Latest Posts by dragons-barb - Page 3
No regrets
They had something to eat. They had a drink. They were at the inn...had a room for the night. They argued about philosophy...he was right. She hated that he was right, but he was. It was as if he'd seen all the details of her life and read all the lessons she'd learned through her 30-some years: no one ever stayed for long. They did what was socially expected; not what they really wanted... or needed.
They had another drink... something called "to-kill-ya" or something like that. It was sweet...like his smile. It was tart, like his sense of humour.
No one ever stayed. She knew it, but did it matter? One sweet night is all she wanted, then whatever the next day brought, it brought...no obligations, no regrets. She laughed a lot. How long had it been since she laughed? Really laughed? She laughed so hard that she couldn't breathe.
When they finally staggered up to their room...why had they only gotten one room anyway...she wished she hadn't drunk so much; she'd be asleep in minutes and awake in just a couple hours.... regretting.... wondering what it was like to have a normal life, whatever that meant, and then moving on. Maybe he'd move on with her. She'd like that. Maybe she'd never see him again and he'd be stacked among the possibilities she never tried hard enough to explore. Possibilities... eventualities... who could say? But she did laugh.
Holy Malphas' balls! Isn't this where you wash up on Enderal's shores?
San Nicola Arcella, Italy - by Simone Bramante
The myth that panic, looting, and antisocial behavior increases during the apocalypse (or apocalyptic-like scenarios) is in fact a myth—and has been solidly disproved by multiple scientific studies. The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, a research group within the United States Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), has produced research that shows over and over again that “disaster victims are assisted first by others in the immediate vicinity and surrounding area and only later by official public safety personnel […] The spontaneous provision of assistance is facilitated by the fact that when crises occur, they take place in the context of ongoing community life and daily routines—that is, they affect not isolated individuals but rather people who are embedded in networks of social relationships.” (Facing Hazards and Disasters: Understanding Human Dimensions, National Academy of Sciences, 2006). Humans do not, under the pressure of an emergency, socially collapse. Rather, they seem to display higher levels of social cohesion, despite what media or government agents might expect…or portray on TV. Humans, after the apocalypse, band together in collectives to help one another—and they do this spontaneously. Disaster response workers call it ‘spontaneous prosocial helping behavior’, and it saves lives.
Friend
Found a few friends on this little holiday...Will show when I have bandwidth again.
Jump
Fictober19: Day 3
Prompt: “Now? Now you listen to me?”
Fandom: Enderal
Warnings: Desperate actions in survival situations, panic, jump
Wordcount : 815
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Since they hit the ground, this job had been nothing but a pain in the ass. Nothing and no one were where they were supposed to be. The travel was harder. The weather was wetter. The bandits were thicker. The loot was lacking.
They had been on this mountain trail since before dawn and had climbed to near the tree line by daybreak. The only positive thing, at least in Ket’s assessment, was the sun filtering through the clouds, onto the mountainside. The path kept the sunlight partly on their backs; warm in contrast to the chill air. Ostian was always hot. Ket hated the heat. This was pleasant.
And despite all the hells they had endured during the past two days, Tharaêl was surprisingly calm. He was not attempting conversation, which was not at all unusual, but wasn’t fuming and cursing to himself, either. He was just quiet. This was just a bit unnerving. Maybe he’s bottling up all his frustrations and anger, preparing to unleash a tirade of his malcontent on her, she considered. After all, it was she who suggested it would be fun to go on a job together. It will surely be a holy torrent of curses and criticisms, worthy of immortality through poems and song! She suppressed a giggle at this thought. He would vent, she would calm, he would apologize for being an ass… they would get through it, just like they had everything else to this point.
Then she heard it… or did she? A crack from high up the mountain that seemed out of place. She nearly dismissed it… then she heard the low boom. Then she felt the rumble. No...it can’t be. She loved the mountains. She’d read everything she could get her hands on about them. She’d read about avalanches. She’d even seen one – from a distance, on the mountain face across the valley from where she and Jespar were trekking. She’d heard that same boom, then watched the whole mountainside heave and spill. It was so fast. The destruction was absolute. He told her all he knew about them… “They move faster than a black myrad on fire and they’ll bury you deeper than the trees are tall” he’d said. “If one is above you, your only hope is a large and very strong rock shelter, because you’ll never outrun it.”
