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hoursofreading · 3 months

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Four decades ago, in the Stanford University laboratory of Walter Mischel, preschool-age children were left alone in a room after having been told they could get a small treat (say, a marshmallow) by ringing a bell at any time to summon the experimenter — or, if they held out until he returned on his own, they could have a bigger treat (two marshmallows). As the results of this experiment are usually summarized, the children who were able to wait scored better on measures of cognitive and social skills about a decade later and also had higher SAT scores. The lesson is simple, as conservative commentators tell the story: We ought to focus less on “structural reforms” to improve education or reduce poverty, and look instead at traits possessed by individuals – specifically, the ability to exert good old-fashioned self-control.[37] But the real story of these studies is a good deal more complicated. For starters, the causal relationship wasn’t at all clear, as Mischel acknowledged. The ability to delay gratification might not have been responsible for the impressive qualities found ten years later; instead, both may have resulted from the same kind of home environment.[38] Second, what mostly interested Mischel wasn’t whether children could wait for a bigger treat – which, by the way, most of them could[39] – and whether waiters fared better in life than non-waiters, but how children go about trying to wait and which strategies help. It turned out that kids waited longer when they were distracted by a toy. What worked best wasn’t “self-denial and grim determination” but doing something enjoyable while waiting so that self-control wasn’t needed at all![40] Third, the specifics of the situation – that is, the design of each experiment – were more important than the personality of a given child in predicting the outcome.[41] This is precisely the opposite of the usual lesson drawn from these studies, which is that self-control is a matter of individual character, which we ought to promote. Fourth, even to the extent Mischel did look at stable individual characteristics, he was primarily concerned with “cognitive competencies” – strategies for how to think about (or stop thinking about) the goody – and how they’re related to other skills that are measured down the road. In fact, those subsequent outcomes weren’t associated with the ability to defer gratification, per se, but only with the ability to distract oneself when those distractions weren’t provided by the experimenters.[42] And that ability was significantly correlated with plain old intelligence.[43] Finally, most people who cite these experiments simply assume that it’s better to take a bigger pay-off later than a smaller pay-off now. But is that always true? Mischel, for one, didn’t think so. “The decision to delay or not to delay hinges, in part, on the individual’s values and expectations with regard to the specific contingencies,” he and his colleagues wrote. “In a given situation, therefore, postponing gratification may or may not be a wise or adaptive choice.”[44]

Why Self-Discipline Is Overrated (#) - Alfie Kohn

#quote

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unsleepingtales · 8 months

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Mentopolis ep 5! I’ve got so much going on rn and I'm tired so this isn’t gonna be nearly as in depth as it usually is but I do have fun with them so!

Yeah I’m still a bit stuck on if Elias was planning on jumping out and using the grappling hook, why weren’t any of his brain functions aware of that?

PRO CHILD LABOR 💀

They’re BEST FRIENDS <3

Fully prepared to eat the ice skates?

This season is really making me appreciate trapp more

He’s been better 😭

Ronnie :(

Cannot hear would you like it gift wrapped without thinking about the scene from love actually LMAO

Blueprint prints pls

Art team knocking it out of the park as always

Sometimes I wish d20 had a bigger fandom specifically so that more crack fics would get written bc if there were more crack fic writers in d20 we would be getting frank freeze x mark bition fic at a frightening and delightful speed

FACT ALERT

Fix cares about them so much!

Chaos cousins + guns is so fucking funny Siobhan and Danielle are wonderful

Imelda my fucking beloved

What is this conversation

GIRL

This episode’s spelling is F-ughhh-cks

(No etymological research required)

Emergency power should be granted to meeee

“Someone who could also be persuasive” is a very smooth way to ask Freddie to jump in and help

I love when Trapp and Freddie nod like muppets <3

Oooh surprise evidence!

