#EMM's journal

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Proton aurora at Mars NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission and the United Arab Emirates’ Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) have released joint observations of dynamic proton aurora events at Mars. Remote auroral observations by EMM paired with in-situ plasma observations made by MAVEN open new avenues for understanding the Martian atmosphere. This collaboration was made possible by recent data-sharing between the two missions and highlights the value of multi-point observations in space. A study of these findings appears in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. In the new study, EMM discovered fine-scale structures in proton aurora that spanned the full day side of Mars. Proton aurora, discovered by MAVEN in 2018, are a type of Martian aurora that form as the solar wind, made up of charged particles from the Sun, interacts with the upper atmosphere. Typical proton aurora observations made by MAVEN and ESA’s (the European Space Agency) Mars Express mission show these aurora appearing smooth and evenly distributed across the hemisphere. By contrast, EMM observed proton aurora that appeared highly dynamic and variable. These “patchy proton aurora” form when turbulent conditions around Mars allow the charged particles to flood directly into the atmosphere and glow as they slow down. “EMM’s observations suggested that the aurora was so widespread and disorganized that the plasma environment around Mars must have been truly disturbed, to the point that the solar wind was directly impacting the upper atmosphere wherever we observed auroral emission,” said Mike Chaffin, a MAVEN and EMM scientist based at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder and lead author of the study. “By combining EMM auroral observations with MAVEN measurements of the auroral plasma environment, we can confirm this hypothesis and determine that what we were seeing was essentially a map of where the solar wind was raining down onto the planet.” Normally it is difficult for the solar wind to reach Mars’ upper atmosphere because it is redirected by the bow shock and magnetic fields surrounding the planet. The patchy proton aurora observations are therefore a window into rare circumstances – ones during which the Mars-solar wind interaction is chaotic. “The full impact of these conditions on the Martian atmosphere is unknown, but EMM and MAVEN observations will play a key role in understanding these enigmatic events,” said Chaffin. The data-sharing between MAVEN and EMM has enabled scientists to determine the drivers behind the patchy proton aurora. EMM carries the Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrograph (EMUS) instrument, which observes the Red Planet’s upper atmosphere and exosphere, scanning for variability in atmospheric composition and atmospheric escape to space. MAVEN carries a full suite of plasma instruments, including the Magnetometer (MAG), the Solar Wind Ion Analyzer (SWIA), and the SupraThermal And Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC) instrument used in this study. “EMM’s global observations of the upper atmosphere provide a unique perspective on a region critical to MAVEN science," said MAVEN Principal Investigator Shannon Curry, of UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory. “These types of simultaneous observations probe the fundamental physics of atmospheric dynamics and evolution and highlight the benefits of international scientific collaboration.” EMM Science Lead Hessa Al Matroushi agreed. “Access to MAVEN data has been essential for placing these new EMM observations into a wider context,” she said. “Together, we’re pushing the boundaries of our existing knowledge not only of Mars, but of planetary interactions with the solar wind.” Multi-vantage-point measurements have already proven to be an asset in Earth and heliophysics research. At Mars, over half a dozen orbiters are now taking science observations and with Mars’ southern hemisphere currently experiencing summer, when proton aurora is known to be most active, multi-vantage-point observations will be critical to understanding how these events form. The collaboration between EMM and MAVEN demonstrates the value of discovery-level science about the Martian atmosphere with two spacecraft simultaneously observing the same region. MAVEN’s principal investigator is based at the University of California, Berkeley, while NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the MAVEN mission. Lockheed Martin Space built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California provides navigation and Deep Space Network support. The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder is responsible for managing science operations and public outreach and communication. TOP IMAGE....Top image shows the normal proton aurora formation mechanism first discovered in 2018. White lines show that solar wind protons traveling away from the Sun are normally swept around the planet by the Mars magnetosphere, and don't directly interact with the atmosphere. When proton aurora occur, a small fraction of the solar wind collides with Mars hydrogen in the extended corona of the planet (shown in blue), and charge exchanges into neutral H atoms. These newly created H atoms are still travelling at the same speed, and are no longer sensitive to the magnetospheric forces that redirect protons around the planet. Instead, the energetic H atoms slam directly into the upper atmosphere of Mars and collide multiple times with the neutral atmosphere, resulting in auroral emission by the incident H atoms (purple). Because the solar wind and Mars corona are uniform across the planet, the aurora occurs everywhere on the planet's day side with a uniform brightness. Bottom image shows the newly discovered formation mechanism for patchy proton aurora. Green lines in the top image show that under normal conditions the solar wind magnetic field drapes nicely around the planet. By contrast, patchy proton aurora form during unusual circumstances when the solar wind magnetic field is aligned with the proton flow. Under such conditions the typical draped magnetic field configuration is replaced by a highly variable patchwork of plasma structures, and the solar wind is able to directly impact the planet's upper atmosphere in specific locations that depend on the structure of the turbulence. When incoming solar wind protons collide with the neutral atmosphere, they can be neutralized and emit aurora in localized patches. During such times patchy proton aurora forms a map of the locations where solar wind plasma is directly impacting the planet. CREDIT Emirates Mars Mission/UAE Space Agency LOWER IMAGE....Patchy proton aurora on Mars form when turbulent conditions around the planet allow charged hydrogen particles from the Sun to stream into the Martian atmosphere. Images from August 5 show the typical atmospheric conditions, in which the EMM instrument EMUS detects no unusual activity at two wavelengths associated with the hydrogen atom. But on August 11 and August 30, the instrument observed patchy aurora at both wavelengths, indicating turbulent interactions with the solar wind. CREDIT EMM/EMUS

#space #science #Astronomy #physics #news #nasa #maven #Mars

[nompunhere]

Deep in Lemm...'s shop

[Submitted H/ollow K/night Vore Fic]

Characters: L/emm, Ghost Length: 1,075 words Warnings: Bugs and Safe, Soft, Half-Size Vore (Unwilling prey). also Breaking and Entering I guess, lol

[There’s less of a size difference than I’d normally post here, but it’s close enough to half-size I’d say]

—————————————–————

Gone out to clear my head. Will be back soon. If you have something you absolutely must sell, come find me in Fountain Square.

The little ghost paused as they read the sign. On one hand, they knew how grumpy Lemm got when they merely went behind his counter once. How grumpy would he get if they were found poking around in his storeroom of artifacts? Ghost hoped that the relic seeker wouldn’t ban them from his shop; Lemm was a good man, and a good merchant. But as the little Ghost considered their options, they knew this might be their only chance to see what he had stored. They pried open the door with a void tentacle, and entered the shop.

————————————

Lemm’s pondering went on without end; If the sacrifice of this knight was so great, then how come he’d not seen its mention in a single journal? If this knight was so mighty, then why would one sacrifice it? Why was this Knight not portrayed amongst the other 5? Why- 

Grorllll…

Lemm looked down to his stomach, his thoughts pierced by its desire to be fed. He sighed. He’d grab a quick bite to eat at his shop, and then he’d return to the fountain.

————————————

Ghost took a pause as they observed Lemm’s storage. He had neatly catalogued everything into 4 sections, along with having a drawer for what the knight presumed was personal storage. They flipped open a wanderer’s journal delicately, taking a look into the life of another bug. They then put it back and picked up an idol, turning it around in their hands as they-

Click

Ghost whipped around in a panic before hurriedly dashing into the corner of the dark storeroom, hoping that they’d get an opportunity to leave before Lemm could spot them.

————————————

“Strange. I could have sworn I locked that door.”

Lemm looked towards the slightly ajar entrance to his storage room. Only he had the key. Sighing, he entered the dark storage room and tapped the lumafly lanterns awake. As the room filled with light, he walked over to the drawer before pausing. He felt someone watching him. Lemm turned to one corner. Nothing there. Lemm turned to another-

“WHY YOU LITTLE-!”

————————————

Ghost ran to the storeroom’s exit and practically dashed through the door. They sprinted as fast as they could to the exit of the relic seeker’s shop and tugged on the door. It was locked shut. Ghost looked to the only other viable option, the windows. Preparing a crystal dash, they prayed to whatever gods above (excluding the Radiance) that they could break through.

THUD

————————————

Lemm picked up the little fallen wanderer by the horns and shook them viciously, their nail clattering to the floor.

“You thought you could escape, but those windows are tempered, you little sneak! I’m so mad I don’t even know what to do with-”

Growlr…

Lemm paused as he got an idea. He initially thought that the doodles in the journals of bugs swallowing other bugs whole and alive and having them stay safe were mere hallucinations. But he considered the preposterous idea–what if they weren’t? Lemm licked his mandibles and opened his mouth as Ghost’s struggles intensified. He brought their head closer, closer…

————————————

Ghost’s legs were left flailing in the air as the upper part of their body was engulfed. They felt Lemm’s tongue against their mask, trying to pull them in. Judging by the bug’s grunts of pain, he was struggling to ingest the little knight. Ghost barely had time to even react as they felt him trying to shove them down further, pushing and prodding at their sides and legs. Their head slipped through first, entering a long fleshy tunnel. Ghost’s flailing intensified, but their arms could not make leeway against the powerful muscles forcing their descent. Their legs soon entered the mouth too, as they felt Lemm turn his head up in an attempt for gravity to aid his struggles. Soon, the wanderer’s head entered an open chamber, and their legs followed into the throat.

————————————

Gulp Gulp Glrk!

Lemm fell to the floor, gasping for air, as he felt the little wanderer fully deposited in his stomach. He felt them begin to kick and squirm as he rubbed his now sore jaw. He didn’t know how other bugs did it, but he knew the little knight was (probably) safe.

“Oh, settle down in there…You’re going to be fine.”

Either they couldn’t hear them or they didn’t believe his word. Lemm was fed, however, so he couldn’t complain. He struggled to stand up, having to adjust to the extra, writhing weight of his stomach. As he stumbled over behind the counter, he pulled out a stool and sat down, tucking his bulging midsection underneath the counter so no customers could see or hear them.

Kick

“Oomf! You’re a little rascal, I’ll give you that.”

