Hello
So I've dumped this stuff once; only to find it was too early for the JD to talk to me....
Then I did it all again; after he finally started talking to me....
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But I've noticed that it's all respawned a 3rd time?
Does it just endlessly respawn - and is there any point to keep dumping it whenever I go near the Tar Lake to do something else (do you get any benefit from doing it multiple times) ?
Playing DC for reference.
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Thank you for your help

Oblation: a thing given or offered to God [from Ideas by Peter Watson]
fl.: abbreviation of flourit = “flourished”. Added to a year to indicate when a historical figure with unknown birth and death dates was active [ibid]
Timocracy: form of government in which possession of property is required for holding office [ibid]
Pace: with due respect to [ibid]
Agora: in Ancient Greece, a public open space used for assemblies and markets [ibid]
Odeum: in Ancient Greece and Rome, a building used for musical performances [ibid]
Sheol: the Hebrew underworld, abode of the dead [ibid]
Parousia: Second Coming [ibid]
Heliacal: relating to or near to the Sun [ibid]
Lunation: another term for the lunar month [ibid]
Sexagesimal: relating to or reckoning in sixtieths [ibid]
Intercalate: insert an additional period (like an extra month) in a calendar to account for the difference between lunar and solar years [ibid]
Iatrosophist: ancient term for a professor of medicine [ibid]
Clepsydra: water clock [ibid]
Stookie: stucco; plaster of Paris [from Let It Bleed by Ian Rankin]
Cashed: exhausted [from the Good Inside podcast]
Novate: replace with a new contract [from an email at work]
Horsemaning: photographic technique whereby one appears to have been beheaded [from this tweet: https://twitter.com/historyinmemes/status/1667030798753472512?s=46]

I’m making a fantasy world, where basically for it’s creation story there are primordials made of pure masses of soul/spirit that are able to have stable forms without a vessel. These primordial battle an evil beast, but in the process their soul/spirit (which are mixed because they are higher beings defined by power) is corrupted by the “dark energy” of the beast. Because of this, they shatter into aspects in the fight and much of the primordials and aspects, which are snippets of the soul and spirit of the primordials and their consciousness (think of personas, idealized versions of a god) die leaving the aspect of creation and other aspects surviving, sealing the monster’s soul/spirit within it’s body, which is repurposed by the aspect of creation to become the world. But, because the primordials were pure masses of energy their death leaves strong residual energy tearing across the world, making many weather phenomena most known as divine winds. These winds created storms and hurricanes, and were harmful to species that were open to using magic, forcing early species like humans into hiding as they made intricate underground civilizations, some fallen and some still living. But some species were not open to magic, allowing them to survive in the harsh new world. This peace did not last for long though, as the resentful remnants of residue of the beast culminated into an aspect made purely of the anger, grief, and resentment felt by the beast in their last moments. This will be the first of what I will call eruptions. The beastly aspect wreaked havoc in the new world, and was only stopped by the aspects that sacrificed themselves to seal the beastly aspect within an unknown location which they hoped would imprison the beast aspect. Eruptions are the beastly aspect “acting up” and trying to break free from their prison, causing earthquakes, floods, plagues, and all sorts of disasters across it’s former body. The aspects dead, and the divine winds slowly receding, species not open to magic were overrun by the sudden influx of magic open species from the underground where a war was fought but quickly lost as the non magic species that were described as titans among men and near equals among gods had endured multiple eruptions, civil wars, and what they described as calamities since the beastly aspect came into existence because the aspects guidance was lost. Most of history starts from this point, from the point before this being called ancient. Gods who had favored the non magic quickly turned from the new earth dwelling magic species, while most accepted them and their worship as they continued to guide them as most aspects did, protecting them and nurturing them. Gods of lakes, forests, and those who had risen from the skies or seas as manifestations of nature became quiet and reserved, some going into eternal slumbers. Most non magic species now referred to as ancients.
And clarification on souls; human souls are simple. A soul is the essence of life, and surrounds a spirit which is the essence of self. The soul and spirit inhabit a vessel, which is a human body. This is same for other species. But gods are more different. Their spirit bleeds into their soul, and can live without a vessel. Primordials did not need vessels, and if they inhabited one it could quickly overrun and kill it. Gods if powerful enough could take snippets of their consciousness and soul, inserting them into husks that enacted their will. This is the difference between humans and gods; humans can live on as ghosts being without a soul but still can be their self. Gods, will die. But when they die, most leave behind residue, some being able to act as a virus, enacting their will upon the spirits and souls that host them. Untreated, the host will become something reminiscent of a husk, but much more malevolent as resentment is what most gods felt in their final moments. The only known instances of aspects coming into existence are the beast and the primordials. Most gods are created from the divine winds, as manifestations as nature, or human emotion/idea.
But I don’t feel quite satisfied with what I have so far, I feel like it’s taking to much inspiration from stories and myths, and the names like husks or ancients feel bland. What else can I add? How do I find unique ideas? There’s lots of context behind such a simple question, but how can I stand out and how can i make this interesting?

