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local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti · 5 months ago

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How do you feel about track systems for horses? Would a similar system be beneficial or detrimental for captive cetaceans?

Oh that's a very interesting idea. I do really love the concept of track systems and it seems to be a really good way to encourage more movement and improve fitness, hooves ect. for horses.

For cetaceans though... it could be tricky to implement safely if we were looking at physical "tunnels" to funnel them through.

The reason that a lot of cetacean habitats are so "empty", especially for larger species like orcas, is because social behaviour is a huge component of their lives. Social behaviour can include high speed chases, breaches, porpoising, raking/biting, fluke slapping and everything in between.

Obstacles make any sort of high arousal play/social behaviour/aggression even more of a risk. Because in the heat of the moment at very fast speeds, cetaceans can hurt themselves if they scrape against or hit something.

The only way I could see a system like that work is if the track was made using underwater bubble nets. So if they hit them, they wouldn't get hurt. But they'd probably just want to go through them for a massage anyway lol

Physical components of a habitat like rockwork ect. look nice but they will always put cetaceans more at risk of environmental scrapes. We also had that issue in lagoons/sea pens with coral and rocks.

This is why I think Chimelong is amazing with their underwater bubble jets and wave pools because it's a safe way to make their habitat variable and enriching, encouraging underwater exploration/diving and surface wave riding.

The study looking into what factors influence dolphin movement and distance travelled in human care found that enrichment programs and training times were the main influences.

This is just one study though - would love to see more like this with other species, especially orcas.

I'd be so curious to compare the movement of Chimelong orcas compared to SeaWorld orcas too. I would hypothesise that the addition of the wave pool creates a lot more movement and acceleration throughout the day!

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Simply adding live fish has had a huge impact on some of the orcas in the the San Diego SeaWorld pod, with lots of hunting and moving around being recorded. And I love that! It's simple but effective!

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I think you could get so creative with cetacean habitats to encourage more movement, especially focusing on underwater and diving based enrichment. This would be better than focusing on what the habitat looks like, focusing on what the animals actually value and find enriching.

So things like creating underwater treadmills they could use to exercise on (they'd probably need to learn how to though). Underwater and surface water jets that they could turn on and off when they want, wave pools at varying heights, creating currents in the water ect.

I kind of got off track but imo that would probably be the best way to encourage more movement!

#cetacean welfare #orcas #seaworld #chimelong

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thatlovinfeelin · 2 years ago

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Where Do You Go? | one | Bradley Rooster Bradshaw

Your husband died in a training accident, unexpectedly. So what happens when you find yourself leaning on his best friend and wingman, Rooster Bradshaw?

You never imagined you’d be a widow at twenty-six. Never did you think you would actually get the news that your husband died during a mission, unable to eject properly. Your knees hit the floor so hard they could’ve cracked but you didn’t feel it at all. Not as you cried and screamed and begged.

The house felt so empty after the reality that your husband was gone set in. Kurtis Chapman was a hell of a man, an even better pilot. He should still be in the house with you, laughing at some reality TV show, or helping you cook dinner.

You weren’t sure how, but you called your parents and managed to tell them. They promised to take care of letting the rest of your family know. There was suddenly a funeral to plan, suddenly you had to bury your husband, the man you promised to love for your entire life.

Somehow you found yourself dressed in black, seated in front of a bunch of people. Your eyes never left the wooden casket that held Kurtis, the love of your life. You hardly reacted when you were handed a folded up flag on behalf of the United States Navy. Flinching only when the twenty one gun salute was started. Tears rolled down your cheeks. All you could think about was the fact that he was gone.

Maybe some people would find it tacky to hold a wake in a bar. But the Hard Deck was the only place you could fathom having everyone gather together after saying goodbye to Kurtis. He loved it here. The two of you came almost every weekend to drink with friends and play pool together. It seemed like the only place that was even somewhat appropriate, because he would’ve loved it.

You moved around the bar as if on some sort of autopilot. There was no loud music or the thunderous sounds of voices filling the bar. Everyone spoke in hushed tones and the jukebox was either off or the volume was turned way down, you weren’t entirely sure.

As you stood there, all alone, you seemed to come back to yourself and the weight of the day fell onto your shoulders. So, you made your way towards the bar, in search of the only thing that made sense to you.

“What do you need me to do?” Penny asked softly.

You took a deep breath, “I need a shot of something, anything….just not his favorite.”

She nodded and slid a shot glass towards you. You loved Penny like a big sister or a fun aunt. She looked after you when you first moved to San Diego and was the first person to introduce you to Kurtis. Now, looking at her, made tears burn in your eyes again.

Giving a stiff nod, you slammed back the alcohol and walked away. You let out a deep breath and made your way back through the crowd of people. Each one of them gave you a sad look or apologized for your loss, as if that would make it any better.

In the corner near the pool table stood all of Kurtis’ aviator friends from Top Gun. They all looked just as lost as you felt. For a moment you wondered who was in the air with him when he died. Whose voice was the last thing he heard before he died?

Suddenly you felt like the walls were closing in on you. Ducking out of the side door, you took a deep breath, trying to fill your lungs with air. Your chest heaved as you leaned over the railing. This couldn’t be happening, this couldn’t be your life anymore.

How were you supposed to go on now? Logistically yes, you would be okay. You had more than enough money set aside, thanks to Kurtis being smart with your finances, and the life insurance plan. You would be able to keep the house, everything would be okay when it came to things like that. But how could you sleep in that bed knowing the other side would stay empty?

“Are you okay?”

You turned around to see Bradley Bradshaw, better known by his callsign, Rooster. His hands were in his pockets as he stood just outside of the door, watching you carefully. Kurtis always liked Rooster, so much so that Rooster was the best man at your wedding.

“No.”

“I’m sorry,” He replied.

“Were you with him?” You questioned, needing to know.

He nodded slowly, which was all you needed to know. At least Rooster was in the air with him, he wasn’t alone. That made you feel better, or at least as much as anything could today. If anyone had to be in the air with him when it happened, you’re glad it was Rooster.

You swallowed the lump in your throat before moving forward and wrapping your arms around the aviator. You just needed to be held by someone. But then it dawned on you that Rooster went through this with his dad. He lost him in a similar way.

“I’m sorry if this brings back bad memories,” You whisper to him, holding onto him tightly.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” He replied, voice gravelly, “Are you going to be okay?”

You nodded and stepped away, “The house is taken care of. Kurtis had plenty of money stashed away too,” you let out a little laugh, “We were saving up to start a family.”

“He told me,” Rooster admitted.

“Of course he did. He thought of you as a brother.”

“He really really loved you, for what it’s worth.”

“I love him,” You whisper back, “And it hurts like hell and I don’t know how I’m going to get through this.”

“You will,” Rooster promised, “We’ll all be here to help you, if you want us to.”

You nodded, leaning back into him for another hug. If you closed your eyes, you might think it was Kurtis hugging you, making that deep ache in your chest and belly go away for just a moment. You always felt safe with Rooster. He looked after you when Kurtis was deployed the last time.

He felt like the calm in the middle of the storm that was your life now.

“I don’t know where I’m supposed to go,” You admitted, “Nowhere feels like home.”

“My mom said the worst part was the house without my dad,” He told you softly, “You’ll get through this, I promise.”

You nodded, stepping away from Rooster and taking a deep breath. You just needed to get through today.You could figure everything else out later. Like packing up all of Kurtis’ things, or how you were supposed to keep living in the house that you planned on growing old together in.

“I need to go back in there,” You announced, looking towards the door, “It’s rude for me to hide away.”

“Take all the time you need,” Rooster replied, “Everyone will understand that you need to hide for a little while.”

The weeks turned into months. Slowly creeping by as you cried yourself to sleep in an empty bed and looked at Kurtis’ things every day. By the third month, you couldn’t stand it anymore and went out to buy boxes. Even still, you couldn’t bring yourself to pack anything away. Part of you kept waiting for him to come back home, even though you knew he never would.

You sat on the floor in the middle of your bedroom, looking at the closet. You didn’t know where to start, or if you even could start. Would he be mad at you for trying to move on? Would he hate you for trying to get on with your new life? Even if it was hurting you to do it?

A knock on your front door made you stop completely. No one came by anymore. Your house used to be like a revolving door of Aviators and other members of the Navy, but now everything was quiet. So quiet it almost hurt.

You slowly made your way to the door, not expecting to see anyone of any importance. Who would bother to come now that it was just you? Kurtis was the fun one. He was the one that had the parties and made all of the jokes. You were always quiet and fading into the background.

You were sure you looked awful. Greasy hair piled on top of your head and eyes red and swollen from crying so much. But you didn’t care, you couldn’t bring yourself to even try to look presentable. Why would you? The man you loved was dead and gone. Buried in the cold ground.

You pushed your glasses up your nose before unlocking the door and swinging it open. You were more than shocked to see Rooster standing in civilian clothes on the other side. He looked the same as the last time you saw him, three months ago.

“Hey,” He spoke carefully, “I just wanted to come check on you. We haven’t seen you in a while.”

You nodded, “Can’t bring myself to go out.”

“I understand that,” he replied, “Look, if you ever need anything, you know you can call me, right? I promised I’d take care of you.”

You nodded again, and for some reason took a step back and opened the door the rest of the way, “I’m trying to pack up some of his things….. But I don’t know where to start. I’m not even sure if I can start.”

He swallowed a thick lump in his throat. Rooster remembered how hard it was on his mom to pack up after his dad died, “Do you want me to help?”

You nod once more, “I can’t do it alone. I’m too scared of what I’m going to feel when I do.”

“Okay…show me the way.”

So, you let him into your house. All the way to the bedroom you kept trying to ignore all of the pictures of you and Kurtis on the walls. Your wedding photo hurt more than anything to look at. You were only twenty three, he was twenty five when you got married, Kurtis was still in flight school.