She stopped in her tracks and glanced up the mountain to where the rumble emanated. “Thar…” she breathed. He rounded on her at full alert; whether he felt the rumble too or just sensed her panic, she didn’t know and didn’t care. There would be precious-little time for explanations.
He followed her gaze, squinting against the daylight and snow. He saw what she was focused on, but he couldn’t make sense of what the eyes were seeing – and it was so far above them, it seemed like not much of a threat. “The snow is… falling?”
“Avalanche. The snowpack broke loose. We need to find shelter…now!” She always made mental notes of the nearest shelters as she traveled – places to hide, places hiding things can mount an ambush… but there was nothing here! They were exposed on this mountain edge with nothing but the rumbling slope on one side and a sheer drop on the other.
Tharaêl came rapidly to the same conclusion. “We run, then!”
She glanced up at the thundering wall of white bearing down on them – it was growing wider and gods it was moving fast! “No – no time” she hissed as she pushed frantically past him to the edge of the drop-off. “There!” She pointed at a ledge. “We have to jump.”
“It’s nearly ten arms lengths down – we won’t survive it.”
He was right. Other options… maybe she could use a warding shield against the avalanche; but even if it held against the impact, she couldn’t hold it forever, and then they’d be buried. No, there was nothing here nor in any eventuality she could draw from that would save them. This was the only option.
And maybe a warding spell couldn’t save them from the avalanche, but it might cushion the fall.
She conjured sparkling balls of light in each hand. “Just stay close and hold on tight!” she shouted to him above the din and wind of the advancing wall.
He wrapped his arms tightly around her, leaving her arms free to cast the spells.
His head tucked close to her ear, as she cast the spells, he shouted “All those times I said I wanted to jump, and now you listen to me?”
They dropped off the edge of the cliff just as the mass of snow and waste pounded onto the path and launched off the ledge above them.
We’ve been without phone and Internet at work for two days now. The Verizon network guy is in our server room, trying to figure out what the problems are and I overhear him on his phone: “hello? hello? can you hear me now?”
I know this place…
Fictober19: Day 2 Prompt: “Just follow me, I know the area.” But I had to diverge a little because the one story I could think of for this exact prompt was fluff that relied in large part on work by @daedric-prince-of-pasta and others who contributed to the “is it a date? If not, make it one!” posts, but I didn’t have time to ask them about using it… so no fun fluff this time. Warnings: well, it’s about the seductiveness of depression, the liar, so maybe…
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I know this place...this never ends well for me...
Just follow me, it whispers gently... a lover's beckoning call. It pulls coyly at the hips; fingers trailing down the spine.
But, I know this place, and this never ends well...
Just follow me, it sighs wistfully... a delusion's longing coo. It claws hungrily at the thighs; breath caressing familiar curves.
... I know this place, and this never ends well…
Just follow me, it cries beseechingly... a liar's pleading press. Waves crashing on the shore, mesmerizing, metered steps to the abyss...
I do know this place, and it never ends... Until I end it. Wake up!
First Flight
Fictober19: Day 1 Prompt: “It will be fun, trust me.” Fandom: Enderal Warnings: Language
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He didn't like being outside -- too... exposed. And these eyes were still too sensitized to the dark; they burned and watered in the daylight. The fingers dug harshly into the fur as he sat astride the great beast; soft... annoying. Every muscle, from above the squinted eyes down to the toes, was tensed beyond his ability to release.
"It will be fun," she had said, "trust me." She was a fucking idiot. He was a fucking idiot for agreeing to partake in such madness, but they had a job to do and this was the fastest way to get from point A to point B.
With each beat of its wings, the beast's body undulated sickeningly. If he vomited, she would wear it; he'd make sure of that.
"Wooo-hooooo!" she screamed into the wind. Her muscles were relaxed, with her arms extended euphorically into the air. She wasn't even holding on! What in hells was wrong with her?!
When they finally landed... more gently than he'd expected... he pried the stiff fingers from the soft fur -- still annoying -- and climbed off the great beast.
"Wasn't that amazing?!" she exclaimed. She was flushed with exhilaration. He was certain he was paler than usual.
Still, her exuberance had a way of affecting him. Maybe, he considered, while trying to maintain a scowl at her, if the next flight was at night...
