#it is halloween weekend and I am busy doing various movie nights and nights out that I will be recovering from the inevitable hangover

[pooka167]

Am I about to watch the new pokemon horizons episode absoluetly rat-arsed drunk, yes, yes I am and I am so hyped!

[sserpente]

A/N: Request from anon. Halloween is not Halloween without Adam, am I right? Enjoy, everyone!

Words: 2015 Warnings: smut, blood/feeding, hints of Dom/sub dynamic

“Hey, uh, listen… you… I don’t want you to come over tonight.” That was a first. Frowning, you gripped your phone tighter, staring at the bus stop sign as if its very existence was at fault for Adam’s sudden change of heart.

“Is… everything okay?” You’d been spending the weekend at his place almost every week for the past few months. After meeting at an underground music festival where you’d helped out as a volunteer, the spark between you had turned into a destructive fire and, after a funny period of dancing around one another in an attempt to build trust, you had ended up sharing the bed. Adam was by far the most skilled lover you had ever had. He was considerate, never finished before you did and God… did he take aftercare and foreplay to a different level.

It had taken him one hundred days exactly to tell you his biggest secret—that the reason for his hiding from the world was not just him being an introvert… but being a centuries-old vampire. Perhaps he expected you to lash out, freak out, and call the police. But up until that point, Adam had not once laid a finger on you without your permission and now, you even felt bad for not believing him at first, thinking he was so deep in the music scene he now identified as a blood-sucking creature of the night. That was until one morning—you had been up all night fucking in various positions—he fell asleep in your arms on the couch, and then jerked awake screaming in pain, for the curtain had not been closed entirely and the sunlight creeping through promptly burned the back of his hand.

“Adam… is everything alright? It’s Halloween. I even baked cupcakes with O-negative in it!” Do you know how hard it was to bake something with blood?, you added silently.

“You did what now?” A low chuckle reached your ear, making you shiver.

“I did. We were going to watch cheesy horror movies and…” Use those new toys together. You’d been experimenting with handcuffs lately. You absolutely loved being tied up by him during sex.

“Listen, I know… it’s because… the blood supply at the hospital is running low. I had my last proper meal on Monday and I won’t be able to get a hold of new blood until the next. It’s too dangerous.”

You blinked. Too dangerous? It took you a moment to understand. He wanted to protect you. From himself. Your lips parted.

“You… you’re worried you’ll hurt me?”

“Yes, darling. That’s why I need you to stay away from me until Monday, alright?”

Mutely, you shook your head. “Adam… I trust you. Nothing ever happened, so why would it now?”

“I haven’t fed properly. I normally…” He paused. “Normally, I feed right before you arrive.”

“Adam, I’m coming over. You know how busy work will be from November and then only God knows when I’ll be able to see you again. I miss you.”

“I miss you too, darling. But—“

“The bus is coming,” you said. You weren’t lying. You waved so the driver would stop to let you get on. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

“Darling, no. Don’t you dare—“ You hung up before he could finish his sentence. Dating a vampire meant you’d have to take a risk every now and then. And you were certainly not going to let your Halloween night be ruined by the fact you were human.

Twenty minutes later, you rang the doorbell and then walked backward a few steps so Adam could see you through his window. It took him about a minute to open the door for you—reproachfully so.

“Is it that hard for you to listen?” He said instead of a greeting but pulled you into his arms and kissed you regardless.

“I always got in trouble for that at school if it helps.” You grinned at him and then waved the cupcakes around in front of his face. He sighed.

“Come on upstairs then.”

-

It was fine. More than fine. Like you’d imagined, Adam and you were soon snuggled up on his sofa watching 80s horror movies and laughing about the bad special effects. You were munching on the Halloween candy you had brought for yourself, Adam was devouring your O-negative cupcakes. Not once had he expressed the urge to drink your blood. Quite on the contrary—he was as calm as ever.

“See? You’re doing fine. My cupcakes are helping,” you said during a quiet suspense-filled scene.

“They are indeed delicious.” He chuckled. By now, you were half-lying on his lap, your palm dangerously close to his crotch. You wondered where he had hidden the handcuffs and that silk rope… Biting your lower lip, you inched even closer to him, inconspicuously rubbing your palm against his most sensitive area.

“I know what you’re doing, darling. Stop that. Watch the film.” You rolled your eyes.

“Wouldn’t be the first time we forget about the movie… Adam…” You whined. “I’ve been so horny all week…”

Knowingly, he smiled to himself. “Ah, did you actually do as you were told and refrained from touching yourself until the weekend?”

“Yes!” It sounded like a complaint. “And now look at me! Adam, I need you…”

He chuckled once more and turned to face you. “Well… I reckon since you’ve been such a good girl for me…” Without any forewarning, he pushed you on your back and spread your legs, your skirt complimenting your form like a pair of wings. The vampire didn’t bother taking off your knickers. Instead, he simply pushed them aside to reveal your glistening cunt to him.

You’d been wet ever since you stepped foot into his house, the promise of what was to come later this night torturous foreplay.

“What do you want, hmm? Tell me. Use your words.” You bit your lower lip.

“I want you to fuck me. Please…”

“Just fuck? You think you’re wet enough for me?”

“Yes!”

You were glad Adam didn’t need to bother with a condom. Getting a human pregnant as a vampire was impossible, this wasn’t Twilight after all—and so, when you watched him undo his trousers and push them down to his thighs, you bucked your hips impatiently, waiting for him to sheathe himself inside of you.

A moan escaped your lips when he reached for your hands and held them tightly above your head, immobilising you for him until all you could do was beg with your hips bucking and your back arching—and you cursed when he impaled you on his hard cock only a moment later, pausing for only a second to let you adjust to him. He’d slid in with such ease you grew even hotter than you already were, your limbs shaking from the growing pleasure spreading in your core.

Adam was usually quieter during sex. He’d whisper sweet nothings in your ear, sigh during his climax and moan quietly whenever he felt your hands or mouth on his length… But today was different. He was growling, animalistic, almost feral.

“F-fuck…” You moaned, the force of his thrusts almost knocking all air from your lungs. The vampire buried his face in your neck, inhaling deeply. You were wearing his favourite perfume, anything to provoke him and make him devour you until you came around him screaming his name. Oh, you had certainly never left his house unsatisfied on Monday morning.

Whatever had ridden him, you liked it. Adam was being more dominant than usual, almost… manhandling you, using you. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy it. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head, your legs wrapped around his hips, allowing him to angle you a bit differently so he could thrust even deeper… and then you suddenly felt a pair of sharp fangs pressing against your neck. You screamed in surprise when they broke your sensitive skin and you felt the blood pour from the wound.

Adam’s grip around your wrists tightened, his rhythm ruthless and frantic, uncontrolled. For just a split second, fear rushed through you, having you freeze beneath him—but then, it evaporated like fog on a spring morning, replaced by… arousal. Fuck… it felt… good?

