#the amount of prep this has taken is insane

[arabellasleopardcoat]

Threads of Fate (HOTD x Reader)

Summary: An act of kindness leads you to a misterious stranger who offers to lift a block on your love life. Feeling lonely during Halloween, you decide to give it a go. Now there is a blonde corpse in the middle of your bathroom, and it turns out the corpse is not really a corpse.

A/N: A choose your own adventure to celebrate Halloween. Modern reader x HOTD.

Possible pairings: Daemon Targaryen x Reader, Rhaenyra Targaryen x Reader, Aemond Targaryen x Reader (You get to choose your ending)

Chp 1: Ace of cups

Chp 2: The Empress / The Devil / The Hermit

[jbaileyfansite]

Interview with Evan Ross Katz (2024)

Whether he’s carrying Kylie Minogue to the Hyde Park Festival stage with his pal Andrew Scott, making the Internet go collectively feral for merely running a half marathon, chasing dinosaurs (in the upcoming Jurassic World reboot), romancing Matt Bomer (in Fellow Travelers) or Simone Ashley (in Bridgerton) or Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo (in Wicked) or, with his most recent venture, launching an LGBTQ+-focused charity, it seems Jonathan Bailey is always up to something. And yet, he still makes time, from his hotel room in Thailand (where he’s shooting Jurassic World 4), to hop on a Zoom with me to catch up.

We discuss everything from chafed nipples to queer shame to who he’d like to see in the “Drink Your Milk” T-shirt to if we’ll see him on Broadway any time soon, which is to say it’s a brief but wide-ranging chat.

I haven't seen you since the Met Gala! When we last spoke, you were prepping for your first half marathon. I obviously saw the viral photos that went around of you at the finish line, but how did it go?

You know, I should have put those nipple stickers on. That's my main takeaway. 

[Laughs] Did you bleed?

I did a bit, yeah. Did you? I know you've done a couple of marathons. 

I did bleed, and I didn't know about the bleeding beforehand. It's not something you really hear about but it's painful and uncomfortable.

Totally! And not even just beforehand: It took ‘til 4 hours later when my best friend told me there was evidence [of the bleeding]. But anyways… it was euphoric!

At least there was no photo evidence of that element!

Exactly! So thankfully, it's done. But it's just the most amazing thing, isn't it? And the community as well. Hackney Moves is amazing and they raised loads of money. It was the Bridgerton [Season 3 release] week so I feel like you could sort of harness that.

I do have to ask you a pressing question: Days ago, it was announced that Wicked had moved up its release date and will now be released the same day as Ridley Scott's Gladiator 2. Many online were affectionately calling this Barbenheimer 2.0, which led many to try and speculate about a proper portmanteau. Jon Chu wrote on Instagram that the consensus seems to be “Glicked,” which you reposted on Instagram, signaling a cosign. But I have to ask you, Johnny: Are you not considering“Wickediator”?

I love it. Whatever Jon Chu has ever said to me, I’ve taken as gospel, so I actually hadn't explored all the other options. The one that I've now heard since then which is making me reconsider everything is “Gladicked.” [Laughs] It's quite good, isn’t it? 

Yes! To me, “Glicked” feels too Wicked-skewed and then “Wickediator” is just clunky AF, so I like where you're at. 

We want it to be equal footing for sure. Another thing that I love that went viral is someone going: “Oh, brilliant. A film for the ladies and a film for the ladies.” [Laughs] 

I am both ladies! 

Oh, yes. Me too! 

Let’s talk The Shameless Fund, the charity you founded to raise money for LGBTQ+ nonprofit organizations. Can you tell me about the formation of this project?

It's been a labor of love over the last three or four years. It's been quite an organic experience, mainly inspired by Fellow Travelers, hence why I started with a collaboration which references a very specific scene and a performance by Matt Bomer.

I think through Covid and Bridgerton coming out, I found that there’s a real sense in the queer community about awareness of people who came before you and other experiences. And then obviously in Fellow Travelers, which explicitly explores that, the character I played was sort of on the front all the way through a very complicated experience for gay men at that time.

He experienced real moments of blooming liberation and quite insane amounts of oppression as well, and he was always fighting. He ends up becoming an activist, essentially, and I think it was in playing that part — which was kind of spiritual for me and for everyone who's involved in it — that I was like: Right, okay. I know that I've got this idea in my head and having experienced how much love there is for things like Bridgerton and how much money there is in collaboration, I felt that there's so many things I had said “no” to because it didn't feel quite right for me but if there was a world in which I could marry all of it in a creative sort of cocktail, then why not? And to give back to the community that I so love, and also, I'm a massive beneficiary of the work that the people that came before us did, so that's where it came to fruition from. 

You collaborated with our dear friend Jonathan Anderson, the creative director of Loewe, on a T-shirt with a memorable quote from Fellow Travelers to promote the launch of The Shameless Fund. How did this collaboration come to be?

During the strikes during the filming of Wicked, I went on a run one day and this idea of a T-shirt came into my head in full form. Then I sat next to Jonathan [at a Studio Voltaire fundraiser], and he’s lovely and brilliant and naughty and has a foundation, so it was all kind of organic.

Then I went over to DC to present Matt Bomer with an award for the Human Rights Campaign and it was really galvanizing to experience the American fervor. It was a gala, and the energy in the room was absolutely wild and there were amazing stories on stage. I texted Jonathan and I said: “Look, I have an idea and it involves milk and a T-shirt. What do you think?” and he said: “Call me tomorrow,” and then he said yes within the same phone call. I just felt tentative because it’s the sort of thing where you ask and you don't know, but then it went from there. 

I do recall first seeing a photo of you in the shirt several months ago during a night out with the Loewe team in China…

I went to the Loewe exhibition in Shanghai, which was incredible, and that night, we had quite a big night out and I wore the T-shirt because I’d been given the first prototype.

I was having a little boogie and [Anderson] uploaded it whilst I had no access to the Western World — my phone was off the whole time. So by the time I came home, you could see that people were gonna go wild for the T-shirt. Now, it's sold out and we're gonna get some more and it'll be a first step for The Shameless Fund to raise some money. 

Jonathan Anderson did my and my husband's wedding looks and I had to send him that same initial text to be like: “Can one even ask this?”

That's what's so brilliant in life: People who have the ability to collaborate, and that's just what Jonathan does.

One thing that you said just now that struck me is: “Why not?” I interview a lot of people in your profession and they're not asking that question all the time. A lot of people say:

“Oh, there's lots of money I can make. I can have more money. I can have more things for myself.”

Why are you a “why not?” person rather than a “why”? Is that something that was imbued in you by your family and your upbringing or is it how you've always been?

I don't know. I just feel quite strongly emotionally. I sense injustice in certain places, and I think what comes with success — especially being a gay actor — is that you think: “Hang on a minute. Are there limitations? Are there glass ceilings?”

When you experience success that you never thought you would and you grew up thinking that you're limited because of your identity and who you are, I think about the people that have supported me and the people that were really pioneering, but also, the actual heroes who do the real work; the people who work for these nonprofits and these charities where the majority of their energy is spent trying to raise money. When Bridgerton came out, I was inundated with requests to help draw attention to [these organizations] or raise money or donate things that they could sell, so that's where the kernel of this idea came from. All my life, I’ve been thinking about how I can give back.

It's not for nothing that you call this The Shameless Fund. We grew up at a time when, and I don't know if this is the same for you, but I didn't know that gay people existed. I thought I was the only one because I didn't have access to the kind of media kids do today where you can go on Instagram and see that gay is not only acceptable; it's cool. There's this very significant paradigm shift. I feel like a lot of gay men of our generation felt this shame as young people and often spend a lot of our adult lives working to rid ourselves of it. What is it for you about this idea of shame? 

I totally agree in terms of generations. I think the queer experience changes every five years. Even with some of my friends who are 10 years older than me — it's just so specific to cultural moments and representation as well, as you're saying. But I think my understanding of shame, especially having experienced Fellow Travelers, is that it permeates. It's not just a community that experiences the shame; it's the people around them. It's the parents who don't understand it and kick their kids out of their house. It's the sisters, it’s the cousins, it's the nephews, it's the children that are in broken families because of it. It's actually so toxic, that sense of self-hatred. That’s why The Shameless Fund is actually something that I hope is going to benefit everyone, even beyond the community itself.

Also, the older we get and because of the world we live in now, you can read The Velvet Rage and you can read Matthew Todd’s Straight Jacket and you can explore and have conversations with your friends that are really enlightening and you can have therapy, if you're lucky enough that you can afford to do that. As a 36-year-old now, I look back and I just go: “My God, I had such a loving family and yet I was still so isolated and so crippled.”

Shame can stop people from having a proper education and from being able to structure proper emotional relationships, like fundamental relationships with their family, which is the one place you're supposed to feel safe. It's flawed if the family is not aware of what you're going through. 

How did you come up with the name?

I did have other names [in mind for The Shameless Fund], but we won't go into them. One was so aggressive! [Laughs] But “The Shameless Fund” felt punk enough and fundamental enough. To me, I think that to be without shame is to be able to be joyful and to be able to thrive and to be able to learn and have a bloody good time whilst doing all those things, so it just felt right that it should be targeting shame because then hopefully it benefits the whole community in every color on the pride flag and, in turn, will also help so many people around them. 

So what can people expect next?

There's going to be some really fun things coming with The Shameless Fund and there's different ways in which it can grow, but I have people who really know what they're doing who are helping lead it. By the end of the year, we'll hopefully have worked with three different charities, starting small and helping people understand the work they're doing because that's the most important thing. If you think about Instagram, other than chatting with Evan Ross Katz [laughs], that's the platform through which you can really draw attention to things. Literally anyone in our community who's thriving at the moment — in a community that's obviously under threat going forward — knows what it's like to receive support. We know what we missed growing up.

I, too, grew up with an accepting family, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t still feel ostracized. I appreciate you recognizing that nuance, one I think many of us experience in some form but don’t always discuss.

Now, on The Shameless Fund’s website, it does say that more collaborations are coming. As you said, there’s going to be a restock of the Loewe shirts, but are there other brands in the mix?

There are other brands, and it'll be really exciting because the scope is endless, but I definitely had a couple of other ideas. After Fellow Travelers, the next thing will be a Wicked garment, so you might have to keep your eyes out for that. Maybe jumpers and sexy boots?

That’s perfect for my fantasy! So we've seen Kylie Minogue wearing the shirt — who I was lucky enough to be introduced to by you on the dance floor at the Met Gala after-party, thanks again — and we've seen Kit Connor, Scarlett Johansson and your Bridgerton co-star Luke Newton sporting it as well. I'm wondering who else is on your wishlist of celebrities that you'd like to see in the Drink Your Milk T-shirt?

Oh, God. What a question! Great shout. I would love to see Jerrod Carmichael in it right now. Very specifically Jerrod Carmichael. 

I feel that.

I would also love to see Hanson in it. Their three-part harmonies are a knockout at the moment.

At the moment?

[Laughs] We were just talking about this today. I’ve literally just come away from a field where I was running towards or away from dinosaurs, and we were talking about Hanson for about four hours today and listening to their three-part harmonies. 

That is not what I was expecting.

Who else? I can only think of people who are going to be wearing it over the next few weeks, which is quite exciting. Is there anyone you want to see in it? 

I have quite a few people. First of all, Jamie Dornan. I would love to see him in it. Paul Mescal, for obvious reasons. And the fans are waiting for Matt Bomer!

