#why do they end up in neighborhood areas so often?

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Why Feeding Wildlife is Dangerous

Originally posted on my blog at https://rebeccalexa.com/feeding-wildlife-dangerous/

Winter is here in the Northern Hemisphere, which means that wild animals of all sorts are falling back on cold weather adaptations that have evolved over countless generations. Some, like reptiles and amphibians, go into brumation or other hibernation-like states. Others have warm feathers or fur to insulate them as they go about their lives in chilly conditions. They may migrate around their territory in search of various food sources. Not all will survive these harsh months, which makes feeding wildlife to help them through the hard times a tempting idea.

Unfortunately, while this is a kind-hearted act born of good intentions, the impact is all too often harmful. Here are a few of the damaging, even deadly, effects of feeding wildlife.

First, let’s be a little more nuanced about the definition of wildlife in this case. I support the feeding of birds, at least those that commonly visit bird feeders. These birds are of species that are used to their food sources–like seeds, berries, and insects–being temporary, and so they retain their ability to forage for food in various places. Also, because the birds are not being fed by hand, and tend to retain their natural fear of humans, they are not likely to become habituated to us. It should go without saying that trying to convince birds to eat from your hand, or otherwise stop being afraid of you, is a bad idea (more about that in a minute.) And, of course, you need to make sure to keep your feeders clean and watch your local birds very carefully for any signs of disease; here’s an article I wrote on feeding birds safely and ethically. 

Wild mammals, on the other hand, have a tendency to become dependent on human sources of food much more readily than birds. If you leave food scraps, pet food, or trash out where they can access it, they quickly figure out that this is an easy meal, and will hang around more than birds might.

Some birds will be more easily habituated than others; ducks and geese, for example, will lose their fear of humans as quickly as mammals do, especially when being fed regularly at ponds or lakes. So consider this article to primarily cover wild mammals, waterfowl, and any other animal that can be easily habituated through feeding.

A good example of what NOT to do. 

Habituation is the biggest behavior change seen in fed wildlife. A habituated animal is simply one that no longer fears humans, and sees us as a source of food handouts. Unlike normal, healthy wildlife, these animals do not run away when a human approaches, even at a close distance. As mentioned above, this means they may even become aggressive in seeking food, and people have been bitten, scratched, gored, or otherwise injured by habituated animals. It may be easy to see why a habituated bear or moose is dangerous, but even smaller animals like squirrels or raccoons have a very nasty, painful bite or scratch. Some also carry zoonotic diseases that can be passed to humans; rabies is the most notorious, but even a bacterial infection caused by the bite or scratch can be an unpleasant experience.

But this lack of fear isn’t just a threat to us. It also puts the wildlife at risk. Wild mammals that wander through our neighborhoods in search of food are more likely to be hit by cars, attacked by outdoor dogs or cats, and injured or killed by cruel humans. If hunting is allowed in the area, the animal may walk right up to a hunter. Plus wild animals that become a nuisance or threat to people are sometimes euthanized, as relocated animals often end up finding their way back to their original territory, or go find a new group of humans to mooch off of.

Feeding wildlife can also cause them to cease natural foraging behaviors. Not only does this mean they may starve if the humans in the area stop feeding them, but they don’t teach their young proper foraging either, and so you may have animals several generations down the line that no longer know how to find natural food sources in the area.

Also, what we're feeding wildlife can kill them.

So here’s the thing: humans are omnivores. Actually, we’re sort of super omnivores; we have one of the most varied diets of any species, especially now that we’re able to grow all sorts of domesticated crops, including but not limited to two dozen cultivars of wild mustard (Brassica oleracea), various and sundry grains, legumes, tubers, etc. And because we’ve spread all throughout the planet, we’ve successfully sampled thousands upon thousands of edible animals, plants, and fungi. We’ve managed to evolve tolerances to substances some plants produce to keep from being eaten, like caffeine and capsaicin, and some of us go out of our way to seek them. We’ve also heavily altered some of our foods through cooking, to include some methods that render the food quite unhealthy even for us (not that that stops us from eating it anyway.)

All of this means that over 300,00 years of existence, Homo sapiens has evolved the ability to eat a truly mind-boggling array of foods. Unfortunately, even the other omnivores in our lives can’t necessarily tolerate the foods we eat. Domestic dogs evolved alongside us, eating first our refuse, and then sharing our meals, for thousands of years. Yet they still can’t safely eat chocolate, avocado, onions, or grapes, and some things we’ve created like the artificial sweetener xylitol can also be harmful–even deadly–to dogs.

So when you put out a plate of table scraps for your local squirrels, opossums, raccoons, or even bears, there’s a very good chance that something there is going to make them sick. You could even be sentencing one of your visitors to death! Even if they don’t immediately get sick, over time eating the wrong foods could seriously affect the health of wildlife, and may lead to sickness and an earlier, unpleasant death.

Sometimes, even something that seems like the “right” food can be deadly. Deer species in North America are adapted to eating lots of woody vegetation in winter; their gut microbiome is perfectly balanced to digest this tough food. However, some people like to feed them corn, either because they want to be nice, or because they want to hunt the deer. Unfortunately, the nutritional makeup of corn is very different from the deer’s winter fare. The carbohydrates in the corn can cause a condition called rumen acidosis. This overloading of carbs causes Streptococcus bacteria, which occur naturally in the deer’s chambered stomach, to overpopulate in a matter of hours. This raises the acidity of the stomach, and kills off many of the other microbes in the gut flora. This sudden imbalance essentially causes the stomach to stop digestion altogether. In a severe enough case, the deer dies a horribly painful death within twenty-four hours. Deer that survive often have permanently damaged stomachs, which can lead to worse health overall and a shortened lifespan.

Every ecosystem has adapted over thousands of years; in some cases, an ecosystem may be millions of years old (with some changes in species makeup, of course.) Over that time, species have evolved to keep each other’s numbers in check, whether through consuming each other, competing for resources, or spreading disease to other species as well as their own. One of the biggest limiting factors in a species’ habitat is the amount of food that’s available. You’ll generally have fewer large predators in a place than large herbivores, for example, because the land can support a lot more plants to feed herbivores than herbivores to feed carnivores.

So the ecosystem is able to keep its species in balance; any time a species begins to overpopulate, predation, starvation and disease tend to knock the numbers back. Some species even have “boom or bust” population cycles; lemmings, for example, are thought to have population fluctuations tied to the number of ermine preying on them in a given area.

But when we humans artificially change the availability of food in a given place, we can cause serious disruptions in these natural checks and balances. Put too much food in a place over time, and you end up with overpopulations of the animals that eat that food, with subsequent deaths from disease due to overcrowding, and starvation when the population inevitably outgrows even the artificially added food.

By John Davis, CCA-2.0

Speaking of disease, when feeding wildlife many people just dump the food in the same place every day or night, whether that’s pet bowls, a trash can, or a feeding site. This causes wildlife to congregate in unnaturally large numbers and on a regular basis, which again leads to increased disease transmission. Keep in mind that wildlife don’t have veterinarians they can just go to when sick, so you end up with wild animals dying some pretty slow, awful deaths due to these diseases. (And yes, this can happen with birds–again, why it is so incredibly important to properly clean your feeders regularly!)

I know it’s tempting to entice wildlife closer, and to want to help them through tough times. But it is incredibly important to keep a firm boundary between us and wild animals. We’ve already interfered in their lives and their behaviors enough. The more we meddle, the more harm we do to them, even if our intentions were good.

But wildlife are not pets. They are their own beings with their own lives and agendas, instincts and territories. They are, as Henry Beston wrote in The Outermost House, “not brethren, they are not underlings: they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.” And we respect them best when we give them their space and allow them to live as wild a life as possible in a world we have so dramatically changed.

If you want to create the best world for your local wildlife, create habitat and natural food sources for them. Remove invasive species, and plant more native plants, especially those that offer food and shelter to wildlife. (The native plant finder is a great starting point for those in the US.) Work to protect what wildlife habitat is left, especially habitats that are relatively undamaged like old-growth forests. This way you are helping to maintain space where these species can live the lives they have lived for many thousands of years without our interference.

Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!

#wildlife #nature #animals #wild animals #mammals #birds #winter #ecology #biology #zoology #naturecore #outdoors #animal behavior #nature literacy #long post #environment #environmentalism #conservation #science #scicomm

[tarjapearce]

Miguel's Pick up Lines

Just fluff and nerd talk✨

Flirting wasn't something he was good for, it wasn't etched in his dna. His pasts attempts in your early stage of relationship always ended up as awkward or in a laughing fit your way.

But far from making you uncomfortable, it always ended up in you kissing the daylights our of him, appreciating his effort to keep the spark alive.

Miguel wouldn't admit it, but he was practicing his own rizz. A term he internally chuckled every time Gabriella mentioned it.

He wanted to surprise you with his art de la séduction, cause in truth he missed your flustered expression. He needed to see that sweet and lovely face of yours going through so many emotions again.

It was one of those days he'd be stuck in the lab, mentoring the new employees in their induction to Alchemax's Research Department.

In his break, he took his phone and walked to a more private area to then video calling you.

It took the connection to stablish after a couple of rings, your face appearing in the lower corner of the screen with sweet smile and a couple of flour blotches on your face. Rosie on your hip.

"Say hi to Papa, Rosie."

Rosie blabbed while agitating the spoon

"She's gonna be a good chef." you smiled ad you wiped the flour off, "Everything alright, mi amor?"

"Yeah. I'm nearly done with the induction. Can't wait to go home."

He could hear Benjamin's excited squeals as he watched the TV and Gabriella helped with food in the opposite shelf.

"I made some horchata, Gabibi's helping me here."

"I learned how to make tortillas, Papa!"

Gabi's enthusiasm brought a smile on his face

"Save me some, Solecito."

You then moved to place Rosie on her floor playground. Then went to the bathroom and closed the door.

"What are you doing?" His eyes narrowed as you smirked and pulled out the silky elastic band of your bra. Eyes widened while his tongue swept over his plump lips

"Got a surprise for you, Papa. Can't wait for you to come home."

"Too bad you're not in my lab."

"Why? Wanna show me a theory, Dr. O'Hara?" you smirked and he followed

"Would prove my Big Bang into you."

A flush crept your cheeks as your eyes widened softly at the sudden comeback, not really expecting such comment.

His chest constricted with pride on your current state.

"I think I often forget I married a hot nerd."

"I'll remind you when I get home." He chuckled when you squealed internally.

"Can't wait. See you later, Dr. O'Hara." You blew him a kiss and returned to finishing meal prepping.

You had finished your indoor workout, sweat etched to your flushed skin. Miguel leaned against the door frame, an arm raised above him.

"Did you know that high intensity workouts increases your endorphin release but it's actually the cardiovascular exercises that gives you the major boost?"

"Oh really?"

He nodded while approaching and taking a hold of your waist. Gaze raking over your sweaty look. Your pheromones tickling his nose and brain.

"Yeah" He nuzzled your neck and you squealed in between giggles while he kissed your jaw

"Don't! Let me go shower first!."

He shook his head.

"We gotta do some cardio first, mi reina. Wanna have you extra happy today"

He threw you over his shoulder and walked back to the master bedroom.

And as good as some days passed, the bad ones were always in the lurk, waiting for you to fall into their claws to not let you go until tears rolled down your cheeks.

And after thirteen years of marriage it was impossible for Miguel to not know and recognize the signs of a bad day.

You'd barely talk, and if you did, it was usually short and monosyllabic replies. You'd go into a cleaning spree, walk around the neighborhood to try and ease your mind.

He stepped in when he saw the inner corner of your lids turn red, eyes bloodshot and a quivering lip as you tried to ease a fussy and wailing Rosie. Miguel pried Rosie from your hands carefully and rubbed her back in soothing circles, to then kiss the top of your forehead.

