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ivyluvsyouu · 3 months

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𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖

𝑰𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒓𝒆 𝒔/𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒅

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔: 𝑪𝒚𝒏𝒐, 𝑨𝒍𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒐, 𝑿𝒊𝒂𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑲𝒂𝒛𝒖𝒉𝒂

𝑻𝒘! 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅/𝒈𝒐𝒓𝒆

𝑪𝒚𝒏𝒐

He started to get worried when you didn't return home when you said you would. He went out looking for you himself and when he went to where your commission was what he saw horrified him. There was blood everywhere and you were lying on the ground lifeless. He ran over to you and picked you up in his arms and rushed you to Tighnari. "Tighnari please, there has to be something you can do." A part of him knew you were gone but the other part didn't want to believe it. He refused to believe his strong s/o was gone. Impossible. So, when Tighnari told Cyno there was nothing he could do Cyno just nodded and left

He never gave himself time to properly grieve. He just drowned himself in his work and his studies. He bottled up all of his emotions and just tried to act like he was fine. People close to him like Tighnari could see right through him though. No matter how many times Tighnari told him he could talk to him about it Cyno never did. "They're gone. It's in the past." He was furious with himself for not being able to protect you. He often thinks about what he could have done. Maybe if he had gotten you to Tighnari quicker or maybe if he had just gone with you on the commission, you'd still be with him.

No matter how much time passed he never got over your death. He never found another s/o either. He didn't want anybody but you. You were the love of his life, and you were gone.

𝑨𝒍𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒐

"Please, Darling you have to stay strong for me." He begged. But you didn't even hear him. You were already gone. You had been sick for a while and Albedo put everything he was working on pause to try and find some kind of cure for you. He tried everything but nothing made you better. And when you died, he felt like he failed you. No, he knew he had failed you. He shut himself up in Dragonspine for the next few months. Not even allowing Sucrose to come up to Dragonspine. He needed to be alone.

Even after you died, he tried to find the cure to the sickness you had to prevent someone else dying from that awful disease. After a few months of grieving, he started going back down to the city again and he started letting Sucrose come back to Dragonspine but the people around him notice a difference in him. He was less talkative and less welcoming. He would just do his work and paint and when he did paint it would always be paintings of you.

He opened up to Sucrose once about you. "If I had just been able to find a cure, they would still be here..." That night when he opened up to Sucrose he cried and cried about you. He cried about how he missed you. Cried about how he couldn't save you.

𝑿𝒊𝒂𝒐

You died right in front of him. You both were in the middle of a commission and Xiao didn't see the last enemy that was standing behind him. Before the enemy could strike you pushed him out of the way and allowed the enemy to stab you right in the chest. Xiao quickly killed the enemy and rushed to you. He knew there was no way you had survived that, but he was just in shock. "Y/n!! Can you hear me!?" He asked shaking you frantically. He ripped a piece of his sleeve off and tried to wrap it around your wound to stop the bleeding, but it was too late. You were gone.

He never ever forgave himself for that. His purpose in life was to protect people. And he couldn't protect his own S/o. He shut himself off from everyone. Only coming down to the city when Zhongli needed him. He felt like a failure. And when Zhongli tried to talk about it with him Xiao would just brush it off. "I'm fine." he would insist.

Whenever he would go down to Liyue everything reminded him of you. He wouldn't even go to Laternrite anymore. It reminded him of when you and him would go together and watch the fireworks. Everything reminded him of his love for you and how he couldn't protect you.

𝑲𝒂𝒛𝒖𝒉𝒂

You had always had a bad immune system. So, when you came down with a fever you insisted to your fiancé that you were okay and that he didn't need to miss his boat to Inazuma and that you would be fine by the time he came back. Kazuha didn't like the idea of leaving you when you weren't feeling well but you insisted that you would be okay.

So, when he had gotten word that you had passed away while he was gone, he was devastated that he didn't listen to his gut. He rushed home and the doctors confirmed that you had died, and they explained to him what had gone wrong and why you died. "Thank you for your time doctor." He said. His voice shaking and tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. He went to a place that he would take you on dates. A quiet meadow away from the city.

He sat there and thought about what he could have done differently. For some reason he just had a gut feeling that if he had stayed you would've been fine. He hated to think about the fact that you had to die alone while he was off wandering in Inazuma. After that night he caught a boat back to the nation you had been born in. Mondstadt, He spent the next few months exploring the nation and living there to try and feel close to you again.

He would have terrible nightmares about you. To the point where he hated going to sleep. Nightmares of you dying, Nightmares of seeing your lifeless body on the ground. These nightmares didn't last forever they were just in the first few months of him grieving.

Eventually he returned to his usually wandering and he somewhat returned to normal. He never forgot about you though. He always had in the back of his mind what he could have done to help you.

Thank you sm for reading! requests are always open!

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misslavenderlady · 5 months

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I'm here with some questions about our girl Bree~!!!

How did she find out they were vamps in the first place? I mean, did she figure most of it put on her own, or did the boys show their true side to her?

And what are the Frogs + Sammy's thoughts on her? If the Frogs know her at least. 👀

CHERRYYYYYY!! This is my first ever ask about Bree!!! I'm so excited! Rest assured, I will have an actual side blog up for her soon but in the meantime I am more than happy to answer any questions about her here

🥺🥺❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

So Bree is a registered nurse, meaning she has plenty of medical knowledge from her studies and experience. It's easy for her to figure out when something is wrong. She met the boys the first night they ever popped into the doctors office she works at. David asked for her to examine his wrist because he crashed his bike while doing a stunt (a little callback to the injury kiefer got before they started filming)

Obviously during the exam Bree noticed there was no pulse in his wrist, and feared something was wrong. She tried to listen for his heartbeat with her stethoscope but found nothing. When she excused herself to get another stethoscope and try again, David and the boys had mysteriously vanished.

They returned again another night. She tried to ask questions, but the boys lead her in circles with their mysterious words (that or they just didn't answer her, opting to just giggle playfully). Dwayne, Paul and Marko all got checkups too. Whether it was asking for a flu shot, getting a cough checked or just making up some disease to get her to touch them, they adored playing games. Each time they did, she found something new wrong. The biggest kicker was when she drew blood at David's request, and was shocked to find the blood was glittery and dark.

She fainted from the shock, and was found and cared for by Michael after she woke up. The boys had left by that point.

At first she thought there had to be some logical explanation. She's a bright woman that values science and research. In a way, she was more fascinated than she was horrified. She thought they were all some kind of medical anomaly. Four boys with an unknown illness.

But then the visits started. Or rather, the "dreams" as she thought they were.

Bree would have moments in the dead of night where she'd hear voices whispering to her. Images of the boys in her room, asking if she wanted to be one of them. To know what they were. They told her to turn away from her medical journal and look more to her beloved monster books. When she awoke, she did just that. She poured over all her favorite stories, particularly Dracula and Camilla. Everything began to make a lot more sense.

At the moment, David and the boys have not outright said what they are, as they're biding their time for the right moment (especially with Michael still a part of their game). But there's this unspoken agreement between them and Bree. A bond made by a shared secret. She knows what they are, but she's not frightened. She's interested. Curious. Attracted to them.

She wants to get to know them more, and they feel the same about her~

Since Michael works at the same doctors office, the other Emersons pop in to say hi to both him and Bree. During the summer Sam and the Frogs come by for the school physicals, which are done by Bree. She thinks Sam is a nice kid, but find the Frog brothers a bit odd. They give her cryptic warnings about monsters and that they suspect the return of vampires they once slayed. When she tries to ask Sam about it, he tells her that Michael isn't very comfortable with sharing that story.

To her, the Emersons are just as mysterious as the Lost Boys. Granted, they're very kind and wonderful to be around, but she wishes they would open up to her. She really likes Michael and he likes her. It breaks her heart to see him and his brother struggling with their demons from the past.

Little does she know that such a thing is more literal in the sense.

In the meantime, she's happy to chat with the kids, so long as they behave. She also gives them stickers as a little gift. They claim they're too old for stickers, but secretly love them.

#tlb insert Bree #tlb self insert #the lost boys #lavender lady rambles #asks

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dianneking · 1 year

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The Disease (Larissa/Laurel)

The product of my Sunday evening Angst writing addiction, presented to you with only minimal editing and proof-reading. Written (belatedly) for day 5 of May Trope Mayhem 2023 by @duckprintspress, with the prompt: Hanahaki. Crossposted on AO3 (link here and in the title below).

Tags: Angst, Hanahaki, Not Actually Unrequited love, Angst with a Happy Ending, Spoilers for Season 1 Finale of Wednesday (2022), Fear of Death, Disease Diagnosis, No Lesbians Die, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Marilyn is Laurel but Laurel is Good, Feelings!, Alcohol consumption.

Fandom: Wednesday (2022) Pairing: Larissa Weems /Laurel Gates | Marilyn Thornhill Wordcount: 1774

The Disease (Marilyn|Laurel x Larissa)

The first time it happens, Laurel thinks it’s a cruel prank from one of her students. Teenagers are cruel, she thinks, and outcasts teenagers can be even more creative in their cruelty (little freaks she used to call her in the privacy of her mind, but recently she hasn’t been able to do so without picturing how sad Larissa’s face would be if she’d be able to hear that). And she’s sure it’s a funny prank in their eyes: the botany professor coughing up lungfuls of petals? How poetic.

But no matter how much she tries, she cannot get her students to confess who had it been, and she’s too ashamed of being the victim of a prank and unable to discover the culprit to go complain to Principal Weems (she wouldn’t mind the excuse to spend more time in her study, but she feels pathetic to go and complain like a little girl). She tries to forget the shame and when Larissa’s warm eyes meet hers that evening over both of their glasses of wine, she can passably lie and state that her day had been ‘alright’.

Except it happens a second time, and this time it is only her and Larissa when it happens, interrupting what had been an intense moment, when, made bolder by the alcohol in her veins, their faces had been getting closer to each other, as if pulled by an invincible magnetic force. Laurel had seen her own desire mirrored in her principal’s eyes, and she had seen how the taller woman’s tongue had come out to wet her lips in anticipation…but when their mouths were but a breath apart, she felt the tell-tale pressure behind her breastbone and she has to turn away, her hands clutching spasmodically at her mouth, trying to hide the colorful petals from sight.

She is unsuccessful, and Larissa’s horrified face is all she needs to see before running away from it all: the almost-kiss (her father and her brother and her mother are all screaming at her from their tombs, asking her why hasn’t she started on her plan yet, why wasn’t she extracting revenge on those monsters who had ruined her family), her boss who she most definitely shouldn’t be falling for, and the embarrassment of those petals still coming out of her airways. Or trying to run away from it.

She does a decent job of hiding in her conservatory over the next few days, thankfully helped by the weekend, but the cough attacks come about in increasingly frequent bouts, and on Monday she has no choice but to visit the nurse office.

She sees the pity on the nurse’s face before hearing it in their voice. I’m sorry, they say, you seem to be suffering from Hanahaki disease. The name doesn’t tell her much, but the tone is not that of good news. Laurel wonders if she’ll die of it before avenging her family, and the thought gives her more comfort than it should have (it’s not just Larissa - a part of her is starting to come to love her girls in Ophelia Hall, and the way her students’ eyes sparkle when she shows them particularly deadly plants - and she now realizes that no matter her prognosis, the plan for revenge has already died before she does).

She pretends to know what the nurse is talking about and looks up the disease on internet as soon as she gets to her classroom. She had to sit down to process the news. The words stare at her unrelentingly from the screen.

When afflicted by Hanahaki disease, the patient is subjected to cough attacks with production of copious amounts of flower petals, if and only if the patient is concomitantly affected by one-sided affection towards another person. The natural cure for the disease is for the recipient of such affection to return the feeling, or through surgical intervention. The inevitable side effect of the surgical procedure is the assured loss of the feelings the patient had. If left untreated, Hanahaki disease leads to certain death within the timespan of a few weeks.

A few weeks. That was all she had. The next few days go by in a haze, as her brain processes the information. Even if her insurance paid for the surgery, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go back to how her life was before falling for Larissa (she had been plotting to slaughter a school full of children for something that happened way before most of them were born, that was not a good place to be in mentally).

She wonders if she should tell Larissa. But that would serve no purpose, other than let the other woman feel guilty of her inevitable demise. And Laurel thinks she knows Larissa enough to know that she would feel guilty. She would add Laurel’s condition to the ever-growing burden on her shoulders, and possibly try to take on the costs for her surgery as well. No, she wouldn’t tell Larissa.

“Marilyn, we need to talk.”

When she hears that name falling from the other’s lips she knows that there is another secret that she doesn’t want to take to the grave with her. She doesn’t want to die as a lie. So when she meets up with her principal that night, she asks her to listen first, and Larissa looks at her with a stony expression as she retells the story of the Gates family and of how little Laurel had come back to her hometown to extract revenge but ended up finding a new, happier family in Nevermore, among the outcasts.

When she finishes her story, Larissa takes a sip of wine, and Laurel wishes she was able to go back to when those blue eyes looked at her with warmth and desire, instead of being unreadable as they are now. Guarded.

“Why are you telling me this, after all this time?”

And Laurel apparently is uncapable to lie to her anymore, because the truth falls from her lips in all of its ugliness, as she looks away from the unspoken accusations she thinks she can see in the icy depths that she so loves (She loves her so much, her chest constricts even when she’s not coughing up petals).

“Because I’m dying.”

In the stunned silence that follows, her lungs seize up once more and she (once again, it was starting to become a habit) runs away from the principal’s office. She doesn’t want to see the pity mix with distrust. She wants to remember the way Larissa looked at her when she was just Marilyn, and she wasn’t dying (at least, not quicker than any other person).

But she lives in a school, and the location of her quarters is not only well known to students and staff, but also clearly marked in case anyone forgot (Larissa never forgets anything about Nevermore, she’s sure of that) so her escape was always doomed to be a short-lived one. That night, Larissa enters through the door without knocking, her normally pristine appearance disheveled, with creases in her clothing, and flyaway hair sticking up in all directions (her makeup looks smudged as well, almost as if she had cried, but that’s impossible, so Laurel explains it as a trick of the light). Laurel drinks in her appearance from where she’s sitting at her own tiny desk overflowing with botany books (God, she’s beautiful even when she’s agitated).

“Who is it?” Larissa asks, her voice commanding as if she was herding her students during a school trip.

“Who?” Laurel asks, even if her gut already knows, and it feels like it’s been filled with ice and dread.