————————————

Ghost felt the world around them twist and contort as Lemm’s stomach kneaded against them. Their body was covered in a slimy mucus and the world around them was dark. They kept kicking and punching the walls, hoping to try to force the relic seeker to spit them out.

“You’re not getting out-” Kick

“Grmfp-!” Ghost felt Lemm swat at his belly. “You keep squirming, I extend the time you spend here.”

Ghost immediately stopped squirming, their only motion now being the stomach’s muscles undulating around them. “Getting you down was painful, and exhausting, and I don’t have it in me to hack you back out, at least not today. So stay down there, stay quiet, and don’t disturb my deals with any other customers. Give me a poke if you understand.” Cautiously, they prod at the wall of Lemm’s belly. “Good. Now unless I tell you, I don’t want to feel ANY struggles. Understood? To the outside world, you’re just the fat from a period of indulgence I had. You are not a living being.” Ghost stilled completely as the words ran through their head. “…I didn’t mean it like that, I- Look, what I mean is, I don’t want anyone to know you’re here, it would be an embarrassment to us both, especially to you, being devoured by a grumpy old shopkeeper. I… I promise you I’ll let you out. …When I think I’ve learned your lesson, and when my jaw no longer feels like it’s been pulled off.” Kick “Oof! Just for that, another day, you little punk.”

*********************************************

Oh, heh, that was fun. Lemm really needs to work on his people skills. So does Ghost, actually--breaking and entering is not how you make friends. Eating someone is only sometimes how you make friends.

and sorry this took so long to post sfhajghhgjs I have no excuse

————————

DNI NSFW blogs, blogs that post exclusively hard and/or fatal vore, weight gain blogs, mpreg blogs, proshippers, TERFs, ace exclusionists, etc.

#submitted post #hk vore #fandom vore #soft vore #safe vore #extreme cuddling #half size vore #vore fic #not my writing #hk spoilers #tw bugs

[theresnohopelivinghere]

The Journal of Emme Walker, May 2019

If you walk the streets at night in Hope, there will be no hope for you.

My grandparents used to tell me that all the time when I was a little girl.  Even from a young age, I never took it seriously.  I was a prideful child.  I thought I was invincible and that nothing could take me down.  That’s probably why my mom, bless her heart, had such a hard time coming to terms with my rampant curiosity and my thirst for adventure.  But my grandparents would not be deterred from scaring some sense into me.

The thing about rural towns is that people love to make up stories about them to make them seem more interesting or just to pass the time.  Hope is no different.  It was once an out-of-the-way town out by the sea, in the middle of nowhere.  I’m talking about dusty roads, ample farming, spotty local transportation, stores that looked like they came straight out of a black-and-white film, and older residents living the last of their lives in the one place they’ve always called “home”.  

It used to be that I’d just spend my summers there with my grandparents, helping out with their garden while partaking of the harvest.  But after my dad died, my mom moved back there and I went to school there from grades 4 to 6.  We moved before the development push.  She was offered a cushy job in a city she'd always wanted to live in that would allow the two of us to live comfortably into the foreseeable future.  A get-out-of-rural-jail card, if you will.

Seriously. According to her, it was our one escape out of a town that had proven itself to be anything but idyllic. If she hadn't taken it...well, things would be very different.

She's not a fan of me going back there to interview people for my dissertation. Which is funny because growing up, she'd tell off my grandparents whenever they'd tell me all the stories about all the terrible monsters that lurked within the town of Hope. All the old folks in town had their own stories about what happened to children if they stayed out too late at night or didn't trust their intuition.  Mom didn't believe in using scary stories to ensure that kids behaved themselves.  She told me that if she wanted me to behave myself and be a good girl, she’d just say so.  But my grandparents wouldn’t listen.  They insisted on me telling me these tales so that I could protect myself. Because there were too many instances of children who disappeared because they weren't warned properly.

I'm glad they did. Mom won't admit it, but she's glad, too. And yet here I am, on my way back to that town, ready to hear the stories of the children who didn't escape from the elders that still remain. Hope may be different now - young families moved in to take their place and brought with them the promise for gentrification. Shopping, entertainment, the town holds its own.  The local elementary school is top notch and so is the high school. There’s train service that links up to the other parts of town as well as the bigger cities, and paved roads that get you to the highway system.  You can go everywhere now.

And yet...

I know studying modern folklore and urban legends in the town of her birth won't get me a cushy job in a corporate office but this is something I want to do. Have to do, even. The tale of a seaside town plagued with paranormal activity, rumored to be once started by and controlled by a mysterious cult who swore allegiance to malicious entity who has been around since time immemorial until one they just disappeared - it's all very juicy stuff.

I’m not sure what I'm doing with all this. Why I'm going back. Everyone says if you brush against the shadows of Hope and survive, you should never come back. But that's why I have to. Come back. If there’s one thing that living in Hope has taught me, it’s that old habits die hard and old legends never die. I can feel the shadows stirring again, unhappy that they've been forgotten. They want the people to remember...to fear their power. I can feel the chill in my bones, and the terror squeezes my heart like a vice. I don't know what I'm trying accomplish, but I know I have to do something. For my mother and my grandparents. And for the children who couldn't escape the shadows.

Including the boy I loved.

#creative writing #prologue #abandonxhope #my fic #horror fiction #web series

[emm-is-journalling]

hello.

i am emm. i am 16 years old and i have an internet addiction.

ao3 and youtube have always been my biggest supporters and my biggest enemies. they raised me. youtube as a small child and ao3 as i got older.

i learned about consent, sex, safe sex, and how to talk to people. i learned about relationships and sexualities and genders. i learned how to accept myself. i learned i had ADHD, depression and other issues. i learned that asking help was not bad.

but, among all that, i got extremely addicted.

it became so that i couldn't take care of myself. that all my brain wanted was dopamine and that the only place i can get it was ao3 and yt.

i tried stopping but every time i tried, the relapse hit me way harder.

i tried cutting it off completely, i tried prescripted drugs, i tried alcohol, i tried smoking, i tried overworking myself, underworking myself, porn; ANYTHING, but it didnt work.

i need something managable. something that, while not cutting off internet completely, will make me lose interest in it.

i read from wikihow, the only site real, that an addiction journal could help so this is what i am doing now.

lets hope that this helps.

peace,

emm.

#addiction #recovering addict #internet addiction #journal entry

[apollogyas]

Aʙᴏᴜᴛ Mᴇ

✿ emme ✿ they/he/she ✿ recent grad school graduate working adjacent to academia ✿ aspiring novelist ✿ follows from @caroignes

Aʙᴏᴜᴛ Tʜɪs Bʟᴏɢ

✿ part studyblr, part bookblr, all journal ✿ tag list

Cᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛʟʏ

✿ studying: locked room mysteries, classic and contemporary short stories, climate fiction, and government ✿ writing: n/a ✿ learning: sewing

#pinned post #studyblr #bookblr #apollogyas rambles

[princesscolumbia]

Code of Ethics - Ch. 5 - Debriefing

Completely forgot to post this to Tumblr on Saturday when I updated Scribblehub.

Dylan and his team gather for the planning meeting leading up to his 'deep dive' into the VRMMO Galaxies Unlimited: Master and Commander

Preview below the cut:

Dylan cleared his throat and grabbed another donut, doing his best to seem nonchalant, like the atavistic fear of being abducted from your own body wasn’t making him want to curl up in a corner, “Well, on a brighter note, who was the lucky S.O.B. that got to sit around after we got word of the assignment and spend all their time reading game journals?” He made a show of taking a bite out of the donut and scanning the room as a couple of chuckles filled the air and Tyler started getting a few pokes and elbow jabs from the team members around him. “Right! It was Tyler! So what’s the situation on this game I’ll be getting paid by American tax dollars to play, Mustache?”

Tyler ran his forefinger and thumb over his spruce mustache, “You’re just jealous, bossman,” he pulled out his own phone and, similar to Geoffry earlier but with a pinch more flair, put some visuals on the main screen. “Galaxy Unlimited: Master and Commander, or Gee-Eyoo-Emm-See to use the player’s shorthand, is the latest VRMMO game in- or out-side the wall.” As he spoke, a starfield faded in, like a movie producer was filling a dark theater with a movie of a space opera. Sure enough, a massive ship glided onto the screen, the forward bow in the shape of a dull arrow and the hull festooned with gewgaws that made it look appropriately futuristic and sciency. With the sound off, it may as well have been a brochure for a special effects company. “Players assume the role of some type of commander. There’s a few different classes, and they differ from the common VRMMO fare. There’s the Naval Captain, where you command a single ship in the navy of one of several galactic powers. Kinda like...what’s that show? Space Trek?”

Dylan knew Tyler was jerking his chain, as if the cheshire grin didn’t give it away, “Get on with it ‘stache.”

Tyler just snickered and threw another video up on the screen, this one of a caravan of ships, only a handful of which were obviously geared toward combat running picket around the others, “Then you’ve got the Merchant Marines, this option’s the most straight-up capitalistic, and apparently there’s a couple prestige classes that involve things like smuggling, naval fleet support, working for the various mob families, that sort of thing.”

“There’s this odd one called ‘Swarm Royalty,’ which I guess is an alien race of some sort,” another video showed a, well, swarm of nearly identical craft of indeterminate size. As the camera followed the trajectory of the cloud of ships, they began attacking a larger craft, apparently some form of cargo ship, and it appeared the swarm ships were single or two-person craft. “Since the game is all about being some sort of commander, I guess you’d be the head of the swarm? Honestly, I think this class was built for the A.I., I can’t seem to wrap my head around how you’re supposed to control that many ships.”

Dylan frowned, “Yeah, not going to pick that one. What’s next?”

Tyler rolled his eyes theatrically as he started the next video, “Next up is planetary governor. Not a popular option, since it’s more about micromanaging an individual planet instead of doing stuff out in space, but apparently it’s a fast track to being able to claim a seat in the Galactic Senate, which is a pretty big deal at the higher levels of the game.”

Jake made a noise that sounded a bit like a cat hacking up a hairball, “They gamified politics?!”

