#someone who is more knowledgeable than i please provide assistance

[skepticalcatfrog]

Guys I feel like I am trying to put together a puzzle out of pieces from one million different puzzles where no one full puzzle is present. I was looking at This Foul Murder today and I came across the part where Marshall describes Benedikt's eyes as being "brown-grey" and "ambiguous dark". I was already familiar with this because I am a frequent peruser of Benedikt's fandom wiki page. But I always just assumed it was mistaken on the wiki page, because I was 10000% sure I had read in the books somewhere else that his eyes are light colored/blue.

I absolutely SCOURED TVD for any mention of Benedikt to try to find an answer and I came up with nothing. Did I imagine this?? Have I created an alternate timeline where Benedikt underwent a change of eye color akin to Thalia Grace of the Riordanverse??

[alcazarofthestars]

Hello can I request yandere platonic fontaine with y/n that is like Kohaku from enstars by personality?

Of course! But I've only started playing enstars a few months ago, so my knowledge of his personality is a bit restricted and I'll be using the wiki... Sorry for being late, my practical exams are around the corner and then my end of semester tests come right after that....

Summary: After growing up as a very sheltered kid in the house of the hearth, you are trying to achieve your dream in Fontaine as a performer. But you have unfortunately managed to gain the interest of many famous figures and obsessive people in Fontaine...

Warning!: Yandere content (Obviously), bullying, ooc, insecurities, fighting, stalking, abuse(?), bad writing, disfiguration?, murder, harassing, taking pictures without consent, physically harming (not to the reader... kinda), manipulation, Fontaine cast girlbossing, gatekeeping, and gaslighting. (If any of those make you uncomfortable please leave.)

{~} So imagine this, you were born in a branch family of a rather noble family from Inazuma. But you were given up to Arlecchino by your parents because the main family isn't really welcoming of an heir of your gender in fear that the branch family will get any power against them. Even though the family was trying to modernize out of such beliefs, the current head of the family still firmly believes in it. So out of concern, your parents hid you for the first five years of your life until they gave you up to the house of the hearth.

{~} There in the orphanage you meet a pair of twins from Fontaine who aspire to be great magician and his assistant, the twins consist of one male and one female who introduced themselves as Lyney and Lynette. They were older than you by a few years and they would also love to put on a show for you! By this point you see them as your older siblings, and they also see you as their adorable younger sibling who has to be protected from the cruel world. But sadly, they go on a lot of missions outside of Snezhnaya... But don't worry, they always think about you during their missions and they bring back souvenirs from their travels!

{~} During your time at the orphanage, you've managed to meet Arlecchino herself. At first she scared you, but you soon warmed up to her! She became your parental figure during your stay at the house of the hearth after an event where she saved when you almost died. But she would never allow you out of the orphanage grounds unlike the other kids at the orphanage. You first thought it was because you were too young, but when you grew up she still didn't allow you to leave whether it's for missions or just walking around. Whenever you asked she would answer by saying, "It's for your safety. The world is a harsh place." or something similar to that...

{~} This made you grow up as a rather sheltered kid compared to most others your age. You learned about the outside world by books, newspapers, and gifts that were brought back by the others in the orphanage. You also have very little knowledge about fashion due to always wearing uniforms provided by the orphanage.

{~} One day, you were introduced to a new addition to the orphanage. He introduced himself as Freminet as he hid behind Arlecchino. She wanted you to welcome him to the orphanage because the two of you are the same age. At first he was rather shy and quiet around others, he still is but now he doesn't run away the moment someone goes near him. You would talk and hang out with him during the first few weeks of his stay, but he would always hide from you...

{~} This one time, you were walking around the orphanage in search of Freminet to play with you as usual. You did manage to find him, but he was surrounded by other kids that were all older than him. From what you heard from afar, they were talking about him. And not the nice type of talking, more like the harassing kind. So as a young kid with a naive mind you went up to the group and confronted them head on.

{~} ... It didn't go well. You ended up fighting with most of the kids while the others ran to find Arlecchino or because they were scared. After Arlecchino came, she sent all the kids (including you) to her office. In the end, after asking the bystanders and witnesses you got off with only a long lecture while most of the other kids got lectured and were given more chores to do. When you left Arlecchino's office, Freminet went over to you and hugged you, thanking you for helping him. Since that incident you and Freminet had gotten closer up to the point he would follow you around like a lost puppy.

{~} On one afternoon, Lyney and Lynette came back from one of their missions. They also brought some souvenirs back from Fontaine for you. Lyney handed you their souvenir, it is a voice recording of a popular idol from Fontaine singing their most popular song. You would love to listen to it and you really treasured it. A few days later, you were playing with the twins and Freminet when you excitedly announced that you want to be an idol or performer when you grow up.

{~} They were very supportive of your dreams, Lyney and Lynette offered to teach you some tricks for when you're performing so you don't get nervous on stage. Lyney had also invited you to come to one of their performances in the future! When you told Arlecchino, she seemed supportive of this idea as well. So after all that, you began practicing with the help of Lyney and Lynette with Freminet and Arlecchino who would occasionally drop by and watch you practice.

{~} When you turned 15, Arlecchino finally gave you your first mission (you kept on begging her) with the twins and Freminet in Fontaine. The mission was rather easy, 'perform a show as your 'debut' as a performer to prepare for future missions', you were still excited nonetheless!

{~} When you, Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet arrived at Fontaine you were in awe by the atmosphere of the said nation. Compared to Snezhnaya, Fontaine was more welcoming and peaceful especially with way less snow and blizzards. Your group split up to find a place to stay, so while Lynette and Freminet search for an inn you and Lyney would go explore together.

{~} After a while, you managed to get separated from Lyney. While searching for him you decided to ask some people nearby. The second you asked they started to give weird looks to you, narrowing their eyes as you spoke. You, who noticed this, started to get more and more nervous. They answered you by saying that they haven't seen Lyney. When you were far enough they started to talk amongst themselves, mainly about you and your weird accent. It wasn't much of a problem for you back at the house of the hearth because of the kids' innocent minds, but now that you're in a whole different nation with a lot of judging people, you start to feel somewhat insecure...

{~} Thankfully, Lyney had found you accompanied by Lynette and Freminet trailing behind him. "Ahah! There you are! We were so worried, where did you go?" He questioned. "Now, now, it was your fault that you two got separated." Lynette commented in a rather harsh tone. "Anyways, we found a suitable inn to stay at." She added.

{~} Although that incident happened a long time ago, you still found their words ingraved in your head. Now ever since you started your 'career' as a performer, people have grown to like your accent. But you still have problems accepting it...

{~} In present times, you are a famous performer in Fontaine and other regions. So it's only natural to have performed in front of many important and known figures from many different nations. But today's performance makes you feel nervous... Why you ask? It's because you're gonna perform for the monsieur Neuvillette and hydro archon herself along with a few more important people! Usually Lyney and Lynette would do these, but it seems that they want you to perform instead....

{~} It went smoothly, as usual. The crowd was cheering, the guests were happy, and you did a job well done! After the show the hydro archon, Furina, had approached you to congrat you on a good show while Neuvillette had given you a nod and a faint smile. You were happy of course, but there was a bad feeling that you couldn't really shake off from them...

{~} During your stay at Fontaine you have met many incredible and nice people! Such as Navia the president of the Spina di Rosula who would always invite you to tea parties with her to talk about your day, Clorinde the hydro archon's personal bodyguard that would help you out with security during your performances, or Chiori the fashion designer from Inazuma who likes to make you dress up from time to time. Over time, you had also managed to get closer to the hydro archon, melusines and Neuvillette. Although being somewhat close with them, you still continue to get a bad feeling from them.

{~} There was a certain incident that had happened a while back where during one of your shows a person from your audience made a remark on how you have a strong accent and how it ruined the whole performance. When you went to talk to the people who said that earlier it is as if they just went POOF! Cause it was like they just... vanished... Until a few days later where their bodies were found, looking so disfigured that they could only be identified by their outfit.

(TIMESKIP TO AFTER THE ARCHON QUEST CAUSE I'M STARTING TO GET LAZY)

{~} Over time you have managed to see the fountain cast as your 'found family' and they seem to see you in the same light! But day by day the amount of missing people cases has increased up to the point your 'family' starts talking about how dangerous it is and how you should just stay with them for the time being.

{~} Maybe they are right. You shouldn't worry much about people whom you barely know and spend time with your friends and 'family' instead! Things have been going great, the culprit is almost found and you get to spend time with the people you love without being worried. Isn't that just nice? Well... that is until a renowned detective from Inazuma comes to help in the case...

A/N: AHHHH....! I hate tests... This will probably be my last post before going inactive for a while.... Sorry for the rushed ending, feel free to leave the rest up to your imagination!

[noctxj]

the reaper | part i

as far back as human memory can recall, the origin of flower marks remains unknown. if perhaps they came during or after the birth of humanity, or are benevolent gifts from the gods to aid ones navigation in life— milestones to remember and learn from, a north point on a compass lest you stray from your path. regardless, they have always been. and while flower marks remain an important aspect of ones journey, there is none other more significant than the soul flower mark. wherein the moment someone is born, this mark blooms above ones heart, as it is considered a pure reflection of who that person is and will be.

part i / part ii

˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚. ˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚. ˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚. ˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚.

so it was no wonder that during a gloomy winter evening, stricken screams of hysteria and the shrill wailings of a newborn baby echoed off the walls of the cold estate in a coalescing manner. the head midwife having no choice but to hurriedly pass the tiny squirming bundle to a reluctant nurse and focus on trying to placate the madam’s delirium— 

"that is no child of mine! keep that accursed child away from me! nurse--!" 

flower marks are a language all on its own, one that humans do not need to learn. rather, it is an inbuilt knowledge and understanding. and in the case for this newborn child, their soul flower mark had already predetermined their fate as forsaken.

as amidst the turbulent mess of bloodied towels and blankets, death had just been born. 