“You have Hanahaki, right? Who is it that you have feelings for?” She looks even more agitated, making her way towards Laurel, then apparently thinking better of it and settling for pacing the length of her tiny office (with her long legs, it takes her barely a couple of strides in either direction, but that doesn’t seem to stop her).

The ice had turned to lead in Laurel’s insides, and she can only whisper: “Please don’t ask me that.” The answer seems to physically hit Larissa, because she recoils and stops dead in her motion, before once again crossing the room, and falling to her knees besides Laurel’s chair. Laurel can only watch her, feeling as if her eyes are bulging out of her skull in surprise (What is the meaning of this?).

But then Larissa’s eyes are looking up at her, pleading, (she’s definitely been crying, there’s no denying it from this up close) and she begs her: “Please, at least let me take you to the nearest specialist. I can pay for the surgery. Please don’t just give up.” And there are tears in Laurel’s eyes too because she cannot explain to her, because Larissa is a good person who feels bad for her friend and she wouldn’t be able to understand. So she just shakes her head, no, she wouldn’t go to the surgeon. (She’d never give up her love).

She’s surprised when Larissa grabs her shoulders and shouts (Larissa Weems is not a woman who shouts when she’s angry – she only shouts when she is scared and overwhelmed). “BUT YOU CANNOT JUST DIE!” and Laurel brings her hands tenderly to Larissa’s face and tries to wipe away her tears, and tries to put on a brave face, and tell her boss that everybody has to die sooner or later and that is a fact of life (she doesn’t tell her how scary the thought of dying is).

And then Larissa is not only crying, but she’s shaking with sobs, and her voice is small and soft and broken when she tries to argue against that. “But you cannot just die, because, because…” And then, smaller, softer, and even more broken “…because I love you.”

And just like that, the oppression that was getting heavier and heavier against Laurel’s breastbone suddenly lifts, and she is cured of her ailment. And she feels lighter and more alive and happier than she’s ever felt is her life up until now because she’s not dying, after all (at least, not quicker than any other person), she’s not going to cough up petals anymore, and, most importantly, her feelings are returned.

Her lips find those of Larissa, and taste the saltiness of her tears on them, lightly, tenderly, before pulling back slightly and murmuring, still unable to fully believe it:

“It’s you. It’s always been you.”

And then their lips meet again and this time it is passionate, overpowering, and filled with requited love.

Liked it? You can find more angst (& other stuff too) on my fanfiction masterlist!

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honourablejester · 3 months

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Research Rabbit Holes & Call of Cthulhu Character Concepts

Okay. So I got the Call of Cthulhu Investigator Handbook, as people may have gathered. And I was browsing the list of occupations, and I found the Diver. Which. I mean. If we’re playing horrifying underwater Lovecraft Mythos horror, that makes sense. But. I went to look up the history of underwater diving a bit, just to get a better feel for where we would have been, technologically, around the 1920s? Not in detail or anything, but just to get a feel. And. Um. You do not need Lovecraftian horrors of any stripe to create terror in this regard?

Continued under cut for anyone who has triggers regarding claustrophobia or underwater anything:

So. One interesting little tidbit I came across while browsing Wikipedia on this issue was that decompression sickness, AKA The Bends, was originally called Caisson Disease. Because it was first observed not in divers, but in caisson workers and miners. And I do not know this word, so I go look up what a caisson is, and therefore what caisson workers are. And, um. It’s a rigid pressurised airlocked workspace that is slowly sunk down to the river/sea bed under large underwater building projects, such as bridge piers, so that workers can get down there to dig out foundations. Inside a tiny airtight concrete box at the bottom of the river.

Jesus Christ. Jesus, humans are fucking terrifying. These are the things we do.

Basically, decompression sickness was first sort of properly documented among people emerging from highly pressurised working environments like caissons and some mineshafts, and they later linked it to the same phenomenon as people coming up too fast from pressurised diving. There is a fantastic-slash-utterly horrific description of caisson work on the Brooklyn Bridge in the 1870s, which was a notable study for caisson disease as there were over a hundred cases during the construction. And it’s just. What a lovely rabbit hole to have wandered down?

But. But. How about that for a character backstory? A diver, a Call of Cthulhu 1920s diver, whose granddad was a caisson worker on the Brooklyn Bridge. One of the ones who survived, maybe with some health issues later down the line. Because this family, it’s a point of pride. That they can survive pressurised hell without a qualm, whether subterranean or submarine. Maybe the family were originally miners, and then caisson workers, and then divers. Granddaddy built the Brooklyn Bridge. Daddy was a navy man. And our character, he works in marine salvage.

I think I’d want their highest score to be Power. They are rock solid. They have calm, and control, and presence of mind, even when 40ft down in the mud and silt of the riverbed in a tiny fucking concrete box, or hanging in black abyss of lightless water waiting for their body to be ready to make it back up. They are relentlessly sane. Until, maybe. Until something supernatural has to come and shake them up. Because it’s a point of pride. Humans do these things on their own. They invent these things and put themselves in these situations all on their own. Willingly. So by god it’s going to take something really unnatural to horrify this man. My great granddaddy was a miner. My granddaddy worked the caissons on the Brooklyn Bridge. My daddy was in the Navy. I’ve dived wrecks along half the east coast. You’re gonna have to pull something big to put the willies up me, you squishy alien sons of bitches!

Because. Because look. Cthulhu is all very well. Great Old Ones, horrors beyond the stars. But humans do this to themselves. We do this to ourselves. We make tiny concrete boxes and sink them under rivers and go down to work in them ourselves.

I honestly sometimes think that there is no horror the universe could wreak on us that we couldn’t (or haven’t already) found a way to willingly wreak on ourselves first.

Why are we like this? God. It’s awesome, don’t get me wrong, but it’s also really terrifying.

#call of cthulhu #character concepts #research #diving #construction #engineering #history #humanity #why are we like this?

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trollcafe · 2 years

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In the Eyes Of You

Word Count: 1294 Words Brief: Part 2 of the Intro. TW: these bitches gay. Hunter belongs to @/cherrytrolls) Google Docs || Part 1

Sitting before you, in a throne placed where a preacher would share sermons, is a man you once knew. You blink, trying desperately to clear your fuzzy vision, but the blur was not tears. The mask was doing its job, of course, preventing you from seeing the one thing that would cloud your judgment like no other. Without thinking, you pull the mask off your face and let it clatter to the ground beside you. The only sound in the room is that of ceramic hitting the ground.

This was not the man you loved, you so desperately attempted to tell yourself. You studied his face, as flawless as the day you killed him. His shirt was low cut, just enough for you to see the scarring from where you had brought your greataxe down upon him. Words refuse to be spoken. His once beautiful blue eyes, now cold. His skin was glowing in the distinctive way a rainbowdrinkers does. Hunter seemed to be waiting for you to say something, and was not impressed by your silence.

“What, drinker got your tongue, Cole?” Hunter’s chin tilted up as he spoke, looking down at you with disdain. He rises from his throne, walking towards you. “How can you stand there and say nothing, after what you did to me? To Janyse, to Moriis, to everyone?”

You still cannot find any words. That was the downside of the enchanted mask, emotions become overwhelming without it. You want answers, but the questions come too quickly to ask. How did he survive? How could he betray you like this? You open your mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. As Hunter gets closer, you instinctively reach for your handaxes, preparing yourself for a fight.

“Look at you, Cole!” Hunter’s words are sharp, throwing you off balance, “Always so quick to fucking fight! Not even giving me the chance to explain. You really haven’t changed a bit.” The drinker stops a few pews away from you. Too far for you to jump for him. Undead as he may be, he still knew your moves. Fucker.

You lower your axes slightly. “So explain, then.” A voice so small it hardly feels like your own. Hunter seemed amused by that. An almost sinister chuckle precedes a small grin.

“Cute. But a little late for that.” His smile falls quickly, “You should’ve asked before you tried to split me in two. I was the one warning you, for fucks sake! But no, your stupid paranoia gave you the bright idea to play executioner with me. You couldn’t even stick around afterwards! Talk about shitty aftercare, Cole.”

His words hurt, because they were true. You panicked and swung at him. Horrified by your own actions, you fled the scene as quickly as possible. As you tried to leave, you were confronted by friends, trolls you knew well, who tried to grasp the urgency of your departure. But, your paranoia got the best of you. You left the dormitory you once called hive, leaving nothing but bloodshed in your wake.

“It was a drinker who saved us.” Hunter continued, folding his hands behind his back. You were taller than him, but felt so small in his gaze. Your chest is pounding, watching him with wide eyes. The blueblood’s expression softens slightly. For a moment, he looks like the Hunter you used to know. “Cole, can’t you see? We were spoon fed lies. We were sent on a fool’s mission to die, fodder for a war that never needed to be fought. We were told to do the Messiah’s work! They never wanted us to win. They wanted us to die for them. But this…This is a better fate than death. I want to share this with everyone. A second chance at life, free of disease and sin. Free from unnecessary suffering. A chance to be a better version of yourself.”

Your silence speaks for you. Disbelief, disgust, betrayal. How silly it was for you to feel betrayed.

“You have two options, Cole. Either you can join us, or you can die grasping at the straws of glory, for the wish of a Messiah that couldn’t care less about you.”

“Actually, I think I’ll finish the job, and put you in the ground for sure this time.” You raise your axes once more, preparing for his next move.

“So be it, then.” He hisses. In a flash, he reveals a dagger, and closes the space between you. He dodges your swing, driving the dagger into your side. You hiss in pain, cursing him silently for being so quick, for knowing the gaps in your armor. How could he not? Think of every day he would help you undress, to treat wounds, to share heat and fleeting time.

Your next swing manages to scathe his shoulder. He barely reacts to the gash, but you’re momentarily distracted by the blue spilling from the wound. Hunter may be undead, but he was still before you, breathing, bleeding. These pesky emotions were slowing you down. You look away for a split second, attempting to locate your mask. Hunter takes the opportunity to kick the back of your leg, forcing you down to your knee. You try to regain control, swinging for him once again, but he drives the dagger into your shoulder as you do. The pain causes you to drop the axe, but you don’t move beyond that.

Dejected, you just grunt as Hunter pulls the knife free from your shoulder. You’d be more concerned about scarring if you felt you would make it out of this fight alive. As Hunter tilted your chin up with his blood-soaked knife, it became very clear that you were not making it out of this battle. You meet his eyes, expecting to see the same disdain as before.

But instead, his eyes are soft. The same soft gaze that laughed as you fumbled through your youth. The same tender gaze that traced itself over your bare scarred chest before you would both sleep. The same deep blue eyes, as cool and mysterious as the oceans, that you would so often find yourself drunk in. Everything lies in his eyes. It sends a shudder down your spine. Hunter grins.

“Glad to see I can still get you on your knees.”

You scoff.

Silence falls once more, heavier than before.

A stalemate, waiting for the other to move.

A fate better than death, he said.

Free from suffering.

A second chance.

You let your second handaxe fall to the ground. You tilt your chin up silently.

Hunter’s smile grows, “Good boy.”

The blueblood drops the knife, leaving himself open and unarmed as he kneels in front of you. But, even with your stolen garden shears on your side, you refuse to move. Your eyes close as Hunter’s hand rests on your cheek. He was colder than you remember. Slowly, he runs his fingers through your hair. You find solace in his touch. He grips your hair, pulling your head back to expose your neck.

You resist the urge to reach for him, to hold him close to you.

His breath is warm on your neck. You can see his glow from behind your eyelids. You would’ve given anything to have him this close to you again. And as his fangs sink into your neck, you will.

Your head feels foggy. Surprised, you open your eyes to see the room around you starting to spin. You grab onto Hunter to hold yourself up. Everything around you felt light, then incredibly heavy. You slump against him with a sudden overwhelming exhaustion. A cold wave rushes down your spine, and the world goes dark.

A few moments later, you open your eyes.

You’ve never been hungrier.

#collyn morsus #collyn #drabbles #ghost.art #based off the one shot i did w beaux!

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hasufin · 1 year

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Concept: a high fantasy semi-utopian setting. Yes, the leadership is monarchy, but the royal family is pretty okay. There are other countries, but nobody is at war, and honestly nobody even wants war. There’s no great threat, hasn’t been for a while.

What has happened, in the last century, is they’ve basically conquered death. Not in the sense of “We slew Death and now we suffer without release” way. Rather, healing has reached the point at which they can fix anything short of liquification. Every disease is curable. In the few cases where a life cannot be saved, the recently dead can be resurrected. Even old age is conquered, as there are potions now which stop, and even turn back, aging. And, in large part thanks to good governance, all of these are readily available and within the means of even the poorest people. It’s not impossible for someone to die, but it’s along the lines of “Yeah, I knew this guy who was out alone in the Stonetooth mountains, got attacked by an Owlbear. By the time they found the body he’d been gone for three weeks, too late to resurrect him. Man, people were talking about that for years.” Death happens but it’s terribly rare.

Now, these advances have all come in the last century, so society is still adapting. They are trying to keep the birth rate under control, and there are some definite concerns with how there’s less room for advancement. Moreover, knowing that it’s possible to recover from nearly everything, risky behavior is increasing - only to find that mental trauma is not as easy to repair as physical trauma. There are certain issues which need to be worked out, but as this was a gradual thing, people have been able to gradually seek solutions.

One outstanding issue is the study of necromancy. Before, necromancers had been seen as a distasteful, but sometimes necessary, part of society. A necromancer could help someone cling to life until proper healing could happen; could bring back a murder victim for a trial, or put the unquiet dead to rest.

But most of these uses have become irrelevant. Today, all a necromancer might do legally is reanimate animals, and maybe summon the shades of the ancient dead. Increasingly, necromancers are only known for their more horrifying tendencies: reanimating the bones of the long dead, creating unholy abominations. More and more, the question is coming up as to whether necromancy should be allowed to exist at all. Certainly there are other schools of magic which have their bad apples, but necromancy seems to be all bad.

The few remaining necromancers, too, struggle with this. Many have completely abandoned their art: denied any place in society, and finding too that their craft will not provide them the power which made them feared in the past. But, as the sole school which truly concerns itself with the veil between the living and the dead, they have begun to have concerns of their own. What had once been the thinnest separation, disturbed by the least effort, is thickening, hardening. Even as their magic becomes less useful, it is becoming harder to perform as well. They are beginning to wonder if this change will have other effects...

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pandorasboxoftreasures · 11 months

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I BRINGETH!

Hate to admit it, don’t wanna name names.

But the level of structural accuracy of canon Na’vi character fanart MUST improve.

