#patch 4.5

[blood-orange-juice]

No Dain in 4.5, according to leaks at least.

Skirk's whale ate all the lore. :(

[witchofthescions]

Tataru made me a whole dang outfit! Look at how cool it is!!

She also commissioned a real cool weapon for me, but I was too excited to show off the outfit to get any pics of it. I'll have to show it off later.

[bookkeeperofthescions]

Though... technically I suppose anyone who claims dragons are actually aliens from another star is technically correct.

[caluupin]

yippeeee

[4giorno]

omg. soon we will FINALLY be free of the crying abt artifact load outs 😍😍😍😍 anyway im thinking abt that beautiful musketeer character from the leaked concept art and how we will never have them in the game and instead we get chevr*use

[sageofthescions]

change: Has your OC ever drastically changed their appearance? Significant haircuts, big tattoos, complete wardrobe swap, etc? Why? How do they feel about the change?

Character Design Questions

((He's gone through a couple wardrobes already, and he's about to get another Whole New Wardrobe soon.

The looks that he's had so far:

He stuck with the first outfit pretty much until the end of the Dragonsong War arc, whereupon Nidhogg kinda stomped on him hard enough to damage the outfit and necessitate a new one lmfao

Something else that's not really reflected in my character sheet (which I've been meaning to fix) is his hair. Pictured above in both views is his original (short) hairstyle. After Haurchefant's death, however, he started growing his hair out a bit, largely because Depression™️, and now his hair is a little bit longer. And looks a bit more like Haurchefant's hair used to.

This shot used in that one selfie and the associated icon is probably the best shot I have of his current hairstyle.

And this is a quick side-by-side(ish) comparison of his starting hairstyle and his more current one.))

[musical-dash-trash]

the horse needs to be watered… i stand with the farm boy

[glitteringdepths]

whatever optimizations they did in 5.0 WORKED bc i can finally play genshin on pc again without it lagging to all hell the second i enter combat

[milkchocimono]

everyday scara fans LOSE

[onehellofakathy]

Filler patch...

[dongbangskies]

G’raha. Baby. I know you wanna save the word.

But your timing and aim is absolute shit. Can you either wait an hour or a week?

WE ARE AT WAR HERE!

and also why did you take all the smart ones first. We got Krile doing overtime and I’m entirely too stupid to know anything.

[eden031]

Sweet boy

Pairing: Jack Abbot x single mom! resident!reader

Warnings: Age gap (unspecified), reader‘s son plays soccer, reader feels like a bad mom, fluff mostly, implied that the kid is a matchmaker

Summary: When her son is having a rough patch, she asks her attending to come to his games, just as a temporary arrangement, of course. Though sometimes something temporary becomes normal.

Words: 4.5 k

A/N: Hey there, so this is what was voted for and I really like the way it turned out! It it rather light hearted and I really like the way it turned out. Though a quick disclaimer at this point, I have no idea what it is really like to be a single mom or a mom in genreal so please be kind in that regard. Also I might write a second part for this where reader finds out she is pregnant with Jack‘s baby and the ‚aftermath‘ of that, not sure about that though :) I still hope you enjoy this little story :D

Leaning against the nurses’ station she closed her eyes, the worry in her gut not getting better as the night wore on. It was his first sleepover and she was not happy about it, she had been reluctant about it anyways, but she knew the mother well, knew the father well and knew that there would only be three kids in total. It was safe and she knew that nothing bad could happen to him, she had slept over a ton as a kid and nothing ever happened. Still, since she had dropped him off at his best friend‘s house before she had gone to her shift the bad feeling her stomach didn‘t go away.

“You doing okay?” The voice of her attending pulled her out of her musings, he was standing closer than she had expected as she opened her eyes, feeling a slight heat rush to her face. His expression mildly worried, his salt and pepper curls slightly mussed. His stethoscope was wrapped around his neck and underneath it she could see the chain around it as well.

