#I ran for a bit and climbed a big hill. more on the hill in a moment

[sports-on-sundays]

our tree / CL16

Summary: Charles x childhood friend!reader - Another little idea.

Warnings: four time skips, little kiss scene, kind of melancholy at the end

Requested?: Take a wild guess.

Author's Note: I hope you read and enjoy, because I'm super proud of this one! 🥹🥹🥹. I actually think I was reading a fantasy book when this one came on me strangely enough.

"Alright, well, make sure to stay together! And stay in the orchard!" your mother called as you and your friend rushed out the door, running to get out the moment your mother said it was okay.

"Okay, Mama!" you called back, slamming the screen door behind you. You and your friend, a light haired boy with bright eyes and the name of Charles, ran together, racing each other automatically, without even establishing it, both of you just being very competitive kids.

Yes, Charles was a competitive kid, alright. Everyone knew that much. Definitely probably more competitive than you, but that wasn't very hard. Charles was more competitive than most people.

The young boy was running so fast, trying to beat you, that he tripped, falling right on his little chubby face. "Charlie!" you gasped, bending down next to your friend. But then you scolded, "Charlie, you gotta be more careful. Remember what Mama told us?"

Charles looked up slowly. He had a little scratch on his cheek and a mark of dirt across his forehead. His bottom lip curved forward for a moment, before he sucked it back, sniffing, refusing to cry. "I'm okay," he assured, pushing himself back up to stand.

"Are you sure?" you asked nervously.

"Of course," the little boy said, brushing himself off, still pouting a little. But he raised his hand to wipe his eyes and continued on.

You frowned. "Your knees are all scraped up. Maybe we should go back to the house..."

"No!" Charles frowned right back. "Come on. I'm okay." He showed his little toothy grin, which wasn't full, as he had a few gaps in his mouth where adult teeth would soon grow in. He held his hand out to you.

You took his little hand in your little hand and said with a little pout, "As long as we just walk now."

"You sound like my mama now!" he groaned, but agreed to it.

The two little kids walked along, until they reached the bottom of the hill that your house stood on and got to the little dirt path that led through the apple trees.

"Can I show my favorite tree, Charlie?"

His tiny little cute nose crinkled up as he asked, "How could you have a- a fav- favorite tree?" At that point, you were much more fluent in your speech than Charles, so some of the bigger words you could say just fine, he struggled with.

You grinned. "Come with me, and I'll show you." You tugged him by his hand, leading him through the orchard, until finally, you reached your tree.

It was tall with spindly dark branches and the biggest, reddest, juiciest apples you'd ever seen. There was a little crevice under it where you fit perfectly, and it's old frame provided a large area of shade.

It felt like a magical tree, and as Charles's big hazel eyes looked up at it, you could tell he saw it, too.

"Can I have an apple off it?" the young boy asked boldly.

You nodded and went to the truck, being, at that time, the taller of the two of you. You slipped your foot in the perfect slot in the tree and hoisted yourself up. You climbed a bit as Charles watched you, picked a big, red, ripe apple out of the tree, and tossed it down to Charles. He caught it and was about to take a big bite out of it, before you said, "Wait a second, Charlie!"

He looked up. "Huh?"

You climbed back down and hopped on the ground, grinning. "Do you know how to clean an apple? Make it super shiny?"

Charles frowned, perplexed. "Without water? No."

You grinned proudly and rubbed your apple on your shirt all around, saying, "It works."

He stared a few seconds, before trying it. "I don't know..." he began, studying the apple.

"Either way, it makes it taste better. That's what my papa told me."

"Alright... can I eat it now?"

You giggled and nodded. "Yeah."

You watched as he took a bite out of it, and his eyes lit up. Apple juice ran down his chin as he exclaimed, "You're right! This is the best apple ever."

You grinned. "See? It's my favorite tree."

He beamed back. "It's mine, too," he responded, avoiding having to say 'favorite' again.

About ten years later

"Y/n!" your mother had called one day from the downstairs floor. "Charles is here!"

You hopped out of your bed as soon as you heard that, slipping on your vest, boots, and backwards cap, before heading down the stairs and went to the door.

There was Charles. You couldn't help but smile when you saw the handsome teenage boy, with his dimples and sparkling eyes. "Hey, Charles. It's been a while."

He shrugged a bit. "I've been really busy with racing and stuff..."

He awkwardly glanced away, so you asked, "Well, do you want to go for a walk in the orchard? I mean, if you have time, of course."

He smiled brightly at that. "Yeah. I'd like that."

You exited the house together, letting the screen door slam behind you. You walked down the hill in silence, but once your feet reached the dirt path through the apple trees, Charles muttered, "I've kind of missed you, a lot. And this orchard. I mean, I don't know. As kids, we used to always play in this orchard. We spent hours here. You know?"

You nod slowly. "Yeah, I get what you mean. Totally... Sometimes, I'm sad I'm growing up. Like, I remember when we were little, and nothing was weird and it all felt normal. We were just happy to have fun."

Charles nodded, seeming slightly relieved that you seemed to think the same way as him. "Yeah. I feel the same way."

As you walked, suddenly your hands brushed each other, and both of you felt your faces heat up as you avoided each other's eyes and were more aware to keep your hands to yourselves.

"So... Is your favorite tree still standing?" Charles asked softly.

You grinned. "Of course it is. Charles, that tree will never fall."

He grinned back at this response and said, "So I'm assuming the apples are still good as ever?"

"For sure. Want one? We can go down to it."

Charles grinned even wider at this and said, "Yeah, let's go."

When you reached the tree, you stood on your tip toes, trying to reach an apple to pick for Charles, but suddenly he laughed, saying teasingly, "Here, I'll get it." He grinned and reached up, easily picking the apple. He looked down at you with a smirk. "Now I'm taller than you, huh? You used to be the taller one."

You rolled your eyes. "Charles, boys always get taller than girls in the end."

He shrugged and commented teasingly, "Should I rub it on my shirt? Does that clean it off?"

You blushed, glancing away, feeling embarrassed butterflies in your stomach at his little teasing. "No, no. That's just a stupid little thing."

He chuckled more and took a bite, shutting his eyes, savoring the sweet taste. "Just as good as I remember it," he commented with a grin.

You smiled, kind of nervous to ask this, but said softly, "Uh... Can you pick one for me?"

He grinned. He loved to be able to help you, and immediately picked one for you. You stood by the big tree, eating your apples, before Charles finally said, sounding more tense than before, "Hey, uh... Y/n? Can I say something kind of weird to you? Like, I mean, serious stuff, now..."

You blinked, looking up at him with a concerned look in your eyes. "What is it?"

He sighed and gestured for you to sit down under the tree together. So you sat side by side in the shade, and he murmured, "So... I just wanted to say sorry."

"For what?" you asked in surprise.

"I don't know. With all my racing, we never get to see each other anymore. But I think about you a lot..." He trailed off, avoiding your eyes as his cheeks flushed. "Like, you're on my mind a lot, I mean."

You nod slowly. "I think about you a lot, too..."

He swallowed and muttered, "I know this probably won't mean much in the end, but... I think I kind of like you."

Your head shot up, your eyes wide. "You... Like, like like?"

"Yeah. Like, really like. A lot. More than..."

"More than friends?"

"More than friends," he confirmed, nervously fidgeting with the strings of his hoodie.

You glanced up at each other at the same time. And Charles, without another thought, leaned in and gave you an awkward kiss on your cheek.

Your whole faces flushed as Charles blurted, "Sor- Sorry."

"It's... It's okay," you murmured in embarrassment. "I feel the same way, too, I think..."

About ten years later; current time

Your mother slams open the screen door with a big smile on her face, saying, "What a surprise this is! Look at this- my daughter and son-in-law!"

Charles chuckles a bit, letting go of your hand as you go to hug your mother as he says, "Not son-in-law yet."

"Yes, yes, Charles," your mother says quickly, as if it's clearly obvious the two of you are going to marry each other anyway, so he's basically already her son-in-law. "So," she turns to you with a big smile. "What made you decide to just show up all of the sudden?"

You shrug with a smile, looking back to Charles. After hugging your mother, you connect your hand right away back with Charles's. "The other night we were just kind of thinking about, you know. The old days. Playing in the orchard. And my favorite tree, and everything. And we figured, why not make the trip here to go for a walk through it again?"

"Oh, and not even to see your mother!" she scoffs with a playful smile, saying, "Come here, Charles. I haven't seen you in quite a while." Charles laughs and gives your mother a little hug as well.

"Mama," you say with a little smile. "Do you mind if me and Charles just go for a walk in the orchard? Then we'll be right back to the house to visit?"

She smiles understandingly, and nods. "Yeah, you two go on. And take your time," she says with a wink, "because maybe once you get back, the apple pie I'm making will be ready."

You grin and say, "Let's go! Your pie is the best!"

Charles laughs, entwining his fingers in yours, saying, "Thank you, Mrs. Y/l/n. We'll see you in a bit." He waves as we begin walking down the hill together, swinging our connected hands a little as we walk.

It has rained recently, though, so the ground down the hill is a little slick. So suddenly, your foot slides forward, and you squeal, bracing yourself to feel your bottom hit the ground hard-

But Charles's hands are there, on your back and the bottoms of your thighs. He says with a chuckle, "I've got you." He pulls you up and links his arm with you to steady you more as you finish walking down the hill.

When you make it to the path, neither of you guide the other toward your tree, because now, after all these years, you both know exactly how to get there.

You're not sure when 'Y/n's tree' became 'Y/n and Charles's tree', but either way, you like that it's kind of like both of yours now.

When you reach it, Charles immediately reaches up to pick out two of the best apples on the tree. You sit down together under the shade, not caring if your bums get a little wet, and Charles eyes you teasingly as he begins rubbing it on his shirt.

You chuckle. "It does make it more shiny."

"Rubs the dirt off," he comments, taking a bite out of it.

You sit together, eating your apples. Charles has his arm around your back, and you lean against his shoulder. Once you're both finished, Charles comments, "Taste of my childhood."

You grin. "It's just an apple."

"No, but the apples from our magical tree don't just taste like any ordinary apples, and you've always known that."

You chuckle a little. "Good point." You love that little childish side of him.

After a few moment of silence, Charles says softly, "Do you think we have a few minutes to spare before we start walking back up to the house for some of that apple pie?"

You shrug. "Probably. Why?"

He leans in closer and says softly, "Because I wouldn't mind licking some of that apple juice off your sweet lips."

You giggle a little, rolling your eyes, but shift closer to him.

With one hand caressing your cheek and the other gripping the nape of your neck, pulling you in closer, he presses his lips against yours in a heated French kiss. His tongue explores every inch of your mouth. When he finally pulls away, there's a hungry look in his eyes, and he doesn't even seem to realize the string of saliva connecting your mouths.

You let out a little breathy gasp, murmuring (and admittedly probably ruining the moment a bit), "Ew..." as you wipe your mouth to break the trail of saliva between the two of you.

He chuckles a bit and murmurs, "You're adorable. You know that? I just want to have you all to myself. Do what I want to do to y-"

"Hey, hey..." you giggle, patting his thigh a little. "Can't get too carried away, can we? We've got pie to get to eating inside."

"Right," he smiles, taking your hand and standing up with you.

"But maybe when we get home. How does that sound?"

He nods, bringing you closer to himself. "That sounds good. I look forward to it."

About ten years later (warning: just chose a random name for the girl)

You slam open the screen door, holding your little toddler in your arms, saying, "Say bye bye to Grandmama."

Your mother laughs as your daughter waves her chubby little fist and says, "Bye, bye, G'andmama..."

You walk outside onto the porch, where Charles is already standing, arms crossed in front of his chest, looking out at the orchard.

You smile, putting a hand on his back. "Want to take Viola out for a walk in the orchard? Would you like that, sweetie?" you add, looking to the little girl.

"Yes!" squeals the baby, squirming to be put down.

You set her down on the porch, and Charles takes her little hand with a smile. You take her other hand, and the three of you begin walking down the hill together.

Halfway down, Viola slips, but both your hands holding hers keeps her from falling. Charles chuckles and says, "Be careful, sweetheart."

She just giggles, tugging her parents toward the little dirt path at the bottom of the hill. When you reach the bottom, Charles says gently, "Want to see me and Mama's favorite tree, Viola? It grows the best apples in the world."

You laugh as your daughter looks up at her father with big, wide hazel eyes- same as her father's. "The best?"

"Oh, yeah. You won't want to eat any other apples, ever again, after you try these."

You smile. "I grabbed a knife before we left to cut it up for her."

Charles smiles, giving you a little kiss on your cheek as you hand him the knife. "Good idea. You're so thoughtful. And considerable. I wouldn't ever had thought to do that."

