#long range desert group

[therealslimshakespeare]

Just learned that Major Mike Sadler died last week on the 4th at 103 years of age. He was the last surviving founding member of the SAS and the last survivor of the Long Range Desert Group. Rest In Peace, legendary sir.

Many of you may have been introduced to his story through Stephen Knight’s SAS: Rogue Heroes

[victusinveritas]

A close up of a British heavily armed patrol of ‘L’ Detachment SAS in their jeeps,just back from a 3 month patrol. January 18 1943.

[pedroam-bang]

SAS Rogue Heroes (2022)

[7s3ven]

ONE CUP OF COFFEE. theodore nott

( master list )

IN WHICH… Theodore Nott can’t stand the idea of actually falling in love but he finds himself questioning his choices after a series of rather comforting conversation with a Hufflepuff.

“Do you hate me so much that you can’t stand having one coffee with me?”

Warnings: Smoking, mentioning of throwing up, mentioning of weed, swearing here and there, mentioning of hooking (pretty tame for a Theodore Nott fic tbh)

—

“One coffee. Black. No milk or sugar. Make it hotter than usual.” Theodore Nott wasted no time in repeating his order to the worker behind the counter. A new coffee shop had opened inside of Hogsmeade and in the Slytherin’s opinion, their drinks were better than any muggle one.

He tossed a few golden coins onto the table before walking away and taking a seat in a deserted corner. He liked to be away from people because despite being part of a popular Slytherin group and partying often, he wasn’t a social person.

The quiet lulling of muggle songs played around in the cafe, bouncing off the walls. Theodore pulled his turtle neck up higher, covering his bare skin from the cold air. It nipped at his slim fingers and he wished he had taken a pair of Draco’s Dior gloves now.

The rusted bell attached to the door dully rang as someone else entered. The cafe wasn’t too crowded. There were a few other students scattered here and there but not many people were willing to freeze just to grab a coffee.

Melted snow dripped off Theodore’s boots as his observant eyes followed the actions of the newcomer. He couldn’t tell what house she was in because she was wearing all white, but she definitely wasn’t a Slytherin. The girls clad in green and silver had a certain aura; an unfriendly, poisonous, and addictive one.

This girl radiated off sunshine and daffodils and basking in the warmth of a crackling fire. Theodore guessed she was in Hufflepuff because she had a certain charm to her bright smile.

“One cinnamon chai latte.” She ordered, kindly handing the cashier a few coins. She was practically the opposite of Theodore.

“Name?” The cashier asked, much comfortable in her presence as opposed to the Slytherin who sat a few feet away.

“Y/N.”

Her name jogged Theodore’s memory. She was the girl Lorenzo had been paired with in herbology. It was quite a long and dragged out assignment so whenever Lorenzo wasn’t hanging out with his friends, he was with her.

Theodore subconsciously sat up straighter and leaned forward to get a better look at Y/N. Lorenzo described her as a pretty and bright girl with a warm perspective on life. Instead of saying “what’s the worst that could happen?” She always said “what’s the best that could happen?”

Theodore was somewhat impressed by how positive a person could be.

He didn’t notice he had been staring until Y/N turned her head, innocent E/C eyes burning holes into his. Theodore almost jumped. He quickly adverted his gaze, clenching his jaw.

Out of the corner of his vision, he could see Y/N sit at the table beside him. She sat with her legs oddly crossed and her body was turned so she could look at him.

“Theodore Nott, right? Enzo’s friend?” Her voice was gentle, like a meadow full of daisies and glittering ponds of water.

Theodore thickly swallowed before he nodded. “Yeah. Lo’s talked about you. You were his partner for potions.” The brunette had never heard anybody call Lorenzo by Y/N’s nickname, but maybe that was because he didn’t allow anybody to call him that. Unless it was Y/N, of course.

The poor boy was smitten with her during fifth year but he shyly backed off when he realised he had too much competition. To this day, Draco was still trying to convince him to man up.

“He talked about me?”

“Only once or twice.” Theodore lied through his teeth. He may be a tease, but he refused to out his friend.

“The assignment we did was so annoying. I’m glad I had him as my partner. If it was anybody else, I would’ve gone mad.” Y/N signed and a small laugh slipped past her pink-tinted lips.

“You practically saved his herbology grades. Lo is smart but his plant knowledge is in the negatives.” Theodore huffed in amusement, his mouth curving into a sly smirk.

“He’s good with everything else, though.” Y/N uttered. Out of the whole Slytherin group, Lorenzo, Draco, and Pansy had the highest grades. Blaise couldn’t care less; he still scored pretty high but grades weren’t his whole life. And Matteo and Theodore, the players they were, didn’t even bother studying for exams.

“Black coffee.” The barista suddenly called out, making Theodore realise he had never given the worker his name.

“That must be your’s.” Y/N said, nodding over at the steaming drink. She smiled, which almost set Theodore’s heart alight. It was already drowning in gasoline and her damn grin may as well be the flaming match. “Theo?” She waved a hand in front of his face as he spaced out.

“Huh?” Finally, his blank eyes shifted to stare at her.

“Your coffee.” Y/N reminded him.

“Oh. Right. I’ll see you later.” Theodore was quick to stand up and grab his drink, the paper cup burning the palm of his hand.

“See you later, Theo!” Y/N called out, not seeming to notice his uneasy mood.

Theodore sped walked out of the coffee shop, holding a hand to his chest. His stomach sank as dread overwhelmed him.

Him and Matteo were like two peas on a pod. They shared the same habits too, like drinking their sorrows away and smoking until their lungs burned. And let’s not forget their infamous reputations as playboys. Theodore Nott didn’t do relationships so he refused to let a soft Hufflepuff change his mind.

Despite shoving down whatever warm feeling he felt when he was next to Y/N, Theodore couldn’t help but crane his head in search for a certain flash of H/C hair.

“Black coffee. Extra hot.” He muttered absentmindedly to the same cashier who had served him a week before.

“Name?” She asked, bored eyes gazing up at him.

“Theo.” He quickly replied, turning his head again when he thought he saw Y/N. He felt disappointed when it wasn’t her. The worker seemed to notice.

“Are you looking for that Hufflepuff you were talking to last time?” She questioned, arching a thin brown eyebrow. Theodore glanced down at her name tag that read Eulia.

“No.” He quickly denied her inquiry, wrapping his long Slytherin scarf tighter around his bare neck.

“She comes in every week around this time. She’ll be here soon.” Eulia said, glancing over Theodore’s shoulder to take in the growing line. She cleared her throat, reminding Theodore of where he was.

As usual, he threw some coins onto the countertop and walked away to the same table he sat at before. His head perked up when he heard the sound of familiar laughter.

Y/N walked in, waving good-bye to her Ravenclaw friend. “The usual, Y/N?” Eulia asked, already typing her order into the monitor.

Y/N practically bounced over to Theodore, taking a seat in front of him. “Hey, long time no see. I thought I’d see you at school but I guess not.”

“I was busy.” Theodore lied. In truth, he had been hauled up in his dorm and listening to Draco rant about Pansy.

“Doing what?” Y/N innocently tilted her head to the side, genuinely curious.

Theodore, as blunt and brainless as ever, blurted out the first thing he could think of. “Weed, drugs, and smoking.” He wanted to bash his head into the table. What kind of response was that?

Yes, he used to do all those things but he had toned it down. The only addiction he had was smoking now.

“I don’t know why I said that. It was the first thing that popped up in the mind.” He admitted, scratching the back of his head.

“I’m not judging you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Y/N laughed, “By the way, your cigarettes are about to fall.” She pointed to the packet that was lazily shoved into Theodore’s pocket. He quickly caught it.

“I don’t do weed or drugs anymore.” He uttered, “Just so you know.”

From the coffee machines, Eulia rolled her eyes. “Coffee for Theo. Cinnamon chai latte for Y/N.” She called out, placing the drinks down.

Theodore quickly stood up. “I’ll get them.” He offered, not waiting for a response.

“Smooth.” Eulia said as he grabbed the drinks.

“Cut me some slack. I’m used to hooking up with toxic girls, not chatting over coffee with a sweet Hufflepuff.” Theodore lightly scoffed.

“So, Theo, what do you want to do when you graduate?” Y/N asked as soon as he sat back down again.

He shrugged. “I don’t know.” In all his years of Hogwarts, he had never thought about it. “What about you?”

“I want to open a bakery.” Y/N said like she had been waiting the question to come up.

Theodore raised his eyebrows. “You like baking?”

“Yup! I’ll bake you something next week. Do you like chocolate?”

“Who doesn’t?” Theodore only knew one person who didn’t like chocolate, and that was Pansy. But to be fair, she had gotten food poisoning from spiked chocolate in third year.

It was safe to say that she spent most of that day hunched over the toilet while Matteo held back her hair and Lorenzo gently got her to drink water, which she threw up too but it’s the thought that counts.

“Great! I have to go now. I’m meeting up with another friend. See you at school, Theo!” Y/N effortlessly chugged her scorching hot drink. She slammed the cup against the table, grinning.

“What the…” Theodore was still trying to process what had just happened as he watched Y/N run out of the cafe and into the arms of her friend

The next week, Y/N arrived earlier than Theodore. He had been held up by Blaise, who was curious as to why he was visiting the same coffee shop three times in a row.

Theodore entered the store after managing to shake Blaise off. He shoved his hands into his pockets, shivering despite the atmosphere being warm.

Eulia, who seemed to be on duty every day, had already made his drink and placed it in front of Y/N. She was too busy doodling on his cup with a permanent marker to notice his sudden appearance.

“Cute outfit.” He said as he sat down, the legs of his chair scraping against the tilted floor. Y/N’s face visibly lit up at his small compliment. Theodore observed her pink sweater with little bows sewn on it and her short white skirt with fleece leggings lining her legs.

“As promised, your cookie.” Y/N slid the box over to Theodore, smiling. “I would recommend heating it up. A warm cookie is better than a cold and hard one.”

“Do you bake often?” Theodore asked, taking the box and letting it rest on his lap.

“I try to bake as much as I can. I like helping the house elves too.” Y/N began to fondly talk about her love for baking and as much as Theodore tried to focus on her words, his gaze wandered to a suspicious group huddled in the opposite corner.

Once Theodore looked past their dark sunglasses and large coats, he recognised them as his friends. He saw Draco shove past Pansy and he surely pointed at Y/N then at Theodore before slapped his hands together.

Theodore stared at him, puzzled. And it showed as he furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. Y/N didn’t seem to notice his wavering attention, much to his relief.

“Do you want to bake together sometime, Theo?” Y/N asked, bringing him back to their conversation. He felt a little guilty because he hadn’t heard another word of what she had said.

“Sure. Though, I don’t think I’d be much help. Matt and I tried making edibles once and we messed that shit up.”

From behind Draco, Matteo glared at Theodore. It was your fault, he mouthed. He wasn’t lying, Theodore had gotten just about every ingredient in the recipe wrong.

“Edibles?” Y/N tilted her head to the side.

“Weed brownies.” Theodore elaborated, “But that was last year. I don’t do that anymore, remember? I only party and smoke.”

“I know. You told me.” Her eyes crinkled when she smiled. Y/N’s gaze flickered to his packed of cigarettes that always looked like it was about to fall out.

“Would you like to come to a party with me?” Theodore asked, leaning forward. There was one in the Slytherin common room next week. Normally, people from other houses weren’t invited but if you had the right connections, you’d be let in.

“Parties aren’t my thing. I… don’t like the vibe. You know?”

“That’s fine. You ever tried smoking?”

“No. Cedric offered to teach me but I declined.” Y/N frowned at the lost opportunity.

“I’ll teach you.” Theodore said a little too quickly. He cleared his throat. “I mean, you keeping me company wouldn’t be so bad.” He grabbed his packet, sliding it across the table. “These are my good ones. Keep ‘em and whenever you’re having a bad day or just wanna have a smoke, find me. I’ll light one for you.”

