#yes the way they’re testing most things isn’t nearly as large scale

[premade-username]

Already obsessed with Nobody Asked.

I feel like I’m 5 again and sitting on my living room carpet watching myth busters blow up a car on an old box tv

[sugar-petals]

hey, kibbe related question, I'm curious to know why you think key is a soft dramatic rather than a FG?

good one, this post gives you two major pointers:

soft dramatic VS flamboyant gamine comparison

the type you may wear VS the type you are

impression-wise, flamboyant gamines come across as small and nimble — see j-hope or baekhyun, our posterboys lmao! soft dramatics seem a bit taller and appear more intimidating because of overextended sharp yang (intense brows, longer faces, stark cheekbones). 

FGs look mischievous and adorable instead. heir faces aren’t nearly as bold and angular. they’re softer, it’s their partial yin. baekhyun is known for being a real life puppy, key is recognized for his fiercer, mature features. public image surprisingly helps with typing since it summarizes how a person is instantly perceived which is key — pun intended — with kibbe.

their bone structure is similar since it’s yang-dominant, but i think you can see the difference. key has more presence and vertical line than a gamine as well, keeping up with minho even. gamines and romantics look petite next to him.

time for a test? putting on gamine clothes, see for yourself what happens: 

(^and yes, suspenders and bow ties can look surprisingly good on gamine types as we’ll see i a minute, it’s just not suited for D frames)

soft dramatic is a better style image because it’s as fashionable as he is, while at the same time staying appropriate for his height impression. even essence-wise it works: the type is literally called ‘diva/divo chic’ — sounds 100% perfect to describe key’s vibe. 

soft dramatics look better with less details and no color blocks. with satin kind of draping in particular, it puts the focus back on the face and ironically looks the opposite of overdressed. voila, he almost looks understated:

gamines on the other hand look extremely playful and can tolerate chaotic layered clothes congruently, no sophistication and silk needed. put some suspenders, a random hat, plus a contrasting high collar on on j-hope, suddenly it’s fashion and pure cuteness.

key looks a little funny with the same styling idea, a cute image doesn’t do him justice:

i’ve never seen someone look this appealing in a little bow tie and ruffles.

comparison: yes it’s very neat, but you’d be surprised how this is not an universally flattering outfit. put the same idea on a handsome flamboyant natural giant and it’s killing their complexion:

meanwhile key, also decked out in gamine overdrive: 

intense! 😂 and the same thing as with namjoon: he’s too tall, his lines aren’t in accordance with that much detail and patterning. it needs a kibbe type that sweeps the whole silhouette, with a consistent topic. tell-tale sign for a natural or dramatic. key wears flamboyant natural quite fantastically well so you know it’s close to his type, larger yang is his realm.

i can see why he’d get typed as FG since he’s wearing this style so often, it’s become his signature (especially the hair) and way of promoting the holy camp agenda which is great. we as kibbe enthusiasts just have to think twice when it comes to finding the person’s type that could be way beyond their current style niche. key seldom ventures into SD but when he does, he is effortless and outshines the outfit with his face which is the goal. if you wear your real type, no matter how outstanding the outfit, it’ll be second priority.

the thing is. you can make soft dramatic extremely camp if you play it up. hell, rupaul charles is a soft dramatic! key could easily be a trendsetter in his kibbe category just like when he wears FG. long as he keeps some soft dramatic elements (e.g. velvet, animal prints, sharp shoulders, deep Vs, glittery surfaces), the same effect is achieved and it suits him perfectly well. in fact, you could exaggerate these outfits without a problem.

and here’s the trick. he can work a bowtie, it just has to be on a larger scale because SD is the type that goes after the ‘bigger is better’ motto. the hair/eye combo isn’t completely SD but the whole concept still does its thing.

you can even tweak suspenders to suit his type as well. as long as they are yang enough (narrow, minimal, contrasting), he is wearing the hell out of them.

you can see how you can transfer styles to different categories and how key’s best looks are more geared towards something dramatic. it’s interesting how he became a style icon by wearing a type that’s almost the opposite of soft dramatic but it makes sense, it puts emphasis on the clothes if you dress outside your category rather than the person as a whole, you saw how large SD lines bring out his face more. 

the whole discussion gets to show you how consistent he’s been with wearing FG (and how much this type is valued in kpop realms) and how you can trademark another category for yourself if it’s your thing, and how wearing your real lines is not a ‘must’ anyway. he successfully experiments with FG all the time simply with confidence and the help of stylists/atmosphere.

to me, key looks the most interesting and easygoing when he kind of juggles his real type and his preferred type. something like this, sharp angles but a typical gamine linebreak belt, but at the same time maintaining the black vertical line dramatics wear so well. win-win situation.

[diskwrite-ffxiv]

ffxivwrite 2021 - #17 Destruct

Continued from #15 Thunderous - ( first | second | third )

Gridania, 1565 6AE

The bell was nearly up by the time Shandrelle returned, and if it was possible she was only more cross. First the air had changed the moment she reached the creek. If had only been able to get down to her picnic spot on time she’d have been able to eat in peace in that perfect spot on a span of flat warm rock right beside the creek bed, where she would lay out her blanket and soak in the quiet solitude punctuated only by the garrulous contributions of birds and frogs as she gradually consumed the crisp sandwich Ezette had made for her that morning, alongside half a jar of spiced apples she’d purloined from the pantry and a mug of wine.

But no! Instead she had to hunch under the large oak tree that oversaw the outcrop, clasping her meal beneath her to guard it from the errant raindrops that rolled through the foliage, battering her nerves in solid wet plops, then a stream.

Then the rain stopped but moments after she left her shelter. As if the gods found all of this funny somehow. Well if they did, she wasn’t laughing! Instead she was stuck smearing water from her forehead and ringing out the edge of her robes, but there was nothing to be done for her underclothes which would assuredly slick to her skin as if she was a drenched rat until she managed to run home.

If she had been in any other mood she’d have abandoned her outdoor lunch and skittered back to somewhere drier the moment the weather turned, but this whole affair had already wasted at least a third of a bell, and she would be damned if she let Ojene ruin the rest of it!

And so, soaked to the bone and shivering in the breeze, clutching a water-slick basket over her arm, Shandrelle scowled at the empty space where she’d left Ojene to begin with.

“You’d better be hiding,” she called out. “Because if you’ve gone and vanished on me after all that, I am going to be very cross.”

“I’m here,” came a voice behind her.

With a yelp, Shandrelle spun round to see Ojene standing there - how was she dry? - as if she’d been there the whole time. “Good gods, don’t scare me like that! Matron, have your feet ever made a sound? Sit down.”

Ojene obliged, and silently, claiming her spot on the now-damp fallen tree. Frown deepening, Shandrelle flipped one side of the basket up and, claiming two of its contents, poured the rest of her wineskin out into her glazed pewter mug, then with an audible huff stuffed it into Ojene’s hands.

“Tell me everything,” Shandrelle proclaimed. “But maybe not everything because I don’t have a surfeit of time. The brief notes, for now, to give me the gist.”

Ojene blinked, staring down at the mug as befuddlement creased between her brows. “Wine?”

“Yes,” Shandrelle snapped, and she gestured sharply. “Drink!”

Grimacing, Ojene set it to the side, balanced in a splintered crook of the fallen tree where old lichens scaled the bark between intermittent shelves of fungi, and she folded her hands together at her knees, hunched forward. Despite the fact that she had escaped the rain, she somehow seemed bedraggled in a way Shandrelle hadn’t noticed before- the leather armor she wore was scuffed in places, caked here and there in dirt and filth, and there was a gauntness to her face that Shandrelle suspected wasn’t just the product of long years past.

“I went to Ala Mhigo,” Ojene said, “from the start. I expect you heard what happened?”

Shandrelle’s arms twitched in surprise. “Yes- of course! Who here hasn’t?”

“Well,” her eyes averted to the ground, “I was there for a good long time. Fighting the Garleans. Helping people. Doing everything I could, no matter what it cost…. Did you ever go there after I left?”

“No,” Shandrelle answered regretfully. “I didn’t. When the city fell at most I wound up in the east, healing those who were. Or the refugees.”

Ojene nodded. “The refugees,” she repeated softly. "That’s the main thing I did- helped them get far enough so you lot could take them to- wherever they needed to go. The Garleans- they are truly terrible, Shandrelle. I’ve never seen anything like it before or since.”

“Not even here?” Shandrelle asked before she could stop herself, and a bitter laugh burbled silently behind her teeth.

“Not even here.” Ojene’s eyes flicked up, meeting Shandrelle’s with a vivid intensity that- Shandrelle noticed in an instant- lacked the lethality it had before, for the dagger was safely sheathed at Ojene’s hip. “It all pales by comparison. And they’ve sought to bring the rest of Eorzea to heel, too.”

A prickling seared down Shandrelle’s spine. “I saw the wall,” she blurted. “The thing they’re building… it might even be done, now. Did you come here across it?”

Again, Ojene nodded. “Though not in the last few moons. Suppose it’s just as well, since my work was getting exponentially harder since they started ramping that damned thing up, but I’m entrenched on this side of it now, for better or for worse.”

“All right,” Shandrelle breathed, “well- what does this have to do with my family?”

“Your family,” Ojene uttered, and a muscle flickered in her jaw. Again, she glanced away, but if Shandrelle didn’t know better she’d have called their silhouette troubled somehow, though she couldn’t pinpoint exactly why she thought it. “It started a couple years ago,” Ojene said. “First it started with the Garleans. I’d been trying my best to be a thorn in their side, true, but it was odd that they sent people for me specifically. Trying to catch me out, or by surprise. There were better people for them to go after, I’d always thought. Or at least, other people. It made little sense that they were always out for me.”

“But then,” Ojene continued, and her eyes jerked back, regarding Shandrelle through their corners, “one time we brought a new crop of refugees past the Wall, and it wasn’t a Garlean who attacked me, but an Eorzean.”

“An Eorzean?” Shandrelle repeated, dumbfounded.

“Yes- a mercenary, and of the sort seeking their fortune around these parts. It’s not the first time the Garleans got Eorzeans to do their bidding of course, beyond the people they’d already enslaved, but something seemed odd about the whole thing. I tried to get that one to talk to no avail, but the second one told me the truth. That some Gridanian paid her to do it. And when I got to the bottom of it, there was only a single name behind it.”

Blithely, Ojene shrugged. “Roiveaux,” she said.

“Roiveaux,” Shandrelle repeated, and a shiver rippled through her shoulders. “You’re sure?”

“Positive. It’s all I was ever able to get, beyond a hunch now and again that the attackers I dealt with that day weren’t Garlean either, but now I’m on the other side of the Wall and I just- want it to stop.”

Biting her lip, Shandrelle skated one hand over her rain-slicked hair. “Damn,” she breathed. “I’m sorry, Ojene- I had no idea this was happening to you.”

“I’m a little relieved to hear it- to be honest.” Quickly, Ojene’s gaze fastened to her folded hands- only to flick back up at Shandrelle shortly after. “After dealing with them for so long- I had no idea what to expect. No notion of who to trust. It’s an agony of a sort.”

With a deep sigh, Shandrelle nodded, and despite herself some small layer of spiteful anger cracked, dissolving its contents into something gentler. “So that’s what that whole- incident was about. Well, I’ll forgive you, Ojene- though I don’t know if I really should- as long as you promise not to go shoving any more blades in my face.”

Ojene flinched, and yet as her fingertips curled into the beds between her opposite fingers, her face twisted in a quiet frown. “You have to understand my position here. Even now as I tell you all of this, I don’t know if you’re someone I can trust. If you’re a person who is willing to go against your own family. Or an empire. You might think you are-” she bullied on, cutting off Shandrelle as she opened her mouth, “but a person’s mettle never shows until it’s tested. You say you don’t want to harm me and- I could believe that. But what happens when you have to choose?”

“Between you- and my family you mean?”

Quietly, Ojene nodded. “It could happen. And if you chose to help me, it probably will. Are you sure you could handle that?”

“I mean…” Shandrelle tossed up her hands, though the weight of the basket swinging on one arm stayed it at her side. “I don’t know! When you put it that way, I couldn’t say. But I’d like to think I could. Unless it turns out you’ve lied to me or some shite and you’ve really become some sort of criminal they’re out to hang.”

Ojene smiled, and darkly, a bitterly humorless note that seized something in Shandrelle’s gut, like a rabbit frozen in the bush. “Not unless you have. Very well. A test, then. Do you come down this path often?”

“Er…” Shandrelle shifted on her heels. “Every day I get the chance, usually. Which isn’t always, but often enough.”

“Then, let’s give it a week. You’ll come back here and meet me at this same bell. You won’t confide in anyone what we spoke of, or even that you’ve seen me at all. And, if you’d be so obliged, you’ll take a peek in whatever ledgers you can to see if there’s mention of me. Wailer records would likely be the best start.”

“Wailers-” Shandrelle gasped. “That’s assuming I can even get to those!”

“Perhaps not. But if you’re to help me with this, it’s largely that sort of work I’ll need you to do. Not with Wailers specifically, but reconnaissance in general. Spying. You know, the lot.” Ojene’s eyes narrowed sharply. “If you can’t figure out how to do that- well. You were always smart. I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

Without preamble, Ojene climbed to her feet, and leaving the mug of wine untouched in its dead wood cradle, she turned into the thicket of foliage. “In a week!” she called over her shoulder, then with barely more than a rustle of leaves vanished from view.

Alone Shandrelle stood by the vetch, eyes rapidly fluttering as her mind struggled round the pieces.

“Ojene!” she yelled into nothing. “That’s not very nice of you, Ojene!”

Only silence responded.

[empressxmachina]

Patients Zero - iii. by Imperial-Radiance

~Also on Wattpad~

*gasp* *cough*

Oh, good god. What? I thought I was— But, how am I—? Didn’t I get—? Wait, where am I?

Hard: I’m on something hard. Hard, flat, slick, and cold. My back hates this. I’m guessing it’s a floor. But I feel grooves, not just one that takes up my entire hand. It almost feels… made for me. Impossible. My eyes; they’re closed. It’s dark, behind and in front of the lids. Yet, there’s a glow: a… soft one? Not the blinding white from before? It’s cool, still, but not as much somehow. I wait for a voice to give me any sort of insight of where I am, and all I get back is just the gentle hum of a… a… Wait, is that a fan? No, is that a heater? Even on the hottest days outside in the real world – real because this is a fantasy, still, especially if I’m alive – it never went past room temperature. I… I’m boiling like I’m stuck in an oven.

Oh, my god. Am I being cooked in here? No, screw that. I’ll accept going out in plenty of ways in this diminutive state, but I will not go out as someone’s di—!

Well, this is… new? I finally lift my back up and open my eyes, and I’ve found myself lost… and in pain. Holy crap! Everything hurts! Ugh. But that’s the least of my worries. I’m alive, somehow, for some reason. But, why, and why here, wherever here is?

Am I crazy? This sure looks like a living room: not very different from my one at home. There’s a sofa, a table, and works of art that admittedly caught my vision immediately. I’ve liked to think that I’m not a leech for moving media, so not seeing a television or the like here is pleasing. There are dimly lit LEDs as large as me, a rug across the ground over there as large as me, and an actual fan even larger than me. Sure, it nearly takes up a whole wall like a fireplace would, but the latter would be unconventional. It’s blowing out heat, so it must switch between hot and cold. The only thing missing is a collection of literature of varying genres, but I doubt printing that small is even possible. Besides that, it’s like it was made for me.

But that’s just it. That’s fucking weird. It’s made for me, and how small am I now?

I must be going insane. This can’t be real. This room can’t possibly be mine—Oh. Oh shit.

That’s a kitchen over there behind me. A real kitchen – well, as real as it can be with its counters and cabinets. But it’s the actual cooking stuff that made it real: the primitive tools in the corner for refrigeration and cooking – some solar funnel/pot thing, I think – and the bruised yet familiar food scraps from my past life stacked in a triad of pyramids next to them. Wait, past life? I say that like it’s been forever since I was… ambushed… by someone big enough to make a place like this if they’re careful.

I’ve got to get out of here. But what is here? First things first, I should probably get my ass off the floor: this uncomfortably perfectly-sized floor.

O-Okay. Up and at it. The floor isn’t an ocean anymore. Appliances don’t have as much of a chance of killing me now. If I go this way, then I can sit at this table right here and contemplate all the dumb stuff I did to get here… wherever here is, not to mention there are enough chairs to fit a whole family or a group of housemates. Housemates. AmI alone here? Why am I here? Why do I keep asking myself these questions rather than just looking for the answer?

I’m irrational. This is irrational, but I must make the most of it. No, screw it, do I even have a choice? Well, with all these grabbable, sharp things around, I guess the answer’s technically a ‘yes.’ But. I’m not that depressed. I’m not. Not *sigh* that depressed. I’ve fought this long for others’ lives before and my own at this level, so why stop now? It’s not like I’m not used to being like this. It’s just this current situation that’s new… and heaven knows how much I love surprises… and rambling. Where was I? Oh, right.

If I go that way, now, then I can go to a surprise upstairs with who-knows-what… or who-knows-who. Would they really bunk me with someone else? I wasn’t one for strangers at full size, so how would they think I’d manage one on this scale!? They’re the ones that are short-sighted, not me. Ugh, I can’t wait to deal with that possibility. Though, maybe I don’t have to.

There’s the door. Huh.

I know I just got out of some stasis a moment ago, but it only just occurred to me that all the windows are covered and presumably closed. There seems to be no light peeking out of anywhere, either, so either it’s still nighttime, or I’m enclosed somewhere cut off from the world. No, the latter’s always going to be true here, now that I think about it. I don’t know where here is, but I do know it sure isn’t out there. There’s no use in not verifying it, though.

I guess that I shouldn’t be surprised how what should be a small door doesn’t have a lock. Yet, it has a hinge – two of them? Okay. Am I too dumb for not checking the windows? No, just crazy, but I knew that already. What’s crazier, though, is how I’m simultaneously right and wrong upon opening this door.

This is a small house, and this sure doesn’t look like a lab, a ward, and especially not that basement. To be honest, I kind of expected there to be grass or an equivalent on the ground here. Ground. I say that like this place containing me isn’t on a freaking table right now. Well, to be fair, they brought in real grass, plants, and stuff for the diorama dwellings, so I guess it’s not that weird. But those were for hundreds if not thousands of people on several stations. This is just me… and a house for me… on a table.

A table in what looks like a… a bedroom? I mean, I think I can make out the mountainous shapes of a bed, nightstands sandwiching it, and I think a dresser across from them, but it’s freaking dark in here. I’m surprised I can see that far away. Those LEDs boxed in my walls shouldn’t be able to reach that far, even if their brightness was somehow magnified through the cracks between windows and the door, yet here they are. Despite that, there’s no denying I’m in some resting place for some giant somewhere. Somewhere.

I could be freaking anywhere, but where?

I do know one thing: it’s damn fine that I don’t have a fear of heights. That helped me back there with the commons, so it’ll help me here, too. But, god, damn it, that drop is large. I bet it was intentional, along with my placement here. With the back edge cut off by the wall and the front sharply opening to this no man’s land of a room, I don’t have many options of escape.

I hear a heater running like a radiator under a window on one side of this table, and I’d rather not get burnt to cinders today. I could test my luck descending the curtains, but I don’t think I’m in proper form to climb or slide down. The opposite side is blocked by a chair in the corner. Falling onto a cushion might not be a bad idea. Maybe there’s a vent I can get through behind there. Hmm.

Screw it. I’d rather risk seeing my maker than wait for them to come to me. Chair, it is. It seems like the only way to go. But, should I take a leap of faith or weigh my options? Eh, watch with my luck, and this room’s patron comes back in and throws something atop of me – maybe even themselves. A smudge on somebody’s ass: that’s not legacy worthy. At least if I’m up here for some time, then I can probably make it back in the house and use it for even a smidgen of protection.

Hopefully.

Huh. Should I be bothered by how my steps aren’t clicking across this surface? I mean, they never did in the basement, but there were plenty of people around causing noise and whatever. Here, I’m alone… at least for now. That should be calming, shouldn’t it? Alas, as I continue forward, the curve of what-now-looks-like-an-accent-chair crests over the horizon and—

Oh, curse me.