"Mama! Papa! C'mon!" your baby whines, and you both laugh, following the toddling little girl down the little dirt path of both your childhoods.

When you reach the tree, this time, Charles reaches up and picks three apples. "It's kind of a magical tree, isn't it, Viola?" he asks with a little smile as he hands you an apple.

But she doesn't respond, and instead stares at Charles in slightly disturbed confusion.

You chuckle, looking to see Charles rubbing the apple on his shirt. He laughs and explains, "It makes the apple shiny, Viola."

"Really?" she asks with wide eyes.

"For sure," Charles respond, exchanging a little look with you. Then you and Charles sit down together under the tree, and your daughter comes over and climbs on Charles's lap, watching as he cuts some thin slices off Viola's apple. "Here," he says, handing one to the little girl.

Her eyes widen even further when she tastes the sweet fruit, and she giggles, "The best!"

"I know!" Charles grins excited, ruffling her hair a bit, which is the color of your hair.

You smile, leaning against his shoulder, watching as your daughter in his lap raves and giggles about the apple.

And, then, Charles starts talking.

He talks about how he used to play with you all the time when you were little.

He tells his daughter how when he was a younger teenager, he began to fall in love with you, but with all his racing, he couldn't see you much and come to the orchard.

He tells her how when he was an older teenager, he confessed how he felt to you.

And how after that, you and him got closer and closer.

Until years later, you had your wedding.

And now here she is, your little girl.

You swallow, suddenly feeling emotional about the story. The story of your lives together.

"Papa...?" Viola says, concerned. "How come Mama...?" she trails off.

Charles looks at you and smiles. "Are you crying, baby?" he teases softly, wiping a tear from your cheek.

You chuckle. "I guess I just like to hear you telling the story."

He chuckles and kisses your cheek, murmuring, "I love you."

You lean into him further with a little smile and shut your eyes, listening as Charles and your daughter continue babbling softly with each other.

Here, in the shade of your tree.

Our tree.

Someday, your daughter will show her friends your tree. And that screen door will never stopped being slammed shut.

But someday after that, you and Charles will grow older, together. Your tree won't always be there. Someday, you'll eat the last of it's apples, and it will say farewell to this world, just like everything else does.

But by then, your love won't need something to symbolize it in order to stay alive.

Because love is the one thing that will never end.

It goes on forever.

#sports-on-sundays #f1 #f1 fanfic #f1 imagines #f1 one shot #formula 1 #formula one #formula1 #f1 x reader #formula racing #ferrari f1 #f1 2024 #f1blr #charles lecrelc #f1 one shots #f1 fan fiction #f1 blurb #f1 drivers #f1 oneshots #f1 oneshot #f1 fic #f1 fluff #f1 x y/n #f1 fics #f1 fanfics #f1 fan fic #f1 fan fics #f1 fandom #f1 fanfiction #f1 imagine

[xiaq]

How is Denver so far compared to Austin?

I quite prefer Denver, but I'm biased for a few reasons.

Austin makes me sad. Austin now is not the Austin I grew up in/the Austin I loved. And nostalgia for a place that no longer exists while still technically existing leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Did you know that the greenbelt and all its trails and climbing walls used to feature a creek that never dried up? The level might fluctuate, but it ran all year round, fed by springs from the aquifer. You could climb until you got overheated and then go sit in the water for a bit to recover. Now, after years of extreme heat, persistent droughts, and people pumping water out of the aquifer, it's just miles of dry rock with small trees growing in it, that occasionally floods when it rains. I can't climb there without feeling...I don't even know how to describe it. Like I'm walking over the corpse of an old friend.

Denver gives us a community. In Denver, we live in a walkable/bikable community within 2 miles (or much less) of our grocery store, restaurants, a gluten-free bakery, coffee shops, our climbing gym, and several friends. I've seen more people in person in the last three weeks here than I did in the previous 3 months in Austin. One of my friends jogs by every afternoon. Others live at the park I walk Deacon to in the mornings. People just...drop in to see us/how house renovations are going spur-of-the-moment because they were literally walking by/on their way home. Community is so important to me and I have that here in a way I didn't in Austin.

Terrain. Texas is so damn flat. I get a thrill driving to Home Depot here because I can see mountains in the distance. Our rooftop deck looks at the mountains. I can be in the mountains after a less than 30-minute drive. I had to drive for hours to get to a hill in Austin. Here, mountains are just...present in a comforting way.

The seasons. Austin doesn't have seasons. Here, we have gorgeous sunny weather most of the time but the trees change color in the fall and we currently have snow! Deacon LOVES snow. Probably even more than me. There is something so delightful about taking a walk while it's snowing. When the whole world is quiet and white and still. Even after living in one of the snowiest places in the US for a year, snow is still so novel to me. Big fan.

Travel. I can walk to the train station from our house, which will take me to the airport in 25 minutes. And Denver is a hub for Southwest which means tons of direct flights at low costs (to places like Austin!). I also have a companion pass for Southwest, which means I can take B (or anyone else I please) with me for free on any Southwest flight. Which is very handy. B's mom has already visited us twice (coming again this weekend) because there are quick direct flights from Phoenix she can take advantage of. The negatives are the cost of living and the fact that the homeless population is large and the city doesn't seem to have the appropriate resources (or perhaps willingness) to address it. But those are both issues that plague Austin as well. The only thing I miss about Austin is the ability to see my parents whenever I want. My mom is coming to visit in two weeks and we're hoping to coax my dad out when it warms up a bit (and we have the guest rooms ready), but I definitely miss them.

#austin #denver #texas #colorado #x moves #this got longer than i meant it to #lol

[forsaken-at-one]

My first public fanfic, please be kind.

Pairing: F!Reader/M!Alpha!Luxray

Summary: An assistant of Professor Laventon get's kidnapped by an Alpha Luxray Looking for a mate.

TW's: Smut, dub-con, slight violence, mentions of dead Pokémon, Male Pokémon/Female Human relation, Poképhilia, unprotected sex, penetrative sex, cunnilingus, possibly bad English and/or grammar mistakes

Minors DO NOT INTERACT, please and thank you!

That's about all, if I forget anything please let me know!

Another Pokéball broke open releasing the furious beast with a strong gust of wind. With your entire team easily defeated you couldn't do much but throw another, your last.

The large alpha Pokémon had surprised you while cataloging Shinx in the crimson mirelands. You hadn't heard a thing, nor felt eyes on yourself when it suddenly pounced on you from the side.

You narrowly avoided it but lost your balance and rolled down a small hill landing in deep mud. You didn't manage to find proper footing again, and had to awkwardly swim-crawl away from you attacker. Feeling through the mud you felt a Pokéball and threw it.

You released one of your Pokémon but it didn't stand a chance, the muddy ground slowed it down and it's level was way below this bestial alpha Luxray. But your companions bought you enough time to wriggle out of the mire and climb onto solid ground once more.

But the mud still clung to you slowing your movement, and the Alpha curiously approached, surely wanting to toy with his easy prey. So unable to run or fight you started throwing every empty capsule you had crafted at your attacker.

Most of them were easily avoided, Luxray seeming more and more annoyed at your antics. Finally you hit it, but it unceremoniously broke out again giving you a warning growl. In your panic it fell on deaf ears and you chucked another ball at it. A hit again, but it broke out, now livid.

Now you had but one Pokéball left. You were just about to throw it while thinking a prayer in your head. Before the capsule left your hand the Luxray closed the distance with a swift pounce knocking you flat on your back.

It's paws firmly placed on your wrists pinning them next to your dizzy head. The impact on the ground had done a number on you, your head had harshly hit the dry, rock hard mud below. Your vision was blurry and the world was spinning.

From the corner of your your eye you made out small blue shapes approaching. The Shinx I watched before. You reasoned. They must be part of this Alphas pack. Before everything faded to black you felt little kitten licks on your fingers. And the pressure of the alphas paws on your wrists vanished.

Your eyes snapped back to him. He looked at you. You couldn't quite read the expression. He saw the Shinx approach you, one sniffing and nibbling on your hand, another was kneading your belly. Did they play with their half dead prey, or were they trying to wake you up, maybe comfort you?

Under normal circumstances you'd been ecstatic to observe and document such unique behaviors but right now you were busy wrangling back control over your body and slowly getting back up.

The Shinx startled at your movement, and the Alpha immediately took on a more threatening posture again. You tried speaking in a low calming way. "It's okay big guy, I just want to go home, I mean no harm."

His posture softened a bit. "Lux!" He hissed in a commanding tone. You had no idea what it meant but it send the Shinx running. Finally up you tried to slink away but to no avail. Before you got anywhere the Pokémon had you by the back of your neck.

Awkwardly hanging in your kimono top you had no choice but to wait and see where it would carry you off too. It easily traversed terrain you'd never be able to get through on foot.

Finally you reached a serene looking grove by some harsh cliffs. A cave, hidden behind some red shrubbery went deep into the rock. Near the entrance ran a pretty creek. It was idyllic looking. Considering that alphas often got the very best nesting grounds that made sense though.

He plopped you down inside the cave. It appeared to have been dug, with a main tunnel splitting into four chambers. There were Shinx running around and some Luxio eyeing you suspiciously. "Lux Luxray!" The alpha startled you with its sudden roar. All Pokémon in the den stopped for a moment looking at you, seemingly considering you.

With that everyone, the Alpha included seemed to disregard you. Not believing your luck you ducked out of the cave, finally having caught your bearings again. You spend the rest of the day looking for a way out, but alas this little paradise was surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides.

As the sun set clouds grew darker and it began to rain. Hesitantly you went back to the cave. The Shinx and Luxio still didn't seem to mind you, some even approaching you curiously, wanting to play.

Defeated and with no way out you finally got out of your mud covered top and pants leaving you in your linen underwear. You hung your dirty clothes on a branch hoping the rain would take care of the worst of it, and tomorrow you'd try to get away again.

Slowly the Pokémon went into different dens off of the main tunnel, there seemed to be a sort of nursery, softly padded with leafs, colorful flowers and grass. Here the Shinx all cuddled up to sleep.

On the opposite side of the tunnel was the Luxio dwellings. Fewer individuals slept here, only some sharing bedding, others seemingly preferring solitude. The walls were littered with scratch marks and cracks. They must play fight or even train here from time to time.

A room was vacant, but it was noticeably warmer. There were leafs laid out around an empty nest looking structure. Closer inspection showed remains of Pokémon, like small bone fragments, as well as remnants of fruits and berries, like a cherry stone. Did the pack bring food offerings to mothers stuck incubating their eggs here?

You felt hot breath on the back of your neck. You swung around and came face to face with the Alpha again. He was so tall you had to look up to meet his eyes. He turned around and approached the last chamber of this Pokémon den. He looked back over his shoulder expectantly. "Do you want me to come with you?" You asked yourself out loud.

And sure enough he seemed to nod. You knew surely he didn't actually nod, after all Pokémon couldn't understand humans right? But you indulged in the thought his random movement meant confirmation, so you trotted behind him, having him lead you to the last den.

It must be his dwelling. You thought seeing the many hunting trophies such as horns, claws and even skulls. An accomplished Hunter. I'm glad my skull hasn't joined the collection yet. But this made you pause. Why hadn't it actually? Maybe the Shinx liking you made him not want to kill you anymore? But then why did he bring you all the way here.

He settled on some soft looking leaf bedding that was clearly too large for just him. And then it clicked. This pack must have lost their lead female. From Laventons research you knew in this case the head male would find another mate, be it from his own pack or an outsider. If the young ones approved of her she would become the new den mother.

Oh no. Oh no no no! You thought. But it was too late. Having no patience for your antics anymore he got up and yanked you by the back of your collar into the floral bed. You were lying in his arms for lack of a better word. His belly brushed up against your back and he curled around you. Your head lain on the plush fur of his arm, while the other rested on your side. His chin placed on the top of your head.

It was comforting in a way. His fur had no right being this soft and his warmth seeped into your cold frame. This wasn't the worst, but you had to find a way out before he decided he wanted more cubs. You shuddered at the thought and instinctively he curled tighter around you in a protective manner.

You weren't sure what to do and were still to anxious to sleep so you started to trace your fingers through his fur and carefully massaging the pads on his large paws, easily bigger than your hands. He began to purr deeply and rhythmically. You felt his soft fur tickle you while he settled in comfortably and you couldn't help but mirror him. This was the comfiest you had been since arriving in Hisui. You slowly drifted into a warm, pleasant darkness.

A few days had passed and you had still no luck in climbing your way out of the grove and you found yourself growing attached to the pack. You documented all unique behaviours in your note book to show to the professor if you ever got back.

