#that or under a hot rock in the desert like a lizard

[lenin-it-to-win-it]

my harrowing encounter with psychiatry

[healingfairy000000001]

Minnie series, witch straw hat, we can spend the night in my dealers house.

Ahh yes, Alabasta the land of sand, belly dancers clothes given to me by sanji and Vivi's country!, but most importantly lizards! tail's for distracting potions maybe a smokey corpse smell, it's eyes for and limbs for stealth ohhh~what I will do~

Ace was looking at her creeped out, she had a creepy aura around her as she looked around the ground,

"Don't mind her she get's like this sometimes" said nami patting his shoulder before continuing walking.

"she won't boil us alive, right?" he asked to conform his suspicions.

"don't worry ace, Y/N is my friend!" comforted him luffy, before they continued there march.

Y/N ignored them but focused on her hunt as chopper stayed by zoro, but vivi got dragged into helping her.

and though vivi was creeped out by decapitating lizard she couldn't bring her self to refuse helping her.

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As the sun sat down and the wind's slowed down the night sky came with the light of the moon and a bit of cold, they found a spot to camp, sanji was cooking a warm meal, zoro was napping by the rocks, nami was comforting a crying vivi from cutting lizards tails and limbs all day, while ussop helped sanji out, Ace and chopper on the other hand were curious about Y/N need for the creature.

"What do you plan on doing with this?" asked Ace looking at her storing them in jars.

"Lot's of things! smoke screens with a heavy smell, it's limbs for a scripture to walk on walls" she explained holding different jars for each purpose chopper seemed more curios about magic looking at her jars before pointing at something

"what's that?"

"dried bat brains" she answered with a huge grin as everyone twitched a bit, except Ussop who looked scared as hell

"WHY DO YOU NEED THAT!"

"greater hearing and night vision"

silent fell before luffy broke it "can I eat it?"

"why would you want to eat it!" scolded both nami and ussop

Y/N was having a good laugh while the rest continued on their work, with vivi trying to calm down nami and chopper helping in storing everything.

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As dinner was eaten and everyone was ready to sleep under the star light having a moment of tranquility cut short by Ussop, "DAMN COLD!" he stood up shouting gerly being fed up with the cold, vivi tried to re-explain "the desert is Hot as fire in the morning and cold as Ice in night"

"that doesn't make any sense!" he protested, while nami and sanji tried to deescalate the situation

"well what other choice do we have? suck it up" nami said tierdly

"we can sleep in a whale" Y/N said standing up while opening her bag, her words struck the crew as a joke but her seriousness was evident

"you do realize were like, far away from the ocean?"said Nami as the rest agreed but luffy and chopper got exited,

"YOU CAN SUMMON WHALES!"

"that's so cool!"

as she looked at them she got out a crystal ball blue in color and smooth in texture, "it's my dealer, I buy stuff I can't gather there" this seemed to gather the two interest even more, while the rest had one common thought 'what are those ingredient's?'

"Yeah I can you come here? I need a favor to ask" she spoke to the crystal as it glowed a soft light, "here we go"

a few moment's later a sudden ripple split the air, and with a thunderous splash, a starry-blue whale materialized out of thin air, casting shimmering reflections from its body.

While nami and Ussop were panicking, zoro,sanji and Ace being on guard, the rest were curious

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

"Gernario mardo evou" she yelled and the while opened it's mouth the woman simply walked in, "WOAH! Y/N why didn't you show us this before!" yelled luffy following in, and though the rest felt reluctant Ace zoro and chopper followed closely.

The inside of the whale was like stepping into a dream; a flat surface of shimmering water stretched beneath their feet, while tiny fireflies flitted around, casting gentle reflections on the liquid ceiling, this seemed to put everyone in awe.

"WELCOME travelers" said a man's voice from deep inside, "what might you need" he asked

"yeah, uncle goerg can me and my friends spend the night here? it's cold outside" using her best puppy dog eyes the man appeared in front of her, with a bold head and a long beard with bare feet he looked at her un-amused

this 'uncle george' was walking and smelling everyone, some pushed him away while some hid behind the other, "those are....Human's" he said the word human with disgust before going back to his customer

"how dare you bring strangers into my domain here, this ain't a hotel, shoo"

as he started to push her and the crew out with strong winds coming from inside the whale with a snap of his finger looking at the witch in displeasure, she pulled out her final card, "I'll pay!"

"no we won't!" protested nami

"I don't need your worthless berries humans"

"no! it's two jars of high quality lizard limbs collected by the princess her self!"

he raised an eyebrow, before she looked at her semi flying before giving up, "and my prized bat's brains!"

taking a moment to think, he looked at vivi and nami then at luffy before agreeing, with a snap of his fingers the wind stopped letting everyone fall to their face as a bedroom was dragged in with a hand sticking out

"You and your lizard limbs, kid. Fine. But keep your humans away from my stash, now give me the jars"

"here" she gave in reluctantly, satisfied with his prize he left them alone, "Y/N-Chwaaannnn~you got us a room for free~" said sanji swooning over the depressed girl

"tell me if you want anything Y/N-chan" even nami was swooning a bit for the 'free' room

soon everyone looked around in peace with the disappearance of the old men with the jar, there were enough bed's for everyone a table of fruit's and a bathroom.

"wait you could've done this before?" asked nami

"yeah, I knew him since I was 7"

"why didn't you do this before!" nami, ussop beat her up in anger "I could've died of the cold!" adde'd ussop

"hey! I lost two of my prized stuff! have some decency!"

"shut up!!"

it was rowdy and chaotic but soon everyone found some comfort to fall asleep.

[bitter-rabittt]

Can you do a Ron Jakowski x Male reader head cannons? He's super duper under rated and I love him 💙

OMGOMGOMG!!! YESSSSSS

he would try and keep you away somewhat from T.P.I, afraid that trevor will try and scare you off, but will end up spitting it out sooner or later.

would definitely find you rocks, pretty ones with weird patterns on them and proceed to tell you how it was made.

he would keep you awake at night, telling you all sorts of conspiracy theories, giving you the proof and everything.

"w-what do you mean you don't see it? it's obvious he's a lizard!!"

would make sure you're warm at night, it's hot in the day, but deserts get chilly at night and would give you his sweaters to keep you warm.

autism rizz.

NSFW:

would enjoy riding you, as long as you help! (his knee acts up)

blowjobs? yes please.

bro whimpers, whimpers your name, curses, everything.

doesn't particularly like messes, but would take your cum like a champ!

[theneverfadinglands]

Early Draft of Chapter ??

The Dance Of The Torrid Air

[Well, I am posting my WIP snippet. Keep in mind I might change some descriptions later, although I am fairly pleased with it already. I think I won't change much about it, so I decided to post it because it is lying there for a long time. This part of the story is set in the desert Erumorna, Maglor sees a caravan of Sauron's slavers, cooks lizards and sings laments in the sandstorm.]

[EDIT: Well it was needed to rework the timeline, this is probably a snipped of some chapter but a much later one!]

The air was hot, but the black sand was hotter. Maglor was lying on his stomach, hiding behind a dune, with two fresh corpses of lizards beside him. A caravan of slavers was marching through a valley between dunes with their newest catch. The cracking of whips tore through the heavy air, urging the slaves to move faster.

Maglor stayed to watch them, for the people were different from the Men of Harad. Their clothing, tailored and made of blue fabrics, was now dirty and worn out after the long march north. Both women and men alike were clad in jewelry made of bones, though some women wore long veils of beads covering their faces. They wore no shoes to protect from the blistering heat of the sand. No children were with them; the slavers did not spare children, leaving them to die of thirst in the desert.

He switched his attention to the goods the caravan was transporting. The camels, with black and dark brown coats, carried the trophies of big-game hunts, bodily remains of animals Maglor had last seen long ago in Aman: skins of golden fur with small black dots, black and white striped hides, and tusks of ivory. A trade expedition then, not a military one. These goods would be sold at the Havens of Umbar. However, the people from far lands would work for the war machinery of Sauron in forges deep underground, under the whips of their masters.

Maglor knew Erumorna was not kind to anyone, neither Men nor Elves or children, but even She hated the servants of the Enemy. A storm was stirring in the South; soon the black sand would cover their traces, and Maglor hoped it would devour them all, burying their bodies under a dark blanket and lulling them into eternal sleep. It would be a kinder fate.

As the caravan passed and was lost between the dunes, Maglor left his hideout. Elvish legs carried him lightly across the sandy waves, not leaving any traces of his presence, swiftly breaching the narrow valley. The wind, stirring the sand in clouds, was suffocating him. He covered his face with a bright red shawl and walked faster. After a while, he reached his destination: a narrow slit between two rocks, leading into a small cave.

Erumorna has two faces: one of immense heat during the day and the cold of night, and the other hidden deep underground in the lava caves stretched across the sea of dunes. It wasn't safe to travel freely in the caves, not now when the Enemy had risen again to power. Creatures of darkness slowly subjugated the most important paths, driving men and elves alike out of their underground realms.

The cave was lit with shining stones in which Maglor had trapped sunlight. The ceiling was too low for him to stand up comfortably. He crawled to the Watercatcher, a simple device used to collect water from the air. He drank a little bit before he moved to skin the lizards. In the long years, he had learned how to skin the quarry single-handedly. Maglor thought that his brother Celegorm would regard the lizards as poor game. But Celegorm was long dead, along with all his other brothers and father.

He raised his voice and called for fire as he had been taught many years ago by Aulë, when the world was fair. Cooking dinner with a simple song, just like many nights before. Maglor was lucky he was a Noldo, for dehydration and starvation would have long forced a Man to receive the Gift of Eru prematurely. A hardy folk were the elves, surviving only on little. The older they were, the lesser the needs of their bodies. Maglor again and again wondered why he had decided to go on this adventure. Although it had not been his brightest idea, it was far from the worst one either.

The wind and sand were singing in symphony like long-lost lovers, weeping outside the cave. Maglor wrapped himself in a thick blanket and raised his own voice to join the music of Manwë and Erumorna. Strumming a simple melody on a kalimba, which he had traded with the Kinn-lai, he sang. There, in the raging storm, nobody could hear him. He sang a song of distant shores, summoning from memory the white sands of Alqualondë reddened with blood. He sang a lament for Celegorm, a song of forests and beasts, hunts passing. A long night was awaiting.

[bobbinacrosstheequator]

March 21, 2023 Isabela

It seems like we were given a day of rest yesterday to save energy for a fast tempo today. Coffee at 6:00 AM and then it was into the pangas and off for a walk on Isla Isabela. It was a dry landing – sturdy shoes required. The black lava rock underfoot was a bit tricky to cross – slippery when wet and spikey and full of cracks and gaps. Park rangers mark the paths to keep visitors away from delicate areas and those rocks at risk of breaking off or caving into a tunnel underneath. Views in the distance were of two volcanos: Cerro Azul and Sierra Negra. Few and far between, chandelier cacti (tall and skinny) dotted the stark landscape along with random other scruffy plants including Darwin daisies (ha, remembered two names!). Crossing the lava, we spotted various lava lizards and land iguanas sunning themselves. They blend in quite well to the rock. At the first pool we came to, which was separated from the sea due to of low tide, we were entertained by several creatures stuck there for the time being including penguins and turtles, getting glimpses of them as they came up from swimming around or came out from hiding in a crevice. Onward across the rough landscape, we got back into the pangas for the second act. We pulled into an inlet area with amazing viewing. A large gaggle of iguanas were sunning on the rocks, with others gorging on a breakfast of green and red-ish algae growing on the lava rock. Just beyond the gaggle were a few more iguanas on the rocks next to several adorable Galápagos penguins. Well, all were adorable except the one who was molting – he looked a bit scroungy! Add Sally Lightfoot crabs to the scene and it was perfect. Kudos to Carolina for curtailing the walk a bit (the tide impacts where one can walk) to get us to this location by boat!

Breakfast awaited us on return to the Passion. This morning’s highlights: plantain fritters and soursop juice. Yum. With the usual offerings of eggs, fruit, bread and cheese, we are not wanting for sustenance. Let’s hope our clothes fit at the end of a week!

After breakfast, we were off on our second outing and first snorkeling of the day. WOW! First thought in the water was that without full sun and lots of murky stuff in the water, it might not be very interesting. But the opposite was true. We had multiple encounters with large sea turtles, swimming under and between us, one bopping Jillebob on the tummy. We could simply be passive in the water and the current would sweep us toward and away from the rocks at the same pace as the turtles. Sebbie spotted a sea horse (she thinks). Jill’s eagle eye caught a couple of chocolate chip starfish and we saw a few other starfish that looked like their pointy bits were holding on to rocks for dear life. Sea lions joined in the fun, swimming around, in front of and sometimes toward us so we could get a good look at their cute little faces. We raised our heads for a bit to watch a show of two courting flightless cormorants swimming around each other making chugging noises, getting up on shore and then back into the water to start again. The last couple of turtles were a special show. The two of us just floated on the surface as they swam under us, again moving with the current and catching themselves with their flippers as they were knocked into the rocks. We could clearly see them munching on whatever was growing on the rocks. Oops –got carried away - need to get back to the pangas; everyone else was already on board! On return from our snorkeling excursions, Roberto often greets us with a hot drink – today: almond milk hot chocolate with peppers and cinnamon. Yummy.

Meals are a wonderful part of this trip, and it would be difficult to pass one up, even though we’re eating much more than our norm. Lunch was vegetable soup, followed by calamari, rice, brussels sprouts, salad, fish and a brownie for desert. As we cruised to another snorkeling destination, we got good views of the greener part of Isabella.

