#it doesn’t seem like sperm whales eat people

[dadbastiandisaster]

It is a strange day that I have to seriously consider whether sperm whale would or indeed could eat Sebastian.

[milflewis]

😭 angst or sad WIP snippet ! and 😍 published lines or a section of a fic that you loved writing? 💐 - @/red-flagging

wips and published fics ask game

😭 angst or sad WIP snippet: going with girl! sico that is gathering dust in my google docs to the point where i Did forget i had it until i went poking around for smth to show you

When Nico cuts her hair, Michael doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t even look at her, bent over data with his spikey-haired race engineer. Nico isn’t sure he notices.

Somehow, this feels just as bad as when he doesn’t notice her racing. That thought alone fuels her next decent qualifying run and the look on Lewis’s face when she rode him, refusing to let him come until she had three times.

(He hadn't said anything either when Nico showed up with her hair now short. Not until he tried to run his hands through it as he kissed his way down her neck, and frowned when they slipped through too quickly. He had seemed to like it later on when he was fucking Nico from behind, hair boy close around her ears.)

Nico isn’t simply pretty, she knows. Nico is beautiful.

Not in the wet hot dirty kind of beautiful like Megan Fox, or the statuesque gorgeous of Angelina Julie. No, she’s more old money cute — bitchy — beautiful; all blonde hair and blue eyes and perfect mouth and C cup tits that suit her skinny calves and small waist. She doesn't have many curves but her legs are long and her features are delicate.

Nico is beautiful. She has heard it enough. She has seen herself in other people’s faces enough.

Michael isn’t the first driver in her life to not seem to notice this. They are rare, but they still exist. Some days, it feels like Lewis only sometimes remembers. Jenson never lets her forget for all that it doesn’t matter to him.

But he is the first to not see her face and her driving at the same time. She hates it. Hates failing at a test she didn’t even intend to take.

The only thing worse is that Sebastian has won. Sebastian with her maybe B cups and her lack of hips and her badly chopped hair, nothing like Nico’s sleek bob, and her too wide chapped lips. Sebastian who is worse at everything than Nico except where it matters. Except when it comes to the car.

----

😍 published lines or a section of a fic that you loved writing? from my winner's room fic snippet

Lewis doesn't look at him.

He opens his mouth to say something terrible and most likely going to send several people here to an early death. Mick has realised over the last few months that Lewis is, like, sort of awful and that he should be grateful that he is so busy with all his different charities and rich bitch friends who eat hummus and whale sperm and whatever to have enough time to be a cunt like he used to be.

Jenson, it turns out, has a lot of opinions

this was v amusing to me to write - just the thought that jenson 'hardworking and industurious' playboy giving out about lewis's yummy mummy la friends to mick schumacher who cannot give less of a fuck is so funny to me. esp bc he can't go to nico (who will make it Weird) or fernando (who will make it Even Weirder) or mark (who thinks lewis is the coolest thing since sliced bread, therefore, also making it Weird) or sebastian (who has never not made things Weird a day in his life. esp when it comes to lewis). and mick, to me, who is a Sponge before he's anything else, just regurgitating it. even just in his head

[harrylee94]

Log Entry XXXXXX - Chapter 4

Summary: A new space station, complete with the most high spec and up to date technology there is to offer, has been set up at the edge of the known universe, a new way point for explorers to keep in contact with the rest of the human race. It has been carefully designed by the best scientists and engineers Earth could offer, and now 7 brave souls are being sent out to ensure everything works perfectly.

However, when Logan wakes from cryosleep from the journey, he is informed that several things are now in need of repair, though everything had been in perfect working condition when the station had been reconstructed before he and his crew had arrived. They will have to solve the problems they’ve been left with before the station is up and running, and yet Logan can’t help but feel he’s done this before…

Relationships: Intrulogical (Remus/Logan)

Warnings: Blood, Gore, Parasites, Remus having an overactive imagination, It’s an Among Us crossover so there will be bad stuff afoot.

A/N: This was so difficult to write, partly because I got a job, but mostly because it was emotionally draining.

For those of you who don’t know, this story is based off of a comic by @fangirltothefullest which I HIGHLY recommend you check them out on the link above! Their art is AMAZING.

Note to everyone before we begin; there will be graphic descriptions of gore, dismemberment, possibly torture, and any other awful things that come with the territory of writing a story in an Among Us universe.

Link to; Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

To read it on AO3 please click here.

Chapter 4: Log Entry #14

Stardate: October 17th XX20. 6:20 AM

Logan watched Remus as he prepared their breakfast of pesto spaghetti, holding his coffee in hand. He had re-lived this day a dozen times over now, each time a little bit different from the last, but always ending the same; with his death. He had tried to keep people away from the Medbay a few times, but no matter what he did the creatures always found a new host. As far as he knew Roman, Virgil, Patton and Orange had all been in that destructive path, and he had seen what those Things had done to his friends a small handful of times, but never what they looked like before.

He had put off going there himself to see if there was any other ways he could discover more about these beings other than what they could do once they had latched onto their host -- or so he’d been telling himself, as fear wasn’t logical, especially considering all other logic had decided that it didn’t want anything to do with Sanders Station -- but now he knew he would have to do it. He had to see what it was, what they did, and perhaps then he would be able to make a more competent and effective plan to combat them.

He noted Remus giving him a worried look and tried to give him a reassuring smile in return. He had told him, as he had almost every time since the first, and every time Remus would try to comfort him with his presence, though those looks were something that could never be avoided. He was starting to hate them, even though he knew there was nothing more than concern and love behind them.

The familiar bowl slid into place in front of him, fork sticking out of the steaming nest of noodles in the middle, and Remus slid into the seat beside him, digging into his own breakfast. Food was always a distraction, a way for Remus to gather his thoughts, and while this wasn’t his usual comfort food, the way he was eating it implied as much.

“So what are we going to do?” the man asked, mouth full of yellow-green mush.

Logan sighed. “We’re going to do something that will likely end in one, or both, of us becoming the host to some parasitic alien lifeform and use our bodies to murder all of our friends.”

Remus hummed as he continued to eat. “Sounds like fun.”

“No it doesn’t.”

Remus hummed again, swallowed, and took another bite, getting bits of pesto on his cheeks as he slurped up the pasta. “I’ll go in first.”

“Remus-”

“That way you’ll be able to see what it is and what it does.” Remus met his gaze. “If we do both go, then you should at least get as much out of this as possible. Before the restart I mean.”

“I don’t even know if there will even be a ‘restart’ if I do this.”

“But you’re doing it anyway,” he said as he played with his pasta, picking some of it up with his fingers. “You were going to go in there on your own.”

“What?” How did he-? “I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. I know you, Logan. You would go in there on your own if you didn’t know I’d follow you.”

“You didn’t the first time.”

“I didn’t know the first time,” Remus said and shoved his handful of pasta in his mouth. “Eat up, Logie-Bogie. And don’t even think about not telling me in the future! I know when you’re hiding something from me, and then I’ll hound you like a goblin shark attacking the corpse of a sperm whale that’s rotting and bloated after it’s sunk to the bottom of the ocean.”

While the imagery was slightly obscene, Logan knew he was telling the truth and he sighed. “I hate you.”

“Love you too my adorkable nerd.”

_______________________________

Stardate: October 17th XX20. 7:10 AM

Acting like everything was normal was perhaps one of the most difficult and stressful things Logan had ever done, especially since he knew Janus had noticed that something was wrong almost immediately. Luckily, all the man had done was raise his eyebrow at him in question but had ultimately let the matter drop and everyone had gone off to begin their tasks in peace.

This time, however, Virgil was helping Janus in the Communications room. Within hearing distance of Roman.

Remus had picked up one of the empty fuel containers from storage once everyone had gone their separate ways and was holding it as a make-shift weapon. It would more likely cause a small distraction than do any real damage, but it made the both of them feel safer, if only by a little.