You had been naming the members of the pack. It consisted of eight Shinx and five Luxio as well as the Alpha but you didn't know what to call him yet. The alpha took four of the Luxio on hunts with him, one staying back watching over the den and little ones.

It dawned on you why you had found the Shinx you originally observed so far away. They were constantly slipping away trying to climb away. You and the Luxio barely kept them in one place. No wonder some got away the other day.

Before sundown the hunting party got back. Their prey appeared to be a Bibarel. Two Luxio were also carrying large folded leafs. To your surprise they were filled with an assortment of berries, herbs, nuts and veggies.

The Alpha watched over the others sharing equally and eating both meat and greens. It was fascinatingly human in a way. After the little ones were satiated you two ate the left overs. Though you only had some berries, an apple and a few nuts. You wished you could share with your Pokémon but they were still resting inside their balls.

It seemed to be time to sleep again seeing how the others headed to their respective dens. You headed toward what had essentially become your bedroom but the Luxray nipped at you. He headed outside seemingly wanting you to follow him again. This wasn't the routine you had gotten to know. You swallowed already having an idea what this might mean.

How do I get out of this without enraging it? You followed with your mind racing. He sat down by the creek. The moonlight made it glitter softly. You sat down next to him, leaving a bit room. Maybe he'd get the hint somehow? If only he was a human, I'd bet he'd be hot... wait what kind of thought is this even!? You chided yourself.

You felt the tip of his tail brush past your back. You glanced up at him in the moonlight. If nothing else he looked majestic, his eyes glowing in the dark. He was staring ahead, same stoic expression as usual. When he noticed you looking he turned to you slightly and his gaze softened.

Why did this make your heart stutter? The professor and village clearly told you they were instinct driven beasts but you couldn't help it when you looked into his eyes. He seemed to understand you, your words and motions. "Luxray..." He hummed softly.

"I wish I understood you..." You sighed.

"Lux lux." Were you really having a conversation with a Pokémon just now?

"I'm not a Luxray, you know that right? So we- we can't be ... together." You stare at the water.

He studied you face before coming a bit closer. There was that soft warmth again. You turned away.

"I know you're looking for a mate, but it can't be me, I'm a human." He tentatively put his chin on your head again. Instinctively your hand found itself in his soft cheek fur. "That purring again... You make this very difficult for me. You know that right?" He huffed in response, almost amused.

Despite your valiant effort he had closed the distance again and was sitting behind you. "Lux ray..." He mumbled seemingly lost in thought. Finally he leaned into your touch on his cheek. His naughty tail loosely curling around your body. The tip was radiating soft, tingly static.

Only your linen underwear offered no protection. Your breath hitched when it hovered teasingly over the soft skin of your breast. Then in a fluid motion the appendage ghosted down to your belly. Not quite touching you, but leaving a pleasant tingling where it came close to your skin.

Further down toward your - "N-no." You grabbed his tail. He huffed again, this time a bit surprised. You turned to face him again. His eyes were so intense. He gave you a playful headbutt knocking you on your back once more. "A-are you trying to-to seduce me!?" You spat disbelieving.

He moved back a little muzzle hovering over your core. The way he looked up at you. This expression, this was intentional, he knew what he was doing. His tongue lapped at your thinly clad womanhood. Hot breath fanning over it.

"No way!" You grabbed his ears harshly trying to pull him away. He yelped a bit but stood his ground. You weren't strong enough to pry him away and he was tough enough to not mind your pathetic tugging at his ears. His tongue lapped out again, you felt it through your underwear.

"Damn it, you can't do this!" You wanted to sound threatening but it came out as a plea. He dug his muzzle against your mound lapping again and again, the fabric getting soaked. You prayed it was only his saliva but when purred once more you knew.

He tasted your lust. There was a sort of smug satisfaction in his eyes. He pushed your underpants to the side gaining full access. Finally he dragged his wonderfully textured, hot tongue down the middle of your folds. His ears, still in your hands twitched at the little whimper escaping you.

"Please..." You whispered not sure if you were pleading for him to stop or continue. Heat spread through your body. His tongue circled your weak spot skilfully. When ever parts of his muzzle pushed against your flesh the delicious low vibrations of his on-going purr drove through your body making you tense up.

"Oh, Arceus... I - I " you wrapped your legs around his neck fingers loosening around his ears only to fist intensely into his cheek fur like your life depended on it. Any semblance of decency you had tried to keep up was now gone.

"Gonna cum..." You whimpered, all muscles tense to the max. An amazing little sensation flooded your senses and pushed you over the edge. A little shock perhaps, but you didn't ponder it, only riding the waves of release while holding onto that Alpha Pokémon for support.

He re-positioned himself. And you wanted to protest needing his tongue back at that sweet spot so badly. But now he gently pushed up your linen top revealing your supple breasts and nipples stiff in anticipation.

Another moan fell from your lips as he now masterfully used that tongue of his to tease them sending warm waves of pleasure through your body. While focusing on your pleasure he changed his stance a little so he was able to comfortably lower himself down onto you.

You felt something hot prodding at your entrance and your eyes flew open with the realization. Your slick allowed for him to easily enter you. You unknowingly held your breath as you focused on the wonderful sensation stretching you out. He was large. Had you seen his member before you'd thought you couldn't take him.

Your eyes snapped back to his. Half lidded, focusing only on the sensation he experienced. The cutest noise dropped from his mouth when he bottomed out. Perfect. For a moment neither of you moved. It felt like you were completing each other. Finally he slowly began to thrust.

Each time he hit your spot you felt tears well up in your eyes. Too much, too good. Him running his sharp canines over your skin pushed you over the edge again. He noticed and picked up his pace. Low grunts and growls escaped him. His teeth latched onto your shoulder. He bit down, not quite breaking skin but definitely leaving marks his thrusts became sloppy, his gaze unfocused.

Just when he was about to- you were pushed over the edge again. In your rush of pleasure your inside clamped down around him begging for his seed. And he'd deliver. Wonderful warmth filled you. Every crease and crevice. Still inside you the monstrous male collapsed on top of you.

The familiar sensation of his wonderfully soft fur brushing up against your skin. You felt him retreat from inside you. Still hot cum flowing out of your hole.

He rolled over to your side gazing at you. Despite yourself you now crept closer. He hummed approvingly taking you in his arms once more. You quickly drifted off still high on that pleasant feeling rushing through your entire body. He nuzzled his chin into the top of your head again making you smile in your sleep.

#pokemon #pokemon x reader #pokemon/reader #smut #Pokephillia #minors dni #fanfic #luxray/human #alphaluxray #pokemon x human #pokemon/human

[natriae]

bonus #3

masterlist

1.8 words

angst to comfort

eight years after the end of another chance

Japan

Walking out of the small Japanese home that rested on the far side of Miyagi was a tall young man with long, straight olive hair. He had it cut in a slight mullet shape, but his mom insisted he got it so it wasn't completely a mullet. She called it a fancy mullet. His hair stuck up in several different directions while his purple and white uniform hugged his lanky body. Behind him ran out a four year old girl in a similar purple uniform, but with a small patch that read the kanji of 'Shiratorizawa pre-k" she had just kissed her parents goodbye and attempted to catch up to her older brother. However, before she could fall onto the sidewalk the taller man reached down and grabbed her just as she tripped over her own shoes.

"You need to be careful," Isa scolded the little girl. His voice now deep and gruff like his father's making it very easy for people to mistake him as Sakura's dad over the phone. He moved the little girl so she rested on his hip as he continued to walk the two of them to school. Her arms wrapped around the neck of her knight as she leaned her head down on his shoulder. Isamu was far too used to the neighborhood moms watching him be a caring brother and walk his sister to and from school, and had he been a normal teenage boy he probably would have tried to play with their hearts more and have his own personal MILF, but he had no interest.

School was over and he repeated the same routine making sure to buy his sister a small snack from the convenience store. She had chased him down the hill, tripping, but not falling flat on her face because her big brother was there to catch her. Most of these days he felt that taking care of Sakura was the only thing he was good at. His whole life he had felt like a bit of a disappointment even though his parents spent every second of their lives making sure that he felt like the most important person in the world. He just didn't quite understand. He had so many secrets he's been hiding from them. Would they treat him the same if he told them?

"Ani! I found your favorite!" Sakura shouted, trying to shove the drink in his hand. Had he been paying attention earlier he would have noticed the little girl trying to climb up the freezer shelves to grab the drink. The glass door swinging back, hitting her bum and knocking her back down. Isa giggled at the little girl thinking about how she's a mini you. Grabbing the drink from her he paid for their snacks and continued heading home. His heart calmed down as he held his sister's hand. She loved everything and anyone no matter what. At least if he didn't have his parent's love anymore he'd have hers.

"Tadima," the two children shouted as they walked into the house. Their parents, per usual, were wrapped up in each other's arms on the couch. Isa had dismissed them and walked into his room while the little ball of sunshine ran and jumped into both of her parents wanting to cuddle too.

" Sakura baby was Isa-nii being odd while you walked home today?" you questioned the small girl as you brushed some of her olive hair out of her face.

"ani is always weird," She responded while leaving a kiss on her papa's forehead. Since Wakatoshi has been retired she makes sure to leave a kiss somewhere on his face because she was told that only old people retire. She's worried that her daddy is getting old and won't be with her anymore even though you tell her time and time again that her papa is only 37 and her grandpa is close to probably 70. You continued to pet her hair as she began to fall asleep for her afternoon nap on her dad's chest. You glanced at Wakatoshi then Isa's bedroom door a few times until he finally got the hint. No matter how long the two of you have been parents it will always take a moment for his brain to load the data you're supplying him.

Once Wakatoshi put Sakura down he came out to see you knocking on Isa's door. From behind the sliding door you heard a small 'come in' from your more than normally grumpy son. His room was minimalist, but he still had it decorated with volleyball accessories. His prize possession being his dad's Olympic gold medal. He wanted it framed so that it would push him to work hard for his dreams just like his dad. Sliding the door just enough to pop your head in, you faced the young man sitting on his bed and asked, "can your dad and I come in."

The young man nodded his head as he remained reading some random manga about volleyball. 'Haikyuu' who would name a manga 'volleyball'? silly is all you thought. Walking in you took a seat on his bed and leaned your head on his shoulder. While Wakatoshi took a seat at his desk. You could tell he was uncomfortable by the situation. You would have been too. Both of his parents just slowly came into his room. They even knocked on his door and waited. If this was a normal day you would have knocked and then busted right in. Isa looked up at his father trying to piece together the situation as much as possible. But it was a lost cause because his dad seemed just as nervous as he was. Deciding to break the ice Isamu was the first to speak up, "what do you guys want?" He scrunched his eyebrows, turning his head to look at his mom. Clearly his dad didn't quite know what he was searching for.

"Okay, rude, but I'll let it slide. Your dad and I are worried about you,"

"dad seems confused,"

"oookay, I'm worried about you, but I promise you your dad is too, but I don't think he realizes we're talking about it right now," Your wakatoshi wasn't dumb per se but clearly the little man in his brain would shred any information label 'family problem'. It didn't matter how much he talked it through with his therapist; it was a defense mechanism.

Isa sat up a bit making you lift your head off his shoulder. He set his book down and attempted to read your mind. He saw your shoulders fall and your eyes glance over at his father. You were sad it wasn't hard to tell and it hurt him too. The last thing he ever wants is to see his mom sad "Isa baby, I'm just…," you took a deep breath in and continued, "I'm trying to understand or find out why you've been so distant lately. You haven't been looking happy lately…like more than normal." He watched as you fiddled with your fingers and your eyes scanned his whole face. This was really hurting you and he felt the tears prick at his eyes and the lump build up in his throat. He glanced quickly over at his father and tried to hold in the tears. Not once has he ever seen his father cry (he was not in the room when wakatoshi held sakura for the first time) and he wanted to be just like him.

Wakatoshi watched his son in pain and the moment he saw the twitch in his eye and the tremble in his lip when he glanced over at him he knew he needed to hold him. Standing up Wakatoshi saw you glance over your shoulder to see him immediately sitting on the other side of Isa and holding him close.

It's been so many years of the two of them finally being together, so many years of Isa calling him dad and playing with him, but not once have you seen the two embrace each other as they are right now. Isa may be 18, but right now he's just the 10 year old little boy looking for his father. Your heart cracked a little when you heard the first sob exit Isa's mouth. His arms were now wrapped around Wakatoshi's torso as he cried into his chest.

Noticing the tears build up into your eyes Wakatoshi brought one of his arms out to bring you into the hug as well. Wakatoshi brought his hand up to Isa's hair and began massaging his scalp while leaving feather light kisses on his head. For a few minutes the three of you sat there holding each other while Isa let all his tears out.