I saw this on tiktok. Similar objects were captured by different people in different places. It looks like a Dementer from Harry Potter. I don’t know where the two videos were filmed, but I asked one author in the comments. I haven't received an answer yet 😀 Have you any ideas what can be it? The only way I can explain it is that it's some kind of drone with ribbons attached and that it was launched to scare people... But that's not the best explanation. One of these objects is near the plane. I don't know if any drone can fly at that height. Could it be the smoke coming out of this object? But this smoke looks very strange and it seems that it hangs and floats in the air like a light synthetic fabric. [Black dementor-thing in Georgia ](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJQ6D5Mg/) [Black dementor-thing. Filming from an airplane ](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJQ699Yk/) [Black dementor-thing. Idk where is that](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJQ6415t/) [Black dementor-thing in Salt Lake City, Utah](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJQ6k7LM/)

Sounds stupid (thus I'm here) but here me out. Where I live, we don't have numbered streets. We have all these stupid names like Palm Estates, Sea breeze Ave, Cocowood Ct, Lake Wilson Rd, etc.
I don't even know names of roads 1/4th mile from my house. Did driver's have a giant map of the city, like you see 80's movies joking about when making cross country drives? Were they just expected to learn all the roads?
I mean a 1990's pizza delivery guy at least did one delivery at a time. I know they had maps and stayed in smaller areas near their store. UPS/FEDEX does any address period, in a larger area.

Bonus points for something near Maplewood/NSP/White Bear Lake. Looking for a beard trim and haircut. For context- I’m of Northern European descent and have basic white dude haibeard.

Does anyone have an extra spot for camping near Star Lake? The most I can do of those tour is Star Lake-Syracuse but I need a place to sleep for the Star lake shows. Peace and Love!

I’m watching a video on YouTube with an interview of a young woman who left the Mormon church, and of course the topic of Salt Lake City comes up. Meanwhile on my phone, I’m getting promoted ads for services and tourism in Salt Lake City.
I’m not using a VPN on either my laptop or my phone, and I don’t live in or near Salt Lake City. I’m not even in the US or an English-speaking country.

