#the travel time on the boat stretches things out a lot but it's been like three or four days since darktow i'm pretty sure????

[captainsupernoodle]

fjord unexpectedly getting launched into the lap of someone who seems to have Answers: time to fuck around maybe? 👀👀

*avantika seducing him, almost getting executed for robbing her, the plank king executing her in front of them, dashiila, a blue dragon*

Fjord: I FOUND OUT, I FOUND OUT, LEAVE ME ALONE

[bethanythebogwitch]

It's October and I want to talk about something creepy, so this Wet Beast Wednesday is about the lancetfish. These things look like what would happen if a fish became a vampire. Lancetfish are the only members of their family, Alepisauridae and consist of two species: The longnose lancetfish Apleisaurus ferox and the shortnose lancetfish Apleisaurus brevirostris. While they are often caught as bycatch, there is still a lot we don't know about them.

(image: a lancetfish held by an angler. Its body is long, skinny, and silvery. Its dorsal fin extends down most of its back and is supported by a series of long, thin spines. Its head is pointed and the moth is very wide. It has a large, green eye. The tail is out of frame)

Lancetfish are long and skinny fish capable of reaching up to 2.08 meters (6.8 ft). Their dorsal fins are especially notable, stretching down most of their backs and being spiny, resulting in one common name for them being the "handsaw fish". The fin likely gives stability when the fish swims fast and can fold down. The fin is situated in a groove so when it folds down, the top of the fish is smooth and reduces drag. Lancetfish are also one of the relatively few fish to have an adipose fin. The mouth is large and opens very wide. It has long, skinny teeth that point backwards and are adapted to hold onto struggling prey. Their bodies have no scales, only smooth skin with pores for the lateral line. The name "Alepisaurus" means "scaleless lizard", a reference to their body shape and lack of scales. The stomach can expand to hold a very large volume. Lancetfish lack swim bladders and are simultaneous hermaphrodites, posessing male and female gonads at the same time. They show some anatomical differences from other hermaphroditic fish, including testicles that are independent from the ovaries.

(image: a lancetfish held by a child on a boat. More detain can be seen on the dorsal fin, which includes four spines that grow long past the webbing. The tail ends in a forked fin.

Lancetfish are found worldwide except for arctic regions and are more common in temperate to tropical waters, but have been found as far north as Greenland. They are found in the mesopelagic (twilight) and bathypelagic (midnight) zones, but sometimes swim closer to the surface and can be found at a huge variety of depths. They are unusually large for fish that live in those areas. They are generally believed to be solitary, but may gather together to mate. They may also be migratory, as they have been reported seasonally appearing and disappearing in some locations. Lancetfish do also travel to colder waters if food is scarce. They are predators with extremely wide diets that include fish, cephalopods, tunicates, and crustaceans. They are also notoriously cannibalistic, as lancetfish show up in the stomachs of other lancetfish very frequently. There have even beec cases of scientists finding a lancetfish inside of a lancetfish inside of a lancetfish. They are so well known for cannibalism that they are often named "cannibal fish". Lancetfish are likely ambush predators. Their muscles are gelatinous, which is unsuitable for chases but does work for sudden bursts of speed. They most likely hang motionless in the water, waiting for prey to pass. How lancetfish reproduce is unknown, but they are probably broadcast spawners.

(image: a lancetfish in its natural habitat. It is suspended vertically in the water, with the head pointing up. Its dorsal fin is folded back)

One interesting feature of lancetfish is how slow their digestion is. Lancetfish are often found with undigested or partially digested food in their stomachs. One hypothesis is that They digest food slowly wile living a low-energy lifestyle to make the energy gained from each meal last as long as possible. Another is that the stomach acts like storage and will only begin digestion if the fish is low on energy. This provides an interesting avenue of research. Lancetfish caught as bycatch or that was up on beaches can be dissected to investigate their stomach contents, which are so much more pristine than those of other species. This means each lancetfish acts as a net, containing tons of specimens that give us a good (if biased) look at the bathypelagic food web and local biodiversity. Scientists are starting to find a lot of plastic in lancetfish stomachs. It is hypothesized that some of this plastic may be ingested by prey who practice daily vertical migration bringing tiny pieces of plastic down into deeper waters where they are ingested by larger predators. Some plastic pieces found may be too large to be explained by this method alone, such as a fragment of a black plastic bag around the same size as a hand towel found in one lancetfish. This is part of growing evidence that shows plastic pollution is not just a problem for the surface as was previously though, but exists throughout the water column.

I told you, its a vampire fish (image: a close-up of a lancetfish head. Its mouth is open, showing the teeth. They are long, skinny, and sharp. Most are short, but a few on the top and bottom are much larger than the others)

Lancetfish are not commercially caught as there is no market for them. Their gelatinous meat is considered unappetizing, though it is also said to taste sweet. They are considered pests in longline fishing industries for taking bait intended for other species. The amount of lancetfish bycatch is increasing, possibly indicating population growth due to overfishing of their competition and prey. Known predators of lancetfish include tuna, cod, opah, salmon sharks, and sea lions. Because of how deep they live, not much is known about any conservation needs

(image: a juvenile lancetfih. Its body is green and translucent and much shorter than that of the adult. The head has the same shape as the adult. The dorsal fin is much smaller and less distinct. The body is curved at the spine and the internal organs are visible through the skin)

[pepi1989]

You’re single handedly saving the Ben Shelton fanfic world 😭 can you write a long (if possible, I love reading long fleshed out stories) story about a hot, summer vacation as a break from the tennis tour? Like on a yacht or in Greece, or maybe even in Florida.

I really like tennisplayer!reader so it’d be nice if both reader and Ben are taking a break together from tour and just lazing about together and being loving and cozy, maybe a bit flirty/suggestive too but nothing smutty. Thank you!

I'm in charge of keeping the Ben Shelton fanfic ship floating lol, please keep requesting things guys i love writing these <3

Sunkissed - Ben Shelton

The summer sun hung lazily in the sky, casting a golden glow over everything it touched. You and Ben had finally stepped off the endless grind of the tennis tour, a much-needed break from the constant travel and matches. Now, instead of the whir of tennis balls and the thwack of rackets, there was only the sound of gentle waves lapping against the side of the yacht.

Ben leaned against the railing, the breeze tousling his curls as he turned to you with a smile that had you weak in the knees. “I still can’t believe we’re actually doing this.”

You laughed, settling beside him. “No tennis rackets, no early training, just us.”

The yacht rocked softly beneath your feet as the horizon stretched out, endless and blue. You let out a content sigh, already feeling your body ease into the relaxation you hadn’t felt in months. Ben wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you closer, his warmth like the sun itself.

“We earned this,” he said, his voice low and sweet. “A whole summer of nothing but… this.”

“This,” you repeated with a grin, tipping your head back to soak in the sunshine. “And maybe a few more kisses?”

He chuckled, tilting your face toward his, lips brushing softly against yours. “I think that can be arranged.”

The day unfolded lazily, just like that. A delicious kind of nothingness, your bodies intertwined on sunbeds, laughter floating into the air as the boat drifted along the coast. It was Greece, of course. The white-washed buildings gleamed in the distance, and the scent of salty air mixed with the sweetness of fruit that you both snacked on between light conversation.

“Do you think anyone misses us yet?” Ben asked, lying beside you, hand lazily tracing patterns on your arm.

“Definitely,” you teased, leaning into his touch. “But they’ll survive. We deserve to just be.”

You lay in comfortable silence, his fingers brushing your skin every so often, and you felt like you could melt right into him, into the sun, into the moment. Nothing else mattered. Not the next tournament, not the next match. Just him and this stolen time.

After a while, Ben shifted beside you, sitting up and holding out a hand. “Wanna take a dip? The water’s perfect.”

You took his hand with a playful grin. “Race you to the water?”

Ben’s competitive spark lit up instantly, his smile widening. “You sure about that? I don’t want you to get embarrassed.”

“Oh, you’re on, Shelton.”

Laughing, you both scrambled to the edge of the yacht, diving into the crystal-clear water at the same time. The cool sea wrapped around you, a perfect contrast to the heat above. When you resurfaced, Ben was floating on his back, eyes closed with that peaceful expression you loved so much.

You splashed him lightly, and he cracked one eye open. “Hey! What was that for?”

“Felt like you were getting a little too relaxed,” you teased, swimming closer until you were practically nose to nose. “Can’t let you get too comfortable now.”

He chuckled, pulling you toward him until your legs tangled under the water. “You’re the one who said no tennis, no competition. Are you trying to break your own rule?”

You smirked, wrapping your arms around his neck, your forehead resting against his. “Maybe.”

Ben’s eyes softened as he gazed at you, the moment shifting from playful to something deeper, warmer. “You know,” he murmured, “I’ve been thinking a lot lately, and I really don’t know how I got so lucky with you.”

Your heart skipped a beat as the sincerity in his voice sank in. “Oh, I don’t know,” you replied, brushing your fingers through his wet curls. “Maybe because you’re a decent guy? Some might even say charming.”

