iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

— Know. What I. Hear. She shall feel. And under. Stand. Speak and. Be known. Speak. On the. Wind. Through the. Trees. These she-I know. And will hear. You.”

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

— tail, seemed to be shocked that the ghost was speaking directly to itself. The eyes—or what felt like eyes—locked onto Alessandra. It “spoke” in halting rasps, huffs, and howls, through distant winds and the smell of salt seas. “I. Cannot. We are. One. And the same. What I. Know. She-I shall. —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

— and around Rieka like stitching in a tapestry. They were separate but completely entwined in a whorl of both aligned and conflicting emotions, intent, and mood. To destroy one would be to destroy the other. The spirit, which appeared to the apparition as a glimpse of a wolf chasing its —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

For her enormous size and glaringly obvious strength, the woman was still frightened enough to want to rip into whatever unseen thing was pestering her. The spirit that was with her seemed to be on high alert, but somehow more pragmatic and cautious. The spirit, the “other,” wove in and through —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

HITS THE AIR CONDITIONER WITH HER VERY LARGE FIST.

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

— to pounce. Her teeth were bared, her throat emitting a low growl that was neither human nor animal. She exuded an aura, a duality. A woman, a beast. A spirit painted with two brushes to form a single two-toned image. “Who said that?! Where are you?!”

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

— to have her observation immediately confirmed as a sharp, audible voice whispered in her ear. She yelped, launching back from her perch and landing in the middle of the roof. She crouched low, her large hand braced against the ground, her feet planted behind her as if she readied herself —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

— she watched with ever-increasing confusion as the wind swirled and whipped the street detritus into what almost looked like the shape of a person. Just as quickly as it had formed, it faded into the formless breeze it had come from. “This is getting weird,” Rieka muttered to herself, only —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Rieka felt the warm breeze kiss her skin as it rushed past her on the roof, yet there was something else among the dust and leaves. She couldn’t smell it, but she could feel it—something like a charge in the air. “What is—“ Rieka shifted on the roof, leaning over the old red brick cladding as —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

— quietly watching the figure from the shadows with crimson-red eyes.

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

— Kicking off her flip-flops, Rieka all-but launched herself towards the fire escape, sliding and climbing down its bars and rails rather than walking. The street glowed brightly again as Rieka reached the ground, followed by more pops and sizzling. “Just what in Hel are you?” She muttered, —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

— fingenails dug into old concrete as her wolf rattled its cage. “Danger. Kill. Protect,” it said in whispers. She tongued her long canines, swallowing the burning in her throat that said “Let me out, let me out.” Instead, she would know this thing’s scent, she would follow. —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

— to the ledge of her roof, Rieka caught sight of a figure whose path seemed to leave nothing but darkness in its wake. Every step it took towards another light made the thing struggle and glow as bright as the sun until it finally gave out. The hair on Rieka’s neck stood to attention. Her —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

— and was taking a late-night stroll. An old bulb that hung over the stairway door struggled until it too finally popped and left Rieka in the dark. “Just fantastic.” In the fresh silence of her little mostly-forgotten street, she could hear footsteps on the sidewalk below. Meandering her way —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

“Well,” Rieka mumbled to herself as she circled the center of her oft-failing electrical system. “Nothing wrong with you this time, so what…” The dim utility lights on the roof as well as the streetlights below began to glow brighter and brighter, as if a power surge had grown legs —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

However, as clan leader and the one whose name is on the deed, you sometimes find yourself on the roof at ten o’clock at night praying that your electrical system isn’t smoking.

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Rieka gave her best evil laugh before slipping out the door, yawning loudly as she shuffled down her hall, up her stairs, and onto her roof. Owning your family’s generational home in its entirety had its perks. —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

you’ve done it. Now you’ve made the Allfather angry because you didn’t brush your teeth.” Rieka ducked once more to exit James’ room, slipping on her flip-flops. “I’m gonna go check the transformer on the roof again, those teeth better be brushed and you better be in bed when I’m back! Or eeeelse…”—

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

bouncing back and forth from TV to Rieka. “Well, you can tell Danny that—“ The lights dimmed once, then blinked, then went dark for three seconds before coming back on. The TV was dark, the console quiet, and James dumbfounded. “See?” Rieka said, smirking as she put her hands on her hips. “Now —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Rieka’s large feet thudded across the hardwood floor as she marched to her son’s room. “Whoa-whoa-whoa!” James said helplessly as Rieka ducked to avoid knocking her head against his doorframe as she entered. “Danny and I are so close to the end of the match!” James said pleadingly, his eyes —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

toothpaste, quickly rinsing off the white flecks of foam from her mouth as she perked up one of her keen ears. There it was, the sound of an unpaused video game from the other room, exactly what she expected. “James Thorkell Brandt!” Tying her wild mane of black hair back in a messy ponytail, —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

“Jaaaames!” A booming, sing-songy voice thundered through a large apartment tucked away in Gotham’s east end. “Because I’m the nicest person in the world I’m gonna tell you a maximum of one more time to get your butt in here and brush your teeth!” Rieka Guðrún Brandt spat out her own minty —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

— nothing left behind but Rieka taking deep, calming breaths, her fists clenched around the cart handle like vices. “Calm. Calm. Calm.” She repeated to herself in a whisper, telling the burning in her throat to cool itself down. “Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.”

