#not sure if i have these files on a hard drive somewhere... but I ended up pulling them from my insta and google images

[gracefuldisasters]

Reupload from a year ago ~

Still my favorite Sonic game. And I need to draw more in the style of the first slide, I forgot how much I liked it

Sequel

#sth #sonic the hedgehog #the murder of sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #vector the crocodile #espio the chameleon #tails the fox #team chaotix #not sure if i have these files on a hard drive somewhere... but I ended up pulling them from my insta and google images #my stuff #sonic

[nonasuch]

Did you ever write more to the "vader finds out that leia I'd his daughter" story?

No but it’s been percolating in my head for a while so let’s go

(continuing from this)

The first thing Vader does is cover his tracks. Wipes the security cameras for the whole cell block, wipes the prisoner logs, makes sure that no trace of Leia’s capture or escape will be in the files synced daily with Imperial Center. Puts in transfer orders for that nervous junior officer to somewhere very far away and very quiet. Saves only one short vid clip, to the secret hard drive hidden in his own respirator.

I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to rescue you.

While he’s doing this, his children (children! plural!) are getting themselves into trouble, and out again. Apparently the trash compactor was involved. He will have more footage to scrub. Somehow they’ve acquired a Wookie.

Kenobi is with them.

Vader should have foreseen this. Of course, Kenobi.

His presence saturates the Force, nearly drowning out Luke— and Leia, too, now that Vader knows to look. It’s enough to break Vader free from the chill of shock, his rightful fury seen as through a window right up until it shatters, and engulfs him again.

But he forces it back. He wants answers, before he kills Kenobi.

(I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to rescue you.)

He hasn’t played the clip again, but it echoes in his ears nonetheless.

When he faces Kenobi, Vader is still off-balance. Kenobi seems as calm, as unruffled as he ever did, though he’s far too obvious in buying time for Leia and Luke to attempt an escape.

Vader asks him: “Do they know?”

“You’ll have to be more specific,” Kenobi says, light and unconvincing.

“You kept them from me,” Vader says, and that is a thought that feeds the Dark, that lets him hammer at Kenobi’s saber until he’s nearly past his guard—

“I kept them from your master,” Kenobi says, his voice still even and pleasant and false, hardly betraying his exertion.

“I’ll kill you for this,” Vader vows.

“I expect so,” says Kenobi. “I swore I’d die before I let Palpatine harm another child in my care. If dying will keep them from him, it’s well worth the cost.”

(I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to rescue you.)

By the end of this speech Kenobi recovers a little of his old skill, turning Vader’s blows aside instead of merely bearing up under their weight. Too soon, Vader falters, losing the momentum of rage. They both fall back to defensive positions. Any living troopers have long since cleared the area; the whole deck is a ruin of saber gouges and shattered armor.

Vader rarely speaks without thinking. The nature of his breathing apparatus makes this a necessity, more often than not. But the words escape him anyway.

“Who named them?”

And now Kenobi is the one who falters. It is satisfying, if short-lived. “Their mother,” he says. “With her last breaths.”

A long time ago — a lifetime away — there was a list of names. Two lists, really, to start with, and then another of the names held in common to both. No record of it survives, not even on the hard drive hidden next to Vader’s heart.

On Naboo, children are often named for virtues. A child might be called Aluuk, for kindness, or Alié, for wisdom.

On Tatooine, a child’s name is the parent’s hope for its future. Perhaps Lukka would grow to be free; perhaps Leyah would grow to be fierce.

And perhaps they have. Vader does not know. Kenobi took that from him.

Vader won’t kill him yet, though. He still has questions.

#asked and answered #star wars #i wrote a thing

[lazyjellyfish300]

The Stuffed Rabbit🐇💌💕

Miguel O'Hara x AFAB Reader s/o

Happy Valentine's Day, Miguel Nation! 🌹💌

Synopsis: One of my Valentine's Day specials. The other one is posted now too. Woot woot! Bringing you and Miguel back from the same universe as In a Vial Around Your Pretty Little Neck. It's your second Valentine's Day together. And all you want is to go to Build A Bear. You plan an emotional surprise for him too that you hope he'll love. The quote: "Grief is love with nowhere to go," by Jamie Anderson helped inspire this. Word count: 2.7k

TW: Minors DNI since this one has suggestive content(but no smut), little angst, grief, other than that just Valentine's fluff.

-----

"Tienes demasiados peluches, mi vida." (You have too many stuffed animals, my life.) Miguel smirks at you as he stands in your kitchen, loading the Keurig with his cup of Joe for the morning.

"Well, I need more." You say firmly, crossing your arms.

Miguel shakes his head. "The fact that they take up nearly the entire new shelf I bought you is crazy on its own. You sure you don't want a fancy dinner, maybe a little vacation, just you and I? Movie? Some earrings?" He tickles your earlobe and you swat him away playfully.

"No way. Build-a-Bear or bust."

Miguel smiles, won over by your persistence. "Well, it seems I don't stand a chance against you this time." He sighs and pours the steaming coffee into a mug, blowing on the hot drink lightly. "I'll take you to Build-A-Bear, if I can choose the restaurant we go to afterwards?"

You press your fingertips together like a villain making a deal.

"Very well, O'Hara. You drive a hard bargain, but alas, I shall concede this time and let you have jurisdiction over our choice of dining."

Miguel shakes his head. "I'll do without the theatrics."

You walk up to him, craning your neck to look up at him and lean forward into his chest with both hands on either side of his waist. "Let me be dramatic in peace. You know I can't stand surprises when it comes to food."

Miguel sets his mug down and holds your face in his hands. "Are my restaurant picks really that terrible?"

You suck your cheeks in like a guppy and Miguel leans in to give you a little peck. "Nah. But preferably not Subway again."

Miguel's face curls into a smirk and he tickles your sides which you start giggling in response, trying to to push him off. "Thought you wanted to go to the place where they 'make the food in front of you'?" he says teasingly.

"Stahhhppp it!! I- *giggles* I-I meant teppanyaki, genius! Not freakin Subway."

Miguel starts kissing your cheeks, alternating between each one, causing your stomach to flutter.

"My apologies, baby...you're right, I'll make sure to pick somewhere extra special this time."

His hands slip under your shirt, making you get a little weak and your eyes droop.

"Mmm-promise...?"

He gives you a soft lingering kiss, and mumbles quietly against your lips, "Te lo prometo, cariño." (I promise you, dear)

-----

Your plan worked. Now you just had to get some help from Lyla. You wanted your own stuffed animal for Valentine's Day of course, but you wanted something extra special made for Miguel that you could give him at dinner, too.

You stood in front of Miguel's desk with Lyla, drumming your fingers anxiously as she was trying to download and email the file you were needing for his present before he returned from his lunch break.

"How much longer, Lyla?...." You asked, trying to keep the impatience in your tone in check.

"Almost there, almost there....." Lyla chided, jumping from one end of the holographic screen to the other. "Annnnnnd.....okay I sent it! He's gonna cry when he sees it dude, I hope you're ready."

You smile and then jump when you hear Miguel's voice. "Ready for what? And what are you doing here in the middle of the day?"

You whirl around and Lyla dissipates, trying play it off like both of you weren't up to anything.

"Nothing! Lyla was just saying uhm...she was just making sure I'm ready for tomorrow because apparently you chose a really fancy place for dinner this time." You grin, your heart racing in your chest.

Miguel gives you a suspicious look, but it turns into a smile as he scoops you up, planting you on his desk with your legs on either side of him. He gives your thighs a little squeeze and looks at the screens behind you as though he didn't buy your excuse entirely. "Hmmm...I did choose a fancy place for dinner tomorrow. I just hope Lyla didn't spoil it already..."

Lyla regenerates next to Miguel's ear. "Secret's still secure, boss!"

You nod, backing her up. "Honestly, she didn't tell me anything. Even though I was begging."

Miguel smiles and presses his forehead against yours. "Someone's impatient."

"I'm just excited! That's all..." You lean in , putting your hands on Miguel's shoulders and he helps hoist you back down.

He nods. "Trust me, you'll love it. But, dare I ask what you and Lyla were actually up to before I walked in?" He gives you a little smirk as he moves past you, setting up his workstation once again.

You quickly avert your gaze, doing your best to shield your true intentions. "Um...well, maybe there is gonna be a little surprise for you tomorrow too." You look up at him and he has a warm smile on his face.

"Really? Surprise f'me, hmm?" He pulls you back in by your hips.

You smile and rest your hands on his shoulders. "Yep. But key word: surprise. So you won't get to find out until tomorrow."

Miguel nods and ruffles your hair. "Very well, as you wish, ma'am." He calls out to you as you head for the exit. "I'm gonna try and guess what it is all day now!"

You turn your head and shoot one last teasing smile his way, "Love you baby!"

"Yo también te amo."(I love you too)

------

Next day, Valentine's Day

You and Miguel walk arm in arm into Build a Bear. You smile giddily and run up to the bins with all the different animals to choose from. Miguel smiles and stays a few paces behind you. He sees a cute couple with their little daughter and it pulls at his heart strings a bit. He looks around the little shop at the other families, and little kids running around and it creates a lump in his throat. He was afraid of this happening today. Valentine's Day and any other holidays would always end up reminding him of his sweet little girl every time going forward. It was bittersweet in its own way.

You were like a shower of rain upon the aching desolate plains of his heart, bringing with you a special happiness he never thought he'd be able to feel again. He fiddled with the ring on his pinky that held your blood in it as he watched you.

One of these days he wouldn't keep you waiting any longer.

He's ripped out of his thoughts when you call for him.

"Baby, I'm having a hard time choosing which one I want."

Miguel walks over to you where you have a yak in one hand and a red teddy bear in the other.

"Get em both." Miguel says, kissing your forehead.

"But..." You start to protest but Miguel shakes his head, already escorting you to the line in front of the stuffing station. "Thank you so much baby. You spoil me."

Miguel chuckles and says with a small wink. "Well, it's Valentine's Day...but don't expect this to be a regular occurrence."

You smile mischievously, "Oh, well in that case I'm going to milk this opportunity for as long as I can."

Miguel wraps his arm around you and sighs. His wallet may be on fire by the end of the night but anything for his valentine.

He watches you with a tender expression as you scrunch your nose slightly and close your eyes when you make a wish and kiss the small red plush hearts that go inside both stuffed animals. The employee takes them with a smile and hums as she stuffs both of them for you.

Miguel watched, fascinated by the machine as the stuffing churns and gently brings each animal to life.

"Alright, honey, give both of those a hug for me and make sure they're stuffed just right."