It’s been 6 months now. And I still keep seeing some very high quality art in amazing styles, however, the characters themselves are severely lacking in their accuracy.

I’ve been pointing out what I can about the worst victim of this, Recom “Ritch” Quaritch, and I’ve noticed people have been paying more attention and noticing these little things on their own. It’s great seeing artists working hard and perfecting their skills.

I hate as an artist to have to say that it’s not been enough for quite a lot of artists I’ve seen so far. I know everybody is improving and working hard. Including myself. And everyone has to start drawing Na’vi somewhere.

But I think I need to nudge things along a bit more. And I recently discovered a new way that may help.

Using a painting filter to basically give each character human-ish skin and eyeballs. (Unfortunately only in one light tone which is very frustrating but I guess it’s consistent and the lighter shade will make details harder to miss in different lighting situations) Clearing up the beautiful to observe but visually cluttering to study and paint details and colour palettes. Some of you may find this horrifying, I dunno. A warning anyway.

For months whenever people tell me “He’s ugly in the movie!” I’d rebuke with “He’s classically beautiful. Like works from the Italian and Dutch masters. Like the ancient sculptures of Rome. Slap him down on a couch in front of Da Vinci or Michelangelo and they’d piss themselves with sheer awe.”

Well, here’s the proof... kinda... using screenshots I’ve collected and made myself in as many angles as I could fit together for now with different levels of quality until I can get my 4K inputs sorted :

STOP JUST PAINTING HIM BELOW THE NECK! YOU HAVE NO EXCUSES NOW!

Try rendering him similar to this in your target or individual style, and THEN put the Na’vi detailing on top. See if it makes a difference.

Granted, the filter only worked on some angles (I have more images to add later too) and it did make some very minor alterations, I did my best to mimise them, regardless take note. And it couldn’t get every little crease. But with how much missing the mark there’s been anyway, I guess aiming for this is still better than the status quo (again not naming names except for maybe myself).

I’m gonna be doing this with other characters, too. I simply figured starting with him would both be the best test as to whether this would help as well as fight the tide of “this artwork is amazing but who the hell is that guy” disease.

It might also be worth my while to morph these together and see what I get. 1 uniform face for each character. Guess I’ll see what happens with the others.

Note the other posts I’ve made about the finer details like moles and freckles past and future as companions to this one.

I’ve also got another post coming up about the consistencies and differences of the patterns in the bioluminescent freckles each Na’vi subspecies has so watch out for that if you’re interested.

(SO GLAD TO BE ABLE TO SHOW HOW VISUALLY DISTINCT HE IS FROM HIS HUMAN DONOR, TOO! LIKE DAMN. THEY HAVE THEIR SIMILARITIES OF COURSE BUT I SHOULD PROBABLY DO THE SAME TO HUMAN QUARITCH SEE WHAT SHOWS UP)

UPDATE HOLD UP I THINK I FIGURED OUT A BETTER WAY OF DOING THIS BY USING THE PAINTING FILTER AS A BRIGHTNESS LAYER WITH THE ORIGINAL IMAGE COLOURS UNDERNEATH BEHOLD MUCH BETTER RESULTS AND NOT HUMANWASHING I’LL TRY AND REDO THE ORIGINAL IMAGES THIS WAY:

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apollostears · 3 years

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TEENAGE LOVE AFFAIR [ BTS ]

group: BTS

pairing: BTS x daughter!reader

warning(s): swearing

request: can you do BTS reacting to their 15 year old daughter having a boyfriend/girlfriend?

requested by: @mela3340

oomfggg this was so fun to make!! thanks for requesting the first request of 2021 :) hope you enjoy love <3

➝︎ jin

he’s literally dramatic af.

#dramaking

but no really, he’ll be shook to the gods.

like huh??? his child got a partner?!!!

my kid?!!! IN THESE STREETS?!

he would faint, then wake back up and shake her til she’s dizzy.

ok but on a more serious note, i think if he saw his daughter have genuine feelings for this person they’re with, he would support a 100%

definitely wants to meet them asap

would chaperone their dates but in a way that’s soooo cliché. i mean ugly ass disguises cliché.

will definitely have a heart attack if his daughters partner used the fake ‘yawn-over-the-shoulder’ move while at the movies.

all his daughter would hear is someone choking horrendously a few rooms behind them and instantly know it’s her dad.

will call the boys up every time she asks him to go on a date with their partner or if they can come over to hang and study.

“i’m at a lost here! it’s like i’m in the war!” jin exaggerates on the group call with his friends.

“hyung, i think you’re over exaggerating.” jungkook would say sheepishly.

with the straightest face, jin would hang up and contemplate his choice in friends.

after about the sixth month mark, i do think he’d let up a tremendous amount.

like he’s no longer breathing down her neck about them and allows them to go on dates without him, so long as she tells him where they’re going.

10/10 is the dramatic dad that goes through a midlife crisis when their daughter starts dating.

➝︎ yoongi

mans does not care.

ok lemme clarify, he doesn’t care to the extent that jin does. he trusts his daughter and her decisions and understands that this is an important part of her life. he’s gonna try his hardest to not overstep.

but deep down, he definitely is having a hard time coming to grasps that his daughter is in love and starting to enter the dating world.

he understands the pressures surrounding dating too, especially at fifteen. so he’s definitely giving a nice lil lecture about sex, safe sex, consensual sex, and commitment.

and yes, yoongi knows that most of these young love relationships don’t last long, but he wants his daughter to know that her relationship is legit to him. no matter how old she is.

will look intimidating af to their daughters bf or gf. he definitely overhears them discussing if yoongi likes them or not 💀

looks like he could kill you and will but is also such a sweetheart once you actually know him.

doesn’t do no undercover brother shit but will follow his daughter on their first few dates just because he’s worried. isn’t overbearing and keeps a good distance.

honestly, if anything it brings his daughter a lot of comfort to know her dad is there to back her up 🙂

100%!is the father that seems like they’re chill on the surface but on the inside is working overtime to not be overreactive when their child starts dating.

➝︎ namjoon

is literally the 😯 emoji

when his daughter tells him that she’s got a lover, he literally looks exactly like that emoji.

he’s like “love? what you know about that?”

is extremely confused the entire time. yes, he knows that at her age, children start experimenting with dating but he never actually thought he’d have to deal with it.

was definitely worried that he’d lose out on daddy-daughter time once she started dating.

that was his biggest fear. that his daughter wouldn’t need him anymore. she would no worries.

is deathly afraid of his daughter experiencing heartbreak. their s/o could be the perfect match for his kid, he still wouldn’t care. namjoon is going to be worried regardless.

constantly asks for updates on their relationship to see if he needs to give any advice on how to keep the relationship going.

he doesn’t see their love as something immature. namjoon values it the same way he would value an adult relationship.

which meansss giving them the birds n the bees. same as yoongi, a thorough talk on sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, safe sex, you name it.

was incredibly nervous to meet the person their daughter was dating 💀 like how you supposed to be the daddy but more scared than the actual date.

chaperones his daughter’s first couple of dates. doesn’t get in their way but definitely makes his presence known when does attend.

has a strict “have her home by 9 or else” policy.

won’t ground their child if they give them a heads up on why they would be late.

is 100% the type to be the “work in progress” dad that wishes there was a book on what to do when your teenage daughter starts dating.

➝︎ hobi

mans was like “awww my wittle baby likes somebody!”

was wayyy more excited about meeting their child’s s/o then what is deemed normal.

don’t get me wrong, he’s definitely protective of his kid but hobi understands that these things happen.

it was bound to happen that one day his daughter would start dating.

doesn’t hound his child with questions but is very curious to learn more about this bf/gf that their daughter has.

when he meets them, he’s very scary looking at first. switching into serious hobi, he intimidates the kid just a bit before breaking into a grin and letting them know he was kidding.

is the type of dad that would make their daughters’ s/o fall in love with him 💀

hobi gets along with virtually anyone so it wasn’t hard for him to bond with the s/o.

however, he does make it known that he is a father and while the kid seems to be an alright choice for his daughter, he still lets them know that he will go liam neeson on a motherfucker if necessary.

doesn’t follow his daughter on dates but somehow ends up attending some of them because they both want him around.

on the times he doesn’t go, there is a curfew in place and it’s 8 o’clock 😔

hobi is 100% the dad to become friends with their daughters’ bf/gf but still be a force to be reckon with when needed.

➝︎ jimin

probably the one who meddles in their daughters love life.

sees their daughter walkout of school with a guy and is asking fifty million questions on who he is and if she likes him.

all for her to turn around and be like “dad, i’m gay.”

and he’s like 🥺🥰 “good, boys are disgusting anyways.”

so now he’s scoping out girls that could be a potential match for his kid 💀

“what about her?”

“nah, she’s a little rude to me.”

“you know what they say! she likes you!”

“no dad. just...no.”

was not expecting the girl his daughter chooses but can totally see it once he actually gets to know her.

is constantly giving his daughter cute date ideas for her to do w her gf. definitely has a pintrest board of places for them.

will happily be a chauffeur for his daughter if necessary. this can be good and bad. good bc yayay free rides. bad because she has to deal with a jimin that wants to be on time or a jimin that makes them ten minutes late to a movie showing. there is no in between.

he doesn’t follow his daughter around. mainly because he’s always driving them but if he doesn’t, she still gives him a heads up on where they’re going.

doesn’t mind them hanging sleepovers or leaving the door closed but will totally pop up at random times to be nosey.

is definitely in his daughters corner anytime someone tries to give her and her gf a hard time for being together.

a 100% the dad that’s constantly involved in his child’s love life but not to an extreme point. is totally just excited to be there and apart of her world.

➝︎ taehyung

the motherfucker is all smug and shit talking about some “ i know ” 😏 when his daughter approaches him about her new partner.

lets be real; taehyung would know his daughter like the back of his hands. he would have suspicions that she’s seeing somebody but won’t pressure her to speak until she’s ready.

acts like the fbi when he finally meets their daughter’s partner.

is stalking all social media, finding where they work, who they guardians are, and where they grandma stay 💀🤣

but it’s really because he knows how dangerous people are and the last thing he wants is for his kids’ life to be in danger.

is definitely a hard ass to whoever his daughter ends up dating regardless of gender. will go major payne on a motherfucker real quick.

does not care if he gets caught watching out for his daughter while she’s on a date. will deadass sit there and stare them down as they look at him, completely unbothered.

after meeting their partner a few times, he’ll become a bit more loose in regards to their relationship but will still eye them wearily.

his daughter is very important to him and he’s just worried about any potential heartbreak she may experience.

“have you ever killed?”

“uh, no sir. i-i’m only fifteen...sir.”

kisses teeth, “would you kill for my daughter?”

*beat of silence, two horrified teenagers*

scoffs, “pathetic. d/n choose a new partner.”

“dad!”

seems like a hard ass and is a hard ass but it’s completely out of love.

is 100% the dad that gives their daughter’s partner a hard time and will hold such a passive face that they’ll never know if he likes them or not, but overtime will start loosening up and accept them for who they are.

➝︎ jungkook

he was thoroughly surprised.

like...she might as well had told him she was pregnant.

jk needed a moment to comprehend that his daughter...his precious jewel was dating.

just the thought sent chills down his spine with his dramatic ass.

immediately demanded to meet the person who stole his daughter from him. and when he found out it was the bad kid from school??!!! mans was heated.

i mean really? the juvenile delinquent of ALL people?

he feels this way mainly because he remembers how he was as a kid and he knows how anal teenagers can be. really just wants the best for his kid.

is present for their first date. why is that? because it was at their house with him sitting on the opposite couch, watching them like a hawk as they attempted to watch a movie.

after that, his daughter had a serious talk with him about personal space and independence.

jungkook didn’t like the fact that he had to have this talk, but he understands it’s importance. him and his daughter have a sacred bond with one another that he doesn’t wanna risk breaking all because of his overprotectiveness.

that overprotectiveness does come in handy though because their daughters’ partner is always on time when it comes to getting her and dropping her off. honestly, if his daughter ever tried to convince their partner to skip curfew, their partner would text jungkook to snitch 💀

“so...you tried to skip curfew, eh?”

“wha-? how do you know this?!”

smirks, “i see all d/n. besides, your partner knows not to cross that line with me.”

“i literally cannot stand either of you.”

this has definitely led the daughter to question if she has a relationship or if her dad has a relationship with her s/o.

after about three months of them dating, jungkook turns into a pretty chill dad to be real. at that point, he understands that he can’t protect her from pain. so, he might as well just try his best to support his daughter through everything she does.

is 100% that is overly dramatic at first and comes off as incredibly scary but eventually comes down to earth and becomes a big teddy bear 🥰

❧ join my taglist: @olamidey @knjkitten @pimpnameyannie @sweeneyblue1 @sunrayyellowhalo @exomama-random @simplyskz-maya @valkryienymph @supop @namjoonswifeyy @asparagusclifford

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owlsinathens · 3 years

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A Ghost at the Wall, Part II

@theon-appreciation

Home.

He’s been at the Wall for almost three moons now, and still Theon’s thoughts come back to the day when he arrived, presented to the Lord Commander like a particularly horrifying piece of driftwood having washed up on the shore, covered in barnacles and other nasty things.

Theon cackles to himself as he recalls Jon Snow’s face upon recognizing him, the shock plain on his features. Lord Commander Snow. It’s still baffling, and a tad amusing, to think that Jon’s wild fantasies as a boy had come true… somewhat. The bastard of Winterfell, Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch.

Theon glances at the door, wondering if it is time yet to go and collect his portion of breakfast. He prefers to have it here in his cell, not with all those others, Night’s Watch brothers and Wildlings and Stannis Baratheon’s men. Most of them stare at him, some curious, some disgusted, some outright murderous. They wonder why the turncloak is still alive, why the Lord Commander hadn’t executed him on the spot.

Theon wonders too.

They’d had a brief talk in private, him and Jon, stilted and awkward. Jon had wanted to hear it from Theon himself, that his little brothers are still out there, somewhere. They hadn’t talked about anything else, and since then Theon had only seen him briefly, in passing. He seems ridiculously busy, and Theon is left to his own devices. And so he waits. He waits and sleeps and eats and thinks of home.

Home… he’s not sure what the word means.

Is it Pyke, with its damp halls and narrow bridges? Is it the sea and the wind, the brine, the salt on his skin and the rain in his hair?

Is it Winterfell, like it used to be back then, hot water running through its very veins, summer snows and the warmth of a family that had filled the place but never touched him?

Is it Winterfell as it is now, rotten to the core by the disease that is Ramsay, torn and damaged beyond salvation, and yet the only place where Theon had known himself?