Moaning his name shamelessly, you threw your head back to give him easier access, allowing him to feed on you while he fucked you senseless. At this point, you were unsure whether Adam was even aware of what he was doing. The sweet pain, however, paired with his tip continuously stroking your g-spot did not leave much room for any other thought than that of your orgasm which came crushing in on you like a tidal wave, knocking you off your feet. Clenching around him repeatedly, pure bliss consumed you until you were but a panting mess, triggering Adam’s own release.

He came inside you with a grunt, spurting rope after rope of his seed into you. Only then did he move his mouth away from your throat. Blank horror spread on his face as soon as he realised. His eyes had turned a dark golden, making him even more beautiful.

“Fuck!” He cursed, sliding out of you and throwing himself towards the other end of the sofa immediately. “Shit, are you hurt?”

“I… no,” you said, panting. “I’m okay. I’m… more than okay… Fuck… Adam, that was really hot.”

“Hot? I fucking bit you… I…”

“It felt good! I don’t think I’ve ever cum so hard before…”

Not quite convinced, his gaze wandered to the wound on your neck. It stung a little when you touched it but if that was the prize you’d had to pay for wild sex like that, then so be it.

“I promise, Adam. I… I actually liked that.”

“You like me… feeding on you?” Hesitantly, he placed his hand on your knee when you sat up. You nodded.

“Is that weird? I never thought I liked a bit of… pain during sex but fuck… If we do this again… and you tie me up too… Oh my God…”

Adam licked his lips—without a doubt the taste of your blood was still lingering there. He’d enjoyed it too—you could tell by the hungry look in his beautiful eyes that were now slowly changing back to blue.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes… Adam, I trust you and just now, you didn’t actually hurt me.”

“I lost control. I could have hurt you.”

“But you didn’t. I… this can’t be the first time a vampire has a lover they feed from, no?”

“It’s not… but… it’s rare these days. Vampires used to enslave humans for their blood, keep them naked and half-frozen in their homes to feed on them whenever they got hungry. It was more common with male vampires, of course, but they’d… also use their prey for something else.” Prey. Slave.

Your eyes lit up. The idea of being his blood slave turned you on so much that your pussy clenched with desire. You could only guess that Adam did not fail to notice.

“You’re not like that. I know you’re not. I want this… and trust me, I’m surprised I do! Let me become your pleasure slave on the weekends…” You winked. “Maybe you won’t even need to sneak into the hospital for blood anymore.”

A weak smile played on his thin lips. “I’m not sure there will be a going back from this lifestyle if you choose to pursue it,” he warned, albeit with greed in his smooth voice.

“So? Adam, I love you. We’ve been seeing each other for months and if this is what our relationship will officially evolve into… let’s do it.”

His expression softened. “You love me?” You nodded gently.

He didn’t say it back, not yet. You didn’t need him to. He would when he was ready. Until then, you would explore whatever it was that was growing between you, further.

“Where are the handcuffs?” You whispered, smiling mischievously.

Adam must have still been hungry anyways.

-

A/N: My first novel is coming out! FINALLY! Check out my pinned post on my blog for more details! ♥

[forever-rogue]

70, 62 and 5 with Mr. Stark

5. “Time to get spooky!” & 62. “10 pumpkins for our porch? That seems excessive…” & 70. “I don’t do horror movies- no, puppy dog eyes are against the rules, you can’t make me- fine, I’ll watch a scary movie with you.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

“We’re almost there buddy, only a few more minutes,” you reached over and gave your furry companion, a small speckled wiener dog a few pets as he stared excitedly out the window, leaving nose prints all over. He looked at you and wagged his tail eagerly; he loved coming to cabin, especially not that there were tons of leaf piles to play around in, “Parker, I just washed the car and now you’ve gone and smudged it all up!”

He looked at you momentarily, almost giving you a small huff before staring back outside. It was the first weekend in October, a cool, crisp fall morning, and you were eager to spend a few weeks away from the busy city. You were ready to unwind and disconnect, and finally get to spend some much needed alone time with Tony.

You were almost surprised with how easy it was to convince him to go, but you knew he needed a break as much as you did. He’d been tossing and turning almost every night, often getting up and wandering around aimlessly. You weren’t quite sure how to help him but you figured this was a good start. Tony had been almost as eager as you, even leaving for the cabin a few days before you, promising you that when you arrived you’d be rendered speechless.

And…it had turned out that you were right. As soon as you drove up the driveway, you noticed that there were Halloween decorations everywhere. Tombstones littered the large yard, various zombie limbs poking up, skeletons looked like they were scaling into the windows, spiderwebs and animals skeletons were abundant.

“Oh boy,” you said as you and Parker exchanged confused looks, “looks like your dad got ahead of himself. No peeing on the tombstones.”

You climbed out of the car and set the short legged dog down, and he immediately when to explore everything, leaves crunching under his feet.

“What do you think, babe?” Tony walked down the porch, his arms extended as if to say ‘ta da’, but instead he just got covered up in the fake cobwebs.

“It’s…something,” you shook your head as you went to over to him and started picking bits of web and glitter out of his hair, “did you do all of this by yourself?”

“It’s time to get spooky!” he exclaimed as he gestured to everything, clearly proud of his handy work. There were little animal skeletons on the porch as well, including a dachshund one, which you looked at it, raising an eyebrow, “just giving Parker an anatomy lesson.”

“Of course…I’m sure that’s a very anatomically correct rendition,” you kissed Tony’s cheek before looking around and noticing there seemed to be a large number of pumpkins and gourds strewn about, “10 pumpkins for our porch? That seems…excessive.”

“Excessive? More like not enough! Have you forgotten who I am?” Tony scoffed at you, before coming and standing behind you and wrapping his arms around your waist, resting his chin on your shoulder, “this is just the start, baby. Besides, I know how much you love going to the pumpkin patch, and since we didn’t go last year I wanted to make this extra special. I figured we can go and pick out a few more sometime this weekend? Deal?”

“Tony,” you sighed wistfully, turning your head and giving his cheek a big kiss, “you’re the best.”

“I know,” he shrugged as though it was no big deal, “besides I’m looking forward to kicking your ass with carving this year. I’ve been practicing my skills.”

“What a dork,” you turned around and put your hands on either side of his face, studying it intently, “I love you, you know.”

“I know,” he gave you a bashful smile, a light blush coloring his cheeks, “I wouldn’t have asked you to marry me if I didn’t know, and I suppose I don’t say it enough. I love you too.”

“I know you do, Tony,” you promised him, “even if you don’t say it all the time, I know. You prove it to me day after day with the millions of little things you do.”

“I try…” he shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big deal, but on the side it felt like his heart was going to burst. He never thought about love much, or what it would be like to be so in love with someone, but you had definitely turned that all the way upside down. You came first and foremost too him, everything was a distant second place, “but I can tell you’ve got something you want to say. I know that tone of voice. Either you’re pissed off and plotting a murder or you want something.”