You hand Miguel the red teddy. "Can you make sure he has enough stuffing, babe?"

Miguel looks a little bewildered at first but gives the teddy an awkward little squeeze. "Umm,...he feels soft enough to me, I guess. Maybe he could use a rounder belly?" He points out the bear's small pouch.

The employee smiles, "Good call!" She stuffs the red teddy a little bit more and hands it back to Miguel. "How's that?"

Miguel gives the red teddy a fresh squeeze, his belly a little bit more full and firm now. "Perfect." He hands him back to you and you take it with a smile.

"Thanks, baby!"

Miguel's watch goes off with an incoming call from Lyla. "Perdóname..."(forgive me) You nod and give him a reassuring smile and watch him walk outside to take it, unaware that you and Lyla orchestrated the distraction.

Perfect. Everything was going to plan. You walked back to the bins and scanned them looking for the perfect one. You chose a tan, fuzzy rabbit with droopy pink ears and handed it to the employee. "Can I get this one too, please?"

-----

Later, you and Miguel are walking to his car with three cardboard stuffed animal carriers. "Can you carry this one baby?"

The corner of Miguel's mouth raises. "Got yourself an extra one?"

You smile. "Nah I got that one for you! But you can't look at it until we get to the restaurant. It's your big surprise."

Miguel smiles and looks at the box curiously. He wasn't used to receiving little presents and surprises like this until you came along. He felt a warm fuzzy feeling in his veins as he looked back at you. "You shouldn't have."

You smile and kiss the back of his hand you're holding. "Course I should have. You're my valentine."

Miguel gives you an affectionate smile in response and you two drive to the restaurant, a gentle flurry of snowflakes begins to dust the rooftops of Nueva York as the daylight wanes.

----

Your hands start to get clammy as Miguel leads you into the mystery restaurant, eyes closed. You hear the familiar restaurant clatter and rush of the indoor environment, then you feel the chilliness of the outside again, then quiet and warmth greets you in an unfamiliar, new setting.

"Abre los ojos, muñeca..." (Open your eyes, doll)

You look and your breath catches in your throat at the sight around you. Miguel reserved a clear, outdoor igloo on the rooftop of one of Nueva York's finest restaurants. The night was turning an imperial blue now, the light now scarce with grey clouds smearing the corners of the sky except where the snowflakes were falling through.

Source: Pinterest, from this online article.

Twinkle lights adorned the inside and outside of the igloo, creating a whimsical feel with tall outdoor heaters supplying warmth. There was an inviting couch with several decorative pillows and blankets adorning it. A sleek table sat in the front of it complete with soft glowing candles, antipasto on a wooden plank, and two wine glasses.

Your heart melted almost as quickly as the tears rushed to the corners of your eyes as you stood on tiptoe to give Miguel a kiss of gratitude.

You felt him smile against your lips. "You like it?..."

"Baby, I love it. Thank you so, so much..."

Miguel sits you down and you both get cozy underneath one of the blankets, lifting up your wine glasses to toast the evening.

"To you....let tonight become another sweet memory we can look back on together," he says.

You smile in agreement. "And here's to my ring finger not staying vacant for much longer."

Miguel chuckles as you click glasses. "It won't, baby, I promise you that..."

You feel your heart pound in your chest at the words he spoke combined with what you know is coming next. You turn and pick up the cardboard carrier, presenting it to him. "Time for your surprise, babe..."

Miguel grins and takes the cardboard box from you. He jokingly shakes it as though a feral animal were really inside, then cracks it open.

You giggle, then bring your hands to your lips in anticipation.

Miguel's eyes widen as he finds the tan, fuzzy stuffed rabbit with floppy ears, then his lips fall open as he takes it out.

The rabbit is dressed in a little blue soccer uniform and has a little red bow on one of its ears. Miguel's heart freezes in his chest at the familiar realization. He looks at you with surprise. "Baby...is this..?"

The tears have gotten to you already. You nod, trying to speak through the lump in your throat. "Press its paw..."

Miguel presses the rabbit's paw.

His favorite voice in the world...one that he hadn't heard in such a long time...the one that brought him so much happiness but also ached his soul. The sound that signified all his grief. His love with nowhere to go.

The voice of his little girl is heard... clear as day.

"Te amo y te extraño, papá. Eres el mejor padre del mundo. Besos de Gabi." (I love you and miss you, papa. You are the best father in the world. Kisses, from Gabi)

Miguel just sits there in awe, unable to speak. He presses the rabbit's paw again, as though to make sure he heard it correctly. Gabi's sweet voice speaks again, and he brings the rabbit to his chest, clutching it. Miguel is silent with his eyes closed, and then you notice his shoulders start to gently shake as his quiet sobs can't be contained anymore. He's just a loving father missing his baby girl.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my love..." You whisper, taking Miguel into your arms.

He lays his head against your chest, still clutching the rabbit, hot tears still running down his cheeks, unable to speak.

"Thank you..." He says at last in a hoarse whisper. "I miss her..."

You nod, his head still tucked in the crook of your neck. "I know, baby...I'm here...."

For the longest moment in time, it's just you two holding one another, the sweet rabbit sandwiched between your two hearts that surely can't contain the overwhelming adoration that has just blossomed and brought you two even closer together from this tender memory. No words are needed, but when he finally regains his strength, his brings his eyes to look at you, two sweet rubies glossy with a window of tears.

"I love you so much...you have no idea how precious this is to me..."

Your face melts, your own lovely eyes caked in emotional tears.

"I love you, sweetheart. You'll never know how much I do..."

Miguel shakes his head. "I have a pretty good idea...it's my love for you that you will never be able to comprehend, mi vida..."

You bring your lips closer and he greets them with his own. Warm and cozy, you two let the emotions of tonight speak for themselves in this soft gesture. Two souls in love in a little starlit igloo while the Valentine's Day snow carries on outside, the love between you two more than enough to keep you warm.

-----

Later, you two are chest to chest, your neck craned a little bit as you gaze up into those vermillion eyes, a love song accompanying your casual sways back and forth, fingers interlocked in a loving clasp.

The sweet stuffed rabbit, Gigi, sits among her two new friends, Yogurt, the Yak and Maraschino, the red teddy on your pillows which will be greeted by you and Miguel shortly.

Miguel drags his thumb along your bottom lip, pausing in the middle. His warm, sweet breath greets yours and you let him in, the caress of his tongue quickly making the kiss quite passionate as your lips move softly together.

You break apart, his eyes locked deliciously on you. Your chest rises in shaky, excited breaths as you feel his hands gently make their way to your clothed breasts.

Miguel notes your flustered reaction and smirks a bit. "Tired...?"

You flash him a little smile and press your forehead against his. "I can afford to lose another hour..."

A soft groan rumbles in his chest and he moves his hand to the back of your neck, skimming past the chain that holds the little vial with his blood over your delicate heart.

You feel the tiny vibration of your zipper buzz against your back as he drags it down.

Miguel whispers, "Let's make that two..."

-----

💌🥹💕

#miguel o'hara #miguel atsv #miguel ohara #miguel x reader #miguel o'hara x reader #spotify #atsv miguel #miguel o'hara smut #miguel ohara smut #miguel o'hara fluff #miguel o hara fluff #miguel ohara fluff #miguel o hara x y/n #miguel ohara imagine #miguel o'hara x fem!reader #miguel o'hara imagine #miguel ohara x fem!reader #Spotify

[copperbadge]

What do you mean by digital cleaning?

It's something I've been working on more this year because I had a bit more travel than usual so couldn't do actual home cleaning, but I always take a couple of days in the Month Of Cleaning where I'm focused on my digital life. It's good to make your physical home a comfortable place for yourself, but it's also good to recognize that we have "digital" homes that need attention. And often this is at least less physically demanding, so it's good to keep it in your back pocket for days when you're mentally okay but physically too tired or sore to do more of that kind of work.

In the shortest possible terms, digital cleaning is just making sure that your phone, computer, socials, and other digital "presences" are organized in a way that you find helpful, and that you take a moment to either answer those messages you've been putting off or give yourself amnesty on doing so.

This tends to make a lot of people extremely anxious in a way ordinary physical space cleaning doesn't, so I'm going to put the rest of it behind a cut...

So when I say digital cleaning, I refer to stuff like going through my likes on Tumblr and clearing them out, going through my drafts and turning them into queued posts, answering my asks. I spend time in my email inboxes, either responding to messages or removing them. I am not an "inbox zero" kind of guy, but I like to keep the read-but-not-answered messages to a minimum, and towards the end of the year that usually means a clear-out and amnesty. I clean my Google Drive -- delete old files I uploaded for others, move documents I'm no longer using into an archive, move documents I want to work on into a central work folder. I go through my catch-all folder on my hard drive and organize it; I sort through the year's photos and organize those, partly to archive them and partly because I make a scrapbook from them each year. I don't usually have a ton of tabs open but often have more than I'd like, so I go through them all and either read, bookmark, or get rid of them.

I look in my phone's file tree to make sure I delete files I don't need (mostly menu downloads, Restaurants Stop Making Your Menus PDFs Challenge 2K24) and I sometimes go through each app on my phone, make sure I still use it, and make sure it's set how I want it. If this sounds like a nightmare, bear in mind that I very rarely put apps on my phone to start with -- I think my mother has more apps open at any given time than I have apps on my phone ever.

Everywhere I clean, I look for files named things like "notes" or "deal with" or "random" and move them all into one place so that whatever is in them, I can sort through it and make sure it goes somewhere permanent. Logins go in the login/password spreadsheet I keep, addresses go into my contacts, story notes go into a "fiction scraps" file, random thoughts either get moved into a journal file or put into drafts to become Tumblr posts, etc.

If this sounds like I might have some kind of compulsion disorder, I get that; when I explain my digital hygiene systems a lot of people look at me like I'm spouting a mad but harmless conspiracy theory. But it's something I used to have to do periodically even before I created National Clean Your Home Month, because otherwise I could never find anything, and everything was just...harder. As I once told a boss who admired my organizational skills, "It was this or endless chaos."

Putting addresses into my contacts list means I always know that the addresses I have for my friends are up to date. Putting logins into a spreadsheet means that five minutes spent now will not result in five weeks of procrastination later because I can't find the login and can't do anything else until I do that. Going through my email and archiving old conversations means not only can I find them easily when needed, I don't have to look at them the rest of the time. Sometimes I even go through my various wish lists and remove old/purchased items, or clear out all my "save for later" carts.