“Not really…” she sighed, rubbing her head, lying to him would get her nowhere, he was able to read her like an open book. “You know when you have a gut feeling that you really can’t shake?” she glanced at him with a small smile. He snorted slightly, nodding as he looked at her again. Not moving he still continued to stare at her, it was that kind of expectant stare he sometimes gave patients when they left out parts of the story they were telling.

“Yeah, definitely,” he crossed his arms across his chest, the thick forearms resting across each other. Sometimes she felt like a teenager when he was close to her, like she would start swooning after him like a lost puppy. Shaking her head slightly she tried to get that out of her head, hell he was her attending and in her eyes way out of her league.

“My son is sleeping over at a friend’s place tonight for the first time, can’t seem to shake the feeling that something terrible might happen,” she shuddered slightly as she shook her head. She knew that Abbot would probably have some wise words for her, he always did. „I sound like some kind of helicopter mom, don‘t I?“ she asked, laughing slightly as she looked at him.

„Nah,“ he shook his head, „We see shit in here people can‘t even dream of in their worst nightmares,“ he shrugged, „I think it‘s normal to be worried. And he is your first after all,“ A small smile was on his lips as he leaned against the counter.

„How did his match go, anyway?“ Abbot asked. She was slightly startled at the question, she had mentioned that her son had insisted on playing soccer this season and he had had his first match in the afternoon.

„It went well,“ she smiled, she had luckily been able to be there and cheer for him. „His team won and he put in the last goal, getting them out of the draw,“ a proud smile on her lips as she told that to Abbot. It had felt like she was watching her son in slow motion, running on his little legs with the ball in front of him, then one strong kick and he had scored the goal.

„Looks like you got a future star on your hands,“ Abbot smiled slightly as she laughed at that.

„If the love for it lasts longer than one season I actually might,“ she smiled at Abbot, trying to hide the sadness in her smile. Even if her son had played incredibly well he had still cried after the game, right after the kids had been allowed to go see their parents. All the dads had been so supportive the entire time, the mums as well, but that had not triggered her son‘s crying. It had been a conversation that they had been having for what felt like ages, on and off, even if her son was only seven, he understood the concept of not having a father or even father figure rather well. Especially since all his friends had really great and involved fathers. She knew that he was happy and that he loved her, it had alway only been them together, but apparently he was currently in a stage in life where he just wanted someone else besides her.

A sniffle left her as she realised the thought had made her cry again. Sometimes, well a lot of times, she felt like a bad mom. Due to the fact that most of her friends were either from work or her son‘s friends‘ mothers she did not know that many other single mothers. She had no advice on how to deal with these emotions and it made her feel so horrible.

„Hey, hey,“ he gently touched her shoulder, the concern in his features evident as he gently touched her shoulder.

„Gosh, sorry,“ she wiped away the tears, trying to stop the tears from falling again. A groan escaped her as she sniffled again. Suddenly her phone started buzzing in her pocket, fear shot through her as she grabbed it, holding up her hand to Abbot, her tears going dry right away as she saw the name of Josh‘s best friend‘s mother on the screen.

„Hey, is everything alright?“ she asked with panic in her voice. She knew she needed to calm down, panic wouldn‘t get her anywhere.

„Hey, yes, sorry if I am calling at a bad time.“ the voice sounded exhausted as she heard shuffling in the background.

“No! It‘s okay, I have some time on my hands right now,“ she shot Abbot an apologetic glance, though he still looked concerned at her, his hand still on her shoulder.

„Okay, I just wanted to tell you that the three of them devoured four pizzas and were knocked out afterwards, they are all sleeping right now and it looks like they are not going to get up until like at least ten tomorrow,“ Lara sounded exhausted, but she let out a sigh of relief.

„Thanks for letting me know.“ she paused. There was another pause on the other side of the line.

„Sorry, I didn‘t mean to keep you from work, have a good shift.“ Lara sounded exhausted, they quickly said their goodbyes and she hung up, letting her head fall backwards.

„Everything alright?“ he looked so concerned as he looked at her while she shoved her phone back into her pocket.