The Medbay was a bright room, the lighting reflecting off of the white walls and bed sheets that slowly came into view as they approached the doorway. Every door had been left open in the Station for a reason that Logan could not fathom. He had wondered previously why this might be but now he was simply grateful for the chance to see into the room before the doors opened.

As they had both expected there was no sign of the aliens; it was simply a well kept medical area with beds on either side of the room, scanners and a supply cupboard. Remus stepped in first, having to push Logan back though as the scientist still didn’t want Remus to be his guinea pig, willing or no.

“Doesn’t look so bad in here,” the moustached man said, crouching down to look under the beds before moving on towards the end. “Bit disappointing they don’t have a proper lab though. Would have been cool to have all the autopsy equipment available. Even some of the old stuff would have been good. Less refined but it gets the job done.”

“That was due to be added later,” Logan noted absentmindedly as he followed slowly behind, eyes darting over every surface. Where were they? What kind of space could they occupy? Were they like an octopus, able to fit through any hole with little limitation, or were they a larger mass? “When the rest of the crew arrives.”

“Weird scanner,” Remus said as he looked at the pad in the corner of the room. Logan had seen designs of it of course, and would probably have been more excited in a more ordinary situation, but as it was it had just become another new piece of information. “I wonder how they would scan people who can’t stand up. That’s ableist, that is.”

“They probably have a handheld one somewhere,” Logan said, eyes landing on the vent covering to his right. “Remus.”

“Hm?” Remus said, turning to him and letting his eyes fall to where he was pointing. “Yeah, I recon that would do it.”

“There’s a few of them around the Station,” Logan said, noting how large it was. While he personally wouldn’t be able to fit through it, and neither would any other human aboard the ship, the evidence he had of what these creatures could do implied at least some mutation ability. “I’ll have to look up the schematics to see where each of them lead and which ones connect.”

“Can you do that on your tablet?” Remus asked, pulling Logan away from the vent by the back of his suit.

“I expect so.” Logan allowed his partner to step in front of him and pulled the device out, knowing Remus would keep an eye on things.

He never looked away from the room for more than a few seconds, but he opened the files on his tablet, huffing in annoyance when he found that what he’d wanted wasn’t there. He was able to connect to the main systems of the Station wirelessly though, and he decided to download all the files that were available for public use. As soon as the schematics were downloaded he opened it, letting the other files download in the background as he looked at the designs.

“This vent is connected to Electronic and Security,” he said, following the lines that had been left. “There are also vents connecting the Upper Engine room and the Reactor, the Lower Engine room and the Reactor, Weapons and Navigation, Shields and Navigation, and the cafeteria, Admin and the hallway between Shields and Navigation.”

“Huh, it’s like this place has been infected with woodworm,” Remus noted. “Do you think if we leave it a bit longer there’ll be even more? Can you imagine that? THe Station falling to pieces because of an infestation of space-worms?”

Logan gave Remus and unimpressed look.

“What?”

He shook his head and looked back at the tablet when it beeped. The download had completed, and it seemed that everything had been… Wait. “Log Entry One?”

Remus glanced at him, curious. “Did the other guys leave a message?”

“No it…” He opened the file and could only stare at it. “I wrote this.”

“... Read it to me?”

“Um, alright,” Logan said and opened the file. “‘ I'm not entirely sure why I'm writing this, but I've had this strange feeling all day. I do not usually allow emotions to cloud my judgement in such a way, and I expect it is perhaps a result of my time in stasis, but everything feels, for the lack of a better word, rehearsed. I know that what I am feeling is simply the imbalance of chemicals in my brain, not in small part due to the dream I had, but I still can't seem to part with this feeling. I hope it will pass, but for now I will have to endure it.’” He blinked at the screen a few more times before putting it away. “The station saved it.”

“When did you write that?”

“The second time we arrived.”

“How the fuck does that even work?”

“I don’t know. How does the whole Time Loop work? It’s not something I’ve really looked into!” He’d been a little more focused on trying to keep everyone alive. The science behind this impossible situation came second to survival and getting back to normal in his opinion.

Remus snorted, looking back at the vent again. “At least now you know you can make notes or whatever so you don’t have to remember everything.”

“That would be useful,” Logan had to conceded, “but I can’t do that now. We have to be prepared.”

“Right,” Remus agreed. “Could be a long wait.”

_______________________________

Stardate: October 17th XX20. 9:47 AM

Logan had ended up writing up some notes on the last few days after all, unable to hold his concentration on waiting for an attack he didn’t know when to expect for a prolonged period of time. Remus had been handling it a little easier, but he his attention had started to wane after the first half an hour, and so they took turns on watch after that, Remus getting through the tasks that needed completing while it was his turn to rest.

They had fallen into a content silence after a while, only broken up by short bursts of conversation, but now it had been over two hours since they had first entered the room and both of them were getting antsy.

“You said the first one was around ten thirty,” Remus said as he kicked his legs over the side of the bed he was waiting on, the fuel container in his lap and his chin resting on his hand. He was still watching the vent, but the boredom was obvious.

“Approximately that time, yes,” Logan replied as he finished the last of his notes; there had been many observations he had to get down after all. “I can’t be certain though as I have not had the chance to record that time.”

“Well, it probably means that it’s going to turn up soon,” Remus said, pulling himself up to his feet. “Though it does depend how quick the process is. And if they’re even going to come for us.”

Logan paused in his typing. “What makes you say that?”

“We have been watching the vent  almost constantly. That doesn’t give them much of a chance to strike, and I bet they’d want to surprise their victims. Though if there’s two of them and they’re pretty agile then they might just do it anyway. Or maybe they’ve been figuring out a way to trap us in here.”

As horrifying as that last statement was, it was possible. These creatures had to be intelligent otherwise they would not have been able to get away with some of the murders Logan had witnessed. He looked towards the door, trying not to make monsters out of shadows, but when he saw something move he jumped to his feet.

“Remus!” he started, but that was all he got out before the door slammed shut.

"Shit," Remus said, hopping from his seat as well and holding the container ready, but in the moment of distraction the vent had opened.

At first Logan thought it was grey in colour, very similar to the metal of the ground, but then it almost shimmered and he realised that it was more of a camouflage like that of a chameleon. It reminded him of an octopus, limbs like tentacles and they stretched out from the vent, only to congeal into a mass before growing all over again. It was more of a mass of something that shifted and changed as it wanted, but never into any true form.

And then it jumped.

Remus whacked it out of the air with the container, the hollow sound of the plastic echoing through the room as it hit the wall with a wet splat, but it wasn’t phased. If anything it seemed to get angry, if the way it formed sharp pincers seemed to indicate was correct. Remus braced himself again as it bunched up, ready to pounce, and swung once again. This time, however, it caught the container with those pincers, and reached for Remus’s hand.

He dropped it and kicked it away, backing up into Logan who was trying to get the doors open with little success.

“How soon can you get the door open?” he asked, voice barely hiding the panic as the creature started curling around the beds.

“I-I need thirty seconds,” Logan said, frantically typing at his pad.

“I don’t think we have thirty seconds,” Remus breathed, and Logan looked up to see the parasite prepare for its third attack. Logan could see what Remus was about to do, could picture it in his mind’s eye, and when his partner turned his head Logan could see the pain and regret in his gaze. “I love you.”

“Remus, Remus no !” Logan cry, but it was too late.

The creature made contact with Remus’s chest as he rushed forwards, taking it with him as he crashed into the far wall. Logan watched, clutching at his tablet as Remus gasped, his hand holding the spot the parasite had been, but in its place was a hole, torn through the thick fabric of the suit, red staining the edges of the tear.

Logan was frozen, the horror paralysing him as Remus wheezed and coughed, his eyes wide as he stared blankly at the ground. He doubled over with a garbled scream, falling to his knees a moment later as blood seeped into other spots of the suit, the green turning a dark brown. He fell forwards, the screen of his helmet hitting the floor and he rolled to his side, body twitching and tensing as though he were having an attack, the noises from his throat were strangled, choked.

And then he fell still.