The thought of Ramsay is a dangerous one, but strangely fitting. If home were not a place but a person…

Maybe home hadn’t been Pyke but his sister, her hard smile like a well-honed blade.

Maybe home hadn’t been Winterfell but Robb’s arm around his shoulders.

Maybe home is just someone who loves you, in their own way.

Theon gets to his feet, huddling in the huge, shaggy pelt the Lord Commander had provided him with before he slips outside and down an endless flight of stairs, across the courtyard filled with men and their hostile stares, into the hall where breakfast is served.

He spies the beast first, seeming to grow bigger every time Theon sees it, the red eyes disturbingly intelligent, always at Jon’s side. Jon isn’t looking up from the scroll he’s studying, absentmindedly eating from a bowl as Theon comes closer.

“Lord Commander,” he says in greeting.

Jon lifts his gaze from the paper in his hands, the grey eyes slightly unfocussed, and so familiar.

“Theon,” he says after a moment of silence, and that, too, is familiar, the way he says the name, wary and tired, as if they’d just come out of one of the petty spats they’d had as boys.

And there’s that feeling again, like a tiny flame that's never gone out, not even when the night had been at its darkest. Theon. His name. Jon still calls him Theon. Not turncloak, or freak. Just Theon. And maybe, Theon thinks as he receives his bowl of porridge, maybe home is not a place or a person.

Maybe home is where they know your name.

Part I

#a week of theon #awot #theon greyjoy #greysnow #jon snow #snowjoy #my writing #my awkward edits #long post

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followthebluebell · 4 years

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FIP: Feline Infectious Peritonitis

Sprinkles contemplates some birds. We’re re-doing the catios right now, so they’re all closed off. I think she’s looking forward to being outdoors again.

I’m putting a cut here because this is a LENGTHY READ and, in case of further developments, I’d like to be able to easily update this article.

In October 2019, she was diagnosed with ocular FIP (Feline infectious peritonitis), which is a mutation of feline coronavirus (FCoV, which is very distinct from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19). FCoV is ubiquitous in the cat population: almost every cat has it or is exposed to various strains of it. Most cats get over it just fine with only mild diarrhea. In a small percentage of cats (we’re uncertain on the percentage, which I’ll get into later, but it’s theoretically somewhere between 5-10%), it goes fuckwhack apeshit and mutates into FIP.

We don’t know why it spontaneously mutates. There seems to be a genetic component to it. It’s believed to be more common in purebred cats, but we’re really not sure--- since FIP is a diagnosis by exclusion, there often is a hefty vet bill attached to the diagnosis and a person who can afford to buy a purebred cat from a cattery is more likely to be able to afford that bill. It MAY be triggered by stress. It’s much more common in younger cats, often appearing in kittens ranging from 4 months to 4 years. This doesn’t mean older cats are safe; I know of at least one case in a 12 year old cat.

Sprinkles was diagnosed at 3 and a half months. She didn’t have a particularly stressful event before developing symptoms. She’s not a purebred. I don’t know anything about her genetic history, so I can’t cross that off the list.

Mickey, my second FIP kitten, was diagnosed at 4 months. I know slightly more about his health records but it’s still scant. He arrived with an unusual skin ailment: sarcoptic mange. Hypothetically, this could indicate an already delicate immune system that left him vulnerable to this sort of FCoV mutation.

FIP is deadly and remains, to this day, the most horrifying disease I’ve ever personally encountered. Thankfully, FIP itself is NOT contagious. FCoV is highly contagious but, as previously mentioned, it’s fairly common in the cat population. There was a study done to see if separating kittens from their mother at 7 weeks (approximately the period when a mother’s antibodies begin to wear off and the kittens have to begin producing their own) would prevent cats from catching FCoV from her. This was effective but the social drawbacks are too heavy a cost for it to be considered regularly.

There is a vaccine for FCoV but it’s largely ineffective and most vets don’t recommend it.

FIP comes in two primary forms: wet (effusive) and dry (non-effusive). Usually, FCoV exists only in the gastrointestinal system. It’s really the only place it can replicate itself with ease. Once the virus mutates, it can’t replicate itself as well, but it CAN infect macrophages. Macrophages are highly mobile white blood cells. They go pretty much everywhere, and ones infected with FIPV (Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus) will carry the virus along for the ride.

The early symptoms are vague. These cats are lethargic, listless, have low or no appetite, weight loss, and a fluctuating fever. The first symptom I caught in Sprinkles was complete avoidance: she was actively avoiding other kittens and other kittens were avoiding her. Mickey’s only symptoms were lethargy and diarrhea. I only got suspicious about possible FIP because the other kittens in his playgroup didn’t have any diarrhea at all.

And this is where we see a split in the forms of FIP.

Effusive FIP is characterized by the accumulation of fluid within the abdomen and is more common. It happens very quickly. Cats with effusive FIP develop breathing problems rapidly. The fluid drawn from the abdomen is usually straw-yellow. Effusive FIP is said to be more common, although only one of the 5 cases I’ve seen in the last few years was wet FIP.

Thankfully, effusive FIP has a few distinct traits that makes it easier to diagnose. It’s important to remember that FIP itself is generally a diagnosis by exclusion.

Measuring the protein in the effusion is a good first step. If it’s less than 35g/l, FIP is generally ruled out.

The albumin to globulin ratio is considered next, via a blood test. If it’s less than 0.4, FIP should be considered.

Finally, examining the cells in the effusion is valuable. If they’re primarily lymphocytes, FIP is excluded.

Non-effusive FIP is more difficult to spot, because the symptoms are so varied. Granulomas (inflammatory cells) form in various organs, which produces an extreme variety of symptoms. The most commonly affected symptoms are the ocular and neurological symptoms.

Ocular FIP happens when the virus crosses the blood-ocular barrier and is characterized by slightly opaque white films on one or both eyes; these don’t cover the entire eye. They’re often just a small section. This was the first distinct symptom I saw in Sprinkles. It’s considered a distinct enough sign that her ophthalmologist was able to tell me that she was 99% certain it was FIP.

Neurological FIP is my own personal hell. The virus crossed the blood-brain barrier and infects the brain. The first symptom is usually a limp or a slight tremble in the head. The paralysis often begins in the hind limbs and it travels upwards. The cat eventually loses all mobility. If the cat is lucky, they’ll begin to have seizures instead and die soon afterwards. Like I said, it remains the single-most awful thing I’ve ever seen.

Non-effusive FIP is harder to diagnose than effusive FIP, especially if the cat fails to develop ocular or neurological symptoms. In these cases, the only symptoms the cat has are fevers, diarrhea, and other non-specific issues.

Once again, the best bet is to consider the albumin to globulin ratio. The same rule of ‘if it’s under 0.4, FIP should be considered’ holds true.

Unfortunately, checking for antibodies is fairly useless. A positive FCoV test just means the cat has been exposed to FCoV.

FIP is deadly. While there are some isolated cases of cats seemingly recovering from it, I think it’s more likely that those were simply misdiagnosed cases. As I’ve said before, FIP is a diagnosis by exclusion, so a misdiagnosis can happen fairly easily. A cat with wet FIP is gone in days. A cat who’s unlucky enough to develop neurological FIP may linger for weeks until they die of starvation, oxygen deprivation as the lungs themselves are paralyzed, or dehydration. Ocular FIP generally spreads into the brain, causing seizures.

Sprinkles is very, VERY lucky. I had been following the study very closely and I had an acquaintance who recently started treating her foster cat for FIP. I was able to get into contact with some folks and obtain experimental treatment for my kittens.

GS-441525

In February 2019, there was a very promising study on a specific drug called GS-441524. Most of the cats involved with the study made a full recovery. The company (Gilead-Sciences) behind the drug wasn’t interested in getting it FDA approved for cats out of concern that it would affect its approval for human use. See, if it’s used officially for cats, Gilead-Sciences would be obligated to report any negative side-effects and that could impact getting it approved for human use down the line. “One of the rules in drug development is ‘never perform a test you don’t have to, if the results could be problematic,” isn’t an uncommon saying. It’s one of the reasons why I fell out of research and development myself.

I had some pull and was able to get experimental access to this drug for Sprinkles and, later, Mickey.

Both kittens went through three months of daily injections and a further 3 months of observations before they were deemed FIP-free. After seeing 3 other cats die from it, it’s been a blessing to see them recover. They’re both especially lucky that they finished their treatment cycle JUST before COVID-19 hit American shores since I couldn’t, in good conscience, continue using a very promising antiviral in cats when it would likely be needed by humans.

It’s definitely not a perfect system. Three months of daily injections (or pills) is not ideal for the average owner for several reasons. In addition to the difficulty of injecting a cat with an EXTREMELY painful drug daily, it also requires a lot of math; the dosage has to be adjusted daily to take weight gain into consideration. Even the concentration has to be adjusted at times. I haven’t used the pills at all, but I know a lot of people have had problems with cats biting through the pills. In addition, the pills seem less effective against neurological or ocular FIP.

Gilead-Sciences has refined GS-441524 into GS-5734 (named Remdesivir), which is supposed to be more efficient. Hypothetically, the addition of the phosphate groups should make it easier for it to get across barriers and be absorbed more easily. Hopefully this will result in a shorter treatment time, although I suspect it will be more expensive than GS-441524. This is already a substantial cost attached to GS-441524, with the treatment of a single cat or kitten over 1,000 USD.

As of writing (April 20, 2020), neither Remdesivir nor GS-441524 are available to the average public legally. Remdesivir has been approved for use in humans with COVID-19 in emergency cases.

#work #cat #FIP #long post

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imaginingsoftly · 4 years

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Wedding Date Pt. 2 - Tyler Seguin

Type: strangers-enemies-lovers, series

Requested: no

Warnings: swearing, asshole exes

A/N: Hey guys! I know I said these installments were going to come out on Thursdays, but I feel like my fellow Americans currently losing their shit could use a distraction. Remember that it’s out of our hands at the moment, and you deserve to take a break from the news coverage. Breathe. We’ll get through this. I love you all.

Tyler hadn’t asked any questions about Melissa’s sudden disappearance from the brunch after she woke up grumpy and disoriented before the rehearsal dinner, and she appreciated the hell out of him for it. Instead, he’d brewed her some coffee and talked about his dogs and life in Dallas. Somehow he could tell that she needed some time to not think about anything significant, and he’d given that time to her like it was nothing.

Attending the rehearsal on his arm was almost fun, and he helped get her back to the suite early. Most of the group probably thought they were breaking off to go hook up, but that was fine as long as Melissa could get into her bed faster. He’d walked her all the way to her bedroom, despite her laughter that she could walk across the living space by herself, and she’d smiled that night as she fell back to sleep.

Now they were getting ready for their respective roles in the wedding, Tyler as a guest/ wrangler of the middle-aged relatives, Melissa as the Maid-of-Honor. Tyler grinned appreciatively as Melissa handed him a cup of freshly-brewed coffee, and she turned back to the french press to make herself a cup when her phone began to ring. It was probably Kirsten freaking out about something, even though the wedding was a good 8 hours away. “Tyler, could you get that for me?” He could handle his cousin just as well as she would have, and hearing Tyler answer Melissa’s phone might put Kirsten in a good mood.

“Hello?” Tyler’s voice, gravelly from sleep, sent a shiver up Melissa’s spine. Hearing that first thing in the morning was something she would be interested in getting used to. She snuck a glance over at Tyler to see him already looking at her, smirking like he knew what was going through her head.

“Who the fuck are you?” The familiar voice, dripping in attitude and disgust, sent another sort of shiver down Melissa’s spine. Her ex, and not the hipster beer guy.

“What the hell do you want, Liam?” Tyler looked at Melissa confusedly as she spoke, and she shook her head. Later, she tried to tell him with her eyes. He understood, and Melissa took the outstretched phone. “I told you to leave me the fuck alone.”

There was silence on the other end of the line, and for a second Melissa thought that maybe Liam had hung up. “I can’t believe you’re hooking up with someone else. This won’t look good to my parents, Melissa. It’s time to come home. Stop throwing fits.” Tyler threw a sharp look at her, like he actually believed what Liam was saying, and Melissa had enough.

“I am not your goddamn girlfriend, Liam, so stop acting like I am.” He tried to interrupt her, like he always did, but she cut him off. “No. I’m not fucking finished. I love my job, I love my friends, and I love my freedom. I’m not interested in being some rich fucker’s trophy wife and I’m definitely not interested in being yours. Leave me the fuck alone before I get a restraining order.” She hung up before he could get another word in, throwing her phone on the counter in anger. “Motherfucker!”

The timer for the french press went off, and Melissa prepped her coffee with jerky, angry movements. She could sense Tyler staring at her from his seat on the counter, but she ignored him as she continued to mutter curses under her breath. She should have blocked his number a long time ago, but she didn’t trust him not to just get a new one in order to reach out to her. At least this way she had proof of his continued calls and texts in one spot.

Tyler’s voice broke through Melissa’s cloud of anger, and she actually jumped a little bit at the sound of his voice. “Bad breakup?” Melissa scoffed. He had no idea. “Well,” Tyler said with a bit of a laugh in his voice, “I can tell you one thing.” He waited until she turned to face him, an eyebrow raised, before he continued. “I’d be honored to have you as my trophy wife.” No he did not. Melissa gaped at him, more shocked he had made a joke about the conversation than about the actual comment.

She didn’t really think, she just reacted. Tyler laughed as Melissa’s coffee spoon came flying in his direction, and he caught the utensil with ease. Her heart felt light, lighter than it usually did after phone calls from Liam, and Melissa found herself smiling back. “Hipster beer guy wasn’t my most recent ex. He was actually a guy from college, so a while ago.” Tyler nodded, and she noticed that he leaned forward like he was interested in the story she was about to tell. “I dated Liam for about 6 months last year. We met at a dinner for the university that I work at, some charity thing where the donors get to come and make sure we know that they pay our salaries.” Tyler cringed, and Melissa was sure he at least kind of understood where she was coming from.

“Liam didn’t seem like the other donors. He’d gone to the dinner in place of his parents, and we talked for a couple of hours. He seemed sweet.” She didn’t see the red flags that she normally would have, mostly because he looked so friendly. Apparently being raised by rich and heartless parents taught you some pretty impressive false empathy skills. She wasn’t wholly convinced he actually felt empathy at all, actually. “We started dating, and it just felt easy. We were both so busy that we hardly saw each other, and I told myself I liked that. I realized later that I didn’t like the distance from a partner, I just liked the distance from him.”