From across the room, Matteo lightly gasped. Theodore never ever shared his good cigarettes with anyone, not even him.

“Really?” Y/N picked up the worn-out box, staring at it.

“Yeah. I gotta get going. My friends are probably wondering where I am.” Theodore, once again, lied through his teeth. He knew his friends had questions and he didn’t want to keep them waiting. He stood up, feeling Pansy’s gaze burn a hole through him.

“Enjoy the cookie!” Y/N exclaimed, grinning and waving him off.

Theodore smiled. “I’m sure I will, love.” He walked out of the cafe, his friends following close behind and bombarding him just like he had predicted.

“You clearly have some sort of feelings towards her.” Panay said as she poked the brunette beside him. All throughout breakfast, Panay had been trying to get Theodore to admit his growing affection for Y/N. He denied it every time.

“I don’t.” He said for the third time, leaning down to stuff some bacon into his mouth. As he quickly chewed, his gaze flickered to Y/N.

“You’re looking at her again!” Pansy exclaimed, huffing. “It’s so obvious you like her!”

“Where’s Lo and Draco?” Theodore changed the subject, realising the two boys were missing.

“You can’t change the topic. You like her and you know it.” Unfortunately for Theodore, Pansy was persistent. Maybe a little too much.

“Theo likes who?” Lorenzo tilted his head to the side in curiosity. The whole group, even Blaise who laughed at awkward situations, froze.

Nobody responded for a moment before Blaise put down his fork. “Y/N. He likes Y/N L/N.” Theodore glared at the boy, wondering why on hell he’d even tell Lorenzo the truth.

“… Oh.” Lorenzo didn’t say much as he sat down, glancing over at Y/N. “You’re not going to break her heart, right?”

“I don’t like her. End of conversation.” Theodore groaned, taking a huge gulp from his goblet.

“I don’t believe you.” Lorenzo uttered, pointing his fork at Theodore’s eyes, “Your eyes say it all. You keep looking at her every minute and when you do, your eyes soften.”

Pansy snickered, nudging Theodore. “Told you.”

“If you don’t like her, then you wouldn’t mind if someone else asked her out, would you?” Matteo piped up.

“You aren’t her type.” Theodore immediately replied, scoffing.

“We’re practically the same, Theo. If I’m not her type then you aren’t. She’s pretty and all but I don’t date. That guy, on the other hand, seems like he does.” Matteo pointed over to a Ravenclaw boy approaching Y/N. The whole Slytherin group watched as he nervously asked her something and when she slowly nodded, his face lit up.

Theodore clenched his hands into fists. “Did he just ask her out?” He seethed, clenching his jaw.

“You don’t like her, remember? You shouldn’t care.” As usual, Matteo had that same infuriating smirk on his face. “Anyway, what are we doing for the party tonight?”

Theodore had forgotten all about it. He faintly remembered Y/N saying parties weren’t her thing. Did she like guys who didn’t party? That Ravenclaw boy looked like he didn’t. Is that why she said yes?

“I’m not doing. Not really my thing.” He uttered, shrugging. His friends looked at him in disbelief.

“Not your thing?” Matteo stammered, “Mate, the only thing you do is party! What’s gotten into you?!”

“He’s trying to turn into Y/N’s ideal type.” Pansy snickered, “He knows he isn’t the blueprint and he can’t see her with anyone else so he’s improving himself.”

“Respect, bro. But what about Izzi?” Matteo motioned to the Slytherin girl down a few rows who was Theodore’s favourite hookup.

“I don’t care about her.”

“What about the drinks?”

“I need to cut my alcohol intake.”

“Smoking? You can’t give up smoking! You’re addicted!”

“Y/N has my cigs. When she wants to learn, I’ll teach her.”

“And if she never wants to learn?”

“Then I won’t pester her. Not smoking for a while might do me some good.” Theodore on the brink of giving up smoking for some girl was a huge deal.

Matteo leaned over to Draco, “Is he sick?”

Pansy lightly snorted and she teasingly grinned, “If you mean lovesick, then yeah.”

To be honest, Theodore didn’t even know what he was doing. His head tried to convince him to return to the common room and drink like he usually did, but his heart said no.

That’s how he ended up in the courtyard, enjoying the fresh breeze.

“Theo?” An all too familiar voice called out. He practically spun around, facing Y/N. “I thought you’d be at your party.” She stared at him, confused.

“I’m taking a break from all that.” He said. Y/N silently sat beside him on the stone bench.

“I still have your cigarettes if you want them.” Y/N said, handing the packet over. “I thought about it and I don’t think I want to smoke just yet.”

“Thanks, love.” Theodore took the box, shoving it into his pocket without hesitation. Normally, he’d take one out and light it up but tonight was different.

“So, that Ravenclaw boy.” Theodore drawled. “He asked you out, huh?”

“Hm? Oh, Rowan? Yeah. I only said yes to be nice though because he helped me with some work last year.”

“You’re too kind, love. You need to know your boundaries.”

Y/N’s cheeks heated up at the sound of his endearing nickname. “I can’t say no now. It’ll just be one date then I’ll say it didn’t work out.”

“What if he wants a second date? What will you do?” Theodore moved closer to Y/N so he could feel the warmth radiating off her body. His heart jumped at their close proximity.

“Then I’ll tell him I don’t want one.” Y/N whispered, staring up at Theodore with those gentle eyes he liked so much.

“I liked your cookie, by the way.” Theodore slowly smiled, “It was good.”

“I’ll bake you a few more next time.” Y/N beamed. “I’m trying a new recipe for a brownie so I’ll give you one too!” Theodore smiled as she jumped into another rant about baking. This time, he could actually listen without being pestered by his friends.

Theodore, as usual, walked into the cafe around the same time he usually did. Eulia spotted him and subtly waved. “Has Y/N come in yet?” He asked.

Eulia hesitated before she pointed over at Y/N and Rowan. Theodore visibly deflated. He knew Y/N was only being nice to the Ravenclaw but he still felt a twinge of sadness.

“I’m sorry, Theo. If it makes you feel better, she hasn’t looked like she’s enjoyed the date. She looks much happier talking to you.” Eulia handed him his coffee.

“Right.” He sat down at a nearby table, glancing over at Y/N every so often. The slight pang in his heart reminded him of why he never dated in the first place. He quietly cleared his throat, deciding that whatever butterflies he felt for Y/N had to be drowned.

He stood up and Y/N immediately caught his gaze. She smiled and waved when Rowan wasn’t looking, but Theodore ignored her. Slowly, she lowered her hand.

As Rowan ranted on about how Ravenclaw was the best house, Y/N couldn’t help but think of what she had done to possibly anger Theodore. So much that he ignored her when he usually enjoyed her small smiles and secretive waves. She blocked out Rowan’s voice, frowning. He couldn’t grab her attention like Theodore could.

If only she knew that Theodore was simply trying not to fall in love.

Theodore avoided her for the rest of the week. Whenever she tried to approach him, he’d walk away. Even his friends were puzzled. After another failed attempt of trying to talk to Theodore, Pansy placed a hand on her shoulder.

“We’ll talk to him.” She said.

“I don’t know what I did wrong. He’s been acting so moody all of a sudden.” Y/N sighed and pouted.

“Maybe he’s on his period.” Matteo snickered at his own joke but immediately stopped when nobody else laughed with him. “I mean, Theo hasn’t had a good drink, fuck, or smoke since Monday. And all he did on that day was smoke for five minutes before he got caught.”

“I thought he liked doing all those things. Why’d he stop if it’s just going to make him grumpy?” Y/N murmured, playing with the hem of her blouse. Matteo and Pansy exchanged a glance, knowing they shouldn’t expose Theodore so early.

“He’s just being unreasonable. Don’t worry, we’ll get through to him.” Matteo grinned, his eyes flickered to the box in Y/N’s hands. “More cookies for him?”

She nodded. “Could you give this to him? It might make him feel better.” Matteo lowly hummed, taking the box. He and Pansy walked off after Theodore, muttering to each other about what could possibly be wrong with their friend.

“Theo.” Matteo called out as they entered the Slytherin Chamber. They found him sprawled out on the couch, a burning cigarette in his mouth. “Y/N made you cookies.”

Theodore looked at the box in Matteo’s outstretched arms. “I don’t want ‘em.” He said with a lazy flick of his hands.

“But you said you love her cookies. Jeez, dude, what’s gotten into you?” Matteo scoffed as he grabbed one, shoving it into his mouth. “If a girl made me cookies like these, I’d fall in love.”

“That’s the problem!” Theodore exclaimed loudly. “I’m Theodore Nott, Hogwarts resident fuck boy. I don’t do relationships! But Y/N- Y/N is making me feel things I shouldn’t!” He groaned, pulling at the ends of his hair.

“That’s the problem?” Pansy huffed, taking a seat beside him. “Theo, look at yourself. You haven’t partied in ages, you haven’t drank, you haven’t had sex with any other girl since last month. And you haven’t been smoking up until now! If you’re willing to stop all that shit for Y/N then you obviously like her!”

“What if I’m just concealing it, huh? What if I haven’t changed and if I date Y/N, then I hurt her? I don’t care about any other girl’s feelings but Y/N, fuck. I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Figure your feelings out then decide what you want to do. Easy peasy.” Matteo shrugged, eating another cookie. Theodore clicked his tongue, snatching the box out of his hands.

“It better be easy or I’m going to smoke all your favourite cigs, Matt.”

Matteo was lying. It was not easy to figure out how he felt towards Y/N. Every time he got close to her, he changed his mind last minute and rushed off. It earned him some weird looks but he couldn’t care less.

“Have you even slept lately?” Matteo questioned, slamming a cup of coffee in front of Theodore. He groaned.

“Do I look like I’ve slept?” He muttered, glowing at Matteo.

“Like a baby.” His friend teased, cruelly laughing. Lorenzo glanced over Theodore’s shoulder, clearing his throat.

“Y/N’s coming this way.” He whispered, kicking Theodore.

“What?” He looked around, panicked. Y/N was indeed walking towards him. He grabbed his coffee, splashing it onto Matteo’s wrinkled blouse.

“Yo! What the fuck, dude? That’s hot!” Matteo seethed, resisting the urge to peel his wet shirt off. Some girls hoped he would.

“Sorry, Matt. It was an accident. I’ll help you clean up.” Theodore tried to play his stunt off as an accident while practically dragging Matteo out of the hall.

“Okay, seriously, what was that all about?”

“I needed an excuse to get away.”

“So you spilled hot coffee on me?!”

“I would’ve let you do the same.” Theodore glared at his friend as he sat down and slumped. “She’s everywhere. How is she so social? I can’t get away from her.” He ran a hand through his messy hair.

“Have you been running away from Y/N this whole time?” Matteo questioned, arching an eyebrow. “It’s hilarious to imagine you running away from a girl.”

“Shut up. I’m processing things.” Theodore sighed.

“Just talk to her, Theo.” Matteo lightly nudged his leg, “What else can you lose? You’ve already lost your dignity.”

It had been a few weeks since Theodore had returned to the coffee shop. But finally, he strutted through the doorway with his usual uncaring demeanour.

Someone else entered as Theodore stood in the middle of the room, taking in everything he had missed about this cafe.

“Theo?” Y/N asked, peering over his shoulder. “I haven’t seen you in a while.” He stiffened and slowly turned around. “Are you having a coffee?”

“I’ve already had one, actually. I was just seeing if this place had changed.” Theodore wanted to walk away but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from Y/N’s eyes.

“Well, there’s no harm in having another one, right? It’s on me.” Y/N smiled at Eulia, “One cinnamon chai latte and…” She thought for a moment, glancing over at Theodore, “You’ve already had a coffee so one cream latte as well!”

Y/N paid and brushed past Theodore.

“Kiss her.” Eulia hissed, harshly poking Theodore’s shoulder.

“I’m not kissing her.” Theodore replied back in a hushed whisper.

“Theo, you coming?” Y/N called out, looking over her shoulder.