Best peanut gallery of all time

Who…m

Literally was just listening to the stanford marshmallow experiment episode of the anthropocene reviewed wow

THANK YOU finally putting the box on a level surface

Danielle lore unlocked

Vice mayor

Nooooooo

Oh he knows what he’s doing.

Conrad gets a key! Hunch gets a pipe!

Cool. I pull out my gun. (Everyone wheezes with laughter)

STACY

#mentopolis #reactions #verbal component

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typhlonectes · 1 year

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youtube

Can this Cuttlefish Pass an Intelligence Test Designed for Children?

Witness a hungry, color-changing cuttlefish take part in an oddly adorable, psychological test. Following days of training, the cuttlefish is faced with the decision to strike and devour one of two tempting prey: Will it wait for the live crayfish or immediately strike the shrimp? Its intriguing behavior is challenging our understanding of the origins of intelligence. This groundbreaking experiment was adapted from the Stanford Marshmallow Test, originally designed for children.

via: NOVA PBS Official

#cuttlefish #cephalopod #mollusk #ocean #animals #marine biology #psychology #science #nature #video #animal #intelligence

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jkottke · 6 months

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Lego Sets of Famous Moments in Psychology, including the Stanford prison experiment, the marshmallow test, and the selective attention test.

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monstrous-femme · 4 months

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I was a part of the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment but I was in the control group so none of that stuff happened to me (didn't get a marshmallow 😞)

#control group meme

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whentranslatorscry · 1 year

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Hitagi Honeymoon

011

From that point on, our boring time in the car was spent discussing thought experiments and similar topics such as the prisoner's dilemma, the Stanford Prison Experiment, the Milgram Experiment, Turtle Soup¹, and the marshmallow test. Before we knew it, we reached our first-day destination— the campsite at Nasu Highlands— by early evening.

Miraculously, we arrived without any accidents, disputes, or situations that could have led to a “Tochigi divorce” in place of a “Narita divorce.” Hitagi was, in fact, quite pleased that she managed to drive the long distance without once relinquishing the wheel (although we did take breaks at service areas as a safety priority).

Her satisfaction may have been due, in part, to the decreasing opportunities to drive offered by the growing prevalence of remote work and online shopping. Though she seemed aloof from the world, there may have been an element of stress or frustration accumulating.

My best friend, Oikura, told me that I might as well die for even entertaining the thought of going on a long-distance road trip and sleeping in a car for my honeymoon (her use of “die” was her endearing mannerism). But maybe, in this aspect alone, she had unexpectedly— and uncharacteristically for me— hit the mark.

We had read it in the guidebook, but the vast beauty of nature that greeted us was beyond our wildest imagination— and it looked like we had been blessed with good weather, too.

Though not to say that there wasn’t a single cloud, it was a brilliantly sunny day with a vibrant blue sky. Honestly, I had assumed that Hachikuji Daimyoujin's spiritual guidance would have been little more than a comforting thought, but it appeared to have been genuinely effective— which, in turn, gave rise to a nagging sense of guilt, like a tugging at the back of my hair. Maybe we should save visiting the Nikko Toshogu and Futarasan Shrines for another day.

“I wonder how far it’d be to the Killing Stone.”

“Ah, the ever-vigilant worker, Koyomi. I just checked the map app for you, and it seems to be within walking distance.”

“Really now?”

“About an hour and a half on foot. Up a mountain path.”

“Please lend me the car.”

It seemed that even now, she was reluctant to let anyone else take the wheel— despite us being no strangers anymore. But then it dawned on me: with the change in her surname, did she need to change the registration details of the minivan in question?

If so, that’d be a niggling deal for sure.

Not just for my dear, but for me as well.²

Anyhow, although they were still tentatively feeling each other out, Hitagi and Shinobu's first meeting and conversation, though awkward, can be said to have not resulted in a killing spree— it was a bit of a let-down in the sense that we had expected irregularities in the trip, but on the other hand, we wouldn’t want another development like that between Kanbaru and Shinobu.