⋆.✧̣̇˚.

initially mesmerising in its opulent visage, its only when the mind catches up and registers its meaning that its beauty is quickly replaced with fear and alarm. 

a blooming grandiflora rose of black petals mixed with subtle hues of reds and haunting purples rests above the girls heart, with bramble-like stems arching up across her frail collarbones to ensure it is there to stay.

a black rose, promising the bearer as the omen of death.

⋆.✧̣̇˚.

even at such a young age, the cruelty of fate had already determined that little flora would not be given mercy or reprieve from the reality that is her cursed existence. a forsaken trail of purple anemones had lightly entangled itself amongst the thorny stems of her soul flower, almost as if to placate its loneliness. 

a swath of lilies of the valley sprawl from her left shoulder over and down her shoulder blade, the burning trail of pain and suffering almost numb to her senses. 

and then upon the delicate skin of her left wrist lay a singular bloom— a moonflower, reflecting little flora’s most earnest thoughts, dreaming of love from her own mother.

all these marks permanently etching themselves into little flora’s skin before her third birthday.

⋆.✧̣̇˚.

despite living under the same roof as her mother, rarely did little flora see her; instead following in her late grandfathers footsteps as a ruthless businesswoman, silver spoon in her mouth and all. instead she herself was always surrounded by staff always heeding to her mother’s orders, to "always have that child within your sights", with an ever rotating door of tutors and nannies.

“madam, miss flora is an intellectually gifted child, it is quite remarkable! she has just—", 

"… so?" her mother had sharply interrupted, “a high level of intelligence is a common trait within this family. i expect you to provide the girl with more difficult material to not only accomplish but also excel in; anything less than perfect and dare i say failure to meet my— this family's standards, will not be tolerated. or are you stating that you are not competent enough to fulfil your tutor roles' duties and responsibilities?"

"i— no— my apologies madam, of course there is no problem. if you would allow me, i have colleagues who would be thrilled to assist in miss flora’s academic—"

"do as you please. now, i have an important meeting with a gentlemen flying in from st. petersburg. a mr. z it appears… the estate staff will assist with your queries about the girl. so do refrain from contacting me any further-"

so as determined as a young child her age could be, she promised she'd keep being good to strive for her mothers praise, be an obedient and perfect daughter that her mother would realise is worthy to be loved— despite her soul flower.

“a curse that should never be shown to anyone lest she receive punishment,” her mother would often remind her.

a punishment that envelopes the expanse of her back as raised scars. milestones just as permanent as her flower marks. more lilies of the valley creeping down her back. 

⋆.✧̣̇˚.

little flora never knew who her father was, had asked her mother once and received a harsh slap across her cheek, her small body whipping to the carpeted floor from the force. 

the silent burning of nightshade on her right pointer finger ironically mocking the hush motion.

she never cared to ask again. 

⋆.✧̣̇˚.

little flora remembers the day she believed her mother had finally saw value in loving her. barely eight years old and still holding onto that naive hope— and she foolishly believed she finally did.

waking up early in the morning as per her routine, only to see her mother sitting in the chair beside her bed, happiness written across her usually severe expression, looking at little flora herself. blinking once— twice— then rubbing her hands across her eyes to make sure what she is seeing is real and not a dream.

“good morning flora,” what is going on— “you and i have an agenda for today, so please come downstairs for breakfast once you’re ready.”

is today the day? did she finally do it? is her mother finally learning to love her—

“as it is a special occasion, i’ve taken the liberty of selecting your attire. now, off you go to wash up.”

little flora had been ecstatic, her heart thrumming like a hummingbird out of excitement to prove that her mother would not regret placing value on her. 

⋆.✧̣̇˚.

little flora’s only ever seen her mother’s soul flower once, only by chance of course. her evening robe slightly loose across her shoulders, her motions lax from the glass of wine she was nursing— a far cry from her usually sharp and elegant appearance. 

a beautifully victorious gladiolus cradled upon her chest. she envied it, a blessing to be born with. unlike herself. however, it wasn’t until later that she understood why her mother despised her existence so much.

as victory and death are eternal enemies— always on opposing sides. 

⋆.✧̣̇˚.

“it is the perfect place for you to grow in flora, a place for you to finally thrive in,” her mother’s words had echoed in flora’s ears.

she doesn’t know how long ago that was.

she didn’t even feel alive.

flora’s small body strapped down to a cold metal table, no longer wearing the attire her mother had especially picked out for her. instead wearing a customised medical gown, allowing an unobstructed view of her accursed soul flower mark to the blurry shapes her dull gaze had tried to focus on.

the harsh clinical smell of the room burning her nose, and the glaring overhead lights further disorienting her senses. flora couldn’t move her head if she tried, a strap also tightly bound across her forehead attached to the metal table. 

what is this place? why would mother send me here? this is wrong, they must of got it wrong, i shouldn’t be here, i—

flora could feel the burning of a new mark directly below her soul flower. almost the same in size she guesses, if only she could move her head.

the agonising pain of a broken heart flourishing as a vibrant yellow rose.

˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚. ˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚. ˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚. ˚. ✦.˳·˖✶ ⋆.✧̣̇˚.✦ . ˳

tric’s notes

this highkey spawned from my hanahaki disease fic. flower meanings/symbolism was a bit difficult to grasp (ie. countries, cultures, time periods), so don't take this too seriously lol. 

i was hoping to make this a oneshot but it just kept going ugh. this is unedited. part ii may be more backstory, part iii the boys will appear (no promises though, just a rough idea).

i recommend listening to “my flower” by ladies code. it’s a korean song but i think it matches the mood of this piece - so i encourage listening to it.

thanks for stopping by!! ♡︎

crossposted on ao3 (same username)

[originalleftist]

PSY-OP ALERT:

Sorry for how long this ended up being, but there's a lot to cover. My sincere gratitude to anyone who actually reads through it.

We have seen again and again how easily supposed progressives, even those considered long-time allies, can quickly fall into believing and acting on fascist psy-ops.

There's no sure way to know that someone is a trustworthy ally. One might say that there is no such thing, since everyone has faults and blind spots and prejudices and is hypocritical to one extent or another.

But here are a few common ways in which so-called Leftists, progressives, feminists, etc get duped into supporting fascist agendas. It's both a litmus test of sorts, red flags that someone may not be as reliable an ally as you think, and also a good shortlist of major narratives the Right uses to try to infiltrate and co-opt progressive communities and divide their opposition, which you should be on the lookout for.

1. Ukraine/Russia. If someone is defending Putin or vilifying Ukraine, they are likely being influenced by Kremlinist-fascist propaganda designed to sway Leftists under the guise of being "anti-imperialism" or "anti-war". This is a larger subset of how opposition to wars and imperialism has been used for decades to draw Left-wingers into supporting conspiracy theorism and hypocritically aligning with dictatorial, even fascist regimes that are seen as opposing "the West".

Note: a specific subset of this, which I've found even people who otherwise don't necessarily fall for it sometimes do, is Assange apologism. Julian Assange is not simply a journalist who was persecuted by the government for exposing its secrets. He is closely-aligned with the Kremlin and its propaganda, and leaked information selectively to hurt Clinton/Democrats help Trump during the 2016 election.

2. Covid. Anti-vax conspiracy theorism used to be a position more associated with the Left, though it has been largely coopted by the fascist Right, thanks to Trump. A lot of this was built on opposition to capitalism/big corporations/"Big Pharma" and probably also environmentalist concerns about toxins in our environment, which appeals to Left-wing sensibilities.

There's also a heavy dose of ableism, particularly fear-mongering about/misrepresenting autism, which is another prejudice that has appeal across the political spectrum. Even if one accepted the (widely-debunked) claims linking vaccines to autism, that means that the central premise of the anti-vax agenda, when you strip it down to its core, can be summarized as "Your child is better off dead of a deadly disease than alive and autistic."

We might also have a word here about support for DNRs*/"assisted dying"/euthanasia and making "assisted dying" more accessible to disabled people, typically framed as letting them "die with dignity" without actually providing them the support that would let them LIVE with dignity (see Canada's MAID controversies). Though I am pleased to see pushback from Left-leaning parties on this recently.

*I should note here that I do not oppose DNRs in principle, nor the right of any patient (assuming they have the ability to do so, and if not that's what living wills are for) to refuse medical care. I DO have a problem when people are mislead or pressured to choose them, or even have them issued without their knowledge/consent (as in the widely-reported case of people with disabilities being given DNR orders in the UK).

3. Trans Rights. Many a proclaimed feminist has shown their true colours once the subject of trans rights came up. Falsely attacking trans people as male predators or fake women does not protect women- trans people are actually one of the most likely groups to be subjected to sexual violence, and if one wants to prey on women, there are far easier and less-stigmatized ways to do so in our society. Transphobia also ultimately serves to oppress cis women, as women who do not perfectly fit white patriarchal standards are investigated and accused of being trans (as seen with anti-drag laws potentially criminalizing non-traditional dress choices, and the attacks on cis female athletes of colour, particularly at the 2024 Olympics).

4. Israel/Palestine. Many so-called Leftists have embraced conspiratorial and even outright genocidal Anti-semitism masquerading as opposing "colonialism" and genocide. This narrative seems to rest on two primary lies- the claim that Jews are not indigenous to the Levant, and therefore colonizers (this is contradicted by overwhelming historical, archaeological, cultural, and genetic evidence), and the usual group-think/collective guilt and "us vs them" mentality (the belief that all Israelis/Jews are collectively guilty for the crimes of the Netanyahu government, and the belief that the rights of Palestinians and Jews cannot coexist, but one must come at the expense of the other).