Mid-afternoon (after a fab nap – this relaxation is exhausting), we arrived at our second snorkeling spot. Alas, it was a bust. Can’t win ‘em all. Murky water, not much sun. But a cool, steep black beach to land on.

For the nature walk in the afternoon, we had a wet landing on the same beach. Some of the group had to change shoes sitting on some rock, being careful not to wake a napping sea lion who was just a few feet away. The path back onto the island was well trodden, flat and mostly covered with the black sand and in places volcanic pebbles. We found a giant tortoise sleeping in the path, many tortoise “packages” around, proving that many more had been around. One cute smaller guy dashed out of the way as we approached, leaving the apple he was munching. Ok, so turtles don’t dash – meandered might be a more apt description! We walked by numerous land iguana dens and found one occupied in which we could see Mr I’s head poking out. No other iguanas were out to be spotted this afternoon, so we checked out some birds, plants and had generally a nice stroll. Back in the pangas, passing the same blond sea lion still napping on the rocks where we left him an hour earlier.

After our second shower of the afternoon each (we hadn’t expected it to be quite so steamy on the walk, so showered first then needed another!), we headed up to the top lounge where Roberto had yet another interesting juice on offer: tree tomato. A little tart and quite refreshing.

Our pre-dinner talk tonight covered the currents around the Galapagos, their impact on the wildlife, and, of course, the plan for tomorrow.

Dinner, as we cruised on to our next destination, featured mixed grill and beans and rice. Good grief – loads of food… delicious. As we’ve gotten to know each other, the table has gotten chattier and meals fly by.

[christine-d-beatty]

Want to say you've hiked on the PCT without doing the full 2650 miles or even a 100+ miles segment? This nine-mile stretch is a good workout—you'll climb, oh yes!—and it gets very hot in summer—but it's got some beautiful parts to it. You'll need a car at each end unless you want to backtrack all three hours!

It starts here at Indian Canyon trailhead on Soledad Canyon Rd. There's a parking lot right across from the Santa Clara River (usually dry) which is the first crossing.

After you cross the riverbed and Metrolink railroad track you head north. And up and up and up for two miles.

And up and up...

Looking back toward Soledad Canyon. There's a few level parts.

But still you keep going up. And as you can see, very little shade.

Looking back at about three miles in. After the two mile climb it's level or down for a little bit... and then it starts climbing again! Here we're looking at the little down section before the second climb.

I liked the composition so I shot it. Just so it's understood, these are desert mountains with heat and rocks and lizards and little shade and the occasional rattlesnake. Have fun!

When you crest the second climb, there's the Hwy 14 headed up to the Antelope Valley, Palmdale, Lancaster, and Death Valley. This is about 4.2 miles in, roughly halfway.

Descending toward the Hwy 14 corridor. Streams cross the trail down there after a good rain!

At the bottom of the 14 corridor. Now all we have to do is cross that freeway to the last leg of our hike! 6.7 miles in.

We don't cross over the 14: we go under it. I have yet to take this during or right after a storm and would prefer not to. Notice the Datura flowering here. Do NOT eat this plant!

The light at the end of the tunnel is Vasquez Canyon, which runs alongside the freeway down to where we climb up into the park.

Were it not for the whooshing sounds of the freeway it feels like the middle of nowhere here around the 7 mile mark.

If you're thinking this looks like movie country that's exactly what it is, in addition to being a state park. Vasquez Rocks park is famous. Many original Star Trek episodes were partly shot in this park. If you just want to see that and skip the hike, take the Agua Dulce exit and road and you'll find the park.

There's a creek that runs through the canyon. Sometimes it has water.

Part of Vasquez Rocks.

The famous part of Vasquez rocks. The end of this hike is the park entrance about 0.4 miles beyond this.

[littlepadika]

What would night time routines be like with the other daddies? 🥺 also I love you and your blog and writing!!!

idk who i've written about but i've been thinking about jack so much this week idk why. He's definitely into bedtime stories!!! 🦋

Warnings: DDLG, fem little

It started with him reading you books and adding little adlibs and plot tangents. You never minded. You found his stories more interesting than the picture books and with your big imaginaton you didn't even need pictures. Just your daddy's voice and descriptions painted the picture. So he started just telling his own stories, finding a lot of joy in seeing you hang on his every word.

In the summer he likes to pull you into his lap while he sits in his rocking chair on the porch. You gaze up at him and at the stars as he tells you the most fantastic stories all from memory. He uses your stuffies to play the different characters. Sometimes you draw him pictures to serve as backgrounds.

"And den what happened daddy?"

"well the brave agent bun bun invented a brilliant plan. He was going to go on a little trip out west to unexplored land. Hot and dry country. He had to find the desert fairy to cast a spell on the bad men and save the town. Everyone said that he was crazy." He raised his voice and exaggerated his accent which made you giggle. 'no bunbun ain't no one for a thousand clicks seen the desert fairy. Yer crazier than a road lizard if you think yer gonna find her.' But bun bun didn't care what people thought. So he packed his trusty steed wildflower (holding your horsie stuffie now) and set off to the unknown..."

"Den what?" You ask when he stops speaking, gazing down at you lovingly.

"I think it's high time you get to bed, little lamb."

"nooo." You pout.

"Hey... we can't have story time if you throw a fit at the end." He frowns though he's not angry.

"Sorry I just really want to know what happens, daddy."

"I know, my good listener. I promise daddy will tell you more tomorrow, mkay?"

"Mkay." You yawn. Jack gives you bun bun and wildflower back and you nuzzle against them while Jack carries you inside and to your room. He tucks you in and kisses you goodnight.

Somedays you fall asleep before the end of the story and wake up in the middle of the nght and run into your daddy's room.

"Hm? What's wrong, little lamb?" He'd sit up as soon as your pitter patter stops in front of the bed.

"I didn't hear the rest of the story! Daddy tell me now!" You crawl up into his warm covers. "Please."

"It's bedtime, baby."

"I can't sleep until I know what happens."

"I'll tell you in the morning." He compromises and you slip under the covers with him. You decided you'd wait and be a good girl. Sure enough you wake up and bring bunbun in to hear more of the story. You're amazed that Jack had so many stories ready to go and always thought of new twists to keep the saga interesting.

"Look papi I drew the wild west." You bring him the crayon drawing.

"Oh look at this! Keep this up and we'll have a full on storybook."

"No only my story." You frown not liking thinking of other people getting to hear your daddy's story.

"Of course." Whiskey kisses your head before hanging the picture up. "I think this will be a great background for tonight's chapter of our story. Thank you baby girl. I'm so proud of you."