Tears had fallen silently down Logan’s cheeks as he’d watched his partner’s, his love’s, his heart’s agony, and still more fell as he watched his stillness. He knew he should have been trying to open the door, knew that the man before him was no longer Remus, but he was stuck.

An agonising minute passed, but as it did threads of matter, dark and sharp, spun themselves around Remus’s body, not unlike that of a silk worm, creating a thin layer that corroded matter, the human shape sagging before filling out again. The blackness of the tread faded into the green of Remus’s suit, his figure clean and whole, as though the last five minutes hadn’t happened, and Logan heard it breathe.

A finger twitched, then a leg, and for a few moments the thing in Remus’s form stretched before pushing itself up onto his feet. It looked down at its stolen hands, curling them experimentally. Then it looked up.

Logan knew that it would look like him, but seeing Remus’s face staring blankly at him was enough to tear him from his stupor, and he tried frantically to turn back to the door.

“Lo-gan,” it said using Remus’s voice, the tone lilting and sing-song. “Oh love of my life. My sweet, bleeding heart.” Hands grasped at his wrists and squeezed, forcing him to release the tablet, which smashed against the ground. “What’s wrong?”

“You… you…” Logan tried, but found the words were almost stuck in his throat.

“Me what?” Not-Remus asked, giving him a sharp smile, mocking and threatening. “You can tell me. You can tell me anything, remember? You trust me.” It pouted. “Don’t you trust me anymore?”

“You’re not Remus.”

The creature stared blankly at him for a few moments before Logan felt something wrap around his arms, his legs, his middle, and he looked down to see that the creature that Remus had become was using its tentacles to hold him in place. He tried to struggle but it was no use.

It grinned.

“You know too much.” It leaned in closer, Logan gasping as his helmet was removed and Not-Remus’s melted away, his lips brushing against Logan’s ear. “You’ll be the perfect host.”

“No,” Logan said, tugging harder at the limbs, but still they wouldn’t budge. “No. No! Let me go !”

Not-Remus tilted his head to the side, giving Logan room to see the vent opening and a second parasite crawled out. Logan squirmed as it came closer, vanishing from his sight for several moments before it crawled into sight on Not-Remus’s shoulder. He tried to turn away, but the Thing used Remus’s hand to hold his jaw open, a tentacle wrapping around his head to hold it steady, and the parasite lunged.

It might have looked slimy, but there was nothing smooth about it as it entered; sharp claws ripped at his tongue, stretching and tearing down his esophagus, piercing every organ along the way. His breath gurgled in his lungs as they began to fill with his own blood, his heart stuttered as it was clawed at and torn, his kidneys were ruptured, he burned as his stomach was sliced open.

And all the while his lover’s face watched on with glee as the agony engulfed him completely.

_______________________________

Stardate: October 17th XX20. 10:03 AM

Logan exhaled, opening his eyes to find Remus stood before him, a smirk on his lips and his hands grasping Logans upper arms to keep him steady as he ensured that his body would function properly. Once he was sure he could hold his own weight he gave Remus a look and he was allowed to stand on his own.

“There are five others on this ship, and they do not belong,” he said, which only made Remus bounce excitedly on the spot.

“I know! We should pull their intestines out through their assholes. Oo! Or maybe we could pull them apart piece by piece! Wouldn’t that be fun?”

Logan sighed. He should have expected as much from him. “As long as they end up dead I don’t care.”

Remus giggled and headed towards the vent. “I’ve got Orange!”

“Then I shall find Janus,” Logan said, picking up his tablet with a wrinkled nose. It was cracked beyond repair unfortunately, so he left it on the bed nearby and followed Remus to the vent; he wouldn’t be able to open the door without it after all.

Remus held the hatch open with a flourished bow, allowing Logan to detangle his human form and slip into the airway with ease, creeping through until he reached a new opening.

He stepped back into his human form in the Electrical room and moved past the various beeping and flashing lights on the walls, demanding that someone pay attention to them, heading out into the corridor. The walk to Communications didn’t take too long and Logan soon found himself stood behind Janus as he fiddled with something on the screens, his suit undoubtedly hooked up to the network so he could hear the radio.

The man in yellow only had a few moments to stiffen before Logan sharpened his right arm and shoved it through Janus’s back, pinning him to the desk as he sent furter tendrils out like a web through the rest of the body. He listened impassively to the choked noises of his death, waiting patiently for his heart to stop and his breathing to end before withdrawing his arm and returning his shape to its previous form with no evidence of blood.

Humans were so fragile, and could be so messy when they died. Janus was no different and his body was crumpled at his feet. With barely another glance he turned and left the room, going in search of his next victim.

Roman was in the room next to Communications, working on something under the main walkway. It would have been the perfect opportunity to attack, but he still needed time to recover from his exerting experience; creating a form like he'd just done to dispose of the yellow one was tiring and unusual, and this body wasn't used to it.

He waited, listening to the sounds of tools being used and dropped into tool boxes as his strength returned, pleased that this one knew how to clean up after itself. The sound of tunes from the cartoon show Steven Universe being hummed was less pleasing though, even if it did show that Roman was an adequate singer. It didn’t take too long before he felt he was ready to act though, and he knocked on the wall.

“Roman?”

There was the jangle of something being dropped and the man in red looked out from beneath the walkway.

“Microsoft Nerd!” Roman exclaimed in surprise as he pulled himself out. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

"Yes, well, I have found that I am in need of your assistance," Logan replied, giving him a smile. "However, you seem to be busy. I can come back-"

"No! No, it's fine," Roman replied hastily, just as he knew he would, and he started to climb up onto the main path."It's mostly just me wanting to make sure everything's fit for a king." He puffed his chest out a little, probably in order to show pride, but Logan wasn't really paying attention.

"I'm sure it will be the best it can be under your care," he said with a nod. "Are you sure I can pull you away?"

"Positive," Roman said with a grin. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, to be perfectly blunt; it's you."

Roman blinked, his grin slipping. "... Excuse me?"

“Oh not you specifically,” Logan clarified with a nonchalant wave of his hand. “I mean you in general. Humans.”

“I… don’t understand,” Roman said, the corner of his mouth curling. “Is this some sort of a joke?”

Logan hummed, growing tired of the conversation, and struck. He unfurled again, tentacles stretching out and his body splitting into a gaping maw. Roman’s fight or flight reflexes were a little slow, but that only gave Logan more time to hold him. He’d bitten Roman’s head off just as he’d started to scream.

“Roman?”

Logan pulled back into his human form, looking towards where the voice had come from. It must have been Patton or Virgil, who must have been in Navigation together. It wasn’t too far from here, and the sound must have travelled. He should have been quicker.

Dropping Roman’s headless body Logan turned and ran, fleeing from the scene. A few moments later he heard the scream of horror he’d been expecting and the alarm for a meeting blared throughout the halls. It seemed his incompetence might actually help them after all.

Less than five minutes later and he was stood with Remus opposite Virgil and Patton, who were both looking around at the doors in fear.

“Wh-where are the others?” Virgil asked, cheeks gaunt and his body shaking in fear. “They should be here. Where are they?”

“They’ll be here soon,” Patton said, sniffing a little as he wrapped his arm around Virgil’s shoulder, only for the man in purple to pull away and hunch his shoulders as he curled his arms around himself. “Kiddo?”

“He… His head was…” Virgil gulped, his breathing becoming erratic as he looked between each of them. “It was one of you!”

“Virgil, please-”

“You killed him! You killed everyone !”

Remus chuckled as Virgil started to back away. “You were the one who set off the alarm,” he said, and his chuckles turned into giggles. “You set off the alarm to call everyone here, even though you thought one of us killed everyone?” He was all out laughing now, and even Logan had started looking at him with a frown. “How stupid can you get, Emo?”

“Remus!” Patton said, aghast and looking sickly. “How can you laugh in a situation like this? Your brother is dead!”

Remus continued to laugh to himself for a few moments before he dropped the facade entirely and grinned at them, his teeth sharp and gaze predatory. “Because you’ll be joining them!”