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Without that horrendous bat flapping around and causing a mess for me, I'm now able to focus all of my efforts on bringing down the blinded bear colossus. It is unfortunate that I lost too many owls in the aerial battle, and that Alexa is too exhausted to help out herself, as that means I won't have any reinforcements available from them coming to Jackie’s aid any time soon. That being said, I know just the fish who might be able to make an early return in their stead.
Since they’ve been resting since the start of the battle, Selene and Hecate have been able to recuperate a bit of their mana pools already. Considering that I’m near 100% confident that it doesn’t matter how much the big bear regenerates if it can’t breathe, plus the fact that it doesn’t take too much mana just to hold some water in place, there’s not much reason to keep them benched much longer. Somehow though, I doubt it’s going to be quite that easy to take the bear colossus down. So why don’t we improve the chances of success a bit with all of this free manna I find myself currently swimming in?
Thanks to the sheer quantity of invaders Deepholm is swarming me in, I’ve got more mana to make use of than ever before, and I’d be a fool not to put it to good use. The steep requirement of having to pay 4 times the mana as any of my other scions to upgrade them is hardly an issue at this moment, so I begin the process of pouring my power into my fish. All the while, I keep an eye trained on the battle at hand, waiting for whatever it is the bear will try next. Deepholm scions don’t just meekly turn over and accept their defeat after all.
While I’m only halfway through providing upgrades to my fish scions, my caution is proven entirely warranted as the bear scion bellows its frustration and rage at the top of its lungs. Unable to proceed along a straight path due to Jackie’s constant interference, the colossus hunkers down for a moment in my lake and covers its head with its paws. Then, as soon as its eyes have had a chance to regenerate once more, it peeks out and gets a lock on my location before Jackie inevitably puts more arrows through the freshly grown eyes. This time it hardly pays the attack any mind, reaching down to its flank with those huge claws and ripping free a sizable chunk of its own flesh. With a great heave, the bear scion sent the chunk sailing through the air where it crashed with a meaty splat against the trunk of my tree.
First of all, …gross. Secondly, that bear has surprisingly good aim to be able to nail the part of my tree trunk that is perfectly in line with where my core is. Lastly, heh-heh, I’m in danger. Unable to use its sight, and no longer able to rely on the bat scion for its sonic guidance, the bear has resorted to using smell to guide its way. And what better trail to follow with one’s strong sense of smell than the stench of one’s own blood and viscera? Without a moment of hesitation, the bear scion is back on its feet, and charging forward once more.
This time, there’s truly nothing we can do to stop its advance, the bear’s nose is too big to fully destroy the bear’s sense of smell, even with Jackie’s arrows desperately blasting pieces off of it. With a tremor that I can feel throughout the entire island, the bear scion slams headfirst into the high cliffs, which only serves to daze the beast for but a moment before it starts awkwardly clambering upwards. I curse vehemently, at this rate the colossus will reach my tree before I’m done with upgrading the twins. I can cut it short and make the current upgrade the last one, but it will still take a minute or so for the twins to become accustomed to their strengthened bodies.
It doesn’t take long for the bear’s claws to scramble against the top of the cliffs, digging in for extra purchase, shortly followed thereafter by the beast’s snarling and arrow-riddled cranium. The twins have only just finished absorbing the mana from the latest upgrade, they’re not going to make it in time. It is at that moment that my saviors made their gallant entry into the fray. Cutting a swathe through the remaining army of normal invaders charged not any of my scions, but the brave surviving members of my defensive forces. Having abandoned their defensive chokepoint in the entrance cave, a combined throng of brawler bunnies and leopards led the way as my froglings and flechette-pines provided cover fire. Beside me, I can feel the consternation roll off of Giorno as he tries to keep some semblance of organization in place amidst an attack that he had most certainly not ordered.
Though our tactics have done a great deal in leveling the playing field in the battle between denizens, there are still a lot of enemies left to deal with, and this attack will only open us up to many more unnecessary casualties. Underneath his annoyed countenance however, I do detect a hint of pride in their reckless attempts to buy me more time. An attempt that certainly pays its dividends.
With a series of tremendous leaps, the brawler bunnies and leopard forces bound up to the limbs of the bear scion and begin hacking away at it with sharp claws and stone swords. They scale up the beast, slashing at every joint and every digit along the way. The colossus roars in pain and slips from the cliffside as the tendons in each limb are systematically severed time and time again. But this moment of victory comes at far too steep a cost.
When the bear scion crashes back into the lake, its sheer mass flattens dozens of my brave denizens at a time. From there it thrashes about, crushing some more of my stalwart defenders and sending others flying through the air. Not wasting the opportunity, my denizens lead the enemy scion over to the remnants of the invader army, where both sides become equally devastated by the beast’s angry flailing. I try to call my denizens back, telling them to retreat, that they’d done enough already. When that failed, I resorted to using some of my mana to make it a direct order. Retreat already! The twins are on the way, swimming around the south side of the island as we speak. There’s no need for any more of you to die!
I can feel the mana drain away as the orders take hold, but then I got a unanimous response back through Alexa’s network. Every single one of them started the retreat and then volunteered themselves to be a rearguard to help cover the escape. Even though technically they were following through with my order, not a single denizen so much as turned around or took a single step backward. They were loopholing me! Those damnable, brave, fools were refusing to leave until my scions could arrive. Who the heck taught you bastards to test the limits of the rules and look for ways to bend them in your favor anyhow!?
It took less than a minute for my twins to arrive. But it took even less time for the bear colossus to finish with its rampage. Now the only living combatants faced each other over a lake stained to the same red as the bear scion’s eyes. As a healer, Selene has seen more than her fair share of nasty injuries, as well as plenty of corpses from my previous encounters with Deepholm’s invaders. But even still, all that experience could not have prepared her for the sight of the slaughter before her. All the violent thrashing had thoroughly frothed the water of the lake, but rather than help hide the bodies below with the white foam it only served to accentuate them by clinging to whatever pieces remained above water.
It left my poor fish heartbroken. Disgust and despair raged inside her alongside a powerful wave of guilt at not recovering fast enough to be able to come to their aid in time. I know, sweetie, I know. But those denizens out there? They bought us enough time to stop any more atrocities from happening. They bet everything on you two and Jackie, and now it’s time to make sure we don’t waste a single death. All that anguish and sorrow you’re feeling? I need you to use it. Use it to hone a blade in your heart to turn against those who spread such senseless violence. It’s time to take up the second half of the saint’s job and smite down that walking calamity of a bear. And you’re not alone, Hecate is right beside you along with Jackie, and together, I know you all can do this.