Pulling back from his father Isa whispered a few words though gasps and coughs. Not being able to hear him, you whisper a small 'what was that honey' as you handed him a tissue. After blowing his nose and taking a deep breath Isa looked to the floor and let out, "I think I like boys." His tears started falling again and a small whimper was let out after his confession. Looking down you noticed his hands were shaking while holding the wet, snotty tissue. Not caring about the germs you immediately leaned in closer and wrapped your hand in his leaving a kiss on his cheek. "Do you hate me now?" your little boy asked. How could he ever think that? Brushing some of his hair out of his face you smiled the best you could and brought his head into your hands.

"baby I will love you no matter what, okay?" You said through your own small tears. He brought your hands down and held them in his as he turned slowly to his dad.

"What about you?" he asked through voice cracks and a stuffy nose.

"I have a lot of gay friends," is all Wakatoshi said, shrugging his shoulders. Isa let out a laugh as you scolded Wakatoshi for his inappropriate comment. Isa wiped some more of his tears while his parents had an eye battle over his head.

"aw shit my contact fell out," Isa broke the silence. Glancing down you couldn't help but giggle a bit seeing his contact now in the palm of his hand. He got up to go change into his glasses when his father decided he must now list all his gay friends.

"Hinata, Kageyama, your uncle Tendou-"

"Tendou's gay?" you asked, completely unaware of this basic fact you should know about your friend.

"yeah he tried palming me once to get me hard… it didn't work,"

From the bathroom you could hear Isa sing himself 'Lalala' after hearing his dad's even more inappropriate comment.

Whispering into your husband ear you asked him a serious question, "you said you didn't do anything with anyone else while we were broken up,"

"I didn't technically. I never got hard." Wakatoshi responded in full volume.

If your son's singing could get any louder he somehow managed to do it.

tags: @mineta-phobic @rukia-uchiha-98 @ssc7514 @megumuro

i know i said only three bonus but i might just randomly update with bonuses

#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!! #haikyuu fluff #ushijima x reader #ushijima wakatoshi #ushijima headcanons #ushijima fluff #dad haikyuu #hq imagines #hq fanfic #ushijima imagine #ushijima fic #ushijima scenarios #ushijima x you #wakatoshi x reader #wakatoshi fluff #haikyuu wakatoshi #dad Wakatoshi #dad ushijima

[slasherbish]

Quiet Nights Part 2

@wolf-the-clown here's part 2!

The temperature was dropping. It had to be close to freezing outside as (Y/n) pulled their jacket around them tighter. They huffed as they climbed down the incline to where the sewer entrance was. (Y/n) hoped that the warm food and blankets in the bag would be enough to help their new friend. On the way down they slipped, landing on their ass with a thud. “Fuck!” They yelled every time they tried to stand up they ended up slipping on the slick and icy mud. It was around the fourth fall that (y/n) noticed a certain masked killer standing at the bottom of the hill. Michael was amused by your failed attempts to stand on the wet icy mud. You were about six feet lower than you had been after the original fall. 

“Are you going to help me or just stand there? I can feel you getting enjoyment out of this.” (Y/n) told him with a grunt of defeat letting your head fall back onto the cold ground. Thudding footsteps could be heard and then (y/n) felt themselves being lifted into the air and thrown over the mans shoulder. He wanted to watch them fail for a bit longer but he also wanted the food that he could smell in the bag. “Oi! I don’t like being manhandled!” You yelled flailing slightly. Without a second thought he tossed you onto the ground just outside of the sewer. You could almost feel him thinking “Would you rather I leave you on the hill?” 

“Fine fine I guess it was okay since you were helping.” You responded to the look he gave. With that the two of you went into the Shapes hiding place. You cleaned and rewrapped the wounds avoiding his masked face of course. He grabbed the bag taking out the thermos that was in it. “It’s some chicken noodle soup. Basic I know but I figured it’d be nice since it's so freaking cold out.” With that you pulled out a few large water bottles and a tupperware container of (fav cookie) cookies. “Water is important so I brought you plenty for a few days.” You looked at him with a small smile before standing and turning around. You knew he wouldn’t even think about eating as long as you were facing him. Without fail you heard him start to eat. “I can’t come by every morning and night so I packed some extra food. You’re a big guy and need the calories especially since you’re healing.” (y/n) stated, they then let the silence fill the air. It was a comfortable silence now that you weren’t as worried about him killing you. 

The shape slipped his mask back down and stood up to tap the human on the shoulder. He still had no clue why this stranger would show kindness. They turned around to face him, their smile faded as they realized that it had gotten dark out. They muttered a “shit” under their breath. “I’m sorry I have to go. Uh, keep the bag, it's got more blankets. I’m gonna be late.” They said before sprinting out of the place leaving him alone to his thoughts. 

He sat down on the blanket that (Y/n) had set down for him. Michael couldn’t wrap his mind around the human. They showed no fear despite knowing what he’s done. His time in the psychiatric hospital had made him lose all trust in people, this person had to have an alternative reason to help him. No one did anything out of the kindness of their heart, he knew that. His entire life was death and hospitals. Sure he was the one doing the killing but that didn’t negate that it was a part of his life. The killer grunted lowly at the thought that perhaps this person was another obsessed human like his so-called doctor was. If so he would have to kill them. He didn’t want to deal with that, it was annoying and often ended with someone trying to steal his mask. 

His remaining fingers ran gently over the scarred mask. The burns were a part of it now and helped to tell the story. To him each and every nick, burn, and scratch on the mask told part of his life's story and he would never accept a replacement. 

#horror #slasher x reader #slasher #slasher x y/n #slashers #x y/n #x reader #xreader #x gn reader #michael myers x gn reader #michael myers x you #michael myers x reader #the shape of haddonfield #the shape #halloween #fanfics #michael myers

[lyranova]

helloo. may i please request a fanfiction where Asta, Yuno and (Y/n) grew up together? and the two are just really, protective and soft over the clumsy and shy (y/n)? thank you!

Hiya anon! Of course you may, and I hope you enjoy~!

Word Count: 913

Warning: None

------

“ Hey guys, wait for me!” The young woman shouted as she chased after her foster brothers Asta and Yuno, the two were going off to train, and she wanted to join them. But as she was running up the small hill, her foot got caught on a rock, causing her to trip and fall face-first onto the ground.''

“ Hey! Are you okay?” Asta shouted in concern as he ran over towards her, with Yuno walking quickly beside him towards her. The young woman quickly jumped up, dusted herself off, and nodded.

“ I’m fine! See? Not even a scratch-!” They started confidently before they tried to flex their knee, she winced in pain, and they all looked down to see she had scuffed her knee on the ground.

“ You’re right, you didn’t get scratched,” Yuno said with a roll of his eyes as he knelt down. “ You have a large gaping wound.” He added seriously, causing both Asta and the woman to gasp.

“ R-Really?!” They asked in unison, and they both suddenly watched Yuno’s shoulders shake as he hid his face.

“ You’re both so gullible,” Yuno said as he looked up at them. “ It’s not a ‘gaping wound’ but it is a serious injury. You’ll probably need Sister Lily to take a look at it.” He added as he stopped laughing.

“ Aw, but…I don’t want to go back to the church, I want to go with you two…” She said shyly but with a small pout. Yuno and Asta looked at each other for a moment before Asta knelt down and turned his back toward her.

“ Hop on, I’ll give you a lift!” Asta said loudly, and the young woman’s face turned red.

“ I-It’s okay! I can walk!” She insisted, but Yuno and Asta weren’t having it.

“ Just get on, otherwise you’ll make your leg worse,” Yuno said seriously and Asta turned to look at her from over his shoulder, and he had a big smile on his face.

“ C’mon, this’ll help with my strength training and my endurance!” Asta told her brightly, and the woman looked between them for a moment before quietly agreeing.

She climbed onto Asta’s back and allowed him to carry her back to the church.

“ You know we aren’t going to be here to help you much longer, what’re you going to do when we’re gone, and you get injured?” Yuno asked with a shake of his head.

“ I-I’ll just…ask someone else for help, or, I-I’ll make it back myself!” She muttered.

“ You’re going to ask a stranger for help?!” Asta shouted loudly as he turned to glance at her out of the corner of his eye. “ What if they lie to you and take you somewhere else?!”

“ Or what they hurt you? Or cause your injury to become worse?” Yuno asked as he crossed his arms, and the woman giggled a bit.

“ You two are too overprotective, no one in Hage is going to hurt me or lie to me.” The woman said with a giggle.

Asta and Yuno were very overprotective of her and had been ever since they were kids, they always went with her into their small town or into the big city. And they always made sure she got enough food, and if anyone ever dared to flirt with her, they would stand behind her, glaring daggers at her potential suitors.

They were her big brothers, and she loved them dearly. Even if they were a bit overprotective.

The three of them quietly walked back to the church, and when Asta set her down on the small bench just outside the door, she quickly grabbed his and Yuno’s sleeves.

“ Promise, Promise, you two will wait for me to get patched up before you go train!” She asked, and Yuno and Asta both tilted their heads.

“ Why are you so determined to watch us train?’’ Yuno asked with a frown.

“ Yeah, usually you say training is boring since we won’t let you train with us, so what’s up?” Asta asked with a tilt of his head as he crossed his arms.

“ I just…I just want to spend more time with you two,” She said as she suddenly began to sniffle. “ You two leave in a few weeks, so…that’s why I want to watch you train, so we can still spend some time together before you go.” She admitted with another sniffle.

Asta and Yuno looked at each other, they really had no idea that she felt this way, but now as they thought about it, it all made sense. Why she was determined to go with them wherever they went, why she wanted to watch them spar and train, and why she had been a little more clingy than before.

Asta stepped forward and placed a hand on her head before he gently patted it. While Yuno walked over and just placed a hand on her shoulder. When the woman looked up at the two, she saw them smiling warmly down her.

“ We didn’t know, we’re sorry,” Asta said. “ But we still have time.”

“ Asta’s right, just because you miss us training for one day isn’t the end of the world,” Yuno said. “ We still have a few weeks, and from today on we’ll all spend time together, okay?”

The woman sniffled before nodding, and with that Asta and Yuno decided to train a little closer to the Church so that way she could watch them and spend time with them, while her injury healed.

-----

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a good~!

#asks #anon🌟 #black clover #black clover fanfiction #black clover oneshot #black clover fanfic #yuno grinberryall #black clover asta #asta black clover #yuno black clover #black clover yuno

[pghbabesonbikes]

FBX

by Sara Khalil

Alleycats are a fun, low-pressure way to race. That’s why I always try and get people to do them, ha. First, you’ll receive checkpoints & a spokecard. Next, you’ll make a plan to bike to one, many, or all of the checkpoints. Lastly, you’ll follow the spectacular race directors instructions to complete the alleycat and bonus, you’ll feel like a million bucks. You’ll leave the race day with your delicately positioned spokecard in your front wheel for years to come, a small yet important token proving you kick ass. 

Every alleycat is organized a little bit differently. Sometimes the checkpoints are literally an address which is definitely a win for the navigation nerds. Other times they’re mediocre riddles or even just a spot on a map (that’s not even drawn to scale 🙃). It’s likely you’ll find all the things you need at them, like rad people to keep you motivated, snacks/drinks, cheerful signs, a much needed floor pump, among other things…

The strategy for attacking an alleycat can also really vary. Buddy up with people, you can do it in a group! If you’re worried about navigating or simply just want to have fun then rely on everyone’s brain for navigation (at your own risk!) and see where you place! More competitive? Wanna see if you have the street cred to really do the thing?? Try and rely on your own navigation to get you through it, whether that is google maps or your experience driving Uber. Honestly, sometimes I just follow the tire tracks and hope for the best… 

I work for a local bike share company that hosts 2 alley-cat-style rides each year. I call these alley-cat-style because they aren't races, but more multi-destination rides that are designed to get folks of all comfort levels out for fun, social, urban rides. Even though these rides lack the big race mentality, these rides are really fun for riders of all levels, and ultimately, you can bring whatever energy you want! Bike or Treat is our Halloween alleycat that takes place the Saturday before Halloween every year (a fun scavenger hunt race), and Le Tour De Donut is our April alleycat with 4 checkpoints each stocked up with donuts from local bakeries and coffee.

We don't have registration up yet for Le Tour, but folks can see all of our upcoming events here: https://pogoh.com/events/ 

My favorite kind of alleycat is the “go fast get there first” classic style - the Frigid Bitch way!

Every year I plan to do it solo, and if someone tries to tag on I always let them know there’s a non zero chance I might ditch them because I’m in it to win it. When the checkpoints drop, I usually bust out a paper BikePGH map to get a feel for where the checkpoints are across the city, highlighting potential routes between each. I’m confident in my ability to navigate most neighborways and bike lanes. I never use technology to navigate because it kinda takes forever to be honest! If I’m gonna skip a few, it’s usually the ones that are on hills, because I’m a slow-ish climber. I have a side plan that if I make it to a certain point by a certain time, then I’ll go for them!