„Yeah,“ she let out a relieved laugh as she shook her head. „She just called to let me know that they are sleeping like stones and everything is alright.“

He let out a relieved sigh as well, like he had been just as worried as the phone had gone off. It made her smile slightly, Abbot had met her son a few times already, it had always been during cookouts organized by someone, mostly by either Dana or Langdon. Her son had loved Abbot from the moment her attending had introduced himself to her son. Josh became attached to Abbot like a tick the moment he spotted him in a crowd of one of the cookouts. Always dragging her mentor along to everything he wanted to do and for some reason unbeknownst to her, Abbot just let him and did his best to satisfy the whims of her son.

The thing was, that had made her crush on her attending even worse, seeing the way he treated her son made her heart swell every single time she saw them interact. Probably the worst part of it all was that she knew that this was no silly little crush anymore.

„Thank god,“ he breathed out, his head falling backwards as well. Suddenly something came to her mind, but before she could even propose the idea to Abbot Bridgit called out that a trauma was incoming.

——————

Shift change had gone smoother than usual and she was finally on her way out of the building, hoping to be able to shower before she had to pick up Josh. As she stood by the lockers she thought about the idea she had had again. Maybe it was stupid, and maybe she would overstep if she did really ask that of Abbot, but she just wanted to know if maybe there was a chance for it.

Seeing Abbot also coming her way she fished everything out of the locker, stepped back and waited for him to approach her. Usually he never used the lockers, his backpack already slung over his shoulder.

„Mind if we have a little chat before you leave?“ he asked, his brow raised in her direction.

„Not at all, I actually wanted to talk to you about something as well.“ she gave him a small smile as they began making their way towards the exit. She knew that Jack always walked, he said that it cleared his head, though she knew that he theoretically could drive.

„Are you sure you are doing okay? You know that you can talk to me if something is bothering you,“ his voice was so gentle as they stepped out of the hospital. She sighed, the crying had definitely prompted that conversation.

“Yeah, no, I know I am not doing the best,“ she answered honestly, „It‘s about Josh,“ another sigh and as she glanced to the side she could see the concerned expression of her attending.

„Is he sick?“ he asked, of course that was the first thing that came to mind, not the quick kind of sick, the occasional flu, but she knew that he meant sick. The kind of sick that could tear people apart.

„No!“ she shook her head, „He is just having a bit of a rough patch,“ she paused, cringing internally as they continued to walk towards employee parking, „He has been asking more and more about why his dad isn‘t there and why he can‘t have an awesome dad like his other friends,“ she paused, „Makes me feel like a terrible parent,“ she shuddered.

Abbot stopped walking, she also did, following his him to the side of the sidewalk. His expression was stern, but still friendly.

„You know you are not a bad mom, right?“ he paused, „That kid loves you more than anything in the world.“ Carefully he put his hands on her shoulders, gently squeezing them.

„I know,“ she tried to look away, but it felt impossible to draw away from these intense eyes. „I just…sometimes I wish I could give him that role model he so desperately wants…“ she sighed, rubbing her face. This was the point where she decided to just go with it and ask, „That was actually why I wanted to talk to you,“ she sighed again, Abbot looked surprised as she said that.

„I know that this is probably very unprofessional and also overstepping boundaries, but god, Josh loves you, always talks about you and every time there is a cookout he gets so excited.“ she paused gauging the expression on Abbot‘s face, it startled her when he looked slightly flustered, „But would you mind coming to the games with me? I know that you probably have a lot of stuff to do and more things to worry about, but-„

„I would love to,“ he paused, a small smile on his lips as he gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. It felt like the breath was knocked out of her lungs as she saw that sparkle in his eyes, for a moment she wasn‘t sure if it was just the light or if she could actually see tears gathering in the corners of his eyes.

„I would love to come,“ he repeated, again giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze, again „Just tell me when and where I have to be and I will be there,“ his voice was soft as he spoke. It made her want to cry, the way he smiled at her like she had just given him the best news of his life.