As you led Rooster into your bedroom, you wondered if Kurtis would be okay with him being here. They were best friends, had been since school. If anyone was supposed to be here to help you from the Squadron, you hoped Kurtis really did pick Rooster. You felt comfortable with him. Standing in the middle of your bedroom, surrounded by empty boxes, your strange grief induced friendship with Bradley Rooster Bradshaw began.

#bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw fic #bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster fanfic #rooster top gun #rooster bradshaw fanfic #rooster bradshaw imagine #top gun imagine #top gun maverick imagine #top gun maverick #top gun #top gun fanfiction

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pastelwitchling · 1 year ago

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Max Evans Weekend 2023 (2/3)

Max had woken with a throbbing pain in his temples, and it had followed him around for the rest of the day.

“You doin’ okay?” Michael asked at one point after lunch. Max and Isobel had both come to eat with him and Alex, and when Alex had started to do the dishes, Max had followed to insist he could do them himself, but the headache hit at full force and he’d had to grab the edge of the counter to steady himself.

“Yeah,” he said through gritted teeth. “Yeah, I’m—I’m fine.”

“He’s been like this since Liz left to her conference in San Diego,” Isobel said, rubbing his arm. “I don’t know why.”

“There’s nothing to wonder about,” he grit out, forcing his spine to straighten. “I’m fine.”

The sound of running water stopped, and Max made out Alex’s soft “Get him to a couch” to Michael. The throbbing was getting so bad that Max couldn’t find the strength to argue, and Michael was leading him into their living room. He sat him down, and a few seconds later, Alex was there, kneeling in front of him. He gently dabbed a cloth soaked in hot water to Max’s temples, and Max’s entire body shuddered in relief.

“Stop worrying about her,” Alex said with a sigh, and it was funny that as the human, he was the one seeing directly into Max’s mind and finding the problem. “Liz can take care of herself.”

Michael scoffed and Isobel hit his arm. “Are you kidding me? That’s the problem?”

“She went to a science conference, dude,” Michael said, “not another planet.”

“I know that,” Max argued, “but how many psycho aliens have we met up with? I don’t like her being out of my sight.”

Alex shushed him softly, dabbing the cloth more firmly to Max’s temples. “Stop. Worrying. I have the highest clearance at Deep Sky, remember? Finding anything out of the ordinary is my literal job. If anyone else came through the atmosphere, I’d know.” He shook his head. “I know it seems hard to believe after everything we’ve been through, but we’re okay now, Evans. We really are.”

Unable to help his next shudder, Max caught Alex’s wrist as it was the closest thing to him and squeezed. Alex didn’t say anything or pull away. He let Max hold on until, gradually, the pain in his temples finally receded, and he heaved a long sigh.

Isobel kept tsking, Michael shook his head and laughed at him under his breath, and Alex . . . Alex just waited, a silent, reassuring anchor.

In the end, he could manage no more than a quiet, “Thanks, Manes.”

Alex shrugged in response and stood, giving Max the cloth. “It’s what I do.”

Michael slapped his ass he went back into the kitchen, and Alex gave him a grin over his shoulder, swatting at his arm, and Max leaned against Isobel’s shoulder, so grateful that Alex was now part of their little family.

#max evans #alex manes #max x alex #maxevansweekend23 #maxweekend23 #roswell new mexico #roswell nm #nathan dean parsons #tyler blackburn

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astragreenwoode · 2 years ago

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Coming Soon: The Spitfire Curse

A/N: Looking for a beta-reader/editor for my newest fanfiction. Honestly, it's been a couple years since I've posted any type of content, fan-made or otherwise. The last few years of my life have been all over the place and left me in a huge creative block. Thankfully, I'm currently the most emotionally healthy I've been in my life and finally feel in the right place to create again. So if this story is something you'd be interested in beta-reading, please message me!

Pairings: Eddie Munson x Fem!OC(Endgame), Billy Hargrove x Fem!OC, Steve Harrington x Fem!OC, Robin Buckley x Fem!OC, Chrissy Cunningham x Fem!OC,

Rating: Explicit (Minors, DO NOT INTERACT. 18+ ONLY)

Warnings: Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-Con, Canon-Typical Violence, Graphic Descriptions of Violence, Non-specified Mental Illness, Self-Harm, Drug Use, Hypersexuality, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms

Genre: Adventure, Thriller, Horror, Slow-Burn Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort. Smut, Fluff, Slight Canon-Divergence, Fix-it fic

Summary: After the traumatic events that taint their hometown of San Diego, California, the newly blended Hargrove-Mayfield family moves to Hawkins, Indiana for a fresh start. Margaret and Maxine Mayfield are stubborn, passionate and everything that wasn’t the soft and frilly daughters their mother and her new husband wishes they would be. Max would rather play games at the arcade and skate with her big sister than try to fit in with the perfect kids at Hawkins Middle. Margaret, now going by Maeven, spends her days occupying herself with her seemingly endless list of hobbies and extracurriculars to move on from her grim past waiting back in California. Their stepdad is a pain in the ass, their stepbrother is totally out of control, and starting at a new school in the middle of nowhere is hard.

But Maeven and Max are about to discover the well-kept secrets of Hawkins when the wind blows colder and the leaves fall quicker. The town is home to secret government projects, real-life magic-wielding mages, creatures from a hidden world beyond mankind’s imagination, and even stranger things. The sisters and their newfound friends will do anything to save their new home from the horrors of the Upside Down. . .as long as their dysfunctional family doesn’t bring them crashing down first.

Sneak Peak of Chapter One Below the Cut!

I was probably the only one who saw the move to Indiana as a good thing. Max had a life here, and so did Billy. Things were different for them, for obvious reasons. Of course, I would miss California, too. It was home to my friends, my dad, and my memories. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, it was for selfish reasons. There wasn’t a place for me in San Diego anymore. There wasn’t a place for me in California anymore. It was my home all my life, but it no longer felt like home. It felt just as tainted and ruined as I had become.

Our newly blended family spent the second to last week of September, and our first week in Indiana scoping out the town and moving furniture into the new house. It was a few miles from downtown Hawkins on Cherry Street; a nice neighborhood tucked amidst all the trees. I was excited to explore what lay in the woods across the street from us, draw a cicada, and maybe catch a glimpse of an owl or a fox if I was lucky.

Max and I skated on our new driveway and raced each other to explore downtown. We managed to find an arcade, connected to a video rental. My sister spent a few hours working her magic and adding her name to the top of the scoreboards on all the games she beat back home. I took a few hits of a joint behind the building before losing myself in the arcade. I shoved my face with strawberry soda and cool-ranch doritos and buzzed on sugar, carbs, and weed as I hyper-focused on topping the Galaga scoreboard with IRNMVN.

That first week exploring our new home in Indiana felt like heaven. It was the first time I felt at peace in over a year. Despite the change from city living in California to small-town America, I found Hawkins comforting and charming, even if I got a strange vibe from it.

The last nineteen months had been a blur; school scandals, bullying, drugs, fighting, police, pills, mental institutions, isolation, and trauma, just to name a few. I was once on the honor roll at school, and now I’d have to repeat my Junior Year. Indiana was a chance to start over; a place where no one knew of me or my past sins.

I didn’t want to be looked at with pity and disgust anymore. I didn’t want to be the center of attention. I just wanted to be normal for a bit, at least as normal as I could be. All I had to do was not throw myself at people, act like the smart, athletic girl everyone wanted to be around and don’t be weird. The most important of these rules was ‘don’t let them find out what happened to you.’ Easier said than done, Billy would help me, though. He always helped me.

I knew Billy long before Neil started dating my mom. We went to the same school together. I had seen him around forever, but didn’t really talk to him until I went through my ‘rebellious phase.’ Despite being at the top of our school, I got into a lot of trouble after my parents split up. My friends and I ended up going to our first ‘popular kid’ party where we tried weed for the first time. I started fighting back against the assholes who I ignored up until now. I didn’t want to be silent anymore, and that caught Billy’s attention.

He approached me at a party, one of the last Saturday nights before sophomore year was over. I was outside, laying in a lounge chair by the pool and smoking a joint as I charted the constellations in my head. He said that he admired how I suddenly decided to kick ass and take no shit, and how hot I looked doing it. And apparently, my ass looked really good while I skated.

Until then, all I knew about him was that he was kind of an asshole, and a show-off. I thought I had all the jocks pegged, but the longer we chatted that night, the more I noticed a sadness in Billy’s baby blue eyes. As it turns out, he was carrying a pain in his heart similar to the one I just took on.

Billy’s parents were divorced, too. His mom took off when he was eleven. She couldn’t deal with her husband’s abuse anymore. He told me I reminded him of her, despite the freckles and wild red hair. I was bright, warm, and full of unconditional love, according to his fond, yet fading memory of her.

The more we talked, the more we could feel tension and tenderness growing between us. We ended up talking until the sun came up on Sunday. He dropped me off at a friend’s house, but not before he brushed the weed off my lips so he could taste me.

Billy wasn’t someone I would’ve normally hung out with, but I felt like he got me, I felt like we got each other. He looked at me like I was the only other person in the world. His sun-yellow mullet reminded me of a lion’s mane, and I couldn’t stop myself from burying my fingers in it. Billy didn’t care about my quirks or cringed at the gap between my teeth as he kissed me.

He made me feel safe; a safety I was missing ever since Dad moved to San Francisco. And the fact that he knew how to make me scream his name as he fucked me into the mattress didn’t hurt, either. He was fast and hard-edged like his Camaro. We ended up using each other for relief a lot.

I was his dirty little secret, and he was mine, and we liked it that way.

A/N: If you made it this far, thank you so much! If you'd like to be added to the tag list for this fanfic, leave me a comment! I'll be posting this to AO3, too. So, I'll drop a link here when it's ready. Hope to hear your feedback!

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dropintomanga · 1 year ago

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Thoughts on the Fragmentation of Fandom

Now that summer pop culture convention season is over, it's time to reflect as we're slowly heading to another year.