5. Johnny Depp. Many so-called "feminists" quickly embraced or at least turned a blind eye toward misogynist abuse and conspiracy theories from incels/"Mens' Rights Activists" against a queer activist and DV survivor, out of fandom for Johnny Depp (who also has close ties to both the Kremlin and Saudi governments). Presenting Depp as "the real victim", and Heard as a fake victim undermining "real victims", and as a privileged elite using "white woman tears" to gain sympathy, were other ways in which the Right played on Leftists' sympathies and rhetoric to co-opt them in this case. Amber Heard hate/Johnny Depp fandom is a clear indication that a "progressive" or "feminist" can be swayed to abandon their convictions by celebrity/fandom, and/or lacks understanding of Intersectionality (ie how someone could be relatively privileged in certain ways but still disadvantaged in others, particularly against someone like Depp).

6. Immigration. Many supposed Leftists have proven susceptible to narratives accusing immigrants/foreigners of "stealing" jobs from the working class, while the reality is that immigration also creates jobs (more people means more demand for goods and services), automation is a threat to jobs that has nothing to do with immigration, and immigrants often do jobs most Americans don't want to (which is actually exploitation-in typical DARVO fashion, immigrants are vilified for their own exploitation). Anti-immigrant rhetoric is a divide and conquer tactic used by oligarchs to keep the working class fighting each other, instead of focusing on who's really exploiting them.

7. Housing. Attacks on the Unhoused are one of the most acceptable forms of bigotry in our society on both Left and Right. Often this boils down to simple selfishness- whatever a person's abstract political views, they don't want to see "homeless" or "poor" people around, falsely equate them with criminality/drugs, and are worried about the effect of encampments or even the construction of low-income housing on their property values.

These are all ways in which the Right commonly infiltrates and co-opts Leftwing circles, and pits its opponents against each other (divide and conquer). Of course, there are other issues, other examples. This is not a definitive list. So its important to learn to recognize patterns, so you can spot psy-ops/divide and conquer tactics in other forms/on other issues.

One frequent pattern in these narratives is of course collective guilt/guilt by association: Ukraine is bad because it is aligned with the West, Russia is good because it's against the West. Heard is bad because she's a (relatively) rich famous white woman (somehow Depp isn't, as a rich white man). Israel/Jews are evil because of the crimes of the Israeli government, Hamas is good because they're against Israel. Related to this is the use of DARVO tactics to allow oppressors to falsely claim status as victims, further muddying the waters (and a hard argument to counter, because anyone guilty of it can immediately accuse anyone who points it out of doing the same thing). Assange, an oppressive of the Kremlin, is painted as just a heroic journalist persecuted for exposing the truth. Depp, an extremely wealthy, famous man with a long history of racism, misogyny, violent criminality, and ties to the Mob and dictatorial regimes, is the helpless victim of his ex-wife/a feminist conspiracy. Upper/upper-middle class home owners are the real victims because poor people exist in their communities. White workers are the real victims, not immigrants exploited as cheap labour who don't dare complain if their rights are violated because they might be deported.

A third common trick is to simultaneously paint the target group as a deadly, even existential threat, and as pathetic and weak. This seeming contradiction is a hallmark of fascist propaganda specifically (Umberto Eco listed it on his list of 14 traits of fascism). For example, unhoused people are all lazy pathetic drug users, but also criminals destroying our neighbourhoods. Amber Heard is both a talentless, obviously lying gold digger, but also powerful and competent enough to terrorize her husband (in his home, surrounded by private security on his payroll) for years and mastermind a vast international conspiracy spanning a decade to frame him. Ukraine is not even a real country, but also a huge threat to Russia's security justifying its invasion (propagandists often sidestep this absurdity by simply treating Ukraine as an extension of the US/NATO- this allows them to simultaneously portray Russia's genocidal war as the underdog defending itself against "Western imperialism", and to reinforce their genocidal narrative that Ukraine is not a real nation).

Learn the tricks. Call them out when you see them. And if someone else says you're falling for them, don't get defensive and immediately double-down- listen and consider whether you are, in fact, being misled.

[violetlunette]

The Ramshackle Un-Birthday Interview: Please let us know how you spend your days of

Summary: Yuu shares his days off

Notes: This is part of the Un-birthday interview for my Yuusona, who is Twisted from the Mad Doctor.

Please let us know how you spend your days off:

A wry grim crossed Yuu’s face, and he laughed.

“A day off with Grim? Hah! What a joke,” he stated, eliciting an insulted “Hey!” from the feline. “My days are always packed. When I’m not in class, I’m either studying or doing extra school work to catch up with everyone else.”

Being from another world and having a slight memory issue due to his accident, the teachers were ordered to give Yuu and special assignments to catch up with the rest. Fortunately, Yuu was able to catch on quick. Unfortunately, Grim did not.

Thus, any time Yuu could have spent relaxing was used to break down the lessons to something a toddler could understand. Half the fight was getting Grim to sit down and study.

“And when I’m not doing that, I’m doing odd jobs for Crowley.” He started checking off items on his fingers. “Janitorial stuff, running the paper, assisting teachers, saving students from ghosts, investigating weird events, acting as his eyes and ears—the list goes on.” Deuce was surprised to hear this, but when he thought about it, Yuu was running around all the time.

“Wow. I guess you really have to earn your keep,” he commented.

“Oh yeah,” Yuu agreed before launching into an explanation. “Grim and I are here at Crowley’s amusement. If we don’t provide a service that makes our presence beneficial, then he’ll force us to leave.

“Grim may be able to survive outside these walls, but with my mind in shambles and no knowledge of this world, I could end up in more trouble than I could imagine. Especially if I run into someone like Azul or Fellows.”

“Ah, I see--”

“And if I’m not a student, it’ll make seeing Silver harder! I can see his every day now, but if I were forced from the school, I’d have to sneak in and settle for a secret rendezvous at night one a week at best to avoid suspicion and to work around Silver’s schedule. I mean, it has that forbidden romance thing going on, but I have to fight for every moment with my Silver—literally!—and I ain't giving any of them up.” The others swallowed a groan. Of course that’s what he was thinking of.

“Plus, it’s just smart to have the boss man in your favor,” Yuu went on. “That way, you get away with a lot of things others can’t, along with other benefits. And this cat is such a baby--”

“Hey! I am not!”

“—That I have to work extra hard to balance things out.” Ace raised an eyebrow.

“Honestly, I think your actions are the bigger issue,” he said.

“Oh, on the surface, my eccentricities seem problematic,” Yuu conceded. “But really think about it:

“Thanks to me, Crowley has free labor with the skeletons and myself. And having a magicless student here helps promote the image of benevolence he likes to project. Plus, I can make stuff that boosts his rep. No matter how you look at it, having me here is beneficial.” Yuu wondered at that moment if that was why Crowley dragged his feet on discovering where Yuu came from but didn’t comment aloud.

The others agreed with the reasoning.

“When you say that, it does explain a lot,” Ace agreed.

“So, you have no time to yourself?” Deuce asked. Yuu shrugged.

“Not really. I always seem to be working on something, or for someone. I mean, I get like an hour maybe two for stuff I want. Which sucks because it means less time with my Silver angel.” Yuu sighed at the thought of the knight. “It would be nice to get a day off for a date—without any interruptions. Maybe it’s time I make time.”

~End~

*Thus the idea for the time turners were born.

[ashitakaxsan]

The Phantom Menace Among Eden's Ranks,in Spy x Family

My tumblr readers, in the intricate web of espionage, secrets, and hidden agendas that define Spy x Family, there are countless threads to follow. But one that has been woven into the background, subtly influencing events, is the presence of a potential traitor within Eden Academy. This figure, whose identity remains unknown, seems to have played a role in both the case of the expelled delinquent,known as 'Mr Pee Pants",the rampage of Campus animals, and the hijacked buses incident orchestrated by the Red Circus. Could this traitor be more versatile and dangerous than anyone suspects? Let’s delve into the evidence.

The Case of "Mr Pee Pants".

In Chapter 61 teacher, and a member of Eden Academy's disciplinary committee, Donna Schlag is introduced. There to the students of Cecile hall(where Anya,Becky attend)recounts the tale of "Mr. Pee Pants," an honor student,who foolishly wiped his wet hands on his pants, eventually gets humiliated for it. Since then he's a delinquent, afterwards getting expelled from Eden and joining an antigovernment team, where he's later caught by the Secret Police.

My readers,please focus on,the last panel, a subtle oddity of "Mr. Pee Pants".

Typically the School would've asked from him the attire back."Mr Pee Pants" still kept an Eden Cape! See how expensive this Eden cape is? Who enabled him to keep it? Isn't it a subtle hint about someone(within Eden) secretely enabling forces, say Red Circus? However I guess no one will ever find it. Cause the Cape is only within the flashback.

'What could've the traitor gain by this,an Eden College cape in the hands of an extremist?', you would ask me. But there are certain gains:

a)Experimenting if he(or she?)can pull a subtle ploy,and pass entirely unseen,even by the officers of the notorious SSS.

bThe joy of sadistically smearing the prestige of Eden College.

The animals running Wild on the Family Interview

On the day of Family Interview(chapter 4) the animals of the campus zoo got loose,running wild,to hurt everyone on their rampage.

However, thankfully no one was hurt,due to the Forgers amazing skills and Elegance.

I wonder,could've the triator have had orchestrated to infuriate, the animals,release them and see how many would get crippled ? Not to forget that this foul event could destroy the College's reputation.

Hostage Crisis .The Arc Of Well-Informed Red Circus

Fast forward to the hijacked buses incident, where the Red Circus managed to execute a highly organized attack on Eden Academy students. What’s troubling is how the Red Circus knew the exact social standing of students like Becky Blackbell, whose father holds considerable power and influence. This information would have been difficult to obtain without inside help, suggesting that the same traitor who assisted "Mr. Pee Pants",and released the campus animals

may have also supplied the Red Circus with crucial details about their high-value targets.