“One night like a week before we hit the 6 month mark Liam invited me to dinner with his parents. I hadn’t met them yet, because apparently they were super busy running their empire, so I was pretty nervous. Liam is a pretty driven guy, and I had assumed he got it from his parents. The dinner went wrong from the beginning.” Melissa paused as Tyler patted the space on the counter next to him. She hopped up gratefully, and he squeezed the shoulder closest to him.

“Just wanted you to be comfy. I have a feeling this next part is going to be a doozy.”

Melissa laughed at Tyler’s choice of phrasing, though she nodded because he was correct. It was a doozy for sure. “You have no idea. So we get there, and I’m immediately othered when everyone shows up in cocktail dresses and suits and I’m over there in my teaching pants and a blazer. His mother looked like she had just sucked on a lemon when I walked into the room, and she glared down at my hand when I introduced myself like I was going to give her some kind of disease.” That wasn’t even half of it. She’d also made some snide comments under her breath about where the clothing had come from, though Tyler didn’t really need to hear that detail.

“We finally sat down for dinner after some of the most uncomfortable cocktail conversation I’ve ever had, and then I make a giant mistake. I mention my job.” Tyler reacts perfectly, throwing a hand over his heart and fake gasping. Melissa chuckled a bit. “Yeah, exactly. So his mom gets this horrified look on her face, and turns to Liam and says, ‘she will not be working once you’re engaged, correct?’ I tried to respectfully state that I love my job, and I planned on working for the foreseeable future, but she wouldn’t take that for an answer. She kept insisting that I couldn’t work if we were going to be together, and Liam wouldn’t back me up. At one point he turned to me and said, ‘you know, I make more in a day than you do in an entire month. I can take care of you.’”

Tyler’s face looked disgusted for her, and Melissa felt a twinge of satisfaction that at least he was on her side. “I lost my damn mind. I stood up from the table and said that if the expectation was that I would be a brainless trophy wife with no ambition or intelligence then I was uninterested in continuing our relationship, and I stormed out. I’ve been trying to get Liam to realize that no means no ever since.” Melissa downed the rest of her coffee, suddenly in need of at least three more cups.

She was halfway through making a second cup when Tyler responded again. “Isn’t one of your areas of expertise gender and stuff?” Melissa whipped around, surprised he had remembered. She nodded, and Tyler let out a scoff. “So they were pushing some idea from the 50s on you when your area of study is literally everything against that?” Melissa laughed. At least someone else understood the irony there.

A knock sounded on the door to the suite before Melissa could respond. Tyler jumped off the counter before she could move to the door, and she admired the view from behind as he walked away from her. “Morning, cousin!” Kirsten flew through the door, sliding across the room and into Melissa’s arms with a laugh. “I’m getting married today!” The pair laughed, and Melissa hugged her friend close as she felt some tears prick her eyes. They’d been through a lot together since their days as college roommates, and today felt almost surreal.

Kirsten pulled back with a slight frown. “Why do you look like you want to punch something?” Melissa tried to school her face into one of confusion, but her friend knew her too well for that. “Don’t bullshit me. Why the hell do you look so pissed?”

She didn’t get a chance to make something up. “Liam called her.” Melissa turned to glare at Tyler from where he was sitting on the counter again. “He was an ass, but she handled him really well. It was kinda hot actually.” He winked at Melissa, and she flushed bright red. He had that effect on her, and it was kind of aggravating.

“He still seems to think we’re still dating. I told him a restraining order was in the cards if he didn’t kindly fuck off.” Kirsten held up a hand for a high five, and Melissa slapped it gratefully. She had stayed in Kirsten’s guest bedroom for almost a month after that breakup because Liam kept showing up at her apartment. He stayed away from the house because John was a hell of a lot bigger than him, and John and Kirsten had been lifesavers as she tried to get over their relationship ending.

Kirsten looped an arm through Melissa’s and began pulling her out the door, despite the fact that the latter girl was barefoot. Melissa managed to snag a pair of flip flops on their way out, though she couldn’t get them on her feet. “Ty I’m stealing your girl for a bestie breakfast, try not to miss her too much!” Melissa stiffened at her words. Maybe they’d been acting too well. She looked over her shoulder to mouth an apology at Tyler, her face bright red, only to find him smirking in her direction already. They were still staring each other down when the door slammed shut behind her. “You have a lot of explaining to do, Lissy.”

She couldn’t keep pretending like this. “Kirs, it’s not like that.” If she wasn’t careful, Kirsten would be planning her and Tyler’s wedding by the time the night was over. Kirsten meant well, she really did, but sometimes she really just needed to chill out. “We get along really well. We’ve had a lot of time to talk, and it’s been fun. That’s all.” It was obvious that Kirsten disagreed, but she relented as they reached the patio where the brunch had been held the day prior.

The tables were no longer set up to make one giant table, like they had been the night before. Instead it was an open area where several groups were eating, none part of the wedding party. Kirsten pulled Melissa over to a table set up for two in one corner of the patio. It was next to the vine and flower-covered wall she’d noticed the day before, and she leaned in slightly to sniff at the flowers brightening the space.

“So,” Kirsten said with an air of mischief, “you and my cousin.” Melissa opened her mouth to protest again, but her friend cut her off. “Uh-uh. Nope. I saw the looks he was giving you, and you turned bright red every time you two made eye contact.” She was right, and they both knew it. Kirsten looked smug when Melissa didn’t try to disagree. “Listen. You’re moving to Dallas in a month. Why not hook up with him? See if he’s worth keeping around, and then have some fun. You don’t have to do the whole relationship thing babe, and you deserve to have someone appreciate your body.”

A server came to take their order, and Melissa gratefully ordered another cup of coffee and some pancakes. “I think you’re reading it all wrong, Kirs. He’s just being nice.” The looks that he kept giving her, full of heat and interest, said otherwise, but there was no way he was really interested in her outside of a hookup. Although, would that really be so bad? Kirsten scoffed at her statement, and Melissa jumped in before she could say anything. “I don’t know if I really want to hook up with anyone this weekend, Kirs. If it happens it happens, but I’m not going to push it.”

Her friend shrugged, though her face said she completely disagreed. “Well if you aren’t going to let me find someone to match you with, at least tell me you found a place in Dallas.” Their food arrived, and Melissa took a happy bite of her pancakes. They smelled heavenly, and tasted even better. “You were going to buy a house, right?”

Melissa nodded. “Originally I had planned on a house, maybe just outside the city, but I fell in love with this townhouse right off of Main Street. It has three bedrooms, so right around the size I wanted, and there’s so much natural light. Plus, there’s a rooftop deck with a beautiful view of the city.” This place was going to be her new investment. She was fortunate enough to have gotten a lot of scholarships and grants to do her schooling with, and professorial pay allowed her to pay off those loans rather quickly. That meant that she could start saving for a down payment on her own place and a new start in Dallas.

She took another bite of her pancakes while Kirsten contemplated what she was saying. “I’m really happy for you, Lissy. You deserve this.” They grinned at each other, and then Kristen broke down into giggles. “Look at us! You’re a badass in your field that got job offers from like half the universities in the country, and I’m marrying my soulmate. We’re killing this whole life thing.” Melissa chuckled as she nodded at her friend’s words.

“It wasn’t half of the universities in the country, but I appreciate the vote of confidence.” Kirsten waved a hand in a ‘whatever’ kind of way, and conversation moved to people-watching and bets over who would leave with whom tonight or how long it would take for John to tear up.

#tyler seguin imagine #wedding date ml #nhl imagines #nhl imagine

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neerasrealm · 3 years

Text

Nathan’s Arrival

HIIIIIII did anyone order a jeffverse fanfic?? no?? well too bad, you’re getting it anyway. Also this contains a LOT of other people’s characters. Dally and Grease belong to @t3chnomancer-lich, Nine, Stat and Praline belong to @carnalhaus and Blondie belongs to @consensual-castration (tumblr let me tag people challenge) Anyway, enjoy! Word Count: 2333

The room smelled funny. Musty, iron-y. Like...blood. At least he associated the smell with blood. He moved his head, a quiet groan escaping him. Ugh. where even was he? The surface around him was hard, and the floor felt uncomfortable under him. At the very least, his headache from the night before was gone. His eyes cracked open slightly. He was in a kitchen. It took him a few moments to realise it was the kitchen. The one he’d raided last night. He glanced to his side, realising with horror the fridge was still wide open too. ‘’Fuck-’’

And then the door across from him swung open. His head snapped to the side, staring with wide horrified eyes at the man standing in the doorway. Tall and muscular, Jeff could clearly see his strong arms due to the white wifebeater he was wearing. His black hair was messy and long, tied back in a ponytail. His skin looked burnt, discoloured in places, and his face adorned stitches on either side of his mouth. In an instant, his dark eyes were fixed on the smaller boy sat on the ground before they flicked to the fridge.

‘’Ey, what the fuck?!’’ he stared at the fridge, as if in shock, before storming over. Jeff skittered backwards, away from the man who heavily reminded him of trailer parks he’d found himself sleeping in. He stopped at the fridge, rummaging around before his head snapped to the boy. He was glaring, angry as all hell. ‘’What the hell is your problem?!’’

Jeff flinched. ‘’I-I-’’

‘’You ate my damn jerky?!’’

Was- was he...was this guy angry about Jeff eating his beef jerky rather than breaking into his house? He didn’t have much time to think about it or say anything though, because he was abruptly grabbed and yanked up. He yelped, gripping the angry man’s wrist out of panic. ‘’What the hell?! Who the fuck do you think ya are, huh?!’’

‘’P-please I-’’ Jeff glanced around, desperately looking for a way out. God why did he have to put his knife in his backpack instead of his pocket?! His eyes fell on the doorway and they widened. More people were in the doorway! A teenage girl with bleached bangs and a much shorter boy with a...really weird face. But he wasn’t in any position to judge. ‘’Help!’’

‘’Stat what the fuck, are you doing.’’ the girl grunted. The man, apparently called Stat, snapped his head over to her. He snarled.

‘’Bitch ate my jerky!’’

‘’Yeah and you’re bein’ loud as fuck!’’ the girl snapped back. Her head snapped over to Jeff and her eyes narrowed. She strode over, her thick heels clomping against the kitchen tiles. She grabbed Jeff’s face, squeezing his cheeks and shoving her own face in his. He tried to pull away but her sharp acrylic nails dug into his leathery skin instead. She snarled, looking at him with disgust. ‘’Ew.’’ she eventually said. She looked at Stat. ‘’Put him down. He looks like he has a fuckin’ disease.’’

Stat growled and dropped Jeff. Still panicking, his head snapped to the side and he lunged for the window. The girl behind him yelped and snatched him, making a quiet noise that reminded him of a motor revving. She held him aloft with surprising strength and he squirmed in her arms. She suddenly smacked him before dropping him again. He yelped, holding his sore face in his hand, seething. His head panged and instinct seemed to suddenly kick in, making him swing his fist back and try a punch. The girl grabbed his arm and yanked him, sending him stumbling feebly into the counter.

‘’Nice one Lina!’’

He looked over his shoulder, taking in the room again. There were two other ways out. The back door, and the kitchen door which was wide open. He bolted for the kitchen door, past the weird-faced boy. Freedom and safety seemed to be right in his grasp, but then he smacked face first into a wall. With a feeble yelp he fell back, his gaze travelling up slowly. He froze.

That wasn’t a wall. That was a person. A giant as wide as he was tall. Eyes obscured by jet black hair, showing only a slit-mouthed smile. A terrified yell escaped him and he scampered back, whirling to his feet and bolting for the backdoor.

‘’Jesus christ someone gettim!’’ Stat yelled.

‘’Gettim yourself!’’ The girl, presumably named Praline, yelled back. Stat snarled and ran over, grabbing Jeff’s backpack and yanking him to the table. He yelped and thrashed, panicking like a wild animal. His head pounded, the voices filling it again and making him want to kick, punch, scratch, claw, bite-

‘’What on earth is going on in here?! Stat! Oh dear lord is that a child?!’’ a new voice to add to the people Jeff was trying to identify and differentiate. It was higher pitched, with a southern drawl. Stat huffed, turning his head to the side. Jeff followed his gaze, glancing over at the door where two more people had joined the giant. He didn’t get a good glance at the other as he was distracted by the thinner, blonde man wildly gesturing and pointing at Stat. ‘’What do you think you’re doing?! Let go of him, the poor thing!’’

Stat’s face scrunched up in disgust. ‘’You stay outta this, ya fuckin’ fruit!’’

‘’PFFFT- HAH!’’

‘’Stay out of this Dally!’’ the blonde snapped his head over to the small boy from earlier before turning back to Stat. ‘’Let him go! Right now!’’

‘’Like hell I’m listenin’ ta you! You wanna fight or somethin’?!’’

‘’Stat,’’ another new voice. This one deeper and more relaxed, but still cautious. Jeff looked over at the voice’s owner. He was shorter and his face...half of it was obscured by black hair, and the other half looked horribly burnt. He padded toward Stat. ‘’Let the kid go.’’ he murmured. Stat scrunched his face up. It wasn’t until the man-giant crossed the kitchen and set a gigantic hand on Stat’s shoulder that he let go, shooting Jeff an unhappy look. Finally free from the angry trucker’s grasp, he sat up, looking around in fear. It was then he noticed something. All of them had...scars. Some similar to his own. Burns and a slit mouth. He blinked to make sure he wasn’t imagining it. ‘’You okay there?’’ The half-burnt man’s voice made Jeff turn to him. He crawled back on the table, trying to put distance between himself and him. ‘’Did Stat hurt ya?’’

He paused for a moment. No, no he...hadn’t really been hurt. Stat was rough but- it would bruise at worst. He palmed at his face where he’d been smacked. ‘’...t-the girl hit me.’’ he finally mumbled.

The half-burnt man seemed to study Jeff for a moment before turning to the blonde. ‘’Blondie,’’ he said. ‘’Can ya take him to your room? Away from the others.’’

‘’Of course,’’ Blondie turned to Jeff, smiling kindly. He held out a hand. ‘’Come on dear, let's get you away from these brutes, hm?’’ he shot a glare at Stat, who rolled his eyes. Deciding he’d rather be with the friendly southerner with the girly nickname than the angry truck park resident, Jeff clambered off the table and followed him out of the kitchen. He glanced around the house as they walked. It seemed big- that was the reason he’d even broken in here in the first place. The house was big, and big houses meant rich people, and rich people meant plenty of food. Blondie led him to a bedroom. As he stepped inside he looked around.

