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space-blue · 2 months

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Distant cousins of the jungle's stingbat, the aptly named stunbat (Tsealìm in Na'vi) is a native of the Txepìva volcanic plains that hunts by diving from great heights and colliding with their prey head-first, stunning them.

Their head is blunt, with a threefold crest reminiscent of the great leonopterix's dual one, but significantly more ossified. Their neck is thick and muscular, to help support the structure, but also to weather the high velocity impacts.

The hands, small and with fused fingers in jungle stingbats, are much larger here, and used to catch stunned prey falling from the sky, or pick them off the ground as they swoop down. It also allows stunbats to eat on the fly, as it were, as the plains' chaotic environment doesn't always provide them with safe perching opportunities.

Stunbats have short, prehensile neural queues that retract under thick, keratinous neck frills. The extra mobility of this limb allows them to make quick connections while in mid-air, front to back, back to back, or belly to belly, the latter being the more commonly seen one, accompanied by a stabilising "handshake".

The stunbat's vision is excellent. Early research by Eyris Makri with the Tuin clan of the Txepìva showed that their domesticated stunbats were able to spot prey up to 4 miles away, seeing clearly at ten times the distance of their Na'vi handlers. Their primary eyes show a high concentration of foveas, giving them enough focus to clearly distinguish prey moving against the complex backdrop of the plains and lava fields.

Although the stunbat's barbed tail has lost most of its poisonous sting, it is still used in defence against larger predators. Their best defence, however, remains a Na'vi bow.

It is hard to tell exactly when domestication started, though the olo'eyktan of the Tau'un clan claims one of his ancestors was the first to tame a stunbat. We're told this happened during the "Time of Long Nights", but dating that event is equally complicated. Current estimations are a minimum of two millenia.

During that time, the stunbat's range remained tied to the volcanic plains of the Txepìva clans, although the species has been observed by Serafiina Hukkala as far out as Mons St. Helen. One must note that the stunbat is unlike our previous study case of the Viperhound, which are bred for various purposes. Interviews with Txepìva hunters (Makri et al.) suggest that their relationship to the Na'vi is similar to that of cats and humans, with multiple domestication events, beneficial to both species. Na'vi led breeding appears to be very incidental, as stunbats tend to fly off to find mates in the wild, rather than mating among their clan's flock.

This species is significantly larger than their forest cousins.

The most common uses of stunbats are for scouting and hunting. While hunting of small game is extremely similar to what humans once achieved with eagles, stunbats also take part in hunting expeditions for large prey.

They are used to follow the movements of herds, but also to help separate young calves from their mothers, or the weak and wounded, by dive bombing them (Hukkala et al.) They understand complex orders, communicate with clicks and shrieks, and will come to hang on the queue or harness of their paired Txepìva to share more detailed visuals through Tsaheylu.

This is also how they are used for scouting. Serafiina Hukkala postulated that the stunbats' mated pair lifestyle influenced Txepìva culture by making the act of scouting a couple's task. Scouting, we must remind the reader, is a lot more crucial to the Txepìva, who have no qualms waging war against each other for the domination of water sources and fertile land. Raiding parties, while not frequent, are a banal part of life on the plains. Even small children learning to work with stunbats will be sent on sentry duties, often on the back of a Lenonin Hound.

The reason mated pairs of stunbats are favoured is because of their long flight range and their ability to connect together in mid-air. This means one side of the couple can move far ahead, and report back to their partner, already extended to the edge of their range. A couple of scouting stunbats effectively covers double the range a single hunter would.

Stunbats are occasionally used to communicate with similar techniques. While one half of a pair can be sent to deliver a message to another tribe, the other remains with their clan (often brooding). The homing individual (whichever has best endurance, as both sexes feed and brood chicks at will) can find its way back to them even if the clan is on the move. More research is needed on their communication capabilities.

When travelling or staying in temporary camps, stunbats are housed in loose baskets designed to let them hang onto the side. These carriers are custom made by every clan and come in many forms and sizes. Brooding stunbats are carried, either by a Na'vi who will fashion straps to turn the basket into a backpack, or tied to the back of Leonin Hounds.

In more permanent camps, the Texpiva craft treillis to give them places to hang from. Serafiina Hukkala reported a clan that arranged dried branches and material for firewood as perches, while Eyris Makri stayed with a couple who fashioned fake branches at the top of their tents, like rafters. Both heard reports of clans that house their stunbats along with their livestock, but the practice seemed frowned upon.

The bond between Na'vi and Tsealìm needs further study. It isn't as exclusive as with an ikran, but much more complex than with direhorses. Stunbats bond strongly with a small family node, and more weakly with the extended family and friend group. Tsaheylu is typically only done with their main Na'vi hunters, although the stunbat can be introduced and passed down to children.

Emergency tsaheylu was witnessed twice by Makri, when a scout had urgent reports and the stunbat was sent ahead. Connection was made with the clan's tsahìk, who had a habit of bonding with every newborn stunbat. The practice, we were told, can be controversial.

Hunter depicted without ornaments, to highlight the process of Tsaheylu.

Some clans craft harnesses for hunters to better carry and support their stunbats, while others prefer natural body-to-body contact. The folding or tying of the neural queue to allow for better access to the kuru/tendrils seems universal among all interviewed hunters and scouts. Different styles were observed and will be presented in our published notebooks, after our paper on the use of stunbats in skirmishes and outright warfare, as the Txepìva practice it.

Part II of @straydaddy (art and design) and @bluedaddysgirl (lore concept + final art entry) in-world collaborative study, "Introduction to the Txepiva clans, their nomadic pastoralism and niche selective breeding practices in species of stingbats and viperwolves". On twitter we are Knarme and Bluedaddysgirl

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kaijutegu · 2 years

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WE FINALLY HAVE EVIDENCE AS TO WHY SPIDER BALL PYTHONS HAVE THEIR WOBBLE

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.06.475233v1.full

Like most people who know things about neural anatomy predicted, it’s structural, not just neurological. I figured it would come out to be a pigment issue with the neural crest myself, but it’s looking like it’s actually related to the inner ear structure that controls equilibrium.

Either way, it’s definitely inseparable from the morph.