There was barely anybody in the cafe and even if there was, Eulia would’ve ignored their drinks to make Y/N and Theodore’s.

Theodore reached out to grab his but Y/N was quicker. She grasped both drinks, smiling at him. “We don’t have to be back at school for a while so let’s sit here.”

Theodore nervously followed behind Y/N to their usual table. He sat down, rigid and stiff. He saw his cup and glared at Eulia, who laughed. She had written a message on the cardboard, kiss her, and Theodore was quick to cover it.

He looked out the window, almost jumping with joy when he saw Matteo. “Oh! Matt! I need to talk to him! Sorry, Y/N. I’ll see you later!” He ran out of the cafe, crashing into his friend.

“Matteo! Quick! Do something!” Theodore shook his friend, urging him to create a distraction.

“Is this about Y/N?” He asked.

“She’s in the coffee shop- don’t look!” Theodore shoved his friend.

“And you need me to something stupid?”

Theodore eagerly nodded but was unprepared when Matteo pushed him forward and down a snowy hill. “Theo! Sorry! My hand slipped! I’m coming!” Matteo yelled out in a fake worried voice as Theodore rolled and got a mouthful of snow.

Y/N watched their strange interaction as she sipped on her drink. “… He didn’t call me love like he usually does.”

Y/N hummed to herself as she slipped on a pair of mittens and took out a tray of cookies. She placed the hot metal tray on the counter, the smell of baked goods wafting through the air.

She poured herself a cup of light coffee and sat down, swinging her legs. She lifted her head when she heard the sound of quiet swearing and smelled the scent of cigarettes and cologne.

“Theo?” She asked, tilting her head to the side. It was silent for a moment before the boy sheepishly pushed the kitchen doors open.

“I was looking for a snack for Pansy. She’s not feeling well.” He looked around, staring at everything but Y/N.

“I would offer her a cookie but she doesn’t really like chocolate, does she?” Y/N circled her finger around the rim of her cup, “Would you like some coffee? I made it myself.”

Theodore found himself sitting across from her against his will. He watched as she poured him a cup, softly smiling.

“Thanks.” He stammered, grabbing the white mug and gulping it down.

Y/N’s eyes widened. “Careful! Isn’t it hot?”

Theodore slammed the cup down, ignoring the burning sensation on his tongue. “No.” He wheezed, his vocal cords threatening to give up on him, “I’m fine. Tastes great.”

“You’ve spilled some.” Y/N said. She leaned forward, pointing at his collar. His top two buttons were undone and hot coffee trickled down his skin. “That must hurt. Here, let me help.”

Y/N dabbed a tissue against Theodore’s collar and he flinched as her fingers came in contact with his exposed skin. She noticed, peeking up at him through her lashes.

“Do you hate me so much that you can’t stand having one coffee with me?” She asked, taking a small step back.

“What?” Theodore choked. He didn’t hate her, quite the opposite to be honest.

“You keep running away from me. And you left me in the cafe the other day. And you didn’t wave back. Do you hate me?”

Theodore hated how he could see her E/C eyes glass over. He fiddled with his mug, tapping his nails against the porcelain.

“I… have to go. Pansy needs me.” He stood up, leaving without another word. He was doing what he did best; running away from his problems.

With Theodore out of the picture, Y/N felt lonely. She dug around in her pocket, confused when she fished out a cigarette. “Oh… it must’ve fallen out.” She murmured.

She was on her way to the cafe, but not to meet up with Theodore. The day after he had walked out on her, again, a Gryffindor had approached her and asked her out. She said yes in hopes this date would be better than her date with Rowan.

Spoiler alert, it wasn’t. In fact, she felt like it was worse. Y/N stared at her cup as the boy beside her talked on and on about his love for quidditch.

“What’s your hobby?” He suddenly asked.

“Baking.” Y/N answered absentmindedly.

“Oh, that’s kind of boring. Quidditch is better, don’t you think?”

Y/N resisted the urge to sigh. Theodore never insulted her love for baking.

“Do you do anything else?” The boy questioned.

“I study.”

“Jeez, you really are boring. You wanna come to a party with me? I know a guy who’ll hook us up with some coke.”

“No thanks.” Y/N rested her cheek in the palm of her hand, watching the clock closely so she could dart away as soon as the date was over.

Someone suddenly pulled up a chair in front of Y/N. “Coke is boring.” Theodore uttered, “Baking is better.”

Y/N tried to conceal her smile since she was still upset with him, but when he winked at her, she couldn’t help it.

“What are you doing here, Nott?” The Gryffindor sneered.

“I’m here to thank you for keeping my girl company.” Theodore grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth. “Now, if you’ll excuse us.” He grabbed Y/N by the wrist, tugging her out of the cafe.

“Why do you choose the shittiest guys to go out with?” Theodore asked.

Y/N lightly huffed. “It’s not like I mean to. At least they don’t walk away from me when I’m trying to talk, though.”

“You still upset with me, love?”

“You hurt my feelings, Nott.” Y/N pulled out the lone cigarette, shoving it into Theodore’s hand, before hurrying off.

He quickly placed it between his lips and lit it. “Let me explain, love!” He exclaimed, chasing after her. He breathed out a mouthful of smoke.

“Okay. Then explain.” Y/N folded her arms over her chest.

“What? Here? Now?” When Theodore saw the unamused look on Y/N’s face, he sighed. “Fine, but this is going to sound stupid.” He took another hit from his cigarette, needing all the courage he could get.

He took a deep breath. “I think you’re wonderful person and I didn’t want to risk hurting you so I tried to distance myself but that backfired and I was trying to process my feelings because I’m Theodore Nott. I don’t do relationships. But you made me want to give it a go so I got scared and that made me do stupid shit like spilling coffee on Matt or running away or allowing Matt to push me down a hill.”

Y/N furrowed her brows. “What are you trying to say?”

“I like you, Y/N! I like the way you smile and the way your eyes light up and I like how you look and me and how fond you are of baking! I like how you take the time to make me cookies because it makes me feel special! You treat me so differently from other girls and that’s how I know you aren’t just around for a hook up! I like your perfume and your hair and your outfits and the way you skip when you’re happy and how you read classic Muggle books because you want a cute teen romance!”

“You noticed all of that… about me?”

“How could I not? You have such a charming aura and I can’t stand it because no matter how much I try to deny it, I like you.”

“You really like me?” Y/N knew about Theodore’s reputation and she’d be lying if she didn’t feel the same way. But what if he was just toying with her?

“I do.”

“Okay then. Hug me!” Y/N exclaimed, confident he was joking. Theodore shrugged before embracing her tightly. “Uh… hold my hand!” He intertwined their fingers without hesitation. “Kiss me!” Y/N was sure he wouldn’t do it but when he leaned down and pecked her lips, she froze.

“Are you done? There’s a lot more things I’d do for you, Y/N.”

“Are you sure you like me? Like, really? Because what if we get married and you decide you don’t like me but we already have two kids and a cat together? Who will keep the cat? Or will we have shared custody over it?” Y/N spoke so fast Theodore could hardly understand her.

“What about the children?” He asked, tilting his head to the side.

“What about the cat, Theo?”

“I really do like you, Y/N. Believe it or not. I’m willing to give dating a try… if it makes I can date you.”

“Please don’t break my heart, Theo.”

“I won’t.”

“Can we finally drink coffee together without you running off?” Y/N questioned, which earned her a small chuckle from Theodore.

“I won’t run away this time, love. I promise.”

[uncharismatic-fauna]

The Palestine Sunbird Persists

The Palestine sunbird, also known as the orange-tufted sunbird (Cinnyris osea) is the national bird of Palestine, and often seen as a symbol of resistance and hope. This species occurs in dry climates, particularly desert, scrubland, and savannahs, but can also be found in orchards and gardens where flowers are abundant. In addition to the Levant, C. osea occurs throughout the southwest cost of Saudia Arabia and the coasts of Yemen and Oman in the south.

C. osea is a small bird, 8 to 12 cm (3.1-4.7 in) long with a wingspan of only 14 to 16 cm (5.5-6.2 in). Males weigh on average 7.6 g (0.26 oz) and females are slightly smaller, at about 6.8 g (0.24 oz). Males are quite easy to identify due to their striking plumage; their feathers are iridescent, appearing dark until they shimmer glossy blue or green, with orange tufts at the side of the breast. In contrast females are fairly drab; grey-brown with a lighter underside. The beaks of the Palestine sunbird are also noted for their distinctively long and curved, which they have developed to efficiently feed on nectar.

Although not directly part of the hummingbird family, the Palestine sunbird shares many similarities with the group. Its diet consists of nectar, and is supplemented with insects. Their tongues are long, and brush-like, and the shape of their beak allows them to reach down to the base of the flower. For flowers that are , they will use their sharp beaks to pierce the side and access the nectar directly. All this is done at very high speeds, but unlike hummingbirds the Palestine sunbird cannot hover in place, and must land in order to feed. Because of their primary reliance on nectar, the orange-tufted sunbird is an important pollinator in its native region. Adults are rarely predated upon, but eggs and young are often targets for lizards, snakes, and birds of prey.

Reproduction begins in June, and continues through October. Males establish and defend territories, and court females by singing to attract a potential mate, then chasing her until she perches to signal her acceptance. Following the pairing, the two construct a purse-like nest, sometimes with a porch-like structure, that hangs from a branch. In this nest, 1-2 eggs are laid, and are incubated primarily by the female, while the male provides her food. The eggs take 13 to 14 days to hatch, and chicks are taken care of by both parents for an additional 14 to 21 days. Individuals can live up to 5 years in the wild.

Conservation status: The Palestine sunbird has a large range and population, and is thus considered Least Concern by the IUCN. Its primary threat is habitat loss due to agriculture and urban development.

If you send me proof that you’ve made a donation to UNRWA or another organization benefiting Palestinians, I’ll make art of any animal of your choosing.

Remember, the donation can be in any amount– every dollar counts!

Photos

Jorrit Vlot

Dula Alhashimi

Rana Hijawi

[odilelajolie]

Hunted, Ch. 1

Summary:

Several years after escaping FBI custody, Cooper Adams has quietly settled in a remote Vermont town. He's a monster in remission--his violent urges lay dormant.

But when he catches sight of Alice, a traumatized 18-year-old girl, a new form of predatory darkness overtakes his demented mind. Young and achingly vulnerable, she's a lost soul as alone in the world as he is.

Alice needs the care of a proper Daddy, and as soon as she stops resisting, Cooper knows she'll accept the special kind of love he's been saving for a special little girl like her...

Ch. 1: Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

As far as Alice could tell, it would be yet another ordinary night in a long sequence of ordinary nights at the Sugar Maple Diner. 

Though it wasn’t as if she entirely minded. There was a strong part of her that actually took comfort in the familiarity of it all, the mundane routine of her small, simple world, regardless of the fact that it was rather dull most days. 

Dull meant safe—and safe was a good thing, especially for someone like her. 

Alice absently rotated her sore neck and shoulders as she made her way into the cozy, 50s-nostalgic restaurant, offering a friendly wave to the owner, Mr. Andrews, one of the only people in town who still bothered to interact with her. Not only had he given her a job when everyone else had refused to hire her, but he and his wife had even opened their home to Alice on occasion for a glass of lemonade, or tea and cookies, or a holiday meal. 

Alice rarely accepted these invitations from the elderly couple, always fearful she’d inadvertently exhaust the goodwill they generously harbored for her. But she appreciated their kindness, an increasing rarity for Alice, so she was always happy to volunteer whenever they needed help with little projects around their house to express her gratitude in return. 

Alice idled near the jukebox just beyond the hostess stand to see if Mr. Andrews would return her greeting, but he was busy behind the bar serving beer to a group of chatty truckers, and clearly didn’t have much spare time to say hello. 