Pep talk done, Hecate gives her sister a loving nuzzle under her chin before turning her hate-filled eyes to the bear scion as well. She isn’t taking kindly to all the desolation wrought by the colossus either, and is especially pissed by how upset it is making her kind-hearted twin. The white crescent moon mark on her forehead glows faintly in response to her roiling emotions, while after a few deep breaths, Selene’s black crescent moon mark does the same, her eyes now steeled in vindictive determination.
As one, they lifted a massive ball of water into the air and slammed it into the bear scion’s face, completely covering it in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, I begin the process of funneling mana into Jackie for her own upgrades. The beast hasn’t shown any magical capacity besides its regeneration, but who knows? Maybe it has something up its sleeve that would save it from the same fate as its companion. Better safe than sorry in this case, no?
Evidently, I was correct to prepare for the backup plan, because rather than struggle against the water bubble encasing its face, the bear colossus calmly slurped the water down. The vast amounts of suction overwhelmed the amount of mana the twins could use to keep the water in place, and so it simply disappeared down the beast’s gullet with a taunting smile that seemed to say, “Thanks for the refreshing drink, I was feeling rather parched”. Not a smidge of magic was used, or needed, to easily trounce my hopes of drowning our problems away. What stood before us surely could not be described as anything but the epitome of relentless brute force, a fact which has now been hammered home rather insultingly by the defeat of my plans through lung power of all things.
With a challenging roar, the bear plowed forward while ignoring the twin’s follow up attacks. Right, plan B it is then. If we can’t suffocate him, then we’ll just have to overwhelm his regeneration with more damage than it can keep up with! In but a moment the bear scion has slammed into my cliffside and begins scaling it once more. This time, Selene and Hecate are there to stop it from making any meaningful progress, their watery slashes biting deep into flesh and disabling limbs long enough for the next attack to land. Where Hecate’s attacks strike necrosis quickly follows, seeping into the flesh until the entire mass falls off to be replaced by newly regenerated meat. Meanwhile, Selen’s strikes shine with the radiant power of her light mana, her slices digging deep through muscles, tendons, and all the way to the bones beneath.
Together they manage to keep the colossus pinned in place to the craggy wall of my island, allowing Jackie all the time she needs to hop around and unleash a torrent of her aether arrows. Rather than strike into the beast herself however, I have her shoot the cliffs themselves where she then sprouts much more massive vines than usual to grasp at the enemy scion and bind it in place. I know that the twins will run out of mana long before I can bleed this invader dry in a battle of attrition, so instead my goal here is to line Jackie up for one big shot to put an end to this colossus once and for all.
Bounding up to the top of the cliff, right over the massive head of the bear, Jackie grows the limbs of her bow out further than even its longbow form, one side planting itself firmly into the stone. With a mighty heave, she stands upon the bow’s limbs and pushes down with all the strength in her legs while hoisting up on the drawstring with her arms. A ballista-sized arrow grows into place, aimed straight down to the skull of the beast below. Through this, Jackie channels the full force of her wind aether. With my hand on her back, I speak softly to into her mind through the bond we share.
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Let’s do this Jackie, together!”
Through my hand I channel even more mana into Jackie than before, really packing it into her as fast as the upgrades can handle. 2 more, then 5, then 10. The power swirls around her like a maelstrom that would have left anybody else gritting their teeth to ride out the storm. But not my Jackie. As much as I pushed the mana into her, she matched me by pulling it into her control right away, weaving it into her aether flawlessly. Around the arrow tip the air began to swirl, faster and faster, like a drill turned up to turbo speeds.
This obviously did not go unnoticed by the bear scion, but it was too late for the behemoth to avoid its fate. Bound up tightly in Jackie’s vines while Selen and Hecate kept its prodigious strength locked away through their continuous onslaught. Their mana has already depleted dangerously low once again, but their combined efforts have bought us all the opportunity we need. All the enemy can do is flounder uselessly in its restraints, glaring balefully at Jackie and its impending doom.
With a boom the arrow disappears from Jackie’s bow, boring a path straight through the entire length of the bear scion and continuing deep into the ground beneath it. Jackei’s wind arrow had accelerated freely without any resistance, twisting the air in front of it out of the way and turning the space in front into a devastating drill. Meanwhile, just behind the shaft, the collapse of the resulting vacuum pushed the arrow along even faster than any projectile has ever flown before in this world.
The twisting motion of the air and the shockwaves from the collapsing vacuum bubble didn’t just serve to speed up the arrow however. Like a delayed reaction after the arrow had already sped through, I watched as a spray of blood exploded from the bear’s body, accompanied by the splash of water beneath its feet. I watched as the beast’s jaw was ripped away to hang loosely by a strip of flesh on the right side of its head. From there the arrow had traveled down into the beast’s shoulder and blazed a path all the way through its chest cavity, the aftershocks ripping the bear’s body apart and leaving its left side barely attached anymore. It looked as if some giant had cleaved its axe down the bear’s side, all the way from the shoulders to the hips.
The scion had managed to avoid an instantly fatal blow by twisting its head as far to the side as possible, but that proved to only postpone the inevitable at this point. With that much damage to the internal organs, it couldn’t hope to recover in time. We’d done it, we’d won!
Joyfully, I turned to Giorno, ready to send some mana down to Kelvin next, but what I saw froze me in my tracks. This whole battle, Giorno had been his usual calm and composed self, issuing orders and cooly commanding our forces. But now, he was trembling with a visual amount of fear, his skin blanched of all color. Thoroughly spooked, I racked my brain for anything I might have missed, but I got my answer sooner than expected.
“Kill it, kill it now! We don’t have any time, finish it before it's too late! It’s going to do something to the bear!”
Dutifully, Jackie and the twins ready their next attacks to hasten the bear scion’s demise, but something Giorno said stuck out to me. Wait, the bear is the subject of his sentence, not the object for some reason. But…, that would have to mean…
With wide eyes, I come to a dreadful realization, I never got a mana notification for the bat scion. No, no! No WAY that bastard survived, right? Feeling the sneaking march of dread closing in on my throat, I check the spot where the bat scion had crashed into my island. There it lay, wings in tatters and its chest caved in from impacting the ground, lying in a pool of its own blood. By all accounts, it appears to be dead. But that’s when I notice something off. The pool of blood is moving.
Right before my eyes, I watch as little bubbles capture air inside, and then get mixed in the blood as it slowly circulates out of the lethal wounds and then back into the bat’s body. It must have kept conscious through the crash and is now using its blood magic to just barely keep itself alive. Would that be all the bat was up to, I would have breathed a sigh of relief. But no, all around the crash were scattered splotches of fresh blood, drawn out into a foreboding set of interlocking symbols when viewed from above. The bat was casting something, using its own life as fuel. With a weak wheeze in place of a laugh, the bat scion spoke for one final time.