How did Squire know the classified names of the kids,and the social position of the a’,b’..Father?

The only serious explanation is the Red Circus had an insider, who had sold to them the info about Eden’s activities that day,and the names of the children and their families standing in Ostania’s government.

Reaching to the end of crisis, Anya, using her unique abilities, was able to persuade the leader of the Red Circus to surrender, preventing any harm both to her classmates and men of the SSS special forces.

A Versatile and Hidden Threat

What makes this traitor particularly dangerous is their ability to remain hidden while pulling the strings from the shadows. They appear to be someone with intimate knowledge of Eden Academy’s inner workings and connections to external groups like the Red Circus. Their versatility lies in their ability to operate without being detected—providing just enough support to anti-government forces to sow chaos, but not so much that they draw attention to themselves.

The traitor’s actions suggest a deep understanding of both the political landscape and the personal dynamics within Eden Academy. They seem to have a hand in manipulating events from behind the scenes, influencing not just the delinquent’s descent into rebellion but also the Red Circus’s calculated attack on the academy’s students. This versatility makes them a formidable opponent—one who could continue to pose a significant threat as long as they remain undiscovered.

Conclusion: The Need for Vigilance

As we continue to follow the story of Spy x Family, it’s crucial to keep an eye on the subtle clues and connections that might reveal the identity of this elusive traitor. Their influence has already led to significant events that could have destabilized Eden Academy and endangered the lives of its students. The fact that they remain hidden, versatile in their tactics, and potentially well-connected within the school’s ranks makes them one of the most dangerous threats to the peace and stability that Loid Forger, Anya, and Yor are fighting to protect.

What are your thoughts? Who could this traitor be, and what might their ultimate goal be in destabilizing Eden Academy? Let’s discuss in the comments!

[rxttenfish]

polly x faith for the ship meme i say, perfectly aware that i am the founder of polly x faith

Shipping meme.

THE GIRLS EVER.....

i just think!!! theyre neat!!! and i know canon is definitely sliding towards the "just friends with benefits" more than them ever actually having romantic feelings with each other, but i feel like their personalities mesh well enough together that i just WANT it to go the traditional route of so many fwb stories where they do catch feelings for each other.

i think faith's more laid back attitude compliments well with polly's high energy one, in a way that becomes very clear that faith is still engaging with polly from where she's coming from, while faith provides enough confidence to know what she likes and doesn't like and won't be goaded into something by polly. there's definitely a degree of faith not having a bunch of high expectations for polly to live up to, and for polly being able to bring a little bit of excitement for faith in a way that isn't too overly challenging or pushing her into where she's uncomfortable.

faith having other people who she's close to also helps here, i think, because polly is so non-confrontational with problems and issues that faith can fully take the initiative to get polly to talk about them without just having to deal with them on her own. there's a sort of back and forth here, i think, where faith is someplace calmer and more structured for polly without penning her in, and faith has someone who doesn't come with expectations or responsibilities for her, things for her to take onto herself, things which are closer to her work for the coven.

there's also something to be said about the coven here, in that polly is still mischievous and chaotic, but not bad-natured in doing so and doesn't want to create problems out of it. she's not so much of a problem to be solved or a problem-maker, not in the case of what the coven's usually dealt with, and she's, ironically, one of the most down-to-earth of the ROs when it comes to it, having fairly recently been human and still dealing with that. she has more knowledge of human things and human standards, which witches very much still are, and something which i feel like faith can appreciate.

there's still an aspect of needing to reign in polly's more destructive nature and the collateral damage she can leave behind, but i feel like more than anyone else, faith would be very good at doing so and at making sure polly doesn't overstep, which is always vital. at the same time, polly also provides an outlet for faith, someplace where she can explore safely and set aside her responsibilities. the work-life balance is one of the things that immediately comes to my mind, but in a simpler way, i think it's just being able to more easily switch between serious and lighthearted that makes these two work and balance each other out, providing things which would be neglected without overindulging one or the other.

likewise as with our work, i think polly would KILL IT as a mad scientist's assistant in sexy little fishnets. she would be SUCH a good igor, faith. please let her be igor. she has SO many costumes prepared solely for this occasion.

(faith, of course, welcomes the comic relief of someone who can make her laugh and smile without undermining the actual issues at heart, and who whole-heartedly supports her in her studies. and also crimes. love crimes. love necromantic crimes.)

basically just get you a girl who is willing to literally bend and break the laws of nature itself digging up your own grave and bringing you back from the dead

[ctheathy]

ohhh my god someone who not only does for MH Stories, but also my two barely appreciated faves?? you are a blessing to this blue site

can I rq platonic assistant reader with Itsy-Bits and/or Manelger (both from MH Stories) please?

Dr. Manelger & Itsy-Bits w/ Assistant!Reader

Dr. Manelger x Reader

Itsy-Bits x Reader

General+Fluff Headcanons

Short Concept

Author’s note : Oh bless you, Nonnie!! I cannot explain in words how happy and excited I felt getting a request about these two despite being so unfavoured or even completely forgotten by the fandom. Fortunate for you, they’ll definitely get some more attention around this place; AU’s, concepts, dynamics, you name it!! Glad you found this blog, love <3

And I must say, it remains rather saddening and perhaps even somewhat disappointing to me that they just scrapped both characters from the entire franchise after the main events of MHST. Seems like literal stacks of lost potential and character development they could have had as villains. Gosh, even just talking about MHS2, I believe an older Itsy following in Manelger’s footsteps could have made an excellent add to the story in particular.

Dr.Manelger/Reader/Itsy-Bits [Platonic]

[Gender-neutral Darling|Female Darling|Male Darling]

Potential ⚠️TWs⚠️ :

Somewhat delusional mindset [Manelger] • Itsy-Bits is touch starved

.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐

Dr. Manelger

Dr. Manelger is quite literally the definition of a mad genius. He is shown to have a lot of pride in his studies and experiments, obsessing over being right no matter how delusional his perspectives may sound. But even he tends to crave reassurance and complimentary at times. Especially as his examinations and knowledge are usually just taken for granted for everyone around. He has high intelligence and skills ... He just shows them in an unwanted and selfish way

Despite this, he does despise being guided around and isn't one to enjoy being told what to do, but simple support can give the man quite a soft spot towards you. To be his assistant, you have to stand behind his chaotic plans and desire for controlling monsters. He doesn't have bad intentions... He practically just wants to give it all to make sure the human race doesn't get harmed by the beasts, even if this includes hurting them.

But even if this is his reputation on the outside, I cannot help but still see him as an incredibly loveable man. As long as you stay on his good side, that is. He seems like a knowledgeable adviser on the facts, despite his lack of understanding on human emotions and the bonds they may have between monsters. But he is clearly still indirectly affectionate towards those he considers his peers. Take Itsy-Bits for an example, he may demand and boss him around all the time, but he does definitely care about him. I can even see him deeply believing you two to be and viewing you and Itsy as his only family.

Seeing as the man is often busy and highly concentrated on his studies, I cannot see him having the most stable sleep pattern. “Why rest when there are tons of mysteries to be examined!” as he would say. But as soon as you forcefully drag him with you and set him down on his nearby mattress, he’s gonna be asleep within the first five minutes. Which he definitely gets more grateful for the next day.

Itsy-Bits

I can see Itsy becoming a whole lot more attached to you as an older sibling or perhaps even parental figure more than anything, making him incredibly fond of you. Itsy-Bits seems like the type to truly lack any kind of emotional support and encouragement from scratch, especially from his allies. At his age, there is a ton of comfort needed for the proper development of a youngling, one Manelger unfortunately just cannot provide.

He’ll go to you for help whenever it's required. I can see him having grown somewhat insecure and fearful to ask for any kind of guidance due to Dr. Manelger’s dismissive reactions towards it. Itsy-Bits desires some patience and understanding from a person. And as soon as it's given to him, he'll attach himself like a leech. He'll learn to behave more like a teen of his age, instead of the constant fear of letting those around him down, as high expectations can do a lot to a person.

Itsy-Bits will become more merciful towards monsters and his peers after you make your way into his life, growing a sense of sympathy instead of his usual careless ways. He learns to become more affectionate and loving towards another person, while you prevent his own beliefs from overwhelming him. He truly just needed that one role to look up to, one who’s more considerate of his feelings while not being too rough if he fails to comply

The scientist duo

Dr. Manelger hopes you and Itsy-Bits manage to follow in his footprints. He’s a strong and determined man, but he’s also an elderly person. He knows he's not going to live forever and I can see him trying everything in his power to help you both learn and develop highly as a person. You’ll likely grow up to see him as a role model, other than close family. You’re definitely quite the assistance towards the both of them, even if they find it difficult to show their appreciation towards you. Your loyalty given them a sense of hope in their life

And who knows; perhaps your assistance is exactly what the two need in order for them to succeed in their devious plans.

.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐.ೃ࿐

[maelstrom-of-emotions]

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History is not merely a collection of stories from the past, bound and stored away in dusty books. It is the living, breathing reality that unfolds before us each day, shaping the lives of countless individuals, and that has never been more apparent than today.

In places like Gaza, history is written in the cries of children, the rubble of demolished homes, and the desperate pleas of families struggling to survive.

Today, I want to share the story of one such family. A family who watches their children suffer, enduring heat and hunger, knowing that the world goes on as if their pain were invisible.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Compassion is not just an abstract concept or a line in a fairytale. It is a powerful force that has the ability to change lives, to heal wounds, and to rebuild shattered dreams.

We are not powerless. Each one of us has the ability to make a difference, to be the light in someone else's darkness. By sharing the story, by donating, by raising our voices, we can offer them more than just hope. We can offer them a future.

