#gene sanguis
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MicroKillers
Runner-up in the University of Portsmouth Short Story Prize 2023
A weight lifted as the doctor took Lily from my arms and laid her on the medical table.
“Daddy, weren't you coming too?”
The tails of the body straps were hanging just out of sight beside her.
“No, baby, I have to wait here. But I’ll see you in fifthteen minutes.”
I pinched the fat on her cheeks and the doctor carted her toward the double doors.
Her mother had described the procedure to me before Lily was born. Back then, they provided a curtain and even a chaperone if the girls were particularly anxious about the discomfort.
Back then, the council could afford anaethesia too.
Drumming rumbled through my ears as I caught the last sight of my daughter between the doors, her gappy smile still intact. The silence that followed left the sinking realisation that she would not have gone quietly had I resisted.
A dull howling began to trickle through the doors.
⤧
At our next visit the following month, another doctor, whose jovial nature would not be contained by the triviality of a waistline, assisted Lily through the glass doors at the hospital entrance.
“Okay! Good news first.” Lily hovered by the office door. I pulled her over, my comfort rejected as she wrestled in my arms. “Lily’s infection is gone, which means she is now eligible to be put into the system and matched. Today — with your permission, sir.”
Lily pressed her fist into my chest. It had been her eleventh birthday yesterday and I’d promised we’d see the rides at the pier after her appointment.
“You want to match her today?”
“Oh, goodness!” The doctor laughed. “If only things were still so efficient. No, the process may take some months.”
Fabric tightened around my collar and I suppressed a choke. I captured Lily’s fist and rocked her, wondering how far we could make it beyond the channel, if we found a boat, before the wasteland consumed us or we starved…
“Unfortunately, the physical t-r-a-u-m-a from the removal for cryopreservation has left some questions regarding her fertility. However, we are confident that any faults will be corrected with a viable match, okay?”
Her mother would’ve known how to delay all of this.
“And her heart?”
“There aren’t any indications that your daughter has inherited your match’s—”
“Lucy.”
“...Lucy’s arrhythmia. Lily’s sangius-plasticus is lower than the current average for girls her age.”
⤧
Lily’s partner, Nicholas, fourteen, seemed too old to have lived so long unmatched.
“He has incredibly low sanguis-plasicus levels,” the doctor had said, “and his life expectancy is almost forty! Wonderful news for your gene pool, sir.”
Behind the thick rim of his glasses, Nicholas’s face swarmed with acne. He stood frigidly on the pier and stared at Lily.
I found the boy's father to be rather charming. He had dedicated his life to substituting epoxy resin—
“That used to line our food rations, didn’t it, Daddy?” Lily interjected.
“It did indeed,” Nicholas’s father replied. “My product not only combats microplastic infusion but contains isoflavones. Do you know what those are?”
“Isn’t that for old women?”
“Well, yes,” Nicholas piped up, “but Dad found a way to enhance their cancer fighting properties—”
“Even if the tumor is already growing?”
“Iso’s slow the growth, see…”
Nicholas’s father and I smiled at one another. It appeared the pair had their intelligence to bond over, Nicholas gaining a side to Lily I had yet to meet.
For his sake, I hoped it would be enough by the time he was due to fertilise.
⤧
“It hurts, Daddy, it hurts so bad—”
“Not long now, baby. It’ll all be worth it, I promise.”
I wiped sweat from her forehead, her face convulsing pink and agonised— a gasp clawed its way out of her.
“Update, nurse?”
“Still not at transition. Patient is not yet fully dilated, sir.”
Lily had been disabled by contractions for eighteen hours at this point. She grasped my hand and cried out for her mother.
The doctor motioned for the nurse, and they stepped beyond the opaque window. Exasperation etched through the glass, I jolted as the nurse threw her clipboard at the doctor. Lily howls, drawing my attention until the doctor reenters.
“I need to operate, if you would step outside.”
Behind him, the nurse's arm lays exposed and twitching on the marmoleum floor.
“I-I’m staying for the birth of my grandchild.”
Lily rocked beside me. I stepped between her and the doctor, feigning strength.
“You must step outside, sir.”
Security’s padded silhouette passed the window.
“No. I am staying with my child—”
Lily’s hand clamped around my arm as security yanked my shirt.
“Daddy, look after my baby—”
I saw the minutes trapped in her eyes.
“—Promise me, Daddy.”
She squeezed my hand and time became tame.