"I'll take it from here, mi reina. Go rest up."

His heart wrenched upon seeing you sniffing and rubbing your eyes while you went up the stairs.

Miguel arrived an hour later with a tray of freshly made food, a steaming cup of hot cocoa and some tissues.

"Do you want me to keep you company?"

You nodded, teary eyed. He sat next to you and put the tray on your thighs.

"Wanna share what's up there?"

He kissed the side of your head again and begun feeding you.

"I don't know how to explain it. It's weird. All I know is that I feel exhausted and sad. I feel so useless."

"Useless?" he frowned as he fed you another spoonful to then wipe your mouth, "Decaffeinated coffee is useless. A cordless jump rope is useless."

That made you chuckle and he smiled to give you another bite of food.

"I could list a shit ton of things that are useless, but you? No, mi amor. You're the main pillar of this family. Without you everything collapses within. Like a black hole."

His arm went around your shoulders and  kissed your head softly.

"But you ain't a black hole, preciosa. Like... You're so complex, beautiful and amazing. No wonder why the universe copies you and tries to demand our attention with stars and stuff."

He smiled upon your reaction.

"I love you, okay?" He finished feeding you to then massage your feet and shoulders.

Miguel walked into your room after you were done feeding Rosie and putting her into her crib.

He removed the bedsheets out of you to replace them with his frame, sprawled ontop of you. His head resting ontop of your chest.

Your hands immediately caressed his hair, earning a lovely purr from him, melting under your touch

"You know? Your digits got me feeling a strong exponential attraction. Wanna multiply?"

Your brow quirked with a goof smile on his words as he tittered silently.

"Forget I said that."

His airy laugh got your shoulders shaking with the same amount of fun.

"I didn't understand a peep. I sucked at math, mi amor."

He took your hand and kissed the inside of your wrist.

"But... I understood the last part though."

His head snapped immediately to you and smirked.

"Rosie is asleep" you scolded between hushed laughs as he swallowed you in his arms and pecked your lips repeatedly as you giggled and squealed softly

"Let's decrease the space between our organelles, shall we?"

#t writes✨ #miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara x reader #soccer family ⚽🕷️ #miguel o'hara x you #atsv miguel #mama o'hara #miguel ohara fluff #miguel ohara fanfiction

[myobsessionsspace]

This is an assumption. But why do you think JK bought his property in Itaewon out of all places ? And now building a mansion there which means that will be his main house he decides to settle. I've seen all korean stars buying their homes to love with their family in more decent and high end areas like Gagnam, Hannam etc. No one really buys property in itaewon with an aim to settle there with family as it's like the party spot of SK. Itaewon is known for clubs, brothels, parties, drugs and prostitution, most only go there to party, have one night stands or do illegal activities. Someone visiting Itaewon often is eye brow raising enough so building a whole mansion there is sus af isn't it ?

Hey,

I understand tone can’t be accurately interpreted with written words, so I just want to make my tone clear first and foremost.

I’m speaking with no harshness, judgement or condescension.

DM me and we can delulu cutely together with no air of authority on the matter, cos we should know we don’t know shit, but can still want to coo and dream with others 🤗.

We’ve seen and been outraged by sasaengs and their stalking of members and called them out at times. We’ve literally seen Jungkook on live entering his apartment and being annoyed with sasaengs loitering outside of his building, he has even said in that same live that he knows people knows where he lives and posted online.

Put yourselves in their shoes, who wants millions knowing your full address and being able to turn up unannounced? Because they’re fans of your music, of your image? I’m gonna leave that there.

I will say in regards to Itaewon, I’m not Korean, I don’t have a Korean father, a Korean brother, a Korean bff who works at Hybe, nothing. I do have a friend who went on a program, studied there and lived there for years but that’s it. I don’t know anything about Itaewon apart from the Halloween tragedy and a K-Drama. So guess what I did, yup you guessed it, I GOGGLED💪

No one really buys property in itaewon with an aim to settle there with family as it's like the party spot of SK. Itaewon is known for clubs, brothels, parties, drugs and prostitution, most only go there to party, have one night stands or do illegal activities. Someone visiting Itaewon often is eye brow raising enough so building a whole mansion there is sus af isn't it ?

Incoming cheeky tone…I thought I said ‘genuine asks’? This right here sounds like laying down the groundwork to paint a certain picture of Jungkook?🤔🤨

Itaewon

You said: ‘I’ve seen all Korean stars buying their homes to live with their families in more decent high end areas like Gangnam, Hannam etc’.

I say: That’s a pretty bold, blanket statement 😬

Famous idol Rain and his actress wife and children have a home in Itaewon as do many other celebrities with their spouses, partners and families

Actor Song Joong-Ki and his British wife, who was pregnant at the time, moved to his Itaewon mansion along with her family from the UK. They welcomed a baby girl in 2023.

Chaebols like those belonging to the Samsung family also have homes in Itaewon

Doing my googles, Itaewon is known as ‘a multi-cultural commercial area located in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the most popular neighborhoods in Seoul, known for its nightlife and trendy restaurants.’ ‘Seoul's International District’.

I know some other places that sound like the above.. London…New York…Paris…

I wonder where the prostitution, drugs and one night stands come into it for people who wanna buy or build houses in those cities?

Jungkook is currently a 26 year old multimillionaire, who is a member of one of the biggest groups in not just South Korea, but the world, so I guess he’ll have lots to do when he’s not working his ass off with his intense more than full time job. Settling somewhere with family…I’m sure he’ll take Bam into consideration in his plans, wherever it may be.

Something I did find cool when doing my googles 😁

‘Korean singer-songwriter JYP (Park Jin-young) and Yoo Se-yoon's hip hop duo UV released the song "Itaewon Freedom" in April 2011. The title alludes to (and the lyrics celebrate) a common Korean perception of Itaewon's "open atmosphere", in contrast with conventional Korean culture, which is more conservative.’

LGBTQIA+ ‘haven’ Itaewon

‘The 2020 South Korean Netflix television series Itaewon Class is set in Itaewon. The drama was praised for its diverse and inclusive cast and its realistic portrayal of subjects such as prejudice and discrimination against foreigners, ex-convicts and the LGBT people, as well as the portrayal of misbehaviors by chaebol corporations.’

Sounds like Itaewon is a cool, diverse, inclusive place, full of sites & attractions, shops and good food. If a 26+ year old man that’s been working and in the public eye since 13/14 wanted to build a home there, Itaewon sounds like a great place and a good investment.

I’d love to visit there, if I ever had the time AND money 🥲

Thanks for the ask, it caused me to learn something new!

💜

#Jungkook #Itaewon #Anonymous Asks #Jikook #the last tag just because…

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias x Reader - The Birthday Gift

This fic was requested by one of my lovely wattpad readers for her birthday on July 14th. Happy birthday to her!!🥳

Enjoy!

How sad it was having to work on your birthday. Luckily your boyfriend, Ruben, came to pick you up once your shift ended.

"So what do you want to do?" He asked. You had already celbreated a little bit before you left for work this morning. Ruben made you breakfast in bed this and let you open his present, a charm braclet with a golden key as it's first charm.

"Well they made me this at worked." You showed him the bag of pastries you got from your colleagues. They made a wide selection of pastries for you to enjoy on your birthday. "Maybe we could find a nice place to enjoy them, just the two of us?"

"Sure. I know a place we can go."

You weren't too keen on parties where you were supposed to be the center of attention. Ruben was the same. He enjoyed peace and quiet and you two often spend your days together snuggled up on the couch, watching a marathon of movies. It wasn't much, but it was how you liked it. Just you and Ruben, in your own little bubble.

"What's this place?"

He had driven a bit outside of the city, to a little town with a big lake in the middle of it.

"I come here sometimes to relax." He said, parking the car on a hill that overlooked the small houses and the lake that sparkled in the sun.

"Hmm. A bit random don't you think?" You brought out the bag of pastries and picked the one you wanted to eat first. Ruben was a bit more hesitant, perhaps not wanting to make such a mess in his car.

"You don't like it?"

"The view?"

"No, the town." He said, with a strange look on his face.

"I dunno? What so special about it?"

To you it looked like a typical english town with houses covered in red tile rooftops, a town center, a local school and plenty of green agriculture surrounding the area.

"I thought it'd be a great place to live someday."

"You want to live here?" You chuckled.

"Yeah, what's so funny about that?" He sounded a bit offended by your reaction.

"Nothing baby, but you of all people rather live here than in Manchester or Portugal of all places?"

"Yes. It's a great place for us to live. It's close to Manchester and..."

"Us?" You stopped him there, unsure if you heard him right.

Ruben looked to bite his tongue.

"You said us, right? Or was I mistaken?"

He turned to you with a serious expression on his face.

"Ruben, what's the matter?"

His eyes searched your face, perhaps unsure if he should tell you or not.

"Ruben please, you're kind of freaking me out." You chuckled.

"Promise not to do that."

"Do what?" You had to tilt your head as his eyes had diverged from yours. "Ruben please tell me what's going on?" You had never seen him like this, so anxious and easily agitated.

"What I'm about to show you..." He said. "Just promise me that you won't freak out."

"I won't. I promise."

He sighed and turned the keys to start the car. You were off for a silent drive through the little town, not stopping until you arrived at a small community of houses.

"We have to walk from here." He said, silencing the engine, unbuckling his belt. You did the same and followed him.

He held your hand leading you through the lovely neighborhood with a beautiful set up of houses. However there was this particular house that still looked like it was under construction. To your surprise Ruben stopped just in front of that one, searching his pocket for a key which he handed to you.

"Happy Birthday." He said, but not with as much energy as this morning.

"You bought me a house?"

"Yes. I bought you a house." He said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Ruben, but why?" You turned to look at him, unsure of what to say. You had so not expected this.

"I dunno." He shrugged. "Because I love you."

You leap forwards, hugging him. "I love you too, but I could never afford to buy you a house. It's too much Ruben." Tears had begun to flow, but mostly because anyone surprising you with such a gift would make you emotional.

"Do you want to take a look inside?" Ruben looked down on you, smiling.

You perked up to kiss his lips. "Yes, let's go inside."

It was a castle compared to any place you've lived in before. There was a giant porch with an equally giant backyard. Ruben even showed you a blueprint of the plans to build a pool out there.

"Ruben, this house is too big for just the two of us." This is what he had meant by "us." The house would be a home for the two of you to share.

"I know." He said. "But by the time the house is done maybe it won't be just the two of us anymore?"

You froze, a ray of butterflies entering your stomach. "You mean...?"

Ruben shrugged. You two stood in the middle of what would be the living room and it was almost impossible not to imagine little feet running across the wooden floors, making a mess of things as children often did.

"You want to have children with me?" You failed to hold in another flood of tears. Ruben closed the distance between you, grabbing your hand and kneeling down before you. "It would be your choice of course. Just like it is my choice to ask you to marry me."

"Ruben."

You watched him pull out the little black jewelry box out of his back pocket. He pulled the diamond ring out of the box, ready to dress it on your finger, but first he needed to hear the words that would allow him to do so.

You nodded your head and weeped. "Yes Ruben. Of course I will marry you!"

He put the ring on your finger, rose to his feet and picked you up, twirling you around in his arms. Your eyes were filled with tears and it felt like you could go on crying forever. He set your feet back down to look at you. "I love you." He said, in the same way he always did, but this time it was like he spoke directly to your heart, your heart that belonged to him now.

"I love you too." You cried. "...and this gift, the best birthday gift I could have ever received."

#fanfiction #man city #manchester city #football imagine #ruben dias #ruben dias x reader #ruben dias imagine #footballer x reader #football angst #footballer imagine #football x reader #football

[ezdotjpg]

Supply Run

Hello here's a fic I wrote about Loft taking a trip back to Skyloft, pre the plot of bonus links. 1381 words!