The plan, roughly

This year when the checkpoints dropped, I was kicking myself because I knew almost all the checkpoints from doing the training rides, but I missed the training ride that hit Climax St! Of course it was a stop for FBX. And the south side slopes are kind of my kryptonite - I almost never climb them. This meant I really had no idea how much time Climax st was going to add to my route. I decided to nix Climax and Rialto from my gameplan for the day. I didn’t think I would have time to make them. 

Jo at the lake

My first stop was the lake. From there, I promptly guided my pal to a staircase that no longer existed, then to what I believed to be the checkpoint, but what was really the weird statue/shrine in South Oakland. Once we finally found Romeo St, it was a real vibe - we ditched our bikes and ran up the stairs to someone holding a sign that said “You’re a bitch!” which warmed my soul and spotted a friend Jarrod taking photos. We quickly said hi and bye before heading down the new-to-us, fully functioning staircase that connects to Bates and swiftly hiked our bikes down it. We crossed Hot Metal Bridge to hit OTB as fast as possible. Our plan was Grandview next, but somewhere along the way my bud egged me on to try Climax and we split. Turns out, it wasn’t a bad climb (the memory is distant now, ha) ANDDD Venture Outdoors had a s’mores stop at the top. Score. 

Photo by Murphy Moschetta 

I like to move quickly, so I bombed back down to south side and made my way over to climb back up PJ McCardle. I noticed my front tire was going flat when I got to the overlook and a volunteer, Bobby, helped me pump it up. Thankfully it didn’t give me any trouble for the rest of the race. I continued on, at this point feeling a little beat from climbing up two big hills. I was solo. I hit the point and kept on rolling. Somewhere in the Strip I linked back up with Jo and she encouraged me, yet again, to go for it. I sped up to hit Rialto. The next few checkpoints are kind of a blur. I slid through Polish Hill before heading to the button to see my friend Erin, and roped my way down to the official checkpoint near the water. 

Last up, I rushed up to hit the last stop, Bananna-lenaville. I felt an emotional burst because the volunteers were counting down “10… 9… 8…” as I rolled up. I found out later, they did that for a lot of folks… good call team Bananna-lenaville! I started off to the Wheel Mill in hopes I’d get there quick! I ditched my bike on the sidewalk, ran up the stairs, and politely threw my manifest at the volunteer. FBX was in the books. I took a look around to see who was back (though it’s impossible to tell how you did) and started swapping stories. A few popular questions were floating around - “How many checkpoints did you hit?” “Who did you ride with?” “Did you hit Rialto?” Everyone had a different day. 

Proof I did it

I finished in 25th place and got ALL the checkpoints. I was pretty stoked about how I finished, but even more excited to announce a little secret my friends and I were a part of - the brand new Pittsburgh Babes on Bikes Racing team! We’re a couple of badass babes who are introducing racing to more women and under repped gender identities, organizing group rides/clinics, and generally getting more folks to get out together to try more on two wheels. Our team aims to add more novice riders as time goes on. 

photo by Monica Garrison

If you’ve ever thought about racing mountain bikes, well, this is your year! We’re hosting a bunch of pre-rides out at Yellow Creek State Park  in anticipation of one of my favorite races, the YC Monthly Grassroots series. The first pre-ride is March 23rd and the race follows the next weekend. There are three routes available - beginners tackle 8 miles, sport riders hit a 16 mile out and back with a few creek crossings, and experts go after the full 23 mile loop which has some rocky bits. Pick your distance and come check it out with us in March! Frigid Bitch racers get a discount code for race registration. 

My most prized collection

I’m looking forward to another year of Frigid Bitch. Less than a month out, I’m full of excitement wondering if I’ll get any new friends or flats along the way. What will the weather be like? What bike will I ride? Am I even going to know where the fucking checkpoints are?? Anything can happen! But it’s nice to know it’s gonna be a surprise. 

[drelmurn]

So, let me tell you what my child hath just done.

Mom comes downstairs going "have you seen Marshmallow?"

Now, we've done this before, and there's never been anything wrong before, but I say, "No."

And she's like, "Well, I haven't seen him all day."

So she goes looking around outside, and I join her with the flashlight because why not.

We don't see him, but again, not unusual. But then, after we've been calling for a bit, I hear a meow. I go, "Oh wait, I think I hear him, out past the fence."

And I hand Mom the flashlight because it is dark outside and go to get my shoes, and when I come back out, Mom and my sister are standing outside the fence calling for the cat. And you have to understand, I live on the edge of a canyon. There are trees, and it is steep, and it is dark, and we can all hear my boy, Marsh, meowing at us from somewhere down in the canyon.

And I'm like, "Oh no," because this happen before, like twenty years ago with our dog when she escaped, and that was a pain in the ass, especially since she had bad hips, but Marsh is a cat, he should be able to just climb back up the hill right?

Well, we're shining our flashlights, trying to find him, and lo and behold! Guess where my boy Marshmallow is? Marshmallow is stuck up in a tree, like those stories you always hear about firefighters and superheros rescuing cats from up in trees.

Well I go sliding down the canyon carefully (ouch, I did not bring my good shoes, just sandals, which were, of course just the thing to wear if you want to get leaves in your shoes and to constantly worry if they're going to slip right off while you slide down into a canyon, attempting to aim for a tree so you don't just fall all the way). And we don't get exactly to the tree Marsh is on, but we get to the tree next to it (probably the tree that got him up there) (the tree he was on was like another five, ten feet down). And we call up to him as my sister and my dad yell down at us from the top of the canyon. And Marsh is jut meowing, pacing back and forth a little on the thick branch of the tree he was on, but absolutely refusing to do anything more.

Another thing you have to understand, I don't think any of us were the type who went climbing trees as kids? Me and my sister didn't at least, there aren't really any good trees around us to give us the opportunity. But it was late, and it was dark, and the cat was not coming down.

I was like, "alright, I'm going to try to go up and get him."

(This was where my sandals were nice. I don't think I could have climbed in sneakers, even if they would have protected my feet better. I could just slip the sandals off and go up barefoot.)

I had to climb Mom to get to the first spot, and then I had to wait there forever because someone was like "Wait, how are we going to get him down then", so my sister ran and got Dad's backpack, Mom threw it up to me because even that first branch was pretty high.

And I slowly went up, and our neighbor came by and helped us by anchoring the rope down the canyon so Dad could come down.

And I went up. I made a joke about getting the firefighters to come, but honestly I was contemplating it. I'm not really sure how much help they would have been because of the canyon? Like, maybe they could have brought a longer ladder?

And I went up. Marsh was meowing the whole time.

There were multiple spots where I was like, "I don't know if I can get up any further . . ."

I was in all honestly vaguely glad it was night, even though I had to shove my flashlight down my shirt to keep it on me, because at least I couldn't tell how high up I was.

There were branches in my face. It was terrible. They threw the rope up at my so I could try to throw it over the big branch Marsh was on and hopefully be safer? I think? Well, that didn't work because of the branches in my face, so that delayed me.

I went up a little more, and Marsh pace towards me, and I went up a little more until I could . . . just . . . brush his chin.

And Mom and Dad were calling for my to grab him by the scruff, but I could only barely touch his chin, let alone his scruff, and then he paced away.

So I had to inch higher. And Oh my god, that we terrifying because there were still the branches in my face, and I was basically tilted back over the canyon side of the tree, with only my legs to hold me, and I haven't done gymnastics or jungle gym stuff in like a decade.

And then Marsh came back, and I grabbed his scruff!

He was Not Happy, let me tell you. I pulled him forward and managed to grab under his front legs, then pulled him off the branch and onto my chest.

We stayed there for a good while because he was pretty clingy, and I was very glad to have measurable progress! At last! And also! I was kind of stuck because the backpack was on my back, and he was being clingy on my front, and I was hanging onto the tree with my legs over a canyon! And I couldn't figure out how to get the backpack around to the front with him being so clingy! And my legs were starting to get tired, which was terrifying because again I was hanging leaning towards the canyon!

Well anyway, I did manage to get the backpack around to the front, slowly. And I shoved Marsh in, and I managed to get him in feet first, and then zipped him up, though I couldn't manage to get the top of his head and front paws in. And then I took that rope which turned out fairly useless for throwing over a branch to keep my safe, and I tied the backpack to that, and I lowered my cat down to Mom and Dad.

And then I slowly climbed down, and Dad helped me off the tree and into my sandals.

And then I slowly slip-n-slide climbed up the canyon.

And then I waited forever for Mom and Dad to climb out of the canyon, and man, let me tell you I did not feel good. My legs were wobbly, and I was hot, and I just felt multiple varieties of Not Good, let me tell you, and Mom and Dad took forever, and they were the ones with the cat and I wasn't going to go inside until I had the cat back.

And I told Dad about the glad it was night because in the Dark I couldn't see how far I would fall if I slipped, then I asked how tell I managed to climb, and he said a good 25 feet?

And I only lost one bracelet!

Anyway, in conclusion:

Oh man. Wow. Oh my god.

The cat's alright!

#long post #cats #its been an hour and a half and its still kind of hard to walk

[lesbiangummybearmafia]

Spoilers

5x10 Safe

My thoughts...

I do love that they used Billie Eilish's Bury a Friend as ending music to episode it was perfect for that moment between June and Serena. And of course after the whole episode of not seeing her, Serena would pop up on the same train June's on. Not that I mind it too much. If we like it or not it seems those are going to be floating in and out of each lives more and more.

What I wasn't happy with the imagery of masses of people being put on trains late at night being only told they're going West. It reminded me too much of a certain group back in the early 1940 putting masses of certain groups of people on the trains not telling them where they were going, they ended up at concentration camp where they were tortured and murdered. I'm not sure if that was the visualization they were going for if they were trying to actually have a stink back to that or not. Because The Handmaid's Tale is a dark show so it could have been done purposely. If that was for reason that's fine and I'd like to know what the reason was used. But if not I'm really not happy about that imagery especially if it was done and they weren't consciously thinking about it. Although it could of just hit me that way.

Janine coming back to herself as it were in the 11th hour I thought was brilliant. It was like hearing June's name or news snapped her right back to herself. Madeline Brewer is so outstanding and freakin powerful as Janine. Love how she told the now Mrs. Lawrence off!! I am worried about her now though.

Nick is in heap big trouble. I'm not surprised by his actions watching him punch Lawrence was highly entertaining. Let's be honest his marriage to Rose was always going to an issue on any number of levels. But I'm more scared what they may do him now. Especially with who Rose's father is. I think that's going be the bigger issue then he punched another Commander.

I'm not sure how I feel about what Luke did. Didn't Mark give them fault identifications for both June and Luke? Or did I misunderstand something. So why didn't Luke use them? Or is he right leaving his wife and (not ready his) child again is the better option. But for who him or them? I'm just not sure if he's being selfless or selfish again. Only time will tell.

Ok not cute show having June be run over by an asshole in a truck!! Nearly lost my dinner, I know the is show always fucking with June; doesn't mean I like it! Especially when she ran over, that's too close!! Luke did do a very good thing by stopping that asshole and protecting his wife though.

I will say this season definitely went unexpected direction from where I thought it might go. For me it was a bit of slow start but now after watching the whole thing it's more like when your slowly climbing that hill on a roller coaster then you get to top... then it's crazy ride the rest of the way. Yea for me that explains season 5 of The Handmaid's Tale. Can't wait for season 6, even though it's the final season.

#the handmaids tale season 5 #spoilers #05x10 #safe #the handmaids tale spoilers #the handmaid's tale #june osborne #serena joy #nick blaine #luke bankole #commander lawrence #janine lindo

[monty-glasses-roxy]

Mythology AU post no one asked for!

In this AU, all of the animatronics are creatures based on folklore and mythology and are a mix of things that are obvious choices and not so obvious. The characters all live in a forested mountain that humans have yet to learn how to scale and any attempts to do so are typically thwarted by those that live there if not by their inability to climb it in the first place.

So what is everybody?

Freddy is an escaped circus bear. I couldn’t find any interesting mythological bears so he gets more of a backstory to him than the others do. He’s a regular bear that escaped from the Fazbear Circus that was held at the foot of the mountain, possibly unintentionally freed by a certain pair of reckless flyers we’ll get to in a minute. He saw his chance and ran for the hills, still wearing his circus neck ruffles and what not. He just happened to scale a bit of the mountain and make some magic friends that just kinda picked him up and decided he’s their friend now. He is very happy about this arrangement because honestly fuck the Fazbear Circus.