#reptiblr

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castielsparkle · 1 year

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☆ man's best friend

☆ how to stop dog begging behavior - tractive | 4x20 - the rapture | 9x22 - stairway to heaven | 15x08 - our father, who aren't in heaven | 6x21 - let it bleed | 050612-274-wolf - ron niebrugge ; herakles - euripides ; 8x07 - a little slice of kevin | the archaeology of dog domestication - bgillard | how to teach your dog to walk to heel in seconds - will atherton canine training | violence happening location #38 - moisés mahiques | 9x09 - holy terror | unidentified photo source, earliest trace posted 07.16.14 by catherine zhang | two dogs eating from one bowl - nick onken | 150317.jpg - borzoikavka | the thorn merchant - yusef komunyakaa ; 10x22 - the prisoner | desperation sits heavy on my tongue - tullipsink | 6x19 - mommy dearest | ecstasy of saint teresa - gian lorenzo bernini ; photo courtesy of findingharmonyinartanddesign | 7x21 - reading is fundamental | 8x17 - goodbye stranger | 'i think about this a lot' tumblr post - 1rakus | quote by vàzaki nada ; unidentified photo source, earliest trace posted 09.30.12 by pam bliss | tecumseh fitch : the domestication syndrome and neural crest cells - university of california television (UCTV) | nasty little thoughts 1/? - notideeart | chosen - zeppelinmoon | bayerischer wald - wim berlijn | the plague dogs (1982) | creamthing has a vision- a tombstone that looks like him - samsketchbook | can old dogs learn new tricks? - malcolm weir, dvm, msc, mph; lynn buzhardt, dvm, vca animal hospitals ; 15x18 - despair

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catgirlredux · 2 months

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>Entryway_memo.17.89 /// Inner City, 55-5073 /// use viewSourceL() to access coordinates

I found one. I really didn’t expect to get this lucky this early on, but I guess the Doors were shining on me today.

I almost missed it; the whole thing was overgrown, and the active muffling was still on so even my pad couldn’t pick it up. I only managed to spot it because the moss and ivy covering its head morphed to the iconic crest: an Equites-class, first-gen rig.

This is big - most current HAKs, your Hoplites and your Lucids and whatnot, exhaust their power core stupidly fast. But the older ones, especially in generation 1, were super inefficient, so to avoid wasting too much leaking energy they implemented a system to recycle power back into the core. This wreck could have fought in the War of Rooms fifty years ago and it would still have plenty of juice left. I reckon I’ll easily get at least 6000 NC for it, if not more.

Tomorrow I’m going back to crack the damn thing open and extract the core.

>Entryway_memo.17.90 /// Inner City, 55-5073 /// use viewSourceL() to access coordinates

I don’t know where to start. Shit got weird. I went back to the wreck with my cutters and started to chop away at the cockpit, same as usual.

When I removed the glass, I saw the first sign that something was wrong. Usually when a HAK this old wrecks, the pilot has already ejected. Without one, the nanofilament bioharness inside the HAK chassis loses its structure and crumbles into powder. That didn’t happen with this one - instead, the fibers were still fully intact and wrapped around each other in a giant fucking gooey knot or something.

Well I mean, I had to get through the operators seat to get to the core, so I started cutting away at the harness. But as soon as my knife hit the nanofibers, the whole thing hardened up.

This is where it got really weird though. My knife couldn’t do jack shit to the harness so my next thought was to use my torch and burn through it. But as I was getting it from my pack, I heard a fucking voice!

“Are you… human?” it asked. It sounded weak and muffled, but I tell you I fucking jumped. There weren’t supposed to be any other scavengers in this quadrant but you never know, right?

The voice asked again, “Are you human?” So I responded, said yeah.

Then the harness loosened up, turned all goopy again, and a hole started to appear right in the middle facing me. It spread wider and wider until the ball of nanofilaments pulled all the way back, and you know what was inside?

A fucking body. Shit, what a sight. It was buried in nanofilaments from the chest down, but its arms and head were free - at least mostly; its hands were still dunked in the nanofiber goop that remained of its harness.

It wore a black catsuit - probably a neural interface - that clearly used to be skintight. However, it was so emaciated that its clothes hung off its shoulders. Its head, completely shaved and exposed, looked almost like a skull, and worst of all, it was lined with thin nanotendrils that crawled across its skin and seemed to pierce right into its cheeks, temples, and eyes. A series of lights in the cockpit around its head flickered, showing clear signs of age.

It didn’t open its mouth but I heard the voice again: “Did they… win?”

I stuttered back, “Win what? Who? You mean the War of Rooms? No, no we won that!”

“The War of Rooms…? Is that… what it’s called now…” The person - I guess it must have been the HAK’s operator - the person seemed happy with this response.

“W-wait, so you really are from the War? B-but that was over 50 years ago, how- how old are you?”

The operator’s head tilted to the side and the fibers along its forehead pulsed slightly before it responded.

“This unit’s organic component was created… 72 years ago. This unit’s… synthetic component was created 65 years ago.”

72 years ago… that means the damn thing was only 19 when the War ended?? But what’s more, how the hell did it survive for half a century in these ruins?

At least it seemed willing to answer my questions. I started my recorder at this point: following is a transcript of our conversation.

>Entryway_load(KS_0598.rsi)

///KS/// How are you alive - what do you eat?

///EOR/// This unit is… not alive. (unintelligible, closest match >> ****thetic) component supercedes the prior processes of this unit’s organic component.

///KS/// Wait, you keep describing yourself as the “organic component” - what do you mean by that?

///EOR/// This unit was once two. After this unit’s last mission, this unit was unable to move from this location. Time allowed this unit’s organic component and synthetic component to achieve what you call terminus, but what would be better described as unity. This unit’s biological and synthetic components merged, and as such this unit no longer adheres to the biological standard or requirements for organic life as it is currently defined.

///KS/// So you and the HAK are, what, conjoined? Like a Chambered One or something?

///EOR/// (unintelligible, closest match >> laughter?) The Chambered Ones were misguided. At another time this unit might have considered them evil. They believed they could achieve unity through religious mannerisms and compromises. Their “Chambers” are weak imitations of this unit and this unit’s brethren. It is good that they are destroyed.

