t recognize myself. I am known as the sweet teacher, the teacher who is almost “too nice.” But it felt right to assert my authority and refuse to let my students take advantage of my kindness.

- One of my sweet seventh graders failed the midterm and when I handed the test back to her she covered her face, hugged me, and wailed, “teacher nooooo.” I told her “mai pen rai” which means “no worries” and patted her back. I felt bad. Why should I be required to grade these students when it is such a challenge to learn from me in the first place? The classes are huge. There are 45 students and there aren’t even enough chairs for the entire class. I have at least ten students sitting on the floor and almost every day it rains. The rain falls on the school building’s tin roof and it sounds like millions of acorns are falling from the sky. When I teach I am yelling, almost at the top of my lungs so students in the fifth row can hear me, but when their English comprehension is so low, even the few words that they do understand are lost. It feels unfair to have so much power as a teacher when I have so little experience teaching.

Throughout my eleven months in Thailand running has been my favorite past time. I have experienced every season that Thailand has to offer and I can categorize the change in seasons by my memories of my surroundings during my runs through the rice fields. During the cool season I ran past dried tufts of grass and among fields of golden brown rice stalks waiting to be harvested. Now that is rainy season I run through puddles of mud and past soft emerald greenery that glistens in the golden hour of the evenings.  Ahead of me I run towards mountains hugged by rows of palm trees. Drips of dew cling to tall blades of grass that sprinkle my shins and ankles. I am in motion but in my heart I am still, calm, comforted.

I am holding on the motivation to enjoy every day knowing that I have so few left. I am making the days count.  

[rustleandeddy]

Chapter 6

Rustle flitted and darted about the room, his voice raised in a squealing cacophony as he looped around irregular columns of ice.

“What do I do! I killed him! I killed my friend and I’m trapped in a strange chamber in a strange tunnel in a strange cave in a strange mine in a strange rift at the bottom of the sea! I’m going to die here. Why did I do this! I should have known better than to try anything like this! I should have stayed near my pond. That’s what the males are supposed to do!”

“C-calm d-down!” Eddy said. “This isn’t b-bad.”

“It is bad. You’re frozen! You’re going to die! Only the best water fairies can survive freezing.”

“It is different for us. Th-the ocean gets cold. W-we have to not freeze, so we d-don’t.”

“So you’ll be fine?”

Eddy blinked again, slowly. “W-what?”

“I said you’ll be fine? Tell me you’ll be fine!”

“I’ll b-be fine. I just… Can’t breathe much… So I’ll s-sleep…”

“Until when!?”

The merman blinked again, even more slowly. “Until the ice is g-gone…”

“But that could take forever! The water is warm but it’s a lot of ice! And the bag with the food is frozen in there with you! Eddy? Eddy!”

The merman’s eyes fluttered shut as he drifted into a trembling doze. Rustle flitted up to his face and grabbed him by the ear.

“Don’t fall asleep! You’re strong! Break the ice!”

Eddy didn’t stir, too far into the slumber now.

For a moment, Rustle let the panic have complete control. He buzzed in tight circles, tugged at Eddy’s hair and slapped his face. He flipped back and forth between desperately trying to wake his friend and simply darting about like a lunatic.

“No! No. This helps no one,” Rustle said, placing his hand on his chest to try to steady a heart that was buzzing faster than his wings. “You caused this, you can fix it.”

He looked about. Encased in the mound of ice along with Eddy was most of their equipment. The pick—not that he could lift it—was sticking out the top of the mound a bit behind Eddy’s head. The bag was practically it its core. On the floor of the chamber, however, his ‘claw’ had been jostled free at some point. It had a crust of ice, as almost everything in the chamber did at the moment, but the warm water had already fractured it. Rustle darted down and tugged at the ice, hauling free big flakes of it until the sharp gauntlet Eddy used for scraping and shaping rocks was free.

Rustle gave the tool an experimental tug, grabbing hold of one of the rubbery hide straps that held it together. He found that by working his wings and his legs for all they were worth, he could lift it. He placed his tiny feet on the floor of the cave, crouched down and hefted the glove over his head. Without a hand inside it, the thing flopped down over him. In fact, no mount of shifting or juggling could maneuver the glove into a configuration that didn’t either block his vision, foul the motion of his wings, or leave the glove dangling uselessly below him.

His frustrated search for better handholds did, however, dislodge one of the pointed teeth that extended from one of the fingers.

“No! Now I broke it! I’m spoiling everything!” he muttered, throwing the tooth aside. “I was the careful one. I was the one doing everything right, everything the cautious way, just like the elders teach, and look at the mess I’ve made! Think… What else do the elders teach? A fairy is small, but a grove of fairies is big. A job is big, but the pieces of the job are small. With enough fairies, a job is only as big as its smallest piece, and any fairy can handle the smallest piece of a job.”

He huffed and kicked one of the glove’s straps.

“All of our lessons are only good if there are lots of us.”

Rustle turned aside and eyed the bit of glove he’d thrown. It was lodged in the bottom of the mound of ice that held his friend. He buzzed over to it and levered it back and forth. The motion not only dislodged the tool, it caused a chip of ice to float free. He hefted the single tooth and looked at the veritable mountain of ice.

“The job is still made of small parts…” He mused. “Parts small enough for one fairy.”

He tugged at the straps that had formerly held the tooth to the glove and, with a bit of effort, managed to tie them into a loop he could grip with his hand. The single tooth was half as tall as he was, but quite light. Holding it by the strap, it looked as though he were equipped with a vicious and barbaric-looking shield. He flitted back, angled its angled tip, and darted forward to drive the tip into the ice. With all of his weight behind it, it bit considerably deeper, and a few shoves and yanks fractured a larger chunk of ice free.

“I don’t have a lot of fairies once…” he said, tightening the loop and buzzing back for another blow. “But I’ve got the same fairy lots of times. I guess today I’ll learn if that’s just as good.”

#

Quite far to the southwest, Mira was patiently waiting just below the surface. It was tempting to give up and leave, as she’d lingered for several hours without so much as a glimpse of a boat, but she knew better than to do that. Reliable, consistent, and fair contacts among the surface people were vanishingly rare these days, and having developed a mutually beneficial trade relationship with a Tresson woman, she wasn’t about to risk it by letting her impatience get the better of her.

She peeked her head above the waves and shook the water from her hair, scanning the horizon and squinting at the brightness of the sunset. A smile lit up her face as she saw the distinctive patchwork sail of her trade partner. She ducked beneath the waves again, worked her tail, and breeched, sending a sparkling cascade of water into the air to catch the attention of the enterprising mariner. The sailor dropped her sails and Mira swam eagerly to the edge of her tiny, single-person fishing boat.

“I am so sorry to have taken so long,” remarked the Tresson woman in a thick accent.

“You need not apologize, Disaahna,” Mira said. “I am only happy that we didn’t miss one another.”

The woman pulled back a flowing hood to greet the mermaid with a smile. Mira had met precious few humans in her time—it was seldom wise to linger near them, lest she risk encountering some of the more unsavory aspects of the species—but those she had met all had the same dark skin baked darker by the sun. Some of the other merfolk of Barnacle had a similar complexion, but none of the humans seemed to be as fair skinned and fair haired as she.

“I had a very hard time finding what you wanted, but I think I have something you will like,” Disaahna said.

She carefully tugged a small bag from the deck of her boat. A bit of fiddling with knots and rummaging through the contents revealed a small, sun-bleached skull. It was perfectly white, with the distinctive, wedge shape of a lizard of some kind.

Mira gasped and tugged at the edge of the boat to pull herself higher. “It is gorgeous… What sort of creature is it?”

“A rock gecko, or so the shaman in the neighboring tribe said. I have three of them, and many other bones besides. Take it, see if it is what you wanted.”

Mira reverently cradled the intricate skull and swam back from the boat, holding skull first where a pendant might hang, then against her head where a bow would normally sit.

“I can think of dozen ways to use it. And that’s assuming there isn’t just a collector who wants to have it.”

“So strange,” she said, shaking her head and holding out the bag for Mira to return the skull. “No gold for you. No silks. None of the things everyone else trades for. You want bones.”

“They are so exotic, Disaahna. And there simply isn’t any other way to get them. Besides, is it really so different that you want these?”

Mira offered up the small sack of pearls. At the sight of it, Disaahna’s eyes widened and she eagerly traded her bag for the pearls.