“Babe,” you feigned innocence even though he had totally caught onto your little plan, “your words wound me so.”

“Out with it, L/N,” he put his hands on your waist and pulled you close, “don’t lie to me. I’ll get it out of one way or another-”

“Oooh, what did you have in mind?” you smirked and raised an eyebrow, trying to get onto his level.

“Y/N….”

“You know what my favorite thing besides going pumpkin picking is…right?” you looked at him and gave him small, hopeful little smile. At first it took him a moment to think and process what you were saying, but soon it became clear. He immediately shook his head and pouted at him, “Tony! Please? If you love me at all…”

“I don’t do horror movies- no, puppy dog eyes are against the rules,” he insisted as you tried to make the saddest eyes possible at him. You loved horror movies and marathoned them every year. Usually you could rope Steve or Natasha, or now even Bucky into watching them with you, but they weren’t anywhere near you at the moment. You figured Tony was the next best option even though he always opted out. You made a small little sound, trying to win him over and it took several long moments before he even looked at you…and quickly gave into the pathetic expression on your face, “you can’t make me- fine, I’ll watch a scary movie with you.”

“You won’t regret it, I promise,” you almost shouted with glee as you threw your arms around him, “oh Tony, you’re the best!”

“One movie-”

“One movie marathon-”

“No.”

“Pleaseeeee?”

“No.”

“For me? Your love?”

“Y/N…”

“Tony, please, if you love me at all.”

“Fine,” he threw his hands up in defeat, finally giving into you, “what my baby wants, she gets. But I’m picking the movies.”

“I can agree to that,” you insisted, grabbing his hand and heading for the door, “Parker, come on! Snuggle pile and movie time!”

“You’re crazy, you know that?” he chuckled as he trailed after you, scooping the dog up in his arms as you practically sprinted into the house.

“But you love me,” you insisted, “and you’re one to talk Iron Man!”

“I do love you,” he agreed, “crazy amounts. Now let’s do this before I change my mind!”

[supernoondles]

2020

A lot happens in a year, even when nothing seems to happen at all.

There's nothing new my commentary about a global pandemic (and the particularly frustrating experience of living in America during it, even with all my privileges of continued employment, owning a car, rent stability, and living in the bay area) will bring to the reader, but I will underscore this: my feelings aren't that 2020 is any kind of exceptional year, but the point where, hopefully, we finally realize that economic/climate/racial injustice has been a terrible problem for a long time, and will continue to be unless we enact massive collective change. A vaccine is not going to make any of those issues disappear, and I worry the people in power (including myself) will return to their comfortable life styles as if the next decade won't be even worse.

Anyway, general DOOM aside (RIP man), here's my year in specific!

From looking through my photos: January was off to a great start. I celebrated the new year with dim sum with J/M/M, as per tradition, and went on a foggy hike through SF with my family that involved my dad and J getting hilariously lost. Soon after I went to Sonoma with J/M -- for all my years in the bay, I had never explored north of the Golden Gate that much -- which was a wonderful trip seeing J's hometown. I helped my lab demo research at the Exploratorium, started growing my own microgreens, and went on more (to become semi-regular and my only source of cardio through the pandemic) bike rides with my lab mates. I finally saw Hamilton (though feel a need to justify here how "cringey" I think LMM is). I went to Genesis, my first gaming-related convention, and it was a lot of fun despite seeing no women. I did so many things, was making progress on research (I think? I don't recall any breakdowns) and my mental health was generally good.

The doing of things continued in February. After not going last year, I went to the Tet Festival in SJ (which was kind of sad). I joined a Chinese learning club and a crafts club and had a delicious omakase. N visited again, I went ice skating and tried to rescue a giant rat from string lights, and saw the Sonic movie in theaters (which would have been my last movie in theaters, sigh). After having a drink at Wursthall with T, I felt terrible (to the unaccustomed reader, not only do I Asian glow, my hands/feet itch whenever I drink and I feel like I want to die), and decided that was the last drink I'd ever have -- thanks to the pandemic that's stayed true. I went on a ski retreat with the lab that felt particularly special (and not just because I didn't have to pay). We (I, in convincing my mostly Asian office) wanted to make 元宵 on the eve of E's birthday, but it turns out that a bunch of CS PhD students really love singing karaoke for like 4 hours straight into the night, and at some point I was like, okay y'all, time to go to bed. So I hosted 元宵 making at my apartment the next weekend, and we watched another Bong Joon-Ho movie (The Host) to celebrate his Oscar win. Typing this out, it seems wild that this was even in this year. I also did sh*** for the first time, hallucinated white woman in the edges of my vision like a GAN, ate a lot of shaved parmesan from TJ, and let go of any stress I had about the UIST deadline to the abundance of nature and the world.

I break from the month-per-paragraph format now because we all know what happens next. M and I biked around campus to film a virtual tour for the newly virtual admit weekend. Being in Gates that Friday (three days before the bay area wide shelter-in-place order) was the last time I'd be on campus for a while. The next day I adopted 3 wonderful baby rats (my biggest brain move this whole year) and the day after that I moved home. I was counting down the days until Animal Crossing and then J and I were duplicating royal crowns in ACNH. At some point my hair got really bad. The months blurred together. Adjusting to WFH was extremely challenging for me, someone who had structured their whole life around the "I only do work in the office and I leave the office when I get hungry for dinner" logic. I would stop working at 6pm but spent the entire afternoon mentally prepping myself to do maybe 30 menial minutes of it. I binged AtLA. I gave up submitting to UIST. In May I hung out in the park with J, who came home from Seattle, which was the first time I saw anyone outside my family. Sometime in there I decided to become a Twitch streamer and had a brief revival as DJ Noon before I felt bad for roping my friends into listening to my music and ran out of interesting songs I wanted to play. In June I, like many others, took to the streets. For two weeks I donated $50 a day to a different organization. I couldn't get any work done at all and spent an entire advisor meeting sobbing so intensely that they felt bad and canceled it after 10 minutes. I emailed the university and got my housing back for the summer and I moved back to start my internship.

The internship was the break I needed -- working with W was a godsend compared to the struggle of my advisors. After reaching new lows at the start of the summer, my mental health was sloping positively again -- working on a new research project helped clear the emotional baggage of the last one. I was also getting more outdoor social interaction -- I went to Ocean Beach with M/D, Half Moon Bay with my family, and going on weekly bike rides with M. At the end of June, M, my roommate, her boyfriend M the clown (there are now 3 different Ms) and I waited for negative COVID results before going on a 2 day camping trip to Mt. Lassen, which felt completely surreal, and, at that time, completely necessary.