Don’t you worry. They’ll be satiated! They’ll be quenched. And Andrew Scott had a good time at Glastonbury is what I’ll say. [Laughs]

I bet he did! Last but not least: Richard II is bringing you back to the stage. Wicked is giving us the musical theater moment we've been craving. Is there a musical theater moment that’ll be live on stage in Jonathan Bailey's future?

Potentially, actually. Maybe in 2026. 

On Broadway?

I would! I had the best time recently in New York and I watched as many things as I could. I saw Stereophonic, which, to me, was like a religious experience. That, and Oh, Mary! And Cole Escola.

That is what it's about. I would come back to watch that; I was so inspired by it. Obviously, I'd love to [be on Broadway] at some point and you just have to wait and see what pops up. 

Source

[alienpossession]

Part 3: Spread a Little Wider (Jeff)

Aiden decided that its best to continue the construction of the house to not raise any suspicion. So he, Ricardo and Max decided to stick around in the property to also ensure the safetiness of the rest of their being while instructing the rest of the workers to go back into their respective after-construction life. Of course Aiden cannot let them leave without a handful of souvenir from the extraterrestrial world, and when they are ready, he set those infected puppet to the outside world ready to wreck a little havoc to the rest of the human population

Jeff White sidelined by injury in his sophomore year of university and his career simply never returned after that. In order to keep up the study despite losing his football scholarship, he worked in construction owned by his father's friend. Too bad the place that simply became the source that continued his uni life also ended his life as he knew it when the alien goo infected him just a couple hours ago. Now, he's more than ready to make the rest of his college friends turned into the same cause as him with the little help of the things stored in his massive carry-on

He lived together with some friends that has been living with him since freshman year. The rule is for upperclassmen to no longer use dorm facilities and since Jeff is in his senior year, he's clearly not eligible for dorm any longer. But he and his dorm-mate and 2 juniors managed to rent a rather decent house fitting for 6 college kids who all love to workout and have frequent guests so they have no complaint whatsoever.

Trent just finished his classes late into the afternoon at 5 PM when he arrived in the house, but it seemed a little quiet, except for the lulling yet deep baritone voice of what he recognized as Jeff's voice coming from the kitchen. So Trent decided to swing by and take a peek on what his bro's doing before headed to his bedroom

"Hey bro, meal prep?"

"Oh hell yeah, you wanna come and have a taste?"

"Hmmm, I guess it's not gonna hurt,"

But Trent came for a little surprise as Jeff turned around and shown him a rather stuffed belly while smiling awkwardly

"Glad I could share this with you bro,"

And just like that, Jeff grabbed Trent's head and then lodged copious amount of black slime right into Trent's mouth. The junior year student couldn't put up a fight as he eventually overtaken by the invading goo that quickly gained control of his body.

After the sloppy takeover/kiss from Jeff, Trent simply swiped the goo around his lips with his hands and give it a lick

"Umh so nutritious. Okay, now this makes the two of us. Shall we wait for the others or should we search them and give them a little surprise?"

"Don't you have a party to attend?"

"Oh yeah, Phi Kappa Alpha. But it's still tomorrow though. It's daytime pool party,"

"And who said that they wouldn't have a pre-game tonight? You know how Pike rolled. Infect the brothers before tomorrow's party and I'll wait here to get the rest of the housemates,"

"Sick, I like it,"

"What the fuck you two been talking about?"

A sharp and slightly terrified looking sound comes from the front of the kitchen. It's Gary's voice, and beside him, is Jae, the other two housemates,"

Jeff and Trent glared at the two smaller yet still muscular guy and decided that play pretend won't cut it, so they just simply do a full-front attack to the two that tried to run the quickest they can to exit the house. But the alien enhanced Jeff's and Trent's already insane physicality and stamina and that left both Jae and Gary subdued in less than a minute. The two writhed on the floor fighting for their dear life when both Jeff and Trent simply smiled wickedly and opened their mouth to let black shiny goo sludged down from their mouth to fill and overrun Jae's and Gary's system. Not long after that, the two also taken over by the alien sludge

"We should clean up. My girlfriend is coming,"

"And a nerd is going to tutor me,"

"Hm, the more the merrier. Okay then, Trent, change your clothes and go to Pike. Take control of as many frat boys as possible. You two take care of your own subjects and I'll handle the two housemates, sounds solid?"

"Totally,"

"Okay then, disperse,"

The alien inside Jeff runs the memory to really make sure what he spot in the human's memory was correct. And yeah, the two housemate left are two fucking muscle monster.

Well, he can certainly take them down, but this might be the toughest battle he will have to face so far

***

Meanwhile, 10 minutes later, Trent is already standing outside Pike, ready to spread out a little blessings to the blissfully unaware frat bros of Phi Kappa Alpha

[all-risejd]

Room 674

DomXRhea smut.

This is a teaser from a larger slow-burn fic, After Shine, pinned to the top of my blog. 

“Do you think…” He kissed her cheek, “We can…” He kissed her jaw, moving toward her neck, “Go back…” He nipped at her neck, smiling when she shivered, “To the…” He licked a bold stripe along her neck, back up to her jaw, “Hotel?” She didn’t answer, instead she turned in his arms and pressed him firmly against the wall he’d been leaning against, to bite his bottom lip, not a kiss, a pure bite, it made him groan.

“I want another drink first.” With that she pulled away, and headed for the bar leaving him cold, he wrinkled his nose, if Rhea wanted to be difficult there was nothing he could do about it, other than accept it. He was, after all, hers to do with what she wanted. It turned into three drinks, and some dancing, but he noticed after her second drink she wasn’t going for alcohol, so he shifted to water himself. When the bar closed they headed out into the Philadelphia night, and hailed a cab back to the hotel. 

He’s not sure why it always feels like a rush to get to the room, because once inside it’s like time slows down. It’s insane to watch the woman he’s more than half in love with change from Rhea Ripley to Demi Bennett, he’s not sure if there is much of a change between Dominik Mysterio and Dominik Gutiérrez. Maybe it’s because she’s more of a character - Rhea - than a real human - Demi. But there is some crossover between the two, both of them for example like to see him in some level of pain. Tonight, it’s no different. They strip slowly, while kissing - it’s gentle until it’s not, then it’s brutal enough Dominik thinks she might break him open and scoop his soul out. Clothes become an afterthought - he’d bet most of his nice shirts are ripped, and his undershirts? A lost cause - Danika only complained twice about having to replace his expensive wardrobe. He has more respect for Rhea’s clothes, more respect for her in general, but he’s not bothered by the amount of taking she does from him - if anything it’s intoxicating.

Their relationship thus far has been a lot of getting each other off - he’s still mulling over the main thing she wants from him, and she doesn’t want to give him the thing he wants most until he agrees. It’s a terms and conditions sort of thing. He was done waiting, done wanting, more accurately, so as they fell into the mattress a mess of arms and legs, “Hey, Demi?” She pulled back to study him carefully, critically, “I’m ok with us trying.” She looked confused, “I’m ok with you fucking me.” Is what came out next, because he was trying his damndest not to back out now that he was being courageous. Her eyes lit up with absolute delight, a smile pulled at her lips, and she ducked down to kiss him again, a bit more demanding.

“How about we save that.” She hummed, “Because there's some prep work and we are running out of time…” She flicked her gaze to the clock on the hotel bedside table. “I’d like to feel you, tonight.” She licked his cheek, which made him shiver, “Is that ok?” He nodded his head, he was her’s after all, he’d do whatever she wanted in the long run anyways. His back arched up involuntarily when she raked her sharp nails down his chest, catching his nipples, and making him cry out in near pain, always desperation. Dominik felt his body go hot, like a live wire had been lit and was racing up his spine, as she did it again. Rhea had a tendency to pay special attention to the old scars left by the kendo stick beating he’d taken from Seth Rollins. Rhea kissed at the scars over his ribs, sucking a hickey into the darker pink flesh as she went, she pulled back to trace her fingers up and down his chest, running her fingers over his nipples, he panted as she pinched his left one, and licked over his right one.

Dominik was so fucked and they hadn’t even started the fun stuff yet. With Rhea now straddling him to get better access to his chest - which she had a tendency to suck harsh hickies into - Dominik let his hands run up her spine, bringing his own nails to drag against her skin, not as deep as she would have gone on him, simply because Rhea showed her back off more than he did. He flattened his palms against her muscled shoulders, before smoothing them down both sides of her spine, to trail further down to cup her ass. They always managed to get completely naked before they ever got to the bed, which he was continuing to count as a victory, as he squeezed her ass hard with both hands. “So good Dom,” She hissed as he kissed her neck, and shoulders, she curled a hand in the curls at the base of his neck, and tugged hard, pulling his lips away from her, and twisting, pushing her left breast at him, he opened his mouth to tongue and suck at her nipple, hungry for the salty taste of her sweat soaked skin and the sweet feel of her nipple pebbling under his ministrations.

She pulled her left titty away, and pushed his head to her right one, “Suck.” She ordered, and he complied, happy to make her voice come out so broken and husky already. Dominik flipped them over, careful not to bite down on the nipple in his mouth, before he pulled back, and shot her a toothy grin. She rolled her eyes affectionately, before shifting her body so he could easily fall between her spread thighs - this too was familiar territory, Dominik loved eating pussy. It had been something he’d always been obsessed with, but Rhea had a tendency to take it to another level, sitting on his face for hours when they had the chance, at times cutting his ability to breathe off - and he loved all of it. He kissed down her front, biting and licking at her tattoos, before dipping his tongue into her belly button which always served to make her giggle and swat at his head - before he kissed both her hip bones, “Don’t be a brat.” Rhea ordered, as she pushed her hips up, enticingly. 

Dominik snickered but took a moment to look her over, her pussy was framed by trimmed soft blonde hair, her lips themselves were waxed but her mound covered by her short blonde hair, past her mound her clit was adorable, it protruded from her lips in a way that made his mouth water, her clit was pierced, with a sapphire ball on the ring that ran through it. That had been a fun thing to find out, and now he craved the taste of metal with her natural juice. He spread her thighs wider, as she propped herself up on her elbows to watch him. He pulled her pussy lips apart and smiled to himself, then pressed forward, tentatively licking from her puckered little anus upward, and hooking his lips around her clit, sucking and flicking it with his tongue. Her hand tangled in his hair, as she used her other arm to push herself up more to watch him, “Good puppy, Dom.” She groaned, her breath coming out in pants, he nodded against her, dipping lower to slip his tongue inside her, flicking in and out, his nose rubbed against her clit, and he couldn't help but breathe her in. She tasted like the freedom he had always wanted, the honey he yearned for. He pulled back, his face coated in her juices to look at her, she smiled sharply at him, “Don’t stop, Dominik.” 

He nodded his head, eager for her and dipped back down as she yanked harshly on his hair to move his head to where she wanted him. Dominik’s second passion, which he had only learned with Rhea, was eating ass. He dove back in, sliding his tongue downward, until he was lapping against her puckered entrance, he curled an arm around her thigh, and brought his thumb and index finger to roll her clit between them, tugging and jacking it off like a little cock. She seemed to like it as she let out a hiss and a yes in almost unison. He moved back up, slurping into her warm pussy once more, tounging at her until she was withering and begging him, he couldn’t stop himself for sliding a finger inside her, she looked down at him her eyes blown wide and her face flushed as she wiggled her hips in an attempt to get him deeper. He got lost in finger fucking her, tugging on her clit with his other hand, and lavishly eatting her ass, so lost that he almost didn’t hear her warning, “Dom, gonna cum!” Dominik didn’t stop licking at either of her entrances as she rode her orgasm out - it was the one time he might be in charge of anything in their sex life, and he always wanted more of her taste.