It was difficult to tell since both were so composed, but they looked tense, and I felt it too— lucky for us, Kanbaru, who doesn't read the atmosphere, was there to help.

We were blessed not only with good weather but also with such a good junior— so Shinobu was now back in my shadow.

It was a beneficial byproduct of Hachikuji's influence on the weather: as a former vampire, Shinobu wasn't very fond of sunlight. So it was worth considering a visit to Nikko³ Toshogu Shrine.

Well, having lost enough power to be deemed harmless by professionals, going out in sunlight wouldn’t turn her to ash, but there were traits and instincts that couldn’t be lost simply by changing her name— traits that were inevitably present.

Like the fear of heights even with fall prevention guardrails in place.

Becoming Assistant Inspector Araragi or Agent Araragi didn’t mean everything about the boy Araragi would be lost— even those aspects that one would want to lose. Things like a honeymoon in the car.

So, after the meeting with my dear wife, forced on me in a most casual manner, Shinobu went to take a midday nap in my shadow— by the time I went to check the broken Killing Stone at night, she would wake up.

Following Kanbaru's advice, I decided not to surprise Hitagi in the car with the proposal of making Shinobu our adopted daughter. But if it wasn't going to be a surprise, when should I bring up the topic?

I think we needed to discuss it during the honeymoon and it really wasn't something that could be decided remotely— but first of all.

We had to get through this whole glamping.

As evidenced by my use of the phrase “get through,” I had never been the camping type, though if push came to shove, I could manage an outdoor sleep… And the same went for Hitagi.

“I'd heard rumors about this, but I never imagined that the tents here in glamping would be like actual houses. It looks more like a lunar base than a tent. Even more magnificent than my apartment.”

As we stood before the impressive dome-shaped tent, which required no pegs or stakes, Hitagi looked a little confused.

Our thoughts and impressions seemed to coincide.

From the outside, it had looked more rugged, like a giant snow dome, but inside, it was indeed a respectable house. Even if Oikura had joined us, though she had declined or rather rejected it, there was plenty of space to accommodate her comfortably.

I could live here forever.

“My boathouse back in Washington pales in comparison.”

“Wait a minute, Araragi-senpai. Araragi-senpai lives in a boathouse in Washington?”

“Yeah, it's always been a dream of mine. When you visit, you should spend the night.”

“When I return to the U.S. someday, I'd love to live in a trailer house, ” my automobile-obsessed wife declared before turning to address her junior without a honorific. “As you've likely heard, neither I nor Koyomi are of any use when it comes to camping. So, we're relying on you, who seems to have led a rich campus life, to help us out— especially when it comes to tonight's barbecue.”

“Ah, well, I'm not sure I'd be of much help either. You both know how rustic I can be, so I only barbecue about once a week since starting college.”

More than enough, I'd say.

She’d probably already surpassed my entire lifetime's worth of barbecue experience by now.

“Hmm, I heard that glamping allows you to come empty-handed, but in the end, we still have to cook for ourselves, don't we?”

“Well, Araragi-senpai, it’s debatable if barbecue is considered 'cooking'…”

“Of course it's cooking. The way the meat is cut, the way it's skewered— all of it makes a difference in the taste.”

As we had never done this before, our attempts were admittedly mixed with quite a bit of Hitagi's conjecture. But, if the essence of cooking was in the gathering of ingredients, then this campsite had us newlyweds amply taken care of.

There was no shortage of food supplies or cooking utensils.

And they had even prepared a bouquet of naturally sourced flowers for our tent… and Hitagi seemed delighted with such a royal surprise, so I began to wonder whether I should broach the topic about the Shinobu thing out of the blue tomorrow night…

“Oh, speaking of which, Araragi-senpai… and Araragi-senpai.”

“Can you really tell the difference between us? Aren't you getting confused yourself?”

“Allow me to officiate today's barbecue, but tell me, how do you two usually handle food and cooking in your daily lives? I’m curious.”

