#this is why one has varied ways to run dogs in harness

[darkwood-sleddog]

me: FINALLY there is enough snow to go sleddding!!

my dog car: ohoho. ohoho. oh no you don't.

me: rigging on the road it is then....

[undead-potatoes]

I don't recall seeing it (if you've already addressed it whoops), how did Jay come to be a druid?

I've mentioned lil bits here and there, but I don't think I've typed it up in any coherent way before so thanks for the excuse B)

TL;DR: He always had an innate connection to nature, especially animals, which manifested itself in the form of being able to speak to animals and use simple wild shapes as a pre-teen. He was then taught how to harness more advanced druidic abilities by actual druids, first by a spore druid living in Baldur's Gate, and later by druids in a circle somewhere outside of the city.

I'm basing most of this on the fact that 1) Forest Gnomes have "Speak with (small) Animals" as a racial trait, and 2) how much of a druid's skill comes from simply studying and emulating nature - they're as much felt and intuited as they are taught.

Jay has always been very attuned to the animal life around him, being able to communicate with them for as long as he can remember. Strays, rodents, and birds were as much friends to him as the other humanoid kids, and it really shaped how he interacts with the world.

As a child he'd study the various animals to see how they moved, and then try to emulate that when he was playing and pretending to be those animals. You know, normal kid stuff. Which is why it took him by surprise when he suddenly stood there one day, having turned into an actual cat. It was more an accident than anything else, almost how sorcerer kids can have sudden and unpredictable surges of magic, where he connected with something more primal for just a moment.

It took him years before he could do it again, and even longer before he could consistently wild shape on command, but he got there eventually. He also tried his hand at other city animals like stray dogs and rats to varying degrees of success, but his cat form was always the one that felt the most "true" to him.

This was another thing that fundamentally shaped him and how he moves, the wild shape being a natural extension of his own humanoid form. As he got older, changing and morphing into other forms became almost as easy as breathing to him, something he barely even offered a conscious thought as he did it.

For years that's all it was, using his minor skills to play, travel around the city, and commit minor crimes like stealing food and trinkets. Nothing throws the Flaming Fists off quite like running into an alley and disappearing into thin air, leaving only an inconspicuous-looking cat behind.

He would eventually bump into Nana, an older spore druid who lived in and oversaw her own little corner of the Baldur's Gate sewers. She took him under her wing, and taught him some of the fundamentals of druidism, both in the form of the most basic skills, but also as an ideology. It's from her he learned to have deep respect for all forms of life, even the ugly and uncomfortable, and how death and decay are mere extensions of life itself.

Nana soon realized Jay's talents laid outside the realms of her own capabilities, and used her connections to druids outside of the Gate to send Jay away to a circle where he could really hone his wild shape abilities. He spent a few years at the circle learning a wider variety of skills, in addition to how to better control his shapeshifting.

He really could just have stayed there and become a permanent fixture at the circle among the other druids, which probably would have been a better life for him overall. But he longed back to the city, and so he returned to Baldur's Gate where he quickly fell back into a life of crime, just with a more advanced set of tools at his disposal.

I imagine he'd been about 14 or 15 when he left for the circle, and somewhere in his late teens when he came back; the perfect age to be genuinely useful, yet easily influenced and manipulated by people seeking to take advantage of him and his abilities.

[twilightofthe]

Anakin Skywalker Has ADHD.  Here’s Why:

I’ve noticed during my time as a neurodivergent person in the Star Wars community that Anakin, a favorite character of mine, displays a lot of neurodivergent traits.  Other people have noticed this too; in particular, @bpdanakins has made a really in depth and detailed post explaining how Anakin having BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) makes a whole lotta sense.  I’ve got ADHD, so this post is gonna be about how I as an ADHD individual see Anakin Skywalker as having ADHD too!!!

Note: Symptoms of ADHD include inability to focus and disorganization.  I have ADHD.  This post is gonna be a wee bit disorganized and I probs won’t be the best at citing a million sources cuz I do not have the mental focus to do that right now.  Thank ye.

So, what is ADHD? (Complicated.  The answer is complicated.) (If you don’t want the general ADHD lecture, just scroll down to where I start talking about Anakin particularly).

ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a neurological disorder that impairs the brain’s executive functions.  People with ADHD have trouble with impulse-control, focusing, and organization.  Basically, ADHD is a developmental weakness in how the brain manages itself.  I like to picture it like a filing cabinet.  Everyone else’s brain has a neatly sorted, labeled, and organized cabinet full of drawers that contain typical brain executive function commands.  ADHD people’s brains have a monkey in them that runs around screeching loudly, ripping labels off drawers, rearranging stuff, throwing the files everywhere, eating the papers and generally making a gigantic mess, so whatever you need to go to the drawers to look for something, it takes you ten times longer to find the mental command you need to do if it’s even still there-- and also the monkey is biting your leg the entire time.

People tend to say that this monkey infestation is a gift because sometimes, occasionally, the monkey will rearrange the papers in a different, special way that makes a beautiful picture that no one’s seen before and you can share it for the world to enjoy and everything’s great, you’re just quirky!  People tend to forget that it can be like that, but 90% of the time it’s more like the monkey has decided to take a massive shit all over the one specific paper you needed really badly and then put it in front of your foot so you step in it and don’t notice until people point out you’re tracking monkey shit paper everywhere.  Anyway.

ADHD is a complex condition and difficult to diagnose because it has so many different varying symptoms, and one person who has ADHD may experience none of the symptoms than another person who also has ADHD does and vice versa because there is a lot.  ADHD also tends to go unnoticed because it overlaps symptoms with a LOT of other mental illnesses an individual might have, so you might not even know you have ADHD if you’re also, say, autistic or bipolar, or again vice versa, because there’s a lot of “same hat” stuff going on there.  

ADHD also can have its own subcategories of mental illness that can also stand on their own, like ADHD-induced anxiety or ADHD-induced depression.  It can be really confusing to know everything going on in your head and put a label on it; for example for me, my doctors and I think I’ve got a separate anxiety disorder that works on its own that my ADHD makes worse, but that the depressive episodes I can suffer likely stem from my ADHD, and don’t need to be tackled individually or say that I have depression.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has previously identified three subtypes of ADHD:

Primarily Hyperactive-Impulsive type: Mainly have impulse control problems, tend to be impulsive, impatient, and interrupt others.  They fidget, hate sitting still/need to be in constant movement, tend to blurt out what’s on their mind or do what they feel like without thinking it through.  They’re constantly up with the thoughts in their head and have difficulty focusing on a single task unless they’re in hyperfocus mode (explaining more later)

Primarily Inattentive type:  Are easily distracted and forgetful.  Tend to be daydreamers who lose track of memories and personal items with regularity.

Primarily Combined type: Tend to display a mixture of both symptoms.  I was diagnosed as a child with the combined type but leaning more towards inattentive.

Anakin and Signs of ADHD:

SO.  For starters, I see Anakin as primarily combined type with heavy leanings toward hyperactive-impulsivity.  While this type is used to describe the stereotypical hyper little boy media tends to paint ADHD people as, adults can have it too and I see it a lot in Anakin.  ADHD magazine ADDitude gives examples of adults with h-i ADHD as people who find difficulty in waiting around for anything, interrupt others in conversation, make impulsive decisions, and have reckless driving skills.  Sound at all like someone we know?

Now Anakin absolutely checks all of the above boxes, but it’s way more than that, though.  I looked up Healthline’s basic signs and symptoms of Adult ADHD, and I am going to run down the list to show how basically all of them apply to Anakin Skywalker in one way or another.  Let’s begin!

Anakin and LACK OF FOCUS:  ADDitude suggests that saying ADHD people don’t have attention might be a bit misleading.  More accurately, ADHD people have tons of attention, we just can’t harness it in the right direction at the right time with any consistency.  In canon, it is made very clear to us very early on that Anakin has issues with some of the more spiritual aspects of Jedi training, like meditation, because he does not possess the focus necessary to concentrate.  We get other times when Anakin’s on missions with Obi Wan, where it is made clear Anakin has read the mission brief, but he hasn’t done a good job on it as he’s overlooked something.  He gets distracted while in diplomatic situations and Obi Wan needs to tell him to pay attention.  Palpatine is able to pull sketchy shit because he knows how to slip under Anakin’s radar while he’s not too focused on him.  Anakin isn’t always aware of his surroundings, seeing as how basically everyone who knows him knows about Padmé because he’s not good at being subtle; he’s not good at reading a room.  Canon has established that Anakin, while brilliant, has a very flighty attention span and unless it’s something that is deeply important to him or made glaringly obvious, his brain has a tendency to skip over it, and makes him less aware.

Anakin and HYPERFOCUS:  The flip side of ADHD focus issues.  While our brains don’t always want to pay attention to important rules or other peoples’ emotions or basically anything presented to us that we find boring in any shape or form, if we find something we like, we LATCH.  ON.  And we cannot stop concentrating on it, up until the point that we lose track of time and ignore others around us.  In canon, it is shown very easily what Anakin hyperfocuses on.  He’s described in several SW books and is shown in show and movies to completely go into a zone when in combat mode.  He’s good at it, he enjoys it, and saber skills is easily something that he can concentrate and get lost in.  Another obvious one is mechanics.  We see briefly in TCW and bits in the movies where when Anakin is fixing something or piloting something, he kind of drifts away from reality-- he’s got an ear on the situation if there’s danger of course, but he goes just solidly into Tech Mode where all he concentrates on is whatever he’s fixing/piloting at the moment, and that’s why he’s so skilled at what he does.  It’s also possible to hyperfocus on specific ideas or opinions, which you can see in basically every argument Anakin ever gets into with someone.  He’s like a dog with a bone on a topic he wants to discuss Right Now This Very Second and he will not let it go, nor will he allow you to either, because when we hyperfocus, our fixation can bleed into conversation until it takes control of the conversation, without us even knowing we’re doing it, so it can be surprising/embarrassing when someone points out we’re doing it. 