///KS/// Well, um. They’re not actually destroyed. We signed a peace treaty - they’re members of the Vaulted Rooms now, at least the ones who want to be.

///EOR/// At another time this unit would have been incensed at this news. Now it seems irrelevant. This unit achieved terminus 37 years 7 months and 16 days ago. Since then, this unit has been content with itself.

///KS/// So… I’m guessing you don’t want me to report this wreck to the force?

///EOR/// This unit is no longer desired, nor does this unit desire to return. This unit requests that you do not speak of this unit.

///KS/// Okay okay, chill. I only found you because I thought I could salvage a power core or something.

///EOR/// This unit cannot provide its power core. However…

<Note: at this juncture the operator of the HAK pulled a hand free, grabbed its other arm, and proceeded to wrench it from its socket. There was no blood. A mass of nanofilaments quickly coated the stump.>

///KS/// WHAT THE FUCK?

///EOR/// If the black market still exists, this will sell for a substantial amount. Please take it and leave. And thank you for speaking with this unit.

///KS/// Wait, but I

///EOR/// Thank you for speaking with this unit. Now please, let this unit exist.

I left. I took the arm too. I don’t know what to do now…

#cheetah writing #mechposting #Heavily Armored Kinesosuits #still haven't come up with a name for this universe sorry #mech #empty spaces

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bpod-bpod · 2 years

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Nervous Eating

Healthy development relies on countless collaborations between contrasting cells, each meeting at just the right moment like soulmates on a dance floor. One such rendezvous occurs early in the development of the nerves that underlie facial movement and feeling, between neural crest and placode cells – the precursors of pain-sensing neurons and mechanosensory neurons, which fine-tune behaviour by sensing and responding to movement. Genetic mutations that disrupt this coupling are linked to DiGeorge syndrome in children, which causes facial abnormalities and difficulties suckling and swallowing. Researchers examined the developing cranial nerves of mice (pictured) with the mutation and found communication between the cell types, rather than physical proximity, was disrupted, and that neural crest cells (highlighted in green) developed into pain-sensing neurons (red) too soon, upsetting the healthy balance. Deciphering the molecular details of the crosstalk is the next step in attempts to restore the broken communication and one day change lives.

Written by Anthony Lewis

Image from work by Beverly A. Karpinski et al

The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, VA, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Image on cover of Disease Models & Mechanisms, February 2022 from work published May 2021

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

#science #biomedicine #genetic mutation #DiGeorge Syndrome #eating #pain #neuroscience #immunofluorescence #neural crest #placode

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arccanine · 5 days

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I'm realizing I really don't even think to post about the things going on in my life anymore. But I want to share the joy of Pepper with anyone who will listen, and express some of that love that soon won't have anywhere to go anymore.

Last year, for my birthday, we adopted the kindest soul of a ferret I've ever met, Pepper.

Earlier that year, we'd had to put our last ferret, Mishka, to sleep, which was devastating not only to us, but to our remaining ferret, Cinnamon, who had always had a cagemate to play with. She was incredibly depressed being alone, refusing to eat more than the bare minimum and spending so much time curled up asleep in the bed they used to share.

It took us a while to feel ready to "replace" him in our lives. But after six months or so, our hearts were healing, and our remaining girl was still so lonely, so we began to keep our eyes open. We'd half-jokingly look at ferrets in towns 6 hours away right before some long trips, debating whether or not we wanted to break our 2 ferret limit to pick up a bonded pair, since that seemed to be the only option available nearby no matter where we looked.

And then one day, there was a single ferret listed only a few blocks away from our home.

She was 3 years old, raised by a teen girl who no longer had the time for her now that she had A Boyfriend (no hate btw, I think it's a funny and dumb reason, but I'm honestly so grateful to any owner who realizes they're not giving their animal the care they deserve). While Cinnamon and Pepper were interested in each other, Pepper was raised alone with cats and dogs and didn't properly "speak ferret", leading to a lot of miscommunications with body language. We also slowly realized she likely has neural crest disorder (sometimes also called "Waardenburg Syndrome", but that term is really just reserved for humans) — a product of the rampant ferret inbreeding problem with big box sellers like Marshall's. Which essentially meant she was a little bit slower, a lot sleepier, and had some difficulty reading body language, but she was otherwise a healthy and incredibly affectionate ferret.

I remember being doubtful and not ready to get invested in a new animal if she wasn't going to be a good fit with Cinnamon. I actually remember a few times talking to Taran and wondering if we should consider finding her a better home, since it seemed like they were really struggling to connect.

But sure enough, Cinnamon and Pepper grew to love and understand each other despite the not-perfect communication — starting with sleeping together, cuddling, grooming each other, and finally figuring out how to properly play fight (something Pepper was incredibly excited to learn, if not too much so lol). Cinnamon put on some weight again, and Pepper began to open up and show off her silly side.

After a month or two, they were perfect little buddies. She became a part of our little family and our outings — a required member for our weekend restocks at the pet store, park visits, or whatever outdoor events were happening around town. The daily wake-up scritches where she would throw her whole body against your hand, rubbing her face into your fingers and against the soft blankets to help her rub the sleepiness away. The play routine, watching her discover the joy of being bowled down the hall and running back for more, loving chasing you, being chased, climbing tubes, getting into places she shouldn't be, or searching for her next sugar fix (which we wouldn't actually give her, but that sure didn't stop her from trying).

But this all came to a halt last week, when Pepper woke up shivering and wouldn't stop, mouth covered in painful-looking ulcers. We immediately rushed her to the emergency vet. We remained hopeful through the week — we'd caught it early, she was healthy (if not a little pudgy) to help buffer the loss of appetite, and she was receiving medicine to help her fight any possible infections or stomach ulcers. We got her in for bloodwork on Wednesday and let them keep her a few nights to help give her around the clock care while we waited for the results.

It seems like she very suddenly suffered from what we can now only assume is kidney failure. We remained hopeful that this was just the start of a new period of her life where we'd have to give her a little more daily care or maybe some medication, but after they ran another bloodtest, we found out that despite the constant care, nothing had improved, and her prognosis was suddenly much more grave. We learned all of this on Friday afternoon, and decided to take her home with painkillers to help keep her comfortable and loved before we were ready to let her go.