Think of a family able to rebuild their home, their life, with the knowledge that the world did not forget them. This is the power we hold in our hands.

Donate if you can, share if you cannot, and always, always remember that every small act of compassion makes a profound difference.

Donation link: https://gofund.me/16fe6e48

[hotgirlmythology]

Syen-at-ibris history - The blooming ruins of a dead nation

This nation is located inland, on the northern continent and to the east of Minashun. Encroaching on the steppe and the temperate forested regions, but never quite into the waterside tropics, in many ways the lands the people of this nation inhabit resemble those of Galania. However, no-one who had been to both would ever say one was anything like the other. Syen-at-ibris had hills piled high with tough earth, gorges carved out through millenia by slight trickles of water, mountains that stretched high into a clear, cold sky. The wind would whip the grass into beautiful waves as it travelled over them, and into the distance a wilderness untouched by the exploits of farmers stretched.

Farmers themselves could do nothing with the tough soils - the rivers ran, true, but they ran from mountains and hills in deep, unchanging gouges. It would not provide the water for generations of life, it would not reach them fast enough. This was until some discovered the art of aqueduct-building. Simple at first, then progressively more grandiose. Settlements were built along these great monuments to ingenuity, and the fields were flooded each spring from the meltwater of those frozen heights. There was no national identity as of yet, not even any true cities, the masons and engineers being visionaries or desperados who saw in their work a way to make a lasting impression ln the land. Once the magicians got in on it, though... they would certainly leave an impression.

Magicians are drawn to solitude. Places they can meditate and practise casting spells. Places where they don't worry about being chased out if their spells go wrong. Places like a wilderness only just now being settled by farmers. It began as a business arrangement - magicians would provide assistance to magicians and farmers near their home, and in return the magician could not be forced to leave unless over 2/3 of people they had worked with agreed. This meant someone would be needed to arbitrate on the magicians, and then someone would also need to arbitrate on these big building projects rather than letting people go around corralling farmers to haul rocks willy-nilly. Then you need some people to oversee quarries, people to oversee the overseers, some people to manage the exchange and distribution of agricultural produce and boom you have a government :D

Magicians taking such a central role in politics is, contrary to the lurid stories on the topic (many of which I put in my blog hehehehee), quite rare. For so many to do so without obliterating each other is unheard of, and may have contributed to the eventual decline. At this point, though, the engineers and the magicians were working excellently together. They created unbelievably enourmous aqueducts, to whom the weathering wind was about as irritating as breathing on them. Cities for more complex industries, more architurally beautiful buildings, government centralisation. Except of course, the magicians. Magicians were content to build towers or houses within riding distance of a village and stay there. When it came to arguing on the basis of tax payments, farmers, foresters and everyone else in the village were most pleased to have a magician to emphasise their cases.

As magicians are wont to do, however, they started to go a little crazy. Only a very small proportion of people are predisposed to engineering enough to work with them all the time. Otherwise, they need to be coerced or persuaded to come lend a hand with the rock lifting and sculpting, to say nothing of the fact it requires some significant skill in magic. The end result was that there were very few magicians who were both skilled enough and willing enough to do the work that allowed the nation to exist in the first place. Once people grew used to their country and memory of how it was maintained became little more than background knowledge, it was only a matter of time before there ceased to be sufficient magicians to maintain everything. To make things worse, people were starting to force the magicians out despite constant efforts to educate them. The magicians' behaviour didn't help, their traditional roles as representatives of their neighbouring village having died away in the face of the desire to experiment and sequester themselves with their trinkets and tomes.

Eventually the magicians were, one by one, forced out by burned houses and mobs of archers. Most left readily, but some made sure to first remind people why they had been scared of magic. Even in cities they were made to leave, leaving behind a cadre of magical engineers with no magic. This posed a not insignificant problem. They knew how to maintain the aqueducts and other "ancient" structures, but they could not put them up in the first place without a magician to help. Hence they had to compromise. Some places were maintained, others were left to fall. A lot was left to fall, and as it did people left or watched their crops wither and die before their eyes. What remained was a hollow shell of the nation that had once been, nomadic groups camping beneath the ruins of giants, trying to maintain the collapsing stonework as best they could. Those few cities and villages who were still fed by the aqueducts needed to produce an enormous amount of crops to feed floods of refugees, to the point that they had to start refusing people entry as their fields could support no more.

At the current point in time Syen-at-ibris is only just starting a slow journey back to prominence. The majority of the country is wilderness, overgrown ruins and the occasional monolith stretching away into the sky, untouched by the strain of time. Some people choose to migrate around and live off what vegetation has found a way to grow, mostly escaped crops from abandoned homes. Others try to recolonise these same homes, cultivate the crops that have interbred with native species but retained some nutrition. Still more are content with their lives in the remnants of the old world. Unknown to most of these are those flighty fey, who in many cases have taken up residence in and around the most remote of these structures. Given their modern opinions of magicians, one does wonder how they might react upon widespread contact with such magical beings...

[momentsofamber]

Under a read more because I don't want to accidentally trigger anyone or anything but cw for talk of accidental and in no way fore-planned animal poisoning. If this topic is upsetting to you, please do not click the read more out of guilt or any moral obligation, we will be okay! I just wanted to get my thoughts out somewhere. Please keep yourselves safe and with the knowledge that as of me typing this up the animal is still acting like his normal healthy self and has been looked over by someone with some vet training.

This is about our 3 year old cat, we'll call him Kol. ( I don't want to use his real name because my main blog has his name on it and that blog unfortunately has stalkers who could potentially find this blog and harass me if they connected the two because they have a history of finding new ways to harass me even when I turn anon off or hide my blogs. )

My partner has several plants in the house, gardening is a SpIn for him. In the fall he took any plants that had a chance of coming back in the next spring inside in pots and put them on his window sill. Up until today Kol has shown no interest in trying to get at his Dad's plants.

This morning around 6:30AM shortly before my partner woke up Kol climbed up on the windowsill and took a chomp out of a plant we believe to be an orange Day-lily. ( Originally we thought it was a Tiger Lily; we do not know for certain because it was one my partner transplanted into a pot from the side of our apartment complex towards the end of this past spring. But from googling the leaves they appear to be Day-lily leaves which look more like giant grass strands. )

Presumably Kol thought it was cat grass, because he loves grass ( he was a stray we took in and will still excitedly eat grass when taken outside on his leash ), and because his Dad does grow cat grass in the exact same pots downstairs in our kitchen. ( He has never been fed a pot of cat grass anywhere in the home except in the kitchen next to his dry food source. )

We are both more than aware that lilies are highly toxic to cats. I woke up a little after 8AM to my partner already trying to find ways to induce vomiting because we can't afford a huge vet bill. This was a no-go so we started making phone calls instead.

We called animal poison control. They took money from me for a phone consult, and then they advised us to take him to his vet. We called his vet, they said he'd need 48 hour care and supervision and they do not provide care past 6PM, so we should call a vet ER.

We do not have the funds to take him to ER (if you google it, lily poisoning treatment is upwards of 1K), we called animal poison control back, they basically said 'well call your vet and have them call us and we'll explain your situation', my partner called the vet back and the lady said the same thing, 'we can't treat the cat here, so I can't speak with that person, you need to take him to the ER.'

So now not only did I waste a payment of limited funds I already didn't have on calling poison control for advice I couldn't follow, we have no answers as to whether or not our cat is poisoned because he's not behaving strangely. He's still eating and drinking, interacting normally, he's not hiding from us. In fact he just keeps looking at us in confusion because of how panicked we are about him.

We did get a family friend with basic vet training to look at him. ( Not a licensed vet, but she took classes back in Poland before coming here on visa and becoming an RNA. She knows enough that she could be a vet assistant. ) She seemed to think he would be find as long as he made it past 12 hours without showing any severe symptoms because he was completely interactive with her, he responded promptly to her tests of his response time, he's still walking and jumping normally, and she felt around his stomach.

So right now it's just a waiting game. I've got delta wave music playing out my speakers because Kol LOVES delta wave and binaural music just as much as I do to help relax, and he's napping on my bed like he usually does during the day.

I'm just so scared. If anything happens to Kol, my partner is never going to forgive himself for keeping a lily in the house with a cat. And the whole reason he kept this plant was because I said Tiger Lilies are my favorite flower ...

My partner has already trashed the plant in frustration ( since I had already taken pics of it for poison control ) and removed all of the rest of his plants from his room altogether where Kol cannot reach them. If we lose our cat I'm afraid he'll never garden again.

Please, please, please, let our son be okay ... we cannot lose this cat ...

[themovieblogonline]

Strange New Worlds Season 2: What Is The Doctor Hiding?