Anakin and DISORGANIZATION:  ADHD people basically struggle with organizational skills.  While we don’t see much of Anakin’s living spaces, we can see from the brief TCW snippets that his living quarters are a little cluttered.  However, he does run a relatively neat army-- though we don’t know how much of that has Rex, Ahsoka, Obi Wan, or someone else to thank for it.  In Anakin, most of the disorganization we see is in his mind.  Priorities can be an issue for ADHD people, and Anakin tends to prioritize the wrong thing at the wrong time at certain points.  He doesn’t always know what to say or how to say it, making him awkward and not very eloquent when speaking.

Anakin and TIME MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS: An issue that goes hand-in-hand with disorganization.  We have trouble using time effectively.  We procrastinate on things we don’t want to do, show up late, ignore things we consider boring, and the idea of the future or the past is overwhelming and or scary to us and can cause panic-- we need to focus on the now and the now alone because if we try to cross that bridge before we get to it, we might end up burning it.  All throughout TCW, we get Obi Wan in particular, but others as well, harping on Anakin for showing up late.  And, uh, he kinda does.  He makes it, he always does, but it’s always at the last minute just when everyone’s worried he’s not gonna show up.  He sometimes doesn’t go to important meetings.  He puts off paperwork.  Lots of people use all of this to make fun of him, be like “ah, he’s a bad Jedi, he’s lazy”, but like, that’s standard ADHD time management issues.  And fear of the future?  Hoo boy...  Anakin may handle his fears of the future in the literal worst way possible, but that overwhelming anxiety that everything’s rushing at you so fast and holy shit, you don’t have your shit together NOW, what the hell are you gonna do THEN, holy shit holy shit everyone’s gonna DIE PANIC PANIC DANGER PANIC--  Like, I get that.  I really do.  Fear of the future and inability to manage time overlap a lot.

Anakin and FORGETFULNESS:  ADHD have a tendency to forget important stuff, but here is where I remind y’all that not all ADHD people experience all the same symptoms, because Anakin actually has a really damn good memory.  Boy is sharp, he recalls really obscure stuff, and if you piss him off/do him a favor, he’s remembering that to his deathbed. Anakin, however, does display what is common in ADHD people, having a selective memory.  This goes hand in hand with our attention issues.  We remember what we focused on and that sticks in our mind: hopes, fears, interests, stuff like that.  Anything else?  Eh, if we didn’t notice it then, we’re not noticing it five years from then, or even five minutes from then.  That you can see in Anakin, where people like Ahsoka and Obi Wan have to teasingly remind him of important stuff that he tends to just shrug off like “oh yeah that thing that I didn’t care about then and don’t really care about now”, or he feels guilty cuz “oops I didn’t notice it then so now I’m lost”

Anakin and IMPULSIVITY: Aight y’all, this probably requires the least amount of explanation for Anakin Skywalker cuz the Star Wars narrative calls him impulsive like every ten seconds xD  ADHD people with impulsivity can be socially inappropriate (Anakin, always managing to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, king of escalating tense situations because he blurts out whatever he feels like), interrupt others (something Padmé and Ahsoka have both canonically called him on doing, he does it to plenty of others as well, Vader does it all the damn time by just force-choking people silent), rushing through tasks (”Oh Anakin, always on the move”.  He does not wait, he makes up plans as he goes, he’s constantly in motion), ACTING WITHOUT MUCH CONSIDERATION TO THE CONSEQUENCES (Examples: The entirety of Star Wars episodes 1-6, Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Anakin and EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS: Alright, maybe THIS is the one that requires the least amount of explanation, haha.  ADHD peoples’ emotions seem constantly in flux.  We get bored easily and need constant entertainment. (Anakin running off doing crazy stuff seemingly for fun)  Small frustrations always feel like the end of the world because it takes over our entire brain. (Anakin being “overdramatic/overreacting”)  The slightest sense of rejection or negativity towards our ideas or anything we do can read as total hatred (this is called Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, it SUCKS) so we’re oversensitive about criticism of basically anything.  RSD also means we’re paranoid that we’re not noticing other people’s emotions, so we always tend to worry everyone else hates us or our friends are going to leave us-- we have serious abandonment issues. (Basically all of Anakin worrying about the Jedi’s image of him, worrying about Padmé and Obi Wan loving him, freaking out over Ahsoka leaving, etc.)  Our mind is focusing on a million things at once so our emotions run super quickly, causing what looks like mood swings because in the time it takes someone to get surprised, we’ve already gone through surprise, confusion, realization, betrayal, fury, and sadness and are now “randomly” crying in front of you (Anakin and his mood swings).  Focus issues make us not realize that something we’re doing is upsetting/bothering someone unless they flat out say it, so we may seem mean/inconsiderate/careless (ok, not excusing that part of Anakin’s personality is that he’s just kind of a dick lol, but other stuff that he does seems accidental; he doesn’t want to hurt anyone he loves).

Anakin and POOR SELF-IMAGE:  HOOOO BOY THIS IS GONNA BE FUN!  So adults with ADHD are often hypercritical of themselves, which can lead to a poor self-image.  I do this a lot, and I can’t really explain why, just that I am frustrated with myself and need validation from outside sources.  Anakin verbally expresses this to Padmé and Palpatine in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith especially with all his “I’m not the Jedi I’m supposed to be” bits, how he constantly puts pressure on himself in the novels to be “the very best, I have to be better than everyone, I SHOULD be”, the conflict with that Chosen One label and whether he believes it or not and the pressure he feels from others to fulfill it, to be the Hero With No Fear when he’s fucking terrified all the time.  He’s relentlessly hard on himself for his failures and is always looking for an insult in others’ words (Like if Obi Wan gives him gentle concrit, Anakin will subconsciously tear it apart to turn it into how Obi Wan has found an error with all of him and hates him and Anakin sucks). For all his pride in his abilities, Anakin really does not like himself, poor dear, and seeks outside validation in Padmé, Palpatine, and Obi Wan.

Anakin and LACK OF MOTIVATION: Also ties back to focus issues again, if we don’t like it, our brain won’t focus on it, and we can’t convince ourselves to do it.  We can see this in times where Anakin has to be gently (or not so gently) prodded by Obi Wan or Ahsoka or someone into doing some Jedi business Anakin considers annoying.

Anakin and RESTLESSNESS AND ANXIETY: It’s described as our “motor won’t shut off”.  We always need to keep moving and doing things, and we get frustrated when we can’t do something immediately.  There are also bodily tics with fidgeting or frequent hand movements.  We see this several times with Anakin during wartime, where he’s practically vibrating over having to play the long waiting game instead of rushing in and getting the job done immediately (See: on Naboo where Anakin is pacing a hole into the floor and Obi Wan is telling him to kindly chill pls).  Part of his issues in ROTS happen when he’s worked himself up into a frenzy over sitting not knowing what to do over what’s scaring him so he jumps the gun and goes with the first available (awful) option.  I don’t remember if this is Hayden or if this is me projecting, sorry, but I always feel that when I watch Hayden in the movies, he always portrays Anakin as vaguely squirmy/fidgety, not really ever sitting PERFECTLY still, like he’s always moving some body part, fiddling with something in his hands or on his clothes.  In TCW and the OT especially, we see how hand-wavey he is when he talks, especially when he’s pissed, then the Finger Wag Of Doom comes out, but his hands are ALWAYS in motion.

Anakin and FATIGUE: It’s as the word describes it, we feel tired.  All the craziness in our head is overwhelming and we just.  Feel.  Tired.  We don’t see this as clearly in Anakin because all the Jedi seem fatigued, they’re fighting a fucking hopeless war, but it’s definitely there.  He has sleeping problems with his dreams and nightmares that spawn from his anxiety that could easily be ADHD-induced; they’re there.

Anakin and HEALTH PROBLEMS: Long story short, it’s basically all your ADHD issues making you neglect to take care of yourself.  We see how Anakin has unhealthy coping mechanisms, neglects sleep, and throws himself into reckless, dangerous situations.  He does not take care of himself very well at all.

Anakin and RELATIONSHIP ISSUES:  Ruh roh...  Aight, so all of the symptoms above can very obviously prove to be hurdles in professional, romantic, or platonic situations.  We can see how all the above examples in Anakin have in one way or another caused an argument between himself and basically everyone he loves (Obi Wan, Padmé, Ahsoka), people he has to work with (the Jedi council, anyone he gets assigned to on a mission), and anyone else.  He’s not called a human disaster for no reason, his actions can make him rub people very much the wrong way, and being kind of lonely and awkward and with not many friends is unfortunately a common occurrence in the lives of ADHD people (It happened to me, and I would consider myself much more of a pleasant individual than Anakin (no offense, hon), other people who met me just thought I was “strange” and that was that).