Shaking off the brief, sharp pang of loneliness, the aching desire for someone—anyone—to talk to her, Alice headed straight for the break room to change into her uniform—an old fashioned pale pink dress with a white apron. She secured her hair in a high ponytail, and exactly five minutes before six p.m., she returned to the main dining room for her shift, forcing a smile on her face. 

The hours elapsed in the same, slow fashion they always did. The dinner rush—if merely five parties of no more than four people across three hours could be called that—consisted of the same group of Tuesday night regulars Alice had been waiting on for nearly a year now. Alice no longer bothered with trying to introduce herself, much less engage in small talk with her tables, for the town locals had long made it very clear ever since her return that they had no interest in speaking with her. So instead, Alice remained small and silent as she scribbled orders on her notepad, taking up as little space as possible as she refilled drinks, cleaned up spills, and delivered steaming plates of comfort food from the kitchen.

And she did all of this with her head perpetually lowered, so that no one would have to suffer the unnecessary discomfort of looking at her. 

By ten o’clock, the restaurant was deserted, and the only other employee remaining was Ted, the largely wordless cook who kept to himself even more strictly than Alice did. Alice generally took her own meal break around this time when it was just the two of them twiddling their thumbs until closing, silence broken only by the rockabilly and Doo-wop melodies sung by the jukebox. But before she could write down her request for a cup of soup and a half-sandwich, losing herself for a few moments to the croons of Elvis Presley—wring my faithful heart; tear it all apart; but love me—the door chime cheerfully rang, signaling the arrival of a customer. 

Alice gulped at the intimidating sight of the new arrival, and he was definitely new—she surely would have noticed him around the tiny town before now if he were a local. He was almost as broad as he was tall—and he was frighteningly tall—with the build of an elite athlete, like a champion MMA fighter, his long limbs hard and big and savage. The charcoal sweater and dark jeans he wore actually seemed to struggle to keep his toned muscles contained. 

He had thick, silky hair the color of dark roast coffee, and a closely-shorn mustache and short, angular beard. He was a very handsome man, perhaps in his early-to-mid forties, but when Alice finally met his eyes, she was instantly rendered breathless by a powerful, inexplicable sense of sheer terror that seemed to seize her by the throat, and choke her. 

Shadowed by a prominent brow bone, his inky, hooded eyes were disturbingly dark. Chilling. They reminded Alice of the eyes of a shark. Fathomless. Cold. 

Predatory. 

“Hey there…can I get a table?” 

Unlike his frightening eyes, the velvety timber of the man’s deep voice actually inspired an equally strong sense of comfort—relief—causing the paranoid internal alarms within her body to faintly recede. 

Alice was rendered profoundly unbalanced, nearly on the verge of collapsing to the floor from the whiplash of such opposing instincts.

Perplexed by her body’s strange reactions to the stranger, Alice quickly nodded and dutifully lowered her head. She reached for a menu and silently beckoned the man to follow her, her shoulders arched nearly all the way to her ears as she timidly guided him to her favorite booth by the windows with the prettiest view of the forest.

He followed her with slow, heavy foot falls, and Alice nearly caved in on herself when she was directly confronted with just how much bigger he was up close as he slid into the booth with athletic, equanimous movements. 

Even sitting down, he was huge. 

Alice placed the menu on the table once he appeared settled, and reached into her apron pocket for her notepad and pen, waiting expectantly for him to provide his drink order, as all other customers automatically did upon sitting. 

But when he didn’t speak after several moments, Alice shyly raised her head, and was surprised to find the man gently smiling at her. 

He looked even more handsome when he smiled—

“There you are,” he said warmly, his voice triggering a sudden influx of delightful tingles throughout her weary muscles. “How are you doing tonight?”

Too stunned to speak, Alice felt hot blush rising to her cheeks in embarrassment. 

How long had it been since someone had asked her how she was? 

Seemingly sensing her unease, the man continued, “Sorry—you probably don’t want to talk with an old man like me,” he said ruefully, and Alice was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt. This handsome stranger was being more sociable with her than anyone had in months, and she was messing everything up. “Would it be possible to order—”

“I’m A-Alice,” she interrupted shakily—awkwardly—cheeks boiling at the mousy sound of her own voice. 

To her relief, the man’s smile only widened, and there was a flicker of playfulness in his eyes, somewhat tempering the otherwise unnerving quality in his dark gaze. 

“That’s a very pretty name,” he replied. “I’m Cooper.”

Cooper. Alice repeated the name in her head. It sounded strong and masculine.

She quite liked it. 

“Put us together and we’re rock stars,” he added. Alice frowned in confusion. “I…I don’t follow—”

“Alice Cooper?” Alice shook her head, and Cooper released a slow sigh. “Ahh…don’t mind me—I’m betraying my age here. He’s before your time.”

“Oh. Okay.” Alice swallowed hard. “Umm…w-welcome to the S-Sugar Maple Diner,” she offered, remembering she needed to do her job. It had been so long since she’d been required to introduce herself to a customer that Alice was quickly finding she was woefully out of practice with the basics. “M-may I get you something to drink, sir?” 

“Well I was taking a look at what you have on tap, but I notice you don’t have a bartender right now,” Cooper mentioned. “And I suspect you’re not quite old enough to legally go behind the bar.”

“Yeah…the bar closes at nine on weekdays. Mr. Andrews—he’s the owner—he already left for the night, and he usually handles that stuff.” Embarrassed, Alice tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“Call me Cooper.”

“I’m sorry, Cooper.”

“So, how old are you?”

“Eighteen—but I’ll be nineteen next month.”

She wasn’t sure why she shared that detail. It certainly wasn’t as if her upcoming birthday made her seem any less young and pathetic. 

“Ahh…definitely too young to pour alcohol.” Cooper softly chuckled, his deep-chested rumble pleasantly tickling her ears. “In that case, how about a nice cold glass of Coke?”

“Would you prefer a frosted glass or ice?”

“Ice, please.”

Alice wrote down the order with a nod. “Coke with ice, coming right up.”

She began to turn on her toes to prepare his soda, but then he spoke again.

“So what do you recommend here?” Cooper asked. 

“Recommend?” Alice repeated slowly. “You mean…to eat?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Alice realized what a stupid response it truly was.

The townsfolk’s collective avoidance of her was clearly not entirely to blame for her poor conversation skills. 

Of course he was asking her what to eat. She was a waitress. It was her job.

Mercifully, Cooper didn’t poke fun at her idiocy. “Yeah, what’s your favorite thing on the menu?” he asked. “If you were to join me for a meal, what would you order?”

Alice squeaked, “You want me to join you?” 

Cooper’s eyes widened, and he appeared even more shocked than she was. “Well, I was speaking hypothetically, but…sure! Why not. Care to join me?”

Alice thought she might actually pass out from embarrassment. 

Not only had she forgotten how to have a normal conversation, but she’d forgotten all about basic social cues. Sarcasm. Hypotheticals. 

Cooper was being friendly. Nothing more. He didn’t actually want to spend time with her—he just had good manners. 

“Umm…I’m really not supposed to…” Alice trailed off, nervously biting her lip. 

Unperturbed, Cooper shrugged his mountainous shoulders. “Perhaps some other time then.” Leaning forward, he lowered his voice and added in a conspiratorial murmur, “I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble on my account.” 

There was an undeniably patronizing quality to his warm baritone, but it wasn’t condescending in a negative way. The lilting way Cooper spoke was gentle, daresay caring, the low pitch of his manly deepness perfectly matched with a bright, uplifting enthusiasm.

Cooper spoke to her the way Alice remembered her own father used to speak to her—as if no one else in the world existed. As if she were important.

As if every word she spoke were the most brilliant thing ever to be uttered in history of the world, and he couldn’t get enough. 

Cooper had a…Dad voice, the kind of voice that felt like a warm, clean blanket fresh out of the dryer. 

He had a voice of absolute safety—a voice that made her feel brave. 

Like she could do anything. 

“I recommend the deluxe cheeseburger with fries,” Alice said, unable to contain her giddy smile. “Ted makes the best in town.”

Cooper kept a careful gaze on Alice through his peripherals as he chewed and swallowed the mediocre cheeseburger, though he made sure to provide plenty of appreciative grunts and moans throughout his labored consumption for the girl’s benefit. 

He’d been patiently watching her for nearly a year now. It wouldn’t do well to worry the skittish thing when he was so close to finally making her his, for little Alice was a painfully insecure, highly sensitive girl. She was pitifully naïve and defenseless, lonely and desperate for affection.

She was perfect—and finally ripe for his taking. 

When he’d originally made the decision to settle down in the middle of fucking nowhere, Vermont after several years on the run, he’d simply planned on living quietly for whatever remained of his existence. The monster within lay dormant—at least for now—the compulsion to destroy and dissect no longer eroding what little remained of his sanity. The urge had been a sickness, a magmatic fever, burning so hot in his veins it was boiling him alive. Cooper knew quite well it would have killed him eventually. 

But now, his insides were…cooler, warm instead of blisteringly hot, and the dark, animalistic impulses currently thrumming through his body were far less bloodthirsty in nature compared to his prior proclivities. 

Perhaps he was in remission. 

He’d spent more than forty years keeping the two opposing halves of his psyche strictly separate, diligently compartmentalizing every aspect of his life down to the most minute detail, but when he’d caught sight of this tiny angel of a girl almost ten months ago—so sweet and innocent and frightened and alone—Cooper was leveled, and struck with an epiphanic clarity.

Perhaps the separatist approach to mitigating his dangerous urges no longer served him. 

Perhaps the only way for him to survive was by reconciling his infernal hungers, once and for all. 

When Cooper had escaped FBI custody—doubling his body count in the process—he’d been forced to accept that the closest thing to real human connection he’d ever been able access, his family, was lost to him forever. He missed being a husband. He missed being a father. 

But when he saw Alice, he realized he could still be both.

She was as alone in the world as he was, an isolated little girl shunned by nearly everyone around her. At merely eighteen, she was young and exceedingly vulnerable, in dire need of a loving authority figure to guide her and keep her safe. 

And yet, she was also a woman. Barely legal, but a woman nonetheless, and a mouthwatering one at that. Alice was a tiny thing, shorter even than Riley was when he last saw her, her petite body a tight little package of soft, untouched femininity he was growing more and more ravenous to taste.  

Cooper had always been partial to blondes, and his little Alice was a natural platinum. A “baby” blonde. 

Sweet little baby blonde with her pretty baby blue eyes—

With her milky skin and delicate features—not to mention those pouty pink lips just begging to have something hard shoved between them—Alice could look like a porcelain doll one moment, and a sex kitten the next. She was an undeniably gorgeous girl, not yet aware of her erotic allure, and under different circumstances, he knew she could have had any man on his knees begging to fuck her.

Fortunately for him, the entire town thought she was batshit crazy.

And Cooper was certainly not one to be put off by a little madness—

“How’s your dinner?” Alice asked sweetly from a few tables away. She’d been refilling ketchup bottles and rolling silverware for the last twenty minutes or so, responding beautifully—albeit awkwardly—to his subtle prompts for casual conversation.

Cooper wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin and made an exaggerated show of patting his stomach. “You were right—this is the best burger I’ve ever had,” he lied smoothly. “Excellent recommendation, sweetheart.”

The girl’s cheeks instantly flooded with pretty pink blush—she likes being called sweetheart—and she shyly lowered her head, but couldn’t resist looking back at him mere seconds later with a demure giggle.   

Good girl. She found him attractive. 

His depraved plans would be much easier for her to adapt to with her sexual attraction already engaged—

“Can I get you anything else, Cooper?” Alice asked. She sounded hopeful. 

His left eye twitched at her use of his first name, one of the few…ticks beyond his control, as a small spark of violent rage kindled deep in his gut, leaving a sickly metallic taste in his mouth. 

The urge. 