The bedroom seemed cozy. A nice rug on the floor, vinyls on a shelf, ornate furniture. It seemed homey. Comfortable. ‘’Here we are,’’ Blondie murmured behind him. ‘’I’m terribly sorry about all the hassle in the kitchen- but you’ll be safer here.’’ he shook his head, muttering to himself. Jeff hesitated, then slowly walked over to a wall and leaned against it. Close enough to the door but still casual enough for it to look like he was relaxing. Sort of. Blondie walked past him and took a seat on the bed. Jeff glanced around. The room looked...harmless. No sign of weapons. Of course, there were objects that could be repurposed into weapons. The plastic flamingo on the bedside table looked particularly threatening.

Blondie looked him over for a few moments. Jeff shifted. He looked a mess and he knew it. Long black hair flying out every which way, scruffy stolen clothes, a black backpack that was torn and stained with mud and blood, not to mention his skin...leathery and white, scarred with a permanent smile. Blondie tilted his head, smiling kindly. ‘’What’s your name dear? If you don’t mind telling me.’’

Jeff stared back for a second. Names. He didn’t give his name away, not in situations like these. Too risky. Police knew his name. He wanted to get out of the house, preferably without killing anyone. Could he even fight his way out? With so many people?

‘’...Nathan.’’

‘’Nathan! Wonderful to meet you dear,’’ Blondie held out a hand to him. ‘’I’m Blondie.’’’ he smiled. Jeff- or rather, Nathan, reached over and shook his hand. He looked at Blondie for a moment. He had scars on his face- he’d been too panicked to really give them more than a glance before, but now he could see that and they were faded to an extent. Two lines running up from either corner of his mouth and another running across the bridge of his nose, along with a couple others. Nathan’s eyes lingered on the scars on Blondie’s cheeks for a few moments too long. Long enough for Blondie to notice. He didn’t seem offended though. Instead he tilted his head. ‘’Would it...be okay for me to ask you a couple of questions, Nathan?’’

He hesitated for a second, then nodded. Blondie smiled. ‘’Good. For a start...how old are you?’’

He shrugged. ‘’...sixteen.’’

‘’Sixteen...’’ Blondie seemed to ponder on his age for a moment. Nathan shifted. He didn’t exactly look it- with his face mutilated and burnt, not to mention he didn’t exactly eat properly, so he hadn’t grown as tall as he probably should’ve. He looked away. ‘’And...where did you come from?’’

He glanced at Blondie. ‘’What do you mean?’’

Blondie furrowed his brows. ‘’What...made you come here?’’

Made him come here? What did that mean-? Nothing had...made him come there but- thinking about it...the past few weeks had been- weird. He kept going in a certain direction. Something in him wanted him to get somewhere. But that feeling, that need to keep moving was...gone. Replaced with a...weird contentment. ‘’I-I dunno…’’ he looked away. ‘’I mean I- I did break in because I wanted food…’’ he licked his dry lips, feeling slightly guilty.

Blondie nodded, smiling kindly once more. It reassured Nathan slightly. ‘’That’s fine. You don’t have a home, do you?’’

He blinked, surprised by how blunt he was. Then nodded. ‘’No- no not really…’’ he shrugged. He looked at Blondie for a long moment. Something about this house felt- weird. Not a bad weird but...thinking about it now, Stat had been burnt, with scars on either side of his mouth. The giant monster that had scared the shit out of him earlier had the same scars he and Blondie did. Was that all a coincidence? That everyone here had the same scars as him? He opened his mouth, about to ask- what exactly he was going to ask he didn’t know but- either way he was interrupted by the door behind him opening.

‘’We okay in here?’’ Nathan actually jumped in surprise. His head whipped around, staring at the half-burnt man from before with wide eyes. He relaxed a bit and gave a small nod, leaning against the wall again. The other man walked past him and sat on the bed beside Blondie. ‘’You got a name?’’

‘’N-Nathan.’’

He nodded. ‘’I’m Grease. Sorry about earlier. It’s nothing personal.’’

‘’Honestly- I don’t know why we still keep Stat around when he’s such a- such a ruffian!’’

Grease rolled his eye. Clearly he had heard this a few times too many. Instead he focused on Nathan. ‘’So, Nathan…’’ he looked him over for a long few moments. ‘’Can I ask ya something?’’

‘’Sure.’’

Grease shifted before he spoke again. ‘’Ya got Jeffery anywhere in your name?’’

Nathan froze. His muscles tensed, his eyes filling with fear. They knew. Or at least- Grease knew. He recognised him- he must have! He gulped. ‘’Li-Listen I-’’ he pursed his lips. ‘’I-I do okay but- listen I don’t wanna hurt anyone I-!’’ a feeble whimper escaped him. ‘’...please don’t call the cops…’’

Blondie frowned, sad at the boy’s panic. Grease shook his head. ‘’We’re not gonna do that.’’ he looked at Nathan. He was...reassuring, in an odd way. Fatherly. ‘’Promise.’’ Nathan gave a small nod, relaxing a bit. ‘’My name’s Jeff Bartosz,’’ he pointed at Blondie. ‘’Jeffery Devereaux.’’

Nathan paused. ‘’I-I’m...Jeff Woods. Nathan’s my middle name.’’ he frowned. ‘’Can I- uh- ask something…?’’

‘’Shoot.’’

‘’...where am I?’’ something was up. The same name? Similar scars and burns? ‘’Is this like...a cult or…?’’

Grease shook his head, smiling a bit. ‘’Not a cult, no,’’ he looked at Nathan for a long bit. ‘’...how about I explain that later, huh? You look like you could use some food first.’’

‘’And perhaps tea,’’ Blondie suggested. ‘’If you like it of course.’’

Nathan cracked a small smile and nodded. ‘’That- that’d be really good-’’ he slowly slipped his hands into his pockets. ‘’...thanks.’’

‘’Of course dear,’’ Blondie stood up and crossed the room. He paused at the door, looking at him. ‘’Do you like chai?’’

‘’Never had it.’’

Blondie chuckled. ‘’Well then I’ll introduce you, hm?’’

Nathan gave a small nod. ‘’...yeah. I’d like that.’’

#jeffverse #N-Jeff #jeff the killer #jeffery woods #jeffery nathan woods #Nine jeff #<- too lazy to tag every jeff im using this one for clout #creepypasta #creepypasta fanfic #creepypasta fanfiction #writing #my writing

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spidercakes · 4 years

Text

Have a starker serial killer AU featuring dark!Tony/Peter.

Warnings: murder (obviously), vague descriptions of violence, unhealthy relationships (also obviously- don’t date serial killers), mentions of domestic violence.

Tony feels bad for Peter and, in his defense, Tony is stellar at being charming. Its amazing what he can get away with because people find him attractive and witty and that’s when he’s not trying. When he is, well. It wasn’t all that difficult to make Peter fall in love with him when he was starved for positive attention and Tony feels... well, something for him. He’s not sure he feels things exactly right, but he does know he feels. Psychologically he has no idea what that means but he also doesn't put a lot of faith into the field of study. Too easy to convince people they’ve seen what they wanted to instead of what’s actually there. The problems with trying to observe people’s behavior when you’re limited by the same things your subjects are, he supposes.

Peter, for his part, doesn’t look nearly as freaked out as Tony thought he would. He looks more like he’s in shock and Tony dislikes this stage in normal feeling, where the situation hasn’t sunk in yet. The closest he’s ever felt to that was when his parents died and even then he’s not sure if it was his mother’s loss or the drinking that did that. The downside is that he knows this is going to lead to an emotional outburst of some sort later and what that means for him will depend on how Peter loses it.

“How... you did that so easily,” he says and Tony is aware of how smart Peter is. He didn’t just kill Quentin easily, he did it with experience and Peter hardly needs to be a murder expert to know that.

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” he tells Peter. He knows how much he hates stupid questions because, contrary to popular belief, there are stupid questions. He dislikes when people ask a question not because they don’t know the answer, but because they do and they don’t want to admit it out loud. Peter is aware of that too.

Peter looks down at Quentin, dead and bloody, at Tony’s feet, and then he looks to Tony’s hands. He’s still holding the knife. No need to set it down somewhere and leave more evidence for himself to clean up, and he knows Peter won’t miss the fact that he’s wearing a glove on one hand- the one holding the knife. Suggests premeditation and he wouldn’t be wrong. Tony heard them arguing and he knows Peter’s history, he’s had more than one run in with Quentin himself but Tony never told Peter about that. Quentin isn’t stupid either, he sensed pretty much immediately that whatever kind of fucked up he was Tony was about a hundred times worse, and he happened to be a hell of a lot more controlled. He’s certain the fact that he’d only tried to intimidate Tony twice, both times resulting in him being deeply unsettled, was due to him coming to the correct conclusion that if he decided to push it he wouldn’t be the one walking away.

So when he’d heard Quentin in the house he knew he purposefully chose to target Peter when he’d be alone and that didn’t sit right with him. And if he was determined enough to risk Tony finding out about it this was probably the kind of escalation that would result in Peter getting hurt or worse to he’d made a decision. It wasn’t even difficult to kill Quentin, he’d never even seen Tony coming and the knife was duller than Tony would have liked it but it cut his throat just fine. The mess will be a bitch to deal with but he’s gotten good at cleaning up his mistakes so even that won’t be an issue.

“But wh- how- why?” Peter settles on.

Tony snorts because that’s easy. “Was he not about to attack you?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

Its definitely not a proper reaction to his actions but he’s not about to deal with denial, Peter saw what he saw and he needs to process it and figure it out so Tony can plan how to deal with this. Peter looks back down at Quentin and at least he hasn’t screamed, not that it would matter. No one would hear him with so much land between him and his neighbors but it’d be unpleasant to deal with. “He isn’t the first person you’ve killed,” Peter states, not asks.

That’s the only reason Tony confirms it, “don’t ask for a body count, I won't give one to you.” The less he knows the better. When Tony gets caught, and it is a when, not an if, then it’d be helpful if Peter didn’t actually know much. Makes it easier for him to lie. Assuming he sticks around that long.

“You’ll kill someone in front of me but you won’t tell me how many people you’ve killed? Enough to be good at it,” Peter says, giving Quentin another horrified look. God, its like he’s watched a train wreck and he can’t look away or at least that’s how Rhodey describes looking at wounds. Tony mostly thinks its kind of gross because the blood gets all over and he doesn’t know what kind of shit that person might have. He doesn’t want to find out by getting some disease either. But he doubts that’s what Peter’s immediate thoughts are.

“Why would I give you details to more than just the crime I committed in front of you? Seems pretty stupid,” he points out, “given that you already know too much.” Peter seems to realize that late and his go wide, “if I wanted you dead, you would be. You saw how easy it was to kill him,” Tony says, guiding Peter along a little helpfully. Sure he wants a specific result here, but ultimately how this goes is up to Peter.

The fact that he relaxes is a good sign. The fact that it doesn’t last long isn’t. “Why haven’t you killed me?” he asks.

He wants to tell Peter not to ask stupid questions again but in his defense he just watched Tony kill his ex in cold blood. “I’ve never lied to you about how I feel, none of that was made up. I’m not that good of a liar,” he admits. He has a tendency to overdo it and every time he takes a step too far he realizes it too late.

Which Peter doesn’t believe if the look on his face is any indication. “You’re clearly very talented at lying,” he points out. “Because I would have never seen this coming.”

“No one sees dating a serial killer coming, Peter,” Tony says, giving him a look. “And the trick to a good lie is to avoid ever lying at all. The more you do it the more details you need to cover your ass long term and the more tedious it becomes. Tell the truth and the details don’t run the risk of changing because you’re not making things up as you go along. And there is no way I am capable of just faking an entire relationship. Believe me, I’m a terrible actor.”

Its landed him in trouble a few times but he’s smart, far smarter than most of the people around him and he’s thankful for it otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten out of as much as he has. Not, he thinks, that it’s going to come in handy now because he can’t think of a clever way to get himself out of a relationship crisis with a dead body at his feet. At least Peter isn’t in the splash zone, that would have made clean up a little messier.

Peter laughs a little, “pretty sure you’re wrong about that.”

Tony frowns, “then why wouldn’t I have just acted shocked and appalled at what I’d done and told you I was good at it because I’m a genius- I could have done the math on the angles I’d need to cut his throat at and the amount of pressure I’d need to do it that fast, you know that. Would have been an easier way out of this than all but telling you I kill people for funsies in my spare time.”

Its also a massive lie that requires a ton of acting and a huge amount of upkeep if he were to tell it, which is what he just told Peter he likes to avoid so he’s hoping he’ll put that together. That isn’t the kind of lie Tony can maintain for any length of time so he wasn’t about to try it- he’s good at not getting caught because he knows his limitations. He knows the laws he needs to in and out, he knows the science behind how to get rid of a body and all the cleanup methods he needs to know, but he’s shit at making things up. Actually, he’s pretty shit with people as a whole if he has to deal with them on a long term basis and that’s why he has so few friends. And one of them lives half way around the world from him permanently, which makes things easier.

The draw of Peter is that it never felt like work to feel things around him, he seems to naturally pull it out of Tony. That, and he genuinely likes spending time in Peter’s company and that’s rare. Even Rhodey knew something was up and they only talk on the phone a couple times a week. Peter, if he chooses to believe him, will have to see that.

Instead of giving Tony something, anything, to go on he blinks a few times rapidly before he sighs. “I need some time,” he murmurs.

Methodical might be the best way to describe his actions and by now he’s keenly aware that Peter is... curious. When he said he’d need time Tony didn’t think he’d stick around to watch the clean up even if he hasn’t moved from the living room. Probably best that he didn’t follow Tony into the garage anyway, and technically it gave him space to think.

But he’s back now, tearing up his carpet and he’s kind of pissed he’ll have to replace it. If Quentin would have just minded his own business like Tony told him to he would have a living room carpet. “You didn’t hesitate,” Peter says softly and Tony looks up. He probably looks ridiculous to Peter considering the protective gear but he’s not tracking more evidence around not wearing it.

“Didn’t need to,” Tony tells him. He knew what he was doing, he’s killed someone like that before and he also didn’t have the time to hesitate.

“I don’t think he even knew you were there,” Peter says, looking a mix of confused and haunted.

“Ideally they don’t.” Doesn’t always work out that way and Tony has learned what to do when he fucks something up.

“And you killed him for me?” Peter asks.

Its a question Tony doesn’t expect and its not one he has a ready answer to. He frowns, straightening up for a moment because he’s not totally sure. No, he is actually, its just that he didn’t realize it until now. “Yes. Yeah, I think I did,” he says, returning to his work.