It hasn't even been a year since we got her. And we love her so damn much. It's like I wish everybody else loved her as much as we did, so I could at least feel like she's being mourned properly when we'll finally have to put her to rest.

I wanted to dress her up for the halloween market again, I wanted to watch her bound through the forest to sniff and dig at some more of that dirt, I wanted to take her to the park some more and let some more kids meet an animal they've never seen before — letting her charm them by being a little animal that loves their gentle touches. Her squinty little eyes, the way her ears flatten back as she accepts your kiss on her head, the way she chittered like a little bird when she was happy or excited and running around, the way she rubbed her face and whole body on our fake grass, the way she gently licked at Taran's nose while he held her even now as she's slowly dying.

I don't know what else to say other than I just wanted more time. More of what we already had. That it hurts so much that I was expecting more, that she was completely fine the night before, and that I was wrapped up in the monotony of the day to day that I didn't realize it would be our last good night together.

It feels so cruel that some ferrets can live for 8-10 years, and that some barely scrape 4 just because the companies pumping them out don't give a shit about their quality of life. But we've done absolutely everything we could, she went into it as healthily as she could, and we can be at peace knowing it's just her time now. There's nothing else to do now other than keeping her comfortable, saying goodbye to our favorite places and favorite people, and reflecting on all of the joy she brought us in such a short amount of time.

Love you, Pepperoni. Thank you for everything.

#I really regret not sharing any pics or videos before now because I have a bit of a perfectionist nature about posting anything #but I'll post a few of my favorite videos and pics throughout the week as we reflect on the good times #I will be tagging pet death for folks to so please feel free to filter that #pet death #ju

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warningsine · 2 months

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For more than 20 years, researchers have known that areas of birds' brains dedicated to singing show neural patterns during sleep akin to the ones they use while awake and singing.

Since the "code" behind how this information gets processed is unknown, it hasn't been possible to map a pattern of nocturnal activity to song, until now.

Writing in the journal Chaos, a team of researchers from the University of Buenos Aires reports a method to translate the vocal muscle activity of birds during sleep into synthetic songs.

"Dreams are one of the most intimate and elusive parts of our existence," said author Gabriel Mindlin, who specializes in exploring the physical mechanisms of birdsong. "Knowing that we share this with such a distant species is very moving. And the possibility of entering the mind of a dreaming bird—listening to how that dream sounds—is a temptation impossible to resist."

A few years ago, Mindlin and colleagues discovered that these patterns of neuronal activity descend to the syringeal muscles—a bird's vocal apparatus. They can capture sleep birds' muscular activity data via recording electrodes, called electromyography (EMG), and then use a dynamical systems model to translate it into synthetic songs.

"During the past 20 years, I've worked on the physics of birdsong and how to translate muscular information into song," said Mindlin. "In this way, we can use the muscle activity patterns as time-dependent parameters of a model of birdsong production and synthesize the corresponding song."

Many bird species have complex musculature, so translating syringeal activity into song is a bit of a challenge.

"For this initial work, we chose the Great Kiskadee, a member of the flycatcher family and a species for which we'd recently discovered its physical mechanisms of singing, and presented some simplifications," said Mindlin. "In other words, we chose a species for which the first step in this program was viable."

Hearing the sounds emerge from the data of a bird dreaming about a territorial confrontation with a raised crest of feathers—a gesture that during the day is associated with a trill used in confrontations—was incredibly moving for Mindlin.

"I felt great empathy imagining that solitary bird recreating a territorial dispute in its dream," he said. "We have more in common with other species than we usually recognize."

The team's study presents biophysics as a new exploratory tool capable of opening the door for the quantitative study of dreams.

"We're interested in using these syntheses, which can be implemented in real-time, to interact with a bird while it dreams," said Mindlin. "And for species that learn, to address questions about the role of sleep during learning."

#birds #animals

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caesarsaladinn · 1 year

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in that fox-taming experiment, iirc researchers noticed that the friendlier fox lineages started accumulating neotenous characteristics—floppy ears, big eyes, etc. this implies an early stop to their development, before mature skittishness sets in.

but there was also an increased prevalence of white spots around the digits and face, like modern dogs and cats and horses have, but that’s not something that develops after birth. pigment cells are well in place before that.

pigment cells develop from the neural crest, which also gives rise to various parts of the nervous system… is domestication the result of basic nerve restructuring? not just the obvious shift in behavior, but something much deeper?

gotta read some articles. will report back.

#biology

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no-side-us · 1 month

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The Invisible Man, Ch. 17 - Dr. Kemp's Visitor

A lot of great posts have already been made about this chapter, so I'll just note some details I noticed.

Upon seeing Kemp, Griffin refers to himself as "an Invisible Man" first before revealing his actual name, a name we would be getting for the first time in this entire story. We know he never revealed it to anyone in Iping nor to Marvel, so while the fact he tells Kemp of all people should indicate a level of familiarity, the fact it's only the second title he gives shows that after being referred to as "the Invisible Man" for so long it's probably the name he's most used to.

We also get a description of what Griffin looked like when he was visible:

"A younger student than you were, almost an albino, six feet high, and broad, with a pink and white face and red eyes, who won the medal for chemistry."

Something I want to note is that Griffin says he's "almost an albino," suggesting he may not have regular albinism. I found this tidbit on Wikipedia about it:

Conditions that are commonly termed "partial albino" include neural crest disorders such as piebaldism, Waardenburg syndrome, or other depigmentation conditions such as vitiligo. These conditions result from fundamentally different causes to the seven types of oculocutaneous albinism that have been identified in humans (and confirmed in some other animals) and the use of the term "partial albino" is therefore misleading.[6]

"Piebaldism" has been mentioned before in the story, though in a more derogatory manner. Regardless, even though we soon learn how essential Griffin's albinism is to the story, the possibility he has some other condition conflated with albinism is interesting. I'm not sure what the research regarding albinism and those other conditions was like back then, but considering Wells wrote that line it's possible Griffin isn't supposed to have regular albinism.