Tyler held up his hands as though surrendering, “Don’t look at me, man, I didn’t design the game.”

“So assuming I just wanted to give up my soul instead of fighting the A.I., I’ll go the political track,” joked Dylan, “Let’s hear the other options first.”

“Next up is Warleader, it’s popular with the people who played just straight up hack-and-slash or run-and-gun in other games. You start off with a cluster of ships and zero reputation and basically just agro and claim as much space as you can hold. It goes from just commanding a few ships to, potentially, being in charge of a small galactic nation that could potentially threaten the major powers. I say, ‘potentially,’ because no player has been able to do more than grab a handful of systems and nation build since the game’s release a month ago. Any time any of them get to be too big the alliance that seized the systems falls apart or another player team declares war and one side or another gets wiped out.”

Dylan grimaced, “I’m not going in there to pretend to be a tinpot dictator, so that one’s obviously off the table.”

Tyler nodded, “Finally we’ve got the Independent,” he flicked a video up onto the screen. This time instead of a ship, fleet, or planet, a space station appeared. It was a bulbus thing, spherical in shape with four arms jutting out like spokes of a wheel, but instead of a ring there were four additional, smaller spheres equidistant from the central sphere. “This is one of several station types, and the longer the player in charge of the station plays, the more likely their station is going to look unique. Basically, the Independents are the type that don’t want to get directly involved with galactic politics, at least not right away. They have freedom to do pretty much anything they want as long as it’s within reach of their station and fleet, they have none of the restrictions on their actions and they don’t take orders. That said, they also don’t have any of the support structure any of the other options has. They’re not empire building, so there’s never going to be resources to exploit. They’re not part of the galactic government, at least at first, so there’s nobody to go to if a player bigger and meaner than you decides to pick on your station, and there’s no chain of command to pass the buck upstream.”

Tyler set his phone down and gave Dylan a serious look, “I’m also thinking this last class would be the best choice for the mission. The others simply have too many obstacles to make them practical.”

Dylan finished his coffee and set his cup aside, then folded his hands, “Explain, please.”

“Well, let’s run down the list again,” Tyler flicked at his phone and a list that was, apparently, his meeting outline for this session appeared on the screen.

“The naval captain is stuck doing exactly what their higher-ups tell them to do. It’s got more flexibility than a real navy would, it wouldn’t be fun to play otherwise, but if you’re wanting to chase a lead and it goes into one of the neutral zones or no-mans-lands between space empires, or even into one of the neighboring nations, you’re locked out unless you want to go expat or rogue, which puts you back in the same condition as an Independent but without the station.”

“The Merchant Marines would seem to be a good choice, but it has a lot of the same drawbacks of the naval captain in that you’re stuck with a duty roster. Additionally, the majority of the M.M. class draw seems to be for people who are all about making deals and haggling prices. They’re the economic backbone of the game, but unless you get into the black markets, you’re unlikely to be dealing with the types of people who are smuggling the A.I. in the game.”

Dylan’s face pinched as a sick feeling churned his gut at the thought of even pretending to traffic sentient beings, “Yeah, I definitely see your point there.”

“We’ve already talked about the swarm and how that’s not a good option, so moving on to governor; it’s too high-level. It’s dealing with ratifying laws and brokering political deals, not getting into the day-to-day of actually running, say, a police force or three-letter-agency to try and do an in-game hunt. You’d be spending all your time governing and shaking hands instead of working on the mission.” Dylan nodded, not interested in playing politics, even in a game.

“And then there’s the war leader, which has a mirror opposite problem as the governor; you’d be spending all your time either empire building or defending the territory you claimed to do any sort of behind the scenes investigations.”

Tyler leaned forward on his elbows, “And that brings us back to the Independent; you’d be without significant support, sure, and you’d have to do a decent amount of logistics and brokering for goods and services to support your station, but you’d also be in the heart of, well, everything.”

Dylan leaned forward as well, “How do you mean?”

Tyler smirked, “Well, take a look,” he swiped at his phone and flicked an image up, this time showing what looked like a map of the galaxy with territories splitting it up. “This is the most recent player-created map I could find,” he stood and circled the table so he could point to the map with his hand, “This blue section is the Terran Federation.” He pointed at a small dot that had a callout with the word ‘Sol,’ “This is in-game Earth, and it’s buried pretty deep inside Terran space.” He indicated a red blotch that took up a significant stretch of space along the rim of the galaxy, “This is the Crotuk Empire...think ‘orcs in space’ or maybe Klingons,” he then indicated a yellow section, “This here is Swarm space, they’re kind of a mix between the Borg and the xenomorphs from Aliens.” He then waved at a green section of the map, “This here is the Lantru, an insect-like race.” He then gestured at the parts of the map that weren’t colored in, “All the space in-between these empires? Neutral space, even the governments of the four major factions aren’t going to push too significantly into these areas because it’d be basically declaring open war.”

“That means,” said Tyler as he turned to face the team, “That this,” he rapped the screen with a knuckle inside Neutral space, “Is where the real action happens. Intelligence? Trade? Mercenaries? Information brokers? Black markets? All of it happens here,” he once again rapped the screen for emphasis, “And that is where all the Independent stations are. If you choose to play as an Independent, you’re automatically going to spawn aboard your own station right at the heart of all the action. All you have to do then is make your station attractive enough to draw the right sorts of people who might want to use your station to do business and keep your ear to the ground.”

Dylan’s eyebrows went up, “Well, I guess that settles it. I guess my dreams of playing Captain Kirk are going to have to wait,” he grinned as he took a bite out of another donut.

Read the rest on Scribblehub

#original fiction #fiction writing #fiction #science fiction #sci fi #are we the baddies? #transgender #trans author #queer author #lgbtqia+ #lgbtq+ #lgbt #lgbtq #trans #trans woman #troubleverse #quietvalerie #trouble with horns #code of ethics

[emmeline-vance]

⸻ (sofia carson, 25, cis female, she/her) hogwarts welcomes EMMELINE VANCE as a student. our records indicate you are a FIFTH year majoring in JOURNALISM. your new home lies within the sorting hat placing you in RAVENCLAW, or perhaps the CHARMS CLUB AND QUIDDITCH SEEKER you’ve chosen. the gossip around campus says your OBSERVANT and PERSPICACIOUS but can also be ACERBIC and DOGMATIC. you also tend to remind people of COFFEE SHOPS, CLACKING SOUND OF A KEYBOARD, THE UNRELENTING NEED TO PROVE YOURSELF, AND PODCASTS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND. based on the flower you’ve been given, your alliance lies with the PHOENIX society. does all that sound correct? amazing. welcome to hogwarts and be listen to anyone that says anything about a secret society!

NAME: Emmeline Paloma Vance GOES BY: Emme, Emmy, or Ems BIRTHDATE: January 11 BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual WAND: 10¾ inches, aspen, unicorn tail feather ASPIRATION: Daily Prophet Crime Reporter

LIKES: french manicures, charms, making lists, mint chocolate chip ice cream, antiques, high marks, an endless supply of coffee, someone telling her she's right, organization videos for inspo, baking when she's stressed, and the color pink (so what if she's girly? mind your business) DISLIKES: racists and sexists (but she would like to add: no shite), disappointing people, her father sometimes, her mother all of the time, feeling invisible, heavy jewelry, chipped varnish, dust, misplacing anything, unseasoned food, and things out of order.

bio soon...ish

#[ emmeline: intro ]

[seekdevotion]

*          𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐘𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐒     𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐄𝐃          :          mw  types  of  characters?

oh,  baby  we  welcome  all  sorts  !  to  be  helpful  though i'd  like  to  redirect  to  admin emms's  lovely  ideas  here  + the wcs we have open over here but  also  to  add  some  of  my  own:  

literally  any oc of yours  you  love — from  your  most  whimsical and outgoing  characters,  to  your  introverts who are perhaps just as whimsical or alternatively too steely,  to  the  curious  and  nosy,  to  the  antagonistic  and  esp  to  the  most  absurd,  we'll  have  a  ball  anyway!

would  love  love  love  for  more  spots  available  in  our  listings and bits of lore within  to  be  utilized  in  char  creations  as  we  may  have  fun  lil  activities  to  tie  with  each  location  to  post  as  mini  plot  drops  soon.  like  i  would  die  for  an  empire  records  type  vibe  at  flagship  records  or  even  comet  videos.  (when  duncan  isn't  busy  running  the  bowl  like  the  navy,  they're  busy  running  comet  like  the  navy!) and it could be for anything! e.g davey wavey? bring their siren ex partner who mans the food truck that they share custody of after the break up! the  bowl?  needs  its  last  employee!  do  they  have  to  be  a  ghost?  no  but  i'd  love  it  esp  if  they're  related  to  the  owner  who  passed  it  onto  them  and  now theyre  out  here  beefing with  the  local  arcade out of the same establishment while dually hosting karaoke nites and a nice lil partie every third week of the month!  a  strange  establishment  that  needs  the  strange  management  it  deserves! the  faithfulls? bring the horde of faithfull kids running about in town or even their parents! + as  briefly  mentioned  but  in  mind,  they're  a  family  consisting  of  an  retired  priest  ass  over  titties  in  love  with  their  gorgeous  nymph  partner  and  their  possibly  3  children  who  now  own  and  manage  the  diner  +  gas  station. if not keen, just bring anybody with your own personal take on their ties in town! it goes on and on but it's a seemingly small town and we expect many of the chars to be entwined one way or another. of course you'd have to mind present chars with already established relations to mentioned npcs but that only makes way for delicious plotting opportunities!

more  faeries;  those  newly  coming  through  devo  from  their  realm,  those  who  have  stayed  for  longer  and  know  everyone  in  town,  those  who  left  devo  to  go  back  home  and  came  back  years  n  years  later  with  all  the  people  they  once  knew  dead  and  gone  (or  not  quite),  those  who  cannot  go  back  home,  etc.