„Will do,“ she smiled at him, tears beginning to gather in her eyes as well, she hated it, knowing that loving this man was probably never going to get her anywhere.

———————

Sitting in the bleachers of the small school soccer field she sighed, glancing at her phone she checked to see if Abbot had texted her that he was running late. The kids were still doing warm ups and she had hoped that he would be there before the game would start. Glancing to the side she heard soft murmurs from some of the moms from the boys on her son‘s team, they were the kind of soccer mom‘s she really did not like. The ones that looked down on her for being a single mom, like it made her a bad person. Following their eyeline she grinned, Abbot was walking towards where she was sitting, in the lower ranks so that she could keep a close eye on the game the entire time. The sight in front of her made her a little light headed, Jack Abbot in casual clothes was something she had never hoped to see and here he was. A pair of loose fitted dark blue jeans, a tight fitted t-shirt paired with a fleece jacket without a hoodie. His backpack slung over his shoulder, as he walked over to her.

„Hey!“ she grinned at him, not sure how to greet him, though that question was answered when he gave her a quick hug.

„Hey,“ he said as well, taking a seat beside her, his legs spread slightly. Before she was able to say anything she heard one of the other mom‘s say something that made her a bit prickly.

„God, what a waste,“ Karen, the epitome of said name, half shouted while glaring in her direction.

„Thanks again for coming, Abbot,“ she gave him a small smile, he just nodded, a small smile also on his lips.

„Of course, and Jack will do for now,“ he smirked slightly as she felt her face heat up at the idea of calling him by his first name.

„Alright, no last names,“ she gave him a cheeky grin, then looked at the backpack, which had been safely deposited between his legs. Suppressing her laugh she glanced at him.

„What have you got in the bag?“ she asked, nodding at the backpack, Jack hummed softly, a huff escaping him.

„Wanna have a look?“ he asked, while his eyes found her backpack as well, „Mind if I get a peek at what you got?“ a small grin on her face they exchanged backpacks.

Looking into his backpack she found an array of medical supplies, Butterfly ultrasound, neckbrace, field trach kit, tourniquet, a stethoscope, a catheter for a chest tube, syringe and a lot more.

„Came prepared, let's just hope we don‘t need any of these,“ she laughed as she placed the backpack on the ground again.

„You too,“ he nodded with a small smile on his lips.

„Looks like we came with a whole ED on our back,“ she laughed, „Still just so you know there are medics here as well,“ she paused, glancing over at the two teenagers who were the medics for the teams, „I just don‘t trust them,“ she muttered under her breath.

Jack followed her line of sight and nodded slowly as he also saw the two teenagers sitting there, glued to their phones.

„I get that,“ he hummed softly, looking over his shoulder now, she followed his gaze this time she saw Karen staring at him, her husband, Larry, sitting cluelessly beside her. „What is her deal?“ he muttered as he leaned in closer to her, his breath fanning over the side of her face.

„Just getting the newest gossip ready,“ she sighed, a small smirk on her face as she watched Josh helping one of his teammates up from the ground after the kid had tripped.

„For the Soccer moms‘ whatsapp group?“ he asked, his voice laced with amusement. A snort left her lips as she shook her head.

„Worse, the soccer moms‘ facebook group,“ at that comment Jack let out a laugh, gently nudging her with his elbow. She grinned at him, shaking her head slightly. She thought that she could get used to this, to him being around more. It was nice, having someone around that she could talk with, someone that cared for Josh.

„JACK!“ Josh‘s tiny voice pulled her out of her thoughts as she saw him barreling towards her, though he did not launch himself at her, but rather at Jack, jumping into his arms. Jack easily caught Josh, holding him close for a moment, laughing softly as her son‘s tiny hands grabbed his jacket.

„Are you here for my game?“ Josh asked, his eyes big. She felt her heart lurch slightly at the sight. Jack holding Josh, who was now half sitting on his lap, a big grin on his tiny face.