Link’s favorite errand, head and shoulders above the competition, is making the trek up to Skyloft for a supply refresh. It’s why Zelda continues to ask him to do it, despite the fact that he always takes roughly 6 hours longer than he’s strictly meant to, and forgets at least one item on the list more than half the time. He should remind her, for the millionth time, that he loves her very much. 

“Thanks again, Luv!” he calls behind him as he makes to leave her stall, satchel full of all the necessary elixir ingredients they’ve been running low on. He double checked the list this time. Triple checked it, even. 

“Fly safe, now!” Luv shouts back, and even with his back turned he can imagine her shaking her comically large ladle after him. “I see you out there pulling stunts, you’ll give us all a heart attack one day!”

Link thinks he flies perfectly safe, thank you very much, but he promises to be very careful, and makes his escape from the Bazaar. Sunshine warming his face against the chill, he continues down the ramp, over the bridge, and into the residential quarter of the island. Few of the island’s older adults have agreed to make the move down to the surface yet, so while the area’s quiet, there’s still life in the buildings. He makes his rounds, popping in to each home to say hello and listen to the latest news, often several times over. 

“You’re looking thin again,” Henya frets, giving him a once over with a shrewd eye. “Are you sure you kids are growing enough food down there?”

He assures her that this year’s harvest was the best one yet, but she sends him off with several flasks of soup anyway, enough that he has to wedge them haphazardly in the satchel to make it all fit. 

“You look tired,” Batreaux tells him. He’d been overjoyed by the somewhat wonkily carved Keese Link had made to dress up the windowsill of his new home on Skyloft proper. Now, his brow is furrowed as he putters through his kitchen cabinets. “I’ve got a tea that might help, where in the world did it run off to?”

The packet of tea takes the Keese figure’s place in Link’s pocket, and as the door closes behind him, he tries to remember how many minutes Batreaux told him to steep it for. He never gets it quite right.

With all his visits finished, he lingers in the village square, pointedly not looking at the docks. He walks back to the neighborhood and checks on the island’s pumpkin crop, which looks fine. He catches a few sky stag beetles, and then lets most of them go. He sits by the waterfall and munches on a stamina fruit, kicking his legs over the side and getting his boots all wet. 

He’s half finished formulating a plan to break into his old academy room for no reason in particular before he finally, painfully decides that actually, it’s probably better to return home. Before the sun sets, and Crimson won’t fly anymore, and he’s forced to spend the night. Again. What a tragedy that would be. 

Back at the docks, he makes sure the satchel is buckled securely, briefly laments the ache in his knees, and takes off at run. At the last second, he twists his body around, launching off the edge with his arms out and his back to the land below. 

Link closes his eyes against the glare of the sun, and lets himself enjoy the freefall. His stomach swoops, his body weightless. Crisp air fills his lungs, the same air that tugs at his clothes and tickles his face with his hair. Falling on the surface is never quite this peaceful. Over the course of his quest, he learned what it meant to truly hit the ground, to feel flesh bruise and bones crunch. He made enough wrong footed steps, took tumbles off edges so high he thought they’d be the end of him, scrambling for the sailcloth.

Down below, there’s no failsafe, no guarantee that someone will catch you. The ground rushes up to meet you so fast. But here in the sky, he knows no one will ever let him fall too far. 

Speaking of, the couple of knights that still circle the island are probably getting antsy by now. He gives himself two more counts, taking them slow in his head, before bringing his fingers to his mouth. He whistles one sharp, clear note, and flips himself over into the proper position. It’s only a few seconds more before a familiar call answers. 

He grabs onto Crimson’s harness easily, though the rapid change in speed as she pulls up sends a painful zap up his bad arm. Crimson clicks her beak in apology, like she knows. He pets the soft fur of her back to soothe her. It’s his own fault, really.

It’s getting late. Batraeux was right about one thing: he is tired. He really shouldn’t do much besides simply flying home. 

But he sees Crimson so rarely these days, and her joy is a warm flare in the back of his mind. They circle around the islands scattered around Skyloft, making twirls and loops until he’s breathless from a combination of laughter and exertion, and the sun is beginning to hang dangerously low. Crimson begins her reluctant descent. 

As she hovers high above his front yard, Link gives her a hug around her neck, careful not to squeeze too hard. 

“Thank you,” he says. “See you next time.”

The jolt that runs through him as the sailcloth catches his weight certainly doesn’t help his arm, and he grits his teeth against it. Like always, Crimson stays in sight until his feet touch the ground. He stays rooted to the spot as well, waving after her until her form disappears over the treetops. 

It’s like a spell has broken. He lets his left hand drop, and all of a sudden, his limbs feel so heavy. It’s possible he’s overdone it a little. Every muscle in his body has a complaint it would very much like to lodge. The altitude change sticks in his lungs, makes the air feel thick enough he almost wants to cough. But he’d still call it the good kind of exhausted, the satisfied kind. With any luck, he’ll sleep so well tonight he won’t even dream. Dead on his feet, he shuffles his way onto the porch and inside the house. 

He kicks his boots off by the door, dropping the satchel as gently as he can manage it. Zelda looks up from where she’d been writing in a notebook on the couch, eyes crinkling as soon as she spots him. The house is full of warm, spiced smells and sizzling sounds, which implies that Groose is busy making dinner in the kitchen. If Link listens close, he can almost hear Groose humming.

“Welcome home, love,” Zelda says, setting her notebook aside. She doesn’t comment on his lateness, her smile knowing. He thinks, maybe, that it looks a little sad, too. That he misses it so much, that he lingers so long every time he gets the chance. Everyone on the surface misses Skyloft, but it’s different for him, isn’t it? It’s different. He can’t hide anything from her. 

Pushing the thought out of his mind, he makes a beeline over to the couch with the last of his energy, and flops over to join her. His head lands in her lap, and he can feel her body shake as she laughs at him. 

“That good, huh?” she teases. He makes a vaguely affirmative noise, curling up comfortably as her hand comes to rest on his head. He feels every ache and pain acutely now that he’s no longer standing, but it’s easy to ignore with Zelda’s fingers combing through his hair.

“Did you get everything on the list?”

“Mhm.”

“Double checked?”

“Mhm.”

“Hey, was that Link just now?” That one is Groose’s voice. It sounds closer when he speaks next, like he’s poked his head around the corner. “Babe, no sleeping yet! Dinner’s gonna be ready soon!”

“Don’t worry,” Zelda says. He’s already failing at Groose’s request. “I’ll wake you.”

#ficdotjpg #bonus loft #bonus links #bonuslinks #bonuslinksdotjpg #technically this is for the discord prompt but it turned out a little bittersweet lol #bonus groose #bonus skord zelda #not very well proofread forgive me for typos

[charliehoennam]

Jarhead

Chapter 1 - The Set Up

A/N: this is a little series based on Jake Gyllenhaal's character Anthony Swofford in the movie Jarhead. Jake is just too cute in the movie to ignore and I just wanna give him a happy ending with lots of angst on the way there. Shoutout to @juniebugg for the idea!

Pairing: Anthony Swofford x f!reader

Warnings: mentions of bad break-ups, flirtation, language, no smut....yet

Word count: 3,185

SHARING IS CARING, SO REBLOG!

You walked into the salon, greeting your lady co-workers as you strutted to your station. Doing hair was definitely not putting your degree in practice, but it got your bills paid. And you found it rather pleasing helping other regain their confidence. The salon belonged to your aunt and you had worked there since high school. It helped get you through high school and college, though it wasn’t quite enough to keep you from applying for student loans.

Despite not being in your area, you liked the salon. You liked the people you met, the elderly regulars that stopped by once a week for a perm or a manicure, the neighborhood gossip that they were always eager to share, the co-workers that always had your back.

One of them was Maria. She was a beautiful woman with long dark hair and tan skin that made even gold envious. She was admirable in so many ways. With her husband, Juan, away on deployment, she was quickly thrust into the role of a single parent to their 3-year-old son. She never complained about it. She might have complained about Juan and his habits, but never that he had to be away. In some ways, she was very thankful. The Marines had provided many benefits for them to compensate for his absence like providing stable housing, health-care and education for their family. Granted there were flaws in the system and his absence was at times unbearable, she understood and supported his decision to enlist. Aside from being a great wife and mother, she was also your great friend.

“Buenos, chica” she smiled hugging you. “How was your date last night?”

“Total dud. Just didn’t really click, you know?”

“Yeah, I know why too. You still hung up on that fool.”

“I’m not hung up on anyone.”

“Yes, you are. That puto lost the best thing that ever happened to him, but you know what? Good for you. You’re better without him and you deserve better than his broke ass.”

“Can we please not talk about him?” You sighed, eager to leave your ex in the past.

“As you wish, chica. Besides, I got someone I want you to meet.” She smirked widely prepping her hair brushes and combs to make sure they’re clean for a new day.

“He cute?”

“Don’t tell Juan, but he is fine, chica. I love my man, but I know fine when I see it” she laughed nudging you with her elbow. “His name is Tony, he’s gonna be at the barbeque we’re having for this weekend for Daniel’s birthday. You’re coming, right? Danny’s gonna be so sad if you don’t.”

“I’ll be there, don’t worry” you chuckled as you reassured her. “I already got his present and everything. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. You know how I adore that little man.”

And you really did. You often babysat him when Juan was on leave and needed some alone time with his wife.

“Good, because I already told Tony I’ll be introducing you to him.”

“Are you serious? You know how I feel about that, Mari.”

“Girl, don’t worry. I showed him a picture and he’s interested. I think you guys are a great match and Juan agrees.”

“Juan agrees with everything you say, he’s your husband” you laughed.

“Well, just come out and meet him. You don’t have to do anything and if you’re not interested, I’ll forget it. But trust me, you’re gonna wanna meet him” she chuckled with a smirk.

"Fine. I'll meet him, but I'm not promising anything."

From everything she described about Tony, you couldn't deny the butterflies forming in your stomach as the days went by. As the hours crept closer, they quickly began to swarm in your belly and you couldn't remember the last time you felt this way.

You decided to look extra nice that day. It was more than just a casual birthday party, but you also didn't want to go over the top. Settling on a new figure flattering skirt and cute top, you accessorized strategically with a cute necklace that hung just above your fairly modest cleavage. You weren't hoping to end up married by the end of the day, but Lord knows you needed some physical action.

The party was already in full swing by the time you arrived with your renowned dish of crispy and perfectly seasoned panko fried vegetables. Knowing they were a popular favorite among the adults, you'd made more than plenty in two large aluminum foil pans.

Walking into the backyard through the side gate, you immediately recognized the song playing from inside the house. Love Like This by Faith Evans was a personal favorite of Maria's and you had sung to that exactly CD mix in the car plenty of times driving home from your girls night out.

The kids were happily playing on the bounce house Juan had rented for the day. Some played in the pool, stopping only to find their parents for a drink of water. Most of the women were sat by the picnic table setting out the food, so you quickly made your way over to greet them. You knew everyone pretty well having been a family friend for years. Some were Maria's aunts and cousins. A few were your own co-workers and you greeted everyone, with a warm, bright smile and a gentle embrace.

Looking over at the grilling area that had been Juan's third pride and joy - second to the pool he had been finally able to afford and his very own family- you couldn't help but scan over the men gathered there. You couldn't make out what they were talking about, but you knew that Tony had to be one of them. Your heart raced at the thought.

Your eyes landed on a tall man stood beside Juan, helping him man the grill. His hair was short as if he'd been growing it out after a buzz cut. His features strongly resembled Maria's description. His smile stretched from ear to ear as he patted Juan on his shoulder, possibly complimenting him on something. You couldn't tell what he said; the distance and music didn't quite favor that. His long thick eyebrows intensified the bright blue orbs that shone even from a distance and sent goosebumps down your arms the second he caught you staring.