He finally pulled back, his face coated, she leaned up to kiss him full on the mouth, then licked at his cheeks to clean him off. “Get up here.” She ordered, and pulled his mouth to hers, he hardened significantly at the fact that she was savoring the taste of her cunt on his tongue. “On the bed, baby.” She ordered, “Hands and knees.” She growled, he complied, his cock hard and throbbing. He ducked his head to look back at her between his thighs, she was settled behind him, on her own knees, her hand between her legs, rubbing at her soaking wet cunt, when she pulled her hand up it glistened with her slick, and she rubbed it between his ass cheeks. He wiggled, shocked at first, then amazed, because she was pressing closer, one hand softly cupping his balls as she kissed and bit at the globes of his ass, pressing forward, until her lips pressed against his pink puckered asshole. He shivered as her tongue flicked against him, nuzzling him, then she licked and kissed, the noises she was making as she slurped and wiggled her tongue were enough to make him want to cum himself, she was softly stroking his cock or alternatively squeezing his balls. This was new, and he was flying - it felt like his soul had left his body and then some.

Dominik  felt it when her tongue finally inched into him, he let out a shocked yelp which tapered off into a moan, it felt odd as his body gave in, as he opened around her she didn’t stop, slurping and licking, essentially making out with his ass. He wasn’t able to do much more than moan and whine as she fucked in and out of him with her talented and pierced tongue. When she pulled back, almost thirty minutes later, he was throbbing and ready. Dominik squirmed away from her, and twisted to sit back against the headboard, grabbing Rhea as he moved, and pulling her into his lap, he kissed her hard on the lips, curious now about his taste, and moaning as their tongues danced against one another. Every now and then he’d run his tongue over her lip frenulum piercing, which he found both sexy as hell and was constantly worried about her getting hit in the face in the ring. Rhea was in control, as always, as she shuffled on his lap, moving until she was straddling him how she wanted, her hand once more gripping the base of his cock, this time so she could lower herself down on him, he flung his head back, as heat seemed to dance up his spine, and his whole body throbbed with something akin to obsession. Rhea was mean, he’d live by that truth for as lond as she was his, she moved slowly, calculatingly, down his shaft, letting her body adjust as she went, “Fuck… you're longer and thicker than…” She trailed off, and Dominik felt a bit of relief at that, he didn’t want to know how he compared to anyone else she’d ever been with. 

He rolled his hips upward, sinking completely into her, he felt his cock being tugged and squeezed tightly by her hungry cunt, she let out a deep little moan as her head fell back, and she squeezed him for good measure. He took a few moments to adjust to the molten heat of her core. “Holy shit.” He breathed, then looked at her, “You're so goddamn beautiful like this, eres la mujer más hermosa que he visto, te quiero siempre, por favor déjame follarte.” Rhea narrowed her gaze at him but nodded her head, already raising up about an inch, and gripping his longer hair at the base of his neck, she yanked hard enough it made his eyes water, as he rolled his hips upward again, he moved to plant his feet on the bed, so he’d have leverage, before he gripped her hips in his hands, marveling at how right it felt, as he set a fast and hard rhythm, her mouth found his, biting at his lips, and licking at his teeth. He wasn’t going to last long, not after everything else they’d done, and it seemed like she knew that, when he begged, “Can I cum in your pussy?” He started to feel the heat in his stomach, his balls twitching. Rhea gave him a rough look, but nodded her head, and moved back to kissing at his neck. He slammed into her hard, snapping his hips erratically, before finally his vision started to white out, tears building in the corner of his eyes as he exploded, she forced her hand between her thighs and tugged harshly on her clit, to join him, her pussy exploded around him, as he pressed his face into the valley between her breast, his sweat soaked forehead resting against her collarbones, he panted for a few moments, even as she moved to pet his hair, running her fingers through his longer mullet. 

“I’m on birth control.” Rhea managed some time later, “Like, I have the implant.” Dominik didn’t move from where he’d started to kiss at the sides of her breast, she coiled around him more, “We need to shower, we have to be on the road in less than two hours.” 

Dominik groaned, “Don’t make me move, I wanna die like this.” He looked up at her, and could tell from her soft expression that he still looked fucked out, and in fairness he was, ‘Please.” He begged. 

Rhea laughed, “At least let’s get comfortable then, baby.” She bit at his ear, which made him growl, but he allowed her to slide off his cock, and reposition them so they were curled together in the bed, Rhea the big spoon cloved to his back, he groggily reached over and turned off the light by the bed, “Love you, Dom Dom.” Rhea murmured into his shoulder blade.

“Te amo, Demi.” Dominik promised around a yawn, the pair drifted off to sleep (and if Damian and Finn found them like that two hours later, well no one was going to talk about why they were late to the leave town, or why there was a ridiculous amount of yelling incoherently from room 674 of the hotel they’d stayed in).

[insideous-beez]

Twst and Magic at NRC

I went down a rabbit hole trying to figure out what the hell the "mathematics" classes at NRC would be like in a way that is fun and interesting. This led to a breakdown of how magic in general works in the Twisted Wonderland universe, so in case anyone is interested in my insanity, here's a breakdown:

What we know about Magic in Twst

In Chapter 1, we learn that magic is done through visualization. The better one's focus, the better the execution of the spell. Personally, I love this because it's very similar to how artists expand their ability to draw without using references by practicing with references of an object at different angles to build their mental library!

However, this isn't the ONLY way magic is used.

Riddle's SSR card also shows him helping Cater study a cleaning spell that, rather than visualization, requires steps in a process.

Additionally, there is an NRC class called "Changes and Comparisons of Abbreviated Spells in Ancient and Modern Magic History," implying there are also spells with a verbal component! (Also, this is a highly specific class compared to the other courses... Was "Linguistics of Magic" already taken by RSA?)

So my challenge is this: how do you reconcile all these "methods" of casting... and add MATH?

Ultimately, I decided that spells can be cast using multiple methods, but the method chosen impacts these factors:

- The efficiency of the spell (amount of magical energy required to perform it)

- Standardization of the spell's outcome

- Whether you must maintain focus the entire time or can leave a spell to run autonomously

- The spell's ability to be generated using the magical input of one or more people

What does math have to do with this? Well, a large inspiration of these above points is real-life scientific method. Let's elaborate:

- Efficiency

If you have a ton of magical power up your sleeves like Malleus, I imagine you don't need to understand the science behind a tornado's formation; you can just brute-force a tornado! However, there's definitely ways to do it without using nearly as much magical input. One can either stick with the visualization method, but would need to understand the precise conditions necessary- "wind moving at different speeds, in different directions, at different altitudes." However, this still has room for error, as it is difficult to visualize a force like speed. How do you visualize wind moving at 100 mph and know that it's 100 mph?

This is why one might chose a different spell method, such as a ritual. Let's assume you're not summoning a tornado on the spot and have a few tools at your disposal to grab scientific measurements of the conditions in which you'd like to summon your tornado... then you sit down and plug those values into a neat ritual spell that essentially runs the calculations of "how to make a tornado based on these conditions" for you and spits one out! It takes the most amount of prep work and time, but it requires the least amount of magical input from the caster and allows for very precise and exact results.

So basically... magic mathematics would be used in order to create said ritual spell. Yes, we eventually got back to magic math.

-Standardization

This is largely inspired by Malleus's Lab Card. Deuce asks Malleus to cast a "light breeze," and Malleus casts what he thinks is a light breeze- but to Deuce it is a gust! This is another issue with visualization magic: it is highly relative. Coordinating with another person, unless you've practiced a lot prior, can be ineffective at best and dangerous at worst. Furthermore, if you're looking for results that are precise, you need a solid concept (like "red roses"). Think back to the 100 mph wind example- do YOU think you can visualize what 100mph wind feels like? Probably not, unless you've practiced with a wind measurement tool a million times and have it down to a science. Even then, 100mph probably doesn't feel any different than 100.05 mph, so if you want precision, just stick with a ritual spell.

- Focus / automation

I don't have much to say on this one, I feel it's pretty self-explanatory with the example from Riddle's SSR card. I imagine you don't need precise calculations just to leave a mop cleaning the floors autonomously, but you also may run into the issue of said brainless mop trying to wipe your dorm mascot off the floor.

- Input from multiple spell casters

When you combine an efficient spell-casting method with this, you reduce the risk of Overblot! Yay! Again, not much to say, but I imagine there are spells that allow for multiple people to input energy. Again, these would NOT be visualization spells, they would be spells that have a pre-existing structure (such as a ritual, or instructions via runes, or verbal components) that allow multiple "inputs" to channel into one "output."

So! What else does math have to do with magic?

- Translating one form of magic into another

Personally, I love the idea that a spell built by runes/symbols (like a magic circle) can also follow mathematics principles to be translated into music that performs a spell when played to completion.

- Making a spell more precise

ie- if you want your mop to NOT mop up Grim, you may need to do a bit of math to figure out what additional "steps" to the casting process will help, or you may have to instead create a spell that dictates "mop this surface area, avoid anything bigger than this specific size"

Now, you may ask... if there are all of these cool effective methods of spell casting, why do our favorite boys just yeet visualized ammo at each other?

To be blunt: because they're all rowdy little punks. They are engaging in the magic equivalent of a street brawl.

(Deuling at RSA is probably a lot more clean, but not nearly as fun. They probably also have fancy honor-based rules, like "only one spell is to be cast and whoever pushes the other caster back furthest from their starting point wins." See? No fun.)

If you'd like to add to these ideas- whether it be for math and magic or for how magic functions- please please PLEASE DO!

A lot of it is inspired by a comment my boyfriend made; "fantasy stories make magic this big, vague thing that isn't well understood, but if magic were real, humans would have it down to a science." One of the amazing things about humanity is how incredible the accumulation of scientific discovery has been! We are able to be extremely precise in calculations on a whole variety of matters. So I wanted my "magic system" to work similarly to real-world science, with some exceptions to remain consistent with in-world cannon. I also like to imagine that, like some things in science, there are phenomenon or spells that are possible in mathematical terms, but not in execution, whether it be because there's not enough input in the whole universe, or because magic- like some aspects of science (like weather) is subject to chaos theory (aka, it can be calculated very precicely, but if ONE factor changes, the results are DRAMATICALLY different, and that one factor may not be within your control at all). My boyfriend gave the example of trying to solve a problem on a global scale and accidentally taking a chunk out of the planet instead because of a slight variation in expected conditions. Yikes!

I'll leave one last note; yes, I considered arithmancy. I think it's stupid. So I am not including it in my personal headcannons for NRC coursework.