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

— cowed the man, if only a little. “Didn’t have the thing I was looking for anyway,” Max said, his voice just a tad quieter. “Be seeing you.” “No, you won’t,” Rieka growled back as he passed them in the aisle, nearly brushing his shoulder against the rows of canned soup. With that he was gone, —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

— maw, the smell of fear, his fear, the stink of death. She hated him. Pure, uncomplicated hate. A hard thing for a temperamental to harbor, a harder thing to suppress. “Get. Out.” Her voice held a sort of power Jules couldn’t understand, something deep within its registers was something that —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

There was nothing else to say, nothing else to do. Either of these two could bring the entire building down single-handedly, the destruction from both of them winding up in a scrap wasn’t something she wanted to think about. But oh, did she want it. The taste of strange blood wetting her —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

— bending beneath her grip, one of the plastic wheels snapping under the pressure she was pressing down with. “Get out,” Rieka snarled through her long canines, another voice seeming to join hers as if her throat were being shared. “Before I gut you and leave your meat for the crows.”

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

— profits doing?” Max lazily tossed a bottle of cheap wine between each hand, making little glassy ‘thunk’ sounds each time. “Haven’t seen that little freak you were banging around much lately. Couldn’t take that ‘Queen’ shit anymore, I’m guessing.” The shopping cart’s metal handle was now —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

— as she spoke, Rieka managed to spit out her reply. “This is my territory, Max. I told you and your gang of rabid, inbred fleabags that you wouldn’t like it if you came near our spread again.” He continued to speak as if she hadn’t just insulted him to his face. “Oh, this is your store? How are —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

— held little joy and much malice. His long dirty-blonde hair was tied back with leather strips, a lazily trimmed beard covering his angular face. “Rieka Brandt. I thought you hit up the store off of Tenth and Walnut?” He said airily, pointing his thumb behind him. Suppressing a throaty growl —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

— empty aisle ahead of them, her long claw-like nails digging into the plastic of the cart’s handle. “Is that who I think I smell?” A deep male voice floated over the top of shelves as the owner stepped around the corner to face the pair. He was as tall and as wide as Rieka with a smile that —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

On the air, imperceptible to Jules, was a familiar scent. Sickly sweet musk, the sour smell of a warm day’s sweat, the smell of earth and iron. “Just stay behind me and don’t say anything,” Rieka said through clenched teeth, slyly stepping ahead of Jules. Rieka stepped forward into the large, —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

— “Fuck. Here?” She mumbled through a throaty growl.

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

— attempting and failing to make herself the size of a regular Gothamite. “Onward, peasant! To the cereal ai—“ Rieka froze in her tracks, her nostrils flaring as she rose to her full height. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, her nose scrunching in disgust. —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

“Juicy steak you’ll have to fight someone for, crispy high-fives are free.” As they entered the breezeway, Rieka ducked to avoid smacking her forehead on the door frame, making sure she returned to leaning over the cart’s handle. She seemed to be intentionally shrinking herself down, somewhat —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

“No more’n anybody else. Although, we do seem to be a bit more…Flexible in that regard.”

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

“That’s true, that’s true.”

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

— her arms across the handle as they walked into the shop.

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

— to the front door. Who said she couldn’t be lazy now and then? “Mind? Hey, I’m the queen. If anybody has a problem with you showin’ up…” Rieka drew her clawed thumb across her neck and stuck her long tongue out the side of her mouth. “Off with their heads.” Rieka snagged a shopping cart, folding —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

“Pfft. That implies I got the cash floating around for that. Would you do it pro-bono?” The pair had gotten lucky. The parking lot for the grocery store was half-empty when they arrived. Rieka swerved in to one of the few open spaces left at the front, the one with the least walking distance —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Rieka’s expression was distant just for a moment before the smile returned, a finger brushing the scar that stretched from her neck to her cheek. “He’s been just fine. I’m sure everyone’d love to see you again.”

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

“Ha!” Rieka laughed sharply as they turned a corner, their destination just a few blocks ahead. “Not exactly how the whole ‘Queen’ thing works. Don’t tell him that, he’ll start demanding I get a court jester or that he’s entitled to land or something.”

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

— for the first time a few weeks ago.” Her chin seemed to be held higher now, her expression absolutely beaming. “Been hard for him. For both of us. But these things have their ways of working out, thank the Allfather.”

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

— but she took in a breath, held it, let it out. “Ain’t been doing much. Watching the others’ kids, teaching my own. Shit, I guess you wouldn’t know.” Rieka snapped her fingers, a big smile spreading ear-to-ear. “I officially adopted my nephew, James. He’s…Well, he’s my son now. Called me mom —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

— broken up a beating and whatnot, but never the antics she heard through the grapevine. “Jeeeezus. Just another Tuesday for you though, huh?” Rieka considered venting about the absurd politics of werewolf clans, the burdens her ‘crown’ carried, all the stresses that were putting pressure on her, —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

“I mean, I guess I am technically big-boned. I’ll leave future archeologists confused for sure.” Rieka shook her head as Jules spoke, her thoughts wandering to what her life would be like if she counted herself among the spandexed heroes. Sure she had stopped a mugging here or there, —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Rieka tied back her wild mane of hair, charms and trinkets and all, before throwing the truck into gear. As soon as they hit the road, the werewolf was as chatty as ever. “So, watcha been up to? Saving kitties out of trees and getting the key to the city and whatnot?”

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

“What, you callin’ me fat or something?” Rieka bared those sharp canines again, narrowing her blood-red eyes as she turned the keys to start the truck. Rieka lasted three seconds into her false anger before she let out a belly laugh that could wake the dead. “Ah’m just fuckin’ with ya.” —

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Rieka Guðrún Brandt @fangandclaw.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

“That guy in the blue and red undies? I feel like we’d get along. Wanna challenge him to an arm wrestle.”

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