“You want the little impurities from our oysters and clams, I want the skeletons of your desert animals.” Mira sifted through the bag and turned up a tiny snake skull. “Imagine it… these things live in a place with no water at all… It is almost mythical.”

“I suppose for you that may be… Oh, there are some lovely ones here… It is good you had so many, because I warn you now I may not be here for a week or two?”

“Why?”

“There was an earthquake in my village. Three houses fell, the church is badly damaged, and also the well. We must do what we can to rebuild quickly. And also the terrible waves did much damage to the pier. I am lucky my boat was spared.”

“Really… Disaahna, does that happen often? The shaking of the earth?”

“Sometimes. But never so often as this and never nearly so badly.”

“We have had trouble with such things as well. My home has always been coping with such things, but I’d never heard of it reaching the land…”

“There are those who say it is an omen. That we have angered forces beyond us.”

“But how? I cannot imagine anything that those of the surface and the sea would do to bring the wrath of the gods upon us both.”

She raised her hands. “We cannot know the intention of the gods. We can only pray for their mercy and thank them for their bounty. Oh! As I speak of their bounty!”

She shuffled from the edge of the boat into the small bit of shelter beside the till.

“You spoke of your brother and his appetite. If you are so fond of things we have only here on land, I thought perhaps he would like this.”

Disaahna emerged with a strange, leathery coil.

“Oh? It looks like an eel.”

“No, no. Dried sausage. Most dishes call for it to be soaked for three days before using it.” She held it out. “I think, for you, that will not be a problem, eh?”

Mira took the sausage, but the sailor’s words stirred something in her mind.

“Something wrong, Mira?”

“No… No… The tide is ready to turn back, and so should I. Two weeks, you say? Until we meet again?”

“Two weeks, from this day. A friend of mine tells me he can get a good price for more of the shell bracelets you made. And that bone knife fetched a fortune.”

Mira nodded. “I shall see if I can have more of each for you.”

“And as for you?”

“I wonder… Have you heard of this thing… a… Ki-oh-tay?”

“A coyote, yes. Not so rare.”

“Excellent! I had a chat with someone from Deep Swell and they said they had the most beautiful bones. The teeth especially.”

“You have a buyer?”

“No. This one will be for me.”

���I shall do my best to find one with all of the teeth then. But as you say, the tide shall leave soon, and I have more fishing to do.”

“Until next time,” Mira said.

She plunked down into the water, sausage in one hand and heavy bag of bones in the other. The return trip at this time of day would be a simple one, the flow of the sea taking her out with little effort if she let it, but nevertheless she worked quite hard to quicken her pace. All of the talk of the trembling ground had brought terrible thoughts to mind. Every day her brother toiled in the mine, in the same stretch of the sea that had claimed their father when the sea shook. Eddy was skilled, alert, and resourceful. But he was also clumsy and foolhardy. There was no reason to suspect anything had happened. The sea hadn’t shaken since she’d seen him last… but all of this talk of damage and collapse had made her eager to see him again, and soon.

#

Rustle stopped to catch his “breath,” if such a word applied in his curious situation. He’d been chiseling at the coating of ice for longer than he thought possible. Flakes of ice lifted away and melted quickly in the warm water, leaving an oddly smooth little crater in the crust that held his sleeping partner. His efforts thus far had been dedicated to exposing Eddy’s other hand. Rustle wasn’t entirely sure what he thought he would achieve by doing so, but it seemed as good a target as any. He was tantalizingly close.

With a final, mighty charge, he launched himself into the carved divot and drove the tooth home. It shattered through the last of the ice and, to his dismay, nicked the back of Eddy’s hand. He pulled back and bit his lip in concern as a thin ribbon of blood curled forth, but to his his relief it was only a tiny nick. After a moment or two the bleeding stopped.

Having achieved his task of the last few hours, Rustle took some time to consider what to do next. At this rate it would take days to chip through enough of the ice to free Eddy, even with the warm water helping melt it away. But what other choice did he have?

If his mind had not been so through twisted up in uncertainty, he might have been struck by the odd motion of Eddy’s blood. Thickened a bit by the cold, it clumped together into a curling, undulating orb rather than spreading and mixing with the water. The dark red blob drifted slowly downward until it finally plopped against the stone of the floor.

Or more specifically, the stone of the dish in the center of the room…

The effect was immediate. Mystic energy, the same focus that had drawn Rustle here, intensified. Rustle flitted back and took shelter behind his sleeping friend’s ear, tossing his tool aside as though it were evidence of some crime.

All around him the gems pulsed and intensified. The water was crackling and alive. The columns of ice that still hung in the water around them fractured and burst. Even the mound of ice that held Eddy cracked, though not sufficiently to free him.

Rustle shut his eyes, but there was no use in doing so. The things he was seeing weren’t the most terrifying. It was the things he was feeling. The strange thing about this place had been the focus without a mind, without a will… But he felt the will now. It was powerful, crystalline in its clarity.

He opened his eyes again. The glow of the room was blinding, and rose, it had been joined by a radiant form in the center of the chamber. This glow was independent of any gem. At first it was simply an indistinct haziness, but before his eyes it became more defined. Arms resolved out of the light. Then a lashing, fish-like tale. Finally a piercing pair of eyes opened.

The figure before him was a merperson… or at least the general shape of one. It wasn’t defined enough for him to know if it was a mermaid or a merman. All he knew for certain was it was a figure of terrible power. Power that persisted even in death.

Its eyes swept across the walls, and previously unseen lips curled to reveal the fainter interior of a mouth. It looked to be admiring the carvings that had so enthralled Eddy upon their arrival.

All Rustle wanted to do was escape. It was precisely what he had been taught to do in times like this. It was the wise thing to do, the safe thing to do. But two things stopped him. The lesser of the two was his curiosity. As a creature of magic, this figure was a being of awe and wonder. The most important factor in keeping him from fleeing was Eddy. It was his fault Eddy was trapped here. He didn’t know how he would protect the sleeping, frozen merman, but it was his duty to do so.

If he couldn’t run, and he couldn’t hide. That left just one option, something that went against everything he’d ever learned or felt.

With a hard swallow and a final moment to steady himself, he flitted forward.

“H-hello…” he said.

The radiant figure turned to him. Little more than bright eyes and a dimmer mouth, it was difficult to read its expression upon seeing the fairy. Interest, certainly. But was it the interest of a scholar presented with a fresh curiosity? Or the interest of a predator presented with fresh prey?

“I… I am sorry that we invaded your… home?” he continued.

It did not answer, its eyes now sweeping slowly to the sleeping, frozen figure of Eddy. Rustle felt a sting of concern and darted in front of Eddy, placing himself in the creature’s line of sight again.

“We didn’t mean any harm. We were just… We were having an adventure,” he said.

Its eyes focused on him again. The tail curled and it darted forward, but before it could reach either Rustle or Eddy, the chains carved into the relief pulsed with light and the figure was drawn back to the center of the room.

Rustle gazed at the smoldering chains in the relief, then thought back to the the heavy door with its complex lock. A lock that was fastened from the outside.

“This isn’t your home…” He said, realization and fear flavoring his voice. “This is your prison…”

[jessiewre]

Day 39

Weds 12th Feb

Get up early plan for cycling didn’t quite work and we snoozed the alarm loads. But then Phil must have suddenly remembered his cycling trip as he suddenly jumped up to get organised. 

I now had my doubts about moving accommodation to this ‘magical cottage’. We hadn’t actually seen the place and it did sound a little too good to be true. And if we moved, we would have to pack up ALL our stuff and walk down the road and then leave it all in their office...which didn't seem as safe as leaving it all in our own room. 

Phil was set on it though so we cracked on, and I had the genius idea of wearing Phil’s shorts for the cycle. Seeing as I’d lost mine in the Nile, I figured that Phil’s sexy zip safari shorts would super comfortable and lightweight. I put them on with my green T-shirt (by the way this T-shirt is actually Phil’s but he never packed it so I did and now its mine ok) and I thought, Yeah, this’ll do nicely. Was pretty pleased with my practical and comfortable outfit. I looked up and Phil was looking at me with a large frown. ‘Oh sorry I didn’t realise you were working today as a park ranger, you carry on’. So yeah, he said I looked like I worked at Camp America and I don’t think he was wrong. But screw him, needs must - I kept the outfit on and we left.