“Well, I generally eat out. I hardly ever cook for myself anymore.”

“As for me, it's not like I cook, but I don't really eat out either. I bring take-out back to my place and eat at the boathouse.”

“I think you're mentioning living in a boathouse way too much, Araragi-senpai. Well, whether you and Araragi-senpai will share a boathouse or a trailer house in the future remains uncertain. But, I can't help but wonder, how would the household chores be divided up between the two of you?”

“We don’t drink sweet nectar all the time, you know.”

“That’s not really a phrase.”

“I work hard to afford a maid,” was Hitagi's Western-like reply.

She didn't seem to be joking.

“I'm sure Koyomi would have no objection to that. But, I must add, if this were high school Koyomi, he might become overly dependent on the maid. (Haha)”

“Don’t (Haha) me.”

I don't think I had ever demonstrated any particular liking for maids, but then again, our memories of the past can be quite unreliable, right? My nostalgia for only being interested in the braided glasses-wearing class president might very well be a distorted memory.

Well, I must admit that I'd never want to ask Hitagi to be a stay at home wife either, nor would I believe that I myself could handle all the household work flawlessly. Of all the various names one could use, “housekeeper” simply didn't suit us.

Rather than a maid, I had a feeling that hiring a housekeeper would maybe be the best answer for the Araragi household.

We did have the means, thanks to our double income, and considering that one of our jobs came with the risk to life, our salary was—classified, to say the least.

“Alright, I understand. Then, as a maid, I shall accompany you to the United States—”

“Don’t give up on your dreams.”

At least go to the U.S. to study at a medical school or something… Well, Kanbaru in high school might have seriously considered that, but it would be a light joke for twenty-three-year-old Kanbaru to make.

One could even call it a heavy joke.

“First of all, you're not exactly cut out for housework, are you? I never thought I'd be cleaning your house just a few days before my wedding.”

“I always thought that one day you would suddenly become capable of tidying up, but, alas, it never happened.”

“But still, my adorable Kanbaru, you're the only one who can't clean but can cook, right? And not just barbecue.”

That's a strong follow-up from Araragi-senpai.

So strong that Hitagi, who had taken Kanbaru along on our honeymoon, might have been seriously considering hiring her as a live-in housekeeper. If Shinobu was the adopted daughter, would Kanbaru be the babysitter?

That'd be quite the sitcom.

Putting it bluntly, it’d be a Full House.

Apparently, there's a sequel called Fuller House as well… I haven't seen it yet, but I definitely will someday.

“Well, to answer seriously, I want to be a sports doctor, which means that I would also be responsible for managing an athlete's diet in some capacity. That's why I'm currently working hard to learn a variety of dishes while I still can.”

That was a serious answer for sure. Even Hitagi wouldn't think of forcibly taking her once-junior to America after hearing that. It was as if she had drawn a line that couldn't be crossed.

In the strictest sense, managing nutrition should be a dietician's job, but the sense of mission to learn the basics of cooking for oneself was admirable enough to look up to.

“Thanks to that, I've become a better cook, but as you said, my cleaning is a different story. The kitchen sink’s always overflowing with dishes and food scraps.”

“Don't go expanding your territory, now.”

That remark caught me off-guard… Once the honeymoon is over and we return home, I must clean Kanbaru’s kitchen before leaving for America.

What a shame. I was impressed at first.

“Your sense of duty to clean up Kanbaru's territory is impressive, Koyomi. I take back what I said before, perhaps with you around, there's no need to hire a maid after all. We can handle meals with dining out and take-outs, can't we?”

“Hey, Araragi-senpai, how about we put Araragi-senpai in a maid outfit?”

“Regardless of whichever one of us were to wear it, adults don’t kid around, Kanbaru-kun.”