Cooper was suddenly overcome with a vision—a lucid hallucination, really—of marching directly to where the girl stood, and shoving her to the floor so quickly the air would be knocked out of her lungs. He saw himself tearing off her clothes and wrapping his big hands around narrow torso, and squeezing, hard enough to crack her ribs, before mounting her like a beast in the wild, ready to take his quivering bitch in heat. He wanted to feel her small, supple body struggling beneath him, his scared, mewling kitten desperate to free herself by any means necessary.

He wanted her to scream. He wanted her to cry.

She was so fucking tiny he’d absolutely crush her with his size. Cooper was already far bigger than most people, but compared to his little girl, his sweet little nymph, he was indestructible, as vast and powerful as a god. 

He could do anything he wanted to her. He could violate her beyond recognition.

He could fuck her within an inch of her life—

Realizing he’d zoned out far longer than intended, he released a sharp exhale to snuff out the ember of fury, reminding himself that it was perfectly okay that the girl was calling him Cooper—for now. 

She’d be calling him Daddy soon enough. 

He forced himself to smile, carefully schooling his features to the affable façade he used specifically for putting people at ease. 

Like clockwork, the girl visibly relaxed. 

“Just the check please, sweetheart.”

Hunted Ch. 2: Dream A Little Dream Of Me

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58229851/chapters/148279471

[literaryvein-reblogs]

A 7-Part Worldbuilding Template

PART 1: The Basics

What is your world called?

Estimate its population:

In one sentence, describe your world:

Is it set on: Earth; Alternate Earth; Not Earth / Another planet

PART 2: Geography

THE NATURAL WORLD Flora & Fauna; Creatures; Landscape; Diseases

How was the world created? How long ago was it created?

How do the laws of physics work?

How does the solar system move? What celestial beings exist (suns, stars, moons, etc.) and how do they relate to the world?

Flora & Fauna

How does the flora differ from region to region?

Do any plants have special or magical properties? Are any dangerous?

Creatures

What kind of wildlife roams which parts of your world? Where are they most commonly found?

How did the wildlife evolve?

Do mythical creatures such as dragons exist? How do they fit into the ecosystem?

Landscape

Where are the mountain ranges? Rivers? Forests? Deserts? Seas?

How does the terrain interact with its inhabitants?

Are there any “natural wonders” in your world? How were they formed?

Diseases

What natural diseases have evolved over time?

How are they transmitted?

How has this affected population growth?

LOCATIONS OF SIGNIFICANCE Capital City; Flags & Symbols

What are the major cities in your world? Ports? Most populated metropolises?

Is your world split geographically? (e.g. rural and urban, north and south, etc.) If so, how?

Capital City

What is the capital city of the world?

Why is it the capital?

Flags & Symbols

How does each city choose to represent itself (crest, flags, signature colors)?

WEATHER

What are the processes of your world that drive weather and ocean patterns?

Are certain regions more vulnerable to certain weather conditions?

Climate

How does the climate differ in each region?

What are the seasons like in your world? How many seasons are there?

PART 3: People

RACES & SPECIES Physical Build; Mannerisms & Etiquette; Customs & Rituals; Festivals

What intelligent species or races populate your world? Dwarves? Elves? Xenomorphs? Other? How did they come to exist?

How does each race or species perceive each other? How do they co-exist?

Physical Build

What do the inhabitants of your world look like? Do they have any distinguishing features?

What is the societal standard for beauty? How might this differ in each region of the world?

Mannerisms & Etiquette

What is the code of conduct between people of different ranks or classes? People of different cities or regions? Elders?

How do people in your world convey non-verbal boredom? Disbelief? Happiness? Respect?

What would be a gesture that is universally insulting in your world?

What etiquette exists in different parts of your world?

Customs & Rituals

Are there any rites of passages in your world? “Coming of age” celebrations? If so, what age marks the transition from child to adult?

What traditions surround death and burial? What about engagements and proposals of marriage?

Festivals

What are the important festivals of your world?

Why are they celebrated?

LANGUAGES Sayings; Accents; Greetings

How many languages exist in your world? How did they originate?

Which language is spoken most? Is there a universal language?

How do naming conventions differ in each region?

Sayings

What are common sayings? Idioms? Insults? “Untranslatable” words that only a certain group of people would understand?

Accents

If different languages exist, how does this affect the accents in your world? What do the accents say about the person (place of origin, social class, level of education, etc.)?

Greetings

How do people of the same race greet each other? How do people of different races greet one another?

Is there an informal and formal way to greet others depending on the level of familiarity (i.e. friends, acquaintances, elders, superiors, etc.)? What are the proper forms of address?

SOCIAL FRAMEWORKS Class or Caste Systems; Family Structure; Marriage

What social frameworks underlie the communities in your world?

What are the social taboos? What would one need to do in order to be kicked out of society?

Class or Caste Systems

Is there a class system? If so, how much emphasis does society place on it?

What are the tell-tale signs that a person belongs to a certain class?

How does class affect professions and trades in your world? Can anyone become a priest or a wizard, for example — or is it a privilege restricted to certain members of the hierarchy?

Family Structure

What is the normal family unit?

What is the social system within a family unit in your world? Patriarchal? Matriarchal?

What constitutes a good father? A good mother? A good child?

Marriage

How is marriage defined in your world? Is marriage a civil or religious institution?

Do people marry for love? If not, why do they marry?

PART 4: Civilization

HISTORY

How did civilization begin?

When was the earliest known record of history?

What were the significant wars that have taken place on your world’s soil? How have they shaped the present?

Can your world’s history be divided into significant eras (e.g. Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, etc.)?

Myths

What myths exist in your world to explain the cosmos? How might this have in turn shaped religion?

How were stories passed through generations?

CULTURE Literature, Art & Music; Clothing; Cuisine

Is national culture and history a source of pride or shame in your world? How is it preserved?

What are some things that define each culture? What would a person from a certain city, region, or country be proudest of?

Literature, Art & Music

What is the role of the arts in your world’s culture? How is it perceived by society and how has it evolved?

Who are some celebrated or noted artists in history? What they known for?

How might the arts have changed as a result of outside influences (from other regions, cities, races, etc.)?

Are any of the arts taboo? If so, why?

Clothing

What is the customary dress? Is it gendered? If so, how?

What is considered fashionable and how does this differ from region to region?

How does the clothing one wears reflect status?

What is the dress code for each profession? How strictly followed must it be?

Cuisine

What are the regional dishes? How might this differ depending on the climate and environment?

Is there a difference between what the poor and the rich eat? What is considered a luxurious food? What is considered a staple food?

How are mealtimes approached? Is there a set hour to be at the table? Are there traditions that precede or follow a meal?

RELIGION Gods & Deities; Holy Texts; Significant Prophets

How do people worship in your world?

When and where do people worship?

Gods & Deities

Who are the major and minor gods that people worship?

What function do the gods serve in society?

Holy Texts

What (if any) holy texts exist?

How well-known are the scriptures? Would people of all ages be able to recite them on the spot if asked ?

Significant Prophets

Who are the important religious figures in the world?

For what reason are they significant?

EDUCATION

Does formal education exist? If so, who can access it? The rich? The clergy? Everyone in the general population?

If magic exists in your world, how is it studied? Do schools exist to train it?

What are literacy rates among the general population? How does this affect communication and the distribution of information?

LEISURE

How do people spend their leisure time in your world? What forms of entertainment are most common?

Are there any organized sports in your world? How might its rules and regulations differ from the ordinary?

PART 5: Technology, Magic & Weapons

MAGIC SYSTEMS Rules of Magic; Practitioning Magicians

For what purpose is magic used in your world? Who can use it?

What limits are there to its power? What are the consequences of using it?

What is the history of magic and magicians in your world?

How does society view magic? Positively? Negatively? As the Other?

Rules of Magic

How does magic work in your world? Where does it come from?

Is there a language that’s needed in order to call forth magic? If so, what are its roots?

Is magic regulated in any way? What is the governing body?

Practitioning Magicians

What are magicians’ status in society? Are they trusted advisors of kings or charlatans on the road?

How many magicians exist in your world? How do they perceive one another?

TECHNOLOGY

How advanced is the technology in your world? How does it work?

How does technology impact the different parts of society? Transportation? Communication? Medicine?

How does magic and technology interact and co-exist? Is it a rivalry? A co-op? Are there rules and regulations?

WEAPONRY Signature Weapons; Common Weapons

What weapons are predominant in your world (ranged, combat, anti-gravity, etc.) and why?

Who makes the weapons? How do they work? Is it easy to obtain them?

Signature Weapons

Are there special weapons (e.g. Thor’s Hammer)?

How are they made? How many of them exist in the world?

Common Weapons

Are there professions that necessitate the bearing of weapons?

What about religions?

PART 6: Economy

ECONOMICS

On which economic system does your world operate? A market economy? Feudalism? Socialism?

Is there a central bank?

How does the government regulate businesses?

TRADE & COMMERCE Currency; Major Imports & Exports; Natural Resources

How is trade facilitated? Is it carried out by traveling merchants? By a guild? Are there auctions?

What cities, countries, or regions are allies? Trade partners? How has this changed throughout history?

How is the soft power of a region, city, or country determined?

Currency

Is there a universal currency? If not, what are the regional currencies? What is the valuation?

How is the currency circulated and what are the denominations?

Can the currency be broken down into units (dollars, cents, dimes, quarters)?

Major Imports & Exports

What are the major exports of the region or city? Imports? How might this have evolved throughout history?

Does a particular region specialize in particular trade (i.e. livestock, weaponry, etc.)? Why?

Natural Resources

What resources are natural in each part of your world?

How does this affect trade and trade relationships?

TRANSPORTATION

How easy it is to travel within a city and outside of a city? What modes of transportation exist (horse, anti-gravity car, etc.)?

How is information disseminated all over your world (ink and paper, owl, newspaper, messenger)?

BUSINESS

What crafts or trades are highly valued in your world?

Are some professions considered more elite or respectable than others? How so?

How do people advance in their fields? Are there apprenticeships? How easy is social mobility?

What is the normal work schedule for the average person? What is the average income?

PART 7: Politics

GOVERNMENT

What is the form of government? Is it a monarchy? Republic? Empire? Theocracy?

What are the responsibilities of the government? How far does the government’s sphere of influence spread (magic, religion, etc.)?

How is the government perceived? Is it trusted by the people or is there tension?

LAW Justice Systems; War Systems

What is the rule of law in your world? How is law enforced? What are the most important laws?

What are the punishments for breaking the law?

Justice Systems

What is the legal process in your world? How are people tried?

How does magic fit into the legal system? Is it above the law?

War Systems

How is war declared? Is there a formal process that a country must go through in order to engage in war?

What is the command structure of the army?

How big is the army? Is it composed of humans? Non-humans? Both?

Source ⚜ More: Writing Worksheets & Templates Writing References: Plot ⚜ Character ⚜ Worldbuilding

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Far From Me

Vax’ildan x Reader

Words: 2576

Part One

Summary: Vox Machina tries desperately to bring a fallen member back from the other side. Vax’s true feelings are shown in his desperation. 

Notes: I’m embarrassed by how long it has taken me to write this. (I’ve been working on these two imagines since season one came out guys) But here it is. Now, I don’t know every step so I kind of made the ritual to fit the story itself. It’s my version of the ressurection ritual. Don’t come after me please haha.   

-

“Pike!” 

The wounded cry rang through the dark. Vox Machina all tensed at the sound. 

Vex’s head whipped around, her eyes peering carefully into the dark. 

“Pike. Someone! Help me!” It called again. 

Vex’s stomach dropped. She turned to the others. “It’s Vax.”  

She sprinted into the dark, holding her torch out ahead of her. Her eyes scanned every surface in a panic. So focused and frightened, she nearly ran straight into him. At first, her eyes only saw his face and she nearly cried out. Blood smeared across his cheek and his eyes were filled with a deep despair. 

It took only a moment to realize that the blood was not his. 

In Vax’s arms was Y/N’s limp form. 

Vex’s gaze darted between the two. 

Y/N’s pale face. Vax’s shirt, soaked with red. 

“Where’s Pike?” He croaked. His voice was raw and broken from sobs. 