He smiled, that boyish grin that always made your stomach flutter. “Only some?”

“Well, maybe more than some,” you admitted, cheeks flushing under his gaze.

Ben pulled you closer, his lips brushing yours softly again. “I love you,” he whispered, voice barely louder than the sound of the waves lapping against the boat.

Your breath hitched, and you felt your chest fill with warmth. “I love you, too.”

The kiss that followed was slow, gentle, but filled with a thousand unspoken promises. When you finally pulled apart, both of you were grinning like lovesick teenagers, and you couldn’t help but laugh at how perfect everything felt.

“Let’s stay here forever,” you said, half-joking, half-serious.

Ben pressed his forehead to yours again. “I’d love nothing more.”

Back on the yacht, as the afternoon sun started to dip lower, casting everything in shades of gold and pink, you and Ben sprawled out on the deck, wrapped in towels, hair still damp from the swim. He fed you slices of watermelon between light conversation, both of you too blissed out to worry about anything beyond this moment.

“You ever think about what’s next?” you asked quietly, eyes on the horizon.

Ben’s hand found yours, fingers intertwining. “Sometimes. But not right now. Right now, I’m thinking about how lucky I am to be here with you. To have someone who gets it, who gets me.”

You squeezed his hand, feeling that familiar tug in your chest again. “We make a pretty good team, huh?”

“The best,” he agreed, bringing your hand to his lips for a quick kiss. “You’re everything I didn’t know I needed.”

The evening unfolded in the same relaxed rhythm. As the sky darkened, you moved to the yacht’s upper deck, where the stars began to blink into view, one by one. Ben wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you close as the two of you looked up at the night sky.

“I could get used to this,” you said, voice soft.

“Me too,” he replied, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “Let’s never leave.”

You laughed, leaning into him. “I think we might need to eventually. But for now, this is perfect.”

Ben tightened his hold on you, his voice low and filled with affection. “For now, it’s just us. No worries, no matches. Just you and me.”

You smiled, closing your eyes and savoring the moment. This was everything. And for as long as it lasted, you were determined to make every second count.

[mannatea]

Break Open the Sky, a Tales of Symphonia ‘fic (Chapter 5)

Current Word Count: 35,756 Summary: What kind of “Hero” of Regeneration would she be to leave an infant to fend for itself? Someone had to have left it here for a reason. The question was, of course, why? But as she lifted the little thing carefully into her arms, the motion reminding her of nights so far in the past, now, the why seemed almost tragically clear: this baby was of mixed blood. Chapter Summary: It's sailin' time. RIP. Also, Regal finally shows up. Pairing/Characters: Raine, Original Characters, will also feature Genis, Regal, and Sheena. Endgame is Regal/Raine. Extra Info: This is technically an Accidental Baby Acquisition story, but I liken it more to “Doorstep Baby” literature because it sure ain’t cute. Rating: Mature, for themes. Genre: Eventual romance, gen, family, character study.

The title is the link to Ao3 for Chapter 5! If you read it please feed me a little comment. I love you x5. 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

Lots of notes this time, specifically regarding the mechanisms of healing as I'm writing them in this story! You can find them under the cut:

I imagine since Altamira is a resort town, most passenger ships that travel there are probably also selling the boat ride as part of the Experience (and are therefore kind of a luxury). Yes, this is me forcing worldbuilding into this story come hell or high water. I’m very aware that Regal could have put his friends on a list to ensure they can actually come and visit him in style and comfort, but let’s just say his mind has been too busy to consider doing that with the ships since he did consider the hotels.

--

The Mechanisms & Cost of Healing

This chapter gets a bit more into the cost of healing, in particular healing oneself. I sort of view self-healing in a separate camp from regular healing, just because I feel like the mechanics do differ.

Huge obvious note: healing hurts. Getting healed hurts. Healing yourself hurts. Forcing muscle or bone back together, rearranging things, sealing skin closed: getting healed causes pain.

So the steps of healing are something like this:

•Call up the mana needed, where mana is a specific type of energy. Calling the mana up to make it “usable” has a cost, which, in this case is just regular energy. You could think of this almost like any kind of “prep work” you might prefer to do in advance of a task, like stretching before going for a run. You can simply rip the mana out to use in an emergency, but it would never be recommended and could have unintended consequences.

•Focus

•Speak an incantation. For those who play games like WoW, you could consider this in a similar vein as “cast time” spells. In the case of healing in Symphonia, if the incantation is broken for any reason (stammered word, shattered concentration), the spell does not “cast” and the mana that has been drawn up to use falls back down again. When this happens, a small portion of the mana is wasted and the healer has to go back to the first step and call up the mana again. (As you can imagine, many failed attempts just ends with an exhausted healer and nothing healed.)

•Normally when healing someone else, maintaining focus is not very difficult (provided it’s not an active battlefield & the healer is not under attack or suffering from a dire injury themselves). The patient might be in a lot of pain, but if the healer isn’t they can just focus on healing in most situations.

•That said, when it comes to a healer healing themselves, they are not only trying to focus, they’re also causing themselves pain, resulting in concentration being extremely difficult and trying, depending of course on the severities of their injuries. You could think of this as an extreme version of trying to cauterize your own wound or setting your own broken leg.

In the case of Raine’s shoulder, it took her so long to get to it because she knows the cost to heal it is so high. The potential of ending up in a deficit of energy and mana from attempting to heal it when she’s already at a low point is likely, and that’s not something she’s willing to risk. She has children to look after and protect right now.

Also, when Raine enters that intensive healing stage where she just blocks everything out to focus on speaking the incantation: it’s more or less a literal disassociation state. I won’t get into it in this story (it’s slated for the sequel), but that is not something every magic user is capable of, and certainly not every healer.

--

Despite the fact that I have a similar fear of water, Raine’s phobia wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to write. Actually, it was straight-up unsettling. Knees weak palms are sweaty kind of stuff. Cool. Hated that for Raine and I hate it for myself.

Part of me feels like I cheated by skimming over her ship travels, but I don’t think it would have been very interesting to get a play by play of someone so deeply afraid. It’s worth noting that I also very very badly did not want to avoid or steer clear of the reality that Raine would have to deal with on such a long trip. It’s not pretty. She’s an absolute wreck who can’t even help herself, let alone do anything for the children she’s supposed to be caring for. IMO it’s important that this was shown.

--

I’m literally obsessed with the idea that Raine keeps her hair the exact same style from when she was 11 just in the desperate hope that if she finds her mother again, she’ll be recognized, though this was mostly unintentional and not really something she was doing consciously (too afraid to examine her actual feelings on the subject, so it just ended up habit to keep it that way). In this story, after she is “rejected” by her mother in Exire, she starts growing it again, so her hair has probably grown a fair amount by this story (though I do imagine hers grows slowly).

The lullaby in Raine’s dream is a, uh, very creatively translated Nuku Nuku Nurmilintu. (I am hiding from my Finnish friend who may want to pummel me for this unforgivable behavior.) Instead of “grassland bird” I used “meadow-bird” because I think it has a sweeter ring to it. I looked at a few translations but none of them shifted well into English wholesale so I had to get creative. Check out the actual lullaby for a lovely experience, though!

--

And yes! Finally, Regal has arrived. We don’t get into his perspective in this chapter, and things are a bit awkward, but…eh. Meeting someone you have a slightly awkward history with in public with three more children than they knew you had is, um…probably just not the smoothest experience. Poor Raine. Thank goodness Regal knows how to be polite and patient and wait for answers.

--

There aren't really any new OCs in this chapter so no need to even do a rollcall! (Thank goodness.)

Thanks again for reading! If you check out the story I'd love a comment. 🤍

[bellatrixobsessed1]

The Girl In The Net (Part 5)

Azula does not like the rocking of this ship, perhaps it is a residue of her human instincts. An imprint of her innate nature rearing its head. Or maybe it is just that she doesn’t like being in captivity. She has had so much open ocean for the entirety of her life. No one has ever tried to tell her what to do. 

There has never been anyone around to do so.

And so she blisters in the glaring sun and listens to the mighty flap of the ship’s sails. They create quite a thunderous noise when mingling with the slap of waves upon the vessel. The vessel which has an ever present creak and groan of its own. 

Clearly this ship is not up to the standard of the Fire Nation navy. 

The seagulls have taken quite a shine to her as well and she imagines that she would make a fine treat for them if she didn’t have the sense to ward them off–mostly this entails a lot of humiliating thrashing and flailing. 

Her arms are growing sore and she truly hopes that her captors will untie them at least for a moment so that she can stretch them out. 

She knows better; father has always warned her that an enemy would never show mercy. That she could be expected to be treated with brutality and hatred. “That’s how those uncultured Water Tribe fools and those rugged Earth Kingdom dwellers are.” 