While leaving the cutting and skewering of the meat for the BBQ to the professional Kanbaru, it seems even I wouldn’t be without a job to do in this campsite. Following around Kanbaru, I'd earn my keep by diligently cleaning up dishes and food scraps.

“By the way, Koyomi, don’t you have to wake up Shinobu-san… I mean, Shinobu? There's enough food prepared for everyone, after all.”

“Ahh, it's alright. She usually only eats Mister Donut, anyway. Plus, the timing’s just right for me to let her suck my blood before heading to the Killing Stone.”

“I see. So, while it seems like an errand, you're actually taking it pretty seriously, huh?”

Well, yeah.

After all, our opponent was an aberration older than Shinobu— you can never be too cautious, and there's no guarantee that we won't end up caught in some sort of fox trap.

Prev Chapter | Next Chapter

Turtle Soup is a guessing game in which you repeatedly ask questions from a seemingly strange set of questions to arrive at an answer. It is also called lateral thinking quiz. The rules are simple, so even children can play. The other experiments should be well known, or search them on the web.

Pun on 細々, little details, and 細君(my dear), yet another word for wife.

日光nikko=sunlight

#ikusamonogatari #monogatari series #translation #araragi koyomi #senjougahara hitagi

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wasabipoptart · 2 years

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Dracula Daily: August 1

Dracula trying to ration out his goodies like

The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment

#dracula daily #log of the demeter #count snack-ula #marshmallow test #delayed gratification #does dracula have more self control than a four year old #the struggle is real

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tokaiss38 · 1 month

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Mastering the Balance: Navigating Instant and Delayed Gratification

In an age of instant connectedness and lightning-fast responses, the argument between instant satisfaction and delayed gratification has never been more pressing.

These opposing approaches to decision-making can have a significant impact on our lives, influencing our financial habits, job paths, and overall well-being. Understanding the relationship between these two notions is critical for making educated decisions that are consistent with our long-term goals and desires.

Instant gratification, defined as the drive for immediate rewards or pleasures, has become synonymous with modern life. With the stroke of a mouse, we can order items online, binge-watch our favorite shows, or indulge in sumptuous delights delivered right to our homes. While these rapid pleasures provide immediate delight, they frequently come with

While these quick pleasures provide temporary joy, they frequently have long-term implications, such as overspending, procrastinating, or disregarding important obligations. On the other hand, delayed gratification entails foregoing current pleasure in return for higher rewards in the future. This strategy necessitates patience, discipline, and a willingness to put up with short-term discomfort in exchange for long-term gains.

Whether it's investing in education, saving for retirement, or developing meaningful relationships, delayed gratification allows people to prioritize their long-term well-being over ephemeral cravings. The conflict between these two paradigms is visible in many areas of our lives, including personal wealth, job growth, and health and wellness.

Consider the person divided between buying a luxury item on impulse and saving the money for a down payment on a property. While fast gratification may bring immediate joy, it can also disrupt progress toward more important financial goals, such as homeownership or retirement savings. Similarly, in terms of job advancement, the decision between instant and delayed gratification might influence one's professional path. Choosing rapid gratification may entail seeking immediate rewards or promotions without considering the long-term effects on job satisfaction or personal development.

In contrast, accepting delayed gratification may require spending time and effort in skill development.

Furthermore, the effects of rapid and delayed gratification extend to our physical and mental health.

Choosing fast gratification, such as eating unhealthy foods or engaging in sedentary habits, can provide immediate pleasure while also contributing to long-term health difficulties such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Prioritizing delayed gratification by adopting healthy lifestyle habits like regular exercise and balanced eating, on the other hand, can result in better health outcomes and a higher quality of life over time.

Psychological research has demonstrated the importance of delayed gratification in predicting success and resilience in a variety of life areas. The seminal Stanford marshmallow experiment found that children who could delay gratification by refusing to eat a marshmallow right away in exchange for a greater reward later had higher levels of self-control, academic achievement, and overall well-being as adults.