The two remaining humans did not get far before Remus caught them, and Logan helped him paint the walls red with their blood.

_______________________________

Stardate: October 17th XX20. 6:00 AM

The light of the cryodeck grew steadily brighter, and the hum of the ship was soothing, but Logan couldn’t see it through his tears, couldn’t hear it through his sobs and screams, and he tried desperately to rub the feeling of blood from his skin, scratching at his arms and cheek until something grabbed his wrists.

“Logan! Logan ! It’s okay! It was just a dream!”

Logan froze, choking on a sob as he looked up at Remus -- at his human, beautiful, loving partner with nothing but concern and love in his eyes -- and shot up into his arms.

“That’s it,” Remus soothed rubbing at his back and kissing his temple. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

Logan could only cry into Remus’s shirt as the screams of his friends haunted his thoughts.

[chibivesicle]

Golden Kamuy chapter 237 & 238 - new alliances form and - sperm.

I’m still behind on meta writing; you’d think with more time, I could write more but I’m 100% struggling with a routine when I have no idea what day of the week is and I can’t go into work.

Chapter 237 resolves the conflict between Sugimoto and Boutarou through their underwater breath holding contest.  Shiraishi cleverly suggests that it would be to their benefit to work with Boutarou as he may have a way to figure out where the gold could be.

They aren’t sure if the rumors that Boutarou spoke of are true.  Sugimoto, true to form keeps his commitment to the cause of collecting the skins.  He is certain that it is the only way to find the gold.  I have to admit, when Sugimoto latches onto an idea, he really doesn’t budge.

The only issue with discussing these things away from Boutarou, is that they have left him to roam free about the boat.  Of course the postman, had rifled through Sugimoto’s backpack and he found the possessions of Heita.  The fact that they have Heita’s notes and his Ainu tobacco case and his bloody skin, would imply that Heita is likely dead at their own hands. . . .

Boutarou then uses this time to talk to his men before he approaches Sugimoto and Shiraishi to confirm how much gold there likely is - again a much higher amount than what was originally stated.  This adds to the evidence that it is a very large sum of gold.  Boutarou spends a fair bit of time just chatting things up with them - I guess this allows his men to get into position or is he just a chatty convict?  I’m suspecting in part he’s just chatty.

Asirpa comes to the rescue as she notices that Sugimoto’s backpack is open.  Meanwhile, Shiraishi and Sugimoto are dreaming of the gold in a state of euphoria and Sugimoto seems both a bit nervous based on Boutarou’s chattiness.  After his excited chattiness, Boutarou breaks it to them that it is a shame they won’t be able to search for the gold together as his man pulls a revolver on them.

Shiraishi looks shocked while Sugimoto is already moving to his angry mode . . .  With impeccable timing Asirpa is able to stop the man from firing his revolver by shooting one of her arrows into the revolver, blocking the revolving motion of the chambers.  Yet again, Asirpa has fired an arrow in order to save Sugimoto.  It is a shame that we can’t see if she removed the poison tip or not as the panel prevents us from seeing it.

She’s able to inform them that they know that Sugimoto has Heita’s possessions and his skin.  Shiraishi quickly turns to grab the revolver - showing a change in his mode of fighting others instead of simply fleeing.  Next to him Sugimoto is ready to go man to man with Boutarou. 

With the fight on the deck, the Captain is able to turn the boat quickly enough that a tree on the edge of the river bank knocks off, the man with the gun, Boutarou and Sugimoto.  There are several pages of them falling off the boat, into the water and Sugimoto and Boutarou then begin to fight while the nameless gang member got crunched by the paddle wheel.

Sugimoto is a great disadvantage in the fight with Boutarou - his entire M.O. is to drown people by being able to out swim them.  Shiraishi knows this and jumps into the water with the intent to try to help Sugimoto knowing exactly what Boutarou is planning.  Shiraishi attempts to perform mouth-to-mouth transfer of air for Sugimoto and instead of accepting it, he stubbornly punches Shiraishi away.

This entire fanservice scene leaves me personally with a bad taste in my mouth.  Shiraishi had the best plan for the situation possible and Sugimoto refuses his help rather than “kiss” him. . . is fighting Boutarou one on one that important to Sugimoto?  That stubborn? 

Either way, Sugimoto is about to get his ass handed to him and he’s saved by a school of sturgeon.  He stabs his bayonet into one and it pulls him along with Boutarou holding onto him.  He’s lucky that Boutarou’s flowing long hair gets sucked into the paddlewheel and he’s able to surface while Boutarou fights trying to not get sucked into the wheel.

Sugimoto then returns to rescue Boutarou by cutting off his hair caught in the wheel mechanism.  We then get to see that Shiraishi is just being silly somewhere around the boat swimming around while the conflict ends.

Overall, this chapter was underwhelming for me.  It puts Sugimoto at a great disadvantage and only by sheer luck is he able to not die.  Asirpa first saves him and Shiraishi, Shiraishi then should have helped him - but he refused and then he’s saved by random sturgeon.  On top of that he lucks out and has a chance to save Boutarou instead even though if it weren’t for his crazy luck, Boutarou would have drowned him.

All we see is that Shiraishi and Asirpa are hopelessly devoted to Sugimoto.  I get that they are all friends but they are smarter than he is and much more clever and if he didn’t have them he’d be dead long ago in the quest for the gold.

It is clear that this chapter will end with Boutarou - owing Sugimoto for saving him, and likely force him into an alliance out of guilt.

Chapter 238 resolves the tension between Sugimoto and Boutarou as Shiraishi has to do the talking with the paddleboat captain.  They make it clear that they were just looking for Boutarou, not wanting to rob the mail and that they really didn’t mean to damage the boat.

Almost out of nowhere, Sugimoto then declares to Boutarou that he should join forces with him.  Sugimoto had decided to “keep on keeping on”.  Even with new information from Boutarou, he wants to continue to collect the skins.  Boutarou seems far to calm during their entire exchange - he first reasons Sugimoto saved him for information .  . . and Sugimoto sticks to the skin collecting idea ans Boutarou makes it clear he doesn’t want to search for convicts and that he doesn’t believe in the code being real or useful to finding the gold.

Sugimoto’s entire rationale is based on the fact that Hijikata and Tsurumi are intelligent men and they are still collecting the skins so they must be correct.  It is one hell of an assumption if I may so.  Yes, we as the readers as well as Sugimoto know that Asirpa remembered the code words but as far as we know she has never revealed it to anyone yet.  Tsurumi’s entire plan is focused on finding Asirpa since he knows she knows the code.  It it would be likely that Tsukishima told Tsurumi that he thinks she knows it based on her confrontation with Ogata on the ice floe.

Hijikata likely still knows some information that he hasn’t revealed yet from his time in prison.  He plays his cards close to his chest so I’m guessing if anyone in his group knows stuff it might be Nagakura and whatever Ogata has gleaned from him.

Shiraishi is concerned about Sugimoto’s alliance with Boutarou and wonders if Sugimoto’s emotions are clouding his judgement.  The fact that Sugimoto doesn’t look Shiraishi in the eyes the entire time makes me think that Sugimoto does feel some sort of connection with Boutarou.

His face is shaded and his eyes are black - does he want another showdown with Boutarou in the future as survivors of terrible diseases of the late 19th century?  Both men created similar coping mechanisms to their situations.

Whatever the reason, Boutarou agrees to work with Sugimoto.  Sugimoto seems to think any information gained through torture would not be reliable.  Does this imply that he wants to use this an out from torturing him?  That torture is a line that he won’t cross?  Tsurumi tortured him, but due to his crazy pain/physical violence tolerance, Sugimoto was able to babble about not helpful information.  Or it was the fact that Sugimoto was caught red-handed to to speak by Tsurumi so it really wasn’t worth it saying anything useful to him.

Boutarou seems to think very seriously before he replies to Sugimoto - and then he completely changes to a playful reply as he pats him on the back and tells him that it was his sympathy that spared him from drowning under the paddleboat.