You blushed and quickly looked back down at your dish as you removed the aluminum foil to reveal the fried tasty side dish, secretly praying he hadn't noticed. But unknowingly to you, he had.

Just as you knew who he was, he knew exactly who you were as well. Juan told him all about you the day after he'd agreed with Maria to hook you two up. And Tony couldn't be more thankful. He was starstruck the minute he saw you arrived. Juan nodded at you with a smirk as he laid another steak on the grill.

"That's her, man. What do you think huh?"

"I think she's fucking beautiful, that's what I think" he chuckled excitedly as he patted his friend’s shoulder.  "What’s her name again?” he joked.

"Dude, I know your brain is small and can only process shit at a slow pace, but please don't fuck up her name" Juan joked.

"I got it covered, man. Relax. Y/N will be in good hands soon enough" Tony chuckles back at him.

After sharing a couple smiles and glances, you decided to make the first move and walked over to grilling area as the guys began served the perfectly charred meats.

"Think you fellas could spare me a steak?" You smirked glancing between them.

"You can have your pick, sweetheart" Tony smiled back. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Tony" he stated holding his hand out.

"Pleasure to meet you. If you're Tony, then I guess we hardly need an introduction. Maria's told me a bit about you already" you smirked shaking his hand.

"Has she?" You nodded with a smirk.

"Good things though. She said you're a real gentleman."

"I try to be, at least" he smiled.

Seeing him up close now, you couldn't help but take in all his details. His long brown eyelashes only embellished his blue doe eyes. Small brown freckles adorned his skin. His beard was grown out just enough to notice he had nice potential of beautifully growing it out to its full extent, but not long enough to hide the skin, dimples and freckles underneath it. He was a sight for sore eyes.

The attraction between you and Tony was undeniable. You invited him to sit with you at one of the fold-out tables to eat. The conversation flowed naturally as you savored your meal and watched the children play while the hours passed.  It might have been due to the fact that you had a bit in common like similar musical taste or interest in movies and books.

Not everything was in mutual interest and Tony liked that you were willing to debate and defend your beliefs. He admired that about you, that you stuck to your guns. He also liked that you didn't shy away from teasing and joking. It had felt like you'd known each other for years before. Like two old friends reunited after years apart, almost as if time had no effect. Tony had craved for that: the instant connection and not only attraction. He'd met plenty of girls before, but it had been a while since he felt a connection with someone. Due to the way his last relationship with his ex, Kristina, had ended, Tony hadn’t allowed himself to get too comfortable with girls. He had his flings and they stayed just that: flings with no emotional attachment. Until now. Until he met you. And his favorite thing about meeting you? How easily you made him forget about the world surrounding you both.

You two seemed to be inseparable the whole day until Daniel raced over to you, excitedly asking about the present you had promised. It was only then that you realized you forgot it in the car.

You made your way to the gate and left the backyard to walk out to your car. It had barely shut behind you when you heard it open back up. Turning around, you found Tony stepping out.

"Tony." You smiled curiously. "You forget something too?"

"Uh, no. Not exactly."

His lips curled into a smirk as he tenderly cradled the side of your neck. Guiding your lips to his, he pressed a sweet kiss. You could feel him smile into it as he relished the wet warmth of your lips slowly melting into his.

"I'm sorry. I probably should've asked first, but I've been dying to do that all day."

You could feel the blood rushing to your cheeks as you beamed up at him.

"N-no, don't apologize." You stuttered, still stunned at the very pleasant surprise. "I'm definitely not sorry about it at all."

"Neither am I really." He smirked and returned to the backyard with the widest grin on his face.

Juan was quick to notice the smile and seemed to read Tony’s mind when he walked back to continue his help, slicing and distributing the steaks, sausages and chicken wings.

“Oh, you went for it, didn’t you? Cabron! I knew you would. You’re a dog” Juan laughed, nudging his friend.

Soon after everyone had had a couple slices of the delicious chocolate cake, the party had come to its end and you offered to stay and help the small family clean up. Tony stuck around as well since you promised him a ride home, but he was more than quick to help out. So, you got ahold of a large garbage bag and went around the backyard, collecting the disposal plates, cups and forks that some guests had forgotten to throw out. Tony was further down the yard, helping Juan scrub the grill down.

Daniel sat up on the porch, opening his brand-new presents. You smiled as you watched his excited reaction to the new water gun you'd gotten him. It was more like a rifle and the size of it made the little boy even more eager to try it out. You were quick to offer to help him fill it up. Once it was full, his little legs quickly ran across the yard toward Tony and his father. His first victim was Juan. Tony was right after.

"Oh, no! Man down! Man down!" Tony exclaimed, holding the wet spot on his chest as he fell to one knee.

"Please, Danny. I thought we were friends. I let you have a cupcake before the cake." His voice was strained as if in pain.

You had to admit, Tony was a pretty good actor. The way he fell to his side when Daniel sprayed him again was pretty realistic. He played dead until Daniel was close enough. Suddenly shooting up, he grabbed the child careful enough to not hurt him and wrapped his arms around him. Daniel's laughs filled the air as he dropped the toy gun.

"Get his weapon, Cortez!"

Juan smirked and quickly picked it up to spray his son.

You chuckled as you watched the wholesome scene. Tony clearly had a way with kids due to his playful nature. It made you wonder if he would be the same with his own kids. It made you think about having your own kids and you wondered if that could happen with Tony, but it was far too early to even think about that.

"So, what do you think, chica?" Maria asked coming into the kitchen and snapping you out of your daze.

"Huh? Oh, sorry" you chuckled blushing. "About?"

"About Tony, duh!"

"He's uh definitely cuter than you described." You smirked, replying in the most modest way possible.

"I told you he was fine" she laughed. "You know he likes you too?"

"Does he?" You smiled thinking about the kiss.

"Yeah, but I think you knew that already."

Damn right, you did.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Maria handed you a couple of containers full of leftover food and cake. She'd always separate some for you to take home after get-togethers. It was her way of thanking you for all the help you gave them when they needed it.

“You sure you don’t mind that I’m kinda wet?” Tony asked slightly worried that he’d ruin your passenger seat as he fidgeted with the containers in his lap as you drove to his home.

“Don’t worry. This car has seen a lot worse” you chuckled. It wasn’t the fanciest car, but it served enough to get you from point A to point B.

“You got a pretty nice way with kids. You got any of your own?”

You wanted to be as subtle as possible about your curiosity in his past relationships and his opinion on having kids.

“I don’t, no. But who knows one day? I do have a sister though. Rini… She’s younger than me. Guess that’s how I got my way with ‘em.”

“Oh, that’s cool. I didn’t know you had a sister. She nice?”

“She’s great. Real sweetheart. I love her to death.”

“I take you’re very close?”

“Yeah. We try to be, at least. My folks aren’t exactly the Brady Bunch, so we try to be there for each other.”

The way he didn’t delve into too many details made you think it might have been a sensitive subject to touch on, at least for a first date. Despite being curious about his family history, you simply nodded and glanced at him with a smile.

“Family can be tough. Wouldn’t be family if they weren’t” you chuckled.

To diffuse the hidden discomfort, you reached out and turned on the radio. Skimming through the channels, he grinned when he caught the sound of one of his favorites, Hip Hop Hooray by Naughty By Nature.

“N-no, no, leave it there. This is a great song, one of my favorites.”

He quickly jumped into the middle of the first verse, rapping along to the song perfectly knowing every lyric by heart. You smiled widely listening to him before joining him in the chorus, waving a hand side to side to the beat of the song. He was surprised when you joined in on the second verse, proving you knew just as much as he did.

You sang along together the rest of the way. If there had been a worry in mind, neither of you could think about them now. It was a perfect ending the day you had. Neither of you wanted it to end just yet.

Pulling to the front of his humble townhouse, you parked and shut the car off.

“You know somethin’?” He started as he leaned back against the headrest, rolling his head over to gaze at you longingly. “I had a really great day, thanks to you. I was nervous when Juan said you’d be there today. I didn’t really know what to expect. But I’m really glad I met you.”

You smiled as you unconsciously mimicked his movement and leaned back into your seat.

“Don’t sweat it. I was nervous as shit too” you chuckled. “But I have no regrets. I had a great time too.”

“It doesn’t have to end if you don’t want it to.”

“You trying to say something, Tony?” you smirked.

“Maybe. I’m just saying” he shrugged with a sly smile. “Maybe you could come in and I dunno. Maybe have some wine with me.”

“I’m driving tonight though.”

“You could sleep it off at my place. Drive home in the morning.”

You wanted to say yes. You wanted nothing more than to mount him like a horse and ride him all night. You were eager to get laid at first. You hadn’t expected to really like Tony. The fear of coming off desperate must have been radiating off of you. You could’ve sworn he was reading your mind when he reached over to hold your hand as you began nervously picking at your nails.

“We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. I really mean that, sweetheart” he said with a soft comforting tone, looking down at your hands aa he thought about how perfectly they would fit together with his. “I just really like talking to you. And it’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to just talk, you know? You can crash on the couch if you want. I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

His concern for your sense of security was genuine. He wasn’t going to come onto you if you don’t want him to. It was everything you needed to hear to silence the doubt in your head.

“Yeah” you smiled from ear to ear. “I’d love some wine. And just you know, you don’t have to keep your hands to yourself.”

#anthony swofford #anthony swofford x reader #anthony swofford x you #anthony swofford x y/n #jarhead #jake gyllenhaal #jake gyllenhaal x reader #jake gyllenhaal imagine #jake gyllenhaal fanfic

[ovaruling]

You made a post earlier about how you are feeding stray cats. Since it seems like you're very concerned about the environment I wonder why you are doing this. Aren't stray/outdoor cats horrible for the environment? Mostly because they kill animals that are actually important for nature like birds and rodents. Not trying to be rude just wondering why you think feeding them is a good idea, because it's basically helping a population that has no place in nature and does nothing but harm.

look, i’m not without my weaknesses—i can’t look at a starving stray cat and not feed it. maybe others can, but i can’t. i never claimed to be a paragon.

however, i must clarify something and also point out that i think im doing my part more than your average stray-feeder—i spend 1-2 hours each day trying to trap the cats. every day, from 4-5pm and sometimes later. i drop what im doing to spend time on it.

i have a folding chair to sit on and stake them out, a new implement of a bathroom mirror from a construction site that i set up next to the feeding station (to see the cats without startling them), and a large dog crate in which i put the food.

i recently caught 2 of the said stray cats last week and had them fixed and they will no longer be contributing to the environmental decline, nor will they ever produce litters. i’m working on a third.

i feed on my own property and i have caught and fixed and thus removed from the environment approximately 20 or more cats since i was like, i can’t remember—10, 11, 12. somewhere around there—i was in some degree of childhood when i started. i still use the same large dog crates i had back then to catch them. it takes weeks, sometimes months. sometimes a year or more in the case of my toughest one, an aggressive feral male who was causing issues in the neighborhood and who is now my housecat and best friend and wreaks no more havoc. i didn’t give up on him and it ended up being for the better bc no one else was going to give enough of a shit to spend the time it was going to take to catch him. (i’ve said this before but, i had to go on 3 rounds of antibiotics bc he kept biting me horribly every time i tried to catch him)

all this to say: my success in catching stray cats is owed largely to my patience and my willingness to spend hours gaining their trust by feeding them and having them associate my presence with food and fresh water.

so i know it’s not without criticism to feed them, but i do put in hours and hours each week feeding these strays specifically to try to catch them—and i often succeed. (edit: i don’t always. there are a few cats i don’t know if i’ll ever be able to catch, but i won’t stop trying.)

this is what ive been doing my whole life and i will continue to try to make an impact on my local environment in this unique way. i don’t expect others to understand my methods and the specific way that i do things (it’s different for each cat depending on how i assess their personality and needs and habits etc etc), but the fact that i’ve removed 20 or more strays from my neighborhood over the last decade or so is an impact that matters, i think.

especially since i pay out of my own pocket to take them to the vet, to fix them, vaccinate them, and treat them for any and all ailments, and i also have housed them myself or rehomed them. it’s a huge drain on my resources but it’s one i am happy to do for the rest of my life. not least bc no one else in my area is bothering to do anything about them.

so—take that for what you will. that’s my contribution and it’s not perfect but i think i do a good job at reducing the number of stray cats in my local ecosystem and i have to conclude that because of that i MUST have reduced a lot of the environmental destruction that they would’ve otherwise done. much better than anyone else who lives around here, that’s for sure.

tl;dr—i am basically doing the job my local animal care & control is supposed to be doing about stray cats, for free, by myself, at my own expense and on my own time—and i 100% cannot do that job without feeding them

edit: i didn’t mean for this to sound as defensive and doth protesting as it did—i realize i’ve never quite explained exactly What it is i do with regard to stray and feral cats, and of course i can’t expect others to read my mind or know my life and motivations just from scattered posts i make lol. i hope i answered your question somewhat, and im happy to answer any more that you have.