Bonnie is a Wolpertinger (or a Jackalope. I’ve been alternating on this lately) and that means he is a rabbit/hare, with antlers and wings. He was born and raised on these mountains or the mountain adjacent maybe and lives in a really big warren. Also possibly has fangs? I will leave that to interpretation.

Chica is a gryphon, a mix of big cat and big bird. She’s a mix of leopard and kinda chicken I guess and is one of the reckless flyers that may have freed Freddy from the circus. She’s very close with everyone and can make a fun collection of both bird and leopard noises.

Foxy was supposed to not be a kitsune but the best I could find for him was a Chinese Fox Spirit so that is what he is. Got a bunch of tails and does cool paranormal stuff. His tricks only escalate in this AU he can do so much more stuff now. Still has a fun accent though because I said so and its fun

Monty is a Western dragon so not the serpent kind. Can breathe fire and is a very strong flyer. He’s from a different mountain and is a bit of a wanderer in the Gatorbun fic. He’s got horns and his scales aren’t as protective as they probably should be. Also has a big fluffy red mane and deep green and yellow scales with an extra tuft of fluff at the end of his tail.

Roxy is an Aralez, which is an unspecified dog with wings, said to be able to revive people left on the mountains by licking their wounds to heal them. The most obvious option would have been a hellhound but I found this and thought it would be much more interesting and handy in plots. She’s the other reckless flyer that possibly freed Freddy from the circus and like Chica, is always getting caught up in human traps here there and everywhere. She’s either a winged wolf or a winged husky or something it doesn’t particularly matter she’s still Roxy whether she be a domestic dog or a wild one.

Sunny and Moon are both Cat-sìth's. One blesses those that are nice to them and the other causes problems on purpose. Sometimes they switch for fun. They’re basically just extra fun cats that can do cool things like Foxy can.

DJ Music Man is the equivalent of the Loch Ness Monster. He’s this big ass water monster that lives in the lake on this mountain and the minis are his little sea serpent buddies. He made friends with Freddy, Chica or Roxy who fell in the lake maybe and now the group hang out more at the lake and sing together. DJ doesn’t speak so they nickname him Melody because he loves playing melodies on big conch shells and stuff. All the little serpents have similar nicknames too.

Vanessa is a cabbit which is apparently a mix between a rabbit and a cat. I chose this mostly because I didn’t know it was a thing and it sounded fun. I also wanted to include her so here she is! A cabbit!

Humans - particularly the Fazbear Circus - are always trying to catch an actual rare creature and not just a big ol’ bear so they set up a lot of traps to catch them much closer to the foot of the mountain. Which is why the number one rule is not to go down the mountain. This is often ignored by many of the flying creatures.

This is just a fun lil AU I’ll dabble in every so often because its fun so I thought I’d make a little post about it. Enjoy!

#fnaf security breach #mythological creatures au #glamrock freddy #glamrock bonnie #glamrock chica #glamrock foxy #montgomery gator #roxanne wolf #fnaf sunny #fnaf moon #the daycare attendant #dj music man #i like this au #its fun #/chill

[drawing-way-outside-the-lines]

➖ Mature content, 18+ ➖ check the trigger tags each time ➖      

Chapter 11 - The Depression. Episode 1.

Andy: *Things kept going down hill, specially Evan's mood. On the 23rd of May, his sister Rose called to tell his dad had had a minor heart attack, and was in the hospital. So it's safe to say, things didn't exactly turn brighter after that. The whole day he just seemed distant, and barely even ate anything. It was getting harder and harder being around him, watching him sigh and poke his food. So when Congo offered me to go for a nice evening walk, I immediately said yes. It sorta looked like it was going to rain, but the air was warm, so we threw a leash on my puppy, Wilson, and dragged him with us. I keep calling him a puppy, even if he is actually a year old by now. He is just so tiny still, I can't help it. As we had walked for about 5 minutes, and I hadn't said much, Congo wrapped one of is big strong arms around me. With his 196 cm he is quite a lot taller than me, 10 cm to be exact, and his body volume is about a half time larger than me, turning him into the perfect rock to climb on to when you feel you are drowning in it all. I dug my fingers into his muscly chest, and the chest hairs peeking over the neck of his shirt. I just loved the warmth from his body, his body heat naturally being a bit higher than other people. I sighed relieved, I had really missed my husband without even noticing it. I had been so caught up in trying to be there for Evan, I had forgotten all about my mate.*

Congo: *He smiled softly at me, and kissed the tip of my nose* A kiss for your thoughts?

Andy: *I chuckled lightly* I was actually thinking of you.

Congo: *He smiled satisfied and kissed me again, this time a gently loving kiss on my lips* Of me? Hmm… I wonder, what were you thinking of me?

Andy: Willy! Willy NO!….. WILSON!!! *I tucked in his leash as he was trying his best to eat a dead bird he just found… and yeah, I did name my dog after Wade Wilson, aka the Marvel anti hero Deadpool. I have been fan of him for years, so it was never hard to pick a name when I suddenly became dad to a tiny overly active trouble maker! I guess under the right circumstances, Deadpool would eat dead birds he finds on the ground as well?*

Congo: *He bowed down and yanked the rotten bones out of Willy's mouth* Bad boy! *As Willy finally let go, Congo looked up at me, while petting the dog* So… what were you thinking about me? Or is that a secret? *He smiled teasingly and stood back up*

Andy: *I chuckled softly* Nah… I just got distracted by the dirty mutt. Actually, I was thinking I have missed you a lot. It feels like the last couple of weeks I have lost track of you. There has just been so much. Evan, 'A', the fire….

Congo: *He frowned at A's name* Yes. I know.

Andy: Sorry *I half smiled apologizing*

Congo: *He nodded in a 'never mind' way and sighed softly* Stop apologizing for him. I was prepared he would keep popping up one way or another, but as long as he doesn't pop up in person, we will be alright *he smiled softly and ran his fingers through my mohawk, caressing my hair softly* I missed you too Andy. Very much. And I'm glad to hear you missed me too. When that's said I want to make you understand I fully comprehend why you spend so much time with Evan these days, and why you seem to forget about me a bit. Its okay. He isn't doing too well. And as long as he more or less refuses to talk with George, there isn't much we can do about it. He needs to heal on his own, and that might take a while. All we can do is be there for him. And if it helps him to cuddle with you and hide in bed, I will leave space for that, for as long as it takes. However, I would appreciate you don't forget me completely *He chuckled softly and kissed my forehead* sometimes I need you too.

Andy: *I nodded softly and lit a cig, blowing the smoke towards the sky* I know… that#s also why I feel so sad that I#m neglecting you...

#Tw: Depression #Andy Shaw-Thompson #Congo Shaw #unicornmanes

[nei-ning]

I had a dream last night where I was on slightly snow covered rocky mountain / hill or however I can call that, looking down at the big stage. Our Eurovision singer, Käärijä (for a some reason!) was there too. He, at one point, came up to this rocky spot beside me, then having skis and he, literally, went down that hill on the road which was far below us. I looked after him, thinking:

“There’s no way I can go down like that!”

I had no skis and the wall was pretty straight down. Not to mention there was no enough snow on the black rocks. So, I started to climb up on the back wall. I noticed brownish “sticks” sticking out on the wall more or less but I kept climbing - until I stood on a huge collarbone, having a skull above me. Only now I realized I was INSIDE gigantic Wendigo skeleton! Now, we don’t have Wendigos in Finland but I know and love them still. Anyway, I rushed down, knowing that if THAT THING gets even a drop of fresh blood, it will wake up / revive.

I rushed towards huge and old, ancient, doors which were open, having cracks and vines growing around them. Inside it was just darkness but as I came closer, I saw white figure coming towards me. She was short woman, or a girl. She was completely dressed in white, having freaky looking white mask on and it also had red stripes coming from eye holes. I instantly knew it was fresh blood so I ran, hearing this Wendigo behind me release loud and deep sigh, it echoing in this tunnel where I now hurried forward.

I came to an opening which looked like ancient big balcony which had not been treated well by time. I noticed I was underground and I had another level beneath me. I went to elevator, pressing it’s button when I hear weird growl from the floor below me. I watched between the railing’s bars how huge, brown Hellhound with some kind of leather mask on his face (covering his eyes) and muzzle ran on the opening below, huffing and sniffing like mad. I knew it was after me. I stood up, thinking how I can run and hide from that thing.

Then, from behind me, came adult Edward Elric (Full Metal Alchemist). He calmly said to me he would take care of that thing and that I was safe. I left it to him.

I managed to get out, meeting with a man. There was someone else who he said something before saying: “We haven’t been out in a while.” I walked down the stairs outside, smiling and talking to him loudly as he kept coming behind me a bit further away. I was filled with excitement and joy as I said: “Oh yeah. That is true. It has been a long time since we were out together. Just you and me.” (a date)

Sadly I don’t remember much after this since Verti, once again, kept waking me up constantly.

#text #neis dream #dream #wendigo #blood #hellhound #monster #Edward Elric #not a nightmare #but weird none the less #skeleton #19.5.2023 #Käärijä #I don't get it WHY he was in my dream! :'D #not to mention this dream also is one of those dreams what I have seen first time decades ago

[dujour13]

9. Climbing

Since it's the 9th another one for @starlightcleric's Owlcatober 2022 challenge with a much-needed Woljif moment for chapter 6 of The Lark and the Crow on AO3. There's a soundtrack for this I've been listening to obsessively while writing. I know there's more than 1 guitar but this is what I hear Siavash playing.

***

Woljif stopped at the bottom of the Citadel stairs. His heart was pounding. He unwrapped the bottle of wine from where it was hidden in his jacket and took a long, steadying breath.

He was excited and terrified all at once, like when he was a kid and Yger took him along on a heist. If they pulled it off, Yger would owe him some coin, and he could run off and buy marbles and cherry rolls. But if he got caught—well, he found out pretty young what happened when you got caught, and he had made it his life’s calling to avoid that at all costs.

This evening, it could go either way. Of course, he could always scarper if it looked like it was going south. But he had to try. The payoff was too good to pass up.

It was a big risk, especially not knowing the lowdown on Sosiel. Troubled by what they had witnessed at Blackwater and saying he needed company, the chief had invited Woljif, not Sosiel, up to the Citadel this evening, which meant there might still be an opening. If not, well, that would probably be the easiest letdown.

But even if Sosiel wasn’t in the way, his chances seemed slim. If only he hadn’t run away from the gargoyle attack. If only he hadn’t said those awkward things. If only he hadn’t stood there like a damn statue when the chief hugged him that one time after the reunion in the Worldwound. If only he was better looking, braver, richer, someone the chief could respect. He looked down at his feet and very nearly turned away. There was no plausible deniability—the nice clothes, the wine, his infuriating inability to keep himself from blushing.

Though it was not in his nature to be incautious, in life sometimes you just had to take risks. He comforted himself that at least if things went wrong the chief wasn’t likely to be weird about it. He would smile and tell Woljif diplomatically that he thought of him as a friend, and things would go on as before, which was already pretty good, all things considered. Just a little embarrassment to get through. The chief wasn’t one to go mocking him afterwards or anything. He was awful nice.

Yet Woljif wouldn’t be here if he didn’t think there was a tiny bit of hope. You didn’t break into the Arendae mansion because you might not escape with your head; you didn’t confess you had a crush on somebody if you didn’t think you might come away with the prize.

There was a chance. There were some little signs. Like that one time the hill giant had scored a perfect hit and sent Woljif flying, and the chief dropped everything and ran over looking like a ghost, practically pouring healing potions down his throat. And busy as he was, the Commander often came down to hang around and swap stories. Or at camp, it always seemed like Siavash ended up next to him while they ate or sat at the campfire talking into the night. And he listened—really listened—and didn’t treat Woljif like just some mangy guttertief with no prospects. He always seemed to smile when Woljif was around. The image of that smile made him feel a little bit dizzy, standing paralyzed at the foot of the stairs.

Most of all, it was almost painful to think of in his current state, but he sometimes caught the chief looking at him with really soft, twinkling eyes, and once or twice he even opened his mouth as if to say something when they were alone. What was he going to say? All Woljif’s hopes hung on those imagined words. Woljif, I… No, it was no good letting your imagination go too far.

He started up the stairs, palms sweating. Climbing, he could hear the guitar music more clearly; it was so beautiful, spilling down the dark stairwell like gems made of sound, magic gems full of light and aching sweetness. To hold those hands that poured out those gems, kiss them, feel them on the nape of his neck and in his hair and around his waist… His chest started to feel funny like it sometimes did, and he had to stop and steady himself.

Just get it over with.

Then you can take your knocks, get on with things, and stop being so weird.

At the top of the stairs he hung back in the pool of firelight in the command room doorway and just stood listening and hoping. And willing himself not to run away.