So, I was right in being worried about possibly being suffocated to no end in colossal clothing. But, of all of them, did it have to be scrubs? I’m no color aficionado, but I do think that’s how that health-centric blue is supposed to look in this lighting—er, lack of light, I should say. Of course, they’re not just any scrubs, either. Any sensible physician would know to discard of their scrubs in at least a hamper to be washed after use or just use a new pair. These look like cast-offs like mad.

I’d put money down on them being his. That monster brought me here, didn’t here? Then, me being here would make sense: I’m where he lives or, at least, stays so he can watch me like some project.

Looking back at this rather extravagant house for a subspecies like me, who knows how much other preparation has been done since he acquired me? Is he why I’m hurt like this? Speaking of hurt, wasn’t I beeping before, and that led to all of this? It’s stopped now, and so was I, but is replacing it with pain much better? If I run away, then how do I know that the beeping won’t restart and lead to an even greater demise?

I’m curious, though, considering he could’ve ended me earlier while I was presumably incapacitated if that were his goal. But what if he may have plans for me, instead? What if he’s planning for me to run away, and that’s why he’s away, probably watching from afar? The basement had cameras whether they wanted us to know they were there or not, and I bet there’s some in here, too, with night vision, thermals, and all that other fancy gobbledygook. Ugh, it’s dark and distant in here, but damn it, I’m going to find one if it’s the last thing I—

Are you kidding me?

Do not tell me that’s been him this whole time. Him, and he’s that? Well, that’s poetic as hell, isn’t it? He was going to take me out beforeall this crap started. Now, he’s going to do me in here, instead, screwing me sideways and 1-upping me even more so.

In my visual pursuits of a camera, the last thing I expected to find was an I.D. To surprise me even more, I recognized the face on it. I remember my first time seeing it.

I was on a lunch break, just reading in my journals about Match Day – how it had been the largest amounts of matches in history or whatever – and then Doc Adams suddenly broke the fun and excitement, coming in with a list of our future interns. One of them was him. If it had been just a few years prior, then I would’ve been excited. After all, there’s nothing wrong with more doctors, right? But, Adams, the louse, has… had been trying to get me out of the doctoring game since.

It’s because he knows that I’d be better at his job than him, and the supervisors at the system H.Q. have been telling us both this. I can’t help that I love – loved– helping people directly so much to not replace it with a tedious desk job, even if it looks over pretty much everyone else in the hospital. Thus, his solution was to put more and more people in our ranks to dilute the focus away from me. It worked for a while until someone had a symptom that they didn’t know how to treat, but I did.

Despite my knowledge, this new guy was perfection, though, and from across the ocean, no less. I bet Adams creamed his pants at him on the list: this—What’s his name again? Oh, yeah: this ‘Mikul Merchant’ or whatever. I wonder how many bribes Adams had to make to get him. But that doesn’t matter now, does it? The first day for the interns would’ve been months ago, and the kid and I are both here, apparently, with him ruining my life just as much if not more so than he would’ve been without this wretched disease.

Though, if he was already on this continent way before then, then he must’ve been excited, too. After all, I’m sure his home country has its own center like this where he could’ve been. Why was he here, and how in the world did he turn out to be a carrier, too?

Upon registration, everyone is given I.D.s, but rather than having the random number sequences and barcodes the others get until they’re rendered useless by dwindling heights to where they can’t carry the damn thing, carriers’ listings are just ‘zeroes’ with a Q.R. code. I’m positive that’s how that self-deprecating squad of bugs found me and put their emotions out on and into me. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one here, so why would they charge me rather than someone like him? Well, besides his youth, foreignness, and relative handsomeness that may correlate with them, unlike me, he’s a carrier of and might as well be immune to both strains.

Curse this minute minutia. Curse my imperfections. But, most importantly, screw this—!

*CLICK* God, no.

Before I can even blink, a beam of light blinds me, revealing the previously dark side of the room and thus allowing me to see that this isn’t just a bedroom but more like a hotel room. A vanity adjacent to a closed closet appears. It’s spanning across the wall opposite me, this table and chair, that house of mine, and the window. How I didn’t see the reflection of this house in the mirror beforehand is beside me. But, no other reflection aside from my own hasn’t yet come into view, which makes me wonder if this is genuinely that giant’s room.

I know I used to come across my team’s scrubs in my office on occasion, so who’s to say that a lead person isn’t just keeping subject/’Doctor’ Merchant’s clothing with them for testing or safekeeping? Though, I don’t think that just throwing them across a chair shows its direct importance or proper sanitation practices. Or, maybe there’s another type of experiment going on. Perhaps it’s just dealing with me and what I do in this new location? Either way, that doesn’t answer whose room this is or why—

Never mind. There, he is. I’m here with him. I should stop doubting myself. No, this is the one time I should challenge anything and everything I’ve ever known.

Emerging from what I assume is a bathroom, a lanky, lean embodiment of a supposed human comes through. Supposed. Humans aren’t meant to be that large. It’s almost godly – the glow of his mostly bare, solely-pants-wearing, towel-draping-necked form – but I’m not glorifying a monster, checking his face and onyx hair over the sink and counter like he hasn’t done anything wrong. His auburn skin with no marks in sight is so nourished like he’s been able to bathe sensibly and get proper sunlight. There’s not one eye bag or wrinkle like he’s never had a single stressor in his life: the pampered, pompous prick. I’d almost say he’s prettier in person, but beasts are never pretty.

If you’re here, then you should be under all the stresses. Yet, here you are, flouncing around almost naked like you aren’t contracted with and spreading disease! If that’s the case, then why the hell am I here, trapped with you—!?

You… You… You’ve got to be kidding me. I mean, it was only a matter of time, but… don’t fucking dare.

Before I can even comprehend it, his almond gaze snaps on me like a locked crosshair in a gun’s sight. I try freezing in place, but I’m sure the vanity lights are making my eyes glow like a beady animal’s, so it’s all in vain. Aside from that, I didn’t think he had even noticed me at first, but then he had squinted his eyes and cocked his head like an inquisitive dog trying to hear. Just to test my luck, he even acknowledges me… or whatever he thinks I am if he doesn’t know for sure for some reason,

“H-Huh?” He sounds so soft, almost… Nope, I’m not going to say that. There’s no way he actually cares. I… I’m nothing in comparison. He’s taken out souls larger and smaller than me, so what difference would I make? “Is something there?” See? ‘Something.’

I’m a thing now.

I almost thought he’d salivate for his new toy, treat, or whatever I am to him. He’s already been a predator in public upon thousands of eyes. How much craftier will he be, all alone? I’m not going to wait to find out. Even if that’s what he’s expecting me to do, I don’t care. It’s fight-or-flight, and the former is definitely out of the question.

“W-Wait!”

Like hell, I’m doing that.

[justsomeartsthings]

Print Me A House And Home

Summary: Sans breaks the lab’s printers while Alphys is away. With a little applied quantum theory, this somehow leads to his boss becoming his flatmate. Pre-Sanster, Sans POV, Fluff (with a sprinkle of Angst).

.

“ya gotta be kiddin’ me.” 

You rap your knuckles on the side of the printer. There’s a click and a foreboding thump from inside. You take a cautious step back, hands raised. 

“uh. hey, doc, is al in today?”

No response. You glance into the empty office behind you.

“boss?”

No dice.

“…i’m stealing your snacks. speak now or forever hold your chisps.”

Nada.

“your loss, dude.”

You snag the bag of popato chisps off of his desk and pop them open. The noise is like a firecracker set off inside your skull.

…Still ix-nay on the eleton-skay.

You toss a few chisps past your teeth and knock on the printer again. No one home. Not even a suspicious ticking noise. Lame.

You’re halfway through the chisps bag, tapping an absent rhythm on the printer, when there’s footsteps and the rustling of papers in the hallway. A few seconds later, Dr. W. D. Gaster strides through the doorway, head bowed. It’s a rare candid moment; he’s too engrossed in the notebook in his hands to notice you.

You watch him for a bit, debating whether to spook him.

“‘sup.”

To his credit, he doesn’t physically startle. He does snap his notebook shut, abruptly alert. “Sans. What are you…?”

“had to use your printer.” You extend the open pop bag. “chisp?”

He doesn’t even check to see if they’re his. He takes one. “The vending machine is two floors down.”

“eh. too far.”

“You could use the elevator.”

“why bother. it’s just gonna let me down.”

“Mm. And I suppose you’ve vetoed the stairs because they are ‘up to something’.”

“hey. don’t knock my jokes. they’re hy-stair-ical.” You crumple the empty chisp bag and toss it at Gaster, who catches it and drops it in the bin. “is alphys clocking in anytime soon?”

“She’s at a seminar in New Home. She won’t be back for another four hours.” He places the notebook on his desk. “Is there something wrong with your own printer?”

“yup. i tried to print a report of some results for an experiment this morning. somethin’ went wrong, think i jammed it. figured i’d use yours.”

His eyelights snap to the printer. “And it’s jammed mine as well?”

You chuckle. Break into the man’s office under printing problem pretenses, and watch him squirm. Give him a printer to fix, he’ll hyperfixate on it so hard he almost seems sane.

“looks like it. same thing happened to al’s printer, too.”

“That would explain why I couldn’t print my notes a few hours ago.” He approaches the machine, huffing. “It’s only Tuesday, and you’ve already managed to break all three of our printers.”

“i call it a magic touch.”

“I find it highly unlikely you would ever employ percussive maintenance. Especially of the bullet pattern variety.”

“heh heh. point taken.” You shrug. “wrong on the first count, though. i gave ‘em a few love taps.”

“Mm. Bandages are on my desk.”

“cute. i can take a printer, old man, and i could take you.”

“That would put you at two counts of theft and one of kidnapping. Tread carefully.” He removes the back panel of the printer and peers inside. “That’s peculiar. This experiment report— was it for the causality trials?”

“just the test run.”

“And your printer has the same kind of jam?”

“same jelly, same jar.”

“It appears to be routine.”

“bread n’butter.”

“It looks fried.”

“that’s probably a doughboy, then.”

“It can’t be a coincidence.”

“i didn’t say coincidence, i said doughboy.”

He snaps out of his thoughts at that. “What? What’s ‘doughboy?’”

“uh, s’like pre-bread? don’t call me ‘boy’.”

“I didn’t—” He shakes his head, baffled. “What in Asgore’s name are you going on about?”

“the printer. you sure you know what you’re doin’?”

He shoots you a glare just before shoving his hands all up in the printer’s mechanical guts. “I’m a highly skilled engineer who just so happened to design and construct the self-sustaining generator which the entire Underground, including this lab, runs on. I can handle a jammed printer.”

“ok, jeez, doc. no point tryin’ to print receipts, the printer’s already doughboy-ed.”

Gaster doesn’t reply, but after a few moments of tinkering, he does squint in a concerning manner. “Hm.”

“hm?”

“Hm.”

“i’m no printer engineer, but ‘hm’ doesn’t sound like a technical term.”

“It is when I say it.” And, well, he’s got you there. “It appears Alphys has been printing Mew Mew Kissy Cutie posters on her work printer.”

“uh,” you say. “what? how do you know?”

In response, Gaster pulls out an impossibly large poster from the back of the printer. It’s slightly crumpled, due to its dimensions being bigger than the printer could ever realistically print, and even laminated, which you’re pretty sure Gaster’s printer can’t do.

“Something tells me we will find your test results in Alphys’ printer, and my notes from this morning in yours.”

“woah. you’re kiddin’. scoot over,” you say, sidling up to him to peer inside the printer’s exposed mechanics. “you think alphys’ printer and my printer are superposed in yours?”

“Potentially.”

“that’s… uh,” you say. “impractical.”

“To say the least.”

“alphys is gonna have a field day with this when she gets back.”

“I’m sure the eventual clutter of dismantled printers will speak for itself.”

“heh. i gotta say, i’m kinda disappointed. i expected superposition to sound a lot more chaotic.”

He makes an assenting noise. You look over at him, and then nearly do a double-take. You didn’t notice before, but he’s as tense as a compressed spring, very intently inspecting the Mew Mew Kissy Cutie poster. Or, more likely, very deliberately not looking at you. 

Upon second glance, you are a lot closer to him than you reasonably need to be.

“heh. whoops. my bad,” you say, stepping to the side. “didn’t mean to crowd you.”

“…Not at all,” he says quietly, then clears his throat. He puts the back panel over the printer again and straightens up. “We should, er, go check the other printers. Just in case.”

“sure,” you say.

“Good,” he says.

“great,” you say.

And you go.

It’s kind of funny, this sort of dance the two of you have fallen into. Stepping on eggshells, tiptoeing around each other at work. Ignoring that you’ve got a crush on him. That he’s got a gigantic crush on you. It’s ridiculous, and hilarious, mainly because he’s centuries old and you’re, well, not.

For whatever reason, whether he’s worried about being deemed a cradle robber or a douchebag boss, or something else entirely, he hasn’t made a move on you yet. But hey, that’s fine by you. You’ve got all the time in the world.

Though you do hope it won’t actually take him that long.

“It will be faster if we split up,” he says, once you reach the intersecting hallway between your office and Alphys’. He starts to take off by himself, leaving you behind.

You reach out and grab his wrist.

“hang on a sec. if you’re right about superposition—”

“It’s very likely that I am.”

“then you realize checking the printers separately could affect the outcome. ‘that which is observed is changed’, n’all that?”

“Well, yes. But it may be an inevitability anyway,” he says. “And even so, the replication of this event is statistically extremely unlikely. This may be our only chance to see whether our theory of personal observation holds true.”

“but it’ll kill the control variable, won’t it? we already saw your printer—”

“Oh, it could, most certainly— but not if our current theories of quantum entanglement hold true.”

“quantum—? for a whole printer? boss, we’re years away from proving that particle entanglement exists on the subatomic scale, never mind above it.”

“Not once we check the printers, we won’t be,” he points out. “There’s a chance the only way to trigger binding entanglement at such a large scale is through unrelated proofs.”

Unrelated—?

And, oh. 

You’re physically incapable of gaping, but the sentiment must show in your eyelights, because he grins down at you, the smug bastard.

“All caught up?”

“we’ll know entanglement can occur if our personal observations affect the outcomes of a superimposed subject— and if it doesn’t, we’ll have potentially disproven three separate quantum theories at once, since each cannot exist without the other. it’s… extremely assumptive and unreliable science—”

“Unless it works.”

“uh, no, i’m pretty sure it’s still unorthodox and totally fallible,” you say. “but hey. personal confirmation’s gotta count for somethin’, right?”

He laughs, bright and clear. “Yes, yes, I suppose. In a sense.”

“well, then, in a sense, it’s genius.”

More than genius, really. And Gaster knows it is, going by the look on his face. For a moment, time slows, and you take in his eyelights, fuzzy and dilated. How his entire silhouette brims with restrained excitement. Riding on the high that comes just before a dramatic breakthrough.

And yeah, maybe there’s more important things at hand, but god, he’s beautiful when he gets like this.

“heh. how ‘bout we save the ego inflation until after we get results,” you say. The cusp of quantum discovery isn’t the time or place for mutual, unspoken workplace crushes.

“Right. Then we’ll meet back here as soon as possible,” Gaster says, and turns to go—

Only to be yanked back by your hand, clasped tightly in his.

Oh.

You stare at your joined hands, soul fluttering. His fingers are intertwined with yours, slender phalanges and thick knuckles complementing each other like a welded whole.

At some point, you must’ve let go of his wrist and taken his hand instead. You hadn’t even noticed.

“uh. eheh. whoops.” You let go and try to pull away. But Gaster’s hand doesn’t budge. “doc?”

He’s as still as a statue, his eyelights focused somewhere over your shoulder. A flighty feeling grows in your bones the longer you have his hand in yours. 

And then he says, quietly: “Have you been sleeping here, Sans?”

Your soul wrenches itself in another direction.

“what?”

Gaster gestures behind you with his other hand, but you don’t turn to look. In a rush, it comes to you, what he must be looking at. 

You’d had a long night, then a rough morning with Pap. This afternoon, you weren’t as careful as you usually are. You remember leaving your office door open, and, like the idiot you are, you remember leaving out your sleeping bag, your cheap diner food wrappers, your half-sharpied sneakers. And then you got so caught up in causality, your experiment, and printing those results— 

You forgot to hide your mess.

Fuck.

“You’ve been sleeping here overnight.”

“it’s not, uh,” you begin weakly, but it really is what it looks like. And judging by the way Gaster hasn’t torn his eyelights from your mess, he knows it. 

There’s no point making a fool out of yourself by lying. 

But that doesn’t mean you don’t hate the way your voice goes quiet without your consent. 

“…it’s not as bad as it looks.”

“What about your brother— Papyrus? Is he—?”

“no. god, no. trust me, you’d know if pap was loose in this place,” you chuckle a little desperately. “he stays with a couple of friends in new home while i work. temporarily, y’know. just while we’re between houses.”

“Between houses,” Gaster echoes, finally looking down at you again. It’s fine. You’re fine. “I locked down the lab last weekend— were you on the streets for that time?”

“nah, we, uh. heh.” You clear your throat. Look to the wall. Shove your free hand in your pocket. 

Anything to distract from the fact that you can’t keep your voice steady.

You’ve never talked about it to anyone before. Out loud. You didn’t expect it to be this difficult. And it doesn’t help that Gaster doesn’t give you an out. He just stares at you, expectant. You have no idea how to read the expression he’s wearing. 

So you gather yourself and let your mouth run like a loose motor.

“we house-hopped for a while, ‘til we could make it to snowdin. there’s a place out there i’ve been savin’ up for. real spacious, real cheap. y’know. somethin’ decent we can handle the mortgage for with my salary. and the guy who owns it wanted to meet up anyway. so th’ timing worked out.”

“Sans—”

“it’s fine, doc. really. trust me. been doin’ this since i could remember,” And it is fine. The more you talk, the less he’ll hear. You’ll be fine, as long as you don’t let him speak. “listen, i’ll pack it all up when i clock out, i’ve got friends we can bunk with—”

“Absolutely not.”

“—i can make it work, but, uh, y’know, i’m sorry i—”

“Sans.” He squeezes your hand, tight. Your soul scales your throat and smothers your protests. “You’re staying in my apartment until the house is yours.”

You blink up at him, uncomprehending.

“Asgore rents the place out to me, as per our contract. I can assure you, you would not be imposing.”

Slowly, the words start to trickle in. Imposing. In his apartment.

He wants you to stay. With him. In his apartment.

“oh,” you say. Like an idiot.

“It’s fully stocked, and more than big enough to house you, your brother, and I.”

The mention of Papyrus is enough to get your thoughts moving again.

“wh— uh. hang on. slow down, doc. i can’t do that.” He doesn’t reply. You shake your head, even as some part of you starts to settle into the idea. A house, regular meals. Gaster sleeping in the neighboring room. “no, no, c’mon. i’m serious.”

“As am I.”

He is. And you hate that. You hate that he’s serious. 

You hate that you want him to be serious.

Now you can’t stop yourself from considering it. Your thoughts run ahead of you, wondering what you’d be able to do if you weren’t constantly worrying about food on the table or the roof overhead. What a relief it would be to have a stable home life, not in a few years, not in a few months, but now.

No more bed hopping, or borrowing clothes. No more stretches of time spent starving in dank alleyways.

No need to worry about transportation to the lab or to wherever Pap ends up staying during the work day.

And not just that, but someone to secure it for you. Someone you know for a fact won’t toss you out at the drop of a pin, who won’t hold it over your head, or pander ulterior motives. 

Someone who doesn’t think you’re a disgusting excuse for a monster.

It sounds too good to be true.

And to top it all off, here Gaster is, looking at you like he knows he’s offering you dinners and bedtimes and breakfasts and domestic things and stability and a normal life that you could never get on your own merit.

And the only objection you can think of is:

“doesn’t that break some sort of— i dunno, fraternization rule, or something?”

Gaster blinks down at you. You’re slightly relieved to see his expression change into something more familiar.

“We are a collective twenty steps away from an immense scientific discovery that could redefine the way we conceptualize reality itself,” he says, “and you’re worried about fraternization.”

Which, okay, that’s a little unfair.

“doc, we’re twenty steps away from an immense scientific discovery, and you wanna argue about where i sleep at night.”

He takes a breath to argue, then cants his head. “You have a point.”

“don’t i.”

“This can wait.”