„Yeah, little champ,“ he nodded. The coach called Josh‘s name and he let go of Jack again, not saying anything he bolted back to the team. A small smile grew on her lips as she watched the new spring in Josh‘s step. For a moment there was comfortable silence between them, their shoulders and legs brushing slightly as they watched the team huddled together. Lara and her husband weren‘t there, Tom, their son had caught the flu and was now sick, she was kind of the only mother she actually knew and liked from the team.

„So, any post game traditions?“ Jack asked while they watched the kids scattering over the field, taking their positions to start the game. A snort left her lips as she glanced over at him.

„It‘s only his second game, so no,“ she gave him a small grin as they leaned back slightly.

„What about I take you guys out for some pizza?“ he asked, the tone of his voice was different, it was like there was a subtle question behind it, like he was trying to figure out how far she would let him in.

„Pizza sounds great!“ she smiled at him, feeling her face heat up again as he gave her a quick smile. „But I am paying!“ she grinned at him.

„Let's argue about that when the time comes,“ he shook his head as the whistle for the start of the game blew.

The game was good, Josh‘s team getting another win, this time her little champ had scored the first goal of the match. She and Jack had cheered loudly and for the first time it felt like she could also cheer unapologetically. The look on Josh‘s face during half time had been unforgettable and would probably be burned in her mind forever, the pure joy of seeing her and Jack and how excitedly he had told them about his thoughts during the first goal.

Now the game was over and she and Josh were packing up his things, changing from his soccer shoes to his regular trainers. Josh was babbling about how cool the move of his teammate had been when he had avoided one of the opponents. Jack was standing beside her, a proud smile on his lips. Josh looked as his hands as she was beginning to collect all their stuff.

„Mommy,“ his voice was so soft that she was barely able to even hear him as she looked up, a smile on her face.

„Yeah sweetheart?“ she smiled at him, he looked nervous, glanced at Jack then back at her.

„Can we take a picture?“ he asked softly, looking at his hands like he was asking for some kind of dangerous thing.

“Of course, sweety,“ she smiled at him, gently ruffling his hair, „Do you want a picture with all of us or just you and Jack?“ she knew that they already had a picture of just him and her, so she just assumed that he wanted a picture with Jack.

„Can we do both?“ he asked, his eyes big as he looked at her with hopeful eyes.

„Of course, darling,“ she looked at Jack who looked like he was preening at the question, a small smile on her lips she ushered Josh towards Jack, who exchanged a few hushed whispers with each other. They posed together, Jack placing his hands on Josh‘s shoulders, a proud smile on his lips, an elated expression on Josh‘s. She smiled as she took the pictures.

“Do you want me to take the other one?“ the voice of the coach came from beside her as he gave her a small smile. He was already in his sixties and such a sweetheart.

„Please!“ she handed him her phone, giving him a thankful smile, quickly she moved up to Jack and Josh who both gave her a smile. Stepping behind Josh she also placed one hand on his shoulder, suddenly she felt an arm wrap itself around her waist, a surprised expression graced her face before she also wrapped her arm around his waist as well, both of them a hand on Josh‘s shoulder. The coach grinned slightly as he took a picture.

„You want your mom and I to pick you up?“ Jack asked Josh, who grinned excitedly and nodded quickly. Together they picked up her son, squeezing him between them, all of them laughing, another picture was taken.

That evening she had sent all of the pictures to Jack. Sitting on the sofa while Josh already slept she stared at the screen, the picture of Jack and her holding Josh stared back at her, that night she decided to change the picture of herself and Josh in her background to this one.

—————-

Sitting on her sofa she glanced over at Josh who was snoring softly between her and Jack, his little body snuggled between them. It was so domestic, so normal at this point that it made her want to cry.

Jack always came for the games, always cheered Josh on, always made sure that their little champion knew how well he was doing. Meanwhile he checked in on her, made sure she was also doing alright, offered her to take a few more days off during the months so that she could relax a little. At some point it became a tradition for Jack to come back to her place after a game and pizzas, they would often watch a movie, Josh usually falling asleep within the first half hour of the movie, though they still finished watching the movie, one of them would put him to bed. It was almost like they really were a family, except that they weren‘t, not like that at least.