He then very confidently replies that he understands the conditions of their deal and he will reveal all of his information when they have collected all of the skins - that is the best insurance he has.  Shiraishi almost immediately has issues with this deal as he thinks they may lose the gold to him and Asirpa accuses him of wanting the gold for himself. 

They are able to meet up with Vasily on the small boat as they decide to continue down to Sapporo as a group.  There is another chance for Asirpa’s Ainu 101 cooking class.  She’s pleasantly surprised that he remembers the hooks from whaling and they are using the same concept to catch a sturgeon.  She passive-aggressively cons Sugimoto into wanting to have some sturgeon.

Boutarou immediately inquires about Sugimoto’s relationship with Asirpa.  This is clearly a replay of when Ogata joined their group and watched Asirpa interacting with Sugimoto in the marsh with the crane.  Sugimoto hesitantly replies that she’s his guide.  Boutarou doesn’t let him get off as easily as Ogata did with the “woman he loves” comment in regards to Umeko.  Boutarou makes it abundantly clear that Sugimoto’s rage indicates she’s more than a guide.  Asirpa doesn’t make eye contact but her ear is red indicating that she’s still got her crush on Sugimoto.  A random guy connected that Sugimoto cares about her to his actions.

They are able to catch a sturgeon and they set up a fire allowing them to dry their clothing.  This scene reminds me of when Kiro saved Shiraishi from the giant fish and they made a fire to dry off/warm up and eat some fish.  Asirpa is excited that they caught a sturgeon that has eggs (caviar) and that she is thrilled to eat a brain again.  They sit down to enjoy the caviar and more small talk follows.  Sugimoto offers the eggs to Shiraishi and Vasily while Boutarou asks her about her love of brains.  She excitedly replies about how all brains taste good with salt.

Boutarou pushes it though as he asks her to confirm that she likes sharing her favorite foods with someone she likes - ‘the person you like’.  Again, she blushes with embarrassment and she shoves some fish eggs into his face.  This is similar to her past feedings of Shiraishi, Sugimoto and Ogata.  Meanwhile, Sugimoto and Shiraishi comment on how they are delicious with raw and go well with vodka.

Not surprisingly, despite all of this delicious food, there has been no “hinna hinna” from Asirpa.  Really, it looks like Ogata’s use of “hinna hinna” has ruined the phrase for her even though I still think he said it in honestly towards her.  With the fact that Ogata is a shit liar of course.  When will Asirpa return to saying it?  When she is reunited with Ogata over a meal?

What is clear is that Boutarou has figured out the relationship between Sugimoto and Asirpa pretty damn quickly.  Shiraishi has commented on how this may be a bad idea.  I’m going with a hunch that it will be a bad idea and that Boutarou may likely try to do something to separate the two of them or using Asirpa as a bargaining chip against Sugimoto.

With the mention of vodka, the action turns to a boat in the Otaru harbor.  On it, Sophia is enjoying some fish eggs with vodka and her men.  Oh Sofia!  I have missed you so much!  She’s back in the game and I’m stocked to see what will happen next.  She clearly has enough men in her group that they will pose a threat to those involved in the quest for the gold.  Furthermore, after drinking with her me she takes some time to drink by herself.  She quietly looks a small photo, she thinks back to Hasegawa’s photo studio, and the fire in the kitchen.  It reveals the photo that Hasegawa took fo them ans she clearly grabbed it before it was burnt in the fire that Tsurumi set to destroy his evidence.

It clearly shows Wilk, Kiro and herself before we get a close up on her very intense looking face.  Based on her furrowed brow and down turned lips that are taught, I’d say she’s planning for revenge in for the death of both of them.  She’s got a plan, she’s got men and she’s going to spring to action.

The chapter then shifts to Usami and Kikuta in Sapporo.  They are both appear to be well dressed men in the red light district in search of our “jack the ripper” character.  Usami is looking around a previous crime scene while Kikuta wonders if questioning other prostitutes would be are more useful avenue.

Recall, that Tsurumi paired these two up stating that Usami would have a special skill set in finding the convict.  The next several pages have Usami masturbating at the crime scene as he tries to determine what would feel right for the killer while Kikuta watches on in shock and horror.  Somehow using his magical masturbatory skills Usami is able to try to determine where the killer have gotten off to his crime.

After testing his hypothesis so to speak Usami ends up following his own ejaculate (I cannot believe I just typed that! thanks Noda!) to find the killer’s.  Kikuta is rightly appalled, but Usami is far too into his detective work!

What is clear is that Usami and the killer both seem to get off on violence - he then proceeds to poke at the killer’s semen and tries to date it.  At the same time Kikuta is horrified and is worried about him picking up a STI.

Usami declares that the killer returns to the scene of the crime to get off, so he predicts he will return that very night.  Usami has rocked Kikuta to his core - he doesn’t believe it and he can only admit that he’s one hell of a semen detective.  He also determines what Tsurumi meant by him being useful.  This 100% makes sense since Tsurumi knows that Usami always returned to the scene of the crime; in regards to the loss of his killing virginity when he beat his “best” friend in judo.  Kikuta is partly there, he only can conclude that Usami can think like the killer - what he doesn’t realize is that Usami 100% thinks the same way as the killer - as he is just the same as the killer.

It ends with Usami figuring things out one more time as Kikuta is still in shock.  The chapter ends with the serial killer jerking himself off at the same place as Usami does the same thing to get into the “zone” to speak.

And with that the chapter dramatically ends with mutual masturbation of Usami and the unknown convict.

This chapter gives us a few main points.

1.) Boutarou reads people well - he almost immediately determines that Sugimoto sees Asirpa as a special person to protect like family.  That Asirpa has a crush on Sugimoto and that Sugimoto likely isn’t quite aware of what it means.  Shiraishi mentioning aligning themselves with Boutarou may be a mistake likely indicates to me it will be a mistake.  Sugimoto never listens to Shiraishi . . . Boutarou will almost use Asirpa as a part of his plan in the future.

2.) Asirpa’s lack of “hinna hinna” continues.  Yep, she just had some sturgeon brains, fish eggs and is back in her element of eating but no mention of her “hinna hinna”.  The last time they said it was when she was with Ogata, Kiro and Shiraishi before they broke Sofia out of prison.  This is a complicated ritual for her - did Ogata cheapen it for her? Or did she realize she doesn’t deserve to say it after she almost killed Ogata?  Was Kiro’s death too much for her?  She remembered the code with Sofia and his help but she was unable to do anything for him.  She saw a possible fate being an Ainu fighting imperialism - keeping her habit of saying “hinna hinna” may be a reaction to all of the fallout. 

3.) Sofia has a plan.  No one has such a facial expression unless that character has a plan in mind.  We know that Sofia is a capable and natural leader.  She intends to end whatever it was that Wilk and Kiro started.  Asirpa said that Sofia will find her when she needs to.  With Sofia in Otaru she gets closer to the action.  I can’t wait to see what happens and I want Sofia to chat with Ogata.

4.) Gross masturbation humor sells - or something.  Usami is using his weird habit of linking violence to sexual pleasure to find the serial killer.  I really don’t get this, but I’ll just roll with it.  At least we got to see Kikuta as a well dressed man.  I approve of Kikuta in nice clothing.

That’s all I’ve got for now.  Stay safe people!

[missielee]

Passion

Day 1&2: Fish & Wisp

Fish – such a fascinating creature

It was Olivia’s first passion as well as pet

When she was seven, her dad took her and her sister to the aquarium downtown.

It was magnificent, she said

It was like a different world, she said

Engulfed by a singular color blue, she was mesmerized by all the moving little diamonds around her

Colorful scales glimmered in the tank lights, felt like thousands stars on the sky

They moved oh so gracefully, bubbles curved along their fins

It was like a water dance.

That was at least ten years ago, little Olivia has already turned into a beautiful young woman who is passionate about the ocean life, specifically sea creatures. Fascinated by them, she indulged hours in books on her dad’s shelves and pursued her dream to become, well, quoted on quote “Fish”.