This year, I really got into K-Pop via 4th-generation girl groups like NewJeans and LE SERRAFIM. KCON LA 2023 happened and while I didn't go, I read how packed and lively the experience minus the crowding, weather, and a number of attendees getting COVID. The article review of KCON LA that I read mentions something I was thinking about - the fragmentation of fandom.

While K-Pop's fanbase is very diverse and inclusive, there are problems facing an industry that seems to be pushing out hit performing acts with little to no problems. One of which is fandom being fragmented (according to a business insider). Algorithms have catered K-Pop lovers to super-specific tastes. It's much harder for new acts to break through compared to years past.

Recently, at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, there was a manga publishers' roundtable panel that discussed a variety of industry topics - one being what will happen with manga in the next few years. Ed Chavez, of DENPA Books, said that there might be consolidation in the manga industry and competition from publishers for titles will really pick up. It's possible that things will become fractured and swallowed up.

Doesn't this sound similar to what's happening with K-Pop today?

Now one might be wondering - "Isn't this great? There's something for everyone no matter what!" There is a problem in that because everyone's interested in their own thing, they won't necessarily check out other things that are under the same umbrella (i.e. Star Trek fans not checking out Doctor Who despite both falling under science fiction). This is due to a variety of factors from being shunned by other fan groups to a general lack of interest in anything but their fandom.

I feel that most fan convention organizers want everyone to stand together united under the same umbrella of fandom because at the end of the day, we're all fans of stuff that has made our lives joyful.

It is hard to reach people when everything is fragmented as hell. I look at the amount of K-Pop groups and manga being put into the eyeballs of U.S. fans and there's a lot to take in. It makes me wonder how are the record labels and manga publishers able to get attention and make ends meet.

In my experience, I found a K-Pop group I truly liked through a very random YouTube video about 2023 hits in the 1st half of the year. For certain manga, I manage to find out about them through the chaos of Twitter most of the time. It's really tough to find stuff if you don't know where to look or have a centralized location for everything related to one topic.

There are database websites that try their best out there, but I don't know. In some ways, they're also fragmented as well. A online manga database may unite everyone in the manga sphere and still be ignored by the greater comics scene in general. If a fan of Western comics wants to check out manga for the 1st time, it can get rough to find what you're looking for because the internet still feels like the Wild West at times due to how specific things have become.

One thing I worry about the most is when diversity, which is sometimes affected by fragmentation, becomes just something to fill in to please people without putting in the effort and resources to promote it. You see this with certain media properties being pushed because they're very friendly towards women/minorities/etc. And when some of them bomb, the executives pushing those works say statements like "Isn't this what you wanted? Well, you fans suck. We're not going to make anymore." But what if you never put any real investment in ensuring the work is actually diverse? What if the process behind the work was terrible in the first place?

I guess I'm saying that fragmentation can lead to fan-blaming and under-resourcing in a very bad way.

In mental health, fragmentation isn't seen as a good thing compared to other parts of life. I try to remind myself that I'm still small in the grand scheme of life and I'm not just a fan of so-and-so. It's also way too easy to get overwhelmed by information we're "supposed" to keep up with.

I just want everyone to remember that despite how different we are, we're all fans of something because life is just hard and we do need moments of escape from it. We've all been shunned for not being a part of what constitutes normal. Those are universal truths we can all admit. We're all fragments that can be pieced together into a communal-made gem where the universal aspects of what make fandom great shine.

#manga #pop culture #fragmentation #fandom #fragmentation of fandom

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missizzy · 7 months ago

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A Game Novice's Baldur's Gate Log, 57 1/2 Hours In: Gapfilling and Grinding for XP

Masterpost

(Note: this will definitely contain spoilers for all I've played through, and probably quite of a bit of the later stuff I've also seen.)

I am now nearing the end of Act I. I've even had the poetical idea of finishing it just before I board the plane for San Diego is a little over a week. I suspect I may not manage it, though. It'll depend on not only how much I can get through this week, but also how much I'll eventually decide I want to do.

By the end of last week, I had spotted the Grymforge elevator on the map, and it wasn't long at all into this one before my characters were staring it down. At that point I decided it was time to do a little research, especially into what needed to be done for each character's arc before Act II. Which was when I discovered I'd missed a huge part of Wyll's, back on the Risen Road. I also took a proper look at the XP for the first time, and determined I wanted to collect a bit more of that before leaving the Underdark.

Still, I couldn't figure out how to get to the Adamantine Forge, and I wasn't sure we were ready to deal with its protector. So I ended up consulting a map of the Underdark, and discovered there was a tower we'd missed back when we came in, so I waypointed back there. Looking further around that area, after finally properly looting the mini-Beholder and drow we'd fought, I quickly discovered that since being there, I'd actually gotten a lot better at spotting jump-through and climb-through spots, which was very encouraging.

The Arcane Tower, on the other hand, drove me completely up the wall. Even after I finally looked up how to disable the turrets, I still went a little crazy trying to get Astarion to the back garden without doing him major injury. When it was finally done, I found myself doubting the XP were worth the struggle. But I did enjoy sampling some of the literature we found there. Sara tried to be diplomatic with the constructs when we hit the roof, but she used the wrong quote and we ended up fighting them anyway. Story of her life, I suspect.

The next day I swapped Lae'zel out for Karlach, partly because I wanted to see her reaction to the Myconids, but mostly because I like having her around. We ended up going to the village twice, because the first time I failed to save even as I then went to find the Festering Cove I'd also read about-and accidentally toppled Sara into a chasm. But knowing where it was and reloading at the tower made it a bit easier to go to the Cove directly the second time around. Even after its denizens declared their intent to sacrifice us, I actually did go for the arcana check, just to make it more interesting, but when that failed I went ahead and attacked. This time I remembered to have Shadowheart cast Spirit Guardians immediately.

My goal got accomplished. By the time we'd gotten back to the village and handed Nere's head in for the second time, we were under 1500 XP to go for level six. When I went to Blurg to unload excess loot for the second time, I also decided to tell him about the tadpole and have him bring in Omeluum. I'd already seen one streamer talk with the latter, and had doubts about how Sara would react to meeting a mind-flayer, but I decided that in a strange, spore-hazy atmosphere of the village, she could refrain from attacking immediately. I suspect it is a very good thing, though, that we didn't have Lae'zel with us at that point, especially when Omeluum started talking about the Githyanki rebelling.

I went back and forth, however, about returning to the tower to complete his quest. We'd gotten most of the tower's XP already, and it didn't feel worth the effort. I ultimately had Sara decline to do it, at least for now, though the directions remain in the journal, and I may yet go back and do it after all. I even waypointed back to the Selunite Outpost, before changing my mind again and waypointing again back to the Blighted Village to forge the sussar weapon. There, too, I went reading about how to forge and the options, and took the advice I read to forge a dagger.

I also spotted the passage outside the basement's wall, which I hadn't spotted before, and was pleased to discover I could now easily figure out how to jump into it. Getting the false wall at the end down took slightly longer, but then I finally figured out piercing damage works on those. I reaped the rewards for my advancement by getting to explore the Whispering Depths. Fighting the spiders in them felt much like more grinding, but it was kind of worth it just to hear Karlach tell one of them "Bye bye," before killing it.

Nonetheless, I ended up swapping both her and Astarion out for Gale and Wyll before heading north and tracking down the inn the latter's father had just been kidnapped from. There I had Shadowheart create more water than strictly necessary as we stumbled through the burning building, and ultimately failed to rescue one guy before his half of the upper floor blew up, but at least we got Counselor Florrick out. Upon hearing about the Duke from her, and learning Wyll had been disowned, Sara quickly got very mixed feelings about rescuing him, though so long as Wyll wants to do it she'll try to.

I left off this week right after that, at the opening of the Mountain Pass, still unsure about how much of it I'll do, though I'll have to go to the monastary and creche, at least. Maybe also until we meet Elminster, though I'm currently a little confused on when exactly he's supposed to show up.

I have also since been brought to realize I completely forgot about the Zhentarim in the basement. But I'm pretty sure that Sara retains absolutely no interest in meeting with them anyway.

#baldur's gate 3 #barbarian tav

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the-firebird69 · 9 months ago

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My Sunday Song – “45” by Shinedown – 2 Loud 2 Old Music

So he's saying Tommy f is shooting him when I believe it might be Terry cheesman getting shot and isn't a wheelchair as I can see Trump tooling around and Tommy F knows about it but this video was made before the incident in 2007 in the low desert and it was me moving out to go to San Diego and I went to San Diego got away from the idiot a little bit even though he was around and people pushed him around and they know it is all about. But that was after 1997 and well after bullet hit the bone so that's interesting because that was an '80s song and an 80s video and they were captured before the program is made but these guys were mangled in that car accident but they're only two of them Terry cheesman and Trump and then Max showed up the accident and Tommy F was around no the question is where were the embeds well in 1997 the embeds were inside the root and Tommy f was supposedly seen at the accident and supposedly at the hospital after and he was the doctor but that was his house because they took the route from Tennessee and they're having a fight with each other so you see the mystery is leading somewhere

Zues Hera

It is leading right to Tommy f he's blaming me but he's in the hospital and I noticed something else too he's left alone with them and we don't know if he has their brains or what and this guy has to go down just to find out just like the other retards cuz they say so much stuff

Mac Daddy

We have proof that it was him in the hospital and Mac Daddy was not allowed in as a doctor they said he did the work of the scene and you're done and people know about it these two were out Cherry cheeseman and boyfriend Trump and the image were bought brought there to the house put in the root and Peter our dad knew about it Peter audette new there's more to the story too

It has to do the ships and what Tommy F was doing that day and out in space and his considered to be a traitor because of it

Thor Freya

Olympus

I was fooling around with one of their spheres trying to capture it I thought it managed to do it and I might have let out that the events were somewhere I know they may have known about it I really do see something we're going to chase after this stuff until we're dust but he says is the computers activated that's what the image did he's not going to bring the embeds with him or put it in the house near me I do have something to say it's true we're stupid it's true that that's true I can't stop being a dick but we're not right and this a****** Trump keeps saying it's the real thing so he can pursue it and he's going after me to do it cuz he thinks that's what happened I got it at the house and stuff and it was the computer program was made years after the stump and that's actually how it got in there they could go underneath the deck by taking the decking off I did notice that the deck boards were destroyed a little and here's what it is they fed me that bait and I'm in trouble and sucker s*** and that stuff is probably an Antarctica Tommy f

Olympus Thor Freya and many more list attached

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scentedchildnacho · 10 months ago

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I told my case manager I would not be outside anymore it's a lot more brutal then it use to be just the head light shock and the rocket engines in cars its just so painful like little dentist tools have pierced your eye ball or you are always in a virtual jail cell.......