Eternity stretched between us.
I let her go.
— A. K. D
#creative writing#original fiction#writers on tumblr#female writers#women writers#writers block#writing inspiration#writerscommunity#short story#writersnetwork#dystopia#writing scifi#writing ideas#writing prompt#plastic#microplastics#family#relationship#heartbreak#writerslife#writers of tumblr#writblr#poets on tumblr#original poem#poetry#original poetry#death and dying#environment#climate crisis#climate change
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Best on Page: Tun!
The best Tundra from each page of my lair, click on the images for each dragon’s name and pronouns
#fr tundra#tundra dragon#flight rising#fr dragons#dragon share#moondoll#moondoll: iiz#moondoll: altarf#moondoll: sanguis#moondoll: lara#moondoll: damien#moondoll: lovaas#moondoll: rasselbock#moondoll: raspberry#jaguar gene
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👀 👀 👀 👀 Oh jesus oh lord. Deeper Than Skin is finished so I’ll enable another wip.
@ghostofjellyfishforgotten I hope you don’t mind me using your tags on this vampire!Billy / blood donor!Steve post as inspiration! Your brain is just too big for me not to pass up an opportunity to write vampire shenanigans.
Read on ao3 ~
🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹
Steve didn’t judge people who worked as donors—
Fine, as an adult with a better awareness and compassion, Steve didn’t judge donors. He might’ve said some shitty things to Jonathan Byers when he worked to make his family extra money.
Honestly? Steve admired that. Jonathan being underage and having the guts to figure out how to get into the donation clinic, and then to let…
Steve knew he was a coward in a lot of ways. He knew it when he called Jonathan a queer who enjoyed leeches sucking on him. He knew it when he lost to the punches Byers threw. For a skinny, half empty blood bag, the guy could really hit. And Steve knew it when he almost ran away from Nancy and Jonathan fighting off the rogue vampire who kidnapped little Will Byers.
But Steve didn’t run away.
Just like he didn’t run away from the couch he sat on with his mother while his father explained…a situation that left Steve digging deeper and deeper into the gap between fear and bravery. Maybe call it disassociation. Or confused shock.
“You what?”
Harrington senior never took well to being interrupted. But he sighed from across the coffee table and reiterated, “The family is in debt.”
“No. You. You’re in debt. This is your problem.”
The man certainly didn’t take well to having his own mistakes shoved under his nose. “This isn’t for debate. This is the way things are and need to be.”
“No,” Steve repeated like a broken record clinging onto its song. “This is your fault. Who’s made me work minimum wage jobs to teach me a lesson? Who’s refused to pay for me to go to community college? Who hasn’t let me work in their company? And who made the shitty gambles with your company’s stocks? You shoved me out, so it’s definitely not my problem—”
“The contract has already been signed.”
Now his mother shifted her posture on the couch beside him. “Excuse me?”
Steve’s father moved his blunt nails over the armrest of his wingback, fidgeting. At least something put fear into the old bastard’s heart.
“There’s nothing I could do. The market has been evolving ever since vampires gained their rights and opened up their decades and centuries old bonds—”
“Vampire legislation passed over a century ago,” Mrs. Harrington purred. Sometimes the worst anger was the quiet kind. “You have no excuse. You lost the game, and you sold our son. Is that what we’re to believe?”
“That’s not possible,” Steve intercepted. “Slavery isn’t a thing anymore. Even I picked that up in history. And I would have to be there to sign the contract! It’s my—”
“Steve,” his father silenced. “When enough money is involved, anything is bought. And you’re not like anyone else.”
Mrs. Harrington fumed, “Do not talk to him like he’s a prize pony!”
“Except to a wealthy vampire, he is.”
Steve could only sit in weighted silence for a moment. He always joked to himself that he’d be disowned one of these days. For being a disappointment. For all of his bad grades. For giving his friends alcohol and cigarettes. For only being able to get jobs that required no qualifications or experience level at all. For discovering he liked kissing boys at the grimy music venues Robin took him to. Maybe living at home for too long. Or leaving the smell of burnt pancakes in the air too often because he always struggled with the first one—
“Vampire?” he croaked. For some reason it hadn’t dawned to him until now but…shit.
Holy shit.