Once we arrived to the Fisherman’s Camp restaurant, we ordered Spanish omelette for breakfast and it was the BEST one we've had by FAR. I don't know what they did to this omelette but it was sooooo nice. It was much bigger than normal ones and also had potatoes in so that helped of course. I started to warm to the place. 

We got our 2nd bike from the bike dudes as well as our helmets (we'd insisted on these and they had to go off to find them as apparently no-one ever asks for them) and we headed towards the main road to go to Hells Gate National Park. Exciting! However. HOWEVER. Instead of walking with the bikes as I’d anticipated, Phil INSISTED that we cycle UP the steep gravelly hill to get to the main road.

I managed to do it but it's honestly moments like that where I wish I'd never met him. That is how much I hate cycling uphill.

Anyway the first 4km was on flat road and it felt amazing to be on a bike and I decided I liked Phil again. We reached the dusty road that led us to the entrance gate and it started getting tricky again. It didn't appear to have a gradient to the eye but it was a real effort to cycle on it with all the bumps and sand.

At the entrance we saw the family from safari who'd just arrived - random timing. We said hi to them but then headed in while they got organised with their bikes figuring we'd see them at some point in there. Also the woman was not a confident cyclist so figured she definitely didn't need an audience. 

The cycle was really nice. We spotted zebras, pumbas and giraffes as we went round, then got to the gorge viewpoint area where we stopped for a snack. The actual gorge path was Closed due to dangerous flooding that had happened the year before.

Phil was buzzing about the leftover doggy bag but we noticed a baboon nearby eyeing him up. Everytime we looked over the baboon had managed to move slightly closer without us seeing, but would be looking around like he was enjoyed the view, acting all nonchalant like he wasn't even interested. He'd perfected his Tourist Snack Sneak. A local man came over to advise that we use a stick to hit against a tree to scare it away if it got too close and it turned out to be pretty useful when Phil was rustling about with bread in foil. 

We cycled a bit further to find the viewpoint and got to a turn off that went downhill. A local lady was there and said she would show us where it was. We didn't want a tour guide to have to pay etc so we said no thanks. We’d already paid 50$ to enter the park. But she kept saying 'For free for free, I will show you the way!' then she randomly suggested we just give the older lady who was stood there 200ksh. No idea why. Phil was well annoyed by it all and refused to walk while they were with us, saying 'I want to go on my own!'. It was a bit like a mother trying to encourage a toddler to hold her hand while the toddler is stamping his feet refusing to move. The woman was just laughing and smiling the whole time, totally unfazed.

Eventually Phil got on his bike in protest and started cycling down the hill ahead of us. When he reached the bottom he went right and the woman shouted after him 'Its the other way!' as she laughed. Phil sort of pretended he'd not heard while casually changing direction. 

He then went along for 5 seconds and she corrected him again, saying 'It's down there!' pointing to a path he’d missed to the right. Phil sort of huffed and followed her direction, realising she was perhaps quite useful after all. 

The lady pointed out the small little market stalls her and her pals had set up and said Please take a look when come back, then pointed to the way to go to visit the viewpoint. The viewpoint was a short minute walk from there and was cool, it was good to actually see the gorge. 

By the time we walked back, Phil was ready to look at the little stalls without being angry. I bought a cute bracelet and a women asked me how old I was. Turned out the lady who'd walked us there was the same age as me but had SIX CHILDREN. I explained that I would do it later and made some jokes about babies taking over the whole of your body and they were laughing loads.

Cut to me basically hosting a Tedtalk on girl power, women's strength and equal rights, and all the women were nodding along enthusiastically in agreement. They all high fived me and said thank you so much for these words. I don't know if anyone had told them they were strong before. 💪🏻💪🏼💪🏽💪🏾💪🏿

The cycle back made us realise how downhill the first bit had been as it was nearly all uphill FML but remember that dusty road outside the entrance I’d struggled with? Well it was a solid downhill the whole way now and I didn't pedal ONCE and I swear it was the best moment of the whole cycle. Ok apart from spotting a baby zebra next to us. And seeing five giraffes having their lunch. 

We got back to our hotel and were taken to our new house. And omg it was LUSH AS FOOOOOK. Such a cute cottage on a little hill, with a kitchen, living room, bathroom with outdoor shower and massive bed! The shower was hot and the masses of dust from the cycle were washed away and I lay on the lovely bed feeling great about my house and my very clever boyfriend.

And suddenly there was a massive SPLAT as a large gecko shit landed on my tummy. It completely made me jump and before I even registered what it was, I flapped it away. It landed on a pillow oops and the momento from falling from such a height had not helped matters either. Definitely good luck to be shat by a gecko though right?

We went to the restaurant for dinner and despite the power cuts and mosquitos, we enjoyed the candle lit lake view evening. Phil kept thinking he could hear hippos but I didn't hear anything.

Dinner was penne pasta arrabiata and an average pizza. 

Suddenly Phils ears picked up that hippo noise again and he looked over towards the lake. In the dark was a big shape, slightly moving...and Phil was like ‘That's a hippo!!!!’.  

Sure enough only 1m beyond the electric fence were TWO hippos munching away on the grass, just about lit by the security light. We rushed over and watched in amazement. A few others joined from the restaurant in awe of the proximity of these beasts. But then one of the hippos turned and looked right at us. It was in that moment that I remembered how bloody dangerous they were and we moved into the shadows to view from a safer spot. Was such a good spot by Philly Tours Atol Protected ©

Happy from our cycle and nature spotting, we asked the boss if we could book the house an extra night and THANKFULLY IT WAS AVAILABLE so we went to bed (now with the mosquito net in position so NO more falling gecko shit) feeling super relaxed about the chill day ahead of us. 

[hentaihunblog-blog]

All 70 Generation 3 Pokemon That Are Available In Pokemon Go – OtakuKart

New Post has been published on https://hentaihun.com/blog/2017/12/27/all-70-generation-3-pokemon-that-are-available-in-pokemon-go-otakukart/

All 70 Generation 3 Pokemon That Are Available In Pokemon Go – OtakuKart

Pokemon Go launched Generation 3 Pokemon, but there’s a catch to it.Only 70 Generation 3 Pokemon are released by Niantic.Niantic parent company behind Pokemon go launched the biggest update of 2017, It seems Niantic really loves to surprise its Player community in year’s last month. Niantic Launched 20 new Generation 3 Pokemon Go during their Holiday event.With new amazing generation 3 Pokemon, Niantic included a really amazing Real-time weather system.

Treecko

Desc- TREECKO has small hooks on the bottom of its feet that enable it to scale vertical walls. This POKéMON attacks by slamming foes with its thick tail.

Type- Grass, No-252, Species- Wood Gecko Pokémon.

Grovyle 

Desc- The leaves growing out of GROVYLE’s body are convenient for camouflaging it from enemies in the forest. This POKéMON is a master at climbing trees in jungles.

Type- Grass, No-253, Species- Wood Gecko Pokémon.

Sceptile

Desc- The leaves growing on SCEPTILE’s body are very sharp edged. This POKéMON is very agile – it leaps all over the branches of trees and jumps on its foe from above or behind.

Type- Grass, No-254, Species- Forest Pokémon.

Torchic

Desc- TORCHIC sticks with its TRAINER, following behind with unsteady steps. This POKéMON breathes fire of over 1,800 degrees F, including fireballs that leave the foe scorched black.

Type- Fire, No-255, Species- Chick Pokémon.

Combusken

Desc- COMBUSKEN toughens up its legs and thighs by running through fields and mountains. This POKéMON’s legs possess both speed and power, enabling it to dole out ten kicks in one second.

Type- Fire and Fighting , No-256, Species- Young Fowl Pokémon.

Blaziken

Desc- In battle, BLAZIKEN blows out intense flames from its wrists and attacks foes courageously. The stronger the foe, the more intensely this POKéMON’s wrists burn

Type- Fire and Fighting , No-257, Species- Blaze Pokémon.

Mudkip

Desc- The fin on MUDKIP’s head acts as highly sensitive radar. Using this fin to sense movements of water and air, this POKéMON can determine what is taking place around it without using its eyes.

Type- Water, No-258, Species- Mud Fish Pokémon.

Marshtomp

Desc- The surface of MARSHTOMP’s body is enveloped by a thin, sticky film that enables it to live on land. This POKéMON plays in mud on beaches when the ocean tide is low.