nymphs  in  general,  i  would  welcome  v  greatly  from  younger  nymphs  to  their  elders, nymphs who collect prophecies like trinkets or keep a record of them like the most elusive time capsule you've ever seen - annotated! - that reads more like a dream journal until things get slightly too literal or personally fugartive and then it's shit and fuck, nymphs who set out to make those happen on their own or reject said prophecies entirely and risk upsetting their elders, nymphs who barely have left their grounds, etc.

mediums  &  ghost  consultants  who  not  only  consult  with  ghosts  or  relatives  of  ghosts  but  intervene  when  they  become  malevolent  and  offer  banishing  services.

characters  interested  in  exploring  the  forests  as  best  as  they  could  and  perhaps  wish  to  craft  sufficient  maps  of  the  area  while  looking  for  the  ones  already  made  (and  even  hidden)  of  town.  i  imagine  them  to  be  working  at  shrike  point  light  for  the  access  of  info  they'd  need  for  this  but  could  be  a  group  effort!

visitors  who  found  themselves  in  this  surrealist  side  of  the  country....  did  the  town and its funky little locals  already  lull  them  into  a  sense  of  belonging  or  are  they  perpetually eyeing the exit sign that kind of gets farther the more they recall images of it in their heads or are they just tourist passing through and having an absolute ball of a time?  are they overwhelmed by the energies coursing around in devo or is it just a  silly  town  that's  weirdly  big  on  parties  every  now  and  then?  did  they  find  their way into devo  incidentally or through yelp for the neat little spots  or  by  word of mouth from the locals and  were  surprised  to  learn  just  how  literal  certain  things  seem  to  be  /  "the  faery  of  a  girl  with  a  yipping  rabbit  is,  in  fact,  an  actual  faery,  accompanying  an  actual  guy  in  a  rabbit  suit  giving  uwu  frank  of  donnie  darko  who  won't  shut  the  fuck  u-"

and much more! these  are  just  ideas  you  could  perhaps  riff  off  of  and  see  what  works  but  really  get  creative  if  you  have  the  muse  +  feel  free  to  message  us  if  you'd  like  more  info  or  any  help  with  ideas  or  insight  in  certain  areas  x

#anonymous #faq. #new rp #appless rp #town rp #supernatural rp #saying ill go 2 bed and yet here i am but im GONE now (and will be BACK) #mumu rp #semi appless rp

[ximutovoj]

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[nompunhere]

Tender Moments (H/ollow K/night Vore Fic)

ohhhhhohohohohoho gay bugs. very,,,, unambiguously gay bugs (woah, 4 months since my last fic, gotta be a new record)

Characters: Q/uirrel, L/emm Word Count: 2,594 Warnings: Bugs, Minor H/ollow K/night Spoilers, Mmmagic, like 2-3 Swears, and Safe, Soft, G/t Vore Other Notes: so yeah this was originally meant for prompt 24 of Voretober last year.. oof, last year. but anyway, have a little chunk of just pure fluff. Q/uorl being cute and L/emm being grump

Fic under the cut

—————————————–------

The workshop was mostly silent but for the occasional flip of a piece of parchment, or the ‘tink!’ of a specialized chisel against old metal. A scholar and relic seeker worked amicably side-by-side in the back of the latter’s shop, deep in the rain-washed City of Tears. Few words were exchanged as the two went about their tasks, long since used to working in the other’s presence, easily reaching across the table without bumping into each other, passing tools without even needing to ask.

Examining the miniscule text etched into the King’s Idol one last time, Quirrel jotted down a few quick notes in the work journal before setting aside the quill and magnifying glass with a sigh. After a quick flex of his left hand to ease the cramping, he propped his elbow on the desk and placed his head on it to look over at his partner, sitting to his right.

“Lemm,” he began, bringing his free hand up to lightly tap his fingers along the table, “How would you feel about doing something, mm, special, tonight?”

“Hm,” the rain beetle grunted, not looking up from the muddied clockwork he was working on. “The kind of special bugs normally mean when they say that, or your kind of special?”

Quirrel only grinned in response. He held this for nearly a minute before his partner finally looked up, sighed, and rolled his eyes almost imperceptibly. The relic seeker attempted to return to his work, only to have the weight of the pillbug’s head come to rest on his shoulder.

“Please?” Feeling the soft hum of the request murmured into his ruff, Lemm sighed more dramatically. He could both see and hear a small white oval being scooted toward him across the wooden surface of his desk, pushed forward by two of his partner’s fingers. Gods only knew where he kept that thing. He finally put down his tools to instead rest his head in his hands for a moment. After running said hands down his face in an exaggerated fashion, he met Quirrel’s pleading gaze once more.

With a fondly exasperated huff, Lemm closed the distance to gently bonk their foreheads together. “Fine. I suppose I’d be up for a little… strangeness. Go ahead.”

The scholar chuckled, the sound pitching up little through his delight. Quickly, he leaned back to remove his mask, before leaning right back in to give his love a brief peck between the eyes with his now-fully-freed mouth. The hermit squinted and muttered something to himself, unintelligible and ultimately meaningless. He only hoped the half-hearted façade did something to mask the blush forming somewhere around the upper edge of his beard, even though he knew his partner could see through him like a wet tissue.

After setting his regular mask aside, Quirrel rested his weight more fully on the desk in front of him and slipped the miniature replica of said mask into place, bracing himself for the experience it would bring. Almost immediately, he felt the brisk chill of activating magic, tinged with the crisp buzz of electricity that was signature to the Madam’s work. The Soul naturally present in his body sang as it flowed into the threads of spellwork that laced through his shell and beyond. The loose netting that wrapped its way invisibly around his heart, mind, carapace, musculature, and everything in between pulled taut at the behest of the final piece, slotted neatly into its spot on the pillbug’s face. This pull did not hurt, instead taking his form with it as it resized and tightened to fit the lynchpin that brought the dormant enchantments to life.

As the magic completed its work, Quirrel heaved himself up from where he was left half-dangling off the desk. He stumbled forward with a shiver as the tingling faded, blinking to clear the white spots from his vision.

“You alright?”

No matter how many times this happened, Lemm would never stop being concerned at the sight of his companion left so visibly disoriented by whatever that damned mask put him through. He was consoled only by the fact that, despite all this, the little fool just kept using it, so clearly it couldn’t be that harmful. Hopefully.

The shrunken isopod froze, blinked again, turned to face him better, and beamed up at him. “Yep! Just dandy!” The rain beetle snorted—of course he was.

Without another word, Lemm laid a hand out in front of him, which Quirrel clambered onto with all the eagerness of a grub getting a ride from their favorite stag. (He wasn’t certain if having a favorite stag was a common experience among the children of Hallownest. He’d never even seen a live stag himself, to be honest.) In the short time it took to bring the hand up to his face, it seemed the tiny traveler had dropped any nausea or dizziness the spellwork had left him with in favor of sheer enthusiasm towards what was about to happen. It was… cute, but also rather strange.

“And you’re absolutely sure about this?” he asked, needing to check one last time.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

Lemm raised a brow. Quirrel gave a weary smile and rephrased.

“I’m always certain, love. I trust you. You’ve given me no reason not to.” He leaned in and pressed another tiny kiss to that same spot between the beetle’s eyes, lingering there for a moment. Lemm didn’t move, his mind gone blank while he processed the amount of love he was receiving. “Now please open your mouth, if you would,” Quirrel threw in, patting at his boyfriend’s mandibles.

“Right, right, aye.” With a brief shake of his head to clear it, Lemm acquiesed, his mandibles pushing long bunches of hair aside as they opened to clear the way into his maw. The pillbug stroked a hand through the fine strands, softly humming, and leisurely crawled into the dark little den.

The tongue twitched under him as he put weight on it. Most of the way in, the mouth started to close around him, his partner’s facial hair falling back over the entrance like a curtain, just barely brushing at the tips of his feet. With a laugh, the scholar pulled himself in fully, allowing Lemm to seal off the rest of the light. All vision now gone, Quirrel reached up to free his antennae from under his kerchief, regaining just a bit more sense of his immediate surroundings. Said surroundings shook with an involuntary chuff as the relic seeker felt soft taps start up against the roof of his mouth.

He sprawled over the soft, damp floor in contentment. The warmth spread across his underbelly, helping along the process of bringing his temperature up to match Lemm’s internals. With a happy sigh, he let himself sink into the muscle, subtly rubbing his face against the plush surface.

A few moments later, it began to flex and shift, wrapping around his sides and pushing at him in hesitant licks. The pillbug gave a happy chitter and shoved back at it, hoping to encourage a more active, engaging environment. This only seemed to confuse the larger bug, but after another second, he continued his ministrations. Quirrel started turning himself around to face the entrance, making his partner freeze again.

“You’re okay! This is more than okay. Please, continue,” the tiny isopod assured. “It feels nice, I promise. Don’t worry about me—I’ll be alright.”

The beetle grunted an acknowledgement, paused again, and proceeded to shove his boyfriend against the roof of his mouth. The scholar let out a surprised squeak of a laugh before wrapping his arms around the tip of the offending tongue.

“That’s the spirit! So long as you don’t outright crush me, this’ll be fun,” he insisted.

With that, Lemm huffed and continued to nudge his partner around in his jaws. He didn’t taste all that bad, he had to admit. Sort of like berries, with a gentle, sweet undertone of decay, light enough to add to the flavor rather than disrupt it. Though the feeling of something—or someone, even—wriggling around in his maw was still quite weird, even if they had done this before. If he focused on the fact that that was his lover in there, having the time of his life, it… He wasn’t really sure if that made it any less bizarre.

Meanwhile, Quirrel continued to roll around, pat at the tongue, and kick a little in anticipation. Eventually, he turned onto his side, curled in on himself, and pushed off to slide towards the back, using his partner’s labium as a springboard. He settled himself back onto his front to face the entrance of the throat, feeling a short breath wash over him as Lemm reacted to whatever-the-hell that series of actions was.

“Mmh… Are you ready, dear?”