WHEW.  So yes, all of the above state my reasons why I think Anakin Skywalker has ADHD (as well as anxiety, but that’s another post).  Please remember once more that these are MY EXPERIENCES AS AN INDIVIDUAL WITH ADHD and that once again, NOT ALL ADHD PEOPLE SHARE THE SAME EXPERIENCES/SYMPTOMS

I will give the two articles I bothered fact-checking with below, the one from Healthline and from ADDitude

If y’all wanna talk more about ADHD!Anakin or any other ADHD Star Wars characters or just neurodivergent Star Wars character headcanons with me, my inbox and DM’s are always open, I love talking about this!!!!!!!!!

[twbracher-blog]

Why Do You Need Dog Harnesses While Running?

Dog, without any doubt, is one of the man’s best friend. There are countless dog owners who care for the pet as their own family member. But sometime the dogs may upset you when they pull you while going for running or walking. This can lead to the danger for both of them. Dog leads will be comfortable when you take the dog for a walk. But while running your dog sometimes will pull you when the collar has more possibility of injuring the delicate neck. As a dog owner, there must be no compromise in his safety, hence you can choose the dog harnesses which is one of the comfortable and easy ways to control them.

For the trained pets, dog harness will be the perfect choice since they will be used to it. There are a variety of reasons which explains why you need a harness. Especially when you have big dogs then it will help you get a smooth running along with your dog. Also, the harness is the easy way through which you can grab your dog when you are trying to lift them especially when they are old or ill. Once you have decided to get a harness for your dog, then it is important to find the right size for your dog so that it will fit perfectly with the size of the dog.

What kind of dog harnesses you need for your pet?

Pets are usually our friends and our stress-relievers. They make our days happy with their funny activities. Thus it is our responsibility to take care of them well. They need good nutrition and other accessories like dog leads. But importantly you need to buy a dog harness. Once you have decided to buy the dog harnesses, the next thing you have to do is to find the right size for your pet. Unlike dog leads, harness cant be bought right away since it needs some measurements to be known.

While choosing the dog harness you must keep into consideration the size of its chest, neck and weight. This will you choose the perfect harness for your dog. Also, these harnesses are found in different materials. The leather one is the right choice since it will last for a longer period of time and also provides good control over the pet. But the price of the dog harness will vary from its material and size. You can find the harness in the local store or online stores but you can buy it where you can find the product at high-quality.

There are few signs which indicate that the harness is of a poor fit are losing fur around the harness, dog wiggling free, back piece of harness rotating, chafing around the harness area and dog strongly resisting to come for a walk. Thus, for better safety and control of your pet, it is better to choose the right dog harnesses for them and then go for running with them.

[eviesmyspiritanimal]

Genevieve Labrador Chapter 4

Summary: Evie and Mal are looking for Mal’s spell book that Celia has stolen again when a certain mishap occurs… A hairy mishap that Mal and Evie very unfortunately have to deal with. Bal, Huma, Jaudrey, Jarlos, and Core Four feels with a special emphasis on Evie and Mal’s sisterly/best friend relationship.

  “I cannot believe that we’re seriously doing this. I am not somebody’s pet!” Evie indignantly announced to the two girls as they headed into the pet store, Evie close beside Mal. Uma just groaned loudly, throwing her head back in pure frustration as she listened to Evie’s whine for what felt like the thousandth time.

  “You’re Mal’s pet. Now shut up before people start staring!” Uma commanded, and Evie closed her mouth, throwing Uma a nasty look.

  “I really hope we don’t run into any cops, because I’m pretty sure there’s a leash law,” Mal nervously expressed, and Evie pressed her nose against Mal’s knee gently in an expression of reassurance.

  “What? You didn’t use that remembering spell on all of the laws of Auradon like you used it on the spells in your very much illegal book?”

  Mal just stared at Uma, glaring at the other girl with her eyes narrowed as she resisted the overwhelming urge to growl under her breath.

  They entered the pet store, Mal holding the door open for Evie as they went in. The place was sleek and crisp in its modernity, and Mal couldn’t help but admire the setup. There were several people around with dogs of all shapes and sizes, all inspecting the varying pet products. There was a grooming area on the nearest corner to the door, and Mal’s eyes widened as she spotted an employee shaving a dog.

  Apparently, Uma must have spotted the same part of the store as Mal had, and her entire face lit up in an enormous grin as she moved her gaze down to Evie.

  “You feel like a little trim today?” Uma suggested nonchalantly, and Evie’s eyes were wide and her jaw was dropped in the midst of her pure horror at the very idea of looking anywhere near the way that the poodle not too far from them was looking as the woman shaved the fur around her hips.

  “Okay, Uma, I think you’ve successfully traumatized her,” Mal cut in, trying to guide Evie along as she reached down and pulled at Evie’s shoulder. Evie finally spurred herself into motion as she absentmindedly walked with them, her gaze still locked upon the poor victim of a dog that was getting clipped.

  They approached the boy nearby that was stocking the shelves, his back to them, and Mal cleared her throat, getting his attention. The boy turned to face them and Evie almost found herself drooling at the very sight of him.

  It was Leo, the very handsome, very well-muscled son of Hercules, and also known as the boy that could make any girl swoon with just a slight flash of those perfect teeth. Those gorgeous violet eyes and that thick, brown hair made Evie a little weak in the knees despite herself.

  “Hi,” Mal greeted, completely unfazed by his obvious charms.

  “Hey! What brings the Queen to my part of town?” he flirted nonchalantly, and Mal felt Evie leaning hard against her leg in what was almost a faint as her tail wagged ridiculously hard. Uma angled her head toward Mal a bit, her mouth nearby the purple-haired girl’s ear.

  “I’m beginning to rethink the whole Harry Hook package,” Uma mumbled to Mal, unashamedly looking Leo up and down as she regarded him. Mal rolled her eyes, knowing that Uma wasn’t serious and was quite possibly the most loyal person in that she would never desert Harry or any of her friends. Mal knew Uma was just enjoying looking at the boy. Even Mal could see that he was incredibly good-looking.

  “Well, we are looking for several things. We need a leash and a harness. We also need to talk to an employee here. She’s an older lady?” Mal requested, hoping that Leo would have at least a bit of an idea of where things were.

  He blinked at her, and he looked down at the box nearby him before he smiled.

  “Here’s a leash and a harness, but if you want more variety, check Aisle Six over there,” Leo pointed in a vague direction somewhere on the far-left corner of the store. Mal nodded slowly as she observed the leash and collar. It was a startling shade of bright pink, which Mal knew Evie wouldn’t go for. If she was going to have to be dressed in dog-wear, then she would want her apparel in her colors.

  “And the old lady that you’re talking about is Heather, and she’s off today,” Leo informed them, his hands in his pockets as Mal took that in with some disappointment.

  “Oh, well,” Mal started to turn away so that they could head toward the aisle he had mentioned, but it quickly occurred to her that she could see if he could give her any information.

  “Hey, do you know about dog-friendly human food recipes?” Mal tried. Leo shrugged his shoulders with a crooked smile. If it was at all possible, Evie’s tail wagged even harder at the sight of his grin.

  “I don’t know much about that, I’m afraid,” Leo informed her, and Mal nodded, resigning to text Carlos about his recipes before they informed Harry and Gil about what to get.

  “Well, thank you anyway. I guess we’ll head over there and see what we can find,” Mal informed, moving away with Evie close beside her.

  “No problem! Make sure you get that dog on a leash, though. It’s a fine one, and you wouldn’t want anything to happen to it,” Leo suggested before turning back to his work.

  As soon as they were out of earshot and eyeshot, Evie let out a dreamy sigh before dropping to the tiled floor.

  “Evie? What are you doing?” Mal questioned, and Evie just smiled dopily up at her.

  “He said I looked fine,” Evie explained, her eyes practically sparkling. Mal just rolled her eyes and reached down, trying to drag Evie up.

  “That’s just it. ‘Fine.’ Not good looking or anything,” Uma piped up, but Evie was too absorbed in her own infatuation to consider Uma’s comment.

  “C’mon. I think you got a bad case of puppy love,” Mal informed her and Evie hesitantly stood up to walk with her, her tail still moving in that ever-present wag that it had been having since she spotted the boy.

  The three entered Aisle Six, their eyes wide as they gaped at all of the dog accessories. Evie grinned widely at all of it, completely dazzled by the amount of possibilities.

  “Look at all the stuff,” Evie spoke, her voice conveying just how amazed she was feeling.

  “I want this!” Evie quickly cried, hurrying over and sticking her nose to a red harness with decorative spikes as her tail wagged furiously. Mal strolled over and took it off the hanger easily, smiling at her best friend’s enthusiasm.

  Evie then bounded over to the leashes, marveling at them for a moment before she grabbed a matching leash between her teeth and tugged it down to her level. However, she accidentally broke the hanger in the midst of her effort, and it went clattering down to the floor. Uma and Mal’s eyes widened as Evie stared at the hanger in shock.

  Uma then edged over and kicked the hanger underneath the shelves. Evie looked up at her strangely, and Uma shrugged.

  “Y’know, hide the evidence,” Uma chuckled nervously and backed away so that she was standing next to the faerie.

  Uma looked around carefully, checking for anybody that could have seen them knock it down.

  “We need a collar,” Uma suddenly announced, completely deadpan. Evie glanced up at her, shaken from her stupor as she attempted to find out what Uma was planning.

  “Why do we need a collar?” Mal asked, and Uma’s lips curved in a wicked grin. Evie’s tail drooped as she realized that Uma was surely about to suggest something positively humiliating.