You brighten up immediately at his praise, running back to the table to draw the desert fairy.

~~~~~~~~~~~

daddies masterlist

@lafresamilk @mamacitapascal @prettypedros, @marstheplanet @takochansugoi  @oceanablue @iwishtobeastorm @dincrypt @bac-1, @spacenerdpascal , @cranberrypills @punkerthanpascal @breezythesimp  @djarinsimp @mylittlesenaar @bbybunbun @phnyx @xwalltoast @dreadwolfxoxo @xwalltoast t @mswarriorbabe80 @bearcina @lokigirlszendaya @pedroslilbitch @star-wars-fan-2005 @din-jarhead @hillgoth @m4ngoj3lly @crabbae @im-a-mcsimp-for-mchotties @girlofchaos @joelsflannel @xoxabs88xox @nicolethered @sergeant-major-ghost @pretty-girl-likes-tea @alexxavicry @harriedandharassed

[ofpineapplesanddawns]

Lucian attempts to convince Peter of the joys of being outdoors in revenge for reality tv? Jokes about dog walking optional.

I actually had to go look up what was around Vegas that was a cool outdoors place for them to explore, and it's like, fuck, this is the Mojave Desert. But then I found Red Rock and it's like, cool, that works, haha.

I now wanna check out this park, it seems like fun.

On with the fic!

--

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

"No, I do. Right now, I hate you. My love for you is in the negatives."

"You still love me more than you hate vampires though."

"... Fuck you."

Lucian had a very smug, pleased smile on his face before he turned, continuing his walk across the stupid, dusty, rocky ground that Peter was glaring daggers at.

He said he would do this for Lucian, that it would make the wolfy man happy to be out in nature with his boyfriend. But Peter wasn't a man who really thought things through, and now he was suffering. At least Lucian had been wise to tell him to wear shorts and short sleeves out in this heat.

Peter was also in a fucking bucket hat, but at least it was cool and gothy, one he drunkenly bought one night when he found that it had little ghost patches on it. And it was keeping him from being too hot, so alright, fair.

Meanwhile, Lucian looked perfectly fine, walking about in the Nevada heat in jeans, boots, and a plaid shirt without breaking a fucking sweat (and damnit, he did that on purpose! Werewolf aesthetic! Peter had a weakness for the classics...!).

"How are you not dyin' of the heat!? You naturally run hotter than a normal person, you ass!" Peter whined, about ready to just lay on the ground, but that lizard a few feet ahead might try to eat him. At this point, Peter was tempted to just let the freaking desert tortoises eat him.

Did they eat meat? Or was that snapping turtles?

"Shockingly, I'm quite fine with this sort of weather. Yes, it is a bit much, but I've dealt with worse. Spent a bit of time in northern Africa, hiding there, it was rather interesting."

"Hhhhh..." Peter replied before sitting down on a rock, grabbing for the water bottle on his side bag, taking a long drink. He wished he had a beer, but Lucian told him no. "You're doing this as revenge, aren't you?"

"Oh?" Lucian turned, looking perfectly innocent, if it wasn't for the smile trying to show on his face. "Whatever do you mean, my love?"

Peter glared, rubbing at the sweat under one of his eyes, looking to see that he smeared his makeup a bit. "This is for me makin' you watch my shows with me the other day, isn't it?"

Lucian just smiled brightly. "Maybe."

"You absolute ass of a wolfman!"

"Yes, yes, I'm terrible. Now hurry up, I'm interested in seeing if we can attempt some rock climbing today."

"Fuck!"

--

The reason I know there are tortoises out in the Mojave is because of an episode of CSI.

[vilejpg]

fanclan stuff

came up w/ this a while ago- as in like a year ago- so here it is, ig

anyone can appropriate it if for some god forsaken reason they so desire to, just pls give credit ig?

Clan 1: Mesa Clan / Mountain Clan 

Camp: At the base of the mountain, with a cave entrance (sized like this).

Inside the cave, there’s a dip in the ground where a pond used to be, which is used as a training arena. There are cliffs and ledges all over the cave, with ‘bridges’ between them made of tightly and carefully weaved sticks and stems. The entrance to the camp is hidden under ferns and aloe plants that they cultivate.

These cats have strong back legs and hardened paws, that help them jump and make sure they aren’t cutting themselves up every five seconds. Their claws are thick and hooked, all the better to catch and hold down lizards and geckos with.

Kits are kept in a nursery that’s completely bedded with moss, petals, and smooth rocks to protect their sensitive little paws as best as possible.

There is one area that is like… a miniature pride rock that can fit one or two cats on top of it. This is used as a gathering point, where the leader can call their clan together.

Here is what the surroundings of this clan looks like:

Summer

Spring/Fall probs

Winter

______________________

Clan 2: Desert Clan / Dunes Clan 

Camp: A rather unremarkable area of land, with the only defining features being how it seems almost ringed by small cacti and large, flat rocks. At the edge of each flat rock, there’s a hole; the flat rocks acts as a sort of roof for this camps’ dens. (Like this, but like... imagine big flat rocks there too)

 There is a skull with large, curled horns, with the top of the skull being flat enough and big enough to comfortably seat one cat in the center, as long as they can balance. Kits like to try and stuff themselves into the skull- it results in a fairly common occurrence of someone having to pry them out.

These cats have large feet that make it easier to walk through the sand without losing their footing, as well as to make it easier to dig.  Hairy foot pads help with traction on the loose sand and to insulate it from the extreme hot and cold temperatures of the desert.

Their fur is short and coarse, generally.  They are generally of lighter coat colors than the other clans, being anywhere from white to yellow to a very, very light orange, or a very, very light brown. (NOTE: these are guidelines, and don’t have to be strictly followed!)

They have a series of tunnels and burrows, used as a way to lure small animals that want to escape the heat of the sun into them.  They can have very large, triangular ears to detect the movement of small prey underground and at a distance.

Here’s how it looks... there isn’t a whole lot of variation, admittedly.

______________________

Clan 3:  Brush Clan(?) / Sparse Clan

Camp: This camp, unlike the others, isn’t built into the ground or into rock; instead, this clan utilizes the plants around them to create dens, hidden in the brush all around. (Think of it as similar to those ants who make homes out of leaves, but like… for cats.)

 Cacti pieces can be stripped of their needles and used as a sort of makeshift wall, so long as they have something to hold it in place. If the cactus needles are thick enough, they can be used as a way to open infected wounds that had closed over wrong, or pop blisters. 

Sometimes, a medicine cat takes time out of their day to put a little hole in the end of a needle, and use it as a way to stitch someone up. But that’s an uncommon usage of them, with both material strong enough to hold skin together and needles just large enough for holes to be made in the end of them being scarce.

These cats have hardened paw pads, and have an excellent sense of direction; its easy to get lost in their territory if you don’t have a good inner compass.  These cats are bigger than the other clans’, if only because of the strength needed to regularly reinforce the walls and dens of camp. These cats have the second highest kits-per-litter, with Clan 4 taking the top spot easily.

This area is relatively close to Clan 1.

Here’s how it looks! It’s a lot more green.

______________________

Clan 4: Plains Clan / Lush Clan

Camp: With their territory having more trees than the others, they use it to their advantage. In the middle of their territory, there’s a copse of trees that, while not particularly tall, are large enough for cats to easily lounge in their branches, and mostly close enough to make crossing between trees easy. T

his clan, similar to Clan 1, have ‘bridges’ that link between particularly large gaps between branches or trees. 

The nursery is on the ground, in a large tree trunk that is empty, save for the grasses and petals and leaves that make up the flooring/bedding of the nursery.

Not only can these cats climb up a tree, but unlike others… they can climb down it, too. The stereotype of cats stuck in trees are never applicable to these guys- where most cats would need to jump down, they don’t! 

They have the highest kits-per-litter than any other clan because of how… lush their territory is, with both prey and water more easily accessible than any other clan.

Here it is, by far the most flower-y of the clans (mostly because the setting is Texas and u cant have Texas without blue bonnets)

______________________

Because Clan 4 is so close to a consistent source water, there are trails that lead to it so that the other three clans, in times of drought, can gather there unhindered. The gathering area is closest to Clan 4 because of the trails and water, too.

This is the gathering tree:

The little barn/house in the background is an example of the few homes that litter the overall area; they are in a relatively rural area, but they’re on the edge of urban society. The barn/house is abandoned, and the only ones who stay there are those unaffiliated with the clan; most often they are travelers.

______________________

Threats to the Clan cats:

Coyotes are one of the most dangerous obstacles for survival, but they come around during Leaf-bare, when other prey is scarce... but cats are plentiful. They’re semi-nomadic, intelligent, and hunt in packs.

Snakes are a pretty close second on this list, especially when it comes to kits. Snakes can go unnoticed if you aren’t paying attention, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see one had managed to sneak into the nursery when everyone is distracted with something or other. It leads to cats always killing snakes when they see them.

Foxes? Fuck yeah, dude. They’ve got the intelligence of cats, and they’re sneaky little fuckers; they can get into almost any small space. Foxes, normally solitary, will try and fight a cat one on one, maybe even one against two, but they flee when numbers become too large, or they sustain too many injuries. Full-on attack isn’t their preferred method, though; they do ambushes, and traps.

Large herbivores can even be a danger, with stampedes, leading them to trample through a clans’ camp, or to trample an unsuspecting cat. Most of these consist of goats, sheep, cattle, deer, and horses.

______________________

Starclan: A huge forest teeming with life; it’s the greenest place to ever exist, practically. At least, to the Clan cats, it is. Has running rivers and streams.

Ref. Pictures:

This is the border between the Dark Forest and Starclan

The Dark Forest is the burnt out husk of a forest; there is soot heavy in the air, and the water is poisoned with ash. It’s sweltering, and it’s near impossible to breathe the further in you go; because of this, Dark Forest cats tend to stay as close to the Starclan/Dark Forest border as they can, but a consequence of doing so is risking themselves being burnt by the ever-living flames that protect Starclan, as well as smoke inhalation.

This is what the Dark Forest would look like:

The sky is always dark with soot and ash, and it glows with the unholy light of fire.

______________________

Prefixes and Suffixes that pop up because of where they are

(These include the Canon prefixes and suffixes, ofc)

Prefix-

Coyote- Cactus- Hare- Iguana- Gecko- Ram- Carrion- Cobra- Puma- Bear- Scorch- Vulture- Eagle- Brush- Scorpion- Dune-

-suffix

-drought -bear -whorl -flail -prance -stride

(NOTE: these are not the only ones that can be used, it’s just some prefixes and suffixes added onto the original canon list; might add more if I ever think of smth that could fit the theme)

[neopronouns]

do you happen to know any genders related to space? Like stars, or certain planets or just space in general

quite a few! under the cut

(also, due to the Very Large amount of space genders, i may have missed some, sorry!!)

aliencoric: a xenogender related to aliencore

aliensic: a xenic alignment to aliens

andromediane: a xenogender related to the andromeda galaxy

asteragender: a fluid gender that’s connected to a specific constellation

astergender: a gender that feels bright and celestial

astralgender: a gender that feels connected to space

astronomique: a gender related to and/or influenced by astronomy

eclipsique: an astronomique gender related to and/or influenced by solar and lunar eclipses

blastjernen: a gender related to blue dwarf stars, blue stars, blue nights, neutron stars, and space that feels hot and unknown

b✰y/b*y/b⭐y: a nonbinary male xenogender related to space, aliens, etc. similar to being male, but a version of male that is based more on alien concepts than on human concepts.

caelgender: an aesthetically-centered gender that is largely focused on space-related things such as stars, aliens, planets, galaxies, and black holes

caelagender: caelgender + agender

caelivus: a gender related to the empty space between celestial bodies, where you can see the stars, but not feel them, and are alone

cavrumgender: a gender based around black holes and the feeling of black holes. feels all-consuming but never complete

celestae: a celestial xenogender. feels ethereal, angelic, extraterrestrial, and as though it relates to outer space

celestiagender: a gender connected to outer space and creatures from outer space

celestialgender: a gender that is related to a planet, celestial body, or astronomical object in out solar system

linnutgender: a gender related to or influenced by all the planets, celestial bodies, and astronomical objects in our solar system

the following definitions can be modified to fit the rest of the genders in this system by inserting the celestial body the gender is named for:

a gender related to the [celestial body]

a gender influenced by the [body]/the placement of the [body] in the sky

a gender that is stronger in the presence of the [body]

a gender influenced by a [body] kintype

a gender related to [deity that represents the body]

a gender influenced by one’s devotion to any of the aforementioned gods

a gender that can otherwise be explained using the [body]

sonnegender: the sun

lunirgender: earth’s moon

mercugender: mercury

venugender: venus

terragender: earth

marigender: mars

juperigender: jupiter

saturnigender: saturn

uranugender: uranus

neptunigender: neptune

plutigender: pluto

celestial gender system: a system of nonbinary genders that are linked to a soft, celestial energy

juparian: masculine

lunettian: feminine

mercurian: neutral; gendered, but not masc or fem

plutoian: void and/or uncertain

neptunian: masc + neutral

venusian: fem + masc

saturnian: fem + neutral

celestarian: masc + fem + neutral

ceresian: fem + void

sonnean: masc + void

ouranian: neutral + void

terraean: masc + fem + void

marsean: masc + neutral + void

erisian: fem + neutral + void

asteroidian: fem + masc + neutral + void

kuiperian/starfluid: fluid between celestial genders

collapsargender: a gender that has a strong pull, tending to pull other identities into and compress them before spitting them out in a compressed form, like a black hole

collstellargender: a collapsargender related to a stellar black hole

collsumagender: a collapsargender related to a supermassive black hole

collintergender: a collapsargender related to an intermediate black hole

scutifluid: fluid between collapsargenders

cometgender: a gender which relates to another gender in the way a comet orbits the sun of a solar system - zooming into the solar system, then out again, spending more time out in space than near the center but always attached to the gravitational field of that sun

constellavir: having both a space-related gender and a male(-aligned) gender at the same time (or more than one of either/both. basically polygender with space genders and male genders)

constellgender: a gender that fluctuates based on what constellation is most visible at that time

contigender: a gender that flows through space and time, constantly changing and always moving; a gender of or related to space and time

cosmiccoric: a gender that feels like you’re a cosmic entity, one with the universe, especially when you’re meditating

cosmoic alignments:

void-aligned: a formless, dark, and frigid alignment associated with black holes and deep space. may be unaligned or reject alignment

constellation-aligned: a cold, multifaceted alignment that is complex and solid. associated with starlight and astrology. may feel as though individual parts of the alignment make up one larger alignment

nebula-aligned: a fluid, colorful, and bright alignment that floats slowly through the cold void of space. associated with supernovas and stars. may feel cloudy or intangible