Peter returns to silence, frowning now as he continues to watch Tony work. He leaves Peter to it, more concerned with the amount of blood he’s going to have to clean up.

Tony looks over the living room and decides its fit enough to leave. There shouldn’t be anything left behind and Peter seems to be surprised from his spot in the hallway. “Are you always this thorough?”

“I’d have been caught by now if I wasn’t,” Tony says. Peter wanders in, casting a suspicious look around but there’s no evidence of a murder here. Well, there is, but finding it would be a pain in the ass now and the cops would need to know exactly what they’re looking for. He’s learned murder scenes are a little like technology- its not often you can cover your ass totally and completely, but you can make it difficult for people to find what they’re looking for.

“Will you tell me how long you’ve been doing this?” Peter asks. He looks more comfortable now and Tony is unsure what to make of that, if anything. He knows people react in weird and extremely varied ways.

“Since I was 17,” he says. Peter seems surprised by that and Tony figures he should be. That didn’t feel young to him then, but it does now. It took him some time to do it again though, not that Peter knows that. He’s pretty sure it was the death of his parents that made him that ballsy to begin with.

He nods though, taking another step closer. “I keep ending up with people like you,” he says and Tony makes a noise of offense.

“I had nothing in common with that filth,” he says, defensive.

Peter frowns, “you kill people but you’re judging Quent?”

Tony rolls his eyes, “there are people in this world that deserve to die, no one deserves domestic violence.” That isn’t even close to the same, Peter has to realize that. Hell, even the state understands that murder is necessary- why else have a death penalty? Or soldiers ready to kill for you, at that. There aren’t reasons why hitting your spouse is fine, there are no exceptions to the rule.

“This is a moral thing?” Peter asks, head tilted to the side.

“Of course it is. I might be reprehensible but I’m not like that.” He’s not like his father. Sure, he and Howard are both monsters of some kind but they aren’t the same breed and Tony has learned to take pride in that.

“Maybe you are bad at lying,” Peter murmurs, frowning as he looks at him.

“Which I told you,” Tony points out.

Peter sighs. “Fine, I keep ending up with people who are... damaged. Beyond repair kind of damaged and I thought maybe it was something about me. Then I spent a lot of time denying it but I think I was right,” he says, shaking his head.

Tony tilts his head to the side, “yeah, how so? Because you don’t seem damaged beyond repair to me.” If anything he feels so untouched by the world, so bright and optimistic. Funny, too. In his experience that’s not how damaged acts.

“Not like that. I mean I... guess I have a dark side too,” he says and oh, oh. Tony recognizes that look, he’s seen it in the mirror a million times and worked hard on learning to hide it. And, he realizes, its not the first time he’s seen it either. Maybe that’s why he’d been so drawn to Peter, why things felt so easy with him. He wouldn’t have to act so much around someone like himself.

He smiles a little, “can’t say I saw that coming.”

Peter grins too, “I know. You really are a shitty lair,” he says as he steps into Tony’s arms. “Teach me how to kill like that?”

#starker #tony stark x peter parker #serial killer au #starker serial killers #alternate universe

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halothenthehorns · 3 years

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All in the Family

Chapter 48: The Patronus

The place was not even lit, which hadn't boded well the past few times for them, so Remus was quick to wave his wand and light the candles along the wall. It revealed nothing more than a desk with a suitcase on top, the rest of the room was cleared.

At first they all relaxed, recognizing an unused Hogwarts classroom, the view outside a crystal clear night, the moon newly waning. Then they heard the suitcase rattle.

"I swear to Merlin's sack if it's another three headed dog, I am out!" Frank hissed to no one.

"Thankfully we didn't have to deal with that one," Peter tried to offer, his voice too high pitched to convey any real comfort. "Plus, I've got a nice falsetto-"

"Someone summon the damn book and get us out of here before we have to find out!" Lily snarled, their wands all pointed either at the suitcase or at the door for the threat, but none seemed willing to activate anything. Finally Lily took a breath and followed her own advice, the suitcase went sailing into her hand.

She dropped it as if it had burned her.

"Evans?" James at once asked in concern, but too late, it fell open right in front of her.

A new girl now stood before them all, carefully set blond hair and pale fishy eyes in a neat pink dress, her face scrunched up in pure disgust. Eyes locked on Lily and storming even closer with a ranky, perfumed air she sneered, "I can't believe you did that freaky magic again Lily, mum and dad will kick you out for sure this time-"

James froze with no idea of what to make of this, even as the red heads eyes filled with tears and her wand began to lower, but Remus leaped forward and shouted, "Riddikulus!"

The image flickered for a moment, eyes still locked in on Lily. For just a moment, a boy now stood before them with long greasy hair and a hooked nose, but then it changed to a cartoonish looking dog trying to balance a bone on its nose.

Sirius could only muster up a very small laugh in surprise, but that only drew the boggarts attention onto him next, blank eyes focusing in and already beginning to change into a woman, except this time with haughty dark features and claw like hands as she shrieked at her eldest son what a disgrace he was, in a voice they all recognized from frequent Howlers in the Great Hall.

Padfoot blanched in disgust and tried his own form of the banishment, but then it only grew worse again at the weak attempt, flickering to Prongs, then Moony, and then Wormtail all with looks of horror and disgust upon their faces and spewing even worse things of betrayal and a friend they couldn't trust, all words they'd already said to him.

James pushed him out of the way and, ignoring the change to a skeletal snake-like face appearing from nothing, this time said with purpose, "Riddikulus!"

It changed to a yellow balloon and made a farting noise drifting lazily around the room. Peter made a forced attempt at laughter and they all tried to join in this time with understanding. It landed, flickered feebly between a rat, a pool of blood, a griffin, then settled on an erumpent, rearing onto its hind legs and horn pointed at Alice.

She shrieked and backed away in surprise, but gathered her wits back just as quick, all of them on guard now. She repeated the incantation and watched it shrink down to a fuzzy kitten chasing its tail. They all laughed this time with feeling.

It tried one last feeble attempt, rolling onto its back and nearly locking eyes with Regulus who backed quickly away with a truly horrified expression. Lily stormed forward with a vengeance. The image blurred, taking the shape of a person once more before she shouted at the top of her lungs, and then there was a fish flopping on the floor and singing some tune none of them recognized, but they all laughed anyways in surprise.

Finally, it vanished, the silence left behind though labored with still startled breaths was almost calm thanks to the way it had ended.

Lily very cautiously peeked back inside the suitcase, to find the book sitting innocently inside. "Well," she whispered, still breathing the heaviest. "I guess Harry gets those lessons from Professor Lupin."

They all shuffled for a moment back into more casual stances, everyone looking at someone with worry for this experience.

"Err, Evans, you sure you're okay?" Potter still asked her even as he was looking at his best mate, expression sallow to the extreme and twisted up, still glaring where the boggart had vanished.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and scooped the book up without comment to get to her place.

"An erumpent?" Frank put his arm around Alice and politely asked her. "I feel like there's a story there."

She made an awkward attempt at a giggle to fight off the full memory. "My dad took me to a sanctuary once, it did not end well. What's with you and griffins?"

"A wild one went onto our property once," he grimaced. "I'd be cat chow if my mum hadn't stepped in. Needless to say, I'm quite proud I didn't wind up in Gryffindor for that alone."

She did laugh that time, but both were now done soothing each other and watching Lily with still more worry. They wanted to say something to her, find some way to really make her laugh this off like they had, but she'd just found her place and read out the chapter title, causing an inadvertent but welcomed distraction. "That's not really the way Harry's going to stop this dementor problem." She turned accusing eyes on Lupin, who looked politely puzzled himself. "That's a seventh year charm, I only know of it because I accidentally did a practice quiz for a N. E. W. T. instead of an O. W. L last week. You can't expect a third year-"

Three Marauders decided to keep to themselves they did in fact know that charm, even if they weren't dementor tested, because there had been a study done on correlations between the form they took and similar animagus'. One, did not think that through.

"Do you know any other way to make a dementor piss off?" Black snapped at her, visibly swallowing but puffing up and nearly shouting. "You want Harry to be hearing you scream in his head for the rest of his life? At least Moony's trying something, I don't see any other Professor-"

"Padfoot," Potter placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Breathe mate, she didn't sick that boggart on you, or what came out of it, which was complete bollix."

He took a deep breath and blinked a few times, whatever he'd been yelling at in his mind finally being replaced with her vivid red hair. "Right, sorry Evans."

She just nodded without comment and tried to read on, putting the tid-bit away for later on how, interesting, it was Potter always seemed able to calm all his mates down. What would they be like when he wasn't around to do that?

Sirius had even less interest hearing Harry arguing with his friends, as if he hadn't lived through that enough. So he grabbed Regulus by his shoulder and began towing him to the farthest corner away.

He went stumbling along, but willingly, and straightened his robes and drew himself up imperiously when released. "The hell Sirius? You know you can just ask to have a word with me like normal?"

Sirius huffed and muttered for a moment about the kid before he asked in an almost gentle voice, "your class done boggarts yet?"

Regulus sucked on the inside of his cheek for a moment before answering, "no, at least, not like that. None of my Professors have ever mentioned them, certainly not Liz if it was supposed to come up this year, but Dad actually found one in his desk the day before Christmas Holiday ended. Told me I was going to practice on it this summer," he finished in a small voice. "Guess, now I'll be better prepared for it?"

Sirius had only wanted to somehow brush off the horrible things that boggartWalburga had said if his little brother had questions, but now he felt like he should ask more, for once. He'd flat refused anymore lessons like that with his parents after fourth year when they'd given him several dozen different lectures on not just how to do certain spells, but who they should be targeted towards, and that wasn't even getting into how they talked about beasts like trolls, goblins, and werewolves.

He'd tried to convince his little brother to join him and stop going to these as well, but the little brat had refused and told Sirius he wasn't going to disappoint his parents like that, then asked him to go outside and play a game. It was pure insanity! How long did Regulus think he could keep walking the line between appeasing their disturbed parents and keeping whatever moral compass he still claimed he had?

There was a small distraction from the discourse James was serving by Wood trying to work Harry off the team because of this dementor problem, his best friend shouting loud enough for the whole castle to hear, "Moony, if you don't get Harry a solution to those dementors, I'll banish them all from Earth myself!"

Wormtail gave a wild laugh for his usual antics, the both of them discussing loudly how they'd go about doing that when classes swung around to mentioning said professor again. Sirius looked up and around properly in concern when Hermione displayed, well, not a response they appreciated.

Regulus watched his brother eye Lupin with concern when the little Muggleborn girl seemed to know what was wrong with their newest teacher. Regulus felt affronted for a moment, he hadn't a clue if it was some disease he had or he was just consistently under the whether, but he also hadn't spent much time looking into it. Seemed the nosy little girl had done so and was now lording it, typical behavior of those less fortunate. He shifted his weight uncomfortably to the Muggleborn reading all this, the image of her fiery hair jumping to his defense and tackling the creature, and without permission guilt flooded him for the vicious thoughts. He slumped away from Sirius in confusion and sat by the desk as he tried to sort out all these conflictions in him. The boggart's shape for him, everything he'd thought he'd known being a lie, and still who to believe.

Sirius let him, as he didn't have a satisfactory answer for his own problem yet, and turned to enthusiastically egg Evans on with 'interest' of this new spell they clearly hadn't heard of!

Lily ignored their idiocies, but did stop curiously when the name of the incantation was given and how to invoke it. She hesitated, searching through her mind for something that might work.

Frank didn't have to think twice, summoning forth when Alice had agreed to go out with him and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" A white burst of light did indeed spew forth, but to his disappointment it merely faded away just as fast.

Alice waffled on anything to use. Her life had been quite mellow, nothing would really stand out in her mind that would give her much of anything to work with. She got more frustrated the longer she tried, thinking there must be some high point in her life as she flickered through memories with her parents, friends, and even Frank, but there was no peak producing silver to be found.

The Marauders all, 'gave it a go.' They all had great bruises on their prides to only produce very thick and consistent vapors of smoke without letting their true patronuses take shape, but they'd resisted the urge to brag to the world about their years too early practice in becoming animagus', they could hold off bragging on this too. Sirius turned to Regulus and called, to try and push some attention away, "come on then, give it a go! See if you and Harry are on the same level?"

'I'm nothing like that half-blood' he wanted to snap back, instinctively insulted, but took a deep breath and instead tried to respond to his brothers enthusiasm. He recalled the time he and Sirius had built a fort out of blankets in the study and Kreacher brought them snacks all night, the two whispering about all the adventures of the future, home alone as their parents went to a dinner party all night. A very substantial silver something began to materialize before him, but he was so surprised it faded away just as fast. He looked wildly over to see his brother beaming with pride.

James was watching Evans sadly, advice or something to help on the tip of his tongue. She was red in the face and muttering the enchantment with purpose, but barely a whisp was visible. Usually the ruler of the Charms room, he'd half expected her to be able to flawlessly enact this one, but she was clearly struggling with some aspect. When she opened her eyes and saw him staring, she looked even more angry and frustrated, turning back to the book with a despicable look, muttering about practice later.

She didn't exactly feel better that she was doing worse than Harry, or the fact that the boy had to create a fake memory just to produce results! She flushed with shame as she suddenly realized she may do better trying the same, nothing she'd come up with seemed to be working. Not the earliest ones of the first time she'd done magic, nor the more recent of her and Sev trying to create spells and jotting them down in his mums old potion book. She stamped her foot in frustration of what she was doing wrong.

The lesson was going brutally, and Evans' clear displeasure at her inability to do the spell wasn't helping things along. Constantly having to hear of your last dying words on top of lacking in magic her son was getting only half decent results in this same spell, more than her. At least Harry had an excuse for his lackluster work, his secret desire to hear his mother's voice, the only time in his life he would.

Then Peter fell back against the wall, clutching his ears in pain rather than keep hearing her stutter in surprise over James' last words. You-Know-Who closing in, and his brave, loyal, stupid friend standing his ground against everything. He should have ran, why didn't he run? This wasn't some animal that could so easily be tricked and fooled, this was a tyrant even Prongs couldn't face!

He watched his friend for several long moments, looking as if he were seeing a ghost in Evan's hands, but then his chest puffed up and he drew himself to his full height as if fixing to go ten more rounds with everyone in the castle. "Damned right!" He declared with actual pride.