The summer dragged on and my mental health, at some point, began to slip. If I were to graph it it would probably look like the inverse of COVID cases in the US -- gradually decreasing, but with high variance from the day to day. I got an embroidery machine, I attended a workshop on docu-poetics with CPH that was so ripe with information my brain physically ached, I saw my lab mates again for the first time as we sat in a very, very wide circle to say goodbye to a post-doc who got a faculty job in Israel. Most weekends I drove to my parents' house and would take J on various hikes around East Bay so he could better appreciate his roots before he went off to Boston for college. He was taking the Switch with him, so in August I bought myself a new one and planned out my entire second ACNH town, which kept me busy for a while -- but surprisingly not as long as I thought, as with planning (and money from my old account) the whole project took I think less than 50 hours. The camping itch came back and the day before my birthday, which was also the day before J would leave for Boston, we went camping at a small state park in San Jose where he got heat stroke and we slept on top of fire ants. The entire experience reminded me how much I disliked camping -- but what else was there to do? I had a wonderful (and long, bless the folks who stayed) Zoom birthday party where I wore a mesh shirt I made and covered with worms on a string. The day after my birthday someone backed into my car, which, following the demands of a racist letter from the HOA, was parked in guest parking. (Ultimately this would be a blessing of insurance money, as the damage was mainly cosmetic and the person kindly left their contact information.) At this time I was also unironically watching ASMR videos to fall asleep, so I painted a two Bob Ross style paintings, one in my virtual art club, to pay homage.

Fire season this year was worse than it's ever been. Being trapped inside the house combined with my roommate moving out at the start of fall quarter and now living alone marked the second downward spiral of my mental health. The bad days were more frequent. I TA'd a game design course, my first time teaching at this university, where many students messaged me to complain that their 95s were not 100s. In the end the lowest grade in the class was an A- and 20% of the class got an A+. At some point I submitted a summer-long project I did with J and S to CHI; it is so much easier to produce work when I do not have to wrangle with M. (This paper gets accepted, but my silly grad student excitement is tampered both by general "why are we still trying to publish when society is crumbling" pandemic feelings and the fact that CHI will not be physically in Japan next year.) Maybe once a month I go birding. I feel increasingly as if there is nothing novel in my life; I am tired of it all and my body feels fatigued even though I don't do anything with my days. Some days it feels like if I don't touch someone I will explode. My use of recreational marijuana skyrockets. I start doing exercise videos semi-regularly with A. I briefly consider moving to Seattle with E, who is about to defend, before it's clear we have, as always, different boundaries and expectations. I look for places in Sunset/Richmond with M to little success.

In October I somehow pull it together and organize student volunteers for a 3 day conference that requires waking up before 5am every day. I do nothing the rest of the week. After we get flu shots and I let someone into my apartment for the first time since the pandemic started, I help E move up to Seattle. The trip is comfortable and we get to take care of each other; this fulfills a need in me. On Halloween J and I dance in a soccer field next to a combination anarchist recruitment center and homeless encampment -- now cleared by the cops -- and eat a mud pie that is too sweet. On my last day in WA I ask E if he would like to have sex, as friends, and he politely declines. I am pleased with how easily I emotionally accept this answer, how through time and therapy I've finally come to cherish our friendship without always looking for what could have been. I am extremely nervous on the flight home, and it's the first and only flight I will take during the pandemic, and the N-95 squishes my face so my head looks like a balloon, but I have the privilege of free 5 minute weekly tests through the university and I collect another negative result.

In November I fully embrace the hyperfixation lifestyle. My brain, always looking for novel stimuli, has given up on doing work entirely and instead thinks of Thanzag constantly. There is one day where I play Hades for 8 hours and I feel gross, as if I've completed my regression to my high school self. It takes 90 hours until I achieve all my goals, and with no more runs necessary to roll for RNG-based conversational triggers, I finally feel a sense of freedom. (My Switch tells me I have used it for 580+ hours this year, which is more than double last year.) The second SwSh DLC is a struggle for me to complete as I do not find catching legendaries enticing. J comes back early from university at my urging to avoid the travel surge, a week before Thanksgiving, and starts living with me. This helps a lot. My next hyperfixations come overlapping and staggered: I write 25k words of a second iteration of my 2015 NaNoWriMo with the protagonist I had developed in high school before I get bored with the story and realize I need yet another iteration; I buy a combination air fryer pressure cooker and ask my parents for a functional vacuum and bidet as early Christmas gifts and become obsessed with immaculate inside living spaces. This carries on to re-decorating my room at my parents' house, after installing a shelf in the closet and a curtain to close it off from the living room, and spending roughly 30 hours over December break organizing and cleaning their entire garage--they have not thrown out a single piece of paper or article of clothing since they set foot in this country over 20 years ago. My therapist quits the practice and my relationship with my advisors improve. I watch a few housewife vlogs and make my own. I have the revelation that doing research in a pandemic is basically just like any other creative project -- no one really cares that much if I get it done, it's just harder to do than, say, putting together a vlog in a few hours. This shift in mindset feels life changing to me, having before thought of research more as work, a taboo thing to pursue in a pandemic, and when W compliments me for the progress I've made in both the system and managing our meeting with M I do not know how to respond because no one has ever done that before. In the last two weeks of the year I start tracking my time. In our last session (that I almost sleep through), my therapist tells me that I seem stable to her and she is not worried about me. I believe her.

In 2020 I made a marked point to let everyone know that I didn't have goals. It felt lofty to have personal ambitions in the face of everything at a global scale. With this said I will now revisit the 2020 resolutions I wrote last year: (1) Intentionally seek out love: absolutely not, (2) Do enough work such that I don't feel guilty: also no, (3) sew one thing a month: no, but in the end I sewed 11 things total this year so I was close, (4) improve my Chinese: this was actually the only thing that did happen, and now my mom and I have better conversations because of it and I'm so thankful.

In 2021, however, I feel like I finally have it in me to have goals again. They are simple. (1) Get laid. (2) Submit the two research projects I've been doing forever. (3) Commit to writing down my thoughts that make me think, "Oh, that's interesting, I should write it down." Ideas are unfortunately such currency in what I do.

Last year I wrapped up this post with some candid, but embarrassing, optimism. I will offer no such high hopes for 2021, but I do ask the reader if they have noticed that I switched tenses from past to present halfway through this post. And that's 2021: an incidentally unintentional, but then consciously controllable, shift to the present.

[ishouldreadthat]

  Happy Friday! I can’t believe the weekend is already here. So as you know, I had been on hiatus until earlier this week. I thought that I’d do a wrap-up of the books I read this week and the books I read while I was away from my blog — and I certainly read a lot of them! So without any further ado, here is my weekly wrap-up (plus hiatus reads). You might want to grab a snack — this is going to be quite a long post!

  Books I read

  The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

Mistborn: A Secret History by Brandon Sanderson

The Last Namsara by Kristen Cicerelli (Review)

Artemis by Andy Weir

Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor

A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

  I told you I read a lot! Happily, almost all of these were in the 4-5 star range, the exception being The Last Namsara, which came in close at 3.5 stars. You can read my review of that book here. My five star reads were The Language of Thorns (fantasy perfection!), Artemis (spacey perfection!), and Night of Cake and Puppets (Zuzana is perfection!).