aurora-aligned: a fluctuating, colorful, and bright alignment that swirls through the temperate atmosphere. associated with solar winds, magnetic fields, and earth

stellar-aligned: a large, hot, and bright alignment with a fixed course through space. associated with light and solar eclipses. may be loud or boisterous.

supernova-aligned: a huge, red-hot alignment that seems to expand rapidly in all directions. associated with stars. may feel like it’s burning up other alignments around it

planet-aligned: a stable, solid, and warm alignment thriving with liveliness. associated with weather patters and gravitational forces. may aligned with sunlight and/or darkness

lunar-aligned: a quiet, slow, cold alignment with a fixed course through space. associated with water and lunar eclipses. may align with softness and/or grace

asteroid-aligned: an erratic and unpredictable alignment that’s cold. may feel like it’s far away from other alignment

singularity-aligned: a small and enigmatic red-hot alignment that has the potential to be something bigger. may indicated questioning alignment rather than being sure

quantum-aligned: a paradoxical alignment that is both known and unknown, present and absent. may be complex or simple, and may overlap with many other alignments or none at all

cyberastral: a gender defined by the ideas that 1) one is consubstantial with stars, galaxies, and celestial bodies due to being a collection of matter in the universe and 2) that software is modeled by the universe, combined into the idea that one is both a celestial soul and a self-modifying piece of code

dipperine: a gender related to the big dipper, small stars, space, and time that feels cold and is only felt under certain circumstances

exoplafluid: fluid between celestial/space genders

exoplanique: a gender related to exoplanets and rogue planets

extraterrgender: feeling that you are some sort of celestial body, planet, asteroid, meteor, constellation, or something indescribable that is in the universe or yet to be found in space

galaksene: a gender related to clusters of stars, galaxies, small distant planets, earth-like planets, and nebulas that feels infinite and void at the same time

galaxenic: a xenogender related to a galaxy

galaxiasflux: a fluid gneder that feels like it flows and fluctuates with any galaxy

galaxxin: a gender that feels like it’s flying through galaxies, never to return

galaxygender: a gender related to space, the stars, the cosmos, and all things galaxy-like

genderlulne: a gender related to the moon itself, not dependent on phases or time of day

genderquasari: a gender that bursts like a quasar

genderspace: an umbrella term for genders influenced by and/or related to things in space. could be a standalone identity generally related to space

jupitique: a gender related to the moons of jupiter

keplerique: a gender related to kepler planets

kosmyc genders (the ones with space characteristics):

nuitsolum: a dark min- + xin-aligned gender connected to power, space, the color purple, moons, and a sense of the void

nuagesolum: a soft min- + agin-aligned gender connected to neutrality, fog, the color purple, stars, suns, and power

brilliantesolum: a bright min-aligned gender connected to the color yellow, suns, writing, and deserts

angesolum: a bright idin-aligned gender connected to the color cyan, suns, the color yellow, angels, and feathers

clamosolum: a nin-aligned gender connected to cameras, the color cyan, eyes, moons, and history

deusolum: a min-aligned gender connected to greek gods, the color green, conceptum attraction, stars, and nature

rubrusolum: a min-aligned gender connected to the color red, fire, suns, the summer, and roses

auransolum: a lin-aligned gender connected to the color orange, campfires, fruit, moons, and warmth

flavosolum: a nin-aligned gender connected to the color yellow, sunshine, space, stars, and happiness

virisolum: an agin-aligned gender connected to the color green, nature, health, suns, and neurodivergence

cyasolum: a din-aligned gender connected to the color cyan, ice, winter, moons, and snow angels

caersolum: a fin-aligned gender connected to the color blue, lakes, rivers, stars, and birds

purpusolum: a xin-aligned gender connected to the color purple, nonconformity, fashion, suns, and royalty

magsolum: a uin-aligned gender connected to the color magenta, time, literature, suns, and lizards

roseasolum: an idin-aligned gender connected to the color pink, lovecore, doves, stars, and pillows

reosolum: a uxin-aligned gender connected to the color black, demons, scales, moons, and dragons

albusolum: a flin-aligned gender connected to the color white, angels, feathers, stars, and fae

aessolum: a nin-aligned gender connected to the color bronze, wealth, freedom, suns, and self-control

grisesolum: a uin-aligned gender connected to the color gray, rainy days, hot chocolate, moons, and winter

argesolum: a din-aligned gender connected to the color silver, silence, technology, moons, and rocks

brusolum: an agin-aligned gender connected to the color brown, music, books, stars, and movies

aurusolum: a nin-aligned gender connected to the color gold, family, self-identification, suns, and comfort

lunaegender: a gender that feels spacey and celestial and bears a similarly to vampires. during the night, it soaks in the radiance of the moon and is unidentifiably gendered, while during the day, it turns to ash and becomes void/genderless. bears similarities to (demi)bigender

moongender: a nonbinary gender connected to the moon and various aspects of it

neptunique: a gender related to the moons of neptune

oceaspatium: a gender that encompasses the depths of space and the depths and qualities of the ocean

pancaeleste/pancaelestic: being every space-related gender within one’s experiences

pangalaxenic: a xenogender related to every galaxy

phobosique: a gender related to the moons of mars

planetesfluid: a fluid gneder that feels like a planet aimelessly floating through space

plutique: a gender related to the moons of pluto

profundanic: a gender centered around a deep connection to caverns/caves, space, and unknowable knowledge

rodstjernen: a gender related to red dwarf stars, red stars, red sunsets, supernovas, and space that feels warm and distant

saturneo: a neutral gender with fluid ambiguine feelings/qualities that’s linked in some way to saturn

saturnir: masculine version of saturneo

saturnera: feminine version of saturneo

saturnique: a gender related to the moons of saturn

siengender: a masculine gender revolving around space, kindness, and loyalty

solislayera: a gender related to any layer of the sun

spacecoric: a xenogender related to spacecore

spacegendervoid: a nonbinary gender connected to space, stars, and the universe as a whole. feels vaguely unaligned in nature and has ties to feelings of genderlessness.

astralgendervoid: mascuilne version of spacegendervoid

celestialgendervoid: feminine version of spacegendervoid

spaethgender: a gender related to missing space. only for alienkin and variants thereof

stargender: having the gender of a star; an otherworldly/nonhuman gender that is beyond comprehension; no matter how many genders are discovered/coined, none would match the person

stellaene: a gender that feels like a planet that’s spiraling out of control, flying off into the cosmos

supernovae: a gender that is like a supernova. it erupts and dozens or hundreds of new genders are created, destroyed, or fused together

uranusique: a gender related to the moons of uranus

venusanian: a fingender (feminine-in-nature gender) related to the solar system, specifically venus, or outer space in general

[waltzshouldbewriting]

WHG - The First Three Days

Tagging @ratracechronicler, @maple-writes, @pen-of-roses, @onmywaytobe, @concealeddarkness, @spacebrick3, and @whgmasterofceremonies!

The arena felt like an oven.

Rat winced as the hot air hit his face. The arena was a desert - hot and dusty, with thorny plants and a lack of obvious shelter. Within a few seconds, Rat’s mouth felt dry.

He could feel the sun on him. Surely that wasn’t natural.

Rat grimaced, forcing himself to focus on the supplies in front of him. He scanned the area - water would be his first priority, but there was none near him. Food would be easier, so a first aid kit would be his second choice.

There was one he could grab easily, and escape the cornucopia before anyone had a chance to fight him.

“Let the Hunger Games begin!”

Rat had the first aid kit in his hands before he even registered he was running.

He raced, his throat burning and skin roasting in the heat. Lizards and rabbits and birds with weird feathers scattered out of his way as he ran.

Eventually, the dryness and heat forced Rat to stop. He was near what looked like a forest of massive cacti, some more than twice his height. The area was rocky, promising food hiding under the rock.

Now, he needed to find water.

He was near a hill. Logic said water ran downhill, but getting a view from the top of the hill would prove advantageous too. After a moment of hesitation, Rat went up.

From the top of the hill, Rat could spot a grove of green trees. That must be where the water was.

.

Along the way to the water, Rat found what must have been the ribs of a dead cacti. It was, to his surprise, wood. He stopped for a moment to fashion a spear for hunting.

It was long after that he heard a rattling sound. Rattlesnakes - the snake that had inspired Rat’s nickname, Rattler.

Time to prove his hunting skills.

.

There was a small river running through the grove. After drinking his fill and cooking the snake to eat, Rat walked the river, looking for signs of other tributes. He hadn’t noticed how many cannons had gone off, and he was curious how his opponents were fairing.

.

Day 2 went similar. By lunch, Rat had killed several funky looking birds, a few rabbits, and another rattlesnake.

His first aid kit had lotion for sun burns, which was a miracle, because the sun was intense in the arena. Around the water, insects swarmed, and Rat was also pleased to discover something for bug bites.

Also in the first aid kit: bandaids, something for scorpion stings and snake bites, a brace, chapstick (and wow, were his lips dry), and an cooling pack.

It was a good find, especially since the next day he twisted his ankle after another tribute startled him.

[b-else-writes]

the tiger shark and the sun

New chapter posted for my Star Wars/Avatar the Last Airbender-RebelCaptain fusion AU! Feat: Jyn calls Obi Wan an old fart, Jyn tells Luke and Leia to stop being melodramatic about becoming evil, dragons, and me ranting about the “evil sexy matriarchy” fantasy trope. 

Read on AO3 | Read from start

Pairings: Jyn/Cassian, minor Han/Leia and Baze/Chirrut, random minor background pairings

Rating: T

Summary: Star Wars/Avatar the Last Airbender fusion AU. The Fire Nation, under  Fire Lord Palpatine and Lord Vader, has been at War with the world for  the last twenty years. When Jyn Erso lands on his doorstep the day  Cassian, last southern waterbender, is assigned to protect the Avatar,  she seems just another obstacle in ending the War. An obstacle he would  willingly remove. For exiled firebender Jyn, the Avatar is her last way  home - and to her hostaged father, never mind her own conscience. But as  their paths keep crossing, and the Avatar needs all help in saving the  world, Jyn and Cassian find they are more alike than they ever thought  possible.

Snippet under the cut!

Jyn woke with a start, rapidly trying to figure out where she was. She was lying on a straw mattress in a stone room. The early morning light filtered in through a low window. On the ceiling were carvings of circling sky bisons.

Slowly, her memory returned. Jyn sat up, taking in the small room in Hynestia, the Western Air City. Cassian and Kay were nowhere in sight. He had removed her bracers and her boots sometime after she’d fallen asleep, and left then. But there was a dent on the mattress from where he’d been. She could still smell him – and his horrible lizard – and she gave herself a moment to imagine a world where someone like her…

She hastily shoved the thought aside. Another, more pressing concern than her unrequited feelings had emerged. She was supposed to teach. Jyn buckled on her bracers and slid her boots on quickly. She combed her fingers through her hair, repining the bun, and set about finding Enfys.

It took her a surprisingly short time to get around: the entire city seemed to have been developed and built for easy accessibility, with lifts, railings, and maps everywhere. Enfys, after she’d shown Jyn her room, had said she was going to the temple. Jyn found her and Luke curled up on the temple floor, fast asleep.

Jyn crouched and poked her. “Wake up!” she hissed.

Enfys groaned, red braids falling in her face. “Jyn, it’s only dawn…”

“Enfys, I need your help.” Luke made a noise but continued to snore. Jyn pursed her lips. “I’ll make you those wheat pancakes with dates and honey you love,” she said in her sweetest voice.

Enfys cracked one eye open. “We don’t have honey or dates.”

“I brought a jar as a peace offering,” she admitted. There was a pause. With a groan, Enfys extricated herself from Luke’s arms, pulling her cape on. Luke made a little grumble and rolled over. Jyn refrained from commenting as Enfys trailed after her to the central atrium. Enfys was perfectly liable to turn it right back on her.

As Jyn got the ingredients out from her satchel on the war balloon, Enfys asked, “So, what’s the issue?”

Swallowing her pride, “How did you teach the twins?”

There was another long pause. “You didn’t think this through at all, did you?” Enfys said, covering her mouth with her hand. Jyn glared. “I’m not laughing, I’m not!”

“I hate you,” Jyn said, swatting the date jar away from Enfys’ grip.

“No, you don’t,” Enfys said happily, dipping one finger in the honey jar and licking it. Jyn crouched to light the cookfire. It took a moment for the flame to appear on her fingertips. She frowned, but Enfys continued to speak, refocusing her attention. “Well, for me it was simple – I just followed how I was taught by my mother and aunts and elders. I already had a lesson plan ingrained in me.”

Jyn shook her head, feeling her pulse race, though it had been a decade since Master Jorus had backhanded her to perform better. “That…is not going to work.”

Enfys’ face clouded over. She stood from her perch and began to help Jyn, brushing her hands against hers. “Well, then, start simple. Like how to produce fire. And go from there. Basic punches and blocks, you do that a lot, don’t you?”

“They’re called fire fists.”

“My mistake,” Enfys said, her eyes sparkling with mirth, “Fire fists and fire kicks and fiery-ness and aallll that.”

Jyn bit back a smile, extending the plate with honey-drizzled wheat pancakes. “For her highness, the Queen of Mon Cala.”

Enfys immediately grabbed it, digging in with a moan of delight. “One of the few things from the Fire Nation worth saving,” she said, her mouth full of food.

“What’s the rest?”

“Don’t fish for compliments,” Enfys said easily, making Jyn grin. As Baze and Chirrut came in, Enfys added, “Just remember to be patient.”

“I am a beacon of patience.”

Enfys laughed. “I meant with yourself, Jyn. You’re doing something new and difficult. So be kind to yourself as you figure it out.”

She sighed, resting her head against her best friend’s shoulder. “And yet you won’t share your portion with me?” she asked, fighting down her own rising panic.

“You’re impossible,” Enfys laughed, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Now eat up for your first big lesson, Master Jyn.”

Jyn stretched and popped out her muscles. She, Luke, and Leia stood in a beautiful courtyard of cream and white clay and wood. She imagined it must have been a communal space when Hynestia had still housed Air Nomads. She didn’t like dwelling on that too long. She could still feel…something clinging to the place. Fire child, they whispered, stroking her face and hair, this is what your people did.

She would have preferred pure hatred, but she felt that was not their way. It would have been easier than guilt. Especially when she saw the sadness in Enfys’ eyes.

Jyn focused back on the twins. Both wore expressions of trepidation, Leia in particular throwing her suspicious looks. Jyn tried not to take it too personally. “Have either of you ever firebent before?”

They exchanged a look. “Once,” Luke said, shifting a little, “We… we burnt Cassian by accident.”

Multiple statements immediately became clear in Jyn’s head. She pushed aside her own empathy for Cassian – and her instinctive urge to get angry on his behalf. Cassian held no grudge about it. Patiently, she said, “Most firebenders accidentally burn themselves or others when they’re starting out as children. It’s…normal.