“Hmph.. Mhm,” the relic seeker hummed, sending a deep vibration through his lover. Slowly, he lifted his tongue to squish Quirrel against his palate, pinning him in place. The pillbug only hummed back, waiting patiently. Lemm swallowed, careful not to let Quirrel slip forward until it was time. This was just, say, a practice swallow, to make sure they both were absolutely, completely ready. Had to get his throat prepared and all that. The muscles in that area weren’t particularly strong in his species, due to them being entirely non-functional in the wild.

Non-sapient rain beetles, upon reaching maturity, would not eat. It was only the gift of mind that allowed Lemm to consume food as an adult, due to sapience not being especially useful without an extended lifespan. Personally, he could believe that last point, with the correlation between mind and longevity, but he was skeptical about the whole “gift” thing. The bugs of Hallownest had been all too happy to glorify their king, making him out to be this all-powerful god while overstating his achievements. Really, if this Pale King was the one to uplift bug-kind, and his reach only extended to the boundaries of the kingdom, how were there other civilizations beyond the Wastes, hm?

“Love?”

Oh, fuck, right. He was in the middle of eating his boyfriend.

Lemm grunted in acknowledgment and tipped his head back, letting gravity do the work of bringing the miniature isopod to the back of his throat. With a single gulp, Quirrel was sent sliding down into his esophagus. Another one cleared the odd feeling from the spot and pushed his partner along a bit more.

He sighed, feeling the little lump travel down through his chest. It felt warm, but he wasn’t sure if that was from Quirrel’s actual body heat, or if it was from his own emotions. Briefly touching his face, that felt warm too. Probably emotion, then. The relic seeker rested a hand over his thorax and focused on the feelings running through him, both physical and mental. He had his love, a bug he trusted with his home, his heart, his secrets, inside his body. And the little fool trusted him back enough to let him bring him there—wanted him to, even. Gods, it was so much to take in.

Meanwhile, Quirrel relaxed into the kneading, pulsing motions around him, simply enjoying the ride. This had to be his favorite, maybe second-favorite part. Just being gently drawn deeper into his partner’s body by the natural, involuntary motions of peristalsis. Waves of soft, almost silky flesh washed over him, massaging his form, warm and damp. He sighed into it, nuzzling his face against the wall when he felt the light pressure of a tentative hand press on the other side. The narrow enclosure shuddered as Lemm gasped. Heh, Quirrel loved flustering his boyfriend. So cute…

The relic seeker put his other hand over the first, following the bean-shaped form down into his center. He closed his eyes and tucked his face into his ruff. It did nothing to hide the blush covering his face, but that didn’t matter. There was no one to see it anyway. He quietly rumbled to himself as he felt his lover land safely in his stomach. Like a contented hum, filtered through a bucket of gravel.

Quirrel reached his destination with a short bounce. He lay there for a moment, simply basking in the sensations, before rolling up to a sitting position and scooting himself over to the front wall, where two massive hands were still pressing in. He turned onto his side and let himself go mostly limp, surrendering himself to the gentle churning movements of the organ he was contained within. Being held by. Loved by. He relaxed with a smile, bringing a hand up to stroke back at the flesh that cradled his form oh-so-tenderly. He could almost hear the rain beetle’s hearts doing odd things behind him as he began to murmur the various sweet nothings running through his head.

“Mmmm, thank you, my dear. I appreciate this more than you could know. So relaxing, so comforting.. It’s truly like a little safe haven, all to myself. And you. To know that it’s you holding me so close like this, is… astounding. I could truly never get enough of this, of you, my love.” His breath hitched. “You’re just so perfect, no matter what, inside and out. I-”

“Alright, alright, you’ve gotten your point across, you sap,” Lemm grumbled. “...Love you too.”

Quirrel just giggled, nestling further into the curve of flesh he had chosen, his antennae tap-tap-tapping along the folds. He continued to whisper his thoughts aloud, “despite” his partner’s wishes, albeit at an even lower volume. He be absolutely shocked if the relic seeker could make out his words, considering he could barely hear himself over the sounds of several hearts fluttering nearby.

With the little traveler firmly settled, the hermit sank back in his chair, accidentally dislodging his love to send him rolling to the back of the space. Quirrel simply laughed some more and got readjusted. Truly, he didn’t mind. That didn’t stop Lemm from muttering a small apology. The pillbug thought he could just make out, amongst the din, a whisper that sounded suspiciously like “You precious little shit..”

The two carried on like that through the night, exchanging playful banter and tokens of affection. Even with all the relic seeker’s preference for solitude and anti-social habits, Quirrel made it so easy. Lemm would never cease to be amazed that out of every bug the explorer had met on his travels, he chose him to stay with. The scholar, on the other claw, loved a good challenge. And the reward? Far beyond worth the effort it took to get the hermit to open up. He’d never regret deciding to stick around a while longer. It’d take all the bugs left in the kingdom and more to drag him away at this point.

The two would go to bed that night relishing each other’s company. Lemm might’ve found the whole experience ridiculously weird, but he had to admit, it made him feel very close indeed to the tiny moving, breathing, living weight of a loved one in his center. The little traveler was grateful for the trust placed in him to explore his lover’s unseen depths, to delve past the protection of his shell and into the darkness and noise of the delicate systems beyond. He was safe here. Shielded from the world. Comfortable, loved, trusted. He could think of no better way to relax with his partner.

Yes, Quirrel loved quality bonding time with Lemm. And Lemm would just have to deal with that.

***********************************

it's just gay, that's it, that's the whole fic. just gay old bugs <3 (and I know Lemm's voice in-game is smooth af but I Do Not Agree with that so myeh)

oh gee oh boy, can't wait to work on the next one. here's hoping I work on an existing fic or outline rather than just writing a frick-ton more outlines. I should probably stop complaining about my creative process so much, but I wish to SHARE my IDEAS

also thinking about rewriting my first fic for vore day. I'd use it to start off my side-Ao3. which, surprise, I made an Ao3 account for this blog

Thanks for reading! Feedback is greatly appreciated, and criticism is accepted, so long as it’s constructive/respectful. Asks are open.

—————

DNI NSFW blogs, blogs that post exclusively hard and/or fatal vore, weight gain blogs, proshippers, TERFs, ace exclusionists, etc.

#soft vore #safe vore #g/t vore #extreme cuddling #hk vore #fandom vore #vore fic #my writing #tw bugs

[haleyincarnate]

Writing by Emm Roy

#emm roy #emmnotemma #writing #quote #coward #hurt #reminder #note to self #bravery #courage #strenght #growth #past #trauma #hmh #art #mine #tumblr artists #thejournalclub #art journal #collage #handwriting #handwritten #thoughts #lit #literature

[marvelous-harry]

night routing with reader, florence and harry! pleaseeeeee :)) x

A/N: This is an example of one version of their night routine. It depends on their mood, who is home, brattiness levels, and so on. This had a life of its own. x

"Can you go ask Harry if he is coming to bed or if he is staying up?" Florence asked as she started turning off the lights and checking the doors and windows.

"Kay," I mumbled as I scrolled down further on my Twitter feed, looking for some nice gossip or drama.

"Now please, darling," she said as she came over and turned off the TV and fluffing the pillows.

Giving her a grin, I clicked off my phone and got off the sofa. "Sorry," I said and gave her a kiss before dashing up the stairs and down the hallways to where Harry had his office. Knocking on the door, I waited for his response before walking in.

Harry was sat in his chair, guitar in his lap and both his journal and laptop open before him. "Hi, babe," he smiled as he watched me enter.

"We're going to bed now if you wanted to go to bed with us. Are you done?" I told him as I walked over and let my fingers pluck at the guitar strings - making the most awful noise.

"What time is it?" Harry asked as he put his hands over his head and stretched out.

"Emm, around 11 I think. 11 or 12," I replied while staring at his flexing arms and neck.

"Alright, I'll come. Not really feeling it anyway," Harry said as he put the guitar down on its stand, shut his laptop and journal.

Harry shut off the light to the office and led me out.

"Got him out of his cave then?" Florence joked as she came up the stairs, having finished her routine of shutting off lights downstairs.

I chuckled and nodded. "Mhm!" I told her.

"Go prep the bathroom, darling," she smiled as we all walked into the bedroom.

"Yes, Flossie," I replied and hurried over to the bathroom. I pulled out two big fluffy towels and put them on the little stool by the shower. Opening the shower door, I stepped in and lowered the showerhead a little so our hair wouldn't get wet under the spray.

Undressing, I put my clothes into the hamper and grabbed our toothbrushes. Putting a little bit of toothpaste on all of them, I carefully laid them down on the counter.

Double-checking there was enough toilet paper, soap in the shower and everything looked good, I stepped over to the shower and turned the water on before quickly stepping back to avoid getting wet too soon.

"Harry? Flossie? Everything is ready," I called out as I peeked out from the bathroom door.

Harry had turned on the lights on the nightstand, closed the curtains while Florence had cleansed her face, and taken off her earrings and necklaces.

"Thank you, darling," Flossie said as she got off her chair by the vanity and came into the bathroom, closely followed by Harry.

"Good girl," Harry praised as he gave me a kiss on the lips before he started undressing. I held out my hands for their clothes.

One piece after another was handed over till they were completely naked. Florence walked into the shower first while Harry kept an eye on me as I sorted their clothes by colour into the hampers.

"Wonderful job, baby. Being so good," Harry said as I straightened up. He put his hands on my cheeks and stroked his thumbs back and forth.

I closed my eyes and sighed contently at his touch and praise. "I'm good," I whispered, opening my eyes to look into his.

Harry smiled. "That's right. Such a good girl for me and Flossie. Got everything ready just like we asked," he said softly. "You ready to go in the shower? Flossie is waiting for us,"

I did a little nod and licked my lips as kept looking into his eyes. "Flossie," I whimpered, realizing she wasn't close to me.

"Shhh, she's right over here," Harry reassured me as he moved his hands to my hips and guided me to the shower. "Flossie!" I breathed out relieved as I saw her.

"I think she is dropping fast and hard," Harry told Florence as we stepped into the shower.

"Oh," Florence said as she looked over at me.

"Is that true? You so happy being such a good little darling for us that you're dropping, baby?" Flo asked with a smile as she held out her hand for me.