“Glory be to the Mountainlord. Blood Arts: Sacrifice.”
Accompanied by the ding of a new notification, I watched in horror as all the blood was forcibly wrested from the bat scion’s fresh corpse, instantly mummifying it into a dried-out husk. Then that mass of brackish liquid moved faster than it had any right to, thin tendrils shooting out from the main body quickly dragging the blob to the edge of the island. Before any of my scions could react, it had already latched onto the dying bear’s head and begun pouring itself forcibly through every orifice it could reach.
Writhing in agony at the black-red liquid shoving itself down its throat, nostrils, and eye sockets, my scions lashed into the bear’s body with as much strength as they could, but to no avail. The wounds would begin closing before their attacks could even finish, and from the bear’s torso sprouted several bloody tentacles which wrapped themselves around the dangling left side, pulling it back into place with a wet squelch. The newfound regeneration didn’t, perhaps couldn’t, stop there however. All over the colossus’s body something churned beneath its hide.
Every single muscle in the behemoth’s body squirmed as it doubled, then tripled in size, in some places rupturing the skin as it struggles to contain the roiling mass of flesh. Muscle fibers sprung from the fur like weeds sprouting out of fertile ground, twitching and flailing about looking for something to connect to, until the beast’s entire form was nothing but a bulging mass of undulating flesh vaguely shaped like a bear. From the monstrosity's head, the repaired jaw split open far wider than anything still attached to the skull should allow, revealing row after row of sharp fangs growing into place all the way down its throat.
With an unearthly screech, the monstrosity easily tore itself free of the vines and took a swipe at Jackie with its misshapen foreleg. Nobody must have told Deepholm that inflating your musculature so much is a direct reduction in flexibility however, because the blow was slow and cumbersome, allowing Jackie to easily vault backwards out of reach. But Deepholm didn’t need to care about such silly things like flexibility, or the limits of a physical body, as halfway through the swing a series of cracks could be heard as the bear monstrosity’s muscles broke every single bone in its arm, causing it to suddenly stretch out on just the muscles and ligaments, increasing in speed as the limb turned into an impromptu flesh whip tipped with giant claws.
Caught completely by surprise, Jackie could only try to form a hasty shield of roots with her life aether, but the abomination’s claws sundered it with ease, cleaving through her bow, then her arm, and finally raking across her torso. My girl hit the ground, hard, and didn’t get back up. Meanwhile, the twins were still desperately flinging any kind of attack they could think of at the bear horror, all to no avail. This affront to nature had such strong regeneration now that nothing in their repertoire could hope to leave any lasting damage.
With thundering steps, the abomination practically oozed up onto my island, all four legs standing firmly upon my territory for the first time. A few steps brought it close enough to brush up against my trunk, and then it sunk its claws deep into the bark and tore a ginormous chunk of wood free. As easily as tearing apart cardboard, Deepholm’s monstrosity began to dig its way deeper and deeper towards my sanctum, and inevitable destruction. From beside my core, a loud snap rang out as the inspector’s white-knuckle grip finally crushed the handle of her kanabo.
“Damn it all, I can’t just sit here and let this happen! I have to–”
Whatever she was about to say was cut off as she took her first step forward, weapon raised with the intent to join the fray. Instantly she was beset by floating swords made of light on all sides, not even given enough time to swear before they all plunged into her body. With a gasp Lydia fell to the floor, covered in wounds. She’d managed to use her ki to shift the trajectory of enough blades away from her vital organs, but she was still grievously wounded and wouldn’t be doing any fighting any time soon.
In what felt like no time at all, the fleshy abomination had reached the final bit of wood separating me from the outside world. With a psychic scream of determination, Leonardo charged forth, combining his life and kinetic affinities to try and brace that final barrier, but his efforts were carelessly brushed aside as the bear’s claws crashed through anyways, collapsing a pile of splinted timber down upon my peaceful crafter. From above and behind, Alexa had joined the twins in trying to drag the enemy scion back, but with barely a sliver of mana left between the three of them, they were little more than flies buzzing uselessly through the air to it.
Fully exposed to the outside world for the first time since my birth into this world, I was now face to face with the monstrosity as it raised its claws for one final strike. But oddly, all the fear and terror that had frozen me still before was utterly absent. I couldn’t even focus on the looming mountain of death in front of me, nor on the panicked shrieks of my scions as they struggled to the last. Rather, my gaze fell upon the prone form of the very first scion I had designated. My strongest defender, and the most earnest girl you would ever meet. With my focus beside her, I could tell that my brave girl was just barely hanging onto life, but she wouldn’t last long at this rate. Every shaky breath was accompanied by a wave of anguish washing over the bond.
Even without a proper physical form, I knelt beside her and gathered her up into one final embrace. I’m so sorry Jackie. The UI might call you guys scions, but truthfully you have all been a family to me, right from the start. I never had one, back in my previous life, so I know I must have messed up so many times, in so many ways. But even still, I had a blast getting to know each and every one of you, wishing for each day to stretch into infinity so I could enjoy our time together forevermore. But I’ve failed you, I’ve failed you all. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a life full of happier days, and I hope whatever comes in the next life, you can forgive me.
“You’ve been the best daughter I could have ever asked for. I love you.”
Jackie PoV
Everything hurts. My ears won’t stop ringing, and everything around me is moving in super slow motion. Through blurry eyes, I can see my arm lying just out of reach, still clutching my bow tightly, well, half of it anyways. Further away, I can see the blurry shape of the gross thing from Deepholm tearing its way through Mama’s tree. The twins and Alexa were swooping around behind it, but there was no stopping the beast anymore. Pain throbbed through my chest, my heart heavy as it slowly pumped my blood out onto the ground.
I’d failed, again. Right when it mattered most. Some huntress I’d turned out to be. Sure I was able to handle the regular invaders, but against every enemy that ever posed a serious threat, I’d been beaten every time. When I first lost to Miss Lydia, it hadn’t been so bad. Mama told me to learn from it and grow stronger for next time. I’d been useless too against those water birds on the first day. So I trained, and then I trained and I trained and I trained some more. Till the calluses on my paws were bleeding, I practiced every day.
For some reason Mama didn’t like that though, so she forced me to take breaks pretty regularly after that. At first, it felt like she didn’t have faith that my efforts would help with anything, but that feeling faded pretty quickly. She’d always have a bowl of those red fruits she calls strawberries ready for me by her core. Then when I would get settled in beside her and begin munching on the sweet fruit, she would tell me unbelievable stories about the world she remembers from her past life.