Fish is a peculiar animal. They live in water and absorb oxygen through their respiration system which is the gills. Their body is covered in scales worked as camouflage, protection and swimming aid. Their fins flutter through the current as they sway their body elegantly. What could possibly better than being a fish, swimming freely in the water blue?

“I prefer whale better” Janet voiced her opinion out loud

“What? That swimming elephant? No way!” Olivia eyed her friend in disbelief “That’s not even a fish!”

“It’s a sea creature too so it sorta counts. Also, FYI, that is super mean. That’s probably equivalent to pointing out someone is obese in fish language.” Janet rolled her eyes, continued eating her lunch

“Whale and dolphin are mammals, so not a fish. Beside, would you really want to be a whale? Big, giant blue whale?”

“Uh, whale is my spiritual animal, therefore, yes I’ll be the big giant and BEAUTIFUL blue whale” a glare was directed right back to Olivia “At the very least, I won’t get eaten by other species”

“Other than human, sure!” Olivia sipped her water “You do know that a fair amount of whale was hunted for meat and oil in the past right?”

“Whale hunting was a thing?”

“Yeah, it was like a thing back in 1800s. Products made from whale, mainly oil, are incredibly valuable. A barrel of sperm-whale oil can even went up to 1500$ per barrel” Olivia shrugged “But it wasn’t used much nowadays because many better resource appeared: like Kerosene, vegetable oil, petrol”

“Uh huh, you know a lot about whale for someone who just insult it” Janet smirked upon her “You like whale too, don’t you ~”

“Said the one who have their nose in Moby Dick like twenty times or something. I only know some of the basic thing about whale”

“Hey, that book is a masterpiece! Brave men against the nature! Battling fearlessly! Unlike you and you’re fish tank obsession.”

Olivia couldn’t bother to say back. It’s true that she’s have an itsy bitsy infatuation with fish, but she couldn’t explain it why she adores them that much. Some have told her she could become mermaid like those performs in aquarium shows but Olivia refused. Even though it was her dream to become of them, she absolutely hates mermaid/merman in generally because mermaid doesn’t swim like a fish does, according to her logically research. Since mermaid have different anatomy, their swim movement is up-and-down, which isn’t the normal side-to-side like fish does. In addition to that, mermaid eats fish, explained her dislike towards becoming one. She understood that it’s normal to pray on one to another in the animal kingdom but she cannot stand the idea of feasting on such pretty shiny thing. ‘I mean people might have evolved enough to even eat gold but not diamond, right?’

It’s not the first time she realized turning into a fish is practically impossible. Despite her fascination of the marine life, she apparently have Thalassophobia, which prevents her from any activities near the open water. It was upsetting to Olivia, having to spend her life in pictures capturing a small part of the vast water part. It’s like try to play puzzles with endless pieces and they all have the same shade of color. No amount of therapy could help her reach the board of the ship, the closest she could ever get is the lightly wet sand shore. Moreover, there’s an unexplainable feeling when she reaches the ocean, she hears it whisper her name in sad serenity. And on a more frightening term, it always seems to seep closer and closer to her.

“Livvy? You’re spacing out again. Come on, we’ll be late for class” she snapped out of her daze, turn to see her friend already finished packing her belongings

Checking her phone, 2:45 and her class started at 3, she needed to hurry.

“Oh I almost forgot. You’ll come to the Jake’s party this evening, right?”

“Beach party? Not so sure, you know how I feel about it”

“It’s just on shore. I’ll be there too. Don’t worry, if anyone tries to drag you near the water then they’ll have to go through me” Janet smirked. Three years in Aikido is enough to take anyone down, not to mention she was a three times champion of the city, as if that isn’t intimidating enough but it ensures Olivia enough to have a good time by the sand.

“But this evening already? I thought it’s on 13th?”

“Today is the 13th, Goldfish. Did you fall head over heel for Jake so far that you forgot to check for the actual date?”

“I might have mistaken a Friday for a Saturday. But that doesn’t make me a goldfish! And goldfish have good memory! The five seconds attention span is a myth!” Olivia exclaimed

“I guess your attention span is probably so filled with Jake that you can only remembered that he has invited you~”

The two kept bickering as they walked each other to class, like all the other days.

  It was around eight when Olivia and Janet arrived at the party, and it sure is a lively one. The torch lit up the area but it was no match to the people’s dancing along the live music band. Sound of chatters mixed with the awry waves of the sea like a symphony. Olivia immediately spotted Jake in the crowd by the barbecue, greeting newcomers and grilled the ribs with his cheerful expression bright like sunlight. Janet could guess what millions thoughts going through her bestie’s mind as she pulled her over to the food court.

“Hey Jake, nice buns you got there. Mind if we have a taste?” Jake laughed wholeheartedly  

“Why I wouldn’t mind you two lovely ladies to have a taste of my delicious buns, of course!” A wink sent towards them as Olivia reddened

“I-I-I brought some cakes from Rosie’s! A-And I think it’s a great party!” Jake took the box from Olivia and gave both of them a small dish

“I love Rosie’s cake! This is great for desert! Thanks Olivia!”

And needless to say, Janet had to play the waitress and lead a very blush female to a table while holding two dish of steak.

“Oh Janet! Did you see him smiling at me? He’s so nice!” Janet have a gulp of soda after settling down and listening to her friend’s love rant.

“Eat your steak Olivia or I’ll help you know how it’s like to be fish”

“Alright, no need to do that. I’m not some toddler, you know” Olivia sulked and cut a piece

Olivia notice a newspaper left next to her seat, seemed like it was today’s news. Curious, she decided to have a look since Janet had went to get a second plate.

“BREAKING NEW:  SUCCESSFULLY FOUND THE ONLY SURVIVOR OF THE S.S HARVEY INCIDENT

Olivia Breston, eldest daughter of the Breston family and a bright student at Morrington University, was discovered barely breathing and unconscious on floating remains of the unfortunate ship by the fishermen of Devonne port. Lifeboat was sent immediately to revive and take Olivia to the closest hospital. 17h28 of 13th October, we received news …”

‘No way. Olivia… Breston… That’s… that’s my name!? I… I am dead?’

Janet returned back with a joyful meal in hand.

“Man! Jake sure have a knack for cooking! You’re a lucky one, Olivia!” Olivia didn’t respond, still deep in shock “Olivia?”

Olivia handed her the paper. Janet frowned before realization hit her. Surprisingly, she’s quite calm to react.

“So you found out. Any memory came back?”

Olivia shivered, shook her head.

“I survived, did I? So why… am I here? On this day, I was supposed to be found? But no?”

Janet moved next to her, sat down and comforted the confused girl.

“Do you want to know? Truly want to know?”

A silence between made the air thickened before Olivia gave a nod, reluctantly. Janet rubbed her shoulders soothingly.

“What you read is true. You are the only survivor of the S.S Harvey ship, a research ship directed by your father. You accompanied him on a field trip on 19th June when the ship got caught in bad weather, which later escalated into a sea storm. There was no news from the ship until…”

Janet pointed at the date and then at what supposedly to be warehouse, rather than what’s beside it. Needn’t to guess, Olivia could tell what Janet was trying to show her. But it didn’t explain everything that’s happening at the moment.

“I assume you’re wondering what’s happening right now. Care to take a blind guess?” Janet lighted a cig, savored that nicotine taste on the tip of her tongue before let out a wisp of white smoke.

“I died?”

“Eh, close enough. A coma. If you died, you wouldn’t be here to chit chat Livvy”

“Coma? But then, where am I?”

“Well, some might say it’s your subconscious so let just assume that it is. You didn’t die from the incident but drowning left you stranded in your brain, that’s all I could say.” Janet led her to the water. It seeped up close to their feet but it didn’t frighten Olivia no more

“I’m the fish of my own tank” Janet chuckled

“So you do remember”

“Yeah, I just got bits and bits of it. I chose to stay here, because there’s nothing out there for me, no one is waiting for me. At least I achieved my dream here, well, in a way” Olivia stepped back to clean sand, heart ached as she turned to Janet “Because in here I can see the one I held dear”

Janet tossed the burnt butt cig into the cool sand “Old habits die hard. You know, yet you still want to stay?”