Star Trek has a long-standing tradition of the Chief Medical Officer being a part of the main ensemble cast. Starting from Bones Mcoy from The Original Series to the Emergency Medical Hologram in Voyager to Bashir in Deep Space Nine. Star Trek doctors get a lot of importance and focus in their respective series. Star Trek: Picard season 3 even uses The Next Generation’s doctor Beverly Crusher as the main plot point that kicks off that story. So it’s only fitting that the Strange New Worlds doctor seems to be getting quite the highlight in this new season. The Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere saw the doctor in a new light, and with it, they seem to be teasing a dark past. Which begs the question that, what exactly is the Strange New Worlds doctor hiding? Please note the following will contain spoilers for the Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere episode. Strange New Worlds Doctor Has A Dark Past When the Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere episode aired, I remember thinking how nice it was to have Dr. M’Benga’s (Babs Olusanmokun) calming and soothing presence back on the screen. Throughout the first season, the doctor has gotten a great emotional arc with his daughter. Not to mention being the consistent rock that the rest of the crew looks to for support of all kinds. And he definitely starts season 2 in the same way, helping Spock with his emotional issues and basically acting as his therapist. However, when the story of the episode puts the crew in a position to interact with Klingons, things get dark, quick! We learn that, along with Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), M’Benga served in the Klingon War years ago. An experience he clearly hadn’t gotten over given that Chapel asks him if he’s okay, reminding him that the war is over. To which M’Benga replies very ominously, asking if war truly is ever over. Dark stuff, folks. More Than War PTSD? While this new revelation about the Strange New Worlds doctor’s past is a very interesting character history to include, there is seemingly more to it than that. There are some usual storytelling tropes that come along with a character who has a war background; they may have PTSD, they may now be a pacifist or have trouble reconciling things they did under difficult circumstances that they are guilt-ridden about afterwards. All of these could be in play with M’Benga’s depiction of someone who was at war. But a certain interaction suggests that there is more to his past. When the crew meets up with La’an (Christina Chong), there’s talk of a certain kind of radiation making the inhabitants sick on the planet she’s in. M’Benga immediately identifies this radiation to Photon Torpedoes, a kind of weapon, causing Spock to be surprised at the Strange New Worlds doctor even has this kind of knowledge. Nurse Chapel quickly interjects revealing that they both served in the Klingon war and that ‘doc likes to read up on weapons systems is all’. It was subtle but almost felt like an explanation to questions no one really asked. Yet. Strange New Worlds’ Doctor Is A Low-Key Badass While this scene on its own doesn’t really mean anything, it’s what happens in the rest of the episode that definitely raises some eyebrows. Klingons at one point capture and force Chapel and M’Benga to provide medical assistance to their crew. However, realizing that these Klingons are trying to restart the war, they take things into their own hands. M’Benga brings out a vial of green liquid saying it can help them achieve their objectives. When Chapel asks does he ever not carry this, M’Benga replies in the negative. What this mysterious green vial contains is anyone’s guess right now. Once injected, it seemingly gives both Chapel and the doctor powers, or advanced strength to take on an entire crew of Klingons with ease. Also seems to bring about some violence in the good doctor as well. Now is this what Chapel asked about, that M’Benga apparently always carries? And if so, why? Why would the doctor constantly need to carry a vial of super strength potion with him at all times? But an easier explanation could also be a less literal one. Chapel could have asked he always carries the weight of his past on him. But given the sequence of events and the direction of the conversation, it feels less likely. I’m hoping season 2 explores this dark past and reveals what it is that the Strange New Worlds doctor is hiding, and how it ties into the character we’ve come to love from season 1. Strange New Worlds season 2 is airing weekly on Paramount+. Do you think that the doctor is hiding something too, or am I just spinning wild theories out of dilithium? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @theshahshahid. Read the full article

[xkzanova]

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[hakesbros]

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The National Association of Realtors stated Wednesday that existing home sales fell 7.7% final month from October to a seasonally adjusted annual price of 4.09 million. That’s decrease than what economists have been anticipating, based new homes albuquerque on FactSet. Despite the slowdown, home prices continued to rise. The nationwide median home sales price rose three.5% in November from a 12 months earlier to $370,seven hundred. In LA or San Francisco, that’s sufficient for a cramped rental.

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Also seeing some sold for low costs off market. Only one mentioned it was part of a multi property sale, however I suppose a quantity of of them might need been. So potential buyers usually are not only very picky, but if they can't get a agency insurance coverage quote prior to purchasing new home builders in albuquerque, then no sale. As a outcome there could be many many more listings, but can’t till repairs are complete, inspections completed, insurance coverage claims carried out. Location has alot of snow birds who personal for the cool 6 months. Ian did significant harm, but nothing like fort Myers and different surrounding areas.

Yet prices in Fresno shot up easily 100k in a yr on homes that had been solely going up 10k a yr. It’s absolutely not the time to purchase something in Fresno. With tech layoffs and the entire Bay Area transplant wfh folks… perhaps homes for sale in albuquerque nm you’ll find a deal here. As someone born and raised in Fresno who follows the housing market right here on regular basis, there aren't any offers to be discovered currently in Fresno.

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OK, so heres your dose of deluded optimism then. I can’t assist but wonder if higher mortgage charges and still-too-high prices will present help for much cheaper markets as investor exercise shifts away from wildly overpriced markets . Maybe work-from-home is right here to stay if only as a outcome of nobody can afford the Bay Area anymore. Are you looking homes for sale albuquerque for a model new home for the model new year? Check out this week's roundup of homes for sale within the Albuquerque area, including a few three-bedroom, one-bathroom houses, and a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home. Want to face out among the many sea of average actual estate agents?

[exsanguinated-doves]

Please let me know what you think.

Of course. Here it is then. I broke down every single sentence in your reblog so that you will know I properly read all this through. But for your assistance, I have put here the ones which I think you need to read.

how are you any better than a fascist, capitalist, murderer, rapist.

First of all, please be very careful when you say such things. They are very different from the topic at hand, and can potentially trigger people when called as such. For you to say such a thing, is even worse than to be called someone who belittles others, and demonizes the side which you oppose. It's a very cruel for you to throw those terms in. You may call me all the insults you'd like, but I'd rather not for you to do this to others.

Second of all. There is a claim of yours that is, "MOST humans can survive and thrive on an all plant-based diet". I have said, in opposition of this, because there exists people who have dietary restrictions, religious beliefs, and so many other unique reasons on why people eat meat. Whether those reasons are valid or not is not for you or me to judge. I know that a lot of people cannot afford vegetables and to afford buying vitamin supplements for the nutrients vegetables do not provide easily to them. You are privileged enough to afford to have an all-plant based diet. How am I better than a capitalist? Because I understand that not everyone are as privileged as you, and meat gives them easy access to nutrients which plants have little of.

Now here is me breaking down all of which you've said. As you have asked for my response, in the sentence "please let me know what you think". I hope you will read this thoroughly as you have read my previous reblog.

i read this entire thing by the way.

Thank you for doing so. Though by adding this it does not necessarily mean that you understand what I say. And that is alright. You were not the one who asked for the information, and I have..no idea where you came from.

you do not have to be an expert on ANYTHING to know murder is wrong,

Indeed. You are executing a very good example that it matters not about ethical practice, or of humane slaughter. You only care that slaughterhouses do one thing: slaughter. I recognize you from your previous reblog. When an animal is mistreated before the slaughter, it matters not, because what you truly care about is that it is killed. At least, that is what I see from this.

you know pigs, sheep, cows, even chickens rival the intelligence of companion animals like dogs and cats.

I don't know that. I know not of what you base their intelligence on, whether it is by their resourcefulness, nack of making families, or that you think they can feel fear before they are killed. I don't own any cats or dogs, so I cannot truly say whether or not they are intelligent.

you know that most human beings can survive and thrive on a plant based diet.

You have this assumption that people can indeed, survive on a diet which consist of vegetables. I do think that yes, people can survive and thrive on an all-vegetable diet. But many cannot. There are many unique reasons for why people depend on meat to survive--like their disability, their personal preference, religious beliefs, medical condition, their wallet, and many more. If you wish to advocate for people to dump eating meat altogether, I would encourage you to promote buying local vegetables and lowering the prices of vegetables to make it easier to access for people, and to support and donate to plant genetic research facilities, so that they can breed new plants which can potentially be more nutritious than meat.

fuck finding "proper sources", "proper terminology" evidence of "good" animal agriculture (LOL).

I do not know where you wish to go with this. You have already proven that your interest is in that proving killing animals is alike of murder, and demonizing people who eat meat. In this sentence, you're displaying your..lack of knowledge on the meat industry, and the handy substitution for it is your own morals.

you do not have to be an expert on ANYTHING to know murder is wrong,

Indeed, murder is wrong. Murder is classified as the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another in the dictionary. Your 'murder' is to kill animals. I wonder if ants also should not be murdered in your opinion. You have also, probably killed ants too. Maybe a few cockroaches, slammed your hand down on a mosquito. If you were to disagree with this, then you would be countering your argument which says animals are intelligent, and saying that life is capable of being unintelligent and without feelings. You think a pig cries tears of sorrow instead of eye irritation.

a toddler can tell you this, and frequently does; ever see a video of a mother telling their child the hotdog they are eating and peppa pig on the tv screen are the same thing?

Peppa Pig is an anthropomorphic, talking, fictional pig in a children's cartoon. I would say no, they are different things altogether. Peppa Pig shows herself to be a sentient being capable of making decisions, feeling emotions such as empathy and compassion as well as anger and distrust. Real life pigs, the ones which are not drawn and displayed in a children's cartoon, do not perform this, have houses made of bricks and drive a car and are friends with Suzy Sheep.

they fucking CRY because they realize how fucked up it is.

I can't say for myself that they do because I do not have a toddler, and in my experience in working with children in my main line of work, which is medicine, I have not seen children cry because their hotdog was initially the fictional anthropomorphic cartoon character Peppa Pig.

purely on an ideological, philosophical level here: if an animal has to die for you to eat, and you can just eat plants instead, the only reason the animal died is for your own perverted pleasure in knowing a creature died for your meal.

I do not have any perverted pleasures in knowing a creature died for someone's meal. I do not fetishize or get sexually aroused when knowing cattle was slaughtered unethically or ethically in a slaughterhouse. There are many reasons for people eating meat, all which you think are below you, because you are privileged enough to be able to have a diet that consists solely of vegetables. You do not know this, but I will tell you now, for you to know, I don't even eat meat.

its as simple as that, and to stop this is so fucking easy just eat a BANANA or an AVOCADO or maybe some BEANS.

I don't quite like bananas, or avocados, and I dislike beans. I do like grapes though, I eat many grapes. But how odd it is that vegan activists would prefer to have palm oil grown from destroyed rainforests and their quinoa freshly picked by child-slaves when they do not rely or are dependent on vegetables to live (as no one who is dependent on vegetables would be so quick to throw others with dietary restrictions like them under the bus).