Surely civilized people like Fire Nationals wouldn’t be so cruel. And yet…

They confuse and frighten her, these pirates and most all of them are Fire Nation. The way that they look at her makes her stomach churn. They won’t know it, of course, but she has overheard enough of their talk to be on edge. She is something of a curiosity to them; they talk of handing her over to various organizations for profit, putting her on display as some living and breathing trophy, killing her for fancy decor, and killing her for food. 

She isn’t sure which of these things have been said in jest and which things have been said without a scrap of irony. 

“I require a larger crate.” Azula demands perhaps three days into this misadventure. 

“Do you now?” June quirks a brow.

“I do.” She confirms. “And these ropes are unnecessary.”

“Unnecessary?” June quirks a brow. “Oh, I bet that you’ll flop your way back into the ocean the minute that we unbind you…” She trails off. “Unless of course we move you into the cargo hold.” She seems to ponder it. “I think that we can arrange that.”

Azula doesn’t like the way that the woman smirks. 

All too late, she realizes what she has done. Father would lecture her for a blunder like this. 

Perhaps she will have more space and comfort below deck but it is at the cost of an easier escape. Azula swallows.

“I have changed my mind.” Azula declares. “I find that sunlight is good for my skin.” 

.oOo.

She probably should have put better planning into her foolish escapade. More thought than just a suitcase full of clothes, comb, some food and drink, and some money she’d taken from her parents. 

She certainly should have checked to make sure that she wasn’t being followed. 

She had left the house far beyond Tom-Tom’s bedtime and yet when she looked back to find the source of the footsteps trailing too closely behind her for comfort she didn’t see anyone at all. 

However she did see a rustling bush and that time she decided to investigate it. 

No amount of ‘go home’s’ and terrifying tales of bandits and mishaps could dissuade the boy. If anything she had only just given herself a good helping of second thoughts. Tom-Tom on the other hand was thoroughly excited. He would, afterall, be meeting bandits, pirates, and his mermaid friend!

One, “I’ll go home and tell mama” later Mai had herself a traveling companion.

She draws up her hood and gives Tom-Tom another reminder to pretend like she is his mother. She swallows, she hadn’t anticipated it being this nerve wracking to ask a simple question like, “how much for a boat ride?” Let alone how to find someone who would be up for chasing down a pirate ship. 

She imagines that the local pub might be a good place to go to for gossip.

She could also turn around and go back home. 

But if what she has heard is true then Azula had been captured waiting for her to return. Mai doubts that they would have found her if she hadn’t been lounging around the beach for so long.  

But she very well can’t bring Tom-Tom to a pub. She rubs her hands over her face. “Alright, Tom-Tom I’m going to need you to wait out here. Do you think that you can handle that?”

“Why can’t I come in?”

“First of all, you weren’t supposed to have tagged along at all. “Second of all…just do what I say. For once, just do what I say, Tom-Tom.” She is exhausted. Tired of having to deal with a troublesome little brother who gives her extra tasks to take care of. “Just stay outside, okay?”

Tom-Tom puffs out his cheeks. 

“Look, I’ll be quick. I just need to ask around to see if anyone is on the hunt for pirates.”

“On the hunt for pirates, you say?” Inquires a crackly voice. 

“That’s right.” Mai replies. 

“Well there are a lot of people who’d like nothing more than to capture a band of pirates. The bounty for a whole crew is rather handsome. Especially the reward for former bounty hunter, June.” Says the man.

“So are you one of those people?” Mai asks. 

“Me, no.” The man chuckles. “I’m just an old man who enjoys having a drink by the sea.” He nods to the pub. “But that lot…you buy them a round and they’ll talk.”

Mai too looks in the direction of the pub, resigning herself to having to enter it. She can say with confidence that it is not her wisest decision–it isn’t wise at all. But she is forming a long string of terrible decisions so she might as well ask. “Can you watch my brother for a little while?”

[artficlly]

seeing as i still love the map and concept art for lady of the ghosts, i have more questions!

Like, how long would it take to travel from Faliene to Hailford Capital? i need to know how big this thing is!

also, very adrobs that he looked for her necklace in the mud!

Hi anon!

Thank you so much!! I'm so glad you're enjoying the art as well!! And omg yes, it was very adorable (the fact that if reader had stayed for a moment longer she probably would've witnessed him searching!! ugh my heart <3)

Anyway! Great question!! I have been purposefully avoiding that within the story because I was hesitant to make anything canon incase I needed to change it later in the story and didn't want to ruin previous plot points (cough cough game of thrones, cough cough) so this might be up for change but here is my thinking for now:

The Kingdom of Haiford would be rather hard to travel because it's mainly mountainous, turning to forest and farming land the further south you get. As you can see, Haiford is divided into several regions, so although Faliene is mentioned as a 'city', it actually covers a lot more land than just the city itself. The green section I've marked out is where the actual city would be - the red section is The Stormfall Mountains and other ranges which stretch further south. Haiford Capital city is marked out by the blue, the rest of that region would either be farmland (closer to the lake/south) or mountainous in the northern tip.

Due to the fall of Faliene, Haiford Capital receives most of its trade from other kingdoms, or through Dorasea/other smaller ports in Haiford. As mentioned in readers discussion with Rumlow - Faliene is realistically the better option. Even if the mountains are hard to traverse, the cold weather means that most perishable goods stay fresh for longer in comparison to goods from Dorasea which have to face humidity, swamps and possible attacks from Hydrina. Due to Faliene being so isolated attacks or robberies on goods being transported are very low.

Galanta is made up of mainly flat, farming land with a bit of swamp/bog closer to the Hydrinan border. Hydrina is mostly swamp and forest. Asgard is heavily forested and turns into a plains the further south you get. Wakanda is a mixture of jungle on the north-eastern coast and slowly moves into a plains/desert the further south.

Using this website and some of the sources linked, I have a rough estimate of travel times.

Faliene to Haiford Capital 10-13 Days by carriage 8-10 Days by horse * Give or take a few days, depending on terrain/weather conditions as well as if a Falienean guide is present or not. Due to navigating the mountain paths and ranges, this route takes longer than expected at times. Falienean families who live in the mountains host travellers in their homes.

Haiford Capital to Dorasea 5-7 days by carriage 3-5 days by horse * The terrain is a lot easier to traverse due to it being mainly farmland - might find some difficulty in boggy areas. A day or two can be taken off the journey if travellers take a boat across the lake rather than going around.

Haiford Capital to Galanta Capital 3-5 days by carriage 2-3 days by horse * The path between Capitals is almsot completely flat and well managed making the trip very quick and easy. As it's frequented by the royals there are lots of inns/taverns along this path.

Hopefully all the math adds up, might be subject to change!! Thank you for the ask, I hope this was helpful!

[iviarellereads]

The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 37 - Fires in Cairhien

(THIS PROJECT IS SPOILER FREE! No spoilers past the chapter you click on. Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index and a primer on The Wheel of Time, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

(Cairhien icon) In which that's a lot of dreams, how long's it been since we checked in with you?

PERSPECTIVE: Egg is on a boat passing through Cairhien (country). A village slides through her view, smoldering rubble. No living person or creature, though. There have been many such villages. They took a single cabin, all fearing to be alone at night. The captain of the Blue Crane acts more than happy to carry them, though they're his only passengers and he's confused about them sticking together.(1)

She's used the stone ring several times, but she never sees anything useful in TAR. Her own dreams have been fraught with images that made little more sense than TAR itself:(2)

Rand holding a sword that blazed like the sun

Rand threatened in a dozen ways, none of them the least bit realistic

Perrin with a wolf, a falcon, and a hawk, with the falcon and hawk fighting

Perrin running from someone deadly

Perrin stepping over the edge of a towering cliff

An Aiel, something to do with Perrin, too

Min springing a trap but not getting caught

Mat with spinning dice around him

Mat being followed by a man that wasn't there

Mat riding desperately toward something unseen in the distance

Mat with a woman who seemed to be tossing fireworks, an Illuminator

Men and women breaking out of a cage and putting on crowns

A woman playing with puppets with strings to greater puppets

Kings dying, queens weeping, battles raging

Whitecloaks ravaging the Two Rivers

Seanchan

Her mother and father

The two nights Egg didn’t use the ring, she let Elayne and Nynaeve use it, but they didn’t see anything particularly interesting or useful.(3) Elayne joins her on deck, and Egg thinks how Nyn won the argument over their clothing: they all got stout wool, because they don't know how long their coin will have to stretch. She thinks of Mat, hoping he isn't flashing around the paper shield too much.

El joins Egg on the deck, and asks how she can ignore the columns of smoke in the distance that indicate more burning villages or homesteads.(4) Egg can ignore it because she can't do anything about it, and they have to reach Tear, quickly. They talk about the civil war in Cairhien, because of Galldrian's death, and Elayne says that the whole country has stopped buying grain, because who's got the time or resources to buy and distribute food when you're fighting for the succession of the royal seat? Egg mentions a Gray Man, and El gets confused until Egg says no, not here, one is after Mat, that's what that one dream meant. Though, they still can't do anything about it.