Finally, he took a deep breath and rounded the corner. Near the hearth, Aivu lay curled up asleep on a heap of pillows, and next to her sat Siavash, barefoot and cross-legged with his guitar in his lap, head down, loose hair falling over an intense look of concentration or sadness, staring into the fire.

“Hey, chief.”

Siavash lifted his eyes and it was like his whole face lit up.

Why was it so scary until he was there smiling, making everything all right, no matter what the outcome was going to be? Woljif felt a flood of relief. And something else.

“Come in,” Siavash said. “Don’t wake the dragon.”

#pathfinder wrath of the righteous #pathfinder #pathfinder wotr #woljif jefto #wotr commander #owlcatober 2022 #fanfic

[reillyissof]

I just had the wildest dream, it’s one of those kind of twilight senses type dreams it a god sleep.

Badically it started out I was living with uncle been and I’d come home from school and help check up on the animals in this neat stable he had, I would keep asking about bingus and got to pet da baby a couple of times. one day when I come back a bunch of kids with a black car had stolen almost all of animals besides a few like his crocodile big ounce and da baby and his wife and uncle Ben was devastated, so was I but I was furious. The stable was were my current house is it kind of replaced it so I ran out into the culdisac and started screaming for them to come back and running in a direction I had hoped they’d gone and eventually they did come back to steal more, they drove post be straight to the bar and even though I was running as fast as I could they had stolen all of them once I got there because there were 9 of them they were able to get past uncle Ben. When they were driving away I hopped onto the front of their car screaming at them and for our neighbors (who had started going outside and also gave me a general direction we’re to run before) to call 9/11, I’m on their car for a bit screaming at them and some people I’m the back are giving my suggestions on to climb higher on the car but I didn’t because I knew it would most like be harder to stay on and it was going to be really hard to get up. I eventually hear sirens in the background and I get off and they begin to drive away because 9/11 never came for some reason so as their running I hope inside their car and I start to tussle with them in hopes of getting atleast one animal out but I wasn’t able to and they kick me out and then drive away.

And that’s kind of the first part

Next part I think happens after a little bit of time I’m not sure, the sun was setting before and then the rest of it was night

Anyways uncle Ben is replaced with my dad now and I’m still extremely angry so I want to go out and get him and my dad is mad and doesn’t want to but I purswade him to drive us so when we’re driving we get to the top of the road and go right on the fork and as we’re driving it starts to go away from real places I know and a road I’ve been on in other dreams before and as we are driving there is a narrow windy driveway that leads to a huge mansion and there’s a gate blocking it and on the gate it has their faces in a silver frame in a pink background so I’m tapping my dads shoulder telling him that’s it and he drives past it saying something depressing/ upsetting I can’t remeber until we end up in this kind of flat fake grassy area with the sea on the side and three tall buildings and in the distance their was a city and we stop their and my dad gets an office chair and is sitting in it and kind of goes on about whats the point and I’m talking about animals and stuff and so we eventually decide to go after them and I try pushing him back on the chair but it’s kind of up a hill/mountain so we go to the hotel in the side of the mountain and after having problems figuring out which elevator to go on we take the stairs and we drive home.

The next day I’m the dream our house is back and theirs no more stable or it was moved behind my house and one of the guys are living my in my parents room for some reason so I’m looking for places he would hide the animals in my house and the only thing I find is a dead animals in a pillow sack in one of the closets which I assume was bingus and it enrages me so I’m talking about it to my dad and I wear a concealing hoodie and long pants that are white and gray with a fade and my dad decides to let me go back so I keep checking ont he guy since he’s still sleeping so he doesn’t know what I’m up to and after a couple of times and turning the lights on to irritate him in his sleep I leave the house to walk to the mansion.

When I get to the mansion I try getting in and it takes a while because eventually my mom is there and there’s other tourists but I eventually sneak downstairs and find a massive basement with trapdoors and other things coming out the walls and eventually Godzilla and King Kong walk into the basement and they are about to fight but they guy from my house (I should add he looks like that guy that plays lex Luther and mark Zuckerberg in those movies but with longer hair that’s kind of like a wolfs cut that’s a bit redder) goes on a speaker and tells some stuff at the kaiju”s before he lets them fight. The floor starts collapsing like in fall guys and kong falls immediately but Godzilla is smart and figures out how to stay ontop but keeps getting shot by things on the walls which aren’t hurting him but it’s kinda chipping away so after a bit he jumps down and all the kaiju are there and they start walking towards him so he runs off and goes into a room to witch then me and my mom and I think the rest of the tourists leave.

Thr next day getting ready is the same story besides messing with the lights but when I get to the mansion it’s a massive amusement park with a lot of it under construction, so the Zuckerberg guy is giving a speech to the people that came me and my mom blend into the crowd and when he finishes me and my mom go into one of the few fully finished areas the Godzilla skeleton exhibit (Godzilla wasn’t dead though because it was the 1954 type skeleton and the Godzilla I saw before was monster verse ) we go into the mouth entrance and slide down the bone throat and as we look around theirs a bunch of jokes and tunnels that lead to caves and as we walk we go left into a kind of dead end with a bunch of splits and a random person we went in with goes into the hole slide and we don’t really see them go all the way down and my mom suggest we do it and I say no I don’t trust it and I want to leave so as we’re leaving I sit in the bone throat side reading to climb up and my mom wants to do one by herself so I wait for her and for some reason there’s a basketball player down there just chilling and I start to get a bad feeling so I really want to leave and then my mom woke me up for school.

which is stupid because there’s a delay today so I went to school and had to have my dad pick me up to take us back home and we are now pulling into the driveway

I’m the bath I kept getting images of these ladies with intricate patterns on them, they kind of looked like the tiny women from Godzilla verses mothra. I keep thinking about Godzilla busting out of the bone structure so Mabey that’s what was going to happen next

That’s all

I didn’t pray for no stress when I went to bed last night so that could be related

#sofreli #twilight senses #dream #dreams #sleep #Godzilla #urban rescue ranch

[noro-noro-noro]

i’m still out of the habit of writing my dreams down daily bc i choose to go back to sleep instead of remembering!! i had a really long one yesterday & i didn’t do it & it’s gone!!!!! but i remember part of today’s so you get this

there was definitely more shit going on before this but we’re starting with what i remember.

there was a little kid who lived out in the country. everything ws lush & green  & he lived with his mom & family on top of some cliffs by the ocean. it was cloudy a lot more recently & the clouds were taking on an unpleasnt dark yellow tint every day. one day he was out exploring & he saw a double helix tower of bone that led up to to the sky, & the clouds were parted & the sun was shining on it. he climbed the tower because he was curious, & then at the second stair from the top, he heard god say to him “if you come up here i will take you away & make you an angel , & the sun will return to everyone’s life, because i will need your help to bring it back. however, it is your decision.” so the kid sat on the second stair & thought for a long time. 

then there was the next dream, which was me & some other person were freed/escaped/left the university/were just travelling along the rocky coastline. when i say rocky coastline you’re probably imagining cliffs & shit but it was like..just a bit of a steep & stony bank out of a lake. there were trees up top & red clay at the bottom & lots of wet gray rocks. it i think at the point we left it was nighttime, but the sun came up as we travelled. there was some tunnel hole thing so i wanted to check it out so i crawled through, btu the other person walked around through the water instead. they both led to the same destination, which was a gravel path leading up to a big mansion on the hill half hidden by evergreens. there were a few more people waiting around at the bottom of the road around where i came out of the rock. anyway there was a fuckoff huge gate also blocking it., but i’d been here before, so i knew to open the gate we had to find this carved stone box & fill it up to the line with water. it was half buried in mud around the puddle under the rock where i came out, so i asked the other person who walked aaround the side to dip it in the ocean & they did that & there was a huge GONG & the gate opened. so we went up.

inside the mansion all the rooms were huge, but without a lot of furniture. there was a big fireplace that i was think had a small fire, & to the left of that was a study with books & a desk. it was sunny & dusty, & a lot of the wood was like a faded reddish color. i started waking up a bit at this point, so i repeated this  next part several times. a weird looking cat appeared in the study door & then ran in, & when we followed it in, a gnarled witch appeared & cast some kind of spell & then the floor fell out from under us & we ended up in a huge ballroom with like opulent brocades across the ceiling, really ornate carvings on the walls, huge floor to ceiling windows, & also full of a lot of other people. the windows wouldn’t open. there were no doors. we each had a ticket of some kind, & the witch was like “heh heh heh....my death game begins...now.” & then the ballroom was alive with everybody just in a bloodlust frenzy & i was like dang! i will not survive this! 

so due to the power of partially waking up, i reset it back to before the witch cast her spell. i tried to go DON’T FOLLOW THE CAT but they went in anyway & i was spared the trick. unfrtunately then the witch started hunting me down. i created a dumbwaiter system that was so old & underused that i could use it to escape from her since it wasn’t even recorded in blueprints - she had no idea - i ran down a dead-end hallway but disappeared, & she was like hm...how curious. & i was inside the walls holding my breath. when i heard her move away & i went through the empty dark wood space in the center of the mansion. it was like when you clip out of bounds you can see through all the walls & you’re just in a big empty dark space with no textures. unfortunately, through dream logic, because i saw her, she saw me, & started coming for me like that corpse from bongcheon-dong ghost scaary comic, & i was like AUHGH

and we reset again. instead of running when my companions were sent to the death room, i held my breath & turned invisible. this is something i can just do sometimes in dreams without question. i opened up my skill menu, which looked like old-timey fantasy game with like overly texured menu background & gems everywhere & the font was shiny & fancyy. like the old deltora quest covers actually

it looked like that. anyway i allocated more points into unlocking new abilities for holding ym breath to turn invisible & then the doorbell rang & i woke up

#dreams

[moteldogs]

New Mexico, part 2: Lordsburg to Silver City

In which the desire for pizza is the driving force for many choices.

May 11

Mileage: 15 mi

I’m up at 6 but bleary, reluctant to leave the cool comfort of the motel bed. After picking over the continental breakfast, retaping my feet, and packing up all my shit, it takes me longer than I wanted to get on the road again.

I’m glad to be walking again. My feet are fine, except for the blisters on my heels, but those were the newest so they’ll take longer to heal no matter what I do. And the backs of my legs are still angry and red, but near-constant application of hydrocortisone cream and aloe vera over the last day means that it doesn’t hurt to stand or squat or walk or lay on my back anymore.

Yesterday I lazed in bed in the morning before wandering down to the conti breakfast, then went back to my room and watched the Andy Griffith Show on the fuzzy TV while I sorted through my food bag and washed my socks in the sink. The black and white hum in the background in the cool motel room, like a dream.

I walk out of town on the shoulder of the highway for miles, then finally slip under a barb wire fence and back onto the trail. I walk for a while under the hot sun.

At 3:30 pm I sit up from the shade of a big yucca, spiky and alien-looking, which I associate always with the cover of the Mountain Goats album Zopilote Machine. 10 miles north of Lordsburg and the sky is bright bright blue, wispy horsetail clouds floating overhead, the wind blowing cool. The cactus pads are big and flowering. I remember how cold it was in the cabin this last winter, after the heating oil ran out in late February or early March, I can’t remember which, and all the fuel companies were backordered and I didn’t have enough money anyways. I remember being curled under three wool blankets and my sleeping bag, not letting myself turn the space heater on because it ate up the electric bill, just laying there trying not to be cold. The desert will never let me be cold again. I’m deliriously happy.

Twenty feet away lies a cow carcass, skin still on, only the ribcage and skull bleached white with the sun. I’m surprised not to see vultures anywhere in the sky, not even a crow, but maybe it’s been picked mostly clean already. A shrew? mouse? climbs up one bleached horn, then back down and across the skull.

A cloud passes over the sun. This is the first time that’s happened in days, the first time since I set foot in this desert. In six miles I’ll be walking up the mountains, which look promisingly green-speckled. Shady. I’m glad to be out of town, glad to be here where everything looks like the set of Road Runner or a cowboy movie, and the sky is so blue and the yuccas are so sharp and bones are so white.

Before I leave my spot I make a grave marker for the dead cow out of piled stones, and lash two sticks together to make a little cross, plant it in the dirt in front of her and say a little prayer. Hope she’s up in the green meadows where all good cattle go.

Around dusk I see another dead cow, almost all decomposed but skeleton still intact, bits of fur clinging to the skull. This one’s creepier, somehow. Maybe because it’s dusk or maybe because it doesn’t look like a cow anymore, without the hide. Just some huge dead thing lurking behind a bush. Still, green meadows.

Three pronghorns cross the trail up ahead, quick and light and silent as anything. If I hadn’t happened to be looking, I would never have known they were there. They make no sound, like they’re just floating across the ground without ever touching it.