“Alright then, let’s see what fire you can produce,” she said, folding her hands behind her back. Keep patient. Don’t be like Master Jorus. Don’t be what the Air Nomads know you could be. The summer heat touched the scars on her arms.

Exchanging another uneasy glance, the twins sank into a low hot-squat, good form, and punched.

A puff of smoke came out.

“That’s it?” Leia glared. Jyn resisted the very powerful urge to groan. “Let me demonstrate,” she said. Her muscle memory was so honed that Jyn didn’t even need to think. She sank and punched, sleeves billowing.

She produced a tiny gasp of flame.

Leia began clapping. Jyn scowled. “Don’t patronize, you know what it’s supposed to look like,” she grumbled. Jyn punched again. She slid into various forms, again and again. Only wisps of flame. “What in the…”

“Maybe you were never as good as you thought you were,” Leia said, grinning slightly.

“Oh, you’re hilarious,” Jyn snapped, trying in vain to produce more flame.

“Maybe it’s the altitude?” Luke suggested, though he didn’t look convinced. Jyn stared at her hands. Her inner flame felt cold and dull in her chest, despite the sunlight pouring over her skin. Sól, give me power, she thought, but none came.

Her firebending was gone. Somewhere, she could feel Master Jorus laughing.

The group sat around the cookfire, eating and chatting. The summer days were long, Chirrut knew. He could still feel heat despite the dinner hour. Baze had passed him his bowl, their fingers brushing. He smiled, gripping Baze’s fingers momentarily and grounding them both.

He heard Jyn clear her throat to speak. “There’s…a problem. I’ve lost my firebending. Well, not lost…but it’s weaker now and I can’t figure it.”

Chirrut considered as he munched. Bending was inherently spiritual, something that many had now forgotten, preferring to use as a blunt instrument. Jyn had never struck him before as someone who wanted to look within herself.

“Maybe it’s because you changed sides,” Cassian spoke up. Chirrut’s seismic sense could feel Jyn immediately perk up and orient towards him. Oh, young love. “Your firebending used to come from anger and desperation. Now you have none.”

“So, what? We piss Erso off?” Han asked, poking Erso with his sword butt.

Jyn kicked him in the shin. “Cut that out! It’s not an option.”

“What you need is a new source,” Chirrut said. “And by that, I mean an old one. The original. For earthbending, the first earthbenders were the badgermoles. When I was young, I ran away and hid in a cave. A blind child was better off gone.”

He still remembered the pain and fear as he had fled Jedha’s orphanage, stumbling through the crowds of people out into the scorching, shifting ground he had learnt was sand. Finding his way into the Catacombs. Surrounding by the dead, as he imagined he would soon become.

The Spirits had other plans. There had been a great crunch of rock, and a soft, wet snout had nosed him. They had recognized him as one of their own. “The badgermoles are also born blind. I learnt earthbending as an extension of my senses. Earthbending is not a martial art – it is a way of interacting and moving through the world, and that is the form I taught Luke and Leia.”

The wonder he had felt as he began to feel the world expanding outwards beneath his palms and feet. The grubs and creatures that lurked beneath the desert sand. The hardy plants that nourished from the earth. The secret oases. The possibilities that had exploded to him. His only regret was that it was no help to non-benders and other benders, but Chirrut was nothing if not stubborn. He had tried to help them too, as a Guardian of the Whills.

“Firebending isn’t like that,” Jyn said quietly, standing up and pacing.

“But surely you must know who the original firebenders were,” Enfys said, “I learnt from my Tribe, but the first airbenders were the sky bison. That’s influenced our bending to use gliders to fly, to our culture!”

Jyn walked over to Chirrut. He felt the same turmoil of his childhood self, in her. “It won’t work. The first firebenders were the dragons, and they’re extinct. There’s no other way.”

Baze squeezed Jyn’s hand. “There is always another way.”

Jyn was silent for a moment. When she spoke, he felt the vibrations. There is something she is concealing. “We’re not far from the island of Dathomir. The witches of Dathomir were said to be the first to learn firebending from the Dragons. They were killed off thousands of years ago. You still hear stories, but there’s no proof their society still exists. We might find something. Otherwise…”

“Sometimes the shadows of the past can be felt by the present,” Chirrut said. Several of the group shifted uncomfortably.

“We don’t have much of a choice,” Luke said, “Han, can we borrow the Falcon?”

keep reading

[ri-ahhh]

desert secrets

MJ meets a helpful stranger in the desert that turns out to be more than she hoped for.

7k holy shit lol

warnings: some pretty unrealistic fluff that might get your hopes up that you’ll have a meet-cute with Grayson

***

Shit. Fuck. Fuck. Shit. Shit on a fucking stick. You actual fucking idiot, MJ.

A stream of thoughts along these general lines becomes her stream of conscience as MJ Macias plops down on a large rock, throwing her head back to the sky to bask in the sun and her own general incompetency. Maybe the heat of the desert mountain sun beating on her face will cause her to shrivel up and disintegrate to become lizard food or something — the thought isn’t altogether unwelcome.

Her trip to the middle of nowhere was meant to clear her mind both through exercise in the form of a nice, long hike, as well as simply by being alone amongst nature, under an endless expanse of clouds and stars. The week had been pure hell for her: she had been let go from her dream job at her marketing firm in the latest round of budget-related layoffs; received a ticket from a dickhead cop for going 34 in a 30; and discovered last night that the hot water heater in her apartment had broken. To top it all off, her ex had been harassing her relentlessly over texts and calls, wanting to meet up and ‘talk about things’ since she had dumped him two months ago.

So as she cried hot tears in a frigid shower that morning, thoroughly wallowing in self-pity, an idea popped into her head that was so spontaneous and ridiculous she didn't even try to talk herself out of it: go on a solo camping trip.

MJ really has no idea why this of all the therapeutic outlets available to her was something her brain decided was the right one, since a camper she is not. Sure, she loves being outside in the sun for a good hike, or a swim in the ocean once in a while — nature isn’t the problem. It’s the whole navigating-desert-terrain-alone-and-sleeping-on-the-ground thing that isn’t usually at the top of her list of fun weekend activities. The tent and sleeping bag that she had been forced to purchase for the ridiculous bachelorette party of one of her very outdoorsy friends had called her name as she paced manically around her apartment that morning, though.

Did she have every intent to return them after their one-time use? Absolutely. Did they both end up getting thrown to the back of her storage closet and thus forgotten about until then? Also, yes.

Both her practically nonexistent camping experience and her general lack of enthusiasm for the activity as a whole should have been her first clues at how moronic she was for thinking this is a trip she should (or could) handle alone. But, now determined to have the ultimate self-care weekend, she had: packed a backpack as an overnight bag; tossed it with her shitty little tent and a cooler full of snacks and water in the back of her car; texted her best friend Lainey to sound the alarm if she wasn’t home in 36 hours; and driven away to the first camping ground Google showed her that was at least 100 miles outside of LA. It seemed adventurous and spontaneous an indie movie-esque at the time.

But now, as she sits on this rock, feet and back aching, utterly fucking lost, MJ is starting to feel more like she’s on a self-inflicted episode of Punk’d. Being very directionally challenged, she had been using the maps feature on her phone to find her way back to her campsite after going on a winding, hilly hike, until her phone had suddenly died. The trails have no legible signs so between her use of the GPS, the borderline stalker-ish calls from her ex, and the heat of the sun, she’s left without her lifeline much sooner than she could have anticipated.

She thinks of her backpack and the battery-powered charger in her tent. In a moment of pure rage with herself for being such a lost, ill-prepared dumbass, she wants nothing more than to run back up the mountain and punt the now useless little piece of metal and plastic into the abyss. Her inner drama queen thinks maybe the best thing that could happen is that it will fall on a mountain lion, which will devour her out of anger before she shrivels up into lizard food, and put her out of her misery early.

MJ rolls her eyes at how ridiculous she’s being, and forces herself to take a deep breath and think. Her inner antics really do bring up an actually pressing issue. There are plenty of animals out here that don’t need any iPhone provocation to attack, and she’s only armed with a half-empty HydroFlask and a sparkly purple tube of pepper spray. Not to mention, judging from the incurring pinkness of the sky, the sun is going to set soon, and with that means it’ll be getting cold as well. She looks down at her thin Lulu Lemon tank top and shorts.

Fuuuck.

Knowing she has to make a decision, MJ doesn’t second guess herself when her feet heave her body off of her rock and set off further down the trail. Her only hopes at this point are to either miraculously stumble upon her camp before dark, or pray that she runs into fellow campers that might have a portable charger and that also aren’t serial killers. The only people she had passed on her hike had been a middle-aged couple and a woman maybe a little older than herself with a dog, but she couldn't have any idea if they were staying on the campgrounds or merely taking a day trip. Like she should have done.

MJ walks down the trail a solid 20 minutes, and wonders where the hell she had actually gone on her hike to be so far out from her own campsite. Inexperience with the outdoors had made her assume all the trails met up in a circle, but clearly that isn’t the case here. She’s already out of the hiking trail and in one of the areas designated for camping, but there are a couple of those around the park and she has no clue which one she had chosen.

Trying and failing to keep the creeping worry out of her spine as a few clouds turn orange and the noises of the nocturnal wildlife start up, she picks up her pace.

She’s about to resign herself to huddling in an unoccupied camping spot for the night when she suddenly sees flumes of smoke about a football field away. The Hallelujah chorus fills her head, and she mumbles out a quick ‘thank you’ to whoever is listening as she practically speed-walks to her impending safety.

The smell of the crackling wood draws her nearer and nearer. When she finally rounds the corner, she’s surprised and disappointed to see that while there is indeed a small fire burning, as well as a deconstructed tent piled on the ground, the occupant of the campsite is nowhere to be found. MJ hesitates and looks around for any sign of them, not foreseeing this issue. Should she wait around like a creep? Keep walking and hope to run into them?

“Can I help you?”

MJ startles out of her skin and lets out an embarrassing little squeak. She whips around and is thoroughly unprepared to see what just might be the hottest guy she’s ever had the pleasure of laying her eyes on in real life. Judging from her own height, he’s maybe six foot or a tad over; his thick arms are laden with a bulky backpack and a sleeping bag, and his dark hazel eyes observe her warily behind a flop of dark wavy hair.

“Uh,” she begins stupidly, slightly stunned by both his sudden appearance and his masculine beauty. “Yeah, um, I’m so sorry to intrude on your space but, I, you know, got a little confused on the trails and, uh…”

He raises a naturally arched eyebrow expectantly as she pauses and stumbles over her words. MJ looks at him, then releases a huge breath she hadn't even realized had been held in her chest until this moment, officially giving up on not sounding like a complete and total idiot.

“I’m fucking lost. I have a terrible sense of direction and was using a map online of the trails to find the pin I dropped on my campsite, but my phone died. Is there any chance you have a portable charger I can use for, like, twenty minutes?”

The guy chuckles, and despite her pure mortification at the situation, MJ cracks a smile too, glad to see he isn’t pissed at her for lurking around his campsite like the actual weirdo she is. Unfortunately for her, though, his crooked grin somehow makes him even more attractive, which doesn’t bode well for her already inevitable awkwardness.

“Uh, yeah, I have my Mophie in here somewhere,” he says, indicating the backpack in his arms. He nods his head in the direction of his campsite where there is a large stone clearly put there by park officials as a makeshift bench. “Come on over and I’ll find it.”

“Thank you,” MJ sighs in relief. She follows him through the gap in the log threshold, and when he drops the items he’s carrying on the ground, she gapes; holy shit, the man is built. She could tell he had pythons for arms, but the stuffed backpack and sleeping bag had hidden the way his plain white t-shirt stretches taut over every solid, muscled crevice of his torso.

She shakes her head and hopes he can’t sense her obvious stare that has since traveled from the breadth of his shoulders, down his tapered waist, settled on his ass, and finished on the multitude of tattoos decorating his legs as he walks in front of her. MJ finds every one of these aspects of him immensely appealing; she’s never felt so viscerally attracted to a complete stranger in her entire life.

MJ settles on the rock and, sensing some of the aforementioned awkwardness about to settle in the air, searches her brain for a way to alleviate it. She knows she’ll only be here a short amount of time, but she feels compelled to get to know him even just a little bit. And to not make a complete fool of herself, if possible.

“What’s your name?” she asks. That’s a safe place to start. She hugs her knees to her chest as she watches him arrange the stuff he had just dropped into a neater pile.

“Grayson,” he replies. Grayson crouches down to dig through his backpack and flashes her a friendly, blinding smile over his shoulder. “Yours?”

As if she couldn’t embarrass herself any more, she feels a flush rise to her cheeks. For fucks sake, she isn’t 16 talking to her high school crush — she’s a grown woman who has been with plenty of guys and knows how to have a simple conversation with one, no matter how hot they are.

“MJ,” she finally manages to get out.

“MJ,” he repeats, testing it on his tongue, nodding approvingly. “That’s cool. I don't think I’ve ever met a girl with that kind of name. What does it stand for?”

He stands and turns to face her. He extends the little black charger to her and MJ looks up at him through her lashes as he towers over her, biting her lip. Flirting isn’t her strong suit whatsoever, but she can’t help trying; it’s not like she’s going to see him again by the time the sun sets.

“It’s a secret,” she answers after a brief moment, taking the Mophie from Grayson and accidentally-on-purpose brushing the tips of her fingers against the back of his. “Thanks.”

Grayson raises his eyebrows, but a humored grin graces his full lips. “Okay,” he says, surprising her by taking a seat next to her as she plugs in her phone. “But who better to spill your secrets to than a total stranger, you know?”

MJ can’t help the giggle that escapes her throat, humored more by the fact that he seems to be having the same idea of fuck it, we won’t ever see each other again, as her, than his actual question. His nearness should make her uncomfortable, but it just…doesn’t; he’s close enough for her to smell his scent emanating from his warm body. Clean, like laundry and soap, but also hints of an earthy, masculine cologne and an admittedly enticing musk from being in the sun. She wants to lean in and inhale him.

God, she hopes she isn’t coming off as insane as she feels inside. What is wrong with her? He’s just a guy. A guy whose close proximity as a stranger should be making her feel intimidated rather than buzzing with electricity.

“You’re very right,” she says, leaning back on her hands to appear more relaxed. “If I die out here in the wilderness, killed by my own stupidity, I wouldn't want the last person to see me alive not know my real name.”

Grayson throws his head back and laughs, and it draws one from herself as well. She likes his laugh because despite the deep timbre of his voice, the sound is carefree and boyish.