The boat lurches, and the captain tells off the man at fault for running them onto a mudflat. A few minutes later, it becomes clear there's a ship sunken here, it's not a mudflat at all.(5)  After speaking with the captain, Nyn suggests they get off the boat and walk to the nearest village, about two hours away. If the boat gets free, they'll stop in the town to see if the women are there, to carry them on. If not, they can acquire new passage there.

Egg chafes at Nyn still taking charge as if she's the Wisdom and higher than Egg and El, though El tries to smooth things over. As they start walking toward the village, Egg says there's no Amyrlin looking over her shoulder here, if they meet brigands she's going to defend herself properly. Nyn says they might be able to frighten them away without hurting them, like the Whitecloaks. Elayne starts to say she'd like to reach the village without meeting any brigands at all, when a figure in brown and grey rises from a bush in front of them.(6)

=====

(1) Of course, no other Aes Sedai would travel with a single room to three of them. Do you foresee consequences to this odd behaviour with regard to rumour making its way back? (2) A good few of these we've already seen or had confirmed. Some of the others are vague enough that we might have seen hints but no firm details. A couple of them we haven't seen any reason why they'd be meaningful. (3) Well, Egwene is the one who was having strange dream visions before them, and the one who's been named a potential Dreamer. Maybe that extra Talent factor is why. (4) Elayne isn't just the Daughter-Heir of Andor. Her father was Cairhienin. And, she takes her duty to her people seriously, even those of her people who aren't really hers to rule. She's such a compassionate young woman, despite her privilege, she really does care as much as she knows how to. Do you think she'll ever get something to do with actually ruling? Do you think her compassion will come back to bite her, or be rewarded? (5) Here's a point of contention in the fandom. See, officially, according to Word of GodJordan, the wondergirls aren't ta'veren. And I'm calling bullshit. They may not be as strongly ta'veren as the guys, but the same kind of coincidences happen to them. They make choices that fundamentally alter their lives and the world around them, and they get caught up in things far beyond their expectations, to move them forward. So, it's a widely held headcanon that they are, in fact, all ta'veren, despite all "evidence" to the contrary. I don't talk about the show much here, but one of the best things they did in adaptation was to make the women also ta'veren, also marked as important by the narrative device. Because there's no way a normal person's boat just up and crashes into a sunken ship just to get them onto the shore to meet… well, we're about to see, aren't we? (6) But even though we're about to meet them, can you guess who this is?

[persephonessugarbaby]

#10 & 19 for the "soft asks" post, please?

10. what's something you're excited for?

I have a scuba trip to the Bahamas coming up!!! I'm hella hyped for so many reasons...

I haven't done a whole lot of travel, especially out of the country. I only left North America for the first time in my life less than 2 years ago. Vacations for me growing up were 5 hour road trips to theme parks. So this is like a completely new experience for me!!! 😁🙌

I'm a very new diver. I've only actually been on 2 dives so far in the wild, both of which were part of getting my scuba certification. I'm gonna try to get a few more dives under my belt before I go, but it's still super exciting that some of my first dives as a scuba diver will be IN THE BAHAMAS!!! 😵🥳

I'll be staying on a boat most of the time and it's all expenses paid (i.e. all the food and booze are included in the price of the trip). It's noooooooowhere NEAR a cruise ship by any stretch of the imagination, but it is still another first for me 🍾🥂

-

19. most important thing in your life?

All my loves ones 🥰💖🫶 no matter what catastrophes (big or small) that happen in my life, they're always there to love and support me and I honestly would not have accomplished anything that I have or will without them.

Plus they're just super rad people!!! Interesting, smart, curious, passionate, funny, kind, generous. The exact type of people you want by your side for any and all adventures in life 🤗🤙

[elleenvs3000f23]

Week 2: A Trip Down River

PROMPT: Describe your ideal role of environmental interpreter. What might it entail? Where might it be? What skills might you need? 

As may be slowly becoming evident on this blog, I really like rivers. They are the blood that moves energy and matter over land while providing home, food and transportation to so many living things. Rivers also have amazing historical importance; they have been used for navigation and transportation across large areas, often linking countries and communities to the larger world. Different cultures have had unique ways of either living with or taming rivers that are reflective of their views and practices towards nature. If you ever get the chance to look at old maps of where you live, look for the rivers. Are they in the same place and shape? Do they have the same name as the one you know? 

I live on the Grand River and spend as much time as I can in my kayak or canoe. It's a great workout and I have gotten to know my personal stretch of The Grand quite well; the way the two blue herons that always seem to look with expressions disdain and judgment, the beavers who I never see out of the water but evidently work hard as they leave stumps for me to find near the shore, the jumping brown trout who thrive in the cold water of the river that comes up from the bottom of Bellwood Lake. I have become familiar with the favorite spots and behaviors of a lot of the backyard wildlife. 

My home on the river has a unique human history as well. It was the site of the first settlement in what is now the town of Fergus. Richard Pierpoint was the founder of this community; he was a black man who was granted the land near the river after serving in the British army. He built a community on the river and if you look over the low lying floodplain you can see rows of old apple trees and piles of stones left by the Pierpoint community. I will to make a post telling Mr. Pierpoints story as best I can in full later on; it deserves its own space and time. 

My goal in explaining all this is that I would love to be an interpreter who tells the stories of rivers. I could talk about the geological features of shape and structure that tell us how the river came to flow through a given place in a certain way. I would tell stories of the people who had traveled through an area on boats and point out what animals make their lives around the water and why. I would do this all in my kayak or canoe, with small groups of visitors or with a waterproof video camera to share online. Exercise and nature are two things we all benefit immensely from but often struggle to find time for. I think my dream kayak tours would be a fun way to do both at once with the added bonus of educating people on their local environment; we need water, we should probably try to understand its role in the environment a little better.

I was involved in a lot of improv theater as well as competitive public speaking in high school so I think leaning into that love and experience with storytelling would be a good use of my strengths. Adding historical context and stories is something I have never tried to do in my work as a scientist. Knowing how to research and effectively deliver stories about people and their lives is a necessary skill set for this type of interpretation and I would need to find someone(s) online or offline to learn from. 

I like physical recreation and interpretation largely because my learning styles are dominantly auditory followed by kinesthetic, I like to be moving and listening or talking. Any advice from more visual learners as to how to make this set up more engaging to you would be greatly appreciated!

Until next time,

Elle

Note: The first photo is one my friend Jack took of The Grand River a few years ago, the second is one I took a few months ago - it isn't any kind of pollution in the water, the shiny layer you see on the water is from decomposing microbes; it is evidence that groundwater is seeping up through the limestone!

[og-reesetti]

I do not post here often, much to everyone's appreciation. So let me get a little annoying about the One Piece live action adaption.

(tldr It's good, some inaccuracies and cruddy changes but overall a delightful celebration of One PieceL

Early on when this was first announced, I was cautiously optimistic, with the rather dogshit history of manga to live action adaptions. I mean, sure we've never seen a single good adaption outside of maybe the Death Note movies? But maybe this time. Surely it'll go better this time.

We started seeing some of the sets, and imo, it was pretty lifting. They were building boats, using proper locations and translating designs of shit like the marine base and especially Baratie with excellent accuracy. Faith was building.

Then the casting started to be announced. I vocalized being cautiously optimistic, but I think at that point I was honestly sold. The casting and costumes of the show are honestly my favorite part of the whole project, and it was obvious from the choices that whoever was behind this show knew their shit and gave a shit besides. I can't remember when in the timeline it was announced Oda himself had a hand in the shows making, but that was also a glowing sign of "this might be it, folks". The man took time from working on the manga to travel and work on this even, the stars were aligning.

My big worry was that I've seen Sky High and Fantastic 4. Hollywood is not known for making rubber stretchy powers look believable, or good for that matter. Considering that the main character's power is the big stret, getting to see how the vfx team tackled it was what I was biting my nails the most over. Then we got the first trailers, and I was sold.

Cut to present, the show is out and I've watched it. There is a lot to think about, and I think I don't want to spend all the time just comparing it to the manga, so I'll start with the good. Visually, the show looks like One Piece. It's weird, things are just weird while still being believable. The costumes and sets are bar none my favorite part of the show and if I was an award giver I'd give it to those teams. It's a treat for the eyes. The casting was spot on and the acting is mostly right what I wanted. Acting highlights go to Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, Mihawk, Kuro, Zeff, the young SH crew, and ESPECIALLY Buggy. Music design was also a good translation from the anime. You have Bink's Sake playing, you have the We Are moments, and the character specific scores are all enjoyable.

With any adaption there'll be changes, and for the most part the changes here are good. My personal favorite was the handling of Syrup Village. Siam and Butchy were way more fun than their manga versions, the whole murder house vibe, Zoro getting trapped down a well compared to a slippery hill. Other things like showing more of Coby and Luffy's relationship, Sanji being not a drooling freak like his recent manga time, and Arlong Park being an actual amusement park. Tons of small details building to an incredible experience.