Anyways, I accidentally tapped the poll option and I DONT KNOW HOW TO GET RID OF IT!!! So have fun with the below:

[what-if-nct]

hellooo today's reminder is Minho with his "Taylor noona" (side note that one video in his story… did things to me. that man has too much power) also key comeback with another insane concept also also taemin on bubble talking about sleep paralysis demons and how he does ad libs in his sleep because he's a singer followed by cat pics what a man also also also dream comeback!! the schedule seems super tight so i hope it isn't like obviously rushed and they took their time to do a concept justice side note what did chenle have on renjun to make him post feet pics also x4 I'm back in my buying makeup era fingers crossed it coincides with my wearing makeup era or I've spent a lot of money on nothing

hellooo today's reminder is remember when this (https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4IIoKOPmZM/?igsh=MXVlMWZxYWFjNzZjYg== ) happened? also taem and jinki are both leaving SM and I'm overjoyed and also sad shinee content will be much more rare but at least they're free

Hiiii, hon, I am so sorry this past week has been incredibly hectic even today was supposed to be my chill day but I had to clean and catch up on laundry I neglected and I've just been so tired. Luckily I found some hot pink meal prep containers so I don't have to think about food for awhile once I meal prep tonight. But I'm going to combine both yesterday and today daily reminders. Oh my gosh Taylor noona! And I just saw, as always key goes above and beyond with his concepts. Yes dream comeback I'm glad they've taken a good sized break between their last comeback and the bloodied and beaten feet was a clue but Chenle def created some kind of bet with Renjun. Ooh yay new make up purchases and I feel you just only leave the new stuff out. I only keep all of my newest lip products in my purse. I currently have 7 in there I have a problem. Wait Jinki and Taemin are leaving sm? Onew I kinda understand he hasnt been too well lately but really Taemin, good for him I can't wait to see what he does once he's free.

Also yes I remember my babies!!

Johnny and Hendery together just brings me unexplainable amounts of joy. The entire work it unit was just so special to me. Like just all of my biases in one unit. Alley Oop and The bat are my work it pt 2. Also Jisung weaseled his way into my bias list I don't know how but I just gave up on fighting it.

[team-heavenly]

And Now‚ An Interlude

…Also known as: I just finished playing through the Sky Peak arc and Oh My God, the chapter is going to be such a mountain (har har) of labor to pull together that I’m tossing out some crumbs in the meantime 😅

This may or may not be something I do going forward. It really depends on 1) how long it’ll take me to play through the game and do all the prep work‚ and 2) if I have anything interesting or noteworthy happen on the days that are non-plot related and purely explorations or job requests. If I do make more of these‚ they won’t be linked in my pinned post because it’s not really important enough for that. Think of it as little tidbits of treasure left for you to find!

Another reason I decided to whip this up: I needed more storage space before climbing Sky Peak and I was kind of close to leveling up in team rank from Gold to Diamond? So I knocked out four days of missions to make that happen. (Theoretically it might have taken only three‚ but I fell 20 points short on the third day 🤡)

Now‚ with that little disclaimer out of the way…

We recruited the God of Time.

…Okay‚ not really LOL. Just one of his species. But honestly‚ for a level 12, he was not that bad at all:

His abilities were Frisk and Rough Skin‚ the latter inflicting 1/2 the damage dealt by physical attacks. Which partially explains this heartstopping dynamic during the final battle of main. (But I still have no idea why Seed Flare‚ a special move‚ made Teresa get the counter.)

Now‚ I don’t recall exactly if I picked this up in a dungeon or if it was a reward for a job‚ but one way or another I got my hands on Volt Tackle‚ and boy when I say it was tempting—

That’s eight stars of power‚ y’all. And both of our gals could learn the move.

But… well‚ the more I thought about it‚ the more I wasn’t certain it made sense. As a refresher‚ here are Andrea and Teresa’s current moves:

Andrea: Blizzard�� Smokescreen‚ Octazooka‚ Mach Punch

Teresa: Mud Slap‚ Dizzy Punch‚ Chatter‚ Seed Flare

Let’s break that down:

Blizzard and Octazooka are both decently strong to begin with and benefit from STAB. Blizzard has a 3+ boost in power from Ginseng. And‚ as we know‚ it’s been a godsend for the absurd amount of monster houses in these dungeons.

Mach Punch (functionally the same as Quick Attack) has been too dang useful with the two tile range. You saw what happened the one time I tried to go without one. Maybe it’s a different story now that we’re a lot stronger‚ but…

Similarly‚ Smokescreen and the Whiffer status is way too OP‚ and a key part of more than a few victories in boss fights.

Dizzy Punch and Chatter also have STAB and both have the chance to confuse‚ which again can make or break survival in certain situations.

Mud Slap... Okay yeah this is a weak move‚ but the drop in accuracy with successive hits can really make a difference. This also has a 3+ Ginseng power boost‚ so it’s not like it’s infeasible. Plus I don’t want to throw those ginseng boosts away if I delete the move.

Which leaves us with… Seed Flare:

Same amount of power as Volt Tackle‚ only one star lower in accuracy‚ and no recoil. And sure‚ both Andrea and Teresa have the Rapid Healer IQ skill‚ but I’ve had too many close calls with unexpectedly hard hitting moves for me to be comfortable with recoil damage.

So‚ regretfully… into Blastoise Storage the TM went. Maybe another day.

Just casually throwing in one of the Seven Treasures as a reward for an Outlaw Job. (I already have this one so I didn’t take it.)

Also‚ who’s Magnezone?? Our cop is Spinarak‚ duh!

The names of the Zero Isles have been revealed!

Great Copse = Zero Isle North

Clean Earthworks = Zero Isle East

Brilliant Landmark = Zero Isle West

Sad Camp = Zero Isle South

I’ll be frank‚ I’m probably never going to these dungeons because they aren’t part of the story and the job requests are usually insane. But hey‚ now we know!

We also picked up this exclusive item! Between this and the North Torc (Rock type moves restore HP instead of dealing damage)‚ Andrea is becoming GOATed. Now if only I could get back that five star healing item for Teresa :(

What’s this?! It’s Wrestler Walrein with a steel chair!

And that’s all I got for now. The goal is to get the Sky Peak chapter out in the next week or so, so look forward to that! And many thanks for your patience.

~Mod May

[jeff141]

Reading Resolutions

New Years' resolutions never work out for me and usually three days into the new year, I have already dropped all expectations of completing my resolutions. I stopped making resolutions a couple years ago after countless efforts to go to the gym more, eat more healthier, and, especially, reading more books. It's unfortunate since reading used to be a pastime I greatly enjoyed but slowly throughout the years, has been phased out of my daily life either due to school or opting to play video games instead (not necessarily a bad thing however!). This year, having been graduated for a couple months, and now having an inordinate amount of free time, I decided to take a crack at reading once more but using a different approach instead.

My resolution is not to read X books or spend X hours reading, my resolution is to simply spend more time at the library. I found that forcing myself to read a specified amount of books or spend a determined amount of time reading stressed me too much to actually enjoy the act of reading. As such, revising my resolution to just spend time at the library took a significant amount of unnecessary stress off of my chest to meet goals. I'm not chained to meet a quota nor am I actually forced to simply read during my time at the public library. Other activities such as perusing the shelves, doing job searches on my laptop, prepping for my next DND session are some of the things that I have done while at the library. However, simply being in an environment where I am surrounded by books as well as having the free time to be able to enjoy reading without the obligation of meeting a pre-determined goal has naturally increased my enjoyment of reading and read more often. It’s made me a more productive person, especially at a time where I don’t have as much responsibilities as I did compared to when I was in college, with the added benefit of making me enjoy reading once more. Additionally, the services of the public library are amazing and should be taken advantaged by anyone who can get a library card. Tickets to most museums in my area as well as an opera showing at my local opera house that would have been 98 dollars? Sign me up! This is an advertisement to all public libraries in the world. Go get yourself a library card now!

What am I reading right now though? I wanted to read something by Kurt Vonnegut who is probably my favorite author. I would like to go through his entire catalog of books and so I started to read his second novel, The Sirens of Titans. This science fiction book centers on Malachi Constant, the luckiest man in the world and owner of the richest company in the U.S., Magnum Opus, as he travels through space after being foretold of his future by Winston Niles Rumfoord who is, by all means, "unstuck in time" (I wonder if Billy and Winston have met?) and is able to see far, far, far into the future. Winston became as he is because of something called a "chrono-synclastic infundibulum". Don't know what an infundibulum is? Ask your mother. 

As is with all Vonnegut books, the plot of this book is absolutely insane. You should expect to feel like you are being whiplashed from plot point to plot point whenever you read a Vonnegut novel. Yet the charm of Vonnegut is that despite his outlandish plots, bizarre characters, and literally out-of-this-world settings, Vonnegut has a keen understanding of what it means to live a human life and is, surprisingly, sensible in that manner. 

As I am writing this blog post I am about halfway through the book and it has been a great ride through outer space. I have read two novels of his before, Slaughterhouse Five and Breakfast of Champions, and thoroughly enjoyed both of them. A mainstay in many of Vonnegut's novels are rehashed and recycled characters, ideas, and place names that only people who have read Vonnegut's older novels would understand. And while not knowing Vonnegut's self-referenced lore certainly did not detract from my experience reading Slaughterhouse Five and Breakfast of Champions (SH5 especially), I really wanted to know where Vonnegut's ideas started and how they developed over time. Thankfully, his charm and prose are still ever present in The Sirens of Titans and it's amazing to see where many of the themes he wrote about in Slaughterhouse Five got their start here in The Sirens of Titans.

Here are two of my favorite lines in The Sirens of Titans so far (spoilers!):

"Look," said Rumfoord, "life for a punctual person is like a roller coaster." He turned to shiver his hands in her face. "All kinds of things are going to happen to you! Sure," he said, "I can see the whole roller coaster you're on. And sure — I could give you a piece of paper that would tell you about every dip and turn, warn you about every bogeyman that was going to pop out at you in the tunnels. But that wouldn't help you any." 

 "I don't see why not," said Beatrice. 

 "Because you'd still have to take the roller-coaster ride," said Rumfoord. "I didn't design the roller coaster, I don't own it, and I don't say who rides and who doesn't. I just know what it's shaped like."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Before turning to the signature, Unk tried to imagine the character and appearance of the writer. The writer was fearless. The writer was such a lover of truth that he would expose himself to any amount of pain in order to add to his store of truth. He was superior to Unk and Stony. He watched and recorded their subversive activities with love, amusement, and detachment... Unk turned the page and read the signature. I remain faithfullly yours--was the sentiment expressed above the signature... 

The signature was Unk's... It was literature in its finest sense, since it made Unk courageous, watchful, and secretly free." 

(I would love to have this tattooed on me someday, this entire chapter had me feeling things!)

A couple of other books I am currently reading are:

How Long Has This Been Going On by Ethan Mordden

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Wish me luck this year!