“There’s no point going out there. I rather stay here”

“Alright, don’t keep Jake waiting on the dance floor.” Olivia headed back, blushed to the ear “After tonight, it’ll all be a bad dream”

“Wake up anew right?”

“Totally, Goldfish” Olivia’s shadow faded as now only Janet stood alone, water raised above her ankle. The way the ocean surging was unusual than before. There were whispers, cries lingered in the air. Moaned in pain. The thunder struck faraway on the surface warned the upcoming omen.

 “Time’s running out, Olivia”

--- Missielee ---

[starlitfaery]

Headcanons :: On Dragons (and Their Weight and Other Things of Note)

First, I’ve ordered the icons in order of age. Second, here’s some lovely lists

Chase 

is oldest at 1542 years old, 

became a dragon-human hybrid somewhere in his early 20s

ingests soup frequently made from straight up (lesser) dragons that can’t take human form

parents were unknown to him, but perfectly human

he thought the woman that raised him was his birth mom, 

she was not, she lied to protect a baby she found in the dirt

all forms of parents are long since dead

emperor of a country he formed himself

Maleficent

is at least 1300 years old

was born to a dragon and a fae parents

technically only a quarter dragon actually

mum’s full fae, dad’s a dragon-elf hybrid

both parents are permanently dead,

no humans didn’t kill them, they basically killed each other

mum’s a human hater, dad’s a literal human lover

queen of her own kingdom

Malleus

the baby of all my dragon muses

.....no i don’t mean Chase and Maleficent had a kid and named them Malleus (although...there’s a thought...right, now I’m gonna have to edit my pages for that AU....)

is the youngest at approximately 750 years old (age subject to change when more information is given)

oh and his family life was actually the least traumatizing

his parents are still alive and they sent him to school

he’s just a wittle prince of darkness, fear him

no seriously, fear him, his parents let him get away with literally everything

he’s killed or caused the death of so many bodyguards meant to protect him but now they’re hired to protect people from him

apparently killing and eating humans is frowned upon, his parents hoped he would learn a little more self control regarding that at magic school

The thing about all three of these lovely people, is that they appear human, but they can take monstrous forms

Gee Essie what do you mean by monstrous forms

I mean they look like tiny delicate humans that you can probably lift with one hand, but then when you try they’re laughing at you as you struggle to even get a grip, because they all weigh literal tons

Chase here, his dragon form is more of a crocodile, no wings needed to fly, and Saltwater Crocs aka the crocs living in his region can get up to 2,300 lbs (1 ton and 300 lbs or over 1,000 kg)

Unfortunately, there’s nothing of real scale to compare to Maleficent’s and Malleus’ alternate forms so I can’t pull any weight references here unless I wanna dive into aquatic lifeforms

In which case, a North Pacific Right Whale seems about the same size comparison, and that lovely creature is anywhere between 110,000 – 180,000 lbs, between 55 and 90 tons

Or we could go smaller and say the sperm whale which is 77,000 – 130,000 lbs (35 to 65 tons)

So these lovely beautiful human shaped monsters, can literally kill you with the slightest punch if they really wanted to, because alllllll that mass doesn’t simply go away when they put their human faces on, and it can’t just appear out of nowhere when they put their scales on

[birth-fic-lover]

The sperm bank has a info leak

Max was sitting in front of his tv, he was making his way though a bowl of cereal watching the news. He didn't usually watch the 7am news, but this morning was different. Max worked as an electrician so was used to early starts, but today was his day off. He didn't know why or how but he sensed it being different, usually if he woke at half 6 on a rest day he would roll over in bed. But this morning there was something in him that told him to get up and start the day.

He decided to watch tv until he finished eating then he would get washed, he listened to a segment about Fox's. Then just as he put a large scoop of cereal in his mouth he saw a logo he recognised, it was the logo of the sperm bank he had donated too a few times.

"This sperm bank is one of the most populer in the city, known for it's efficiency and privacy. But late last night someone hacked into the system, this person has been then passing on the details of donors to the users of the sperm. This means the donor's anonymity is now gone and the families can now track down the donor."

Max dropped his bowl, he wondered if he would be contacted. Could he be contacted? He only startes donating a year or two ago so any children from his donations would only be babies, he knew he had no fear of them trying to track him down. He breathed a sigh of relief, all he had to do is make sure that his info was erased from internet before the kids were old enough to use google. There would be people from the centre who would make sure the leak was contained surely.

He decided to not even think about it, he decided to get dressed and go to work. Wait no today was his day off, he would get dressed and go out. Where he didn't know, but he would be productive. He had a shower, got dressed and tidyed the flat.

3 hours later he felt very productive, maybe he should leave the flat now. Get some fresh air, maybe text his friends see if they want to grab a beer later. Maybe he could spend the rest of the morning shopping for new jeans or looking at those headphones he wanted. Either way he was going into town, he put his hand on the handle of his front door when there was a sharp knock on from the other side of it.

It made him jump out his skin, he let go of the handle like it was red hot. He wasn't expecting anyone, so he looked though his peep hole on the door. He could see a lady, even though though the tiny bit of glass it wasn't very clear he could tell she was pregnant. She knocked again. Almost automatically he stepped back and open the door, the women had her hands on her hips.

He quickly took in the women in his doorway, she was very angry and very pregnant. He saw there was a print out in her hand with his picture and other details, it seemed that though no children from his donations would be trying to contact him there mother certainly could. “Are you Maxwell Lowe?” the women asked not keeping the anger out her voice.

Max thought this was ridiculous firstly because she knew he was since she had his address and picture, secondly because she seemed angry like he had personally knocked her up rather then her purposely getting pregnant and thirdly no one ever calls him Maxwell. But he stayed calm “Yes that’s me, I’m guessing you used one of my donations.”

“Yes” she said angry “yes I did, under false pretences it seems”. 

Max felt like this was going to take a while and he didn’t want his neighbours to over hear this, “would you like to come in? you can tell me all about this over a cup of tea”. 

“Yes, yes I would” she said with a nod and comes straight in. Max goes into his kitchen, while he is boiling the kettle he starts to think over his application. He can’t think of anything he said that could of mislead anyone, he hadn’t pretended to have any extra qualification's or added extra cm’s to his height.  

He brought the tea to his living room and placed it on the dining table in front of where the women was sat, he got the milk out the fridge and put it on the middle between them. “Right” he said calmly “so obviously you have gone to a lot of trouble coming to see me, so what seems to of not added up?”.

“It seems someone was able to access the files at the sperm bank I used, and then distributed the information to the patents who successfully got pregnant. Well this morning the I was sent an email with your details saying you were donor 55928, now I thought this must be a mistake since I purposely chose donor 55928 because it said he was American.” 

“It says that because both my parents are American, I moved over here when I was a baby. I told the clinic this and thought I have never lived there they decided to put I was American because biologically I am” Max explained.

The women seemed the flinch then starts rubbing her belly, “well that’s a problem for me, I wanted someone who lived on the other side of the world so that when my child turns 18 I don’t have to worry so much about sharing her”. 

“So it’s a her?” Max said.

“I didn’t want you to know that” the women said quickly.

“Listen, I have no interest in being a dad. If your daughter even tracks me down I would be happy to meet once so she can tick it off her bucket list but that’s it” Max said trying to reassure the women “I promise you, sorry what’s your name?”

“Ruth” she says automatically “dam I didn’t want you to know that either”.

“I promise you Ruth this baby is all yours” max said with a smile “you don’t have to worry about sending me pictures or updating me. I am sorry if I miss lead you or worried you.”

Ruth seemed satisfied “Well I’m glad we got things sorted, thank you for clarifying everything. I have to go, sorry I didn’t drink my tea.” She said in a rush as she stood. 