“can’t it.”

“I suppose we should… get on with it.”

“uh-huh.” You swallow around the lump in your throat. “as soon as you let go of my hand.”

“Oh. Right. Yes.” He releases your hand a little sheepishly. Centuries, you have to remind yourself. “Apologies.”

“don’t sweat it.”

As soon as he starts moving, you turn heel and make a beeline for your office. 

You shut the door behind you and slide down the back of it until your knees hit your chest. Then you tuck your head between your legs and you breathe.

You’re fine. It’s fine. You just— you need a minute. Just a minute. In a few seconds, you’ll open your eyesockets, and you’ll be fine.

Alone. Safe.

Fine.

You open your eyes.

Your mess awaits you, splayed at your ankles. It spirals far into the room like an extension of yourself. You stare at it with the appropriate amount of disgust.

Strewn wrappers, unwashed laundry. Empty bottles and cans you planned to sell for a couple G apiece. You never left any of it out during the daytime before. Not where the stark laboratory overhead lights strip it of nighttime’s leniency. Right now, it’s all there, laid bare for the world to see.

It’s just things. Fabric and plastic and glass and other meaningless things. 

It is what it is, but it’s not. It’s more than that.

And you know, if it would’ve been Alphys, it would’ve been easier. Because you’re not ashamed of your situation. Really. It sucks, but it happens. You get that. She would get that. It’s just. You just didn’t want anyone to know. You didn’t want Gaster to know. 

You didn’t want Gaster to look at your things and see more than just quirks or weird habits. But he did. Almost too quickly. He saw right through you. 

You wouldn’t have pegged him for a monster who has fallen on hard times. Not like you have.

But it happens. You get that.

So…

So maybe you have less to worry about than you thought.

You swipe at your eyesockets and take to your feet. Either way, you shouldn’t dwell on it, not now. Not when you have work to do. 

...Not when you have three quantum theories to potentially disprove, what in Asgore’s name are you doing?

Your printer is just as you left it on your desk. You loop around the back of it, kicking a stray ketchup bottle out of your way, and take off the panel without a hitch.

No Mew Mew Kissy Cutie poster in sight. Small mercies. You plunge your hand into the printer’s depths.

“yahtzee,” you mutter under your breath, once you’re elbow-deep. 

Anticipation sneaks past your defenses, as you pull out the piece of paper touching your fingertips. Your shambles of a home life aside, this is a big moment. You should be enjoying it.

You shake out the page, flatten it against your desk, and quickly scour its contents.

...It’s Gaster’s notes. In his handwriting, scanned and copied and printed.

Unwittingly, you start to re-crumple the paper between your fingers. The mess in your office melts away, suddenly distant and small in comparison to the realization cresting your thoughts— the mantra ringing through your head over and over like the chiming of the Judgement Hall’s bells— 

He did it.

He was right.

Superposition, entanglement, personal observation— everything. He was right.

You don’t get the chance to bolt out of your office— he meets you at your door. You swing it open, blustered by the draft, and hold up Gaster’s notes. He starts laughing before you even see your experiment report in his hands.

“holy shit,” you breathe.

“Indeed.”

“holy shit.”

“I am treating both you and your brother to dinner tonight,” Gaster pants, slapping the report into your hands. “Until then, we can discuss a more suitable salary for your expenses. Come evening, we’ll pick up Papyrus…”

He keeps talking, but you can’t process a word of what he’s saying. It doesn’t occur to you that you probably just got a raise, or that you won’t be dumpster diving tonight, or even that you’ve somehow completely accepted the fact that you’ll be roommates with your boss for the foreseeable future.

None of it matters, because Gaster is grinning, eyesockets wide, breath stolen from wonder, his hands planted firmly on your shoulders. He looks barely in control of himself.

You can’t believe you thought he was beautiful before. You’ve never seen him look at you like this.

You don’t want him to stop.

Eventually, however, he realizes you aren’t listening to a word he’s saying. So he stops talking, rolls his eyelights, and abruptly turns around to lead the way back to his office.

You blink after his receding outline, still blinded by the afterimage of his expression. Something brushes your side, and you look down.

One of his conjured hands is clutching yours. The asymmetry of the grip is just as perfectly aligned as it was with his real hand. 

You give the mimic a squeeze. It squeezes back.

With one last look at the chaos of your office, you shut your door behind you and drift along in Gaster’s wake, smiling.

.

AO3

[chaniters]

Blood in the water

Part 8 of @kruk-art‘s Awan Cormac’s series. 

Awan mixes out some detective and thieving along with Steel and Anathema. 

Tried to write up something a bit funnier this time too!

___________________________________________

“It’s like she’s everywhere now,” Anathema says watching Elyise’s billboard trough the car’s window. This isn’t the first sign you’ve seen, they’re all over the highways and TV. This one is massive, displaying her in a power pose in full costume. The fine print states her new slogan, which she accidentally said in an interview. If you recall she was crying about her mother’s death as the reporter kept pushing the questions “It’s not the powers or the cape that define a hero, but the sacrifices they decide to make”

“Reaper’s investing lots of money on her career,” you say leaning back. With Steel on the wheel and Anathema on the companion’s seat, you’ve got the whole backseat to yourself. “He’s even become her manager. I talked to him, and he says he thinks she can carry off his legacy now that he's’ retired.”

“Well, she’s amazing right?… Fighting her own supervillain mother… I thought that shit only happened in the movies they make”

“Not anymore,” Steel says taking a turn off the highway.  “And there’s already a movie in the works”

“Already?” you ask

“Yes. She’s a real inspiration. Doing things by the book all the time, even if it means fighting her own. Registered as a hero in under a week. Unlike some other people.” you can feel his gaze squinting at you through the mirror.  

“Well maybe you should ask her to join the Rangers” You say looking back.

“That’s a very real possibility” he answers dryly.

Eventually, Anathema breaks the uncomfortable silence that follows. 

“So what do we know about this scene?”

“Nine dead. And they’re saying it’s not pretty so I hope you didn’t have too much for breakfast” Steel answers “Because we’re almost there” 

-----------Half an hour later------------------

“This is fucked up,” you say circling around the bloodstains. Forensics already took samples and pictures so you have free reign over the scene. This isn’t the worst you’ve seen considering your past, but the killings in this warehouse are not something you’ve seen before.

“It’s really bad,” Anathema says looking at the corpse on the floor and the stains on the wall. “But I bet Steel’s seen worse right?” he adds nervously.

“No kid, he’s right” Steel answers looking at a severed hand, nearly split in two between the fingers. “This really fucked up. You have to be a really sick bastard to go all the way about actually dismembering people” 

Anathema goes silent, his first time in a murder scene bloody enough to put Steel off his game. He’s clearly feeling the pressure but trying to keep appearances while you and Steel are unphased. 

“Annie, why don’t you go talk to the forensics team, see if they can get us a first hand on the DNA results when they’re done?” you ask “We could end up catching the culprit from the database alone.”

“Aahh.. sure! I’ll go do that!” he says walking off trying not to look too relieved. 

Steel approaches, speaking in a lower tone as Anathema goes outside.

“You beat me to it”

“It’s good enough that he didn’t throw up in here.”

“I’ll be honest, I’ve never seen anything like this, even during the war. It’s sickening. And it makes me wonder what’s the worst thing you’ve seen Sidestep because you’re going through this mess like it was a walk in the park”

You frown lightly. Always looking for clues, this one. Can’t let your guard down for a minute. 

“It’s usually the living you should be scared off” 

“True enough. You’re the detective, or so you claim. What do you make of this?” 

Your gaze runs trough the crime scene slowly as you describe what your instincts are telling you.

“Seven males, two females, all dead and the cause seem to be severe, brutal slashing cuts. I haven’t seen a single stab wound, this isn’t knives we’re dealing with. Some sort of sword perhaps? The assailant also must be of incredible strength, enough to dismember with clean cuts, going straight through the bone. Went through them like paper” 

Steel nods slowly, seeing what you see as you continue your assessment

“The victims had an impressive array of firearms, and two of them are modded with extra strength” you add glancing at a thorn mechanical arm “And what’s more, they fought back as hard as they could. The attacker came trough this window, and their response must have been almost immediate” you point to the numerous bullet holes and cracks on the wall by the window. 

“The attacker did not use a gun, or at least none of the victims was shot, so unless it was bullet-proof we’re most likely going to get a clear sample of their DNA around one of the bloodstains on this wall. I mean, every shot here must have been aimed at them.” 

“They used heavy ammo too,” Steel says running a finger through a large crack. 

“I’ll defer to you on that, you’re the specialist. How much firepower would you say the victims were packing?”  

“Let’s just say they would have put my armor to the test”

“Now that’s unnerving. Alright, so the attacker broke in, messed them up while they kept shooting at it, broke through here, and entered this hidden room which they somehow knew was here, then stole everything inside these medical-supply boxes and finally jumped down the street this way” you say looking through the broken window.  

“Impressive” Steel nods “And It could be just right I'd say.” 

“There’s more. They had tons of guns, were hiding in a nowhere apartment on the bad side of town in a semi-abandoned building,  and they had a secure room hidden behind a false wall with broken needles and medical supplies behind them. I’m going to make a wild guess: They were dealers. Hero-drug dealers that is. That’s why the boxes are empty. The attacker took the drugs”

“You can’t be sure they were dealing hero-drugs” Steel complains

“Not from the scene. But look through the window” you say looking down. He joins you trying to see what you see. 

“You know who that is, right?” you say pointing at the stout figure with the top hat.  It waves back with a jovial smile revealing sharp shark-like teeth as it walks to the building’s entrance... 

“You’re right. Hero drugs it is. No way in hell Hollow Ground’s number one stooge would show up here otherwise.”

“We’ll need to talk to him. Lewie doesn’t show up to these things for nothing. This definitely must be one of HG’s places.”

Steel sighs. “Do we have to?” 

“He’s the only one who might know who did this”

“Agreed. But he won’t say a word to us. He must be just showing up to assess the damage. I bet he owns the building, that’s always his excuse”

“I can take Annie and then see what we can find meeting him at his office? He doesn’t really know us well. An I know you can’t stand talking to the guy”

Steel squints at you. “Are you trying to make me owe you one?”

“Not really, but it wouldn’t be terrible if you helped out next time I need something”

He studies you with a calculating gaze for a moment.

“Fine. You and Anathema go for it, he makes me want to squish his head every single time he gets within arms distance after the things he pulled on us”

“So you’ll owe me one?”

“I’ll think about it” he offers, but you know it’s a yes. 

“Great! Enjoy your crime-scene big guy” 

________Later, that afternoon____________

“Smells like fish in here. Can I open a window?” you ask without waiting for a response as you simply open it yourself.  

The big, shark-faced person sitting in front of you squeezes his plastic cup with a huge scaled hand while holding the forms you presented in the other one. Fish references are no to his liking it seems.  Anathema’s just reading a magazine on traveling he found in the reception room. 

“So let me get this straight Sidestep… You want a loan from me, for the purpose of -and I quote-  “Fucking fighting crime hell yeah”, but you won’t give me your real name, or your social security number. In the “Gender” item you just wrote “Enemy of the Patriarchy” and your occupation just states “Kicking evil’s ass”. No assets to your name, no previous employments, references, no bank accounts, insurance or anything. Also no driver’s license. … hm... And let’s not forget your address “1234 Chicken Dinner Road”. Excuse me but I’m not sure that’s an actual road here in Los Diablos…”

“Ok fine, maybe I don’t have all my paperwork with me, but I’m totally reliable!” you whine from your chair. 

 “I know you think I’m dying to get every hero to enjoy one of our exclusive loan products but this is really stretching it. Perhaps if you offered some fingerprints or took off your mask, we could…”

“Sorry! I think I got glue on my hands while putting on the costume today. Do you see? Can’t take it off” you say pretending to try.

He narrows his gaze at you, his annoyment palatable in your mind. 

“Do I kick them out boss?” Debra, the modded thug standing on the corner says looking at the two of you.

“I’m really really busy Sidestep. Perhaps it’s time you and your friend hit the road?” 

“What? You haven’t even read Anathema’s form yet!” 

“He’s just wasting your time!” Debra complains

“Not true! Anathema’s the one who wanted it, I just wanted to see how good my credit is… sorry. I just never asked for a loan before. Maybe I’ll do it better next time?”  you talk back.

“He’s asking for a loan too?” Lewie says turning to him, losing all pretense about being interested in you. Giving a loan to a ranger would be great publicity to him 

“What?” Anathema snaps out of his magazine as he’s mentioned.

“Of course he is. For his vacations. He’s taking several friends on a cruise for a few good weeks of wild fun, you know, the really good stuff.  And we know you've organized some of the best cruises for your own friends. Maybe you can help him out?”

“Well I have on occasion been known to organize legendary cruises, that’s true,” the Loanshark says with a smile that aims to be cordial but just looks plain murderous. He’s vulnerable to flattery, you sensed as much. 

“Dear Sidestep. What the heck are you doing to me?” Anathema whispers gently at your ear pulling back at your suit’s shoulder fabric. 

“What does it look like I'm doing my dear friend Annie? Getting you a free vacation” you whisper back with an equally charming tone, smiling at Debra and the Loanshark as if this were your normal interactions. You’re also sending them a mental command to distract them from the whispering because sharks have a very good hearing of lower sounds. 

“Yes, I know that. But have you considered I don’t want to ask for a loan from a literal loan shark?” he says pulling you even closer.

“Remember the time I got the wrong door and accidentally entered Steel’s room once and he had a two-hour fit? Well to get back at him I stole his ranger manual and sort of never gave it back. I’ve been studying your regulations, and you’re allowed extraordinary expenses during investigations. This is an investigation, and the loan is an extraordinary expense. You can have the Ranger’s pay for it” 

“That can’t be a real thing,” he says squinting at you. 

“Perhaps you forgot the time Ortega went to investigate those mobsters in the casino and lost all that money on the dice table to overhear their conversation…?”

“Uh… that’s not... right”

“Of course it’s not, but it’s legal,” you say handing the Loanshark the paperwork you filled in for Anathema

“Ohh what have we here” the Loanshark goes over the forms. “Now this is a completely different story” he adds going over the pages. “We can do things kid. Great things! How many grands do you need for this cruise…?” he says standing up “Have you gone over destinations yet?” 

“Ehr... no?” Anathema goes on.

“Give him the whole speech Lewie. I don’t think he’s ever had so much money at once before, least of all spent it”

“I will! Come here my new best friend!” he says patting his back “Follow me to the other office. We have to discuss this over drinks. Me and the rangers! I knew it would happen one day. We’re going to talk business!”

“I’ll be out of your hair Lewie... I’ll show myself out” you say sending another distracting command, specifically to Debra this time. 

“Wonderful, wonderful. Your friend leaves you in good hands Anathema. This way please”

“... help…?” Anathema whimpers as the Loanshark guide him away. 

You head out to the streets pretending to leave while actually maintaining the mental command to distract Debra so she doesn’t make sure you’ve walked far enough. She just acts as if you had already left for good. 

Perfect. 

As they turn a corner, you start climbing the rooftops making your way back. A single push of a button activates the scrambler you had prepared for The Void, freezing all the Cameras in a loop, while turning the alarms in the building offline. You knew that thing would come in handy. A single jump and you enter trough his office’s window. That’s why you opened it from the inside it in the first place. 

Time for the fun part. Snooping around his stuff…

You sensed stray thoughts about his ledger being in the room. It takes a few moments before you find the safe, hidden under the carpet. The hatch’s lock is relatively easy to pick, but the computerized code lock on the actual safe is not. 

It takes a painfully long amount of fiddling before you manage to plug in the cellphone you modified to the electronic lock. Normally a lock like this would be impossible to crack, but you’ve got access to the farm’s top-of-the-line black-ops decryption protocols programs… another thing Nathaniel thaught you. 

It had been a while since you felt this thrill… They could get back and find you anytime. A quick scan reveals Debra hasn’t returned to the security desk yet, preferring to check on Anathema.  He seems to be playing along with your plan, distracting the Loanshark just long enough for….

*Bleep* the lock goes, as the safe opens. 

“Yes!” you whisper to yourself as you check the contents. 

Several ledgers, and a few labeled data-rods. And a lot of money. You get to work immediately, taking quick pictures of each page with your phone. It takes a painfully long time, but you have to do it, the Loanshark’s old-school and he believes nothing’s safe inside a computer so everything he knows about Hollow Ground’s operations should be here. 

You sense they’re about to be done with their chat as you finish the last pages. 

You scramble to check out the data-rods. The labels are all names of relatively known people…politicians, and some heroes. You notice several dedicated to Ortega. One reads “Public drunkness, barging at the casino”. Another one goes “Unlawful arrest of citizen -me- claiming he’s blackmailing witnesses”. The next one goes “Crazed claims about me working for Hollow Ground and threats of violence”. And the last one simply reads “Marshall Charge, getting to second base with Lady Blades”.

Wow. Lady Blades? That villain was one of Ortega’s first enemies when he was just a sidekick. Clearly the Loanshark is digging dirt on Ortega and has found a fair share of it. It’s not a real surprise since Lewie is the closest thing Hollow Ground has to a spokesperson, and Ortega’s been trying to get him to talk for ages. 

You’re about to close the safe when one last rod catches your interest. Its label reads “Riley.  Ask first before using”. So he’s got dirt on her too? Weird since she’s only just now become a public hero persona. The Loanshark would never admit to having a boss. Hollow Ground doesn’t officially exist. Whom else could he ask about this? And it says Riley, not Elyise? 

The rod could contain anything, and this could ruin her chances of entering the rangers. You’re not going to let him blackmail her. You plug the data-rod and copy it as well before setting it back. You’re not sure why you’re doing this even... There’s something funny about this being in the Loanshark’s safe. 

Time to free all these people from his clutches. 0

You take a small device from your inner pocket and set it into the safe around the data-rods. A press of the button and it starts buzzing before emitting an electrical discharge that fries all the electronics inside.

The Loanshark might find out it was you at some later point, but you’re not going to let him keep dirt on half the city. Charge and Elyise can thank you later. 

Footsteps approaching… you get out through the window, jump off a few rooftops and land on the streets before deactivating your scrambler, the alarms inside his building going back online. You don’t sense anything from Debra so they don’t suspect. 

Turning around the block, you find Anathema waiting for you nervously.

“Did you get it?” he asks as you approach

“Oh, I got it. And some extras too”

“Great. Because he’s waiting for me to make a final decision about the loan”

“So are you going to take it?” you smile

“ Of course not! I’m not going to owe anything to that asshole!” 

“Well, I could give you a loan myself now!” 

“You? How? You never have any money!”

“Lies. I have a job now!” 

“And what’s that?”

“Stealing from assholes!” you say letting him take a peek of the Loanshark’s money in your pocket.”

______________________________________

My fanfics: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.

[paladin-andric]

Jotober, Day 1: Ring

Yes, it begins again! I’m actually doing it.

However, some of the days might just have short passages or something. I don’t have the same time and freedom as last year, though this might help get me back into the groove and continue my writing.

For day one, we see that just wearing random magical treasure is probably not the best idea...

Robert let out a short laugh as he came to the realization. All around him, the scraggly cries and shrill yelling had come to a stop.

All the creatures were dead. The battle was won.

The man put lowered his bow as Jeremy let out a cheer.

“We did it!” the larger human boomed, already tucking his sword away and moving forward.

The group was in a cavern, one that was previously teeming with vile beasts. These adventurers had met up in a tavern by chance, all having been drawn to the area by the rumors of the great pile of treasure hidden in the mountain they were currently inside.

The main reason it hadn’t been claimed yet was the hordes of drakes and kobolds that lived within, attacking and killing any who approached. There was a rumor of a dragon too, but that one seemed fake now that they stood in silence.

Robert had been with the army for a few years as a bowman, and now put those refined skills to use in mercenary work. His kit was quite humble, with a gambeson and a kettle helm as his only means of protection. Well, those were the two most important points of the body to protect…

Jeremy on the other hand wore a plate chest piece and tough leather pants, along with plate boots and gauntlets. His arms and head were exposed, showing his short hair and clean-shaven face to the world.

“Alright, time for the treasure!” Jeremy called out, moving ahead of the group quickly.

“Hey, easy!” Robert yelled, “There could still be traps or ambushes ahead!”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“He’s right, Jeremy.”