#v #vp

[cleolinda]

Story time: yard chaos

[I told this story on Twitter today, 11/29/22, because I like to be as dramatic and ominous as possible.]

Friends, you may be aware that I often tell Neighborhood Gothic tales about the happenings on my street. I have another one.

So yesterday I look out the kitchen window and see about 15-20 fluorescent-vested workers (who do they work for? We just don’t know) hanging out about 1-2 houses down. Just chilling on both sides of the street, sitting on the storm drain, in the yards, what have you.

And they are more than welcome to; I just don’t know why. Tons of trucks around. Including multiple USIC trucks: People What Identify Your Underground Utilities. You may remember that I ran into one while I was tripping on yard nightshade. Good people, necessary, ideal.

I go about my business (cleaning out my tea kettle). Sometime later, loud machine noises. Bear in mind that I live in an area where there is always someone working loudly on something. Cutting down dangerous trees (RIP🌲), building new houses, eternally landscaping. I shrug.

I look out the window again. The corner of my neighbor’s yard is thoroughly dug up. Now, this summer, I watched a man cut down a whole-ass tree and every single bush (including two beautiful gardenias) of hers branch by branch. There are naught but stubs now.

Am I now that old lady who peers out the window at the doings of the street? Yes. Do I know Debra’s life? No. Do I have any idea why twenty workers are needed to dig up one corner of her yard? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Some hours later, my mom comes home for lunch. She is INCANDESCENT with rage. I assume it’s because our street is clogged with trucks. Why u mad tho? “WHY AREN’T YOU MAD?” After some confusion, my mom gets it through my placid head that the workers

are digging up

OUR YARD

I hadn’t looked out the FRONT window; our dog had been asleep and hadn’t needed to go out. There are three GIANT HOLES, like 3x3 and half a grave deep, at the street end of our yard, like prairie dog holes from hell. Nobody said FUCK ALL to me about this.

My mom’s higher self is a capable, savvy woman who knows her worth. My mom’s shadow self is a Karen. She marches out there to ask what the FUCK is going on. A foreman steps forward. “Oh, they didn’t put a letter on your door?” NO!!!!

I can’t tell if this [a tweet that did not in fact go through] went through or not, because they keep cutting off the wifi. There is a crane over my street now

What is GOING ON, asks my mom. “Something about fiber optic cables,” the foreman says. SOMETHING?? “Something about phones.” IN 2022??? We Just Don’t Know.

Holes begin to spread up the street.

By sundown, every single yard upstreet of mine has a minimum of three deep pits exposing Unknown Cables. Turf has been skinned off and thrown aside. I’m just like, this might as well happen. My mom now has a contractor’s business card. Neighbors are mad. Nobody was warned.

I’m out with Cooper on the deck (where he likes to chase falling leaves) in the dimming sunlight, and I happen to look around at the street.

Water is cascading down the road.

I live on a hill. You know how it looks during a hard rain, just little wavelets washing down the road? That. Water pouring down the entire width of the street, gutter to gutter. The deluge has already reached the intersection and shows no sign of stopping.

My phone has no wifi.

The Workers from Somewhere have hit a water main up the street. In front of a lawyer’s house, I’m told, so have fun with that. What I learn later is, despite there being 3-4 USIC trucks on the street, no one ever marked any utilities. Somebody told the workers not to wait.

Birmingham Water Works trucks, flashing their lights in the darkness, show up at 9 pm to fix the busted water main. Neighbors are wandering around fretting that the Great Flood of ‘22 is going to show up on their utility bills. The lawyer is very popular.

I get up this morning. By 6 am, they are back out there, doubling down. This is not the workers’ fault, btw. Honest day’s work, dishonest employer.

Every single house on my side of the street has a minimum of four (4) fiber optic prairie dog pits now.

I don’t know WHAT and I don’t know WHY. And now, there is a crane over my street for something happening underground. Orange cones and a giant wheel of orange and blue cable have appeared. Someone is brandishing a rake. End transmission for now.

UPDATE: The crane is ripping out a small tree (RIP 🌳) near the top of the street. I do not know if this is related or not. Either shit just got real with the cable digging, or we have dueling contractors.

[Situation in progress, more later]

#story time with cleo #long post #text post #as told on twitter #wet chaos 2022

[merakiui]

Sk! Octavinelle!!! Sk! Octavinelle!!! Sk! Octavinelle!!! Oh gosh, I love your concept and the fact that all three of them are so different in method and why they kill. It’s so interesting how you characterize them all!

You mentioned that Jade justifies to himself that he kills because he’s a predator and part of the food chain… and that he’s really hungry, hahahah. Do you think he suffers from cognitive dissonance? Do you think he suffers from guilt? Like, months into his first planned murder, do you think he contemplates turning back and that he could live life without human meat? Or does he think about the morality and legality of things, but knows deep down he’s going to do it anyway, so why bother with negative emotions in the first place?

There are so many sides to Jade and I love how capture him so well!!!

I think there is definitely some level of cognitive dissonance, but it's on a very basic level. As a mer, the concept of death and murder is a little different in the sea. For all creatures, survival is a priority, but this is especially true for merfolk. Life in the sea is harsh, and sometimes you must resort to violence for the sake of survival. If living comes at the cost of potentially eating someone of the same kind so be it. It's normalized in rougher parts of the sea where food is harder to come by, but in more civilized areas (such as in underwater cities and neighborhoods) cannibalism and violence are frowned upon just like they are on the surface.

On the surface, murder is wrong. Very wrong and punishable in all manner of ways (the ultimate punishment, in some cases, being death). And though murder is still wrong depending on what part of the sea you're in, sometimes it's necessary. Sometimes it's what guarantees survival. And Jade will always be a mer. He can wear human skin, think and act like a human, but at the end of the day he always will be and always has been a mer. Thus, he still thinks like one. That, and when you grow up in an environment as cold and harsh as he did you're bound to come across unsavory things, especially when the family business can be particularly ruthless at times.

He's seen all manner of things most human children wouldn't ever see in their young lives (and will hopefully never have to see). Like skeletons in shipwrecks or fresh corpses, whether from drowning or from shark attacks. And he's seen enough death and gore to know it's normal and not something grotesque or scary. It's just the cycle life, the food chain, and that's how he often rationalizes things. After all, in the sea it's eat or be eaten.

I don't think he feels guilt. Rather, I think Jade would feel more regretful if he was caught rather than fretting over the fact that he killed a living person. One of his kills was messy and the blood spatter got all over his favorite curtain set. That made him sad. Seeing the life ebb away from his victim did not. It's little, unimportant things that upset Jade. Like bloodstains that just can't be washed out or curtains that can't be salvaged or even spoiled organs that can't be eaten no matter how hard he tries to prepare them in a delicious way. It's not death that saddens; it's what happens when he's too messy or careless that has him frowning. It's when he can't utilize the human body and all of its parts to the fullest potential. He always rationalizes it with the food chain because he genuinely believes that's the truth of the matter—a natural law of the world. His morals are also quite crooked, but then that's bound to happen when you're from the Leech family and the Coral Sea. ^^;;;

Legality has always been a strange subject for the Leeches because their entire business always toes the line between legal and illegal. Jade has never had to worry about legal troubles because he's learned how to conceal all unsavory, illegal things behind a perfectly clean veneer. He's spent years observing how others do it, learning and understanding the tricks of the trade. He makes decisions based on what's right in his mind; he's objective and calculating and so very intelligent.

As for the part about being hungry and his first planned murder, that actually plays a role in DRU! I'd love to talk more about it, but it would spoil the plot. >_< for now, thank you so much for liking how I characterize sk!Jade. He's so terrifying. <3

#twisted chit chat #serial killer jade #forgive me for the lengthy analysis #sometimes i see sk jade and i just have to ramble about him orz

[gatitties]

Hellooo could you maybe write a little scenario or headcanons for Ryusei from tr with a reader that REALLY likes to read? I imagine they go on cute bookstore or library dates and Ryusei is definitely bored out of his mind but he does it just because he likes seeing y/n soo happy <3 and he likes being read to like a child <3<3

Romantic fluff pls and reader can be gn, thxx

─Ryusei x gn!reader

─Summary: you always liked reading dates although Ryusei doesn't seem to be convinced by the idea at all

─Warnings: none

You closed the door of your house after saying goodbye to your parents, sending a quick message to Ryusei to say that you were ready for your date. This time it was your choice, since last time he was the one who chose where was it, you were a little undecided about your choice since Ryusei is not a book lover like you, but if you had to endure a meeting of Toman the last time, he will be able to deal with some reading.

Five minutes later you heard the engine of his motorcycle rumble through your neighborhood, you smiled unconsciously when you saw him, he made a small gesture with his hand, passing the helmet to you while you got on the back.

The ride to the library was quick, maybe a little too much, but knowing your boyfriend he did it on purpose so you would cling to him more, you couldn't even see him but you knew he had a huge smile every time he sped up and felt your arms over his abdomen.

"What are you... supposed to do here?"

He muttered once you walked in, you rolled your eyes, greeting the duty manager who knew you from the countless afternoons you'd spent there before, you pulled Ryusei's hand into the tall shelves lined with all sorts of books.

"Read, what else?"

"Only that? There are no games, a children's area?"

"It's a library, not an arcade, just find a book you might like and read it, I'll wait for you here, there are some very comfortable armchairs, oh, and there's a drink machine at the entrance, can you bring me something while you look for something you like?"

He frowned slightly, pouting a little to see how determined you were heading towards your favorite section, not knowing what kind of book to read, he wandered around for a while, observing the few people there, not interested in anything he had looked at, not even the comics caught his attention to start reading, so he went for a couple of hot drinks and came back where you indicated, finding you comfortably reading in total concentration.

He held back the urge to scare you knowing that once you got into that state it was very easy to startle you, but he's taken more blows to the head with incredibly thick books than he cares to count, he chose to lightly touch your shoulder, you gave a little startle but you smiled right away.

"I didn't find anything that caught my attention but at least I grabbed something to drink."

"Thank you, have you even looked in the children's stories section?"

"Why the hell would I look there?"

"I thought that something simpler and with drawings could attract your attention."

"You-"

"SHHH!"