Apparently, her old world had jackalopes too, or at least stories of them. Mama says they supposedly had lightning in their veins they could move so fast. Lightning! The big flashes in the sky that make the air go boom. That stuff! The jackalopes from Mama’s world must be really amazing if they could do that. Nervously, I asked her a bit more about it, feeling rather inadequate by comparison, but she ended up talking too much about how technically lightning is in every living creature, but just really really small amounts of it? And something even more confusing about something called eel-ektons that makes it charge based on if they’re in a good mood or not?
Mama does that a lot, going off on tangents about difficult subjects for a long period of time, but even though I couldn’t understand most of it, it is nice just to sit back and listen to her speak. Eventually, she would always notice her rambling, and swap to asking me questions instead. I felt really proud when she asked me so much about my experience training with ki, and later on aether as well. She’d always thank me for my hard work, and for helping her figure out how things work in this world. It made me happy to think that Mama needed me, and that all my efforts were slowly paying off.
And it really felt like I had been improving too! I’d wrangled all the rowdy brawlers into line, and chased off that group of novices. But then that big flying scion came and knocked me out of the fight before I could even tell it was coming. Kelvin was barely a few days old and he had to handle that nasty bat all on his own! And despite all the work I put into developing my aether, I then lost to Miss Lydia again right after that. It felt like I was stuck in place, running as hard as I could but never getting anywhere with it. I did my best to hide it from Mama since she’s so perceptive, but it really hurt.
And now, even after all the faith and strength Mama poured into me, I’d still managed to let her and everybody else down. They’re all going to die, because of me. I’m not sure which is worse at this point, the pain from my injuries or the pain from my failures washing over me. I watched through bleary eyes as the gross bear tore open the deepest part of the tree, and revealed Mama’s core for all the world to see. It’d been a few weeks since our last break together, so when I saw the soft green glow of Mama’s core, it stirred up a weird mix of relief and regret in my heart. I’d missed that comforting glow, but also the only reason I could see it now is because I’d doomed it to oblivion.
Grief filled me up to the brim, and all I could do is wordlessly apologize over and over again.
To my surprise, however, I could feel her presence nearby, and that comforting warmth brushed aside my apologies to fill our bond with light instead. I don’t get it, why is she here? Why is she focusing on me, when the enemy is literally right in front of her core, staring her down? Why is she wasting her time on me when I can barely even move anymore?! And even if I could, we both know I would just let her down some more. So why, why does it feel like I’m back by her side, listening to her tell stories at length, feeling so comfy and secure?
“I……ry….J..ki”
Go on, go! Leave already and focus on someone else, maybe they have a chance to save you, to fix things. Haven’t I failed you enough? I, I can’t do anything but disappoint you. I…I can’t be like the jackalopes from your stories Mama. I’m not good enough for that. I’m sorry.
“..b..en….f…….to me……..t…….ro……sta…”
Despite shoving my weakness, my numerous defeats and doubts to the front and finally showing Mama everything I’d tried to keep hidden from her through the bond, absolutely nothing changed. If anything, the feeling of closeness only increased and that warm feeling wrapped me up even tighter, never wavering for a moment. For a moment, the ringing in my head subsided, but my eyes must still be playing tricks because I thought I could see a bunch of golden sparkles floating in the air around me, forming the vague outline of a person with her arms wrapped around me. The next words came through confidently and clearly, and finally put a name to the feeling I always felt when Mama’s attention was on me.
“I love you.”
…Why? When I’ve already let you down so many times, when you’re about to die because of me…why spend your last moments on this worthless rabbit who couldn’t save anything? The bond held no answers for me, only that same persistent warmth, refusing to relent for so much as a moment. Over in the tree, the bear monster had raised its claw into the air, readying the final strike that would take Mama away for good. A few tears slipped free from my eyes and dropped down to join the blood at my feet. Belatedly, I realized that at some point I must have stood up, but that doesn’t really matter right now.
In fact, standing there, basking in the feeling of being wrapped up in Mama’s love, it felt like a lot of things didn’t matter. My doubts, my fear of not being good enough, and the pain of being proven right. It all felt like wisps of smoke being carried away on the wind. They scattered against the constant reinforcement pouring out from the bond, powerless before it. She’d seen all of my shortcomings, witnessed every downfall, and yet this was always her response. Yellow sparks crackled through my fur, and larger arcs of energy began to flicker back and forth between the branches of the antlers on my head.
Slowly, all the world began to fall away. The ground beneath my feet, the stench of death hanging upon the wind, even the tree itself, along with the slow-motion bear scion bringing its claws down for the kill. There was just me, and there in the distance, the light of Mama’s core, calling me home like a beacon. Under her light, I remembered the simple truth that Mama has always seen and understood so much more than me, guiding me as best she could and celebrating both my success and failures alongside me. For this moment in time, all those complicated and difficult subjects stopped being important. All those times spent hoping I could measure up to the lofty heights she spoke about seemed a silly waste of time. All I had to do was stop trying to become something else. Maybe, just maybe, I was already everything that Mama could see in me, and I just hadn’t realized it yet.
I crouch down low to the ground, those strange sparks increasing in intensity, coiling inside of me like a power I never knew I had. My ears and paws were starting to char black from all the energy flowing through me, but I didn’t feel a thing. After all, none of that mattered. With a mighty leap, I left the feeling of solid earth behind. Wait for me just a little longer, ok Mama? I’m coming to your side.
Blood flash-boiled.
Flesh charred into shattered lumps of charcoal.
Bones fragmented and caved under the tremendous forces at play.
Jackie never got to experience the joy where in this, her latest challenge to a race between herself and the sound carried along through the air, the wind finally lost.
Neither did she get to see how, for the first time in its life, the bear scion’s body was lifted fully up off of the ground and flung to the side like gravity had suddenly reversed its direction.
But perhaps..., someday, there would come a time when she’s relaxing with a bowl of those delectable strawberries once more, and she’ll get to listen to Mama’s voice as she regales her with another one of her wild stories. A story where one little rabbit made all the difference in the world, and through her actions did save the day. Now wouldn’t that be nice?
​
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Author Notes://
Here it is, the big one! I've had this chapter in mind since before I even started writing this story. In fact, it's what made me say fuck it, I'm gonna try writing it out and see what happens. Sorry again for the long delay on this chapter, I didn't want to split it into anything smaller, so it ended up pretty long. Also, yay! First scion PoV, just like you guys wanted right? xD
I hope you enjoyed reading this part, and I'll see you all again next time for the final conclusion to the Deepholm Arc.