Steve wasn’t being sold off to be some billionaire’s secretary for life. He was being…truly sold. Like…goodbye, Steve, who likes spring nights and summer mornings. His favorite food is breakfast and he wishes he kept with the music lessons his mom paid for instead of being peer pressured into sports. Whose best friend was Robin Buckley because she was brave and funny and stuck with him during his ironic and a little bit terrifying queer awakening…
Hello, Donor 0235. Blood type O. Allergic to nickel and checks off all vaccination requirements.
“Steve’s not wrong,” his mother echoed like a voice deep in a cave, drawing Steve out of his thoughts. “He is the one to sign the contract. Not you.”
“He is still classified as our dependent and on our insurance,” his father refused.
“So being an adult means nothing in this country?”
“They have our family records, Annette!” he exclaimed. “There is a dual government in this country even if nobody below upper-middle class sees it. The human government had to cede a great deal because the vampire population is massive. And they’ve kept track of all the Sanguis families! Name changes, and two World Wars did nothing to save us—”
“The what?” Steve all but whispered.
His mother rotated her hips to face him. “We only have legends about how it happened. Paleolithic gods making deals, vampires crossbreeding humans to make a certain kind of blood donor, human evolution after symbiotic deals were struck—but that doesn’t matter. The point is that there are people in this world with abilities that preserve themselves against vampires. That’s why you healed in less than two days after that silly fight by the movie theatre.”
His father intercepted, “The genes skipped your mother but fell to you.”
Steve’s eyes widened as his mother confirmed, “To protect us, girls have been promoted in the family tree for generations. Through marriage, their names could change, and make them harder to track.”
Steve countered toward his father, “So this really isn’t your place to sign my life away. Like five times over.”
“I quite agree,” his mother turned back to the man she’d married. The man who was supposed to protect her and her children with his name and promising, growing business.
At least Steve wasn’t the only failure in the family.
His father massaged his forehead and defended, “As I said. Humans’ government is far easier to corrupt our way into forgiving any debt. The vampires, however, are inconsolable. The bastard would have my business, the cars, our house, and taken his time discovering Steve on his own if I hadn’t—”
Steve took after his father, but he was his mother’s son as they both stood up from the couch, furious that this man had thrown his own kid under a vampire’s bus—
“Get out of the house, Steve.”
His head whipped around at her. “I-What?”
“Get out of the house,” she seethed, but not at him. “I don’t care where or what you do. Go.”
Steve didn’t need to be told twice but he hadn’t managed to grab his car keys or his shoes before the house and his ribcage trembled with his parents’ arguing. He went in his socks outside and put the shoes on in his car.
Then…he didn’t know where to go. Running the hell away seemed like the obvious solution, but if vampires really had such a network, what was the point? And if he left, what would happen to his mom?
Steve drove on autopilot to the video rental store. Robin. All he had was Robin, who took the lollipop out of her mouth when the bell on the door twittered. “Hey, dingus, it’s your day off—Steve?”
He couldn’t really remember driving. That probably should have raised more red flags than he already had, but for now, the black and neon carpeting of the Family Video was blurring and swirling…
“I’m gonna throw up,” he heard himself say.
And Robin in that distant, echoing cave his mother had spoken from, “Outside! STEVE!”
#harringrove#vampire!billy#blood donor!steve#sanguis#neonponders#pondermoniums#ghostofjellyfishforgotten
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Gavin: “A shield charm should do the trick. Whatever we’re facing, it’ll have to muster some effort to break it. That’ll give us time to think.”
Daniel: “Okay. On the count of three, Reed! One... two... NOW!”
Neither Daniel nor Gavin were particularly skilled in the shield charm, but there were little tricks wizardkind used to alleviate such shortcomings. Instead of including everything at wandpoint in the area of effect, spellcasters would add specific targets to their incantations. Spells tagged in this fashion would produce the same effect while requirering less concentration than the base versions.
Daniel chose an on-the-fly modification for which good old english was sufficient:
“PROTEGO CHILDREN!”
Gavin to the contrary had learned a standardized spell extension before, that he could put to good use now:
“PROTEGO SANGUIS LIMOSUS!”
The wizards’ combined efforts erected a wall between the towering black cloud and the students. Kara ushered the children out of the floor and up the stairs, while the obscurus repeatedly banged against the invisible barrier. It hadn’t yet realized that its way to the two adults was perfectly clear...
Their opponent distracted in this fashion, Daniel turned around to face the security wizard. His expression wasn’t any different from the angry glare he had given the dark cloud before (or John Phillips earlier this month).