[the-firebird69]

The more likes attack on the empire bases has begun and they are being devastated by the empire. Everybody is standing up and watching and taking note that the morlock had success now they have none and with huge arms it is notable Foreigner said and we say too they have bringing different weapon systems to bear to defend areas that they are actually interested in holding on to we did find out that a few of the areas that were hit were areas that they do not need to use they're not interested in retaining. And those are large areas but the bunkers and such were second rate and were built 10 years ago the attacks are fierce and they are much more fierce than the first it's twice as vehement. It's having no effect. There's a lot of stuff going on but Stan is asking is there anything you can do and our sense as I can crap in your crapper. No I don't mean your butt Stan thank you though and Sherry you can take a break come back when you feel better after Valium speaking of which. And no I don't feel like drinking at all and thank you. Yeah that was Sherry of course no said she's just checking and calm down and want to get clogged. They're fully attacking and letting it fly it's not a third of the world's ordinance but it is a significant amount of ordinance there's no real way to compare it there are 20 bases and if you spread it out it's not a ton of each base if you had it all up in one day so it devastated but I don't think that way they're a bunch of assholes it's true too true they wouldn't get into place but they could have done it differently they're not real strategies strategists. Right now the morlock force is cut in half and they're calling for reinforcements and true they're involved 20% 25% off Island and then they lost 5% no not yet and 23% is what they're at right now it's very annoying I see what he's saying on island is about 14% And they're going fast it was 17% this morning and they're going fast 23% is a big number and 14% added together is 37%, so they feel huge and yet this maneuver they're doing now losing their areas and losing Stan and the Vikings they're going to go after the bases that they tried to take the areas they tried to take and they say to fruition and they will go after empire basis too and they say till fruition and Star wars begins and they're going to lose against us we already know that their areas are draining and areas of operation quite rapidly they don't have any that are substantially theirs even with that big number but there's still a third of the population most places and they're getting smaller but slowly they're Manning up to attack bases that were taken and that were formed and feeling that they're not ready it's only been a day or two and empire bases and ours and they don't know the difference and they will attack tonight here in the Western hemisphere they say and they're prepping to attack tomorrow the other bases and the areas of operation that are being taken now or all day they were and they're going to do that tomorrow and when it's night time overseas these are some massive attacks planned and they have around 3% dedicated for tomorrow's attacks and 2% for tonight if they lose that will bring them to about 18% it's still a significant number and they're prepping to try and attack the United States so our son sees it's not as insane as it looks but it is kind of stupid it says no it's just that they don't have the right armament and they're not planners and it's true

+there's a couple other big movements believe it or not in the deserts are attacking the factories it's separate from the bases and they're calling a separate operation because they're trying to force in and everybody knows why it's the infiltrate and they're watching it happen trying to hit something and demand entry and the continuously doing it and using military tactics they are getting hit already and their outposts are destroyed and they will start to rebuild and start to rejuvenate the plan they plan to do that all night the Western hemisphere in desert areas there is a really huge base near Grand canyon area it's about 50x50 miles and it's one state and it's partly Colorado it's a teeny bit of Utah and it's mostly Northern Arizona and the state that's in there is Wyoming and they said it was us and they found out it was a lie

+one more major movement is that the warlock are attacking the clones in the higher elevations in the northern country they're going up there and going to mountainous areas yes and some of the valleys but basically they're Manning up up the the mountains they're harder to hit and they're going to swarm in and go into the tunnels is to take the ships and they didn't believe the nephilim story and most don't the nephilim are more or less targeted by Tommy F now and they're dying and it's a threat against your son and they're insane with hatred and anger for them and they don't want to hear any more from these phones they're crazy and Ken is n't talking to them and he says I know what to do and they're talking to him about things and my son really doesn't like talking to people about stuff cuz it doesn't work that great and he's more like her a good example

+there's a couple other movements no but there is one and it's here in Charlotte county. The molar could be coming aggressive because her attacking empire bases empire areas and they are being slaughtered but they're numbers they say will prove the point. And a son says no they won't they haven't yet in the state and age of the automatic machine gun. And Tommy Allen is discouraged and he should be cuz it doesn't mean s*** and it's dispersal bombs you guys go quick and it's true your heinously arrogant and you're ready to lose and we need you to. But they're going out and they're inspecting they found two more rings there's nine rings and they're trying to increase their attacks now the final ring is actually 25 miles for the outskirts of Charlotte county that's pretty far and it reaches pretty far out it's nowhere near the center of Florida but it's way out to the edge outside edge of Babcock ranch it's quite a drive to get there but it's not to immokalee is about 20 more miles. And they said that they're going to try and do a study and they had people studying it and they're being sought now by the max it's a real war however we anticipate the warlock to lose percentages a day now for a couple weeks and it won't help other rebels but that's what they chose to do we think that today and tomorrow I'm going to be huge losses for them possibly another 5% as we stated already and down to 17 or 18% off highland and then there is another War coming up for them they lost things they were going after and they're going to try and go after the empire steadily and they're going to go after empire bases and ones they consider to be and they leave us alone if we just devastate them because it's not how the max fight and it is true and they will seek those bases out that's another War there will be at least five good size ones in the Eastern hemisphere no it would be about 12 and in the Western hemisphere they'll be about 10 and that will happen probably Wednesday and will keep you in touch with it

+another War and our son and daughter guessed it correctly is a war against their areas and people who despise them are going to try and take them over because after this last war and the preceding wars and with the clones they think they'll be small enough but they only will lose a couple percentages against clones but they might lose 4% against other so that would bring them to 11% off Island it's still very big and too big but the minority more lock and other groups like clones nephilim and hodgepodge and even some foreign groups think they can take areas and they might be able to clear them out of there and other warlock might not try and retake it because they don't know what they're doing there Europe might try and cleanse their entire area of these particular Mac warlock in other places like that in Russia that war will take place after these bases and during the war with the empire did the morlock are having and we see that people are planning and it is wise they're going to push them areas that are weak and keep them out and they're disgusting people and it will put pressure on the United States and the max and they will probably lose half their area but they'll probably go from 12 or 13% only to 10% I'm going to try to attack again but we think it won't be a significant and they'll have some retained areas and they'll continue their war against the empire and the empire will counter and strike back with heavy and foreigners too are going to strike back with heavy and ships and will annihilate them they're tired of hearing from them and they're going to do it shortly they're tired of not having money not having items they need and listen to Tommy F make fun of them and he's a total retard. There's a series of other wars that the warlock will find out that they have to engage in and it's to get factory equipment and that is heating up by mid-week it will be very hot and they will lose they will need oil and that will get very hot and they will lose and gasoline and other stuff for their ships and spaceships and they are going to lose badly and they will continuously try to infiltrate to place devices and they'll continuously be killed it is a huge war in advance that they're trying and they're sitting there bothering our son and harassing him and they can't bring him to prison but they might try and put him in the hospital which they're trying to do more and the hospital is being fought over and we're there and slowly they're losing this area we're going to publish and we'll talk about that in a minute

Thor Freya

Olympus

We are watching the food and we do realize it's almost impossible to stop you from talking now you see there's an issue Thor Freya are saying it too that need to just keep talking it's ruining them and we like doing it but it is tough on our son and daughter

Nuada Ariana

I'm okay but really it's a lot of pressure and I'm glad everybody is noticing because it's been horrible

Hera

[beautiflydigital]

Choosing a Niche

Alright, the first thing you need to do is choose a niche to focus on.

This method is so much easier than the micro niche method because it doesn’t involve hours upon hours of researching products, affiliate networks, and keyword tools. You just pick a niche and go.

Okay, so it does involve SOME research, but the research is faster and easier using this method, and using a few free tools you can complete this in an hour or less in most cases.

The first thing to do is figure out a niche that has voracious buyers but NOT a ton of competition. This is the toughest part because most markets with voracious buyers are insanely competitive. (Some competition is good, but too much competition makes your job much harder.)

Is it possible to compete? Absolutely.

But unless you are extremely good at marketing and/or have a huge budget for advertising and content creation, you’re not likely to make a whole lot of headway in this niche. It’s just far too over-saturated. A great idea is to focus on a broad interest group rather than a more competitive niche. Take a look at http://www.diyready.com, for example.

They have a niche—DIY—but it’s broad enough that they have a huge number of topics they can focus on within the DIY spectrum, which also gives them a broader range of products they can promote.

Because there are so many individual topics under the DIY umbrella, virtually anyone can compete in this particular niche.

People who enjoy this type of content typically frequent multiple DIY websites, and those users are easy to access because they are prevalent on Pinterest and other social websites. This is the type of niche you should try to locate. You want something broad—but not too broad—with voracious buyers and fans that are easy to locate.

Some examples include:

DIY, crafts, home improvement, gardening, etc.

Prepping, survival, and outdoor skills

Model building (cars, ships, aeroplanes, etc.)

Pets (specific breeds, or types)

The great thing about this method is that if you discover one aspect of a particular niche isn’t working for you, it’s easy to switch to another one as long as you get a domain that covers the whole, broad niche.

For example, if you decided to market to model builders and want to focus on model cars, you might want to register a domain like modelbuilders.com instead of modelcarbuilders.com so you can branch out into planes and ships later. (I’m sure those domains are taken, I’m just using them as a basic example.)

Worst case scenario, if you create a large amount of custom content in a niche and it doesn’t pan out the way you hope, you could sell the website or articles to someone else in the niche to recoup some of the costs you incurred, and probably make a good profit.

Once you’ve chosen a niche and bought a fairly broad domain, it’s time to move on.

Thank you for reading our blog article. We hope you found it informative and helpful in improving your brand's online presence. At Beautifly Digital , we are dedicated to providing top-notch support and services to help you achieve your digital marketing goals.

If you have any questions or need support with your digital marketing strategy, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We are experienced professionals and we can provide you personalised guidance and support to help you achieve your digital marketing goals.

To learn more about our services and how we can help you, please fill out the form on our website or send us an email , and one of our representatives will be in touch with you shortly.

Thank you for considering Beautifly Digital as your partner in digital marketing. We look forward to hearing from you soon.



Your Digital Marketing with Innovative Ideas and Creative Solutions

Beautifly Digital

[manyofnine]

My mother sat me down today and told me to prep for the worst. For the next pandemic, for the next apocalypse, for the true start of the war. For a time when the energy is shut off or the water poisoned.

She wants me to be able to survive on my own for ten days, without energy, running water or grocery stores. I cannot conceive of a day in my life in which i would lack any of these three. And that scares me.

That's an insane amount of privilege, and it scares me to my bones. I am terrified of preparing this box even though i acknowledge its utility and function, to keep me save, to keep me healthy and functional in the worst case scenario.

But I don't want to believe that my country could ever fail me like that.

I was never raised to trust authority or to follow rules blindly, but both provided a safety railing that i could defer to when things got too much. There is a rule for this /someone else was in this circumstance / the authorities want me alive and well - all those are prayers, whispered in a panic, while i try to find out what it is people expect from me.

And now I am expected to- what? Openly distrust? Worry? Prepare for eventual doom?

I don't want to acknowledge the possibility of it, the sheer minuscule probability that this box might become useful makes me want to throw up. My world gets shaken and the planet might be dying and there is a war raging on that i try not to learn too much about because i am scared of it.

I had the privilege to live in ignorance - and it got taken from me, by my mother. Who, worried that I might run around blindly opened my eyes and i don't want to see what I see. I will do it. I got no choice but to obey now. But in doing so my life has become uncertain in a way it never before was.

[nacricissa]

We're on a roll I love these collaborative development things, couldn't happen anywhere else. Now, to answer your extremely pertinent questions that I had not initially thought of.

Because of the way the system works, it is generally only possible for people to conceptualize more restrictive moral mandates, rather than less restrictive ones. As a result, liberal policies tend to only arise from people who have been to a place outside their territory of birth where the moral mandate in question is more liberal. The governance of each jurisdiction is different, but some require that all lawmakers have taken a tour of a certain federation of states before taking office. Which places have sufficiently "good" rules that they are on the list for other countries' policymakers-in-training to visit changes over time, and is a significant source of diplomatic conflict. If your more liberal take on baths takes hold in the mind of policymakers visiting your state, then they might loosen the rules in their state, increasing the demand for larger bathtubs which would strongly benefit the existing industry in your state.

Questioning Moral Mandates without having ever left the zone is unheard of. Seems like a great thing for a protagonist to do imo. However, the more frequently changed policies, for like the administration of public services, and the regulations on what qualifies as what kind of non-governmental-organization are questioned more often; these are the people who then become policymakers-in-training.