The tension between them had heightened. At work sometimes it felt like they were really a couple, Jack bringing her coffee, her always making sure to bring an extra bag of food, knowing that Jack often forgot. During breaks she would ask if he needed anything from the grocery store while Jack offered to watch Josh when he had a night off when she didn‘t.

The end credits played as they continued to stare at the screen, she paused the movie, then turned off the TV.

„Do you wanna put him down?“ she asked, feeling how her arm had fallen asleep from Josh sleeping on it, hit head leaning against her upper arm.

„Yeah,“ Jack‘s voice was hoarse, glancing over at him she felt a pang in her heart, realising that he was crying. She had never really seen him cry before, never seen him that emotional. She didn‘t comment on it though, just gave him time to pick up Josh and carry him towards his bedroom. Quietly she followed him, making sure that Jack didn‘t realise. Stopping in the doorway she saw how Jack tucked in Josh, gently brushing some strands of hair out of his face.

„Huh,“ a shaky sigh escaped his lips, she wanted to say something, but she simply stood there and watched, „Sweet boy,“ his voice was so gentle, as he kneeled beside Josh‘s bed. „You know, I really should have believed you when you first told me I loved your mom,“ a soft laugh came from him. He rested his arm on the mattress of her son‘s bed. „Sleep well,“

She felt her heart hammering in her chest. Her chest tightened as she watched the moment between Jack and her sleeping son. Another sigh came from Jack, she took a small step back as he got up from where he had been kneeling, gently pressing a kiss to her son‘s forehead before he turned around. His eyes went wide as he saw her standing there, carefully she made room for him to walk out the room, closing the door behind him.

„I think I should be going, it‘s later than usual,“ he spoke softly as they faced each other in the hallway. The space felt crammed, with all the unsaid things between them. They surrounded them in this moment more than ever before, weighing them down, in a way pulling them together.

„Don‘t,“ she shook her head, feeling the weight that had been living in her chest since Jack had essentially become Josh‘s father figure. The weight of an unspoken truth neither of them really wanted to face, neither of them really wanted to acknowledge.

The air around them was charged, she reached out, trying to keep her hands from shaking, gently she took his. He intertwined their fingers, carefully pulling her closer to him. His free hand wrapped around her cheek, his thumb caressing her it. Moving closer he pressed his lips to hers, it felt like a current went through her body. Their lips moved against each other, wrapping her free arm around his neck she tried to pull him in even closer, to close the distance between them completely. There was a certain urgency in the kiss, they let go of each other‘s hands, his other hand went towards her waist, she wrapped her other arm around his neck as well. As they pulled away he rested his forehead against hers, their breaths intermingling.

His other hand had found her waist now, holding her close to him, the heat radiating off of him now even more comforting than when he looked over her shoulder in a trauma bay. She brushed her nose against his, pressing another soft kiss to his lips.

„Are you going to tell me why you cried?“ she asked, her voice a bit lighter as she spoke, her arms slowly encircling his waist now. A low groan came from him, then a soft huff.

„I always cry at the end of The Lion King,“ he said, his voice cracking slightly, his hold on her not relenting.

„You gotta be kidding me,“ she laughed as she tilted her head back slightly.

„I‘m not,“ he looked deadly serious, though a small smile was now visible on his features.

„I am definitely going to tell Ellis about that,“ she giggled slightly as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, placing soft kisses there.

„You are definitely not going to do that,“ he leaned his head back, letting out a small hum.

“Maybe, maybe not,“ she giggled softly as she leaned her head against his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of finally being in his arms.

[witchofthescions]

@nameless-brand replied to your post “Gods damn it all. Alisaie and Gohnoh'a are out...”:

What the hell is wrong with that Calling person?

​Hells if I know. Soon as I can get my hands on 'em I'm giving 'em a piece of my mind, I'll tell you what.