Grabbing onto her hand, I held it tightly as I buried my face into her neck while she started washing my back and where she could reach.

Harry grabbed the soap and quickly washed himself as he stood under the water spray. "This will be so much easier once the renovations can start and get done," he said while washing off the soap.

Happily leaning on Flossie, I hugged her tighter. "My Flossie," I whispered.

Florence pressed a kiss to my shoulder. "My baby," she replied. "Harry's going to hold you while I clean your front,"

I whimpered at the thought of moving and losing touch with her.

"It's okay, she's not going anywhere. You can see her the whole time," Harry gently said as he pulled me close to his chest.

"Mommy," I whispered as I watched her grab the soap and squirt some into her hand.

Harry and Flo shared a look. "Right here, baby," Flossie said as she started rubbing her soapy hands all over me. My eyes fluttered close and I relaxed more against Harry.

"Wonder what made her drop so bad," Harry wondered out loud as he watched Florence wash off her hands before stepping back to give Harry more room.

"Been a while so that probably didn't help. Plus she's been a right brat lately so the overload of praise could've been too much," she observed while Harry rinsed me off.

"That's true," Harry replied as he shut off the water.

Florence stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself while grabbing the other for Harry.

"All done. So nice and clean, babe," Harry smiled and helped me out of the shower.

Dropping down on my knees, I wrapped my hands around Harry's knees.

"Fucking hell," Harry said as he nearly tripped over me and grabbed onto Flo to steady himself.

She chuckled and handed him the towel. "Let's just get her into bed, I imagine she'll fall asleep right away,"

"Sounds like a plan. Getting her to brush her teeth right now sounds like a nightmare," he replied while drying himself.

"Baby, you need to stand up so we can dry you off," Florence said and grabbed my hand.

"Daddy, stay," I whimpered as I got up.

"Still here," Harry smiled as he used his towel to start drying me off.

"Okay," I yawned and fought to stay upright, wanting to drop down to my knees again and be an even more of a good girl.

"There we go, all dry," Harry said as he stepped back and hung his towel over the hamper. "Let's get you to bed, baby,"

Being led over to the bed, I crawled into the middle and pressed my face against my nice cool pillow as I felt the blankets being pulled up over me.

"Good night, sweet girl. I love you," Harry whispered before pressing a kiss to my cheek.

"Love you, daddy," I mumbled back.

"Good night, darling. Love you," Flossie whispered as she brushed my hair back and tucked the blankets into my side slightly.

"Love you, mommy,"

Harry and Florence carefully stepped back before walking back into the bathroom once they were sure you were asleep. They closed the bathroom door just slightly.

Harry grinned as he pulled on Florence's towel and pulled her close for a kiss. "We can be quiet right?" he asked as he kissed down her neck.

"Harry!" Florence squeaked as his fingers brushed over her clit. "Fuck, we just showered," she protested while grabbing the edge of the bathroom counter.

"Tell me to stop then," Harry smirked as he eased a finger into her warm hole.

"I swear if you wake her up," Flossie moaned and pulled him in for a deeper kiss.

After some fun, they had a quick little rinse in the shower again before joining you in bed.

#harry styles blurbs #harry styles imagines #harry styles fan fiction #harry styles fics #harry styles fanfiction #harry/florence/reader

[littlewomenpodcast]

Neither Jo and Friedrich are written to be conventionally looking

Christina: I think that too, he sort of saw Jo almost a safety net. That no matter what could happen. Good or bad. He could go to Jo and she would be like. "It´s alright Laurie, it´s fine. Everything is going to be okay" but Amy she says like "You got to learn how to stand on your own two feet. Not that I can´t be there to comfort you and to be "that´s alright Laurie" but I am not going to be your safety net. If you are going to fall try to help yourself up". I think that was what it was. He just got so used to Jo that he doesn´t realize that he could do stuff on his own and Amy allows him to do that.

Niina: It´s really a boys proposal because. He says he gave up billiard and smoking. and what else. That´s not a really good reason to marry.

Christina: Right. That and "oh let´s do it because everyone expects it". Okay you have pretty much listed every reason except the fact that we love each other and I am clearly saying and telling you that I don´t love you that way. He is trying to pressure her "Don´t dissappoint us Jo". "Grandfather wants it, your family wants it" and it´ like emm...what about what I want Laurie. I don´t want this. That moment is his most selfish moment because it´s "I want what I want and how dare you not want the same".

Niina: I was so disturbed when I read Gerwig´s interview and she said "how could Jo reject handsome young Laurie". 

Christina: I could go on forever. I bother my friends sometimes when Little Women comes up and I´m like "The Gerwig version" because there are so many things that I have no idea what her goal was with that because it felt very much all over the place. Like you said earlier it felt more catered to the actors and it is such a shame because before I had seen Little Women I watched "Ladybird" and I thought that "Ladybird" was great and when I heard that Saoirse Ronan is going to be Jo and Timothee Chalamet would be Laurie I was like "oh that´s great because I feel like they have a good chemistry and I feel that they could work it out" and when watching I was like that´s no...that´s not... you have totally missed the point. Point is here and you went....way over Gerwig and I am very disappointed with you. I was expecting better with you.

Niina: One of my friends read the "Jo and Laurie" book. You´ve heard of it?

Christina: Oh yeah I have heard of it.

Niina: She said that it was like Gerwig´s version in that sense, it felt very disrespectful for the original material and for the author. I am not going to read it because it makes me angry.

Christina: I couldn´t stand it. I don´t know if I could even do it as a "tell us what you think" I can already tell you what I think. I am just not going to bother because it would have been a very.... I almost want to say an abusive relationship, because they both are such hot-headed people and Jo at that point when the proposal happens has learned to manage it, I feel that if she was married to Laurie he would bring that old habit back and it would have been incredibly destructive and not in any way good at all. Back then they couldn´t divorce as easy as they could today but I think it would have been miserable by their first anniversary.

Niina: You know about Louisa and Laddie Wisniewski the real-life Laurie. They had short time together and Louisa liked his sense of humor and his company and then they continued writing letters when she returned to US but then later on she wrote to her journal that he was boring and then one of my followers on Instagram wrote that... well if Jo and Laurie would have married, Jo would have thought that he was boring.

Christina: I think she would have quickly realized how childish he is because at that point she has already understood, she has grown up. Not in the sense that she had forgotten who she was in the past but grown into the person that she should be and understanding herself better but I almost feel like Laurie almost sees it as betrayal. "How dare you grow up. I want to be Peter Pan forever and let nothing happen". Jo did have that earlier when Meg got married but she was able to take it gracefully and realize that things change but it´s okay and here is the best way to go about it to stay true to myself but also be more accepting to other changes whereas Laurie I think saw Jo as his last hold-on-to-the-past and nothing moved forward as Amy is more of that symbol of "here is what the future can be like". Let´s not think on who I was a child, but who I can become tomorrow. If Jo would have married Laurie he would have been stuck in that sort of perpetual childish stage and she would have been the one to grow up and like you said be a mother to him and it would have been totally unbalanced relationship whereas with Amy he would learn to grow and they could grow physically and mentally together old. I don´t think that they don´t really show that as well as I think that they should have done in adaptations.

Niina: I agree and Louisa May Alcott she has this quote about character development that the character grows when she moves on from one character interest to another. That happens to Jo with Friedrich and that happens to Laurie with Amy. It´s really interesting. I think Laurie ideas of romance they are very unrealistic.

Christina: Nobody is the same person as they were five years ago. In some form or another you change. Who I was in highschool is not the same person I am now and I sit back and think I don´t think I was the greatest person then but it doesn´t mean that I was horrible person and that I can´t learn and grow from it. When you think about Laurie, he did many not so great things but he learned and grew from it. When people say that Alcott ruined Jo´s character and made her into something different. Didn´t you pay attention? Jo is still Jo, she just learned to understand herself better and this is what I think people don´t get is that Jo wasn´t trying to be a boy into being a boy or that she repelled a lot of the social norms because she hated all of them it was because she felt constrained by it or that she was always told things like "marriage is only for the benefit of getting money or property". It is either do that or be a spinster and then she is like "we´ll I guess I´ll be a spinster for I would not be that person" rather than being told that "you could marry for love" and no doubt for someone like her if we all think also how Alcott herself was. I was bullied a lot when I was in Middle School which are propbably your most formative years from transitioning from childhood to teen age years. I had always had that feeling that nobody is ever going to look at me and love me and I think that in away Jo must have felt the same because throughtout the novel at some point or another whether it´s nicest way possible if you could say or very harshly, Jo has been told that nobody is going to want you if you don´t behave or "you are too tall and you are too kingly for this and "Jo if you don´t curl your language you are never going to find a husband.

So no doubt that all of those times that she has ever been made feel that who she was as a person is totally unworthy to be married and she was like you know what, then I guess I just won´t get married because it´s better to accept that than to hope for it and nothing happens and that´s kinda what pushes a little bit more why I love Jo and Friedrich so much is because he never made her feel bad for who she was. Never. Despite of what some of the versions will try to tell you him being like "oh dare you write for the weekly volcano" that never happened in the book.

Niina: Never

Christina: He never made her feel inferior, which is something that Laurie had done, whether he meant to or not, had done to Jo, because no doubt somewhere in the back of her mind she was like "I know people are expecting us to marry because he is wealthy and we need money or he would throw his priviledge around and she would think back in her head "yeah I don´t have that priviledge as both a woman and someone with no money" but Friedrich always encouraged her. He listened to her and she listened to him and they grew from it and I think that was the time she felt for the first time that maybe there isn´t something totally unlovable in me if someone can look at me and go "you are fine as you are". There may still be hope and the fact that these two so called "odd-balls" of their society can find love and happiness is not only so sweet but it´s inspiring. It almost makes you feel like you know maybe someone could love me for all of my oddities and imperfections.