Type- Water and Ground, No-259, Species- Mud Fish Pokémon.

Swampert

Desc- SWAMPERT is very strong. It has enough power to easily drag a boulder weighing more than a ton. This POKéMON also has powerful vision that lets it see even in murky water.

Type- Water and Ground, No-260, Species- Mud Fish Pokémon.

Poochyena

Desc- At first sight, POOCHYENA takes a bite at anything that moves. This POKéMON chases after prey until the victim becomes exhausted. However, it may turn tail if the prey strikes back.

Type- Dark , No-261, Species- Bite Pokémon.

Mightyena

Desc- MIGHTYENA gives obvious signals when it is preparing to attack. It starts to growl deeply and then flattens its body. This POKéMON will bite savagely with its sharply pointed fangs.

Type- Dark, No-262, Species- Bite Pokémon.

Zigzagoon

Desc- ZIGZAGOON restlessly wanders everywhere at all times. This POKéMON does so because it is very curious. It becomes interested in anything that it happens to see.

Type- Normal, No-263, Species- TinyRaccoon Pokémon.

Linoone

Desc- LINOONE always runs full speed and only in straight lines. If facing an obstacle, it makes a right-angle turn to evade it. This POKéMON is very challenged by gently curving roads.

Type- Normal, No-264, Species- Rushing Pokémon.

Wurmple

Desc- Using the spikes on its rear end, WURMPLE peels the bark off trees and feeds on the sap that oozes out. This POKéMON’s feet are tipped with suction pads that allow it to cling to glass without slipping.

Type- Bug, No-265, Species- Worm Pokémon.

Silcoon

Desc- SILCOON tethers itself to a tree branch using silk to keep from falling. There, this POKéMON hangs quietly while it awaits evolution. It peers out of the silk cocoon through a small hole.

Type- Bug, No-266, Species- Cocoon Pokémon.

Beautifly

Desc- BEAUTIFLY’s favorite food is the sweet pollen of flowers. If you want to see this POKéMON, just leave a potted flower by an open window. BEAUTIFLY is sure to come looking for pollen.

Type- Bug and Flying, No-267, Species- Butterfly Pokémon.

Cascoon

Desc- CASCOON makes its protective cocoon by wrapping its body entirely with a fine silk from its mouth. Once the silk goes around its body, it hardens. This POKéMON prepares for its evolution inside the cocoon.

Type- Bug, No-268, Species- Cocoon Pokémon.

Dustox

Desc- DUSTOX is instinctively drawn to light. Swarms of this POKéMON are attracted by the bright lights of cities, where they wreak havoc by stripping the leaves off roadside trees for food.

Type- Bug and Poison, No-269, Species- Poison Moth Pokémon.

Seedot

Desc- SEEDOT attaches itself to a tree branch using the top of its head. It sucks moisture from the tree while hanging off the branch. The more water it drinks, the glossier this POKéMON’s body becomes.

Type- Grass, No-273, Species- Acorn Pokémon.

Nuzleaf

Desc- NUZLEAF live in densely overgrown forests. They occasionally venture out of the forest to startle people. This POKéMON dislikes having its long nose pinched.

Type- Grass and Dark, No-274, Species- Wily Pokémon.

Shiftry

Desc- SHIFTRY is a mysterious POKéMON that is said to live atop towering trees dating back over a thousand years. It creates terrific windstorms with the fans it holds.

Type- Grass and Dark, No-275, Species- Wicked Pokémon.

Ralts

Desc- RALTS senses the emotions of people using the horns on its head. This POKéMON rarely appears before people. But when it does, it draws closer if it senses that the person has a positive disposition.

Type- Physic and Fairy, No-280, Species- Feeling Pokémon.

Kirlia

Desc- It is said that a KIRLIA that is exposed to the positive emotions of its TRAINER grows beautiful. This POKéMON controls psychokinetic powers with its highly developed brain.

Type- Physic and Fairy, No-281, Species- Emotion Pokémon.

Gardevoir

Desc- GARDEVOIR has the ability to read the future. If it senses impending danger to its TRAINER, this POKéMON is said to unleash its psychokinetic energy at full power.

Type- Physic and Fairy, No-282, Species- Embrace Pokémon.

Shroomish

Desc- SHROOMISH live in damp soil in the dark depths of forests. They are often found keeping still under fallen leaves. This POKéMON feeds on compost that is made up of fallen, rotted leaves.

Type- Grass, No-285, Species- Mushroom Pokémon.

Breloom

Desc- BRELOOM closes in on its foe with light and sprightly footwork, and then throws punches with its stretchy arms. This POKéMON’s fighting technique puts boxers to shame.

Type- Grass and Fighting, No-286, Species- Mushroom Pokémon.

Slakoth

Desc- SLAKOTH lolls around for over twenty hours every day. Because it moves so little, it does not need much food. This POKéMON’s sole daily meal consists of just three leaves.

Type- Normal, No-287, Species- Slacker Pokémon.

Vigoroth

Desc- VIGOROTH is always itching and agitated to go on a wild rampage. It simply can’t tolerate sitting still for even a minute. This POKéMON’s stress level rises if it can’t be moving constantly.

Type- Normal, No-288, Species- Wild Monkey Pokémon.

Slaking

Desc- SLAKING spends all day lying down and lolling about. It eats grass growing within its reach. If it eats all the grass it can reach, this POKéMON reluctantly moves to another spot.

Type- Normal, No-289, Species- Lazy Pokémon.

Makuhita

Desc- MAKUHITA is tenacious – it will keep getting up and attacking its foe however many times it is knocked down. Every time it gets back up, this POKéMON stores more energy in its body for evolving.

Type- Fighting, No-296, Species- Guts Pokémon.

Hariyama

Desc- HARIYAMA practices its straight-arm slaps in any number of locations. One hit of this POKéMON’s powerful, openhanded, straight-arm punches could snap a telephone pole in two.

Type- Fighting, No-297, Species- Arm Thrust Pokémon.

Azurill

Desc- AZURILL spins its tail as if it were a lasso, then hurls it far. The momentum of the throw sends its body flying, too. Using this unique action, one of these POKéMON managed to hurl itself a record 33 feet.

Type- Normal and Fairy, No-298, Species- Polka Dot Pokémon.

Skitty

Desc- SKITTY has the habit of becoming fascinated by moving objects and chasing them around. This POKéMON is known to chase after its own tail and become dizzy.

Type- Normal, No-300, Species- Kitten Pokémon.

Delcatty

Desc- DELCATTY prefers to live an unfettered existence in which it can do as it pleases at its own pace. Because this POKéMON eats and sleeps whenever it decides, its daily routines are completely random.

Type- Normal, No-301, Species- Prim Pokémon.

Sableye

Desc- SABLEYE lead quiet lives deep inside caverns. They are feared, however, because these POKéMON are thought to steal the spirits of people when their eyes burn with a sinister glow in the darkness.

Type- Dark and Ghost, No-302, Species- Darkness Pokémon.

Mawile

Desc- MAWILE’s huge jaws are actually steel horns that have been transformed. Its docile-looking face serves to lull its foe into letting down its guard. When the foe least expects it, MAWILE chomps it with its gaping jaws.

Type- Steel and Fairy, No-303, Species- Deceiver Pokémon.

Meditite

Desc- MEDITITE undertakes rigorous mental training deep in the mountains. However, whenever it meditates, this POKéMON always loses its concentration and focus. As a result, its training never ends.

Type- Psychic and Fighting, No-307, Species- Meditate Pokémon.

Medicham

Desc- It is said that through meditation, MEDICHAM heightens energy inside its body and sharpens its sixth sense. This POKéMON hides its presence by merging itself with fields and mountains.

Type- Psychic and Fighting, No-308, Species- Meditate Pokémon.

Electrike

Desc- ELECTRIKE stores electricity in its long body hair. This POKéMON stimulates its leg muscles with electric charges. These jolts of power give its legs explosive acceleration performance.

Type- Electric, No-309, Species- Lightning Pokémon.

Manectric

Desc- MANECTRIC is constantly discharging electricity from its mane. The sparks sometimes ignite forest fires. When it enters a battle, this POKéMON creates thunderclouds.

Type- Electric, No-310, Species- Discharge Pokémon.

Plusle

Desc- PLUSLE always acts as a cheerleader for its partners. Whenever a teammate puts out a good effort in battle, this POKéMON shorts out its body to create the crackling noises of sparks to show its joy.