I make it to the first water source on this section (no more official caches, only cattle waterers and trail magic from here on out) and it’s dry. I have a liter and a half left and the next water is 8 miles uphill.

I cowboy camp in the sand and plan to be up early, to get up that hill in the cool morning so I don’t need as much water to do it. Because what if that well is dry, too?

I’m conserving my water, so I eat my trail dinner of peanut-butter-on-a-spoon drymouthed, and fall asleep. I don’t sleep well — I’m too warm and I think I see a cow standing over me at one point, but maybe not.

May 12

Mileage: 23.7 mi

I’m walking at dawn and the day is cool. I’m in a forest now, a real forest with trees taller than me. I’m on track to make it to the well in plenty of time, but it turns out I didn’t have to worry too much — near a highway crossing, there’s a trail magic cache of gallon jugs and a big bag of Skittles. I sit happy in the shade and read trail information for the next section on my phone. There’s this campsite called the Burro Mountain Homestead 15 miles ahead, and if I get there before 5 I can buy pizza at the camp store, apparently. I check my watch and decide I’m getting that pizza come hell or high water.

I speedwalk to the well, eat lunch there, and top off my waterbottles — only 2 liters, because next up is a steep climb up Burro Peak to eight thousand feet and I don’t want to carry more weight for that than I have to. I have to be speedy if I want my pizza tonight.

Burro Peak crushes my hopes and dreams and my entire soul. It’s four miles of the steepest uphill on the trail so far, and it’s so hard. I move my legs mechanically. My mind goes numb and nothing else exists except the mountain. I don’t exist except as a thing that’s climbing the mountain. All my bones and joints and muscles were made to get to the top of this mountain and when I do that I’ll evaporate.

At the summit, I hobble to a patch of shady dirt and lay down to eat Oreos. It’s 5 pm exactly and the Burro Mountain Homestead is 4 miles away. My dreams of pizza are out of reach. I don’t care anymore. The climb up that mountain reached in and plucked something out of me. My body is okay — my legs won’t even be sore in the morning — but I’m emotionally exhausted. I wonder if my dad ever had this hard a time with a mountain. How am I going to make it through the San Juans if one little mountain was this hard for me?

But the San Juans are in Colorado and I’m in New Mexico and nothing else matters unless I get through New Mexico. One step at a time. I get up and put my pack back on. Burro Mountain Homestead has water, which I need for the 19-mile dry section that comes after, so I’ll go there.

I get to the place just after sunset, in the gloamy light, and walk down a sandy lane lined with RVs. There are garden lights and 4-wheelers parked up, and wooden porch attachments that you back the RV into. I find the campground office — they have free tent camping for CDT hikers — and follow the instructions for after-hours registration. It’s dark now and I’m tired and I can’t find anywhere I need to go, but the ‘Activities’ trailer has a light on so I poke my head in there. There’s a campground tenant and another CDT hiker in there, and together they tell me where the washhouse is and that I should camp in the orchard.

I set up my tent and limp to the washhouse to brush my teeth. I have new blisters, one on each pinky toe. I’d been lancing my blisters with a sewing needle, but I found a couple days ago that the easiest way and the only way I can get mine to drain is to take nail clippers to them. A little snip and blister juice goes rocketing across my tent. Gross, but at least it won’t hurt to walk on anymore.

I think about cutting off the rest of the miles to Silver City, just hiking east on the road tomorrow and hitching on 90 up to the city. It’s tempting. I feel hollowed-out from today. And if I get to Silver City tomorrow instead of Saturday (two days from now) I won’t have to pay weekend-night prices for a motel room.

I decide I’ll sleep on it. It may be only 9:30 pm, but there’s a reason they call 9 pm “hiker midnight”. I’m exhausted and I fall asleep as soon as I’m horizontal.

May 13

Mileage: I forgot to write it down and now I don’t know

In the morning, I decide to stay the course and walk the rest of the CDT route to Silver City. I also decide to stay at the campground until the camp store opens at 9 am, so I can get my damn pizza.

Turns out the camp store actually opens at 10, so I sit on the white-painted porch waving at retirees as they go rumbling by in their 4-wheelers. When the door finally unlocks, I don’t actually want their pizza. It’s the Jimmy Dean kind that comes in a box and you microwave it. I’d been conjuring up images of huge New York slices gooey with cheese, and now I can’t bring myself back to reality. Instead, I buy an ice cream bar and a bag of chili cheese Fritos. I eat the ice cream on the porch, fill up my water bottles at the washhouse, then get back to the trail, feeling sluggish.

I’m not in any hurry today, and somehow I can’t work myself up to hurrying. When the sun gets hot, I lay in the shade and eat the entire bag of Fritos.

My favorite thing about the trail is I can do whatever I want with my body. Nobody tells me what to do, nobody wants or needs anything from me. My body is just for walking and carrying heavy shit, and nothing else. And today, I want to walk slow and lay in the shade, so I do. At the end of the day, I’m curled up in my sleeping bag under the stars. This is maybe the happiest I’ve ever been.

May 14

Mileage: 10

I wake up tired again, watching the sky grow bright from the warm comfort of my sleeping bag. Eventually, I get up and walk. Today I make it to Silver City.

The trail winds down from the hills and wanders into a broad dry wash lined with shade trees. A cow follows me for a while, then I watch her squeeze through a gap in a cattle gate and go right on through to another rancher’s property.

I’m only on the shoulder of 180 for half an hour or so before I get picked up by an older guy — part-time rancher, part-time equipment driver, part-time wildland firefighter. “Gotta do a little bit of everything round here to make it,” he says.

As we drive into Silver City, he points out a low plume of smoke over the green hills. A new fire in the Gila Wilderness, besides the one that was already burning. He tells me they’re planning to shut down the trail through there in the next couple days, so if I want to go through there I better go quick.

He drops me at the grocery store in town with a handshake and says he’ll be looking out for me if I’m headed northward. I go across the street to a shade tree on the corner and sit underneath it, sort through the remnants of food in my bag and call my dad.

It’s too stupid to walk straight into an active wildfire area when I know the fire’s burning hundreds of acres and 0% contained at this point, so I decide I have to hitch to Pie Town, northwards, and pick up the trail from there. My dad agrees, which makes me feel better about it. I’m sad to miss the magical Gila — the promised land where there’s a real river and you can have water anytime you want, and you ford the river a hundred times a day and it’s cool and beautiful. But it looks like I’m meant for the desert for a while longer.

I resupply at the grocery store and walk down towards the main street of town phoning motels. There’s no vacancy anywhere in town, except a rundown place that’s still somehow charging almost $200 for the night. I don’t have the money to spare and even if I did I wouldn’t pay that much, on principle alone. Which means I’m shit outta luck.

With nothing else to do, I find a pizza stand on the town’s main drag and pig out. 4 huge slices of pizza (gooey with cheese! just like in my imagination!) and a big salad (vitamins are important, probably). I sit outside with my food, feeling like shit, stranded with nowhere to go. It’s 5 pm and if I start hitching now I’ll just get myself stuck on the side of the road for the night. Nobody picks up hitchhikers in the dark.

A few feet away, their backs to me, are two barefoot street buskers. One buzzcut with dangly purple and blue earrings, his red sweatpants rolled up above his knee, drumming wildly on an upside-down bucket; the other with dreads and a dirty bandana around his neck, playing guitar like no tomorrow. He has a big backpack sitting next to him, sleeping pad rolled up and strapped onto it. I have a big backpack too! The homing signal of !!?FRIEND?!! pings in my brain. I bet these guys know somewhere to sleep without getting caught. If I play my cards right I can get in on that.

I watch the buskers for awhile, picking at my food, then go over and offer the last two slices of my pizza. The pizza thing works and we start talking. I ask them how long they been in Silver City. “Three years,” says Buzzcut, and “since September,” says Dreads. “How ‘bout you?”

“About three hours,” I say, and get a chorus of welcomes. Buzzcut (whose name turns out to be Dave) says it’s a quiet town, and pretty cool. “Like Boulder,” he says, meaning in Colorado. He’s been a street kid since he was sixteen, but he’s planted a garden here so he figures he’s pretty much settled down here.

Dreads introduces himself as Fuzz. He hiked the CDT in 2016 or 2017, has been roaming around living out of his backpack for the last ten years or so. He’s quiet, doesn’t talk much, but so am I. Dave does most of the talking, it seems like.

I sit with them listening to their music, tapping my hands on the pavement, until the sun starts encroaching on our shady area, and they decide to move down the street for more shade. “Want to come with?”, Dave asks. Hell yeah I do.

And then we’re sitting on the street corner barefoot, Fuzz on his guitar, me playing percussion with an empty waterbottle, Dave drumming on a wooden box and hollering stream of consciousness lyrics. “Lady across the street/in a blue! shirt!/what a gorgeous color/for this beautiful day!/Excuse me sir, in the red! truck!/could you spare a smile?” He’s uninhibited, open, and friendly, and gets smiles from passerby, calling out the names of people he recognizes. “Lorenzo, Rico, looking good!” he sings.

A group of Native wildland firefighters, young men in camo uniform pants and tight-laced jump boots, walk past dancing to the beat. Teenagers on skateboards bop their heads, “ay! ay!”. Even grumpy old men behind the wheels of beat-up pickups drum their hands on their dashboards.

It’s great. It’s amazing, actually. I make it a game to smile at everyone and see who I can get to smile back. We play for hours, until it heads toward dusk and Dave and Fuzz decide to clock out. They’ve been out here since seven this morning. “Twelve hour workday,” Dave says. “Not bad.” They made a hundred bucks total today, and thirteen dollars in the last few hours, of which each of us get four. The odd dollar out goes in the priming stash, which is the couple bucks they toss in the guitar case when they start playing to signal that they’re busking for money.

Dave runs across the street to the co-op and comes back with discount milk (he’s the only one to drink it once he announces that there was a little mold on the top, but he skimmed it off) and a can of Pringles. Then he runs down the street and comes back with his leather knapsack, which has a baggie of filterless cigarettes, a tin of weed, and the tiniest pipe I’ve ever seen. Dave and Fuzz pass a cig back and forth, and me and Dave pass the pipe back and forth. (I don’t smoke tobacco because my birth mom died of lung cancer, and I can’t shake the feeling of my dad telepathically beating my ass from half a continent away for even looking at a pack of smokes.)

The moon rises high in the dusk, a full moon. A procession of tricked-out cars makes its way down the main drag, Camaros and Mustangs with neon underglows and shimmering wraps pulling up to the stop sign on our corner and peeling off as fast and loud as they can. One after another, and then they reach the end of the main street, turn around and do it again. Dave copies their sound as they go by. “We should have scorecards,” I say, “like Olympic judges or something.”

We sit around waiting until 9 pm, when the pizza place closes. Dave and Fuzz stand outside debating the best way to sneakily catch the attention of the waitress who promised them the leftovers for the day earlier, without getting the eye of the line cook who seems opposed on principle to giving out free food, even if it’s just going in the dumpster earlier. I drop my pack and go inside, smile real big and do my best down-home boy-next-door routine, and emerge triumphant with a big pizza that’s only slightly burnt.

We sit on the pavement of an empty pavilion and eat our free pizza. It’s dark out, and we talk about deep feelings (well, I don’t, but I’m listening). Street corner philosophy, the meaning of the universe with dirty feet. I pull out my little sewing kit and make some repairs to my pack while I listen. Dave is maybe the most emotionally healthy person I’ve ever met. One thing he says sticks in my head. “The people with the ‘get up and go’,” he says, “they always have it. The travelers always stay the same.”

I think about my dad, a childhood bouncing around. He’s moving back to the east coast and I know already what’s going to happen. My stepmom’s going to nest in their new house and the first chance my dad gets, he’ll be in Mongolia or someplace. Not that I can blame him. I guess I’m the same way.

Eventually the evening winds down. I ask Dave and Fuzz if they know any good spots to stealth camp not too far out of town. Dave suggests the roof of a local cafe, which I almost want to take him up on. Be unlikely to get caught — nobody ever looks up. Fuzz says that since he’s housesitting for a friend tonight I can use his usual spot, out in a park. I’d feel better a ways out of town, I think, so I take Fuzz up on it and he shares the coordinates for the spot with me; then we split up, heading off into the dark.

I walk up quiet residential streets to the outskirts of town and an open, bramble-filled park. I find Fuzz’s spot no problem and lay out my sleeping pad and bag to cowboy camp, set a vibrate-only alarm on my phone and put the phone under my shirt against my chest, to wake me up before dawn without noise.

It’s peaceful out here, the stars and full moon above me. It’s been a good day. I’ll be in Pie Town soon, with all the name promises. I sleep like a baby.

#.txt #cdt22