My most recent reads were The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and An Enchantment of Ravens, which happen to be two of my most highly anticipated books this year. Regarding Gentleman’s Guide, I liked it a lot (as anticipated), but I was a little disappointed that it veered slightly into another genre. I prefer my historical fiction to be just that: historical. I am not a huge fan of when authors pull in fantastical elements. For me, it just doesn’t work. But I did really love the characters and the representation! It’s such a fun and fast read, despite being just over 500 pages.

An Enchantment of Ravens is a weird one. There were parts I absolutely loved and part that really didn’t do it for me. I struggled a bit with some of the pacing and the characterization. But I love the descriptions and anything to do with painting. It’s a tough one to rate, and I’m going to have to think for a day or so.

Pretty much every book I read will get a review, but I need some time to catch up! You’ll start hearing about all of these soon 🙂

  Books I DNFed

  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Otherworld by Jason Segal and Kristen Miller

Satellite by Nick Lake

  I usually don’t have a section for DNF’s, however I’ve put down a enough books to justify one for this period. Victober was a bit of a disaster for me, as I’ve not read a single Victorian novel. However, with all the real-life things going on, gloomy tales of childhood trauma just aren’t cutting it for me right now. I may give Jane Eyre another shot at some point, but it will be my third attempt at reading it. I think the Brontes and I just don’t get along (I hated Wuthering Heights).

I also did not finish two young adult sci-fi books. I just realised that they both feature male protagonists. I set aside Otherworld pretty early because it became very apparent very quickly that it was not my cup of tea. I don’t like the cocky, overconfident rich kid vibe I was getting from the main character. He just seemed like a pain in the ass, and I wasn’t keen to keep going. 

Satellite is a different story. I put this one aside because I couldn’t work my way through the strange writing style. Satellite is essentially written in ‘text speak’. As in ‘u’ instead of ‘you’, no capitalization, etc. I thought I’d be fine with this, but I ended up really struggling to concentrate on the actual story — the writing style was just so distracting! I’d find myself rereading sentences because with the lack of capitalization, my eye couldn’t differentiate between one sentence and the next. I feel like this wont be a problem for some readers, but it just didn’t work for me. I’m a bit sad about that because it sounded like a promising story!

  Books I am currently reading

  The Seventh Decimate by Stephen Donaldson

The Dollmaker of Krakow by R. M. Romero

  So I’m doing the Sbooktacular Readathon — you can check out my hastily edited TBR video here. An Enchantment of Ravens was the first I read for this readathon, and The Dollmaker of Krakow will bet the second. I only got a couple of pages in before I fell asleep last night, but it looks like a beautiful book!

The Seventh Decimate is my current proof read. I’m liking it well enough, but I’d be curious to see what other people think. It has definitely got a strong 80’s fantasy vibe — which makes a lot of sense as Donaldson was writing in the 80’s. I would love to know if this will resonate with modern readers.

  Books I bought

(Buckle up, you guys. I was bad.)

  An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Steivater

The Dollmaker of Krakow by R. M. Romero

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Slated by Teri Terry

The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

  Bad bad bad bad Justine. I acquired a month’s worth of books in only a couple of weeks. I guess it’s a comfort thing! I’ll do a proper book haul at the end of the month where I talk about these individually, but I’m basically building a fort of books and no one is allowed in. Except the cats. Maybe Scottish Fiance.

  Book mail!

  A Bargain in Silver by Josie Jaffrey

Geronimo Stilton: Cat & Mouse in a Haunted House 

Austral by Paul McAuley

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

I Am Thunder by Muhammad Khan

Blade Runner by Philip K. Dick

Rhyming Rings by David Gemmell

  I got some fab book mail recently! I won a Twitter competition run by Josie Jaffrey and won her book A Bargin in Silver. Sweet Cherry Publishing sent me a package with a Halloween proof of a Geronimo Stilton children’s book, sweets, and some wee spiders (which Dax stole, forcing me to chase her. I eventually gave up and we played fetch). I received a review copy of Austral by Paul McAuley, which looks amazing!

Yesterday was a seriously good day for book mail. I received a package with Renegades and I Am Thunder. I didn’t think I was approved for these, so it was certainly a pleasant surprise! I also got Blade Runner (unsure if this is a novelization of the film or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep with Blade Runner on the front). I may have gone overboard with requests.

  Netgalley approvals

  Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View by various authors

The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin

Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

  So I’m really looking forward to reading all of these! The Wicked Cometh and Birdcage are particularly exciting — I’m so happy that I got approved for them! I had requested Renegades because I didn’t think I’d be approved for a proof copy — surprise!  Fortunately for me, a few of these don’t come out until next year so I’m delaying some of the pressure.

  Right, this has been one heck of a wrap-up — sorry if I rambled on too much! I’ve been busy over the past couple of weeks, and now it’s time to write some posts and get cracking on my reading.

  What have you read this week? Do you have a book buying problem? Let me know!

Catch up on my hiatus reads and this week in books (there's a lot)! #bookbloggers Happy Friday! I can’t believe the weekend is already here. So as you know, I had been on hiatus until earlier this week.

[mybeoneclubus]

Hi From Ottawa: Connecting With Farming At The Canadian Farming Gallery

After my very fascinating intro to sheep shearing and also all type of woollen handling techniques I had a possibility to connect with David Sutin that is the Communications, Marketing and also Ranch Workflow Supervisor for the Canada Agriculture Gallery. Actually, Ottawa is the only globe resources that has a functioning ranch at its heart. David offered to give me an individual excursion via the various centers of the Gallery and also we started with the Dairy Barn. Right when you come in is a location for the dry cows: these are expecting animals that quit offering milk in the two months before delivering. David described to me that the gestation period of cows is very similar to that of humans: 9 months. 

   David specified that male calf bones get moved into the sale barn and unfortunately sufficient, eventually they wind up being processed into veal. On the other hand, the Museum maintains the women calves so they can mature right into milk cows. The Canada Farming Museum is home to a range of different milk cattle types as well as the most productive of them all are Holsteins. Jacket cows were imported from islands in the British Network and also I was just impressed at the attractive faces and the massive, long-lashed eyes of these cows. The Canadienne cows were brought over from Europe by immigrants from France given that they are hardier and also far better able to hold up against the severe Canadian winters months although they are not extremely effective milk manufacturers. 

   On a daily basis the herdspersons at the Gallery milk the cows at 6 am and also 3:45 pm. The electrical bleeding makers are linked to an above pipe system that introduces a 2500 litre tank where all the milk from the cows is gathered and cooled down to a temperature of 0 to 5 degrees Celsius. The milk is agitated for even cooling down. Each cow in fact consumes a bathtub of water daily and also generates 30 litres of milk. The milk of the cows is gotten every number of days by the milk truck. David described when a cow is unwell and also obtaining antibiotic therapy, the milk is not enabled to be collected and in fact obtains washed down the drain. 