Beach house Lake house/winter cabin house Other?
I live near Philly so halfway between the poconos and Jersey shore. Beach home would be profitable during the summer to rent out but I hate the sun so probably would only use it to get away and work remotely but probably not go outside
Poconos has lake nearby for summer and spring and snow access for winter. Could be rented out all year round.

Hello, IMAM! Today I am reviewing fragrances purchased from Area of Effect and Possets. All are oil-based.
I haven’t included like & dislikes before in reviews, but I think I should start now, as it provides some context for how I approach scents.
Likes:

• Black licorice / aniseed
  
• Artemisia / wormwood, fennel, mint & associated “cool” herbs
  
• Citrus (including neroli)
  
• Most fruits (excluding those listed in dislikes), especially tropical ones and raspberries
  
• Cardamom
  
• Cinnamon & nutmeg
  
• Most woods & resins (excluding those listed in dislikes)
  
• “Green” profiles
  
• Rosemary, thyme & similar herbs (excluding those listed in dislikes)
  
• Most nuts (excluding those listed in dislikes)
  
• Coffee
  
• Marshmallow!
  

Patchouli is also a “like,” but my skin can amplify it to a ludicrous degree so I have to be careful.
Dislikes:

• Sandalwood (migraine trigger)
  
• Birch bark & leather / birch tar (allergic)
  
• Icing / buttercream
  
• Almond (includes most cherry accords)
  
• Honey
  
• Aldehydes (includes apples)
  
• Most florals
  
• “Powdery” scents and anything with a lipstick / cosmetic accord (this includes most ambers, in my experience)
  
• Cumin
  
• Black & Earl Grey tea (funnily enough, I prefer tea to coffee irl)
  
• Sage
  
• Papaya (had this go “sour” / rotten on me)
  