Things that I wasn't so hot on are a shorter list, but still present. First and foremost is Garp. We got a few shots where he got violent and loud, and the actor crushed those moments. But so much of the series with him is brooding, talking quietly and taking everything way more seriously than he should. Coco Village actually resenting Nami for her deal with Arlong instead of secretly bearing it with her, and really a lot of how that final stretch was handled, just didn't fit right. Once the fighting started it's aces (sans Hachi being absent) but aside from Nami's past, I think Coco Village should've been done closer to the source. The whole Garp chasing Luffy through the East Blue bit I understand but don't like. Okay, you wanted a natural way to show Coby and Helmeppo's growth without just whole cutaways like the source, but I think because of how... wrong, Garp was portrayed, the entire plot line just feels off.

You have a few small details that could've been better, but overall I think the series crushed it and definitely helped introduce a lot of people to an incredible world. I do not trust that Netflix will continue the series, because their leadership is pretty damn stupid regarding what to continue and what to cut. But if they did, and the team manages to capture lightning in a bottle more than once, I'd be more than happy.

Okay, I'm done. Fuck off, let the door hit you on the way out.

[msmatx]

02.26.23-03.05.23— Week 21 [TLV]

It was a quietish week. I had my mediation workshop most days, which made for long days away from A+H. I think Atlas mostly liked the alone time though I do worry about him. He did his school work during the morning, and ran errands and spent time with Hero in the afternoon and evening. It was much harder for Hero who would great me at the door “I haven’t seen you since 8 this morning! That’s 12 hours!!!!” Hero has always been the master of telling and keeping time so it’s hard to know if he missed me or just wanted me to know he knew exactly how much time had passed. They did an amazing job of taking care of each other.

On Saturday, Hero’s friend, Ayal, came to play after our afternoon at the schoolyard. Arielle [Emanuel’s mom] and I have been paying a soccer coach to play one-on-one with the two boys every Saturday. They have a great time getting the coach’s undivided attention and then playing for another two hours or so. Other kids are usually at the schoolyard to join them after their soccer lesson. And Arielle and I sit and chat the entire time. She is always so fun because she holds nothing back. She’s Austrian but has lived in Israeli for 20 years. She’s traveled all over the world having worked in the hospitality business. She’s very no nonsense and has lots of opinions and observations. Ayal and his little brother Noam live half time with their dad one block from our apartment. Their mother is from California so they speak perfect English. Hero was very excited to have him to our apartment for a play date.

On Tuesday night, after being gone all day, Hero wanted my full attention and went through his school picture roster. He told me about everyone, wanted me to tell him their age, and any other details I could translate with google app. He so loves his school, peers, and especially his teacher, Alon. The US could really learn a lot from the value of male teachers. It makes such a tremendous difference.

Wednesday was a "Day of Disruption," something that is becoming a more regular occurrence. I debated taking A+H but ultimately decided that if things became uncomfortable, it would be trickier to get Hero out of the area than Atlas. These demonstrations involve hundreds of thousands of people attempting to [often successfully] stop traffic or slow movement. There are tons of flags and noise makers, and people are chanting and singing. They usually head down a major thoroughfare and different groups convene on the highway or near the airport and stop traffic for hours. In the US I'd be terrified that someone would drive a car into the crowd or start shooting. The atmosphere is the complete opposite. It is calm and peaceful, and it can be joyful at times. I find it very emotional and Atlas thinks I am nuts.

That evening we took advantage of my not having class and Hero went for a bike ride while Atlas and I ran along the beach.

Friday my mediation workshop was meeting on campus. By Friday, Hero was tired of going to school [it is a six-day school week!]. So, he and Atlas begged me to come along with me to the university. An early morning bus ride for Hero is always more exciting than first grade! Unfortunately, when we arrived we learned that the campus water main was shut off so all the restaurants and cafes on campus were closed. After an hour, they went home alone while I completed my workshop.

When I was done we all went out for our Friday Shabbat shopping. We always head to our Dizengoff bakery for our Friday afternoon snacks, people watching, and weekend pastry buying.

On our way home we came upon the Love Boat theme party at our Dov Hoz cafe. This was the weekend before Purim. Something we learned is that Israel loves a holiday, especially a joyous one so Purim, an otherwise 2-3 day festival holiday was stretched from the weekend, through the work week, and still going the weekend after. The cafe party had acrobats, music, and carnival food and game stations. It was so lively and fun.

That evening we headed out for our pre-Shabbat run/walk along the beach.

[shreyakaushal11]

A Guide to Places in East Boston, MA You Must Visit

If you live in or around Boston, chances are you know about East Boston, MA.

But if you're visiting for the first time and want to get some ideas for things to do while there, here's what I recommend:

East Boston, MA Harbor Islands National Recreation Area

East Boston, MA Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is a group of islands in the Boston Harbor.

The park consists of 34 islands and peninsulas, totaling about 26 acres. The main attractions include Fort Independence and Castle Island, which were used during the Revolutionary War to protect shipping lanes from British forces.

There are also several beach parks along with an active wildlife refuge that protects nesting seabirds as well as other wildlife species including seals and otters (a must-see!).

Logan International Airport

Logan International Airport is the main airport for Boston, and it's also the largest in New England. It's a hub for American Airlines and United Airlines, which means you can expect many direct flights to Europe and Asia. If you're looking for domestic flights from this airport, you'll find them here as well—and if your flight happens to be delayed or canceled at any point during your travels through East Boston, MA there's always a way back home!

Belle Isle Marsh Reservation

The Belle Isle Marsh Reservation is a wildlife refuge, the only remaining salt marsh in Boston Harbor. It's open to the public year round and has several miles of trails you can walk on. The reservation is located in East Boston, MA and there's no better way to experience this unique part of the city than by heading out into nature!

Constitution Beach

Constitution Beach is a public beach located in East Boston, MA. It's a popular spot for swimming, sunbathing and birdwatching. In the summertime, you can enjoy its sandy shores while soaking up some rays or taking advantage of one of its many picnic areas. If you're looking for a place to get out and stretch your legs after work during winter months, Constitution Beach has plenty of trails that will keep your mind off work for awhile longer than usual!

Orient Heights Yacht Club

Orient Heights Yacht Club is located on the shores of Boston Harbor, where you can watch boats sail by and enjoy the view. The club has been in existence for over 30 years, but it's still just as charming as ever.

The clubhouse offers plenty of activities for visitors to enjoy: there are two large decks with amazing views of Boston Harbor, plus a bar and grill where you can get some food or drinks while relaxing on your favorite spot on the deck or inside one of their many comfortable rooms. There are also tennis courts available if tennis enthusiasts want some exercise after playing at home!

You'll probably want to visit Orient Heights Yacht Club during your stay in East Boston, MA because it's such an awesome place filled with history (and old movie posters). If you're looking for something different than what else there is around here then this might be worth checking out!

You can’t go to Boston without visiting some of its hidden treasures. With these ten places, you will be sure to have an unforgettable experience in the city that never sleeps.

When you have a collision, it can be scary—and it's not just about the cost of the repairs. You might feel like your car has been damaged beyond repair, and that is a tough pill to swallow. That's why we're here to help!

At Danilchuk Auto Body East Boston, MA, we offer the best auto body services in the area. We know that a lot of people don't take car accidents seriously, but they can cause major damage to your vehicle if not repaired correctly. We want to make sure you don't have any regrets when it comes time to get those damages fixed up.

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Our goal is to make sure you get the quality repairs you need, when you need them. We’ll fix any damage, no matter how small or large, so you can get back on the road as quickly as possible.

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[prismartist]

Ponk’s discoveries and what they mean

Y’all haven’t been paying attention to Ponk and it shows. /lh

He has made many discoveries in his recent streams that are just begging to be talked about, and I, as the resident maker of farfetched theories, will take up the job of compiling and connecting them to the current lore.

For those who don’t know, Ponk recently built up the lore of Not A Very Good Town Town, aka the village that went mad, through a book he found in the basement of Jack’s (the potato farmer, not Manifold) Ye Old Farmhouse, written by Jack himself. And it reveals some interesting information.

There’s going to be a few sections for this post: first, breaking down what is in the journal, then theories as to what exactly happened to the village, and how these discoveries can tie into the current storyline.

The journal

For one, Jack seems to have interacted an entity that’s eerily similar to Foolish. In the first page there’s an entry that reads:

“Day 790 The strange man is back, his body made of straw but eyes of emrald.”

On the second page as well, it mentions:

“Day 800 A NEW LAND! A land that uses sand as stone! Gold.... GOLD EVERYWHERE!”

Which, of course, probably pertains to Foolish’s desert home, which also has a significant amount of gold due to the Egyptian theme.

But why would we get Foolish lore from Ponk of all people, instead of the totem god himself? Well, Ponk was the first person Foolish interacted with on the server aside from Dream, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they talked more after that and collabed for lore.

But anyways, now we move on to the more interesting section:

“Day 840 The Strange man has returned his name still unknown... BUT! he has brought a caravan of good! he talks about ancient magic and gifts 21 statues transported in make shift boats.”