Once someone has come up with an idea, they are still unlikely to be able to keep it for long within the territory of the dragon. For this reason, policy can only be drafted in the immediate vicinity of the dragon, where the rules are not broadcast. This is because dragons don't want to put up with a bunch of inane rules for humans beating around their heads if they don't have to, and so tend to define their territories as beginning about twenty feet away from them, and ending at specifically marked out physical landmarks. This means that the work of building out the finer points of legislation and evaluating the results must be done nearby the dragon, which is usually accomplished with a special soundproofed room that the dragon can comfortably sit on top of while the policymakers deliberate. Some dragons are willing to do this in long stretches a few times a year, forcing policymakers to do a lot of prep work while still in the fuzzy mindset of some territory, taking prolific notes before they forget anything, and then pulling a several week long meeting with almost no food or sleep. Other dragons simply sleep on these rooms, forcing the policymakers to keep to a nocturnal schedule, and some simply hold what amount to audiences only in times of need, asserting that things need not change that often. These are places where administrative policy being administered via dragon rule is not feasible, and so these states have only Moral Mandates. It requires some training to deal with the stress of losing the Rules for the first time, as I mentioned before, so it is often said that only policymakers can be in the presence of dragons without going insane (they are essentially just protected by knowing what will happen in advance).

While I think the Omelas angle could be interesting, I don't find it super compelling because it's already been done, and I'm also really not sure that this structure would lead to particularly great societies, mostly because it is always easier for policymakers to make things more restrictive rather than less. The notion of whether this system is ethical, the way it's mind-controlling people into believing it is wrong to break laws is I think much more interesting to explore. I think there would probably still be a criminal justice system, because while the Rules can tell you it's wrong to steal, even if you're always believed it you may ending stealing to feed your child anyway. This would I think go one of two ways, with some societies preferring restorative justice methods that understand that only desperation could drive one to defying the Rules, and some believing that people who break the Rules are unnatural aberrations who are somehow immune to the Rules who need to be culled.

Organized crime, such as it exists, usually takes advantage of areas where multiple dragon territories abut strangely, so the Rules change often or even overlap in a way that most people find distressing. People used to violating the rules, however, can manage this discomfort and live in these areas, using their knowledge of where the borders lie to escape along them (can you tell Twilight is still a really fundamental text for me cause I can). These gangs originated from places who would kill Rulebreakers, and often lean into that image. They make much of their money getting things done quickly, by violating Rules, because there is no additional mental consequence for breaking any Rule beyond the first. It is simply uncomfortable on the same level until you are brought back into compliance.

All dragons are aware of all rules violations, but most ignore the diffuse blur of Rulebreaking, because most people do in fact end up breaking rules by accident, or in minor ways, or when they're in a trolley problem scenario where they actually can't not. This is what allows the gangs to get away without notice, but some dragons find the more blatant Rulebreaking both notable and annoying, so some territories have no organized crime, even though more routine crime is essentially inevitable.

I can also see some masochistic types breaking the rules on purpose because the tension of the discomfort is almost meditative, or the relief of returning to compliance is satisfying.

I decided what dragons are in the www universe! They're impossibly old and impossibly powerful magical creatures that basically do whatever they want and no one can stop them. Almost all of them are very chill as long as you don't break the rules of their domain. However! Often the rule is "don't come here or I will eat you" and that can cause problems geopolitically.

There's one region, a mega-forest, (like a giant sequoia forest but absolutely brimming with megafauna) that has highly desirable natural resources. So why hasn't it been devastated like the other forests of it's kind? Well, for one, the people that live there would rather that not happen, so you need an army to take them out first. Second, the region is surrounded on one side by cliffs, on another side by a huge mountain range, and on the north side by a dragon. The only way in to the region is through the south which is a miserable trek through a bog full of really scary (but non-magical) animals.

They're trying! The imperialists really want those damn trees and it costs them an army or two every few decades.

Dragons are probably pretty uncommon in the world. They don't care about people at all. Not all of them have territories, and it's like a once every few hundred years kind of thing for a new dragon to show up and claim a place. One of the major cultural groups in my story actually used to be mountain people, but were displaced by a dragon claiming the entire region.

Everyone knows where the dragon lands are and what the closest ones are. They mark their territories magically. It's a spell that makes you instantly aware of what the rules are when you enter.

There's at least one civilization that figured out how to imitate this effect and uses it to stay safe from the local bloodthirsty tree cutting empire.

[elysianslove]

HI FOR THE DICK ANALYSIS CAN U START WITH JJK PLSS SJSJSJ btw i love your blog sm. thank you for making my day better <3

—🧢 (i hope no one have claimed this emoji yet)

HVSJSJD ABSOLUTELY YES I CAN also i love YOU so much mwah <3 and no it’s not taken!! it’s yours now <3

anyways let’s get into w the unrealistic dick analysissss <3 while writing this i deadass was like “so hm should i mention what their cum would taste like” i hate myself 

could i have said more? yes. did i want to spare you guys and my dignity? yes. 

JJK DICK ANALYSIS

starting off with our mc, itadori yuuji

fat cock. fat! cock! it’s around 6.5 inches, but god, there’s so much girth he needs to prep you for forever before you can take him. very veiny too, with a slight curve to the right, and the head flushes so pink when he’s fully hard. it’s just so thick and heavy and feels so good in your hand when you stroke him. inside of you?? holy shit. never used to shave, but once he got an s/o, he started to trim so that it’s tolerable. so kind of him <3 and he has the sexiest happy trail ever. literally so hot, especially when it peaks from his shirt. took him a while to learn how to use a cock as thick as his tbh, but it’s so big that even if he messily fucks into you he’ll leave you braindead. also need to point that yuuji cums like so much. an unbelievable amount. dick looks so good all wet and messy though mwah 

fushiguro megumi

pretty fucking dick. it’s so pretty. so pretty. bit on the longer side, at around 6.9 inches <333 but it’s a skinny dick. hits all the right spots though. it’s so pretty y’all. pale all along and a dark pink tip, not very veiny, but curves a little to the left. the tip is generally sensitive, but he’s just extra sensitive. like the moment he slips inside of you and your walls tighten around his tip he’s ready to bust. loves it when you suck on it then blow and it’s all cold, he just full on shivers it’s beautiful. clean shaven, always. before, with, and after an s/o. he just feels so much cleaner and put together, and becomes he adores deep throating, he doesn’t wanna inconvenience his s/o like that. get you a thoughtful guy like megumi <3 

gojō satoru

i hate this man. he’s like a 7.2 inches and acts like he’s 10 inches. but to be fair, he really does know how to use it. it’s a little tanner than the rest of his body, which is suspicious. do you tan your dick gojō? knowing him he probably does. golden, light pink head, and doesn’t curve at all. just like slaps straight up against his stomach. clean shaven, but he does it to like??? prove a point??? it’s pretty, i’ll admit, has some girth to it too. relatively veiny as well, but nothing that stands out too much. oozes out so much precum when he’s aroused, like ok damn???  but trust, he’ll really know how to make you feel good. also, need to add that gojō definitely flexes his dick at you just cause he can. like makes it bob up and down and twitch. hate him. 

ryomen sukuna

okay so i know he technically shares a body with yuuji but for the sake of this analysis. he is— my god, i. good luck like, not dying. 15 inches 8.5 inches? give or take :) so fucking thick, and is a darkish, fair color all along his dick, and is a dark, dark pink/mauve at the head. so fucking veiny, like you can feel it when he’s inside of you. doesn’t shave lol. to be fair, he doesn’t want you to shave either, but like he won’t stop you if you do. don’t expect him to though. makes you deep throat him and pushes your head down and all, the audacity. cums so much it’s scary. if cum inflation was legit it’d be sukuna’s main thing. 

nanami kentō

big, fat, long. all of it. bigger than gojō’s. he’s like a 7.6 inches and god does he put every single inch to use. tip flushes an angry red when he’s properly horny. the way he fucks you feel him in your guts, for real. it’s just so fat, and it fills you up so deep. perfect dick. not clean shaven, but it’s not unnecessarily messy either. he likes making you cream around him and marveling at that ring of cum around his cock. and speaking of, he cums so much, and it’s so thick too. anyways. can’t fuck nanami kentō and not cry because of how overwhelmed you are. thank you, moving on. 

getō suguru 

AH. GOD. monster cock. it’s like 8 inches pls. doesn’t he look like an 8 inches. tell me he doesn’t. is that even realistic. who cares? he’s 8 inches. it’s longer than it is thick, though, but trust, you’ll feel him in your guts. flushed, dark, pink head, relatively pale all throughout, and curves a little to the right. never preps you because he’s an asshole i guess? also never shaves, sometimes, if he’s feeling generous, trims, and has a lovely happy trail leading down. dick looks gorgeous when it’s all wet and glossy <333 

inumaki toge 

another insanely pretty dick. like the moment you tug his pants down you just gasp ‘cause wtf it’s gorgeous? very pale, light pink and flushed head, always oozing precum. not veiny at all, and curves to the right. he’s not longer than he is thicker, neither is he thicker than he is longer. justttt right, at 6.4 inches. knows how to use it. angles it perfectly when he’s fucking you. also clean shaven! absolutely! it’s the least he could do, you know. incredible orgasm control to the point that his dick’s always teetering on a purpling head, all for you though <3 

fushiguro toji

another monster cock. like around 7.7/7.8 inches, relatively thick, and another one who’s tip gets a dark red when he’s hard. likes to get himself ready for you by deep throating you and coating his dick with your spit. honestly, in his defense, his dick does look gorgeous like that. not too veiny. there’s one or two that are prominent, maybe. not clean shaven. maybe if you like bully him into doing it something he might. threaten him with no sex! his dick is so hefty and heavy though, like it’s just thangin’ when he’s in sweats. i just know he goes commando. ugh, dilf <3 

[silversatin2105]

Shaman king: Hao meeting his queen

Hi I have taken a little bit of a break from writing Akina’s story just to do three parter ficlets, This one will cover him meeting his future wife and their first year together , In this I have decided to give her the name Usagi as suggested by one of my followers and she will be an Itako from the Patch tribe, If you like this content please drop it a like and reblog and if you don’t ignore it.

Shaman king: Hao meeting his queen

It was a new day for Usagi in Patch village, She knew that the shaman tournament was about to start as strange faces from all around the globe started to appear, She had been busy perfecting her skills and making sure she had plenty of trinkets to sell the newcomers, On that day the weather was nice and warm as she left the hut she shared with her carer.

“What a nice day” the red head remarked as she went down to the river side to collect water for her cooking as it was her turn to make breakfast, from her backpack she took a ceramic pot and filled it with water that she would use to make porridge for the youngsters, A task that she enjoyed.

As she prepared to carry the pot back to her hut she heard a commotion in the village centre, being the inquisitive type she approached the crowd, to her surprise was a big group of new shaman following a guy with long hair and star shaped earrings, “Who is that ?” she thought as she watched them walk on by, As soon as they went she was approached by Silva.

“I want you to stay away from that shaman Usagi” Silva warned in a strict tone as he gently guided her from the crowd and back up to her hut, Silva had been watching over Usagi ever since her parents were murdered just five years ago, the elder shaman helped her prepare breakfast, Usagi tried to clear her thoughts of the mysterious stranger but the more she tried to push it from her mind the more she wanted to know who he was.

“Breakfasts ready” Usagi called out to the youngsters as they all came out from where they were and took a seat at the central table, She busied herself serving out the porridge to each child before taking her own and sitting down at the table.

Before eating they thanked the great spirits for the food they were about to eat, a mark of respect to nature for providing another day of peace and equanimity, After breakfast she washed the dishes and got her stock ready to go into the village and sell them for money to pay for tomorrows set of meals.