Daniel: “What was that, Reed? You are proficient in a standardized target limiting spell tag that works specifically on muggleborns?!”
Gavin: “Yeah.”
Daniel: “Let me guess: Your uncle Grant passed that one down to you.”
Gavin: “Maybe...? But that’s besides the point now! Aren’t YOU the apparating wonderbread? Go grab the little buggers and get them out of here!”
Daniel: “Will do. - You?”
Gavin: “Play bait while you’re ferrying the kids. And don’t forget to look for Connor, he must be somewhere in the building.”
Nerdy headcanon:
Gavin’s spell tag never worked as intended, because the magic gene is either active or not in any given individual, regardless of parentage.
Even so the Death Eaters found it useful enough to teach within their group. The tag works, provided the caster already knows that their target(s) is/are muggleborn.
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Epyllion Glossary
Terms
Chokha - a long coat worn by those within the Kompania of Mavros. Spherest wear black or white and the color on the cuffs of their sleeves designates their coven. An illuni wears simple grey.
The Convergent Event - three thousand years ago the Eldred tried to slice a tear through the veils between worlds to give them more power. The resulting cataclysm sank one country completely, destroyed all but one of their brilliant cities and killed countless people. It also brought forth from the ocean the beasts known as kolossi.
the Eldred - a precursor race of proto-humans that existed three-thousand years ago. Remnants of their genes and DNA remain in the current human population and are thought to be tied to the existence of spheres. They built great cities, marvels of spherence.
Eldrenite - a powerful and rare metal that amplifies sphere abilities
Eldrenology - the study and excavation of Eldred civilization.
Ghast - humans afflicted with a disease thought to be borne from the black blood of the kolossi. It makes one photophobic, gives you dark vision and removes the coloring from your skin, hair and eyes.
Luminion “lumos” - a soft metal that glows very brightly in darkness. Abundant and used as a light source or even as decoration. It is sometimes used as a secondary metal in weapons to ward off kolossi
Illuni - a term used to describe those who have no sphere. Means “moonless” in the Eldred tongue.
“Prince of the Stokes” - the unofficial “mob boss” of the city of Argos. All black markets, drugs, prostitution and other organized crime is regulated through the prince, whose activities are all but sanctioned by the Kompania to keep criminals fighting amongst themselves rather than ganging up against the military.
Kolossi - varying from sizes both small and colossal, the kolossi roam the plains, oceans and forests, threatening the unwalled cities of the world. Their blood is poisonous and pollutes both the ground and the people it infects.
The Kompania - the empire's standing army and police force. It is made up of spherests and illuni alike. They spend most of their time fighting with Illyrius, hunting kolossi and guarding the Emperor and the Pale Quarter. The current general is Leos Moravek.
“Rabbit” - slang term for a person who is affiliated with one of the gangs in Argos. Most gangs work out of the “Warrens”, a working class poor district known for its narrow alleys and streets. Most rabbits are easily distinguished by their carrying of clubs or blackjacks and by the emblem of their gang worn on their clothes.
Spherence - the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the study and structure of spheres and their effect on the natural and physical world
Spherest - an individual born with a sphere of influence that allows them to control an aspect of nature or living beings within it.
Corporeus - Spherests of the physical. Their chokha color is black.
Igni - Spherest who can bring forth combustible components from the air and ignite them. Chokha sleeves are orange.
Imber - Spherest who manipulate water and even pull water molecules from the air and living things around them. A large group of imbers can even call forth rain or storms. Chokha sleeves are blue.
Sanguis - Spherest who can control the blood, bone and tissue inside and outside living beings. Chokha sleeves are red.
Psionics - Spherests of the mental. Their chokha color is white.
Kineti - Spherest who can change the gravity within their spheres and move objects at a distance, crush them or otherwise manipulate them. Chokha sleeves are green.
Tractus - Sphereist who can upon touch, taste or smell, see the near future, present or past of a person or object. Chokha sleeves are purple.
Pathos - Spherest who can, usually upon touch, sense and control the emotions of another. Chokha sleeves are golden yellow.
Unclassified abilities
Nihilus - Spherest who can cancel out or otherwise render another sphereist’s powers inert. Only one is known to exist.
Stygian - Spherest who can manipulate their own shadow independent of themself, mask their sounds and can pass through shadow to shadow like a doorway.
Zenith - those born into the highborn class. “Nobles” by another name.