   We after that continued right into the maternity location that is additionally utilized for isolating sick animals. David discussed that periodically cows will suffer from a twisted flipped tummy (a cows tolerate actually consists of 4 separate parts) and also this problem needs surgical treatment. The veterinarian opens up the cows side with a 30 cm cut, by hand twists the stomach back to the proper position and also sews it onto to the abdominal area wall surface. The whole procedure does not take far more than an hour and also is executed right in the barn, most definitely not under sterilized conditions. Yet the pets always seem to come out all right. 

   The cow barn is not air conditioned and in the summer it obtains pretty cozy in the structure. In the evening the cows are taken throughout the residential property to a night field where they are enabled to graze the entire night and they are taken back right into the barn by 6 am. All year the cows are fed corn silage which is made from ground up corn plants, stalks as well as all. The whole milk production is a big earnings manufacturer for the Museum as well as offsets several of the operating expense. 

   From the Dairy Barn we entered into an exhibit area that featured a selection of samples of historic farm equipment. The Beck Circus, going back to 1912, was an item of presentation equipment that was made use of to demonstrate how power might make a farmers life easier. The Hydro-Electric Power Payment created this gizmo to show farmers the operation of a range of electrically powered devices, e.g. vacuum pumps for milking makers, a rocker spin to make butter, a feed grinder, a windmill pump and also an electric cleaning machine. These were the early days of electric power when most farm work was still done entirely by hand, just assisted with the aid of stock. Its difficult to picture just how the quality of life of farmers have to have improved with the advent of electric power. 

   David took me to an exhibition of farm tractors: originally they were large, powerful yet extremely harmful makers. Via numerous technological technologies they were still large as well as much more effective, however they ended up being much more secure to operate since working parts were no more exposed. The Canada Farming Gallery includes a range of tractors. One of the displays is hands-on; you can actually go up right into a tractors seat, flick the button and also experience the bumpy, bone-jarring uneasy flight of an old-style tractor with metal wheels. After that you alter the setting and also you see the distinction of how much smoother the flight is with rubber wheels. One more advancement that we dont also think about today that made life a lot simpler for farmers. 

   Another tractor was actually a hybrid car from the 1930s, containing an automobile chassis and also motor carriage that was converted into a farm tractor. Obviously the car was neither particularly skilled at being a guest lorry neither at being a tractor. The next big innovation on display was the Cockshutt Tractor, constructed in Brantford, Ontario, which could have a manure spreader or various other carry out behind that was powered by the tractors engine without the requirement for the tractor to be relocating. This technology was called the independent power launch and a significant Canadian technology during the 1940s. 

   The following tool was a specialized tractor utilized in vegetable fields which had an extremely slim nose as well as an engine installed in the back of the automobile. The slender frontal portion would certainly permit the farmer to see the vegetable planting much better. One of the popular screens at the Canada Farming Gallery is a tractor simulator contributed by the John Deere Business. You can climb up right into the cab, look in advance with the windshield onto a simulated farmers field as well as the simulator rocks you around in the cab as if you remained in a genuine tractor tilling the field. David clarified that todays tractors in fact have advanced GENERAL PRACTITIONERS (worldwide placing systems) which keep track of which areas the farmer has actually currently covered during planting so they dont review the exact same location twice or miss out on various other spots. 

   The machinery show area includes a range of quizzes with concerns such as what would certainly be the link to farming of a variety of daily things. Baby diapers, photo movie and also other items we frequently utilize actually consist of farming by-products, and also we do not also connect them at all with farming operations. Its fantastic the amount of things we take for granted in our day-to-days live and the number of them are stemmed from farming items. 

   After that David took me right into the Little Animal Barn which houses the pigs, poultries, bunnies, sheep as well as goats of the Gallery. Presently the Gallery has one ram and 17 ewes that all have one to three lambs annually. Obviously pigs are remarkably clean animals, they have actually a special assigned location in their pens for bodily functions and they keep their living area completely tidy. David showed me the birth area for the pigs which is called a farrowing cage. It is a steel contraption that makes certain that the mommy pig does not squash the brand-new birthed hogs, a really real threat with these considerable pets. 

   On the way to the barn he clarified that although the Canada Farming Museum is a terrific place for animals, they are still dealing with boosting the centers for the human site visitors. One of the current renovations is a large play ground for children which will make the Canada Agriculture Museum a lot more preferred destination for young families. 

   Throughout the year, the Canada Farming Museum supplies an extensive schedule of tasks. I found out that the Museum is open 364 days a year with the exception of Christmas Day. All the centers are fully accessible from March to October and during the winter months admission in fact is cost-free. 

   Some highlights of the schedule include activities throughout Easter where you can see rabbits, newborn lambs as well as newly-hatched chicks, not to neglect the Easter egg hunt. Mommies Day (with free admission for all mothers) fixate farm moms, female pets that supply us with milk, eggs and meat. I obviously already captured the Lamb Shearing Event on the Victoria Day Weekend. 

   Special tasks continue with Daddies Day where all dads break out admission so they can delight in the Tractors event. Canada Day activities concentrate on the Canadian Horse while there are enjoyable as well as insightful demonstrations all throughout the summer season. Loss invites visitors with October Harvest Weekends and also unique Halloween events and also from November 1 to February 28 admission to the museum is totally free completely. Along with normal visitor programs, there are a variety of School Programs that motivate educators to bring children to the Canada Farming Museum to discover and experience a working ranch in the middle of the city. 

   On our escape of the Museum David discussed that the Museum will certainly have a brand new event beginning in March of 2007 called Food for Wellness which will certainly take care of making smart food options, food handling and also various other nutrition-related topics. So that just indicates that following time I come to Ottawa Ill have something new to uncover ...

[tyleroakley-obsessed]