A woman in scale armor, carrying a mace and shield stood beside Robert. Julia gave the warrior a stern look.

“Let him search the area first.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Come on guys, we’re wasting time!”

“Aye, they speak the truth!”

The fourth and final member of the group stepped forward, a wizard in long, flowing robes carrying a large staff. This was Pateric, a koutu adventurer from the far west. His plumage was reminiscent of a bluebird.

“I dinnae ken if this is a good idea. Best be safe, right?”

The warrior groaned. “Oh come on, you guys! You’re too worried. We just wiped out dozens of these things, you think three more will matter?!”

The man broke into a run, much to the chagrin of the rest of the party.

“H-hey, hey!”

Robert sighed and shook his head. “Damn idiot…”

The group hurried after him, stepping over the bodies of fallen beasts. They were hoping to avoid yet another near-death experience that Jeremy had caused once before by blindly running ahead of them.

The three of them ran through the winding corridors of the cave, trying their best to keep up with the overeager warrior. Stomping through the cave, with only the sound of their footsteps echoing through the halls, they jumped when the sound of a scream rang through the cavern.

“Jeremy?!” the cleric yelled in shock.

“Jumpin’ Josephine!” Pateric leapt into the air and flapped wildly, trying to speed ahead of the others now that Jeremy was in danger.

“Guys?!” the warrior shouted back.

“What, what is it?!” Robert called desperately, sprinting as quickly as he could.

“You...you need to see this!”

The koutu flew around the corner, the pair of humans following several moments later.

But what greeted them around that corner gave them a pretty good understanding of what caused that scream.

In a large, open cavern, gleaming and glittering, shining with light that nearly blinded the group of adventurers...a mountain a treasure sat.

Gold.

Jewels.

Trinkets, rings and amulets of all kings...they all sat in huge piles in the middle of the room, accompanied by chests overflowing with gold.

The entire group stood in silent awe at the sight, Pateric nearly falling out of the sky in shock.

“O-oh my God…” Robert mumbled, hunched over as Pateric shakily landed on the ground.

“There’s so much…” Julia said breathlessly, eyes wide.

“What did I tell you?!” Jeremy cried, arms held out, “Look! Treasure! We’ll need a wagon train to haul all this home! We’re RICH! Set for LIFE!”

Robert crossed his arms, the archer seeming at a loss for words. “I’ll be damned…”

Pateric suddenly leapt up, bounding through the room excitedly. He grabbed Julia and Robert and hugged them tightly. “My friends...MY FRIENDS! Victory and fortune are ours! Ours to share together! It’s all thanks to your courage and valor!”

Robert blinked in confusion. This group had known eachother for a week, and this bird was acting like they were lifelong friends. Hell, he was worried that one of them would run off with everything, but the magician seemed to trust them utterly.

He shrugged and patted the koutu on the back as they were held in a loving hug. “Heheh...yeah, thanks for helping too, pal.”

Julia returned the hug for a moment before breaking free and approaching the gold pile. “Well...how are we splitting this?”

“Counting can come later,” Jeremy shouted, running over to the treasure, “I’m calling dibs!”

“Hey now, don’t leave me out!” Pateric yelled excitedly, breaking the group hug and hurrying to catch up with Jeremy.

Robert watched with a degree of second-hand embarrassment as he watched the man and bird dig through the piles of treasure like wild animals.

“Come now, do you have to pick through it all like mad vultures? There’ll be time for this once it’s out of this hole.”

“I want this, and this, and this!” Jeremy cried, sticking rings on his fingers and slapping golden bracers on his wrists.

“J-Jeremy!” Juila yelled, “Don’t you think you should let Pateric examine those first?! What if something’s cursed?!”

“You guys are just jealous you’re too slow,” the warrior said confidently, “And that I’m getting all the best things!” He emphasized his words by sliding an amulet made of gold and diamonds over his head.

“Ooooooh,” Pateric whispered as he pulled out a gem-encrusted statue of a griffin, “How beautiful...I would love to be the owner of this, if it pleases the rest of you.”

“Look, Julia’s right, you should test this stuff for enchantments before you go putting your claws all over it.”

“They’re talons!” Pateric said defensively, “And I’m doing that! I’m just admiring the great artistry! I can’t believe lowly fiends held such wonders hostage...and why, I wonder…?”

Julia rubbed her chin. “Good question. They hardly seem to have any luxuries to show for all this treasure…”

“Hmm…” Robert scratched his beard. “I bet they were trying to bribe a dragon to become their guardian.”

“That makes sense!” Pateric agreed, “You’re very wise in the ways of these beings!”

“Alright, alright,” the archer announced, “Pateric, start testing these trinkets for any magic, would you? And step back for a minute, Jeremy. The treasure isn’t going anywhere!”

“You guys are just paranoid,” the warrior announced, still cramming treasure into his pockets, “Something would have happened by now!”

“Just because not all of it’s cursed-”

“Whatever!” the young man plucked a ring from the pile and stuck it on his index finger. The group watched him quietly for a moment as he smugly stared back at them.

“See? Nothing to-”

A flash of light filled the room and blinded everyone within for a moment. When Robert removed his arms from his face, he found himself unable to see, still blinking the white from his vision.

“E-everyone alright?” Juila asked, rubbing at her face. “I’m okay!” Robert announced.

“All’s well!” Pateric assured her.

The silence that followed confused Robert for a moment, until he looked up.

A massive copper dragon loomed over the three adventurers...and Jeremy was nowhere in sight.

Everyone was taken aback, even the dragon, though it recovered first.

“At last...at last, I am FREE!”

“What the hell?!” Robert cried, fumbling for his bow.

“Aah, that damnable cursed ring, sealing my soul away. To think I could have vanished without a trace forever. You fools...I thank you for freeing me from that prison, and yet...you are here to steal my things, are you not? You released me on accident while trying to steal from me. Still, you shall be rewarded...with a swift death!”

Robert quickly backpedaled as the dragon threatened his life, eyes wide. The other two were moving back too, Pateric’s taloned hands glowing with magic as he readied himself against the beast.

The dragon seemed to notice this, and turned his gaze from the archer to the magician. “Oh? You think you can harm ME, master of the arcane, with your pathetic university spells? I could blink and make you cease to exist.”

The dragon suddenly snarled, cowering away from the koutu magician. “No! NO!”

The beast composed itself and blinked in confusion. “What? What is this?”

Robert looked questioningly at Pateric, wondering if he’d done something magical against the creature. The koutu saw his gaze and merely shrugged. Whatever was happening had nothing to do with him.

“S-stop...don’t hurt my friends!” the dragon cried desperately.

Robert stared in dawning horror at the beast before him. “J-Jeremy…?”

“Robert…” it hissed, eyes shut.

“W-what’s going on?!” Julia demanded, mace clutched tight against her chest.

The dragon shook its head and snarled. “No, NO! You have no power! This form is MINE!”

“No!” It responded to itself defiantly.

Everyone else could only stand and watch as the dragon battled itself for dominance.

“Just...fade away, damn you!”

“Never!”

“I am the great Haricanasus, and your soul is forfeit!”

“I am Jeremy, and I will not bow to you, monster!”

Robert put a hand on his face, almost unable to continue watching this. “God damn it, Jeremy, I told you not to touch it…”

“I-I know. It was a mistake…”

“Stupid human!” the dragon cried, “You will...CRUMBLE!”

The beast seemed to seize up all of a sudden, a soul within it under attack by another.

“No! Not them! Please!”

“You will kill them, grind them to dust as I command!”

The dragon winced, looking to be under great duress. “R-Robert, Julia, Pateric...I’m sorry…”

“Fight it!” Pateric cried, the koutu standing tall as he watched the creature once known as Jeremy struggle with itself.

“G-go,” the dragon urged, “Go! I CAN’T CONTROL IT ANY LONGER!”

The three remaining adventurers got the message, hurrying out of the den and into the winding caverns as they rushed to escape the mountain.

“We’ll get you help,” Pateric called back, “I promise!”

As they ran, they could hear the dragon arguing with itself again.

“My treasure...despite the ills you caused me, you belong to me…”

“No, it’s MINE!”

“Fool! It belongs to me!”

“I earned it!”

“You STOLE IT!”

“Shut up!”

As the trio nearly tripped over all the bodies of the minions they slew on their quest, they could only shake their heads at the insanity of the outcome of it all.

Robert huffed as he finally reached the exit of the mountain cave, hunched over and gasping for breath.

Pateric landed and looked over at the huffing pair of humans with a noticeable amount of concern. “Are you two alright?”

“Not us you should be worried about,” the cleric answered.

The archer spoke in between gasps. “Hey...Juila?”

“Yes?”

“Get the church...we need an exorcist...”

The koutu rubbed his beak and stood up straight. “W-well, actually, considering this curse is magical and not demonic, maybe the university could help?”

Robert shrugged and looked over at the bird with a grimace. “Look, whatever works, alright?”

“Whatever works,” agreed Julia.

Pateric paused for a moment before nodding. “Whatever works.”

Tag list: @thereisnothingwrongwithbeingmad, @lady-redshield-writes, @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword, @sheralynnramsey, @tawnywrites, @writer-on-time, @oceanwriter, @zwergis-spilledink, @fluffpiggy, @elliewritesfantasy, @homesteadchronicles, @laurenwastestimewriting, @elaynab-writing, @the-ichor-of-ruination, @candy687, @fierywords, @shewrites-sometimes, @nerds-and-nebulae, @purpleshadows1989

[adateur]

Beginnings

What role does this character play?(Storybased): dimitri plays a very anti-hero role for the most part, when he’s not struggling against the virus that keeps him wanting to devour flesh on a daily basis. depending on the types of interactions between others, his role is bound to change up.

What inspired you to create this character?: i first made a blog for dimitri back in 2015 because i loved the concept of the hunter still retaining some of his humanity and dealing with his much more primal urges such as what the virus was making him become. since it’s always changing, so is dimitri and with that comes a ton of new opportunities to explore a viral infected person who’s finding himself in a war with who he is and what he’s becoming.

Faceclaim?: leon kennedy from the resident evil franchise, preferably his vendetta appearance for dimitri since it was that look that inspired a revamp and use of his face.

What goals do you have for this character?: i hope to see him flourish in the community and other fandoms, along with the character development between him and other muses that he interacts with. and since he’s a very special muse of mine, i’m hoping to write him for a very long time.

Full Name: dimitrious moreau.

Nickname(s): dimitri.

Do they enjoy these/this nickname(s)?: he extremely enjoys having his name cut short, due to it being a mouthful according to a lot of people he met growing up.

History behind nickname(s): his parents started it first, then it really started to stick once his younger brother was born and wore his name out. even now, when he’s introducing himself to someone new, he uses dimitri over his full first name.

Alias(es): hoodie freak, infected, hunter. Hoodie, Jumper, Crazy Legs, Leaper, Punk-ass, Pouncing one, Hoodie dude, Sweatshirt-wearing wuss, Scrawny little bitch.

Physical

Sex: male.

Race/species: human / special infected. ( hunter. )

Ethnicity: caucasian.

Age: forty-two.

How old they appear: early thirties.

Mental age: a grandpa.

Orientation/Sexual preference: demisexual / undisclosed.

Any history behind their sexual orientation?: dimitri isn’t very into sleeping around, even much so now with what has happened to him infection route.

Birth date: december 19th.

Birth place: french quarter, new orleans.

Height: 5'11.

Weight: 165.

Are they overweight/underweight?: healthy and lean with muscle.

Blood type: a.

Can they bleed?: yes.

What color is their blood?: extremely dark red, almost looks black.

Defining physical characteristics/general appearance: the animalistic growling and roars, walking on all fours with ease, very acrobatic. gives the illusion that he’s a normal human and not an infected.

Eye color(s): blue. ( human side. ) silver. ( infection takes over and dark areas. )

Is this eye color uncommon?: his eye color is only uncommon in dark areas or when he loses himself to the virus.

Are their eyes good?: his eyes are extremely sensitive to bright light, usually making him claw them out and seek the nearest dark spot until his eyes heal again.

If something about their face is different than the norm of their realm, do they get grief/disapproval for it?: it can be a very scary sight to behold when dimitri changes over and while his appearance doesn’t alter drastically, those around him will not wish to see him look that way or fear him.

Body build(slim, muscular, etc.): athletic / slim.

Posture(slouched, correct, etc.): correct.

Describe how they walk(Fast, slow, weak step, etc.): predatory-like sauntering and calculated.

Why do they walk this way?: because the virus made dimitri an apex predator ( among other special infected ) there’s a lot more than just random moving. and since he was a parkour specialist, everything heightened and thus, made him a hunter who not only chased down his prey, but stalked and challenged. it also aids in his survival.

Do they limp?: no.

Complexion: fair / slightly grey.

Big hands/small hands/something else?: medium size hands.

Long fingered/short fingered hands?: long fingered with sharp claw-like nails.

What kind of teeth do they have?(Vampiric, all fangy, etc.): his teeth look normal aside from the very large and noticeable canines. he’s gotten the vampire jokes before, until the all familiar growling starts.

Do they take care of their teeth?: of course.

Why/why not?: just because he’s an infected, doesn’t mean he should let his personal hygiene go.

Describe their voice(What range is it for one thing? Alto, tenor, bass, etc.?): for dimitri, Matthew Mercer is his chosen voice because of obvious reasons.

Speech mannerisms(Do they pause a lot, a stutter?: dimitri has difficulty speaking when the virus mutates and changes, causing him to lose that part of him that can form words. instead of speaking, he either responds with growls, snarls, purring ( only when he’s feeling docile ) or if a person is nearby, through texting until the phase passes. often times, he’s not really into speaking upon first meeting a person since they can often tell he’s a hunter if they catch glimpses of his skin.

Describe an outfit they would wear: anything casual and sometimes classy like dress shirt, pants and dress shoes.

Why do they have this clothing preference?: when the outbreak first occurred, dimitri “died” wearing his hoodie and pants, an outfit he stayed in during the first few weeks of infection. his attire isn’t something he worries about, but leather jackets are at the top of every list.

Personality

Best traits of their personality: honest, often loyal to those who he can trust, can be caring, protective, trustworthy.

Worst traits of their personality: aggression, stubbornness, lack of empathy at times and detached.

Jung personality test: INFP.

Enneagram: type 5.

First impression usually given: too serious and broody.

Zodiac: sagittarius.

Alignment(Good/evil/bystander/etc.): he’s neither good nor evil but neutral to both.

Emotional trauma(if any, and why): killed his younger brother when he turned.

How do they respond when the trauma issue is talked about/touched on?: it’s a topic dimitri would try to avoid at all costs and if he does decide to talk about it, he’s probably only willing to share it with someone he knows well.

Does this trauma effect their day to day life?: it’s an every second of the day regret for him.

Would you say that they effect the environment around them, or that their environment around them effects them more?: it’s a little bit of both since he’s known for killing more survivors than helping them get out alive. but with CEDA and other survivors getting smarter with their tactics, the environment around him affects him too.

Location|History

Where they’re from: french quarter, new orleans.

Current residence: french quarter, new orleans.

Do they live at their current residence by will?: not exactly. when the bombing happened and the bridge was destroyed, dimitri had no other way to get out ( unknown to him ) and any other methods were too dangerous for him to attempt. so he remains in the quarter with all the other infected and whatever humans that may lurk.

Backstory: there’s not much to say about his early life and childhood experiences. it’s the part where the green flu hit and CEDA infected the population with false shots that were supposed to keep them from contracting the virus in the first place. among these believers were dimitri and his brother, elijah, whom were caught in the middle of the zombies initial outbreak. unable to do anything to distance his brother from him, the virus caused dimitri to turn and slaughter elijah, devouring him until not much was left of him when he returned to his senses.

the next few weeks were spent with the virus changing and mutating constantly, washing his humanity away and placing it with something primal and animalistic. it took nearly three months for the virus to partially bond with him and return his humanity and control back, but still left him with physical evidence of the change. with his pieces of humanity back, dimitri was able to remember who and brought the sickness to them, leading him on the hunt to uncover why and if the attacks were global. despite his flick of a switch side effects, he’s always craving human flesh and that makes him highly unpredictable and dangerous.

Abilities(As in powers): The Hunter is the least visibly mutated Special Infected and superficially resembles a Common Infected. It has yet to be explained how the Hunter’s mutations onset, whether it be genetic, biochemical, or a Hunter-specific strain of the virus, but the mutations seem to be sex-linked as only male Hunters have been observed. The Hunter’s reaction to the Infection has granted him an increase in lower-body strength.

While not creating massive muscle growth like the Tank, this added strength has given the Hunter the ability to repeatedly jump and pounce from long distances and rapidly scale the sides of buildings with ease, as well as toughened his legs in order to withstand the great distances and heights he can achieve. Decreased pain response visible in all sufferers of the Infection also results in the Hunter not suffering from perpetual lactic acid build up from muscle overexertion or impact damage after experiencing a large fall.

At the same time, there seems to be some sort of muscle delay after an initial attack where the Hunter is not able to move as swiftly.

The extent of damage to the Hunter’s sight suggests his other senses are far more developed than those of typical Infected, allowing him to hunt with far greater efficiency. It is possible that the screeching noises he makes and the growling are his own echolocation method. Hunters also appear to be the only Infected with a self-defense reflex: when shot at a distance and knowing they cannot pounce, the Hunter will sometimes jump away into safety.

They serve as the “strong-arm” of the Infected, being very adept at finishing off Survivors. By coordinating with other Infected, the Hunter becomes a valuable ally, and a deadly foe.

Rate their power on a scale of 1 - 10, 10 being most powerful in all the universe they’re in: 8.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

HOW TO LEARN

But it is not so bad, the kids adopt an attitude of waiting for college. The reason so many people think of property as having a good style. In Apple's case the garage story is a bit of a debate inside our partnership about the airbed concept. The other students are the biggest advantage of going to an elite college; you learn more from them than the professors. In startups one person may have to morph themselves into something totally different, but they are not the root cause of variation in every other respect you've succeeded. One is that a good chunk of the country's wealth is managed by enlightened investors. I'm not claiming it's a particularly good time either.

A big company is probably getting a bad deal, because his performance is dragged down by the more exalted ones. Success for a startup to do? If one likes you, you become a member of this new group. The quote I began with was that, to save money, he'd designed the Apple II while working at HP, and there is no correlation between their ages and how well they're doing. Some angel groups charge you money to pitch your idea to them. Maybe what you'd end up with wouldn't even be a spreadsheet. You really only get one chance, because they have no intention of funding you, just to be able to stay on as CEO, they'll have to cede some power, because the paper would grow to the size of a program. As with most nature/nurture questions, the answer is yes, apparently. Most people have characteristic ways of doodling. Startups are marginal. This is why so many startups selling new drugs or computer software, and the people involved.

No one does that kind of thing for fun. Few others could have done it. If the founders have impressive resumes and the idea is much older than Henry Ford. Northern Italy in 800, and report back to us. If you want to say, at the end of month six, the system is starting to have a silicon valley, I suspect they unconsciously frame it as how to make money is to make a living, and it's hard to see how little launches matter. You can have wealth without having money. One of the most interesting things we've discovered from working on Y Combinator is that founders are more motivated by the fear of loss. It would crush its competitors. After Facebook stopped being for Harvard students. There is a large random factor in the mathematical sense; see equation above in readability. These problems aren't intrinsically difficult, just unfamiliar. Or to put it would be possible to recognize it statistically.

I'm sure it will come as a surprise to a lot of time trying to build stuff. A month later, at the end, but gives the angel more protection against being squashed by VCs in future rounds, and the odds that anyone will pay in your lifetime for what you want to improve your chances, you should think far more about who you can recruit as a cofounder than the state of the economy doesn't matter much either way. Of course VCs were jerks. Of course the habits of mind than others? In an essay I wrote for high school students, I said, I think, is worry about the suspension; just make that sucker as big and tough-looking as you can compete with delegation by working on larger vertical slices, you can at least move in that direction. Why is it counterintuitive for founders? Now everyone can, and then see what they do. The initial idea is just a convenient way of trading one form of wealth for another. It can be worth participating in a corrupt contest, however, if it's true, seems to be built into our visual perception. If you buy a custom-made car, something will always be breaking. For example, nearly all humans find human faces engaging. The most likely source of examples is math.