Places
Anthea College - an ancient Eldred building where zenith sphereists are trained. Known as the “little court” often it is where the elite of the city learn statecraft as well.
Argo - the last standing Eldred city. Artificial spheres run almost every aspect of the city including plumbing, streetlights and an ancient trolley/train that runs through the city's five walled sections. The city is in the shape of a circle.
Falset Islands - all that remains of the ancient land, destroyed during the Convergent Event. Tropical and hot, they hold many plantations and are abundant in trade from the mineral wealth buried beneath the shallow waves. Under the control of Mavros’ via the empire.
The Greenlights - pleasure quarter within Argo. Known for its green luminum streetlamps.
Hengxien - a country within the mountains, with access to lush and fertile plains at the base of their range. The Heng long surrendered to Mavros and have existed beneath their empire for nearly a hundred years.
Illyrius - a country bordering Mavros. They have suffered the most from lack of access to the trade in the city of Argos and are home to dense forests with very little farmable land. They currently are in an armistice with Mavros.
Mavros - a fertile and abundant country that houses the last Eldred city. Home of the Emperor, whose rule extends to Hengxian and the Falset Islands.
Pale Quarter - the quarantine zone of Argo where those afflicted and those turned into Ghasts reside.
The Starlit Palace - home of the Emperor, an elegant Eldred palace built in the center of Argo.
The Sunken Lands - the marshy remnants of a sunken country. Kolossi roam these lands, which seem to exist under perpetual cloud cover. Kolossi from these waters often roam to settlements, specifically targeting Argos in theory.
The Three Points - the hub of international trade in the world. Three harbors are stationed on each corner of a triangle-shaped lake, one belonging to Mavros, Hengxian and Illyrius. Last river exits into the ocean. The harbors have their own names, but generally they are referred to as a whole.
The Undercroft/The Below - a series of far reaching tunnels beneath the land. No one has ever mapped them all. It is believed the land itself is hollow and these tunnels reach down to the very core and also that secret chambers within it hide weapons of the bygone eras.
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Active compound of “Dragon’s Blood” resin found to suppress yeast infections
Candida albicans is a yeast that’s part of the human body’s natural microflora. It can be found in the gastrointestinal tract, the mouth and the vagina. Under normal conditions, C. albicans doesn’t cause any problems or health issues; however, if the environment it lives in changes in a way that’s conducive to fungal growth, C. albicans can start multiplying uncontrollably and cause an infection.
C. albicans is the most prevalent cause of fungal infections in humans. It is often associated with urinary tract infections (UTI), genital yeast infections and oral thrush. Oral anti-fungal medications serve as the primary treatment for yeast infections, but these drugs cause numerous side effects. Besides nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain and hair loss, oral antifungals may also cause irregular heartbeat, severe dizziness and even serious liver disease.
But in a recent study, Chinese researchers found a safe and natural alternative to conventional antifungals that doesn’t cause any of the above-mentioned side effects. Loureirin A, an active compound found in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) known as draconis sanguis (dragon’s blood), showed great anti-fungal and anti-biofilm activities against C. albicans both in vitro and in vivo.
The researchers discussed their findings in an article published in the Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines.
Dragon’s blood resin can be used to treat candidiasis
Dragon’s blood is a resin — a mixture of organic compounds produced by plants for protection — that can be obtained from various plants, such as those from the genus Dracaena (dragon tree). Known in TCM as xue jie, dragon’s blood is used to treat abrasions, cuts, scrapes, insect bites and skin ulcers. It is also effective against vaginitis and yeast infections and can stop diarrhea by inhibiting excess water flow to the intestines.
According to Chinese researchers, dragon’s blood contains a flavonoid called loureirin A that can stop yeasts from forming biofilms. Biofilms are communities of adherent cells (microbes) that provide microbial pathogens protection from the immune system. A common feature of bacterial and fungal infections, biofilms are associated with resistance to antimicrobials and host defenses.
To explore its properties, the researchers decided to test loureirin A’s fungicidal and biofilm-inhibiting activity in vitro and in vivo. Besides determining its effects on hyphal formation — a morphological change undertaken by C. albicans that’s critical to its pathogenesis — they also looked at its toxicity as well as the expression of relevant genes in two infection models, namely, Galleria mellonella (honeycomb moth)-C. albicans and Caenorhabditis elegans (nematode)-C. albicans.