Type- Electric, No-311, Species- Cheering Pokémon.

Minun

Desc- MINUN is more concerned about cheering on its partners than its own safety. It shorts out the electricity in its body to create brilliant showers of sparks to cheer on its teammates.

Type- Electric, No-312, Species- Cheering Pokémon.

Roselia

Desc- ROSELIA shoots sharp thorns as projectiles at any opponent that tries to steal the flowers on its arms. The aroma of this POKéMON brings serenity to living things.

Type- Grass and Poison, No-315, Species- Thorn Pokémon.

Gulpin

Desc- Virtually all of GULPIN’s body is its stomach. As a result, it can swallow something its own size. This POKéMON’s stomach contains a special fluid that digests anything.

Type- Poison, No-316, Species- Stomach Pokémon.

Swalot

Desc- When SWALOT spots prey, it spurts out a hideously toxic fluid from its pores and sprays the target. Once the prey has weakened, this POKéMON gulps it down whole with its cavernous mouth.

Type- Poison, No-317, Species- Poison Bag Pokémon

Spoink

Desc- SPOINK bounces around on its tail. The shock of its bouncing makes its heart pump. As a result, this POKéMON cannot afford to stop bouncing – if it stops, its heart will stop.

Type- Psychic, No-325, Species- Bounce Pokémon

Grumpig

Desc- GRUMPIG uses the black pearls on its body to amplify its psychic power waves for gaining total control over its foe. When this POKéMON uses its special power, its snorting breath grows labored.

Type- Psychic, No-326, Species- Manipulate Pokémon.

Zangoose

Desc- Memories of battling its arch-rival SEVIPER are etched into every cell of ZANGOOSE’s body. This POKéMON adroitly dodges attacks with incredible agility.

Type- Normal, No-335, Species- Cat Ferret Pokémon.

Seviper

Desc- SEVIPER shares a generations-long feud with ZANGOOSE. The scars on its body are evidence of vicious battles. This POKéMON attacks using its sword-edged tail.

Type- Poison, No-336, Species- Fang Snake Pokémon.

Shuppet

Desc- SHUPPET is attracted by feelings of jealousy and vindictiveness. If someone develops strong feelings of vengeance, this POKéMON will appear in a swarm and line up beneath the eaves of that person’s home.

Type- Ghost, No-353, Species- Puppet Pokémon.

Banette

Desc- BANETTE generates energy for laying strong curses by sticking pins into its own body. This POKéMON was originally a pitiful plush doll that was thrown away.

Type- Ghost, No-354, Species- Marionette Pokémon.

Duskull

Desc- DUSKULL can pass through any wall no matter how thick it may be. Once this POKéMON chooses a target, it will doggedly pursue the intended victim until the break of dawn.

Type- Ghost, No-355, Species- Requiem Pokémon.

Dusclops

Desc- DUSCLOPS’s body is completely hollow – there is nothing at all inside. It is said that its body is like a black hole. This POKéMON will absorb anything into its body, but nothing will ever come back out.

Type- Ghost, No-356, Species- Beckon Pokémon.

Absol

Desc- Every time ABSOL appears before people, it is followed by a disaster such as an earthquake or a tidal wave. As a result, it came to be known as the disaster POKéMON.

Type- Dark, No-359, Species- Disaster Pokémon.

Wynaut

Desc- WYNAUT can always be seen with a big, happy smile on its face. Look at its tail to determine if it is angry. When angered, this POKéMON will be slapping the ground with its tail.

Type- Psychic, No-360, Species- Bright Pokémon.

Lotad / Lombre / Ludicolo

Carvanha / Sharpedo

Wailmer / Wailord

Barboach / Whiscash

Corphish / Crawdaunt

Feebas / Milotic

Glalie / Snorunt

Spheal / Sealeo / Walrein

Relicanth

Luvdisc

Niantic is actively expanding the Pokemon GO development team to build many more amazing updates in 2018.“Stay tuned for news next week about upcoming improvements to certain features.” and as a trainer, I hope we get something much better than a global event.What are your thoughts?Lemme hear you guys out in the comments or you can get connected with me on Snapchat-Vibsz16 and Instagram. Stay tuned.

Here is the list of Top 10 Gen 3 Pokemon That Are As Strong As Legendary Pokemon, and can help any player to capture and attack gyms.

Number 10 – Milotic

MAX CP- 2542 ATTACK – 60 DEFENSE – 79 STAMINA – 190

Milotic is an aquatic, serpentine Pokémon with a primarily cream-colored body. It has red eyes with long, pinkish antennae above them. Additionally, there are long, hair-like fins above its eyes, which begin thin and thicken towards the tips. These eyebrows extend to almost half of Milotic’s body length and will be longer on the female than the male. On top of its relatively small head is a straight spike. The tail consists of four large, blue fins with pink ovals in their centers. Each of the tail fins overlaps the next slightly, causing it to resemble a fan. While it has not been depicted, Milotic’s scales are said to change color depending on the viewing angle.

Number 9 – Flygon

MAX CP- 2458 ATTACK – 100 DEFENSE – 80 STAMINA – 160

Flygon resembles a slightly insectoid, bipedal dragon. It is primarily light green and has a pair of large rhombus-shaped wings with a red trim, toeless hind legs, and skinny arms with three-clawed hands. Its tail has several dark green stripes and three small green rhombus shapes with red trims at the end. It has large eyes and a pair of green antennae that point back. The eyes have red covers that prevent sand from getting into its eyes. With its wings, it kicks up sandstorms to hide. Its wings make a “singing” sound when they are flapped, earning Flygon the name “The Desert Spirit”. It lives in the desert.

Number 8 – Gardevoir

MAX CP- 2341 ATTACK – 65 DEFENSE – 65 STAMINA – 136

Beginning its life as Ralts (the Pokemon that kinda looks like male genitalia), it’s a little surprising it turns into Gardevoir – who looks a lot like some kind of elegant dancer (and a lot of other things, if you dare to venture into Google Image Search – which reminds us: NEVER GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH ANY POKEMON EVER BUT ESPECIALLY NOT GARDEVOIR). Apart from its traumatic internet legacy, it’s a pretty solid Pokemon (now one of the added Fairy-types), and its Pokedex entries indicate that it would do anything to protect its trainer. Always nice to know your Pokemon has Stockholm’s Syndrome.

Number 7 –….

CONT READING….

[cwebberphotography]

  Ask me if I’ll miss India and I’d say yes. I’ll miss India because back home old people don’t double ride bicycles, people who look like the general picture of God, with a big white beard and bright white clothes don’t ride scooters with a huge smile. Old ladies here feel comfortable enough to squat on the sidewalk if they need to take a pee. Strangers greet you with their chosen name of God, and yoga is everywhere. Interacting with cows and dogs and pigs daily has given me a clearer look at being a vegetarian. I won’t miss the fact that last night it was 30 degrees at 2 a.m. Or all the ants that have walked into my keyboard and never came out, probably lost in the matrix of the mother board, the giant wasps or the horns and traffic in general.

I’ve been bitten by ants, mosquitoes, pushed by bulls, barked at by dogs, cohabited with geckos and spiders, had a monkey land on my dinner table and now a large Gray langur has intimidated me into running from my dinner. And after I gathered my wits and tried to scare him off I was scarred mentally and physically when he jumped and scratched me with his fangs showing making growling sounds.  After that I was afraid to go out my front door, then slowly started hanging out on the roof again. But not before finding a strong bamboo stick and starting to learn some defensive moves from YouTube.

In a way I’m grateful that monkey jumped on my head, he kind of knocked some sense into me. It’s my last few days here and one of the things I was hoping to do in India was learn some self defence. I was letting the days drift away, not adhering to my own advice of ending as strong as you start. Yoga was getting kind of boring to be frank. Now I can combine my roof time with some stretching, mindfulness, pushups and bo staff training. The first day I was able to do a two hand wrist spin and now I’m getting faster at it and not dropping the staff as much.

When he jumped at my head it was a wake up call to what Nature is capable of. I assumed monkeys would be more scared of us than we are of them. And I underestimated his hunger, this guy was not cute enough to beg and probably just as tired of the heat. I saw him come down out of the tree and march along the edge of the roof, thinking maybe he was on his way somewhere but he came straight to me. He did not hesitate to bear his teeth and growl, no asking at all, then jumped, using my head like a skipping stone to land behind me causing my plate to hit the ground. And I was out of there, far enough away to watch him eat my dinner which was really just raw cauliflower with some salt and chilli powder on the side.