If I ever had to be without hope shelter to street after ten years of it I would finally kill myself it would cause me suicide a virtual jail cell is not tolerable

I explained most transitional housing is only funded for extemeist case like six kids before they let her leave a man who wasn't financially apt for condition

Or she had to finally train in adult film bars like throwing hatchets at wood with a softball bat and had to finally keep hitting her domestic abuser with a base ball bat before they let her leave him

Or she had to come out as an everyday opiate addict one of the most illegal groups to the states to finally be allowed to leave her dealer

So I told her I call everything case management gave me to call because I can't take anymore outside time or I would finally have to ask a mental for a potent vaccine from the asylum and stab security guards into jail rape policy....into raping inmates with a small shot as directed so he finally slept at the library sleep it off you disgusting pervo

So I complete a lot of calls to not ever have to tolerate that in my life when it's into jail rape it will harm itself

She asked me if I wanted to harm myself and I said no I just can't ever again tolerate how painful recent homelessness has been it didn't use to be a war...it's so loud so trembling painful all the time now

When I think about homelessness now I only enjoy the writings of prabhupada a real master on leaving my body for other planets that's all I want to do when I think of how painfully loud homelessness is now

I told her i found her someone who doesn't know what it's like to be mugged and left in the street in a constant without time nightmare of now you don't have anything and have a wait staff tell you after a two day starvation you can't have anything to eat with community foundations on inflated profits you don't know how verbally abusive it feels to be told to stay trapped in a program about basic emancipated things you don't know what it's like to have to speculate about everyone you have ever known after living that common jobs are God to themselves now

Anyway it's just worse then a bad situation now outside so my life has to change or I cannot ever again live that way....

The rescue mission traffick does get that terroristic I don't find him insane for thinking about suicide bombing off an over pass there is something very alien ship landed about traffick they did keep hitting and hitting and hitting him

Golden gate bridge the french concept of an inner city freeway they did politicize storm terrorists....so

Desert storm they feel they can direct their insanity to change weather patterns at them for it

After six months in southern California I don't feel bad for people who wouldn't de engine their over crowded project neighborhoods it's just well cause and effect I had to be slowly introduced into metropolization and that's mass transit and use it here and tolerate others

Angela davis uhm eventually a judge that wouldnt stop calling the street a criminal people dump of all his cops unmet case work or uncompleted case work is San Diego....that compass program would steal rations off my plate and give them to felons threatening to beat my face in as well as dick suck areas...and Mexican porn.....

You dont know what it's like to want to punch a butt ho chick in the face for doing a military man's job till you have been in dick suck pb

Or have people throw a tampon at you instead of a shower.....mind it away in San Diego they follow the most notorious wardens of Chicago were never brought to justice Angela davis ness

Anyway I spoke to treatment centers and found other options to be away from pb so I think I will survive without suicide

She asked me if I wanted to hurt myself several times so I said no...not at all I just feel homelessness with hygiene terrorists that want to watch and hoard all customs to itself is a worse torture then dying to me my life has to change

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newhologram · 2 years ago

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“I write this eulogy while looking across one of the ten-lane freeways P-22 somehow miraculously crossed in 2012, gazing at a view of his new home, Griffith Park. Burbank Peak and the other hills that mark the terminus of the Santa Monica Mountains emerge from this urban island like sentinels making a last stand against the second largest city in the country. The traffic noise never ceases. Helicopters fly overhead. The lights of the city give the sky no peace.

“Yet a mountain lion lived here, right here in Los Angeles.

“I can’t finish this sentence without crying because of the past tense. It’s hard to imagine I will be writing about P-22 in the past tense now.

"Biologists and veterinarians with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced today they have made the difficult decision to end P-22’s suffering and help him transition peacefully to the next place. I hope his future is filled with endless forests without a car or road in sight and where deer are plentiful, and I hope he finally finds the mate that his island existence denied him his entire life.

“I am so grateful I was given the opportunity to say goodbye to P-22. Although I have advocated for his protection for a decade, we had never met before. I sat near him, looking into his eyes for a few minutes, and told him he was a good boy. I told him how much I loved him. How much the world loved him. And I told him I was so sorry that we did not make the world a safer place for him. I apologized that despite all I and others who cared for him did, we failed him.

“I don’t have any illusion that my presence or words comforted him. And I left with a great sadness I will carry for the rest of my days.

“Before I said goodbye, I sat in a conference room with team members from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the team of doctors at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The showed me a video of P-22’s CT scan, images of the results, and my despair grew as they outlined the list of serious health issues they had uncovered from all their testing: stage two kidney failure, a weight of 90 pounds (he normally weighs about 125), head and eye trauma, a hernia causing abdominal organs to fill his chest cavity, an extensive case of demodex gatoi (a parasitic skin infection likely transmitted from domestic cats), heart disease, and more. The most severe injuries resulted from him being hit by a car last week, and I thought of how terrible it was that this cat, who had managed to evade cars for a decade, in his weakened and desperate condition could not avoid the vehicle strike that sealed his fate.

“As the agency folks and veterinarians relayed these sobering facts to me, tissue boxes were passed around the table and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. This team cares just as much for this cat as we all do. They did everything they could for P-22 and deserve our gratitude.

“Although I wished so desperately he could be returned to the wild, or live out his days in a sanctuary, the decision to euthanize our beloved P-22 is the right one. With these health issues, there could be no peaceful retirement, only some managed care existence where we prolonged his suffering — not for his benefit, but for ours.

“Those of us who have pets know how it feels when we receive news from the veterinarian that we don’t want to hear. As a lifelong dog and cat owner, I have been in this dreadful position too many times. The decision to let them go is never easy, but we as humans have the ability, the responsibility, and the selflessness to show mercy to end the suffering for these beloved family members, a compassionate choice we scarcely have for ourselves.

“I look at Griffith Park through the window again and feel the loss so deeply. Whenever I hiked to the Hollywood sign, or strolled down a street in Beachwood Canyon to pick up a sandwich at The Oaks, or walked to my car after a concert at the Greek Theater, the wondrous knowledge that I could encounter P-22 always propelled me into a joyous kind of awe. And I am not alone — his legion of stans hoped for a sight of Hollywood’s most beloved celebrity, the Brad Pitt of the cougar world, on their walks or on their Ring cams, and when he made an appearance, the videos usually went viral. In perhaps the most Hollywood of P-22’s moments, human celebrity Alan Ruck, star of Succession, once reported seeing P-22 from his deck, and shouting at him like a devoted fan would.

“We will all be grappling with the loss of P-22 for some time, trying to make sense of a Los Angeles without this magnificent wild creature. I loved P-22 and hold a deep respect for his intrepid spirit, charm, and just plain chutzpah. We may never see another mountain lion stroll down Sunset Boulevard or surprise customers outside the Los Feliz Trader Joe’s. But perhaps that doesn’t matter — what matters is P-22 showed us it’s possible.

“He changed us. He changed the way we look at LA. And his influencer status extended around the world, as he inspired millions of people to see wildlife as their neighbors. He made us more human, made us connect more to that wild place in ourselves. We are part of nature and he reminded us of that. Even in the city that gave us Carmeggedon, where we thought wildness had been banished a long time ago, P-22 reminded us it’s still here.

“His legacy to us, and to his kind will never fade. He ensured a future for the entire population of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains by inspiring us to build the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which broke ground this spring.

“P-22 never fully got to be a mountain lion. His whole life, he suffered the consequences of trying to survive in unconnected space, right to the end when being hit by a car led to his tragic end. He showed people around the world that we need to ensure our roads, highways, and communities are better and safer when people and wildlife can freely travel to find food, shelter, and families. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing would not have been possible without P-22, but the most fitting memorial to P-22 will be how we carry his story forward in the work ahead. One crossing is not enough — we must build more, and we must continue to invest in proactive efforts to protect and conserve wildlife and the habitats they depend on — even in urban areas.

“P-22’s journey to and life in Griffith Park was a miracle. It’s my hope that future mountain lions will be able to walk in the steps of P-22 without risking their lives on California’s highways and streets. We owe it to P-22 to build more crossings and connect the habitats where we live now.

“Thank you for the gift of knowing you, P-22. I’ll miss you forever. But I will never stop working to honor your legacy, and although we failed you, we can at least partly atone by making the world safer for your kind.”

#p22 #rip #los angeles #animal death

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tenta-cute · 2 years ago

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Billy Lore From 'Runaway Max': Chapter 10

I live... Sorta. Not gonna lie, friends, it's difficult to make myself read this book when I have like thirty tabs of red hot Harringrove romance open on my tablet.

This chapter has quite a bit of stuff. It very briefly touches upon the racism thing. Also, some domestic abuse in this chapter. It's mostly Hawkins with some San Diego flashbacks mixed in.

Spoilers and lore under the cut!

The chapter starts with Max leaving Lucas behind and approaching Billy, who is leaning against his car. We get this scene where Billy grabs Max's wrists and tells her there are people out there that should be avoided.

He wants to know who Max talked with, what Lucas wanted, and also asks if he's causing problems for Max.