Welcome to the space age, ladies and gentlemen
As a musician and a geologist, this totally speaks to me!
https://twitter.com/archeometrie/status/1170031822614474752?s=12
Power Move is stepping from the back of the elevator, past everyone else, and pushing that <||> button to let that last person on
Hm a lot of you don't seem to know the difference between a "power move" and just being mean for no reason
Echoing what @swindle94 said...
*releases pack of dads into home depot* go……be free
That’s what spotted me!
Mock-up cover of one of their albums probably. I’d imagine it would’ve been called Cover Blown. I just really wanted all of them to look like they’re not going to the same place/have a different idea of they want the album cover to look like Tharaêl honey I’m sorry about your outfit 🤣
Again, shoutout to @dragons-barb for the band name, I love it and also @essythewolf for the playlist idea 💙💙💙💙💙
The list is long and I apologize in advance for my music taste.
Keep reading
Once I got over my moral objections and embraced the dark side, I found this to be very interesting and informative...kinda evil fun, too.
Stirring art, true words
“ The fire demon of the rainforests “ As you know, I rarely refer to current affairs in my work, but this whole situation with rainforest fires in South America really makes me sad and angry. And a few weeks ago a similar situation in Syberia… It is really heartbreaking for me when I think about all these animals and amazing wild nature ecosystem which will just vanish. I don’t have enough knowledge to speak on this topic, for sure it is a lot more complicated than it seems, but I just wanted to make something, to not feel totally useless, and support everyone who tries fight with this catastrophic situation, Junglekeepers and all my friends in Brazil.
It would be much more beautiful if we could unite in a heroic fight against some powerful demon… unfortunately, the reality is much less heroic and it seems that we, as a species, are the demon in that story :( Here you can support and donate: https://ealliance.org/amazonfund/ work process: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/KaQbE4
Vote With Your Wallet
https://www.opensecrets.org/
Just follow the money...
Happy 103rd birthday, National Park Service! For more than a century, the passionate and dedicated people of the National Park Service have protected our country’s natural, cultural and historic treasures, ensuring current and future generations can experience and be inspired by these special places. Our love and respect for national parks runs deep and wide – just like the famous Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Sunrise photo courtesy of Brandon Erdman.
Trying to look up whether duck eggs are good for you... what must my phone think of me?!
Clearly, I need to clean up my language
At Irish Fest yesterday...
The creativity, the effort, the absurdity... XD
...and the bard-druid-monk-ranger-wizard! I think we've got this, right, @chennington ?
Dungeons and Dragons, but your character must be a self insert, and class is determined by your current abilities Barbarian Must have a demonstrable temper, go off I guess Bard Must be able to play an instrument Cleric Must be involved in a religious organization Druid Must have demonstrable knowledge of, or passion for nature Fighter Must beat the DM in physical combat (hope your DM’s a wimp) Monk Must practice a martial art Paladin Must have a cause that one actively supports Ranger Must be able to fire a kind of ranged weapon accurately Rogue Must sneak up on the DM (Hard mode: steal their dice) Sorcerer Must have a powerful family heirloom Warlock Must work for a powerful entity (Corporations, The Government) Wizard Must have a College Degree or a 3.0 GPA If you can’t be any of these you start as a commoner, and may become one of these classes when you finally satisfy these conditions.
Yay! Now I actually look forward to driving in to work tomorrow!!
Chapter Six of the audiobook now online! Enjoy!
Thanks a bunch to Ben Britton for his standout performance, as well as to Marvin for the editing and music!
If you’d like to support the novel or my writing in general, feel free to check out his Patreon at www.patreon.com/niseam . Every dollar helps!
That was fun!
Mutuals are tagged to do this picrew if they so desire~
Mathematician Henry Segerman demonstrating how a linear third dimensional plane is only a projection of the curved fourth dimensional space time.
via 10/10
enderal vibes.
@positive-memes, you should identify the rescue facility so those who want/are able to donate can do so. It's expensive to care for these big babies! The one I know of is Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in NM, USA. They are among the myriad excellent charities to which your can donate via Amazon Smile...or you can donate to them directly.
Holy crap! I always thought I had brown eyes, but tonight I have D20 eyes!
Natural Eye Color Chart