He made me wish I had doused the veggies with chilli powder. He made me think of revenge and how stupid that would be. He made me mistrust monkeys and see how fragile our existence is without cooperation. He gave me a scare of potentially having rabies, which is fatal! How insane is that?  It takes just two weeks to die from it, and although he probably didn’t have rabies it was not worth the risk to ignore the blood coming from my arm.

Diseases are different here, polio is still a hot topic and every year diarrhea and pneumonia kill millions of people.

After asking around it was decided that I’d get an injection right away. I walked to the only doctor I know since the hospital was closed on Sunday. This is a clinic which used to be a dog food store and is now half a dog food store, half a clinic and a little bit of a health food store. The doctor there is young and I’ve met him a few times over the last month. He suggested I get the course of five injections, they are 320 rupees each, so a fraction of what it would cost me in Canada.

I went home to debate the idea of being injected in India and after reading about the symptoms and final end to what rabies can do to a human I ran back and said lets do it. This clinic is just like any other store on the main strip, it is a big room with a garage door that opens to the road. There is a counter and behind it sits the doctor facing the street. Outside are cows and horses walking by or standing in the road, motor bikes driving on either side, dirt, garbage, things burning, people selling food, all sorts of commotion.

He takes the needle out and puts it into the container which is full of dead rabies virus and tells me to sit down, the only seat is a step ladder at the top of a stairwell…So as he is fiddling with the needle I’m looking out at the street and watching people stop and see what he’s doing, looking back at me. Also I’m texting my friend in Toronto telling him exactly whats going on and the doctor comes over to my left shoulder and as I press send he just jabs me with it, no cleaning of the surface no OK this might hurt and I look over at him like what the fuck!? And he’s saying something to me, you can hold the cotton ball here right? So I do and he goes back to his seat and starts writing out instructions and dates for me to come back. Immediately I have to put my phone away because the light from it is bugging me out and darkness is creeping in from the sides of my eyes. I sit up straight and breathe deeper and think this cannot be happening, I’m going to pass out!  No, I can control it, I won’t pass out. Nope, I look over at him and he’s saying something about me being fine but I can’t hear anything and can only see whats directly in front of me, which is one of the employees. I make eye contact with him and shake my head. Then step down from the seat and crouch on the ground and look around, sweating, deaf, wondering whats going on. After a couple minutes I’m OK to stand up and lean on the counter as he explains when I’ll have to come back for more…Then I leave, feeling slightly better that at least I’ve done something to combat any chance of rabies, just in case.

The second time was much better, and we’ve become friends since then. I’ve been invited to hang out there any time, and he often asks his customers if I can photograph them. He said there is only one other guy in the area with the same camera and he charges 1000 rupees for three photos. He introduced me to his wife and some friends, it’s been a good experience overall…

Sometimes its hard to leave your house especially if you have moustache for the first time, a scarf around your head thats been soaked in cold water to keep you cool and a walking stick you’re practicing bo staff spins with.  After a long day in the heat I was lying in bed when outside became dark a few hours too early. So went to the roof and saw a sand storm kicking up, and the sky turn grey and black. After the sand settled I went down to the river to watch the show.

The clouds were the ultimate what the fuck, I’d never seen anything like it before, a hundred little flames, turned into swirls over the mountain, as the sun coloured them dark orange mixed with black. Then pushing into blue at the edge of the clearing sky were what looked like a huge row of  teeth, extending into their roots. I sat in awe for hours as the wind pushed me from all sides. At one point as lightning was striking over the mountains looking to my right, along the path by the river a sadhu stops as wind picks up his flowing fabric wrapped around his waist and he does a Marilyn Monroe, holding his skirt down in the wind.

Earlier that day I took a walk to find some upma, my favourite South Indian breakfast. Just about 2 km away from my apartment, in the direction towards the main town, far away from any tourists. As I was walking a sadhu on a motor bike offered me a ride, I talked to him and considered it but declined, two more steps and I found the Madras Cafe. The food was OK, and the bill for umpa and tea was 105, I gave him 110 and he gave me a Kit Kat bar as change.

Later I found a better staff, started twirling it and dropped it in the sewer by mistake. So I bought a bottle of water to wash it off. Then explored the alleys of the main city, took photos, and then came across a fabric shop and remembered I have two weddings to attend this summer. So I selected some material and got measured and in two days I’ll have a custom kurta.

After I ran out of money I walked home taking photos, talking to strangers, mostly sadhus. Seems like if you don’t shave and carry a stick you’re more approachable. Maybe they see a little of themselves in me. I know sometimes I envy their lifestyle. Eating from ashrams, sleeping where ever they want, what else do you need? I don’t think they have a retirement plan.

Walking through the bus stop as I always have to, a large group of people sit on the gravel hill cooking and eating their lunches. Men and women and children all dressed in amazing colours and cloths huddle in groups. A few of them are standing around the water pump washing their hands, pigs run among them. To my right on the highest gravel hill a group of men stand out in their striking white outfits with red turbans, bare feet, squatting or sitting cross legged, beards and grey moustaches, passing a chillum around. Weed smoke clouding all around them.

On the morning after my mischievous monkey mayhem I wake up early to find a stick and see the sun rise. I walk to the roofed sitting area by the river and look out, the sun has risen but not above the mountains. The green trees all around the elevation are glowing with yellows and orange. And the river rushes below, down where the bodies are burned. Sitting quietly when three people come with their cell phone playing Hindi music. I react and almost get up but decide to stay for what I came. To see the sun peak over the range. One guy starts doing push ups, elevated ones then on his knuckles then tries to get into pull up position but he’s too heavy and short. Then he gets his friend to take lots of photos of him flexing all the while dumb rap music is coming from his phone. I spot a stick and leave.

Going down into the funeral grounds was kind of creepy. There were kids playing by the river and people working in the early morning hours before the heat sets in. There are lots of old clothes and artifacts laying buried in the sand. The stick I saw was much too big and soaking in a dirty puddle. On the way back I found a bamboo staff and as I ascended the stairs the most golden light shined back behind where I was with the muscle man. This time I look up to a kaleidoscope of colours. A bus must have dropped off a bunch of Indians and they were all dressed in saris of flowing flowery colours standing straight up in the wind. All waiting for a security guard to guide a family of geese from the field to the water.

I found a strip of cloth and wrapped it around the split end of my new stick and made it into a custom handle. Took a few swings with it and started home as the 6 a.m. sun rise started to heat up the day once more.

Passing the empty grounds with the sun rising from behind, to my left is a tarp with maybe 20 indians sitting cross legged in the centre. Next to them is a tractor with a big cage on the back with all their bags packed on top. Then a couple dogs fucking, pigs fighting over garbage, one massive pig is laying in the sun against a pile of stones while someone pees next to it. I walk a little further and there’s another big truck bus thing with Indians pilled all over the inside and outside climbing down for their day by the Ganges.

Walking up the alley as the golden hour turns into day another small kid is taking another shit into the gutter while his mother watches. She stands in the middle of the lane, dressed in purple and gold one hand on her waste the other on her head, he is shy but concentrating. I look at her briefly and then down as I pass. Then I take my stick home and my place is covered in little monkeys. I look up as one is checking out the jump from the fence across the lane onto my roof, where they drink water from one of our water tanks. I hope it’s not the one that leads to my shower but theres no one to ask…I look up as he’s peeing and pooing at the same time. He looks down at me and then away.

One in 1,342,512,706 Ask me if I’ll miss India and I’d say yes. I’ll miss India because back home old people don’t double ride bicycles, people who look like the general picture of God, with a big white beard and bright white clothes don't ride scooters with a huge smile.

[hentaihunblog-blog]

All 50 Generation 3 Pokemon Which Are Available In Pokemon Go – OtakuKart

New Post has been published on https://hentaihun.com/blog/2017/12/10/all-50-generation-3-pokemon-which-are-available-in-pokemon-go-otakukart/

All 50 Generation 3 Pokemon Which Are Available In Pokemon Go – OtakuKart

Pokemon Go launched Generation 3 Pokemon, but there’s a catch to it.Only 50 Generation 3 Pokemon are released by Niantic.Niantic parent company behind Pokemon go launched the biggest update of 2017, It seems Niantic really loves to surprise its Player community in year’s last month. Niantic Launched 50 new Generation 3 Pokemon Go.With new amazing generation 3 Pokemon, Niantic included a really amazing Real-time weather system.