“She’s…” She motioned to the hall behind her where the rest ran to join them. “Vax, what happened?”

“We have to save her. We have to… I can’t… she’s not gone,” he rambled. His eyes found the light-haired gnome and he rushed to her, falling to his knees and presenting her with the body in his embrace. “Do something. Please. This isn’t right. She wasn’t meant to…” 

More, less coherent pleas fall from his trembling lips. The rest of the team stood over them with similar expressions of shock and distress. 

Pike, speechless, tried to assess the extent of Y/N’s injuries. 

“Vax, she’s-” She gasped tearfully.

“No!” He screamed. “No. We have to do something. I do not accept this. I won’t.” 

The cleric saw the desperation in his eyes and knew the truth behind it. She nodded.

“Not here,” she said. “We have to get her somewhere else.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Scanlan chimed. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” 

They took off again, Vax still cradling Y/N against him. He didn’t stop when a new set of guards began to chase them. He was too frantic to be furious with vengeance. 

Percy and Vex, however, skidded to a halt. 

“We’ll hold them off,” Percy said. He loaded his weapon with a menacing click. “We’re right behind you.” 

“Besides,” Vex looked at the woman in her brother’s arms. She and Y/N may not have gotten along at first, but she’d grown to love the sorceress like a sister. Especially since she’d seen Vax’s feelings for Y/N from the beginning. Nobody was going to get away with taking that away. She aimed her arrow at the first guard. “I’m going to enjoy this.” 

-

They’re only refuge was a deserted shop several blocks from the armory they’d fled. Vax didn’t remember getting here. He didn’t remember running or kicking down the door rather than picking the lock. He didn’t remember his sister and Percy finding them in the chaos. Every thought was consumed by the woman in his arms. 

“That’s a lot of blood,” Grog said. His usual aggression was replaced with genuine worry for his friend as he recognized the grim expressions on the others' faces. “But you can fix it, right Pikey?”

Her blue eyes widened. “I-I-”

“Y/N is going to be fine,” Vax finished, clearing off a table and laying Y/N down. He didn’t look at the healer or anyone else. His eyes stayed glued to the pale, cold face before him. Vax found a cloth and wiped the blood from her cheek. 

The group around him remained frozen. 

“Somebody do something!” He screamed. 

Pike let out a nervous breath. 

Scanlan put a hand on her shoulder. “You can do this.” 

The reassurance pulled her back into the moment. She stood up straighter, took a breath, and shoved Scanlan and Keyleth out of her way. The cleric pulled a diamond from her pouch and laid it on Y/N’s unmoving chest. 

“We need to do this quickly and we need to do it now,” she barked. 

As the rest of the group scrambled to set up the ritual by Pike’s instruction, Vex approached her brother, gently laying a hand on his arm. He instinctively pulled away, leaning over the body before him. 

“We will get her back, brother,” Vex said softly. 

A tear fell into Y/N’s Y/H/C hair. Vax brushed a strand out of her face. 

“I didn’t tell her,” he whispered. “I-I didn’t tell her. I wanted to, but I was too late.” Finally, he looked up. Tear-filled eyes met his sister’s and he spoke through a broken sob. “I have to get her back so I can tell her.” 

“And you will.” Her voice held the assuredness he wished he could muster. 

With slow, guiding hands, she pulled him away from the table enough to give the cleric the space she needed. 

“Pike,” Vex nodded. “Do your thing.”  

The chaotic panic of the room fell into a deep, concentrated silence. The air tightened until Vax couldn’t breathe. 

“We have to call her spirit back to her body,” Pike said, hands splayed out over the diamond, which had developed a soft, golden glow. The light was small like a candle wick first taking flame. 

“And that will work?” Percy asked. 

Pike took a breath. “If she wants to come back, we have a chance.” 

“What do you mean, ‘if’?” Scanlan looked over her shoulder only to be shoved out of the way. He shuddered. Grog was right. That was a lot of blood. 

Pike didn’t answer. 

Scanlan asked again, almost shouting.  “What do you mean, ‘if’ she wants to come back?” 

“Her family,” Keyleth whispered. Her staff trembled in her hands. “She told me about her family. Her parents. They were killed in front of her as a child. Maybe she…” The kind-hearted druid couldn’t bring herself to finish. 

“Maybe she wants to stay with them,” Pike concluded. 

Vax’s mind went back to that night, the shooting star and Y/N’s drunken voice filled with a disheartened kind of sorrow. He thought of other nights, of other talks once she had opened up to the group. He knew how much she missed them. How she longed to see them once more. 

“But we’re her family!” Scanlan exclaimed. His distress seeped into his voice, almost making it crack. “She can’t go. She has to come back.” He leaned over Y/N’s body, fists clenched on the table beside her. “Do you hear me? You have to come back.” 

“I’m trying to reach her,” Pike said. 

Scanlan took out his lute. 

The gnome's fingers strummed the strings, not in his usual flamboyant fashion, but in a slow, swelling tune. He had no words, but he didn’t need them. The notes spoke for themselves. Sorrowful was not the right word for the moving melody, but there was a tone of despair floating beneath the waves. But upon every crest sang the main point of the piece. Hope. 

In the final moments of the song, Scanlan crouched by Y/N’s ear and whispered something no one else could hear. 

“You reminded me that I’m a good person,” he said. A single tear fell down his cheek. “I need you to keep reminding me or I won’t believe it. Please, come back.” 

With a final flourish of notes, his playing ceased and the room was silent once again. 

Vax was still frozen, his sister’s arm around his shoulders. He wanted to speak, to scream, to plead with the gods not to take you from him, but his voice was lost in a sea of panic swimming through his mind and drowning his chest. 

Please, he thought. Please work. 

“I-I can feel her,” Pike said, eyes screwed shut and brows furrowed. “But I can’t reach her. I need more help.” 

To Vax’s surprise, it was his sister who stepped forward when he was still unable to find his words. He tried. He desperately, desperately tried but all he could do was stare at the cold, limp body before him. Using what strength he could, he followed Vex on his knees to grab Y/N’s hand. His forehead rested beside it as Vex spoke. 

“You were never one of us,” she said. “You were the stray we picked up along the way. You were never meant to last for more than a week.”

Vax lifted his head. “Vex what are you-” 

She stopped him with a glance. Tears pooled in her eyes and her lip trembled as she continued. 

“That is what I believed when we first met. When I first understood your feelings for my brother, even before you did. I thought you were going to leave and I resented you for it. I resented you for the possibility that you would hurt him.” She stood at the foot of the table and took a breath. “But I know that I was wrong.” 

Vex walked around so that she was across from her brother, taking Y/N’s cold, unmoving hand into her own. 

“How many times have you saved my life with these hands? With your power?” She forced back a cry. “With your heart?” 

She remembered every conversation over the fire, while everyone else was asleep. She remembered how Y/N had stood up to her and Vax’s father. She remembered Y/N’s encouraging words and kindness after months of Vex’s hostility. 

“If you lock your heart away from the people you care about, you lock it away from yourself.” Y/N had said one night. Vex remembered wanting to hit her because she was right. “You deserve to let your heart be in the light, Vex’ahlia.” 

Vex continued. “Scanlan was right. You are part of this family. And you know how much I hate agreeing with that gnome.” She laughed through her tears. “Your journey with us is not over. Please, bring your heart to the light again.” 

The diamond’s rays flickered brightly, but only for a moment, and started to fade again. 

“No, no please,” Vex cried. 

Pike grimaced, reaching out her hand. “I’m losing her!” 

The twin’s eyes met with panic and growing despair. 

“It’s you,” Vex said. “It has to be you.” 

“I… I can’t,” Vax clung to the side of the table, fear shaking through his arms. The fading glow felt like daggers in his chest. The lump in his throat made it difficult to talk. His mind was clouded. 

“It has to be you,” his sister repeated. 

The light flickered out. 

For a moment, everything stopped. Time, feeling, thought. It all halted. It felt as though his heart, too, had stopped beating. 

Vax jumped onto the table, pulling Y/N into his arms just as he’d held her in that room. 

“No no no no no,” he didn’t have the energy to scream at first, his words coming out as breathy prayers. But, holding her closer to his chest, he finally found his voice. “Y/N! Don’t do this, please. You have to come back. You have to hear me say it.”

 It was like he was back there again, watching the light fade from her eyes, trapped in the dark. Alone. 

“I meant it.” Vax held her face in his hands, resting his forehead against hers. “I love you. I have loved you since that night when I took your hand. I have loved you in every step we’ve taken together, but now the path you walk is far from me. Please.” Vax pressed his lips to hers. If he could have given her the life from his lungs, he would have. “Return to me, love. Come back.” He kisses her again. “Come back.” 

A growing, bright beam overtook his vision. 

The diamond glowed once more. 

Pike let out a battle-like cry. Her blue eyes disappear beneath screens of light. The rays engulfed her body. 

Y/N lifted out of Vax’s arms. For a moment, he reached out, afraid to let go, but his sister’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. 

Bright, gold beams blinded the room. 

Percy lifted his arms to shield his eyes. Keyleth hid her face in Grog’s shoulder. Scanlan ducked beneath the table. The twins turned toward each other. 

Darkness returned, Pike gasping for breath, leaning on Scanlan for support. 

Y/N fell back into Vax’s arms, limp and cold. 

“Did it work?” Keyleth asked. 

Y/N remained still. 

The room was silent again. 

Pike closed her eyes, letting Scanlan pull her into his arms as he tried to hide his tears. Keyleth covered her mouth with her hand. Percy looked at the ground. Grog didn’t understand. 

Why wasn’t she waking up?

“Brother…” Vex said softly. 

A desperate, gut-wrench sob escaped Vax’s throat. He buried his face against her neck and held her as if she were his lifeline slipping away. 

Outside, a faint glint of a shooting star streaked across the sky. 

Slowly, you opened your eyes. 

“Why… why is everyone crying?” You coughed. 

Vax pulled back, a mix of disbelief and utter bliss overtaking his features. He held your face in his hands, feeling the warmth return to your cheeks. 

“Thank you, Everlight,” Pike sighed, gripping Scanlan’s hand. 

Vax brought you back to him, holding you tightly against his chest. Vex through her arms around both of you. 

“See,” Grog said. “I knew she’d be alright.” 

Everyone gathered around the table, encircling you with relieved expressions and tears turning joyful.

Scanlan sniffed and wiped at the moisture on his face. “Don’t ever fucking do that again.” 

It came back to you gradually. The pain of the blade, laying in Vax’s arms, falling into the dark. You gently pushed back from Vax. 

“Did I…”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. You’re okay now.” He pressed his lips to your forehead. 

“I thought that I-” You took a breath. “I thought I saw my parents.” You looked around at the people you’d come to call family. “But then I heard music. I could hear voices, calling me back. And I felt…” You reached a trembling hand up to your lips. “I thought I felt…” 

You gazed into the eyes of the man holding you. 

His lips met yours with a soft, yet powerful, urgency. 

It gave you all the strength you needed. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer, your revitalized heart beating so hard you were sure everyone could hear it. By the time you pulled apart, you were both gasping for breath and beaming. 

“Fucking finally,” Vex laughed. 

“Uh, so do you guys, like, want the room?” Scanlan nudged your side, wiggling his eyebrows at you mischievously. 

“Like you wouldn’t find a way to watch,” you joked. You moved to stand but fell back against Vax. 

“Easy,” he said. “Don’t exhaust yourself just yet.” 

“Yeah, save that energy for other things,” Scanlan smirked. 

Vax gave him a silencing glare. 

“We should get out of here,” Percy said. He peeked out of the window and watched the guards they hadn’t killed rush by. “Else we’ll have to do that all over again.” 

“I’m with Percy,” Pike agreed. “She’s too weak for another fight. If we stay hidden, we can get to the next village by sunrise.” She looked at you and you nodded.

“I’ll be fine,” you said. Again, you tried to walk, your legs aching and trembling beneath you. 