You both lowered your head when you heard someone scolding to you, Ryusei frowned at you, making exaggerated gestures for messing with him, you made more aggressive gestures justifying that he made fun of you many times too and after a few strange gestures which only both of you could understand you ended the 'discussion'. He decided to sit next to you, resting his head on your shoulder as you went back to your reading.

He would never understand how attractive you see in those stories, he didn't find anything entertaining to read, it was often boring and tedious, but he couldn't complain either, you didn't understand anything about his life as a gang member either and even so you two managed to agree somewhere in between.

At a certain point his eyelids began to close on their own and you didn't realize he fell asleep until his head fell completely into your lap, causing the book you were holding to fall to the floor, you sighed moving his shoulder to wake him up, Ryusei woke up immediately looking around as if he was prepared to be hit.

"Maybe it's time for us to go…"

"No, I was just resting my eyes, we can continue reading."

You raised an eyebrow looking directly into his eyes, he sighed knowing that he couldn't hide his boredom in any way, but he still wanted to continue with the date just because you seemed to like spending time here, he wouldn't be the one to break your delusion.

"Maybe… why don't you read for me?"

"Do you want me to read to you?"

"I suppose it would be less boring for me."

You accepted, you both returned to sit on the couch in the same position, only now this time, you began whispering the line by which you had stayed, Ryusei honestly did not care that he had started with that part of the story and was more lost than a octopus in a garage, because he wasn't really paying attention to the events in the book, but to how reassuring your whispers were so close to him, not to mention that he spent the rest of the date admiring your face focused on reading. He wouldn't find a reason to read, but one to admire you more.

#tk #tokyo revengers #tokyo revenger x reader #reader insert #request #gnreader #ryusei satou #x reader #ryusei x reader #ryusei x gn reader #sfw #fluff

[francology]

The Secret Gems of the Sea Floor

Hello everyone! I hope you had a relaxing weekend because I know I did hehe. We're nearing the end of Francology with the next entry being the last but fret not, I would still share my other thoughts from time to time beyond the pinned scope ^_^.

Alright, this week's topic is on Seagrass™. You wanna know something funny about them? They're actually not a type of grass but instead, it's more of a lily.

Right?! It's like coral reefs being animals all over again.

That being said:

What are seagrasses?

Seagrasses are angiosperms, meaning they are flowering plants and are found all around the world, in both hot and cold locations. They originally lived on land but adapted to living in water millions of years ago. They have specialised leaves where they exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the seawater through small holes called pit bumps. Unlike plants on land, seagrasses don't get oxygen from the soil but instead, they get it through their thin leaves. The roots of seagrasses also help keep sediment in place (Cullen-Unsworth et al. 2018a).

In many spots, seagrass plants cover big areas on the seafloor, and we call these spots "seagrass beds" or "seagrass meadows." These meadows are usually in shallow, sheltered areas. Just like the plants with flowers on land, seagrasses also have flowers, fruits, and seeds. But instead of relying on insects and the wind for things like pollination and seed travel, seagrasses get help from marine creatures and the movement of water. There are tiny critters called crustaceans, kind of like really small shrimp, that are sometimes called the "bees of the sea" because they help pollinate seagrass flowers, just like bees do for plants on land (Cullen-Unsworth et al. 2018a).

Why are seagrasses important?

Seagrass is like a bustling underwater neighborhood for thousands of sea creatures (Reynolds 2018). It's where more than 1,000 different types of fish hang out, including ones we love to eat like cod and herring, as well as bigger endangered animals like seahorses, dugongs, turtles, seahorses, and manatees (those cool sea cows). These meadows are not only great for fish but also support coral reefs and other fish habitats by providing food and a safe spot for baby fish to chill. Seagrasses are known as the primary food producers because they whip up their own grub through photosynthesis and then become dinner for other animals. So, they play a crucial role in the underwater food chain.

Seagrass is also the glue that holds the underwater soil (called sediment) in place, which is like a shield that protects our coasts from getting battered by storms and big waves, stopping the land from washing away.

But here's the coolest part: Seagrass is like a superhero fighting climate change. Just like regular plants take in carbon dioxide from the air, seagrasses slurp up carbon dioxide that's dissolved in the seawater. They use this carbon dioxide to grow or stash it in the sediment. Experts say seagrass meadows can trap carbon in underwater dirt a whopping 40 times faster than tropical forests do in the soil (Fourqurean et al. 2012). This is a big deal because it helps keep the water's pH level stable, which is a measure of how acidic or basic it is. A stable pH is good news for animals with shells or tough outer coverings, like corals and shellfish (think clams and oysters), as it shields them from ocean acidification.

All the ways that seagrass helps out us humans are called "ecosystem services," and these services make seagrass one of the most vital marine ecosystems for our well-being.

Threats to seagrass and what can be done to help

Despite how crucial they are, seagrass meadows worldwide are disappearing pretty fast, at a rate of about 7% every year (Waycott et al. 2009). This loss is often connected to things like building new stuff along the coast, pollution from rivers and streams flowing into the sea, and overfishing.

If we want seagrass to withstand bigger and longer-lasting challenges like climate change, we've got to do some things on the local level. That means improving the quality of the water nearby, making sure we don't mess up seagrass meadows, setting up safe zones for seagrass, cutting back on overfishing, and not letting coastal development stress them out (Cullen-Unsworth and Unsworth 2016b). When we protect seagrass, we're not just looking out for the cool life living there, but we're also doing our part to fight climate change and making sure people have enough to eat from the sea. It might take some big moves to protect and bring back these spots, but if lots of folks take small steps to look out for seagrass, we can give these hidden underwater gardens a brighter future.

References:

Cullen-Unsworth, LC, Jones, BL, Lilley, R and Unsworth, RKF 2018, Secret gardens under the sea: what are seagrass meadows and why are they important?, Frontiers, viewed 17 October 2023, &lt;https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2018.00002#ref2>.

Cullen-Unsworth, LC and Unsworth, RKF 2016b, 'Strategies to enhance the resilience of the world's seagrass meadows' Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 1 - 6.

Fourqurean, JW, Duarte, CM, Kennedy, H, Marba, N, Holmer, M, Mateo, MA, Apostolaki, ET, Kendrick, GA, Krause-Jensen, D, McGlathery, KJ and Serrano, O 2012, 'Seagrass ecosystems as a globally significant carbon stock', Nature Geoscience, no. 5, pp. 505 - 509.

Reynolds, PL 2018, Seagrass and seagrass beds, Smithsonian, viewed 17 October 2023, &lt;https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/plants-algae/seagrass-and-seagrass-beds>.

Waycott, M, Duarte, CM, Carruthers, TJB and Orth, RJ 2009, 'Accelerating loss of seagrass across the globe threatens coastal ecosystems', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 106, no. 30, pp. 12377 - 12381.

#seagrass #seagrassisnotagrass #seagrassisaplant #findmuck #ecology #biodiversity #ocean #marine

[slocumjoe]

Companions react to the Scorched Plague

Ada; Sent on supply and scavenging runs, gets what's needed and takes it where it needs to go. When she's not doing that, joins hunting parties and gets deep in the fray. She can't get infected—the squishy humans can. Ada is joined by Codsworth pretty frequently. At the end of it, keeps a Scorched Beast tooth in her home (whatever it may be) as a souvenir.

Cait; One of the first to join the Scorched Beast hunting parties. She recognizes a 'all hands on deck' situation when she sees it. And when the usual monsters of the waste give way to crystallized husks, working as one mind hell-bent on destruction? Fuck it. If it takes her out, she'll have taken out far more. Danse gives her a sweet suit of Power Armor and she wears out the knuckle joints a lot. Why shoot when you can punch, right?

Curie; You can't pull her away from her labs, her medical bays. Curie works herself to the bone and then some, trying to find a cure, a prevention, anything. She still ends up having to restock her ammo, when her patients or test subjects succumb and have to be put down. It's the hardest thing Curie has ever gone through. She doesn't come out the same person.

Codsworth; Bounces many different jobs. Ferries supplies, tends to the wounded and sick, feeds the civilians...he's a nervous wreck, but determined. He's often sent into infection hotzones with other robots, who can't get infected. Ada and him make a good duo, together. If only the decontamination process didn't rust him so badly...

Danse; On the outside, he's in Paladin mode. Barking orders, leading hunting parties, rarely does Danse stop firing at something. But internally, holy shit, this man is terrified. The Brotherhood is familiar with this plague, but if they couldn't stop it before, how could they now? He's the first to give an inspirational, do-or-die speech, and the last person to believe it. Makes Power Armor for anyone who'll join the cause. Ends up really bonding with Cait and X6-88 over the duration of the epidemic.

Deacon; keeps an eye on the wandering packs, the trails he finds of the Beasts, and points the hunting parties at them. The Railroad, for once, joins the fray. Instead of moving just synths, they move everyone into safe areas. He's not as nervous as other people; he can't be. Panic isn't going to keep people safe. Deacon stops cutting and dying his hair, pretending to be someone else. Staring at the Scorched, watching their individuality melt away into one mindless, all-thinking husk...you learn to value who you are. Even if you don't always like yourself, at least you are yourself.

Dogmeat; is trained to sniff out the plague, both in people yet to be taken over, and the hordes of Scorched. Dogmeat gets passed around to whoever needs his nose—Deacon takes him for tracking the Beasts, Curie has him find infected, Preston has him herd the Scorched into a nice, easy place for Artillery to rain down on. When all is said and done, is fed the highest quality meats while he catches up on his naps.

Gage; Bye, fuckers! He grabs as much as he can, finds a nice, cozy little bunker somewhere, and happily plans the rest of his life there. Starts gardening, like a Minuteman nerd. It's open season if someone opens the door. If the world ends a second time, Gage will watch it with bottle-cap sunglasses, and a glass of home-brewed mutfruit wine in hand. Will have a crisis over how much he likes the simple, quiet farming life. Has to get dragged kicking and screaming to leave his bunker, convinced there'll be a second wave or something.

Hancock; Debates leaving Goodneighbor. Loves his town, but they're not the kind of folks to...y'know. Quarantine, practice safe sex, not get into weird substances they find...he sticks by them though. Everyone gets armor and masks to cover up, keep the plague off them. There's a strict curfew, neighborhood watch delivers supplies to each building. Hancock has Kent work with Piper, keep the airwaves pumping out information and news as it comes. Hancock himself works with MacCready. Keeps off the chems to not dull his senses. Has a giant, week long party in Goodneighbor afterwards.

MacCready; Helps Goodneighbor get supplies in. Travels exclusively by rooftop if he can help it. Daisy sets him up with a long-distance radio so he can get word to Kent, Travis Miles in DC, and the Minutemen ASAP. A very valuable agent in the mess. Hancock watches his back as he scopes out the hordes and picks them off. Duncan draws pictures of his dad shooting down Scorched Beasts; they stay on the fridge long after the Plague is dealt with.

Nick; Travels with Piper as she investigates and reports the movement of the plague. Since he's immune, he ventures into the hotbeds of the plague, where Piper would get infected. Nick takes note of the appearance of individual Scorched, hoping to tell their worried loved ones what became of them. He leaves pamphlets of these descriptions at the agency, printed in the Publick Occurances alongside the news. Once the dust settles, burns all of his clothes; can't risk them being contaminated. Diamond City gets him a nice new trench coat as thanks for everything.

Old Longfellow; Takes point at settlements and safe zones. Whenever he's posted, not a single Scorched get within a mile of the area and leaves it alive. They start piling up at some point. He shoots down a Scorched Beast all on his own and bars everywhere are doomed to hear it echoed throughout eternity. Old Longfellow ends up teaching Minutemen rookies some tricks while on guard duty with them. Gets yelled at for giving them booze.