There's no doubt this is stressful, but like every part of NaClYoHo, it's broken down into smaller tasks; I don't have to look at my computer and organize everything on it all in one day. I can answer a few asks, then sort photos (something I find very soothing up until the moment I Don't), then read and delete some emails, then I'm done for the day. I can spread "answer or file all your work emails" out over a couple of days. I can maybe empty out my Likes but just turn the ones I actually want to reblog into drafts for now and deal with them later in the "drafts" phase of cleaning. And if I don't manage to empty out my inboxes, at least they're emptier than they were.

I'm struggling this morning with having put a bunch of physical cleaning on the to-do list but not feeling physically up for it, so I did what I felt capable of doing (measuring cabinets for new shelf liners mainly) and later today I might sit down and start building this year's photobook. Or not -- I have to code Radio Free Monday, sort out a prescription and possibly go pick it up, plus a very full day of work and a couple of afternoon appointments I can't shirk, so today may simply be a "get through the day" kind of day. That's okay too; some days the spirit is willing but the schedule is full.

#naclyoho #national clean your home month #digital cleaning

[specialagentlokitty]

Lucifer (fox) x reader - worth more

Sitting down at your desk, you pulled your phone out of your pocket and sighed heavily as you set it down on your desk.

“Still nothing?” Dan asked.

“Nope, I mean usually he would’ve messaged me by now at least…” you mumbled.

Dan gave you a sympathetic smile.

“Just give him so more time, you know what he’s like. I’m sure he’s just busy with work.” Chloe smiled.

You nodded your head, knowing that was usually the case your boyfriend usually just got so caught up in work he’d forget to reply.

“You’re still wasting your time with that low life?” Lucifer asked.

You glared at him a little bit.

“He’s my boyfriend lucifer, don’t be such an ass.”

“Well clearly he’s got you wrapped around his finger because you can’t see that he’s cheating on you.”

“Lucifer!” Chloe hissed.

“He’s not.” You snapped.

Getting up, you walked away with some files, going to find somewhere else to work.

You decided to sit in the lab while you waited for Ella to get back so you could go to lunch with her, and lucifer would most likely stay near Chloe

You managed to work in peace for a little while until your phone began to ring, and you answered it, putting it on speaker.

“Hey, is everything alright?” You asked.

“Hey, yeah it’s fine. Look I’m going to have to cancel our date night. I have to work late.”

“Oh, again? We’ve not had a date night for weeks, and it was really hard to get reservations to this place.”

“Yeah, well work is work so.”

You glanced up as the door was opened and chose to ignore lucifer as he entered.

“No I know that, I just don’t want you to overwork yourself. You’re always working late.”

“Yeah I know.”

Lucifer padded over and looked over your shoulder.

“Oh is that the douche you call your boyfriend?”

“Who the fuck is that?”

“It’s my colleague, apparently he doesn’t know when to mind his own business.”

You heard your boyfriend scoff on the other end of the line.

“Seriously? I told you I don’t want you working with that prick.”

“I’m sorry, you know I don’t get a choice in this.” You sighed.

“Yeah. Right. Bet that’s what you say when he’s at your apartment right? You got no choice.”

“Come on, don’t be like that. You know I wouldn’t cheat on you.”

“Fuck off.”

Your boyfriend hung up and you sighed, locking your phone and you ran a hand down your face, taking a small breath.

“Seriously, what do you see in that idiot? Clearly he’s beneath you, I don’t even see why you waste your time with somebody like him, for someone so smart you sure can be stupid.”

You spun around to lucifer and you punched him, shaking your hand as you hissed in pain.

He looked at you in pure shock.

“What the hell is your problem lucifer!?”

“You hit me!”

“I mean with my boyfriend asshole! Why the fuck do you keep trying to break us up?!”

Lucifer scoffed.

“Trust me if you stopped being so blind you would end this relationship rather quickly.”

“Just because you go sleeping around with everything with a pulse doesn’t mean he does!”

“Well, I have two eyes and a memory that say differently.”

You clenched your jaw.

“You know what, stay away from me. Your job is to work with Chloe, not me.”

“Oh come on, don’t be like that!”

You grabbed your things, making your way to the door and lucifer trailed after you.

“(Y/N), come on!”

“Leave me alone! I don’t want to look at you anymore!”

You dropped everything on the desk, and you grabbed your car keys, deciding it would be a nice way to get away from him.

Lucifer went to follow you, but Chloe grabbed his arm and shoved him into one of the interrogation rooms.

“What the hell did you do?!” She hissed.

“I don’t know! (Y/N) punched me in the face and just stormed away!”

You spent a few hours driving around, just trying to get out of your head, and you decided to go home to grab your shopping list.

Jogging up into the apartment you let yourself in and walked towards the kitchen.

Grabbing the paper on the fridge, you looked over the list, taking the pen from your pocket to add a few more things.

That’s when you heard the sound of something being knocked over.

Furrowing your brows, you set the pen and paper down, hand reaching towards your gun as you started to go around the apartment, checking everywhere somebody could hide.

The only place you hadn’t checked was the bathroom, so you walked over and reached out for the handle.

You could heard somebody inside, and you threw the door open, gun raised and ready.

“LAPD!”

The two people inside stopped and you blinked a few times.

“(Y/N) I.. I thought..”

You calmly put your gun away, and stepped aside, gesturing for them to get out of the bathroom and they did, both scrambling for their clothes.

“Get out.”

“You can’t kick me out of my own apartment!”

“My apartment James, and I said get the fuck out! Both of you before I find something to arrest you both for!”

The woman looked at your boyfriend, and then looked at you.

“Asshole! You said you were single!”

She smacked him, and pulled her shirt over her head, shooting you an apologetic look.

“I’m so sorry!”

With that she ran out, and you looked at your partner.

“Get the fuck out James! This is my apartment in my name!”

“You’re the one who started this!”

“I just caught you in the bathroom cheating on me!”

“So what?! You’re clearly doing that lucifer dude!”

You rolled your eyes, gesturing to the front door.

“I’m done. This is done. We’re through James, get out.”

“Or what?”

“I’ll charge you with trespassing.” You shrugged.

He sneered a little bit.

Storming forward he backed you into a wall, and your hand went for your gun out of reflex.

James grabbed your hand, gripping it so tightly you were sure he was going to break it.

“Nobody will ever love you anyways…” he snarled.

James threw you to the ground, and you hit your head off the corner of the wall.

With that he left, and you sat there, heart in your through, trembling out of pure fear because never had James raised a hand to you before.

You stayed sat in shock for minutes before you reached into your pocket, calling for your best friend.

She was over so fast you were sure that Ella had managed to break more than one traffic law.

She knelt in front of you, touching your forehead where it was bleeding slightly.

“Chloe and Dan have put a bolo out on James, they said you can come in when you’re ready to say what happened.” She said softly.

You slowly nodded your head, and she helped you up, taking you to your room where she cleaned your wound and stitched it up for you.

“I.. I don’t know… he’s never…”

“I know…”

Ella sat on the bed with you, holding you in her arms as tears burned your eyes.

“Why would he do this…?” You sniffled.

“Because he’s a horrible man and when I get my hands on him I swear I’ll.. I’ll… ugh!”

“Ella don’t, please. I don’t know what he’ll do to you…”

Ella looked at you, and she rested her head on yours.

“They’ll find him…”

You just nodded your head.

“How about some ice cream, and some really crazy action films? You love action films?”

“No.. no I uh.. I just.. I’m going to get changed…”

“Alright, I’ll wait in the living room.”

Ella gave you a little squeeze, and she left the room, closing the door behind her.

You changed into a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt, hanging around your room for a few minutes before you made your way out.

Ella was already sat on your couch with a tub of ice cream and two spoons, and she grinned a little.

“Come on, I know you love ice cream.”

You smiled weakly, making your way over and you sat down next to her.

“Here, eat ice cream.”

She handed you a spoon and held the tub out for you.

Ella stayed for a little while until she was called away for a crime scene, and you went to get changed.

“Ah! No!”

“Ella if there’s a crime scene I need to be there.”

“Nope! Absolutely not! You’re going to stay right here and I’ll be right back over.”

Ella hugged you, and she rushed away, and you carried on eating ice cream.

You finished the tub and you went to the kitchen to get another, only to hear your front door open and you went to reach for a knife.

“Well, if I knew you were going to stab me I would have definitely thought twice about coming here.”

You sighed, setting the knife back down.

“This is breaking and entering.”

“Only if I broke the lock, it so happens Miss Lopaz gave me her key.”

“Well.. go away…”

Grabbing your tub of ice cream, you went to walk past him but he grabbed your elbow.

Because of earlier events you immediately recoiled from his touch, shuffling away from him, keeping your face turned away.

Lucifer frowned a little bit.

“(Y/N)?” He asked.

You ignored him, making your way back to the couch, sitting down and you set your ice cream on the table.

Lucifer walked over, keeping his distance from you as he crouched down at the other side of the table.

You glanced at him, and you saw he was looking disheveled, his hair wasn’t as neat as it usually was, and there was spots of blood on his shirt.

“Oh, it’s not my blood if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

“What happened?”

“Well, it would appear your ex took a rather… let’s say nasty fall down the stairs of the precinct.”

You slowly nodded your head, and he slowly held out his hand, gesturing to where you were sat.

“May I?”

You nodded.

Lucifer got up, making his way back around the table to sit in front of you, and he reached up.

You flinched a little, and he hesitated.

“You know I would never hurt you..” lucifer whispered.

He moved his hand upwards, trailing his fingers along your cheek, moving some of the hair from your head.

He ran his fingers over the bandaid that covered the cut on your head, and he could see the slight blood that had came through it.

“I should have done more than throw him down those stairs…” he growled.

You locked eyes with him, and he smiled softly at you.

“You deserve so much more..” he said softly.

You shrugged a little bit.

“Hey, come on. Don’t do that to yourself, you know you deserve more, everybody knows that you deserve so much more… the whole world..”

“Don’t lie..”

Lucifer chuckled a little bit.

“I would never lie to you, you know that. Everything I’ve said is the truth.”

You sniffled a little bit.

“I.. I just don’t get it.. I don’t understand why he’d do it…”

“Because he was a prick, and he never deserved somebody with such a kind soul as yours (Y/N), and believe me there will be a special spot in hell reserved just for him after what he did to you.”

Lucifer wiped away a few of your tears that had falling from your eyes.

“Come now, don’t waste your tears for somebody so unworthy.”

Lucifer shuffled forward so he was sat on the edge of the table, and you held your arms out to him.

He moved over, sitting on the couch with you, letting you rest your head on his chest, and he placed his hand on your head, wrapping his other arm around you.

“You should never have to cry…” he whispered.

Lucifer held you as you quietly sobbed, sometimes his hand absentmindedly going to covered the wound on your head as if he could just take it away.