Treecko

Desc- TREECKO has small hooks on the bottom of its feet that enable it to scale vertical walls. This POKéMON attacks by slamming foes with its thick tail.

Type- Grass, No-252, Species- Wood Gecko Pokémon.

Grovyle 

Desc- The leaves growing out of GROVYLE’s body are convenient for camouflaging it from enemies in the forest. This POKéMON is a master at climbing trees in jungles.

Type- Grass, No-253, Species- Wood Gecko Pokémon.

Sceptile

Desc- The leaves growing on SCEPTILE’s body are very sharp edged. This POKéMON is very agile – it leaps all over the branches of trees and jumps on its foe from above or behind.

Type- Grass, No-254, Species- Forest Pokémon.

Torchic

Desc- TORCHIC sticks with its TRAINER, following behind with unsteady steps. This POKéMON breathes fire of over 1,800 degrees F, including fireballs that leave the foe scorched black.

Type- Fire, No-255, Species- Chick Pokémon.

Combusken

Desc- COMBUSKEN toughens up its legs and thighs by running through fields and mountains. This POKéMON’s legs possess both speed and power, enabling it to dole out ten kicks in one second.

Type- Fire and Fighting , No-256, Species- Young Fowl Pokémon.

Blaziken

Desc- In battle, BLAZIKEN blows out intense flames from its wrists and attacks foes courageously. The stronger the foe, the more intensely this POKéMON’s wrists burn

Type- Fire and Fighting , No-257, Species- Blaze Pokémon.

Mudkip

Desc- The fin on MUDKIP’s head acts as highly sensitive radar. Using this fin to sense movements of water and air, this POKéMON can determine what is taking place around it without using its eyes.

Type- Water, No-258, Species- Mud Fish Pokémon.

Marshtomp

Desc- The surface of MARSHTOMP’s body is enveloped by a thin, sticky film that enables it to live on land. This POKéMON plays in mud on beaches when the ocean tide is low.

Type- Water and Ground, No-259, Species- Mud Fish Pokémon.

Swampert

Desc- SWAMPERT is very strong. It has enough power to easily drag a boulder weighing more than a ton. This POKéMON also has powerful vision that lets it see even in murky water.

Type- Water and Ground, No-260, Species- Mud Fish Pokémon.

Poochyena

Desc- At first sight, POOCHYENA takes a bite at anything that moves. This POKéMON chases after prey until the victim becomes exhausted. However, it may turn tail if the prey strikes back.

Type- Dark , No-261, Species- Bite Pokémon.

Mightyena

Desc- MIGHTYENA gives obvious signals when it is preparing to attack. It starts to growl deeply and then flattens its body. This POKéMON will bite savagely with its sharply pointed fangs.

Type- Dark, No-262, Species- Bite Pokémon.

Zigzagoon

Desc- ZIGZAGOON restlessly wanders everywhere at all times. This POKéMON does so because it is very curious. It becomes interested in anything that it happens to see.

Type- Normal, No-263, Species- TinyRaccoon Pokémon.

Linoone

Desc- LINOONE always runs full speed and only in straight lines. If facing an obstacle, it makes a right-angle turn to evade it. This POKéMON is very challenged by gently curving roads.

Type- Normal, No-264, Species- Rushing Pokémon.

Wurmple

Desc- Using the spikes on its rear end, WURMPLE peels the bark off trees and feeds on the sap that oozes out. This POKéMON’s feet are tipped with suction pads that allow it to cling to glass without slipping.

Type- Bug, No-265, Species- Worm Pokémon.

Silcoon

Desc- SILCOON tethers itself to a tree branch using silk to keep from falling. There, this POKéMON hangs quietly while it awaits evolution. It peers out of the silk cocoon through a small hole.

Type- Bug, No-266, Species- Cocoon Pokémon.

Beautifly

Desc- BEAUTIFLY’s favorite food is the sweet pollen of flowers. If you want to see this POKéMON, just leave a potted flower by an open window. BEAUTIFLY is sure to come looking for pollen.

Type- Bug and Flying, No-267, Species- Butterfly Pokémon.

Cascoon

Desc- CASCOON makes its protective cocoon by wrapping its body entirely with a fine silk from its mouth. Once the silk goes around its body, it hardens. This POKéMON prepares for its evolution inside the cocoon.

Type- Bug, No-268, Species- Cocoon Pokémon.

Dustox

Desc- DUSTOX is instinctively drawn to light. Swarms of this POKéMON are attracted by the bright lights of cities, where they wreak havoc by stripping the leaves off roadside trees for food.

Type- Bug and Poison, No-269, Species- Poison Moth Pokémon.

Seedot

Desc- SEEDOT attaches itself to a tree branch using the top of its head. It sucks moisture from the tree while hanging off the branch. The more water it drinks, the glossier this POKéMON’s body becomes.

Type- Grass, No-273, Species- Acorn Pokémon.

Nuzleaf

Desc- NUZLEAF live in densely overgrown forests. They occasionally venture out of the forest to startle people. This POKéMON dislikes having its long nose pinched.

Type- Grass and Dark, No-274, Species- Wily Pokémon.

Shiftry

Desc- SHIFTRY is a mysterious POKéMON that is said to live atop towering trees dating back over a thousand years. It creates terrific windstorms with the fans it holds.

Type- Grass and Dark, No-275, Species- Wicked Pokémon.

Ralts

Desc- RALTS senses the emotions of people using the horns on its head. This POKéMON rarely appears before people. But when it does, it draws closer if it senses that the person has a positive disposition.

Type- Physic and Fairy, No-280, Species- Feeling Pokémon.

Kirlia

Desc- It is said that a KIRLIA that is exposed to the positive emotions of its TRAINER grows beautiful. This POKéMON controls psychokinetic powers with its highly developed brain.

Type- Physic and Fairy, No-281, Species- Emotion Pokémon.

Gardevoir

Desc- GARDEVOIR has the ability to read the future. If it senses impending danger to its TRAINER, this POKéMON is said to unleash its psychokinetic energy at full power.

Type- Physic and Fairy, No-282, Species- Embrace Pokémon.

Shroomish

Desc- SHROOMISH live in damp soil in the dark depths of forests. They are often found keeping still under fallen leaves. This POKéMON feeds on compost that is made up of fallen, rotted leaves.

Type- Grass, No-285, Species- Mushroom Pokémon.

Breloom

Desc- BRELOOM closes in on its foe with light and sprightly footwork, and then throws punches with its stretchy arms. This POKéMON’s fighting technique puts boxers to shame.

Type- Grass and Fighting, No-286, Species- Mushroom Pokémon.

Slakoth

Desc- SLAKOTH lolls around for over twenty hours every day. Because it moves so little, it does not need much food. This POKéMON’s sole daily meal consists of just three leaves.

Type- Normal, No-287, Species- Slacker Pokémon.

Vigoroth

Desc- VIGOROTH is always itching and agitated to go on a wild rampage. It simply can’t tolerate sitting still for even a minute. This POKéMON’s stress level rises if it can’t be moving constantly.

Type- Normal, No-288, Species- Wild Monkey Pokémon.

Slaking

Desc- SLAKING spends all day lying down and lolling about. It eats grass growing within its reach. If it eats all the grass it can reach, this POKéMON reluctantly moves to another spot.

Type- Normal, No-289, Species- Lazy Pokémon.

Makuhita

Desc- MAKUHITA is tenacious – it will keep getting up and attacking its foe however many times it is knocked down. Every time it gets back up, this POKéMON stores more energy in its body for evolving.

Type- Fighting, No-296, Species- Guts Pokémon.

Hariyama

Desc- HARIYAMA practices its straight-arm slaps in any number of locations. One hit of this POKéMON’s powerful, openhanded, straight-arm punches could snap a telephone pole in two.

Type- Fighting, No-297, Species- Arm Thrust Pokémon.

Azurill

Desc- AZURILL spins its tail as if it were a lasso, then hurls it far. The momentum of the throw sends its body flying, too. Using this unique action, one of these POKéMON managed to hurl itself a record 33 feet.

Type- Normal and Fairy, No-298, Species- Polka Dot Pokémon.