“It’s Makenna Jean,” she finally admits once they both quiet down. “I’m named after my grandmothers, but my mom didn't like your typical shortenings people might automatically give to Makenna — you know, Mack, Ken, Kenna, all those. So she just started calling me MJ to avoid it all, and…that’s me, MJ.”

He nods in understanding. “Gotcha.”

They continue effortless conversation for a while, words and laughter flowing freely from their lips with an ease that MJ hasn’t experienced in years. In the first lull, though, MJ fills it with a sigh and extends her long legs to stretch them as they tire from being folded so closely to her body, flexing and pointing her toes. She knows her shorts are a little too short, her tank top a little low cut, even with a sports bra on. It’s another one of those accidentally-on-purpose moves that starts as inadvertent in the way it exposes and elongates her body, but ends in her relishing the way his eyes quickly dart across her form. She’s reticent to admit that she isn’t mad about it. Not even a little.

She ducks her head and bites her lip to hide a triumphant smirk as Grayson clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair. “So, are you out here by yourself?”

For the first time since she met him, a little swoop of nerves unrelated to her attraction to him passes through the pit of her stomach. She feels like she’s always had a spot-on instinct for determining someone’s ‘vibes’, and Grayson has only given her good ones since the minute she saw him. Maybe she’s fallen victim to the Ted Bundy effect, though…

He seems to pick up on her hesitation, and Grayson slaps his palm to his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut. “Fuck, sorry, that was so creepy. I didn't mean it like that, I was just, uh, making conversation.” He opens his eyes and rubs his forehead and, to her shock, is he blushing now? “I promise I’m not a murderer.”

She might have still been weirded out by a guy even putting the word out there in this situation, but her gut is telling her that Grayson is harmless, and she prides herself on being a pretty good judge of character.

“It’s okay,” she says, giving him a serious look. “I promise I’m not either. But you should know that I’m packing heat with a fully loaded can of mace and my best white belt skills from the karate classes my mom made me take in 4th grade.”

Grayson gives her a disbelieving look. “Fourth grade karate, huh?”

“Yep. For real, I’ll karate chop your arm off if you try anything sketch.”

“Try,” he challenges with a beautiful, dangerous smile, leaning in ever so slightly and looking her dead in the eye. It takes her breath away a little bit. “I dare you.”

MJ scoffs, still keeping up this facade that she isn’t fighting every primal urge to mount him, especially with the unmistakeable tinge of flirtation in his last words.

“Fine,” she accepts. Grayson grins wider and leans back, offering her his right arm. “Get ready.”

“Oh, I am.”

She lines her hand up with the dip in his muscles between his shoulder and the top of his bicep, rears it back, and —

“Ow!”

The side of her hand simply bounces off of the solid mass of his bulging arm. Grayson does that head-back belly laugh again and she pretends to pout as she rubs her sore hand. “That hurt way more than it should have!” she exclaims. “What are you, Superman?”

Grayson, still laughing, grabs her hand in his and strokes it rather tenderly considering the sheer size of his palm compared to hers. And it’s so cliche, but MJ swears she feels tingles where their skin connects.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he says, biting his lip in an attempt to contain himself. “It’s just, in the least misogynistic way possible, that was high-key cute.”

“Hmph.” MJ scrunches her nose at him as her heart drops to her stomach in the best, scariest way.

Uh oh. He's a stranger, MJ; you’ve known him for half an hour, MJ; you’re in the middle of nowhere, MJ — you can’t catch feelings for a stranger you’ve know for half an hour in the middle of nowhere, MJ…

She clears her throat and gives his hand a slight squeeze before extracting it from his grip, hoping that conveys that she doesn’t disapprove of his touch. But the sun is well on it’s way to setting, and she does need to check her phone battery. It’s at 28%, not as much as she hoped for but probably enough to do the trick.

Shit. MJ really, really doesn’t want to leave him, but she can’t exactly invite herself to stay longer. She had already kept him from building his tent, and his fire is starting to die as well. She turns back to face him only to find his eyes trained on her, brow slightly scrunched. Her belly swoops again.

“I should, ah, probably get going,” MJ admits quietly, fidgeting with her fingers. A shiver runs down her spine and goosebumps raise themselves up the skin of her arms, too, as the setting sun steadily lowers the temperature around them. She crosses her arms across her chest, partly for warmth and partly to hide her stiffened nipples that peak through her thin sports bra and tank. “Or I really will kill myself out here in the dark by walking off a cliff or something.”

Grayson smiles woefully and lets out a little huff, ducking his gaze down for a moment and picking at a thread on his shorts. “Yeah, I understand.”

Is it her imagination or does he sound…disappointed?

When he looks back up at her, the sudden intensity of his gaze makes her swallow thickly. She wants so badly to ask for his number, his Instagram, his last name, but it all seems too weird given the circumstances and the amount of time (or lack thereof) they’ve spent together. Besides, she thinks, she’s still dealing with a psycho ex amongst the rest of her life falling apart, and doesn’t need any more boy problems in her already crazy-stressful life.

MJ stands and dusts off the back of her shorts. “Thank you, Grayson, seriously. You really did save my ass,” she says with a sad smile.

“Of course,” he replies, standing with her.

She unplugs her phone and pulls up both maps before setting off down the trail with one last wave at the gorgeous, sweet man she’s so reluctantly leaving behind.

“MJ, wait!”

She stops in her tracks, black Nikes skidding in the loose, sandy dirt. Turning around in time to see Grayson dig his hands in the backpack to fish out a sweatshirt and flashlight, her heart lifts when he starts jogging toward her. Despite her elation, however, she looks up at him confusedly.

“I’ve actually been to this place a few times, so I’m pretty familiar with the trails and campgrounds. I would feel a lot better if I walked you to your tent. Not that you need a man to help you anywhere or…whatever, but yeah, only if you want —”

“Grayson,” she interrupts, touching a slim hand to his forearm. She smiles, endeared at how flustered he’s getting. He runs a hand through his hair again. Is this him wanting to spend more time with her, or him simply being a gentleman? “I really do appreciate it, but I’ve already kept you from setting up your own camp. I couldn't ask you to walk me all the way to BFE and risk you coming back alone in the dark.”

Grayson shakes his head. “I swear, it’s fine. I’ve got a flashlight.” He clicks it on and shines it under his chin, illuminating his head in typical campfire story-time style, and makes a face at her. MJ giggles. “And you can’t be too far from here; there are only two main campgrounds and they’re less than a mile apart from each other, so I should make it back before dark one way or the other.”

A shiver from the cold overtakes her body suddenly. “Oh, here,” he adds, extending the purple hoodie to her. She starts to protest, but he shakes his head and holds it at her more insistently. “I know you’re cold.”

MJ flushes, but takes the soft garment from him gratefully. “I never said I was cold,” she remarks as she shoves her arms in the sleeves and slips it over her head. It practically swallows her, but it smells just like the laundry/cologne scent she had picked up earlier, only more concentrated and delicious.

Grayson eyes her up and down slowly, grinning. “I’m observant,” he says teasingly.

MJ raises her brows at him amusedly. Again, she should be creeped out, but there’s something about him that sends all potential red flags out the window.

“And I might not be done sharing secrets with you,” he adds quietly, smiling the softest, sexiest smile she’s ever seen and utilizing the ultimate puppy-dog eyes. “Please?”

Well, twist my arm, MJ thinks sarcastically. “Okay,” she says without hesitation now, her insides jittering with a strange mixture of happiness and nerves. He beams at her and jerks his head in indication for them to continue down the trail.

“So, you never said what you’re doing out here by yourself,” Grayson prompts, nudging her with his elbow.

MJ shakes her head and smiles up at him. “Nuh-uh. Not only is that a sob story no one wants to hear, it’s definitely your turn to share. So I could ask you what you’re doing out here by yourself?”

Grayson shrugs as if to say ‘fair enough.’ “I’m not, actually. I’m with my brother and his girlfriend because she wanted to camp, but my brother doesn’t know shit about it. I only came under the agreement that there was going to be no funny business while I was around, only to come back from getting firewood to find them going at it, so I chose to remove myself from the situation. They’re still at our original campsite further down the trail. I needed to make sure I was far enough away to not hear anything.”

MJ sucks in a sympathetic breath through her teeth. “Ooh, yeah, there’s nothing worse than being the third wheel, especially when you have nowhere to escape.”

“Exactly!” he exclaims, turning to her with his hands raised. “Thank you! Ethan told me I was being dramatic, but it definitely sucks. He’s been with her long enough now, I think he’s forgotten what it’s like to be the lonesome outsider.”

This is the perfect segue for the question, but it gets stuck in her throat. Come on, MJ, grown woman, remember? She’s sure she already knows the answer based on what he had just said, but it never hurts to check.

“So…you don’t have a girlfriend?”

“Nope.” She glances up at him to find him staring straight ahead with that lopsided, boyish grin. He looks back down at her and reciprocates the question. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Nope.” MJ is mortified to hear it come out as a whisper. She clears her throat and diverts her gaze to the sunset. She had literally, quite literally, just met this man — he should not have this kind of effect on her.

Just then, her phone buzzes, and she’s infuriated to see the deleted number of her ex pop up on the screen. She groans in frustration. “But it’s not for my idiot ex’s lack of trying to get back together,” she complains, wiggling the phone and sending it straight to voicemail.

“I’m sorry,” Grayson says, shaking his head understandingly. “I’ve definitely been there. How long have you been broken up?”

MJ swipes the voicemail notification away and rolls her eyes. “Over two months. We weren't super serious and it wasn't a crazy bad breakup or anything, we were just in different places, and I’m not one to be in a relationship just for the sake of it. Especially if I’m not feeling any aspect of it. I didn't hear a word from him the first month or so, but he’s acting like we were soulmates who had some tragic ending, calling and texting me nonstop the last couple of weeks.”

Grayson shrugs. “Sounds like he’s just realizing what he missed out on,” he says, grinning. MJ’s breath catches in her throat and she rolls her eyes again embarrassedly with a smile, flushing pink yet again. “Why don’t you block him?”

She sighs. “I probably will. I don't like to burn bridges like that unless someone really does me wrong, but it’s getting ridiculous at this point.”

Grayson nods. “I’m not just saying this, but I feel the exact same way. And about what you said with being in a relationship just to be in one. Like…” he ruffles the back of his hair, something she now detects as a tell for when he's uncomfortable. “Ok, like, this sounds so ugly and conceited, but if I really wanted to be with someone, I could. Ethan and I do social media for a living and we have a decent following, so it’s not a lack of girls, but that’s not me. Maybe when I was a little younger, but…yeah, not now.”

Wow. What does that mean, a decent following? Her job requires her to know the ins and outs of the social media side of marketing, but she isn’t super invested in it for herself entertainment-wise. Mainly, she’s active on Snapchat with her friends and just occasionally uses Insta, so with the knowledge of the spectrum of social media followings, that could really be any number in her book. “So you’re, like, an Instagram model or something?”

He chuckles. “No, no. We make YouTube videos mostly. We’re identical twins so a lot of them are stupid things based on that — challenges and skits and stuff. It’s pretty chill. We’re starting to dabble in documentary-style projects, too.”

MJ gawks at him playfully, though she is actually surprised by his admission. “There are two of you?!” she gasps.

Grayson gapes back at her jokingly. “Technically, yes. He’s my absolute best friend in the entire world and, like I said, we’re identical, but half the time we really couldn’t be more opposite if we tried. I’ll show you our channel later, if you want, and you’ll see.”

“Hmm,” MJ hums, catching her lip with her teeth briefly. “Well I’m sure Ethan is great, but I’m glad I met you, then.”

He bumps her with his hip. “Are you saying you like me?”

MJ rolls her eyes good-naturedly at the teasing lilt to his voice and hopes that the light is low enough that he can’t see the seemingly permanent tint to her cheeks. “Since we’re sharing secrets…maybe. Yes.”

“I like you, too,” he replies, just as quietly. She picks up a barely-detectable lisp on the ’t’ and the East Coast lilt on the ‘oo.’ It’s adorable.

Her heart flutters.

They walk steadily a few more feet in silence, when suddenly she feels his hand brush hers gently. She assumes it was accidental until it happens again, only this time there’s more assertiveness in the movement, clearly indicating what he’s trying to do. Her heart jumps in her throat as she gladly lets his palm dwarf her own as he takes her hand in his. They happen to both glance at each other, only to duck their heads simultaneously, each attempting to hide giddy smiles.

“Ah, so, secrets,” MJ says to break the silence that’s thick with the best kind of tension. “How old are you?”

There’s a beat of silence. “Old enough…almost,” he answers cryptically, side-eyeing her.

His reply actually makes MJ stop in her tracks, and she’s jerked a bit by their joined hands as he continues moving. “What?” she asks incredulously.

Grayson laughs heartily and squeezes her palm, melting her insides a bit. He’s clearly pleased with himself at catching her so off-guard. “I’m kidding. I mean, I am legal, but people tend to think I’m older than I am.” He observes her standing there, waiting for his answer, and finally relents. “I’m 20.”

MJ shakes her head, stunned. “Shut the fuck up!” she exclaims. “Twenty?! Dude, yeah, no kidding people think you’re older. I definitely did.”

He tugs on her hand to keep her walking, and MJ obeys dutifully, still amazed at yet another shocking disclosure. “Is that an issue?”

She shrugs; she feels like it should be, but he doesn’t look or act 20 at all. But also…an issue for what? They literally just met. And she should only be thinking of being friends; she can be friends with a 20 year-old.

That thought doesn’t stop her from answering, though, because time factor aside, something is happening between them. Something more than friends, if she’s letting herself be honest. “I guess it’s only an issue if it affects maturity, but that doesn't seem to be a problem here that I can tell.”

Grayson squeezes her hand again, and a shot of sparks zings up her arm this time. “Good. Now, are you gonna make me ask, or are you gonna tell me how old you are?”

MJ groans. Twenty. She’s basically a dinosaur compared to that. “God, I don’t even want to say now. I’m 24,” she admits.

“What’s wrong with that?” Grayson asks with a chuckle.

“Because…” How do you explain to a young, hot 20 year-old man that every year that you creep closer to 25 only means one year closer to the downhill to 30? “I don’t know. Sometimes I feel old. And stuck. Especially lately. And you seem like this super young, super successful guy. It’s a little intimidating.”

Grayson is quiet for a moment. “If there’s anything I know, it’s not to judge your path based on other’s. If you’re feeling stuck, something will happen that gets you unstuck. Age has nothing to do with that.”

His answer catches MJ by surprise in its sincerity and maturity and thoughtfulness. Before she can form an answer, they pass what must be his brother’s tent. She has to hush her fit of laughter into her free hand when Grayson makes a disgusted little noise and flips off the dark red canvas that is, indeed, rustling suspiciously.