Max knows that Neil has many things to say about anyone who is not a white male Lutheran and assumes (emphasis mine) that Billy is the same.

Neil is not "openly" racist. He always claims it's about property value or crime rates or a million other keywords thanks to which he doesn't have to openly state who he is really talking about.

Billy has a history of making fun of Max's friends or interests and insulting her.

What she finds even worse is that sometimes Billy acts as if he and Max were in on some big secret together, as if they understand one another. As if he is actually concerned for her. Max believes he doesn't care for her and only acts that way sometimes to piss her off.

Ever since the Halloween night, the atmosphere in the house is very tense. While they used to be pretty angry at one another back in San Diego, they haven't been as openly hostile there.

Max realizes it's because Billy used to almost never be home back in San Diego, but in Hawkins he has a lot of free time. He started to fill it with parties, girls, and the baseball team, but all girls have curfews and the parties are rare.

Neil acts according to his routine: he leaves house in the morning and returns after 5PM. He ruffles Max's hair and buys Susan flowers. Underneath it all he's clearly ready to explode, though.

Max is hypervigilant around them, because if Billy fights with Neil he will take it out on her.

One morning Billy and Neil have a weird-ass confrontation during breakfast, lol. Billy picks up a carton of orange juice from the table and a moment later Neil reaches for it too. Billy doesn't let go. They end up quietly wrestling over it? And then Neil pulls hard enough that his elbow knocks Susan's sugar bowl to the ground, chipping it in the process.

Max finds this somewhat symbolic. She also mentions that she's been collecting signs of danger for the past seven months.

Max is not afraid of blood. She's played street hockey and tends to be pretty accident-prone with her skateboard, not to mention she loves slasher movies.

The first time she sees Neil assault Billy was in San Diego. Billy was driving in Mission Valley and was pulled over by cops.

Once Neil learns of this he goes all quiet, cold, and calm.

The scene starts with Max, Susan and Billy in the house. Max is cleaning parts of her skateboard. Billy is standing in front of the fridge and drinking milk straight from the carton, which he does because Susan hates it.

Billy is generally rude and disrespectful towards Susan.

Neil arrives, crumples up the ticket, and throws it at Billy, claims Billy is being irresponsible.

Max notes that the atmosphere in the house has been tense since that day Billy offered her a cigarette.

Max is initially shocked when Neil punches Billy.

Susan doesn't give a fuck. When Max looks to her, expecting her to step in, Susan reacts like she didn't see anything and keeps reading her magazine.

Another punch makes Billy stumble and hit a shelf. A mug falls off and shatters on the ground. Susan doesn't even look up.

Max suddenly realizes that Susan is not surprised at all by what's going on. She's horrified by the fact that her mother doesn't consider Neil's physical abuse a reason enough to leave him.

Billy manages to stand up, but he's unsteady on his feet. His lip is bleeding and his face is starting to swell. Neil tells him he's gonna teach him about responsibility and respect.

Susan leaves the room.

Neil beats Billy with a belt. When he does so, his eyes lose focus and it's like he doesn't even see Billy anymore.

Max is horrified and keeps expecting Neil to realize she's there and stop beating Billy up, but Neil doesn't care. He doesn't even seem to register she's there.

Billy is completely resigned to his fate. He doesn't make a sound and doesn't try to avoid the belt. In his eyes anger is mixed with fear and helplessness. He reminds Max of a stray dog she once saw in a dogcatcher's truck.

Right before Neil is about to start, Max tries to intervene and yells at him to stop. Neil just looks at her, smiles, and turns back to Billy to ask if this is how he raised him, to be a loser who needs a little girl to protect him. His tone is so full of disgust that it almost makes Max tear up.

Neil is not in a hurry. As he's beating Billy up, Max feels completely helpless. After he's done, Neil leaves the kitchen without a word.

Billy stays on the ground, kneeling on the floor. He doesn't say anything. After the silence becomes too much to bear, Max kneels down on the floor next to Billy and asks him if he's okay.

Billy seems completely empty when he tells Max to leave him alone. When she offers to bring him some ice, he looks up at her with hatred in his eyes that Max believes is directed at her. He snaps his teeth at her like a dog and snarls at her, once telling her to leave him alone. His voice is horrible, like a wild animals, and this time Max listens to him.

Impressions:

Oh man...

So, right off the bat we have confirmation that Neil is hella racist. Billy being racist is an assumption Max makes based on what kind of person his dad is, as well as the way he reacts to Lucas. Honestly, personally I think internalized bigotry is totally flavor of the month for Billy (alas, this might be a bit of a projection of my own experiences with extremely racist parents). That said, I think this part can definitely also support the popular theory that Billy wanted to keep Lucas away from Max because of Neil's bullshit? It was mentioned in earlier chapters that when it comes to politics and ideology Neil fully demands his household to follow his opinions and does not tolerate differing views. It's pretty clear that Billy is nothing like his father and doesn't want anything to do with him. It doesn't sound unreasonable to assume that his own views might be different than those of his father, even if he still enforces them for the sake of his own safety.

There is no doubt whatsoever about whether or not Max and Susan were aware of the abuse. They both know. Apparently Neil doesn't care about the audience.

This chapter was pretty heartbreaking when it comes to showcasing just how absolutely isolated Billy is in his situation and how strongly conditioned he is to believe that nobody can help him. First there's Susan driving the point home entirely on her own by completely ignoring physical abuse that is happening literally in front of her, but what's even worse is the way Neil instantly uses Max's attempt to help against Billy, in this case by trying to make him feel pathetic and ashamed for being defended by a little girl. Billy is literally taught that people trying to help him are only going to make it worse.

Like... damn, no wonder that kid is messed up. He's sad, he's scared, he's lonely, and he has no hope for things ever getting better. The fact that he didn't get his redemption arc is a crime. I once again reject canon and aggressively embrace fanfiction which gives Billy a happy ending.

#billy hargrove #harringrove #mungrove #harringroveson #keg boys #billy in runaway max #st fanfiction writing resource

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evanjinx · 3 years ago

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alternative universe buddie fics recs :)

note: the links weren't working the first time i wrote the post but i edited and they're okay now!! if it still isn't working for you is probably because you're trying to open from a reblog from before i edit it, so try open directly from the original post on my profile.

Blind Date by @sassypopstar [complete | teen and up audiences | 3.8k words]

Buck feels a little ridiculous dressed in a jacket and a shirt. But Maddie had insisted on him dressing up for the occasion and even Chimney had quipped that it’s the right thing to do. So Buck, who never went on a blind date before in his life, listened to his big sister and her boyfriend because apparently that’s who he is now. Or the one where Buck goes on a blind date with someone called Eddie.

Buckley's Bouquets by awashleyno [complete | teen and up audiences | 23.4k words]

A world where Buck owns a flower shop and manages to develop a huge, massive, ridiculous crush on a handsome firefighter that comes in for a visit one day. Or, 5 times Eddie gives flowers to other people and the 1 time he gives them to Buck.

Call It What You Will - Fate? Destiny? (A Tsunami) by @abow123456 [complete | mature | 20k words]

Evan Buckley's day of relaxation is cut short when a tsunami hits the beach he was relaxing at. He has to fight to keep himself and a lost little boy safe from the water, as well as anyone else he finds. After, he meets the boys father and family, and it causes a snowball effect of good things for him, for once.

Capuccino with extra, extra sugar by buckbng [complete | teen and up audiences | 2.7k words]

Buck is the cute barista and Eddie is the grinch that hates coffee. Until, he doesn't. Because if Buck says he looks like the kind of person that would love a cappuccino, who's Eddie to disagree with him? OR Eddie really doesn't like coffee but pretends he does just so he has an excuse to see the cute barista at the coffee shop.

Confirmation Bias by strifechaos [complete | mature | 31k words]

After the fallout with his ex-wife, Eddie believed he could only trust his family with his son. He hadn’t imagined falling for his son’s sweet-hearted nanny, Buck. With his own family so distant, Buck never considered that he’d be lucky enough to find a home for himself, let alone people he could count on. Not until he meets the Diaz boys. AU: Buck was never a firefighter, and becomes Christopher's sitter when Shannon's job takes her away from Eddie and Chris for the summer. Eddie tries to not fall for his son's nanny, he's not very successful.

dream of some epiphany by extasiswings [complete | mature | 7.3k words]

Evan Buckley is lost. It’s happenstance that he wanders into the navy recruiting center—he’s been in San Diego for a few weeks, bartending late nights and weekends, living in a house with three other guys not because he needs the roommates but because he doesn’t want to be alone, and the military is…respectable. Stable. So Buck thinks maybe and opens the door. Buck leaves ten minutes later with a set of printed instructions for sending his first letter, assured that he can drop it off whenever he’s ready, and a name. Staff Sergeant Edmundo “Eddie” Diaz.

Frequent Flyer by red_to_black [complete | mature | 13.4k words]

In his entire time being a firefighter, Eddie has never met anyone as accident-prone as Evan Buckley. And Buck - well, he's quickly becoming the 118's best customer. (Or - the one where Eddie is a firefighter, Buck isn't, and Eddie finds himself rescuing Buck from increasingly sticky situations. Sometimes literally.)

Gave me no messages, gave me no signs... by @reallysmartladymariecurie [complete | teen and up audiences | 7.4k words]

"Buck is beyond nervous, and he’s really trying to convince himself that the familiarity of the situation is not some sort of bad omen. Just because there are parallels of the start of his relationship with Eddie to that of his relationship with Abby doesn’t mean that this new adventure is destined to end in the same miserable fashion. He hopes it won’t, has to believe it won’t. Because even with Abby, he hadn’t fallen this hard for her before their first official date. With Eddie, everything is already intensified by a thousand." Or, Buck covers a shift for a firefighter at the 136 and it leads to a budding relationship through text messages.