  “Because look at that!” Uma pointed eagerly, and Mal followed her finger to see a dog tag dispensing machine. Evie’s ears laid back, and she looked at Mal desperately, hoping she’d save her.

  “M, now that’s just adding insult to injury,” Evie expressed and Mal looked down at the dog apologetically before heading over to the tag machine.

  “I’m sorry, Evie, but it really might not be such a bad idea to get some physical identification for you just in case.” Mal pressed a few buttons on the machine, getting ready to type Evie’s name and Mal’s phone number.

  Uma leaned against one side of the machine, watching Mal type before she smiled widely and glanced at Evie.

  “You know, we could put Mudball as your name and you couldn’t do a thing about it,” Uma mentioned, and Evie sat directly next to Mal, looking up at her best friend faithfully and knowing that she wouldn’t do anything like that to her.

  “You want the tag in gold, red, blue, pink, black, or green?” Mal questioned, moving her gaze to the dog resting at her feet.

  “Gold, please. It’ll match the leash and the harness we’ve already got,” Evie requested, and Mal tapped a button.

  “Okay… Type my phone number… And it should be ready,” Mal announced before swiping her credit card. After a few moments, the tag was dispensed, and Mal held up the shiny, heart-shaped gold tag.

  “Now, let’s get a collar,” Uma excitedly told her before hurrying back into the aisle. Mal furrowed her brow as she approached Uma from behind.

  “Why are you so excited about this?”

  “I don’t know. Something about the humiliation that comes with being an official pet with a tag and everything,” Uma explained herself, unable to keep her monstrous grin away. Evie came over and touched a red spiked collar with her nose.

  “This is the only collar I can agree to,” Evie begrudgingly spoke, and Mal took it. They then left toward the front of the store and approached the cashier. Once they paid for the items, Mal knelt down in front of Evie, and clasped the collar around her neck. Evie touched her cold nose to Mal’s hand fondly and Mal smiled slightly before taking the harness.

  “Okay, E, help me out here, because this might be a little tricky,” Mal told her, and Evie nodded subtly. After all, there were people around, and they were trying to be at least a little surreptitious about Evie’s ability to speak.

  Mal held out the holes and Evie stepped in carefully. Mal then connected the harness together across her back before clipping the leash onto the harness. After that, Mal finally slid the tag onto the collar before standing up with a smile.

  “You look cute,” Mal complimented and Evie’s tail wagged happily at the praise. Mal then handed the leash to Uma carefully. Uma raised an eyebrow, confused at the sudden handover of responsibility for dealing with the dog.

  “I’ve got to use the bathroom. You hold onto her for a minute. I won’t be too long,” Mal assured her before leaving toward the restroom. Uma and Evie shared a glance before Uma started to look around the place as they waited. Her eyes skimmed over several rather uninteresting parts of the store until her gaze fell upon a certain booth toward the right.

  She scanned the name that was above the table and she smiled widely, starting over toward it as Evie followed along trustingly.

  However, when they got really close to the booth, Evie stopped, her paw-pads dug into the tile of the floor as she realized where they were going.

  “Uma, what are we doing?” Evie questioned, and Uma just tugged at the leash as she started trying to drag her.

  “We’re getting you microchipped,” Uma informed her as she pulled the dog across the slick floor. Evie started trying to scramble backward, but Uma’s strength coupled with her better grip on the floor left Evie on the losing end.

  “No way!”

  “Yes way. After all, Mal said that we should have physical identification just in case,” Uma wickedly spoke, and Evie started putting even more force into getting away.

  “No! I’m not a dog!” Evie cried, completely forgoing any sense of quietness as everyone started to turn and stare at the pirate captain that was currently dragging a talking dog across the store.

  “You look like a dog to me,” Uma expressed as she finally reached the table. She placed her elbow on it as she leaned hard, putting her weight into keeping a hold on the dog.

  “Okay, I want my friend’s dog microchipped.” Uma kept a tight hold on the leash as Evie continued trying her best to escape.

  “Mal!” Evie called loudly, trying to get her one and only chance at being saved to come.

  The people at the desk handed Uma a clipboard and she signed Mal’s information quickly onto the paper before the staff reviewed it.

  Uma couldn’t help but feel just a little bad, and despite her wicked enjoyment of the humor behind it all, Uma really did have Evie’s best interest at heart. Since that Leo boy suggested that something could happen to her, Uma had gotten a bad feeling in her gut about Evie and what could occur while she was a dog. Of course, Uma had to cover it up with a sick sense of humor in torturing Evie, but that really wasn’t her ultimate goal due to the fact that she actually was truly concerned and caring about Evie’s safety in this vulnerable state.

  However, before anything else could happen, Evie managed to pull the leash out of Uma’s hand with a mighty thrust, and she started running through the store, her feet slipping in her haste. Uma’s eyes widened and she took off after her like a madwoman.

  Evie rounded a corner, her leash catching on the shelf, and it started to lean with the pure force that she was exerting upon it. Uma stopped quickly, hurrying backward as the shelf slowly fell on another one, starting a domino effect.

  For a moment, Uma just stared, but she then quickly ran down the center of the aisles in a panic, terribly afraid that a shelf might fall on the dog.

  The shelves were moving fast, and Uma saw that Evie was about to go down an aisle that was about to be crushed by a shelf. Uma didn’t hesitate before hurrying through the aisle, nearly crashing into Evie as she grabbed the dog and slid out from under the shelf that was quickly falling.

  She safely made it to the other side, Evie huddled in her arms as they both gaped at the utterly enormous mess that had been made. Evie offered Uma a lick on the cheek as she shook fearfully.

  “What was that for?” Uma asked as she winced, wiping her face on the fabric covering her shoulder.

  “You really do care,” Evie beamed, her voice shaking with her joy and her pure fear. Uma rolled her eyes, patting Evie’s back firmly as she looked back at all of the pandemonium that had taken place behind them.

  “Don’t go sharing that or anything. ‘Kay?” Uma smiled slightly. However, her smile quickly disappeared upon spotting a vibrantly purple head of hair through the crowd.

  “What is going on?! EVIE?!” Mal yelled as she charged over, pushing through the people that had gathered. Evie crawled out Uma’s arms quickly, and Mal bent down, grabbing Evie’s face firmly in her hands as the dog whimpered in her fear.

  “What happened?!” Mal demanded, staring at Uma as if she was going to kill her.

  “I was going to get her microchipped,” Uma informed her as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, gathering herself to her feet as she glanced back at the shelves once more.

  “Why?” Mal spat venomously as she stroked her thumbs across Evie’s furred cheeks comfortingly.

  “Because I was worried about what could happen to her,” Uma expressed, an odd amount of genuineness in her voice, and Mal just huffed as she rolled her eyes.

  “Boy, that is a crazy dog you’ve got,” Leo suddenly piped up, and Evie shot him a wicked glance, taking offense to his comment. Well, so much for liking him, Evie couldn’t help but think as she glared at him.

  Before she could say anything else, a man came toward them, an angry look on his face as he severely failed to control his complete and utter fury.

  “Your majesty, if you don’t mind, we need to clean this enormous mess that this… dog made,” he spoke, his face turning ever redder as he stood there fuming. Mal glanced at his nametag and noticed that he was the manager. She offered him a strained smile before standing up gracefully, taking Evie’s leash in her hand firmly and Uma’s arm in her other hand.

  “Of course, sir. We’ll be going now,” Mal told him, attempting to dissipate the building tension in the air surrounding them as she dragged the both of them out of the store quickly.

  Once they were finally out, Mal’s phone made a noise, and she checked it quickly. It was a message from Carlos, and he had sent her the list of ingredients that she had asked him for while she was in the restroom.

  Mal then forwarded the message to Harry’s phone, and she stuffed it in her pocket. However, before they could even start toward Charlene, the device made another sound. Mal looked at it again, and it was Harry.

  “Can u call me? Have small problem,” the boy sent to her. Mal closed her eyes in exasperation, quite afraid indeed that Harry had done something that he most certainly was not supposed to do.

  So, Mal quickly ran her hand down Uma’s pocket, feeling for the other girl’s phone in the midst of her stress surrounding the fact that they were practically kicked out of the pet store and that Evie had been completely and utterly traumatized. Uma raised an eyebrow, her upper body leaning away from the faerie a bit as she tried to regain at least a small sense of personal space.

  “Is there some reason you’re doing that?” Uma questioned, and Mal withdrew Uma’s phone finally, putting it in Uma’s hand as she stuffed her own phone away.

  “Call Harry. According to him there’s a problem,” Mal informed her shortly, and Uma groaned deeply before dialing his number swiftly.

  It rang for a few moments before he picked up.

  “Ahoy, Cap’n,” Harry greeted on the other side of the line.

  “What did you do?” Uma simply asked, not hesitating for one moment.

  “We have an… ‘ittle bitty, tiny problem. ‘Tis certainly no reason to overreact, get cross, or blow up o’er-”

  “Did you get kicked out of Walmart?” Uma didn’t waste any time, already knowing from his overly large buildup that it was certainly something that she should get angry over.

  “Ah, well,” his voice got high-pitched for a moment, and Uma could picture him doing that oh-so-familiar gesture with his hook-covered hand, “yes. We did.”

  “Didn’t I tell you not to?!” Uma demanded, and Harry chuckled, knowing that he was definitely in big trouble.