The researchers reported that loureirin A significantly inhibited the formation of C. albicans biofilms. It also decreased cell surface hydrophobicity, which enables C. albicans to adhere to surfaces and form biofilms; suppressed hyphal formation; and down-regulated the expression of adhesion-related and hypha/biofilm-related genes.
In addition, loureirin A exhibited low toxicity and prolonged the survival of C. albicans-infected G. mellonella and C. elegans.
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that loureirin A from dragon’s blood inhibits fungal biofilm formation, thanks to its ability to suppress the pathogenic traits of fungi like C. albicans.
Other natural medicines that can fight fungal infections
Besides dragon’s blood, many natural products possess anti-fungal properties that have been tested and proven by scientific studies. In fact, most of the herbs and spices found in a modern pantry produce essential oils that can effectively fight fungal infections. Here are a few examples: (Related: Investigating the anti-fungal effects of fennel oil.)
Thyme
Cinnamon
Oregano
Cloves
Mint
Lemongrass
Peppermint
Other essential oils that come from inedible herbs, such as citronella, geranium, eucalyptus and tea tree, are also effective natural antifungals. To address skin infections, choose two or three essential oils from the list above and mix two to three drops of each with 20 drops of a carrier oil like extra virgin coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil. Apply to the affected area twice or thrice a day for best results.
Find out more about natural treatments for fungal infections at Remedies.news.
Evangelyn Rodriguez
Sources include:
Science.news
CDC.gov
MedicalNewsToday.com
MedicineNet.com
AcupunctureToday.com
FrontiersIn.org 1
FrontiersIn.org 2
ScienceDirect.com
EC.ASM.org
Healthline.com
Related Posts
Candida Yeast Protection Program – A yeast infection?
10 Natural Remedies for Yeast Infections
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Yeast Infections
9 Symptoms of a Yeast Infection
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Early MSR with Queequeq????? Please?
Scully is a lusus naturae, an erudite woman who could have her pick from the gene pool but prefers the company of cadavers and brooding madmen. There are at least a half a dozen men from the Bureau who’d give their left nut to entertain Agent Scully M.D on a Friday night but she chooses him, the partner she doesn’t want a relationship with.
They’re at her apartment, working on the report for the Clyde Bruckman case. Dinner is greasy burgers and fries with Tuscany wine. They eat and drink on her bed with her new dog between them.
“Sanguis Jovis,“ Scully says and clinks her glass against Mulder’s. “The blood of Jupiter.”
He takes his courtesy sip. “I’m more of a hops man.”
“That’s because you have no taste, Mulder. Beer tastes like piss. Good wine is the nectar of the gods.”
Tipsy Scully is poetic. She finds symbolism in a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino. Tipsy Mulder wants to hold her hand because the alcohol makes him remember how small and dainty it felt in his own.
Mulder tries to make Queequeg sit for a fry but the dog just snatches it from his fingers.
“Mulder,” Scully admonishes.
“What? We know he likes the taste of human flesh. If we don’t feed him, he might eat us.”
She sighs but Mulder can tell she’s fighting a smile. He offers her a fry which she takes between her teeth much like how Queequeg just did. He shivers when her lips graze his fingers.
“It’s only natural,” she says. “There was no food and Queequeg was hungry. You would have done the same thing, I’m sure.”
“The mutt was with Mrs. Lowe’s body less than an hour. He didn’t nibble her entrails because he was hungry, Scully.”
Queequeg whines for another fry and with a roll of her eyes, Scully obliges.
“If he shits on the carpet, you’re cleaning it up.”
Mulder laughs and drains his glass. The wine tastes like candied cherries and sun-baked leather, chocolatey but acidic. It’s not the blood of Jupiter but he doesn’t mind it for, in true Scully fashion, it’s a delightful sort of confusing. It’s a dichotomy like Scully who drinks fifty dollar wine with her double bacon cheeseburgers and adopts man-eating dogs.
He rubs Queequeg’s fluffy head. “So, did Bruckman tell you how you were going to die?”
“No, he didn’t,” she says. Her voice is tight, guarded. There’s more to be said but Scully isn’t going to share.
“Alright.” He picks up the bottle of wine and tops off her glass. “How do you want to die then?”
“As morbid as its sounds, cancer. I’d like to know how much time I have left and make good use of it.”
“Why not live everyday like that and just die peacefully in your sleep?”