He couldn’t.

He knew that.

But he could sit here with you, hold you when you needed it the most, make sure that you weren’t alone right now and just remind you that you were worth so much more

#lucifer fox #lucifer x reader #lucifer x you #lucifer imagine #lucifer morningstar #lucifer Morningstar x reader #lucifer Morningstar x you #lucifer Morningstar imagine

[shanie-the-toyaddict]

I don't want to hijack anyone's post so I'm putting my two cents about media piracy/preservation here.

As someone who literally grew up in the era of "Keep Circulating Those Tapes", I have this thing about keeping things. About "owning" them.

If I like something, be it a fanfic or a tv show or even a yt video, I save it. I literally pay money for a yearly subscription to one of the best stream ripping programs out there because I'm obsessive about this. Before that, it was ripping websites. Before that? P2P. Before that it was literally copying and pasting text into a MS Works document and printing it out.

I have fanfictions still printed out from 20 years ago. Catherine Semerjain, one of the biggest authors of Shane McMahon fanfiction in the 90s... I have her stories printed out and saved in little books. Encyclopedia Xenaica, a proto-version of a fan wiki, I have printed out and saved in it's ENTIRETY from before it was taken down.

Yes, I printed a WIKI. This was 2000, the internet was small back then.

This behavior has never stopped.

It has, however, transformed.

So damn many data discs. SO MANY. I have volumes upon volumes of data discs of media that I saved because you literally never know when or where shit will vanish. Somewhere, I have a full series burn (absolute potato) of "You Can't Do That On Television" because that series evaporated for decades until someone uploaded the converted tapes, only for it to vanish again.

But it is preserved. I have it. On disc. On file. On backup.

My backups have backups.

I have FIVE external hard drives, the smallest of which is 3 TB. That's also the oldest and everything on there is backed up at least one other place.

The point I'm making is that I am obsessive about hard copies of things and I have even more digitally.

And it's all because I remember the 90s.

I remember before the internet, before there was streaming, before TV on DVD. Back when if you liked a show you damn sure better have your VHS running when it was on because you might not get a second chance. (I'm looking at you 90s Shanie who accidentally taped over the original broadcast of Xena's banned episode). I have been hardwired to distrust the internet as an archive because I've gotten hurt so many times.

Listen to me closely.

Streaming has never been a savior.

If it's on the internet it is, by definition, temporary. They say "the internet is forever" but that's a lie. Very few things on the internet are truly forever. Everything ends, everything fades, and if you don't preserve these streaming shows while they're around you're gonna find yourself empty handed the moment that the winds change and the mood shifts. Seriously, there's tutorials out there on how to do piracy right. Read them. Learn them. Love them.

Then start doing it.

Because it's been made very clear that corporations don't give a shit about preserving media. It's up to us.

It's always been up to us.

#pro piracy #hbo max

[jongseongsnudes]

fourteen.

warning; 😵😵😵😵 1.5k words. (there is a lot of dialogue in this chapter but it is definitely necessary!)

masterlist.

“the wedding will be held in 3 months from today. preparations for it have already begun,” the man sitting across from you tells you calmly, “we will have a formal dinner with mr and mrs choi next week so you can meet them.”

“i- i’m sorry... what?”

“yes darling,” mr park chuckles in his fatherly tone, a tone that used to make you feel so happy to hear, now only scares you more than anything. “yours and beomgyu’s wedding. mr choi and i have decided on a good date.”

you waited for someone to speak after the awkward pause, but no one said a thing. nothing. your initial thought of this all being a very unfunny joke was slowly fading, like the smile on your face, everything now becoming too real for you to even fathom.

... but it couldn’t be, could it?

your wedding?

“my- my wedding?!”

“i know i haven’t proposed yet, but i’m working on it,” beomgyu chimes in from your side, his face lit up in complete smiles, “i’ll make sure to plan something unforgettable.”

that wasn’t even the problem!

you glance around in disbelief, your mind unable to wrap around the fact that you were getting married to a man you hardly even knew... and in three months! beomgyu must’ve noticed your silence, the man reaching over to hold your shaking hands in an attempt to calm you. but you were anything but calm.

“i hope you both can get more acquainted during this time and build a relationship before the wedding. it is what mr choi and i truly hope for.”

after what seemed like ten hours hours (which was only about 30 minutes), lunch finally comes to an end with you following mr park out to his waiting car. instead of having beomgyu drive you home like you had initially thought, mr park had offered to take you instead.

settling beside him in the backseat of his car must’ve been the most nerve wracking thing you’ve ever experienced. even though this man was technically your step father, your family, you in no way felt that way.

“i hope you can keep this from sunghoon for now,” mr park says as his eyes busily scan through some files.

“yes... mr park,” you can’t help but think about last night’s fight, sunghoon’s last words screaming at you from the back of your head. - stay the fuck away from me - those words had bothered you all day. living with sunghoon has been difficult from the start but last night’s fight seemed to be it for you. you can no longer live with him. “can i please ask you something mr park?”

“yes darling, of course.”

“about living with sunghoon... is it possible to... move somewhere else?” your fidgety fingers and stutters made it clear that you were a nervous wreck, something mr park had immediately caught onto, “i don’t mind where, i can even work to pay for it while i study.”

“is he giving you a hard time? would you like me to speak to him?”

“no- no! it’s not that!” you were quick to protest, the last thing you wanted was to further ruin their rocky relationship that had gotten worse lately... seemingly because of you. “i just... don’t want to disturb him and his life.”

“i will look into it and let you know when i find a suitable place for you, okay?”

“yes... thank you mr park.”

you’re not sure how long you spent staring blankly at the television screen for but it was only now you realised it wasn’t even on. a lot had been on your mind since the morning, the word “wedding” the only thing repeating over and over. it was something you just couldn’t wrap your mind around, something you couldn’t believe was really happening. to you!

perhaps you could busy yourself for the rest of the day, maybe a walk in the park, maybe go shopping for a new phone. whatever it may be, was better than mopping around in sunghoon’s apartment. the last thing you needed now was to deal with sunghoon coming home, seeing you and then getting mad again. 

*ding*

shit! he’s home before you even had the chance to leave!

not wanting to bump into him, you get up and quickly make your way towards the bathroom when a hand suddenly grabs onto your arm, yanking you back. the harsh pull has you instantly losing your balance and falling back into his chest, giving him the chance to grab both of your arms to make you face him.

“ow sunghoon-”

“are you fucking out of your mind!” the man’s intimidating face is way too close to yours for your liking, so close that you could feel the rage radiating from his body, “why did you go with him? have you not learnt your lesson!”

“sunghoon- let go-” you were struggling, his grip around you now so tight that it seemed impossible to escape, almost suffocating you at this point. “w- why do you even care what i do? i can go wherever i want-”

“cut the bullshit! i have never met someone as dumb as you! do you not fucking think before you do-”

“you’re the one who told me to stay away from you! it- it’s what i’m trying to do!” your eyes go wide at the realisation that you had just talked back to sunghoon without any sort of alcohol in you and for it to be so natural. you’ve definitely become more gutsy living lately. “sunghoon let go!”

never have you screamed so loudly at anyone before, let alone at the park sunghoon. his cocked brows tells you that he’s just as surprised as you were at your outburst, if not even more so but you couldn’t care less at this point. you’ve really just had enough of this man always treating you like a rag doll.

and to your surprise, sunghoon really does as asked, both his arms retracting back to his sides as he glances away from you. he’s still obviously angry, his heaving chest and loud sighs the proof of that but your screams seemed to have knocked some sense into him.

“i... i already spoke to mr park, he said he’ll look into another place for me. so you don’t need to worry about me being here for much longer,” you turn to walk away but your step brother reaches out again, gripping his fingers around your wrist to pull you right back to him.

“you spoke to my dad? when? what did he say? what did he say to you!”

“nothing,” a part of you contemplated whether you should’ve told him the truth about the wedding plans, but that would be defying mr park’s words and of course... cause more chaos between them two. “we... we just had lunch.”

“right, lunch. my dad isn’t someone who has casual lunch for fun. what did he say to you? it’s something about you and beomgyu isn’t it?”

every part of you is shaking, intimidated by the fuming sunghoon who stared down at you with a gaze you’ve never seen before. yeah you’ve seen him angry on countless occasions before but never has he been this angry. like he could explode any second now and your next sentence was the sole decider of that.

“n- no-”

*ring ring ring*

with an annoyed grunt, sunghoon pulls out his phone and immediately sighs at the name on the screen. this definitely can’t be any good.

“yes?” you’re not sure who is on the other end but you assume it’s mr park, judging by the clear frustration in sunghoon’s eyes. the same eyes he has whenever he speaks to his dad. “ah right- for a second there i thought you actually wanted to spend time with your kids but then i remembered that you had this family man image of yours that you needed to show. whatever.”

even though the conversation was not directed at you, you chose to stay quiet anyway, especially when sunghoon was looking this mad. but instead of telling you the contents of the phone call like you had expected him to do, sunghoon hangs up the phone and turns to walk away from you.

“we are leaving for japan tomorrow morning.”

“wait- what? we?” your legs unconsciously try to follow sunghoon but the man’s long legs had helped him turn the corner before you could even finish your question. “sunghoon! hey- hey-”

with how quickly you were going, you weren’t able to stop yourself from bumping right into sunghoon once you turned the corner, not really expecting him to be standing there. but he was, and here you were, running right into him.

“sorry-”

“why do i always need to repeat myself with you?”

the coldness in his tone and the disgusted gaze in his eyes reminds you of the day you moved into his apartment. it’s a day you don’t ever want to remember yet somehow... everything feels like it’s that day all over again.

back to day one.

just like the current relationship between you and sunghoon.

end.

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#the enha universe #enhypen #enhypen drabble #enhypen fanfic #enhypen fic #enhypen scenario #enhypen imagine #enhypen reaction #enhypen smut #sunghoon #enhypen hard hours #enhypen sunghoon #jongseongsnudes #park sunghoon fluff #park sunghoon x reader #park sunghoon fanfic #park sunghoon imagine #park sunghoon #park sunghoon smut #sunghoon fanfic #sunghoon fic #sunghoon smut #sunghoon hard hours #sunghoon drabble #sunghoon; step brother

[delta-orionis]

Some of my assorted theories and headcanons about iterators:

In no particular order:

I think that overseers are all part of one large iterator organ rather than discrete individuals.

A microscopic, thread-like structure similar to mycelium can be found all throughout an iterator's surrounding complex. It spreads through tiny gaps in soil, rock, and metal. All the threads are connected directly to an iterator like a nervous system that extends far outside their cans.