Sirius and Remus looked on the verge of tears hearing of this, but then they too threw their shoulders back in pride for such a response. Peter wished the castle would swallow him hole in shame as he couldn't bring himself to do the same. His eyes flickered to where the Boggart had vanished, the tiny little rat that had appeared mocking him. He'd always been weak and small compared to them, even his fears, and the self-loathing only grew stronger for what he was, what his first reaction would always be.

Lily had just been given a whole new perspective of this future smacked into her face. There was still the loathsome image of being married to Potter for all of this to even be occurring, but for once that was the most insignificant bit. She held, in her hands, proof that James Potter, cared for her. Like she'd watched him do for his friends in the past few days alone, like she'd seen him even trying to do for her, now magnified in an action he clearly had no regrets for. For this one second, his last breath, he was not some arrogant prick trying to win her affections.

"Lily?" It was the quietest, most gentle way he'd ever called to get her attention. The reason he called her Evans was too rile her up and see her face him with that challenging look ready to go, but that's not what she needed now. "I don't regret it." The calm he infused into that, spluttered something out of her.

"How do you manage to- I don't even like-"

"That's alright," he actually shrugged, still looking like this of all things was a casual conversation. Not the birk that was blindly defending his friend, the arrogant idiot who couldn't see any opinion but his own, just his declaration this was a satisfying enough end. She didn't understand it one little bit. She turned slowly back to the book, because for once she didn't know what to say to him. Thank you didn't seem proper enough, when she couldn't return she'd do the same.

She almost, sympathized with Harry coming to tears over hearing of this. She'd tried, and failed, to put distance between the idea of this child being hers, and for the first time was again struck by just what the boy would think watching this. The first thing he'd ever heard in his parents voice was their life ending for his, and here the two of them couldn't even hold a civil conversation! The lad would probably cry ten fold if he was forced to hear this instead.

Some of James' confidence wavered when Remus, or Professor Lupin whatever, refused to elaborate on their friendship. He had no idea why his friend had been going out of his way these past thirteen years to not care for Harry, and dancing around the answer now was making him feel sick. Just what had happened?

Sirius and Remus exchanged terrified looks for the same, now watching Prongs as he finally looked worried about this future like hearing his own last words hadn't managed. Sirius roused himself, and in a fit of solidarity to chase that away shouted, "oi, who's up for round two with that Boggart! Professor Lupin's slacking, only letting Harry have three goes!"

Remus swallowed uncomfortably rather than admitting he wanted to quit again from this bloody story, but the other two looked relieved and laughed just like Padfoot had been hoping, even if both sounded extremely forced.

There was rising hope in everyone now as Harry finally got a good attempt off! Professor Lupin still had to step in, and it didn't seem encouraging the man who was teaching this couldn't even produce his own patronus to do it, but they'd take whatever they could get at this point.

Professor Lupin's even more cryptic comments about Sirius had the two shuffling closer to each other with unease, wishing more than ever there was some way to just get an answer already rather than all of this foul run around nonsense. Harry pausing to reflect on all of this was making them sicker by the moment, it took everything they had not to grab each others hands in front of everyone just for some comfort in this dreadful situation.

Thankfully the book lightened up from there and the moment passed without either having to acknowledge it. More chats of Quidditch and fond laughter at the little third year whining about homework between all the OWL students was really what everyone needed.

Time dragged on for Harry, Frank and Alice looked out the window curiously as if they were going to see the sun zipping by along with Lily's words, though thankfully they were saved from that experience. When the book did go back to talking about Harry in those lessons, Lily couldn't help her voice shaking again, not needing a repeat to know how much Harry needed this, and yet finally understanding why he'd never want them to stop. Her dismay at this was nothing to the Blacks reaction of finding out the oldest one was to be Kissed.

Sirius would have fallen if his friends hadn't caught him, his face a silent scream of fright, which set Regulus' blood boiling. No one and nothing made his brother look like that! "They can't do that! It's been outlawed- it's never even been allowed it's so beyond words! Just who the bloody hell is trying to hide what doing this to him!"

Hearing his little brother throwing a fit, over him, snapped Sirius out of it like nothing else could have. He'd stood there and watched in wonderment for a moment like everyone else before finally going over to him and wrapping a reassuring arm around his shoulders. Regulus immediately tried to shake him off, still muttering profane things Sirius was a bit proud to hear coming from his young mouth, but held tight. "I want you to remember this moment Reg," Sirius said with conviction. "Purebloods are not any more safe than anyone else from the bad things they do, or are framed for doing." He'd only been trying to distract the both of them from this future horror, but now his kid brother looked even more aghast.

"-But, Sirius, don't you see! This is why the Dark Lord's plans should be followed! He wouldn't let this happen to you!"

Sirius flushed in anger, his arm tightened painfully around the kid, but he remembered how shocked and afraid he'd been when hearing the news of You-Know-Who's real name and birth and forced himself to keep going reasonably. "No, Regulus, it wouldn't. I'll never follow him or what he wants, and he'd do much worse to me because of it. You've got to stop letting others tell you what to do-"

"Like you're doing!" He snapped, finally pulling away. "Both you and our parents just keep saying things, how about giving me a chance to see it for myself? All I've seen so far is someone deciding you're going to get your soul sucked out because you killed a bunch of Muggles! Who cares about them, but under the-"

"Shut up!" Sirius snapped back before he could say it again. "Do you even hear yourself? Murder's okay now, so long as it's not someone who can do magic? What next then, killing Muggleborn's will be okay because it's not you?" To his surprise, Regulus' eyes flinched to Evans and away, it was the first time Sirius had seen him even acknowledge her. "Then who, hum? Wizards without pure blood lines can go to? Then there will just be You-Know-Who's minions, and even those might some day choose to not agree with who goes next, and there won't be anyone left to stop him!"

He took a deep breath and tried to keep himself calm when Regulus just stood there, pale faced but with that insufferably stubborn look still set. He didn't seem to have a rebuttal for that though, for once. "Fine, think whatever you like," he muttered, stamping back to his friends.

Lily felt like backing slowly out of the room so as not to draw attention towards her and invoke another fight like that, even as she'd been unable to look away from the whole thing, completely riveted. The brothers were much more of a spectacle than her and her sister were, she was sure, but still she couldn't help but find herself sympathizing with Sirius Black of all people. She was full of that today apparently, as she wanted to consul the sibling who couldn't get through to the other. It made going back to reading feel ten times more awkward as she kept shooting him anxious looks, an apology or words of understanding on the tip of her tongue for him that he was clearly ignoring even from his own friends.

They were all so distracted it took a few moments for McGonagall's words to sink about Harry's Firebolt being returned to him, than Lily's good mood vanish as fast as it was back for those Marauders. They were a ball of pure energy and excitement Harry got the broom back while she just wanted to chuck it in the trash, considering Harry and Ron even went so far as to rub it in their friends face they'd been right all along. She still remembered Harry nearly being thrown from a broom once, was it beyond her son to admit it could have happened again and better safe than sorry?

She'd thought they were going to end on that high note for Harry, for once, but then another bomb was thrown into the mix for all parties. Hermione's cat had finally eaten Ron's rat. More than one relationship might be irreparable now.

#Harry Potter #fanfiction #reading the books #PoA #wolfstar #jilly #Regulus Black #Remus Lupin #Marauders #James Potter #Sirius Black #Peter Pettigrew #Lily Evans #Frank Longbottom #Alice Smith

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springboardalcoholdrugrehab82 · 3 years

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What Are The 10 Most Addictive Substances?

Researchers published a study in the medical journal The Lancet examined 20 substances to determined their potential harm. The parameter were divided into three groups: physical harm, psychological dependence, and social harm. These were the 10 substances that were most addictive on earth based on results from the dependence category.

Several determining factors were considered when evaluating dependence, including intensity of pleasure, psychological dependence. Most commonly, high-addictive drugs are abused because of their positive results and subsequent euphoria. Physical dependence is characterized by increased tolerance, craving, and withdrawal symptoms, while psychological dependence occurs when a person repeatedly uses a drug, fear stopping, and suffer negative consequences.

Listed below, you will see where each drug ranks based on its dependence.

1.Heroin

Heroin is an opioid substances derived from Morphine. With 3*00 as its mean score ,it had the greater degree of dependence. Furthermore, it ranked highest in the two categories as will. The euphoria that heroin users experience after injecting, snorting, or smoking the drugs is intense. A user will need to keep increasing the dose of heroin to achieve the same effect since Heroin develops a tolerances quickly. People who use the drug continue to use it because their withdrawal symptoms are very uncomfortable. Withdrawal symptoms typically include severe muscle spasms, bone pain, diarrhea, and vomiting, as well as restlessness, cold flashes, and uncontrollable leg movements. The long-term effect of Opioid addictions can actually cause the loss of white in the brain, which to detrimental to decision-making and behavioral control.

2. Cocaine

Cocaine came in second with a score of 2.39. This white powdery stimulant is usually though the nose and is made from the leaves of the coca plant. The drug dealers typically through with other substances such as cornstarch, talcum powder, or flour to increase profitability. Additionally, it is very common for to dealers to combine Cocaine with drugs such as Fentanyl, thereby greatly increasing the risk of overdose. Dopamine increases in the brain when is consumed, and frequent use reduces communications between nerves cells. As a result, your brain becomes less sensitive to dopamine, and so you need to consume more of it in order to feel happy. Withdrawal symptoms such as depression, insomnia, fatigue, and slowed thinking can occur when someone stops using cocaine. Snorting cocaine can cause users to lose their sense of smell, nosebleeds, runny noses, and difficulty swallowing. A person who consumes the drug may suffer from severe bowel problems.

3. Tobacco

Among the reason for the popularity of tobacco in different part of the world has to do with its addictive nature. Some may find it shocking that this substance holds third place of the list because its dependence score is 2*22. Cigarette leaves contain nicotine, which is what drives people to become addictive. The most common usage for cigarettes is smoking, although pipes, cigars, and dip are also popular. Symptoms of withdrawal begin a strong craving for tobacco, followed by irritability, trouble sleeping, difficult paying attention, and an increased appetite for food.

4.Street Methadone

Though Methadone is supposed to help addicts of heroin and narcotic painkillers control cravings, its still misused frequently. Based on the factor affecting dependence, its scored low on pleasure, but a strong score for psychological dependence and physical dependence with a 2*08 average. This medication comes in tablets, oral solutions, or injectable liquid forms. As a outlined by the Department of Justice, the street names of its offender are amidone, chocolate chips cookies, fizzies, Maria, pastora, and salvia, and water. There are withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, muscle tremor, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps

5.Barbiturates

There was an average dependence score of 2*01 for barbiturate, which are depressive drugs. There are many different variety of central nervous system depression caused by the drugs, from mild sedation to coma. These drugs are often taken a pills but are also abused by injecting them into the body. In general, there are a number of types, but there are some common generic name: amobarbital, pentobarbital, phenobarbital, secobarbital, and toluene. The effect of these drugs include mild euphoria, a lack inhibition, anxiety relief, and sleepiness. Seizure, dizziness, anxiety, insomnia, and psychosis are some of the withdrawal symptoms that can start as soon as two days after discontinuing use. Hypothermia, circulatory failure, and death are possible side effects of barbiturate if they are not treated.

6.Alcohol

The most commonly used psychoactive substance in America is alcohol. In the US, there are more than 86% of adults who consume alcohol, and more 14 million adult have alcohol use disorder. Despite ranking sixth on the most addictive substances, alcohol has a score of 1.93. The majority of people consume alcohol to celebrate or relax, which makes sense since it ranks high in the pleasure category. Drinking too much alcohol however can lead to a variety of problems, including high blood pressure, alcohol poisoning, stroke, memory loss, depression, and anxiety. Delirium tremens, a potentially fatal condition when induce by withdrawal from alcohol, is a common consequence of alcoholism. Symptoms such as tremors, hallucinations, and seizures are also horrifying that need to be watched out for.

7. Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines (Benzos) are some of the most commonly prescribed medications in the United States. They help reduce anxiety and seizures, relax muscles, and help users sleep. They also have the potential to be abused because of their addictive properties and have a dependence score of 1*83. You can find Benzos in items such as Xanax, Valium, and Restoril. The first one to four days after discontinuing use of Benzos may be characterized by insomnia and feelings of anxiety. Following the withdrawal period, people may experience anxiety attacks, sleep disturbances, dry retching, nausea, headaches, muscular pain, and stiffness among a host of other unpleasant symptoms, for the next 10-14 days without the drug. There are some situation in which benzo withdrawal can be fatal, therefore medical supervision is required.

8.Amphetamine

Amphetamine are stimulant drugs that treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) and narcolepsy and rank eight on the list of addictive substance, with a mean score of 1.67. Amphetamine, such as Meth, are sometimes combined with caffeine, sugar, or a blinding agent. They are consumed by using various methods, including smoking, snorting, cutting, or injecting. Users may feel energized, confident, happy, and with increased sex drive the moment they consume the drug. Similarly, it also cause dry mouth as well as teeth grinding, and it increase heart rate. When a person stops taking drugs for a month, withdraw3al symptoms usually go away. Dreams, insomnia, aches and pains, exhaustion, depression, paranoia, confusion, and irritability are just a few of the symptoms.

9. Buprenorphine

Researchers are seeking ways to counter the Opioid epidemic by finding drugs such as buprenorphine to counter addictions. By suppressing Opioid withdrawal, reducing craving for Opioids, and blocking other opioid effects, this drug is meant to help with the symptoms of withdrawal.. Nevertheless., it still creates a sense of euphoria and sedation in the users, especially if they are not people addicted to opioids. Due to the similarity between it and opioids, Buprenorphine has a mean score of 6.4.

10. Cannabis

It’s no surprise that the last substance on the list of the 10 most addictive substances is one that is familiar to most people. Cannabis is a generic tern for all products derived from the Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica plants, more commonly known as Marijuana. The use of medical marijuana can provide pain relief for those with chronic pain, nerve pain, and multiple sclerosis. In addition, Harvard Health reports that it can treat glaucoma and lessen tremors in Parkinson’s disease. Despite ending the list with a score 1*51, is it really addictive?

Over 30% of marijuana users show symptoms of a marijuana use disorder, which is usually associated with dependence. There are many withdrawal symptoms, including physical discomfort, decreased appetite, mood and sleep disturbances, craving, and restlessness. It is estimated that individuals who first use marijuana before the age of 18 have up to a 7-fold higher risk of developing marijuana use disorders.

Get Help Now!

It is important to know that there are successful treatment available if you or someone you know has been exposed to any of the substances on this list. to find out more about the options available to you, speak to an addiction provider today.

You can contact us or visit us https://www.springboardrecovery.com/

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