#the invisible man #invisible man #the invisible mail #hg wells

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olivescales3 · 11 months

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I wanted to add facial muscles to the anatomy of crocodiles in Chima, but reptile skin is way different than mammalian skin...

Maybe I could make the Chi alter the neural crest cells of the crocodiles?? Chi alters the anatomy of those who consume it, so it would make sense for mammal-like traits to appear on non-mammalian tribes I guess

Like,, idk, maybe Chi made the crocodiles evolve a new type of muscle?? Especially because their faces in Chima look wildly different from the actual animal

If you're confused about how crocodiles in Chima are able to snarl and frown or make slight facial expressions, then here's the answer lol

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 1 year

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Rage Fire Institution

Building. 26.

Tatsumi kept his word and kept free of the lab up until evening. Maki had told him he didn’t need to be there when he did his next mental training with Poaw, yet he’d let himself get carried away coming up with concept designs for Maki’s mech. The legs had been printed, with the panels cut to standard dimensions for the students to pencil out their modifications on. Once the details were locked in, they’d be shaped to fit the mods then primed before going through the spray booth. Knowing he’d have to take the concept design before the research group, Tatsumi had printed them out. That way once Maki had made his choice, those choices could be laid out before the group and a final paint design agreed upon. He also knew that now mention of print design was brought up, everyone would have ideas on how the mech should look, but ultimately the final decision came down to Maki as he’d be piloting it. If he didn’t like the design, it’d reflect poorly on his synch rates.

Arriving an hour before Maki was due, Tatsumi dumped his backpack off on Poaw’s work bench, pulling out his designs and laying them out as if this were his lab. He’d worked hard on each design, yet when it boiled down to it, his favoured print was the one he’d told Maki about at the warehouse. An inky night black blue with the smallest hint of reflective particles in the mix. Simple was best. With the orange Rage Fire Insignia fitted, the sapphire at the top of the school crest would shimmer the same colour as the particles in the paint. Even if Maki didn’t choose that design, he still wanted the man to see what he’d seen when he’d first looked at the mech for him. Almost nervously he rearranged the print outs, trying to show the progression in design, though he knew Maki would first be drawn to the print out of their two joke designs. Out of fairness he’d included the submissions from their project chat, first separating them out, then deciding it was less nerve wracking to mix them in with his own in case Maki didn’t like any of his.

Seeing her work bench under threat, Poaw came over, leaving her team to finish calibrating the neural network for Maki’s training

“You’re not supposed to be here tonight. A little birdie told me you couldn’t make it. It looks like you’ve been busy”

“Maki called you?”

He knew he was banned from lab for the day, but Tatsumi didn’t think Maki would call ahead like this

“He’s got detention and may be half an hour late. He wanted to make sure he could still come tonight even if you wouldn’t be here”

Part of Tatsumi deflated. He’d been excited and now it seemed as if he were going to be lectured by the pushy alpha

“Cut a guy a break. I’m sure all will be forgiven when he chooses which paint job he wants”

Picking up the design Maki had submitted, Poaw held the picture up next to Tatsumi’s face

“Remind me again, you two are only friends, correct?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Just you might want to nip it in the bud if you’re leading the kid on. He can’t go piloting a mech that looks just like you”

“I’m not leading the kid on. How can you tell he designed that one?”

“Because the pink pandas simply screams you causing trouble. Well, how are you feeling? You look significantly better than Suzu described. And don’t think I haven’t noticed those new glasses and the way you practically skipped in here”

Tatsumi took offence. He was a grown man and he certainly hadn’t skipped

“You doctor types talk too much”

“Us doctor types have to worry about blockheaded pilots like you. Spill. How did the kid know you’re sick when you’ve been avoiding him?”

No secret or action was safe from the prying eyes of the research wing. Tatsumi taking the printout off the doctor and placing it careful where she’d taken it from

“Maki and Li needed homework help yesterday. He may have caught me feeling faint and overreacted”

Poaw quickly started picking up the print outs one by one, not hiding her curiosity

“He may have done you a favour. Soooo, tell me more”

“There’s nothing to tell. I fucked up, he realised, now I’m making up for it”

Poaw knew how he worked. She knew he struggled and she knew he saw a lot in Maki that others wouldn’t. That didn’t make her right. Maki wasn’t looking at him in any other way but a teacher who could get him what he wanted and Tatsumi wasn’t so deluded he’d believe otherwise. Even if they had gotten closer, Maki would probably quit associating with him once the competition was over. He didn’t begrudge being used, not when he’d brought it on himself, but he did struggle with the wavering line between them. Alone in his room he’d traced his scars, really taking in every detail of the mess. There had to be something missing in the alpha’s head to still want to associate with such a scarred omega.

Poaw placed down the design in her hands, it was the one Tatsumi hoped Maki would choose. Simple but not plain in a bad way. A mech that gave nothing away, much like the personality within Maki

“This one is the best. It suits him perfectly. Tatsumi, he’s a better kid than I thought he’d be. I may not know what Skylark thought about pairing you together, and other than that incident with the suppressants and overworking yourself, you seem better. But don’t push those feelings onto Maki if he doesn’t want to reciprocate them”

“I’m not. I was a shitty babysitter to him. I mean, he has what I can’t have and I pushed that onto him. He worked it out. I guess that’s why they still say alphas are the smart ones”

“So he knows you’re an omega?”

“I told him as much last night. I thought he’d take off running”

“You mean you wanted him to”

“Yeah. Instead he got on my case about resting. Banned me from coming here all day”

Poaw laughed softly, her gaze still on the night sky mech, her fingers tracing the outline as if she were planning how she’d mod it

“I’m glad you found a friend. Someone who will call you out and someone you’ll listen to”

“I kind of owe him at least that. I’m not the best babysitter and we both know I’m a lousy researcher”

“There’s nothing wrong with being better with your hands than your mind. He’s not blackmailing you, is he?”