By the time she arrived in the village centre it was 9 o’clock, She took out her goods and arranged them by type, first was the oracle bell accessories, second was a set of woven necklaces that she had spent most of last night finishing and lastly was the key rings and charms she had prepped a few days ago, when she was sure all looked right she took a seat and did her cash float.

“The store is open “ Usagi called out with enthusiasm, She served her first customer and did her usual customer service greetings, At that moment the mysterious figure she saw earlier approached her stall and browsed the collection of trinkets on offer, after a while he looked at Usagi picking up a pentacle necklace.

“How much for this ?” the figure asked with a kind smile looking over its craftsmanship, Usagi looked up at him and stood up clearing off her dress whilst looking at him with her amber shaded eyes.

“It will be 20 dollars, I also have a shaman tournament deal on that you will receive a lucky charm for 5 dollars” Usagi spoke out the price ready to haggle if she needed to as the price of that necklace and charm could feed the youngsters for two meals.

“Oh do I look like the type who needs a lucky charm? “ The figure questioned in a playful tone looking the girl in front of him up and down almost judging her every move and testing her resolve, Usagi just raised her eyebrow and looked at the stranger in front of her.

“Look it’s a deal we have ongoing at the moment and I think everyone participating will need some amount of luck, trust me I have looked into the history of past tournaments and lets just say its no game of red light/ green light” Usagi explained to the guy in front of her making him laugh in response he was amused by her concern for the contestants of the tournament.

“A ha I see well I don’t need it, I bring my own luck” The long haired shaman retorted looking at Usagi with a curt smirk, At that moment Usagi was getting frustrated with the strange shaman in front of her, She went to speak but he cut her off almost beating him to the punch.

“I will however buy the necklace and offer the five dollars as a satisfied customer” He spoke taking the money from his pocket giving it to her making her even more suspicious, Usagi crossed her arms at that moment looking at him.

“Why was there such a commotion surrounding you earlier?” Usagi questioned looking at him determined to get her answer, this guy had ticked her off and her curiosity from earlier had been quelled but not cured.

“Well you see the reason there was such a commotion earlier is that I will be the future king” the figure answered looking at the girl with a peaceful smile before going to leave her stall, Usagi was peeved at this to her this seemed like a mocking answer and overly confident at that.

“Don’t you think its conceited to crown yourself king before you’ve actually won the tournament, let me give you a piece of advice drop the cocky attitude and you may make friends around here” Usagi warned the guy as he spun round pinning her to the wall looking into her eyes with anger almost as if she had said something taboo.

“Listen here girl you should watch who your speaking to, What if I wasn’t a nice shaman, What if I could end your life and destroy your soul at the same time, think before you…..” The figure warned before usagi cut him off looking into his eyes with a glint of anger at what he was doing.

“No you think before you speak, I was giving you advice for life around here and you took it like a petulant child, You look what fourteen years old well I am about one year your senior so cool it” Usagi schooled him making him step back in surprise, He had not been spoken to like that in all his years of being on this earth.

When the silence had cleared the figure burst into fresh laughter confusing Usagi, It was true laughter as he held his side looking up at the girl as she uncrossed her arms looking at him as if he was insane.

“you’re the first one in a while to talk to me like that, You seem strong willed I like that what’s your name girl?” the guy questioned her after regaining his composure at that moment Usagi had let her guard down a little more.

“The names Usagi, I live in the west corner of the village” Usagi introduced herself leaning against the nearby wall whilst straightening out her hair with her fingers, the figure stood by her with a smirk.

“Nice to meet you Usagi, My name is Hao…Remember it well and I do suggest you decide your loyalties, just a piece of advice” Hao trailed off before leaving her stall leaving her confused, What a weirdo she thought as she went back to selling her goods.

At the end of the working day she had managed to sell all her necklaces, Perfect that will do for meals for a couple of days was her thoughts as she made her way home to greet her guardian, He had already prepared the evening meal.

“Wow Silva this looks great” Usagi complimented him before tucking in, He looked at her with a kind smile and sipped his tea before taking a seat by her as she ate.

“Thank you, How was the sales today?” He questioned looking at her coin purse before taking another sip of his tea as she took the pouch from her side and continued eating her meal; she then took a sip of her own tea.

“The takings are well, we will be able to buy food for a couple of days” Usagi proudly spoke as Silva looked over the stock noticing that she had undersold on charms today, He raised an eyebrow looking at her with crossed arms.

“I see that you have undersold on charms today, the tournament is coming up and the contestants will need all the luck they can get, Have you been offering them like I suggested” Silva questioned her looking for an honest answer.

“I did as you suggested but that strange shaman didn’t want to buy one, said he already was lucky and get this he already thinks he has…” Usagi went on to say before being cut off by her guardian he looked at her with a grimace, this was a situation he didn’t want happening.

“I specifically told you not to get involved with him, what did he tell you?” Silva questioned sternly as if the fate of the earth depended on her answer, this was out of character for Silva as he usually respected her judgment on things, something was wrong this time around as Silva looked like he might break from his anger.

“He didn’t say much, All he said is that he will be the future king and when I called him out on it he threatened me, He told me he could destroy my body and soul he was quite rude so I told him off again and he oddly started laughing he then asked me my name and greeted himself as Hao and before leaving he told me to sort out my loyalties” Usagi told him everything and most of the truth each word adding to his anger, He looked like he might explode at any moment.

“That bastard, From now on your job of selling trinkets is temporarily revoked, That job will be given to kalim and you are not to leave the village alone” Silva ordered her as he stood up and walked towards the door as Usagi stood in protest looking at him.

“Silva that’s unfair I want to help out in anyway I can” Usagi protested to him making him turn round to look at her with a growl, what had him so enraged she thought before he spoke to her again.

“I have spoken, Godiva will be told of the new rulings, till then I will look for jobs you can do and I suggest you do your best to put that guy out of your mind, it will do you no good Usagi” Silva said before heading out to make his reports leaving her confused and upset, What was the issue was her thoughts.

And with that the night had came to a close as flared anger caused misunderstandings, What was going to happen next ?

[lihikainanea]

Just (scrumptious) thoughts.

Alright so look, Bill kind of always gets cast to play similar types, right? Tall, creepy thin types. Dudes that look a little out of the ordinary.

But maybe to his delight, after an audition that he left kind of thinking he bombed it, maybe Good Dude Bill gets cast as something very different--a strong, alpha male, buff kind of dude.

And Bill is no stranger to the insane things he sometimes has to do for roles, so maybe when the studio connects him with a dietician, with a trainer who looks like Mad Max, maybe Bill is a little apprehensive but he just dives in full force because that’s what Bill does. And tiger, bless her heart, maybe tiger even books some separate meetings with his dietician just so she can understand what he needs to be eating and when, how she can prepare it for him, etc.

At first, the building stage seems fun. Bill gets to consume like, 8,000 calories a day and he’s even allowed some sweets and treats. It’s just about building mass onto his skinny frame at this point, and consuming massive amounts of calories seems like a lot of fun. But then he gets his meal plan, and he realizes that he just constantly needs to be eating, even if he’s not hungry. Part of his million calories a day means he needs to consume like, 6 chicken breasts. He’s eating every 90 minutes, and halfway through the regime he swears he hasn’t been actually hungry in like, 8 weeks. It’s just not a feeling he feels anymore, when he’s cramming that much food down.

Tiger does her best to make the meals appetizing within the limitations of his diet. And Bill is all heart-eyes, because he’s exhausted from the training and sleeping all the time to help his body heal, and tiger just spends hours in the kitchen food prepping all of his meals and packaging them up. She gets it all ready for him, puts it in little containers, and even goes as far as to put little sticky notes on them with the time that he should be eating which container. It takes her forever, but truth be told for as enthusiastic as Bill was at the beginning--she’s never quite seem him so down and out, so tired, so unenthusiastic about everything.

His last meal he actually needs to be woken up for, because it’s around 11PM when he’s already been asleep for like two hours. Tiger nearly gags for him in sympathy, watching as he attempts to chew a chicken breast and swallow it without hurling. It’s just so much food. 

And it has other effects too--Bill always ran hot, but now his body is like a furnace to the point where tiger can’t even sleep with blankets anymore because he heats the whole bed. He’s beefing out like crazy--it’s not defined muscle at this point, more just sheer bulk, but he’s bigger than she’s ever seen him. He’s always tired and sore, training twice a day, and he just doesn’t have the energy for much anymore. He’s constantly stuffed and uncomfortable and none of his clothes fit anymore.

But you know, after the bulk stage, is the cutting stage. The stage where all of that mass needs to be sculpted and defined into carved muscles. And Bill doesn’t know which one was worse--being force fed everyday, or having his calories cut so drastically that he’s suddenly starving all the time.

Tiger does her best to support him. She doesn’t keep junk in the house, or if she does, she hides it. She tries desperately to add flavour to what little food he’s allowed to eat, but even she struggles to do that when things like butter and salt and oil are off limits. Bill’s diet basically consists of steamed salmon and broccoli, a half a cup of brown rice every other day, salad with cucumbers and no dressing. Tomatoes have carbs and his diet is so ridiculous that he’s allowed one tomato a week, as a treat. Sweets are off limits. Alcohol is off limits. Bill basically has only 5 things that he can eat.

Their weekly dates at restaurants are a dream of long times past--there’s nothing Bill can eat at a restaurant so even though he offers, even though he tells tiger he wants to take her out--she refuses. It would be torture for the poor bastard. Tiger doesn’t order in anymore, and when she wants pizza or junk she head’s over to another friend’s house and orders it there. Maybe they’ve even taken to eating at different times--tiger will sit with Bill while he eats the pitiful portion of bland food on his plate, keep him company, but she’ll eat after. Tiger is all for eating healthy but this is an extreme, and she can’t eat that way--so when Bill is done, hell maybe when he’s sleeping, she’ll sneak out and have her regular meal just so that she doesn’t tempt the poor bastard. The one time she ate a piece of heavily buttered toast in front of him, Bill’s jowls got all droopy and there was basically a puddle of drool on his place mat.

And like, here’s the thing right? Tiger tries her best to be supportive, but maybe one of her colleagues has a birthday coming up and tiger actually likes this colleague. So maybe one night, she bakes a cake--a decadent, fudgy chocolate cake. And she tells Bill to just go to the gym or something, or to lock himself in the bedroom or the office for as long as possible so the scent doesn’t get to him. And Bill has just basically lost his will to live at this point, he’s a walking, calorie-deprived zombie, so he’s completely resigned and he just tells tiger that he doesn’t care anymore. It’s okay kid, I don’t feel things anymore. Emotions require calories and he has none of those to spare. He goes to lie down.

Tiger makes the cake, ices it, covers it all up on the counter and then goes to bed.

But like...Bill is not made of stone. And he has been so good on this regime, but he has a breaking point. He is exhausted, he is sore all the time, he’s starving all the time, and he just...snaps. So maybe one night in the wee hours of the morning, tiger goes to snuggle into him and he’s just....not there. She rubs at her eyes sleepily, leans over the bed and she notices the light is on in the kitchen. Pushing the covers back, she stands and groggily stumbles down the hallway.

And there’s Bill, wrapped in a blanket, chocolate smudged all over his face, chewing calmly as he just digs his fork into the cake. He’s already about one quarter of the way through.

“Billy...” she says, shocked.

“Yeah?” he says casually. Another forkful crammed in his mouth, chocolate crumbs all over his chin.