Looking for something to do in Memphis this week and weekend? (Halloween weekend!!) Here are a bunch of events, including lots of live music. Don’t forget to check out Halloween/Haunted House/Fall Fest Guide,the Fall Events Guide, the, plus there are a few more things left on the Oktoberfest/Beer Fest Guide. Here’s everything you won’t want to miss in Memphis this weekend and weekend: OCTOBER 24 – 29  To see farther in advance, head to the blog’s calendar. Ongoing – Trivia at Huey’s various locations – Cerrito Trivia & Bingo at multiple locations – Karaoke at multiple locations – Farmers Markets around town – Mid-South Corn Maze (select days) – Heathers: The Musical at The Circuit Playhouse – Dorothy Art Pop Up Shop at 9 N. Main Street – Monster Market Pop Up Shop at 88 N. Main Street (Tue – Sun) – Wicked Ways Haunted House (Wed. – Sun) – Belltower Artisans Kickstart Fundraiser (though 11/9) Many more ongoing installations/gallery exhibitions here. Tuesday, October 24 12 – Breast Cancer Policy Forum at U of Memphis – Rusty Pieces at Railgarten’s Fam Jam – Tunes on the Terrace at Huey’s Cordova – Home Business Workshop at Crowne Plaza East – Hardware Tech Lab Night at I am IT – Life Size Candyland at Fish & Associates – Party in Pink at Chiropractic Memphis – Folk All Y’all with Jackie Vincent at DCA Listening Room – Downtown Yoga at the Park – Dalevis Returns! at Murphy’s – Dave Cousar at Bar DKDC – Elder w/ King Buffalo at the Hi Tone Wednesday, October 25 13 – Sunrise Yoga class at the Dixon – Hip Hop Boy’s Dance Class at Ballet on Wheels – Rusty pieces at Club 152 on Beale – Cocktails for a Cure at Peabody Hotel’s Corner Bar – Midtown Dodgeball Open Play at 820 S. Willett – Margarita Martini Line Dance Wednesday at Memphis Sounds Lounge – Live band Karaoke at Railgarten – British Bingo Wednesdays at Belle Tavern – Bohemian Wednesdays at the Den – DJ Dude Called Rob at Newby’s – Sean Murphy’s 1Breath Quartet at BarDKDC – Elmo & The Shades at Neil’s Music Room – Corey Feldman & the Angels at the Hi Tone – Grizzlies at Mavericks in Dallas at 7:30 p.m. (places to watch here) Thursday, October 26 12 – Ronald McDonald House Radiothon – Breast Cancer Talk at Memphis Library – Front Porch Series: Logan Hanna at Loflin Yard – Rusty Pieces at the Silly Goose – Tiki Thursdays with Turnstyles at Railgarten – Open Mic Night at Brinson’s Downtown – Grizzlies v. Mavericks at FedExForum – Breakaway Running Halloween run/party – Highly Suspect at the New Daisy Theatre – Hocus Pocus Screening at the Rec Room – Halloween Bash feat. Marcella & Her Lovers at Rock ‘n’ Roll Lounge – Thelma & The Sleaze at Bar DKDC All Weekend (check links for exact days and times) 11 – River Arts Fest – Friends of the Library Fall Book Sale – Zoo Boo at the Memphis Zoo – Wicked Ways Haunted House at 160 Cumberland – HauntedWeb of Horrors Haunted House at 2665 S. Perkins – Shelby Forest Trail of Terror/Harvest Fest – Mound City Arkansas Haunted Corn Maze – Shadowlands of Fear at Jones Orchard – Mid-South Haunted Corn Maze – Boos and Booze Haunted Party Bike Pub Crawls downtown – Collage Dance Collective Fall Dance Concerts Friday, October 27 18 – Ronald McDonald House Radiothon – Haunted Happenings at the Woodruff-Fontaine House – Spirits With The Spirits at Elmwood Cemetery – Festival of Fun and Fright at Bob Hailey Athletic Complex in Germantown – Day of the Dead Fiesta at The Columns – The Witch’s Dungeon Halloween Party at 1819 Madison – Whatever Dude’s Halloween Rocktackular at Murphy’s – Memphis Tigers v. Tulane Football game at the Liberty Bowl – Halloween Bash at Young Avenue Deli – South Main Trolley Night – Halloween/River Arts Edition – Memphis Meets Detroit Music Cities Convention at Bar DKDC – Camera at the Hi Tone – G. Alston Restaurant Grand Opening – Fall Fest and Movie in Rossville – Memphis Improv & Sketch Collective Show at Midtown Crossing Grill – Dock Party Concert at Ghost River Taproom – Stereo Joe at Stanley BBQ – Halloween Party at Two Rivers Bookstore Saturday, October 28 29 – Millington Farmer’s Market Fall Festival – Cooper Young Community Farmer’s Market Doogie-BOO-Looza Day at First Congo – Tech Camp Memphis 2017 at FedEx Institute of Technology – Trick or Beer at Mississippi Ale House – United Way Trunk or Treat – Shangri-LaLa Fest at Shangri-La Records – Shop Small Saturday at Ghost River – Rock ‘n’ Romp: It’s Alive! at Memphis Made Brewing – Hatti-Boo Haunted Theater at Hattiloo Theater – Front Porch Series: Jana Misner at Loflin Yard – Poleuminati at Rumba Room – Le Monster! Part Boo Reception at MCA – Memphis Grizzlies v. Houston Rockets at FedExForum – Wiseacre’s Symphonic Soiree at Wiseacre Brewing – Cocktails & Conversations w/ Young Art Patrons at GPAC – Memphis Symphony at the Cannon Center – Halloween Tini-Martin Tasting at D&S Gatherings – John Kilzer at Stanley BBQ – Halloween at Celtic Crossing – Loflin (Grave)yard at Loflin Yard – Elmwood Scandals & Scoundrels Tour  – Adams Family Halloween at Victorian Village – Flick-or-Treat at the Botanic Garden –  Alice in Daisyland Halloween w/ The Crystal Method at the New Daisy – Spaceface Halloween at the Hi-Tone – Rockhaven at Snowden Grove – Frightgarten at Railgarten –  Sinners For Saints III at 345 Madison Ave. Sunday, October 29 9 – Brunch at the BOO-ery + Sunday Evening Slowdown at Ghost River – Brunch Happy Hour and live music in the evening at all the Huey’s – Memphis Symphony Orchestra at GPAC – Front Porch Series: John Paul Keith at Loflin Yard – St. Jude Garden Harvest Dinner – Comfortable Food Festival at Overton Square – Flashback Band at Neil’s – Hell on Earth at Bar DKDC – Goatwhore & 1349 at the Hi Tone Submit your events here. Are you a home owner in Memphis, with a broken garage door? Call ASAP garage door today at 901-461-0385 or checkout http://ift.tt/1B5z3Pc

http://ilovememphisblog.com/2017/10/things-to-do-this-week-weekend-in-memphis/

[ghozt1ng-blog]

Mysteries of the Q Files

Chapter 11: Undisclosed Information

“That’s it! You are going back home tonight,” Susan said sternly. Her son gave her a withering look.

“Mom, there’s no way I could have predicted that a vampire, of all things, would suddenly show up and abduct someone!”

“I think it would only make sense, really,” Agent Miles cut in. “If there is a wolf monster running around, why not a vampire?”

Naomi gave the agent an annoyed look; she still didn’t want to refer to the original attacker as just a wolf. She then spoke up, “They’re actually not a package deal. Classic horror movies of the 50s and 60s presented the idea of monster-verse, where these kinds of creatures would rub shoulders, but it wasn’t until the 80s and especially in more contemporary media that people even put vampires and werewolves into the same story! No, there is something really wrong going on here.”

“You really know your monster history,” the Sphinx said appreciatively. “I have to agree with Naomi on this one Miles. The two monsters and the two attacks are definitely connected, but the question is how.”

“I am pretty certain I know,” Trick attempted to get into the conversation.

“We don’t have time for these foolish teenage suspicions and drama,” his mother groaned.