Gotta Find My Corner (Of the Sky) by doctornineandthreequarters [complete | general audiences | 31.3k words]

It was the last day of 2016 and two lost souls found themselves in a quiet dive bar, as the loud noises of the city celebrating New Year’s Eve buzzed around them. Most people chose loud, flashy bars with DJs and entrance fees and promises of champagne for New Year’s Eve. But both occupants of the dive bar preferred the quiet. They both didn’t need the added chaos when everything around them already felt chaotic. --- Or, Buck and Eddie meet on New Year's Eve, 2016, a meeting that sets of a series of events that changes the trajectory of both of their lives.

I Didn't Know I Was Lonely 'Till I Saw Your Face by @hmslusitania [complete | general audiences | 10.4k words]

After the ladder truck and the blood clot and the tsunami, Bobby makes Buck go to therapy before he does something stupid (like sue the city). Buck's not totally comfortable being alone with a therapist, but fortunately he makes a friend and ally who's willing to help him out - Eddie Diaz from the 136 who's just been caught in an illegal fight club. OR Total strangers Buck and Eddie go to couple's therapy together to get out of the therapy requirements their captains have placed on them.

i want your midnights by allyasavedtheday [complete | teen and up audiences | 36.3k words]

In which Eddie decides to rent out his spare room to help with mortgage repayments right around the time Buck decides to move out of Abby's place after some not so gentle prodding from Maddie. It's a coincidence. Or serendipity. Or maybe just really good timing.

i wanna be know (by you) by @starlightbuck [complete | general audiences | 12.5k words]

“I didn’t mean to do it.” Hen glances down at Eddie’s phone then back up at him in disbelief.

“How do you ‘not mean’ to download a bunch of dating apps but still have them on your phone?”

Or In which Eddie delves into the intimidating world of online dating.

if i got locked away (would you still love me the same?) by @firefighterhan [complete | general audiences | 3.7k words]

Buck gets accidentally thrown in jail after meddling in a fight outside of a grocery store. There, he meets an unexpected guest, famous music artist Eddie Diaz, who is being suspiciously quiet about how he ended up here in the first place.

if only in my dreams by @buttercupbuck [complete | general audiences | 5.4k words]

Years before Eddie joins the 118, Buck meets him at an airport bar on Christmas day.

in a week by @buttercupbuck [complete | explicit | 78.9k]

in which Eddie joins the U.S. Forest Service and in the meadows of California, finds the things he thought he lost and the things he thought he'd never have.

It Started With A Bang And A Hostage Situation by JayJay__884 [complete | general audiences | 6.6k words]

Buck goes to the store one late night to buy food because of Maddie's pregnancy cravings. Whilst at the store, Buck accidentally gets caught in the middle of a robbery and gets knocked out. After waking up in the backroom, Buck finds himself as a hostage with a handsome and caring stranger.

Leading with the Left by @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels [complete | explicit | 84.7k]

When Buck said he was a "bartender" in "South America" what he actually meant was "stripper" in "Mexico." And when Eddie said, "What's your problem?" what he actually meant was, "Is this about the time you gave me a lap dance?" In other words, there's a few things the 118 doesn't know about Buck. Or Eddie. Or Buck and Eddie's relationship.

Lift me up by @captain--sif [complete | teen and up audiences | 5.5k words]

Buck gets stuck in his apartment building's broken elevator with his good-looking neighbor from the sixth floor.

Love and Bullets Both Shatter Hearts (But Only One Can Put You Back Together) by @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels [complete | explicit | 11.2k words]

Agent [Redacted] Diaz is the best at what he does. Usually. But lately there's this real pain in the ass* who's been ruining his missions: Code Name "Buck."

*stupidly handsome and annoyingly talented rival spy

Mr. Buckley's After Hours Detention by aresaphrodites [complete | mature | 11.4k words]

It’s not like Eddie Diaz planned on this. Really, there was no scenario in his mind where he would ever be bringing his son’s teacher a freaking goody basket to class; a homemade goody basket, no less. Then again, Christopher has never had a teacher quite like Evan Buckley.

MukbangsWithBuck by @reallysmartladymariecurie [complete | teen and up audiences | 19.3k words]

After growing tired of eating alone in his loft, Buck decides to start a YouTube channel where he records himself eating dinner and telling stories about crazy things his team has encountered on calls. He eventually gains a substantial fanbase, and he is led to the channel of another LA firefighter who uploads informational videos and also casual vlogs with his ten-year-old son. It isn't long before the two start a friendship through messages, both of them secretly hoping it will turn into something more. Or, Eddie and Buck are both firefighters/YouTubers and they end up falling in love.

Objects in the Mirror by SevenSoulmates [complete | explicit | 139.1k words]

The voice had always been around, Eddie remembers it, like a stream of consciousness that babbled incoherently to the point where Eddie just tuned it out. But then the voice started speaking directly to him. Conversing like he was a whole person standing right in front of him. Like he could see what was happening around Eddie. Eddie shook his head. No one was talking to him, and Eddie most certainly was not talking back. He wouldn’t talk to the boy in his head ever again. There was no boy in his head.

Passive Aggressive Flirting by @starlingbite [complete | general audiences | 4.5k words]

Buck and Eddie have never met. They both work at the 118 but just on different shifts. That's all about to change when Buck finds a sticky note message, signed E.

String of hearts... by @reallysmartladymariecurie [complete | teen and up audiences | 11.1k words]

“Now. Eddie is this incredible presence. He’s funny and smoking hot, and he has a son who sounds wonderful. And he’s serious and vulnerable at times. But so enjoyable to be around, every single second that he’s there. And how can I put myself out there when the expectation is so high? When the thing I might lose is so beautiful?”

In which Buck owns a plant shop in LA, and Eddie becomes his new favorite customer. Pining ensues.

check out my post of buddie fics with dad!buck

#i will probably do a part two of this because i have more but this post its already way too big #buddie #buddie fic #buddie fic rec #fic rec #911 #911 fox #911 on fox #buck x eddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #otp: you act like you're expendable but you're wrong #tv: 9-1-1 #*

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davidmariottecomics · 2 years ago

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The New Year (2023)!

Hi there and happy new year!

I'm back after a short break for the holidays! As of writing, I've been maintaining my blog on my own website for over a year. I've grown that blog by extending it out to a newsletter and a Tumblr. Happy anniversary to the blog and let's get to it! This one's going to be pretty personal and then next week I'll get back to talking about comics, storytelling, the not-so-secret life of an editor, and pressing issues of social and societal import!

Being self-reflective, the transition from one year to another is a complicated time. It is the period when what has been and what could be really collide and force one to define what is.

I tried to get out of a little bit of that by posting a whole week into the year, but honestly, that feeling's still coming for me. Professionally and creatively, that transition feels like a bit of a metamorphosis as I transition from what I've been doing to what I hope to do. While there are plenty of constants being maintained, things like Sonic which I've now been working on for 5 years (and which will soon have been releasing for 5 years), I've also recently said goodbye to Transformers and hello to Godzilla as an editor. This time last year, the last issue of TF Wreckers was about to be released and I knew I had at least a little bit of other writing work in the hopper. This time this year, I don't have any releases currently scheduled, and yet, I'm hoping/already in some ways planning for this year to have my highest writing output yet. I am a writer and an editor and I want both sides to feel equally nurtured.

For a long time, I haven't really made resolutions with the new year. Not because I feel the distinction of years is arbitrary or I don't believe I'll stick to them or anything.More, the goals I was already setting for myself existed outside the scope of the year change and so it wouldn't feel genuine to call them resolutions when they were pre-existing. And this year, for the first time, I have some. I'm not going to share them in full--a few people close to me know, but they're personal and outside the scope of the transparency I usually try to provide. But it's an interesting feeling having some "resolutions" and, like so many people, at least right now, they're energizing me even when other things aren't.

The other part of the new year, of course, is reflecting on the previous year. What you did, what you enjoyed, the moments big and small and that seemed so important, but were quickly forgotten. Fortunately, through the blessing of a blog, here's some of the stuff that I was reminded I did proudly in 2022.

I got engaged to Rebecca Ann. They're my best friend and favorite person and I love them.

I launched a website and a blog that posted *nearly* weekly and made a few sales.

I went to WonderCon, Tucson Comic-Con, San Diego Comic-Con, and a ton of smaller events around CA.

I released multiple Transformers comics that I wrote, including finally getting to contribute to Beast Wars, a lifelong dream.

I saw my sister graduate high school.

I made some weird little drawings and comics for myself, many of them posted here.

I wrote more than I probably ever have, though there's plenty of it that'll likely never see the light of day.

I ended up in the top 0.1% of Lizzo listeners on Spotify for the second year in a row. I don't know that this is actually as momentous an accomplishment as some of these other things, but it is funny.

I somehow managed to do a little bit of traveling, spent a lot of time with family, and had some very rough moments in crowded places without getting sick.

I saw Transformers to it's end with some of the best TF books of all time.

I hit a milestone issue, #50, with Sonic and then kept going and have a lot more to come.

I made progress on various other deals and titles that you'll be finding out more about from IDW in the weeks and months to come.

I met various other professional goals in creating comics I'm proud of and working with some of the greatest creators ever to practice the craft.

I was a good cat dad.

I made new friends.

I tried really, really hard to find a balance that works for me between work and life and the ways that so many of my interests and hobbies overlap with my job. I'm not sure I've quite got it down just yet, but I'm getting there.

I also, liked a ton of stuff! So, if you're maybe new here for one reason or another, here's your chance to get an idea of what sort of stuff I like and if you like it too, maybe we can talk.