Overseers are a bit like the fruiting bodies of a fungus; they're able to emerge from this network of threads via small holes in surfaces. Similar to nerve endings, they can collect stimuli about the outside world, and send signals down the threads similar to the way nerve impulses move down a nerve.

The majority of overseers are found on the outside of an iterator's can and in the surrounding area, becoming less common farther away. However, with some effort, an iterator can extend this network beyond the normal limits of their complex (seen in the fact that Seven Red Suns is able to send an overseer all the way over to Five Pebbles and Look's to the Moon's complex in order to follow Spearmaster).

Iterators have many more pearls than the ones seen in their puppet chambers.

I personally think data pearls are analogous to files on a computer, or maybe USB drives, which move data between systems. Given the fact that iterators are capable of running many different processes at once, it makes sense to assume that they have much more storage for data than the pearls that can be found in their chambers.

The majority of pearls an iterator uses are probably stored somewhere inaccessible in the game. However, the Light Yellow pearl can be found in Looks to the Moon's Memory Conflux, suggesting that pearls are used in that area as well. I believe iterators are able to access the data stored on pearls in their memory conflux without needing to bring them into their puppet chamber. If you bring the Light Yellow pearl to Moon, she remarks that it contains her personal notes, but suddenly forgets what they are about, and then asks you to put the pearl back where you found it. This suggests to me that moving the pearl from its intended location prevents Moon from accessing those memories.

Iterators are probably able to move pearls around the interior of their cans, most likely through the use of purposed organisms. These organisms can sort through pearls in storage and carry them from one location to another. I'm not sure what they look like, but I'm going to call them Couriers. They might be a distant relative of slugcats, albeit much more specialized. They might have appendages similar to a slugcat's arms for sorting through pearl caches, and are capable of storing pearls in their stomachs for transport. Couriers might move through a system of pipes and can deliver pearls directly to and from an iterator's puppet chamber. Kind of like getting your mail via pneumatic tube. Fwoop.

The pearls in an iterator's puppet chamber are likely there because they are actively using the information stored on it for some process, or they are altering the data stored on it. Pearls might be an equivalent to non-volatile computer memory (such as in a hard drive), used for long-term storage. Perhaps the data stored in pearls can only be altered by an iterator's puppet, so if they need to change something, the pearl needs to be transported to their chamber.

I also think that iterator puppets are analogous to a computer's I/O devices.

When you use a computer, you use a mouse and keyboard, and look at information on a screen. However, the actual computing takes place in the computer's processors. If you unplug the mouse, keyboard, and monitor from a computer, it can still compute just fine, but you as a user lose the ability to interact meaningfully with the data stored within. These peripherals are called Input/Output (or I/O) devices.

Similarly, an iterator is much more than their puppet; both their biological and mechanical processes are carried out in the larger superstructure as well as the outside area surrounding it. However, if their creators want to be able to utilize these processes, they need something to interact with: an I/O device. Similar to how a computer monitor turns ones and zeroes into pixels on a screen, iterator puppets communicate via body language and speech. Puppets can also observe and interpret things in their chamber, like how a keyboard and mouse interpret inputs from a user into information the computer can use.

Iterator puppets aren't perfectly analogous to a computer screen, however. I think the puppets (and the rooms surrounding the puppet chamber) also function similarly to a human brain, which is the most important part of the central nervous system. Obviously humans are much more than their brains, but they also can't function without them.

The rooms surrounding Moon's chamber are called the "Neural Terminus", which supports this theory. The analogous rooms in Five Pebbles are called the "General Systems Bus"; in computers the System Bus connects the major parts of a computer, allowing the CPU, memory, and I/O devices to communicate with each other. This supports the theory that puppets also function as I/O devices. The Neural Terminus and General Systems Bus serve very similar functions, but their different names probably reflect the differences in Five Pebbles' and Moon's construction. (Note: in Rivulet's campaign when Pebbles is overtaken with Rot, the General Systems Bus is replaced with the Primary Cortex, which sounds a lot more similar to Moon's Neural Terminus. I personally think that the General Systems Bus and Primary Cortex are next to or near each other in Pebbles' superstructure, but the Primary Cortex is inaccessible in earlier campaigns, and the General Systems Bus is blocked off by rot in Rivulet's campaign. They likely serve similar purposes.)

The music heard in the General Systems Bus/Neural Terminus is diegetic and reflects an iterator's thoughts and state of mind.

I made a post earlier about how Random Gods, the theme heard in Five Pebbles' General Systems Bus, is the sound of Five Pebbles performing a sorting algorithm. I was mostly joking, but I do think that theory holds some weight.

I've seen people theorize before that Random Gods is literally the sound of Five Pebbles thinking, and I really like that idea. It makes sense that you would hear it in the General Systems Bus, which is basically his brain. Similarly, Reflection of the Moon, which plays in Moon's Neural Terminus, is also the sound of Moon's thoughts.

Random Gods is cacophonous and frenetic, which I think reflects Pebbles' obsessive nature. Reflection of the Moon, on the other hand, is much more melodic, which I think represents how Moon is much more levelheaded. However, the sound of a ticking clock can also be heard, which I think represents the fear Moon feels about her imminent collapse. After she collapses, Reflection of the Moon becomes Moondown, which I also think is diegetic. It reflect's Moon's severely damaged state and her inability to function or think like she was able to before.

I think every iterator has a unique theme that plays in their General Systems Bus (or the equivalent), which reflects their personality, thoughts, and state of mind.

My iterator oc, Three Stars Above Clouds, was built primarily to collect astronomical data, and they spend most of their time sifting through this data and analyzing it. Because of this, I think their analogue to Random Gods would be fast paced but repetitive, representing their ability to process a lot of data at once, and performing repetitive analyses on it extremely quickly.

I heard the song "The Dream Is Always The Same" by Tangerine Dream recently, and I think it captures the feeling I was thinking about. TSAC's Random Gods equivalent probably sounds very similar to this, with repetitive synths as they access files over and over and over.

(I listened to the entire album earlier and honestly I think the whole thing is pretty iteratorcore, listen to it if you like retro synths that evoke what a computer thinking would sound like.)

.... that's probably enough thoughts for one post. I could go on. I really like thinking about iterators and how they work, Rain World does a very good job of establishing them as enormous, complex, thinking, and breathing machines. I'll probably post more thoughts at some point.

#warning: this post is LONG. oops #I probably got a bunch of stuff wrong lol go easy on me #let me know what you think though I love discussing the lore with people #rain world #rain world iterator #personal #delta’s wild lore speculation corner #iterators #iterator biology

[spearxwind]

Okay seriously do you have any tips on how to free up computer space? It feels like a constant struggle 😩

OKAY BIG DISCLAIMER I AM NOT!! TECH SAVVY! Please take what i say with a grain of salt Im just out here looking at forums and hoping for the best 🙏🙏🙏

Honestly, it's pretty hard. Generally I have an external memory where i store backups of my old stuff but for the most part i try to keep all my files on my laptop, so i keep the hefty files and everything in my :D/ section since its beefier, but ofc I need certain things on the SSD like games and stuff so they can run properly.

I pretty much just learned everything today, i went into the file explorer for hours hitting 'properties' on all the folders to see which ones were taking up space and which ones weren't, ended up deleting and moving around a bunch of stuff (i had a reference folder on my desktop that i thought wasnt too big and it was 9GB of images.......... woof)

While poking around on threads I also discovered this other app that creates an image of whatever drive you need it to make, and displays every file as a square of proportional size, so you can actually figure out what the fuck is taking up all of ur space https://windirstat.net/

OH AND ALSO, if you right click on the drive youre trying to clear, and hit properties, itll bring up a special properties window with a little circle diagram that tells you how much is being used, and right next to it is a 'disk clean up' button that helped me get rid of a bunch of phantom space. apparently, windows saves previous versions and certain files that just take up huge gigs of space.

another thing that was taking up space for me was the paging file, a necessary system file ofc, but that for some reason was taking up a whopping 18 fucking gigabites. I got that one fixed using this explanation, but also take this with a grain of salt bc i am not a computer expert! idk how reducing this file could impact ur machine (i just did it cause the recommended was way smaller than what id allocated. like... thats a little ridiculous i think.)

Oh and last but not least. Spotify was also taking up like 10 gigabytes on my machine inexplicably so I poked around some more threads and changed where the data was stored so that it was no longer on my ssd. So technically i didnt free space with that i just moved it somewhere else. but it works!

Thats all I can think of rn, I also just deleted a bunch of folders that had stayed behind after uninstalling apps by poking around hidden folders, I do NOT recommend deleting folders unless u know what it is you're deleting for sure

But yeah its all like... just a lot of random files everywhere. eventually it all really adds up.

#ask #advice #i hope this helps people cause god they do not make this fucking easy at all

[blindrapture]

secretcity (4, 2, 1, respectively)

images taken from... probably the Sven Map DB pages, but I had them on an external hard drive for years.

One of these days, I will make videos of me playing secretcity. I will talk for hours about what these maps were and what it was like to grow up playing them alone. You cannot fathom it without first seeing how these maps were structured.

Like... imagine an ordinary office building in the goldsource engine. No monsters to shoot, no objective to fulfill, maybe there are some cute gags and easter eggs, but mainly it's just quiet ambience, faint voices, people you never see. And you are sure there is more to this, this is too small, this is hardly anything, just a fucking office building. So, frustrated, you take your crowbar and start whacking shit out of boredom.

One of the walls gives way. A brick is destroyed. So you keep at it, destroying more bricks. And it turns out there's a long dark passageway behind the wall.

So you climb in, you apprehensively see where this takes you. And it takes you somewhere else small, well-lit, and safe. Or maybe it takes you somewhere dark, with droning noises, and people in cages. Or maybe it takes you into a trap, as a giant red flashing screaming face "kills you mysteriously."

But either way, you end up back in the office building again.

Was.. was that it? Was that all to this map?

No. There are secret triggers. Like four or five mysterious buttons hidden around the office building, and they don't do anything. But when you hit all of them, another passageway opens up.

And this one takes you on a far longer path. Strange environment after strange environment, setpiece after setpiece, sprawling mazes (some with minotaurs, some eerily silent), platforms over black voids, rooms that are like an office building but Everything Is Wrong. And you keep going, through more and more Places....

secretcity takes you down a rabbit hole, but you have to find it first.