“I want to hear what Patrick has to say,” the Sphinx said gently. “Please continue.”

“Look here, I had suspicions, yes mom, suspicions.” Trick stated firmly at his mother’s unimpressed glare. “Suspicions that there might have been something done to the less popular kids here in town, or maybe just one in particular. Never mind that for now, the point is this, Eustace was scared of the popular kids earlier. More than he should have been. Shannon then let it slip that there was something done to put these reject students into their place. And she suggested that it might be done again. I think one of the bullied kids here, or a few of them, are the people behind this.”

“And so they just now show that they can transform,” Susan laughed skeptically. “That sounds rather convenient, and rather unfortunate. They could have flipped the tables earlier. And if your wild guesses and conjectures are somehow correct, that means you are back at square one.”

“Not necessarily,” the Sphinx said, with an upraised finger. “In particular stories, people with incredible powers discover them after a traumatic or life changing experience. Or they finally manage them after something happens to motivate them to do so. If Patrick is correct with his hypothesis, then whatever happened to these bullied kids was enough to push them over the edge.”

Needlessly straightening her glasses, Agent Miles said, “There is something else to consider. This is a small town community. In communities such as this one where entertainment and connections to larger cities are scarce. Kids, teenagers in particular, turn to various kinds of trouble making to find fun. This usually takes the form of promiscuity and being sexually active, while others turn to vandalism and pranks, but studies also show that many attempt archaic practices like seances or black magic. Maybe these attacks are a result of someone meddling with powers that just happened to be real?”

Everyone in the room suddenly shivered. A blanket of cold and dark thoughts smothered them momentarily. Agent Conturbatio’s musings finally broke the sudden spell.

“That would be very fantastical, but at this point nothing is really off the table,” the Sphinx admitted. “We’ll have to do some digging, and quick. This situation is getting out of hand.”

“Which is why Naomi and I can’t go yet,” Trick protested. “I think that Agent Miles might be closer to what is happening here than someone finally discovering they can become a monster.”

“Yes, it does go against the laws of Thermodynamics for a teenager to suddenly become a large wolf-like monster,” Naomi said. “But magic would break our known laws, and this whole case seems to be doing just that to an extent.”

Trick waved a hand. “The point is still this: the kids here won’t talk as easily to grownups as they will to us. We need to be the ones to interview them. I have an idea of who we should get a hold of next, but it has to wait for tomorrow, when the next halloween party happens.”

“They’re still doing that,” Miles and Susan exclaimed together.

“Of course, it is matter of showing how cool they are and that they are above what has happened,” Trick said. “I got an official invite from Rachel. There will be those who duck out, because they are scared, but most will still want to come. Especially since they don’t see the connection between victims yet.”

“That makes no sense,” Naomi interjected. “That makes them sound like complete idiots.”

“Which they are,” Trick smiled.

“I really hate this idea,” Susan said. “But if my son is going to be our bait, then I want to be near by.”

“That’s fine by me. We can get another car,” the Sphinx replied.

“I’m not bait, I’m an interrogator,” Trick protested.

“Not according to Rachel, or that one girl, what’s-her-face, that gave you her number earlier,” Naomi fired back. Trick felt red creeping up into his face.

“I knew it,” Miles gloated smugly.

“Oh cool it,” Naomi snapped. “I just think Trick is letting all of this get to his head. Remember, we came here to do a job, so let’s do it correctly. I don’t want to waste my weekend here.”

“Yes, yes, you’re right. And I’m not letting this get to my head,” Trick said grumpily.

“Patrick, what exactly are you hoping to learn from your investigation,” the Sphinx asked. “I agree that we need to check out every possibility, and your logic about you and Nomi talking to the other teens is sound enough for me, but where are you going with this? You can’t just jump in and form a hypothesis as you go.”

“And what’s yours,” Trick challenged. His mom sucked air through her teeth angrily.

“Honestly, I think that someone close to these teenagers has the ability to transform themselves into a monster at will. I think that they are influenced by something like the turn of the season, or some other natural phenomenon, and their knowledge of teenage drama is mingling with their bestial self, causing them to attack their friends,” Agent Conturbatio explained calmly.

“Ah that is a fine theory,” Trick said, mimicking the Sphinx’s raised finger pose. “But from what I have learned, these victims are not connected through friendship, but through rivalry and their social status. At the party tomorrow night, and at Camille’s Diner, I plan on finding out what exactly happened to the bullied students and thereby figure out their list of targets. But, I cannot rule out the popular kids being a part of this as well. What is my theory you ask? Especially after this vampire attack, I think that a number of students are attacking one another to get even for social slights.”

“And how do you explain the monsters,” Agent Miles asked.

Trick shrugged. “I hope to find out.”

Naomi raised her hand slightly as she said, “I have a theory. This town has had some minor renovations done to it over the years, which is nothing new for any place. However, sites like the school were made to protect people the case of a nuclear attack during the Cold War, but that has been changed. I think Agent Miles is right about one thing,” She looked pained to agree with the older woman. “I believe people have messed around with supernatural powers and we are now seeing the consequences of it. Spells or beasts might have been buried away and just recently discovered. Whatever it is, it is a recent development. I say magic, because of what I said before: these kinds of monsters typically don’t belong together, but they are showing up in the same town.”

“Very interesting,” the Sphinx said. He shared a quick look with his partners before saying, “Alright everyone, we have a lot to sleep on. Patrick and Naomi, be careful tomorrow. I want that information, but more importantly, I want to keep the two of you safe. And Naomi, that was an interesting thing you said about the town changing. I’ll try to give it some time to look at.”

With that, he dismissed them. Once Susan Brown had taken the teens away, the Sphinx pulled out Carly’s phone, recovered from the rubble. She must have dropped it when she was taken. He had inspected it by rubbing his fingers over the shattered screen. Before its battery had died, it had given him some useful information. Carly had an adult lover on the side. She had shared a lot of personal information with him. She had also shared a great deal of what was going on at her high school with him over texts. Patrick had surprisingly confirmed a lot of what he had discovered on the phone before it died. Conturbatio was planning a strike to nab the suspect and question him. He was just keeping the kids busy and having them locate possible sources of information for him when it came time to put the suspect away. Routine work for a member of the Bureau.

Nevertheless, something tickled at the back of his mind. Naomi’s information swap with Miles’ creepy theory weighed on him a little bit. He could not put his own finger on it, but he admitted to himself that there might be more. And this second attack did not add up the way he hoped it would.

I just need to get my hands on him and get a straight confession, he thought. The Board will then have more physical evidence and we might be able to go public. This could change everything!

He knew he was getting ahead of himself, but he was so close. The world was full of the supernatural and the extraterrestrial. It was just that most people did not want to accept what they could not readily explain or dismiss out of hand. No, the crazy beyond that bound the universe together needed to be publicly recognized and studied. That was the true purpose for the Q Files.

But could he pull it off this time? Or would this case just be another embarrassment?