From there on they share anything and everything about each other, with each other. Against her word from earlier, she tells him about losing her job and her other woes from the week; he briefly opens up that he had lost his dad a little over a year ago and is still coping with it. This shocks her a bit, but his openness leads her to sympathize with him by sharing how her mom had passed away in a car accident when she was 15. By the time they reach the next campground, their fingers are completely intertwined and she’s leaning her head on his shoulder, his smell enveloping her completely from both his shirt sleeve and the collar of the hoodie. MJ has truly never felt more connected to a man on this level, and it’s both exciting and terrifying.

They aren’t even to her tent yet and she already doesn’t want him to go.  

“Should be just around this corner,” Grayson says, squinting at her phone before concentrating on the trail again.

Sure enough, the next turn reveals her campsite, complete with the tent she had miraculously managed to construct herself and her cooler propped next to the same rock-bench that they had sat on at Grayson’s camp.

Her free hand clenches around his elbow. “Yep, here it is,” she says.

They stop and stand to face one another. “Thanks again, Grayson,” she tells him sincerely. “I didn't really know what the hell I was doing coming out here. In more ways than one, obviously.” This earns her a smile and — God, as if her heart could feel any more sappy in that moment — he brings their clasped hands to his lips to kiss the back of her palm. “But in the hour that I’ve known you I think you’ve helped me take my mind off things more than anyone else back home could have. So…thank you.”

“Of course, MJ,” he says quietly. “I could say the same. I rarely talk about my dad with anyone besides Ethan, let alone someone I just met.” Her heart warms at his confession, and a heated moment of quiet and intense eye contact passes between them before he breaks it. “Come on, I’ll help you start a fire.”

She nods, and they release their grasps on one another to gather sticks and dry brush at his suggestion.

“You know,” he says as he leans over the fire pit that’s now filled with their findings with her lighter, breaking the short silence, “I was going to spend the night alone since E was clearly pretty busy. I don't think he would miss me if I stayed for a bit. To keep telling secrets. If you want, that is.”

MJ swallows. What the hell is this night? She’s pretty sure sad, lost girls meeting and mutually falling for beautiful, polite, genuinely funny boys in the desert is something that only happens in the likes of cheesy Meg Cabot novels. Yet, here she is, living out her nerdy 16 year-old fantasies in real life somehow.

“Yes. I want you,” she murmurs finally, and though she doesn’t mean for it to come out as a bit of an entendre, she doesn’t regret her wording; even in the low light of the late sunset, she can see his eyes darken. “Won’t he notice eventually, though, if you stay gone for very long? And it’s getting dark…”

“If I can borrow your phone, I can text him,” he explains. “I don't have any service but you do somehow. I guarantee he’ll use the wifi in our car to check his phone before he goes to bed, so he’ll get it eventually.”

She nods and unlocks her phone for him. “How do you have service out here, actually?” he asks as he types out a new message.

“My brother,” she answers, entranced by the way his thick fingers fly across the keyboard of her phone. “Being a firefighter, he gets to be on this plan for first responders where he gets first access to a bigger network in case he’s in the middle of nowhere on a call or in a crowd during an emergency or something. I was able to sign on with his account and get all the benefits of it.”

Grayson looks up at her, surprised, and smirks when he hands her phone back to her. “Wow, a firefighter? So he could probably kick my ass if he wanted, huh?”

MJ laughs. “Normally I would say yes, but somehow I think you've got a solid 20 pounds of muscle on him, even though he's a little taller than you,” she admits.

She finally can’t resist anymore and runs her right hand over a bicep that is truly bulging right beneath the edge of his shirt sleeve, and allows herself to take in unabashedly the way the fabric stretches across his wide shoulders, his defined pecs…fuck, he’s sexy.

He swallows hard and she looks up at him. For the second time that night, the intensity of his gaze stuns her into silence and stillness.

When he ducks his head to meet her lips with his, however, her insides are screaming and the hand not clutching his arm travels to grip the front of his shirt, then the short hairs at the back of his neck.

More cliches, but it’s a perfect first kiss — soft but intense, not too much tongue but just enough as it deepens. MJ sighs into his mouth, deciding she would be perfectly content to do this with him forever despite the fire now lit within her at his touch that has her body begging for more.

It could have been a few seconds or a few hours that they stand there entwined with one another, but eventually they part, eyes closed and breaths panting heavily in the minimal space between them. The longer she isn’t distracted by his lips, the longer she stands there trying not to overthink things.

But the beauty of what this trip has been — what Grayson has been — for her is that it was the opposite of overthinking; it was instinctual, impulsive, and honest. In short, her motto had been ‘fuck it.’

Her green eyes open and lift to his hazel ones. “Grayson,” she whispers, “we’re telling secrets tonight, right?”

“Right,” he replies just as breathlessly.

She swallows past a small lump as an inexplicable rush of emotion hits her.

Fuck it.

MJ’s hands cup his angular jaw and she forces herself to keep eye contact with him. She takes a deep breath. “Look, I’m not into drama and feelings and fairytale shit. But I like you. I really like you, way more than I should considering we’re basically strangers, which fucking scares me. And even though I barely know you, I trust you for some reason. I just…need you to tell me if you feel kind of the same, or if this is starting to feel like too much now that I’m putting my thoughts out there. Because my gut is telling me this is mutual, but we can both walk away now and write it off as a crazy, whirlwind thing in the desert. I go in my tent, you go in yours, and we never see each other again.”

Her words come out in a rush, her last sentence almost painfully so. She also suddenly considers the idea that maybe he’s only using her as a fun story to tell his friends about, the pretty girl he met in the desert, wooed by his charm and good looks into her tent, only to be ghosted by him the next day.

Maybe the uncertainty in her life is leading her to be too impulsive with her wants and desires right now.

Maybe she’s starting to overthink things.

Grayson catches his lower lip with his teeth and mimics the position of her hands with his own. His thumbs brush the ridges of her mandible and his long fingers overlap at the back of her neck, scratching lightly. Despite herself, she could have purred at the sensation, almost does when it’s combined with that of his lips brushing hers tenderly.

“MJ,” he says lowly, resting his forehead against hers. “I’m not a fuckboy, I promise; like I said earlier, if all I wanted was a warm body beside me, I could have that in a second. What’s so hard for me is to find someone who's not after clout or money or anything that comes along with being in the social media space. Almost every girl I’ve talked to in the last couple of years has been attracted to one of those aspects of my life, not me. Once I find that out, no matter what they look like, I’m never interested in being in the same room as them, let alone in a relationship with them. I can tell you don't give a shit about any of that, and I love it. I love how funny, genuine, and kind you are. I love how naturally, absolutely gorgeous you are. That’s what I look for, that’s all I go for, and you’re all of it.”

Holy fuck, how is this guy real? It’s like he could read her mind. Her thumb tugs on his lower lip and he takes that as his cue to kiss her thoroughly again.

“Promise me now, then,” she huffs when they break apart, “no matter what happens tonight, we try to stay friends, at least, tomorrow.”

“Deal,” he agrees with a grin.

MJ bites her lip and smirks up at him. “How about we, uh, keep sharing secrets in my tent?”

Grayson raises his brow, his smile widening. “It is getting a little chilly out here.”

[flowerfan2]

Part of You Indefinitely - Ch. 8

It’s almost over - after this, Ch. 9 is the epilogue.  Thanks all for reading and reblogging.  I hope my readers new to Schitt’s Creek have enjoyed this!

Read from the beginning on A03; or go to Chapter 8.  M, 24k.

Summary – An accident sends Patrick to the hospital and terrifies David.  What follows changes their relationship in ways David and Patrick never imagined.  A story of love and its challenges.

Chapter 8

David’s head is pounding when his alarm goes off.  He swats it and turns over, curling up under the blankets.

He’s not sure how much time has passed when he feels someone gripping his arm.  “Leave me alone, I’m sleeping.”

“David?  It’s almost eight, you overslept.”

David scrunches his eyes closed.  He flinches from the touch of Patrick’s hand on his forehead.

“Shit, you’re burning up.”  Patrick’s hand is cool, almost painful on his skin as he rests the back of his hand on David’s cheek, and then it’s gone.  David presses his face into the pillow and drifts off.

The next thing he knows is Patrick shaking him again.  “I know you don’t feel good, honey,” Patrick says, his voice soft.  “But sit up just for a sec, and take some medicine.  Come on.”

David squints one eye open and sees Patrick in his chair, next to the bed.  There’s a glass of water on the nightstand, and Patrick has two Tylenol in his hand.  David shoves himself up against the pillows and takes the pills, his hand trembling as he brings the glass of water to his mouth.

“Drink all of it,” Patrick says, and David grimaces.  His throat is on fire and the water isn’t helping.  He drains as much as he can stand from the glass, Patrick taking it from his hand when it is clear that David is done.

David sinks back against the pillows and closes his eyes.  He falls asleep to the reassuring sensation of Patrick stroking his shoulder.

He dreams about hiking, but instead of climbing a rather tame Canadian hill, they’re in the desert, David and Patrick and far too many cactuses – cacti?  There’s a long road winding in the distance, but they’ve got a ways to go to reach it, and their path is filled with sand and rocks and darting small versions of wildlife that seem to morph between lizards and furry things that might be weasels.  Patrick scolds David for not wearing mountaineering shoes, and tells him to take off his sweater because it’s making him overheat.  Suddenly there’s a cliff, and Patrick is standing close to the edge, pointing out the view, and then he’s gone, disappearing over it without a word.

“David,” a voice calls, and David jolts awake, eyes flashing open to see Patrick’s worried face.  

“You shouldn’t stand near the edge,” David says, grabbing Patrick’s arm.

“Um, okay, I won’t,” Patrick says.  

David blinks, looking around at their bedroom, his eyes landing on the dresser from Patrick’s old apartment, the wardrobe half open with all his knitwear stored carefully inside, the wooden chest at the foot of the bed.  “I was dreaming,” David says, and he tries to take in a deep breath, but his throat hurts too much.

“I got that,” says Patrick.  “Here, drink this.”

David shakes his head.  “It hurts.”

“This won’t.”  Patrick tilts the glass towards him, a straw sticking up towards his mouth.  

David takes a sip and practically moans in relief.  “What is that?”

“Chocolate Nutella milkshake.  Twyla brought us some supplies.”

“She didn’t make it herself,” David says.  It’s not even a question – Twyla’s concoctions are universally terrible.

“No, she did not.”  Patrick leaves the milkshake in David’s hand and points their thermometer at David’s forehead.  “Hold still for a second.”

David lets Patrick take his temperature, not really paying much attention.  When he’s done, Patrick tilts the milkshake straw in David’s direction.  He drinks a little more, then shakes his head to try to clear it.  “What time is it?”

“Almost noon.  Time for you to take another dose.  We’ll alternate until your fever comes down.”  Patrick shakes a few Advil out of the bottle on the nightstand, but David is still confused.

“But it’s Monday.  You have PT.  We have to go.”  David pushes the blankets down and tries to get out of bed, but Patrick stops him with a hand to his shoulder.  David feels so weak he can hardly fight back.

“We’re not going.  Lie down,” Patrick says firmly.

“No, it’s okay,” David says.  “Let me get up and get dressed, I’ll be fine.”

“Nope,” says Patrick, and reaches over to tuck David back in.  “I can skip a day, I already called and told them.  Go back to sleep.  If you’re good, I’ll make you another milkshake for dinner.”

David sighs.  His bed does feel wonderful, and his arms and legs feel far too heavy to get out of it.  But Patrick needs him, he needs to be taken care of.  David can’t just stay in bed all day.

“That’s very sweet, honey, but I can take care of both of us today.”

“Didn’t say that out loud,” David mumbles.

“You did, and that’s okay.  You’ll feel better soon, when your temperature comes down.  Close your eyes.”

Patrick is rubbing circles on David’s back, and David is powerless to resist as sleep overtakes him once more.

It’s another twenty-four hours before David feels like himself again.  He wakes up to Patrick pressing his lips to his forehead and smiling.

“Do I pass the kiss test?”  David asks, smiling back.  He swallows tentatively – even his throat feels better.  He clearly wasn’t as sick as it seemed.

“Yup, you pass,” Patrick says, pulling David into his arms.  “You’re back to your regular levels of hot.”

David squirms and runs a hand through his rather disgusting hair.  “Say that again after I’ve taken a shower.”

“Deal.”  Patrick presses a kiss to David’s lips, and David opens easily to him.  Sadly, Patrick breaks it off all too soon.  

David covers his mouth with his hand.  “Sorry, I must taste awful.”

Patrick laughs.  “You’re not exactly minty fresh, but, um, since you’re not on your deathbed anymore, I kind of have plans.”

David stares at his husband.  “You what?  What kind of plans?”  He realizes that Patrick is fully dressed, and apparently got back in bed just to wake David up with a kiss, like some fairy tale prince.  

“Stevie’s taking me out to lunch,” Patrick says quickly.  He’s looking away from David, but he’s still got his hand on David’s shoulder, worrying his thumb against his skin.  

David may have been stuck in bed with a fever, but he hasn’t forgotten how to read his husband, and while Patrick is obviously feeling awkward about whatever this is, it is clearly important to him, too.  They haven’t been out to eat since Patrick’s accident, and Patrick hasn’t been in the car with anyone other than David.

“That’s great,” he says slowly, choosing to focus on the most critical part of this piece of news – Patrick agreeing to go out in public, despite his embarrassment.  “Where are you going?”

Patrick blinks at him, and then adjusts.  It’s what they do.  “The Thai place in Elm Valley.  With the good satays.”

“Bring me home some masaman curry?”

“Sure.”  Patrick gracelessly rolls to his back and lets out a long breath.  “I was afraid you’d be mad,” he says to the ceiling.  “But Stevie offered to take me to PT tomorrow, if you weren’t well enough, and then since you were feeling better last night I told her she didn’t have to, and she said she had been looking forward to getting together, and I’ve missed her too, so she asked me to have lunch, and I – I just said yes.”

“That sounds nice.”  David rolls to his side and puts their joined hands on Patrick’s chest.

“Maybe. But…” Patrick turns his head and catches David’s gaze.  “I haven’t, since-”

“I know.”

“I didn’t want to go to the café.”

It makes sense.  Everyone at Café Tropicale knows him, and would want to have a chat, and ask too many questions.  “The Thai place is neutral territory,” David says.  David and Patrick love it, the wait staff are friendly but not nosy, and he doesn’t think they’ve ever run into anyone from Schitt’s Creek there.  It’s a good choice for Patrick’s first foray out in the world.  David wishes he had thought of it.

“Yeah.  And I called, it’s accessible.”

David feels a little pang, and thinks of Stevie trying to get Patrick’s chair over a too high threshold, or god forbid up a stair.  They’ve put a few rubber threshold ramps in their own doorways to make it easier for Patrick – it’s ridiculous how hard it is to get around in a wheelchair.  “Good thinking.”

They lie there for another minute, and David can feel how uncomfortable it is.  He doesn’t quite know why, and he’s searching for something to say to lighten the mood, when Patrick speaks up.