What I enjoyed last year (not a comprehensive list, but a lot of it): Blank Check (Podcast), Smallville (TV show), Special by Lizzo (Album), Bar Rescue (TV show), Chainsaw Man (Manga & Anime), Honkai Impact (Video game), She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (TV show), Ted Lasso (TV show), Genshin Impact (Video Game), multiple comics unions forming, Pokemon games, Dr. Gameshow (Podcast), Spy x Family (Manga & Anime), Jack Johnson (Musician), The Flophouse Podcast, Willy's Wonderland (Movie), Barbarian (Movie), Dungeons & Daddies (Podcast), Persona 5 Strikers (Video Game), My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix (book), Komi Can't Communicate (Anime), Hello From the Magic Tavern (Podcast), The Afterparty (TV show), X (Movie), Pearl (Movie), Junkwraith by Ellinor Richey (Comic), Aeonian Red by Gigi Dutreix (Webcomic), Solve this Murder (Podcast), Pokemon cards, Medallion Status by John Hodgman (Book), Beastars (Manga), Mark Darkly's Dark Room #1 (Comic), Escape This Podcast, Nancy (comic strip), Dicktown (TV Show), Garth Marenghi's Dark Place (TV Show, doesn't fully hold up, but still some great bits), My Lovey-Dovey Wife is a Stone Cold Killer (Manga), The Batman (Movie), the Sonic 30th Anniversary symphony, Turning Red (Movie), Inventing Anna (TV Show), Jujutsu Kaisen (Manga), Shrek! by William Steig (Book), Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (TV show), Tomie by Junji Ito (Book), Woke Season 2 (TV show), Young Justice (TV show), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Movie), Moon Knight (TV show), Chopping Mall (Movie), Dead Eyes (Podcast), Mr. Mayor (TV show), Kaguya-Sama: Love is War (Manga & Anime), Secret Identity by Alex Segura (Book), Maniac of New York (Comic), Catherine Full Body (Video Game), Hey Riddle Riddle (Podcast), The Rock Cocks (Webcomic for Adults Only), Alfie (Webcomic for Adults Only), Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (Movie), Squirrel Girl The Unbeatable Radio Show (podcast), Venom (Movie), The Quick and the Dead (Movie), A Simple Plan (Movie), Army of Darkness (Movie), Sweat & Soap (Manga), Obi-Wan Kenobi (TV show), Vixen: NYC (Webcomic), Ms. Marvel (TV show), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW Comic),Witch Watch (Manga), Persona 5 Royal (Video Game), Wotokoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (Manga), Sonic Origins (Video Game), Only Murders in the Building (TV show), Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun (Manga), Lore Olympus (Webcomic), Gil Thorp (Comic), Halloween Kills (Movie), Cyberpunk Edgerunners (Anime), My Hero Academia (Anime), Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out (Anime), Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Video Game), Godzilla (1954 movie), Werewolf by Night (Movie), Far Sector (Comic), Abbott Elementary (TV show), The Simpsons (TV show), The Loneliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen (Album), Prom Queen by Beach Bunny (Album), House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (Book), Evil Dead Trap (Movie), Sonic Frontiers (Video game), Lego Masters (TV show), The Tick (2016-2019 TV show), the Quintessential Quintuplets movie, my cats!

New Releases this week (1/4/2022): Sonic the Hedgehog #56 (Editor)

New releases next week (1/11/2022): Godzilla Rivals II: Rodan vs. Ebirah (Editor) Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors - All Hail the King #4 (Editor)

Announcements: Arizona Comic Book Arts Festival - 2/25! Becca and I will be coming to the AZ Comic Arts Fest! It's a one day comic-focused event in Phoenix, AZ. Tickets are only like $10. And besides us, there's an incredible group of folks going. Mitch Gerads! Steve Rude! John Layman! Henry Barajas! Jay Fotos! Jeff Mariotte! Marcy Rockwell! John Yurcaba! Andrew MacLean! Alexis Zirrit! Meredith McClaren! James Owen! Ryan Cody! And many more! Come and see us!

Next week: Over the break, I saw some chatter about whether or not some of the larger publishers are due for another reboot/relaunch/continuity reset of some sort and we'll talk about why limited continuity is so appealing for pitches and creators and new readers, but how leaving continuity behind is also a headache and a half for everyone involved!

Pic of the Week: Becca ended up having one last little event right at the end of the year! They tabled at the New Year's Eve party for fundraising for block reconstruction in our neighborhood! So we spent our NYE doing something we did a lot this year, tabling and selling cool merch.

#happynewyear #2023 #comics #comic blog #idw #Arizona Comic Book Arts Festival #comics editorial #manga recs #tv recs #comics recs #movie recs

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kawaiiinla · 2 years ago

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Rest in Peace P-22

A Eulogy for P-22, A Mountain Lion Who Changed the World

• Beth Pratt

• Dec 17, 2022

‘It’s My Hope that Future Mountain Lions Will Be Able to Walk in the Steps of P-22 Without Risking Their Lives on California’s Highways, Streets’

“Yet a mountain lion lived here, right here in Los Angeles.

“I can’t finish this sentence without crying because of the past tense. It’s hard to imagine I will be writing about P-22 in the past tense now.

“I don’t have any illusion that my presence or words comforted him. And I left with a great sadness I will carry for the rest of my days.

#not me crying on my couch #animal rights now #Los Angeles mountain lion #land bridges everywhere #p 22

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rahleeyah · 4 years ago

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Did somebody ask for Nick Amaro punching Elliot Stabler in the face?

It's nice to be back in New York. He wishes it was under different circumstances - Christ does he wish - but he missed the city. LA isn't the same. Zara's there, and Gil's in San Diego, and they have both grown so much in the last five years and he wouldn't have missed that for anything, but he does wish, sometimes, that they could have stayed at home. In New York.

He's come to bury his mother and clean out her apartment. Before that gets started, though, he's got some faces he wants to see. He doesn't know for sure if they'll still be there, doesn't know what he'll find, but he knows he has to look, and in his heart he believes that as long as Liv is still alive and in possession of two good legs, she'll be at SVU. That place, it's more than just a job, to her. It's a calling. She's a goddamn crusader.

For a minute he stands looking up at the station, weighing whether or not he wants to go in. Whether or not he wants to know what's happened to Barba, and Carisi, and Fin, and Rollins. Shit. Rollins. No way is she still there, he thinks.

He could have called. Should have called. Friends for life, he and Liv had promised each other, and they are, and they will be, but not the kind of friends who call each other and gab on the phone on Saturday afternoons. The kind of friends who'll take a bullet for each other, who'll drop everything and fly to the other side of the country after five years of no contact, if that's what they need. But not Facebook friends. It's just not in their DNA. They're bound by blood now; they don't need a phone call.

So he takes a deep breath and walks into the station, gets on the elevator behind some asshole in a flashy suit like the kind Barba used to wear, and the guy is talking on his phone but he's pressed the button for SVU so Nick can't escape him, just has to stand there and listen.

"I'm not asking, I'm telling," the guy says. "why? 'Cause I'm your father, that's why."

The guy's tone and the words coming out of his mouth remind Nick forcefully of his own father, and that makes him hate this man he doesn't even know. The door slides open and Nick goes to step out but the guy must not have registered he's there; the guy almost steps on him on his way out of the elevator and doesn't even apologize, just hangs up his phone and goes heading towards SVU and Nick is once again following him. His knee never healed right and Nick isn't as quick as he used to be, and the guy gets further and further ahead of him.

"She here?" The guy calls to a young female detective sitting at one of the desks. The squad room looks completely different, now, and for a second Nick feels like all the breath has just been knocked out of him. The girl says yeah, go on back, and the suit heads for Liv's office. Must be the ADA, Nick thinks. And shit, this is weird. It's like walking into his childhood home and seeing another family living there. It's like finding out there's no such thing as home, really. Like whatever home is, one day you stop belonging there.

"Help you?" The girl calls to him.

"Yeah," he says. It's too late to pretend he's not here. There's no sign of Rollins, or Fin, or Liv, but he's gonna do what he came here to do.

"Is Benson around?"

The girl gives him an appraising look.

"Who's asking?"

Before he can answer, a voice is calling out behind him.

"Nick?"

He turns, and there she is. Amanda Rollins. Still blonde, still beautiful, and shit, Carisi is standing right beside her.

"Amanda," he says, and in the next second she's running at him, flinging her arms around him. They hit so hard he could have picked her clean up and spun her around, if it weren't for his bad knee. As it is he nearly goes flying, but he catches himself, and holds on to her tight. He's missed her, more than he wants to admit.

"Oh, my God," she says as she pulls back. "It's so good to see you. You look good."

"Yeah," he says. "So do you."

And she does, and he wishes that didn't hurt.

"Carisi," he says next, and holds his hand out for a shake. Carisi’s hair has gone grey, and his suit is too flash for a cop, but he’s still Carisi, and he bats Nick’s hand away, and pulls him in for a hug.

“If we’d known you were coming we’d have gotten a cake or something,” Carisi says as they part.

“I wasn’t sure you guys would even still be here,” Nick tells them. “Kinda wanted it to be a surprise. Is Liv around?”

As if in answer to his question the door to the Captain’s office opens behind them, and she comes walking out, with the suit hot on her heels.

She stops dead in her tracks when she sees him, and shit, he just about stops breathing. That woman; she’s like a sister to him. Better than a sister; he trusts her more than his own blood. A thousand memories flash through his mind. The angry Liv he’d first met, calling him Serpico and looking at him like she was certain he wouldn’t last a week. Remember when you asked me about my father, and I told you it was a long story? It’s not that long. Standing beside her on the porch at the beach house, her clothes ripped and burned, her body bruised, her eyes wild. Liv’s eyes in the rearview mirror, Lewis’s blood sprayed across her face. Liv’s hands on him, while the EMTs wheeled him away after Johnny D shot him. Friends for life, Nick Amaro.

Her hair is longer, and her face is more lined, but she’s still so goddamn gorgeous. She covers her heart with her hand, and he grins, and they both start to move, then, not running, but walking straight towards each other, determined, no one else in the world but them, in that moment, and the next thing he knows he’s got his arms wrapped around her, and she’s holding him so tight it almost hurts.

“Nick,” she whispers his name shakily, and he laughs, because he can tell she’s about to cry and shit he is, too.