Skitty

Desc- SKITTY has the habit of becoming fascinated by moving objects and chasing them around. This POKéMON is known to chase after its own tail and become dizzy.

Type- Normal, No-300, Species- Kitten Pokémon.

Delcatty

Desc- DELCATTY prefers to live an unfettered existence in which it can do as it pleases at its own pace. Because this POKéMON eats and sleeps whenever it decides, its daily routines are completely random.

Type- Normal, No-301, Species- Prim Pokémon.

Sableye

Desc- SABLEYE lead quiet lives deep inside caverns. They are feared, however, because these POKéMON are thought to steal the spirits of people when their eyes burn with a sinister glow in the darkness.

Type- Dark and Ghost, No-302, Species- Darkness Pokémon.

Mawile

Desc- MAWILE’s huge jaws are actually steel horns that have been transformed. Its docile-looking face serves to lull its foe into letting down its guard. When the foe least expects it, MAWILE chomps it with its gaping jaws.

Type- Steel and Fairy, No-303, Species- Deceiver Pokémon.

Meditite

Desc- MEDITITE undertakes rigorous mental training deep in the mountains. However, whenever it meditates, this POKéMON always loses its concentration and focus. As a result, its training never ends.

Type- Psychic and Fighting, No-307, Species- Meditate Pokémon.

Medicham

Desc- It is said that through meditation, MEDICHAM heightens energy inside its body and sharpens its sixth sense. This POKéMON hides its presence by merging itself with fields and mountains.

Type- Psychic and Fighting, No-308, Species- Meditate Pokémon.

Electrike

Desc- ELECTRIKE stores electricity in its long body hair. This POKéMON stimulates its leg muscles with electric charges. These jolts of power give its legs explosive acceleration performance.

Type- Electric, No-309, Species- Lightning Pokémon.

Manectric

Desc- MANECTRIC is constantly discharging electricity from its mane. The sparks sometimes ignite forest fires. When it enters a battle, this POKéMON creates thunderclouds.

Type- Electric, No-310, Species- Discharge Pokémon.

Plusle

Desc- PLUSLE always acts as a cheerleader for its partners. Whenever a teammate puts out a good effort in battle, this POKéMON shorts out its body to create the crackling noises of sparks to show its joy.

Type- Electric, No-311, Species- Cheering Pokémon.

Minun

Desc- MINUN is more concerned about cheering on its partners than its own safety. It shorts out the electricity in its body to create brilliant showers of sparks to cheer on its teammates.

Type- Electric, No-312, Species- Cheering Pokémon.

Roselia

Desc- ROSELIA shoots sharp thorns as projectiles at any opponent that tries to steal the flowers on its arms. The aroma of this POKéMON brings serenity to living things.

Type- Grass and Poison, No-315, Species- Thorn Pokémon.

Gulpin

Desc- Virtually all of GULPIN’s body is its stomach. As a result, it can swallow something its own size. This POKéMON’s stomach contains a special fluid that digests anything.

Type- Poison, No-316, Species- Stomach Pokémon.

Swalot

Desc- When SWALOT spots prey, it spurts out a hideously toxic fluid from its pores and sprays the target. Once the prey has weakened, this POKéMON gulps it down whole with its cavernous mouth.

Type- Poison, No-317, Species- Poison Bag Pokémon

Spoink

Desc- SPOINK bounces around on its tail. The shock of its bouncing makes its heart pump. As a result, this POKéMON cannot afford to stop bouncing – if it stops, its heart will stop.

Type- Psychic, No-325, Species- Bounce Pokémon

Grumpig

Desc- GRUMPIG uses the black pearls on its body to amplify its psychic power waves for gaining total control over its foe. When this POKéMON uses its special power, its snorting breath grows labored.

Type- Psychic, No-326, Species- Manipulate Pokémon.

Zangoose

Desc- Memories of battling its arch-rival SEVIPER are etched into every cell of ZANGOOSE’s body. This POKéMON adroitly dodges attacks with incredible agility.

Type- Normal, No-335, Species- Cat Ferret Pokémon.

Seviper

Desc- SEVIPER shares a generations-long feud with ZANGOOSE. The scars on its body are evidence of vicious battles. This POKéMON attacks using its sword-edged tail.

Type- Poison, No-336, Species- Fang Snake Pokémon.

Shuppet

Desc- SHUPPET is attracted by feelings of jealousy and vindictiveness. If someone develops strong feelings of vengeance, this POKéMON will appear in a swarm and line up beneath the eaves of that person’s home.

Type- Ghost, No-353, Species- Puppet Pokémon.

Banette

Desc- BANETTE generates energy for laying strong curses by sticking pins into its own body. This POKéMON was originally a pitiful plush doll that was thrown away.

Type- Ghost, No-354, Species- Marionette Pokémon.

Duskull

Desc- DUSKULL can pass through any wall no matter how thick it may be. Once this POKéMON chooses a target, it will doggedly pursue the intended victim until the break of dawn.

Type- Ghost, No-355, Species- Requiem Pokémon.

Dusclops

Desc- DUSCLOPS’s body is completely hollow – there is nothing at all inside. It is said that its body is like a black hole. This POKéMON will absorb anything into its body, but nothing will ever come back out.

Type- Ghost, No-356, Species- Beckon Pokémon.

Absol

Desc- Every time ABSOL appears before people, it is followed by a disaster such as an earthquake or a tidal wave. As a result, it came to be known as the disaster POKéMON.

Type- Dark, No-359, Species- Disaster Pokémon.

Wynaut

Desc- WYNAUT can always be seen with a big, happy smile on its face. Look at its tail to determine if it is angry. When angered, this POKéMON will be slapping the ground with its tail.

Type- Psychic, No-360, Species- Bright Pokémon.

There are more updates to look forward to on the way, teased Niantic’s official spokesperson. A big holiday update is in the works, with more details to be shared “soon.As we can clearly see Niantic is actively expanding the Pokemon GO development team to build many more amazing updates in 2018.“Stay tuned for news next week about upcoming improvements to certain features.” and as a trainer, I hope we get something much better than a global event.What are your thoughts?Lemme hear you guys out in the comments or you can get connected with me on Snapchat-Vibsz16 and Instagram. Stay tuned.

Here is the list of Top 10 Gen 3 Pokemon That Are As Strong As Legendary Pokemon, and can help any player to capture and attack gyms.

Number 10 – Milotic

MAX CP- 2542 ATTACK – 60 DEFENSE – 79 STAMINA – 190

Milotic is an aquatic, serpentine Pokémon with a primarily cream-colored body. It has red eyes with long, pinkish antennae above them. Additionally, there are long, hair-like fins above its eyes, which begin thin and thicken towards the tips. These eyebrows extend to almost half of Milotic’s body length and will be longer on the female than the male. On top of its relatively small head is a straight spike. The tail consists of four large, blue fins with pink ovals in their centers. Each of the tail fins overlaps the next slightly, causing it to resemble a fan. While it has not been depicted, Milotic’s scales are said to change color depending on the viewing angle.

Number 9 – Flygon

MAX CP- 2458 ATTACK – 100 DEFENSE – 80 STAMINA – 160

Flygon resembles a slightly insectoid, bipedal dragon. It is primarily light green and has a pair of large rhombus-shaped wings with a red trim, toeless hind legs, and skinny arms with three-clawed hands. Its tail has several dark green stripes and three small green rhombus shapes with red trims at the end. It has large eyes and a pair of green antennae that point back. The eyes have red covers that prevent sand from getting into its eyes. With its wings, it kicks up sandstorms to hide. Its wings make a “singing” sound when they are flapped, earning Flygon the name “The Desert Spirit”. It lives in the desert.

Number 8 – Gardevoir

MAX CP- 2341 ATTACK – 65 DEFENSE – 65 STAMINA – 136

Beginning its life as Ralts (the Pokemon that kinda looks like male genitalia), it’s a little surprising it turns into Gardevoir – who looks a lot like some kind of elegant dancer (and a lot of other things, if you dare to venture into Google Image Search – which reminds us: NEVER GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH ANY POKEMON EVER BUT ESPECIALLY NOT GARDEVOIR). Apart from its traumatic internet legacy, it’s a pretty solid Pokemon (now one of the added Fairy-types), and its Pokedex entries indicate that it would do anything to protect its trainer. Always nice to know your Pokemon has Stockholm’s Syndrome.

Number 7 –….

CONT READING….