“Do you, um, do you want to come?”

David instantly knows his answer has to be no.  It’s hard to say, when it means Patrick will be out there away from him.  There will be someone else helping Patrick in and out of the car, making sure his feet don’t catch and trip him up.  Someone else responsible for his safety, for making sure he doesn’t freak out, for protecting him from prying eyes.

But David has to say no because by agreeing to go out to lunch with Stevie, <i> without</i> David, Patrick hasn’t just decided to risk that Stevie won’t let him down.  Patrick has decided to trust himself, and David needs to trust him, too.

David pushes up on an elbow and waits until Patrick looks at him, and then he smiles and ducks down for a kiss.  “Nah.  You go.  I’ll be here when you get home.”

The look on Patrick’s face is like the sunrise.  “Yeah?”

David wraps his arms around his husband.  “Yeah.  You’ll do just fine.”  

Patrick hangs on tight, and David presses his hands to his back, hugging him for all he’s worth.  They’re strong, the both of them, and they’re going to be okay.

*****

A few days later when they get to the hospital Patrick tells David to park in the lot instead of dropping him off at the front door.

“Everything okay?”  David asks.

Patrick nods.  “Yeah, but, um, I want you to come to PT with me.”

They take the elevator to the second floor (it’s not a very big hospital – David thinks the whole thing could fit in one wing of Sloan-Kettering) and Patrick leads him down the hall to the physical therapy department.  When his name is called, they go into a large room and are met by a tall man with a ponytail and an impressive set of muscles.

“Is this your PT guy?”  David asks under his breath.  “He looks like he could hurt me.”

The ponytail guy is in fact Patrick’s physical therapist, Luis, and he introduces himself and then he and Patrick get to work.  David sits in a chair at the side of the room and watches.  He’s impressed at how hard Patrick is working.

“David?”  Luis beckons him over to where Patrick is sitting on a padded table.

“Yes?” David stands awkwardly next to Patrick, not sure what his role is in this situation.

“This is the part I wanted you to be here for,” Patrick says.

David looks at him quizzically.

“I asked Luis to give me some exercises to work on at home.”

Luis clears his throat, and Patrick frowns.  “I asked him to give me some <i>more</i> exercises to work on at home, since I haven’t been making progress as quickly as I would like to.  And there are some things you can help me with.  So I can learn how to walk again.  If you’re willing.”

“Of course,” David says quickly.  He looks from Patrick to Luis, who has a rather doubtful look on his face.  “Of course I’ll help, why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know, I… I wanted to do this by myself.  I didn’t want you to have something else to worry about.  But I realized that by not letting you help, I was just hurting us anyway.”

It sounds like a rehearsed speech, and David doesn’t miss Luis nodding his approval.

“Is there something else going on here?  And honestly, I haven’t seen you do any exercises at home.”

“I don’t do them when you’re home.”

“But I’m almost always home,” David says.  “Oh.  Oh.  That’s the problem, isn’t it?  You didn’t want to do your exercises with me there, and I’m usually there, so…”

“So I don’t do it.” Patrick says.  “But I’m not going to pull that crap any more.  I’m way behind-”

“There’s not really a timetable,” Luis tries to interject.

“There is, there is definitely a timetable, it’s far past time for me to get out of this goddamn chair,” Patrick insists.  “I’m going to put the work in every day from now on.”

“We’ll put the work in every day,” David says, ignoring how ridiculously sappy he sounds.

“Yeah, okay,” Patrick says, blushing.  “Yeah.”

That night at home David pulls out the yoga mat that Patrick has kept shoved under their bed and spreads it out in the middle of the living room floor next to their reclaimed oak coffee table.  

“David – you don’t have to do that.  It looks dumb there.”

David isn’t going to argue that the bright blue synthetic mat doesn’t exactly fit the carefully curated cream and crimson tones of their living room, but that’s hardly the point right now.  ��It’s too cramped in the bedroom.  You said you wanted to take this seriously, so we’re taking it seriously.”

It turns out Patrick has a spreadsheet of all the exercises he was supposed to be doing.  David sits himself down on the floor next to Patrick and coaches him through his stretches, using his phone to time him, and occasionally adjusting his position.

“Nice.  That last one was even better.  Concentrate on engaging your core.”

Patrick pauses, sweaty and panting, and looks curiously at David.

“Something on your mind?”  David asks.

“How are you so good at this?”

David raises his eyebrows.  “If you must know… Alexis wanted to make the cheer team when she was in junior high, but she was a disaster.  Mom hired a trainer for her, but he just wanted to get high with our driver.  So I worked up a plan, and made sure Alexis practiced.”

“Did she make the team?”

David laughs.  “No way, have you seen her dance?  But she could do a mean split and broke a seven-minute mile.”

Patrick sits up with a grunt and leans his head on David’s shoulder.  “I should have let you help me from the beginning.”

“You said it, not me.”

It’s a pretty good day, all things considered.  But David’s favorite part is the last set of exercises they do.

Patrick sits in a chair, and with David’s help, pulls himself up to a standing position.  It’s very similar to how David has been helping him transfer in and out of his wheelchair, but this time Patrick lets himself rest more weight on his legs, pausing and holding himself in position there instead of just pivoting to the next step in the process.

Both of them are somewhat surprised to realize that Patrick can almost support himself.  He’s come a long way even if he hasn’t been doing his exercises as much as he was supposed to.  He stands carefully, finding his balance, with his arms looped tightly around the back of David’s neck, their bodies pressed close together.

“Now you’re supposed to lean from side to side,” David says, locking his grip firmly around Patrick’s back.  Patrick tries it, and his knee buckles, but David holds him tight.  “Go on, try again.”  

Patrick sucks in a breath, and then shifts his weight to one side and then the other.  It’s like dancing, almost, but better.  Patrick’s biting his lip in concentration as he works, and when he finishes the count of ten back and forths, he looks up at David, beaming.

“I did it,” he says softly, and David grins back at him.

“Yeah, you did.”  David leans in and kisses him, but keeps it quick – Patrick’s beginning to tremble and it wouldn’t really do to end the day with him collapsing to the floor.

Patrick falls asleep that night almost as soon as his head hits the pillow, but not before they kiss again, sweet and soft.  “You’re the best, you know that?”

David pulls him close.  “So I’ve been told.”

[cyrsed]

hiking pics from today at red rock canyon :) 

saw some damselflies, butterflies, bees/wasps, and two lizards that didn’t look that much different from the ones we have in florida. 

did a shorter hike down the trail that’s called something like “turtle peak” that went past an old quarry but we turned back pretty early on because it was really hot and kinda steep, so we drove up a bit and went on another slightly longer hike through the “lost creek” trail. 

it started in the super dry desert but it took us up into a greener woodsy area up those stairs and up to the creek which we didn’t expect :) we were standing around smelling plant leaves on the trail and realized that we were hearing the sound of water running. then there was a little waterfall (really just a dribble) further up, and the cave behind it that’s in the pictures. 

and everything was so aromatic, here’s so many plants that smelled amazing, there was something that i think was maybe sage, and something that smelled like rosemary but probably wasn’t. idk i can’t identify plants...

it’s the simple human experiences sometimes :) what’s more human* than picking leaves off a bush and crushing them under your nose because they smell nice, or the feeling of hearing the sound of water when you don’t expect it, or watching a lizard doing that pushup move they do when they see you too, or sharing a delicious chocolate chip cookie next to a creek, or seeing a guy who looks like a cheerful wizard hike past you and ask if it’s still morning or if it’s turned afternoon now. just makes you appreciate being able to experience that stuff when you can :)

[wtf-triassic]

Lotosaurus adentus

(Image: Lotosaurus, a rotund, beaked reptile with a tall, arched back. It is attractively coloured in shades of grey, tan, and purple, runs on clean eco-friendly plants, and has optional internal heating. Image by Tas Dixon.)

Etymology: Toothless Lotus Lizard (after Hunan Province, the “Lotus State”)

First Described By: Fa-kui Zhang in 1975

Classification: Biota, Archaea, Proteoarchaeota, Asgardarchaeota, Eukaryota, Neokaryota, Scotokaryota, Opimoda, Podiata, Amorphea, Obazoa, Opisthokonta, Holozoa, Filozoa, Choanozoa, Animalia, Eumetazoa, Parahoxozoa, Bilateria, Nephrozoa, Deuterostomia, Chordata, Olfactores, Vertebrata, Craniata, Gnathostomata, Eugnathostomata, Osteichthyes, Sarcopterygii, Rhipidistia, Tetrapodomorpha, Eotetrapodiformes, Elpistostegalia, Stegocephalia, Tetrapoda, Reptiliomorpha, Amniota, Sauropsida, Eureptilia, Romeriida, Diapsida, Neodiapsida, Sauria, Archosauromorpha, Crocopoda, Archosauriformes, Eucrocopoda, Crurotarsi, Archosauria, Pseudosuchia, Suchia, Paracrocodylomorpha, Poposauroidea

Time and Place: Lotosaurus lived about 238 million years ago, in the Ladinian of the Middle Triassic.

Lotosaurus remains were found in the Badong formation, in Hunan Province of central China.

Physical Description: Lotosaurus was a croc-line archosaur with especially high neural spines, and sort of resembled a plate-less stegosaur—a very naked stegosaur, indeed. It had far longer legs and a more erect stance than any of today’s crocodilians, meaning that it would have carried its body further off the ground. This is needed, as its arching ribs gave it a fairly large barrel-shaped gut. From nose to tail tip, the animal reached about 1.5-2.5m in length.

Traditionally Lotosaurus has been restored with a sail, in the manner of Dimetrodon or Spinosaurus. Is this the case? I’m not sure that it was. The neural spines, though tall, are certainly not ridiculously so—more within the range of Acrocanthosaurus, a dinosaur that is more commonly restored with a hump. This may indeed have been the case with Lotosaurus, though this idea has not been tested.

It’s unclear whether Lotosaurus was warm-blooded, cold-blooded, or somewhere in-between, but some evidence has suggested that the ancestors of croc-line archosaurs might have been warm-blooded or “lukewarm-blooded”. If this is the case, and Lotosaurus had a fast metabolism, it might be beneficial for it to store a lot of fat in the form of a hump. On the other hand, if it were warm-blooded and produced its own body heat, it might have the issue of needing to get rid of excess body heat so as to not overheat, and so a sail may have been more useful. And if it were cold-blooded, the increased surface area might have helped it absorb more sun on a cold day.

Lotosaurus is of special note due to its toothless, beaked mouth, a far cry from the toothy grins of today’s crocodiles. This is actually not uncommon among fossil croc relatives, however; the armoured Stegonolepis and its aetosaur friends had toothless beaks to the front of their mouths, and the bipedal, fast-running shuvosaurids were entirely toothless. As a poposauroid, Lotosaurus was a relative of this latter group; however, it is unknown whether they inherited their beaks from a common ancestor or evolved them independently. 

Some of this difficulty stems from the fact that we don’t really have anything else that’s much like Lotosaurus. It’s kind of unique out there in the world of croc-line palaeontology. Other poposauroids had toothless beaks, but these were slender, long-necked bipeds; other poposauroids had tall neural spines, but these had larger heads with fiercely toothed jaws. Lotosaurus stands alone as an odd mishmash of body plans, a weirdo doing its own thing in a world populated by other weirdos.

Diet: Having a toothless beak, much like having a pair of scissors, a hedge-clipper, or a diesel chainsaw, is great if you want to cut down a lot of plants, and that’s likely what it did with them. Lacking teeth, it probably swallowed these plants whole.

Plants are hard to digest. That’s because they have a lot of cellulose in them, to give them structure, and no animal has evolved an enzyme to break cellulose down. The solution to this, found by herbivores again and again throughout Earth history, is to stew food in the gut for a long time. This allows the gut flora—AKA the little microscopic friends who live in your digestive tract—to do the digesting for them. Having more time for digestion means more time for nutrient extraction, and the best way to increase time in the gut is to have a bigger gut (This also means that they can eat more food now and worry about digesting it later). None of this is necessary for digesting meat. This is why, if you look at a cow or an elephant, they tend to have round, fat torsos, while cats tend to be much skinnier. Unless it’s my cat, who is as chubby as any self-respecting herbivore.

Back to Lotosaurus. Having no teeth, it lost out on the oral processing aspect of digestion that is taken to extremes by many mammals, but it made up for this with gut residency. Much like many herbivorous dinosaurs, it’s likely that Lotosaurus ate large amounts of plants without chewing, and relied on its guts to do the heavy lifting.

Behavior: Lotosaurus has been found in bonebeds of dozens of individuals, aged juvenile through adult. Not all remains were articulated, though many were; the bones also show only minimal signs of weathering and no tooth marks from predators or scavengers. Taken together, these facts suggest that the animals likely died together, spent some short time on the surface, and were then catastrophically buried together. The rocks also preserve fossil mudcracks, and the area is interpreted as a floodplain pond. 

What exactly this means for the ecology of the animal is open to some interpretation. It is possible that Lotosaurus lived in herds, and that this herd died together during a drought; however, it is equally possible that Lotosaurus lived a solitary life, and that these individuals were drawn together by a dwindling pond during the dry season, only to perish when the pond dried up. 

Very little has been written about the actual ecology of Lotosaurus. At a glance it appears to have been perfectly competent on land, though I see nothing in its anatomy to suggest it would not have been an adequate swimmer if need be. 

Ecosystem: The Triassic was, for the most part, characterised by being hot and dry due to the supercontinent Pangaea forming a vast interior desert. However, around this time, China was not part of Pangaea, but rather a bunch of large, Greenland-sized islands waiting to be schmammed onto Pangaea. It thus seems that Lotosaurus was an island taxon, albeit a very large island.

What was that island like? The rocks in which Lotosaurus fossils are found are interpreted as being deposited in a dried-out lake in a floodplain; whether they lived in the lake or simply relied upon it for drinking water is unknown. The bonebed from which all certain Lotosaurus fossils were retrieved also contains the isolated teeth of a temnospondyl amphibian and a carnivorous archosauriform, indicating that these animals were also present in their ecosystem. 

From the types of clay present in the Lotosaurus site, we can tell that the climate experienced medium-to-high chemical weathering with moderate rainfall; development of fossil soils (palaeosols) and presence of certain invertebrates indicate that a dry season-wet season pattern occurred. This is consistent with the interpretation of the bonebed as having been formed by animals who died from drought and later covered, ironically, by floodwaters. 

–By Hayley Orlowski

Sources Under the Cut

Hagen, C. J., Roberts, E. M., Sullivan, C., Liu, J., Wang, Y., Owusu Agyemang, P. C., & Xu, X. (2018). Taphonomy, Geological Age, and Paleobiogeography of Lotosaurus adentus (archosauria: Poposauroidea) from the Middle-Upper Triassic Badong Formation, Hunan, China. Palaios, 33(3), 106-124.

FA-KUI, ZHANG. (1975). A NEW THECODONT LOTOSAURUS, FROM MIDDLE TRIASSIC OF HUNAN.

Legendre, L. J., Guénard, G., Botha-Brink, J., & Cubo, J. (2016). Palaeohistological evidence for ancestral high metabolic rate in archosaurs. Systematic Biology, 65(6), 989-996.