“Good to see ya, Liv,” he manages to choke out, and when he pulls back she reaches up and touches his face, her dark eyes searching his. She doesn’t have to say it; he knows she’s wondering if he’s ok, and he hopes she finds the answer in his face. Truth is, he’s doing better now than he was five years ago. Better than ten years ago. He’s settled. He’s happy. He hopes she is, too.

“You gonna introduce me to your friend?”

This from the suit. The sound of his voice shatters the moment, and Liv pulls away, and Nick is thinking he really, really hates this guy. This guy with his easy arrogance, this guy whose voice, whose posture, whose belligerent expression reveals a possessiveness towards Liv that Nick doesn’t like, not one bit. Liv laughs and steps back from him but Nick keeps his hand resting at the small of her back. There’s a petulant part of his heart that wants this guy, whoever he is, to see Nick touching her. To know that he’s allowed to, that she’ll let him, that whatever problem the suit may have Liv cares about Nick.

“Yeah,” Liv says, and a little bit of Nick’s anger fades, because she sounds happy.

“This is Nick Amaro, my old partner.” He can hear the grin in her voice. “Nick, this is Elliot Stabler.”

It’s not something he can control. It comes over him so suddenly, so viciously; he always thought that when people talking about seeing red they were just exaggerating. He always thought people had more control over themselves than that. But Liv says that name, and damn if he doesn’t see red.

“Elliot Stabler?” he says.

“Yeah,” Stabler answers, taking a step forward, and maybe he’s about to ask Nick if he’s got a problem with that, but he never gets the chance.

Stabler. The one who left her. The one who was the reason she was so standoffish, with Nick. The reason she was so angry all the damn time, walking around nursing a broken heart and letting it get her into trouble. The one with the anger issues and the dinged up service record that nearly derailed her whole career. The one with the wife at home, while Liv was half in love with him - Nick isn’t supposed to know that part, but he does. And anybody who could do that to Liv, who could hurt her so bad, treat her like she was second class, disposable, anybody who could stand there and act like he had a right to be by her side after all the shit he put her through, anybody like that, they’re gonna get what’s coming to them, courtesy of Nick Amaro. It’s been ten years since Stabler walked out on her, but however he came back, whatever the reason is for him standing here right now, Nick doesn’t give a single shit. He knows Liv and he knows she would never tell this guy just how bad he hurt her, just how much she lost when he left, knows she’s got a good heart and she’ll forgive the people she loves. She won’t hold this asshole accountable.

Nick, on the other hand, has no qualms about it.

“Ok,” Nick says, and then before anyone can so much as take a breath, he hauls off and punches that smug son of a bitch right in the mouth, as hard as he can. And shit, but it feels good.

#e.o #e.o thoughts #NICK!!!!#my disaster son

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featherymalignancy · 4 years ago

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I love an early #fanficfriday!

For whatever reason, my brain has been obsessed with your mention of Cassian and Lyria’s heart to heart before she died (from The Eyes of Texas). I don’t know that I have an actual question, I just thought I would mention that it makes me soft thinking about it 🥺

Omg yes I actually think about it all the time too and eventually I want to write it because there is something so poignant and under-appreciated about platonic love and loss in fics!

Still, I have to just share the broad details because it’s so soft and I hate that Lyria was relegated to the “woman in the freezer” trope in canon.

TRIGGER WARNING: C*ncer, Character Death.

PROCEED WITH CAUTION

Lyria’s cancer came on hard, fast, and strong, and after chemo and radiation failed and her condition began rapidly deteriorating, the heartbreaking decision was made for her to cease treatment and go into palliative care without curative intent

For those unfamiliar with this term, this means that the focus of her treatment would go from fighting the cancer to making her as comfortable and happy as possible for the remainder of her time.

After constant trips to the hospital for both treatment and complications, Lyria got to go home, and wasn’t taking any medication or drugs except for painkillers when she needed them.

**(for everyone who's ever known someone with cancer, you know the fight is hell on the body, and the treatment is sometimes more painful and taxing than the disease itself.)**

When Rowan called Cash to let him know that Lyria was coming home for good, Cash immediately flies to San Diego, where Rowan is currently stationed with the Navy.

When he got to their house, it was to find that Rowan was out and ther Lyria was watching TV in the hospital bed that had been set up in their living room.

He asks her what she’s done with Rowan, she replies that he’s gone out to get her ice cream.

Cash laughs and says she should have known he’d never have shown up empty-handed and shows her the tub of ice cream he’s brought her.

She only gives a knowing smile and says “more ice cream for me”

Cash laughs obligingly and asks if he can fix her a bowl, but Lyria stops him before he can walk into the kitchen

“Can we sit crooked and talk straight for a second?” she asks

It’s one of Lyria’s most-used expressions, which she picked up from her Armenian grandmother. It means to get real with someone, sans pretense or BS

Cash nods with a smile, gently urging Lyria to scoot over on her bed so he can sit next to her.

“Take my hand,” she says, and he does, interlacing their fingers and giving her a soft squeeze

“I assume you know what me being home means,” she begins, and he nods, squeezing her hand in reassurance again.

She seems calmed by this, and she goes on, “good. Then while I have you here alone, I want to say something.”

Cash realizes that this is the reason she’d asked Rowan to get her ice cream, and he goes to protest.

Lyria only holds up a hand in that soft but commanding way she has about her.

“It’s rude to interrupt a dying woman,” she tells him. “Please, just let me get this out.”

Cash nods, and Lyria steadies herself to go on.

“This is--going to be really hard for Rowan, and you know how he gets, so I just need you to promise me that you’ll take care of him for me.”

“Lyria--”

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but you’re the only one he’ll listen to.”

At this point they are both sort of crying, and Cash lets out a soft laugh.

“Rowan’s never listened to anyone but you and we both know it.”

Lyria laughs too and wipes a tear off Cash’s cheek.

“Then tell him I bequeathed authority to you.”

Cash bows his head, sobering a little

“I’m not sure I can do it without you.”

“You don’t have to,” she whispers to him, pressing their brows together. “I’m never going to leave you--either of you--ever.”

“I’m so sorry,” he tells hers, and she nods, tears freely flowing now. “I wish this had never happened to you.”

“Me too,” she admits. “But I’m glad it’s almost over. I’m so tired, Cash”

Cash strings an arm over her shoulder and she lays on his chest and they just hold each other and cry for a while.

Finally, Cash says, “how about some ice cream. I have vanilla malt” and Lyria nods as he gently extracts himself and gets up.

She takes his hand again.

“One more thing,” she says. “I know Ro’s going to insist that he’s done dating, but don’t let him give up, okay?”

“I don’t know if I can promise that, Lyr. What you two had is--not many people are lucky enough to find that twice.”

“Ro will,” Lyria says with confidence. “He has to. If he doesn’t end up happy, what was the point of any of this?”

“I will do my best,” Cash assures her.

“The right girl is out there, I can feel it. Promise me that when he meets her, you won’t let him fuck it up.”

Cash laughs again, relieved to see that Lyria is smiling too.

“Tall order; you know how he gets.”

“I do,” she agrees. “That’s why I’m counting on you.”

Her smile fades a little, but there is a calm expression in its place.

“And you when you meet her, I want you to tell her something for me. Tell her that I’m grateful to her, and that I’ll be cheering for them always.”

She paused and then laughed quietly to herself. “Unless he somehow ends up Remelle Bianchi, in which case I want you to tell her that I’m going to haunt her for the rest of her days.”

Cash laughed, too.

“That I can promise you I won’t allow.”

“Thank you, Cash,” she says, squeezing his hand. She pauses before saying, tears in her voice again, “For loving him like you do. He deserves that.”

Cash kisses her forehead and goes to make them ice cream.

Cash stays for two whole weeks in San Diego, and it’s some of the best Lyria’s looked and felt in a long time. Cash can tell that Rowan is hopeful despite the prognosis, and his heart aches for his friend when reality eventually hits again.

Unfortunately, her relative good health doesn’t last.

41 days after Cash left San Diego, he’s flying back for Lyria’s funeral.

Rowan is a MESS, but Cash manages to hold himself together relatively well by reminding himself of all the promises he’d made Lyria.

He was back in Hawaii by the time Lyria’s will was read, and he was surprised when the lawyer called to tell him that he’d been left something.

When he received the small, light package in the mail, he’d half expected to simply find a note that said “the authority” as she’d once joked she’d bequeath him.

Instead, he opened the velvet box and found Lyria’s beautiful mati pendant.

Mati is the Greek term for “the evil eye” and wearing an ocular amulet is believed to ward off the bad intentions of others, particularly jealousy, which are transmitted through malicious glares.

Lyria’s necklace was a gift from her Greek father on her 18th birthday, and Cash had never seen her take it off.

Inside was a note that said in Lyria’s careful writing, “You know who this is for; give it to her when the time is right”

Cash absolutely lost it. Finally let himself sob and sob for his dear lost friend. Then he put the necklace in the back of his sock drawer, and he waited.

Six years later, when Rowan announces that he planned to ask Aelin to marry him, Cash finally tells him about the mati, and offers it to Rowan.

Rowan, tears in his eyes, gently refuses, saying that Lyria had given it to Cash for a reason, and it would mean more coming from him.

Rowan proposes to Aelin in Hawaii several weeks later, and at some point during the small party Cash and Nehemia had thrown the couple, Cash pulls Aelin aside.

He recites what Lyria had told him all those years ago, that she was grateful for Aelin and happy that Rowan had moved on and fallen in love again.

Cash then produces the mati necklace from his pocket and explained the significance of the pendant as a ward against jealous or malicious stares.

What he didn’t need to say--what he could tell from Aelin’s expression that she had already figured out--that the mati was Lyria’s way of saying she wasn’t jealous of Aelin, and Cash wouldn’t have given her the necklace if he hadn’t thought Lyria wouldn’t have approved of Aelin.

Aelin, sobbing, accepts the necklace, vowing that she too would never take it off.

#rowaelin #fanfic friday #Lyria #tw cancer #tw character death

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