“Because I’d say “there’s always tomorrow” and tomorrow may never come. I could die from an arrhythmia in my sleep without ever seeing Italy or the Antarctic. I don’t want peaceful. I want spontaneity, I want to feel desperate so I can get everything out of life.”
She pushes Queequeg off the bed so she can sit closer to Mulder. The dog huffs when he hits the floor but Mulder is too focused on Scully’s breathy sigh to hear it.
“It’s like that one saying, Mulder, I want to be thoroughly used up when I die.”
“Life is no brief candle for you, huh, Scully?”
She sips her wine. “I suppose not.”
“If you ever want me to give you spontaneity, just say the word.”
“Maybe one day,” she says and pours him another drink.
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@ghost-manticore man it was really hard picking out 3 to focus on, there’s some good stuff in your lair!!
Cassiel was the first that caught my eye because I’ve got a lady with that same accent too!! it mashes so well with her gene colors and the simplistic apparel goes so well with it too omg;; I love her mysterious feel aaaa
I love Sanguis’ simple apparel, it compliments her accent great! I’m usually not a big fan of plague aesthetics, but for some reason I just,, love her simplicity,,, also her lore is really neat, love me some dark and creepy blood witches 👌
I fell in love with Zadkia as soon as I saw her, her color palette is just so,,, fancy,, and the leaves of her accent match so good with the golden bits of her pirate apparel, that just some sick matching yo
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My Flight Rising Wishlist!!!
Wishlist
Genes
Alloy
Circuit
Current
Filigree (x2)
Lace
Metallic
Opal
Peacock
Ringlets (x3)
Runes (x2)
Smoke
Smirch
Skins/Accents
Apollo's lament
Cumulus
Faestel Side
Faerie Rings
Shadecursed
Squirming shadows
Surgelight
Bold Kiss
Glitter Glam Cottoncandy
Gilder Elegance M
Crystaplate Stinger
Sunbeam jewels
Sanguis Prince Ascension
Shade shiver
Thundershriek
Unchained corrupter
Familiars
Any holiday familiars prior to Thundercrack Carnival 2018 (Minus Lightning Lancer)
Apparel
Any Holiday Apparel prior to Thundercrack Carival (2018)
Black Lace Set (minus ribbons, anklet, and collar)
Celebration Sage Lantern
Marva's Invisibility Cloak
Rapier
Roving seafarer's armcuffs
Sky Blue Silk Set (minus scarf and veil)
Other
Breed Change Coatl (x2)
Scroll of Eternal Youth
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Text
the taste idea
BEFORE I FORGET
ok so IDK how much you know about Bellamy’s illness AKA the ‘metuo sanguis’ which is something Paris made up to explain why Bellamy’s eyes got all-black before she fed. But it turned out it was an illness/infection that genetically Bellamy carried with her that came out once she was turned into a vampire, etc.
POINT BEING it opened up a whole new avenue (in my opinion) for vampire-specific illnesses/diseases. So like a human could carry this ‘gene’ or whatever that is never triggered unless the human becomes a vampire. then the illness manifests in the unliving body and vampire illness happens. 8D
ANYWAY boring preamble is boring. HOW DOES THIS TIE TO TUAH?!?!
I was thinking about his golden eyes - which some vamps have, and other vamps don’t. And then also his lack of taste which again some vamps have and others don’t. And I don’t like the idea of Iann finding some sort of cure-all for all vamps with this affliction, I prefer the solution to be more specific to Tuah and HIS situation
HERE IS WHERE NECHRION GETS INVOLVED LOL. Because I keep thinking about Nechrion finding Tuah again/still trying to hunt Tuah, like. Poor baby, it’s never over this easily. The Vermonts are all dead but the demon is his new threat. BUT Nechrion’s demonic duties aren’t just about culling vampire souls (because really, vampire souls aren’t as precious/valuable as like pure human souls etc) but the demon also has other duties, as demons generally do.
And I’m using the Catholic idea here, where like you have Saints who have jurisdiction over certain things (like a saint for safe travel, a saint for healing children etc) just like demons do. And it made me think like what if Nechrion happened to be a demon of this particular taste affliction and/or just vampire-taste in general. OR SOMETHING.
Anyway I think that’s as far as I got. Basically the overall idea is that the thing that is trying to own Tuah’s soul, also happens to be the thing that could bring back his taste. BECAUSE I LIKE THAT SORT OF DIFFICULT DUALITY XD XD
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