[bookkeeperofthescions]

🥿🥿 [[ ballet slipper— with only one word, describe how you feel at this moment ]]

Pink Asks

Overworked @_@

[amnhnyc]

Meet one of the planet’s smallest turtles: the bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)! This petite reptile grows up to 4.5 in (11.4 cm) long. It’s easily identifiable by the orange patches on either side of its head.

The bog turtle has an impressive lifespan, with the oldest documented individual reaching an age of 61! Unfortunately, this species is critically endangered due in part to poaching and habitat loss as a result of human expansion.

Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, CC BY 2.0, flickr (juvenile pictured)

[bookkeeperofthescions]

Oh Alphie's absolutely terrified of the things! And apparently has been since he was little, according to his sister and a former classmate. >:) Though I'm... concerned, now. Don't tell me ghosts who have their eye on someone already attached try to eliminate the competition or something!

I suppose I can see why some might find the nocturnal fae intimidating... But surely those fears are exaggerated! Especially if they've been able to get along with non-fae perfectly well.

Hm, well... what are these nature faeries like? The sylphs here are forest... sprites? Something like that. They're very leafy, haha! They're relatively nice, but also tend to be a little mischievous. Like that time they went around disguised as some of my friends and caused no end of confusion.

Oh wow, the dorms sound really diverse! And now you've got me curious about all these people these dorms are based around. They all sound like a very important bunch, haha!

I hope things have been going well with your friends, I realize it's been quite a while since we last had this discussion.

Oh! He's a merperson, huh? What does he think of the world above the waves?

Honestly, I'm starting to think that's just how it is with prejudice. Some people hold onto their prejudice because they have other baggage to deal with on top of their views, and that's on them to sort out. But I do hope he's able to work out how to get his good intentions across in a less prejudiced manner, haha!

Oh that does sound rather alarming... Though it is rather neat to hear that food works just as well for replenishing mages' stamina in your world as it does in ours. Are mages in your world in the habit of carrying snacks like they are here? Mages have something of a reputation here for having sweettooths because of it, haha. Pastries and sweets are a lot easier to carry in bulk, after all.

Oh, that's wonderful to hear! We do have quite a bit of efficient irrigation in Ul'dah, naturally, but we're still at the mercy of the desert heat and flash floods. You'd think someone would have worked out some efficient water magic to use out here, but no, thaumaturges are too busy messing around with fire and ice to just create water.

I never would have thought that the creative arts would help with visualizing magic, actually. Hm... maybe that's why my attempts at learning arcanima went so poorly, haha...

It's honestly not that scary to me! Most of the ghosts on campus are kind and help with teaching. Some of them help run a culinary crucible to teach students how to cook! Along with a few other things. I take it Alphinaud's scared of them? ...actually, that's understandable, ever since I learned about what happens to the unfortunate spouses of ghosts who want to marry a living person... also, I didn't know you could summon faeries! I'm not sure you can here. I might have to doublecheck that.

There are! A lot of the fae who attend school here are nocturnal fae, and they're roughly the size of people who have a humanoid form they can use. I heard that Malleus is a dragon! And I think Sebek is a crocodile? I don't remember for sure about Lilia, but with as much as he likes to hang upside down, I think he might be a bat... a lot of the Faeland faeries think the nocturnal fae are frightening and they don't really mess with each other.

Hmmm... I don't know! What are sylphs? There are some nature faeries, but I doubt that they're the same?

I don't mind you asking at all!! Let's see, I'll try to keep this short and informative.

Heartslabyul: inspired by the Queen of Hearts, who brought law and order to a lawless land! She's known for her strictness, and so most students in there are... generally law-abiding? The dorm's known for having a list of 810 rules that they're expected to memorize, because the housewardens are generally supposed to take that seriously. Their current housewarden, Riddle, takes the rules VERY seriously, but he's learning to ease up a bit!