Piper; Chases the hordes, the infection zones, the Beasts, and stops only to write the info and news. She teams with the radio hosts of the Commonwealth, Travis and Kent Connolly, to deliver immediate warnings. The Brotherhood, Railroad, Minutemen—Piper is their top source of information. She could never truly fathom how important her work is, and how many people it saved. After the plague, she writes a book about the experience.

Preston; It is difficult to describe how hard this man works. He's giving rationing orders to a settlement while in a firefight across the state. He's making decisions about an assault ten different assaults away while hitting Beasts out of the air with Artillery. He's like a workaholic octopus. It's kind of incredible. Consumes only coffee and whatever someone else can shove in his face while he uses his hands for something else. The General has to chase him down and tranq him so he sleeps. Like Curie, fundamentally changed. Loses all of his hinges through it all.

X6-88; The plague effects Gen3 synths, so he has to don full-coverage armor and forgo his sunglasses. Deeply upset by this. Coursers, once rare to see and rarer to survive, are everywhere hunting the Beasts. X6-88 gives Institute info to Piper when he can get away with it. He hates the wasteland already—he doesn't want it getting worse. At least the topside scum aren't possessed by weird zombie bats. X6 joins Danse's teams, brings Curie samples, and when all is over, breaks into Gage's bunker and drags him out to rejoin society, as per the Sole Survivor's orders.

#fo4 #fallout 4 #paladin danse #preston garvey #nick valentine #piper wright #x6-88 #robert joseph maccready #hancock #companions react #porter gage #old longfellow #i have never traveled with the dlc companions bc i dont have the dlc lol #but. you cant tell me gage wouldn't gtfo of dodge #this is probably ooc but were just bein silly at 11 25 pm #this is tonally all over the fuckin place

[fictionalmenplz]

You? Watching Me?

Summary: it had been two years since Sarah exited the labyrinth and two years since Jareth gave her the crystal as a parting gift. Recently she's been bored and hasn't been able to sleep, so she looks into the crystal and she finds Jareth, lounging in his throne solemnly as the goblins of his city laugh and dance around him. One leg thrown over the arm rest and a hand rested comfortably over his crotch, he looked irresistible. She was tired, clearly not in the right state of mind as she dozed off with crystal in her arms, whispering sleepily to herself. She said, "I wish you were here to comfort me, Goblin King. Only your arms can fulfill my sorrowful thoughts."

She laughed at her words, thinking it was silly at the thought that Jareth had still been paying attention to her after all this time. If only she kept watching that crystal, she would've seen him smile.

Jareth smirked, bringing a hand to cover his joyful face from his goblins. He knew Sarah was having these sleepless nights and he always had the intention to, one day, comfort her. He didn't know that day would be tonight.

So he managed to slip away from the endless party, letting them have their fun. Smirking the entire way to a private area where he would leave to Sarah.

...

Sarah's nap felt long, though when she looked at her clock she saw it had only been twenty minutes. As she sat up to wipe the sleep from her eyes, she forgot about the crystal ball which was now rolling away from her into the dark of her room.

Sighing, she stood and began to sleepily walk from her bed. Not in the right state of mind to be watching where she was going, she ended up running into her bed post and falling onto the ground. She groaned and punched the floor.

Crawling over to where the crystal had rolled, trying to avoid the obvious pain in her hip from her bed, she didn't know her room could be so dark. As she felt around, her hand landed on something smooth and round..ish. She moved her hand up and wrapped it around whatever it was that she was touching.

Soon realizing it was a boot, she didn't have enough time to stand as she heard a gravely voice from above her. "Well, is this what you were looking for?" He crouched Infront of her stunned body, his face inches from hers.

"it's not nice to spy, my dear." He grinned, his different colored eyes barely crinkling. Coming to her senses, she backed up slightly, "says the mad man who made me go through a labyrinth to find my baby brother and watched me the entire time!"

He frowned, "what, you mean you didn't like it?" He quickly smiled again, Sarah tried to bury the thought of how pretty his smile was. Obviously doing terrible. He held out his hand, which Sarah reluctantly took. He helped her to her feet and guided her to the window where the moon light was streaming into one side of the room.

He could see her almost fully now, her slightly roughed hair, her eye bags and the purple that slightly tinted them, her loose fitting sleep wear. A button up shirt of course, and shorts that cut off mid thigh. He liked seeing the lazier side of Sarah, even Jareth had a lazy side. He tried to hide it most often though.

"why are you here, Jareth?" She asked, removing her hand from his, slightly frowing from the loss of contact, he leaned against the wall next to the window and turned his head to her. "You summoned me, Sarah. As you watched me. And ha! You? Watching me? I thought it was such a shock."

He put a hand on his chest, "I'm touched." He was obviously teasing her, absolutely relishing at the sight of her cheeks blush. "I was tired!" She argued, folding her arms and staring out her window at the neighborhood.

"are you still, tired, Sarah?" He closed the gap between them and placed a hand on her cheek. Her eyes flicked all around her room then back to his, constantly looking away. She bit her lip as she finally forced herself to keep the eye contact. She didn't want to admit it. It was too embarrassing for her.

But Jareth didn't need her words to confirm her thoughts, he knew exactly what she wanted and this time he planned on fulfilling her, completely. "I want to make my intentions clear, Sarah, and I want to know wether or not you'll want me to do these things." He said sharply and pulled away.

She would've groaned if she wasn't so embarrassed already. But she just watched him as he once again reached out his hand, grabbing hers and pulling her to the bed. "I'm going to touch you," he said as he layed her down. "Make you feel things you've never felt before," he layed on his side next her. He put his hand on her neck dragging it slowly down the unbuttoned gap of her shirt and pulling it up again.

"entice pretty little sounds from your lips," he cupped her jaw and played with her bottom lip with his thumb. "You may want to touch me," he laughed lightly as her hand found its way to his jaw, staring into his eyes with eyes full of want. "I want to touch you." She whispered.

He slowly moved his face to hers placing his lips on hers gently. She moved faster, wrapping an arm around his neck and lazily throwing a leg over his waist. She rolled into of him passionately moving her lips on his, he tried to keep her pace but she was so filled with desire, it was practically spilling out in fast paced actions.

He kept a hand on her jaw and an arm around her back, pulling her body closer to his. Sarah didn't have whole lot of experience with this type of stuff but she was just doing what felt right. She moved a hand to his shirt, feeling for the buttons and hastily unclipping them. He grabbed her wrist, "what on earth are you doing little dove?" He moved her aside and layed her on her back again.

He stood up Infront of her, "I'm going to make sure you don't have to do a thing." He slowly unbuttoned his blouse, the moon casting shadows on his chest and stomach. He kicked off his boots and sighed, he sat kneeled over her legs, his hands finding the buttons of her blouse.

He undid them all and slowly parted it, revealing her chest. She slightly shivered as he leaned down and kissed her bare skin, her neck, collarbone, shoulder, and the soft mounds of her breasts. She bit her lip in a grin at the sensation and arched her back off the plush mattress.

Jareth caressed her sides, softly squeezing the paler parts of her hips, "Jareth," she whispered, "please." She moved one of her hands to his groin, palming him as he touched her. His hips twitched and he chuckled again, "remember what I said, dove." With that he slowly pushed himself down and knelt on the floor with her legs over his shoulders.

He toyed with the band of her shorts and inhaled her sweet scent. "You smell so good my dear." He released the deep breath and proceeded to pull down her shorts, noticing the dents of her hips that protruded. He brushed his hands over all the newly exposed skin and sunk his head down into the soft v, the cause of the sweet smell.

Sarah propped herself on her elbows, intent on seeing this whole experience unfold. She noticed how his nose pressed against her tight nub as he licked and lapped up and down her core. He kept his eyes closed and his brows furrowed, absolutely relishing the taste of her juices. He can't remember the last time he pleased a woman, but the noises Sarah was making were only piling onto his ego.

He gripped and pulled at one of her breasts, kneading it with his palm as he snaked his other hand between them and inserted a finger into her tight entrance. She grinned and threw her head back, placing a hand on the one that he was massaging her breast with. "Oh my god." She moaned and rolled her hips into him.

He thrust two of his fingers in and out, chasing her to the edge so his worst fantasy could come true. Jareth could not pretend this wasn't turning him on, what Sarah couldn't see was how he was rubbing his hips against the bed, yearning for the friction and also chasing his own release.

With a gasp and strong twitch, the coil stretched and snapped, making her a moaning mess as Jareth lapped up all her juices, trying to contain the delicious mess. His fantasy was fulfilled and he was more content than before.

This was sorta short but thank you for reading! I started this a while ago and forgot about it, lmk if you want a part two! :) <3

#jareth #the labyrinth #smut

[forget-me]

the red string

[for Micah Yujin fans!! 1315 words of pure self indulgence] 

Falling in love is not a skill of any kind. Just a pure feeling one feels for another maybe a human being. In all honesty, you didn’t quite see it that way. The thought of falling in love scared you to death. The feeling of no control of who it is and who they are. To change who you are and your decisions because of love. 

But the red ring on your left ring finger. You stared at it, all you could do was lay back in your bed and play with the string as you intertwined it in your right hand. It feels infinite so I might as well make a scarf or a beanie. Maybe it's long enough to make a hoodie company.

You pull on it, to see if it will tug back, but it just extends more as it falls down slowly. But you have been thinking about love more often ever since the hacker tournament, or whatever is was called. But you hacked this one guy-God that guy.

His name was Micah Yujin, and he was the best. He was just so-him. 

The way he made me speechless. The way he made me laugh. The way he caught to me. No one has ever made me feel this way, no one has ever tried. 

I hate him so much. I hate how he hasn’t texted me all day today. I told him good night but even then..no reply. 

1:43 am. You couldn’t sleep at all. How could you not? He hasn't responded and you look up from your bed to check your computer every so often. You can’t say exactly how often but it was driving you crazy. Thank god that you don’t have work tomorrow morning.

Tug

What.

You felt a tug from your string. Even in the dark, the red line illuminated your room. You went outside from your front door. You look down your street as it stretches for miles. There is no end but the string pulls you forward. They are close. Now? This is how I meet them? 

It. is. One. am. 

“Fuck it, " you whisper, start your car, and begin to follow the string.

Twist turns. You have no idea where this is taking you. Once you took 4 lefts in a neighborhood. 

It was taking to you across town.

This is where they are? Right now? You thought. Where are they and why now? You were so nervous. You are filled with questions that you know is for the universe to know and for you to find out.

Tug

It was stronger this time, then you approached a bigger building. You’ve been here once to visit a family out of state but that's the only time. 

It was the airport. It was bigger than you remembered. Were they here visiting family? What if they were visiting their partner? I don’t know why they would not date someone that's not connected to the string. 

Thoughts like these came and went as you tugged the string back, you waited for your response just outside the doors of the building

Tug

No way, they are close. It was so much closer than before, you could feel it. You knew they were so close. You could find them.

What if I don’t love them?

You walked through the doors. 

What if they don’t like me?

You held the strong steadily in both hands to guide you to the other end. 

Who were they?

You began to pick up your own pace and you looked for anyone looking for you. Tug Tug

They were looking for you too. 

They were looking for me.

You ran through the crowds of people getting off flights, and sitting in the waiting area, most stores they hand were closed as you ran around. Looking for the end, looking for them. 

You pulled the string as hard as you could, you wanted to let them know you were trying. 

You were trying so hard as they were so close.

“They’re here, i know it”, you reassured yourself they were here. 

Your foot stumbled.

Almost hitting the ground from the last tug, they were looking too. Of course, they were. The running becomes too much, you should really get out more.

No.

It was the anxiety, and excitement of meeting your soulmate. 

I’m meeting my soulmate, oh no they will see me. I’m a mess, i barely cleaned myself up as I just ate the food that Micah gave me-

“Angel?”

Your heart dropped as you looked up, in the array of seats and people standing in front of you was Micah Yujin. He was here of all people? “Micah? What are you doing here?”