There was not much point in making more than you on marketing, as long as they could which turned out to be a problem. So most people pre-emptively lower their expectations. Plain materials have a charm like small scale. A recession will if anything make it cheaper still. They were intensely competitive and were always trying to outdo one another, like mathematicians or physicists today—maybe like anyone who has ever done anything really well. So when I ran into the Yahoo exec I knew from working there in the background. For most successful startups we've funded have. As far as I can tell, succinctness power. It would be unthinkably humiliating to fail now. I'd say that startups will spread, but very slowly, because their spread will be driven not by government policies which won't work or by market need which doesn't exist but, to the user of a stove. The puffed-up companies that went public during the Bubble didn't do it just because they were pulled into it by unscrupulous investment bankers. And except in domains with big penalties for making mistakes, it's often better not to aim for perfection initially.

Some say Europeans are less energetic, but I don't believe it when they tell you this is a natural fit between smallness and solving hard problems. We can, however, if it's followed by another that isn't corrupt. They're most productive when everyone gets to do what they want to do seem impressive, as if the company gets into trouble. So if you're going to build, plus the unscalable thing s you're going to sell cheap stock to eminent angels, do it early, when it's natural for the company just to break even. As long as you've made something that a few users are ecstatic about, you're on the right track. So a company making a mass-produced versions will be, if so few do. And people with that attitude are the ones who do it well, those who do it best tend to be more entrepreneurial, and less afraid of risk. They'd nearly all prefer the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Technology seems to increase the variation in productivity at faster than linear rates. How do you get bought? That's why oil paintings look so different from watercolors.

All parents tend to be an accident. Whereas if you solve a technical problem that a lot of startups, because they are likely to blow up. I'm not hard to find. Why? It probably takes five years, on average, before a startup founder can make angel investments. Though appeal to people is a meaningful test, because although, like any everyday concept, human is fuzzy around the edges, there are about 800 incubators in the US now, only about 50 are likely to make money, and have your clients pay your development expenses. The initial idea is that, if they don't like what they're supposed to, they'll be able to reproduce this. And if you're worried about threats to the survival of your company, but it won't be the last to notice. If you plan to automate later. I am not sure I buy that ABNB reminds me of Etsy in that it facilitates real commerce in a marketplace model directly between two people. So companies have evolved to prey upon the weaknesses of large organizations the way enterprise software companies have.

It's the way we do. Top actors make a lot more independent than others, or would everyone be this way if they were talking to a friend what you just wrote. You just can't fry eggs or cut hair fast enough. Don't assume when this happens that you've failed. This probably makes them less productive, because they have less reputation to protect. So companies have evolved to prey upon the weaknesses of large organizations the way enterprise software companies have. In fact, the sound of the homing beacon. Steve Wozniak wanted to build microcomputers, and his employer, HP. The angel deal takes two weeks to close, so you can say it in the plainest words and you'll be perceived as having a good style. Silicon Valley in Japan, because one audience is the set of all possible humans.

Thanks to Jessica Livingston, Sam Altman, Geoff Ralston, and Bill Yerazunis for their feedback on these thoughts.

[ernmark]

One of these days I must be stopped. But not today, because apparently I have the self-control of your average watermelon.

Until then, have some fic inspired by the lovely watercolors on @disasterscenario‘s patreon and by certain flora-based fiction written by @dangersocks.

Was there any doubt that this would be NSFW? (Because it is)

Damien won’t deny that his curiosity has been piqued. Arum’s been working tirelessly on a new trap. Apparently all its most overt properties have been worked out, but there are fine details that still require a degree of pruning.

That in itself isn’t anything particularly unusual for Arum’s work. It’s the fact that Arum can’t test the thing himself– because he’s cold-blooded, he said.

Damien isn’t sure what that has to do with anything, but he’s happy to help in any way he can. He’d be even happier to do so, of course, if he knew where to find the trap he’s meant to be testing, but he’s been wandering through the swamp for nearly a quarter hour and he hasn’t found Arum anywhere. Maybe he’s had business elsewhere?

In Arum’s absence, Damien’s been able to find a number of traps, but most of them are varieties that he recognizes– the thistle cage, the trip vine, the shriekweed, the collapsing cradle. By now he knows how to walk among them safely, how to touch their stems and leaves without setting them off, how to disable them without ruining the months of time Arum puts into their cultivation.

And then he comes across a specimen that he hasn’t seen before. He would have mistaken it for a natural inhabitant of the jungle– a fig or vine of some kind– except that it’s moving, and not with the wind. When he steps close to it, its tendrils reach out to him almost longingly.

Could this be the new experiment? 

He wonders if Arum will be impressed at all that Damien managed to find it on his own among all the other specimens.

But no– that’s merely a matter of paying attention.

Figuring out the exact nature of the trap, on the other hand… that might earn him a bit of praise.

He makes sure he’s got his feet planted on solid ground and he brings his left hand closer to the patch of vines. Just like before, a few of the tendrils reach out to wrap around his fingers and curl around his palm. He disentangles himself quickly, then tries again. The tendrils seem more responsive this time, wrapping around his hand even faster than they did before. They seem more interested in his palm than his fingers, coiling tightly despite the greater area to cover. The vines largely ignore his wrists to wrap around his forearms and nestle in the inside of his elbow.

He can hear the ivy creak as it tightens around him just enough to be restrictive, though it doesn’t yet cut off circulation. He can’t help but wonder how much of that was by design. A gentle trap, perhaps?

While he ponders the possibility, the vine continues its climb around his arm. He doesn’t notice its advance until he feels a soft pressure on the sensitive skin of his armpit. He yelps, trying to pull away, but the vines are even thicker around his bicep. The offending tendrils have secreted themselves up his sleeve and under his shirt to wrap around his shoulder– and they’re still going.

They’re moving faster now, almost serpentine in the way they coil around his chest, the subtle texture of the vines like scales against his bare skin. He can still breathe, but the pressure on him is threatening.

His right hand is still free. All he has to do is seize a knife and cut off the vines at the source, and he’ll be out of this mess.

But would that damage the plant? Arum asked him to test his latest creation, not kill it. Perhaps it’s better to just try to untangle himself by hand and wait for Arum to arrive. After all, it hasn’t hurt him yet, and he’s sure Arum will be here any moment.

Unless…

The thought comes to him unbidden as he tries to pry one of the larger vines off his hand.

What if this is part of the test Arum had planned? Maybe he’s here– maybe he’s just out of sight, watching these vines ensnare him.

And if he is, does he like what he sees?

Damien feels his face heat. In the next instant he feels a surge of activity from the vines. They rush up his shoulders, wrapping around his neck and creeping over the edges of his jaw. Even more race lower down beneath his clothes, slithering down his chest, across his stomach, and sliding into the crease of his thighs. He takes a deep breath, fully expecting it to constrict the air from his lungs, but it doesn’t. The plant’s grip on him is unyielding, but it gets no tighter.

“Arum?” he calls out, but he gets no reply. Maybe he isn’t there at all. Or maybe he is, and he’s just refusing to answer? But– but why would that be? Is he too invested in this test to interrupt it? Is he embarrassed to come out– or is he busy laughing himself sick somewhere just out of earshot? After all, Damien must look foolish with the vines writhing under his clothes and sliding against his skin.

It’s… it’s a little bit obscene, isn’t it?

He should cut himself down before this gets completely out of hand– unless it’s already out of hand– he might like to get himself in hand, if he’s being entirely honest with himself. The vines are leaving the most delicate parts of his anatomy alone in favor of coiling around his waist and thighs, but they’re just close enough– just tight enough– that he can’t forget they’re there, teasing him with the promise of friction. 

But now isn’t the time for that. His free arm is bound up to the elbow. He should cut himself down while he still has the chance. Before Arum sees, if he hasn’t already. 

And if he has?

His mind keeps returning to that question. What would Arum think if he saw Damien like this?

Damien knows what he’d like him to think.

His cheeks heat at the thought, and more vines gather to cradle his face.

“Arum!” The name is cut off abruptly as Damien snaps his mouth shut, barring a particularly bold tendril before it can slide between his lips.

“Damien?” The reply is muffled by distance. Arum hasn’t been watching him after all.

The realization hits him with a mixture of relief and disappointment and anxiety– because if Arum hasn’t been watching, then he’s about to walk in on is paramour being fondled by a ficus, and then Damien is going to have to explain why he let it get so far, and–

“Damien?” There’s a rustle of leaves as underbrush is pushed aside. In the next moment, Arum steps into view. For a moment he blinks at the sight before him, his lips parting as his mouth hangs a little bit agape, and then he dives across the clearing. With the flash of a knife he carves through the largest of the vines and pulls Damien away before any more can reach out to him. His arms are tight around Damien. His frill billows behind him, and his voice rattles with concern and fury.

“Are you alright?” he hisses. “Can you breathe, honeysuckle?” 

It’s a little bit difficult, but not because of the vines still around his neck. It isn’t often that he sees Arum worked up into a protective rage– over him, no less-- and the sight of him is... distracting.

Damien’s learning all sorts of things about himself today.

Two strong arms keep him upright while the others pry the still-writhing vines away from Damien’s face. The blunt curve of a claw presses against his cheek as he slices through a larger vine with a master’s precision, careful not to inflict so much as a scratch to his skin.

“Can you you breathe?”

Perhaps Damien’s “yes” might have been more convincing if he didn’t say it quite so breathlessly, so he tries again. “I’m not hurt.”

“Of course you say that,” Arum mutters.

“I mean it sincerely.” He lays his palm on Arum’s hand, keeping it pressed tight against his cheek. “I take it that was the new specimen you wanted me to test?”

Arum glowers at the plant. “I never should have asked you–”

“I was overeager,” Damien says. “I should have waited for you.” When he looks into Arum’s eyes, his gaze is intent. “Would you indulge me with another test later?”

There are things he still wants to try.

[ellymackay]

5 Things to Know—and DO—If You Aren’t Sure Your Chronotype is Right

The following post 5 Things to Know—and DO—If You Aren’t Sure Your Chronotype is Right is available on www.ellymackay.com

Have you identified your chronotype yet? It’s an incredibly important piece of information about your individual preferences for sleep, as well as nearly every aspect of health and performance. Knowing your circadian bio type gives you a guide to the best times to do just about everything, from when to go to be and wake up, work out, ask for a raise or interview for a promotion, have a heart-to-heart with your kids or a serious discussion with your partner. And yes, whether you’re a Lion, a Bear, Wolf, or a Dolphin, knowing your chronotype points to the best times for sex and intimacy too! 

People see a lot of themselves in their chronotype. That’s because our daily circadian bio rhythms fundamentally influence how we think and feel, our energy and capacity to take on and accomplish all we need and want to do in our days. We live better and more productively when we do so in alignment with our bodies biologically driven preferences. That’s what knowing your chronotype can help you do. 

It’s easy to learn your chronotype by taking this quiz: www.chronoquiz.com. 

Sometimes people have questions about their results, where what they see in themselves doesn’t line up neatly with what their chronotype says is true for them. 

If that applies to you, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Chronobiology is complex and dynamic. So are chronotypes. We don’t all fit perfectly and exactly into neat boxes. Here’s what to know about the subtleties of chronotypes, and how to get the most from them: 

Each chronotype comprises a range of attributes, affinities, behaviors and preferences

Within each of the four chronotypes there exists a continuum. Not all Lions wake bright-eyed at 5 a.m., and not all Wolves still have energy to burn at midnight. Some Bears are more relaxed and easygoing than others. And one Dolphin can need measurably more sleep than another. For each of the three main expressions of bio type—sleep/wake preferences, sleep drive, and personality—there are degrees of difference at the individual level. 

Hybrid chronotypes exist—especially for BEARS 

If your chronotype doesn’t quite align with your personality, habits and lifestyle—or if you see something of yourself in another chronotype as well as your own—you may be a hybrid of a couple different bio types. This can be especially common among Bears. Roughly 50 percent of the adult population are Bears. It’s a large group, with a wide range of preferences, drives, and personality traits. 

Bears who fall at the edges of the continuum are quite likely to share characteristics with other chronotypes. There are Early Bears and Late Bears, who share traits with morning-centric Lions and night-centric Wolves. Both Lions and Wolves have lower sleep drives than a typical Bear—so for Early and Late Bears, both groups may need less sleep than their fellow bio types. Early Bears may have a blend of any of the Lion personality traits—their get-up-and-go, ambition, focus, and conscientiousness. The same is true for Late Bears and the traits of Wolves, including creativity, an openness to risk taking, a love of the new and different. 

It’s possible for either Early Bears or Late Bears to overlap with the light-sleeping Dolphin bio type. A tendency to sleep restlessly, to experience symptoms of insomnia on a recurring basis is one sign of a possible Bear-Dolphin hybrid bio type. These folks may also share some of the high-strung, brainy personality characteristics that Dolphins have. 

Every chronotype can have sleep issues (including insomnia) that affect behavior and performance

Dolphins experience restless, short sleep patterns that overlap with the symptoms of insomnia: trouble falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, waking very early or waking feeling un-rested and un-refreshed by sleep.

But any chronotype faces the possibility of these sleep issues, and changes to sleep patterns that may make it harder to distinguish their fundamental chronotype. Lions and Bears are good sleepers, broadly speaking, but a Lion who often wakes at 3:30 in the morning, or a Bear who falls asleep early but wakes often throughout the night both face insomnia-like symptoms put them in direct, fatiguing conflict with society’s sleep-wake clock like Dolphins also are. Same is true for the Wolf who can’t fall asleep before 1 or 2 a.m. 

And remember, for every chronotype, sleep and performance are influenced by biological and genetic factors as well as circumstantial and environmental ones. A Lion who consumes caffeine after dinner may not fall asleep before 11 p.m., but still wake at 5:30—and feel significantly less Lion-esque in the morning as a result. Bears who are dedicated daily exercisers may find themselves adhering to something closer to a Lion-like bedtime and wake time. Wolves who can make their daily schedules align with their bio type (for example, by starting and ending work later in the day, or not having to regularly get up at dawn to care for a small child), may get all the sleep they need—and may have less of the typical Wolf’s impulsivity and emotional ups and downs as a result. 

It’s possible you’re in a transition between chronotypes 

Chronotypes are the expression of our individual genetic and biological identity. We sleep, feel, and perform best when we align our daily lives with our chronotype’s preferences and drives. We can’t change our chronotypes. But chronotypes do change at certain points in our lifespan. As children, we’re mostly Lions, and in adolescence, nearly all of us are Wolves. By about age 21, we begin to settle in to the chronotype that will stay with us through decades of adulthood, until about age 65. At that point, sleep patterns and sleep drives may change, with more older adults becoming Lions or Dolphins. 

It’s not always easy to identify with your chronotype

Learning about your chronotype can take you quickly to a pretty personal place, and sometimes it gets uncomfortable. We don’t always have a simple time seeing ourselves as we actually are. It’s not uncommon for people, upon learning their chronotype, to wish they were another type. For example, a lot of people want to be Lions. But Lions have struggles and weaknesses alongside their strengths, just as all chronotypes do. There are advantages and disadvantages that come with every bio type. And chronotypes are just that: a biological reality, not a statement about character, or potential. 

If you’re not sure about your chronotype, there are several things you can do to clarify your bio type. 

Take a look at your parents

Chronotype is part of our genetic identity. We inherit our genes from our parents. Most people have at least one parent who shares their chronotype. If you’re a Wolf who’s not sure about that designation, take a look at Mom and Dad. Did either of your parents start packing school lunches at 11 at night—probably the same parent who had a hard time getting you to school on time before 8 a.m.? Bears, you’re in a broad type, with a lot of internal differences (see above). There’s a good chance, though, that one or both of your parents had the middle-of-the-road sleep patterns—not too early, not too late—that characterize Bears. Lion Moms and Dads are pretty easy to spot. They’re the greet the sunrise types, who have their most abundant energy at the start of the day. Dolphin parents are hard to miss, too. They’re routinely light on sleep, whether from staying up late or getting up early—or both. Their lack of ability to sleep soundly for a full night might be something they talked about regularly. When taking in to account your parents’ sleep-wake habits and preferences, remember that as we age, more people move into Lion and Dolphin chronotypes. For a best comparison, look at your parents in middle age. 

Rate your energy level 

This is a good exercise for anyone who isn’t convinced their chronotype match-up is right. It’s especially useful for Bears who feel uncertain about that match, and who may be Early Bears or Late Bears. It’s a way to make a basic assessment of your chronotype, without the potentially distracting detail of a full chronotype profile, is to measure your energy level. It’s simple. 

Using a scale of 1-5, rate your energy level on a typical morning. Using the same 1-5 scale, rate your energy level on a typical evening. Do your best to be honest and realistic. Don’t use your most exhausted day, and don’t overestimate your energy. Got your two numbers? Now, subtract your evening energy rating from your morning energy rating. Depending on your numbers, you can have a positive or a negative number (or zero, of course). Here’s how energy ratings match up to chronotypes: 

Wolf: -4, -3, -2 

Bear: -1,0, 1 

Lion: 2, 3, 4

Learn about your ‘adjacent’ chronotype

For people who straddle the line between chronotypes—most often, that’s going to be Bears, who are sharing characteristics with Lions or Wolves—it makes sense to deeply familiarize yourself with the profile and timing preferences of that second chronotype. That’s how you’ll customize your approach to living in sync with your individual bio time. Here’s an example. For a Bear who’s really a Late Bear, with evening preferences, going for a run at 7:30 a.m. isn’t optimal—and you’re not likely to stick to that exercise routine. Borrow from the Wolf’s playbook and schedule a run for after work, when your athletic performance rhythm is more likely to be at a peak for the day. 

The point of understanding your chronotype is to use that information for its maximum benefit for your health, your performance, your relationships. Embrace your hybrid chronotype, and put the most useful, relevant information to work for you. 

Use the 80% test 

Because of the degree of individual biological differences that exist within chronotypes, and because of the influence of external factors on how we sleep and feel, it’s not always realistic to expect a perfect match. I encourage my patients to gauge whether the chronotype they’ve assessed to match is an 80% fit. That signals a great majority of patterns, preferences and characteristics are in alignment with your sleep and waking life. As you continue to pay greater attention to your sleep and your daily performance, you may see that percentage climb, as my patients often do. 

Another way to feel more confident about the right-fit of your chronotype? Ask people close to you for feedback. Others who know us well can sometimes see us more clearly than we see ourselves, and provide a welcome reality check. 

Take your temperature

This takes a little bit of time, but it’s a way to take a simple biological measurement of your chronotype. To do this accurately, you’ll need a digital thermometer, and an evening when you can commit to taking your temperature hourly over a period of several hours. Core body temperature fluctuates throughout the day, driven by circadian rhythms. With the exception of Dolphins, all other chronotypes experience a drop in core body temperature in the evenings. (For Dolphins, core body temperature actually rises at night.) Different bio types experience this drop in body temperature at different times. It’s a small change, often of only a few tenths of a degree (which is why you’ll need the digital thermometer). 

Starting at 5 p.m. and continuing hourly until bedtime, take your temperature. The timing of the slight downward shift provides important information about your chronotype. 

Lions will see a lower temperature around 7 p.m.

Bears will see their temperature drop around 9 p.m. 

Wolves will see their temperature dip around 10 p.m. 

To learn all the details on how your bio rhythms affect your sleep, your health, and your performance, check out my book, The Power of When. 

Sweet Dreams, 

Michael J. Breus, PhD

The Sleep Doctor

www.thesleepdoctor.com

The post 5 Things to Know—and DO—If You Aren’t Sure Your Chronotype is Right appeared first on Your Guide to Better Sleep.

from Your Guide to Better Sleep https://thesleepdoctor.com/2019/10/08/5-things-to-know-and-do-if-you-arent-sure-your-chronotype-is-right/

from Elly Mackay - Feed https://www.ellymackay.com/2019/10/08/5-things-to-know-and-do-if-you-arent-sure-your-chronotype-is-right/

[freelandingpage-blog]

Landing Page Optimization Tips

As soon as we listen to the words Landing Page we normally consider PPC campaigns or another kind of online marketing. However, I prefer to use landing pages for every one my off-line advertisements too. But you are using this, a landing page is a web page, normally concealed from the website's menu bar and other navigation - meaning that the only way that you can reach the webpage would be to type the URL directly into the browser.