Jack then goes on to describe that the statues are “calming” for him, before the next entry, written ten days later, show a disturbing shift in attitude.

“Day 855 CATS I HEAR CATS, CATS IN THE WALLS IN THE WALLS”

And another one five days later:

“DAY 900 murder... the cats murder ,,, the people I showed Shrimpy my satues he seems too intrested BUT THEY ARE MY SATUES”

Now those who saw the episode know that Jack and Bob (Shrimpy) turned out to be the murderers of the “canon round”. Seeing as those two people were the only ones exposed to the statues as we know, it’s logical to assume that the statues were the reason they went mad.

And this is backed up by the next entry:

“Day 905 SUDDEN URGE TO MURDER, THAT HELGA WOMEN IS TEMPTING BUT DAMN HER HUSBAND NEEDS TO GO BY ANY MEANS NESS…..”

Then there are two blank pages before the journal concludes

“Day 1040 Just me and Shrimpy and the cool statues life is good go od goo d g ood go odgood g oodg ood go odg good goo dgood goo dgood g ood good good good goodgoo d go od g ood go od dgo od g oo go od go o d - JACK”

It’s creepy as shit. But moving on.

There’s a lot of questions to be asked here. Why did Foolish–if it is Foolish–visit the Town? Why exactly did he gift a bunch of statues that drove Jack and Shrimpy to madness and murder? Why are there cats in the walls?

(Well, cats are very significant to Egyptian culture, even to a cult-like status, but that’s for another post.)

There are a few possibilities.

What exactly were the effects that Foolish had on the Town?

(Here’s the farfetched theories part lmao)

The simplest (and let’s be honest, the most likely) theory is that the statues probably had way too much power that caused people to become overprotective over them. Foolish just didn’t realize and wanted to give some nice gifts, but the statues drove Jack and Bob to insanity after being exposed to them for way too long. So they killed everyone.

However, considering certain factors, there is another possibility, specifically surrounding:

The “non-canon” round.

Did Karl say that it was a practice round and thus not canon? Yes. Am I suggesting it’s canon anyway for the sake of this theory that probably won’t be true? Also yes.

Besides, Karl probably also didn’t plan for TVTWM to be influential to the storyline, but because of it his character’s now a time traveler and Ponk is pulling out more lore so.

I think Foolish came by and gifted the statues, the first round did happen, and he brought them back to life after the first game. But the resurrection affected Jack and Bob, driving them to madness à la gothic horror lit character that just saw something they weren’t supposed to. Perhaps their attitude became cult-like, praising Foolish, thus the overprotectiveness over the statues as they were connected to the god, or they were of the opinion that “Hey no, everyone’s supposed to be dead,” and then sought to make that true once again.

“But then what about the first round, where everyone also died?” You may scoff at the ridiculous theory, poking my chest accusingly. “Why were the killers different?”

Well, I have a simple answer for that.

Egg.

“What, the egg again-“ I know, I know, it may seem tiring tying everything back to the egg, but hear me out.

In another one of Ponk’s streams, “Dreams of potatos?”, at 58:15 (correct me if wrong) Ponk had a dream where Mayor Jimmy was saying disjointed sentences to Jack, scolding him, telling him to stay away from Helga, and also something about burning Miles Memeington being burned at the stake for being a witch (????). At the end of it, Jimmy turned to the camera.

And his eyes were red.

Which, of course, is a telltale sign of being infected by the egg.

The egg being the main plot right now, seeing as it can easily be connected to the “Red-Eyed Village Wars”, and the fact that it is known to control people to murder, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to point to it as being the cause.

It also helps that Jimmy was only a character from the first round; in the “canon” round, Bad had changed his character to some sort of constable or something.

So the egg may have controlled Jimmy and Cornelius, the murderers in the first round, to kill everyone, Foolish then came along, resurrected everyone murdered in the first round, gotten rid of the egg’s influence, and then left. Then whatever effects the statues had on Jack and Bob took affect.

Alternatively, the statues may have been the ones to resurrect the dead, or have been given as protection from any threats, but became haywire for one reason or another. They influenced Jack and Bob to protect the statues at any cost, and they took it too far. Which may seem a little hypocritical as the egg literally does the same thing, but fire fights fire and all that.

And, just like with Karl, if Foolish has had to deal with the egg before, it makes sense why he’s so averse to it now.

Current lore

Now, how does this tie into the current storyline?


Aside from the egg, if resurrection and items do affect one’s psyche, then maybe that’s the same reason why Schlatt and even Dream–the only other two who know how to resurrect–acted the way they did, becoming apathetic to the wellbeing of other people.

Also, it is worth noting that in the basement where Ponk found the journal, there were 21 villagers in boats, the same amount as the statues. Thus Ponk concluded that they are the statues. And Foolish does have an affinity for villagers, if King Toad is any indication. This implies that Foolish can not only bring dead people back to life, but can also grant life to objects that never lived in the first place. Or, they were once living, but had their life taken away from them before getting it back for one reason or another. If Foolish really has this much power, it could be foreshadowing for future events where those powers will be utilized.

About the bloodvines, if Foolish has defeated them before, there’s a chance he may do it again. Unless something goes wrong and he accidentally drives a few people to madness.

(or maybe they were predisposed to madness, who knows-)

TL;DR

Foolish may have interacted with Not A Very Good Town Town before to save them from the egg and resurrect the dead, driving Jack and Bob to insanity as a consequence. Thus he could have a lot of power and will be the one to potentially defeat the egg once again.

[higherpich]

Bedrock bros AU where Technoblade is a pirate who finds Tommy, a boy who has been cursed to stay a merman for the rest of his life.

Techno is a pirate with no interest in materialistic things such as gold or jewels. The joy of being a pirate comes from the tranquility he feels as he travels the seven seas with his friends— though others would call them a crew. It comes from the surge of adrenaline that rushes through his veins whenever an enemy ship tries to attack theirs (because if they can take down the great “Technoblade,” they’d be recognized as the strongest pirates in all the seas) though of course, Techno and his crew always win whatever fight they’re involuntarily thrown in.

The joy, however, does not come from the constant annoyance of Techno’s first mate, Wilbur, who’s always trying to get Techno to focus on the money and fame instead of the adventure, though it’s all in good fun as he knows his first mate would never cross a certain line.

One day, Techno finds a scroll in a crate that a shopkeeper gave him. He decided to stop by an island known for its good deals for travelers to stock up on some essentials; food, water, and some parchment (Wilbur uses up most of it to send letters to Sally, his lover.) Yet when he checks the crate he was given, he fins a rolled scroll, clearly been written on with ink and tied neatly with a ribbon. Techno knows this wasn’t anything he paid for, but when he looks up to give the scroll back, the shopkeeper is gone— he even checks the back but it just seems as if they’d disappeared.

Techno shrugs and keeps it, if it was important then they wouldn’t have put it there. Wilbur finds it after Techno gets back, the captain not bothering— or perhaps forgetting— to check what was on it at all. It turns out to be a treasure map, a dotted line stretches all over the paper from the island they stopped at to a big, red “X” in the ocean.

After a lot of non-stop begging from his first mate, Techno eventually lets up. He allows Wilbur to steer the ship to wherever the map takes them, wanting nothing to do with the, what he originally thought was, useless trip. If Wilbur wanted adventure, Techno could’ve given him one without a prize of money at the end. But alas, Techno decides to let Wilbur have his fun in the mean time.

When they get to their destination after a long and treacherous journey, they find a cave in the side of a small island, the water almost completely submerging it. The two go in together, leaving the rest of the crew on the ship with the promise of splitting all of it between them (Techno persisting that he doesn’t want any of the profit.) Yet what they find in the cave isn’t a chest overflowing with riches, but instead a merman. The flaming reds and oranges of his long tail compliments the golden, wet hair on top of his head. The red fins on the side of tail are transparent, allowing them to see bright and vividly blue water through them.

At first, everyone was stunned, none saying a word as the three of them stood with their mouths wide open. Techno and Wilbur, in all of their years of traversing the wide and open seas, have never in their lives met a real life mermaid— or rather a merman. Many pirates seem to think they don’t exist and that the ones who do preach about their true existence are making it up for fame and attention. The merman, on the other hand, has not seen a single soul in years, even the aquatic life of the ocean surrounding his average sized cave avoid it like the plague. Safe to say, he was pretty surprised when they two men came in on a small boat that contrasts their pirate outfits.

Even though he was equally as stunned, the merman was the one who spoke first.

“Who the hell are you?”

Techno thinks that he’s found a treasure worth looking for.

After a small argument— one that Techno personally found amusing, while as Wilbur’s face turned the slightest bit red from annoyance (Techno joked that Wilbur now knows how he feels)— the two pirates eventually get to learn the merman’s name: Tommy. Techno thinks it fits him quite well.