Savanaclaw: inspired by the King of Beasts and his spirit of persistence! He stopped at nothing to bring equality to the savannah, though... it's still not perfect. A good number of beastfolk end up in this dorm, and a lot of them are usually fairly sporty. I guess probably because you have to be a little persistent to do well in sports? A lot of them are pretty easy to piss off!

Octavinelle: inspired by the Sea Witch, who was known for her compassion/benevolence. They run a campus cafe called the Mostro Lounge! I'm not exactly sure how much I feel like all of their students really embody compassion, personally, but that's how it is! Octavinelle and Scarabia are usually competing for the highest grades overall.

Scarabia: My dorm! Scarabia's inspired by the Sorcerer of the Sands, who was known for his mindfulness and resourcefulness! A lot of my dormmates are the careful, thoughtful type that consider all their options before doing something; I'm a little different from a lot of my dormmates in that regard. I do my best plan-making under pressure, honestly, and lean more towards the resourceful side of things. Usually the housewardens in this dorm are determined by who's the best at astrology and ancient incantations, along with also being the most cunning and resourceful! Unless if you're me, I guess. Then money can buy you whatever position, apparently. I'm doing my best to prove that I actually do live up to the title I didn't earn.

Pomefiore: inspired by the Fairest Queen's spirit of tenacity! Most of the students in this dorm tend to be from more well-to-do families, but that's not always the case. With Vil as the housewarden, appearances and manners are very important here! Housewardens are selected by being able to make the most potent poison - and also an antidote for it, so you show that you understand what, exactly, you made.

Ignihyde: inspired by the King of the Underworld's diligence. Most everyone in this dorm is very good with technology! I'm not entirely sure how they choose their housewardens, and they're known for being fairly reclusive. Even a lot of the more gregarious students here claim they have no friends from Ignihyde, which I feel like has to be an exaggeration, honestly.

Diasomnia: based on the Thorn Queen's spirit of nobility! I'm not exactly sure what that means and I'm not sure the students of Diasomnia know what that means either. If you're really good at magic all across the board, you're put in this dorm! Which is probably why the few fae students we have are in this dorm, since magic comes a lot more naturally to them than any other race in Twisted Wonderland.

Oh... I'm so sorry. I understand. I might tell Ortho; I'm just worried about how Idia will react, personally. I don't want him to get upset or jealous.

True also! I guess my concern is that I feel like it's not "creative" enough, even though I... really know that's not the case. But I will! I might make a point of asking him directly, honestly. That would be easier.

It is generally a lot more convenient! The merfolk cities closer to the surface are safer, but the ones deeper down require you to be... a lot more on your guard. You might be able to change the duration! I'm under the impression that it's as good as it's going to get for now, but... I might ask my boyfriend! He's really good at making potions, and he's very familiar with transformation potions as an octopus merperson! And right? Me too! Without that, it would be a lot more difficult to establish communications and everything with them!

Me too... most of the fae here get along with us! A lot of people fear Malleus because he's a very powerful mage, but Lilia gets along with a lot of people. Sebek is a lot more... prejudiced. But I think he means well. I think he has a lot of internal problems going on.

It honestly is a little terrifying. I've... had some up-close experience, and it's horrible. I will say that mages here also get pretty hungry and tired casting spells! I mean, just a trip to the cafeteria here makes that obvious. But blot is... certainly something. I have to say though, if it gets visible on YOU, then... it's already too late, haha.

Yeah, that sounds extreme... I hope they don't end up succeeding. No amount of salvation is worth that for anyone.

I do!! I also grew up in the desert, though thanks to the founding families, the area is very well irrigated and we have a lot of waterways to help, so my spell isn't particularly helpful in the Silk City. But I know other places where it would be useful! Really, any mage can summon water, but the difference with me is that it takes almost no energy to summon a LOT of it. It's incredibly efficient and versatile! And I hope so!! I mean, a lot of the classes involving creativity (art, music, etc) are meant more to help you be able to imagine the effect of your spells, and the better you are at visualizing what you're doing, the better your spellcasting is!