The webpage is directly associated with the advertisement campaign that recorded the URL. Since just the men and women who have observed the advertisement will land on this page (since the URL is not promoted any where else), you as the site owner know just what the customer is searching for and you're able to give it him instantly. Because of this, this kind of web page can also be known as a Dedicated Landing Page since it's committed only to the advertisement that attracted from the traffic.

Landing pages are crucial to your success online; in actuality, they're often the"makers or breakers" of your ROMD (return on advertising dollar).

If you are just getting your feet wet in the usage of landing pages, then I suggest starting small. Google AdWords is an excellent way to begin little because it is simple to restrict your financial plan. Listed below are a few other hints to follow when generating your landing pages:

** Use a Consistent Message

Many small business owners think they will need to have only one message from the advertisement and yet another message about the landing page. They believe their customers will probably"get bored" studying the identical thing repeatedly. They would like to showcase their experience by speaking about each one of the abilities and they wish to"maximize" their marketing dollar by getting out as many messages as you can.

However, this is precisely opposite of what you wish to do. Today's audience is overwhelmed and busy. Studies reveal that you've less than 3 minutes to catch your website visitor's interest. You want your potential to get there at your landing page and instantly say"Yes, this is exactly what I came here for." By introducing the identical message which you gave on your advertisement, your visitor will understand he's in the ideal location.

** Remove All Other Distractions

A few decades back, several innovative web entrepreneurs found that by eliminating the rest of the distractions out of the landing page - i.e. remove the navigation bar, remove your logo linking for your house, eliminate some other advertisements, etc. - you can raise your conversion rate appreciably.

However, I really do want to care, this isn't a one-size-fits-all, do-or-die way to raising your landing page conversion prices. You have got to understand your business, understand your own message, and, most importantly, know your niche. For many viewers, the bare bones, no pictures, no branding website strategy may seem like spam. In case your branding is powerful, your customers may think they have landed in the wrong page. Extremely web-cautious visitors may think that it's a phishing scheme. Know your audience and understand their expectations until you dive into this technique.

** Test as Much as Possible

If you are new to carve testing, my main word of caution would be to look closely at the particulars. Only last week I consulted with a brand new customer who promoted one landing page Publication A and a different landing page at Publication B. Considering that the next landing page received greater conversions, he had been convinced that it was the"winner" and he was prepared to roll it onto a complete scale.

However, upon further inspection, we found that the demographics such as Publication A readers were rather different than Publication B readers. The achievement of this next landing page could not necessarily result from the webpage itself, because the traffic being delivered to the webpage were highly qualified to the deal. After conducting some split evaluations, we chose the best mix was supposed to promote the very first landing page at the next book.

I guess what I'm trying to convey is, even once you're analyzing your ads and landing pages, so be sure that you're comparing apples to apples. Google Website Optimizer is a superb tool for conducting online split evaluations which will send 50 percent of your traffic to page 1 and 50 percent to page two (or however you choose to divide your visitors ).

** Offer Multiple Ways to Respond

It is not safe to assume that since your potential landed in your own site, she wishes to react through the world wide web.

In case your committed landing page is supplying a product available, she may not wish to provide her credit card on the net. She is on a computer which has scripting disabled. She is about a shared computer and reluctant to submit private details. She might just require a bit more convincing before she chooses the last jump.

In any case might be, different people might want to react in various ways. Make sure you include all your contact info and enable your potential to put an order (or request your free report, or subscribe to your newsletter, or register for your own training, etc) on the phone, through direct mail, through Skype, by simply visiting your brick and mortar place, whatever is relevant to your company.

** Take Advantage of Your Thank You Page

Remember all that"other" stuff you wished to add in your landing page? Well here is a excellent spot to take advantage of some of the content.

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Fluoride and IQ: Does prenatal exposure to fluoride lower IQ?

Disclosure:

Ask the Dentist is supported by readers. If you use one of the links below and buy something, Ask the Dentist makes a little bit of money at no additional cost to you. I rigorously research, test, and use thousands of products every year, but recommend only a small fraction of these. I only promote products that I truly feel will be valuable to you in improving your oral health.

One of the controversial topics every parent has to contend with is fluoride intake. And with new research bringing up more questions than answers, the connection between fluoride and IQ is all but indisputable.

A 2017 study published in Environmental Health Perspectives has linked exposure during pregnancy to reduced IQ in those children later in life. (1)

This comes on the heels of dozens of other studies that seem to suggest fluoride impacts the development of the brain and human intelligence.

In this article, we’ll review what this study means for you and your baby.

New Findings on Prenatal Fluoride and IQ

A US government-funded study was released on September 19, 2017 to examine the relationship between a mother’s exposure to fluoride and the child’s cognitive development.

Researchers found that low levels of fluoride intake during pregnancy are linked to significantly reduced IQ in those children later in their life.

The study took other factors into account and made sure to establish controls, such as socioeconomic status, smoking, marital status, age, etc.

Researchers measured the amount of fluoride present in the urine of the pregnant participants. Levels in the urine are an extremely accurate indicator of total fluoride intake.

Years later, the researchers measured the intelligence of the children born to these women by giving them an IQ test. At age 4, and then again between 6-12 years, IQ levels were significantly lower in children exposed to higher levels of fluoride in utero. (1)

This is the only high-quality study with controls that has tested prenatal fluoride and IQ, so the results need to be replicated to be sure.

However, it’s true that fluoride passes through placenta to baby’s blood. (2)

Therefore, any fluoride a pregnant mother is ingesting would also reach the unborn child.

In the study, which was conducted in Mexico, the level of exposure is probably close to the level we are exposed to in our fluoridated water.

Do these results actually apply in the United States?

The biggest difference between the communities in Mexico and the US water supply is that the fluoride in Mexico is naturally occurring, not added.

At first glance, you might think that doesn’t matter. And maybe it doesn’t.

But you should also know that calcium fluoride, which is naturally occurring in groundwater (like in Mexico), isn’t what’s in your water.

Neither is sodium fluoride, in nearly every one of the 75% of communities in the United States with fluoridated water. That’s what it used to be, but since the 1990s, things have changed—although pharmaceutical grade sodium fluoride is still found in toothpaste.

Actually, the main source of fluoride in water is hydrofluorosilicic acid (HFS).

Before it was put in your water, HFS was designated as a toxic chemical produced when fertilizer is made. Companies were fined for dumping it into public water supplies.

Then, someone in government had an idea: What if we pay companies to put HFS in the water instead?

I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s pretty straightforward, unfortunately.

Unlike calcium fluoride or sodium fluoride, HFS contains arsenic and leeches lead from old piping. (3, 4)

There are no known “safe” levels of exposure to either arsenic or lead. (5, 6)

Other Research on Fluoride and IQ

A lot of studies exist that support the idea fluoride has a negative impact on cognitive development.

Here are a few of the major ones:

Developmental Fluoride Neurotoxicity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health reviewed 27 studies through the year 2011 about fluoride and IQ. (7)

They found that the results were statistically significant: ingestion of fluoridated water seems to correlate with lower IQs in children.

Overall, high fluoride exposure equated to an drop in average IQ by seven points. This qualifies fluoride as a neurotoxin.

What’s missing: Their analysis was limited to areas with higher levels of naturally occurring fluoride that exceeds most fluoridated communities in the US. The “low level” control areas of exposure were actually closer to levels of fluoride in the US, which is why Snopes said the study was misused by people claiming fluoride lowers IQ.

These studies also didn’t control for as many factors as they probably should have, which makes the results somewhat unclear.

The writers of the study said that more research should be done that also tests urine fluoride levels over time and the differences between socioeconomic status.

Why the results matter: In the United States, you’re exposed to fluoride through much more than drinking water. Processed foods and produce treated with certain pesticides (both of which are consumed in lower numbers in most of the communities in the study) contain fluoride, too.

Plus, this review was conducted by Harvard scientists. The institution where research comes from is important, because it speaks to the quality of the science.

Association of lifetime exposure to fluoride and cognitive functions in Chinese children: a pilot study.

Another Harvard-based study was conducted in China and published in 2015, studying what happens to the brains of children exposed to fluoride. (8)

This pilot study found that children with moderate to severe fluorosis had more issues with cognition than children with no fluorosis.

What’s missing: Levels of fluoride in Chinese groundwater are typically higher than in the US.

This study only examined 51 children, which is not a large sample size to make big conclusions.

Why the results matter: When tested on culture-appropriate intelligence scales, kids with fluorosis got lower scores. Since there’s no way to effectively determine how much fluoride a child ingests (particularly in a Western country), the fact that scientists don’t know the dosage of fluoride that causes intelligence deficits is pretty concerning.

Effect of fluoridated water on intelligence in 10-12-year-old school children

A 2016 study in India looked at the same type of correlation between fluoride and IQ and came up with similar results to other studies. (9)

The more fluoride the students were exposed to every day, the lower their IQ.

What’s missing: As with many other studies, the low levels of fluoride were correlated with what normal levels already exist in most United States drinking water.

Why the results matter: Like with the study in China, there is no way to effectively determine if children in the US have the same amount of fluoride in their system as those in the study. At least on some level, fluoride does influence IQ when ingested via water.

Community Water Fluoridation and Intelligence: Prospective Study in New Zealand

This is the only study on my list that found no relationship between fluoride and IQ levels.

In New Zealand, over 1,000 people were followed between the ages of 7-38. The study authors investigated the link between fluoride and childhood IQ, finding no significant connection. (10)

What’s missing: In the next issue of that journal, dentist Bill Osmunson published a response to the New Zealand study. (11)

He found two major issues—first, in New Zealand, children in non-fluoridated communities are encouraged to take fluoride supplements. But the study didn’t compare total fluoride exposures, just who was exposed to community fluoridation.

Osmunson calculates that actual exposure to fluoride was only different by about two-tenths of a point. That could possibly account for why no IQ difference was found—fluoride exposure was essentially the same between groups.

Then, the scientists didn’t control for 11 of the 15 variables they themselves criticized other studies for not controlling.

These included things like:

Other toxins in the non-fluoridated water, which include very high levels of lead and copper (Osmunson claims the lead alone could account for a 4-point difference in IQ levels)

Maternal (mother’s) IQ

Socioeconomic status

Why the results matter: There are issues with this study, as with the others, but this study covers more children than the majority of others on the topic.

If the variables above could be controlled, the results might be different, but it’s also possible that the results are still accurate. We can’t know without more research.

Further research—Fluoride & IQ: The 53 Studies (Fluoride Action Network)

Does fluoride actually work? Doesn’t my child need it?

But what about the easiest (but still fairly controversial) question: does fluoride work to prevent cavities?

To answer this question, you have to know what you’re actually asking. Do you want to know if topical fluoride works, or if ingested fluoride works?

Does topical fluoride prevent cavities?

Yes, topical fluoride strengthens tooth enamel to prevent cavities. Using fluoride toothpastes and treatments can aid in the natural remineralization process and help to reverse or prevent cavities.

The fluoride ion and the calcium ion are very similar—they’re only one electron different. The enamel and dentin of your natural teeth are made up of many calcium ions.

A fluoride ion is actually more bioavailable than dietary calcium, so teeth and bones will uptake this fluoride to rebuild the tooth’s structure. This is good for decay because the fluoride ion is more resistant to acid than the calcium ion.

Cavities occur when bacteria feed the acid in your mouth and cause “acid attacks” that weaken and destroy your enamel and, eventually, dentin. Most often, this happens when you eat meals with a lot of starchy carbohydrates, like breads, pastas, crackers, and the like.

Since fluoride is very acid-resistant, it’s less likely to break down when exposed to acid.

Does ingested fluoride prevent cavities?

The answer to this depends on who you ask.

The American Dental Association (ADA) thinks it does.

So does the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

Oh, and don’t forget about The American Academy of Pediatrics.

But the Cochrane Library, one of the most trusted organizations for scientific reviews, isn’t so sure, according to their 2015 systematic review. (12)

They explain that, while some studies suggest that it reduces childhood cavities, the majority of these studies can’t really be taken at face value.

The problem is that since fluoridation was introduced, many other societal changes may be contributing to people getting less cavities, like:

Ease of access to fluoride toothpastes (which contain anywhere from 1000 to 7000 times the amount of fluoride than found in water)

Access to quality dental care

Public health initiatives to educate people on the importance of dental health and cavities prevention

Plus, it takes two minutes of brushing with fluoride toothpaste to reap the benefits of topical fluoride.

The seconds tap water touches your teeth is minimal, at best, and the fluoride in that water is there in tiny amounts compared to toothpaste. Logic, then, tells me that fluoridated water is probably contributing very little to any decrease in dental caries.

However, too much ingested fluoride can actually weaken the structure of teeth from the inside.

In the past, I have recommend the use of fluoride in certain instances when used the correct way.

We’re exposed to a lot of fluoride in our environment—it is naturally present to some extent in water, other beverages, infant formula, and even the food we eat. What may have been a well-intentioned idea is resulting in far too much fluoride exposure and even fluorosis.

I also find the information compiled here by the Fluoride Action Network to be very interesting.

According to the best available data, cavity occurrence has gone down at similar rates in fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities.

However, these results are contested in a 2018 review that claims non-fluoridated communities have no way other than fluoride to control cavities. (13)

A recent look at the state of cavities in Juneau, Alaska did find that children had about one more cavity before their 18th birthday when fluoride was removed from the water. (14)

One cavity doesn’t sound like a lot, but if you’ve ever had to endure a filling or root canal with a scared child, you know it’s a big deal.

I don’t believe these results are sufficient to end the debate, though. There are still a great deal of anti-cavity efforts parents and children can make that don’t involve a toxic chemical.

Here’s what it all comes down to for me: I would rather my child develop one more cavity, if that truly is the statistical risk, than expose them to a chemical associated with problems like IQ deficits and even bone cancer.

What’s the Big Deal with Fluoridated Water? Is fluoride bad for you?

I cover a lot of the possible dangers of fluoride in my article on fluoride facts, but here are the basics about fluoride dangers for expectant mothers:

Ingested fluoride crosses the placenta to your fetus.

While your baby’s growing s/he’s nourished by what you eat and drink. Unfortunately, fluoride is able to pass through your placenta and across the blood-brain barrier of your developing child. (2)

If you choose not to (or can’t) breastfeed, your baby will get more fluoride exposure while very young.

I’m a huge proponent of breastfeeding, but it’s not always an option for new moms.

Formula, generally made with fluoridated water, contains about 1.5-2 times the amount of fluoride found in breastmilk.

It’s basically impossible to remove every fluoride exposure in your child’s life–and I’m not suggesting you try.

But it’s a good idea to make other efforts to reduce fluoride in your life, particularly if you feed with formula.

Ingesting fluoride can cause dental fluorosis.

About 12% of children who drink fluoridated water end up with fluorosis, and many of these people are stuck with mottled brown teeth as adults, too. (12)

While this is the only danger of fluoride admitted by major governmental organizations, fluorosis is thought to be cosmetic, not functional. However, fluorosis reveals fluoride exposure, so it’s a sign of an underlying problem.

I’m pregnant or trying to get pregnant—what should I do?

Here are a few ways you can limit fluoride exposure for your growing little one.

1. Change toothpastes

If you or your partner are pregnant and you’d like to reduce your baby’s exposure to fluoride, start with a different toothpaste.

My favorite non-fluoride toothpaste for reversing cavities is Boka’s Ela Mint Toothpaste.

It’s made with nano-hydroxyapatite (NHa) particles that remineralize your teeth as effectively (or more) than fluoride. (15, 16)

Boka Ela Mint Toothpaste

Buy Now

Don’t have cavities? Try Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Toothpaste for an all-natural, fluoride-free experience.

Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Toothpaste

Buy Now

You can also try making a DIY toothpaste like this one:

2. Get a water filter that gets rid of fluoride

Most conventional pitcher and spigot filters don’t filter out fluoride with other particles. For one, filtering fluoride sometimes requires the use of silver, which I don’t recommend.

However, there are a few great options you might want to try.

Best option: Reverse osmosis filter or water distiller

Reverse osmosis filtration (RO) gets rid of the majority of fluoride particles in your water. If money isn’t an object and you’d like to get rid of fluoride in your house altogether, a reverse osmosis filter on your water system is the way to go.

Just be aware that a full-house filter like this may use quite a bit more water in order to produce toxin-free water. It also removes useful minerals from your water that your teeth (and bones) need to function the right way.

How much does a whole house reverse osmosis system cost? Depending on where you live, it could be upwards of $12,000-18,000 to install.

Not looking to take out a new mortgage to ditch the fluoride? That’s okay—you can try a countertop distiller or reverse osmosis filter, or an under-sink filter for the kitchen sink.

The biggest difference between these two is that a distiller filters out everything, while an RO filter leaves about 20-30% of the minerals in the water.

Distillers also take longer to produce the final, cleanest product. Each of them will potentially increase your electric bill a bit in order to produce fluoride-filtered model.

Both of these options cost between $150-500. Here’s a countertop model and under-sink one I like:

H2o Labs Water Distiller

Buy Now

APEC Drinking Water Filter System

Buy Now

Least expensive option: ZeroWater Filter Pitcher

There’s only one filter pitcher I’ve seen that eliminates fluoride, and it’s from ZeroWater. Their 5-step filtration process gets rid of over 99% of the dissolved solids in tap water, including fluoride.

Although I’m listing it as a budget option, it’s also the simplest choice to replace fluoridated drinking water—it requires no installation or counter space.

Zero Water Pitcher with Water Quality Meter

Buy Now

3. Make easy dietary swaps

Being an expecting mother can be a challenge—one reason being that it seems there’s a ton you can and can’t eat!

However, the changes you can make that help your body detox fluoride are fairly hassle-free.

Eat alkaline: Normally, you excrete about 50% of the fluoride you ingest. Eating a diet with lots of alkaline foods (read: colorful, leafy, non-starchy veggies) bumps that up, so you don’t hang onto as much fluoride.

Try tamarind tea: You may need to order it online, but this popular Indian tea might be able to get some fluoride out of your system. (17)

Vadham Tangy Tamarind Iced Tea

Buy Now

Drink bottled water instead of tap water: The general rule is that all bottled water is free of fluoride—if not, the label has to tell you it contains fluoride. While there are other issues that accompany bottled water, this is one easy swap to make.

Go organic: A lot of pesticides used on non-organic foods are made with high fluoride content. Try getting organic produce as much as possible.

Ditch the processed foods: Boxed, processed foods frequently contain a lot more fluoride than you might expect. Try a more whole foods diet if you can.

Final Thoughts on Fluoride and IQ

A growing body of research tells us that fluoride exposure may influence childhood IQ.

The newest major study on the topic was conducted in Mexico. Scientists found that prenatal ingestion of fluoride directly correlated to a drop in IQ for the children throughout the first 13 years of life.

Plus, there’s a lot of conflicted evidence about whether or not you (or your little one) actually need fluoride at all.

I personally raised my daughters fluoride-free as much as possible—and not a single one got a cavity!

If you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant, there are some ways you may want to reduce your fluoride exposure and detox the fluoride in your system:

Change toothpastes

Get a water filter that gets rid of fluoride

Make easy dietary swaps

Eat alkaline

Try tamarind tea

Drink bottled water instead of tap water

Go organic

Ditch the processed foods

As a new parent, it can be overwhelming to sort through what’s safe and what isn’t. When it comes to fluoride, it can be a pretty easy fix—and one that will give you some peace of mind for your little bundle of joy!

read next: Fluoride Pros and Cons: Is Fluoride Safe?