There's ambience in secretcity that can only be done in a video game and that no video game has ever done so effectively. Unnerving ambience. Eerily funny ambience. Gay furry porn hidden away in a lot of places. Never an explanation, never anyone to give you answers, and most of the maps were never even finished but they are all unfinished in the most fascinating of ways. They all imply that we might have gotten answers. (Then secretcitykeen, a "sequel" to 3 which is best played after all the numbered entries, gives us hints of what those answers would have been, and it's the most.. fucking... enticing in execution.)

secretcity is what a genuine Mystery looks like in video game format, rather than a mystery story given a video game as vehicle. secretcity is old and enigmatic and witty and wild. secretcity's imagery and themes have driven me as an artist. secretcity formed me as a gamer.

And hey, Sven Co-op is on Steam and it's free. If you install it, Browse Local Files, then add the contents of the secretcity zip files to your svencoop folder, then you can play them too. For free. :3

You can even play with me. It'd be easy as piss to set that up. And I would be thrilled to be your Tour Guide through the rabbit holes. So many rabbit holes.

#well i wound up talking about it #i gave it the good ol' sales pitch #but! people have to understand!!! i was a kid running around in a scary secret land!!! my brothers didn't want to play with me! #i would learn the secrets! i would get good at the challenges! i would memorize the mazes! #and i would keep the silence and the mystery with me wherever i went #secretcity made me.

[kichimiangra]

Do you have any headcanons for Helga? I thought I saw her armed with a bow and arrow, but I can't find that pic again so I don't know if I imagined it.

I'm pretty sure you imagined it, or saw an art of her by somebody else and your brain is associating it with me. I am positive I have only drawn Helga once back in 2015 and it ended up being an unrecoverable file from my 2016 hard drive crash.

There are a few stray headcanons, as in the 2015 version of Nannersverse every 'Team Protag' member was to appear and play some kind of major role in the story, while the current version cuts the cast back significantly and mostly ignores Pumped and Primed and Million Monkeys because MM Specifically causes too much global destruction for the rest of the story I want to tell to be possible.

Helga is still referenced once in chapter one of Redlight;Bluelight when Jake mentions that Spike "at least had a girlfriend at one point" that being Helga.

Stray head canons are:

-She is the best mech pilot of team protag

-Her father is still missing and she's still searching for him solo, which keeps her away from team protag most of the time. (Also a good excuse to keep the core cast smaller)

-If the three Pipotron brothers exist in Nannersverse they're mostly chilling around her because I don't know what to do with them either.

-Unlike most of the AE girls, she is a quiet soft girl, but carrying over from MM if she raises her voice she can shame anyone into submission, including Specter.

-Although she's never seen in an arcade her initials take the first 5 top scores on any machine in any arcade in the city when she visits. She doesn't live in the same city and has to commute to visit, but one can tell she's visiting if they check the high score on the arcade machines.

-She and Spike dated for a while somewhere around the AE2 or AE3 years. They bonded over their latchkey kid status but went their separate ways on good terms.

[ashfellowlocal]

Part 1.3: The Inspectre

"I said, who are you? And how did you get past the rats?" Nadia didn't make a sound. Raising her hands, she sent a paralyzing shock through the man's outstretched hands. "Argh!" The gun flew from his hand as he keeled over as he did so, Nadia darted past him, pocketing his gun, and took in the room. It was a large, round room with a high ceiling and metallic floors, with walls draped in tangles of tubes and wires. On the floor were more tubes connecting tall cylinders to stasis pods too murky to see into. More doors led to rooms away from the landing, and somewhere below were chugging and hissing noises as though from a sort of factory. At the far end across from her, Nadia saw a collection of computers and metal drawers.

"You're here for the files. So am I, maybe we can help each other." The mystery man was still writhing on the floor, trying to get up. "How can you help me? You were ready to shoot me a minute ago. I can take it from here." She turned back around, but he wasn't where she had left him. "Look around you. Do you know where you are, or are you just blindly following orders?" The voice echoed around her.

"Where are you? Show yourself!" Nadia shot a bolt of lightning at a shadow behind her, but it struck air. "Enough games! Just give me the drive and I might give you a quick death." The man appeared out of nowhere behind her, a drive in his hand. "How did you-?"

"I'm not here to fight you, but I will stop you. I know what you're looking for, and if you go back to Union, I know a lot more people will get hurt. They will keep coming, keep killing, and I can't let you let that happen." Nadia raised her hands.

"You think you can stop me?" A blast of lightning and the room was lit blue, but the agile shape floated ghost-like through the smoke before it vanished. A leg threw Nadia off-balance and she fell hard. Again she fought, sending more waves of cracking lightning in all directions. The disappearing man was stronger and more skilful than her. He sent her tumbling across the room with nothing but his fists and feet. Finally getting impatient, he raised another pistol to her face. Her nose bloody, she lowered her hands.

"My name is John, and I'm on your side. Believe me, I can help you, and I think you can help me. Union Genetics have always gotten away with so much, and you're always the one to do their dirty work. Look around you. In these pods are victims of the massacre they call science, and I'm here to make sure what happened here never happens again. So, we can either stay here and I shoot you in the head now, or we work together to make sure Union gets what's coming to them. Your choice."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" As she asks this, flashes of blurred visions, memories she had long forgotten resurfaced. People in suits crowding around her, unseen through the glare of bright lights.

"It's all in that drive, that's my proof. For years, Union has been experimenting on these kids, on you, since you were little." Another vision, of being wheeled to an operating theatre, the sound of screaming children growing weaker as rhythmic chugging grew louder. She looked around the room, now barely paying any attention to John. Then he spoke again.

"You're one of the few dozen who managed to survive the testing phase. The children here weren't so fortunate." Nadia did not speak, as she examined more closely the stasis pods around the room. Shining a light, she peered into the depths of one, where she saw a small body, a child, no more than 5 years old, who floated lifelessly in a mysterious liquid. On the side of the tank, a monitor showed "DECEASED". Nadia could not help but gasp, as she saw her brother in this boy, they looked so much alike.

"What happened here?" As she looked down the row of tanks, all with monitors showing "DECEASED", she turned to face John, now standing beside her, staring blankly at the boy in the tank. "I don't exactly know yet, but I'm here to find out. Honestly, I'm as clueless as you are right now. I was hoping you could tell me."

"I've never been told anything about this. I was just sent here to retrieve a drive, that's all, I swear."

"So, at least we know Union is cleaning up. It was only a matter of time. Do you know why they sent you to get the drive?" John holstered his gun and scratched his head. Tall and lean, he was surisingly strong. Nadia saw scars on his hands, and a distinct air of sleeplessness around his brown eyes.

"No, Union doesn't exactly encourage questions from subjects. All I know is this is supposed to be my last mission, they promised us we'd be free to go after." John stared at Nadia almost with pity. "Us? You have a partner?"

"A younger brother, Axel."

"Come with me. I need to show you something." They made their way to the computers, which John booted up and inserted the drive. They waited. While he worked, he said "Do you remember anything? Do you where you're from?" Nadia had been an orphan for most, if not of her life. She had no one but her brother. "No... it's a little foggy, I don't remember anything before my time at Union."

"Hopefully we get you some answers, then." He moved aside to show Nadia the 30-or-so files, all with different names: Amanda, Brian, Cathy, Damien, Marlene, and many more. Her heart beating faster, she opened one of the files. Some of these were video footage of kids being put into stasis pods very similar to the ones around her. She could hear muffled screaming as they sedated them. A vision of her family in Bahrain, of their smiling faces, before a blast blew them away. Hidden under the debris of their house, she watched as soldiers shot her mother dying in the street, bloody from the explosion, begging for rescue. Suddenly, she snapped back as John spoke.

"They did this to all this kids. Experimenting on their physical responses to nightmare trauma. They believed physical mutation could be manipulated through immunostimulants and hallucinogens. They failed every time, until they found you and Axel, apparently." Angry tears started pouring from her eyes as Nadia continued perusing the files. Some contained voice recordings, research notes, and near the end of the page, a file labelled "DETAILS". She clicked. Here were records of kids' names, dates of birth, registration numbers, and 'status', where it details their duration of survival and time of death. These were innocents, orphans, short lives snuffed out in droves.

Watching Nadia, John speaks. "I've been looking for this place for weeks to get a hold of this drive. This is why Union sent you here, to get them their work back. They need this kept quiet, and I can't let that happen. Union has been getting away with this for too long. It's time the world knew what's been really going on." Nadia turned to John, handing him his gun back. "I'm Nadia. Now, how can I help?"

#ashfellow #thriller #action #adventure #short story #fiction #science fiction #scifi

[aspenmissing]

𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚢 (𝙿𝚝 𝟸)

Theo and Dean are at a computer and Sam is looking at some things posted on a bulletin board.

"Wait, wait, wait, you're doing a nationwide search?" Sam asks.

"Yep. The NCIC, the FBI database-at this point any Mary who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me”.

"But if she's haunting the town, she should have died in the town."

"I'm telling you there's nothing local, I've checked. So, unless you got a better idea-"

"The way Mary's choosing her victims, it seems like there's a pattern," Sam says.

"I know, I was thinking the same thing."

"With mister Shoemaker and Jill's hit and run"

"Both had secrets where people died," Theo says.

"Right. I mean there's a lot of folklore about mirrors-that they reveal all your lies, all your secrets, that they're a true reflection of your soul, which is why it's bad luck to break them”.

"Right, right. So maybe if you've got a secret, I mean like a nasty one where someone died, then Mary sees it and punishes you for it" Dean says.

"Whether you're the one that summoned her or not"

"Take a look at this" Sam looks at a picture of a woman lying by a mirror in a puddle of blood. Dean prints out another picture and hands it to Sam. The picture is of a handprint and the letters ‘Tre’

"Looks like the same handprint.

"Her name was Mary Worthington- an unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana," Theo says.

==

"I was on the job for 35 years-detective for most of that. Now everybody packs it in with a few loose ends, but the Mary Worthington murder-that one still gets me”.

"What exactly happened?"

"You three said you were reporters."

"We know Mary was 19, lived by herself. We know she won a few local beauty contests, and dreamt of getting out of Indiana, and being an actress. And we know the night of March 29th someone broke into her apartment and murdered her, cut out her eyes with a knife" Theo says.

"That's right"

"See sir, when we asked you what happened, we wanted to know what you think happened" The detective pulls some files out of a file cabinet.

"Technically I'm not supposed to have a copy of this" He opens a file to the picture Sam, Dean and Theo found on the computer "Now see that there? T-R-E"

"Yeah"

"I think Mary was trying to spell out the name of her killer."

"You know who it was?"

"Not for sure. But there was a local man, a surgeon- Trevor Sampson" The detective pulls out a picture of a man "And I think he cut her up good”.