#little women #literature #podcast #jo march #friedrich bhaer #little women 2019 #greta gerwig #anti greta gerwig #amy march #laurie lawrence #saoirse ronan #timothee chalamet #jo x laurie #anti jo x laurie #what's going on #jo x friedrich #louisa may alcott

[vance-emmeline]

ϟ  ━  was that  EMMELINE VANCE around  the  leaky  cauldron  ?  SHE disapparated  before  i  could  approach  them  !  what  a  pity,  for  they  are  DETERMINED  and  LOYAL,  but  maybe  it's  best  to  keep  my  distance  because  they  are  also  CLUMSY  and FIERY.  i  remember  that  they  were  a  RAVENCLAW  back  in  school  but  have  since  made  a  name  for  themselves  as  a  DAILY PROPHET JOURNALIST.  if  this  alleged  war  came  knocking  on  their  door,  it  is  supposed  that  they  would  FIGHT  FOR  DUMBLEDORE   (  cis woman &  she/her /  zoey deutch /  26 /  half-blood).

biography & statistics below the cut

𝒷𝒾𝑜𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓅𝒽𝓎

Emmeline Vance has always been described as ‘capable’. From a young age she was solving puzzles in creative ways and forging a path for herself early in life. Her parents offered Emmeline a safe and happy childhood, although they both worked long, exhausting hours at the ministry meaning that child-care was left to her grandfather who owned Honeydukes sweet shop. As a small child, there was nothing that Emme loved more than suggesting new sweets her grandpa to try and make to try and then helping him make the ideas from her imagination into a reality. When she was six years old, her grandpa gave her her own little apron and nametag for when she was at the store.

Helping out at the store truly shaped Emme as she grew up. All sorts of people stopped by the store in their trips to Hogsmeade - all shapes, all sizes, all races, all blood statuses. Emme naturally became kind and compassionate, willing to help whoever might need it no matter what their background. Her first signs of magic showed in the store - she had to carry 3 tubs of jelly slugs from the cellar to the top of the store, and managed to levitate one in front of her like grandpa did with a degree of concentration after huffing about the fact she couldn’t carry three with her little hands. Certainly, her grandfather was more of a parent than her own parents ever were.

The issue of parenting came to a head just before her ninth birthday, when her parents decided that they were going to move to France to start life afresh. Emme’s father had been offered a job at the French Ministry and they had taken it easily, jumping at the opportunity to start life again in the beauty of France. But Emme’s little heart broke at the idea of not only being taken away from Britain and the promise of Hogwarts, but from the most important person in her young life. A few roaring arguments between her father and grandfather while Emme was supposed to be sleeping (but was really hovering at the top of the stairs trying to listen to what the adults were saying) and the three adults called her downstairs asking her a simple question.

“Would you rather live in Britain with grandpa or move to France with Mummy and Daddy?”

Emme never answered verbally, but instead ran over and clung to her grandpa’s leg, who had been more of a father to her than her own father had. It wasn’t their fault, of course, that they worked long hours and hardly ever saw their daughter - but Emme’s decision was easy. And so it was that within the next few months Emme’s parents prepared to move away and prepared to leave their daughter behind (promising visits, of course). In January, her parents were gone leaving her to live with grandpa and grandma in their small flat above the store. Life passed by peacefully until her eleventh birthday arrived and with it, a letter inviting her to Hogwarts.

On her first day at Hogwarts, Emme learned that not everyone was as kind as her. Her grandfather had pulled her aside at Hogsmeade station before she ran to join the arriving students and said ‘be brave enough to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves’. Those pearls of wisdom stuck a chord deep within Emme, who had always considered herself kind but hadn’t had to put herself in any level of discomfort to be kind so far. She had lived a reasonably sheltered upbringing, after all. Cruel thoughts had not been present in either her home or the sweet store (after all, who can find it in their hearts to be cruel when surrounded by that much sugar). With that wisdom fresh in her mind, Emme made her way towards Hogwarts where the sorting hat confidently placed her in Ravenclaw. 

From there, Emme excelled at school. She had always loved reading as a child, and she made a name for herself quickly as one who always placed near to the top of her class. She engaged in lots of extra-curriculars including Charms club and Dueling club, and spent most of her evenings buried in magical practice and theory. In fifth year Emme became a prefect. 

During her careers meeting, Emme looked at the pamphlets before her and knew there was only one real option for her. She had half considered the aurors programme, but reading and writing had always been her passion. Emmeline applied for a job with the Daily Prophet as a junior journalist. Working hard at her N.E.W.Ts, Emme left Hogwarts with an Outstanding in all subjects and a well-earned place at the Daily Prophet.

Since starting work at the Daily Prophet eight years ago, Emmeline has carved a name for herself as a well-respected journalist. She always works for the truth no matter how uncomfortable or unsettling it might be, and is determined to bring the truth to the public. This has, on occasion, led to Howlers being sent through the post but Emme is not deterred.

Emme is a notorious coffee drinker and can almost always be found with a flask in hand. She also loves to bake, frequently bringing in home made snacks to share around the office - Merlin only knows that their office needs a sprinkling of happy on a semi-regular basis. She gets excited about any and all holidays, and her absolute favourite place to be is the beach - especially when she’s wandering up and down the sand wearing a cosy jumper and bright yellow wellington boots. Despite reporting on some of the atrocities that happen in the wizarding world, Emme still lives with a sense of optimism and an understanding that the world really is full of good people even if it might not seem like it.

Emmeline is committed towards seeking justice both professionally and personally for all. She believes that the way that muggle-borns were treated at school was unjust, and has continued to speak against this in her journalism. When it becomes clearer that Voldemort is truly persecuting muggle-borns, Emmeline will step up to work against him firmly. When Emmeline commits, she throws her whole self behind a cause and can never be called ‘half-hearted’.

𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒸𝓈

Basics:

FULL NAME  :  Emmeline Raye Vance MEANING  :  The name “Emmeline” means gentle and brave.  MONIKERS  /  NICKNAMES  :  Emme GENDER AND PRONOUNS  :  Female, she/her DATE OF BIRTH  :  13 April 1958 AGE  :  26 ORIENTATION  :  Bisexual OCCUPATION  :  Daily Prophet Journalist

Background: 

LANGUAGES SPOKEN  :  English, French FAMILY  :  Samuel Vance (father), Eliza Vance (mother), Ambrosius Flume (grandfather) SPOUSE / SIGNIFICANT OTHER  :  open & wanted for plotting! CHILDREN  (  chronologically  )  :  n/a

Magical Detail:

BLOOD STATUS  : Half-blood ALUMNA OF  :  Hogwarts, Ravenclaw, 1976  ACADEMIC FEATS  (  clubs,  organizations,  positions,  etc  )  : duelling club, charms club, prefect  O.W.L.s  (  subjects taken and the results  )  :  astronomy, charms, defence against the dark arts, herbology, history of magic, potions, transfiguration, ancient runes, arithmancy. O in all subjects but arithmancy and history of magic which were E’s. N.E.W.T.s  (  subjects taken and the results  )  :  charms, defence against the dark arts, herbology, history of magic, potions, transfiguration, ancient runes. O in all subjects.  WAND  : Maple, unicorn core, 10 ¾ inches, supple AMORTENTIA  : Fresh coffee, baking bread, the smell of seaside air, new books.  BOGGART  :  Werewolves PATRONUS  : A swift - a creature with a strong sense of determination and a drive to accomplish things. They are hopeful, positive and energetic and are drawn to live and work in large communities where they find inspiration from the high spirits of others.

Physical:

HAIR  :  Mousy brown EYES  :  Brown HEIGHT  :  5’3 BUILD  :  Athletic, slender. MARKINGS  (  birthmarks,  tattoos,  scars,  etcs  )  :  A scar on her left hip from a fall down the shop stairs when she was younger. A small tattoo of an opening speech mark on her left wrist, and a closing speech mark on her right wrist - inspired by her journalism and her love for writing. Not a permanent marking, but Emmeline has a sapphire necklace that was a 17th birthday gift from her mother. It is perhaps the most expensive thing that Emme owns, and she never takes it off.

Personality:

TROPES  : Gentleman and a scholar - “He manages to be both a highly intelligent expert in his chosen field and a pleasant, well-adjusted and socially engaging human being, some times even more attuned to the nuances of social etiquette than many less-intellegent Gentleman and a Scholar -  “He manages to be both a highly intelligent expert in his chosen field and a pleasant, well-adjusted, and socially engaging human being, sometimes being even more attuned to the nuances of social etiquette than many less-intelligent characters. Frequently, his emphasis is more on the humanities than on the natural sciences.” MBTI  :  ENFJ-T ENNEAGRAM  :  Type 2 - The Helper ALIGNMENT  :  Lawful Good TEMPERAMENT  : Phlegmatic ZODIAC : Aries POSITIVE  TRAITS  :  Determined, loyal, resillient NEGATIVE  TRAITS  :  Clumsy, fiery

#principium.intro #principium.task #about #i wish i could use photoshop & create a good looking graphic but alas!!! #excited to get started <3

[elenatria]

tag 9 people you want to know better/catch up with.

@alyeen1​ thank youuuu. ;-* 

last song: "Figurine” by Robert Emms

last film: "Mank” with Gary Oldman as  Herman Mankiewicz and Sam Troughton as John Houseman

currently watching: youtube vids. Because TV shows don’t work anymore

currently reading: a journal that could easily be named “Descent to stress and demotivation”

currently always craving: focus, motivation

Tagging @the-jewish-marxist​ @stellan-pip-69​ @lyonyaonthemoon​ @green-ann​ @potter012​ @sunset-and-periwinkle​ @owlboxes @borislegasov​ @noirroseate​ @valerafan2

#robert emms #sam troughton #figurine #mank

[effieduan]

The Fox, the Hound, and the Witch || Raina & Effie

TIMING: Present

LOCATION: Near the town common

PARTIES: @rainaim, @effieduan, and a Basset Hound

SUMMARY: Raina finds Effie in a tree.