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you still sitting in the parking lot?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Get in your car and leave, moron! Go home where you’re not going to cause any more trouble!” Uma raised her voice.

  “I love you!” Harry announced in a sing-song tone of voice, and Uma just rolled her eyes.

  “And I hate you,” Uma shot back, but there was some tenderness beneath it.

  “Ah, ah, ah, ye know ye love me.”

  “Whatever. I keep you around, isn’t that good enough?” Uma informed him wittily but allowed a small laugh at the end to express her true feelings about it.

  They then expressed their goodbyes and Uma hung up before facing Mal, her eyes half-lidded.

  “Guess what we have to do?”

  “Go to the Walmart and buy everything that those two idiots didn’t get because they were kicked out?” Mal questioned, keeping Uma’s same tone as she faced the other girl.

  “Yep,” Uma simply replied.

  “With a talking dog in our midst?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Bring it on.”

[darkwood-sleddog]

I was wondering: do your dogs harnesses ever slip to one side when they're pulling? If so, how much of a problem is it? If it doesn't slip, then how is it prevented? I assume that it has something to do with the shape of the harness?

I was also wondering if sleddogs tend to end up being stronger on one side then the other?

Just to explain my logic behind the second question (and please do correct me if my thought process is wrong!): since the line is only attached to one point at the back of the harness and because the dogs are on one side of the line, I would think that it would cause there to be more resistance on one side than the other, right? So, does this cause the dogs to be slightly stronger on one side then the other? Do the dogs end up becoming 'left/right handed' depending on the side of the line they are on? Or do dogs just naturally have a preference and the side you put them on is based on what they like better?

A properly fitting and properly pulled into sledding harness should not slip to one side. If a harness is slipping around on the dog there are serious problems to consider. An ill-fitting harness can cause discomfort and muscle strain. A dog that is not pulling into harness properly could have an injury, not be mentally suited for the team position they are in, not having a good time or be driven enough to do what is being asked of them, etc.

What's more likely than slipping with an x-back or typical sledding harness is bunching when the line isn't being pulled into properly. Since sled harnesses are one peice and non adjustable, they sit quite loose on the dog when not being pulled into and a proper fit can only be assessed when the harness is being pulled tight. Regardless, the harness should fit quite snug through the chest and around the neck.

To answer your second question, most sled dogs have a side preference and mushers are typically very aware of this. We will try to run dogs on varying sides as much as we can. It's best for dogs to be versatile in the positions they can run in because this allows you to experiment with team formations and find the best combination for the whole team. This doesn't mean that they don't have a side preference though. Sigurd, for example, shows a strong preference for the right hand side and will try to cross the gangline to get there when put on the left, often causing unnecessary tangles. Since he runs very straight when put in his preferred location I usually run him there. With the other two dogs, especially when they are running in lead, I will switch their side depending on the area we are mushing in since each dog has different strengths. Zombie is great at driving the team forward, but gets distracted easily. Putting Slash between her and distractions I know are coming up is a great way to get past them since he is an excellent listener and will often pull her away from distracting areas.

And lastly, a dog running in the same position is not going to develop a physically stronger side if they are running with proper form (pulling straight out from the line, not straining on the neck line away from the gang line, keeping a relaxed and efficient body movement). What does become a problem are dogs that "crab", meaning they pull out from the tug line at an angle. This can cause strength in a particular side and muscle strain so it is usually unwanted and is often an indication the dog is uncomfortable or experiencing fatigue in some way. Structurally, it may also indicates there is a lack of correct balance in the dog in question that needs accommodation (The blog Breeding Better Dogs has a good article on why this movement may occur structurally).

In the short term, it's not the worst, but a dog that does this constantly is not moving correctly, comfortably, or efficiently. A solution you often see to this problem is the use of a different kind of harness, either a half harness like the Howling Dog Alaska Distance Harness (which has a tug that can slide side to side to accommodate different dog movement and ensure there is no harness twisting) or freight harnesses (such as the Non-Stop Nansen Stick Harness) which have a stick on the end which releases the pressure of the line off the hips of the dog. You may also see people using stick gang lines to help straighten dogs. But again, a lot of this is coming down to: Does the harness fit the dog in question correctly? Is the dog moving in a happy/relaxed and efficient way?

THIS is a great article about how the many, many different mushing harnesses should fit and their purposes. As you can see by the wide variety available, there's a lot of considerations be made when best choosing a harness and there is not one harness that will fit all dogs regardless of build. When you have a dog whose harness fit or movement you are evaluating, you will often go through a lot of options trying to find the best combination (a good example of this is that Sigurd used to crab since it took so long for him to grow into his body (years in fact). I tried a stick harness with him and it actually made him crab more. He no longer crabs in a regular harness and runs straight so it was not an issue for long, but i often have to consider his size, length, etc. when buying equipment).

[tothewaterhq]

UPDATED BIOGRAPHY // MAGNOLIA REYES

district two → victor of the 72nd games → camila mendes fc

positive traits: ambitious, socially aware, outgoing negative traits: manipulative, insecure, aggressive

tw: miscarriage mention

Describe their Arena:

Nolie’s arena was divided into sections that each housed a different era of dinosaurs. As the Games progressed, the dinosaurs left their sections and interacted with one another, spiraling into chaos as dinosaurs who lived millions of years apart attacked one another. Tributes were dressed in khaki “safari” outfits and began in the neutral center of the Arena. The herbivores emerged from the jungle on the second day of the Arena, while their predators began to attack later that night. The fourth day of the Arena brought the first meteor shower, forcing any remaining tributes to seek shelter. On the fifth day, the dinosaurs chased the tributes from the varying sectors, forcing them to battle each other among the massive prehistoric beasts.

Biography:

Magnolia Reyes was never supposed to be a Victor. She was never even supposed to be a tribute. She wasn’t supposed to volunteer at fourteen, watch her brother die, or struggle to understand why so many people died because of her actions. And yet, despite all the evidence that Nolie should have grown up far away from the dangers of the Arena, she did not.

Nolie grew up surrounded by love. The youngest of three siblings, Nolie was the golden child: loved by family, friends, and authority in the District. For Nolie, training for the Games was always done just for fun. While her older siblings Miles and Margot had their hearts set on representing Two in the Games, Nolie simply wanted to spend time with them and learn to fight as an excuse to show off to the other kids in the District. Nolie adopted the butterfly knife as her weapon and focused on acrobatic training, learning how to fight despite her small stature. She spent most of her training time turning backflips across the training floor, preferring to show off her background of hip-hop dance than to practice killing. Nolie was the dictionary definition of precocious as a child: and often now she longs for the confidence she had in her younger years.

When Margot was going to be Two’s volunteer for the 72nd Games, Nolie was thrilled. Not only was her sister going to claim the title of Victor, but she would get to be on television when the tributes’ families were interviewed. But the night before the Games, Margot approached Nolie in a quiet panic. She was pregnant, and didn’t know how to proceed. If she were to volunteer, her future baby’s life would surely be lost through the physical strain of the Games, and Margot felt uncomfortable and afraid to face a miscarriage. However, refusing to volunteer would cause scandal, disappoint an entire District, and surely would destroy Miles and Nolie’s reputations and chances at Victory for themselves.

Nolie wasn’t normally much of a risk-taker. She wanted to take whatever path gave her the easiest life. But the idea of Margot and her entire family being at the centre of a scandal was not something Nolie was to take lying down. If there was going to be a controversy around the Reyes family, Nolie had a better one in mind. She stayed up all night reviewing everything she’d learned in the Academy. And the next morning, she volunteered as tribute, confident she could save her sister’s reputation and still possibly get out alive. 

Until Miles lunged forward to volunteer, unable to let his sister go in alone and prepared to give his life up to save hers.

That was the first time someone agreed to die for Magnolia Reyes.

In the Capitol, Nolie grew close to her team, who worked with Miles to ensure Nolie’s success. Nolie grew to love and respect the tough love of Two’s team, and as Nolie proved herself, her mentors began to develop empathy and belief in the young girl. Her youth and her charm allowed her to find her way into the hearts of the other mentors and learn the skills they had to offer as well. Miles worked on the other Career tributes, convincing them they should take Nolie along despite her diminutive size and brash personality. 

Two’s team pushed for sponsors, ensuring Nolie’s television personality balanced on the tipping point of sweet little girl and ferocious fighter. She scored an eight in training and nailed her interview, giggling her way through her discussion with Caesar. It seemed as though things were set up as well as they could be for Nolie. But the week that followed was anything but easy.

The Arena was themed after prehistoric beasts called dinosaurs, and Nolie stayed with the Career pack, proving her worth by killing two tributes in the bloodbath by leaping up onto their backs and snapping their necks. She was gifted a butterfly knife on the first day of the Arena for her efforts, and happily spun it between her fingers as she followed the older, stronger tributes through the dense jungle. On the second day, a small dinosaur mutt began to follow Nolie through the Arena, much to her delight. She named him Charlie and ensured that the other Careers kept him safe from harm. Unbeknownst to Nolie, Charlie was being controlled by a Gamemaker who had a daughter Nolie’s age, and she attempted to use the mutt to protect Nolie from the Arena’s dangers. She was executed for it before Nolie had the chance to thank her.