Vax scooped you up in his arms and kissed you once more.

 “I’ve got you.” 

And he was never letting go. 

[i-was-today-years-old-when]

i learned what are the most mysterious places in the world

Marree Man – The fact that there is not a single witness to the creation of the Marree Man speaks to the absolute isolation of central South Australia. Somehow in 1998, one person or a group of people were able to create a 2.6-mile long line drawing of an aboriginal hunter, without being seen. In the midst of barren, arid land in South Australia, the Marree Man is the largest geoglyph and work of art in the world. Cut into the harsh landscape with lines over 115 feet wide and one foot deep, the towering Marree Man is easily visible from space. Thirteen years after the Marree Man was discovered during a flyover, little is known about its origin. Although we may never know the true origin of the Marree Man, it is certainly one of most intriguing modern day mysteries.

Chocolate Hills – Bohol Island in the Philippines during the dry season, you might notice what looks like thousands of chocolate kisses protruding from the terrain. These mysterious conical mounds are known as the Chocolate Hills. There are approximately 1,268 individual hills, their heights ranging from 100 to 160 feet, though the highest is almost 400 feet high. The hills, which are almost all symmetrical, consist of grass-covered limestone and turn brown during the dry season. Despite the abundance of hills, it is unclear how they were formed. There are multiple geological explanations ranging from oceanic volcano activity to limestone weathering. Numerous legends and tales also exist to explain the Chocolate Hills.

Giants Nest – In 1949 a geologist named Vadim Kolpakov discovered a large mound of limestone in the north of the Irkutsk region in southeastern Siberia. The cone is curiously shaped with a crater at the top and a small mound in the center. The mound is about 40 meters high and 100 meters across at the base. The smaller mound at the top is about 12 meters high. The crater was named Patomskiy, after a nearby river, but local residents call it “the Fiery Eagle’s Nest”. Since the discovery of the crater, there have been many theories as to what could have created it. For a long time it was believed to be a meteorite impact structure. Some linked it to the Tunguska meteorite, whose remains have never been discovered. But the crater does not resemble any other known meteorite site. Even now, the origin of the crater is not discovered.

Richat Structure – In the midst of vast, vacant Sahara desert, just outside of Ouadane, Mauritania, lies a 30-mile wide geological oddity known the Richat Structure, sometimes called the “Eye of Africa.” From space, this natural curiosity forms a distinct and unmistakable bull’s-eye that once served as a geographical landmark for early astronauts as they passed over the Sahara. Once thought to be an impact crater due to its circularity, the unusual formation is now widely believed to have been caused by the erosion of a geological dome formed by pressure from a bulb of molten magma below.

Plain of Jars – The Plain of Jars is a collection of large stone jars interspersed throughout the Xieng Khouang plain in the Lao Highlands. The stone structures are mostly made of sedimentary rock and, ranging from 3 to 10 feet in height, each can weigh up to 14 tons. To date, the origin of the jars is unknown, though archaeologists believe that they were originally used between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago. Many researchers have theorized that the jars may have once served as funerals urns or food storage. As local Laotian legend would have it, the jars were created by Khun Cheung, an ancient king of giants who lived in the highlands. It is said that Cheung, after fighting a long and victorious battle, created the jars in order to brew huge amounts of celebratory lao lao rice wine.

Giant’s Grave of Coddu Vecchiu – Giant’s or Tomba Dei giganti, are megalithic gallery graves that were used as public tombs during the Bronze Age. The massive gravestones were built by the Nuragic civilization, which existed in Sardinia from the 2nd millennium BCE. to the 2nd century CE. Despite the imaginative name, the sites were not the burial site of any giant; they were giant community burial chambers. Though we know the tombs had a funerary purpose, more questions remain. Little is known about the rituals or traditional beliefs that motivated their construction. Were they mass graves? Were they built to facilitate the journey into the afterlife? Since their existence has yet to be justified by scientific research, they have been credited to the supernatural, which has only increased their mystery. Legend also claims that yes, indeed, these were the tombs of powerful giants.

Zone of Silence – Pilot Francisco Sarabia was flying over a patch of desert land in Mexico when his instruments started to act increasingly odd. The man had to make an emergency landing in the middle of nowhere. Little did he know that this "nowhere" would be later dubbed "The Zone of Silence.” Weird radio silence isn't the only oddity of the creepy Zone. Like, what’s that weird trio that locals keep meeting in the Zone? They’re two men and a woman. Every time people see them, they’re wearing bizarre clothing that isn't suitable for a journey in the desert whatsoever. On top of all that, the Zone of Silence is known as a 50 km patch of deserted land where meteorites come crashing down on an eerily regular basis. On July 11, 1970, the US launched an ATHENA rocket from the Air Force base in Green River, Utah. The rocket was supposed to land somewhere in the area of White Sands in New Mexico. Instead, it went off course and, as if being pulled by some external force, crashed right in the heart of the Zone of Silence.

Michigan Triangle – Stretching from Ludington to Benton Harbor, Michigan and to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the Lake Michigan Triangle has inspired numerous accounts of activity that are difficult to explain by rational thought. The mystery began in 1891, when a schooner named the Thomas Hume set off across the Lake to pick up lumber. Almost overnight in a torrent of wind, the Thomas Hume disappeared along with its crew of seven sailors. The wooden boat was never found. After the turn of the century, strange events happened at steady intervals. Of the more mysterious is the case of the Rosa Belle. In 1921 eleven people inside the ship, who were all members of the Benton Harbor House of David, disappeared and their ship was found overturned and floating in Lake Michigan. While it appeared that the ship had been damaged in a collision, no other ship had reported an accident and no other remains had been found.

Alaska Triangle – The Alaska Triangle is a place in the untouched wilderness where mystery lingers and people go missing at a very high rate. The area began attracting public attention in October 1972, when a small, private plane carrying U.S. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, Alaska Congressman Nick Begich seemingly vanished into thin air. For more than a month, 50 civilian planes and 40 military aircraft plus dozens of boats, covered a search area of 32,000 square miles, but no trace of the plane, the men, wreckage or debris were ever found. Afterward, more planes went down, hikers went missing, and Alaskan residents and tourists seemed to vanish into thin air. In fact, since 1988, more than 16,000 people have disappeared in the Alaska Triangle, with a missing person rate at more than twice the national average. These disappearances are blamed on everything from severe weather to aliens, to swirling energy vortexes, to an evil shape-shifting demon of Tlingit Indian lore called Kushtaka, with no scientific explanation to the disappearances till today.

The Initiation Well – The Initiation well is 88 feet deep well located on the land of Quinta da Regaleira. Actually, it was used for ceremonial purposes. There is another small well near this well. Both these wells are connected by tunnels. The larger well contains a 27-meter spiral staircase with several small landings and the smaller well contains straight stairs that connect a series of ring-shaped floors to one another. The smaller well is also called the 'Unfinished Well'. The depth of this larger well is equal to the four-storey building, which becomes narrower on going closer to the ground. It is believed that there is some kind of light comes out from the well inside the ground and comes outwards. Surprisingly, there is no system of light inside this well, then where from this light comes, it is the secret. Anyone who comes to visit here, always raises the question of where the light comes from inside the well? Till today this secret is unsolved.

(Image Source : Google)

Thanks for Reading.

[bestanimal]

Round 2 - Arthropoda - Chilopoda

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Chilopoda is a class of arthropods commonly called “Centipedes”. They include the Scutigeromorphs (“House Centipedes”), Lithobiomorphs (“Stone Centipedes”), Scolopendromorphs (“Tropical Centipedes”), Geophilomorphs (“Soil Centipedes”), and the Craterostigmomorphs which consists of only two living species.

Centipede means “hundred feet”, though no species of centipede actually has exactly 100 feet, as their pairs of legs are always an odd number, ranging from 15 to 191 pairs of legs! All centipedes are venomous predators, delivering venom through a pair of fang-like front legs called forcipules. Prey include other invertebrates like earthworms, fly larvae, collembolans, and other centipedes. The giant Scolopendromorphs are able to tackle larger prey including vertebrates such as lizards, frogs, birds, mice, snakes, and even bats. They live in tropical or desert habitats worldwide, but only in moist environments, meaning they must be more active under cover or at night. Many species lack eyes, though some have simple eyes that allow them to distinguish light from dark. Some species use their first pair of legs similarly to antennae, sensing vibrations and even using them to “hear.” Their bodies consist of 15 or more segments, with one pair of legs attached to the sides of each segment. Their back legs, called “ultimate legs”, are modified depending on species, and can be elongated and thin, thickened, or pincer-like. They are not used for walking, but instead can be used in defensive displays, for hunting, or for interspecies fighting, and they often play a role in mating rituals and are usually sexually dimorphic. Centipedes range from a few millimetres to 30 cm (1 foot) long.

Centipedes are generally solitary, not even meeting up to mate. Males will leave spermatophores on the ground for females to pick up. However, females provide parental care, coiling around both their eggs and young and grooming them (first image). Some species grow anamorphically: adding on segments with each moult until they reach their adult number of segments. Some species grow epimorphically: growing all their segments and legs as an embryo before hatching, and not adding on any more when they moult.

Centipedes arose during the Late Silurian, but were considerably rare until the Triassic Period. The modern Scolopendromorphs and Scutigeromorphs appeared in the Cretaceous.

Propaganda under the cut:

In my desire to show just how colorful and beautiful centipedes could be, my first rendition of this post featured 3 Scolopendromorphs and 1 House Centipede. I then realized how unfair that was and changed it to include most of the major types of centipede, which reduced a lot of the color of this post unfortunately. I believe the centipedes I’ve chosen are still beautiful regardless, but if you want to see some pretty colorful centipedes, check out the rest of Scolopendromorpha!

Similarly to spiders, while all centipedes are venomous, none are particularly deadly to humans. Most small centipedes’ jaws are too small to break human skin, but large tropical centipedes’ bites can be quite painful: causing swelling, chills, fever, and weakness, especially in children and those allergic to bee stings. These bites are always in defense, so if you leave them alone, they have no reason to bite.

Some large centipedes are consumed in China, usually skewered and grilled or deep fried. Thailand produces centipede vodka: large centipedes steeped in alcohol.

The common house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata) originated in caves in the Mediterranean, but has evolved alongside us to live inside human homes. The dark and humid corners of buildings are literally their habitat! They are beneficial predators, feeding on many species humans consider pests such as cockroaches, termites, ants, bed bugs, spiders, and silverfish.

Centipedes have long lifespans for arthropods, some living up to 10 years.

They are friends! Or maybe… lovers?

[angrygonk]

HERRIKAN FORGEWORLD

Many artifacts from the Dark Age of Technology lie in the golden sands of Herrika. Across the unending deserts of this planet are scattered multiple husks of a bygone era, sprawling networks of corridors and pipes, rotting from the inside, as they are infested by creatures discovered to be descendents of a preexisting human civilisation, now turned cannibalistic abominations, adapted to live in the long forgotten bunkers. The greatest gifts may lie in the steel veins of the planet, but mere inches beneath the scorching sand, buried there by the winds, unending deposits of archeotech just wait to be dug up by the followers of the Omnissiah. Many expeditions attempted to cleanse and reclaim the network beneath the surface, but none were successful so far. As such the main task of the Herrican techpriests is currently sifting through the sand, using fleets of tracked machines equipped with nets burying themselves in the sand, in search of forgotten technology. 

Herrikan history is one of adaptation and survival. The forgeworld started as a simple expedition by a group of 17 radical techpriests from a range of different forge worlds. Everything seemed fine, until they lost contact with the rest of expedition fleet in orbit, as they have been ordered by the administratum to leave everything in order to serve as a force multiplier in a nearby rebellion over the tithe of a hive city. The 17 founders, now left stranded on this desert wasteland decided that the only way they can survive is to prove their worth to the Omnissiah by venturing into the depths of the planet, reclaiming what has been lost over the ages. They found more than they could ever hope for, machines of war and peace, technology of the Dark Age, and an artifact that became the reason for a schism within the 17. 6 of them wanted to use their discovery to establish their own empire, create the new civilisation of the Followers of machine, while the rest came to a conclusion that such a drastic action would just mark the end of their stories, dooming them to be executed as hereteks. Tensions were high but with not enough people or resources for a civil war the thirst of blood eventually ended with the official declaration of creation of the Herrikan forgeworld, led by 17 arch-scavengers, each carrying their vows of steel wrapped on their right hands.