"Now why would he do something like that?" Theo asks.

"Her diary mentioned a man that she was seeing. She called him by his initial, "T". Well, in her last entry, she was gonna tell "T"'s wife about their affair”.

"Yeah, but how do you know it was Sampson who killed her?"

"It's hard to say, but the way her eyes were cut out...it was almost professional."

"But you could prove it?" Dean says.

"No. No prints, no witnesses. He was meticulous”.

"Is he still alive?" Dean asks.

"Nope" The detective sits down and sighs "If you ask me, Mary spent her last living moments trying to expose this guy's secret. But she never could"

"Where's she buried?" Sam asks.

"She wasn't. She was cremated”.

"What about the mirror," Dean says nodding at the one in the picture "It's not in some evidence lockup somewhere is it?"

"Ah, no. It was returned to Mary's family a long time ago”.

"You have the names of her family by any chance?" Sam asks.

==

Dean, Theo, and Sam are driving down the road. Sam s on his cell phone.

"Oh really? Ah, that's too bad Mr Worthington. I would have paid a lot for that mirror. Okay, well maybe next time. All right, thanks" Sam hangs up.

"So?"

"So that was Mary's brother. The mirror was in the family for years, until he sold it one week ago to a store called Estate Antiques. A store in Toledo"

"So, wherever the mirror goes, that's where Mary goes?" Theo says.

"Her spirits definitely tied up with it somehow."

"Isn't there an old superstition that says mirrors can capture spirits?" Dean says.

"Yeah, there is. Yeah, when someone would die in a house people would cover up the mirrors so the ghost wouldn't get trapped”.

"So, Mary dies in front of a mirror, and it draws in her spirit"

"Yeah, but how could she move through like a hundred different mirrors?" Sam asks.

"I don't know, but if the mirror is the source, I saw we find it and smash it"

"Yeah, I don't know, maybe" Sam's phone rings and he answer it "Hello" The look of concern comes across his face again "Charlie?"

==

Charlie is sitting on the bed with her head on her knees. Sam, Dean and Theo have all of the curtains drawn shut, and are throwing sheets over the mirrors, or facing them to the wall or floor. Sam then goes to sit next to Charlie.

"Hey, hey it's ok. Hey, you can open up your eyes Charlie. It's okay, all right?" Charlie looks up slowly”.

"But I can't keep that up forever. I'm gonna die, aren't I?"

"No. No. Not anytime soon" Theo says, sitting on the bed next to Charlie, and then is followed by Dean.

"All right Charlie. We need to know what happened" Dean says.

"We were in the bathroom. Donna said"

"That's not what we're talking about. Something happened, didn't it? In your life...a secret...where someone got hurt. Can you tell us about it?"

"I had this boyfriend. I loved him. But he kind of scared me too, you know? And one night, at his house, we got in this fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset, and he said he needed me, and he loved me, and he said "Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself." And you know what I said? I said, "Go ahead. And I left. How could I say that? How could I leave him like that? I just...I didn't believe him, you know? I should have" Charlie puts her face back on her knees and starts crying again.

==

"You know her boyfriend killing herself, that's not Charlie's fault," Dean says as they drive in the rain.

"You know as well as I do spirits don't exactly see shades of grey, Dean. Charlie had a secret, someone died, that's good enough for Mary”.

"I guess"

"You know, I've been thinking. It might not be enough to just smash that mirror”.

"Why, what do you mean?" Theo asks.

"Well, Mary's hard to pin down, right? I mean she moves around from mirror to mirror so who's to say that she's not just gonna keep hiding in them forever? So maybe we should try to pin her down, you know, summon her to her mirror and then smash it" Sam replies.

"Well how do you know that's going to work."

"I don't, not for sure"

"I will. She'll come after me" Sam says, Theo tightens her hold on the steering wheel.

"You know what, that's it.” She pulls over before turning around to Sam with a stern look. "This is about Jessica, isn't it? Do you think that's your dirty little secret that you killed her somehow? Sam, this has got to stop, man. I mean, the nightmares and calling her name out in the middle of the night-it's gonna kill you. Now listen to me-It wasn't your fault. If you wanna blame something, then blame the thing that killed her. Or hell, why don't you take a swing at me or Dean? I mean We’re the one that dragged you away from her in the first place" she says.

"I don't blame you," Sam says looking at Theo.

"Well, you shouldn't blame yourself, because there's nothing you could've done," Dean says.

"I could've warned her."

"About what? You didn't know what was gonna happen! And besides, all of this isn't a secret, I mean I know all about it. It's not gonna work with Mary anyway”.

"No, you don't"

"I don't what?" Theo says.

"You don't know all about it. I haven't told you two everything”.

"What are you talking about?" Dean says.

"Well, it wouldn't be a secret if I told you, would it?" Sam replies.

"No. I don't like it. It's not gonna happen, forget it" Dean says, looking surprised.

"Dean, Theo that girl back there is going to die unless we do something about it. And you know what? Who knows how many more people are gonna die after that? Now we're doing this. You've got to let me do this”.

==

Once the three were at the ship, Sam is trying t pick the lock on the door. It opens and they see many mirrors are in the shop.

"Well...that's just great," Dean says as he pulls out the picture of Mary's dead body to look at the mirror "All right let's start looking" They split up and walk around the store and they see a flashlight that seems to be part of an alarm "Maybe they've already sold it" Sam flashlight stops on the mirror.

"I don't think so" Dean and Theo walk over to him and Dean pulls out the picture again to compare, confirming that it's the correct mirror.

"That's it" Theo sighs "You sure about this?" Sam hands her a flashlight. Sam sighs.

"Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary " Sam looks at his older siblings, who both give him an unsure look back. Sam picks up the crowbar "Bloody Mary" Dean turns to see a light coming through the store, he nudges Theo, who also looks.

"We'll go check that out. Stay here, be careful" Sam readies the crowbar again "Smash anything that moves" Dean and Theo crawl away towards the front door, where they see a headlight "Crap" Dean puts the crossbar down and begins to walk to the door. Sam hears a breath, so he turns to look at a different mirror. Dean and Theo are now outside, facing the police.

"Hold it"

"Whoa guys, false alarm, we tripped the system," Dean says.

"Who are you?"

"We're the boss's kids," Theo says.

"You're Mister Yamashiro's kid?" Back in the shop, Sam sees Mary in a different mirror now, he sees her there out of the corner of his eye and smashes the mirror with the crowbar. She is in a different one now, and he sees her and smashed that mirror too. He is not back facing her mirror.

"Come on. Come into this one" Sam looks oddly at his reflection, which has now taken a mind of its own. Sam starts having trouble breathing and has a trickle of blood coming out of his eye. He drops the crowbar and grabs his chest.

"It's your fault. You killed her. You killed Jess”. Back outside, Dean and Theo are still talking to the cops, trying to persuade them into leaving them alone.

"As I said, we were adopted," Dean says.

"Yeah" Dean and Theo are being covered back and front by two cops.

"You know, I just-we really don't have time for this right now" Theo punches the cop in front of her, while Dean backhands the other, then punches the same cop. They are now on the ground.

"You never told her the truth-who you were" Sam is now falling towards the ground "But it's more than that, isn't it? Those nightmares you've been having of Jessica dying, screaming, burning-You had them for days before she died. Didn't you!?! You were so desperate to ignore them, to believe they were just dreams. How could you ignore them like that? How could you leave her alone to die!?! You dreamt it would happen!!!" Dean's crowbar goes through the mirror. Theo bends down to the floor to Sam.

"Sam, Sammy!" Dean comes down next to them.

"It's Sam" Theo smiles, shaking her head. Putting their foreheads together.

"God, are you okay?" Dean says, noticing the blood on Sam's eye.

"Uh, yeah"

"Come on, come on" He pulls Sam up. He puts Sam's arm over his neck, Theo doing the same with his other arm, and they begin to walk out until Mary comes out of the frame of the picture. They turn to see her crawling over the broken glass. Mary walks towards them and the three fall to the ground. They start bleeding from the face, but Theo reaches up and pulls over a mirror so that Mary is forced to see her reflection.

"You killed them! All those people! You killed them!" Mary starts choking to death and melts into a pile of blood. Theo throws down the mirror she held, and it shatters.

"Hey, Sam? Dean?"

"Yeah?" They say in unison.

"This had got to be like...what? 600 years of bad luck?" Sam and Dean chuckle weakly.

==

Theo, Sam, and Dean are driving the car with Charlie in the back next to Theo. They pull up in front of a house.

"So, this is really over?" Dean nods.

"Yeah, it's over."

"Thank you" Dean reaches back to shake her hand, while she and Theo hug. She then gets out of the car.

"Charlie?" Charlie turns around "Your boyfriend's death...you really should try to forgive yourself. No matter what you did, you probably couldn't have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happen" Charlie smiles faintly, then turns around to go into the house. Dean gently hits Sam in the arm.

"That's good advice" They drive off.

"Hey, Sam?" Theo says and he turns to look at her.

"Yeah?"

"Now that this is all over, I want you to tell me what that secret is."

"Look...you're my sister and brother and I'd die for you, but there are some things I need to keep to myself" Sam looks out the window and sees Jessica in a white dress on the street corner standing next to a light pole, as they turn the corner she disappears behind the pole and isn't seen again.

#older sister winchester #Supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fandom #Oc insert

[drfootharpoon]

"Death At Stonehawk Lake" (fiction)

Written by: V. Harpoon (2023)

Chapter 1:

"That summer. That boy.

That love. That game.

That shower. That lust.

Long gone, yet...

Somehow lives forever...

Not just in romantic memory...

...but in that night at Stonehawk Lake."

- S. Det. Valiant Harpont -

Evan wasn't glad to see me. Death can do that to someone. The void where his blue eyes that used to dance now told of... sad tales. He's less than his former elegance. The bullet hole in his forehead spoke vulgar volumes. Also, his feet were missing. I'd say that maybe they've fallen off... but the soggy sweatpant legs were cut cleanly at the knees. His dreamy facade burns. I covered Evan with a cold sheet. The winter storm is closing in and hides the sun. Perfect timing. Evan's giggles echoed from my past. I'm not even sure if it really happened that way that summer anymore... Maybe all my memories are lies. Maybe they all are... Either way, Evan deserved a proper ride home. I could at least give him that amount of solace...

I, without looking up: "Let's go."

How to describe how opposite I feel now? Empty. Hardness and in torturous pain. It was the bloated purple corpse of Evan that cut me so. It bumped the skip as we dragged it in from the lake. That sound will haunt me later, I'm sure. My partner Dayna watched from the shore. I haven't been back here since that long-ago summer... a drink of - can't focus...