Finding a balance between rapid gratification and delayed gratification is critical for personal harmony and fulfillment.

While rapid gratification provides immediate rewards and joys, it frequently involves trade-offs that may jeopardize long-term goals and aspirations.

Deferred gratification, on the other hand, demands patience, perseverance, and a firm commitment to future accomplishment, but it results in greater benefits and long-term happiness.

Finally, the interplay between rapid satisfaction and delayed gratification emphasizes the basic distinction between short-term indulgence and long-term fulfillment. Understanding the ramifications of each method and making intentional decisions that prioritize our long-term well-being will allow us to negotiate life's challenges with clarity, purpose, and resilience. Finally, mastering the balance between instant satisfaction and delayed gratification is critical to realizing our full potential and leading a meaningful and rewarding life.

#mindful pause

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casspurrjoybell-17 · 5 months

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Heart’s Choice - Chapter 39 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Carlos

"Fuck," John exhales and his hold on me gentles.

"Are you okay?"

I give him a light squeeze and release him, pushing him away to arm's length so I can look at him.

"I am now."

"You're not hurt?"

"Nope. All healed."

I tilt my head so he can see the side of my neck.

His gaze locked on the spot, he swallows hard and a flash of red mingles with the autumnal hues of his mercurial eyes.

"John?"

Inhaling sharply, he breaks free of whatever had taken hold of him and lets go of me.

"Thank God for that," he says.

"I've been losing my mind. David wouldn't let me near you."

David, having recovered from near strangulation with surprising grace, smooths the remains of his torn and rumpled clothes into a sad semblance of his usual pristine appearance as he approaches us.

"Have you heard of the marshmallow test, John?" he asks.

John takes a deep breath and turns to face him.

"David, I am really not in the mood for one of your cryptic lessons right now."

David arches a brow at him.

"Humor me."

"Fine. No, I haven't heard of it."

Clasping his hands behind his back disarmingly, David adopts the stance of a professor lecturing a class.

"It's a famous experiment conducted at Stanford. A group of children were given a marshmallow and told that they could eat it immediately or they could wait and receive an additional reward. The children were then left alone for a period of time. When the researchers returned, the children who had not eaten the marshmallow were given an additional treat. The researchers then followed the children for forty years, tracking their progress through life. Those who were able to delay gratification were markedly more successful throughout and in all measured aspects of their lives."

"What is your point?"

David nods at me.

"Carlos is your marshmallow, John. To put it quite bluntly, you can eat him now or you can wait and eat him later, with the additional reward of not killing him in the process."

"I'm not going to eat him," John growls.

"Ever."

"Really? That is not a winning bet, I fear, no matter how you interpret it. The two of you share a blood bond. No blood will satisfy you the way Carlos' does and you will never stop craving it, until you kill him or he is fully turned, that is. In time, you will learn to temper your desires but for the first few weeks or months, it is better to be safe than to be very, very sorry."

John shakes his head.

"I'm not like you, David."

Having overcome my shock, alarm and relief, I finally speak up.

"Don't I get a say in any of this? I'm too spicy to be a marshmallow, anyway."

David smiles at me.

"Of course you get a say. The difficulty is this... I fear I will only be able to protect you for so long. Having witnessed our little display, you can see that John has already surpassed me in strength and he has not been turned a week. Soon, I will have as little chance of stopping him, should he lose control, as you would have of stopping a freight train by standing it its path. I believe it is an effect of having fed from you while you were possessed by a powerful demon but John is undoubtedly the strongest and the most unique, vampire I have ever seen. I am simply not yet certain what that means."

"It means you can trust him," I say, surprising myself with how confident I sound.

"I trust him, anyway."

David fixes me with a cold, calculated stare, making it impossible to guess his thoughts and sending a shiver up my spine.

"Prove it, then," he says.

"Just bear in mind that I may not be able to save you, should your faith prove misplaced."

I look at John but I can't quite read his expression.