Now, 4 thousand years after the first artifact has been discovered on Herrika, it has grown to be a small, but influential forge world, trading in unique archeotech, establishing multiple client forgeworlds like the radicals of Titanis Arx or the voidfaring Nefirran Fleet and solidifying itself as one of the biggest sources of archeotech in segmentum tempestus.

If anyone has any more questions about the lore and stuff feel free to ask, also if anyone wants to use this forgeworld in any art, story, minis or anything feel free, just tag me.

[darth-kote]

Fives headcanons Pt. 1

Makes a point of learning how to say simple phrases in a few different languages native to the places he visits as a soldier. He finds that the native civilizations usually take more kindly to someone who isn't barking at them in a foreign, confusing tongue. "Hello," "thank you," and "we are here to offer help," are a few he tries to memorize as they travel through hyperspace. Fives isn't motivated by anything other than making the civilians more comfortable... But when he's given fruit or flowers as thanks for his friendliness, he makes sure his brothers get a clear view of the gifts. "See, diplomacy does pay off, Hardcase." (He receives a scoff and an envious glares in return.)

Back on Kamino, Shaak Ti had instilled in him that his brothers were there for him, and he had a duty to reciprocate that. As time went, it became less his duty and more his heart's desire. It made him feel nauseous when he heard a raucous laugh fall from Echo's or Kix's lips, mostly because it was his own laughter amplified and externally sourced. He remembers the first time going to 79s with some of the 501st, not long after Rishi Moon; Rex had introduced him to some of his men, and it had been one of the first times since he'd been on Kamino that he'd felt completely safe. Looking around, it was rare to meet eyes with anyone's who weren't his own, and kriff, the laughter. It had filled him with such a sense of belonging that he'd had to go cry in the fresher, just for a moment. When he'd returned to the group, Echo had given him a knowing look – eyes gentle as always, the inkling of a smile on his lips; he'd felt it too. After everything with Domino Squad, Fives was reluctant to build from the rubble of his past, but he found it was more agonizing to cut himself off from their unconditional love.

Fascinated by braids. The first time he saw them, ever, was on a desert planet they had been stationed on for months during the war. This planet couldn't have been further from his water-covered homeworld, the people included. Their complexions ranged from a deep-copper red to a blue that was nearly purple in hue, and their hair was sculpted into intricate braids that he never stopped admiring for as long as they were there. After several weeks of hesitating, he finally asked if he could learn the community's art form. He had been afraid of rejection, and bade his breath as he awaited the Elderwoman's decision whether or not to let this strange man into their traditions. He knew this was something the people of this world held dearly, and he was prepared to take no as his answer. Watching would suffice. However, when the Elderwoman sent for himself and Tup, he allowed himself some hope. Entering her clay fortress had been even more wonderful than he'd imagined; breads and meat were offered to them, and Tup, for once, could admit that Fives was quite the diplomat. Meeting the Elderwoman face-to-face was comparable, he felt, to being in the presence of Shaak Ti – she was a master with plenty to teach to those she deemed worthy of the knowledge. Her hair had been down, rather than up in one of the various styles he'd seen her wearing from afar; the texture of her hair created a halo around her, and Fives had been in utter awe. He and Tup had been instructed to sit and watch as the Elder's handmaidens wove her hair, slowly, carefully, into the desired shapes and patterns. Although they were not allowed to touch, Fives learned through observation how these sculptures that had caught his eye since the beginning were created. As they'd watched, he practically begged Tup to take his hair down so that he might practice a simpler technique they were being shown, and Tup would never admit that he'd dozed off several times under his brother's diligent touch.

As much as he enjoys making his brothers a little jealous, Fives is such a softy for each and every one of them. He will go off and pick flowers for them, and he'll make sure to weave a crown or necklace for Rex to wear. I can imagine them all sweeping through a field of tall grass, and Fives is in the middle of everything.. collecting flowers for his brothers to wear and smell. They'd all have their favorite spot in their armor for their flower to be kept, of course.

[rockyp77mk3]

Member of a Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) patrol poses with a Vickers K machine gun on a Chevrolet 30cwt truck in North Africa - May 1942.  

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Danny Fenton, Bernard Dowd, Kon-El, Stephanie Brown, and Tam Fox appear in a warehouse surrounded by demons.

Kon didn't hesitate to throw the first punch and the rest of the abductees were quick to follow suit. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the demons fell apart rather easily with is great for defeating them but not so great for trying to capture one to find out why they were summoned in the first place.

Once all the demons were gone they began talking amongst themselves to figure out what they all had in common, which it turned out they were all dating different versions of Tim Drake.

Danny asked the group who knew about the "feathers" thing and everyone raised thier hand. Okay, so they all knew. That should make things easier.

Bernard tried calling Tim but it only rang once, to which Danny reminded him that this world's Tim might not know who he is or even have the same number. Spooky then pulled out a flip phone with an ominous glowing green screen and made a call.

Tim could be heard on the other line asking him if he was okay and why he was using the emergency phone. Danny explained what he could and Tim promised to find a way to get to him. They said thier goodbyes and loves yous before hanging up.

Danny held up his phone, "Interdimentional phone calls, courtesy of my mad scientist parents." He then had to explain it wouldn't work for them because his phone was keyed into the dimension he came from and his Tim was using it to track them down, so even if he did have the means to recalibrate the signal it would be a bad idea right now.

The others weren't too happy with this but they understood.

They opened the door to the warehouse only to discover they were in a freaking desert. Crap. Out of the five of them only two could fly and none of them had enough supplies on them to travel the desert on foot but they couldn't stay here. Who knew how long it would take for his Tim to track them down. Flying was thier best bet but Danny, being the oldest would have to take two.

Danny shot his love a text warning him about the desert and to be prepared for that if it should be necessary. He got a text back a moment later acknowledging it and worrying over him. He felt so loved.

Now it was time to talk to the others and figure out a plan of action.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this press release from the Department of the Interior:

The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Parks Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Mexico's Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources recently signed a new agreement to strengthen cooperation and coordination for the conservation of the American bison across its range in North America. Through a Letter of Intent, the countries will work to pursue bison conservation, restore ecological processes, and support traditional human use of natural resources with a particular focus on the unique historical connection between bison and Indigenous peoples.  

This Letter of Intent was worked on at the recent Canada/Mexico/United States Trilateral Committee for Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation and Management held in San Diego, California and outlines additional collaboration across national borders towards the United States, Mexico and Canada’s shared goal of domestic bison conservation. The Trilateral Committee began in 1996 as a pioneering initiative among the three countries to align efforts safeguarding North America’s wildlife and ecosystems. The committee’s Species of Concern Working Table brings together state, federal and Tribal resource managers and non-governmental organizations to share their expertise and coordinate conservation of species that span the continent.   

The recently signed Letter of Intent outlines the various ways that the three North American nations will work together, including by:  

Improving collaboration on regional activities to promote policies, practices and effective methods in support of the ecocultural conservation of bison; 

Promoting joint work plans within the Trilateral Committee’s Species of Common Conservation Concern working table; 

Fostering transparency about the technical information that is developed jointly; and 

Streamlining reporting on activities conducted under the Letter of Intent with the Executive Table of the Trilateral Committee for its review.

These international efforts will continue to build on the Interior Department’s domestic bison restoration efforts, including the Grasslands Keystone Initiative. In 2023, Secretary Haaland issued a Secretary's Order and announced a $25 million investment to empower the Department’s bureaus and partners to use the best available science and Indigenous Knowledge to help restore bison across the country. The Order formally established a Bison Working Group (BWG) composed of representation from the five bureaus with bison equities: the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and U.S. Geological Survey. The BWG is developing a Bison Shared Stewardship Plan, which will establish a comprehensive framework for American bison restoration, including strengthening long-term bison conservation partnerships. Central to the development of that plan will be robust engagement with Tribes, including prioritizing Tribally led opportunities to establish new large herds owned or managed by Tribes and Tribally led organizations.   

The American bison once thrived across the largest original distribution of any native large herbivore in North America, ranging from desert grasslands in northern regions of Mexico to interior Alaska. After North America’s European settlement, bison populations were reduced from an estimated 60 to 80 million to a mere 1,000 animals. These surviving bison were saved from extinction and became the founders of several protected populations that put the species on a path of recovery and conservation.  

Today, bison remain absent from nearly 99 percent of their historic range. Most of the bison in North America are in herds that are constrained by fences, isolated from each other, and have fewer than 1,000 individuals, raising concerns about their genetic integrity, wildness and long-term viability of the species.   

Approximately 31,000 bison are currently being stewarded by the United States, Canada and Mexico with the goal of conserving the species and their role in the function of native grassland systems, as well as their place in Indigenous culture.  

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Close Up with Coyotes

Often confused with wolves, foxes, or even stray dogs, the coyote (Canis latrans) is a species of canid found only in Central and North America, from Panama to central Canada. Historically, the coyote mainly occupied grasslands, scrubland, and deserts; however, in the past few centuries the species has expanded its range to include deciduous and evergreen forests, mountains, swamps, and even cities. Generally individuals and groups keep to one home territory, but they will move when resources become lacking.

Among the canines, coyotes are rather small, weighing only 8 to 20 kg (18 to 44 lb), and males tend to be larger than females. Generally coyotes sport a light gray, red, or brownish coat with a lighter underside; however, regional populations may differ wildly. This species may be identified from other canids by its large pointed ears, whitish facial markings, and narrow snout.

Though C. latrans does occasionally form packs, it is more likely to hunt individually or in small family groups. Nonfamily packs, usually made of bachelors, are rare. In addition, coyotes have been known to form mutualistic hunting relationships with other species like badgers. It is primarily carnivorous, hunting mainly at dawn and dusk for rabbits and hares, squirrels, mice, lizards, and occasionally larger targets such as deer or pronghorn. This species will also readily consume carrion, as well as produce and human food waste, making it highly adaptable to urban areas. Traditionally, the species has been limited via both competition and direct predation by wolves and cougars; in its expanded range, coyotes may also be predated upon by bears, alligators, lynx, and golden eagles.

Though reproduction typically takes place in the spring, from January to March, temporary pair bonds may form as early as November. Mates prepare dens, which may be dug out or selected from tree hollows or pre-existing burrows, and establishes a territory up to 19 square km (11 square miles). During this time, daughters from a females previous litter, or her sisters, may join the group. Pregnancy typically lasts just over 60 days, during which time the male and any assisting females do most of the hunting. Litters average 6 pups, and weaning takes about a month. During this time, the male continues to provide for the mother and pups, but will abandon the den if the mother goes missing. By the age of four or five weeks the pups develop a hierarchy through play-fighting. After about 6 months, the male pups will leave, while females will typically stay with their mothers until at least the next mating season, at which time they reach sexual maturity. In the wild, individuals may live as long as 10 years.

Conservation status: Due to its large range and adaptability to human habitats, the C. latrans is considered Least Concern by the IUCN. In urban areas, coyotes are regularly hunted as a nuisance species due to their predation on free-roaming pets and, occasionally, livestock.

In traditional Indigenous American stories, the coyote was seen as a trickster or anti-hero (here is an interesting paper about the 'Coyote' character in traditional stories versus western interpretations). The European colonization of North America and the eradication of large predators like wolves and cougars has allowed coyotes to spread far beyond their original geographic range and become a 'nuisance species' in urban areas.

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Photos

Neil Nurmi

Carlos Porrata

Natrice Miller

Tom Koerner