References

Bashash, M., Thomas, D., Hu, H., Martinez-Mier, E. A., Sanchez, B. N., Basu, N., … & Liu, Y. (2017). Prenatal fluoride exposure and cognitive outcomes in children at 4 and 6–12 years of age in Mexico. Environmental health perspectives, 125(9). Full text: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp655

Reddy, P. Y., Reddy, K. P., & Kumar, K. P. (2011). Neurodegenerative changes in different regions of brain, spinal cord and sciatic nerve of rats treated with sodium fluoride. Journal of Medical & Allied Sciences, 1(1), 30. Full text: http://jmas.in/sites/default/files/articles/Neurodegenerative%20changes%20in%20different%20regions%20of%20brain%2C%20spinal%20cord%20and%20sciatic%20nerve%20of%20rats%20treated%20with%20sodium%20fluoride.pdf

Hirzy, William. (2013). Citizens Petition in re: Use of Hydrofluosilicic Acid in Drinking Water Systems of the United States. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/tsca_21_petition_hfsa_2013-04-22.pdf

Maas, R. P., Patch, S. C., Christian, A. M., & Coplan, M. J. (2007). Effects of fluoridation and disinfection agent combinations on lead leaching from leaded-brass parts. Neurotoxicology, 28(5), 1023-1031. Abstract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17697714

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2001). Technical fact sheet: final rule for arsenic in drinking water. Retrieved from: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPdf.cgi?Dockey=20001XXE.txt

World Health Organization (WHO). (2018). Lead poisoning and health. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health

Choi, A. L., Sun, G., Zhang, Y., & Grandjean, P. (2012). Developmental fluoride neurotoxicity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Environmental health perspectives, 120(10), 1362-1368. Full text: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.1104912

Choi, A. L., Zhang, Y., Sun, G., Bellinger, D. C., Wang, K., Yang, X. J., … & Grandjean, P. (2015). Association of lifetime exposure to fluoride and cognitive functions in Chinese children: a pilot study. Neurotoxicology and teratology, 47, 96-101. Abstract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25446012

Aravind, A., Dhanya, R. S., Narayan, A., Sam, G., Adarsh, V. J., & Kiran, M. (2016). Effect of fluoridated water on intelligence in 10-12-year-old school children. Journal of International Society of Preventive & Community Dentistry, 6(Suppl 3), S237. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5285601/

Broadbent, J. M., Thomson, W. M., Ramrakha, S., Moffitt, T. E., Zeng, J., Foster Page, L. A., & Poulton, R. (2015). Community water fluoridation and intelligence: prospective study in New Zealand. American journal of public health, 105(1), 72-76. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4265943/

Osmunson, B., Limeback, H., Neurath, C., Broadbent, J. M., Thomson, W. M., Moffitt, T. E., & Poulton, R. (2016). STUDY INCAPABLE OF DETECTING IQ LOSS FROM FLUORIDE/BROADBENT ET AL. RESPOND. American journal of public health, 106(2), 212. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4815566/

Iheozor-Ejiofor, Z., Worthington, H. V., Walsh, T., O’Malley, L., Clarkson, J. E., Macey, R., … & Glenny, A. M. (2015). Water fluoridation for the prevention of dental caries. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 6(6). Full text: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010856.pub2/full

Hujoel, P. P., Hujoel, M. L. A., & Kotsakis, G. A. (2018). Personal oral hygiene and dental caries: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Full text: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ger.12331

Meyer, J., Margaritis, V., & Mendelsohn, A. (2018). Consequences of community water fluoridation cessation for Medicaid-eligible children and adolescents in Juneau, Alaska. BMC oral health, 18(1), 215. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6293551/

Tschoppe, P., Zandim, D. L., Martus, P., & Kielbassa, A. M. (2011). Enamel and dentine remineralization by nano-hydroxyapatite toothpastes. Journal of dentistry, 39(6), 430-437. Full text: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0300571211000832

Vano, M., Derchi, G., Barone, A., & Covani, U. (2014). Effectiveness of nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste in reducing dentin hypersensitivity: a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Quintessence International, 45(8). Abstract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25019114

Vasant, R. A., & Narasimhacharya, A. V. R. L. (2012). Ameliorative effect of tamarind leaf on fluoride-induced metabolic alterations. Environmental health and preventive medicine, 17(6), 484. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3493631/

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Disclosure:

Ask the Dentist is supported by readers. If you use one of the links below and buy something, Ask the Dentist makes a little bit of money at no additional cost to you. I rigorously research, test, and use thousands of products every year, but recommend only a small fraction of these. I only promote products that I truly feel will be valuable to you in improving your oral health.

One of the controversial topics every parent has to contend with is fluoride intake. And with new research bringing up more questions than answers, the connection between fluoride and IQ is all but indisputable.

A 2017 study published in Environmental Health Perspectives has linked exposure during pregnancy to reduced IQ in those children later in life. (1)

This comes on the heels of dozens of other studies that seem to suggest fluoride impacts the development of the brain and human intelligence.

In this article, we’ll review what this study means for you and your baby.

New Findings on Prenatal Fluoride and IQ

A US government-funded study was released on September 19, 2017 to examine the relationship between a mother’s exposure to fluoride and the child’s cognitive development.

Researchers found that low levels of fluoride intake during pregnancy are linked to significantly reduced IQ in those children later in their life.

The study took other factors into account and made sure to establish controls, such as socioeconomic status, smoking, marital status, age, etc.

Researchers measured the amount of fluoride present in the urine of the pregnant participants. Levels in the urine are an extremely accurate indicator of total fluoride intake.

Years later, the researchers measured the intelligence of the children born to these women by giving them an IQ test. At age 4, and then again between 6-12 years, IQ levels were significantly lower in children exposed to higher levels of fluoride in utero. (1)

This is the only high-quality study with controls that has tested prenatal fluoride and IQ, so the results need to be replicated to be sure.

However, it’s true that fluoride passes through placenta to baby’s blood. (2)

Therefore, any fluoride a pregnant mother is ingesting would also reach the unborn child.

In the study, which was conducted in Mexico, the level of exposure is probably close to the level we are exposed to in our fluoridated water.

Do these results actually apply in the United States?

The biggest difference between the communities in Mexico and the US water supply is that the fluoride in Mexico is naturally occurring, not added.

At first glance, you might think that doesn’t matter. And maybe it doesn’t.

But you should also know that calcium fluoride, which is naturally occurring in groundwater (like in Mexico), isn’t what’s in your water.

Neither is sodium fluoride, in nearly every one of the 75% of communities in the United States with fluoridated water. That’s what it used to be, but since the 1990s, things have changed—although pharmaceutical grade sodium fluoride is still found in toothpaste.

Actually, the main source of fluoride in water is hydrofluorosilicic acid (HFS).

Before it was put in your water, HFS was designated as a toxic chemical produced when fertilizer is made. Companies were fined for dumping it into public water supplies.

Then, someone in government had an idea: What if we pay companies to put HFS in the water instead?

I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s pretty straightforward, unfortunately.

Unlike calcium fluoride or sodium fluoride, HFS contains arsenic and leeches lead from old piping. (3, 4)

There are no known “safe” levels of exposure to either arsenic or lead. (5, 6)

Other Research on Fluoride and IQ

A lot of studies exist that support the idea fluoride has a negative impact on cognitive development.

Here are a few of the major ones:

Developmental Fluoride Neurotoxicity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health reviewed 27 studies through the year 2011 about fluoride and IQ. (7)

They found that the results were statistically significant: ingestion of fluoridated water seems to correlate with lower IQs in children.

Overall, high fluoride exposure equated to an drop in average IQ by seven points. This qualifies fluoride as a neurotoxin.

What’s missing: Their analysis was limited to areas with higher levels of naturally occurring fluoride that exceeds most fluoridated communities in the US. The “low level” control areas of exposure were actually closer to levels of fluoride in the US, which is why Snopes said the study was misused by people claiming fluoride lowers IQ.

These studies also didn’t control for as many factors as they probably should have, which makes the results somewhat unclear.

The writers of the study said that more research should be done that also tests urine fluoride levels over time and the differences between socioeconomic status.

Why the results matter: In the United States, you’re exposed to fluoride through much more than drinking water. Processed foods and produce treated with certain pesticides (both of which are consumed in lower numbers in most of the communities in the study) contain fluoride, too.

Plus, this review was conducted by Harvard scientists. The institution where research comes from is important, because it speaks to the quality of the science.

Association of lifetime exposure to fluoride and cognitive functions in Chinese children: a pilot study.

Another Harvard-based study was conducted in China and published in 2015, studying what happens to the brains of children exposed to fluoride. (8)

This pilot study found that children with moderate to severe fluorosis had more issues with cognition than children with no fluorosis.

What’s missing: Levels of fluoride in Chinese groundwater are typically higher than in the US.

This study only examined 51 children, which is not a large sample size to make big conclusions.

Why the results matter: When tested on culture-appropriate intelligence scales, kids with fluorosis got lower scores. Since there’s no way to effectively determine how much fluoride a child ingests (particularly in a Western country), the fact that scientists don’t know the dosage of fluoride that causes intelligence deficits is pretty concerning.

Effect of fluoridated water on intelligence in 10-12-year-old school children

A 2016 study in India looked at the same type of correlation between fluoride and IQ and came up with similar results to other studies. (9)

The more fluoride the students were exposed to every day, the lower their IQ.

What’s missing: As with many other studies, the low levels of fluoride were correlated with what normal levels already exist in most United States drinking water.

Why the results matter: Like with the study in China, there is no way to effectively determine if children in the US have the same amount of fluoride in their system as those in the study. At least on some level, fluoride does influence IQ when ingested via water.

Community Water Fluoridation and Intelligence: Prospective Study in New Zealand

This is the only study on my list that found no relationship between fluoride and IQ levels.

In New Zealand, over 1,000 people were followed between the ages of 7-38. The study authors investigated the link between fluoride and childhood IQ, finding no significant connection. (10)

What’s missing: In the next issue of that journal, dentist Bill Osmunson published a response to the New Zealand study. (11)

He found two major issues—first, in New Zealand, children in non-fluoridated communities are encouraged to take fluoride supplements. But the study didn’t compare total fluoride exposures, just who was exposed to community fluoridation.

Osmunson calculates that actual exposure to fluoride was only different by about two-tenths of a point. That could possibly account for why no IQ difference was found—fluoride exposure was essentially the same between groups.

Then, the scientists didn’t control for 11 of the 15 variables they themselves criticized other studies for not controlling.

These included things like:

Other toxins in the non-fluoridated water, which include very high levels of lead and copper (Osmunson claims the lead alone could account for a 4-point difference in IQ levels)

Maternal (mother’s) IQ

Socioeconomic status

Why the results matter: There are issues with this study, as with the others, but this study covers more children than the majority of others on the topic.

If the variables above could be controlled, the results might be different, but it’s also possible that the results are still accurate. We can’t know without more research.

Further research—Fluoride & IQ: The 53 Studies (Fluoride Action Network)

Does fluoride actually work? Doesn’t my child need it?

But what about the easiest (but still fairly controversial) question: does fluoride work to prevent cavities?

To answer this question, you have to know what you’re actually asking. Do you want to know if topical fluoride works, or if ingested fluoride works?

Does topical fluoride prevent cavities?

Yes, topical fluoride strengthens tooth enamel to prevent cavities. Using fluoride toothpastes and treatments can aid in the natural remineralization process and help to reverse or prevent cavities.

The fluoride ion and the calcium ion are very similar—they’re only one electron different. The enamel and dentin of your natural teeth are made up of many calcium ions.

A fluoride ion is actually more bioavailable than dietary calcium, so teeth and bones will uptake this fluoride to rebuild the tooth’s structure. This is good for decay because the fluoride ion is more resistant to acid than the calcium ion.

Cavities occur when bacteria feed the acid in your mouth and cause “acid attacks” that weaken and destroy your enamel and, eventually, dentin. Most often, this happens when you eat meals with a lot of starchy carbohydrates, like breads, pastas, crackers, and the like.

Since fluoride is very acid-resistant, it’s less likely to break down when exposed to acid.

Does ingested fluoride prevent cavities?

The answer to this depends on who you ask.

The American Dental Association (ADA) thinks it does.

So does the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

Oh, and don’t forget about The American Academy of Pediatrics.

But the Cochrane Library, one of the most trusted organizations for scientific reviews, isn’t so sure, according to their 2015 systematic review. (12)

They explain that, while some studies suggest that it reduces childhood cavities, the majority of these studies can’t really be taken at face value.

The problem is that since fluoridation was introduced, many other societal changes may be contributing to people getting less cavities, like:

Ease of access to fluoride toothpastes (which contain anywhere from 1000 to 7000 times the amount of fluoride than found in water)

Access to quality dental care

Public health initiatives to educate people on the importance of dental health and cavities prevention

Plus, it takes two minutes of brushing with fluoride toothpaste to reap the benefits of topical fluoride.

The seconds tap water touches your teeth is minimal, at best, and the fluoride in that water is there in tiny amounts compared to toothpaste. Logic, then, tells me that fluoridated water is probably contributing very little to any decrease in dental caries.

However, too much ingested fluoride can actually weaken the structure of teeth from the inside.

In the past, I have recommend the use of fluoride in certain instances when used the correct way.

We’re exposed to a lot of fluoride in our environment—it is naturally present to some extent in water, other beverages, infant formula, and even the food we eat. What may have been a well-intentioned idea is resulting in far too much fluoride exposure and even fluorosis.

I also find the information compiled here by the Fluoride Action Network to be very interesting.

According to the best available data, cavity occurrence has gone down at similar rates in fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities.

However, these results are contested in a 2018 review that claims non-fluoridated communities have no way other than fluoride to control cavities. (13)

A recent look at the state of cavities in Juneau, Alaska did find that children had about one more cavity before their 18th birthday when fluoride was removed from the water. (14)

One cavity doesn’t sound like a lot, but if you’ve ever had to endure a filling or root canal with a scared child, you know it’s a big deal.

I don’t believe these results are sufficient to end the debate, though. There are still a great deal of anti-cavity efforts parents and children can make that don’t involve a toxic chemical.

Here’s what it all comes down to for me: I would rather my child develop one more cavity, if that truly is the statistical risk, than expose them to a chemical associated with problems like IQ deficits and even bone cancer.

What’s the Big Deal with Fluoridated Water? Is fluoride bad for you?

I cover a lot of the possible dangers of fluoride in my article on fluoride facts, but here are the basics about fluoride dangers for expectant mothers:

Ingested fluoride crosses the placenta to your fetus.

While your baby’s growing s/he’s nourished by what you eat and drink. Unfortunately, fluoride is able to pass through your placenta and across the blood-brain barrier of your developing child. (2)

If you choose not to (or can’t) breastfeed, your baby will get more fluoride exposure while very young.

I’m a huge proponent of breastfeeding, but it’s not always an option for new moms.

Formula, generally made with fluoridated water, contains about 1.5-2 times the amount of fluoride found in breastmilk.

It’s basically impossible to remove every fluoride exposure in your child’s life–and I’m not suggesting you try.

But it’s a good idea to make other efforts to reduce fluoride in your life, particularly if you feed with formula.

Ingesting fluoride can cause dental fluorosis.

About 12% of children who drink fluoridated water end up with fluorosis, and many of these people are stuck with mottled brown teeth as adults, too. (12)

While this is the only danger of fluoride admitted by major governmental organizations, fluorosis is thought to be cosmetic, not functional. However, fluorosis reveals fluoride exposure, so it’s a sign of an underlying problem.

I’m pregnant or trying to get pregnant—what should I do?

Here are a few ways you can limit fluoride exposure for your growing little one.

1. Change toothpastes

If you or your partner are pregnant and you’d like to reduce your baby’s exposure to fluoride, start with a different toothpaste.

My favorite non-fluoride toothpaste for reversing cavities is Boka’s Ela Mint Toothpaste.

It’s made with nano-hydroxyapatite (NHa) particles that remineralize your teeth as effectively (or more) than fluoride. (15, 16)

Boka Ela Mint Toothpaste

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Don’t have cavities? Try Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Toothpaste for an all-natural, fluoride-free experience.

Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Toothpaste

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You can also try making a DIY toothpaste like this one:

2. Get a water filter that gets rid of fluoride

Most conventional pitcher and spigot filters don’t filter out fluoride with other particles. For one, filtering fluoride sometimes requires the use of silver, which I don’t recommend.

However, there are a few great options you might want to try.

Best option: Reverse osmosis filter

Reverse osmosis filtration gets rid of the majority of fluoride particles in your water. If money isn’t an object and you’d like to get rid of fluoride in your house altogether, a reverse osmosis filter on your water system is the way to go.

Just be aware that a full-house filter like this may use quite a bit more water in order to produce toxin-free water. It also removes useful minerals from your water that your teeth (and bones) need to function the right way.

How much does a whole house reverse osmosis system cost? Depending on where you live, it could be upwards of $12,000-18,000 to install.

Not looking to take out a new mortgage to ditch the fluoride? That’s okay—you can try a countertop reverse osmosis filter, or an under-sink filter for the kitchen sink.

Both of these options cost between $150-500. Here’s a countertop model and under-sink one I like:

H2o Labs Water Distiller

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APEC Drinking Water Filter System

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Least expensive option: ZeroWater Filter Pitcher

There’s only one filter pitcher I’ve seen that eliminates fluoride, and it’s from ZeroWater. Their 5-step filtration process gets rid of over 99% of the dissolved solids in tap water, including fluoride.

Although I’m listing it as a budget option, it’s also the simplest choice to replace fluoridated drinking water—it requires no installation or counter space.

Zero Water Pitcher with Water Quality Meter

Buy Now

3. Make easy dietary swaps

Being an expecting mother can be a challenge—one reason being that it seems there’s a ton you can and can’t eat!

However, the changes you can make that help your body detox fluoride are fairly hassle-free.

Eat alkaline: Normally, you excrete about 50% of the fluoride you ingest. Eating a diet with lots of alkaline foods (read: colorful, leafy, non-starchy veggies) bumps that up, so you don’t hang onto as much fluoride.

Try tamarind tea: You may need to order it online, but this popular Indian tea might be able to get some fluoride out of your system. (17)

Vadham Tangy Tamarind Iced Tea

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Drink bottled water instead of tap water: The general rule is that all bottled water is free of fluoride—if not, the label has to tell you it contains fluoride. While there are other issues that accompany bottled water, this is one easy swap to make.

Go organic: A lot of pesticides used on non-organic foods are made with high fluoride content. Try getting organic produce as much as possible.

Ditch the processed foods: Boxed, processed foods frequently contain a lot more fluoride than you might expect. Try a more whole foods diet if you can.

Final Thoughts on Fluoride and IQ

A growing body of research tells us that fluoride exposure may influence childhood IQ.

The newest major study on the topic was conducted in Mexico. Scientists found that prenatal ingestion of fluoride directly correlated to a drop in IQ for the children throughout the first 13 years of life.

Plus, there’s a lot of conflicted evidence about whether or not you (or your little one) actually need fluoride at all.

I personally raised my daughters fluoride-free as much as possible—and not a single one got a cavity!

If you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant, there are some ways you may want to reduce your fluoride exposure and detox the fluoride in your system:

Change toothpastes

Get a water filter that gets rid of fluoride

Make easy dietary swaps

Eat alkaline

Try tamarind tea

Drink bottled water instead of tap water

Go organic

Ditch the processed foods

As a new parent, it can be overwhelming to sort through what’s safe and what isn’t. When it comes to fluoride, it can be a pretty easy fix—and one that will give you some peace of mind for your little bundle of joy!

read next: Fluoride Pros and Cons: Is Fluoride Safe?