But then she let out a low moan “ooooohhhhh” and she sat down again.

“Is everything alright?” Max said confused with what just happened. 

“Sorry I woke up having contractions this morning, but I didn’t want to go into labour worrying about this. That’s why I rushed over this morning”. Ruth explained while soothing her belly.

“Weren’t you worried about not making it to the hospital in time?” Max said.

“No no, I have plenty of time. Labour takes hours to progress, just seems that the contractions are getting a little more intense and it caught me off guard. Anyway I will drive myself to the home now everything has been sorted.” But as she finished talking a look of surprise took over her face and she looked down. 

“Another contraction?” Max asked

“My my waters just broke hooo hooooo oh my goodness, I need to go home now” Ruth said standing up but Max could tell she looked unsteady on her feet as she clutched her belly.

“Ruth I don’t think you should be driving in your condition, let me call you an ambulance” Max said reaching for his phone.

“NO” Ruth yells “no hospitals, I have a midwife that will come to my house. I just need to call her and tell her to meet there”.

“Really Ruth, what if you have a crash. It’s just not safe, if I had a car I would drive you myself. I could call you a taxi” Max said trying to stay calm.

“Nnnnnnaaaaaaa no” Ruth gasps leaning against the table “hooooo hoooooo hooooooooo, I don’t want to give birth in a taxi. I’m such a fool it’s too late, I don’t think I would get home in time hooooooo”.   

Max placed the chair behind her and she sat gingerly “Why don’t you call your midwife, get her to come here. I know this isn’t where you want to be, but I think I have a CD with whale noises.” 

“I hate whale noises, but yes thank you. Could you fill your bath with warm water in case I need it?” Ruth asked rubbing her back.

Max took his time filling the bath wanting to give Ruth her space to call her midwife. When he returned she was sat on his sofa, all she had on was a smock and her knickers.

“The midwife is on her way, but I checked I’m almost dilated and I can feel the baby moving down already.” Ruth said rubbing her belly.

Max got some towels and put some over the sofa and also dried the floor, Ruth keep having contractions and moved around the room trying to find comfort. “Hooooooooooo I need to push, I can’t hold her in she’s right there”. She leans over the table and widens her legs. “Ooooooooooo oooooooooo OOOOOOOO, MAX take me to the sofa take me to the sofa”. 

Max rushes over and helps her to the sofa she tries to lie down, but doesn’t seem able to. She drops to a crouch holding onto Max with one hand and the other is on her belly. Max could tell she was pushing hard, he didn’t know what to say as she moaned and complained about the pressure. 

She gripped the sofa and pulled herself up and then let go of Max, he could see that the head was now bulging out her underwear. She leans over and puts her forearms on the back of the sofa and stretches her legs wide to make room for the baby’s shoulders. “Max pull them down and tell me how far out is she”. 

Max knew what she meant and pulled her knickers down, just then the first shoulder popped out “Ruth she’s almost there one more push and she’s out”. 

Ruth put her hands on her baby let out a scream and as she brought her arms towards her chest a baby was in them. Max supported her and sat her down on the sofa.

“Thank you” Ruth said “I am sorry that I came here to tell you to stay away only for me to give birth to her in your flat”.

Max chuckles “I think it’s fair to say that this will be quite a story when I see her again in 18 years time, if she wants to see me”.

Ruth “maybe I can keep you in the loop about her after all, now where’s that midwife”. 

[xtruss]

Orcas (seen above in the Caribbean) live in family groups that work together to hunt. Photograph By Brian Skerry, National Geographic Image Collection

Orcas Found to Kill Blue Whales, The Largest Animals on Earth, For First Time

The discovery may actually signal good news for both species, experts say.

— BY CLAUDIA GEIB | JANUARY 26, 2022

It begins with a chase: Twelve orcas swimming down their quarry until it grows tired. When their target finally slows, more orcas join in, 20 sets of teeth raking and biting into flesh. A few minutes later, the predators work together to force their prey underwater. It doesn’t come back up.

This is no average hunt. The scene, observed off Bremer Bay in southwestern Australia, is the first time humans have documented orcas, also known as killer whales, successfully hunting and eating an endangered blue whale, the largest animal that has ever lived.

In all, scientists describe three blue whale killings, in March and April of 2019 and March of 2021, in a new study published this week in the journal Marine Mammal Science.

“This is the biggest predation event on this planet: the biggest apex predator taking down the biggest prey,” says study co-author Robert Pitman, a marine ecologist at Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute. “We don’t have dinosaurs anymore, so for me as a whale biologist and a zoologist it’s an amazing thing.”

People have documented killer whales feeding on nearly every other species of large whale worldwide, though most attacks have been on calves. Increasingly, these accounts come from amateur observers with cellphones or drones: In one such drone video, taken in 2017 off Monterey, California, killer whales attacked a blue whale, but did not kill it.

“It was just a matter of time before an observation like this would be made,” says David Donnelly, a marine researcher with Australia’s Dolphin Research Institute, who runs the citizen-science project Killer Whales Australia.

And the odds were good that it would happen in Bremer Bay, he says, since orcas can be reliably found there year after year.

Bremer Bay’s seafloor features a deep canyon that gushes cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface and supports an extraordinarily diverse food chain—from phytoplankton to southern bluefin tuna to salmon all the way up to sperm whales, rare beaked whales, and numerous shark species. (Read about orcas that kill great white sharks.)

“Anything that passes through that region might end up in a killer whale’s mouth,” says Donnelly, who was not involved with the new study.

Teamwork Is Key

In two of the hunts, killer whales targeted young animals, including a calf and what seemed to be a year-old juvenile. During the third, the killer whales took down an apparently healthy adult, between 60 and 70 feet long. The largest killer whales measure only about 30 feet.

Scientists didn’t get a chance to sample any of the hunted whales, but based on the time of year, location, and direction the whales were moving, the team surmised they were migrating pygmy blue whales, a smaller subspecies that nonetheless grows to about 79 feet in length.

So how does a killer whale overcome an animal more than twice its size? It’s a family matter: Killer whales live in closely knit pods, led by their grandmothers, mothers, or aunts. The whales learn from each other and cooperate to survive. For instance, up to 50 individuals participated in the chase during these hunts, and multiple smaller groups worked together, often swapping roles, to bite at and eventually drown their prey. (See how orcas work together to whip up a meal.)

“These killer whale groups live for human life spans or longer, and so they hunt together cooperatively for decades and decades,” Pitman says, comparing the whales’ hunting strategy to that of wolves. “You can learn a lot about how to work together when you practice together as a team.”

An orca bites into the tongue—a favorite food—of a blue whale calf. This orca, likely an adult female, was involved in all three attacks described in the research paper. Photograph By John Daw, Australian Wildlife Journeys

Good News For Both?

To Pitman, these hunts may also signal a positive step for both species’ populations. The global population of killer whales, which live in all the world’s oceans, is unknown. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the blue whale as endangered due to aggressive whaling throughout the 1900s, but their numbers have steadily increased since the 1960s, when the species was globally protected. Worldwide, there may be between 5,000 and 15,000 blue whales alive today, the IUCN estimates.

Pitman says it’s possible that killer whales have always dined on blue whales, but when the latter’s numbers plummeted during the age of whaling, killer whales had to switch to different prey.

So these newly observed hunts, he adds, may be evidence of killer whales returning to an ancient habit as an old food source returns.

Pitman thinks it’s unlikely that killer whale attacks will pose an existential threat to blue whales’ recovery, though he does expect these incidents will increase as both populations expand their numbers.

He’s also intrigued to see how killer whales could shift the dynamics of the marine ecosystem in Western Australia. For instance, some whales, such as humpbacks and bowheads, may plot their entire migration routes to avoid killer whales.

“Nobody that's alive on Earth today has ever seen what the ocean looked like before we started whaling,” Pitman says. Australia’s killer whales may be offering a glimpse of how the ocean used to be—teeth and all.