Tatsumi supposed technically it could be called that given Maki had threatened to tell Skylark on him, but it wasn’t blackmail in the physical sense

“No. I want to see him succeed with my own eyes. And seeing I forced him into all of this, the least I can do is make sure he’s got the tools he needs to survive it”

Poaw sighed heavily at him

“You’re such an idiot. You don’t need to be this hard on yourself now that he knows. You seem to like him, I mean, talking with him. That’s not a bad thing. I can see you two are close from these stupid mech mock ups. The pair of you are far too similar humour wise, it makes me want to map your brains for similarities”

Tatsumi didn’t think the joke with the mech paint was that abnormal… yet as he imagined Maki trying to figure out if he was serious or not, a smile came to his lips

“It is when I find myself telling him shit with no control of my mouth. I knew he’d be mad over a pink mech so I couldn’t help myself. Seriously, I’ve shown him nothing but my bad sides. I want to show him that… that maybe coming back can be something alright?”

Smiling brightly, Poaw started rearranging Tatsumi’s carefully laid out print outs. He wanted to stop her, but the best he could do was wait then change the order back

“And now you’re trying hard to build this friendship. I won’t kick you out. Mental health is important too and I know from looking at these that you took your time to really think about his tastes. I’m thinking simple with the school emblem over the mechs chest where its heart would lay. And another thing, you are no good to him if you’re struggling. If you need more suppressants because he’s an alpha, that may be your body telling you it’s time to find someone. It doesn’t have to be Maki, but open your heart up a little more and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised”

Tatsumi didn’t know why he thought of Maki as Poaw told him to open his heart. He’d opened it enough of late, any more and he was likely to start haemorrhaging out his stupidity. He also didn’t know why his head didn’t like the idea of another alpha. Of being that vulnerable that they’d see his scars. Maki hadn’t run away.

“Tatsumi?”

Tatsumi drew himself together, smoothly lying to cover the ideas that Poaw had put in his head

“Sorry, I was thinking about the emblem now you’ve brought it up. The school may want the school colours on their seeing it’s a mech owned by the institution”

Poaw cast him a skeptical look, yet let the topic drop

“We could go with stripes or bands down the arm. Alternatively we can change the mech’s lighting. Orange and white will stand out against black no matter how we display them”

“Maybe we should put them on the bottom of the mech’s feet? They do think Maki likes to walk all over the school rules”

Poaw rolled her eyes, their banter would have continued if the lab door hadn’t slid open, a slightly red faced and sweaty Maki standing there. Tatsumi blurting out

“What happened to your detention?”

Maki shot a scowl their way, Tatsumi knowing it was entirely meant for him seeing he was somewhere he wasn’t meant to be. The alpha shooting back with

“What happened to you staying out the lab?”

Poaw laughed at the pair of them, earning a scowl from them both

“I’m sorry but he was too excited. Give him anything mech related and he still acts like a child. He rushed right over here to wait for you. He is right though, you did say you had detention”

“Halcial let me go early because of the competition. Tatsumi, you didn’t keep your word, grandpa”

Putting his hands together as if in prayer, Tatsumi gave a small bow

“Forgive me, grandson. This foolish grandpa has some finished mech ideas for you to see”

Maki seemed as if he wanted to be mad, but if he wanted to be mad, then he really shouldn’t have let his eyes light up

“So that’s why you weren’t replying, I didn’t think you’d actually stop altogether”

“I told you I wouldn’t while you were in class. Come have a look. These are all draft designs, naturally you’ll have the final say after the team presents their ideas and then I’ll take it to the principal for approval”

Coming over to join them, Maki groaned as his eyes landed on his joke design

“You can’t let this one go, can you?”

“Not when I’ve been informed the resemblance is canny. Personally, I don’t see what was so wrong with those pandas”

“Is this going to be the penguins all over again? Do I need to get Mina to send you her designs?”

Tatsumi sucked in his lips to stop from laughing. Mina had gushed and gushed over their penguin experience. They all knew it was virtual reality, but the aquarium had done a great job on their tech. The little girl able to pat penguins as much as she liked. Poaw raising an eyebrow

“Mina?”

Given it was Maki’s sister they were talking about, Tatsumi headed her off

“Don’t ask. I may have gotten carried away”

Maki raised his gaze

“More than that. I did some designs too, but… I like this one. I like the feel of it, but what’s with the glitter?”

Tatsumi’s chest grew warm as Maki picked up the design he’d secretly hoped the alpha would love

“It’s very tiny paint particles. The effect would be very slight until your in motion”

“So it’s not glitter?”

“Oh, no. It is in the sense you’re thinking, but it’ll serve to make you just a touch less scary”

“I want them to be terrified. I know I will be. Can we not have glitter?”

“We can paint a swatch of both then decide. Why don’t you show me your designs?”

Poaw cleared her throat to interrupt them

“You two obviously don’t need me butting in here. I’ll finish up calibrations while you two settle on a paint scheme. It might be a little wait as I expected you later”

Maki waved his hand dismissively, Poaw giving Tatsumi an amused look which he returned with a nod and a smile, then turned his attention back to Maki

“We were just saying that the school may wish for us to use the orange and white of the emblem”

Maki frowned at the suggestion, Tatsumi didn’t blame him. Orange always stood out in battle, he knew that already. The alpha asking

“I mean, we could… do you think we still look cool with the school colours? Is this what you saw when we were at the warehouse? You said an inky blue black?”

“Pretty much. I wasn’t sure what shade to go until I was using the simulator. I think we can both agree no boots or glasses”

“And no pink pandas?”

Tatsumi faked a pout. Mina would have loved the pandas. The girls in the crowds probably would have gone crazy for them. With his looks, skill, and a bright pink mech, Maki would have pissed off a hell of a lot of partners showing up like that

“But they suit you so well”

Slyly, Maki through a counter jab

“Says my grandpa, who should have been resting like I told him too”

“I did rest, oh great grandson of mine. Then I remembered I had nothing to do”

“You could have slept. What about your eyes? Too much screen time isn’t good for you”

Maki was making mountains out of molehills. There was only so much time a man could be left alone with his own thoughts

“I’ll have you know I have new glasses, they were delivered this morning, and that I didn’t bother getting dressed and ready for the day until after I had breakfast”

“Touché. Still, you spent so much time on this”

“Of course I did. We can’t have your mech going out with any old paint job. A paint job needs to suit the pilots taste, most have flares of the owners style on the battlefield”

“Did yours?”