“Should you be....” and she ain’t even mad. She ain’t mad that Bill is devouring the cake she made for her colleague. Tiger knows a man on the brink of insanity when she sees one.

“Nope,” he answers. Another forkful, another leisurely chew.

“S’good kid, well done,” he says with his mouth full.

Tiger could say a lot of things. She could tell him that he shouldn’t be eating this. She could tell him that it’ll be torture to try and work this out of his body tomorrow. She could tell him that his trainer and dietician will be furious. She could tell him he has worked so hard, that he shouldn’t ruin it like this, she could take the cake away from him and not let him sabotage his hard work.

But tiger knows her Big Dude--knows all the resolve and dedication he has, and she knows when he is at his breaking point. So instead of all the things she could say, she just reaches out and brushes the curl back from his forehead as he shoves in another bite.

“Want a glass of milk?” she asks.

“Mmph,” he grunts.

So she pours two big glasses of whole milk, cold from the fridge, grabs a fork, and she pushes at his blanket. Crawling into his lap, she loops an arm around him and then digs her fork into the cake.

“Oh that is good,” she says, “Damn.”

“Mmph,” he grunts in reply.

[ericsonclan]

The Truth Remains

Summary: Clementine decides to surprise Louis by removing the graffitied insult from his piano.

Word Count: 2174

Read on AO3:

“Fuck,” Clementine growled, scrubbing extra hard with her bit of sandpaper at the side of Louis’ piano. This was turning out to be harder than she thought.

“Swear,” AJ didn’t let his eyes leave the crack in the music room doors he was guarding.

“Sorry, goofball. Didn’t mean to let it slip out like that,” Clementine set the sandpaper down for a second, wiggling her fingers to try to loosen them up a bit. Only five letters in and her fingers were already cramping. Part of her was tempted to use something stronger than sandpaper to remove the graffiti but she didn’t want to do any sort of lasting harm to the piano. This was about writing a wrong, making the cruel words etched into the wood disappear for good.

“It’s looking nice so far,” AJ commented, glancing back for just a moment.

“Thanks,” Clementine looked up at the progress she’d made so far. Five letters had been obliterated, only the smooth woodgrain of the piano remaining where they had once stood. The graffiti now read “ck at playing”. Better, but she wanted it all to be gone before Louis returned. Aasim had promised to take extra time checking the traps today, but the depth of the gouges in the piano meant Clementine had already taken an hour to get this far.

Well, there was no point wasting more time. Squaring her shoulders, Clementine returned to her task with a renewed vigor, her eyes scrunching in determination as she continued. Her back was sore from leaning forward on the piano bench for so long. At least she wasn’t sitting on the floor. Her arms would ache far worse then. Pressing the sandpaper against the letter c and scrubbing wildly, Clementine focused all her rage onto the offending letter.

There wasn’t a lot that she could change in this world, but she could fix this. After weeks of being forced to spend most of her time in bed recuperating and with use of the crutches draining her within the first hour, Clementine had wracked her brain to find something she could do while sitting down that wouldn’t drive her insane with boredom. This task had been one of the first things to come to mind. She wanted to make it a surprise, a sort of thank you to Louis for all he had done for her and AJ since they’d met.

Not that getting rid of graffiti could in any way amount to all they owed Louis. He had welcomed them from their first day at Ericson and let them back in without a second thought when Clementine collapsed in front of Ericson’s gates with an injured A.J. in her arms. After everything that had happened with Marlon, Louis was still able to set aside his anger and pain to become friends with them again. More than friends with Clementine. And he had run out into the woods twice on the same night to find them and helped get Clementine back to the school even as walkers surrounded them and Clem’s stump bled out on his coat.

This gesture wasn’t much, but she knew it would mean a lot to Louis. She had asked the other kids about the graffiti: Violet, Aasim, Ruby. None of them knew who had left it. They had their suspicions, but no one had seen it done. Apparently, it had been there for years, since the early days of the school being abandoned. Aasim noted that back then the school was more crowded, and Louis’ playing did tend to irk a number of the other kids. He wasn’t very good at it yet since he’d never been allowed to play before. Day by day Louis had taught himself each and every thing he knew about playing the piano. Clementine found it impressive. Yet the graffiti had stayed even as Louis’ playing improved; now it was time to erase the lie.

A gasp from A.J. had Clementine spinning round, her arms instinctively covering her work as though it would be possible to hide it. It was just Rosie though, dropping by to say hello. A.J. happily petted the dog, smiling as she lay down beside him. “Good girl, Rosie. You can help guard the door with me. We’re gonna make sure Louis doesn’t come in till Clem’s all done with the surprise,”

Clementine’s heart warmed at the sight of the pair standing guard together. It was wonderful to see A.J. getting to enjoy being a kid: keeping watch simply for the sake of a surprise, spending time with his loyal dog. It hadn’t been long since everything went down with the Delta, but A.J. had recovered well. It was good to see him smiling again, no longer spending every waking minute worrying about her or her leg. He had set down roots at Ericson and she had too. Her eyes returned to the piano. The c was much fainter now, but the lines still remained. Not for long. Clementine sanded the wood with all she had. Come hell or high water, she would get this done.

---

“There’s a surprise for me in here?” Louis sounded intrigued as he entered the room, his eyes closed and a grin upon his face.

“That’s right. Take about eight more steps and you’ll be at the piano,” Clementine plopped down on the bench, scooting over and setting aside her crutches. “One, two, oh look out”

Louis’ foot hit an empty soda can, causing him to freeze as the can clattered and spun along the floor. “Oops. That wasn’t anything, important, right?”

“Just a can. Your path is clear now. Just a few more steps and you can open your eyes. Close, closer, and… now,”

Louis opened his eyes, looking round the room with curiosity. “Huh. The way A.J. was hyping things up I figured you two would have found some balloons to fill the room with or something. You missed my birthday by about a month, by the way,”

“It’s not a birthday celebration. It’s something more subtle. Look closer,” Clementine directed, watching her boyfriend with anticipation.

Louis looked around the room once more but seemed just as lost as ever. “Hmmm, if there’s something here I’m supposed to be seeing, I’m not spotting it. Probably because the pretty girl on the bench is distracting me,” He grinned, moving to sit down beside Clementine.

“No, not yet!” Clementine exclaimed, raising her hands to stop him.

“I can’t sit by you?” Louis asked in bewilderment, his lips turning down in a mock pout. “This is starting to feel more like a punishment than a reward,”

Clementine rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at her own lips. “You’ll live. Just look again. Focus. What means the most to you in this room? Besides me,” Clementine caught Louis’ look just as he was about to say that very thing.

“Took the words right out of my mouth. Besides you, my favorite thing…” Louis’ hands came to rest upon the side of the piano, “Is this,” He leaned forward, glancing at the place where he and Clementine had carved their initials. “Yep, the potato’s still there, same as always,”

“Not that, you dork! Step back, look at the whole piano,”

“Alright, alright, let’s see then…” Louis took a step back, surveying the whole piano carefully. “There’s nothing new here. It’s the same as always,”

“Not something new exactly…” Clementine paused, wondering how to word things without giving the answer away. “Something has changed,”

“Changed? Well, the bench is still here, all four legs, the strings, good old Branchley…”  Louis nodded towards the stick he used to hold the cover of the piano open. “The keys are all there, the pedals…” his voice drifted off as he squinted, trying his best to figure out what could have possibly changed. “Wait a minute,”

Clementine’s breath caught in her throat. Had he finally noticed it?

Louis took a step forward, reaching out to brush his fingers along the side of his piano. Where the scribbled graffiti had once been was a blank space, slightly lighter than the rest of the wood but just as smooth. Louis gazed at the spot for several moments before his eyes lifted, meeting Clementine’s. “Those words are gone,”

“That’s right,” Clementine smiled proudly.

“You did this?”

“I did. A.J. kept watch in case Aasim wasn’t able to keep you away long enough and you got back before we finished,”

“So that was why he took us on that whole detour to scout out new places to lay traps!” Louis shook his head, chuckling. “I’ll have to thank him later. And A.J. too,”

“I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that from you,” Clementine patted the spot on the bench beside her. A little sigh escaped her as Louis sat down beside her and she was able to rest her head upon his shoulder. “We both wanted to thank you for all you’ve done for us,”

“All I’ve done? Clem, you’re the one who saved the school. You saved everyone here!”

“And you saved us both. A.J. when you carried him back inside and me when you found us after the barn,” Clementine grew quiet for a moment, noticing how Louis glanced down sadly at her stump. In those first days she’d woken up he kept apologizing, saying how sorry he was that he had jumped that fence and left her and A.J. behind, how if he had stayed beside them things might have been different. He hadn’t stopped apologizing until Clementine was back on her feet with the use of the crutches and even then, she had to cut him off each time he tried to start again.

“Louis, you saved us that day. A.J. and I wouldn’t be alive anymore if it wasn’t for you,”

Louis took her hand, his thumb rubbing against it gently. “We saved each other,”

Clementine nodded softly, accepting the change. “Anyway, I wanted to do something nice for you. And that graffiti always bugged me. I knew it was a lie from the first moment I met you and heard you play,”

“The dulcet tones of my instrument haven’t driven you mad yet?” Louis quipped, a wry smile upon his face.

“Your playing is beautiful, Louis. I love hearing it. And even though everybody else has gotten too used to it to comment on it, I know they enjoy it too. You know Omar was tapping his foot to that new tune you’ve been working on last night while he was prepping for dinner,”

“He was? You sure he wasn’t just trying to wake that foot up?”

“Louis,” Clementine frowned. “I know you’re out of practice, but you’ve got to believe me when I give you a compliment. I would never lie to you,”

“I know. It’s just…” Louis sighed. “You’re right, I’m out of practice,” He leaned over to look at the side of the piano again. “I never thought to get rid of that. I mean I did, but back when it happened if I scrubbed it out whoever left it would just have carved something new in its place. And after a while I just got used to it being there. I didn’t even really notice it anymore, Well, I did, but,” he turned to look at Clementine, the happiness apparent in his eyes, “Now it’s gone. And that’s thanks to you,”

“You deserve to know how special you are, Lou,” Clementine felt her heart thump as she saw how much those words had meant to Louis. There were tears pricking the corners of his eyes as they welled with emotion.

“Clem…” Not knowing what else to say, Louis wrapped his arms round his girlfriend, pulling her into a tight hug. Clementine returned the hug in kind, grasping on to Louis’ shoulders tightly as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. “Thanks, Clem,” Louis whispered, his voice slightly hoarse.

“You’re welcome, Lou,” Clementine’s hand lightly brushed through her boyfriend’s dreadlocks. She was happy now in this moment with him. She wanted to treasure it.

Eventually Louis pulled back, placing a gentle kiss on Clementine’s cheek before sitting upright. “Well, a surprise like this deserves celebration! Let’s have some music!” He cracked his fingers before placing them across the piano keys. “What would my lady like to hear?”

It didn’t take her long to decide. “How about “Clementine”? That’s my personal favorite,”

Louis looked down shyly at those words, a soft smile upon his lips. “Mine too,” With that Louis began to play, slipping easily into the moment as his fingers played the familiar tune. It was a short melody, but Louis played it again. Then again. Clementine listened happily, her eyes drifting shut as she nuzzled softly into her boyfriend’s warmth. His music was beautiful; she would never grow tired of it. And here, safe and sound within Ericson’s walls, she’d have all of her life to listen to him play again and again.