The way you constantly belittle vegans throughout your entire block of text here makes me very unconfident that any of of this logic will actually get through to you though.

I wish not to demonize anyone when I provided this information. With that logic, when someone adds information which is asked for, is someone who will belittle the knowledge of another.

if you are not vegan, you are pro animal abuse, it is as simple as this.

No, it is not as simple as that. This sentence tells me that you are promoting to stop animal abuse, contradicting your entire point that the reason why you are so angrily typing in my reblogs is because eating meat is supporting murder. From Wikipedia, Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. There is so much that goes into animal abuse and cruelty upon animals, so much more than just slaughter, which you should be as loud about.

if an animal dies from old age and then you eat it (LMFAO);

I don't do that. Animals which die from old age are usually not eaten by humans, because they have not been bred as livestock to be consumed when they are killed. Very rarely does an animal dies of old age in the wild, because in the wild, they are both prey and predator.

how are you any better than a fascist, capitalist, murderer, rapist.

Please be very careful when you say such things. They are very different from the topic at hand, and can potentially trigger people when called as such. For you to say such a thing, is even worse than to be called someone who belittles others, and demonizes the side which you oppose. It's a very cruel for you to throw those terms in. You may call me all the insults you'd like, but I'd rather not for you to do this to others.

i saw a farmer claim the cows they are raising for beef will never know fear or pain. since when is being killed at a slaughterhouse painless?????

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Creeping Ambition

CW: Dehumanization, captivity, restraints, emotional manipulation, mad science, drugging, delirium/hallucinations, noncon touch (nonsexual), torture

For @whumptober 2022, day 1: adverse effects / “this wasn’t supposed to happen” and day 23: tied to a table

Signs of the Sea Masterlist

-

The following was attached to an email sent to Austin Howard, CEO of Howard Reston Health, by Dr. Rachel Lachlan

RECORDING 90

DAY 076 SINCE SUBJECT WAS ACQUIRED

There is a soft, slight hiss as the recording begins. Barely perceptible, it seems to grow slightly louder as the recording continues.

A woman’s voice speaks.

“This is Dr. Rachel Lachlan, recording for the purposes of later transcription, with Bahram Anvari assisting. Subject is adolescent mer and is a rare example of a young adult male. Today’s examinations are more practical than usual, I must admit. We’re not looking for any big breakthroughs in knowledge today.”

A male voice with traces of a long-ago English accent still clinging to the edges of each syllable speaks next. “We’re not?”

“No, Bahram.” The rattling of metal, sound of wheels rolling along a floor. There is a splash of water, the sound of it slopping against the sides of a tall plastic tub. A soft chirp and click becomes audible, questioning. While the young man murmurs a soothing nonsense reply, the woman ignores it. There is light beeping, four in quick succession, then the sound of a mechanism unlocking. Creaking as a door swings open. The rattling of wheels begins again. “Today is really more about observation, looking for the smaller details that our more difficult work may lead to us missing.”

“So we’re just going to… watch him?” 

Thump. 

“In a manner of speaking, yes. Please move the mer onto the examination table.”

There is a brief pause, and then Bahram Anvari speaks in a softer, sweeter voice. “Okay, here we go. Yeah, you know how to do this by now, huh? One… two… three… up!”

Harder thumps, and the sound of Bahram Anvari’s heavy breathing from exertion. The mer chirps, a sound that manages at once to be both plaintive and attempting cheerful. 

“There we go,” Bahram says. “Good, good job.”

“It doesn’t understand English or ASL.” Dr. Lachlan’s voice is dry and disdainful. “I don’t know why you bother with all that nonsense. It isn’t a person, Bahram.”

“With all due respect, Dr. Lachlan, anatomical studies of recovered specimens have shown that they have very similar neurological structures to our own.” Bahram’s voice might tighten slightly - it’s difficult to tell by recording alone. “There’s no reason to believe he can’t learn a language as easily as we do.”

“Bahram.” Dr. Lachlan’s sigh is audible in the recording. “What have I told you about over-humanizing the test subjects? He is not human.”

“Their scientific name is Homo haffru sirenia! They’re part of our family tree!”

“I have some disagreements about that classification, to be frank. With the gills and being fully aquatic in their natural lives, I would really call them Cetacea, class them alongside whales, not Simiiformes like us.”

“You’d be wrong if you did. Anyone who did would be wrong. He is clearly a branch of humanity-”

There is a pause. “Bahram. Are you questioning my understanding of taxonomy as it applies to a marine subject I have far more knowledge of and experience with than you do?”

“... I thought you said you’d never worked with them personally before this.”

There is another, much longer pause. “Bahram-”

“Did you? Did you work with mer before, in person? Not just observational?”

“That isn’t relevant to the current-”

“Zer nazan! Of course it’s relevant-”

“Bahram! I can dismiss you from this project if you would prefer, right now, and you may pack your things and go.”

A pause. “What?”

“I can continue onward on my own or hire someone new, if you would prefer. Or you can stop blithering and help me provide mankind with discoveries that could get both of us quite wealthy and well-known.”

“I don’t care about money, Dr. Lachlan. And I don’t care about getting my name in any publications, or-”

“But you value your parents’ regard, don’t you? I imagine that after you have already left your university education somewhat… ignominiously, that losing your first and only job immediately afterward would disappoint them further.”

Silence, broken only by the questioning clicks from the mer, which neither human seems to respond to. Bahram Anvari is the first one to speak again. “I… I’m sorry, Dr. Lachlan. I didn’t sleep well last night, and I’ve been having some trouble… with everything.”

“I can see that.” Dr. Lachlan’s reply is clipped, irritated but no longer angry. “Does this mean I should be concerned about a repeat of your prior illness? I offered you an option that allowed you to gain the experience you need without having to attend classes, and even agreed to speak to Dr. Evans about forgiving some of your incompletes in order to allow you to return to finish your degree-”

“I know, Dr. Lachlan, and I’m grateful… it’s just-”

“Should I rescind that offer, Bahram? You know as well as I it will be quite impossible for you to gain employment within your chosen field without that bit of paper proving your capabilities.”

“No! No, I’m… I’ll be fine. I’m fine, doctor. I’m just… I’ll try to get better sleep. That usually helps a lot.”

“I will hold you to that. Now… let’s get him strapped down.”

Bahram’s voice has a note of reluctance and uncertainty. “... yes, doctor.”

For approximately sixty-seven seconds, the only sounds are the breathing of the two humans and the mer, and the sound of metal buckles clinking as the mer is strapped by tail and wrists against the table. The mer whistles in distress, but beyond some low shushing noises from Bahram, neither speaks to him. 

Dr. Rachel Lachlan’s heels click on the tile floor as she moves away from the recording device.

“Dr. Lachlan? What are you doing?” Bahram Anvari moves the microphone closer to the mer, and there is the sound of scraping and a brief burst of feedback and audio noise. 

Dr. Lachlan’s reply is faded and distant. A cabinet door opens and closes sharply. Water runs, and then shuts off again shortly afterward. “I’m prepping our observational study, Bahram. We’ll be observing the effects of a specific kind of sedative being developed for use in merkind.”

“For use in… why would we need that? I thought you said you didn’t plan to take any more-”

“I don’t plan to do anything, Bahram. My employer, however, may wish to gain further subjects in the future. And we want this to be as humane a process as we can make it. Now, you mentioned his right arm is no longer useful for syringe injection?”

“... right. He’s… his veins are totally tapped out on that side. We’re giving him too much-”

“Nonsense. We’ll try the left today, then.”

The mer whistles again. This time Bahram speaks to him directly. “It’s all right, just turn your… right. Just like that. Give blood, okay?”

“It knows that command, hm?” Dr. Lachlan laughs, a little wryly. “Like a dog learning what ‘roll over’ means.”

“Or a child," Bahram says quietly, "learning how to ask to be held.”

Dr. Lachlan makes a sound of disgust, but doesn’t reprimand him this time. Instead, there is a brief silence before the mer whimpers and Bahram shushes him again.

“Bahram, what are you doing?”

“He likes-... it helps him feel better,” Bahram replies, a little defensively. “He’s scared of needles - can’t imagine why - but if one of us is there with a hand on his head, it helps him.”

“You’re a lost cause, Anvari. Imagine how little we would know about the world if all our researchers had your bleeding heart.”

“We might know just as much, and have found it out in ways that didn’t involve terror.”

“Nonsense. And... there we go. It should only take a few minutes to take effect. Let’s clean up while we wait.”

“Yes, doctor. All right, buddy, you took the needle really well. Now-... here, yes.” Brief silence. “Good? See?”

“... are you signing to it again, Bahram?”

“Yes. He really does know a few signs, and-”

“Hmph. Hopeless indeed. Come here and help me.”

For approximately five minutes and forty-two seconds, no sound is heard beyond breathing, Dr. Lachlan’s quiet commands, and Bahram’s soft, deferential answers. Then, the mer whimpers and whistles, and the two humans go quiet. 

Rattling and thumps. Distressed clicks and whistles raise in volume and pitch. Audio briefly drops out as the mer’s keening is too loud and close and the microphone fails to fully record it and instead records a moment of static. 

Keening again. Table rattling.

“What is he doing? Dr. Lachlan, why is he doing that?”

“It’s thrashing, Bahram.”

“No, I see that, but… why is he-... hey, it’s okay, it’s-... ow!”

“Don’t get so close to it!”

“He bit me!”

“Shocking. You put your hand next to its mouth and it bit you. A wild surprise.”

“Dr. Lachlan… What’s wrong with him?!”

INCLUDED: FIGURE 3.2, PHOTO OF MER TAKEN FROM LEFT SIDE

“Hm. Well. That wasn’t supposed to happen.” Dr. Lachlan’s voice is muffled, as the mer continues to wail, rattling and thumping against the table as he thrashes. The keens become shrieking, screeches that overwhelm the recording with feedback again and again.