In exchange for his name, the two pirates also introduce themselves and explain how they got there in the first place, Wilbur reluctantly pulling out the map and showing it. Tommy tells them he has no idea who gave them that map and why. He explains that no one has been around here in years, which is quite unusual since this island and, by extension, cave aren’t exactly hidden.

Tommy also tells them that he himself hasn’t left this cave in years, admitting that the only reason he hasn’t stepped foot— or rather fin— outside of it is because of a curse that was cast upon him when he was a younger boy. This, in turn, sparks the question of how old he is now, to which Tommy hesitantly mumbles “…sixteen,” while looking away, embarrassed by his young age.

Neither of the men try to hide their laughter and it’s apparent. Tommy yells something about them being dicks and whatnot before Techno cuts him off.

“You call yourself a merman? You aren’t even a man,” he laughs.

“We might as well call you a guppy,” Wilbur follows up, their teasing making Tommy’s face turn redder. Whether it’s from embarrassment or anger, they don’t quite know.

In the short time that the three of them have talked, Tommy had quickly grown onto both of the pirates. To Wilbur’s surprise, Techno promises the merman that he’ll find a way to break the curse and give Tommy his legs back— on one condition. Once Tommy is back as a human, he’ll become part of Techno’s crew. As much as Techno had pissed him off, Tommy still takes the deal. Of course, it’s only so he can get his legs back and leave this wretched cave, no other reason at all.

It’s not as if Tommy used to hear stories about the one and only “Technoblade,” when he was younger, and it’s definitely not because he would wish he could become as cool as the world renowned pirate when he grows up.

Techno and Wilbur start their trek to where a powerful sorcerer name Philza resides. It’s rumored that he can do anything and everything for a certain price. That price is something that Techno does not know yet, but he’s not sure it matters.

Techno knows he would pay a fortune to break the curse on Tommy, for the only gold he’s ever wanted sat in curls atop the boys head, and the only gems he’s ever seen shine so bright are Tommy’s diamond blue eyes. Techno knows that both him and Wilbur would go through hell and back to have this boy they just met on their crew.

Besides, he promised Tommy that he’ll get the kid his legs back, and Technoblade does not break his promises.

[ceruleanchillin]

Honeymoon Headcanons: Mayans Edition

Characters: Angel, Coco, EZ x F!Reader

Miami (Angel)

It wasn’t difficult at all to decide where the two of you would take your honeymoon. When you weren’t gonna be naked, Angel wanted you in sundresses and bikinis. You wanted him in linen shirts, and to feel him up in a club. Couple that with you both wanting a tropical environment, and Miami it is.

Angel letting you handle the accommodations, because you seem to know more about what you wanna see/where you wanna go than he does. He only cares about a bed and shower for when he’s not taking you in the inappropriate places. He just hands over the cash, though he complains about his hurt wallet.

Angel hard as a rock when he sees your new name on your plane ticket.

The two of you nearly missing your flight because your husband needs to “show his wife he loves her”.

You babying him on the flight, because Angel has never flown anywhere before.

“Mami, it’s perfectly valid to feel like a flying toaster can’t safely get you anywhere but a casket. Which they can’t even put you in, because you’ll be everywhere!”

Cue you distracting him with kisses and dirty words in his ear, which gets you initiated into the Mile High Club

Barely making it into the cute little condo before the two of you are at it again, collapsing in the late hours to jet lag and mutual satisfaction.

Your first official day is spent dragging Angel around the humid streets. Knowing he stresses easily if you plan things too tightly, and wanting to wing it yourself. It’s surprising how well you to fit in, it almost feels like home.

Angel switching from being jealous, because your tiny cotton sundress is attracting more than just his attention, to him kissing all over your dewy skin because so much of it is visible.

You getting as jealous as Angel, because it seems like each place you drag him to has openly interested ladies. It’s the white linen shirt that he won’t fully button no matter how many times you try to make him.

Angel basking in the attention, and even playing it up to force you to be the one to initiate inappropriate public sex.

Smirking when you break after a woman pays for his (and unintentionally yours) order at a small cafe you stepped into and you snap and drag him to a hidden place.

“I only love you querida, mi alma.” he whispers in your ear when he bottoms out inside you.

You two are a beautiful couple. Photogenic as all hell. Alone, neither of you have a problem attracting interest, but together, you make people want to be seen around you. That’s why you have no problem club hopping to all the exclusive places.

Angel taking photos and videos of you dancing because he’s so enthralled. He can’t wait to show your kids one day when they ask why he fell for you, and he explains how full of life you are.

Getting enough liquor in Angel to get him dance somewhere away from the club, especially since he (lies) and says he can’t.

You and Angel competing to see who can get the most people to buy your drinks + the two of you losing track because you both get drunk.

A quickie in the coatroom is the prize, Angel fucking you to the hypnotic beat.

Spending a few hours apart the following day, only to still keep texting and FaceTiming each other until you met up, touch starved, at a small restaurant.

Deciding to spend the rest of the day at your Airbnb laid up under each other after Angel scores weed. Teasing Angel about his monetary complaints when you spend all night enjoying the small backyard pool.

Angel thanking God for getting an adventure loving woman as his soulmate when you wake him up the next afternoon to inform him you rented jet skis for the day.

You being impressed when, while jet skiing, Angel silver tongues your way into an invitation to a nearby yacht party out of the host.

FaceTiming Gilly to make him jealous that you two are doing Hookah and drinking Casamigos in a hot tub.

Angel ramping up the mockery when EZ and Coco appear on screen, attracted by Gilly’s whining. Everyone looking overworked and salty, while you and Angel are living your best non-sober lives.

Slipping away from the party to one of the rooms on the boat, because once again, you and Angel never know when to stop teasing each other before it ends up in sex.

Feeling bold enough to suggest that since Angel’s been documenting so much of the trip, that maybe he should film this too.

The aftermath being a surprisingly sweet series of kisses and confessions where the two of you express how thankful you are to have found each other. How you can’t wait to build a forever together.

Marfa + Roswell (Coco)

No one knew how you got Coco to agree to travel for your honeymoon until you finally revealed where you were going. Splitting a week between Marfa and Roswell.

You and Coco are that “weird” conspiracy, incense, and weed couple, so it makes sense.

Giving Coco an edible before you leave, because like Angel, he doesn’t fuck with air travel like that.

“They got me with that bullshit in the military, but that was out of my control. You askin’ a lot right now, you’re lucky you’re cute mujer.”

Coco getting progressively handsy during the flight as the edible hits. Eventually, you stop fake-fighting his neck kisses and forward touches.

Also like Angel in that he’s unafraid to become a member of the Mile High Club.

The ride from the El Paso airport, to the car rental place, to Marfa takes far longer than Coco would like.

He’s used to long stretches of trip on his bike, and when you notice him becoming antsy, you distract him with interesting facts about Marfa.

The entire time, Coco can’t help but think that you’re the perfect road trip co-pilot, only to realize he actually meant his life in general now.

Coco proud as hell when you fall in love with his accommodations choice like he did. The colorful airstream trailers of the El Cosmico hotel are the two of you through and through.

You both trying to be responsible adults and refresh after travel, but continuing to get lost in each other during the whole process.

Shower sex -> Making out while drying off -> Touching while searching through your bags for something to wear -> bed sex -> repeat

Looking thoroughly mauled when you finally manage to get Coco off of you and into the car in search of food the next afternoon.

Coco being happy you can’t cover up due to the heat, while you wonder what superpower he and his boys have that let them wear flannel and long sleeves in the heat.

Dragging Coco to a cute cafe you saw on instagram, and him knowing, by the hipster design of it, that his wallet is about to cry.

Stealing food from his plate, and laughing at him sucking his teeth and whining when he catches you.

“You’re stuck with me forever now Johnny sooo….get used to this.”

“Small price to pay for that I guess.”

Finding small shops to go to and being Siamese twins in every one. Coco showing he has good taste in a lot of things one might think he wouldn’t. Him opening up his wallet at everything you 'ooh' and 'aww' at. He can’t help it, he likes you happy, and your kisses and adoring looks are addicting.

For almost everything you get, Letty gets something too. Neither of you wants that tantrum when you get back.

You fighting yourself to avoid the art supply store, and Coco not having it.

“I have so many supplies already, it’s an addiction at this point.”

“So? Get some more. It’s our week, we shouldn’t stress about shit.”

Coco bragging on your talents and successes to the art shop cashier when you checkout.

“Cocoooo.” you murmur hiding your face in his shoulder, arms around his waist.

“Don’t be shy ma, you’re fucking amazing. I love your skills.”

Cue the cashier swooning at the two of you.

Finding unique liquor stores and getting tipsy on samples. It becomes twice as fun when locals, and other tourists alike, start discussing the Marfa lights with you, and you and Coco impress everyone with your ideas.

Being invited to a bonfire smoke session with the other El Cosmico guests when you get back.

Sketching Coco by the firelight, because he’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in that moment, and now he’s officially yours.

The sex being on another level of intimate that night, because all day you and Coco have been engaging in your respective love languages, and it culminates in mutual need for each other.