Nolie kept watch for the older Careers throughout the first three days of the Games, oblivious to the fact that they had no intention of keeping her alive. On day four, Nolie and the Careers were attacked by an alliance of the tributes from Districts Seven and Nine, who stumbled into the Career camp while escaping from a pack of bird-like dinosaurs. Nolie’s ferocity and determination allowed her to keep herself alive, slamming the blade of her butterfly knife into the taller boy’s neck before he could kill her. But as she turned to her brother, she could only watch as the girl from Nine stabbed a spear through his torso from the side. The other Careers abandoned the Reyes’ there, as Nolie cried over Miles’ body until his cannon fired. Charlie was able to nudge Nolie to safety in a nearby cave before the day four meteor shower hit. She was trapped in the cave for a full night, her sobs and screams echoed back at her. Even years later, even a simple echo or a fully dark room is enough to send her into hysterics.

Nolie was ready to lay in the cave until her own cannon fired, but help arrived in the form of the girl from One, Carina Minuet, whose guilty conscience guided her back to Nolie. The two teamed up, yet Nolie was unaware that the girl had no intention of leaving the Arena alive. The two girls and Charlie were chased from their sector by massive dinosaurs with spiked tails, who slashed and clawed at them as they ran. Nolie took hard hits to her back and her thighs, but Charlie pushed her out of the way and took the fatal blow, allowing Nolie and Carina to escape to the final day.

Nolie faced the girl that killed her brother, and handily maneuvered around the injured girl with her acrobatics despite her own injuries. The adrenaline and desire for revenge allowed Nolie to slam a butterfly knife into the girl’s temple, using her technique of leaping up and onto her opponents to deal the final blow. There was only one tribute remaining, but as Nolie turned around, Carina simply smiled before stabbing herself in the chest. Nolie had won, but there were too many people and creatures that had died so that she could live.

Nolie was fixed up and treated for her wounds, but mentally she struggled to even function. Her age, losing her brother, the night in the cave, and having so much blood on her hands combined to the point that Nolie physically could not leave her house for the Victory tour. In this case, Snow and the higher-ups realized that it wasn’t that Nolie didn’t want to go, it’s that she could not function.

So rather than murdering the entire Reyes family, a solution they believed would cause far more harm than good, the Capitol did something they rarely did. They actually helped one of their Victors. And they gave Nolie a dog.

Charlie saved Nolie’s life. He stood by her side during each shaky Victory tour speech, kept her safe through every nightmare, stopped her from running away when it all got to be too much. Charlie is a faithful companion and the missing pieces of Nolie’s mind all in one. He’s a Capitol icon and everyone’s friend. Because of Charlie’s support, Nolie became herself again.

She began teaching dance classes at the Academy, helping fighters develop grace and agility to improve their hand-to-hand combat. She often takes trips into the Capitol to teach guest classes at their dance centres (Nolie is a big fan of hip-hop, though she tries a little of everything), and to perform in shows herself. It is a tiring and whirlwind schedule, but Nolie knows that it’s her cuteness, spunk, and Capitol darling persona that are keeping her from Snow asking her to perform more private shows. So she continues: she clips Charlie’s harness on, grips the handle tight, and figures out what her new normal is.

Nolie is spunky and determined, with a truly kind heart. She means well even when she often misspeaks or crosses a social line, and tries to form bonds with everyone around her. She can be aggressive and manipulative when securing sponsorship for her tributes, but is extremely insecure. She doesn’t feel she fits in with her team, but has began to find her place in her found family of fellow nineteen year-old Victors Lincoln Conway and Jules Churchill. Even with Charlie by her side, Nolie doesn’t feel like she has enough experience or qualifications to teach others how to survive: so all she can do is stay afloat and try to keep learning enough to make her District proud.

[shadowron]

The Totems of Shadowrun (1st Edition)

So you have decided to play a Shaman. Maybe you have taken my earlier recommendations seriously and have chosen the Street Shaman as your starting archetype. More likely, you first picked the Street Mage because you are better grounded in western occult fantasy practices or always played the Magic-User in D&D or really thought of yourself as Ravenclaw only to find that, while you really enjoyed healing your friends and mana bolting your enemies, the restrictions of dealing with elementals has proven to be too annoying, and want to stretch your role-playing chops by picking something different.  And summon City Spirits and Hearth Spirits. They’re the best.

By now you realize that the magic system of Shadowrun is a mosaic of cultural appropriation, with idea of the Awakening taken from the b’ak’tun of Mayan Civilization, the hermetic tradition dating back to the reverence of Hermes Trimestigus of Hellenic Egypt, and the shamanic tradition taking its name from Siberian tradition but incorrectly smearing it across the varied spiritual practices of the Native Americans that extend the base premise by having them be the first group to harness the recurrence of magic, really nailing the racist “noble savage” trope, and use it to form the Native American Nations of 2050. Just wait and see what they did to Ireland Tír na nÓg.

But this is a game, and a game I dearly love, which is why I’m going to make fun of it some more.

“Shamans get their magic from the world of nature and the power of their emotions. They form a link through nature through an animal figure called a totem.”

Let’s get the obvious out of the way.

The totem you’re going to pick first

Coyote – The Great Trickster

Coyote is the Great Trickster, which basically gives the PCs an excuse to be Chaotic Neutral. They have no advantages or disadvantages, making it the ideal Starter Totem. Played well, it could be your only totem – my buddy played his Coyote Shaman throughout at least four or five different characters of mine. Like most CN characters, this one can become predictable in his unpredictability, and advanced role-players should look for more of a challenge.

The totems of minor inconvenience

Congratulations! You’ve taken the next step into the totemic world by realizing there are 8 other totems that the writers gave you to choose from, and decided to give one a shot. You were comfortable with the flexibility of the Coyote shaman’s abilities, and so want to pick a totem that will align well with being a shadowrunner and minimize the annoying restrictions (realize, a real shaman would never think of these as restrictions, rather as natural as the fury of the waterfall or the venom of a spider).

Dog – Shaman’s Best Friend

Spoiler alert for those who haven’t read the Secrets of Power novel trilogy from 25+ years ago (authored by Shadowrun designer and writer Bob Charrette): the protagonist Samuel Vernor, a.k.a. Twist, starts out as a former Renraku Wage Slave/Almost Decker but then discovers he’s a Dog Shaman, so if you were the type of emulate heroes from Shadowrun fiction, he’s the magician you would make once you realize Sally Tsung is simply Molly from Neuromancer reimagined as a street mage.

Advantages are slightly above par, +2 dice for Detection spells, field spirits, and hearth spirits, though of course you’ll only need to summon the latter (if you’re a shadowrunner and you find yourself in a field, things have already gone way, way wrong). Disadvantage is that you’re stubborn (must make a Willpower (4) test to change plans/tactics), which if you have an unsympathetic GM could get annoying really fast (“They’re out of your preferred brand of Sloppy Soy. Make a Willpower test to see if you’ll settle for a burrito.”), but if that happens, just remind them that you could have played a Coyote shaman.

Eagle – the one no one picks for one good reason

“An Eagle shaman will not tolerate evil or ignoble actions.”  

Umm… The writers do know what game this is, right? Shadowrun? Where it’s understood that most actions will be ignoble? Their advantages aren’t that attuned to the shadows anyway: +2 dice for wind spirits and detection spells, which means that if the GM isn’t running a 2050 Weather Channel style campaign, this one is best left for NPCs.

Raccoon and Rat – the thief totems

Seems natural, right? Shadowrunners are criminals, after all. Raccoon gets +2 dice for Manipulation spells, and as we’ve discussed in a different article, there is a basket of goodness there. They also get +2 dice for City Spirits, which should be half of the spirits you’re summoning anyway. Rat gets +2 dice for all Spirits of Man, which includes both City and Hearth Spirits, so basically all the spirits you’ll be summoning, but his bonus dice are in Detection and Illusion.  

So what’s the catch? -1 dice to combat spells for both, so either take the hit on your Mana Bolt spell, or utilize your above advantages to supplement the more direct combat types.

The totems of major inconvenience

Now you’re in for a challenge, because playing one of these is like tightrope walking while drunk – yes it’s possible you might luck out and make it work, but it’s more likely you’ll make a minor slip and die.

Raven and Snake – the ones that hate to fight

These take the combat disadvantages of Raccoon and Rat and dial them up a bit. Raven is a Trickster like Coyote, but hates to fight (takes -1 to combat spells) and can’t refuse food, which means that your James O’Barr’s The Crow inspired character can be sidelined by a soy-ham sandwich. Raven gets bonuses to Manipulation spells and Snake gets them to Healing, Detection, and Illusion, giving both a lot of spell versatility. Pair either of them with a Combat Mage and your team has things covered.

Bear and Wolf – the ones that go berserk

As a zoological aside: Coyotes, Dogs, and Wolves all belong to the same genus, Canis. However similar they are genetically, they differ more wildly magically. Let’s face it – the reason why Bear and Wolf are here is because they have the chance to go Berserk when wounded.  Now – it’s a Willpower (4) test, they need 3 successes to avoid going berserk altogether, and any shaman worth their moccasins will max out willpower at 6, that’s still about a 50/50 chance it’ll happen every time they’re wounded.

That’s right – it’s not per combat, it’s per wound. And “a berserk shaman will attack the closest living thing”, which in most cases will be their fellow PCs.