SUBECT STRAPPED TO TABLE. SHOULDER BLADES AND TAIL AGAINST METAL. BACK ARCHED. DRIED AND WET SALTWATER ON FACE. MOUTH WIDE OPEN, FANGS GLEAM IN THE LIGHT PLACED CLOSE TO FACE.

EYES WIDE.

SEE SUPPORTIVE DOCUMENTATION RECORDING INCREASED HEART RATE.

Primary audio file unusable for reference purposes for period of sixty-six seconds due to this loss of fidelity. 

SEE INCLUDED AUDIO FILE 62 FOR MORE ACCURATE RECORDING OF MER DISTRESS SOUNDS WHEN NEGATIVE PHYSICAL STIMULI IS APPLIED.

INCLUDED AUDIO FILE 62 FROM RECORDS: MER SCREAMING.

“What was supposed to happen? That wasn’t a sedative, was it, Dr. Lachlan? We’ve used sedatives on him before and this has never happened, so what did you give him and what did you think would happen when you did?”

“Bahram-... I would watch your tone-”

“What was it?!”

“... a deliriant.”

The pause that follows is not a silence at all. The mer continues to shriek in the background, audio crackling in and out, in and out. 

“You gave him something to make him hallucinate?!”

“My employer-”

The sound of tearing fabric overtakes all over noise.

“... wait, what’s that sound?”

Crashing, sound of metal against tile, glass breaking, more fabric tearing, and above it all, the mer’s high-pitched, keening screams. 

“Shit! Come here, buddy, it’s okay, come here-... oh shit-.. Stop, stop trying-... my ears, that hurts so bad, stop it-"

“The subject,” Dr. Lachlan speaks over the noise, voice strained with effort, nearly shouting herself, “has torn the restraints on the right side and from its tail and is now off the table and on the ground. It has destroyed laboratory equipment, including the restraints… also a variety of compounds intended for experimental use… several broken syringes, its travel tank…”

“Here, let me get that for you, just calm down, calm down, here we go… here we go-...”

“Bahram Anvari has undone the subject’s last remaining restraint from around its wrist-”

“He’s terrified! Whatever you gave him is hurting him!”

“It’s not hurting him… it… it just may be causing some sensory hallucinations-”

“No.” Bahram’s voice is firm. “He can see his pod-... his family. He can see them being harpooned like he was! He can see-... see their blood in the water-... he thinks he’s in the water. He’s trying to get to them to help! Here, here buddy, it’s okay, you’re just in the lab with me…”

INCLUDED: FIGURE 3.3. STILL IMAGE FROM SECURITY CAMERA LOCATED IN PLACEMENT SEVEN WITHIN LAB.

PHOTO OF BAHRAM ANVARI, SEATED. ANVARI HOLDS MER SUBJECT, WHO IS STILL APPEARING TO VOCALIZE. MER SUBJECT IS BLURRY DUE TO CONTINUED VOLATILE MOVEMENTS. WATER IS VISIBLE AROUND TILE FLOOR DUE TO OVERTURNED TRAVEL TANK. 

ALSO VISIBLE: GLASS SHARDS, SYRINGES, TORN NYLON, OVERTURNED METAL TABLE, AND DR. RACHEL LACHLAN STANDING NEAR SINK.

 “How can you know?” Dr. Rachel Lachlan’s voice remains calm despite noise and movement. “How can you  know that’s what it sees?”

“I just-... I just know!”

There is whispering, from Bahram Anvari, which cannot be understood on the audio recording. After approximately seven seconds of further vocalizations, the mer goes quiet, and then whistles exactly once, high-pitched for one second, then three shorter, sharper, lower notes.

“I know,” Bahram says, voice soft and gentle. “I know. We’re just here in the lab. It’s just us.”

“Bhhh… Bhhhh-rmmm.” The mer appears to be attempting to say Bahram Anvari’s name. This transcriber did their best to accurately reflect the pronunciation of syllables. “Bhhh-rmmm, hhhh-puh…”

“I’m right here. I’m right here. It’s just us, it’s just the lab. Your pod is still out there, they’re all right, it’s just us here… just us.”

“Bhh-rmmmm… mah-... mah-”

“I know, I’m so sorry, she’s not here.”

“Mah-”

“I know.”

A pause.

FIGURES 3.4, 3.5, AND 3.6. STILL FROM SECURITY CAMERA LOCATED OVER ENTRANCE INTO LABORATORY. PHOTO SHOWS JUVENILE MER HELD BY BAHRAM ANVARI.

FIRST PHOTO SHOWS MER WITH PALMS FACING SELF, CLAWS SPREAD, ONE HAND LOCATED THREE INCHES ABOVE THE OTHER. ONE HAND IS OVER LUNG AREA SLIGHTLY TO THE LEFT SIDE, ONE OVER UPPER ABDOMEN ON RIGHT.

SECOND PHOTO SHOWS SAME IMAGE, BUT NOW MER’S HANDS HAVE SHIFTED INWARD, ONE DIRECTLY ABOVE THE OTHER, CLAWS SPREAD, CENTRAL POSITION IN FRONT OF TORSO.

THIRD PHOTO SHOWS MER’S HANDS HAVE RETURNED TO THEIR ORIGINAL POSITION, CLAWS SPREAD, ONE SLIGHTLY TO RIGHT AND THE OTHER SLIGHTLY TO LEFT.

“I know, I know you are, I know… It’ll stop after a while, I promise…”

“Bahram.” Dr. Lachlan sounds genuinely unsettled for the first time. “What did it just do?”

“He said I’m afraid. Miah and I have taught him some ASL, I told you, Dr. Lachlan, he isn’t what you keep saying he is, he’s thinking all the time. He’s learning. He’s-... he’s just a kid-”

“It is a juvenile mer-”

“He’s a child. A humanoid child who has been abducted, and he’s scared and in pain and it’s… I’m part of it. It’s my fault. He misses them so much… He thinks about his mother, you know. All the time. It’s okay… it’s okay. I think about my maman, too…”

“It thinks about its parent?”

“Dr. Lachlan…”

“Fine. Its mother.”

“Yes. He’s… he’s barely more than a baby.”

“This juvenile is adolescent. It’s within two years of entering its first mating cycle!”

“Yeah, and so was I when I was sixteen, but I still asked for Maman when I was in a car accident! He wants his mom. What kid have you met who didn’t want someone when he’s scared and alone?”

“I… don’t interact often with children.”

“Yeah. I can tell.”

Dr. Lachlan’s reply is clipped. “... I can see that you won’t be reasonable about the current situation. I need to record my observations for my employer’s benefit. I think we’ll cut our experiment short for today. When you can, return him to his tank and clean up this mess.”

“Yes, of course, doctor, but… that’s it? That’s all you needed?”

“... yes. I’ve gotten what my employer needs to know.”

Dr. Lachlan’s heels crunch on broken glass and plastic as she walks briskly out the door and closes it behind her with a sharp click.

The audio recording continues on for some time, the only sounds those of Bahram Anvari speaking to the mer, and the mer’s chirping, whistling, and clicking responses. After approximately one hour and seven minutes, Bahram Anvari begins to clean up the side of the laboratory closest to the door.

The sound of a secondary travel tank being wheeled in, one squeaky wheel differentiating it from the original, now broken one. 

“Oh, right. The audio. Let me turn this over, bud, and then we can get you back home-... back into the tank, anyway. I can get the glass out of your tail in a second. Oh, man, you are so heavy…”

One final whistle from the mer.

“Yeah… you’re welcome. I hope this doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass later.”

RECORDING ENDS.

-

Copy of email sent to Austin Howard:

BODY:

FROM: dr.rachel@hrh.org

TO: howard.austin@hrh.org

SUBJECT: Breakthrough!

Mr. Howard,

I thought you might find something of value in this transcribed recording of my latest session with the juvenile mer subject. I have attached images and audio files that support the transcription, which I believe will be of immense benefit.

Frankly, this justifies our entire mission.

As you can see, the juvenile is learning American Sign Language due to repeated contact with my assistant and our friend’s daughter. While that is fascinating, there is something far more important in this recording.

Note, if you will, that Bahram Anvari appears to have some understanding as to the mer’s thoughts and access to specifics as to its reasoning that he shouldn’t. 

He won’t tell me how he gained this knowledge, but I think our hunch is correct.

The mer are telepathic, Austin!

And ours… is talking to Bahram.

Yours,

-

Dr. Rachel Lachlan, D.Sc

Head of Applied Experimental Research

Howard Reston Health

dr.rachel@hrh.org

(555) 683-4310

“Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination.”

John Dewey

BODY:

FROM: howard.austin@hrh.org

TO: dr.rachel@hrh.org

SUBJECT: Re: Breakthrough!

Dr. Lachlan,

I was excited to review the transcript of your session. Now, having listened to it and looked over your notes, I’m downright goddamn thrilled. 

My secretary will be giving you a call in about twenty minutes. I intend to make a visit to your laboratory and see the juvenile in person. Schedule a particularly strenuous, frightening, or painful experiment for that day, and ensure Bahram Anvari assists you.

Let’s see what this little fish can do.

Thank you as always for your invaluable contributions,

-

Austin Howard

CEO, Howard Reston Health

h.austin@hrh.com

(555) 334 - 2309

“Ambition can creep as well as soar.”

Edmund Burke

@astrobly @burtlederp @finder-of-rings @thefancydoughnut @whumptywhumpdump @boxboysandotherwhump @yet-another-heathen @fanmanga1357-blog @justabitofwhump @crystalrainwing @keeper-of-all-the-random-things @orchidscript @whump-tr0pes @hackles-up plus @whumpworldld for whumptober tag list