I guess this will be a lover's leap, after all.

Keeping my eyes locked with John's, I nod.

"Fine. Show him."

Taking a deep breath, John closes the small distance between us so that we stand chest to chest.

Fighting the instinctual urge to retreat from him, I hold my ground as his gaze flicks to the base of my throat and his eyes gleam red.

Lifting his eyes to mine again, he pins me in place and leans in, gently brushing the hair away from my face and whispers against my ear.

"Your heart's beating like crazy. Are you afraid of me?"

"A little," I breathe.

"Good."

"I trust you, though... with my life."

"I know."

He kisses me lightly, a brush of lips and a flick of his tongue and breathes me in.

A low sound, somewhere between a growl and a purr, rumbles in his chest but he backs off.

I catch at his shirt and keep him close.

"Is that all I get?"

"Carlos..."

"Kiss me like you mean it, John."

"Fuck."

He slams me against the wall, his hand at my throat and his body pressed against mine.

With the air half knocked from my lungs, I gasp.

He covers my mouth with his own, stifling breath and sound.

His kiss is hungry, devouring, possessive, invasive, sensual and passionate.

My whole body screams 'take me now, and if he did, I wouldn't care if David watched... he might as well be an inanimate object as far as my hormones are concerned.

All too soon, John draws back, pupils wide and black and chest heaving.

Two short, sharp fangs show at the corners of his mouth and one has cut his bottom lip, leaving a smear of blood.

He licks it and moves towards me again, eyes angled at my throat.

"John..." David's tone carries a warning but John ignores him.

I shut my eyes and tip my head back and to the side.

I can't resist and part of me wants to feel the sharp sting of his bite, an unbearable blend of pain and pleasure and perfect submission.

His lips brush my skin, he kisses the side my neck and the hot lick of his tongue sends a shock through my core that draws forth a soft, embarrassing moan.

He doesn't bite.

Instead, he withdraws enough to meet my eyes, cupping the side of my face and rubbing his thumb over my bottom lip.

"Later, you''ll be all mine," he says, his rough whisper sending a shiver up my spine.

David sighs dramatically.

"Honestly, John, was all that really necessary? I hope you know you're playing with fire and this won't get easier. However, I believe you, something about you is different. I don't know if it's because of the demon or because you were infected for so long before you turned but you have an unusual level of control. Now, pull yourself together, the both of you and get your minds out of your trousers. We have guests."

********

Half an hour later and dressed in a set of stylish clothes in the latest fashion 'either David has a great eye or he took my measurements in my sleep' I follow John down an airy flight of glass stairs to the floor below.

Everything in David's multilevel apartment has a clean, ultra-modern feel, from the neutral tones to the minimalist accents.

It's not exactly cold but neither is it warm and welcoming.

What's missing, I realize, is the sense that the space is 'lived in.'

Everything looks brand new and there's not so much as a dirty dish to be found.

Near the bottom of the stairs, John stops so abruptly I nearly bump into his back.

Looking past him, I see why.

The 'guests' that await us are none other than John's ex-wife, Becky and She-wolf Freya Hunter.

"How...?"

David, who sits across from them on a cream leather sofa set, rises gracefully.

With not a blonde hair out of place, no trace of his earlier scuffle with John remains and he looks like he stepped from the pages of a men's fashion magazine.

"You have made some interesting new friends, John," David says.

"Ms. Hunter has just been telling me of her own connections. Her partner, Monsieur L'Amour and I are but distantly acquainted but he has my deepest admiration and respect. He is one of the 'old guard' as we say. As for our dear Rebecca..."

He casts Becky a reassuring smile, to which she responds with a barely suppressed shudder.

"Well, I am only surprised you kept your secret for so long. Becky would have made a fine huntress in another life. Though I suppose you might say she hunts monsters of a different sort, in her own way. Regardless, I believe we have nothing to fear for her having learned of our existence."

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