Tatsumi thought of his mech in his lab. He definitely did… a special paint job forced on him by the team

“Yes. And I’d never swap it for anything. It was gifted on me as a joke, yet I’d rather die than see it erased”

“That’s some pretty heavy shit right there”

“It’s true. Plus, your synch rate will fall if you’re piloting a mech you dislike. You’ll find a lot of proud soldiers happy to talk about their paint jobs. It becomes part of your identity, and those around you will be able to recognise you straight away. That’s why the government is more lenient on paint jobs provided they aren’t overly gaudy and obnoxious”

“Damn, no glasses then. I don’t think I liked them all that much anyway. I do like this one. Can we try working out how to work in the school colours in case there’s an objection”

“Of course. We also need to consult the others about the choice, though I can’t see it being too much of a problem if you go for a darker look. It’ll be pretty bad arse”

Maki stared at him for a good moment before snorting

“You just reminded me how much older you are. I didn’t think you’d be saying something’s bad arse”

“Take pity on this grandpa, it’s hard being old and past my prime”

“You’re hardly past your prime. Your designs are better than mine”

Tatsumi wanted to beam with happiness, but he couldn’t. Maki would have worked on his own designs just as hard. He wouldn’t let him choose his without taking what the alpha had come up with and completing ignoring it

“You haven’t shown me yet, sit down and we’ll work on your mech together”

***

By the time he and Tatsumi had drafted up designs including the school colours, Maki was excited. He could see his mech clearly in his head, and Tatsumi could show him how it should look provided that they didn’t mod the mods any further. His mech was a beast. Inky black, with touches of sapphire blue in the paint. Sure, the school designs were passable, opting for the colours to be on the arms or legs rather than the bulk of the mech, but it was still the coolest looking mech he’d ever seen. Tatsumi had assured him that the paint job was completely customisable and he’d print those samples he’d mentioned, but Maki honestly didn’t care. His mech was beastly and sure to strike fear into those in the competition.

Lying on the examination bed, it was tilted up at a 45 degree angle. Wires and monitors lead from the helmet that would both map his brain and generate the world he’d find himself in. In his hands were the dummy controllers that’d give him a sense of actually being in a mech, and steps sat beneath his feet to project walking. For their own safety, Poaw, her team, and Tatsumi stood behind a glass shield. Yes, he was mad that Tatsumi had shown up after promising to rest, but the man had spent the whole day in his room working on designs, so he couldn’t be too mad about that.

“Maki, we’ll begin synchronisation now. Tell us immediately if you’re experiencing anything abnormal”

With his new mech’s badarse paint job officially decided upon, his mental training now was focusing on the vastly different feels between an Erebus and a TC. An Erebus had a far more sophisticated system which would only get harder once all the mods were in place

“Understood”

Taking several deep breaths, Maki opened his eyes to find himself in the projected cockpit. He didn’t like the lacking walls around him, it gave him too much space to breathe, and though he’d never thought he’d see the day, he kind of missed the smell of sweat seeing the cleanliness of the air was too pure.

“That’s good Maki. We’ll hold here for a minute before proceeding”

Poaw said that last time, Maki figured it was to simulate booting time in a real mech. On his screen numbers sat level, his synch rate sitting at 86 percent even though he thought it’d be higher. Remembering that Poaw had told him he had to confirm everything he heard, he replied

“Alright. Things seem fine”

“Good, good. Reading are good too. You’re doing great”

“Tell grandpa he better be sitting down by now. He’ll wear out those old legs of his”

Tatsumi’s voice came through the projected cockpit

“Focus on what you’re doing. This is serious now”

“Alright already, sheesh, you research times do like to nag”

“Says the man labelling himself as my grandson”

“How else was I going to get you to listen?”

“I always listen. Now focus, Poaw’s going to start increasing the loading. Keep your breathing calm”

Maki would have ducked his head if he could. Tatsumi was scolding him in front of everyone. He couldn’t rely on Tatsumi once he got into the competition arena. Focusing on breathing was boring, so instead he moved to use the mechs screen, looking for the input stats so he could watch the loading as it grew. He’d meant to do that the last time, but thought himself clever for remembering to do so this time given it was only his third time in.

“Don’t focus on your stats. We’ll be monitoring them”

Maki would have elbowed Tatsumi if he could have

“Stop talking, if I want to know my stats, I’ll look at them”

“Stats aren’t everything”

“Then you come sit in this contraption and tell me you’re not curious”

Vaguely he could hear Poaw telling Tatsumi to shut up, then her voice came through

“Right. Beginning mental loading in 30 seconds”

Maki watched the numbers climb then steady out. He truly felt as if he’d do better in a real mech, but everyone was acting cautiously and he supposed mechs were kind of expensive. Holding himself back was hard seeing he was so used to Andes making him move, and had grown used to facing Tatsumi where stopping to analyse led to action. As his numbers started to dip, Poaw’s voice came through, causing him to jump slightly

“We’ll end it here today. You achieved 76% loading, but you’re showing signs of distress in your vitals. We’ll start reducing the strain now. Don’t move until the projection ends”

Obediently waiting, Maki followed orders. Staying completely still until the screen went black and the headset was raised. The alpha didn’t realise he was panting for breath until Poaw was beside him, checking his vision with a light pen

“Good. You were doing good. Catch your breath. 35 minutes at 76 percent is good”

It hadn’t felt 35 minutes. It felt longer and shorter at the same time. Looking down, he realised he was sweating up a storm inside his pilot suit. Everything felt horribly hot and soggy, much like his brain from keeping control

“Maki? Are you with us?”

Maki nodded at Poaw’s question

“I don’t know how I made 35 minutes”

“You held steady for the first 25, before starting to dip. You initial synch rate did have us worried, yet you evened out so instead of raising it higher we kept it even to see how long you could maintain that level. When you get back to your dorm, ask your fellow students to monitor any symptoms. With the change in your suppressants your body is adjusting to a lot. Don’t be too disheartened”

Maki would not be asking them for help. He was sure it would end as disastrously as when he’d tried asking them for advice the previous night. The alpha felt disappointed in himself for not being able to take on a larger load, if he ignored the boot time, adjustment period, and the end time, he’d only lasted roughly 20 minutes. He needed better times if he wanted to win the competition

“I understand”

“Good, you can come off the bed now. I’ll check your vitals once you’ve calmed back down”

With legs of jelly, Maki wobbled his way across to sit next to Tatsumi who waited with a bottle of water and a towel, both appreciated in his state. With how Poaw had praised him, he felt embarrassed, especially when Tatsumi gave a small cough to indicate he had something to say

“What do you feel went wrong?”