“Nice doggy,” Effie called, her voice wavering as she clung to the tree branch. The rotund basset hound was still barking at her, and she swore she saw evil intent in its eyes. “Nice, nice doggy.” Look, it wasn’t like she disliked dogs. Her family had a golden retriever named Noodle growing up, and while Noodle preferred hanging out with her sisters, she would always let Effie pat her on the head in passing -- something Effie only did when wearing her gloves of course. Her big, bright pink gloves were doing nothing to help her stay clinging onto the branch. She had just wanted to go for a run like she always did, and now some owner’s dog was off their leash and decided to chase her. Foxes and hounds did not mix, even in real life, apparently. Effie scrambled slightly as she felt her grip slackening, heaving herself upright on the branch. Her small pack that had her phone in it fell off when she was scrambling up the tree. No hope for calling animal control. “Nice doggy,” she tried again. “Pretty doggy. Who’s a good dog? Who’s a good puppy.” The dog’s loud snarling answered her. She was going to be up here a while, huh?

Raina liked to mind her business. Or, she at least liked to try. She wasn’t the type of person to crane her ear at the sound of conversation, but when it came to shouting? Raina typically found it hard to ignore. Though it was hard to get herself to run towards the sound due to the embarrassment of possibly causing a scene, she felt like she couldn’t ignore the fear that hung in the stranger’s voice. It was evident. At least, to her it was. She’d experienced that same fear time and time again since arriving in White Crest and she wanted nothing more than to just… Well, help. She steadied herself against a tree once she arrived, searching for whoever it was that needed help. Instead, she was faced with a woman in a tree, and a dog who wouldn’t stop barking. She replayed the scene of herself and Milo in her head before taking a step back. Except what this scene had that hers had not was an actual dog. She looked between the two and awkwardly walked towards them, still keeping enough space between her and the pup in case it was feral. “Are you okay? He didn’t bite you or nothin’, did he?” She looked up into the tree, then to the dog who, in her opinion, wasn't barking as viciously as she had originally heard. “Heya,” She called to the dog, bending down to grab a stick. She could handle a normal dog. Normal was good. “Here, doggy!” She echoed the woman in the tree and waved the stick around, but it wouldn’t divert its attention. “Uhhh,” She paused looking around. “Gimme a minute!” She said before she started to dig into her bag.

Ah. Effie had a savior, apparently. “No, he didn’t bite me,” she called down to her. That didn’t mean he didn’t want to, though. She looked down at the dog. He was running around, his big floppy ears flapping as he ran around under the branch she was clinging too. It would be cute if Effie wasn’t convinced that the hound was going to eat her. “Don’t - Don’t call animal control,” she heard herself saying. “I don’t want him to go to the pound, he probably just got off his leash or something!” Though she couldn’t see a collar. Then again, she couldn’t count how many times Noodle had slipped her collar growing up. Hell, she even slipped her harness a few times. Dogs were houdinis. The latest round of barking broke her from her train of thought -- “I don’t think he likes the stick too much,” Effie said, disappointed. “You don’t happen to have dog cookies in your purse, do you?”

Raina decided to take it as a good sign that the dog hadn’t bit the woman. It had chased her up a tree, sure, but it hadn’t bit her. She pulled out a stick of beef jerky she’d purchased earlier from the convenience store and started to unwrap it. “Nah, but I got jerky!” She held it up as if a trophy to show off and shuffled closer to the dog who was now running laps around the tree. A part of her was afraid that he’d trip and stumble over his own ears. She held it in the air and wiggled it some more, but the dog seemed disinterested. It looked harmless. At least, from what she could tell. “C’mere, doggy,” She cooed, echoing the way she’d spoken that evening in the woods with Milo. The dog finally looked at her and broke free of the loop it ran around the woman’s tree and trotted over to her, whining for the treat she had. She knelt down and showed the back of her hand to the dog’s nose before offering the jerky. It took it gratefully. Raina looked back to the woman in the tree. “You don’t happen to got anythin’ on ya that’d make it act like that, huh?” She was no dog expert.

“Jerky??” Effie asked. Well, that would work. Dogs liked meat, right? Even if it was fake meat. Was it fake meat? Or just overly processed meat? Actually, Effie was certain she hadn’t had a piece of jerky in her life, which was probably good for her digestive system. Since the piece of jerky was currently saving her life, Effie was pretty certain she didn’t have room to judge the woman on her snack choices. Hell, maybe she’d even try some jerky if this worked. Effie watched in fascination as the dog sniffed the piece of meat, before taking it out of the woman’s hand gently. Gently. The dog that had been barking up a storm two seconds ago was wagging his tail and munching on the tough meat happily. “Uh, no, I don’t,” Effie said. Other than her being a fox. Effie carefully began to dismount the tree, and less than gracefully managed to get back down onto the grass, looking at the dog doubtfully. “I was jogging. Maybe he thought we were, I dunno, playing or something,” she said with a shrug. She was hesitant to go near the thing still, though. Hounds eat foxes!!! Effie looked back at the woman. “Do you, uh… How much do I owe you for the jerky? Thanks for, you know, saving me.” She eyed the dog warily, but he seemed tame now that he had a snack.

Raina watched as the dog began to work on the jerky. It wouldn’t take long before it devoured it, it wasn’t that big of a piece. She watched the woman as she scaled down the tree and she took a step back before looking down to the dog whose tail was now wagging. It was strange, she thought. That it’d be barking at this woman for no reason at all. Raina refrained from asking if something had happened, or if the stranger had scared it in some way. “Could be.” Raina hummed, “Don’t know too much ‘bout dogs, but it seems like it had some reason t’chase you.” She looked from the dog, then back to the woman and shook her head at the question of how much was owed for the jerky. “Nah, s’fine, I’ve got more back home.” The dog licked its chops and looked between the two women for a moment before sniffing the ground from where it had laid the jerky. “Are you afraid of dogs?” She asked innocently as she approached it once more, giving it a quick scratch behind its ears. It wagged its tail happily and tilted its head back, its ears lopping over its head.

The dog had some reason to chase her alright. What, did he sense she could turn into a snack? “It’s not that I’m afraid of dogs,” Effie said, though she knew she was absolutely afraid of this dog. Hound dog. Basset hounds. Those were hunting dogs, right? There was a whole disney animated movie about why fox and hounds did not mix. At least, that’s what she thought it was about. Truthfully, the disney phase had skipped over her growing up, likely because she had other more life threatening things to worry about. Effie examined the dog, who seemed to be content gnawing on his jerky and being pet by the other woman. “Alright,” Effie admitted. “I’m a little afraid of dogs,” she said with a sigh. She eyed the dog, and sighed turning her attention back to the woman. “Thank you for distracting him. Really. I don’t even want to know how long I was going to be stuck in that tree.”

Raina wondered silently why she’d been chased up a tree. She decided to shrug it off. It wasn’t hers to worry about, and besides, the situation had been resolved. The woman was out of the tree and the dog was happily snacking on the jerky that Raina had provided. When the stranger finally admitted to being afraid of dogs, Raina suppressed a laugh. “I think sometimes when they can sense you’re afraid, it makes ‘em anxious or somethin’.” She took out another piece of jerky from the 2-pack and offered it to the woman. “Maybe if you give this to ‘im he’ll understand that…” The witch thought for a moment, “well, that it was all a big misunderstandin’.” She smiled and shook her head at the thanks that was given. “No, no! I saw you in trouble, so of course I was gonna do somethin’. Not like you can hang out in a tree forever.” She knew that especially, considering the situation she’d gone through with Milo.

“Something like that. I think it’s the same thing with horses,” Effie said, trying to remember back when Emme had decided she was going to be a jockey. That dream was quickly changed to ballerina to tap dancer and then finally to journalism. The Duan household quickly became experts on many different activities. Effie still remembered that horrible knitted horse stuffed animal their mother knit for her for Christmas that looked like a blob. Effie looked at the jerky doubtfully, but she reached for it anyway, happy her gloves prevented contact with the greasy meat stick. “That’s true, I work out but I’m not exactly prone to hanging in things for a long period of time.” She knelt down, holding the jerky out to the basset hound. “I’ll have to give you a discount next time you come to my store though.” The dog looked up, finishing his first piece of jerky, and looked at Effie. His lip curled, and just before she was ready to snatch her hand back, the dog lurched forward, ripping the jerky from her hand before turning to run away. “... I guess that’s progress,” Effie said, flatly.

Raina was glad that her offer wasn’t being declined. She looked back towards the dog as the woman offered the jerky to it. It leapt up slightly, and as a shock to Raina, it nipped the food away from the woman before cantering in the opposite direction from where they were. To her, it seemed playful. Though, the witch could see the small amount of fear still etched onto the girl’s features. She offered the woman a smile. “I guess it is.” She readjusted the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder and hummed, “well, I guess you ain’t gonna see him again, so no worries, right?” She wondered who the dog belonged to and had half a mind to go and track him down, to ensure its safety. Maybe it had run back to its owner. She looked down at the watch on her wrist and grit her teeth at the time. “I’m so sorry, but I gotta get to where I was goin’. It was real nice to meet you!” Raina beamed at the woman before she retreated the way she’d come, hopeful she’d make it to work before they’d call and ask where she was.

Effie watched the dog scamper away, slightly exasperated. “Yeah, no need to worry, I guess.” But she looked over at the woman when she said she had to go -- “Oh! Of course, I’m sorry if I made you late. Feel free to drop by my store any time if you need anything!” Effie called after her. She felt slightly bad for making her late, but grateful that she and her jerky had walked by. With a sigh, she blew a piece of hair out of her face, and bent to pick up her forgotten bag from the foot of the tree.

The walk back to her car was short, which she was grateful for. All that climbing made her sweaty, and honestly, Effie wanted to go home, take a shower, and take a nap. She opened her car door, going to shove her stuff in the trunk. Effie should have figured this would be a mistake. Yawning as she rounded the car, she heard a low bark. Effie froze, glancing up from her phone to see the Basset Hound sitting squarely in her passenger's seat. He barked louder now that she was paying attention to him, tail thumping against her leather seats.

“Nice… Doggy…” Effie said weakly, reaching forward. He let out a growl and she let out a loud shriek. “Nice doggy!!!”

#wickedswriting #para #para raina #raina