“I was here to see you, obviously” “You didn’t even text me you were coming! Your such a dumbass, I hate you.” you said through a laugh. You walked closer to him, you looked at him with such glee. You couldn’t be happier.

“Hey uh- angel-”

“Oh um- sorry I was trying to look for someone.” You looked down at your string, it was so short? Your eyes followed as it lead to Micah's hand. You looked back at him, he wasn’t looking back at you. You heated up, you could feel the heat coming off of your face. You tried to figure out what would be the correct thing to say. 

“Look, Micah its alright if- well- I know it's me and I understand if well-”

You desperately reached out for your words but kept falling short. Is he disappointed that it’s you? You’ve only known each other for such a short amount of time. 

“Angel, look-”

You saw his face, his eyes were so Beautiful. You admired the way he looked at you and his curly messy hair. Wait he was looking at you. You immediately become way too conscious of where his eyes land. “I actually came here to see you, to- to give you this!” Micah held out the cutest big dino plushie in the world.

“You came to see me, just me?”

“Well..yeah. Listen I wrote a song about you I feel like I've really expressed my feelings to you”

“Yeah I know, it was a pretty alright song.” you smiled as you examined the dino. 

“Hey! It was a great song angel, I mean I made it just for you.”

He came closer as he wrapped his arm around your waist to pull you into a hug, He was so warm you melted into him as he placed his head next to yours, resting it on your shoulder. “I'm so glad its you,” you uttered out in Micah’s ear. He pulled you closer into a tighter hug. 

He looks at you, he looked tired. But his eyes looked at you, he was admiring you. His gaze fell on your lips.

“Angel, would you allow me to kiss you?”

Oh.

OH.

This is happening right now, like right now right now

“Yes!” you said in a raised voice. Micah began to laugh as it looked like you couldn’t answer fast enough. You were embarrassed by his laughter. So you raised your hand to his cheek and looked at Micah's lips. He blushed at your boldness, you moved closer as Micah meet you halfway. 

It was bliss. It was the sweet kiss that was romantic. It felt like the many romance movies you’ve watched over your lifetime. He pulled you by the waist as his other hand found the back of your neck to hold your head. 

Both of you pulled away as Micah licked his lips. “You taste like heaven angel.” You shoved him away as you began to walk back. 

“hey-HEY I was jookkinnggg come back.” He caught up and grabbed your hand as you walked back.

“By the way, I’m driving dumbass.” you said as you winked at Micah. 

#micah yujin #error143 #visual novel #fanfic #error143 fanfic

[limeinaltime]

Okay okay hear me out I am rotating Jean Jacket in my head and while I am kinda sick of sequels, I really want to see more of her species in one of Peele’s future works (at least, a different movie/story in a different location where the stakes and environment would lead to different hunting patterns and adaptations which would then force the new cast to adapt as well or maybe just die idk) so here I am throwing my midnight-fueled brain jam out onto the internet wheeeeee

(Warning for slight spoilers)

- There’s a melanistic variant because that would be cool as fuck. Imagine a black UAP coming out of the sky like a black hole and eating you. Yikes.

- There’s smaller variants, ranging from the size of a large butterfly that sucks up insects and has a pearly appearance, to ones small enough to eat household pets. I’m sure rich weirdos on the dark web would sell them behind the scenes for a pretty penny (imagine having your own pet UFO lol), but good luck explaining to your local neighborhood why their pets have started to vanish.

- Certain species have bioluminescence, which mostly lights up at a defense mechanism or in certain cases, to camouflage against the night sky. People who claim to have been abducted by UFOs simply set off a UAP, but got lucky enough to be dropped, in which their concussed brains imagined being visited by aliens from another planet. Due to light pollution, this form of camouflage has become less effective.

- Some UAPs can grow to tremendous size, and any aerial crafts that enter their territory and look into those giant eye-mouths are good as gone.

- Aquatic variants, because why not. They turn upside-down when they feed, forming a whirlpool that sucks in everything in its path, from fish to unlucky vessels.

- The Bermuda Triangle could be a possibly feeding ground for a very big, very old UAP (electronics start malfunctioning, everything that enters vanishes forever, the setting is almost too perfect)

- Honestly any place where things mysteriously vanish could be a UAP’s territory in the Nope universe. 

- While primarily carnivorous, they will suck up dirt and silt and eat the minerals inside, which is why most UAPs are seen in deserts or dry areas with lots of dirt and rocks. They often seek out salt pans due to the abundance of salt and other minerals (and maybe the odd tour group or two).

- UAPs age very slowly upon reaching adulthood. Any scars or chinks in its body can also indicate whether or not a UAP is old or not, but a surefire means of identifying age is unknown and currently impossible to achieve.

- Can either reproduce asexually or form pairs, usually during the warmer seasons every decade, maybe more. The males are usually in their opened, eldritch monster form and do elaborate displays where they sway that green frill around in hypnotic patterns and make themselves look at big as possible. It’s different from the snappy, quick pattern Jean Jacket was flashing in the movie. These rituals happen high up in the atmosphere where humans cannot see them.

- Pairs usually only stick together for the gestation period. The male brings food and drives off threats, but once the eggs are laid, the male dips and moves on until the next season.

- The eggs form a thick mucus coating that allows it to attach to the female in a sticky protective sac that insulates heat and provides nutrients. The female can’t hunt during this time, so she has to eat a lot beforehand in order to last long enough to see parenthood through.

- The sac explodes and the babies attach to the parent, only occasionally detaching and floating around. The residue from the egg sac is known as star jelly. Animals can eat the jelly, which is why DNA traces from said animals usually end up on it.

- The infants look like disk-shaped jellyfish upon hatching, but their bodies become more matte and tough as they get older. They fully detach from mom after about 3-4 years, but still remain close for protection from other wildlife. They start out the size of Frisbees, then grow to about the size of a small car, then eventually reach the size Jean Jacket is in the movie, in which they leave to seek out their own territory, or are driven out by the parent.

-The species only reproduces once (maybe twice if lucky) in their lives, so they are very protective of their young until they reach adulthood, even if many of the offspring die before their bodies harden, with only a small fraction of the many small babies surviving, and even less making it to adulthood and independence. The stakes in Nope would’ve somehow been raised of Jean Jacket had babies. There also could’ve been a theme about how baby animals (and kids as well) are usually exploited then get tossed aside for new ones once they reach adulthood/teenhood and stop being “cute”.

- I’m imagining that Jean Jacket is a descendant of the UFO from the Roswell Incident (which in real life was most likely debris from a weather balloon or something), a parallel to How OJ and Em are descendants of the unnamed man on the horse. New Mexico is just a state over from California, after all.

- Jean Jacket is the typical textbook UAP, and I headcanon her to be around the age of a young adult, hence all the aggression towards those who pose a threat to her territory and inexperience when living around humans. Since most UFOs are usually claimed to be metal, I’m assuming that they’re usually kind of shiny or maybe iridescent (to tie in that sea creature vibe), which is why I do headcanon that Jean Jacket is a female variant of her species (emphasis on headcanon) due to her more matte, sand-colored appearance.

-The little nick on her edge is due to another encounter with another member of her species that ended in conflict, due to an accidental trespass on an older UAP’s turf, or maybe in an attempt to fight another member of her species for a another spot.

- She was born the gulch, and and her mother left due to the increase in human activity (The Haywood ranch, Jupiter’s claim, etc.) Upon reaching adulthood, Jean Jacket made the journey back to the gulch, and since the Haywoods (mostly OJ since the dad gets killed eventually and Em was hardly around during that time) were so chill and not inclined to look at her, she just decided to stay there. Animals usually return to their birthplace since they know it’s a safe place to have babies, so she just thought that with the abundance of food, open space, and non-threatening neighbors, it was a good place to settle down in and do what animals do. At least until Jupe fucked up and set her off. God damnit, Jupe.

- Idk what scientific classification UAPs would be in; JJ is shown to be capable of the kind of intelligence found in most hunting carnivores, but looks a lot like jellyfish when unfurled. They also don’t seem to have a visible spine. My best guess as this point would be a very weird flying, intelligent echinoderm, or maybe an entirely new classification of creature entirely.

- Like all wild animals, the UAPs are very unpredictable and dangerous and should never be domesticated, tamed or approached unless with intent and a steady will in the event of intending to break one. But when witnessed from a same distance, they can be just as majestic as any other predator.

#nope 2022 #I am so normal about Jean Jacket and all her mysteries I swear-

[anoncausewhynot]

My Savior

Hoody x GN!Reader

“Shut up bitch!” another fist to the stomach. Idiot, idiot!

Everyone told you not to mess with them, they were the rebels, the ones who ditched class whenever they felt like it, the ones doing drugs in the bathroom. And you had to go and stand up for that stupid kid who you didn’t even know! So what if they were pushing him around, at least they weren’t beating him senseless like they were doing to you. The first one, a tall guy wearing a black shirt swung at your head. Tom. His name was Tom. He got held back a year, and wasn’t exactly happy about that. He took his pent up rage and messed up homelife out on his classmates. THWACK! Stupid back alley, stupid quiet neighborhood. Of course they followed you home, why wouldn’t they! 

You looked desperately at Ann, she looked like the only one who wasn’t enjoying this, she was Tom’s girlfriend after all, if she spoke up she could stop this, right?  Lastly there was Gray, his green eyes glinted with excitement as he watched Tom. You gasped falling down at his final swing, he looked over at you proud of his hard work and turned heel to leave. The group followed as you watched, your body felt broken beyond repair and you couldn’t think of any way to get out of this situation, they really left me like this. You were lucky it was just them though. If the rest of their gang had not been busy that day you might just have ended up dead. You whimpered and tried to stand up, eventually giving up and leaning against the brick wall. The figure of a person walked by “Wait! Wait, please help!” You called out desperately. The figure stopped and turned to look at you and walked towards you slowly. 

Your heart sank as you saw it. It wore a worn out yellow hoodie and a black ski mask, eyes and a frown were stitched into it with red string. The thing reached out a hand grabbing onto your arm gently and hoisting you onto its shoulders. You tried kicking it but to no avail. He carried you off into the woods nearby your street, at first you recognized the area, but the deeper he went the more confused you got. He only set you down once you reached a log cabin. Ushering you inside and following, nervous and confused. 

He motioned for you to sit down on the couch which you did. He left and came back a few seconds later carrying a box. He sat next to you and opened it, anxiously you peered inside. Bandaids, bandages, disinfectant, and a plethora of other medical supplies. So there you sat for the next 20 minutes, letting an absolute stranger clean your wounds and bandag you up. He looked up at you and signaled he was done. You thanked him nervously and tried to give a smile. “W-what's your name?” It was the only thing you could think of saying. He waited a second or two. “Hoody” 

What a fascinating name. 

As the weeks wore on you got to see Hoody more and more often. Sometimes you would visit him and marvel at the nature surrounding his house. And sometimes, sometimes he would find you. You felt an odd fascination towards him that lured you in deeper and deeper each word he spoke. He was your savior and you would do everything in your power to repay him. Even if it meant burying those pesky corpses, or wiping the blood off the living room floor or sitting there quietly as it all unfolded in front of you like a piece of origami. You loved him after all. He was your obsession, your god. You were roped in by his mysterious qualities and the fact that no one had helped you like that before. No one cared about you like Hoody did, it was obvious, so obvious. But that’s how it all starts right? Slowly and pleasantly before everything turns bitter. 

#hoody mh #hoodie x reader #hoodie mh #hoodie marble hornets #marble hornets #brian thomas #creepypasta #x reader #x male reader #x female reader #x gn reader #a bit of a spoopy one for today #see i told you i would come up with a creepypasta fanfiction idea >:P