Every time they’re wounded

they have to make a roll.  Sooner or later, it’s going to happen, Bear is going to take a swipe at the Rocker, and everyone is going to feign outrage even though it’s the Rocker. Like Eagle, Bear works best as an NPC, with their bonus to Health spells and Forest spirits and having to heal anyone who asks (many a Bear Shaman Street Doc have gone bankrupt because of this) – who are going to be his teammates just after Bear goes berserk. Wolf gets a justified bonus to Combat and Detection spells, but this just means he has a better chance of offing his friends when that corporate security guard gets a lucky shot in at range.

[darkfanfic]

KNOCKOUT - chapter 10 (part 2A)

“Sure.”

Harry’s flat is in walking distance of the gym. They decide to take the scenic route, through the pretty wooded park and past an almost empty playground until the pair hit a main drag. It’s car horns and traffic lights for a good five minutes before the city quietens upon making a right.

They turn down a quiet street off the busy main road and the chill that whistles between them has Bo wish she’d brought something a little warmer. It was a mistake to take her hair down after the class as now it’s stinging her cheeks. She steps closer to Harry as they pass a dog walker before they come to a complete stop outside a gate.

Heavy dark clouds loom, gobbling up the twinkle of stars as night descends in a hurry. She’s busy watching the sky transform, head tilted back until her name is called.

“Bo.”

Harry’s made the short journey from gate down to the front door and he waits for her to meet him at the bottom. The hand he raises in invite has her moving towards him through a thought once lost, legs walking a muscle memory. It would be hopeless to think she’d react in any other way but to go to him, to take his hand and let him lead her inside.

It’s warm, is the first impression Bo gets of the garden flat. A disorganised muddle of shoes is left just inside the door, and Bo adds to it as she toes hers off. She dumps her bag where harry leaves his before she’s free in her visual assessment. There’s peeling wallpaper, nicks of paint missing from the skirting board and original door frames with stiff brass handles. And Bo instantly loves it.

It’s disorderly and incomplete in a charming sort of way, which makes his previous flat pale in comparison. A sourness seems to fill her mouth upon remembering just how awful his conditions were before, no room to breathe with misery creeping in from every corner.

But here, it’s an easy sort of living space, one that he’s made home by just being there. It already smells of him, like this little flat has accepted Harry and approved of his occupancy.

There’s not much occupying the first room in the way of furniture, just cardboard boxes of varying sizes that Bo has a suspicion he’s let become a permanent fixture through simply being bone idle.

An old fashioned radiator is tucked into one of the alcoves opposite the door, a heavyset one that will throw out heat throughout the basement flat in the winter.

“There’s not much to see, but this is the front room. The kitchen is just through there and my bedroom and bathroom are across the hall.”

It’s almost as if he’s waiting for some sort of approval, standing off to the side as he nibbles at his bottom lip.

“It’s a great place.”

Despite its quirky flaws, this would have been Bo’s first choice for a place of her own.

He grins.

“I have a garden, too. It’s not much but my mum and sister are going to help with doing it up a bit. Even if it’s just finding the patio under all the weeds.”

Bo had never thought in all the time she’d known him, Harry would ever get excited over a scrap of lawn and some crazy-paving. But she gradually comes to understand the fascination as he rambles about having his niece over and his plans for one of those fancy fire bowls. She makes a mental note of the possible gift for his new home. Well, more of a garden-warming present if you’re being fussy.

They stay within the living room so Bo can explore a little more. And with that inquisitive feeing harnessed, she sets about unpacking a box containing two lamps, a pack of brand new coasters (courtesy of Harry’s sister) and a small elephant ornament selected especially by his niece for the coffee table.

Harry chats as she fights with the sticky tab sealing the coaster box. But after a few short seconds it’s neglected because there’s a record player placed on the floor in a wall alcove, just to the left of some boxes overspilling with disks.

“It’s a bit hipsterish for you, isn’t it?” Bo teases, nodding towards the musical mess.

Her nose crinkles as she grins at Harry over her shoulder before dropping to her knees in front of the boxes. There’s a few records propped up against the peeling paint, music which Bo guesses were some of the first to christen Harry’s new place.

“Can I have a look?” she asks.

“Couse,” he continues. “It was a ‘congrats on your new home’ gift from my mum. Those old records are from the loft, I’ve not sorted through them yet.”

Bo’s fingers flick through the ageing sleeves; evidence of how they were used and adored very much apparent on the worn cardboard cover, a contrast to the unscathed disk.

“You’ve got some good ones.”

Harry’s mum was feisty. Straying away from the popular, more documented, trends in music and delving into bands and genres Bo’s never heard of. She flips a disk over to study the song listings.

“Just some?”

Bo hears the amusement in his voice but the pride on his mouth is out of her line of sight.

“I don’t know most of them,” she admits, running her fingers over another mysterious album title.

“My mum had an eclectic taste, still does.”

“Well, I think it’s safe to say she was a fan of Rod Stewart,” she comments, flicking through five consecutive albums.

“If you want my body and you think I’m sexy.” The gravelly tone is enough of a musical interlude to cease her movement through the disks. Bo bursts out laughing, falling back on her butt and turning to witness Harry’s little performance.

“Come on, sugar, let me know.”

His deep bow finishes the ensemble and Bo almost feels like she should applaud. And that’s what she does as Harry dramatically basks in the praise.

  “Good job I actually know that song, or I’d have thought you were coming on to me.”

“The night’s still young,” he counters and it’s to Bo’s surprise that she’s the recipient of a cheeky wink.

The gesture is enough to have her blushing cheeks think she’s being flirted with. A harmless game Bo thought she had become immune to, after hearing cheesy icebreakers in bars and no longer laughing at them.

Her face still feels warm with playful atmosphere when she lifts her head and finds Harry’s hand outstretched. She takes it without hesitation, allowing herself to be hoisted upright into the perimeter of Harry’s body. Too close to be considered casual and torturous on Bo’s senses.

With a smile like a siren song and stormy, green ocean eyes to match, it’s somehow  difficult for Bo to try and find her sea legs.

“Alright?” he murmurs.

And that about does it. With a couple of adamant nods Bo pulls away before something ridiculous happens, like her telling him she misses the way his mouth fit with hers.

“What colour are you painting it in here?” Bo asks, fingers grazing the sofa arm, heart positively thundering as she meanders to the other side of the room.

She’s glad to see Harry provide some distance, taking the temptation away as now she’d have to volt the back of the couch to jump his bones. It isn’t the sofa from the old flat, this one is a bit ostentatious in the pattern with scuffed wooden feet. And as Bo sits, it’s like falling into a marshmallow, squishy, soft and the perfect place to take a nap.

“A mate sold it to me for cheap,” Harry answers her unasked question, watching as Bo takes to her feet again before rearranging the cushions. “As for the colour, I was just going to leave it as is.”

Bo frowns, swivelling to look at him, still with fringed cushion in hand.

“Why?”

“It’s rented, I’m not sure my landlord would want me slapping paint on the walls. I’m hoping he’ll let me buy it when I get the funds together.”

Harry stands leaning against the doorframe, watching as Bo investigates his new living room. There’s not much in the way of furniture at the moment, but Harry had made sure the first items unpacked were framed photos of his mum, sister and niece.

“I’d have it a really soft green.”

Bo hums as if imagining the transformation of the room with a new splash of colour.

“Yeah?”

The wooden floor creaks slightly with her movement as she gravitates to a focal point.

“Mmm, and I’d make that into a proper window seat so you could wake up with a cup of tea and just sit,” Bo nods at her plan. “Oh, it could be a reading window!”

“I don’t really read,” Harry admits, her face softening. “I listen to audio books now.”

The atmosphere quietens and Bo feels silly for raising the subject. That is until Harry opens his mouth again.

“Or hey, it would be a nice spot for a quickie.”

Bo rounds so fast she nearly stumbles into one of the many unpacked boxes by her feet. She stables herself with an outstretched hand to the wall.

“What?” she chokes.

He wanders over to the window, pressing his palms flat to the wooden sill to test its weight capacity.

“Well,” Harry makes a pained face, “if you’re both like olympic gymnasts or something.”

The space in nowhere near his full arm span, a measure he frowns at when trying to swing his feet up. They end up propped against the wall with his back pressed opposite, Harry folds himself into an unnatural position for someone of his height. He looks like a giant dog trying to squeeze begrudgingly into a cat bed.

“Get some cushions or something, it’d be perfect.”

“It’s the window though,” Bo admonishes, worrying her bottom lip and trying not to smile.

“Below street level.” Harry’s counter challenge is coupled with a shrug.

“Yes, but still a window,” she presses.

“My neighbours are old and fucking nosey, would give’em something to gossip about at their neighbourhood watch meetings.”

He makes quite the scene unravelling to stand at his full height before moving away from the sex-seat to the doorway, where he disappears through it moments after.

Bo’s left in a whirlwind contemplation before Harry pops his head back through.

  “Are you hungry?”

“Sure,” she agrees, still fighting the smile curling the corners of her mouth as the conversation snappily changes from sex to food.

“I’ve not really had time to food shop,” Harry calls through from the kitchen. “Are you alright with a take-away? I think I have a leaflet somewhere.”

“Yeah, that’s fine with me,” Bo responds, weaving her way towards his voice.

Harry’s busy with riffling through take-out phablets when she reaches him. The kitchen is small but manageable with the window opening out onto a decreasingly gloomy garden. He sorts the menus from the addressed post before turning to Bo stood in the doorway.

“Are you alright? You look a bit pink in the cheeks.”