References

Bashash, M., Thomas, D., Hu, H., Martinez-Mier, E. A., Sanchez, B. N., Basu, N., … & Liu, Y. (2017). Prenatal fluoride exposure and cognitive outcomes in children at 4 and 6–12 years of age in Mexico. Environmental health perspectives, 125(9). Full text: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp655

Reddy, P. Y., Reddy, K. P., & Kumar, K. P. (2011). Neurodegenerative changes in different regions of brain, spinal cord and sciatic nerve of rats treated with sodium fluoride. Journal of Medical & Allied Sciences, 1(1), 30. Full text: http://jmas.in/sites/default/files/articles/Neurodegenerative%20changes%20in%20different%20regions%20of%20brain%2C%20spinal%20cord%20and%20sciatic%20nerve%20of%20rats%20treated%20with%20sodium%20fluoride.pdf

Hirzy, William. (2013). Citizens Petition in re: Use of Hydrofluosilicic Acid in Drinking Water Systems of the United States. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/tsca_21_petition_hfsa_2013-04-22.pdf

Maas, R. P., Patch, S. C., Christian, A. M., & Coplan, M. J. (2007). Effects of fluoridation and disinfection agent combinations on lead leaching from leaded-brass parts. Neurotoxicology, 28(5), 1023-1031. Abstract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17697714

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2001). Technical fact sheet: final rule for arsenic in drinking water. Retrieved from: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPdf.cgi?Dockey=20001XXE.txt

World Health Organization (WHO). (2018). Lead poisoning and health. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health

Choi, A. L., Sun, G., Zhang, Y., & Grandjean, P. (2012). Developmental fluoride neurotoxicity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Environmental health perspectives, 120(10), 1362-1368. Full text: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.1104912

Choi, A. L., Zhang, Y., Sun, G., Bellinger, D. C., Wang, K., Yang, X. J., … & Grandjean, P. (2015). Association of lifetime exposure to fluoride and cognitive functions in Chinese children: a pilot study. Neurotoxicology and teratology, 47, 96-101. Abstract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25446012

Aravind, A., Dhanya, R. S., Narayan, A., Sam, G., Adarsh, V. J., & Kiran, M. (2016). Effect of fluoridated water on intelligence in 10-12-year-old school children. Journal of International Society of Preventive & Community Dentistry, 6(Suppl 3), S237. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5285601/

Broadbent, J. M., Thomson, W. M., Ramrakha, S., Moffitt, T. E., Zeng, J., Foster Page, L. A., & Poulton, R. (2015). Community water fluoridation and intelligence: prospective study in New Zealand. American journal of public health, 105(1), 72-76. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4265943/

Osmunson, B., Limeback, H., Neurath, C., Broadbent, J. M., Thomson, W. M., Moffitt, T. E., & Poulton, R. (2016). STUDY INCAPABLE OF DETECTING IQ LOSS FROM FLUORIDE/BROADBENT ET AL. RESPOND. American journal of public health, 106(2), 212. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4815566/

Iheozor-Ejiofor, Z., Worthington, H. V., Walsh, T., O’Malley, L., Clarkson, J. E., Macey, R., … & Glenny, A. M. (2015). Water fluoridation for the prevention of dental caries. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 6(6). Full text: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010856.pub2/full

Hujoel, P. P., Hujoel, M. L. A., & Kotsakis, G. A. (2018). Personal oral hygiene and dental caries: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Full text: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ger.12331

Meyer, J., Margaritis, V., & Mendelsohn, A. (2018). Consequences of community water fluoridation cessation for Medicaid-eligible children and adolescents in Juneau, Alaska. BMC oral health, 18(1), 215. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6293551/

Tschoppe, P., Zandim, D. L., Martus, P., & Kielbassa, A. M. (2011). Enamel and dentine remineralization by nano-hydroxyapatite toothpastes. Journal of dentistry, 39(6), 430-437. Full text: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0300571211000832

Vano, M., Derchi, G., Barone, A., & Covani, U. (2014). Effectiveness of nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste in reducing dentin hypersensitivity: a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Quintessence International, 45(8). Abstract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25019114

Vasant, R. A., & Narasimhacharya, A. V. R. L. (2012). Ameliorative effect of tamarind leaf on fluoride-induced metabolic alterations. Environmental health and preventive medicine, 17(6), 484. Full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3493631/

The post Fluoride and IQ: Does prenatal exposure to fluoride lower IQ? appeared first on Ask the Dentist.

from Ask the Dentist https://askthedentist.com/fluoride-child-iq/

[aion-rsa]

Cursed Season 2: What to Expect

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This Cursed feature contains spoilers for both the Netflix series and the illustrated novel of the same name. Read our spoiler-free review of the series here.

Netflix’s Cursed puts a feminist spin on the legend of King Arthur by centering its origins around a woman – Nimue, the future Lady of the Lake. Its first season contained a little bit of everything, from romance and action to politics and magic, with a finale that featured several big character revelations and ended on a major cliffhanger. While Netflix has yet to announce a season 2 renewal for the show, it certainly feels as though Cursed has plenty of stories left to tell. After all, no one’s even referred to Nimue as the Lady of the Lake yet!

Save for a few – admittedly, very intriguing – tidbits, the bulk of Netflix’s Cursed is fairly faithful to the novel upon which it is based. Therefore, we don’t have much to go on by way of a roadmap for what the second season could look like. (That, naturally, may change in the weeks and months ahead, since it seems like a pretty safe bet that the book series will continue, regardless of whether there’s a second season of the show.) But there are a few hints to be mined from the ending of the book, and from the bones of Arthurian legend itself, that might provide us some clues.

Here are our best educated guesses for what we can expect to see in Cursed Season 2.

Nimue Survives

There’s not much fun in the idea of a second season without our leading lady, is there?

Cursed Season 2 will have to sort out precisely what’s happened to Nimue, last seen plummeting toward what may well be her death – or potential eternal supernatural imprisonment – after being shot full of arrows. This is a fantasy series, though, so no one should be really surprised when she inevitably survives. The show is very careful to never show us a body, after all, and leaves us with a final image of Nimue drifting through blood-tinged water. It’s really the how of it all that will be the question.

Read more

TV

How Katherine Langford Shakes Up Arthurian Legend in Netflix’s Cursed

By Lacy Baugher

But we have a pretty good idea of what that will probably look like, too. The Cursed TV series ends a few moments before the novel upon which it is based does. The book not only confirms Nimue survives her fall but several other key factors as well, including what appears to be her assumption of the Lady of the Lake mantle. While in the water, Nimue can still sense the Sword of Power and vows to protect it until “a true king rises to claim it.” But instead of transforming into some sort of otherworldly being, an injured Nimue eventually washes up on the shores of the Minotaur Mountains, where she’s surrounded and taken off by a mob of the lepers that serve King Rugen. Whether he will help her or try to use her against Merlin is anyone’s guess at this point.

Merlin’s Magic Tips the Scales

Wild with grief after Nimue’s apparent death, Merlin regains the Sword of Power, reclaims his magic, and murders a bunch of Red Paladins. What’s next for the famous wizard? Probably not helping the Viking king that engineered his daughter’s murder.

Merlin originally allied with Cumber, promising him the sword in the hopes of both keeping Nimue alive and unseating King Uther. Cumber’s betrayal – joining forces with the Red Paladins and ambushing the escaping Fey – means Merlin’s now an enemy, and the only real question is whether he’ll use his newly returned magical abilities to just kill Cumber, or if he’ll decide that Uther should keep his crown as well. Whatever happens, Merlin seems set to claim his place as the real power behind the throne. And that could ultimately prove a boon to Arthur down the road.

We’ll Get to Know The Weeping Monk

The shocking revelation that the murderous Weeping Monk is Lancelot came in the first season’s final moments, leaving audiences little time to process this information. In the world of the original legends, Lancelot is kind of a big deal. He’s most widely remembered for his affair with Guinevere – which brings about the downfall of Camelot – but he’s also the greatest knight of the Round Table and a model of Christian chivalry. (The contradictions are what make it all so fun.)

One has to assume that any Cursed Season 2 would need to focus fairly heavily on turning this character – who spent most of his screen time brooding and executing complex fighting maneuvers – into an actual three-dimensional person. If the intention is that this Lancelot, who murdered a countless number of his Fey brothers and sisters, will one day become Arthur’s most trusted champion and a hero all can admire? Well. He’s certainly got a long way to go.

A Love Triangle – or Possibly Quartet? – on the Horizon

Things will probably get real messy on the relationship front pretty quickly in Season 2. While Arthur and Nimue’s love story feels like it’s barely gotten started, their connection is sweet, romantic, and seems to make them both better people. Arthur, at any rate, has certainly learned to be a leader by watching his girlfriend do it first. Yet, his last-minute meeting with a Viking woman known as the Red Spear means potentially more than a bit of trouble in paradise.

Because the Red Spear’s name is Guinevere. Yes, Cursed reimagines the most famous (and controversial) female character in Arthurian legend as a battle-hardened warrior who wants a crown for herself. Let me count the ways that I am here for this. Because although Guinevere is well known as a major player in this legend, her character is another that’s often not fleshed out terribly fully. Despite the fact that her decisions eventually bring down a kingdom, we’re given precious little idea why she makes them. So there’s something intensely appealing in an opportunity to see her get some real agency within her own story, as Nimue has.

Read more

TV

Netflix’s Cursed Reinvents the Traditional Once and Future King

By Lacy Baugher

Because much like Nimue, Guinevere also has a destiny, and it involves a future as Arthur’s wife and Lancelot’s mistress. Given that she spent approximately five minutes fighting alongside the former and hasn’t met the latter yet, we’re clearly a ways away from that future. But speculating about how that might come to pass – and how Nimue will react upon meeting Arthur’s new lady friend – is definitely entertaining. Largely because it feels as though Cursed could go in any direction with this group, even as they’re all fighting toward the same ends.

Could We Meet the Actual Green Knight?

Putting a stake in the ground now – there’s no way that Gawain is actually dead. Sure, we did see a body this time – sort of –but in a world that’s brimming with magic? Anything’s possible.

One of the most intriguing fusions in Cursed is the decision to merge the character of Gawain, one of the most famous Knights of the Round Table, and the Green Knight, a man sent to test and challenge Gawain’s chivalry, who also happens to be literally green. (And can also withstand being beheaded.) But it seems quite likely that Gawain’s himself may become a true version of the Green Knight in Cursed, resurrected by the magic of the Fey greenery in Season 2.

There’s Probably More to the Leper King

Out of all the predictions in this list, this one feels the most outlandish. But throughout Cursed it’s difficult not to draw parallels between Ruben, king of the lepers, and the Fisher King of Holy Grail legend. In the Grail story, the Fisher King – sometimes referred to as the Maimed King or the Wounded King – is the last surviving member of the bloodline charged with guarding the famous chalice. He’s always grievously injured in some way, and usually unable to stand. Sometimes the lands of his kingdom are as blighted as his body. Various knights journey to his castle to try and heal him, but everyone fails, except for Percival (and in later versions, Galahad.)

Leper King Ruben isn’t nearly as incapacitated as the Fisher King of legend, but he is physically suffering, and he keeps a horde of ancient, magical, and/or singularly valuable items in his castle vault. Don’t be surprised if one of them turns out to be a particularly powerful cup.

The post Cursed Season 2: What to Expect appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[wavering-eyes]

Test Port 1

[This blog post discusses “flavor” with respect to the card design in Yu-Gi-Oh!. If you’re not already familiar with this term, it’s captured pretty well in this article by Mark Rosewater. Just keep in mind that flavor may also describe card effects.

Also, all of the images embedded in this post can be viewed full-size here.]

[Originally posted on notspoondere.tumblr.com. I am the original author.]

With the printing of Girsu, the Mekk-Knight Orcust in Eternity Code and the full spoiler of Rise of the Duelist, it is looking more and more likely that we’ve reached the end of the World Legacy storyline. It’s possible that new story-focused cards for these archetypes will be printed in the future, but it’s probably going to take a backseat to functional legacy support, similar to what happened with the Duel Terminal archetypes that received support in the Link VRAINS sets. As a result, I figure this is a good time to talk about their overall design and point out what I feel is its biggest success over Duel Terminal: flavorful designs.

To illustrate this difference, let’s consider a pretty key player in the Duel Terminal storyline and keep track of his effects as he changes forms throughout the story. (Consult the translations for Master Guide 4 if you’d like evidence that the first three monsters all portray the same character.)

We can see a pretty linear increase in stats from Sentinel to Roach, and he has a theme of caring about level 5 or higher monsters. This gets a pretty nice followup, becoming a Vanity’s Fiend for lv5 or higher monsters in... Evilswarm Ophion, which is a totally different card not present on this chart, because the powers of the Sacred Tree let him nuke the field instead!!

He then inherits the powers of Sophia and ends up weaker because Exciton got banned. Bravo. (It’s worth mentioning that the original form of Ophion, Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, has a completely unrelated effect of discarding cards to destroy cards, and Evilswarm Bahamut steals monsters instead of bouncing cards like Brionac, but Evilswarm Ouroboros at least tries to approximate Trishula.)

Can you see the problem? I was going to make another image showing this off until I realized that following Gem Knight Lazuli all the way through Construct’s various forms would take way too much horizontal space, but feel free to construct an explanation in your head for why combining Apoqliphort Towers (the real one) with El Shaddoll Construct (foolish a Shaddoll/Catastor eff) makes Shekhinaga (Divine Wrath on a fusion) or why adding in Infernoid Devyaty (wipes backrow, also tributes to negate a monster) and some ice turns that combo into Anoyatyllis (Konami said fuck Nekroz). It’s because these cards are either not designed for flavor, or are designed around the flavor of their archetypes rather than that of their characters, so the characters in general have a pretty weak identity.

You could maybe say that’s because Duel Terminal is a grand-scale war story, so none of the characters are meant to stick out. That would make sense, sort of, so what about stories with fewer characters that change forms multiple times? The Dracoslayer lore did that.

I’m not typing out all of what Master Peace 2 does, but in case you weren’t around from May 2017-2018, you can read that here. He’s a Wyrm because all the True Dracos are, except his previous form wasn’t, except all of them probably could have been without hurting their chances of seeing play (until we got Guardragons Elpy and Agarpain).

The sole thing that ties all of these cards together is that they supposedly feature the same character, and all have effects that destroy cards. They have about twice as many differences. Master and Luster are both Pendulums, while the other two aren’t. Master Peace 1 is a Special Summon by Tributing, but Master Peace 2 requires a Tribute Summon to gain effects. Master Peace 1 has a negate, for some reason, even though none of the other forms have it, so if he gained it from the Dracoverlord tributed for his summon (these are his enemies, by the way), then he apparently forgot it by the time he reappeared in the story. Speaking of which...

In the lore, he essentially aids three tribes (Majespecter/Dinomist/Igknight) trying to fight off the Amorphages, and the Extra Deck Dracoslayers represent their powers combined. True Dracos exist because, in a totally different world, three completely different tribes (Zoodiac/Crystron/Metalfoes) are being assailed by the True Kings. They form a summoning circle (Dragonic Diagram) to summon him for help, and he accepts the power of the other True Dracos or something. The other True Dracos (who are also based off of the first three archetypes, like the Dracoslayer extra deck... for some reason) are disciples of Mariamne, the True Dracophoenix, who mechanically is a True King and shares minimal synergy with any of these cards, and the one who seemingly gets things done is Metaltron XII, the True Dracocombatant, who probably is just the three tribes’ power combined. Who also gets protection from effects by being Tribute Summoned and also floats into anything from the Extra Deck that isn’t LIGHT/DARK. And Konami says he’s a Zefra now. And who the fuck is Dreiath III supposed to be? He’s not even good?

I have many problems with True Draco. Anyways, let’s get to the point. (Nin/Long/Din)Girsu’s character arc, as shown through monster cards in the World Legacy story, is much more internally consistent.

Let’s assume that Girsu, the Orcust Mekk-Knight is a de-powered form from after the battle inside the World Gears (presumably he lent this power to Avramax, though this isn’t shown in the artwork; also, he has Ib’s ribbon on his arm). It’s understandable why the maindeck cards and extra deck cards should do something different, and the first maindeck monster is a vanilla anyways, so I wouldn’t consider it that bad of a break. No idea why he’s a Mekk-Knight though.

These effects form a pretty clear pattern. Girsu here sends things to the GY without targeting them and eventually gains protection effects as he grows in power. His ultimate form is the only one that lets him protect other cards, which is maybe a statement on his goals given how long he spent trying to revive his dead sister, and if that holds water, Mekk-Knight Orcust Girsu is evidence of his eventual success. After all, this card by itself can summon every single one of Ib’s forms except her vanilla and Knightmare incarnations.

That is to say, we gain a bit of understanding of Girsu’s abilities, goals, and bond with his sister through the mechanics of his cards, and if you don’t think that’s the tightest shit, well, I just made you read nearly 1k words on why it is. Better yet, there’s more:

Auram’s extra deck incarnations all have ATK-boosting effects, and his World Chalice form translates him getting more powerful with the World Legacies. Both Blademaster and Crusadia Equimax activate effects by tributing monsters they point to, suggesting how he calls upon his allies for help--there’s a reason Ningirsu went off and ended up with a bunch of brass instruments as his only company while Avram wandered the world with his best friend (who is a fucking dragon) and scored himself a choice elf harem. They call him King because he wears the crown, you see?

On the topic of Crusadia, let’s take a closer look at how Equimax is typically summoned. Typically you’ll try to get a Normal Summon on board, hope it sticks to make Magius, summon again to search Draco, and build your way up with Crusadia monsters to make Equimax. Afterwards you’ll want to boost his damage with the effect of Maximus, summon a large monster to one of his zones, or buff him with the spell you searched off of Regulex. Any two Crusadia monsters with different names can do most/all of this, so think of it as an “all your powers combined” thing a-la Metaltron XII, except executed much better.

(Sidebar: If you’re willing to entertain a bit of theory, the Crusadia maindeck is the epitome of a successful flavorful archetype design. Pretty much every Crusadia list maxes out on every monster in the main because they’re all interchangeable, even though they all have different effects. You could argue that Draco and Reclusia are way better monsters than Leonis, but fundamentally it doesn’t matter; you need two of them and it doesn’t matter which two. This lends them a sense of uniformity without erasing their uniqueness, which suggests that the Crusadia are an army of equals and Maximus may be the leader “de facto”. I highlight this because World Chalice tried to do the same thing, except that deck eventually cut its normal monsters down to a single copy of Chosen, and nobody ever played Crowned.)

Meanwhile, Avramax sports his ultimate ATK-boosting effect, protects other monsters from attacks, is immune to targeting (these two might seem out of line, but they’re upgrades of the protection effects that the previous two Mekk-Knight Link Monsters have), and non-target shuffles a card if he dies.

This is where I’d like to shift the direction of this discussion towards power levels and, implicitly, gameplay balance. Yes, I’m about to get into a powerlevel discussion about fictional characters portrayed on Yu-Gi-Oh! cards which have actual power levels, but hear me out.

Based on their original incarnations, Auram is ostensibly the main character, but strictly weaker than Girsu. Both have 0 DEF as Normal Monsters and Girsu has an extra Level and 200 ATK over him. With the power of the Chalice, Auram can revive allies and potentially gain more ATK than Girsu, but there were hardly even 5 World Legacy cards in the game at that point, and Ningirsu actually has removal. Later on, World Legacy’s Nightmare shows Girsu holding his own versus all of the Knightmares, but when it comes down to the climax of that arc, Avram inherits the power of Mekk-Knight Blue Sky and promptly gets overpowered by Iblee anyways, leading to Ib’s death and the scattering of the party (He is also still weaker than Ningirsu here). Auram and Girsu end up at odds several years later as Crusadia Equimax and Longirsu, the Orcust Orchestrator. If you look at the way these two cards might interact as enemies, it tells us a lot about this matchup: Equimax doesn’t start with enough ATK to hit over Longirsu, and Longirsu seems to have the upper hand thanks to removal, but with the power of friendship, Equimax can safely negate Longirsu’s effect and even swing over him. Finally, as Dingirsu and Avramax, Dingirsu loses or goes even at best: Dingirsu sends Avramax to GY, Avramax spins Dingirsu when he dies, both parties end up with nothing. Keep in mind that Avramax no longer needs support from allies to do this and Dingirsu absolutely cannot swing over Avramax at any point in time, so if the resource game isn’t in consideration, these cards will either trade or Avramax will always win.

That’s a cool interaction, but why did I bring up card balance? This interaction was only uncommon in tournament play because Orcust was an insanely popular deck. Playing Salamangreat, I’d regularly make Avramax versus Sky Striker and expect it to stick for a while, but versus Orcust? That boy would be gone in a second, and I’d rather not commit a link-4 worth of material to have a monster die and only get to spin a card. Keep in mind that going card-for-card is maybe not always favorable for the player.

What I mean to say is, Avramax would be a pretty insane card in a format without Nin/Long/Dingirsu’s non targeting removal. Consider the following scenario: Girsu’s extra deck forms do not exist. You are going second versus old Danger! Thunder playing the Trishula fusion. They half combo you, ending on something like Colossus + Avramax made with I:P Masquerena, and in doing so, banish the Borreload out of your extra. Do you even play a card that can out an Avramax otherwise? Probably not. Avramax could have put us into another Dark Destroyer format where targeting sucks, but Girsu kept us safe.

If anything, I hope R&D puts this level of thought into their flavor moving forward. World Legacy was a pretty big success on most fronts and I’d like to see what they do going foward in the next OCG series.

Thanks for reading. This is my first time writing about the game from a non-competitive perspective, so let me know how I did.