The drive to Roswell being more tolerable for Coco, but he still misses his bike. Your excitement about AlienFest is so palpable however, he quickly forgets.

Your hotel being more conventional, but the people you meet making up for it. Finally, you and Coco aren’t the weirdest ones in the room.

Taking the time before the festival starts to check in with friends and family and accumulate odd souvenirs for them. You believe Coco is intentionally getting them stuff they’ll hate.

“Taza won’t wear that baby, he has better taste in jewelry than UFO earrings.”

“Ok, but can he bitch about us not getting him anything? Plus, you can guilt anyone into anything.”

Doing cute edible pastries at the festival.

“You know Aliens are demons right? Jack Parsons and L. Ron Hubbard were doing summoning rituals in the Mojave in 1946, and Roswell was the following year.”

“Word?…Shit. Tell me that again when we’re not rolling. I wanna read about it………you’re so smart mami.”

Coco realizing between every snack stop, every dance he shares with you, every trinket you pick up, and every little conspiracy tidbit you share, that you’re his wife now. That the peace he’s been feeling all week, that he thought he’d never have, is going to be his new normal.

New Orleans (EZ)

You and EZ both enjoy engaging with history and culture, and felt that your honeymoon should be built off of your shared interests. During your meticulous wedding planning, it was decided New Orleans would be the honeymoon destination. It didn’t hurt that you missed your southern roots too, even if you weren’t from New Orleans.

Traveling with EZ is a dream considering you’re both pretty organized, together people. He’s not afraid of flying, but you’re always a little nervous.

EZ being Best Husband™️ and soothing even the most minor of your stresses by turning your attention to the excitement of your trip and your new relationship status.

Teasing EZ in-flight won’t get you Mile High Club initiated, because he finds it much more entertaining to punish you by letting you work the both of you up, and making you stay that way for the duration of the flight. He’s got enough will power to suffer through it, because your soft whines make it worth it.

The airbnb is everything it was promised to be, and you’d appreciate that later, but all you can think of is your husband when you step through the door. That’s the other half of why EZ likes to leave you waiting. Your aggression and exclusive desire for him gets, and keeps, him hard.

It rains the following day, which is just as well, because neither of you are quite ready to stop physically expressing your love for each other. The day consists of ordering food, falling out of your clothes and onto each other, separating to read, falling back on each other, and quick naps.

Angel sending mocking texts in your Reyes group about how you’re trying to turn his brother bamma like you, only to stop when you threaten him with no souvenirs.

EZ and you taking responsibility for your own tour because let’s face it, you both know exactly what you want to see, and can plan a more satisfying tour for the both of you. You take turns deciding where to go next.

When it’s his turn, EZ picks an art museum, and can’t quit smiling about it. You think it’s because he picked a place he really wanted to go to.

“Babe, I have a surprise for you.”

“What?” your excitement always makes EZ’s heart race with his own.

He hands you the guide brochure he picked up at the door, folded to the section he wants you to look at.

“Faith Ringgold exhibit?!”

He hums and nods, grunting when you knock into him with a hug.

“Thank you for thinking of me. I love you.” you look up at him, eyes shining with unshed tears and he just kisses you, afraid he’ll cry if he says anything.

The two of you avoid the tourist trap spots for lunch and find a cute family owned cafe. You order for the both of you based on what you know about southern cuisine and both of your tastes.

You love watching EZ fall in love with the food as he keeps asking “Can you make this?” about everything he eats.

The two of you walking through the Garden District in the evening. Hands swinging between you with no plans but to admire the beautiful homes and foliage.

EZ noting how awestruck you are, and you describing what you love about the historic, towering homes.

He catches that when you describe what your dream home in the area would be, he and your future children are mentioned frequently, and it makes butterflies dance in his stomach. He can picture your family in the yards around him.

The two of you almost make it back to your Airbnb, but give into your baser urges after all the domestic conversation. EZ pulls you into an alley for a quickie, the two of you fighting to silence the other’s vocal expression.

You teasing EZ after that he’s more like his brother than he thinks. Him teasing back the two of you would’ve been caught and arrested if he was like Angel.

The following day is relaxed and less planned. The both of you getting thoughtful gifts for each member of your family, blood and otherwise. EZ scores major points for the gifts he suggests for your mom and dad, and you kind of want to jump him again.

EZ is glad you’re impressed, but it’s nothing to him. It all comes naturally because he loves you so much, and refuses to be anything other than the husband he knows you deserve.

AN:

I didn’t want to add this, cuz I wanted to end on a sweet note, but you just know Angel would accidentally send that vid to one of his boys.

Personally, I lose it for shit like this. Anything domestic in writings is my jam, so I decided to make these headcanons.

- Fun fact: Jet Ski is kind of like Bandaid in that it’s become the generic term for “personal water vehicles”, but it’s actually a specific brand’s name for their PWVs. I learned this while writing this enjoy💀.

[trulyinspiringmovies]

Lightyear

“Lightyear” is bland at best and misleading at worst.

Buzz Lightyear is a space ranger in Star Command and is exploring a potentially habitable planet with his commanding officer, Alisha Hawthorne. They’re attacked by hostile wildlife and are forced to try and escape. During the escape, Buzz damages the crystal that allows them to go into hyperspace, stranding everyone on the new planet. Buzz and Alisha must now test various forms of fuel to see if hyperspace travel is achievable, but every mission forces Buzz to jump forward in time by four years.

Remember when this movie tried to tell us that this was the movie that inspired Andy to want a Buzz Lightyear action figure? Well, that was a lie. I really trusted Disney/Pixar with this one, even when I shouldn’t have. When I saw the first trailer for this movie, I was underwhelmed. I thought the character designs looked ugly and the side characters felt uninspired. Still, I put my trust in the team working on this movie because I thought they earned enough goodwill to trust that they were saving all the good stuff for the actual movie. Now that I’ve watched the movie, I can say with high confidence that my trust was misplaced. I mean, if you go through my previous Disney/Pixar movie reviews, I don’t like half of their work. Maybe it’s because “Lightyear” was tied to the “Toy Story” franchise and I thought there was no way they were just going to phone it in for this one. Whatever the reason was, I have a lot to say about the things I didn’t like about this movie. For starters, as I mentioned, I don’t like the character designs. I think they look like those bad ‘realistic’ renders of beloved characters you find on Instagram. While everyone else looks like generic Disney/Pixar background characters, Buzz sticks out like a sore thumb because he looks so chunky. His head is so fat because the designers wanted him to look as close to the toy as possible. I know a lot of people liked Sox, and usually, I’m on the boat with fun animal companions in movies, but for whatever reason, Sox was boring to me. Everything it did in the movie never sold me on the idea that Sox was a robot cat. The voice work just felt like a bad impression of a robot without actually committing to how robots would say or act. Without the charm I come to expect from these animal companions, I saw Sox as just a toy commercial. Also, if that’s the case, then there’s no shot that Andy didn’t want a Sox toy as well. That’s another thing that pisses me off about this movie. This movie is so far removed from anything hinted about Buzz’s backstory and lore from the “Toy Story” movies that I have a hard time believing this was the actual movie Andy watched. It’s clear to me now that that was just an angle to get people more interested in the movie because they knew they had a boring movie on their hands. Another reason why it’s so hard to believe that this was a movie that Andy watched in 1995 is that it feels too contemporary. I mean, one of the main characters is openly gay. I mean, it’s not too big of a deal since saying the “Toy Story” universe was more progressive isn’t too much of a stretch. My problem with that is it’s symptomatic of the disinterest in making this movie feel like it was from the 90′s. I think it would’ve been such a blast from the past to make this movie feel like it was ripped straight from the 90′s. You could include contemporary elements like a diverse cast of characters and more LGBTQ+ representation without sacrificing the spirit of the 90′s. The cast of side characters was so diverse that it became an odd grouping. I would never think that these characters would interact in any scenario because they’re all so radically different. The only commonality was their incompetence and boy was it frustrating to watch. They actively sabotage the mission countless times and Buzz is too nice to say anything about it. They are mediocre and are never taught that they have to step up and stop making mistakes, especially when the fate of their people depends on it. Finally, I want to talk about the reveal of the movie. It was garbage. The team working on this movie really thought they had something special on their hands. They didn’t want to make Zurg Buzz’s father because that would’ve been too obvious, so they made him his older self because that’s basically the same thing, right? I’m usually quiet to try and be respectful to the other moviegoers in my theater, but I audibly signed in frustration when this was revealed. Nothing in this movie hit for me. It doesn’t feel like the Buzz Lightyear we’ve come to know. There are rarely any intelligent alien lifeforms Buzz gets to talk to. The galaxy seems too self-contained. The lore feels wrong. At this point, just leave the “Toy Story” franchise alone. They already tainted the property with an unnecessary sequel and spin-off. It’s clearly not working anymore. There’s still time to just pretend like “Toy Story” has always been a trilogy and nothing more.

★★

Watched on July 15th, 2022