No words of praise? Actually, Maki liked it better than Tatsumi hadn’t praised him

“It’s weird. Being exposed is nothing like being in a mech. Even the cocoons we use feel more like being in a mech than that does”

“So you think you’d do better in an actual mech?”

Maki opened his water, gulping down the contents as if he’d never had a drink before in his life. Draining the bottle, he accidentally slammed it down when he was done, explaining

“Basically. It doesn’t feel enough like a mech so I can’t keep focus as I should be, but I’m sure I’ll get it. I have to. I won’t let anyone down”

Reaching out, Tatsumi ruffled Maki’s sweat damp hair

“If you say you can do it, then I believe it. Your rate will always be messed up by unusual conditions. We had to keep the area free seeing your an alpha taking on such a large mental load. If you had lost control we have an easier time sedating you sitting up like that rather than trying to bring you down in a mech”

Taking Tatsumi by the wrist, Maki pulled him off him. He wasn’t sure if he wasn’t meant to be comforted by the fact the team didn’t want him being hurt inside a mech where he could seriously risk death, or upset that the team thought it might happen. Unable to stop himself, he snapped

“I told you I’d get it! It’s not like I’m not trying!”

Throwing back Tatsumi’s arm, Maki’s eyes widened in horror at what he’d done. Tatsumi keeping his balance and barely affected, but Maki was. He’d used enough force on the man that a normal person would have lost their balance. His words fell over each other as he asked

“Shit. Fuck. Are you okay? What the hell was that?”

Taking his wrist into his left hand, Tatsumi rubbed at it lightly

“No damage done. You’re agitated from the mental loading and I shouldn’t have touched an alpha so casually straight after”

That didn’t mean shit. He wasn’t meant to hurt people who didn’t deserve it and he didn’t get why he was so angry

“But you were trying to be nice. Like, what the hell?”

“Instincts. Those stupid traits still simmering in our blood. Your body feels stressed and your brain is still running hot. It didn’t hurt”

“It doesn’t matter if it did or didn’t. Maybe I do need sedating?”

“I wouldn’t have lived so long if a small incident like this meant anything. You’re fine. Wiped yourself down and focus your breathing. In through the nose slowly and out through your mouth”

“I know how to damn well breathe!”

Tatsumi had the nerve to smile, Maki giving a miserable groan. His mouth was going to get him into trouble and didn’t like it

“Don’t let it get to you. Young alphas are supposed to be broody and ill tempered”

The alpha didn’t want to hear it. Being an alpha was no excuse for being an arsehole

“I’m not that much younger than you and I went on suppressants to avoid this shit right here”

“It’s fine. Look, all this means is we should adjust training sooner rather than later. You became distressed because you felt restless. You felt restless because though submerged, you still couldn’t stop noticing the glaring fact you weren’t in a mech. These results aren’t bad, they just say we change method sooner than later”

Maki sighed heavily as he slumped back feeling disheartened. They didn’t want to put him in a mech but he couldn’t get his shit together enough not to be. He needed to be better than this, and in a hurry or he’d never be ready for the competition

“We don’t have time for this”

“We do if… if I show you something. Poaw, can I borrow Maki once you’re done with him?”

Poaw called back across the lab

“You can take him after I’ve given him another check. Make sure he goes back to his dorm room and rests”

That was all Maki wanted to do. He wanted to keep him and his bad mood to himself, not be dragged around and made to feel better about failing. Maki rejecting the offer

“Not tonight. I don’t think my pride can take anything else and I don’t want to say anything I can’t take back”

“Alright. I suppose it may be a bit too much for you right now. I’ll take you back once you’ve been tested again”

Despite being calm, Tatsumi seemed disappointed. He never knew what was going on in the fellow alpha’s head, or why he’d want to go cheering him up after probably giving the man a good laugh at how pathetic he was as a pilot. He’d been the one to say he could do this, and now they were all telling him he couldn’t. His pride was wounded. Sure, they all knew he was a second year student, but Tatsumi should have known better than to come at him with whatever it was

“Maki, it’s alright. This is only your third session”

“And how many more do you need to see me fail?!”

There went his temper again. Standing up, Tatsumi wrapped his arms around him

“It’s not a failure. You’d be dead if you failed, or even worse, in a vegetative state where all we could do was liquidate your organs. I’ll get your things ready, take a shower when you’re back at your dorm. It’ll still be within curfew”

“I can shower here, it’s all the same”

“The same for you, not for them. Your alpha’s showing more than you think. Go easy on us, will you?”

Maki didn’t get it until Tatsumi released him and he saw a noticeable outline in his crotch. There was being worked up, and “being worked up”, an absolutely ridiculous state for a trainee to be in front of everyone. Sliding the towel down, Tatsumi covered his lap before sitting back on his own stool, leaving Maki angry with the mortification of being sprung. His cheeks red as he hissed in a whisper

“Not a word”

“I wasn’t intending on it. Besides, you’re not the only one with one here. I do know how these things work, you know”

“And yet you’re still running your mouth. Piss off already, pervert”

Tatsumi snorted, making a show of turning away as he did, then getting back off the stool on the opposite side

“Right. You stay there, I’ll get your things together”

Maki had a right mind to smack the Professor one for being straight out embarrassing, but supposed technically he’d been spared being seen by Poaw this way thanks to the towel. His stupid dick had gone and betrayed him, and now that he thought about it, Tatsumi’s warmth hadn’t helped things down there. It’d been so long, probably too long, since he’d taken matters into his own hands and now his goddamn babysitter would know exactly what he was getting up to later that night. This was all Tatsumi’s fault.

#ashratherose #omegaverse #mpreg #rfi #rage fire #rage fire institution #mecha

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