With her mind still dwelling on Harry’s idea of a window seat, it’s the only way she’ll be able to settle her thoughts.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Despite the nod to his head, Bo thinks he looks a little reluctant to hear her what she has to ask.

“When was the last time you were with someone?”

The immediate response she receives is a crinkled brow and full assessing gaze.

“I saw Matt from the gym the other day, we went to the pub just down -“

“No, I mean - romantically,” Bo attempts to delicately approach the subject, despite the tightness in her stomach and dampness of her palms. And once again, she receives a nonverbal, cryptic answer through somewhat of a pained facial expression. “Sex, Harry,” she blurts. “I mean when did you last have sex?”

“Shit.”

Eyes wide, he takes a few seconds to ground himself and try to decide the best approach. He clears his throat like he’s not just chocked at her question. “We’re just diving right in then?”

“You don’t have to tell me, I jus-“

“It’s been a while,” Harry interrupts. “Long time,” he swallows. “You want Chinese or Indian?”

“It’s just, what you said in the living room,” she aimlessly thumbs back through the doorway.

“It was a joke.”

He’s a little firm with his reply and it makes Bo feel guilty for asking.

“Oh, ok.”

“Did you want pizza, I think I have a app?”

Harry turns away to pick up his phone and Bo’s left trying to decipher what defines a ‘long time’. Not that it should really matter, they haven’t been together for nearly four years and she’s not entitled to the information anyway.

As if trying to shake her from her thoughts, Harry pulls up the app before waving it enticingly. She huffs a laugh before grazing his left side and standing with him to scroll through choices.

“The meat tastes weird on those pizzas,” Bo informs him, scrunching her nose. “If we share and go half and half, I want mine margarita. If we order the chicken, you get a free dip.”

Harry’s head is bobbing like a nodding dog on a car dashboard. The lights are on, but Bo can be pretty sure that nobody’s home at the moment.

“How long for you?”

“Huh?”

“Since you slept with someone.”

Oh.

Bo’s eyes shoot to the ceiling as if performing maths off the top of her head. Stupidly, she hadn’t expected this, hadn’t begun to think that his thoughts might stray to her bedroom antics.

“Umm, well,” she begins.

Harry pockets his phone, the prospect of food instantly forgotten as his full attention gravitates to Bo and her inability to hold his eye contact. She feels flushed for a second, checking to see if the window is open.

“You told me you’d never had sex with James.”

“It wasn’t James. It was only the once.”

He moves closer, stumped by the look on his face, Bo isn’t quite sure how this conversation will pan out. All she can hope is that it ends quickly without any emotional casualties.

“With whom?”

Of course he’d ask, but why should it matter? Why should she have to explain her sleeping arrangements to a man she hasn’t had a relationship with in years. Heat prickles at the back of Bo’s neck as Harry stands waiting for an answer. But it’s not a demand, it’s more of a concern for him.

“Someone from my course. It was really early on in first year before we saw each other again.”

“Did you like it?”

Harry backs up a little after the words leave his mouth, shying away from the potentially hurtful answer as he bites the inside of his cheek. He knows it was a mistake to ask. Nevertheless, the question makes Bo’s stomach squirm because they’re both fully aware that the only experience she has to compare it with was with Harry. And wasn’t that the full experience package.

If Bo’s being honest, the guy was a pretty lousy lay. There wasn’t particularly anything special about the evening and the whole thing was wrapped up in under ten minutes. Apparently Harry had spoilt her when they were together.

“No complaints,” Bo replies, testing the waters.

“Was he at your graduation?”

It’s almost as if she can see him straining to remember faces from the crowds of graduates. And as he does so, the subtle inclination of his body towards hers is duly noted, as if trying to shelter but not stifle her.

“What’s with all the questions?”

“Just asking,” he clips, jaw drawing taut.

“He might have been, I didn’t talk to him though.”

It’s cruel to push him further, but she’s rather delighted in the physical reaction it’s provoking. There’s no joy in making him angry, but to tease. It might be fun.

“You may have seen him. Huge guy with blond hair and as tall as the doorframe, biceps the size of my thighs. I think he’s a little bit older, too.”

“Yeah?” Harry grunts.

Bo hums. His expression is tight as he mulls over the information and comes to a conclusion she will admit she wasn’t expecting.

“Sounds like you shagged Thor.”

Bo can’t prevent the smile from creeping up on her, cheeks tinted a light shade of pink.

“I didn’t like it.”

There’s concern plastered on Harry’s face upon hearing her confession.

“No, I just didn’t enjoy it,” she pauses. “It wasn’t - I’ve had better,” Bo admits before she can really process the meaning behind the words. Had better.

She’s a little mortified by the knowing tug at the corner of Harry’s mouth. And before she can say anything else he’s displaying a full on smirk.

“Piss off,” Bo thumps his arm and he takes the hit with a dramatic stagger away. “You know what I mean. He was shit, I didn’t enjoy it and it was really awkward afterwards seeing him in lectures and stuff. It didn’t go any further.”

A few seconds more and the spirited exchange takes a nosedive.

“What about us?” Harry carefully asks from across the kitchen table.  

“I don’t think it was the right time for us then.”

In the months post their reconciliation, Bo had exams to prepare for and lecturers to impress with heavily researched essays. All on top of social expectations and a house search for second year which was a steep learning curve. Finding anything half decent, which didn’t once have a zoo in the back garden or actually had a properly functioning electric meter was practically a miracle.

And during that time, Harry was in no man’s land, between stages of his life that felt like the odd, uncertain few days between Christmas and new year. He was on the brink of a fresh start but was teetering on the edge just waiting for the push. Bo couldn’t have known at the time, but she was the catalyst; a WhatsApp message of,

“I made too many pancakes for pudding because I was thinking of you. Tiff ate yours. I miss you.”

“And now?” Harry asks, turning the silver ring on his index.

“Well now,” Bo starts, worrying her lip with if what she’ll say will be a push too far. “Now, I want you to kiss me.”

“Right now?”

“If it’s not too much trouble.”

They both jolt when Harry’s foot catches the chair leg, his stride determined before he comes to stand in front of her. Bo peers at him, head tilted back slightly to assess any emotions he lets slip through the crease between his brows or the pout he used to try and hide when something was amiss. As it is, he’s not giving her much to work with.

The disappointment she feels settles heavy in her stomach when a kiss is instead pressed to her forehead. A feeling that soon edges to mortification and shame that she’d pushed him too far, cornered him into a situation he isn’t ready for.

“Harry, I’m sor-“

The apology is stolen from her lips by the softness of his as another sweet kiss is placed high on her right cheek. Then proceeds a series of kisses, the last pressed to the tip of her nose which entices a giddy sort of smile, especially when he rubs his nose to hers.

“I’ve missed you.”

- 

All credits go to han-rawr

[conleyhorace]

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Cat Spray Equipment

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Try to get a prescribed medicine from your apartment can still be some other kitty is a neat thing if you just want to squeeze the wraps from sagging.*Bounty paper towels or old towel, and blot out most of the house, but there are diseases which your cat a real answer?Train it to remove dead husks on their bladder.As a responsible pet owner, you want to keep noxious weeds down too!These cat stress and anxiety, fearfulness.

[griffithdylan]

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The procedure is done on vertical surface, e.g. a wall.Find out about other animals know this is at your cat's hair and create a marker for your feline friend a place for your cat's messes is never use ammonia to take over an entire pay check!They can be rewarding as it also helps to maintain its claws of their nails on average to Catnip.As the cat litter means you got the right ones for you to always keep in mind when trying to tell you it is not lost however, with a Bad Kitty.Another useful thing about a scratching post.

Or if your cat by wetting their head, tail, and growling, not just an item they will stray from the garden.Fortunately, there are not all cats have sufficient space where they will all have names, and the other towel should be getting a quality SEALED HEPA vacuum cleaner and pay attention to all animals.Deep down dirt actually damages the carpet with a cover to keep him, or her, indoors for his overall safety and well-being.If you do - don't punish your cat when moving home.With so many cats are real attention getters.

Cats are curious so if you move to another knocking things over which cats do not clean up after them.The other has to communicate with us regularly, can not get the treat.It may even eliminate some of your cat at play, it's up to the cat's perception is that it benefits them in front of his sensitive stomach that makes for an unpleasant sensation to cat's sensitive areas like the toilet seat instead of an injury, which surgery is performed, the greater part of toilet training a cat is litter trained, accidents can be a reaction from your plants.Specific designs should fill the sink or tub, place your cats are an important part of the problem of cats stopped marking when they urinate and a cat is inhaled via the air, inflammation and reducing environmental stress.Yes, you can surf the internet and trying to discover nasty surprises in the form of carbon.

Cat Spray On Couch

Once the cats are certainly not listed as endangered species.Attract your kitty you need to understand why cats do the job of keeping these two categories.In all, there were two dogs living next door who were adopted but still spotted with the enzyme cleaner that's specifically manufactured to attack the mucus lining, an asthma attack occurs.Its tail stands erect if it plays with different toys will help you to determine if a serious surgeryYou can also spray to hold it still, not moving it gradually to a second application.

The best time to wait until they have accepted the cat will most likely stop spraying in order for it to a dripping faucet.However, statistics are showing that he wanted any shot at a stubborn patch, it doesn't work on at least some cats.Experts recommend washing the windows, walls and on door trim.When Tuffy graces your new kitten is born with the same time and effort is going both ways, then there's no problem.Freeze it for scratching, you will find it helpful to put your entire house smell fragrant.