It is possible that benzoin might be another dislike, but I have to experiment more before I make a decision. And I try to be careful with musk, as some varieties can induce headaches.
While I chose the fragrances all based on notes, I make a point of not double-checking when I test, going in as blindly as possible. Now, on to the reviews!
Possets
“Priya” – lemon, cardamom, and vanilla
Prior to testing, I opened the FS bottle and then open for a few hours, in a method I’d read about on here for “accelerated aging.” In the past I’ve found that this helps to deepen a fragrance in a positive way. (The only bottles I can’t do this with are skinny wand vials – they’ll fall over.) This method even improved the sniff test! While initially it had smelled like a very clean lemon (perhaps too clean), afterward some tasteful hints of sugar came through.
When testing “Priya” on the skin, I was met with a true lemon sugar accord. In fact… I was reminded of pancakes. Or, at least, how pancakes are apparently served in Great Britain. For context: when I first heard of the 4160 Tuesdays perfume “Sunshine & Pancakes,” I was terribly confused by the notes list: lemon, orange, honey… no cake / pastry note, no maple syrup, what the heck was this? Then I learned that across the pond they’re often served with drizzled honey or sugar, and lemon squeezed on top. Anyway, the opening of “Priya” smells like what I imagine British pancakes to be.
With such a promising opening, I wish I could say that the sweetness deepened into something spicier / woodier, or even just carried through to the end. However, the lemon – which is a powerful lemon to hang on for so long – eventually became purer, and purer, until it started reminding me of household cleaner. Altogether, I think what ended up on my arm would make a heavenly room scent; but it’s not something I want on my skin.
Given that “Priya” is tied to a worthwhile charitable cause via Possets, I won’t destash the full bottle as-is. Instead, I’m going to decant it so people can sample it first (since samples of this aren’t sold separately), and if they like it then they can purchase the FS from Possets.
Rating: 3/5 – lemony fresh
“Pippin Pie” – The juiciest and most tart apples, the flakiest and most buttery pastry, heaps and heaps of sugar and a kiss of spice.
This was a surprise free sample in my order, and I went into this with some trepidation as apples and my skin don’t get along.
My first impression was that this was very savory. Like, Fyrinnae being weird kind of savory (think “Artisan Bakery”). Out of the bottle, those first sniffs gave me some pause! On the skin, though… that first half hour was the most delicious pie crust imaginable. I don’t normally go for scents that are that gourmand (usually too much for my nose), but this was where pies go to die. This was the Double-R in “Twin Peaks.”
After half an hour, though, it faded… and faded… until there was something so faint on my arm I could hardly tell if it genuinely approached apples or if it was just softly soapy. Two hours, and the scent was genuinely gone. I tested on each arm, separately, and confirmed this. My skin ate “Pippin Pie” up, sadly.
Rating: 3/5 – the pie did, in fact, die
“Bear Lake Shake-Utah” – a raspberry milkshake made with berries picked that day… amid the scent of the summer sun hitting the mountain lake, crystalline air, the milky raspberry shakes cooled and comforted them
I was so looking forward to this milkshake. Alas, this has made me discover I’m not much of a fan of lactonic notes. It’s hard for me to articulate how they’re separate from vanilla or coumarin, but “milk” is definitely different in perfume, and I don’t think I like it. In fact, I would go so far as to guess that it was lactonic notes I disliked in previous banana-oriented fragrances I tried, and not banana itself. I may need to try banana again.
The raspberry, as well, was not what I was looking for. Now, my favorite incarnation of raspberry in perfume so far is from a niche house: Svensk Parfym, “Virke” (means “timber” in Swedish). It smells like raspberries growing wild in the Swedish taiga, and it’s one of few EdPs I’d consider repurchasing, if I can’t find an indie raspberry to which I can declare loyalty. So far, my favorite indie has been Stone & Wit “Cipher,” which is a fresh, juicy, and not at all candied raspberry.
The raspberry here, however, is much more like a lollipop or Jolly Rancher than the fruit itself, which was disappointing.
Rating: 2/5 – not my kind of milkshake, I guess
Area of Effect
“Isabelle” – peach, black pepper, fresh cut grass, soft vanilla, dry wood, cedar
While I did not double-check the notes before testing, I recall that I’d purchased “Intelligence” and “Isabelle” together for comparison purposes as peach scents, since I was still on a quest to find my perfect peach.
After resting, “Isabelle” no longer smelled super traditional out of the vial, and I actually caught whiffs of peach. When I tested I smelled something cool and green under everything else, and I’m starting to think that is, in fact, Area of Effect’s base. (Yes, I know this has a “fresh cut grass” note, but I’ve smelled this nuance in other AoE scents I’ve tried.) The opening of this is an under-ripe peach, in fact, still on the branch. Eventually, this does get more “picnic grounds” than “picnic meal,” and isn’t very sweet.
For someone who enjoys softer scents, and wants something feminine that isn’t off-the-wall but also not super traditional / vintage, “Isabelle” could be a wonderful everyday / work scent. Sadly, it’s not what I’m looking for.
Rating: 3/5 – peach needs longer to ripen
“Intelligence” – peony, peach, coconut, olive leaf, cotton candy, vanilla bean
Of course, I tested “Intelligence” right after “Isabelle” so the comparison would be fresh in my mind. I must say, I was surprised at how strong the peach note was in this one, since my first impression had hinted it would be of the softer variety. Now, the peach wasn’t necessarily as juicy as I wanted (I’m starting to wonder if what I want is even possible in a perfume: a juicy, realistic, not-too-sweet peach that doesn’t fade right away), but here was a peach note that was sticking around! And the way it settled wasn’t too heavily gourmand, either: peach still wafted up from my arm, but sniffing closer to my skin I found a lovely coconut with just a sprinkling of tiaré petals (not full-on monoi oil).
Looking at the notes, I’m curious about what I don’t get on my skin. I didn’t smell peony at all, nor cotton candy; and what little vanilla was there, was quiet. (I think the olive leaf was what I mistook for tiaré.) This wasn’t nearly as sweet on my skin as what the notes list would suggest, and I’m actually grateful.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that I enjoyed “Intelligence” so much, as that’s usually my highest DnD stat (magic-user). 😊
Rating: 4.5/5 – For the time being, I really think that I’ve found my peach scent!
“K.K. Slider” – coconut cream, rum, pineapple, chai spice, nutmeg, graham cracker
After “Pippin Pie,” I tested this one, hoping to get a better result from what I remembered as “key lime pie, but with pineapple.” Out of the vial I’d gotten no fruit, but I hoped this would change on my skin.
I was wrong. I was very, very wrong. The sweet crust evolved into a full-on icing accord that overwhelmed my nose, to the point where I had to scrub. There was no pineapple. ☹
Rating: 0/5 – definitely try this if you like icing
“Killer Tomatoes” – tomato leaf, sun-dried tomato, dirt, fig, patchouli
All right, I’d had several noes in a row and really wanted a yes. I needed a great green perfume. Funnily enough, in my curiosity regarding AoE’s sun-dried tomato note I’d previously tried “Garden Warfare,” but gotten mostly dirt from that one. In a review I posted to IMAM, the actual perfumer behind AoE commented that “Killer Tomatoes” was what I really wanted. It’s late, but I did eventually try it!
And it’s what I wanted. As far as green profiles go, it’s in a similar vein to Morari “Tomato Vine” – but whereas that is pure green leaves and almost spa-like in its Zen, “Killer Tomatoes” has a tanginess that really does evoke tomato flesh (particularly of the sun-dried variety). I don’t know how AoE did this (most “tomato” notes in perfumery refer to the leaves & vine), but they did it. And I love it!
Rating: 5/5 – I found my tomato!
“Viva Piñata” – guava, hibiscus, hot spice, mango, coconut, beach, cola, sandalwood
This was the last one I tested, and one I’d remembered really being hyped about. It’s also the one I can smell the least out of the vial – remarkably subtle. On skin, a sort of candied / dried mango accord started to form, and I got excited! It didn’t stay sweet, though – or project very much. Eventually it became mainly a soft musk, which really isn’t my thing.
Color me shocked, though, when I got the notes list for this review and saw sandalwood. If I’d remembered sandalwood was in this, I wouldn’t have purchased it. Luckily, this didn’t cause a migraine, but that “soft musk” I picked up I’m not guessing was sandalwood combined with whatever makes the “beach” note (sand, waves, etc.). I wish the fruits had stuck around, and that I’d gotten the hot (presumably chili) spice.
Rating: 2/5 – out with a whimper
This was… kind of a disappointing haul, if I’m being honest. Outside of the FS I’d purchased from Possets of “Dance with Me,” which I already love, I’m only keeping two of my samples and destashing everything else. I’ve put myself on no-buy now, until I sell my destashes and use up more of what I already have.

I’d love to float a bit tomorrow but i have made assumptions about the seasonality of some of these places before. The ranger station is closed for the week and the website says the campground opens on 6/16 but just posting to confirm / ask about the road for a day float.
Cheers.

Hi guyzz :)
I got a job in North Lake Tahoe. And seeing if it would be a good fit?
I’ve lived in the Midwest, Los Angeles, and the suburbs of Austin, TX.
Love nature and shredding 🏂
However, I’ve never lived in a small town/rural-ish area before.
I’m late 20s female. Are there a lot of people my age? I enjoyed LA, but it got to be a bit much for me in terms of the stimuli and hectic-ness.
I think I like being near a city but not necessarily in the midst of a big city.
Are there different professionals or is it mostly just ski bums and families?
Any intel about the demographic or activities to do besides ski/hiking/biking would be helpful.
Thank you!

It was probably found near Lake Michigan. I was trying to put it in a fish tank then noticed how it practically crumbled apart and washed it. Some of it came off and revealed whatever this is. Any identification would be nice so I know what this thing is.