S. Det. Dana Tyler signals on the radio, the crew barks back, and we return to the pier... the same one we claimed was ours back in our youth. It's the one across Stonehawk Lake from his parents' log cabin mansion. The dock creaked ominously, but remained steady. The coroner and his assistant carry his corpse to the van. Evan doesn't notice.

Dana and I silently get in the robin-blue rental car, crank the engine, and sit for a while. The others continue with their tasks. We prepare to drive away... I wish I hadn't given up smoking. Dana hands me a wax vape-pen from her coat. I wave it away. She holds it there for seconds longer. I never thought seconds could last this long... I take it from her, she shifts into drive, and we coax the naked forests soon to be dense with snow. The lake hasn't frozen yet, but after tonight?

I take a few slow drags from the pen. I try to unravel what I know. Maybe at the hotel, something in the files, a secret not written down, a warning perhaps, a quarrel, an accident, on purpose, a sign, the smoke and a gun, what happened, when, by whom, but most importantly why? Why you, Evan?

Dana takes the vape back. I'm just staring out at the dark trees. Evan's bloated face with his missing eyes make random appearances. The only sounds are heater vents and tyres rumbling. And breathing. And confusion. And a heartache from a place almost forgotten. If it hadn't been for the alleged suicide of a international millionaire and the disappearance of his daughter, we wouldn't be here.

But we get the tough cases. The weird ones. This is no different. Somewhere in this sleepy town lurks a monster. Who? Or more terrifying, what? The question of why was already certain. Evan was having an affair with the daughter of his boyfriend. Of this I'm positive, that's just how I remember Evan. A lover to everyone and beholder of a thousand hearts. Maybe the old millionaire did it. Maybe the sultry daughter. One covering the other definitely. But still it's not a satisfying answer. Where are they anyway? Again, I come back to his missing feet... A sick thump against the car makes both of us jump. We didn't stop as nothing tangible was left behind...

Later, in the shower, crying and replaying that night... but it ends with Evan's bloated purple corpse staring at me. Bullet hole dead center and smoking. He has the truth somewhere safe and hidden. The scent of this soap reminds me of happier times. Yet, on the floor, shower still roaring steam, I curl up and burst. I don't bother to read any files tonight...

The next morning, Dayna and I are sitting in a deep-set, red-leather booth at 'Hard Egg's Diner'. The coffee is good and the eggs are perfect. Dayna bites into a cheese pastry. We haven't spoken since last night. The ruby horizon gains brighter colors. The diner slowly fills with fisherman and old men. The kitchen clanging with its culinary music. I noticed Danya's blond hair is up but frizzy.

I sip coffee: "What's new?"

Dayna: "This case just got weirder."

I: "Go on."

Dayna: "We found the daughter."

I: "It's where that makes it odd, right?"

Dayna nods: "Yeah."

I want a smoke: "Where was she?"

Dayna: "Hobart's Cave. Most of her anyway."

We meet eyes and I remember the old ghost stories. Horror is king to the young.

I: "They found her in the Witches Gate?"

Dayna nods: "Her head on a stick."

I: "Dramatic."

Dayna: "Haven't seen it yet, but the scene waits for our adventure."

I: "Ease up on the vape."

Dayna, clear eyes glow: "Totally sober."

Barely an hour later, we arrive at the base of Stonehawk Mountain. Hobart's Cave hides in the bright day. Its crevice is the entrance to the deepest cavern system in the state. A gash like a lopsided vulva carves into the rock. Nobody wants to fuck with it anymore. Except teenagers and idiots. Even the tourist association stopped after the last cave-in decades ago. 41 people got trapped and died. A small bronze plaque commemorates them. We step into the Witches Gate. Everything changed for us again... Lovecraft awakes.

TBC...

#fiction #lgbtq #lovecraft #mystery #short fiction #mature

[ledenews]

Janine Varner: A Mother's Life Lessons Forever Invaluable & Never Forgotten

Patricia Brown is a smart lady, and she’s a mother, too, so, of course, Happy Mother’s Day to Mrs. Brown. We know she’s intelligent because of the guidance she’s offered her daughter, Janine, one of four magistrates in Ohio County who, in fact, is a mother herself. So, yes, Happy Mother’s Day to Janine, as well. Now, no one is talking about the usual guidance “stuff” that mothers and daughters discuss. Nothing about boyfriends – or husbands named Joe – and not necessarily about children, either. Those conversations took place, sure, but it was during one of those life-advice consults when Momma Brown taught Janine to be sure to love wholly, to never give up, and to fight with grace when combat is the only option. So, that’s exactly what Varner did when an anonymous coward filed a complaint against her with the state Judicial Investigations Commission in September 2019 because the New Jersey native was graduated from a vocational institution rather than a regular high school. The JIC admonished her, and Varner resigned, but there was a window-to-make-it-right chance during which she had to pass the Mountain State’s equivalent to the common GED test. So, Varner refused to surrender and she fought as-politely-as-possible for the magistrate’s position because of how much she loved the job, her family, and her community, just like her mother taught her daughter to do. So, Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, and a particular thank you goes out to Momma Brown for raising a daughter who now is spreading a special kind of goodness to those who need it most. Varner was appointed to Magistrate in Ohio County but then won the position in 2020. Who is your favorite comic book character of all time? Honestly, I’ve never really been into comic books. If I had to choose a favorite superhero, I guess Batman, and Wonder Woman. What is the biggest difference between your hometown in New Jersey and the Upper Ohio Valley? I love New Jersey, my hometown of Point Pleasant. I was blessed with an amazing childhood growing up playing on and working at beaches and boardwalks along the Jersey Shore. The Upper Ohio Valley has been very kind to us, my family for 31 years now. I believe there are so many things to do for so little money here. The difference is the people. The community vibe is so strong here, it really is. This is such a small town really, and whether it be folks that I’ve met through our children or jobs that I’ve had, I can proudly say I have special bonds that still hold true today with so many. I love that so much. I could drive around New Jersey for hours without seeing a familiar face, but here, I drive around with one hand on the wheel, one hand waving to people. It’s awesome. What advice have you offered the most as a magistrate? Magistrates have to abide by many canons according to the rules of judicial conduct so we are very limited in what we can say. Sadly, we see a lot of drug charges. I often tell folks during their first appearance if in front of me, that they are better than what they are dealing with, that they deserve a happy and sober life and just wish them luck. It is not often, but it does occasionally happen where we do see a very happy ending, and I always think that deserves a hug. I have been out and about somewhere with someone coming up to me and thanking me and updating me on their progress and lives … that’s always way cool and makes my heart smile. This position I hold now is at times the most stressful yet rewarding (if that makes sense) I’ve ever had in my life. Joe and Janine have been married since 1989 and now reside in the village of Bethlehem. What song from the 1980s do you love the most and why? Oh, I’m my opinion I believe the 80s was the best decade and I absolutely love love, love music. Oh my gosh, there’s so many great songs. It is so hard to choose just one. I would have to say the soundtracks of my youth, the songs that can throw me back, make me smile, and bring me to good reminiscing tears would be anything by Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi & throw in some Van Halen/Hagar, too (giggling). The Varner family recently had a wedding, and that brought together the entire clan. What is the biggest lesson you have learned from your Mother? Oh, my goodness, there are so many, she is just an amazing, beautiful inside and out woman. My mom will be turning 80 years young in June. My mom has an amazing outlook on life and very strong faith. She has taught us to always, always be kind, to do what’s right, to accept flaws, to always look for silver linings, to always look for and believe in signs, to work hard and prove yourself, to take of others including taking care of ourselves, to see three sides of a story, to love wholly, to never give up, to fight with grace. Just to name a few lol I always get choked up and am so grateful when I am told I resemble her … it is an amazing compliment. We are miles apart, phone calls and Facebook messages away, but always, always connected by our hearts … I love my Mom so much. Read the full article

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Repair Registry Files By Using A Windows Registry Scanner

Have aomei backupper crack had a bad experience with some software that purchased or downloaded free off the web based? Many people have realized after it was too late the player should have only installed software that they got from reputed sources. One such program is a Microsoft Windows registry scanner that works very nicely in many cases, but can cause a lot of problems if it is bad software. A word about backup hardware. Obviously you need somewhere to back aomei backupper files up that will help. Here are two basic methods. Either back "static" data, wherever I mean archives of family photographs, MP3s a further data for unlikely always be changed, could be simply copied onto CD/DVD. The most effective way for large, or change regularly hard drives is to get either a second hard drive fitted, or even better buy another hard drive and validate your data to employing your PC backup programs. On the Backup Type, Destination, and Name page, Windows asks you to specify a backup geographic location. Your computer's hard disk drive. The easiest but not ideal backup location is a separate partition from one you're burning. If cash disk is partitioned into drive C and drive D therefore your data is on drive C, could possibly safely back off to drive D. However, if this hard drive incurs a problem you may have difficulty in restoring the backups. This makes a great solution for both residence and small business applications. Your first method would be to purchase (aprox. $200.00 USD) an hard drive. It can be USB or Firewire, depending upon need for speed. This external hard drive can be set to backup whole system or select submits. If the drive doesn't come combined with software and a one button touch backup solution, don't panic. When you've got Windows Xp, it has a backup software already installed (if the Home version you needs to install this using the control panel "add/remove programs" and "add/remove Windows components"). Contact oversight. Even though I don't utilize Outlook for email, I use it for calendar and contact management. I had used Plaxo with regard to online backup for my contacts, it might doesn't permit me to keep my notes about each contact. I've been using Airset now for months, use regularly syncs my contacts (with notes) and my calendar into their online assistance. I found this significantly more convenient than trying to really make it a backup PST file to Outlook and then repeating that again when my primary computer is returned. Instead, I only make changes to contacts and my calendar on Airset, and I'll just sync that to Outlook on my little desktop. Make sure your computer is physically secure. Once the computer isn't being used make sure it's powered down. Make sure you're using a safe and secure password a beachside lounge chair a biometric scanner. If it comes going without then just lock the computer in a room. 4) Use spam filtration. Most email programs include a spam and junk filtering system. Not only are you able to trash unwanted junk mail, a person can disable email links (recommended) and be warned of malicious content. There are many malicious emails that look legitimate so be careful when opening emails and never click on attachments or links a person are clear on the reference. Windows Vista brings some much needed backup features to usual end customer. It allows for simple and automated backups. And the recovery process is definitely easy. Shadow copy comprises of document versioning, which will allow you to alleviate document loss obstacles. And Vista also incorporates XP's system restore feature. Windows Vista's backup functionality will help many users.

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